Believe it or not, Heath Slater has been with WWE for over 10 years.
Slater signed with WWE in 2006 and was sent to their developmental territory of Deep South Wrestling (DSW). In 2007 he debuted in Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) where he remained for three years.
Following his stint on NXT, Slater made his debut as a member of the Nexus on an episode of RAW in 2010. Since then, Slater has been involved with several tag teams. He was a member of Three Man Band (3MB) with Jinder Mahal and Drew McIntyre.
He also teamed with Titus O’Neil to form “Slater And The Gator.” Today, Slater is partnered up with Rhyno on Monday Night RAW. In his time with WWE Slater has never won a singles title. He has, however, captured several Tag Team Championships in his day.
At this point in his career, Slater may be looking to change that. He wrote a lengthy post on Instagram about his current WWE position:
“I got signed with @wwewhen I was 22 years old. I’ve been through Deep South, Florida Championship Wrestling and The Foundation of @wwenxt Ive been in faction after faction and tag team after tag team none of them actually went the way I hoped.
“I just hope that one day before this is all over that I can do things my way. And as a grizzled young vet in the business I hope that time comes sooner than later.”
Kassius Ohno faced Kona Reeves to start off this week’s episode of NXT. The two Superstars locked up to start off the match. Reeves back Ohno to the corner and then retreated as Kassius marched towards him. Reeves then taunted Ohno and Kassius responded with a massive right hand to the face.
Ohno then shoved Reeves to the canvas and dropped a knee across his face. Reeves battled back with a Clothesline off the top turnbuckle for a near fall. Kona went for the Hawaiian Drop but Ohno escaped with a massive elbow to the face for the quick pinfall victory.
After the match, Ohno grabbed a microphone and said there was so much buzz when he came back to NXT but that is all gone now. He added that he has become an afterthought and it used to drive him crazy trying to figure it out. Kassius stated that there is always going to be someone new and fresh to take the buzz. Ohno stated that the next guy who arrives at NXT with buzz, he will be the first to greet him and knock him to the back of the line.
The Forgotten Sons Picked Up A Win Thanks To The Mighty
The Forgotten Sons (Steve Cutler & Wesley Blake) battled Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) on this week’s episode of NXT. Jaxson Ryker accompanied the Forgotten Sons to the ring for the match.
Blake took Ford to the canvas and locked in an Arm Bar to start off the match. Ford escaped and quickly tagged Dawkins into the match. Cutler tagged in as the Street Profits Dropkicked both the Forgotten Sons out of the ring. Ford sprinted across the ring and flipped onto both of them before rolling Cutler back into the ring.
Ford tagged back in and beatdown Cutler in the center of the ring. Cutler connected with a series of chops and then tagged in Blake. Wesley connected with an insane Clothesline that almost took Ford’s head off. Blake followed it up with a springboard Knee Drop for a near fall.
Cutler tagged in and planted Ford with a Neckbreaker for another two count. Cutler hit a second Neckbreaker and went for the cover but Ford kicked out at two. Blake tagged in and hit a Leg Drop for a near fall. Cutler got back into the action and blasted Ford in the midsection.
Cutler applied a Crossface in the middle of the ring as Ryker looked on from the outside. Ford battled to his feet and countered into a backslide pin for a two count. Blake tagged in and went for an Elbow Drop but Ford got out of the way and tagged in Dawkins.
Angelo came into the ring with a ton of momentum and planted Blake with a Bulldog that sent Wesley tumbling to the corner of the ring. Dawkins connected with a Splash and then tagged in Ford. Cutler grabbed Dawkins off the apron and launched him into the steel steps.
The Mighty came down to the ring with ski masks on and distracted Ford. Ryker leveled Montez with a Clothesline and then rolled Ford into the ring. Cutler and Blake then hit Ford with a Knee Drop/DDT for the pinfall victory.
Coffee Doesn’t Agree With Otis Dozovic
NXT GM William Regal continued his investigation to figure out who attacked Aleister Black tonight on NXT. Regal interviewed Heavy Machinery and Otis admitted that he accidentally broke a toilet because coffee does a number on his digestive system. Tucker Knight told Otis to stop talking and Regal asked if there was anything Heavy Machinery saw that night. Tucker told Regal that they saw Tommaso Ciampa around the bushes after Aleister Black was attacked.
Sane applied a Waist Lock to start off the match. Adora broke the hold but Kairi tripped her up and planted her with a couple of Neckbreakers for a near fall. Sane went for the Stretch Muffler submission but Adora was able to reach the bottom rope to break the hold. Sane immediately hit a Double Stomp for a two count.
Sane riled up the crowd but turned around into a forearm to the face from Adora. Sane battled back with a spinning back fist and then marched across the ring as the crowd chanted along. Kairi hit a sliding forearm and then made her way to the top rope. Kairi connected with the Insane Elbow for the quick pinfall victory.
After the match, Shayna Baszler came down to the entrance ramp and shoved over Kairi’s treasure chest. Shayna told Kairi to enjoy her fantasy while she can because reality is going to hit that ship like a cannonball when she gets her rematch. Shayna got into the ring and charged after Kairi. Baszler connected with a Clothesline but Sane battled back with a series of strikes. Kairi then hit the Interceptor Spear and knocked Baszler out of the ring.
NXT GM William Regal interviewed Lars Sullivan tonight as well. Regal noted that Lars was close to the attack and asked why he was there that night. Sullivan stated that his purpose for being there that night was to locate Aleister Black. However, he heard him scream out loud in the distance and he was already laid out. Sullivan said that he saw Undisputed Era driving away as he walked towards Black.
Lars added that if he had done the attack he would still be standing over Aleister. Regal told Sullivan that he will face Raul Mendoza next week and said that he hopes Lars’ path of destruction stays in the ring. Lars simply responded “absolutely” and then left Regal’s office.
Velveteen Dream Outsmarted Johnny Gargano
Velveteen Dream battled Johnny Gargano in the main event of this week’s NXT. Dream came down to the ring with a “Johnny Failure” shirt on. Dream threw the shirt at Johnny before the match started as Johnny started trash talking him. The two Superstars then locked up to start off the match. Dream knocked Gargano to the canvas and then posed in the ring. Johnny got up and leveled Dream with a forearm to the face and then applied a Facelock.
Dream escaped but Gargano quickly clocked him with another forearm to the face. Johnny shoved Dream to the corner and stomped him into the canvas. Gargano booted Dream out of the ring and then kicked him in the face when he tried to get up on the ring apron.
Gargano followed Velveteen Dream out of the ring and hit him with a chop to the chest. Gargano continued to trash talk Dream before connecting with another chop to the chest. Back in the ring, Dream slammed Gargano throat-first into the top rope and then booted him in the ribs.
Velveteen returned the favor and stomped on Johnny in the corner of the ring. Dream bounced Gargano’s face off the top turnbuckle but Johnny battled back with a few chops. Dream launched Gargano into the turnbuckle and followed it up with a Neckbreaker for a two count.
Dream booted Dream in the face and went for a Crossface but Johnny blocked it. Dream then applied a Sleeper Hold in the center of the ring and brought Gargano to the mat. Gargano escaped and slammed Dream to the canvas as the crowd chanted “Johnny!”.
Gargano followed it up with a Hurricanrana off the second rope and then an Enziguri that sent Dream out of the ring. Gargano greeted Dream with a Slingshot Spear as he got back inside the ring for a near fall.
Johnny connected with a Superkick on the apron that sent Dream out of the ring. Gargano followed it up with a Cannonball of the ring apron and then the action returned to the ring. Dueling “Johnny Wrestling!” and “Velveteen!” chants broke out as Dream planted Gargano with a Fameasser for a two count.
Gargano elbowed Dream in the face and leaped at him but Dream caught him. Dream set up for a Death Valley Driver but Gargano countered into a roll-up for a two count. Gargano hit Dream with a Clothesline for another near fall as the crowd chanted “this is awesome!”.
Johnny tried to climb up the turnbuckle but Dream caught him on the ring apron. The two Superstars started trading shots on the apron but Dream got the better of the exchange. Dream lifted Gargano up in a Fireman’s Carry but Gargano escaped to the floor outside the ring.
Dream followed him and shoved Gargano from behind and Johnny slammed his knee into the steel steps. Velveteen brought Gargano back inside the ring and planted him with an awesome DDT for a near fall as the crowd chanted “NXT!”.
Dream went after Gargano’s knee and started stomping on it. Johnny rolled to the ropes to try to regroup but Dream followed him. Gargano hit an Enziguri and went for the Slingshot Spear but Dream countered with a Superkick.
Velveteen Dream went for an Elbow Drop on the apron but Gargano rolled out of the way. Dream slammed his elbow into the apron and then Johnny locked in the Gargano Escape on the entrance ramp. Gargano realized that the referee was about to count them out and made his way into the ring at the last second.
Dream then barely beat the count and Gargano set him up in the ropes. Johnny hit him with a Superkick to the face and then set up for a DDT off the apron and to the floor. The referee pleaded with Johnny to stop and Gargano obliged and exchanged words with a young Gargano fan at ringside.
Back in the ring, Dream started shouting at Gargano that he was a failure. Johnny got pissed off and charged at him but Dream was ready and hit him with the Dream Valley Driver for the pinfall victory. NXT went off the air with half the crowd chanting “Johnny Failure!” and the other half chanting “Johnny Wrestling!” as Gargano walked backstage.
Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks self-funded a professional wrestling event that sold out over 10,000 seats in just a few minutes. Some of the biggest names in the industry were on the card; such as Kenny Omega, Okada, Rey Mysterio, Nick Aldis and more.
One of the premiere matches on the card was Cody and Nick Aldis’ match for the NWA World Heavyweight Title. The entrances to the match were very MMA/boxing like. Both Cody and Aldis were followed by camera from the back, walking to the ring.
Cody was accompanied to the ring by Diamond Dallas Page and Tommy Dreamer. Aldis had WWE Hall Of Famer Jeff Jarrett at his side. The pair put on an emotional match, which ended with Cody winning the World Title his father once held high.
On a recent edition of Busted Open Radio, WWE Hall Of Famer Mark Henry offered his thoughts on the match. Henry revealed he actually teared up during the bout:
“When @CodyRhodes won I started to well up because I started to think about what Dusty did for that title, and then I started to think about what Cody sacrificed to make that PPV happen. I have so much respect for him.”
On Monday’s RAW, tensions between The Shield and Braun Strowman’s new faction continued to grow. Strowman has now aligned himself with RAW Tag Team Champions Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre. He has now evened the odds against Roman Reigns and The Shield. Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose came to Reigns’ aid when Strowman attempted to cash-in his Money In The Bank (MITB) briefcase.
Now, Strowman will get his one-on-one shot at Reigns’ Universal Title inside Hell In A Cell. As we build to that, however, The Shield continue to feud with Strowman, Ziggler and McIntyre. This week the two factions collided to open up RAW.
Acting General Manager Baron Corbin ushered out the entire locker room to separate the six men. They continued to fight into the backstage area, but eventually The Shield were arrested and taken away for most of the show.
Towards the end of the night, Michael Cole announced that The Shield had been released from jail. They returned in a cop car and made their way to the ring to meet Strowman, McIntyre and Ziggler.
Before that could happen, however, all the heels in the locker room came out to ambush The Shield. The show went off-air as Rollins, Reigns and Ambrose laid lifeless on the floor.
The Explanation
Several days removed from RAW, we finally have an explanation as to how The Shield got out of jail. Corey Graves took to Twitter and suggested that WWE’s David Otunga phoned in a friend in the legal community to get The Shield released.
Here’s Graves’ Tweet:
Made a few calls this morning. Turns out @DavidOtunga has a judge friend in Columbus and called in a late night Labor Day favor for The Shield.
Photographer Bruno Silveira was ringside at the event taking exclusive photos for Paul Heyman’s Heyman Hustle website – and they’re incredible. The Hustle site has dozens of photos from the top matches at ALL IN.
Click on the photos below to see more from each match.
Cody vs. Nick Aldis (NWA World Heavyweight Championship)
Young Bucks & Kota Ibushi vs. Rey Mysterio, Bandito & Rey Fenix
Kenny Omega vs. Pentagon Jr. (with surprise attack by Chris Jericho)
Jay Lethal vs. Flip Gordon (ROH World Championship)
There has been some speculation from fans as to why Nia Jax hasn’t been on WWE television as of late. The reason for her absence is due to her being out of action with a leg injury.
Since suffering the injury, she had been doing physical therapy on her leg. The latest news on Jax is from Pwinsider.com, which is reporting that she s now training at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando this week. As of this writing, there’s no word yet on when she’ll be back on the flagship show of the WWE, Monday Night RAW.
Her last match came against Alexa Bliss for the RAW Women’s Title at the Extreme Rules pay-per-view event on the WWE Network.
If you recall, Jax started a feud with Ronda Rousey where they would later have a title match at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view event that would see Jax lose the title once Bliss interfered and cashed in her Money in the Bank contract that she had won earlier that night. This led to Bliss pinning Jax to win the title.
At Extreme Rules, she was unsuccessful in regaining the title in an extreme rules match and has not been seen on WWE television since.
Charlotte Flair will defend the WWE SmackDown Women’s Title against Becky Lynch at the upcoming Super Show-Down event. The company made the news official on Wednesday, September 5.
This could be a rematch from the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event takes place on Sunday, September 16, 2018 in San Antonio, Texas at the AT&T Center as WWE just confirmed that Flair vs. Lynch will go down at this show with the gold on the line.
The WWE Super Show-Down pay-per-view event takes place on Saturday, October 6, 2018 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Melbourne, Australia. Here is the card:
Updated WWE Super Show-Down Match Card
Triple H vs. The Undertaker #1 Contender’s Match: Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz WWE Champion AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe John Cena and Bobby Lashley vs. Elias and Kevin Owens The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns) vs. Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre – Six-Man Tag Team Match Ronda Rousey & The Bella Twins vs. The Riott Squad – Six-Woman Tag Team Match WWE Cruiserweight Champion Cedric Alexander vs. Buddy Murphy
The Bella Twins and RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey vs. The Riott Squad Asuka and Naomi vs. Billie Kay and Peyton Royce
What are your thoughts on the matches thus far announced by the WWE? Sound off in the comment section.
There has been a significant development in the mystery surrounding Joey Ryan’s disappearance. Ryan had been presumed dead and Bullet Club’s Hangman Page even confessed to having murdered him.
Ryan then returned at All In, however, and attacked Page after his match against Joey Janela.
On the recently released episode of Being the Elite, Ryan explained what really happened to him after Page left him for dead.
What Really Happened To Joey Ryan?
Ryan revealed that while he had been badly beaten by Page, he was still alive. His wife soon found him and helped nurse him back to health. His wife then put him on a strict training regimen.
“I started out weak, with barely any strength in my body,” Ryan said of his initial recovery. “As time went on, because of my courage, I started to get stronger. Also, the steroids helped.”
After taking steroids to recover, Ryan then revealed he had to hide from the public in order to pick the best possible time to get his revenge on Page.
“I was my old self again but I had to fake my own death and hide from the public,” Ryan continued. “Even when I saw someone else (Stephen Amell) falsely accused of my murder, I had to be patient. I had to pick the perfect spot to avenge what happened to me and I wouldn’t come alone, I’d bring an army with me!”
Ryan then continued to say what type of army it was he would bring with him to All In.
Wrestling MediaCon has announced the first class for their brand new Hall of Fame. The Wrestling MediaCon convention will be taking place September 8th/9th from the Bowlers Exhibition Centre in Manchester, England.
The following names will be inducted to the Hall of Fame for their services to Wrestling media:
Dave Meltzer – Owner of the Wrestling Observer
Colt Cabana – Independent wrestling star with a history spanning Ring of Honor and WWE
Findlay Martin – Former head of PowerSlam magazine
Martin Goldsmith – Chairman of Event! Merchandising. One of the World’s leading & longest established events companies spanning over 30 years
WoS stars SoCal Val and Joe Hendry will be hosting the ceremony on Saturday 8th at 8pm GMT. You can check both days of the event on FITE.tv for $29.99.
WWE has sent out a new survey to fans detailing some potential new show concepts for the over the top streaming service. Here’s some of the new concepts on offer:
WWE Now LIVE! – Live morning show featuring the hottest topics and news in the WWE Universe.
History of FCW – While NXT is well known to the WWE Universe as a starting place for today’s WWE Superstars, many current Superstars started in pre-NXT, Florida Championship Wrestling. This is the story of the Tampa-based promotion and its transformation into NXT.
Xavier’s Arcade Challenge – Xavier Woods takes his love of retro gaming to the finest “Bar / Arcades” in the country and challenges the WWE Universe in one-on-one competition.
WWE Cheat Day with Becky Lynch – WWE Superstars work hard, and train harder. See what they do on their cheat day, as Becky Lynch and Charlotte indulge at one of Becky’s favourite breakfast eateries.
Fashion Police / Unsolved Mysteries – Tyler Breeze and Fandango attempt to crack the case of numerous unsolved mysteries that have eluded the WWE Universe over the years.
House Hardy: Halloween special – Go inside the WONDERFUL world of the Hardy family in this delightful short-form scripted sitcom, featuring Matt and Jeff Hardy!
The survey also asked fans if there was any interest in the NXT UK brand and if the Full Sail NXT programme going live would raise interest in the show and Takeover special events. The survey also asked fans to reveal which other promotions they currently watch, including:
Ring of Honor
Impact Wrestling
Lucha Underground
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla
New Japan Pro Wrestling
Are you interested in any of these show concepts? Let us know in the comments
The main event of All In was forced to be cut short. The match between Rey Mysterio Jr., Bandido, and Fenix against the Young Bucks and Kota Ibushi was supposed to run for 28 minutes. When all was said and done, however, the match went only about 12 minutes.
Today, Marty Scurll appeared on Sean Mooney’s podcast. He refuted that his match with Kazcuhika Okada was the reason the main event was cut short.
“People are saying 14 minutes over. No, no, no, no,” Scurll said. “The show ran 14 minutes over. A bunch of the other matches went over. But I guess our match is crucified because obviously, we were the match on just before last?”
Scurll and Okada’s match was the longest on the card at 26 minutes. Cody vs Nick Aldis was the second longest, going 22 minutes.
Jim Ross Calls Out Performers Going Over Alotted Time At All In
Jim Ross took to his podcast recently and called what led to the main event’s time being cut the result of unprofessional behavior.
“The last match was cut from 28 minutes to 12; that’s because the guys before them were trying to get their own s**t in and they went over,” Ross said. “It’s not funny really, because all they did was rob the main event and matches later on of time, and those matches are in those spots for a reason.”
It should be noted that Cody was running gorilla position for the second half of the show and has already taken responsibility for the error.
PROGRESS has made the Women’s Title match for Wembley official. The ‘Queen’ of the Women’s division Jinny will be defending against Toni Storm and Millie McKenzie.
Toni Storm was the inaugural holder of the Women’s Title, holding the belt for 1 day off an entire calendar year. Jinny became only the second holder of the belt at Chapter 69: Be Here Now. Jinny will be joined by her House of Couture stable which features Chakara, Charlie Morgan and Sammii Jayne.
Millie McKenzie defeated Candyfloss, Chakara, Charlie Morgan and Laura Di Matteo to become the Number 1 contender at Chapter 75: These Violent Delights Have Violent Ends.
This will be the biggest English Independent show in years and the following bouts are now signed:
New Japan Pro Wrestling’s September scheduling is usually dominated by the DESTRUCTION shows – and 2018 is no different. This year’s lineup of shows will of course feature to ‘Road To’ shows, some of which will be available on NJPWWorld.
Here’s the full results for the September 5th show in Nagoya:
NJPW Road To Destruction Results (Night 1)
Yota Tsuji and Ren Narita b. Yuya Uemura and Shota Umino. Narita took the win after submitting Uemura with the Boston Crab
Yujiro Takahashi b. Ayato Yoshida. Takahashi took the win after hitting the Pimp Juice on Yoshida.
Taiji Ishimori, Tanga Loa, Tama Tonga and Bad Luck Fale b. Toa Henare, David Finley, Michael Elgin and Juice Robinson. Tama Tonga took the win after hitting the Gun Stun on Henare.
YOSHI-HASHI and Hirooki Goto b. Takashi Iizuka and Taichi. Goto took the win after hitting the GTR on Iizuka.
BUSHI, Sanada, EVIL and Tetsuya Naito b. TAKA Michinoku, El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Minoru Suzuki. BUSHI took the win for his team after hitting the MX on TAKA.
Tomoaki Honma, Togi Makabe and Hiroshi Tanahashi b. Gedo, Toru Yano and Kazuchika Okada. Makabe took the win after hitting the King Kong Knee Drop on Gedo.
Will Ospreay, Berreta and Tomohiro Ishii b. Chase Owens, Kota Ibushi and Kenny Omega. Ishii took the win for his team after hitting the Vertical Brain Buster on Chase Owens. He challenges Kenny Omega for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship on September 15th at Destruction in Hiroshima.
Road To Destruction Schedule on NJPWWorld.com
The full G1 Climax tournament was available in English for the first time ever this year and now New Japan’s Destruction shows in September will be getting the ‘Western’ treatment. Play by Play commentator Kevin Kelly confirmed which shows be would be commentating live via Twitter.
The Road to Destruction shows on September 7th, 8th and 9th will only be available in Japanese live. The September 15th, 17th and 23rd events in Hiroshima, Beppu and Kobe will be available in English. Kelly will be recording commentary for the ‘Road To’ events in post production.
The 37th season of the hit show Survivor will begin airing on September 26th, 2018. John Hennigan is one of the 20 new castaways to take part in the show. Recently, Survivor officially unveiled the teams for the season. Hennigan will be on the “Goliath Tribe” as they compete against the “David Tribe”.
This season of Survivor is loosely inspired by Malcolm Gladwell’s book David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits and the Art of Battling Giants.
CBS recently conducted an interview with Hennigan to help promote his involvement on the show.
John Hennigan Interviewed by CBS For Survivor
Hennigan was asked what 3 items he would bring with him if he were to really be stranded on a deserted island. “Three ab wheels,” Hennigan answered. “In case the first two break. It’s important to not underestimate fitness on the island.”
When CBS asked Hennigan to describe his “claim to fame”, he was ready with an answer. “Pro wrestling fans around the world know John Hennigan as The Mayor Of Slamtown, Johnny Nitro, John Morrison, Johnny Mundo, Johnny Impact, the Shaman of Sexy, The Wednesday Night Delight,” Hennigan stated. “I’ve had more epic ring names than most wrestlers have had championships and in addition to those, plenty of other nicknames that aren’t so nice.”
When asked about his hobbies, Hennigan listed surfing, MMA, parkour, and writing.
.@cbstweet was intense & amazing! The s37 premiere is September 26 at 8pm on CBS! The cast of David vs Goliath is competitive, quirky, and reeks of awesomeness! I can’t wait to watch… https://t.co/55H43rMU42
Should “Johnny Survivor” win the competition, he already knows how he’ll spend the prize money.
“I want to win and I want the money,” he said. “I’m planning on buying a Corvette the size of a Hummer, but as fast as a Corvette. With some of my winnings.”
Revolution Pro (Rev Pro) announced recently that FreeSportsUK woyld be the home for their new TV show. FreeSportsUK made the announcement via Twitter and the channel will be airing the show “later in September.”
You may remember FreeSports as the channel that hosted the ill-fated 5 Star Wrestling earlier this year. Rev Pro is an extremely well established promotion comparatively and will relish the opportunity to be available in UK homes.
The first images of York Hall have appeared with a fantastic looking staging and ring setup for tonight’s taping, check them out below:
Several of New Japan Pro Wrestling’s stars will also be available for the TV tapings. You can check out our exclusive interview with Rev Pro owner Andy Quildan discussing the upcoming tapings and more here.
FreeSportsUK is available on the following UK platforms:
Hulk Hogan has made it known that he was pulling for the success of the All In event that was presented by Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks this past weekend, which made history for an indy event to draw over 10,000 fans in an arena.
The WWE Hall of Famer recently spoke with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated to talk about various topics including All In where he noted that they have his support as he is a fan of their work and is rooting for them.
“WWE is the mainstay, they’re here forever, but whenever there is competition in the marketplace, especially with a group of guys like Cody Rhodes, the Young Bucks, and Kenny Omega, it just raises the bar with the level of shows and content.”
Bullet Club
Hogan also noted that he has been keeping a close eye on the Bullet Club for the last couple of years. He brought up how Cody has talked to him about potentially doing something with the group but admitted that those guys are on fire on their own.
Being reinstated into WWE Hall of Fame
A few months ago, WWE officials decided to reinstate Hogan back into the Hall of Fame after removing him following the controversy of his racist remarks came out in a leaked sex tape. Hogan stated that the fans are loyal and that we are all humans who make mistakes. He admitted that he’s not perfect but is trying to make a positive impact every day.
“People have stood by me and stuck with me. I’ll never forget that. They know me, they know who I am, and they know how much I love this business—this business is my life. I’ve got nothing but love in my heart for the fans, I’m forever grateful.”
Major League Wrestling presents WAR GAMES this Thursday night from Ft. Lauderdale, FL at the historic War Memorial Auditorium. The event takes place 15 years after the original MLW War Games was held in the same venue.
MLW is bringing back the double-ring steel-cage battlefield, but that’s not all. The MLW World Heavyweight Championship will be on the line and legendary luchador LA Park will battle Pentagon Jr. in a Mexican Massacre match.
This will be a TV taping for MLW FUSION. The War Games match is scheduled to air on beIN SPORTS next Friday night, September 14th at 8pm ET. War Games will be uploaded to MLW’s YouTube Channel the following night at 6:05pm ET.
If you’re in the Ft. Lauderdale area, there are still a limited number of General Admission tickets available. Be part of history for just $10 and get your tickets now at MLWgo.com.
MLW War Games Card
The following matches are scheduled for Thursday night:
War Games Match: Shane Strickland, Tommy Dreamer, John Henigan, Kotto Brazil & Barrington Hughes vs. Sami Callihan Abyss, Jimmy Havoc And the Death Machines
MLW Champion Low Ki (w/ Salina de la Renta) vs. Rey Fenix (w/ Konnan)
Mexican Massacre: LA Park (w/ Salina de la Renta) vs. Pentagon Jr. (w/Konnan)
Filthy Tom Lawlor vs. Joey Janela
PCO vs. Brody King
Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. ACH
Joey Ryan & Taya vs. MLW Middleweight Champion MJF & Aria Blake
Teddy Hart vs. Rich Swann
Brian Pillman Jr. vs. Vandal Ortagun
El Hijo de LA Park vs. Jimmy Yuta
Myron Reed vs. Jason Cade w/ Rhett Giddins
Check back late Thursday for MLW War Games Results.
The viewership numbers are in for the All In: Zero Hour show, which served as the kickoff program for the All In event that aired on pay-per-view, Fite TV, and HonorClub.
The show pulled in an average of 196,00 viewers on WGN America, according to Show Buzz Daily and ranked 85th for the day on cable for the top 150 shows that aired. It should be noted that this was the only show that aired on the cable network to make the top 150 list for the day.
For comparison purposes, this is what a typical episode of Lucha Underground on the El Rey Network and Impact Wrestling on Pop TV would draw. The only difference is that those shows air in primetime. Last week’s episode of Impact pulled in an average of 225,000 viewers, and their lowest total for the year is 168,000.
The Zero Hour show did a 0.08 rating in the 18-49 demo, which is important due to the fanbase that Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks, who put on the event, was aiming to engage with. The show had to go up against some stiff competition as Saturday marked the kickoff for the college football season with games airing on ESPN, FOX, CBS, and ABC. Those games averaged a combined 10 million viewers.
The show featured two matches that saw Frankie Kazarian and Christopher Daniels vs. The Briscoes as well as the Over Budget Battle Royal, which was won by Flip Gordon, as the winner was set to get a shot at Jay Lethal’s ROH World Title later in the night.
As of this writing, the number of PPV buys for All In is currently unavailable. In case you missed the event, you can read the results at this link.
AXS TV sent in word that third generation wrestler Tessa Blanchard has signed with the WOW (Women of Wrestling) promotion. Blanchard is scheduled to debut for the company at the upcoming WOW Superhero TV tapings from Los Angeles.
The WOW Live Event Tapings are scheduled for October 10th and October 11th from downtown Los Angeles at the famed Belasco Theater. The shows will air on AXS TV in early 2019.
“Knowing the expectations of our WOW fans to see the best in women’s professional wrestling, we are elated to sign Tessa Blanchard,” WOW Owner, Jeanie Buss said in a press release. “Tessa enhances and elevates our athletic roster of talent beyond measure and we can hardly wait to showcase her skills in the series set to broadcast on Mark Cuban’s AXS TV.”
Blanchard is a third generation wrestler. Her wrestling lineage includes grandfather, Joe Blanchard, father Four Horsemen member, Tully Blanchard, step-father Magnum T.A.
At 22 years old, Blanchard has held championships in the United States, Mexico and Japan. She is the reigning Impact Wrestling Knockouts champion.
“I am grateful to both Impact Wrestling and the WOW executives for working out the details to allow me to pursue my dream of competing at the highest levels within our industry,” Blanchard said. “The success I’ve experienced in the past month in winning the Impact Championship, winning in Chicago at the ‘All In’ event in front of over 10,000 people, and now signing with WOW is what dreams are made of. My next dream to come true that will top off my year’s success will be when I beat Santana Garrett to win the WOW World Championship.”
For more information about Women of Wrestling, visit WOWE.com.
NXT is back with another episode from Full Sail University tonight. The main event will feature a match between Johnny Gargano and Velveteen Dream.
NXT 9/5 Preview
Johnny Gargano vs Velveteen Dream
Last week, Johnny Gargano admitted he’s made mistakes lately. It was Gargano’s interference that ultimately led to Tommaso Ciampa winning the NXT Championship. Gargano was also unable to take the title away from his rival at Takeover.
Velveteen Dream had a more successful night at Takeover when he defeated EC3. A win over Gargano would likely move the Dream one step closer to an NXT title shot. He’ll be wrestling on some EVOLVE shows coming up before that happens, however.
Kairi Sane In Single’s Action
The new NXT Women’s Champion will be in action tonight although her opponent has yet to be named.
Shayna Baszler is likely not finished with the champion and it’s certain she’ll be scouting this match closely. With the Mae Young Classic and the Evolution pay-per-view on the horizon, the NXT Women’s division is looking like it’ll get highly competitive in the near future.
Wesley Blake and Steve Cutler have been working the NXT house show circuit under the name “The Forgotten Sons”. The stable has undergone some tweaking in 2018 but it seems they are now ready for the bright lights of Full Sail University.
Their opponents tonight have yet to be named.
Kassius Ohno vs Kona Reeves
Kassius Ohno has played something of a gate-keeper role throughout his latest NXT run. He’d prefer to be a title-contender, however. Ohno did pick up a win in his last match against Adrian Jaoude but he’s in for much tougher competition tonight.
Kona Reeves lost his last match out against EC3. Prior to that match, he had been on a 3-match winning streak, however. His victories were over Max Humberto, Raul Mendoza, and Patrick Scott. Not exactly household names. A win over Kassius Ohno tonight would be the biggest of his career.
Jim Ross has made his feelings clear on the All In main event going short on the most recent episode of his podcast, The Jim Ross Report. Recorded during a panel at Starrcast, and available to download and listen to now, Jim Ross had this to say:
“The last match was cut from 28 minutes to 12; that’s because the guys before them were trying to get their own s**t in and they went over [time],” he said, before continuing, “It’s not funny really, because all they did was rob the main event and matches later on of time, and those matches are in those spots for a reason.”
Not holding back, Ross concluded with the fact he “found that to be selfish and not professional. So, better they work for these guys [Young Bucks/Cody] and not for me.”
The main event of All In saw The Young Bucks and Kota Ibushi defeat Rey Mysterio, Bandido, and Rey Fenix in a six-man tag match, and has been widely reported as being cut short due to time constraints.
The Young Bucks were honest that this was a dream match for them, so it would be understandable for all six competitors to be left frustrated with their match being cut down so dramatically.
Listen to the latest episode of the Jim Ross Report podcast:
RAW Superstar Bray Wyatt has been on the sidelines after his tag team partner, Matt Hardy, had to take some time off due to nagging injuries and learn the ways of being a producer for the company.
Wyatt was last seen on WWE television during the August 13th episode of Monday Night RAW when he and Hardy lost to Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel. Wyatt recently took to his official Twitter account where he shared a cryptic tweet, using the #ResurrectWyatt hashtag.
As of this writing, there’s no word yet on when WWE plans to bring him back to TV or the direction of his character now that Hardy is out of the picture for the time being. There have been rumblings of WWE making some changes to his character but that remains to been seen at this time.
The first match for next week’s episode of 205 Live on the WWE Network in Lafayette, LA at the Cajundome. That match is Buddy Murphy vs. Gran Metalik. As seen on this week’s episode, Metalik defeated Tony Nese in a singles match. As of this writing, no other matches or segments have been announced for this show.
AJ Styles has closed in on a significant milestone as WWE Champion. The Phenomenal One has been champion for 300 days straight. Only eight other superstars have held the WWE Championship for 300 consecutive days: Bruno Sammartino, Bob Backlund, Pedro Morales, Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Kevin Nash, John Cena, and CM Punk.
The next milestone for Styles would be CM Punk’s 463 days as WWE Champion. If you recall, Styles began this title reign on the November 7, 2017 episode of SmackDown Live on the USA Network when he beat Jinder Mahal in Manchester, England. As of this writing, Styles has held the title for 302 days.
Of course, the man who was WWE Champion more days than anyone else in history is the late Bruno Sammartino, who held the title for a staggering 4,040 days (11+ years) during his illustrious career.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Styles will extend his streak to 31 consecutive WWE pay-per-view events this month. Styles is slated to make his next title defense against Samoa Joe at Hell in a Cell, which takes place on Sunday, September 16th from San Antonio, Texas at the AT&T Center. The show will stream live on the WWE Network and is available for purchase on select pay-per-view providers.
WWE announced earlier this week that AJ Styles will team with SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte on Mixed Match Challenge Season 2.
What are your thoughts on Styles’ reign as WWE Champion?
During the near 15 minute outro that closed All In, Cody emphatically stated he and his Elite cohorts would be “sticking together.”
The group has gone, as Cody declared, “from undesirable to undeniable.”
This makes the Young Bucks’ recent comments in an interview with Fightful.com all the more interesting, as Matt Jackson remarked that, “Contract season’s here, right? I think it’s been 20 years since there’s been wrestlers who have the leverage that we currently have.” He continued that they are both “[…] aware of that, we know the position that we have. Next year will be the year we get paid, no matter where we’re wrestling,”
With the WWE reportedly interested in getting them under contract, and ROH wanting to “aggressively” keep the team on their roster, it begs the question as to where the could end up.
The team currently work for both Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling, where they’ve helped to revitalise not only themselves but the divisions they compete in.
Nick Jackson is more direct in how he looks at the situation, “I think everyone wants to sign us right now, which is a good problem to have. It shows that the interest is high. It’s great for us.”
No doubt, it will also be great for whatever company that ends up signing them.
Many fans are excited about the numerous alternative wrestling products currently available. With advances in streaming services, fans now have access to promotions from across the globe with diverse styles.
Kenny Omega believes that the success of All In proves there are wrestling fans hungry for an alternative to WWE. He spoke to Sports Illustrated recently.
“Fans, wrestlers, and even the general public have been conditioned to believe that there’s an enormous skill gap between WWE and everyone else,” Omega said. “A major league and a minor league. It’s either you’re there or you’re just not good enough.
“While it’s true their collection of talent is undeniable,” Omega continued. “A small group of us have bet on ourselves and on the unique alternative vision we have for pro wrestling. What they can offer in flash, we can offer in substance. While their writers produce TV for a certain demographic, we’re producing stories for fans that want something a little different.”
Our #Allin has ended but the grind has not. Thank you to all that supported our event, GL is headed back to Japan for the next tour. pic.twitter.com/agAcxwJaMB
For many members of Bullet Club, there was little time to rest after All In. The Golden Lovers main event’ed an NJPW house show last night and will be back on New Japan World tonight/early tomorrow morning. The Firing Squad is also back on tour with New Japan now as well.
Omega’s next big match will be on September 15th when he defends his IWGP Heavyweight Championship against longtime rival, Tomohiro Ishii.
