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WWE Officially Announces New Match For Money In The Bank, Updated Card

Andrew Ravens
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6

WWE has officially announced Daniel Bryan’s opponent at the Money in the Bank PPV.

On Saturday morning, the sports entertainment company announced that Bryan would take on Big Cass in a singles match at this upcoming event.

If you recall, this marks the second singles match between them as they wrestled each other at the Backlash event just last month that saw Bryan win by submission.

It should also be noted that the PPG Paints Arena is advertising Bryan vs. Cass in a singles match for the upcoming Extreme Rules PPV event that takes place Sunday, July 15, 2018, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Thus, it appears that this feud will be continuing for at least another month.

The Money in the Bank pay-per-view event takes place on Sunday, June 17, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois at the Allstate Arena and will air on the WWE Network and some traditional pay-per-view outlets. Both Raw and SmackDown brands will be featured. Here is the updated card:

– Men’s Money In The Bank Ladder Match: Braun Strowman vs. Finn Balor vs. The Miz vs. Rusev vs. Kevin Owens vs. Bobby Roode vs. Samoa Joe

– Women’s Money In The Bank Ladder Match: Ember Moon vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Becky Lynch vs. Natalya vs. Lana vs. Naomi vs. Sasha Banks

– WWE Title Last Man Standing Match: AJ Styles © vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

– WWE Raw Women’s Title Match: Nia Jax © vs. Ronda Rousey

– WWE Intercontinental Title Match: Seth Rollins © vs. Elias

– WWE SmackDown Women’s Title Match: Carmella © vs. Asuka

– Singles Match: Roman Reigns vs. Jinder Mahal

– Singles Match: Daniel Bryan vs. Big Cass

– WWE SmackDown Tag Team Title Match: Luke Harper & Erick Rowan © vs. Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows

– Singles Match: Bobby Lashley vs. Sami Zayn

What are your thoughts on this upcoming match? Sound off in the comment section below.

MLW Fusion Report: June 1, 2018

Staff
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0

When I was a kid, I looked forward to Saturday because I could watch WWF Superstars. When I was a teenager, Monday night became my designated night of wrestling with Raw is War. I used to miss those days when I would anticipate a day of the week because of wrestling. Well, those days are back because MLW Fusion has made me look forward to Friday nights. This week’s episode rewarded my patience as I trudged through my work week (albeit a shortened work week).

The show opens up ANOTHER new interviewer. This time, her name is Vanessa Craft.

Let me just pause for a moment and congratulate (or maybe “thank” is a better word) Court Bauer for hiring these beautiful women to hold the microphones backstage. A job well done, Court, a job well done.

Anyway, Craft is outside Jeff Cobb’s dressing room when Stud Stable shows up with a stretcher. Colonel Robert Parker hypes the debut of Jake Hager (Jack Swagger) and pretty much says Cobb is going out on the stretcher.

The opening title sequence rolls. Schiavone, in a voice over, welcomes us and runs down the night’s card (we never actually see Schiavone and Bocchini tonight).

Jake Hager vs. Jeff Cobb

We head to the ring where Col. Parker introduces “the man that rules the world,” Jake Hager. I know Parker managed Sid Vicious for a long time, but that doesn’t give him the right to steal Sycho Sid’s tag line. From where I stand, Sid still rules the world. Hager just lives in it.

Watching Hager, I can’t believe it’s been ten years since he was the rookie with the irritating smile calling himself the “All-American American” and beating Matt Hardy for the ECW Championship. That was really the best he was ever portrayed. I hope he can have a return to greatness in MLW.

Cobb comes out next. I’m excited to watch Cobb without the Matanza get up.

This is a match of two big boys and it moves at a pace that I’d expect from two former heavyweight wrestlers. It’s slow, but it’s not boring.

Hager controls much of the match, which I guess makes sense because it’s his debut. The match should be his showcase. I would have figured that if he was going to get this much offense, he should be in there with a jobber.

Cobb impresses me with his strength and agility. At one point, he executes a powerslam and quickly follows it up with a picture-perfect standing suplex. He also goes for a sweet looking standing shooting star press, but he misses.

In the end, Cobb goes for a move that looks like Wade Barrett’s Wasteland, but Hager seamlessly reverses it into an ankle lock submission. Cobb taps out.

Cobb really sells an ankle injury. I just recently found out that a shoot ankle lock can break your ankle in seconds, so I appreciate what MLW is doing here.

We go to a commercial and when we return, we got a shot of an ambulance that Schiavone tells us is going to bring Cobb to the hospital. Wow. What a way to make the ankle lock and Hager look dangerous. The one criticism I have is that Schiavone tells us that MLW is going to look into Hager’s conduct. What conduct? Winning the match? Did I miss something? Did something get lost in the editing of this episode?

We get a series of segments and promos. First, MLW World Heavyweight Champion Shane “Swerve” Strickland is interviewed about his title match with Pentagon from last week. He calls the encounter one of his most painful matches. He doesn’t want to got through that type of match again but he’s still the champion. When he’s finished, he walks outside and spots Salina de la Renta, who approaches him and blames him for getting hit in the eyes with Pentagon’s red mist. Swerve tells her that she brought it on herself. She threatens the introduction of a mystery person. He basically tells her to bring it on, which prompts her to warn the champ to be careful what he wishes for. I’m sensing some tension between these two. Maybe she has the hots for him.

After a graphic announces that Fred Yehi will face Tom Lawlor next week, we get our next segment. Lawlor and Simon Gotch (Team Filthy) walk into the arena and are approached by an unseen interviewer. The interviewer asks about Lawlor’s match next week and Team Filthy starts making fun of the name “Yehi.” Lawlor even calls him Yeti. Hey, that’s what I said a few weeks ago! Lawlor follows the comedy up with saying that Yehi’s been out in the wild. Um, let’s just move on from that. They keep ragging on his name and say it sounds French, leading Gotch to ponder if Yehi was part of the Louisiana Purchase. You know, because we bought Louisiana from France. If MLW was going for two d—heads who thought they were funny but weren’t, they succeeded.

And then…sigh…Sami F’n Callihan. This promo did not make me hate him less. Let’s just get this over with.

Callihan says he’s a sociopath that doesn’t care about offending people. That’s true. He offends me every time I see him and he still shows up on my TV. Next, he says that what he did to MVP he’ll do to the whole roster. His army of…sigh… “like-minded individuals” will make people listening. I wish I could stop listening at this point. He proclaims that the like-minded army is pro wrestling, they are what this world needs, and they’re taking over everything. The promo ends when he makes the thumbs up/thumbs down gesture, which he feels the need to say “thumbs up, thumbs down” while he does it. I guess he’s doing that for the blind. I wish I was also deaf right about now.

Schiavone runs down the top ten contender’s list for June. It goes as follows.

  1. Tom Lawlor
  2. Pentagon
  3. Rey Fenix
  4. Sami Callihan
  5. MVP
  6. Jimmy Havoc
  7. Barrington Hughes
  8. Joey Janela
  9. Jake Hager (already?)
  10. ACH

Swerve, of course, is still the champ.

Kotto Brazil vs. Rich Swann

Swann is also making his debut in MLW tonight. His song isn’t asking if you can handle this, but his trunks are.

Swann cuts an inset promo in which he says he is a bunch of adjectives, but oddly none of those adjectives include “spousal abusing.”

The crowd chants “Can you handle this?” Swann gets on the ropes and encourages the chant. Schiavone is stunned that Swann has personality. I guess Tony hasn’t watched much wrestling in the past two years.

Watching Brazil and Swann move in the ring makes me realize that one needs a lot of core strength in order to be a wrestler. I’m 40 pounds overweight, so…yeah, a career in wrestling is not in the works for me.

I have to say, this is a really great match between these two. The story being told is that Brazil is a scrappy young fighter who’s looking for that breakout performance while Swann is the cocky veteran that showboats too much to the crowd.

There are a lot of submissions from this match. One of them is a variation of the Stretch Muffler, which Swann locks on to Brazil. I love Stretch Mufflers. I could watch an entire hour of Stretch Mufflers.

Brazil doesn’t go down easy. There are a lot of close two counts, including one after a handspring stunner by Swann. I’m starting to think that Brazil might actually get the upset.

Never mind. The match ends with a second rope Phoenix Splash by Brazil for the three. They fist bump after the match. The announcers say that it was a “defining match” for Brazil and I agree. He looked awesome tonight. Between this match and the match Brazil had with Trey Miguel two weeks ago, I think middleweight division (which I believe MLW is going to start calling their light heavyweight guys) is really going to be something special.

Sami Callihan vs. Joey Janela

They tease a commercial but quickly cut back to the show, where we find Brazil being blindsided by a bat attack from Sami Callihan as he’s trying to head backstage. I guess we’re going right to the main event.

Callihan walks down to the ring with his two goons. Wait, two? There was only one last time. Who is this second guy and when did he join the fray? Sometimes MLW doesn’t explain these things. Another example would be the announcement of Fenix joining Promociones Dorado right before his match with Pentagon a few weeks ago. When did this happen and why? Please explain this stuff! This is like when people turn heel or face in WWE for no reason. Don’t be like WWE.

Anyway, the new guy’s name is Fulton. This army of “like-minded individuals” looks like a poor man’s Sanity.

Martin J. Friedman has been at ringside at a private table with a lady friend since the Swann/Brazil match. Janela comes out and…oh, I see what’s happening here. If you don’t remember, Janela trashed MJF’s dressing room last week, leaving behind cigarette ashes, domestic beer, and a “prophylactic.” Something’s gonna go down, and I think Mr. Janela should have eyes in the back of his head.

Aria Blake looks like one of those 12-year-olds whose parents put her on the Maury show because she’s a terror at home and in school and they want Maury to send her to boot camp where she’ll be reformed and turned into a nice little girl again.

Back in the wrestling ring, Janela and Callihan have a hard-hitting brawl. Late in the match, Janela covers Callihan and gets a three count, but the ref takes it back when he sees Callihan’s foot on the rope. I don’t know if they ref botched the count or what, but the match continues.

Callihan hits a piledriver, but Janela pops right up and hits a superkick. That looked pretty sweet. I like when one guy gets hit with a devastating move but still musters up enough energy to knock his opponent out before collapsing.

The match goes outside, where Janela collides with Friedman and his date. The couple, their table, and their champagne crash to the floor. Before Janela can get back into the ring, Friedman bangs Janela’s head multiple times into the ring post and one of the arena’s support posts. Callihan takes advantage of the interference by hitting the Cranial Contusion in the middle of the ring, which garners him the victory.

Callihan’s army leaves the ring. Friedman stands over Janela and pours champagne over him.

As the show ends, the MLW medical staff check on Janela, who was busted open when Friedman smacked his head into the posts.

Final Thoughts

  • The audio on this show was a little weird. The ring sounded really loud. Sometimes the announcers were too low. The exchange between Swerve and de la Renta had muffled at times.
  • For some reason, I really like Stud Stable. Maybe it’s just the fact I like factions, but then again, I dread seeing Sami Callihan and his army on my screen. In Stud Stable, you have the tag team in the Dirty Blondes, the powerhouse in Mike Parrow, and the technical master in Jake Hager. It’s a great mix, but at the same time, they all have a communality- they’re a bunch of big red state s— kickers. Well, Parrow is from New York, but he looks like he belongs in a red state and he will still kick the s— out of you. With the talker in Col. Parker, this faction gets a big “thumbs up” from me (Oh, I’m sorry, do you need Callihan to show you what a “thumbs up” is?).
  • The Brazil/Swann match may be one of the best examples of story telling that MLW has produced on Fusion so far. It was clear, it was laid out well, and it was relatable. I could watch a rematch between these two…or three or four.
  • Did I mention that I hate Sami Callihan?

That’s it for this week. Follow me on Twitter (@CliffofDoom). I’m going to stop being a hermit that watches too much wrestling and get some sunshine. Bye now!

Don Callis On Tessa Blanchard, Eli Drake, Who He Is Emotionally Invested In As A Fan

Rayan Sayyed
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9

IMPACT Wrestling’s Executive Vice President Don Callis appeared on Busted Open Radio where he shared his thoughts on Tessa Blanchard, Eli Drake while also revealing who he is emotionally invested into as a fan. Here are some highlights they sent in:

Don Callis on Tessa Blanchard:

“Love her. I just think she’s… I’m not even going to say she’s a great Knockout but she’s a great wrestler. It’s always those gender issues with respect to wrestling. It’s the man’s match, the woman’s match. Sometimes when you start talking about matches in the context of just ‘No, that was my favourite match’ and I had that back in the day when Gail Kim and Awesome Kong were working together. That was my favourite match, not just my favourite Knockouts match, that was just my favourite match of the night. And I think Tessa has the potential to be one of those transformational performers where it’s not about Knockouts match, non-Knockouts match, it’s just about her being a great wrestler. I like everything about her. She’s just so polished, she’s got a great mean streak and she’s got something that’s rare in the business, she’s got a fifth gear that she could kick into.”

Don Callis on who he is emotionally invested into as a fan:

“I’m pretty emotionally invested as a fan in Brian Cage and what’s gonna happen with Brian Cage. I think we’ve just really scratched the surface of establishing him as a monster and people always say Goldberg and at the start of this, my reference in booking meetings was always 911. I was like, ‘This is how we need to bring this guy out. It needs to be a slow build etc.’ So I think what’s really interesting to me as a wrestling fan is I want to get to know more about Brian Cage. We’ve seen him destroy people, we’ve seen he’s not just a big muscle guy, now we’ve seen him flying around with the best of them. I want to get to know Brian Cage the personality, ’cause he hasn’t talked yet. And I think that makes him for me as a fan, those are the guys that I was always like, ‘I wanna know more about what’s going on behind the curtain here’.”

“That would be a guy I would be invested in and on the Knockout’s side, how can you not as a fan be fascinated by Su Yung. The look that she has, the presence, the stuff that she does, very Muta-esque, and I was a big Muta mark back in the day. So those would be the two if I were watching the product that I’d go, ‘I need to see more of this’.”

On Eli Drake:

“I remember talking to Paul Heyman one night at a Denny’s, and Bully may have even been there for this one. And I remember I didn’t get a lot of time with Paul because I was always flying in for a couple of days and flying out, and I just had the sense, ‘I need to pick this guy’s brain, he’s such a resource’ and I remember saying to him, ‘Who’s the greatest… you know we’re talking about managers, I think Bobby Heenan and Jim Cornette are the two greatest managers of all time’ and he looked at me and he went, ‘Yeah?’, I go, ‘You don’t think so?’ and he goes, ‘Well the problem with those two is they’re too entertaining. So how are they heels?’. And Bobby Heenan was arguably one of the most talented people ever in the business, and I thought about that and I thought, ‘Yeah’. And I think that with Eli.”

“To use a baseball analogy, he’s a five tool player. But one of the things about Eli and I’ve said this to him, ‘You’re so damn entertaining on the mic that it’s easy for guys like that to slide into becoming a babyface. So it’s almost like you’re so good that maybe you need to be not quite that good and not quite that entertaining.'”

You can listen to the full interview here:

ECW Star & Wife Found Dead In What’s Believed To Be Murder-Suicide

Rayan Sayyed
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26

ECW and indy star Rockin’ Rebel, real name Chuck Williams and his wife have been found dead on Friday morning by a family member in their home in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Local authorities believe the cause of death to be a murder-suicide.

According to a press release by The West Goshen Township Police Department, gunshots were heard in the family’s house and police were called which arrived to a scene with family members and dead bodies of the two inside their house:

“The West Goshen Township Police Department was dispatched to a shooting in the 300 block of North Five Points Road, West Chester, PA 19380. The responding officers arrived at the scene and were met by family members in the driveway. The officers searched the home and observed two bodies in the living room of the residence.

An adult male and an adult female resident were found deceased inside their home. There are no outstanding suspects and there is no danger to the public. The preliminary investigation has determined the event to be a murder followed by a suicide.”

The neighbor of the couple believes that they were having marital problems and used to have arguments with “extremely nasty” language.

The tragic incident is still under investigation.

DDP On Ronda Rousey’s Push, WWE’s New TV Deals

Rayan Sayyed
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2

WWE Hall Of Famer Diamond Dallas Page recently talked to CBS Washington DC where he discussed WWE’s new TV deals, Ronda Rousey getting a significant push early on in her WWE career. Below are some highlights from the interview:

DDP on Ronda Rousey getting WWE Raw Women’s Championship opportunity:

I think that would be like asking whether you’re a Republican or Democrat. You’re gonna have people say, ‘She’s who she is and she should get it.’ And other people are gonna go, ‘No, she didn’t earn it, she didn’t deserve it.’ But a lot people don’t understand all the work she put in to get to where she is today. So bottom line is, she’d be one of the highest paid people there. And she’s one of the highest paid people there because she draws and people are tuning in.

My opinion is, I think she’s gonna draw. I haven’t been watching enough to see her work, but I know what she did at WrestleMania and she killed it. So I think the girls are so good today. One of the things when you’re a great worker like a lot of these young ladies today, from Bailey to The Boss Sasha Banks. Charlotte’s one of the best athletes in the company. When they get there and they realize you’re in a feud with Ronda Rousey, guess what, you just got mainstream attention.

That’s gonna hold on for a while. Because I would never even push Ronda out of maybe doing a comeback [in UFC]. And guess what. She’s still a draw. She wouldn’t come back and go right against the champion, but she’d go out there and everybody would want to tune in. So don’t discount that either.”

On new TV deals acquired by WWE:

“Wrestling is cyclical. And if you look at the 80s, it had an unbelievable run and then it just fell down. 90s had the biggest run ever, because of the Monday Night Wars. People would say, ‘Do you think you’ll ever see that again?’ I say to them, ‘You’ll never see it like that again.’ See Vince [McMahon] has mainstreamed the television. And he’s the taken the wrestle and over the last 20 years made him a superstar not a wrestler. And the biggest star in the world is who? Is The Rock. Then out of wrestling the next guy would be John Cena. And then maybe Dave Bautista, because what he did in the wrestling world, but what he’s doing in Hollywood. He is an A List actor, now so is John.

You’re gonna see a lot of guys come out of that. You’re gonna see The Miz come out at some point and have a hell of a film career. Cody Rhodes just got five episodes coming up on The Arrow. He’s mainstreamed the boys, and the girls. Because it’s not like these crazy ratings that they had. We had better ratings than they had back in the day. But it’s more mainstream audience, so it’s a way more valuable audience.

So no, I’m not surprised at all. I’m super happy because they’re getting these kind of money numbers from the television and they own the network, the WWE Network. So owning your own channel on a spot where you’ve got it 24/7 and we’re talking about creating your own channel. Just like I did with DDP Yoga. My DDP Yoga channel with my DDPY workouts, it’s my own channel. And I’m constantly putting money into making it better. I’m like over $2 million into my DDP Yoga Now App, which is insane. And no one, and that’s including Beach Body or anybody else is doing it the way we’re doing it.”

Titus O’Neil Claims He Has ‘Everything’ To Become A Champion In WWE

Rayan Sayyed
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39

WWE RAW Superstar Titus O’Neil recently did an interview with Natalya for her Calgary Sun blog, here are the highlights:

Titus O’Neil on his childhood full of hardships:

“My mother was the victim of sexual assault and I was a product of that unfortunate circumstance. She did all that she could with little to no money most of the time and set an incredible example for me with her work ethic. Despite my mother’s hardships, she was always a very giving person and our struggles allowed us to see how to get by with minimal resources. It also taught me important life lessons and because of that I learned how to work, not just for what I wanted, but also for what I needed and what my family would also need in the future. My test became my testimony and my ‘mess became my message.”

On his competitive spirit:

“My desire to be great in any area of my life all comes from my competitive spirit. I love competition and for years I was told what I couldn’t achieve in life. Once I started achieving, I developed the heart and mindset to help others do what some say couldn’t be done. Everything I have was acquired through hard work and I try to instill that in my life. It’s one of the most important aspects of being a WWE Superstar: working hard.”

On wanting to become a champion in WWE:

“I’ve always had goals to be as successful as possible in multiple areas of my life. I feel I have everything it takes to be a champion in WWE. I also have goals of continuing success outside of the ring with my charitable efforts through my Family Foundation as well as hopefully venturing into movies and television.”

Rev Pro Confirm Status of WWE Contracted Talents on Their Shows

Jake Skudder
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1

One of the biggest promotions in the United Kingdom Revolution Pro (Rev Pro) has revealed the status of WWE UK contracted talents appearing on their shows.

Owner of Rev Pro Andy Quildan revealed via the Rev Pro Twitter account (in response to a fan question) that “Sadly those in the tournament [WWE UK Championship] and those who have also signed but aren’t in the tournament will no longer be appearing for us.” Whilst this outcome seemed inevitable this is the first time that an “official” announcement has been made publicly.

WWE have appeared to be far more aggressive in their pursuit of UK based stars since the reformation of the World of Sport (WOS) brand. We reported earlier in May that independent promotions outside of PROGRESS and ICW would no longer be able to feature WWE UK signed stars as part of their On Demand offering…however with Rev Pro’s announcement that anyone even appearing as part of the WWE UK tournament won’t be featured on their shows it changes the landscape of UK wrestling exponentially; several of the top stars on the scene such as Chris Brookes, Travis Banks, WALTER, El Ligero and Dave Mastiff have either been confirmed as WWE UK tournament competitors or are heavily linked to the UK brand.

Jeff Jarrett Heading to ICW for One Night Only

Jake Skudder
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1

Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW) has announced that WWE Hall of Famer and founder of TNA/GFW Jeff Jarrett will be heading to the company for a special one off appearance this July.

‘Double J’ will be making a special appearance as part of ‘Shug’s Hoose Party 5’ acting as the Commissioner for one night only. This isn’t the first time that WWE affiliated talents have acted as Commissioner for the Scottish based company; Former WCW/WWE Superstar Kevin Nash and Mick Foley have appeared at previous ‘Fear & Loathing’ pay per view shows in the same capacity.

This appearance will coincide with Jarrett’s UK speaking tour ‘Ain’t He Great?’ which starts July 23rd and heads to the following cities:

  • London – 23rd July
  • Edinburgh – 24th July
  • Sheffield – 25th July
  • Cardiff – 26th July

Tickets for these shows can be found via the tweet below:

https://twitter.com/InsaneChampWres/status/1001897453715640320

UK/Mae Young Classic Star Subject of BBC Documentary

Jake Skudder
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0

Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW) has announced that their reigning Women’s Champion Piper Niven/Viper will be the subject of an upcoming BBC Documentary on Monday June 11th.

‘Fight Like A Girl’ will be shown across the United Kingdom and will be one of the highest profile spotlights on UK wrestling in the mainstream for the past few decades, potentially since the heyday of World of Sport.

Here’s part of the synopsis for the show: “By day, 26 year-old Kimberly Benson dons her smart workwear and goes off to her job in the family coach hire business. By night, with big blow-dried hair and head-to-toe in shimmering Lycra, she steps into the ring as Viper, one of the UK’s top female wresters. The contrast is not lost on her and in Fight Like A Girl, the first in a new run of BBC One’s Our Lives strand, Kimberly explains what it’s like to lead her double life. She reveals everything from how she copes with her rigorous training regime, to how she deals with homesickness, as the sport she loves takes her all over the world.”

If you live in the UK you can check out the show at 7:30pm on Monday 11th June on BBC One.

https://twitter.com/InsaneChampWres/status/1002539678288039936

Two WWE Linked Stars Colliding in UK Tournament

Jake Skudder
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1

UK based promotion Anarchy Pro are in the midst of their ‘Masters of Brutality’ tournament with the 3rd round upcoming in July. One of the more headline grabbing bouts taking place on July 26th will see two stars who have been heavily linked with WWE over the past few months collide.

The leader of #CCK Chris Brookes will be taking on Ringkampf’s WALTER at the East Yard in Camden Lock. These two stars represent the UK scene’s brightest performers and this should be an absolute barnburner of a bout.

If you’ve never heard of WALTER then he is certainly a performer that should be on your radar. The Austrian powerhouse has been dominating the Tag and Heavyweight divisions in wXw, PROGRESS and PWG over the past couple of years and he is now being slated as a future WWE/NXT signee (even if he denies any sort of negotiations). The de-facto leader of the Ringkampf stable (alongside Timothy Thatcher and previously NXT roster member Axel Dieter Jr) has a ton of potential on the world stage and has already garnered critical praise from the likes of Dave Meltzer, who gave his PWG All-Star Weekend bout against Zack Sabre Jr from October 2017 a 5 star rating.

Chris Brookes is one of the most in demand stars on the UK circuit right now, his hugely successful run alongside Kid Lykos in #CCK has seen him catapulted into the ranks of PROGRESS wrestling’s main event scene and he was tipped as one of the favourites to win the Super Strong Style 16 tournament but he eventually fell short. Since Lyko’s most recent injury Brookes has once again been establishing himself as a legitimate singles star and this bout against WALTER will only help build his profile as one of the nation’s best.

NXT Superstar Returning to PROGRESS for Chapter 71

Jake Skudder
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1

PROGRESS Wrestling has announced that NXT Superstar Nixon (Steffanie) Newell will be returning home to the United Kingdom as part of their Chapter 71 show ‘F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.P.R.O.G.R.E.S.S’

‘The Girl with the Shiniest Wizard’ will be challenging PROGRESS Women’s Champion Jinny in a bout for the prestigious title. This will be Jinny’s first defence of the belt since defeating the inaugural Champion Toni Storm and ending her nearly year long title reign by exactly a day.

Whilst Newell is still contracted to NXT this is an interesting development to the story surrounding PROGRESS and WWE’s business relationship. Several reports have indicated that the UK based promotion will be heading to the WWE Network imminently and stars from WWE’s NXT and 205 Live roster have been making sporadic appearances for PROGRESS over the past few months; the most recent being Kassius Ohno’s role as part of the Super Strong Style 16 tournament in Alexandra Palace this past month.

Steve Austin Discusses The Problem With The ‘What’ Chant

Andrew Ravens
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16

WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin has discussed the problem with a chant he helped make famous.

One of the signatures of Austin’s entrance was him talking as he walked down the ramp and as a result of being a great talker, he came up with the word that started a chant that is still around today.

During a recent episode of The Steve Austin Show (transcript courtesy of Wrestling Inc), the WWE Hall of Famer talked about the problem with the ‘What’ chant.

“I never knew the ‘What?’ chant would stick around as long as it’s stuck around,” said Austin. He later continued, “it can really mess with a guys’ or girls’ rhythm, what they are really trying to say. Sometimes they can get flustered. Sometimes that ‘What?’ chant could really be overwhelming, and you think people aren’t paying attention to what you’re saying, and sometimes on a really strong, heart-felt promo is happening, they’ll start with that ‘What?’ chant.

Austin continued by stating, “The audience is missing out what the wrestler’s saying, so sometimes you gotta time that ‘What?’ chant when there’s some bulls–t going on and you gotta be able to listen to a real deal promo so you know what’s going on in the story. I feel for ya, and I feel for when they’re trying to cut a good promo. It interrupts your rhythm, plain and simple.”

What are your thoughts on this chant? Sound off in the comment section below.

For years now, Steve Austin has been regarded as one of the biggest stars in the history of the sports entertainment company.

If you recall, Austin came up with the line around the time of the Alliance angle and kept using it a few years after that. Even though he doesn’t appear on WWE television as frequently as he used to, the fans kept the chant going.

CM Punk Testifies Today, Confirms What CM Stands For, Motivation For Podcast Comments

Chris Stephens
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19

CM Punk took the stand today as part of his ongoing trial. Dr. Chris Amann is suing Punk for comments he made on his friend Colt Cabana’s podcast regarding the medical care he received while with WWE.

A reporter for the Chicago Tribue, Gregory Pratt, is live at the trial and noted some interesting testimony was given by Punk this morning. His Tweets from the courtroom are below:

https://twitter.com/royalpratt/status/1002604531946082305

Notes From CM Punk Testimony

Punk was asked if there is anything he would change about his comments on the podcast.

“CM Punk took stand mid-morn,” Pratt tweeted. “His attorney asked if there’s anything he’d change about podcast, he said he swore a lot on there and wouldn’t today. Acknowledged being bitter then and wrestling being his whole life. Lots of things on the podcast he just doesn’t care about anymore.”

Pratt also acknowledged that Punk confirmed “CM” stands for Chick Magnet.

“He confirmed “CM” stands for Chick Magnet,” Pratt continued. “Remembers first promo after hitting someone w roll of coins: ‘All’s I’m saying is, I’ve got a lot of cents.’ Amann atty won relevance objection”

https://twitter.com/royalpratt/status/1002603245766889472

“Punk explained his character saying it was heavy on straight edge — no drugs/alcohol subculture — and make no excuses for who you are. When a good guy, focuses on core good guy values, when bad guy, gets a little preachy, like call for cutting off beer sales if he wins match”

https://twitter.com/royalpratt/status/1002603537623339008

https://twitter.com/royalpratt/status/1002603587187376128

The Tribune also noted that lawyers from both sides debated the relevance of showing a video of CM Punk after having been put through a table. Evidently, the attorneys needed to explain to the judge who Kane was.

“There was a lawyer fight between Amann and Punk reps over video of CM Punk laying after going thru table,” Pratt Tweeted. “Amann counsel didn’t want video to show Kane chokeslamming Punk thru table. Judge:’ I don’t know who Kane is.’ Attorney: “The big man without a shirt.”

Update On WWE Mae Young Classic Taping Dates, John Morrison Reunites With WWE Stars

Andrew Ravens
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– It was originally reported that WWE would be taping the second installment of the Mae Young Classic tournament on August 7th and 8th.

It turns out according to a report by F4Wonline.com that the sports entertainment company will be taping the tournaments on Wednesday, August 8th, and Thursday, August 9th at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida.

As of this writing, there’s no word yet on when the first-round matches will air on the WWE Network or when the finals will take place.

– Thursday night marked the final night that former WWE and current Impact Wrestling star John Morrison would be a single man as he is set to marry fellow Impact star Taya Valkyrie this weekend.

Morrison took the time to spend some time with his good friends WWE stars Zack Ryder and The Miz along with Impact star Brian Cage.

https://instagram.com/p/BjeAarFnwhp/?utm_source=ig_embed

What are your thoughts on the WWE bringing back this tournament? Sound off in the comment section below.

Report: Saudi Arabian Prince Threatened Over Greatest Royal Rumble

Anutosh Bajpai
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The Greatest Royal Rumble was a successful event in many respects, but not everybody was happy with a big pro wrestling show being staged in the Middle East.

The Independent reports that Yamen-based branch of Al-Qaeda has issued a warning to the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, calling his efforts to liberalize the Kingdom as “sinful projects.” The Crown Prince ha been accused of “opening the door wide for corruption and moral degradation” by allowing the WWE and other aspects of western culture into the Middle Eastern country.

They appear to be especially upset with the Greatest Royal Rumble. Below is an excerpt from the statement released by the organization, pointing towards the wrestling event:

“[Foreign] disbelieving wrestlers exposed their privates and on most of them was the sign of the cross, in front of a mixed gathering of young Muslim men and women,”

It’s worth mentioning here that after the success of Greatest Royal Rumble, there were reports of the company holding another similar event in the country in November.

In light of this development, it remains to be seen if WWE’s longterm relationship with Saudi Arabia continues as planned. Neither WWE nor the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have publicly responded to Al-Qaeda’s warning as of this writing.

David Arquette Clarifies Return To Wrestling, Wants To Silence Haters

Chris Stephens
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David Arquette announced yesterday he plans to return to professional wrestling. He made the announcement during an appearance on the Wendy Williams Show. He has since clarified his statements and motivation for returning.

Arquette explained his desire to return to wrestling has to do with wanting to silence the critics of his WCW World Championship run.

“I was promoting a movie I did called Ready to Rumble and it just so happened that I won the championship,” Arquette said yesterday on the Wendy Williams show. “(Fans) blamed me for ruining WCW. It’s no longer around and maybe I did have something to do with it.”

“For 18 years, I’ve been trolled on the internet,” he continued. “And I just want to bring some respect back to my name!”

After his announcement yesterday, Arquette spoke with TMZ Sports to clarify why he is returning to wrestling.

David “the Magic Man” Arquette Returns to Pro Wrestling

Arquette told TMZ he has been training to get in shape for his return. He’s been practicing jiu-jitsu and boxing as well.

He was asked if his return was a publicity stunt for a sequel to Ready 2 Rumble.

“Ready 2 Rumble 2 I don’t think will happen,” Arquette said before mentioning his co-star in the movie, Diamond Dallas Page. “I am going to be doing some DDP Yoga that’s for sure.”

When asked if Arquette plans to go for a championship or end up in WWE, here is what he had to say:

“I love WWE, I’ve always been a fan of the McMahons and Vince and everything they’ve been doing over there,” Arquette said. “It’s always been a weird relationship between me and wrestling. I’m just trying to clear my name.”

WWE wasted little time in promoting Arquette’s return to wrestling themselves. They Tweeted out the following not long after Arquette appeared on the Wendy Williams show.

So far, it’s not clear what promotion Arquette is looking to get booked with. The Hollywood actor is located in Los Angeles and seemingly could appear for promotions such as Joey Ryan’s the Bar Wrestling, though that is only speculation.

Paul Heyman Gives High Praise To Charlotte Flair

Andrew Ravens
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Paul Heyman is very high on Charlotte Flair.

Flair has taken the WWE by storm since being called up to the main roster in 2015 during the Women’s Revolution storyline. She has won championships both in NXT and on the main roster.

At first, she was portrayed as her real-life personality then she started to come out of her father’s spotlight and become her own person, who has transformed into not only one of the best wrestlers in the sports entertainment company but a top star in the women’s division.

Heyman wrote the following on his official Twitter account about the former WWE RAW and SmackDown Women’s Champion:

“I deserve no credit for believing in @MsCharlotteWWE since day one. How could one NOT believe in her? She has everything a @WrestleMania main eventer requires. The right look, talent, instincts, work ethic, workrate, charisma, extraordinary timing in the ring.

@MsCharlotteWWE’s every performance is propeled by her mission in life, which transcends mere ambition, pursuit of fame/ fortune, or even desire to achieve one’s own greatness. Once you even begin to grasp what motivates her, there’s no conclusion other than to believe in her!”

Flair is slated to take on Sasha Banks, Ember Moon, Alexa Bliss, Becky Lynch, Natalya, Lana, and Naomi in the women’s Money in the Bank Ladder match at the upcoming MITB PPV event.

What are your thoughts on Heyman’s praise for Flair? Sound off in the comment section below.

Kimber Lee Talks NXT, Inter-Gender Matches, the Northern Tournament, more…

Chris Stephens
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27-year-old Kimberly Frankele is better known to wrestling fans as Kimber Lee. The former Chikara Grand Champion was released from her WWE contract earlier this year and has since returned to the independent scene.

Ahead of her participation in this weekend’s “the Northern” tournament with Smash Wrestling in Toronto, Kimber Lee spoke with Slam! Sports. During the interview, Kimber Lee spoke about her time in WWE developmental and her career on the independents.

Kimber Lee Interview Highlights

Kimber Lee was asked about the difference between the independent circuit and the year she spent in WWE developmental.

“When you’re on the independent circuit your schedule really depends on yourself,” she said. “If there are three [NXT] shows on the weekend you can work one or none at all.”

“When I first started at NXT I didn’t get to travel as much, I mainly stayed in Florida and trained a lot,” Kimber Lee continued. “I got to work with trainers like Robbie Brookside and Norman Smiley.”

https://twitter.com/Kimber_Lee90/status/998994532837584898

Abbey Laith in NXT

Kimber Lee wrestled under the name Abbey Laith while in NXT. She only appeared on 3 episodes of NXT television. She lost to Ruby Riot on the April 5th, 2017 episode and also participated in two battle royals, neither of which she won. Abbey Laith did regularly compete at NXT house shows, however. She lost most of her matches but did have a good showing in the inaugural Mae Young Classic. Laith made it to the quarter-finals of the tournament before losing to Mercedes Martinez. She had defeated Jazzy Gabert and Rachael Evers to reach that point in the tournament.

Kimber Lee was also asked about her experiences being a woman in the business and what her experience has been like with inter-gender matches.

Lee will wrestle in an inter-gender match in the 1st round of this weekend’s Northern tournament. She takes on Wheeler Yuta. Both Yuta and Lee were trained by 205 Live Superstar, Drew Gulak. Here is what Lee had to say about her upcoming opponent.

“He’s going to have a strong technical base because Drew is such a technical mat wrestler,” she said. “It’s going to be more of a grappling battle than people think.”

More information on Smash Wrestling’s tournament this weekend can be found here.

In addition to Lee, Matt Riddle, Joey Mercury, Joe Hendry, Joey Janela, and Mia Yim are also entered into the tournament.

Lee concluded the interview by stating, “The Crown Jewel is very much alive, so never count me out.”

Sami Callihan vs Eddie Edwards “Fight in the Woods” Match Next Week

Chris Stephens
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The feud between Eddie Edwards and Sami Callihan continues to roll on in Impact Wrestling. The rivalry has spilled into other promotions as well such as Tommy Dreamer’s House of Hardcore and Santino Marella’s Destiny Wrestling.

Last night on Impact Wrestling’s “Under Pressure” it was revealed that Callihan and Edwards will face each other once more next week. The match will be a “Fight in the Woods”. By the sounds of it, Impact will film (or already has done so) a match between the two in the middle of a forest with no fans present.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wxEasAFw9g

Sami Callihan vs Eddie Edwards

So far in 2018, Eddie Edwards and Sami Callihan have faced each other on 4 occasions. Here are the results:

  1. Impact Wrestling January 13th: Edwards defeated Callihan
  2. Redemption PPV (Hardcore Rules): Callihan and oVe defeated Edwards, Moose, and Dreamer
  3. House of Hardcore 41 (Street Fight): Edwards defeated Callihan
  4. House of Hardcore 42 (Street Fight): Edwards defeated Callihan

Edwards spoke to the Mirror UK website about the recent changes in Impact Wrestling.

“Since (the new management team) came in it feels like a new regime but in a good way,” Edwards said. “Feels like at this point from the guys in the locker room to the guys in the office, Scott, Don, Sonjay and creative are all on the same page. We are trying to slowly but surely turn things around and get back to where we were in the heyday.”

Edwards continued to say he is pleased with the level of creative freedom and communication which currently exists in the promotion.

“Right now the lines of communication are open between everybody which is great,” he continued. “To be able to go back and forth with ideas and creative stuff. It’s nice to just have the team all on the same page going forward and that’s the biggest thing. We can’t have people going in different directions that doesn’t work. Right now it’s a good time.”

Reason Why William Regal Has Been Off TV, NXT Star On How Alexa Bliss Changed Her Perspective

Anutosh Bajpai
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Reason Why William Regal Has Been Off TV

While WWE has been referencing him by his name and there have been segments with wrestlers going to his office, NXT General Manager William Regal hasn’t exactly been shown on Camera in recent weeks.

This has made many wonder about his status and the reason behind the Former Hardcore Champion’s absence from the WWE programming. Now Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer has revealed the reason behind it.

According to him, Regal has been dealing with a health issue and the company has been working around his illness. The issue dates back prior to WrestleMania 34, though there is not much detail available on it at the point.

NXT Star On How Alexa Bliss Changed Her Perspective

NXT Star and American Ninja Warrior Competitor Kacy Catanzaro recently had an interview with TV Insider where she talked about working NXT Live Events and more.

While speaking about the former Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss, Catanzaro said that Bliss has changed her perspective and claimed that she gave her the extra push for professional wrestling

“[Alexa] helped changed my perspective. She has been growing and rising so much the last couple of years that I’ve really been thinking about WWE and seeing if it would be possible. I’ve definitely been looking to her to fuel that drive. The ‘Five Feet of Fury’ and being tiny but bringing that fire. She gave me that extra push to show that I could do this.”

Apart from this, Kacy also talked about her time in the American Ninja Warrior, Women’s Revolution and more. You can check out her full interview here.

Does Brock Lesnar Have Creative Control? WWE On Upcoming Battle Royal

Anutosh Bajpai
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Does Brock Lesnar Have Creative Control?

The decision to have Brock Lesnar retain the Universal Championship over Roman Reigns not once but twice left many scratching their heads and it started a lot of rumors about his future.

It also made many wonder if the Beast has some kind of creative control over his character and a fan recently asked Dave Meltzer about it on Twitter.

Answering the question, the Wrestling Journalist said that while Vince McMahon listens to both Brock and his advocate Paul Heyman, the Boss makes the final call at the end:

It’s worth mentioning here that the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Newsletter reveals some details on the current plans for Lesnar and his next title defense which you can check out here.

WWE On Upcoming Battle Royal

This week’s episode of Monday Night Raw featured a barbecue segment with the B team and others and the whole thing ended in a chaotic fashion.

Following this, the company announced a Tag Team Battle Royal for next week’s episode of the show to determine the next challengers for the current Raw Tag Team Champions Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt.

After the show, WWE posted a preview of the upcoming match on their website. Below is an excerpt from it which talks about the idea of the team of Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel possibly winning the bout:

“Regardless of what you think of them, The B-Team have impressed in the ring recently. Could The “B” in B-Team actually stand for “Best” when this match is over?

Don’t miss any of the action on Monday Night Raw, live at 8/7 C on USA Network!”

Don Callis Talks About Rebuilding Impact Wrestling

Chris Stephens
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0

Impact Wrestling’s management and roster are in for a busy few days. The company is currently in Windsor, ON, Canada for the first of two nights of television tapings. Following the 3rd set of TV tapings under the new management, the promotion will head to Mississauga, ON, Canada for a One Night Only PPV on Sunday.

Impact co-Vice President, Don Callis, recently appeared on the Busted Open Radio show.

Don Callis Interview Highlights

For much of its existence, Impact Wrestling has been a poorly reviewed promotion. Callis was asked how he plans to rebuild a new reputation for Impact Wrestling.

“You’ve got to start making the small changes, the changes that make sense. For us, that meant eliminating the stupid stuff. Don’t insult the fans’ intelligence, and also getting the talent roster the way you want it,” Callis said. “I think that despite the fact that when I came in here with Scott [D’Amore] for the first tapings in January, people were flustered by the fact that ‘oh EC3 is leaving’ and this guy is leaving, but they would never say ‘but they just signed Brian Cage, they just signed Sami Callihan’, etc. I said it would take a couple of months to get the roster the way we wanted it.”

Callis was also asked what the company has to do to create a buzz.

“I think the way you create buzz— we’ve had a bit of a honeymoon period, as any kind of new coach or whatever does — is you get compelling talents in storylines that people are invested in, and you do a good job promoting it and you go from there.”

transcriptions courtesy of WrestleZone

Impact Wrestling’s Under Pressure aired last night. During the show, Austin Aries won back the Impact World Championship and Su Yung defeated Allie to win the Knockouts title.

Sean Waltman Replies To Eric Bischoff Saying That He Reneged His WCW Contract

Anutosh Bajpai
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Sean Waltman’s release from WCW in 1997 wasn’t free of controversy and it has once again become a topic of discussion after the then WCW President Eric Bischoff made some interesting comments about it recently.

Eric had talked about Waltman during the latest episode of his podcast, claiming that the former DX Member was let go for “reneging” on his agreement.

Now Sean has replied to these claims from Bischoff, and while talking about his time in the company on his own Podcast, X Pac said that at the time he was performing at a higher level than the money he was getting paid for.

Waltman claimed that he was getting paid $250,000/year while other guys on the same level as his were being paid twice as much.

Due to this he asked for a raise and according to the former WCW Star he couldn’t possibly have reneged his contract because it was already signed:

“So, I wanted a raise, not wrong for asking for it, you can be told ‘no’ so that’s all that was. You’ll hear Eric say I reneged, never not once. You can’t renege, the deal is already done, there’s no way I could have reneged. I just wanted a raise”

Later in the episode, Sean Waltman also talked about the termination letter he received from WCW and revealed that according to the document he was fired for ‘non-performance’.

You can check out his full podcast in the video below:

Quotes via WrestleZone

Austin Aries Wins Impact World Title Back From Pentagon Jr.

Anutosh Bajpai
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It was a real surprise when Pentagon Jr. won the Impact World Championship from Austin Aries during the Triple Threat main event of their Redemption PPV.

However this change didn’t last for very long and after almost a month-long reign of the Lucha Underground Champion, A-Double won the World Title back during the ‘Under Pressure’ special of Impact.

Austin won the title in a controversial match which was restarted not once but 3 times. The bout was first stopped when Aries refused to release a submission hold and both men were counted out.

Both stars then agreed to restart the bout but they were counted out again after Pentagon hit a Package Piledriver on Austin on the ring apron:

After this, the Mexican Star cut a promo demanding to restart the bout once again, though it didn’t go very well for him. As soon as the referee turned around to restart the bout, the former WWE Star low-blowed his opponent and then pinned him after hitting a brainbuster:

It’s worth mentioning that this wasn’t the only title change during the night as Su Yung defeated Allie during the show and was crowned the new Knockouts Champion.

This is Austin Aries’ third reign with the Impact World Championship and now it’d be interesting to see if he continues his feud with Pentagon Jr. or moves on to a rivalry with an Impact Wrestling star instead.

Intercontinental Championship To Be Defended At Money In The Bank, Updated Match Card

Anutosh Bajpai
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While the match card for Money In The Bank is pretty stacked already, many believed there is still space for a couple of more matches and the company has now announced a new bout for the show.

As seen this Monday Night on Raw, Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins interrupted Elias’ musical performance and went on to have a title match with the former WWE Champion Jinder Mahal.

This match ended in a disqualification and after the bout, Elias came out of nowhere and attacked the Champion, smashing his guitar into Rollins’ back.

This feud which started on Raw continued afterward. After the show, Seth had a twitter exchange with the Drifter which culminated with the former Shield Member agreeing to defend his title at the upcoming PPV:

This is the 9th match which has been announced officially for the upcoming show but with the expected change to the PPV runtime, there shouldn’t be a problem in fitting this bout into the card.

After the latest announcement here is the updated match card for the upcoming Money In The Bank PPV:

Updated Money In The Bank Match Card

Men’s Money In The Bank Ladder Match: Braun Strowman vs. Finn Balor vs. The Miz vs. Rusev vs. Kevin Owens vs. Bobby Roode vs. Samoa Joe vs. A Member Of New Day

Women’s Money In The Bank Ladder Match: Ember Moon vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Becky Lynch vs. Natalya vs. Lana vs. Naomi vs. Sasha Banks

WWE Championship Last Man Standing Match: AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship: The Bludgeon Brothers vs. Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows

Raw Women’s Championship: Nia Jax vs. Ronda Rousey

SmackDown Women’s Championship: Carmella vs. Asuka

Intercontinental Championship: Seth Rollins vs. Elias

Roman Reigns vs. Jinder Mahal

Bobby Lashley vs. Sami Zayn

WWE Money In The Bank will take place from Rosemont, Illinois on June 17th. 

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