NXT this week will air a taped show from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida. The main event for the show is scheduled to be a singles match featuring Tommaso Ciampa versus Kassius Ohno.
NXT Preview (5/9/18)
Kassius Ohno vs Tommaso Ciampa
The story here is that Ohno used to travel with team DIY and was with Johnny Gargano when he was loaded into the ambulance following the latest attack by Ciampa.
Ohno has said that Ciampa needs to be made to feel the same helplessness that Gargano would have during that attack. He also thinks he’s just the person to give Ciampa that kind of beating.
As for Ciampa, he has continued to antagonize the NXT fans for several weeks now. Ever the heel, Ciampa reportedly blocked WWE’s Twitter account after it wished him a happy birthday.
Heavy Machinery vs the War Raiders
The War Raiders are in action this week as they will take on a fellow superheavyweight team in Heavy Machinery.
Tucker Knight of Heavy Machinery recently made his main roster debut as an entrant in the Greatest Royal Rumble. His partner, Otis Dozovic, was not entered into the match.
With the Authors of Pain and Sanity now on the main roster, there are opportunities for new teams in the division. The War Raiders can start to move up the rankings fast with a win over Heavy Machinery tonight.
EC3 vs Raul Mendoza
EC3 wrestled in the North American Championship ladder match at Takeover but tonight will be his first single’s match in NXT since 2013.
His last single’s match in NXT was a loss to Big E Langston. EC3 wrestled the match under the name Derrick Bateman.
Vignettes featuring EC3 have been airing on NXT for weeks and tonight he will have a chance to show the Full Sail crowd what he can do.
205 Live last night was from the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore, MD.
The main event of the night was a single’s match between Mustafa Ali and Buddy Murphy.
205 Live 5/8/18
1. the Lucha House Party (Lince Dorado & Gran Metalik) defeated Jack Gallagher & the Brian Kendrick
Before the match, Drew Gulak walked to ringside and took a seat at commentary.
Both teams defeated Hideo Itami & Akira Tozawa previously so this match was for cruiserweight tag-team bragging rights. Perhaps, top-seeding in the division was also on the line as we continue to build towards the introduction of cruiserweight tag team championships.
It looked as though Gallagher and Kendrick were controlling their luchador opponents, but a hot tag, a pair of superkicks and a by a pair of suicide dives was followed by a Shooting Star Press picked up the win for the Lucha House Party. Dorado pinned Gallagher after the SSP.
The Luchadors celebrated in the ring with noisemakers after the victory as Gulak looked on with dissaproval.
2. Tony Nese defeated Keith Clayball
Nese was shown in the back with Buddy Murphy before the match, perhaps indicating the two of them are now alligned.
This was a showcase match for Nese who won with a knee to the face in the corner.
3. Buddy Murphy defeated Mustafa Ali
Ali defeated Murphy in the recent single-elimination tournament to crown a new champion. It is the only loss Murphy has suffered in the cruiserweight division thus far.
Murphy began to work the shoulder and arm of Ali’s. He was able to do this more so after Ali missed his 450 splash from the top.
Murphy won the match after ramming Ali’s shoulder into the post and giving him “Murphy’s Law”.
With the win, Murphy should be in position to receive a Cruiserweight title match against Cedric Alexander as he’s now avenged his only loss in the division.
Sami Callihan has assaulted Impact Wrestling Vice President, Don Callis. The incident took place at an independent wrestling event near Anthem Sports and Entertainment’s head office in Toronto. Impact Wrestling is stating they plan on addressing the issue tomorrow night.
In the mean time, they have a poll on their website asking fans if Sami Callihan should be fired. As of this writing, more Impact Wrestling fans feel the controversial wrestler should be fired than not.
Sami Callihan Assaults Don Callis
Callihan attacked Callis at an event promoted by Santino Marella’s Destiny Wrestling promotion on April 29th, 2018. The attack is just being acknowledged by Impact Wrestling now, however.
The actions and behavior of @TheSamiCallihan at a recent @DestinyWrestle event were absolutely unacceptable. IMPACT Wrestling are considering all options regarding Callihan's future in IMPACT Wrestling as a consequence.
Callis was being given an award for “Comeback of the Year” and had his family in attendance when he was attacked by Callihan.
Callihan responded to Impact’s comments with the following:
How about you consider not being such bitches. This is OUR company now. Sit back and just watch your ratings go up. #TheDRAW#oVehttps://t.co/rAMJR65G1J
THIS THURSDAY – after his reprehensible assault of @CyrusOverHuge, we will learn the decision of IMPACT management regarding the consequences of @TheSamiCallihan's actions.
Callis began his career in 1989 wrestling in various Canadian independent promotions. He was brought into WWE as a manager in 1996. He managed the Truth Commission and the Parade of Human Oddities before being released in 1999.
After leaving WWE, Callis ended up in ECW where he was a color commentator and representative for “The Network”. He signed with TNA Wrestling in 2003 but would opt to retire from the wrestling industry in 2004. He would later say the business was too unstable at the time. Callis went to work in local government and by 2012 became the President, CEO and Executive Director of the Manitoba Trade and Investment Corporation.
In 2016, Callis began a podcast with his longtime friend, Lance Storm, titled “Killin the Town with Storm and Cyrus”. The following year, fellow Winnipeg native, Kenny Omega, pitched the idea for Callis to become the new color commentator for New Japan Pro Wrestling. Following that, another Winnipeg native, Chris Jericho, served as a reference for Callis to Anthem Sports and Entertainment President, Ed Nordholm. Impact announced Callis as their new co-Vice President on December 5th, 2017.
Both AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura were kept away from action during SmackDown Live this week and they appeared on the show via separate backstage segments.
The reason given for this was that both the stars were not cleared to wrestle after their brutal no disqualification match at Backlash, though they found their way back to the ring soon enough.
Styles faced Nakamura once again in a dark match after SmackDown Live and 205 Live went off air and the WWE Champion retained his title against the Japanese star.
Big SmackDown Debut And Segment Announced For Next Week
WWE announced a big debut and a segment for next week’s episode of SmackDown Live, during this week’s episode of the show.
First, the SmackDown Women’s Champion Carmella announced that she will be hosting a “Royal Mella-bration” to celebrate her Backlash victory against Charlotte Flair next week.
Then the company revealed that the former NXT Champion Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas will finally be making his SmackDown Live debut during next week’s episode of the Blue Branded Show:
It’s worth mentioning here that the debut of Sanity is also impending on SmackDown Live but so far there is no confirmation on the exact date of their arrival.
There were speculations that this year’s Money In The Bank PPV will feature 3 Ladder matches earlier this week, and it appears that there is still possibility of a third match being added to the show.
During the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Live, Bryan Alvarez mentioned that there is still talk of adding a third Money In The Bank match to the PPV for the tag teams.
Alvarez further noted that the original idea for this week’s Raw was for Kurt Angle to announce three ladder matches for the PPV but the company decided to hold off the third announcement.
This would explain the seemingly out of place MITB promos from tag teams during the show, which nobody bothered to cut out despite the change of plans.
For those who don’t know, an advertisement for Money In The Bank featuring three briefcases had gone viral on social media earlier this week.
Seeing it, many wondered if there will be an extra Money In The Bank ladder match at the upcoming PPV of the same name and after the latest reports, it’s confirmed that Officials are at least considering a third bout.
Though since there is enough time between now and the PPV, it’s possible that the company will hold off the announcement of this bout for a while, that is if they decide to go with the original plan for having three ladder matches at the show.
Money In The Bank this year will take place on June 17, 2018, at the Allstate Arena from Rosemont, Illinois
The May 8th episode of WWE SmackDown aired live from the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore, MD. During the show, it was announced that Carmella will have a championship celebration next week and Andrade “Cien” Almas will make his SmackDown debut.
SmackDown GM Paige kicked off this week’s episode. Paige spoke about WWE Backlash and the SmackDown matches that took place during the show. She then brought up Money in the Bank and how their will be two ladder matches, one for the men and one for the women. Paige announced that their will be qualifying matches tonight and that one of them starts right now. United States Champion Jeff Hardy battled The Miz in the first MITB qualifying match of the night.
Hardy knocked Miz down with a shoulder tackle to start off the match. Jeff booted Miz out of the ring and then leaped onto him off the steel steps. Back in the ring, Hardy climbed the top rope but Miz retreated to the corner as SmackDown went to a commercial break. When SmackDown returned, Hardy was in control of the match and had Miz in an Arm Bar.
Miz broke free and connected with a boot to the face for a two count. The Miz followed it up with a Neckbreaker for another two count. The Miz threw Hardy out of the ring and then crotched him on top of the barricade. Hardy battled back and decked Miz with a Clothesline off the barricade.
Back in the ring, Hardy dropped Miz with an Atomic Drop and followed it up with a Dropkick to the face for a two count. Hardy then hit the twist of Fate and made his way to the top rope. The Miz rolled to the ring apron and Hardy hopped back down to the canvas. The Miz hit a Neckbreaker to Hardy on the ring apron as SmackDown went to a break.
When SmackDown returned, Miz had Hardy in a Sleeper Hold. Jeff broke free and elbowed Miz in the face. Hardy followed it up with Whisper in the Wind for a two count. Jeff then Dropkicked Miz to the outside of the ring. Hardy flipped over the top rope and landed on The Miz. Jeff threw Miz back into the ring and then made his way to the top rope. Miz got up and crotched Hardy on the top turnbuckle.
The Miz joined Hardy on the turnbuckle and set up for a Superplex. Hardy held onto the ropes and then unloaded a flurry off punches to Miz. Hardy connected with a Sunset Flip Powerbomb and went for the cover but Miz was able to kick out at two. The crowd chanted “this is awesome!” as Hardy went for the Twist of Fate.
The Miz blocked it and then Hardy sent him to the corner. Jeff hit the Hardiac Arrrest Dropkick in the corner and followed it up with the Twist of Fate. Jeff then hit the Swanton Bomb and went for the cover. The Miz countered into a roll-up of his own for the pinfall victory. The Miz, Braun Strowman and Finn Balor have now qualified for the men’s MITB Ladder Match.
Sheamus and Cesaro were shown backstage. Sheamus was eating cereal out of a bag because it was the only thing that made him feel better about losing to Xavier Woods last week. Cesaro stated that if he faced Woods, he would be able to do better. Sheamus got pissed off and insisted that Cesaro face Woods tonight. Cesaro said that sounded like a great idea and then opened his gear bag. Inside the bag were a bunch of pancakes and Sheamus laughed his ass off. His mood changed once he opened his bag and realized that it was full of pancakes as well. Sheamus started throwing the pancakes around the room while shouting “I hate pancakes!”.
Later on SmackDown, Cesaro faced Xavier Woods. Big E, Kofi Kingston and Sheamus were ringside for the match. Cesaro knocked Woods to the mat and then taunted Xavier by slapping him in the back of the head. The crowd chanted “we want pancakes!” and Big E started launching pancakes into the crowd.
Cesaro decked Woods with a shoulder tackle, but Xavier battled back with a Hurricanrana. Cesaro knocked Woods back down with an uppercut and then posed in the ring. Cesaro followed it up with a Gutwrench Suplex as SmackDown went to a commercial break.
When SmackDown returned, Cesaro had Woods locked in an Abdominal Stretch. Woods broke free and connected with a couple of chops. Woods followed it up with a knee to the face and then a boot to the face. Woods connected with a boot to the face off the middle turnbuckle for a two count.
Woods slammed Cesaro face-first into the mat for another two count. Cesaro rolled-up Woods and put his feet on the ropes for leverage. Kofi shoved Cesaro’s feet off the rope to break up the pinfall. Xavier connected with a Shining Wizard and climbed up the turnbuckle. Sheamus got onto the ring apron and Big E started throwing pancakes at him. Kofi then took out Sheamus ringside as Woods leaped off the turnbuckle. Cesaro connected with gigantic uppercut for the pinfall victory.
It was announced that New Day will face The Bar next week on SmackDown. A member of the winning team will qualify for the men’s MITB Ladder Match.
AJ Styles & Shinsuke Nakamura Will Battle Again
Photo Credit: @WWE on Twitter
Shinsuke Nakamura was interviewed backstage and continued to say that he doesn’t speak English. Nakamura finally said “AJ is nuts, but so am I and we are not finished”. Styles and Nakamura’s match at WWE Backlash ended in a no contest after both Superstars were able to get back up from dueling low blows.
AJ Styles was interviewed later on the show. Styles admitted that he stooped to Nakamura’s level at Backlash and that he doesn’t want to fight like that. Styles stated that if Nakamura has the guts to get back in the ring, he will finish him. AJ added that Shinsuke may be the king of low blows, but this is the house that AJ Styles built.
Charlotte Flair Qualified For The Women’s MITB Ladder Match
Photo Credit: @WWE on Twitter
Charlotte Flair faced Peyton Royce tonight on SmackDown in a MITB qualifying match. Before the match, Royce and Billie Kay cut a promo. Kay claimed that her uncle Craig watched her match on Sunday and stated the look on Charlotte’s face after she lost sent him into hysterics and miraculously cured his stutter.
Charlotte and Peyton locked up to start off the match. Charlotte drove Royce to the corner and Peyton grabbed the ropes so that the referee would back Charlotte off. Charlotte slammed Royce to the mat a couple of times and Royce screamed out of fear. Charlotte connected with a massive chop and followed it up with a Fallaway Slam as SmackDown went to a commercial break.
Peyton Royce was in control when SmackDown returned from the break. Peyton locked in a Chin Lock in the middle of the ring as Billie Kay cheered her on from outside. Charlotte battled to her feet and broke the hold with a Jawbreaker. Royce threw Charlotte into the middle turnbuckle and Charlotte collapsed to the canvas. Royce dragged Flair to the middle of the ring and went for the cover but Charlotte kicked out.
Royce got pissed off and unloaded a flurry of punches to Charlotte’s face. Royce delivered a knee to the midsection and then bounced Flair’s face off the mat. Royce once again locked in the Chin Lock as the crowd got behind Charlotte. Flair broke the hold and booted Peyton in the face. Charlotte followed it up with a Neckbreaker and both Superstars fell to the mat.
Charlotte connected with a few chops that knocked Peyton to the mat. Flair strutted across the ring and delivered another chop. Flair did a split in the ring and rolled up Royce for a two count. Charlotte followed it up with a Belly to Back Suplex and then set up for the Figure Four. Billie Kay dragged Royce out of the ring and Charlotte took out Kay with a Crossbody. Royce capitalized and connected with a Neckbreaker to Charlotte on the floor outside the ring.
Royce went for a cover back in the ring but Charlotte kicked out at two. Billie Kay struck Charlotte from behind while the referee wasn’t looking. Royce then booted Charlotte in the face for a two count. Charlotte connected with a big boot to the face and then made her way up to the top rope. Charlotte went for a Moonsault but Royce got her knees up. Royce then hit a knee to the face for a two count.
Charlotte connected with a Spear in the middle of the ring for a two count. Charlotte then locked in the Figure Four in the center of the ring. Flair then bridged into the Figure Eight and Peyton Royce immediately tapped out. Charlotte and Ember Moon have now qualified for the women’s MITB Ladder Match next month.
Becky Lynch faced Mandy Rose tonight on SmackDown. Paige informed Sonya Deville that she was barred from ringside for the match. Graves drooled over his microphone and shouted at Saxton as Mandy Rose made her entrance. Rose controlled the match early and applied a Chin Lock in the middle of the ring.
Becky broke free and went for the Dis-Arm-Her but Mandy was able to escape. Lynch connected with an Exploder Suplex. Rose battled back and shove Becky throat-first into the ropes. Mandy Rose then rolled Lynch up for the pinfall victory.
Daniel Bryan was interviewed backstage about his match against Rusev tonight to qualify for the men’s MITB Ladder Match. Bryan brought up Cass attacking him after he made him submit at WWE Backlash. Bryan stated that he has made a career of overcoming obstacles and that he will battle through whatever pain he is in to qualify for the MITB Ladder Match. Bryan noted that he cashed in on the Big Show when he won the MITB contract in the past. The interview concluded with Bryan saying “the bigger they are, the faster they tap”.
Rusev and Daniel Bryan battled in tonight’s main event. The winner of the match will qualify for the men’s MITB Ladder Match. Aiden English rapped before the match and insulted Baltimore’s sports teams. Bryan and Rusev locked up to start off the match as dueling “Daniel Bryan!” and “Rusev Day!” chants echoed throughout the arena. Bryan got the upper-hand and connected with kicks in the corner. Bryan knocked Rusev out of the ring and Bryan went for a Suicide Dive. Rusev caught him and launched Bryan over the announce table as SmackDown went to a break.
When SmackDown returned, Bryan connected with a couple of Dropkicks in the corner. Bryan perched Rusev up on the top turnbuckle and connected with a Hurricanrana. Bryan hit a couple of Yes Kicks and went for a Crossbody, but Rusev caught him. Daniel countered into a roll-up for a two count. Bryan then hit a boot to the face for another two count.
Bryan applied the Yes Lock but Rusev immediately grabbed the ropes to break the hold. Bryan connected with a kick to the face and Rusev fell to the canvas. Bryan geared up in the corner as the crowd chanted “yes!”. English dragged Rusev out of the ring and Bryan took them both out with a Dropkick. Back in the ring, Bryan went for the knee to the face but Rusev blocked it. Rusev connected with the Machka Kick for the pinfall victory. Rusev has now qualified for the men’s MITB Ladder Match. After the match, Daniel Bryan shook his head in disappointment as SmackDown went off the air.
Opinion: SmackDown was solid tonight. The result of the main event was very surprising. I was expecting Big Cass to cost Daniel Bryan the match, but Rusev wound up winning the match clean. This accomplishes two things, it gives Rusev the big win he desperately needed and puts Daniel Bryan’s back against the wall. The announcer’s made sure to point out that Bryan was less than 100% after the beating he took from Big Cass at WWE Backlash.
Daniel Bryan now has to battle his way back up the card and hopefully a great story is told during his journey. Daniel Bryan does not need to be in the MITB Ladder Match this year. He does not need to be WWE Champion right away because he is already incredibly popular. Rusev is popular as well, but a victory over Bryan is huge for him.
The May 8th edition of WWE SmackDown aired live from the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore, MD, and was the first episode after Sunday’s Backlash pay-per-view.
– Paige comes out to kick off this week’s SmackDown broadcast. She talks about WWE’s first co-branded pay-per-view Backlash being a smashing success. Paige talks about the finish to AJ vs. Nakamura, and says she didn’t forsee that finish when she made it a No DQ match. She says we will hear from AJ and Nakamura later tonight. Paige introduces the first match of the night, a Money In The Bank qualifying match between Jeff Hardy and The Miz.
– Jeff Hardy vs. The Miz: The winner of this match ears a spot in the Money In The Bank ladder match. The opening bell sounds and they lock up. They run the ropes and Jeff levels Miz down to the mat. The Miz starts fighting back, but Jeff drops him again and goes up top. The Miz scoots away from Jeff’s range and recovers. Jeff comes down and continues the offense on Miz. The Miz fires up and escapes a suplex attempt, then he throws Jeff to the outside. The Miz follows Jeff outside and slams him on the fan barricade. Jeff ducks a shot from Miz, then headbutts him and comes flying off the barricade with a flying clothesline on the floor. Back in the ring, Jeff drops Miz and hits a leg drop for a two count. Jeff looks for the Twist of Fate, but Miz escapes. They struggle, but Jeff ends up successfully hitting the Twist of Fate. Jeff goes up top, but The Miz rolls out to the apron. Jeff misses a shot, and Miz kicks him then drops Jeff’s neck on the apron. Back in the ring, Miz and Jeff trade right hands until Jeff stuns him with a Russian leg sweep. Jeff elbows Miz in the face and then goes up top and hits the Whisper In the Wind for a two count. The Miz starts to fight back, but Jeff kicks him to the outside and follows up with a suicide dive. Jeff throws Miz back in the ring and goes up top. The Miz drops Jeff over the top rope then starts pummeling on him. The Miz climbs up for a superplex, but Jeff blocks it and hits a sunset flip powerbomb off the turnbuckle for a two count. Jeff looks for the Twist of Fate but Miz escapes again. Jeff boots Miz into the corner then hits the double kick to the chest. Jeff follows up with the Twist of Fate, then he goes back to the turnbuckle. Jeff connects with the Swanton Bomb but Miz gets the shoulder up. the Miz reverses the pin into a roll-up on Jeff, and Miz steals the three count for the win.
Winner: The Miz
– The Miz recovers at ringside as we go to replays. Jeff looks like he can’t believe it. The Miz is now qualified for the men’s Money In The Bank ladder match.
– We go backstage to Sheamus and Cesaro. Sheamus is eating Lucky Charms, and he says those are the only things that comfort him after his loss to Xavier Woods last week. Cesaro thinks he would have done better, and Sheamus gets in his face. Sheamus tells Cesaro to face Woods tonight and see if he can do any better. Cesaro opens up his luggage to find that it’s full of pancakes. Sheamus laughs, but Cesaro thinks it’s not funny at all. Sheamus opens his bag next and see that it’s also filled with pancakes, and Sheamus gets mad now too. The Bar starts freaking out and saying they hate pancakes.
– Still to come: Daniel Bryan vs. Rusev, and Charlotte vs. Peyton Royce in MITB qualifying matches.
– We go backstage for an interview with Sinsuke Nakamura, who once again says he can’t speak English because he forgot. Renee asks again if there’s anything he wants to say to AJ. He says AJ is nuts, but so is he, and they’re not finished.
– The announcers introduce some footage from Backlash of Charlotte supposedly injuring her knee in her match against Carmella.
– We see a pre-taped promo from Carmella who talks about beating Charlotte and wanting to celebrate. She says she won’t celebrate here in Batlimore, she’ll celebrate in London and it will be bigger than the Royal Wedding.
– WWE airs some pre-taped selfie-style promos from Tye Dillinger and Naomi discussing their intentions to win the Money In The Bank match.
– Charlotte vs. Peyton Royce: This one is a Money In The Bank qualifying match. The Iiconics come out and cut a promom on Charlotte before the match, showing some still photos on the big screen of Charlotte’s loss on Sunday. Peyton finally gets in the ring and the opening bell sounds. Charlotte starts off strong and repeatedly suplexes Peyton down to the mat. Charlotte chops Peyton and then hits a fallaway slam. Charlotte throws Peyton outside and she crashes in front of Billie on the floor. Charlotte follows her and they brawl around ringside. Peyton sends Charlotte into the ring post, then brings her back in the ring. Peyton tries to keep Charlotte grounded, and she gets frustrated after pinning for a two count. Peyton chokes Flair in the corner now until the referee breaks it up. Flair finally starts firing up and throwing strikes at Peyton. Flair drops her and then hits a belly to belly suplex. Peyton rolls outside after an assist from Billie, and Flair goes flying with a suicide dive. Flair only hits Billie, and then Peyton comes back and beats on Flair on the floor. The referee counts, and Peyton brings Charlotte back into the ring for a two count. Billie hits a cheap shot on Charlotte behind the ref’s back, and Peyton pins for another two count. Peyton misses a shot and Charlotte starts fighting back. Charlotte comes out of the corner with a big boot, then she climbs to the top turnbuckle. Charlotte goes for a moonsault, but Peyton blocks it with her knees. Charlotte starts selling her knee injury again, and Peyton beats on her while she’s down. Peyton continues the offense until Flair hits a spear for a two count. They grapple on the mat until Charlotte locks her in the Figure Four for the win via submission.
Winner: Charlotte Flair
– Charlotte looks up at the MITB briefcase hanging above the ring, as she has now qualified for the women’s MITB ladder match.
– Daniel Bryan is backstage for an interview about his MITB qualifying match against Rusev. Bryan talks about his feud with Cass, and then he reminisces about cashing in a Money In The Bank briefcase on The Big Show years ago. Bryan says he has a history of defying the odds, and tonight will be no different. He says he’ll find a way to win, and the bigger they are, the harder they fall.
– Still to come: Cesaro vs. Xavier Woods
– We see some pre-taped selfie videos from Shelton Benjamin and Asuka talking about the upcoming Money In the Bank pay-per-view.
– Xavier Woods vs. Cesaro: Kofi and Big E are at ringside in Woods’ corner, and Sheamus is at ringside in Cesaro’s corner. The opening bell sounds and they lock up. They trade holds as the crowd chants “we want pancakes.” Big E and Kofi start tossing pancakes int othe crowd from ringside. Cesaro drops Woods with a shoulder tackle off the ropes. They run the ropes again, but this time Woods drops Cesaro with a hurricanrana and then beats on him in the corner. Cesaro comes back with a gutwrench suplex and controls the next few moments of the match. Woods fights back with some kicks and he pins for a two count. Cesaro and Woods brawl back and forth now until Woods drives Cesaro face-first into the canvas for a near-fall. Sheamus gets on the apron to distract the ref, but Kofi gets involved too and evens the odds. Woods hits a Shining Wizard on Cesaro, while the ref is still distracted. Big E and Kofi team up to drop Sheamus at ringside, then Woods goes up to the top rope. Woods leaps, but Cesaro knocks him out of mid-air with an uppercut. Cesaro covers and scores the three count.
Winner: Cesaro
– Sheamus and Cesaro celebrate their win, while Kofi and Big E check on Woods in the ring.
– AJ Styles is backstage for an interview. We’re told AJ is not cleared to wrestle again yet after Backlash. Renee Young mentions that Nakamura said earlier tonight that he’s not done with AJ. AJ cuts her off and says he stooped to Nakamura’s level, and he doesn’t want to fight dirty, but he will if he has to and especially if his WWE Title is on the line. AJ says he will finish “the king of low-blows” Nakamura.
– Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville are shown backstage. Becky Lynch is also shown walking towards the gorilla position.
– We see a backstage segment with several WWE action figures laying around. The Bludgeon Brothers appear, and they cut a promo about people wanting to play with them and their toys.
– Mandy and Sonya are backstage talking about how this is a new start, and they can both be in Money In The Bank. Paige walks in and reminds them that Absolution is over, and she bans Sonya from ringside for Mandy’s match tonight. Paige walks off, and Mandy and Sonya aren’t happy.
– Becky Lynch vs. Mandy Rose: The opening bell sounds, and Becky and Mandy lock up and go back and forth with holds early on. Rose decks Becky with a dropkick and beats on her while she’s down. Rose keeps Becky grounded now and tosses her around the ring. Becky tries to get back in the game, but rose slams her back down and talks some trash. Becky finally starts fighting back and unloads with strikes. Becky hits an uppercut, then goes for the Disarm Her, but Rose escapes. Becky connects with a t-bone suplex, then lays into Rose with right hands. Becky looks for the springboard kick, but Rose counters and is able to roll up Becky for the three count. Becky and Mandy both look surprised by the win.
Winner: Mandy Rose
– Mandy immediately leaves the ring after the match and stands tall on the floor. She heads up the ramp as Becky looks on from the mat.
– We see a look back at Daniel Bryan cashing in his MITB contract against The Big Show in 2011 to become World Heavyweight Champion.
– Andrade “Cien” Almas and Zelina Vegas are advertised to make their SmackDown debuts next week in London.
– Daniel Bryan vs. Rusev: This one is a qualifying match for the MITB ladder match. Aiden English comes out to sing Rusev’s introduction. The bell sounds and Rusev and Bryan have a test of strength early on. They trade holds as the fans duel chants for both competitors. Rusev drops Bryan with a shoulder, then Bryan comes back with a single leg takedown. Bryan starts working over Rusev’s knees, then leys into him with kicks in the corner. Rusev fires up and slams Bryan down, then stomps a mud hole in him. Rusev charges, but Bryan ducks and Rusev falls out of the ring, crashing on the ringside floor. Bryan goes flying for a suicide dive, but Rusev catches him and throws him over the announce table. Rusev brings Bryan back in the ring and continues beating on him. Bryan finally comes back with a knee strike, then he hits some corner dropkicks. Bryan takes Rusev to the top turnbuckle and hits a hurricnarana. Bryan hits the “yes kicks,” but Rusev ducks one and drops Bryan. They grapple back and forth until Rusev hits a big boot for a two count. Fans continue to chant for both Rusev and Bryan, as Rusev looks for the Accolade. Bryan counters and puts Rusev in the Yes Lock, but Rusev grabs the ropes to break the hold. They trade strikes now until Bryan gets the better of things and stuns Rusev with a kicks. Aiden English now pulls Rusev outside to safety, so Bryan charges and kicks both of them through the ropes. Bryan goes flying off the apron and takes down Rusev at ringside. Bryan brings him back in the ring for a missile dropkick. Bryan is selling his ribs, but he gets up and waits in the corner as the “yes” chants start up. Bryan charges, but Rusev catches him and hits a gut buster. Rusev follows up with the Machka Kick for the three count.
Winner: Rusev
– Rusev has now earned a spot in the Money In the Bank ladder match. English hits the ring to celebrate with Rusev as we go to replays. Rusev and English start to head backstage and talk trash to Bryan from the ramp. Bryan looks disappointed in the ring as he sells a rib injury and SmackDown goes off the air.
Monday’s 5/7 edition of WWE Raw averaged 2,689,000 viewers, down from the 3,066,000 the previous week.
This was the least-watched episode of 2018 to date and the first time Raw dipped below 3 million viewers this year.
RAW featured fallout from Sunday’s Backlash pay-per-view, as well as Braun Strowman, Finn Balor and Ember Moon winning Money in the Bank qualifying matches.
Here’s the hourly breakdown, courtesy of Showbuzz Daily:
Hour 1: 2,788,000
Hour 2: 2,731,000
Hour 3: 2,549,000
RAW finished fourth for the evening on cable behind the Cleveland Cavaliers sweeping the Toronto Raptors in the NBA Playoffs, the Inside The NBA post-game show and Love & Hop Hop Atlanta.
Catch up on the Top 10 Moments from this week’s WWE Raw:
WWE Chairman Vince McMahon is still pushing forward with his plans for Roman Reigns. Since 2014, WWE has attempted to establish Reigns as their next “face of the company.” Reigns had headlined multiple major WWE pay-per-view events, including the last four WrestleManias (31 lost to Seth Rollins, 32 beat Triple H, 33 when he defeated The Undertaker, and 34 where he lost to Brock Lesnar). There has never been a babyface that has been pushed like Reigns that is disliked more by fans in the history of professional wrestling. Historically, when a babyface is not getting over with the crowd, the promoter or booker would turn them heel. Reigns is truly a different case in that sense.
Dave Meltzer discussed the current creative direction of Reigns’ character on the sports entertainment company’s flagship show, Monday Night RAW, during the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio:
“They’re trying to tell the story and I can’t believe it because they’ve been trying for a couple of months, but they’re still trying to tell the story that [Roman Reigns] is Daniel Bryan and management is screwing him over and that’s why he’s not the champion. But nobody buys it.”
“They’re trying to figure out a way to get people to cheer him. We’re supposed to think that all these things that happened — the whole thing that they favor Brock Lesnar but it didn’t work. I guess for whatever reason even though it didn’t work nobody has a better idea so that’s what they’re going with.”
As of this writing, Brock Lesnar has held the WWE Universal Championship for 400 days. If this latest news item regarding Lesnar’s status for Money in the Bank is accurate, the Beast should have no problem surpassing CM Punk’s 434 WWE Champion reign.
WWE recently announced that Lesnar has signed a new contract. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it’s been rumored that Lesnar signed a short-term deal that would keep him with the company through the summer.
Following a controversial title defense against Roman Reigns at the Greatest Royal Rumble, the Universal Champion was not on the line at Backlash this past weekend. Lesnar is not advertised to appear on Monday Night Raw over the next few weeks, but Money in the Bank on 6/17 would be the next logical opportunity to see the champ in action.
However, on the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer revealed that Lesnar is not scheduled to compete at Money in the Bank. “He might have agreed to do a deal until SummerSlam, or maybe the July show, but he’s not on this one.”
If in fact Brock Lesnar is winding down with WWE in the coming months, that leaves Extreme Rules (7/15 from Pittsburgh, PA) and possibly SummerSlam (8/19 from Brooklyn, NY) as potential venues for him to drop the Universal Championship.
Discussion: Which RAW Superstar will dethrone Brock Lesnar? Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, Seth Rollins or someone else?
– WWE has started a new feud involving former WWE Champion Jinder Mahal.
As seen on this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw in Uniondale, NY at the Nassau Coliseum on the USA Network, Mahal attacked Roman Reigns in the main event of the show when the former WWE Champion was competing against Sami Zayn and Finn Balor in a Triple Threat Money in the Bank qualifying match.
It appears that the sports entertainment company is building to a match between these two stars for the upcoming Money in the Bank pay-per-view event, which takes place on Sunday, June 17, 2018, in Chicago, Illinois at the Allstate Arena.
It should be noted that is pure speculation and has yet to be confirmed and/or announced. Mahal sent out the following tweets about the attack:
– WWE officials including Chairman Vince McMahon are likely very happy today (May 8, 2018) as the stock of the company passed 42.50 per share for the first time with a market cap of $3.25 billion.
With WWE’s TV rights deal expiring soon, stock for the promotion should look to increase in the coming months.
For first time, $WWE (#WWE#stock) passes both 42.50 per share, and $3.25Billion market cap
$WWE (#WWE stock) is now trading over 41.00 per share for the first time. 2 Years Ago, shares were less than 17.00 The stock is up about 147% in these last 2 years. So if you didn’t take my recommendation on this one… #ThatsNotAwesome
Ring of Honor has officially announced the in-ring return of Bully Ray.
Since September of last year, the WWE Hall of Famer has taken a step back from being an in-ring competitor as he has only worked two matches since that time.
He worked a New York Tag Team Street Fight in December at the Final Battle PPV event that saw him, and Tommy Dreamer lose to The Briscoes.
The second and most recent match that he worked took place last month at the Supercard Of Honor XII event where he and Cheeseburger went to a no contest with The Dawgs (Rhett Titus & Will Ferrara).
Ring of Honor will kick off their 2018 War of the Worlds tour tomorrow (May 9, 2018) in Lowell, MA at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium.
The promotion has announced that Ray would take on Cheeseburger in a singles match at the show. The event will stream live for Honorclub subscribers and will feature: *ROH champion Dalton Castle vs. Matt Taven. *Cody & Adam Page & Marty Scurll vs. Roppongi 3.0 & Rocky Romero. *The Young Bucks vs. BUSHI & Hiromu Takahashi. *ROH Tag Team Champions The Briscoes vs. Flip Gordon & Jushin Liger. *ROH Six Man Tag Team Champions So Cal Uncensored vs. Jay White & Chuckie T & Jay Lethal. *ROH TV Champion Silas Young & Beer City Bruiser & Brian Milonas vs. Tetsuya Naito & IWGP Tag Team Champions EVIL & SANADA. *The Kingdom vs. Coast 2 Coast. *Bully Ray vs., Cheeseburger.
– We are about a month removed from the WWE Superstar Shakeup, and former WWE NXT Champion Andrade “Cien” Almas has still yet to make his SmackDown Live debut.
Since it was announced that the sports entertainment company decided to call him up from the third WWE brand to the blue brand, WWE has aired video packages of his business manager, Zelina Vaga hyping the debut of the former champion.
It seems like it’s just a matter of time before he steps in between the blue ropes to make his in-ring SmackDown debut. Andrade sent out the following to tease his debut:
— “EL IDOLO” ANDRADE (@AndradeElIdolo) May 8, 2018
– It’s already been announced that Rusev will take on Daniel Bryan in a Money in the Bank qualifying match on this week’s episode of SmackDown Live in Baltimore, MD at the Royal Farms Arena on the USA Network.
The winner of this match will compete in the Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match at the upcoming pay-per-view event that takes place next month. To promote the match, the former United States champion sent out the following tweet:
Will Ospreay’s Frontline Wrestling promotion has announced the next two bouts for their upcoming debut event ‘Build Me An Empire.’
The two newly confirmed matches are being billed as ‘Championship Contender’ bouts and will see DEFIANT Wrestling Champion Rampage Brown take on Rob Lynch and Naoki Tanizaki face former PROGRESS World Champion Mark Haskins in what promises to be a technical masterpiece.
Tanizaki is most known for this time as part of the Japanese Dragon Gate promotion, he has held the Open The Brave Gate Championship on one occasion (other notable Champions of the title include Matt Sydal, CIMA, WWE’s Neville, Ricochet, Akira Tozawa, Flamita and Dragon Kid) and the Open the Triangle Gate Championship (Trios Championship) Six times.
As we already announced on the site last month: Pro Wrestling NOAH and Japanese legend Kenoh will be facing one of the UK’s standout talents; Chris Ridgeway in the main event of the show. Ridgeway is one of the most hard hitting and impactful performers on the scene today and his style meshes perfectly with the ‘British Puro’ aesthetic that Frontine are looking to bring on their cards. Company owner Will Ospreay mentioned in an exclusive interview with SEScoops that he wanted to bring Strong Style to Great Britain in a way that was authentic to the Japanese wrestling culture but still highlighted some of the stellar talent that is being produced on UK shores.
Progress is headed to the United States this summer for a 5-show tour that will include the popular UK promotion’s first-ever event from Chicago.
On Tuesday, the company announced more details on the tour:
8/4: New York City
8/5: Boston
8/9: Seattle
8/11: Chicago
8/12: Detroit
Progress is partnering with Evolve to present double-headers in each city except Seattle. Evolve will run in the afternoons and Progress. (Double-header events will be ticketed separately, no combo tickets.)
Tickets for Chicago and Detroit will be available to buy in person when Evolve hits those cities on the 19th and 20th May. Stay tuned with more information regarding venues and ticket on-sale dates.
On Monday’s RAW, Finn Balor qualified for Money in the Bank by defeating Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn in a triple threat match. In doing so, he got one step closer to challenging for the WWE Universal Championship.
Balor is no stranger to championship now held by Brock Lesnar. He was the inaugural Universal Champion, defeating Seth Rollins for that honor back at SummerSlam 2016. Due to a shoulder injury sustained during that match, Balor was forced to surrender the title just 24 hours later. Since that fateful night, Finn Balor has yet to make another run at the Universal title.
During an interview that took place backstage after RAW, Finn Balor acknowledged the talk that he is owed a rematch for the Universal Championship. Balor says he’s not looking for any handouts. He plans to take back what’s his and sees a clear path ahead for him to do just that.
“A year in a half ago, I lost the Universal Title by forfeit. Now a lot of people are talking about how Finn deserves a rematch, Finn is owed a rematch. Finn isn’t owed anything. Finn doesn’t want anything. I want to earn my rematch. That journey starts today.”
Balor said that he plans to win the Money in the Bank ladder match. When the time is right, he’ll cash in that MITB contract and will win back the Universal Championship “the hard way.”
New Japan Pro Wrestling has announced that Day 1 of their upcoming Best of the Super Juniors (BOSJ) Tournament will be free to view on the NJPWWorld.com streaming service.
The first night will be taking place on May 18th from the world famous Korakuen Hall, the main event of that show will see IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay take on the newest member of the NJPW roster: Taiji Ishimori. Ishimori attacked Ospreay during his recent defence of his title against KUSHIDA, the former Pro Wrestling NOAH star was revealed as the new ‘Bone Solider’ character before laying out the Champion and now Ospreay has his chance at vengeance.
Other Round 1 matches scheduled for the first night are as follows:
YOH vs BUSHI
Flip Gordon vs ACH
Tiger Mask vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru
You can find more information on the tournament via NJPW1972.com or you can keep track of all the NJPW News as it happens right here on SEScoops.
PROGRESS Wrestling presented their Super Strong Style 16 tournament this past weekend and we have a ton of news coming out from the culmination of this historic weekender. Keep up with all of our daily coverage on the UK’s biggest promotion here.
One of the most shocking moments came on Monday night, the longest reigning PROGRESS World Champion Jimmy Havoc had just taken part in a hellacious Deathmatch with US star Joey Janela when his arch nemesis and IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay made his return to the company.
Ospreay stated that he had returned to PROGRESS to challenge Havoc, but he wanted the “sadistic, psychotic and twisted” version of the former World Champion at the Wembley Arena Supershow on September 30th and not (as he described) “a bloke called James.” Many fans in Alexandra Palace described this as one of the greatest moments in PROGRESS history and it will be available to view in full on PROGRESS’ On Demand service within a week.
WWE United Kingdom Champion and former PROGRESS World Champion Pete Dunne has been issued a challenge that will pit him against one of the more underrated stars of the European independent scene.
Promoter of Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw) Christian Michael Jakobi appeared during PROGRESS Wrestling’s Super Strong Style 16 event and challenged the reigning WWE UK Champion to a bout against the wXw World United Heavyweight Champion…Ilja Dragunov.
Dragunov became the wXw Champion during the company’s 16 Carat Gold 2018 event back in March of this year, he defeated then Champion John Klinger and WWE linked star WALTER in an incredible bout that headlined day two of the tournament. This marked the return of Dragunov to the company and he received a thunderous reception from the wXw fanbase.
The date of this European super bout has not yet been confirmed however the likelihood is that it will be one of the headliners during the co-branded PROGRESS/wXw tour which takes place late August/early September.
WWE reported Sunday night that Alexa Bliss suffered a shoulder injury. Bliss lost a WWE Raw Women’s Championship match at Backlash to Nia Jax. Sources also stated that the injury was legitimate and not a part of a storyline.
Bliss’ shoulder was scheduled to be further evaluated at Raw on Monday. Speculation is that Bliss’ shoulder was not as bad as originally believed as Nia Jax stated on Twitter she’s scheduled for the upcoming European tour.
It’s really tough to determine who is bullying who in this storyline sometimes.
Alexa Bliss vs Nia Jax
Alexa Bliss reported to the WWE Performance Center in 2013. Nia Jax would do the same the following year. Throughout that time, Bliss and Jax developed a friendship which has been referenced on WWE programming frequently.
At WrestleMania 34, Nia Jax defeated her friend to win her first ever WWE championship. For two wrestlers who went through the WWE developmental process together, wrestling in that match against one another would have been a special achievement for both.
Backlash 2018 was the 4th singles match the two have had against one another. Despite going through NXT together, they never wrestled each other on the brand. Here are the results from the 4 head-to-head matches between rivals/friends Alexa Bliss and Nia Jax:
Monday Night Raw June 5th, 2017 WWE Raw Women’s Championship
Alexa Bliss (c) defeated Nia Jax via DQ
Monday Night Raw September 18th, 2017
Nia Jax defeated Alexa Bliss
WrestleMania 34 April 8th, 2018 WWE Raw Women’s Championship
Nia Jax defeated Alexa Bliss (c) (new champion)
Backlash 2018
May 6th, 2018 WWE Raw Women’s Championship
Nia Jax (c) defeated Alexa Bliss
The only time Alexa Bliss has defeated Nia Jax was via DQ. Other than that, Nia Jax has won every match the two have had.
It will be interesting to see who gets the next shot at Nia Jax’s title. If Bliss isn’t injured she could still be in the running, though after dropping her title rematch it could be time for a new challenger to emerge.
Arguably the biggest Independent wrestling company in the United Kingdom PROGRESS has crowned the winner of their highly prestigious Super Strong Style 16 tournament. The 2018 iteration of the tournament took place over three days at the world famous Alexandra Palace in London, England and featured some of the biggest names in Indie wrestling.
New Japan Pro Wrestling star and member of the Suzuki-Gun stable Zack Sabre Jr defeated NXT’s Kassius Ohno in the final of the tournament and elected to take his World Title shot at PROGRESS’ upcoming mega event in Wembley Arena.
Current reigning PROGRESS World Champion Travis Banks successfully defended his title on day 2 of the weekender against ATLAS Champion and WWE linked star WALTER. Whether Travis is able to make it to PROGRESS’ biggest ever show in Wembley as the Champion will be tested as WALTER vacated his ATLAS division belt to chase the more coveted PROGRESS World belt.
– There were some fans in attendance of this week’s episode of Monday Night RAW in Uniondale, NY at the Nassau Coliseum on the USA Network that were not happy.
Coming off the heels of Sunday’s (May 6, 2018) WWE Backlash pay-per-view event in Newark, New Jersey at the Prudential Center on the WWE Network, which was heavily criticized by fans of the sports entertainment company, many people believed that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon would deliver with a good episode of RAW.
It was a solid show. However, there were some people who attended RAW this week that were unhappy.
Reddit user Mattytredeuce for the following, “Just left the building after Raw tonight, and I am incredibly disappointed and need to get this off my chest. First off this was not my first raw, but this is the worst I’ve ever experienced. I know I’m not the first to point out how bad the live crowds have been lately, but tonight was ridiculous. When you buy a ticket to these shows you have every right to enjoy yourselves as you see fit, but is it so hard to show a little respect? Both Elias and Bobby Roode got decent reactions before their match, solely because Elias sings and Roode’s song is fun. The minute the match started, out came the beach balls followed by dueling chants of “let’s go yankees/let’s go mets” (get it, we’re in New York) One fan got escorted out and began throwing punches at the security guard, lovely. There were multiple good, exciting matches tonight and all anyone in the crowd could care about was their 5 seconds of fame. What a disgrace.”
Reddit user zeppelin1023 wrote, “Was live at the show and just wanted to talk about something that came across really manipulative and kind of gross. So Jinder comes out to the ring for his match against Chad Gable. Does the whole pose etc and we go to commercial. They show us a bunch of different ads and whatnot. And then we get to the last commercial before coming back. And it was an ad for Tribute To The Troops. This Immediately caught my eye because i thought it was weird they would play an ad for that so early in the year. So the commercial ends with a big flag waving and U.S.A being chanted so the arena naturally starts to chant that as well JUST as the cameras come back to Raw. I really don’t know/hope this wasn’t intentional but i am so tired of this Xenaphobic garbage WWE can’t seem to get over. Especially in this day and age where this is the last thing we need. It’s tiresome and disgusting.”
– WWE’s streaming service, WWE Network, premiered the first episode of season 2 of Table for 3 this week that featured AJ Styles, Kurt Angle, and Shane McMahon. Here are the rest of the guest list for upcoming episodes of the series:
WWE fans were talking about what was shown on the latest episode of Table for 3.
In case you haven’t seen the show on the sports entertainment company’s streaming service, WWE Network, the show is about WWE superstars from the past and present sit down to dinner and reminisce about their careers.
This week’s episode of the series, which was the start of season 2, featured Kurt Angle, Shane McMahon, and WWE Champion AJ Styles. During the episode, WWE used some old footage of Styles and Angle from their time in TNA. WWE advertised Impacts ‘Global Wrestling Network App’ as a tradeoff for using the footage, as seen here:
Unlike in the past, WWE is no longer against either mentioning or using footage from other wrestling promotions. They even interviewed former TNA President Dixie Carter for an episode of WWE 24 that was about Angle’s return to the WWE.
What are your thoughts on WWE being open about other wrestling promotions? Sound off in the comment section below.
– WWE Hall of Famer Booker T is returning to WWE’s flagship show, Monday Night RAW, soon.
If you recall, the last time that we saw the former World Champion on WWE television was last month when he filled in for Jonathan Coachman.
Now, Booker T will be replacing Coachman once again for next week’s episode of RAW as the sports entertainment company tapes the show in London, England at the O2 Arena. As of this writing, there’s no word yet on why Coachman is off next week.
– As seen on this week’s episode of Monday Night RAW in Uniondale, NY at the Nassau Coliseum on the USA Network, Ember Moon defeated Sasha Banks and Ruby Riott in a Triple Threat qualifying match for the Money in the Bank ladder match that takes place at the upcoming pay-per-view event next month.
RAW Women’s Champion Nia Jax took to Twitter to send a warning to the rest of the competitors that will be in the match:
Public officials from Orange County, Florida are looking to bring WrestleMania to Orlando for a third time.
ClickOrlando.com reports that the a vote is scheduled for Tuesday that would earmark $1 million in spending to bring WrestleMania back to Orlando in 2023 or 2025. There will also be a vote to spend another $2 million to host the Special Olympic Games in 2022.
Last year’s WrestleMania 33 from Orlando brought approximately $150 million to the local economy. WWE has a strong relationship with the city of Orlando, which plays home to the company’s world-class talent development Performance Center.
Orlando is not the only city hoping to secure WrestleMania in 2023 and 2025. Less than a week ago, Tampa Bay Sports Commission Executive Director Rob Higgins announced his city would be submitting a bid to bring WrestleMania to Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium in 2023, ’24 or ’25.
Cities competing for the right the host WrestleMania is nothing new, but it’s interesting to see negotiations are underway for an event that’s won’t be taking place for another 7 years.
