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G1 Climax 2018 Dates Released

Jake Skudder
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New Japan Pro Wrestling has announced the dates for their annual G1 Climax tournament, the 2018 iteration will be taking place from Saturday July 14th to Sunday August 12th. NJPW released the following statement on their NJPW1972.com English language site regarding the dates, arenas and tag line for the 28th G1 Climax:

The G1 Climax is the most physically and emotionally demanding month for the creme de la creme of professional wrestling. Its eventual victor has to have the will to outlast and overcome the best competition in the world night in and night out, a sentiment that is captured by this year’s tagline:

G1 Climax 28: Be A Survivor!

This year, the G1 Climax starts in Tokyo’s Ota Ward in the Ota General Gymnasium on Saturday July 14 and Sunday July 15. Then, it’s up north to Hokkaido Monday July 16 and Hokkai Kita Yell.

We then go back to Tokyo for three nights in Korakuen from Thursday July 19 through to Saturday the 21st, before a first for the G1 Climax in Hachioji’s Esforta Arena on Sunday July 22.

Osaka always sees some of the most explosive moments in the G1, and now there’s double the excitement as we rock Edion arena in Osaka for two nights August 4th and 5th. Finally, for the first time in G1 history, and the first time in 14 years for New Japan, we head to the Nippon Budokan for three nights from Friday August 10 to Sunday August 12.

Here are the full dates for the tournament, the shows that will be aired on NJPWWorld.com have not yet been confirmed:

  • Saturday July 14 • Tokyo • Ota General Gymnasium (opening day)
  • Sunday July 15 • Tokyo • Ota General Gymnasium
  • Monday July 16 • Hokkaido • Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center Hokkai Kita Yell
  • Thursday July 19 • Tokyo • Korakuen Hall
  • Friday July 20 • Tokyo • Korakuen Hall
  • Saturday July 21 • Tokyo • Korakuen Hall
  • Sunday July 22 • Tokyo • Hachioji Esforta Arena
  • Thursday July 26 • Niigata • Aore Nagaoka
  • Friday July 27 • Shizuoka • Act City Hamamatsu
  • Saturday July 28 • Aichi • Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium
  • Monday July 30 • Kagawa • Takamatsu City General Gymnasium Arena 1
  • Wednesday August 1 • Kagoshima • Kagoshima Arena
  • Thursday August 2 • Fukuoka • Fukuoka Public Gymnasium
  • Saturday August 4 • Osaka • Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium (Edion Arena Osaka)
  • Sunday August 5 • Osaka • Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium (Edion Arena Osaka)
  • Wednesday August 8 • Kanagawa • Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium
  • Friday August 10 • Tokyo • Nippon Budokan
  • Saturday August 11 • Tokyo • Nippon Budokan
  • Sunday August 12 • Tokyo • Nippon Budokan (Finals)

RAW Preview: Next Stop, WrestleMania!

Staff
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The final edition of WWE RAW before WrestleMania 34 takes place tonight from Atlanta, GA at the Philips Arena.

The top item WWE is advertising for the show is a face-to-face confrontation between the two teams squaring off in Sunday’s big mixed-tag team special attraction match: Kurt Angle and Ronda Rousey vs. Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.

With WrestleMania just six days away, John Cena is still without an opponent for WWE’s biggest show of the year. After weeks of calling out The Undertaker – will the Dead Man, or another persona of his, emerge tonight to answer the challenge?

Finn Balor and Seth Rollins both challenge The Miz for the Intercontinental Championship this weekend in a triple threat match. Tonight, the two men will battle one-on-one.

After being brutalized by Brock Lesnar last week, what’s going through Roman Reigns’ mind ahead of the fight of his life?

Plus, who will Braun Strowman select as his tag team partner for WrestleMania?

Join us here tonight for our Live Coverage of tonight’s WWE RAW!

Catch up on the Top 10 Moments from last week’s show:

Riptide Wrestling (UK) Announce ‘RIPTIDE RUMBLE’ Event for 6/1

Jake Skudder
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UK based promotion RIPTIDE Wrestling has announced that they will be hosting their first ever RUMBLE event this June.

The upstart promotion from Brighton, England have been building a huge underground following ever since their first event in June of 2017 (Beers. Bands. Wrestling). With a unique presentation style and some of the best names available on the UK and European independent scene RIPTIDE look set to build upon their already impressive following way before even their first anniversary as a company.

No names have yet been announced for the ‘RIPTIDE RUMBLE’ but you can expect company regulars such as Chris Brookes, Kid Lykos, Chief Deputy Dunne, Drew Parker, Jimmy Havoc, British Strong Style (Pete Dunne & Trent Seven) and Aussie Open to potentially make an appearance.

If you’ve never had the chance to watch a RIPTIDE bout then check out the match below from BRIGHTON SPIRIT between #CCK member Chris Brookes and Jonah Rock:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4I9XW3mgGXo&t=351s

https://twitter.com/RIPTIDEwres/status/980480110041161728

Sakura Genesis Results: Golden Lovers Defeated, Okada Ties Record, more…

Chris Stephens
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In the main event of NJPW’s Sakura Genesis, Kazuchika Okada successfully defended his IWGP Heavyweight Championship. It was the 11th straight title defense for Okada, tying Tanahashi’s record. Now Okada and Tanahashi are scheduled for the next title match.

Also yesterday in Tokyo, Cody and Hangman Page pulled off a surprising upset over the Golden Lovers.

Sakura Genesis Results

  1. the Young Bucks defeated Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi
  2. Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii defeated Takashi Iizuka & Taichi
  3. NEVER 6-Man Tag Team Championships
    Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa (c) defeated Michael Elgin, Ryusuke Taguchi, and Togi Makabe
  4. David Finlay, Juice Robinson, and Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Yoshi-Hashi, Jay White, and Hirooki Goto
  5. Davey Boy Smith Jr, Lance Archer, and Minoru Suzuki defeated Sanada, EVIL, and Tetsuya Naito
  6. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships
    3-Way
    El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru (c) defeated Roppongi 3k and Bushi & Hiromu Takahashi
  7. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
    Will Ospreay (c) defeated Marty Scurll
  8. Cody and Hangman Page defeated the Golden Lovers (Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi)
  9. IWGP Heavyweight Championship
    Kazuchika Okada (c) defeated Zack Sabre Jr.

Massive Matches Announced for PROGRESS WrestleMania Weekend Shows

Jake Skudder
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PROGRESS Wrestling will be heading to the United States once again for WrestleMania weekend but on this occasion their shows will be taking extra prevalence. This year will mark the first time that PROGRESS has hosted ‘Chapter’ events outside of the United Kingdom and as such some absolutely huge matches have been announced for New Orleans.

These shows will be the only place to see Mark Andrews, Trent Seven, Tyler Bate and Pete Dunne outside of any WWE contracted events that they will be working, so this is an absolute must see for any independent wrestling fans making their way to New Orleans.

April 6th will be the date for Chapter 66: Mardi Graps and April 7th for Chapter 67: Bourbon is Also a Biscuit. The following matches have been announced for the two shows:

April 6th

  • WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne vs ‘Flash’ Morgan Webster vs Mark Andrews
  • PROGRESS World Championship Match – Travis Banks (c) vs Shane Strickland
  • Ringkampf vs Sexy Starr
  • Jinny & Mercedes Martinez vs PROGRESS Women’s Champion Toni Storm & Shazza Mckenzie

April 7th

  • PROGRESS World Championship Number 1 Contenders Match – ATLAS Champion WALTER vs Zack Sabre Jr

Vader Expresses Gratitude Following Open-Heart Surgery

Fernando Quiles Jr.
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6

Vader has provided another update on his condition after undergoing open-heart surgery.

The former WWE, WCW, NJPW, and AJPW star hasn’t been in the best of heath in recent years. He is coming off open-heart surgery. The surgery was a success, but Vader admitted he was in a great deal of pain.

A few days later, Vader is still dealing with pain but he is grateful. Check out his latest tweet below:

Vader has accomplished more than most ever will in professional wrestling. He’s a three-time WCW champion, three-time IWGP Heavyweight champion, and a two-time Triple Crown Heavyweight champion under the AJPW banner.

In 1993, the big man earned “Wrestler of the Year” honors from both the Wrestling Observer Newsletter and Pro Wrestling Illustrated. That year, his attention shifted solely to WCW.

He joined the WWE in 1996. Vader made an immediate impact, taking out on-camera WWE president Gorilla Monsoon. He never won any titles in the promotion, but he did take home a Slammy award for “Crime of the Century” due to his attack of Monsoon. “The Mastodon” challenged Shawn Michaels for the WWE title, but was unsuccessful.

His run in AJPW was the last time he was viewed as a true threat in wrestling. His feud with the late Mitsuharu Misawa as well as his past work in Japan helped him along the way.

Impact Wrestling Touts Highest Viewership in 20 Months

Fernando Quiles Jr.
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The folks over at Impact Wrestling have found some success.

Since Anthem took over Impact Wrestling, many wondered what the future would hold. At first, the direction of the show seemed to be in the hands of Jeff Jarrett and Scott D’Amore. It wasn’t long before Jarrett made a second exit from the promotion.

Now, New Japan Pro Wrestling color commentator Don Calis is at the helm along with D’Amore. For the most part, Impact has held steady in the 300k range for their episodes on Pop TV. The most recent episode, however saw a sizable spike up.

The March 29 edition of the show took in 399k viewers. That’s up from the 365k number last week and it’s the most watched episode of Impact in 20 months. The promotion took to Twitter to thank fans for tuning in:

This week’s episode of Impact featured a champion vs. champion match. World champion Austin Aries took on Grand champion Matt Sydal. Both titles were on the line.

Also featured on the card was a match between two powerhouses. Former TNA World champion Lashley took on Brian Cage. In addition to that, Eddie Edwards traveled to Ohio to find oVe and Sami Callihan.

Jimmy Hart To Induct Hillbilly Jim Into The WWE Hall Of Fame

Robert Lentini
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4

WWE announced today that Jimmy Hart will induct Hillbilly Jim into the WWE Hall of Fame on April 6th. Hillbilly Jim will be inducted alongside Goldberg, The Dudley Boyz, Ivory, Jeff Jarrett, Mark Henry, Kid Rock and Warrior Award recipient Jarrius “JJ” Robertson.

Hart said the following at the Andre the Giant documentary premiere about inducting Hillbilly Jim into the WWE Hall of Fame:

“I am so excited about doing that. First of all, I am excited about being at WrestleMania. It is a such a big thrill for me because a lot of people don’t know that Howard Finkel saw my Memphis tapes, called Hillbilly Jim and he called me to go to the first WrestleMania in New York. So that is how I really got signed up by the WWE”.

On his experiences with Hillbilly Jim:

“Well, he was my roommate on Legends’ House of course. We go back a long way, almost 34 years, can you believe that? We’ve played music together, we laughed and we cried together in the Legends’ House. I am so excited about this”.

Shawn Michaels on Daniel Bryan’s Return: ‘This Isn’t a Comeback, This is a Second Chance’

Fernando Quiles Jr.
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8

Shawn Michaels has spoken on Daniel Bryan’s return to in-ring competition and he couldn’t be happier.

News of Bryan’s medical clearance took the wrestling world by storm. WWE wasted little time getting the former WWE World Heavyweight champion in the swing of things. On the March 20 edition of SmackDown Live, Bryan was attacked by Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn to set up Bryan’s return to the ring for WrestleMania 34.

One man who is no stranger to Bryan’s journey is “HBK.” Bryan trained under the tutelage of Michaels at the Texas Wrestling Academy. Bryan ended up becoming one half of the TWA Tag Team champions in early 2000.

WWE recently rolled out a video where Michaels talks about Bryan’s medical clearance. Here is some of what he had to say:

“Like everybody else I was pulling for him because I know what it’s like to be forced away from this before you’re ready to let it go. I know it’s a special moment for him, clearly it’s an unbelievably special moment for the fans. This isn’t a comeback, this is a second chance. He’s a wonderful young man and I know he’s gonna make the most of this opportunity for sure.”

Rocky Romero Talks Having Creative Freedom in NJPW

Fernando Quiles Jr.
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0

Rocky Romero likes having free reign in New Japan Pro Wrestling.

Throughout the years, Romero has found success in NJPW’s junior heavyweight and junior tag team divisions. As Black Tiger IV, Romero captured the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title. He’s also captured IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team gold eight times.

Nowadays, Romero finds himself as the head honcho of Roppongi 3K along with Sho and Yoh. Romero was the coach of the team, but recently revealed Sho and Yoh no longer need to be coached. He still accompanies them to the ring and acts as a manager.

UPROXX recently caught up with Romero, who talked about his creative freedom in NJPW:

“We have all the creativity in New Japan. We really have free reign there. Character-wise you can do whatever you want, you can say whatever you want. There’s no restrictions to anything. That’s why you’ve seen those funny, mean videos of Tama Tonga and Tanga Roa cursing up a storm.

“There’s nobody to tell us that we can’t. Really, to work for such a big company and have that much freedom, it’s unheard of. I didn’t have to separate things or compartmentalize and say ‘Okay, well I’m going to use this for this.’ It was like cool, the music fit into the character, then this, and I just added stuff that was actually me and not just playing a role for somebody like I did in Mexico whatever. It just all came together and then I just kept coming. I was just like I’m going to keep creating stuff until somebody tells me, ‘Hey, you should stop doing that, because it’s not very good.'”

ROH COO Joe Koff: Supercard of Honor XII Will be a Sellout

Fernando Quiles Jr.
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4

Ring of Honor COO Joe Koff believes Supercard of Honor XII will be a sellout.

Supercard of Honor XII takes place on April 7 live from the UNO Lakefront Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana. In the main event, Kenny Omega will take on Cody in a bout that may give us some clarity on the direction of Bullet Club. Also set for the card, ROH World champion Dalton Castle will defend his title against Marty Scurll.

The card is also stacked with New Japan Pro Wrestling talent such as Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, and Tomohiro Ishii. The first Women of Honor champion will also be crowned following semi-finals matches and of course the finals in the Women of Honor tournament.

Speaking to Cageside Seats, Koff said the event will sell out:

“We’re getting prepared. It’s our biggest crowd to date. We’re trying to anticipate the crowd and be ready for them in every way we can. The building is set up for roughly about 6,000. We’re coming up on that number. It’s pretty exciting. It will be a sellout. It’s amazing, too, considering last year when we ran Lakeland, which was a good hour to hour-and-a-half from Orlando for WrestleMania week. The number escapes me, but it was well over 3,000. And I said, Oh my god, that was amazing. One year later, we’ve now almost doubled our crowd. It’s pretty exciting.”

Cody Changing Bullet Club Logo, David Arquette is All In?

Fernando Quiles Jr.
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10

Cody Promises Change To Bullet Club Logo

Cody has quickly become a polarizing heel in wrestling. From turning on Kenny Omega, to tearing the Bullet Club apart, Cody has garnered some serious heat. His recent announcement has created some more buzz and even hatred.

The former Ring of Honor World champion recently took to Twitter to claim he is changing the Bullet Club logo next week. The logo has become iconic even outside of the wrestling world. In it, fans have even been seen wearing the faction’s shirts at WWE events. We’re not talking just one or two people, either.

Here is Cody’s tweet:

Is David Arquette “All In?”

The All In event may be getting a former WCW World champion, although it’s not one who many are expecting. Actor David Arquette is still a huge fan of wrestling. In fact, on an episode of Monday Night Raw back in 2010, he teamed with Alex Riley to take on Randy Orton. It didn’t go so well for Arquette, as he was powerbombed through a table.

Arquette recently went on Twitter to show support for Matt Hardy’s new shirt on WWE Shop by saying, “I’m in.” Nick Jackson of The Young Bucks asked Arquette if he was “All In.” Arquette replied with the following:

https://twitter.com/DavidArquette/status/979922901821399040

Paul Heyman: Brock Lesnar Wants to Fight Again But Don’t Rule Out Future with WWE

Staff
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Brock Lesnar will once again become the most coveted free agent in professional wrestler or mixed martial arts in just a matter of days.

The reigning WWE universal champion has a contract that reportedly runs through WrestleMania 34 where he will compete in the main event against Roman Reigns. Now it’s entirely possible that Lesnar will opt to remain with WWE but there’s also little doubt that he would love the opportunity to fight in the UFC again.

Lesnar is a former heavyweight champion but at 40 years of age, time will begin ticking away on how much longer he has left to compete with the best fighters in the world so his next contract negotiation may decide that.

Paul Heyman, who has worked alongside Lesnar for nearly two decades, knows that Lesnar is seriously considering a return to the UFC even if some believe that’s just a negotiating tactic to get the WWE to offer him a bigger deal.

‘I don’t think it’s any secret that Brock is looking to get back into the Octagon,” Heyman told Newsweek about Lesnar’s future. “He is obviously eyeballing another fight in UFC. There’s no secret. He’s posing for pictures with Dana White wearing a UFC shirt in the UFC offices in Las Vegas.

“That’s not a negotiating tactic, Brock Lesnar wants to compete inside of the Octagon. There’s no leveraging that; it’s a fact.”

“That’s not a negotiating tactic, Brock Lesnar wants to compete inside of the Octagon.” ~ Paul Heyman

While it might seems that Lesnar is stuck in an ‘either/or’ situation, Heyman suggests that it’s still entirely possible that the hulking heavyweight has an opportunity to do both at the same time.

Lesnar’s last fight inside the Octagon took place at UFC 200 while he was still under contract with WWE. Vince McMahon signed off on allowing Lesnar to fight again while UFC president Dana White was more than happy to have him back if only for one night.

There’s no telling if that would happen again but it’s entirely possible Lesnar could use that as part of his deal to re-sign with WWE so long as they allow him to pursue another fight in the UFC.

“Brock Lesnar fought Mark Hunt at UFC 200 and, six weeks later, main evented SummerSlam against Randy Orton,” Heyman said. “Brock Lesnar can do both and he has proven that time and time again.”

Because Lesnar rarely makes public appearances much less does interviews, he’s been quiet on any decision making about his future behind his current contract.

As for Heyman, he’ll certainly address Lesnar and much more during WrestleMania 34 weekend when he conducts a popular one man show in New Orleans where he engages with fans and answers questions on stage.

Will Brock Lesnar return to WWE or go back to fight again in the UFC? Sound off in the comments and let us know!

AXS TV Airing NJPW Strong Style Evolved Replay Tonight (March 30)

Fernando Quiles Jr.
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0

If you missed NJPW Strong Style Evolved, now is your chance to catch it.

This past Sunday night (March 25), Strong Style Evolved took place from the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California. In the main event, the Golden Lovers (Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi) took on The Young Bucks. Also featured on the card was an IWGP United States title match between champion “Switchblade” Jay White and Hangman Page.

A replay is set to air on AXS TV tonight (March 30) at 8 p.m. ET. Below is the card for Strong Style Evolved:

6-Man Tag Team Match: Sho, Yoh, & Rocky Romero vs. Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, & Scorpio Sky

Tag Team Match: Hiroki Goto & Gedo vs. Juice Robinson & David Finlay

Tag Team Match: Killer Elite Squad vs. Chuckie T. & Toru Yano

Tag Team Match: Guerrillas of Destiny vs. Cody & Marty Scurll

8-Man Tag Team Match: Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, Hiromu Takahashi, & Bushi vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, KUSHIDA, Ryusuke Taguchi, & Dragon Lee

Special Singles Match: Will Ospreay vs. Jushin Thunder Liger

Tag Team Match: Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Minoru Suzuki

IWGP United States Title Match: “Switchblade” Jay White (C) vs. Hangman Page

Tag Team Match: Golden Lovers (Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi) vs. The Young Bucks

Tenille Dashwood on Joining Bullet Club: ‘You Never Know What’s Ahead’

Fernando Quiles Jr.
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14

Tenille Dashwood has heard the demand for her arrival in Bullet Club.

For over six years, Dashwood performed for the WWE. In August 2012, she used the in-ring name “Emma.” Dashwood was released back in Oct. 2017 following her match against Asuka at the TLC pay-per-view.

Dashwood has quickly found success in the independent circuit and Ring of Honor. She is a heavy favorite to win the Women of Honor tournament. The winner of the tourney will become the first ROH Women of Honor champion. Dashwood will meet Sumie Sakai in a semi-finals match at Supercard of Honor XII. The winner will advance to the finals that same night on April 7.

During a recent ROH live stream, Cody said he wants to add women to the Bullet Club and has two names in mind. He didn’t reveal those names, but Dashwood has been someone who fans have been wanting to see represent the faction.

During an interview with WrestleZone.com, Dashwood talked about potentially joining the Bullet Club:

“It all just depends on the situation. They would have to do some sweet talking and we’d have to work some things out. You never know what’s ahead. I’m not saying yes or no, I’m saying it depends.”

Paul Heyman Talks About Ronda Rousey In WWE, Hulk Hogan Returning

Staff
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Paul Heyman spoke with Digital Spy this week to promote next weekend’s WrestleMania 34 pay-per-view. Heyman will be ringside for the main event when his client Brock Lesnar defends the WWE Universal Championship against Roman Reigns.

Just days before WWE’s biggest show of the year, Lesnar’ advocate will be the star of An Evening With Paul Heyman, a one-man stage show at the Joy Theater in New Orleans on Thursday night, April 5th.

Heyman spoke to Digital Spy about a number of topics, including his role as Bill Goldberg’s Hall of Fame inductor, CM Punk’s UFC career, the recent controversy surrounding the Fabulous Moolah, The Undertaker’s in-ring future and much more.

Here are some highlights of what Heyman said about:

Hulk Hogan Returning to WWE

“I’m not a ticket buyer. Nor am I part of the target demographic that is catered to to subscribed to the WWE Network. So whether or not I want Hulk Hogan back in WWE is irrelevant. It’s whether the audience and the advertisers and the sponsors and the chairman of the board want Hulk Hogan back in WWE.

“And when those stars align Hulk Hogan will be back and until then he won’t. My opinion on Hulk Hogan coming back to WWE, whether pro or con, is irrelevant and so is everyone else’s besides the audience itself, the sponsors themselves and the chairman himself.

“As for Hulk Hogan stepping into the ring with Brock Lesnar, Brock Lesnar is focused on April 8, he’s focused on Roman Reigns, he’s focusd on the main event of WrestleMania. We have not discussed any potential WWE opponents past April 8 because Brock’s focus is on delivering a main event for the ages at WrestleMania this year.”

Ronda Rousey in WWE

“Ronda Rousey is a woman of extraordinary accomplishment and anything that Ronda Rousey does is going to come with extreme scrutiny because she is such a pivotal figure in not only American sports but in global sports as well.

“Just remember Dana White was asked about a woman fighting in the Octagon as UFC was negotiating to buy out Strikeforce where Ronda Rousey was the biggest star. And Dana White said not only would a woman would never main event UFC, a woman will never fight in UFC.

“Within a year of that statement Ronda Rousey was main eventing a major UFC event. Ronda Rousey is a groundbreaker. She is one who charts through territory that has never been explored before and is one of the biggest sports stars in the world, male or female.

“I don’t think anything Ronda Rousey does is going to be the norm. I think everything she does is going to be to set a new trend and blaze a new trail.”

Visit Digital Spy to check out the full interview.

Triple H Talks Possibly Holding WWE PPV Event In UK Again, His Longevity In Pro Wrestling

Andrew Ravens
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6

While Triple H got a bad wrap for marrying Vince McMahon’s daughter when he was still an active wrestler, not many people thought that he would be in the position that he is now.

While it was believed that Triple H would be an executive in WWE, it was pretty much ruled out that he would be the guy in control of everything. Triple H even went on record by saying that he didn’t want to wear a tie and suit.

However, that all changed when McMahon pushed for his son-in-law to slowly but surely become someone he could lean on not only with creative but business related things.

Triple H recently did an interview with Raute Musik to talk about various topics. During the interview, he was asked if he’ll be in the business as long as Vince Vince McMahon.

“I think for Vince McMahon, it’s his passion and his life. It’s just who he is as a human being and as a person. For Stephanie, this has been her family business and her life, and a passion as well. Same thing for me. I’ve had a long career and deeply into this. Vince McMahon will do this until he can no longer do it. I think we feel the same way. We have a strong passion for this, and for us to take his vision is very important for us.

Take that vision, which he has done really well, to take that vision from where it is and beyond where it will be to bring the brand, the company, the business and all of it, like he did. To have a vision beyond what it is today and where it can go. I think that the WWE, in the form of entertainment, as a media juggernaut, and a content creator, and all of that, I think is just scratching the surface of where we can be in the future, and I look forward to that future. When Vince McMahon will no longer be around, I hope Stephanie, and I can do it justice and in the future of where it needs to be and hopefully, futures beyond that will take it beyond anywhere we can imagine it to be.”

“The Game” was also asked about potential holding a pay-per-view event in the UK again, which hasn’t been done since 1992.

“Any pay per view, or promotional event of that caliber are all difficult to put on and are all challenging. When you are talking about WrestleMania and a week-long series of events, that is difficult to put on in the United States, the difficulty level multiplies exponentially outside of the United States. That being said, we are definitely looking at possibilities into a lot of things. One thing we have shown, over the years is never say never. I know fans are hungry and excited for it if it happens. It is something we think about, and are logistically trying to figure out how it can work. Whether it is one of our standard pay per views, or WrestleMania, we are certainly open to all of it, and as we always say, you never say never in WWE. We are open to all options, and without sounding cliches, but if it is best for business then we will certainly be open to doing it.”

H/T to Wrestling Inc for the transcript

AJ Styles Opens Up On Public Concern Over His Recent Injury

Andrew Ravens
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3

Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that WWE Champion AJ Styles might have suffered an MCL injury earlier this month.

Styles and WWE have been quiet about the nature of the injury that kept him out of the ring for more than a week. The word going around within the WWE is that it was related to his MCL.

Styles returned to the ring at last weekend’s WWE live events but did not wrestle again on this week’s SmackDown Live.

He’s slated to defend his title against Shinsuke Nakamura at WrestleMania 34 in just over one week.

The WWE Champion an interview with USA Today for the Win. During the interview, he talked about various topics including the most recent injury that kept him out of action. Here is what he had to say:

“A little of nothing. It was just one of those… got hit in the back of the knee. I think it scared more people than it actually scared me. I knew I was going to make it to WrestleMania, there’s nothing wrong with me.”

“Yeah, I mean it really does bother me because they don’t know the extent of it. They started worrying, more than anything, which I appreciate that, but it’s just one of those things where you’ve got to wait to hear the facts and information before you get so worked up about something. It is what it is, and we can’t stop this from happening, but why don’t we hear from the guy who actually has the issue before we jump to conclusions and get worried?”

You can read the entire interview here.

NJPW Road to Sakura Genesis (March 30) Results

Fernando Quiles Jr.
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0

The final NJPW event before Sakura Genesis took place earlier today (March 30).

Stars of NJPW hit the ring inside Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan before heading to the Ryogoku Kokugikan on April 1. In the main event, Kazuchika Okada teamed with fellow CHAOS member YOSHI-HASHI to take on Zack Sabre Jr. and Taichi. Okada will defend his IWGP Heavyweight title against Sabre Jr. at Sakura Genesis.

All members of Los Ingobernables de Japon took on most members of Suzuki-Gun on this road show. At Sakura Genesis, Tetsuya Naito will team with SANADA and EVIL to take on Minoru Suzuki and the Killer Elite Squad.

Peep the results for the March 30 Road to Sakura Genesis show below:

Singles Match: Tetsuhiro Yagi vs. Ren Narita ended in a draw

Singles Match: Yuji Nagata def. Shota Umino

Six-Man Tag Team Match: Togi Makabe, Michael Elgin, & Ryusuke Taguchi def. Tomoyuki Oka, Manabu Nakanishi, & Hiroyoshi Tenzan

Six-Man Tag Team Match: Hiroki Goto, Jay White, & Tomohiro Ishii def. Juice Robinson, David Finlay, & Toa Henare

Six-Man Tag Team Match: Toru Yano, Sho, & Yoh def. Hiroshi Tanahashi, KUSHIDA, & Tiger Mask

10-Man Tag Team Match: Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, EVIL, Hiromu Takahashi, & BUSHI) def. Suzuki-Gun (Minoru Suzuki, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Lance Archer, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, & El Desperado)

Tag Team Match: Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi def. Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI

Charlotte Flair Explains Who She Would Want To Wrestle In Main Event Of WrestleMania

Andrew Ravens
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3

WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte 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.

Flair was recently interviewed by Planeta Wrestling. During the interview, she was asked who she would want to face if she were in the main event match at WrestleMania. Here is what she had to say:

“If this wasn’t the main event, me vs. Asuka, I would definitely say a Fatal 4-Way against the Four-Horsewomen.”

Flair is slated to defend her title against the undefeated Asuka at WrestleMania 34. Also in this interview, she was asked about Jim Ross saying that she is the Hulk Hogan of women’s wrestling.

“I guess I’m tall, blonde and tanned. It’s a very big compliment. It’s really nice for JR to say that about me.”

H/T to Wrestling Inc for the transcript.

Roman Reigns Would Entertain Idea Of Being Paired With Paul Heyman

Andrew Ravens
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17

Since 2014, WWE has attempted to establish Roman Reigns as their next “face of the company.” Reigns had headlined multiple major WWE pay-per-view events, including the last three WrestleManias (31 lost to Seth Rollins, 32 beat Triple H and 33 when he defeated The Undertaker).

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.

Reigns was recently interviewed by NBC Sports to promote Wrestlemania 34 and his match against Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title. In this interview, he was asked about potentially being paired with Paul Heyman on WWE television.

There have been rumors that this could happen if Lesnar decided to leave WWE. Here is what the “Big Dog” had to say:

“I think it would be really cool. Obviously, it comes down to a couple of different things creatively, but I think it would be really neat. I think it would be able to show a different aspect of myself.

It really just depends on the route that we want to take my character; if there’s any type of evolution that needs to be made in the next couple of years. I think with a character like Paul Heyman, the different things that we could do would be really cool. It would show not only myself, but also him in a totally different light. I wouldn’t just be the guy bouncing around not saying anything. If there’s something I need to say, I’m going to step up and say it because regardless if I’m with a guy like Paul Heyman, I would not be a Paul Heyman guy, he would be a Roman Reigns guy, that’s the way that would work.”

Reigns added, “My role is my role and I don’t plan on changing that for anybody. If there’s something that needs to be said or if someone needs to step up in the locker room and mention something, that’s always going to be where I want to be. As long as nothing crazy or drastic would change, I think we’d be able to do a lot of really cool stuff. I’m into it.”

Nia Jax Reacts To WWE Using Bodyshaming In Her Storyline With Alexa Bliss

Andrew Ravens
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21

WWE RAW Superstar Nia Jax has been quickly moved up the ladder in WWE. She was positioned as a big star while she was competing in WWE’s developmental brand, NXT, and when she was called up to the main roster.

Slowly but surely she has gone from beating jobbers to being a big name in the women’s division on the RAWbrand.

Jax was recently interviewed by the Mirror. During the interview, she spoke about WWE using real-life issues like body-shaming in her feud with Alexa Bliss.

Jax is slated to challenge her best friend for the RAW Women’s Title at WrestleMania 34 next month. Here is what she had to say:

“I think it’s amazing. I think it’s something that people know but they don’t want to talk about it, they always want to keep it hidden. I feel like we’re tackling it head-on and it should be [tackled]. Young women and young girls, and boys, should actually be hearing this and seeing the conflict that we go through and seeing somebody stand up for themselves and not have to allow somebody to bully them, because of the way they look, what their shape is, or the color of their skin is. You should always stand up for yourself. So I think it’s amazing. I’m very honored to be a part of it.”

She added, “Oh yeah. You know, growing up… it’s crazy how real this storyline is to my real life. And especially with Alexa being such a close, best friend of mine for so long, she has seen it. She [her character] has hurt me [my character], because I’ve confided in a lot of these stories that have happened to me. It surprises me that it has become such a big storyline in WWE, because it relates to me completely.

You can read the entire interview here.

Jim Ross Responds To Fans Criticizing Him For Recent NJPW Commentary

Andrew Ravens
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11

You could make an argument that the Attitude Era in the WWE would not be the same without two WWE Hall of Famers.

Those WWE Legends are Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler, who have called some of the biggest and historic matches/segments in the history of the sports entertainment company.

They were featured on the Raw brand for the majority of their time with the WWE. It’s safe to say that they are if not the best commentary team, they are at least in that conversation that was ever put together by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon.

Jim Ross was a recent guest on WrestleZone Radio. During the interview, he commented on the criticism of his commentary at the recent NJPW Strong Style Evolved event. Here is what he had to say:

“I read some of the criticisms about my work and the broadcast in general but essentially people want, the die-hards who follow New Japan World, they want their team. They want Kevin Kelly and Don Callis to do the show. I don’t blame them. I don’t even get mad about it. The only thing that gets frustrating is when you’ve got wrestling fans who’ve got like 40 followers on Twitter that tell you, “your career sucks,” and that you should be dead or not allowed to be on television. That’s kind of crude, I think. Does that really feel necessary for not knowing the certain name of a certain hold?

I have a pet peeve about that deal, to be honest with you. A bodyslam is a God damned bodyslam. You can give it 18 different names to sell t-shirts, that’s fine and I don’t care but to me it’s a bodyslam. We find ourselves talking about this variant or that variant and worry about not pissing off the talent because we didn’t give their hold a name or use the name they use in their niche marketing. I find it almost embarrassing to be quite frank about it.

I enjoyed the show, I enjoyed working with New Japan, I love working with the guys who produce AXS TV.”

H/T to WrestleZone for the transcript

James Ellsworth’s Favorite Moment In WWE

Jon Fuentes
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16

Former WWE superstar James Ellsworth recently did an interview with Andy Malnoske of Wrestling Inc. to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Ellsworth revealed that competing against AJ Styles for the WWE Championship was his favorite moment with the company:

“If you’re asking what my favorite moment was, it was that, wrestling for the WWE title,” Ellsworth said. “It’s AJ Styles, who’s the best wrestler in the world, in a main event match on SmackDown, favorite moment.”

Back in 2016 Ellsworth worked a match against Braun Strowman as a jobber. The fans’ reaction to him got him over and WWE decided to bring him on as a regular talent. Ellsworth said everything just happened at the right time:

“Luckily for me, it was just lightning in a bottle,” he said. “Right opponent, Braun Strowman, got 15 to 20 seconds of promo time, it just all came together so well. That performance that night with Braun Strowman, fans got behind it after that and I appreciate every fan that’s ever helped me out because of that.”

Ellsworth then discussed what it was like to interact with each of the McMahons – Vince, Shane, and Stephanie:

“Vince is the boss, I’ve had a couple conversations with him up there. It’s like any other job, he’s the boss, so very employee-to-boss conversations,” Ellsworth said. “Shane’s more ‘one of the boys,’ so I’d talk to Shane. Stephanie, I didn’t see her much because she was on RAW and I was on SmackDown, but when I did see her she was very sweet and always said hi. That’s about it.”

Since departing from WWE, Ellsworth has been doing work for NWA (which is now owned by Smashing Pumpkins singer and former IMPACT Wrestling President Billy Corgan). He is also working on the independent circuit as well and hopes to one day make it back to WWE:

“I’m doing stuff with the NWA, Billy Corgan owns the NWA now… So I’m working with them a lot, I’m doing as many indies as possible,” he said. “I get to travel the world still and do my thing, and then when the time is right, I think you’ll see me back in WWE.”

You can read Ellsworth’s full interview with Wrestling Inc. by clicking this link here.

Roman Reigns Reacts To Fan’s “Creepy” Video Of Himself On Twitter, Hornswoggle’s WM Weekend Comedy Show

Jon Fuentes
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13

– A WWE fan posted a video of Roman Reigns shopping at their store on Twitter. Reigns responded to the video with a single word – creepy:

Reigns is set to challenge Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship, in what is expected to be the main event of WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans.

– Former WWE talent Hornswoggle is set to perform a comedy show from the Allways Lounge & Cabaret in New Orleans on WrestleMania 34 weekend. It all goes down on Friday April 6th at 9:30 pm and combines a stand-up comedy routine with funny storytelling. Click here for more information.

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