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WWE’s Top 10 Superstars Of 2017, The First Seven WWE DVD Releases Of 2018

Jon Fuentes
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– WWE.com com has released their official Top 10 Superstars Of 2017 list. You can check out the order of Superstars here below and check out the article at this link:

  1. AJ Styles
  2. Braun Strowman
  3. Alexa Bliss
  4. The New Day & The Usos (Tie)
  5. Jinder Mahal
  6. The Miz
  7. Kevin Owens
  8. The Shield
  9. Brock Lesnar
  10. Enzo Amore

– PWInsider has reported the first seven WWE DVD releases of 2018. You can check out the full list of DVD names and release dates here:

– WWE Tag Team Collection (4 animated WWE Studios movies) – January 16th

– WWE Clash of Champions 2017 – January 23rd

– Best of RAW and SmackDown 2017 – February 6th

– 2018 WWE Royal Rumble – March 6th

– Best of WWE NXT 2017 – March 20th

– RAW 25th Anniversary – April 3rd

– WWE Elimination Chamber & RAW PPV TBA – April 17th

Here are the list of DVDs that are planned to be released, however, do not have an official release date as of this writing:

– Best of 2017 – PPV matches.

– 30th Anniversary of Summerslam.

– A new title devoted to The Shield.

– Best of the Hardy Boyz.

– “Unreleased” Collections devoted to Randy Savage and Shawn Michaels.

– A feature documentary on AJ Styles.

– Shane McMahon’s “Craziest Moments.”

– A collection of WWE 24 documentaries.

Top RAW Star Was Considered To Tag Team With Seth Rollins Instead Of Jason Jordan, Sheamus Celebrates Cesaro’s Birthday (Photos)

Jon Fuentes
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– As seen on this past Monday’s special Christmas Day episode of Monday Night RAW, Jason Jordan and Seth Rollins defeated The Bar (Sheamus and Cesaro) to win the RAW Tag Team Championships. Jordan stepped in as a partner for “The Architect” after Dean Ambrose was forced to be sidelined for several months due to a bicep injury.

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that aside from Jordan, former WWE Universal Champion Finn Balor was also considered to step in for Ambrose as well. In the end WWE creative decided to continue their push of Jordan and gave him the top babyface role instead.

– Cesaro celebrated his 37th birthday yesterday and Sheamus took to Twitter to post a few pictures of their celebration. It looks like a cake fight took place between the now-former RAW Tag Team Champions:

How The Miz Celebrated Christmas, JBL Talks About Charity Work Away From WWE

Jon Fuentes
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– The Miz joined fellow celebrities such as Adam Devine and Iliza Shlesinger in the Middle East during Christmas for a four-day USO tour. The former WWE Intercontinental Champion did various activities such as getting boomeranged off the USS Theodore Roosevelt in a military plane. Here’s what Miz had to say about the experience via TMZ Sports:

“I’ve been on all kinds of rollercoasters and nothing beats this,” The Miz said. “I literally tell (Devine), ‘My balls are in my throat.’”

– Former WWE Champion JBL recently did an interview with The Guardian to talk about his charity work with Beyond Rugby Bermuda. Here’s what he had to say about the program:

“I had seen the ethos of rugby and I was very much an admirer,” JBL said. “For us it’s a beautiful sport, what I guess what Pele called soccer in Brazil. It’s so simple, it’s easy to understand, you can play five on five or 15 on 15. I would be so much better coaching American football, but you need 22 on each side and all the equipment and everything. With rugby you just need a mouthpiece and grass.

“We have issues with gangs and with drugs in Bermuda but we want to attract the most hardcore kids. We want the gang leaders, because they’re going to be leaders either in a gang or on the rugby pitch. And we’ve had a lot of success. We have super-tough kids who grew up in super-tough environments and they enjoy getting out there and knocking each other around and having a piece of pizza and going home.”

You can read The Guardian‘s full story on JBL by clicking this link here.

IMPACT Wrestling Releases Longtime Employee

Jon Fuentes
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Longtime Impact Wrestling Ring Transportation Manager Bob Rosen took to Facebook to announce that his time with the promotion has come to an end. The company decided to let Rosen go after 13 years of service, which included suffering a heart attack during a television taping last year with a 99% blockage of his heart. Here’s what he had to say:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xe6prisGqqs

“Well it’s time to thank everyone who trusted me to build and keep anyone who step foot into one of my rings safe. I’m officially gone from Impact Wrestling (not by my choice!) $.
The last 13years have been the greatest time in my life from the great talent who showed me much respect for what we did with the rings and cages.

“To the back production people who never got the credit they deserve. These people who come together under great stress and pull off some of the greatest show you’ve watched weather it was TNA or IMPACT WRESTLING.And to the friends and fans I had the privilege of making through my time on the road in this business.You will always be my friends ! I’m not gone from wrestling.

“You will see me again because I still believe every talent deserves to work in a great ring ! My passion for this business has taken a hit because on how this staff was treated but I still love wrestling and I will be back .
I’m still building the best rings today !
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!”

Backstage News On Huge Potential WrestleMania 34 Match

Jon Fuentes
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As we’ve previously reported, the main event for WWE’s Fastlane pay-per-view (PPV) in March has been leaked out – a Fatal-Five Way match for the WWE Title between AJ Styles, Randy Orton, Shinsuke Nakamura, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. The match has yet to be confirmed by WWE, however, if that match does take place it would indicate that Orton, Nakamura, Owens, or Zayn won’t be winning the Royal Rumble match as it wouldn’t make sense for them to challenge for the title at Fastlane after winning the rumble.

There has been speculation that perhaps John Cena could win the Royal Rumble and go on to challenge AJ Styles for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 34, with the storyline being Cena trying to break the record he shares with Ric Flair of being a 16-time World Champion. Per a report from Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Cena vs. Styles will not be happening as Cena will be involved in a much bigger match at WrestleMania 34 instead.

Meltzer noted that he didn’t know who Cena would be facing, however, he was told it would be made clear over the next several weeks. The only names Meltzer could come up with were The Undertaker, Batista, Goldberg or Hulk Hogan. Hogan would be a huge surprise given the leak of his racist comments a few years ago and the issues he has with his back. It’s expected that some matches for WrestleMania 34 will begin to build-up at RAW’s 25th Anniversary special on Monday, January 22, 2018.

The event will be a special simulcast event from both the Barclays Center and the Manhattan Center in New York City; with names such as John Cena, The Undertaker, Kevin Nash, Shawn Michaels, and more scheduled to appear. We’ll keep you updated as we learn more….

Jim Ross On What It Was Like Calling Matches With Vince McMahon

Jon Fuentes
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WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross recently did an interview with TV Insider to talk about several professional wrestling topics. “Good Ole’ JR” discussed calling matches with Jerry Lawler and Vince McMahon over the years, working with “Macho Man” Randy Savage and calling 1-2-3 Kid vs. Bret Hart, and missing out on Mick Foley winning his first WWE Championship due to Bell’s Palsy. Here are the highlights:

Calling matches with Jerry Lawler and Vince McMahon over the years:

“I had no idea what the franchise Monday Night Raw was going to eventually mean what it has. I worked with Vince [McMahon] and Jerry Lawler. That was new. Three men in a booth was new for me. Not being the lead guy was new. It was a great, refreshing start. A reboot. At that time, I came from a chaotic WCW with all the changes in management. It was a relief to work for a company where you could get a straight answer from the decision-maker. I loved that part of it.”

Working with “Macho Man” Randy Savage and calling 1-2-3 Kid vs. Bret Hart:

“I worked with Randy Savage, which is never easy. I loved his talent. I loved his passion, but he had to trust you. I think he had trust issues, but he was damn sure talented. He and I called the 1-2-3 Kid and Bret Hart. To many in the crowd, I’m sure they thought it would be an easy Bret Hart win and that this young guy, Sean Waltman, wouldn’t have a chance. It was one of the classic examples of how great a talent Bret Hart was, because he made Sean Waltman look like a million bucks. They had an extremely competitive match that was based in logic, unpredictability.”

Missing out on Mick Foley’s first WWE Title win because of his second battle with Bell’s Palsy:

“I worked so diligently and with all my heart to get Mick hired because I felt like he was a good citizen and a great opponent for The Undertaker, which I needed at that time. I didn’t get to call that match. That’s one of my regrets as far as Raw was that I was ill when Foley won his title. I thought it was a moment I would have loved to experience with him.”

You can read Ross’ full interview with TV Insider by clicking this link here.

The Most Disliked WWE Videos On YouTube, Kane Talks Working On Christmas In WWE

Jon Fuentes
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– In Alfred Konuwa’s latest blog on Forbes, he takes a look at the most disliked videos on WWE’s YouTube channel. The most disliked video of 2017 was Roman Reigns’ promo the night after defeating The Undertaker at WrestleMania 33. The video has 35,000 dislikes compared to the 27,000 likes, making it’s dislike percentage of 56%. One of Emmalina’s promos from January received 11,000 dislikes compared to 1,000 likes, giving it a dislike percentage of 92%. You can read Konuwa’s full blog at this link.

– Newsday recently did an interview with Kane to promote yesterday’s WWE live event from the Nassau Coliseum. During the interview Kane discussed having to work on Christmas Day for a live episode of Monday Night RAW. Here’s what he had to say:

“The thing about it is that this is one of our most important times of the year business wise. We do really, really good business the week after Christmas,” Kane said. “It is what it is. There’s always trade-offs. We’re not the only people who this year will be working on Christmas Day. A lot of people do that to provide for their family.”

Kane Releases New T-Shirts For Mayoral Campaign, New Fashion Files Episode (Video)

Jon Fuentes
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– Kane (real name Glenn Jacobs) has released a new shirt to help fund his mayoral campaign in Knox County, Tennessee. The new shirt is inspired by the old WWE RAW logo, and he also has some inspired by The Bullet Club as well. He Tweeted out the following:

– WWE released a new episode of the Fashion Files before this past Tuesday night’s episode of SmackDown Live. You can check it out here below:

Chris Jericho On Surprising NJPW Fans With Kenny Omega Angle

Jon Fuentes
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Chris Jericho was recently a guest on WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross’ podcast, The Ross Report, to discuss his upcoming “Alpha vs. Omega” match against IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega at Wrestle Kingdom 12 next month. “Y2J” discussed surprising New Japan Pro Wrestling fans with how involved he has been in the build-up for the bout, and how talented Omega is inside the ring. You can check out the highlights here below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiV4Mwfp24w&t=7s

Surprising NJPW fans with his involvement in the feud’s build-up:

“I think when this match was made, Alpha vs. Omega, Jericho vs. Omega, a month-and-a-half ago in Osaka [Japan] or wherever it was, it makes me laugh that people think, ‘Jericho announces a match, here we go, it’s going to be a big match, we’ll see you in Tokyo [Japan] in a few months on January 4 [2018],” said Jericho. “As if I wouldn’t do something to build an angle. I’m too much of a disciple of Vince McMahon/Bill Watts/Stu Hart. Any great promoter would do an angle to build the match, to sell the tickets.

“So once again, in Fukuoka, Japan and I attacked Kenny Omega from behind, nobody saw that coming. And I love that! To me, that’s what [pro] wrestling’s all about. When you can surprise the fans and the ‘smart marks’ that think they know everything, but they don’t know anything, it makes me laugh because even you, Jim, would understand as an old school guy, of course I’m going to build an angle! Of course I’m going to do that. That’s what wrestling is!

“Honestly, yeah, the match is important. We want to have a good match. I love good matches, but who cares? The most important thing is the story and the angle building towards that match and selling the biggest amount of tickets we can, okay?”

Omega’s talent inside the ring:

“He’s a great performer,” Jericho said. “He’s a great worker. And once again, it was pretty heavy stuff. And [Ross] know[s] this, in 2017, for some reason, if you get busted open, your mentor Gordon Solie, ‘his face is a crimson mask’ and that’s what it was. And we don’t see that a lot. For me, I think it has been 10 years since someone has been busted open in a match that I was involved with and it felt good.

“There [are] certain rules and regulations that we have to abide by in the United States, in the WWE at this point in time, so to come into New Japan and have no rule, but there [are] still rules, I mean, listen, I understand the concept of [pro] wrestling, so I know what to do, but to have Kenny Omega busted open and to feel that, maybe, power, vibe, or energy, there’s nothing like it.

“And in the right circumstances, when you can bust somebody open, when you can get some color, as we used to say, it means the world because people understand that more than anything. This is the real deal. After 10 years to have a guy I’ve never been in the ring with, to see the reaction of the people, the reaction of the worldwide audience, and to see those pictures that were taken of Kenny Omega with the aforementioned crimson mask, wow, that sells tickets!”

You can listen to Chris Jericho on The Ross Report by clicking this link here.

Latest Wrestle Kingdom 12 Promo Videos With English Subtitles

Chris Stephens
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Several English-subtitled Wrestle Kingdom promo videos have been released by New Japan Pro Wrestling. The promotion unveiled their English language YouTube channel earlier this year.

Wrestle Kingdom Previews

The new Jr. Heavyweight Champions, Roppongi 3K, will defend their belts against the Young Bucks:

Cody will face Kenny Omega’s former tag-team partner, Kota Ibushi:

Marty Scurll defends the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship against KUSHIDA, Will Ospreay, and Hiromu Takahashi:

Hiroshi Tanahashi defends the IWGP Intercontinental Championship against Jay White:

Kazuchika Okada defends the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against the winner of the 2017 G1 Tournament, Tetsuya Naito.

Another video previewing the main event title match between Tetsuya Naito and Kazuchika Okada:

Tommy Dreamer Announces Tournament to Crown HOH TV Champion

Chris Stephens
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Tommy Dreamer’s House of Hardcore promotion will be crowning their first TV champion in early 2018. Although the promotion has been running for 5 years, they have yet to feature a championship of their own, though other titles have been defended on their shows.

House of Hardcore has aired 2 live shows on Twitch with their next being scheduled for January 26th from the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia.

House of Hardcore Championship Tournament 

The tournament was announced by Dreamer on the latest HOH episode on Twitch. Dreamer announced the 1st round matches but mentioned the tournament’s format won’t be fully revealed until a later time.

  1. Woggle vs. Mikey (from the Squad)
  2. Lisa Marie Varon vs. Kenny (from the Squad)
  3. Super Crazy vs. Alex Reynolds
  4. Bull James vs. Eddie Kingston
  5. Little Guido vs. Kevin Cross
  6. Ace Romero vs. Dan Moff
  7. Matt Riddle vs. Austin Aries
  8. ??? (Mystery Opponent) vs. Brian Cage
  9. Crazy Steve vs. MJF
  10. Luchasaurus vs. Willie Mack vs. Matt Cross

Coach Believes Vince McMahon Could Buy NFL Team

Chris Stephens
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Former WWE broadcaster and ESPN host, Jonathan Coachman, believes it is likely Vince McMahon is looking at buying an NFL team. According to Coachman, he thinks it’s possible the 72-year-old Chairman of WWE might be looking at purchasing the Carolina Panthers.

Jonathan Coachman

On reasons to believe Vince isn’t bringing back the XFL:

“He’s not going to come out and blow 50 or 100 million on something he’s already tried…”

On Calling Games for the XFL:

“If he calls me, cause I’m the only person in the history of the world to be the voice of Monday Night Raw and to be on Sports Center for 10 years so if Vince calls for somebody who knows both sides of the fence you’re damn right I’m going to pick up the phone.”

On Vince possibly buying the Carolina Panthers

“He’s got a restaurant in North Carolina, hell Triple H’s bachelor party was in Raleigh, North Carolina…

“I’m not saying that he would but I think it’s a second possibility that people aren’t tossing out there because they want to believe that he’ll start his own entity.”

Paige Injury Update, Video Of The Incident

Chris Stephens
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Just weeks after returning to action following a year-plus layoff, Paige appeared to be injured at Wednesday night’s WWE live event from the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. Thankfully, the latest updates indicate Paige’s injury is not as bad as initially feared.

Paige was teaming with her Absolution stablemates, Sonya Deville & Mandy Rose, against Sasha Banks, Mickie James, and Bayley. During a spot that involved Sasha Banks kicking Paige in the back (seen below), Paige went down and the referee threw up the “X” sign to indicate a possible injury. Absolution was originally scheduled to go over in the match, which was ended abruptly due Paige’s injury.

https://youtu.be/3yc6wZqE5yo

According to PWInsider, Paige suffered a stinger during the spot, but was not hospitalized. Dave Meltzer tweeted that Paige is “ok.”

WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley also commented on Paige’s condition:

https://twitter.com/RealMickFoley/status/946235502411370496

Paige is reportedly being evaluated today and she’s been taken off the road for precautionary measures.

Becky Lynch Returns During WWE Live Event (Photos, Videos)

Robert Lentini
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WWE held a live event tonight in Detroit, Michigan. During the event, Becky Lynch made her return to team up with Naomi against Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan. Ruby Riott was ringside for the match.

Lynch has been off of WWE television to film The Marine 6: Close Quarters alongside The Miz and Shawn Michaels. The Miz is currently with Alicia Fox in the Middle East visiting troops during the USO Holiday tour.

Becky was written off of television when The Riott Squad made their main roster debut on the November 21st edition of WWE SmackDown. The trio attacked Naomi and Becky Lynch backstage and beat them down. Sarah Logan slammed a door onto Lynch several times and she hasn’t been on SmackDown since.

Here are some videos and photos from Becky Lynch’s return:

https://twitter.com/BeckyLynchNET/status/946202878812852224

https://twitter.com/sassy_icajess/status/946188244047290369

https://twitter.com/GIoriousOne/status/946185469750104064

https://twitter.com/BeckyLynchWWE/status/946212940054716416

WWE NXT Recap & Results (12/27)

Robert Lentini
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Street Profits vs Kris Starr & Riley Apex

Ford and Dawkins won this match with ease after Ford connected with a Frog Splash. It was a squash match. After their victory, the Street Profits went into the crowd and dissed the Authors of Pain, the Undisputed Era and SAnitY. They then vowed to capture the NXT Tag Team Championships in 2018.

Winners: Street Profits

NXT Women’s Championship: Ember Moon (c) vs Sonya Deville

Deville controlled the match early and tried to lock in a Knee Bar but Moon escaped. Moon connected with an Arm Drag and then the two Superstars traded shots in the ring. Moon hit a Dropkick that knocked Sonya out of the ring. Ember launched off the ring apron and connected with with a Cannonball as NXT went to a commercial break.

When NXT returned, Sonya Deville was back in control of the match. Deville locked in a Bear Hug while Moon was on the canvas. Ember broke free and sent Deville into the corner. Moon connected with a big springboard Dropkick and then quickly hit The Eclipse for the pinfall victory.

Winner & Still NXT Women’s Champion: Ember Moon

Kairi Sane came down to the entrance ramp with her spyglass. Sane looked at Ember’s title and Moon seemed up for the challenge. Shayna Baszler then appeared out of nowhere from behind Sane and choked her out. Officials rushed to the entrance ramp to break it up.

Paul Ellering cut a promo about the history of Authors of Pain. Rezar and Akam were shown pissed off behind him. Ellering stated that the Undisputed Era will not write their next chapter and that Cole, Fish and O’Reilly are on borrowed time.

Christy St. Cloud interviewed NXT Women’s Champion Ember Moon backstage. Moon was asked about what happened tonight and Moon stated that she knew she would have a target on her back once she won the title. Moon insisted that she was ready for whoever wants to challenge her and noted that she didn’t care if it was Baszler or Sane.

Fatal 4-Way To Determine The #1 Contender For NXT Championship: Aleister Black vs Johnny Gargano vs Killian Dain vs Lars Sullivan

The match started out with a bang and Black knocked the gigantic Lars Sullivan out of the ring. Black connected with a kick on Dain and went for a Moonsault but was caught and launched to the ring apron. Gargano attempted a Moonsault as well and suffered the same fate. Dain connected with a Suicide Dive onto Sullivan as NXT went to a commercial break.

When NXT returned, Dain was beating the hell out of Johnny Gargano in the corner. Sullivan tossed Aleister Black into the announcer’s area and then casually threw Gargano on top of him. Sullivan cleared off the announce table and tried to Powerbomb Gargano but Johnny escaped.

Black and Gargano formed a brief alliance and slammed Lars through the announce table. Dain tried to leap onto them but Black and Gargano got out of the way and Dain landed on Sullivan and the table crumbled. The action returned to the ring with Black and Gargano. Black connected with a kick but Johnny quickly locked in the Gargano Escape. Dain hit them both with a Senton and the hold was broken.

Gargano and Black formed another brief alliance and Powerbombed Dain off the top rope. Sullivan woke up from his slumber as the rest of the Superstars were laid out in the ring. Sullivan launched Black out of the ring and hit Gargano with the Freak Accident. Dain broke it up. Sullivan and Dain battled for a bit before Aleister got into the ring and hit Black Mass on Sullivan. Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly ran to the ring and grabbed Black. Aleister took them down but Adam Cole made his way to the ring.

Black tried to knee Cole but missed and hit the ring apron. Adam Cole then delivered a Neckbreaker to Black outside the ring. Gargano leaped onto Cole and  rolled Aleister Black back into the ring. Gargano connected with a massive DDT to the beaten down Aleister Black for the pinfall victory. The crowd went nuts when Gargano won the match. Gargano will now face Andrade “Cien” Almas at NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia on January 27th for the NXT Championship.

Winner & #1 Contender For The NXT Championship: Johnny Gargano

NXT Takeover: Philly Main Event Announced For Royal Rumble Weekend

Scott Lazara
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[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9bzrCasau0?rel=0&w=560&h=315]

Johnny Gargano became the new #1 contender to WWE NXT Champion Andrade “Cien” Almas by winning a Fatal 4 Way on the final NXT episode of 2018. The other match participants were Lars Sullivan, Killian Dain and Aleister Black. Sullivan and Black remain undefeated in singles action.

Gargano will get his first big title shot at NXT “Takeover: Philly” during Royal Rumble weekend on January 27th. No other matches have been announced for Takeover as of this writing.

Above is video from tonight’s Fatal 4 Way and below is WWE’s announcement on Gargano vs. Almas:

NXT Champion Andrade “Cien” Almas vs. Johnny Gargano

Johnny Gargano has gone from a struggling singles career to one victory away from becoming the NXT Champion. Johnny Wrestling’s NXT underdog story will reach its dramatic climax on Saturday, Jan. 27, at NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia when he challenges Andrade “Cien” Almas for the NXT Championship.

Considering Gargano represents NXT’s version of Rocky Balboa, a true underdog who has come out of nowhere to find himself in a huge title showdown, there may not be a better city to host this matchup than Philadelphia, the city that was famously the backdrop for the “Rocky” movie franchise.

Gargano was never even supposed to be involved in the series of matches to determine Almas’ challenger in the first place. Yet, after learning of an injury to Velveteen Dream, General Manager William Regal inserted the talented Gargano into the fray. The former NXT Tag Team Champion — who had stumbled mightily since transitioning to singles competition — went on to defeat the highly acclaimed Kassius Ohno in a Qualifying Match before overcoming Killian Dain, Aleister Black and Lars Sullivan in a No. 1 Contender’s Fatal 4-Way Match. That’s a Knockout Artist, two monsters and a previously undefeated Superstar, for those keeping count.

Before Gargano can claim the NXT Title, he must defeat the red-hot Almas, a Superstar who has similarly gone from a struggling singles career to the top of NXT. Almas’ career resurgence can be traced in part to the arrival of his business manager Zelina Vega, who has helped El Idolo focus and, at times, even offered a helping hand.

This title match won’t be the first time these two competitors have met, with Gargano coming out on the losing side in their previous two battles. However, both clashes included timely interference from Vega. Will Almas’ fiery manager make her presence felt in this title contest? And if so, can Gargano not only overcome the extremely dangerous Almas, but also Vega’s distractions to become the new NXT Champion?

See who prevails in this storied showodwn for the NXT Championship when Andrade “Cien” Almas and Johnny Gargano battle at NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia on Saturday, Jan. 27, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, exclusively on the award-winning WWE Network.

Paige Possibly Injured During WWE Live Event (Photos, Video)

Robert Lentini
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WWE held a live event tonight in Uniondale, New York. Paige teamed up with Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville to face Bayley, Sasha Banks and Mickie James. During the match, Paige took a kick from Sasha Banks and the match had to be stopped.

A stretcher was initially brought down to the ring but Paige wound up walking backstage with the help from doctors as seen in the photo below.

Paige recently made her WWE return after a neck injury and formed the group Absolution with Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville. Absolution has been dominating on RAW and has a ton of momentum heading into the first ever women’s Royal Rumble match next month.

We will post any updates when they become available.

Silas Young Reacts To Winning The ROH TV Title While Battling Addiction

Jon Fuentes
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Ring Of Honor Television Champion Silas Young recently spoke to Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated on a number of professional wrestling topics. Young talked about going from a recovering heroin addict to ROH TV Champion, his son’s reaction to his victory, and the kind of champion he expects to be. The highlights can be found below:

Going from a recovering heroin addict to ROH TV Champ:

“There are certain situations in life that are character-building, and I feel like that was one of those moments in my life,” said Young. “Sometimes, the battles with yourself are the hardest battles, and that goes for a lot of people. Our own worst enemies are often ourselves, so it takes a lot of mental checking-in-with-yourself–almost giving yourself a daily mental pep talk–because our biggest opponent is our self.”

His son’s reaction to his victory:

“My son, who just turned nine years old, was running around the house with the belt,” said Young. “Then my wife and I celebrated over breakfast.”

The kind of champion he expects to be:

“I want to take this title and run with it,” said Young. “It’s a hard task to accomplish, but I want to raise the Ring of Honor World Television title and elevate it higher than it’s ever been. I also want to live up to it; what the title means, the standards former champions have set, and surpass it. I’m up for the challenge.”

You can read Young’s full interview with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated at this link here.

Kevin Owens On If He’d Let His Kids Wrestle

Jon Fuentes
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Former WWE Universal Champion and United States Champion Kevin Owens recently spoke to MLive.com to talk about a variety of professional wrestling topics. “KO” discussed not caring about being booed or cheered by crowds, wanting to wrestle Shawn Michaels, and if he’d let his kids wrestle. The highlights can be seen below:

Not caring if he is booed or cheered by a crowd:

“I just try to listen to strong reaction. To me the best reaction is a mix of both boos and cheers. John Cena and Roman Reigns get insane reactions where half the crowd loves them and half the crowd despises them. When you’re in the ring waiting for your opponent, whether it’s John or Roman, you get hit by this crazy noise. It’s people almost competing with each other. The guy who’s booing one of them is trying to be louder than the guy cheering. It makes for a special atmosphere. That’s really what I’m striving for.”

Wishing he could’ve wrestled Shawn Michaels:

“Michaels is the reason I became a wrestler in the first place. I saw him when I was 11. I was a scrawny kid at the time. People thought I was 7 or 8. So to see the smallest guy on the show be the best guy on the show really spoke to me. I said if he can do it, I can do it. Now I get to share different pieces of his wisdom with him when he comes to a show here or there. I try to sit as close to him as I can and listen to him and discuss wrestling, family and life. It’s so great to talk about those things with someone I look up to so much. I can’t even imagine what it would have been like to have been in the ring with him.”

If he’d let his kids become wrestlers:

“I don’t hope for it, but if they want to then they’re more than welcome. I have no preference. I just want them to be happy. I always pursued this dream, but for the first 7 years that I was a wrestler, I worked at a gas station part time. I finished high school, but still needed a job to make money to live on. I was lucky enough to have the boss to give me time off I needed to wrestle. I think you can be happy doing whatever you want in life as long as it fulfills you can you get something out of it.”

You can check out Owens’ full interview with MLive.com by clicking this link here.

Flip Gordon Praises NXT Talent

Jon Fuentes
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Ring Of Honor (ROH) star Flip Gordon recently spoke to Marc Madison of The Wrestling News Hub Magazine to talk about a variety of professional wrestling topics. Gordon compared independent wrestling promotions’ wrestling style compared to major promotions, his match with NXT star Oney Locran, and who he’d match up well with in ROH. Here are the highlights:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bGmLjiKOEM

Independent wrestling promotions’ in-ring style compared to major promotions’:

“My take on it is, you have to do a lot to get your name out there and get noticed. That is how you are getting booked more. If people don’t know who you are, they aren’t going to book you. You have to do something to get your name out there, and once you get your name out there then you start learning how to work. You start working with better guys, and that is when you are going to start learning how to work. Obviously, you are not going to know everything about how to work when you start wrestling.

“Talent just has to get the buzz around them, and that is what a lot of guys do, get their name out there and do crazy sh-t, boom, boom, boom. A quick highlight reel so they can share it. That’s what I do. For the first six months to a year, I did the craziest things I could think of to get me a lot of buzz. I put it in a highlight video to help build a lot of attention, and that helped me a lot when it came to bookings, and I started traveling.”

His match with NXT talent Oney Locran:

“May 6th, 2015. He was one of the best on the indies that I wrestled against. It was only a couple of months before he was picked up. It was crazy, and I think about this match like it was yesterday. I can’t remember everything that happened in the match, but I do remember I learned so much from that one match with him because of how much of a professional he was.

“I had no business being in the ring with him. He definitely took care of me and taught me so much that I still remember to this day. There are little things from that match that I still learn from because of him. It was really cool. He taught me things from a selling point and listening to the crowd.”

Who he’d match up well with in ROH:

“I think Shane Taylor and I would have a good match. I think it would be different, and I think it would be more difficult, but I think it would be a good match. It would be a different kind of story that we would be telling in the ring. I am not going to be able to do all my moves on him. I would have to think differently. It just wouldn’t be your typical Flip Gordon match. I think that it would be a cool story to tell because it would be different. I also think it would give me an opportunity to show people that I am not just a high flier that I am well-rounded in the ring.”

You can read Gordon’s full interview with The Wrestling News Hub Magazine by clicking this link here.

Alberto El Patron Explains Why He Feels At Home In IMPACT Wrestling

Jon Fuentes
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IMPACT Wrestling star Alberto El Patron (a.k.a. Alberto Del Rio) recently did an interview with The Orlando Sentinel to talk about a variety of professional wrestling topics. El Patron discussed feeling at home while working at IMPACT, portraying a heel as a professional wrestler, and possibly retiring soon. Here are the highlights:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqsAYnQ73xc

Feeling at home while working with IMPACT Wrestling:

“I know in a spot like the one Impact gave to Alberto, I need to live my life in a certain way. When you’re asked to carry a company, there are certain things you should and shouldn’t do, certain things you have to do, and I didn’t.

“I enjoy Impact so much because some places, if they see you down, they won’t be good enough to come take your hand and help you with what you’re going through. I really appreciated that.”

Portraying a heel:

“I love being a heel. I don’t like being a babyface and a good guy. But it’s not always about what we want, it’s what the fans want. [Before] this last storyline, they liked me. You can’t force the audience, though, if they want to boo or they want to cheer. Right now, I’m really having fun — I’m working as a bad guy, doing all the heel things, but still getting cheered by most of the fans. It’s the best of both worlds.”

Retiring soon:

“Alberto will continue to do this for two years, then start to think about retirement. I’m not tired of the business, or the fans, or the ring — what I don’t like is what goes on behind the curtain. When I went to Impact, I started to feel like I got my passion back. So I’ll wrestle in 2018, then maybe 2019 I’ll start to think about a farewell tour.”

You can read El Patron’s full interview with The Orlando Sentinel by clicking this link here.

Charlotte Flair Reveals How Difficult It Was For Ric Flair To Retire

Jon Fuentes
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SmackDown Live Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair recently did an interview with Fox News to promote her new book, “Second Nature,” and talked about a variety of professional wrestling topics. Flair talked about the characterization of her Charlotte Flair persona, understanding her father now that she herself is a WWE Superstar, redefining women’s wrestling, and more. You can check out the highlights here:

Who is Charlotte Flair?

“Charlotte Flair is continuing her father’s legacy, but paving her own, and she’s opening the door for women all over the world to be superstars in a male dominated industry.”

What’s something about your dad [Ric Flair] you understand now that you’re a WWE superstar yourself? 

“When I look back, I just wish I could have been more understanding in 2008 when he retired, because I just couldn’t figure out why he couldn’t just walk away from the job….But now being apart of the company [WWE] and understanding what it’s like to be in the main event, to feel the rush of the crowd…that’s what he did for his entire life and I understand now why he couldn’t walk away. Now I see why [but] in 2008 I couldn’t understand and I just gave him a hard time and we just went separate ways. But it was a growing process for both of us.”

How has it felt to redefine women’s wrestling? 

“I think because I’m in it, it’s really hard to take myself out of the bubble and see how much we’ve accomplished as a whole. Even now when you look at posters or how many storylines the women have just from three years ago, it’s mind boggling to think that we’ve made such an impact in such a short amount of time. But the future with the Mae Young Classic, where women all over the world competing in one tournament that’s solely just women, that goes to show that who knows how that’s going to translate eventually on the main roster.”

You can read Charlotte’s full interview with Fox News by clicking this link here.

 

Kenny Omega Talks Facing Chris Jericho At Wrestle Kingdom 12, Shinsuke Nakamura’s WWE Run

Andrew Ravens
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Kenny Omega recently spoke with Sports Illustrated to talk about various topics including his upcoming match against Chris Jericho at Wrestle Kingdom 12 next month. Here are the highlights:

Shinsuke Nakamura’s WWE run:

“I’m happy for the response that he’s getting, of course, and all of us in New Japan knew when he left that he was going to get over with his charisma. But when I see Nakamura in WWE, it’s hard for me to say he’s done anything compelling in-ring since he’s been there, which is a shame. It will just take the one right story and the one right moment and then people will be captivated by everything that he does. Right now, he hasn’t had that.”

“Even to another degree, everything in WWE is super over-booked. Some people in WWE even need the steps and their footing in the ring choreographed. They have to pace their breathing before they even go through with a match in the ring. When you’re used to dealing with people who need that match management, who need to have that much choreography in their matches before they go out there and perform, then when a guy like Nakamura–who is this new age ‘strong style,’ and a lot of that is based off emotion and feeling and fighting spirit–wrestles someone who needs marks on the ring so that he can get his footing right with a set of instructions, that’s where Nakamura’s style gets lost in translation. Everything starts to come across as soulless, if that makes any sense.”

His match with Chris Jericho at WrestleKingdom 12:

“I really want this match to be a wake-up call to New Japan and WWE. This match is going to open up a lot of eyes, and it’s going to invoke a feeling you’ve never felt when watching a wrestling match. It’s a clash of unique worlds, and the match we’re going to show with aggression, violence, and disdain is going to evoke a new kind of emotion from people watching.”

Two Matches Confirmed For The First SDL Of 2018, Jinder Mahal On What He’ll Bring To The US Title (Video)

Jon Fuentes
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– Two matches have been officially confirmed for the first SmackDown Live of 2018 next week. First, Shelton Benjamin and Chad Gable will take on The Usos for the SmackDown Live Tag Team Titles after defeating The New Day and Rusev & Aiden English in a Triple Threat No. 1-contender’s match last night.

Also, The Bludgeon Brothers vs. Breezango has been confirmed after The Ascension challenged The Bludgeon Brothers on Breezango’s behalf.

– On last night’s SmackDown Live former WWE Champion Jinder Mahal defeated Tye Dillinger to advance to the second round of the United States Championship Tournament. WWE posted the following video of Mahal backstage in which he claims he’ll bring class, dignity and diversity to the United States Title:

Daniel Bryan Helps Randy Orton Hit The RKO On Sami Zayn (Video)

Jon Fuentes
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Shortly after last night’s SmackDown Live from Chicago went off air, a dark match main event took place in the form of a Six-Man Tag Team match between the teams of Jinder Mahal, Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens vs Randy Orton, Shinsuke Nakamura & AJ Styles. SmackDown Live General Manager Daniel Bryan served as the Special Guest Referee.

The team of Orton, Nakamura & Styles won the match to send the Chicago crowd home happy. At one point in the match, Bryan helped “The Viper” hit the RKO on Zayn to set up a Kinshasa from Nakamura for the win. Check it out here:

https://twitter.com/IHeartCrosby/status/945899345949462528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwnerd.com%2Fdaniel-bryan-randy-orton-sami-zayn%2F

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