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GFW Issues Statement on Rosemary/Sexy Star Incident

Jake Skudder
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Global Force Wrestling has released the following statement regarding the Rosemary/Sexy Star incident that took place during AAA’s TripleMania event:

“It was an honor for GFW to be invited to participate in TripleMania XXV, held this past weekend in Mexico City. The AAA talent that we have worked with have been consummate professionals and the company organized and delivered an extraordinary event, in which both DJZ and Andrew Everett had spectacular showings following their recent surgeries. While the incident with Sexy Star marred an outstanding show, AAA executives have confirmed to us that appropriate measures are being taken in respect of this incident.  Both AAA and Sexy Star have apologized to Rosemary. It is time to focus on the positives of the weekend (TripleMania XXV outrated the other sports entertainment event on Saturday evening in Mexico; Eddie Edwards became the first gaijin to win the GHC Heavyweight title at NOAH) and look forward to building our relationship with AAA and NOAH to bring an ever improving wrestling product to our fans.”

In case you missed the original story; former TNA Knockouts Champion Rosemary was injured during the finish of the Reina de Reinas Championship match at AAA TripleMania XXV. Sexy Star retained her title in the 4-Way match.

At the end of the match, Sexy Star applied an Armbar Submission and popped Rosemary’s arm out of place while applying the hold.

Lady Shani and Star were legitimately shooting on each other during the match. It was reported that Star left the arena after the match, but was brought back by Vampiro to apologize to Rosemary. Star then quickly exited the arena again. Shani was reportedly still upset following the match and was looking for Star backstage.

MLW360: Preview For Ricochet vs. Shane Strickland (Videos)

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Ahead of next month’s big MLW: One-Shot event from Orlando (10/5 at Gilt Nightclub), MLW is producing a special digital series ‘MLW360’ profiling the two competitors who will battle in the main event.

In the first two episodes of this documentary-style series, take a look inside Ricochet and Shane Strickland’s competitive friendship and you’ll see the chemistry (and tension) that will culminate when they step in the ring at One-Shot.

The card for MLW: One-Shot is already looking pretty stacked, with more matches to be announced in the coming weeks. As of this writing, the first three matches announced are:

  • Ricochet vs. Shane Strickland
  • “Filthy” Tom Lawlor vs. Jeff Cobb (UFC fighter vs. Olympic Wrestler)
  • MVP vs. Sami Callihan

Former WCW lead announcer Tony Schiavone and the former “Voice of NXT” Rich Bocchini will call the action on October 5th, with MLW One-Shot streaming on-demand in the following days on the new MLW.TV over-the-top streaming service. Tickets and more information are available at: MLW.com.

MLW360: Ricochet vs. Strickland Chapter 1: Friends & Competitors

The road to MLW: One-Shot begins as MLW360º takes you inside the world of the 2 men main eventing the October 5th show in Orlando. In chapter one, Ricochet and Shane Strickland discuss their friendship and competitive nature.

https://youtu.be/hntEyO7o8iA

MLW360: Ricochet vs. Strickland Chapter 2: Twitter Drama

Promotional work gets underway for MLW: One-Shot while Ricochet plays games with Shane Strickland.

https://youtu.be/Yg4d83yBjO4

The Young Bucks To Appear at WCPW iPPV Refuse To Lose

Jake Skudder
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WCPW has announced the first match for their ‘Refuse to Lose’ iPPV taking place on October 2nd from Newcastle, England.

The Young Bucks will be challenging for the WCPW Tag Team Titles against current champions War Machine. Ring of Honor fans are well aware of what these two teams are capable of producing and now the Bucks will be stamping their mark on one of the biggest companies on the UK scene in WCPW.

WCPW appear to be establishing the ‘Refuse to Lose’ yearly show as one of their premiere events, the 2016 iteration was headlined by Joe Hendry facing WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle.

Tickets for the event are available to purchase via Eventbrite.

PROGRESS Women’s Championship Match Announced Featuring Mae Young Classic Competitor

Jake Skudder
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PROGRESS will be heading to Alexandra Palace on September 10th for their biggest show of the year. Chapter 55: Chase The Sun will see all of PROGRESS’ top stars clash in front of thousands of the PROGRESS Ultras.

The Women’s Championship match for the card has now been announced and it is a huge one. South Pacific Power Trip member Dahlia Black will be challenging PROGRESS Women’s Champion and Mae Young Classic Competitor Toni Storm for the strap in a match that could easily steal the show.

We’ll update you with further news on the show as it becomes available.

EVOLVE 58 Available for FREE on FloSlam, feat. Drew Galloway, Will Ospreay, Zack Sabre Jr, Johnny Gargano and more

Jake Skudder
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0

FloSlam has announced that EVOLVE 58 will be available to view for free on their streaming service for one week only.

The pay per view took place during Wrestlemania weekend and featured an incredibly stacked card. You can check out the full event here.

Here is the full breakdown of matches from the event:

EVOLVE Tag Team Title Match
Drew Galloway & Johnny Gargano (w/Kota Ibushi) (c) vs. The Premier Athlete Brand (Anthony Nese & Caleb Konley) (w/Andrea & SoCal Val)

EVOLVE Title Match
Timothy Thatcher (c) vs. Matt Riddle

Singles Match
Fred Yehi vs. Marty Scurll

Singles Match
Ethan Page vs. Sami Callihan

Singles Match
Ricochet vs. TJ Perkins

Singles Match
Will Ospreay vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

Tag Team Match
Catch Point (Drew Gulak & Tracy Williams) (w/TJP) vs. Heroes Eventually Die (Chris Hero & Tommy End)

https://twitter.com/FloSlam/status/902976731446788096

Zack Sabre Jr. Talks G1 Climax Tournament, Possibly Joining WWE

Andrew Ravens
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Zack Sabre Jr. recently spoke with NJPW’s official website about various topics including not signing with WWE, competing in the G1 Climax, his travel schedule and more. Here are some of the highlights:

Competing in the G1 Climax tournament:

“When it comes to the G1, you’re talking about probably the highest quality tournament that I’ve been in. But for four or five years now, I’ve not had any time off. There have been some weeks where I’d wrestle in three countries, in that same week! I’ll have three international flights coming up next week, all within four days. So being in Japan for one month has almost been like a rest for me!”

Not signing with WWE:

“It would be like asking a musician, ‘Why didn’t you sign with the biggest record label?’ I’m just concerned with being the best professional wrestler I can be. …It was really just a personal choice. This is my path.”

You can read the entire interview here.

Jerry Lawler Says Ric Flair Had a 20% Chance To Survive Recent Surgery

Staff
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On this week’s edition of Jerry “The King” Lawler’s  Dinner With The King pocast, Lawler spoke with c-host Glenn Moore about his return to Monday’s WWE RAW from Memphis.

“Originally, they were going to do something with Pelvis Wesley and wanted me to be there to introduce him. So I knew I was going to be on the show. And it wasn’t basically until 3 p.m. in the afternoon, I got a text message from Michael Cole saying, ‘Get your ass down to the FedEx Forum; you’re going to be doing the commentary tonight.’

But it was great to be back. I wish I would have been able to do more with Corey Graves, as far as going back and forth with.  Vince McMahon said, after the show, that I hadn’t missed a beat and gave me a hug.”

Lawler also provided new information regardingRic Flair’s condition after a recent conversation with fellow WWE Hall of Famer Ricky Steamboat, who visited Flair in the hospital.

“Apparently it was really a touch and go situation, they explained to him [Ricky Steamboat], and when the Nature Boy had that first surgery, the doctors said that Ric had a 20% chance of survival of making it through that surgery. But we all know that he did pull through. And I heard yesterday, he’s already cutting promos on nurses.”

Other topics discussed include Lawler’s visit Playboy Mansion, his most outrageous purchases over the years, if Jerry Jarrett will be in the WWE Hall of Fame someday, and much more. You can listen to the full episode here:

Chris Jericho Says The Finish Of US Title Match At Battleground Was Botched

Anutosh Bajpai
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The United States Championship has changed hands several times in the last few weeks and the multiple title changes have been the subject of many rumors as of late.

It all started when AJ Styles beat Kevin Owens for the US title at a WWE Live Event from Madison Square Garden, though at that point everything looked fine.

The controversy began when Owens defeated Styles at the Battleground PPV and won the Championship back in the title rematch whose finish was noted to be very obscure.

The belt changed hands once again two nights later on SmackDown when AJ won triple threat match against Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho, who had returned to WWE for one night.

Due to this back and forth with the title and the controversial finish of the Battleground match, many wondered if Kevin was really supposed to win at the PPV or they botched the finish.

During his recent appearance on Busted Open Radio, Jericho cleared the air about the whole situation and he revealed that Owens was not scheduled to win the title at the PPV confirming that they screwed up the ending of their match:

“The idea was for me to work with AJ on Tuesday, and do nothing with Kevin. And then the match happened on the Sunday and they legitimately screwed it up, it happens sometimes – the finish didn’t work… whatever happened.”

Later Chris Jericho also noted that they changed the scheduled match between him and AJ Styles at SmackDown into a triple threat involving Kevin Owens so they could put the title back on the former WWE Champion.

Thankfully despite the botch, everything played out well in the end and due to the botch, we got to see a great Triple Threat match at SmackDown which otherwise was not in plans.

Quotes via Cagesideseats

Chris Jericho: Conor McGregor in WWE a “No Brainer”

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Chris Jericho continues to do the media rounds to promote the release of his new book, ‘No Is a Four-Letter Word: How I Failed Spelling but Succeeded in Life.’

During an interview with Sports Illustrated, WWE’s first-ever Undisputed Champion commented on the possibility of UFC Lightweight Champion Conor McGregor appearing in a WWE ring one day. Jericho is convinced it will happen and says McGregor’s recent opponent Floyd Mayweather showed how it could work.

“Conor comes out of [his fight with Floyd Mayweather] looking like 100 million bucks, and Floyd retires 50-0. So will Conor McGregor end up in WWE? I think it’s a no-brainer. It might not be this year or the year after that because there’s a lot of money that you got to spend to get him in there, but a guy that yappy that knows the concept of cutting a wrestling promo — same with Floyd.”

Both Mayweather and McGregor have built their loyal audience of fans by utilizing pro wrestling tactics to hype up their fights. Jericho says it’s really up to Conor McGregor and added that he expects Ronda Rousey is int he same boat.

“That’s why Floyd did WWE, because he got a lot of his stuff from WWE ideas – so I think Conor will end up there. It’s just a matter of when he wants to. I also think Ronda Rousey will end up there one way or another as well.”

Chris Jericho Reveals Advice He Gave Neville About Working With Enzo Amore

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Chris Jericho recently appeared as a guest on Busted Open Radio and said he thinks it was a good idea for WWE to move Enzo Amore to the Cruiserweight division and 205 Live.

“He’s one of those guys that personality-wise he’s very bulletproof because he’s so over-the-top and he’s got such a good rap,” said Jericho. “But where else is he gonna go in the headlining position, in the heavyweight division on RAW? I think it was a great move because I don’t know what else you would do with him if you didn’t stick him in there unless he was just gonna be a manager or a commentator.”

The former Undisputed Champion explaining why he thinks WWE was smart to bring Enzo to 205 Live. Jericho thinks Enzo is a perfect fit for the Cruiserweight division and the show will benefit because he will bring more viewers to the show.

“He fits that vibe size-wise and more importantly he’s gonna bring eyeballs and attention,” said Jericho. “And people will actually pay attention to the matches that he’s in.”

Jericho also revealed some advice he gave to Cruiserweight Champion Neville, who might get the chance to work with Enzo Amore in the near future.

“I told Neville this months ago, I said, ‘There’s gonna come a time when you’re gonna have to make him look good, that’s the job of guys like you and me. It doesn’t matter if he’s good. That’s not his responsibility, that’s yours now,’” Jericho said. “Neville’s gonna have to do anything he can to make that match work the same way that all the great workers in time do that.”

Check out the complete episode of Busted Open Radio featuring the Chris Jericho interview here:

Shelton Benjamin Comments On His WWE Return

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On Tuesday’s SmackDown Live, Shelton Benjamin returned to action in a tag team match with his new partner, Chad Gable. The duo defeated The Ascension in what was Shelton Benjamin’s first match in a WWE ring since 2010.

After the match, Benjamin and Gable were interviewed backstage for this SmackDown Live Fallout video. Benjamin said “without a doubt,” they put the other SmackDown tag teams on notice. They’re here for one reason – to be tag team champions. They will not stop, rest or relent until the achieve their goal.

Chad Gable hyped up Shelton Benjamin’s experience and even though Jason Jordan moved to the RAW brand, he now has a partner that has been to the top of the mountain before. He likened himself to a sponge and said he’s ready to learn from the collegiate wrestling star.

Shelton Benjamin also tweeted after the show, revealing that it was a tough road back to WWE full of physical and mental challenges. According to him, the warm reception from the WWE Universe made it all worth it.

Triple H On Mae Young Classic Possibly Leading To An All Women’s Brand, Selecting Competitors, More

Andrew Ravens
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Triple H recently spoke with Josh Barnett of USA Today’s For The Win to promote the Mae Young Classic. During the interview, he talked about various topics including if the tournament will lead to an all women’s brand and more. Here are the highlights:

If the tournament will lead to an all women’s brand:

“Never say never; you could end up there… We’re experimenting with a lot of different things as far as programming. But the women are a lot different. With the women, you hopefully have opportunities for a lot of these women to beef up the roster on RAW, Smackdown, NXT, and while it’s still a work in progress, we have the intention to be in the United Kingdom as well.

“We want the women to have the same opportunity as the men to be everywhere. You don’t need a separate show, as long as opportunities are everywhere. It makes it feel like less than for them.”

Selecting the competitors:

“We thought we could probably do this with 16 women who were very elite and upper deck. As we started to dig and watch more footage, there were more women. I realized I can do this with 32 who are really solid and high quality. We picked the 32, and it was hard to make the decision of who should go in and who shouldn’t it.”

You can read the entire interview here.

Vampiro Comments On Rosemary/Sexy Star Incident From TripleMania

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Lucha Libre AAA Director of Talent Vampiro has commented on the incident between Rosemary and Sexy Star at Saturday night’s TripleMania XXV event.

Vampiro says the situation “will be dealt with very ethically and professionally.” Lucha Libre AAA will issue an official statement soon and Vampiro invited Dave Meltzer to contact him directly for information about the incident instead of speaking to “stooges” in the business who pass along information with their own agendas in mind.

Vampiro posted the following message on Facebook:

About TRIPLEMANIA 25

First , check out the picture of the entrance we had.

And second , thank you to all the fans , and friends that were with us , it was intense, it was great , it was once in a life time.

I will say that I have had one of the best moments ever in my career, when I surprised all the finalists of the aaa llave de la Gloria talent search with contracts in AAA, and they are the first generation of the new AAA school I will be running, I am very excited about this opportunity , as I feel I have a lot to give , as a teacher or simply as someone who will empower the next generation to find there way …

THIS IS NOT AN OFFICIAL AAA PAGE, ITS MY PERSONAL PAGE

I WILL NOT SPEAK ON BEHALF OF AAA HERE , UNLESS IT IS AUTHORIZED CORRECTLY , MY JOB IS TO HELP …. NOT BECOME AN EGOMANIAC AND GET INVOLVED IN ONLINE DRAMA .

Now, this is my personal
Page,
Where I talk about my life and things I do in business ….

Online training

Krav Maga

Wrestling , music etc.

I most certainly can say a lot about what happened Saturday night,

But here is my point of view.

It is unfair and illogical that I use my personal page to speak about things that are directly involving the company I work for.

There are way to many people in my industry who believe there own hype and get carried away on social media.

As and executive , my personal page is not where company business will be talked about.

I can hype a show and push my own stuff, but I don’t want to be like all the other people in power in my industry and manipulate things for my own
Purposes.

As far as my own personal business and news , I will certainly use Facebook.

But in no way shape or form should an executive abuse his power.

The situation that is making its rounds , will be dealt with very ethically and profesionaly.

There will be a official communication soon.

I only would like to take advantage of this and say one thing.

I have met Dave Meltzer 5 times I think , and he was always cordial to me in person.

I jab a lot at the wrestling observer.
I do think it’s quite an important newsletter , but I can see from something’s that are written, are sooooooo far off from the actual truth.

There are a lot of the boys who stooge, or kiss all the dirt sheets asses , and well, I can see … that the information printed is far from accurate.

I will extend the invitation to Dave Meltzer to contact me directly and not go through his normal stooges and ass kissers , that if he has any legit questions , reach out and I will answer them all.

This is not an official AAA page, so, I won’t address things here .

All of you , all of the fans , haters as well, are so compassionate and , I thank you for that .

I have learned that no matter what, no matter what you say, or do, someone is gonna hate everything about you….

I get that and, fans, and haters have every right to say what they want , I respect it all and I am thankful for it .

You all , good and bad , make our world go round, and without you, we would not be here…

If you need to know, my personal and profesional way of thinking are one and the same.

I believe in having a spiritual balance in your life in order to have peace in your heart.

I have a life outside of wrestling and I am
Constantly learning and growing as a person.

I hope I can continue to entertain and influence you.

Karma is always there , live your life, don’t get caught up in someone else’s drama.

My good friend and teacher Terry Taylor taught me … your either part of the problem, or part of the solution , not much more that that made sense to me at the time…

And today, it means more than ever!

Thank you for supporting me, and
Thank you for supporting AAA and Lucha Underground

Rosemary Provides Another Update On Her Health

Staff
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Global Force star Rosemary posted has provided another update on her health after the incident with Sexy Star at Saturday night’s AAA TripleMania XXV event.

In recent days, Rosemary has received a ton of support from the pro wrestling community, with Sexy Star being unanimously chastised and losing bookings over her unprofessional conduct.

Rosemary posted the following message on Twitter on Tuesday night:

This will be the last I will say on the matter before we go back to our regularly scheduled demonic possession. What happened has happened and its been too much time already spent in the mortal realm as it is.

My injury is thankfully less severe than anticipated (and certainly much less than has been reported some places). Strained tricep/bicep with swelling around the area. Returning to the ring will come when the doc is happy with my strength and range of motion, but I am optimistic that time lost will be minimal.

Can we all take one thing from this entire messy situation: that no matter what is going on in our personal lives, we need to take CARE of each other out there, and I’m not just talking about in the ring. And if you screw up (and we all do), own up to it. Let’s stop making excuses and take accountability for our actions.

Thank you so much to everyone who reached out and checked in on me; I haven’t even been able to read them all yet. With such an outpouring of love and positivity from people, I would like to pay that forward and turn a positive light on what came out of this weekend of wrestling: Eddie Edwards made history when he won the GHC Heavyweight title at NOAH, becoming the first gaijin to do so, and both DJZ and Andrew Everett had INCREDIBLE showings while tagging at Triplemania after both recently having surgeries. So let’s try to put some positive energies back into this world of professional wrestling that I love so much and move on from this.

All right, Demon. The meat-sac is yours.

Kazuchika Okada Tops This Year’s PWI 500 List

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Pro Wrestling Illustrated senior writer Dan Murphy was Jim Ross’ guest on this week’s Ross Report podcast. During the discussion, Murphy revealed the Top 10 wrestlers on this year’s annual PWI 500 list, which covers the period of June 2016-17.

The top spot on this year’s PWI 500 went to IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada, the ‘ace’ of New Japan Pro Wrestling. Eight of the Top 10 spots were awarded to WWE Superstars this year, with IWGP United States Champion Kenny Omega cracking the top 5 as the other NJPW star in the Top 10.

  1. Kazuchika Okada
  2. AJ Styles
  3. Kevin Owens
  4. Roman Reigns
  5. Kenny Omega
  6. Shinsuke Nakamura
  7. Dean Ambrose
  8. Samoa Joe
  9. Bobby Roode
  10. The Miz

In topping this year’s list, Kazuchika Okada becomes the first-ever Japanese wrestler to rank #1 in the PWI 500 and the first wrestler to not be from WWE, WCW or TNA.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ly_ToWK1BuQ

Here’s the Top 50:

  1. Kazuchida Okada
  2. AJ Styles
  3. Kevin Owens
  4. Roman Reigns
  5. Kenny Omega
  6. Nakamura
  7. Dean Ambrose
  8. Samoa Joe
  9. Bobby Roode.
  10. The Miz
  11. Neville
  12. Naito
  13. Randy Orton
  14. Adam Cole
  15. Bray Wyatt
  16. Seth Rollins
  17. Christopher Daniels
  18. Bobby Lashley
  19. John Cena
  20. Kushida
  21. Will Osprey
  22. Chris Jericho
  23. Shibata
  24. Johnny Mundo
  25. Brock Lesnar
  26. Zack Sabre Jr
  27. Eddie Edwards
  28. Finn Balor
  29. Pete Dunne
  30. Jinder Mahal
  31. Marty Scrull
  32. Dolph Ziggler
  33. Cody Rhodes
  34. Braun Strouman
  35. TJ Perkins
  36. EC3
  37. Alberto El Patron
  38. Kyle O Reilly
  39. Hiroshi Tanahashi
  40. Nick Jackson
  41. Sami Zayn
  42. Matt Jackson
  43. Mark Haskins
  44. Rusev
  45. Matt Hardy
  46. Ricochet
  47. Yamato
  48. Hiromu Takahashi
  49. Baron Corbin
  50. Tyler Bate

Backstage News On John Cena-Roman Reigns Segment From Raw

Anutosh Bajpai
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The segment between John Cena and Roman Reigns this past Monday Night on Raw was one of the most memorable contract signings in recent WWE history, especially due to its unscripted nature.

During their promos both the stars said things which you normally wouldn’t expect to hear on WWE programming. However, it also made people wonder how much of their promos were scripted and if they were pre-approved.

During the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio Dave Meltzer talked about the contract signing segment between the two and cleared this doubt of people.

According to Meltzer, both Cena and Reigns’ promos were almost entirely scripted and everything controversial said by both the stars was pre approved.

Though it’s worth mentioning here that at one point during the promo Reigns appeared to have genuinely forgotten his lines and John masterfully played it by saying “it’s called a promo, if you wanna be on top you gotta learn how to do them”

While not confirmed, it was probably the only unscripted part of the whole segment which was filled with some very interesting and offensive lines.

Roman Reigns is now scheduled to face John Cena at the upcoming No Mercy PPV on September 24th and it’d be interesting to see how the company will follow the build-up for this match after their confrontation on Raw.

WWE 2K18 Roster Reveal Part 3 (Video & Screenshots)

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IGN’s WWE 2K18 Roster Reveal series is back with Part 3, hosted by Corey Graves and Renee Young. This week’s installment features special guest Kevin Owens and reveals 42 more playable characters. We’ve also got a new batch of high-resolution screenshots.

WWE 2K18 will be available for PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch on Tuesday, October 17th. Fans who order the Deluxe Edition get the game early on Friday, October 13th.

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New Screenshots:

[vc_images_carousel images=”156586,156587,156588,156589,156590,156591,156593,156594″ img_size=”full” onclick=”link_no”]

WWE 2K18 Roster Reveal: Week 3
(Click Here to view previously announced playable characters)

  1. Akam
  2. Alexa Bliss
  3. Apollo Crews
  4. Asuka
  5. Big Cass
  6. Carmella
  7. Cedric Alexander
  8. Chad Gable
  9. Chris Jericho
  10. Dana Brooke
  11. Dash Wilder
  12. Finn Bálor
  13. Jason Jordan
  14. Jimmy Garvin
  15. Johnny Gargano
  16. Kevin Owens
  17. Lex Luger
  18. Macho Man Randy Savage
  19. Michael P.S. Hayes
  20. Mick Foley
  21. Miss Jacqueline
  22. Mr. Perfect
  23. Neville
  24. Nia Jax
  25. Nick Miller
  26. Razor Ramon
  27. Rezar
  28. Ric Flair
  29. Rick Martel
  30. Rick Rude
  31. Ricky The Dragon Steamboat
  32. Rikishi
  33. Roderick Strong
  34. Rusev
  35. Samoa Joe
  36. Scott Dawson
  37. Shane Thorne
  38. TJ Perkins
  39. Tommaso Ciampa
  40. Tye Dillinger
  41. Vader

Shinsuke Nakamura Reacts To RKO, Kevin Owens On Not Getting Rematch For Universal Championship

Robert Lentini
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10

Kevin Owens on not getting his rematch for the Universal Championship

Kevin Owens noted last night on SmackDown that he became Universal Champion one year ago and then started to complain about not having the United States Championship anymore on SmackDown. Owens lost the Universal Championship to Goldberg at WWE Fastlane leading into WrestleMania 33 and never received a rematch for the title.

https://twitter.com/FightOwensFight/status/902641169649291265

Shinsuke Nakamura on his debut, getting an RKO 15 years later

On last night’s episode of SmackDown, Shinsuke Nakamura teamed up with Randy Orton to face WWE Champion Jinder Mahal and Rusev. Orton and Nakamura were victorious and the two celebrated in the ring. Orton then planted Nakamura with an RKO out of nowhere. Randy Orton will face Shinsuke Nakamura next week on SmackDown. The winner of that match will go on to face Jinder Mahal for the WWE Championship.

Nakamura tweeted out today that he made his debut 15 years ago in Japan. He followed it up with a GIF of him getting an RKO last night as SmackDown went off the air.

Jim Ross Q&A: Asuka On The Main Roster, How To Boost 205 Live, More

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WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross recently updated the question-and-answer section at his official website, JRsBarBQ.com, fielding questions from wrestling fans on a wide-variety of topics. Here are some of the highlights of what JR said about:

Calling the first-ever Inferno Match between Kane and The Undertaker at WWE Unforgiven 1998 and who he would rather see Paul Heyman with — Braun Strowman or Shinsuke Nakamura:

“The Inferno match was HOT at ringside to say the least. Heyman isn’t leving Lesnar nor is he going go absorb another talent to manage at this time, I’m thinking. Nakamura needs to continue to refine his English and Strowman doesn’t need a ‘manager’ IMO.”

How one would go about getting backstage at a WWE live event if they had a legitimate reason but no pre-approved access:

“You might contact the venue and ask them to relay your story to the WWE market rep who’s promoting your event. I think WWE has a public service or community service department that might also be able to help. You’lll have to do some leg work to contact the right people as I am way out of the corporate loop these days to help you more.”

Differences between WWE live event and televised matches and if talent feels perceived pressure to work a different style on camera:

“Obviously, time restraints and limitations affect how the talents perform on TV as opposed to not having those stringent issues at the live events.”

Shinsuke Nakamura recently stating that he often travels alone or with one of the Mexican wrestlers while on the road with WWE and if he should travel with a veteran to help make him feel like part of the team, and to help get him over:

“I likely would advise Shinsuke to travel with someone who can help him with his English in basic conversations but at the end of the day Nakamura has to be content with his travel arrangements as they are omnipresent.”

What he feels could be done to help boost ratings on the struggling 205 Live show:

“The talents on 205 Live need to find more time on either RAW or SDLIve to expose their skills to more people in hopes that those viewers will follow these talents to the WWE Network for the broadcast.”

How he feels former NXT Women’s Champion Asuka will fare on the WWE main roster:

“Asuka is a star and will kill it at the next level without question.”

Visit JRsBarBQ.com to read the full blog  You can also listen to JR’s Ross Report podcast every week at PodcastOne.com.

Charlotte Provides An Update On Ric Flair (Video)

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Charlotte Flair has provided another update on her father, 2-time WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair. Backstage at Tuesday’s SmackDown Live, Charlotte told Renee Young that it’s been a very difficult two weeks. Her father is a fighter and joked that The Nature Boy has nine lives. She thanked everybody for their support.

She added that Ric Flair has a long road ahead of him and won’t be back next week strutting. That said, she wouldn’t be at SmackDown if she didn’t think everything was ok, but WWE is where she belongs and she’s glad to be back. Being with her friends again and traveling with Becky Lynch, seeing Tyler Breeze, New Day and AJ Styles is helping her out a lot. She missed her routine and life on the road and it’s great to be back knowing Ric’s health is improving.

You can watch the interview here:

WWE Running Cena-Reigns Poll, NXT Preview For Tonight

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– With their match official for next month’s RAW-brand No Mercy pay-per-view, WWE.com is running a poll asking fans if they think Roman Roman Reigns can fill John Cena’s shoes. As of this writing, 70% of fans say “No. No one will ever be able to replace John Cena” with only 30% saying, “Yes. The Big Dog is the guy now.”

– The following is confirmed for tonight’ episode of NXT on the WWE Network:

  • Drew McIntyre’s first appearance NXT champion.
  • Bobby Roode vs. Roderick Strong.
  • Ruby Riot vs. Peyton Royce.
  • Heavy Machinery in action.

Plus, there will be appearances from new NXT Tag Team Champions Sanity, Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish, NXT General Manager William Regal and more.

Chris Jericho Reveals How He Got Styles Clash Unbanned From WWE

Anutosh Bajpai
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It’s a known fact that WWE has banned several moves they consider ‘too dangerous’ for their programming and when AJ Styles first came to the company many believed that his Styles Clash would result in WWE Superstars being injured.

It was reported that Vince McMahon found out about a botched Styles Clash which broke Yoshi Tatsu’s neck and he was said to be concerned about it being used on WWE Programming.

At one point Styles didn’t use the move for long which started rumors that WWE has banned it and AJ himself had to clear that it wasn’t the case. Now it appears Chris Jericho played a part in getting the move ‘unbanned’ from the company.

During his recent appearance on 107.7 The Bone with Baby Huey & Bimbo Jimbo, Jericho talked about the time AJ first came to WWE and revealed that Styles Clash was unofficially banned because of rumors of people getting hurt about it:

“He had this finishing move called the Styles Clash which was kind of unofficially banned in the WWE because there was rumors that people had gotten hurt from it and all that sort of thing, but I knew it was a great move.”

Continuing on the topic Chris said that he let Styles use the move in their matches and eventually he reached Mr. McMahon and told the boss that AJ should use that move to which he replied positively, ending the unspoken ban:

“Eventually I went to Vince and said “Did you see that move that AJ Did?” Never using the words the Styles Clash because I knew…that name is taboo.  So, I said you know that move where he picks me up and dumps me on my face?…He should use that as a finish!” [and McMahon said] ‘Yes, absolutely use it as a finish’.”

Apart from this Chris Jericho also talked about his recent WWE run and more.

Quotes via 411mania

Update On Xavier Woods’ Injury, How Long He Could Be Out Of Action

Anutosh Bajpai
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We noted before how Xavier Woods of the New Day suffered a knee injury during a SmackDown Brand Live Event from Texarkana, AK this past Monday night.

Woods was involved in a tag team match with Kofi Kinston against The Usos and he suffered the injury when he was performing a jumping DDT during the closing moments of the bout.

At that time it was not known how severe the damage was and how long it could keep him out of action, though now the SmackDown Star has revealed the details on his injury.

Xavier recently posted a video from his Youtube Channel UpUpDownDown in which he is seen playing Wind Jammers with Becky Lynch and Renee Young.

During the video, he also talked about his injury and revealed that he has an MCL sprain. Upon hearing this Becky said that she suffered a similar injury recently and it shouldn’t take a long time to heal, as noted by Wrestlinginc.

While Woods didn’t disclose whether it’s a grade-1 or grade-2 injury, grade-2 which is more severe of the two takes about 2 to 4 weeks to heal so he is not expected to stay out of action for very long.

You can watch the video posted by Xavier Woods below, his comments about the injury come around the 9-minute mark:

WWE SmackDown Recap & Reaction (8/29)

Robert Lentini
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The Singh Brothers and Jinder Mahal came down to the ring to kick off this week’s episode of SmackDown. Jinder complained about being disrespected by Americans and went on to say that he was made to look like a fool last week by Shinsuke Nakamura. Mahal claimed that he is no fool and that he is the best WWE Champion of all time. Jinder stated that Nakamura must pay for what happened last week and Samir and Sunil Singh apologized for letting Nakamura get to Mahal last week on SmackDown.

The Singh Brothers then offered to kiss Mahal’s feet on behalf of India. As they lean in for the smooch, Nakamura’s music hits. Shinsuke comes down to the ring and pushes the Singh Brothers aside and started brawling with Ziggler. The Singh Brothers then grab Nakamura’s legs and Jinder Mahal booted Shinsuke in the face. All three started to beatdown Nakamura but Randy Orton came down to the ring for the save.

Rusev then came down to the ring and kicked Orton in the face. Jinder Mahal then planted Nakamura with the Khallas and then celebrated with the WWE Championship. Mahal and Rusev will face Orton and Nakamura later tonight. It was also announced shortly after that Randy Orton will face Shinsuke Nakamura next week. The winner of that match will get a shot at the WWE Championship.

Reaction: I thought the match between Shinsuke Nakamura and Jinder Mahal at SummerSlam was very boring. I’ve already seen Orton versus Mahal several times recently and all of those matches sucked as well. I am not entertained at all with the storylines surrounding the WWE Championship right now.

Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin vs The Ascension

Gable and Viktor started off the match. Gable leveled Viktor with a Clothesline and then followed it up with a knee to the chest. Benjamin was then tagged in and he got a great reaction from the crowd. Benjamin planted Viktor with a Suplex and tagged Gable back into the match. Gable then spent the next couple of minutes trapped in the ring as Konnor and Viktor took turns beating him down. Shelton Benjamin was finally tagged back in and he cleaned house. Gable launched Konnor out of the ring and then shoved Viktor towards Shelton. Benjamin connected with a Facebuster onto Viktor for the pinfall victory.

Winners: Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin

Reaction: This was a quick match but Shelton Benjamin looked good in his return to WWE. I hope this team works out because SmackDown needs more viable teams in the tag division.

Renee Young interviewed Baron Corbin backstage. Corbin said that he was sick of everyone asking “where is your briefcase?”. Corbin stated that he is going to take the United States title away from AJ Styles tonight.

AJ Styles came down to the ring for the United States Open Challenge. Tye Dillinger’s music hits and Dillinger makes his way down the entrance ramp. Baron Corbin confronted him on the stage and the two started arguing. Dillinger eventually made his way to the ring after shoving Corbin aside.

United States Championship: AJ Styles vs Tye Dillinger

Dillinger got in a little offense to start off the match and went for the Tye Breaker but AJ blocked it. AJ then quickly locked in the Calf Crusher for the easy victory.

After the match, Corbin threw Dillinger into the barricade. Corbin then tried to attack Styles but AJ was ready and hit him with a forearm to the face. Styles then raised the United States Championship as Corbin threw a tantrum ringside.

Winner & Still United States Champion: AJ Styles

Jinder Mahal approached Rusev backstage. Jinder said that it was great that the nations of India and Bulgaria are teaming up to crush Shinsuke Nakamura and Jinder Mahal. Rusev stated that he is not Mahal’s friend and that he came to SmackDown to win a title. Rusev then said that after tonight’s match, he is coming after Mahal’s WWE Championship.

Bobby Roode vs Mike Kanellis

Roode controlled the entire match and connected with the Glorious DDT for the quick victory.

Winner: Bobby Roode

Aiden English came down to the ring to perform a song. Kevin Owens quickly interrupted and stated that none of these hillbillies in the crowd will comprehend English’s song. Owens then asked for English to leave the ring and Aiden obliged. Owens then went on to complain about Shane McMahon being the referee in last week’s US Championship match.

Owens said that this would never happen on RAW because Stephanie McMahon would never abuse her power like Shane McMahon does. Owens called Shane McMahon and ego maniac and Shane McMahon came down to the entrance ramp. Owens said that here is Shane McMahon to take all the spotlight away from the talent and place it upon himself.

Shane explained that Owens picked Baron Corbin to be the referee last week. Corbin was extremely biased and that caused Shane to come down to the ring. Corbin then left the ring and threw his referee shirt at Shane McMahon. Shane stated that Owens lost the match last week fair and square. Shane said that everyone is sick and tired of listening to Owens complain. Shane then told Owens to leave the ring and for Aiden English to get back into the ring because he has a match against Sami Zayn.

Sami Zayn vs Aiden English

Kevin Owens joined commentary for the match. Owens scolded Byron Saxton for a minute and then said that he was sick of referees not being able to do their job. Owens then got into the ring and took the shirt of the referee in the ring. Owens put on the referee shirt and hit Sami Zayn with a Pop-Up Powerbomb. Owens then instructed English to pin Zayn and Owens counted to three. Owens then threw the shirt at the referee ringside after the match.

Winner: Aiden English

Reaction: Kevin Owens ripping Byron Saxton on commentary is always hilarious. Kevin Owens and Shane McMahon are currently one of the only storylines I find moderately interesting on SmackDown right now.

Shane McMahon was interviewed backstage. Shane said that he was pissed off at what Kevin Owens just did. Shane said that the match did not count and that Sami Zayn did not lose that match. Shane also revealed that Owens has already left the arena and that Shane was going to do the same himself.

Dolph Ziggler was interviewed backstage. Ziggler was supposed to return to the ring this week but Ziggler stated that will not happen. Ziggler was asked why he felt the need for a change and Dolph proceeded to go on a rant about always being overlooked. Ziggler said that maybe he will come down to the ring on a motorcycle with a guitar and that hopefully people would finally notice him. Ziggler mocked John Cena’s “you can’t see me motion”. Ziggler threw out the idea of putting paint on his face because when Finn Balor does it people seem to forget that he is a charisma vacuum. Dolph said that he will return to the ring next week and provide all flash and no substance.

Reaction: I have no idea where this is going. I’m guessing that Ziggler is going to keep doing this for a couple more weeks before he finally gets into the ring. Whatever this leads to, I just don’t see things working out for Ziggler anymore. I hope I’m wrong but I think it is asking a lot of the WWE Universe to believe in Dolph Ziggler again.

The Usos vs New Day (Winner Picks Stipulation For Tag Title Match)

Xavier Woods came down to the ring with a knee brace on. Woods has a sprained MCL and will miss about a month of in-ring action. SmackDown went to a break before the match started. When SmackDown returned, Big E was trapped in the ring. He finally was able to tag in Kofi who cleaned house. Big E got Superkicked in the face and he fell to the floor. Jimmy Uso then rolled Kofi up while grabbing his tights for the pinfall victory. The Usos will now pick the stipulation for when they defend the titles against New Day.

Winners: The Usos

Reaction: The theme of the night seems to be quick matches. The Usos now get to pick the stipulation for the rematch. I’ve enjoyed this feud for the most part and I think these two teams work well together. I will be interested in the match no matter what the stipulation is.

Ellsworth and Carmella were backstage. Ellsworth apologized for screwing up Carmella’s plan to cash in last week on SmackDown. Natalya showed up and it was announced that she will be facing Carmella next week on SmackDown. Natalya warned Carmella that if she ever cashed in her MITB contract on her, she will make her the Baron Corbin of the women’s division.

Carmella told Natalya to keep the SmackDown Women’s Championship shiny for her and then left with Ellsworth. Naomi then interrupted and said that she will be getting her rematch for the SmackDown Women’s Championship in two weeks on SmackDown. Naomi then made a couple of meow noises to Natalya then walked away.

Tamina vs Tina Stock

Tamina dominated and won the match with ease as Lana shouted ringside with a microphone. After the match, Lana raised Tamina’s hand and photographers came into the ring to take pictures of Lana and Tamina. Lana had a giant grin on her face and Tamina didn’t seem pleased.

Winner: Tamina

Another episode of Fashion Files was shown. Breezango put on a friendship bracelet. Breeze then shut the lights out and put on his blacklight. There were arrows on boxes that led to a sign that said “Two B or not Two B”.

Shinsuke Nakamura & Randy Orton vs Rusev & Jinder Mahal

Orton and Nakamura attacked Rusev and Mahal before the match as SmackDown went to commercial break. When SmackDown returned, Nakamura was trapped in the ring. Shinsuke eventually tagged in Orton and he cleaned house. The Singh Brothers hopped up on the ring apron and distracted Orton. Mahal capitalized and beatdown Orton. Mahal and Rusev then isolated Orton in the ring for the next few minutes.

Rusev connected with a kick to Orton’s face for a two count. Mahal was then tagged in and he hit a knee to Orton’s chest for another two count. Orton finally got to the corner to tag in Nakamura. Rusev was also tagged back in the match. Rusev missed with a right hand and Nakamura locked in an Arm Bar. Mahal then broke it up and Orton went to plant him with the DDT between the ropes but Mahal fell off the ropes. Orton then hit Mahal with a DDT and Jinder rolled out of the ring. Shinsuke then hit Rusev with the Kinshasa for the victory.

After the match, Orton and Mahal shared a laugh and celebrated in the ring. Orton then hit an RKO out of nowhere on Nakamura and then posed in the corner as SmackDown went off the air.

Winners: Shinsuke Nakamura & Randy Orton

Reaction: I’m sure the DDT spot with Mahal on the ropes will make it’s way to Botchamania soon. I was glad Orton hit Nakamura with the RKO because at least something exciting happened on tonight’s show. Orton versus Nakamura next week should be a decent match and I’m looking forward to it. The problem is that the winner of that match has to go on to face Jinder Mahal, which is guaranteed to be a mediocre match at best.

Overall, SmackDown was pretty boring this week in my opinion. I find RAW to be the much more entertaining show than SmackDown recently. There was a significant portion of last year where I thought SmackDown was putting on way better shows than RAW every week. That has completely reversed and SmackDown now feels formulaic and boring.

What did you think of this week’s SmackDown? Let us know in the comments below.

Emma Talks About Returning From Injury, Goals In WWE, More

Andrew Ravens
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Emma recently spoke with FOX Sports Australia to promote WWE’s upcoming live events in Australia and New Zealand. During the interview, she talked about various topics including her return to action following an injury she suffered earlier this year and more. Here are the highlights:

Her goals in WWE:

“It’s important to have goals and there’s still so much more I want to achieve. I’ve never had a championship. The biggest goal there is, is to be women’s champion. I am the first Australian woman on the WWE roster, that in itself is huge and to kind of broadcast that to the world and put that label on it adds that much more credibility to the title. Things like getting my face on the side of a truck, getting merchandise, there’s all kinds of things I’m yet to accomplish that are on my list.”

Returning from injury:

“I try to go (to the gym) five days a week. I judge it by how my body feels. For instance, I might lift for three days and feel worn out so I’ll do a recovery day the next day and make sure I do some cardio and stretching and sit in the sauna rather than lift heavy. Injuries are always going to happen, it comes with the job but it does remind me to take better care of myself and to rehab even when things start to feel better. The other things like massage or getting stretched out, doing the extra things in the gym to make sure my body is recovering properly.”

You can read the entire interview here.

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