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Corey Graves Blasts Dean Ambrose’s Intercontinental Title Run

Jon Fuentes
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WWE Monday Night RAW and SmackDown Live announcers Corey Graves and JBL once again took to the WWE Network Exclusive show Bring It To The Table to give their opinions on a variety of professional wrestling topics, and as always, they didn’t hold back. You can check out the highlights from the show here:

JBL on Jinder Mahal’s career not being made by winning the WWE Championship:

“You’re not going to be made just because you get a championship, okay? It can jumpstart you, obviously. Look at David Arquette [who] got the WCW [World Heavyweight] Championship. It certainly didn’t make him. Jinder Mahal is a guy who got jumpstarted because of that world championship. And I think when he walks out, he looks like a world champion. When you see him with that title, you think, ‘that’s what a world champion should look like.'”

Graves admits his initial doubt about Mahal’s title reign: 

“Last time we did this show, I wasn’t sure [about Mahal’s world title reign], I wasn’t sold, but to John’s point, you see him come out with the championship, and The Singh Brothers, and the suit, he looks legitimate. And, it’s great, Jinder looks like a big deal, like a big time champion.”

Graves says there was nothing memorable about Dean Ambrose’s run as Intercontinental Champ:

“No offense to Dean Ambrose, but I don’t really know anything memorable that Dean accomplished while as Intercontinental Champion other than losing to Miz.” Graves added, “I’m being honest. I’d say it to his face.”

Graves on the Universal Title being on an upswing after initially being “snakebitten”:

“On the RAW side of things, you’ve got Brock Lesnar who has the Universal Championship. And, for the first time maybe since its inception, the Universal Championship actually means something. It has kind of been snakebitten. You had Finn [Bálor] win it for the first time go down with an injury, they played hot potato with Kevin Owens and the Goldberg scenario.

“Finally, as we head towards Great Balls Of Fire, you have Samoa Joe, a legitimate number one contender and you have Brock Lesnar who is a legitimate threat no matter what championship he holds and that for the first time is a really big, big time, big fight feel, and I can’t wait for it.”

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

Quote: I Can Still Hear Vince McMahon’s Voice in my Head

Jon Fuentes
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Former WWE announcer and current Impact Wrestling announcer Josh Mathews recently did an interview with Wrestle:List to talk about the future of Impact Wrestling and who helped him the most along the way in his career. You can check out the highlights from the interview here below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZwtFbivNt8

Future of Impact Wrestling:

“I think you can expect to see a lot more from Impact. This is nothing against the people who were in charge before this new regime took over, but we sort of laid dormant and didn’t really attempt to get out there and do different things. For someone like myself, who is always trying to find different angles and marketing angles.”

Who helped him the most throughout his career in professional wrestling:

“There are quite a few people who helped me on the way. When I first started I was in the car with Michael Cole and Taz and learned a tremendous amount from them. I also learnt from Jim Ross and Paul Heyman had a tremendous influence on my career. When Paul Heyman was the lead writer for Smack Down, and Smack Down was produced on Tuesday, postproduction was done on a Wednesday, and the show was put out on Thursday, Paul would be there for the edit of the show. We would be there; Michael Cole, Paul [Heyman], Taz and myself would be in the studio until 5 o’clock in the morning and changing the call of the show. Those guys would be in the booth, and learning from Paul [Heyman] how to do this from a commentary standpoint.

“When you sit down and do the main shows you’re working directly for the man who owns the company [Vince McMahon] and he’s listening to every word you say. He also had a tremendous effect on my career and still continues to to this day. I can hear him in my head when I call things, “Don’t scream at me” and “Don’t over sell this” I can hear it. That has molded me in to the play-by-play announcer I am today.”

You can read the full interview by visiting this link here.

Mike Bennett Explains How Kevin Owens Helped Him Sign With WWE

Jon Fuentes
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Former Ring Of Honor (ROH) and Impact Wrestling stars Mike Bennett (who now goes by Mike Kanellis in WWE) and Maria Kanellis have made their ways to the WWE. The pair made their debut in a brief segment at the Money In The Bank pay-per-view (PPV) earlier this month shortly before the main event. Mike Bennett recently joined former WWE Tag Team Champions Edge and Christian’s podcast, E&C’d Pod Of Awesomeness, to talk about he and Maria’s arrival in WWE.

During the interview, Mike explained how WWE United States Champion Kevin Owens helped him sign with the company. Bennett say she contacted Paul Heyman about a potential WWE run, who connected him with Triple H. Hunter told Bennett that someone would be in touch with him shortly, however, he never heard anything back for weeks. In that time Bennett was leaning towards signing back with Impact, until Owens caught wind of that decision and decided to call Mike up and convince him to wait things out:

“What are you guys doing? I heard you guys were resigning with TNA, I don’t think you should do that. That is a stupid idea. You should come here.”

Owens convinced Bennett to wait about a week before making a decision, and in that time, William Regal called Mike and Maria up and offered them a spot right up on the main roster.

You can listen to the interview by clicking here.

Randy Orton Clarifies ‘Dive’ Comments

Jon Fuentes
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Earlier this year, former WWE Champion Randy Orton angered a lot of independent wrestling fans and talents with his comments regarding the current indie product. Orton retweeted a critique sent out by Rip Rodgers on Twitter and everything spiraled out of control from there. The post mainly scolded indie wrestlers for their excessive use of dives and super-kicks during matches.

Recently, Orton was interviewed in his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri on Hot 104.1 to promote the WWE Championship match he had with Jinder Mahal at the Money In The Bank pay-per-view (PPV). Orton commented on the ‘dive’ situation and clarified that he doesn’t have any problems wrestling guys that do dives, as he had no problem putting a guy like AJ Styles over in WWE:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OL7bUOG9B38

“I’m putting over AJ [Styles] strong, right? AJ, he has dives. A lot of guys that I work with do dives. I’ve been dived on a lot. I don’t have a problem with dives out of the ring, but when a lot of these guys, who don’t have anything to fall back on, and they’re not making any money doing it, they’re going around town wrestling on these independent shows — which is awesome, by the way. A lot of our guys, like AJ, Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins wouldn’t be here without the indie scene. But they’re smart. A lot of these guys are going to go out there and they’re going to break their neck at 23 years old, doing stuff they shouldn’t be doing”

“It’s a display of athleticism, no doubt, but … I’m not going to watch gymnastics. I want to go watch a story, a fight between a good guy and a bad guy. How many flips they do each, I’m not keeping a tally … But do you know who had my back on it? Guys like AJ. Guys that do dives and know what they’re doing … Kurt Angle texted me after that. He didn’t do dives. If he did, he would put it where it should have went … he wouldn’t have done it just to do it … If that’s where our business is going, to where it’s just a preconceived, choreographed match with a bunch of acrobatics — back flips, front flips, gainers off the top rope, shooting star presses, moonsaults to the floor — then I don’t want to be a part of it. But I’ll tell you what: I don’t think that’s where it’s going.”

H/T IWNerd for the transcriptions  

Heyman: Brock Lesnar Will Call Out Samoa Joe Tonight on RAW

Jon Fuentes
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The confrontation between Brock Lesnar and Samoa Joe could come to a head once again tonight (Mon. June 26, 2017) on Monday Night RAW.

A few weeks ago, Lesnar and Joe engaged in an all out brawl in the middle of the ring that needed the entire WWE locker room to come out and help separate. Joe is riding high after his Extreme Rules Fatal Five-Way match victory against Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, and Bray Wyatt to become the new No. 1-contender for “The Beast’s” Universal Title. Lesnar and Joe will lock horns in the main event of the WWE’s Great Balls Of Fire pay-per-view (PPV) next month (Sun. July 9, 2017).

Tonight’s episode of Monday Night RAW will go down live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, and Lesnar’s advocate, Paul Heyman, took to Twitter to reveal that his client plans on calling out Samoa Joe in the middle of the ring – and he’s looking for a fight:

Lonzo & LaVar Ball Appearing On Miz TV Tonight

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Tonight’s WWE RAW from Los Angeles will feature two special guests – NBA star Lonzo Ball and his father, LaVar. The duo will be appearing on Miz TV.

Lonzo was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers last week, the #2 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. His father Lavar is his outspoken manager and a former NFL star.

WWE.com notes that Lonzo’s brothers LiAngelo and LaMelo will also be part of the segment. Tune into to RAW tonight to find out what happens when the Big Baller Brand invades the WWE Universe.

Stephanie McMahon Named One Of The Most Powerful Women In Sports

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WWE Chief Brand Ambassador and RAW Commissioner Stephanie McMahon has been named one of AdWeek’s Most Powerful Women in Sports. AdWeek featured 35 female executives and influencers who they deemed “MVP’s of the sports marketing world.”

Regarding Stephanie, AdWeek wrote, “Divas” are dead, and “superstars” are born, thanks to McMahon, who retired the old-school name for WWE’s women grapplers and replaced it with the same title superstars given to the sport’s male competitors. McMahon, daughter of CEO Vince McMahon, has spent two decades in nearly every facet of the WWE, both on-air and in its business operations, helping make WrestleMania 33 a $14.5 million-grossing, attendance-breaking event at the Orlando Citrus Bowl this spring (besting a 2015 concert by the Rolling Stones).

Other names on the list include Erika Nardini (CEO, Barstool Sports), Lisa Borders (President, WNBA), Erin Andrews (Broadcaster, Fox Sports), Nancy Dubuc (President, CEO, A+E Networks) and Dawn Hudson (Chief marketing officer, National Football League).

Visit AdWeek.com to check out the complete list.

Potential Spoiler For Tonight’s WWE RAW

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As noted earlier, WWE is selling a “Los Angeles 3:16” t-shirt head of tonight’s RAW from the Staples Center, fueling speculation that we might see an appearance from “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.

WWE has been selling “[City Name] 3:16” shirts at a few recent live events and there was no sign of Austin, so the LA 3:16 shirts weren’t necessarily a sign that Austin would be in attendance for RAW.

Twitter user @SeanHBlake is at the Staples Center watching the Superstars arrive for tonight and wouldn’t you know, Austin arrived at the around around 12:30pm local time. There’s no guarantee that Austin will appear on television. He lives locally and might just be visiting backstage. But the Texas Rattlesnake will be in the house tonight for Monday Night RAW.

https://twitter.com/SeanHBlake/status/879423585214898177

AAA Stars Announced For Slammiversary XV

Staff
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Impact Wrestling announced on Monday that AAA stars Drago and El Hijo De Fantasma are coming to Slammiversary (7/2). Drago and El Hijo del Fantasma will team up in a 4-way match for the IMPACT Wrestling Tag-Team Championship, now held by the Latin American Xchange (LAX). The match will also feature talent from two other international promotions.

El Hijo del Fantasma (Spanish for Son of the Ghost) is a second-generation wrestler who has been wrestling since 2000, following the wrestling boots of his father, El Fantasma.

Drago, who has been wrestling professionally since 1998, has won multiple tag-team championships and is regarded as one of the most colorful, charismatic and creative wrestlers ever.

Below you can check out Impact’s announcement video:

https://youtu.be/VRwwMLKhfzk

WWE Selling “Los Angeles 3:16” Shirts For Tonight’s RAW, Flair Goes Sneaker Shopping (Video)

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– Mike Kanellis responded to a fan on Twitter who said he’s not a “real man” for taking his wife’s last name.

https://twitter.com/RealMikeBennett/status/879118231906156545

– Complex published this video of Ric Flair going sneaker shopping Joe La Puma at Stadium Goods in NYC. The Nature Boy talks about partying with Michael Jordan and LeBron James being the greatest athlete of all time.

– WWE is selling new “Los Angeles 3:16” t-shirts ahead of tonight’s RAW from the Staples Center, leading to speculation that we will see an appearance from WWE Hall of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.

While Steve Austin is often in the Los Angeles area, WWE has sold “[City Name] 3:16” t-shirts at several recent live events, so it’s not necessarily an indication that he’ll be at RAW.

Mae Young Classic: Commentary Team, Streaming Schedule

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WWE Hall of Famers Jim Ross and Lita will serve as the commentary team for the upcoming Mae Young Classic women’s tournament, which premieres Monday, August 28th.

According to WWE.com, the Mae Young Classic women’s tournament will stream exclusively on WWE Network, starting Monday, August 28th, with the first four episodes available on demand. Episodes five through eight will be available on demand the follow week, Monday, September 4th.

The finale of the 32-woman single-elimination tournament will stream live from Las Vegas on Tuesday, September 12th at 10pm EST (after SmackDown Live goes off the air).

Cody Rhodes: Wrestling Daniel Bryan Would Be “Major, Major Box Office”

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On Monday Sports Illustrated published a new interview with Cody Rhodes. The American Nightmare spoke about winning the Ring of Honor World Championship this past weekend, his upcoming match against IWGP champion Kazuchika Okada and Daniel Bryan’s tweet about challenging him for the ROH World title next September if Cody is still champion by then.

Daniel Bryan, a former Ring of Honor World Champion himself, has stated in numerous recent interviews that he’s interested in wrestling again next year around the time his WWE contract expires — if he’s healthy enough. Bryan congratulated Cody on his first world title win and issued the following tongue-in-cheek challenge:

Cody told Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated that Daniel Bryan’s tweet was probably not entirely serious, but he thinks they would do “major, major box office” if they ever did square off in the future.

“I don’t think it was a challenge, just fun,” said Rhodes. “Daniel Bryan remains one of my friends. Final Countdown would be a welcomed tune, even as a competitor. I have always looked up to Dan. It would be major, major box office for all involved.”

Head over to SI.com to read more about Cody’s comments about wrestling Okada this weekend at New Japan Pro Wrestling’s first-ever live event from California, Kenny Omega, his brother Goldust and much more.

WWE RAW Preview: Brock Lesnar Invades Los Angels

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With less than two weeks until Brock Lesnar’s Universal Championship defense against Samoa Joe at Great Balls of Fire, WWE RAW rolls into Los Angeles for tonight’s live broadcast from the Staples Center.  WWE.com is advertising the following items for the show:

  • Is Samoa Joe prepared for Brock Lesnar’s return?
  • Will Goldust be smacked by “the hand of Truth” during his movie premiere?
  • What’s next for Enzo Amore?
  • Will Bray Wyatt retaliate against Seth Rollins?
  • Is an ambulance ride in Roman Reigns’ near future?

As always, join us here tonight for our weekly WWE RAW Live Coverage.

Below, you can catch up on the Top 10 moments from last week’s show:

Why Did Shinsuke Nakamura Miss the WWE House Show in Vancouver?

Chris Stephens
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Shinsuke Nakamura was unable to perform at a WWE house show in Vancouver over the weekend. It is being reported that he had trouble getting across the Canadian border.

Nakamura is still expected to be at the upcoming WWE house show in Everett, Washington, as well as Tuesday’s Smackdown in San Diego. He previously performed in Canada with ROH, and evidently had no problems crossing the border then.

WWE Vancouver Live Event Results

  • Natalya defeated Charlotte.
  • Kevin owens defeated Rusev and Sami Zayn in a 3-way match for the US Championship.
  • Baron Corbin defeated Tye Dillinger.
  • Becky Lynch and Naomi defeated Carmella and Tamina.
  • Seth Rollins beat Jinder Mahal via DQ.

Looking At The Lineage of Ring of Honor’s World Championship

Chris Stephens
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Cody (Rhodes) became the 23rd world champion in Ring of Honor history this weekend. His reign will begin the 27th in the history of the championship.

Cody defeated Christopher Daniels in the main event of BITW on Saturday to win the title. Daniels had defeated Adam Cole for the belt on March 10th earlier this year. Christopher Daniels oddly enough, was involved in the 1st ever ROH championship match as well, back in 2002.

ROH World Championship Lineage

Lineage

  1. Low-Ki (defeated Christopher Daniels, Brian Kendrick and Doug Williams)
    Date of championship win: July 27th, 2002
    Title Defences: 1
    Days as Champion: 56
  2. Xavier 
    Date of championship win: September 21, 2002
    Title Defences: 4
    Days as Champion: 182
  3. Samoa Joe 
    Date of championship win: March 22, 2003
    Title Defences: 29
    Days as Champion: 645
  4. Austin Aries
    Date of championship win: December 26, 2004
    Title Defences: 16
    Days as Champion: 174
  5. CM Punk
    Date of championship win: June 18, 2005
    Title Defences: 5
    Days as Champion: 55
  6. James Gibson
    Date of championship win: August 12, 2005
    Title Defences: 4
    Days as Champion: 36
  7. Bryan Danielson
    Date of championship win: September 17, 2005
    Title Defences: 38
    Days as Champion: 462
  8. Homicide
    Date of championship win: December 23rd, 2006
    Title Defences: 3
    Days as Champion: 56
  9. Takeshi Morishima
    Date of championship win: February 17, 2007
    Title Defences: 20
    Days as Champion: 231
  10. Nigel McGuiness
    Date of championship win: JOctober 6, 2007
    Title Defences: 38
    Days as Champion: 545
  11. Jerry Lynn
    Date of championship win: April 3rd, 2009
    Title Defences: 6
    Days as Champion: 71
  12. Austin Aries (2nd reign)
    Date of championship win: June 13, 2009
    Title Defences: 13
    Days as Champion: 245
  13. Tyler Black
    Date of championship win: February 13, 2010
    Title Defences: 7
    Days as Champion: 210
  14. Roderick Strong
    Date of championship win: September 11th 2010
    Title Defences: 5
    Days as Champion: 189
  15. Eddie Edwards
    Date of championship win: March 19th, 2011
    Title Defences: 3
    Days as Champion: 99
  16. Davey Richards
    Date of championship win: June 26th, 2011
    Title Defences: 10
    Days as Champion: 321
  17. Kevin Steen
    Date of championship win: May 12th, 2012
    Title Defences: 18
    Days as Champion: 328
  18. Jay Briscoe
    Date of championship win: April 5th, 2013
    Title Defences: 6
    Days as Champion: 89Title vacated due to Briscoe injury on June 23rd, 2013 (in storyline)
  19. Adam Cole
    Date of championship win: September 20th, 2013
    Title Defences: 13
    Days as Champion: 275
  20. Michael Elgin
    Date of championship win: June 22nd, 2014
    Title Defences: 7
    Days as Champion: 76
  21. Jay Briscoe
    Date of championship win: September 6th 2014
    Title Defences: 12
    Days as Champion: 286
  22. Jay Lethal
    Date of championship win: June 19, 2015
    Title Defences: 28
    Days as Champion: 427
  23. Adam Cole (2nd reign)
    Date of championship win: August 19, 2016
    Title Defences: 6
    Days as Champion: 105
  24. Kyle O’Reilly 
    Date of championship win: December 2nd, 2016
    Title Defences: 0
    Days as Champion: 33
  25. Adam Cole 
    Date of championship win: January 4th, 2017
    Title Defences: 3
    Days as Champion: 65
  26. Christopher Daniels
    Date of championship win: March 10, 2017
    Title Defences: 8
    Days as Champion: 105
  27. Cody (Rhodes)
    Date of championship win: June 23rd, 2017
    Title Defences: 0+
    Days as Champion: current

G1 Tournament Blocks Announced: Omega and Okada in Same Grouping

Chris Stephens
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New Japan Pro Wrestling has announced the blocks for this summer’s G1 tournament. Somewhat controversially, Kenny Omega and Kazuchika Okada are in the same group.

Omega and Okada have had two much-talked about matches this year, the first at WrestleKingdom and the latest at Dominion. They are now scheduled to face to go 1-on-1 for a 3rd time in 2017, this time in the G1’s round-robin tournament.

G1 26 Block Groupings

A Block:

  • Hiroshi Tanahashi
  • Togi Makabe (GBH)
  • Tomohiro Ishii (CHAOS)
  • Hirooki Goto (CHAOS)
  • Yoshi-Hashi (CHAOS)
  • Bad Luck Fale (Bullet Club)
  • Yuji Nagata
  • Zack Sabre Jr. (Suzuki-Gun)
  • Kota Ibushi
  • Tetsuya Naito (Los Ingobernables)

Block B:

  • Kazuchika Okada (CHAOS)
  • Toru Yano (CHAOS)
  • Satoshi Kojima
  • Michael Elgin
  • Juice Robinson
  • Tama Tonga (Bullet Club)
  • Sanada (Los Ingobernables)
  • Evil (Los Ingobernables)
  • Minoru Suzuki (Suzuki-Gun)
  • Kenny Omega (Bullet Club)

Io Shirai, Neck Injury To Delay WWE Debut

Chris Stephens
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Io Shirai (real name Masami Odate) will not be heading to WWE for some time it appears. the 27-year old who made her name in Stardom, was discovered to have a neck injury during a recent WWE medical, that will delay her debut with the company.

According to a report from Wrestling Observer Radio, there is no timetable for her return, but she is expected to be out awhile. Shirai signed with the company back in March.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhqD2iTZs9w

Io Shirai

In 2012, Shirai, along with then-boyfriend Kazushige Nosawa, was involved in a bizarre legal incident . The two were travelling back to Japan from Mexico when they were arrested for drug smuggling. 75 grams of marijuana was discovered inside a painting of the 2 of them. Shirai and Nosawa said the painting was a gift from a fan, and they knew nothing about the marijuana inside.

Marijuana charges are still a big deal in Japan. Matt Sydal spent several weeks in a Japanese prison late last year as a result of possession charges. Sydal also had his relationship with NJPW severed as a result.

Eventually wrestler Takuya Sugi admitted to planting the marijuana in the painting. According to Sugi, he had been promised a contract extension with AAA Lucha Libre by Masahiro Hayashi if he did. Evidently, Hayashi was holding quite a grudge against Nosawa.

WWE UK Championship to be defended at ICW Pay Per View

Jake Skudder
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Scotland’s own Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW) has announced that WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne will be defending his title at their upcoming Pay Per View event ‘Shug’s Hoose Party 4.’ This will be the first time that the WWE UK Title will be defended on UK shores outside of the WWE banner.

This news follows the announcement of 205 Live star Noam Dar being featured on the card. Although no official partnership has ever been confirmed between ICW and WWE we may see similar talent trades going forward and WWE ‘giving back’ to the UK Independent scene that built their UK Championship show.

https://twitter.com/InsaneChampWres/status/878568876019249153

PROGRESS Chapter 50 ‘I Give it Six Months’ Results

Jake Skudder
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PROGRESS’ 50th Chapter event ‘I Give it Six Months’ took place yesterday at the Electric Ballroom in Camden, London. The show featured a huge announcement from the PROGRESS/WWE UK Champion and an incredible Tag Title match and change of champions. Here are the results:

Toni Storm b. Kay Lee Ray – Recently announced for the Mae Young Classic, Storm beat ICW Champion Kay Lee Ray to retain the PROGRESS Women’s Championship

The London Riots (James Davis & Rob Lynch) b. The Origin: Banter Edition (Dave Mastiff & El Ligero) – This was The Riots first win in a VERY long time, Banter Edition are also still looking to pick up wins since their split from The Origin

“Flash” Morgan Webster b. Jack Sexsmith – This match saw the re-debut of Chief Deputy Dunne. Dunne has not been seen since his split from longtime partner Pete Dunne last year, the leader of the Anti-Fun Police is sure to be a massive hit back in the top UK promotion

Pete Dunne b. Donovan Dijak – Dunne announced at the start of the show that he would not be defending his PROGRESS title until his match with Travis Banks at the September show. PROGRESS management agreed to this but stipulated that he would need to take part in non-title matches, if any of his opponents beat him then they would get a title shot in the near future. Dunne took the win after hitting the Bitter End

The Origin (Nathan Cruz & Zack Gibson) b. Jimmy Havoc & Mark Haskins – Cruz and Gibson are starting to pick up momentum in PROGRESS again after this big win against the two main event stars in Havoc & Haskins. Gibson rolled up Haskins for the win

Travis Banks b. James Drake – Super Strong Style 16 winner Banks continues his momentum with a win over WWE UK Star James Drake

#CCK (Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos) b. British Strong Style (Trent Seven & Tyler Bate) – Brookes and Lykos have only just debuted in PROGRESS but are already HUGE stars. Their Tag Title win here seems to set up a #CCK domination on the PROGRESS landscape when their stablemate Travis Banks wins the big one in Alexandra Palace this September

Daniel Bryan Trolls Fans, Teases Possible Run in Ring of Honor

Jake Skudder
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Cody Rhodes won the Ring of Honor World Heavyweight Championship this past weekend against Christopher Daniels. After the event Smackdown GM Daniel Bryan took to Twitter and left the following message for the ROH Champ:

This caused a stir on social media with the WWE contracted star signalling his intention to return to the ring in the company that he helped build all those years ago. He later posted a short tweet stating #trollingforlife but with Bryan’s outspoken past there is a good chance that there could be more to this story….

Seth Rollins Puts Jinder Mahal Through A Table (Video), Jericho On His Upcoming WWE Return

Robert Lentini
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Rollins Powerbombs Mahal through a table

Last night in Vancouver, WWE held a live event in which WWE Champion Jinder Mahal was supposed to face Shinsuke Nakamura. Seth Rollins wound up replacing Nakamura in the match. Rollins won the match via DQ after the Singh Brothers attacked him from behind. Rollins wound up getting the last laugh and Powerbombed Mahal through a table. You can check that out in the video below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT5u3KBF4i8

Chris Jericho comments on facing Hideo Itami

Chris Jericho will be joining RAW brand tours on 6/30 and 7/1 in Tokyo, Japan. His opponent on the first live event is Hideo Itami. Jericho posted the following photo on Instagram and said that he was excited for the match. Itami also responded on Twitter.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BVw26jnl9qC/

Video: Mauro Ranallo Arrives In NXT At Friday’s Tapings

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Mauro Ranallo made his WWE NXT debut at Friday night’s TV tapings from Full Sail University (Full Results). His debut will air on Wednesday’s episode of NXT on the  WWE Network.

https://twitter.com/mauroranallo/status/878447983452463104

The tapings kicked off with Mike Rome introducing Percy Watson and Nigel McGuinness. Triple H then came out and said he jumped on a flight to be here with the NXT Universe because there’s no place he’d rather be than home. Triple H then introduced Mauro, saying now there’s someone else that’s going to be calling NXT home. He introduced Mauro as the one and only “Bipolar Rock-n-Roller” Mauro Ranallo, who came out to a huge pop.

Check out Mauro Ranallo’s big return to NXT below:

Spoilers: NXT TV Tapings Results (Airing 6/28-7/12)

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Thanks to Will Henderson (@willh94) for texting us the following WWE NXT TV spoilers from Friday night’s tapings at Full Sail University:

* Mike Rome introduces the NXT announce team — Percy Watson & Nigel McGuiness. Triple H’s music hits to a huge pop. Triple H says he got on a flight to be here with us because there’s no place he’d rather be than home. We are NXT, and now there’s someone else that’s going to say We Are NXT and call it home. He introduces the one-and-only, “Bipolar Rock-n-Roller” Mauro Ranallo. Mauro out to a huge pop

* Bianca BelAir (Blair) defeated Aliyah to qualify for The Mae Young Classic. This was said to be an okay match. Bianca picks up the win with a modified White Noise across her knee. This was filmed but did not appear to be for the June 28th episode

June 28th Episode:

* The Velveteen Dream defeated Ho Ho Lun. Dream has gotten over with the Full Sail crowd big. This was a quick squash that Dream wins with the diving elbow. He seductively poses over Ho Ho post match, much to Ho Ho’s dismay

* Hideo Itami vs. Oney Lorcan ends in a no contest. Oney nails Hideo with a running uppercut at the bell and busts Hideo open, possibly breaking his nose. The referee and trainers back Oney off to check on Hideo and the ref throws the match out. Hideo leaves and throws his bloody towel down on the ramp angrily. There was a bunch of blood in the corner, and the refs are changing the ring mat

* Vanessa Borne defeated Jayme Hachey in a Mae Young Classic qualifying match. Vanessa is the former Danielle Kamella, while Hachey is Jayme Jameson. Quick match, Borne gets the win with a tilt-o-whirl slam

* A video package airs of Tommaso Ciampa turning on Johnny Gargano. Johnny comes out to the DIY tron and music to a big pop. Johnny says he’s missed this and the reaction is irreplaceable. He says we all saw what happened in Chicago, and we never saw it coming just like him. He never thought the guy he’d take a bullet for would pull the trigger on him. He’s asked why and he’ll never understand, but he’s not here to dwell on the past, he’s here to look to the future. He’s standing right here and needs to get back to what he loves to do, being here competing. He needs to be at Takeover: Brooklyn. He needs to be Johnny Gargano, more importantly, he needs to be Johnny Wrestling again

* Hideo Itami is back out with no entrance. Oney Lorcan comes out with his entrance, and Hideo attacks at the bell and just goes after him. Oney fires up with a comeback, and nails a series of running uppercuts and his neckbreaker for a 2 count. Hideo and Oney go back and forth. Oney slips out of a GTS and appears to blow his knee out. He pleads with the ref not to stop the match and Hideo picks him up for a GTS and scores the pin

* Hideo cuts a promo post match, and asks Kassius Ohno to please come out. Kassius comes out. As he and Hideo square off, Nikki Cross appears and distracts them as Killian Dain and Alexander Wolfe attack. Wolfe can’t lift up Ohno for a powerbomb and has to have Dain help him. Wolfe gets on the mic and says we have to end all the fake and forces friendships, and the only way to do it is with– Dain interrupts and says “chaos.” Wolfe speaks of Eric Young’s master plan, but first, it’s time for Nikki to reign. Oney is not actually hurt as he walked out under his own power

* No Way Jose defeated Cezar Bononi. Quick match, Jose wins with the pop-up punch. After the match, Andrade “Cien” Almas in a suit attacks Cezar at the direction of Thea Trinidad. He invites Jose back down to the ring, but bails out when he runs down. Andrade and Thea leave thru the crowd

July 5th Episode:

* Ember Moon defeated Ruby Riot. Really good match. Crowd is split. Series of near falls to start ending with the standoff and a handshake. Cool spot where Ember had Ruby in a modified torture rack over her legs, but Ruby flipped off her legs into a pin attempt. Ruby with a seated senton off the top rope for a near fall. Ruby hits a forearm on Ember as she’s up top for the Eclipse, then hits a top rope frankensteiner for another near fall. Ember nails a dropkick, then her cartwheel flip into a forearm, and the Eclipse to pick up the win. As Ember goes up the ramp, she mouths “I’m ready for Asuka” to the camera

* SAnitY (Wolfe/Dain) defeated Hideo Itami & Kassius Ohno. Kassius and Hideo kill Wolfe with kicks early. Hideo gets a long beat down from SAnitY with Kassius shouting encouragement. Wolfe distracts Ohno, leading to him not being there when Hideo goes for the tag. Hideo gets on a roll, but refuses to tag Kassius in. Dain breaks up a pin with a senton, and Ohno nails Dain, then yells at Hideo. Wolfe knocks Ohno off the apron. Hideo has Wolfe backed up and doesn’t see Dain get the tag, and gets nailed with a running cross body for the pin. Post-match, Ohno is discouraged and he has words with Hideo as both leave the ring (may have been for the July 12th episode)

* Oney Lorcan defeated Danny Burch. Brutal match. Oney hits his neckbreaker and an uppercut for a near fall and busts open Burch. The two go nose-to-nose and then exchange brutal uppercuts and slaps and Burch hits a powerbomb for a near fall. Oney hits his neckbreaker for the win. Crowd goes nuts. They shake hands after the match and Danny asks for one more match. Oney agrees

* Bobby Roode defeated Roderick Strong to retain the NXT Title. Strong’s wife MMA fighter Marina Shafir was at ringside (two seats down from me). Roode does his Glorious pose early but Roddy nails him with a kick. Flurry of offense from Roddy early. Roode turns the tide and takes over. Roddy nails his through the ropes dropkick and attacks Roode outside. Roddy stands on the steel steps, but Roode pushes them and makes Strong’s leg fall in between the post and steps. Roode kicks the steps with Strong’s leg trapped. Roode and Shafir square off. Bobby goes after Strong in the ring. Strong fights back but Roode attacks the leg and continues to work him over. Roddy finally fights back and hits the Angle Slam. Roddy hits a backbreaker for a near fall. Roode again hits the leg to ruin the comeback and works him over more. Roddy gets a roll up for 2, then Roode hits the spinebuster for a near fall. Roddy hits a gutbuster for 2. Roddy hits a backbreaker on the top turbuckle, but Roode rolls out. Roode ducks a jumping knee and Roddy almost hits the ref, and turns around into a Glorious DDT, but Roddy kicks out. Roddy fights back, and hits his finisher for a 3 count. Roddy jumps outside to celebrate with his wife, but Drake realizes Roode’s foot was under the rope and waves off the finish. He goes out to explain to Roddy the match is still going on. Roddy gets on the apron but Roode kicks him off the apron, and hits a Glorious DDT outside the ring. Roode rolls Roddy in, jaw jacks with Shafir, and hits the Glorious DDT for the win. Roddy gets a standing O after the match and hugs Shafir and shares a moment with her and his mom before leaving

July 12th Episode:

* Aleister Black defeated Bobby Fish. Fish was introduced as making his NXT debut and got a nice pop. Good match. Bobby worked Aleister over with a lot of holds. Aleister hits a knee, but Bobby gives him a suplex into the corner. Bobby tries to trash talk but gets killed with kicks. Aleister lays him out, then uses his foot to lift Fish up and nails the Black Mass for the win. After the match, Aleister nods to Bobby in respect and Fish gets a nice reception from the crowd

* The Authors of Pain defeated Heavy Machinery to retain the NXT Tag Team Titles. This was a big man fight. Heavy Machinery is over huge. Tucker gets the hot tag to Otis, who runs wild and overhead suplexes one of the AoP. They set up for their finishing move, when Tucker gets cut off with a big boot, and the Authors hit the Last Chapter on Otis for the win. As they celebrated, SAnitY’s music hits, and they walk out, sans Eric Young. Pages from Paul Ellering’s book fall from the ceiling on to SAnitY as they stare down the Authors

* Killian Dain vs Drew McIntrye for #1 contendership is announced for later tonight

* Jeet Rama defeated Jonny Vandal in a squash match

* Drew McIntyre defeated Killian Dain to become #1 contender for the NXT Title. Killian gets busted open from the nose early on. Good back and forth match. McIntyre hits an awesome powerbomb on Killian for a near fall. Dain hits a running senton and a mid-rope splash for 2. Drew hits the Future Shock DDT but Dain kicks out at 1. McIntyre nails the running boot, but Dain leans up, so Drew nails it again while Dain is on his knees for the pin

* Asuka defeated Nikki Cross in a Last Woman Standing Match to retain the NXT Women’s Title. Nikki catches Asuka in the ring apron and lays into her with forearms. Nikki gets a bunch of chairs out and tries to suplex Asuka on them, but instead sends her into the stairs. Asuka tosses Nikki into the stairs and pulls out a trash can. Asuka puts the trash can over Nikki and hits her with kicks and a dropkick off the top rope. Asuka gets more chairs, but Nikki cuts her off. Asuka tosses Nikki into the pile of chairs off the top rope, but Nikki back drops Asuka into them too. Drake clears the ring of the chairs to boos from the crowd. Nikki hits her swinging fisherman’s neckbreaker several times, but Asuka gets up at 9. Nikki runs at her with the title belt, but Asuka nails her with a kick to the head. Asuka holds the belt and they exchange shots. Asuka nails a spinning backfist and hits 4 German suplexes in a row. Nikki stands up at 6, and Asuka nails a spinning head kick. Nikki up at 8, and they battle on the ropes. Asuka attempts to suplex Nikki out of the ring onto the pile of chairs Nikki pulled out earlier, but Nikki slides out and powerbombs her onto them. Asuka up at 9. Asuka knocks Nikki off the ramp and jumps off with her butt-butt attack from the ramp. They brawl to the announce table area. Nikki grabs a plastic table and a ladder. Nikki lays Asuka across the table and climbs the ladder, but Asuka climbs too. Asuka suplexes Nikki off the ladder and through the announce table. Asuka barely gets up at 9 to pick up the win. This match will air next week, June 28th

(Note: some of the matches were taped out of order tonight and some may have been dark matches. It’s possible they also taped the July 19th episode. We will keep you updated)

Paige & Alberto El Patron Broken Up

Staff
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Alberto El Patron and Paige broke up Saturday night. The couple was vacationing in Orlando and had a blowup that resulted in Alberto calling off their relationship. According to a source close to both of them who was present when it all went down, most of Alberto’s friends and family are glad he pulled the plug.

Alberto and Paige are notorious for their volatility, having made headlines several times for their over-the-top displays of public affection, Ninja Turtle attacks, rants about President Donald Trump and more.

They’ve been dating on and off for the past year and were engaged last October – during a wrestling show – when Paige got down on one knee and proposed to Alberto inside the ring (Video).

Paige is on hiatus from WWE while recovering from neck surgery. She’s back training, although there’s no timetable for her return.

Alberto El Patron is scheduled to compete in the main event of Impact Wrestling’s upcoming Slammiversary XV pay-per-view on Sunday, July 2nd. He’ll defend the Global Force heavyweight championship against Impact Wrestling champion Bobby Lashley in a title unification match.

Just hours before the incident, both were posting romantic photos & messages on Instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BVu6FszASyv/?taken-by=prideofmexico

https://www.instagram.com/p/BVsdCmNldav/?taken-by=realpaigewwe

Bruce Prichard Explains How He Earned Vince McMahon’s Trust

Jon Fuentes
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Bruce Prichard once served as the right-hand man to Vince McMahon for almost 25 years during his run in the WWF. That all ended when he was released from his WWE contract by Stephanie McMahon back in 2008. He now hosts his own podcast, Something To Wrestle With, where he talks about all his great adventures in the WWE and tells some great stories in the process.

Recently, Prichard was interviewed on the Two Man Power Trip Of Wrestling podcast to talk about working so closely with Vince for all those years. Prichard explained how he was able to earn McMahon’s trust throughout their time working together, and here’s what he had to say:

“I’ll tell you what he used to say and it was there was nobody who disagreed with him more. Which is kind of funny because a lot of people always classify someone who has been there that long as a kiss-ass. I have a completely different viewpoint of the business than Vince does and a lot of opinions we share I think over the years we grew to kind of think the same way on some things. For the most part, I disagreed with him a lot and would disagree to with him to his face and we had a lot of knockdown-drag outs”

“I learned through the years how to travel through those land mines of arguments and Pat Patterson had said to me that I should maybe choose my words a little better and I incorporated the two most important words in my vocabulary which are “what if”. So instead of saying something sucks and your idea is horrible to just think about it for a minute, try it on and offer an alternative as “what if” we did it this way and it is a lot more palatable than that sucks. He never had to wonder where I stood on something. I’d tell him point-blank and never had to sugarcoat it.”

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