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Post-Backlash SmackDown Viewership Bounces Back From Last Week’s Year-Low

Scott Lazara
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35

This week’s WWE SmackDown episode bounced back from last week’s 2017 low with the fallout from Sunday’s Backlash pay-per-view. Last night’s show drew 2.328 million viewers, up from last week’s 2.175 million viewers for the Backlash go-home episode.

SmackDown featured Backlash fallout including new WWE Champion Jinder Mahal. The main event saw Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ Styles defeat Kevin Owens and Dolph Ziggler.

SmackDown was #8 in viewership and #3 in the 18-49 demographic this week. The NBA continues to top the charts during playoff season.

By comparison, this week’s RAW averaged 2.615 million viewers.

Here are WWE’s Top 10 moments from this week’s show.

Jinder Mahal Congratulated In Canadian Provincial Parliament

Chris Stephens
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13

Yesterday, Jinder Mahal’s WWE championship win was commended in Canadian Provincial Parliament in Alberta. The congrats were delivered by Graham Sucha (NDP), MPP for the Calgary-Shaw riding in Alberta.

Amazingly, Sucha got the line “Don’t Hinder Jinder” into the official transcript. The MPP posted video of his congrats on his YouTube channel. Sucha has been in office over 2 years, and this was just the 5th video he has chosen to post.

Jinder Mahal is Canadian?

Yuvraj “Raj” Singh Dhesi was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He is of Indian Punjabi origin. His Uncle was the Great Gama Singh, who wrestled under a similar gimmick in Stampede Wrestling. Gama Singh led the Karachi-Vice stable and feuded with members of the Hart Family.

Jinder’s grandfather emigrated from India to Canada with his family in 1963. The Great Gama Singh was 9 years old at the time.

205 Live Highlights: Akira Tozawa vs. Brian Kendrick – Street Fight

Chris Stephens
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6

205 Live
airdate: May 23rd 2017
Toledo, OH

1. Rich Swann vs. Ariya Daivari

Before the match we were shown highlights of Daivari from the last few weeks. In general, he has been involved in backstage scenes that play up the idea he comes from a wealthy background, and is a little uppity about it.

Swann took the brunt of Daivari’s offence for the first part of the match, but began to make a comeback after breaking out of his opponent’s cobra clutch. He hit a somersault axe-kick and then a spinning roundhouse head kick for a near-fall. After that he hit his Phoenix Splash and got the win.

Winner: Rich Swann

  • Following the match Noam Dar and Alicia Fox hit the ring. Dar attacked Swann from behind and threw him out of the ring.

Austin Aries and Neville Interview Segment

  • Neville and Aries discuss their upcoming submissions match at Extreme Rules in 2 weeks.
  • Aries was eating a banana to start the interview.

2. Cedric Alexander vs. Johnny Boone

I really hope WWE doesn’t figure this out, but Johnny Boone is the name of the leader of the old “Cornbread Mafia”, a famous Minnesota marijuana-growing outfit from 1980s. Perhaps they’ll do a season of Fargo on him. Poor guy is serving life in prison. His namesake didn’t do much better here.

Alexander won with the Lumbar Check.

Winner: Cedric Alexander

3. Street Fight 
The Brian Kendrick vs. Akira Tozawa

Since this brand has no Takeovers or PPVs (aside from the title match being on Raw PPVs), Tozawa and Kendrick concluded their feud in the main event of 205 Live this week.

Kendrick went immediately to the outside to get a weapon but Tozawa hit him with a suicide dive. They started the match brawling around the outside. When they got back in the ring, Kendrick used a role of purple duct tape to tape Tozawa’s mouth shut. Then he locked in the Captain’s Hook, but Tozawa got to the ropes and used them as leverage to get out of the hold.

Kendrick set up a table on the outside, but Tozawa recovered and started whipping him with a leather belt. Tozawa went for his diving Senton, but Kendrick countered and once again locked in the Captain’s Hook. Tozawa got out of the move by diving to the outside, bringing his opponent with him.

After brawling on the outside for a bit, Tozawa set up Kendrick on the table and climbed the ropes. He then hit his high-diving senton onto Kendrick through the table. He rolled Kendrick back into the ring and pinned him.

Winner: Akira Tozawa

Jerry Lawler Talks About Rushing to Owen Hart’s Side After His Fall in 1999

Jon Fuentes
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14

The most tragic moment in WWE history occurred 18 years ago at WWE Over The Edge 1999 when WWE Superstar Owen Hart suffered a tragic fall from the rafters that subsequently led to his death. One man who witnessed the account firsthand was longtime WWE commentator and WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler.

Lawler took to his podcast, Dinner With The King, to reflect on that night, which occurred 18 years ago this week:

Owen’s accident being 18 years ago:

“It just seems hard to believe it’s been 18 years since that night. Because that night is still so vivid in my mind. For some reason I was looking around as the promo was playing. I glanced up and was looking around. And as the promo was going, I just saw something. I couldn’t say that I saw it; saw Owen actually fall. I just saw a blur.”

Rushing to Hart’s side after it happened:

“Once your heart is no longer beating anymore, I could just see his face turn gray, from the tip of his nose all the way down his face as the blood was settling in his body. I knew, I realized that moment right then, that Owen was gone.”

You can listen to the episode here (King begins speaking on the incident around the 11:30 mark).

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcribed quotes

Jinder Mahal Explains How he Can Solidify Himself as a Legitimate Champion

Jon Fuentes
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12

Newly crowned WWE Champion Jinder Mahal recently did an interview with USA Today’s “For The Win” to talk about his recent title win over Randy Orton at Backlash. Check out the highlights here:

How he can solidify himself as a legit champ in the eyes of fans:

“I see Randy and A.J. Styles (as opponents), but I’m hoping for Cena when he gets back (from hiatus). I know some people don’t see me as championship material. I haven’t fully gotten their confidence. Beating someone like Cena would solidify me in their eyes as champion.”

Not referring to himself as “The American Dream” anymore moving forward, as he used it once on an episode of Talking Smack: 

“Nobody told me to say that and nobody told me not to say it. It was just how I felt. I am the new American Dream because I have worked so hard to get to where I am. Many people don’t give me the credit I deserve. No one in WWE is out-dieting me, no one is out-training me. It shouldn’t be a surprise that I’m the WWE champion. Simply put, I am working the hardest.

“I could say that again. It’s something I just believe. I enjoy being Talking Smack. It’s an open forum. But literally not one person said, don’t say that again.”

Shane McMahon Reveals Vince’s Reaction to Stone Cold Walking Out on WWE

Jon Fuentes
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20

WWE SmackDown Live Commissioner Shane McMahon was recently a guest on WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin’s podcast, The Steve Austin Show, to talk about a variety of topics. You can check out the highlights here:

Vince’s reaction to Steve walking out on the WWE back in 2002 after refusing to job for Brock Lesnar:

“[Austin was] the guy that was drawing the houses and everything was built around [Austin]. So when you have that much equity at stake and you have your number one player in there and that’s the one who draws money all of a sudden say, ‘I’m out,’ well, it’s very devastating, obviously, to everyone else underneath and everyone felt it, just like, ‘wow’, so [Austin] specifically, you let a lot of people down.”

“Vince was hurt professionally and personally because you guys had been building a good relationship. If you guys did have a disagreement, you’d settle it quickly and talk about it. But at the end of the day when it got down to ‘alright, this is the vision we’re going with when I said we’d paint the room blue, well, you didn’t want to paint the room blue at that time, so you took your paint and went somewhere else.’ So that was a big blow personally as well because, again, it’s the machine and we all put effort into building ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin, and the company, and everything else around it. And when that cog leaves, it’s like, ‘oh wow! Jeez, that didn’t feel good!’ It didn’t make any of us feel good. [Austin] let us down, man.”

Shane’s brutal match with Kurt Angle at King Of The Ring 2001:

“It’s safety glass, yeah.” McMahon added, “by the third time, I said, ‘you Olympic wuss’ or something along those lines. ‘I can’t believe you can’t even throw me through it.'”

“I wasn’t concussed or anything, so I was straight up. I mean, I was hurting.” McMahon added, “Kurt was calling for a suplex and I called it off. It was in the middle aisle. It was just cement. He says, ‘no suplex, suplex.’ I was like, ‘no, Kurt.’ He says, ‘go, go.’ And he did something to me and I didn’t have much of a choice. I’m like, ‘alright, suplex.’ So as we did it, he hit and he went, ‘oh my God!’ He cracked his tailbone.”

“Vince almost came out about three times during that match. He was going to call it off. I had no idea. Chioda was the ref. Chioda was usually always my ref because we go back in the day, like I said. And it takes three, not just two. It takes three. In the IFB, I guess Vince is talking, saying something. Chioda’s talking to me, but I think he’s just saying gibberish because, again, I got whacked in the head a couple of times. So anyways, Vince thinks that I’m shooing him off, that I’m disobeying an order, that I’m ignoring the order from Chioda, but I never got the order because I would never disobey him. So [the] gorilla [position] was silent. Vince was going ballistic. I mean, throwing stuff.”

Vince being outraged cause he thought Shane was disobeying his orders during the match:

“[Vince] was fuming and he said something very nice to me. He put the match over and that’ll stay private. And he said, ‘but don’t you ever blanking do that ever again.’ He was so hot. We were supposed to ride together, but he got his own car. I was like, ‘wow, I had heat’ because he was nervous, so it was two things: being a father and seeing your son go through a train wreck and waiving him off, which really made him hot, in front of everybody, because he was giving the order in front of everybody, so he thought I was disobeying on top of all that and everyone around knows I was disobeying.”

Being backstage after the match:

“Kurt and I come back through [the curtain] and it was one of the first-ever standing ovations because that wasn’t given back in the day. And I’m not saying that to brag. I’m saying it because of how appreciative I was and how appreciate the fans were that we put ourselves through that. And it was like, ‘oh my God, that was awesome.’ We get through gorilla, [and] it’s like a morgue. I was like, ‘I don’t know what’s going on here.’ So Kurt and I keep going. I mean, it was silent. My dad was nowhere to be seen. He was so fuming. As we get through the back, there was a whole line of guys, all the boys were applauding.” McMahon remembered, “as I turn around the corner on my way to the trainer’s room before we go to the hospital, and then, here comes Marissa, just eyes bawling. She has no idea because I didn’t tell her anything. That’s the one I got huge heat for.”

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcribed quotes

Update on Why WWE is Staying Clear of the Matt Hardy – Impact Dispute

Jon Fuentes
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8

According to a report from Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio, the WWE is distancing themselves from the battle between Matt Hardy and Impact Wrestling for the rights to the “Broken” gimmick because they don’t want to set a precedent for attempting to buy gimmicks from other companies.

Meltzer also stated that if WWE was truly not interested in the gimmick, they would tell Hardy to stop pursuing the character’s rights and utilizing “Broken” mannerisms on WWE TV.

WWE does want Matt to use the Broken gimmick in WWE, but has no interest in getting involved in the process to acquire its rights.

  • Matt Hardy Responds to Impact President Releasing His Contract Online

Matt Hardy Responds to Impact President Releasing His Contract

Jon Fuentes
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15

The battle between The Hardys and Impact Wrestling over the famed “Broken” gimmick continues to get uglier. Impact Wrestling President Ed Nordholm just fired off the latest shot in the battle by sending PWInsider a long list of communications between Impact and Matt Hardy.

He also included a four-page excerpt from Matt’s Impact contract, which stated that the company owns all intellectual property after their relationship ends. An email exchange with WWE was also included, in which WWE claimed they have “no interest” in getting involved in the battle for the gimmick.

Check it out:

Good afternoon,

In response to on-going speculation concerning our position with respect to the “Broken Brilliance” creative, I am providing this detailed log of our communications on the subject and the contractual structure of our relationship with Matt Hardy with respect to intellectual property matters (which is standard to our roster and in the industry).

There has never been any argument from Impact Wrestling that the Hardy’s were key contributors to the development of the characters and story line, or that Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy executed on their roles in spectacular fashion. But the position taken by the Hardys is a massive disservice to the contributions of the rest of the creative team at Impact Wrestling, including Jeremy Borash, Dave Lagano (sic), Matt Conway and Billy Corgan, and is totally at odds with the terms of their contracts.

The Hardys would have you believe that Anthem is somehow avoiding their lawyers to address this. This is the log of our communications with the Hardys and/or their lawyers. It is clear that we have not been avoiding them.

* March 10 – EBN speaks with executives at ROH about “Broken Brilliance” being used in ROH shows. I indicated willingness to provide an arrangement that would allow the creative to be used in ROH shows and encouraged ROH to have Matt speak with me if he wanted to pursue that discussion
* March 11 – EBN spoke at length with Matt by telephone about the structure of an amicable arrangement for use of the Broken Brilliance creative
* March 14 – Matt sent text message to Ed Nordholm at 4:05pm:

“Tried giving you a call, it rang & went busy. I’m open to working things out amicably as we spoke about. The lawyer who represent me is interested in seeing your offer. My lawyer’s email is {redacted} which you could send the offer to for review. Thanks.”

And I responded by text at 6:41 pm

“Thank you Matt. I was supposed to be [flying] into NYC today and am a little twisted. I will pull something together with [our] lawyers and try to get it over to your lawyer tomorrow or Thursday at latest”

* March 16 – At 8:25 pm I sent an update text to Matt:

“Hi Matt. My lawyer got me a draft too late to get reviewed for today. I will look at it in the morning. Sorry for the delay”

And he responded at 9:16 pm

“Ok, he’s ready for it. Thanks for the update.”

* March 17 – counsel for Anthem Wrestling delivered draft proposal to counsel for Matt Hardy
* March 24 – counsel for Anthem Wresting followed up with Matt Hardy counsel requesting comments on the proposal
* March 27 – counsel for Matt Hardy responds that they have been away and have not reviewed the proposal but will be back “in the next few days”

After which no further communication until

* April 18 – counsel for Matt Hardy leaves a voice mail message for counsel for Anthem Wrestling asking to arrange a meeting
* April 20 – EBN contacts WWE by email to determine veracity of internet rumours concerning WWE interest in Broken Brilliance
* April 21 — WWE respond by email that there “is no interest on our end” {redacted email exchange attached}
* April 21 – counsel for Matt Hardy sends a follow up message requesting a meeting
* April 27 – lawyers speak to arrange a meeting
* May 16 – lawyers meet but no agreement reached

Finally, I am attaching a copy of the relevant provisions of Matt’s contract with Impact. The clause is virtually identical to the corresponding provisions of every wrestler under contract with Impact.

The facts are that we tried to accommodate the Hardys for their Ring of Honour engagements, and have tried to elicit an indication from WWE whether they have an interest in using the Broken Brilliance creative in WWE. We are not hoarding it from WWE; WWE is not interested in it.

We fully respect the decision of Matt and Jeff to return to WWE and appreciate all of their contributions to Impact Wrestling. We wish them every success.

Our focus is on the future and we will not have any further public comment on this matter.

Ed Nordholm

Reby Hardy took to Twitter to respond to Impact’s latest move and even threatened to release phone calls between the two sides:

https://twitter.com/RebyHardy/status/867166443451760640?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wrestlinginc.com%2Fwi%2Fnews%2F2017%2F0523%2F626497%2Fhardys-impact-wrestling-fight-gets-even-uglier%2F

https://twitter.com/RebyHardy/status/867167309089062913?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wrestlinginc.com%2Fwi%2Fnews%2F2017%2F0523%2F626497%2Fhardys-impact-wrestling-fight-gets-even-uglier%2F

https://twitter.com/RebyHardy/status/867168559851479040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wrestlinginc.com%2Fwi%2Fnews%2F2017%2F0523%2F626497%2Fhardys-impact-wrestling-fight-gets-even-uglier%2F

https://twitter.com/RebyHardy/status/867168754190344192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wrestlinginc.com%2Fwi%2Fnews%2F2017%2F0523%2F626497%2Fhardys-impact-wrestling-fight-gets-even-uglier%2F

https://twitter.com/RebyHardy/status/867169023695376384?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wrestlinginc.com%2Fwi%2Fnews%2F2017%2F0523%2F626497%2Fhardys-impact-wrestling-fight-gets-even-uglier%2F

https://twitter.com/RebyHardy/status/867169491028803585?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wrestlinginc.com%2Fwi%2Fnews%2F2017%2F0523%2F626497%2Fhardys-impact-wrestling-fight-gets-even-uglier%2F

https://twitter.com/RebyHardy/status/867169657425244162?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wrestlinginc.com%2Fwi%2Fnews%2F2017%2F0523%2F626497%2Fhardys-impact-wrestling-fight-gets-even-uglier%2F

https://twitter.com/RebyHardy/status/867169988079001600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wrestlinginc.com%2Fwi%2Fnews%2F2017%2F0523%2F626497%2Fhardys-impact-wrestling-fight-gets-even-uglier%2F

Matt’s response was much more direct and to the point, saying that his evidence will be released via the correct venue:

Update on Braun Strowman’s WWE Return

Jon Fuentes
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28

According to a report from PWInsider, WWE officials are expecting Braun Strowman to return much sooner than the storyline given six-month timeframe. As we previously mentioned, Dave Meltzer noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that “The Monster Among Men” is expected to return around mid-July to begin building up his match with Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam.

Strowman was injured by Roman Reigns during their meeting at WWE Payback, where the big guy suffered an elbow injury that required surgery to fix. Strowman posted the following picture on Instagram showing off his badly bruised elbow, and vowed to return the pain two-fold when he sees Roman Reigns again:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUaN_CGjw7B/

CM Punk Takes Verbal Lashing On MTV: Challenge Show

Chris Stephens
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17

CM Punk is taking part in MTV’s reality show “The Challenge”, and was on the receiving end of some hate from one of the other contestants apparently.  The MTV program posted the following video to their FB page last night:

Is CM Punk Still in the UFC?

CM Punk has said he has been trying to get another fight in the UFC, but there has been some stalling on behalf of the promotion. After his unfortunate performance in his bout with Mickey Gall, UFC President Dana White indicated that perhaps Punk’s next bout shouldn’t be in the UFC.

Mickey Gall defeated CM Punk via rear-naked choke in 2:14 of the 1st round at UFC 203.

Petition To Remove Wrestling From YouTube’s “Offensive Content” List

Chris Stephens
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18

A Change.org petition to remove pro-wrestling from YouTube’s offensive content list is gaining traction. So far over 2000 people have signed.

Last March, YouTube responded to advertisers complaints that their ads were running over offensive content, such as hate speech or other offensive content. Somehow, pro-wrestling got grouped in with offensive content. As a result, many pro-wrestling YouTube channels have taken a hit financially.

It is believed YouTube is still tweaking their policy however, which makes the current petition all the more important.

Lost Revenue for WCPW and “Being the Elite”

The change in YouTube’s policy greatly reduced the amount of revenue earned by What Culture Pro-Wrestling, leading to the cancellation of several tapings for their YouTube shows. The Young Bucks have also expressed the policy has caused their revenue to “take a beating” from “Being the Elite”.

Similar wrestling channels on YouTube have also been hurt by the move. There is also a worry that such policies set a dangerous precedent regarding the value of pro-wrestling content to advertisers.

You can sign the petition here.

Pete Dunne Names Brock Lesnar & William Regal As Dream Opponents

Staff
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9

WWE’s new United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne spoke with ESPN this week about his show-stealing match with Tyler Bate at NXT Takeover: Chicago and which WWE Superstar he considers a dream opponent. 

The 23 year-old-grappler from Birmingham, England told ESPN that he’s very proud of his match with Tyler Bate not only because of what they did in the ring, but because of their history together.

“I’m really glad I got to share that one with him. I had a big hand in training Tyler. I got him his first ever booking, which was against me in a tag match. As proud as I am of myself for being able to hold this WWE title, I was incredibly proud of him, as well. The two Brits on such a huge show of this magnitude.”

There’s a good chance we’ll see more matches between Dune and Bate, but that hasn’t stopped Dunne from thinking about potential ‘dream matches’ for himself down the road. Two names that came up were Brock Lesnar and NXT General Manager William Regal.

“I’d love to wrestle Brock Lesnar,” he said. “It’s the realism, the way he carries himself. It’s 100 percent believable because he’s real. That’s someone who I’d love to get in the ring with someday. I don’t think there’s a possibility of it ever happening, but I’d also love to wrestle William Regal one day.”

Dunne added that competing at WrestleMania is also a dream of his. Now that he’s a champion in WWE, that dream is closer than ever to becoming a reality.

Head over to ESPN.com to check out the full interview.

Money In The Bank: WWE Championship Match, MITB Participants

Staff
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13

Following Tuesday’s SmackDown Live, the top two matches for next month’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view are set.

SmackDown commissioner Shane McMahon announced that this year’s Money in the Bank participants will include AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Baron Corbin and Dolph Ziggler. The match was initially slated to involve 5 participants, but Kevin Owens talked his way into the 6th spot.

Also at Money in the Bank, newly crowned WWE Champion Jinder Mahal will defend against the man he defeated for the gold at Backlash, Randy Orton.

No announcements yet regarding the rumored Women’s Money in the Bank match.

WWE Money in the Bank takes place Sunday, June 18th from St. Louis, Missouri.

First Names Announced for 5 Star Wrestling’s June Tournament, CM Punk not Among Them

Jake Skudder
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9

UK based independent promotion 5 Star Wrestling recently made headlines when company owner Daniel Hinkles publicly offered CM Punk $1 Million Dollars to return to the ring.

Hinkle had hoped to sign Punk to take part in his company’s 128 Man Tournament that begins June 10th in Liverpool’s Echo Arena.

5 Star has now announced the first names for the tournament, they are:

  • Rob Van Dam
  • Carlito
  • John Morrison
  • Moose
  • El Ligero
  • Joe Coffey
  • Zack Gibson
  • Bram

The speculation surrounding Punk’s involvement has not yet waned and although this may well be a publicity stunt to gain notoriety for the UK company it likely will not die down until Punk himself makes an official statement or simply does not appear in 2 weeks time.

https://twitter.com/5StarWrestling/status/867101144807612422

NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Day 6 Results

Jake Skudder
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0

New Japan’s yearly Best of the Super Juniors tournament is now well underway.

The Best of the Super Juniors (also known as BOSJ) is essentially the Junior Heavyweight version of the G1 Climax tournament that takes place in July. Competitors are split into two Blocks and must compete with every wrestler in their block round robin style. Points are awarded for victories and the eventual winners of the two groups face off in a final match to determine the winner.

Here are the results from Day 6 of the tournament which is now available to view on NJPWWorld.com.
Non Tournament Matches

Volador Jr., Tomoyuki Oka & Shota Umino b. ACH, Katsuya Kitamura & Tetsuhiro Yagi – Oka won the match for his team after locking in a Boston Crab on Yagi

Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado b. Tiger Mask IV & Hirai Kawato – Desperado took the win for his team using the Pinche Loco on Kawato

Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, EVIL & BUSHI b. Satoshi Kojima, Juice Robinson, Ryusuke Taguchi & KUSHIDA – Naito took the win for Los Ingobernables after hitting the Destino on Kojima

Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Yujiro Takahashi b. Raymond Rowe, Hanson & David Finlay – Tanga Loa took the win for his team in just over 6 minutes after pinning Finlay

Best of the Super Juniors A BLOCK Matches

Marty Scurll b. TAKA Michinoku – Scurll locked in the Crossface Chicken Wing to record his third win of the tournament, he is now 3-1 (6 Points). TAKA’s tally is now at 1-3 (2 Points)

Will Ospreay b. Jushin Thunder Liger – Ospreay took the win with his patented OsCutter to move to 3-1 (6 Points) in the tournament. This was Liger’s fourth straight loss and the Japanese legend has now been officially eliminated from his last ever Best of the Super Juniors tournament.

Hiromu Takahashi b. Daichi – Hiromu moves his tally to 2-2 (4 Points) after beating Taichi with the TIME BOMB. Taichi is also 2-2 in the tournament.

Dragon Lee b. Ricochet – Dragon Lee recorded his third win in the tournament after hitting his Hanging Double Footstomp, he is now 3-1 (6 Points). This was Ricochet’s second loss, he is now 2-2 (4 Points)

 

WWE SmackDown Recap & Reaction (5/23)

Robert Lentini
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27

SmackDown opened up with Jinder Mahal and the Singh Brothers arriving with a police escort. The Singh Brothers once again rolled out a rug next to Mahal’s limo. Mahal got out of the limo and grinned with the WWE Championship.

SmackDown commissioner Shane McMahon came down to the ring. Shane announced that Randy Orton will get his rematch at Money in the Bank in four weeks. Shane then introduced the five participants in the SmackDown MITB ladder match. AJ Styles, Baron Corbin, Sami Zayn and Dolph Ziggler came down to the ring. Kevin Owens came down to the entrance with a microphone.

Shane McMahon said that Owens was not in the match. Shane then introduced Shinsuke Nakamura as the first participant in the MITB ladder match. Nakamura danced by Owens and made his way to the ring. Owens interrupted and complained about AJ Styles being in the ladder match. Owens said that he defeated Styles at Backlash and should be in the match instead.

Owens accused Shane McMahon of playing favorites. Shane McMahon gave in and added Kevin Owens to the match. Baron Corbin told Owens to shut up and then guaranteed that he would win the MITB ladder match. AJ Styles called Kevin Owens WWE’s version of Eric Cartman from South Park. Styles stated that he would be the one to win the match.

Sami Zayn interrupted and stated that he didn’t come to SmackDown to watch AJ Styles take victory laps. Baron Corbin then said that Sami Zayn was the “Rudy” of the WWE. Sami Zayn and Corbin were about to fight but Kevin Owens yelled at them to both shut up. Nakamura then interrupted and referred to himself as “Mr. Money in the Bank”.

Shane McMahon then announced two matches for later tonight. Baron Corbin will face Sami Zayn in a Backlash rematch. Kevin Owens & Dolph Ziggler will face AJ Styles & Shinsuke Nakamura in the main-event.

Reaction: This promo was full of lame jokes and was corny as hell. However, it will be difficult not to see Eric Cartman when looking at Kevin Owens from now on. The Money in the Bank ladder match is looking good. Is it too much to ask for Baron Corbin to just act like he does on Talking Smack while on SmackDown? The lines that are written for him are horrific and it looks like he is nervous while giving promos.

Natalya & Carmella vs Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair

Becky Lynch and Charlotte controlled the match early and SmackDown quickly went to a commercial break. SmackDown still aired the match in picture-in-picture while the commercials were on. Natalya and Carmella captured momentum in the match by isolating Becky Lynch. When SmackDown returned from the commercial break, Carmella and Natalya were stomping on Becky in the corner.

Becky finally was able to tag in Charlotte and she connected with a big boot to Natalya for a two count. Natalya connected with a German Suplex to Charlotte. Charlotte tagged in Becky Lynch and Lynch hit Natalya with a Dropkick off the top rope. Natalya then tagged in Carmella and Becky Lynch immediately went for the Dis-Arm-Her. James Ellsworth hopped up on the ring apron but Naomi dragged him down. Lynch then locked in the Dis-Arm-Her on Carmella for the submission victory.

Winners: Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair

Sami Zayn vs Baron Corbin

Corbin launched Sami Zayn across the ring to start off the match. Zayn rolled up Corbin for the quick victory. Corbin then lost his mind and attacked Zayn after the match. Corbin threw Zayn out of the ring and beat him down on the announce table. Corbin then threw Zayn into the timekeeper’s area and grabbed a steel chair. Corbin then hit Sami in the back with a chair and beat him down in the crowd. Corbin then lifted Zayn onto his shoulders and dropped him on a railing. A stretcher was then brought out for Sami Zayn and SmackDown went to a commercial break.

Winner: Sami Zayn

Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ Styles were talking backstage. Styles told Shinsuke to follow his lead tonight. Shinsuke stated that tonight they were a team, but at MITB he is going to turn the house that AJ Styles built into his playground. Shinsuke Nakamura then giggled and walked away.

Shane McMahon was a guest on the Fashion Files. Breezango turned in their badges and squirt guns to Shane McMahon. Shane told Breezango that they have already proven that they belonged on SmackDown. Shane then said that Tyler Breeze will face Jey Uso and Fandango will face Jimmy Uso later tonight. Breezango then said that they were “back on the case” and grabbed their badges. Fandango grabbed a donut before exiting.

A drummer and dancers performed before Jinder Mahal was introduced. Mahal walked down the entrance ramp with gigantic smile on his face as people danced around him. Jinder and the Singh Brothers finally got in the ring and the dancers surrounded it. The music eventually stopped and everyone booed as Mahal stood in the ring. Mahal bragged about 1.3 billion in India are celebrating that he is WWE Champion.

Jinder said that Randy Orton on the decline just like America. Mahal declared himself as the greatest WWE Champion of all time. Mahal raised the title and said that he is not going to allow the crowd to hijack his celebration. Mahal then spoke in Punjabi as the crowd chanted “USA!”. Mahal then stood on the turnbuckle and raised the title as fireworks went off above the ring and on the entrance ramp.

Reaction: I enjoyed this promo. Jinder Mahal must be sick or something because this is the second week in a row that his voice has been cracking. We learned earlier in the night that Orton will face Mahal at Money in the Bank for the WWE Championship. Hopefully, the build to their rematch will be better than the build to their match at Backlash. I will say that I’m not a fan of the stereotypical feud this has become. It just comes off as unoriginal and feels like Mahal is desperately trying to get the crowd to chant “USA!”.

Fortunately for Orton, MITB will take place in his hometown of St.Louis, Missouri. Orton will get a better reaction with that crowd than he does with most. I simply do not want to watch another Randy Orton title reign, so it is pretty difficult to get invested in this feud.

Tyler Breeze vs Jey Uso

Fandango squirted Jey Uso with a squirt gun before the match started. The bell rang and Tyler Breeze immediately rolled up Jey for the victory.

Winner: Tyler Breeze

Fandango vs Jimmy Uso

Jimmy slapped Fandango in the face right when the match started. Breeze put on a wig and Jey Uso started chasing him around the ring. Breeze tried to roll in the ring and Jimmy Uso removed the wig from his head. Fandango then rolled up Jimmy Uso for the victory.

Winner: Fandango

Breezango then cut a promo after the match and asked for a rematch for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships. The Usos accepted the challenge.

SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match: The Usos (c) vs Breezango

Breeze got beatdown early but managed to tag in Fandango. Fandango connected with a kick and knocked Jey to the mat. Fandango hit a DDT for a two count. Jey threw Fandango into the ring post and tagged in Jimmy. The Usos then hit a double Superkick onto Breeze and Fandango. Jimmy went for a Splash but Fandango got his knees up and rolled Jimmy up for a two count. Jimmy Uso tagged himself in and Fandango didn’t notice it. Fandango then hit the Last Dance off the top rope onto Jey. Jimmy then hit a Splash off the top rope and pinned Fandango.

Winners & Still SmackDown Tag Team Champions: The Usos

Reaction: I was entertained by this feud before squirt guns and wigs made an appearance. I’d rather see The Usos as SmackDown Tag Team Champions than Breezango running around with squirt guns. Their match at Backlash was ridiculous and tonight’s matches were just dumb in my opinion.

Natalya asked Shane McMahon for a shot at the SmackDown Women’s Championship. James Ellsworth, Carmella and Becky Lynch interrupted. Carmella and Becky Lynch both wanted a shot at the title. Tamina then interrupted and said that she wanted a shot at the title. Charlotte then joined the party and asked for a shot at the title. Shane McMahon announced that next week there will be a Fatal 5-Way to determine the #1 contender for the SmackDown Women’s Championship. Charlotte Flair, Natalya, Carmella, Tamina and Becky Lynch will compete in that match.

AJ Styles & Shinsuke Nakamura vs Kevin Owens & Dolph Ziggler

Styles and Ziggler started off the match. Ziggler went for a Dropkick and missed. AJ then hit a Dropkick of his own and knocked Ziggler to the mat. Shinsuke Nakamura entered the match and Ziggler immediately tagged in Owens. Owens taunted both Styles and Nakamura. Shinsuke heard enough and knocked Owens to the mat. Owens then rolled out of the ring and SmackDown went to a commercial break.

When SmackDown returned, Shinsuke Nakamura was in control of the match and stomped on Owens in the corner. Owens fought back and knocked Nakamura to the mat. Owens taunted Nakamura as he connected with several right hands to Shinsuke’s face. Ziggler was then tagged in and continued to beatdown Nakamura. Ziggler hit a Neckbreaker for a one count.

Dolph then applied a Chin Lock in the middle of the ring as Styles pleaded for a tag on the ring apron. Nakamura battled to his feet but Ziggler grabbed his hair and slammed Nakamura down to the mat. Kevin Owens then got back into the match and posed right in front of AJ Styles. Owens shoved his foot in Nakamura’s face and then followed it up with a chop. Owens then applied a Chin Lock to Shinsuke and started shouting at Styles.

Nakamura finally battled out of the hold but was immediately knocked back down to the mat. Owens bowed in the ring and tagged in Dolph Ziggler. Nakamura connected with a few punches and went for a tag but Ziggler brought him back to the corner. Owens was tagged back in and knocked Styles off the ring apron. Owens then hit a Cannonball for a two count and SmackDown went to a commercial break.

Nakamura was still trapped in the ring when SmackDown returned. Ziggler connected with a Dropkick for a two count and then tagged in Kevin Owens. Owens hit a Senton for a two count and tagged in Ziggler again. Owens told Ziggler to finish him off and get his revenge for the loss at Backlash. Ziggler charged at Nakamura in the corner but Shinsuke got out of the way and Dolph slammed into the ring post.

AJ Styles was finally tagged in and he immediately hit Ziggler with a Clothesline. AJ then punched Owens in the face and knocked him of the ring apron. Styles hit a Neckbreaker on Ziggler for a two count. AJ went for the Styles Clash but Owens rolled into the ring and distracted him. Ziggler then threw Styles out of the ring and tagged in Owens. Kevin Owens hit Styles with a Senton outside the ring and slammed him into the ring apron.

Owens propped Styles up on the ring apron and connected with a knee to his back that knocked Styles to the floor. Owens brought AJ back in the ring and once again applied a Chin Lock. AJ battled to his feet and punched Owens in the midsection. Styles charged at Owens but Owens hit a Back Body Drop and followed it up by stomping on AJ’s chest.

Ziggler was then tagged in and headbutted Styles in the corner. AJ was then perched up on the top turnbuckle and Ziggler joined him up there. Styles punched Ziggler but Dolph connected with a right hand of his own. Ziggler went for a Superplex but AJ fought out of it. AJ then hit Facebuster and both Superstars fell to the mat. AJ crawled to the corner and tagged in Nakamura. Ziggler tagged in Owens and Nakamura kicked him in the face a couple of times.

Nakamura set up Owens across the top rope and connected with a knee to the midsection for a two count. Shinsuke connected with a kick to Owen’s head and went for a pinfall but Ziggler broke it up. Nakamura hit Ziggler with an Exploder Suplex. AJ hit Owens with a Pele Kick. Ziggler hit Styles with a Superkick. Nakamura kicked Ziggler in the face. Nakamura then hit Owens with a Kinshasa for the victory. AJ Styles and Nakamura celebrated in the ring after the match and pointed to the MITB briefcase suspended above the ring.

Winners: AJ Styles & Shinsuke Nakamura

Reaction:  The low points of the show were The Usos/Breezango matches and Baron Corbin’s promo. Overall, SmackDown was decent tonight. The main-event was very entertaining and Shinsuke Nakamura had an impressive in-ring debut on SmackDown. I also think Money in the Bank is shaping up to be an interesting PPV.

What did you think of this week’s episode of SmackDown? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

The Young Bucks & Kenny Omega Discuss Turning on Adam Cole

Chris Stephens
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1

the Young Bucks & Kenny Omega turned on Adam Cole to close out ROH’s “War of the Worlds” PPV earlier this month.

New footage released by the trio seems to indicate the Young Bucks are having 2nd thoughts about firing Cole from Bullet Club.

Adam Cole vs. Bullet Club Rivalry

Adam Cole is no longer under contract to ROH, leading to speculation he is WWE bound. He is still taking independent bookings however, so if he is WWE bound he’s not headed there immediately.

Cole and Omega teased dissension during a tour with NJPW earlier this year, something they have yet to pay off. The big angle to close out the ROH PPV a couple weeks ago, also seemed to indicate Cole will be feuding with Bullet Club before heading to WWE.

WWE SmackDown Results & Discussion (5/23)

Eric Lynch
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355

The May 23rd edition of WWE SmackDown aired live on the USA Network from the Huntington Center in Toledo, OH.

– SmackDown opens up with Jinder Mahal and the Singh Brothers arriving backstage in limos. Mahal steps out of his limo with the WWE Championship and laughs as the crowd chants “USA.”

– We go to the arena where SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon comes out to the ring. McMahon discusses the upcoming Money In The Bank briefcase challenge, where the winner gets a guaranteed contract to face the WWE Champion any time. Shane introduces the participants: Shane McMahon, Baron Corbin, Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler and Kevin Owens come out one by one. Shane interrupts Owens’ entrance and says he’s not a participant. The fifth participant is really Shinsuke Nakamura, who comes out and does his whole entrance. Owens takes issue with people who lost at Backlash getting Money In The Bank shots, and says Shane is playing favorites. Shane says Owens has a point, so he’ll be the sixth participant in the Money In The Bank match. Corbin tells Owens to stop whining, and he’ll pay for entering a match with Corbin. This leads to AJ and Sami interrupting, which leads to Sami and Baron saying they want to go at it right now. Ziggler interrupts next and says he’s the only one in the ring who has won a Money In The Bank match, and he’ll d it again. Nakamura interrupts and says from now on you can call him Mr. Money in the Bank. Shane books a tag match between AJ & Nakamura vs. Owens & Ziggler, and a singles match with Corbin and Zayn.

– Charlotte & Becky Lynch def. Natalya & Carmella: Ellsworth, Tamina and Naomi are all at ringside. Becky controls the match against Carmella early on. Natalya runs in but so does Charlotte and Charlotte decks her with a dropkick. Carmella and Natalya roll outside to regroup. Natalya and Carmella trade tags and work over Becky until she gets the hot tag to Charlotte. Charlotte knocks Carmella off the apron then lays into Natalya with chops. She hits Natalya with an elbow, a swinging neckbreaker and a big boot for a two count. Charlotte goes up top but Tamina distracts her. Naomi takes out Tamina at ringside, while in the ring Natalya drops Charlotte with a German suplex. Becky tags in and hits a missile dropkick off the top on Natalya. Carmella tags in and drops Becky with some strikes. Becky gets Carmella in the Dis-arm-her for the win via submission. Ellsworth tries to make the save but Naomi kicks him off the apron.

– WWE shows a graphic promoting Jinder Mahal’s Punjabi Celebration tonight. Zayn vs. Corbin in a Backlash rematch is up next.

– Sami Zayn def. Baron Corbin: Corbin starts off by tossing Zayn across the ring, but when he walks over to Zayn to pick him up again, Zayn rolls Corbin up into a pin for the win. This was a very short one. After the bell, Corbin beats down Zayn. Corbin tosses Zayn around the ringside area then bashes him with a steel chair. Corbin takes Zayn out into the crowd to continue the beat down until Zayn is eventually taken out on a stretcher.

– AJ and Shinsuke are shown in the locker room going over their plan for tonight’s match. AJ tells Nakamura to follow his lead tonight, because this is the house that AJ built. Nakamura says tonight they’re a team, but at Money in the Bank he’s taking the contract and turning AJ’s house into his playground.

– The next edition of Fashion Files is up next. It starts off with Shane McMahon walking into the Fashion Police’s “office” with confusion. Breezango offers to turn in their badges for losing at Backlash. They turn in their “guns” too which turn out to be water guns. They turn in more of their equipment and clothing, but Shane tells them to stop. Shane says they’ve already proven themselves, and books them each in singles matches against Jimmy and Jey Uso.

– The ring is being decorated for Jinder Mahal’s victory celebration up next.

– Back from commercial, there are dancers and drummers all over the entrance ramp. The Singh Brothers come out first then the new WWE Champion Jinder Mahal makes his grand entrance. Jinder says the crowd can shower him with their hatred, because everyone in the great nation of India is celebrating his Championship win. Jinder says the crowd boos him because he looks different and talks different, but now they boo him because he exposed them. Jinder says Orton is on the decline like the rest of America. Jinder stops speaking English and addresses his people in his language before holding up the Title belt and leaving.

– Tyler Breeze def. Jey Uso: Jimmy Uso and Fandango are at ringside for this one. Breeze brings his box of Fashion Police props to the ring. Jey cuts a promo saying Breeze doesn’t deserve a shot tonight because he lost last night. Fandango distracts Jey from behind with a water gun, then Breeze rolls up Jey from behind for the immediate win.

– Fandango def. Jimmy Uso: This one starts right after the last one ended, and Jimmy starts off strong and decks Fandango with strikes. Breeze and Jey get into it at ringside which distracts Jimmy, so Fandango rolls up Jimmy from behind for the fast win. After the match, the Fashion Police cut promos on the Usos and ask for a rematch for the Tag Titles. Jimmy and Jey say they’ll do it right now. The referee gets on a headset and then sets up the tag title match.

– The Usos def. Breezango: The Usos’ Tag Team Titles are on the line in this one. The Usos control the opening moments of this one against Breeze. Fandango gets the hot tag and drops Jimmy with kicks. Fandango follows up with a tornado DDT for a two count. Both Usos are in the ring now and they superkick both Breeze and Fandango. Jey tags in blindly and they double team Fandango for the win to retain the Tag Titles.

– Natalya approaches Shane McMahon backstage and demands her rightful shot at the Women’s Title. Carmella and Ellsworth walk in and disagree. Becky walks in and also disagrees, and so do Tamina and Charlotte. Shane books a five-way match next week to determine who gets a shot at Naomi’s Women’s Title at the Money In The Bank PPV.

– AJ Styles & Shinsuke Nakamura def. Kevin Owens & Dolph Ziggler: Ziggler misses a dropkick on Styles early on and Styles responds with a dropkick of his own. Nakamura tags in and Ziggler retreats to his corner to tag in Owens. Nakamura gets Owens in the corner and stomps him. Owens gets some offense in on Nakamura and once Nakamura’s hurt, Ziggler tags back in. Ziggler works over Nakamura in the corner then tags Owens back in. Owens hits the cannonball on Nakamura in the corner for a two count. Ziggler tags back in but Nakamura starts firing up. Ziggler misses a spear and hits the ring post. AJ gets the hot tag and drops Ziggler with a series of strikes. Styles elbows Ziggler in the face for a two count. AJ hits a fireman’s carry neckbreaker for another two count on Ziggler. AJ gets distracted by Owens so Ziggler drops his throat across the top rope. AJ rolls outside and Owens hits a senton drop on him on the ringside floor. Back in the ring, Owens hits a back body drop on Styles then a series of elbows. Ziggler tags in and AJ stops him with a facebuster. Nakamura and Owens get the tags and Nakamura tees off on him with kicks. Nakamura sends Owens into the corner and hits a running knee. He lays Owens across the top rope in the corner for another running knee. Nakamura hits a spinning heel kick on Owens but Ziggler breaks up the pin. Ziggler goes for a Fameasser on Nakamura but Nakamura reverses with a back suplex. AJ runs in next and hits the Pele kick on Owens. Styles goes for a Styles Clash on Owens but Ziggler superkicks Styles. Nakamura kicks Ziggler, then hits the knee to the face on Owens for the win.

Return to the Golden Age: A Retrospective of Goldust’s First WWE Run

Chris Stephens
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7

Last night on Raw, viewers saw an old-school Goldust style promo, something first brought to WWE over 20 years ago. After splitting with his “Golden Truth” partner, R-Truth, it appears Goldust, as in the old Goldust, might be in line for a push.

Goldust’s First WWE Run

48-year old Dustin Runnels made his WWE debut in 1990. He was wrestling as Dustin Rhodes then, but when he returned to the company 5 years later, they had entirely different plans for him.

The WWE Universe was first introduced to Goldust through a series of bizarre vignettes that began airing in the fall of 1995.

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

He would make his in-ring debut that October, at an In Your House PPV.

The character immediately moved into some controversial storylines. It was heavily alluded to during his feud with Razor Ramon, that Goldust either had a sexual interest in his rival, or was trying to play mind games with him.

Check out Goldust distract Razor Ramon during his match with a young Jeff Hardy:

After feuding with Razor Ramon, Goldust moved into a program with Roddy Piper leading to WrestleMania XII, and their famous “Hollywood Backlot Brawl”.

Over the course of the next year Goldust would feud with various good guys on the roster. A rivalry once built between he and Ahmed Johnson, after Goldust insisted on giving him mouth-to-mouth recitation after having been knocked out.

This led to Ahmed and Goldust meeting at the 1996 King of the Ring:

The First End to Goldust

By 1997 the gimmick was waning a little. Vignettes of a happy Dustin Runnels and wife Terri began to air, as they played up that his true self was a family man. This started a feud with Brian Pillman that would end prematurely due to Brian’s tragic death.

Pillman defeated Goldust at SummerSlam 97, with the stipulation being that Pillman got Marlena (Terri) for 30 days. Pillman died before the conclusion of the angle.

Dustin then ended up turning on Marlena, and ending their marriage in storyline. Their real marriage would end in 1999.

The Artist Formerly Known As Goldust 

With the Attitude Era in full-swing, WWE could take the Goldust character farther than they had before. He was paired up with Luna Vachon, and became “the Artist Formerly Known as Goldust”.

WWE ended up landing in some hot water with upset parent groups in the late 90s and certain characters ended up being changed, Goldust’s being one of them.

Dustin Runnels returned, and started to speak out against WWE’s edgy storylines and characters, a subtle shot from WWE to their real-life detractors.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ch2QltZZ7DU

Runnels became a born-again Christian and began speaking of “His Return”. He was speaking about the Goldust character however.

Goldust would feud with Jeff Jarrett and Al Snow in his final months of his first run as the character. He ended up in a rather bizarre angle with the Blue Meanie as well, leading to a match between the two of them at the St. Valentines Day Massacre PPV in 1999. I searched all over YouTube and this angle is nowhere to be found. It’s on the Network however.

Signing with WCW

Dustin signed with WCW in 1999, after Vince Russo took over the booking. Russo tried to re-imagine the Goldust character as a darker more sadistic persona. He was named “Seven”, but after reactions to the vignettes underwhelmed, he simply wrestled as Dustin Runnels until the company went out of business.

His appearance in WCW in 1999 solidified that the initial run of the Goldust character was over. He’d be back in WWE, but his character slowly moved away from edgy towards a comedy act.

That initial first-run of Goldust is one of the most controversial in wrestling history.

RAW Viewership Hits Year-Low, Below 3 Million For Fourth Consecutive Week

Scott Lazara
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73

Monday’s episode of WWE RAW averaged 2.615 million viewers, down from last week’s 2.715 million. This is the fourth consecutive week RAW has drawn less than 3 million viewers.

The show featured more build for WWE Extreme Rules with Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins taking on Bray Wyatt and Samoa Joe in the main event.

Here are this week’s hourly breakdown, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:

  • Hour 1: 2.661 million viewers
  • Hour 2: 2.759 million viewers
  • Hour 3: 2.425 million viewers

RAW was #5 in viewership and #5 in the 18-49 demographic this week. The NBA Playoffs on TNT topped the charts once again.

Here are the top 10 moments from this week’s show:

Women’s Money In The Bank Match Planned For June’s SmackDown PPV

Jake Skudder
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36

The SmackDown brand’s upcoming Money in the Bank pay-per-view will feature the first-ever Women’s MITB match, according to an exclusive report from Pro Wrestling Sheet.

Tonight on SmackDown, commissioner Shane McMahon is scheduled to make a “major announcement” regarding Money in the Bank. Just saying.

Back in October, Charlotte and Sasha Banks made history by competing in the first-ever women’s Hell in a Cell match. It was also the first time a women’s match closed a pay-per-view. Just hours ago, WWE announced the inaugural Mae Young Classic Tournament kicks off July 13th. One thing is for sure – the #WomensRevolution is still in full swing.

Aside from SmackDown Women’s Champion Naomi, potential participants in the SmackDown Women’s MITB match include Charlotte, Becky Lynch, Natalya, Tamina and  a returning Lana.

WWE Money in the Bank 2017 takes place on Sunday, June 18th from St. Louis, Missouri at the Scottrade Center.

NXT Show in Manchester Potentially Cancelled due to Terror Attack

Jake Skudder
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17

According to TMZ Sports the upcoming NXT show in Manchester, England may be cancelled.

WWE are currently consulting with officials in Manchester as to whether the event will go ahead as planned due to the terror attacks that took place last night. The attacks took place during an Ariana Grande concert where 22 people lost their lives.

WWE made the following announcement regarding the event: “WWE offers its heartfelt condolences to those affected by this tragedy. We are working with local authorities on the appropriate course of action as it relates to our event scheduled for Tuesday, June 6 at the Manchester Arena.”

The NXT roster will be touring the UK in early June with stops in Brighton, Leeds and potentially Manchester.

WWE Mae Young Classic Tournament Kicks Off 7/13

Staff
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21

WWE’s upcoming Women’s Tournament kicks off Thursday, July 13th and has been dubbed the Mae Young Classic. The event will stream later this summer exclusively on WWE Network. In a statement released to WWE.com, Triple H said,

“The Mae Young Classic will mark a significant moment in the evolution of WWE. We are proud to provide this unique opportunity for the best female talent from around the world.”

The Mae Young Classic

After months of rumors, WWE confirmed a women’s tournament was in the works at the “WWE Reimagined” presentation from Orlando, Florida during WrestleMania weekend.

The Mae Young Classic will feature 32 female competitors from 17 different countries. WWE has not yet announced any of the participants, but expect to see talent from NXT, participants from WWE’s recent tryout camps and top independent performers.

The tournament will be taped on July 13th & 14th from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida and will air as a weekly show on the WWE Network this summer. Earlier this month, PWInsider reported that the finals will take place on Tuesday, August 29th and will air live on the WWE Network.

The tournament being named after the late Mae Young is a fitting tribute to the legendary grappler. After a career that spanned seven decades, she gained a whole new following during the Attitude Era when she and the Fabulous Moola made occasional appearances on WWE television. The women’s wrestling pioneer was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2008.

Discussion: Based on what we’ve seen from the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, the Cruiserweight Classic and the UK Championship tournament, what is your interest level in the Mae Young Classic? Any NXT/independent stars you really want to see involved?

Reby Hardy Shares Text Messages With Lawyer Regarding Impact Lawsuit, Matt Hardy Comments

Jon Fuentes
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22

As we previously noted, Impact Wrestling President Ed Nordholm did an interview with LAW earlier this week and stated that The Hardys “Broken” gimmick is unquestionably the property of Impact Wrestling:

“I think it’s unquestionable that the ownership of the characters in the storyline resides in Impact Wrestling,” Nordholm said. “I don’t think even the Hardys would dispute that. They’ve all signed contracts. Their contracts are standard contracts. Not only in the wrestling industry, but in the entertainment industry, generally, the producer of the show owns the content and it doesn’t really matter who in the creative team came up with the idea of what the character should be. The person that owns the storyline and the character is the person who invested to take that idea and put it on TV. That’s what we did. Impact put those characters on TV, and the contracts with those people are indisputably contracts that provide their IP to Impact.”

Head of Impact Wrestling creative, Zeb Colter, recently took to Twitter to thank Nordholm for ‘clearing it up’:

Reby Hardy responded to these comments by sharing a text message conversation she had with her lawyer over the situation:

https://twitter.com/RebyHardy/status/866772078002819072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wrestlinginc.com%2Fwi%2Fnews%2F2017%2F0523%2F626476%2Freby-hardy-contacts-lawyer-regarding-impact-drama%2F

https://twitter.com/RebyHardy/status/866773370645368832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wrestlinginc.com%2Fwi%2Fnews%2F2017%2F0523%2F626476%2Freby-hardy-contacts-lawyer-regarding-impact-drama%2F

https://twitter.com/RebyHardy/status/866773998167703552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wrestlinginc.com%2Fwi%2Fnews%2F2017%2F0523%2F626476%2Freby-hardy-contacts-lawyer-regarding-impact-drama%2F

One-half of the WWE RAW Tag Team Champs, Matt Hardy, chimed in by noting that Senor Benjamin was never paid for his work with Impact Wrestling:

Goldust Explains Why he Turned on R-Truth, His Reaction to Jinder Mahal’s WWE Title Win, More

Jon Fuentes
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8

Longtime WWE Superstar Goldust recently did an interview with FOX Sports to talk about a variety of professional wrestling topics. Here are the highlights:

Why he turned on R-Truth:

“I think it stems from the week when we had the tag team turmoil match, and R-Truth fell short. When it really counted, that’s when we needed it. We hadn’t as a tag team had a title shot. We kept losing, and he lost that one opportunity for us. That just sent me over the edge, and I’d had enough. He’s holding me back. It’s time to get back to my roots.”

What the highest point of The Golden Truth’s run was:

“You know, we had a lot of fun early on doing the backstage thing. It was funny, it was entertaining… and then somewhere along the way, R-Truth was trying to oversee everything instead of letting things organically fit together for us as a team. He stopped communicating with me about the way things were done. He saw it one way, he wanted to do it his way.

“And his way… to me, when you’ve been in the business for as long as I have, wasn’t the right way. I’ve done that, I know exactly what to do. In a sense, he was holding me back.”

His reaction to Jinder Mahal’s WWE Title win:

“I flew in last night, I was watching it on the WWE Network. I watched the whole show. As I was watching it, I was like ‘man, this crowd is electric.’ Chicago, to me, is the best wrestling crowd on the planet. They are the best. They are loud, they are ruthless, and they will tear you down if you let them. That crowd is the best, and that building is electric.

“And to see Jinder… you know, I didn’t know. Nobody knew. The way they did it, I’m very happy for Jinder, because he left and he came back and he busted his ass and he trained hard and he has probably the best physique here in WWE. He looks great, has a great attitude, and is a genuinely good human being, and I couldn’t be happier for him. Congratulations to Jinder Mahal.

“Anything can happen. You never say never in our company, and that proved the point last night. It was just a month ago or two months ago that he was in eight-man tags with us. He was in that comedy-style eight-man tag match that we’ve had for the last year, and now he’s world champion. That goes to say something. He’s worked his ass off and had the attitude that every performer needs to have when they try to get into this company… He is proof of something good happening.

“You know, the brass ring that everybody talks about, which everybody makes fun of, it was there [Sunday] night for Jinder Mahal, and he grabbed it.”

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