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WWE RAW Recap & Reaction (4/17)

Robert Lentini
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14

Braun Strowman came down to the ring and cut a promo to kick off WWE RAW. Strowman claimed that Roman Reigns was now out of the way and that he was going to prove to himself to the world. RAW GM Kurt Angle came down to the ring and informed Strowman that he has done enough damage and gave him the night off. Strowman demanded competition and told Angle that he better give it to him or else. Angle asked Strowman “or else what?” and Strowman got right in Angle’s face. Strowman then walked away after the stare down.

Chris Jericho vs Samoa Joe

Seth Rollins joined commentary for the match. Jericho landed a Crossbody off the top turnbuckle for a two count.  Jericho hit a Dropkick that sent Joe out of the ring and RAW went to a commercial break. The match went back and forth for the next few minutes. Jericho hit a Lionsault for a two count. Jericho then applied the Walls of Jericho but Joe was able to reverse it into a sleeper hold. Jericho kicked off the turnbuckle to try to get out of the hold, but Joe rolled through and locked in the Coquina Clutch for the victory.

After the match, Joe grabbed the microphone and called out Rollins. Joe stated that at first, he just attacked Rollins because it was just business. It was what Triple H wanted him to do. Joe stated that things are now personal because of what Rollins did to Triple H and Stephanie McMahon at Wrestlemania 33. Rollins agreed that their rivalry is now personal and stated that “Payback is a bitch”. Rollins and Joe will face off at WWE Payback later this month.

Winner: Samoa Joe

Reaction: The match between Joe and Jericho was solid. I thought the promo after the match between Rollins and Joe was good as well. I think this match has the potential to be awesome and I cannot wait to see it at WWE Payback.

Gallows and Anderson walked past The Drifter backstage. Braun Strowman attacked Goldust and R-Truth backstage. Agents and producers eventually broke things up but not before Strowman launched R-Truth into a laundry cart.

Gallows & Anderson vs Enzo & Cass

The match started out back and forth. Big Cass planted Anderson with the Empire Elbow. Enzo was then gearing up for the Bada Boom Shakalaka on Anderson but Gallows broke it up. Cass then connected with a big boot to Gallows and both Superstars fell out of the ring. Enzo then climbed to the top turnbuckle and leaped onto Anderson but Anderson caught him. Anderson then threw Enzo into the turnbuckle and pinned him for the win.

Winners: Gallows & Anderson

Mix TV w/ Dean Ambrose

The Miz and Maryse came down to the ring. Miz was about to introduce Ambrose but his music hit before he was able to. Ambrose joined The Miz in the ring. Ambrose called for a truce because RAW was in Ohio and both are from that state. The Miz wasn’t having it and scolded Ambrose for thinking that this was a joke. Ambrose responded by making fun of Miz’s outfit. Miz then Ambrose doesn’t care about anything and poked fun at his hair. The Miz suggested that Ambrose start sporting a fanny pack. Miz also bragged about how he and Maryse look and stated that he puts effort into his looks because he wants to look like a WWE Superstar, while Ambrose just wants to look like a “rassler”.

Ambrose agreed that he doesn’t care about his looks or “his brand”. Ambrose stated that too many WWE Superstars worry about their brands and what they tweet. Ambrose claimed to love getting black eyes and spitting up his own teeth. Ambrose then bragged about taking the Intercontinental Championship from The Miz back when they were a part of the SmackDown roster. Maryse then chimed in and called Ambrose a “dirty little street rat”.

Ambrose took off his jacket and placed the IC Title on a chair in the ring. Maryse hit Ambrose with her high heel but Ambrose shrugged it off. The Miz tried to attack Ambrose but Dean got the upper-hand. The Miz and Maryse then retreated as Ambrose stood tall in the ring.

Reaction: This segment was entertaining. Having said that, I’m not really looking forward to another feud between Ambrose and The Miz. They had a solid feud on SmackDown recently. I was under the impression that the Superstar Shake-Up was designed to create new and exciting feuds. This feud certainly doesn’t fall into that category. The best part of The Miz and Ambrose feud on SmackDown was when Renee Young got involved. The feud became personal for a moment and then WWE completely abandoned that.

The only real positive I can take from this is that Ambrose is mildly entertaining again. I’m not sure if everyone agrees, but I thought Ambrose had gotten very stale on SmackDown. His feud with Baron Corbin was very boring in my opinion. There were also weeks where their feud wasn’t even featured on SmackDown. The Miz is a solid heel and hopefully he can bring out the best in Ambrose again.

Braun Strowman was shown dragging Kalisto around backstage. People were pleading with Strowman to stop but he didn’t listen. Strowman stated that Roman Reigns is garbage and so is Kaliso. Strowman then put Kalisto in a trash bin. Big Show then appeared and shoved Strowman to the floor. Big Show told Strowman to pick on someone his own size and walked away.

TJ Perkins vs Jack Gallagher

Before the match started, Neville came down to the ring and stared at Gallagher. Neville then looked at Perkins and sat ringside. The match was about start but Austin Aries’ music hits. Aries come down to the ring and stated that he was hear for the viewing party. Aries then took a seat right beside Neville. Perkins started out the match in control and dabbed. Gallagher then took momentum of the match and did a dab of his own. Perkins then sent Gallagher out of the ring and RAW went to a commercial break.

When RAW returned, Gallagher opened up his umbrella and climbed to the top rope. Gallagher leaped onto Perkins outside the ring with the umbrella. Perkins then shoved Gallagher into Aries outside the ring. The action returned to the ring and Aries hopped up on the ring apron. Neville tripped up Aries and Aries fell to the ring apron. The referee was distracted by this and Perkins hit Gallagher with a cheap shot. Perkins then leveled Gallagher with the Detonation Kick for the victory.

Winner: TJ Perkins

Reaction: Perkins is simply much better as a heel. 205 Live is reportedly struggling on the WWE Network. It hasn’t really picked up any momentum since the show made it’s debut. There is usually solid wrestling matches on 205 Live but there aren’t any performers that have really connected with the WWE Universe besides Neville and Aries. Gallagher is entertaining and Mustafa Ali has a lot of potential. The only way 205 Live will be a success is if WWE finds more Superstars that the WWE Universe cares about. The best way to do that is provide quality matches and storylines on RAW every week.

Titus O’Neil approached Apollo Crews backstage and congratulated him on expecting his first child. O’Neil than made a pitch to have Crews join the “Titus Brand” and Crews didn’t seem too interested.

The Hardy Boyz were interviewed backstage by Mike Rome. Matt Hardy claimed that the Superstars in WWE are the most athletic performers they have ever faced. Cesaro and Sheamus interrupted. Cesaro welcomed both Matt and Jeff back to WWE. Sheamus said that is going to be an honor to take back the RAW Tag Team Championships at Payback. Cesaro then apologized for Sheamus’ comments and the two walked away. Matt Hardy smiled and stated that it is great to be back in WWE.

Fatal 4-Way for #1 Contender to RAW Women’s Championship: Sasha Banks vs Nia Jax vs Alexa Bliss vs Mickie James

Nia dominated the match early as Bayley was shown watching the match backstage. RAW went to a commercial break after Sasha Banks leaped onto everyone outside the ring. When RAW returned, Nia was back in control and slammed everyone to the mat. Bayley was once again shown backstage as Nia had a submission hold applied to Mickie James. Nia then controlled the next couple of minutes of the match and went to pin Mickie James but Sasha broke up the pinfall.

Nia lifted Mickie by her neck and once again applied a submission hold. Mickie reversed it into an Arm Bar and wrestled Nia to the mat. Nia once again battled back but was eventually knocked out of the ring. Sasha went for the Bank Statement but Nia dragged her out of the ring. Bliss punched Mickie in the face and she fell on top of Nia outside the ring. Back in the ring, Bliss and Banks battled. Alexa shouted “this is my division now” but Sasha immediately applied the Bank Statement. Mickie got back in the ring and broke up the hold.

Alexa rolled out of the ring as Mickie and Sasha traded punches. Mickie got the upper-hand and climbed to the top turnbuckle. Sasha got back up and joined her on the top turnbuckle. Nia then got back in the ring and lifted Sasha Banks onto her shoulders. Nia then slammed Sasha into Mickie and Mickie fell out of the ring. Nia then planted Sasha with the Samoan Drop. Nia was going for the pinfall but Alexa Dropkicked her out of the ring. Bliss then pinned Banks and is now the #1 contender to Bayley’s RAW Women’s Championship.

Winner & #1 Contender: Alexa Bliss

Reaction: I thought this match was very good. Alexa Bliss can hopefully put on a great feud with Bayley because their characters are complete opposites. Nia Jax looked good in this match as well.

Big Show was interviewed backstage and was asked about attacking Strowman earlier in the night. Big Show claimed that Strowman needed to feel intimidated and stated that tonight he will give Strowman a taste of his own medicine.

Finn Balor vs Curt Hawkins

Balor dominated the match and quickly hit the Coupe De Grace for the victory.

Winner: Finn Balor

Chris Jericho was interviewed backstage about his loss to Samoa Joe. Jericho called Mike Rome “Tom” and stated that Samoa Joe is a tremendous athlete. Jericho claimed he was still distracted by his rematch with Kevin Owens at WWE Payback. Jericho said that Owens is not the face of America because Owens’ face is ugly. Jericho stated that America deserves better and stated that he should be the face of America. Jericho then yelled “frame it in man!” as the camera zoomed in on his face. Jericho said that he is looking forward to defeating Owens at Payback for the United States Championship. If Jericho wins at Payback he will join the SmackDown roster. Jericho was about to add Mike Rome to the list but The Drifter walked by them while playing the guitar. Jericho then added The Drifter (Elias Samson) to the list.

Bray Wyatt then appeared on the Jumbotron and cut a promo about Randy Orton and their WWE Championship match at Payback. Wyatt said that he harnesses fear and that fear lives within his house of horse. Wyatt said that he knew Orton was scared and that he could “smell it”. Wyatt said that he will fly Orton up to the heavens and right before they reach the light he will drop Orton down into the abyss. Wyatt claimed that Orton’s pain will fuel him at Payback. Wyatt stated that his house of horrors will forever be the nightmare at the end of Orton’s dreams.

Reaction: Bray Wyatt is great at cutting promos but it doesn’t mean anything if he continues to lose matches. It seems obvious that Wyatt is going to lose at Payback so that the WWE Championship will remain on SmackDown. I also think it is bizarre that WWE is already mentioning that Balor and Wyatt will have after Payback. As of now, there is a WWE Championship match at Payback that seems predictable and Finn Balor is wrestling Jinder Mahal and Curt Hawkins to kill time until the Raw after Payback.

Dana Brooke and Alicia Fox were backstage watching last week’s 205 Live on a tablet. Alicia Fox was showing a video of her getting embarrassed last week on 205 Live. Emma then appeared and claimed that Dana Brooke was making fun of Fox all week. Fox then flipped out and stated that she didn’t want to be friends with Dana anymore. Fox then walked away and Dana Brooke accused Emma of lying. Emma is apparently still annoyed that Dana Brooke didn’t want to be her sidekick.

Jeff Hardy vs Cesaro

Matt Hardy and Sheamus were ringside for this match. Hardy controlled the beginning of the match and leaped off the ring apron onto Cesaro outside the ring. Back in the ring, Cesaro slammed Hardy to the mat and Jeff rolled out of the ring. Cesaro followed him and connected with an uppercut. The action returned to the ring and Hardy climbed to the top rope. Cesaro rolled out of the ring and RAW went to a commercial break.

When RAW returned, Cesaro once again launched Jeff Hardy out of the ring. The match once again returned to the ring and Cesaro applied a Chinlock. Hardy fought out of the hold and hit Cesaro with a Clothesline. Cesaro responded by hitting an uppercut for a two count. Jeff hit an inverted Atomic Drop and followed it up with a Dropkick to Cesaro’s face. Jeff went for the Twist of Fate but Cesaro reversed it into an uppercut for a two count. Cesaro then connected with a springboard uppercut for a two count.

Hardy knocked Cesaro to the mat and climbed to the top turnbuckle. Cesaro got back up and hit Jeff with an uppercut and joined him on the top rope. Cesaro went for a Superplex but Jeff blocked it and hung him up on the top rope. Hardy then leaped off the top rope and connected with a Dropkick. Jeff connected with a Twist of Fate and followed it up with a Swanton Bomb for the victory. After the match, the two teams shook hands.

Winner: Jeff Hardy 

Reaction: It really is awesome to have the Hardy Boyz back on RAW. I enjoyed this match and am definitely looking forward to the RAW Tag Team Championship match at Payback.

Heath Slater and Rhyno were interviewed backstage. Rhyno was eating cheez whiz and crackers. Slater was saying that he was happy to be on RAW but became frightened when Braun Strowman walked by. Rhyno dropped his plate of crackers and Strowman walked right by them.

Braun Strowman vs Big Show

Strowman confronted Big Show on the entrance ramp and they traded punches. Strowman threw Big Show into the barricade. Big Show then launched Strowman into the steel steps and then into the barricade. Big Show then hit a Baseball Slide on Strowman and once again threw him into the steel steps. Strowman connected with a Dropkick for a two count. Strowman then hit two Arm Drags and went for a Body Slam but Big Show blocked it. Big Show then lifted Strowman and slammed him to the mat. Big Show went for a Chokeslam but Strowman blocked it and planted Big Show with a massive Suplex.

Strowman went for the Running Powerslam but Big Show avoided it and launched Strowman into the turnbuckle. Big Show then hit a Splash on Strowman while he was up against the turnbuckle. Big Show then planted Strowman with a Chokeslam but Braun kicked out at two. Big Show went for the KO Punch but Strowman ducked under it and planted Big Show with the Running Powerslam for a two count. Strowman then climbed to the top rope but Big Show got back up and met him there. Strowman connected with a couple jabs to the chest and Big Show fell crotch-first onto the top rope.

Braun then leaped off of the second punch but Big Show hit him with the KO Punch but Strowman kicked out at two. Big Show then climbed to the top rope but Strowman met him there. Braun hit a Superplex on Big Show and the ring imploded. The referee flew out of the ring as it collapses. The entire crowd chanted “yes!” as Strowman got to his feet. Strowman then celebrated in the ring and his music hit.

Reaction: This match was much more entertaining than I thought it would be. The ring collapsing spot will never get old. I could watch the referee bouncing out of the ring over and over again.

https://twitter.com/nickpiccone/status/854170797690290176

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

Natalya Reveals Battle with Eating Disorder

Staff
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9

WWE Superstar Natalya is the latest guest on Lilian Garcia’s Making Their Way to the Ring podcast. In an intimate discussion about her legendary career, Natalya reveals how she had once had an eating disorder and how wrestling helped to cure her, how Total Divas has taught her how to be vulnerable, as well as speaks on her uncle Brett Hart’s cancer, and what it’s like being a member of the Hart family, in this exclusive interview.

 Here are some highlights they sent in:

Natalya reveals her eating disorder: “Its funny because Alexa Bliss talked about having an eating disorder and stuff and I actually-this is the first time I’ve ever talked about this: Nattie exclusive, but I had an eating disorder when I was eighteen and um, it lasted for about, I mean they say it never really goes away, but um it spanned the course of about three years and I went from a hundred and sixty pounds, in the course of two months after my uncle Owen died-the summer that my uncle died, I lost forty pounds in two months. And my family was really scared and I remember being very angry at them and thinking like ‘Why are they confronting me? They should be happy, I look great’. I didn’t realize it until years later how crazy and scary I looked losing that much weight. I was wearing kids clothes and it was a really hard time for me, but I was reeling from the tragedy of my uncle passing away and how that affected my family and also I think because my Dad wasn’t a part of my life because he was working, and busy, and gone.” she went on to explain her reasons saying “I don’t know if this is the right way of putting this, but my eating disorder was a lot about control. I couldn’t control anything else that was going on in my life, but I could control what I ate.”

How Wrestling helped Natalya recover: “It’s a little bit liberating and I actually talked to Alexa Bliss about it when she came forward and said she had gone through this I said ‘I just give you so much credit because it takes a lot of courage to talk about it’. You know, since that happened I just never ever shared that publicly with anyone. It was just something I just didn’t want to have to relive but then I also thought you know, again now that Alexa has talked about her situation it made me really respect her more. Because it like, no we can actually raise awareness and help teach young girls that going through something like this is very common-it’s actually becoming a lot more common with body image. It’s something lots of people go through, whether it’s bulimia, or anorexia, or binge-eating disorder.” Specifically, she went on to say “Me getting into wrestling helped cure that eating disorder and I never looked back. Once I fell in love with wrestling I just realized-especially with the help of TJ because TJ was my very first trainer, I wanted to do that and I wasn’t going to let food hold me back and so slowly I started to kind of reintroduce myself to food and I did put on some weight because once you go from starving yourself to eating you do gain weight. I’d gotten a little heavier, but I was happier and I was happier because I was pursuing a passion which was wrestling.”

Natalya learning how to be vulnerable through Total Divas: “There was a time, especially in WWE where I felt like it was never going to be my time and before I got picked to do Total Divas I was actually going back to school on the side doing online classes. I was thinking about getting into law and it really interested me. Then you know I had gone to Rwanda and did this four day retreat with the United Nations Foundation, we visited two refugee camps, over thirty thousand refugees and it was this life-changing trip.” she continued, “So I got home and that week Triple H pulls me aside and says, ‘Nattie, we picked you to be a part of Total Divas and it’s this new show that we’re doing and it’s gonna document you and a few other girls and your lives and in and out of the ring and it’s very special, blah, blah, blah, blah’. I was so blown away by Triple H asking me to be a part of it and I was just like ‘Wow this is just incredible. I’m just getting this new opportunity and it was the greatest opportunity for me that I could have at that moment and I’ve been on the show since the very beginning. For four years, six full seasons, and it’s been the opportunity of a lifetime. I’ve loved it, but it’s also taught me which is what I was saying before, what it is to be vulnerable. That what people really connect with is you laughing, crying, showing people that you’re not perfect, opening up and saying ‘You know what I’m human and I make mistakes. We fall down and we get back up’”, Natalya goes on to reveal, “I really opened myself up to being vulnerable on that show and I felt like when I went up to induct Beth at the Hall of Fame this past week, I was like, I felt like all that Total Divas vulnerability helped me on that stage where I could just be like totally vulnerable and I even at one point choked up and started crying onstage when I was talking about my uncle Owen and people just said that I had them in, people just said ‘You and Beth had me in tears’. I feel like people want to be let in you know, but not everyone will let you in, not everyone knows how to do that, but I feel like I learned that that’s okay.” 

Natalya on her uncle Bret Hart going through cancer: “He’s completely healed from cancer, but you know cancer, I’ll forever, forever be indebted and grateful to Bret for coming to be by my side at that pay per view after WrestleMania, um dealing with just having beaten cancer. He had just had surgery like a couple months prior, not even like two months like six weeks and he didn’t feel good at all.” she continued, “He was by my side for that match and he didn’t feel good because he was still recovering but he was there for me and I will always remember that and I think really last year he’s just been getting his sea legs back because it was a lot what he endured and it was very scary for him. And I can tell he was really scared by everything, mentally, physically, it scared him so much. You know cancer really doesn’t run in our family. Our family doesn’t really that much of a history with it and so Bret really wanted to use his situation with cancer as a platform to help others that are going through the same thing and so what’s funny is that once Bret announced that he had cancer there was a surge and they did a story on it actually in the paper and on the news. There was a surge, thousands of men across the province of Alberta, where Bret lives, went to get checked for prostate cancer. And they did a special on it on the news saying it was Bret Hart that helped raise so much awareness by coming forward about his cancer.”

Natalya on being a part of the Hart family: “I think as I’ve grown older I realized just how special my family is. When you’re young you kind of take it for granted and you don’t realize when your uncles are Bret ‘the Hitman’ Hart and Owen Hart, the British Bulldog, my Dad’s on TV, and my grandfather’s you know, now a WWE Hall of Famer, Stu Hart. When I was around them when I was a little kid, they were just my uncles. They were just you know, just my dad, it’s just my grandpa. And then as I’ve grown older I’ve realized that my family is extremely special and really iconic in this wild wonderful world of WWE. Now I realize just how special they are and I’m very very proud of them. But I also admire the fact that we’ve been able to go through hell and come out alive.”

ABOUT THE SHOW:

For 15 years, Lilian Garcia worked with some of the best athletes in the world, the WWE Superstars. They put their bodies on the line 300+ days a year to entertain us. She loves and respects them so much, yet… she realized she didn’t know anything about them, their lives and the obstacles they broke through to get into professional wrestling! Lilian Garcia: Making Their Way To The Ring is a platform for Superstars, past, present and future, to share their story and the journey of what it takes to be a Superstar in this business. The conversations will be Real, Raw and Inspiring; offering the viewer a genuine connection to the person behind the performer. Lilian Garcia: Making Their Way To The Ring will leave you cheering and rooting for that star’s life and dreams!

WWE RAW Results & Live Discussion (4/17)

Eric Lynch
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1,379

The April 17th episode of WWE RAW was the first episode after the Superstar Shake-up, and aired live on the USA Network from the Schottenstein Center Columbus, Ohio.

– RAW opens up with a video highlighting Braun Strowman’s attack on Roman Reigns last week, and then Braun Strowman comes out to the ring with a mic. Strowman cuts a promo about how proud he is that he injured Reigns last week and put him out of action, which gets a big pop from the crowd. Strowman says now that Roman is out of his way, he’s going to tear through the entire locker room and prove himself to the world. Kurt Angle’s music hits and the Olympic gold medalist comes out to the ring. Kurt asks Strowman what else he has to prove after flipping over a “freakin’ ambulance” with Roman Reigns inside. Kurt tells Braun that he’ll have a match against Roman at the Payback pay-per-view. Kurt says Strowman has done enough damage, and he can take tonight off. Strowman says he wants more competition tonight, or else. Angle asks “or else what?” and Strowman gets in Angle’s face briefly before walking off.

– Samoa Joe def. Chris Jericho: Seth Rollins is on commentary for this one as he faces Joe at Payback. Jericho makes his entrance in his light-up scarf. Joe starts off with a flurry of right hands and knees to the face of Y2J. Jericho comes back with a springboard dropkick that drops Joe. Joe hits a series of kicks on Jericho, and Jericho lays into Joe with chops to the chest. Jericho hits an axe handle off the top, but Joe comes right back with a spinning powerslam. Jericho dodges a senton splash and follows up with a Lionsault for a two count. Jericho charges at Joe in the corner, but Joe catches him and plants him with a Rock Bottom. Joe misses a senton splash off the middle rope, and Jericho puts Joe in the Walls of Jericho. Joe reverses and gets Jericho in a sleeper. Jericho kicks off of the turnbuckle to reverse the sleeper into a pin, but Joe rolls through and locks Jericho in the Coquina Clutch for the win.

– After the match, Samoa Joe grabs the mic and cuts a promo on Seth Rollins. Joe remembers Rollins’ screams of pain when he made his debut, and that was just business with his boss Triple H. Joe says now it’s personal because of what Rollins did to Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. Rollins agrees that their issue is personal, and tells Joe that Payback is a bitch.

– Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson are seen walking backstage, right past The Drifter from NXT. We also see Goldust and R Truth walking, but Braun Strowman suddenly attacks them out of nowhere. Strowman throws Goldust through a fenced area, then kicks R-Truth into a laundry bin. Fit Finlay, Jamie Knoble and others run in to chase off Strowman and check on Goldust and Truth.

– Back from commercial, a referee approaches Strowman in the locker room and asks him to leave. Strowman says he’ll leave when he wants to, and backs the referee down.

– Gallows and Anderson are in the ring with mics. Anderson says that since Strowman gave Golden Truth the United Airlines treatment backstage, they need new opponents tonight. They demand that Kurt Angle sends them some more nerds to beat up right now.

– Gallows & Anderson def. Enzo & Cass: The action goes out to ringside early on, where Cass uses Enzo like a human bowling ball and throws him into Gallows and Anderson. Back in the ring, Gallows grabs Enzo by the foot and then Anderson hits a running kick to the head of Enzo. Anderson and Gallows continue to work on Enzo, keeping him grounded and away from Big Cass. Gallows works on Enzo’s arm and hits a DDT for a two count before tagging Anderson back in. Anderson hits a knee drop on Enzo before going back to working on Enzo’s left arm. Anderson hits a spinebuster on Enzo for another near-fall. Gallows tags back in, but Enzo comes back with a flying DDT off the middle rope. Enzo almost gets the tag to Cass, but Anderson intercepts it just in time. Anderson misses a kick in the corner and this time Enzo is able to get the tag. Big Cass comes in and hits a running clothesline and side slam on Anderson. Cass follows up with an elbow drop and a big boot. Cass tags in Enzo and throws him off the top rpe onto Gallows. Cass boots Gallows to the outside and falls out with him. Enzo comes off the middle rope but Anderson catches him and slams him into the turnbuckle awkwardly. Anderson rolls up Enzo with a fist full of tights for the win.

– The Miz and Maryse are out to the ring for a Miz TV segment. The Miz starts introducing his segment, but he’s very quickly interrupted by Dean Ambrose. Ambrose makes fun of The Miz’s suit and shoes, and The Miz fires back saying he dresses the part because he respects what a WWE Superstar is. Miz says Ambrose is a disgrace to WWE Superstars and he makes them look like “just wrasslers.” The Miz tells Ambrose he may as well put on a fanny pack and Zumbas and “set us back 30 years.” Miz calls Ambrose lazy and complacent. Ambrose says he doesn’t care about image and what people think about him. Ambrose says he does it because he loves to fight and bleed, and that’s why he beat The Miz for the Intercontinental Title. Maryse and The Miz have some more words for Ambrose and call him a joke. Ambrose takes his jacket off and tackles The Miz then starts pummeling on him. Maryse throws a microphone at Ambrose to distract him, and the Miz attacks from behind. Ambrose tries to get Miz in the Dirty Deeds, but The Miz escapes and retreats up the ramp.

– Backstage we see Braun Strowman dragging Kalisto along the floor by his arm. Strowman says that Roman Reigns is garbage, and now he is too, and he throws Kalisto in a dumpster. Strowman starts to walk off, but The Big Show comes out of nowhere and tackles him into the wall. Big Show tells Strowman to pick on someone his own size and walks off. Back from commercial, it’s announced that Kurt Angle has booked Strowman in a match against Big Show later tonight.

– TJ Perkins def. Jack Gallagher: Before the match, it’s announced that Neville will be making a “special appearance” and the Cruiserweight Champion comes out to the ring before the mach. Neville looks at both TJ and Jack in the ring, then takes a seat at ringside with his Cruiserweight Title. Before the match, Austin Aries’ music hits too and he comes out next. Aries says he didn’t know there was going to be a special viewing party for this match, but he’s inviting himself. Aries sits right next to Neville at ringside and eats a banana. Neville moves his chair away from Aries on the other side of the ring. Gallagher gets some offense in early on, but Perkins dodges a spear and Gallagher falls hard out to ringside. Back in the ring, Perkins takes control with some kicks and a suplex. Gallagher stops Perkins’ offense with a headbutt that sends Perkins rolling outside, then Gallagher grabs his umbrella. Gallagher goes up top and comes flying off with a splash with his unfolded umbrella on Perkins at ringside. Perkins shoves Gallagher into Aries and Aries is hurt. Aries gets fired up, but Neville drops Aries from behind. Meanwhile in the ring, Perkins soccer kicks Gallagher in the face when he’s getting in the ring, then hits the Detonation Kick for the win.

– Titus O’Neal approaches Apollo Crews in the locker room to welcome him to RAW. Titus tries to tempt Apollo to work with “The Titus Brand,” but Crews doesn’t seem interested and walsk away.

– Matt and Jeff Hardy do a brief interview backstage about how excited they are to be back with WWE, but they’re quickly interrupted by Sheamus and Cesaro. They wish Jeff good luck in his match against Cesaro later tonight.

– Alexa Bliss def. Mickie James, Nia Jax, Sasha Banks: Nia Jax starts off in control and dominates until Mickie and Sasha knock Nia outside. Mickie and Sasha go at it in the ring until Nia pulls Mickie outside, then Sasha hit a suicide dive onto both of them at ringside. Back in the ring, Nia slams Alexa Bliss, then slams Sasha and Mickie ontop of her. We get a look at Bayley backstage watching on a monitor. Nia dominates the next few moments of the match. Alexa goes up top, but when she sees that Nia saw her and is heading her way, Alexa retreats down to ringside. Nia turns her attention to Mickie and Sasha, but she misses a splash inthe corner and Mickie sends her outside. Mickie goes for a DDT on Alexa, but Sasha breaks it up with a kick. Sasha tees off on Mickie and Sasha with kicks and knees until Nia pulls Sasha outside. Mickie mounts a comeback until Nia knocks her off the top rope down to ringside. Nia hits the Samoan Drop on Sasha, but Alexa Bliss comes out of nowhere and knocks Nia outside then steals the pin on Sasha for the win.

– The Big Show is backstage to answer some questions about why he tackled Braun Strowman earlier. Big Show says Strowman needs to know what it feels like to be bullied, and that’s what’s going to happen in their match tonight.

– Finn Balor def. Curt Hawkins: This one is the result of an open challenge to the back by Hawkins. Balor hits the Sling Blade early on and follows up with a running dropkick. Balor follows up with the Coup De Grace for the win after a very short squash match.

– Chris Jericho does an interview backstage about his loss to Samoa Joe earlier tonight. Jericho says Joe is one of the best competitors he’s faced, but he admits he was distracted with his rematch against Kevin Owens at Payback. Jericho says the “friends of Jericho” have followed him to every show he’s been on, from Velocity to Nitro. Jericho gives the interviewer a hard time about his name, then goes to put him on the list for not knowing his own name. The Drifter interrupts by walking by with his guitar, so Jericho puts him on the list instead of the announcer.

– Bray Wyatt cuts a promo about his upcoming House of Horrors match against Randy Orton. Wyatt finishes up by saying “it always burns down here” before telling Orton to run.

– Emma approaches Dana Brooke and Alicia Fox in the locker room and stirs up some drama between them. Alicia gets in Dana’s face then walks off.

– Jeff Hardy def. Cesaro: Matt Hardy and Sheamus are at ringside for this one. Cole points out that this is Jeff’s first singles match on RAW in over 8 years. Hardy takes things out to ringside early on and hits a splash on Cesaro off the apron. Back in the ring, Jeff goes up top but Cesaro gets out of the way. Cesaro throws Jeff out to ringside and Jeff starts selling his shoulder. Back in the ring, Jeff hits a short-arm clothesline but Cesaro comes right back with a running European uppercut for a two count. Jeff hits an inverted atomic drop and goes for the Twist of Fate, but Cesaro escapes and hits two European uppercuts. Cesaro goes for the swing but Hardy kicks his way out. Hardy goes to the top rope and Cesaro stops him with another European uppercut. Cesaro climbs up and attempts a superplex, but Hardy reverses and crotches him on the top rope. Hardy hits a missile dropkick off the top onto Cesaro that sends Cesaro out to ringside. Back in the ring, Hardy hits the Whisper In The Wind on Cesaro for a two count. Cesaro dodges a dropkick and attempts a Neutralizer, but Jeff escapes and hits the Twist of Fate. Jeff goes up to the top rope and hits the Swanton Bomb for the win. The Hardy brothers shake hands with Cesaro and Sheamus before they go backstage.

– Heath Slater and Rhyno are doing an interview backstage when Braun Strowman walks by and they get spooked. We see Big Show walking elsewhere in the arena, and his match with Strowman is up next.

– Braun Strowman vs. The Big Show – No Contest: Strowman charges at Big Show during his entrance and they brawl around ringside. They finally get in the ring and the opening bell rings. Big Show knocks Strowman outside and follows up with a baseball slide, then throws Strowman into the ring steps. Back in the ring. Strowman hits a running dropkick on Big Show for a two count. Big Show gets Strowman in an arm lock, but Strowman kicks up from the ground to his feet and hits an arm drag on Big Show. Strowman hits another arm drag, then they struggle to power slam each other. Big Show ends up getting the upper hand in the power struggle and he successfully powerslams Strowman. Big Show goes for a chokeslam but Strowman blocks it and hits a vertical suplex. Strowman continues to work on Big Show with punches and headbutts. Big Show reverses a running powerslam and hits a splash on Strowman in the corner. Big Show sits Strowman on the top turnbuckle, but Strowman punches him away. Strowman comes flying off the middle rope and Big Show catches him with a chokeslam for a two count. Strowman dodges a knockout punch and hits a running powerslam on Big Show for a two count. Strowman goes up to the top turnbuckle again, but this time Big Show stops him and headbutts him. Big Show climbs all the way up to the very top rope, but Strowman knocks him off and crotches him on the top rope. Big Show falls down into the ring, and Strowman is recovering on the turnbuckle. Strowman stands up on the middle rope and comes flying off, but Strowman hits him with the Knockout Punch in mid-air for a two count. Big Show climbs to the top rope, but Strowman runs up and stops him. Strowman is on the middle rope and Big Show is on the top rope, and Strowman superplexes Big Show off. The ring breaks and collapses on the impact of the superplex. The referee took a pretty nasty bump out to the floor when the ring broke. Additional referees and trainers check on Big Show and Strowman in the ring. Strowman gets to his feet and raises his hands in the air as his music plays. There was no bell and this one appears to be ruled a no contest.

Dash Wilder Reportedly Out For Months With A Broken Jaw

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Dash Wilder of The Revival will be out of action for months after recently suffering a broken jaw, according to an exclusive report at Pro Wrestling Sheet.

The injury took place over the weekend, but it’s unknown if Wilder’s jaw was broken during a match. Early estimates have him on the sidelines until early July.

Bobby Roode replaced Dash Wilder at Saturday’s NXT live event from Concord, NC. They lost to Shinsuke Nakamura & Tye Dillinger in the main event in a match that had been billed as the Revival’s NXT farewell.

Dash Wilder and his partner Scott Dawson made their main roster debuts on WWE RAW the night after WrestleMania 33. The duo made a big impact upon their arrival, scoring a win over The New Day and unleashing a vicious attack on Kofi Kingston that [storyline] put him out of action with an ankle injury.

‘205 Live’ Reportedly Struggling on WWE Network

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WWE’s weekly 205 Live cruiserweights show on the WWE Network has been struggling with viewership, according to Dave Meltzer. 205 Live draws significantly fewer viewers than NXT on a week to week basis.

There are many factors that play in to the issues for the Cruiserweight brand, one of the biggest being over saturation of the WWE product overall.

The in ring content that WWE produces currently sits at nearly 10 hours per week, not to mention the creation of a UK based show that will be airing on the Network in the coming months.

Are you a fan of 205 Live? Then check out the latest show from R&J Podcasts discussing the Cruiserweight division:

https://audioboom.com/posts/5822067-what-s-what-205-live?t=0

 

Daniel Bryan & Brie Bella’s Baby Name, Big E Explains Why He’s Officiating Weddings

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– Sheamus noted on Twitter that today marks 10 years since his WWE tryout.

– On last week’s episode of Total Divas, Nikki Bella said she thinks Brie “feels lost” since leaving WWE and had a rough time after leaving the company last year. Nikki said,

“Brie retired from WWE because she can’t be a mom and wrestle at the same time. Giving that up and not automatically getting pregnant, I feel like she’s just in this in-between stage. And I think she feels lost and it kind of makes me feel bad for her.”

Brie and husband Daniel Bryan are expecting a baby girl in about a month. Previously on the show, Brie revealed the child will be named Birdy Joe Danielson.

“Joe, her middle name, is after my grandfather – his name was Joseph, and he meant the world to me,” Brie said. “Birdy is because my husband and his whole family are B’s. And he married me, a B too, so his one request was that our kids have B names. I didn’t realise how hard it was to find girl B names, but we both came across Birdy and knew that was it!”

– Big E recently announced on Twitter that he is available to officiate weddings in the Los Angeles are later this month. He made sure to clarify he is not joking around.

Big E spoke to WWE.com about the decision to start officiating weddings and revealed it came about because he had some free time on his hands and he ‘really doesn’t do well’ with idle time. “I think I was talking about it in the locker room,” Big E said. “I actually have to give all credit to Enzo Amore. He came up with this idea. As soon as I heard it, I thought ‘This is kind of ridiculous, but kind of phenomenal, as well.’ So, I gave it some thought, ran it by a couple of my friends, got their feedback. I couldn’t really think of a reason not to do it and got even more excited about the prospect.”

As for what couples can expected from a Big E wedding, Big E knows people will probably expect to see him ‘in character’ like they see on WWE television. “I’m not going to approach it as a normal minister would,” he said. “My job is an entertainer, so my thought is people want to see me entertain. That’s something we can talk about, of course. If you have a grandmother at your wedding who is uncomfortable with me shaking my hips, that’s something that I can tone down. It’s a case-by-case basis. I’m sure people who would try to employ my services would want something fun, but we’ll talk about it.”

Jeff Hardy Falls At WWE Live Event (Video), Bret Hart On The Undertaker’s Final Match

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Jeff Hardy Falls During Celebration

Matt and Jeff Hardy picked up a victory during a WWE live event last night in Cincinnati. During the celebration, Jeff Hardy slipped and fell face-first to the mat.

Bret Hart Enjoyed The Undertaker’s Last Match

Bret Hart was recently interviewed by Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated’s Extra Mustard. Hart discussed The Undertaker’s match at Wrestlemania 33 and stated that he enjoyed it. The Undertaker lost to Roman Reigns and then left his gloves, coat and hat in the ring.

“I liked his final moment,” said Hart. “I enjoyed his last match, and I thought he gave his all. He’ll forever be one of the wrestling giants, and he is one of the guys I respected the most.”

You can check out he entire interview by clicking here.

Alberto El Patron Officially Signs With Impact Wrestling, Kenny Omega Talks Bullet Club

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– Alberto El Patron is now officially under contract with Impact Wrestling, according to a report at PWInsider.com. During a recent interview with FightfulWrestling, Alberto revealed that he’s been working for Impact Wrestling under a ‘handshake agreement’ with Jeff Jarrett.

“[Jarrett] was like, ‘Do you want to do a contract just for a week so you can see what we are going to be doing’? I said, ‘No, let’s do it the way gentleman do it. Let’s shake hands and I’ll go work for you. I will trust you. You know me and know I always deliver and what I bring to the table. I will do those four TV tapings and after those TV tapings we will sit down. If you don’t think my work is worth what I’m asking for then you say right there and I’ll give you a big discount’.”

It’s worth noting that Alberto El Patron told Fightful that he intends to retire from active competition when he’s done working for Impact Wrestling.

“At the moment, we are closing the final details of what is going to be my contract,” Alberto said last week. “Then, I will be joining TNA for good and retire in the company.”

– New Japan Pro Wrestling star Kenny Omega spoke with The Irish Mirror prior to competing at Over The Top Wrestling’s ScrapperMania III event in Dublin, Ireland at Dublin’s National Stadium this past Saturday night. When asked about the message the Bullet Club is looking to send, Omega said:

“We always had this message that we wanted to tell the people. To finally spread it to a larger fan-base… to spread our message of what pro wrestling should be, what we think it can be, to more people worldwide, that makes us happy. That makes us want to travel more and give these live performances in places that we’ve never been before.”

Mauro Ranallo Takes Shot At WWE While Calling MMA Event (Video)

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Ranallo Takes Shot At WWE

Mauro Ranallo made his return to commentary over this past weekend and called the Rizin FF 5: Sakura MMA event in Yokohama, Japan. WWE does not allow the term “professional wrestler” on television. WWE prefers that the term “Sports Entertainer” is used to describe it’s performers. Ranallo took a shot at WWE and said the following during the MMA event:

“Professional wrester, and boy does it feel good to be able to use that term again,turned mixed martial artist, the Alpha Female Jazzy Gabert!”

Ranallo is not expected to return to WWE television before his contract expires in August, but he did tweet yesterday that he plans on calling “pro wrestling” in the future.

https://twitter.com/mauroranallo/status/853728890010779648

Finn Balor Concussion Update, Mauro Ranallo To Call Wrestling Again, More

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– Finn Balor is in Columbus, Ohio and will be attending tonight’s WWE RAW. According to PWInsider, Balor will undergo another round of medical tests, including an Impact concussion test to see if he can get cleared to wrestle.

Balor suffered a concussion last week on RAW during his match with Jinder Mahal and was pulled from WWE live events over the weekend.

– Former SmackDown Live announcer Mauro Ranallo returned to the commentary booth over the weekend, calling the action for the RIZIN Fighting Federation’s event from Yokohama, Japan. Ranallo thanked fans on Twitter for their ongoing support and vowed to call pro wrestling again.

https://twitter.com/mauroranallo/status/853728890010779648

– WWE posted this video of former ECW Champion Jerry Lynn talking about his recent experience working as a guest trainer at the Performance Center in Orlando:

Tyrus Praises Donald Trump On Fox News

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44-year old George Murdoch is an occasional political commentator for Fox News. Wrestling fans are more familiar with Murdoch by either the name Tyrus or Brodus Clay however.

Recently Murdoch was a guest on a right-leaning political discussion show, offering his opinion on the recent attacks on Syria. President Trump authorized the use of missiles in response to the Syrian government’s recent use of chemical weapons on civilians. Such attacks are in defiance of the Geneva Protocol (an international treaty that outlaws the use of gases and chemical weapons).

https://www.instagram.com/p/BS7IwZljJsS/?taken-by=tyrussmash

Tyrus’ Wrestling Career

When Murdoch isn’t backing up outspoken and polarizing figures on Fox News, he is the bodyguard for Eli Drake on Impact. Most recently, Tyrus was on the losing end of Impact’s 8-man tag main event last week.

Previously, Drake and Tyrus were knocked down a peg in Impact’s tag division after losing to Laredo Kid and Garza 2 weeks ago.

Peter Rosenberg Defends JBL, Discusses Dave Meltzer & Justin Roberts

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Peter Rosenberg addressed the JBL bullying scandal on the latest episode of his podcast “Cheap Heat“. Rosenberg also now works for WWE and hosts “Bring It To The Table” alongside JBL. This story started to get more attention after JBL criticized Mauro Ranallo for posting a list from Dave Meltzer and the Wrestling Observer. Mauro Ranallo was named announcer of the year by the Wrestling Observer and tweeted about it. JBL made fun of Ranallo for that on “Bring It To The Table”.

Here are some highlights of what Rosenberg said during the episode:

JBL Not Acknowledging The Wrestling Observer

“He takes a jab at Mauro, and if you go back and watch, it was utterly not that serious. As were many of the things we did on that episode. Guys, we have legitimate takes on that show but it is WWE programming, none of it is that serious. More importantly to me, it was not that he teased Mauro, it was that he didn’t even recognize The Observer at all. JBL utterly buried Meltzer and The Observer. That has to be noted because who has been the number one person pushing this story? Dave Meltzer and The Observer.

So are you going to tell me Dave, because you think people like me and everyone else that speaks on this is a cooperate shill… and Jonathan Coachman who you said falsely was the target of JBL’s bullying which just isn’t true. You (Meltzer) are going to call everyone else a shill and say that they have an agenda, but you don’t have an agenda? Even after JBL buried you? JBL called it a random internet list and gave no credit to it, I’m sure that bothered Meltzer.”

JBL Criticizing Mauro Ranallo For “Putting Himself Over”

“It was a little bit poor form to post the list. If someone posted a list and said who is the best radio personalities in the game? Number one was Peter Rosenberg, I probably wouldn’t post that or retweet that just because it made me look good and buries everyone else that I work with. Do I think he is a bad guy for posting that? No. Do I think it is worth a joke or two? Yes. I think a joke or two is totally in bounds.

Do I know everything that has ever transpired between JBL and Mauro Ranallo? Absolutely not. The idea that Mauro Ranallo is leaving WWE because of a joke on “Bring It To The Table” is crazy and there are a lot of people on Twitter that believe that is it. Are you a fan of professional wrestling and you think that would be a valid reason to leave? Being teased on a show? You know what it used to be like back in the day, in the Blackjack Mulligan era,and you think someone making a joke leads to someone missing Wrestlemania? Let’s just assume that can’t be a reasonable reason to leave WWE.

I am going to defend JBL because he is the first person that I’ve worked with since I got to WWE. JBL has also given me a hard time during “Bring It To The Table” and at no point did I take any of that seriously. And when he does it on-air and off-air, I laugh and I smile back and he starts laughing. That is the kind of guy he is. Do I know everything he has ever done? No I don’t. I’m just telling you that my experience has been nothing but positive. I came into it as an outsider expecting a bit of ball-busting. Bullying is a real issue especially when it comes to children. Children being bullied is a real issue and nothing to joke about. I am not going to live in a world where a grown man making jokes to another grown man at his workplace, if it was simply jokes, is enough reason for someone to leave his workplace. I can’t subscribe to that.”

Rosenberg On Justin Roberts

“Listen I don’t know Justin Roberts, I’m sure he is a nice enough guy. I’ll tell you one thing, he very clearly had an axe to grind with WWE since the second he was released. If you are now going to believe every word he says while he is promoting a book and he has hated the company since the second he left, and you are not going to take that with a grain of salt… that is just being silly.”

You can listen to the entire episode of “Cheap Heat” on iTunes.

Mick Foley ‘Taking Control’ of OTT Wrestling in August for One Night Only

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Over The Top Wrestling (OTT) announced during their Scrappermania broadcast that ex-RAW General Manager Mick Foley will be ‘taking control’ of the promotion for one night only on August 5th. Foley’s last appearance on the UK/Irish scene was for ICW as part of their Fear & Loathing IX event.

Scrappermania was a big success for OTT with their first ever venture into iPPV on FloSlam. The WrestleRama event on August 5th has not yet been confirmed as being available to stream on FloSlam but with the inclusion of a star the caliber of Foley it surely will be.

https://twitter.com/FloSlam/status/853351398192406535

Bobby Lashley Announced for WOS Tapings

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IMPACT have announced that Bobby Lashley will be appearing for WOS (World of Sport) during their first run of TV Tapings on May 25th/26th.

The partnership between IMPACT/WOS was announced at the recent ITV press conference by Jeremy Borash and Jeff Jarrett.

Other confirmed acts for the tapings include:

  • WOS Champion Grado
  • Magnus/Nick Aldis
  • Davey Boy Smith Jr
  • El Ligero
  • Dave Mastiff
  • Zack Gibson

WWE RAW Preview (4/17): Superstar Shake-Up Fallout, Reigns & Balor Injury Updates

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Tonight’s WWE RAW takes place from Columbus, Ohio at the Schottenstein Center. The show will feature fallout from last week’s Superstar Shake-Up, with RAW acquiring Bray Wyatt, Dean Ambrose, The Miz and Alexa Bliss but losing Charlotte, New Day, Sami Zayn and Rusev (Full Superstar Shake-Up Results).

Expect to get injury updates on Roman Reigns and Finn Balor. Reigns was brutalized by Braun Strowman last week, while Balor is believed to have suffered a concussion and the hands of Jinder Mahal. WWE Payback is less than two weeks away so we’ll see more hype for that show.

WWE.com is advertising the following items for tonight:

  • Is Braun Strowman unstoppable?
  • Has Elias Samson “drifted” to Raw?
  • Is Nia Jax in line for a Raw Women’s Title opportunity?
  • Which Raw newcomers will “shake up” Team Red the most?
  • Will Seth Rollins and Samoa Joe settle their unfinished business?

WWE Hall of Famer Booker T will also be joining the commentating booth tonight, filling in for David Otguna for the next 6 weeks.

Join us here tonight for our weekly WWE RAW Results & Live Discussion. Until then, you can catch up on these highlights from last week:

Bray Wyatt Wanted Gangrel In the Wyatt Family

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According to David Heath, aka Gangrel, the former leader of the Brood was at one point considered to join the Wyatt family. Heath would also say it was Bray Wyatt himself who pushed for Gangrel’s WWE return.

In a recent interview the 48-year old talked about the possibility of a WWE return, the Brood in the Hall of Fame, and more.

On Bray Wyatt asking him to join the Wyatt Family:

“When I was talking to Bray he was saying he very much wanted me to come in but I think because of the name issue, WWE doesn’t own the name Gangrel, so things got shot down and stuff. It would have been fun”

On working the Hardyz and Edge and Christian:

“Awesome guys. All of them are awesome. Proud of them all. Christian, Edge, Matt, Jeff, just great guys. You couldn’t ask for a better group of people to want to be around and work with.”

On the Brood Potentially Going in the Hall of Fame:

“You already have Edge in there. Christian’s not in yet I don’t think. Maybe the Brood might go in one day, it’s hard to say.”

“The Brood it was great and cool while it lasted but I don’t know if we had a long enough tenure.”

Jake Roberts On Roman Reigns: “The Masses Want To Hate Him, Let Them Hate” (Video)

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While at Florida Supercon Retro in Miami, FL this weekend, Jake “The Snake” Roberts was interviewed by The Roman Show on YouTube. Roberts performed as both both a face and a heel during his career, and he discussed Roman Reigns’ heat on RAW and thinks WWE should embrace it.

“Enjoy it — I mean, why in God’s name would you try to change what the masses want?” Roberts asked. “The masses want to the hate the guy, let them hate.”

Roberts is the second WWE Hall of Famer this week to suggest that WWE makes Reigns one of their top heels. In an interview with Washington’s Top News, recent H.O.F. inductee Kurt Angle stated that if the fans don’t embrace Reigns soon, WWE should look into turning him full heel.

Justin Roberts Says He Was Blindsided By The Pitfalls Of WWE, Talks JBL/Mauro

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Former WWE announcer Justin Roberts says that he was “completely blindsided” by the pitfalls of working for the biggest wrestling company in the world. In a recent interview with PressBox, Roberts recalled that he had heard about some performers’ reputations, but didn’t realize what the “culture” in WWE would be like. Roberts says that WWE management neglected to try resolving his issues with JBL, and even encouraged and stood behind the alleged bullying.

“[WWE management] enjoyed hearing the stories of what went on,” Roberts said of his backstage issues. “At that point, I knew that’s just how it is; there’s nothing I can do about it. So do I want to leave and be away from it, or since I worked so hard to get here, do I want to make the most of it and hope that eventually it.”

When asked about the media coverage of Mauro Ranallo’s alleged issues with JBL, Roberts indicated that his autobiography might be partly responsible. In his autobiography, Roberts recalled several unpleasant experiences with JBL.

“There’s speculation about what happened, and then at the same time, this book — which covers a lot of positive things, as well — has the story about JBL from 2003, which is a long time ago, but it had never been told,” Roberts said. “Everybody has heard JBL bullying stories, but now that this book has come out and people read about the type of stuff that went on, I think it gives them more of an idea that this could be a real thing.”

You can read his entire interview at PressBoxOnline.com.

Booker T On JBL Bullying Stories: “Bullying Goes Away When You’re A Grown Man”

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Booker T recently discussed the alleged situation between JBL and Mauro Ranallo on his Heated Conversations radio show and the “fire JBL” chants on SmackDown. Booker said that a lot of people love and respect Mauro, and the stories have triggered a “flash mob” of backlash against JBL. He added that he still likes Mauro even though Mauro “unfollowed” him on Twitter, but that he took issue with some of fellow ex-WWE announcer Justin Roberts’ stories about JBL. Booker also took issue with the term “bullying” being applied to the locker room in WWE.

“I think [bullying] pretty much goes away when you’re a grown man and you’re able to take up for yourself and throw hands, or go and talk to someone,” Booker said. “Say ‘hey, I don’t feel like I’m being treated right with this commentator, maybe you need to move me somewhere else otherwise there could be problems.’ […] But I don’t think the “bullying” rule should fall under grown men having an issue with each other.”

He mentions that he came up in the business around The Steiner Brothers, The Nasty Boys, and Brian Pillman, and if one of them had messed with him he would have settled it himself.

Former WWE announcer Justin Roberts recently released an autobiography detailing his experiences with JBL. It should be noted that Mauro himself hasn’t publicly made any allegations against JBL.

Mauro Ranallo Returns To MMA Announcing At Rizin FF 5 In Japan

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Mauro Ranallo returned to broadcasting this weekend when he called the action at the Rizin FF 5 MMA event. The show took place in Yokohama, Japan at the Yokohama Arena, and he was broadcasting with MMA pioneer Frank Shamrock. Ranallo and Shamrock are no strangers as they used to call Strikeforce events together on Showtime until the company was purchased by the UFC in 2013.

Ranallo has been relatively inactive on Twitter after leaving WWE television, but he took the opportunity to thank the MMA community for their support in a Tweet this morning.

https://twitter.com/mauroranallo/status/853575384331411456

Mauro is not expected to return to WWE television despite his contract not expiring until this summer, and WWE is reportedly working on a settlement and release offer with him.

https://twitter.com/SecretMovesMMA/status/853544399036448768
https://twitter.com/mauroranallo/status/853421825686212609

Kurt Angle On Roman Reigns: “If The Fans Don’t Accept Him, Then Turn Him Heel”

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RAW GM Kurt Angle recently did an interview with the Washington Top News where he commented on the mixed reactions from fans to RAW star Roman Reigns, and compared him to John Cena.

The WWE Hall of Famer said he loves Reigns, but feels WWE might have pushed him too fast for some fans’ liking. Angle believes when a star skips the mid-card and goes right to the top, it makes some fans resent him.

“Half the fans love him; half the fans hate him,” Angle said of Reigns. “Same with [John] Cena. When Cena came in, Vince pushed the hell out of him, and fans were like, ‘Gosh, dang. This guy’s invincible. I hate him!’ … If Vince waits it out a bit, fans will start to accept [Roman Reigns], and if they don’t, then turn him heel.”

Angle mentioned that some of his other favorite members of the current WWE roster are Cesaro, Kevin Owens, Dolph Ziggler, Seth Rollins, and Chad Gable.

Alberto Del Rio: I Hate Some People In WWE, But JBL Isn’t One Of Them

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The stories about JBL’s alleged behind-the-scenes bullying are getting mainstream attention, and in a recent interview with Sports Illustrated former WWE star Alberto Del Rio weighed in on the issue.

Del Rio has his fair share of issues with WWE employees, including going on online rants against Triple H. One person in WWE he doesn’t have an issue with is JBL.

“I know I had a lot of beef with some of the people in that company, and I can say that I hate some of the people in that place, but JBL was not one of them,” Del Rio told SI.com. “He was always fantastic to me and he always treated my family with respect, so I have nothing but respect for JBL.”

Del Rio was released from WWE last September. He was previously released in late 2014 for allegedly slapping a WWE employee who made a racist joke. The former World Heavyweight Champion recently said WWE reached out to him about a return, but he declined.

“I swear on my kids’ life, I don’t watch the product at all, I don’t follow, so I don’t know what the situation is with JBL,” he added.

You can read the full interview at SI.com.

Kurt Angle’s Top 3 Favorite Wrestlers: “I’m Sorry, But Benoit Is Possibly The Greatest Of All Time”

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WWE Hall Of Famer and WWE Monday Night RAW General Manager Kurt Angle recently appeared on Chris Jericho’s Talk Is Jericho podcast, where he discussed some of his greatest opponents and his “top three.” The Olympic gold medalist had high praises for some of his most famous rivals: Shawn Michaels, Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit.

“I’m sorry, but he has got to be in the top three of all time,” Angle said of Benoit. “I mean, you can’t deny that. Even Bret Hart will tell you that.” Angle added that the things Benoit did in 2007 are inexcusable, but in the ring he was “possibly the greatest of all time.”

Angle says another one of the best in-ring performers ever was ‘Latino Heat,” and says Eddie Guerrero would have been the #1 performer in the business if not for his health issues. Angle discussed Guerrero’s car accident on New Year’s Day in 1999 and the effect that had on his career.

“I think Eddie was in his prime in WCW and the reason I say that is because he got in a car accident,” Angle said. “That car accident did two things for him. It really inhibited what he could do after that. In other words, he had limits. He could still do a lot, but not like he used to. I used to watch him in WCW and be like, ‘wow, this kid’s incredible.’ But he almost couldn’t walk again after that accident, so yeah, Eddie was banged up when I wrestled him.”

“As good as he was in 2004, 2005, he had to be 10-times better back then,” Angle recalled. “That’s mind-blowing. I mean, he could have been the absolute greatest of all time because when I wrestled him, he was still in that top three we were talking about, so Eddie had it all. He was so entertaining, but he also had all the technique. He was such a great wrestler and he got it. He got finishes. He knew how to structure them.”

Angle and Guerrero got into a real-life backstage fight after some professional differences boiled over. The story goes that Guerrero attempted a double-leg take down on the Olympic gold medalist, but Angle defended it with a front face lock and they were quickly pulled apart. Angle recalled that after Guerrero had confronted him several times, Angle shoved him away from him to see what Guerrero would do.

“He didn’t do anything, so I shoved him again and he double-legs me. I mean, you could’ve sucker punched me, but he double-legs me,” he recalled. “And I’m like, ‘he did not just try to double-leg an Olympic gold medalist, so I laid the hips into him and then I started choking him out nice and slow.”

Angle said he wanted to make amends with Guerrero right away, but Guerrero told him he “wasn’t ready to be sorry,” which made Angle want to “kick his butt.” They almost got into it again in the locker room, but Angle says JBL pulled them apart. He says the next week Guerrero apologized to him, and they were “like brothers.”

The other wrestler Kurt lists in his top three favorite in-ring performers is Shawn Michaels. “I’m not going to lie to you, I wish I would have wrestled Ric Flair in his prime and Bret Hart in his prime,” Angle said. “I did [wrestle Shawn Michaels], so I have to say Shawn Michaels is the best.” Kurt recalled that he and Michaels didn’t rehearse anything for their acclaimed WrestleMania 21 match, because “yeah, [Michaels] is that good.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNhO8AKv8QU

You can listen to Chris Jericho’s entire podcast with Kurt Angle at PodcastOne.com.

New Financial Filing Details: Vince & Linda McMahon In The Billionaire Club

Eric Lynch
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As a result of Linda McMahon being appointed the head of the U.S. Small Business Administration, she and Vince had to make a public filing about their finances recently. In the joint filing, The McMahons reported a net worth between $938 million and $1.1 billion. Most of the net worth is composed of stock and real estate.

They listed several residences, one in Greenwich, CT worth $8 million, one in Stamford worth $3 million, and others in New York, Las Vegas, and Boca Raton. The McMahons have about $12 million is cash spread across ten different bank accounts in Vince’s name. They listed between $25 and $50 million in a Morgan Stanley money market account, and $782 million in WWE stock.

The filing states they are owed between $5 million and $25 million in loans by an unnamed family member.

Forbes first tabbed WWE chairman Vince McMahon as a billionaire in 2000, but WWE’s stock fell the following year and McMahon didn’t return to the billionaire ranks until early 2014. His net worth would fall below one billion again when he lost $350 million in one day in May of 2014, before rising back up in April of 2016 with the success of the WWE Network and company stock.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzwAmkty9qE

Details On WWE’s Settlement & Non-Disclosure Offer To Mauro Ranallo

Eric Lynch
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Mauro Ranallo is not expected to return to WWE television, and now more details about the terms of his departure are surfacing online. In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reports that WWE is currently working on coming to terms on a settlement with Ranallo.

The settlement would reportedly include an agreement for the now-former SmackDown announcer not to speak publicly about his issues with WWE, and presumably some severance pay. The news of the settlement agreement comes shortly after former announcer Justin Roberts’ autobiography made headlines with his allegations of bullying behind-the-scenes in WWE.

WWE is currently said to be in talks with Mauro’s representatives about the details of the settlement.

Ranallo first appeared on SmackDown for the show’s USA Network premiere at the beginning of 2016. His current contract expires on August 12th.

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