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Roman Reigns’ Status For RAW, Batista on the Cover of Muscle & Fitness, Shane-UFC

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– Roman Reigns is not booked for the weekend WWE live events, likely due to the passing of his brother, Matt “Rosey” Anoa’i. According to f4Wonline.com, Reigns is booked for Monday’s RAW. This will be Reigns’ first WWE TV appearance since Bruan Strowman’s vicious beatdown on the April 10th edition of RAW.

– Former WWE Superstar Batista is on the May 2017 cover of Muscle & Fitness and the Summer Movie Preview edition of Entertainment Weekly. Batista stars in Guarians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which opens Friday, May 5th.

– Tommy Dreamer and Bully Ray spoke with TMZ Sports this week about how tough Shane McMahon is, claiming Shane would “crush” in the UFC.

PROGRESS Chapter 47 – Full Card feat. WWE UK Talent & Rumored NXT Signee

Jake Skudder
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PROGRESS has revealed the full card for this Sunday’s Chapter show taking place at the Electric Ballroom in Camden, London.

Dubbed ‘Complicated Simplicity,’ Chapter 47 features a huge one time only main event, a chapter debut and the first match between two of PROGRESS’ best tag teams:

  • British Strong Style (Pete Dunne, Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) vs Ringkampf – This one time only bout features rumored NXT signee Axel Dieter Jr. 
  • Jack Sexsmith vs Paul Robinson
  • Mark Haskins vs Mark Andrews
  • The London Riots vs South Pacific Power Trip
  • James Drake vs Eddie Dennis
  • ‘Flash’ Morgan Webster vs Mike Bird
  • Natural Progression Series Semi Final – Laura Di Matteo vs Alex Windsor

https://twitter.com/ThisIs_Progress/status/854806842723241984

Update On Mick Foley After Hip Replacement Surgery

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Mick Foley has provided an update on his condition after undergoing hip replacement surgery on Wednesday. The former RAW General Manager posted the following on his Facebook page:

FOLEY IN FLIGHT

My mind wrote a lot of checks during the course of my career – and more often than not, it was my right hip that paid the bill. I always realized there would be a price to pay for having the privilege of taking flight on so many occasions – and I have been paying that price for quite a few years. I had my right hip replaced on Wednesday, and I hope it is the game changer that so many claim it is. It certainly would be nice to lay down at night…or wake up in the morning without the constant reminder of all those checks I wrote in my younger days.

As it turns out, what I did was never flying – it was falling with style. But it’s funny how falling feels like flying..at least for a little while*

Thanks for all the kind words, prayers and well-wishes. They are much appreciated.

*Jeff Bridges as Bad Blake in “Crazy Heart”

Mick Foley’s next book, “Saint Mick: My Journey from Hardcore Legend to Santa’s Jolly Elf” is due out October 17th and he’s been working on the project while recovering from the hip surgery.

https://twitter.com/RealMickFoley/status/855079247760826368

Check Out Lana’s New Ring Entrance Ahead Of SmackDown ‘Debut’ (Video)

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In recent weeks, WWE has been running promos hyping that Lana is coming soon to SmackDown Live. Rusev is currently recovering from shoulder surgery and is expected to be out of action for another 3 months. While Rusev trains for his return this summer, Lana is breaking off on her own and will be joining SmackDown’s Women’s division.

Lana has been training at the Performance Center and wrestling in NXT live events, refining her new “dancer” character including her ring entrance and mannerisms. She defeated Ruby Riot at Thursday night’s NXT live event from Tampa, FL.

Below, you can see the new ring entrance she’s been working on.

https://twitter.com/JJWilliamsWON/status/855319292530671616

Cody Talks About His Battle Over The Rhodes Name, Plans To Settle Down With One Company

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Cody Rhodes recently spoke with Sports Illustrated about his desire to ‘settle down’ with one wrestling promotion, his battle with WWE over the “Rhodes” name and establishing his own legacy in the business. “I’m about to make a decision,” he admitted. “It’s been really fun to cross all the streams, but at this point I do need to find a new home.”

After his WWE departure in May 2016, Cody competed for New Japan Pro Wrestling, Ring of Honor, Impact Wrestling, WCPW, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and countless independents across the world. He became the first man to ever compete in WrestleMania, WrestleKingdom, Bound For Glory, Final Battle and Battle for Los Angeles in a calendar year, a feat that will probably never be challenged. However, since leaving WWE, he remains at odds with the company over the ownership of the Rhodes name.

“I’ll tell you this, and I’ve not told anyone this, but I don’t mind that WWE took away my last name. Deep down, in my bones, I definitely want it back – and I have plans to get it back – but there is something to being Cody. The longer I don’t have a last name, the more I’m OK with it. That’s not to say WWE is holding it ransom. It’s literally an intellectual property law that easily can be remedied, but there is something about being Cody that I don’t mind.”

Wrestling as ‘Cody’ has allowed him to further establish his own identity and exist outside of the shadow of his father, the late “American Dream” Dusty Rhodes. “When I’m brainstorming, I always remind myself, ‘Hey, it’s not about him.’ My dad hated being trudged up,” Cody revealed.

“I dragged him to Sacramento to get in the ring with Rey, and I promised I’d have WWE pay him double to come and do anything when we did Stardust vs. Goldust. I can remember him telling me that the last thing he really wanted on his resume was what we did at Battleground in 2013. With that in mind, I try very much to remember and do me.”

To read the full interview, click here. Below, you can check out Cody’s upcoming bookings:

Vader Still Wrestling Despite Heart Condition, Collapses After Match

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Last fall Vader let his followers on social media know he had been given only 2 years to live by doctors. He would go public with his diagnosis after a 2nd doctor confirmed his chronic heart conditions were life threatening.

Since that time however, Vader has been contacted by “wrestler-saver” Diamond Dallas Page, has been posting photos of him losing weight, and has continued to wrestle. Another doctor has since given him a less bleak outlook on his condition.

Vader Collapses After Match

Recently Vader was in Tokyo performing at Korakuen Hall as part of the Fujinami 45th Anniversary show. Reports are that Vader collapsed after the match. Vader clarified on Twitter earlier today.

Several Big Returns On Impact, Global Force Officially Merges With Impact Wrestling

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Here are some of the newsworthy developments from this week’s Impact Wrestling:

– Karen Jarrett announced that Jeff Jarrett’s Global Force Wrestling has officially merged with Impact Wrestling.

– A video package aired hyping the return of Crimson. He will be in action next week as part of a new tag team with a new gimmick.

– X-Division pioneer Low-Ki returned. He won a 6-man scramble to capture the X-Division Championship.

– Josh Mathews returned, coming out with TNA World Champion Bobby Lashley and doing commentary during Lashley’s match. Mathews lost the Team Mathews vs. Team Borash match last week, but is expected to continue feuding with Jeremy Borash through Slammiversary.

– Impact Wrestling legend James Storm also returned, challenging Bobby Lashley in the main event. EC3 ended up turning on Storm and broke a bottle over Storm’s head to help Lashley get the win.

Spoilers: Impact Wrestling Tapings Results For Next Week

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Impact Wrestling held the latest round of TV tapings on Thursday night from Orlando, Florida. This show will air next week. Thanks to Jacob Cohen on Twitter for the following recap:

– EC3 out, says he carried this company on his back for 3 years, Prichard told him to look in the mirror and he saw a Demi-God. EC3 will not be pushed aside by any new talents that come to the company. EC3 told all the fans to kiss his ass. At Slammiversary EC3 will once again become the Impact champion because he is the best wrestler anywhere today. Storm out, says he doesn’t blame EC3 for doing what he’s doing because he’s jealous, Storm has been here since day 1. Storm is here because he wants to be, he has been out of the title picture for so long to give young guys a chance. James Storm challenges EC3, says he has to stand on his own because his family is no longer here to protect him. They brawl for a little, EC3 gets a low blow and the upper hand. EC3 tells James Storm to remember “I am a Carter… and this company needs me!”

– CVE retains the GFW Women’s Title by defeating Ava Storie. Ava Storie appears to be legit hurt, hasn’t got up and medical attention is tending to her. Ava is up and walking out with some help.

– Grand Championship match up next, Davey Richards vs Moose, Scott D’Amore is one of the judges. Moose vs Davey has gone to a decision, Eddie ran in to attack Davey right after the bell. Moose came out with 2 guys (presumably athletes) one of them bodyslammed Davey, the results of the match were not announced.

– Swoggle and Spud schtick in the ring, ended with Spud accidentally removing Swoggle’s Pants.

– Kongo Kong won a squash.

– A new tag team was introduced, the Veterans of War. The team is comprised of Mayweather (a returning Crimson) and Wilcox (Jax Dane). they beat Fallah Bahh and Mario Bokara.

– LAX beat Decay in a street fight. Barbed wire boards and thumb tacks were involved.

Charltote Comments On Moving To SmackDown

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Charlotte moving to SmackDown was one of the most significant ‘trades’ during the recent Superstar Shake-Up. During an interview with Brian Fritz of SportingNews.com, Charlotte gave her thoughts on moving to WWE’s blue brand.

“I’ve established myself on Raw so I feel moving to a different brand, the pressure of reestablishing myself with a whole new group of women and figuring out where my character goes on SmackDown.”

Charlotte continued, “I can’t speak for the other women on Raw or SmackDown but I know, for myself, personally, the minute I left Raw Monday night I said to myself SmackDown is the women’s division that you’re gonna want to be on. That’s my mindset. Yes, competition is in full effect because that’s kind of the point of having two brands. Obviously, I want both brands to do well but I’m just that competitive. I want the SmackDown women to do extremely well and let’s see what we can do.”

Head over to SportingNews to check out the full interview.

Discussion: Which brand has the best Women’s Division?

  • RAW: Bayley, Sasha Banks, Alexa Bliss, Nia Jax, Mickie James, Alicia Fox
  • SmackDown: Naomi, Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Nikki Bella, Natalya, Carmella, Tamina
  • NXT: Asuka, Ember Moon, Liv Morgan, Peyton Royce, Billie Kay, Aliya, Ruby Riot, Mandy Rose

Women Of Wrestling Ink Deal With MGM Television

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Women of Wrestling (WOW) might be in a position to make a big splash soon. The promotion has entered into an agreement with MGM television that should increase their production quality and give the brand wider exposure.

WOW is owned and operated by David McLane, creator of the popular GLOW promotion, and Jeanie Buss, owner of the Los Angeles Lakers.

WOW and MGM Partnership

A recent press release sent out by the promotion reads as follows:

“By challenging the status quo in transforming women’s wrestling for the past two years, we feel WOW is now positioned for tremendous growth,” said WOW Owner Jeanie Buss. “We are very excited to have MGM’s incredible management team, headed by Chairman and CEO Gary Barber and Mark Burnett, in place to grow our business model.”
They continued to note MGM Television’s work producing Lucha Underground, and how the experience will help the WOW brand.
“Barry and I witnessed first-hand the enormous global fan base of professional wrestling with our team’s production of Lucha Underground,”  Burnett noted. “We were looking to expand on our experience doing Lucha, and WOW felt like a natural progression in the space.  We love what Jeanie has developed and share in her vision of transforming this entertainment landscape. Together, we will look to elevate the WOW brand through creative production and enhanced character-driven storytelling.”
About WOW-Women Of Wrestling  
WOW is the premier organization and content provider for live events and programming featuring women’s professional wrestling. Its empowered women from all different backgrounds and professions are marketed as “WOW Superheroes” and are the main attraction of every WOW presentation. WOW’s digital ecosystem consists of its owned web, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube channel.  Together these systems comprise the ‘WOW World’ customer platforms.  To join the WOW World and further information on the WOW Superheroes, its villains and over-the-top characters visit www.wowe.com (http://wowe.com/).
About MGM Television
MGM Television is a leading producer and global distributor of premium content for television and digital platforms, with distribution rights to original productions and a robust catalog of television episodes and feature film titles including such premiere entertainment franchises as James Bond, Rocky, Stargate and “The Hobbit” trilogy.  Current scripted and unscripted multi-platform projects include “Fargo” (FX); “Vikings” (HISTORY); “The Handmaid’s Tale” (Hulu);  “Get Shorty” (EPIX); “The Voice” (NBC); “Survivor” (CBS); “Shark Tank” (ABC); “Beyond the Tank” (ABC); “The New Celebrity Apprentice” (NBC); “Teen Wolf” (MTV); “The People’s Choice Awards” (CBS);  “Steve Harvey’s Funderdome” (ABC); “Beat Shazam” (FOX); “Lucha Underground” (The El Rey Network).  Through its finance and distribution entity, Orion TV Productions, the syndicated courtroom series “Lauren Lake’s Paternity Court” is currently airing its fourth season. MGM’s television programming regularly airs in more than 70 countries worldwide.  For more information, visit www.mgm.com.

Ring of Honor Weekly TV Report: Las Vegas Wild Card Match

Chris Stephens
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Ring of Honor TV
Episode 291
Las Vegas, NV

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWVF0UijvS4

1. Caprice Coleman w/Kenny King (the Rebellion) vs. Chris Sabin (Seek and Destroy)

With the Rebellion having been responsible for Alex Shelley being put on the injured list, Sabin was looking for revenge in this singles match against Coleman. Lio Rush came down to ringside to counter Kenny King’s attempts to interfere.
The finish of the match came when Sabin went for a sunset flip, Kenny King attempted to interfere but Lio Rush kicked him away. Sabin rolled up Coleman for 3. It was the exact finish from the Peyton Royce & Billy Kay match on NXT this week.
Winner: Chris Sabin

2. Roppongi Vice (Rocky Romero & Beretta) vs. Cheeseburger and Will Ferrara

The story being told by commentary on this match was that if Cheeseburger and Ferrara could defeat Roppongi Vice they would be in line for the IWGP jr heavyweight titles in Japan due to RV’s history with those belts.
They didn’t win however, Roppongi Vice won the match with their Strong Zero spiked piledriver.
After the match Ferrara didn’t want to shake hands and seemed to be angry with Cheeseburger, so there is some dissension brewing on that team.
Winner: Roppongi Vice

3. Jay White, Jay Lethal, Silas Young & Hangman Page vs. Colt Cabana, Lio Rush, Bobby Fish & Hanson

This was the wild card 8-man tag, where each team was drafted at random. The winning team will face each other at a later event in a 4-way match to determine a new #1 contender for world champion Christopher Daniels.
Page refused to accept a tag from Lethal and left his team near the end of the match. He was jumped by Kazarian on the stage area as he did so, so their feud continues.
Lethal and Rush ended up being the final two in the ring and Lethal hit the Lethal Combination for the win.
Winners: White, Lethal, Young and Page (face each other to determine new #1 contender)

Here is yesterday’s Ring of Honor update with Ian Riccaboni:

 

Damien Sandow Talks About His Future In Wrestling, His Stunt Double Gimmick, Movie Career

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Former WWE Superstar Damien Sandow (Aron Stevens) was Sean Waltman’s guest on the latest episode of the X-Pac 12360 podcast. Sandow spoke with X-Pac about his acting career, his future in wrestling and much more. Here are the highlights of what he said about:

Landing his latest movie role:

“I essentially just walked into this casting directors office and it was really strange. I had about two or three previously (Hollywood Meetings) and so I kind of knew. You go in, you sit, you talk about yourself blah blah blah. Shake hands walk out the door, you know on to the next thing… So this guy comes walking in and he goes,” Are you, Aron?” I said, “Yeah.” “Congratulations you’ve just been hired for your first Lions Gate movie.” But I hadn’t auditioned yet so I go, “What?” … the next day I was on set which was a cool experience.“

His future in wrestling:

“ I assure you the boots are not burnt. You know, will I ever lace them up again? Like I don’t know. And see one of the things is like I’m a very transparent person especially with the fans … You know I’m not going to lie and say oh I’ll be back. You know I don’t know if I’ll be back maybe I will maybe I won’t you know. But the one thing is I miss the interaction with the fans, I miss the crowds, and I miss being able to kind of like entertain you know. Just put these weird twists on characters I genuinely do miss that. But again where I’m at in life right now it’s just kind of taken me in a different direction not to say that I won’t end up in a ring again.”

Who created the Damien Sandow character:

“There is no one I respect more than Rip Rogers. You know and in terms of the mind, that man has for the business… In terms of like just how he lays it out in just a simplistic way. And had it not been for Rip Rogers I would have never been the intellectual savior (Damien Sandow) because he, he just taught me how to again simplify everything.”

The backstage reaction to him creating the Miz Stunt Double character on the fly:

“I remember Tyson Kidd of all people who is a good buddy of mine and an awesome guy. He goes, “Did you just put the figure four on the invisible man when Miz did?” I go, “Yup.” He goes, “ That was the greatest thing I’ve seen on the show (Monday Night RAW) in a long time.” And I just said,” Well you know what, watch next week.” After a couple weeks like Vince( McMahon) was like, “ Well I noticed you are mimicking Miz?” “Yup.” “Do whatever you want if it gets too overboard I’ll pull you back. And I just went, “ Okay.”

Further Details Regarding Jinder Mahal and WWE India Expansion

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WWE sent out a press release earlier today unveiling a new Vice President and General Manager of WWE India. This comes just 3 weeks after the company announced WWE Shop products will be made available in the country for the first time ever.

Many are speculating that Jinder Mahal’s recent push is due to WWE’s desire to expand their fanbase in the country by creating a local star. Mahal was born in Calgary, AB Canada but is of Punjabi Sikh origin. He is the nephew of Stampede Wrestling alumni Gama Singh.

WWE India Expansion

Sheetesh Srivastava will now be the head of WWE’s expanded operations in the country.
Today’s press release detailed WWE’s plans for increased exposure in the Indian market.

“India is key to the global growth of WWE, and we are confident Sheetesh will successfully help develop our brand and business in this critically important country,” stated the release. “WWE is committed to expanding its presence in India, and we are pleased to welcome Sheetesh to further our efforts in the market.”

India represents WWE’s single largest regional contribution to the brand’s massive social media community of 750 million followers globally. To increase engagement with fans in India, WWE recently launched WWEShop.in, the company’s first-ever local, e-commerce experience in India.

The WWE Network in India was made available in the fall of 2015, close to 2 years after it was made available in other countries.

This isn’t the first time the company has attempted to create a local star in India, having featured the Great Khali on their programming from 2006-2014.

WWE’s full press release can be read here.

PWG Announces Card For ‘Head Like A Cole’ (5/19)

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Pro Wrestling Guerrilla has announced their next show Head Like A Cole takes place on May 19th. The following matches have been announced:

– PWG World Champion Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Trent?
– PWG Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks vs. Rey Fenix & Penta El Zoro M
– Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish vs. Jeff Cobb & Matt Riddle
– Sami Callihan vs. Adam Cole
– Shane Strickland vs. Michael Elgin
– Lio Rush vs. Mark Haskins
– Keith Lee vs. Trevor Lee

Tickets for Head Like a Cole go on sale next week.

Jim Cornette Clarifies His Stance On Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn, Buries Kenny Omega & Joey Ryan

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We’ve got some more newsworthy quotes from Jim Cornette’s recent appearance on The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast. Below, can you can read what Cornette said about where he stands on Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Kenny Omega and Joey Ryan.

The perception that he does not like Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn:

“Once again everyone said that Cornette must be hanging himself in his closet and slitting his wrist because they are so successful. Which is ridiculous. Kevin Steen (Owens) and El Generico (Sami Zayn) were both pains in the asses to deal with. It was the 80/20 principle where you spend 80% of your time dealing with 20% of your talent’s problems. Part of it is that they are French Canadian and I’m sorry but French Canadians in wrestling have always been pains in the ass except for Pat Patterson.

But part of it was we are paying them to play professional athletes on television so Steen, we’d like you to lose some weight, f*cking buy some new clothes and f*cking trim your beard up and look a little neater. El Generico a television company has just bought the promotion you work for so we’d like you to be able to do interviews instead of being a mute and we’d like you to take the God damn mask off ( I didn’t even broach that with him) because OH MY GOD it would have been like I sodomized his f*cking mother if I would have said take the mask off. But you’ve got a French Canadian muslin with red hair trying to play a Luchador and nobody understood it.”

“When people that are paying you ask you to do and get a long a little better and son of a gun we just found out that Ring of Honor wasn’t paying them enough money because when somebody comes along and pays them more money they do what we asked them to do and as a result they are tremendously successful. I never said that they were f*cking horrible wrestlers. We made Steen the World Champion for a f*cking year, we tried to sign Generico to another contract but that is when he had the WWE sniffing around him so he wouldn’t do it so we didn’t use him. Everybody said ‘oh God damn’ Cornette has run these guys off…well no. I just wanted them to be more accessible to a wider audience. Now when they have done everything I had asked them to do they are now superstars, imagine that? Wouldn’t you know who won the pony.”

“I never said that (once again) they were bad wrestlers and they couldn’t get over. I said they ain’t getting over unless they do certain things and tweak what they’ve already got. They’ve done that and they have been successful. They’ve never embarrassed the business by beating up grade school children or having matches with blow up dolls. Kenny Omega (I’ve said this about him) I don’t care if he discovers the cure for cancer in his spare time, brings Lou Thesz back from the grave and stretches him in a shoot..he is still a piece of sh*t that should never be in the business because he had matches with nine year old girls and blow up dolls. I don’t care how good he is. I don’t have any time for him, don’t want to look at him, don’t want to hear about him and if I had complete control over pro wrestling I would have Dan Severn go and beat the f*ck out of him and leave him laying in a f*cking ditch.

Why he still has such strong feelings about the wrestling business and how comedy spots hurt the industry:

“He (Omega) embarrassed his profession and he embarrassed everybody that has ever been in it. Steen and Generico never did that. They just had misguided ideas of the facets of their gimmicks and their personalities. They didn’t do phony spots with their d*ck like that f*cking idiot Joey Ryan. He just blatantly does phony bullsh*t because he is an underneath guy that doesn’t have the talent to compete with the major main event level wrestlers so he does this sh*t to get attention.

Everybody says that Cornette says all that stuff because he wants people to listen to his podcast and how can he take wrestling that seriously. Well I do! I’ve made several million dollars off of wrestling and not only because it has been my profession but it has been my favorite thing in life as a hobby since I was nine years old. So yeah I do take it that seriously and Joey Ryan is an embarrassment to it and so is Kenny Omega. At least Omega has a job on top and Joey Ryan is still working ‘outlaw’ shows in front of 400 people shaking his d*ck because that is all he can do.”

Mick Foley Recovering From Hip Replacement Surgery

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Former WWE RAW General Manager Mick Foley underwent a long overdue hip surgery on Wednesday. When asked by a fan on Twitter if the surgery was the reason he was written of WWE television, Foley responded, “Perhaps. Those last five months were really killing me.”

Back in December, Foley revealed that he’s needed the surgery for a long time, but kept putting off the procedure because he did not have health insurance. He wrote on Facebook:

“Luckily, I am used to the constant pain – and it’s not like I wasn’t warned by almost every guy in the wrestling business that the moves I was doing as a younger man were going to come back to haunt me. Well, they’re haunting me! The weight-loss has helped considerably; without it, and the DDP yoga, I don’t believe I could even get through airports. But the constant travel means constant pain. I love being the Raw GM, and I will miss it when it’s gone. But my quality of life will probably improve when Stephanie and WWE decide to go in a new direction.”

We’d like to wish Mick Foley a speedy recovery.

https://twitter.com/RealMickFoley/status/854873367274549248

Eli Drake Interview: Impact’s New Direction, Jarrett vs. Dixie, Top Talent Leaving

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Impact Wrestling star Eli Drake was the latest guest on Ring Rust Radio, hosted by Donald Wood. Here are some highlights of what the man who delivers the ‘Facts of Life’ said about:

How the locker room is handling the big shakeup behind the scenes in Impact Wrestling:

“It’s different for sure because you got a lot of guys have kind of establish themselves over the last few years under a different regime. No matter what regime, there is undeniable talent here. The fact is now you got a bunch of new faces coming in and it’s a mixed reaction because you look at that and it’s like these guys are coming to try to take my spot? Nah. That’s a problem. So, I look at it like that, but I enjoy that competition. All that does is light a fire under me and once that happens I start to get hot whether it’s verbally or physically, but it’s actually good fuel.

The biggest differences between the leadership styles of Dixie Carter and Jeff Jarrett:

“I don’t want to badmouth anybody, but let me just put it like this, since the new regime has taken over, there is definitely more structure. Things seem to be more level for relations between the office and the talent, a lot more organization if you will. Not so up in the air. There were too many questions before and a lot of it now seems we are getting a lot more answers, so that’s a big plus.”

His first 2 years with Impact Wrestling and his future:

“It’s been pretty amazing. I have to tell you, when I first got there, I had a goal in mind; make a lot of noise, be seen, make sure people that have seen me before see me again and they know that this guy is going to make an impact, no pun intended, Since I’ve been there it’s been really cool and great. They’ve given me a great platform to do things kind of my way in a sense. In the sense that I get to go out there and do my talk show and a lot of that is been at my own creation. A lot of that has been going out there and just saying what’s on my mind. If you saw the segment with EC3 back in October, it was a real and heated segment, it was one of my favorites. We just went out there and said what was on our minds. That’s kind of what I like about it. It is a tightly run ship, but at the same time there is a little bit of wiggle room.”

His reaction to big name stars like Matt & Jeff Hardy leaving Impact Wrestling:

“Personally, I love the Hardys and I wish they hadn’t gone, on a personal and professional level. I just think they are incredible. Especially for the fact you can take guys that had an established thing for over 20 years and be able to reinvent themselves that way is amazing. That’s a huge talent to lose, but at the same time it’s the wrestling business. People are going to come and go and you got to keep churning and keep pushing and that’s an opportunity I salivate at. Now there’s a big void to be filled and who is going to fill that void? If I’m looking at it, I can’t see how I don’t fill that void. You got a guy that has all the tools, the total package, not Lex Luger, the actual real total package. That’s a great opportunity for me to kind of step up and get noticed and put me right in that spot.”

Something he thinks Impact Wrestling can improve upon:

“I tell you this: I am there, I watch the show, I’m in the show and that crowd is a lot more reactive and interactive than you can ever tell on TV. I don’t know if it’s just the mic in the crowd or the acoustics in the room, but that energy you can feel it in the room, but for whatever reason it doesn’t translate to TV. I think that would be a big thing that would help the viewers at home enjoy the show. If you see the crowd in house enjoying the show, you are going to enjoy the show that much more. I think that’s a huge thing. I think, and this might be a controversial thing to say, but I think taking guys from another brand or maybe mid-card guys and bringing them over and putting them immediately in the main event, I don’t think is a great idea. I think that kind of solidifies us as second place and I don’t think that is a smart move. That’s just one man’s opinion, though. I think that would help us move forward.”

NXT Highlights and Results: Steel Cage Match!

Chris Stephens
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NXT TV Report
April 19th 2017
Full Sail University

Bobby Roode and Hideo Itami Segment

Roode’s promo was directed at people who had been saying nice things about Nakamura following his departure from NXT. Roode reminds fans that Nakamura left because he beat him so badly. This brought out the returning Hideo Itami, who eventually gave Roode the GTS and knocked him out.

Jack Gallagher and Tyler Bate Segment

We get a short segment promoting next weekend’s UK championship match between 205 Live’s Jack Gallagher and the UK tournament champion, Tyler Bate. Things were kept on a sportsmanship level between the two later in the show when they were both interviewed backstage.

Andrade Almas and Drew McIntyre Segment

We see captured video of Drew McIntyre working out with Heavy Machinery when Almas enters the gym and gets in McIntyre’s face. The two will face each other in single’s action next week.

1. Andrade “Cien” Almas vs. Danny Burch

This was a showcase match for Almas, who won with his modified DDT. Almas is gaining steam as a heel, though his loss to Aleister Black at Takeover: Orlando set him back a peg.
He faces Drew McIntyre next week on NXT.
Winner: Andrade Almas

2. Liv Morgan and Aliya vs. the Iconic Duo (Billy Kay and Peyton Royce)

The babyfaces pull off an upset here, as Aliyah manages to score the sunset flip pin on Peyton Royce. After the match the Australian heels threw a tantrum in the ring.
Winners: Morgan and Aliyah (Aliyah pinned Royce)

3. Steel Cage Match
Tye Dillinger vs. Eric Young

Dillinger becomes one of the rare few to leave NXT on a winning note, as he defeated Eric Young in an exciting steel cage match in last night’s main event. Young seemed to get busted up hard-way, but no effort was made to clean up the blood.
Members of Sanity all rushed the cage, but the rest of the mid card babyfaces (Ohno, Strong, Ruby Riot) came out to even the odds.
Young hit an elbow drop from the top of the cage at one point. Dillinger also went off the cage and hit Young and another member of Sanity with a cross body. Finish of the match was Dillinger escaping through the cage door and locking the rest of the members of Sanity inside.
Winner: Tye Dillinger

Finn Balor Continues To Tease Club Reunion

Chris Stephens
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Finn Balor has made another cryptic statement regarding a possible Club reunion on Raw. Balor and Karl Anderson were 2 of the 4 original members of the Bullet Club stable in New Japan Pro Wrestling.

He posted the following to Instagram last night:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BTFg8oUBF66/

Bullet Club in WWE

With Finn Balor health, and Anderson & Gallows still on Raw, many are speculating a Club reunion could take place soon on Monday nights. Originally it was believed that Styles would move to Raw, or that Anderson and Gallows would move to Tuesday nights. Neither of those two scenarios came to pass during the Superstar Shakeup however.

Bullet Club was created during Finn Balor and Karl Anderson’s heel turns in 2013. Balor was the faction’s most visible member until he left NJPW for NXT in 2014. AJ Styles then replaced Balor in the faction until he too left NJPW for WWE in early 2016. Anderson and Gallows followed Styles later in the year.

Spoilers: NXT Tapings Results Through Takeover: Chicago

Scott Lazara
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NXT taped the next several weeks of television on Wednesday night. These shows will run through the upcoming Takeover: Chicago event on 5/20. Thanks to Will Henderson (@willh94) for texting us the following results:

May 3rd Episode:

* Killian Dain with Eric Young defeated Danny Burch. Danny tries to fight early, but Dain pulls him off the top rope and attacks. After a running senton and a running flying elbow, Burch fights back, but gets hit with a running dropkick & the One Winged Angel for the win

* Tucker Knight and Otis Dozovic destroy two unnamed jobbers. The jobbers are barely taller than the top turnbuckle and weight maybe 130 each. Heavy Machinery are super over. After the match, Heavy Machinery cut a promo saying they love having a good time and hitting the buffet between weight sessions. In the ring, they’ve devoured some appetizers, but they want the main course – NXT Tag Team Champions The Authors of Pain. Tucker says they’re getting hungry, and it’s time they ate

* Sonya Deville (Daria Berenato) defeated Lacey Evans (Macey Estrella). Decent match. Sonya wins with a running step up knee

* Aleister Black defeated Cezar Bononi. Cezar gets in some shots on Black before Aleister hits several stiff shots and the Black Mass for the win

* Hideo Itami defeated Roderick Strong to become the new #1 contender to the NXT Title. Great back and forth match lasting around 15 minutes. At one point Strong catches Hideo outside the ring and throws him into the apron. They trade chops and punches before Roddy hits a knee to the face for a near fall. Hideo ducks a punch and hits the GTS for the win. After the match, Hideo picks up Roddy and raises his hand. Roddy gets an ovation from the crowd until SAnitY runs in and attacks him 4-on-1, with Dain hitting the One Winged Angel and EY hitting the wheelbarrow neckbreaker to leave him laying

May 10th Episode:

* Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford defeated Dylan Miley and HoHo Lun. Dawkins and Ford were introduced as “Street” something, but I couldn’t catch it. Dylan dominates until tagging HoHo, who then takes the pin. Miley then kills Hoho after the match

* Drew McIntyre defeated Sean Maluta in another stiff Drew match. Drew got busted open under his eye at some point. He hit the running kick for the win. After the match, Kayla Braxton interviews Drew on the ramp and says he’s caught the attention of Wesley Blake. Drew says it doesn’t matter, but next week, Blake can have his undivided attention in a match

* Kassius Ohno defeated Andrade “Cien” Almas. Thea Trinidad was sitting in the corner at ringside watching Andrade closely and making sultry faces at him. Good, hard hitting match. Ohno has new Orlando Magic gear. Ohno hits the rolling boot for a near fall. Ohno misses a moonsault from the top rope. Andrade hits the double knees, but Ohno reverses the La Sombra attempt. Ohno kicks out of a pin at one and fires up, hitting Death by Elbow for the win. Thea looked on disgusted at Andrade after the match

* Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa are out. DIY says they never had a fair, one on one rematch for the titles and challenge NXT Tag Team Champions The Authors of Pain at Chicago. Tino Sabbatelli and Riddick Moss interrupt. The crowd gives them nuclear heat when they try to talk. Ciampa tells Tino it’s really hard to hear what they’re saying. Tino says the tag team division has changed. Riddick and Tino bury the entire division and continue to get booed out of the building. They say the line starts behind them. Ciampa says if there was a line, they just crossed it and attack Tino and Riddick

* DIY defeated Tino Sabbatelli & Riddick Moss. Tino and Riddick control the match until Ciampa gets the hot tag to Gargano. They run wild and hit Meet in the Middle on Riddick for the win. After the match, William Regal comes out to name a challenger, but is interrupted by Paul Ellering, saying they only survived Orlando because it was 4-on-2. Ellering says DIY’s blood will be on Regal’s hand. Regal announces DIY vs. Authors of Pain in a Ladder Match at Takeover

May 17th Episode:

* NXT Champion Bobby Roode is out. He says everywhere he goes he’s hearing about Hideo Itami. He admits Hideo knocked him out while he was standing here minding his own business in a $5000 suit unprovoked. He says it will never happen again. At Chicago, he’ll be in his gear ready to take care of business and make an example out of Hideo. Roode says he was here, then gone, then back, then got hurt, and he didn’t even realize Hideo was still employed. Meanwhile he’s taken NXT to new heights. The crowd is just booing this promo and heckling Roode. Roode says he beat Shinsuke Nakamura twice and he tucked the violin between his legs and left NXT. He says at least Shinsuke accomplished something here, but Hideo failed in NXT. Hideo comes out, but Regal stops him with security. Hideo clears security and jumps Roode, but security stops him again. Hideo hits a GTS on all the security, then Roode jumps him, but Hideo hits a GTS on him as well and leaves Roode laying

* A Battle Royal to name a #1 contender to NXT Women’s Champion Asuka ends in a no contest. It came down to Ember Moon, Ruby Riot and Nikki Cross. Nikki attacks Ruby, Ember then goes after Nikki. Ruby tries to dump Ember after she hit Nikki with the Eclipse. Asuka runs down and knocks Ember off the top rope, then throws Ember out of the ring. Ember essentially did a suicide dive and nailed the guardrail with her shoulder. Asuka nails Nikki and Ruby with kicks and the refs throw the match out. William Regal announces a Fatal 4 Way between Asuka, Ember, Nikki and Ruby for Takeover. Ember slammed the guardrail with her shoulder and was crying as referees and medics helped her to the back

Order of elimination: Victoria Gonzalez, Bianca Blair, Rachael Ellering, Sonya Deville, Lacey Evans, Kimberly Frankele, Candice LeRae (to massive boos), Aliyah, Liv Morgan, Billie Kay, Peyton Royce

Jinder Mahal: From Jobber To #1 Contender

Robert Lentini
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Jinder Mahal made his WWE television debut on April 29th, 2011. He confronted The Great Khali backstage. Mahal spent the next few months confronting wrestlers, but it never led to anything substantial. Mahal then began appearing on NXT and put together a winning streak. Mahal had the chance to become the first ever NXT Champion but lost in the Gold Rush Tournament Finals to Seth Rollins.

On September 21st, 2012, Mahal joined forces with Drew McIntyre and Heath Slater to form 3MB. Heath Slater was getting destroyed by Brodus Clay on an episode of SmackDown but McIntyre and Mahal came to his aid.

3MB lasted for a while and certainly had their fans. They were a goofy team that often lost their matches. If they were not on RAW or SmackDown every week, they would have most likely would still have been on Main Event or Superstars. The Three Man Band officially broke up on June 12th, 2014 when both Jinder Mahal and Drew McIntyre were released. Two weeks after he was released from WWE, Mahal did an interview with Slam! Wrestling. Mahal stated that he hoped to one day return to WWE and accomplish things he never got to do.

“I want to keep wrestling,” said Mahal. “I’m still young and I would like to go back to WWE someday and accomplish things that I never got to do, work with people that I never got to work with.”

Jinder Mahal made his WWE return on August 1st, 2016. Heath Slater was showing up on both WWE RAW and SmackDown begging for a contract. Mick Foley was the GM of RAW at the time and made a match between the two former members of 3MB to determine which Superstar would get a contract. Mahal seized the opportunity and quickly defeated Slater to earn a contract on RAW.

Jinder Mahal then recently joined the SmackDown roster during WWE’s Superstar Shake-Up. Mahal wrestled Mojo Rawley in his first SmackDown match last week and Rob Gronkowski was watching the match in the first row. Gronk had previously leveled Mahal with a shoulder tackle at Wrestlemania 33. This time Gronk thew his beer in Mahal’s face and Mahal wound up losing to Rawley. Mahal still hadn’t made an impact since returning to WWE.

On this past week’s episode of SmackDown, everything changed. Jinder Mahal competed in a Six-Pack Challenge against Mojo Rawley, Dolph Ziggler, Sami Zayn, Luke Harper and Erick Rowan. The winner of the Six-Pack Challenge would become the #1 contender to the WWE Championship. Sami Zayn was about to hit Mahal with the Helluva Kick but was prevented from doing so by the Bollywood Boyz. Mahal then took advantage and won the match and became the #1 contender to the WWE Championship. Mahal will most likely face Randy Orton for the WWE Championship at the SmackDown exclusive PPV WWE Backlash on May 21st, 2017.

Time will tell if Jinder Mahal will actually become WWE Champion at Backlash. Even if he doesn’t, this is a major opportunity for Mahal. He is guaranteed to headline a PPV with the WWE Champion. Mahal cut a very solid promo after winning the Six-Pack Challenge and you can see it at the end of the video above. This can either be a disaster or WWE and Mahal can hit it out of the park. It all depends on whether Mahal and the WWE creative team can get the WWE Universe to legitimately despise him. We will see if that winds up being the case. At the very least, it is something new and it appears that SmackDown truly is the land of opportunity in WWE.

Top Matches Confirmed For NXT Takeover: Chicago (5/20)

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At Wednesday night’s NXT TV tapings from Full Sail University, Hideo Itami defeated Roderick Strong in a #1 contender’s match to earn a shot at NXT Champion Bobby Roode. The match will headline next month’s NXT Takeover: Chicago event.

https://twitter.com/JJWilliamsWON/status/854841182182035456

NXT General Manager William Regal also announced that NXT Tag Team Champions The Authors of Pain will defend against Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa in a Ladder Match at Takeover: Chicago.

Finally, Asuka will defend the NXT Women’s Championship against Ember Moon, Ruby Riot and Nikki Cross and Ember Moon in a fatal 4-way match.

NXT Takeover: Chicago takes place on Saturday night, May 20th from the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, IL.

Becky Lynch Challenges James Ellsworth, Jokes About Not Being On SmackDown

Robert Lentini
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Becky Lynch Versus James Ellsworth

SmackDown Superstar Becky Lynch was asked by a fan if she can face James Ellsworth in a match. Ellsworth has interfered in a couple of Lynch’s matches on SmackDown and usually gets a Dropkick to the face for his troubles. Lynch responded to the fan and asked Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan if they can make the match happen.

https://twitter.com/JessDeStefanoo/status/854412642236215296

Ellsworth then responded and stated that Lynch doesn’t want a piece of the Mack Daddy of SmackDown Live. Becky Lynch fired back with a picture of her hitting Ellsworth with a Suplex at Wrestlemania 33.

Becky Lynch Not Featured On Last Night’s SmackDown

Becky Lynch was not featured on last night’s episode of SmackDown. Lynch made a joke about her absence and stated that she was there in disguise.

Lana’s New Ring Gear Possibly Revealed (Photo), Nia Jax On Facing Tamina Snuka

Robert Lentini
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Lana’s New Ring Gear Potentially Revealed

WWE Superstar Natalya may have revealed Lana’s new ring attire in a new tweet posted earlier today. Natalya was promoting the new episode of Total Divas that airs later this evening. WWE has been hyping Lana’s SmackDown debut for the past couple of weeks and have released two videos. In both videos, Lana is seen dancing by a chair and the videos ends with “coming soon to SmackDown Live”. In the photo below, Lana’s new ring gear may have been revealed.

Nia Jax On Facing Tamina Snuka In The Future

A fan sent a tweet to WWE Superstar Nia Jax and stated that he would love to see Tamina Snuka and Nia Jax square off in the ring. Nia Jax quoted the tweet and ensured the fan that he will see that in the future. Tamina Snuka and Nia Jax are cousins and Nia claimed that “nobody fights harder than family”.

https://twitter.com/NiaJaxWWE/status/854765271164346368

AJ Lee On What Scares Her, Andrade Almas Confronts Drew McIntyre (Videos)

Robert Lentini
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AJ Lee On What Scares Her

AJ Mendez Brooks (known in WWE as AJ Lee) filmed a new video that listed off things that irrationally scare her. The video was released by “Crazy Is My Superpower” publisher Penguin Random House. In the video, AJ stated that cats sitting on staircases, escalators and the wrath of shaman are things that irrationally frighten her.

Andrade “Cien” Almas Confronts Drew McIntyre At WWE Performance Center

WWE has released a new video of a confrontation between Drew McIntyre and Andrade “Cien” Almas. Drew McIntyre was working out at WWE’s Performance Center but was interrupted by Andrade “Cien” Almas. Almas informed McIntyre that he will see him next week and walked away.

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