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Sasha Banks & Charlotte At RAW Monday, SmackDown Rating, Kevin Owens

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– NXT Women’s Champion Sasha Banks and former NXT Women’s Champion Charlotte are both scheduled to be at Monday’s edition of WWE RAW in Atlanta, Georgia.

– This week’s edition of WWE SmackDown averaged 2.388 million viewers, up from last week’s average of 2.265 million viewers.

– The following is a clip of Kevin Owens talking about his new WWE action figure.

John Cena Signs Deal With JC Penny?, Tough Enough Crew At NXT Live Event (Video)

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– WWE United States Champion John Cena was reportedly at the JC Penny headquarters in Plano, Texas on Friday to sign some type of new deal, possibly bringing his “Never Give Up” clothing line for kids to the department store.

– The following is a clip of the WWE Tough Enough competitors at the NXT live event on Friday night in Orlando, Florida.

Jeff Jarrett Describes The Identity He Envisions For Global Force Wrestling

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Global Force Wrestling founder Jeff Jarrett was asked by John Coririgan to describe the identity he envisions for his new wrestling promotion.

“I believe there are a lot of styles available, whether they be lucha libre or strong style from Japan or all the different promotions throughout Europe,” Jarrett said. “We want to put all those different wrestling styles under one umbrella where the fans can win. What I mean by that is fans can see fresh matchups and different styles. That’s our main focus inside the ring.

“Then outside the ring, it goes without saying that not just in professional wrestling, but in any sports or entertainment brand, you have to be highly engaged with the audience. If you go to our YouTube channel, it shows that we’re not about writing stories—we’re about documenting stories.

“For example, the story that has come out of King of the Mountain with Eric Young, who believes in his heart of hearts, and hats off to the guy, but he believes he should have won the title. I think he’s in the minority and he had an issue with it. So as part of this agreement, Eric has taken it upon himself to be a part of the Grand Slam Tour. I gave him an open invitation so something’s gonna go down. Not sure what, but it is part of our brand identity.”

Check out the complete interview at WrestleDelphia.com.

Madusa Talks Reconciling With Vince McMahon, Current Relationship With WWE And More

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As has been reported, the annual “Where Are They Now?” issue of Sports Illustrated currently out on newsstands features an in-depth look at WWE, as well as stories on Rikishi, Tito Santana, and Debrah Miceli (also known as Alundra Blayze and Madusa). SI.com has published its story on Miceli, where she talks about crossing paths with Vince McMahon for the first time in 20 years last March.

In December 1995, WWE—then known as the World Wrestling Federation (WWF)—opted not to renew Miceli’s contract. She signed with WCW, and as part of an angle concocted by Eric Bischoff, showed up on a live episode of WCW Monday Nitro to throw the WWF Women’s Title belt into a trash can. After years of feeling like a pariah, she contemplated showing up at WWE’s headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut to return the belt, which she kept in her home safe. In January, Miceli received a phone call from a WWE executive informing her the company was inducting her into its Hall of Fame. During a run-through before the ceremony in San Jose, California, she met McMahon for the first time since leaving the sports-entertainment organization. They exchanged pleasantries before having an emotional embrace.

“We both just held each other and I squeezed him so tight,” Miceli says, who was told by McMahon that she could keep the belt. “I started getting emotional and kind of crying.”

During their hug, Miceli apologized to McMahon for what she did. The WWE Chairman and CEO told her that she was the kind of performer his company needs today.

“I think I almost fainted,” says Miceli.

In response to constant questions about dumping the WWF Women’s Championship belt in the trash on WCW Monday Nitro, Miceli’s inductor, Natalya, brought out a trash can during the ceremony. Miceli withdrew the belt, which she stressed was a good-looking “women’s wrestling belt,” and said it was finally “back home where it belongs.” She held the belt on her shoulder, and referred to herself as the reigning WWF Women’s Champion. Miceli told Sports Illustrated that she was taken aback by the warm reception she received that weekend.

“I never knew people felt this way,” Miceli says. “I always thought they hated me.” Even the younger generation? “I didn’t think they gave two shits.”

Miceli noted to Sports Illustrated that she signed a five-year contract with WWE that includes merchandise and personal appearances. Regarding this, she cryptically says, “It could be anything.”

Miceli has also stayed in touch with a handful of WWE’s current crop of women and has grown particularly fond of those in NXT. The group, headlined by NXT Women’s Champion Sasha Banks, Bayley, Becky Lynch and Charlotte, reminds her of time wrestling in Japan. She is optimistic they will shake things up in WWE.

“There’s gonna be a great, great change,” Miceli says. “Watch and see what happens. It’s gonna be wonderful.”

In addition to monster truck racing (her contract with Monster Jam expires at the end of the year and she is currently in negotiations for a new deal), Miceli is working on her doctorate in naturopathy and recently spent a month studying in the Bahamas to become a certified yoga instructor. She is also writing a book about her career.

“There’s something more coming,” Miceli says, who hopes her next chapter is her best yet. “I can feel it.”

Miceli also discusses her entry into professional wrestling, competing in Japan, facing bankruptcy in the early 1990s, being let go by WWE, infamously dumping the Women’s Title belt into a trash can, the tail end of her wrestling career in WCW, and of course, monster truck racing.

Season Finale Of Jerry Springer’s WWE Show, Eva Marie/WWE 2K16, The Miz

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– In addition to WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins, WWE Diva and Total Divas star Eva Marie was doing some filming for the new WWE 2K16 video game commercial on Thursday. Below is a photo of Eva on the commercial set.

https://instagram.com/p/45T1L4GzQo/

– The Miz and Maryse are scheduled to attend ESPN’s 2015 ESPY Awards in Los Angeles, California next week.

– The season finale of Jerry Springer’s “WWE: Too Hot For TV” show on the WWE Network is now available. The preview for the episode titled “Sex Sells” reads as follows:

“Embracing the hottest, sexiest and most scandalous superstars and divas in WWE history, Jerry Springer presents the moments that truly live up to the series title.”

Doctors Tell Sabu To Retire, Rusev Tests His New Boots Out, More

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– Sabu, who is currently suffering from two broken bones in his shoulder, was told by doctors that he should retire. The ECW Original, however, decided instead to fly to Europe to work more independent wrestling dates.

– This week’s edition of SmackDown Fallout features Rusev and Summer Rae after Rusev “tested out his new boots” on Fandango. Check it out below.

HBO Renews The Rock’s Show “Ballers,” The Rock Comments

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HBO has already decided to renew The Rock’s new television series “Ballers” for a second season. The first season of the show is currently airing weekly on HBO.

Below is the official press release, as well as comments from The Rock.

HBO ORDERS SECOND SEASON OF “BALLERS”

LOS ANGELES, July 10, 2015 – HBO has renewed the series BALLERS for a second season, it was announced today by Michael Lombardo, president, HBO Programming.

“The charismatic and hugely talented Dwayne Johnson, along with the rest of the BALLERS cast, has truly struck a chord with the HBO audience,” said Lombardo. “We are thrilled with the overwhelming response the series has received and look forward to another exciting season.”

From creator Stephen Levinson (HBO’s “Entourage” and “Boardwalk Empire”), BALLERS looks at the lives of former and current football players, following former superstar Spencer Strasmore (Dwayne Johnson), who is trying to reinvent himself as a financial manager for current players in sunsoaked Miami.

BALLERS kicked off its ten-episode season Sunday, June 21 on HBO and currently debuts other episodes Sundays at 10:00 p.m. (ET/PT). Among the early critical raves, Entertainment Weekly described it as “funny” and “fast-moving,” giving the series an A-, while the Hollywood Reporter called Dwayne Johnson “magnetic,” hailing his “star performance.”

The first episode of BALLERS has already gathered 8.9 million viewers across HBO’s branded platforms, making it HBO’s most watched first episode of a half-hour series since 2009. To date, the episode has also tallied a staggering 5.6 million views on Dwayne Johnson’s Facebook page.

In addition to Dwayne Johnson, cast regulars on season one of BALLERS include John David Washington, Omar Miller, Donovan W. Carter, Troy Garity, London Brown Jazmyn Simon and Rob Corddry.

BALLERS joins a strong lineup of returning comedy series on HBO that also includes “Girls,” “Togetherness,” “Veep,” “Silicon Valley” and “Getting On.”

Season one credits: BALLERS was created by Stephen Levinson; executive produced by Stephen Levinson, Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, Peter Berg, Evan Reilly, Rob Weiss, Julian Farino, Denis Biggs.

Davey Richards Knocked Unconscious At Indy Show, Richards Comments

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One-half of the TNA Tag-Team Champions, Davey Richards, was knocked unconscious during a match against Chance Prophet at the ASW independent wrestling event in West Virginia on Thursday evening.

Because he was knocked out less than 24 hours ago, Richards will not be able to work tonight’s EVOLVE show as scheduled.

Richards tweeted the following about the subject:

https://twitter.com/RichardsWesley/status/619496622481911808

Tigre Uno Addresses Donald Trump’s Controversial Comments About Mexicans

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TNA X-Division Champion Tigre Uno took to social media on Thursday to address the controversial comments Donald Trump made about Mexicans this week. The official TNA website noted that Uno will address the comments further on next week’s edition of Impact Wrestling.

Below are comments made by Uno and TNA President Dixie Carter:

English Translation: “I’ve been silent long enough! @fightbobby tell your good friend @realDonaldTrump that I am proud of my country. My people. My culture.”

English Translation: “I’ll fix this myself. @realDonaldTrump if you are man enough to face me I am @IMPACTWRESTLING #TigreVsTrump”

Austin Aries Added To ROH’s Vegas Wild Card Main Event

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ROH issued the following press release today to announce the addition of Austin Aries to their Vegas Wild Card main event.

Former 2x ROH World Champion Austin Aries has just accepted ROH Match Maker Nigel McGuinness’ offer to replace “Mr ROH” Roderick Strong in the six man Vegas Wild Card main event on Friday, July 17. Not only will he be featured in his return to ROH in this huge main event, Aries feels he has been stifled long enough and is still scheduled to deliver his impact statement to ROH fans.

We’ve attempted to reach out to Undisputed ROH World & World Television Champion Jay Lethal, as well as his manager Truth Martini but neither has returned calls. Lethal has to be feeling the pressure, with everyone gunning for him and his championships. What are Lethal’s thoughts on the arrogant former 2x Champion Aries returning and being named his partner? Aries will also be facing off against another former 2x ROH World Champion in Jay Briscoe, who is hungry to regain the ROH World Championship and become the first 3x champion. What is Moose’s opinion on this change? According to his advisor Stokely Hathaway, “It is of no consequence who our partners are, victory is the only thing that really matters”. Can Briscoe, Castle & O’Reilly overcome the now immense odds? Must see only begins to describe this amazing main event!

SAM’S TOWN HOTEL & GAMBLING HALL
5111 BOULDER HIGHWAY
LAS VEGAS, NV 89122
DOORS OPEN 6:00PM / 7:30PM Pacific BELL TIME

Previously signed for the Las Vegas stop on the AFTERSHOCK Tour

VEGAS WILD CARD MAIN EVENT

Undisputed ROH World & World Television Champion Jay Lethal, Austin Aries and Moose vs. Jay Briscoe, Dalton Castle, and Kyle O’Reilly.

Lucha Underground Producer Eric Van Wagenen Provides Update

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On the most recent edition of the Steve Austin Unleashed podcast Lucha Underground producer Eric Van Wagenen was interviewed and spoke about the future of the show.

As of late, a second season of Lucha Underground has been unclear, talent have been unsure whether or not to take bookings for other show but it appears that all is well.

Lucha Underground Producer Eric Van Wagenen told Steve Austin:

“El Rey absolutely wants us back. They’ve given us an offer on the table, we want you to come back 40 more episodes, ‘we’d love to have you start airing in October. We want you back.’ Now, what we’re trying to do as an organization, is we want to maintain this certain level of production value.

There’s the amount of money El Rey is giving us, and then there’s this amount of money that we need to spend in order to keep the same level of quality that we’ve established. […] It’s a high production value, we put a lot of emphasis on the production value, we don’t cut any corners.

So now, what we are doing is, myself and the other El Rey executives and the investors and Mark Burnett and the people who work now at the United Artist Media group – there is a combined effort to bridge that gap, between the money El Rey is giving us and the money we need.

All options are on the table, whether that’s Netflix, or iTunes, or a secondary broadcast partner, or DVD sales, merchandise, you name it, every options on the table. The money guys are trying to close that gap, and once we have that gap closed, we’re announcing.”

To listen to the full interview on the Steve Austin Unleashed Podcast, click this link.

WWE Fires Longtime Top Executive

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According to the official MLW Twitter account, WWE has fired longtime Executive Vice President of Contest Lisa Fox Lee.

Lee has worked for WWE Since 1995 and was part of the “Stephanie McMahon regime.” This past January, Lee was promoted to Executive Vice President of Content, which meant she reportedly directly to Vince McMahon.

Lee was in charge of overseeing the development and distribution of WWE programming across all platforms, as well as overseeing the WWE creative team.

Below is the announcement from MLW’s Twitter page.

https://twitter.com/MLW/status/619343129162989569

Tough Enough Competitors Heading To RAW, Also NXT House Shows This Weekend?

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– In the Vine shown below, the Tough Enough trainers told the competitors that they were going on a road trip to RAW this Monday.

Monday Night’s RAW will take place at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, this will be the final episode of RAW before the Battleground PPV.

As reported this week, King of the Ring winner King Barrett will guest star on Tough Enough this Tuesday on the USA Network.

PWInsider are reporting that before heading to RAW, the Tough Enough competitors could also be headed to the WWE NXT House Shows this weekend.

Read: USA Network Reportedly Unhappy With Tough Enough

Video: Kevin Owens Mocks Sami Zayn As He Provides Injury Update

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In the video shown below, shared by Twitter user Jason Solomon, while taking part in the Mattel panel at Comic Con, Sami Zayn was asked by William Regal when he would return to the ring.

Zayn noted that he was no longer wearing his sling and revealed that while he doesn’t have an exact return date, he’s looking to get back into the ring at the end of 2015, early 2016.

While confirming that his recovery is going well, former NXT Champion Kevin Owens would mock Zayn by clapping along with the audience, before returning to his serious face.

Read: Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens booked for NXT Takeover: Brooklyn

New Wrestling Figures Confirmed At Comic Con, NXT Stars Also Included

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– While William Regal confirmed that at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn, Finn Balor will defend his title against Kevin Owens, various NXT stars had their first wrestling figures introduced.

NXT Superstars Kevin Owens, Charlotte and Sami Zayn were on hand at the panel with a last minute addition of NXT Champion Finn Balor.

– Mattel confirmed that they will be releasing figures of Finn Balor, Charlotte, Owens, Sami Zayn, Sasha Banks, Bayley and Hideo Itami. The WWE shared the following tweet:

That’s not all though as The APA, J&J Security, The Ascension, Kalisto, The Godfather, Dean Malenko and the British Bulldog will also have their own figures released.

– Mattel also confirmed they will be releasing special edition figures for Sting from The Great American Bash 1990, Hollywood Hulk Hogan and a “Defining moments” release for The Undertaker.

The list doesn’t stop there as they confirmed they’re also working on new figures for the likes of Tyson Kidd, Stephanie McMahon, among others.

Video: William Regal Confirms NXT Takeover Match Between Balor And Owens

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– As we reported yesterday (July 9th), during the Mattel panel at Comic Con, William Regal confirmed that Kevin Owens will get his rematch against Finn Balor.

Regal confirmed that fans will get the opportunity to see this rematch during next month’s NXT Takeover: Brooklyn event in New York City on August 22nd, the night before Summerslam.

Finn Balor won the title from Kevin Owens during their match at the WWE “Beast in the East” live special on the network from Tokyo, Japan.

At present, no other matches have been confirmed for the card.

AJ Lee & Paige Reunite Today (Photo), Chris Jericho On WWE Tough Enough Ratings

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– Former WWE Diva AJ Lee and current WWE Diva Paige reunited while in Los Angeles, California on Thursday. The hashtag “FreaksAndGeeks” trended worldwide for several hours today after Paige posted a photo of the two together, which you can view below.

https://twitter.com/RealPaigeWWE/status/619282419128995840

https://twitter.com/RealPaigeWWE/status/619324642369499136

– Chris Jericho tweeted the following about this week’s WWE Tough Enough episode scoring the best rating of the season thus far.

WWE SmackDown Results – July 9, 2015

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WWE Smackdown on SyFy Live Review
Taped on Tuesday at Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Report by Jake Bennett & ProWrestling.net

[Q1] Footage was shown of Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar’s revenge on The Authority from Monday’s Raw, with the destruction of the Cadillac and J&J Security. Seth Rollins music hit to open Smackdown and he made his way to the ring alone. The announce team hyped the Battleground Main Event as Seth made his introduction.

Seth said that he marched down to the ring and did the unthinkable on Raw. He told the crowd to boo all they want, but he’s more of a man than any of them will be, because on Raw he went to the ring and called out Brock Lesnar. Seth said he gave Lesnar every opportunity to step between the ropes like a man to prove he’s the beast he says he is, but instead he proved he’s a coward. Instead of taking out his frustrations on Rollins, Brock took them out on the $56k Cadillac CTS. Seth made mention of the injuries sustained by Noble and Mercury, and called them his family. He said it wasn’t the car that bothered him as much as Lesnar messing with his family.

A beeping noise indicating a truck was backing up echoed through the arena. Someone backed up the destroyed CTS into the arena, and then Paul Heyman walked out and introduced himself as the advocate for the guy who destroyed that car. Heyman said Rollins will be all alone on the 19th at Battleground when he loses the WWE World Heavyweight Championship to Brock Lesnar. Heyman said the damage done to the car will pale in comparison to the damage done to Seth Rollins on the 19th when Lesnar drags him not to hell but to a place much worse called “Suplex City”.

Rollins reiterated that Heyman thinks the car is metaphor for what he’s going to look like after Battleground. Rollins reversed the statement and said the car would resemble Lesnar after Battleground, and then listed off his accomplishments of destroying The Shield, cashing in at WrestleMania, and reuniting the authority to leave Lesnar you. Heyman attempted to get in a few words and declare that Lesnar would walk out of Battleground after holding the belt over a fallen Rollins, but before he could finish Rollins told him to shut up. Rollins told Heyman that the only man to walk out of the Battleground would be the reigning, defending, undisputed WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins.

[Q2] After the interview, the announce crew put over the main event of Rollins vs. Ryback, and Dean Ambrose made his ring entrance…[c]

Bo Dallas made his way to the ring. He told Ambrose that he looks to be in need of some inspiration, and a shower. Bo referenced his encounter with The Rock at a house show, and said he was so inspired that he went on to start in a hit HBO show. If he can do that for bland unattractive people like The Rock, there was still hope for Dean Ambrose. All he had to do was Bolieve!

1. Bo Dallas vs. Dean Ambrose: Ambrose controlled the early going with chops. He went to hit a bulldog out of the corner, but Dallas reversed and threw Ambrose into the post shoulder first. He then threw Ambrose into the post two more times, and Ambrose spilled to the outside. Bo followed him and threw him into the barricade, and used the ring apron to hold down Ambrose and hit strikes to the back. Bo applied a headlock in the ring…[c]

Bo still held onto a headlock, but Ambrose escaped and hit a rebound clothesline. Ambrose hit jabs and chops and then clotheslined Dallas to ringside. Ambrose followed up with a suicide dive that sent Bo into the announce table. Ambrose climbed up top, but Bo jumped up and hit a suplex that got a near fall. He went for the Bodog, but Ambrose avoided it and hit a bulldog of his own. Ambrose was able to hit dirty deeds a moment later and got the pin.

Dean Ambrose defeated Bo Dallas at 10:18.

[Q3] Randy Orton was teased for a return…[c]

Backstage, Big Show spoke to Seth Rollins. Show told him he sympathized with Lesnar taking out his buddies, and said he needed to take out his rage on Ryback later on tonight. Show said he would do him a favor and take out his buddy Roman Reigns later. The announce then cut to some footage of Rusev putting out Dolph Ziggler “indefinitely” on Monday. Tom Phillips said Ziggler had a bruised trachea and was having trouble swallowing and breathing.

Rusev made his ring entrance with Summer Rae. Rusev was wearing low cut boots now instead of wrestling barefoot….[c]

[Q4] 2. Rusev vs. Fandango: Fandango hit a nice head scissors and then thrusted in the general direction of Summer Rae. Rusev took over with kicks and punches, and then hit a knee to the ribs and rocked Fandango. There was a “We Want Lana” chant until Rusev applied a nerve hold and taunted the crowd. Fandango eventually escaped and hit a dropkick, and then hit a top rope clothesline for a two count. He then climbed up again, but Rusev got out of the way and hit a thrust kick to the chest. He then applied The Accolade and Fandango tapped immediately.

Rusev defeated Fandango at 4:09

After the match, Rusev reapplied The Accolade and had Summer Rae hold up his hand in victory. Rusev then celebrated in his usual silly manner. The announce team plugged Big Show vs Roman Reigns for next…[c]

Roman Reigns made his entrance as footage from his Bray Wyatt confrontation on Monday was shown. Big Show then made his ring entrance.

3. Roman Reigns vs. Big Show: Reigns tried to slug it out with Big Show early but ate a big shoulder block that stopped him in his tracks. Show hit a body slam and taunted the crowd and yelled “I’m a giant”. The announce team speculated as to whether Reigns head was in the match, as Show sent him out of the ring. Reigns sent Show into the post and hit one of his apron dropkicks to shake up Big Show.

[Q5] Show beat a countout by about a second and Reigns hit a series of clotheslines and punches, and eventually knocked down Big Show with a running clothesline. Reigns setup for a Superman Punch, but Bray Wyatt’s music hit to interrupt him. Someone walked out to the stage with the lantern, but Reigns turned around just in time to punch Wyatt in the mouth as he tried to sneak up from behind him. Reigns continued to battle Big Show for a moment until Wyatt interfered.

Roman Reigns defeated Big Show by DQ at 4:48.

After the match, Big Show hit a chokeslam on Reigns. Wyatt crabwalked up to him as he got up and hit Sister Abigail…[c]

The Prime Time Players were in the ring, and the New Day made their entrance. Big will be taking on Titus O’Neill. Footage was shown of New Day vs. The Lucha Dragons.

4. Big E vs. Titus: Big E hit a body block and some stomps at the start of the match. Titus reversed an irish whip and sent Big E to the outside, and then tossed him back into the ring from the apron. Titus hit a couple of shoulder blocks and then an awkward looking body slam. Big E fired back with a belly to belly. New Day tried to interfere, but after Darren Young protested they were tossed from ringside. Afterwards, Big E walked into a sit out spinebuster and Titus pinned him for the win.

Titus defeated Big E at 3:28.

After the match, the announce team plugged WWE 2K16 and showed more footage of the Cadillac being wheeled to a recycling facility and crushed before it was brought to the arena for Smackdown.

[Q6] Randy Orton made his entrance into the arena as Tom Phillips plugged footage of what he did on Raw for next..[c]

Footage was shown of Sheamus and Randy Orton’s confrontation from Raw. Orton then said that no one in has career has gotten under his skin quite like Sheamus, He then said Sheamus fancies himself a modern day gladiator, and says ridiculous things like “Are you entertained!”, and he has made it his goal to make him entertaining. He would rip that stupid mohawk off his head and shove up up his pale white arse.

As Orton tried to leave, the Ascension walked out. Viktor said this was their match time, and he has two choices. He could leave and let them have their time, or stay and be eaten alive by two hungry wolves. Konnor said he should leave, or they would personally introduce them to the wasteland. Orton RKO’d Konnor and hit a hanging DDT in Viktor, followed but another RKO.

The announce team switched gears and focused on the Beast in the East special. They spoke about Owens losing his NXT Championship, and the confrontation between him and Cesaro from Monday, and the fallout from the Cesaro and Cena match. The Bella’s made their entrance with Alicia Fox…[c]

[Q7] Tamina and Naomi made their entrance…

5. Naomi and Tamina vs. Brie Bella and Alicia Fox: Brie and Naomi started and Brie fired up Brie Mode early but it went nowhere. Tamina tagged in and hit an impressive uranage. Naomi tagged back in and Brie sent her into the corner and tagged out to Alicia Fox. Alicia took down Naomi and knocked Tamina off the apron. Alicia sent Naomi off the ropes, but Tamina made a blind tag and surprised Alicia with an elbow to the back. She picked up Alicia for her Samoan Drop finisher but Nikki jumped up on the apron, allowing Brie to break the hold. Alicia hit a big axe kick and pinned Tamina for the win.

Alicia Fox and Brie Bella defeated Naomi and Tamina at 3:41.

Backstage, Ryback was interviewed. He called out Seth Rollins for being a coward for running from Brock Lesnar on Monday. He said he told Rollins what it meant to be a champion two weeks ago, but tonight he would show him. Ryback then said it was feeding time…[c]

[Q8] 5. Ryback vs. Seth Rollins: Ryback used his strength to intimidate Rollins, and then sent him to ringside. Rollins looked frustrated and re-entered the ring without taking his eyes off of Ryback. Rollins got in a few knees, but Ryback picked him up for a delayed vertical suplex, and then clotheslined Rollins out to ringside once again…[c]

Rollins dropped Ryback throat first onto the top rope, and jumped out to the apron to hit a side kick that sent Ryback to the floor. Rollins tossed Ryback into the barricade and then taunted the crowd before re-entering the ring. He then mocked Brock Lesnar by jumping with both feet onto the ring apron.

Seth jumped on Ryback’s back to apply a sleeper, but Ryback reversed into a backpack stunner. He then hit Rollins with a back body drop and a sit out bodyslam for a two count. Ryback went for a powerbomb, but Rollins avoided it and climbed to the top rope. Ryback avoided him and hit a spinebuster. Rollins attempted to roll to the outside, but Ryback pulled him back into the ring and hit a powerbomb. He set up for and hit a meat hook clothesline. He then picked up Seth for Shellshock, but Seth squirmed out. He then hit an enziguri and rolled out to the floor.

Seth signaled that he was taking his title and leaving. He grabbed his championship and started up the ramp, but Ryback followed and pulled him back. Rollins then tried to leave through the crowd, but he was stopped again. Ryback set up for Shellshock on the outside, but Rollins escaped again and left with his belt through the crowd. Ryback got in the ring and Rollins was counted out.

Ryback defeated Seth Rollins via Countout at 12:11.

After the match, Big Show’s entrance hit and they decided to take apart Ryback. They surrounded the ring and Ryback tried and failed to take down Big Show. They both hit kicks and punches until Roman Reigns made his entrance to even the odds. He speared Big Show and sent Rollins into Ryback to be hit by Shellshock. Both babyfaces celebrated to close the show.

The Rock Gets Run Over By Motorcycle (Video), Seth Rollins/WWE 2K16, More

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– Due to the fact that Seth Rollins couldn’t be at the San Diego Comic Con on Thursday, a video of himself aired instead. Rollins couldn’t attend the Comic Con because he was busy filming the new WWE 2K16 video game commercial.

– WWE stock was up on Thursday by 7.36 percent, closing at $16.63 per share. The high today was $16.96 per share and the low was $15.76.

– The Rock and Kevin Hart are still in the process of filming their movie “Central Intelligence.” The Rock posted the following clip of himself preparing to get run over by a motorcycle.

https://instagram.com/p/45foZXIhz6/

TNA Draws Best Rating Since Move To Wednesday, ROH Numbers Up As Well

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Both the TNA and ROH television ratings on Destination America were up significantly compared to last week, as both shows returned to their usual levels.

TNA’s combined audience was their highest (by 2,000 viewers) since moving to Wednesday evenings, while ROH’s replay out-drew their first airing on Destination America.

Below is the viewership figures for this week’s shows:

– 8 p.m. ROH 128,000 viewers

– 9 p.m. TNA 353,000 viewers

– 11 p.m. ROH 134,000 viewers

– Midnight TNA 100,000 viewers

Combined:

TNA: 453,000 viewers
ROH: 262,000 viewers

WWE Star Attends Global Force Wrestling Event, Diva Debuts At NXT Event, Total Divas Preview

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– On the season premiere episode of Total Divas on Tuesday, Eva Marie was chewed out by her fellow Divas, who openly questioned her talent and commitment to WWE. This storyline continues two weeks from now on an episode airing July 21. Here is the synopsis for the third episode of the season, entitled “Eat Your Heart Out”:

“Peace talks between Nikki and Eva end very badly; Nattie takes a risk on stage; Paige is brought to tears during her first WrestleMania; and Brie and Bryan receive the results of their fertility testing.”

– Zahra Schreiber, the NXT Diva who was involved in a nude photo scandal with Seth Rollins earlier this year, made her debut for the developmental league at Thursday’s live event in Largo, Florida. She shared ring announcing duties with Dasha Fuentes.

https://twitter.com/zahraschreiber/status/619302793208307712

– Hornswoggle was in attendance at Thursday’s Global Force Wrestling event in Appleton, Wisconsin.

Global Force Wrestling Announces “Amped” TV Show

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Global Force Wrestling’s television show will be titled Amped, GFW founder Jeff Jarrett announced on Thursday.

The first set of Amped tapings are scheduled for July 24th from Las Vegas, Nevada.

Jarrett explained why he chose the name Amped:

“Why is it ‘Amped?’ I’m amped to not write stories, but document stories. I’m amped to see the action, whether it be Lucha Libre, the strong style from Japan, or the pageantry from the U.S. We have international stars from around the globe. And I’m amped to get this program out,”

Jarrett teased that his next announcement could be the details we’ve all been waiting for – where and when the show will air.

Comment below and tell us what you think about the name.

Finn Balor To Defend Against Kevin Owens At Takeover: Brooklyn

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NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn is set to take place on Saturday, August 22nd, the night before SummerSlam at The Barclay’s Centre in New York City.

The event will be broadcast on the WWE Network and William Regal has just confirmed a huge title match that will take place during the event.

Speaking at the Mattel panel at this year’s Comic Con in San Diego, William Regal confirmed that Kevin Owens will get his NXT Title rematch against Finn Balor.

Finn Balor defeated Kevin Owens at the recent “Beast in the East” WWE Network special live from Tokyo Japan to begin his first reign as the NXT Champion.

Twin Brothers “The Stoner Brothers” Talk About Bailing On WWE Tryout

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Independent wrestlers Dustin and Derek Mehl, twin brothers who are known as “The Stoner Brothers” and “The Suburban Commandos,” who worked WWE’s tryouts at the Performance Center recently, but quit during “cardio day,” recently spoke with 1 Gimmick World about a number of topics. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.

On being invited to the recent WWE tryout:

Dustin: “Out of nowhere WWE called us up and in our heads we kind of marked out. We figured they would fly us out and we’d get a free vacation out of it and show them what we can do…We never sent them anything other than an extra thing on WWE.com maybe ten years ago, but when they called us they said that they had an e-mail that I haven’t had in a really long time, so they found us on Facebook.”

On whether or not cardio affected their decision to leave early:

Dustin: “Regal had to point me to a trash can a couple of times to get some liquid out of my system, but we didn’t quit and didn’t stop. We got up the next morning and Derek and I had a heart-to-heart and realized we were acting like marks. Our heart is in Oakland with Hoodslam, our students and our school. We’ve been building this for five years and not so we can go to WWE.”

On whether or not they took someone else’s spot in the camp:

Dustin: “We didn’t take anyone else’s spot in the camp.”

Derek: “We didn’t take anyone’s f*cking spot because they were our spots. They came to us. We didn’t come to them.”

On the phenomenon that is Hoodslam:

Dustin: “It’s not even about drawing the thousand plus people, it’s all about the vibe. It’s about the boys and having fun. No one’s stressing on anything or dealing with assholes. It’s like a big party with dancing and a live band. It’s not traditional wrestling. There’s athleticism and wrestling, but it’s more pop culture.”

Check out the complete interview at 1GimmickWorld.com.

Sheamus Comments On Breaking WWE TV Record

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The North American Wrestling Rankings website, which has been keeping WWE television related statistics since November of 2006, reported the following on Sheamus breaking a record this week:

“When Sheamus defeated Roman Reigns by countout on the 7/6/15 episode of Raw it was his 200th televised singles victory! The Celtic Warrior is the first wrestler to win 200 tv matches!!! [He was just the 4th wrestler to win 100 matches back on 8/3/12]. Others nearing this milestone [as of 7/8/15] are Randy Orton with 197 wins and John Cena with 188.”

Sheamus tweeted the following about the record: