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Bobby Roode Returns On WWE Monday Night RAW

Andrew Ravens
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Bobby Roode has made his return to WWE television. 

He did so on Monday’s episode of RAW from Orlando, Florida at the Amway Center on the USA Network when he answered an open challenge for the WWE Title that was issued by Drew McIntyre in the opening segment of the show. 

McIntyre did a promo with Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair, Big Show, and Christian standing behind him about how he needed to take on someone who he hadn’t faced while champion as he considers himself a fighting champion. 

The open challenge took place in the final segment of the show. 

https://twitter.com/WWEUniverse/status/1310772905928806401

Roode had been on hiatus from WWE due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He lives in Canada and for the past several months, the borders between Canada and the United States have been closed. As a result, that had prevented him from entering the country. 

Just last week it was reported that Roode was expected to make his return to Monday Night Raw in the near future.

He was last seen in action in March as he teamed up with Dolph Ziggler to compete in the Elimination Chamber Match for the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championships.

James Storm Says COVID-19 Pandemic Derailed His WWE Main Roster Debut

Andrew Ravens
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James Storm has stated that he was supposed to make his WWE main roster debut with the company after WrestleMania 36. Obviously, that didn’t happen. 

Storm told Pro Wrestling Sheet that he was first approached by WWE during Royal Rumble weekend. Dave Lagana and Billy Corgan even allowed Storm to be let out of his NWA contract early. 

“I get home and I see I got an email from Canyon Ceman saying, ‘Hey, we’re interested. Paul Heyman wants me to reach out and bring you to Raw,” Storm said. “I was like, ‘Wait … I think Bobby is going to Raw. Hmmm. This could be interesting.’ Ya know?”

“I told them I would work the weekend of WrestleMania shows with Eli [Drake] to drop the NWA belts to whoever they wanted to drop it to,” Storm told Satin. “Just go out on good terms. Good business, ya know? Then that show got cancelled for the NWA, and then it kept snowballing.”

After WrestleMania, he was preparing to make his WWE debut and for WWE’s pre-signing physical and bought new gear. 

The deal had been done, and he had signed. However, he was told by management that things were being put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Storm debuted in NXT during the October 2015 tapings and later appeared on a December episode before deciding against signing with WWE NXT to instead return to Impact Wrestling. 

James Storm Discusses Potential WWE Return, Reflects On NXT Run

Retribution Members Have Been Quarantined

Andrew Ravens
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COVID-19 hit home for members of Retribution. 

The core members of Retribution (T-BAR, Mace, Slapjack, Reckoning, and Retaliation) have reportedly tested negative for COVID-19, according to Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet. 

The original belief from Dave Meltzer during Sunday Night’s Main Event podcast was that they were kept off Sunday’s WWE Clash of Champions pay-per-view because they are not currently medically cleared to compete. 

At the time, there wasn’t any word whether it was COVID-19 related. That has changed. 

Per Satin, each member has to quarantine themselves for two weeks due to precautionary reasons as they came into proximity with someone else who tested positive for COVID-19.

As of this writing, here’s no word yet on when Retribution began their two-week quarantine. They were last seen on WWE television on last Monday’s episode of RAW. 

Satin wrote, “Regarding RETRIBUTION not being cleared to compete at the moment, sources tell me all 5 members tested negative for COVID-19. However, the group’s members each have to quarantine themselves for two weeks because they came into proximity with someone who tested positive.”

It appears that they will stay off television until mid-October. It will be interesting to see how WWE plans to explain their absence or if WWE will just use other wrestlers to fill in for the normal characters. 

Roman Reigns Retains Universal Title At WWE Clash Of Champions

The Rock Reacts To Roman Reigns’ Win Over Jey Uso

Andrew Ravens
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The Rock gave his thoughts publicly known about the main event of Sunday’s Clash of Champions pay-per-view event featuring Roman Reigns. 

This event, which aired live on the WWE Network from the ThunderDome, featured Reigns successfully retaining the WWE Universal Title over Jey Uso. While Jey did have some moments of offense, but it was mostly a one-sided beatdown by the champion. 

The finish of the match saw Reigns beating down Jey while demanding that his cousin called him the tribal chief. Eventually, Jimmy Uso walked out to the ring and threw in the towel to stop the attack. 

Reigns took to Instagram after the contest and just simply wrote “Levels.” The Rock took to the comments section and responded with the following: 

“Same game, different levels. Same hell, different devils. Heard you two tore the house down [fist emoji]”

The former WWE Champion recently came out and stated that if he were to come out of retirement for one more match then he would want it to be against Reigns, who is WWE’s biggest star right now, at a WrestleMania event. 

The Rock has been retired for a few years now, but anything can happen in pro wrestling. 

Reigns

Roman Reigns Retains Universal Title At WWE Clash Of Champions

Jim Cornette Talks His Biggest Issue With Retribution Storyline

Jake Skudder
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Former NWA commentator and outspoken pro wrestling personality Jim Cornette recently dissected the RAW Retribution storyline.

Cornette had more than a few issues with the ongoing RAW storyline. His seemingly biggest issue however, surrounded the fact that the majority of members (Mia Yim and Dijakovic specifically) were appearing on NXT television whilst the storyline was initially ongoing.

Retribution recently revealed that WWE had given them full time WWE contracts. The only issue is a large portion of WWE’s fanbase already know who the members of the group are. With WWE attempting to put NXT on the ‘same level’ as RAW and SmackDown? It wasn’t exactly a good look for the Wednesday night brand.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that both RAW and NXT are shown on the same channel, USA Network.

Jim Cornette on Retribution

“All of these people have been on national TV!” Jim Cornette began on the Drive Thru podcast. “Working for this same company, on the other channel. Recently, like concurrently while Retribution was f*cking on RAW jumping on people and doing all this sh*t.”

“These people were on NXT having nothing to do with each other and doing other sh*t under other names” Cornette continued. “It’s not like somebody came in from a different territory and they were new to you; so you hadn’t seen him or even that somebody came in from another company.”

Jim Cornette would finish by lambasting WWE further for the concept. “These people were literally working for the same organisation. Just on another television show. On another station. Last week. So what the f*ck?”

Do you agree with Jim Cornette? Let us know in the comments

Eric Bischoff Comments On Buff Bagwell’s Calf Implants

Chris Stephens
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Buff Bagwell suffered an infection from calf implants he got during his career. He ended up having to have the implants removed due to the infection. This was discussed recently on Eric Bischoff’s 83 Weeks podcast. Apparently Bagwell took quite the ribbing backstage as a result.

“I remember when it happened, just the ribbing. I mean, I don’t know how Dave Meltzer or anybody else hadn’t heard about this because the entire roster was laughing and talking about it,” Bischoff said. “It took a long time for Marcus to live that down, a long time. Nobody even tried to hide the fact that they were having a great time at Bagwell’s expense by laughing and joking about this.”

“I do remember it, the ribbing he took, I can only imagine how he felt coming back. I think the only reason he was able to come back and work his way through it is because he was so vain he didn’t care. He probably felt at the time that having massive calves was one of the most important things in his life. Maybe the reason he wore long tights is because he felt insecure about his minuscule calves, I don’t’ know.”

Bischoff and Conrad Thomspon’s comments on Buff Bagwell’s calf implants can be heard in the player below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6yFCc0T_Wg

Miro Comments On Learning English From 2Pac Songs

Chris Stephens
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AEW’s Miro made his in-ring debut on Dynamite last week. He’s been aligned with fellow Twitch streamer, Kip Sabian, so far in the promotion. Miro sat down recently with Chris Van Vliet and discussed a variety of subjects including his learning English through 2Pac songs.

The Bulgarian spoke about how he knew from an early age that he was going to travel to the United States and would need to know how to speak English.

“Because I knew I’m going to go to America, in 3rd grade I started learning English,” Miro said during the conversation.

“Video games was English. I loved video games so I had to learn English to see what they were saying. At the same time, I wanted to learn English because I’m going to America and watching all these old movies, they prepared me.”

He also spoke about how learning 2Pac’s lyrics also helped him learn English.

“Again, movies, English, I had to open the dictionary sometimes and look for a word or listen to 2Pac songs, ‘ah, what does that word mean?’ I have to find a big dictionary, it’s not the internet. It’s like the big dictionary where you open and you read this word and that’s how you learn. And on top of that, you go to school and you learn more and more.”

“Of course, of course, 2Pac’s my favourite rapper of all time,” Miro concluded on the subject.

A clip featuring Miro speaking of learning English and coming to American can be viewed in the player below:

Rob Van Dam & Katie Forbes Gone From Impact Wrestling

Chris Stephens
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Rob Van Dam & Katie Forbes are no longer with Impact Wrestling. According to a report from PW Insider, the pair’s departure from the company is due to storylines involving them ending. They had been working on a per-show deal for some time and the door is said to be open for them to return someday.

Rob Van Dam had signed with the promotion in February of 2019. RVD turned heel at Bound For Glory 2019. His real-life relationship with Katie Forbes then became a key part of his on-screen persona. Most recently, RVD and Forbes had been involved in an angle with Sami Callihan. The angle came to a conclusion recently when Callihan gave Katie Forbes a piledriver after dropping a singles match to RVD.

RVD and Forbes were briefly members of the faction “Cancel Culture” with Joey Ryan and Jake Crist. The angle came to an end when Joey Ryan was released from the promotion. This was as a result of allegations against Ryan as part of the #SpeakingOut movement.

RVD’s run in the company from 2019-2020 finished with an 11-4 record in singles matches. He defeated Tommy Dreamer, Ethan Page, Sami Callihan (2x), Willie Mack, Madman Fulton, Rhino (2x), Eddie Edwards, Daga, and Joey Ryan. His losses came to Moose, Daga, Eddie Edwards, and Sami Callihan.

Update On Angel Garza Following Injury At Clash Of Champions

Chris Stephens
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Angel Garza was injured last night at Clash of Champions. He was teaming with Andrade in a RAW tag-team title match against the Street Profits. The match appeared to end early when Andrade got his shoulder up at 2 but the ref counted 3 anyway.

Garza’s injury was address on Wrestling Observer Radio:

“During the show Angel Garza got hurt and the first word I heard was a torn quad which is not a good thing. There’s been other talk that that might not be it, might be a lesser injury. Might not be a quad, might be a hip,” said Dave Meltzer.

According to Talk Sport and PW Insider, Garza did injure his hip. They are stating the injury is not quite as bad as first feared.

More news concerning the seriousness of Garza’s injury will likely be available in the coming days.

The Street Profits vs Andrade & Angel Garza

The RAW tag-team title match at Clash of Champions ended in abrupt fashion. Evidently, the decision was made to end the match early but this didn’t play out well. Andrade clearly kicked out before the 3 count and Angelo Dawkins seemed utterly confused and unhappy with what happened.

On commentary, it was noted that Andrade kicked out at 2 but the referee’s vision of his shoulder was blocked.

The victory for the Street Profits was their 6th successful defence of the RAW tag titles. They won the titles initially from Seth Rollins and Murphy on the March 2nd, 2020 RAW. Since then, they’ve defended successfully against Andrade & Angel Garza twice, Austin Theory & Angel Garza twice, Seth Rollins & Murphy once, and the Viking Raiders once.

Update On Why Women’s Tag Title Match Didn’t Happen At Clash of Champions

Chris Stephens
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WWE announced on the Clash of Champions Kickoff show that the scheduled women’s tag-team title match would not take place on the show. Champions Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax were set to defend their title against Ruby Riott & Liv Morgan, the Riott Squad.

It was announced that both Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax were not cleared to compete on the PPV. According to a recent report from the Wrestling Observer, they were removed from the show due to COVID-19 concerns.

“Nikki Cross and Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax were all called…they were not medically cleared,” said Dave Meltzer.

“The actual issue is, you know it’s the COVID situation,” he continued. “I know at least one of the three and I think two of the three do not have COVID but they were in contact with someone who does. It might even be all three. But I know for sure one and I think two but it’s still they were afraid of a COVID spread.”

He would continue to say that at least two of the three wrestlers are not unhealthy.

“I don’t know how all their healths are but at least two of the three are not unhealthy as we speak,” Meltzer continued.

Nia Jax commented on the situation via Twitter:

https://twitter.com/NiaJaxWWE/status/1310347912715460608
https://twitter.com/NiaJaxWWE/status/1310349171405148160

WWE Clash Of Champions Results: Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso, Sasha Banks Returns

Robert Lentini
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WWE Clash of Champions 2020 aired on the WWE Network from the ThunderDome in Orlando. It was announced during the Kickoff Show that Nia Jax and Nikki Cross were not medically cleared to compete tonight. It was also announced that the WWE Draft will take place on the October 9th edition of SmackDown and the October 12th edition of RAW.

Clash of Champions 2020 Results

  1. Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura def. Lucha House Party to retain the SD Tag Team Titles (Kickoff Show)
  2. Sami Zayn def. Jeff Hardy, AJ Styles to win the IC Title
  3. Asuka def. Zelina Vega to retain the RAW Women’s Championship
  4. Bobby Lashley def. Apollo Crews to retain the United States Championship
  5. Street Profits def. Andrade & Angel Garza to retain the RAW Tag Titles
  6. Asuka def. Bayley via DQ
  7. Drew McIntyre def. Randy Orton to retain the WWE Championship
  8. Roman Reigns def. Jey Uso to retain the Universal Championship

Here are the takeaways from the PPV:

Sami Zayn Captured The Intercontinental Championship

ic title match clash of champions

Jeff Hardy defended the Intercontinental Championship against AJ Styles and Sami Zayn in a Triple Threat Ladder match tonight at Clash of Champions.

Match Recap: Jeff Hardy controlled the action early and hit Styles and Zayn with a Clothesline/ Bulldog combo. Zayn knocked Styles out of the ring and hit him with a Springboard Moonsault. Sami bashed Jeff Hardy across the back with the ladder and then did the same to AJ Styles.

Back in the ring, Jeff Hardy set up a ladder against the ropes and sent Sami onto it with a Back Body Drop. Jeff leaped off the middle turnbuckle but AJ got out of the way and the Intercontinental Champion crashed into a ladder. Styles then launched Sami into a ladder in the corner of the ring.

AJ followed it up with a Pele Kick to Sami and then made his way up the ladder. Hardy joined him and the two superstars traded punches. Styles shoved Jeff to the canvas but Hardy popped right back up. Hardy dragged Styles down the to the mat and hit him with an Atomic Drop.

Sami threw Jeff out of the ring and made his way up the ladder. Styles stopped him but Sami connected with an Exploder Suplex that sent AJ onto the ladder in the corner. Jeff Hardy connected with Poetry In Motion on Styles outside the ring and then turned around into a Helluva Kick from Zayn.

Zayn started climbing the ladder but Styles knocked him to the mat by launching a small ladder at him. Hardy and Styles then battled on top of the ladder. Both superstars wound up falling to the mat and Sami made his way back up the ladder. Hardy brought him down with a Twist of Fate and started climbing.

Jeff climbed the ladder but Zayn tilted it over and Hardy crashed to the floor outside the ring. Sami set up a ladder from the announce table to the ring apron. Styles bounced Sami’s face off the announce table and hit him with a Reverse DDT. Jeff Hardy hit Styles with a ladder and then climbed up a ladder outside the ring. Hardy connected with a ridiculous Swanton Bomb that sent Sami through the ladder.

AJ got in the ring and set up a ladder. Hardy shoved the ladder over and Styles crashed to the mat. Zayn dragged Jeff out of the ring and slammed him into the barricade. Sami Zayn handcuffed Hardy to a ladder by his ear.

Zayn tried to handcuff AJ to the ropes but Styles escaped and hit him with a Suplex. Sami then handcuffed himself to AJ as Jeff Hardy started making his way to the ring with a ladder handcuffed to his earlobe. Sami unlocked the handcuffs and locked Styles to the ladder. Zayn then grabbed the titles to become the new Intercontinental Champion.

Opinion: I absolutely loved this match and thought the finish was awesome. The Swanton Bomb through the ladder was an incredible spot as well. I was really looking forward to this match and it completely delivered.

Asuka Retained The RAW Women’s Championship

asuka zelina vega clash of champions

Asuka defended the RAW Women’s Championship against Zelina Vega tonight.

Match Recap: Asuka shoved Zelina to the mat and taunted her to start the match off. Asuka made fun of Vega’s height and danced around the ring. Vega booted Asuka in the knee and the two superstars locked up. Asuka caught Vega with a punch and then applied a Headlock in the middle of the ring.

Asuka perched Vega up on the top turnbuckle and went for a Superplex but Zelina blocked it. Asuka sent Vega to the apron and connected with a Hip Attack. Vega battled back and connected with an Arm Drag. Zelina followed it up with a Hurricanrana for a near fall.

Vega went for a Backstabber but Asuka held onto the ropes. Zelina booted Asuka in the face and went for the cover but Asuka kicked out at two. Asuka quickly locked in the Asuka Lock for the submission victory. Asuka is still the RAW Women’s Champion. Zelina attacked Asuka after the match and then retreated when Asuka got up.

Bobby Lashley Retained The US Title

apollo crews bobby lashley clash of champions

Bobby Lashley defended the United States Championship against Apollo Crews tonight at Clash of Champions. Ricochet and MVP were ringside for the match.

Match Recap: Lashley controlled the match early and went to work on Apollo’s arm. Crews connected with a boot to the face and then Clotheslined Lashley out of the ring. Apollo hit Lashley with a Moonsault off the apron and sent the United States Champion into the barricade.

Back in the ring, Crews hit a Crossbody for a two count. Lashley planted Crews with a Flatliner and MVP taunted Apollo as he regrouped against the ropes. Crews drove Lashley to the corner and hit him with a Splash. Apollo knocked Lashley to the outside and hit him with another Crossbody.

Crews rolled Lashley inside the ring and hit him with an Enziguri. Crews followed it up with a Standing Moonsault for a two count. Lashley connected with a Superplex but Crews battled back and hit a Standing Shooting Star Press. Crews followed it up with a Frog Splash for a two count. Lashley planted Crews with a massive Chokeslam and applied the Hurt Lock for the submission victory. Bobby Lashley is still the United States Champion.

Roman Reigns Retains Universal Title At WWE Clash Of Champions

Andrew Ravens
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In what was a family feud, Roman Reigns is still standing tall as the Universal Champion. 

Jey Uso, the cousin of “The Big Dog, was the first challenger in the current reign of Reigns as Universal Champion. This title match was the main event featured on the card for this year’s WWE Clash of Champions pay-per-view event.

As promised, Reigns wrestled shirtless for those who care to know. Although Uso was positioned as someone who had brief moments of offense and they even did near falls, it was Reigns who took down his family member.

After Reigns mauled him because Jey wouldn’t call him the Tribal Chief, Jimmy walked out to the ring and wanted to throw in the towel and did despite his brother telling him not to do so.  

Jey earned this title opportunity when WWE held a Fatal 4-Way Match with him vs. Matt Riddle vs. King Baron Corbin vs. Sheamus. This contest took place on the September 4th episode of Friday Night SmackDown on FOX.

Jey actually replaced Big E in the contest as Sheamus attacked him before the match. WWE did an injury angle with Big E and played it up as Paul Heyman had gotten Jey into the match. 

Drew McIntyre Retains WWE Title, Legends Appear At Clash Of Champions

Andrew Ravens
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The rematch between Drew McIntyre and Randy Orton was a memorable Ambulance Match. 

McIntyre put the WWE Title on the line against the longtime WWE star in the co-main event of the WWE Clash of Champions pay-per-view event. 

The match featured the return of The Big Show, but it was at the beginning of the contest. Big Show came out while wearing a mask and hit a chokeslam to Orton through the announce table before leaving. A notable spot was when McIntyre went for the Claymore Kick, but Orton moved and kicked the door off.

While backstage, Christain attacked Orton and then left. Moving along, Shawn Michaels appeared to hit Sweet Chin Music to Orton off the top of the ambulance. As a result, it sent him through a crash pad. Orton had previously attacked all three guys and it wrote them off TV at the time. 

The finish saw McIntyre connected with a Claymore Kick and the Punt Kick. Ric Flair drove the ambulance out of the arena. 

https://twitter.com/WWEUniverse/status/1310387482933030912
https://twitter.com/WWEUniverse/status/1310386629484388353

McIntyre successfully retained the WWE Title over Orton last month at SummerSlam with a backslide. 

Angel Garza Injured At WWE Clash Of Champions

Andrew Ravens
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Andrade and Angel Garza didn’t make it to the top of the tag team division on Monday Night RAW, but there’s more concerning news. 

Andrade and Garza failed to gain the titles when they challenged The Street Profits at the WWE Clash of Champions pay-per-view event. This is where Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins retained the titles in Orlando, Florida.

As seen in the contest, it appeared that Garza suffered some sort of injury as the finish was odd. Dawkins hit a spinebuster to Andrade but he had his shoulder up and the announcers were confused at the pinfall. The referee threw up the X sign and doctors later checked on Garza. 

After the match, Pwinsider.com reported that Garza 100% suffered a legitimate injury to his leg and that he was being checked on by the trainers backstage. Bryan Alvarez also threw out this speculation: 

WWE set up this contest last week on RAW when a Triple Threat Tag Team Match to determine the new challengers for the titles was booked. Garza and Andrade beat Seth Rollins & Murphy and Dominik Mysterio & Humberto Carrillo

WWE Draft Announced For October 9th & 12th

Andrew Ravens
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0

The rosters of Raw and SmackDown will be shaken up once again. WWE has announced a 2-night Draft is taking place next month.

The 2020 WWE Draft will kick off on October 9th on Friday Night SmackDown and resume on the October 12th episode of Monday Night RAW.

Fightful was the first to report of a forthcoming WWE Draft. The news was later confirmed by the Wrestling Observer. There was a plan to do it in early August because WWE officials felt a change was needed because of declining ratings, but there was a problem that would’ve impacted bigger plans as it would mess up plans for SummerSlam.

WWE then planned to do it in late August after SummerSlam. Once again, that got nixed once WWE planned to do a second pay-per-view a week, which was Payback. 

2019 WWE Draft

Last year’s Draft also took place in October last year. For those who are curious, here were the results of the first two rounds of the Draft last year: 

Round 1

  • RAW: Becky Lynch
  • SmackDown: Roman Reigns
  • RAW: The O.C.
  • SmackDown: “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt
  • RAW: Drew McIntyre

Round 2

  • RAW: Randy Orton
  • SmackDown: Sasha Banks
  • RAW: Ricochet
  • SmackDown: Braun Strowman
  • RAW: Bobby Lashley

Sami Zayn Wins Intercontinental Title At WWE Clash Of Champions

Andrew Ravens
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The battle to find out the true WWE Intercontinental Champion was an impressive spectacle, but it was Sami Zayn who pulled off the win. 

WWE Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy vs. AJ Styles vs. Zayn in a Ladder Match took place at the WWE Clash of Champions pay-per-view event.

On paper, fans had high expectations for this contest, and based on feedback on social media, it appears those expectations were met. 

Some notable spots included Styles sending Zayn bouncing off a ladder in the corner. Zayn was climbing the ladder, but Styles threw a small ladder at him. Hardy hit a Swanton Bomb off a ladder to Zayn through another ladder. Near the end of the match, Zayn put a handcuff through the earlobe of Hardy and attached it to a ladder. Zayn then handcuffed Styles to a different ladder before getting the titles. 

Zayn decided to pull himself from television due to concerns about COVID-19 and WWE later stripped him of the championship and set up a tournament to crown a new champion.

Styles, Daniel Bryan, Drew Gulak, Elias, Hardy, King Corbin, Sheamus, and Shinsuke Nakamura were confirmed as competitors. Eventually, Styles won the tournament finals and became the champion only to drop it to Hardy. 

When Zayn returned to TV on the August 28th episode of SmackDown, WWE played it up as Zayn being the real champion. 

Speculation Over Nikki Cross’ Status For Clash Of Champions PPV

Anutosh Bajpai
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WWE has announced Nikki Cross vs. Bayley for the SmackDown women’s title at the Clash Of Champions PPV tonight but some latest developments have started speculations about the status of the former Sanity member.

The female challenger did not appear on this week’s episode of SmackDown despite it being the PPV go home episode of the show and Dave Meltzer noted on the latest Wrestling Observer Radio that she was not backstage either.

The wrestling journalist further speculated on Cross’ availability for the PPV tonight, revealing that he did not get a clear answer when he inquired about it:

“If she’s there [at Clash of Champions], she’s there. I asked [on Saturday] morning if she was going to be there, and nobody got back to me, which is your answer,”

The speculations about Nikki Cross have been amplified further by the recent confirmation of a COVID-19 outbreak in WWE.

The standard company protocols call for a person to be quarantined for at least 14 days if they test positive, making them unavailable for active competition.

Though the company doesn’t reveal the name of any person who tests positive so the speculation about the SmackDown star are only rumors at this point and we should get a better idea about her status during tonight’s PPV event.

Arn Anderson Talks WWE ‘Not Seeing’ Daniel Bryan as a Major Star Initially

Jake Skudder
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0

Former WWE Agent and AEW on-screen coach Arn Anderson recently discussed the 2010 Night of Champions PPV on the ARN podcast. One of the topics of conversation during the show surrounded WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan.

At the time, Bryan was not long off of his first run with the company on the main roster. When the Nexus debuted on RAW and dismantled the ring, Bryan used then ring announcer Justin Roberts’ tie to choke him. The fall out from this caused WWE to release Bryan; reportedly it was WWE partner Hasbro that was not happy with the incident.

Daniel Bryan

WWE would then bring Daniel Bryan back for SummerSlam 2010, where he would join with John Cena as part of a team going up against his former faction, Nexus. Beyond that, it took a long time for WWE to finally give Bryan the opportunity at the top of the card, culminating in his WrestleMania 30 main event win. Even this scenario only came to pass due to CM Punk leaving the company and plans needing to be changed almost last minute (the rampant fan reaction also helped).

“Well, whoever knows what the reasons are? There’s really no reason that made any sense” Arn Anderson began on the podcast, saying how WWE should’ve been getting behind Bryan sooner. “Because all you have to do? Is listen to the audience, you know?”

“He was getting over” Anderson continued. “And he was doing it because he was an everyday guy. A blue collar guy that had earned his way and paid his dues in the Indies. And that word, it caught around you know?”

Arn Anderson would then reveal that WWE at the time didn’t listen to the ‘hype’ coming from the independent scene. “We used to think that indie hotline wasn’t all that powerful, but it is. It gets around and when there’s a new guy out there that the audience feels like should be in one of the the big companies? One of the big shows? They’ll let you know.”

Do you agree with Arn Anderson about Daniel Bryan? Should WWE have gotten behind the YES man sooner in his WWE career? Let us know in the comments

Daniel Bryan Edge
Daniel Bryan & Edge

T-BAR & Retribution Continue To Cause Chaos On Social Media

Chris Stephens
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The former Dominic Dijakovic is now known as Retribution’s T-BAR. Since the faction was given new names recently, many of them have also created all new social media presences.

T-BAR recently responded to comments Eric Bischoff has made about the Retribution angle. Bischoff has been critical of the angle, but T-BAR says Retribution actually draws inspiration from Bischoff’s time in WCW.

https://twitter.com/TBARRetribution/status/1310210161152327680

T-BAR has recently noted on Twitter that he respects the ring names of Booker T and X-PAC but takes issue with Cesaro & Sheamus’ old tag-team name.

https://twitter.com/TBARRetribution/status/1310038981292195840
https://twitter.com/TBARRetribution/status/1309515269925228544
https://twitter.com/TBARRetribution/status/1309288102528192515

Rejected Applications For Retribution

Only 5 members of the group were given contracts by WWE in storyline. Retribution attacks have regularly featured more wrestlers than that, however. Mansoor recently noted he had hoped to become NUNCHUCK in the group.

https://twitter.com/KSAMANNY/status/1309909920800743429

Malcolm Bivens had also hoped to be in the group:

“If I was in Retribution, I would use the name De’Coldest ToEvaDoIt.”

https://twitter.com/Malcolmvelli/status/1308433196623835140

Shelton Benjamin also noted on Twitter that he warned everyone about Mia Yim. He posted the following:

“For years I’ve been telling everyone what a wretched horrible deceptive evil spiteful disgusting and hateful person Mia Yim really is. Believe me now?”

Recently, T-BAR also explained why WWE gave contracts to Retribution.

https://twitter.com/TBARRetribution/status/1309722682473275395
https://twitter.com/TBARRetribution/status/1309729464268525568

The Rock Endorses Joe Biden For US President

Chris Stephens
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Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has publicly endorsed Joe Biden for President of the United States. He put out a video on social media today to announce the news.

“Happy Sunday everybody,” Rock begins the video. “We are approximately 5 weeks away from election day. Arguably the most critical election our country has seen in decades.”

“Look, I’ve got friends in all parties, but one thing we can always agree on is the conversation and the dialogue and where that conversation lands is always the most critical part.”

“Now, this is something that I’ve certainly not done in the past, so I’m going to go big. You guys know me, if I go, I go big. So guys I had the opportunity to sit down with Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris to talk about a number of important issues that we are facing as a country. I thought it was a great and extremely productive conversation that we had.”

“As a registered independent for years now with centrist ideologies, I do feel that Vice President Biden and Senator Harris are the best choice to lead our country and I’m endorsing them to become President and Vice President of our United States.”

The Rock continued to talk about his conversation with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and even played clips from it as the video continues. The full video can be played in the Tweet below:

Update On Jimmy Uso’s Recovery

Anutosh Bajpai
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While his brother Jey Uso is all set to challenge for the Universal Championship at the Clash Of Champions PPV, Jimmy Uso is currently out of action with an injury.

Though the good news for the former champion is that the latest reports suggest that his recovery is going well and he is on track to return to the ring early next year.

Alex McCarthy of TalkSport recently spoke to Jey Uso ahead of his big match on Sunday and the SmackDown star confirmed that his brother is on course to return to action in early 2021.

The wrestling journalist provided the update via a tweet and he wrote “Jimmy Uso is on course to return to action from his knee injury in January/February 2021, Jey Uso told me.”

For those who don’t know, Jimmy Uso suffered a leg injury during the triple threat ladder match for the SmackDown tag team championship at WrestleMania 36.

The injured star revealed in later interviews that he suffered the injury early in the bout and he apparently tore his ACL while jumping off a ladder during the opening minutes of the match.

Now it would be interesting to see what the company is planning for his return and if we can see Jimmy being a surprise entrance in the Royal Rumble next year.

Results: NJPW G1 Climax 30 Day 5

Evan S
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New Japan Pro-Wrestling thirtieth annual G1 Climax tournament has arrived!

Watch on NJPW World with a paid subscription. Only live Japanese commentary available. English commentary will be uploaded within several days. This event will have reduced attendance capacity to comply with COVID-19 social distancing restrictions.

Start Times:

  • Pacific: 9/27 12AM
  • Eastern: 9/27 3AM
  • UK: 9/27 8AM
  • Japan: 9/27 4PM
  • East Australia: 9/27 5PM

NJPW World Video

G1 Climax 30 Day 5 Results

Gabriel Kidd def. Yota Tsuji (7:40)
The match began with Gabriel Kidd taking the advantage over Yota Tsuji while mat wrestling, as the commentators speculated that Kidd’s training in Lancashire wrestling would grant him the edge when working on the ground. Yota Tsuji, whose new blown out hair style is reminiscent of Andre the Giant, gained control with his superior power landing a body slam into a running splash. He applied a single-leg Boston crab, but Kidd achieved a rope break. Kidd landed a dropkick and won the match with a double underhook suplex.

A Block: Taichi def. Yujiro Takahashi (11:03)
Unfortunately, Yujiro and Taichi’s valets, Pieter and Miho Abe, were absent for this match. As one would expect from a match between two of the dirtiest fighters in NJPW, this match was full of rule-bending. The first move of the match was Yujiro hitting Taichi with his cane, but Taichi would respond with choking Yujiro with a microphone cable and slamming his head into the ring post. Taichi seemed to have the advantage in physical prowess, and he wore Yujiro down with kicks. He yelled at Yujiro, mentioning Tetsuya Naito, likely alluding to how far above Yujiro Naito is now, when years ago they were a tag team. He then hit the Axe Bomber for a near fall. He stood in the corner waiting for Yujiro to rise to his feet, but as he went for the thrust kick, Yujiro caught him and hit the Miami Shine, for another two count. He went to follow up with the Pimp Juice DDT, but Taichi pushed him away, then hit a sneaky low blow and pinned him with the Taichi-style Gedo clutch. Taichi 6 points, Yujiro 0 points.

A Block: Minoru Suzuki def. Jeff Cobb (9:24)
Suzuki started by laying on his back and challenging Cobb to grapple with him, a tall order considering Cobb’s Olympic-level ability at freestyle wrestling. And yet, despite Cobb’s physical advantages, Suzuki seemed to be getting the better of him on the mat. Cobb moved to his feet, and from there he used his great strength to throw Suzuki with suplexes. Suzuki made it behind Cobb and applied the sleeper hold, but Cobb threw him off easily when he attempted the Gotch-style piledriver. Cobb continued his series of suplexes and slams, but when he went for the Tour of the Islands, Suzuki caught him in a guillotine choke and forced himself free. He then applied the sleeper hold again and lifted the bulky Cobb up for the Gotch-style piledriver. Suzuki 4 points, Cobb 2 points

A Block: Kota Ibushi def. Tomohiro Ishii (15:41)
Ibushi and Ishii went at each other with a great intensity from the getgo, throwing strikes and with Ishii blocking Ibushi’s loud kicks. Ishii backed Ibushi into the corner and egged him on, tanking Ibushi’s elbow strikes. He knocked Ibushi to the ground and landed kicks of his own, but Ibushi rose up and engaged Ishii in a strike battle: his kicks versus Ishii’s backhand chops. Ishii finally started showing pain, taking a knee, but he Isfired up and they traded German suplexes, but a dropkick from Ibushi put them both on their backs. They sat up and exchanged slaps but Ibushi dropped Ishii with a final slap to the chest. Ishii fired back up, but Ibushi just stared blankly at him and then kicked him in the head, then hit an elevated powerbomb for a near fall. Ibushi tried for a Frankensteiner, but Ishii countered it, then Ishii went for the vertical drop brainbuster, but Ibushi countered that too. In a desperation move, Ibushi went for the Kamigoye, but with a headbutt, Ishii had averted it. However, Ibushi hit the Boma Ye for a near fall, followed by another Boma Ye and the Kamigoye for the victory, in a match that was exhausting to watch and keep up with. Ibushi 4 points, Ishii 0 points

A Block: Shingo Takagi def. Will Ospreay (22:03)
These two men have only fought in one singles match before, and it was in the final of last year’s Best of the Super Juniors. Ospreay won that match and since then he has grown in mass, but so has his ego. He spoke recently about wanting to beat Shingo in Kobe City, where this event is taking place, because it’s where Dragon Gate, Shingo’s home promotion, is based. These two fought with great intensity, and Ospreay continues to demonstrate that his increased bulk has not come at the cost of his agility, getting the better of Shingo in the early going. Shingo tried to neutralize Ospreay’s speed by applying a Figure Four Leglock, but Ospreay stopped it before it was cinched in, and when Shingo tried for the Noshigami, Ospreay reversed it into a stunner. Ospreay lifted Shingo for the stormbreaker, but instead hung Shingo upside down over the turnbuckle and hit a corner-to-corner dropkick. Ospreay went for the Oscutter, but Shingo countered it into the Noshigami, then hit the Sol del Japon for a near fall. Shingo went to follow up with the Pumping Bomber, but Ospreay moved out of the way and hit a Liger Bomb for a near fall of his own, and then the Oscutter only for Shingo to kick out again! Ospreay went for the Stormbreaker, but Shingo blocked it and lifted Ospreay into the Made in Japan. Ospreay blocked the Last of the Dragon, when Shingo went for another Pumping Bomber Ospreay reversed it into a spanish fly. Ospreay landed a heavy rolling elbow and went for the top rope Oscutter, but Shingo got to him and hit the Stay Dream from the middle rope for the near fall. He hit one last Pumping Bomber and the Last of the Dragon for the victory! Shingo 2 points, Ospreay 4 points

A Block: Jay White def. Kazuchika Okada (18:48)
Like the villain he is, Jay White got on the microphone before the match began and chanted for Okada, encouraging the audience to do so as well, except they aren’t allowed to cheer out loud. Gedo was a continual thorn in Okada’s side throughout this match, making minor offences like pulling Okada’s leg from the outside, but running like a coward whenever Okada was perturbed enought to confront him. Jay White was dominating Okada, wearing him down with punches to the lower back, but when Okada went after Gedo again, Jay chased after him. It ended up with Okada planting both Gedo and Jay with a double DDT on the entrance ramp. Okada then put Gedo’s bucket hat on, which made the audience laugh. In the ring, Okada tried for the reverse neckbreaker, but his back was in too much pain, and he crumpled to his knees when he tried to lift Jay onto his back. Okada irish whipped Jay into the ropes and followed up with the dropkick, but Jay hung onto the ropes and Okada just landed on his back. Gedo yelled for Jay to do the Rainmaker, but Okada countered Jay’s Rainmaker into the tombstone Piledriver, then applied Money Clip. Jay was able to reach the bottom rope to break the hold, however. Okada hit a rolling lariat and applied the Money Clip again, but Gedo distracted the referee and Jay broke the hold with a low blow. Jay went for the Blade Runner, but Okada blocked it applied the Money Clip again from a standing position. Still in the hold, Jay hit the SSS suplex and the Blade Runner for the victory, which made the crowd react in shock. Jay 6 points, Okada 2 points

Jay White got on the microphone and thanked Okada for wrestling him when two years ago, almost on the same day of the year, Gedo turned on Okada and teamed up with Jay. He said that he is the present and the future, and that Okada is history.

Standings

A Block:
6 points – Taichi, Jay White
4 points – Will Ospreay, Minoru Suzuki, Kota Ibushi
2 points – Kazuchika Okada, Jeff Cobb, Shingo Takagi
0 points – Tomohiro Ishii, Yujiro Takahashi

B Block:
4 points – Tetsuya Naito, Juice Robinson, Toru Yano
2 points – Hirooki Goto, KENTA, Zack Sabre Jr., EVIL
0 points – YOSHI-HASHI, SANADA, Hiroshi Tanahashi

Ryback Has Harsh Words About Triple H & Vince McMahon

Andrew Ravens
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Ryback decided to go on social media and give his true feelings about Triple H and Vince McMahon. 

The former WWE star made it clear in his various responses to fans that he is a fan of pro wrestling, but isn’t fond of WWE. Coming from someone who actually worked at the company, he would know how things work behind the scenes. 

At one point, he went after the WWE Chairman and CEO. In fact, he thinks the world, not just the pro wrestling business, will be a better place when McMahon passes away. He did note that this opinion isn’t him having a death wish for McMahon. 

“It was ALWAYS the talent. He just created a platform as a human circus that he modified from his father. The guy is a piece of shit, can’t stress this enough. World will be a better place when he passes. This isn’t wishing death, but stating an opinion I believe to be true.”

Ryback also went after Triple H, who currently oversees NXT, as “The Game” is likely the person to take over the company when McMahon does pass away. 

“Pussy Paul is not the savior to anything. He will go down with the ship.”

Ryback had a successful run in the WWE that ended once he decided to depart from the company in 2016. He has since focused on his podcast and YouTube channel. You can see his tweets here: 

WWE Clash Of Champions Final Card

Andrew Ravens
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The card for Sunday’s (September 27, 2020) WWE Clash of Champions pay-per-view event has been finalized.

The company hasn’t officially announced the main event of this event that takes place in Orlando, Florida at the Amway Center that will air on the WWE Network but it will most likely be WWE Champion Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton in an Ambulance Match. 

As a reminder, we will be providing live play-by-play coverage of this special on Sunday evening starting at 6 PM EST. Here is the final card for the show:

Final WWE Clash Of Champions Card

  • WWE Champion Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton – Ambulance Match
  • WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso
  • WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley vs. Nikki Cross
  • WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler vs. Liv Morgan & Ruby Riot
  • WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champions Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Lucha House Party
  • WWE Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy vs. AJ Styles vs. Sami Zayn – Ladder Match
  • WWE RAW Tag Team Champions The Street Profits vs. Andrade and Angel Garza
  • WWE United States Champion Bobby Lashley vs. Apollo Crews
  • WWE RAW Women’s Champion Asuka vs. Zelina Vega – Kickoff Show

WWE Reschedules NXT UK TakeOver To 2021, New Head Writer Named

Damien Priest Talks Speaking To Edge Before Takeover Ladder Match

Jake Skudder
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NXT North American Championship Damien Priest recently appeared on the Gorilla Position podcast. The former Ring of Honor star discussed a number of topics during his time on the show, including the Takeover ladder match where he won his North American Championship.

Damien Priest on Ladder Matches

Damien Priest would reveal that he studied past ladder matches ahead of the bout at NXT Takeover: XXX. “Any great matches, it’s hard to pick one. It depends on the circumstance” Damien Priest began, describing which matches he looked at in particular. “Why they’re actually in the ladder match? I find that more intriguing than anything. The story behind it.”

“Then of course the match has to deliver you know” Priest would continue. “But those are a lot of the matches that I looked at [psychology wise]. A lot of Edge matches or Undertaker matches you know? Like putting them in a ‘different’ atmosphere, to see how they reacted. Now Edge obviously was a little bit more accustomed to it.”

Damien Priest would then reveal that he actually contacted Edge before the match for his input. Edge of course has a long history of ladder match experience; the first ever tag team ladder match, the WrestleMania 2000, Summerslam 2000 TLC and Unforgiven TLC match against John Cena to name a few.

“Seeing that we’re very similar size and style? I kind of watched a lot of his stuff to see how he [Edge] manoeuvred” Priest stated. “How he structured stuff and his thought process going in. Then I got to talk to him about it and question him and ask him. I spent about an hour on the phone with him!”

Do you think that Damien Priest will be a top star on RAW or Smackdown in the future? Let us know in the comments

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