AEW World Champion Jon Moxley’s match against Brian Cage has been postponed until Wednesday, July 15th. The bout was initially scheduled to headline Fyter Fest, a special event spanning 2 weeks of AEW Dynamite.
This is due to Moxley having been potentially exposed to COVID-19 through his spouse, Renee Young. She recently tested positive for the virus, as did several others who had been at the WWE Performance Center. Jon Moxley has taken several COVID-19 tests since then. Those tests were negative. However, he made the call to self-quarantine in an effort to protect the AEW locker room.
Moxley vs. Cage will instead take place on the 7/15 episode of Dynamite. This show is now being promoted as Fight for the Fallen. As part of the FFTF theme, AEW will be raising funds for COVID-19 relief efforts.
This week on AEW Dynamite, Taz and his client Brian Cage came to the ring to promote the rescheduled match. During his promo, Taz mentioned that Moxley has already tested negative for the virus twice. Taz continued to say that if Moxley had shown up to Daily’s Place, he would have been tested again because “we don’t run a sloppy shop.”
As Taz said that line, Brian Cage made the “finger gun” motion, perhaps insinuating the comments were a “shoot.”
According to comments made by Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez on Wrestling Observer Radio, the line really upset some in the wrestling industry.
“Boy, were there people upset with that line,” Meltzer said.
“That’s ridiculous. Doing jack s**t until you had an outbreak and now you’re upset that people point that out?” added Alvarez.
“Yes, there were people very upset with that line,” Meltzer responded.
“If you explain to a doctor what they did, the term would be ‘morally reprehensible’ because that’s the term that I was given,” Meltzer continued regarding WWE’s previous COVID-19 policies.
It appears as though WWE Superstar Kairi Sane’s future with the company is still very much up in the air. Fightfulrecently described the situation for the Japanese Superstar as “complicated” in nature.
Kairi Sane hasn’t been featured on WWE television since sustaining an injury against Nia Jax on RAW. That match took place at the end of May; with Sane having to receive treatment for the head injury she sustained.
Prior to the injury, there were plans for Sane to have a change of role within WWE. The ‘Pirate Princess’ was expected to return to Japan and be an ‘ambassador’ for WWE. This reportedly was the case as of May before the injury.
As of this writing, it is unclear as to whether the move was to coincide with the rumored NXT Japan expansion. WWE did note that there are no plans for the Japanese version of the brand currently due to the ongoing COVID-19 Coronavirus situation.
There are many within WWE who want to see Kairi Sane continue to wrestle for the company; although at this time there is no confirmation either way on how she will proceed.
Sammy Guevara is currently suspended without pay from AEW due to comments he made about Sasha Banks. Guevara commented on a podcast 4 years ago that he wanted to “rape” Sasha. It was an ill-advised joke that drew the ire of many.
Banks and Guevara spoke about the situation and Guevara apologized. During a recent interview with SI.com, Banks commented further on why she responded in the way she did.
“For me, being a role model and a leader is what I have to give back to the universe,” said Banks. “It’s not easy to be so exposed and so open and so raw, but I’m here to show people that I’m a real person, too. I am just lucky and fortunate enough to be living my dream in front of millions of people. If that connects with people, if that resonates, all I can do is be myself and hopefully show people that no matter what they go through–whether it’s good, bad, or hard–we’re all in this together.”
“Earlier I spoke with Sammy, he apologized and we had an open discussion. Words like the comments he made, jokingly or not, have absolutely no place in our society! I don’t condone or tolerate this kind of behaviour. What one thinks is just a side comment can have a massive impact on someone else’s life, and can send the wrong message.
We have to hold ourselves accountable for our actions and the words we say, and I hope this situation shows him that. I hope from this point on, ignorer for growth and change within our community to take place, we all can continue to have these conversations. No person, man, woman, or child should ever be subjected to a feeling of fear, or any unsafe environment. We all have to do better not just for ourselves, but for generations to come.
Sincerely, Mercedes Varnado”
For his part, Guevara has release several statements apologizing to fans and Banks.
“Whenever I do come back, I will be better. I’m going to do sensitivity training and I’m going to be a better version of myself,” Guevara said.
Today, New Japan Pro-Wrestling will hold the seventh day of the 2020 New Japan Cup. The New Japan Cup is NJPW’s annual 32-man single elimination tournament, usually scheduled for the Spring. The winner will challenge Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Championships at NJPW Dominion on July 12. Today’s card will hold the four quarterfinal matches.
Watch exclusively on NJPW World with Japanese commentary. English commentary will be recorded and uploaded to NJPW World this week. Note: This event was held in an empty arena.
New Japan Cup 2020 Day 7 Results
Quarterfinal Match: Hiromu Takahashi def. Tomohiro Ishii (19:29) Hiromu charged Ishii immediately, but his recklessness resulted in him making one of the worst possible decisions: challenging Ishii to a chop battle. Ishii decisively won said battle and started Hiromu off on the back foot, showing Hiromu he’d need to be more tactical to win. The more you watch these two together, you realize that they’re not that different in size for supposedly being in two different weight classes. Hiromu went to repeatedly applying an armbar known as D to Ishii’s right arm, but was unable to disable Ishii’s lariats. Ishii went for the brainbuster, but Hiromu reversed it and lifted Ishii for the Dynamite Plunger and a near fall. Hiromu went for the Time Bomb but Ishii stuffed it, only for Hiromu to floor him with a loud headbutt. Hiromu hit the Time Bomb but Ishii kicked out of it at two, being the only second person after Will Ospreay to kick out of it. Ishii briefly fired back up, only for Hiromu to drop him on his head with the Time Bomb II. Hiromu Takahashi advances to the semifinals.
Quarterfinal Match: EVIL def. YOSHI-HASHI (2:00) YOSHI-HASHI was limping to the ring during his entrance, clearly feeling the effects of hyperextending it during his match with BUSHI yesterday. At the bell, EVIL pushed the referee out of the ring and immediately laid into YOSHI-HASHI’s right leg with a steel chair. From there, EVIL put YOSHI-HASHI in the Darkness Scorpion (sharpshooter) for a solid minute. He kept fighting and didn’t tap out, but the referee saw there was no way out for him and called the match: EVIL won by referee stoppage. EVIL advances to the semifinals.
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi & BUSHI) def.SHO, Hirooki Goto & Yuya Uemura (9:34) BUSHI entered holding EVIL’s NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championship in addition to his own, so every member of LIJ in this match were holding two belts, and it made for a cool visual. No one in this match is in the New Japan Cup running anymore, so there’s no future matches to speak of, but it was well-worked and everyone looked good, especially Yuya Uemura, SHO, and Shingo. BUSHI pinned Yuya Uemura with a spin-out codebreaker. Afterwards, SHO squared up to Shingo Takagi yet again and Shingo held up both his NEVER Openweight and NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team championships at SHO, as if asking him which one he wanted.
Quarterfinal Match: Kazuchika Okada def. Taiji Ishimori (16:52) Okada entered through the stairs opposite the entrance stage, where the orange seats are, and gestured towards a crowd that wasn’t there. Okada took control of the match early on, but within the first five minutes Gedo was out and hit Okada with a spanner while Ishimori distracted the referee. The match evened out from then on, and Ishii was able to get a momentary Yes Lock on before Okada made it to the ropes to break the hold. Okada hit the reverse neckbreaker and went for the top rope elbow drop, but Gedo lurked in the corner and got Okada’s attention, allowing Ishimori to push Okada off the apron and hit a triangle moonsault. Ishimori hit a beautiful La Mistica into the Yes Lock (yes, that Yes Lock) but Okada was able to get his foot on the bottom rope yet again. Okada hit a standing dropkick and the tombstone piledriver, but Gedo got on the top rope and Okada broke the hold to go after him, but reapplied it. He went to flip Ishimori over to get him further away from the ropes, but as he did so, Ishimori pulled the referee’s shirt, flipping his over as well. Gedo came in with a pair of brass knuckles as the referee was down, but Okada dropkicked him to avoid the attack. Finally, Okada hit another dropkick on Ishimori and put him in the cobra clutch for the submission victory. Kazuchika Okada advances to face Hiromu Takahashi in the semifinals.
Quarterfinal Match: SANADA def. Taichi (22:50) The match began with Taichi attempting to be underhanded as usual, trying to choke SANADA with the ropes and tying him up in the ropes to immobilize him, only for it to backfire when SANADA put him in an upside down Paradise Lock while hung up in the ropes. Taichi often has these moments in matches where he realizes that fighting fairly might actually be more effective than cheating, despite it being outside his nature, and this was one of those moments. As Taichi went back to his tried-and-true kicks and backdrop drivers, he began to gain advantage, and went for the Black Mephisto but SANADA blocked it. SANADA hit a corner moonsault into the Skull End but Yoshinobu Kanemaru, who was on commentary, jumped onto the apron. He didn’t do anything, but the referee who was focused on removing him didn’t notice Taichi tapping out in the Skull End. SANADA broke the hold but Taichi hit a backdrop driver on him and his own Skull End, which lasted a good while before SANADA was able to put his foot on the rope to break it. Taichi followed up with a bridging backdrop driver, an homage to Jumbo Tsuruta, but SANADA kicked out at two. Kanemaru tried to distract SANADA again, but SANADA was too smart this time. He pushed Taichi into Kanemaru and pinned him with a bridging O’Connor roll. SANADA advances to face EVIL in the semifinals.
Scheduled for tomorrow, the two semifinal matches are SANADA vs. EVIL and Hiromu Takahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada. Two other matches will also take place.
Night 1 of Fyter Fest aired live from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville. It was announced that the AEW Championship match between Jon Moxley ( and Brian Cage was postponed to AEW Fight for the Fallen on July 15th. Kenny Omega & Hangman Page defended their AEW Tag Team Championships against Best Friends in the main event. Taz took an epic shot at WWE’s COVID-19 testing and said AEW doesn’t run a “sloppy shop” in a promo tonight.
Hikaru Shida def. Penelope Ford to retain the AEW Women’s Championship
Cody def. Jake Hager to retain the TNT Championship
Private Party def. Santana & Ortiz to earn a shot at the tag titles next week
Hangman Page & Kenny Omega def. Best Friends to retain the AEW Tag Team Championships
Here are 5 takeaways from Night 1 of Fyter Fest:
Jurassic Express Picked Up A Win
MJF and Wardlow came down to the ring to begin Fyter Fest. Maxwell complained about having to face Jungle Boy again and figured that he would have more fun at home counting his daddy’s money. MJF said he was confused why this match was even happening and then realized it is happening because it is happening because they are in a ratings war. MJF added that AEW expects to get a win because they are leading off with him. Wardlow and MJF faced Luchasaurus & Jungle Boy in a tag team match.
Match Recap: Jungle Boy leveled MJF with a Clothesline but MJF knocked him out of the ring. Wardlow launched Jungle Boy into the ring post and rolled him back inside. MJF and Wardlow took turns beating MJF down before Luchasaurus tagged in. Luchasaurus booted Wardlow in the side of the head and knocked him to the canvas. Wardlow got back and traded punches with Luchasaurus in the middle of the ring.
Luchasaurus connected with another kick to Wardlow’s face and followed it up with a slam. Jungle Boy tagged in and Clothesline MJF to the outside. Jungle Boy hit two Suicide Dives and followed it up with a flip onto MJF before the action returned to the ring. Luchasaurus then hit Wardlow with a massive Senton as an AEW chant broke out.
Back in the ring, Jungle Boy hit MJF with a Cutter but Wardlow broke up the cover. Wardlow set up for the F10 but Jungle Boy countered into a Hurricanrana. Wardlow immediately hopped up and leveled Jungle Boy with a Clothesline. Jungle Boy planted MJF with a Destroyer as Marko Stunt tried to hit Wardlow with a Crossbody. He caught him and sent Marko flying onto Jungle Boy outside the ring.
MJF hit Luchasaurus with a low blow and rolled him up but he kicked out at two. Wardlow hit Luchasaurus with a Senton off the top rope but Luchasaurus kicked out once again. MJF put on the Dynamite Diamond Ring but accidentally hit Wardlow. Jungle Boy sent MJF out of the ring and planted Wardlow with a DDT. Luchasaurus then hit Wardlow with a Shooting Star Press for the pinfall victory.
Opinion: Fyter Fest started off with an excellent tag team match that once again showed how ridiculously well MJF and Jungle Boy work together. I’m looking forward to watching many more matches between those two in the years to come.
Hikaru Shida Retained In A Great Match With Penelope Ford
Hikaru Shida defended the AEW Women’s Championship against Penelope Ford tonight at Fyter Fest. Kip Sabian wanted to be ringside but referee Aubrey Edwards immediately kicked him out. Sabian took Shida’s kendo stick backstage with him.
Match Recap: Shida dominated the action early and hit Ford with a knee to the face. Penelope rolled out of the ring and Hikaru hit her with a Dropkick through the ropes. Back in the ring, Ford battled back and bounced Shida’s face off the top turnbuckle several times. Penelope hit a running kick (Helluva Kick) and went for the cover but Shida kicked out at two.
When Fyter Fest returned, Penelope Ford was in control and had Shida in a Headlock. Hikaru broke free but Ford planted her with a reverse DDT for a near fall. Ford went for a Stunner but Shida countered into a Sleeper Hold. Shida hit a Backbreaker and went for the cover but Ford kicked out at two. Shida went for the Falcon Arrow but Ford countered into a roll-up for a near fall. Ford followed it up with a Stunner for a near fall. Penelope got out of the ring and grabbed the title. Referee Aubrey Edwards stopped her as Kip Sabian rushed the ring. Shida took the kendo stick out of his hand and hit him over the head with it. Penelope capitalized on the distraction and hit another Stunner for a two count. Penelope climbed to the top rope and went for a Moonsault but Shida got out of the way. Shida hit a knee to the face and followed it up with a Falcon Arrow but Penelope kicked out at two. Hikaru then hit Ford with a running knee to the face for the pinfall victory. Hikaru Shida is still the AEW Women’s Champion.
Opinion: Penelope Ford has been making a name for herself on recent episodes of Dynamite and she put on a great match with Hikaru Shida tonight. AEW has been criticized for not putting enough emphasis on their women’s division and hopefully it continues to get better over time. Ford and Shida delivered a great title match tonight and this performance should help Penelope become a bigger star.
Match Recap: Hager controlled the match early and beat Cody down in the corner of the ring. Cody battled back and knocked Jake out of the ring. Cody hit him with a Crossbody and brought Jake back into the ring. Cody went for another Crossbody but Jake caught him. Cody escaped and locked in the Figure Four in the middle of the ring. Jake attacked Arn Anderson and sent him into the barricade. Hager then planted Cody with a German Suplex on the floor outside the ring as Fyter Fest went to a break.
When Fyter Fest returned, Hager was in control and brought Cody out of the ring. Jake was about to slam Cody into the ring post but Arn got in the way. Cody sent Hager into the ring post and rolled him back into the ring. Cody leaped off the top rope and hit Jake with a Cutter and followed it up with a Powerslam for a two count.
Jake battled back with a Hager Bomb for a near fall. Cody planted Hager with a reverse DDT and went for the cover but Hager kicked out at two. Hager applied an Ankle Lock but Cody fought through the pain and grabbed the bottom rope to break the hold. Catalina slapped Cody in the face as Dustin Rhodes in the face. Hager locked in a choke but Cody countered into a pin for the victory. Hager thought he won the match and punched the referee in the face.
Opinion: Every Cody match takes me back a couple of decades and I love it. His matches are physical and almost always involve some kind of shenanigans like what we saw at the end of this match tonight. I’m assuming Hager is going to be “suspended” due to his actions after the match.
Private Party Earned A Shot At The AEW Tag Titles At Night 2 Of Fyter Fest
Private Party (w/ Matt Hardy) faced Santana & Ortiz tonight on Fyter Fest. Orange Cassidy came down to the announce table and sat near Chris Jericho to piss him off.
Match Recap: Private Party controlled the action early as Quen hit a Moonsault off the middle rope but Santana kicked out at two. Ortiz tagged in and planted Kassidy with a DDT. Private Party battled back during the commercial break and took control of the match. When Fyter Fest returned, Ortiz and Quen were battling in the ring.
Santana tagged in and hit Marq with a chop to the chest. Isiah tagged in and launched Ortiz out of the ring. Kassidy hit Santana with several shots to the face and followed it up with a spinning dive onto Ortiz and Santana outside the ring. Back in the ring, Kassidy hit Ortiz with a Swanton Bomb for a near fall.
Ortiz Powerbombed Quen and Santana followed it up with a Cannonball in the corner of the ring. Santana sent Kassidy into the barricade and brought the madball into the ring. Matt Hardy ripped it away as Kassidy hit Ortiz with a Slingblade. Private Party then planted Santana with Gin & Juice for the pinfall victory.
Omega & Hangman Retained The AEW Tag Team Championships
Kenny Omega and Hangman Page defended their AEW Tag Team Championships against Best Friends in the main event of Night 1 of Fyter Fest. Trent’s mom drove Best Friends to Daily’s Place.
Match Recap: Omega and Chuck started the match off by trading shots in the ring. Trent and Hangman tagged in and Trent connected with a Belly to Back Suplex. Chuck tagged in and planted Hangman with a Suplex for a two count. Hangman battled back with a Suplex of his own and tagged Omega in. Kenny sent Chuck to the outside and hit Trent with a Backbreaker for a two count.
Omega sent Trent to the canvas and tagged in Page. Hangman connected with a Shooting Star Press and went for the cover but Trent kicked out at two. FTR showed up with a couple of lawn chairs and a cooler and took a seat next to the announce table. When Dynamite returned from a break, Trent leveled Hangman with a Clothesline as FTR enjoyed some beer on the stage.
Chuck flipped onto Omega and Page outside the ring and then beat Hangman down against the barricade. Trent hit Omega with a Suicide Dive and then Chuck sent Kenny flying onto Hangman. Back in the ring, Hangman planted Trent with a Fallaway Slam and followed it up with a massive Clothesline.
Omega tagged in and planted Trent with a Brainbuster for a two count. Omega went for a Moonsault but Trent got his knees up. Trent hit Omega with a knee to the face and tagged in Chuck. Taylor hit Omega with a Piledriver for another near fall. Omega battled back with a Snap Dragon Suplex. Trent tagged in and walked right into a Snap Dragon Suplex from Omega.
Hangman tagged in and hit Best Friends with a Splash in the corner. Chuck dragged Omega out of the ring and Best Friends hit Strong Zero on Hangman but Kenny broke up the cover at the last moment. Chuck planted Omega with the Awful Waffle that sent Kenny out of the ring. Hangman booted Chuck out of the ring and hit Trent with an elbow to the face.
Page went for a Powerbomb but Trent escaped. Trent rolled up Hangman for a near fall. Hangman battled back and connected with the Dead Eye for a two count. Page leveled Trent with the Buckshot Lariat for the pinfall victory. Page and Omega are still AEW Tag Team Champions and will defend the titles against Private Party next week at Night 2 of Fyter Fest.
After the match, FTR came down to the ring and offered Omega and Hangman a beer. The champions accepted and Hangman guzzled down the beer as Kenny poured it on the floor outside the ring. FTR got pissed off but Young Bucks rushed the ring and broke it up. The teams argued as Night 1 of Fyter Fest went off the air.
Opinion: Night 1 of Fyter Fest featured several great matches and I’m definitely looking forward to Night 2 next week. It sucks that the AEW Championship match was delayed a week but it was the right call with Moxley’s wife, Renee Young, testing positive for COVID-19. There are still several matches that should be great on next week’s show.
The July 1, 2020 episode of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from the Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University.
WWE NXT Results (7/1)
Tegan Nox def. Dakota Kai, Mia Yim and Candice LeRae – Fatal 4-Way Elimination Match
Timothy Thatcher def. Oney Lorcan
Rhea Ripley def. Robert Stone & Aliyah
Dexter Lumis def. Roderick Strong – Strap Match
Io Shirai def. Sasha Banks
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Handicap Match
Rhea Ripley
The fallout from Rhea Ripley no longer being in the hunt for the NXT Women’s Title continued she has been booked into a feud with Aliyah. The stipulation heading into this contest was the fact that Ripley must join Robert Stone’s faction if she lost.
Yes, the same Robert Stone who had been drinking because of sadness after being dropped by Chelsea Green, who was supposed to be headed to the main roster only to be forgotten about on NXT television and not called up yet.
The match was a fine comedy match with Ripley going over.
Heading into the contest, most fans didn’t think that Ripley, who is a much bigger star and arguably the second biggest star on the NXT women’s roster right now, would lose to Aliyah in this contest.
Not only for the fact that Aliyah hadn’t been built up as a serious player in the division up until this point, but also because Stone has been booked as a comedy figure since losing his client in Green.
The most random yet somewhat hyped up bout on the card was Oney Lorcan vs. Timothy Thatcher in a singles match.
It was set up on Twitter after Lorcan, who hasn’t done much as of late, randomly went on a rant about Thatcher for his submission school videos that have been airing on NXT TV as of late. This led to NXT GM William Regal making the booking.
The match was fine but stiff. Rightfully so, Thatcher, who needs something to happen aside from those videos, wentover with his armbar finisher.
While it was the clear outcome, it was the right call by the NXT creative team.
There was a Fatal 4-Way Elimination Match between Mia Yim, Tegan Nox, Candice LeRae and Dakota Kai. The winner of this match would become the number 1 contender for Io Shirai’s NXT Women’s Championship.
As expected, a fun yet chaotic filled contest with all women hitting some cool spots and a few near falls. LeRae was first eliminated and followed by Yim.
In the end, it was Knox who ended up winning the contest to become the new #1 contender for the NXT Women’s Title currently held by Shirai. The finish of the match saw Knox hit a shining wizard for the win.
This was an interesting match booking as it came on the same show as Shirai vs. Sasha Banks in a non-title bout. Obviously, Knox will challenge Shirai down the line, but it will be interesting to see when the contest actually takes place.
Just one week after their first match, WWE booked Dexter Lumis vs. Roderick Strong in a Strap Match on this show.
Last week’s NXT saw Lumis win their singles match by count-out, which set up this interesting contest. WWE had hyped it as the first of its kind in the history of the black and yellow brand. And clearly due to the outcome of their previous match, it made sense although the two stars had their work cut out for them.
So how was the match? It was interesting. Not the most exciting thing you’ll ever see especially due to the Michael Myers’ like personality in which Lumis works, but Strong made it interesting and had to do so in order to make this match some kind of entertaining.
Lumis went over in the contest that opened the second hour.
One of the biggest matches booked on this show was WWE Women’s Tag team Champion Sasha Banks taking on current NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai in a non-title match.
Clearly, Banks hasn’t done anything as a singles competitor in NXT as of late so it did make sense as to why this was a non-title match.
The match was very good but you could tell that these two stars could put on an even better match should they go again. The finish saw Asuka come out from nowhere to spray mist in the face of Banks. This allowed Io to hit a moonsault off the top rope for the win.
This match was booked after Shirai attacked Banks and Bayley two weeks ago following them successfully defending the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles against Tegan Nox & Shotzi Blackheart.
It was an interesting match booking especially with NXT crowning a new #1 contender for the title on the same show. the clear outcome, it was the right decision on the part of NXT creative.
In a precautionary move, AEW has decided that the scheduled match between Jon Moxley and Brian Cage should be slightly delayed.
Moxley was supposed to make his next title defense against Brian Cage as the AEW World Heavyweight Champion next week on night 2 of AEW Fyter Fest.
However, the promotion announced on Wednesday that the match has been moved back until the July 15th episode of Dynamite, which is now being hyped as Fight For The Fallen.
IN TWO WEEKS! Your #AEW World Champion @JonMoxley will defend his championship at #AEWFightForTheFallen against 'The Machine' @MrGMSI_BCage.
Last week it was revealed that Renee Young tested positive for COVID-19 and since he lives with her, Moxley took a test, but his results came back negative.
Moxley was informed by AEW’s doctor to start isolating himself. The original plan was if Moxley didn’t test positive or show symptoms for the virus, he was set to go ahead with performing for his title match on the July 2nd set of TV tapings. Clearly, that’s not happening.
AEW Fyter Fest Night 2 Card
FTR and The Young Bucks vs. The Lucha Brothers & The Butcher & The Blade – Eight-Man Tag Team Match
Samoa Joe made an appearance on Wednesday’s episode of WWE’s The Bump where he discussed a wide range of topics.
During the interview, he talked about his transition from being an active in-ring performer into a commentator. It turns out that injuries led to the move.
Initially, he made only a few appearances in this role, but later permanently replaced WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler in the spot.
“I’ve had zero media aspirations,” Joe admitted. “I just drift through life, and things just hit me as they come. I got on the commentary table – it was funny when the light shined on me, I started to hear the angels sing, I said to myself, ‘You know, this might be a good fit.’
I then put my headset on, and Vince [McMahon] came through and said, ‘You know, this feels right.’ I was like, ‘I know!’
Joe continued by noting that it’s been a weird journey, odyssey, and a quest, but he’s trying to take the world along with him as he has a very descriptive mind. He added that when he sees things, his observations are quick to come right out of his mouth and it’s working out well.
The “RAW: Must Be Monday” commercial that was filmed in February and released in March was where Joe suffered his latest concussion after going through a table.
Maria Kanellis has taken to social media to comment on being released just a few months after giving birth to her second child.
Both Maria and Mike were part of a large number of releases back in April. At the time, WWE claimed that this was due to budget cuts as a result of the coronavirus.
The former WWE star took to her official Twitter account where she called out the company. At the time, she was two months removed after giving birth. She later teased that she would elaborate on that some time soon.
Maria also claimed that WWE not only made the cuts during a pandemic but also told her another child would not be an issue.
She first wrote, “Did you ever hear the one about the woman that was released from WWE during a pandemic 2 months postpartum after being told having another baby wasn’t an issue…? #milkmoney #moreonthatlater #onlywrestlingcompanythatreleasedpeople #NonEssentialFamily.”
A fan responded to her tweet by bringing up the fact that their release was part of cost-cutting measures. However, Maria brought up how WWE was the only company to release people.
Maria wrote, “[Their] record numbers say differently. P.S. no other wrestling company released anyone!!”
It should be noted that WWE is on track to have its most profitable year of all-time thanks to television deals with the USA Network and FOX.
Jake Roberts has previously worked for WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon, but is now under contract with WWE’s latest rival promotion, AEW.
The WWE Hall of Famer recently did an interview with the Wrestling Inc Daily podcast. This is where he spoke about the latest attempt done by WWE to counter-program AEW with NXT content.
Over the next two weeks, AEW will be airing its Fyter Fest show on TNT while WWE will be airing editions of NXT with its Great American Bash thme. According to the legendary pro wrestler, WWE is feeling the heat.
“Well, they feel the heat. You know, competition is good for everybody. It makes people step up their game. Obviously, I’m gonna tell you who I’m going for – AEW and just because I want to.
I think they have a good product. It’s a different product and different is good, especially with where WWE is and different is good. At the end of the day, competition is good because it just makes people go out there and work harder and that’s great for the fans. The fans reap the benefits of that.”
WWE announced the special weeks after All Elite Wrestling had already announced and was building matches for its Fyter Fest.
Once AEW signed a television deal with TNT, WWE was quick to react as they signed a deal with the USA network in order to counter-program the rival promotion.
“Killer” Tim Brooks passed away yesterday at the age of 72. He had entered hospice care back in February due to declining health.
His family released the following statement on Facebook to announce the news:
“It is with a heavy heart that we the Brooks family announce that our father, loving husband, brother and friend has made his depart from this earth to the heavens. From the Brooks family we want to say thank you for all the prayers, love and support through these terrible times. Dad was the toughest man I have ever met he fought cancer like I have seen no other.”
“With all the accomplishments he has made through his 73 years on this earth from being a army veteran of the Vietnam war to holding just about every championship belt through professional wrestling and a hall-of-famer. Most of all he was a God-fearing man a wonderful husband to his wife of 13 years Julie, the best father and grandfather to us kids. He will be missed dearly by so many. We will keep everybody updated on arrangements as they’re made thanks again for the love and support. #killertimbrooks#lovinghusband#lovingdad
Sincerely Brooks family”
“Killer” Tim Brooks Has Passed Away
Brooks was honored earlier this year for his contributions to wrestling by the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in Witchita Falls, Texas. He was a big star in the 70s and 80s with promotions such as WCCW, WWC, and various NWA territories. Additionally, he’s a former North American Champion with Stampede Wrestling, the promotion’s top title. Brooks is also a former NWA National Heavyweight Champion.
AEW paid tribute to Brooks online:
AEW joins the wrestling world in mourning the death of “Killer” Tim Brooks. Our thoughts are with his family, his friends and his fans. pic.twitter.com/UNej0sSQBN
AEW released its official top-5 rankings ahead of tonight’s first night of Fyter Fest.
AEW World Champion: Jon Moxley (13-0) TNT Champion: Cody (13-1)
MJF (7-0)
Brian Cage (5-0)
Lance Archer (8-1)
Brodie Lee (5-1)
Chris Jericho (2-1)
There was no change in the men’s single’s rankings this week. The top wrestlers in the men’s single’s rankings are starting to show a noticeable trend. Moxley, MJF, and Brian Cage are all undefeated in 2020. Cody, Archer, Brodie Lee, and Chris Jericho only have one loss each. Archer, Lee, and Jericho’s one loss each all came from Moxley. Cody’s loss came to the still undefeated MJF.
World Champion Jon Moxley, TNT Champion Cody, #1 MJF, and #5 Chris Jericho all had the week off.
#2 Brian Cage defeated Jon Cruz on Dynamite. #3 Lance Archer defeated Pineapple Pete on Dark.
#4 Brodie Lee teamed with Colt Cabana and defeated Joey Janela and Sonny Kiss on Dynamite. Lee and Cabana will be joined by Stu Grayson to take on SCU next week at Fyter Fest.
Moxley will defend against #2 Brian Cage at Fyter Fest (unless the match gets postponed due to Moxley’s situation) on the 2nd night of Fyter Fest.
#5 Chris Jericho is scheduled to face Orange Cassidy on the 2nd night of Fyter Fest.
TNT Champion Cody is scheduled to defend against the unranked Jake Hager tonight.
AEW Women’s Division
Champion: Hikaru Shida (12-1)
Nyla Rose (6-2)
Penelope Ford (4-3)
Big Swole (4-3)
Kris Statlander (4-4) (injured)
Britt Baker (4-4) (injured)
There was no change in the women’s rankings this week.
Champion Hikaru Shida picked up a rather quick victory over Red Velvet on Dynamite. She’ll defend against #2 Penelope Ford on tonight’s Fyter Fest card.
#2 Nyla Rose is scheduled to face an opponent TBA on the 2nd night of Fyter Fest. She is also said to have an announcement to make.
AEW Tag Team Division
Champions: Kenny Omega & Hangman Page (8-0)
Best Friends (10-3)
The Dark Order (6-0)
Young Bucks (4-2)
The Natural Nightmares (5-1)
Private Party (4-2)
There was no change in the tag-team rankings this week either. FTR defeated SCU but still remain outside the top-5.
#3 the Young Bucks picked up a victory over Peter Avalon & Brandon Cutler on Dark. They will team with FTR to take on the Butcher and the Blade and Lucha Bros next week at Fyter Fest.
Tonight at Fyter Fest, Champions Kenny Omega and Hangman Page will look to defend against the #1 ranked Best Friends.
#5 Private Party are scheduled to face Proud and Powerful tonight at Fyter Fest.
As Impact Wrestling gets closer to Slammiversary on July 18th, the company continues to tease new wrestlers coming into the promotion. Impact has lost a lot of talent in the last year to other companies. Departing names over the last year include the Lucha Bros, Brian Cage, John Morrison (aka Johnny Impact) and more. Over the last week, they have parted ways with Michael Elgin and former World Champion Tessa Blanchard as well.
Now, Impact seems poised to shake up its roster with a fresh influx of talent. EC3’s return seems set. Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows are all but confirmed to be headed to Impact. Heath Slater has heavily teased he could be on his way to the company. This week, Eric Young’s return to the promotion was teased as well.
Impact Results 6/30:
Chris Bey defeated Suicide
TJP & Fallah Bah defeated Reno Scum
TNA World Championship (Unofficial) Moose (c) defeated Crazzy Steve
A 5-way world title match had been planned for Slammiversary. In the time since the match was announced, however, 2 of the 5 wrestlers scheduled for the match have departed the company. This week, Impact announced that the 3 remaining wrestlers (Eddie Edwards, Ace Austin, and Trey Miguel) will be joined by a 4th mystery person in the match. With all the names being teased as on their way o the promotion, this mystery wrestler could be anyone.
In the last few weeks, the most notable moments on Impact’s weekly television program take place right at the end of the show. This week, superhero music was played as we saw Eric Young’s old “Super Eric” costume hanging. Just before the show concluded, a hand and arm are shown reaching for the gear.
Also this week, Eric Young vs Magnus for the TNA World Heavyweight title was the Flashback moment of the week on Twitch.
Other teases for this week, included Scott D’Amore talking to “a couple of good brothers” on the phone in a backstage segment. This week on social media, there have been teases that Heath Slater, Taynara Conti, and maybe (maybe not) Lance Storm as well.
The tagline for Slammiversary is “Our World Will Change” but you could change the word “World” with “Roster.”
Tommy Dreamer Cuts Scathing Promo On Moose
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFaztPhVKMw
Moose picked up a victory over Crazzy Steve this week. While Moose is not an official World Champion, he has been successfully defending his self-awarded title for weeks now. After the match was over, Moose continued the assault on Steve. This brought out Tommy Dreamer to make the save. Moose then turned his attention to Dreamer and beat him down as well.
After Dreamer recovered, he cut a scathing promo on Moose. Dreamer said that Moose had all the talent in the world and that’s why he’s been successful. He also said that Moose will be a footnote in the history of the NFL and pro-wrestling because he is a “waste of talent.” Moose would later cut a backstage promo demanding that Dreamer make a public apology to him.
Sami Callihan & Ken Shamrock Join Forces Against The North
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-FdSzoCDvQ
The North cut an in-ring promo this week addressing their recent attack on Ken Shamrock. Shamrock came out to confront the tag champions but before he could even hit the ring, the lights went out. Sami Callihan’s face was briefly shown as he said the line “who needs friends when you’ve got an enemy?”
When the lights came back on, Callihan and Shamrock were side by side in the ring. The two fought off the tag champs and took them out of the ring. As Shamrock and Callihan stood tall in the ring, Callihan did his thumbs up/thumbs down taunt, the lights went out and when they came back on Callihan was gone.
It was later announced that the North will defend their tag titles against Callihan and Shamrock at Slammiversary.
Trey Miguel Is Ready For Slammiversary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqIKlJEmHHU
It was recently revealed that Madman Fulton is the one who attacked Trey Miguel in the back. Since leaving OVE, Fulton has been aligned with Ace Austin. Both Austin and Miguel will be in the world title match at Slammiversary.
This match was more about getting revenge than it was picking up a win. Trey used Ace Austin’s cane to hit Fulton in the head leading to the DQ. He then turned his attention to Austin and hit him with a chair. Trey then got back in the ring and continued the attack on Fulton with a chair. On commentary, they played up the idea that Trey’s aggression is what it takes to become world champion.
Johnny Swinger Helps Chris Bey Defeat Suicide
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anPy9xWBOJQ
Chris Bey will challenge X-Division Champion Suicide at Slammiversary. This week, Bey took on a former X-Division Champion in Suicide. Bey’s ally, Johnny Swinger, would make his presence felt at the end of this match. Swinger tossed Suicide off the top turnbuckle when the referree was out of positiion. This allowed Bey to hit a springboard fame-asser for the win.
After the match, however, Impact officials informed Bey and Swinger that Johnny Swinger would not be allowed at Ringside for Bey’s match with Willie Mack at Slammiversary.
Kiera Hogan Steals One From Havok
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HANwhKwNagw
The teams of Havok & Nevaeh and Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz have been building a rivalry in recent weeks. Last week, Tasha Steelz defeated Nevaeh with a little outside interference and this week Steelz helped her partner pick up the victory over Havok.
Steelz got up on the ring apron and began parading around with Havok’s mask on. As Havok and the referee turned their attention to Steelz, she tossed the mask into the ring. Hogan then hit Havok with the mask, delivered a series of kicks and got the pin.
TJP & Fallah Bah Defeat Reno Scum
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92cWdOUNPio
Coming into this match, Reno Scum had just defeated Team XXXL. TJP and Fallah Bah were coming in off a loss to the Rascalz in a match that would have earned them a future title match. They would pick up a clean victory over Reno Scum here, however, and possibly move a win or two away from getting a crack at the belts.
As for Reno Scum, one step forward 2 weeks ago leads to one step back here with a loss to TJP & Fallah Bah.
Dolph Ziggler would love the opportunity to compete against Edge one more time. Speaking with Sports Illustrated, Ziggler reflected on their previous matchup at Royal Rumble 2011.
Ziggler recalled how he was a guy “that lost 99% of the time.” Back then he wouldn’t cut promos, and instead relied on Vickie Guerrero. He stressed how their Rumble matchup had “no cool backstory” to it.
Instead, “we built this up for a couple weeks and maybe, maybe, I had a 1% chance of winning, which I’ve made a career out of over the past 15 years. I learned so much from Adam on the road during the live events we did together.”
Reflecting on their 2011 bout, Ziggler remembered how they opened the show with their World Championship match and that the crowd was hot throughout. According to Ziggler, “everyone knew I was losing that match for the first 10 minutes” but stressed how they successfully turned their bout into a back-and-forth affair. “People weren’t sure what was going to happen, and no one sat down during those last 10 minutes.”
He joked how he tries to take credit for everything he does, but admitted that this match was him “trying to hang with Adam.” Ziggler stated how he used to think he was great back then, but can now re-watch his older matches and find a million things he did that annoys him. Leading the crowd to believe he could actually beat Edge is something he fully credits to the “Rated R Superstar.”
Dolph Ziggler continued his praise for Edge, sharing that their Royal Rumble match is one of his “absolute favorite matches” and that “If there is a chance where him and I get to go toe-to-toe in the ring again, I would love it.”
RAW Superstar Bianca Belair has reflected on making her debut on the red brand to an empty arena. Speaking with Charlotte Wilder of FOX Sports, Belair admitted that the experience was a challenging one.
She confessed she couldn’t lie and pretend that debuting on RAW to zero fan reaction was okay with her. Belair explained how the fans play a major role in what they do as Superstars:
“I actually debuted at WrestleMania with no crowd. I debuted on RAW with no crowd,” she said. ‘When I found out I was debuting at RAW after WrestleMania, it was something that I was really looking forward to because you can’t ask for a better debut than to debut at RAW the day after WrestleMania.”
Bianca Belair explained how debuting at WrestleMania or the RAW after WrestleMania is the “biggest debut you could possibly have” as a Superstar.
“That’s what I was going to be getting, and it was this huge build-up. Then, it was like, OK, now it’s not gonna be in front of thousands of people. Not only that, it’s not gonna be front of anybody,” Bianca Belair recalled. “It was very challenging, but you just have to make the best of what it is, and you really have to rely on your talent and try to tell that story to convey it to the TV screen and not just to the fans in the crowd.”
Despite the circumstances surrounding her RAW debut, Bianca Belair remains positive. She noted how everyone has “learned so much” during the coronavirus pandemic and that empty arena matches have made them into better performers. She is excited for when fans can once again attend shows, adding how WWE Superstars are going to be “grateful” once the WWE Universe can finally return.
Current NXT Superstar Velveteen Dream was involved in a car accident last Friday. Although it required a trip to the hospital, Dream would be released the same day.
According to Wrestling Inc., the accident occurred on Friday afternoon at approximately 4 pm. The Superstar reportedly failed to stop at a red light when he crashed into another car. The owner of the other car did sustain injuries, but it is not known how serious they are. The Velveteen would subsequently be issued with a citation. He will not have to appear in court over the incident.
It’s worth noting that The Velveteen Dream has not been featured on WWE programming since NXT: In Your House. He lost an NXT Championship match against Adam Cole. A few weeks ago, allegations came out naming Velveteen Dream during the #SpeakingOut movement.
Back in April, allegations were brought up against Velveteen Dream regarding an inappropriate image being sent to an underage fan. Dream released the following statement at the time:
“Be assured I did not communicate inappropriately with anyone. A private photo of mine was shared without my consent or knowledge and I am working with a third party to look into this matter.”
Since the #SpeakingOut movement, reports from the Mat Men Pro Wrestling Podcast and Fightful have stated that Dream’s time in WWE could be coming to an end.
All Elite Wrestling’s Cody Rhodes was a recent guest on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio. During their conversation, he was asked about WWE using the Great American Bash name in association with its upcoming special two-week NXT event.
Cody admitted he wasn’t angry about it. He mused on how some people mistakenly think Dusty Rhodes simply named Starrcade and the Great American Bash. Cody argued how it goes beyond just devising an event name. Instead, “It’s a matter of booking them, of marketing them, of the creation.”
According to Cody, Dusty Rhodes once told him that Starrcade was for his sister and that Great American Bash was for him. For that reason, both events hold a special place for them. Cody noted how it doesn’t anger him in any way as it’s an excuse for people to once again talk about his father in a positive way.
Cody Rhodes On WWE’s Marketing Nostalgia Efforts
“The American Nightmare” likened WWE’s recent use of In Your House and Great American Bash to Disney’s nostalgia marketing strategies.
“The marketing of the event reminds me a lot of what Disney currently does. If you go to Disney World, they still sell Haunted Mansion shirts and they’re all done retro-style. They market nostalgia.”
He acknowledged how his sister found NXT’s sudden Great American Bash announcement strange. Cody then reflected on how the announcement seemed to be “willy nilly, last-minute, in the strangest of ways.”
Cody Rhodes pointed to WWE’s decision to utilize the Starrcade name for a WWE Live Event. He believes this decision diminished the name value of the event and was done because “they weren’t selling any tickets in North Carolina.” He shared his hope that WWE would instead do “something special” with Great American Bash.
NXT’s Great American Bash is a two-week special airing on USA Network. It competes head-to-head with AEW’s Fyter Fest on TNT. Both events begin tonight.
RAW Superstar Dolph Ziggler has revealed that he hasn’t watched Edge and Randy Orton’s recent Backlash bout. Advertised as “The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever,” Ziggler explained that, although he was backstage for the recording of their matchup, he didn’t actually watch it because he doesn’t “watch wrestling.”
Speaking with Justin Bassasso of Sports Illustrated, Ziggler shared how it was “friggin’ amazing” to be backstage. Despite not watching them perform, Ziggler had high praise for Orton:
“I don’t have any ass to kiss here, I have no horse in the game, but these two are two of my favorites. One, because I know a lot of people hate Randy because he’s so damn good. It’s amazing.”
Dolph Ziggler continued, “I’ll be watching RAW, and say, ‘Dammit, he does this better than anyone.’ It makes me so mad. There are only a handful of true naturals, and he is one, and I hate that.”
Ziggler pointed out how if Orton makes a mistake, he isn’t afraid to call him out on it. He noted how most people are too intimidated to give Orton feedback, but “he won’t hear the end of it from me.” He then stressed how no one is as good as Orton, and that it’s something that really bothers him.
Dolph Ziggler is scheduled to compete against Drew McIntyre at WWE’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view. The two will face off in a WWE Championship matchup.
WWE has suspended NXT UK Superstar and Gallus member Joe Coffey. The decision was made following allegations made about Coffey during the #SpeakingOut movement on Twitter.
Furthermore, WWE also released two NXT UK referees. Both Joel Allen and Chris Roberts have been officially let go by the promotion. “Gentleman” Jack Gallagher, Ligero, and Travis Banks were previously released following #SpeakingOut allegations.
NXT UK Conference Call
A conference call was recently held with NXT UK. Triple H reportedly emphasized WWE’s protocols regarding sexual abuse allegations and stressed that there would be zero tolerance for inappropriate behavior or conduct.
It was also noted that NXT UK tapings would resume once it is safe to do so. At the time of writing, there is no indication as to when WWE intends to kickstart the NXT UK brand post-coronavirus. WWE NXT UK has not filmed content since March.
Amidst the #SpeakingOut movement, rumors began to circulate that WWE may consider shutting down the United Kingdom-based brand. Given its purported plans, that does not appear to be the case. As it stands, the company is reportedly looking to restart recording within the next two months with shows potentially taking place in an empty arena.
NXT UK Landscape
The current United Kingdom Champion is Imperium’s WALTER. Mark Coffey and Wolfgang hold the NXT UK Tag Team Championships. Kay Lee Ray is the current NXT UK Women’s Champion.
Despite #SpeakingOut allegations against him, NXT UK’s Jordan Devlin is still the NXT Cruiserweight Championship, having never been formally stripped of the belt.
Today, New Japan Pro-Wrestling will hold the sixth day of the 2020 New Japan Cup. The New Japan Cup is NJPW’s annual 32-man single elimination tournament, usually scheduled for the Spring. The winner will challenge Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Championships at NJPW Dominion on July 12. Today’s card will hold four of the eight matches in the second round.
Watch exclusively on NJPW World with Japanese commentary. English commentary will be recorded and uploaded to NJPW World this week. Note: This event was held in an empty arena.
New Japan Cup 2020 Day 6 Results
Second Round Match: YOSHI-HASHI def. BUSHI (10:22) BUSHI entered wearing a mask with a glowing red eye and a suit with a skeleton design over it, which clearly means he wants a match with Jado. BUSHI attacked YOSHI-HASHI as he posed in the corner before the bell, and it was amusing watching them fight while the latter was still in his green entrance robe. BUSHI targeted YOSHI-HASHI’s right leg, and before long he was moving much slower than usual. However, as BUSHI went for the M-X, YOSHI-HASHI simply lariated him out of the air. YOSHI-HASHI applied the Butterfly Lock, but BUSHI made it to the ropes to force a break. YOSHI-HASHi was able to follow up with the Karma sitout driver for the three-count. YOSHI-HASHI advances to the quarterfinals.
Second Round Match: SHO vs. SANADA (14:43) After vanquishing Shingo Takagi, SHO looked to follow up against another member of Los Ingobernables de Japon. This turned out to be a battle of a heavyweight’s technique versus a junior heavyweight’s power, which is unusual. SANADA often found his more finesse-based moves thwarted by SHO’s sheer strength, as SHO also tried to wear down SANADA’s arm to disable to the Skull End. As SANADA went for a leapfrog, SHO caught him and landed a German suplex into an arm bar, but SANADA was able to lift him into a powerbomb to end the hold. SHO came off the ropes and SANADA went for a rana, but again SHO caught him and lifted him into the Powerbreaker for a near fall. SHO went for the Shock Arrow, but SANADA blocked it and was able to wrestle him to the corner, then moonsault into the Skull End for the submission victory. Still, SHO looked great in defeat. SANADA advances to the quarterfinals.
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi & Hiromu Takahashi) def. Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & Yota Tsuji As a result of defeating Toru Yano in the second round, Hiromu Takahashi seemed to have gotten over his primal fear of Yano. Nevertheless, Yano brandished in a plastic bag the lock of hair he managed to cut off during their match. Perhaps he viewed it as a symbolic victory. In this match, the main themes were Yota Tsuji getting mercilessly beaten up by everyone, especially Shingo Takagi, and Hiromu facing off against his New Japan Cup quarterfinals opponent tomorrow, Tomohiro Ishii. Tsuji attempted some convoluted submission on Hiromu, like a cross-legged crossface with the opponent held over his knee. In the end, Hiromu Takahashi submitted Yota Tsuji with a Boston crab. After the match, Hiromu got right in Ishii’s face and Ishii grabbed him by the hair, but unlike when Yano did it, it didn’t seem to bother Hiromu at all.
Second Round Match: Taichi def. Kota Ibushi (18:08) In Ibushi and Taichi’s respective corners were Hiroshi Tanahashi and Zack Sabre Jr., who spent as much of the match fighting each other as Ibushi and Taichi did. Ibushi started the match on the back foot, as Taichi took him outside the ring and smashed his face into folded up bleachers, leading Ibushi to nearly get counted out. In the ring, Ibushi and Taichi engaged in a battle of leg kicks, which seemed mostly evenly matched.Taichi landed a high-angle backdrop driver on Ibushi and went for the Taichi-style Last Ride, but a violent head kick sent him falling to the mat, and Ibushi followed up with the sitout elevated powerbomb. Zack Sabre Jr. briefly distracted the referee, giving the opportunity for Taichi to hit a low blow on Ibushi and pin him, but Ibushi kicked out at two. Ibushi landed a jumping knee and went for the Kamigoye, but Taichi avoided it and hit another backdrop driver. As Ibushi went for the Kamigoye yet again, Taichi pushed him into the referee, and Zack came in and attacked Ibushi, only for Tanahashi to fight him off. With the referee still down, Taichi hit Ibushi with the Iron Finger from Hell and the Black Mephisto for the pinfall victory. Taichi advances to face SANADA in the quarterfinals.
Second Round Match: EVIL def. Hirooki Goto (18:25) EVIL entered first and waited outside the ring for Goto, so the brawling commenced before they even got in the ring. EVIL took advantage early, perhaps partly due to a stray chair shot, and arrogantly brushed his boot in Goto’s face as if it was completely earned. Incensed, Goto fired up and delivered a belly-to-back suplex followed by the Ushigoroshi. As they struggled for a suplex, Goto spun EVIL around and hit the reverse GTR, but didn’t go for a pin. He was determined to continue punishing EVIL for his disrespect, but paid for it when he went for a headbutt and got hit with a heavy elbow to the face. EVIL hit the Darkness Falls for a near fall and went for the EVIL, but Goto reversed out of it and hit a headbutt and the GTW, but EVIL kicked out at two. EVIL hit a stomp to the groin and then hit the EVIL for the three count. EVIL advances to face YOSHI-HASHI in the quarterfinals.
Viewership data is in for Monday’s WWE RAW and Friday’s SmackDown. Here is the breakdown of the live and same-night DVR viewership, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:
RAW Viewership
Monday’s edition of WWE RAW averaged 1.735 million viewers, which is down from the 1.922 million viewers last week.
SmackDown averaged 2.174 million viewers on FOX in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center. This is up from the 2.072 million viewers that the show did for the previous week’s episode of SmackDown.
The show averaged 2.174 million viewers in the fast nationals, which was up from the 2.089 million viewers a week ago. This number measured the top metered markets.
The first hour drew 2.271 million viewers while the second hour did 2.076 million viewers. For comparison, the first show of last week’s show did 2.147 million viewers while the second hour did 2.031 million viewers.
SmackDown pulled in a 0.50 rating in the 18-49 demos, the same from the 0.50 rating as last week’s show.
WWE Hall of Famer, co-host of Grilling Jr and AEW Commentator Jim Ross recently discussed fellow Hall of Famer and WWE legend Curt ‘Mr Perfect’ Hennig.
This week’s episode of Grilling Jr centered on the King of The Ring 2000 PPV; with JR answering questions surrounding the then WWF at the time. One of the questions posed to JR was on Hennig and his potential to be a top-tier color commentator in the company.
Jim Ross on Curt Hennig
“Curt was a very well respected guy. We were inducted into Hall of Fame the same time in 2007” Jim Ross began. “I thought he had the upside and potential to be one of the best color analysts ever in pro wrestling. He had a wonderful sense of humor, great comedic and timing in general” JR continued. “Wonderful product knowledge and a second generation guy under Larry ‘The Axe’ Hennig.”
Jim Ross then discussed how Curt’s inability to get past wanting to work in-ring hindered his progression in the commentary booth. “But he was like a lot of guys, he couldn’t get that last match out of his system.And so the issue was that he was more motivated to wrestle than he was to broadcast.”
“I’m sure there was a difference in money, I get that too” JR continued. “But the other major factor with Curt? He had been banged up. He had some back issues or something if I recall correctly.”
Do you think that Curt Hennig had the potential to be the greatest color commentator ever? Let us know in the comments
In recent days, it has been heavily rumored that Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows are on their way to Impact Wrestling. Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet and Gary Cassidy of Sportskeeda both reported recently that a deal between the tag-team and Impact was close to being done. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer has now confirmed the team is headed to Impact.
“Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson are heading to Impact Wrestling in a deal that will allow them to also work for New Japan Pro Wrestling,” a report from the Observer reads.
Impact’s Slammiversary PPV is being built around the debut/return of recently released WWE stars. The event takes place July 18th, 2020, after any 90-day no-compete clauses has expired.
Who Else Is On Their Way To Impact Wrestling?
There are others who have been dropping hints lately that they could be on their way to Impact as well.
Heath Slater posted a video of him working out with the words “July 18th” scrawled over it today.
EC3 is someone else who has been heavily rumored to be on his way back to Impact. Taynara Conti’s name has been rumored to be headed to Impact as well.
Former WWE backstage agent, Lance Storm, posted a fairly ominous Tweet earlier today that might be in reference to the July 18th Slammiversary PPV (it might not too). Storm just posted the number 19. It is 19 days until Slammiversary.
Booker T was previously quite critical of Impact’s decision to put their world title on Tessa Blanchard. Booker says his criticism was not directed at Tessa, however, but rather the promotion’s decision to put the belt on her.
Recently on his radio show and YouTube channel, Booker addressed Blanchard’s free agency.
“Tessa Blanchard, she’s a catch in anybody’s company if they can get her right now,” Booker said.
“WWE picked Tessa Blanchard up, along with Charlotte Flair. I wish Hogan’s daughter would have stayed in there. That’s what I want to see, I want to see the second generation, all women and Tessa Blanchard is one of them.”
“We’re going to actually get a chance to see how good Tessa Blanchard really is. Is she as good as she says she is?”
Booker continued to talk about Tessa’s in-ring ability.
“Tessa, I really think she can work anywhere in the world with any of the women out there in the business today,” Booker continued. “She made herself, first and foremost. Tessa Blanchard, she’s never gone to WWE. She hasn’t gotten the rub from people in WWE. For people to know Tessa Blanchard’s name around the world, she’s done that on her own.”
“Hopefully, WWE can snatch her up and we can see some great matches with her and Charlotte Flair.”
Heath Slater was one of many names WWE released from its roster in April. All of the names released will be contractually free of any 90-day no-compete clauses in time for Impact’s Slammiversary PPV on July 18th. One name the company has teased as coming in is Heath Slater.
Slater recently posted a brief tease that he could be headed to the promotion. He took to Twitter and posted a short video of him working out with the words “July 18th” scrawled on the screen.
Impact has also teased that Slater is likely coming to the promotion. On a recent episode, Rhyno talked about having a tag-team partner who “has kids.” This was a reference to Rhyno and Slater’s team in WWE. They are former Smackdown tag-team champions together.
Who Else Is Coming To Impact Wrestling?
Impact has heavily-teased that EC3 is likely returning to the promotion.
Additionally, it is now being reported that the chances of Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson ending up in Impact is strong. Anderson and Gallows are believed to have been offered a deal that would allow them to work for NJPW as well.
D’Lo Brown teased a return of the Aces and Eights faction last week. That could mean the return of some names that had been associated with the group. Gallows was formerly a member of Aces and Eights as well.
Taynara Conti’s name has come up as someone who could be Impact bound as well. Conti and Scott D’Amore recently began following each other on Twitter. She has also been interacting with some of Impact’s roster through Twitter as well.
