Vince McMahon is reportedly a huge fan of RAW’s Angel Garza—so much so that he has allegedly compared the Superstar to a “young Eddie Guerrero.” According to Alex McCarthy of talkSPORT, Vince McMahon sees a lot of potential in the rising Superstar. Angel Garza is, at the time of writing, only 27-years-old.
He has already had several standout moments in WWE. Garza was a top contender for the Cruiserweight Championship in NXT. Since coming to the red brand, Garza has aligned himself with Zelina Vega and Andrade.
Paul Heyman Project: Angel Garza
Angel Garza joined several Superstars rumored to have been a Paul Heyman project. Since Heyman’s removal as RAW’s Executive Director, it remains to be seen how those passion projects will be affected.
Angel Garza joined Andrade, Rey Mysterio, Austin Theory, Viking Raiders, The Street Profits, Murphy, Aleister Black, Zelina Vega, Asuka, Charlotte Flair, Nia Jax, and Apollo Crews as reported Heyman projects.
WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray had high praise for this past Sunday’s Backlash main event. Speaking on Busted Open Radio, Bully Ray addressed “The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever” between Randy Orton and Edge. Despite having minor issues with the match going on last, that didn’t stop his enjoyment of the action, describing the clash as an “8-star match.”
Bully Ray argued how only World Heavyweight Championship matchups should go on last. He acknowledged that there were many extenuating circumstances heading into Backlash. He noted how, by not having Drew McIntyre defend in the main event, “all you do is give me a kink in the armor of Drew McIntyre telling me he is not good enough to go on last.”
Addressing the piped in fan noise that WWE edited in, Bully Ray stressed how it was an unnecessary addition. He didn’t feel it was needed as he doesn’t need to be informed of what to like or not like during a match.
Regarding the match itself, Bully Ray believes it was a “This was an excellent match. This was a very well performed match. This was like an 8-star match and I don’t put star ratings on anything.”
He spoke about how the match was presented as one continuous match, performed as if it was in front of 20,000 people. Bully Ray also highlighted how Edge and Orton went “straight through like two professionals would.” As far as he’s concerned, they approached the matchup with an old school mentality.
All Elite Wrestling’s Chris Jericho has revealed what he believes is holding Roman Reigns back from becoming pro wrestling’s top star. Speaking with Adam Wilbourn of WhatCulture, “Le Champion,” praised Reigns, sharing how he would love to have him become a part of the AEW roster. According to Jericho, he believes WWE needs to allow Reigns more freedom to be himself. If they do, the former AEW World Champion thinks Reigns could easily become the biggest star in wrestling.
Jericho noted how he’d put Roman Reigns at the top of any roster wish list. “Not only is he a great worker but he’s such a cool guy. If they just let him be him he’d be the biggest star in the industry, for real. That’d be a guy I’d love to get my hands on for sure.”
Roman Reigns has not been a part of WWE programming since refusing to wrestle Goldberg at WrestleMania 36. Due to his previous battles with leukemia, Reigns falls into a high-risk category in regards to the coronavirus pandemic. His decision to step away from the ring revolved around wanting to protect his family and newborn twins. Roman Reigns was scheduled to face off against Goldberg for the WWE Universal Championship. Reigns was eventually replaced by Braun Strowman, who would defeat Goldberg and claim the gold.
Today, New Japan Pro-Wrestling will hold the second 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 sixteen matches in the first 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 2 Results
New Japan Cup First Round Match: Gabriel Kidd vs. Taiji Ishimori (8:53) Gabriel Kidd is a British wrestler who was personally scouted from Revolution Pro Wrestling by Katsuyori Shibata last year. This would be his first singles match against non-young lion opposition. Ishimori channeled his absent tag team partner El Phantasmo with dirty techniques like back rakes and irish whipping Kidd into the outside guardrail. Ishimori went for a springboard rana but Kidd caught his legs and lifted him into a Boston crab, but Ishimori made it to the ropes to force a break. Ishimori hit a springboard kick to Kidd’s face and then applied the Yes Lock to defeat Gabriel Kidd by submission. Ishimori advances to the second round.
New Japan Cup First Round Match: Yoshinobu Kanemaru def. Yuya Uemura (9:32) If Yuya Uemura truly wants to be in the ring one-on-one against Minoru Suzuki like he’s said, winning this match would be the first step towards that achievement. Meanwhile, if Kanemaru wins, his opponent would be Taiji Ishimori.Those two have wrestled one-on-one twelve times and Ishimori has never won. Kanemaru dominated the bulk of the match, but Uemura landed a springboard splash for a near fall and desperately tried to land the arm-trap suplex to no avail. Kanemaru attempted to spit his whiskey in Uemura’s face, but the referee stopped him. Nevertheless, Kanemaru landed a dropkick followed by the diving DDT known as Deep Impact to win and advance to face Taiji Ishimori in the second round.
CHAOS (SHO, YOH, Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Shingo Takagi, EVIL, BUSHI & SANADA) (12:14) The two main themes of this match were LIJ demonstrating their lack of adherence to proper tag conduct by all beating down Goto and YOSHI-HASHI together, and SHO and Shingo delivering a hard-hitting preview to their first round tournament match coming up next week. BUSHI tagged in and went for the M-X, but Goto dodged it and hit the GTR to pin BUSHI for the win.
New Japan Cup First Round Match: Yuji Nagata def. Minoru Suzuki (20:35) Happy birthday to Minoru Suzuki, who turns 52 today. Unfortunately, there was no crowd to chant “Kaze Ni Nare” on this special day. These two old men took their sweet time slapping and forearming each other and jaw-jacking about how they wanted to be hit harder in between. With Nagata’s neck being an appropriate shade of crimson, Suzuki took the match to the outside and hit Nagata with a folding chair so hard that the seat popped off. Back in the ring, Nagata made a comeback by attacking the right arm of Suzuki with kicks and arm wringers. As Nagata went for another, Suzuki applied a sleeper hold and pushed Nagata to the ground. He pinned him for a near fall then lifted him up to apply the Gotch-style piledriver. Nagata blocked it and lifted him into a back body drop. A slap and headbutt from Suzuki got Nagata bleeding from the mouth. Incensed, Nagata delivered an exploder suplex followed by a bridging backdrop driver to win the match and advance to the second round. Minoru Suzuki loses on his birthday.
New Japan Cup First Round Match: Kazuchika Okada def. Gedo (15:30) Gedo entered with his right arm in a sling and got on the microphone to say that he injured himself during practice today, but still wanted to fight in this match. Gedo slowly removed the sling, but hid a can of spray in his hand that Okada slapped away. Okada also found a set of brass knuckles on Gedo’s person and wrenched them away. Gedo then brandished a spanner and hit Okada with it. With Okada laying, Gedo stole the ring announcer’s table and repeatedly bashed it into Okada’s chest, and then did the same with a folding chair. After more than five minutes of this, Okada rallied and went for a diving elbow drop, but Gedo rolled out of the ring and tried to escape. When Okada caught him, Gedo revealed that he had stolen the ring announcer’s bell hammer and attacked Okada with it. Okada came back with the revesre neckbreaker and went for the tombstone piledriver, but Gedo wiggled out of it and pushed Okada into the referee to hit a low blow. Gedo removed part of the ring apron to remove another set of brass knuckles that he had stashed there at some point. He punched Okada with them and applied the Gedo Clutch, but Okada kicked out at two. Gedo even attempted the Blade Runner. Jado then showed up and distracted the referee while Gedo went for another brass knuckle punch, but Okada caught him with a dropkick, knocked Jado off the ring apron, and submitted Gedo with a cobra clutch. Okada will face Yuji Nagata in the second round.
WWE lawyer Jerry McDevitt has responded to allegations that recently surfaced regarding the Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia last year. A lawsuit launched on behalf of WWE stockholders stating the company misrepresented its dealing in Saudi Arabia now features a former WWE wrestler acting as a confidential witness.
The wrestler serving as a confidential witness made several statements regarding the infamous delayed flight out of Saudi Arabia from the Crown Jewel event last fall. Documents relating to the case confirm the wrestler in question ceased working for the company this April.
“A former WWE wrestler, who performed for the Company from 2012 to April 2020 and who participated in the October 31st, 2019 Crown Jewel event, confirms the substance of media reports,” reads documents relating to the suit.
“CW-2 explained that he asked the Senior Director of Talent Relations, Mark Carrano, about what was going on and that Carrano told him that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and McMahon had gotten into an argument over late payments in connection with the June 7, 2019 Super ShowDown event.”
WWE Responds to Allegations
WWE since has responded to these allegations.
“These false allegations were originally made in two suits filed by two different law firms,” reads a statement WWE lawyer Jerry McDevitt sent to Forbes.
WWE’s statement confirms the company will attempt to have this lawsuit dismissed.
“After the Court appointed a third firm to be lead counsel, WWE provided all three law firms with specific detailed facts from the persons with actual knowledge of the situation, including the phony allegation about the plane. The first two law firms then dropped their lawsuits to avoid sanction motions, but the third firm chose to ignore the specific facts they had been provided, and instead cited an unnamed disgruntled former wrestler with no knowledge of the facts. WWE is preparing its response to the lawsuit and will be moving to have it dismissed.”
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 1.940 million viewers, which is up from the 1.737 million viewers last week.
SmackDown averaged 2.065 million viewers on FOX in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center. This is up from the 1.984 million viewers that the show did for the previous week’s episode of SmackDown.
The show averaged 2.016 million viewers in the fast nationals, which was up from the 1.935 million viewers a week ago. This number measured the top metered markets.
The first hour drew 2.036 million viewers while the second hour did 1.996 million viewers. For comparison, the first show of last week’s show did 1.962 million viewers while the second hour did 1.908 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 has issued a statement about reports that they allowed friends and family to attend Monday’s television tapings at the WWE Performance Center to serve as fans.
This came just weeks after WWE decided to have developmental talent play the role of fans in the crowd behind plexiglass in order to make noise.
There were reports that WWE also invited local diehard fans to join the crew in the crowd and those in attendance to serve as fans were not allowed to wear masks during the taping.
WWE’s Statement
However, after various media outlets reached out to the company regarding the diehard fans attending, WWE issued a statement that noted this wasn’t the case. WWE issued the following statement:
“Fans have not been in attendance at WWE events since March 13. Yesterday, a select number of friends and family were permitted to attend WWE’s TV production. These individuals were required to participate in medical screenings prior to entering the closed set at our training facility and were kept apart from in-ring performers and production personnel.
Attendance was below 20% capacity and social distancing guidelines were adhered to with at least six feet between parties, thus face masks were not required.”
Late Monday night, the reveal that a WWE developmental talent had tested positive for COVID-19 after working last Tuesday’s TV taping.
Long Island, New York’s Nassau Coliseum is shutting down indefinitely, marking a sad day for longtime wrestling fans who grew up with the venue as their home base.
The arena’s lease is currently held by Onexim Sports and Entertainment, a company owned by billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov. According to Bloomberg, Prokhorov will shutter the venue ‘indefinitely’ while it seeks investors to take over operations and pick up the remaining debt on the building. Arena employees are being laid off.
The venue has hosted WWE events since 1985. In addition to hosting dozens of live events (1985-1991) and TV tapings (1985-2019), the Coliseum also hosted some notable WWE pay-per-views:
Select matches from WrestleMania 2 (1986), including Roddy Piper vs. Mr. T.
SummerSlam (2002), featuring Brock Lesnar defeating The Rock to become the youngest WWE Champion in history.
Evolution (2018), WWE’s first all-women’s pay-per-view.
A few non-WWE events also took place from the Nassau Coliseum, including the NWA’s Bunkhouse Stampede pay-per-view (1988) and two episodes of WCW Nitro (1999/2000).
The arena was closed from 2015-2017 to undergo a much-needed $180 million renovation. During that time, the National Hockey League’sIslanders franchise played at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, which has hosted WWE shows in recent years as well. The Islanders are in the process of building a new arena at Belmont Park, which would create another competitor for the Nassau Coliseum, if it ever reopens.
Charlotte Flair appeared on RAW Talk last night following Monday night’s show from the Performance Center. While on the show, Flair took aim at her critics as well as who she referred to as “entitled” WWE Superstars who “stay home.”
The below user on Twitter noted posted some of Flair’s comments to social media:
“The thing is, it’s not about who gets under my skin, it’s about why they get under my skin,” Flair said on the show addressing a question her father asked her on RAW last night.
“I see, I hear, and I read what people say about me, that I’m entitled, that I’m always in the title picture, and here’s the thing, I am the only person that shows up to work 365 days a year.”
“I am the hardest-working person in this company. I’m on Raw, I’m on SmackDown. Hell, I do media for FOX and I’m not even on FOX. And then they send me to NXT. No, I do anything and everything they ask because I love this business and I strive for greatness.”
Flair then said it is the entitled people who get under her skin. She stated that it is the people who sit at home for a year and then come back with whom she gets frustrated.
“So it’s the entitled people that get under my skin. It is the people that sit at home for a year and then come back and are in the title picture and you call me entitled because I am busting my ass 365 days a year to be the best?”
Nia Jax was recently out of action for a year and then challenged for the title at Backlash.
“No, it’s the people like Nia Jax who come back and are in the title picture,” Flair continued.
“It’s people like Sasha Banks who take time off and then come back in the title picture but I’m entitled?” Flair continued.
WWE has canceled its scheduled Smackdown tapings for today at the WWE Performance Center. This was done in the wake of a developmental talent testing positive for COVID-19. The roster is being tested today for the virus. Also as it concerns WWE’s handling of the pandemic, it is being reported that the company is not allowing those playing the role of fans at the tapings to wear masks.
Bryan Alvarez noted on Twitter that he had heard from multiple sources that WWE was not permitting people to wear masks while acting as fans at the tapings.
On top of nobody finding out about the COVID failure until it hit social media, I was told by multiple sources that WWE would not allow anyone in the crowd at the RAW taping Monday to wear masks.
WWE talent is being tested today for the virus. Mojo Rawley posted to Twitter regarding his experience being tested.
Precautionary #COVID19 testing! Gotta make sure we’re healthy and safe to entertain the globe every week!
I’m telling you, this test is really not bad at all! No pain, just a weird feeling! So don’t hesitate in case you need to take your test! #StaySafe#StayHYPEDpic.twitter.com/sx3ib3f5yB
“A developmental talent, who was last on site at WWE’s training facility on Tuesday, June 9, has tested positive for COVID-19. Since that time, no other individuals that attended the facility have reported symptoms. However, out of an abundance of caution and to ensure the health and safety of the company’s performers and staff, all talent, production crew and employees on site at the training and production facilities will be tested for COVID-19 immediately. Following the test results, WWE plans to proceed with its normal television production schedule.”
Last night on WWE RAW, Christian faced Randy Orton in an unsanctioned match. The bout didn’t go long, however. Ric Flair gave Christian a low-blow before Randy Orton delivered a punt and pinned the returning Superstar. Booker T recently addressed Christian’s WWE return on his radio show and YouTube channel.
“You get the bug once you get back in. Once you get a little taste…” Booker said when asked if he thinks Christian’s performance was a one-off.
“It’s something that wants to just pull you back in, something that just wants to draw you back in, make you feel like ‘I can do this.'”
“We all feel that way, we all feel like we got one last run and Christian, I’m going to tell you right now, after just getting in the ring, just making that walk, I can only imagine if there had been 10,000/15,000/20,000 people in the arena, he would have really lost his mind when he got back to the hotel room. He would have had goosebumps looking in the mirror going ‘I think I can still do this.'”
“I don’t think it’s going to be a one-off, I think Christian’s going to come back, I think he’s going to get the bug.”
“I think Christian will be at Extreme Rules in the ring, and the thing is, he’ll have time to get ready for it.”
Edge and Randy Orton faced off in what was billed as “The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever” at Backlash on Sunday. One person who has been in several matches that many consider to be amongst the best of all-time recently took part in an interview on the subject. Ricky “the Dragon” Steamboat’s clashes with “Macho Man” Randy Savage and “Nature Boy” Ric Flair are often mentioned in the discussion of best matches of all-time.
During an interview with the Sporting News, Steamboat compared Edge vs Randy Orton to his WrestleMania III match against Savage.
“Edge being away for a while reminds me of the time back in December of 1986 when Randy Savage and I started our angle for WrestleMania 3. I had virtually a three-month layoff from an injury angle we ran so I didn’t wrestle at all,” Steamboat said.
“I can remember that my match with Savage at WM3 lasted less than 20 minutes. Understand this: I’ve routinely gone an hour wrestling Ric Flair, Harley Race and Blackjack Mulligan. But after the Savage match, I collapsed in the locker room because I was so gassed out.”
Ricky Steamboat Compares Randy Savage to Ric Flair
Steamboat also discussed the differences working with Randy Savage and Ric Flair during the interview.
“Randy was the type of guy that would have everything lined up for a match from top to bottom. But with Flair, we wrestled maybe 30 matches to a one-hour draw and only had a few spots lined up.”
“Flair was a guy who 90 percent of your match was called on the fly while Savage was a guy who had 90 percent of it set in stone before the match began.”
Ricky Steamboat On Wrestlers He’d Like To Work With
Steamboat was also asked during the interview about wrestlers from today’s WWE roster he’d be interested in working with.
Seth Rollins, Bray Wyatt, Roman Reigns and AJ Styles. Seth Rollins was a guy who came to WWE with years of time in the indies but he listened and he just got it. Styles is a great mix of old and new school. Bray Wyatt has always been able to step up when asked to do something different. He’s very athletic for his size but it’s all about his creativity,” Steamboat said.
Jaxson Ryker, Steve Cutler and Wesley Blake were called up to the WWE main roster shortly after WrestleMania. The Forgotten Sons then began competing in Smackdown’s tag-team division. They have not been seen in several weeks, however.
The team has not competed in a match since the Money in the Bank PPV on May 10th, 2020.
According to a report from Fightful, there is significant heat on Ryker due to his recent activity on social media. While Steve Cutler & Wesley Blake are not receiving any of their own backlash, they are being impacted by Ryker’s actions nonetheless.
The team had been planned to enter into a program with the New Day but that no longer appears to be happening anytime in the near future.
Backstage Reaction To Jaxson Ryker Social Media Posts
Further social media posts Ryker made that were critical of the Black Lives Matter movement were also uncovered before Ryker ultimately he took some of his social media accounts private.
The freedom you speak of entitles you to speak your mind all you want. I’m not here to argue that. I just really need to tell you that I think you pushing your shitty wrestling catchphrase as all of this is happening is absolutely fucking pathetic.
“According to one person high up in the company, the belief is that Lail can’t be fired for expressing freedom of speech, but that the locker room is fuming at him,” wrote Dave Meltzer on the situation involving Cutler.
Although I am part of a tag team while I wrestle, I am my own person with my own thoughts and beliefs. It pains me to see what’s going on in the world. I fought for the freedom of our country and ALL of the people who live here.
Shane McMahon has challenged The Undertaker to a Hell in a Cell rematch. The challenge came during this week’s episode of Last Ride Post-Mortem. The Post-Mortem show followed the airing of The Undertaker’s docuseries, Undertaker: The Last Ride. The most recent episode aired this past Sunday on the WWE Network.
The episode featured footage from Extreme Rules 2019. The Undertaker teamed with Roman Reigns on the show. They defeated the team of Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre in a No Holds Barred tag team match. Whilst appearing on the Post-Mortem, Shane McMahon reflected on how ‘Taker believed the Extreme Rules match was going to be his last ever, stating:
“I know I got one more with him. So, I’m ready. I’ll challenge him now. I just did. I got one more, I know I got one big one. I want a rematch. Hell in a Cell 2. I was that close,” Shane McMahon said, in reference to nearly hitting his elbow drop onto ‘Taker from the top of the Cell. “Let’s continue with this story.”
The two previously faced off in a Hell in a Cell matchup back at WrestleMania 32 in 2016. The Undertaker would emerge victorious. Shane McMahon hasn’t been involved in a rivalry since his feud with Kevin Owens ended in 2019.
Charlotte Flair has reacted to her father’s actions during last night’s episode of Monday Night RAW. “The Nature Boy” turned heel after accompanying Christian to the ring, delivering a low blow that would cost him his Unsanctioned Match against Randy Orton. Christian had accepted Orton’s challenge earlier in the night.
Taking to Twitter, Charlotte Flair posted to tweets in relation to her father’s appearance on the show and subsequent actions. Last night saw her share some screen time with Ric Flair in a short backstage segment. Afterwards, Charlotte tweeted out two goat emojis, in reference to her father being the “Greatest of All Time.”
This was in response to a tweet from the WWE Universe’s account, highlighting how “The WOOER becomes the WOOEE” after Charlotte Flair delivered a “Woo!” in Ric’s face.
Charlotte Flair’s second tweet was uploaded after Ric aligned himself with Orton. It read:
“The more things change, the more things stay the same.”
This, too, was in response to a WWE tweet that stressed how Ric Flair is still the dirtiest player in the game. This tweet was accompanied by a Gif of the moment Ric Flair dropped to his knees and delivered the match ending low blow. Randy Orton would follow up with a vicious punt kick to Christian’s head.
All Elite Wrestling’s Arn Anderson believes that WWE missed an opportunity to turn Kevin Owens into one of their top babyfaces. Speaking on his ARN podcast, Anderson spoke about how WWE and Vince McMahon should have leaned into the reaction Owens received after he defeated John Cena at 2015’s Elimination Chamber event.
“If you’re going to listen to the audience throughout this thing, then Kevin Owens became a star that night,” Anderson explained. “If you don’t listen, no matter what you have booked or written down for the next 3 weeks, don’t you switch your plans too: here’s my new baby face?”
Anderson highlighted how Kevin Owens is capable of delivering both in the ring and on the mic. He stressed how he is a perfect anti-hero and can play an everyday man that packs a lot of power: “[Kevin Owens] doesn’t look like he can pop-up power bomb Mark Henry, but he can, I’ve seen it, more than once.”
He spoke about how the audience reaction to Kevin Owens was so positive, WWE should have switched gears “the very next day.” Anderson noted how by beating Cena acted as a major launching pad for his main roster debut and that WWE should have given the fans what they wanted to see.
Following his successful Elimination Chamber victory, Kevin Owens would subsequently lose to Cena at both Money in The Bank and Battleground. Having him lose remains a decision that Anderson feels hurt Kevin Owens initial push and momentum. He explained how Owens never should have lost those two matches and that his push should have been “first class, steam roll, straight ahead.”
Today, New Japan Pro-Wrestling will hold the first 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 sixteen matches in the first 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 1 Results
New Japan Cup First Round Match: Togi Makabe def. Yota Tsuji (8:41) It’s going to take a while to get used to hearing Togi Makabe’s actual music be played instead of a generic dubbed track to avoid playing licensing fees. As a young lion, Yota Tsuji was overeager to prove himself against the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Makabe. Tsuji leveled Makabe with a spear and a shoulder tackle as soon as the bell rang. Makabe quickly gained the advantage back, but Tsuji showed more than one would have expected for a young lion. Makabe leveled Tsuji with a lariat and pinned him with a bridging German suplex to advance to the second round.
New Japan Cup First Round Match: Toru Yano def. Jado (9:07) Jado entered wearing a shirt that said “So What, I Don’t Care.” I’m sure he does care somewhat but he’s been wrestling for thirty years and hasn’t had a singles match since 2016 for good reason. Toru Yano started the match by attempting to rally a crowd that didn’t exist with “Yano To-Ru” chants. Amused, Jado responded by chanting “Jado-o!” at him. As the referee fought Jado to take away his kendo stick, Yano knocked Jado square on the head with a turnbuckle pad. Jado fell on his face a la Ric Flair and Yujiro Takahashi briefly attacked Yano while the referee was checking on the fallen Jado. Despite Jado’s sluggish pace, he was able to work over Yano with punches to the lower back and a cobra twist. Yano thwarted Jado’s kendo stick attack and pinned him with a low blow and schoolboy to advance to the second round.
Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, Zack Sabre Jr., Taichi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) def.Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Yuji Nagata & Yuya Uemura (13:27) The bulk of this match consisted of all of Suzuki-gun collectively trying to destroy Hiroshi Tanahashi’s knees. Leg locks and a cheeky dragonscrew from Zack Sabre Jr. left Tanahashi writhing in agony. ZSJ and Ibushi always fight hard, even in large tag team matches when they don’t have to. Yuya Uemura has been vocal about wanting to fight Minoru Suzuki head on and he briefly locked the Boston crab on Suzuki before Kanemaru broke it up. Suzuki got his revenge with the Gotch-style piledriver on Uemura for the pin.
New Japan Cup First Round Match: Hiromu Takahashi def. Tomoaki Honma (18:45) Hiromu and Honma have been building up this first round match as a battle of two men who have both had their necks broken. The power of youth is evident: despite being sidelined for over a year, Hiromu has not lost a step, while nearly every movement Honma makes is labored. Hiromu dominated the heavyweight Honma with dropkicks and neck holds. Honma made a brief rally with a running bulldog and a Kokeshi. Honma attempted a Kokeshi headbutt of his own but missed. Hiromu hit Honma with a death valley driver on the outside of the ring, and Honma barely avoided being counted out. Hiromu pushed Honma into the mat with his foot on the back of Honma’s neck. Honma made a comeback and hit three consecutive Kokeshis only for Hiromu to kick out. Honma went for the top rope Kokeshi but missed. Hiromu capitalized with the Time Bomb to to win and advance to the second round. His opponent will be Toru Yano.
New Japan Cup First Round Match: Tomohiro Ishii def. El Desperado (20:17) El Desperado taunted Ishii about his height, but Ishii seemed to take advantage early with his superior strength and durability. Desperado used leg kicks and twists to target Ishii’s knee and removed a corner turnbuckle pad. Ishii eventually had enough and used strikes to level the junior heavyweight. Persistently, El Desperado kept going back to the knee. He applied his Numero Dos stretch muffler but Ishii managed to flip over and break the hold. Ishii hit a powerslam to turn the momentum of the match. He attempted to powerbomb El Desperado but his knee buckled and he needed to do it a second time, but it only received a near fall. Despy hit a discrete low blow followed by a small package hold, but Ishii kicked out at two, followed by the Guitarra de Angel only for Ishii to kick out again. El Desperado went for the Pinche Loco, but Ishii levelled him with a headbutt and a lariat for a two count. Finally, he hit the vertical drop brainbuster to defeat El Desperado and take his place in the second round. His opponent in the second round will be Togi Makabe.
WWE has cancelled Tuesday’s TV tapings after a development talent who was at Performance Center recently tested positive for coronavirus.
The company had confirmed the positive test in a statement and stated that they will be testing everyone who was on-site, for COVID-19.
Bryan Alvarez of Wrestling Observer then noted that the officials have called off Tuesday’s TV tapings so they can test all their staff including wrestlers for coronavirus.
Though the company is not planning to halt their operation for long and the hope is that they can resume the TV tapings on Wednesday once the test results are in.
The news of a talent being tested positive for coronavirus came out a few hours ago. It has since been confirmed that the person is a Performance Center trainee and not someone who has been featured on NXT.
WWE had previously mentioned on their programming that they have tested people for coronavirus. However, reports revealed that the company has only put them through a temperature check and a survey about possible symptoms.
Now we will have to see how the company responds to this positive test and if they change their policies in any way to ensure better safety for the performers as well as the talent which are being used as audience.
Rusev is one of the names who have been speculated for an appearance at Impact Wrestling’s Slammiversary PPV after the company released a video package teasing the appearance of a former WWE star at their show.
The Bulgarian Brute addressed these speculations during a recent twitch stream, though his response on the matter only seems to entangle the mystery further.
Rusev mentioned how Impact only showed a Bulgarian flag in their promo which means that anyone from the country could make an appearance before saying that he can’t confirm or deny any rumours:
“As I said, any Bulgarian can go and debut,” he said. “They may have another kid from Bulgaria. I keep saying that. Could be anybody. Look, I don’t know why you think it’s me.
I understand why you think it’s me, but I can’t confirm or deny. Or I don’t wanna confirm or deny.” said Rusev “Maybe they wanna pay me a million dollars for one match. Who knows? Maybe I’ll come in.”
There are a number of stars who can be the one behind the promo from Impact Wrestling. We know Gallows and Anderson are in discussion with the promotion and others like EC3 have also teased a return.
The Slammiversary PPV will be taking place at July 18. It will only be days after the non compete clause of released WWE stars expires on July 15 and it would be interesting to see if it’s Rusev or any other star who shows up at the event.
A WWE development talent who was on-site at the Performance Center as early as last week has tested positive for coronavirus.
According to an announcement sent in by WWE a development talent who was at the Performance Center on June 9 has been tested positive. WWE says that to ensure the health of their employees, all the people who were on-site will be tested for COVID-19:
“A developmental talent, who was last on site at WWE’s training facility on Tuesday, June 9, has tested positive for COVID-19. Since that time, no other individuals that attended the facility have reported symptoms.
However, out of an abundance of caution and to ensure the health and safety of the company’s performers and staff, all talent, production crew and employees on site at the training and production facilities will be tested for COVID-19 immediately. Following the test results, WWE plans to proceed with its normal television production schedule.”
It has also been revealed that the person who tested positive for the virus is a trainee at the Performance Centre and not someone who is featured on NXT TV.
We will have to see how the company handles the situation now after a positive coronavirus case in their facility and we will keep you posted on any updates on the situation.
The June 15th episode of WWE RAW aired from the Performance Center. It was the first episode of RAW following Backlash. Christian returned to the ring and battled Randy Orton in an Unsanctioned Match in the main event.
WWE RAW Results (6/15)
Kevin Owens def. Angel Garza
Street Profits & Viking Raiders def. ninjas
The IIconics def. Natalya & Liv Morgan
Apollo Crews def. Shelton Benjamin
Drew McIntyre & R-Truth def. Lashley & MVP
Asuka def. Nia Jax to retain the RAW Women’s Championship
Randy Orton def. Christian in an Unsanctioned Match
Here are 8 takeaways from this week’s RAW:
Andrade & Angel Garza Aren’t On The Same Page
Angel Garza faced Kevin Owens tonight on RAW and Zelina Vega was ringside for the match. Before the match, Andrade and Angel Garza argued backstage.
Match Recap: Angel went for a Dropkick but Owens got out of the way. Andrade’s music and he made his way down the ramp and joined Vega ringside. Owens bounced Garza’s face off the top turnbuckle and knocked him out of the ring. Garza and Andrade started arguing again and Vega shouted that she was sick of this and walked backstage.
When RAW returned from a break, Garza was in control and hit Owens with a Dropkick for a two count. Angel focused his attack on Owens’ injured leg but Kevin battled back with a headbutt. Andrade tripped up Owens but Angel didn’t capitalize on the distraction. Garza shouted at the referee to pay attention and turned around into a Stunner from Owens for the pinfall victory.
After the match, Zelina Vega marched down to the ring with a pissed off look on her face. Andrade and Garza started arguing again and Vega told to stop fighting against each other. Zelina said that they need to start fighting together and the three left the ring.
Bobby Lashley and MVP came down to the ring to explain what happened last night at Backlash. MVP said that Lashley had his night ruined last night by Lana because she has to make everything about herself.
MVP added that if Drew McIntyre had any integrity he would give Lashley a rematch. Lana interrupted and said that she would do anything for Bobby, and that everything went wrong when MVP showed up.
MVP called Lana a “thot” and Lana called MVP a snake. MVP stated that before he showed up Lashley had never gotten a title shot. Lana stated that everything was perfect before MVP showed up because they were on a hot streak.
Lashley interrupted and said Lana ruined everything last night. Bobby added that Lana hasn’t won anything besides likes on social media and uses her sex life to get famous. Lana said if she used her sex life to get famous she probably should have slept with Drew. Lashley told Lana that he wanted a divorce and left the ring.
First of all, I’m married. Second, I’d rather crawl through a mile of sewage with open wounds than entertain the thought of you….Stay in your lane #WWERaw
Street Profits & Viking Raiders teamed up against Akira Tozawa and three ninjas.
Match Recap: Erik leveled a ninja and tagged Dawkins in. Angelo hit a Splash and tagged Montez Ford in. Montez hit a massive Dropkick and followed it up with a Frog Splash for the pinfall victory.
After the match, Tozawa asked the giant ninja to get into the ring with him. Big Show joined the party and a brawl broke out. Big Show, Viking Raiders, and Street Profits cleaned house and Tozawa & the big ninja retreated up the entrance ramp.
Opinion: Big Show returned as a heel to fight McIntyre at WrestleMania and returned as a babyface tonight to fight the giant ninja. I just hope WWE doesn’t ask their fans to take the tag team championships seriously any time soon. It is quite clear that they don’t care about the tag team division at all.
Seth Rollins came down to the ring and said he invited Rey to have a conversation with him. Seth stated that Rey is a hero for sacrificing himself for the greater good and the future of RAW. Rollins claimed that Mysterio took the cowards way out by not showing up tonight but fortunately his son Dominik showed up.
Rey interrupted from the jumbotron and said that he didn’t know that Dominik was on his way to RAW before it is too late. Mysterio warned Seth not to harm his son and Rollins claimed that all he wanted to do was help Dominik. Rollins implored Mysterio to encourage Dominik to join him and fight for the greater good.
Mysterio said that Dominik will never join Rollins, Theory, and Murphy. Rollins told Rey that his son is a part of the problem then and must be sacrificed for the greater good. Dominik showed up behind the Money Night Messiah and attacked him.
Dominik sent Seth into the steel steps and then was chased in the ring by Murphy and Theory. Dominik escaped into the crowd as Rollins, Murphy, and Theory banged on the plexiglass.
Opinion: I’ve enjoyed this storyline and thought this was a good segment tonight. It was announced that Rey will be appearing on RAW next week and I’m looking forward to that as well.
Match Recap: McIntyre and Lashley started the match off by locking up in the middle of the ring. Drew sent Lashley to the corner and then leveled him with a Clothesline. McIntyre planted Lashley with a Clothesline and then sent him out of the ring.
Drew hit MVP with a Neckbreaker and set up for the Claymore but R-Truth tagged himself in. Lashley launched R-Truth into the barricade outside the ring as Raw went to a break. When RAW returned, R-Truth was still isolated in the corner of the ring and Lashley was beating him down.
McIntyre tagged in and hit MVP with the Future Shock DDT. Drew went for the cover but Lashley broke it up. R-Truth and Lashley battled outside the ring. R-Truth sent Lashley into the steel steps as McIntyre hit MVP with the Claymore. McIntyre then tagged in R-Truth and he hit a Frog Splash for the pinfall victory. Drew McIntyre is still the WWE Champion.
Opinion: There was an absurd amount of MVP on the show tonight. He was in about 10 backstage segments throughout the show. He was trying to recruit Apollo Crews and had a couple segments with R-Truth as well. MVP and Lashley also approached McIntyre and R-Truth and duped Truth into putting the title on the line. He was also in the Lashley and Lana promo and then competed in this match. I was glad he got Claymored because I was sick of seeing him every five minutes.
This was a fun little storyline on a throwaway episode of RAW. I want to know what is next for McIntyre and for him to be in a real feud that is the main event.
Bayley & Banks Will Defend The Titles Against The IIconics Next Week
Women’s Tag Team Champions Bayley and Sasha Banks came down to the ring in the third hour of RAW. Bayley stated that they are going to go to NXT and whoop Nox and Blackheart.
Sasha Banks addressed The IIConics challenging them earlier in the night and Peyton & Billie Kay interrupted. The IIConics demanded an answer to their challenge and once again boasted about defeating Bayley and Banks at WrestleMania.
The IIconics for having separate meltdowns following their loss at WrestleMania. Peyton slapped Banks in the face and Bayley accepted the challenge for the match. The IIconics will challenge Bayley & Banks for the Women’s Tag Team Championships next week on RAW.
Asuka once again defended her RAW Women’s Championship against Nia Jax tonight on RAW.
Match Recap: Jax dominated early and leveled Asuka with a couple Clothesline. Asuka went for an Arm Bar but Jax escaped and rolled to the apron. Asuka went for the Hip Attack but Nia caught her. Asuka escaped and unloaded some kicks to Nia’s legs.
Jax dropped Asuka with a big right hand and followed it up with a Powerbomb on the floor outside the ring as RAW went to a break. Asuka hit a Dropkick and hit some more kicks to Nia’s midesction.
Nia hit Asuka with a Headbutt and followed it up with a Samoan Drop. Jax went for the cover but Asuka’s foot was under the rope. Nia shoved the referee to the ground and he threatened to disqualify her. Asuka capitalized and rolled up Jax for the victory. The commentary team said that it was a fast count from John Cone.
Randy Orton opened tonight’s show and boasted about his win over Edge last night at Backlash. Orton bragged about injuring Edge (torn triceps) and said that Edge can now go home and be a dad again. Randy thanked Edge for reminding him of what it is like to be the legend killer.
Christian interrupted and joined Orton in the ring. Christian told Orton that Edge will be back and called Orton a son of a bitch. Randy challenged Christian to an Unsanctioned Match tonight and gave him to the end of the night to respond. Christian ultimately accepted despite Ric Flair warning him not to.
Before the match started, Ric Flair came down to the ring and said he just talked to Edge. Flair said Christian has nothing to prove and shouldn’t do this. Christian said he has to this and Flair walked to the ropes. Ric then turned around and hit Christian with a low blow.
Orton hit Christian with the Punt and pinned Christian for the victory. After the match, Orton leaned over Christian and blamed him for everything. Orton said he didn’t want to this and didn’t want any of this to happen. WWE’s medical staff put Christian on a stretcher as Orton shouted at them to take care of him. Orton told Christian that this was his fault for interrupting him and he couldn’t let him destroy his livelihood.
Opinion: The Orton & Christian segments and Dominik attacking Rollins were the highlights of the show. Overall, this was a decent episode of RAW. The tag team division remains a joke, there was a ridiculous amount of backstage segments, and the Big Show returned again. I didn’t see anything tonight that gives me hope that RAW is heading in a better direction.
WWE has been holding events without any fans since mid-March but it appears that the situation is changing as the company is now bringing the audience back to the shows.
Bryan Alvarez of F4WOnline.com first reported that WWE used real fans for this week’s television tapings alongside the development talents they have been using recently.
The people who were allowed to attend the shows included some local diehard fans as well as some friends of the wrestlers who live in the area. The fans were scattered around the ring and some on the hard cam side were allowed to sit on chairs.
The officials made them sign waivers to not take pictures or send out spoilers for the show. The waivers apparently also stated that there could be an inherent risk in attending the event and WWE was not liable if any of them contracted COVID-19.
Though the unknowns that come with the coronavirus pandemic will be a big factor in this decision and this timeframe could be shifted later based on the situations at the time.
Monday’s episode of WWE RAW opened with Randy Orton challenging Christian to an Unsanctioned Match.
This came after Christian interrupted the former WWE Champion who was doing a promo talking about beating Edge in the Greatest Wrestling Match Ever the night before at the Backlash pay-per-view event. He also mentioned that Edge suffered a torn triceps in the contest.
Orton suggested that Christian walked out to the ring because he wants one more match. Christian denied that was the case.
Orton challenged him to a match on the show and it would be unsanctioned. The former WWE World Heavyweight Champion had the rest of the night to give him an answer and if he didn’t then he was a coward.
Christian agreed to do the match. It ended up in the final segment of the show. Ric Flair tried to talk him out of it before hitting him with a low blow. Orton hit him with a punt kick then pinned him to win the match.
Christian was stretchered out, and a neck brace put on him. Orton cut a promo while talking to Christian about how he didn’t want to do this. Time will tell where this leads to next after this angle.
Jessica Eye issues statement after UFC on ESPN 10: 'I am never ashamed of myself' https://t.co/V9XqsC8r0S
Shawn Michaels looked back on his retirement from pro wrestling while doing an interview with Bleacher Report.
The former WWE Champion retired following a second straight loss to The Undertaker back in 2010 at WrestleMania 26.
It turns out that the original plan for his retirement wouldn’t have happened at WrestleMania. Instead, they had an idea to do something similar to what many pro athletes like Kobe Bryant and Derek Jeter have had done.
Michaels would’ve had a final match in major cities. Ultimately, he decided against it the night of WrestleMania 26.
“After that match, myself and Taker and Michael Hayes were doing what we did the year before too, sitting in a room by ourselves with a shot of Jack Daniels,” Michaels said.
“I told them, ‘You know what? That might be the one to end it all. I don’t think I’m going to do that other thing.’ And Michael said, ‘I agree.’ And so I just sort of decided right there that was going to be it.”
He teamed up with Triple H to beat The Undertaker and Kane in a tag team match at WWE Crown Jewel on November 2, 2018, at King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This match ended up being the main event of this show.
It marked the first time that Michaels had wrestled a match since 2010.
WWE has not only confirmed that Edge suffered an injury during his latest match but also has undergone surgery to fix it.
Word broke on Sunday afternoon just hours before the match was aired on the WWE Network that Edge had sustained a torn triceps during his singles match against Randy Orton at the Backlash pay-per-view event.
On Monday afternoon, WWE issued a statement that confirmed the injury. The company also noted that “Edge has undergone successful surgery and is currently rehabbing at home.”
The injury occurred during his bout against Randy Orton that had the “Greatest Wrestling Match Ever” tagline to further hype the headliner of the show.
WWE taped this match in advance to make sure it was the best match possible. It’s been reported that Edge was injured while doing re-takes for the contest. There’s no word as to what spot he suffered the injury, but you could clearly see the bruise on his arm.
Unfortunately, a triceps injury could mean that the WWE Hall of Famer will be out of action between 4-8 months.
Thus, he will miss this year’s SummerSlam pay-per-view. He also could be out until early 2021 as it just depends on how quickly he’ll be able to recover.
