WWE went back to a previous gimmick match that hadn’t been used in several years back at the NXT TakeOver: In Your House special.
NXT Champion Adam Cole successfully retained the title over the Velveteen Dream in a Backlot Brawl this past Sunday night in Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University on the WWE Network.
According to a report by Wrestling Inc, Michael Hayes, Triple H and Jeremy Borash produced the match. If you recall, these are the same producers who were in charge of the highly praised Boneyard match at WrestleMania 36 between AJ Styles and The Undertaker.
It was noted that while there may have been other people that had a hand in it, they were the main people in between takes that made changes or suggestions.
Per the report, WWE had to take a break after Cole took the bump into the windshield. Thus, it was noticeable that the blood had already dried up as Cole had a cut on his arm.
The Backlot Brawl didn’t take as long to film as the Boneyard match, which took eight hours to film, while the set took a week to build.
Instead, Filming for the Backlot Brawl started after midnight due to weather and it only took three hours to complete.
WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels recently appeared on WWE’s The Bump. The Heartbreak Kid took part in an NXT Takeover: In Your House themed episode of the WWE Network show. HBK discussed a number of topics from his career both in and out of the ring.
One of the points that Shawn Michaels addressed was recently re-hired NXT Superstar Drake Maverick. The British Superstar was one of the unlucky talents who were released as part of Black Wednesday; and following his announced release by WWE he uploaded a video to Twitter that seemingly helped to save his job with the company.
Following his loss in the NXT Cruiserweight Championship Tournament final, Triple H appeared to give Drake Maverick a contract and confirm that the former Rockstar Spud was not going anywhere else in the pro wrestling world. There has been some backlash to the angle, as some have felt that it was in poor taste to play off a real world situation where a number of people lost their ‘dream’ jobs.
Shawn Michaels on Drake Maverick
“I gotta say, look I know it’s not a breakout star? But? I’m thrilled for Drake Maverick” Shawn Michaels said on The Bump. “I’m thrilled to have him, we’ve, you know, we’ve wanted to keep Drake for a long time. So I’m glad we got him.
HBK would go on to mention some more talent from the NXT roster who he sees could be ‘breakout’ stars. “Karrion Kross has made a huge impact in NXT. I think it’s obvious that there’s a lot more to come from him. I think Dexter Loomis does a great job. Fantastic. I think has been fantastic.”
AEW has released new top-5 rankings ahead of tonight’s episode of Dynamite. Perhaps the biggest news coming out of the rankings this week is that Chris Jericho is once again featured.
AEW Men’s Single’s Rankings
AEW World Champion: Jon Moxley (13-0) TNT Champion: Cody (11-1)
MJF (6-0)
Lance Archer (5-1)
Brodie Lee (5-1)
Kenny Omega (4-0)
Chris Jericho (2-1) (previously unranked)
Darby Allin drops out of the top-5 rankings this week after having been ranked #5 last week. He is currently not medically cleared to compete. Allin’s last match was at Double or Nothing in the Casino Ladder Match won by Brian Cage.
Brian Cage is still unranked but is owed a title shot at Fyter Fest due to his victory in the Casino Ladder Match.
#5 Chris Jericho is back in the rankings this week. He defeated Colt Cabana on Dynamite last week.
#4 Kenny Omega competed in the tag division this week. Along with his partner Hangman Page, they defended the tag belts successfully against Jimmy Havoc and Kip Sabian on Dynamite.
#3 Brodie Lee didn’t compete this week. He did welcome Alan Angels into the Dark Order on AEW Dark last night, however. Angels is now known as #5.
Neither #2 Lance Archer or #1 MJF competed last week.
TNT Champion Cody defended his title against Jungle Boy on Dynamite while AEW World Champion Jon Moxley defeated Robert Anthony on Dark.
AEW Women’s Division
Champion: Hikaru Shida (11-1)
Nyla Rose (6-2)
Kris Statlander (4-4)
Britt Baker (4-4)
Yuka Sakazaki (1-1)
Penelope Ford (3-3)
There was no movement the women’s division this week.
#1 Nyla Rose picked up a win over Big Swole on Dynamite.
Upcoming in the division is a big tag match booked for tonight’s Dynamite. #1 Nyla Rose teams with #5 Penelope Ford to go up against champion Hikaru Shida and #2 Kris Statlander. #3 Britt Baker might be watching the match from her “Role’s Royce.”
AEW Tag Team Division
Champions: Kenny Omega & Hangman Page (7-0)
Best Friends (9-3)
The Natural Nightmares (5-0)
Private Party (4-2)
SCU (3-4) (previously unranked)
Young Bucks (2-2)
After dropping a tag team title match against Omega and Page, Jimmy Havoc and Kip Sabian drop out of the rankings this week. #4 SCU are back in the rankings after picking up a victory over Fuego Del Sol & Low Rider on Dark.
A few matches take place in the tag division this week. FTR will make their debut against the Butcher and the Blade. #1 The Best Friends team with Orange Cassidy to go up against Santana, Ortiz and Jake Hager from the Inner Circle.
An iconic wrestling legend has passed away. Johnny “Mr. Wrestling II” Walker has died. He was 85 years old. No cause of death is immediately available.
Long-time wrestling journalist Bill Apter broke the news this morning.
Horrible way to start any day …https://t.co/mdi4RkS7iW Johnny "Mr. Wrestling II" Walker has died.
Walker adopted the Mr. Wrestling II persona in 1972. He originally partnered with Mr. Wrestling (Tim Woods) in Florida, Georgia and a few other areas. He had previously wrestled as “The Grappler” and under his real name.
One of the greatest "masked men" in Wrestling history, Mr Wrestling 2, Johnny Walker has passed away today.. R.I.P. Johnny https://t.co/x5acsFxVGU
During the 1970s, President Jimmy Carter said that Mr. Wrestling II was his favorite wrestler. Carter invited Walker to his inauguration but he was forced to decline due to the Secret Service’s insistence that he attend unmasked.
The National Wrestling Alliance sends its deepest sympathies on the passing of "Mr. Wrestling II" Johnny Walker.
A huge star in the 1970s and 1980s in Georgia Championship Wrestling, Mid-South and all over the NWA. He was also the favorite wrestler of President Jimmy Carter. pic.twitter.com/OJAFuItZK7
In the twilight of his career, Walker spent 2 years working with Vince McMahon in the then-WWF. He rarely appeared on television and was not involved in any major storylines during his time with the company.
The great Mr. Wrestling II passed away today at age 85. He held dozens of championships over the years and was voted Wrestler of the Year in our 1975 year-end poll. pic.twitter.com/bQ63pFL85a
— PWI (Pro Wrestling Illustrated) (@OfficialPWI) June 10, 2020
Mr. Wrestling’s II’s numerous championships include:
Paige commented on WWE’s handling of the Women’s Tag Team Championships this week on WWE Backstage. According to Paige, the titles have been thrown under the rug and are not being treated as seriously as they should.
“I just feel like the tag team championships haven’t been utilized to their full potential,” Paige said.
“I feel like they are not being defended right, I don’t think they are being used right. They’ve kind of just been thrown under the rug, they are not being taken very seriously. At some point, they have to be taken seriously because this was such a big moment for the women’s divisions to have these tag team titles. Instead of just having one championship, now we have a tag team division.”
Paige also expressed the sentiment that WWE could be building up some other teams, including ones in NXT.
“Bayley and Sasha, they are good, they are solid, we all love them but let’s try and build some other people, you know?”
WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships
The women’s tag team championships returned to WWE on February 17th, 2019. Sasha Banks and Bayley won the titles at the Elimination Chamber PPV before dropping them to the Iiconics at WrestleMania just 49 days later.
WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship Teams:
The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka & Kairi Sane) 1x champions, 171 days as champions.
Bliss Cross (Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross) 2x champions, 123 days as champions.
The Iiconics (Peyton Royce & Billie Kay) 1x champions, 120 days as champions.
Bayley & Sasha Banks 2x champions, 64+ days as champions.
Impact Wrestling 6/9 featured an update on the Impact World Championship scenario. The promotion also continued to tease that several wrestlers recently released from WWE could be on their way to the promotion.
Impact Wrestling 6/9 Quick Results:
Michael Elgin defeated Sami Callihan vs Ken Shamrock
Tasha Steelz w/Kiera Hogan defeated Susie
Willie Mack & Cousin Jake defeated Chris Bey & Johnny Swinger
Jacob Crist w/Joey Ryan, Rob Van Dam, & Katie Forbes defeated Crazzy Steve
“The Virtuoso” Deonna Purrazzo had been advertised to appear on this week’s show but as we went to the night’s main event, she had yet to be seen. Attempts to interview her backstage had proved to be difficult.
The night’s main event was a match originally planned for Rebellion. It pitted the longest-reigning Knockouts champion in history, Taya Valkyrie, against the current champion and the woman who took the title off of her, Jordynne Grace. During the match, Taya was not able to get the usual help she’s often been able to rely on from John E. Bravo. The former corrupt referee was distracted by his budding romance with Rosemary on the outside. This led to Grace securing the tap-out from a rear-naked-choke/sleeper hold.
After the match, Purazzo’s music hit and the 26-year-old confronted the champion. She went to shake Grace’s hand but locked her in an armbar instead. Purrazzo then stood over the champion to end the show.
5-Way Championship Match Booked For Slammiversary
Scott D’Amore came out to the ring this week to address the Impact World title situation. He was interrupted by several wrestlers who feel they should be in-line to compete for the championship. This included Ace Austin, who believed D’Amore should just hand the title over to him since he won the #1 Contenders tournament.
D’Amore, however, announced that Tessa Blanchard will be at Slammiversary and she’ll defend the title against 4 challengers in a 5-way match at the PPV. Trey Miguel was announced as in the match just before he came off the ropes to attack Ace Austin. It’s largely assumed at this point that Austin is the one who attacked Trey before he was to compete in the finals of the #1 Contenders tournament.
Eddie Edwards, Michael Elgin, Trey Miguel, Ace Austin and champion Tessa Blanchard will all face off for the belt at Slammiversary.
During a backstage segment this week, Rohit Raju confronted Rhino backstage. Raju told Rhino he should be treating him like a tag-team partner. Rhino responded that he already has a tag-team partner, and his partner “has kids.”
Was this a tease that Rhino’s former tag-team partner Heath Slater is on his way to Impact Wrestling? Slater and Rhino are former Smackdown tag-team champions.
Raju and Rhino brawled to end the segment. A match between the two has been scheduled for next week.
Mike Bennett, Maria Kanellis, and EC3 Featured In “Flashback of the Week”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-QTi0dS89s
During the Flashback Moment of the Week (the one that aired on Twitch anyway) EC3, Mike Bennett, and Maria Kanellis were featured. All 3 were recently released by WWE and their 90-day no-compete clauses will be up in time for them to appear for Impact on July 18th at Slammiversary.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gyo1iQxjag&t=13s
Could we see “The Miracle” return to Impact Wrestling? EC3 is a former Impact World Champion and has been heavily teased as someone who could appear at Slammiversary.
"You know us Canadians, we've always been team players."
Impact also dropped a hint that maybe Eric Young is returning to the promotion. Elgin was shown on his phone at the very end of the episode and said something along the lines of “You know us Canadians, we’ve always been team players.” Young is a former member of Team Canada in the promotion.
Michael Elgin Wins, Shamrock vs Callihan Not Over
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0U55UeiK-4
Michael Elgin picked up a big win this week to kick off the show. This triple threat featured 3 of the top ranked male single’s stars in the promotion, so the win here is likely what helped get him booked in the 5-way championship match at Slammiversary mentioned earlier.
Elgin threw Shamrock into an exposed turnbuckle before taking Callihan out with a strike. He then hit a sit-down power bomb on Shamrock for the win.
After the match, Callihan and Shamrock stared each other down before Callihan caused the lights to go out and then disappeared.
Chris Bey and Willie Mack seem to be on a collision course for the next big X-Division title tilt. This week, however, Mack and Cousin Jake teamed up to defeat Bey and his run-in buddy Johnny Swinger. Mack picked up the victory for his team with a Stunner on Swinger.
After the match, however, Swinger and Bey tried to beat down their opponents but Cody Deaner returned from quarantine and made the save. Mack, Jake, and Deaner celebrated to end the segment.
Cancel Culture Picks Up Win Over “Mentally Unwell Steve”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=achftV6MUuE
Joseph P. Ryan of Cancel Culture gave a speech before the newest member of Cancel Culture, Jacob Crist, took on Crazzy Steve. Ryan suggested that the name “Crazzy Steve” is “problematic” and referred to him as “Mentally Unwell Steve.” He was flanked by the other members of Cancel Culture, Katie Forbes & Rob Van Dam as well.
During the match, Ryan distracted Steve with something on his iPad, which allowed Crist to hit a leg lariat for the win.
Next Week On Impact Wrestling
The following matches have been booked for next week’s show:
Rohit Raju vs Rhino
TNA World Heavyweight Championship Moose (c) vs Hernandez
Street Fight Ace Austin vs Eddie Edwards
Impact Tag Team Championships The North (c) vs The Rascalz (Wentz & Dez)
Chris Jericho has said that when he was growing up, he used to dream of forming a tag-team with Owen Hart. Jericho even attended the Hart brothers school in Calgary along with Lance Storm when he started his training. Jericho took part in an interview with Sportskeeda recently to promote the UK airing of the Dark Side of the Ring episode focused on Owen. During the discussion, Jericho said he’s never felt it would be right for Owen to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
“I never thought Owen should go in the Hall of Fame it’s just not right. I think anybody who had any problems with that should watch it and will understand where the family’s coming from.”
Jericho continued to say that Owen’s contributions to the wrestling business can be celebrated outside of WWE.
“His influence doesn’t go away and it shouldn’t be minimized but if (Martha) doesn’t want to do that through the WWE system, I totally get that,” Jericho continued. He then said he’d like to see Martha Hart do something to honor Owen in AEW.
“I’d love to see (Martha) do something with AEW. I think the spirit of Owen Hart lives on in AEW for sure.”
Jericho would continue to talk about having been influenced by Owen and that it’s important for his contributions to wrestling to be remembered.
“I’m very much influenced by Owen Hart. So I think that, whether it’s New Japan or AEW, I think it’s important for Owen to be remembered by his fans and by the people that he influenced, myself included.”
John Cena has donated $1 million to the Black Lives Matter Foundation. The donation is part of a $3 million donation made by K-Pop band BTS and their fans.
The music group donated $1 million, which was then matched by their fans’ fundraising efforts. Cena matched that gift with another million to bring the total donation to $3 million from this effort.
On Tuesday, Cena tweeted the following inspirational words:
Change is never easy because it takes us admitting that our efforts and methods may be flawed to a point of severe distortion. Be brave and open minded in these moments. Welcome ideas and limit excuses. Change is uncomfortable but can yield much more joy for all in the long run.
While not confirmed, Cena is thought to be responsible for a large donation made to a GoFundMe for Shad Gaspard’s family. The name attached to the donation read “CTC RIP” which many recognized as the acronym used during the brief period when Cena and Cryme Tyme were allies in WWE.
JTG would later say that he was 99% sure the large donation was made by Cena.
“There was a donation for $40,000 and they said that the person donated the money was ‘CTC RIP’ and CTC was a faction between Cryme Tyme and John Cena and it was 2008,” JTG said on Lillian Garcia’s podcast. “It was one also one of the most fun I’ve ever had at the WWE was teaming with Cena.”
John Cena Make-A-Wish
Cena has also taken part in more Make-A-Wish experiences than any other person in history. Last year, he became the first person to take part in over 600 Make-A-Wish experiences.
The tag team of Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne collectively known as the Broserweights had become a fan favourite but their pairing came to an abrupt end due to COVID-19.
The former UFC star recently had an interview with TalkSport, where he discussed a number of things and also revealed the original plans for their tag team.
Riddle revealed that their pairing was originally not supposed to last for long but they were kept together because the fans loved them and they were working well together:
“Bro, all my eggs were in that Broserweight basket, I’ll be honest, they put us together and we formed a team and I don’t think we were supposed to last more than a couple of weeks.
But the fans loved us, we were working really well together and me and Pete get along pretty well” said Matt Riddle “we have pretty good minds for wrestling. Be it on the indies or NXT/WWE, we had it going on and we had a history.”
The Broserweights were originally put together for the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic in January but they ended up sticking together after winning the tournament and the duo went on to win the NXT Tag Team Championships in February.
However, Pete Dunne ended up being stuck in UK due to coronavirus related travel restrictions. WWE then made Timothy Thatcher the temporary partner for Riddle. They lost the NXT titles to Imperium in May and Matt was called to the main roster.
During the interview, the former NXT star also talked about his main roster debut on SmackDown and Matt Riddle said that the real money would have been in him attacking Kurt Angle. You can check out his comments at this link.
The recent twitter feud between the former NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa and Randy Orton have given fans hope of seeing a match between these two in near future.
However, the latest reports on the matter suggest that this dream match is not going to take place in the foreseeable future as it’s not in the cards right now.
Bryan Alvarez discussed the exchange between Orton and Ciampa on Wrestling Observer Live and he reported that the tweets were not setting up a match between the two.
The exchange could be a shoot or something the two stars organised themselves but it was not set up by the company and they are not part of any creative plans.
This does not necessarily mean that Tommaso Ciampa is not headed to the main roster but the tweets between the two WWE stars are not an indication of the things to come.
Randy Orton is currently scheduled to face Edge in a match at Backlash and there is no news on if the company is planning to continue this feud after the upcoming PPV.
On the other hand, Ciampa lost to Karrion Kross in a short match at NXT Takeover: In Your House PPV this past Sunday night and there have been rumors about a possible main roster call up for him after this bout.
Austin Aries is a star who frequently finds himself in a controversial situation and one such controversy that made a lot of headlines was his departure from Impact Wrestling in 2018.
The former Impact World Champion recently appeared on the In The Room podcast where he talked about things like the diminishing kayfabe in the wrestling business and more.
Talking about his controversial departure from the company formerly known as TNA, Aries confirmed that things did not go as planned and his stint with the company was actually supposed to continue after Bound For Glory:
“It was never intended for me, the way I walked out at Bound for Glory, that was not supposed to be the last that you saw me [there]. That was never the intention, I certainly wouldn’t be trying to create a bunch of controversy for no payoff.
Did it come off exactly as I envisioned in my head before hand? Probably not. Could I have done a couple of things that still would have maybe gotten the point across, without maybe taking on some of the criticism that I’ve seen? Potentially.”
For those who don’t know, the then Impact World Champion Austin Aries was scheduled to defend his title against Johnny Impact at the Bound For Glory PPV in October 2018.
However, their feud blurred the line between a work and a shoot and the two stars started taking personal shots at each other on Twitter.
Their rivalry culminated with a match at the PPV where Aries dropped the title to the now John Morrison but Austin no-sold the finish right after the bell rang and left the arena. This turned out to be his final Impact appearance.
FTR finally made their AEW debuts after months of rumours and speculations last month but the duo have apparently not signed a contract with the company just yet.
The former WWE stars recently appeared on The Experience podcast of Jim Cornette where they talked about their feud with The Young Bucks which has been going on since 2016.
During the interview, the former tag champs talked about their status with the company and FTR revealed that they are currently on a handshake deal with the promotion:
“So, we’re negotiating still, we have a short-term, almost handshake deal, because they want to get this thing [match with the Young Bucks] done finally, because it’s been talked about for so many years. So, we’re not under any long-term obligation with anybody.”
FTR then also talked about their relationship with the company president Tony Khan, saying that the AEW official has full trust in them and this is why he is allowing them to appear on their shows on a handshake deal.
The duo formerly known as the Revival made their first AEW appearance during the May 27 episode of Dynamite and they are set to make their in ring debut for the company against The Butcher and The Blade this Wednesday night.
WWE Superstar Charlotte Flair wants to have a big family one day. For now, she wants to focus on her career in the ring and eventually on the big screen.
Charlotte appeared on Better Together with Maria Menounos this week and talked about her plans to start a family with Andrade. He would be ready to have children soon, but she questions if it’s the right time. “I just, I don’t know, when’s the right time? Am I selling myself short not trying to reach for bigger things,” she asked.
“Of course, I think about it, because of my age. But, being able to face Trish Stratus at SummerSlam, and seeing her as a mother of two. And being consider the Greatest of All Time and have the best match on the show, makes me see, you don’t need to worry about when and why and where.”
She continued, “I definitely do [want kids]. I want the whole fairytale. I want three kids. Four Kids. I want all of it. It’s just, I don’t know how. This isn’t just it now, and then I go have kids! I really want to try to be an action figure in a movie, but I don’t know how to write it.”
Charlotte Flair Talks Hollywood Plans
Part of the reason Charlotte avoided appearing on reality shows like Total Divas is because she wanted to keep the door open for a serious career in Hollywood. The exposure would help Andrade build his brand, so maybe they will consider it in a few years.
When asked if she had a dream movie role in mind, Charlotte revealed she recently watched all of the Marvel movies in order and has a character she could see herself playing.
“I just finished all the Marvels in order! It took 3 weeks. After watching the last 22, if I was playing a bad guy, I’d love to be Thor’s sister, Hela, and have a whole film telling her story.”
Other topics discussed include regretting not getting into wrestling at a younger age, the most common misconception about her and more.
Watch & listen to Charlotte Flair on Better Together with Maria Menounos:
WWE Hall of Famer Adam ‘Edge’ Copeland is set to star in a new action thriller, Money Plane.
Money Plane is about professional thief with $40 million in debt. With his family’s life on the line, he must commit one final heist – rob a futuristic airborne casino filled with the world’s most dangerous criminals.
The tag line on the movie poster calls it, ‘An explosive casino heist in the sky.’
Edge plays the lead character, Jack Reese. The cast also features Denise Richards, Kelsey Grammer, Joey Lawrence, Thomas Jane, Katrina Norman and Patrick Lamont Jr.
Money Plane is written and directed by Andrew Lawrence. The film is scheduled to be rebased on digital and on-demand on July 10, 2020.
As seen in the official trailer, Edge is shown kicking all sorts of ass, getting friendly with co-star Denise Richards and preparing to jump out of a plane.
https://youtu.be/XMaH2pKheH0
Edge has had a recurring role on the series Vikings, which airs on the History channel.
The 46-year-old grappler retired from active competition back in 2011 due to cervical spinal stenosis. He made a shocking return at the 2020 Royal Rumble after a 9-year hiatus. He is scheduled to face Randy Orton this weekend at WWE Backlash, a rematch from their singles bout at WrestleMania.
WWE is touting that Sunday’s match between Edge and Orton will be the greatest pro wrestling match of all time. The match has already been taped in advance. During a recent interview, Edge revealed that he has mixed feelings about WWE setting expectations so high with the lofty marketing.
Here is the official movie poster for Money Plane:
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 1.737 million viewers, which is up from the 1.728 million viewers last week.
SmackDown averaged 1.984 million viewers on FOX in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center. This is down from the 2.170 million viewers that the show did for the previous week’s episode of SmackDown.
The show averaged 1.935 million viewers in the fast nationals, which was down from the 2.150 million viewers a week ago. This number measured the top metered markets.
The first hour drew 1.962 million viewers while the second hour did 1.908 million viewers. For comparison, the first show of last week’s show did 2.143 million viewers while the second hour did 2.157 million viewers.
SmackDown pulled in a 0.50 rating in the 18-49 demos, down from the 0.60 rating as last week’s show.
WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels recently appeared on WWE’s The Bump. The Heartbreak Kid took part in an NXT Takeover: In Your House themed episode of the WWE Network show. HBK discussed a number of topics from his career both in and out of the ring.
One of the points that Shawn Michaels addressed was NXT Champion Adam Cole. The leader of the Undisputed Era faction has had fans and critics alike drawing comparisons between NXT’s Champion and HBK.
Shawn Michaels on Adam Cole
“I certainly see what everybody is talking about” Shawn Michaels would say; discussing how alike he and Cole are/were as performers. “He’s unbelievably talented, he’s charismatic. And so yes, I do, I see…I certainly see the comparisons.”
Shawn Michaels would then talk about how ‘flattering’ it is being compared to a talent such as Adam Cole. “I’m always flattered by that, Adam is an absolutely fabulous dude. He’s an incredible champion, he has carried the banner of NXT and the NXT Championship in a way that is going to be tough to match.”
HBK elaborated further, saying “especially from just being a pro and being there for everything and doing everything as a Champion. It’s already been impressive how long he stayed there [on top] but you gotta wonder when that shoe is gonna drop and when that luck is gonna run out.”
Adam Cole would defend his NXT Championship against Velveteen Dream at the Takeover: In Your House event this past weekend. Cole was successful in the Backlot Brawl match, hitting a Panama Sunrise onto a huge stack of chairs to defeat Dream.
Do you see the comparisons between Shawn Michaels and Adam Cole? Let us know in the comments
Big E, Xavier Woods, and Kofi Kingston spoke about racial injustice this week on The New Day: Feel The Power podcast. During the discussion, all 3 members of the group noted the emotional impact current events have had on them.
“I haven’t been able to get this out of my mind and it’s really weighed heavy on me,” Big E said on the show. “I think it’s been a hard few months for so many of us. When Shad passed, when Hana Kimura passed, I kept imagining myself in the water. For some reason, I just kept putting myself in Shad’s position. I don’t know if he knew his son got to safety, I don’t know what his last thoughts were when he died. With Hana, the stuff that was going through her mind when she took her life.”
Big E Talks Racial Injustice
Big E continued to talk about the empathy he has been feeling for others during what has been a very difficult time both in wrestling and the world at large.
“I just keep putting myself in George Floyd’s position when I saw him be murdered like that,” he continued. “To have a man put his knee on his neck like that, man, I don’t know how you don’t feel empathy for a man like that who was accused of passing a counterfeit $20 bill. He didn’t deserve to die like that and we cannot be okay with murdering us, you just can’t be okay with it because it’s not the first time and it’s not the second time. I’ve seen and heard these stories from my parents and their parents and their parents before them. I cannot accept living in a country where this is acceptable.”
“I can’t stop imagining myself in their shoes, in that position. This man had a daughter, he had people who loved him, he had people who cared about him. Same thing with Ahmaud Arbery,” Big E continued.
Kofi Kingston On Racial Injustice
“That’s the scariest thing about all these situations is that it could very well have been any of us,” Kofi said. “Seeing the video of Ahmaud Arbery, he was just going for a run in his neighborhood. I’ve recently just started running around in my neighborhood.”
“No one should have to live like that,” he continued. “Constantly looking over their shoulder in fear or worrying that harm may come but the reality of the world that we live in today is that it is possible.”
“It’s very refreshing in a sense to see that so many people who are not African-American coming to the aid and really wanting to know what they can do,” Kofi continued. “White America wants to know what they can do because I feel like these images specifically, watching this, seeing this with your own eyes and knowing that it’s real and that it’s actually happening and it’s not hearsay.”
“Seeing that makes it very real and it’s not just for us, it’s for anybody that witnesses it.”
“I feel like this situation is just hitting a little bit differently. I feel like we are hopefully on the cusp of something turning around because we are not the only ones who have had enough. It feels good to have White America listening, you know what I’m saying? As opposed to talking about the semantics of Kaepernick protesting and talking about it being about the flag.”
Velveteen Dream was defeated by Adam Cole in a Last Chance Backlot Brawl at NXT Takeover: In Your House this past weekend.
One of the stipulations to the match was that if Dream failed to win the title, he could no longer challenge for it while Cole is the champion. His loss has led some to speculate whether Velveteen Dream could be getting called up to the main roster soon.
According to comments made on Wrestling Observer Radio, however, Dream will not be debuting on either RAW or Smackdown anytime soon.
“Velveteen Dream is not coming up,” Dave Meltzer said bluntly. “I was pretty much told that’s not happening now. Someday, of course, it will happen but it’s not in the plans today.”
Velveteen Dream In WWE
Patrick Clark Jr. was signed to WWE in 2015 after participating in the 6th season of Tough Enough. In 2017, Clark would debut his Prince-inspired gimmick of the Velveteen Dream. Since then, the 25-year-old won the 2017 NXT Feud of the Year award for his angle with Aleister Black.
Dream is a former 1x NXT North American Champion as well. He defeated Johnny Gargano for the belt on the January 30th, 2019 edition of NXT. Dream held the title for 231 days before dropping it to Roderick Strong.
There have been lots of rumours about the WWE status of Adam Cole recently but latest reports suggest that he is going to stay with the company for a long time.
Britt Baker had recently appeared on the AEW Unrestricted podcast and mentioned the NXT Champion’s history with the Elite. She also hoped that things will come a full circle soon and the NXT star will join AEW in near future.
Some reports that came out after this claimed that Cole’s current WWE contract is going to expire soon, fuelling the rumours about his future with the company.
However, PWInsider provided some updates on his contract recently and the site claims that the current champion has 18 months left on his current deal with the promotion.
The fact that Adam Cole retained the NXT Championship over Velveteen Dream in the Last Chance Backlot Brawl during the NXT TakeOver: In Your House special also indicates that WWE still has plans for the Undisputed Era leader.
This means that the current NXT Champion Adam Cole will not be leaving WWE anytime soon and while we may see him in AEW somewhere down the line, he still has plenty of time left in his current WWE run.
WWE has announced a match between Randy Orton and Edge for the upcoming Backlash PPV and the bout is one of the most heavily promoted matches for the show.
Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer recently provided some updates on the match and he revealed that the fight between these two veterans has already been taped.
WWE has been promoting this collision as the “The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever” and the taped match was described to be “really, really good”
Meltzer further added that it was “two very smart workers working very hard to have the smartest match they possibly could under the circumstances.”
Though the reports of other parts of Backlash being taped are false and the rest of the PPV is expected to be broadcasted live from the Performance Center this Sunday.
Taping this match in advance gives the company a week to do some post-match editing and help the bout live up to the marketing tagline of being the greatest wrestling match.
Edge faced Randy Orton in a last man standing match at WrestleMania 36 from Performance Center which was his first singles match in over 8 years after his surprise in-ring return at Royal Rumble earlier this year.
However, the bout received criticism from fans for its slow pace and after this; Orton challenged Edge to a “straight-up wrestling match” at Backlash earlier last month.
MVP is an internationally known pro wrestler due to his stints with WWE. However, he wasn’t always on a clear path to success and there is a troubled past behind the current achievements of the former US Champion.
The wrestling star joined a gang when he was 12 years old and spent over nine years in prison for armed robbery and kidnapping when he was only 16.
Though WWE still gave him an opportunity for redemption and during his recent appearance on Chasing Glory podcast, MVP revealed what Vince McMahon said to him upon his hiring:
“When I got to the WWE, I was given an opportunity that society wouldn’t give me. Society wouldn’t give me an opportunity to make minimum wage, Vince McMahon said, ‘Yeah, you did some bad things, but everybody here gets an opportunity. You’ve earned an opportunity.’
He gave me an opportunity to become an internationally known professional wrestling superstar.” said MVP “With that came social redemption.”
The WWE star continued by mentioning how he still gets negative comments regarding his past actions but he has served his time in prison and he is a changed man.
MVP originally joined WWE in 2005 and stayed with the promotion till 2010. He returned to the company during Royal Rumble earlier this year and he has been working as a backstage producer and on-screen talent for the promotion since then.
On May 25th, the Japanese government lifted the nationwide state of emergency caused by the coronavirus pandemic. New Japan Pro-Wrestling has announced their plans to return to conducting live wrestling events over the next month. To ensure minimal risk of virus propagation, NJPW has been conducting antibody testing on wrestlers, crew, trainers, and other live event staff, and preparation of venues has begun.
The last NJPW event took place on February 26th in Okinawa, Japan. New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s first live event following the end of Japan’s COVID-19 state of emergency will be an empty arena event on June 15th, called the NJPW Together Special. In all, eleven events have been scheduled, including a rescheduled New Japan Cup and Dominion.
The New Japan Cup participants have changed to accommodate international travel restrictions caused by the pandemic. The majority of participants who live overseas have been replaced. As such, the 32-man New Japan Cup, usually a heavyweights-only tournament, now includes a number of NJPW’s junior heavyweight wrestlers. Also, it has been announced that, as previously, Tetsuya Naito will defend both his IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental championships against the winner of the New Japan Cup.
All events will be streamed live on NJPW World. NJPW has also announced that their Summer Struggle 2020 tour, originally scheduled to take place from July 11 to July 19, has been cancelled.
NJPW Event Schedule
June 15: NJPW Together Project Special
Matches unknown
June 16: New Japan Cup 2020 First Round (empty arena)
Togi Makabe vs. Yota Tsuji
Tomohiro Ishii vs. El Desperado
Toru Yano vs. Jado
Tomoaki Honma vs. Hiromu Takahashi
Unknown “special match”
June 17: New Japan Cup 2020 First Round (empty arena)
Kazuchika Okada vs. Gedo
Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki
Yuya Uemura vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Gabriel Kidd vs. Taiji Ishimori
Unknown “special match”
June 22: New Japan Cup 2020 First Round (empty arena)
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Taichi
Kota Ibushi vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Ryusuke Taguchi vs. SANADA
SHO vs. Shingo Takagi
Unknown “special match”
June 23: New Japan Cup 2020 First Round (empty arena)
Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. YOSHI-HASHI
YOH vs. BUSHI
Satoshi Kojima vs. EVIL
Hirooki Goto vs. Yujiro Takahashi
Unknown “special match”
June 24: New Japan Cup 2020 Second Round (empty arena)
Four New Japan Cup second round matches
Unknown “special match”
July 1: New Japan Cup 2020 Second Round (empty arena)
Four New Japan Cup second round matches
Unknown “special match”
July 2: New Japan Cup 2020 Quarterfinals (empty arena)
Four New Japan Cup quarterfinal matches
Unknown “special match”
July 3: New Japan Cup 2020 Semifinals (empty arena)
Two New Japan Cup semifinal matches
Two unknown “special matches”
July 11: New Japan Cup 2020 Final (Osaka-jo Hall, Osaka, one third capacity attendees)
New Japan Cup 2020 Final match
July 12: Dominion (Osaka-jo Hall, Osaka, one third capacity attendees)
It’s been a while since WWE made the decision to produce shows without an audience due to coronavirus threats but now Triple H is teasing a change in this situation.
A fan posted a selfie in front of the Full Sail University before last night’s NXT Takeover event and he mentioned how he misses being part of the WWE shows.
The WWE Vice President interestingly responded to this tweet from the fan and Triple H teased the return of the audience with just one word in his reply:
The governor of Florida had announced plans for the reopening of the state earlier last month which included the order to allow sporting events to be produced with 25% of the arena capacity.
WWE has also recently eased up their restrictions a bit and started allowing development talents to be used as audience for the shows from the Performance Center.
Since the government is moving forward with their re-opening plans, it’s believed that companies like AEW and WWE could be allowed to have fans in attendance very soon.
This advancement, coupled with the tweet from Triple H has given some hope to the fans, however, we will still have to wait for a timeline to be exactly sure from when can we see the fans return to the wrestling shows.
The June 8th edition of WWE RAW aired from the Performance Center in Orlando. It was the final episode of RAW before WWE Backlash this Sunday night. Edge joined Christian for an episode of The Peep Show and Asuka battled Charlotte Flair in the main event.
RAW Results (6/8)
Charlotte & Asuka def. The IIconics, Sasha Banks & Bayley
Humberto Carrillo & Aleister Black def. Murphy & Austin Theory
Andrade def. Kevin Owens & Angel Garza to earn a shot at US Title
Lashley & MVP def. Viking Raiders
Charlotte def. Asuka
Here are 6 takeaways from this week’s show:
Charlotte Attacked Asuka
Asuka was set to face Charlotte Flair tonight but Sasha Banks and Bayley interrupted. Bayley told the booing crowd that they should be thanking her for bringing star quality to RAW. Sasha and Bayley bragged about winning the Women’s Tag Team Championships before Asuka cut them off.
The IIconics then interrupted and said that everyone wants to see them face Bliss & Cross, Sasha Banks & Bayley in a Triple Threat Match at Backlash. Bayley and Banks attacked Flair and Asuka. Asuka and Charlotte battled back and sent them out of the ring. This then led to a Triple Threat match between the three teams. It was announced that Flair and Asuka will still compete against each other later tonight.
Match Recap: The IIconics and the Women’s Tag Team Champions battled to start the match off. Kay and Royce isolated Bayley and took turns beating her down. Charlotte forced a tag and stomped on Bayley. The fans started a “we want Asuka!” chant and Flair got pissed off.
Asuka tagged in and hit the Hip Attack on Bayley that sent her flying off the ring apron. Asuka beat Banks down as RAW went to a break. When RAW returned, The IIconics were in control and had Asuka isolated in the corner. Charlotte tagged in and regained control of the match. Asuka tagged herself in and Charlotte got pissed off again. Charlotte quickly tagged herself back in and told Asuka to watch how it is done. Flair made her way to the top rope but Asuka tagged back in and applied the Asuka Lock on Billie Kay for the submission victory.
After the match, Charlotte and Asuka had a staredown in the middle of the ring. Asuka raised the title in Charlotte’s face and Flair responded with a Clothesline. Charlotte then raised the RAW Women’s Championship while saying that Asuka has never defeated her.
Rollins Invited Mysterio & Dominik To RAW Next Week
Seth Rollins came down to the announce table and asked Byron Saxton to give him his headset. Rollins stated that he didn’t want to miss the satellite interview with Rey Mysterio.
Mysterio said that he saw his doctor and that things were looking good but the possibility for further damage to his eye is there. Rey added that he didn’t know when he was going to compete but then delivered a warning to Seth.
Rey warned Seth that he was going to pay for what he put his family through and that he is going to kick his ass. Rollins claimed that Rey was spreading misinformation and that he gave Mysterio the chance to walk away as a legend.
Seth invited Rey and Dominik to come to RAW next week so that he can prove that Mysterio’s sacrifice was for the greater good. Mysterio stated that Rollins only wants him at RAW next week because he is not cleared. Rollins said that wasn’t true but his explanation was cut short by a kick from Aleister Black out of nowhere. Aleister Black and Humberto Carrillo then defeated Murphy and Austin Theory in a Tag Team match.
After the match, Rey Mysterio’s music hit but Rollins came down the entrance ramp his a mask on. Theory and Murphy then attacked Black and Carrillo from behind. Murphy leveled Humberto with a knee to the face and then Rollins hit Black with the Stomp.
Christian returned to RAW for an episode of the Peep Show. Christian invited Edge down to the ring ahead of the “Greatest Wrestling Match Ever” against Randy Orton this Sunday at Backlash.
Christian claimed that it looked like Edge was running on fumes, which prompted a “you still got it!” chant from the crowd. He then insulted Edge some more by saying Edge couldn’t even have the greatest wrestling match ever in his prime.
Edge noted that he hasn’t been in a traditional wrestling match for 9 years and now it is being labeled as the greatest ever. Christian claimed that Edge was making excuses and brought up his late mother. Christian said that she was there for all his big matches and will be there for this one even if Edge thinks she is not.
Edge got up and started Christian down. Christian smiled and said that was what he was looking for. Christian added that he believes in Edge and that he can defeat Randy Orton in the greatest wrestling match ever at Backlash.
Randy Orton interrupted from the jumbotron and told them both to shut up. Orton vowed to embarrass Edge at Backlash and send him back to his wife & daughters. Randy claimed that the redemption of Edge was over at Backlash. Edge stated that it is not and walked backstage.
Opinion: Christian was phenomenal during this promo. Orton & Edge had amazing promos leading up to their underwhelming WrestleMania match. I hope this one delivers at Backlash. The “Greatest Wrestling Match Ever” tagline is putting a hell of a lot of pressure on Edge and Orton.
Andrade Will Face Apollo Crews At Backlash For The US Title
Anrade, Kevin Owens, and Angel Garza battled in a Triple Threat match tonight to determine the #1 contender for the United States Championship. Before the match, Crews said he was excited to defend the title against the winner at Backlash.
Match Recap: Owens got some revenge and attacked Garza and Andrade during their entrance. Owens was fired up in the ring and shouted “bring it on!” as RAW went to a break.
When RAW returned, Garza and Andrade beat Owens down but didn’t seem to be on the same page as Zelina Vega was ringside. Angel ripped off his pants to reveal his tights and continued to beat Owens down with Andrade.
Andrade hit a Suplex and went for the cover but Garza broke it up. The two started shoving each other and Zelina tried to get in between them but they accidentally knocked her down. They stop fighting with each other and check on Vega as RAW went to another break.
Zelina Vega was helped to the back by WWE medical staff during the break. Owens lifted up Andrade and hit Garza with a Senton while Andrade was on his back. Owens hit a Frog Splash but Andrade kicked out. Andrade hit Owens with a Dropkick and then started trading punches with Garza.
Angel Garza went for the Wing Clipper but Owens countered into a Stunner. Andrade then hit Owens with a Dropkick and pinned Garza for the victory. Andrade will face Apollo Crews for the United States Championship at Backlash.
McIntyre Sent A Message To Lashley Heading Into Backlash
MVP hosted another edition of the VIP Lounge tonight. MVP said his guest had the most devastating move in WWE and introduced Bobby Lashley. Drew McIntyre immediately interrupted and continued to raise the WWE Championship around in the ring as MVP tried to talk.
McIntyre joked that MVP must have been talking about him and his Claymore Kick. MVP said he was talking about Lashley and the Full Nelson. Drew claimed that he was still feeling the Full Nelson from last week but MVP has taken several Claymores as of late. MVP stated that this was part of his business plan and that Lashley will win the WWE Championship at Backlash.
Drew set up for the Claymore but Lashley got in the ring. McIntyre hit MVP with a Glasgow Kiss before Viking Raiders interrupted. Lashley & MVP then defeated Viking Raiders after Lashley locked in the Full Nelson on Erik. McIntyre & Street Profits looked on from ringside during the match. After the match, McIntyre hit Lashley with the Claymore as he had the Full Nelson locked in on Ivar. Lashley got knocked out of the ring but landed on his feet after the Claymore. McIntyre shouted that it is going to be a war at Backlash to end the segment.
Women’s Tag Team Champions Bayley & Sasha Banks joined commentary for the Asuka versus Charlotte match.
Match Recap: Charlotte controlled the action early and slammed Asuka into the ring apron. Flair continued to beat Asuka down and mocked the crowd for booing her. Asuka battled back and hit the Hip Attack against the barricade. Charlotte slammed Asuka into the plexiglass before the action returned to the ring. The IIConics attacked Banks and Bayley from behind and slammed Bayley on the announce table as RAW went to a break.
When RAW returned, Bayley, Banks, and The IIconics were banned from ringside. Asuka hit Flair with a Hip Attack and went for an Arm Bar but Charlotte unloaded several elbows to Asuka’s face. Charlotte followed it up with a Headlock in the middle of the ring as the crowd got behind Asuka.
Asuka broke free but Charlotte knocked her back down with a knee to the face. Asuka battled back with a Dropkick off the second rope. Charlotte went for a boot to the face but Asuka avoided it and hit a German Suplex.
The RAW Women’s Champion hit another Hip Attack that knocked Flair out of the ring. Charlotte hit a Moonsault off the barricade and then slammed Asuka’s left knee onto the ring post a few times.
Charlotte connected with a big boot and went for the cover but Asuka kicked out at two. Flair went for the Figure Four but Asuka blocked it. Charlotte then went for the Spear but Asuka countered with a knee to the face. Charlotte connected with the Spear and went for the cover but Asuka kicked out at two. Nia Jax came down to the ring for the distraction and Charlotte capitalized with a big kick to the face for the pinfall victory. It looked like Asuka kicked out right as the referee’s hand hit the canvas. After the match, Nia Jax planted Asuka with a Samoan Drop to end the show.
Opinion: Charlotte and Asuka had a terrific match tonight. I know Nia Jax had to interfere to hype the RAW Women’s Championship match at Backlash, but it sucked that we didn’t get a proper finish to a 30 minute match. I don’t have any interest in Nia Jax vs. Asuka at Backlash. I just hope they keep the belt on Asuka and as far away as possible from Nia Jax. Overall, this week’s RAW was a decent show. There wasn’t much that happened tonight that got me excited for Backlash this weekend.
A new match has been announced for the upcoming WWE Backlash PPV.
During Monday’s episode of RAW, Kevin Owens, Angel Garza, and Andrade faced off in a Triple Threat #1 Contender’s Match to determine who would be next line for a shot at the United States Championship.
As seen on the show, Andrade ended up winning the contest to become the new #1 contender. As a result, Andrade will challenge Apollo Crews for the United States Championship at Backlash.
WWE presents the Backlash pay-per-view event on Sunday, June 14, 2020 in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center that will air on the WWE Network.
Updated WWE Backlash Card
Edge vs. Randy Orton – Singles Match
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre vs. Bobby Lashley
WWE Universal Champion Braun Strowman vs. The Miz & John Morrison – Handicap Match
WWE RAW Women’s Champion Asuka vs. Nia Jax
Jeff Hardy vs. Sheamus – Singles Match
WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Bayley & Sasha Banks vs. Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross vs. The IIconics – Title Triple Threat Match
WWE United States Champion Apollo Crews vs. Andrade
