Impact Wrestling is teasing surprise appearances from former WWE talent at the upcoming Slammiversary pay-per-view.
Slammiversary is one of Impact’s signature events. This year’s installment takes place Sunday, July 18th.
A promo aired during this week’s Impact TV letting fans know to expect some familiar faces in attendance.
The promo, embedded below, shows a shadowy figure watching a news report about WWE’s mass wave of releases that occurred in April. Footage is shown of EC3, Rockstar Spud, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson and more.
We already know that former NXT star Deonna Purrazzo is joining Impact. It will be interesting to see which of the stars shown in this promo will be joining her.
LaRae says she is very excited for Takeover. She remembers watching WWE’s In Your House pay-per-views with her brothers during the mid/late 1990’s.
NXT Takeover takes place from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. Even though fans are still not permitted to attend these shows, WWE has placed contracted talent in the audience to simulate crowd noise.
Candice LaRae gave her thoughts about WWE’s approach to live wrestling shows without fans in the audience.
“I am always trying to be aware of the fact that there are people watching at home,” she began. “So once I’m in a match and I’m physically in that moment, they don’t have to physically be there for me personally.”
She initially thought it was going to be very difficult to perform without fans in attendance. However, during her recent ladder match, she was not bothered by the lack of fans because there was something meaningful on the line.
LaRae said the most uncomfortable thing for her about performing without fans is her ring entrance. “I’m a little bit of a socially awkward person, so having to do an entrance and nobody’s there is very uncomfortable for me,” she said.
Even though WWE having NXT wrestlers stand around is not the same as paying customers, Candice LaRae says it’s still better than performing in silence.
“It’s uncomfortable for me a little bit, I’ll admit, when there are fans there. So having the NXT talent all be there and being rowdy or responding how they respond, is just, it helps my entrance. Nothing else. I appreciate that. I feel less awkward.”
Back in March, tattoo artist Celeste from the Built 4 Speed Tattoo shop in Orlando, FL posted a photo of the ‘wendigo’ tattoo she was putting on the former NXT Women’s Champion.
The wendigo is a “mythological man-eating creature or evil spirit” from the folklore of the First Nations Algonquian tribes, according to Wikipedia.
Celeste posted an updated look at the new ink, which has come a long way since our first look a few months ago.
You can see Rhea Ripley’s new wendigo tattoo in the Instagram post embedded below. The post has a ton of positive comments. We agree with those sentiments – this looks absolutely badass.
All Elite Wrestling is back tonight with an all-new edition of AEW Dynamite on TNT.
AEW has a strong card booked as they look to capitalize off last week’s spike in viewership. The following items are scheduled for tonight’s edition of AEW Dynamite:
“The American Nightmare” Cody will defend the TNT Championship for the first time against Jungle Boy. The Jurassic Express star won a battle royal last week to earn the title shot.
AEW’s Tag Team Champion are back in action together. Kenny Omega & Adam Page will defend the gold against Jimmy Havoc and Kip Sabian.
Inner Circle leader Chris Jericho will face Colt Cabana.
Brian Cage will be in action. “The Machine” will have Taz in his corner as he looks to stack up another win. Cage won the Casino Ladder Match at Double or Nothing and challenges AEW World Champion Jon Moxley at Fyter Fest some time this summer.
Big Swole looks to climb the ranks of the AEW women’s division against former champion Nyla Rose.
Finally, Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood will sit down with Tony Schiavone for their first interview since joining All Elite Wrestling. Why has FTR come to AEW? Will they be allies or opponents of the Young Bucks?
Don’t expect to see Hulk Hogan or his ex-wife Linda at an AEW event any time soon.
Linda Hogan posted tweeted a message Tuesday afternoon that many are calling racist. In response to the ongoing protests about George Floyd’s death and police brutality towards African Americans, she tweeted:
“watching the looting , it’s all afro Americans, not sure how robbing and stealing set the record straight but if they want to be heard they need to be civilized.”
The tweet has since been deleted, but not before it made waves online and trended worldwide. AEW President Tony Khan was among the people who did not take kindly to Linda Hogan’s viewpoint.
Tony Khan replied to Linda and informed her she is now prohibited from attending AEW shows. In doing so, Khan also revealed that her ex-husband, Hulk, is also on the banned list.
You’ve now joined your husband in being banned from all AEW shows. Congratulations.
Hulk Hogan was persona-non-grata for a few years in WWE as a result of his 2015 racism scandal, but was welcomed back with open arms by the promotion late 2018.
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 1.728 million viewers, which is down from the 1.735 million viewers last week.
SmackDown averaged 2.170 million viewers on FOX in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center. This is up from the 2.044 million viewers that the show did for the previous week’s episode of SmackDown.
The show averaged 2.150 million viewers in the fast nationals, which was up from the 2.040 million viewers a week ago. This number measured the top metered markets.
The first hour drew 2.143 million viewers while the second hour did 2.157 million viewers. For comparison, the first show of last week’s show did 2.076 million viewers while the second hour did 2.003 million viewers.
SmackDown pulled in a 0.60 rating in the 18-49 demos, up from the 0.50 rating as last week’s show.
Former WWE SmackDown Executive Vice President and WCW President Eric Bischoff recently discussed AEW Dynamite and a potential move to Mondays for the show on After 83 Weeks w/Christy Olson.
Bischoff was posed the question on the show, being asked if he felt AEW Dynamite could eventually make a move to Monday Nights and go head-to-head with WWE RAW. The reasoning behind the question was because Monday is regarded by ‘casual’ fans as ‘wrestling night’ and AEW could potentially capitalise on that audience.
TNA made the move to Monday nights back in 2010, eventually moving back to their usual time slot later in the week. Bischoff has previously said that the reason for that move was to get fans to ‘sample’ the product, but he doesn’t think that AEW should be moving anytime soon.
Eric Bischoff on Dynamite Moving Nights
“If I were there, and I had a voice in the room? I would probably be suggesting that they stay away from Mondays until their numbers start coming up every week,” Bischoff began.
“What we’ve seen, when they debuted they came in about 1.4 to 1.5 million viewers. And pre COVID? They were hovering in that eight or 900,000 viewers category,” he continued. “That means they went from here, to here, to here (motioning downwards). And now they’re kind of flatlining at almost 35 or 40% of their premiere audience.”
Bischoff then compared AEW Dynamite’s viewership trends to that of WCW Nitro.
“If you go back and you look at Nitro’s performance when we launched? That was September I guess in ’95? We started out in the low twos or mid twos, and we crept up to the high twos. Then we crept up to a three and then we crept up to a three three over a pretty long period of time. It didn’t happen overnight, It took a while.”
WCW Nitro
Eric Bischoff elaborated further, saying “But most importantly? If you looked at our ratings as a graph over the first year? It would be a slow but steady build up. What we’ve seen with AEW has been a slow but steady deterioration of the audience they seemed to have, pre-COVID. That’s now leveling out at about that 800,000 Mark 850,000 whatever it is.”
Bischoff finished by giving his own take on when AEW could even begin to consider moving their night to compete with a bigger WWE platform than they currently are with NXT on Wednesdays.
“That’s the risk, if the audience isn’t so into your product and you make a move to another night? They may or may not come with you. But if you can demonstrate by growing that audience and watching other indicators like licensing and merchandising and pay per view numbers? If you can say to yourself ‘okay for the last six months we’ve increased viewers by X percent. We’ve increased merchandise sales by X percent.’ When you can start filling in those blanks in, and it indicates an upward trend? Then I would start having a conversation about Monday nights.”
Do you agree with Bischoff? Let us know in the comments
WWE Superstar and RAW personality Zelina Vega recently appeared on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio. Vega appeared on the show to discuss her recent on-screen managerial role, and if she feels there can be more done to push herself and the group featuring Andrade, Angel Garza and formerly Austin Theory.
Zelina Vega on Scratching The Surface
“I do I feel that this is just scratching the surface” Vega began when describing the group. “When it came to me and Andrade in NXT? We were just, you know, it was like thunder happened and it was great together in NXT; but I think that shows where we can go and that we can even surpass that.”
Zelina Vega would elaborate further, saying “I feel that there’s so much more that can be done and we’re just finally getting the chance to show that. So do I feel like as a group we can be doing more? Absolutely. Do I feel by myself I can be doing more? Yeah, absolutely, you know, but it comes down to getting that opportunity to do that.”
Vega would finish by saying how she is constantly trying to prove herself on Monday nights. “Right now I feel like I’m constantly trying to prove myself. I’m totally okay with that because at the end of the day? It’s like ‘okay, who’s the one you know not striking out? Who’s the one who’s here constantly? Who’s the one who’s working hard and more than enough?’ My name is gonna keep coming up.”
Do you think that Zelina Vega’s group can be placed higher up on the card in WWE? Let us know in the comments
Matt Cardona (Zack Ryder) was a recent guest on Chris Jericho’s Talk Is Jericho. The Z! True Long Island Story creator mentioned the massively successful YouTube series and how it helped push him to one of the biggest moments of his career.
WWE Survivor Series 2011 took place at Madison Square Garden, an area that holds special meaning to the New York native. The opening match of the night saw Dolph Ziggler defend his United States Championship against John Morrison, with the NYC crowd demanding throughout the match, ‘We want Ryder.’
Matt Cardona in MSG
Matt Cardona would appear after the match to an absolutely huge reaction and laid out Ziggler. “It was the fall time where I think eventually they [WWE] said, ‘we gotta shut these people up'” Cardona began, talking about how WWE were never fans of his own organic attraction to the fanbase.
“Finally I think they had to just put me on to the shut everybody up” Cardona continued. “But now the chants were getting louder and louder and especially the Ziggler and John Morrison match. I don’t want to toot my own horn but like I’m getting goosebumps just thinking about Madison Square Garden. Not only is it a home arena? But it’s the GARDEN, you know, right?”
Matt Cardona would then describe how he went backstage feeling elated and he got completely the opposite reaction behind the curtain.
“I go out there and the place is going nuts. I get to the curtain and like Triple H is like ‘come here.’ I’m thinking like ‘finally, he’s gonna say good job kid, this is what I’ve been waiting for,’ How can you deny this? It’s Madison Square Garden.”
The former Zack Ryder elaborated further, saying “He [Triple H] pulled me aside and I just like got fresh frosted tips in my hair that week. So he asked me like, ‘Why did you dye your hair!?’ I’m like ‘MSG is chanting my name and you’re asking me why I dyed my hair!?'”
Cardona would then reveal that WWE were not happy that he made a decision to change his appearance before going to WWE management.
WWE seemingly did everything they could to derail Matt Cardona’s push in the months following, trying to use his popularity to aid an already divisive top star in John Cena.
Matt Cardona (Zack Ryder) with his Internet Championship
Do you think that Zack Ryder/Matt Cardona could’ve been a bigger star in WWE? Let us know in the comments
Jaxson Ryker is getting major pushback from his fellow WWE Superstars for a tweet supporting United States President Donald Trump.
There have been mass protests across the United States over the past week following the police killing of George Floyd. On Monday, Washington D.C. police prayed tear gas at protesters who were demonstrating on Lafayette Park near the White House.
In a public address on Monday, President Trump warned the public to expect more decisive force if cities and states do not take ‘necessary action’ themselves.
“If a city or state refuses to take the actions that are necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them,” Trump said.
Shortly after the incident at Lafayette Park, Ryker posted a message on Twitter praising President Trump and proclaiming, “God bless America.”
Jaxson Ryker, a US Marine Corps veteran, wrestles on SmackDown as part of the Forgotten Sons faction with Wesley Blake and Steve Cutler.
Backlash to Jaxson Ryker’s Tweet
Jaxson Ryker’s tweet has been wide repudiation from WWE Superstars, including his Forgotten Sons partner Steve Cutler. Cutler issued the following statement on Twitter:
“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. It shouldn’t matter your race or however you identify, we are ALL human beings and ALL deserve to be equal. #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd“
Kevin Owens, Dave Bautista, Sami Zayn and Ricochet, as well as AEW stars Adam “Hangman” Page, Joey Janela and others, have also spoken out against Jaxson Ryker.
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.
I’m thankful you posted this because I’m now aware of what you stand for. When black brothers and sisters are crying, you praise someone that refuses to acknowledge their hurt. https://t.co/O4xm5L3Rpl
I get you’re a “bad guy” on tv. And I’m HOPING that’s all this is. Even then, that ain’t it. But if this is actually your true thoughts – I’ll be really sad, man. ? https://t.co/9unml5rsiY
I’m just keeping him nameless because he’s a sorry ass motherfucker who I refuse to let ride my coattails. He gets no love from me. He gets no rub from me. And if he would like to discuss it in person we have enough mutual acquaintances that he will be able to find me easily. https://t.co/IW25S376L4
Kairi Sane has released photos of the head injury she sustained at the hands of Nia Jax.
Monday’s WWE Raw was taped last week from the Performance Center in Orlando, FL. Word got out last week that Sane suffered a nasty head injury during the tapings.
As seen last night on Raw, Nia Jax threw Kairi Sane head first into the metal steps at ringside. The match was stopped and Sane received medical attention. Sane was deemed capable of continuing, despite a gash on her forehead. You can see the spot in question in the tweet embedded below:
The match was edited for television to omit the medical stoppage. Nia Jax got the victory.
Kairi Sane posted photos of the head wound on Twitter. She included a caption addressing Nia Jax that reads:
“You are strong. I have lost to you many times. I am small and you think I’m weak. However, you can never beat my heart. I will get back up again.”
You are strong. I have lost to you many times. I am small and you may think I’m weak. However, you can never beat my heart. I will get back up again. #WWERawpic.twitter.com/leXMwuiifO
WWE RAW aired from the Performance Center in Orlando. New United States Champion Apollo Crews defended the title tonight and RAW Women’s Champion Asuka squared off against NXT Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair. Seth Rollins hosted Rey Mysterio’s “Retirement Ceremony” on this week’s show as well.
In addition to the takeaways below, Rob Gronkowski was filming a dance for Tik Tok in Foxborough, MA. R-Truth came up behind him and rolled Gronk up to win the 24/7 Championship.
Apollo Crews & Kevin Owens def. Andrade & Angel Garza
Billie Kay def. Nikki Cross
Nia Jax def. Kairi Sane
R-Truth def. Rob Gronkowski to become the new 24/7 Champion
Charlotte Flair def. Asuka via countout
Drew McIntyre def. MVP
Here are 5 takeaways from this week’s show:
Aleister Black Defeated Seth Rollins In A Great Match
Rollins, Murphy, and Theory came down to the ring to begin this week’s RAW. Seth said it his duty as a leader to appreciate Rey Mysterio and that he was chosen as a sacrifice to the greater good of Monday Night RAW. Rollins referred to Rey as a generous man that presented himself in Seth’s darkest hour so that he could properly lead Money Night RAW. Rollins then presented a video package to honor Mysterio that featured Seth shoving Rey’s eyes into the steel steps.
Seth stated that Rey is a first ballot Hall of Famer and it would be his honor to induct him into the HOF. Aleister Black rushed the ring and kicked Seth in the face. Black then battled Rollins in a singles match as Murphy & Theory were ringside.
Match Recap: Aleister Black beat Rollins down in the corner and Seth rolled out of the ring to regroup. Back in the ring, Rollins hit a Dropkick as Black was distracted with Murphy and Theory. Seth followed it up with a Suplex for a two count. Rollins sent Black out of the ring and leveled him with a Suicide Dive. Murphy and Theory surrounded Black but Humberto Carrillo rushed down the entrance ramp as RAW went to a break.
When RAW returned, Black hit Rollins with a knee to the face and followed it up with a springboard Moonsault for a two count. Aleister hit a German Suplex and went for the cover but Rollins kicked out at the last moment. Seth battled back with the Falcon Arrow for another near fall. Rollins went for a Frog Splash but Aleister got his knees up.
Black booted Seth into the ring post and Rollins tumbled out of the ring. Aleister hit another Moonsault outside the ring as RAW went to a commercial break. When RAW returned, Rollins hit the Frog Splash and went for the cover but Black was able to kick out at two.
Seth connected with a Powerbomb but Black quickly battled back with a running knee to the face. Aleister set up for Black Mass but Murphy and Theory hopped on the apron. Humberto tripped them up but Murphy and Theory wound up beating Carrillo down. Black then rolled up Seth Rollins for the pinfall victory.
After the match, Rollins, Theory, and Murphy attacked Carrillo and Black. Murphy and Theory held up Aleister and forced him to watch Seth deliver the Stomp to Carrillo. Seth hit Aleister with the Stomp before posing in the ring.
Opinion: Aleister Black and Rollins put on a great match tonight. Aleister Black picked up a big win but Rollins was the one standing tall after the match. I hope they continue to add to Rollins’ group of disciples and make it a dominant heel faction that everyone has to deal with on RAW.
Apollo Crews defended his United Championship against an opponent of his choosing tonight on RAW. Crews announced that he wanted to defend the title against Kevin Owens. Kevin came down to the ring and congratulated Apollo on winning the title. Owens said he is not one to turn down title opportunities but he feels like this is coming out of pity because of what happened last week with Angel Garza. Crews said this wasn’t coming from pity and was all about respect. Owens stated that he feels bad but Apollo’s first title reign is going to be a real short one.
Match Recap: Owens dominated early and hit a Senton off the top rope for a near fall. Crews and Owens then traded punches to the face outside the ring as RAW went to a break. When RAW returned, Owens went for a Pop-Up Powerbomb but Crews countered with an Enziguri. Crews hit Owens with an Olympic Slam and followed it up with a Moonsault but Owens kicked out at two. Owens battled back and went for another Senton but Crews got his knees up. Angel Garza and Andrade rushed the ring and attacked Crews and Owens as RAW went to a break.
Predictably, this then turned into a tag match when RAW returned. Andrade and Garza isolated Apollo in the corner of the ring. Crews battled back and planted Andrade with a Powerbomb for the victory.
Opinion: A title match with an actual finish would have been nice. Instead, we got a title match to fill time and then a tag match that hardly anyone had interest in.
The RAW announce team interviewed Rey Mysterio via satellite. Rey said his eye is still recovering and he has no idea when he can come back. Mysterio added that if an infection sets in his career is over.
Rey said that Rollins carries a lot of negativity with him for someone that claims to be a messiah. Dominik showed up and stated that Seth was barely a human being. Dominik said something needs to be done and someone from this family needs to do it.
Mysterio thanked everyone for reaching out and for their concerns. Rey scolded Rollins for everything he put his family through and he will never forgive him for that. Dominik stared into the camera as Rey walked away. Dominik said “an eye for an eye” to close the segment.
NXT Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair cut a promo tonight and said that she wants some of the trainees in the crowd to be the next Rhea Ripley or Io Shirai so the can bow down to her. Asuka interrupted and made her way to the ring.
Match Recap: Asuka went for the Asuka Lock early but Flair escaped. Charlotte beat Asuka down in the corner while boasting about all her victories over the RAW Women’s Champion in the past. Charlotte then focused her attack on Asuka’s knee as RAW went to a break.
Charlotte was still in control when RAW returned and continued to go to work on Asuka’s left knee. Asuka went for roll-up but Flair kicked out and connected with a chop block on Asuka’s knee. Asuka battled back and connected with a German Suplex. Asuka followed it up with a Shining Wizard for a near fall.
Asuka applied an Arm Bar and transitioned into a Triangle submission. Flair countered into a Boston Crab in the center of the ring. Asuka countered into a cover for a near fall. Asuka locked in a Knee Bar but Charlotte powered to her feet and planted her with an impressive German Suplex.
Asuka once again applied an Arm Bar in the middle of the ring. Flair once again showed off her strength and hit Asuka with a Powerbomb for a two count. Charlotte hit a big boot that knocked Asuka out of the ring. Nia Jax came down to the entrance ramp with Asuka’s music playing and danced around. Asuka got counted out and Nia Jax leveled Asuka with a shoulder tackle. Asuka will defend her RAW Women’s Championship against Nia Jax a week from Sunday at WWE Backlash.
Drew McIntyre battled MVP in the main event of this week’s RAW. Earlier on the show, Lana approached MVP backstage and claimed he was just aligning himself with Bobby Lashley to revive his washed up career. MVP said that wasn’t true and claimed that Lana was doing the same. Lana smirked and then slapped MVP in the face.
Later on RAW, Lana was interviewed backstage by Kayla Braxton. Kayla asked if it was Lashley’s idea to keep her away from ringside during his matches or he was just following MVP’s suggestions. Lana thought it was MVP’s idea before saying that nothing was ever said to her about going to the ring for MVP’s matches. She then left and walked away to end the interview.
Match Recap: Bobby Lashley marched down to the ring before the match to a smattering of boos by the PC trainees standing behind plexiglass. Just before the bell rang, Lana strutted down the entrance ramp as Lashley had a confused look on his face.
McIntyre shoved MVP to the corner and beat him down. MVP got in a punch before McIntyre lit him up with a chop to the chest. Drew leveled MVP with a Clothesline and followed it up with the Glasgow Kiss.
Lashley distracted the WWE Champion and MVP capitalized with a big boot for a one count. Drew hit a couple Clotheslines and made his way to the top rope. McIntyre hit a Flying Clothesline before gearing up for the Claymore. Bobby dragged MVP out of the ring and McIntyre took them both out with a massive flip. Back in the ring, McIntyre hit the Claymore for the pinfall victory. After the match, Bobby Lashley locked in the Full Nelson on McIntyre to end the show.
Opinion: The bickering between Lana and MVP does nothing for me at all. It overshadows Lashley and seems obvious that the battle for who is going to manage him going forward will wind up costing him the match at Backlash. I thought the first hour of the show was great with Rollins & Aleister Black stealing the show. It sure looks like Dominik is going to seek revenge for his father against Rollins and that is definitely a compelling storyline.
The rest of this week’s RAW left a lot to be desired. I’m bored of the comedy skits between Viking Raiders and Street Profits. I’d rather see incredibly talented tag teams wrestle instead of compete in goofy golf, basketball, axe throwing, and bowling segments. Flair and Asuka were on their way to having a great match but it was cut short due to Nia’s interference.
Tully Blanchard is not satisfied with protégé Shawn Spears’ lack of ambition. A video was released on Monday featuring the Four Horsemen legend mercilessly berating him.
Blanchard took Spears under his wing last summer. Spears has had mixed success. His AEW record is 5-8 this year. In recent months, Spears has been conducting a search to find the perfect tag team partner. The search was fruitless.
Blanchard says the search is over and they are moving on. “What I’ve seen in the last couple of months, Shawn, has changed my thought process,” said Blanchard. He thought they had synergy and thought the same way.
Things took a weird turn for this duo last weekend at AEW Double or Nothing. Spears wrestled to Dustin Rhodes. He lost the match, but that wasn’t the worst part. During the bout, Spears’ pants were ripped off to reveal a photo of Tully Blanchard’s face on the crotch. Blanchard was watching the PPV at home with friends. Awkward!
Blanchard screamed, “In what freakin’ world did you think that was funny? That’s not what my legacy is going to be Shawn, I promise you that!” He challenged Spears to reach deep inside himself, dig something out of his heart and think about the legacy he wants to leave.
Watch Tully Blanchard prove he is still one of the best talkers in all of professional wrestling in the video below:
FTR Takes Notice
AEW newcomers FTR liked what they saw. Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood tweeted a response. Wheeler said Spears is ‘so good’ but “just needs a little help.” Harwood wants to see more of this on AEW Dynamite.
It turns out that Kurt Angle could’ve been the manager for Matt Riddle on WWE television.
The WWE Hall of Famer did an interview with CBR where he revealed that not only would he love to manage Riddle but also had the chance to do so. However, the reason for him not taking the gig all comes down to timing.
Angle started out by stating that he thinks Riddle is going to be one of the faces of the WWE because he has all the ability to do so and thinks his personality is great. He admits that at first, it’s odd but once you get to know him, he’s very likable.
Angle thinks that’s what he’s going to get from the fans as he thinks that they’ll love him and his in-ring work, which he called phenomenal.
“His whole bro gimmick thing works really well. And he’s going to do extremely well. WWE has offered me a job to manage him. Unfortunately, I turned it down due to a few different reasons, but I would have loved to manage him. It just wasn’t the right time.”
Angle worked as the special guest referee for Riddle’s Cage Fight against Timothy Thatcher last week on NXT.
Riddle, who was announced by Angle as the latest addition to the SmackDown roster, has yet to make his main roster debut.
After months of rumors, WWE has finally confirmed the launch of a free tier for the WWE Network via a press release on their official website this morning.
The free tier will allow fans to access more than 15000 WWE titles without the requirement of a credit card and it’s available on all platforms via the WWE Network app.
“WWE today unveiled the Free Version of WWE Network, the company’s award-winning digital streaming service, unlocking a vast portion of its content library with more than 15,000 action-packed WWE titles now available for free.”
The available programs in the free tier will include latest episodes of Raw, SmackDown and NXT, as well as selected WWE PPVs alongside the usual content available on the company’s YouTube channel such as Top 10 videos and WWE’s The Bump.
Apart from this, the company has also confirmed earlier rumors of the return of Raw Talk, the aftershow for the company’s flagship Monday Night program.
The free tier of WWE Network had been rumored for a while and the company had also hinted at the possibility in previous earning calls but they hadn’t announced any timetable for the same.
Now this announcement from the promotion is surely going to create a buzz among the WWE Universe and it will be interesting to see what other content is available on this tier for the fans.
Update: WWE has now confirmed the return of Raw Talk with the official announcement of a free tier for the WWE Network.
Original: Raw Talk and Talking Smack, the featured talk shows that followed Raw and SmackDown after the return of brand split in 2016 might be coming back to WWE Network, as soon as this week.
The Raw aftershow is currently listed on WWE Network schedule for a premiere at 11 PM EST following this week’s episode of the Monday night show.
While there is no preview available for the show as of yet, and it could change over the course of the day, the program is currently listed on the Network schedule publically.
In addition to this, WWE Network News is reporting that they had heard a few months back that both Raw Talk and Talking Smack were likely returning to the streaming service.
The shows were planned for the free tier of WWE Network after its redesign. This was prior to the pandemic creating delays for many major plans.
Both Talking Smack and Raw Talk premiered after the company re-introduced the brand split and once again created distinct rosters for both Raw and SmackDown in 2016.
The shows became famous for their unscripted nature and fans started liking the programs because it allowed the stars to show some more personality outside of regular WWE programming and gave screen time to the underutilized talents.
The return of these shows has not been confirmed officially but the possibility is enticing and we will have to keep an eye on how the story develops throughout the day.
WWE mentioned on their programming this week that all the talents have been tested for coronavirus but latest report on the matter disputes these claims.
On the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer discussed these claims and he reports that the company did not actually test any of the superstars for COVID-19.
Their testing policy included doing temperature checks on people and asking them if they did not feel well. Previous reports have suggested that they made the talents fill a form asking them about any coronavirus related symptoms.
Many people in the company were “shocked” at this, considering the fact that UFC fighters have tested positive for coronavirus in the past even after passing temperature checks.
It has previously been reported that many people within the promotion are not comfortable being part of these shows in the current environment but they have continued working due to fear of their jobs.
WWE has started using development talent for their programming from this week to add some noise and excitement to their empty arena shows.
Now this report on their coronavirus testing policy creates big concerns regarding the health of wrestlers, not only the ones performing in the ring, but the ones being used outside of the squared circle as well.
Wrestling veteran Haku recently appeared on the In the Room Podcast where he talked about his wrestling career in detail among other things.
The former WWE star first discussed his position on the card saying never working on the top never bothered him. He ran with whatever the officials gave him and did his part.
Talking about his team with Andre The Giant, Haku said that he respected the legend very much and he later explained how Andre was in real-life, outside the ring:
“'(Andre thought) he was the same as you; he never thought that he was bigger. If he drank 16 beers, you had to drink 16 beers with him.
If he drank two or three cases, you had to drink two or three cases with him. There were so many times I had to find the door on the way back to my room; he thought it was funny”
Haku continued to explain that he knew Andre before he came to WWE. He claimed that it was fun to be around the Monster Sized Athlete and it was fun to be in the ring with him.
Haku and Andre The Giant were put in a tag team known as The Colossal Connection in 1989. The two tagged for a year and they even won the Tag Team Championship once before disbanding in 1990.
The coronavirus outbreak has forced the wrestling world to make drastic changes to its programming and bigger companies like WWE and AEW have been running their shows without an audience for a while now.
On the other hand, the smaller companies of the independent circuit have ceased their operation completely because their business is centered around the revenue from the live audience. Though now at least one of them is returning to business.
Indy Wrestling promotion Game Changer Wrestling or GCW has announced an event for later this month which will allow the fans to attend the show.
The event will take place from Indianapolis, IN on June 20. The ticket info for the event will be released later on but the company announced some social distancing guidelines for the show from their Twitter recently:
– Fans are requested to wear face masks – Masks will be provided at the door at no cost for fans in need – Please respect your fellow fans space pic.twitter.com/qecleGPvda
— GameChangerWrestling (@GCWrestling_) May 31, 2020
Both WWE and AEW have been forced to cease their regular operations due to coronavirus and they have been producing shows with no audience since mid-March.
The March 13 episode of SmackDown was the first WWE show to be produced from an empty arena and since then the company has continued the production of their shows from the Performance Center.
The PPV events have also seen the effect of this change and this year was the first time WWE produced WrestleMania as a two night event from multiple locations, without any audience.
AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura are considered to be two of the greatest in-ring performers of the current generation so fans rejoiced when WWE announced a match between the two for WrestleMania 34.
However, the bout between the two wrestling veterans failed to live up to the expectation of the fans and during his recent appearance on the After The Bell podcast, the Phenomenal One explained the reasoning behind it.
Styles first explained that the expectations for their match at the Show Of Shows after their Wrestle Kingdom 10 match were too high and Nakamura also thought the same:
“Expectations are way too high, I know Nakamura [thought so] too because no matter what we would have done in that match, the expectations were way too high.”
AJ Styles On The Difference In Crowds Of NJPW And WWE
AJ then claimed that the crowd is everything. He said the fans set the tone on what is a great match and their match in Japan would have not been declared great in WWE:
“It’s how they respond to it, and in Japan, they’re so respectful. When they do respond, it’s huge. Wow, this is such an amazing match, but had that same match been done in a WWE ring without the same response, it’s not going to be declared as that great of a match.”
Fans are everything. They dictate a great match.” said AJ Styles “It’s just the reality and the truth of the whole thing, and a lot of people don’t understand. The expectations, they were so high because what we did at Wrestle Kingdom. I was like, ‘oh man.’ I still think it was a great match.”
The Former WWE Champion gave the example of the match between The Rock and Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania 18, saying that the crowd reaction made it a classic match.
Shinsuke Nakamura challenged AJ Styles for his WWE Championship at WrestleMania 34. Though Styles managed to win this bout after countering a Kinshasa from the Japanese star into a Styles Clash.
Chris Jericho reignited his 10 years old feud with Mike Tyson during last week’s episode of AEW Dynamite and it looks inevitable that the two will have a match in coming future.
The former AEW World Champion recently had an interview with Sports Illustrated where he talked about things like his upcoming cruise, his stadium stampede match and more.
The interviewer compared Jericho’s interaction with Tyson to the rivalry between Roddy Piper and Mr. T, and responding to it, Y2J revealed the kind of match he would like to have with the former boxing champion:
“I loved the concept of Piper-Mr. T, but the actual execution was not good. We’ll never do a boxer vs. wrestler. Either we’ll do a straight up boxing match—I’m not kidding. So what if I’m knocked out by Mike Tyson? I’ve been knocked out by worse — or we’ll do a street fight.
Right now, the match is secondary to the pomp and circumstance that we will have in getting to the spectacle of the pay per view. That’s what wrestling is all about, it’s the story.” said Chris Jericho “People are so focused on the in-ring, which is great, but if there’s no story, there’s no match.”
With Matt Riddle having been announced as the newest addition to the Smackdown roster, it appears RAW will be bringing in a former NXT star as well. According to comments made by Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dominik Dijakovic is headed to the RAW brand.
“Dijakovic is going to be on RAW,” said Dave Meltzer. “I don’t know starting when but pretty darn soon.”
The 33-year-old’s last match on NXT was a loss to Johnny Gargano on the episode from May 6th, 2020. He was trained by Chaotic Wrestling and made his debut in 2013. He was offered a contract by WWE in January 2017 but a contract dispute with Ring of Honor delayed his reporting to the WWE Performance Center until that summer.
Dijakovic made his NXT debut on May 10th, 2018 in a loss to Ricochet. In January of 2019, he wrestled in the Worlds Collide Tournament. He made it to the quarter-finals before being eliminated by Tyler Bate. In October he was given an NXT North American title shot against Roderick Strong in a triple threat match along with Keith Lee. Strong retained the title.
Dijakovic was on Tommaso Ciampa’s winning team from the men’s War Games match in November as well.
It was reported yesterday that WWE has banned the use of Buckle Bombs (power bombing someone into a turnbuckle). In an update to this story, Dave Meltzer noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that the botched move from Nia Jax to Kairi Sane in a match on RAW from April is what led to the move being banned.
“Remember the show a couple of weeks ago where Nia Jax wrestled Kairi Sane and she threw her in there and we were all worried?” Meltzer asked his co-host. “I think she was going for the middle one and I think she hit the bottom one but whatever, it didn’t look good. That was the one that caused it.”
It was also stated that there were those in the company uneasy with the move after Sting’s injury from 2015. Sting suffered an injury after taking a Buckle Bomb from Seth Rollins at Night of Champions 2015. It was the final match of Sting’s career.
“Because of what happened to Sting, I was almost surprised it didn’t happen then,” Meltzer continued. “There were people who were wanting it banned before that. It was one of those things where there were people against it and then when that thing happened it was kind of like that was the straw that broke the camel’s back and Vince banned it.”
He would continue to say, however, that he has not heard of powerbombs onto the ring apron or barricades being banned.
A biography focusing on the life of Vince McMahon is in the works. Author Abraham Riesman noted on Instagram that he is hoping to publish the book in 2022. Riesman is the author of a similar book, a biography on comic book legend, Stan Lee.
Simon and Schuster’s Atrium Publishing group will be publishing the book.
Riesman made his announced on Instagram, “I come bearing good news: I’m writing another book! This one’s a biography of Vince McMahon, the emperor of professional wrestling. It’s for @simonandschuster’s @atriabooks imprint. Release date TBD, but I’d guess 2022. Many thanks to my amazing agent, @rossharris1, and my tremendous editor, @amardeol. Wish me luck!”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CAxyTOdj9RJ/
Books About Vince McMahon
An unofficial Vince McMahon biography was written by Michael Essany and is available Amazon here.
Much of McMahon’s life is covered in the novel “Sex, Lies, and Headlocks” as well.
“Sex, Lies, andHeadlocks is the ultimate behind-the-scenes look at the backstabbing, scandals, and high-stakes gambles that have made wrestling an enduring television phenomenon. The man behind it all is Vince McMahon, a ruthless and entertaining visionary whose professional antics make some of the flamboyant characters in the ring look tame by comparison,” reads a description of the book.
WWE Superstar Mustafa Ali issued an interesting statement on Twitter recently. Ali is a former Chicago area police officer and recently made a comment in reference to George Floyd’s death at the hands of police. According to his comments, Ali became a police officer in order to help change policing from within.
“I’m a former police officer. I joined the force because I believed the only real way to bring change to policing is from within. I remember being told “empathy will get you killed.” No, lack of empathy allows you to kill. We have to change policing from within. #GeorgeFloyd,” reads Mustafa Ali’s Tweet.
I’m a former police officer. I joined the force because I believed the only real way to bring change to policing is from within. I remember being told “empathy will get you killed.” No, lack of empathy allows you to kill. We have to change policing from within. #GeorgeFloyd
And like always, there’s going to be some comment about “you were part of the problem.” No. I saw the problem and did something to combat it. Countless times, I showed up and put a stop to any sort of harassment/excessive force. You can’t change anything sitting behind a screen.
The point of all this is simple; society and specifically our African American brothers and sisters have a justifiable distrust with the police. It’s the responsibility of the police to fix that issue but they won’t. Thus, it is on us,as a society to force that change from within
“As a current police officer, I totally agree. I will continue to support you. Thank you for everything,” reads one response to Ali’s Tweet.
“I’m a black man and just got my Criminal Justice degree. I’m working to join the force. After this event I was thrown into flux. I nearly gave it up because I “didn’t want to be part of the problem.” You’ve changed that for me Ali. Thank you, I really needed this,” reads another.
Independent wrestler Desmond Monroe noted on Twitter that he has received messages from people stating he’ll lose bookings as a result of his comments about police/race relations. Ali responded to him and offered to cover his booking for Freelance Wrestling.
I’m sorry to hear you’re dealing with that, man. When everything’s back up and running and you feel you speaking up has hurt your bookings, let me know. I’m sure @FreelanceWres would love to have you in. Booking fee covered by me.
