It looks like a certain 1980s pop star has Sami Zayn’s vote for a WWE Hall Of Fame induction.
The WWE Superstar took to social media on Thursday to comment about the exclusion of Cyndi Lauper from the Celebrity Wing of the WWE Hall Of Fame.
Zayn wrote about the impact that Lauper’s “Rock ‘N’ Wrestling” connection along with Hulk Hogan had on the WWE as the reason why she is a no-brainer for an inclusion in the coveted Hall.
“I only today realized that [Cyndi Lauper] is not in the WWE Hall of Fame celebrity wing,” wrote Zayn via his official Twitter page on Thursday evening. “As part of the ‘rock n’ wrestling connection’ with MTV in the 80’s, she was CRUCIAL to WWE crossing over into mainstream.”
Zayn continued, “Arguably no celebrity more deserving. #InductCyndi.”
This led to responses from Lance Storm and Lauper herself.
“I think she turned it down the year they offered it to her,” wrote Storm in response to Zayn’s tweet. Lauper, however, disagreed.
“Not that I remember,” wrote the 1980s pop star. “Well, you’d certainly know more than me,” wrote Storm in another tweet responding to Lauper. “Certainly deserving.”
The next WWE Hall Of Fame induction ceremony will take place in early April 2019 as part of WrestleMania 35 weekend from East Rutherford, New Jersey.
I only today realized that @CyndiLauper is not in the @WWE Hall of Fame celebrity wing.
As part of the "rock n' wrestling connection" with MTV in the 80's, she was CRUCIAL to WWE crossing over into mainstream. Arguably no celebrity more deserving.#InductCyndi
Raw Superstar Mickie James is hoping her husband, Nick Aldis, retains his championship tomorrow night at All In. Aldis is scheduled to defend his NWA World Heavyweight Championship against Cody inside Chicago’s Sears Center Arena.
The 9x champion (6x WWE and 3x TNA) posted the following to Instagram recently:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BnH7laql0nN/
Nick Aldis vs Cody – NWA World Heavyweight Championship
As of this writing, Nick Aldis’ NWA World Heavyweight Championship reign is at 265 days. Aldis has officially defended the title 22x during that period. The matches, however, have all occurred on other promotions’ programming.
This will change on October when the NWA will present their 70th Anniversary Show. The event will take place on October 21st in Nashville.
Notable opponents of Aldis’ during his reign include Tommy Dreamer, Flip Gordon, Colt Cabana, James Ellsworth, Crimson, Jocephus, and Matt Cross.
“It’s such an honor to be leading this historic brand into its next chapter,” NWA owner Billy Corgan said of the event. “The enduring legacy of the National Wrestling Alliance — the men who forged it and the champions who defended it — illuminate our path in 2018. This event celebrates our first full year shepherding this brand while honoring the everlasting milestones, legends and champions of the NWA.”
Jeff Jarrett is currently hosting a TNA themed panel at Starrcast alongside Don West and Karen Jarrett. You can check out the full Starrcast event via FITE TV.
Jarrett was joined by Gail Kim and Velvet Sky during the panel. The discussion eventually turned to the success of the Knockouts division. The height of the division saw Awesome Kong and Gail Kim feud for the TNA Knockouts title. This secured the highest quarterly ratings for the IMPACT programme at the time. One of the more intriguing aspects of the discussion focused around a huge mainstream media campaign for the Knockouts division in MAXIM magazine.
Jarrett claimed that “Spike TV wanted to do a campaign in 2007-08 and the executive wanted to do a cover for MAXIM magazine.” Karen Jarrett then took the microphone and stated that “A certain owner canned it because she wasn’t on the cover.” After not specifically saying who this was (Dixie Carter) Karen went to say that “she chose not to renew AJ Styles’ contract, which was a really dumb move.”
Gail Kim and Velvet Sky seemed to mirror Jarrett’s sentiments before the discussion quickly moved on to the Ultimate X match, MMA Jarrett and Fox Sports.
IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Kenny Omega, will take on Pentagon Jr. tomorrow night at All In. The event will take place inside a soldout Sears Center Arena in Chicago.
Omega credits the success of the event to wrestling fans being willing to take a chance on an alternative product.
“All In shows there are enough people willing to take a chance on an alternative,” Omega said to Sports Illustrated recently. “It shows that it’s worth putting your heart and soul into that alternative. We’re not looking for a quick path or quick WWE money. Opportunities like All In are great, it’s a tool to find who you are.”
A great piece with some friends and familiar names adding their insight. Please check it out if you have some time! https://t.co/OszEGQCCcn
Omega would continue to say that WWE is no longer the only goal for top-tier professional wrestlers.
“WWE was always the be-all, end-all, but now it’s changed so much that you can have your best years without WWE,” Omega continued. “You don’t necessarily have to stress or worry about not having that ‘WrestleMania Moment.’ I used to hear that all the time when I was coming up in DDT. People found a measure of joy by saying, ‘You’ve never walked the ramp on Raw, so who the hell are you?’ I’m hearing a lot less of that. People are realizing the alternative can be just as good, if not better.”
Omega has two big single’s matches coming up in the near future. First, he will face Pentagon Jr at All In tomorrow night. The two have never met in single’s competition before, though they were on opposing sides of a tag match once in PWG. Omega will also defend his IWGP Heavyweight Championship coming up against Tomohiro Ishii on September 15th.
Scott Steiner recently took part in the Starrcast Total Non-Stop Jarrett panel alongside Jeff Jarrett and Don West.
Steiner discussed his time in TNA alongside the likes of AJ Styles, Samoa Joe and Robert Roode. Steiner talked about his role “putting over” the homegrown stars. He also dissuced how the Main Event Mafia was “the greatest stable of former World Champions ever.”
One of the more interesting aspects of Steiner’s time on the panel came when he talked Hulk Hogan’s time in charge of the company. Steiner brought up AJ Styles being told to dye his hair blonde and flat out refusing, this reportedly angered Hogan who apparently asked “who the f*ck is AJ?What has he done in the industry to not do this?” Steiner also recalled a time when Robert Roode was going to challenge Kurt Angle for the TNA Heavyweight title, Hogan reportedly stated that “Roode wasn’t ready” to be challenging for the World Title.
At TripleMania, El Hijo Del Fantasma lost his mask in the main event. The match featured four luchadors and guaranteed that one would lose their mask.
The rules were that all four would star inside a steel cage. After two luchadors had escaped, then the final two would have a single’s match. After Pentagon Jr. and Psycho Clown escaped the cage, the match came down to LA Park and El Hijo Del Fantasma.
While speculation had been that LA Park would lose his mask, it was the man known as King Cuerno in Lucha Underground who would drop the fall.
“Some guys in Mexico wear a mask because they’re told to, but it means more when it is passed down from the generation before you,” Fantasma said to Sports Illustrated recently. “Myself, like Rey Mysterio before me, I wear a mask because of my heritage. Rey Mysterio Sr. gave Rey Mysterio Jr. the mask, the name, and the legacy, and that is what happened with me.”
El Hijo Del Fantasma
The popular luchador competes in Mexico as well as with Lucha Underground. Earlier this year, he wrestled several matches for Impact Wrestling. Its possible Impact brings him back when they head to Mexico City for their next set of television tapings.
Fantasma continued to say that Lucha Libre could do a better job of communicating to other wrestling fans about the importance of the mask in Mexico.
“We need to let the American audience know what the mask means because they already dig Lucha Libre. So we’re still in that process, which is a cultural part of Mexico City. It’s more than a sport, it’s a culture. Lucha Libre is in almost every house in Mexico all over the country.”
NJPW’s English language Twitter account confirmed earlier this week on Twitter that ALL IN would be available on the streaming platform. Stating that “New Japan Pro Wrestling is #ALLIN! We are pleased to announce that shortly after the live broadcast we will offer @ALL_IN_2018to our @njpwworld fans.”
Fans hoping to see ALL IN via their NJPWWorld subscription hours after the event may be out of luck. Interestingly the NJPW1972.com website confirmed that “NJPW World will stream 9 matches from this historic event. It is to be determined when SVOD will be made available. We will announce it later.”
If you’re considering watching the ALL IN event but are on the fence with the $40 PPV cost then this could be a great alternative if you don’t mind waiting. If you sign up to NJPWWorld on September 1st then you will get an entire month of New Japan content for fraction of the price including the DESTRUCTION shows.
Here is the full card for the historic ALL IN event:
IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega vs. Pentagon
NWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis vs. Cody Rhodes
Kazuchika Okada vs. Marty Scurll
Rey Mysterio, Bandido, and Fenix vs. The Young Bucks and Kota Ibushi
Adam Page vs. Joey Janela
Stephen Amell vs. Christopher Daniels
ROH World Champion Jay Lethal vs. The Winner of The Over Budget Battle Royal
Tessa Blanchard vs. Madison Rayne vs. Chelsea Green vs. Britt Baker
Tomorrow night will see the long anticipated return to Pro Wrestling: NOAH for WWE 205 Live competitor Hideo Itami/KENTA.
We reported the new working agreement between WWE and NOAH a few months ago, this was around the NOAH Korakuen Hall show in June.
Hideo Itami in WWE
Itami has struggled to find his place in WWE. Expectations were high when he signed with the company in 2014 but injuries set him back and prevented him from moving up the card. He is now part of the 205 Live brand.
Rumors of Itami Going Back To Japan in 2017
Last summer there were rumors that Itami was going to go back to Japan full-time. The rumors started after Itami lost an NXT Championship match at Takeover: Chicago (the first one). Rumors were then that Itami had discussed giving up on WWE and going back to Japan. He then dispelled those rumors in the segment below which aired on NXT programming last summer.
Itami sent out a tweet hyping the match which you can see below, here’s a rough translation: “The best time to get distracted though. Finally tomorrow. Honestly, please call me like you want to call me. No good or bad sticking there at all. Anyway, it is the best one day. Let’s meet tomorrow.”
Keith Lee tried out for WWE on three occasions before the company finally signed him in 2018. His first tryout was a decade ago.
“I had a five-day tryout in 2008, a three-day tryout in 2011, and in 2013 I was part of the first tryout group at the WWE Performance Center,” Lee recently told WWE.com. “I believe there were 32 of us there.”
Lee said it was during this tryout that he received some advice from the legendary Dusty Rhodes.
“During the 2013 tryout, if you were going to show who you were on a microphone, you had to do it in front of The American Dream. When I finished, he pulled me aside and said to me, “That’s it, baby. You’ve got a presence I can literally bask in. Take it and do what you want.” And thus, ‘Bask in my glory’ was born. It is now something I hold very dear.”
Keith Lee WWE
In the 10 years since that first tryout, Lee has gone from someone WWE was willing to pass on to a superstar with “Limitless” potential.
“When I first met and worked with him, he let me know how much and where I lacked,” Lee said of Dusty. “I applied his words and honed myself.”
Lee has had two televised matches thus far on NXT programming, winning both in squash-match style.
The Starrcast convention is underway in Chicago. The multi-day convention features numerous fan interactive sessions including one last night with Eric Bischoff and Bruce Pritchard.
Both Prichard and Bischoff have weekly podcasts with Conrad Thompson (convention organizer) where they relive their times as key figures for WCW and WWE respectively.
At last night’s “Monday Night Wars” panel, Bischoff and Prichard shared the stage and both reflected on “Macho Man” Randy Savage’s departure from WWE in 1994.
Bruce Pritchard and Eric Bischoff on Randy Savage in 1994
According to Bischoff, Savage approached him in 1994 saying that Vince McMahon didn’t want him to wrestle anymore. Vince had given him a job at the commentary booth instead and Savage wasn’t happy. According to Bischoff, Savage told them he wanted to wrestle but Vince wouldn’t let him.
“Essentially (Randy Savage) told me, he said ‘Vince didn’t want him in the ring any longer. He wanted to retire him to the announce booth,'” Bischoff said. “Randy called me and said ‘I’m not ready to give it up in the ring, is there a spot for me?'”
Furthermore, Bischoff continued to say that Savage’s contract was “almost free” until 1997 as it was covered by his Slim Jim endorsement deal.
Meanwhile, Prichard’s story is that Macho Man had recently moved to Connecticut at the time in order to work in the office. Savage told them he didn’t want to take bumps anymore and was looking at the next 20 years of his career.
“He was saying different things to different people,” Pritchard said. “If he had told us ‘hey I want to go back and I want to be on the road, I want to work, put me in a major program’, to have Randy Savage involved in something – that would have made a big world of difference.”
“Randy expressed to us he didn’t want to take bumps anymore,” Pritchard continued.
Last fall, Hogan, and Beefcake were involved in a public spat. Beefcake mentioned he was writing a book and that it would be a “Tell All”. This message seemed to be directed at the Hulkster, or at least Hogan replied as if it was.
Working on my book which is fastly becoming a tell all! Hold onto your bandana Brother it's about to get real! #BTFBB#KARMA
“Got the bandanna glued on tight, get a good lawyer, brother..HH”
The two continued back and forth on Twitter for some time like this. It now appears, however, that the two have patched things back up again.
Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake – The Mega Maniacs
Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake formerly comprised the tag-team “the Mega-Maniacs”. They first teamed together at SummerSlam 1989 when they defeated the team of Randy Savage and Zeus.
Hogan and Beefcake would team up again 4 years later at WrestleMania IX. Later that night, Hogan would defeat Yokozuna for the WWF Championship in an impromptu match. They would align again in WCW and again in 1998 while both were members of nWo Hollywood.
Longtime wrestling promoter, Gabe Sapolsky, has commented on NXT’s Velveteen Dream being booked for upcoming EVOLVE shows.
It was announced yesterday that Velveteen will wrestle on EVOLVE 112 and 113. The events will take place on September 7th and 8th respectively. His opponents for the shows have yet to be announced, however.
When asked on Twitter if Velveteen was sent to EVOLVE, Sapolsky was quick to deny this was the case.
“Let’s just kill this narrative now,” Sapolsky Tweeted. “Dream was requested by us because of his history at the MCW Arena in Joppa, MD. We wanted a homecoming. He was then asked to do Queens, to give the fans something special at La Boom. Dream was not ‘sent’ by anyone, he agreed and wanted to.”
Velveteen Dream started his career in Maryland Championship Wrestling. EVOLVE 112 on September 7th takes place in Joppa, MD. The city was home to many of Velveteen’s early matches back in 2014 and 2015. WWE didn’t take long to sign him, however, and Dream was on the NXT house show circuit by 2016.
Velveteen Dream Evolve 112 and 113
Sapolsky then commented that Velveteen being sent to EVOLVE was WWE helping the independent scene.
Impact Wrestling presented a special branded show “Impact ReDefined” tonight. The show featured two championship matches and one main event caliber tag-team match featuring the Impact World Champion, Austin Aries.
Tonight’s show was the 2nd from the August 12th, 2018 taping out of Toronto’s Rebel Nightclub.
Here are 9 Takeaways from Impact ReDefined:
Tessa Blanchard Is The New Knockouts Champion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tx0u7DnXBk
Knockouts Championship Tessa Blanchard defeated Allie and Su Yung (c) – Title Change
When Tessa Blanchard made her first appearance for Impact Wrestling at the Redemption pay-per-view, she was portrayed as a blue-chip prospect. In the months since Blanchard has shown she is one of the best women’s wrestlers on the planet.
While Blanchard came out the winner, the story this match told actually favored Allie right up to the very end. It was Allie who got the initial first bit of offense in the match and it was Allie who broke up Su Yung’s mandible claw on Blanchard near the end of the match. Shortly after this, Allie hit a codebreaker on Yung but Blanchard rolled her up, grabbed Allie’s tights, and won the title.
The Weapon X Division Continues
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Gd6HyxjZxw
X-Division Championship Brian Cage (c) defeated Fenix – (2nd title defense)
Tonight’s episode started off with a 20-minute opening match that was as good as anything you’ll see on television this year. Cage dominated the match early but Fenix got back into things when he hit a rolling cutter on the entrance ramp.
Fenix reversed both Weapon X and a discus clothesline, something Don Callis made a point of mentioning on commentary. Rather than attempt one of the two moves which had already been reversed, Cage chose to give his opponent a powerbomb from the top rope instead and got the victory as a result.
After the match, oVe and Sami Callihan attacked Fenix and Pentagon. Although he initially hesitated, Cage sprinted back to the ring and took out Fenix’s attackers to close the segment.
Moose Aligns With Austin Aries
Austin Aries & Killer Kross vs Eddie Edwards & Moose – No Contest
In a shocking heel turn, Moose delivered a spear to his partner during the night’s main event.
Moose had been shown beaten up in the back so it looked as though Edwards would be forced to take on both Aries and Killer Kross by himself. After Edwards started the match by himself, Moose hit the ring with his head all in bandages. At the same time, it looked as though Kross had double-crossed Aries as he jumped off the apron and looked like he was refusing to tag. Moose then attacked Edwards, however, and the 3 men reveled in their clever ruse.
Austin Aries now has both Killer Kross and Moose working to protect his Impact World Championship reign.
The Kid Isn’t Dead
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pcOBq8wpW4
Following Slammiversary there have been a couple of complaints about Impact Wrestling which I’ve received. Some fans were not happy that a kid was shown run over by a car last week. These fans tend to feel the segment went too far while other fans are willing to put the angle into the same category as a Lucha Underground or Total Deletion styled scene.
What may have also thrown people off was that last week Don Callis and Josh Mathews reacted to the scene. In Lucha Underground, the idea is the commentators do not see all the over-the-top scenes and are then not in a position where they have to respond. It’s a little disturbing to the 4th wall to have a commentary team acting like the promotion’s tag-team division is running over children as part of their rivalry.
Regardless, a clear message was sent by the commentary team this week that the kid is not dead. Both Konnan and King received phone calls in their respective segments that caused them to leave immediately.
Throughout the show, fans were shown commercials for Impact’s upcoming show in Manchester on September 9th. The show will air live and for free on Twitch.
The main event will be a hardcore wrestling fan’s dream as Sami Callihan takes Jimmy Havoc in a Barbed Wire Baseball Bat Deathmatch.
The rest of the card is as follows:
Impact Wrestling Tag Team Championships
LAX (c) vs Jody Fleisch & Jonny Storm
Barbed Wire Baseball Bat Death Match
Sami Callihan vs Jimmy Havoc
Eli Drake vs Joe Hendry
Su Yung vs Lana Austin
Rich Swann vs Matt Sydal vs Trevor Lee
Matt Sydal Wants To Mentor Rich Swann
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vj1xcHwxJew
Rich Swann defeated Petey Williams
Last week, Rich Swann told Alicia Atout he wanted to win the X-Division title. It’s a title Swann has been dreaming about his whole career. Unfortunately for Swann, the title belt is currently in the Weapon X division.
Swann defeated Williams via standing shooting star press after the two had exchanged pinning combinations. Callis suggested that Williams is too reliant on the Canadian Destroyer.
In the back, former X-Division Champion Matt Sydal offered to mentor Swann and seemed to go frustrated when Swann was not interested in his offer.
Scarlett Bordeaux Whispered Something To Grado
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hC1ssMng-3w
After KM and Fallah Bah visited the Smoke Show a couple of weeks ago, the team turned things around by beating the Desi Hit Squad. This week, Grado, Joe Hendry, and Katarina were her guests.
Bordeaux whispered something to Grado which seemed to have quite the impact on him. After some hijinx ensued it was clear that whatever she whispered to Grado will do something to get in between Katarina and her boys.
In addition to the upcoming Twitch special taking place a week from Sunday, Impact presents a One Night Only pay-per-view which debuts on the Global Wrestling Network on Friday night. The streaming service also features the video libraries of Destiny Wrestling, World Series Wrestling, Smash, and several other independent promotions from around the world.
The lineup for the show is as follows:
Petey Williams vs Michael Elgin
The Desi Hit Squad vs OVE
KC Spinelli vs Kiera Hogan
Steel Cage:
Josh Alexander vs Sami Callihan
Tessa Blanchard vs Gisel Shaw
Eli Drake Beat Some Dummies
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ec_8g5a2yOE
Eli Drake beat both Brandon Tidwell and Mr. Atlantis this week. The two local Toronto wrestlers had defeated the Cult of Lee last week.
Speaking of Eli Drake, another Impact Wrestling One Night Only pay-per-view was filmed recently. “Night of the Dummies” does not have a release date yet but will air on the Global Wrestling Network in the near future.
The lineup for that show is as follows:
Eli Drake vs Eddie Edwards
Moose vs KM
Sean Carr vs Brute Vanslyke
Z&E vs LAX
Homicide vs TBD
Wagner Brown vs Axel Lennox
Alisha Edwards vs Rebel
Fallah Bah vs Richard Justice
Impact Wrestling “Impact ReDefined” Quick Results:
X-Division Championship
Brian Cage (c) defeated Fenix – (2nd Title Defense)
Knockouts Championship
Tessa Blanchard defeated Allie and Su Yung (c) – Title Change
Eli Drake defeated Brandon Tidwell
Rich Swann defeated Petey Williams
Austin Aries & Killer Kross vs Eddie Edwards & Moose – No Contest
Roman Reigns finally won the Universal Championship from Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam after building the title change for almost 18 months.
Now as Reigns finally has the title and Brock is seemingly done with WWE for the time being, the eyes are on the Big Dog and people have been wondering what the company has in store for the new Universal Champion.
According to a report from Sports Illustrated, WWE “is looking to build a lengthy title reign” for the Shield member and he is expected to hold on to the Championship for a while.
This would mean that Reigns will overcome the challenge of the Monster Among Men and will defeat Braun Strowman in their upcoming match at Hell In A Cell.
Who Would Challenge Roman Reigns Next?
The site also says that the former NXT Champion Drew McIntyre would be the next challenger for the Universal title once the Big Dog is done with the former Wyatt Family Member.
There is, however, no word yet on when exactly will McIntyre challenge Roman Reigns. So it’s possible that they will wait for some time and let a few PPVs pass before pulling the trigger on him.
If Drew does end up being the next person to challenge for the World title then this will be his first major singles rivalry in the main roster since his return. How the Officials execute it will tell us a lot about his expected future spot in the company.
The news of Neville being released from his WWE contract broke out last week and since then people have been wondering what’s next for the former Cruiserweight Champion.
During the recent episode of his X-Pac 1,2,360 podcast, Sean Waltman talked about how much creative satisfaction matters, the now former WWE Star and what he should do next.
While talking about Neville and his future, Sean Waltman said that he should do something like a surprise All In appearance because he is a part of the conversation about the best wrestlers in the world:
“It’s better if he does a surprise at All In or something like that. He’s right up there in the conversation with the best in the world right now. The fans that are behind the All In and the whole indie movement, they put him on a pedestal, and they look at him in the light he deserves to be looked at.”
Neville walked away from Raw in October last year due to being unhappy with his bookings for a while and WWE decided to freeze the former NXT Star’s contract after that.
There had been no significant update on his status ever since then, up until last month. Things changed after Triple H was asked about him during a recent media call and there are a lot who believe that the Game played a role in getting Neville out of his contract.
Shawn Michaels is set to make his WWE return during next week’s episode of Monday Night Raw, and if some latest rumors are to be believed, then this won’t be his only TV appearance in near future.
WWE announced on Raw this week that the Heartbreak Kid will return to the company in order to promote the upcoming Super Showdown match between Undertaker and Triple H.
Though this is not the only event Shawn is scheduled for, and the former World Champion is being advertised for the upcoming WWE Super Showdown from Australia as well.
This has started speculations that Michaels can play a role in the upcoming bout between The Game and The Dead Man and rumor is that he could be the special guest referee for the bout.
It’s worth mentioning here that the former DX Member was also the guest referee when these two last competed against each other in a Hell In A Cell match at WrestleMania 28 and the company could be trying to recreate the moment.
Since the Undertaker is also expected to be on the show, it wouldn’t be a surprise if we see a confrontation between him and Shawn Michaels this Monday Night on Raw.
There seems to be a rumor floating around that WWE is considering pairing up Kevin Owens and Paul Heyman.
Currently Owens is in a storyline in which he has “quit” WWE. After his unsuccessful bid for the Intercontinental Championship against Seth Rollins on Monday’s RAW, Owens said he “quit” before leaving the ring.
There is a ton of speculation as to what is going to happen to “KO.” Will he join SmackDown Live? Perhaps turn babyface? The possibilities are endless. Somehow a pairing with Paul Heyman seemed to get into the rumor mix.
Wrestling Observer Newsletter‘s Dave Meltzer reports that this is not true. “The story going around that Heyman will return to manage Owens has no validity to it,” Metlzer wrote. Owens’ WWE status remains unclear.
He is currently advertised for live events in October. Owens will team with Elias against John Cena and Bobby Lashley. If this remains the case, it looks like Owens won’t be off TV for a long time.
The reason so many people seemed to believe the Heyman story was because it actually makes sense. Heyman is now without an advocate with Brock Lesnar losing his Universal Title and departing to the UFC.
Lesnar will challenge Daniel Cormier for the UFC heavyweight title in the beginning of 2019. A pairing between Heyman and Owens would certainly be an entertaining one, but it doesn’t seem to be in WWE’s plans as of this writing.
WWE Hall Of Famer Jeff Jarrett was interviewed on the Pancakes and Powerslams Show and discussed several professional wrestling topics.
During their conversation, Jarrett was asked who on WWE’s current roster he’d like to see in the main event scene. Jarrett named Monday Night RAW star Elias as a talent he has been impressed with as of late:
“I think Elias is a true main-event rivalry away from breaking to a completely different level,” said Jarrett.
“Not to say that [Elias isn’t already] a main-eventer, but when they have that real rivalry, because if you look back and look at Stone Cold and Rock, Stone Cold and Vince McMahon, Hogan and Savage, Hogan and Warrior, you can just go all the way down that line.
“You gotta look at where Lex Luger was at [in WWE] and when he jumped to WCW. Overnight, he became Sting’s ally, and Sting was on the fence in the nWo storyline.
“And so, all of a sudden, Lex was that personified WCW face that name his name there, and he really helped nWo a lot more than people give him credit for. Because, again, it was another rivalry made. Lex Luger against nWo, Sting against nWo. And I think Seth and Elias are right in that.”
SmackDown Live General Manager?
Currently, SmackDown Live’s General Manager is Paige. The Englishwoman is unable to perform as an in-ring talent for WWE right now due to medical concerns. It’s unlikely she wrestlers for WWE ever again.
The same thing was once said about Daniel Bryan, however, and he now wrestlers regularly on Tuesday nights. With that being said, there’s a possibility the SDL General Manager role could become available in the future.
This is something Jarrett wouldn’t rule out if it was offered to him:
“You would have to be a moron not to say [no],” Jarrett said.
“Absolutely! Do I think it’s gonna happen? No. But, would it sure be intriguing? Multiple ways to go and, as a famous promoter has once said, ‘never say never.’”
WWE Hall Of Famer Ron Simmons recently spoke to Wrestling Shoots to talk about several professional wrestling topics.
Simmons was asked about his run with The Nation Of Domination. The group consisted of members such as Simmons, The Rock, D’Lo Brown, Mark Henry and more. Of course, the gem of the group turned out to be The Rock.
Rock won several World Titles after embarking on his singles careers. Not only is he one of the biggest WWE Superstars of all time, but he’s now a major Hollywood movie star. Simmons tips his hat to Rock for the success:
“My hat off to him,” Simmons said. “I mean if that’s the way things go down, some get to go on and do other things — some don’t, but I’m glad I had a good part in helping him do what he had to do.
“When things weren’t going well for him in the beginning, when they couldn’t get him to where they wanted to get him, I’m glad that I had a good solid position for him to come in where I had a good profound effect on where he is and coming into professional wrestling and then going on to doing what he’s doing now.”
The Break Up
Then Simmons opened up about his reaction to the news that The Nation would be splitting up. Simmons said he was shocked it was ending so soon. He suggested some guys “flipping out” about contracts could’ve played a factor in the decision:
“I was shocked when it was ending so soon,” Simmons said. “It could have been some of the guys — you know we had some guys in the group that started going crazy, flipping out. Maybe it had something to do with them and their contracts or something. I was shocked when it did end.
“So I don’t know exactly what profound reason why and pinpoint why they did it but you know, I was just shocked when it did end.”
Its been almost 20 years since Mike Kanellis entered the professional wrestling business.
The 33-year-old has accomplished a lot in his career. He has worked under the banners of promotions such as Ring Of Honor (ROH), New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) and of course WWE.
Kanellis (formerly known as Mike Bennett) is a former IWGP Tag Team Champion. He also won the ROH World Tag Team Championships with Matt Tavern. In 2016 he won the TNA X Division Championship.
Finally, Kanellis and his wife, Maria, signed with WWE in June of last year. However, Kanellis hasn’t been used much in WWE recently. He has been battling drug abuse and is doing a lot better at this point in his life. Kanellis has also made quite the physical transformation.
Although he’s used at live events and in dark matches from time to time, his presence on WWE programming has been very low. Kanellis recently took to Twitter and discussed his current position in WWE.
He admitted that he gets frustrated sometimes, however, he remembers there was once a time he used to go to bed hungry:
“Sometimes I get really frustrated about where I’m at. Then I remember all the nights I went to bed hungry.”
This year’s roster reveal was hosted by Lana and Rusev along with B Team members Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas. The game is slated to be released October 9th, 2018. This is the first round of superstars that have been confirmed for this year’s game:
Aleister Black
Adam Cole
Akam
Alexa Bliss
Alicia Fox
Angelo Dawkins
Apollo Crews
Baron Corbin
Bayley
Bianca Belair
Big Show
Bo Dallas
Bobby Fish
Bobby Roode
Braun Strowman
Bray Wyatt
Brock Lesnar
Chad Gable
Curt Hawkins
Curtis Axel
Dana Brooke
Dash Wilder
Dean Ambrose
Dolph Ziggler
Drew McIntyre
Elias
Ember Moon
Fandango
Finn Balor
Goldust
Heath Slater
Jason Jordan
Jinder Mahal
Johnny Gargano
Kairi Sane
Kassius Ohno
Kevin Owens
Konnor
Kyle O’Reilly
Lana
Lars Sullivan
Liv Morgan
Matt Hardy
Mickie James
Mojo Rawley
Montez Ford
Natalya
Nia Jax
Nick Miller
No Way Jose
Oney Lorcan
Otis Bogojevic
Pete Dunne
Rezar
Rhyno
Roderick Strong
Roman Reigns
Ronda Rousey
Ruby Riott
Rusev
Sami Zayn
Sarah Logan
Sasha Banks
Scott Dawson
Seth Rollins
Shane Thorne
Shayna Baszler
Titus O’Neil
Triple H
Tucker Knight
Tyler Bate
Tyler Breeze
Velveteen Dream
Viktor
Zack Ryder
While big names like John Cena and The Undertaker are not present in this list, it goes without saying that those two and more will pop up in the next reveal.
Who are you excited to see in this year’s game? Sound off in the comments below.
Owen Hart was inducted into the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fam last month.
Accepting the honor on Owen’s behalf was Davey Boy Smith, Jr., Diana Hart, Keith Hart, Bruce Hart and Ross Hart. A few notable names were missing from the ceremony. One was Owen’s brother, WWE Hall Of Famer Bret Hart. He was at a UFC event in Canada.
Another was Owen’s wife, Martha. Instead, however, The Dan Gable Wrestling Museum Twitter account posted a photo of Martha posing with Owen’s Hall Of Fame plaque:
“Martha Hart holding her husband’s Hall of Fame plaque. Owen Hart was inducted posthumously into the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame on July 28.”
Martha Hart holding her husband’s Hall of Fame plaque. Owen Hart was inducted posthumously into the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame on July 28. pic.twitter.com/ECYLzMKbFo
During his time in WWE, Hart won several titles with the promotion. He is a former European Champion, a two-time Intercontinental Champion, a four-time Tag Team Champion and the 1994 King Of The Ring winner.
Unfortunately, Owen’s life was tragically cut short during a freak accident during a WWE pay-per-view (PPV). At the Over The Edge PPV in 1999, Hart fell from the rafters of the Kemper Arena. There was an issue with the harness and grapple that was supposed to support him while being lowered down.
Former WWE Superstar Santino Marella (real name Anthony Carelli) recently joined Busted Open Radio. During his appearance, Marella discussed his last run with IMPACT Wrestling.
Marella currently runs his own professional wrestling gym out of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada called “Battle Arts Academy.” IMPACT Wrestling has now become a Canadian-based company.
Working Relationship
A working relationship between the pair developed, as Marella allowed IMPACT to use his gym to film some of their content. He has even become good friends with Impact Wrestling vice president Scott D’Amore:
“Impact Wrestling moved their head office to Toronto,” Carelli said. “I mean we’re here, right? It started off as Scott D’Amore has become a very good friend of mine and they need different venues.
“So I implemented a little OVW in Battle Arts where we have a little arena in the middle of the gym it transforms into an arena it holds 500 people pretty comfortably.
“Impact started using our venue to do one of their platforms there. They have the Global Wrestling Network and they have Twitch.”
Marella On IMPACT Wrestling
Marella appeared on IMPACT Wrestling TV, however, he did not compete. Instead, he sent Battle Arts Academy’s Dustin Quicksilver to represent the school. Quicksilver was defeated by Austin Aries.
Now, Marella isn’t ruling out a future appearance with IMPACT but isn’t up for a long storyline:
“Somehow they got me on [the show]. I was talking to Scott [D’Amore], I really didn’t want to appear as a character anywhere, I’m just enjoying everything else.
“But you have to be determined to make a long answer short. I might do something, I don’t know. It might be here or there, I’m not going to be a regular, that’s for sure.”
Discussion: Would you like to see more of Marella on IMPACT Wrestling? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
“The Big Red Machine” was asked about claims made against him by Al Thompson. Thompson is the founder of Protect Our Youth from Steroids (POYS). Letters were sent to several media outlets suggesting Kane participated in “rampant steroid use.”
Thompson has claimed that “Jacobs was perfectly fine with, for many years, surrounding himself with steroid users plus illicit drug and steroid dealers every day while on tour … Jacobs’ duties, as I understand it, will include some oversight over law enforcement in Knox County.”
Kane responded in his interview with the Knox County News Sentinel, saying “I do not condone steroid use or the use of any illicit drugs.
“I think that’s very bad. I’m a bit of a health nut, and I just think it’s just really bad. No, I’d never do that.”
Thompson didn’t stop there. He also suggested that the “Kane” stage name be listed as a campaign donation. He further attempted to connect Kane to steroid use by reminding Vince and Linda McMahon donated $6,000 to his campaign:
“Well, one of (those donations) was from the administrator of the Small Business Administration of the United States (McMahon’s wife, Linda),” Jacobs said.
“So, I’m pretty proud of that … it’s always nice when someone from the President’s Cabinet supports your political endeavor. I’m just very happy and proud to have their support, that’s what matters to me.”
WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley recently did an interview with the Saskatoon StarPhoenix to talk about several professional wrestling topics.
Of course, Foley was asked about his historic 1998 Hell In A Cell match with The Undertaker. Foley was tossed off the top of the cell and through an announce table during the match. It’s a highlight-reel moment that lives on in professional wrestling history.
Foley offered up why he thinks fans still talk about the moment:
“Part of it was that it grew on an organic level. There wasn’t social media so it didn’t trend for three days and then disappear.
“It traveled by word of mouth – It was brutal but it was also surreal so that it wasn’t difficult to watch in a way like the January 1999 match I had with The Rock was.
“[Foley took 11 chair shots to the head with his wife and two young children — captured in the critically-acclaimed documentary Beyond The Mat — watching in tears at ringside.] It stands up to repeated viewings.
“But it doesn’t feel like watching a snuff film [laughs]. I sometimes talk at these shows about the element of magic in the air. I think it was alive that night.”
He confirmed that his HIAC moment is what he gets asked the most about by people. A close second is his tag team with The Rock:
“There’s nothing that’s even close. Running a distant second is my tag team with The Rock. They don’t recall specific matches. They just recall the chemistry and how much fun they had watching us.”
The Biggest Pop Of His Career
Finally, Foley discussed the biggest pop of his career. It was winning the WWE Title on an episode of Monday Night RAW in 1999. Of course, that wasn’t the biggest pop of the entire night.
The biggest pop – and maybe event he biggest pop of all time – came upon Stone Cold Steve Austin’s entrance. He assisted Foley in winning the title:
“It’s funny that the largest pop I ever received was only the second-largest of that match [Laughs]. Steve’s music had everyone up standing. That was an incredible night.”
