WoS/World of Sport’s first show of their re-debut took place tonight on Britain’s biggest mainstream channel ITV. The programme is set for a 10 show stint running into October and is available to every television set in the United Kingdom.
The stars of the show took to Twitter after the event to react to pro wrestling returning to British television, including Davey Boy Smith Jr, Will Ospreay, Grado, Stu Bennett, SoCal Val and Kip Sabian.
— Harry Smith, “Davey Boy Smith JR” (@DBSmithjr) July 28, 2018
With so much packed into that 1hr show (we don’t do ‘filler’ at @WOSWrestling..) it was impossible to give our incredible female athletes the platform they DESERVE in episode 1. All I’ll say is DON’T MISS EPISODE 2 ???
Gutted to have lost the title (after holding it for 574 days, on my 1st defence ???)…. BUT delighted British Wrestling is back on the telly and it looks like the response has been SUPERB ?
Cheers to all of you who tuned in (& sent such WONDERFUL tweets & feedback) in support of the first @WOSWrestling episode on @ITV! More action to come next week! Same time, same channel! ????#itv#woswpic.twitter.com/PF8tyDSWNx
World of Sport’s (WOS) premiere episode took place on Saturday night on Britain’s biggest mainstream channel, ITV. The program is set for a 10 show stint running into October and is available to every television set in the United Kingdom.
One of the major news items coming from the show was the announcement that WoS Champion Grado would be defending his title in the main event. WoS Commissioner Stu Bennett/Wade Barrett announced that a 5-man elimination match would determine a number 1 contender and after some confusion former PROGRESS ATLAS Champion Rampage Brown and Justin Sysum were added to the main event.
The Triple Threat bout headlined the show and Rampage Brown eventually took the win to become the NEW WoS Champion, defeating Grado in his first defence since winning the belt on New Years Eve 2006. Rampage is a well respected veteran in the UK scene having performed for the likes of DEFIANT, ICW, NGW, IPW:UK, IMPACT, PCW and the aforementioned PROGRESS.
The next episode takes place Saturday night on ITV at 5pm, you can check out more information at the official WoS website.
On recent episodes of his “Keepin it 100” podcast, Konnan has been talking about what a great time it is for the wrestling business. Konnan himself is keeping quite busy, working with AAA, Impact Wrestling, and Major League Wrestling.
In fact, Konnan just returned to the ring for the first time in almost 5 years recently. Konnan was entered into the MLW’s Battle Riot which was taped on July 19th and aired last night on BeIN Sports. The episode has yet to be uploaded to their YouTube account as of this writing, however.
On his most recent episode, Konnan talked about Impact turning the corner lately.
“What was amazing to me was that when the Hardy Boyz left and Jeremy Borash left, I was like, ‘Wow man, this place is gonna be f****d’,” Konnan said. “That’s a big loss. But they just put it all together.”
In terms of the atmosphere in the back right now in Impact Wrestling, Konnan was also complimentary.
“It’s very easy to talk to management and they let you collaborate and everybody’s joking around and having a good time,” he said. “Like the locker room’s real relaxed right now and everybody’s pulling together to really make this work. I thought that was a great PPV. I saw every single match and I thought it was really good.”
He would continue to talk about positive recent changes in the business.
“It’s very fun right now because a lot of the people that are running these companies are not old school grizzled vets,” Konnan said. “Everybody knows that now, you’ve gotta just treat people with respect and gotta treat them right, you can’t treat them the way they used to treat us.”
Konnan mentioned Impact will be in New York in the same building MLW runs. Impact will run the Bound for Glory show from the venue this October. Konnan praised the atmosphere inside the building. He also stressed LAX has an upcoming surprise which will get over well with the New York crowd.
Ronda Rousey and the Rock appeared together at WrestleMania 31, 3 years before Ronda would have her first WWE match at WrestleMania 34. The Rock and Rousey were promoting the upcoming Expendables movie at the time.
Rousey will also appear in the upcoming movie, Mile 22. While promoting the movie, Rousey was asked if the Rock gave her any advice about her movie career.
“No, not really. Just have fun, really,” she said. “The object is to have fun.”
She would also comment on Alexa Bliss, fan response to her matches thus far, and her WrestleMania experience.
Chris Van Vliet commented on how when Ronda was leaving the interview room, he let her know he would be interviewing Alexa Bliss shortly. Rousey was then quoted as saying “Tell Alexa I’m going to kick that stupid pink hair right off of her head.”
Ronda Rousey On Fan Response To Her WrestleMania Match
She was also asked about fans who were surprised her match at WrestleMania went as well as it did.
“Going into any new career like wrestling or acting or anything like that, a lot of people assume you can only be really good at one thing,” Rousey said. “And that if you master one thing you will never be able to master anything else as well.”
Rousey would continue to say there were low expectations from fans about how well she would do at WrestleMania. She also stressed it is hard to learn something new while the world is watching.
“There was a lot of low expectations going into things,” she continued. “It’s harder to learn while with the world watching.”
Rousey’s first match was at WrestleMania but she’s now up to 9 total matches now, 7 of which were on house shows. Not surprisingly, she is a perfect 9-0 thus far. Her two matches on WWE pay-per-views came at WrestleMania when she teamed with Kurt Angle to defeat Triple H and Stephanie and then at Money in the Bank when she defeated Nia Jax via disqualification after being attacked by Alexa Bliss.
“It helps me improve even quicker that my first match was at WrestleMania,” Rousey continued.
WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix will take part in the upcoming WWE Evolution pay-per-view this fall. What she will be doing on the show is still a mystery, however, even to her.
I’m so flattered by the @WWEUniverse response to me being at #WWEEvolution …I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Thank you for demanding more all these years. My heart is so full! #MushFest
A notable inclusion here is Phoenix’s close friend Natalya, who inducted Beth in the Hall of Fame this year. The two friends only met in single’s action once during their careers. Phoenix defeated Natalya on an episode of Smackdown in 2012.
Beth Phoenix At WWE Evolution
Beth Phoenix is one of the most decorated female champions in the history of WWE. In fact, only 3 other women have held a Women’s Championship for more combined days.
Phoenix won the WWE Women’s Championship 3 times and the Divas title once. In total, she held a Women’s World Title in WWE for 571 combined days, good for 4th all-time in the category. Only Alundra Blayze, Trish Stratus, and the Fabulous Moolah can top that. Considering that 26-year-old Alexa Bliss is already closing in on 500 combined days as champion, expect Beth Phoenix to get bumped down on this list before the end of the year.
Beth Phoenix on Commentary?
If Phoenix is not wrestling on the Evolution show, it’s possible she does commentary. Phoenix did commentary for the Mixed Match Challenge recently. Facebook Live showcased the inter-gender tag-team tournament earlier this year.
It’s possible that Phoenix is brought back to do commentary at Evolution. WWE host, Renee Young, has already volunteered to be on the broadcast team should WWE decided to go with an all-female version.
Reigning WWE Cruiserweight Champion Cedric Alexander has taken a shot at the former champ, Neville. Alexander was responding to comments beneath the video he posted below when the topic of Neville came up.
There have been no updates as to Neville’s status with WWE. The last anyone saw of him he had returned to the UK where he was spotted at the Mid Breath Gym on July 10th, 2018.
The last match he wrestled for the company was on October 1st, 2017. He defeated Enzo Amore on a house show via DQ in a match for the Cruiserweight Championship that night.
Cruiserweight Champion Cedric Alexander vs Former Cruiserweight Champions
This isn’t the first time Cedric Alexander has taken a shot at a departed champion on Twitter. During a back-and-forth with Lio Rush, Alexander took a shot at Enzo Amore as well.
“This coming from the kid who wants to be a fake rapper,” Alexander Tweeted at Lio Rush. “We had one of those on 205Live. You wanna end up like him? I suggest you watch your mouth youngster.”
Alexander won the Cruiserweight Championship following a 16-man single-elimination tournament earlier this year. The tournament was scheduled by 205 Live General Manager Drake Maverick following the title being vacated when Enzo Amore was released by the company.
Former WWE Intercontinental Champion Stu Bennett will be joining UK legend Alex Shane and former TNA star SoCal Val on ITV’s WoS for the next ten weeks as part of the broadcast commentary team.
Bennett has been making the media rounds for the new show over the past week and recently spoke to The Telegraph on the history, future and legacy of British wrestling, specifically World of Sport as well as his time in WWE.
Bennett started by referencing the ‘state’ of British wrestling in the last decade: “I am turning 38, and I grew up a complete wrestling nerd, but the UK wrestling scene when I was coming up was abysmal. There were maybe two or three good wrestlers in the country. By about 2003, if you got a hundred people at an event, you felt like it you’d sold out Wembley.”
When asked about about his subsequent move to WWE and the United States Bennett said that “I’d started out as a goody (face) here, but the second I got to America: English accent, bad guy (heel). I loved it. On the rare occasions I have been cheered, I have not found that rewarding. For me, to get a negative reaction, get people’s backs up, I love that. I main-evented a SummerSlam, which is the WWE’s second-biggest show. Being in the ring with John Cena, The Undertaker, guys I had watched as a kid: that was a seal of approval. They doubted that it could happen to an English kid.”
New Japan Pro Wrestling’s annual G1 Climax is widely regarded as the greatest tournament in pro wrestling today. Two blocks of competitors are competing in a round robin format to determine the number 1 contender to Kenny Omega’s IWGP Heavyweight Championship at January 4th’s Wrestle Kingdom.
Jake Jeremy – Ok so it’s Night 10 of the G1 Climax, I don’t remember what sunlight or my family look like so here’s the scheduled matches:
Juice Robinson vs Toru Yano
Hirooki Goto vs Tetsuya Naito
Tomohiro Ishii vs Kota Ibushi
Kenny Omega vs SANADA
Tama Tonga vs Zack Sabre Jr.
Ian Carey – So Juice Robinson is 0-4. His backstage interviews are all focused on how he has to do better or he might as well give up. Still, he has a broken hand… All the same, I think Juice wins and his tournament turns around from here
Jake Jeremy – I actually think that we might get a Juice heel turn here (although it’s unlikely) I’m going for a Yano win either way
Ian Carey – Naito defeats Goto in a match far different from the one he had with Tama Tonga (which was awesome if you don’t mind 8 different guys running in)
Jake Jeremy – I actually really enjoyed the Naito/Tonga match. Ishii vs ZSJ was the best bout of that night but at the least the interference added to the show and gave the match a different vibe. I’m also going with Naito here
Ian Carey – Hmm, I think Kota Ibushi beats Ishii and I feel like that could be a really good match.
Jake Jeremy – Ishii is low-key one of the best in the world so this will be a barn burner. Ibushi wins for me too
Ian Carey – Omega defeats SANADA and continues his unbeaten streak. I wonder if Omega will stay undefeated until Ibushi beats him on the final night
Jake Jeremy – When will Omega lose though? Against Kota? I agree though Omega does get the W here
Ian Carey – ZSJ beats Tama Tonga in what should be a pretty unique match. I can’t imagine Tanga Loa and Bad Luck Fale go long without interfering as ZSJ is stretching Tama into a pretzel
Jake Jeremy – ZSJ is also low-key putting in some BITW performances in this year’s tournament. New Japan is the perfect platform for him right now and I hope that he does get the win over the more established Tama
What are your predictions for Night 10? Let us know in the comments
Recently reinstated WWE Hall Of Famer Hulk Hogan took to Twitter today to celebrate Flashback Friday. Hogan Tweeted an old photo of himself with fellow NWO members Scott Hall and Kevin Nash.
Scott Hall retweeted Hogan’s photo, and added in an interesting comment. Hall asked if the trio should reunite soon. Not only did he ask, but he actually dared “The Third Man”:
NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa is absolutely relentless – inside and out of the ring.
Ciampa’s rival and former tag team partner, Johnny Gargano, recently Tweeted out a photo of a sign his wife Candice LeRae’s niece made. The sign also contained the following poem:
“Roses are red, your eyes are blue. We have five fingers. One is for you.”
Ciampa ran across this on his timeline and let LeRae’s little niece have it:
Earlier in the day “Blackheart” also put himself over in a big way. He noted that NXT TakeOver: New Orleans and NXT TakeOver: Chicago were the two he two highest grossing and most viewed TakeOvers in NXT history.
He also pointed out that Wednesday’s episode of NXT, which featured Ciampa’s NXT Title win, was the most viewed episode in NXT history. What do they all have in common? Tommaso Ciampa:
We have some more details on WWE’s Evolution plans.
Dave Meltzer explained on Wrestling Observer Radio that all of the women on WWE’s main roster will compete on the pay-per-view (PPV). The majority of the female talent on NXT will compete as well.
Meltzer also speculated that a Battle Royal, Tag Team Battle Royal or Royal Rumble match could take place. He then pointed out a rather interesting aspect about the timing of the PPV.
WWE will be returning to Saudi Arabia in November. If you remember, at the Greatest Royal Rumble event in the country earlier this year there were no females on the card. This was due to the culture in Saudi Arabia.
Meltzer noted that Evolution’s October 28th date probably isn’t a coincidence. The PPV will also have some stiff competition on TV. NFL Sunday Night Football and the MLB Playoffs will be taking place on the same night.
The Beginning
WWE has been heavily pushing their Women’s Revolution for the past several years. Women have been competing in their first ever Hell In A Cell, Tables Ladders and Chairs (TLC), Money In The Bank (MITB) matches and more.
As a result; several top female stars have emerged such as Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks. Not to mention the acquisition of, arguably, the biggest name in female sports, Ronda Rousey.
This past Monday on RAW Stephanie McMahon made the historic announcement about October’s Evolution event. The entire RAW roster and the women of SmackDown Live were all on the entrance ramp for the segment.
When these women clash with the female WWE stars of the past at Evolution – such as Lita and Trish Stratus – it will certainly be an interesting sight to see.
New Japan Pro Wrestling’s annual G1 Climax is widely regarded as the greatest tournament in pro wrestling today. Two blocks of competitors are competing in a round robin format to determine the number 1 contender to Kenny Omega’s IWGP Heavyweight Championship at January 4th’s Wrestle Kingdom. The tournament has now begun and here are the results from Night 9:
Minoru Suzuki b. Michael Elgin – Suzuki took the pinfall win with the Gotch Piledriver
EVIL b. Hangman Page – EVIL took the pinfall win after hitting his namesake move
Bad Luck Fale b. “Switchblade” Jay White – Fale took the pinfall win after hitting the Bad Luck Fall after a referee bump and Tama Tonga hit the Gun Stun
Hiroshi Tanahashi b. Togi Makabe – Tanahashi took the pinfall win after hitting the High Fly Flow
Kazuchika Okada b. YOSHI-HASHI – Okada took the pinfall win with the Rainmaker
World of Sport/WoS will be returning to mainstream British television this Saturday night at 5pm on ITV. The show will be running for 10 episodes until mid October in front of the largest potential viewing audience in decades.
SEScoops staff writer Jake Jeremy spoke to star of the WoS Women’s division Viper about her involvement in the new rebooted show, the WWE Evolution PPV and comparisons between WoS and NXT UK. Check it out below:
Jake Jeremy – I am joined by Viper of Pro Wrestling: EVE, PROGRESS, ICW…and now World of Sport…oh and of course Stardom!
Viper – Of course you can’t forget Stardom!
Jake: We’ve just seen the premiere of WoS and next week you’ll be included in a huge bout…you’re going to be on mainstream television for the next 10 weeks that’s pretty incredible
Viper: When we were all talking about the show it was hard to grasp the concept, what I hope is that we’re going to have an impact on people’s lives. I’ve been talking to friends that say I’m going to be on lunchboxes, t-shirts and things like that…we’re going to be like Wolf and Jet from the Gladiators! We’re going to be that to a generation of kids, we aren’t going to be quite as athletic cause they were all olympians (laughs), but for me that is the most important thing, it’s about the kids
Jake: If there’s one young person that watches WoS and says “I can do that” then this is all worth it right?
Viper – Exactly. Not even so much if people want to become pro wrestlers it’s about giving kids heroes and villains (baddies), that’s so influential in kid’s lives and I’m a very bad girl throughout this series (laughs)
Jake: So now you’ve appeared on ITV, you were on the BBC so…Channel 4 next?
Viper: Well the company that filmed my BBC documentary (Raise The Roof) they don’t just record for the BBC, they do anything with Phil and Kirstie (UK TV stars) and more with Channel 4 than the BBC so that could be a thing! Maybe I could just go in the Big Brother house? Sign me up (laughs)
Jake: We could just get Pro Wrestling: EVE on Channel 4?
Viper: That would also be good, let’s do that. That would be amazing
Jake: Well there has been an absolute boom in Women’s wrestling which has been a long time coming. WWE are obviously doing their Evolution All Women’s PPV…because apparently they invented Women’s wrestling
Viper: (laughs…a lot)
Jake Jeremy: You don’t have to say anything, it’s fine it’s me saying this.
Viper: Erm…I will concur (laughs)
Jake: I’ve tried to explain to people how big of a deal this really is, professional wrestling on mainstream television. It’s such a big thing and every year ITV gets seen in 34 million households. The NXT UK brand is being shown on a Network with sub 2 million people just as a reference point
Viper: When we were talking about it and all of the comparisons “is it going to be as big as WWE?” Ok so, X Factor. How many people watch X Factor on ITV?
Jake: Millions per week. Saturday night is big for families in the UK and you’ll have kids watching the shows with their parents/grandparents who remember Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks…then they’ll see Will Ospreay for the first time and be blown away. To me I’ve seen him perform a thousand times but to a young/older casual fan an Enziguri will amaze them
Viper: It’s going to blow their minds. After watching the first episode I’m really proud because when we all made this we knew there would be three main demographics that we needed to appeal to. We had to appeal to the kids, parents and hardcore fans. Especially the people who do remember World of Sport from before. It’s very hard to please all three.
Jake: Someone like Kip Sabian is going to be a big star throughout the series because everyone can resonate with his character
Viper: He’s fantastic. He and Iestyn Rees (from ICW) really stood out and could be massive stars. When you think about all of these random shows like The Only Way Is Essex and shows that started from nothing…look where these people are now. This is going to catapult so many people so you aren’t just going to be a wrestler anymore you’re going to be a personality. It’s a really exciting time for us and for wrestling as a whole. The feedback generally is “this can only get better”
Jake: It’s a ten episode run so that’s through the whole summer…into?
Viper: Mid October. I have so much faith in the show and can’t wait. It’s just the perfect amount of time as well
Jake: Yes it’s not a 6 hour show that goes on to six o’clock in the morning where I wonder what I’m doing with my life (laughs). So ITV 5pm Saturday nights!
Viper: (laughs) Get it watched, tell your granny to watch it! Grannies well love it, they were so violent!
WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Carmella has opened up on the current state of the WWE women’s division as well as reflected on her WWE career.
Carmella spoke with News-Press to talk about various topics as well as promote the SmackDown live event this coming Monday night in Estero, FL at the Germain Arena.
WWE Women’s Division
Carmella feels that fans are talking the women more seriously now more than ever because WWE is booking them in gimmick matches and having them main event pay-per-view events. The sky’s the limit in her eyes and that it’s to the point now where it’s not even a big deal if the women main event on SmackDown or on RAW.
“Because it’s just kind of become the norm. Whereas before, it was like, ‘Oh my God, the women are main-eventing Smackdown Live tonight!’ Now it’s no big deal. The women are the norm.”
Her WWE Career
The SmackDown champ stated that a lot has changed in a year for her because one year ago, she won the Money in the Bank contract and put herself on the map to the point where she is the champion now as it solidifies all the hard work and a testament to the WWE Performance Center that made her into the wrestler she is today. “That’s where you learn to hone your craft. I didn’t come from wrestling, and I never wrestled outside of WWE. So I’m kind of a homegrown talent. I learned everything from the performance center and NXT.”
What are your thoughts on Carmella’s comments? Sound off in the comment section.
Charlotte Flair has made her feelings known about the importance of the upcoming WWE Evolution pay-per-view to her.
The former WWE RAW and SmackDown Women’s Champion appeared on Busted Open Radio this week on SiriusXM. The Queen of SmackDown Live spoke about a number of topics, including her recent surgery and the proudest moment of her career.
Charlotte is currently focused on getting back in the ring, but of course they discussed Evolution. Charlotte emphasized that SummerSlam is her current focus, however she has certainly thought about her role at Evolution.
“My competitive nature, I want to be the main event, but I know I shouldn’t be disappointed,” she said.
Charlotte is no stranger to WWE pay-per-view main events. Back in 2016, she and Sasha Banks made history when they headlined that year’s Hell in a Cell. Whether or not she is in the marquee of WWE Evolution, you can bet Charlotte will be in a featured match.
WWE Evolution takes place on Sunday, October 28th from Long Island, New York. The all-women’s PPV will stream live on the WWE Network.
What are your thoughts on Flair’s comments? Sound off in the comment section.
WWE’s Total Divas are All In. No, they won’t be appearing at Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks’ big independent wrestling show on September 1st. However, promotional materials hyping the September 19th premiere of Total Divas Season 8 features the phrase All In repeatedly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkELCwdrRQI
The Young Bucks & Bella Twins Acknowledge Total Divas’ “All In” Marketing
Matt Jackson of the Young Bucks took notice of WWE and the E! Network using the phrase “All In” to market Total Bellas.
Cody’s Response to Total Divas Use of The Term “All-In”
Cody does not seem phased by WWE’s use of the term “All-In”. His opinion appears to be that this was not something done on purpose but rather a case of a production team not being aware of other things going on in wrestling.
A fan asked him about it on Twitter recently:
Could care less. It’s not the girls’ fault that whoever built that campaign had their head lodged in their ass
Most in that office that aren’t involved with wrestling/LE coordination are just checking their Facebook hoping the boss doesn’t notice they don’t do any actual work https://t.co/JlVKXhhX14
“Could care less. It’s not the girls’ fault that whoever built that campaign had their head lodged in their ass Most in that office that aren’t involved with wrestling/LE coordination are just checking their Facebook hoping the boss doesn’t notice they don’t do any actual work”
All In: September 1st, 2018
As of this writing, there are just 36 days until All In takes place in Chicago. We know Cody will challenge for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship that night but we don’t yet know who the champion will be. All signs are pointing to Nick Aldis still holding the ten pounds of gold come that time, however.
On the latest episode of Being the Elite, a match between “the Bad Boy” Joey Janela and Adam “Hangman” Page was scheduled. Some fans may have assumed Page would be put in a match with Joey Ryan. In storyline, however, Ryan is missing and presumed dead. It’s not clear how this will impact the match between Page and Janela, however.
Cody has also said he personally walked around the Sears Center in Chicago to ensure each seat had a good view.
“You’ll be good!” Cody responded to a fan asking about his seat’s view on Twitter. “We compromised on stage size a bit because we wanted as many seats filled as possible.”
WWE Evolution could become an annual event, according to Triple H.
Triple H spoke with Sky Sports to discuss WWE’s groundbreaking decision to present an all-women’s pay-per-view on October 28th. Triple H was asked about the possibility of Evolution becoming a mainstay of WWE’s PPV calendar. The success of WWE evolution will most likely determine what happens next year.
“It’s a question to be answered down the road, said Triple H. “Do we need to have a women’s only event? No – just like we don’t need a men’s only event or anything else. I think that the opportunity is there whoever is the best, the most prominent box office attraction that is the main event.
It doesn’t matter if that’s Raw, Smackdown, NXT, Wrestlemania. So can they have their own event? Can it be a mainstay? Yes, and if our fans want it and it’s the right thing then we’ll give it to them. The WWE universe will dictate to us what the approach is.”
WWE Evolution
Monday’s RAW kicked off with Stephanie McMahon (joined by Triple H and father Vince McMahon) making the historic announcement. Women from WWE’s past (legends), present and future (NXT) will be part of the show.
Mickie James has already expressed interest in working with Trish Stratus at the show. Trish made a surprise return to WWE back in January during the first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble match. If Trish does work the show, revisiting this classic rivalry is sure to garner fan interest.
Not to be confused with the self-funded professional wrestling event being put on by Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks. A recent promo for the new season of Total Divas on E! has professional wrestling fans scratching their heads.
The promo continuously referenced the phrase “All In.” Watch the video here and see for yourself:
It’s unknown if this was a jab by WWE at the upcoming Chicago show. Perhaps this was simply an unintentional mistake by those at E!. Whether or not it was intentional, professional wrestling fans are certainly talking about it.
The Exchange
As a result of the frenzy, this urged Matt Jackson of The Young Bucks to recently respond to the promo on Twitter. He used a GIF of Cody Rhodes motioning to his ear:
Former mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter turned pro wrestler Marina Shafir made her NXT debut at Thursday’s live event from Largo, Florida. Shafir teamed up with Nikki Cross to defeat the team of Aliyah and Rhea Ripley.
Marina Shafir, wife of NXT Tag Team Campion Roderick Strong, is a member of Ronda Rousey’s ‘MMA Horsewomen’ faction. The stable consists of Ronda Rousey, NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler, Jessamyn Duke and Shafir.
Shafir’s debut brings us one step closer to all 4 members of the MMA Horsewomen being active competitors in WWE.
Jessamyn Duke, another Horsewoman, was also expected to debut at the NXT Largo show. Earlier this week, Duke tweeted that she would be making her debut alongside Jessamyn Duke, but she did not appear and later deleted the tweet.
R-Truth has shared a graphic photo of his injured shoulder.
The former United States Champion has missed a lot of ring time over the past year. Last August, R-Truth was injured during a match against Elias. He underwent two shoulder surgeries as a result.
The shoulder injury kept him out of the ring until until WrestleMania 34, when he returned and wrestled in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal.
R-Truth returned to the ring on Tuesday’s SmackDown Live and was defeated by Samoa Joe. Despite coming up short, the 46-year-old showed that he can still go with one of WWE’s top Superstars.
R-Truth’s Injury Photos
Truth posted a photo on Instagram this week showing exactly what he was dealing with during his time away from WWE. He shared several graphic photos of the ‘floating bone’ in his shoulder. He also expressed his love for the business and proclaimed, “I’m back.”
Chris Jericho says there are no restrictions to what he can do in New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). The reigning IWGP Intercontinental Champion has only wrestled 3 matches in 2018, but he has remained one of the most talked about wrestlers in the world.
Jericho made waves when he wrestled Kenny Omega in the Tokyo Dome on January 4th, 2018. He appeared at WWE’s big Raw 25th Anniversary just a few weeks later, his first appearance for the company since he started working for New Japan.
In April, he was back in WWE competing in the Greatest Royal Rumble. By June, he was the IWGP IC Champion after dethroning Tetsuya Naito at Dominion.
Chris Jericho On Working For NJPW & WWE
“It’s very cool to go back to Japan, where I started, and be part of this worldwide growth of New Japan,” Jericho said to Sports Illustrated recently. “There are no real restrictions on what I can do in New Japan.”
Jericho would continue to talk about the restrictions in WWE versus NJPW.
“We did the original beatdown with Kenny and got some blood going, which you never see in the WWE nowadays,” Jericho continued.
“We did the press conference where I was swearing and attacking reporters. You can’t do that in WWE, but you can in Japan. Just to have those shackles released, it just felt like all of these things led to more of a Bruiser Brody character than a Shawn Michaels-type vibe.”
Chris Jericho Wrestling For Non-WWE Promotions
Jericho has always said he would never wrestle for a company other than WWE on American soil. Events which have unfolded this year may test his commitment to this, however.
When asked by a fan on Twitter if he still intends to stand by his earlier claims, Jericho gave an answer some fans will find surprising.
There’s been speculation that Jericho is interested in working for Impact Wrestling. Jericho responded, “Of course!” when asked if he’d consider ‘going to’ Impact.
This October, Chris Jericho is hosting the Rock ‘n’ Wrestling Rager cruise, which departs out of Miami on October 27th and travels to the Bahamas.
Talent from WWE, Impact Wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling and Ring of Honor will be appearing on the ship. Very few people can pull off something like this. Chris Jericho is among a rare breed of performers who makes his own rules in this business.
IWGP United States Champion Juice Robinson has publicly addressed a report from this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter stating WWE is interested in signing him. Robinson, who wrestled as CJ Parker for former WWE developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling and later NXT from 2011-2015, isn’t going anywhere.
“That’s in the rearview mirror now,” Juice said. “I ain’t going back, I ain’t ever going back.”
Robinson made the comments backstage from Night 8 of the G1 Climax 28 tournament. He has lost every single match in the tournament thus far, likely due to competing with a broken hand.
Juice Robinson on WWE and NJPW
Earlier this summer, Juice spoke with Uproxx about his frustrations while with WWE.
“You know, I loved NXT. Just, I just knew I was dead in the water, so I had to get out,” Juice said. “So it wasn’t that it was bad, it was (that) I turned it bad because I got sad. You know what I mean? So what was happening to me on a daily basis… it wasn’t like I was going home every night and crying in my room.”
He would continue to say that in NXT anytime he would try and lighten the mood, he would be told to get back in line. This was under the old head-trainer, however.
“But they’ve got a good guy there now, and everything’s really – I think it’s fun again,” Juice said in reference to current NXT head trainer Matt Bloom. “It’s good to hear. But I’m having more fun, so, haha.”
Juice Robinson’s Other Options
WWE is not Juice’s only option other than NJPW. Don Callis of Impact Wrestling has made it clear they would make Juice a big part of their company if he ever jumped ship.
“Juice is a tremendous performer with unlimited likeability and unlimited charisma,” Callis said on his Killin the Town podcast earlier this month. “He definitely is a rock star.”
“I really like him a lot,” Callis continued. “He’s a guy you build a company around.”
Kenny Omega has chimed in on the recent Twitter escapades of Tama Tonga and Roman Reigns. Tonga was recently suspended from Twitter temporarily and went looking for who turned him in. He eventually concluded it was Roman Reigns which led to an interesting back and forth between the two of them.
Omega took to Twitter to give his thoughts on the situation.
If the enemy of my enemy is my friend but my new friend hates me more than my enemy does, is he still my friend? pic.twitter.com/5dMq4TW2co
“If the enemy of my enemy is my friend but my new friend hates me more than my enemy does, is he still my friend?”
Omega was referring to the fact that while Tama Tonga and he are enemies in current NJPW storylines, Omega and Roman Reigns have had their issues in the past as well.
Kenny Omega and Roman Reigns Rivalry
Late last year/early this year, Omega and Roman Reigns were involved in a mild public spat as well. Their issues began after Reigns claimed he was the best in-ring performer in the world.
“I’m the best performer, in-ring, in the world right now,” Reigns said in late 2017 to the Bleacher Report. “You can go to my matches and my pay-per-views over the last three years and you can say I’m an idiot or you can be like, ‘man, he has a point.’ Do you know what I mean? I didn’t come here for any other reason.”
Omega then responded t Roman’s claims in an interview with the Bleacher Report.
“I don’t know if Roman was put up to saying a comment like that from a social media team or if it was something that he consciously thought of himself,” Omega said. “But I thought it was pretty smart of him to do — to say — that, because it became instantaneously a topic that people were talking about. And just because it sounds so ridiculous. You know what I mean? By no means do I actually think he believes in those words. There’s no possible way. … I don’t have to feel like I have to speak up about it. It is what it is, and I understand that it’s a fun thing for fans to generate interest in the product. I take absolutely zero offense in him saying it. Especially, since it’s quite clear that the fact of the matter is much, much different.”
Impact Wrestling presented their first show since Sunday’s Slammiversary last night. The venue was again Toronto’s Rebel nightclub.
We also got a rematch from Slammiversary last night. Former X-Division Champion, Matt Sydal, cashed in his rematch clause or rather, as he put it, the title itself cashed in the rematch clause.
Actually, the X-Division Championship itself invoked the rematch clause. I’m simply flowing with the natural order of things. Nature seeks homeostasis, the X-Division Championship seeks me. ????
Don’t look at Sami Callihan’s head. Don’t laugh at him and don’t make fun of him. Even if you don’t, he’ll probably think you did, however.
Callihan has become unhinged (more so) since Pentagon Jr. cut off his hair at Slammiversary.
This week we saw Callihan lose it on a guy in the urinal next to him. Callihan thought the guy was laughing at him so he and oVe beat him up and shaved his head in the washroom.
Pentagon delivered this promo later in the show:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDlE8bJREVs
Austin Aries Has 2 New Challengers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fidMR6tfspY
When Austin Aries gave his Championship Address last night on Impact, much of what he said applied to both himself as champion and Impact Wrestling as a promotion.
Aries talked about how in Impact Wrestling nobody hands them a script. In Impact they allow talent to be creative as opposed to just following directions. This was as much of an Impact Wrestling address to fans as it was Aries gloating over his victory.
Eddie Edwards attacked Aries from behind, signifying he wants in the mix for Aries’ world title.
He wouldn’t be the only person who would challenge Aries by the end of the night, however. Anthony Carrelli’s student, Dustin Quicksilver, challenged Aries in the back after the champion interrupted an interview with Carelli.
Don’t Hot-Shame Scarlett Bordeaux
Scarlett Bordeaux: “I want to be remembered as the greatest women’s activist of all time.”
Alicia Atout: “Like Susan B Anthony?”
Scarlett Bordeaux: “Ew. Like Marylyn Monroe. Or Cardi B.”
Bordeaux is a heel. She is the anti-hero in terms of female wrestlers being treated as athletes rather than models. She wants to bring sexy back to wrestling but will it be to the detriment of other Knockouts in the division?
King Says Konnan Didn’t Win The War
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU8lJYnxdzk
We didn’t see LAX this week. Konnan and the tag champions are likely out of action for a week or two after the beating the OGz gave them after the match at Slammiversary. Even though LAX was victorious over the OGz, King and his crew beat up Konnan an the champs after the match was over.
King told Homicide and Hernandez that Konnan and LAX thought they won the war but they had only won a battle.
Tessa Blanchard Is A Very Good Professional Wrestler
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpHyZuymLkU
News flash: Tessa Blanchard can wrestle. Her intense style is heavily influenced by old-school wrestling eras. The ones her father and step-father, Tully Blanchard and Magnum TA, made their names in.
We spoke to Blanchard in May about what has influenced her in-ring style.
“I have huge respect for the 4 Horsemen, all bias aside,” Blanchard said of her father’s old faction. “My Dad and Arn were one of the greatest tag-teams of all time.”
“I watch that era of professional wrestling for inspiration and to study tape,” Blanchard continued to say. “I want to portray that style through my work.”
She made quick work of Rebel this week, defeating her in the very nightclub which bears her name.
The Desi Hit Squad Attacked Taiji Ishimori and Petey Williams
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itz2O9RKgV0
In the opening match, Taiji Ishimori defeated Petey Williams. After the two former X-Division Champions shook hands after the match, they were attacked by the Great Gama Singh’s Desi Hit Squad.
Gursinder Singh (Lance Storm Wrestling Academy graduate) and Rohit Raju delivered the beatdown while Gama Singh shouted instructions from outside the ring. It’s likely we see a tag match involving these four wrestlers sometime soon.
Johnny Impact Has Un-Finished Business With Kongo Kong
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewywZm95Q4A
After Johnny Impact defeated Trevor Lee this week, he said his goal is to become Impact World Champion. He said he has some unfinished business to take care of first, however.
It was Kongo Kong who put Johnny out of action and now Johnny wants his revenge.
Allie and Kiera Hogan are Coming For Su Yung
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrJRSCTlMQk
In a backstage interview, Allie said her match with Blanchard distracted her from getting even with Su Yung. Allie says she is not going to let Su Yung lock any more wrestlers in coffins. Kiera Hogan then showed up to offer her support as well.
The Young Bucks vs the Motor City Machine Guns
The GWN moment of the week just so happened to be the Motor City Machine Guns vs Generation Me (aka the Young Bucks).
Alex Shelley has been making statements lately which seem to indicate he is not returning to the ring.
The X-Division Is In The Brian Cage Era
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWgWsjyhFUI
After an action-packed main event, Brian Cage once again hit the Drill Claw on Sydal. The victory gives Cage is first-ever title defense of the X-Division belt.
Cage has never been pinned and never submitted in Impact. If anyone can beat Cage for the title, they are going to have to do something no Impact wrestler on the roster has been able to do yet.
After Slammiversary, Cage posted the following to his Instagram account:
PROGRESS held their 74th Chapter event ‘Mid Week Matters’ from the Camden Ballroom in London last night. This was the first ever UK Chapter event to be held on a weekday and it delivered in a big, big way.
The main event of the show saw PROGRESS World Champion Travis Banks defending his title against one of the hottest independent stars running the circuit: WALTER. Banks has been a dominant champion ever since his September 2017 win against Pete Dunne in the main event of PROGRESS’ first Alexandra Palace show.
WALTER dethroned Banks to a rapturous reception from the PROGRESS faithful in what likely means that he will be walking into the Wembley Arena show holding the most coveted title in UK independent wrestling.
PROGRESS co-owner Glen Joseph took to Twitter to confirm that Zack would not be appearing due to his New Japan commitments and he also revealed the contingency plan for the massive event in Wembley Arena.
Joseph announced that “between Chapter 74 and Chapter 75 inclusive and the whole USA Coast to Coast Tour any wrestler that puts together 3 back-to-back consecutive singles wins in competition will qualify for the World Championship match and indeed the main event at Wembley Arena.”
Will WALTER be walking into England’s most prestigious Arena as the World Champion? There’s not long left to find out…
New Japan Pro Wrestling’s annual G1 Climax is widely regarded as the greatest tournament in pro wrestling today. Two blocks of competitors are competing in a round robin format to determine the number 1 contender to Kenny Omega’s IWGP Heavyweight Championship at January 4th’s Wrestle Kingdom.
Ian Carey – We’ve reached Night 9, here are the scheduled matches:
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Togi Makabe
Michael Elgin vs Minoru Suzuki
Kazuchika Okada vs YOSHI-HASHI
Jay White vs Bad Luck Fale
EVIL vs Hangman Page
Jake Jeremy – too…much….wrestling
Ian Carey – Straight out I think that Tanahashi beats Makabe
Jake Jeremy – It’s looking like your Tanahashi/Okada final day showdown is coming to fruition so I completely agree
Ian Carey – I think Suzuki should defeat Elgin
Jake Jeremy – Is it really bad if I enjoy seeing that? Suzuki must beat Elgin
Ian Carey – Okada will run right through YOSHI-HASHI I’m sure
Jake Jeremy – I’m still sad that they didn’t run with the “you’re nothing without the title” story for Okada, I wanted to see him go through hard times….baby, but yes Okada will beat YOSHI-HASHI
Ian Carey – Jay White vs Bad Luck Fale should be interesting. The Firing Squad and Jay White have both brought very western-influenced heel tactics to NJPW this tournament. I’m not certain the live crowds are enjoying it but I feel as though it might be a tactic NJPW is using to lure in more international fans.
Jake Jeremy – Possibly, I mean Bullet Club was always meant to be an ‘infection’ of western influence on the NJPW style. I think that Fale might actually take this though
Ian Carey – White should win the match though, as Fale has made it quite apparent he does not care about win/loss records. I also think they will give Hangman Page the win over EVIL. I have a feeling that will be a great match too.
Jake Jeremy – Agreed, Page will get the win over EVIL to at least give him SOMETHING
What are your predictions for Night 8? Let us know in the comments
