Tonight (Mon. July 23, 2018) we find out who will go on to SummerSlam to take on Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Title – Roman Reigns or Bobby Lashley. Last week on Monday Night RAW both Reigns and Lashley won their respective Triple Threat matches.
Now they will face off on tonight’s edition of RAW, with the winner going to SummerSlam in attempt to dethrone “The Beast.” Reigns recently took to Twitter and talked about getting to spend some quality time with his daughter in Los Angeles this week.
With all that behind him now, he says he’s ready for Lashley tonight and declared he’ll be the one going to SummerSlam – and he’s going to beat Brock Lesnar:
Got to spend the week with my daughter at the #ESPYs and #KidsChoiceSports Awards this week in LA…but now it’s time to get to my ring and take back what’s mine. I’m going to #SummerSlam. I’m facing Brock. #Raw
Four teams will compete in a tournament on SmackDown Live to determine SmackDown Live Tag Team Champions The Bludgeon Brothers’ next opponents for the straps. One of those teams is none other than former SDL Tag Team Champs The Usos.
Jimmy and Jey posted the following video message to The Bludgeon Brothers from WWE’s official Twitter account backstage from a Springfield live event:
The build for the upcoming SummerSlam pay-per-view is up and running but one name has yet to be mentioned on WWE television and that’s John Cena.
WWE is not advertising Cena for any upcoming events. He was last seen when he beat Triple H in the opening match on the main card of the Greatest Royal Rumble pay-per-view event in April.
However, over the weekend, Cena had fans talking about an interesting photo on his official Instagram account which led to speculation that he was hinting at a match against The Undertaker. Their first encounter was at WrestleMania 34 earlier this year and was a short match which led to a lot of fans believing that they could do a rematch in the future.
Also, a fan asked longtime pro wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer on Twitter if he thinks Cena will appear at SummerSlam, which Meltzer responded with the following:
Another interesting turn about this speculation is the fact that since 2004, Cena has worked SummerSlam every year and with WWE considering it being the second biggest event of the year just behind WrestleMania, one would have to assume that there’s a good chance Cena will work this upcoming event.
However, as of this writing, this is pure speculation as WWE has yet to confirm Cena making an appearance at the show.
What are your thoughts on Cena potentially working this show? Sound off in the comment section.
Former WWE official Bruce Prichard was recently interviewed on the Sam Roberts’ Wrestling Podcast and talked about what it was really like working for Vince McMahon.
One topic of discussion brought up was whether or not “The Chairman Of The Board” ever takes some time to get some rest. Prichard said that McMahon likely gets a few hours of sleep each night before an early wake-up call to get in a cardio workout.
He also detailed how McMahon sometimes takes 30-minute naps during the day from time-to-time. Prichard shared an experience of his own with McMahon, who used a tour bus to take a nape in once:
“He’d probably get a couple of hours of sleep before he’d wake up to do cardio. He takes like 30 minute power naps every once in awhile. I’ve gotten alcohol poisoning two times in my life, both times with Vince McMahon.
“The first time drinking moon shine and the second time was just a crazy night and I remember Vince coming to me and going, ‘Brucie, what are those buses like?’ Those were the early days of the rock n’ roll buses we had for the cameramen and the ring crew guys. Actually they’re pretty nice. McMahon said, ‘Get everybody off. We’ll take a nap in there.’
“We would go and just 30 minutes. He would go nap. He goes out and when he wakes up he’s like, ‘Goddamn let’s go. Holy cow that was good! Good times, huh? You know what? I think I got an extra minute there. I think that made a difference”
You can listen to Prichard’s interview on the Sam Roberts’ Wrestling Podcast by clicking this link here.
WWE almost pulled the trigger on a pretty neat idea for Brian Cage during his time with the company back in 2008.
Cage, currently signed to IMPACT Wrestling, was in WWE’s then-developmental territory of Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). In a recent interview with The Miami Herald, Cage said that he was praised for his working ability by late Hall Of Famer Dusty Rhodes and was being considered for a main roster call-up.
A super-hero/villain gimmick was pitched that would have Cage go by the name of “Dark Claw.” He was being considered to either feud or tag team with Hurricane Helms, who had just brought back his Hurricane gimmick at the time:
“I am out there having awesome matches with Justin Gabriel, Tyson Kidd, Trent Barrreta, and Dusty Rhodes pulls me to the office and goes, ‘Let me tell you something baby. You are a phenomenal worker. You got to have something else.
“You can’t be that. Hey Matt, what’s that guy called the Honey Badger? The Wolverine yeah. But you can’t be the Wolverine because that’s a trademark, so give me something else. I went back, and I was looking through my trading cards and comics, and I said, ‘I’ll be like the Dark Claw which is Batman and Wolverine.’
“I made my attire off that, and they were going to bring me up, and then Hurricane came up and Dusty said, ‘OK, we are thinking of feuding or teaming you with Hurricane.’ So I started doing a bunch of heel promos but I got released.”
You can check out Cage’s full interview with The Miami Herald by clicking this link here.
Kenny Omega defeated Tama Tonga on Saturday in NJPW’s G1 Climax 28. Tonga was disqualified after repeated interference and giving a cutter to the referee. This G1 has seen far more interference and run-ins than what is normally seen in the promotion.
According to comments Omega made after the match, he was upset at Tama for cheating but for different reasons than you might expect.
“I’m not mad that you cheated in this match,” Omega said backstage. “In fact, what I’m most mad at is that by using your friends, by using a DQ just to beat me up and leave me possibly with injury, you, my friend, have affected my average star-rating.”
The Bullet Club OGs/Firing Squad have been interfering in several matches and Bad Luck Fale has already been disqualified multiple times for his actions. On the first night of the tournament, the Firing Squad interfered early in Fale’s match with Hangman Page, who was making his debut in the tournament. The BCOGs constant cheating has been the talk of the G1 thus far.
Kenny Omega had the following to say when he got to the back after the match.
“Tama Tonga, nothing much has changed since last year, has it?” Omega said. “Last year, you yourself said the G1 didn’t mean anything. Clearly, the same is true. You don’t care about the 2 points, you don’t care about going to the finals, all you care about is making a statement that you and your boys care about each other. And oh boo f****ng hoo, there’s a group of people that are better than you that dream bigger.”
“I thought you were clever by implicating the use of your boys,” Omega continued. “But Tama, at the end of the day, it was still all to make a very immature point that blood is thicker than water.”
“Tama Tonga, all take these boys and their talent and what they bring to the table over whatever the hell it is you believe in.”
While Seth Rollins and Dolph Ziggler were putting on a pretty solid 30-minute Ironman match at WWE’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view (PPV) earlier this month, the talk on social media was all about the crowd in attendance’s actions.
Throughout the match the crowd kept counting down as the clock on the big screen continued to tick down from 30 minutes. The incident threw both Rollins and Ziggler off a bit. Eventually someone in the production truck took the clock off the screen, but that just drove the crowd even more nuts, and the counting became more frequent.
Seth Rollins was the latest guest on former WWE ring announcer Lilian Garcia’s podcast, Chasing Glory, and discussed the topic. “The Architect” seemed a bit irked by the crowd’s game, and admitted it really messed with Dolph Ziggler during the bout:
“Sometimes I don’t understand the concept of coming to a show and doing anything other than watch the show. I can’t imagine it,” Rollins said. “It is what it is. They know it’s a thirty minute match; they’re just going to get it out of their system.
“And then, somebody actually took the clock off the tron. And that was bad. It was like you were taking a toy away from a petulant child, and they’re just going to be a jerk to you about it. I know it really messed with Dolph [Ziggler].
“Like, he was super out of sync from how he normally is. I just let them do their thing. I knew we had thirty minutes, and by the end of it they’d be invested in what we were doing — and I think they were.”
Rollins also stated his interest in challenging Dolph Ziggler for the Intercontinental Championship at SummerSlam next month.
Listen to Seth Rollins on Chasing Glory with Lilian Garcia:
Ring Of Honor held its latest round of ROH TV tapings on Saturday night from Atlanta, GA. Here are the results from the tapings, courtesy of PWPonderings.com:
– Dark match: Sal Rinauro beat “P Dawg” Mike Posey.
– Chris Sabin defeated Scorpio Sky. Alex Shelley announced that he will be taking a hiatus from pro wrestling, which leaves his MCMG partner Chris Sabin the chance to pursue a singles career. Punishment Martinez came out and attacked the Machine Guns, but Scorpio Sky chased Martinez away.
– Karen Q defeated Jenny Rose after a distraction by Kelly Klein.
– FR Josie fought Eli Isom to a no-contest in a Top Prospect Tournament match. Jeff Cobb debuted by attacking both men.
– Kenny King defeated Marty Scurll.
– Christopher Daniels defeated Jay Briscoe by DQ when Mark Briscoe interfered.
– Flip Gordon defeated Silas Young.
– Ring of Honor Champion Jay Lethal defeated Jon Gresham in a 30-minute Iron Man match to retain They were tied after the 30-minute time period and Lethal scored a pinfall in sudden death overtime.
– Women of Honor Champion Sumie Sakai defeated Madison Rayne to retain.
– Shane Taylor defeated Josh Woods.
– Marcus Kross vs Charles Zanders fought to a no-contest in a Top Prospect Tournament match when Jeff Cobb interfered again.
– Chuck Taylor and Trent Barreta defeated Silas Young and Bully Ray after Bully walked out on Young.
– Frankie Kazarian defeated Mark Briscoe.
– Beer City Bruiser and Brian Milonas defeated The Dawgs and Cheeseburger & Ryan Nova in a Triple Threat tag match.
– Cody and The Young Bucks defeated The Kingdom to win the ROH Six-Man Tag Titles. NWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis was on commentary for the match.
Last night at Slammiversary, Austin Aries defeated Moose to retain his Impact World Championship. Aries is the 5th most decorated champion in the title’s lineage, behind only Sting, Bobby Roode, Lashley, and Kurt Angle.
Aries is a 3x Impact World Champion and has held the title for 290+ plus days combined. He’s defended the title 6x since winning the belt back from Pentagon back in May.
Aries sent the following out on Twitter early this morning:
Austin Aries on Why He Returned To Impact Wrestling
Aries took part in a media call last week to help promote Slammiversary. During the call, he mentioned what is different in the promotion under the new management group.
“This time to me feels completely different,” Aries said. “There’s just a different energy and a different thought process.”
“I’ve been at odds with the company over the course of my career, I don’t think that’s a big secret,” Aries continued. “But I think the difference now why I’m back is because the people or the ideals that I had issues with are no longer there and attached to this.”
Austin Aries: Belt Collector
Aries currently holds the following championship belts:
Impact World Championship
WSW Heavyweight Title
DEFY 8xGP Title
He recently lost the IPW: UK World Title and the All England title for IPW: UK. Aries also lost the Defiant World Title back in April. He was the Impact Grand Champion earlier this year but opted to merge that belt with Impact World Title.
Tyson Kidd not only reflected on his accomplishments in the WWE but also talked about his future with the company in his new role during a recent interview.
The former WWE Tag Team Champion spoke with Chris Van Vliet about various topics including his career-ending neck injury. For those who may not remember, Kidd was seriously injured three years in a dark match prior to a RAW TV event with Samoa Joe after taking the muscle buster. He ended up getting C1-C2 spinal fusion surgery, and doctors said that there was a 95 percent chance of death. Thus, at the time, it was considered a life-threatening injury as well but now he’s moved on as a producer with the WWE.
“I remember everything very vividly. I lost feeling for about five seconds. Everything. Head to toe. Times ten. You just sit there in no control. I was in no control, I was at a higher power’s mercy. You’re just sitting there, all of a sudden your body feels like it weighs like two million pounds. But there was some weird voice telling me this isn’t permanent. Now in that five second span I’m thinking this little voice is telling me this but that doesn’t mean this voice is right though. But luckily, thankfully it was. I ended up going to a hospital then they transferred me to a different hospital.”
Kidd continued by stating that he stayed overnight then the doctor came the next morning and told him that he wanted to do emergency surgery, which he noted is fortunate due to WWE having the best of the best.
He recalled being airlifted a couple of days later from San Antonio to Tampa and the best doctor ended up being in Tampa. He added that once he got hurt, Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, and Edge reached out to him about the injury.
Switching gears, Kidd talked about his new role in the company as a producer as he has been doing it for a year now and claims to love it but did admit that it took a little bit to get adjusted and back in the mix because he was away for two years.
“I love sitting and collaborating with people and just being creative and we are all throwing out ideas and next thing you know some magic is being made in the ring that I had a small little part in. It feels fulfilling and there’s no physical trauma to me. “
SummerSlam is less than one month away and Raw Superstar Seth Rollins has an idea about who he wants to face at WWE’s next pay-per-view offering.
Rollins was the latest guest on Lilian Garcia’s Chasing Glory podcast and teased that he’s looking to dethrone Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler.
“The Intercontinental Championship kinda means a lot to me here right now,” Rollins said. “I’d like to take another crack at it with Dolph, but we’ll see what happens. SummerSlam is coming up and he doesn’t have an opponent yet. I lost my shot at the Universal t. I’d be down to give Dolph another run for his money, that’s for sure.”
Dolph Ziggler’s 6th reign as Intercontinental champion began when he defeated Seth Rollins on the June 18th edition of WWE Raw from Grand Rapids, Michigan.
WWE SummerSlam takes place on Sunday, August 19th from Brooklyn, NY at the Barclays Center. The main event of SummerSlam will be determined tonight on Raw when Roman Reigns and Bobby Lashley square of in a #1 contender’s match to determine who will challenge Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship.
Listen to Seth Rollins on Chasing Glory with Lilian Garcia:
Raw Superstar, Elias, has a big day today. His debut album “Walk With Elias” released today on iTunes and Spotify. His album will also reportedly be for sale at WWE live events.
Tonight after Raw, “Elias: Live From Bourbon Street” airs on the WWE Network.
WWE is not done promoting Elias today, however. The WWE Network will air “Walk With Elias” on July 30th, a documentary focussed on Elias’ recording of the album.
https://youtu.be/lflAuk1MPoM
“Walk With Elias” Track Listing
The Ballad of Every Town I’ve Ever Been To
Nothing I Can’t Do
Walk With Me
Elias’ Words
Elias Samson
Real name, Jeffrey Logan Sciullo, Elias was signed to WWE in early 2014. He would crack the NXT roster later that same year.
Prior to being signed by WWE, Elias wrestled on the independents for 5 years. He wrestled under the name “Heavy Metal Jesus” Logan Shulo.
Late last year, Elias appeared on the Stone Cold Steve Austin podcast and talked about his gimmick.
“I like to think Elias is (kind of) the culmination of everything I ever wanted to be and who I ever wanted to be so I’m very happy with that,” he said.
The character Elias worked on the independents was similar to what he now does in WWE.
“I can recall at one point I was “the Frontman” Logan Shulo,” Elias said on the podcast. “I came out with a mic stand, in my mind, I was this eclectic frontman rockstar. Then as it went on I became “Heavy Metal Jesus”.
As for the Heavy Metal Jesus nickname, Elias credits a training partner of his from Pittsburgh.
“It was a guy named Michael Facade out in Pittsburgh. One time we’re training, I just looked like it, I looked like Jesus you know, and he said “Heavy Metal Jesus”, he called me that. I said that’s the coolest nickname I’ve ever heard.”
Earlier this week, Smackdown General Manager Paige announced a tag-team tournament. The winners will receive a title shot against the Bludgeon Brothers. She has now released the names of the 4 teams which will be participating in the tournament.
The Usos, New Day, Sanity, and the Bar are all entered. The most notable team not included in the tournament is Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows. A possible reason the team wasn’t included in the tournament is that they have already lost two title matches on television to the current champions.
Smackdown Tag Team Division vs Raw Tag Team Division
Although the SD tag division consists of fewer teams than Raw’s, it arguably has the stronger ones. New Day are the longest reigning tag champions of all-time, the Usos are arguably the hottest tag-team on the roster, and Cesaro and Sheamus are multi-time champions as well.
Meanwhile, on Raw, the titles are currently held by Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel. The B-Team defeated the Deleter of Worlds at Extreme Rules for the belts. Other Raw tag-teams include the Revival, the Authors of Pain, Ascension, Titus Worldwide, and Breezeango.
Paige As Smackdown General Manager
Paige took over as Smackdown General Manager on the first episode after WrestleMania. The night before on Raw, Paige announced she was not medically cleared to compete. It’s possible she never competes in a WWE ring again but she doesn’t seem to be abandoning hope.
Prior to Paige’s appointment, the show had been run by Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan. After Bryan’s reinstatement as a wrestler, however, he stepped down as brand GM. Shane McMahon stepped away from the role after WrestleMania as well, citing his problems with Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens as a reason why.
Impact Wrestling presented Slammiversary last night from the Rebel Nightclub in Toronto, ON, Canada. The show aired live via pay-per-view on the FITE App.
The venue was clearly at capacity as we were pretty packed in there but there was a great atmosphere inside. The traditional Impact/Anthem ring and apron were replaced with a gold-roped Slammiversary version.
Impact Wrestling- Slammiversary XVI
July 22nd, 2018
Rebel Nightclub Complex
Toronto, ON, Canada
1. Johnny Impact defeated Fenix, Petey Williams, and Taiji Ishimori
There was no dark match, so this match opened the live show and pay-per-view. The crowd was into all four wrestlers.
Rich Swann suffered a concussion during the MLW: Battle Riot tapings earlier this week. He was replaced by Petey Williams.
Lots of high-flying spots, and easily the most athletic match of the night.
Johnny Impact pinned Fenix with Starship Pain.
2. Tessa Blanchard defeated Allie
Allie got a big pop from her hometown but there were clearly many Tessa Blanchard fans in attendance as well.
Blanchard missed a senton, allowing Allie to hit a codebreaker but Blanchard rolled outside the ring to avoid a cover. When they got back in the ring Allie was unable to pin her, hit a super-kick, went for her finish but got it reversed into Blanchard’s hammerlock DDT which finished the match.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KA6LtgP0AXs
3. House of Hardcore Match
Eddie Edwards defeated Tommy Dreamer
This was an ECW-style match from the beginning, which the fans seemed to expect. Cooking sheets, garbage cans, and more plunder were involved. A staple gun busted Eddie Edwards open. Dreamer used a replica ECW title belt a fan at ringside had and used it to bash Edwards with.
Dreamer brought out a table and poured lighter fluid on it. Neither the table nor the lighter fluid was used, however, which the fans didn’t like. Edwards ended up hitting Tommy with the Boston Knee Party to end the match.
After the match, Dreamer and Edwards reconciled and Edwards’ wife came to the ring area as well. It appeared Dreame passed the torch to Eddie as the new “Innovator of Violence”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wGXSl290p8
4. X-Division Championship
Brian Cage defeated Matt Sydal (c) – New Champion
There were many impressive spots in this match. Cage did the spot where he caught his opponent in the air in a suplex position and kept him perched before eventually bringing him down.
The crowd was really into Cage but Sydal had his fans in attendance as well.
The end of the match came when Sydal missed a Shooting Star Press (hitting his bottom foot on the rope on his way down). Cage then hit the Drill Claw for the win.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzmGF-w117k
5. Knockouts Championship
Su Yung (c) defeated Madison Rayne
The live crowd calmed down a bit for this match. Several chants for Su Yung were started and abandoned shortly after.
Yung’s undead brides carried her onto the entrance ramp in a coffin. Rayne tried to cut her off before she got into the ring, however.
Yung won with her mandible claw type hold. After the match, Yung and the undead bridesmaids put Madison in a coffin.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzypsFWcj9s
6. 5150 Street Fight
LAX (Santana & Ortiz) defeated the OGz (Homicide & Hernandez)
This match picked up where the House of Hardcore match left off in terms of plunder and weapons.
This match was just an aggressive, hardcore spot-filled, nasty tag match (in a good way). The fans perked back up in a big way for this match.
Homicide hit a suicide dive onto Santana through a table. Then Ortiz gave Homicide a DVD through a table but then got put through one himself by Hernandez.
Konnan got up on the apron and tossed in a bag of thumbtacks to Santana, who threw some into Homicide’s face before slamming him into the tacks, giving him a frog-splash and pinning him.
After the match, King and the OGz attacked LAX and Konnan. They put Konnan into the tacks, then spray painted and stole the title belts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__d8TGKzP9A
7. Mask vs Hair
Pentagon Jr. defeated Sami Callihan
They seemed to structure this match into 3 different parts before the end. The opening bit involved dueling kicks and chops. Then they ended up dueling over chairs. Then the nails came out and they duelled over the as well.
Callihan brought out 2-3 large nails and began jamming them into Pentagon’s head. Once Pentagon got a hold of them, however, he then did the same to Pentagon. They then each ended up with one nail and repeatedly jammed each other in the head with it, busting each other open.
The Crist brothers came out (both of them with their arms in a sling) but weren’t able to help Callihan much.
Callihan blew dust in the face of Pentagon, temporarily blinding him. Shortly after, a blinded Pentagon thought the ref was Callihan and broke his arm. He hit the Fear Factor on Callihan but there was no ref to count the pin. Callihan would then hit the Cactus Driver 97 on a chair but again there was no ref to count the pin.
Pentagon then gave Callihan a package piledriver on top of four chairs for a near-fall that fans thought was the finish. Pentagon then broke Sami’s arm, gave him another piledriver, and got the pin.
Sami originally tried to get out of the stipulation but Fenix brought him back to the ring. Pentagon was able to pretty cleanly shave Callihan’s head on the entrance ramp.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQf5F-wHdV8
8. Impact World Championship
Austin Aries (c) defeated Moose
Moose got the majority of the offense early in the match until Aries was able to reverse a spear into the Last Chancery and from there the match seemed more balanced.
Aries threw Moose into the crowd, gave him a DVD on the apron, and even gave him a brainbuster on the floor in an attempt to get a count-out victory.
Moose hit a spear but Aries grabbed the rope during the pin-count. At that point, Aries tried to abandon the match and left the ring. Moose picked him up and threw him into the crowd, however.
The finish came when Aries went to hit Moose with the championship belt but Curtis Granderson prevented him. Moose tried a school-boy for a near-fall but Aries got up, kicked him in the face, and gave him a brainbuster for the win.
Tonight’s edition of WWE Raw takes place from Cincinnati, Ohio at the US Bank Arena. WWE.com is advertising the following items for the show: Here is what’s on tap for tonight’s show:
– Roman Reigns vs. Bobby Lashley to determine who will challenge Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship in the main event of next month’s SummerSlam pay-per-view.
– Raw Commissioner Stephanie McMahon will make an historic announcement. It’s rumored that her announcement will be WWE’s first-ever all-women’s special event.
–Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy will get a chance to reclaim their Raw Tag Team championships when they face The B-Team (Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas).
– Will Ronda Rousey honor her suspension?
– The road to SummerSlam continues.
Afternoon Update: WWE announced that Finn Balor vs. Drew McIntyre will take place tonight.
Impact Wrestling’s Bound For Glory 2018 pay-per-view will take place on Sunday, October 14th from New York City at the Melrose Ballroom.
This will be Impact’s third pay-per-view of the year following April’s Redemption from Orlando and Sunday’s Slammiversary XVI from Toronto.
The Melrose Ballroom in Queens, NY hosted last week’s MLW Battle Riot event and will play host to GCW’s Joey Janela’s Lost In New York during SummerSlam weekend.
Since 2005, Bound For Glory has been Impact’s signature event of the year. In recent years, Bound For Glory has emanated from Ottawa, Orlando, North Carolina Tokyo and San Diego. Last year’s Bound for Glory from Ottawa’s Aberdeen Pavilion was headlined by Eli Drake defending the Global Championship against Johnny Impact.
Impact has run the NYC market before, including TV tapings from the Manhattan Center back in 2014. The Melrose Ballroom has a significantly smaller capacity than the Manhattan Center, but it’s an intimate venue that will all but guarantee a sell-out crowd and will come across well on television.
Following Sunday’s Slammiversary PPV, tonight kicks off several months of television tapings that will begin setting up storylines for Bound For Glory.
– James Ellsworth’s future in WWE appears uncertain after Asuka annihilated the man himself to the tune of kicks, strikes and a smothering Asuka Lock following her loss to Carmella last Sunday at Extreme Rules. Then two days later on SmackDown LIVE, General Manager Paige asked Carmella how “her boyfriend” is doing. Carmella appeared disgusted, saying “eww” and that he’s not her boyfriend.
With Ellsworth seemingly out of the picture as Carmella’s associate, WWE Network personality Peter Rosenberg wants to give the SmackDown Women’s Champion “a real manager.”
On Friday, Rosenberg responded to Carmella’s latest Instagram post with the following: “I have so many ideas for when I supplant @jamesellsworthwrestling and give you a real manager!”
https://instagram.com/p/BldpeSEl6ql/
– Ahead of SummerSlam on August 19, WWE tweeted this 60-second highlight video looking back at SummerSlam 1989 from the Meadowlands Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
In the main event, WWF World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan enlisted Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake for a tag team match against “Macho Man” Randy Savage and Zeus.
Ultimate Warrior also struck gold for the second straight year at SummerSlam, defeating rival “Ravishing” Rick Rude for the Intercontinental Championship.
– Two weeks ago, IMPACT Wrestling announced that Tessa Blanchard had signed a “long-term” contract.
BREAKING: @Tess_Blanchard will continue to prove she's undeniable in the Knockouts Division as she has signed a long-term contract with IMPACT Wrestling. pic.twitter.com/3SWenkIJyG
– Madison Rayne is a five-time Knockouts Champion looking to become Champion for the sixth time. She will have that opportunity tonight at Slammiversary when she challenges Su Yung. Ahead of tonight’s match, Rayne tweeted the following.
There were 4 years between my 1st Knockouts Championship win and my 5th.
WWE has spent the better part of two decades building SummerSlam, their mid-year pa-per-view event, into a show that they deem as big (or almost as big) as WrestleMania. The same kind of glitz, glamour and excitement and big-time matches worthy of The Showcase of The Immortals.
As we move towards this year’s iteration of SummerSlam I can’t help but feel like a lot of that is being undone by the fact that we (almost) know exactly what’s scheduled for the main event: Brock Lesnar losing the Universal Title.
With Brock’s short-term WWE contract and already-announced move back to the UFC, it’s an almost inevitable but then again that is what the fans predicted at both WrestleMania AND the Greatest Royal Rumble when he faced Roman Reigns, so could we once again be ‘swerved’ at the last minute?
Whoever faces Brock at SummerSlam (if we discount any shenanigans with a Money In The Bank cash-in) is likely walking out with the Universal Title. This pretty much means the only thing of interest in this match is the who, and how of it all.
This past week on RAW, Roman Reigns and Bobby Lashley won separate triple-threat matches to win the right to face off this Monday to see who will face Brock for the Universal Title at SummerSlam. This presents three possible scenarios:
Lesnar Vs Lashley – WWE is sometimes like a little kid. They fixate on a certain toy or show and that’s all they want. Right now for3-year old WWE, it’s MMA. With Brock’s appearance in a UFC Octagon, and Lashley’s MMA background, it wouldn’t surprise me if they were to try to put them in the ring and say “As long as Brock loses, just go for it!” Of course, that’s unlikely because there’s more to putting on an MMA-style shoot fight than just doing it. Plus, in the PG era I doubt it’d fly. Another possibility: Heyman turns on Brock and becomes Lashley’s advocate. Lashley really needs to do that “not talking” thing, and we could all use more Paul Heyman in our lives.
Lesnar Vs Reigns – Roman Reigns is a good wrestler. There, I said it. You know it, I know it, and maybe this is the time for him to shake off the bad booking he’s suffered through and make a full (badass) heel turn. Remember his promo the night after facing the Undertaker at Wrestlemania? It was spectacular. If finally beating Lesnar gets us that Roman full-time, it’ll all be worth it. It could really change his career trajectory, and also elevate the title, because who wouldn’t want to beat the crap out of that guy?
Lesnar Vs Lashley Vs Reigns – This is practically Wrestling 101. It would be easy for WWE to have the match between Lashley & Reigns go to a no contest through some kind of shenanigans, causing them to repeat the match the next week, which would more than likely end in similar circumstances, and they’d just declare it a Triple Threat at SummerSlam. This match would be great for Brock because he could lose the title without being pinned. It’d be terrible for the audience in that it’d be nothing but a glorified Reigns/Lashley match, which we’ve just sat through, like, a lot. This is the most likely of the scenarios, to be honest. It could give us the outcome of a 1-on-1 Reigns/Lesnar match, while protecting Brock and making Lashley…still be there? I guess?
My choice? It’s actually a fourth scenario: With the excitement around the Intercontinental Title right now, Ronda Rousey Vs Alexa Bliss and the rumoured Samoa Joe Vs AJ Styles WWE Title match potentially on the card, honestly, we don’t really need a Universal Title match. The best thing WWE could do is start the show with the Universal Title in a display case in the ring, announce that Brock has been stripped and the Title will be retired to a closet in HHH’s office. In it’s place will be a re-instated Heavyweight Championship (Hey, it’s my fantasy booking, let me have this), which Lashley and Roman will battle for in the Main Event.
The Universal Title debuted at SummerSlam, so ending it there would be fitting.
Sound off in the comments! What scenario would you like to see play out at SummerSlam with the Universal Title?
World of Sport/WoS will be making a return to mainstream British television next Saturday July 28th. The iconic UK wrestling brand will be making an initial run of 10 shows on ITV/STV, a channel that is available on every single TV set in the UK.
WoS announced their full roster and on-air personalities over the past month and one of the more intriguing is the involvement of former WWE Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett/Stu Bennett. Bennett will be acting as the ‘Commissioner’ for the show and also providing commentary alongside SoCal Val and Alex Shane.
Bennett recently took to Twitter to hype the upcoming debut show of this WoS reboot, he stated that “1 week from today, the greatest collection of British wrestlers amassed in over 30 years hits prime time on @ITV.. Who are you most excited to see? @WOSWrestling“
Here’s the full official roster for WoS:
Rampage Brown
Grado
Iestyn Rees
Sha Samuels
Davey Boy Smith Jr
Adam Maxted
Nathan Cruz
CJ Banks
Brad Slayer
Martin Kirby
Lionheart
HT Drake
Doug Williams
Crater
Gabriel Kidd
Kip Sabian
Liam Slater
Robbie X
Will Ospreay
Stevie Boy
Joe Hendry
Justin Sysum
Ayesha
Kasey Owens
Kay Lee Ray
Bea Priestley
Viper
Will you be watching next Saturday? Let us know in the comments.
1 week from today, the greatest collection of British wrestlers amassed in over 30 years hits prime time on @ITV.. Who are you most excited to see? @WOSWrestlingpic.twitter.com/02bWta1lkl
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 7:
YOSHI-HASHI b. Michael Elgin – YOSHI-YASHI took the upset win after hitting a backstabber followed by Karma
EVIL b. Bad Luck Fale – EVIL took the DQ win after Tama Tonga hit him with the Gun Stun. The fans in attendance did not like yet another DQ decision in the G1
Minoru Suzuki b. Jay White – Suzuki handed White his first loss of the tournament after he caught a low blow attempt and hit the Gotch Piledriver for the pinfall
Hiroshi Tanahashi b. Hangman Page – The ‘Ace’ of NJPW hit a standing High Fly Flow to take down Hangman, he followed with another and took the pinfall victory
Kazuchika Okada b. Togi Makabe – Okada recovered after Makabe hit a lariat, he delivered his own and then finished off Makabe with the Rainmaker
Impact Wrestling Slammiversary XVI
July 22nd, 2018
Rebel Nightclub
Toronto, ON, Canada
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YD1NtYRl88U
Mask vs Hair
Pentagon Jr vs Sami Callihan
A Mask versus Hair match arguably the most talked about match of the night.
Pentagon hit his package piledriver and his tag finisher with Fenix on Callihan on television leading up to this match but Callihan kicked out of both, indicating Callihan won’t be finished so easily tonight.
If Pentagon wants to win this match, he’s going to have to go to great lengths to keep Callihan down.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqEvpLATHQQ
Impact World Championship
Austin Aries (c) vs Moose
Aries has been saying Moose is a failed football player who is trying a new career.
Moose has been saying he left the NFL to chase his pro-wrestling dream.
Aries tried his old tricks on Moose recently on television this week. He attacked Moose from behind, hit him in the groin, and beat him up with a chair. Aries assumed Moose was down for good but was shocked when Moose got up and took the fight to him.
As Aries left the arena he looked less than confident for the first time in a long time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCPbFdu0QBg
Knockouts Championship
Su Yung (c) vs Madison Rayne
Su Yung has been haunting Madison Rayne in her dreams, luring her into fields, and dousing her with blood. It’s been a little weird.
Yung most likely has more than a wrestling match in mind for her opponent tonight.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMCp7-KqeWY
X-Division Championship
Matt Sydal (c) vs Brian Cage
The X-Division isn’t about weight limits, it’s about no limits. This vague yet somehow also descriptive line defines the X-Division and it also defines Brian Cage.
Cage has been kept strong on television all year. His only loss came via count-out against Sydal after Kongo Kong interfered.
Can Brian Cage win the X-Division title? Or will Matt Sydal use his 3rd eye to guide him to victory?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTDegMNnXxc&t=9s
House of Hardcore Match
Tommy Dreamer vs Eddie Edwards
Eddie Edwards has spiraled into madness. His delusions have led him to believe Tommy Dreamer is his enemy.
Dreamer had only been trying to stop Edwards from making the same mistakes he did during his feud with Raven. Dreamer said he lost years of his life obsessed with Raven and didn’t want Edwards to do the same with Callihan.
It is being reported that Swann has been removed from this match due to the concussion he suffered on Thursday at MLW: Battle Riot.
Johnny Impact has stressed he needs to win this match to move up the rankings as fast as possible. He indicated if he doesn’t win a title in Impact before his wife Taya does, that he’ll never hear the end of it.
Fenix has been tearing it up on Impact television lately, he’s also scheduled to take on Sami Callihan on Tuesday night at the television tapings.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNwVeUuVPTM
Allie vs Tessa Blanchard
Tessa Blanchard dropped two matches to Madison Rayne during the last set of tapings. Both losses were via pinning combination, however, and Blanchard felt slightly. She attempted to get revenge on Rayne but Allie (who was teaming with Rayne at the time) fought her off, leading to this match.
Allie is from Toronto and should get a big pop from her hometown crowd but she will be in tough tonight against the fast-rising Blanchard.
Rich Swann will miss tonight’s Impact Wrestling Slammiversary show from Toronto. Swann reportedly suffered a concussion on Thursday at the MLW Battle Riot tapings. He is believed to have been taken to hospital after.
It was reported on Friday that Impact management was aware of the situation and was looking for possible replacements. Today, the Wrestling Observer is reporting that Swann has in fact been removed from the match although no official announcement has been made from either Impact or Swann.
Swann was scheduled to face Johnny Impact, Fenix, and Bullet Club’s Taiji Ishimori tonight. He also played a key role in the build-up to Sami Callihan vs Pentagon during the company’s Windsor television tapings.
Earlier this week, Johnny Impact had this to say about the upcoming match.
“I can’t think of a better way to return to Impact than with this 4-way match between some of the most talented guys in the world, myself included,” Johnny said on a media call. “I plan on stealing the show for sure.”
“The guys in this match are really on the upper echelon of athletism and charisma,” Johnny continued. “I’m stoked, bro.”
Slammiversary is an important night for the promotion. The new management regime consisting of Don Callis and Scott D’Amore has put a lot into this show. Johnny also talked about why he feels fans should be watching the promotion right now.
“You’ve got your traditional American psychology type wrestling but now we’ve got with Ishimori, with Pentagon, with Fenix, with Sami Callihan and Cage and Kevin Kross now, Aries, and of course, Johnny Impact. You’ve got this crazy blend of wrestlers from different styles from all over the world that make the matches on Impact infinitely interesting.”
Eddie Edwards will face Tommy Dreamer in a House of Hardcore rules match tonight at Slammiversary tonight. The match will be a culmination of a storyline which began in January of this year.
Sami Callihan cracked Edwards in the orbital bone with a baseball bat during a set of television tapings this January. After a long feud with Sami Callihan, Edwards’ character spiraled. He began to see Tommy Dreamer as his enemy.
Edwards spoke with Interactive Wrestling radio recently about his upcoming pay-per-view match.
“I’m ready to leave it all out there in that ring to take Tommy out,” Edwards said. “I know Tommy, the Innovator of Violence, is ready to do that too. So, let’s go out there and see what we can do and see what we create along the way.”
Eddie Edwards On Being Compared To A Young Tommy Dreamer
As his rivalry with Dreamer has evolved, some fans have compared Eddie to a younger version of his rival.
“Two weeks ago, you got to see the classic ECW Tommy Dreamer promo. He’s bloody, he’s talking crap to me,” Edwards said. “That is what people have wanted to see. That’s the beast, the monster that I’ve created along the way. It is an interesting story we have going on. As you said, mirror images. He’s trying to stop me from what he had become. Why stop me? He’s this Hardcore Legend.”
Edwards would continue to talk about the angle with Dreamer and Callihan which has carried through all of 2018 so far.
“This all stemmed from Sami Callihan and Tommy Dreamer and my wife getting involved,” he continued. “This is emotion. This is something that anybody can feel. Anybody that has been hurt or wronged or thinks they’ve been wronged, this is something they can watch and feel. This is emotion and I think that’s something that we can play with.”
Eddie Edwards vs Tommy Dreamer – Slammiversary – House of Hardcore Match
Edwards also addressed the 47-year-old Dreamer being worried about keeping up with him.
“I think that is a solid concern on his part,” Edwards said. “The same goes for me going into a House of Hardcore match. He was part of the original ECW – The man who created this violence. He is the “Innovator of Violence”. I know that. It is kind of this meshing of styles, putting he and I in a blender and seeing what comes out! (laughs) I’m looking forward to taking what he’s got. Does he still have it? Is he still that Tommy Dreamer that everybody loves? Let’s have a House of Hardcore match on the biggest pay per view of the year in front of a sold out crowd!”
Cody will be back on the comic-book superhero show, Arrow this season.
The former ROH World Champion had previously stated he dyed his hair back to black due to an upcoming television commitment. It’s possible this is what he was referring to.
Cody’s IMDB credits for non-wrestling related entertainment is on the rise. He previously appeared in the WAGS Atlanta reality television show this year as well.
He also appeared in two episodes of Arrow in 2016 and 2017.
41 Days Until Cody Challenges For NWA World Heavyweight Championship
There are just 41 days left until All-In on Saturday, September 1st, 2018. Cody is scheduled to face whoever is the NWA World Heavyweight Champion for the belt on the show.
The current Champion, Nick Aldis, recently defended the title successfully against Flip Gordon on an ROH show from Nashville Friday night. Had Flip won, not only would he have won the NWA title, he would have qualified for All-In.
During the match, Cody began cheering for Flip and appeared to turn the corner in regards to his opinion of him. It’s possible Flip’s performance in the match might be enough for Cody to book him at All-In regardless of the fact he didn’t win.
We will most likely be updated on Flip Gordon’s All-In status early this week when the next episode of Being the Elite is release.
