On the latest episode of his Talk is Jericho podcast, Chris Jericho revealed how WWE Chairman Vince McMahon reacted when he learned about All In. The latest episode features an interview he conducted with Cody and the Young Bucks back in June. The interview took place in Osaka, Japan following NJPW’s “Destruction in Osaka” event.
Vince McMahon All In Reaction
Chris Jericho says he told Vince McMahon about All In earlier this year. Vince’s reaction was classic Vince. “I told Vince about All In about 4 or 5 months ago,” Jericho said. “We were just discussing and shooting the breeze and I said ‘Yeah the show’s in September in Chicago’ and Vince said ‘I wish they would have called me. September is the worst time of year to promote!'”
Jericho, Cody, and the Young Bucks got a good laugh at the notion of calling up Vince McMahon to get advice. “Hey Vince, it’s Cody, I’ve got the Young Bucks on the phone,” Cody joked. “Couple of questions about promoting in the fall.”
“Don’t say ‘Rhodes’ haha,” Jericho joked in a Vince McMahon voice.
The story takes place just after the first commercial break in the episode. Subscribe to Talk is Jericho at iTunes.
Although Jeff Hardy has accomplished so many goals that he has set out for himself in the pro wrestling business, there are still some that he’s still pursuing. The former WWE United States Champion was recently interviewed by the Kingston Whig-Standard to talk about various topics.
Goals Before Retirement
Hardy started in this interview that he still wants to wrestle in a Hell in the Cell match before he calls it a career as that’s one match he’s never been a part of. He also wants to be in a ‘Deletion’-style match which was the contest that Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt did as part of the Ultimate Deletion on their property.
“Hopefully we’ll get to do another one, one of these days. I can bring Brother Nero back to life. I would definitely, before I’m done, like to be the world champion.”
He added that he thinks he has what it takes as long as he can stay healthy and avoid injury then he thinks he is good to go for a couple more title runs.
His Painful Bump
Jeff Hardy is known for taking big chances while performing such as his ladder bumps. When asked which one stands out to him, he pointed out that it was a match with RVD where he had this idea he wanted to go through a table vertically off a 14-foot ladder.
“I did a swan dive off [the ladder] and he moved and I crashed and burned and the table exploded, and I knew, ‘OK, this is the one. I’m not gonna get up from this.’ I thought I had broken my lower spine. It hurt so bad and it knocked the wind out of me.”
Watch here: Jeff Hardy vs. Rob Van Dam (Title vs. Title Ladder Match)
Tonight’s episode of NXT will feature matches taped before Takeover: Brooklyn IV on Saturday night. The main event will feature a match for the United Kingdom Championship.
Two matches have been announced for tonight’s show. Fans can likely expect several highlight packages of Saturday’s Takeover event as well.
NXT 8/22 Preview
WWE United Kingdom Championship
Pete Dunne (c) vs Zack Gibson
The winner of the NXT U.K Championship tournament in London earlier this year will get another crack at Pete Dunne tonight. Dunne defeated Gibson in Royal Albert Hall following Gibson’s tournament victory.
Meanwhile, Dunne has expressed interest in challenging for Ricochet’s newly won NXT North American Championship. He’ll have to get by Gibson tonight for that to happen, however.
Bianca Belair vs Deonna Purrazzo
A back injury forced Bianca Belair out of title contention but she’ll return tonight to take on newcomer Deonna Purrazzo. Belair is hoping the newly signed Mae Young Classic competitor isn’t the first one to hand her a loss in NXT.
Purrazzo made her in-ring NXT debut at a live event on the 17th. She competed in the MYC tapings which were held on August 8th and 9th.
The fallout from NXT Takeover: Brooklyn IV
With two new champions crowned on Saturday, fans can expect to see plenty of the Takeover fallout tonight.
Ricochet is the new NXT North American Champion but you can bet Adam Cole won’t simply let that go without a fight. Shayna Baszler was also dethroned by Kairi Sane and does not appear finished with the original MYC winner either.
Jerry Lawler appeared on Local 24 Memphis recently to speak further about the investigation into his son’s death.
“It’s like a nightmare that we can’t wake up from”, Lawler said. “It seems like every day something new comes up, we hear something from someone that was either an eyewitness to incidents that happened the day that Brian died or people that have heard stories about just different things that went on in the jail.”
Yesterday, we reported that Lawler’s lawyers are trying to make sense of an affidavit filed regarding an inmate using Brian’s identity.
“Even as recently as just a couple days ago,” Lawler continued. “Somebody in the jail is still using Brian’s identity and was caught for identity theft.”
Brian Lawler Death Investigation
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is looking into the death. The Lawler family has consistently stated they doubt the official version of events which states Brian died via self-inflicted hanging.
“It just doesn’t pass the smell test,” Lawler said earlier this month. “We’ve received literally countless calls, text messages from people, actual eyewitnesses, that were in the jail and saw things that happened on the actual day that Brian died that now has opened up a new can of worms,” he continued. “It just doesn’t seem like it was suicide.”
Experts have also cast doubt on ligature marks found around Brian’s neck.
“Just look at his neck and look at his hand,” Lawler said earlier this month. “You can see the lines on his neck all the way around here to here and what would be the length of your hand as if he was trying to keep the pressure off.”
Last night on Smackdown, the New Day defeated the Bludgeon Brothers to win the tag-team championships. Rowan entered the match with a torn biceps but competed hard anyway. He will have surgery next week and is expected to be out for 2-4 months.
Following the match, both Harper and Smackdown creative head, Road Dogg, offered praise for the man who worked the main event match while injured.
Rowan’s injury means the tag-team division on Smackdown is opened up quite a bit moving forward. Now all the teams the Bludgeon Brothers defeated while champions are back in the mix.
During a backstage segment last night, the Bar and the Club scheduled a match for next week which could determine the New Day’s first title challengers.
Bludgeon Brothers Smackdown Tag Team Championship Reign
Harper and Rowan held the Smackdown Tag Team Championships for 135 days. They won the titles at WrestleMania 34 in a triple threat tag match against the Usos and New Day. The Usos were the champions going into the match.
BB then defeated the Usos at the Greatest Royal Rumble. They defeated the Club at Money in the Bank and then again on Smackdown just two days later. Harper and Rowan also defeated Team Hell No at Extreme Rules before dropping the Summerslam match to the New Day via DQ.
Alberto El Patron (Del Rio) has withdrawn from AAA’s premier annual event, TripleMania. The event is scheduled to take place on August 25th.
Alberto is saying the company did not pay his agreed upon deposit and did not make other necessary arrangements for his participation. The letter also says he will send out information about new projects he is working on shortly.
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Cruiserweight Championship
Australian Suicide (c) vs Multiple opponents TBD
AAA Mixed Tag Championships
Big Mama and Nino Hamburguesa vs Hijo Del Vikingo and Vanilla vs Dinastia and Lady Maravilla vs Angelikal and La Hiedra
AAA Tag Team Championships
Aerostar and Drago vs Golden Magic and Laredo Kid vs Bandido and Flamita vs Andrew Everett and DJZ
Mamba, Maximo, Pimpinela Escarlata vs Carta Brava Jr, Mocho Cota Jr, Tito Santana vs Hijo de LA Park, Puma King, and Taurus
Jack Evans, Juventud Guerrera and Teddy Hart vs Averno, Chessman, Super Fly
La Mascara, Rey Escorpion, and Texano Jr. vs Joe Lider, Murder Clown, and Pagano
AAA Heavyweight Championship
Jeff Jarrett (c) vs Fenix vs Brian Cage vs Rich Swann
Mask vs Hair
Lady Shani vs Faby Apache
One Luchador Will Be Unmasked Cage Match (After 2 Luchadors escape the other 2 wrestle, loser losing his mask)
Psycho Clown vs Hijo Del Fantasma vs LA Park, vs Pentagon Jr.
Impact Wrestling has announced that their event from Wrestling MediaCon will be streamed live on Twitch. The show is scheduled for September 9th from Manchester.
Impact’s return to Manchester coincides with the launch of Anthem’s Fight Network in the UK, which can now be seen on Sky Channel 455. The show will begin at 5 pm UK time and 12 pm EST.
BIG NEWS: Our @WrestlingMediaC event in Manchester on September 9th will stream LIVE on Twitch!
Impact Wrestling at Wrestling MediaCon September 9th
5 matches have been confirmed thus far for the event, including a match for the Impact Wrestling Tag-Team Championships. Jimmy Havoc will also wrestle for the promotion for the first time since they toured the UK in early 2016.
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
Moose and Eddie Edwards are also scheduled to appear but have yet to be booked in a match.
Impact Wrestling Twitch
“IMPACT Wrestling’s official Twitch channel features exclusive monthly live events, original weekly live shows such as “Prestigious Tuesdays with Joe Hendry,” an Impact press release reads. The Twitch channel also features a 24/7 stream of classic Impact Wrestling events.
Impact Wrestling returns to television tomorrow night when Sami Callihan and Pentagon Jr. clash in a Mexican Death Match.
The opening of this week’s episode of SmackDown Live saw the former Diva’s Champion Brie Bella returning to SmackDown Live and attacking the duo of Miz and Maryse.
After this, it was revealed that General Manager Paige has made a mixed tag team match between Miz and Maryse and Daniel and Brie official for the upcoming Hell In A Cell PPV.
Following this announcement, both Bryan and Bella were interviewed backstage where they talked about their upcoming match and what advantage they have over their opponent. You can check out their full interview in the video below:
Injured Star Returns To Action
We noted before how SmackDown Live Star Tye Dillinger appeared to have suffered an injury last week while he was competing in a Live Event match with Shelton Benjamin.
Dillinger was knocked out during the bout. The referee then threw the X sign indicating that he was injured for real and the former NXT Star had been away from ring ever since.
Tye made his in-ring return during a Live Event this Monday Night. He teamed up with The Usos to defeat Shelton Benjamin and The Bar and so it seems like his injury was nothing serious.
Shawn Michaels officially ‘left the building’ back in 2010 when he announced his retirement from in ring competition in WWE but now eight years later, is there a chance he might consider a return to action?
While Michaels has never actually walked away from working with WWE, he’s only made occasional appearances in the ring like when he delivered his ‘Sweet Chin Music’ to a couple of people at WrestleMania 32.
Lately, Michaels has primarily been working as a WWE ambassador while helping his real life best friend Triple H promote brands like NXT internationally. Even at 53, Michaels can never go too far before somebody asks about the possibility that he could get back into the ring and mix it up with the next generation of superstars.
“I always try to explain it to people, if you take me as a younger version and put me in with those guys, of course it would be a blast, but at the same time I’d like to be the younger version of me and be in the ring with a Harley Race or a Buddy Rogers. But none of those things can really happen in real life,” Michaels said in a recent interview with “Inside the Ropes”.
“To put me in a singles match at WrestleMania, I was always thrilled to do it but it’s a very strenuous, it’s a very anxious, there’s a lot that goes into it, the anxiety. Once you get in there, and especially when it’s done, it’s phenomenal but the getting ready for it is 100-percent work and I don’t know that I want to put myself or my family through that, to go out there and try to steal the show at 53 for God’s sake.”
While Michaels quickly shot down the idea of getting in the ring with the new generation of athletes who are currently occupying the majority of the WWE roster, he had a different opinion about potentially appearing with the superstars closer to his era.
Obviously, Michaels is never going to return to any kind of full time schedule again but he didn’t shut the door on the possibility of mixing it up with somebody a little closer to his age.
“It’s a whole different ball of wax if somebody says do you [and Triple H] want to go down and work with some other 40-plus year old guys or 50 and mess around and be silly’. That doesn’t seem like work to me,” Michael stated.
“So it’s stuff like that, that I would consider. Nobody ever talks about that. It’s always me and somebody half my age.”
Would you like to see Shawn Michaels return for a legends match in WWE? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
A number of matches which were rumored to take place at WrestleMania 34 ended up being nixed because the injury bug struck again and several stars were put on the shelf.
During a recent interview with The Wrestling Estate, Jon Robinson, the writer of the book Creating The Mania: An Inside Look at how WrestleMania Comes to Life, revealed a couple of matches which were planned for the show but couldn’t take place.
According to him, both Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose and Kurt Angle vs. Jason Jordan were planned but these bouts were affected by Jordan and Ambrose’s injury:
“There were a lot of matches in play that could have completely changed the card, and then you hear about injuries affecting things like Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose. They were also trying to do Kurt Angle vs. Jason Jordan, but then Jordan got injured.”
After Ambrose’s injury halted these plans, Rollins ended up competing in a triple threat match against the Miz and Finn Balor where he won the Intercontinental Championship then held by The A-Lister.
Angle, on the other hand, ended up competing in a mixed tag match where he teamed up with Ronda Rousey to defeat Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. This was Ronda’s debut in pro wrestling.
WWE recently posted the following video of John Cena from their Twitter account, in which the Cenation Leader teased a new move for the upcoming WWE Super Show Down from Australia, calling it his ‘secret weapon’ :
This is not the first time the former World Champion has teased a new move and as we noted before, he previously revealed that he will be debuting a ‘6th move of doom’ during the WWE Live Event from China on September 1st.
Cena was originally scheduled to face Kevin Owens in a one on one match at the upcoming Super Show Down event but the company has now converted the bout in a tag match, adding Bobby Lashley and Elias to the fight.
The New Day Talks Championship Victory On SmackDown
The main event of this week’s episode of SmackDown Live saw the New Day defeating the Bludgeon Brothers in a No Disqualification match to win the SmackDown Tag Team titles.
After the show, the trio was interviewed backstage where they talked about their championship victory during the episode and said that they will go into the history as one of the greatest factions in WWE:
As noted before Erick Rowan of the Bludgeon Brothers suffered a triceps injury during the SummerSlam PPV and this is believed to be the reason why they dropped the title to the New Day.
Similar to previous weeks this week’s episode of SmackDown Live featured two dark matches, with one of them involving the former General Manager Daniel Bryan.
The first bout which took place before the show went on air, saw the former NXT Women’s Champion Asuka battling in a one on one match against Mandy Rose.
While Sonya Deville was in Mandy’s corner for this fight, Asuka was still able to pick up the victory and she defeated Rose with her Asuka Lock submission move.
The second dark match took place after 205 Live had aired and it saw former World Champion Daniel Bryan competing against the former NXT Champion Samoa Joe.
The match ended in a disqualification after Bryan’s SummerSlam opponent the Miz interfered in the bout which resulted in AJ Styles making the save.
This led to a brawl among all four involving men. The faces Styles and Daniel then cleared the ring and celebrated inside to send the crowd home happy.
As seen on SmackDown Live, Bryan’s wife Brie Bella attacked the Miz and Maryse and after this it was revealed that Paige has made a mixed tag match between these two couples official for the upcoming Hell In A Cell PPV.
You can check out the full SmackDown Live results from this week here.
WWE has announced a new match and changed one of the scheduled bouts for their upcoming ‘Super Show Down’ from Melbourne, Australia on Saturday, October 6, 2018.
The new bout which has been announced for the show will see the former Intercontinental Champion The Miz facing his arch-rival and former SmackDown GM Daniel Bryan. To spice up this SummerSlam rematch, the winner Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz will earn a future WWE Championship opportunity.
We previously noted how John Cena was scheduled to face Kevin Owens at the upcoming show. That bout has been changed. John Cena will now team up with Bobby Lashley against the team of Kevin Owens and Elias.
Apart from this, it has also been announced that The Shield will be in action. Their opponents have not yet been announced.
WWE Super Show-Down Card
The car for WWE’s big upcoming stadium show from Australia is starting to take shape. The following matches are now confirmed for the show:
Undertaker vs. Triple H
Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz
John Cena & Bobby Lashley vs. Kevin Owens & Elias
The Shield will compete
SEScoops will have WWE Super Show-Down Results & Live Coverage on Saturday, October 6th, 2018.
The August 21st episode of WWE SmackDown aired live from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. It was the first episode of SmackDown following WWE SummerSlam. In addition to the takeaways below, Peyton Royce defeated Naomi in a quick match. It was also announced that Carmella will get her rematch for the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Charlotte next week.
Here are 6 takeaways from this week’s episode of SmackDown:
Daniel Bryan & Brie Bella Will Face The Miz & Maryse At WWE Hell In A Cell
The Miz and Maryse came down to the ring to start off this week’s episode of SmackDown. The Miz defeated Daniel Bryan at SummerSlam after Maryse gave him brass knuckles during the match. The Miz said that he was able to close his eyes and really feel that (reference to Daniel Bryan’s retirement speech).
Miz pretended to get choked up and stated that it is with a heavy heart and the utmost sadness that he officially announce his retirement. The crowd chanted “yes!” as Miz pretended to wipe away his tears. Miz added that he is officially retired from ever facing Daniel Bryan again.
The Miz boasted about winning the match at SummerSlam and claimed that 100 Daniel Bryan punches don’t amount to 1 Miz punch. The Miz said that he has the hardest punch in WWE. Miz stated that it was now time to start his new life and promoted his reality TV show that follows SmackDown every week.
Daniel Bryan interrupted and came down to the entrance ramp. Bryan called Miz a coward several times as Miz tried to speak. Daniel started making his way towards the ring as Miz hid behind Maryse. The crowd chanted “you’re a coward!” at Miz as The Miz claimed that he was superior to Bryan in every single way. Miz added that Bryan will never have a chance to face him ever again.
Bryan told Miz to shut up and poked fun at the fact that he was wearing makeup in the ring. Daniel added that he was going to expose The Miz as a wannabe Hollywood star cosplaying as a professional wrestler. Maryse grabbed the microphone and told Bryan to change his name to Daniel Bella.
Brie Bella then rushed the ring and started punching The Miz in the ring. Bryan then Clotheslined Miz out of the ring as Miz and Maryse retreated up the entrance ramp. Bryan said that his wife has a sweet punch and then stated that he just talked to SmackDown GM Paige. Bryan announced that Miz & Maryse will battle Daniel & Brie at WWE Hell in a Cell.
The Miz then told Paige backstage that she was a worse GM than Daniel Bryan. Paige poked fun at Miz getting punched by Brie Bella and said that the tag match is official for Hell in a Cell.
Jeff Hardy Beatdown Randy Orton
Jeff Hardy faced Randy Orton on this week’s episode of SmackDown. The two Superstars locked up to start off the match. Orton got the upper hand and backed Hardy into the corner of the ring. Jeff battled out of the corner with a flurry of punches to Orton’s face and then connected with an elbow. Hardy made his way up the turnbuckle but Orton shoved him from behind and Jeff crashed to the floor as SmackDown went to a commercial break.
When SmackDown returned, Orton was still in control and had Hardy trapped in a Headlock in the middle of the ring. Jeff escaped and connected with Whisper in the Wind off the top rope and both Superstars fell to the mat. Hardy followed it up with a Clothesline and then an inverted Atomic Drop.
Jeff hit the Twist of Fate and then made his way back to the top rope. Orton got up and crotched Hardy on the top turnbuckle. Orton stuck his finger in Hardy’s earring once again and then went for a DDT but Jeff blocked it and hit Randy with a low. The match ended in a DQ due to the low blow but Hardy didn’t stop there.
Hardy launched Orton over the announce table but Orton got and battled back with some punches. Orton grabbed Orton and bashed his face into the ring post before throwing him over the barricade and into the crowd.
Jeff followed Orton and hit him several times with a steel chair. Hardy then hit Orton with a handheld camera and set him up on a table. Jeff climbed up on top of a storage crate and then hit a Swanton Bomb onto Orton through the table. Hardy then sat up with a smile on his face.
Becky Lynch came down to the ring to explain why she attacked Charlotte at WWE SummerSlam. Lynch said that she deserves to be standing here as the SmackDown Women’s Champion but Charlotte stole that moment from her.
Becky stated that she earned a singles match at SummerSlam and pictured herself raising the title above her head. She asked the crowd if they were with her but they weren’t actually with her the entire time.
Lynch claimed that the crowd applauded when Charlotte won the title and the crowd booed. Becky said that she has been made an afterthought and stated that they are a generation of all opinions and no action.
Becky added that she knew that Charlotte had been holding her back and that Charlotte had stolen her moment for the last time. Lynch said that it was supposed to be her time because she deserves it and is the best.
Charlotte interrupted and came down to the entrance ramp and raised the title. Flair then rushed the ring and charged after Lynch. Charlotte took Becky down to the canvas and punched her in the face a few times. Becky got in a few shots and the crowd cheered.
Charlotte knocked Becky out of the ring and beat her down before bringing her back into the ring. The crowd continued to chant “Becky!” as Paige brought the SmackDown women’s division down to the ring to separate them. Charlotte knocked Becky out of the ring and leaped onto her off the apron as SmackDown went to a break.
Opinion: WWE can try their hardest to make the crowd dislike Becky Lynch but I doubt it is going to happen, especially not in a feud against Charlotte Flair. Becky Lynch insulted the crowd but they just ignored it and continued to cheer her.
Andrade “Cien” Almas and Zelina Vega faced Rusev & Lana once again tonight on SmackDown. Rusev and Almas started off the match and Rusev connected with a Superkick. Lana tagged in and hit Vega with a Clothesline. Rusev and Lana then posed in the ring as SmackDown went to a commercial break.
When SmackDown returned, Vega was in control and hit Lana with a boot to the face in the corner of the ring. Zelina then slammed Lana’s head on the mat and went for the cover but Lana was able to kick out at two. Lana tried to get to the corner but Vega stopped her and slammed her to the mat.
Vega charged at Lana in the corner but Lana got her boot up. Lana then slapped Almas in the face and started to crawl towards Rusev. Lana then booted Vega away and dove across the ring to tag in Rusev.
Rusev hit Almas with a kick to the face and went for the Machka Kick but Andrade dodged it. Almas hit Rusev with an elbow to the face and followed it up with Double Knees in the corner for a near fall. Rusev battled back and Clotheslined Andrade out of the ring.
Lana knocked Vega out of the ring as Almas grabbed a chair from the ringside area. Aiden English came out of nowhere and ripped the chair from Almas’ hands. Rusev then hit Almas with the Machka Kick for the pinfall victory.
WWE Champion AJ Styles was interviewed by Renee Young on the entrance ramp tonight on SmackDown. Styles battled Samoa Joe at SummerSlam and the match ended in a DQ after AJ lost it when Joe said something to his family in the crowd. Renee asked Styles what happened at SummerSlam as the crowd chanted “who’s your daddy?”.
AJ said that SummerSlam didn’t end the way he wanted it to but he does not regret what he did to Samoa Joe. Styles then promised to rip Samoa Joe’s heart out if he ever mentions his family again.
Joe then appeared out of nowhere and trapped AJ in the Coquina Clutch. Joe choked out Styles and then grabbed the camera and shouted: “oh Wendy!”. Joe then added that it looks like daddy has already gone night-night and shoved Styles’ face into the floor.
New Day Captured The SmackDown Tag Team Championships
The Bludgeon Brothers once again defended their titles against New Day in a No Disqualifications match. Harper and Rowan attacked New Day with their mallets at SummerSlam and the match ended in a DQ.
The match started out in a brawl that quickly spilled out of the ring. Woods connected with a Dropkick that sent Harper tumbling over the announce table. Rowan slammed Kingston to the floor and then Harper launched a computer char at Kofi’s face as SmackDown went to a commercial break.
Woods battled back and smashed Harper’s face into the announce table as SmackDown returned from the break. Kofi booted Rowan out of the ring and then New Day brought out a ladder from under the ring. Rowan dragged them both to the floor and then Harper connected with a Suicide Dive onto both Woods and Kingston.
The Bludgeon Brothers quickly battled back and isolated Kofi in the ring. Harper connected with a big boot for a near fall as Woods hit Rowan with an Enziguri. Rowan shrugged it off and knocked Woods back down to the floor with a shoulder tackle. Harper charged at Kofi with a chair but Kingston was able to kick it out of his hands. Kofi then hit Harper with a DDT onto the chair and went for the cover but Rowan broke it up.
Rowan slammed Kofi and Woods to the floor and got back into the ring to help up Harper. The Bludgeon Brothers then lifted up Woods and slammed him face first into the ring apron.
Harper and Rowan then set up the ladder in between two steel chairs in the ring. Kofi leaped off the top rope towards the Bludgeons but Harper and Rowan caught him by the throat. Harper and Rowan then connected with the Crucifix Bomb on top of the ladder for a near fall.
Rowan grabbed another table and set it up in the middle of the ring. Harper then grabbed a mallet and handed it to Rowan. Harper slapped Rowan in the face several times and then Rowan charged at Kingston near the barricade. Kofi got out of the way and Rowan crashed through the barricade and into the timekeeper’s area.
Back in the ring, Harper lifted Woods up for a Powerbomb. Kofi got into the ring and hit Harper in the ribs with the mallet. Kofi then set up Harper on top of the table as Woods climbed to the top rope. Xavier then connected with a giant Elbow Drop for the pinfall victory.
Opinion: New Day and Bludgeon Brothers put on a solid match to close this week’s episode of SmackDown. With Rowan reportedly being injured at SummerSlam, the title change makes sense. I just hope that New Day can have an interesting feud with a team other than The Usos for once on SmackDown.
There are new tag team champions on the SmackDown Live brand. As seen on this week’s episode of SmackDown Live in Brooklyn, New York at the Barclays Center on the USA Network, The New Day beat The Bludgeon Brothers (Luke Harper and Erick Rowan) to win the SmackDown Tag Team Titles.
This was a rematch as The New Day was able to beat The Bludgeon Brothers in a SmackDown Tag Team Title match by DQ once Rowan hit the challengers with a mallet hammer at Sunday’s (August 19, 2018) WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view event.
There is speculation that the reason for this title change is due to Rowan suffering an injury in that match at SummerSlam and undergoing surgery this week.
Harper and Rowan won the titles from The Usos at WrestleMania 34 on April 8 in New Orleans, LA where they would hold the titles for 135 days. WWE will have to decide on the challengers that will take on The New Day for the titles at the upcoming Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event that takes place on Sunday, September 16th from San Antonio.
New Day reacts to their SmackDown Tag Team Championship win:
WWE has announced two matches for next week’s episode of SmackDown Live on the USA Network.
First up is The Bar (Sheamus & Cesaro) vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson in a tag team match. The second contest will have gold on the line as SmackDown General Manager Page has revealed that Charlotte Flair will make her first title defense as SmackDown Women’s Title when she defends it against former champion Carmella.
The daughter of WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair was able to beat Carmella and Becky Lynch in a triple threat match to win the SmackDown Women’s Title at Sunday’s (August 19, 2018) WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view event in Brooklyn, New York at the Barclays Center on the WWE Network.
WWE holds next week’s show in Toronto, Canada at the Scotiabank Arena. As of this writing, no other matches for SmackDown has been announced. The company will continue to build towards their next big event on this show which is the upcoming Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event on Sunday, September 16, 2018 in San Antonio, Texas at the AT&T Center.
The first match has been announced for the upcoming WWE Hell in a Cell PPV. As seen on this week’s episode of SmackDown Live in Brooklyn, New York at the Barclays Center on the USA Network, the opening segment saw The Miz and Maryse in the ring where Miz cut a promo bragging about beating Daniel Bryan at Sunday’s (August 19, 2018) WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view event.
This led to Bryan walking out and calling Miz a coward. After some back and forth of words, Brie Bella hit the ring to attack Miz. This is when Bryan revealed that he was granted a mixed tag team match where he’ll team up with his wife to take on The Miz and Maryse at the upcoming Hell in a Cell PPV.
If you recall, Miz beat Bryan at SummerSlam once Maryse handed him brass knucks where he would use it once Bryan attempted an outside dive allowing him to get the win over the fan favorite superstar.
Brie has not worked a match since competing in the first-ever women’s Royal Rumble match at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event this past January.
The Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event takes place on Sunday, September 16, 2018 in San Antonio, Texas at the AT&T Center and will air on the WWE Network and some traditional pay-per-view outlets. WWE will be announcing more matches for this show in the coming weeks.
This year’s SummerSlam event marked new and brought back old chapters involving Roman Reigns.
Reigns beat Brock Lesnar to win the Universal Title at Sunday’s (August 19, 2018) WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view event in Brooklyn, New York at the Barclays Center on the WWE Network. Braun Strowman came out before the match and stated that he would cash-in his Money in the Bank briefcase after this match. Obviously, that didn’t happen as Lesnar took out the fan favorite.
Reigns made history with the SummerSlam win as he became the first WWE Grand Slam Champion to hold the Universal Title.
This leads us to this week’s episode of Monday Night RAW in Brooklyn, New York on the USA Network where Reigns beat Finn Balor to retain his title. After the contest, Strowman came out and attacked Reigns where he was about to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase in order to get a Universal Title match.
However, this is when Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose walked out in their old gear and Shield music to make the save and attack Strowman to reunite The Shield as a group.
Following the show, the company released three new t-shirts for The Shield after their reunion, which you can see here:
Although not confirmed, there is speculation that Reigns will defend his Universal Title against Strowman at the upcoming Hell In A Cell pay-per-view event that takes place on Sunday, September 16, 2018 in San Antonio, Texas at the AT&T Center and will air on the WWE Network. WWE will be announcing matches for this card in the coming weeks.
The August 21st, 2018 edition of WWE SmackDown Live took place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY, and was the first episode after SummerSlam.
– The Miz and Maryse come down to the ring to kick off this week’s show. We see a replay of The Miz using brass knuckles on Daniel Bryan at SummerSlam on Sunday. The Miz says he has an announcement to make, and he looks sad as Maryse hugs him. The Miz says he’s sad to announce his retirement… against facing Daniel Bryan ever again. He says his 8-year saga with Daniel Bryan has come to a satisfying conclusion. Miz says Bryan punched him a hundred times, but that’s no match for one of his punches, like the one that ended the match. Daniel Bryan comes out to the stage to interrupt, and he calls The Miz a coward. Miz interrupts and says Bryan has to accept his loss because he will never beat Miz and will never have a chance to face him again. Bryan tells Miz to shut up, and says he’s a wannabe actor pretending to be a wrestler. He says Miz won’t be able to retire yet, but then Maryse interrupts and tells Bryan that he should retire again and change his name to Daniel Bella. Brie Bella then interrupts and hits the ring. Maryse rolls outside so Brie punches Miz and then Bryan clotheslines Miz out of the ring. Bryan gets back on the mic and says he just talked to Paige, and at Hell In A Cell they will all have an intergender mixed tag match. The Miz and Maryse freak out and head backstage as Bryan leads a “yes” chant.
– Still to come: An interview with WWE Champion AJ Styles
– Back from the break, Miz and Maryse are searching for Paige. They find her and complain about being booked in a match against Daniel and Brie. Miz says Paige is actually a worse GM than Daniel Bryan. Paige says the tag match stays, and it’ll be awesome.
– Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton: We see some replays of Orton’s previous attacks on Jeff. The opening bell sounds and Orton starts off strong, backing Jeff into the corner with strikes. Jeff fights back and goes up to the middle turnbuckle, but Orton shoves him into the ring post and down to the ringside floor. Orton suplexes Jeff onto the announce table before taking things back into the ring. Hardy comes back with a Whisper In The Wind, and both men are down. They get to their feet and trade blows until Jeff hits an inverted atomic drop and a dropkick. Jeff hits the Twist of Fate and then goes up top, but he wastes some time on his way up and Orton gets up and knocks him off the ropes. Orton sticks his finger through Jeff’s pierced ear again and then looks for a DDT, but Jeff escapes. Jeff tackles Orton and then stomps him below the belt, which earns him a DQ from the ref.
Winner via DQ: Randy Orton
– After the match, Jeff kicks Orton out of the ring then throws him over the announce table. Orton gets back to his feet and they brawl past the timekeeper’s area and around the ring. They brawl into the crowd and towards the production area, and then Hardy grabs a steel chair and uses it to drop Orton. Hardy pummels on Orton with the chair, and then sets him on a table and hits him with a camera. Hardy climbs on top of some production boxes and does a Swanton Bomb all the way down on Orton through the table. Hardy smiles as the crowd pops and his music hits.
– The Bar is backstage with Renee Young for an interview. Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows quickly interrupt. Gallows and Anderson crack some jokes and announce their intentions to be the next challengers for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships. Sheamus and Cesaro say they’re going to kick their heads off next week, because they don’t just set the bar, they are the bar.
– Naomi vs. Peyton Royce: Peyton and Billie Kaye shut a brief promo before the match making fun of Naomi and Brooklyn. Naomi starts off strong with a series of kicks on Peyton. Naomi follows up with a leg drop for a two count. A distraction from ringside leads to Peyton hitting a cheap shot and knocking Naomi out to ringside. Back in the ring, Peyton beats on Naomi in the corner and chokes her with her boot. Peyton applies a chin lock until Naomi fights out. Peyton misses a kick and Naomi starts kicking her legs out. Naomi fires up with some kicks now, then she goes out to ringside and throws Billie into the ring post. Back in the ring, Peyton hits a fisherman’s suplex for the three count.
Winner: Peyton Royce
– We go to the locker room where Big E is having his ribs taped up, selling an injury from his SummerSlam match. Kofi and Xavier walk in and give Big E a pep talk, and they say they’ll beat the Bludgeon Brothers in their rematch tonight.
– The broadcast team sends us to a video package looking at the history between Charlotte and Becky Lynch, with Becky turning on Charlotte on Sunday.
– We see a shot of Becky Lynch’s locker room with the door closed. She’s up next.
– Becky Lynch comes down to the ring and gets on the mic to address what she did to Charlotte on Sunday. Becky says SummerSlam was supposed to be her night, and she waned to silence the critics who say she is just Charlotte’s friend, because she’s her own woman. Becky says the fans weren’t with her the whole time, and when Charlotte weaseled her way in her Title match fans should have boycotted SummerSlam. She bashes the fans for cheering for Charlotte when she won, and says she’s tired of being an afterthought. Charlotte comes out to interrupt and hits the ring. They brawl through the ring and around ringside. They fight back in the ring until referees and other women from the locker room break them up. Charlotte knocks Becky out to ringside and dives off the apron on her until they are pulled apart again.
– Rusev & Lana vs. Andrade Almas & Zelina Vega: Rusev and Almas start things off, and Almas slaps Rusev a couple times. Rusev fires back and drops Almas. They fight into the corner where Almas takes control with a series of kicks to the body. Almas looks for a swinging reverse DDT, but Rusev blocks it. Almas puts Rusev in an arm bar over the top rope until the ref breaks it up. Almas comes flying off the top rope, but Rusev kicks him out of the air and then tags in Lana. Zelina comes in and Lana drops her then sends her out to ringside. Back in the ring, Zelina mounts a comeback and chokes Lana across the middle rope. Zelina and Lana trade pin attempts until Zelina grabs her by the hair and slams her down. Zelina charges at Lana in the corner, but Lana stops her with a boot to the face. Rusev gets the tag and Almas comes in, and Rusev levels him with a running shoulder block. Rusev follows up with a splash in the corner and then a spinning heel kick. Rusev misss a big boot and Almas hits a spinning back elbow and then a running knee strike in the corner for a two count. Almas looks for a DDT but Rusev fights out and clotheslines him out to ringside. Zelina comes in and shoves Rusev, then Lana comes in and takes her out. Almas tries to bring a steel chair in the ring, but Aiden English comes out of nowhere and grabs the chair. Almas turns around into a big boot from Rusev, and then Rusev locks in The Accolade for the win via submission.
Winners: Lana & Rusev
– Aiden celebrates at ringside while Rusev and Lana raise their hands in the ring.
– We see a short pre-taped clip from Shinsuke Nakamura holding up his United States Championship belt.
– AJ Styles is hown backstage in his locker room looking in the mirror at his WWE Title belt. He’s scheduled to address the crowd tonight.
– The broadcast team introduces a video package looking at the history between AJ Styles and Samoa Joe, and then the finish of their SummerSlam match.
– WWE Champion AJ Styles comes out to the stage for an interview with Renee Young. AJ says SummerSlam didn’t end the way he wanted to, but he doesn’t regret what he did to Samoa Joe. AJ says he isn’t proud of losing the match via DQ, but Joe crossed a line that a real man doesn’t cross. AJ says the next time Joe mentions his family, AJ is going to rip his heart out, and just then Samoa Joe attacks out of nowhere. Joe grabs AJ from below the stage and drags him down to the floor, locking him in the Coquina Clutch. Joe gets on the mic while AJ is down, and he sends a message to AJ’s wife, saying AJ has already gone to sleep so he won’t be home to tuck in the kids. Joe walks off as AJ is left laying on the floor beside the stage.
– We see some replays of Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella getting into it with The Miz and Maryse earlier tonight.
– Paige is backstage giving orders to officials to get AJ medical attention. Carmella walks in and Paige says she looks different after losing 10 pounds of gold from her waist. Carmella demands a remtch, and then R-Truth comes in. Truth says Carmella has been ducking and dodging him for weeks, and the running stops, because he wants a Title match. Paige explains to Truth that just because Charlotte and Becky pinned Carmella for a Title opportunity, doesn’t mean R-Truth gets the same. Truth says Carella got lucky and walks off. Paige gives Carmella a rematch against Charlotte, next week.
– Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods vs. The Bludgeon Brothers (c): This one is a No DQ match for the Tag Team Titles, but Big E stays backstage. The opening bell sounds and they all immediately being brawling out of the ring and around the floor. Kofi and Harper trade strikes near the announce table until Woods dropkicks Harper over the table. Rowan grabs Woods from behind and throws him onto the fan barricade, and then he throws down Kofi too. Rowan throws an announcer’s chair at Kofi and drops him again. Rowan and Kofi fight into the ring now as Harper and Woods trade shots at ringside. Harper looks for a suplex, but Woods escapes and hits an elbow to the face, then he drops Harper face-first into the announce desk. Back in the ring, Kofi boots Rowan in the face and then dumps him outside. Kofi kicks Rowan from the apron and then he goes over to help Woods. The New Day grabs a ladder from under the ring and they slide on the mat. Rowan then grabs the New Day members from behind on the floor and holds them while Harper goes flying out of the ring with a suicide dive on them. The Champions throw a bunch of steel chairs in the ring, then they go back to beatong on the New Day Members at ringside. Rowan hits a splash on Kofi up against then barricade, and then he whips him into a big boot from HArper. Woods gets back to his feet and boots Rowan in the head, but Rowan comes back with a running shoulder block. Back in the ring, Harper looks for a chair shot on Kofi, but Kofi kicks the chair in his face and then hits a facebuster for a two count. Rowan pulls Kofi out to ringside and boots him down, then he elbows Woods in the face. Back in the ring, Rowan starts unfolding the chairs, and then they lay the ladder across the two unfolded chairs. The Brothers go to do the double chokeslam on to the ladder, but Kofi comes flying off the top rope to break it up. The Brothers grab Kofi and hit the double chokeslam on the ladder on Kofi instead, but they only get a two count. Rowan goes out to ringside now and gets a table and puts it in the ring. Rowan and Harper then beat down Kofi at ringside, and then Rowan gets his mallet and hands it to Rowan. Harper slaps Rowan across the face, and Rowan asks him to slap him a couple more times. Rowan charges at Kofi with his mallet, but Kofi moves and Rowan crashes into the timekeeper’s area by himself. Woods gets up but Harper drops him with a superkick. Harper takes Woods back in the ring and looks for a powerbomb through a table, but Kofi makes the save. Kofi has the mallet now and hits Harper with it. Kofi hits the Trouble In Paradise, and then Kofi lays Harper on the table in the ring. Woods goes up top and hits a flying elbow on Rowan through the table for the three count.
Winners & new Tag Team Champions: The New Day
– Big E runs out after the match to celebrate with Kofi and Xavier in the ring. The New Day celebrates in the ring with their Tag Title belts as we go to replays. The New Day goes in the crowd to celebrate with the Tag Title belts as SmackDown goes off the air.
The Shield’s return on RAW last night really took a lot of WWE fans by surprise.
Roman Reigns was defending his Universal Championship against Finn Balor in the night’s main event. In the middle of the match, Braun Strowman hit the ring with his Money In The Bank (MITB) briefcase. He intended to cash-in on the match’s winner.
Reigns was able to pick up the win on a distracted Balor, after hitting him with a Spear. Strowman then got into the ring and downed Reigns with a big boot to the chest. Just before the referee could ring the bell to begin the match, The Shield’s music hit.
Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose, dressed in their old Shield gear, came out to Reigns’ aid. The trio attacked Strowman and hit him with a Triple Powerbomb through the announce table. For the time being, it looks like The Shield is back together.
Reigns took to Twitter shortly after the show to comment on The Shield’s reunion:
Another interesting note, The Shield’s old Twitter account has resurfaced again. It had been two years since their last Tweet – until today. The account retweeted and commented on WWE’s photo of the trio’s reunion last night:
Discussion: What do you think about The Shield’s return on RAW last night? What do you make of their Twitter account resurfacing? And how long do you see the reunion lasting? Sound off in the comments below!
Grammy-nominated rapper Wale joins the commentary team for tonight’s edition of 205 Live on the WWE Network. Wale will call the action alongside Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness and Percy Watson. At this time, it’s unclear if this is a one-off appearance.
Wale is a longtime WWE fan. Fans might remember the Washington D.C. native hosted a rap battle between The Usos and The New Day last year (video below).
For the past 4 years, Wale and MLW have hosted WaleMania, the official kickoff party for WrestleMania weekend. WaleMania V is scheduled for Thursday, April 4th, 2019.
Tonight’s edition of 205 Live will feature Buddy Murphy and Tony Nese vs the Lucha House Party and Noam Dar vs TJP.
Wale hosts Rap Battle between The New Day and The Usos (2017):
WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross recently took to his podcast, The Ross Report, to comment on several professional wrestling topics.
“Good Ole’ JR” offered his thoughts on the recent return of Dean Ambrose. “The Lunatic Fringe” made his comeback on the go-home episode of RAW to SummerSlam. Ambrose was ringside for Seth Rollins’ Intercontinental Title match with Dolph Ziggler.
Ziggler had Drew McIntyre in his corner, so Ambrose accompanied Rollins to even the odds. Many were speculating that Ambrose would turn heel on Rollins at SummerSlam. However, that never took place. Rollins emerged victorious and left Summer Slam as the new Intercontinental Champion.
In fact, the following night on RAW, Rollins and Ambrose reunited The Shieldto come to Roman Reigns’ aid. They stopped Braun Strowman from cashing-in his Money In The Bank (MITB) briefcase on “The Big Dog” for the Universal Title.
Ross Wants Dean Ambrose To Turn Heel
Ross mentioned that Ambrose has looked great upon his return. He offered that he thinks he’d be more valuable to the company as a heel at this point, however:
“I thought Dean looked great. I like his shorter haircut. A guy kind of being follicly-challenged and they’re trying to mask it with longer hair that is unruly or will go here, there, and yonder to cover up a [bald] spot, it’s not real flattering to you.
“I thought his haircut was spot on. I thought the beard was spot on. Obviously, Ambrose has trained religiously to heal and to get bigger, better, and stronger. And really, my hat’s off to him for that.
“But I can tell you, he certainly carried himself like a villain. I felt he is going to be a villain, or a heel, or as Jim Cornette would say, ‘he’s a heel, Goddammit!’ To me, he looks like a heel.
“Now, the welcome back pop was what it was and deservedly so, but I just see him being able to be a big time player more as a heel than as a fan favorite in WWE right now. And we’ll see.” Ross added, “I still think he could be most valuable for WWE right now, seemingly how the roster is outlined, as a villain.”
Discussion: What do you make of Ross’ comments about Ambrose being more valuable to WWE as a heel right now? Let us know in the comments!
WWE Superstar Carmella participated in a roundtable for the European media this past weekend to promote SummerSlam. “The Princess Of Statin Island” was asked who her best friend in WWE is.
Carmella revealed that Bayley is her best friend in WWE, as they came up together in NXT and still talk frequently. She’s admittedly disappointed, however, that they’re currently on different brands:
“Bayley’s my best friend,” Carmella said. “For sure, yeah. We’ve been friends since NXT and um – it sucks cause she’s on Raw and I’m on SmackDown but we still talk every single day and she’s one of my really good friends.”
The interviewer followed up by asking Carmella about tag teaming. She was asked who her ideal tag team partner would be – from WWE’s past or present. Having already worked with him in the Mixed Match Challenge, Carmella named Big E.
She explained that she had a lot of fun working with Big E for the Mixed Match Challenge. Carmella also said she loves pancakes and The New Day:
“If I could have any tag team partner, I would pick Big E. Because we were partners for the Mixed Match Challenge and we had so much fun, and I love pancakes, and he’s just the best. And I love The new Day – so I would pick Big E.”
Discussion: What do you think about Carmella naming Bayley as her best friend in WWE? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
As a result, she named Baron Corbin as the acting General Manager of Monday Nights. McMahon hosted a segment to congratulate Ronda Rousey on winning the RAW Women’s Championship.
Rousey would subsequently put McMahon in an armbar during the angle. Backstage, Angle came to check on McMahon, who was being tended to by medical personnel. McMahon blamed Angle for not being out there to control the madness. Corbin then suggested Angle doesn’t have a grasp on his roster.
McMahon subsequently made the decision to order Angle to a forced vacation from RAW. Shortly after the show, Angle took to Instagram to react to the news. He posted the following:
“I’m really sorry that I won’t be on Monday Night Raw for a little while, I enjoyed every minute of it with the WWEUniverse.
“I was told by @stephaniemcmahon that I need a vacation. I don’t know if it’s temporary or permanent, I Hope I will be back sooner than later. Thank you WWEUniverse. Much Love.”
Angle was brought back to WWE last year to be inducted into the Hall Of Fame. Shortly after WrestleMania, he was announced as the new General Manager of Monday Night RAW. Since being appointed GM, however, Angle has had his respective run-ins with “The Authority.”
The former WWE Champion has feuded with Triple H several times. He also partnered up with Rousey to take on “The Game” and McMahon in a Mixed Tag Team match at WrestleMania 34.
Discussion: What do you think about Angle being sent on a forced vacation from RAW? What do you expect from Corbin as acting General Manager in the coming weeks? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
The world of Lucha Libre has lost a legend today. Villano III, real name Arturo Díaz Mendoza, passed away today at 66 years old. His death is believed to have been from a cerebral infarction.
“Villano III, one of the greatest stars of LLI (UWA), has passed away today.”
Villano III’s career began in the 1970s for the Universal Wrestling Association. His older brothers had already been wrestling professionally for a few years and his father, Ray Mendoza, had been a successful luchador already in his career. He leaves behind two sons, who wrestle as Villano’s IV and V.
Villano III has passed away, the son of the late Ray Mendoza, and one of the biggest Lucha Libre performers of the past four decades.
“Villano III has passed away, the son of the late Ray Mendoza, and one of the biggest Lucha Libre performers of the past four decades.”
Villano III
In 2000, Villano III won the Wrestling Observer’s prestigious Match of the Year award for his bout versus Atlantis in Mexico City. His retirement match in 2015, however, earned Worst Match Of The Year as well. This was on the ill-fated TripleMania show which suffered from numerous production glitches.
Villano III won the WWC heavyweight championship on two occasions in Puerto Rico. He won the CMLL world light heavyweight championship once as well. Along with his sons, he held the AAA America’s Trios Championships twice.
