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Ryback Comments On Hulk Hogan’s WWE Return

Lesly Sincere
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8

“The Big Guy” Ryan Reeves aka Ryback has made his opinion known of Hulk Hogan recent Hall of Fame reinstatement.

The Wrestling Community And Their Reaction

He has done all of the right things. That is not an easy thing to overcome — to deal with all of the scrutiny and criticism, and again, you can’t defend any of that by any means. It was a huge mistake on his part. I think if you take any of us in our private moments and private lives anyone can judge anyone at any given time, and granted that was as bad as it gets. There is nothing you can say to defend that, but all you can do is know that you are wrong and realizing your mistakes, and is now going out and helping other people make better decisions to not go that road, so that if somebody has a private conversation you just raise awareness to be a better human being. It was a horrible incident and I think him being back in WWE makes all of the sense in the world.

Reaction To The News

I listened to Mark Henry’s interview on TMZ; Mark is a very intelligent human being. Mark Henry loved and adored Hulk Hogan growing up, as did everyone, and I am sure he was deeply hurt by the situation, and just from the standpoint that it was one of his childhood heroes,” Ryback said. “But as stated, he is a human being, which people tend to forget about wrestling in general, but somebody of that magnitude he has created so many amazing moments in people’s lives, and kids’ lives that are now adults and what not that it is easy to forget when you put these people on pedestals up on higher levels but we forget that at the end of the day they are humans and they do everything as everyone else does, including making mistakes so I think it is a good thing that he is back. That doesn’t mean that everyone is going to forgive him, but all he can do is live a better life for his fans and for everyone that supports him

Ex-WWE Superstar Elijah Burke Forgives Hulk Hogan

Lesly Sincere
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12

The news of Hogan’s WWE Hall of Fame reinduction is a popular topic among the African American wrestling community. Former WWE superstar Elijah Burke is the latest to announce his opinion on the matter.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10157555174658976&set=a.282005098975.187278.825768975&type=3&theater

Burke is among many in the African American Wrestling community to forgive Hulk Hogan. Mark Henry and Booker T are among the many African American wrestlers who generally seem to forgive Hogan, but controversy seems to hover over full-timer Titus O’Neil who has gone on record to say that Hogan’s apology wasn’t “genuine”. More on that here.

 

Impact Wrestling Announces Several Matches For Television Tapings

Chris Stephens
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0

Following tomorrow’s Slammiversary pay-per-view, Impact Wrestling will run two consecutive nights of television tapings. The promotion has recently announced several matches for the shows.

Impact Wrestling- Television Tapings
Rebel Nightclub
Toronto, ON, Canada

July 23rd, 2018

  • Kongo Kong vs Stone Rockwell
    • Kongo Kong defeated Abyss earlier this year only to lose to Brian Cage recently. He’ll be looking to reaffirm his status as Impact’s monster here.
    • Stone Rockwell has competed on 3 Impact Wrestling shows this year. He lost on an episode of Xplosion to Rohit Raju of the Desi Hit Squad. Then he lost a tag match to the Desi Hit Squad on a One Night Only show from Windsor. He teamed with Fallah Bah at the One Night Only show in Mississauga and defeated the Fraternity.
  • The debut of Scarlett Bordeaux
    • Bordeaux is a Chicago-based indie wrestler. She previously worked as Matt Taven’s valet in Ring of Honor.

July 24th, 2018

  • Sami Callihan vs Fenix
    • Just two days after Pentagon and Sami Callihan will collide with a Mask vs Hair stipulation at stake, Callihan will face his brother, Fenix.
  • Matt Sydal vs Pentagon Jr.
    • Sydal may or may not still be X-Division Champion when this match takes place.
    • Pentagon may or may not still have his mask when this match takes place.
  • Petey Williams vs Tyson Dux
    • The Canadian Destroyer takes on one of the top stars from Toronto’s Smash Wrestling in Dux.
    • Dux wrestled singles matches against Matt Sydal and Taiji Ishimori last year in Impact, dropping both matches. He defeated Braxton Sutter on a Twitch special in March.
    • Earlier this summer, Dux won the Northern, a 16-person tournament with similar rules to BOLA. Notable participants in the tournament included Matt Riddle, Joey Janela, Kimber Lee, Mia Yim, Andrew Everett, Brent Banks, and several others.
  • The Cult of Lee vs The Deaners
    • The Cult of Lee will look to get back into the thick of things in the Impact tag-team division.
    • Cody Deaner has wrestled on a One Night Only and Twitch specials for Impact in 2018. His partner is Jake Something. They have previously lost to the Desi Hit Squad as a team in Impact.

Alexa Bliss Comments On Ronda Rousey’s WWE Run Thus Far

Chris Stephens
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4

Alexa Bliss will defend her Raw Women’s Championship against Ronda Rousey at SummerSlam. Bliss was a guest on the Cheap Seats podcast and gave her opinion on Rousey’s WWE run so far.

“I am absolutely impressed, Bliss said. “She does really well at her facial expressions, which I appreciate because I am really big on facial expressions. It is really easy to appreciate the fact that you know she has been hit before, and you know that pain, you have that emotional connection to her one way or another when you watch her perform. I was very impressed with her match against Nia Jax, and also her match at WrestleMania with Stephanie McMahon and Triple H, it was just awesome. I am very proud of her and it’ll be fun to see where things go with that.”

Alexa Bliss On Babyface Move-sets and Heel Move-Sets

Bliss has her detractors who say her in-ring work is not as good as other athletes on the roster. She believes, however, this is only because she is a heel and utilizes a less crowd-friendly move-set as a result.

“I don’t, but here’s the thing, I’m a bad guy,” Bliss stated. “Who likes a bad guy that does a lot of flashy things? You know what I mean? It is my job to be hated, so if that means coming in when the opportunity is right and cashing in on other people’s misfortunes in the ring that is what I am going to do.

“Now, when I become a good guy are people going to see a brand new skill set from me? Absolutely. Right now, my job isn’t to wow the crowd with my in-ring ability,” she continued. “My job is to be hated, which is what I love to do. My job is to be hated because people get that much madder when I win a title because they talk about me not being able to wrestle in the ring—I can, but I am choosing not to, and the fact that when I win and they are getting angry that only means that I am doing my job that much more.”

Transcriptions via WrestlingInc

John Cena Comments On Turning Heel

Chris Stephens
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13

John Cena took part in a Q&A session at the San Diego Comic Con recently. He was asked what it is like to play a villainous role in a movie. In answering the question, Cena also addressed the possibility of his WWE character turning heel.

“To actually answer your question, I think it is a really great opportunity,” Cena said. “I have had a great career in the WWE and for that entire time I have been the good guy and that kind of went into my films so far, and now it doesn’t seem like my character in the WWE will ever evolve into that bad guy role that perhaps a lot of people have wanted; so this is kind of a way for my fans from that aspect of my career to see that side of me.

So, don’t expect heel John Cena in the WWE – that’s Inside Baseball talk for some of you,” Cena continued. “But it means bad guy John Cena isn’t happening there, so this is that chance for me.”

Heel John Cena

According to former WWE writer, Kevin Eck, there were plans to turn Cena heel in 2012.

“We were very close. We had Vince sign off on it at one point and Cena was on board to do it,” Eck said. “We started making plans for it and then Vince got cold feet “. He further added, “we had signed an exclusive Cena merchandise deal with Walmart”.

ROH: Honor For All 7/20 Results: Did Flip Gordon Win the NWA Title?

Chris Stephens
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5

Ring of Honor presented “Honor for All” from the Nashville Municipal Auditorium tonight. The main event featured Flip Gordon challenging for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.

Not only was the NWA title on the line, however, if Flip wins he will earn the right to defend the title against Cody at All-In.

ROH: Honor For All
July 20th, 2018
Nashville, TN
Nashville Municipal Auditorium

1. ROH TV Championship
Punishment Martinez (c) defeated Scorpio Sky (SCU)

This was Martinez’ second title defense. He defeated Silas Young for the belt on June 16th and would later defend it successfully against Hangman Page at Best in the World 2018.

2. WOH Championship Proving Ground Match (non-title but if the challenger wins they earn a title shot at a later date)
Sumie Sakai (c) defeated Karen Q

Karen Q attempted to distract the ref and then attempted to convince the ref that Sumie Sakai was going to hit her with the championship belt. All of this led to Karen Q trying to pick up Sakai in a fireman’s carry but Sakai reversed it into a sunset flip and got the pin.

3. Jonathan Gresham defeated Shane Taylor, Chris Sabin, and Kenny King

After Shane Taylor had taken out the others in the match, Jonathan Gresham got a hold of his back and never let go. He locked in a sleeper and with both Sabin and King out of the equation at that point in the match, Taylor went out and the ref called for the bell.

4. Chuckie T defeated Bully Ray via DQ

Bully Ray has been picking on smaller wrestlers and young lions for the past several months. Chuckie T been wrestling for 16 years, however, which Bully Ray pointed out. Bully said he has no problem with Chuckie and even said he’s a fan. He even mentioned Chuck’s work in Pro Wrestling Guerilla and compared it to ECW.

When Chuckie T got on the mic, however, he told Bully Ray where he could shove all those nice things he said about him.

Not long after the match started, Bully kicked Chuckie in the groin to cause the disqualification. He continued to beat on Chuckie until Colt Cabana left the broadcast station to make the save. Bully ended up getting the advantage on Cabana as well though. This brought out a returning Beretta to make the save!

5. Will Ferrara, Rhett Titus, Silas Young, the Beer City Bruiser defeated Cheeseburger, Eli Isom, Ryan Nova, FR Josie vs

Cheeseburger teamed up with 3 Future of Honor wrestlers in Eli Isom, Ryan Nova, and FR Josie. In the end, it was the more established heel team who picked up the victory, however.

6. Marty Scurll defeated Vinnie Marseglia

Before the match, Matt Taven came out in streetwear. He brought the old ROH World Title with him, though he kept the belt covered with a red tarp for his whole promo. Taven eventually said that Scurll would not face him tonight, he would face his Kingdom minion, Vinny Marseglia instead.

Scurll made Marseglia tap to the chicken-wing but Taven hit the ring after and the Kingdom started teaming up on Scurll. This brought out Cody to make the save and led into the next match between Cody and TK O’Ryan.

7. Cody defeated TK O’Ryan

Security had to separate Cody and Scurll from the Kingdom. Eventually, Scurll, Taven, and Marseglia were sent to the back. Brandi Rhodes and Bernard the Business Bear were allowed to stay, however.

Cody picked up the win with the Cross Rhodes and celebrated with Bernard and Brandi before leaving the ring area.

8. NWA World Heavyweight Championship
Nick Aldis (c) defeated Flip Gordon

As much as Flip’s fans wanted it to happen, Flip Gordon did not defeat Nick Aldis for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Cody joined the commentary team for this match. He said that in 5-7 years, Flip Gordon might be a franchise guy but he’s not ready yet. Cody continued to say that he considered this match an open-workout for Aldis.

Aldis took control early. He hit a standing suplex, a couple of fall-away slams, a modified camel clutch and a chin lock. Flip began his comeback after the chinlock, hitting several springboard moves. He hit a springboard dropkick, running kick in the corner, a suicide dive, and a diving moonsault. He began selling as if he had tweaked his knee, however, which led the commentary team to speculate that Flip is too inexperienced to change his gameplan mid-match due to injury.

Flip missed a diving move which allowed Aldis to hit a Jerry Lawler-style piledriver and then a flying elbow. He pinned Flip after the flying elbow. The ref counted Flip’s shoulders down for 3 but Flip had actually gotten his bottom foot on the rope. The match was awarded to Aldis but several refs and even Cody came down to argue. It was declared a “Dusty Finish” and the match was restarted. Flip hit a suicide dive on Aldis to re-start the match.

Gordon hit a Star-Spangled Stunner for a near fall. Cody started cheering for Flip at this point while back at the commentary booth. Flip then went for a springboard move but tripped on the ropes and went down selling his knee. Aldis got back on offense, locked in the cloverleaf, and Flip eventually passed out causing the referee stoppage.

After the match, Cody came to ringside. Aldis and Cody helped Flip to his feet. Cody raised Flip’s arm as the crowd chanted “All-In” and later “Flip! Flip!”

After Cody left Flip in the ring by himself to celebrate, Bully Ray hit the ring and hit Flip low.

9. The Young Bucks defeated the Briscoes, and The Addiction (non-title match)

In 2018, Jay and Mark Briscoe have become the biggest anti-Bullet Club threat in Ring of Honor. This was a non-title match but the commentary team mentioned that if either the Bucks or the Addiction win they could get the next shot at the Briscoes’ titles.

The Bucks hit a Meltzer Driver on Mark Briscoe for the win, seemingly putting them in a position now to challenge the Briscoes for the tag-team titles.

The Bucks celebrated to close the show.

Top Bouts Announced for PROGRESS Chapter 74 ‘Mid Week Matters’

Jake Skudder
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0

PROGRESS has announced a slew of bouts for their upcoming chapter 74 event ‘Mid Week Matters’ which takes place Wednesday 25th July from the Electric Ballroom in Camden, London. This will be the first ever Chapter event held by the company NOT on a weekend, hence the name.

The headliner will see PROGRESS World Champion Travis Banks defend his title against former ATLAS Champion WALTER. Banks has had a run of countout losses recently and to counteract this cowardly act of retaining his belt PROGRESS officials have announced that this match will be no countout.

The following bouts will also be taking place this Wednesday:

  • PROGRESS Women’s Championship Match – Jinny (c) vs Millie McKenzie
  • ATLAS Championship Match – Doug Williams (c) vs TK Cooper
  • THUNDERB*STARD Qualifying Match – Anti-Fun Police vs Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson vs James Drake)
  • Toni Storm vs Lara Di Matteo

IWGP United States Champion Appearing for OTT Wrestling

Jake Skudder
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1

Over The Top Wrestling (OTT) has announced that IWGP United States Champion Juice Robinson will be heading to the promotion on August 18th/19th as part of WrestleRama 2 weekend. Robinson will be available for both WrestleRama 2 and the subsequent Contenders show which features more unknown stars from the UK/Irish scenes.

Juice was announced as the replacement for Matt Riddle. The former UFC fighter and PROGRESS ATLAS Champion can no longer make the booking due to a ‘scheduling conflict’ and the announcement of Robinson is a ‘make good’ for the fans in Ireland and the opportunity to see the IWGP United States Champion live in Ireland for the first time.

The following stars and matches have already been confirmed for the event on Saturday August 18th:

  • OTT Champion – Jordan Devlin
  • OTT Tag Champions – The Kings of The North
  • Session Moth Martina
  • The Angel Cruzers
  • WATLER
  • KUSHIDA
  • Tomohiro Ishii
  • Shane Strickland
  • Timothy Thatcher
  • David Starr

Confirmed Matches

  • OTT Championship Match – Jordan Devlin vs WALTER
  • Timothy Thatcher vs David Starr
  • KUSHIDA vs Shane Strickland

Tickets for WrestleRama 2 are available to purchase now via Eventbrite.

UK Children’s TV Star Heading to RIPTIDE Wrestling

Jake Skudder
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3

This is possibly the most surreal news I have had to post on this website since reporting on the UK scene.

Popular 90’s Children’s Television personality Dave Benson Phillips will be heading to RIPTIDE Wrestling on August 3rd as part of the Brighton Championship Tournament weekend. Benson Phillips will NOT be challenging for any title but instead teaming with ‘Session’ Moth Martina to challenge the Anti-Fun Police (Los Federales and No Fun Dunne).

Dave Benson Phillips is probably most well known to fans in the UK as the presenter of the BBC game show Get Your Own Back. The show ran between 1991 – 2003 and was a big hit featuring people getting ‘gunged’ on a frequent basis. More recently Benson Phillips was the victim of a death hoax claiming that he had passed in a car accident in 2009.

Tickets for the Brighton Championship Tournament Weekend are available to purchase via RIPTIDE’s Official website.

https://twitter.com/RIPTIDEwres/status/1020021882798706688

Report: CM Punk A ‘Long Shot’ for ROH WrestleMania Weekend at MSG

Jake Skudder
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14

Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling will be holding the biggest non-WWE wrestling event in New York City this century when they arrive at Madison Square Garden on WrestleMania weekend (April 6th 2019).

There have been numerous reports over the past few weeks alluding to a potential intervention from WWE to prevent this historic show from even happening. Ring of Honor COO Joe Koff recently spoke to the Wrestling Observer about the change of heart from MSG officials when a lawsuit against the decision to “block” the event almost became a reality: “(MSG) did what they had to do as a business and I guess all of a sudden there was a phone call and we were able to work it out. That’s probably their story to tell because they made the call and said, ‘let’s get on the phone and see if we can work this out.’ They wanted us. They knew that we would be a good promotion. I think they were just looking for a satisfactory outcome for all parties.” You can read the full report here.

With the show taking place on WrestleMania weekend the question now moves onto who will actually be appearing? Ring of Honor have already confirmed that “all of the top ROH Stars” will be present (which was to be expected) but who will be representing NJPW?

The official names already confirmed are Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Tetsuya Naito. Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks are not being advertised as their NJPW deals could potentially have expired by this point (their deals are reported to be January to January).

If Omega and the Bucks resign for NJPW then you can guarantee that they will be announced for Madison Square Garden around January/February however with the event running against a huge NXT Takeover there will need to be big international drawing names confirmed and as soon as possible…The Wrestling Observer recently revealed that Ring of Honor have serious interest in bringing former WWE Champion CM Punk back into the fold, presumably for the MSG show but at this time it is considered a ‘long shot.’ Allegedly “feelers have been sent” but that is as much as we know at this time.

Could CM Punk return to Ring of Honor? Punk’s fame and notoriety is almost the stuff of legend at this point. Every single pro wrestling company in the world would jump at the opportunity to get him on their books. Punk himself stated that he was “done” with wrestling prior to his recent UFC loss to Mike Jackson so have his views changed? Only Punk could tell you that.

The lure of performing in the main event of a Madison Square Garden show AND potentially taking a shot at WWE might be too good an opportunity to miss…but does CM Punk even NEED to return to the squared circle at this point? Again, only Punk could tell you. If Punk does decide to return then a match against Kazuchika Okada for the ‘Best In The World’ moniker would undoubtably sell out MSG, so here’s hoping that might happen.

Do you think that CM Punk could return to wrestling for the Madison Square Garden show? Let us know in the comments.

Ian Carey and Jake Jeremy Predict The G1 Climax: Night 6

Jake Skudder
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0

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.

SEScoops staff writers Ian Carey and Jake Jeremy have made their predictions for Night 6 of the tournament, here they are:

(You can check out the Predictions for Night 5 here)

Jake Jeremy – Ok so we’ve made it to Night 6, here is the schedule for the B Block matches:

  • Juice Robinson vs Tetsuya Naito
  • Hirooki Goto vs Tomohiro Ishii
  • Toru Yano vs Kota Ibushi
  • Kenny Omega vs Tama Tonga
  • SANADA vs Zack Sabre Jr

Ian Carey – Ok straight off Tama Tonga beats Kenny Omega. This is an important match for this rivalry. Tonga beating Omega puts him in the mix, earns him a title shot. Creates a reason to put Tama Tonga vs Kenny Omega in the main event of NJPW’s return to Long Beach. That match happening if of course just speculation but it seems as though that is a direction they could go.

Jake Jeremy – I definitely agree, the Firing Squad need to build on their momentum and a win for Tama here (screwy or not) will help

Ian Carey – Zack Sabre Jr beats SANADA. The Paradise Lock will be involved somehow I’m sure. Kota Ibushi beats Yano…he has to

Jake Jeremy – I actually think that SANADA will get the win here, I’m also going for Kota as he still takes this Block in my mind

Ian Carey – I think having Ishii beating Goto is a possibility and then you could have Ishii challenge for the NEVER belt. Ishii is the most decorated champion in the title’s lineage.

Jake Jeremy – I don’t want to just keep agreeing here but again I agree

Ian Carey – Juice vs Naito is interesting. Juice has already dropped two matches and I don’t expect him to have a terrible tournament. A big win over Naito sure would boost him back up. I think that’s what happens, I’m giving Juice the upset victory over Naito.

Jake Jeremy – Ok so I actually see Juice losing here, it would be a good chance to build to a bout at Long Beach for the title and Naito could do wonders with the US title.

What are your predictions for Night 5? Let us know in the comments.

G1 Climax Night 5 Results and Updated Standings

Jake Skudder
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0

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 5:

G1 Climax 2018 – A Block

“Switchblade” Jay White b. Michael Elgin – White took the pinfall win with a Blade Runner after hitting a low blow behind the referee

Minoru Suzuki b. YOSHI-HASHI – Suzuki took the pinfall win with the Gotch piledriver

EVIL b. Togi Makabe – EVIL took the pinfall win with his namesake move

Hiroshi Tanahashi b. Bad Luck Fale – Tanahashi won via disqualification after a Guerrillas of Destiny interference

Kazuchika Okada b. Hangman Page – Okada took his first win of the tournament by pinfall with the Rainmaker

Here are the current standings:

G1 – Block A

G1 – Block B

Jay White

6

Kota Ibushi

4

Michael Elgin

4

Kenny Omega

4

Evil

4

Hirooki Goto

2

Togi Makabe

4

Tomohiro Ishii

2

Hiroshi Tanahashi

4

Tetsuya Naito

2

Bad Luck Fale

2

Zack Sabre Jr.

2

Kazuchika Okada

2

Sanada

2

Hangman Page

2

Tama Tonga

2

Minoru Suzuki

2

Juice Robinson

0

Yoshi-Hashi

0

Toru Yano

0

 

You can find the results for Night 1 here, Night 2 here, Night 3 here and Night 4 here. Don’t forget that SEScoops staff writers Ian Carey and Jake Jeremy are posting their predictions for the tournament and you can check out how they fared with Night 5’s predictions right here.

International Women’s Dream Match Announced for Pro Wrestling: EVE ‘Global Women Strike’

Jake Skudder
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0

Pro Wrestling: EVE has announced an independent Women’s wrestling dream match for their upcoming event ‘Global Women Strike’ which takes place September 27th from the Resistance Gallery in Bethnal Green, London.

Former PROGRESS Women’s Champion and Superstar in the NXT UK Women’s Division Toni Storm will be facing Japanese wrestling legend Meiko Satomura. Toni Storm of course took part in the inaugural Mae Young Classic tournament for WWE and the belief is that Satomura will be part of the second annual iteration of the event.

In 2005, Satomura co-founded the all-woman promotion, Sendai Girls. She also worked with WCW in the mid-90s on their short-lived women’s division which was to feature the likes of Bull Nakano and Madusa.

She helped create Sendai Girls after a previous female promotion, Gaea Japan, went out of business. Satomura wrestled in the final match ever held by the promotion before founding a new company the next year. She is the current Fight Club Pro champion. Satomura is also the last person to win the Joshi Puroresu Grand Prize award before Io Shirai began her sweep of the award. Satomura was given the award in 2013 and Shirai has swept every year since. That will change in 2018, however, as Shirai has spent the year with NXT.

https://twitter.com/ProWrestlingEVE/status/1020015104593661953

Details On Why Vince McMahon Missed Extreme Rules

Andrew Ravens
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27

As noted earlier this week, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon was not backstage for Sunday’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view from Pittsburgh, PA.

In his absence, Triple H and producer Billy Kidman ran the show, with Vince McMahon staying in communication with officials throughout the show.

Especially with Hulk Hogan attending his first WWE show in several years to address the roster, some fans have been wondering where Vince was, since he does not miss many shows. 

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Vince McMahon usually takes a 1-week vacation each year in mid-July, which explains why he wasn’t at Extreme Rules. 

McMahon has not been seen on WWE television since the March 12 episode of Monday Night Raw, when he made an appearance in a backstage segment with Roman Reigns.

What are your thoughts on McMahon missing this latest pay-per-view event? Now that a few days have passed, has your opinion changed about the show?

Updated Card For Slammiversary XVI (7/22)

Andrew Ravens
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0

It appears that the card for the upcoming Slammiversary PPV event has been finalized.

This show is slated to be headlined by Austin Aries defending the Impact Wrestling World Title against Moose. Other top matches that are set to take place at this show include Su Young defending the Impact Wrestling Knockouts Title against Madison Rayne, and Matt Sydal defending the X Division Title Match against Brian Cage.

As of this writing, there’s no word yet on Rich Swann’s status for this show as he was injured and taken to the hospital following his tag team match at Thursday’s MLW TV tapings for what is believed to be a bad concussion. He is slated to take on Rey Fenix, Johnny Impact, and Taiji Ishimori in a Fatal Four-Way match at Slammiversary.

Impact Slammiveresary XVI

Impact will present Slammiversary live on pay-per-view on Sunday, July 22nd from the Rebel Entertainment Complex in Toronto, Canada. Here is the updated card for the show:

Impact Wrestling World Title: Austin Aries © vs. Moose

Impact Wrestling Knockouts Title: Su Yung © vs. Madison Rayne

X Division Title Match: Matt Sydal © vs. Brian Cage

Mask vs. Hair Match: Pentagon Jr. vs. Sami Callihan

Fatal 4-Way Match: Rich Swann vs. Johnny Impact vs. Fenix vs. Ishimori

House of Hardcore Match: Tommy Dreamer vs. Eddie Edwards

Street Fight: Hernandez & Homicide vs. Santana & Ortiz

Singles Match: Allie vs. Tessa Blanchard

What are your thoughts on these matches being announced? Do you plan on buying this pay-per-view event? If not, why so? Sound off in the comment section.

Big E Reflects On WWE Fans Not Being Behind The New Day At First

Andrew Ravens
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0

WWE fans weren’t always behind The New Day as a popular group and Big E has taken the time to reflect on it.

Big E recently spoke with the State Journal-Register to promote this Sunday’s WWE SmackDown live event in Springfield, IL at the Bank of Springfield Center and to talk about various topics including fans not initially buying the upbeat, positive characters that they portrayed on television.

“To me, obviously, what swung things was us finally embracing the fact that the crowd didn’t like us. … The first time we really cheated (in a match) was instrumental because instead of trying to go against the grain and be these good guys that people didn’t like or didn’t care for, we finally decided to cheat … and it ended up working out really well for us.”

He noted that the real change came from just being themselves on TV as there are sometimes where talents are saddled with an idea or a gimmick that doesn’t feel right but you have to make it work and once the reins were finally taken off and they were allowed to be themselves then they took more creative control which is when things took off for them.

Big E also talked about the differences between live and TV events, his background and more. You can read the entire interview here.

Stephanie McMahon To Make Historic Announcement On Monday’s RAW

Andrew Ravens
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26

A ‘historic’ announcement is scheduled to be made by Stephanie McMahon this coming Monday night on RAW.

On Friday morning (July 20, 2018), the company announced the news by sending out the following statement on their social media accounts to hype her appearance on the flagship show of the company:

As of this writing, there’s no word yet on what that announcement will be but it should be noted that it could have something to do with the reported plans of WWE holding an all women’s event later this year. This show is apparently being planned due to the lack of female stars at the Greatest Royal Rumble event in April and that it could be a Network Special similar to the show at Saudi Arabia. This is pure speculation at this time.

McMahon has not been seen on RAW since the night after WrestleMania 34 in April where she was attacked by Ronda Rousey following their mixed tag team match at the biggest event of the year for the WWE.

WWE holds this week’s RAW in Buffalo, NY at the KeyBank Center on the USA Network that will feature Bobby Lashley and Roman Reigns square off in a #1 contender’s match with the winner challenging Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title at the upcoming SummerSlam pay-per-view event.

Rich Swann Injured At MLW Battle Riot, Doubtful For Slammiversary

Chris Stephens
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4

Rich Swann debuted for Impact Wrestling this spring. Since that time, Swann has been involved in several well-reviewed matches with guys like Fenix, Sami Callihan, and oVe.

Swann is also an active wrestler with Major League Wrestling. At last night’s Battle Riot tapings, Swann was taken hospital with a possible concussion.

Swann’s injury is believed to have taken place during his tag-team match with ACH against Teddy Hart and Davey Boy Smith Jr. PWInsider is reporting that Impact Wrestling officials are aware of the situation and are looking to replace Swann in the match.

Slammiversary International 4-Way Match

The match Swann was scheduled for on Sunday’s pay-per-view was the international 4-way. He was to face Fenix, Johnny Impact, and Taiji Ishimori.

A possibly interesting note regarding Taiji Ishimori’s inclusion in this match is that Impact has stressed he will be representing Bullet Club when he does so. The promotion sent out the following on Twitter yesterday:

Taiji Ishimori working in Impact Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling at the same time is an interesting development. If further stars from NJPW are allowed to work Impact tapings and pay-per-views it could provide a big boost for the promotion.

Johnny Impact took part in a recent Impact media call. He had this to say regarding his match at Slammiversary.

“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.” 

Konnan Says He’s Getting In Shape For A Farewell Tour

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54-year-old Carlos Santiago Espada Moises is better known to wrestling fans as Konnan. While his own in-ring career ended several years ago, Konnan has continued to be a major player behind the scenes for several promotions.

Konnan participated in MLW’s Battle Riot last night. It was his first official match in close to 5 years.

According to comments he made yesterday on Wrestling Observer Live, however, Konnan has been getting back in shape for a lengthier return to the ring.

Konnan Farewell Tour

“Right now, I’m getting into shape,” Konnan said. “I haven’t gotten back into the gym to do weights yet but I’m getting into cardio shape. I think by next year I’m going to do like a 6-month farewell tour.”

When Konnan was asked who he’d like to face on his farewell tour, he mentioned wanting to wrestle many of his opponents from his prime.

“I just want to wrestle as many of my contemporaries that I can,” he continued to say about a potential farewell tour. “Whether it’s Rey Mysterio, or Psychosis, or Chris Jericho, guys of that ilk.”

Konnan also stressed, however, that he would also like to get in the ring with some of today’s top luchadors. He mentioned several wrestlers he never got a chance to face during his in-ring career.

“The young cats that I never got into the ring with,” he continued to say regarding talent he’d like to wrestle. “Pentagon, Fenix, Rush, those type of guys.”

Konnan will be in the corner of Santana and Ortiz this Sunday at Slammiversary. The Impact tag-team champions will face the former LAX team of Homicide and Hernandez. Now known as the OGz, the team is managed by King, aka Eddie Kingston.

Major League Wrestling airs Friday nights on BeIN Sports. Replays of their shows are available on the MLW YouTube page.

Spoiler: AJ Styles’ SummerSlam Challenger Revealed

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WWE Champion AJ Styles’ SummerSlam opponent will be announced next week on SmackDown by General Manager Paige.

After wrapping up a months-long feud with new United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura, Styles retained against Rusev this past weekend at Extreme Rules.

It’s been rumored that Styles would be facing Samoa Joe at SummerSlam and marketing materials released prematurely by WWE reveal that Joe will indeed by Styles next challenger.

Courtesy of our friends over at WrestlingNews.co, a paid pre-roll video spot that is running on sports/entertainment websites shows the following match graphic for the yet-to-be announced match:

As of this writing, Styles has been champion for 254 days after defeating Jinder Mahal for the title last November at a SmackDown TV taping from London, UK.

Styles and Joe were longtime rivals dating back to 2003, when Styles challenged Samoa Joe during his memorable ROH World title run. They would go on to continue their feud in TNA/Impact Wrestling, battling many times for various championships.

WWE has managed to keep them apart since Joe’s main roster debut in January 2017, so this storied rivalry will actually seem fresh by the time they square off once again.

WWE SummerSlam takes place on Sunday, August 19th from Brooklyn, NY at the Barclays Center. 

Billy Corgan Comments On Flip Gordon vs Nick Aldis For NWA Title

Chris Stephens
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Billy Corgan took ownership over the NWA on October 1st, 2017. The NWA Heavyweight Champion at that time was Tim Storm. Nick Aldis would take the title from Storm just 2 months later, however.

Tonight in Nashville, TN, Nick Aldis will defend his title against Flip Gordon on a Ring of Honor show. Not only is the NWA title on the line, however, if Flip wins he would then be in a position to defend the title against Cody at All-In.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5H2JskajLY&frags=pl%2Cwn

Nick Aldis (c) vs Flip Gordon – NWA World Heavyweight Championship Match

“Mr. Aldis you say you’re the dealer. Cody, you’re the gambler. Well, I’m the house,” Corgan stated. “Flip Gordon deserves this title shot and I’m a businessman first and foremost. The buzz around this match is real. And in this very building, Flip Gordon will have a chance to make history, Mr. Aldis.”

Corgan continued to say he won’t be in attendance for the match tonight as he will be playing a concert nearby.

Ring of Honor – Honor For All
July 20th, 2018
Nashville, TN
Nashville Municipal Auditorium

  • NWA World Heavyweight Championship
    Nick Aldis (c) vs Flip Gordon
  • The Briscoes vs the Young Bucks vs The Addiction (non-title match)
  • ROH TV Championship
    Punishment Martinez (c) vs Scorpio Sky
  • ROH World Championship
    Jay Lethal (c) vs Silas Young
  • WOH Championship Proving Ground Match (non-title but if the challenger wins they earn a title shot at a later date)
    Sumie Sakai (c) vs Karen Q
  • Bully Ray vs Chuckie T
  • Cody vs TK O’Ryan
  • Marty Scurll vs Matt Taven
  • Kenny King vs Shane Taylor vs Chris Sabin vs Jonathan Gresham

Tomorrow Ring of Honor head to Atlanta. They will film a set of television tapings from Center Stage in the city. They will then travel to Edinburgh, Doncaster, and London in August before returning to Philadelphia for another set of tapings in late August.

MLW Battle Riot Results (7/19)

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On Thursday night, Major League Wrestling made its grand return to New York City with Battle Riot at the Melrose Ballroom in Queens, NY.

Matches on this show were taped for a 2-hour Battle Riot special that airs next Friday night on beIN SPORTS, as well as future episodes of the weekly MLW FUSION broadcast on beIN. The matches that will air on the 2-hour Battle Riot special include:

  • Kotta Brazil vs. Myron Reed
  • MJF vs. Joey Ryan to crown the first MLW Middleweight Champion
  • 40-Man Battle Riot Match to earn a MLW Championship opportunity

The show was a legitimate sell-out and the card delivered from top to bottom. As fans have come to expect from MLW, the show featured a hybrid of in-ring styles, up-and-comers and veterans and slick production values. MLW returns to the Melrose Ballroom on October 4th with LA Park (La Parka) advertised.

MLW Battle Riot Results

– Fred Yehi def. Richard Holliday. Solid opener with Yehi of Team Filthy being very over with the crowd.

– Kotto Brazil def. Myron Reed. Exciting high-flying match with a lot of near falls towards the end.

– Jake Hager def. Simon Gotch. A lot of solid mat-based grappling.

– Jimmy Havoc def. Brody King. King is quite large in person and moves around really well for a big man. King was in control for most of the match before Havoc pulled out the win.

– MLW Tag Team Champions The Lucha Bros (Fenix and Pentagon Jr.) def. Drago and Rey Horus to retain. This was probably the match of the night – first class lucha libre. Fans threw dollar bills into the ring afterwards as Pentagon & Fenix thanked the crowd.

– PCO def. Homicide. As you’d expect, this was a very hard-hitting match that showcased the monster that is PCO.

– Maxwell J. Friedman def. Joey Ryan to become the first MLW Middleweight Champion. This one went pretty long and allowed both guys to showcase their personalities. Joey Ryan did not do his signature dick spot, but channeled Mr. Socko in using a lollipop on Friedman. MJF was interviewed in the ring after his match and cut a nice heel promo.

– Sami Callihan def. Shane Strickland.

– The Hart Foundation (Teddy Hart & Davey Boy Smith Jr. w/Brian Pillman II)  def. Rich Swann and ACH. It’s believed that Swann was concussed during this match.

– MLW World Heavyweight Champion Low Ki def. John Hennigan to retain. Salina de la Renta was ringside with Low Ki. Hennigan hit a lot of acrobatic spots as you’d expect.

– “Filthy” Tom Lawlor outlasted 39 other men to win the Battle Riot match and earn a shot at the MLW World Heavyweight Championship “any time, anywhere.” This match was a lot of fun and should come across great on television. They used a lot of battle royal tropes (including brothers Pentagon & Rey Fenix being the first two entrants, a large group of wrestlers working together to eliminate giants like Barrington Hughes, etc.). Surprise entrants included The Blue Meanie, Spirit Squad members Kenny & Mikey, Fallah Bahh and more. After his win, Lawlor was interviewed by Matt Striker in the ring and said he is achieving his goal of being the face of Major League Wrestling.

Steve Austin Reflects On Longtime Feud With The Invisible Man

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WWE Hall Of Famer Steve Austin recently welcomed indie wrestler ‘Jumpin” Joey Janela to 317 Gimmick Street for an episode of The Steve Austin Show podcast. Amongst other things, they discussed Janela’s recent work wrestling 10-15 minute matches against…The Invisible Man.

“I’ve actually wrestled The Invisible Man five times, so it is quite the rivalry now.” Janela said, “I think it started off with, I would joke with this guy. He was running local shows in New Jersey and he said, ‘who do you want to wrestle,’ and I said, ‘yeah, I’ll wrestle The Invisible Man.’ And then, ‘when are we going to do it?’ I think one of my shows cancelled running that night and I said, ‘hey, can I come wrestle The Invisible Man?’ And he said, ‘yeah, sure!’ So I just showed up and on the fly, I did what I did. A couple of other promoters wanted to see me versus The Invisible Man, and then, I wrestled The Invisible Man in England at Blackpool Tower.”

During the discussion, Austin revealed that during his time in WCW, he too used to wrestle The Invisible Man before TV tapings.

“I used to do a deal down in WCW where I would wrestle The Invisible Man before TV at CenterStage and I was only going a minute-and-a-half.” Austin mused. “[Janela] put in, like, 15 [or] 20 minutes against this cat. And the crowd, I’m watching the crowd, like, they really bought in and [Janela] [was] totally committed and were in the zone. And the referee did a phenomenal job. [Janela] [was] kind of almost doing a standup routine while [he] [was] doing this.”

No word on if there is a tag bout in the future featuring Austin & Janela vs The Invisible Man & The Shadow.

You can hear the full episode of The Steve Austin Show here.

Thanks to Wrestling Inc. for the quote transcription!

 

Mattel Reveals New WWE Action Figures At SDCC

Jeff Moss
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This week, San Diego Comic Con kicked off with a bang and amongst the many wresters in attendance, Mattel officially revealed the newest WWE action figures hitting the market.

There were a few classic figures, a lot of new names and a WONDERFUL accessory pack debuted, but one figure was so “bad” it caught even WWE owner Vince McMahon’s eye.

Other new faces in the line include The Undisputed Era, The Authors of Pain, Ruby Riott, and Braun Strowman. Current and Classic Superstars like The Undertaker, John Cena, Sting, The Shield, Ultimate Warrior, The Fashion Police and DX also make appearances.

You can see a full gallery of Mattel’s 2018 SDCC WWE Action figure display here.

Also revealed at SDCC during Mattel’s panel was an accessory pack featuring a dilapidated boat, Vanguard1 the one and only Mower of Lawns!

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Thanks to Ringside Collectibles for the images, and check out the video below for even more 2018 WWE Action Figures.

Howard Finkel Is In Poor Health According to Jerry Lawler

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Legendary WWE ring announcer is said to be in failing health, according to Jerry “The King” Lawler. On the latest episode of his Dinner with the King podcast, Lawler said he believes Finkel may have suffered a stroke and is not doing well.

“I just heard not long ago that Howard is in really, really bad health,” Lawler said. “Not good at all. He may have had a stroke. I’m not sure but I just know that he’s not doing well.”

You can hear the full episode of Dinner With The King Below.

Howard Finkel

For millions of wrestling fans around the world, Howard Finkel and his distinctive voice will always be synonymous with WWE. Finkel began working for Vince McMahon Sr.’s World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) in 1975. He continued with the company when it was taken over by Vince Jr, making him the company’s longest tenured employee.

Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2009, Finkel had been working a lighter schedule since 2000, with the additions of Lilian Garcia and Tony Chimel to Raw and SmackDown, respectively. He still announced for some of the WWF/E’s major pay-per-view events, and recent had taken a role at WWE.com.

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