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Hulk Hogan Apologizes To Roster Backstage At Extreme Rules

Eric Lynch
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24

Newly-reinstated WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan is backstage at WWE’s Extreme Rules 2018 event in Pittsburgh tonight.

Hogan met with the WWE locker room and formally apologized for his racist comments that originally lead to his firing from the company. Hulk acknowledged the meeting on his Twitter account hours before the beginning of Extreme Rules.

“Just met with the @WWE Superstars and on all levels the volume of love and support was overwhelming,” Hogan wrote on Twitter on Sunday. “I’ve been praying for this day and I finally feel like I made it back home. Only Love 4 the #WWEUNIVERSE brother HH”

Earlier today, WWE announced that Hogan had been reinstated into the Hall of Fame after a suspension. Hogan was released and removed from their Hall of Fame after a 2015 sex tape leak where Hogan was recorded making racially insensitive comments with Bubba The Love Sponge’s wife. Following his firing, Hogan successfully sued Gawker Media and is currently in a legal battle with a Cox Media employee who allegedly stole the tape from Bubba The Love Sponge and released it to Gawker.

WWE Extreme Rules 2018 Results & Discussion (7/15)

Eric Lynch
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1,089

WWE’s Extreme Rules took place at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA on July 15th, 2018.

– Hulk Hogan is backstage at the PPG Paints Arena. Hogan wrote on Twitter hours before the start of Extreme Rules that he met with the locker room and formally apologized for his racist comments in 2015. It is unknown when or if he will be returning to TV.

Extreme Rules kickoff show results:

– Tonight’s kickoff show broadcast starts with a view of the PPG Paints Arena with fans filing in, and a shot of the steel cage and shark cage hanging above the ring.

– Renee Young welcomes us to the table with WWE Hall of Famer Booker T, Sam Roberts and Dave Otunga. They review the card for tonight’s show as fans continue to enter the building behind them.

– We go to Charly Caruso backstage, who discusses Hulk Hogan being reinstated to the WWE Hall of Fame and that he is mingling backstage. She says that it’s great to have “The Hulkster back in the family. She talks about an encounter she had with James Ellsworth earlier and says she was disgusted by him.

– Finn Balor joins the kickoff show panel next and gives his thoughts on the Kevin Owens vs. Braun Strowman match later, and also on his upcoming match against Baron Corbin tonight.

– Sin Cara vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas: Zelina Vega is at ringside in Almas’ corner. The opening bell sounds and Almas starts off with a punch to the face, and Sin Cara answers with a hurricanrana. They grapple back and forth until Almas stuns Cara with a spinning back elbow to the face. Sin Cara falls outside, and Almas takes a moment to pose with Vega. Back in the ring, Cara fights off Almas and Almas misses a splash in the corner. Cara and Almas exchange blows to the face and chops to the chest now. Sin Cara hits a spingboard cross body, and then a springboard moonsault. Sin Cara hits the reverse hurricanrana on Almas for the two count. Almas and Cara trade kicks in the corner, and Sin Cara steps out to the apron. Sin Cara looks to superplex Almas down to the ringside floor, but Almas fights him off. Almas looks for the stomp on the apron, but Cara shoves Almas down. Sin Cara comes flying off the top and collides with Almas on the apron, and they both fall down to ringside. Back in the ring, Cara hits a frogsplash off the top and covers, but Vega distracts the ref. Almas takes advantage of the distraction to drops Cara from behind and hit the knees to the face in the corner. Almas follows up with the hammer lock DDT for the three count.

Winner: Andrade “Cien” Almas

– Almas and Vega celebrate in the ring after the match as we go to replays.

– Shinsuke Nakamura joins the kickoff show panel via camera for an interview, but he acts like he can’t hear Renee Young. Shinsuke calls Sam Roberts a clown when he tries to talk, but Nakamura does accept a question from Booker T about his opponent Jeff Hardy tonight. Nakamura sounds confident about his odds going in to the ring against Jeff Hardy tonight.

– The kickoff show panel gives us some more of their predictions for tonight’s matches, and they introduce some footage of Kurt Angle throwing out the first pitch at a Pirates game. They also show video footage looking at the history between Nia Jax, Alexa Bliss and Ronda Rousey.

– Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre interrupt the kickoff show panel next, and Ziggler talks about how he is the premier Champion in WWE. Booker T says Ziggler is like a new man, and he shakes Ziggler’s hand. Ziggler talks about not fighting for the fans, and only fighting for himself and the Title. Ziggler points out that Rollins recently lost to Drew McIntyre, and Drew gets on the mic and complains about Kurt Angle trying to prevent him from being here tonight.

– Sanity vs. The New Day: This one is a tables match. The opening bell sounds and Sanity takes control of this one early on. Eric Young sets up some tables at ringside, while Woods and Kofi recover in the ring and go flying out with suicide dives on Sanity at ringside. Killian then comes flying out of the ring with a splash on Kofi and Woods. Everyone fights on the turnbuckle and then crashes down, which allows Killian to get up first and start dropping the New Day members as they get up. Kofi fights back with the Trouble In Paradise on Dain, then he starts fighting with Wolf on the apron. Wolf knocks Kofi back, and then Eric Young comes flying off the top rope with a leg drop that sends Kofi crashing through the table set up at ringside. Sanity wins this one after a short match.

Winners: Sanity

– Ronda Rousey is shown backstage arriving at the PPG Paints Arena with her husband Travis Browne.

– Renee Young and the kickoff show panel run down the card one more time as we head into Extreme Rules. She introduces a video package looking at the Roman Reigns vs. Bobby Lashley feud, and we go to the pay-per-view next.

– The screen shatters and we get a brief promo from Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy talking about their match with The B Team tonight.

WWE Extreme Rules 2018 results:

– Ronda Rousey is shown sitting ringside with her tickets, with her husband Travis Browne.

– Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt (c) vs. The B Team: The opening bell sounds and Matt Hardy starts off with elbows to the face of Dallas. Wyatt gets the tag and it’s now brother vs brother as he faces off with Dallas. Dallas quickly tags in Axel before engaging with Wyatt. Axel comes in and Wyatt immediately takes the fight to him and headbutts him down. Wyatt misses a splash in the corner and Axel puts the boots to him. Matt tags in and hits some elbows on Matt before slamming him in the corner. Axel fights back and chokes Matt up against the rope, and then Dallas hits a cheap shot behind the ref’s back. Axel and Dallas trade frequent tags now to keep Hardy isolated in their corner. Matt finally fights back with a Side Effect on Axel. Dallas and Wyatt tag in and Wyatt lays into him with offense. Wyatt goes for the Sister Abigail, but Axel breaks it up. Hardy tags in, and after Axel and Wyatt get cleared from the ring, Dallas capitalizes on the distraction from Axel to hit his finisher for the three count.

Winners: The B Team

– The B Team cuts a promo on the ramp after the match while they celebrate their win. Axel says they feel like when Stretch Armstrong landed on the moon, and Dallas tries to start a B Team chant.

– Kurt Angle does an interview backstage saying he’s conducted talks with Brock Lesnar’s team about having him back to defend the Universal Title. Heyman says Lesnar isn’t interested in defending against any of the opponents Angle had lined up. Angle takes issue with Lesnar appearing on UFC but not WWE, so he issues an ultimatum: Lesnar is to appear on RAW tomorrow and accept an opponent, or he will be stripped of the Universal Title.

– Baron Corbin vs. Finn Balor: The opening bell sounds and Corbin starts off strong. Balor starts to fight back, but Corbin shuts him down and throws him into the corner, where Corbin follows up with some splashes against the corner. Balor finally fights back and goes up top, but Corbin grabs him off the top by the throat. Corbin follows up with the chokeslam backbreaker for a two count. Corbin gets the ref’s face and then misses a clothesline, which leads to Balor hitting the Sling Blade. Corbin comes back with the Deep Six for a two count. Corbin picks up Balor for another slam but Balor escapes and kicks him down. Balor follows up with a running dropkick in the corner, then Balor goes up top. Corbin gets up and knocks Corbin down, then looks for the End of Days. Balor escapes and rolls up Corbin in an inside cradle pin for the three count.

Winner: Finn Balor

– Corbin gets up immediately after the match and freaks out at the ref as Balor celebrates on the ramp.

– We go backstage, where we see The Bludgeon Brothers beating down Daniel Bryan and Kane in the hallway. Rowan takes out Kane’s knee and Kane sells a knee injury while Bryan is also struggling to get to his feet.

– Carmella (c) vs. Asuka: James Ellsworth is held above the ring in a shark cage for this match. Ellsworth gets locked in the cage by WWE staffers, and the opening bell sounds. Asuka starts off strong, but Carmella is able to fight her off, and then Ellsworh tosses a foreign object down to Carmella. Asuka sees it and throws the object away, then boots Carmella down. Ellsworth tries to throw another foreign object to Carmella, but fails again. Asuka continues the offense and hits a running hip attack. Asuka takes the fight out to ringside and beats down Carmella on the floor. Meanwhile in the ring, Ellsworth manages to break free form the cage, but his foot gets caught on the cage an he is now hanging upside down. Asuka laughs and gets in the ring, and she starts hitting Ellsworth like a piniata in the air. WWE staffers get in the ring and try to get Ellsworth down, but Asuka attacks them. Asuka clears the ring and continues attacking Ellsworth who is still hooked on the cage. Carmella sneaks in the ring from behind and shoves Asuka’s face into the cage. Carmella immediately covers for the three count for the win.

Winner & still Women’s Champion: Carmella

– Carmella celebrates on the ramp as Ellsworth is still caught up on the cage. Asuka gets to her feet and beats down Ellsworth as he gets free from the cage. Asuka suplexes Ellsworth multiple times before kicking him in the head. Asuka applies the Asuka lock as Ellsworth taps out and screams.

– Jeff Hardy (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura: Before the bell, Nakamura hits a low blow on Hardy. Hardy is down and the ref checks on him. Hardy gets up and says he’s ready to fight, so the ref calls for the opening bell, and Nakamura immediately charges and hits the Kinshasa on Hardy while he’s still visibly hurting from the low blow. Nakamura immediately pins for the three count.

Winner & new U.S. Champion: Shinsuke Nakamura

– After the match, Randy Orton’s music hits and Orton walks down the ramp. Nakamura leaves the ring with his U.S. Title belt and stands on the announce table at ringside. Orton stares at Nakamura from the ring as Hardy recovers behind. Orton turns around, trips Hardy down, and then hits a stomp to the groin of Hardy. Orton walks backstage as Nakamura looks confused at ringside and Hardy sells the low-blow in the ring.

– Braun Strowman vs. Kevin Owens: The steel cage is lowered down from the ceiling for this one. Both men step in the cage and the opening bell sounds, and Owens immediately starts trying to climb the cage walls. Strowman charges at Owens but Owens stuns him with a boot to the face. Owens tries to escape, but Strowman throws him down and dares Owens to stay and fight him. Owens starts throwing punches but Braun fights him off and hits a big boot. Strowman misses a shot against the ropes and Strowman crashes into the cage wall. Owens superkicks him down and hits a cannonball in the corner, and then a frogsplash off the top. Owens covers but Strowman kicks out at one. Owens tries to escape again, but Strowman gets back up and beats him down. Owens tries to beg for mercy, but Strowman drops him with a right hand. Strowman repeatedly throws Owens into the cage walls. Owens fights back with some kicks and then a stunner, and both men are down. Owens tries to escape through the door but Strowman gets up and slams the door in his face. Strowman misses a shot in the corner and Owens superkicks him. Owens handcuffs Strowman to the rope but Strowman knocks him down. Strowman struggles with the handcuffs as Owens tells him to ‘suck it’ and starts climbing the cage. OWens taunts Strowman too long and Strowman rips apart the cuffs. Strowman follows Owens up the cage to the very top. Both men are standing on the very top of the cage now, and Strowman has his hand around Owens’ neck. Braun chokeslams Owens off the top of the cage down through an announce table at ringside. The announce table explodes as Owens crashes through it, and the ref calls for the bell as Owens lays on the floor and Strowman looks down from the cage.

Winner: Kevin Owens

– EMT’s come out with a stretcher to pick up Owens who is still motionless. Strowman yells at Owens as he heads to the back. Owens gets put in a neck brace and loaded on the stretcher.

– Team Hell No vs. The Bludgeon Brothers: Kane doesn’t come out at first as he’s selling the knee injury from the backstage beat-down earlier. Bryan and Rowan start this one off. Rowan takes control early on, but Bryan fights back and Rowan tags in. Bryan and Harper go at it now, but some interference from Rowan on the floor leads to The Bludgeon Brothers regaining control. Harper and Rowan trade frequent tags now and beats down on Bryan in the ring. Bryan tries to fight back but Rowan stuns him with a knee to the body. Bryan goes for a splash on Rowan at ringside, but Rowan catches him. Harper comes flying out with a dive to try to sandwich Bryan, but Bryan moves and Rowan crashes into Harper. Kane finally makes his entrance now and he limps down to the ring with a walking cast on. Kane gets in the ring and beats down the Bludgeon Brothers. He looks for a Tombstone on Rowan, but Harper comes from behind and kicks out Kane’s bad leg. Bryan tags in now and comes in hot, laying out Rowan and Harper. Bryan hits the Yes Kicks on Rowan and drops him. Harper tags in and hits a spinning heel kick on Bryan. Rowan tags in and they hit their version of the Doomsday Device on Bryan for the three count.

Winners & still SmackDown Tag Champions: The Bludgeon Brothers

– The Brothers hold their Title belts up high after the match.

– Roman Reigns is walking backstage when he gets approached by The B Team, who are still celebrating their victory earlier. Reigns shakes his head and walks off.

– Roman Reigns vs. Bobby Lashley: The opening bell sounds and they lock up. The crowd boos as they wrestle up against the turnbuckle. The ref pulls them apart and they lock up again, then Lashley suplexes Reigns down. Reigns fires up now and drops Lashley with an elbow. Reigns takes over the match now and holds Lashley down with a chin lock. Lashley starts to fight up, but Reigns throws Lashley outside to the floor. Reigns follows him out and they fight round ringside, with Reigns whipping Lashley into the ring steps. Reigns picks up the steps and goes to hit LAshley with them, but Lashley blocks it and throws Reigns down. Lashley follows up with a clothesline on the floor, then takes things back in the ring. Lashley hits a belly to belly overhead suplex on Reigns, and he follows up with a running clothesline in the corner. Lashley looks for another clothesline, but Reigns blocks it with a big boot. Reigns follows up with a clothesline, then he hits more clotheslines in the corner.

Reigns throws Lashley off the ropes, but Lashley catches him with a spinebuster for a two count. They get up and trade strikes until Lashley runs off the ropes with a cross body. Lashley then goes up to the top rope and hits a flying double axe handle. Lashley looks for a suplex, but Reigns fights out. Reigns looks for a Samoan Drop but Lashley grabs the ropes, so Reigns tosses Lashley out of the ring to the floor. Lashley gets back in the ring at the ref’s 9 count, and Reigns immediately hits a leg drop for a 2 count. Reigns charges forward for a superman punch, but Lashley catches him with a spinebuster. Lashley picks up Reigns and hits a stalling vertical suplex for a 2 count. Lashley looks for a spear, but Reigns stops him with a Superman punch for a two count. Lashley rolls outside for a breather.

Reigns follows Lashley out to ringside and charges forward, but Lashley catches him and hits a belly to belly suplex on top of the German announce table. Back in the ring, Lashley goes up top, but Reigns superman punches him down to the mat. Reigns yells at Lashley and runs the ropes for a spear, but Lashley gets up fast and beats Reigns to the punch with a spear of his own. Lashley immediately pins and scores the three count.

Winner: Bobby Lashley

– Lashley’s hand is raised as he looks exhausted from the match. Lashley heads to the back as Reigns recovers on the mat and we go to replays.

– Ronda Rousey is shown sitting at ringside again.

– Nia Jax vs. Alexa Bliss (c): Natalya is at ringside in Nia’s corner, and Ronda Rousey is sitting in the front row of the crowd. Mickie James is in Alexa’s corner and she has a kendo stick. The opening bell sounds and Nia tries to back Alexa into a corner, but Alexa slaps her across the face and rolls out to ringside. Alexa grabs the kendo stick and hits Nia, but Nia grabs it and breaks it in half. Mickie and Alexa start throwing chairs and trash cans at Nia, but she keeps catching them and throwing them in the ring. Nia chases Alexa around the floor and clotheslines her down. Nia takes Alexa back in the ring, Nia tries to throw Alexa onto a trash can, but she misses and Alexa clips the edge of the can. Alexa gets to her feet but Nia headbutts her down. Nia then gorilla press slams Alexa onto a trash can as Ronda claps at ringside. Alexa finally starts fighting back, and she sets up a steel chair in one turnbuckle. Alexa then hits a running dropkick on Nia for a one count.

Nia elbows Alexa in the face and then charges at her, but Alexa moves and Nia crashes into the chair in the corner. Mickie tries to get involved, but Natalya runs around and fights with her. Alexa comes outside and helps Mickie beat down Natalya at ringside. Ronda Rousey has seen enough and she hops the barricade. Ronda grabs Mickie and slams her into the barricade, then throws her in the ring. Ronda picks up Mickie and slams her with a Samoan drop. Ronda takes Mickie back out to ringside to continue the beat down, then she turns her attention to Alexa. Alexa runs and Ronda chases her and catches her. Ronda grabs Alexa, but Mickie comes over with a kendo stick and lays out Ronda with it. Back in the ring, Alexa goes flying off the top with a cross body, but Nia catches her. Nia looks for a Samoan Drop, but Mickie comes in with a steel chair and hits Nia from behind. Alexa and Mickie take turns hitting Nia with chairs, then Alexa DDTs Nia on a steel chair for the three count.

Winner & still Women’s Champion: Alexa Bliss

– After the match, Ronda gets back in the ring, and Mickie and Alexa retreat up the ramp.

– We’re told that Paige has booked a rematch for SmackDown between Nakamura and Hardy for the U.S. Title.

– AJ Styles (c) vs. Rusev: Aiden English comes out to sing for Rusev’s entrance. The opening bell sounds and Rusev goes after AJ, but AJ lays into him with kicks. AJ backs Rusev into the corner with strikes, but Rusev fights his way out. AJ kicks out Rusev’s leg, but Rusev gets back up and hip tosses AJ down. AJ misses a kick and Rusev clotheslines him down. Rusev connects with multiple suplexes and then an elbow drop for a one count. Rusev slows things down now with a bear hug. Rusev takes AJ up top, but AJ slides through his legs and kicks Rusev off the top down to the ringside floor. AJ then springboards to the outside with a forearm shot on Rusev on the floor. Back in the ring, AJ hits a flurry of strikes on Rusev, while the Champion sells a lower back injury. AJ hits a splash on the corner and tries to pick up Rusev, but Rusev escapes. Rusev tries to pick AJ up, but AJ reverses into a reverse DDT for a two count.

Rusev starts to fight back but AJ stuns him with a right hand. They fight near the ropes and AJ kicks Rusev in the head. AJ springboards off the top for a 450, but Rusev rolls out of the way. Rusev follows up with a big boot and turns it around. Rusev looks for a slam, but AJ escapes and applies the Calf Crusher. Rusev reaches the ropes to break the hold. Rusev looks for a big boot, but AJ ducks it and hits the Pele kick. Rusev gets up and hits a kick of his own, then he looks for the Accolade on Styles. Rusev struggles to lock it in, but AJ reaches the ropes. Rusev goes for the Accolade again, but AJ escapes and Rusev misses a shot in the corner. AJ springboards off the top rope now with the 450 splash for a two count.

AJ spots Aiden English by the apron and he hits a running baseball slide kick on English. AJ follows up with the Phenomenal Forearm for the three count to retain the WWE Championship.

Winner & still WWE Champion: AJ Styles

– AJ’s hand is raised after the match and he gets on the corner to raise his WWE Title in the air. English tries to console Rusev after the match as we go to replays.

– Seth Rollins is shown backstage walking towards the gorilla position. Charly Caruso interrupts and mentions Drew McIntyre will be at ringside. Rollins says he has three opponents tonight: The clock, Zigler, and McIntyre at ringxside. Rollins talks about the importance of this being an Iron Man Match.

– Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. Seth Rollins: This one is a 30-minute Iron Man match for the IC Title. The opening bell sounds and Rollins and Ziggler exchange holds evenly in the opening moments. Rollins charges at Ziggler in the corner in misses, and Ziggler capitalizes with a right hand. Ziggler picks up Rollins, but Rollins rolls up Ziggler out of nowhere for the first three count of the match. The fall count is now Rollins 1, Ziggler 0. Rollins fights with Ziggler at ringside, but he briefly gets distracted by McIntyre and Ziggler capitlizes with punches to the face. Back in the ring Ziggler hits a neckbreaker for a two count.

Rollins starts to fight back, but Ziggler dropkicks out his knee. Rollins and Ziggler exchange roll-up attempts until Rollins picks him up for a powerbomb. Ziggler escapes the powerbomb attempt, but Rollins drops him again and hits the curb stomp for another three count. The fall count is now Rollins 2, Ziggler 0. Drew McIntyre runs in now and beats on Rollins, and the ref calls it a DQ, which means another fall in favor for Rollins. The fall count is 3-0 now for Rollins. Drew continues to beat down Rollins until the ref ejects him. Drew hits the Claymore kick on Rollins before he leaves. Ziggler rolls over on to Rollins and pins for the three count, and the fall count is now 3-1 Rollins.

Ziggler gets to his feet, and he hits a superkick on Rollins. He immediately covers and scores a three count on Rollins. The fall count is now 3-2 for Rollins. Ziggler throws Rollins in to the corner and hits the Zig Zag for another three count. The fall count is now tied at 3-3. Rollins starts to fight back and he looks for a suicide dive, but Ziggler stops him with a right hand. Ziggler pins Rollins with both feet on the ropes, but the ref didn’t see it, so he counts to 3. The fall count is now 4-3 in favor of Ziggler.

Ziggler tries to keep Rollins grounded and squeeze the air out of him with a front face lock. Rollins fights up but Ziggler applies a sleeper. Rollins finally fights free and knocks Ziggler outside, and he follows up with a suicide dive. Rollins takes Ziggler back in the ring, but Ziggler rolls right back out for a breather. Rollins follows up with a another suicide dive on the Champion at ringside. Back in the ring, Rollins springboards off the top with a flying clothesline on Ziggler for a 2 count. Rollins follows up with a Blockbuster for a 2 count. Rollins goes back up top, but Ziggler knocks him off down to the floor. Back in the ring, Ziggler looks for a DDT, but Rollins shoves him off and superkicks him. Rollins follows up with a knee to the face for a two count. Rollins goes back up top and Ziggler knocks him down again. Ziggler climbs up but Rollins headbutts him down. Rollins goes flying with a frog splash on Ziggler for another 2 count.

Ziggler and Rollins fight up on another corner of the ring, which leads to Rollins hitting a superplex and a Falcon Arrow for a 2 count. Rollins slingshots Ziggler into the corner and follows up with a roll-up for a 3 count. The fall count is now tied at 4-4. Ziggler and Rollins both get to their feet and start trading punches, until Rollins trips Ziggler down and applies a Sharpshooter. Rollins switches to a Crossface as Ziggler struggles to reach the ropes. Rollins lets go and goes for a stomp, but Ziggler rolls out of the way and rolls out to ringside. Ziggler tries to climb into the crowd, but Rollins spots him and takes him back in the ring. Ziggler hits the Fameasser on Rollins on the mat for a two count. Ziggler looks for a superkick, but Rollins strikes first with a superkick of his own. Rollins follows up with the curb stomp and pins, but as he pins, the timer runs out before the ref can start counting. The match timer stops with the fall count tied at 4-4.

With the fall count tied, the ref calls for the bell and Jojo announces that in the event of a draw the winner keeps his Championship belt. Kurt Angle comes out and says he knows the WWE Universe and his hometown doesn’t want to see a tie. Kurt orders Dolph to get back in that ring, because we’re going to sudden death overtime, and the next pinfall wins. The bell sounds, but Drew McIntyre gets up on the apron out of nowhere and distracts Rollins. Rollins knocks Drew off the apron, and Ziggler runs up and hits the Zig Zag on Rollins from behind. Ziggler pins for the three count to retain his IC Title. bo

Winner & still Intercontinental Champion: Dolph Ziggler

– Drew and Dolph celebrate at ringside with Ziggler’s IC Title belt. Drew lifts Ziggler up on to his shoulders to celebrate on the ramp. Rollins recovers in the ring as he looks shocked at the finish.

The Miz Reveals How He’s Planning To Become Bigger Heel In WWE

Andrew Ravens
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3

The Miz has opened up on his plans to become a bigger heel in the WWE.

The former Intercontinental Champion recently spoke with the folks from The Wrap for an interview to promote his new USA Network reality show, Miz & Mrs. that is slated to premiere later this month after SmackDown Live goes off the air.

In this interview, The Miz broke down his plans as well as why he has been mentioning he and Maryse’s daughter, Monroe, on WWE television as of late. Obviously, the mass majority of promos on WWE TV is scripted but does have some influence from the WWE superstars including The Miz.

He stated that they wanted to weave their real lives into their WWE lives and what’s happening in their lives. Thus, they thought about what they can do that is the most annoying thing possible as a heel to make fans hate them.

The Miz continued, “Now, it’s truly wonderful to have a kid. It’s the best gift you could possibly get, but have you ever met those people who just talk about it all day long and it’s just annoying? That’s kind of what I started doing and I was like, ‘This will be fun. I’ll just start talking about it all the time. It’ll be endearing at first, but then it’ll get annoying.”

What are your thoughts on Miz’s idea? Sound off in the comment section.

Roman Reigns Sends Message To Bobby Lashley, WWE Stars Hype Extreme Rules PPV

Andrew Ravens
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5

WWE superstars are gearing up for the next PPV event presented by the company, which is Extreme Rules.

Several matches are featured on tonight’s card (Sunday, July 15, 2018) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at the PPG Paints Arena that will air on the WWE Network. Roman Reigns is slated to take on Bobby Lashley in a singles match and took to Twitter to hype the upcoming contest by writing, “I’ve punched through and flown over the entire WWE roster to get to you. Tonight, no one is here to stop me or save you, Bob.”

As seen on this week’s episode of WWE Monday Night RAW in Boston, MA at the TD Garden on the USA Network, the latest angle that helped build the feud saw both men being involved in a pull-apart brawl with other talents.

Other stars also hyped this show on social including WWE Champion AJ Styles, Rusev, WWE Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler, Seth Rollins, and Lashley.

WWE has already announced that Styles will defend the WWE Title against Rusev and Ziggler defending the Intercontinental Championship against Rollins in a 30-Minute Iron Man Match. You can see their tweets here:

https://twitter.com/HEELZiggler/status/1018533559525675008

What are your thoughts on tonight’s show? Do you plan on watching and if not, why not? Sound off in the comment section.

Juice Robinson Reflects On Feeling That He Was ‘Dead In The Water’ In WWE NXT

Andrew Ravens
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0

Juice Robinson has reflected on his time in WWE NXT.

Robinson, who was known as CJ Parker while in the developmental brand for the WWE from 2011 – 2015, spoke with Uproxx about various topics including his stint in WWE.

“You know, I loved NXT. Just, I just knew I was dead in the water, so I had to get out. So it wasn’t that it was bad, it was I turned it bad because I got sad. You know what I mean? So what was happening to me on a daily basis… it wasn’t like I was going home every night and crying in my room.”

Robinson would go onto say that he was still having fun and getting along with the coaches and the guys, and having fun at shows and stuff. However, he knew that his character as never going anywhere, which led to him having negative feelings about it and his life.

Thus, he had to make a change and he’s happy now. He noted that NXT was fun and that for a while there it seemed like anytime they were trying to lighten the mood, people tell them to get in line.

“But they’ve got a good guy there now, and everything’s really – I think it’s fun again. It’s good to hear. But I’m having more fun, so, haha.”

Robinson would also talk about working in NJPW, watching wrestling as a kid, and much more in this interview that you can read in full at this link.

What are your thoughts on Robinson’s comments? Sound off in the comment section.

PROGRESS Reveals More Matches for #CoastToCoast USA Tour

Jake Skudder
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0

PROGRESS has announced more bouts for their upcoming tour of the United States. The #CoastToCoast tour will run August 4th through August 12th.

The matches announced are as follows:

  • PHILADELPHIA August 4th – South Pacific Power Trip vs Moustache Mountain
  • BOSTON August 5th – TK Cooper vs Kid Lykos
  • NEW YORK CITY August 7th – CCK vs LAX
  • SEATTLE August 9th – WALTER vs Jimmy Havoc
  • CHICAGO August 11th – CCK vs Flamita and Bandido
  • DETROIT August 12th – WALTER vs Mark Andrews

These join the following bouts which were confirmed earlier last week:

  • BOSTON August 5th – Rickey Shane Page vs Eddie Dennis
  • SEATTLE August 9th – British Strong Style vs Bandido, Rey Horus and Flamita
  • CHICAGO August 11th – Pete Dunne vs ‘Flash’ Morgan Webster
  • DETROIT August 12th – TK Cooper vs Jimmy Havoc

The Coast to Coast tour will be taking place from August 4th and will be hitting the following cities:

  • 4th August – 2300 Arena, Philadelphia (aka The ECW Arena). TICKETS ON SALE MONDAY 28TH MAY AT 12PM ET / 5PM UK 
  • 5th August – Melrose Memorial Hall, Melrose, Boston. TICKETS
  • 7th August – La Boom, New York City. TICKETS ON SALE MONDAY 28TH MAY AT 12PM ET / 5PM UK 
  • 9th August – Washington Hall, Seattle. TICKETS ON SALE MONDAY 28TH MAY AT 12PM PT / 8PM UK
  • 11th August – Cicero Stadium, Cicero, Chicago TICKETS
  • 12th August – Monaghan Knights of Columbus Hall, Livonia, Detroit TICKETS

The talent that PROGRESS will be taking ‘across the pond’ for #CoastToCoast are as follows:

  • PROGRESS World Champion – Travis Banks (4th, 5th, 7th August only)
  • PROGRESS Tag Team Champions – Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson and James Drake)
  • PROGRESS Women’s Champion – Jinny (4th, 11th, 12th August only)
  • WWE United Kingdom Champion – Pete Dunne 
  • NXT Tag Team Champions – Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate and Trent Seven)
  • TK Cooper
  • WALTER (9th, 11th, 12th August only)
  • ‘Flash’ Morgan Webster
  • Mark Haskins
  • Jimmy Havoc
  • Mark Andrews
  • Eddie Dennis
  • Jack Sexsmith (7th, 9th, 11th, 12th August only
  • CCK (Chris Brookes and Kid Lykos)
  • Toni Storm (4th, 11th, 12th August only)

Ian Carey and Jake Jeremy Predict The G1 Climax: Night 3

Jake Skudder
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New Japan Pro Wrestling’s annual G1 Climax is widely regarded as the greatest tournament in pro wrestling today. Two blocks of competitors will compete 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 3 of the tournament, which takes place this Monday July 16th.

(You can check out the Predictions for Night 2 here)

Jake Jeremy – Ok so we’re talking Night 3 of the G1 tournament. Here are the bouts:

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Jay White
Togi Makabe vs Minoru Suzuki
Michael Elgin vs Hangman Page
Kazuchika Okada vs Bad Luck Fale
YOSHI-HASHI vs EVIL

Ian Carey – My predictions for the second night of A Block action are as follows:

  • Jay White beats Tanahashi – this way he’ll have 2 straight wins in a main event and he avenges his loss to him at the Tokyo Dome last year
  • Minoru Suzuki beats Togi Makabe
  • Michael Elgin beats Hangman Page – I think Elgin will lose a lot later in the tournament because he’s selling an arm injury
  • Bad Luck Fale beats Okada – This is my underdog pick, then everyone will comment on how poorly he’s (Okada) doing and he’ll come back to win the block in dramatic fashion
  • EVIL beats YOSHI-HASHI

Jake Jeremy – I actually agree with your Fale assessment, but I can see Okada actually losing quite a few matches and NOT winning the block. One of the biggest grievances that I’ve seen surrounding Okada is that he doesn’t emote enough, if he is seen to have more of a personality and “human” in this post IWGP title run then when he finally gets the belt back it’ll mean that much more. Anyway here’s my predictions:

  • Jay White beats Hiroshi Tanahashi – I’m still seeing Jay White win A Block
  • Minoru Suzuki beats Togi Makabe – This’ll get Suzuki’s tournament started after the loss to Tanahashi
  • Michael Elgin beats Hangman Page
  • Bad Luck Fale beats Kazuchika Okada
  • EVIL beats YOSHI-HASHI

Ian Carey – I just know NJPW has a lot invested in the guy (Okada). I think he wins G1 and beats Omega in the Tokyo Dome. I think Okada defends the title against Jay White early next year unless they’ve decided Naito and Omega are just more popular and they should be the top two guys…which might be the case, plus with all the international expansion talk things might change up fairly dramatically

Hulk Hogan Reinstated Into the WWE Hall of Fame

Staff
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Hulk Hogan is officially back in the WWE Hall of Fame.

The 64-year old former superstar had been removed from the WWE Hall of Fame and virtually anything else to do with the company after he used racial slurs in a sex tape that was released back in 2015.

The video showed Hogan making racial slurs regarding his daughter’s then boyfriend, who was black, and it cost him a relationship with the WWE.

Hogan made numerous public apologies for his racist remarks as he attempted to rehabilitate his image after the tape was released.

While the two sides remained at odds ever since, there have been plenty of rumors recently that WWE was moving towards a reconciliation with Hogan and now it appears at least one piece of that puzzle is back in place.

“After a three-year suspension, Hulk Hogan has been reinstated into the WWE Hall of Fame,” WWE officials wrote in a statement released on Sunday. “This second chance follows Hogan’s numerous public apologies and volunteering to work with young people, where he is helping them learn from his mistake. These efforts led to a recent induction into the Boys & Girls Clubs of America Alumni Hall of Fame.”

It’s unknown at this time if Hogan’s re-entry into the WWE Hall of Fame will bring him back into the company’s fold in a larger role such as making appearances or potentially working on television again.

There had been rumors that Hogan could potentially appear at an upcoming WWE pay-per-view but again nothing has been confirmed at this time.

At least for now, Hogan is back in the WWE Hall of Fame and will likely find himself reinstated on the WWE’s website and company material after being completely removed for the past three years.

Did the WWE make the right call to reinstate Hulk Hogan into the Hall of Fame? Sound off in the comments and let us know!

Kofi Kingston Says New Day Want To Win Single’s Titles

Chris Stephens
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At the recent Money in the Bank pay-per-view, Kofi Kingston was chosen as the one New Day representative in the MITB match. Kingston came up short in the match, however, continuing his long losing streak in such matches.

Kingston recently spoke with Sports Illustrated regarding the members of New Day having single’s championship aspirations.

“All of us want to be top-tier singles champions,” Kingston said. “That’s the goal all the time. Now a lot of people think you have to break up to do that. We’re told, ‘You know, you have to go your separate ways.’ I think that’s the dumbest thing in the world…”

New Day Single’s Careers

This is not the first time a member of New Day has made such comments. The trio previously indicated they would be open to using the “Freebird Rule” on a single’s title if such a thing is possible.

Kofi talked about the possibility of this happening during an interview with Sportskeeda.

“You never know. The thing about singles titles is when one of us is champion, we are all champions,” Kingston said. “So it’s in the cards. There’s a lot of championship titles out there that need to be won and we like winning. So, we’ll see. Like I always say, you never know what’s gonna happen.”

The idea also appealed to Big E.

“But imagine ya boys Freebirding — nay, New Daying — a singles title,” Big E said. “That’s fresh, that’s what the people need. That’s what the people want to see.”

Xavier Woods noted during the same interview that he was hoping they could enter a King of the Ring tournament.

“That’s what I’ve been talking about! Been trying to get us into that King of the Ring mix,” Woods said.

Tonight, New Day will take on members of Sanity on the Extreme Rules pre-show.

Champion Challenged To Double-Title Match At All-In

Chris Stephens
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Only two matches have been officially confirmed for All-In so far. Cody will challenge for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship (likely against Nick Aldis) and Marty Scurll will take on Kazuchika Okada.

Another championship match may appear to be in the works. Madison Rayne just challenged Tessa Blanchard to a match which could have title implications for multiple belts.

Rayne sent the following message to Tessa Blanchard recently:

This made Tessa ponder the idea…

https://twitter.com/Tess_Blanchard/status/1018463834737127424

Madison Rayne vs Tessa Blanchard At All-In?

Blanchard captured a title recently for the Crash promotion in Mexico. She is also the RISE champion, WSU champion, PCW women’s champion and the list goes on.

https://twitter.com/Tess_Blanchard/status/1018532782778167297

Madison Rayne and Tessa Blanchard have met twice recently on Impact Wrestling. Both times Rayne used a pinning combination to score the upset victory over Blanchard. Those are the only two losses on Blanchard’s Impact record so far.

Partially as a result of the victories, Rayne has been granted a title shot against Su Yung. She’ll take on the champion July 22nd at Slammiversary. Should Rayne be victorious on that night she’s challenged Blanchard to a champion vs champion match at All-In.

Tessa Blanchard in Impact Wrestling

Blanchard just signed a new deal with Impact reported to be 2-years in length. The contract with Impact will keep her from competing for the second year in a row in the Mae Young Classic. She lost to Kairi Sane in the 1st round of the tournament last year.

On a recent Impact Wrestling media call, Blanchard had this to say about how she’s glad she didn’t sign on with WWE last year or after her initial tryout with the company.

“These life experiences, these personal experiences through wrestling, if I was signed on (with WWE), my entire path would be different,” she said. “I’m very blessed for things to have played out the way they have.”

Sasha Banks Feels Left Out Of WWE Extreme Rules

Chris Stephens
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There are 12 matches scheduled for tonight’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view. You won’t find Sasha Banks on the show, however.

Despite being involved in a storyline with Bayley, Banks is not scheduled for the show tonight. Banks referenced this with the below Tweet:

She has also been mentioning on social media about how it has been 3 years since she’s been on the main roster.

Banks also continues to make vague comments likely directed at Bayley through her social media accounts.

Sasha Banks vs Bayley

There is some speculation the reason Bayley vs Sasha Banks was not added to the Extreme Rules show is that it is being saved for SummerSlam. This also allows WWE to further build the angle through the therapy segments.

In a previous article on the Sasha Banks vs Bayley rivalry, we compiled their head-to-head statistics (not including house shows).

  1. NXT September 12th, 2013: Banks defeated Bayley
  2. NXT January 9th, 2014: Bayley defeated Banks
  3. NXT January 30th, 2014: Bayley defeated Banks
  4. NXT March 13th, 2014: Bayley defeated Banks
  5. NXT April 24th, 2014: Banks defeated Bayley
  6. NXT July 17th, 2014: Bayley defeated banks
  7. NXT July 31st, 2014: Bayley defeated Banks
  8. NXT September 25th, 2014: Banks defeated Bayley
  9. NXT Takeover Brooklyn August 22nd, 2015
    NXT Women’s Championship
    Bayley defeated Banks (c)
  10. NXT Women’s Championship
    30-Minute Ironman
    Bayley (c) defeated Banks (3:2)
  11. Raw March 6th, 2017: Banks defeated Bayley
  12. Raw July 24th, 2017: Bayley defeated Banks
  13. Raw February 12th, 2018: Bayley defeated Banks
  14. Raw April 16th, 2018: No Contest

Sasha Banks A Ronda Rousey Fan

Banks recently commented on Ronda Rousey’s addition to the Raw roster. Rousey has made a fan of the multi-time champion, Banks.

“She has been killing it,” Banks said to CBS. “She has proven all the doubters wrong, and it’s so crazy to see her matches. I’m in shock; I’m in awe. I loved her match at WrestleMania. I loved her match at Money in the Bank, and I definitely think she’s one to watch. I can’t believe Money in the Bank was only her second match. I am so impressed, and I hope that I get to wrestle her in the future. I’m so excited for her career in WWE, and man, she really has been killing it.”

Goldust On If He Wishes To Be ALL In, WWE Renames Former Impact Star?

Anutosh Bajpai
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WWE Renames Former Impact Star

WWE recently posted a Gallery on their official website titled ‘Every WWE Performance Center recruit’ and it suggests that the company has decided to rename a couple of stars.

The first wrestler who has been renamed is former Indie Star Donovan Dijak who is now listed as Dominik Dijakovic. His original ring name for the company was Chris Dijakovic.

Another star who appears to have been given a new name is Chad Lail who is now being called Jaxon Riker. Jaxon is a former Impact Wrestling Star and he was known as Gunner in the promotion.

Goldust On If He Wishes To Be ALL In

While ALL In will feature a number of big names including the likes of Kenny Omega, Kazuchika Okada and more, one of show’s promotors Cody Rhodes will surely miss the presence of his brother Dustin Rhodes.

Recently a fan asked Dustin, better known by his Goldust persona if he wishes to be ALL In and replying to it, the former WCW Star said that he does but will not be able to:

The reason why Goldust can’t appear at the show is unknown but it’s most likely that the WWE Officials would not allow the former Hardcore Champion.

Would you have liked to see him joining ALL In and teaming up with Cody at the show? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.

Cody Rhodes Rules Out Enzo Amore Appearing At All In

Andrew Ravens
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Fans who plan on attending the All In event will not have to speculate if Enzo Amore will be making a surprise appearance because Cody Rhodes has set the record straight.

Rhodes and The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) will present the event on September 1st at the Sears Centre in near Chicago, Illinois.

The former ROH World Champion recently conducted a Q&A session with fans on his official Twitter account, which led to a fan who was very persistent about the idea of the former WWE Cruiserweight Champion potentially appearing at this event.

Rhodes made it clear that Amore won’t be appearing as he wrote, “He’s not part of the show. 100%” and “No need to wait. I’m telling you now.”

Although Amore is focused on his rap career these days, he still plans to take indie booking for wrestling events. Amore parted ways with the WWE after rape allegations were made against him. If you recall, the WWE was not aware of the rape allegations against Amore until January of this year once the media reached out to them for comments once the allegations went viral on Twitter.

Amore denied the allegations were true. The reason that WWE cut ties with him is not due to an internal belief that Enzo was guilty, but over the fact that Enzo failed to notify officials that he was being investigated. It should be noted that the investigation against him has been closed and no charges were ever filed against him.

PWG Threemendous V Results

Andrew Ravens
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Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) was back in action this weekend as they held their Threemendous V event on Friday, July 13, 2018 at the Globe Theatre in Los Angeles, California in front of a sold-out crowd.

There were two big title matches featured on this card – WALTER successfully retained his PWG Title over Brody King in the main event as well as The Rascalz (Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz) successfully retaining the PWG Tag Team Titles over The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson).

Although PWG has the reputation of having some of the best wrestling in the world, it was noted by those who attended this event that there were no candidates for matches of the year, but every match was very good to great.

Here are the results, courtesy of Dave Doyle of F4Wonline.com:

Singles Match: Dalton Castle defeats David Starr

Singles Match: Rey Horus defeats Penta El Zero M

Singles Match: Jeff Cobb defeats Joey Janela

PWG World Tag Team Title Match: The Rascalz (Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz) (c) defeat The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson)

Singles Match: Rey Fenix defeats Trevor Lee

Singles Match: Matt Riddle defeats Marty Scurll

PWG World Title Match: WALTER (c) defeats Brody King

Possible Spoiler: Major Name Spotted In Vicinity Of Extreme Rules

Anutosh Bajpai
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With Extreme Rules PPV being just a few hours away, former WWE Star Hulk Hogan has made a move which is destined to start some strong rumors about his future with the company.

According to Pwinsider Hogan, along with Jimmy Hart flew to Cleveland, Ohio yesterday evening. What’s interesting to note here is that the city is just 2 hours away from Pittsburgh, PA, where the Extreme PPV is being held this year:

https://twitter.com/Adam_bio/status/1018299923756978177

While it’s hard to make anything out of this right now, we noted before how Hulk started talking to the company about a possible return before the Greatest Royal Rumble event in April earlier this year.

Although there is no news about the former World Champion being contacted for the PPV tonight since it’s WWE a possible return is never completely out of question.

It’s worth mentioning here that we don’t have knowledge of a publicly announced Hogan appearance near or in the city in the next few days.

As always, we’ll be having Live coverage of the Extreme Rules PPV on SEScoops tonight.

Final Card For Tonight’s WWE Extreme Rules

Andrew Ravens
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The card for tonight’s (Sunday, July 15, 2018) WWE Extreme Rules event has been finalized.

The company has yet to officially announce the main event of this event that takes place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at the PPG Paints Arena and will air on the WWE Network but it will most likely be Roman Reigns vs. Bobby Lashley in a singles match.

Other featured matches are AJ Styles defending the WWE Title against Rusev and Alexa Bliss defending the RAW Women’s Title against Nia Jax with Ronda Rousey sitting front row.

The New Day vs. SAnitY in a tables match and Sin Cara vs. Andrade Almas will take place on the pre-show.

As a reminder, We will be providing live play-by-play coverage of this special later tonight.

The Card

– WWE Champion AJ Styles vs. Rusev

– Roman Reigns vs. Bobby Lashley

– Steel Cage Match: Braun Strowman vs. Kevin Owens

– 30-Minute Iron Man Match: Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins

– SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Bludgeon Brothers vs. Team Hell No

– Extreme Rules Match: Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss vs. Nia Jax

– SmackDown Women’s Champion Carmella vs. Asuka – James Ellsworth in a shark cage

– Raw Tag Team Champions Bray Wyatt & Matt Hardy vs. The B Team

– United States Champion Jeff Hardy vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

– Finn Balor vs. Baron Corbin

– Tables Match (Pre-Show): The New Day vs. SAnitY

– Singles Match (Pre-Show): Sin Cara vs. Andrade Almas

What are your thoughts on this card? Sound off in the comment section.

Kurt Angle Reveals Which Extreme Rules Match He Is Looking Forward To

Anutosh Bajpai
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Kurt Angle often holds Q&A sessions from his official Facebook page and the Raw General Manager talks about various wrestling and non-wrestling related topics there.

He recently held another such session where he discussed the upcoming Extreme Rules PPV and revealed which feud he would book, among other things.

A fan asked Angle which feud he would book if he had full creative control. Answering it, the former Champion said that he would have booked AJ Styles vs. Seth Rollins because both of them are super hot right now.

When asked what Extreme Rules match he is looking forward to the most, the Raw General Manager said that he is excited about the Roman Reigns vs. Bobby Lashley match among others:

“Roman vs. Lashley. AJ vs. Rusev. And the cage match between Owens vs Strowman. They should all be great matches.”

Another fan wanted Kurt’s advice for a healthy and happy life to which he said that the fan should engage with his family more and do events with them.

Apart from this, Kurt Angle also commented on his ECW theme, which sports personalities he considered an idol while growing up and more. You can check out his post featuring the Q&A session below:

https://www.facebook.com/realkurtangle/posts/10157598458498047

Keith Lee Talks His Chances Of Being At Takeover: Brooklyn IV

Chris Stephens
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Keith Lee bid farewell to the independent scene at the end of May. He is believed to have signed a WWE deal at the beginning of the month, finished up his dates, and then appeared at Takeover: Chicago in June.

Since then, however, Lee has been out of action. He’s yet to have an official match since reporting to NXT. A fan on Twitter asked Lee if there was any chance he’ll find himself on the card for NXT Takeover: Brooklyn IV.

“There are many things to be considered, and many transitions to be made. I cannot make any guarantees at the moment. What I can *promise* you…however, is that I will do everything in power to be active as quickly as possible. And give my all as per usual.”

The show takes place the night before SummerSlam on Saturday, August 18th, 2018.

Keith Lee in WWE

The former PWG Champion has been wrestling since 2005. His career started to hit a real upswing in 2015, however, when he began competing for Ring of Honor. By 2017, he had become one of the most talked about athletes on the independent scene primarily because of the cult-like following he obtained in Pro Wrestling Guerilla.

Lee defeated Kassius Ohno at a WrestleMania Axxess event in April. It was widely believed after that WWE had a strong interest in him. Lee finished up his independent schedule in late May, concluding with a loss to Mia Yim on a Beyond pay-per-view show.

Bianca Belair Injured, Will Miss Mae Young Classic

Chris Stephens
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One of the faster-rising athletes in the NXT women’s division has just been placed on the injured list. Bianca Belair will miss the upcoming Mae Young Classic and a scheduled #1 contenders match with a back injury.

WWE’s Sarah Schreiber broke the news earlier today.

The update only stated that Belair was dealing with a back injury. There is no timetable for her return.

Bianca Belair Injured

Belair was scheduled to face Nikki Cross, Candice LeRae, and Kairi Sane in a fatal 4-way match to determine the new #1 contender for Shayna Baszler’s belt. With Belair removed, the match will now be contested under triple threat rules.

It is also not clear if this injury is legitimate or part of a storyline. Lars Sullivan’s reported broken jaw from Takeover: Chicago has since been reported as only part of a storyline. Belair and Montez Ford were married late last month and the injury angle could be a way to explain Belair’s absence from television due to a honeymoon. That is only speculation, however.

Bianca Belair in the Original Mae Young Classic

Belair defeated Sage Beckett in the first round of the Mae Young Classic last year. She lost to the eventual tournament winner, Kairi Sane, in the second round, however.

She has steadily moved up the rankings in NXT as well. At the moment, Belair is 7-0 in single’s matches on NXT programming. She has defeated Lacey Evans, Latoya Allsopp, Jessix Hill, Miss Drew Renee, Candice LeRae, Aliyah, and Dakota Kai.

Rich Swann Talks Impact Wrestling, Slammiversary, and Supportive Fans

Chris Stephens
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Rich Swann is becoming a major part of Impact Wrestling. Since debuting with the company at the recent television tapings held in Windsor, ON, Swann has become a part of the angle involving the Lucha Brothers, Sami Callihan, and oVe.

He is booked for the upcoming Slammiversary show next weekend as well. Swann will be part of a fatal 4-way with Taiji Ishimori, Fenix, and Johnny Impact. Swann is also a regular for the re-launched Major League Wrestling promotion. He’s booked on the upcoming Battle Riot event on July 19th, 2018 as well.

The former Cruiserweight Champion appeared on Interactive Radio recently and spoke about his run in Impact Wrestling so far, MLW, and the fan support he’s received since returning.

Rich Swann Talks Impact Wrestling Run

While Swann has not signed a long-term deal with Impact, he indicated on a recent media call that they are looking to work out an agreement.

“I think (Impact Wrestling) is an amazing company,” Swann said. “I’ve always followed it ever since I was younger. It has always been the company where you’re going to see pro wrestling. It is not just geared towards the entertainment. You’re going to see what people have been die-harding to see – That fast-paced, fight forever type style. That is what you’re going to get out of Impact. I love that.”

Swann also spoke about the supportive fan response he has received since arriving in Impact. “I’m very surprised, honestly,” he said in regards to the fan response. “When I had made my return to independent wrestling, a lot of people didn’t take too kindly to having me on the shows. I think once I was able to show my talents, people gave me, for lack of a better term, a second chance. I’ve taken that second chance and rolling with it and I’m not going to let anybody stop me no matter what they say and no matter what they do.”

There was an initial backlash against Swann when he returned to the independents following his arrest late last year. Following supportive comments from Su Yung, Impact Management and many of his colleagues, however, response to Swann has been back to positive.

“The people that have jumped on board, I’ve always said I greatly appreciate their support. I’ve grown up with these people, with these fans,” Swann continued. “Wrestling has been in my life since I was 16 years old. These people see that. I grew up with them in their eyes. For them to give me reactions like that means the world… You know?”

In terms of his Slammiversary match, Swann assures fans it will steal the show.

Becky Lynch Talks Pressure To Fit The “WWE Mold”

Chris Stephens
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Unlike many of the athletes Becky Lynch came through the developmental system with, her road to WWE was long and arduous. Lynch began wrestling at just 15 years of age but it wouldn’t be until 11 years into her wrestling career that WWE would sign her. In that time, she began to doubt if she was what the company was looking for.

The 31-year-old recently appeared on the Conversations with Maria Menounos show and spoke about the pressure she felt earlier in her career.

Becky Lynch on Fitting the “WWE Mold”

“I remember hearing from a woman who said, ‘They don’t want girls like us. They want fluff.’ And I remember thinking in my head, ‘Well let’s see about this.’ But, also being like, ‘Oh ok, well what do I got to do?’” Lynch said on the show. “So at that time everybody was just drop dead models, stunning, and looked phenomenal.”

Lynch worked numerous jobs while she chased her WWE dream. She worked as an airline attendant and also did stunt work on the show, Vikings.

“I thought if I looked like a fitness model maybe I’ve got a better chance of getting hired,” Lynch continued. “So that’s why I got into bodybuilding and with that, of course, I didn’t do it properly. I didn’t really know what I was doing….and I just dropped so much weight and I didn’t have the energy and with that your mood changes…everything changes and gets messed up.”

She would continue to say the early frustrations in her career led to depression.

“I was going into depression and lack of self-belief more than anything,” Lynch said. “That lack of self-belief can be so detrimental to anybody in any field…they just throw away their art and what they’re good and what they’re meant to do because they just don’t believe in themselves.”

Lynch would also credit Dusty Rhodes for helping her have more confidence. “If it wasn’t for Dusty Rhodes believing in me a lot of the times, I wouldn’t be here.”

transcriptions via WrestleZone

Daniel Bryan: I’ll Likely Re-Sign With WWE

Chris Stephens
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Much has been made of Daniel Bryan’s WWE contract expiring later this year. September 1st is believed to be the final date on his current deal with the company. Based on comments he made during WWE’s recent stop in Tapei, however, Bryan won’t be leaving the company anytime soon.

“The wrestling world is an interesting world right now,” Bryan said. “But I love working with WWE and my wife (Brie Bella) is a part of WWE and so there’s a good chance I’ll re-sign.”

“The drive is always to do something better,” he continued. “I want to create a performance next that’s better than any performance I’ve ever done. And when you talk about that, you talk about the high points of my career like main-eventing Wrestlemania 30. That’s the highest you can really get. How do you create things that are as creatively, mentally and emotionally satisfying as that? And that is what I am in the pursuit of.”

Daniel Bryan Likely To Re-Sign With WWE

The 37-year-old also spoke about his upcoming title match at Extreme Rules. Bryan will team with Kane to challenge the Bludgeon Brothers for the Smackdown tag-team Championships.

“I love teaming with Kane,” Bryan said. “When we were tag team champions in the past, that was really one of the most fun parts of my career and so I’m looking forward to getting back with him and doing it.”

When asked, however, Bryan said there aren’t too many youngsters on the Smackdown roster for him to pass his knowledge down to.

“It’s weird. We actually don’t have many young guys on SmackDown,” Bryan said. “Most of them are in their 30s. Almost everyone with the exception of Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas are in their 30s and Andrade has been wresting since he was 15 years old. When you wrestle with people, you learn from wrestling with them and when you talk to people, you’re learning without specifically coming up to somebody and saying, ‘Hey, what do you think about this?’ Just within the process of wrestlers talking, we’re learning about each other’s ideas, about what we are doing, and doing matches with each other. I think everyone is constantly learning within our industry.”

Ian Carey and Jake Jeremy Predict The G1 Climax: Night 2

Jake Skudder
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New Japan Pro Wrestling’s annual G1 Climax is widely regarded as the greatest tournament in pro wrestling today. Two blocks of competitors will compete 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 made their predictions for Night 2 of the tournament, which takes place this Sunday July 15th.

(You can check out the Predictions for Night 1 here)

Ian Carey – So we have night 2 in the B Block – Omega vs Naito in the main event
so this is interesting because hints have been dropped by both sides that an LIJ vs Bullet Club feud is coming

Jake Jeremy – Wouldn’t they want to do a Firing Squad vs Elite feud first?

Ian Carey – Omega making that comment about how the Japanese wrestlers don’t go to the gym as much as the others on the roster. That was all to build to an eventual rivalry
they are doing that first but this will come after
it could be a year from now, it could be longer, but eventually

Jake Jeremy – So who wins? Can Omega really lose this quick?

Ian Carey – Kevin Kelly was mentioning on commentary how Evil and Naito got upset at that. I think Omega wins but enough Naito is somehow kept strong/I think Naito is winning the block though and I imagine Omega is going to drop matches to Tama Tonga and Kota Ibushi

Jake Jeremy – So you have an Okada vs Naito final?

Ian Carey – Exactly, i know Okada’s on a losing streak but i think he turns it up and comes back to win the block

Jake Jeremy – Ok so the matches are:
Juice Robinson vs Tama Tonga
Hirooki Goto vs SANADA
Tomohiro Ishii vs Toru Yano
Kenny Omega vs Tetsuya Naito
Kota Ibushi vs Zack Sabre Jr

Ian Carey – Speaking of Tama Tonga; I have him beating Juice which may set up a US title match down the line except I also figure Tonga is going to beat Omega and get a heavyweight title shot…anyway here’s my predictions for Night 2:

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

Jake Jeremy – I’m seeing Tama taking the win as well. I know that Juice is the new US Champion but Firing Squad are the ‘in thing’ right now

Ian Carey – How Zack Sabre Jr does this tournament should be interesting, they’ve sort of established this year that he can beat anyone…he used a Michinoku Driver in his tag match today for the win (Night 1)

Jake Jeremy – Zack Sabre Jr won the PROGRESS Super Strong Style 16, he’s won wXw 16 Carat Gold and he’s won PWG’s Battle of Los Angeles I think?

Ian Carey – He won the New Japan Cup and beat Okada a couple of weeks ago…In other words, he’s glad he didn’t sign on to be a part of 205 live

Jake Jeremy – Of course, I forgot about the cup! So here’s my predictions for Night 2

  • Tama Tonga beats Juice Robinson (I think this might be via DQ)
  • SANADA beats Hirooki Goto
  • Tomohiro Ishii beats Toru Yano
  • Kenny Omega beats Tetsuya Naito
  • Zack Sabre Jr beats Kota Ibushi

Jake Jeremy – I think that the only difference we have is Yano!

Ian Carey – B Block is going to be more fun to follow I think

So here’s the full predictions:

Ian Carey

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

Jake Jeremy

  • Tama Tonga beats Juice Robinson (I think this might be via DQ)
  • SANADA beats Hirooki Goto
  • Tomohiro Ishii beats Toru Yano
  • Kenny Omega beats Tetsuya Naito
  • Zack Sabre Jr beats Kota Ibushi

What are your predictions for Night 2? Let us know in the comments.

Darryl Takahashi Updates Hiromu Takahashi’s Condition

Chris Stephens
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The inanimate toy cat of Hiromu Takahashi’s has sent out an update on the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion’s condition. Hiromu was dropped on his head during the G1 Special in San Fransico. It was reported he collapsed in the back after finishing the match and was taken to hospital.

Updates from New Japan Pro Wrestling on his condition have only stated he was conscious and sitting up in the hospital and has now flown back to Japan.

A Twitter post from Hiromu’s account appears to show Darryl Takahashi holding up a sign with an update from Hiromu.

Darryl Takahashi Updates Hiromu Takahashi’s Condition

While the sign states that Hiromu is fine, it also shows an illustration with his head severed from his body. So, it’s tough to know exactly what they are trying to communicate here.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter also noted he heard that Hiromu will not require surgery, which is also a positive sign.

IWGP United States Champion, Juice Robinson, also commented on Hiromu’s injury recently. Robinson made his comments during an appearance on Jim Ross’ podcast.

“When you hear broken neck people think (the person is paralyzed) but that’s not with every broken neck,” Juice said. “Hopefully his broken neck is just you know time off. Even though that still sucks but that beats the alternative. After seeing it, this is probably the best case scenario cause that looked like it could’ve been the last bump he ever took.”

Up until his injury, it had been a career year for Hiromu. He won the 2018 Best of the Super Juniors en route to winning the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship for the second time.

transcriptions via Mandatoryhttps://twitter.com/TIMEBOMB1105/status/1018007355957506053

Dolph Ziggler: 11.5 Out Of 12 Years I Was Doing Everything I Could…

Chris Stephens
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Dolph Ziggler recently appeared on Lillian Garcia’s “Chasing Glory” podcast. Some of the more noteworthy comments he made during the appearance had to do with pitching ideas to WWE creative.

The topic of WWE Superstars who are not in angles or major storylines came up. Some feel it’s on Superstars to pitch ideas and angles to creative and not doing so is the reason they aren’t on television. Ziggler disagrees with this point of view.

“That’s not true, not at all,” Ziggler said. “11.5 out of 12 years I was doing everything I could, pitching ideas, having guys like Shawn Michaels tell me how awesome I was. I got to a point where I said to Shawn, ‘I’m going to go out here in this dark match and you tell me why the hell I’m not on TV kicking ass.’ He goes, ‘Ah Ok.’ I had the match, came to the back and he said, ‘Yeah, I don’t know.’ So, I got to a point where I was so fed up and that’s years ago. So, it happens.”

Dolph Ziggler on Lillian Garcia’s Podcast

Ziggler also spoke about how he can only worry about what he puts into something and now what WWE ultimately decides to do.

“I always told myself, ‘Do everything you possibly can. Don’t have something like, ‘I wish I would have told Vince [McMahon] this,” Ziggler said. “I wish I would have represented myself this way. I wish I would have pitched this idea. I wish I would have done this one extra thing where I hit the gym a little harder and look better on TV’…I hit every aspect I could so the frustration is it’s a little on yourself because maybe somebody hates me from eight years ago and they bring it up at every meeting. I have no idea; but, I’ve done everything I can…If you’ve done everything you can and creative has nothing for you sometimes they have nothing for you. Sometimes it’s personal. Sometimes it’s not.”

Fans telling Ziggler it’s his fault he’s not in major angles was also brought up on the show.

“People who tell me that, a couple old timers, even Hall of Famers, they’re like, ‘That’s on you.’ I’m like, ‘No man,’” he continued. “Seven years ago maybe it is on me. Now they know how good I am. I know how good I am. It’s not all in my court there to put myself on the show.”

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