Home Blog Page 1644

Jim Cornette Remembers Vader

Jon Fuentes
-
1

Jim Cornette recently took to his podcast, The Jim Cornette Experience, and shared some memories of his good friend, Leon White (a.k.a. Big Van Vader), who recently passed away.

Cornette remembered the hilarious interview with Vader and The Undertaker where the former WCW World Champ went nuts on the interviewer for making some disrespectful comments:

“Leon and The Undertaker, a rare appearance on any kind of talk show for The Undertaker on a talk show but they were in Kuwait. It was a big tour, it was a sold tour for a lot of money. They were being interviewed on one of the morning news shows like ‘Good Morning Kuwait’ I think actually might have been the title of it or whatever the host just, actually said to the side some blatantly disrespectful stuff to the guys sitting there about how he thought that wrestling was all fake and a show.

“Whereas Undertaker kinda sat back and was cool he didn’t say anything at first, Leon turned around and backhanded snatched that guy by his tie and his shirt and I’d had Leon snatch me when he was working and he’d yank all your chest hair out and it was stiff and the guy just s–t himself. Leon cut a little promo on him and let him go and kinda just pushed the little coffee table over and everything. They detained him.

“I guess some people would remember, some might not have been alive it was over twenty years but they detained him in Kuwait. After the tour was over all the guys left and were glad to get on the plane to come home and they kept Leon for a while deciding what to do. There was daily reports being called in. Vince called him ‘our man in Kuwait.’

“You know he stuck up for the business I think more than I would’ve in Kuwait if I would’ve been there, but finally, they let him go. I can’t remember if he paid a fine or whatever but they let him get back on the plane. You know that wasn’t necessarily the venue to protect the business but he did it. I admired him for that.”

Cornette then shared a story about Vader getting too close to some pyrotechnics while under the stage and becoming disoriented:

“At the Raw tapings in the 90’s during the Attitude Era, they started using all that pyro to open the show, right? I guess Leon I guess didn’t know exactly what time of night it was or the show was about to start but he walked under the stage where you could walk under the Raw stage and you could look out and see the crowd and the arena and the people.

“You could watch matches from under there, you know if you peeked through the curtain people couldn’t see ya. So it was something people did every once in a while but not right at the start of the show because they’re about to blow all the pyro off on top of the stage. He walked under the goddamn stage and nobody saw him or caught him and he was peeking out at the crowd and the building when suddenly they blew this s–t off right on top of him.

“All of a sudden several of the boys were sitting backstage and they see Leon come back out from under the stage and he’s holding his head in both hands and he’s swerving from left to right like in the cartoons, right? Like he couldn’t figure out which was he’s gonna fall down. He drops to his knees and he couldn’t hear, people were screaming: ‘Leon! You okay?!’ Anyway, it was a famous moment there and poor Leon finally he could hear later on but god o mighty. I can’t imagine — it would’ve been like being shelled in the military.”

You can listen to The Jim Cornette Experience by clicking this link here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvdOyGWjDN4

H/T 411Mania for the transcriptions

Cody Explains Why He’s Not Participating In The G1 Tournament

Jon Fuentes
-
0

Ring Of Honor (ROH) and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) star Cody Rhodes recently participated in a media conference call to promote the G1 Special Tournament. Cody will challenge IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega at the event for his title.

“The American Nightmare” first talked about what it would mean for him to win the ROH World Heavyweight Title before he heads into his IWGP match against Omega:

“As far as the Ring Of Honor World title heading into the G1 Special, I have these title matches. I have the Ring Of Honor one at Best In The World: Baltimore [Maryland], June 29th [2018], the day before my birthday.

“July 7th [2018] on AXS TV, what we’re talking about today, I have the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. And then, at All In, the show I’m executive producing, I have the NWA World’s Championship title match. So the world is not enough for someone like me. The character you see in the screen is very not… there’s not much difference. I think that might disappoint some people, I’m a bit of a dick in real life. And I don’t want to go 0-3. I don’t want to go 1-3. I don’t want to go 2-3.

“I want to go 3-3. I want to take this completely and it would mean a great deal to show up at Bay City [California], The Cow Palace, on AXS TV as Ring Of Honor Champion. And I think it would also be really good for Ring Of Honor. The Dalton Castle experiment didn’t pay off and this is my opportunity to get back to where I was because as their Champion, and even not as their Champion, I’ve continued to grow their business.

“And they’re very grateful for it and I’m very grateful for them. It’s an opportunity for me. But yeah, I’d very much like to show up and be able to hold my title up alongside [Omega’s] and see where it gets us.”

Cody then talked about wanting to compete in the G1 tournament this year. Unfortunately an acting gig presented a scheduling conflict. He promised he’d be in the G1 tournament next year or the year after:

“I would’ve wanted to be in the tournament this year, but there’s this other part of my life that’s not [pro] wrestling and that’s… I’ve been working to break into acting a little further. I had my guest roles in a couple of past seasons [of Arrow] and there was something I was able to accrue or book.

“It hasn’t been announced yet and that’s eating up my schedule. I actually don’t have a day off until the Wednesday before All In. After, I think I start July 1st [2018] and then go all the way till the Wednesday before All In. No days off at all.” Cody added, “that was the reason I wasn’t able to be in the G1. I think, I’ll just guarantee it. I’ll Joe Namath it.

“I will absolutely be in the G1 if not next year, the year after that. I give you my word. I’ll be in the G1. If I have to move Heaven and Earth to do it, I will compete in one. I’ve seen the importance of it.”

You can listen to Cody’s media conference call by clicking this link here.

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

Huge NXT News Reportedly Coming Soon

Jon Fuentes
-
12

WWE is making big moves in regards to their broadcasting in 2019.

Shortly after this was made official, rumors began to go around indicating that a big change could be coming for NXT as well. It appears that might just be true. Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet reports that there have been discussions of putting NXT on FS1. Satin says the announcement is “imminent”:

https://twitter.com/ryansatin/status/1012442234472370177?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1012442234472370177&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwnerd.com%2Fbig-announcement-reportedly-coming-about-nxt-soon%2F

Brad Shepard of Bodyslam.net confirmed the news as well, claiming that the deal was done last week, and the announcement should be made no later than next week:

https://twitter.com/TheBradShepard/status/1012462328493862912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1012462328493862912&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwnerd.com%2Fbig-announcement-reportedly-coming-about-nxt-soon%2F

This is huge news for NXT, which will now be available to a much larger audience should the news prove to be true. It should be interesting to see what kind of success the program has on FS1.

It should also be noted that Shepard teased the return of Saturday Night’s Main Event to Saturdays on FOX. We’ll keep you updated as we learn more…

Discussion: What do you think about NXT potentially being broadcasted on FS1? And the return of Saturday Nights Main Event on FOX?

Mick Foley’s One-Man Show Expected To Air On WWE Network

Andrew Ravens
-
1

It appears that another show involving Mick Foley will be added to the WWE Network.

Fans who attended the one-man show of the WWE Hall of Famer on Thursday night near Pittsburgh, PA noted that Jeremy Borash, who now works for the WWE, told the live crowd that this show will premiere on the WWE Network on Sunday, September 16th after WWE Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event goes off the air.

The show, which was held at the Mr. Smalls Theatre, featured a live Q&A as well as Nita Strauss performing Foley’s theme song as he came out to the stage.

This would mark Foley’s second show that will be available on the streaming service of the sports entertainment company.

The first season “Holy Foley,” which featured Foley, his daughter Noelle and the rest of the family, aired on the WWE Network in 2016 and lasted for ten episodes.

Is this a show that you would be interested in watching? Sound off in the comment section.

Vince McMahon’s Financial Commitment in XFL Expected to Reach $500 Million

Staff
-
1

Vince McMahon is going all in for the relaunch of he XFL.

The revamped league that is expected to return in February 2020 already received $100 million in funding from McMahon, who sold a swath of his stock in World Wrestling Entertainment to initially fund the XFL under his new brand Alpha Entertainment.

Now it appears that number was just a pittance compared to what McMahon expects to spend over the first three seasons of the XFL — assuming the league sticks around that long.

The first iteration of the XFL only went one season.

According to ESPN, McMahon told insiders that his investment in the XFL would likely be around $500 million over three seasons.

New XFL CEO and commissioner Oliver Luck explained that the $100 million that McMahon helped to relaunch the league wouldn’t be nearly enough to actually sustain the kind of financial commitment needed to fuel a new professional football endeavor.

“People were focused on the $100 million, but the truth is that doesn’t even get us to the 20-yard line,” Luck said in the interview.

The biggest chunk of the cost to run the league will go to the players’ salaries, which are expected to average around $75,000 per athlete on a 40-man roster. Some of the higher end players may end up with bigger contracts.

Add to that, McMahon and the XFL are also expected to pay out more than $10 million in the first season just for insurance premiums to cover the players’ injuries.

Luck added that finding an insurance carrier for the league was a top priority for McMahon after announcing that the XFL was coming back. That cost alone could continue to add cost with so few insurance companies willing to cover a sports league like the XFL.

By all accounts, McMahon is not only financially invested in the XFL but he seems committed to make the league work the second time around after the organization originally folded in 2001.

Marty Scurll Discusses Best In The World PPV, Creativity Of The Young Bucks

Andrew Ravens
-
0

Marty Scurll is preparing for one of the biggest matches of his career.

Ring of Honor holds their Best in the World PPV event tonight from Maryland, Baltimore at the UMBC Event Center. Scurll is involved in the show’s main event, a triple threat match involving Ring of Honor World Champion Dalton Castle and fellow Bullet Club member Cody Rhodes.

Scurll spoke with SI.com this week to promote the event and spoke about what it would mean for him to capture the ROH World Championship. He also addressed critics who have said he’s being ‘overlooked’ and lost in the shuffle of the title match. 

“I wouldn’t see myself as the “third man”. I’m the man that the fans want to see as Ring of Honor champion. It’s time. You can’t beat my popularity at Ring of Honor. It’s time for a change. The fans want a champion who can give them those matches and memories that last forever. One that can take them on a ride. Both Cody and Dalton are great wrestlers, but if we’re all brutally honest with ourselves, they can’t lace my boots.”

Scurll referenced the legendary title reigns of guys like Bryan Danielson and Nigel McGuinness, two men who stole the show every time they defended the gold. He doesn’t believe the ROH World Championship has had the prestige it once was and sees Best In The World as his chance to be the fighting champion fans crave. 

Scurll is a main character in the Being The Elite series. In this interview, he was asked what he has gained from his time on the show and the creativity of the Young Bucks.

“Wrestling is about connecting with the audience. Giving them a reason to care. Same reason I binge watch series on Netflix, because the stories and characters get me invested. It’s hard to get fans invested in just wrestling. Good wrestling will do that, but there’s lots of good wrestling these days. You have to be prepared to do more. To go the extra mile. Being The Elite is our platform. It’s our Monday Night Raw. You’re seeing our creativity and passion firsthand. There are no writers here, we’re not doing something we’re told to do. We’re the artists and we’re holding the paintbrushes.”

Do you think Marty Scurll will win the ROH World Championship Tonight ?

Joe Koff Talks ROH Best In The World Main Event, Potential Of Flip Gordon

Andrew Ravens
-
0

ROH COO Joe Koff is gearing up for the promotion’s next pay-per-view event.

The executive of the Baltimore-based promotion recently spoke with CageSideSeats to promote their Best in the World PPV event on Friday night in Maryland, Baltimore at the UMBC Event Center.

In this interview, he was asked about the main event of the show, which will see Dalton Castle defending his ROH World Title against Cody Rhodes and Marty Scurll in a Triple Threat Match. Some could say that this could be one of the bigger main events of the year so far for ROH and Koff would agree.

“I think it’s a big event. Every time we do a show, I always feel like the main event is the main event — that’s why it’s called that. We have two actually with the tag team titles, the Briscoes versus The Young Bucks. I think what’s interesting about this title defense this Friday night is both Cody and Marty have defeated Dalton Castle previously. And we’re not quite sure quite frankly about Dalton’s physical condition. He’s wrestling, he says he’s fine. Don’t want to doubt him. But I’ve watched him wrestle in Japan, I’ve watched him wrestle in England. I’ve seen title defenses here in America. He’s definitely laboring a little bit. I’m hoping he’s had enough rest, so he can be our champion and can compete like a champion.

So yeah, I think this is a big main event, because so many outcomes can come from it. Especially side stories with Marty an Cody. I think a good story will be told in that match.”

Exciting prospect Flip Gordon has a big match on this card as he is slated to take on Bully Ray. Koff sees Gordon as someone to keep an eye on going forward despite starting in the business just three years ago.

“I’m not sure I can say it better than you just said it. I probably would have said the same things. I think there is no cap on how good this guy can be. He is a natural. He’s a naturally gifted talent and very, very tough. And very, very eager to learn and better himself and I think his military background is very helpful, because I think they learn discipline and I think they learn structure and I think all of those things are important to anyone’s success. So, I really have high hopes and I think we all do.

I think the fans, they acknowledge it already. This is a tough, tough wrestler. And very, very skilled and very, very fast. I think he’s got a very big match on his hands this Friday and I’m interested to see how that plays out.”

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

Full List Of Wrestlers Who Attended WWE Tryouts This Week

Andrew Ravens
-
4

New details have emerged about who attended the recent WWE tryouts.

We noted earlier on the site that sports entertainment company held tryouts this week at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida to have wrestlers run drills that could determine who they may want to potentially sign to a developmental deal and place in the NXT system where they would compete on the third brand.

Although former Impact Wrestling stars Laurel Van Ness and Robbie E were the most notable names that attended the most recent tryouts, there were several other wrestlers and athletes who worked out.

PWInsider.com has confirmed the following list of talents that participated in WWE Performance Center tryouts:

– Former Impact Knockouts Champion Chelsea Green (Laurel Van Ness)

– Former Impact Tag Team Champion Robbie E

– Indie wrestler Max Castor

– Indie wrestler La Rosa Negra

– Former NFL player Terence Barnes

– Indie wrestler Blaster McMassive

– Indie wrestler Rory Gulak, brother to Drew Gulak

– Indie tag team 3.0, Shane Matthews and Scott Parker

– Former football player turned YouTube personality Brendan Griffin

– College football player Shaquille Powell

– Indie wrestler Jake Omen

– Indie wrestler Adam Payne

– Indie wrestler Wardlow

– Indie wrestler Max Castellanos

– Collegiate wrestler Jacob Kasper

– Former NFL player Dorin Dickerson

https://instagram.com/p/BkkyCmlgaRI/?utm_source=ig_embed

Bayley Posts Cryptic Message, No Way Jose Has Harsh Words For Mojo Rawley

Andrew Ravens
-
3

Bayley’s Message

Former WWE RAW Women’s Champion Bayley has posted a cryptic message on her official Twitter account that has led to some fans believing that it is about her ongoing storyline on WWE television with fellow former champion Sasha Banks.

As seen on this week’s episode of Monday Night RAW in San Diego, CA at the Valley View Casino Center on the USA Network, Bayley attacked Banks following their six-woman tag team match against The Riott Squad. She wrote the following:

No Way Jose Fires Back

No Way Jose recently did a Q&A session with fans on Twitter that led to him having some harsh words with Mojo Rawley and event went as far as calling out Rawley for a bit of hypocrisy. You can see the exchange here:

Kane Will Make WWE History If Team Hell No Wins At Extreme Rules

Andrew Ravens
-
6

Kane is in a position where he could make WWE history soon.

Kane made his return on this week’s episode of SmackDown Live in Ontario, CA at the Citizens Business Bank Arena on the USA Network after Daniel Bryan faced off with Luke Harper in the main event. Once Erick Rowan attacked Bryan to cause the DQ, Kane walked down to the ring to make the save.

Bryan and Kane will challenge Harper and Rowan for the SmackDown Tag Team Titles at Extreme Rules.

A Reddit user [u/LuckyGood0] recently noted that if Team Hell No wins the titles at this event then it would make Kane the first person to hold the World, WCW, WWE (RAW) and SmackDown Tag Team Championships.

The user also noted that “It would also be his 13th Tag Team title reign in WWE. With 12 reigns, he’s currently 2nd behind Edge (14) when it comes to all-time Tag team title reigns for individuals in the company.”

The Extreme Rules pay-per-view event takes place on Sunday, July 15, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at the PPG Paints Arena.

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

6 Takeaways From Impact Wrestling (6/28/18)

Chris Stephens
-
11

This week’s Impact Wrestling was the first to broadcast from Windsor, ON, Canada. The promotion continues to build toward their Slammiversary PPV on July 22nd from Toronto’s Rebel nightclub.

This week’s episode confirmed two new matches added to the card and built towards several others. This article breaks down the top 6 developments in Impact Wrestling from this week’s episode.

We’ll start things out with the LAX storyline, where Konnan has returned to confront King (aka Eddie Kingston). King took over a leadership position with the faction due to Konnan and Homicide’s absence.

Konnan Confronts King

“All warfare is predicated on deception. You think you’re playing me, I’m playing you” – Konnan to King

LAX may have won back the tag-team championships with King at their side but now that Konnan has returned things could get interesting. Konnan confronted King this week. He told LAX that King can’t be trusted as well. From Ortiz and Santana’s point of view, however, King has turned things around for the faction.

Diamante has already expressed concern that King has ulterior motives. Konnan says he has proof King can’t be trusted and he’ll reveal it shortly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twba5ieaEB4

Brian Cage Is Targetting Matt Sydal But Kongo Kong Is Targetting Him

Last week on Impact, Sydal defeated Cage via count-out after interference from Kongo Kong and Jimmy Jacobs. It’s clear Cage still has Sydal and the X-Division title in his sights, however.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue86JXlRo2E

This week on Impact, Sydal defeated Dezmond Xavier in a non-title match. After the match, Cage came down to ringside to confront Sydal. This brought out Kongo Kong and Jacobs who attacked Cage before he could get to the champion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jutIGsxA0cA

If Cage wants another shot at Sydal’s title, it looks as though he will have to go through Kongo Kong first. The machine will meet Jimmy Jacobs’ monster in single’s action next week.

If Cage gets through Kong, he could be granted another shot at Sydal. The match would likely be scheduled for Slammiversary.

Eddie Edwards Has Made An Enemy of Tommy Dreamer

Eddie Edwards is moving on from his rivalry with Sami Callihan. The feud with Sami seems to have sent Edwards spiraling to a dark place. Tommy Dreamer attempted to help him but Edwards is too far gone and now sees Dreamer as an enemy. In fact, Edwards’ delusions have grown so intense, he’s begun to believe Dreamer is involved with his wife.

This week on Impact, Edwards traveled to Philadelphia to confront Dreamer at a House of Hardcore show. He interfered in Dreamer’s match, caning him on the head with a kendo stick.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1ri3YNnmgU&frags=pl%2Cwn

Looks like we could get Eddie Edwards vs Tommy Dreamer sometime soon, possibly at Slammiversary.

Su Yung is Haunting Madison Rayne/Allie’s Back!

Madison Rayne opened up this week’s show and spoke on why she’s returning to the ring. She was interrupted by Tessa Blanchard, however. The two would meet later in the night in the main event.

On a previous episode of Impact, Rayne defeated Blanchard with a pinning combination. Many called the win an upset. She’d defeat Blanchard again tonight, however. This time she used a crucifix combination to get the win.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAFnQuf4zKg

Blanchard beat down Rayne after the match but was interrupted by Su Yung and her army of Zombie brides. The brides and Yung surrounded Raye after Blanchard made a timely escape.

Just when it looked like Yung was going to give Rayne her finisher, Allie returned and broke up the macabre scene.

Rich Swann Has Arrived in the X-Division

Rich Swann defeated Trevor Lee this week on Impact. It was just Swann’s second match for the promotion after having lost to Austin Aries at the Zero Fear PPV show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTprua3eK9Q&frags=pl%2Cwn

We asked Swann earlier this week what competing in the X-Division means to him.

“Oh man, I was such a fan,” Swann said of the early days of the X-Division. “Seeing guys like Frankie Kazarian, Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley, Sonjay Dutt, Jay Lethal.”

“Growing up aspiring to be a professional wrestler my size and stature that was one of my goals, if not the goal, to be in the X-Division to be in Impact, to get the X-Division championship,” he continued.

After Swann defeated Trevor Lee, it was revealed he will take on Fenix next week. Later in the show, it was revealed Swann will be part of a 4-way match at Slammiversary. His opponents will be Johnny Impact, Taiji Ishimori, and Fenix.

Sami Callihan vs Pentagon Jr Mask Vs Hair

Last week on Impact, oVe took on Pentagon and Fantasma. Callihan took it upon himself to interfere in the match and hit Pentagon in the head with his signature baseball bat.

This week on Impact, we traveled to a PCW Ultra show in Los Angeles, where Callihan attacked Pentagon. Along with the Crist brothers, Callihan unmasked Pentagon.

Later in the show, Pentagon would issue a challenge to Callihan for a Mask vs Hair match at Slammiversary.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sh0ru4dUCQ&frags=pl%2Cwn

Callihan didn’t take long to accept.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mTThSnWWmo&frags=pl%2Cwn

With that, arguably the biggest match for Slammiversary has been booked.

The updated card is now as follows:

  • Impact World Championship
    Austin Aries (c) vs Moose
  • Knockouts Championship
    Su Yung (c) vs Madison Rayne
  • Mask vs Hair
    Pentagon Jr vs Sami Callihan
  • Fenix vs Johnny Impact vs Rich Swann vs Taiji Ishimori

Nakamura Appears On Crutches, Gets Choked Out At #WWETokyo

Andrew Ravens
-
9

Shinsuke Nakamura is not competing at WWE’s live events from Japan this week, but he did get physical

At Friday’s WWE live event from Tokyo, Japan at the Ryogoku Kokugikan, Nakamura had a confrontation with Samoa Joe that did not exactly go his way.

Nakamura had been scheduled to challenge WWE Champion AJ Styles at the event, but is currently out of action due to injury. Nakamura came out on crutches to cut a promo for the Japanese crowd, which brought out Samoa Joe. After some trash talking back and forth, Nakamura attempted to hit Joe with a low blow, but wound up in a Coquina Clutch.

AJ Styles ran out to make the save, setting up the Styles vs. Samoa Joe main event for later in the show.

As noted earlier this week, Nakamura’s leg was bit by a police dog backstage at Monday’s SmackDown live event from Bakersfield, CA. It’s unclear at this time how long he’ll be out of action for.

WWE Live Event Results from Tokyo, Japan (6/30)

– The New Day defeated The Bar

– Hideo Itami defeated Shelton Benjamin.

– Tye Dillinger defeated Shelton Benjamin. Tye answered the open challenge by Benjamin.

– SmackDown Women’s Champion Carmella retained over Becky Lynch

– Andrade “Cien” Almas defeated Sin Cara

– Daniel Bryan defeated The Miz

– Asuka and Naomi defeated Lana and Billie Kay with Peyton Royce

– SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Bludgeon Brothers retained over The Usos, Rusev & Aiden English and Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows

– WWE Champion AJ Styles retained over Samoa Joe

What are your thoughts on Nakamura’s injury? Sound off in the comment section.

ROH Best in the World 2018 Lineup and Preview

Chris Stephens
-
1

Ring of Honor is back on pay-per-view tonight. Best in the World 2018 will also stream live for VIP Honor Club subscribers. The event will emanate from the UMBC Event Center (holds approx. 6000) from Catonsville, Maryland.

ROH Best in the World 2018 Lineup and Preview

ROH World Championship
3-Way Match
Dalton Castle (c) vs Cody vs Marty Scurll

Castle has held the title since December 15th, 2017 when he defeated Cody at Final Battle 2017. Tonight could easily be his last with the belt.

Scurll and Cody have not been on the same page as of late and competing for the World Title in the same match will not make things easier. This match could lead to a full-blown Cody and Scurll feud, although Cody has a lot of other things going on as well.

This will be the first of 3 big championship matches for Cody this summer. He will also challenge Kenny Omega for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at the G1 Special in San Francisco. He will then challenge for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on September 1st.

ROH World Tag Team Championships
The Briscoes (c) vs the Young Bucks

This match pits the most successful two tag-teams in Ring of Honor history against one another. Technically, the Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero and Cesaro) and reDragon (Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish) have held the tag belts longer than the Bucks, though nobody has held them longer than the Briscoes.

The Briscoes have adopted an anti-Bullet Club stance as of late. Now working as heels, this will be the most high-profile match yet featuring the Briscoes rivalry with the American faction of Bullet Club.

The Young Bucks are fresh off having won the IWGP heavyweight tag team championships in NJPW. They will have to defend those titles at the Cow Palace next weekend, however, against former champions, Evil and Sanada.

Flip Gordon vs Bully Ray

Bully Ray has been trying to take out all the lower-card and younger guys on the roster. He’s already bullied Cheeseburger and several other wrestlers.

Tonight, Flip will try and upset the veteran and maybe try and impress the All-In bookers in the process.

ROH 6-Man Tag Team Championships
The Kingdom (Matt Taven, TK O’Ryan, Vinny Marseglia) (c) vs Bushi, Evil, and Sanada

The Kingdom is the only 2-time holders of these titles. They have defended the titles more times than any other team as well. They are just 52 days away from breaking the Hung Bucks record for most combined days spent with the title.

LIJ has held 6-man gold in NJPW but never in ROH. In fact, no team from NJPW has ever won these titles. Tonight could easily be the first time it happens, however.

ROH World Television Championship
Baltimore Street Fight
Punishment Martinez vs Adam Page

Martinez won a 6-way proving ground match and then defeated Silas Young for the belt last weekend in Texas. He will be in tough against Page, who is still trying to win his first singles title in either ROH or NJPW.

Also Booked for the show:

  • Jay Lethal vs KUSHIDA
  • Kenny King vs Austin Aries
  • Sumie Sakai, Jenny Rose, Mayu Iwatani, and Tenille Dashwood vs Kelly Klein, Hazuki, Kagetsu, and Hana Kimura

Mask vs. Hair Match Announced For Slammiversary

Andrew Ravens
-
1

Two new matches have been revealed for the upcoming Slammiversary PPV event. As seen on this week’s episode of Impact Wrestling on Pop TV, Pentagon Jr. challenged Sami Callihan to a Mask vs. Hair match at Slammiversary after Callihan removed his mask on this show only to have Pentagon cover up his face immediately after.

The other match slated for this PPV is Rich Swann vs. Johnny Impact vs. Fenix vs. Ishimori in a Fatal 4-Way.

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 World Champion Austin Aries vs. Moose

– Impact Knockouts Champion Su Yung vs. Madison Rayne

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

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

Noelle Foley’s Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Tryout Video

Staff
-
12

Noelle Foley, WWE daughter of WWE legend Mick Foley, is hoping to land a spot in Sports Illustrated’s coveted ‘Swimsuit’ issue.

SI is running a contest on Instagram where women can use the hashtag #SISwimSearch and submit their ‘audition’ video in hopes of appearing in the magazine.

Noelle Foley’s audition video can be seen below. She posted an inspiring message with her submission talking about her struggle with attempting to break into the modeling industry.

“I’ve always wondered if I had what it takes to be in the pages of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit magazines so I’m shooting my shot,” Foley wrote.

“Over the years I’ve been denied hundreds of times by agencies across the US because I’m too big to be a typical model and too small to be a plus sized model. I want to help break that barrier in between that size gap and and show that every body type is beautiful. I would LOVE to be apart of the movement and continue to spread this amazing message around the world!!!”

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bkk1jWdgWhP/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=3d8ag049fe6m

Chris Jericho On His Future With New Japan, Vince Threatening To Fire Him & More

Staff
-
3

Chris Jericho was Sean Waltman’s guest on the latest episode of the X-Pac 1-2-360 podcast, which you can listen to at iTunes and Omny.fm.

Here are some highlights of what Chris Jericho said about:

The time Vince McMahon said he’d fire him if he didn’t have a good match with Sean Waltman:

“So when I got to WWE, I’d been working for 9 years and I’d been over in every company that I ever worked for so you know there’s certain guys like when Daniel Bryan came into the WWE I knew he’d get over no matter what. He’s been over everywhere he’s ever worked, he’ll figure it out and that’s what I did. I figured it out and it didn’t take long but there was a huge bullseye on my back and I smartened up to it very quickly.

And the other part of the story…what Vince told me was ‘you’re working with X-Pac tonight, if you don’t have a good match you’re fired.’ Which was a guillotine over my head… and then afterwards Vince was super cool, he pat me on the back, ‘hey pal, give me a call tomorrow and oh by the way every match that you have from now on run it past Sean Waltman first and make sure that it makes sense…In retrospect there’s a reason Vince did that. As we know Vince is a f***ing genius and we were peers but Sean you knew how to work that [WWE] style so he put me with you to figure out how to do it. I’m really happy he did that because I learned right away…That’s why Vince did it and it worked.

His match with Naito at NJPW Dominion:

“We went to the Dojo the day before and I had some ideas…but once again I was thinking more along the lines of what’s the story I want to tell? And here’s what I always go with, if I ever do a promo or match. What’s the vibe of this promo? What’s the vibe of this match? What’s the mood that I wanna set? Once I circled in on that then the rest just came together very quickly.

I wanted something that’s a little uncomfortable, a little bit stiff. Cause Naito’s style is tranquilo as his catchphrase, very laid back…I wanted a different Naito, I wanted a Naito that did give a shit and wanted to fight…That whole start of the match was his [Gedo] idea; attack him before the bell, attack him before he takes his suit off, put him through a table. Like I didn’t think of it that way… It sets the tone of being this super intense brawl.”

Working a Brock Lesnar-type schedule with New Japan and his future with the company:

“A lot more tales to tell with Chris Jericho in New Japan. And almost doing a Brock Lesnar type of schedule to where I am not there for every show but the ones that I am there for are now special cause Jericho is there. I didn’t expect to be doing more matches with New Japan as of January of this year and now that I’ve done another one and there’s a couple more in the pipeline I might decide to stay a little longer.”

Wanting to make his Rock ‘n Wrestling Rager Cruise an annual event:

“My schedule is ridiculous I’m not gonna have any fun at all, I am working the whole damn time but I have to sell this cruise, I have to make it a success. So you know wrestling fans are gonna have a great time, it might be a little bit crazy for the boys but it’s gonna be a fun experience for everybody because it’s people from all of the same mind set of really loving this certain art form of wrestling and rock n’ roll as well as love live comedy and love live podcasts all that sort of thing. It’s never been done before, I am taking a big chance but I had to do it and so far so good. My goal is for it to be an annual destination vacation. In year two, I’ve already got X-Pac 12360 on the docket for a live podcast if you could put up with it [laughs].”

The “WWE Style” of Wrestling:

“It’s all part of the learning process. Anytime you come into a new company it takes a while to figure it out. Now I always laugh when people say ‘WWE style? There’s no WWE style.’ Yes there is a WWE style, it’s a main event style, it’s how you really work. And anybody that comes through the system, it makes me laugh when you see guys from NXT that came from the indies that were super great and critically acclaimed…there’s always an adjustment period when you come into the WWE, I don’t care who you are – AJ Styles it was an adjustment, Bobby Roode or Samoa Joe or any of those guys … There is a way we work in WWE and once you can work that way you can take that style and work it anywhere on the planet and always have the best match on the show.”

How the wrestling business was different in the 1990’s:

“It was such a different business in the 90s. Even if it was only twenty years ago it might as well have been fifty years ago with the way the boys thought, the way the business was…it doesn’t even matter who the main event is anymore, whereas back in the 90s, if you were going to make the big money you had to be in the main event. And as a result, to stay in the main event there was a lot of political imagination going on behind the scenes to keep guys down or help guys out whatever it was. And those sorts of politics don’t really exist anymore.”

Backstage politics in WCW compared to WWE:

“When I came into WWE; it’s hard for people to actually believe this but at that time frame the wrestling war was real… there was a little bit of underlying heat amongst the boys if you came from WCW or vice versa. It’s just the way that it was. And so when I came into WWE… the first night I interrupted The Rock, I’m sure I had nuclear heat just by the fact that I was doing it. I was completely oblivious to that, knew really nothing of the politics that were going on. I was just doing my thing…”

Chyna having the stiffest forearm strikes:

“I remember the first real feud that I had was with Chyna. And [Vince McMahon] said to me, ‘Do you mind working with a woman?’ and I said ‘No I don’t mind, I’ll be happy too.’ And he goes ‘ I don’t want you to treat her with kid gloves, I want you to work with her like you would work with a guy. I don’t want you to pull any punches, I don’t want you to stiff her but do what you do.’ So I did that and I remember as a result she did get a little bit of a black eye once. By the way her forearm strikes were stiff as f***.”

You can listen to the full episode of X-Pac 1-2-360 with Chris Jericho below:

Former Impact Wrestling Stars Attend WWE Tryouts

Andrew Ravens
-
7

There were two former Impact Wrestling stars who attended WWE tryouts on Thursday.

The sports entertainment company holds tryouts throughout the year at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida to have wrestlers run drills that could determine who they may want to potentially sign to a developmental deal and place in the NXT system where they would compete on the third brand.

Those former Impact talents are Laurel Van Ness and Robbie E.

Van Ness, real name Chelsea Green, departed from the promotion after a set of Impact tapings in Ottawa, Canada in January. Green signed with the promotion back in June of 2016 where she would go onto having a successful run including being the Knockouts Champion.

Green does have a bit history with the WWE as she was part of the 2015 re-launch of Tough Enough where she finished up placing fourth place for the females and is currently dating Zack Ryder.

Robbie E had a successful run with Impact as he is a former Tag Team, X-Division and Television Champion. He signed with Impact back in 2010 and departed in 2017.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bkkrk_XgpvF/?taken-by=wwerecruit

https://www.instagram.com/p/BkkpuNEAjgm/?taken-by=wwerecruit

Jeff Hardy Still Working Through Injuries

Jon Fuentes
-
8

It looks like WWE United States Champion Jeff Hardy is still working through some injuries.

According to a report from Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE has been protecting Hardy by having him participate in short Fatal Four-Way matches at live events. The United States Champ has also been seen limping quite a bit during live shows as well.

Hardy began defending his United States Title against SAnitY member Eric Young on SmackDown Live earlier this week, however, that match turned into a Six-Man Tag Team match between Hardy and The Usos against SAnitY.

On a May 17th episode of SmackDown, Hardy injured his leg during his entrance. He has also been dealing with a nerve issue that has caused numbness in his fingers. There’s currently no news on if he expects to take time off to deal with these injuries.

Discussion: Do you expect Hardy to drop the US Title soon and take some time off?

Mick Foley Looks Back On His HIAC Match 20 Years Later

Jon Fuentes
-
3

WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley recently joined The Two Man Power Trip Of Wrestling podcast to talk about his “20 Years Of Hell” tour. Foley talked about his infamous Hell In A Cell (HIAC) match against The Undertaker which took place exactly 20 years ago today (Thurs. June 28, 2018):

“It is definitely cathartic to talk about it. I’m kind of finding out new elements about the match as we go. Especially since it was a match that I kind of ran from for so many years and did not want to talk about it but after a while and I guess in the same way that Adam West came to terms that he was Batman and I know there are some other actors that have kind of felt pigeonholed, I didn’t want to be known for just that one thing.

“But after it awhile it was like maybe this isn’t the worst thing to be known for but it has been really cathartic to discuss it and I can honestly say that these have been the most fun shows and the best shows that I have done.”

Foley then talked about what was going through his head while being tossed down off the top of the cell by The Undertaker, before crashing into the announce table below:

“It’s funny because in the show I only curse once. It is like a two-hour show with a Q and A and I curse one time. But it turns out that I think in curses and that all I was doing was dropping f-bombs to myself before and after. It was what the BLANK was I thinking? And you’ve got to be BLANKING kidding me?

“It is why I was so glad when (Chris) Jericho’s Book “A Lion’s Tale” came out he talked about wanting to do something from the top (of the Cell) but when he went up there earlier in the afternoon {which I didn’t do or otherwise we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now} and he said the people down below looked like ants and I’m not exaggerating, they looked like ants and I thought to myself that is exactly what they looked like.

“If I could have thought of a graceful way to climb down the cell structure without ruining my career, I believe I would have done it.”

Joe Koff Reveals Long-term Plans For ROH Dojo

Jon Fuentes
-
0

Ring Of Honor (ROH) is gearing up for their Best In The World pay-per-view (PPV) tomorrow night (Fri. June 29, 2018), which will feature some of the promotion’s biggest names.

ROH COO Joe Joff recently took part in a media call to promote the event, and was asked about the ROH dojo which is grooming the promotion’s stars of tomorrow. When asked for the long-term plans for the dojo, Koff said that he’s more focused on the short-term.

Koff explained the promotion’s priority is identifying talent in order to bring them over to TV or their digital network:

“I’d like to look ten years ahead but I think we’ll just focus on the next twelve to eighteen months,” Koff said. “What I’m hoping for what our expectation is identifying talent that we can bring pretty quickly to over the air TV or our digital network.

“We’re just looking to just bring talent through. Identify them from their local promotions or other places give them training and give them the opportunities. Understand the Ring Of Honor brand, understand the Ring Of Honor style so they get better before they’re seen in the bigger matches on TV or pay-per-view.”

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

Latest On Ronda Rousey’s WWE Schedule, WWE Money In The Bank Timing Note

Andrew Ravens
-
2

An update on the schedule for Ronda Rousey as well as a note on the timing of WWE Money in the Bank has surfaced.

Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that days before the Money in the Bank show, the media was told that the goal was a 10:30 p.m. finish, which would also be for all PPV events going forward aside from Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Survivor Series.

Thus, it would give WWE a cushion to go to 11 p.m. The PPV event ended up going off the air at 11:20 p.m. It was noted that at one point, the plan was for Alexa Bliss to cash-in her MITB briefcase at the end of the show, which means that Rousey vs. Nia Jax for the RAW Women’s Title would have been the main event.

Switching gears to Rousey’s schedule, there have been some changes.

As noted, Rousey attacked Bliss on a recent episode of RAW and was later “suspended” for 30 days as a result of her actions. Rousey is expected to be back on television next month to start the build for her match at the upcoming SummerSlam pay-per-view event.

WWE has yet to officially announce when Rousey would wrestle Bliss but the expectation is that this match will happen sooner rather than later.

Meltzer noted that she is off the July 9th episode of RAW in Boston. Although at one point she was pulled from the July 16th show in Buffalo, she is back to working that event.

What’s interesting is that she is still scheduled to appear at the July 15th PPV event in Pittsburgh in some form whether that means she’s wrestling or just making an appearance remains to be unknown at this time.

Despite the fact that she was advertised for this week’s episode of Monday Night RAW in San Diego, CA at the Valley View Casino Center, she didn’t appear. She is still scheduled for all the live events she’d been advertised for.

What are your thoughts on Rousey’s schedule? Sound off in the comment section.

Reason Why Cruiserweights Are No Longer Featured On WWE RAW

Andrew Ravens
-
15

As seen over the past several months, WWE has stopped using 205 Live Superstars on RAW.

For years now, the sports entertainment company has considered Monday Night RAW as their flagship show. With WWE continuing the trend of rebranding the 205 Live division, some fans were surprised that they would pull cruiserweight matches from RAW.

The reason that WWE stopped featuring 205 Live Superstars on RAW is due to WWE’s strategy to try and change the perception of the cruiserweight division.

According to a report by PWinsider.com, the decision made by the sports entertainment company was when Triple H took over as the 205 Live showrunner as he is in charge of the brand.

Thus, this way it would keep the Superstars from being overexposed and to make sure they were kept in a position where they could be protected.

What are your thoughts on the way WWE presents its 205 Live Superstars? Sound off in the comment section.

Gene Snitsky Retires From Wrestling

Jon Fuentes
-
7

Former WWE Superstar Gene Snitsky has announced his intentions to retire from professional wrestling.

Snitsky, who’s real name is Eugene Alan Snitsky, is likely best known for his WWE run between the years 2004 and 2008. Most notably Snitsky had a feud with Kane that involved Lita in the storyline as well, which was heavily featured on Monday Night RAW at one point.

After his WWE release Snitsky has been keeping busy working the independent circuit as well as a brief run with TNA in 2014. The 48-year-old recently took to Instagram and announced he plans to retire after a few more shows in order to spend more time with his girlfriend and focus on weight training.

Here’s what he had to say:

“Only gonna do a few more shows!!!!! I’ve decided to move on and focus more on other things like @carianneb1 for instance…. And ofcourse weight training and appearances just no more in ring competition lol…..”

“I’ve been losing the love over the last few yrs and honestly don’t like the way wrestling is going….. Just wanna thank all my fans…. for without you there would never have been a SNITSKY!!!! I truly love my fans and always will…… Thx for taking the time to watch me perform it means the world to me!!!!!”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BkVpyR1FJ3s/

Sasha Banks Admits Thinking Ronda Rousey Signing ‘Wasn’t Fair’ At First

Jon Fuentes
-
7

WWE Superstar Sasha Banks was recently a guest on CBS Sports’ In This Corner podcast to talk about several professional wrestling topics. One such topic was the current WWE run and success of former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey.

Rousey debuted in WWE back in January after the first ever Women’s Royal Rumble and confronted Asuka, Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair before pointing to the WrestleMania 34 sign. She’d go on to The Show Of Shows to team up with WWE Hall Of Famer and RAW General Manager Kurt Angle to defeat Stephanie McMahon and Triple H in Mixed Tag Team competition.

Just a few months later Rousey made her singles debut against Nia Jax with the RAW Women’s Title on the line at the Money In The Bank (MITB) pay-per-view (PPV). Rousey seemed like she was on the verge of winning the title, before Ms. Money In The Bank Alexa Bliss attacked both women and cashed-in her briefcase to win the RAW Women’s strap.

Banks has been pleasantly surprised with Rousey’s run in WWE thus far, saying The Rowdy One has been “killing it” inside the ring and she has thoroughly enjoyed watching her matches:

“She had been killing it. She’s proven all the doubters wrong, and it’s so crazy to see her matches,” said Banks. “I’m like 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 and I am so impressed, and I hope I get to wrestle her in the future and I’m really excited for her here in the WWE and she really has been killing it.”

The Legit Boss admitted that she had her reservations about the Rousey-WWE signing at first, saying “When I first heard that she was gonna be here, I was a little like, ‘huh, that’s not really fair.”

Now, however, Banks sees that Rousey has proven herself worthy to be in the position she’s currently in with the company, and is excited to have Rousey in WWE.

You can listen to Banks on the In This Corner podcast by clicking this link here.

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

Jim Ross On Calling Cody Rhodes vs. Kenny Omega At G1 Special

Jon Fuentes
-
0

WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross recently spoke with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Good Ole’ JR first talked about getting to call Cody Rhodes vs. Kenny Omega at the upcoming G1 Special in San Francisco:

“Kenny is so cerebral and makes his matches so different. He and Cody have some characteristics that are compatible, but they also have some very different traits. The story they’re going to tell is going to be so well told. They are two of the best in the game. They’re going to mix all those ingredients into a hell of an entrée on July 7.”

“They’re both in their 30s, they’ve both paid their dues, they’re not new kids on the block. They have the chance to close the show on a live, free national broadcast. There is a lot of opportunity for positive exposure. They just need to get it done, bell-to-bell. It should be absolutely off the hook.”

Ross then explained why he thinks that Will Ospreay could be professional wrestling’s next big breakout star:

“Ospreay is the next breakout star, but only if he can stay healthy. He has a great upside, without any question, but the questions concern the style and how he works. Calling his matches, I’ve seen him get up after I thought he hurt himself or broke something in his body. At some point, you don’t need a medical degree to figure out the fact that when you take bumps on surfaces that were never intended to be bumping surfaces, and you do it for too long, the cumulative effect is going to be negative.

“He has a great imagination and he’s a great improvisationalist, and he’s really good with strikes and submissions. So if he leaned a little more on the other aspects of ‘The Aerial Assassin’–he doesn’t have to do a moonsault to the outside to be an aerial assassin, he just needs to land on a surface that will half-ass welcome your body to it.

“He’s got some size, he’s a real keeper, but I do worry about the number of risks he takes on any given tour. I hope I’m wrong, because he is so entertaining and wonderfully creative, and he’ll be a big, big star if he stays healthy. It’s up to guys like myself and Josh Barnett, or Don Callis and Kevin Kelly, to make sure we don’t make him known for only one thing in taking risks. Sometimes the talent believe what you say about them, and they continue down that road, which has a very unfortunate but inevitable destination.”

You can read Ross’ full interview with Sports Illustrated by clicking this link here.

1...1,6431,6441,645...3,404Page 1,644 of 3,404