This coming Monday (June 18th), 2K will hold a ‘virtual press conference’ to announce the Cover Superstar for this year’s WWE 2K19 video game. The press conference will stream online via 2K’s website and social media channels at 11am ET.
Recent Cover Superstars have included Seth Rollins, Brock Lesnar, The Rock, Steve Austin and John Cena.
Discussion: Who do you think will be this year’s Cover Superstar(s)?
Here’s the official press release sent in by 2K:
2K to Announce WWE 2K19 Cover Superstar During Virtual Press Conference on June 18th
2K today announced that it will host a virtual press conference on Monday, June 18 to unveil the cover Superstar for WWE 2K19, the forthcoming release in the flagship WWE video game franchise. In addition to delivering remarks, the WWE 2K19 cover Superstar will reveal groundbreaking news about the new video game before hosting a Q&A session.
Cover selection for the WWE 2K franchise is a highly coveted honor, with past cover Superstars including Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, John Cena, Stone Cold Steve Austin, current WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar and, most recently, current WWE Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins.
Details surrounding the WWE 2K19 Press Conference are as follows:
· WHEN: Monday, June 18, 2018 at 11:00 a.m. EDT / 8:00 a.m. PDT;
· WHERE: WWE.2K.com and WWE 2K Channels on Twitch, YouTube and Facebook.
Developed collaboratively by Yuke’s and Visual Concepts, a 2K studio, WWE 2K19 is not yet rated by the ESRB. WWE 2K19is currently scheduled for worldwide release in Fall 2018. For more information on WWE 2K19 and 2K, visit wwe.2k.com, become a fan on Facebook, follow the game on Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #WWE2K19 or subscribe onYouTube.
Impact Wrestling tonight will feature an X-Division Championship match. Brian Cage, who is undefeated for the promotion, will challenge X-Division champion, Matt Sydal. Moose and Eli Drake will also clash with the winner receiving a title shot against Austin Aries at Slammiversary.
The promotion is beginning the build to their Slammiversary pay-per-view on July 22nd, 2018 from Toronto’s Rebel nightclub.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvR_0EeKaKk
Impact Wrestling (6/14/18) Preview
X-Division Championship Matt Sydal (c) vs Brian Cage
Cage earned this match by defeating Dezmond Xavier on a previous episode of Impact.
Lately on Impact, the promotion has been showing footage of Cage wrestling from promotions all around the world. He’s wrestled for companies such as Destiny, World Series of Wrestling, and Pro Wrestling NOAH.
Sydal most recently defended the title successfully against El Hijo Del Fantasma. He won the title from Taiji Ishimori, who is also booked for Slammiversary despite now wrestling for NJPW as well.
NO DQ Tessa Blanchard vs Kiera Hogan
Two women in their early-20s just starting to get their careers going will clash tonight with no DQ.
Blanchard wants to bounce back from her recent loss to Madison Rayne.
ImpactWrestling.com notes the winner of this match could be in a position to challenge Su Yung for the Knockouts title.
Eli Drake vs Moose
The winner of this match will earn the right to challenge Austin Aries for the Impact World Championship at Slammiversary.
As for the champion, he is likely still on vacation this week. That’s where Aries was last week when Josh Matthews conducted a Skype interview with him.
Aries has been on vacation since defeating Pentagon Jr for the Impact World Championship at Under Pressure.
Also booked for tonight’s show:
Jake Crist vs El Hijo Del Fantasma
Update on the mystery attacks in the back
Fallout from Sami Callihan and Eddie Edwards’ “Fight in the Woods”.
Zero Fear Friday
Also in Impact news, the company’s One Night Only PPV event “Zero Fear Friday” airs tomorrow. That show featured Austin Aries facing Rich Swann, Sami Callihan vs Josh Alexander, Matt Sydal vs Dezmond Xavier, Su Yung vs Katarina, Madison Rayne vs KC Spinelli, and Eddie Edwards vs Trevor Lee.
Earlier this month, James Ellsworth denied reports he was possibly due to return to WWE. According to Ellsworth, he had a booking in China that day which confirmed he would not be at Money in the Bank.
There are now reports that Ellsworth has cancelled his booking in China for this weekend.
As recently as June 11th @realellsworth was promoting his appearance in China on Twitter, this morning I wake up to this posted to the English-language @MKWwrestling fan group chat by MKW's owner. V. Uncool. pic.twitter.com/LsznC3Bdmx
“James Ellsworth was scheduled to appear this weekend (June 16/17, 2018) in Harbin, China as part of Middle Kingdom Wresting presents Eyes on the Prize and an MKW Meet N Greet party. This booking has been in place since February.
James Ellsworth informed us last night that he will not be travelling to China. This news came after repeated attempts by MKW management to contact Ellsworth over the last six days to confirm travel arrangements.”
After speculation was running that Ellsworth would be at the event in Chicago this weekend, Ellsworth denied the claim. He played a major role in the event last year, however, helping Carmella win the first-ever female Money in the Bank match.
Ellsworth was officially released from his WWE contract in November of last year. He had been with the company full-time for 14 months at that point. Before then, he had been used as enhancement talent in the summer of 2016 shortly after the brand extension.
Ellsworth is said to have been popular and well-liked backstage. His Inter-gender championship act on the independent circuit has also received positive reviews.
Longtime pro-wrestling journalist, historian, and expert, Dave Meltzer, confirmed today that Kenny Omega vs Kazuchika Okada from Dominion last weekend was the greatest match he has ever seen. He awarded the match 7-stars out of what was originally only a possible 5.
All four matches between Omega and Okada have received a 6-star or higher rating from Meltzer.
While assigning a rating or score to a match is controversial, Meltzer’s rating system is the most high-profile of its kind.
Meltzer began reviewing matches with a star-based system back in the tape-trading era. For those unaware, this pre-internet period involved fans connecting via ads in wrestling magazines. Fans would tape (with a VCR) their local shows and mail them to fans outside of the market. Tape trading allowed fans to keep up with promotions from around the world before the internet did.
Meltzer’s match-ratings were originally just to let fans know which tapes they might want to trade for. It wasn’t meant to be used as a way to compare matches or wrestlers. All the same, a 5-star match is usually confirmation that something special has occurred.
Dave Meltzer’s Highest Rated Matches Ever
In total 8 matches have broken Meltzer’s 5-star system by receiving more than 5 stars.
Notable 5-star WWE matches include Bret Hart vs Austin at WM13, Michaels vs Undertaker in the first ever Hell in a Cell match, and CM Punk vs John Cena MITB 2011.
NXT has also produced several 5-star matches in recent years, including Takeover: New Orleans. The North American title ladder match and Gargano vs Ciampa matches from that show each earned 5-stars from Meltzer.
While E3 2018 showcased the next top games in the upcoming months, one WWE Superstar was on a mission.
E3 Fortnite Celebrity Tournament
Xavier Woods, member of The New Day and host of UpUpDownDown, leaped into battle for the first-ever Fortnite Pro-Am Tournament before leaving with $10,000 for Connor’s Cure. The 50-team Pro-Am was held in Los Angeles during the 2018 E3 convention and featured some of the world’s best Fortnite players teaming with celebrities of television, film, music, and sports alike for their share of $3 million prize pool for charity.
Woods was competing against the likes of Chandler Riggs of “The Walking Dead,” UFC champions Demetrious Johnson and Tyron Woodley, rapper Lil Yachty, NBA players Paul George and Kenneth Faried and many more.
Woods teamed with streamer CDNThe3rd, and the two outlasted more than half the competitors, coming in 24th place out of 50 teams. They each left with $10,000 for the charity of their choice, with Woods playing for Connor’s Cure, which supports research in the battle against pediatric cancer.
Woods has been busy battling competitors at E3 and more about it can be read here.
Tokyo Sports is reporting that longtime Joshi veteran, Meiko Satomura, will be taking part in the second Mae Young Classic. The 38-year-old is a former World of Stardom champion and 1/3 of the Chikara Trios champions.
Author Chris Charlton posted the following this morning:
Tokyo Sports reporting Meiko Satomura is in the WWE mae young classic, but she herself has no comment. https://t.co/4QjIS8EsvR
In 2005, Satomura co-founded the all-woman promotion, Sendai Girls. She also worked with WCW in the mid-90s on their short-lived women’s division which was to feature the likes of Bull Nakano and Madusa.
She helped create Sendai Girls after a previous female promotion, Gaea Japan, went out of business. Satomura wrestled in the final match ever held by the promotion before founding a new company the next year. She is the current Fight Club Pro champion. Satomura is also the last person to win the Joshi Puroresu Grand Prize award before Io Shirai began her sweep of the award. Satomura was given the award in 2013 and Shirai has swept every year since. That will change in 2018, however, as Shirai has spent the year with NXT.
Satomura defeated Kairi Hojo (Kairi Sane) for the World of Stardom Championship on July 26th, 2015. She held the title for 150 days before losing it to Io Shirai, who would then hold the title for 546 consecutive days. The most recent title change in the promotion saw Toni Storm drop the belt to Kagetsu on June 9th in Nagoya. Storm is recently believed to have signed a WWE UK deal and could likely end up in the second Mae Young Classic as well.
Mae Young Classic II
Last year, the tournament taped over a couple of days in July. They then aired the finale live in September. This year, it is believed they are looking at filming the tournament in August. This has not been confirmed, however. Full Sail University is expected to host the tournament again this year.
The WWE Smackdown crews’ stay at the Memphis Sheraton earlier this week did not go smoothly. Rusev, Lana, and Paige have all reported they had items stolen during their stay.
Despite public Tweets from Rusev and Paige criticizing the hotel, Sheraton has chosen not to respond. Looking at their social media accounts, it’s evident the Sheraton has a policy of only responding to positive comments.
Rusev made further comment on the matter today after the Pro Wrestling Sheet stated the Sheraton was not interested in speaking to them.
Dig in. I’m prosecuting. Especially after the head of security said it’s my fault for living my stuff in the room. https://t.co/VFXa5P3bL0
Drake Maverick has not made further comment on his Mac.
Paige has not made any further comment on the matter either. Lana does not appear to have commented publicly.
Memphis Sheraton Hotel
The Memphis Sheraton is a 600-room hotel located just off highway 40. It is often used for conventions and big events held in the city.
Previous news reports concerning the hotel also include a shooting which took place there in September and a couple being attacked while walking to their car in October. Following the two crimes, the city has been looking into hiring a safety consultant to discuss a plan to make the downtown area safer.
“A security consultant in crowd dynamics should take a look at the look at street before the task force makes its formal recommendations to city council,” said Berlin Boyd, the city taskforce chairman in a statement.
Earlier this month, the city began reviewing recommendations made to them by the task force. In general, it seems city council believes over-crowdedness is leading to a surge in crime in the area and they are looking at ways to address this.
Earlier in the day, Pwinsider had reported that Impact Wrestling has released backstage interviewer McKenzie Mitchell, after the hiring of Alicia Atout for a similar role.
However, after the news became viral, the Impact Star took on her twitter account and killing the rumors about her release from the company, the interviewer said that the whole story is news to her too:
The site has since corrected their report as well, accepting that the story was wrong. They reveal that it was reported to them by a contributor who has previously given them correct Impact news and claim that they will not be using material from the source again.
WWE Releases First Round UK Tournament Match Online
WWE has released a first-round UK Championship tournament match between Drew Gulak and Jack Gallagher online and posted the video of it on their official YouTube channel:
The video as seen below features a ten minutes match between the two 205 Live Stars. The winner of this match moves on to the quarterfinals of the tournament:
The quarterfinals of the tournament will take place on June 18th at Royal Albert Hall along with the semi-fnals and finals. The winner will then go on to face the UK Champion Pete Dunne on the next night on June 19th.
Now that the former TNA World Heavyweight Champion Bobby Roode is in WWE, there are a number of dream matches people want to see him in.
However, during a recent interview with 710 KEEL, the former NXT Champion revealed his own dream match, saying that he would have loved to face a late WWE Superstar.
According to Bobby, he has studied hours and hours of the footage featuring ‘Mr. Perfect’ Curt Hennig and if there was a dream match he could do, he would have loved to face the former WWE and WCW Star:
“If there was a dream match I could do, it would definitely be in a match against Curt Hennig, I think growing watching him, I have hours and hours and hours of footage of ‘Mr. Perfect’ Curt Hennig and just studied his stuff for years.”
Bobby Roode wrestled for TNA for well over a decade and joined the company during its early days in 2004. He left the company in early 2016 and was brought to NXT in the same year in April.
Hennig made his wrestling debut as the ‘Cool’ Curt Hennig’ back in 1980 and acquired the nickname ‘Mr. Perfect’ during his second run with WWE back in 1988.
Hennig was found dead in a hotel room in Florida on February 2003. He was 43 years old when he passed away and after an investigation, acute cocaine intoxication was determined to be the cause of his death.
While the WWE is home of all kinds of bizarre characters and gimmicks, the persona of Goldust still stands on its own because of its unique nature.
However, on an episode of Photo Shoot on WWE Network, the Attitude Era Star revealed that he had actually agreed to the Goldust character without realizing what Vince McMahon had in mind.
The episode is set to be released soon and the company recently posted a promo video for it, where Dustin Rhodes, the man behind the persona talks about his transformation from ‘The Natural’ Dustin Rhodes to Goldust.
According to him, he accepted Mr. McMahon’s proposal of repacking him as Goldust without knowing the meaning of the word “androgynous” which Vince kept using and when he finally realized it, his Jaw dropped:
“At this point in my career I wanted to kind of do something on my own, step out of my father’s shadow and try to accomplish something as Dustin, away from the Rhodes name just a little bit, I guess, I just said, ‘OK, let’s do this.’ And I hung up the phone, and immediately I ran to the dictionary and looked up androgynous. And my jaw dropped, ‘What did I just get myself into?'”
Dustin wrestled as the “The Natural” Dustin Rhodes for the majority of his WCW career. After he was fired from the company for blading during a match, Rhodes made his return to WWE in August 1995, repacked as ‘Goldust’.
War Raiders (Hanson and Rowe) battled Ricky Martinez and Justin Storm tonight on NXT. Storm and Hanson started off the match by locking up in the middle of the ring. Hanson launched Storm across the ring and then decked him with a Clothesline.
Rowe tagged in and sent Storm back to the canvas with a shoulder tackle. Rowe brought Storm to the corner and dared Martinez to tag in. Ricky tagged in and promptly got destroyed. Rowe connected with a knee to the face and then a Leg Drop off the top rope for the easy pinfall victory. After the match, War Raiders issued a warning to TM61.
EC3 faced Kassius Ohno on this week’s episode of NXT. Kassius shoved EC3 to start off the match and then the action quickly spilled to the outside. Ohno connected with a series of chops to EC3’s chest and then hurled EC3 back inside. Kassius continued to dominate and planted EC3 with a Body Slam.
Ohno went for a Senton but EC3 was able to get his knees up in time to counter the move. EC3 missed with a kick and Ohno capitalized with a knee to the face. Kassius followed it up with a Cyclone Kick and then connected with the Senton this time. Ohno hit another Senton on the floor outside the ring. EC3 snapped Ohno against the top rope and then planted him with the One Percenter for the pinfall victory.
Bianca Belair and Aliyah squared off on tonight’s episode of NXT. Belair immediately started out the match on the offensive and connected with a Spear. Bianca followed it up with a Suplex. Aliyah tried to battle back but Belair was too much for her. Belair deadlifted Aliyah, locked in the Torture Rack before hitting a Facebuster for the quick pinfall victory.
Bianca Belair then interrupted a backstage interview with Cathy Kelley and Dakota Kai. Dakota was in the middle of saying that she was proud of how she stood up to NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler and that she believed that the next time she faced her the outcome would be different. Belair told Kai to get to the back of the line and poked fun at her for being scared. Kai stated that mind games from Belair won’t work on her and challenged Bianca to a match next week. Bianca accepted the challenge and warned Dakota that she won’t like the result of the match.
Pete Dunne Retained The United Kingdom Championship
Pete Dunne defended the United Kingdom Championship against Kyle O’Reilly in the main event of this week’s NXT. The crowd was into this match right from the start. O’Reilly went after Dunne’s injured leg to start off the match. Dunne fought him off and went to work on O’Reilly’s fingers.
Dunne connected with a massive Clothesline that sent O’Reilly out of the ring to try and regroup. Dunne didn’t give him any time at all and planted him with an awesome X-Plex on the floor outside the ring. The action returned to the ring with Dunne still in complete control of the match.
O’Reilly booted Dunne in his injured leg to slow him down. Dunne battled back to his feet and hit an Enziguri and followed it up with a Powerbomb. O’Reilly locked in a Triangle submission as Dunne went for the cover. O’Reilly then connected with a Brainbuster but Dunne wouldn’t stay down.
Dunne went for the Bitter End but O’Reilly was able to block it. Both Superstars traded shots but O’Reilly wound up getting the upper hand. O’Reilly clubbed away at Dunne’s face and pulled out his mouthguard. Dunne snapped O’Reilly’s finger back and then planted him with the Bitter End to retain the UK Championship.
Immediately following the match, Roderick Strong and Adam Cole rushed to the ring to attack Dunne. Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan joined the party and a brawl broke out. Cole and Dunne battled to the outside of the ring. Burch and Lorcan then beat the hell out of O’Reilly and Strong before tossing them out of the ring. O’Reilly and Strong then grabbed their NXT Tag Team Championships and retreated up the entrance ramp.
Lars Sullivan Got The Better Of Aleister Black Again
NXT Champion Aleister Black cut a promo and admitted that he was rattled when Lars Sullivan caught Black Mass. Black said that Sullivan will feel the full force of the Black Mass at NXT TakeOver: Chicago this Saturday night.
Lars Sullivan came down to the ring and went after Aleister. Black was able to get in a few kicks before getting leveled by a Clothesline from Sullivan. Lars then lifted up Black like he was nothing and planted him with the Freak Accident. Sullivan then hit Black with two more Freak Accidents before carrying him over to the announce table. Sullivan placed Black on the table and raised the title in the air. NXT went off the air with Sullivan shouting “this is your reality in Chicago!”.
The following video was shown during tonight’s show to promote the Street Fight between Gargano and Ciampa at NXT TakeOver: Chicago:
We will be covering NXT TakeOver: Chicago and WWE Money in the Bank over the weekend. Check back here on SEScoops for updates and live coverage of the events this weekend.
Two matches have been officially announced for next week’s episode of WWE NXT.
The sports entertainment company has revealed that a singles match between Bianca Belair and Dakota Kai is slated to take place as well as a tag team clash that will see War Raiders (Rowe and Hanson) take on The Might (Shane Thorne and Nick Miller).
WWE is scheduled to tape matches for next week’s episode of NXT on the WWE Network before the upcoming NXT TakeOver: Chicago II event that takes place on Saturday, June 16, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois at the Allstate Arena.
The sports entertainment company will then hold TV tapings in Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University on Thursday, June 21, 2018.
The final card for the upcoming WWE NXT TakeOver: Chicago II event has been set.
The show, which features the typical five matches lineup, is slated to have three title bouts, a street fight, and a singles match. The sports entertainment company has yet to officially announce the main event of this event.
The NXT TakeOver: Chicago II event takes place on Saturday, June 16, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois at the Allstate Arena and will air on the WWE Network.
WWE will be taping matches for next week’s episode of NXT on the WWE Network before this special event goes live on their streaming service this weekend. They will then hold TV tapings in Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University on Thursday, June 21, 2018.
The next NXT Takeover special is slated to take place during SummerSlam weekend on Saturday, August 18, 2018 in Brooklyn, New York at the Barclays Center and will air on the WWE Network.
What are your thoughts on this card? Sound off in the comment section below.
Chris Jericho recently sat down with Inside The Ropes as part of his speaking tour of the United Kingdom. As part of an online interview series the new IWGP Intercontinental Champion discussed his bout with Kenny Omega at Wrestle Kingdom from this past January.
During the match Omega hit Jericho with his patented ‘One Winged Angel’ move on top of a steel chair, Jericho described taking that move saying that “The One Winged Angel on the chair really hurt. I’m not just saying it hurt as a joke, it really f****d me up. It hurt my back to where there’s still something that’s not right but whatever. I can never take that move again.”
Jericho also went on to list the monetary implications and gains from the #AlphaVsOmega bout, stating that NJPWWorld.com gained a “250% increase” on subscriptions as well highlighting that the Tokyo Dome sold an “extra 15,000 tickets.”
You can check out the interview below and also find more information through the Inside The Ropes Twitter account.
UK based promotion Fight Club: Pro has announced the latest name for their ‘International Tekkers’ event taking place on Friday June 29th from the Starworks Warehouse in Wolverhampton, England.
IMPACT Wrestling star Eddie Edwards will be making his way ‘across the pond’ for the company in an as yet unconfirmed bout. Edwards is currently locked in a brutal feud with rival Sami Callihan at the top of IMPACT programming.
The following bouts and stars have also been announced for the show:
In a FIRST TIME EVER match inaugural WWE United Kingdom Champion Tyler Bate will be facing former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay. It is incredible to think that these two standouts have never faced one on one in the squared circle but Fight Club: Pro is making it happen.
FCP has also announced that WWE UK roster member Jordan Devlin will be taking on Dragon Gate’s Naoki Tanizaki. The Dragon Gate veteran will be taking part in a run across the UK shore sagainst the likes of Mark Haskins (Frontline Puro) and Chris Brookes (RIPTIDE) and this bout against Devlin should be dynamite.
WWE linked Superstar WALTER has also been announced for the June 29th event, the former PROGRESS ATLAS and wXw Unified World Champion does not yet have an opponent named but with the wealth of stars available Internationally right now he should be matched with someone stellar.
Always a pleasure to welcome back a former @Fightclubpro Champion but when it comes to @TheEddieEdwards it’s a genuine honour. International Tekkers just got even bigger. #welcomehome
WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne recently took to Twitter to shed a light on some of the “bizarre things” that he has noticed on the UK independent scene “over the past year.”
Dunne’s full statement reads “Have been seeing a lot of bizarre things in Britwres over the past year. Stop looking for shortcuts and cheap pops on social media and matches. Wrestle loads and focus on the quality of your performance if you want to make it. Basics still matter outside your bubble.”
The UK scene has been exploding over the past 3-4 years with promotions such as ICW, PROGRESS and Rev Pro reaching extraordinary heights. The idea that an independent company would be hosting a show at the SSE Hydro in Scotland or London’s Wembley Arena just a few years ago would be seen as ludicrous…yet here we are.
Pete Dunne will be defending his WWE United Kingdom Championship next Tuesday when NXT and the WWE UK roster invade the Royal Albert Hall, the show will be available to view on the WWE Network.
Opinion: It’s not clear who Dunne is referring to with these comments however taking advice from an established WWE Champion and one of the hottest prospects on the global scene right now would probably be a wise career move.
Have been seeing a lot of bizarre things in Britwres over the past year. Stop looking for shortcuts and cheap pops on social media and matches. Wrestle loads and focus on the quality of your performance if you want to make it. Basics still matter outside your bubble.
— ‘The Bruiserweight’ Pete Dunne (@PeteDunneYxB) June 13, 2018
Revolution Pro Wrestling (Rev Pro) has announced the full cards for the upcoming New Japan Pro Wrestling: Strong Style Evolved UK tour that takes place on June 30th and July 1st in Milton Keynes and Manchester respectively. Two of the biggest bouts will be taking place on Night 2, where former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada will face Zack Sabre Jr and reigning Rev Pro British Heavyweight Champion Tomohiro Ishii will defend his title against Minoru Suzuki.
Here are the full cards for the tour:
Night 1
Shota Umino vs. Mystery Opponent
Bullet Club (Yujiro Takahashi and Taiji Ishimori) vs. Aussie Open (Kyle Fetcher and Mark Davis)
Walter vs Yuji Nagata
Chris Brookes vs. Yoshi-HashiYoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Will Ospreay
British Tag Team Championship match: Suzuki Gun (Minoru Suzuki and Zack Sabre Jr.) (c) vs. Chaos (Kazuchika Okada and Tomohiro Ishii)
Night 2
Danny Duggan vs. Mystery Opponent (the same TBD opponent from Umino’s match on Night 1)
Shota Umino vs. Yugi Nagata
El Phantasmo vs. Taiji Ishimori vs. David Star vs. Tiger Mask
Suzuki Gun (Takashi Iizuka, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, El Desperado) vs. CHAOS (Yoshi-Hashi, Toru Yano, Gedo)
Walter vs. Yujiro Takahashi
‘Switchblade’ Jay White vs. Chris Brookes
Taichi vs. Will Ospreay
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Kazuchika Okada
Undisputed British Championship Match – Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs. Minoru Suzuki
The Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship will be on the line when TOMOHIRO ISHII defends against MINORU SUZUKI #SSEUK#Night2#Manchester
Today marks the 9 year anniversary of Japanese wrestling legend Mitsuharu Misawa’s passing. Several stars from the likes of WWE, New Japan Pro Wrestling and beyond have posted tributes to one of the greatest performers of all time (you can see these at the bottom of the article).
Misawa made his professional debut in August of 1981 for All Japan Pro Wrestling. Misawa would go on to inherit the position of AJPW President following the passing of Giant Baba in 1999 and he went on to form the now iconic Pro Wrestling NOAH promotion.
Misawa is regarded as one of the greatest performers in the history of the industry, he famously garnered a six star rating from Dave Meltzer for his bout against Toshiaki Kawada in 1994 and his trilogy against Kenta Kobashi is heralded alongside Flair/Steamboat as one of the greatest ever.
Several stars such as Chris Hero/Kassius Ohno, William Regal and Daniel Bryan regard Misawa as one of their in ring inspirations. The Pro Wrestling NOAH promotion also holds a tribute show every June in honour of their founder.
Triple H has addresses the status of Ricochet heading into NXT’s next big special.
Earlier this week, there was speculation going around online that Ricochet suffered an injury during an NXT live event in Paris, France when he teamed with Johnny Gargano to defeat Tommaso Ciampa and The Velveteen Dream in a tag team match.
Near the end of the match, Ricochet hit a suicide dive on Dream while Gargano made Ciampa tap out. Fans in attendance noted that he landed awkwardly and was slow to get up as the referee threw up the “X” symbol.
Following the match, he was helped to the back but came back down to the ring to celebrate with Gargano. This led to him missing Tuesday’s NXT live event in Belgium after being advertised.
Triple H hosted a conference call to promote the upcoming WWE NXT TakeOver: Chicago II event. He spoke with the wrestling media about various topics involving the NXT brand.
During this call, “The Game” was asked about the status of Ricochet for his upcoming match against The Velveteen Dream at the NXT TakeOver: Chicago II event on Saturday, June 16, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois at the Allstate Arena.
Triple H stated that he tweaked his shoulders in Paris and he is not injured. He followed up by stating that they did not want to take a chance and thus the reason Ricochet did not work the next show. Ricochet is still scheduled to wrestle this weekend. What are your thoughts on this upcoming match? Sound off in the comment section below.
Triple H has discussed the potential plans that WWE has in store for the future of the Performance Center.
Earlier this week, WWE SmackDown Live star Bobby Roodewent on record in a recent conversation with Allen Balint of KARK-TV in Little Rock, Arkansas by stating the sports entertainment company is looking to build a bigger Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. “From what I hear, it’s [Performance Center] going to continue to grow. I heard that they’re looking to build a new facility — a larger facility,” Roode noted.
Triple H hosted a conference call to promote the upcoming WWE NXT TakeOver: Chicago II event. He spoke with the wrestling media about various topics involving the NXT brand.
During this call, “The Game” was asked about Roode’s claims about WWE building a bigger Performance Center to train their talent. Triple H noted that Roode’s info is glorious but it’s not always accurate.
He stated that as of right now, there are no plans in place to build a new facility but did note that they are always looking to expand because the Performance Center is so important for the company. He ended up the answer by stating that he is always open to the concept of expanding but they haven’t started the journey to do it yet.
What are your thoughts on Triple H’s comments? Sound off in the comment section below.
WWE has already announced that the SmackDown Tag Team Title Match that will see Luke Harper and Erick Rowan defend the straps against Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows will air on the Money in the Bank Pre-show this Sunday.
Harper recently hyped the match by bringing up Anderson’s wife and if she would be at the show for their match. Anderson responded by writing the following:
As seen on this week’s episode of SmackDown Live in Memphis, TN at the FedEx Forum on the USA Network, WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler made an appearance.
He interviewed WWE Champion AJ Styles about his title defense against Shinsuke Nakamura in a Last Man Standing Match at the upcoming WWE Money in the Bank pay-per-view event. After the show, Lawler commented on the appearance by writing the following:
WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray was recently asked by a fan on Twitter about how former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey can improve her promos while in the WWE.
He decided to give her some advice by stating that WWE needs to give her an advocate, which is what WWE did with Brock Lesnar by using Paul Heyman. He wrote the following:
Rousey is slated to challenge Jax for the RAW Women’s Title at the upcoming Money in the Bank pay-per-view event on Sunday, June 17, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois at the Allstate Arena, which will air on the WWE Network.
Lio Rush Hypes
The sports entertainment company has teased the debut of Lio Rush on their cruiserweight show, 205 Live on the WWE Network. Although there’s no word yet on when he’ll make his debut, he did send out the following tweet to hype his debut:
EC3 has opened up on the career path that he has chosen to get him to the point that he is at this time in his life.
The current WWE NXT superstar was recently a guest on E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness to speak with WWE Hall of Famer Edge and former World Champion Christian to talk about various topics. (transcript via Wrestlinginc.com).
In this interview, he spoke about his decision to depart from Impact Wrestling and his time with the promotion where he became a top guy as World Heavyweight Champion.
“I became champ and had a run with it.” EC3 recalled, “then, lose it, win it back, run with the Hardys. It was kind of a weird time especially within the company. I think it was the closest to ‘nobody knows what the hell is going on’ because there [were] always rumors and speculation and we were never really abreast. It could be real or it could be facetious. You never knew and all we could do is do our jobs and did them well. Then, I go from a heel to a babyface for a while. Management changes once, twice, and then, finally, a third time. There was new ownership and at the same time, in my life, I don’t know, my life plan did not work out and I can just probably leave it at that as far as personal things. I thought I had it figured out. I obviously didn’t. And I’m looking at everything and I definitely needed a change and the time seemed right. I loved the company.
EC3 continued by stating, Impact was great to me. Management was nothing but wonderful and accommodating and I had a really sweet deal. But at the same time, I’ve done it. I don’t know what else I can do here besides this company becomes number one, which is not going to happen at all with me. I have unfinished business that I have to seek. Like Good Will Hunting, I had to see about a girl, but that girl was named Vince, Vincent Kennedy McMahon. And she is beautiful! She is so hot! She’s not crazy at all! A little bit [boxy], yep. Yeah, thick around the shoulders… In the back of my mind, there were other options. I was going to leave regardless, before my time just because I had to do something with my life to change it.”
Alongside Bobby Lashley, EC3 was able to get out of his contract early, which in turn allowed him to sign with WWE. The sports entertainment company placed him in NXT, where he made his first appearance on the WWE Network at NXT Takeover: Philly in January.
After his first stint in the WWE, he decided to sign with TNA. EC3 addressed his decision to return to the WWE.
“When I pop in the [WWE] Performance Center or if I’m doing a live event, the local shows that we’ll do in Florida, and you get critiqued.” EC3 continued, “when I first started getting critiqued again, because Impact is all, for better or worse, like, ‘good job! You filled the time. Good job.’ ‘Ah, that wasn’t a good job!’ Or if it was a good job, I know if it was a good job or not. One of the main reasons I wanted to come back too was you’ve got to go to grow. And you need people telling you, ‘you suck’ or ‘this sucks, this sucks, this sucks, this could be better’ and you didn’t get that as much over there.”
What are your thoughts on EC3’s comments? Sound off in the comment section below.
Impact Wrestling has hired Alicia Atout as the company’s new backstage interviewer. Atout runs the award-winning blog and interview site, AMBY. The site posts interviews with wrestlers and musicians.
Atout was brought in by the company for the latest set of TV Tapings in Windsor. She recently posted to her social media account that she is now with the company in a more permanent role.
Impact’s previous host, McKenzie Mitchell, recently posted about moving on to new adventures. This should lead some to believe she is no longer going to be working with the promotion.
The company likely chose to bring in Atout over McKenzie at the most recent set of tapings due to geographical convenience. McKenzie is based out of Nashville and it had been easy to bring her in for the Orlando shows. As the tapings earlier this month took place in Windsor, ON, Canada it would have been cheaper for the company to bring in Atout, who is from Toronto.
Atout has also interviewed wrestlers for promotions such as Smash Wrestling, RISE, Shimmer, and appears frequently on the Fight Network in Canada.
On the latest episode of “Being the Elite”, the Young Bucks and Chris Jericho teased forming a 3-person team. Jericho and the Jackson brothers toyed around with team names “The Bucks of Jericho”, “Y2Jacksons”, and even “The Bucks of Jericho or is it Y2Jacksons?”.
After much deliberation, Jericho says he is now ready to land on a team name.
Also on a recent episode of “Being the Elite”, the three speculated as to under what promotion they would be able to team together. As they brought up on the show, they work for different companies: Bullet Club and Alpha Club. They then began to tease they would team together on Chris Jericho’s cruise this fall.
There has been some speculation that Jericho won’t be appearing in NJPW for some time. He has said he will not be at the Cow Palace show and others have said his winning the IWGP Intercontinental Championship might be a way for the promotion to put the title on ice. As with anything involving Chris Jericho, however, he’s only going to let out the information he is OK with people knowing. Jericho and NJPW are likely the only parties who know when he will be appearing for the promotion next.
The Golden Elite
Following the main event of NJPW Dominion over the weekend, Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks reunited. The trio had been out of contact following the Bullet Club civil war this spring and Omega taking time off to prepare for his 4th bout with Okada. Omega chose to hug with the Bucks before he was even handed the IWGP Heavyweight Championship belt.
Omega, the Bucks, and Kota Ibushi then unveiled the four of them will be known by the name “the Golden Elite”. This development is most likely not going over well with Cody or some of the Bullet Club OG faction.
