RIPTIDE Wrestling has announced that WWE United Kingdom Superstar Jordan Devlin will be joining the ‘International Waters’ event on July 6th to take on the ‘Pansexual Phenomenon’ Jack Sexsmith.
Devlin took part in the inaugural WWE United Kingdom Championship tournament and he is set to take part in the Royal Albert Hall event on June 17th. Sexsmith is another performer who has been on WWE’s radar recently, he took part in a tryout session earlier this year and is being rumored as a name for the upcoming WWE United Kingdom roster reveal.
This is the third match confirmed for the show, following the already announced WALTER vs ‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey and Naoki Tanizaki vs CCK’s Chris Brookes.
Top UK independent promotion DEFIANT will be hosting ‘Built To Destroy’ this Sunday live on iPPV through the FITE TV app as well as through their own Access DEFIANT On Demand service.
Several top names from the UK indie scene will be making their way to Northumbria’s Students Union this Sunday and the full card for the show has now been revealed:
DEFIANT World Title Match – Rampage (c) vs Martin Kirby
DEFIANT Women’s Title Match – Millie McKenzie (c) vs Bea Priestley
Will Ospreay vs Joe Hendry
Jimmy Havoc vs Kay Lee Ray
Aussie Open vs Chris Brookes & ???
Prince Ameen vs Gabriel Kidd
Alex Gracie vs Louis Archer
Simon Miller vs Drake
This will be DEFIANT return of former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay who will look to become the new Number 1 contender to the DEFIANT Championship when he faces Joe Hendry.
Tickets for the show are available to purchase from WeAreDefiant.com now.
? 9 days! Built To Destroy LIVE in Newcastle on Sunday, June 17.
Former WWE United States Champion Bobby Roode had some interesting news to share.
During a recent conversation with Allen Balint of KARK-TV in Little Rock, Arkansas for an interview for Pro Wrestling Sheet to promote this week’s WWE Raw TV event, Roode stated that 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. Roode also gave his take on the future of the WWE regarding its talent that is being created in the current system and NXT brand.
He gave some praise to one NXT star for being a success story from Orlando that was made at the Performance Center and that’s The Velveteen Dream.
“Dream is one guy that I think had a huge upside,” Roode said. “He has a ton of athletic ability and just gets it. He’s very in tune with his character — which is huge — especially on the main roster.”
What are your thoughts on WWE’s plans for a new Performance Center? Sound off in the comment section below.
UFC President Dana White has confirmed when Brock Lesnar’s contract with the WWE expires.
Earlier this year, White teased that Lesnar could be making a comeback to the UFC. Since then, White has gone on record several times by stating that Lesnar would be making a return to the MMA promotion.
Moving along to Monday, White stated in an interview that Lesnar’s contract with the WWE is slated to expire at the end of this summer. He also claimed that both Lesnar and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones are interested in fighting each other.
“I know that Brock’s WWE deal is up at the end of the summer, I think,” White told TMZ. “I know he wants to fight so I’m sure we’ll end up getting that figured out.”
“That’s [Lesnar vs. Ngannou] a fun fight, absolutely,” White added. “Obviously there’s a lot of options. Jon Jones is very interested in Brock Lesnar and Brock Lesnar is very interested in Jon Jones.”
“I don’t know [when the hearing is], I’ll end up figuring that out in the next month. I don’t know how that’s gonna play out. That’s up to USADA. USADA’s going to decide that. Oh yeah, they both want it, it’s a fun fight.”
The current WWE Universal Champion retained his title against Roman Reigns in the main event of the biggest event of the year for the sports entertainment company, WrestleMania 34, in April.
Shortly after that match, it was revealed that Lesnar had signed a short-term contract with the WWE and then went on to defend his title against Reigns at the Greatest Royal Rumble pay-per-view event in a Steel Cage Match.
Lesnar has competed just once inside of the cage since 2011. He returned to the Octagon for a heavyweight bout against Mark Hunt at UFC 200 in 2016 where Lesnar won a unanimous decision that night which was subsequently overturned when it was revealed he failed two USADA issued drug tests before the bout.
In order for Lesnar to fight again, he must enter into the USADA testing pool, which would force him to be tested for six months before fighting again. The Universal Champion is expected to defend his title under the WWE banner at SummerSlam in August.
What are your thoughts on Lesnar’s future in the WWE? Sound off in the comment section below.
For all of your UFC and MMA news, make sure to check out our sister site, MMANews.com.
WSVN-TV Entertainment reporter Chris Van Vliet recently interviewed WWE Hall Of Famers Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair at the “Legends Of The Ring” event from the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Hogan was asked about a possible return to WWE in the near future.
The Hulkster revealed that things are moving in that direction rather quickly, and hinted that WWE could simply be holding off for the right place at the right time:
“Things are moving in that direction quite quickly. It’s all about execution and timing and the right place and the right time but things are good.”
Hogan also commented on why he and Flair went face-to-face at WrestleMania during their careers:
“We don’t know. We were on fire. We did some house shows in Chicago, Milwaukee, three or four shows in a row we set all kinds of records all over and we were pushing real hard towards that WrestleMania time and for me I have a personal opinion, the chemistry was so powerful between Ric and I, I hate to say anything bad about any of the other wrestlers, I hate to say anything bad about the company but with Ric and I heading into WrestleMania it kind of took over everything.
“If we would have wrestled at WrestleMania, we would have taken so much of the focus because there would have been the rematch and the cage match, the title would have dropped and hopefully I would have won it back and back and forth. I think that Vince knew that this was such a powerful turbulence between the two of us he could conquer and divide and make it work even better and pretty much that’s what he did. He sent me off in one direction and him in another and we drew money in both directions.”
WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler recently did an interview on The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling to talk about several professional wrestling topics. One such topic was Vince McMahon and his first time working as a heel being in Memphis during the mid 90s. Here’s what he had to say:
“That was part of the deal of Vince sending us some talent to help us out and keep us a float while I was working up there as well. It first started with basically the deal of me and Bret was going really big in the WWE and I asked Vince if it was a possibility we could send Bret and Owen and some of the guys down here to help us out on Monday nights in Memphis so that is what we did.
“The one thing I can’t remember is I think that I had one of our Memphis Championship belts up there with me and I think it was Vince’s idea to make an interview and promo holding the belt talking about how he was sending the WWE talent down. I think it was his first opportunity to become a heel and to talk down to the fans because in the past all Vince had ever done was the commentary in WWE and talk about the product and talk good to the fans.
“But when he was defending the WWE against the Memphis territory, it was his first opportunity to be a heel and I think he fell in love with it. He volunteered to come down and he sat ringside during one of the matches and wound up tripping me and had Pat Patterson as his bodyguard and I honestly belive that was the genesis for the heel Mr. McMahon, who I think and still in my mind is the best heel (and I’m not saying this because I work for the guy or kiss up to him) but during the Attitude Era with Stone Cold Steve Austin and the stuff with The Rock, I think he is the best heel that has ever been in the WWE.”
You can listen to Lawler on The Two Man Power Trip Of Wrestling by clicking this link here.
The opponent for Adam Cole at EVOLVE 107 has been officially announced.
On Monday morning it was revealed Cole would defend the WWE NXT North American Title against WALTER at the upcoming EVOLVE 107 event on June 24, 2018 in Melrose, MA at the Melrose Memorial Hall.
This is the first time the NXT North American Championship will be defended on show held by a United States independent wrestling promotion.
“This is a landmark announcement for EVOLVE,” WWN VP Of Talent Relations & Creative Gabe Sapolsky said in a press release that was sent out. “WWE has been growing this relationship with EVOLVE for a few years. We are ecstatic that the next step is this historic match on June 24th. This is all about giving the fans in the Boston area something special. Our deepest thanks to Mr. Levesque for making this happen.”
EVOLVE 107 Card
NXT North American Championship Match Adam Cole defends vs. WALTER First-Time Ever Bonus Main Event Matt Riddle vs. DJZ Catch Point Rules Chris Dickinson with Stokely Hathaway & Dom Garrini vs. Tracy Williams Grudge Match Darby Allin vs. Jarek 1:20 with Candy Cartwright
What are your thoughts on Cole defending the title at this event? Sound off in the comment section below.
Former WWE Intercontinental Champion Ryback recently took to his podcast, Conversation With The Big Guy, and discussed how he came up with the “Feed Me More” catchphrase. He noted that he used to work at a restaurant and wasn’t making enough money to buy his own food.
Thankfully the cooks at the restaurant were nice enough to give him free food from the leftovers that were sent back to the kitchen:
“Back when I was working at a place called ‘Smokey Bones,’ I would eat so much food. The cooks knew how much I loved to eat. Oftentimes, people would take a bite out of the steak, and this would be the most expensive steak there, and for whatever reason, they wouldn’t like it, and at that time I was really struggling.
“The cooks would give me free food, but I ate so much that I had to end up paying a portion of my money by tips for food throughout the day,” Ryback said. “Oftentimes, especially during slow periods I would order a couple of chicken breasts and put them on the table and take a bite on the table as I am hustling. I would be there all day from morning until night, so I would cut the piece of the part that they bit off then I would eat the other part that wasn’t bitten.
“I would have multiple aprons and dry clean them. I would put the steaks in my apron and just take bites of the steak. Sometimes it would be so busy that I wouldn’t have time to cut the bitten part, so I would just eat the opposite end and once I got close I would throw it away.”
Ryback said that he and the cooks in the kitchen developed a good friendship, and the “Feed Me More” chants represent a time in his life where he was able to change a struggle of his into something positive:
“One of the cooks there, they took great pride into feeding me. They would cook extra stuff and hide it. There would be a half of rack of ribs in the back and I would have to find it. It wasn’t a joke because I was there from morning until night. Everyone assumed I would make it in pro wrestling, even after I had originally been fired.
“They got great pride into feeding me more. The cook one time said something like, ‘feed me more.’ So, I got the idea from that. I would say to them, ‘feed me more,’ and they would hide food for me to have to go and find it. I originally said it to them and it then became a joint thing, but on WWE TV I kept saying it so it stuck from there,” he said. “The arms, I got the idea from Bloodsport, and it looked silly, but it was different.
“I was doing this arm taunt that didn’t have words with it. After the ‘feed me more,’ I started to do it with the arms and then it just started making sense, and it just happened, but the idea came from ‘Smokey Bones.’ It has great meaning to me because I own it and the idea that the cooks would feed me when I had nothing, so it holds a special place in my heart because I created it when I was starving, both literally and figuratively.”
You can listen to Ryback on Conversation With The Big Guy by clicking this link here.
Adam “Hangman” Page recently made an appearance on The Unsanctioned Podcast to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Page first commented on why he thinks now is a great time to be a fan of professional wrestling:
“After a while, people start to look for alternatives and today it’s easier to find alternatives than it ever has been. It’s very easily accessible. We just launched HonorClub, and soon we’ll get that up and running on Roku, Apple TV, iPhone, all that kind of stuff.
“It’s just so easy to look for something else. And when you look at something else and see our product [ROH] or you see New Japan’s, it’s night and day. So if it’s that easily accessible you just become a fan, you become hooked to it.”
Page then discussed what it’s like being a part of The Bullet Club, and and the faction’s fifth anniversary:
“It’s been great. Bullet Club has been huge. It’s something that’s transcended wrestling a little bit. I’m sure there are people wearing Bullet Club shirts who don’t even know what it is. It’s one of those kind of things, but that’s good. That’s good for us, that’s good for wrestling as a whole.
“Bullet Club’s success for me, it’s been really big for my career. It’s opened a lot of doors for me, doors in New Japan, more opportunities in Ring of Honor. I say all that, but honestly my one takeaway from it all is that it’s given me some of the best friends I’ve ever had in my life. I’ve probably spent more time with Matt, Nick, Cody, and Marty than I have my own wife this year.”
As for the current state of The Bullet Club after Kenny Omega and Cody’s issues with one another, Page believes that the group is fine for the moment:
“I think…Bullet Club is fine. Obviously there are a few issues that need to be worked out. Honestly, we had a bit of a moment at [NJPW] Dontaku for the five-year anniversary of the Bullet Club where we had that 10-man tag and maybe there were some frustrations beyond just Cody and Kenny. We just had to get that out of our systems a little bit and all get together on the same page.
“Cody and Kenny, these are two alphas, it’s just who they are, they’re huge personalities. They want to be ‘the leader’ I guess. My feeling is we’re grown men, why does someone need to be the leader? I’m a grown man and I’ll do what I want, we’re just friends. You know what I mean? But it’s in their blood…at the end of the day I respect both men.”
Page then discussed how Cody has provided him with inspiration by seeing how “on” he is all the time:
“I wouldn’t say there’s any piece of advice or anything like that. But he’s just a person who, legitimately every minute of every day, he’s on. He’s two-a-day at the gym, or coming up with stuff for The Elite, or thinking of long-term ideas for what he wants to do at Ring of Honor or New Japan or for a match that day, he’s just somebody who legitimately is always on, and I think that has motivated me as well a little bit.”
You can listen to Page on The Unsanctioned Podcast by clicking this link here.
IMPACT Wrestling star Eddie Edwards recently did an interview with Wrestling Epicenter to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Edwards first discussed what it’s like to play a more unhinged persona:
“I’m enjoying it. It is a chance for me to do some things I’ve never done in my career, obviously. To be able to go and try this here, that there. It’s cool! It definitely has my creative juices flowing. And also, with vignettes and stuff behind the scenes also … a lot of things are going on. It is definitely a change of pace, but it is a welcomed change of pace for me.”
He then discussed some elements of his persona mirroring Tommy Dreamer during his old feud with Raven in ECW:
“I don’t know how much thought went into it. It just so happened that Tommy is my guy and was around at that point. It just so happened that it resembled that Tommy Dreamer in ECW type look. We were definitely going for that grungier type look especially going out there to oVe’s territory. But, I think it was a happy accident. That is the direction we were going for, a more gritty, hardcore style.”
Edwards then discussed his brutal feud with Sami Callihan and how quickly it has escalated:
“We kind of found ourselves in this. Obviously, it began with the baseball bat. We had to escalate from that. As tough as it was to escalate from that, things have escalated! We’ve had to step it up and step it up and step it up time and time again. This has been a perfect storm of incidents and accidents – A perfect storm of emotion, really!”
You can check out Edwards’ full interview with Wrestling Epicenter by clicking this link here.
WWE Superstar Drew McIntyre was recently a guest on WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross’ podcast, The Ross Report, to talk about several professional wrestling topics. McIntyre first started off by saying that regardless of what WWE Superstars are given by creative, they should make the most of it because there are men and women in NXT ready to take their spots:
“No matter what it is, don’t blame creative.” McIntyre said. “Don’t sit there with the boo-hoo face. You figure out the story and you tell the story because there are other people in NXT waiting to take your spot if you’re not willing to step up on RAW.”
McIntyre then discussed there being ‘filler’ in WWE programming, and blames it on the complacency of some current WWE performers:
“I understand that RAW is the best show in the world.” McIntyre said. “It’s the best product in the world today as evidenced by the TV deals we’re getting and the consistent ratings. We have the best talent. But also, we have five hours with SmackDown every week. And as goof as a lot of it is, there is a lot of filler in there and a lot of guys just sitting around. They just don’t have the passion. It’s as simple as that.
“I can say it because I was that guy before I got released. I was that guy at some point. I wasn’t confident. I wasn’t pushing myself to get to the top. I wasn’t bettering myself in the gym. I wasn’t pitching stories. I wasn’t trying to be a better performer. I think that a lot of people forget they’re in WWE and get complacent. It makes me sick because [Ross has] seen the independent scene right now.
“[Ross] know[s] how much talent is out there. I was NXT Champion. I know how much talent is there. They’ve got the fire in their eyes. They’re ready to take those spots and I’m there to make sure Monday Night RAW is all killer. We don’t need any filler anymore. It all trickles down from the top, like, the whole industry. Monday Night RAW needs to be killer from top to bottom. And right now, there is room for improvement and I’m there to be the wakeup call that it needs.”
He then discussed the importance of building relationships with WWE brass, and explained that he’s not sure that the legends he shared the locker room with in his last WWE run would approve of how things are done nowadays:
“I built my business and WWE brought my business in.” McIntyre continued, “I want to be successful in my business and, in turn, make WWE successful. How do I do that if I don’t have a relationship with the people in charge? It sounds so simple saying it. And hopefully, a lot of the guys in the back that are listening to me right now, because it took me a while to get there, but you have to start thinking this way if you want to be on top of the show, which you should, if you want to be champion, you need to look yourself in the mirror and be accountable.
“Have you given everything you can to build those relationships? Have you done everything? And I can assure you, a lot of people aren’t and I’m not going to be shy in telling people time goes on. And, honestly, I’ve been in the locker room with The Undertakers, Mysterios, Christians, even Ric Flair when I was 22. I don’t know if all of them would be happy to see how the locker room is these days.”
You can listen to McIntyre’s interview on The Ross Report by clicking this link here.
Netflix has released the official trailer for the second season of “GLOW.”
The series, which made its debut last year, was inspired by the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling promotion that was started in 1986 and stars Alison Brie, Betty Gilpin, Marc Maron, Sydelle Noel, Britney Young, Britt Baron, Kate Nash, Jackie Tohn, Gayle Rankin, Kia Stevens.
The new season will be available on Netflix on June 29th. Here is the synopsis for the new season as well as the trailer:
“Season 2 follows the women of GLOW as they become local celebrities, confronting the good, the bad, and the ugly realities of their newfound fame. As Ruth and Debbie settle into the day-to-day of making a season of TV together, they confront lingering issues at the heart of their friendship. Sam is still Sam, but now he has a teenage daughter living with him and twenty episodes to churn out. The wrestling is harder, the stakes are higher, and the hair is even bigger.”
What are your thoughts on this trailer? Do you plan on watching the series this season? Sound off in the comment section below.
WWE RAW Women’s Champion Nia Jax is preparing for the biggest match thus far in her pro wrestling career.
The sports entertainment company has already announced that 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.
Jax was interviewed at the WWE For Your Consideration 2018 Emmy nomination campaign.
During the interview, Jax was asked about facing the former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion for the strap at this event. She explained the importance of it by stating the following (transcript courtesy ofWrestlinginc.com):
“It puts everything into perspective, I used to watch Ronda Rousey kill it in the UFC and she’s considered the ‘Baddest Woman on the Planet’ and now I get to face her, I challenged her for [the title] at WWE Money in the Bank,” Jax said. “It gives me goosebumps about what’s going to happen and I don’t even know what’s going to happen.”
Although Jax rose to the top of the women’s division on the red brand quickly, she still has several stars she would like to work with both on the main roster and in NXT.
“I’d love to work with Charlotte Flair, she’s the best athlete in our company,” Jax responded. “Some girls down in NXT, we have Bianca Belair and Aliyah. One of the newcomers, Ember Moon, she’s killing it as well. Anybody from the Riott Squad.”
What are your thoughts on Jax’s comments? Sound off in the comment section below.
One injured WWE superstar is expected to return to in-ring action this week.
According to a report by PWinsider.com, Noam Dar is scheduled to be at this week’s WWE TV events.
The sports entertainment company holds tonight’s RAW TV event Little Rock, AR at the Verizon Arena and Tuesday’s SmackDown Live as well as 205 Live in Memphis, TN at the FedEx Forum. The cruiserweight star has been out of action following a knee surgery in November 2017 after suffering a meniscus tear during a Fatal Four Way bout on RAW.
Once his injury was announced, the expected recovery time was five months before he could return to the ring. He just passed the six-month mark.
As of this writing, there’s no word yet on what the sports entertainment company has planned for Dar on 205 Live on the WWE Network.
What are your thoughts on what WWE should do with Dar once he returns? Sound off in the comment section below.
This past November, James Ellsworth was released from his deal with the WWE. He has since been keeping very busy on the independent circuit. PWInsider is reporting that Ellsworth could be gearing up for a WWE return at the Money In The Bank (MITB) pay-per-view (PPV) in Chicago.
The report also suggests there are a ton of creative suggestions for Ellsworth’s return, but he is definitely slated for the PPV. It’s possible he could interfere in the SmackDown Live Women’s Title match between Carmella and Asuka.
Weak Ticket Sales For RAW Tonight
According to a report from WrestleVotes, no tickets have been sold on the second level for tonight’s episode of RAW in Arkansas. As a result, WWE may tarp off some sections of the arena so it doesn’t look so empty:
Not the best sign for tonight’s RAW, 0 second level tickets sold for the show, no tickets on the hard cam side sold either. Pic is from Stubhub, showing resale options. Resale options only available on sections that are sold initially. Don’t expect a hot crowd unfortunately. pic.twitter.com/RNbINhiGlN
In my personal experience, security officials often times move fans down to better seats in view of the camera shot so it looks more full on TV. Perhaps WWE will have to do something like that tonight.
Former SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero was recently a guest on The Roman Show to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Guerrero first commented on the possibility of WWE naming a tournament after her late husband and WWE Hall Of Famer Eddie Guerrero:
“I always dream about that, “ she said. “Me and the girls we always talk about If Eddie could be relived they’d have a tournament someway, but it never is too late and I’m hoping that if WWE is watching or listening I’m hoping that, we’d love to see Eddie have his own tournament named.”
She then noted that her experience of seeing Eddie practice his promos in the ring, and observing his mannerisms on TV helped her when she was cutting her own promos in the ring:
“No, I wouldn’t train (wrestling) with him. He would scare me. I watched him at the house do his promos in the mirror and watching him every night when he was on TV. I think his mannerism, habits rubbed off on me. Every time I was in the ring, I always pictured Eddie in the ring with me so I knew it wasn’t about myself.”
Guerrero then discussed writing her book about life with Eddie and wrestling:
“Honestly, I am writing a book right now about my life with Eddie I hated wrestling when I dated him. My grandfather used to make his dad’s robes. We used to play in the playpen together when we were like three years old.
“I never liked wrestling. I said, “if you can change that would be great’, but of course the sport grew on me I started getting a lot of respect for the wrestling industry and I was hooked.”
WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar has reigned as the World Title holder for over a year now, and in the process he has broken a record.
Lesnar has been Universal Champion for 435 days, officially passing former WWE Champion CM Punk’s record of 434 days. The Beast is now the longest reigning World Champion in the Modern Era of WWE.
Of course, Punk and Lesnar held different World Titles, as the Universal Title wasn’t implemented until after Punk had already left WWE. But seeing as they are both considered World Titles, Lesnar’s reign is still considered longer than Punk’s in the record books.
Of course, as one Twitter user points out, Lesnar’s amount of title defenses compared to Punk’s is ridiculously lopsided:
Punk still holds the longest reign for the WWE Championship in the Modern Era nonetheless. Unofficially, the longest WWE Title reign belongs to the late WWE Hall Of Famer Bruno Sammartino – who held the belt for eight years from 1963 until 1971. That’s a reign of 2,803 days and a record that will likely never be broken.
The 4th season of Lucha Underground premieres on Wednesday. The unique promotion will only air 22 episodes this season and are working with a lower budget. Despite the changes, Executive Producer Chris DeJoseph feels the promotion is in a good space and the future looks good, however.
He spoke to ProWrestling.com recently about his goals for season 4.
“Hopefully, there will be more eyeballs on it,” DeJoseph said. “If we had my way, we’d be on every week of the year. We’ll see what happens. I think the future is good for Lucha Underground. We are going on past 100 episodes. I don’t think anything is going to stop us.”
Lucha Underground and Impact Wrestling
Lucha Underground and Impact Wrestling have recently formed a partnership of sorts. DeJoseph also spoke about how this agreement has worked out for both sides.
“I think (Impact Wrestling) are a great partner,” DeJoseph said. “I also think it’s great for not only the talent, who get to be seen in other places. But sometimes Impact’s audience may not be Lucha’s audience. So, for the two brands promote each other I think it’s a great thing. I think the kickoff to that was WrestleMania weekend with our joint production, I think it’s off to a great start. I think it’s good for everybody. It’s good for the talent. It’s good for the brand. It gives people more opportunities to do things. I think Lucha Underground exists in its own universe as does Impact. But being able to help each other and help the talent and get our characters and people out there. You’ll even see some Impact stars on Lucha Underground this season so that’s a good thing.”
Lucha Underground Season 4
DeJospeh also recently spoke to the Bleacher Report regarding Season 4. He seems to be insinuating there is some secret which will be revealed to viewers.
“I think it’s probably like above 100 percent, like 125 percent excitement rating,” DeJoseph said. “I think it’s been a while, and everybody is super excited to be back on the air and on El Rey Network and to be back and let the fans finally see what we have held secret for a few months now. It’ll be well worth the wait.”
Season 4 of Lucha Underground will take place in a different venue. Dario Cueto’s old temple has been retired in favor of a new location with an entirely different look, feel, and history.
“One thing for sure is that we are in a whole new warehouse. It’s a whole, new temple and basically, it’s based off of the end of Season 3,” he said. “The Temple had to relocate to this old icehouse. It’s a pretty cool thing, but just like the old temple, this new temple is just as big of a character in the show as the original.”
According to the 16x World Champion, Ric Flair, WWE’s hottest mainstream celebrity is only signed on through next year’s WrestleMania. Flair’s understanding of the situation is that Rousey is only on a short-term commitment deal as she plans on starting a family.
Flair made the comments during an interview with Chris Van Vliet.
Ric Flair: Ronda Rousey Only Signed To 1-Year Contract
During the interview, the topic turned to Charlotte Flair possibly facing Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania 35 next year. It’s possible Charlotte and Ronda will be the first women to headline a WrestleMania.
Flair seemed to suggest Charlotte vs Ronda will need to happen next year as Ronda is only signed to a 1-year deal with the company.
“If they are ever going to put the women where they belong, this is the year because Ronda – I think Ronda only signed a 1-year deal and then she’s out of there,” Flair said. “She wants to have kids and all that.”
Flair and Hogan have been making promotional appearances together for several months. Since his health scare last year, Flair has been one of Hogan’s biggest proponents, stating the Hulkster has been there for him during some very tough periods in his life. Flair has been advocating for a return to WWE for Hogan as well.
The interviewer then turned his attention to Hogan. He asked the Hulkster how things were going in terms of an eventual return to WWE.
“Things are moving in that direction quite quickly,” Hogan said. “It’s all about execution and timing.”
Enzo Amore is returning to professional wrestling. The promotion responsible for this is House of Glory, run by wrestler Amazing Red. The promotion has been running shows out of New York for the last 6 years. Their most recent event featured members of the Latin American Xchange and Juventud Guerrera.
The event will take place August 17th, 2018 from Jamaica, New York. There will be a pre-show Meet and Greet scheduled at NYC Arena as well. Amore now appears to be going under the name “Real1”, which has been his social media handle for some time now.
It is not yet clear if Enzo will be wrestling on the show or just making an appearance.
Shortly after being cleared from a criminal investigation, Enzo released a rap video through World Star Hip-Hop. His first single took shots at his accuser, even referencing that her wages would be garnished due to the impact her accusations had on his career.
Enzo then released his second music video recently. The track “Bury Me A G” was released on June 7th, 2018 and has almost a half a million views on YouTube already. His first track “Phoenix” is up over 2 million views.
Enzo recently shared some advice given to him by the late Dusty Rhodes:
“Dusty Rhodes gave me the best advice I ever got in life,” Real1 Tweeted.“You could be good, you could be bad, or you could be different. Be different.”
Amore’s last professional wrestling match was on January 21st, 2018. The match took place on a 205 Live house show. Amore successfully defended his Cruiserweight Championship against Cedric Alexander in a match which also featured Nia Jax as the special referee.
Corey Graves is evidently not CM Punk’s biggest fan. The color commentator for both Raw and Smackdown seemed to revel in Punk’s loss at UFC 225 on Saturday night.
“Maybe abandoning everybody who stood by your side, even when we weren’t supposed to, only to have you turn your back on us wasn’t the right move after all?” Graves Tweeted not long after the fight ended. “No anger. Only sadness.”
Graves seems to be echoing sentiment once expressed by Chris Jericho; that Punk didn’t keep in contact with people who considered him a friend in WWE.
“The first rule of ‘punk rock’ is loyalty, and this guy betrayed it all,” Graves continued. “I still love you, “friend” and I’m sorry you got lost.”
Don’t worry, hey @VinceMcMahon this has nothing to do with you.
“Awww. Seems the “fans” are disappointed. Maybe you guys should know that “That Dude” held my first son before I did because I was on tour and I trusted him,” Graves continued. “I had dinner with him the week after he quit.”
About 4.5 hours into the Twitter tirade, Graves then came out with the following:
Graves then spoke with Fightful.com about his Tweets.
“What really set me off was this week when he essentially disowned the business that made him,”Graves said. “My only issue with him was that he turned off people that actually loved and supported him. Beyond “the business” and he never wanted anything to do with us…yet continued to present himself as this ‘Punk’ hero.”
Graves continued to say that nothing he said had anything to do with WWE or the recent lawsuit.
“Dude, this has ZERO to do with court, or testimony or any of the above. Nothing that I tweeted was corporate,” said Graves. “I’m simply hurt/pissed off that a guy that I looked like as a big brother-type has turned his back on me and everyone that loved and supported him only because of the name on my paycheck. I’m definitely not the only one. I won’t name names, but there is a large group of us to this day that inexplicably lost a solid friend because of where we work.”
An inter-promotional trios match-up has been announced recently. While all 6 of the participants are wrestlers, however, this match will be conducted on a gaming console.
Over the weekend, Xavier Woods and new IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Kenny Omega, got into a war of words. Woods eventually announced he was bringing in Kofi Kingston and Big E to E32018 as his partners. Just last night, the Young Bucks revealed that they will be Omega’s partners at the event.
E32018 is large gaming expo taking place in Los Angeles this week.
New Day vs the Elite will be contested via Street Fighter V. The event will be live streamed at Twitch.tv/CapcomFighters on June 14th, 2018 at 1PM local time.
New Day vs the Elite
Woods let Omega know he was bringing the New Day with him to E3 this week:
“I appreciate the sentiments on my historic win,” Omega responded to Woods on Twitter. “But for you to assume that I wouldn’t find any friends for #E3 is about as silly as your mid-card comedy act partners. Get ready for your first main event, boys.”
WWE.com reported on the matchup. They even referred to New Day’s challengers as IWGP Champions. Omega’s “Best Bout Machine” nickname is referenced in the article as well.
The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega won heavyweight gold in NJPW over the weekend. Omega defeated Kazuchika Okada to finally win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Dominion 2018. The Young Bucks won the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships from Evil and Sanada as well. It’s the first time the Bucks have won heavyweight gold in NJPW.
New Japan Pro Wrestling has just announced that Kenny Omega’s first title defense of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship will be against Cody. The match will take place July 7th, 2018 from the Cow Palace just outside of San Fransisco.
Omega won the title on Saturday’s Dominion show from Osaka, Japan. He defeated Kazuchika Okada in a Best 2-of-3 Falls match to end his record-breaking title reign.
Cody, who defeated Omega at Ring of Honor’s Supercard of Honor over WrestleMania weekend, appeared on the entrance ramp after Omega’s victory. Despite being invited into the ring by Omega, Cody opted to turn to the back instead of joining the Golden Elite in the ring.
Cody vs Kenny Omega II, NJPW G1 Special in San Francisco
NJPW also confirmed 3 other matches to take place on the show. The newly crowned IWGP Heavyweight Tag-Team Champions, the Young Bucks, will give a rematch to the former champions, Evil and Sanada. “Switchblade” Jay White will also defend the IWGP United States Championship against Juice Robinson.
The former IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Kazuchika Okada, will team with Will Ospreay on July 7th. They will take on the LosIngobernables team of Bushi and Tetsuya Naito. So far, the company has not announced that Chris Jericho will be booked for the show.
Additionally, the promotion announced some of the matches for the upcoming Kizuna Road tour from the 16th-18th. The G1 blocks and participants will be announced during this tour as well.
2 title matches will take place on the Kizuna Road tour. Michael Elgin will defend the NEVER Openweight title against Hirooki Goto on June 17th. Hiromu Takahashi will defend the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title against El Desperado on June 18th, 2018.
After losing his second straight bout at UFC 225 on Saturday night, dropping a lopsided three-round decision to fellow 0-1 fighter Mike “The Truth” Jackson, it looks like CM Punk is done as a UFC fighter for now.
UFC President Dana White was asked about Punk’s future in the organization after losing for the second time in two fights, as Punk lost via judges scores of 30-26, 30-26 and 30-26 after fifteen minutes of action at the United Center in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois at last night’s pay-per-view.
“It should be a wrap,” White said. “The guy is 39 years old. I love the guy — he’s the nicest guy in the world.”
White would go on to say more about the future of the former WWE Superstar in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and also explained why his opponent, Mike Jackson, also lost his job with the UFC due to his antics inside the Octagon with Punk. Check out more by clicking the appropriate links below.
CM PUNK — UFC 225 COVERAGE
For those who missed it, we have video highlights of the Punk-Jackson fight, as well as all of the details regarding Punk’s future in the UFC and the incident during the fight that led to Jackson losing his job with the company as well.
During the UFC 225 pay-per-view broadcast on Saturday night, the UFC made a big announcement regarding Ronda Rousey and the UFC Hall Of Fame.
It was announced this evening during the UFC 225 PPV broadcast that former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey will be taking her rightful place in the Modern Wing of the UFC Hall Of Fame during an induction ceremony scheduled for UFC’s International Fight Week in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 5th.
The UFC released the following video package honoring the legendary UFC Women’s pioneer, Ronda Rousey, during tonight’s pay-per-view.
