WWE has announced a new match that will take place at NXT TakeOver: Chicago II.
The sports entertainment company announced on this week’s episode of NXT on the WWE Network that Shayna Baszler would be defending her NXT Women’s Title against Nikki Cross at this upcoming 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 Universal Champion Brock Lesnar is expected to drop the title soon.
It was noted in a recent report by Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated that Lesnar is set to be dethroned as champion either before or at SummerSlam.
It was also mentioned in this report that when it does happen then it could be a big indication that it will be when he’s out of the sports entertainment company and potentially headed back to the UFC. It’s well known that Lesnar is not slated to compete at the upcoming Money in the Bank pay-per-view next weekend.
Thus, WWE could have him drop the title at the Extreme Rules event in July or SummerSlam in August. There have been rumors that WWE could pair him up against Braun Strowman or Roman Reigns but that has yet to be confirmed.
Who do you want to see be crowned the next Universal Champion? Sound off in the comment section below.
The current WWE Universal Champion surprisingly retained his title against Reigns in the main event of the biggest event of the year for the sports entertainment company, WrestleMania 34, in April.
The expectation at the time was that WWE would crown Reigns the new champion as it was reported that Lesnar would be leaving the WWE for another stint in the UFC.
Shortly after this event, it was revealed that Lesnar had signed a short-term contract with the sports entertainment company. He was last seen at the Greatest Royal Rumble pay-per-view event where he retained his title against Reigns in a Steel Cage Match.
Legendary manager and former WWE creative team member Jim Cornette has pitched an idea for Roman Reigns.
It’s no secret that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon wants Reigns to the be the next big star of the sports entertainment company. However, the problem is that fans are against it.
Cornette recently appeared on Busted Open Radio and during the interview, he discussed fan criticism of Reigns. Cornette pitched an idea for an angle that might just get Reigns over with the fans. “It’s a situation that has never been arisen before in the pro wrestling industry because think about it, this is the first time that a guy that has been rejected by the fans, not because of his lack of ability, but because the people know that the ‘evil empire’ wants him to be the guy over the guy that they really want to be the guy, or in some cases a few guys they want to be the guy. They have revolted against the establishment, against management, by, defecating all over anything that they try to do with this poor guy because they feel like they are getting back at the company for not featuring their favorites, most notably, Daniel Bryan. In that case, the reason why this has never happened before, now they realize that every promotion in history until Mr. McMahon became one of the greatest characters in the history of television, but every promoter wanted to be the babyface because they didn’t want the fans to be mad at the company. “To think about this logically, why am I going to buy a ticket and buy merchandise at a company that I am mad at? It is such bizarro world. Talk about United States and Canada being bizarro world, this is bizarro world situation. Vince McMahon was good enough to pull it off. He had ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin, they were the ultimate ‘take this job and shove it’ versus the establishment program. It can never been repeated no matter how often people try, but after 20 years, a whole generation have grown up to believe that management is trying to hold my favorite wrestler down, yes they root for those wrestlers, but if the root of it that it is going to bubble at the surface, so, no, we are just going to say f**k you, we like these guys. It has manifested itself to Roman Reigns. Since there has never been anything like this, it just seems to me that battling against the tide because it is what you want to do, and yes, I am sure all the kiddies love Roman Reigns and all the fans in little Des Moines, Iowa, but the base audience that pays the most money per capita, and is involved the most with the internet and with programming is going to do this thing until they get tired of it, but they haven’t gotten tired of it so far because it hasn’t changed anything. Cornette continued by stating, “I would somehow – because Daniel Bryan was the root of it, and we can go back to WrestleMania 30 in New Orleans, LA. If he is the root of it I would somehow try to get him involved in it. I would try and get those two guys together. I have talked about this on my podcast before, in some way, get those guys together in terms of an interview, or a tag team match, or Roman Reigns bails out Bryan in a situation, where then Roman Reigns can turn around and sodomize Daniel Bryan, and do something to him. Then , unleash it. In the 2018 version of ‘Die Rocky Die,’ just unleash it. I was born to this. I was going to have all of this, but it was because of you, just unleash it. At the same time, he doesn’t have to be a heel, heel, just a ‘don’t trust anybody,’ type heel turn where he just doesn’t trust anybody. That got over before, didn’t it? Then, when Stephanie McMahon comes out to congratulate him to see the light, he can then cuss her out and anybody named ‘McMahon.’ The point is, he can not like anybody. Feed him some underneath babyfaces that he can sodomize, heels too. I wouldn’t have him lay Stephanie McMahon out right away, but he can do it where he doesn’t like management, or fans, but just let this guy be this anti-everybody, and let the writers be away from him, just let him write his own material. Put every emphasis into him being against everything and everybody as you have tried to make him this smiley, ice cream bar guy, and see what it can do. Just give him a chance. If it generates heat, it’s the right reaction, but if he gets go away heat, then he can get that type of heat, but after all, how can I miss you if you won’t go away? Just give him a chance to be different. Eventually, the dirtier he gets, the more they are going to like him and respect him a bit. There must be blood.”
What are your thoughts on this potential idea? Sound off in the comment section below.
The Background
Since 2014, WWE has attempted to establish Reigns as their next “face of the company.” Reigns had headlined multiple major WWE pay-per-view events, including the last four WrestleManias (31 lost to Seth Rollins, 32 beat Triple H, 33 when he defeated The Undertaker, and 34 where he lost to Brock Lesnar. There has never been a babyface that has been pushed like Reigns that is disliked more by fans in the history of professional wrestling. Historically, when a babyface is not getting over with the crowd, the promoter or booker would turn them heel. Reigns is truly a different case in that sense.
WWE is celebrating 30 years of SummerSlam with a new DVD.
This year’s event is slated to go down Sunday, August 19, 2018 in Brooklyn, New York at the Barclays Center and will air on the WWE Network and some traditional pay-per-view outlets. Both Raw and SmackDown brands will be featured.
The sports entertainment company is slated to release the DVD, which is titled “30 Years of SummerSlam” August and will feature several matches with a series of recaps that highlight important SummerSlam milestones in its 30-year history.
DISC 1 This is SummerSlam! Intercontinental Championship Match The Honky Tonk Man vs. The Ultimate Warrior SummerSlam • August 29, 1988 Best 2 Out Of 3 Falls Match for the WWE Tag Team Championship Demolition vs. The Hart Foundation SummerSlam • August 27, 1990 Intercontinental Championship Match Bret “Hitman” Hart vs. The British Bulldog SummerSlam • August 29, 1992 Steel Cage Match for the WWE Championship Bret “Hitman” Hart vs. Owen Hart SummerSlam • August 29, 1994 Boiler Room Brawl The Undertaker vs. Mankind SummerSlam • August 18, 1996 Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Championship The Rock vs. Triple H SummerSlam • August 30, 1998
DISC 2 Ladder Match for the WWE Hardcore Championship Jeff Hardy vs. Rob Van Dam SummerSlam • August 19, 2001 WWE Championship Match Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Kurt Angle SummerSlam • August 19, 2001 Unsanctioned Match Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H SummerSlam • August 25, 2002 Undisputed WWE Championship Match The Rock vs. Brock Lesnar SummerSlam • August 25, 2002 Hulk Hogan vs. Shawn Michaels SummerSlam • August 21, 2005 WWE Championship Match John Cena vs. Randy Orton SummerSlam • August 26, 2007
DISC 3 TLC Match for the World Heavyweight Championship CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy SummerSlam • August 23, 2009 Chris Jericho vs. Dolph Ziggler SummerSlam • August 19, 2012 WWE Championship Match John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan SummerSlam • August 18, 2013 WWE Championship Match John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar SummerSlam • August 17, 2014 WWE Women’s Championship Match Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte SummerSlam • August 21, 2016 Fatal 4-Way Match for the Universal Championship Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman vs. Samoa Joe SummerSlam • August 20, 2017
Do you plan to buy this DVD? Sound off in the comment section below.
Impact Wrestling recently held a press conference in Toronto to promote their upcoming Slammiversary pay-per-view.
During the conference, I asked Callis about Canadian wrestling prospects he might be interested in signing. His answer surprised me. “There’s a young Canadian kid I like, we’d love to sign him, his name is Kenny Omega,” Callis said. “Another is Chris Jericho.”
Chris Jericho likely isn’t working for an English language-based company other than WWE anytime soon. The potential for Kenny Omega ending up in Impact Wrestling somewhere down the line, however, is far greater.
NJPW Stars To Impact Wrestling?
Impact recently announced Taiji Ishimori will be returning to the company. Following Ishimori’s debut in NJPW, it was believed he was done with Impact. Ishimori was recently announced as competing at Slammiversary, however, indicating a deal has been reached for him to work for both companies.
Ishimori working for NJPW and Impact Wrestling is an interesting development. NJPW has talent-sharing agreements with CMLL and ROH. Impact Wrestling, in TNA form, previously had such an agreement as well. After Kazuchika Okada’s excursion to the company went poorly, however, there was said to be a falling out between the two companies.
While one bridge between Impact and NJPW had been burnt, NJPW’s color commentator being hired as Impact Wrestling’s new co-Vice President built another. The Ishimori signing indicates Impact has at least cracked the door open for a talent-sharing arrangement with the talent-rich promotion. If that door opens fully, Kenny Omega will be the first one Callis brings in.
While it’s unknown if ROH and NJPW’s talent-sharing agreement is exclusive in the United States and Canada, it has worked out that way ever since TNA and NJPW had a falling out. ROH and Impact Wrestling don’t seem to mind sharing talent, however. They have already done so with Austin Aries.
To make things even more interesting, Chris Jericho recently announced Impact Wrestling will be apart of his cruise later this fall.
Long-time WWE producer Bruce Prichard has built an extremely popular podcast.
Prichard decided to team up with the sports entertainment company to air a version of his podcast on their streaming service, WWE Network, earlier this year.
A new episode of “Something Else to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard” was slated to be available in the on-demand section of the WWE Network on Wednesday, June 6, 2018.
However, that is not the case as Thompson revealed in a social media post that the release of the latest episode is being delayed until Friday due to “creative differences” with WWE. This episode will be about WWE’s ECW brand. “Hey, what’s up guys? No show today. WWE wanted to edit some stuff, we’ve got creative differences, it ain’t airing,” Thompson said. “I wanted you to hear it directly from us. It’s not because we didn’t tape the show, we did, we’re just not happy with the final product. This is the first time this has happened and rather than just throw something up to have something up, it’s going to air on Friday. “We’re not re-shooting it, Bruce and I are done, we’re happy with it but we’re not going to change the narrative. I don’t want to white-wash everything that ECW was. So I’m fighting for it. We’re going to get you the best possible product to you this Friday on the WWE Network, with a delay, and our most controversial ‘Something Else to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard’ ever. Tune in Friday.”
Once the podcast premiered on the WWE Network back on April 18th of this year, it was revealed that it was scheduled for a 13-episode run in the first season. Part of the reason for the success of the podcast is both Prichard and co-host Conrad Thompson setting the truth on the topics that they are talking about.
The performer behind one of the most controversial characters in wrestling history, Muhammed Hassan, has recently returned to pro-wrestling. In fact, Hassan won the Dynasty World Championship on Saturday at a show from Amsterdam, New York.
Real name Marc Copani, the 38-year-old returned to wrestling in April for the first time since his WWE run ended in 2005. On the July 4th, 2005 episode of Smackdown, Hassan’s character was involved in a segment many deemed to be an allusion to terroristic actions. The episode was filmed before but aired after the London Bombings. Hassan’s character was ordered off the air by the television network, UPN, who aired Smackdown at the time.
He recently spoke with the Pro Wrestling Sheet regarding his in-ring return.
Muhammad Hassan Returns To Wrestling
Hassan has wrestled twice since returning to wrestling. His first match was in April and then recently he defeated Bin Hamin to win the Dynasty Heavyweight belt. He had the following to say regarding what it felt like to return to the ring.
“The first time I was a little nervous — a little unsure of what I was doing. The second time it felt like it was the day after I stopped,” Hassan said. “It was a lot more fun the second time.”
The events in 2005 caused Hassan to walk away from wrestling for 13 years. He now works as an assistant principal at a high school near Syracuse.
“I had to put it behind me and I had to move forward,” Hassan said regarding his mindset after leaving WWE. “That was the only way I could survive — if I forgot about wrestling and I focused on a new career.”
It now appears Hassan’s passion for wrestling has returned, however, and he believes he’s got more to offer the industry.
“It might have taken 13 years to kind of get over it and get out and work again, but I miss working in the ring,” he continued.
Hassan even said he wouldn’t mind appearing in the Royal Rumble someday. There would certainly be many fans surprised but excited to see such an appearance.
“It would be enjoyable to be back in the atmosphere again,” Hassan said of a possible WWE return. “It’s nothing I would want to do full-time, but I’m not going to lie — I miss it.”
Son of former WWE Superstar Billy Gun, Austin Gunn, recently did his first-ever wrestling interview with WSVN-TV’s Chris Van Vliet while at Wrestling For Warriors in Florida. Austin first opened up about dealing with the backlash at school from his dad’s Billy & Chuck gimmick on TV:
“He kind of sat us down when that whole thing was getting really hot and he was like ‘Listen, your dad’s not really gay and this is a whole gimmick.’ But at school they’d be all like ‘Oh, your dad’s gay.
“Your dad’s kissing another dude.’ I’d be like ‘That’s not my dad. I have a mom. What do you mean?’ and I’d be trying to put the pieces together. I understood the business enough back then to know my dad wasn’t really gay. But I got a little heat for that.”
Austin is ready to begin his professional wrestling career after recently finishing college. He explained why he wants to follow in his father’s footsteps and get into the business:
“Growing up and just being around the business, I met The Rock and Stone Cold and it was all normal to me at the time. In school kids would be like ‘What, your dad’s a wrestler?’ and it was just like an everyday thing for me.
“Growing up I kind of got a better understanding of the business and kind of how it worked and I was like ‘Maybe I’ll be kind of good at this.’ My parents said I couldn’t do it until I went to college and graduated first and that’s understandable. I just graduated this past Mother’s Day and I’m ready to get into it.”
As far as what his goals are in wrestling, Austin wants to establish his own name rather than ‘backpacking’ off his father’s gimmick:
“I think right now I just want to take it all in and be able to remember this experience. Remember coming here and having my first interview and having my first match and what that really meant to me and kind of establish a name for myself instead of backpacking off my dad’s gimmick.
“I don’t want to be known for that 100%, I want to make a name for myself so that other people know that I really want to do this and not just because my dad’s a wrestler. I really want to do this and I’m really passionate about it and I think I’m fairly good at it so I’m excited to see where it goes.
Austin then commented on whether or not he plans to use his “Gunn” name in wrestling:
“I have no idea because I’m not really in it yet. The ideas were flowing a little bit at first and obviously my father is Billy Gunn. I don’t know what my character is supposed to be yet because I’m not at that developmental stage yet in my wrestling career.
“Just to dip my feet in the water a little bit we had our first tag team match which was my first match just to kind of get into it and then I had a solo match and I had to go by something. So I was like my first name is Austin and I want people to know who I am at least just so they get an idea until I start taking that path.”
Both WWE Superstars Tyler Breeze and Scott Dawson recently posted some interesting Tweets on social media, likely voicing their frustrations with their current positions in the company. Breeze Tweeted out the following, which led to an exchange with a fan:
They say the cream rises to the top……. does anyone have some balloons or a life vest?
Cody Rhodes & The Young Bucks Hype Upcoming Matches
One-half of The Young Bucks, Matt Jackson, recently took to Twitter to hype he and Nick’s upcoming Tag Team match at Dominion. The Young Bucks will take on Los Ingobernables de Japon (Sanada and Evil) for the IWGP Tag Team Titles:
Ring Of Honor (ROH) also posted a video in which Cody Rhodes hypes his upcoming Triple Threat match against Dalton Castle and Marty Scurll for the ROH World Title at the Best In The World pay-per-view (PPV) on June 29th in Baltimore:
As UFC 225 continues to rapidly approach, former WWE Superstar CM Punk is gearing up for his second trip to the Octagon. Before he does so, which goes down this Saturday night near his hometown of Chicago, Illinois at the United Center, Punk closed a very important chapter of his life and career this week.
Punk won a trial against WWE doctor Chris Amann this week, stemming from a lawsuit that was filed years ago when the former pro wrestler left WWE in pursuit of his MMA dreams in the UFC.
Following the court case, which wrapped up in his favor this week, our own Steven Muehlhausen spoke with CM Punk for Fightful.com. During the discussion, Punk spoke about his thoughts on the entire process of dealing with the lawsuit against Amann.
“Yeah, this has been … in a word, I think this has been pretty frivolous and I’m shocked it made it this far, but I was always confident because all I had to do was tell the truth, and in the end I’m super grateful towards the jury for coming to the correct verdict,” said Punk. “But still, being in court is nerve-wracking. So, the fact that this is all over, well, I’m hoping this is all over, and I hope I never have to talk about it again or hear certain names or certain words. I don’t have to re-live me being forced to work through concussions anymore and hear people’s testimony about it. I’m just happy it’s over. It’s a good day.”
When asked if the end of the lawsuit was one of the happiest days of his life knowing that the WWE chapter of his life is officially behind him, “The Best in the World” responded with a pretty intriguing answer.
“I mean if we can 100-percent without-a-doubt say that, yeah, this would be one of the happiest days of my life,” Punk quipped. “But I’ll always be looking over my shoulder [laughs].”
Of course, it wouldn’t have been a proper discussion with Punk if the question regarding how the trial being so closely scheduled to his second fight in the Octagon affected his preparations.
“I feel good and I look good,” said Punk with a laugh, while his wife, fellow former WWE Superstar A.J. Lee chuckled in the background. “I’m not trying to cut a promo or anything, but I think that in a weird way this trial made me even more ultra focused on what I have to do on Saturday.”
Check out Steven Muehlhausen’s complete discussion with CM Punk above. If you haven’t had your fill of CM Punk-related content heading into this Saturday’s UFC 225 pay-per-view, check out some of the following links:
Later this month (June 17, 2018) WWE will holds its Money In The Bank (MITB) Ladder match in Rosemont, Illinois. Braun Strowman, Finn Balor, The Miz, Rusev, Bobby Roode, Kevin Owens, Samoa Joe and a member of The New Day.
WWE recently posted an Instagram photo showing which of these competitors has been in a MITB Ladder match the most. The Miz leads the way with three, Kevin Owens has two, and if Kofi Kingston is the New Day member selected to participate he’ll lead the way with six:
TJP has been teasing a brand switch lately after recently working an enhancement talent on 205 Live before cutting a promo on General Manager Drake Maverick. TJP has teased a possible move to SmackDown Live or Monday Night RAW as he feels Maverick doesn’t appreciate him. Check it out here:
During the trial between CM Punk & Colt Cabana vs. WWE Dr. Chris Amann, a lot of information came to light. At one point in the trial, Tweets were read aloud that were directed towards Amann on Twitter.
WrestleZone recently reported that a hashtag of #FireDrAmann was Tweeted by a user who’s name was Mike Litoris. Many in the courtroom begun to chuckle at the joke. Now that the trial is over, and was ruled in favor of Punk and Cabana, Colt took to Twitter to comment on Mr. Litoris’ Tweet:
As we’ve noted, Lio Rush is expected to be making his 205 Live debut soon. Rush had some run-ins with Velveteen Dream in NXT previously, and now Dream believes that because he gave Rush the “rub from The Dream,” he’s responsible for the call-up.
He also teased his NXT TakeOver: Chicago opponent, Ricochet, that he can do the same for him too:
CM Punk is currently gearing up to compete in his second mixed martial arts (MMA) fight this weekend on the main card of the UFC 225 pay-per-view (PPV) in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois.
The former WWE Champion will be taking on MMA journalist Mike Jackson, who holds an 0-1 record himself. Jackson and Punk both lost to the same man, Mickey Gall, in their professional fighting careers.
Jackson lost first in under a minute, and as a result Gall won the opportunity to welcome Punk into the UFC. Several months later, Punk fought Gall and lost via first round submission after two minutes.
Now, two years later, Punk is seeking his first victory of his fighting career. Punk is currently in the middle of his weight-cut, as he must weigh 171 pounds or less come fight night, and he isn’t looking great:
Punk looks extremely tired and sucked in here, but this isn’t uncommon for fighters in the middle of a weight cut.
Discussion: What are you expecting from Punk inside the Octagon this weekend? Will you be watching?
Former mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter-turned-professional wrestler, Stephan Bonnar, recently did an interview with Sportskeeda to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Bonnar first talked about making the transition from fighting to wrestling, and how its been:
“I mean yeah, I can’t complain. Since I stepped foot in a pro wrestling gym I’ve done House of Glory, a big show up in New York City, IWS up in Montreal, and Impact where I ran that angle that ended with a match with me and Moose against Lashley and King Mo in a steel cage.
“Then I’ve got PCW where I’ve got my debut this Friday, so my goal was to stick to solid indie shows and that’s what I’m doing. I’ve been talking to the guys at MLW, so yeah, it’s going good.”
As far as how much the training between the two sports differs, Bonnar says pro wrestling training doesn’t come close to how grueling it is to prepare for a fight:
“It’s not even close to how miserable it is training for an MMA fight. When you do MMA it’s an obvious kind of fun, but when you have to get ready for a fight, you literally go through hell every day and you have trouble getting out of bed.
“That’s really hard. So, for pro wrestling it’s been more of a hobby. I go in there once or twice a week, and I’m trying to learn maybe one or two more moves a day.”
Bonnar feels good right now physically, but his body was taking quite the toll when he was still competing in MMA:
“My body, honestly, feels the best it has in so long. My main problem, in terms of MMA, is that it was taking a toll on me. Every day my knees would swell up and it’d be ice baths and cortisone injections.
“In pro wrestling, you take bumps and falls, and it’s like taking breakfalls in judo. It’s very similar, and that’s pretty much the extent of it. I feel good.”
You can read Bonnar’s full interview with Sportskeeda by clicking this link here
Check out an interview with Bonnar’s former Tag Team partner, Phil Baroni, who explains how Bonnar ruined the sport of MMA, here.
For the best MMA coverage available, please visit our sister site at MMANews.com
During a recent episode of the E&C’s Pod of Awesomeness podcast, the former WWE World Champion and WWE Hall of Famer Edge took questions from fans that led to them talking about various topics.
One fan asked Christian about if he preferred a traditional ring or a six-sided ring when he worked for TNA. If you recall, the promotion, which started in 2002, had a six-sided ring to stand out from other promotions instead of a traditional squared ring for many years.
“I’m a traditionalist; I like the square one,” said Christian (transcript courtesy of Wrestling Inc). “I get that the six-sided [ring] looked different, but I don’t think it was enough to be like, ‘oh, man this ring is so different.’ It was a little bit awkward to wrestle in, because sometimes when you are shooting somebody corner to corner, you had to adjust because it wasn’t directly across. And it was also really hard, like it was a hard ring. If you weren’t bumping pretty much around the middle of it, like around the edges were super, super hard, and it hurt. Christian continued by stating, “So, I’ve always been partial to the square ring. I got used to it, and I didn’t think of it at a certain time, but even little things like when you climb up the ropes to jump off the top rope, the foot positioning is farther apart because of where the ropes are, the distance, I guess, that they have to travel to the next post is different than when the ring is square. So, it was a smaller area to put your feet on a regular ring, and it was further apart and I always found it harder to jump off the top rope with your feet really far apart.”
Christian added that he liked a traditional ring better than a six-sided ring and the appeal of it.
What are your thoughts on Christian’s comments? Sound off in the comment section below.
The Background
Christian had found a ton of success while working for the sports entertainment company. He started out as a member of The Brood and had plenty of Tag Team Title reigns alongside Edge.
Christian ended up departing from the WWE and spending some time forging friendships in Florida while a part of TNA. As a result of his time in TNA, when he finally returned to WWE in 2009, he was pushed as a big star, which is something that he deserved for his hardwork.
As a result of his history with concussions, WWE wouldn’t clear him, and he was forced to retire from in-ring competition. It could be argued that if it were a different time in the professional wrestling business, then he could still be competing.
Last night on Smackdown, Becky Lynch defeated Charlotte Flair to hand the former champion her 3rd single’s loss since defeating Asuka at WrestleMania 34.
Flair posted the following to her social media accounts after the loss:
Her comments suggest Flair will look to add something new to her in-ring game in order to solve her recent slump.
Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair in Smackdown’s Women’s Division
For Flair, the loss was her 3rd loss out of her last 5 single’s matches. She lost to Carmella in an impromptu Smackdown Women’s Championship match against Carmella on the April 10th, 2018 Smackdown. Carmella successfully cashed in her MITB briefcase.
Flair defeated Billie Kay the next week on Smackdown. At Backlash 2018, it seemed as though Flair was in a good spot to win back the title, but her knee buckled at one point, allowing Carmella to score the victory on a pinning combination. The following week on Smackdown, however, Flair defeated Peyton Royce to qualify for the Money in the Bank match later this month.
As for Becky Lynch, the 31-year-old has been out of the title picture for some time now. Lynch, who is the inaugural Smakcodwn Women’s Champion, hasn’t held the title since losing it to Alexa Bliss on December 4th, 2016. Bliss defeated Lynch in a tables match at the WWE: TLC: Tables, Ladders, & Chairs 2016 pay-per-view.
Lynch would go on to challenge Bliss 3x on television or the Network after but failed to win the title back. She defeated Bliss via count-out on Smackdown just 9 days after losing the title but then lost a title match to Bliss 2 weeks later. They met inside a steel cage on the January 17th, 2017 edition of Smackdown, when Bliss once again defeated Lynch to retain her title. Since then, Lynch has largely been out of the title picture. She recently qualified for the Money in the Bank ladder match, however.
205 Live this week featured two matches in the cruiserweight division. The brand continues to build towards as the introduction of cruiserweight tag-team championships, although it is still not clear when those will be unveiled.
Jack Gallagher and the Brian Kendrick are in the middle of a rivalry with the members of the Lucha House Party over tag-team bragging rights currently. The team of Akira Tozawa and Hideo Itami had previously been teaming together but that after a couple of losses and the shoving match, the team appears to have disbanded.
Kendrick would face Lince Dorado from the Lucha House Party in single’s action this week. Meanwhile, at the top of the cruiserweight rankings, Buddy Murphy and Mustafa Ali would face off in last night’s main event.
205 Live 6/5/18 Results
1) Lince Dorado defeated the Brian Kendrick
In the first match of the night, Lince Dorado hit a springboard cutter on Kendrick for the victory.
With Gallagher absent this week (was at a wedding), Drew Gulak accompanied Kendrick to the ring. Gulak has been vocally critical of the Lucha House Party and their high-flying tactics.
Following the match, Gulak attacked Dorado but was chased away by the other members of the Lucha House Party.
It was later revealed that the Lucha House Party will face Drew Gulak, Jack Gallagher, and the Brian Kendrick in a trios match next week.
2) TJP defeated Brian Keith
This was a squash match for TJP. Early in the match, he went to the outside and grabbed a mic. He expressed his dismay that he hasn’t been given tougher competition all the while putting his opponent in submission holds. He insinuated another GM might appreciate his talent better. Keith eventually tapped out while in a sharpshooter.
Lio Rush is Coming to 205 Live
Highly touted cruiserweight prospect, Lio Rush, is coming to 205 Live. The small but entertaining Rush barely wrestled in NXT during his short stay with the brand.
3) Buddy Murphy and Mustafa Ali Goes to a No-Contest
After a long match, it seemed as though Ali was in a position to avenge his recent loss to Murphy but Hideo Itami’s interference caused the match to be thrown out.
Itami took out both competitors before yelling for no one in particular to respect him. Perhaps, Itami is looking to be added to the cruiserweight title picture as well and this is why he interfered in last night’s main event.
Show was recently a guest on WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin’s podcast, The Steve Austin Show, and during the interview, he was asked who is WWE’s next breakout star.
The former WWE Champion stated that he believes it is a star on the flagship show of the sports entertainment company, Monday Night RAW, Elias.
“I think Elias has a lot of good things in the future ahead of him. He’s a good kid and he’s a hard worker. They always say, ‘he’s got a hell of a body on him.’ He [has] done a lot of things right. They built him along the way. They haven’t had him beat a lot of people. He [has] earned his wins. He [has] done his losses. Like, he’s building a good, solid foundation.” Big Show added, “but I think Elias is a good pick. He is. That’s a good call.” Also in this interview, he gave some high praise to former WWE RAW and SmackDown Live Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair.
“I’d look for a lot of breakout stars also, now, I know you’ll probably think I’m crazy, but if you look at the women’s division,” Big Show considered (transcript courtesy of Wrestling Inc). “I mean, they have stepped up the competition. Have you seen the matches that Charlotte [has] been having and the stuff that she’s doing? I mean, thank God I’m not following her right now. She is just laying it down. Talk about a complete change from when I knew her in her teens and when she was in college. And now, the commitment that she [has] made, and I’m just blown away by the talent she has.”
What are your thoughts on Show’s comments? Sound off in the comment section below.
As seen on this week’s episode of Monday Night RAW in Houston, TX at the Toyota Center on the USA Network, Show made his first appearance on WWE programming since last year when he faced Braun Strowman in a Steel Cage Match. He has been out of action after undergoing surgery.
Former WWE tag-team champion, Brian Christopher, has been arrested. Christopher and the owner/chairman of the Glory Championship Wrestling Alliance, Terry Teague, were arrested for failing to pay for a hotel bill totaling over $800.
It’s been an unfortunate few months for the son of Jerry Lawler. In March, it was reported that Christopher was beaten so badly he required surgery. Indie wrestler, Chase Stevens, was arrested shortly after the incident.
Fox Memphis was the first to report on Christopher’s arrest. According to their report, Lawler and Teague had used a company credit card to pay for their stay. When the hotel attempted to bill the wrestlers there was not enough money remaining on the card they used. The hotel then notified the police after being informed by Christopher and Teague that they were unable to pay their bill through other methods. The pair were staying at the Hampton Inn on Peabody Place in Memphis.
Christopher has been charged with Theft of Services under $1000 or less. The crime is deemed a misdemeanor offense in Tennessee.
Tennessee law lists the following possible penalties for Christopher’s offense:
“Tennessee law specifies that penalties for a Misdemeanor Theft conviction apply if the value of lost property or services was $1,000 or less. Misdemeanor Theft is a Class A Misdemeanor and may result in some or all of the following penalties:
A sentence of up to 11 months, 29 days in prison;
A probationary period;
A fine of up to $2,500;
Court costs.”
Brian Christopher in 2018
The 46-year old has yet to wrestle a match in 2018. He’s been dealing with the facial injuries he suffered since March.
Christopher has been wrestling only sporadically in recent years. He wrestled 4 matches in 2017 and only 5 in 2016. Often, he will wrestle under his former Grandmasta Sexay gimmick as well. On occasion, he has been joined by Scotty 2 Hotty on the indie scene as well. In 2015, Too Cool wrested several matches together. Scotty 2 Hotty now works at the WWE Performance Center in Florida, however.
Daniel Bryan didn’t have a response to Big Cass’ Smackdown promo until after last night’s show. Bryan was interviewed by WWE backstage correspondents for a WWE.com exclusive interview.
“Big Cass, guess what? You said you’re going to break my leg in half? You don’t even know how. You haven’t trained hard enough, you haven’t been in the gym hard enough, you don’t know how to wrestle hard enough to break my leg in half. Do you know what’s going to happen at Money in the Bank? I am going to make you tap out one more time, whether it’s the YES Lock, whether it’s the heel hook, whether I just knee you in the face and stomp you in the face until you give up, that’s what’s going to happen at Money in the Bank. And you can’t teach surviving that.”
transcripts courtesy of Cageside Seats
Daniel Bryan vs Big Cass Rivalry
The story WWE appears to be telling with the Daniel Bryan vs Big Cass rivalry is that Big Cass wants to show Bryan he can’t “hang in a big man’s world”. Bryan, on the other hand, wants to prove that good wrestlers can beat naturally gifted athletes such as the 7-foot tall Big Cass.
It’s been an interesting in-ring return for Daniel Bryan these last few months. Not including house shows, Daniel Bryan has wrestled 8 times for WWE since returning to action at WrestleMania 34.
Daniel Bryan’s WWE Record Since Return
not including house shows or dark matches
WrestleMania 34: Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan defeated Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn.
April 10th, 2018 Smackdown: AJ Styles vs Daniel Bryan went to a no-contest.
April 17th, 2018 Smackdown: AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan defeated Aiden English and Rusev via DQ.
Greatest Royal Rumble: Set a new record for longest time in a Rumble match but did not win.
May 6th, 2018 Backlash PPV: Daniel Bryan defeated Big Cass.
May 8th, 2018 Smackdown: Rusev defeated Daniel Bryan (MITB qualifier).
May 22nd, 2018 Smackdown: Daniel Bryan defeated Jeff Hardy.
May 29th, 2018 Smackdown: Samoa Joe defeated Daniel Bryan and Big Cass (MITB qualifier)
NXT will present a taped show from Full Sail University tonight. The brand is building towards the upcoming Takeover event in 10 days from Chicago’s All-State Arena.
4 matches have been confirmed already for Takeover but more could be announced on tonight’s show.
NXT 6/6/18 Preview
Tommaso Ciampa Addresses His Street Fight with Johnny Gargano
At Takeover Chicago the epic rivalry between Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano will continue. They will meet in a street fight in Chicago in a match which might finally bring this long-running blood feud to an end. Tonight, Ciampa plans to address his match at Takeover: Chicago with the fans at Full Sail University.
Nikki Cross Segment
Last week, Nikki Cross saved Dakota Kai from a post-match beatdown by Shayna Baszler. Cross then challenged the champion to an impromptu match and won after Kai counted the 3-count. The match was unofficial, of course, and Cross did not actually win the championship.
The NXT Women’s Championship still doesn’t have an official match at Takeover: Chicago, perhaps Cross’ segment tonight could lead to such a match being confirmed.
Roderick Strong vs Danny Burch
Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch will challenge the Undisputed Era at Takeover: Chicago for the NXT tag-team championships. This week, Danny Burch will face Roderick Strong in one-on-one action. Burch scored the win for his team (with Lorcan and Pete Dunne) over the 3 healthy members of Undisputed Era (O’Reilly, Strong, and Cole) recently on NXT.
Kairi Sane vs Lacey Evans
Evans pulled off a huge upset the last time these two met in single’s action back in May. Sane had defeated Evans back in April, however. As the two are 1-and-1 with each other, this match here will be the rubber match. The winner likely moves into the title picture following Takeover: Chicago and the loser does not.
Matches Already Confirmed for Takeover: Chicago:
NXT Tag Team Championships
Undisputed Era (c) vs Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch
NXT Championship
Aleister Black (c) vs Lars Sullivan
New Japan Pro Wrestling presents one of the biggest shows of the year this Saturday from Osaka Jo Hall in Osaka, Japan.
The main event will feature a 4th one-on-one match between Kenny Omega and Kazuchika Okada. In their 3 previous matches, each has won once and their match from Dominion last year went to a time-limit draw.
Chris Jericho returns to NJPW this weekend to face Tetsuya Naito. Jericho filmed an expletive-laced promo directed at Naito which aired on the final night of the Best of the Super Juniors tournament this week.
Will Ospreay will defend his IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship against the winner of this year’s Best of the Super Juniors, Hiromu Takahashi.
Also on the card this Saturday, the Young Bucks will attempt to win heavyweight tag-team gold in the promotion for the first time. The Bucks will challenge Evil and Sanada of Los InGobernables for the IWGP Heavyweight tag-team championships.
Rey Mysterio Jr’s match in NJPW was also put together on the last night of the BOSJ tournament. Marty Scurll kept up the attack on Tanahashi after their tag match on the card, causing Liger to run in and make the save. Liger then said he would team with Tanahashi and Mysterio to take on Scurll and his Bullet Club teammates.
WWE announced during the latest episode of 205 Live that NXT Star Lio Rush will be making his main roster debut soon and joining the Cruiserweight Exclusive Show.
A vignette was aired announcing his impending arrival on 205 Live. In the video Rush talked about how he is planning the perfect attack on the brand and went on to claim that he is the best Cruiserweight in the World:
Lio Rush was signed by WWE back in July last year. He made his on screen debut for the company during the October 4rth episode of NXT and had been competing for the brand ever since.
Miz Wrestles Again After SmackDown
Unlike past several weeks, this week’s episode of SmackDown Live had only one dark main event, which took place after the show went off air.
The dark match saw Daniel Bryan teaming up with the current United States Champion Jeff Hardy to take on the team of the former Intercontinental Champion The Miz and Big Cass.
The match was won by the faces to send the crowd home happy. It’s worth mentioning here that this was the second match of the night for the Miz as he had competed in a 6 Men Tag match against the New Day earlier in the night.
It was reported recently that the company has signed Progress Women’s Champion Jinny to a UK contract and now another latest WWE signee has been revealed.
Newshub.co.nz reports that the company has signed New Zealand rugby star Daniel Vidot and he’ll be reporting to the performance center in a few weeks.
Commenting on his signing Daniel said that his short-term goals include learning things about Professional Wrestling and in long term, he wants to become the WWE Champion:
“Short-term goals are to get to know everything I need to know about professional wrestling, learn the basics and take baby steps. Just keep developing. Long term I want to be WWE Champion.”
The story also features comments from Triple H who talks about how WWE is opening the pathway for the best athletes from around the world to join the company.
Born on 8 February 1990, Vidot made his first grade NRL debut for the Canberra Raiders back in 2009. Since then he has taken part in 9 NRL seasons.
Daniel apparently applied for the WWE tryouts through their new Performance Center website launched recently and he and two other athletes were chosen for a contract among 40 participants. Though the name of the other two signees is yet to be revealed.
Austin Aries defeated Pentagon Jr. during the Under Pressure special of Impact and won the Impact World Championship back from the Mexican star last week.
The big question after Aries’ victory was whether he’ll continue his rivalry with the Lucha Underground star or move on to a feud with an Impact star instead and it appears we now have the answer to this.
During the press conference for the upcoming Slammiversary event, it was announced that Austin will be defending his title against Moose at the upcoming show, meaning he’ll be wrapping up his feud with Pentagon.
Though, this wasn’t the only match announced for the event as the company also revealed that Su Yung will defend the Impact Knockouts Championship against Madison Rayne.
It’s worth mentioning here that Yung also became the champion during the same Impact episode where she defeated Allie to win the title.
Apart from this, the company has also announced that both Johnny Impact and Taiji Ishimori will be competing at the upcoming PPV but their opponents for the show are yet to be revealed. After the announcement, below is the updated Slammiversary match card:
Impact World Championship
Austin Aries (c) vs. Moose
Impact Knockouts Championship
Su Yung (c) vs. Madison Rayne
Johnny Impact vs. TBD
Taiji Ishimori vs. TBD
Slammiversary will take place on July 22 at The Rebel Complex in Toronto, Ontario.
Punk looks extremely tired and sucked in here, but this isn’t uncommon for fighters in the middle of a weight cut.