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David Arquette Clarifies Return To Wrestling, Wants To Silence Haters

Chris Stephens
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8

David Arquette announced yesterday he plans to return to professional wrestling. He made the announcement during an appearance on the Wendy Williams Show. He has since clarified his statements and motivation for returning.

Arquette explained his desire to return to wrestling has to do with wanting to silence the critics of his WCW World Championship run.

“I was promoting a movie I did called Ready to Rumble and it just so happened that I won the championship,” Arquette said yesterday on the Wendy Williams show. “(Fans) blamed me for ruining WCW. It’s no longer around and maybe I did have something to do with it.”

“For 18 years, I’ve been trolled on the internet,” he continued. “And I just want to bring some respect back to my name!”

After his announcement yesterday, Arquette spoke with TMZ Sports to clarify why he is returning to wrestling.

David “the Magic Man” Arquette Returns to Pro Wrestling

Arquette told TMZ he has been training to get in shape for his return. He’s been practicing jiu-jitsu and boxing as well.

He was asked if his return was a publicity stunt for a sequel to Ready 2 Rumble.

“Ready 2 Rumble 2 I don’t think will happen,” Arquette said before mentioning his co-star in the movie, Diamond Dallas Page. “I am going to be doing some DDP Yoga that’s for sure.”

When asked if Arquette plans to go for a championship or end up in WWE, here is what he had to say:

“I love WWE, I’ve always been a fan of the McMahons and Vince and everything they’ve been doing over there,” Arquette said. “It’s always been a weird relationship between me and wrestling. I’m just trying to clear my name.”

WWE wasted little time in promoting Arquette’s return to wrestling themselves. They Tweeted out the following not long after Arquette appeared on the Wendy Williams show.

So far, it’s not clear what promotion Arquette is looking to get booked with. The Hollywood actor is located in Los Angeles and seemingly could appear for promotions such as Joey Ryan’s the Bar Wrestling, though that is only speculation.

Paul Heyman Gives High Praise To Charlotte Flair

Andrew Ravens
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1

Paul Heyman is very high on Charlotte Flair.

Flair has taken the WWE by storm since being called up to the main roster in 2015 during the Women’s Revolution storyline. She has won championships both in NXT and on the main roster.

At first, she was portrayed as her real-life personality then she started to come out of her father’s spotlight and become her own person, who has transformed into not only one of the best wrestlers in the sports entertainment company but a top star in the women’s division.

Heyman wrote the following on his official Twitter account about the former WWE RAW and SmackDown Women’s Champion:

“I deserve no credit for believing in @MsCharlotteWWE since day one. How could one NOT believe in her? She has everything a @WrestleMania main eventer requires. The right look, talent, instincts, work ethic, workrate, charisma, extraordinary timing in the ring.

@MsCharlotteWWE’s every performance is propeled by her mission in life, which transcends mere ambition, pursuit of fame/ fortune, or even desire to achieve one’s own greatness. Once you even begin to grasp what motivates her, there’s no conclusion other than to believe in her!”

Flair is slated to take on Sasha Banks, Ember Moon, Alexa Bliss, Becky Lynch, Natalya, Lana, and Naomi in the women’s Money in the Bank Ladder match at the upcoming MITB PPV event.

What are your thoughts on Heyman’s praise for Flair? Sound off in the comment section below.

Kimber Lee Talks NXT, Inter-Gender Matches, the Northern Tournament, more…

Chris Stephens
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0

27-year-old Kimberly Frankele is better known to wrestling fans as Kimber Lee. The former Chikara Grand Champion was released from her WWE contract earlier this year and has since returned to the independent scene.

Ahead of her participation in this weekend’s “the Northern” tournament with Smash Wrestling in Toronto, Kimber Lee spoke with Slam! Sports. During the interview, Kimber Lee spoke about her time in WWE developmental and her career on the independents.

Kimber Lee Interview Highlights

Kimber Lee was asked about the difference between the independent circuit and the year she spent in WWE developmental.

“When you’re on the independent circuit your schedule really depends on yourself,” she said. “If there are three [NXT] shows on the weekend you can work one or none at all.”

“When I first started at NXT I didn’t get to travel as much, I mainly stayed in Florida and trained a lot,” Kimber Lee continued. “I got to work with trainers like Robbie Brookside and Norman Smiley.”

https://twitter.com/Kimber_Lee90/status/998994532837584898

Abbey Laith in NXT

Kimber Lee wrestled under the name Abbey Laith while in NXT. She only appeared on 3 episodes of NXT television. She lost to Ruby Riot on the April 5th, 2017 episode and also participated in two battle royals, neither of which she won. Abbey Laith did regularly compete at NXT house shows, however. She lost most of her matches but did have a good showing in the inaugural Mae Young Classic. Laith made it to the quarter-finals of the tournament before losing to Mercedes Martinez. She had defeated Jazzy Gabert and Rachael Evers to reach that point in the tournament.

Kimber Lee was also asked about her experiences being a woman in the business and what her experience has been like with inter-gender matches.

Lee will wrestle in an inter-gender match in the 1st round of this weekend’s Northern tournament. She takes on Wheeler Yuta. Both Yuta and Lee were trained by 205 Live Superstar, Drew Gulak. Here is what Lee had to say about her upcoming opponent.

“He’s going to have a strong technical base because Drew is such a technical mat wrestler,” she said. “It’s going to be more of a grappling battle than people think.”

More information on Smash Wrestling’s tournament this weekend can be found here.

In addition to Lee, Matt Riddle, Joey Mercury, Joe Hendry, Joey Janela, and Mia Yim are also entered into the tournament.

Lee concluded the interview by stating, “The Crown Jewel is very much alive, so never count me out.”

Sami Callihan vs Eddie Edwards “Fight in the Woods” Match Next Week

Chris Stephens
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6

The feud between Eddie Edwards and Sami Callihan continues to roll on in Impact Wrestling. The rivalry has spilled into other promotions as well such as Tommy Dreamer’s House of Hardcore and Santino Marella’s Destiny Wrestling.

Last night on Impact Wrestling’s “Under Pressure” it was revealed that Callihan and Edwards will face each other once more next week. The match will be a “Fight in the Woods”. By the sounds of it, Impact will film (or already has done so) a match between the two in the middle of a forest with no fans present.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wxEasAFw9g

Sami Callihan vs Eddie Edwards

So far in 2018, Eddie Edwards and Sami Callihan have faced each other on 4 occasions. Here are the results:

  1. Impact Wrestling January 13th: Edwards defeated Callihan
  2. Redemption PPV (Hardcore Rules): Callihan and oVe defeated Edwards, Moose, and Dreamer
  3. House of Hardcore 41 (Street Fight): Edwards defeated Callihan
  4. House of Hardcore 42 (Street Fight): Edwards defeated Callihan

Edwards spoke to the Mirror UK website about the recent changes in Impact Wrestling.

“Since (the new management team) came in it feels like a new regime but in a good way,” Edwards said. “Feels like at this point from the guys in the locker room to the guys in the office, Scott, Don, Sonjay and creative are all on the same page. We are trying to slowly but surely turn things around and get back to where we were in the heyday.”

Edwards continued to say he is pleased with the level of creative freedom and communication which currently exists in the promotion.

“Right now the lines of communication are open between everybody which is great,” he continued. “To be able to go back and forth with ideas and creative stuff. It’s nice to just have the team all on the same page going forward and that’s the biggest thing. We can’t have people going in different directions that doesn’t work. Right now it’s a good time.”

Reason Why William Regal Has Been Off TV, NXT Star On How Alexa Bliss Changed Her Perspective

Anutosh Bajpai
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4

Reason Why William Regal Has Been Off TV

While WWE has been referencing him by his name and there have been segments with wrestlers going to his office, NXT General Manager William Regal hasn’t exactly been shown on Camera in recent weeks.

This has made many wonder about his status and the reason behind the Former Hardcore Champion’s absence from the WWE programming. Now Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer has revealed the reason behind it.

According to him, Regal has been dealing with a health issue and the company has been working around his illness. The issue dates back prior to WrestleMania 34, though there is not much detail available on it at the point.

NXT Star On How Alexa Bliss Changed Her Perspective

NXT Star and American Ninja Warrior Competitor Kacy Catanzaro recently had an interview with TV Insider where she talked about working NXT Live Events and more.

While speaking about the former Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss, Catanzaro said that Bliss has changed her perspective and claimed that she gave her the extra push for professional wrestling

“[Alexa] helped changed my perspective. She has been growing and rising so much the last couple of years that I’ve really been thinking about WWE and seeing if it would be possible. I’ve definitely been looking to her to fuel that drive. The ‘Five Feet of Fury’ and being tiny but bringing that fire. She gave me that extra push to show that I could do this.”

Apart from this, Kacy also talked about her time in the American Ninja Warrior, Women’s Revolution and more. You can check out her full interview here.

Does Brock Lesnar Have Creative Control? WWE On Upcoming Battle Royal

Anutosh Bajpai
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15

Does Brock Lesnar Have Creative Control?

The decision to have Brock Lesnar retain the Universal Championship over Roman Reigns not once but twice left many scratching their heads and it started a lot of rumors about his future.

It also made many wonder if the Beast has some kind of creative control over his character and a fan recently asked Dave Meltzer about it on Twitter.

Answering the question, the Wrestling Journalist said that while Vince McMahon listens to both Brock and his advocate Paul Heyman, the Boss makes the final call at the end:

It’s worth mentioning here that the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Newsletter reveals some details on the current plans for Lesnar and his next title defense which you can check out here.

WWE On Upcoming Battle Royal

This week’s episode of Monday Night Raw featured a barbecue segment with the B team and others and the whole thing ended in a chaotic fashion.

Following this, the company announced a Tag Team Battle Royal for next week’s episode of the show to determine the next challengers for the current Raw Tag Team Champions Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt.

After the show, WWE posted a preview of the upcoming match on their website. Below is an excerpt from it which talks about the idea of the team of Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel possibly winning the bout:

“Regardless of what you think of them, The B-Team have impressed in the ring recently. Could The “B” in B-Team actually stand for “Best” when this match is over?

Don’t miss any of the action on Monday Night Raw, live at 8/7 C on USA Network!”

Don Callis Talks About Rebuilding Impact Wrestling

Chris Stephens
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0

Impact Wrestling’s management and roster are in for a busy few days. The company is currently in Windsor, ON, Canada for the first of two nights of television tapings. Following the 3rd set of TV tapings under the new management, the promotion will head to Mississauga, ON, Canada for a One Night Only PPV on Sunday.

Impact co-Vice President, Don Callis, recently appeared on the Busted Open Radio show.

Don Callis Interview Highlights

For much of its existence, Impact Wrestling has been a poorly reviewed promotion. Callis was asked how he plans to rebuild a new reputation for Impact Wrestling.

“You’ve got to start making the small changes, the changes that make sense. For us, that meant eliminating the stupid stuff. Don’t insult the fans’ intelligence, and also getting the talent roster the way you want it,” Callis said. “I think that despite the fact that when I came in here with Scott [D’Amore] for the first tapings in January, people were flustered by the fact that ‘oh EC3 is leaving’ and this guy is leaving, but they would never say ‘but they just signed Brian Cage, they just signed Sami Callihan’, etc. I said it would take a couple of months to get the roster the way we wanted it.”

Callis was also asked what the company has to do to create a buzz.

“I think the way you create buzz— we’ve had a bit of a honeymoon period, as any kind of new coach or whatever does — is you get compelling talents in storylines that people are invested in, and you do a good job promoting it and you go from there.”

transcriptions courtesy of WrestleZone

Impact Wrestling’s Under Pressure aired last night. During the show, Austin Aries won back the Impact World Championship and Su Yung defeated Allie to win the Knockouts title.

Sean Waltman Replies To Eric Bischoff Saying That He Reneged His WCW Contract

Anutosh Bajpai
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8

Sean Waltman’s release from WCW in 1997 wasn’t free of controversy and it has once again become a topic of discussion after the then WCW President Eric Bischoff made some interesting comments about it recently.

Eric had talked about Waltman during the latest episode of his podcast, claiming that the former DX Member was let go for “reneging” on his agreement.

Now Sean has replied to these claims from Bischoff, and while talking about his time in the company on his own Podcast, X Pac said that at the time he was performing at a higher level than the money he was getting paid for.

Waltman claimed that he was getting paid $250,000/year while other guys on the same level as his were being paid twice as much.

Due to this he asked for a raise and according to the former WCW Star he couldn’t possibly have reneged his contract because it was already signed:

“So, I wanted a raise, not wrong for asking for it, you can be told ‘no’ so that’s all that was. You’ll hear Eric say I reneged, never not once. You can’t renege, the deal is already done, there’s no way I could have reneged. I just wanted a raise”

Later in the episode, Sean Waltman also talked about the termination letter he received from WCW and revealed that according to the document he was fired for ‘non-performance’.

You can check out his full podcast in the video below:

Quotes via WrestleZone

Austin Aries Wins Impact World Title Back From Pentagon Jr.

Anutosh Bajpai
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7

It was a real surprise when Pentagon Jr. won the Impact World Championship from Austin Aries during the Triple Threat main event of their Redemption PPV.

However this change didn’t last for very long and after almost a month-long reign of the Lucha Underground Champion, A-Double won the World Title back during the ‘Under Pressure’ special of Impact.

Austin won the title in a controversial match which was restarted not once but 3 times. The bout was first stopped when Aries refused to release a submission hold and both men were counted out.

Both stars then agreed to restart the bout but they were counted out again after Pentagon hit a Package Piledriver on Austin on the ring apron:

After this, the Mexican Star cut a promo demanding to restart the bout once again, though it didn’t go very well for him. As soon as the referee turned around to restart the bout, the former WWE Star low-blowed his opponent and then pinned him after hitting a brainbuster:

It’s worth mentioning that this wasn’t the only title change during the night as Su Yung defeated Allie during the show and was crowned the new Knockouts Champion.

This is Austin Aries’ third reign with the Impact World Championship and now it’d be interesting to see if he continues his feud with Pentagon Jr. or moves on to a rivalry with an Impact Wrestling star instead.

Intercontinental Championship To Be Defended At Money In The Bank, Updated Match Card

Anutosh Bajpai
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10

While the match card for Money In The Bank is pretty stacked already, many believed there is still space for a couple of more matches and the company has now announced a new bout for the show.

As seen this Monday Night on Raw, Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins interrupted Elias’ musical performance and went on to have a title match with the former WWE Champion Jinder Mahal.

This match ended in a disqualification and after the bout, Elias came out of nowhere and attacked the Champion, smashing his guitar into Rollins’ back.

This feud which started on Raw continued afterward. After the show, Seth had a twitter exchange with the Drifter which culminated with the former Shield Member agreeing to defend his title at the upcoming PPV:

This is the 9th match which has been announced officially for the upcoming show but with the expected change to the PPV runtime, there shouldn’t be a problem in fitting this bout into the card.

After the latest announcement here is the updated match card for the upcoming Money In The Bank PPV:

Updated Money In The Bank Match Card

Men’s Money In The Bank Ladder Match: Braun Strowman vs. Finn Balor vs. The Miz vs. Rusev vs. Kevin Owens vs. Bobby Roode vs. Samoa Joe vs. A Member Of New Day

Women’s Money In The Bank Ladder Match: Ember Moon vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Becky Lynch vs. Natalya vs. Lana vs. Naomi vs. Sasha Banks

WWE Championship Last Man Standing Match: AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship: The Bludgeon Brothers vs. Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows

Raw Women’s Championship: Nia Jax vs. Ronda Rousey

SmackDown Women’s Championship: Carmella vs. Asuka

Intercontinental Championship: Seth Rollins vs. Elias

Roman Reigns vs. Jinder Mahal

Bobby Lashley vs. Sami Zayn

WWE Money In The Bank will take place from Rosemont, Illinois on June 17th. 

Tessa Blanchard Talks Her Influences and Impact Wrestling

Chris Stephens
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12

Tonight on Impact Wrestling’s “Under Pressure” Tessa Blanchard will take on Madison Rayne. Blanchard made her debut with the company at the Redemption PPV on April 22nd, 2018 and let the rest of the division know she plans on cutting in line to the top of the card.

Blanchard defeated up-and-comer Kiera Hogan on a recent episode of Impact. She then opted to continue the beating on her opponent after the match. Rayne then ran in to make the save.

Blanchard is someone the company appears to be high on. The Knockouts division has added several new talents recently but none with as much potential as the 22-year-old Blanchard.

She recently took part in an Impact Wrestling media teleconference.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zlhgATPs2E

Tessa Blanchard Interview Highlights

“Things are about to get very, very, interesting” Tessa Blanchard on what is next for her in Impact Wrestling.

During the call, Blanchard was asked about her father’s history with the 4 Horseman and what influence he has had on her career.

“I have huge respect for the 4 Horsemen, all bias aside,” Blanchard said of her father’s old faction. “I think my Dad and Arn were one of the greatest tag-teams of all time.”

Blanchard would say that her father’s era of professional wrestling is one she studies often. The gritty and more realistic approach to wrestling from Tully Blanchard’s era in the 4 Horseman is something which appeals to the younger Blanchard.

“I watch that era of professional wrestling for inspiration and to study tape,” Blanchard continued to say. “I want to portray that style through my work.”

Blanchard was also asked about recent media reports that she was broken-hearted when she wasn’t signed to WWE after her tryout in 2014. She clarified that she believes everything happens for a reason and she does not believe she would be the wrestler she is today if she had signed with WWE 4 years ago.

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

Blanchard also revealed she broke her collarbone while wrestling in Lucha Underground. She otherwise praised the company, talent, and how they treated her, however.

New Match Officially Announced For WWE NXT TakeOver: Chicago II

Andrew Ravens
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0

WWE has announced a new match that will take place at NXT TakeOver: Chicago II.

On Thursday, May 31st, 2018, the sports entertainment company officially announced that a singles match between Ricochet and The Velveteen Dream would go down at this upcoming event. Aleister Black vs. Lars Sullivan for the NXT Title will headline this show.

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. Here is the updated card:

– NXT Title Match: Aleister Black © vs. Lars Sullivan

– Street Fight: Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano

– NXT Tag Team Title Match: Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly © vs. Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch

– Singles Match: Ricochet vs.The Velveteen Dream

What are your thoughts on this upcoming match? Sound off in the comment section below.

The Miz On How Seth Rollins Is Doing As IC Champion

Jon Fuentes
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9

Former WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz recently did an interview with SPORTbible to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Miz first talked about how fans make too big a deal out of WWE records:

“I feel like I have done so much in WWE that we just make up stuff now! It’s like, ‘I’ve had more combined days than every superstar besides one to be the Intercontinental champion!’ Is it cool? Sure. Do we make a bigger deal of it now, with social media? Absolutely.

“I wouldn’t even be able to tell you unless people tell me on the internet, ‘Hey, guess what – you have x amount of combined days until you are beating Pedro Morales for the longest-reigning Intercontinental champion, or, ‘You need one more reign to tie Chris Jericho!’ I think you guys care about it a little bit more than I do.”

Miz then offered his thoughts on how current Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins is doing as the strap’s holder:

“I think Seth is doing a fantastic job with the Intercontinental championship. He’s had it for maybe a month and has probably defended it more times than I have in the past year! He’s on a hot-streak right now.

“His song says ‘Burn it down!’ and every time he goes out there that’s exactly what he tries to do. He elevates superstars every time they are in the ring; I saw a match with Mojo Rawley and it was the best match I have ever seen Mojo in, in his entire career.

“That just shows you not only how good Mojo is, he was able to showcase, but how good Seth Rollins really is. I don’t think he can elevate it any more than I already have but I think he’ll keep it at that same level.”

You can read The Miz’s full interview with SPORTbible by clicking this link here.

Drew McIntyre Offers Advice To WWE Locker Room

Andrew Ravens
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23

Former NXT Champion Drew McIntyre the guest of WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross on the latest edition of The Jim Ross Report podcast.

During the discussion, McIntyre gave some advice to the WWE roster and commented on whether or not he believes there are any leaders left in the locker room.

McIntyre’s Advice To The WWE Locker Room

As someone who had a run with WWE, was released, improved himself on the independent scene and ultimately returned in a better position, McIntyre had some advice for the WWE roster – especially talent who are frustrated with their roles.

“Don’t blame creative. Don’t sit there with a boo-boo face, you figure out the story and you tell the story cause there’s a lot of people waiting in NXT to take your spot if you’re not willing to step up on Raw. There are the guys, but there is certainly room for more growth. The things I’m saying, there’s a lot of truth to what I’m saying and that’s probably why people are feeling them, probably why they are saying ‘when Drew talks I can kinda feel it’ cause it’s real, because I do believe what I’m saying. I did get released, it was the best thing to happen to me because I finally got reunited with that fire, that passion. I had to sink or swim.

I understand that Raw is the best show in the world, the best product in the world. We have five hours of Raw and Smackdown every week and as good as a lot of it is, there is a lot of filler in there and there is a lot guys just sitting around. They don’t have the passion it is as simple as that. I can say it because I was that guy. I’m disappointed in myself, I wasn’t working my ass off to get to the top, I wasn’t preparing myself in the gym, I wasn’t pitching stories, I wasn’t trying to be a better performer.”

“I think people forget that are in WWE and they become complacent. It just makes me sick because you’ve seen the independent scene right now, you know how much talent is there is out there. I was the NXT Champion I know how much talent is there. They’ve got the fire in their eyes their ready to take their spots and I’m there to make sure that Monday Night Raw is all killer. We don’t any need 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’s room for improvement and I’m there to be the wake-up call that it needs.”

What are your thoughts on his encouraging comments? 

(H/T to WrestleZone for the transcribed quotes)

McIntyre’s Path Since Leaving WWE In 2014

Following his first run with WWE that ended with his departure in 2014, McIntyre went back to the indy scene as well as competed in Impact Wrestling where he proved to people that he was someone to keep an eye on and reformed his career.

He re-signed with the sports entertainment company in April 2017 and joined developmental brand NXT. He went on to win the NXT Championship at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III by defeating Bobby Roode. This marks the first time that a Superstar won the NXT Title in his TakeOver in-ring debut. He suffered a torn bicep back in November 2017 at an NXT TakeOver event where he lost the title to Andre Almas.

After rehabbing, he came back better than ever and was called up to the main roster earlier this year and was placed on the flagship show of the sports entertainment company, Monday Night RAW. He’s been paired with Dolph Ziggler in recent weeks.

When Brock Lesnar’s UFC Future Will Become More Clear

Jon Fuentes
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7

WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar is currently not scheduled to defend his title at the Money In The Bank (MITB) or Extreme Rules pay-per-view (PPV). The Beast hasn’t been seen since retaining his title against Roman Reigns inside a Steel Cage in Saudi Arabia at the Greatest Royal Rumble.

Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that the current plans is to have Lesnar defend his title at SummerSlam next on August 19th in Brooklyn. He is currently scheduled to headline the event, but that’s not set in stone. It’ also unknown who his opponent will be.

As for his pending return to the UFC, there’s an interesting way of finding out what the status of his future in mixed martial arts (MMA) will be. If Lesnar were to return to the UFC, a fight at the promotion’s New Year’s Eve event would be the target date.

Lesnar would have to re-enter the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) drug testing pool by June 30th for this to be possible. If he hasn’t re-entered the drug testing pool by then, a return to the UFC anytime soon is unlikely.

The Beast must provide six months worth of clean testing before being allowed to return to the Octagon. We’ll keep you updated as we learn more…

For the best MMA coverage available please visit our sister site at MMANews.com!

Jim Ross Reveals Who He Thinks Has Potential To Be A Main Event Heel In WWE

Jon Fuentes
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9

WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross recently took to his podcast, The Ross Report, to offer his thoughts on what’s going on in the word of professional wrestling today. On the subject of this past Monday’s episode of RAW, Ross discussed two stars who he thinks have potential to be main event heels in the company.

Good Ole’ JR named former ECW Champion Bobby Lashley and former NXT Champion Bobby Roode as the two stars with the biggest heel potentials:

“Their persona makes me think heel first. And so sometimes when the average Joe, like me or you, look at somebody and we think “villain” it’s hard to get us to change our opinion of that personality, but I think in the long run, there’s money in Bobby Lashley and Bobby Roode both as main event-level heels in WWE.”

You can listen to Ross on The Ross Report by clicking this link here.

40-Participant Battle Riot Announced For MLW NYC Taping (7/19)

Staff
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3

Major League Wrestling has announced that a 40-participant Battle Riot match will headline the July 19th MLW FUSION taping from New York City. According to a press release sent in by MLW, the Battle Riot match is described as:

“A mash-up of a battle royal, royal rumble and anything goes street fight, this super-sized main event will feature 40 wrestlers with new participants entering the ring every 60 seconds.”

MLW is teasing surprises, legends and “WTF” entrants. Eliminations occur via pinfall, submission or by throwing an individual over the top rope.

The winner receives a shot at the MLW World Heavyweight Championship any place, any time – similar to WWE’s Money in the Bank contracts.

Participants for the first-ever Battle Riot match will be announced starting next week.

MLW CEO Court Bauer says, “We’re going to stack the undercard.  You got to when you come to NYC.  This is going to be our biggest show ever in sheer numbers, matches and star power.”

If you’re in the New York City area, this is a can’t miss event. Visit MLWTickets.com for more information.

Report: WWE Signs Another Top Female Independent Wrestler

Jon Fuentes
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2

The WWE continues to search far and wide to add to their already stacked roster, and it looks like the professional wrestling juggernaut has signed yet another star.

Squared Circle Sirens is reporting that that WWE has signed Deonna Purrazzo to a developmental deal. Purrazzo had previously signed a six month deal with Ring Of Honor (ROH) but decided to opt out to make her way to WWE.

She’s set to head to the WWE Performance Center in the next few weeks. Purrazzo has been competing since 2013 and has done work for promotions such as ROH, Stardom and TNA.

Not to mention she has been used a few times on WWE NXT, was an alternate for the Mae Young Classic Tournament, and was used in a segment with Alexa Bliss back in 2016. Bliss was the SmackDown Live Women’s Champion at the time, and attacked Purrazzo – who was being used as an enhancement talent for Bliss to beat down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XW3YQRMpGW0

Big Show Gives Braun Strowman A Warning About His TV Character

Glenn Moffatt
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16

There’s no doubt that Braun Strowman is one of the hottest properties in WWE today. The Monster Among Men has connected with the WWE Universe like WWE wished Roman Reigns would have. He’s got it all – the look, the physique, the shocking feats of strength, the promo ability – he’s even got a catchphrase (‘get these hands’) that’s moving a lot of merchandise.

WWE brass seems to be so high on him, rewarding his work with prominent positioning on big cards and a recent Greatest Royal Rumble victory.  Another larger than life athlete, the Big Show, has been a mentor of sorts to Braun Strowman and is concerned he could fall victim to pitfall he experienced in his own career.

Big Show was a recent guest on the Steve Austin Show podcast and cautioned that Strowman needs to be careful not to rely on comedy too heavily. “I think with Braun, he’s got the unique ability to do some things that are entertaining and fun, but let’s not overdo it,” Show said.

“That happened a lot with me in WWE in the beginning that because I can do impersonations because I had comedic timing, we would do too much of it and by the time we were done, ‘Okay, we’ve lost The Giant gimmick. Okay, let’s turn him heel, he’ll kill everybody, and we’ll start over again, so now we can start drawing money with him.’”

WWE’s brand of comedy is very hit-or-miss (to put it kindly) and Big Show is right that Strowman should be careful not to let his character get too goofy. He’s got the potential to be a main event player for years to come – let’s just hope we don’t meet Braun’s sisters any time soon.

Big Show has been out of action since undergoing hip surgery last September. He told Austin that he was training for an in-ring return at the Greatest Royal Rumble, but experienced health complications that have delayed that plan.

You can listen to the full episode of Big Show on the Steve Austin Show podcast over at PodcastOne.com.

Why Daniel Bryan Wasn’t Booked In The MITB Ladder Match

Jon Fuentes
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Earlier this week on SmackDown Live, a Triple Threat match took place to determine the final participant in the men’s Money In The Bank (MITB) Ladder match next month in Chicago.

Samoa Joe, Daniel Bryan and Big Cass battled it out for the opportunity. In the end, it was Joe who emerged victorious and earned his spot at MITB. Many fans were disappointed that it wasn’t Bryan who earned his way into the match.

It turns out there’s a good reason WWE decided to hold Bryan out of the match. Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that the reason the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion is being held out of the MITB match is because Ladder matches increase the probability of neck injuries and concussions.

WWE’s primary focus seems to be keeping Bryan healthy. In addition to this, it looks like the feud between Bryan and Cass will continue on as a match between them has already been advertised for the Extreme Rules pay-per-view (PPV).

Discussion: What are your thoughts on Bryan being left out of the MITB Ladder match?

Arena Website Advertising First 2 Matches For Extreme Rules

Staff
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7

Money in the Bank is WWE’s next pay-per-view offering (and still several weeks away), but the official website for Pittsburgh’s PPG Paints Arena is advertising two matches for July’s Extreme Rules event.

Plans could certainly change by the time Extreme Rules takes place on July 15th, but the PPG Paints Arena site lists the following matches for the event:

  • Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman & Bobby Lashley vs. Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn Jinder Mahal.
  • Daniel Bryan vs. Big Cass

Extreme Rules was first introduced back in 2009, making this year the 10th installment. As the name implies, the events typically feature multiple stipulations matches involving weapons and no disqualifications.

The main event of last year’s show saw Samoa Joe defeat Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt in a Fatal 5-Way Extreme Rules match to determine the #1 contender for the WWE Universal Championship. Joe would go on to face Brock Lesnar at Great Balls of Fire, with Lesnar retaining in a hard fought match.

Undertaker Joins Instagram? Indie Star Starting With WWE Soon

Anutosh Bajpai
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Undertaker Joins Instagram?

The Undertaker is considered an old school guy who is known to maintain the Kayfabe in public, meaning that the Dead Man has no personal social media account even in today’s age.

While there is an Official Facebook page on his name, it’s used by the WWE social media staff for promotion instead of being used by the Last Outlaw himself.

Though now it appears that the former World Champion may have finally joined Instagram as a verified account of Taker has emerged recently and it’s also followed by his wife Michelle McCool.

The Insta handle @Undertaker features only one post at the time which is a photo of the Attitude Era Star captioned ‘Dead Man’ and it can be seen below:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BjXWcrmADGG/?taken-by=undertaker

Indie Star Starting With WWE Soon

It appears that top Indie Star Keith Lee will be starting with WWE soon as he is finishing up his Indie commitments. Lee had his farewell bout for the Beyond Wrestling Promotion this past weekend.

Keith wrestled in an intergender match against Mia Yim and lost the bout. Following his loss, the Indie star thanked everyone, saying that he hopes they will support him in what he does next.

Below is a video featuring the highlight from his farewell match for the promotion:

Impact Wrestling “Under Pressure” Confirmed Matches

Chris Stephens
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Impact Wrestling presents a branded episode tonight titled “Under Pressure”. The matches taped for tonight’s show will be the last to air from the company’s tapings held in Orlando this April.

After tonight’s show, the company heads to Windsor for 2 days of television tapings on Friday and Saturday. They will be in Mississauga on Sunday for a One Night Only PPV in collaboration with Santino Marella’s Destiny Wrestling.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R97ZEWhHBsk

Impact Wrestling Under Pressure Confirmed Matches

Brian Cage vs Dezmond Xavier

Recently on Impact Wrestling, Brian Cage has been shown wrestling in Japan, Australia, and Canada. Tonight he will return to Impact to face Dezmond Xavier.

Scott Steiner vs Eli Drake

The former tag team champions appear to blame one another for their losing the belts to Z&E. Steiner accidentally hit Drake in the head with a chair to cost their team their titles. Tonight they will go one-on-one with each other at Impact Wrestling’s Under Pressure.

Tessa Blanchard vs Madison Rayne

Madison Rayne has returned to pro-wrestling. She saved Kiera Hogan from suffering a post-match beatdown at the hands of Blanchard on a previous episode but tonight she will have to face the 3rd generation star herself.

Knockouts Championship
Allie (c) vs Su Yung

In recent weeks, we have seen Allie adopt a new and darker persona. After watching her friend, Rosemary, be locked in a coffin by the devious Su Yung, Allie appears to have gone unstable.

Yung’s army of undead bridesmaids may also be in attendance, however.

Impact Wrestling World Championship
Pentagon Jr. (c) vs Austin Aries

Following the departure of Alberto El Patron, Pentagon and his brother Fenix found themselves in an Impact World Championship match at Redemption on April 22nd. Pentagon came out the victor but has yet to have his one-on-one rematch with former champion Austin Aries.

Aries will get his chance to add more gold to his belt collection tonight and avenge his title loss at Redemption.

Dean Ambrose and Renee Young Ride Zamboni During Stanley Cup Finals

Chris Stephens
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Married couple, Renee Young and Dean Ambrose, live in Las Vegas. They have both been seen supporting the NHL’s expansion Las Vegas Golden Knights franchise this season as well. The Golden Knights have made it all the way to the Stanley Cup finals and both Young and Ambrose were there in person for game 2 last night.

Rather than sit in private box, however, the pair spent a portion of the evening riding atop the arena’s Zamboni.

Wrestling fans in attendance for the game made note of their appearance. Ambrose appears to have grown in a beard and gotten a haircut too.

Screenshot 2018 05 31 08.10.44

https://twitter.com/XtremeBliss/status/1002038719006691328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Dean Ambrose Injury Status

Ambrose has been out with a triceps injury since December. Although this hasn’t been confirmed, speculation is there have been several setbacks in his recovery.

Kurt Angle addressed Ambrose’s extended stay on the DL during a Q and A session on his Facebook page last month.

“LISTEN EVERYONE. Dean is healing nicely. He will be back soon!!!!! I get this question every week. I know how popular he is but asking me when he will return will not make him return any sooner than he can. He will be back soon. Promise.”

At the time of his injury, Ambrose was taking part in the Shield reunion storyline. In Ambrose’s absence, Roman Reigns has gone back into single’s action and Seth Rollins has since won the Intercontinental Championship.

There is still no timeline for Ambrose’s return.

Former WWE Writer Reveals Backstage Reaction To John Cena’s Early Push

Anutosh Bajpai
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6

The 16 Time World Champion John Cena was pushed as the top star of WWE after Brock Lesnar left the promotion to pursue a career in NFL and the rest is history.

However, even before this, the company showed faith in Cena and not too long after his debut he had become an important part of the SmackDown Brand.

WWE recently released a clip from the upcoming episode of Something Else To Wrestle With podcast which is scheduled to air on WWE Network later this week.

In the clip, the host Bruce Prichard talked about the early push of John and recalled a match from the early days of his career where he teamed up with Undertaker to defeat the team of Kurt Angle and Chris Jericho.

Revealing the backstage reaction to his push, Prichard who is a former WWE writer and producer revealed that it was met with jealousy by some people because Cena was put in a program immediately after his arrival and he was on TV as soon as he got there.

Continuing on the topic, Bruce revealed that there was a lot of rumbling from the people backstage but the fact that the audience was getting behind him made the difference.

While his early push was nothing compared to what was waiting for John in his career later on, the fact that the audience got behind him in his early days probably worked as a foundation for Cena and it presumably is the reason why Officials later put him in the place originally intended for Brock Lesnar.

You can check out the video released by WWE below:

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