There were rumors that Dolph Ziggler has signed a new WWE contract worth $1.5 million earlier this year and if they were true then it would have made Ziggler one of the highest paid employees of the company.
However, as we noted before these reports turned out to be false and the former World Champion himself has denied the stories of him signing a new deal with the company multiple times in recent months.
Now a new report from PWinsider has again confirmed the fact that Dolph is yet to sign a new deal and they reveal that his current contract expires sometime this summer.
While the exact date of his contract expiration is not given, the time frame still puts things in an interesting position as Ziggler has recently been aligned with Drew McIntyre in addition to being moved to Raw.
In previous interviews, the Show Off has said that he has limited time to make a decision on his future and implicated that he is also considering other options because of his poor bookings of the past several years.
So if WWE really wants to keep him around it would make sense for them to push the former Champion in near future.
Since the move to Raw offers several possibilities for a fresh start, it wouldn’t be a surprise if we see Dolph Ziggler becoming part of some interesting storylines in upcoming times.
There were several rumors coming off Brock Lesnar’s victory at WrestleMania 34 and one of the most exciting ones was that the company could be planning a match between him and Bobby Lashley with Lesnar losing the Universal Championship to the later.
However, in the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer addressed these speculations and revealed some bad news for the fans who want to see these two square off.
According to the Wrestling Journalist, while there have been heavy rumors of this match taking place in near future, currently there are no plans of this bout.
It’s believed that Officials can get two losses out of Lesnar if he is really on his way out – one where he drops the Universal title and another one to put one more wrestler over.
The general belief backstage is that a part-time talent like Lashley who is in his early 40s would not be benefited from a win over Brock as much as a younger talent.
Bobby Lashley made his WWE return after almost 11 years at the Raw after WrestleMania 34 where he attacked Elias. Though he is yet to get involved in any real feud.
On the other hand, Brock Lesnar is currently scheduled to defend the Universal Championship against Roman Reigns at the Greatest Royal Rumble and many believe that the Beast could be dropping the title to the Big Dog during this WrestleMania rematch.
Mae Young Classic competitor and PROGRESS Women’s Champion Toni Storm has been confirmed for Frontline Wrestling’s debut show ‘Build Me An Empire’ which takes place June 28th from Stratford Circus in London. Frontline Wrestling is a new promotion headed by IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay, the company will be looking to present a more ‘sports’ based style that is akin to Japanese/Puro’s presentation and aesthetic.
Rumors have been circulating regarding Toni Storm’s WWE status for several months now. There was an expectation following the Mae Young Classic that Storm and fellow British performer Piper Niven/Viper would be signed however this does not appear to have yet come to fruition, whether Storm and indeed Niven will end up in WWE/NXT remains to be seen but is very likely given the international popularity of both stars.
Storm will be facing fellow STARDOM roster star Bea Priestley in somewhat of a dream match for UK fans; Priestley is an up and coming performer in her own right, she has recently been confirmed as one of the 16 women taking part in the STARDOM ‘Cinderella’ Tournament taking place April 30th from Korakuen Hall in Japan, she will be facing Irish star ‘Session Moth’ Martina in the opening round.
Europe’s biggest All Female promotion Pro Wrestling: EVE has announced that the upcoming ‘Wrestle Queendom’ show will be broadcast LIVE on iPPV across the world.
The stacked mega card will be taking place Saturday May 5th from the world famous York Hall in Bethnal Green, London. EVE has not yet confirmed which PPV company will be hosting the content however FITE is looking the most likely at this stage.
Two of the standout matches on this show have got to be WWE Mae Young Classic Competitors Piper Niven/Viper and Kay Lee Ray taking on Aja Kong and Meiko Satomura respectively. The two legends of Japanese wrestling will be stepping in the ring with arguably two of the finest performers on the UK scene and it will be available to view live on iPPV.
Here is the currently confirmed card for the show:
Pro Wrestling: EVE Championship Match – Sammii Jayne (c) v SHE-1 Tournament Winner and ACE of EVECharlie Morgan
International Dream Match – Aja Kong v Viper
International Dream Match – Meiko Satomura v Kay Lee Ray
Winner Advances to the Wildcard Ladder Match – Kris Wolf v Jinny Couture
Ever since Triple H came up with the idea for NXT, he has had a certain vision in mind. For years, WWE would sign top stars in other promotions during the territories era as well as create their own stars from the ground up. When WWE and WCW got hot in the 1990’s and started the Monday Night Wars, they went after other promotions for their top stars. This led to the independent scene soaking up all of the talents that WWE and WCW didn’t want. However, when Vince McMahon decided to buy his competition, there became a monopoly in the professional wrestling business. It seems pretty clear what Triple H’s vision for the developmental brand is. Sign athletes, who have no pro wrestling experience and train them to become WWE Superstars. Also, he wants to sign the best of the best talents in the world and have them learn the WWE playbook then shine not only in NXT but on the main roster. Just look at the main roster in WWE right now.
ESPN has an article about the success of NXT and the level of growth that the brand has had over the past few years with some quotes with “The Game.”
“It’s just a classic story, you know, you don’t even have to say wrestling,” said Levesque. “Classics never get old, it’s authentic and it’s real. It was done with passion and emotion and feel. There’s a ring of truth to all of it, right? We put Gargano and Ciampa together and they weren’t best of friends, but they became it. He was in his wedding and all that is legit. “And to go forward from there, the injuries and just the story… part of it was the plan, and then part of it was just working around the nuances of life to get there,” Levesque continued. “But it almost made it better in some way, right? To me this is one of those things that I love because it is the classic bad guy-good guy… to me, that’s the art of what we do — and I do consider this an art form, in every sense of it. Sometimes you hit magic.”
As seen at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans event earlier this month at the Smoothie King Center on the WWE Network, Johnny Gargano battled Tommaso Ciampa in the main event. Some believed that the NXT Title should always be in the main event but Triple H explained why Gargano vs. Ciampa was the perfect fit to be the headliner of that show.
“I feel like any of them could have [main evented], and this was a debate. A lot of points of view on it. There’s a part of me that goes, ‘Whoa, the title should close,’ and then there’s a part of me that goes, ‘You cannot pass that emotion.’ You just can’t. No level of moonsault, no level of flip off a ladder, no level of any of that is gonna pass that level of emotion and feeling — that level of emotion of the storytelling. “I don’t know how you could have gone off the air better than Gargano gets his life back and his wife’s in there,” said Levesque. “Unless I have Ciampa run back in there and piledrive her, that’s the end. There’s always next time.” What are your thoughts on Triple H’s comments in this piece? Sound off in the comment section below.
Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW) has decided to offer their On Demand service for free to new subscribers for this week only. You can find more information via the official ICW On Demand Twitter account @ICWonDemand or here. If you’re interested in getting a free week of Scotland’s biggest independent promtion then make sure that you sign up by Sunday 22nd.
One of the most anticipated bouts at ICW’s upcoming Barramania IV event pits Lionheart against longtime foe Jackie Polo. The two men will look to settle their heated feud on Sunday April 29th…but before their match the two men met during ICW’s recent Fight Club tapings and before Lionheart left the ring he attacked company owner Mark Dallas, hitting a Rock Bottom and leaving ‘the boss’ laying. Check out the video via the tweet below but be forewarned there is EXTREMELY strong language.
PROGRESS has announced the final entrant(s) in their upcoming Super Strong Style 16 tournament. Taking place May 5th, 6th and 7th the annual tournament brings some of the best wrestlers from Europe, Mexico, Japan and the United States to Alexandra Palace in North London.
In an interesting twist the PROGRESS Tag Team Champions the ‘Grizzled Young Veterans’ have decided to enter themselves into the 16 man tournament…which man enters on the day has not yet been confirmed. The ‘Vets’ tag team is comprised of Zack Gibson and James Drake, Gibson is someone who is heavily linked with WWE’s United Kingdom roster after performing as part of the Axxess shows this past WrestleMania weekend. James Drake is already a member of the WWE UK roster and a chance to see the tag team perform as part of the Albert Hall shows may well become a reality this June.
The full lineup for the Super Strong Style 16 tournament is now as follows:
DEFIANT Wrestling has announced a massive Championship match for their upcoming ‘No Regrets’ PPV on Saturday April 28th from Newcastle Upon Tyne.
Reigning DEFIANT Internet Champion Travis Banks will be defending his coveted belt against Ringkampf stable member WALTER. Interestingly this match up pits the PROGRESS World Champion against the PROGRESS ATLAS Champion even before London’s biggest independent pro wrestling company the decides to pit these two stars against one another…
The ‘No Regrets’ PPV will be available to purchase via the FITE App or on DEFIANT’s own Access DEFIANT On Demand streaming service. You can sign up for a 30-day free trial right now if you head over to this page.
Access Defiant costs just $8.99 per month and features the entirety of the WCPW back catalogue, including the Pro Wrestling World Cup, WCPW True Legacy featuring Kurt Angle vs Cody Rhodes, Stacked ’17 featuring Will Ospreay vs Marty Scurll and much more.
Ahead of Friday night’s MLW Fusion series premiere on beIN SPORTS, the promotion has announced another big match for the 5/3 Intimidation Games television taping from Orlando, FL.
Newly signed MLW star Jake Hager will debut against Jeff Cobb in a match that pits All American vs. Olympian. Hager, a former WWE World Heavyweight Champion, has been aded to Colonel Robert Parker’s stable of talent.
Parker told MLW.com, “I recommend Mr. Cobb check his insurance policy and make the appropriate accommodations at the finest hospital as he has never faced a hoss like mister Jake Hager in his career.”
MLW Intimidation Games
Intimidation Games is shaping up to be another strong card from Major League Wrestling. Confirmed for the show:
MLW World Champion Shane Stricland vs. Pentagon Jr.
One-half of the Smackdown tag-team champions, the Bludgeon Brothers, is taunting their rivals on social media. 38-year-old, Luke Harper, took time away from his normal social media routine to send a message to the Usos and Jimmy Uso’s wife, Naomi.
Normally, Harper sends out a daily Tweet similar to this:
The below screenshot of Harper’s Twitter feed shows this is usually all he does on Twitter:
Today, however, Harper decided to use his Twitter account to send a message to Naomi and the Usos. Harper commented on the real-life relationship between the couple:
It appears as though the storyline between the Bludgeon Brothers and the Usos will involve some real-life elements, including the real-life relationship between Jimmy Uso and Naomi. It’s unlikely the Bludgeon Brothers show up on Total Divas, however. The angle seems to be leading to a long-awaited Usos babyface turn as well.
WWE cameras caught Naomi and the Usos backstage on Tuesday:
the Bludgeon Brothers vs. the Usos and Smackdown’s Tag-Team Division
The Smackdown tag-team division is arguably the deeper of the two brands at the moment. With Anderson & Gallows and the Bar joining Smackdown from Raw, it creates a log-jam at the top of the division.
With the Usos and the Bludgeon Brothers feuding over the titles, that leaves the New Day, the Bar, and Anderson & Gallows all vying to be declared the next challengers. Sanity has also been called up to Smackdown as well. Eric Young, Killian Dain, and Alexander Wolfe could be inserted into the tag division too.
In the Superstar Shakeup, Smackdown gained two former tag-team championship winning teams and gave up the Ascension and Breezeango. Not a bad deal for Shane McMahon and Paige!
The Bludgeon Brothers are scheduled to defend their newly won Smackdown tag-team championships against the Usos. The match will take place at the Greatest Royal Rumble on April 27th, 2018 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It will be their first televised title defense since winning the belts at WrestleMania 34.
The final episode of Impact Wrestling before the company’s Redemption PPV on Sunday airs tonight.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5OvN6kXxT8
Impact Wrestling Preview (April 19th, 2018)
KM Issues an Open Challenge
Kevin Matthews, aka KM, plans to issue an open challenge to the Impact Wrestling locker tonight.
Johnny Impact vs Kongo Kong w/Jimmy Jacobs
The Emo Princess, Jimmy Jacobs, has control over Impact’s newest monster, Kongo Kong, but how will he fair against perennial top-contender, Johnny impact?
Neither of these two has a match booked for the Redemption PPV. Perhaps something will be set up here or they might both be left off the show.
Su Yung and Braxton Sutter vs Fallah Bahh and Kiera Hogan
An inter-gender match featuring two of Impact’s newest female wrestlers, Su Yung and Kiera Hogan takes place tonight.
Yung will take on Knockouts Champion, Allie, on Sunday for the championship.
We are still finding out just how dangerous the undead bride is. Perhaps tonight we will find out more about Su Yung’s plans for Allie.
Brian Cage in single’s competition
Nobody is rising up the Impact Wrestling rankings faster than Brian Cage. He’ll be in single’s action tonight but his opponent has yet to be named.
Cage defeated Lashley recently on Impact and the victory over a former World Champion likely means the promotion has big plans for him.
Brian Cage is scheduled to be in a 6-way match at the Redemption PPV. His opponents are scheduled to be Taiji Ishimori, Dezmond Xavier, El Hijo del Fantasma, DJZ, and Trevor Lee.
Last Road to Redemption
While not confirmed, it is expected the company will air some promotional segment for the Redemption PPV main event.
Impact was forced to explain for Alberto El Patron’s removal from the Redemption show during last week’s episode. Aries explained that since he lost the triple threat match at the LU vs Impact show, the same match will be run back again at Redemption. Should Pentagon win at Redemption, he would simultaneously hold both the Lucha Underground and Impact Wrestling world championships in storyline. While season 4 of Lucha Underground has been filmed (so he may have lost the title, I don’t know), it has yet to air.
On Friday 4/27, WWE presents the Greatest Royal Rumble, a special event from the King Abdullah Sports City in Saudi Arabia. The event will air live on the WWE Network and WWE is pulling out all the stops to ensure this is a memorable show.
Several weeks ago, a photo was circulating online showing one of WWE’s set designers working on what was purported to be the WrestleMania 34 stage design.
WrestleMania 34 came and went – with a beautiful production setup that looked nothing like the stage depicted above. With construction underway inside the Abdullah Sports City stadium, a photo has leaked showing that arched stage is actually for the Greatest Royal Rumble:
Greatest Royal Rumble Card:
The following is the updated card for next Friday’s Greatest Royal Rumble WWE Network special:
50-Man Greatest Royal Rumble Battle Royal
Universal Champion Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns
Casket Match: The Undertaker vs. Rusev
WWE Champion AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
John Cena vs. Triple H
Intercontinental Title Ladder Match: Seth Rollins vs. The Miz vs. Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe vs. Bobby Lashley
United States Champion Jeff Hardy vs. Jinder Mahal
Raw Tag Team Champions The Bar vs. Bray Wyatt & Woken Matt Hardy
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Bludgeon Brothers vs. The Usos
During this week’s edition of NXT on the WWE Network, a vignette aired hyping the return of Kona Reeves, who has dubbed himself “The Finest.”
For those unfamiliar with Kona Reeves, he’s been under WWE contract dating back to 2014. He competed in the inaugural Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic (2015) and wrestled on NXT television throughout 2016 and into early 2017.
George Murdoch, FKA Tyrus, is gone from Impact Wrestling… again.
The 45-year-old heavyweight had originally left the company in the summer of 2017 but resurfaced at the last set of TV tapings from Orlando. The episodes of Impact filmed during these tapings have been airing since February 1st, 2018.
According to a recent report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Tyrus has once again given Impact Wrestling his notice. Tyrus stated that he and the company didn’t see eye-to-eye creatively.
George “Tyrus” Murdoch
Tyrus gave similar reasons for ending his relationship with Impact Wrestling the last time around in 2017 as well. He has plenty going on for himself outside of wrestling, so it is not too big a surprise that he is willing to leave a company if he doesn’t enjoy what he is working on.
Tyrus is a regular on several Fox News programs and has had a successful 2017 as an actor. He appeared in 2 episodes of the hit show GLOW on Netflix last year. Tyrus also appears in an episode of the Netflix original series, Love, which was released earlier this year. Several other IMDB credits have been added to his profile the last two years as well.
Impact Wrestling Redemption
This is an important weekend for Impact Wrestling. The company’s Redemption PPV runs on Sunday and curious eyes will be interested in what kind of product they present.
The main event had been scheduled to be Alberto El Patron vs Austin Aries. Since El Patron no-showed the LU vs Impact show WrestleMania weekend, however, it has since been changed. The Lucha Brothers, Fenix & Pentagon, will now join Austin Aries in a triple threat match for the Impact World Championship in the main event of Redemption.
The last set of TV tapings included writing off several departing wrestlers and finishing up storylines. The Redemption PPV should give Impact fans a better idea of where the company is trying to go in the future.
Last weekend, several wrestlers from ROH Tweeted that a backstage fight had taken place. The company was in Pittsburgh for “Steel City Excellence” on Saturday, which was also a set of TV Tapings for ROH TV.
Saturday afternoon, several Tweets from ROH wrestlers started to come out which indicated a backstage altercation had taken place. Some of those Tweets have since been deleted, however. All that was known at the time was that a scuffle had occurred and Cody’s chipotle got trampled in the process.
A recent report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has shed some new light on what happened.
During the company’s show in Pittsburgh on Saturday, an extra (local talent) was sitting in a chair reserved for Christopher Daniels. According to the Observer, the wrestler was asked to move but did not respond kindly. A fight ended up breaking out and Flip Gordon apparently saved the day by subduing the wrestler quickly. Other than Flip, no ROH regulars were involved and no one was hurt.
Cody would later Tweet that he is now considering booking Flip for All-In but it has since been deleted. Brandi Rhodes and Flip Gordon have been getting pretty tight lately, by the way.
ROH This Weekend
The ROH shows this weekend were reportedly not well attended. The Observer reported the shows only drew around 700 fans each. The company is coming off their most well-attended show of all time, however, and all of their recent promotion had been geared towards that show.
Next up for ROH is two shows from Florida on the 28th and 29th. The “Bound for Honor” 2-day tour in Florida begins in West Palm Beach on the 27th and continues to Lakeland on the 28th.
On the 27th, the Young Bucks and Hangman Page take on the Kingdom and Punishment Martinez takes on Cody.
The show in Lakeland will be headlined by an 8-man tag-team match featuring the champions of ROH (Dalton Castle, Silas Young, the Briscoes) versus 4 members of Bullet Club.
While Alberto El Patron did not wrestle in any major event during the WrestleMania weekend this year, he still found his way to the headlines by no-showing the Impact vs. Lucha Underground event.
During a recent interview with WrestlingInc, Austin Aries who was supposed to be part of the original tag team main event of the show along with El Patron talked about him missing the event.
Aries claimed that the former WWE Champion’s no-show did not affect the revamped Triple Threat main event as both his opponents Rey Fenix and Pentagon Jr. were very talented.
When asked about the backstage reaction to Alberto missing the show, Austin said that initially, he wasn’t very concerned and revealed that they realized his absence after the show had started:
“With him being a professional such as he is and everybody else involved, I wasn’t overly concerned, but as the event was going I did inquire if anybody had seen him or where his location was, and that’s when we realized that he hadn’t arrived yet,”
For those who don’t know, Alberto El Patron was supposed to main event the Impact vs Lucha Underground event teaming with Pentagon Jr. to face Austin Aries and his partner Rey Fenix.
However, he no-showed the event, forcing the management to change the bout into a Triple Threat match among the other three participants of the announced tag match.
Impact ended up releasing Alberto El Patron shortly after this and there have been conflicting reports on why he missed the event. Reports say that Alberto told officials he was ill while in an interview he claimed the reason to be an undisclosed family situation.
An Image on WWE’s official website has seemingly spoiled a big return/surprise for the upcoming Greatest Royal Rumble event in Saudi Arabia later this month.
It was reported before that Rey Mysterio had agreed to a one-off appearance for the upcoming show as he continues his talks for a longer contract.
Though the company had not announced the addition of the former World Champion to their upcoming mega Live Event, as they probably intended to keep it a surprise.
However, as noted by several fans it appears that the surprise has been spoiled by WWE’s own staff via an image posted on the Network page of their official website.
The Greatest Royal Rumble will be broadcasted Live on WWE Network and the company recently updated the Network page on WWE.com to promote this event.
What’s interesting is that a poster featured on the page as seen in the screenshot below also includes Rey Mysterio among other stars. This ends any remaining doubt on Mysterio’s appearance at the upcoming event:
Rey Mysterio last appeared for WWE during the traditional Royal Rumble event earlier this year. Since then, there have been reports of him talking to the officials for a longer run but things appear to be moving very slowly.
You can check out the updated Greatest Royal Rumble match card here.
Johnny Gargano kicked off this week’s episode of NXT. Candice Lerae joined Gargano as he made his way to the ring. The NXT crowd chanted “Johnny Wrestling!” as Gargano jogged around the ring with a big smile on his face. The chants transitioned to “welcome back!” as Gargano grabbed a microphone.
Gargano said that he dreamt of this moment before NXT TakeOver: New Orleans. He added that it is really good to be home and for too long he was defined by two words, Tommaso Ciampa. Ciampa was his best friend and he betrayed him and cost him his career. However, after 37 minutes of the most intense minutes in the ring, he is proud to say that he has his life back and is back where he belongs.
Johnny stated that these past few months have been the toughest of his career, but thanked the crowd for shoving signs in Ciampa’s face and chanting his name. Gargano thanked the crowd for always having his back. He then thanked his wife and told her he loved her.
Gargano said that Johnny Wrestling and Candice Wrestling have one last piece of unfinished business. Candice grabbed the microphone and announced that she will be facing Zelina Vega tonight. Gargano warned Almas that if he got involved, he was going to drop him like his name was Tommaso Ciampa. Johnny noted that Aleister Black is the new NXT Champion and that he wants to be the first to challenge for the title.
Ricochet faced Fabian Aichner tonight on NXT. Aichner started off the match in control and planted Ricochet with a Gutbuster. Fabian stomped on Ricochet in the corner and stopped to taunt the crowd. Aichner connected with a tilt-a-whirl Backbreaker for a two count.
Aichner hit Ricochet with an uppercut in the corner, but Ricochet responded with a Dropkick and both Superstars fell to the canvas. Ricochet and Aichner got up and traded shots in the middle of the ring. Ricochet got the better of the exchange and connected with a springboard uppercut. Ricochet followed it up with a standing Shooting Star Press for a two count.
Ricochet climbed to the top, but Aichner got back up and crotched Ricochet on turnbuckle. Ricochet blasted Fabian with a right hand and Aichner crashed to the mat. Ricochet then connected with a ridiculous 630 Senton for the pinfall victory.
After the match, Ricochet said it feels great to pick up a win at Full Sail. He brought up Bayley, Sami Zayn and Seth Rollins and stated that he watched them make a name for themselves in NXT. Ricochet added that it was his turn now to make a name for himself and to prove to the NXT Universe that there is one and only Ricochet.
War Raiders made their in-ring debut in NXT tonight. Hanson and Rowe faced off against JC and Chris (jobbers). Rowe started off by connected with a running knee to the face to one of the jobbers. The other jobber tagged in and got launched across the ring via a Hip Toss. Hanson tagged in and dropped a knee on the jobbers midsection. A fan shouted “somebody stop the damn match!” as War Raiders connected with the Fallout for the easy victory.
Shayna Baszler Bossed Around The Women’s Locker Room
Shayna Baszler was shown in the women’s locker room. She claimed that the locker room was hers now and ripped Ember Moon’s name tag off. Dakota Kai got up to get some water and Baszler got in her face and started shouting at her. Kai exited the room and Baszler told the rest of the locker room to get in line behind her or they will get run over.
Lars Sullivan Defeated Killian Dain In A No DQ Match
Lars Sullivan and Killian Dain battled in a No DQ match tonight on NXT. Sullivan drove Dain to the corner, Dain battled out and Clotheslined Lars out of the ring. Sullivan dragged Dain to the outside and started trading shots with him. Dain whipped Lars into the steel steps and then made his way back into the ring. Killian bounced off the ropes and went for a Suicide Dive but Sullivan caught him and bashed him into the ring post.
Sullivan then planted Dain with a massive Suplex to the floor outside the ring. Lars brought Dain back into the ring and started clubbing him across the face. Sullivan showed off his power and planted Dain with a German Suplex. Killian rolled out of the ring as Lars climbed to the top rope. Sullivan hit a Flying Clothesline and landed hard on the entrance ramp on his way down.
Back in the ring, Lars connected with a diving headbutt off the second rope for a two count. Lars threw three chairs into the ring and then bashed him in the ribs with one of them. Dain exploded out of the corner with a Dropkick and both giants fell to the canvas. The crowd chanted “Killian” as Dain connected with an forearm to the face.
Dain and Sullivan traded shots for a moment, but Dain slammed Sullivan to the canvas and followed it up with a Senton. Killian then hit the Vader Bomb for a two count. Dain brought a table into the ring and set it up in the corner. Killian smashed Sullivan in the back with a chair and tried to throw Lars towards the table but Sullivan blocked it.
Lars slammed Dain to the mat and placed a chair across his chest. Sullivan scaled the ropes and went for a headbutt, but Dain got out of the way and Lars landed on the chair. Dain charged at Lars but Sullivan caught him with a Powerslam for a one count. Dain then connected with the Divide through the table in the corner as the crowd chanted “NXT!”.
Dain put a chair on Sullivan and stomped on him in the corner. Blood dripped from Dain’s mouth as he made his way up the turnbuckle. Sullivan got up with the chair and Dain punched it into his face. Dain leaped off the top, but Sullivan was ready and blasted him with the chair in the ribs. Sullivan followed it up with the Freak Accident onto the steel chair for the pinfall victory.
LeRae Submitted Vega & Black Accepted Gargano’s Challenge
Candice LeRae faced Zelina Vega in the main event of this week’s episode of NXT. Vega started trash-talking and Candice quickly shoved her to the mat. LeRae connected with a Gutbuster and climbed to the top rope. Andrade “Cien” Almas hopped on the ring apron and Vega capitalized on the distraction and threw Lerae to the mat.
Johnny Gargano then showed up at ringside as Vega applied a Chin Lock in the middle of the ring. LeRae broke the hold, but Vega connected with a kick to the face in the corner. Zelina followed it up with the Meteora for a two count. LeRae started screaming in anger and beat the hell out of Vega in the corner.
Candice climbed to the top rope and hit a Dropkick for a two count. LeRae locked in the Gargano Escape on Vega in the middle of the ring. Almas jumped into the ring and Johnny locked in the Gargano Escape on him as well. Vega tapped out and LeRae won the match.
After the match, Gargano said that was awesome and that Almas & Vega are in the past. Gargano then challenged Black for the NXT Championship and Aleister’s music hit. Black came down to the entrance ramp as the crowd chanted his name. Black said “you want it, then next week, you shall have it”.
Last week, Bullet Club’s “the Elite” released the 100th episode of their YouTube series, “Being the Elite”. Although they had previously been releasing episodes on Monday nights, no episode was released this week. As the last episode was named “Finale”, there is speculation the popular series is done.
Matt and Nick Jackson recently spoke with the Sporting News about the future of the series. They recorded the interview backstage at ROH’s TV tapings in Pittsburgh on Saturday.
“I think it’s poetic if we did end it at 100 episodes,” Nick Jackson told the Sporting News, “but everyone else says we shouldn’t.”
“We’re like, man, 100 episodes, we can end it when it’s the hottest,” Matt Jackson added. “It almost feels like we should end it.”
“On the other hand, it’s kind of undecided, but I feel like we’d be crazy not to bring it back at some point. It’s become such a popular tool for us now.”
Being the Elite: 100 Episodes
The series has been widely successful and provides a platform for members of the faction to tell stories. Much of what has been built up in terms of the Bullet Club 2018 Civil War has taken place on “Being the Elite”.
“We had a guy at the airport on our way here stop me, and he puts his hand out and says, ‘I love your YouTube videos,’” Matt Jackson added. “He didn’t mention anything about pro wrestling.”
Originally, the series was just meant to follow the Young Bucks around as they travelled to shows.
“We did that for like six months,” Nick Jackson said. “Then Matt had the idea of adding stories to the mix. … People started to love it and it grew a lot faster. I think we found our calling.
“It started with me getting sick in real life. We knew Adam [Cole] was leaving the Bullet Club, so Matt said, ‘Why don’t we say Adam poisoned you?’ I said, ‘That’s a brilliant idea. Let’s try it.’ The fans loved it. From there we just went nuts.”
The last episode of Being the Elite ended with Cody finding himself alone in the Elite locker room. While he had defeated Kenny Omega, Cody was left to ponder all that he had lost along the way.
As noted earlier, Bruno Sammartino passed away this morning at 82 years old. Sammartino was one of the biggest stars in professional wrestling history and a hero to millions around the world. By all accounts, he was also an exceptional man outside the ring. Here are some reactions from the wrestling world regarding the passing of Bruno Sammartino:
Devastated to hear the passing of a true icon, legend, great, honest and wonderful man… A true friend…and one of the toughest people I've ever met. My thoughts are with his entire family. #RIPBrunoSammartino#AmericanDream
One of the finest men I knew, in life and in business. Bruno Sammartino proved that hard work can overcome even the most difficult of circumstances. He will be missed. #RIPLivingLegendpic.twitter.com/PNDuQ31Phd
Bruno is indirectly responsible for where I am today. Growing up in Pittsburgh, he was my father’s hero, and sparked my dad’s passion for the business that he passed on to me.
I was lucky enough to spend some time with Bruno, and the man exemplified class. #RIPBruno
Devastating news for the wrestling world. An Icon amongst Icon’s, Bruno Sammartino has passed away. RIP Bruno. My thoughts and prayers are with his family today.
What sad news about the passing of my hero Bruno Sammartino. Growing up Bruno was my favorite & later when I got a chance to photograph at Ringside at MSG I loved taking photos of Bruno's matches. He was a true friend. RIP my friend. You will never be forgotten
Very saddened to hear of the passing of Bruno Sammartino. Walter”Killer” Kowalski always spoke so highly of him. An absolute legend in our industry in every sense of the word. They just don’t make men like that anymore. Godspeed sir. ?
— ? Frankie Kazarian ? (@FrankieKazarian) April 18, 2018
Now that its breaking, I must add some words about the true Living Legend- Bruno Sammartino. 2day marks the passing of a true GIANT of my biz. So proud to have known him, learned from him, and called him a friend. RIP Bruno- the greatest ever! IMHO ??
Rest In Peace Bruno Samartino. It was an honor meeting you and talking how many times we could have sold out MSG together back in the day. #RIPBrunoSammartinopic.twitter.com/Df7TgfBDnR
I will always have an enormous amount of respect & admiration for Bruno Sammartino. I can’t thank him enough for always being kind to me & taking time to have a genuine conversation. Condolences to his family & loved ones.
Bruno Sammartino is a wrestling Legend Honored to have had many conversations with him When I was w/him I knew I was w/pure class & greatness Celebrate his life watch 1of his matches today I was humbled he even knew my name I'm very sad pic.twitter.com/RfD1XIQYo9
NXT tonight will be a taped show from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida. Several matches and segments have been confirmed for tonight’s episode.
2 singles matches have been confirmed for tonight. Zelina Vega will take on Candice LeRae in a match which has been building for months. Lars Sullivan will take on Killian Dain in a NO DQ match tonight. Dain and Sullivan met last month in a match which was ruled a no-contest. Johnny Gargano will also make his return to NXT tonight after having defeated Tommaso Ciampa at Takeover.
Ricochet is also scheduled to be a part of tonight’s episode as he makes his Full Sail University debut.
NXT Preview (April 18th, 2018)
Johnny Gargano Returns
Fresh off defeating his rival/former partner, Tommaso Ciampa, at Takeover: New Orleans, Johnny Gargano is once again in NXT.
Tonight will be Gargano’s first appearance in Full Sail after being reinstated.
No DQ Match Lars Sullivan vs Killian Dain
Lars Sullivan recently returned from injury and Killian Dain was recently announced as moving up to Smackdown. They will meet tonight in a NO DQ match between two of NXT’s most powerful SuperStars.
These two last wrestled each other in single’s action on the March 7th edition of NXT. That match was declared a no-contest.
Both were inovlved in the NXT North American Championship ladder match in New Orleans.
Ricochet in Single’s Action
The high-flying Ricochet was also involved in the ladder match at Takeover: New Orleans.
Tonight, Ricochet makes his debut in front of the NXT fans at Full Sail University.
Candice LeRae vs Zelina Vega
Vega may have moved to Smackdown along with former NXT Champion, Andrade “Cien” Almas, but she has a single’s match with Candice LeRae tonight on NXT.
These two have had a budding rivalry ever since Johnny Gargano challenged Almas for the NXT Championship back at Takeover: Philadelphia.
War Raiders Wreak Havoc
The War Raiders (War Machine) are both scheduled appear on NXT television tonight as well.
Season 2 of Netflix’s hit show GLOW will premiere on Friday, June 29th. GLOW is a comedy series about the 1980’s Gorgeous Ladies Of Wrestling promotion.
The first season of GLOW focused on Ruth Wilder (played by Alison Brie), who an out-of-work actress living in Los Angeles who stumbles on an audition for an upstart women’s wrestling promotion, organized by washed-up director Sam Sylvia (Marc Maron).
The 10-episode second season picks up right where the first season concluded. The stars of the GLOW promotion are now local celebrities and will deal with the good, the bad and the ugly that comes along with their newfound fame.
The first season featured cameos from several pro wrestling personalities, including John Hennigan, Awesome Kong, Carlito, Christopher Daniels, Kazarian and Brooke Hogan.
Current WWE NXT Champion Aleister Black has taken the sports entertainment company by storm since signing back in June of 2016.
As seen at WWE NXT TakeOver: New Orleans event on earlier this month in New Orleans, Louisiana at the Smoothie King Center on the WWE Network, Black defeated Andrade Almas to win the NXT Title. This marks the first time that Black has held the title.
Black recently appeared on E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness. During the interview, he talked about his goal of making it to the biggest event of the year for the WWE, WrestleMania as well as his desire to wrestle former WWE Universal Champion Finn Balor.
“WrestleMania, that’s that one picture I have in my head, especially now, coming here.” Black said, “Like when I had that first match and I had that first taste of what WWE brings to the table, and I saw that grand stage the day after, I was like, ‘right there. That’s it. That’s the one.’ That’s what I’m aiming for.”
He continued, “And I know it sounds cliche, but I feel as any professional wrestler, any performer that works in this industry, I think that should be your goal. With all due respect to anyone who thinks different, but, for me, in my opinion, that is where it’s at. Right there.”
“That’s definitely something that [has] been inside my upper chamber as well.” Black said, “that’s definitely something that has been on my mind for sure because I think the contrast yet similarities are fantastic and that guy, his wrestling ability is on a different level. He is truly unique.”
What are your thoughts about a potential Black vs. Balor match under the WWE banner?
Braun Strowman has risen up the ranks in WWE in a short amount of time after making his main roster debut just a few short years ago as part of The Wyatt Family. He has learned as he goes to be a top Superstar. It’s well known that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon is a fan of big men.
At WrestleMania 34 earlier this month in New Orleans, Strowman and a kid that was picked out of the crowd defeated Cesaro and Sheamus to win the Raw Tag Team Titles. It was later revealed that Strowman and Nicholas had to vacate the titles due to Nicholas being a fourth-grade student.
After the event, Strowman appeared on Sam Roberts Wrestling podcast to talk about various topics including the match that the sports entertainment company booked him in at the biggest event of the year. Here is what he had to say (H/T to Wrestling Inc):
“A lot of it is WWE Creative really hitting the nail on the head that we do, and the other half is just my work ethic. I want to be the best. I don’t believe going out and competing for second best,” Strowman said. “If I can’t be the best at something then I don’t want to do it, and that has always stuck with me. I had that mentality when I competed at World’s Strongest Man. I brought that mentality here. I am going to be a WWE Hall of Famer. I am going to main event WrestleMania and that’s just the fact of it.” “That’s the thing, everyone is like, oh you should be main-eventing, but I’m like, I’m just getting started. I’m just wetting my beak right now,” he said. “We have a lot more to do and why rush everything right now? The machine is behind me. The Universe is behind me. Let’s enjoy this. Let’s have fun, and let’s go out there and do it together.” What are your thoughts on the reveal of Strowman’s partner at the show? Sound off in the comment section below.
Daniel Bryan and The Miz will square off at three shows during next month’s WWE UK Tour, which runs from May 9th-18th. Shows are scheduled for Bournemouth, London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Newcastle and Sheffield – including RAW and SmackDown TV tapings (from London).
Bryan and The Miz will battle Liverpool, Newcastle & Sheffield on May 16th, 17th and 18th.
When WWE announced that Daniel Bryan was medically cleared to compete again, The Miz’s name kept coming up as one of the ‘dream match’ pairings waiting for him after a 3-year hiatus from the ring. Upon the news of The Miz moving to SmackDown Live in the Superstar Shake-Up, Bryan quickly took notice and let the Miz know he’s waiting for him:
If we’re lucky, this feud will be one of the featured programs on SmackDown Live in the months ahead. This clip from Talking Smack (August 2016) is often cited as one of the breakout moments of The Miz’s career and is worth rewatching even if you’ve seen it before.
