The following matches were taped on Tuesday night in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for tonight’s edition of WWE SmackDown.
– Dean Ambrose vs. Bo Dallas
– Rusev vs. Fandango
– Roman Reigns vs. Big Show
– Big E vs. Titus O’Neil
– Brie Bella and Alicia Fox vs. Naomi and Tamina
– Seth Rollins vs. Ryback in a non-title champion vs. champion match
For complete SmackDown spoilers for tonight, click here.
Sources at the USA Network indicate that officials in the network believe pro wrestling’s popularity is cycling downward, which is indicated by the recent decline in ratings.
USA Network reportedly feels that the format of Tough Enough being taped and live isn’t working because it doesn’t give the judges enough time to make fair decisions, and fans are only given a few minutes instead of a full day or full week to vote. They apparently feel this turns off the audience and leads to a poor word-of-mouth buzz.
Additionally, USA officials felt Steve Austin was a dynamic presence with charisma that carried the previous Tough Enough season, while Chris Jericho comes off as a game show host. They aren’t blaming Jericho for anything as much as they are blaming the format of the show. They feel Tough Enough comes off like a game show instead of a reality TV competition.
USA is also concerned with the fact that the last two Tough Enough winners — Daniel Puder and Andy Leavine — were released by WWE before ever amounting to anything in the promotion. The feeling is that winning the show means nothing, which is another reason why fans don’t seem to care about it.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
– Women’s wrestler Nikki Storm reportedly impressed WWE officials during the tryout in Tokyo, Japan this past weekend. Storm is an independent wrestler from the U.K. that received a tryout with WWE earlier this year when the company was in London.
– Below are some recent WWE attendance figures:
July 4th in Winnipeg drew 5,500 fans (Roman Reigns tour)
July 5th in Rockford, IL drew 2,000 fans (Roman Reigns tour)
July 6th in Chicago for RAW drew 10,800 fans
– Former WWE Tough Enough winner Maven will be returning to pro wrestling for Curt Hawkins’ Create-A-Pro school and promotion on July 19th. Below is a promo Maven cut for the event.
WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross recently updated his official blog with his latest thoughts and opinions. Below are some of the highlights.
On WWE Tough Enough: “Happy to see the TV ratings for Tough Enough rebound. With fewer contestants still alive, the show should continue to get more compelling as it will allow the viewers to get to know the prospects better. The format is unique to say the least but I’m more interested in the participants giving us their true selves and not attempting to play the role of what they perceive a pro wrestler is supposed to be. Just as in life, simply be yourself and when you want to be noticed or ‘heard’ simply AMPLIFY!”
On the WWE announcer script: “Man, I’m getting some really asinine questions about the WWE announcer’s memo that has been going around the internet. I’m having a hard time understanding the fascination with this document.”
On Charlotte and Sasha Banks: “The two, best female wrestlers to arguably come along in approximately a decade @SashaBanksWWE and @MsCharlotteWWE will go nose to nose again next week on NXT TV which is all the reason that you need to make sure that you watch the broadcast. Catch now while they are on NXT because they won’t be there much longer IMO.”
Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
Thanks to F4WOnline.com for the following report …
We get a long recap of the EC3-Angle match from last week, with new camera angles. EC3 is shown holding the belt up last week, and comes out with it now. Josh hypes up a new day for TNA, but sadly didn’t use clap therapy for it. EC3 says he’s unbeaten and the new TNA World Heavyweight Champion. Tyrus holds the belt up for him and EC3 says that Dixie’s returning and has put him in charge tonight. He’s booked a heck of a card and will defend his title EC3-times tonight!
Matt Hardy comes down and wants a title match. He asks for a Twitter campaign here on this taped show. EC3 asks Tyrus if he likes the idea of #mattforchamp, and Tyrus disagrees while a giant “yes” chant breaks out. EC3 declines and Matt guarantees an ass-kicking anyway. EC3 points out that he’s running the show and mocks Matt for being a new dad and sings “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag”. The Dirty Heels come down and we get a brief recap of the Wolves beating them.
Matt Hardy vs. The Dirty Heels
EC3 comes down for commentary and hypes up a slobberknocker. Pope asks why the dinosaur is here and EC3 buries Pope for not following him on Twitter. Josh buries Pope for preventing him from talking to EC3. Aries runs wild with kicks and face rakes while Pope buries EC3 for making this unfair match. Matt gets the Ice Pick, which you’d never know because Josh is too busy talking about EC3’s mic not working. Hardy gets the Ice Pick once again, now on Aries. Pope gives EC3 his headset and Matt gets some clotheslines and a bulldog/dropkick to both guys. Matt does his goofy stuff before the Twist and it gets countered, so he doesn’t do that crap and hits it. Aries runs wild, but eats a kick in the corner. Aries counters a suplex and Roode holds Matt’s foot down for the win. EC3 says he lives for this – I sure hope not.
Josh hypes up the return of Dixie Carter and the second part of Jeff Jarrett’s interview, which will hopefully go longer than a minute. The Rising is backstage with Eli on a crutch to deliver one final message. If they were forced to disband last week, why weren’t they allowed to deliver this message then? Why are they being given a one week stay of execution? Did the BDC sign off on that or does every broken up faction get an extra to talk from now on?
An ad airs for Knockouts Knockdown 2015 and The Rising is mid-ring. Drew is sad about the end of The Rising. Why? Josh said last week that you can just change your name and get around the stipulation. Eli says they all deserve better than this and he thanks him for bringing him into TNA, and soon, he’ll show him how much that means. I don’t like Drew’s odds. Drew says that wrestling will be around forever and the roster is the future and the future is bright. A very mild TNA chant breaks out. Drew says that #standup will continue and EC3 feigns crying at ringside.
Tyrus comforts his boss in his time of need, and EC3 laments that he’s already booked Drew in a three on three tag because he now has no partners and “this ship has sunk”. Yup, the ship sure has. EC3 says that it’s time for Drew to have a new one on three match against a totally different faction than the one he was feuding with. Josh points out that this is the second handicap match of the evening, which doesn’t make this any more interesting.
Drew Galloway vs. The Revolution
Pope calls the action, or at least the Twitter action as #standup is apparently a global phenomenon. Abyss chokes Drew on the ropes. Drew clotheslines and neckbreakers the heels down, but Khoya gets a Sky High for two because Abyss wants the win. Drew dropkicks Khoya into Abyss, which sends the 350 pounder to the floor and crotches Manik up top. Drew counts to three and gets a Sick Kick for the win.
Backstage, Anderson congratulates EC3 on winning. Even though he doesn’t like the guy, he appreciates him being able to accomplish his dream and do so on his own. Anderson respects him putting the title up three times and wants one of the shots. EC3 declines and says he already has a match – against Bram. According to Twitter, he’s re-signed a deal with TNA – and that match is next. Anderson comes to face “The Chesterfield Plague, The Human Hate Machine” Bram who seemingly gets a new nickname with every contract.
Mr. Anderson vs. Bram
Maybe TNA has signed each nickname of Bram’s to a contract and that’s why he’s signed up through the end of time. Bram gets an armbar on the ground. Anderson gets a neckbreaker and a two count off a Kenton bomb. Bram hits him with a chair to the head on the floor for a DQ and Josh ponders that he doesn’t care. Well, I sure hope Bram wouldn’t care about a DQ against Mr. Anderson. Bram yells at someone to drop Anderson’s mic, and Bram uses it to do Anderson’s intro and bash his head in with. Josh says “ouch” to every shot and we close to Bram rapping the mic against his own head. Okay then.
Jessie “The Man” Godderz is mid-ring and we see clips of a street fight from last week. Did that air on Xplosion? I have no recollection of it on Impact, but it’s leading to a street fight match this week. Pope says he wouldn’t wear his tights or boots to a street fight like these men are.
Jessie Godderz vs. Robbie E – Street Fight
Robbie dives to the floor and gets a running trash can lid shot to the head. Robbie gets a kendo stick from under the ring and gets a Cesaroplex onto a lid. Robbie puts the can over the genital region of Jessie and thwacks the lid with the stick. Jessie sidesteps a plancha and drives Robbie’s back into the post with a backbreaker. Josh theorizes that Jessie is trying to hurt him, which Pope buries him for since it’s a street fight. Jessie gets a slow buckle bomb and rakes the forearm across the face.
Jessie gets the cane and hits the gut and back, but tosses it to the crowd. Jessie tosses a garbage can in and puts it in the corner. Robbie is down and Jessie gets another cane, but Robbie legsweeps him. Robbie’s nose is busted up and he eats a big dropkick after a few punches. Jessie brings a few chairs in, but gets rammed into the trash can.
This is a by the numbers garbage match from nearly any video game of the past decade. Jessie lands a Last Ride through two chairs and it only gets two. Why not have that as a finish? It’s an over move, it looked vile, and it’s a mid-card match. Ah, now it makes sense – the Adonis Crab is locked on with Jessie sitting in the chair and trapping Robbie, who passes out from the pain. Why would you re-use the legendary Austin vs. Bret finish for Robbie E vs. Jessie Godderz of all things?
EC3 talks about having three five star matches tonight, thus creating a 15-star evening. Lashley bumps into EC3 and wants to be one of the opponents. EC3 declines, but does make Lashley vs. Tyrus. God, I hope that’s short. Angle is reading and the camera guy asks what he’s reading, and Kurt just says that things are going to get interesting.
Jarrett interview is up and Jeff says the deal between GFW and TNA is a work in progress. In August of 2014, he made GFW and has made alliances with companies across the world. He never thought TNA would be one of the alliances, thus framing GFW as bigger than TNA on TNA’s TV show. We get some GFW Youtube footage of the events of the past couple of weeks. Jeff says the KOTM title will now be the centerpiece of GFW and possibly other companies. Mid-ring, EC3 is here instantly – it’s title match time. EC3 says he has to go back to where he started – against Norv Ferman. Or Norv Fernum as he was known before and as the graphic states.
EC3 vs. Norv Fernum
Maybe TNA has re-signed Norv Fernum and/or Norv Ferman to contracts. Headlocker driver hits and Norv takes a great bump for it. EC3 doing his own intros and outros is quite great – he’s good at the job. Pope says that this is just a way for EC3 to stroke his ego while Josh strokes him. EC3 says that it’s Shark Week on Discover, so it’s time for Shark Boy!
EC3 vs. Shark Boy
Shark Boy was last seen being fat and thus getting a months-long series of storylines out of what was going to just be a one-shot – so kudos to him for that. He’s also lost his excess weight and is back in shape. EC3 tells him he’ll need a bigger boat and asks if he has a chance – Sharky responds with a shell yeah! Shark Boy pounds away with corner mount punches, but he eats a big lariat. Headlock Driver hits for the win. Josh wants a “shelfie” with Shark Boy. I normally don’t like Josh, but that was a great line.
EC3 asks Tyrus to cut him and Kurt comes down with his envelope. Kurt says he has a contract and can get his rematch whenever he wants. He wants the title back and wants the rematch tonight. Pope wants this while Josh clearly doesn’t. Lashley’s out now too – so maybe he’s the third man. According to Josh, it’s Kurt. I have no idea what’s happening here.
Lashley vs. Tyrus
So the series is over, and now it’s time for Lashley vs. Tyrus. Lashley manages to outwrestle Tyrus, but eats a facebuster. Lashley hops up for a sleeper, but eats a crossbody for 2. EC3 says that Norv is like his son and we’re seeing his guy dominate an MMA expert. Exploder by Tyrus to Lashley and we’ll be getting EC3 vs. Angle in the main event. Tyrus goes up for a Vader bomb, but he’s hit in the thigh and hit with an electric chair drop. This was pretty scary as he kept moving backwards a bit and Lashley couldn’t keep him very steady – he hits it and gets the spear for the win. Velvet Sky vs. Madison Rayne is up next.
But first, it’s part two of…part two of the Jarrett-Tenay interview. Jeff is asked what his legacy is in TNA ans he says the facts speak for themselves. In the ring, he was proud of his series with Kurt at that point in his career. He loved his early matches with AJ Styles and he’s proud to see him become what he is and he’s so proud of AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, and the other TNA Originals. He loved Don West and he takes great pride in that team. Velvet comes out first while Josh talks about her just wanting her spot back. Madison gets a jobber intro, but a mic. She says Velvet’s dressed like a fan, so Velvet beats her up.
Velvet Sky vs. Madison Rayne
Pope says that Velvet’s got not just any stunner – but the Number One Stunner. Velvet beats her up on the floor, but breaks the count at 7. Madison tackles her down for 2. Northern lights suplex gets 2 and Madison follows that up with a cravate and knee strikes. Madison does the wave and shakes her hips before the headscissor driver. Velvet gets up and hits a series of kicks while Pople rattles off the Konami code. Velvet gets the Number One Stunner for the win.
We see the TNA crew doing some charity work, and get Kurt Angle’s ring introduction right after. EC3’s intro is greeted with a pretty healthy amount of cheers. EC3 comes out and the belt looks great on him, but it’s hurt by him being scared and not arrogant – so he doesn’t look nearly as cool here as he usually does.
EC3 vs. Kurt Angle – TNA World Title
EC3 rolls to the floor out by “the man dinosaur” as Pope calls him. EC3 breaks the count a few times, but Kurt traps him in the corner and works on the leg. Kurt snap suplexes him over for 1. Rolling Germans hit for Kurt, but Tyrus goes up on the apron to take out Tyrus. Ankle lock is on EC3 mid-ring and EC3 pulls himself up via Brian Hebner and punches him out and taps out. Another ref came in and calls for the bell – and we’re told it’s via DQ. Josh says we’re not quite sure what happened and he recaps the events. Okay then. The main event will be Dixie Carter’s return and she comes into the building for the first time since being put through a table by Bully Ray nearly one year ago.
EC3 is mid-ring twirling the mic around and says he’s done it again. Tonight, his aunt returns and we get her theme again. Dixie gets no reaction coming out, but a quick “Dixie” chant. Ethan hopes his aunt is proud and she stumbles over her lines as he talks. She shuts him up and says that she hasn’t been in the ring since she broke her back due to the “reign of Carter”. She says she was the monster who lied and manipulated everyone while hurting the company and its fans. Now he’s making the same mistakes she made. Dixie says she can’t change the past and wishes she could, but she can make sure her mistakes aren’t repeated.
He’s earned the title, but he has to defend it without his last name. She’s embarrassed by the show tonight, but he’s right about one thing – the show needs someone in charge to make the tough decisions. She wants this to be the best wrestling company in the world and knows who can make it that – it’s not her, and it’s not EC3. Next week, we’ll get an X Title three way and Brooke vs. Taryn for the Knockouts title. Well, that was an abrupt ending to a largely bad show.
– During last night’s episode of WWE NXT, Sasha Banks joined forces with Charlotte to take on the team of Dana Brooke and Emma. Following the match Charlotte challenged Sasha for the title.
Sasha was quick to accept the challenge and later on in the episode it was confirmed that next week it will be Charlotte vs Sasha Banks for the NXT Women’s title.
– Bayley also appeared on the show in a recorded video message where she talks about having to watch everyone else fight while she deals with a broken hand thanks to Emma.
She said that her biggest goal is to become the NXT Women’s Champion and spoke about how Triple H and Steve Austin managed to come back from injuries to become champions.
Bayley let Emma know that when she’s given the go ahead to come back, she will be the first person that she goes after.
– WWE NXT Superstar Sami Zayn will be on next week’s episode to provide fans with an update on his health following a recent injury.
The WWE NXT Twitter account also confirmed that Jason Jordan will team up with Chad Gable while Sasha Banks will defend the WWE NXT Women’s Championship against Charlotte.
NEXT WEEK ON #WWENXT:@jasonjordanJJ FINALLY teams with @WWEGable @MsCharlotteWWE vs. @SashaBanksWWE @iLikeSamiZayn medical update!
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) July 9, 2015
– It was reported last night on social media that during the “Tough Enough” challenge for next Tuesday’s episode, an altercation broke out between contestants Mada and Patrick.
The following was shared on Instagram on the official WWE account highlighting the incident:
https://instagram.com/p/4453sQAFF5/
BREAKING: During today’s #ToughEnough challenge an altercation between Patrick and Mada took place
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports this week that talent under contract at Lucha Underground have been told that filming for a second season could begin in September.
This means talent can go ahead and book up for weekends in August but some have gone ahead and done this for September as well while telling promoters that they may have to pull out.
Meltzer notes his concerns that a TV deal in Mexico hasn’t came to fruition, nor has a potential deal that was mentioned with Univision in the U.S which he notes has gone quiet.
He explains that with just Unimas and the El Rey Network in the U.S for a second season, without a deal in Mexico, they stand to lose a lot of money with no real revenue coming in.
The lack of house shows is also a concern for Meltzer as he notes that this seems to indicate that they have no confidence in the product, nor do they have any international deals.
Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter
Last night’s episode of Lucha Underground continued to build towards the Ultima Lucha show that will take place on August the 5th.
Matt Striker confirmed that Prince Puma and Mil Muertes will come face to face during next week’s show to build up the match.
An interview with Vampiro and Pentagon Jr was aired with things continuing to get out of control between the pair after Pentagon continued his quest to get Vampiro back in the ring.
At the end of the show, after the main event, Pentagon Jr attacked Vampiro, poured gasoline over him and threatened to set him on fire if he didn’t accept his challenge for a match at Ultima Lucha. He gave him one week to respond.
The following matches also took place during the show:
– As seen on this week’s episode of NXT, Chad Gable revealed that Jason Jordan is finally taking him up on his offer to be a tag team. Next week, they’ll be in action against Elias Samson and Steve Cutler.
It appears @JasonJordanJJ is FINALLY #ReadyWillingAndGable…starting NEXT WEEK! #WWENXT @WWEGable http://t.co/PY0C41KCrd
— WWE (@WWE) July 9, 2015
– WWE has released the following video of The Vaudevillians celebrating after becoming the #1 contenders to Blake and Murphy’s WWE NXT Tag Team Titles:
John Laurinaitis served as the producer and head agent for WWE’s recent tour of Japan, including the critically acclaimed “Beast In The East” WWE Network special.
It was Laurinaitis who came up with the idea to use streamers before the NXT Championship match with Finn Balor and Kevin Owens, as well as the pre-match ceremony where the women in kimonos presented flowers to both Balor and Owens. Laurinaitis had the idea to cater to the local crowd and give the show a unique Japanese touch that was a stark contrast to what we regularly see on WWE television.
WWE did send a production crew to Tokyo to air the show, but they saved a lot of money by using a stripped down production setup.
The live WWE Network special was considered to be a major success and WWE officials are already looking at doing more Network-exclusive specials.
(Source: Wrestling Observer Newsleter)
Vince Russo recently spoke with Donald Wood and the rest of the Ring Rust Radio crew. Here are some highlights of what Russo said about:
If he still has something to offer the wrestling business:
“That’s a really good question and it’s really like a double edged sword. I am content doing my thing on the Relm network, there is no doubt about that. Vince Russo not having any chains, rules, and nobody telling me what to do is beyond a freeing experience, it’s incredible. However, what I do for a living at vincerussobrand.com depends on wrestling therefore, I make a living off of professional wrestling. When I watch WWE and TNA on a weekly basis, I see how subpar the television shows have become. I see the drastic decrease in ratings and that concerns me. Without wrestling, there may not be a Vince Russo. I would love to help those companies, I know I can help them, I know what they are doing wrong, but when you offer your services free of charge and they say thanks but no thanks, there isn’t too much you can do. The answer to that question is for my own longevity, the wrestling business needs to prosper, and I am willing to help it. If they aren’t interested that’s up to them, but I more concerned about my own future.”
The fundamental changes he’d make to TNA:
“In my opinion, I watch TNA, it’s just wrestling 101. They are in the wrestling bubble, week in and week out they are telling wrestling stories, and a perfect example of that is the feud of Jeff Jarrett and Dixie Carter. You have a thirteen year feud between Jeff Jarrett and Dixie Carter, an ongoing story, and they way they introduce that story back to TV is through a King of the Mountain wrestling match? You don’t have to be Vince Russo to see that that is ridiculous. That’s bad fake wrestling; they came up with no creative whatsoever. If that story presented in the correct fashion and the right way, almost as a shoot with the history and reality of it, trust me it would have been a lot more compelling than Jeff showing up on a show and saying I am going to be in a wrestling match.”
If WWE has too many writers and what the proper balance is:
“You are absolutely right. They have a week to write a television show. When there are twenty people involved in the writing of that show, you are going to spend a lot of time running into each other. While you are running into each other for a good majority of the week, you suddenly get to crunch time. All of a sudden its Saturday or Sunday and you don’t have a complete show yet, so we will just finish it when we get to TV and that is what you are seeing today. I’ll just go back to the old Russo and Ferrara way of two guys wrote the show, brought it and pitched it to Vince, and that’s it. It’s a proven ingredient and formula that worked. Now I’m not saying Russo and Ferrara should go back to WWE, what I am saying is replace Russo and Ferrara with two other guys, make it simple, same vision, and you will have a much better product. There is no way that could be a compelling and intriguing show with all those writers involved in it. ”
His biggest regrets booking WWE & WCW:
“I’ll say my regret is in the wrestling business because it doesn’t matter where I was; it falls under the umbrella of the wrestling business. My biggest regret as I stand here now, on the outside looking in, I’m 54 years old now, and my biggest regret is whatever company I worked for is I made them my number one priority. What that means is I put God behind it, my family behind it, my wife behind it, and my kids behind it. When I worked for those companies they were my number one priority. Now when I sit back and see how thankless those individuals are that I gave my life to and put before my family, I am absolutely ashamed of myself. Shame on me, I should have never of done that and I should have known better. It was never about the money, it was about my pride, and wanting to be the best that I could possibly be. I am a goal driven guy and I made that my priority. I made Vince McMahon my priority, I made Dixie Carter my priority, my time at WCW was my priority. Looking back now, that was a huge mistake that I can never take back.”
Has wrestling evolved enough over the past several years?
“I think as we speak, wrestling right now is a niche market. Look at your numbers. Less than five years ago, TNA was doing 5,000,000 people. Nowadays they are doing a quarter of that. Look at the fifteen-year decline of the WWE. The people watching wrestling in 2015 are wrestling fans that are always going to be watching wrestling. The problem is they have lost the casual TV viewers. Those were the 5,000,000 people that are now gone. Wrestling has already become a niche market. Anybody can study and look at the numbers, see where it once was, and see where it is today. I want to say this – I publically want to totally separate Lucha Underground from all of that. Lucha Underground is not a wrestling company, they are a TV show. They treat the product like a TV show, they produce it like a TV show, and they treat the wrestlers like TV stars. So in my opinion they are in a category all by itself because they are not a wrestling company, they are a TV company.”
His relationship with Hulk Hogan over the years:
“Number one, we didn’t really have a relationship in WCW. People seem to forget about that. They want to pin everything that happened at WCW on me. The reality of it is I worked there for nine months. I really didn’t generate that relationship with Hulk Hogan during my time there. I was really grateful that when he came to TNA, we were able to settle any differences that we may have had. I am very grateful and thankful for that. As his spot in WWE right now, I am thrilled for the guy. I don’t know where the wrestling business would be without Hulk Hogan. For him to be in the spot he is right now as an ambassador for WWE, he deserves that spot. I am absolutely thrilled for him.”
His relationship with Triple H & if he’s seen Triple H bury talent:
“No I never have, but I will say this: When Triple H was breaking into the WWE, and the Madison Square Garden incident happened, where he became the scapegoat, there was nobody in his corner more than me. When that character was first being developed, there was no one developing that character more than me. I used to write every single one of his promos. I only had one instance working with him that he really disappointed me. He straight out didn’t want to do a job to D’Lo Brown and I really had an issue with that. I never read or followed in any of that stuff about him, but I was very disappointed when I almost went back to WWE back in 2002 and found out more or less Triple H was not in my corner after all I did for him. Fast forward twelve years later and you see the position he is in and Stephanie is in and now it makes all the sense in the world. If you eventually want the power, then you want to keep a guy away like a Vince Russo away who from a creative stand point is going to produce better content and better TV than you can. A Vince Russo is a better writer and went to school for writing to be a writer and knows the art of writing. When that happened in 2002 and I learned he was working behind the scenes to keep me out of the WWE, I would be lying to you if I told you my opinion of him did not change.”
– TNA President Dixie Carter returned to this week’s Impact Wrestling and is now a babyface. Dixie tweeted the following to her nephew about big changes coming to TNA.
I am sorry @EthanCarterTNA. The #ReignOfCarter is over. I am not in charge… Neither are you…
— Dixie Carter (@TNADixie) July 9, 2015
The official @ImpactWrestling account is teasing the new authority will be revealed next week:
Who will be in charge of @IMPACTWRESTLING ??? Find out next Wed @DestAmerica pic.twitter.com/NmOCWlsgIz
— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) July 9, 2015
– Next week’s Impact will also feature Tigre Uno defending the X Division Title against DJ Zema Ion and Grado, plus Brooke Tessmacher vs. Taryn Terrell for the Knockouts Title.
https://youtu.be/SeXQ4LY0Xtk
Global Force Wrestling’s invasion of TNA is currently slated to kick off on the July 22nd edition of Impact Wrestling, which will air on a slight tape delay. The invasion will continue through the first Global Force TV tapings from Las Vegas on July 24th, which will see the crowning of GFW’s first World Champion and Women’s Champions.
Eric Young, Bobby Roode and several other TNA stars will be taking part in the first GFW TV tapings as part of the invasion angle. Young will be appearing at this weekend’s GFW live events to confront Jeff Jarrett.
GFW stars confirmed for the GFW tapings include Nick Aldis (Magnus), Chris Sabin, PJ Black (Justin Gabriel), Sonjay Dutt, IWGP Jr. Champion Kushida, Chris Mordetsky (Chris Masters), Sanada, Mickie James and Lei’D Tapa.
Country music star Toby Keith, who is a longtime friend of Jarrett’s and has had talks in recent years about buying into TNA, is said to be helping Jarrett finance Global Force Wrestling, but it’s not an open checkbook. There is apparently a specific benchmark Keith is pushing Jarrett to reach, which is likely a TV deal.
(Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
– NXT Diva Becky Lynch is out of action for a few weeks due to a hip flexor injury that she suffered during her NXT Takeover match with Sasha Banks. Lynch had continued to work through the injury, however she is now taking some time off to recover.
– WWE Divas Champion Nikki Bella is currently working with a partially separated shoulder. There is currently no word as to whether or not the injury is something that will eventually require her to take time off or not.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
Brian Gewirtz, who has been with WWE as one of the head writers for around 15 years, gave his notice to the company a few weeks ago.
Gewirtz was at the June 29th edition of RAW in Washington, D.C. saying his “goodbyes” to everyone in the company.
For years, Gewirtz was the head writer of RAW, and remained with the creative team until October of 2012, when Eric Pankowski, the head of WWE creative at the time, sent him home.
Gewirtz had remained under contract as a consultant working from home, and also did some work for the WWE Network.
When The Rock would come in from time-to-time, he would specifically ask for Gewirtz to be there to be his writer. Gewirtz was the main writer for The Rock during the last few years of Rock’s full-time career in WWE.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
The reason William Regal was in Japan last week and over the weekend was due to the WWE tryout session.
WWE reportedly had six men and two women at the tryout session, including Leona Fujinami, son of WWE Hall Of Famer Tatsumi Fujinami.
Also at the tryout was former TNA X-Division Champion Seiya Sanada, who still lives in the United States, but flew to Japan to take part in the tryout.
Other talents who took part in the tryout included Japanese talent Yohei, an independent wrestler from Osaka, Hikaru Shida, a popular women’s wrestler and the other names were people not as well known.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
– While Stardust (Cody Rhodes) was back at television this week, WWE decided not to use him. The belief is that WWE isn’t ready to turn Stardust babyface, and due to the fact that he is Dusty Rhodes’ son and people probably won’t want to “boo” him, they are waiting to bring him back.
– At one point, a few of the NXT Divas, Charlotte being one we can confirm specifically, were scheduled for this past Monday’s edition of WWE RAW. This wasn’t the first time NXT Divas were set to make their main roster debuts only for plans to be changed. As noted recently, Charlotte and Sasha Banks are expected to be brought up to the main roster in time for SummerSlam, and they are likely to be involved in the Paige vs. Team Bella angle, siding with Paige.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
– Chris Jericho suffered a neck injury during his match in Japan with Neville this past weekend. The injury happened when Jericho caught Neville on a dive spot. Originally, the injury was believed to be a serious one, however he has reportedly recovered from it already and is under the belief that it will be completely gone in a few days.
– In addition to the announced matches for this month’s WWE Battleground pay-per-view, Randy Orton vs. Sheamus, Dolph Ziggler vs. Rusev and Nikki Bella vs. Paige are expected. While Bella-Paige isn’t official yet, we can confirm that it was on the books for the event as recent as a week ago. In the case of Ziggler and Rusev, WWE is doing an angle where Ziggler is “out indefinitely,” so they might hold off on that match.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
As reported earlier this week, only about five percent of people survive the injury that Tyson Kidd suffered.
According to the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Kidd’s injury was far worse than originally believed. Kidd was apparently being legitimate in saying only five percent of people survive the injury he suffered, as that is what doctors told him.
Right after suffering the injury, while in the hospital in Texas, doctors told him he was lucky to be alive. After surgery, he was told by doctors that because the injury he suffered was so high in the neck, in most cases, such an injury would be fatal.
Apparently the only reason Kidd survived is because he is an athlete with a very muscular neck.
As reported, Kidd’s surgery resulted in him having 16 staples, four screws and a rod put into his neck.
As previously reported, WWE dropped Roddy Piper from his WWE Legends contract, according to Ric Flair, due to issues with Steve Austin over Podcast One.
The issues reportedly began when Piper claimed that Austin got Piper’s podcast booted off of Podcast One after satirical comments were made by comedian Will Sasso, who was impersonating Austin, on a Piper’s Pit podcast that took place earlier this year.
Austin noted earlier this week that at age 50, he has no time for “soap opera stuff.” Austin claimed he had nothing to do with Piper getting pulled from Podcast One. He said he contacted the President of Podcast One and was informed that Piper asked for a meeting with them to tell the company that he no longer wanted to do a podcast for them.
Austin said he is not to blame for Piper leaving and claimed Piper himself is the one who wanted to leave. Austin added that despite everything, he has no hard feelings towards Piper.
Piper plans to address the situation on his next podcast. “This will be cleared up and gone after my next Podcast,” said Piper. “I heard what Steve said! Respect! My Honor’s not for sale!”
The official Muscle & Fitness website has published the Q&A that they did with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon for the recent issue that featured him on the cover. While we previously reported some of the highlights from the Q&A, below are a few that weren’t part of the initial Q&A that was released.
On his advice for sticking it out in hard times: “I think you have to develop an attitude. From the severity that I experienced, taking numerous beatings and things of that nature, I developed a defensive philosophy that has served me very well through the years. That is: If I lived through whatever the adversarial position was, I won. No matter what happens, if I’m still breathing in and out, I won. So if you have that kind of philosophy, then failure is not a big thing.”
On what his fitness and nutrition regimen is like these days: “I’m still making gains. Very, very slow gains [laughs], but I am, and that’s something you can do for the rest of your life. If you train as a lifestyle, it helps you through everything. My training has evolved. When I worked out with [bodybuilder] Steve Stone, he had an old-school philosophy of just get the weight up. It doesn’t matter how you do it, just get it up. And with that philosophy I got a personal best of a 700-pound squat for three reps when I was 60-something, and that was after a double quad tear. That was an arena injury [not training related].
“What I do now with Mike Monteforte, my trainer…I don’t really have a trainer. We train together. He is my trainer, but we train together. I don’t like people saying, “Come on! You can do it.” It makes me want to rack the weight and say shut up. Mike’s training and technique are totally different from Steve Stone’s. Mike’s technique is one of safety, which?is so important. His philosophy is, don’t do anything where you can get hurt. You can do a max, but you really have to work into it. I recently had a resurfacing of my left hip, so I’m at a 560 squat now, and our goal is to get back up to 600.”
On that regimen being incredible for someone his age: “Age really doesn’t have anything?to do with it. I’ll be 70 in August. I had a personal best a few weeks ago on the incline Hammer Strength machine. I did five reps with 450. It’s important to make gains, but it’s important to be safe. If you have an injury in the gym, it sets you back so much it’s not worth whatever gain you were going to make. That’s why strict form is so important. It’s about form, not the weight.”
On what he eats: “I look at eating as fuel. I’m not that conscious of the protein I eat, but I know it’s a lot. I think cheat meals are very important, so I do it about once a week. When you cheat, go for it. It’s important from a psychological standpoint. Oreos are my favorite cookie. I’ll eat an entire box. And my philosophy is that the body can assimilate only so much in a given time. If you have two or three Oreos every day, not good. But if you eat an entire package of Oreos at one time, it’s OK. It just passes through. I’ll eat pasta loaded up with meat sauce. Pizza. All the carbs you stay away from normally, load ’em up. I will gorge. It’s almost like I will force-feed myself on a cheat meal. And afterward I think, “Oh, my God, I don’t want to feel like this.” So it gets me back in the frame of mind immediately after the digestive process to do the right thing.”
WWE NXT
Aired July 8, 2015
Taped June 18 at Full Sail University
– NXT Women’s Champion Sasha Banks and Charlotte beat Dana Brooke and Emma
– Solomon Crowe defeated Marcus Louis via submission
– The Vaudevillains defeated Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady to become No. 1 Contenders to the NXT Tag Team Titles
– Jason Jordan and Chad Gable over Elias Sampson and Steve Cutler
– Samoa Joe squashed Axel Tischer
Ring of Honor TV
Taped June 20 in New York, New York at Terminal 5
Aired July 8 on Destination America and previously in ROH syndication
Report by Jason Powell & ProWrestling.net
The show opened with clips of Samoa Joe, Adam Cole, C.M. Punk, Bryan Danielson, The Briscoes, Kevin Steen, and then Jay Lethal. A graphic read “Creating Excellence”… A video package featured still shots of Jay Lethal defeating Jay Briscoe to win the ROH Title at the Best in the World pay-per-view… The opening montage aired…
Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino welcomed viewers to the show from ringside and wished viewers a happy 4th of July in the United States. They hyped the six-man tag main event…
1. Dalton Castle (w/The Boys) vs. Watanabe. Castle did his flamboyant handshake prior to the match. The wrestlers traded offense heading into the break a couple minutes into the match. [C] A commercial aired for the NJPW talent coming to Brooklyn and Philadelphia in August.
Coming out of the break, the wrestlers jockeyed for position in a rolling small package. They both stood up and acted dizzy from all the rolling around they did. They followed with a double clothesline. Watanabe grabbed control and targeted the back of Castle. However, Castle came back with a spinning facebuster type of move and got the win.
Dalton Castle defeated Watanabe.
Watanabe left the ring after a handshake. Castle took the mic and noted that there were “a lot of boys out there tonight.” His boys positioned themselves on the mat to make a two-man chair, and he laid down on them. Castle said he’s the only real man in ROH, which led to Silas Young walking onto the stage and barking at him about being the real man…
[Q2] [C] Matchmaker Nigel McGuinness stood in the ring and introduced Jay Lethal as the ROH TV Champion and new ROH Champion. Lethal headed to the ring carrying both title belts and was accompanied by Truth Martini, Donovan Dijak, and J Diesel. Nigel shook Lethal’s hand and congratulated him on backing up his claim that he would become the ROH Champion.
The fans chanted “you deserve it.” Truth stepped forward and said while the fans were right that Lethal deserves it, they are not his people. Truth said “we” (the wrestlers in the ring) are Lethal’s people. Lethal said he is the best in the world, just as he has said from the beginning.
Lethal said he is the undisputed champion of the greatest wrestling company in the world. Lethal added that ROH is the greatest wrestling company of the world because he’s the undisputed champion. Corino said Lethal made a good point. Lethal said that’s all he had to say because he doesn’t need to prove anything.
Nigel stopped him and asked which of the two belts Lethal plans to vacate. Lethal said he’s not giving up a damn thing. “I earned both of these,” Lethal said. He said Nigel knew that one man would come out of Best in the World with both title belts.
Nigel said he has two separate belts, meaning Lethal may have to defend both belts in two different matches. Nigel said Lethal would defend the ROH Title against Roderick Strong at the Death Before Dishonor iPPV, and he will defend his ROH TV Title next week against Mark Briscoe. Lethal said he will defend both titles in one night if he needs to. Lethal said he’s going to destroy Briscoe next week.
Roderick Strong’s entrance music interrupted Lethal’s rant. Strong made his entrance and entered the ring. Kelly said Strong didn’t care that he was entering the ring “in enemy territory.” Strong told Lethal to face him and asked, “you’re a man, right?” Strong said Lethal will walk into the iPPV as the champion, and then Strong will walk out as the new ROH Champion… Kelly hyped the six-man tag main event… [C]
[Q3] Mandy Leon hosted the Inside ROH segment and focussed on Jay Lethal’s win at Best in the World. Highlights of his match with Jay Briscoe were shown. Leon set up a Roderick Strong promo. He spoke about getting the title shot he earned. Leon said next week’s Inside ROH will focus on Cedric Alexander…
Adam Page cut a studio in front of the ROH banner hyping his match against Matt Sydal for next week’s television show… [C]
Adam Cole, Matt Taven, Michael Bennett, and Maria made their entrance. Maria took the mic and said Cole is upset about losing at Best in the World, but it’s not his fault. She pointed out that Taven and Bennett won tag gold in Japan. She said she is the leader of The Kingdom and takes full responsibility. She said they would prove that this kingdom will never fall. They had a group hug. The babyface trio made their entrances for the main event… [C]
2. Kyle O’Reilly, Bobby Fish, and Michael Elgin vs. Adam Cole, Matt Taven, and Michael Bennett (w/Maria). Elgin performed an early suplex on Bennett after holding him up for an extended period of time. Corino said it looked like Elgin was having fun in the ring again after losing his smile.
[Q4] The heel trio isolated Elgin, who was fighting them off with elbows heading into the break. [C] Fish and O’Reilly worked over Taven, then targeted Cole with double team moves. Fish and O’Reilly did some gyrating, then went back to work on Taven and got a near fall.
Later, Elgin fought off Taven and Bennett and hoisted them both up on his shoulders. Cole tried to stop him, but he flung the legs of his opponents at Cole and then performed a double Samoan drop. The fans chanted “this is awesome” only because “this is pretty good” doesn’t have the same zest to it.
The heel trio got a near fall on Elgin after a nice series of rapid fire offense. Fish and O’Reilly dumped Cole and Bennett to the floor and then dove on them. In the ring, Elgin picked up Taven in powerbomb position and dumped him onto his opponents on the floor. The babyface trio performed a powerbomb off the middle rope for a two count.
Cole performed the Canadian Destroyer on Elgin, then Taven and Bennett performed a double team move for another two count. Elgin made a hot tag to O’Reilly, who squared off with Cole. They traded offense and then O’Reilly turned him inside out with a clothesline. O’Reilly and Fish performed Chasing The Dragon on Cole, which led to O’Reilly pinning Cole. After the match, Cole shook O’Reilly’s hand and then raised his arm before leaving the ring without his teammates…
Kyle O’Reilly, Bobby Fish, and Michael Elgin defeated Adam Cole, Matt Taven, and Michael Bennett.
