Global Force Wrestling issued a “Breaking News” video on Sunday to announce a change to their upcoming event.
Check out the video above for details on Chris Sabin being pulled from the show, as he will be replaced by Kushida who will go one-on-one in a NEX*GEN match.
Last night at WWE Battleground, we saw Luke Harper interfere in Bray Wyatt’s match with Roman Reigns, attacking Reigns and helping Bray emerge victorious. This reunion of the former Wyatt Family members is being done to set up a program involving Sting at SummerSlam.
The original plan for the match at SummerSlam was going to be all 3 members of the Wyatt Family against Sting, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose. With Erick Rowan out of action due to injury, it now looks like we’ll be seeing Wyatt & Harper vs. Sting and Reigns.
There is already some internal concern that the rowdy Brooklyn crowd could cheer Sting and boo Reigns.
WWE SummerSlam takes place on Sunday, August 23rd from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
(Source: F4wonline.com)
GFW’s Nick “Magnus” Aldis recently took part in a Q&A with the folks at F4WOnline.com. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On what fans can expect from the GFW TV tapings: “From what I understand – and the conversations I’ve had with Jeff, Sonjay, Karen and others – I think there’ll be very good production values. The Orleans Arena has been a huge partner for Jeff. He’s got this lighting company on board who do really incredible lighting for concerts and events and stuff. He understands that first and foremost it’s got to look the part.
One of the criticisms that have been levied against Global a little bit is the roster. It’s like “Is it really your roster or is it just guys who are available now?” That’s the truth – he’s developing a roster based on who he has available to him, but I think some of it is that he’s seen guys who perhaps he saw more potential in and wants to bring out the rest of it. I think that you’ll see some talent who are showcased and you’ll see them in a while new light.
I think honestly the thing that’s going to differentiate it more than anything is the way that we present the product. It’s going to be much closer to what you might see from a New Japan or someone like that. It’s more about the competitiveness and the rivalries and the sort of sporting element that exists – with the production value – which, for me, was always what was best about pro wrestling, rather than so, so heavily story orientated.”
On the GFW roster: “You’re right…….Look here’s the thing. Jeff could have put together a roster of guys who already have a name from somewhere, and he would have been bashed for not giving any new talent a chance. He could have put a roster together of all new guys and been bashed for having a roster of nobodies. At the end of the day, those critics, that voice is small but it’s always going to be there. You don’t ignore it, but you have to understand what its value is in the big picture, which is perhaps as significant sometimes as we, in wrestling, make it out to be. By that I mean social media, the immediate online community and that feedback. I’m certainly not going to bash it and say it’s insignificant, because it’s not, but I don’t think it’s as significant as sometimes we make it out to be.
I think one of the reasons TNA went wrong was that they started treating that minority as the voice of everybody. They forgot the fact that there was this casual audience, and what happened is that TNA had the biggest remaining slice of market share after WWE – which obviously has the huge majority – and then they ended up dividing it up between Ring of Honor and Lucha Underground, because they focussed too much on this minority that weren’t necessarily theirs. They started to go after what I think was Ring of Honor’s audience and in the process they lost the ones that they were retaining – who then decided to look for alternatives in Lucha Underground, which I think is a magnificent product, and in Ring of Honor.
Jeff is one of those guys who has enough of an idea of that audience but doesn’t get too wrapped up in their opinion that he forgets about going after the big fish.”
On his final comments on GFW: “Right now I’m just focused on the book and getting as much awareness as possible. But I would say this as far as Global is concerned; there are some pretty cool announcements and news coming up in the next week or two, which I’m privy to. Obviously I can’t share it – and I’m not trying to be a worker and be all “Hey” There’s a big, huge announcement!” – but it is a pretty cool one. There is some pretty cool stuff coming up that people will be interested to hear from Global.
I would urge wrestling fans to keep an open mind and remember how long it takes to forge a process like this. It’s been around for a year. We live in a world where people expect things to materialise on cue, but it doesn’t work like that. Stick with it and watch it, because there’s some pretty cool stuff coming up. I think it’s going to be a new player in the business, otherwise I wouldn’t have gone forward with it.”
Check out the complete interview at F4WOnline.com.
Global Force Wrestling star Sonjay Dutt appeared on The Rack Radio Show last Thursday, hosted by Lindsey Ward & Sir Rockin. The full show is available for streaming at WildTalkRadio.com. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
If he’s excited to take part in the launch of Global Force Wrestling and being a part of the NEX*GEN Championship Tournament: “Yeah, absolutely. I’m just really excited to be a part of something new, on the ground floor and in the first stages of this brand new company. It’s very similar to back in 2003 when I started with TNA and it was about a year old, or barely a year old and Jeff Jarrett had just started a new company and I climbed on board and here we are in 2015 and we’re doing it all over again.”
If GFW Grand Slam events are different than traditional indoors events and how so: “You know, being outside and outdoors is a completely different monster; you’ve got a lot of the elements to deal with and you’re just not sure of the weather and constraints so it’s just hard being outside. Noise travels all over the place but it’s a really cool atmosphere and a really fun time. We’re trying to be the most fan interactive group that you can possible go to a show for; we’ve got the fan meet-and-greets at 5:30, before bell time for about an hour, talent is very easily accessible; no one is hiding out and everyone is mingling with the fans. It’s just very cool to get up with the fans that I might not normally be able to at other shows.”
If he took anything from his early days with TNA to use as examples here or is he just taking it as it comes: “I think the presentation of the product is a little different, I guess very different, so you can’t really predict how things are going to go but I do know that we’ve got an awesome roster and I think the one thing that separates us for every other wrestling promotion is talent and we’ve got a loaded line-up next Friday at our first TV tapings; our Grand Slam events had loaded line-ups as well. We’re not just looking for the world-wide international stars but we’re looking for the regional stars and the diamonds in the rough, the ones the fans might not know about that need that stage to shine.”
What would it be like to be the first NEX*GEN Championship for GFW: “It would be amazing. It would be awesome; being a part of something brand new and being crowned the first ever. The first ever anything is kinda cool but especially in this environment where it’s the kind of wrestling I excel at and honed over the years and perfected, that kind of adds to it.
I think all that stuff is going to come to life not just next Friday, but as the days and weeks go by. The NEX*GEN division is going to be very similar to the X-Division but we’re going to be focusing on the next generation of high-flyers, the next generation of hybrid wrestlers out there, basically taking every style here is out there in pro wrestling and meshing it together and there’s a lot of guys out there that have traveled the world, much like I have, and perfected your Lucha style, your Japanese style, your American style and bring them all together and get this one big, hybrid style of wrestling and we truly think that is the next generation of wrestling. Gone are the days of the slow, and I don’t want to say boring, but action-based pro wrestling is the future and action-based pro wrestling is the next generation.”
His reaction on seeing Jeff and Karen Jarrett appear on TNA TV to publicize GFW: “I think it was crazy and was about the same reaction everyone else had in ‘What is going on here?!’ I’m sure that’s what was going on Jeff’s mind as he was walking to the ring and as he was ring the ring speaking his mind. But, it’s a crazy business; the wrestling business is a crazy business. You cannot predict anything and you cannot rule anything out. Time will only tell what this brings not only to TNA but to GFW as well.”
Who would he like to see in GFW and who would he like to compete against: “Let’s so, oh many this is a tough on; there’s so much good talent out there. Right now, I think the connection Jeff (Jarrett) has and GFW has with New Japan Pro Wrestling in producing the Tokyo Dome pay-per-view this past January, I think North American fans were exposed to so much talent and they just didn’t know it. Being an aficionado of the Japanese wrestling scene and having spent a year to year and a half of my life out there wrestling and was up close and personal with it; some of those guys I would love to see over here. (Kazuchika) Okada, (Shinsuke) Nakamura, (Tomohiro) Ishii, (Hirooki) Goto, (Katsuyori) Shibata and we’ve gotten a taste of the Bullet Club and the Young Bucks during the Grand Slam tour. So, I think those guys coming in here creates so many fresh new match-ups. We’ve got IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Kushida, he’s going to be in Las Vegas next Friday and getting that type of flavor in GFW is priceless. There’s a lot of guys out in Mexico as well and they’re getting exposure out in California and in AAA. So there’s a lot of high-flyers out there that I would love to get in the ring with.
Who does he see walking out as the first ever GFW Global Heavyweight Champion: “That’s a tough one. I really like Nick Aldis, formerly known as Magnus, I’ve always enjoyed everything about his work and the way he carries himself as a professional wrestler both inside and outside of the ring; I think he’s a real special performer. He’s got a real shot, starting fresh and showing the world what he can do and showing that maybe he didn’t get that opportunity previously and this is it. Also, a guy like Brian Myers (formerly Curt Hawkins in the WWE) maybe he wasn’t given that ball that he deserved over the years and maybe this is the time for him to grab that ball and show wheat he can do.”
You can follow Sonjay through his Twitter (@sonjaydutterson) or visit his website (https://prowrestlingtees.com/sonjaydutt) for his latest news and notes. You can follow Sonjay and the other stars of Global Force Wrestling through the company Twitter account (@GFWWrestling) and website (http://globalforcewrestling.com) for the latest news and updates on the promotion including their upcoming television tapings starting this Friday, July 24th in Las Vegas, NV. at the Orleans Arena, as well as information on tickets and the latest card information.
Click here to view the full, expanded version
WWE has released the official promotional artwork for SummerSlam on August 23rd featuring The Undertaker, Brock Lesnar and several other top performers.
It’s worth noting that Sting is not on this version of the poster. Sting is rumored to be appearing at SummerSlam, with Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer noting that Sting is featured on other SummerSlam advertising that has yet to be released.
Following The Undertaker’s return at Battleground last night, Taker and Lesnar are expected to headline the card in a rematch from their infamous clash at WrestleMania 30.
– The official result of the Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at WWE Battleground last night is a “No Contest,” according to WWE.com. As seen during the show last night, the Lesnar-Rollins match ended when The Undertaker returned and attacked Lesnar.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross will review WWE Battleground on his “Ross Report” podcast this week with The Fight Network’s John Pollock. The show will be available tomorrow night at PodcastOne.com.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair took the following photo backstage at WWE Battleground last night with his daughter Charlotte, as well as Paige and Becky Lynch.
. @BeckyLynchWWE @RealPaigeWWE @MsCharlotteWWE @WWE @WWENXT pic.twitter.com/Ve0fv3a7X1
— Ric Flair® (@RicFlairNatrBoy) July 20, 2015
– Paul Heyman will be the special guest on tonight’s WWE RAW Kickoff Show live on the WWE Network.
– Last week it was noted that Sasha Banks, Naomi and Tamina Snuka’s Team “BAD” name stood for “Best at Dominating,” but it was noted at Battleground that BAD stands for “Beautiful and Dangerous.”
– WWE has released the following new promo video for SummerSlam on August 23rd:
Tonight’s episode of WWE RAW takes place from Kansas City, Missouri at the Sprint Center.
The show will feature fallout from last night’s Battleground pay-per-view, including The Undertaker’s return to resume his feud with Brock Lesnar, Seth Rollins retaining the WWE World Heavyweight championship as a result and John Cena getting another win over Kevin Owens.
Top talent schedule to appear includes Brock Lesnar, Seth Rollins, John Cena, Kevin Owens, Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, Randy Orton, Sheamus, Big Show, Bray Wyatt, and the Prime Time Players.
The advertised dark match main event will see John Cena teaming with Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose against Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens and Bray Wyatt.
As always, join us here tonight for live coverage of WWE RAW.
WWE legend The Undertaker made a surprise return at Sunday’s Battleground pay-per-view, costing Brock Lesnar a chance to capture the WWE Championship in the main event.
WWE has posted the following video clips of the Dead Man’s return:
The #Undertaker IS BACK!!! #WWEBattleground #TheDeadman @BrockLesnar http://t.co/J1HBDqpByp
— WWE (@WWE) July 20, 2015
#ChokeSlam by #TheUndertaker! #WWEBattleGround https://t.co/NNqOtMW937
— WWE (@WWE) July 20, 2015
#TheBeast @BrockLesnar just entered #TombstoneCity! #WWEBattleground #LesnarvsRollins #TheUndertaker pic.twitter.com/nEAuPTlBW3
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) July 20, 2015
WWE United States Champion John Cena spoke to Tom Phillips last night after his win over Kevin Owens at Battleground.
Cena had strong praise for the former NXT Champion, noting that Owens belongs in the ‘most elite class’ of WWE Superstars:
“Unbelievable match. After the first two with Kevin Owens, I knew I was gonna be in for something special. Being here for a while you truly become a target and I think this [US Title] makes me an extra big target. We’ve never had an influx of talent, especially with an NXT chip on their shoulder, and I mean that in the best way. These guys have proven themselves down there and feel, appropriately so, as if they belong here.
And proof positive, Kevin Owens belongs here and he belongs in the most elite class of WWE Superstars. He gave me a run for my money but the term “never give up” isn’t always when you’re down and out. When you think you got it in the bag and your opponent somehow acts like he’s made of steel, you just gotta keep going, sometimes you gotta bring it to a level you’re not used to. Man, he… that’s everything I got, that’s everything I got. I’m just glad I came out with the championship.”
Mark Henry and WWE Tag Team Champions Darren Young and Titus O’Neil were pulled over by police after leaving last night’s Battleground PPV St. Louis.
Titus posted this video on Instagram of the group in good spirits after the stop:
https://instagram.com/p/5V-iwSvKua/
As expected, The Undertaker made his WWE return at the WWE Battleground pay-per-view in St. Louis on Sunday night.
“The Dead Man” made his surprise return during the main event, just as challenger Brock Lesnar was attempting to pin champion Seth Rollins following an F-5.
Below is a recap of what transpired, courtesy of our WWE Battleground play-by-play:
Lesnar hits an F-5 on Rollins and covers him, however The Undertaker’s gong hits. The lights go out. When they come back on, Undertaker is standing in the ring staring at Lesnar.
Undertaker and Lesnar go at it until Undertaker finally hits a Tombstone piledriver. We see Heyman watching on in horror. Taker drops down to one knee and does his famous pose as his music plays and the lights go out again. Taker leaves and heads to the back, stopping to raise his fist as the crowd pops. WWE Battleground goes off the air on that note.
It’s been rumored for quite some time, but now it looks like the Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar rematch is set for SummerSlam.
WWE Battleground Kickoff Show
The WWE Battleground Kickoff Show begins with Renee Young, Byron Saxton, Booker T and Corey Graves on the panel. We are live inside the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri, the site of tonight’s show.
The panel shoots to Tom Phillips in the social media lounge. Phillips will be joined by Paul Heyman later in the Kickoff Show to answer Twitter questions from the WWE Universe.
We go back to the panel. The four members of the panel begin breaking down the matches on tonight’s pay-per-view, starting by talking about the cancellation of the I-C title match.
Crown On The Line
– R-Truth vs. King Barrett
The Kickoff Show panel kicks things down to ringside, where Michael Cole and the gang join us on commentary. Our Kickoff Show match is up next.
R-Truth’s music hits and out he comes. Out next after him is his opponent for tonight, King Barrett. One-on-one action kicks off tonight’s event in St. Louis..
The two exchange offense back-and-forth until finally Barrett settles in with control of the contest. Near the end of the match, Truth hits his Scissors Kick for a close near fall. Seconds later, however, Barrett hits a Winds of Change for a close nearfall. He then blasts Truth with the Bull Hammer Elbow for the 1-2-3.
Winner: King Barrett
More Kickoff Show
After the Barrett-Truth match, we head back to the panel and Renee Young, Byron Saxton, Booker T and Corey Graves break down some more of tonight’s matches and air some more video packages hyping up the matches.
WWE Battleground 2015
The 2015 WWE Battleground pay-per-view kicks off with the usual bad-ass video package highlighting tonight’s top few matches.
From there we shoot live into the Scottrade Center in St. Louis where fireworks explode, we see a shot of a packed house, and the announcers welcome us to the 2015 edition of WWE Battleground.
Fans who follow John Cena on Instagram know that the WWE Superstar rarely posts content that goes hand-in-hand with his sometimes vanilla character on television. Although Cena has well over a million followers, he rarely, if ever, posts photos of himself.
Instead, Cena posts photos that range from the Trailer Park Boys, to boxes of Life cereal, to Bo Jackson breaking a baseball bat over his knee.
Cena revealed on Twitter that he has been encouraged to change the abstract nature of his Instagram account.
I have been encouraged to evolve @instagram into something less….abstract, thoughts? Ahh let the 140 character comedy begin
— John Cena (@JohnCena) July 18, 2015
BuzzFeed News posted an article on what led up to Gawker posting the sex tape of WWE Hall Of Famer Hulk Hogan. During the discussion, Hogan gave some candid answers on questions relating to his pro wrestling career, his celebrity life and more. Below are some of the highlights.
On how the geopolitical landscape of the early ’80s influenced his career:
Well, when the Hulkamania phenom first exploded, politically—we were at odds with Iran politically, and the character of Hulk Hogan is an all-American character. And I was wrestling for the WWE world heavyweight title against the Iron Sheik, who was the legitimate bodyguard of the Shah of Iran and a silver medalist amateur AAU wrestler. So the political environment was perfect at the time for an all-American hero to go against the real bodyguard of the Shah of Iran.
On the ways in which he’s a talented professional wrestler:
In-ring instinct, cadence, physicality, reading a crowd, just a general overall understanding of the wrestling business inside and outside the ring, which it takes a lot of talent just to understand how things are done and execute them.
Discussing his honesty with Gawker attorney Seth Berlin:
Berlin: Do you believe you have a reputation for honesty?
Hogan: Yes.
Berlin: For being a straight shooter?
Hogan: Yes.
Berlin: For telling it like it is?
Hogan: I don’t know about that one.
How does Hogan define if someone’s a celebrity?
Celebrity? My definition is probably different than—than most people, I’m sure. But my definition of a celebrity is someone who’s been around long enough or mad enough f an impact doing radio or TV for whatever length of time it takes them to make a huge impact where they are recognizable by name, look, or vehicle that they—you know, they’re on, which is a movie or whatever it is. A celebrity—you know, there are so many people on TV now and the universe is so big with everybody being part of the media that I can’t y everybody that’s on TV or radio is a celebrity. To me a celebrity is someone that’s very, very well established nd is—is—you know. I don’t now how to explain it, just someone that’s very established in the celebrity world, if you—or whatever the word celebrity means.
Using that definition, does he consider himself a celebrity?
At this point, yes.
How long has he been a celebrity?
I would say from the mid ’80s on, I probably crossed the media barriers. And it started—I’m not sure if I—but in my opinion, my definition of what a celebrity is, I don’t know if I became a celebrity until the mid ’90s, but I started crossing some barriers in the ’80s, cover of Sports Illustrated and started doing talk shows. But I think it took a while before I came a household word or whatever the real word of celebrity means.
On his memory after he dated Hogan Knows Best as having taken place in the mid ’90s and was then asked if mid 2000s sounded more accurate relative to his kids’ ages:
Yeah. If we backed up from their ages, yeah, ‘m just not real good with dates or years or names, brother.
The following press release was issued today with details on Sting’s first U.K. Q&A tour.
INSIDE THE ROPES & SQUAREDCIRCLE.COM PRESENT… Inside The Ropes LIVE! with STING
Pro Wrestling Icon’s First ever UK Q&A tour
Website: www.InsideTheRopes.co.uk
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ITRLive
Twitter: @Inside_TheRopes
In a career spanning 30 years, Steve Borden, the man best known to his millions of fans worldwide as Sting, became a pivotal part of WCW during the late 1980’s before reinvigorating his character during wrestling’s boom period of the mid-90s as the ‘crow’ Sting persona that helped make the Monday Night Wars so exciting. He connected to generations of wrestling fans like few could with his exciting style and captivating character. Now, for the first time in his career, he is coming to the UK to travel through the country telling stories and answering your questions.
The Franchise of WCW was hugely successful in the UK when he would tour here as part of one of the world’s largest pro wrestling companies and later when he would return and headline shows with TNA. In the US, he became a pop culture icon as he fronted a national commercial for Sprite and even had his own credit card during the late 1990’s.
This will be the first and probably only time that fans will be able to get their photo taken with him in his iconic black and white FACEPAINT. Sting wants to give his UK fans the full experience so they can get a picture with The Icon looking like he’s on his way to the ring to do battle with villains like the nWo.
Earlier this year, Sting was one of the headline acts of WrestleMania in front of over 70,000 fans in San Jose, CA. Just 6 months after his epic bout with Triple H, he’ll be answering questions, telling stories and breaking his silence on what led to him finally signing and stepping into a WWE ring.
Tickets for this can’t miss, historic, once in a lifetime tour go on sale at 9am on Friday July 24 at www.InsideTheRopes.co.uk
For up to the minute updates, please refer to our Facebook page (Facebook.com/ITRLive) There will be plenty of tickets to come and see the exciting two hour Q & A show and a limited amount of exclusive VIP tickets that will include:
-An ‘In Facepaint’ Photo Op with Sting -An Autograph from Sting -Priority Seating & Ticket to the Q&A
Tour Dates:
Monday 5th October – The Lyric Theatre, LONDON
Tuesday 6th October – The Comedy Store, MANCHESTER
Wednesday 7th October – The Garage, GLASGOW
Inside The Ropes started out as a weekly wrestling podcast in January 2012 and is still released every week at www.InsideTheRopes.co.uk With news, guests and spirited banter and discussion, it’s always worth a listen. In July 2013, ITR expanded to the live event market and in the past two years has run highly successful Q&A events with Diamond Dallas Page, Colt Cabana, Sunny and in his first ever Q&A outside of the US, Jim Cornette. With a proven track record of customer satisfaction and a great fan experience, Inside The Ropes LIVE! looks forward to bringing Sting to the UK in October and running future events throughout the UK in the future.
The tour’s sponsor is Squared Circle Ringwear. A clothing brand focused on wearable Wrestling themed apparel using high quality garments & printing techniques. Started in 2012 in the UK it has grown to become one of the UK’s leading wrestling brands, and has expanded internationally with operations in the US, working with wrestlers such as Grado and Jack Jester along the way. The webstore can be found at www.SquaredCircle.com and you can find them on Facebook at Facebook.com/SquaredCircleRingwear or follow them on Twitter @SquaredCircleTs
– Lana is being advertised to team with Dolph Ziggler against the team of Rusev and Summer Rae in mixed-tag-team action at the WWE live event in Hampton, Virginia on September 4th. Also scheduled for the event is Sheamus defending his Money In The Bank briefcase in one-on-one action against Neville, as well as John Cena vs. Kevin Owens in a “Street Fight.”
– The NXT Takeover: Brooklyn event on August 22nd from the Bayclays Center is close to being sold out, as more tickets for the event were released on Saturday afternoon. The event will likely end up drawing 10,000 or more fans, making it the biggest NXT event to date.
– WWE banned the name “Wade” in reference to King Barrett a while back, which is why Barrett no longer uses it. There’s been speculation that Barrett will go back to the “Bad News” gimmick after Battleground tonight, as his “Crown” is on the line in his Kickoff Show match against R-Truth.
– WWE Tag-Team Champions The Prime Time Players, Titus O’Neil and Darren Young, are working out at the NFL’s St. Louis Rams facility before tonight’s WWE Battleground pay-per-view event.
– The official WWE website has a Suplex City-themed poll today asking fans how many times they think Brock Lesnar will suplex Seth Rollins tonight at Battleground. The options are 5, 10, 17, more than anyone will be able to count or none at all. Leading the pack with 58 percent of the vote is “more than anyone will be able to count.”
– Scott Stanford noted via social media that a top player at tonight’s WWE Battleground pay-per-view will be calling into Monday’s RAW Pre-Show on the WWE Network.
House of Hardcore
Toronto, Ontario at Ted Reeve Arena
Report by Jerome Slamsville (@JSlamsville) and ProWrestling.net
Former WWE ring announcer Justin Roberts worked as this show’s ring announcer.
1. Chris Hero beat Tommy Dreamer. Hero won in seven minutes with the roaring elbow.
2. Bobby Roode defeated Pepper Parks (w/Cherry Bomb). Parks got major heat by doing lots of heel/valet antics. Roode came back with a wicked blockbuster. Parks hit a Codebreaker soon after.
3. Matt Striker, Hacker Scotty O’Shea, Bill Carr, and Dan Berry beat RJ City, Ethan Page, Vic Delicious, and Ben Ortiz.
4. Johnny Mundo beat Tony Nese. Good near falls. Nese kicked out of the Moonlight Drive. There were a few Matrix spots from both. Nese missed a 450, then Mundo hit the Moonlight Drive for the win. The shook hands and received standing applause.
5. Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian beat Matt Taven and Michael Bennett (w/Maria). There were lots of cheers for Maria. With the heat (no air conditioning in the building) and the fast paced match before this one, the live crowd seemed a little tired. The match was fun and fast paced with a lot of double team moves. The ref stopped caring about the tag rules. There was four-man action for 15 minutes with lots of awesome double team moves. After a ref bump, Maria brought Bennett a title belt to cheat. Traci Brooks ran in to intervene. The Addiction hit their finisher for the win.
After the match, Kazarian put his wife Traci over and then cut to a Traci Brooks appreciation video that was lovely. Scott D’Amore came out and gave Traci flowers heading into intermission.
After some stalling while one of the ropes was fixed, Rhino came out. Austin Aries answered his challenge.
6. Austin Aries defeated Rhino. Thea Trinidad interfered on behalf of Aries and ate a Gore for her trouble. Aries hit a few big strikes and followed with a 450 splash for the win in eight minutes.
7. Team 3D defeated The Young Bucks. after the show, Team 3D put over the Bucks and HOH on the mic to send everyone home happy.
Some type of outside interference is expected in the finish of tonight’s Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt match at WWE Battleground.
According to the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, there have been plans for Luke Harper to get involved in the Reigns-Wyatt feud, possibly tonight.
It’s also worth noting that this is also the angle where Sting is rumored to take part in as well, as Sting is expected to be involved in the same match as Wyatt at the WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view.
(Credit: F4WOnline.com)
WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross recently updated his official blog with his predictions and thoughts on tonight’s WWE Battleground pay-per-view. Below are some of the highlights.
On Undertaker and Sting rumors: “There is no reason for WWE to ‘save’ Taker and/or Sting for Monday night when they can easily creatively position both on the PPV Sunday leaving the air with more questions posed than answers provided that would drive viewers to the Monday night flagship broadcast. Sting still has a massive fan following as his two appearances on my podcast garnered over 3M+ downloads combined for the two shows.”
On WWE Battleground main event: “I do not feel that it is time for Seth Rollins to lose the WWE Title and in my mind, as I’ve discussed on my podcast, I’d have Rollins hold the title until Wrestlemania Texas in April in Arlington, Texas where Brock Lesnar would beat him after Lesnar wins the Royal Rumble in January. That’s one school of thought but that scenario could be efficiently changed if decided early and worked toward whatever plan is chosen with strategic, long term planning.
So I have Rollins retaining the title Sunday and it’s certainly possible for Taker to leave both Lesnar and Rollins in a bad way as the show goes off the air. I don’t know and I’m happy that I don’t as I don’t lke the spoilers aka the Jardine’s and prefer to watch the big shows just as I would a movie without knowing all the details.”
On John Cena vs. Kevin Owens: “John Cena will likely retain the US Title unless WWE is really going to be bold and do all they can to make Kevin Owens a ‘made man’ which would not hurt Cena one iota. I can also see the underutilized Cesaro playing into this equation Sunday night. Cesaro is as I’ve expressed here before a main event level talent who could be the WWE World Champion as easy as anyone on the roster….he’s that good.”
Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
The following is the final official lineup for tonight’s WWE Battleground pay-per-view event. Make sure to join us here at SEScoops.com later this evening for live Battleground results coverage.
WWE World Heavyweight Title Match
– Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins
WWE Tag Team Title Match
– The New Day vs. The Prime Time Players
WWE United States Title Match
– Kevin Owens vs. John Cena
– Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt
– Randy Orton vs. Sheamus
Kickoff Pre-show: Battle for The Crown
– R-Truth vs. King Barrett
Cody Rhodes has published an emotional letter to his late father, the “American Dream” Dusty Rhodes.
Cody tells the story of what inspired him to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a professional wrestler, his goal to capture the WWE Championship and deliver it to his parents, memories of being his father’s sidekick and what’s next for him as he continues on his own journey.
Check it out Cody’s letter to Dusty at BeingBrandiRunnels.com.
WWE reportedly went back-and-forth in recent weeks over how to bring the group of NXT Divas to the main roster, as well as which Divas to use, so much so that arguments broke out between various members of the creative team.
At one point, there was an idea to bring the NXT Divas to the main roster and have them replace the current WWE Divas division, outside of a couple of Divas that could keep up, as well as those needed because of Total Divas.
Stephanie McMahon was always scheduled to be involved and that fact was never debated, however there was some discussion as to whether or not she should take credit for bringing the Divas in on television, as it is seen as a babyface move.
Originally, there was talk of calling up four NXT Divas — Sasha Banks, Charlotte Becky Lynch and Bayley, and at times, they were thinking about bringing only two NXT Divas to the main roster — either Charlotte and Banks or Charlotte and Lynch.
The belief is that both Triple H and Stephanie McMahon are invested in this angle and are fully in support of it, so it likely won’t be one of those WWE angles that is quickly forgotten about in a matter of a few weeks.
(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross recently updated his official Q&A section, answering questions from fans on a number of topics. Below are some of the highlights.
On if WWE will induct The Honky Tonk Man: “I have no idea. In my eyes HTM is certainly a WWE HOFer. All we can do is stay tuned.”
On Cesaro vs. Rusev from RAW: “Thought the match overachieved and was entertaining. No wasted motion. Happy for all involved.”
On WWE going with Steve Austin vs. Scott Hall at WrestleMania 18: “I have no idea as that’s been 13 years ago. The storyline featured the nWo, so that was the direction that was taken.”
On why there aren’t as many good mic workers: “Some guys have potential but they will be challenged to find their voice as long as their promos are scripted for them.”
On TNA and GFW’s working relationship: “I have no idea but anything is possible and the two organizations working together is a timely idea.”
On GFW having tournaments to decide their first-ever champions: “Time will tell, but having tournaments is the natural way to determine champions in a new promotion. I hope GFW succeeds. The titles will help establish the personalities.”
Check out more JR Q&A online at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.