Bret Hart continues to have very few nice things to say about Triple H. In an interview with Notts TV News, the WWE Hall of Famer criticized Triple H for his desire to push performers based on their physiques. Hart does give credit to his NXT brand for having better wrestling than WrestleMania 32, which Hart says had “no great wrestling” on it. Hart also takes jabs at Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior while discussing The Game.
“I’m always happy to be proven wrong, but I’ve never seen any real genius come from Triple H yet,” Hart said. “I sound like I’m always knocking him, but it seems like he’s quick to push the great wrestling to the side and push the bodies, guys who have [good] physiques, all the time. They wonder why CM Punk quit and they wonder why Daniel Bryan got hurt. It’s because they squeeze so much out of those guys. I’m just calling it the way it is. Triple H is a former bodybuilder. He’s all about bodies. He thought that Hulk Hogan was the greatest wrestler in the world. They think Ultimate Warrior was the greatest wrestler in the world because that’s what they’re attracted to, but he’s not really a wrestling fan like I grew up.”
Hart credits Sami Zayn, Shinsuke Nakamura, Asuka and Bayley for putting on a better show at Takeover: Dallas than anything he saw at WrestleMania 32. The Hitman objects with WWE putting part-time wrestlers at the top of the card at ‘Mania, and feels those positions should go to talent that works year-round.
“As much of a great job Undertaker did to carry him, to me, from a storyline standpoint, Vince McMahon’s son got the main event spot,” Hart said of Shane McMahon’s Hell In A Cell match against The Undertaker.
“Triple H got the 1,000th time world champion spot. He’s making the top money. Brock Lesnar is making top money. They’re working twice a year, three times a year, five times a year,” Hart said. “You look at Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens and Natalya, people who are slogging it out day in, day out, week in, week out, in every part of the world, traveling every day, and they’re all in the opening matches, the pre-card. There’s something wrong with the logic of that. […] All these guys are doing the work all year round and they give the money spots to these guys who are part-timers. It’s just not right.”
You can watch IPW:UK on demand over at: ipwuk.pivotshare.com.
PROGRESS
Pete Dunne has been announced as the next participant in the Super Strong Style 16 tournament taking place on the 29th and 30th May. Already announced for the tournament are Mikey Whiplash, Mark Haskins, Tommy End and making his PROGRESS debut, Sami Callihan.
Pete Dunne recently lost in a WWE Global Cruiserweight Tournament qualifying match against Jack Gallagher at Chapter 29.
You can watch PROGRESS on demand at: demandprogress.pivotshare.com.
Revolution Pro Wrestling
Rev Pro host ‘Live at the Cockpit 8’ this Sunday 1st May in London, the following matches have been announced including a WWE Global Cruiserweight Tournament Qualifying match:
Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship ‘The Beast Of Belfast’ Big Damo vs Zack Sabre Jr (c)
WWE Global Cruiserweight Series Qualifier Noam Dar vs Josh Bodom
‘The Fightin Irish’ Rhia O’Reilly vs Addy Starr
‘The Villain’ Marty Scurll vs ‘The Don’ Trent Seven
Joel Redman & Charlie Garrett vs Jake McCluskey & Kieran Bruce
‘The East End Butcher’ Sha Samuels vs ‘The Pride Of Wales’ Eddie Dennis
32 Tickets left for THIS SUNDAY'S Live At The Cockpit 8 where we could see a new heavyweight champion crowned pic.twitter.com/JkTbYjxzhS
Kevin Kelly and Mr. Wrestling 3 introduce us to the show, “Re-living all the great action from the Honor Rising events, taped back in February from Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. As we ramp up towards Global Wars, Sunday May 8, live on pay-per-view.”
Jay Lethal (with Truth Martini) and Tetsuya Naito (with Bushi and Evil) vs Chaos (Kazuchika Okada and Yoshi-Hashi) (with Gedo)
Tetsuya Naito is out first, taking his time on his way to the ring with Evil and Bushi, Naito messes with Red Shoes. Out next is the ROH World Champion Jay Lethal, Truth Martini follows behind holding the Book of Truth. KK, says, “After Naito came back from CMLL in Mexico, he brought back a bizarre attitude, seeming like he doesn’t want to work with anybody.” MW3 tells us, “In this match, we have the two most important world champions in professional wrestling.” Next out is Yoshi-Hashi and Okada with his manager Geto. MW3 says, “Okada is one of the most popular athletes in Japan right now and maybe the entire world.”
Lethal and Naito argue about who will start the match, Lethal wins the argument. The two world champions start it off, they circle each other, collar-and-elbow tie up, wrist lock by Lethal, armringer by Okada, Lethal rolls through back flips and locks in the wrist lock again, Okada rolls through and locks in an armringer again. Lethal with a snapmare takeover, goes for the rear chinlock, Okada counters into the hammerlock, Lethal to his feet, transitions into a side headlock, Okada with two shots to the gut, throws Lethal off the ropes, shoulder tackle by Lethal, Lethal runs the ropes, Okada ducks under leapfrog, but catches a boot to the gut. Lethal goes for the Lethal Injection, but Okada pushes out, Okada goes for Rainmaker, but Lethal ducks out, and the fans cheer. Okada with 2 forearms, Lethal with an armdrag, cartwheel dropkick, cover, but Okada kicks out at 2. Lethal goes for the tag, but Naito does not want to tag in, and we go to commercial.
When we return, Naito tags in, delivers stomps to Yoshi-Hashi, but as Lethal exits the ring, Naito slaps him on the back, tagging Lethal right back in. Lethal with a suplex on Yoshi-Hashi, but Yoshi-hashi kicks out. Lethal tags in Naito, Naito shoos him away, Lethal gets out of the ring, Naito whips Yoshi-Hashi into the corner, running push kick to the chest by Naito, jumps over the top ropes for a basement dropkick, cover, Yoshi-Hashi kicks out. MW3 asks of Evil, “He looks familiar. Do we know him?” KK, “That’s Takaaki Watanabi, he used to wrestle for ROH.” MW3 says, “Oh, I wasn’t in the company back then.” KK replies, “I would have hoped Corino would have given you some notes.” MW3 says, “He did, he said he likes Subway, kind of a jerk.” Yoshi-Hashi to his feet, 3 forearms by Yoshi-Hashi, 1 forearm smash by Naito, Yoshi-Hashi goes for a kick, get caught, hits him with the second kick, and then nails a codebreaker, and both men are down.
Yoshi-Hashi gets the tag to Okada, running forearm to Naito, Okada takes out Lethal, kick to Naito, Lethal with a shot to the back, and then Okada hits a running DDT on Lethal. Okada hits a running back shoulder into the corner on Naito, kick to the gut, DDT spikes him, Okada springboards back to his feet, Okada with a running uppercut, pin attempt, but Naito kicks out. Okada picks up Naito, bodyslam to the mat, climbs to the top turnbuckle for the elbow, but Naito to his feet, Okada jumps over him, meet a double boot from Naito, back elbow by Okada, inverted Atomic drop by Naito, tornado DDT by Naito, and both men are down.
Naito tags in Lethal, Lethal with a bodyslam to Okada, climbs to the top turnbuckle, jumps off and catches Okada’s foot, and then rocks him with a roaring elbow, runs in, meets a boot from Okada, and then a Lethal Combination by the champion, cover, but Okada gets his shoulders up. MW3 says, “Both of these men would love to score a fall on each other, because both believe they are best in the world, bost believe their title is the most important title in professional wrestling right now. Naito whips Lethal to the ropes, Okada comes out gets caught in a full nelson, Lethal goes for a kick, but kicks his partner. Okada with a clubbing blow to the back of Lethal, throws him off the ropes, and then hits a dropkick that staggers Lethal, and he crumbles to the mat.
Okada tags in Yoshi-Hashi, Yoshi-Hashi with forearms, knife edge chop, whip reversal off the ropes, Lethal misses a back elbow, and then a swinging neckbreaker from Yoshi-Hashi. Yoshi-Hashi sets him up for the brainbuster, Lethal lands on his feet, and then Yoshi-Hashi reverses into back neckbreaker, Yoshi-Hashi covers, Lethal kicks out. Okada tags in, whips Lethal to the corner, whips Yoshi-Hashi into Lethal and then runs in with a back elbow of his own, Yoshi-Hashi comes off the top rope with a reverse neckbreaker, Naito breaks up the pin attempt, Okada sends him to the outside and runs him into the steel rail.
Back in the ring, Yoshi-Hashi goes for a suplex, but gets backdropped by Lethal, Martini throws in The Book of Truth to Lethal, he swings and misses, and then a running lariat from Yoshi-Hashi, quick slams Lethal to the mat, climbs to the top turnbuckle, Martini holds onto his leg, but Yoshi-Hashi kicks him out of the way. Evil climbs up onto the apron while Bushi is distracting the referee, and Lethal dumps Yoshi-Hashi to the mat, Naito hits Okada with the Book of Truth, Lethal nails the Lethal Injection on Yoshi-Hashi, and this one is over.
Winners: Jay Lethal and Tetsuya Naito
After the match, Naito reads the Book of Truth, MW3 says, “Well it is in Japanese.” Naito climbs into the ring and beats down Yoshi-Hashi with the Book of Truth as the bell rings. The referee raises the hands of Naito and Lethal, they stare at each other, Lethal points at Naito, Naito puts on his hat, Lethal offers a handshake, Naito fakes a punch, and then shakes his hand. They pose and fist bump in the middle of the ring. Naito puts his hat on Lethal, Lethal hands Naito the Book of Truth, they pose, and it’s time for our sponsors.
Kushida vs Frankie Kazarian
Out first is the “Heavy Metal Rebel” Frankie Kazarian, one half of The Addiction. KK says, “No stranger to New Japan, and no stranger to getting fined by the front office I understand.” MW3, “A foul mouth on this guy.” Kushida’s music hits, and KK says, “There is no language barrier when understanding the motivation, the popularity of Kushida.” He comes out to the ring in his purple life preserver. MW3 tells us, “Kushida is a lifelong fan of NJPW, it was like a dream to finally be a contracted wrestler with NJPW, trained with Tajiri, spent alot of time in the Hustle promotion, met his wife there, she was an office employee, living the true professional wrestling dream.” The referee is Tiger Hattori, who KK tells us has 40 years in professional wrestling.
The two wrestlers size each other up, finger lock. MW3 says, “Kazarian looks like he missed a spot when he shaved this morning,” Kazarian and Kushida exchange leverage in the test of strength, Kushida bridges down, Kazarian puts his knees on Kushida’s midsection pressing down with the weight, Kushida goes for the hoverboard lock, but Kazarian meets the ropes. Kushida with a go behind, Kazarian reverses into a pickup suplex, Kushida with a headlock, Kazarian tries to get out, but Kushida keeps holding on and rolling through, Kushida spins around his back several times, and then slaps him in the back of the head, and we go to commercial.
When we return, Kazarian is on the outside, climbs to the apron, duck a shot by Kushida, pokes him in the eye, snaps his neck on the ropes, jumps over the rope and nails a DDT on Kushida. Kushida holds his neck and shoulder in pain. Kazarian kicks him in the shoulder, picks him up by the hair, whips him into the corner, Russian leg sweep, and Kazarian grinds his crotch to the fans. MW3 “I don’t know what that was, but it’s better than usual stuff that Kazarian says.” Kazarian chokes Kushida on the ropes with his foot, picks him up, runs him into the corner, sets him on the middle of the rope, and then a double knee backbreaker, cover, but Kushida kicks out.
Kazarian smacks Kushida in the head, Kushida fights out, knee to the gut, goes off the ropes, sunset flip, but Kazarian drives a knee to the neck. Kazarian whips Kushida into the corner, runs in but meets a boot, runs in again meets another boot, Kushida flips over the rope to the apron, and then a kick to the head, springboard missile dropkick, knocking Kazarian out of the ring. Kushida climbs to the top turnbuckle, hits a front-flip on Kazarian to the floor, then Kushida stands on the apron and grinds to the fans like Kazarian. MW3 says, “Riding the pony, feeling the flow.”
Kushida picks up Kazarian, throws him back into the ring, runs into the corner, but Kazarian gets out of the way, kick to the gut by Kazarian, goes over the top rope for a DDT, but Kushida catches him in a cross-armbreaker, syncs in the triangle choke, Kazarian tries for the deadlift twice, but Kushida rakes the eyes. The two men exchange forearms, Kazarian doubles up, Kushida hits four or five kicks, then a right hand knocking Kazarian to the mat, whip reversal, handstand, execution chair drop, Kazarian pin, bridges, but Kushida kicks out. MW3 asks KK, “Who is your favorite Japanese baseball player?” KK answers, “I’m not well-versed in Japanese baseball, I’m an American baseball fan.” MW3 replies, ”If Corino were here, we could talk Japanese baseball.” KK says, ”Corino is a New Japan announcer now, he got a well-deserved opportunity.”
Both men climb to the top turnbuckle, Kazarian goes for the suplex, Kushida with shots to the ribs, goes for the flux capacitor, hits a flying Divorce Court off top rope, Kushida with a kick to the face, hits the ropes, tilt-a-whirls around his shoulder, rolls through, syncs in the hoverboard lock, Kazarian tries to fight out, but Kushida rolls him back to the center of the ring, adds pressure and extra leverage, there is no escape for Kazarian, and he taps out.
Winner: Kushida
KK says “Great effort by Kazarian.” MW3 says next, “It’s going to be a SUPERKICK PARTY (with Kenny Omega).” and we go to commercial.
Mark Briscoe is walking around the streets of Japan. “We’re so close to finding him, I can smell him, he must be around here somewhere. Oh this way, excuse me sir, question, have you seen him, no you have not seen him, Godzilla? Have you seen him, Godzilla, have you seen him? No, the search continues, I don’t know where he could be, I thought that guy would know. Time to eat in Japan, what do I want? The noodle, the noodle, the noodle, the noodle, the rice, the rice, the noodle, noodle, noodle, the rice, the rice, the noodle? I think I’ll go with the rice.” Mark continues to ask people on the street, “Thank you. No they don’t know, they’re scared of Godzilla. Little known fact, the historic legendary Mount Fuji was actually named after the historic legendary professional wrestling manager Mr. Fuji. Japan is great, Japan is fun, Japan is okay, but sometime Japan can be dangerous, sometimes there are earthquakes that hit Japan, but everybody here knows, what do you do in case of earthquakes?” And he hides under the bus stop terminal. “Maybe this fellow would know, arigato excuse me you know dojo, redneck kung fu?” A pedestrian points to the New Japan sign and we get a tour of inside the New Japan facilities. Back outside, “Oh my Lord.” Mark looks at a sign showing chickens. “How do you say home in Japanese?”
The Elite (Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) vs Katsuyori Shibata and reDRagon (Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly)
When we return, Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks make their way to the ring to Omega’s spooky horror music. They give the fans headbands and too sweet gestures. The ring announcer announces YB, and MW3 says, “Oh, The Jacksonsons.” KK says, “That’s not Bobby Cruise is it?” MW3 says, “Thank goodness, no. He still waiting for his flight.” Out next is the NEVER Openweight Champion Shibata to entrance music that has a somewhat punk rock sound, he stands in the ring and Omega shows him the IWGP Intercontinental belt. Out next is reDRagon, the three-time ROH World Tag Team Champions, and multi-time IWGP Junior Tag Team Champions. MW3 says, “You love that Bobby Fish don’t you?” KK, “He’s great on commentary, he’s a great wrestler.” MW3 says, “This is why Corino used to get upset.” Kushida joins on Japanese commentary. MW3 continues, “You would probably enjoy him joining our commentary, sitting with you too. You’re that type of guy.“ KK says, “I invited Kushida to join us for commentary.” MW3 explains, “This is a two man team.” KK suggests, “Maybe we’ll have Kushida for Global Wars.” MW3 says, “He’s busy.”
All 6 men go at it, Shibata takes Omega to the outside, double kick by the YB on reDRagon, Omega runs Shibata into the dressing barricade, reDRragon syncs in double cross arm breakers on YB. Omega comes in, kicks to O’Reilly, kicks to Fish, but Shibata gets a cross armbreaker on Omega. Matt picks up O’Reilly and throws him on Fish, then Omega throw Shibata on O’Reilly, Nick with a baseball slide kick to O’Reilly, Matt with a baseball slide kick to Fish, Omega goes for baseball slide but Shibata ducks out of the way and then takes out Omega. Shibata climbs back up to the apron, YB take him out with a handstand by Matt kick by Nick, then YB do a dual suicide dive on the outside to reDRagon. Omega is in the ring, the YB pat the mat, 12-345, Omega runs the ropes and frontflips with some crash-and-burn onto reDRagon. Omega takes off his shirt, grinds his hips and two sweets the camera, and we go to commercial.
When we return, Omega has Fish in the ring, Nick wraps a t-shirt around his head, Nick does a Road Dogg dance along the apron, Omega tags in Matt. Omega hits Fish with a backbreaker drop onto the knee, Nick holds Fish, Matt hits a swinging neckbreaker, Nick with a pin attempt on Fish, but Fish kicks out. Nick rakes the back, kicks Fish in the gut twice, suck it, stomp, suck it, stomp, suck it suck it suck it to the crowd, and then does a bunch of suck its to the ref. Nick tags in Matt, YB whip Fish to the corner, he catches himself, swings with one kick that misses, then kicks Matt in the gut, kicks Nick in the gut, and then toss suplexes Matt into Nick. Fish gets the hot tag to O’Reilly, O’Reilly runs in with the clubbing forearm, Fish with the clubbing forearm, O’Reilly with the running knee, backbreaker on Matt, O’Reilly with a stomp to the chest off the top rope, pin attempt, but Matt kicks out, O’Reilly goes for Chasing the Dragon, but Nick trips Fish and pulls him to the outside, and both men are down.
Shibata and Omega come in, Shibata with 10 elbows to Omega, and then Omega with a flying back elbow, and 8 forearms to Shibata, Shibata stands up and asks for more. Omega rakes the eyes, boot pushes Shibata to the corner, Shibata comes out with a flying boot to Omega, and then pushes a boot into Omega’s face, switches feet and another boot into the face. Shibata runs the corner and nails a running dropkick to Omega, picks him up, snapmare suplex, MW3 says, “I like to call that the Andre the Giant suplex,” pin attempt, but Omega kicks out. Shibata with a rear-naked choke on Omega, YB come in and club him in the back, but he won’t break the hold. YB look at each other like WTF, and then Shibata stands up and then nails them both with a bunch of forearms, runs the ropes, sets up for the Penalty Kick, and gets superkicked. Omega up and now Shibata gets superkicked by all three men, Omega stacks him for the pin, but Fish in to break it up. YB send Fish to the outside, Nick with a tornado DDT from the apron but bumps his own elbow on the railing, Omega sets up to the One Winged Angel, but Shibata with a go behind, Omega with 3 back elbows, runs the ropes, Shibata with a standing dropkick, and O’Reilly pounds the turnbuckle wanting the tag.
Hot tag to O’Reilly, forearms to YB, Matt goes for a kick, leg whip into Nick, and then a double dragon screw leg whip and both YB are down, running forearm into the corner on Omega, running kick to Omega, goes for the rope assisted DDT, but Omega drops him on his head. YB with a superkick to Fish off the apron, Nick goes to superkick O’Reilly, he gets out of the way, and Omega gets superkicked instead. Kicks by O’Reilly, Nick backflips, O’Reilly catches his kick and swings it into Matt. O’Reilly with kicks to the back, superkick by Matt, and then a double lariat by O’Reilly, but Omega hits a running knee. Omega puts O’Reilly up on his shoulder for the One Winged Angel, but O’Reilly gets a guillotine headscissors, Matt comes in with shots to O’Reilly’s head, he won’t break the hold, rear naked choke on Matt by Shibata, superkick by Matt to Shibata. Nick throws the spraycan to Matt, he sprays O’Reilly in the face, YB nail the Metzler Driver, now Omega with a deadlift pick up, O’Reilly tries to fight out, but can’t, Omega nails the One Winged Angel, cover and O’Reilly is finished.
Winners: The Elite
KK talks about upcoming episodes, “Next week more Bullet Club action, as Honor Rising continues, you’ll see Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson, the Machine Guns, back on ROH TV, they will tangle with The Briscoes. Plus we’ll also see a huge 8 man tag team match, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Michael Elgin, Moose and Tomoaki Honma vs. Bad Luck Fale, Cody Hall, Tama Tonga and Yujiro Takahashi. Coverage from Honor Rising continues next week,” and the end graphic rolls.
Rich Brennan is no longer with WWE. The former NXT and SmackDown announcer was let go this week after the company decided to not renew his contract, according to Pro Wrestling Sheet. He has since removed all references to WWE from his Twitter bio and issued this brief statement:
Brennan had been with WWE since 2014. Prior to that, he worked with Booker T’s Reality Of Wrestling promotion out of Houston and did some announcing for the Central Hockey League. Here is his final WWE interview from this week:
As reported on Wednesday, Ric Flair was involved in some sort of incident at Logan airport in Boston. Airport police say they don’t think Flair was drunk, and he was treated for a cut on his hand. The Massachusetts State police are saying Flair hit his head and was treated for a minor head injury. A witness told TMZ, “[Blood] was dripping down from his head to his neck. A significant amount of blood.”
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that there are other witnesses saying there was a shouting incident involving Flair when someone was rude to him and then asked him for a selfie. The Observer reports that WWE officials are currently looking into this situation and investigating what really happened.
Bryan Alvarez noted on Wrestling Observer on Wednesday that Bray Wyatt will be out of action for 6-8 weeks. Wyatt suffered a calf injury back on April 14th during his match with Roman Reigns in Milan, Italty.
The original plans for Payback were for The Wyatts to wrestle The League of Nations, but those plans — and the League of Nations stable itself were scrapped as a result of Bray’s injury.
Erick Rowan and Braun Strowman haven’t appeared on WWE TV since the injury.
Tuesday night’s Impact Wrestling averaged 332,000 viewers on Pop TV. This is up from 312,000 viewers last week. This is Impact Wrestling’s third week without having a replay the same night.
Impact placed at #91 on the Top 150 cable shows for the night. TNA was up against two NBA playoffs games that drew over 4,000,000 viewers.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross watched RAW on Monday and says he thinks Cesaro is a main eventer “waiting to explode.” In a new blog entry on his website, Ross says once Cesaro gets “over,” he would pay to see him wrestle Brock Lesnar.
Ross predicted another future main eventer after watching Monday’s RAW: Apollo Crews. “Crews is a helluva prospect and has a legit chance to be a main event player for years to come,” Ross wrote. “No guarantees, but he’s got all the tools or so it seems.”
The former WWE Head of Talent Relations says the audience booing Roman Reigns is at least better than silence. “Most fans are booing, but they are also making noise which is encouraging,” Ross wrote. “I’m not even sure any more what reactions the live audience would provide us, viewers if Reigns was turned into a full fledged villain. Just my take but how Roman Reigns has been booked may be the single biggest reason that fans are so reluctant and resistant to accept him as a fan favorite. That may sound overly simplistic but today’s audience is more complex and knowledgeable than their predecessors of any generation and as a society few like being ‘force fed’ anything. It’s that defiance thing.
“Roman Reigns is a talented, valuable piece of talent who’s a long term, work in progress and his TV persona isn’t close to being refined as it will be say by WM33 in Orlando for example,” Ross continued. “Patience is the key here for all, however, in the age of defiance patience is a fleeting trait.”
Former WWE performer Joanie Laurer (Chyna)’s death was the result of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs, according to her longtime manager Anthony Anzaldo.
He told the New York Daily News that Chyna had been inappropriately mixing Ambien and Valium, medications she had been legally prescribed.
“She was inappropriately taking her legally prescribed medication over the course of two to three weeks,” Anzaldo said. “On Sunday night, her body had enough.”
Chyna had been taking Ambien and Valium for years, but had steadily upped her intake to dangerous levels. A toxicology report is not expected back for several months.
As noted last week, Chyna’s brain will be studied by Dr. Bennet Omalu to examine for any signs of chronic traumatic enephalopathy (CTE).
Natalya was Michael Cole’s guest for this week’s WWE.com interview. Here are some highlights:
– Natalya spoke about her role on Total Divas and is happy that it’s given people a chance to see how she is outside of the ring. The show is about being real, relatable and human.
– They spoke about her uncle Bret Hart being in her corner this weekend at Payback when she challenges Charlotte for the Women’s Championship. Cole asked how Bret is doing after his rough year battling prostate cancer. Natalya says Bret is a hero and an inspiration. He’s one of her best friends and it means means a lot to her that he will be supporting her at Payback.
– Regarding her opponent this Sunday, Natalya said Charlotte was somebody she respected after their memorable match at NXT Takeover, but Charlotte has changed. Charlotte acts entitled, as if she deserves everything. She was bothered by Charlotte’s recent statement that she’s accomplished more on the main roster than all of WWE’s other women combined. Cole hypes that Charlotte and Natalya will be appearing on Dean Ambrose’s Ambrose Asylum this Thursday on SmackDown. Natalya says the Charlotte’s ways disappoint her, but she plans to put Charlotte in her place. Payback will be her defining moment.
Ric Flair had a rough morning at Boston’s Logan Airport, but he was eventually allowed to board his flight. Witnesses say Flair was at a bar called Lucky’s Lounge and seemed to be ‘banged up.’ According to TMZ.com, airport officials received a call about a man with a cut on his hand. Police and medical personnel responded, tended to the WWE Hall of Famer and it was determined that he was NOT intoxicated.
Flair’s agent, Melinda Morris Zanoni, issued a statement to TMZ.com noting that the incident maybe have been due to exhaustion – but booze was not to blame:
“Ric has been working every day around the clock, including internationally, for a month straight and has injuries on his hand that were being looked into this morning.
“While it is true Ric Flair and his buddies have been keeping airport bars in business since the 70s that was not the case at all in Boston. I just hung up with Ric, he is already on the flight and all is good.”
Actor David Arquette was recently interviewed by Boomstick Comics to promote his film, Orion. The former WCW World Champion spoke about his experience in the business, noting that he only follows wrestling casually these days.
Arquette revealed that he recently reached out to Lucha Underground and pitched an angle that would have involved him coming in as a manager. The character that he wanted to portray was named El Borracho, a masked drunk who would carry a liquor bottle to the ring and use it as a weapon to help his clients win their matches. He would eventually be unmasked, with the Temple learning his true identity.
Not many people have an extremely high-wrestling IQ in the industry, but Edge is one of them. As a WWE Hall of Fame wrestler, his thoughts on wrestling are well-respected in the business.
In a recent interview with WrestleZone.com, the former-WWE champion talked about Finn Balor and that he’s no longer NXT champion.
Edge: Yeah. Pretty much everybody in NXT is ready to be on the main roster. When is the right time? I don’t know. You see AJ go straight from New Japan to the main roster. Finn could have done the same thing. Joe could have done the same thing. Sami could have done the same thing. NXT is great but you need those guys there in a developmental system like that to be able to lead and show the way forward for some of the younger guys that don’t have that New Japan experience. That don’t have some of that international cred under their belts already. It’s really important to have Finn, Samoa Joe and Sami there to say, “Well, this is where we need to get to make it to the top tier.” To then springboard past that to the main roster. But, yes, he’s totally ready and some of the match ups you can think of already have fans like, “Ooooooooh aaaaaahhhhhhhh.”
Is Edge right when he says that everyone in NXT is ready for the main roster? That’s a huge claim and many will disagree. Apollo Crews is one example that may or may not be ready for the spotlight of Monday Night Raw.
Sami Zayn and Balor are two that have the qualities of a main event superstar. Samoa Joe, Hideo Itami and Enzo and Big Cass are others who contain the ability to perform with the likes of John Cena and Randy Orton.
So far, Kevin Owens and Zayn are paving the way for the new generation of WWE NXT superstars who want to succeed. Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks are leading the women into a new era of professional wrestling.
More WWE NXT stars will come up in the coming months, but when Edge says that every NXT star is ready for the main roster, he is making a big statement.
The following is the El Rey Network’s official preview for tonight’s episode of Lucha Underground titled, “Cage in a Cage”:
FOUR TEAMS TAKE IT TO THE RING IN THE NEWEST EPISODE OF ‘LUCHA UNDERGROUND’ WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27th AT 8:00 PM ET/PT ON EL REY NETWORK
In an all-new episode of “Lucha Underground,” this Wednesday, April 27th at 8:00PM ET/PT on El Rey Network, Cage faces off with Johnny Mundo in a blood-pumping Steel Cage Match for an Aztec Medallion. While Pentagon Jr. struggles with devastating injuries, four teams compete in the Trios Tournament finals which is sure to be a mind-blowing match for the books! Don’t miss new one-hour episodes of the lucha libre wrestling series from Emmy Award®-winning producer Mark Burnett Wednesdays at 8:00PM ET/PT.
There are multiple reports coming out of Boston’s Logan Airport that WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair was acting erratic and was not allowed to board his flight.
15-time WWE World ChampionJohn Cena recently spoke with Donald Wood of Ring Rust Radio to promote American Grit, his new military-themed reality competition show on FOX. Here are some highlights they sent in:
Is American Grit Just A Passion Project, Or Is He Interested In More Leading Roles In TV/Movies?
Cena: “Anything you do in entertainment, you don’t just want to just do it and leave it out there with no rhyme or reason behind it. That’s just not a smart business move. The great thing aboutAmerican Grit is that it runs parallel with the WWE. You want to talk about passion projects, WWE is my life and it is my passion. When something like American Grit comes along that I helped create from the very first conversation into fruition of airing the first episode, it becomes a passion project. If you look at what I do on WWE television, essentially what I’m doing on American Grit is very close and runs a fine line between the two shows. So essentially, I get to do what I love in WWE and in American Grit. I don’t just see it as something like I’ll just put this out there and hope for the best. I hope it brings more and better business opportunities, I hope it brings more brand awareness, I hope we can do more and I hope it establishes a better relationship with Fox. There are just so many things I can talk about with this show and I can see how it could be used as a vehicle, but right now I just want a bunch of folks to watch episode two and we’ll see where it goes.”
The Most Rewarding Aspect Of Filming American Grit & A Potential WWE-Themed Episode:
Cena: “I think the possibilities of the show are limitless, I really do because of what it is based on. You will be put in a certain area of the earth, you will work with the team as best you can, and at one point or another your resolve will be tested. Any single human being can fit in that category. I really think the possibilities of this are endless. I think it would be unbelievable television if they did a WWE version of American Grit. The thing that I’ve learned the most and that I’m most proud of with the show is all the good that happens within it honestly. I remember when we filmed the final, and I’m walking away saying to myself either America is going to be ready for this or they’re not because it is just unlike anything you see on television. There is no voting, the backstabbing manipulation is a waste of breath because it is not necessarily about the biggest or strongest. Competitors are immediately downsized and they will just have to ante up and do their best. There are no unholy alliances because it doesn’t move you forward at all. It is on your team and how well you function as a team and you as an individual when you are called to face the circus as we call it onAmerican Grit. You just know you will have to get to a point where you extend beyond yourself. For people that have to bow out, it’s disappointing. For people that can survive the circus, the bond made between teammates, the bond between cadres, and looking inside themselves is worth it. Goldie for example, she said and I quote, “Thank you for believing in me.” It was so great and moments like that make me happy. That’s what I really love most about the show. I don’t know, there’s so much dark stuff on television right now, and like I said I don’t know how America Grit will take but I watch it and I love it. I just hope everybody at home feels as good about American Grit as they watch it as well.”
Did He Feel Any Pressure Or Nervousness Hosting American Grit?
Cena: “Absolutely. You put your heart and soul into something that you want it to be so good and you know you have something more than just a television show. Like I said, it speaks volumes about how the military can function in regular society and it has good moral fiber. When something can hit this well on multiple platforms you want it to do so well. You do everything you can and that’s what I’m talking to you guys right now because I believe in the show. Of course you get nervous when it airs. You get nervous of public opinion, but I’ve learned a lot in my long and strenuous career in WWE. I certainly had my shares of hits, but I’ve had my share of misses to go with them. You do the best that you can, you promote your product the best you can and then there’s a point where it’s just out of your hands.”
– Jim Ross has updated the Q&A section of his JR’s BBQ website and commented on the possibility of WWE reviving the Cruiserweight Championship at this summer’s Global Cruiserweight Series tournament. Ross said, “I like the concept. It would be a way to restart a smaller weight division but only if it would mean more than existing IC & US Titles do at this time.”
– John Cena announced earlier this week that he will return to Monday Night RAW on Memorial Day, May 30th. Cena checked in with this tweet on Tuesday night, joking about a “heal” turn:
Ok interweb, ponder this, I was hurt. Upon return to @WWE I'll be healthy. So @WWEUniverse does that mean I've finally turned #heal ?
– Becky Lynch tweeted the following on Tuesday night, a reference to Beyonce’s new song “Sorry.” The speculation is that ‘Becky with the good hair’ is about a woman Beyonce’s husband Jay-Z cheated on her with.
Last week, Alberto Del Rio broke the news that the League of Nations faction would be disbanding soon. He told SoloWrestling.com, “We as a group have never worked very well, so we decided that it is better to separate.”
At Tuesday night’s SmackDown tapings, the split came to fruition. League of Nations squared off against Cesaro, Sami Zayn and United States Champion Kalisto in a 6-man tag match. Del Rio and Rusev abandoned Sheamus during the match, effectively marking the end of the international faction.
No word yet on what’s planned for Sheamus, but Del Rio says he plans to pursue the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Rusev and Lana were back together on RAW and Wade Barrett hasn’t been seen since the group turned on him the night after WrestleMania 32.
WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair told Natalya, “Kill yourself” during a heated promo at Tuesday night’s WWE SmackDown tapings. The incident took place when Dean Ambrose hosted Natalya, Charlotte and Flair on his Ambrose Asylum talk show segment to hype Sunday’s Women’s Championship match at Payback.
At one point, Natalya was talking about her uncle Bret being in her corner and told Flair that her uncle Bret will have no problem ‘handling’ him. Flair fired back with the “kill yourself” remark. Don’t be surprised if this edited off television when the show airs tomorrow night on USA.
This week’s Sacrifice edition of TNA Impact Wrestling saw two notable title changes.
The Decay’s Abyss and Crazzy Steve defeated Beer Money to capture the TNA tag team championships. Bram also defeated Eric Young to become the new TNA King of the Mountain Champion.
The title changes were booked as a result of Bobby Roode and Eric Young departing the company back in March.
– Titus O’Neil is officially back to work after serving a suspension for grabbing Vince McMahon’s arm in an unscripted moment on RAW two months ago. He defeated Tyler Breeze in a dark match before the SmackDown TV taping on Tuesday night in Manchester, NH at the Verizon Wireless Arena.
– A remark Ric Flair made at the SmackDown taping on Tuesday night is already getting criticism from fans on Twitter. During an in-ring segment with Dean Ambrose, Natalya, Charlotte and Flair, The Nature Boy told Natalya to kill herself after she said that Bret Hart could beat him up. It’s unknown whether this will make it to TV or not on Thursday. Here’s how it went down according to someone in attendance at the Verizon Wireless Arena:
Members of WWE management reportedly were shocked when they heard news that Adam Rose had publicly addressed his wellness policy violation. Rose was suspended for 60 days for using what he claims were prescribed medications, and said his doctor was “shocked and appalled” by the suspension.
According to PWInsider.com, WWE officials did not know Rose was going to address the suspension on Twitter, and found out when everyone else did after he posted it online. PWInsider reports that Rose gained some respect within some circles in the company for explaining his position. Rose reportedly has a good reputation with his co-workers and seems to have some support from them.
Konnor was also suspended by the company for a wellness policy violation, although he didn’t test positive for anything illegal either.
WWE is invading Manchester, NH to tape the April 28th episode of SmackDown at the Verizon Wireless Arena.
WWE Main Event Spoilers:
– Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson def. Zack Ryder & Fandango.
– Dolph Ziggler def. Viktor
– Kevin Owens def. Jack Swagger
SmackDown Spoilers:
– Roman Reigns, The Miz and Maryse kick off SmackDown with an in-ring segment. It ends with Miz getting thrown out of the ring by the World Heavyweight Champion.
– Sami Zayn, Cesaro and Kalisto def. Sheamus, Rusev and Alberto Del Rio by count out. Rusev and Del Rio end up walking out on Sheamus.
– Natalya and Charlotte will be on The Ambrose Asylum tonight.
– Baron Corbin def. Damien Sandow in a short match.
– Dean Ambrose comes out for The Ambrose Asylum with Natalya, Charlotte and Ric Flair. Nattie tells Flair that Bret Hart can handle him if he gets involved at PayBack. This gets Flair fired up, he says he’s beaten Bret all over WWE and WCW and tells Nattie to “kill herself.”
– Enzo Amore and Big Cass def. The Social Outcasts in a tag match. The New Day came out to do commentary and made Byron Saxton sit on the floor. The Vaudevillains came out to watch from the stage.
– Roman Reigns def. The Miz via DQ. The main event match ended when Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson interfered and attacked Reigns. The Usos and AJ Styles hit the ring and they brawl to close out the show.
– As seen last night on RAW, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson wore jackets with the phrase “#GB 4 Life.” written on the jackets they wore to the ring. In response to social media speculation regarding what “GB” stands for, Gallows’ wife Amber confirmed that it stands for Good Brothers.
– Bray Wyatt checked in on Tuesday with an update about his looming return. The Eater of Worlds is recovering from a calf injury and should be back in action before next month’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view.