WWE announced Saturday that Adam Rose and Konnor have each been suspended 60 days effective immediately for a second violation of the company’s Talent Wellness Program.
WWE suspends Raymond Leppan and Ryan Parmeter
STAMFORD, Conn. – In accordance with its Talent Wellness Program, WWE has suspended Raymond Leppan (Adam Rose) and Ryan Parmeter (Konnor) each for 60 days effective immediately for a second violation of the company’s policy.
– WWE.com is running a poll asking fans which tag team will win the ongoing #1 Contender’s tournament. WWE newcomers Enzo and Big Cass currently have 58% of the vote, followed by The Usos (20%), the Dudley Boyz (13%) and the Vaudevillians (9%).
The second round of the tournament will see The Usos vs. Vaudevillians and Dudley Boyz vs. Enzo and Cass.
– Chris Jericho commented on what would happen if he squared off against Brock Lesnar:
I'll whip his dopey ass. https://t.co/wXCXdjsRjB
— Chris Jericho (@IAmJericho) April 15, 2016
– Alicia Fox made history this week as the first female performer in WWE history to perform in the United Arab Emirates. She kicked off Thursday night’s live event from Dubai. As you can see, her attire was pretty conservative:
Such an honor to kick off the show in #dubai last night! Ready for round 2!? WWE WOMEN MAKING HISTORY @natbynature pic.twitter.com/QvRJijUaql
— VIXCROW (@VIX_CROW) April 15, 2016
Big Show and Shaquille O’Neal continue to tease a one-on-one match for next year’s WrestleMania.
Shall spoke to TMZ Sports this week and said he’s ready to throw down against WWE’s giant – but whether or not the match happens is entirely up to Vince and Shane McMahon. Shall things Big Show is scared and really wants the match to happen.
Meanwhile, Big Show was in Dubai this week for WWE’s overseas tour and spoke with radio personality Myles about the potential battle of the bohemouths. Big Show said Shaq’s involvement in the Andre Battle Royal at WrestleMania 32 made the event extra special. Shaq has been dying to do something in the ring and he hopes they can work something out for next year. Like Shaq said, the decision will be made by people ‘above his pay grade.’ Show talked a little trash about Shaq but clarified that he was just joking and apologized.
Eva Marie recently spoke with NewYou.com to promote Total Divas. Here are some highlights of what she said about:
Her favorite match so far:
“I would have to say my title match against Bailey at NXT because for starters, I have never main evented anything before. Additionally, I competed against the champ going for the title. This season on Total Divas, viewers will be able to see the backstory and how those elements take place.”
If she gets stage fright before performing:
“Absolutely, I always get nervous! It is one of those things that I personally believe everyone can more or less relate to. Especially if you have ever played a sport, participated in a play, or had to speak in a public forum. On the other hand, if you are prepared, and ready to go, then it’s game on! Once I step outside of that curtain it is the best feeling in the world and a constant reminder that I was made to do this. Once I am off stage I seriously experience the best adrenaline rush ever.”
What sets her apart from the rest of the women in WWE:
EM: I think that I personally stand out because my end game and career goals are ones that any of the Divas have yet to achieve. Not only do I want to leave an impact on the WWE Universe as an entertainer but I also want to bridge the dynamics of the WWE and the mainstream world. For instance, I want to bring them [WWE] along to Paris fashion week, blockbuster movie, red carpet events, and makeup aisles within major department stores. Being an entertainer is a huge part of who I am but there are many more facets to me. That is why it is important for me to distinguish myself in more ways as an entertainer within the WWE.
After making her in-ring debut at WrestleMania 32, Lana continues to train at the WWE Performance Center. She’ll be competing once again during WWE’s ongoing European tour along with ‘Team BAD & Blonde.’
During an interview with WWE.com, she explained what’s driving her focus to continue training. She feels that a lot of WWE performers lose their hunger and drive once they make it to the main roster. She wants to be iconic and the greatest female wrestler in WWE history. Regarding her match at WrestleMania 32, Lana said,
“I know I can fight. I know I have kicks that can destroy people. Just because I haven’t gotten in the ring in my career, that doesn’t mean I’m not capable of crushing people. I’ve seen more in my career never having a fight than all those girls combined. Like, what girl stood face-to-face with The Rock? What girl stood face-to-face with John Cena? With Chris Jericho? With ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper? I can keep going on and on. So, if you’re going to challenge me, criticize me, and you’re going to say I’m not good enough, then I’m going to kick your head off. Don’t push me.”
When asked her thoughts about the new WWE Women’s Championship, Lana played it coy. She said she doesn’t like telling people what her plans are – and she does have big plans. She promised, “I will be the greatest woman to ever enter WWE, and I will leave the greatest legacy that WWE has ever seen.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AKP9usMr_o
ROH TV Recap – Episode 238 for the week of April 10, 2016
Kevin Kelly and Mr. Wrestling 3 introduce the show from Sam’s Town Live in Las Vegas, Nevada. Kelly tells us, “What an unbelievable 60 minutes we have for you. World Tag Title defense by War Machine, the return of ‘The Cleaner’ Kenny Omega taking on ACH.” MW3 joins in, “And for the first time in Ring of Honor television history, we are going to see a Fight Without Honor, between Silas Young and Dalton Castle.”
Roppongi Vice vs. War Machine
Beretta and Rocky Romero come first, Romero has on a black tiger mask with an eye patch. MW3 asks Kelly, “Do you have the Roppongi Vice theme music on your iPod? My boy Steve Corino is going to do a remix version of this.” Kelly retorts, “He’s going to lay down some beats? He’s not going to tell Roppongi stories is he?” WM make their way to the ring, while WM pose on the apron, RPGV jump them from behind before the bell, knocking them to the floor. RPGV do a synchronized swan dive to the outside. Romero throws Rowe back in the ring, delivers clubs to the back of the head, Rowe tries to fight out, but Romero tags in Beretta. Beretta with shots to the face, tags back in Romero, they continue with kicks, standing moonsault by Beretta, cover by Romero, Rowe kicks out and throws Romero half way across the ring.
Rowe throws Romero into the corner, Hanson throws Beretta into the other corner, and WM put RPGV on their shoulders. RPGV both slide out, try to run WM into each other, they stop short, but RPGV continue with strikes on WM. Hanson throws Romero off the ropes, he catches himself in the ropes like a tarantula and laughs, before Hanson kicks him to the outside. Rowe picks up Beretta for a power press above his head, but Beretta grabs onto his beard. Rowe misses with the clothesline, Beretta hits 2 knife edge chops and a forearm, hits the ropes, but Rowe catches him tilt-a-whirling, hits a high knee, and we go to commercial.
When we return, Rowe whips Hanson into Beretta, Rowe runs in with shotgun knees, but Beretta gets out of the way, and Hanson gets caught instead. Romero tags in, Rowe catches a kick, Romero misses a swinging kick, but connects a swinging kick with the other leg, running knee off the turnbuckle, slam, cover, 1-2. Romero hits 3 running-yelling clotheslines, then Rowe comes out of the corner and decks him. Rowe tags in Hanson, they lift Romero in the air, but Beretta comes off the top rope and takes them both out with a split legged dropkick. Beretta with an elbow in the corner on Rowe, and then a tornado DDT using the ropes.
RPGV throws Hanson off the ropes, he cartwheels through meets a double knee, stays on his feet, runs in again, again meets a double knee in stereo, this time falling to the mat. RPGV pick up Hanson and drape him across the top rope, Romero connects with a springboard double stomp to the back of the head, Beretta with a standing dropkick off the ropes, pin attempt by Romero, but Hanson kicks out
Beretta sets up for Strong Zero, Hanson fights out, Rowe is in, they both pick up RPGV in powerbomb positions and throw them at each other. WM is now in with Beretta, fireman’s carry by Hanson, Rowe tags back in, Hanson drops Beretta for a backbreaker across Rowe’s knee, into the Path of Resistance, kickout. WM setup Beretta on the ropes, he fights out, lands a hurricanrana off the second rope, before Romero hits a top rope hurricanrana on Hanson. Beretta runs the ropes, jumps to the outside for a suicide flip dive, Rowe catches him, and delivers a nasty apron bomb. Romero in, sunset flip with a near fall on WM, but Hanson takes him out with the Kick of Doom, Rowe holds him for the double team, while Hanson hits the Fall Out top rope leg drop, cover on Romero, 1-2-3.
Winners: War Machine
Rowe stands on the apron and yells at the camera, “Briscoes, you see this? ROH World Tag Team Champions, War Machine. We’re ready, are you?”
When we return, Donovan Dijak walks out in street clothes to his heavily-over-autotuned song ‘Action’ by Rich Porter and Taho Papi, led to the ring by Prince Nana. Highlights are shown up the Dijack taking out the HoT. Prince Nana starts on the mic, “You idiots have been asking, what is in those envelopes that Prince Nana has been giving out, what has been in those envelopes? That is for us to know and for you to find out. Secondly, everybody keeps wondering about the enlightened ones, the enlightened ones? And another question they keep asking me, Prince Nana, who do you think is going to be the next Ring of Honor Champion, moving forward with the future of Ring of Honor?” A fan yells “Jimmy Ray!” before Nana finishes, “and his name is none other than Donovan Dijak.” Dijack takes the mic, “For one year, I’ve only had one real purpose in Ring of Honor,” He shows off his Jay Lethal t-shirt “and that was to protect Jay Lethal and the House of Truth.” He takes off the Lethal t-shirt, and tosses it aside. “But this man, Prince Nana, this man showed me that one year ago, when I won the top prospect tournament. And Truth Martini? He looked me square in the eye and said ‘Donovan Dijack, if you wrestled Jay Lethal for the TV title…’” Suddenly Jay Lethal comes running down the ramp, the two men go toe-to-toe, Lethal takes Dijack to the mat, pounds away on his head, Dijack returns the punches, the bell rings repeatedly, about 10 ROH officials come down to separate them, Nana and Veda Scott are amongst the melee, and we go to commercial.
Dalton Castle cuts a pre-recorded promo, “Silas Young, tonight we are in a Fight Without Honor. And you probably are walking to the ring with a whole lot of self-confidence, because maybe you’ve got a few wins over me. Let me remind you, every time we fought, my goal has been different. I’ve fought to show you that I was a man, I fought for my boys, and tonight I’m fighting to hurt you.”
Omega vs. ACH
Out first is ACH out of Austin, TX at 190 pounds, he flips over the top rope as he enters the ring. Kenny Omega’s horror music hits with the Bullet Club graphic, Kelly calls Omega, “one of the top stars in the entire world of professional wrestling.” Omega is introduced from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada at 203 pounds, and is accompanied by the Young Bucks. They are all wearing camouflage Young Bucks gear. Kenny grabs a headset from the announce table and sings his music into the microphone. Impressed by his own singing, he says “Wow wow wow.”
Omega hands the broom to Matt and crawls into the ring. The fans litter the ring with streamers. Tale of the tape says 190 ACH vs 203 Omega (hey, it’s correct this week!). Fans chant “Omega!” then “YB!” and the YB bang the mat in the beat of 12-3-45. Omega waves off the Code of Honor, Tiger Hattori calls for the bell. MW3 tells us “Both of these guys are huge video game fans and the anime. Is it the anime or just anime?” Kelly replies, “I think it’s just anime, but that’s not for our generation.” MW3 says, “I like Tom and Jerry.”
Omega with a go behind, ACH with an elbow lock, then a headlock, Omega throws ACH off the ropes, ACH hits a shoulder block. The fans chant, “Omega!” ACH hits the ropes, and then goes for a handstand cartwheel kick, but misses, and Omega takes control. Omega with chops to the shoulders, ACH fights back with chops to the chest, throws Omega off the ropes, reversal, reversal, ACH misses a clothesline, and then hits a Lou Thez press. ACH hits a Texas-style elbow, Omega back to his feet, ACH goes for the stunner, but Omega gets him in a full nelson, ACH with an arm drag, and then a drop kick ACH, and ACH shoots a fake basketball into the crowd. ACH leaps over the top rope, Omega crawls underneath, Omega receives a shot to the gut, ACH backflips to the outside, Nick SUPERKICKS! him in the head, and then pulls out a banana peel. The ref asks what happened and the YB point at the banana peel. Omega grabs his broom, sweeps the banana peel under the ring, and we go to commercial.
Adam Cole cuts a pre-recorded promo (note: this was excluded from the Comet broadcast), “Kick me out? You? Kick me out of the Kingdom? That medication they gave you post surgery, must have made you crazy. I created The Kingdom, this was always because of me. When I had an injury of my own, and you and my friend were in charge? You were a joke, you were a laughing stock, you were a Bullet Club ripoff, nobody took you seriously. Everybody took me seriously. Why? Because I was the ROH Heavyweight Champion and the ROH Television Champion. And the fact that you have the gall to remove me from this group? Well, that’s okay with me, because Matt Taven, you, you’re holding me down anyway.”
When we returned the fans chant “Headlock City!” ACH with a shot to the ribs, a forearm to the face, ACH jawbreaker on Omega, ACH runs the ropes and Omega hits a knee to the gut. Omega with a chop chop, fireman’s carry, drops him to the mat, rolls through, flips off the top rope, ACH moves out of the way. ACH with 3 chops, Omega whip reversal, throws ACH into the corner, ACH baseball slides, stops himself, turns around, kicks Omega in the head. Omega comes charging in again, ACH throws him to the apron, Omega catches him and runs his head into the top turnbuckle. Omega climbs the other turnbuckle, but ACH kicks him in the head, knocking him to the outside. Matt gets on the apron, ACH takes him out, Nick gets on the apron, ACH runs after him, Omega hits the ropes and charges in, but ACH throws him to the outside, now ACH with a second rope soaring springboard front flip over the top rope onto the Elite. Fans chant “Go go ACH!”
ACH tosses Omega into the ring, climbs to the top turnbuckle, Omega turns around and slaps him across the face. Omega hooks ACH for a superplex, but ACH fights out, pushes Omega off the ropes, Omega climbs back up again, but ACH again knocks him to the mat and then delivers a double stomp to the back of the shoulder, cover, 1-2, but Omega kicks out. ACH yells “Kamehameha!” sets Omega up for a Brain Buster, but Omega gets out, syncs a full nelson, ACH wrestles out, but then Omega with two strikes to the back, then a dragon suplex. Omega goes for One Winged Angel, ACH counters and drops Omega on his head with a vertical brainbuster, cover, 1-2 but Omega kicks out.
ACH goes to the top rope for a Midnight Star, but YB stand nearby, ACH climbs slowly, Omega gets out of the way. Both trade go behinds, ACH with elbows, Omega with knees, then they exchange open handed shots. Omega catches ACH by the foot, flips him over the top rope onto the apron, but ACH lands awkwardly on the ropes. Omega up first, stomping on the mat, tuning up band, ACH to his feet, Omega kicks, but ACH catches him, goes for a stunner, but gets pushed off the ropes, Omega fights out with elbows, and then ACH hits a stunner, cover, 1-2, Omega kicks out.
ACH goes to the top rope, but misses the Midnight Star, as Omega rolls out of the way. Omega takes the knee pad down, runs the ropes and hits a running knee to the side of ACH’s head, Omega hits The One Winged Angel, cover, 1-2-3.
Winner: Kenny Omega
Kenny’s horror music plays, Matt brings in the broom, they sweep ACH to the outside, and we go to commercial.
When we return Bobby Cruise introduces us to the television main event, a Fight Without Honor, which he tells us “simply means, there are no rules.”
Dalton Castle vs. Silas Young (Fight Without Honor)
“The Last Real Man” Silas Young from Milwaukee, WI, is out first to the song “Unified Divider” by Voodoo Johnson. Silas, carrying a trash can lid, looks in the camera, and says, “You want to fight without honor, Dalton? Now you’re going to find out what it means to fight the way men fight.” The Peacock’s music hits and the fans go wild. Castle stands on the ramp with The Boys. He does not have on his usual robe, just t-shirt and trunks, The Boys tears off his T-shirt, he points to the back, and sends them on their way.
Castle runs to the ring, ducks the trash can lid from Silas, connects several strikes, and the fans litter the ring with streamers. Both men go to the outside, the ring is covered in streamers, and when they get back in, both men are also covered in streamers. Silas with shots to the head, then Castle clotheslines Silas over the top rope to the outside. Kelly says, “We need to get this cleaned up.” Castle runs the ropes struts and spreads his wings. Castle hits the ropes, and then a suicide dive between the bottom and second rope onto Silas. MW3 says, “He’s a peacock and he’s got to fly!” The fans chant “Fan up!”
Deadlift belly-to-back pick up by Castle, slams him to the mat, Silas lands shots to the back of Castle’s head, Castle pushes him away, spear attempt misses, Silas climbs the top turnbuckle, but Castle kicks him off, then jumps over the rope to the outside apron, goes for a running knee, Silas gets out of the way, and shoves him to the floor. Silas flips over the ropes, propelling himself onto Castle. Silas reaches under the ring, digs through the streamers, grabs a chair, and delivers a shot to Castle’s spine with the edge of the chair. Silas with a stomp, then forearm shot to Castle’s face, goes under the ring, digs through more streamers, but can’t find his next weapon. Silas returns to Castle, Castle kicks him in the gut, chop, goes for another chop, but Silas gets out of the way, and Castle hits the ringpost. Silas then grabs his hand, and slams it off the ring apron, Silas looks under the ring again, now finds a second chair, sets the two chairs up side-by-side, positions Castle for the suplex, Castle blocks, Silas delivers 2 shots to the ribs, but can’t get Castle up. Castle flips Silas over his back and then runs backwards, sending his spine into the ring post, goes for another one, but Castle gets out of the way, and then Silas rakes the arms across his back. They walk around the outside of the ring, Silas sidesteps the announce table, Castle walks the apron, delivers a running knee to Silas, and we go to commercial.
Kelly tells us, “During the break, we had a few more elements brought into play. A ladder is laying in the ring, and Silas is setting a table.” Castle to his feet, 3 forearms, chop, punch, forearm, Silas goes to throw Castle into the ring apron, he slides back through, but Silas catches him again, and then drops him onto the two chairs. WM3 yells “Two chairs!” (like 2 chainz!)
Silas throws Castle back in the ring, squeezing him between the bottom rope and the ladder, jumps over the top rope, delivers a forearm, pin attempt, but Castle kicks out. Silas grabs the ladder, moves it to the other corner of the ring, picks up Castle by the hair, fireman’s carry, but Castle gets out, go behind, reversal, go behind, reversal, Silas rolls through with a victory roll, 1-2, kickout, locks in the STF, Castle is screaming in pain. Castle reaches the ladder, Silas breaks the hold and nails forearms, kicks, stomps, goes to the top turnbuckle, springboards off side rope, but smashes his knee into the ladder while Castle gets out of the way. Both men are laying on the mat.
The ref throws the ladder out of the ring, Kelly says, “Todd Sinclair has had enough of this ladder.” Both men to their knees, exchange strikes, both men to their feet, exchange forearms, the fans exchange “Boo! Yay! Boo! Yay!” chants, until one guy yells, “Booya!” Silas with the clothesline, rakes the back of Castle, the Peacock is up, but Silas with a knee to the face, diamond cutter, cover 1-2, Castle kicks out. The fans chant, “Fan up!” Silas with a fireman’s carry, spins him around, and hits Misery the face plant slam. Silas crawls to the outside, grabs the trash can lid, throws it into the ring, grabs the mic, and yells, “Come on, come on Dalton, you wanted to fight without honor?” and smashes him in the head with the microphone, “I just wish The Boys were here, to see how pathetic you really are.” And then all of the sudden The Boys run down from the back. Silas says, “Just in time boys, now you get to see me finish him.”
One of The Boys runs into the ring, jumps on Silas’s back, he throws him off. Boy #2 comes in with punches to Silas’s face, but Silas sends him to the outside, now Castle is on his feet delivering forearms. Kelly says, “You just don’t mess with a man’s boys.” Castle hits two running knees on Silas in the corner, misses the third, and flips over the turnbuckle to the outside. Now Silas with a suicide dive through the rope on to The Boys. MW3 says, “Did you see The Boys pushed Castled out of the way and sacrificed themselves in the process?”
Silas slides through the middle rope, Castle with a hurricanrana, climbs back in, Castle connects with a suicide dive to the outside. Silas gets thrown back into the ring by Castle, Castle grabs him from behind, picks him up, showing his strength, deadlift German suplex, bridge, pin attempt, but Silas kicks out. The fans chant, “Dalton Castle!” Castle goes for the Bangarang, but Silas grabs the ropes, and then Castle throws him backwards flip flat on to the table. The fans chant, “You just killed him!”
Castle rolls Silas back into the ring, covers him, 1-2, kick out. Kelly says, “He was thrown over the top rope through a table, and somehow, someway, he kicked out!” The fans chant, “This is awesome!” Castle grabs Silas by the head, one of The Boys throws a chair in the ring, but Silas hits a low blow on Castle. The fans chant, “Bangarang!” as Silas yells, “Get your ass up, boy! Get up! Get up!” and then spits on him. Castle connects with the Bangarang face first on the steel chair and covers him provocatively, staring in his face, 1-2-3, Castle wins.
Winner: Dalton Castle
Kelly says, “What an unbelievable physical fight encounter we just saw!” MW3 agrees, “It’s hard to put into words. Both men are going to need medical attention.” Ticker tape falls from ceiling, the ring is covered in streamers, and Kelly says “What a scene here in Las Vegas!” The Boys crawl in, and Castle stands tall. Kelly tells us, “Next week, we will see highlights of Honor Rising in Japan, goodnight everybody.”
With the barrage of medical issues plaguing WWE’s roster, the last thing anybody needs at this point is another Superstar going down with an injury. In light of Bray Wyatt’s incident from earlier this week, one can only wonder how many people were wondering “Oh not again!” when Kevin Owens acted as if he was hurt at Friday night’s WWE live event from Dubai.
After evoking sympathy from the crowd (as well as his opponent, #Kayfabe), Owens showed his true colors and unleashed a vicious attack on longtime rival Sami Zayn. To add insult to injury, he danced a bit to show just how fine he really was.
In the end, Zayn got the pinfall victory after nailing a big boot in the corner. Even in defeat, Owens showed why he’s one of the best pure heels in the business.
https://twitter.com/DeathToAllMarks/status/721074809292132352
This afternoon WWE announced that Triple H and Shane McMahon had been added to their tour of Europe. Shane McMahon is booked for a special appearance at the SmackDown taping on April 19th in London, while Triple H has multiple appearances scheduled. The former WWE World Heavyweight Champion is booked for Newcastle on April 20th, Brussels on April 21st, Paris on April 22nd, and Malaga, Spain on April 23rd. HHH hasn’t appeared on WWE TV since WrestleMania 32.
The Undertaker was originally removed from all of his European dates, but was added back to the April 19th SmackDown taping in London and the April 20th live event in Newcastle.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BEO3VhGvwJ8/
PROGRESS have announced a huge 4v4 match for Chapter 29 ‘Practically Progress in Every Way’ emanating from the Electric Ballroom in Camden on Sunday 24th April.
The F.S.U – Mark Andrews and Eddie Dennis will be teaming with the London Riots to take on The Origin – Nathan Cruz, El Ligero, Zack Gibson and Dave Mastiff.
It’s a match that impacts greatly on the PROGRESS Tag Team Championship as; should the Riots get the win, they’ll receive a tag team title shot. Should FSU get the win, THEY’LL receive a tag team title shot.
And if the Origin get the win, all four members of the group will earn themselves a spot in the Super Strong Style 16 tournament.
If you haven’t before had the opportunity to take a look at PROGRESS Wrestling then check out the video below that has the entirety of Chapter 13 available to view for free on Youtube. Matches include:
Rampage Brown vs Darrell Allen
NATURAL PROGRESSION SERIES QUARTER FINAL: Pete Dunne vs Robbie X
Michael Gilbert vs Eddie Dennis
FOUR WAY ELIMINATION MATCH FOR #1 CONTENDERSHIP FOR THE PROGRESS TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP: London Riots (James Davis & Rob Lynch) vs Project Ego (Kris Travis & Martin Kirby) vs Screw Indy Wrestling (Mark Haskins & Sha Samuels) vs Swords of Essex (Paul Robinson & Will Ospreay)
Tommy End vs El Ligero
Prince Devitt (Finn Balor) vs Zack Sabre Jr.
LADDER MATCH FOR THE PROGRESS CHAMPIONSHIP: Jimmy Havoc (c) vs Mark Andrews
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=it2coTptmlM
As reported earlier, UK promotion PROGRESS will feature two qualifying matches for the Global Cruiserweight Series. WWE.com just broke the news that on Saturday, May 7, in Queens, N.Y., EVOLVE Wrestling will also have two qualifying matches.
Facing off will be the EVOLVE Tag Team Champions Drew Gulak and Tracy Williams, will compete for a spot on the Global Cruiserweight Series. The other qualifying match will see Fred Yehi vs TJ Perkins.
Like the PROGRESS winners, the two superstars that qualify will have a chance to compete with:
The Global Cruiserweight Series qualifying matches take place at EVOLVE 61 on Saturday, May 7 at 6:30 p.m. ET, at La Boom in Queens, N.Y. For complete ticket information, visit EVOLVEWrestling.com.
Every single wrestling company on the planet wants to generate a buzz, to be THE company that every fan is talking about, and steadily over the last 2-3 years NXT has become arguably the most talked about wrestling brand in the world.
What first started as a quasi-gameshow program set in arenas with fans either bored or waiting for Smackdown or ECW to start has now become a breeding ground for cultivating the best talent and preparing them for life on the main WWE roster. The importance of a developmental territory for the WWE can not be understated, before NXT trainees would cut their teeth in OVW and FCW although to a much smaller audience than the Network now provides, and while NXT can still be classed as a developmental system their on screen product is a large majority of the time leaps and bounds above the television that is produced on a Monday night.
The fact that NXT is a one-hour, taped and edited program instantly gives it the edge over RAW as burnout and fatigue are not a factor, but conversely it is really impressive how every character seemingly has a strongly defined role on the show and have that all important emotional connection to the audience. A huge amount of praise has been given to the show’s simplistic but hugely effective creative, and Triple H has been at the reigns (….) of the product and built it to what it has now become.
What is fairly intriguing in the change of mindset in the wrestling community (myself included), is that when a wrestler would go to the WWE before NXT existed we would all worry that they would be watered down, given a generic character or be completely stripped of what made them unique and what made us like them in the first place (insert your own favourite here), but now we have NXT, and we all worry that when someone goes from NXT to the main roster they’ll be gutted of all of their great (Tyler Breeze) qualities. But again, NXT is a developmental show, everyone strives to be on RAW
I think this tweet sums it up nicely:
Just went to the bank…. I'm good? https://t.co/FtDG1rJp6P
— Breeze (@MmmGorgeous) April 6, 2016
But my question is, to make the main roster product good, and I mean REALLY good, should they completely ‘raid’ NXT and shake things up? I know what some people’s reaction to this would be “bringing up loads of NXT talent won’t change anything” – but I have to ask what benefit is there to keeping the likes of Finn Balor, someone with a huge marketing potential to the company down in NXT? It’s not just the in-ring talent I feel they should be bringing up either – the video packages (that I assume were created by Full Sail students?) for the Takeover show in Dallas were visually stunning, the actual in-ring camera work and direction feels a lot less clunky and shaky than the main shows, the idea of a Mauro Ranallo and Corey Graves tandem on Smackdown is exciting and the comedy (although rare) on NXT is actually funny.
Now the main reason against a mass influx of talent from NXT is usually attributed to Vince McMahon, but what is important to remember is that EVERYTHING on the main roster goes through him first, and while we can all say he is out of touch – AJ Styles is main eventing Payback and the Bullet Club have invaded the main show, so there are glimmers of hope.
I think a fresh change of pace for the look and feel of the main shows is long, long overdue and with Triple H possibly taking a more focused off camera role in the coming months I really hope that he can implement some of the ideas that have worked well in NXT on the main roster, we’re already seeing the signs with the death of the divas division and the rebirth of Women’s wrestling in the WWE.
I hope that as more talents make their up from NXT the show that I love to watch every week (because it’s an easy hour) doesn’t suffer, but ideally I’d love for the show that I find a chore because it is 3 hours long to be better, and a seismic shift in talent, production and management mentality could do that.
Thanks for reading, let me know what you think in the comments below and if there’s a different way you would look at freshening up the main product.
Please check out the first episode of R&J Wrestling’s ‘WHO BOOKED THIS CRAP!?’ a show where we take horrifically bad ideas for storylines and try to make them work with randomly generated wrestlers…..almost as if we work for WWE Creative:
– Tucker Knight, who was defeated by Baron Corbin on this week’s episode of WWE NXT, came out to former WWE Diva Tori’s theme song for the contest.
– After WWE announced this week that more than 155 hours of Raw from 2002 and 2003 are now available on the WWE Network, episodes of SmackDown from 2000 and 2001 are being added to the service.
– Here is video of Eva Marie being interviewed on the 2016 WWE Hall of Fame red carpet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKg84F2Y7Jc
WWE.com announced today, that on Sunday, April 24 in Camden Town, London, PROGRESS will have two matches with the opportunity to compete in the Global Cruiserweight Series.
In the first qualifying match, internet favorite Zack Sabre Jr. will compete against Flash Morgan Webster.
Jack Gallagher will compete against “Bruiserweight” Pete Dunn in the second qualifying match up.
The winners of these two matches will join the field of 32, along with the already announced competitors:
These matches take place at PROGRESS Chapter 29: Practically PROGRESS in Every Way on Sunday, April 24 at 8 p.m. local time at the sold-out Electric Ballroom in Camden Town, London, England.
– Hacksaw Jim Duggan was recently interviewed by independent wrestler Hannibal, and Duggan expanded on comments he made last year about Brock Lesnar being reckless in the ring. The WWE Hall of Famer explained that Lesnar’s in-ring work reminds him of The Steiner Brothers back in the day. Duggan says members of WWE’s injury-plagued roster need to take better care of each other in the ring in order to keep working.
– John Cena was interviewed by The Wrap to promote his new show on FOX, American Grit, which premiered on Thursday. Cena discussed The Rock’s success outside of wrestling, saying that he can “only hope to be mentioned in the same conversation as him.” Cena praised the Rock for continuing to return to WWE when he doesn’t have to.
“Dwayne [Johnson] never forgets the passionate fans of the WWE, never forgets what the WWE did for him as a human being,” Cena said. “He’s a stand-up guy, and the fact he’s succeeded in so many ventures in life and still always finds his way back ‘home’ — as I like to say — it’s extremely impressive, it speaks volumes of him and his character.”
– Enzo Amore and Big Cass have already made an impact on WWE’s main roster, but Carmella, the third member of the crew, has been conspicuously absent. When asked by a fan on Twitter why she had yet to appear with Enzo & Cass, she replied:
Because I want to be #WWENXT Women's Champion first! ? https://t.co/n4ziHaPgit
— Mella Is Money ? (@CarmellaWWE) April 15, 2016
Enzo and Cass defeated The Ascension on SmackDown to advance in the tag team #1 contenders tournament. Also on the show, The Vaudvillains defeated Golden Truth. Confirmed second round matches include Enzo and Cass vs. The Dudley Boyz and The Vaudevillains vs. The Usos. It looks like the tournament winners will challenge New Day for the tag titles at WWE Payback on May 1st.
– The WWE Network has added more than 100 classic episodes of WWE RAW, including the Ruthless Aggression Era (2002-2003). Memorable angles from this era include Mr. McMahon delivering a lethal dose of poison to WWE in the form of the nWo, Goldberg’s WWE debut and subsequent rivalry with The Rock and more.
– Chris Jericho is letting it be known that certain podcasters don’t know what they’re talking about when criticizing the fact that he went over AJ Styles at WrestleMania:
Awww I see some #podcastexperts are upset that I beat @AJStylesOrg at #Wrestlemania? Get over it marks & realize there's a big picture.
— Chris Jericho (@IAmJericho) April 15, 2016
FOX’s new reality series hosted by John Cena, American Grit, failed to make the big splash they expected in it’s debut.
Despite a big marketing campaign and media tour by the 15-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion, the debut episode only garnered 2,433,000 viewers. PWInsider.com reports that the show was the least-viewed network show in the 9 PM timeslot out of all the major networks.
Bones was the lead-in show and it averaged 4,357,000 viewers, meaning American Grit failed to retain almost half the audience from the show before.
Brie Bella and Bray Wyatt have been scanned for 2K Sports’ WWE 2K17 video game, and Pixelgun Studio has posted the below photos from their scans online. As noted, WWE Hall of Famer Alundra Blayze was also recently scanned for the game.
WWE 2K17 is expected to be released in October on PS3, PS4, Xbox One and Xbox 360 consoles. It will be the eighteenth game in the WWE games series and the third under the “WWE 2K” banner.
– Shinsuke Nakamura is using the same finisher in NXT that he used in Japan, but the name has been changed. In Japan it was called the Bomaye, and in NXT it’s called the Kinshasa. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the change was made because a clothing company in the U.S. already has “Bomaye” trademarked.
– WWE talent now has a way to get out of WWE’s business casual dress code while on tour. The dress code is now either business casual, or Tapout brand athletic apparel. The Wrestling Observer reports that WWE owns part of Tapout and sees their stars promoting the brand as good business.
– Titus O’Neil will be on a new episode of Animal Planet’s Tanked tonight. On the show, a fish tank company called Acrylic Tank Manufacturing designs Titus a gator-themed tank that pays homage to his alma mater, the University of Florida.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JH3dACeudF0
– Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady made their WWE in-ring debuts on this week’s SmackDown when they defeated The Ascension. WWE posted the above video following the airing of the match where Cass talks about joining the WWE main roster and going for the Tag Team Titles.
– WWE announced on Friday that the next NXT Takeover live special would take place on June 8th. They also reported that the next set of NXT TV tapings will be on May 19th and June 9th at Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL.
Tix to see @WWENXT at @FullSail go on sale THIS MON., 4/18 @ 10am ET! https://t.co/FlVV2giPqQ
NXT TV Taping: 5/19, 6/9
NXT Live Special: 6/8— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) April 15, 2016
– Speaking of NXT, Triple H noted on Twitter that the June 17th show in Plymouth has sold out. Here’s what The Game had to say:
It's official…#NXTPlymouth is #SoldOut. Don't miss your chance to see #NXTUKTour in June. https://t.co/pcQU3cALRh pic.twitter.com/B7qT70qCIU
— Triple H (@TripleH) April 15, 2016
During a recent appearance on the Ross Report podcast, Jim Cornette spoke to Jim Ross about Shinsuke Nakamura and how he feels the Japanese wrestling sensation will fare in WWE.
At this point there’s no question as to whether or not Nakamura has the tools to succeed. Besides being a world-class in-ring talent, his charisma is electric and his appeal is undeniable. As somebody who knows talent as well as anybody, Cornette feels that Nakamura’s upside in WWE is more dependent on Vince McMahon’s preferences than Nakamura’s abilities.
“I think it comes down to he will be a superstar in NXT and people are going to love him whenever he appears with that brand,” Cornette said. “And when he gets to the main roster, I’ve got to be honest with you, I think it depends on how Vince sees him.”
He continued, “Obviously, everything [in WWE] depends on how Vince sees something, but he hasn’t had the best track record, and I’ll tell you, it’s not a racist thing with international stars, whether it be luchadores, whether it be Japanese talent, [or] whether it be anybody from Europe. Sometimes, the chairman does not understand what they have meant to their world because he’s so isolated in his and he tries, possibly, to remake them in the image that he perceives for them. That may not work.”
Cornette feels that in certain ways, Nakamura is in the same boat as WWE legends like Steve Austin and Brock Lesnar were – “essentially the more [Nakamura] is himself and he’s allowed to do his thing, the better off he’ll be.”
Visit PodcastOne.com to listen to The Ross Report and check out Jim Cornette’s weekly podcast over at MLW Radio.
H/T to William Windsor at WrestlingINC.com for the quote transcript
John Cena spoke with Zap2It.com this week to promote Thursday night’s premiere of American Grit on FOX.
As WWE’s showcase talent for the the past decade, Cena has reached a massive global audience. As he ventures into different branches of the entertainment industry (movies, television), the 15-time World Champion acknowledges that “American Grit” is a chance for new and existing fans to see him in a new light.
“Yeah. You’re always trying to reach as many eyes as you can, especially when you have a product that you feel is entertaining. When folks see this, though, they will focus on the “cadre” [the military-veteran mentors] and the competitors.”
Cena also spoke with Entertainment Weekly about the challenge for him to go outside his comfort zone for these non-wrestling projects.
“It’s just being able to take that leap of faith into doing interesting things and new projects that normally wouldn’t be on the menu for someone like me. Being able to swing in and host the Today show when they call me, it certainly is a new experience that I have a lot of fun with, and it’s different than being in the middle of the ring in Monday Night Raw. I’m becoming less reserved about going for it if the opportunity presents itself.”
Catch American Grit Thursday nights on FOX. For more information, visit FOX.com.
WWE Champion Roman Reigns, AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura and NXT Women’s Champion Asuka are amongst the top names announced for this summer’s WWE live events tour of Japan.
WWE invades Tokyo’s Ryogoku Sumo Hall on July 1st and 2nd, with tickets going on sale this Saturday.
WWE Japan has confirmed the following competitors will be in action: Roman Reigns, The New Day, AJ Styles, Chris Jericho, Sheamus, Rusev, Paige, Shinsuke Nakamura, Asuka.
This will be a homecoming of sorts for Nakamura and Styles after dominating the main event scene of New Japan Pro Wrestling as recently as January.
???????? ?????AJ??????????????!! https://t.co/lg4sTVaUIx #wwe_jp #WWETokyo @ShinsukeN @WWEAsuka @AJStylesOrg pic.twitter.com/0SbujzmeTo
— WWE Japan (@WWEJapan) April 15, 2016
Vampiro took to his official Facebook page to vent some frustrations recently. The former WCW and TNA star wrote a profanity-laced rant accusing critics of being overly negative on the Lucha Underground product.
Vampiro doesn’t name names, but he lets his opinions known. Here’s what he had to say about the haters, dirt sheets, and “jealous motherf***ers”:
Quick note to all the haters and dirt sheets who think you are in the know about @LuchaElRey , you jealous motherf***ers never got it when you had your shots, that’s why your not here ! And that burns you, so, you try to fool everyone that you have the scoops, man, it’s 2016, lol, and you all are still playing infantile head games , doing anything possible to hang on to a little bit of light you never even really had.
I don’t need to name names, that’s not my style, but man, do you people not have a life?
Lol
To the fans who support us, we love you big time,
To the people who don’t like our product, we do listen to your comments and try to improve on things , and hopefully we can convince you To be a believer… If it doesn’t work, hey , it’s all good , and thanks for your feed back !
To the haters/legit people who are burned and pissed cause they are not here …
Did you ever stop and think, your not here for a reason?
Either you f***ed up your career somewhere some how,?Maybe you think your more important than you actually are?
Maybe you had a chance and f***ed that up?
Maybe all the here employees are wrong and your right?
The dirt sheets who think there analytical opinion is the bible?
Lol wtf!!!!
My humble opinion is this
The LUCHA underground family/crew are extremely professional, and astonishingly talented.
Full of passion, and completely dedicated.
?There is not one ego outta place
I myself consider it a joy, and a blessing, and A privilege to be part of this project.
All the people who attack us, attack certain individuals and/ in the organization , claim to have inside information, there are two things I need to say to you, and I hope the fans and haters who read this understand that I only have an opinion and that’s all this is I am not speaking on anyone’s behalf, I am only killing time here at a traffic light so I decided to kind of stick up for my company.
The first thing is to the fans good and bad, thank you for everything, I will say it again of course the love means everything to us, but even the negative comments help us think outside the box, so thank you for that.?To all the people who think they belong, or could do a better job, or have so much to say about how bad our product is, I say this to you
Life is too short for me or anyone else in our company to waste one second of our day thinking about your stupidity and your bitterness.
I personally do feel bad for you because each and everyone of you Are not only messed up , Bitter, angry and insecure, but it makes me wonder what kind of people you really are in person, your character for example ….because weather it’s individuals, or in a group, it kind of astounds me The amount of time you take to knock us, when in your heart of hearts, you would sell your soul to the devil to be a part of this promotion!
There isn’t a Wrestler alive today Who would not want to be part of the hottest wrestling promotion in the world, be on television, and be in front of the most passionate fans in the world.
So to finish this because I need to get going, I say to all you bitter motherf***ers …..
I wish you all the best of luck, and I do hope you find happiness, even the people who write the dirt sheets and speak bad about us, if journalism is your passion, it would be awesome if you got a break someday, become somebody famous for writing a book or a screenplay, but you have proven Time and time again that you just don’t get it, and if any of you did, well, you would be part of the show wouldn’t you?
?Thank you family for reading this, thank you Lucha underground for everything, everybody have a great day, be safe enjoy life, and to the haters go eat a bowl of Dicks!
Lol
This week’s Smackdown opened up with a MizTV segment. The Miz interviewed Maryse and they pretty much just both talked about how awesome they are. Zack Ryder interrupts and challenges the Miz to a match for the Intercontinental Championship. The Miz pretends to accept but ultimately Baron Corbin comes out to fight Ryder.
Zack Ryder vs Baron Corbin
This was a quick match in which Baron Corbin looked dominant. He hit the “End of Days” on Zack Ryder for the easy victory. After the match, Corbin continued to beatdown Zack Ryder. Dolph Ziggler came out and Corbin wanted nothing to do with him. This looks like a match we could see at Payback.
Game over!!!!! @BaronCorbinWWE is in beastmode. You can almost feel it! #SmackDown
— WWE Staci Strong NXT (@SJB479) April 15, 2016
Paige vs Emma
Mauro Ranallo made sure to mention the complete character change in Emma. The announce team commented on her change in attitude and increased aggression. She is far from the days of coming out to the ring doing that bizarre dance along with the crowd. Emma controlled most of the match and got the win over Paige.
https://twitter.com/WAManeuver/status/720771034828382208
Enzo & Cass vs The Ascension (#1 Contender Tag Team Tournament)
For most of the match, Enzo Amore was getting beatdown by the Ascension. Everything changed when he finally got the tag to Big Cass. Colin Cassady is incredibly athletic for his height and was flying around the ring. Big Cass took over the match and Enzo hit with a massive frog-splash for the win. Enzo & Cass now advance to round two of the tag team tournament and will go up against the Dudley Boyz next.
https://twitter.com/WWEtalk24_7/status/720774825044746240
Alberto Del Rio vs AJ Styles
What a great match this was. The inverted superplex by Del Rio on AJ Styles was incredible. This was the first time AJ Styles and Del Rio have wrestled in the WWE and hopefully it is not the last. AJ Styles squeaked out a win via a roll-up.
The best news to come out of this Smackdown is that Del Rio didn't actually kill Styles with that inverted superplex.
— Brett Gallman (@brettgallman) April 15, 2016
The Vaudevillians vs Goldango (#1 Contender Tag Team Tournament)
To clear up any confusion, Goldango is Goldust and Fandango. Just before the match, the two decided to form a tag team and call themselves that. This one was over before it began and the Vuadevillians got the easy victory. The Vaudevillians advance to the second round of the tag team tournament and will face off against the Usos next.
https://twitter.com/johncenaAm/status/719718296061280256
Chris Jericho vs Sami Zayn
A couple of minutes into this match, Kevin Owens came out and took his sweet time walking to the ring. Both Jericho and Zayn were staring at him and then Dean Ambrose’s music hit. Ambrose came to the ring with a bunch of Ambrose Asylum flyers and handed one to Kevin Owens as well as several people in the crowd. Owens and Ambrose then both joined in on commentary and it was very entertaining.
Nothing wrong with a little bit of self-promotion! #SmackDown #DeanAmbrose pic.twitter.com/EgssqIjF7S
— Jon Moxley Fan Source (@JonMoxleyDotNet) April 15, 2016
During the match, Jericho kept yelling at Dean Ambrose. Jericho finally lost it towards the end of the match and attacked Ambrose. The match ended with Sami Zayn getting the win over Jericho by DQ because Kevin Owens interfered and attacked him. Jericho and Owens then both attacked Zayn until Dean Ambrose made the save. The show ended with Sami Zayn and Dean Ambrose standing tall while Jericho and Owens retreated.
#WWE's @fightowensfight brings his hostility towards @iLikeSamiZayn into the ring! #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/6KPNvgEEfe
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) April 15, 2016
Dean Ambrose and Sami Zayn stand tall to end the night. What an awesome sentence that is. #WWE #SmackDown
— Matt ? (@MShadows17) April 15, 2016
The first airing of Lucha Underground this week on the El Rey Network averaged 139,000 viewers, down from last week’s 156,000 viewers. The replay averaged 66,000 viewers, giving this week’s show a total of about 205,000 viewers. This is down from last week’s 78,000 viewers for the replay, giving last week’s show a total of 234,000 viewers.
Lucha Underground didn’t make the Cable Top 150 list for the third week in a row.