Don’t plan on the New Day breaking up anytime soon, the group has consistently high merchandise sales, and that doesn’t appear to be slowing down.
WWEShop.com released limited edition New Day replica tag team championship belts to commemorate the team’s historic 483 day title reign. The belts reportedly sold out quickly.
After a 483 day title reign, it can be difficult to find things for a team to do. New Day recently dropped two straight to the main roster-debuting Revival, and then were drafted to Smackdown on Tuesday.
It’s unclear if New Day will debut immediately on Smackdown. There are indications the team might take a short sabbatical. Kofi’s injury should keep him out for at least a few weeks, and Big E seems to be planning a new side project.
I may be officiating weddings in LA April 20-22. Hit me if you're weird. MarriedbyBigE@gmail.com. I'm actually not joking. For once.
Alexa Bliss recently did a Q&A with the Courier Journal and discussed a number of topics. Alexa Bliss became SmackDown Women’s Champion twice during her time on SmackDown. She has since moved on to WWE RAW after WWE’s Superstar Shake-Up. Here are some highlights from the Bliss interview with Courier Journal:
If the SmackDown Women’s Division is underrated:
“Sometimes SmackDown could be overlooked as Raw is branded as the flagship show, but both of our divisions are solid. Neither of our divisions have a weak link. We all step up our game and we all show time and time again why we are all part of the women’s revolution that’s going on right now. We are all taking the game, changing it and keeping it going.”
How women’s matches have improved in recent years:
“The competition is getting more and more because we all want to keep this revolution going. We’re making history time and time again. We’re main-eventing matches and having historic matches. I had the first ever (women’s singles competition) tables match for the title at TLC (pay-per-view). We’ve had our women in Hell in a Cell and steel-cage matches for the title. These things that haven’t been done before with women and we’re doing them and doing them well. … Our fans have been so behind this women’s revolution and so supportive. We haven’t really had any negative feedback from our fans about our women getting more opportunities, and I think that helps so much.”
The Smackdown Women’s Championship Match being moved to the main card at Wrestlemania 33:
“When we saw the Give SmackDown Women A Chance (#GiveSDWomenAChance) trending on Twitter, we thought it was so awesome. We were happy being on the pre-show; that’s fine because it’s still Wrestlemania. But the fact that our fans demanded something and were given it and for us to be moved to the main card, that was incredible. It just shows how much of an impact our fans have.”
You can check out the entire interview by clicking here.
This week’s Impact Wrestling on POP drew 302,000 viewers, down from last week’s 309,000 viewers.
The show featured Jeremy Borash leading his team of Magnus, Alberto El Patron, Chris Adonis and Matt Morgan to victory over Josh Mathews’ team of Lashley, Eli Drake, Bram and Tyrus.
Impact ranked #115 on the Cable Top 150 this week, down from last week’s #104 ranking.
For those who missed the show, here’s this week’s “Impact:60” review clip:
AJ Lee Discusses The Time Big E Accidentally Hit Her
Big E accidentally hit AJ Lee during an episode of WWE RAW on April 8th, 2013.
AJ Lee was asked about the incident while promoting her book, Crazy Is My Superpower. Lee revealed that she messed with Big E after the incident. Lee described Big E as a “gentle giant” and stated that he was very sorry about accidentally hitting her. AJ took advantage of that and pretended to be severely injured from the incident. Lee then encouraged everyone to jokingly tweet at Big E and shame him for accidentally hitting her.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross praised WWE Superstar Charlotte in his latest blog post. Ross discussed the impact of Charlotte moving to SmackDown and wrote the following:
“Charlotte is a great choice to build the SDLIVE Women’s division around as she’s potentially the Austin/Rock equivalent in the world of WWE women’s wrestling. Athletes, no matter their gender, don’t come along like @MsCharlotteWWE perhaps once in a generation, if we’re lucky.”
WWE posted the video below just recently, predicting 5 superstars who could win their first world championship in the not too distant future.
While the WWE.com division of the company operates without knowledge of future storylines or superstar pushes, their predictions still do carry some weight.
Who Does WWE.com Predict Are Future World Champions?
Don’t have time to watch the above video? I’ll save a few minutes.
Samoa Joe
The first superstar mentioned as a possible future world champion is Samoa Joe. It’s hard to argue this point, as Joe is a former NXT champion who has been protected since debuting on the main roster. Since coming to Raw Samoa Joe is 5-0 in singles matches, including wins over Roman Reigns, Sami Zayn (2x), Cesaro, and Chris Jericho.
Baron Corbin #2 on the list is Baron Corbin. There’s no doubt the company is high on Corbin, but considering he lost clean to Dean Ambrose at WM33 it’s not certain if the ceiling placed on him is lower than world champion level. Not sure about this pick, but it’s possible.
Sami Zayn
#3 on the list is Sami Zayn. This seems probable, but not certain. Should it happen it would the culmination of the ultimate underdog story, with Zayn finally accomplishing his dream. It wouldn’t be a long run, and he’d be pushed down the card immediately after as Vince would feel his character has nothing left to chase.
Shinsuke Nakamura
#4 is Shinsuke Nakamura. If a world champion run never happens for Nakamura in WWE, it would be shocking and upsetting for fans.
Cesaro The #5 entry on this list sounds more like wishful thinking more than anything else. Considering Vince McMahon’s statements regarding Cesaro and brass rings not too long ago, the company would most likely have to fully be under Triple H’s control for this to happen. Many fans hope it does someday however.
– Earlier this week, the WWE Network added several episodes of Prime Time Wrestling hosted by Bobby “the Brain” Heenan and Gorilla Monsoon. The episodes were taped in 1987 from Baltimore, MD. According to WWE Network News, expect to see more episodes of Prime Time Wrestling from 1987 and 1988 added soon.
– WWE released the following trailer for the “Fight Owens Fight” DVD and Blu-ray, due out July 3rd. You can pre-order now at Amazon.com.
– John Cena tweeted the following to hype “The Wall,” which hits theaters on May 12 and co-stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Cena won “Action Star of the Year” for at CinemaCon a few weeks ago for the performance. ICM Partners, who reps Cena, took out a full-page advertisement in Variety last week to congratulate Cena on the award.
WWE Hall of Famer Booker T will be joining Michael Cole and Corey Graves at the broadcast table on Monday nights for the next 6 weeks. Booker T will be filling in for David Otunga, who is out filming a movie until late May.
Otunga was ‘traded’ to RAW this past week during the Superstar Shake-Up in exchange for Byron Saxton, who joins the SmackDown Live team next week.
Booker T had a stint as a WWE RAW announcer back in 2015 before moving to SmackDown for the remainder of the year. Since SmackDown moved to the USA Network last year, Booker T has been a regular on WWE’s kickoff-show panels.
As noted on Thursday, David Otunga will star in the new film “Katrina” and it is set in 2005 New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. Otunga will play the role of edgy DEA Agent James “World” Lawson.
Rumours that WWE would like to bring back Alberto El Patron have been circulating lately, though it is doubtful Vince has been following Alberto’s numerous drunken periscope rants directed at his son-in-law.
Late last night Alberto and friends were out at La Cantanita in San Antonio (a bar/restaurant owned by El Patron), when somehow he was up singing with the band as the periscope stream started rolling.
Here is the link to the entire stream (about 4 minutes)
Alberto El Patron Periscope Highlights
Some of El Patron’s comments are a little hard to decipher, but here are the highlights:
“We are happy people, my wife and I. Some people was saying stupid stuff about us, and about me saying stuff about Triple H, Triple H you are a *expletive* p**sy, and I don’t have to be drunk to say this, you’re a pu**y”. You just married well, that’s all you did. You married well and you’re a p**sy. “
Alberto then returns to singing with the band for a moment as Paige awkwardly and silently appears in front of the camera.
“Come to La Cantanita and I’ll say it again. I don’t have to be drunk or sober. You’ve got a big nose and no balls”
Impact Wrestling Airdate: April 13th 2017 Orlando FL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPZOWaRBHag
1. Reno Scum vs. Laredo Kid and Garza Jr. (Crash) vs. Decay
Impact Wrestling has been placing a lot of emphasis on the tag team division as of late. We get a 3-way tag match to start off this edition of Impact. Reno Scum look to be the next tag team thrown into the title mix, as they pick up the win here by pinning Crazy Steve after a double foot stomp. At the end of the match Josh Mathews opted to just leave the commentary area. Winners: Reno Scum
* We get a backstage segment of Andrew Everett claiming he’s done enough to earn an X-division title shot. Gregory Helms interupts and says Everett has to wrestle in a fatal 4-way tonight. Everett challenges Helms to be in that match.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMvEeI3wvoM
Bruce Pritchard and EC3 Segment
Pritchard asks EC3 if when he tapped out against El Patron, did he tapout in the match or did he tap out to himself? He’s trying to motivate EC3.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl6DyYqeH4Y
2. Sienna and KM vs. Braxton Sutter and Allie
Weird finish to this match as Allie hit Sienna with a crossbody, Sienna tripped over KM and Allie held her down for the pin. After the match Kongo Kong hit the ring. Kongo immediately went after Sutter and gave him a big Samoan drop. Sienna was seen controlling Kongo, and has some type of hold on the monster. Laurel Van Ness then hit the ring, still in her wedding dress. This distracted Allie which allowed Sienna to hit the AK-47. Despite looking like a wild beast from the deepest darkest jungles, Kongo Kong is actually 37-year old Steve Wilson from Michigan. He’s been competing on the indies since 2004 and is finally getting his big break. He had also been featured on Global Force Wrestling. Winners: Braxton Sutter and Allie
3. Rosemary vs. Santana Garett (non-title)
Rosemary, who took a decade long journey to get to a major promotion, sure has taken advantage of the opportunity Impact has provided her with. While the entire stable, and Bray Wyatt, need to tone down the maniacal laugh a little bit, Rosemary (Courtney Rush) has really embraced the character. Rosemary wins this showcase match over Garrett with Red Wedding. She then licked the belt. Her next title defence will be against ODB, though ODB didn’t make an appearance here. Winner: Rosemary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sy3GkSNeHD8
4. Andrew Everett vs. Gregory Shane Helms vs. Suicide vs. Marshe Rocket
Helms was wrestling in street gear, as he was not prepared to wrestle in this match. After taking an inziguri from Everett, Helms spent the final moments of the match on the outside. Everett got the win by hitting the shooting star press on Rocket. Whether the win finally earns him an X-division title match against Trevor Lee still is not clear. After the match Helms and Lee attacked Everett. Winner: Andrew Everett
5. Davey Richards w/Angelina Love vs. DJZ
This match was of course filmed before DJZ suffered an injured colon that required surgery in Mexico City last week. DJZ got some offence, but for the most part this match was a showcase of Davey Richards. DJZ ended up tapping to the ankle lock. After the match Eddie Edwards ran to the ring but was stopped by security. Edward’s wife Alisha got in the ring and tackled Angelina Love while security was dealing with Eddie. Winner: Davey Richards via submission.
6. Team JB (El Patron, Matt Morgan, Chris Adonis , Magnus) vs. Team Mathews (Lashley, Bram, Eli Drake, Tyrus)
There was a lot of back and forth between JB and Josh at commentary during this match naturally. At one point Josh seemed to turn on the Pope as well. Finish of the match came when Matt Morgan hit Bram with the Carbon Footprint and Magnus followed with a flying elbow drop for the pin. Team JB wins, and I guess that means Mathews is gone? The whole Impact roster came out to celebrate and rub it into Mathews. Winners: Team JB (Magnus pinned Bram)
John Cena is featured in a brand new commercial for “Crocs”. The commercial also features Drew Barrymore, YOONA and Henry Lau. You can check out the new commercial in the video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYw-URcN0GU
Details On David Otunga’s New Film
As noted earlier, new WWE Raw commentator David Otunga will not be debuting on the show for another six weeks. Otunga previously was on commentary for Smackdown, but switched to Raw during WWE’s Superstar Shake-Up. Otunga will star in the new film “Katrina” and it is set in 2005 New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. Otunga will play the role of edgy DEA Agent James “World” Lawson.
YouTube recently announced a revision to their Partner Program that includes several major changes that are negatively affecting the advertising revenue of many Pro Wrestling related accounts.
Independent Promotion AI Wrestling confirmed on Twitter that YouTube has officially classed Wrestling as ‘Not Advertiser Friendly’ and put all Wrestling related videos into the ‘Restricted Mode Category’ — essentially killing off the monetisation of wrestling-related videos on YouTube.
.@YouTube categorized wrestling in the not advertiser friendly/restricted mode category and killed off monetization cc:@beyondwrestling
— Absolute Intense Wrestling (@aiwrestling) April 13, 2017
WWE has a wildly popular YouTube channel, with over 15 million subscribers and over 11.4 billion Youtube views in 2016 resulting in millions of dollars in annual revenue. WWE is a large enough company where they can probably strike a deal with Youtube to skirt these new restrictions, but many smaller independent publishers will not be able to.
To put this in context: Pro Wrestling Sheet founder Ryan Satin also confirmed that a recent video for his channel had reached around 100,000 views and he had only made around 14 cents from advertising revenue. Other publishers of wrestling content on Youtube are experiencing similar drop offs.
This turned out to be accurate. Devastating setback for a promotion that went "all in" on @YouTube for 8 years. Back to the drawing board… https://t.co/FlgUpNT6k0
PROGRESS have announced the main event of their latest Chapter event show. ‘Complicated Simplicity’ will see the team of British Strong Style taking on wXw’s Ringkampf stable.
Rumoured NXT signee Axel Dieter Jr is a member of the Ringkampf stable and this may well be one of the last times that he appears in a PROGRESS ring. Dieter Jr has been one of the breakout stars in the European scene this year with his performances at wXw’s 16 Carat Gold tournament as well as his standout PROGRESS appearances.
WWE.com has provided an update on Roman Reigns’ condition following the brutal attack he sustained at the hands of Braun Strowman earlier this week.
According to the report, Reigns suffered internal injuries, cracked ribs and a separated shoulder. WWE did not specify how long Reigns will be out of action, but he’s expected to face Strowman at WWE Payback later this month (4/30).
Strowman attacked Reigns on RAW while he was being interviewed backstage by Michael Cole. The assault continued for several minutes, with Braun coming back to deliver more punishment each time that it seemed he was done.
In case you missed it, or just want to relive the carnage, here’s the footage, which has over 5 million views on Youtube in less than 3 days.
Ring of Honor TV
airdate: April 11th 2017 (on Fite App)
Las Vegas, NV
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IKEkMbo4Qc
1. Punishment Martinez vs. Hanson (War Machine) Martinez turned on BJ Whitmer and Los Ingobernables recently, and is now flying solo. War Machine is on a roll, last week Raymond Rowe defeated Davey Boy Smith Jr. and recently in Japan they won the IWGP heavyweight tag team championships. Martinez has been on the receiving end of a push as well however.
After a back and forth match it looked like Hanson had things under control. He went to the top for a moonsault but Davey Boy Smith Jr. showed up on the stage and distracted him. That allowed Martinez to a hit a kick and the South-of-Heaven Chokeslam for the win. Winner: Punishment Martinez
** A short video segment of Hangman Page attacking Kazarian in the parking lot is shown
2. ROH 2017 Top Prospect Tournament Semi-Final #2 Curt Stallion vs. John Skyler Winner of this match goes on to face Josh “the Goods” Woods in the final. Winner of the tournament earns an ROH contract and a shot at the ROH TV title. Finish of this match came when Skyler countered a hurricanrana attempt into a flying fireman’s carry he calls the “Southern Salvation” for the pin. Winner: John Skyler (advances to finals)
** We cut to a backstage video of Adam Cole trying to reach out to the Young Bucks. Cole attempted to fire the Bucks from the Bullet Club the other week, however they told him he didn’t have the ability to do so. Cole said in the video he wants things to go back to normal. Speculation is that this is leading to a Bullet Club rift between Kenny Omega and Adam Cole.
3. 6-Man Tag Team Championship Match Bully Ray and the Briscoes vs. the Kingdom (c) Due to the injury to TK O’Ryan, Silas Young fills in for the Kingdom along with Matt Taven and Vincent Marseglia. Young has joined the Kingdom in return for he and the Beer City Bruiser (plus partner) receiving the next shot at the Kingdom.
Finish of the match came when Bully Ray received a hot tag and proceeded to take out all 3 members of the Kingdom. Both Briscoes lifted up Marseglia for the 3D and Bully covered him after for the pin.
After the match Taven and Silas Young argued on the outside, perhaps setting up an angle between the Kingdom and Silas & the Beer City Bruiser. Winners: Bully Ray and the Briscoes (new champions)
Next week there will be an 8-man tag team match with the winners facing off in a 4-way match. The winner of the 4-way will receive an ROH World Championship opportunity. The 8 competitors will be chosen by random draw.
– WWE grossed $3.7 million dollars in merchandise sales at Wrestlemania 33, according to the Wrestling Observer. This was the second-highest merchandise grossing event in company history behind last year’s WrestleMania 32. This year’s WrestleMania sales figure is even more impressive when you consider WM32 was attended by nearly 30,000 more fans.
– Stephanie McMahon has been vacationing in the Caribbean, which is why WWE wrote her off television for a few weeks with the table bump at WrestleMania.
– Mojo Rawley spoke with TMZ Sports this week and indicated WWE is interested in signing NFL star Rob Gronkowski when his football career is over. Gronk physical in the ring at WrestleMania, which garnered WWE a lot of mainstream media coverage. In talking about a WWE career for Gronk, Mojo says, “of course we’ve explored opportunity” but acknowledged Gronk’s top priority right now is his role with the New England Patriots.
Back in October, Mojo told the hosts of Good Morning San Diego,“Trust me we’ve had that conversation many times and [Gronk is] dying to get in the ring.”
Also last year, Gronkowski appeared on Access Hollywood and discussed joining WWE after his days in the NFL are over.
As part of this week’s Superstar Shake-Up, RAW announcer Byron Saxton was ‘traded’ to SmackDown for Otunga, who will now be calling the action on Monday nights along with Michael Cole and Corey Graves. Eventually.
WWE.com announced on Thursday that David Otunga will be starring in a new ‘action franchise’ movie. As a result, his WWE RAW commentating ‘debut’ has been delayed for at least 6 weeks.
No word yet on who will fill in for David Otunga for the next six weeks or if WWE will go with a 2-man team while he’s away.
According to IMDB.com, David Otunga has several movies in the works this year, including Sandy Wexler (Netflix, post-production), Days Like This (pre-production) and Live to Tell (announced).
Kane was a guest on the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast earlier this week and spoke to hosts John and Chad about running for Mayor of Knox County, Tennessee, the Undertaker’s impact on his career, working with Daniel Bryan and Seth Rollins, the future of WWE and much more. Here are some highlights of what Kane said about:
Being able to team with The Undertaker for what was the last time in 2015 and The Undertaker’s entrance:
“That Survivor Series was simply amazing. It was the 25th anniversary of The Undertaker and it was a huge deal and just to be involved with it in any capacity was really an honor for me. It’s always great because I remember when we had the 1000th episode of RAW in St. Louis and I was in the ring and I forget what the exact scenario was but basically I was surrounded by the bad guys and then the gong hits and it was just awesome. The crowd was chanting “this is awesome” and I get goose bumps because that is what WWE is all about. I don’t know if our audience and the WWE Universe realizes this but we feed off of them as much as they do off of us. When they are into a moment like that it is amazing. It is the epitome of why I got into the wrestling business and why I got into the entertainment business. I can lose myself and for that moment that is all that matters and that is what happens with Undertaker.”
Reflecting back on the impact of the Kane vs. Undertaker story:
“Through the years we’ve been together through so much. Very unique the both of us. Bray Wyatt is sort of the new character who has the super-natural component and the cool-creepiness but the fact that we were able to come in and be such fierce rivals but yet everything turned and to be able to join forces and ally with ourselves and split and come back again, if you look (and I’m a big fan) of old NWA you would have these relationships and feuds just go on for years and years and it was the same type of deal. I’ve said this many times and I really believe this is true. I believe that the Kane / Undertaker story if you look at epic storytelling like Greek mythology, that is what it is. It is the best piece of epic story telling that the WWE has ever done. There is a huge story arc with all of these back stories and all of these extremely powerful characters and by that I mean the personalities and to be able to make that work and work as well as it always has is just amazing. Hats off to Vince McMahon for being able to do that with the creative teams and his vision as well as Taker and as well as my good friend the late Paul Bearer. It was a lot of moving parts and he was always able to make them work smoothly and the finished product was beautiful.”
Being mentioned during Daniel Bryan’s retirement speech and their relationship:
“Daniel Bryan is a friend of mine. It’s sort of funny that the relationship that you saw between Team Hell No on screen it sometimes goes the same way off screen as well (laughing). He is a great human being and good friend of mine and frankly the Team Hell No stuff helped me. What it did for me was basically show people that I could be a well-rounded performer because through the years I had always been the silent guy and the mean guy and the extremely serious guy. If you would have told people in 2000 or 1998 that Kane is going to provide the comedic element to the show, well they would have looked at you like you were completely nuts and off your rocker. But because of Daniel Bryan I was able to do that.”
“When he retired I think it was Rolling Stone that said he was “WWE’s Everyman” and that is what he is. He can relate to everybody and not only because of he’s not a big guy but he has so much passion and he is also a very humble human being and he is just the average dude. I think that shows through and he is sincere and he is genuine and people relate to that. Of course you add on that he is a tremendous talent and there is your superstar.”
Ending Corporate Kane and his Main Event run with Seth Rollins:
“It was a lot of fun and Seth Rollins is just phenomenal. He’s a tremendous performer and that felt like a full circle thing as well because The Shield early on it was Daniel Bryan and I that were their first opponents and we had a history there. To see Seth being able to leave the Shield and also Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns who are tremendous as well and have done great things and will do great things. Nevertheless, Seth went out on his own and was just able to pretty much immediately prove to the world that he’s like a young Shawn Michaels.”
“That was a lot of fun and especially at that point the Corporate Kane character had run its course and people really wanted to see the mask come back and what was pretty cool to me was the fact that I was able to keep up with Seth in the ring which is no small feat for anyone much less a guy who is a bit of a veteran at this point in his career (laughing) so I was proud of that. Anytime you are in that position and the company is relying on you to come through with great performances and you are able to deliver on those it is very rewarding.”
Subscribe to The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling on iTunes and follow them on Twitter @TwoManPowerTrip
Posted April 13th, 2017 in News, WWE. Tagged: Kane.
Now that WrestleMania 33 is in the rear view mirror and the RAW/SmackDown rosters have been shaken up, we look ahead to what’s next for the top titles on WWE’s red and blue brands. Courtesy of Wrestling Observer, here’s what WWE currently has planned for the the WWE Championship and Universal Championship over the next several months:
– WWE Payback is just weeks away (4/30). The event is being billed as a RAW-branded show, yet SmackDown’s Randy Orton will be defending the WWE Championship against Bray Wyatt in the main event. That aside, the title will be on the line in a House of Horrors match.
WWE has yet to explain what that stipulation entails. Based on a WWE Fan Council survey sent out this week, even they’re unsure about it, but it might involve pitchforks, fog, darkness and “sheeple.” The House of Horros match is being set up as a blowoff to the Orton-Wyatt feud, with Orton retaining and keeping the WWE Championship on SmackDown. Orton’s next feud will most likely be with Baron Corbin, since it’s “to early for Nakamura” and SmackDown does not have a lot of depth with top-level heels.
After being traded to SmackDown this week during the Superstar Shake-Up, United States Champion Kevin Owens will be feuding with AJ Styles next, with a title match planned for next month’s Backlash PPV.
– Universal Champion Brock Lesnar is on hiatus from WWE and will feud with Braun Strowman when he returns. A title match between the two monsters is scheduled for either June (Extreme Rules) or July (Bad Blood).
The longterm plan is still for Brock Lesnar to defend the Universal Championship against Roman Reigns next year at WrestleMania. Reigns and Strowman will be facing off at Payback and there’s been some discussion about it being a gimmick match. With Strowman being primed for a title shot against Brock Lesnar in June/July, a gimmick match would allow Strowman to get the win and continue his momentum without Roman having to lose clean.
– WWE’s negotiations to purchase ring of honor are effectively dead, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. There are still ongoing talks for WWE to license content from ROH’s video library, but WWE will not be outright buying the promotion. During a recent interview with the Baltimore Sun, Sinclair Broadcast Group / Ring of Honor COO Joe Koff addressed the rumors of WWE looking to buy ROH.
“It was not a story. It was not a story when it came out. I think people want to make a story out of nothing.”
– Seth Rolins posted this heartfelt message and photo on Instagram welcoming Kurt Angle back to WWE. Angle now serves as the General Manager of Monday Night RAW.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BSzl5eshX11/
– Braun Strowman has responded to an online petition that sought to get him fired from WWE for the way he brutalized Roman Reigns on Monday’s RAW.
Apparently anyone can apply for and receive a licence to marry people. This Boston Globe article goes into further detail about how many weddings are now being officiated by people who apply for one-day licenses to legally marry people.
Why would Big E want to do this? Big E’s manner of speaking and voice would make him a very entertaining addition to anyone’s wedding. Not a bad sidekick for 1/3 of the longest reigning WWE tag champs of all-time.
No word on if Big E has been contacted by Laurel Van Ness.
– The New York Post is the latest mainstream media outlet to pick up the story of JBL allegedly bullying Mauro Ranallo out of WWE. The article questions how long WWE can ignore the scandal before taking disciplinary action against JBL.
WWE legend Kevin Nash gave his thoughts on the JBL situation on Thursday morning. Nash defends JBL as ‘thoughtful’ and ‘intelligent’ while curiously saying, “Don’t be a bitch.”
@JCLayfield Saw a few stories about JBL being a bully . One of the most intelligent performers just is man that expects the men to be men
As reported here yesterday, Lana sent out two disturbing tweets alleging misconduct by TSA agents at Boston Logan Airport late Monday night. Lana contacted police regarding the incident and provided an update on Twitter last night.
I want to thank the American Police officer this am that helped resolve what I was put through today with TSA. Thank you
1. Aleister Black vs. Corey Hollis This match was so short that WWE didn’t bother to post highlights. Black stood stoically near the roopes and waited for his opponent to charge. When he did, Black hit him with a roundhouse head kick and pinned him. Then he sat cross-legged in the ring. Winner: Aleister Black
** Tye Dillinger came out and cut a promo about how even though he is now on the main roster, he has unfinished business with Eric Young. It was announced that Dillinger and Young will face each other in a steel cage match next week on NXT.
2. Team DIY vs Local Talents – Dylan Miley and Michael Blais This was interesting. DIY pick up the win, but Dylan Miley really made the most of his ring time here. Miley used several impressive power moves including a British Bulldog style vertical suplex and looked to be dominating Ciampa and Gargano. It was only when he tagged in Blais that DIY was able to get the advantage and hit a double shining wizard for the pin. After the match Miley attacked his partner, solidifying himself as someone for fans to take notice of. Winner: Team DIY
Later in the night Dylan Miley caught up with his tag team partner in the back to apologize. It was just an overreaction, I’m sure we won’t see anything like that from Miley again.
3. Ruby Riot vs. Kimberly Frankele As the match began, Nikki Cross from Sanity came out through the crowd and stared down Ruby. Finish of the match came when Riot hit a scissor kick and pinned Frankele. Cross and Riot continued to stare each other down after the match. WInner: Ruby Riot
4. Drew Mcintyre vs. Oney Lorcan Mcintyre picked his game up after being released from WWE and forced the company to give him another opportunity. Now he’s back with a gimmick more serious than he had with 3MB. Lorcan looked to get busted open on his forehead during this match. Mcintyre picked up the win after a reverse alabama slam and shining wizard. All four matches on NXT this week finished with head kicks. After the match Drew cut a promo saying he is targeting the NXT championship. Winner: Drew Mcyntire
Shinsuke Nakamura Farewell Address Nakamura debuted at NXT Takeover Dallas, a little over one year ago. He spent one WWE season in NXT, from WrestleMania to WrestleMania. On Smackdown he looks to be entering a program with Dolph Ziggler, which is a big opportunity for both.
There’s a good chance that the Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman match at Payback on April 30th will be a gimmick match. On Wrestling Observer Live this week Dave Meltzer reported that he expects the match to be named an Ambulance Match or a Stretcher Match.
If the Reigns vs. Strowman match does happen, there’s a strong possibility we could see some outside interference from Brock Lesnar. WWE is reportedly setting up a Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman match for this summer, and the interference could be a way to start building up that match on TV.
WWE Payback 2017 airs live on the WWE Network on April 30th from the SAP Center in San Jose, California.
Discussion: Would you rather see Brock Lesnar put his Universal Title against Braun Strowman or Roman Reigns?
Tuesday’s WWE SmackDown drew 3.105 million viewers, up from last week’s 2.885 million viewers. This was the most watched episode of SmackDown of 2017 so far.
The show featured the end of the “Superstar Shakeup” mini-Draft and outdrew last week’s post-WrestleMania episode.
SmackDown was #2 in viewership and #1 in the 18-49 demographic last night on cable.
By comparison, Monday’s RAW with the “Superstar Shakeup” kick-off drew 3.429 million viewers.
Here’s a look at the Top 10 moments from this week’s show: