Ring Of Honor (ROH) World Champion Cody Rhodes participated in a media call to promote New Japan Pro Wrestling’s (NJPW) upcoming G1 Special live from Long Beach, California. During the call, Rhodes was asked about the possibility of sharing the ring with former WWE World Heavyweight Champion (and current SmackDown Live General Manager) Daniel Bryan:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y14INrzBmNs

“Super speculative. I don’t know, I know Daniel just had a baby. Loves his wife. Loves the home life,” said Cody. “I never totally understood why Dan was put in a position to retire and you know, it’s not a conversation I’ve had with him. It’s a tough conversation. You know, if he wanted to, if there was a little pressure to do so, I really don’t know. But I know that what we do isn’t necessarily, doesn’t need to abide by the guidelines of perhaps say the NCAA. What we do there’s a little bit more Shakespeare to if you catch my drift.

Rhodes said he’d love to face Bryan under the ROH banner to prove that the promotion can sell out a major arena:

“I would love that match-up, I would welcome that match-up,” Cody explained. “I want to solidify my bet with those who thought Ring of Honor could not currently fill a 10,000 seat arena. I said we would do it with the talent we have in-house but I think they may be able to give me an exception if we were able to swing Daniel Bryan.”

“I would love to make it happen,” said Cody. “I would love to make it happen in Ring of Honor.”

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions 

WWE Champion Jinder Mahal did an interview with Times Of India to talk about a bunch of different professional wrestling topics including how he and Seth Rollins fulfilled Triple H’s prophecy, improving his ability on the microphone when he cuts promos, and who comes up with the different ideas of how to present his character. Here are the highlights:

Fulfilling Triple H’s prophecy:

“I believe it was the prophecy made by Triple H in NXT at that time (Gold Rush tournament). Two young guys who he thought were the future of the business and it turned out to be true. Rollins is a multiple-time champion, I am the current World champion. We were having main event matches in NXT and now we are in the main events in WWE. So I believe it was the prophecy of Triple H. He is one of the smartest minds in the wrestling business and wrestlers that are in NXT right now, main eventing NXT shows are the guys who you are going see main-eventing WWE PPVs in Raw and SmackDown Live in the future.”

Continuing to improve on his promo work:

“My promos have improved because I put in a lot of effort during my time away from wrestling. I did promos in front of the mirror, I used to record it on my cell phone, used to review it and worked on it. I always go to Vince after every promo that I do on television and I seek his advice.”

Whose idea it is on how WWE presents his character:

“A lot of it is my idea and actually a lot has come from Triple H as well. He is also very hand on working behind the scenes. Presentation is everything and it is very important in this business I believe. Look at the all-time greats like the Bret Hart, The Rock- look at Finn Balor right now, his entrance is spectacular. It is so impactful and it sets the tone for the match. So, I have been throwing in my own set of ideas with Triple H, along with the backstage producers, stage crews, lighting guys and it is a combined effort. Credit doesn’t go to the people working backstage, but they are an integral part of the show.”

You can read “The Maharaja’s” full interview with Times Of India here.

Impact Wrestling star Moose recently did an interview with Sporting News to promote his upcoming Tag Team match alongside NFL running back DeAngelo Williams to take on Chris Adonis and Eli Drake at this weekend’s (Sun. July 2, 2017) Slammiversary XV pay-per-view (PPV). You can check out the highlights here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8LT6xVcrqQ

Jeff Jarrett being back at the helm of Impact Wrestling:

“I love being part of Impact Wrestling and especially love that Jeff Jarrett is back with the company,” said Moose. “He’s our leader. It’s awesome because he’s the one who started the company and he’s the one who made the company great. I think we went into a slump when he left it. He’s going to bring us back to where we were when he was there.”

Dixie Carter not knowing much about wrestling:

“I think the biggest thing is just knowing that there’s somebody in the office that actually knows what they’re doing,” said Moose. “Dixie was a great person but I think her only flaw was that she didn’t know much about wrestling. The product actually showed. But I think it’s great now that we have Jeff who knows about wrestling and was brought up in the wrestling business and he’s leading us.”

How Impact and other promotions can compete with WWE:

“It gets me so mad when companies are like ‘we don’t work with this company’ or ‘we don’t work with this company’,” explained Moose. “I think that’s so stupid because as of right now, WWE is the biggest wrestling company in the world. Everybody knows that. I feel like the only way that companies could catch up to WWE is to do a combination. I think it would be great for business for a company like Impact Wrestling to work with Ring of Honor and I think we were close to having that relationship before the Hardy’s left the company. We’ll see. You never say never in wrestling.”

You can check out Moose’s full interview with Sporting News by clicking this link here.

As we’ve previously noted, New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) hosted a media call to promote their G1 Special shows from Long Beach, California from the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center.

Former WCW Champ Scott Steiner participated on that call and talked about a variety of topics including his thoughts on Dixie Carter, his favorite moment with Impact Wrestling, the difference between Dixie’s management and Jeff Jarrett, and so many more. You can check out the highlights from Steiner’s portion of the call here:

Legal issues with Dixie Carter:

“I mean, [Dixie Carter] is a joke. She was basically a pain [in the butt]. Talked the truth about Hogan. She dropped the case and we’ll see what happens. It’s not over.”

His favorite moments with Impact Wrestling:

“My favorite moment was the Main Event Mafia. The champions were all together, and that was a lot of fun because you had a lot of history in the ring every time we stepped in the ring. A lot of us had been around for a long time, so the stuff that we did backstage, the stuff that didn’t make it on TV was also entertaining and funny. To date, that’s been the highest rated portion of TNA’s existence. A lot of people bought into it because of the reality of everything. It was a lot of fun.”

The difference between the management styles of Carter and Jeff Jarrett:

“If you talk to anybody, there’s a huge difference. When people see Jeff, they know that he knows what he’s doing. Clearly, everyone knew that Dixie didn’t know what she was doing. She was a mark wanting to be on TV. It’s night and day. People wanna come to work, they’re excited about what everyone is doing, and it is a totally different atmosphere.”

What changes should happen in professional wrestling:

“The first change they should make is getting rid of Stephanie McMahon and Hunter McMahon, because they’re two idiots who are running the whole place up there. It’s like, I feel sorry for the wrestlers nowadays. They’ve got to follow the instructions of these two idiots that clearly don’t know what they’re doing. They’re not watching because the ratings are down, and the reason why I call him Hunter McMahon is because she obviously wears the pants.”

Why he won’t be going into the WWE Hall Of Fame:

“I’m not going into the WWE Hall of Fame, because I’m not going somewhere where there’s nowhere to go. GPS the WWE Hall of Fame. Where’s it at? See, I’m not going somewhere where if I get in trouble or something, I can’t call 911. I can’t have a beacon call, or call the coast guard. Cuz, who knows? It could be in Atlantis for all I know. Or it could be in parts unknown. It’s a joke. How can you go somewhere that is non-existent? I’d be better off if the WWE Hall of Fame was on the moon… cancel your reservations if you want to see me, because it’s not happening.”

H/T WrestleZone for the transcriptions 

New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) star Kenny Omega recently did a media call to help promote the promotion’s upcoming G1 Special shows from Long Beach, California from the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center. Two shows will be held at the venue, which seats around 13,500 people, and both sold out in two minutes with tickets being sold in 37 different states. If NJPW comes back around for a second run in the future, Omega thinks that given the ticket sale success this time around, the promotions should shoot for a much larger venue:

“If we do it again, next time, you know, let’s double, triple, the size,” said Omega. “I think we can do it and that’s just me having faith in our product. And actually me just having faith in myself, the Bullet Club, the elite.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFO22tc6LvY

Omega went on to claim that he believes The Bullet Club’s popularity in the United States is much bigger than NJPW realizes:

“I think we as like the Bullet Club, especially, as household names, people are more familiar with us than I think maybe our company realizes,” said Omega. “And we’re all chomping at the bit to do more American stuff and we want to get in front of as many live faces as possible. I think with the proper promoting and especially if this show goes well, we can definitely go way above and beyond what we are doing in our first two shows and really go for it the next time we return to the States.”

Kenny is set to take on Michael Elign in the first round of the IWGP US Heavyweight Championship Tournament on Saturday (July 1, 2017), which will continue on through Sunday.

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

The WWE has one of the hottest feuds of the year on their hands, as WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar is set to defend his strap against “The Destroyer” Samoa Joe at the Great Balls Of Fire pay-per-view (PPV) next month. The pair have been hyping up their match extremely well these past few weeks, as the numerous confrontations between Joe, Lesnar, and Paul Heyman have been the hottest parts of Monday Night RAW as of late.

Former WCW President Eric Bischoff is a huge fan of the program between “The Beast” and “The Destroyer,” and took to his podcast, Bischoff On Wrestling, to advocate for why Joe should go over on Lesnar at Great Balls Of Fire:

“When I’ve worked with people on the creative side of things I tell them, “This is more of an art than it is a science.” While there is a WWE formula what it really comes down to is that you’ve got to keep an open enough mind to feel what the audience is reacting to. If you get so committed to a certain direction and outcome and if you see SummerSlam at the end of your creative horizon. If you see the outcome that you have in mind for SummerSlam and come hell or high water you’re going to get to that destination what you are probably going to miss along the way is great opportunities.

“If you’re so focused on one outcome you don’t see the potential of others and perhaps. I hope for Joe’s sake this is one of those situations where regardless of whatever they thought they were going to do with Braun or Roman, not to take anything away from both of those guys because I am a big fan of both, if all of a sudden Samoa Joe comes from out of left field even if he was just designed to be a stepping stone but the audience is reacting to it then… damn son! Shift gears. Take that exit. See what’s on the other side of it because it might be better than the original destination.”

H/T WrestleZone for the transcriptions 

WWE brought in LaVar Ball and the Ball family to RAW because it would get people talking. LaVar Ball is a controversial figure in sports today. Many feel that he is overshadowing his son’s talent and profiting off of his name. Lonzo Ball was drafted by the Lakers with the #2 pick in the NBA Draft this year, but most people are talking about his father’s appearances on shows like ESPN’s ‘First Take’, FS1’s ‘Undisputed’ and his controversial appearance on ‘The Herd’ w/ Colin Cowherd. When Ball appeared on ‘The Herd’, he got into a heated argument with co-host Kristine Leahy. Ball told Leahy to “stay in your lane” and that did not go over well. The media scolded Ball for the next few days and Ball responded by releasing “stay in your lane” T-shirt for $50 on the Big Baller Brand website. Ball also used the joke again during his appearance on Miz TV on Monday night.

LaVar Ball appeared on Miz TV on RAW this past Monday and the promo has been met with a lot of mixed reactions. Those who find LaVar Ball funny thought that the promo was wildly entertaining. Those that are sick of seeing LaVar on their TV every 15 minutes weren’t all that thrilled that he was now invading WWE. You can check out the promo if you missed it in the video below.

Negative reaction from WWE Superstars

Corey Graves posted a photo yesterday on Instagram comparing LaVar Ball to Mama June from ‘Here Comes Honey Boo Boo’. Graves added the caption “Am I the only one who drew this comparison?”.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BV2wfsejerh/?taken-by=wwegraves&hl=en

WWE Superstar Braun Strowman chimed in and stated that he wanted to stomp LaVar out in the middle of the ring. Strowman username on Instagram is “adamscherr99”.

WWE Superstar Curtis Axel also wasn’t a fan of the appearance:

https://twitter.com/RealCurtisAxel/status/879555457764872192

Baron Corbin posted a response on a photo WWE released to promote the appearance of the Ball family on Instagram:

Reaction from mainstream media

On ESPN’s ‘Around The Horn’, journalists Bill Plaschke and Woody Paige were not fans of LaVar’s actions on RAW. Plaschke believes that LaVar Ball is inadvertently turning Lonzo Ball into “one of these villains in wrestling” and it will cause Lonzo to get booed everywhere he goes. Paige criticized the Ball family for going on RAW during the night of the NBA Awards. On the other hand, Mina Kimes and J.A. Adande thought that the segment was entertaining. Adande stated that LaVar Ball became the star of a WWE program so that is good for the NBA.

On FS1’s ‘Speak For Yourself’, Colin Cowherd, Jason Whitlock, Jason McIntyre and Chris Broussard debated if the Lakers’ GM Magic Johnson should put a stop to LaVar’s antics after his appearance on WWE. The general conclusion of their discussion is that any publicity is great publicity and it will help out the Big Baller Brand.

Conclusion

As I said in my RAW reaction article, I thought the segment was absolute garbage. Personally, I’ve never found LaVar Ball entertaining but it is clear that tons of people do. He is the opposite of politically correct and his boisterousness is something that most people on this planet couldn’t pull off. I mean, who else do you know that could walk down to the ring like this and it would completely fit in with their persona?

The Ball family didn’t bring in the ratings on Monday. In fact, RAW’s ratings on Monday dipped from the previous week. Yet, Miz TV took place at the beginning of the second hour, which happened to be the highest rated hour of the show. WWE isn’t usually discussed in detail on platforms like ESPN and Fox Sports. WWE has partnered up with ESPN and Superstars appear on SportsCenter for brief interviews. The Ball family’s appearance on RAW was discussed on all major sports media platforms yesterday, so it is hard to argue that WWE didn’t get what they wanted out of the segment. From a traditional wrestling fan’s perspective, the segment was a failure. It barely made any sense and was completely random. From a business perspective, it was a success because it became viral and is still being discussed. It is one of WWE’s most popular videos on YouTube right now and is still trending on the site.

WWE is having a hard time building new stars right now. At this point, I wouldn’t be shocked if they brought back RAW guest hosts to try to bring in more viewers. How about an entire episode of RAW hosted by LaVar Ball? I’m sure that will get even more people talking.

Jinder Mahal’s job right now is to become a star in India. We might not know for some time how he is faring in that regard, but we know he’s won over WWE fans in Vancouver.

At a recent house show in the city, Jinder and the Singh Brothers (who are from nearby Burnaby) received a thunderous ovation from the Canadian crowd.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BVvzm7sg1fd/

Jinder Mahal and the Singh Brothers

It’s tough to say at the moment what the crowd reactions from Western Canada mean for Jinder. Vancouver has a large Indian population, 2nd in Canada to only Toronto. The loud reaction he received could then possibly be due to his representing Indo-Canadians, or just people of Indian descent. If he has indeed won over the Indo-Canadian population, it would be a good sign there is some buzz around him in India.

It’s also possible Jinder received the reaction he did because he is from nearby Calgary. If that is the case, the reaction he received will have little baring on how over he is in India.

New clip from Fight Owens Fight: The Kevin Owens Story

WWE has posted a new clip from the upcoming Fight Owens Fight: The Kevin Owens Story on their YouTube channel. In the clip, Owens credits his family for his success and being in WWE today. Owens also discussed his doubters and how he has proven them all wrong in his 15 year journey to WWE.

WWE films a child actor to play a young Bray Wyatt

According to PWInsider, WWE recently filmed material with a child actor to play a young Bray Wyatt. There is no news yet on what this footage will be used for, but Wyatt is currently in a feud with Seth Rollins and the two will face each other at the Great Balls of Fire PPV. On this past week’s episode of RAW, Wyatt cut a promo on Seth Rollins after his victory over Curt Hawkins. Wyatt claimed that he was inside Rollins’ mind and that if Rollins doesn’t give in to his true self he will “burn”.

Tonight’s episode of NXT features Asuka defending her NXT women’s championship against Nikki Cross in a Last Woman Standing match. The episode will also feature the NXT debut of broadcaster, Mauro Ranallo.

Ranallo had this to say regarding tonight’s main event:

https://twitter.com/mauroranallo/status/880108622239326208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ewrestlingnews.com%2Fnews%2Fmauro-ranallo-hypes-tonights-nxt-triple-h-congratulates-stephanie-mcmahon

https://twitter.com/mauroranallo/status/879773718364307458?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ewrestlingnews.com%2Fnews%2Fmauro-ranallo-hypes-tonights-nxt-triple-h-congratulates-stephanie-mcmahon

NXT Insider Series

WWE also released a new “Insider Series” video which looks at tonight’s main event, as well as some of the other storylines going on in NXT.

The NXT Insider is expected to be a weekly series, with new videos released every Wednesday on YouTube.

Get ready for more Southpaw Regional Wrestling, WWE’s sketch comedy series about a fictional 1980’s professional wrestling regional territory.

As noted, WWE recently filmed material for new episodes of Southpaw. According to PWInsider, the next batch of shows will feature new characters portrayed by Seth Rollins, New Day, Rhyno and more. There’s also talk of more Southpaw merchandise.

Following the success of the initial run, it should be interesting to see if WWE releases the new content on Youtube or if they premiere on the WWE Network.

In case you want to catch up on the first 4 episodes, you can check them out in the YouTube player below:

The discovery of a VHS cassette reveals the bizarre and hilarious history of a wrestling promotion once thought lost to time: Southpaw Regional Wrestling.

Carmella & Ellsworth gloat on Twitter

Last night on SmackDown, Carmella won the rematch of the Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder match. James Ellsworth was kicked out of the arena at the beginning of the show by SmackDown GM Daniel Bryan. Ellsworth somehow evaded security and still was able to get involved in the match. Things didn’t go well this time around and he was shoved off the ladder by Becky Lynch. Ellsworth landed crotch-first on the top rope and bounced to the floor outside the ring. Carmella then stuck Becky in the back with a steel chair and climbed the ladder to win the match. Carmella and Ellsworth posted the following on Twitter after Carmella’s big win:

#CurrentMood Heading home with my baby ???? pic.twitter.com/JPQqyDl3bC

— Mella Is Money ? (@CarmellaWWE) June 28, 2017

I may not be able to make beautiful little Ellsworth's thanks to @BeckyLynchWWE but at the end of the day, the Princess DID IT AGAIN! MsMITB https://t.co/9JO9l2PawY

— James Ellsworth (@realellsworth) June 28, 2017

Carmella was also a guest on Talking Smack last night with Renee Young and Daniel Bryan. Carmella had a gigantic smile on her face and spent the duration of her interview laughing at SmackDown GM Daniel Bryan. Carmella even asked if Bryan was going to apologize to her but Bryan refused. You can check out a highlight from her Talking Smack interview in the video below.

Becky Lynch still wants to fight Ellsworth

Becky Lynch recently did a Q&A with Amarillo.com to promote a WWE live event at the Amarillo Civic Center on July 3rd. During the Q&A, Becky was asked if she is still going to break Ellsworth’s arm and here was her response:

“You know I am. I can’t wait to get my hands on him. I’m hoping for Summerslam. I’m hoping to fight him there in a cage match or something.”

Becky also discussed the possibility of the female Superstars getting their own Royal Rumble in the future, NXT and other wrestling topics. You can check out the entire Q&A by clicking here.

RAW Superstar Bayley is Steve Austin’s guest on the latest episode of the Steve Austin Show podcast over at PodcastOne.com. During Part 1 of their discussion, Bayley spoke about her upcoming first trip to Japan, traveling with Sasha Banks, Dusty Rhodes, John Cena, what she loved about Eddie Guerrero and more. 

Bayley portrays a squeaky-clean babyface character in WWE, but one of her main inspirations as a wrestler is Eddie Guerrero. She’s particularly a fan of Eddie’s heel work and his ability to make fans hate him.

“As far as wrestling and stuff, and [Eddie] being amazing and being able to do it all, literally one of the guys that can do it all, I remember watching him — this was like a couple of years ago, so I was already here — and I was watching his old matches in WCW when he was just a heel coming out with his hair soaking wet,” she said.

“He looked miserable! You don’t get that anymore out of heels being like coming out like they’re completely miserable and that makes you like… ‘Dude, if you don’t want to be here just don’t come then!’ That’s how I felt watching him. It’s like ‘Why are you even doing this if you don’t even want to do it?'”

It remains to be seen if we’ll ever see Bayley’s character snap and turn heel, but she plans to take the same approach as Eddie Guerrero did to turn fans against her.

“And then he’d get into the ring and be so nasty and just have that look of like disgust and he was too good for it all. I don’t know, it was something about that, like, I always told myself too if I were to ever be heel I want to make myself so miserable because that’s one of the most hateable things, I think”

You can listen to the full podcast at PodcastOne.com.

On the latest episode of his Dinner With The King podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler and his co-host Glenn Moore spoke about the possibility of Kurt Angle and Daniel Bryan returning to the ring one day.

When asked to predict whether Angle or Bryan would be the first one to lace up their boots again, Lawler says his pick is Kurt Angle. He went on to provide some insight regarding how Angle and Bryan must feel by working for WWE but relegated to the sidelines.

“I can relate to both of these guy’s situation,” he said. “I promise you neither Kurt Angle or Daniel Bryan go into this business and worked their way to the WWE to be general managers on Raw and Smackdown. I can assure they are doing it, but without a doubt, they are doing it because that the WWE wants them to do right now. Because they feel like their wrestling would be a liability in the ring right now.

I know that they would both rather be out there performing in front of all the fans in the ring. And it’s gotta be eating them both up inside that the WWE thinks they are not capable of doing that anymore.”

Other topics discussed this week include King’s 2010 feud with then-WWE Champion The Miz, the Ball family’s appearance on RAW this week and Cody Rhodes wanting to wrestle him sometime in the near future. You can listen to the full episode here:

Impact Wrestling sent out a press release on Wednesday announcing that parent company Anthem Sports & Entertainment has entered into an agreement to acquire Global Force Wrestling. As part of the transaction, Jeff Jarrett, the founder of both Impact & Global Force, will join Anthem Wrestling Exhibitions as a member of its board of managers, equity owner and Chief Creative Officer.

Jarrett launched Global Force Wrestling back in 2014 after leaving Impact, then known as TNA Wrestling. The promotion aimed to collaborate with various wrestling companies around the world and they even shot a series of TV shows hoping to land a national television deal, which never materialized. They ran live events at baseball venues across the United States, but the company’s prospects appear to bottom out when Jarrett wound up using the Global Force brand name to sell gold to marks looking for the investment opportunity of a lifetime.

In the main event of Sunday’s Impact Wrestling Slammiversary XV pay-per-view, Alberto El Patron defends the Global Force Championship against Impact Champion Bobby Lashley in a title unification bout.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkIALt7bzSo

Here’s the official announcement:

IMPACT Wrestling Acquires Global Force Wrestling

NASHVILLE | TORONTO – Anthem Wrestling Exhibitions LLC, a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment Corp. and parent company of IMPACT Wrestling, announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Global Force Entertainment, LLC d/b/a Global Force Wrestling. Jeff Jarrett, the founder of both IMPACT Wrestling and Global Force Entertainment, will join Anthem Wrestling Exhibitions as a member of its board of managers, equity owner and Chief Creative Officer.

“We are thrilled to be joining forces with Anthem as a partner to build the business,” said Karen Jarrett. “This partnership will be complementary of our strengths and bolster our capabilities to grow the IMPACT Wrestling brand. Ed Nordholm as President and Jeff Jarrett as Chief Creative Officer make a great tag team”

“We are excited by the progress we have made with IMPACT Wrestling since acquiring the business in January,” said Ed Nordholm, president of Anthem Wrestling Exhibitions. “Jeff and his team have been instrumental in this success and we are pleased that we have reached an agreement on the basis of which we can combine our businesses to continue to grow. Slammiversary XV will be a fitting occasion to bring the promotions together and merge the titles under the new IMPACT combined belts. By combining our resources and talent, we can produce the best product for our global audience.”

WWE returned to Singapore on Wednesday for a live event at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. The show featured a one-off appearance from Chris Jericho, Big Cass turning on Enzo once again (when will he learn?) and Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyat in the main event. Here are the results and a few videos from the event:

– Hideo defeated Chris Jericho via pinfall after a GTS.

– Titus O’Neil defefeated Bo Dallas via Pinfall.

– Sheamus and Cesaro defeated Rhyno and Slater to retain the RAW tag team championships.

– They did a segment with Enzo and Cass that was a repeat of what we saw on RAW. Cass apologized to Enzo then laid him out with a boot to the face.

– Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose defeated The Miz and Samoa Joe after Ambrose hit Miz with Dirty Deeds.

– Asuka, Sasha Banks and Bayley defeated Alexa Bliss, Nia Jaxx and Emma. Asuka made Emma tap out to the Asuka Lock.

– Finn Balor defeated Karl Anderson (with Luke Gallows) by pinfall after hitting the Coup De Grace.

– Roman Reigns defeated Bray Wyatt in the main event after hitting him with a spear. Major heat for Reigns, with the crowd split.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BV4dqgHgCCy/?tagged=wwesingapore

https://www.instagram.com/p/BV4wrpFATX8/?tagged=wwesingapore

https://www.instagram.com/p/BV4jO7UBigJ/?tagged=wwesingapore

https://www.instagram.com/p/BV4r34sl5lA/?tagged=wwesingapore

205 Live this week came from San Diego, CA. The main segment was Akira Tozawa confronting cruiserweight champion, Neville. Tozawa and Neville will meet in 2 weeks at the Great Balls of Fire PPV.

205 Live
June 27th 2017
San Diego, CA

1. Jack Gallagher vs. the Brian Kendrick

• Brian Kendrick came out to Gallagher’s own ring-music, and dressed in a  suit with a fake moustache.
• Kendrick called Gallagher a cartoon, and a joke that was growing stale.
• Kendrick was more interested in sending a message to Gallagher, and got himself DQ’ed after hitting his opponent with an umbrella.

Winner: Jack Gallagher via DQ

• In a backstage interview, Gulak called Ali’s victory over him a fluke.
• He seemed happy that Ali won with a wrestling hold and not a …dive however.
• Ali walks into the shot. Says the real reason Gulak doesn’t like high flying is because he can’t do it.

2. Drew Gulak vs. Mustafa Ali

• Gulak comes out chanting “Safe and Sound! Feet on the Ground!”
• The finish of this match came when Gulak, possibly in an attempt to prove he can …dive, missed a “Superfly Splash” from the top rope, and Ali rolled him up and pinned him.

Winner: Mustafa Ali

• Backstage Noam Dar apologized to Daivari for throwing his $15,000 bag in the river.
• Daivari claims that kind of money is nothing to him. Dar says that’s good because he’s broke due to Alicia Fox.
• Dar gets a call from Fox on his phone, but Daivari grabs the phone from him and hangs it up. He says that Dar doesn’t have to pay him back, but he still owes him.

3. Cedric Alexander vs. Ariya Daivari

• Alexander was in control of the match early. He got a near-fall after a spring board kick to the face.
• As Alexander was looking to go for a springboard move, Noam Dar ran down and distracted him.
• Dar then got up on the apron. Alexander took him out, but it allowed Daivari to hit a hammerlock into a clothesline for the pin.
• It sounds as though Daivari could be in line for a push, based on Graves’ commentary.

Winner: Ariya Daivari

• After the match Dar attacked Alexander, punching and kicking him while he was down.
• Dar got on the mic and said that the Cedric Alexander chapter is over. He addresses Alicia Fox (who is recovering from a neck injury) that they can now move on.

Tozawa Confronts Neville

• Neville cut a promo on Tozawa in the ring.
• He said that Tozawa doesn’t respect the gravity of the situation he is in.
• Tozawa came out but only ever said “ah!” to whatever Neville said. The crowd started chanting “ah!” as Tozawa took out Neville with kicks to close the show.

– For the first time ever, matches featuring women headlined RAW, SmackDown and NXT this week. Monday’s RAW saw Sasha Banks win a Gauntlet Match in the main event, Tuesday’s SmackDown saw Carmella win a Money In the Bank Ladder Match in the main event and tonight’s WWE NXT will see Asuka defend the NXT Women’s Title against Nikki Cross in a Last Woman Standing Match.

– SmackDown Women’s Champion Naomi tweeted the following to the participants of Tuesday’s Money In the Bank ladder match. After capturing the MITB briefcase, Carmella now has one year to cash in her title shot for a shot at the title.

Hell of a match ladies ? #WWESanDiego #LadderMatch @BeckyLynchWWE @NatbyNature @MsCharlotteWWE @TaminaSnuka…@CarmellaWWE I got my ?on you

— Trinity (@TheTrinity_Fatu) June 28, 2017

– Several former WWE “Divas” were backstage at Monday’s RAW from Los Angeles, including Torrie Wilson, Candice Michelle, Christy Hemme, Lilian Garcia and Sharmell (Photos). Former WWE performer Victoria (Lisa Marie Varon) was at Tuesday’s SmackDown and tried getting backstage but was denied. She wrote on Facebook:

Following the controversial WWE RAW appearance from the Ball family on Monday night, David Otunga wants to step in the ring with LaVar Ball and is asking Vince McMahon to make it happen.

Otunga spoke with TMZ Sports about LaVar’s antics on RAW and says he found the segment to be the most entertaining this week. Otunga says LaVar is definitely a character, but joked that he needs to hit the gym and work on his physique.

When asked to give LaVar advice on how to get better, Otunga says he likes LaVar how he was. He’s not sure how the segment was supposed to go, but he thinks it was a “runaway train” that went off the rails.

Otunga, who is currently filming a movie and will return to RAW later this summer, tells Vince he’ll return immediately if it means he can work with LaVar Ball.

Otunga also posted the following to Instagram about a potential match:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BV3c5a2BWgj/

Following Tuesday’s SmackDown Live, we’ve got two top matches announced for next month’s WWE Battleground pay-per-view.

Randy Orton will get another shot at WWE Champion Jinder Mahal, but SmackDown GM Shane McMahon gave Jinder the opportunity to choose the stipulation. Citing former WWE Superstar The Great Khali as a personal hero, he selected a Punjabi Prison match.

With United States Champion Kevin Owens and AJ Styles bickering backstage, Daniel Bryan told Owens that next week’s SmackDown will feature an Independence Day Battle Royal. The winner earns a shot at Owens’ US title at Battleground.

The New Day will also get a shot at SmackDown tag team champions The Usos. The two teams will have a rap battle next week, which is sure to produce some comedic moments.

WWE Battleground takes place on Sunday, July 23rd from Philadelphia.

For the 3rd straight WWE show this week a women’s division is featured in the main event. On NXT, the longtime dominant champion, Asuka, will defend her NXT championship against Nikki Cross.

As a result of the brawl the two had throughout Full Sail University recently, NXT GM William Regal has elected to make this a Last Woman Standing match.

NXT Tonight

While no other matches have been officially announced for the show, Kassius Ohno and Hideo Itami are expected to continue their angle.

Ohno and Itami have been teasing a feud ever since Itami lost his NXT title match to Bobby Roode. Itami began throwing things backstage when he was confronted by Ohno. Similar incidents have taken place in the weeks since.

On July 23rd 2017, the 3rd ever Punjabi Prison match will take place at Battleground.

Jinder Mahal and Randy Orton will face each other for the 3rd straight PPV, but this time they will wrestle surrounded by steel-enforced bamboo.

History of Punjabi Prison Matches

The first Punjabi Prison match took place at the Great American Bash 2006. The event was held at the Canseco Field House in Indianapolis. Khali would be removed from the match however, as elevated liver enzymes resulted in him not being medically cleared to compete.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VX_1Fkz_xQ0

Khali would be cleared to compete at No Mercy 2007 however, as he would take on Batista in the 2nd ever Punjabi Prison match. Unfortunately for Khali, Batista was a little quicker than him at escaping the structure.

Oddly enough, all Punjabi Prison matches have taken place on Smackdown exclusive PPVs. Battleground 2017 will be no different.

The Punjabi Prison match, similar to the “Kennel From Hell” match (Attitude Era reference), involves a cage on the outside of the ropes, and a cage that extends a few feet away from the ring. In order to win, a wrestler must escape both structures. There are no pins, DQs, count-outs, or submissions.

Tyson Kidd, who will turn 37 next month, is rumoured to be returning to WWE in a non-wrestling capacity.

According to a report from the Pro Wrestling Sheet, Kidd is being groomed for an executive or creative role with WWE. Details on what his exact role will be however, is currently unknown.

Tyson Kidd Injury

Real name TJ Wilson, Kidd suffered a traumatic injury on June 7th 2015. Kidd took Samoa Joe’s Muscle-Buster resulting in a serious neck injury.

He needed 4 screws, 16 staples and a metal rod inserted into his neck. Kidd stated that only 5% of people survive his injury.

Natalya and Kidd began dating as teenagers, as Kidd is a longtime family friend of the Harts and the last graduate of the Hart Dungeon. The couple married in 2013.

Top UK promotion PROGRESS has announced that they will be heading to Boston, Massachusetts on August 13th. PROGRESS announced earlier in the year that they would be making their New York City debut on August 12th.

Monday Night RAW takes place the next night on August 14th so if you are going to the taping then make sure you check out PROGRESS the night before.

No matches have yet been announced for the show, keep checking back here on SEScoops for updates.

Oh hey there Boston. #ThisIsProgress pic.twitter.com/1CNhA37cdN

— PROGRESS Wrestling (@ThisIs_Progress) June 24, 2017

The much anticipated Pro Wrestling World Cup has now officially begun.

If you have not yet heard of the tournament or are unaware of the format then check out the statement from WCPW below for full clarification:

“Run over ten separate dates beginning March 21st, the Pro Wrestling World Cup will see competitors from six continents compete in eight preliminary tournaments – to be held in several different countries.

The preliminaries will see eight men competing in a single fall elimination tournament. Each preliminary tournament will consist of competitors from a single country: Canada, England, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Scotland, USA. A tournament will also be held for competitors from the Rest Of The World, with eight further countries represented. Two winners will proceed from each tournament.”

WCPW has announced two HUGE non-tournament matches for the ‘Rest of the World’ qualifying leg on July 22nd. The event takes place in Newcastle, England and tickets are still available to purchase via Eventbrite. The announced matches are:

• New Japan stars will collide when Ricochet takes on ‘The Villain’ Marty Scurll
• El Ligero will defend his Magnificent Seven Briefcase against former ROH Champion Jay Lethal

Huge non-tournament match confirmed for the @prowresworldcup Rest of World Qualifier in Newcastle!

Tickets: https://t.co/4LGcDDZSuT pic.twitter.com/Ek3y0pq8Pk

— DEFIANT Wrestling (@DEFIANTwres) June 23, 2017

Jay Lethal will face El Ligero for his Magnificent 7 briefcase at the @prowresworldcup Rest of World Qualifier!https://t.co/4LGcDDZSuT pic.twitter.com/2fuKyQ4fOl

— DEFIANT Wrestling (@DEFIANTwres) June 23, 2017