Alberto El Patron no longer a suspect in domestic violence incident
Pro Wrestling Sheet is reporting that Alberto El Patron is no longer under investigation by police over the airport incident earlier this month between he and Paige. A rep for the Orlando PD told Pro Wrestling Sheet that “due to the detective’s investigation determining that Paige is the one who should be charged for domestic violence, they no longer view El Patron as a suspect”. Alberto El Patron is the GFW Champion, but is indefinitely suspended by GFW as they investigate the incident. It is unknown at this time if GFW has lifted the suspension since El Patron is no longer viewed as a suspect.
Sasha Banks & Bayley on their match on next week’s RAW
IGN has released the following video of Sasha Banks and Bayley at the San Diego Comic Con. During the interview, the two Superstars began hyping their match on next week’s episode of the RAW. The winner of that match will become the #1 contender for the RAW Women’s Championship. Sasha Banks claimed that she will be the one to win Monday’s match and Bayley reminded her that she usually defeats Banks whenever they face each other.
Former WWE Intercontinental Champion Ryback rubbed a lot of people the wrong way after some comments he recently made on a podcast about women’s wrestling in WWE. Many began calling “The Big Guy” a sexist because he suggested the WWE’s female athletes are more valuable for their looks rather than their athletic ability:
“This is what I’ve always said the women are lacking today, is playing up to their sexiness,” said Ryback.
“They did a bodyslam and whatever but then they got on the rope and just like shaking their ass. I was like if a girl did that today, she’d be the most over Diva on the roster. That’s why I always like Melina doing the splits before. Not to be like a creep… this is what makes women different than men because the women they can do all the moves, not as good as the guys (laughs). They can’t climb ladders. We’ll talk about that. That’s a joke, guys.”
“No but like that’s the one thing they have over men, that sexuality. Men can sit there and tell their wives that, ‘No, I’m just watching wrestling hun.’ And that comes on and they get away with watching it. Like they should play up to that. They could still do all the wrestling stuff, but just throw me some sexiness in there.”
“I’m not saying they’ve all got to go shake their ass on the top rope,” Ryback explained. Just play up the sexuality a little more. It’s very subtle and I’m telling you it makes all the difference for that casual viewer.”
The Tweet has received nearly 2,000 likes, one of them coming from current SmackDown Live star, and former RAW Women’s Champion Charlotte. Ryback responded to those who called him a sexist after his comments on Snapchat, posting the following sarcastic video in which he is talking about Charlotte during her match on SmackDown Live:
“I’m so godd*mn sexist, come on! Get up on that turnbuckle and shake that a** Charlotte! Don’t you dare do a f*cking athletic move! Shake that a** damn it!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LpBrGh7oaw
H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions
Posted July 21st, 2017 in News, WWE. Tagged: Ryback.
Last week it was reported that Talking Smack would no longer be airing after SmackDown Live on a weekly basis, coming as a bit of a shock to WWE fans given that it was the ninth most watched program on the WWE Network. Sports Illustrated reported that the program was cancelled due to Vince McMahon not being pleased with the program because it didn’t serve the company’s best interests, however, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter strongly denies those reports.
WON suggests that if that were the case then McMahon would cancel the program altogether rather than continue to air it following pay-per-views (PPVs). The report also claims that McMahon doesn’t even watch Talking Smack, but instead receives a report on the show every Wednesday. McMahon was angered by one segment in particular, however, involving The New Day appearing on the May 23, 2017 episode after Kofi Kingston was cleared to return from injury.
The appearance served as The New Day’s return to Tuesday nights, something Vince felt should have been done first on SmackDown Live.
WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz recently did an interview with Mike Jones of DC 101 to promote next week’s Monday Night RAW in Washington D.C. Miz covered a number of topics including Roman Reigns having the ‘it’ factor, wrestlers backstabbing each other in WWE, his Miz-tourage, Brock Lesnar, and much more. Here are the highlights from their conversation:
Roman Reigns having ‘it’:
“Right now, he’s a really big good guy or a really big bad guy, it all depends on the way you look at it. He’ll walk out and get booed out of the building or he’ll walk out and get cheered out of the building. But the one thing that Roman Reigns has is the “it factor” and he’s a bonafide star who can go in a WWE ring.”
Wrestlers backstabbing each other in WWE:
“That’s the problem with everyone, like everyone’s not honest around WWE. I’m the person that will tell you straight up to you face, whether you like it or not, and most of the time people don’t like the things that I say. But what I say is the truth and sometimes the truth hurts and I guess people can’t take it. And so if you can’t take it then I guess you shouldn’t be in the ring with me with a microphone, you should just get away from me. That’s why I’m the Intercontinental Champion, my job is to make it them most prestigious, most relevant title in all of WWE and that’s exactly what I’m doing.”
Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel joining his Miz-tourage:
“It’s two talented individuals, not getting a chance. I’m a person that will give you a chance, and not only that, I will provide everything that possibly can for you. I even told Heath Slater that I wanted him as a part of The Miz-tourage. He didn’t want to be a part of it, he wanted to be the Intercontinental Champion. So then he goes up against me as the Intercontinental Champion and he loses, now where is he? You don’t really get to see him that much. Now where is Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel? They’re both on tv, each and every week, on Monday Night RAW.”
The reason Brock Lesnar is at the top of WWE:
“There’s a reason they call Brock Lesnar ‘The Beast’. This guy is to be reckoned with. He is a person who has been successful in WWE, he’s been successful in UFC, anything he steps into, he’s a bonafide star. So when you go up against him, you’re going up against someone and it could be your last match.”
His next acting project almost being ready to be announced:
“I think WWE’s a great training ground for that, and it’s helped me with my career in doing so much and I plan on doing more. You’ll just have to keep posted on the next thing that I’m doing because I have something in the works. It’s going to be pretty big and a lot of fun but I haven’t dotted the I’s yet. I don’t want to get the word out too soon but definitely keep an eye out. You’ll see what I’m up to in a few months.”
Listen to The Miz’s full interview with Mike Jones of DC 101 here.
Jinder Mahal was recently interviewed by Nick Piccone of PhillyVoice.com to promote this Sunday’s WWE Battleground PPV. Here are some highlights from the interview:
Thoughts on the Punjabi Prison match and performing in Philadelphia:
“I love performing in Philly. The fans aren’t scared to voice their opinions. Sometimes their opinions are split, sometimes half the crowd is chanting one thing, sometimes half the crowd is chanting the other. But, you know, I look forward to it. I really don’t know how they’re going to react. That’s what’s going to make the match exciting. I don’t know if they’re going to boo me out of the building or if they’re going to boo Orton out of the building.
I do definitely know for sure they’re going to enjoy the match. It’s a Punjabi Prison match and it hasn’t happened in 10 years, and the structure is truly a monstrosity. I brought the Punjabi Prison this week on SmackDown, and it’s a spectacle. You’ve got to be there live just to appreciate the sheer size of it. It is a very risky match – for example, I went a little bit earlier and climbed the cage; it’s high and I’m scared of heights – but I know the Philly crowd is going to be rocking that night and I gotta do what I gotta do. I’m going to take the risks that I have to take to retain the WWE Championship.”
His goals in WWE:
“Even before my return, I was focused on getting better and better and better and better. I haven’t hit my prime yet. I’m constantly improving. I haven’t even hit my peak. I’ve got many years ahead of me. There’s more title runs. I will one day become a WWE Hall of Famer. I want to be one of the all-time greats and that’s based on hard work and I’m going to do whatever it takes to be the best.”
On the Punjabi Prison structure, previous Punjabi Prison matches and his plan for Sunday:
The first one was Big Show and The Undertaker. The second one was Khali and Batista. So, yeah, I’ve definitely watched them. I’m a student of the game. I’m making a game plan and seeing what I can do, but it can’t really compare because those guys are a little bit bigger framed than myself and Orton. Me and Orton can really truly have a great, great match and steal the show just because of our size and the way we move. Our athleticism brings a whole other dynamic. It’s truly a match that hasn’t happened before.
I can’t stress how solid this structure is. It must’ve taken hours and so many people to set up, and I’ve seen Elimination Chamber, I’ve seen Hell in a Cell, and this structure by far is way more impressive than both of them. I think this is the most dangerous match in WWE history because there are actually two cages, one’s the same size as the ring and the other one is quite a bit bigger than the ring … it’s comparable to Hell in a Cell. You’ve got to see this structure in person to appreciate the size of it.
I’m actually glad that it’s in Philadelphia because the place is gonna be rocking and I’m gonna need that energy to thrive off late in the match to climb up that cage. It’s going to be a grueling match.”
Where he sees himself in one year:
“In one year, I see myself as already main eventing WrestleMania, still WWE Champion, and you know what, I see Drew McIntyre being on SmackDown. I think that Drew McIntyre will be challenging me for my WWE Championship. That’s where I see myself in one year.”
You can check out the entire interview by clicking here.
WWE Hall Of Famer Bret Hart recently did an interview with Sports Illustrated’s “Extra Mustard” to talk about a number of professional wrestling topics, including his 1992 loss to The British Bulldog at SummerSlam, as well as being a hero to WWE fans. You can check out what he had to say here:
His 1992 loss to The British Bulldog at SummerSlam:
“I’ll always be partial to Wembley. It’s one of my greatest matches, and it was special to have an outdoor show at Wembley. Everyone was scared it was going to rain and ruin the show, and it was supposed to rain, but everyone crossed their fingers and it never rained. There were 82,000 people and something that made the match so special was that nobody knew who was going to win. I was able to do that with Bulldog at Wembley; right to the very last pin, no one knew who was going to win.
“It’s hard to explain, but it’s a beautiful thing to watch in wrestling when someone loses in the exact perfect way. That’s why the pin was so dramatic. There was no escape, there was no shame, but I made a mistake and Davey capitalized. It was a beautiful story, and I believe that was the match that launched me into a world champion.”
Being a hero to WWE fans:
“I’ve always taken a lot of pride that people believed in me as a hero. I tried not to fail them in my life. I tried to live a good life, I have three grandchildren now, and I’m very content right now. I’m still mending in a lot of ways from the latest tragedy in my family, losing my brother. I’m living every day that it could be my last, and I’m grateful for every day. Another good thing I have in my life are fans all across the world. I appreciate every one of them, and I will always do the best I can to show the respect for them that they’ve shown for me.”
You can check out Hart’s full interview with Sports Illustrated’s Extra Mustard here.
Global Force Wrestling (GFW) star Moose recently did an interview with Wrestling Epicenter to talk about a variety of professional wrestling topics, including why he chose to sign with GFW over going to WWE’s developmental show on NXT, his thoughts on Eli Drake, and the concept of the Grand Impact Championship. Here’s what he had to say:
Why he chose to sign with GFW over going to WWE NXT:
“I just felt like it was a better situation. That’s all I really want to say about that. I think it was just a better situation for me. That’s why I decided to come to Impact.”
His thoughts on Eli Drake:
“I think he’s a star, man. He’s definitely great on the mic. His in-ring skills are awesome also. I feel like he’s the total package in there. I think there’s nothing but great stuff coming in his future.”
The concept of the Global Impact Championship:
“Yeah, it’s a cool concept they came up with a couple of months ago. I feel like I’ve done a good job making it what it is now. I feel like, if they decide to keep it, it’s only going to get better. It all depends on what management wants to do with it. But, I mean, I’m good either way.”
You can check out Moose’s full interview with Wrestling Epicenter by clicking this link here.
Posted July 21st, 2017 in News, WWE. Tagged: Moose.
On last week’s episode of WWE Monday Night RAW, it was revealed that General Manager Kurt Angle’s dark secret that has been lingering over him for the past few weeks is the fact that he has a long-lost son that he didn’t know about from a relationship he had during his college days. It was revealed that his son was none other than former SmackDown Live Tag Team Champion Jason Jordan.
Per a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Jordan didn’t find out about his program with Angle until last week. When Jordan was introduced by Angle he was not only referred to as his son, but as the newest member of the RAW brand. This means that the team of American Alpha is now broken up, as Jordan’s partner, Chad Gable, is left behind on SmackDown Live to pursue a singles career.
The Observer also speculated that Jordan being Angle’s son is probably a rib on the former Olympic Gold Medalist’s history of dating African American women. About a decade ago Angle was a part of a storyline in which he stalked Booker T’s wife, Sharmell Sullivan, who he had an infatuation for.
– The WWE’s Battleground pay-per-view (PPV) will play host to a Fatal Five-Way match between Tamina, Lana, Becky Lynch, Charlotte, and Natalya to determine the new No. 1-contender for Naomi’s SmackDown Live Women’s Championship. Per a report from The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Charlotte Flair is expected to win the match and her ‘heel edge’ as of late on Tuesday nights is expected to play a part in her feud with Naomi.
– The past few weeks on SmackDown Live, the team of Breezango has been involved in a storyline in which somebody has been trashing their offices. It is expected that the culprits are going to be revealed at Battleground to confront Breezango. The Observer reports that SAnitY is expected to be the team that has been messing with Breezango over the past few weeks, and are set to make their main roster debut.
This would bee weird timing, however, as SAnitY is set to compete for the NXT Tag Team Championships against the Authors of Pain at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III. It was also speculated that Luke Harper and Erick Rowan could be reuniting in order to feud with Breezango.
Discussion: Who do you think will be the team that is revealed as Breezango’s hecklers?
WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin has released another episode of his podcast, The Steve Austin Show, in which he and Wade Keller of Pro Wrestling Torch discussed this past week’s episode of Monday Night RAW. Austin and Keller discussed the storyline between RAW General Manager Kurt Angle and now-former SmackDown Live brand member Jason Jordan, as it was revealed that Jordan is Angle’s long-lost son.
Here’s what Austin had to say about the program between Angle and Jordan:
“I like the fact that they are shooting a hell of a big angle. They got a lot of negative response but hey man it was a big-time response seemingly from everybody”
“Big time angle, lot of rub for the kid. He’s a good-looking guy, read about him when I was coming over here to talk to you on the podcast. Outstanding credentials as an amateur. Could possibly have a bright future ahead of him and if it is done off the back of this angle, more power to the kid, good luck to him”
“Is this leading to a betrayal of Kurt’s trust or somebody trying to set him up to oust him from his position? And will it result in Kurt Angle returning to the ring to wrestle at a big-time Pay-Per-View?”
WWE has been attempting to create an Indian hero out of Jinder Mahal. The current WWE champion was born in Calgary, but has family roots in India.
Recently WWE sent Indian Premiere League cricket champions, the Mumbai Indians, a WWE championship to honour their 3rd straight title victory. In response, the team sent Jinder Mahal a custom jersey.
It should be interesting to see how long WWE runs with Jinder as champion. The decision to put the title on him was made with less than a month of pre-planning, so it is unclear how committed they are to their current direction.
Ticket sales for Sunday’s Battleground event in Philadelphia are not selling well. Jinder’s push however, will most likely be evaluated based on Network subscribers in India, and overall revenue coming out of the country. WWE’s social media numbers are higher in India than in any other country.
The Chris Benoit murder/suicide tragedy occurred over the weekend of June 22-25 2007. Chris Jericho decided to sit down with Dave Meltzer recently to discuss Benoit’s career.
The topic of the podcast, for the most part, had little do with the Benoit murder/suicide. Rather Jericho and Meltzer discussed Benoit’s career.
This week on #TIJ: Wed- The Childhood Of Jericho…Growing Up Maaan w @holowatuk! Fri- Benoit- 10 Years Later w @davemeltzerWON
Chris Jericho and Dave Meltzer on Chris Benoit Highlights
Chris Jericho On Not Being Able to Talk About Benoit
“I’ve been wanting to do something like this for awhile, and it was just the 10 year anniversary of Chris Benoit’s death. It’s interesting Dave, obviously because of the horrific circumstances at the end of his life, his career up to that weekend has basically been buried. No one really takes about it.”
“You don’t want to ever demean or diminish those events, but i want to talk about Chris’s career. The reason for that is a couple of years ago they did another Jericho DVD, it’s the 3rd one they’ve done, and once again you choose the matches. I can’t choose those Benoit matches, nor do I think I’d want to. That’s like half-a-dozen to a dozen of my favourite matches that I ever had. For a lot of people, for all of Chris’ work, it almost feels dirty to watch them if you even can watch them”
Meltzer on Not Being Able to Talk About Benoit:
“It’s so hard to talk about it. You would feel guilty if you really talked about… because he was an incredible wrestler obviously. You know that better than almost anyone. But you feel guilty about saying ‘well, he’s a great wrestler” then it’s almost like you’re praising a murderer type of a thing.”
25-year old Alexa Bliss celebrated her 1 year main roster anniversary on July 19th, having been drafted from NXT to Smackdown on that day last year. In that time she has already become a 3x women’s champion (2x Smackdown, 1x Raw).
It has been an eventful rookie year for Bliss. She sat down with local Houston media outlet, “Great Day Houston”, recently to speak about her career thus far.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_epseAf3MKE
Alexa Bliss Interview Highlights
Why she loves wrestling:
“It’s such an amazing sport, I watched it growing up and it was never really something I knew I could get into, but once I got the opportunity I knew I had to get on it and I knew I had to try for it. I told my mom, I said, ‘Mom I’m going to try out for WWE.’ Her response was, ‘The heck you are!’ She was like ‘You’re are not doing that!’ So I had to try out without her knowing but know she’s like the biggest supporter and so proud of me.”
Being on Total Divas:
“It’s a lot of fun I’m just starting to get into it. They filmed us all in Japan which was really cool, we got to dress up in all these really cool character outfits and it was a lot of fun. It’s really cool, except like, I myself am a very private person and I’m not as mean as I appear to be. But its been a lot of fun and its been really cool to see how everything works. I just feel bad cause sometimes they as me ‘What are you doing this week?’ And I’m like ‘I’m sitting at home with my dogs watching Netflix, what are you doing?'”
Advice to those wishing to get into the business:
“I would say wrestling gives you confidence, it gives you strength, it helps you learn discipline, and to know that you have to love the process and respect the process, and if you just keep going you can accomplish anything.”
On needing the Championship re-sized:
“This is the RAW Women’s Championship. What’s funny is – this is a little backstage information – the championship had to be shortened for me because it was so big on me, they actually had to take off size to let it fit me. But that’s why I’m ‘Five Feet Of Fury.'”
Translations courtesy of WrestlingInc, Interview via Great Day Houston
PROGRESS has officially sold out their biggest upcoming event of the year. The company heads to Alexandra Palace on Sunday September 10th in front of a crowd of over 2,000 spectators.
Only one match has been announced for the show so far, PROGRESS and WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne will be facing Travis Banks for the PROGRESS Championship in the Main Event.
— PROGRESS Wrestling (@ThisIs_Progress) July 20, 2017
PROGRESS has also announced another match for the upcoming New York City event. World of Sport star Zack Gibson, WWE UK performer Mark Andrews and Mark Haskins will face off in a triple threat match on August 12th. The implications for this match are far reaching as the company looks to establish the main event scene coming out of Alexandra Palace in September. Many are expecting Pete Dunne to officially leave the UK and join NXT so it will be interesting to see the projection of the company in the coming months.
It’s Night 3 in the G1 Climax tournament and the second round of matches in A Block. What have we got in store tonight?
Tetsuya Naito vs. YOSHI-HASHI – Los Ingobernables vs CHAOS in this one. Naito will want to build on the momentum of beating Ibushi from night 1 and YOSHI-HASHI will certainly want to get his first tick in the win column after falling to legend Yuji Nagata on the first night of action. I’m expecting a Naito victory here and his record to creep up to 4 points.
Kota Ibushi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – Surely this will be main event? If you remember back to the WWE Cruiserweight Classic this was the final that most wanted but due to contractual differences we never got the bout. Well…..it’s finally here, arguably one of the finest technical wrestlers in the world versus a man that is still set for superstardom on the world stage. I really can’t get a gauge on who will win this match, it is still early in the tournament and it really could go either way, I’m predicting a Sabre Jr victory following on from his shock win against Tanahashi on night 1.
Yuji Nagata vs. Hirooki Goto – There are two matches tonight that will appease fans of Strong Style…this is the first. Nagata will want to build upon his victory against YOSHI-HASHI on night 1 and Goto will also be looking to get his second win after his hard fought bout against Tomohiro Ishii. I’m going with last year’s finalist Goto for this match.
Togi Makabe vs. Tomohiro Ishii – This is one of the matches that got me into New Japan in the first place. In a rematch from Wrestle Kingdom 9 Togi Makabe will be taking on longtime rival Tomohiro Ishii. This will be Strong Style personified and I expect that Tomohiro will get the victory, this is not one to be missed.
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Bad Luck Fale – This is the first match I have previewed where, on paper, the styles clash and I’m not expecting a blow away match. Fale has certainly improved during his time in New Japan and Tanahashi is a bona fide legend however I’m expecting a slow paced affair with Fale getting the victory following the Grenade.
Bayley, Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch and Charlotte see their new Mattel dolls for the first time
As noted earlier, WWE and Mattel have launched a girls product line with WWE Superstars Brie Bella, Sasha Banks, Natalya, Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Alicia Fox and Eva Marie dolls available upon launch. The dolls are available to preorder online at ToysRUs.com and will be available exclusively at Toys “R” Us stores on Monday, July 24th. WWE just posted a video of Bayley, Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch and Charlotte seeing the dolls for the first time at San Diego Comic-Con International.
Sasha Banks on going from being shy to being The Boss
WWE posted a video earlier today of Sasha Banks looking back on her initial WWE photo shoot. Sasha opened the envelope to reveal the picture and started to laugh. Sasha stated that she was trying to pose like Trish Stratus during the photo shoot. Sasha also said that at the time she was trying to be someone that she is not. Banks went on to say that she is not a model and that she hates taking pictures. Banks also said that she was nervous upon arriving to WWE, but she kept at it and became The Boss.
WWE and SuperSport in Africa announced a new multi-year agreement today to broadcast WWE programming live throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Below is the official announcement:
WWE® and SuperSport Announce Multi-Year Agreement to Televise Raw® and Smackdown®
JOHANNESBURG & STAMFORD, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– WWE (NYSE: WWE) and SuperSport, Africa’s premier sports broadcaster, today announced a new, multi-year agreement to broadcast WWE programming live for the first time in more than 50 countries throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Starting Monday, August 28, SuperSport will air WWE’s flagship shows Raw® and SmackDown® as well as WWE specials, including WrestleMania® and SummerSlam®.
“WWE is a global phenomenon, so securing the broadcast rights for SuperSport is a terrific coup,” said Gideon Khobane, chief executive of SuperSport. “The athletes involved are larger than life figures who command huge followings. At long last our viewers will get to share in this entertainment spectacle in high definition. I look forward to a long and fruitful partnership with WWE.”
“SuperSport is a best-in-class partner who shares our vision and passion for engaging with and entertaining our fans,” said Ed Wells, WWE Executive Vice President, International. “Televising WWE programming live in sub-Saharan Africa for the first time is an important milestone for us, and we look forward to working with SuperSport to cultivate new fans in the region.”
SuperSport channels S3, S4, S9 and SS10 will televise Raw on Tuesdays and SmackDown on Wednesdays, offering both live telecasts and same-day re-airs, and will broadcast all WWE specials live, including WrestleMania®,SummerSlam®,Survivor Series® and Royal Rumble®. All programs will be available with English commentary and on demand.
WWE programming will also be made available across some of DStv’s general entertainment channels.
To celebrate the new partnership, SuperSport will televise the prior week’s episodes of Raw and SmackDown on Monday, August 28.
WWE has announced a new line of toys geared towards a young female audience. The Barbie-esque dolls, according to Stephanie McMahon, are part of the company’s ongoing women’s evolution.
“We know girls expect to see empowered characters in the toy aisle,” stated Lori Pantel from Mattel
“The WWE fashion dolls offer a unique play experience that allow girls to re-create the in-ring action with a doll that was designed to appeal to them.”
“There’s this movement towards women’s athletics,” stated Stephanie McMahon
“We are noticing the interest of girls more and more.”
Meanwhile, additional action figures were announced today, including one for James Ellsworth:
Former TNA World Champion already done with Global Force Wrestling
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, former TNA Champion Nick “Magnus” Aldis already finished with Global Force Wrestling. Magnus was offered a contract by GFW but ultimately decided not to sign back with the company. Magnus was only at the last set of Impact TV tapings under a handshake deal so GFW could “protect the lineage of GFW title” and then give it to Alberto El Patron.
Magnus signed with TNA in 2008 and then was one of the first talents to sign with Global Force Wrestling in 2015 when the promotion was announced by Jeff Jarrett. The report added that many of the GFW talent deals require performers to give Global Force Wrestling 10% of the revenue they earn outside of GFW. The new deals also gives them none of the profits earned from selling merchandise bearing their likeness sold directly by Global Force Wrestling.
Per @SInow, GFW talent contracts now stipulate that 100 percent of all merchandise sold goes to the company.
Former Intercontinental Champion to make GFW debut
Former WWE Intercontinental Champion John Hennigan (John Morrison, Johnny Mundo) is set to make his Global Force Wrestling debut at the upcoming Impact live events in the New York Tri-state area. The live events will take place on August 4th in Long Island, August 5th in Staten Island and August 6th in Bridgeport, CT. Jeremy Borash recently announced that Hennigan will be making his GFW debut during a conference call.
El Desparado and Zack Sabre Jr defeated Hirai Kawato and Kota Ibushi
Tiger Mask, Yuji Nagata, and Toi Makabe defeated Gedo, Ishii and Goto
Chase Owens and Bad Luck Fale defeated Finlay and Tanahashi
Bushi and Naito defeated Jado and Yoshi Hashi
G1 Matches
Juice Robinson (2pts) defeated Satoshi Kojima (0pts)
Robinson picked up a win in his first ever G1 match.
He kicked out of a strong lariat and hit Pulp Friction for the win
Tama Tonga (2pts) defeated Michael Elgin (0pts)
Commentary played up how Tonga is the most elusive wrestler in the game, and has a very unique style.
Tonga countered a move from the 2nd rope into a Stun Gun and got the pin.
Sanada (2pts) defeated EVIL (0pts)
A battle between members of Los Ingobernables!
Finish of the match saw Evil repeatedly get out of the Skull End, but Sanada then hit a moonsault for the pin.
Kazuchika Okada (2pts) defeated Toru Yano (0pts)
A lot of your normal Yano shenanigans and comedy.
After both of them nearly getting counted out, Okada locked in the Red Ink and got the tap.
Kenny Omega (2pts) defeated Minoru Suzuki (0pts)
Omega went to do a moonsault from the guardrail early, but Suzuki kicked it out from underneath him. His leg landed on the guardrail and Suzuki would focus on it for much of the match.
There was a ref bump mid-way through the match when Suzuki pulled Red Shoes in front of him as Omega was going for a V-Trrigger knee.
This brought out Suzuki-Gun, which would eventually bring out Chase Owens and Bad Luck Fale.
At one point Omega hit everyone on Los Ingobernables with a top rope senton into the first couple of rows of seats.
The two factions cancelled each other out (possibly building towards a match at the next ROH PPV) and it was down to 1-on-1.
Suzuki focussed again on the leg but Omega made a comeback.
He hit quite a few V-Triggers, and there was also a fairly botched reverse hurricanrana attempt as well.
Then Omega hoisted him up and hit the 1-Winged Angel for the win.
John Cena was recently interviewed by Complex and during the interview he explained why he returned to WWE as a “free agent”. John Cena was drafted to the SmackDown brand during WWE’s Superstar Shake-Up. He then took some time off for projects outside WWE. When he made his return to the company, he was labeled a “free agent” and can appear on either RAW or SmackDown. Here are some highlights from the interview:
On being an all-timer instead of a part-timer:
“I’m still a fan of the WWE and I think that’s the most important thing. When you’re a fan, you stay very close to all the programming and all the broadcasts, there’s no dipping around the fact that I haven’t been on the program in a while because I’ve been doing other stuff. I haven’t danced around it, I explained that the reason I cannot be on the program is because the movie folks, their insurance doesn’t allow you to. That’s a dealbreaker, it’s not negotiable. But instead of laying low for a few months before I start another project, the second that I wrapped, I scurried on a plane and got right back into the WWE fold. I guess that’s what I mean by all-timer.”
Returning to WWE as a “free agent”:
“The reason that I wanted to be a free agent and the reason they kind of granted my request is because I don’t know if I’ll be available for Smackdown specific only or Raw specific only, and I also know that my days are numbered. I just turned 40 in April and we have so many young and talented performers, I don’t know how many years I have left. So in the time I have left, I’m gonna do what I can to dedicate to this company I just want to be able to do it the most time that I possibly can.”
His role in WWE when he retires from in-ring competition:
“If the day comes when I’m not involved with the WWE that would come as a drastic surprise to me. I would certainly understand it because we all have our career paths and nothing lasts forever but WWE has been my family for the past 15 years and I’ve been very vocal about my passion and love for not just my time in the ring as a wrestler, but the company itself, what it stands for, the people that work for. I literally would do whatever they asked me to. In whatever capacity I can help the company I would love to do so.”
You can check out the entire interview by clicking here.
Alberto El Patron will be stepping down as president of the Combate Americas MMA promotion. Combates Americas CEO Campbell McLaren made the following comments MMAUNO.com about Patron stepping down:
“Alberto is a really good friend of mine and his girlfriend Saraya who is ‘Paige’ I’m sure you know, they become very close friends of mine and when they are in New York they come out to dinner with my wife and I,” McLaren told MMAUNO.com. “They are good pals, but what Alberto is telling me, is that his first love is wrestling. You know, his father was ‘Dos Caras’ a very famous wrestler and Saraya’s family is third generation English wrestlers, you know about her right? And so what Alberto has said to me, and we haven’t unveiled this yet, but we can talk about it, he’s probably stepping back his official roles from Combate and he’s going to focus on more on wrestling for the next year or two.”
“I think he’s reaching a point in his career when he knows that the physical demands of wrestling are not what he wants to continue doing, but I think he knows he’s got a couple of years still left to keep maintaining his level of performance,” McLaren said. “It’s a very challenging enterprise and I think it’s very, very hard on the body and difficult to do. Very physical, very athletic, so I he’s kind of asked me if he can step away and with Saraya, focus on wrestling.”
“We will remain as friends and he will always be at Combate events,” McClaren said. “But in an official sense, he’s going to step down.”
Alberto El Patron is still serving an indefinite suspension from Global Force Wrestling, even though he is currently the World Heavyweight Champion. The suspension came as a result of an incident involving Patron and Paige at the Orlando International Airport earlier in July. The investigation of the incident is still ongoing and GFW is currently doing an investigation of their own while Patron is indefinitely suspended.
Jim Cornette went on a Twitter rant this morning about Kenny Omega. Cornette responded to a bunch of fans that defended Kenny Omega and continued to state that it is “too late” for Omega to be respected as wrestler.
I heard Dahmer quit eating people before he got caught. Fuck @KennyOmegamanX . If he wants to be respected as a wrestler, too fuckin late. https://t.co/0Wo5LYXEQT
Steve Austin never blatantly shit on the sport. He was given a poor gimmick but persevered. Omega delights in being a phony videogame fuck. https://t.co/upE48ymPI4
Because I want this dipshit to know exactly what I say about him so there's no misunderstanding. He should not be allowed in our business. https://t.co/eZXOSxX9f2
More of your idiot fans needed slapped down. You polluted my eyeballs w/your blowup doll match. BTW how's the lil' girl you couldn't beat? https://t.co/fNHj4jLEmx
NXT this week came from Full Sail University. The featured match was between Drew McIntyre and Killian Dain, with the winner moving on to meet Bobby Roode at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III.
There was also an important match in the women’s division last night, as Ember Moon took on Ruby Riot.
NXT July 19th 2017 Full Sail University
1. Ruby Riot vs. Ember Moon
Asuka resorted to under-handed, dirty tactics to beat Ember Moon in their title match, leading Moon to believe she deserves a rematch.
Ruby Riot on the other hand, has never been given a singles match for the NXT women’s championship, so she believes she should be the next to challenge Asuka. Hence, the two met here.
The match was fairly even, with Riot getting a couple of near-falls.
In the end however, Ember Moon hit the Eclipse, picked up the win, and will move on to meet Asuka next month.
Winner: Ember Moon
A backstage clip is shown of Hideo Itami confronting Kassius Ohno about having requested a match against him next week. Itami kicked a garbage can, spoke in Japanese, and left the room.
A vignette for the “Street Profits” aired.
2. Oney Lorcan vs. Danny Burch
These two guys beat each other up. Burch’s nose even got busted open.
Lorcan got the tapout victory with a rolling single-leg crab. Mauro mentioned that Lorcan was trained by Lance Storm, who used the same move as a finish up until he started using the Sharpshooter.
After the match, Burch challenged Lorcan to one more match. His offer was accepted.
Winner: Oney Lorcan via submission
3. No Way Jose vs. Cezar Bononi
No highlights were posted for this match.
No Way Jose picked up the win here with a pop-up punch to the face.
This was pretty much a squash match.
After the match, Andrade “Cien” Almas hit the ring (w/Thea Trinidad) and beat up Bononi.
This caused No Way Jose to make the save and drive Almas out of the ring.
Jose and Almas jawed at each other a bit as the segment ended.
Winner: No Way Jose
4. NXT Championship #1 Contenders Match
Drew McIntyre vs. Killian Dain (SAnitY)
Mauro mentioned on commentary that the reason they are being given this opportunity is because they are both undefeated.
Dain had the early advantage in the match, using mainly power moves and clubbing blows until Drew made a comeback.
McIntyre hit a move Mauro referred to as a “Finlay Drop” after Fit Finlay.
Dain hit a fisherman suplex from the 2nd rope.
McIntyre hit a double-arm DDT, which I’m pretty sure was his finisher in his previous stint with WWE. Dain kicked out at 1 however.
Finally the end of the match came when McIntyre hit his Claymore kick, only for Dain to get right back up, then Drew hit him with another and pinned him.
McIntyre will now meet Bobby Roode at Takeover: Brooklyn.