Fans in attendance at Friday night’s WWE live event from Carbondale, Illinois were treated to a ‘dream match’ between John Cena and Samoa Joe.

As noted earlier this month, John Cena and Samoa Joe are advertised for several upcoming live events, a sign that WWE could be testing the waters for a Cena vs. Joe television feud.

We won’t spoil the finish – but you can watch it below courtesy of Youtube user @MasterofMuppets (great name).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z791IpUTZYI&app=desktop

Here are the full results from the show:

• RAW Tag Team Champions Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose defeated Sheamus & Cesaro
• Cruiserweight Champion Neville defeated Akira Tozawa
• Titus O’Neil, Apollo Crews, Kalisto, R-Truth, Heath Slater & Rhyno defeated Curt Hawkins, Bo Dallas, Curtis Axel, Goldust, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson
• John Cena vs. Samoa Joe
• Mickie James & Alicia Fox defeated Emma & Nia Jax
• Finn Balor defeated Bray Wyatt
• Roman Reigns defeated Braun Strowman via disqualification

It’s nothing new for Stars not belonging to wrestling to appear on WWE TV, though it’s not very often that a celebrity from other stream enters a WWE ring to have a match.

One such rare event occurred when the star of Arrow Stephen Amell competed in a tag team match and won during the 2015 edition of the SummerSlam PPV.

During a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, Amell talked about his appearances in WWE and revealed the advice Triple H gave to him.

According to Stephen, The Game came to him just before his match at the PPV and told the Arrow Star to ‘slow down’ and then slow down some more:

“I was standing in the ‘Gorilla’ position before our match, Hunter walked up to me and said, ‘If you think you’re going too fast, slow down. When you’re sure you’re going too slow, then slow down some more. And when you’re positive you’re going too slow, then slow down some more.”

Stephen Amell teamed up with Neville to face the team of Stardust and Wade Barret at SummerSlam 2015 after a short feud. You can watch the closing moments of their match in the video below:

Asuka has proven to be one of the most dominant Champion WWE has seen in years since winning the NXT Women’s Championship back in April 2016 by defeating Bayley.

She held the title for an impressive 500+ days before being forced to relinquish it during the latest NXT tapings due to an injury she suffered during NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III.

While it was unfortunate to see her historic title reign coming to an end this way, it also opened the door to a lot of new possibilities for the Japanese star as William Regal announced that he has started negotiating to send Asuka to the main roster.

Since then people have been speculating what WWE may have planned for the future of the NXT Star and now it appears the possible plans for her main roster debut have been revealed.

Former WWE employee and friend of the site James McKenna indicated on twitter that Asuka will be joining the Raw Brand and would be debuting at the upcoming Raw exclusive PPV TLC in October after recovering from her injury:

throwing it out there – from what i am hearing w/ recovery of her injury. first appearance for asuka is slated to be oct's TLC in Minnesota.

— james mckenna (@chillhartman) August 25, 2017

While these plans are not a done deal just yet considering the fact that Bobby Roode made his debut on SmackDown it looks likely that the Empress Of Tomorrow will become the part of the Raw roster.

AJ Styles and Kevin Owens have been feuding with each other over the United States title for a while now, though now it appears that Owens will be moving away from the title picture soon.

According to Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE has plans for Baron Corbin to have a rivalry with Styles for the coveted Championship in the upcoming time.

This is said to be one of the reasons why Corbin was made a special guest referee during the United States Championship match at SmackDown Live this week.

Regarding Kevin, Shane McMahon had stated that his match this past Tuesday would be Owens’ last opportunity to capture the United States title as long as AJ is the champion.

So it’s expected that the former Universal Champion will be moving away from the US title picture and he will be entering his rumored feud with Shane McMahon in the upcoming time.

Per Observer, the rivalry between the SmackDown Commissioner and the former Raw star is expected to lead to a Team Owens vs Team Shane match at the Survivor Series PPV.

Though it’s worth mentioning here that due to the repetitive reports of Baron Corbin having backstage heat, it’s hard to believe that Corbin would actually be winning the belt.

Instead, he appears to be a challenger for the former WWE Champion’s title until WWE decides to put the belt on someone else.

• There have been unsubstantiated rumors that Rusev and Lana are unhappy and asked for their release
• Lana vehemently denied the reports on Twitter
• Rusev appears to be trolling by thanking WWE’s front office

We noted before how there were rumors of former United States Champion Rusev and his real life wife Lana asking for their WWE release.

The reason behind it was said to be that Rusev was unhappy with the way he has been treated by the company since the Bulgarian Brute has returned from his injury.

While these rumors lost their pace after Lana told people not to believe in them on twitter, they have returned after the Bulgarian star made a cryptic tweet.

Rusev posted an obscure tweet from his official twitter account saying ‘Thank You’ to the WWE Front Office and ‘everybody involved’ a few hours ago as seen below:

I want to thank @WWE front office TR and everybody involved. THANK YOU

— Miro (@ToBeMiro) August 25, 2017

This tweet has since become a hot topic of discussion and has reignited the rumors of the couple possibly leaving the Biggest Wrestling Company in the world.

Though so far, no reputed source has confirmed what’s his status with the company and WWE Officials have also been quiet so it’s hard to say whether the former Champion is hinting at his future or just trolling the fans.

It’s worth mentioning here that Rusev has lost both his PPV matches since returning to WWE TV in July. His first match was against John Cena at Battleground and then he lost to Randy Orton in a very short match at Summerslam.

WWE Superstars predict Conor McGregor versus Floyd Mayweather

In the latest episode of WWE Pop Question, Superstars gave their predictions on who they think will win Saturday night’s boxing match between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather.

Enzo Amore insisted that they turn it into a Triple Threat match so he could emerge as the winner. Becky Lynch, Renee Young and Maria Kanellis picked McGregor to win.

Corey Graves, Mike Kanellis, TJP, The Usos and Baron Corbin picked Mayweather. Rusev stated that they both are already winners because of the amount of money they are going to make tomorrow night.

Bobby Roode’s final NXT dates

Bobby Roode lost the NXT Championship to Drew McIntyre on Saturday at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III. On this past Tuesday, Roode made his SmackDown debut and defeated English. Roode also appeared on Wednesday’s episode of NXT in a backstage segment and stated that he wanted his rematch for the NXT Championship. Roode also said that he wanted to embarrass Roderick Strong before he left NXT.

WWE posted the following video of Bobby Roode inviting the NXT Universe to come see him one final time:

Get ready for @REALBobbyRoode's #GLORIOUS #NXTFarewellTour! https://t.co/wJDZsEeL99

9/7 #NXTRochester
9/8 #NXTStCatharines
9/9 #NXTToronto pic.twitter.com/Is7qiiLLjl

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) August 25, 2017

A 10-year-old boy saved his 2-year-old brother recently in Detroit. Jacob O’Conner noticed that his little brother Dylan had gone missing. Jacob found Dylan drowning in his grandmother’s pool. Dylan had been underwater for more than a minute before Jacob found him. Jacob removed his brother from the water and started doing compressions after seeing The Rock do it in his favorite film ‘San Andreas’.

In the film, The Rock’s character rescues his daughter from drowning and performs CPR until she finally spits up water.

Jacob told The Washington Post “The movie just popped in my head and I started thinking about that scene. And that’s when I started doing compressions”.

The Rock posted the following on Instagram about the story:

This story grabbed my heart. 10yr Jacob O’Connor found his little 2yr old brother, Dylan laying facedown in their pool.
He pulled his little brother out and started CPR & chest compressions. He saved little Dylan’s life. Jacob said he learned how to do this by watching me in his favorite movie, SAN ANDREAS.
I’m so amazed and impressed by this little 10yr old boy’s heroic actions and calm instincts in the middle of that kind of emergency distress.
I now need to shake young Jacob’s hand…

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

Former WWE & GFW Superstar “The Blueprint” Matt Morgan is getting into politics. A press release sent out on Friday announced that Morgan is running for Longwood City Commissioner.

Matt Morgan, former Pro Wrestler, Announces Candidacy for Longwood City Commissioner

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AUGUST 25, 2017

Longwood, FL – Matt Morgan, a former professional wrestler, has announced his campaign for Longwood City Commissioner, District 4.

“As a candidate for Longwood City Commissioner, I am committed to build upon Longwood’s rich history.”

“I have never been the type to sit back and ‘armchair quarterback’ or just complain about things. I am the type that goes out and gets things done. I feel it’s my duty to step up and finally start DOING what needs to be done here for my fellow neighbors in this beautiful city.”

Following his wrestling career, Matt challenged himself to continue to be a positive influence on the people around him. He is currently a spokesperson for Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD) and the Drug Abuse Resistance Program (D.A.R.E.).

“I want to do everything possible to make this city a place my three-year-old autistic son can take pride in. I hope that one day he decides to raise his family here as well. I decided it’s time to start doing. It’s time to be the voice for the voiceless here in the city of Longwood.”

Eight years ago Matt Morgan settled in Seminole County with his wife Larissa and their 3 year old son Jackson. Matt is committed to see Longwood continue to be the best place in Central Florida to raise a family.

SmackDown Live star AJ Styles is convinced that his former Bullet Club partners The Young Bucks will be in WWE one day. During a recent interview with PWInsider, Styles commented about the possibility of Nick and Matt Jackson joining the WWE Universe.

“Oh man, that is a tough question. For guys who know to do what they do and they’ve got it done before they even get here….so, I would say….oh, that’s a tough question, man….I give them five years, at the most. Within five years. Yeah. That’s my timeline.”

Styles said the prospect of him being in WWE was once hard to envision.

“What do you think, had the people asked, ‘Do you think AJ Styles would come here?’, if you could have asked that ten years ago? What do you think people would have said then? You never know, man.”

The Young Bucks are the reigning ROH World Tag Team Champions and recently captured the ROH Six Man Tag Team Championships (with Adam Page).

Back in May, the Bucks appeared on Edge & Christian’s E&C Pod of Awesomeness commented on the possibility of joining WWE one day. Nick and Matt revealed that they’re currently under contract to Ring of Honor until the end of 2018, but “never say never.”

“Right now, we can’t, obviously, because we’re under a contract for the next, what, 18 months or so. But I don’t know. It’s such a hard question to answer because right now, I’d say ‘no’, obviously, because I can’t and we’re having a blast, like, on our own, doing it the way we do it. We’re having a good time doing it. I don’t know. It’s never say ‘never’, I guess. You can’t really say ‘no’ to that because that is the place everyone has wanted to wrestle, so I can’t say ‘no’, but, as of now, we’re happy with what we’re doing.”

https://youtu.be/D9QqZJysHmc

Matt stated that now wouldn’t be a good time for him and his brother to make the jump over to the WWE because of all the hot talent there, and fear of getting lost in the shuffle:

“Even if we were available right now, now is not the time to go for us because everybody in the world is going there and so for the first time I can even remember, it doesn’t seem cool to go there right now.” Matt admitted, “I think for us, if we did sign right now, we’d probably be lost in the shuffle.”

They added that right now, they have a lot of creative control over their characters, which they probably wouldn’t have in WWE.

On the latest episode of the Edge & Christian Pod of Awesomeness podcast (with special guest Kenny Omega), Edge revealed that he considered jumping to TNA Wrestling (now GFW) when Christian was there around 2008/2009. After being a WWE Superstar for over a decade, Edge’s body was banged up and the lighter scheduled TNA offered was tempting.

“Interesting little tidbit here that I don’t even know how much [Christian] know[s], if [Christian] even know at all, to be honest. I don’t recall talking to [Christian] about it. I don’t know how word gets out on contracts being up and things like that, but there was one point where my contract was coming up and TNA reached out to me, and [Christian was] there, so they reached out to me, and they told me numbers, and schedule, and all of these things. And for me, at that point, schedule was the thing that I was like, ‘well, that’d be a whole lot easier on the body’ because I was getting pretty beat up. It’s like [Christian] said, I started with WWE in ’97. At that point it was like 2008 or 2009. I can’t even remember. It’s a long time. Now, there [were] breaks because of injuries, but that was my body saying, ‘take a break dude,’ and I never did until something broke.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmWrENQ2KAE

Edge continued, “The idea that [Christian was] there, and the opponents. If I went there, there’s [Samoa] Joe, there’s AJ [Styles], there’s a lot of fresh things to do, but for whatever reason, from day one WWE felt like my home. It felt like the place that I’d always wanted to get to.”

He added that he worked a few WCW TV tapings before joining WWE and could tell immediately that WCW was not a locker room he wanted to be a part of. His dream was to be in WWE and that turned out to be a great bet. The Rated R Superstar is an 11-time World Champion and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame back in 2012.

You can listen to the full podcast episode below. H/T to WrestlingINC for the transcribed quotes.

Former WWE Champion and WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin recently made an appearance on the Off The Board with Jimmy Traina podcast to promote the upcoming season of Broken Skull Challenge. “The Texas Rattlesnake” talked about Roman Reigns and if he thinks “The Big Dog” would’ve been successful in the Attitude Era, and if he himself believes he would be successful in today’s WWE landscape. The highlights can be found below:

His thoughts on Roman Reigns:

“I think Roman is a star and I think WWE needs to continue to go down the path they’re going with him. They don’t need to flip him heel just arbitrarily to make the fans happy… I think Roman is a star. Now with that being said, is there still room for him to learn and grow? Oh, hell yeah. By leaps and bounds. He’s nowhere near where he will be in three or four years. But at this point in his career, with a few not-so-great booking ideas, but also a learning curve on his part, he is where he’s at and he’s a top guy on that roster and he’s still gonna keep improving and he has to because he’s not a seasoned veteran.

“You put that guy in that line up during the Attitude Era, with that roster of Hall of Famers, guys that have yet to be in the Hall of Fame, holy smokes, I think the guy could’ve been lights out because the competition was so hot, heavy, and fierce. It was sink or swim. You got a bunch of guys out there with knives and you get in the way and they will cut you, so, I think he would’ve thrived in the Attitude Era and right now, just with his looks, his size, his physicality, he’s gonna be just fine and he’s gonna be a big star.”

If he would be a star in the WWE today:

“I’m thankful I came along in the wrestling business when I did because it was the last of the wild, wild west and the last of just going out there and trying to do something to get over and, God dang it, I had a blast.”

You can check out Austin’s full interview on Off The Board with Jimmy Traina here:

Ring Of Honor (ROH) World Heavyweight Champion Cody Rhodes recently did an interview with Fan Buzz to offer his opinions on the various opponents he has had throughout his career. Rhodes gave his thoughts on Marty Scurll, The Young Bucks, Okada, and The Revival. You can check out what he had to say about them here:

Marty Scurll:

“I don’t think people realize how good of an addition to the Bullet Club Marty was. Marty represents this whole U.K. boom in a nutshell. When you look at Marty, the hard work, the attention to detail, the character, the costume, the just flamboyance of The Villain. It brings an entirely different edge.

The Young Bucks:

“They’re a completely different experience. They have a psychology that is unique to them and it’s polarizing. And when people try to copy it, it’s just wrong. They’re the only ones who can do it.”

Okada:

“I hope people understand what I’m saying, but Okada is the most WWE superstar I’ve ever wrestled. He reminds me of a Japanese Randy Orton. He is aware of every camera that’s on the floor, it’s almost as if he’s aware of every heartbeat that’s in the building.”

The Revival:

“They’re the absolute worst. I have a three-prong, three-tier, three-word approach to the Revival. All that aside, I really do want to see what it looks like with the Young Bucks and the Revival in the ring. I think they’d have a great, great, great match.”

Rhodes’ full interview with Fan Buzz can be read by visiting this link here.

RAW Superstar Big Cass underwent knee surgery on Thursday to repair the injury sustained during his Brooklyn Street Fight against Enzo Amore on Monday’s RAW.

Earlier this week, WWE.com noted, “It looks like he has an ACL tear, possibly a medial meniscus tear.” Typical recovery time from ACL surgery is nine months, which means a return in time for WrestleMania next April is questionable.

Carmella posted the following pics of Cass following his surgery:

He's in more agony over the lack of pizza than he is over the surgery ???????????? pic.twitter.com/5RtidhMmDX

— Mella Is Money ? (@CarmellaWWE) August 25, 2017

Even in the hospital.. friends & starbies ???? pic.twitter.com/keDLCFcwSn

— Mella Is Money ? (@CarmellaWWE) August 25, 2017

In case you missed it on RAW, check out how the injury occurred:

Natalya made history when she dethroned Naomi to capture the SmackDown Women’s Championship last weekend at SummerSlam. During an interview with the Calgary Sun, the Calgary native said  she can’t stop reliving that moment.

Natalya got so excited after the victory that she was shaking and almost started crying, which would have been a deviation for her heel character.

“I can’t stop myself from replaying that moment when Naomi tapped out to the Sharpshooter and the ref signalled the end of that match, and my women’s championship drought. I was so happy that I was shaking and wanted to burst into tears when I took that title and launched it above my head.

So lost in a moment that I’ve dreamed of since I was a young girl that I almost forgot to stay in character. I am currently a ‘bad girl’ in the WWE! I composed myself and saved the tears for when I got backstage. I also should have worn waterproofmascara, but I digress.”

Natalya said even though she’s a villain, she recognizes that she’s still a role model for young girls around the world.

“For most of my life, I’ve envisioned that moment I was crowned the women’s champ. After 10 years in WWE, my vision became a reality.”

Visit CalgarySun.com to read the full interview and check out her post-match interview from SummerSlam below:

When the reports of Bobby Roode making his Main Roster debut and joining the SmackDown Live first came out, it was speculated that he could take Baron Corbin’s place on the Blue roster since officials have lost faith in Corbin, although apparently, that’s not the case.

During the latest instalment of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer talked about Roode’s debut on the Main Roster. He indicated that the former NXT Champion will be working as a face and would possibly be taking the spot of John Cena on The SmackDown Roster.

This is an interesting news as so far we have only seen the heel avatar of the former TNA Star on WWE TV since his debut on NXT back in August 2016 and we are yet to see him working as a babyface in the company.

As seen on this week’s episode of SmackDown Live, Bobby Roode made his Main Roster debut. He acted as a face during his first appearance on the Blue Brand and defeated former NXT Star Aiden English who is a heel.

On the other hand, John Cena returned to Raw this past week and it’s been reported multiple times that he is done with Smackdown for now and the Leader Of Cenation will be only be appearing on the Red Branded show in near future.

It was surprising for many to see The New Day lose the SmackDown Live Tag Team Championships to the Usos at SummerSlam considering that the trio only won the titles a few weeks ago at the Battleground PPV.

However, if some recent reports are to be believed their loss at the PPV is a part of a big and long term plan WWE has for the now former Tag Team Champions.

According to report from Wrestling Observer Newsletter (via Wrestlinginc) WWE wants to establish the team of Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods as the “greatest tag team of all-time” and for this, the officials plan for the trio to hold the Tag Titles for more times than any other team in the history of the company.

The current record is held by The Dudley Boyz who have had a total of 10 Tag Team title reigns in the company and Meltzer speculates that the New Day’s loss was an effort to put the team a step closer to this record.

Although it’s worth mentioning here that including their recent run, the former Champions have held the Tag Team titles for a total of 3 times, so if the company wants them to break the record, then they have a long road ahead of them.

We noted before how Baron Corbin had some backstage heat which was the reason why he lost his Money In The Bank contract and then got defeated by John Cena at SummerSlam in a basic match.

Officials were reportedly upset with Corbin due to his twitter battle with people like Dave Meltzer and Mojo Rawley.

He also got involved in a fight with a fan on Twitter who later revealed that he was a military person and the whole incident went against him as well.

It was said that all this and his poor performance on the mic during his interactions with John Cena made officials lose faith in Baron and it resulted in his push coming to an end.

However, now it appears that a long time WWE Superstar’s comments were also one of the reasons why WWE decided to pull the plug on the former NXT Star.

Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated recently appeared on the WrestlingInc Podcast where he revealed that John Cena actually told officials that Corbin wasn’t ready:

“I heard the kiss of death was Cena, [Cena said] that Corbin wasn’t ready. I can’t say any more right now, that’s kind of what I’m trying to work on as we speak.”

While the Wrestling Journalist didn’t open up much about what Cena said, it has previously been reported that the similar thing happened with Dolph Ziggler.

In an interview, former WWE writer Kevin Eck had revealed that John wasn’t impressed with the performance of Ziggler during their initial feud which is a reason why WWE never pushed him to the Main Event level.

Since The Leader Of Cenation is one of the top stars in the company, the reports that WWE halted Baron Corbin’s push due to his negative comments, seem believable.

Rusev hasn’t accomplished much in WWE since returning from his injury and the Bulgarian Brute has lost both his PPV matches since his return during the July 4rth episode of SmackDown Live.

His first match was against John Cena at Battleground which was still of a decent length but his second PPV match since the return was against Randy Orton which he lost in about 9 seconds.

We noted before how this led to rumours of the former United States Champion being unhappy with the company and asking for his and his wife Lana’s WWE release.

While Lana shot these rumours down, Rusev’s quick loss at SummerSlam still made fans wonder if Officials are unhappy with the WWE Star for some reason.

However, in the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer cleared the air about the WWE Star’s status and revealed that his loss was just a way to kick off a lengthy feud between the Rusev and Randy Orton.

According to the Newsletter, the idea is that their first match was a fluke and while both the stars did not appear on SmackDown Live this week, their feud is expected to continue in upcoming weeks.

The reason behind Orton’s victory was due to the belief that the Viper needed a win after his recent lacklustre PPV losses against Bray Wyatt and Jinder Mahal.

Furthermore, it’s being said that the way their SummerSlam match was booked was a decision in Randy’s favour rather than being against Rusev.

On Thursday night, NXT taped the next 4 weeks of television from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida. Thanks to Will Henderson (@willh94) for sending in the results:

August 30th Episode:

– We are show the Takeover recap video that aired to kick off this past week’s NXT.

– We are shown SAnitY and various roster members laid out on Full Sail’s backlot, while Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, and Kyle O’Reilly are shown walking away. NXT General Manager William Regal is shown surveying the scene seething

– New NXT Champion Drew McIntyre out. Says the past 17 years has led to this. He knows the title means he’s got a target on his back. Calls out Cole, Fish, O’Reilly, and the whole locker room and says it’s Drew’s world now. If you want a shot, come to the ring and ask him to fight. Roderick Strong out and says he wants a shot. Says tonight he will beat Bobby Roode, then he will step up and fight Drew like a man. Drew says he hopes Roddy is ready to get knocked out like a man

– They are dimming the lights on the crowd like they have done at Takeovers at Full Sail in the past during matches

– Peyton Royce defeated Ruby Riot. Ruby with a dropkick for a nearfall. Ruby locks in an arm wrench, but Peyton fights out to the ropes. Peyton tosses Ruby outside and rips her hair extensions out. Ruby takes over after a clothesline and drives Peyton’s head into the turnbuckle with her knees. Peyton hits her Fireman’s Carry driver but Ruby kicks out. Billie Kay pulls Peyton out of the ring but Ruby hits a suicide dive onto both. Peyton distracts the ref and Billie lays out Ruby with a kick outside the ring. Peyton pulls Ruby in and hits her Fisherman’s Suplex for the win

– Heavy Machinery defeated two jobbers in a quick squash match. Nothing of note here

– Roderick Strong defeated Bobby Roode. “Thank you Bobby” chants from some of the crowd to start. Bobby goes for his Glorious pose but Roddy shoves him and goes for a takedown. Strong with a beautiful dropkick. Stiff chops. Roddy with a series of backbreakers. Roode knocks Strong off the apron and into the steps. Roode nails a spinebuster on the floor. Roode with a neck breaker for 2. Roode with a series of backbreakers of his own, then does his Glorious pose. Roode working over the spine of Strong. Strong hits a pop-up gutbuster. Roode reverses the Angle Slam into an arm drag. Strong with a backbreaker for a nearfall. Strong with a Tiger Driver for 2, and transitions the kickout to a Boston Crab. Strong reverses the Glorious DDT into an Angle Slam. Strong with an enziguri to Roode on the top rope, then a superplex for 2. They exchange punches, then Roode hits the Glorious DDT but Strong gets his foot on the ropes. Roode slaps Strong, but Strong responds with a jumping knee, then hits End of Heartache. Strong picks up Roode, blows him a kiss, then hits End of Heartache again for the pin

Post match, Drew McIntyre comes out. He holds the belt up towards Roddy on the stage when Cole, O’Reilly, and Fish attack. Cole hits a DDT on the stage when security and Regal run out. The trio escape through the crowd and are shown leaving Full Sail as Drew is attended to on the ramp

September 6th Episode:

– The ramp and ring apron have Conor’s Cure logos on them

– Andrade “Cien” Almas defeated Cezar Bononi. Zelina Vega is on commentary. Cezar gets some offense to start, but Andrade takes over with a stiff backfist after sidestepping a kick. Andrade goes for the double knees in the corner, but Vega yells at him from commentary to finish Bononi, so Andrade hits the El Idolo DDT for the win

– Aleister Black out for a promo. Aleister says 15 years ago he started a journey that led him here to NXT. Says his journey in NXT is far from over, and he knows now, that his next step in NXT is NXT Champion Drew McIntyre. The Velveteen Dream interrupts. Dream says that Black has been blinded by the light that is the Velveteen Dream. Dream says he doesn’t see any of the darkness, and he asks Aleister where his scars are. He says he sees a man who’s hurt. Says Aleister looks afraid, afraid to get close, and that he’s afraid of the light. He knows Aleister has a heart, it’s just in the wrong place. Aleister uses the Black Mass to knock the mic out of Dream’s hand then sits down. Dream drops to his knees and gets right in Aleister’s face, as if he is going to kiss him, before sliding out of the ring

– Johnny Gargano defeated Riddick Moss (w/Tino Sabbatelli). Riddick was in control for a good 90% of the match. Riddick tells Johnny he’s nothing without DIY, and Johnny unloads. Gargano hits a running cannonball off the apron. Tino distracts Johnny and Riddick goes for a crucifix powerbomb, but Gargano reverses into the Gargano Escape, but Riddick gets the ropes. Tino tries to attack Johnny, but Gargano fights him off and hits the lawn dart for the pin

– They announce we’ve got a No Disqualification match between Hideo Itami & Kassius Ohno later tonight

– Lars Sullivan defeated 3 jobbers in a 3-on-1 handicap match. Lars demands all 3 guys at once. At the bell he throws each one around the ring. Lars decimates all 3 guys and hits his sidearm power slam on each guy and pins the final one. No reaction for this. Lars starts attacking each guy after the match, but No Way Jose interrupts. Says he stopped the biggest conga line ever at Brooklyn. Says Lars is tough, but let’s see how tough he is when Jose’s back isn’t turned. Jose throws the first punch but Lars lays him out with a clothesline and just destroys him and walks away

– Sonya Deville defeated Zeda in a sloppy match. Sonya nails a rough knee to the sternum on a seated Zeda and locks in an armbar for the quick win

– Kassius Ohno defeated Hideo Itami in a No DQ match. Kassius with a leg drop and some chops. Hideo runs Kassius’ head into the ringpost and Ohno tumbles down the steps. Hideo stands on Ohno’s head on the steps. Itami with a flurry of stiff kicks and the corner dropkick for a 2. Hideo goes under the ring for a chair. Kassius fights the chair away and tosses it to Hideo, but Hideo uses the chair to block the rolling elbow. Hideo goes after the arm and takes control. Hideo wedges the chair in the corner, but they trade reversals without going into it. Ohno with an enziguri and a running senton. Kassius nails a brutal rolling elbow and knocks Itami out of the ring. Ohno backs him up the ramp and nails another brutal elbow. Itami suplexes Ohno on the ramp. Itami screams for the crowd to show him respect. Itami stomps Ohno in the corner, and puts the chair over him and nails the corner dropkick for a nearfall. Ohno goes for the elbow, but Itami goes for the low blow kick. Ohno catches the leg and hits a low blow of his own, then nails the elbow for the pin

September 13th Episode:

– Ruby Riot defeated Peyton Royce and Billie Kay. Ruby starts the match with no partner. Peyton and Billie take advantage, but suddenly Nikki Cross appears at ringside, looking on with a smirk on her face. Ruby turns the tide and crawls to her corner, when Nikki jumps on the apron and tags herself in to a huge pop. Nikki goes crazy on both of the Iconic Duo and hits the swinging fisherman neckbreaker on Billie. Nikki tags Ruby in and leaves through the crowd as Ruby hits a cannonball senton off the top for the pin

– The Street Profits defeated The Ealy Brothers. Ealys take control after some early double team moves by the Street Profits. Montez gets the hot tag in to Dawkins, who runs wild and the Street Profits pick up the win with the spinebuster/frog splash combo. Post match they run into the crowd to celebrate to a huge pop

– Pete Dunne defeated Wolfgang to retain the WWE United Kingdom Title. Dunne is an absolute star. Crowd loves him. Dunne in control early with a lot of arm wrenching and holds on Wolfgang. Wolfgang goes up too but Pete bites his hand and sends him outside. Wolfgang slaps Pete who responds with tough strikes. Wolfgang powers out of a kimura with a suplex. Wolfgang nails a huge spear as Pete runs at him in the corner that sends Pete outside. Wolfgang nails a tope to the outside but only gets a 2. Wolfgang with a delayed vertical suplex off the top and goes for The Howling, but Pete catches him in an armbar. Wolfgang powers out. Pete nails a stiff forearm and hits the Bitter End for the pin. Post match, Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, and Bobby Fish hit the ring and surround Dunne. Pete backs off then attacks, and Wolfgang joins in to help. Pete bails and looks like he’s going to run back in, but instead grabs his title from the ring and leaves. Cole nails a shining wizard as Fish and O’Reilly hold Wolfgang. As Cole & company leave through the crowd, Trent Seven & Tyler Bate run down to check on Wolfgang and stare down the Cole trio

September 20th Episode:

– Johnny Gargano defeated Tino Sabbatelli (w/Riddick Moss). Same format as the match Johnny had with Riddick earlier. Johnny wins with the Gargano Escape

– Bianca BelAir defeated Lacey Evans. Bianca dominated the match. She gets win with an inverted powerbomb after her trademark hair whip spot

– Lars Sullivan defeated No Way Jose. Lars just destroyed Jose the whole match. Brutal spots with Jose getting tossed around outside the ring and on the apron. Jose tries to fight back but Lars flattens him. Lars hits a diving headbutt and his sidearm powerslam for the win.

– Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish (w/Adam Cole) defeated Trent Seven and Tyler Bate. Good match. Fish and O’Reilly dominate early. Fish spears Seven into the barricade at ringside. Trent hits a suicide dive on Fish. Tyler goes for the Tyler Driver 97, but Kyle reverses it into a guillotine. Bobby & Kyle hit Chasing the Dragon but Tyler gets his foot on the rope. Trent gets the tag and runs wild, locking Kyle in a half crab, but Fish nails a kick. Cole superkicks Bate at ringside, allowing Fish and O’Reilly to hit their new finisher, a leg sweep/heel kick combo for the pin. Post match, NXT Champion Drew McIntyre comes out, but the Cole trio bails into the crowd. As they try to exit, SAnitY appears behind them and attacks, brawling until Cole & Co. retreat through the crowd

– This segment should air on the September 6th episode. A video package on Asuka and her incredible run airs on the tron. William Regal is in the ring and introduces Asuka. Asuka says she loves NXT and is grateful for NXT. Regal says she’s done nothing but defend the title with honor since coming to NXT and that she is one of the greatest champions in WWE history. Regal announces that Asuka and himself have begun negotiations with both RAW and SmackDown General Managers, but it is bittersweet as she will be stepping down as NXT Women’s Champion. The NXT roster empties out onto the stage to say farewell. Asuka says wherever she goes, NXT will go with her. Ember Moon walks out and offers and handshake, but fakes out and gives Asuka a hug. Triple H comes out and gives Asuka a bouquet of flowers and takes the title, introducing her one final time as the undefeated, 523 day reigning champion. Asuka takes her bows and poses with HHH on the stage to end the tapings

Asuka’s historic reign of terror as NXT Women’s Champion has come to an end.

At Thursday’s NXT TV tapings from Full Sail Unviersity, Asuka relinquished the title to NXT General Manager William Regal. Asuka sustained a broken right collarbone during her successful title defense against Ember Moon at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn last weekend. Her recovery time is 6-8 weeks.

According to NXT ringside physician Dr. Jeffrey Westfield,  “During the match, she landed awkwardly from a throw from Ember Moon and was able to complete the match … We performed an initial ultrasound backstage that was highly suspicious of a break that was later confirmed by an X-ray.”

Asuka’s reign lasted 509 days, but according to WWE, her reign will officially end on the date that her historic announcement airs.

The #NXTUniverse cheers for @WWEAsuka moments after relinquishing the #NXTWomensTitle to GM @RealKingRegal. #ThankYouAsuka #WeAreNXT pic.twitter.com/2CjDsDKQXU

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) August 25, 2017

WWE Champion Jinder Mahal took part in an interview with Al Arabiya English before his WWE Championship match against Shinsuke Nakamura at last Sunday’s SummerSlam pay-per-view event at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Here are the highlights:

Coming back even better to WWE:

“I had mixed feelings about my release. Obviously I was very sad and disappointed because it was my goal to be a WWE Superstar my whole life and not only that, a WWE champion. I felt like I had let myself down. I was a disappointment to myself, I felt like I didn’t give it 100 percent. But also at the same time, I was kind of unhappy at the moment in 3MB. I wasn’t progressing the way I felt I should be, which was ultimately my fault because I wasn’t putting in the work. In order to succeed in WWE, you’re responsible. If you put in 100 percent, you get back 100 percent, a lot of it is mental, just my mental attitude has changed, I have a very positive outlook, I set goals for myself and I write down my goals. I read a lot of self-help books, I listen to a lot of podcasts and just thinking positive, positive things are starting to happen in my life. I’m a firm believer that you get back what you put in.”

Insight into his relationship with Vince McMahon:

“My relationship with Vince is great. He’s actually the first person I talk to after any match or any promo, whereas before, my relationship with Vince wasn’t that great because I would just avoid him. Obviously Vince is very intimidating, but once you get to know him, he’s very friendly and very helpful, he wants to help you. He wants to see you succeed, because when you succeed, WWE succeeds. It’s his baby, it’s his business, it’s his brainchild and he wishes nothing but the best for it. I see a lot of change, characters in WWE are constantly evolving. I want to add more depth and layers to my character, maybe show a little more of my real personality. I’m kind of a funny guy, I’m fun to be around, but sometimes my character is very serious. I still have that side to show; you saw a little of that with 3MB, but I think we can find more balance between the two. I just turned 31 so I feel I haven’t even hit my prime yet.”

16-time WWE World Champion John Cena recently spoke to Bleacher Report to talk about professional wrestling. “The Leader Of The Cenation” revealed if he at all helps Roman Reigns deal with negative crowd reactions, if younger talent comes to him for advise, and if he ever wishes he would’ve turned heel earlier on in his career. Check out what Cena had to say here:

If he helps Roman Reigns deal with negative crowd reactions:

“I haven’t [helped Roman], and that’s not because I don’t want to. And I think that’s a testament to Roman Reigns’ ability to handle the audience. You need pretty broad shoulders. That he hasn’t had to come to anyone else for advice shows exactly how strong he is.”

Does young talent come to him for advise:

“Well, younger—I mean, he’s just a few weeks from me—but I can remember when AJ Styles came in, and he was just familiar with presenting himself a different way. And we sat down and had many a lengthy conversation about the differences and similarities between other spots and here. And from that, I think he took a lot of material away to present himself better.”

Does he ever wish he would’ve turned heel earlier on in his career:

“No. And I think that any sort of hindsight, especially in this industry, is a waste of time, and time is extremely valuable. I don’t control that. People ask me to do something, and it is our job, as entertainers, to do the best that we can to accomplish that goal. What I get upset about in this business is that so many people talk about the ‘what if,’ instead of the ‘what is.’ The ‘what is’ is more important. If someone were to go back 15 years and say, ‘You should have done this,’ it’s too late. I was told to do ‘X,’ and I was trying to do ‘X’ the best way that I could.”

Check out Cena’s full interview with Bleacher Report here.

Ex-SmackDown Live Women’s Champion Becky Lynch recently did an interview with Al Arabiya English to talk about a variety of professional wrestling topics. During their conversation Lynch was asked about the potential debut of Ronda Rousey in the WWE with rumors recently circulating that the former UFC champ has begun training for a career in the field.

For the past few weeks the UFC and WWE have been mentioned in the same breath thanks to feuds between Jon Jones and Brock Lesnar, Becky Lynch and Cris Cyborg, and former UFC fighter Shayna Baszler’s involvement in the Mae Young Classic. Here’s what she had to say:

“I feel like if it’s going to get more eyes on us, then that’s wonderful. What I want to see is women who are passionate about this, and that they’re doing it for the right reasons, and that they care about this business, because we have been busting our tails for the past four years to make sure that women are seen in a different way and women are seen in a different light.

“And of course, Ronda, with all she’s done for UFC, would be a great asset. I can’t diminish her accomplishments at all because she’s incredible in her own right. But this is our sport, and you have to prove yourself in a whole different way”

H/T IWNerd for the transcriptions

“The Ravishing Russian” Lana recently did an interview with Al Arabiya English to discuss a number of professional wrestling topics. She discussed making a name for herself within the WWE’s Women’s Division, no longer managing her real-life husband Rusev, and making her entrance on a tank. You can check out the highlights here:

Making a name for herself in the WWE Women’s Division:

“Well, he [Rusev] really wanted me to stay home and take care of him, and cook clean and listen, and bake some salmon, and massage his feet, and comb his hair. That’s really what he wanted me to do. But just like I helped take him to the top. And look— I obviously love being with him, but at this time, I want to make sure that I make a name for myself in the women’s division.

“And when managing a man, unfortunately, even though I took him to the top, and I’m cutting promos with the Rock and John Cena, when they talk about the women’s revolution, my name isn’t heard anywhere. If I have to enter into the ring to fight, and to compete, and bring Tamina, or any other women to the top to establish my name, then that’s what I have to do.”

No longer managing Rusev:

“One of the reasons why I don’t feel like I need to manage him right now is I feel like I’ve taught him everything I need to teach him, and helped him, and everything, and that’s why I have to go use my amazing ravishing ambition with other women to help bring them to the top. I think I had to help give him the ravishing ambition, and then. …Yeah, it’s more about promos.

“I think in wrestling and competing, he’s the best. With promos, I have to – we have to – I have to coach him. We have to go through, and I have to say, ‘Ok, let’s go through it like seven more times.’ Because when you have a conversation, and you talk, then when you yell, and scream, it means more. And people listen.”

Making her entrance on a tank:

“Oh my gosh, If I came out on a tank that would be the best.”

You can check out Lana’s full interview with Al Arabiya English by clicking here.

New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) star Kenny Omega recently made an appearance on former WWE Superstar Sean “X-Pac” Waltman’s podcast, X-Pac 12360, to talk about a variety of professional wrestling topics. Omega discussed Adam Cole’s NXT debut on TakeOver: Brooklyn, singing with Daniel Bryan during a match, getting a six star match with Okada, and much more. Here are the highlights:

His reaction to getting a six star match rating :

“Someone had said like ‘Hey , Meltzer just gave you, you know the first ever six-star match’ and I am like ‘ha-ha yeah right whatever’… You know it’s a five-star scale, right, (laughs) you’d think it have to be something real special and he’s like ‘No, look it’s right here,’ so I was actually getting ready to go out and this dude or whatever passes me his cellphone and it had the write up with the six stars on it. And I was like if this isn’t a typo that’s pretty damn cool.

Adam Cole’s NXT debut :

“As friend to Adam Cole, I am not sure  what I can say or cannot say but I know there was difficulty with that situation and I’m just happy as a friend of his that he was finally able to freely make his television debut.”

Skills learned in developmental :

“It wasn’t pleasant while I was there doing it, but then I look back at it and it was an experience that helped shape the person that I am today, and I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything in the world because it really helped me see more of what the business end of wrestling is like there (WWE). The highs and the lows, meeting some cool people… The biggest thing that helped me moving forward were, Dave Taylor was there and he had some classes.

“Before going to developmental I had next to no fundamentals and that was sort of, doing cool chain wrestling and using a lot of holds and stuff. That was sort of the kick on the Indies. So when I had left developmental had I not had those fundamentals and been able to do those types of things, I wouldn’t have been able to have a career in the Indies at all… and I wouldn’t have ended up in Japan either.

Singing John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt with Daniel Bryan during a match:

“We started singing it together and the lightning bolt struck. I’m like “come on Brian we got to do this.” And he’s like “What?! You’re kidding me?” I was like “No. We have to… Listen hear me out here Brian. You’re pretty much known as the guy that has these awesome matches with everyone. People literally call you the Best in the World and sure we could go out there today and we could have a pretty darn good match but then at the end of the day what’s it going to be?

“It’s just going to be another good match that you had. Who cares? So let’s do something memorable.” And he’s like “Okay. I’m listening.” … It’s John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt. “Well what does that even mean?” Off the top of my head I sort of laid out this groundwork for how it would be placed into this match. And he was like, “I think it’s going to be real fun, but man I got a Steven Regal in the back of my head telling me right now this is the worst idea I’ve ever heard in my life.””

Some of his favorite matches fans may never see:

“Some of my favorites, we would have this thing called a Rock-N-Roll Death Match and it’s some of my proudest work there (DDT) but can never be shown because of copyright factors. You wrestle a match and at random… music would randomly quote unquote play and you have to stop what you’re doing and dance. It sounds like a simple idea but the way that we worked in the dancing into the spots and the types of dances depended on the song.

“I thought it was really creative and I thought a lot of people would like it and not shit all over it… You could put generic music over the music that we used but for example, when we would wrestle and then the Macarena would turn on it would have to be the Macarena because we’re doing the Macarena know what I mean?”

Comedy wrestling vs. serious wrestling:

“A lot of people think that comedy is sort of a cop out to not wrestling seriously but I actually would argue that comedy is much more difficult than wrestling seriously because you have to be creative in almost everything that you do if you want the comedy to make sense within the realms of pro wrestling… But to work a good comedy match. To work with a doll and make people believe; to make people bite on the falsies; to make people laugh or say you know this is entertaining; to want them to show their friends, that’s tough to do. And when people ask well aren’t you embarrassed? Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?  No I’m not. It’s actually some of my most proudest work.

Kenny Omega vs Daryl (Hiromu’s pet cat):

“It honestly would be the same exact situation as facing the girl (9yr Old), or Yoshihiko (Blow-Up Doll), where the crow would believe and cheer for Daryl. There is nothing the Daryl could ever do that would make him a heel in that match. I don’t think I would ever do a singles. But if it was for example, myself and the Young Bucks vs Hiromu, Naito, and Daryl, I think it could work. I honestly think it could work. Even just saying that right now all these cool ideas are popping into my head on how we could make it work and actually make it believable as well.”

How he’s not fit to be a leader of the Bullet Club:

“I’m not sure if I’m fit to be a leader anymore, right now. That is just because it’s to a degree in Japan where if you’re shown working hard, you’re just going to start getting over. People are going to love it, people are going to love you. You’re giving your heart, you’re giving your soul and there is almost nowhere you’d be a full heel anymore. That is the situation I’ve fallen in, being in every big show main event since Wrestle Kingdom this year.

“There’s really nothing I can do, aside from purposely not trying. I honestly feel even though in America the bullet club presence is really – almost like a babyface entity. People love repping The Bullet club, they love putting up the Too Sweet. In Japan, I know for a fact they would prefer us to be a straight heel unit. We do try to work that way into our matches, no matter what we do, no matter the drastic things we do leading up to the big matches if you perform and you have a great match people are going to love you anyway”

The rebirth of Kenny Omega:

“I wasn’t sure where I would go from here (after leaving developmental) Do I even want to continue with wrestling? What is it that I want to do if I continue it? I made the decision that I wanted to be myself. Instead of stressing about all these characters that I thought of, drew up & suggest to WWE Office & Bill DeMott. Which wasn’t me, just ideas I thought of might make the company money.

“I was going to be myself, try and have fun with it. If people don’t like me, well they don’t like me, then I’ll just disappear & it’s over. If they do like me, then I’m going to enjoy what I am doing again, fall in love with wrestling all over again or keep loving wrestling. That in itself hopefully shines through & believe in the character that is Kenny Omega that is me.”

The audio version of Omega’s interview with X-Pac can be found here.