Earlier this week the WWE held tryouts in Saudi Arabia ahead of their Greatest Royal Rumble event. WWE announced eight participants who will continue to receive training as the Greatest Royal Rumble approaches. It was also announced that one of the eight will get a special opportunity – competing in the Greatest Royal Rumble match.
Here are the eight participants (per WWE.com):
– Hussain Aldagal, a 6-foot-3, 215-pounder with a background in volleyball and bodybuilding
– Mansoor Al-Shehail, a 6-foot, 175-pounder who has trained under WWE Hall of Famer Dory Funk Jr.
– Faisal Kurdi, a 5-foot-9, 180-pound MMA fighter, amateur grappler and Muay Thai boxer
– Nasser Bawazer, a 6-foot-3, 250-pound champion in boxing, MMA and aikido
– Khalid Alhothali, a competitor in bodybuilding, as well as combat sports, including boxing and jiu-jitsu
– Abdullah Almagrabi, a 225-pound karate champion and boxing trainer
– Faisal Allabboudy, a 23-year-old whose athletic background includes competitive swimming, boxing and bodybuilding
– Asaad Alshareef, a 23-year-old Greco Roman and freestyle wrestler who has also trained in various martial arts
Since making his return at the Royal Rumble this past January, much has been made about Rey Mysterio’s WWE status. He has had at least one meeting with Triple H regarding negotiations since the Rumble.
There’s also indication that he’ll be making an appearance at the Greatest Royal Rumble event in less than a week in Saudi Arabia. A fan asked Dave Meltzer on Twitter about Mysterio’s WWE status, and he reports the former World Champion has yet to sign a deal:
Several Legends Reunite At “Legends Of Wrestling” Event
Several professional wrestling legends reunited in Detroit for their “Legends Of Wrestling” event. Those legends include two-time WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair, “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase, Road Warrior Animal, Mick Foley, Sting, Jimmy Hart, and The Nasty Boys. Here are some photos:
In his latest WWE run, Hall Of Famer Goldberg had the opportunity to work with Brock Lesnar. After Goldberg was announced as the special playable character for the WWE 2K17 video game, a dream match against Lesnar was used as advertisement.
Eventually Goldberg and WWE struck a deal to make the bout a reality. The pair collided at Survivor Series in 2016 where Goldberg picked up the win with ease. Eventually Lesnar got his redemption at WrestleMania 33 when he took the Universal Title off Goldberg – a title he still holds today.
Goldberg recently did an interview with Sports Illustrated to promote his appearance on HISTORY’s “Forged in Fire: Knife or Death” series. During the interview he revealed what it was really like to work with Lesnar outside the ring:
“I know it’s hard to believe this, but Brock is a caring person underneath all that big giant monster’s body. The relationship he has with his sons parallels my relationship with my son, and I think Brock may have understood what I was going through. Maybe he put himself in my position, saw a little bit of himself later in life in me, and saw how much this meant to me. For that, I can never repay Brock.”
You can read Goldberg’s full interview with Sports Illustrated by clicking this link here.
Former NXT stars The Authors Of Pain have been called up to the main roster, but after having a successful first outing on RAW they decided to drop longtime manager Paul Ellering from their ranks.
Much speculation began to swirl as to why this decision was made, the most common assumption being Ellering no longer wants to travel as much nowadays given his age. Ellering recently ditched that rumor on Twitter with an explanation of his own:
PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reports that the Ellering/Authors Of Pain split had nothing to do with travel. WWE reportedly wants the Authors Of Pain on their own now and would prefer Ellering to stay on NXT and help younger talent.
Johnson added Ellering would’ve done anything WWE wanted, even if it meant traveling, but they decided to go this route instead.
Discussion: Was it a mistake to have Ellering split from the Authors Of Pain?
Mick Foley’s legendary Hell In A Cell match against The Undertaker back in 1998’s King Of The Ring pay-per-view (PPV) is one of the most historic matches in WWE history. On the 20th anniversary of the match, Foley spoke to Sports Illustrated to discuss the historic bout.
He admitted that had he walked on top of the Hell In A Cell earlier that day he might not have agreed to go through with the spot:
“I told Mr. McMahon two of the biggest lies of my life that day. I told him I had been on top of the cell earlier that afternoon, and I told him that I felt completely comfortable up there. Had I gone up there for a walk-through, there would be no twentieth anniversary because I would have realized that getting thrown off was a terrible idea.
“It was that that made me finally believe in my own mortality. That cleared the way for a very different Mankind character who feuded with and later teamed with The Rock. … I was really so caught up in preparation that I didn’t call home before matches, I always called home after matches. I did that on every occasion except for this one, but I thought I had a legitimate excuse for not calling home because I was unconscious.
“I later heard from WWE agent Dave Hebner, who said my family was very upset. When I did call, I got an earful from my wife, who wasn’t thrilled with my decision-making. I could have used a sympathetic ear, but what I really needed was someone to tell me that I couldn’t continue to do the things I was doing if I wanted to see my children grow.”
You can read Foley’s full interview with Sports Illustrated by clicking this link here.
Nikki Bella recently took to Twitter to respond to a WWE article that teased some Women’s Tag Team Titles coming to SmackDown Live with Paige now the General Manager. Nikki tagged Paige and teased she and Brie could return to challenge for the titles.
Nikki even threw in a subtle jab at The Iconics. Paige responded and Peyton Royce chimed in on the matter as well. Check it out below:
Women's #TagTitles? A championship that needs to be defended each week? This is just the BEGINNING of what we'd like to see @RealPaigeWWE instate as new #SDLive GM! https://t.co/wMgkPWyTaR
Hey @RealPaigeWWE ?????????????? Brie and I would love to put the SnapBack, Nike kicks, jersey, flannel, headband, and twin power back on in that WWE ring! Feeling pretty ICONIC…. ? N https://t.co/2N7csMewUr
Jonathan Coachman Clears Up Rumors Regarding His Replacement
WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T recently announced that he’ll be returning to the RAW commentary team next week. This led to some rumors going around indicating that Booker could be replacing Jonathan Coachman at the commentary booth.
Coachman addressed these rumors on Twitter recently to clear them up. He revealed that Booker will only be replacing him for one week on commentary while Coachman does work for the Golf channel. Coach will return the following week for RAW in Montreal:
Yes. I laugh people think there are all of these conspiracy theories and made of stories. It’s no big deal. I have been talking about it for months. Me and @BookerT5x talked about this when I came back. It helps everybody. Head down and do work. That’s what we do https://t.co/XJCarrmxBH
I am not going to Saudi Arabia. But thank you. I am honestly shocked at people thinking if (god forbid) you miss one show that you are gone for good. This is a new day and things change. For me I love many things. Keeps my mind fresh. https://t.co/G4Ekpl2yM4
Former WWE Superstar Tenille Dashwood (also known as Emma in WWE) was scheduled to wrestle Britt Baker at a Remix Pro Wrestling event in Ohio this past Saturday, however, she was forced to pull out due to injury.
Emma showed up to the show and cut a promo, revealing her doctor would not allow her to wrestle and even advised she not go to the show at all – but she came anyways. Despite not wrestling, she did provide commentary for the event’s DVD release.
She also had a long line of fans waiting to meet her and was able to fulfill her meet and greet obligations.
WWE Superstar Shelton Benjamin took to Instagram to show off quite a nasty battle wound. Above Benjamin’s right eyebrow a lump seems to have swollen up. Check it out here:
This week marked the series premiere for Major League Wrestling’s new weekly television series, FUSION. We’ll be featuring MLW Fusion results here each week at SEScoops, so be on the lookout for plenty more MLW news and results moving forward.
MLW Fusion Results (4/20/18)
Before April 20, 2018, the acronym MLW made me think of Conrad Thompson telling me to throw something into my Google machine and Bruce Prichard foaming at the mouth at the mere mention of Dave Meltzer. Now, however, that’s all changed with the premier of MLW Fusion on beIN Sports.
MLW (Major League Wrestling) is new to me, but it has a history that dates back to 2002, when it was founded by former WWE writer Court Bauer. The original promotion ran until 2004. After that, MLW was strictly a radio and podcast network, with shows including the wildly popular “Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard” hosted by the aforementioned Prichard and Thompson. In 2017, MLW brought its wrestling promotion back and now it has found a home on cable.
Before episode 1 begins, MLW lets us know that some of wrestling’s biggest stars have come through the promotion in the past, as we’re treated to an intro video showing Daniel Bryan, Steve Corino, CM Punk, Dusty Rhodes, and Sabu. We also hear the voice of Joey Styles, who provided commentary in MLW’s first run. Then, the show’s opening video package begins, showing off the different fighting styles that are employed by the wrestlers of MLW (brawling, hybrid, technical, strong style, and lucha libre), hence the name of the show, Fusion. Whoever produced these first two videos is very smart. The first match hasn’t even started yet and I’ve already gotten an idea of what MLW’s all about. It’s a place that’s featured some of the best talent in the industry and will give me a variety of wrestling. MLW, you have my attention.
We’re welcomed by none other than the voice of WCW, Tony Schiavone, who’s accompanied by Rich Bocchini, who went by Rich Brennan during his time as a broadcaster in NXT. They announce our main event of the evening (Pentagon Jr. vs. Rey Fenix) before sending it to the ring for our first match, or “fights” as MLW is calling them, between ACH and Austin Aries.
ACH vs. Austin Aries
Well, if you’re going to premiere a new wrestling show on TV, you might as well feature one of the biggest names in the business today in Austin Aries. That’s why it’s so odd when ACH gets a televised entrance while Aries just magically appears in the ring after a quick commercial break. I’m getting mixed messages on the importance of one Mr. Aries.
The match starts off with some chain wrestling and some friendly taunting. The pace is slow at first but picks up. At one point, ACH hits a springboard dropkick to the outside and attempts a running kick, but his foot is swept by Aries and he lands face first on the apron.
Aries takes control of the match, working on ACH’s ribs and right leg, which are both bandaged. He locks in an interesting version of a Stump Puller and turns it into a pinning combination. ACH gets back in the game when Aries misses a top rope dropkick. ACH takes advantage with a leg sweep takedown, a dropkick, and a discus corner clothesline, but misses a splash off the top rope. He blocks a corner charge by Aries and sends him to the mat with a slingshot cutter. Aries takes control again with a clothesline and a pendulum elbow. He attempts a suplex, but ACH escapes it and hits an enziguri followed by a “back leg front kick” as Tony Schiavone puts it. ACH goes to the top rope and hits a frogsplash but Aries kicks out of the pinning attempt. Aries ends up in an electric chair position, but he twists ACH’s ears to get out of the move. He comes off the rope and eats a lariat. They go the outside again where Aries drops ACH with a Death Valley Driver on the apron. Ouch.
Back in the ring, Aries Irish whips ACH into the corner but ACH avoids contact with the corner with a baseball slide. Aries charges but ACH trips Aries, rolls him onto his stomach, and double stomps him. ACH climbs to the top and tries to hit his patented 450 splash, but Aries blocks the move with his knees and seamlessly traps ACH in a small package, which only gets a two count. Aries locks in the Last Chancery, but ACH makes it to the ropes.
ACH gets to the apron and hits a springboard reverse STO on his opponent. Aries recovers and puts the match away, though, with a five-arm, a corner dropkick, and finally the brainbuster for the 1-2-3. Both men shake hands after the match.
Following a commercial break, we got shots of some beautiful Florida sights, only to be interrupted by the demented gaze of Englishman Jimmy Havoc, who tells the people of Florida that they sure do love to see blood. They loved it when Abdullah the Butcher cut Dusty Rhodes open and they loved it when Steve Corino wore the “crimson mask.” Now, he’s promising to give Floridians what they want, which I assume is more blood.
Barrington Hughes vs. Chico Adams
Back in the arena, Chico Adams is waiting for his opponent, who turns out to be Barrington Hughes, a guy who makes Mark Henry look like Kofi Kingston. And whereas Mark Henry was “Sexual Chocolate”, Mr. Hughes (wait, wrong guy) calls himself the “Caramel Colossus.” Chocolate? Caramel? I suddenly have a hankering for Snickers.
My poor food choices aside, this encounter is a literal squash match, as Adams runs at Hughes and is squashed with a sidewalk slam for the three count. Before the match started, Schiavone said Hughes held the record for the fastest match in MLW history at 8.8 seconds. I timed this match and clocked it at 7.7 seconds, so it seems that we have a new record. Hughes leaves the ring, yelling into the camera that he wants more competition. As for Adams, didn’t anybody ever show him what happened to S.D. Jones when HE ran towards the big fat guy at WrestleMania I? Study more tape, sir.
We’re informed that next week, World Heavyweight Champion Shane Strickland is going up against Jimmy Havoc in the main event.
Pentagon Jr. vs. Rey Fenix
Our main event pits two brothers against each other as Pentagon Jr. and Rey Fenix fight it out for a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship.
Whoever typed Rey Fenix’s name into the chyron spelt the first half of his name “R-A-Y.” I gave the production folks props in the beginning, so now I have to be fair and point out this boneheaded mistake. Note to MLW chyron guy: Fenix is a king, not one of the guys from Ghostbusters.
Pentagon Jr. comes out next. He is probably the scariest looking wrestling in the business today. He’s accompanied by his manager, Salina de la Renta, who does not look scary.
Pentagon refuses a handshake from his brother and instead offers a “Cero Miedo” taunt. He tries the taunt for a second time but Fenix stops it. They deliver a quick series of kicks and pinning attempts before booting each other in the face.
The action spills to the outside, where Fenix hits a tope suicida that knocks Pentagon to the ground but sends HIM flying into the crowd. That was nuts.
Back in the ring, Fenix hits a back elbow and attempts a springboard move, only to be dropkicked by Pentagon. The match goes to the outside again, where Pentagon grabs a fan’s beer. I couldn’t tell if he drank it or just held on to it for a second. Then, he quiets the fans down before delivering a sick chop to Fenix’s chest. The fans scream “Uno mas” and Pentagon loudly chops his brother again. More “uno mas” chants break out. This time, Pentagon decides to put a fan’s hat on before attempting to deliver a flesh breaking smack to Fenix’s chest.
Between antics like this and leading the crowd in a “Cero Miedo” chant, I’m really surprised by the amount of interaction Pentagon has with the fans. I’ve only seen a little bit of his work on Lucha Underground (I’m on Season 1, Episode 7) and thought he was just a sadist who broke people’s arms. I mean, he is, but he’s an arm-breaking sadist with some flair for show business, too!
Pentagon goes for the third chop and hits the ring post instead. Fenix goes for a chop of his own and HE hits the post. Pentagon kicks Fenix in the knee and sends him to the mat. Fenix recovers, however, and hurricanranas Pentagon into some fans!
They head back into the ring. Pentagon superkicks Fenix but Fenix comes back with a bicycle kick, a corner springboard kick, and a springboard dropkick. Fenix jumps onto the top turnbuckle but is crotched. He shoots right back up to his feet and moonsaults. Pentagon moves and Fenix lands on his feet. He sends Pentagon into the corner and charges, but Pentagon jumps and drives his knees into Fenix’s back with a double knee lungblower.
We come back from commercial and Pentagon Sling Blades Fenix twice. He hits a basement superkick but Fenix comes back with one of his own followed by a Pele kick. Pentagon superkicks Fenix again but Fenix responds with a somersault into a jumping cutter! Fenix climbs to the top rope but Pentagon knocks him down to the apron with a corner enzuigiri. Pentagon climbs to the top rope but Fenix meets him up there and brings him down to the canvas with a Spanish Fly but only get a two count.
Fenix runs at Pentagon, who lifts his brother up with a powerbomb and brings him down over his knee. He follows up with a Canadian Destroyer. “This is Awesome” chants break out. Both men trade dueling slaps. A piece of gum seems to fall out of Pentagon’s mouth. He just picks it right back up and puts it in his mouth. Cero Miedo, indeed.
The finishing sequence sees Pentagon flip Fenix into the air and catch him with a devastating powerbomb. He “breaks” Fenix’s arm, and then executes the Pentagon Driver. Schiavone calls it the Fear Factor, but it’s a pumphandle half nelson driver, not a package piledriver. Nevertheless, the move gets Pentagon the victory and a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship, which will take place at the next set of MLW TV tapings on May 3. De la Renta brings out a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue to celebrate. I have bought a bottle of Johnnie Blue before. That is not something I would bring into a room full of rowdy wrestling fans. The two brothers hug and the fans applaud. We get a replay of the action before Schiavone signs off.
Final Thoughts
I liked this show. MLW hooked me from the opening videos with its history and display of the many styles it promotes. It is definitely trying to set itself apart from other wrestling promotions by calling their matches “fights.” I think any attempt to differentiate yourself from WWE or any other big name company is a good idea. Aries vs. ACH was slow in the beginning but the last few minutes met my expectations of what I thought I’d see from those two guys. The Jimmy Havoc promo got across the message that he’s a bloodthirsty savage while the squash match established Barrington Hughes as a huge wrecking machine. Pentagon and Fenix tore it up with a fun, hard hitting, and fast-paced lucha libre battle. Pentagon really surprised me with his showmanship. I’m really looking forward to seeing what he does in the future. The commentating wasn’t bad. Tony reminded me that I was watching MLW Fusion every two minutes but on a new show like this, that’s what he’s supposed to do. I was just happy to hear his voice on a wrestling show again after all these years. Bocchini was serviceable in his role as the color guy.
Overall, great first episode! If you missed it, I definitely recommend you watch episode two next week. I know I will.
Former WWE Champion Jinder Mahal transformed his career between his first and current run with the sports entertainment company.
In April of 2011 Mahal made his main roster debut and would eventually find himself as a member of the Three Man Band (3MB) trio alongside Drew McIntyre and Heath Slater. In 2014, however, his run with the WWE came to an end when he was released from his deal. He would return to the independent circuit for two years, where he would reinvent himself creatively and physically, before being brought back to WWE around the time of the Superstar Shake-Up last year.
Mahal was recently a guest on Chasing Glory with Lilian Garcia. During the interview, he was asked about being put in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal which saw Mojo Rawley win the match last year at WrestleMania 33. Here is what he had to say (transcript courtesy ofWrestling Inc):
“It was cool, definitely, but part of me, I’d be lying if I’d say it wasn’t disappointing in a way because I wanted to be on the main show. Actually, one of the things that I did in this last year is that I write down my goals. Every day I write down ‘Main Evented WrestleMania,’ along with writing, ’10-Time World Champion,’ I have all these goals. I write down what my net-worth is going to be, how many properties I’d like to own. Every day I write this down,” Mahal said. “One of my goals is main eventing WrestleMania. Right now, I write ’10-time World Champion.’ Before I became WWE Champion I used to write down ‘Become A Champion in WWE,’ because I was so low on the card, to even hold a championship in the WWE I would think that it would be so cool. I can be Intercontinental Champion, U.S Champion, but I should have written ‘Become a World Champion.’ I’m a firm believer that if you put it on paper and it reminds you to work hard every day, especially every day if you write down your goals.”
What are your thoughts on Mahal being very open about this role at the biggest event of the year for the WWE? Sound off in the comment section below.
The fallout from Alberto El Patron’s departure from Impact Wrestling is still a discussion.
El Patron failed to appear at the Impact Wrestling vs. Lucha Underground event at WrestleCon earlier this month during WrestleMania weekend. At the show, he was originally scheduled to team with Penta El 0M against Austin Aries and Rey Fénix. This led to the promotion releasing El Patron due to him not appearing at the show.
SI.com recently interviewed Impact Wrestling executive Scott D’Amore. During this interview, D’Amore opened up on the release of the former world champion.
“It was obviously an unfortunate situation. When Alberto failed to show up to the event, we made our decision on a new main event for the show. It was important for us to give our fans, in a capacity crowd at the Sugar Mill in New Orleans, a great event, and we did not want them to focus on someone who wasn’t there.
We wanted them to focus on the match we were giving. Those three guys went out, were so professional, and put on an amazing match. Then we sat down and huddled.” What are your thoughts on Impact Wrestling parting ways with El Patron? Sound off in the comment section below.
Since 2014, WWE has attempted to establish Roman Reigns as their next “face of the company.”
Reigns had headlined multiple major WWE pay-per-view events, including the last four WrestleManias (31 lost to Seth Rollins, 32 beat Triple H, 33 when he defeated The Undertaker, and 34 where he lost to Brock Lesnar. There has never been a babyface that has been pushed like Reigns that is disliked more by fans in the history of professional wrestling. Historically, when a babyface is not getting over with the crowd, the promoter or booker would turn them heel. Reigns is truly a different case in that sense.
Bruce Prichard spoke with Sporting News on his thoughts about various topics. During the interview, he was asked about Reigns and his future in the sports entertainment company.
“Roman Reigns has ‘it.’ Roman Reigns is going to be the guy. He’s got all the tools. Love him or hate him, they care about him. I have no problem with Roman Reigns being the next guy to take it to the next level because he’s a stud.”
What are your thoughts on Reigns being the top guy for the WWE? Sound off in the comment section below.
WWE Hall of Famer Booker T has challenged fellow Hall of Famer Goldberg to a match.
On Twitter, while working out at the gym, Booker T, who is slated to return to WWE television this coming Monday for RAW to fill in for Jonathan Coachman on commentary, decided to challenge the former Universal Champion to a match at either the Greatest Royal Rumble event or WrestleMania 35 next year.
As for the reason? It’s due to Goldberg telling him backstage at WrestleMania 34 that he needs to get back in the gym after the former WCW World Champion was seen riding a hoverboard.
Booker T told him that he was just using the hoverboard for fun and wanted to let Goldberg know he was indeed in good shape.
Obviously, this was just a joke as you can tell with Goldberg’s response to the challenge below:
WWE Hall of Famer and Commentating Legend Jim Ross has confirmed his status for the upcoming World of Sport tapings taking place on May 10th/11th/12th from Norwich’s EPIC Studios in the UK.
As we reported previously; World of Sport Wrestling has scheduled a series of TV Tapings for mid-May. The promotion previously announced television taping dates for May of 2017 as well but abruptly canceled them a few weeks ahead of time. At the time, talent and fans were told the decision had been made to postpone the project.
JR was a major part of the original ‘reboot’ special that aired as part of ITV’s New Year’s Eve offering in 2016 working as the play by play commentator…but it looks as though his involvement in the project has now come to an end. Ross tweeted earlier today (available at the bottom of this page) to confirm that he will not be taking part in the tapings which are slated for the following dates:
Thursday, May 10th, 630PM
Friday, May 11th, 2pm & 630pm
Saturday, May 12th, 2pm & 630pm
World of Sport have not confirmed which on air talents will be taking part in the new tapings, several performers from the original ‘reboot’ episode are now heavily linked with moves to WWE, including PROGRESS Wresting Tag Team Champion Zack Gibson.
Attendance for these events is free and you can apply for tickets here.
Unfortunately, no, but I’m pulling for my friends at @ITV for @WOSWrestlingITV project. https://t.co/XG6ByxjmG8
UK based promotion RIPTIDE Wrestling has confirmed that 205 Live Superstar and former PROGRESS World Champion Mark Andrews will be making his way to their Spring Break event on Friday May 4th from The Brighthelm Centre and Auditorium in Brighton, England.
Andrews will be taking on one of the most beloved stars in both RIPTIDE and the UK scene; Jack Sexsmith. The ‘Pansexual Phenomenon’ has been building his profile over the past few years and is now in line for a huge PROGRESS Wrestling World Title bout (at their 69th Chapter event) as well as high profile matches for up and coming independent companies such as RIPTIDE.
The currently confirmed card for Spring Break is now as follows:
WALTER vs Wild Boar
Jimmy Havoc vs Jinny
Mark Andrews vs Jack Sexsmith
Maverick Mayhew vs Spike Trivet
Sierra Loxton vs Chakara vs Sammi Jayne
TK Cooper vs Drew Parker vs Elijah vs Danny Jones
Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake) vs Kip Sabian & ??? vs Team White Wolf vs Anti-Fun Police
The Young Bucks have made public tributes and said their farewells to one of the most beloved venues in independent wrestling and PWG’s longtime home; American Legion Hall/Post #308 in Reseda, CA.
Due to a ticketing error PWG’s last event Time Is A Flat Circle was moved to the Globe Theater in Los Angeles, California. That error appeared to be a signal that the independent company was planning on moving home at some point in the near future.
The Young Bucks’ time as part of PWG and their performances in the Legion Hall have become the stuff of legend, as such they made it a personal goal to at least perform on one of the final dates in the venue:
Pro Wrestling Guerilla will be holding their final ever events in the Legion Hall this weekend for ‘All Star Extravaganza’ with the following matches set over the two nights:
All Star Weekend Night 1 Friday April 20th
PWG Tag Team Champions Matt Riddle & Jeff Cobb vs. The Young Bucks vs. Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz
PWG Champion Keith Lee vs. Adam Page.
WALTER & Timothy Thatcher vs. Tyler Bateman & Brody King
Taiji Ishimori vs. Bandido
Jonah Rock vs. Joey Janela.
Robbie Eagles vs. Flash Morgan Webster vs. Sammy Guevara.
Ring of Honor has announced that several New Japan Pro Wrestling stars will be joining the company as part of their Honor United UK tour in May. ROH and NJPW have a long standing working relationship and frequently see performers appear on major events in both the United States and Japan, the most notable recent bout being the Supercard of Honor XII main event: Cody Rhodes vs Kenny Omega.
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Toru Yano and IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions EVIL and SANADA of Los Ingobernables de Japon will be making their way to the United Kingdom with shows in:
Scotland’s Edinburgh Corn Exchange May 24
London’s Crystal Palace Sports Centre May 26
Doncaster’s Doncaster Dome May 27
These events mark the first time ROH has been in the UK since last August’s sold-out War of the Worlds UK Tour and will feature some of the company’s biggest stars. No matches have yet been confirmed for the tour.
Tickets for the three shows are available to purchase via the official ROH Website.
UK based promotion Fight Club: Pro has made two major announcements for their upcoming ‘Return of The Sendai’ event which takes place Friday May 4th from Wolverhampton, England.
WWE United Kingdom and NXT Superstars Tyler Bate and Trent Seven will be making their return to FCP after becoming the company’s first ever Tag Team champions. ‘Moustache Mountain’ became the inaugural Tag Team title holders after competing in a 70 minute plus bout during the Dream Tag Team Invitational, their opponents for ‘Return of the Sendai’ have yet to be confirmed.
Reigning Fight Club: Pro singles Champion Meiko Satomura will be making her way to Wolverhampton to defend her belt against the man she defeated for the crown. CCK leader Chris Brookes will be looking to reclaim the title after losing to the Japanese legend in one of the featured bouts from FCP’s Dream Tag Invitational. Satomura also successfully defended the belt during WrestleMania weekend at the ‘Pancakes and Piledrivers’ show co-hosted by AAW/Revolver Wrestling and Fight Club; Satomura defeated both Jessicka Havok and Kimber Lee to keep hold of the Championship.
Satomura is the co-founder of the famed Sendai Girls promotion, she has performed across the globe for the likes of Gaea Japan, WCW and Chikara.
DTTI 2018 was a truly huge occasion as we crowned our first ever Tag Team Champions.
On Fri 4th May, Moustache Mountain will be there to defend their titles at Return Of The Sendai but who will they face???
PROGRESS has announced a major Champion vs Champion bout for their upcoming Super Strong Style 16 weekender which takes place May 5th/6th/7th from Alexandra Palace in London, England.
The company’s World Champion Travis Banks will be defending his crown against the current reigning ATLAS Division Champion WALTER. Banks’ long anticipated title reign recently took an unexpected turn, fans of PROGRESS (specifically in the Electric Ballroom) began to turn their backs on the previously beloved ‘Kiwi Buzzsaw’ and the company appears to have reacted to this negativity by giving the fans this bout against strong favourite WALTER.
Ringkampf stable member WALTER is fast becoming one of the most sought after ‘free agents’ in the world scene, WWE are reportedly interested in the Austrian powerhouse and star of German promotion wXw…these reports have since been refuted by WALTER however he was on hand during the Wrestlemania Axxess shows so a deal between the two parties may well be struck in the coming months.
Intriguingly this will be the second time that the two decorated UK scene stars will face in the coming weeks; DEFIANT Wrestling has already announced that an Internet Title bout will take place at their No Regrets PPV on April 28th.
The Rock recently confirmed he was asked to be a part of the inter-gender tag-team match at WrestleMania 34. According to the megastar, he was asked to be Ronda Rousey’s partner against Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.
The Rock recently gave an interview to UK radio station, Kiss FM. During the interview, Rock spoke on a conversation he had with Vince McMahon regarding a potential WrestleMania 34 match:
“Matter of fact, Vince McMahon and I were talking about two months ago trying to figure out what I was going to do if I went back to WrestleMania. He pitched me this really great idea that I’d get involved in a tag match with Ronda Rousey who is, of course, incredible and I’m very proud of her,” said The Rock. “We couldn’t make it work this time because I was in Shanghai. But, Who knows down the line?”
The Rock & Ronda Rousey vs Triple H & Stephanie McMahon
Had the Rock been Ronda Rousey’s partner at WrestleMania, it would have better played off the WrestleMania 31 segment featuring Rock, Rousey, Triple H, & Stephanie. Considering the response Rousey & Angle vs Triple H & Stephanie got, however, nobody is complaining too much the Rock wasn’t able to make it.
Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson is currently promoting his latest movie “Rampage”. In the movie, Johnson plays a gorilla expert who befriends a large and mutated gorilla named George. It currently holds a 50% approval rating amongst critics on Rotten Tomatoes and an 81% approval rating amongst users of the site.
During the above interview, Rock spoke on several other topics. He discussed what would happen if he and Conor McGregor were to meet in a fight amongst other topics.
Rock also took the time recently to respond to a young woman who asked him to promo:
World of Sport Wrestling has scheduled a series of TV Tapings for mid-May. The promotion previously announced television taping dates for May of 2017 as well but abruptly canceled them a few weeks ahead of time. At the time, talent and fans were told the decision had been made to postpone the project.
Now it appears, World of Sport Wrestling is ready to give the project another go.
WOS Wrestling recently announced the following TV Taping dates:
All shows will take place at Epic Studios in Norwich:
Thursday, May 10th, 630PM
Friday, May 11th, 2pm & 630pm
Saturday, May 12th, 2pm & 630pm
All shows are free to attend.
World of Sport Wrestling
In 2016, WOS Wrestling filmed a pilot episode which featured Grado winning the World Championship. This was to be followed up with a 10-part series in 2017 with Jeff Jarrett serving as executive producer. The TV tapings were scheduled for late-May in 2017 but were abruptly canceled. The promotion blamed prolonged contract negotiations for the postponement.
It’s not clear at this moment exactly who is still involved with the project. Most of the social media accounts previously associated with 2017’s revival attempt are still not active. Nick Aldis, Grado, El Ligero and Sha Samuels were expected to be key parts of the 2017 version of the show but it is not clear if that is still the case or not. None of the wrestlers involved in previous revival attempts have mentioned the tapings in their social media feeds either.
Here are the results from the one-night 2016 revival show for World of Sport Wrestling:
WOS World Championship (vacant)
Dave Mastiff defeated Grado
4-Way Ladder Match
Kenny Williams defeated CJ Bans, Danny Hope, and Sam Bailey
Viper defeated Alexis Rose
The Coffey Brothers (Joe and Mark) defeated Ashton Smith and Rampage
El Ligero defeated Zack Gibson
#1 Contender Battle Royal
Grado defeated Davey Boy Smith Jr, El Liger, the Coffey Brothers, Johnny Moss, Kenny Williams, and Sha Samuels
Former WCW World Heavyweight Champion Vader recently underwent open heart surgery in Dallas, Texas and left the hospital last weekend to begin his rehab. Vader recently took to Twitter to offer an update to fans, and revealed that he’s back in the hospital with a case of pneumonia:
I Am officially out of the HOSPITAL and in rehab Its a long ROAD BK from here to the RING WISH ME LUCK!!!!
Damn I have bad news Iam bk in the https://t.co/1oYCjG1pNF pain is thru the roof and they say I have pneumonia.Cant breath.But Iam still fighting VADER TIME
Back in 2015 a series of bizarre incidents began to occur at the WWE Performance Center, involving WWE fan Armando Alejandro Montalvo. Montalvo would appear at the center in wrestling costumes while threatening staff.
He was also filmed begging to be trained by personnel and uttered inappropriate remarks. Back in August of 2015 Montalvo was taken into custody by Orlando police after being called to remove him from their premises – as he had developed an infatuation for one of the female competitors.
Instead of staying away from the facility, Montalvo returned on August 31st of 2015 and caused quite the commotion. He was encountered by armed deputies and was shot after trying to charge an officer.
TMZ reports that WWE is now filing a restraining order against Montalvo due to recent threats from him on social media. Per the documents obtained, Montalvo smeared some of his own feces on the walls of the Performance Center in July of 2015 – a month before his incident with the police.
Montalvo re-appeared at the Performance Center this past March and began harassing employees. While there, Montalvo made the comment “My new wrestling nickname is Generation Flex because my d**k and my balls is bigger than Generation Ex.”
It was also learned that Montalvo threatened to launch a biological attack using his own semen. On April 4th he posted a video on Instagram in which he said “Lord forgive me for what I’m about to do, [because] I know I’m a hundred percent real with it. And every single wrestler is gonna be saying their prayers by the time it’s all said and done. Because if you wanna know why, cuz I’m a wild man.”
He also recently addressed the restraining order by WWE in a recent Instagram post:
WWE is set to release a new DVD on Matt and Jeff Hardy, “Twist of Fate: The Best of the Hardy Boyz,” that will feature footage from their days in TNA/IMPACT Wrestling.
The three-disc special is set to be released on May 1st, and will include 27 matches and new segments filmed at The Hardy Compound in North Carolina. WrestlingDVDNews released the following sneak peak of the set:
This DVD will be the first WWE DVD to feature footage from TNA or IMPACT Wrestling, and this same footage could be used on the WWE Network.
WrestlingDVDNews also reviewed an advanced copy of the DVD and reports it features interviews with Matt and Jeff Hardy discussing the highlights of their time in IMPACT – including their “Broken” gimmicks and the Final Deletion.
The DVD also featured a plug for IMPACT’s streaming service, as any TNA or IMPACT footage on the DVD contains a logo on the corner for the Global Wrestling Network. The DVD also features the following notice from WWE:
“To watch all the Hardys’ Impact Wrestling matches in their entirety, download the Global Wrestling Network app. Available on all your favorite streaming devices!”
Rusev On Chris Jericho Being Removed From Undertaker Casket Match
There has been a ton of changes made to The Undertaker’s Casket match at the upcoming Greatest Royal Rumble event in Saudi Arabia. Originally, Rusev was scheduled to face The Dead Man.
After some controversial comments were made by Rusev to TMZ regarding Undertaker, WWE made the change to have Chris Jericho step in for Rusev instead. It was later cleared up Rusev didn’t offend The Undertaker and he was inserted back into the match.
The Bulgarian Brute took to Twitter to tease Jericho’s previous involvement in the match, posting a promotional image for Undertaker vs. Jericho and captioning it “TBT”:
A Six-Man Tag Team dark match has been announced for next week’s episode of Monday Night RAW. The team of Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman and WWE Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins will take on Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens and Jinder Mahal.
WWE Superstar Drew McIntyre recently did an interview with Planeta Wrestling to talk about several professional wrestling topics. McIntyre first discussed his recovery from the recent bicep injury that kept him sidelined for several months:
“I got injured on November 18th [NXT TakeOver:War Games], I was wrapping my arm around my injury [torn bicep], and I started to Google the fastest amount of time someone has healed with this type of injury, it said four months, so I set out to get healed in four months by WrestleMania weekend, and I have been working very hard to come back.”
The match McIntyre injured himself in was against Andrade “Cien” Almas, who defeated the Scotsman to become the new NXT Champion. McIntyre offered his impressions of the now-former NXT Champion, who was recently called-up to SmackDown Live:
“I think he is very, very good. I think the pairing with Zelina Vega was perfect. It was just something that was missing. He is very good in the ring; great high-flyer, but he never really got to show it until he wrestled against myself. He can do everything.
“There was just something that was missing until the pairing with Zelina Vega, and I think he is going to shine in every area of his game. There is no shame in losing against him. He hits very hard. I hit very hard. He has some cool moves up his sleeve.
“In the end he dropped me on my head, tore my bicep and won the title and put me out on four months. On that night, he was the better man.”
McIntyre was then asked who he would like to sign with WWE from the Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW) promotion:
“There are a few of the guys that are already part of the NXT brand. Wolfgang is already over here. Guys like Killian Dain, Nikki Cross, Noam Dar, who is part of the Cruiserweight division. There are a few guys from ICW that I would like for them to come over here to show what they can do.
“Jack Jester and Sha Samuels perhaps. BT Gunn is another guy that I would like to see. He is amazing in the ring. We have so many. The entire Insane Championship Wrestling roster is very talented.”
Finally, McIntyre offered his thoughts on ex-UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey now becoming a WWE Superstar:
“It is a huge deal. She is such a gigantic name on the mainstream. She is box office in sports and in the Octagon. I didn’t watch UFC much, but whenever she had a fight I would want to watch. She is such an attraction. She is such a big fan of our business, and isn’t just here for a payday. She genuinely loves this. I remember seeing her at a Pro Wrestling Guerrilla show in Los Angeles, when she was in the crowd.
“Her rival was on next for a UFC pay per view while our show was going on, and myself along with Trevor Lee were having a match in the crowd. A photographer took a picture of us fighting in the crowd with her in the background watching our match instead of watching the UFC fight. That is how much she loves this business, and we saw her in the crowd all the time. She is not taking this lightly, and is doing a great job.
“This is not an easy job to get. It took me 17 years to get to the point where I am at. It took her two months to get to the point where she is at and I see her looking more and more comfortable in the ring as well.”
The 2018 Superstar Shake-Up is in the books and some of WWE’s biggest stars are now on a different brand than they were the previous year.
Now having completed a Superstar Shake-Up for the second year in a row, as opposed to a full-out WWE Draft, it should be interesting to see which WWE Superstars prefer the most – a Shake-Up or the Draft?
Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful is reporting that, after speaking to several WWE Superstars, he has determined that the majority prefer the Shake-Up. Sapp also reported that the WWE stars who were switching brands were told beforehand, which is something that hasn’t always been done in the past.
There have been some stories in previous cases of wrestlers finding out which brand they’d been drafted to at the same time as the audience. It was also reported that some Superstars were given the day off.
Discussion: Do you prefer the Superstar Shake-Up or the WWE Draft? Which brand got the better of this year’s Shake-Up? And what moves were you not a fan of?
