WWE Superstar Roman Reigns recently did an interview with The Express where he talked about several professional wrestling topics. One of these topics included Reigns’ relationship with Vince McMahon.
Reigns said Vince has never steered him wrong, and also noted that the entire McMahon family are great people:
“All the McMahons are great people and if you know them you get to talk to them on that level. It’s very easy to see them, they’re very personal and that’s key – you have to build a relationship,” Reigns revealed. “It’s not just with the McMahons, it’s everybody. It’s just about getting to know people and a lot of people getting to know you.”
“I can’t say Vince has ever done me wrong. Regardless of all the fantasy bookers out there, at the end of the day life’s been pretty good for me in the wrestling business so I have to attribute a lot of that to the relationship that I do have with Vince and the way that he has always taken care of me. He takes care of all of us. To have that responsibility and that role is not easy – to be a provider and a protector and that’s what he is. I think along with everybody else, I can say that we are all very grateful,” Reigns said.
You can read Reigns’ full interview with The Express by clicking this link here.
The Young Bucks, Matt and Nick Jackson, recently joined Chris Jericho’s Talk Is Jericho podcast to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Matt Jackson revealed that when AJ Styles first departed to WWE, he wanted to bring The Young Bucks with him:
“We had just signed a contract with ROH at the time in November because AJ pulled us aside and was like, ‘tell me you guys don’t have any contracts now please,’ and we were like, ‘we just signed.’ And he was like, ‘argh!’ because he wanted to bring us over too. And I don’t know if that would’ve happened, but that was his idea. And we were like, ‘naw, man. We just signed for two years’ or whatever it was.”
“It would be kind of dumb of us because they couldn’t pay us what we’re making right now.”
Matt then explained why they wouldn’t go to WWE right now, as it would be a “dumb” decision to do so:
“If we left right now [for WWE], it would be kind of dumb of us because they couldn’t pay us what we’re making right now, not with the schedule we’re on too. There’s no way.” Matt clarified, “of course they could [afford the pay]! Do you know what I mean? I just don’t think they would!”
He also discussed if he and his brother would ever sign with WWE, and while he admits it will always be a big question in their careers, they won’t have any regrets if their careers ended tomorrow:
“It’s always going to be a question. No matter how big we get, it will always be a question that lingers on in our career, I think, as well as Kenny because the three of us, well, he went to [WWE] developmental for a little bit, but people don’t remember that. I don’t even know if that counts as a WWE run, but it will always be a question.
“The way we’re going, we could probably quit in five years.” Nick said, “at this point, [WWE]’s not a goal. We don’t need it. It was [a goal] for sure. For our first eight years, that was the goal.
“We could literally quit tomorrow and do something else. And we would be fine though because we have enough saved now at this point. Like, we’re in a good spot!” Matt reflected, “we’ve built this empire, man, The Young Bucks brand. What else could I want? That would be literally the last missing piece, going there and doing a run.”
You can listen to The Young Bucks’ interview on Talk Is Jericho by clicking this link here.
WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan recently did an interview on Chris Jericho’s podcast, Talk Is Jericho, where they discussed his return to the squared circle in WWE. Bryan first discussed working as the SmackDown Live General Manager when he was unable to compete, and how he grew to hate the job:
“Then they brought me back as GM, and I still have to do a bunch of traveling with that. I have to sit around for a bunch of matches It hurt and it also was like, ‘What am I doing?’ This is the part of me where I’m like, ‘What a sissy I am!’ Lots of people go to their jobs that they don’t like and make way less money than me being the GM of SmackDown, but I could not get out of this mental state where I hate being here,” Bryan said.
“I really disliked going to work every week, and there would be times where I would fly in and get the script to the show, I would try to get as many people as I could to get in the shoot so I can leave that night and just get out of there. That was when I really started to say that I wouldn’t accept this anymore, I’m going to come back.”
Bryan then had a serious conversation with Vince McMahon about coming back to the ring. It was there that he presented an interesting idea to The Chairman Of The Board that would allow him to wrestle again:
“I had a conversation with Vince McMahon. He was pushing the hard questions about what would happen if I would get another concussion? I had answers for him and laid it out. I would have different concussion protocols than everyone else, and one of my pitches to him is that this happens in every sport, when guys get a concussion and a trainer goes over to him and they are asked if they are okay, and the guy would say that he is fine.
“They would ask if he has a concussion, and the guy would say no, he’s fine. Myself included would say that. So, stop that because that has been an issue with me before. In the past, when I would have a concussion I would just walk it off,” Bryan said. “My proposal would be that after every match I have to go to the trainer’s room and they have to do their checks, and if I don’t do it maybe I get a fine, or something like that. After every match now I get checked.
“Not even thanking my opponents, after WrestleMania, I walked to Gorilla. No thank you’s to anybody, just walked straight to the Doctor’s and then I get checked. They do basic neurological stuff, and we are revising that as we go because it is new to them too.”
McMahon then told him to send his proposal to WWE’s medical director Dr. Maroon, and the rest is history:
“He told me to type it up and put it in an email to Doctor Maroon and say this. I give Doctor Maroon a lot of credit because it is hard to reverse your decision regarding clearing me. I have a lot of respect for him because he said, okay, my opinion might not be right for this. He sent me to three Neurologists that he thought were the best Neurologists. He could have easily sent me to Neurologists that backed his opinion.
“He sent me to people that had the latest, up to date research on concussion,” he said. “He wanted to get to the right answer. I have a lot of respect to him for that. If I get hurt, it goes to Doctor Maroon because he is the Head of Medical in WWE. That was the beginning of the process.
“He said that if we do clear you, what is your schedule going to look like? Turns out, we haven’t talked about the schedule much because they pretty much have thrown me in live events, so now, I am on that full European tour, so it’s back to the full-time stuff.”
You can listen to Bryan’s full interview on Talk Is Jericho by clicking this link here.
Today, May 18th, marks 16 years since the passing of wrestling legend Davey Boy Smith. He was just 39 years old when he passed away from a heart attack.
Smith had a storied career competing for WWE, Stampede Wrestling, All Japan Pro Wrestling and WCW. Along with the Dynamite Kid, he was one half the British Bulldogs tag team before embarking on a singles career in 1990. Throughout multiple runs with WWE, held multiple championships including the Intercontinental, tag team, European and Hardcore titles.
On the anniversary of Smith’s passing, his son and daughter posted messages on Twitter acknowledging the date and expressing their love for him.
Davey Boy Smith Jr., Son
Today marks the 16th anniversary of the passing of my father. ? Although it feels like yesterday, time sure does fly, and not a day goes by where he’s not thought of and missed dearly. I’m sure he would have loved following my career in Japan, the advancements in video games,
— Harry Smith, “Davey Boy Smith JR” (@DBSmithjr) May 18, 2018
the new training equipment and advances now today, and new comedy and action movies and special effects of today. Lots of Love ??, thanks to fans who have remembered and appreciated Davey today as well. ??????????? pic.twitter.com/kW1k4y92Ts
— Harry Smith, “Davey Boy Smith JR” (@DBSmithjr) May 18, 2018
Georgia Smith, Daughter
16 years today, we got the heartbreaking news that we lost @dbsmithjr’s & my dad. It’s changed us forever, but I don’t just remember him today, or when we lost him. But Davey is in my heart and in my thoughts ALWAYS. I cherish the memories we have, I love you Davey and miss you. pic.twitter.com/Wg2n8BCZsq
— Georgia Joyce Smith (@georgiasmith87) May 18, 2018
Revolution Pro Wrestling (Rev Pro) have announced more names for the upcoming Strong Style Evolved UK events taking place on June 30th/July 1st in Milton Keynes and Manchester respectively.
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay, Taichi, Yuji Nagata, and Toru Yano will be joining the already announced leader of the Suzuki-Gun stable Minoru Suzuki, Bullet Club’s ‘New Bone Soldier’ Taiji Ishimori, Rev Pro British Heavyweight Champion Tomohiro Ishii and IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada.
Fans hoping to see the likes of Kenny Omega at the shows are sadly out of luck, he confirmed recently that he will not be heading to the UK for SSE. More names are expected to be announced for the shows in the coming weeks and we will update here on the site as soon as news becomes available.
Tickets for the first Strong Style Evolved shows outside of the United States are available to purchase via the official Rev Pro website.
IWGP Jr Heavyweight Champion will be in action June 30/July 1 #SSEUK
WWE has announced the last 8 competitors that will be taking part in the upcoming United Kingdom Tournament to determine a new Number 1 contender to Pete Dunne and his UK Championship.
The final 8 men confirmed for the tournament are as follows:
Travis Banks
Flash Morgan Webster
Jordan Devlin
Tucker
Drew Gulak
Ashton Smith
James Drake
Tyson T-Bone
They join the already announced:
Zack Gibson
Joe Coffey
Jack Gallagher
Dave Mastiff
Kenny Williams
El Ligero
Joseph Conners
Amir Jordan
Quite possibly the most intriguing inclusion on this list is PROGRESS World Champion Travis Banks, the New Zealand star has been one of the standout performers on the UK scene for the past few years and his run as PROGRESS World Champion since September 2017 has produced some stellar bouts against the likes of Chris Brookes, TK Cooper, Matt Riddle, Keith Lee and IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay. WWE fans who have not yet had the opportunity to see the ‘Kiwi Buzzsaw’ are in for an absolute treat if he is given the chance to truly showcase his talents.
Another notable inclusion is Ashton Smith who previously took part in the World of Sport New Year’s Eve Special and was a featured star alongside tag team partner Rampage Brown. It is clear that WWE has been securing stars from the WOS roster in an attempt to undercut the new ITV project, however if you take a look at the stacked lineup WOS has amassed it could be argued that WWE is possibly flagging behind in this department.
WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair announced on Instagram that he’ll be unable to fulfill his scheduled appearances this weekend due to “sudden illness.” Flair thanks fans for their support and vows to be back Stylin’ and Profiln’ in no time.
Ric Flair underwent emergency hospitalization last August in order to remove an obstructed part of his bowel. This led to several complications, including kidney failure, which required dialysis treatment. Flair spent over a month in the hospital and was touch-and-go at times.
New Japan Pro Wrestling’s premier tournament for the Junior Heavyweight Division has now begun. The 2018 iteration features some of the finest high flying and technically gifted athletes on the planet and should present some top tier bouts over the next few weeks.
Here are the results from Night 1 of the tournament which featured the combatants in Block A:
Preliminary (Non-Tournament) Match Results
Chris Sabin and Ren Narita b. KUSHIDA and Shota Umino – Sabin hit Umino with the Cradle Shock to secure the win for his team
SHO and YOSHI-HASHI b. Dragon Lee and Tomoyuki Oka – YOSHI-HASHI submitted Oka with the butterfly lock to win the bout for his team
Minoru Suzuki and Desperado b. Ryusuke Taguchi and Toa Henare – Suzuki Henare with the Gotch piledriver to win the match for his team
EVIL and Hiromu Takahashi b. Marty Scurll and Chase Owens – EVIL made Owens submit with the Banshee muzzle the secure the win for his team
A Block Results
Tiger Mask b. Yoshinobu Kanemaru – Tiger Mask took the shock win via pinfall after rolling up Kanemaru
ACH b. Flip Gordon – This was Flip Gordon’s debut in the BOSJ and he lost after ACH hit the Cradle DDT and secured the pinfall win
YOH b. BUSHI – BUSHI hit a Canadian Destroyer and attempted to hit the MX…YOH pulled off a Cradle to grab the shock win
Taiji Ishimori b. Will Ospreay – IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Ospreay attempted the Oscutter which was reveresed into Ishimori’s new finisher: The Bloody Cross (Suplex into a Lungblower) which scored him the pinfall win. The crowd reacted in a big way to the returning star’s win
At the Greatest Royal Rumble event in Saudi Arabia this past April, no female WWE competitors performed on the card due to the culture of the country.
Many fans were up in arms about this due to the Women’s Revolution currently being pushed by the company. There have been rumors going around that the women could get paid for missing out on the show, however, that has not happened as of this writing.
WWE Superstar Natalya recently did an interview with Joe.ie and discussed women being left off the Greatest Royal Rumble. Here’s what she had to say on the matter:
“It was an awesome show. And I was thinking ‘Wow this is so cool, I really want to be a part of this one day’ and it goes back to everybody evolving. It takes time to grow and move forward. I believe everything is going in a positive direction.
“Rome wasn’t built in a day, as they say, but I think definitely we’ll get there, I’m excited about it. I was talking with several of the male talents that were over in Saudi Arabia, and Roman Reigns said it was just so incredible, and that he can’t wait to go back. So it’s exciting for us to think about going there. I think one day I’ll be there for sure.”
You can read Natalya’s full interview with Joe.ie by clicking this link here.
Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks’ self-funded “All In” event has sold out in less than 30 minutes. The action all goes down from the Sears Centre in Chicago, Illinois on September 1st.
Rhodes recently joined Wrestling Observer Radio to talk about All In and also discussed the possibility of offering the event on pay-per-view (PPV). It turns out there may be a key issue getting the program broadcasted.
While Rhodes noted that making the event available on PPV is accessible, and those conversations have been had, there’s also the issue that several talents on the card are under contract with other promotions.
Some of the competitors’ contracts with their respective promotions could pose issues with the event being broadcasted. Okada is under contract with New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), Rhodes and The Young Bucks are under deals with Ring Of Honor (ROH), and other stars such as Pentagon Jr. who is under contract with Lucha Underground.
Cody was recently a guest on the Edge and Christian podcast. The 32-year-old is riding high these days after his planned All-In event on September 1st, 2018, sold out in under 30 minutes.
Several topics were discussed on the podcast but one of the more interesting notes involved a comment Cody made regarding Triple H. During the interview, Cody revealed he received a congratulatory text message from Triple H after winning the ROH World Championship.
“The coolest feeling in the world is to have text messages from people in our industry who don’t have text you. Somebody like Triple H telling me ‘congrats’ for winning the ROH World title,” Cody said to Edge and Christian. “It makes what we do real. My Dad always told me that was the only real thing we do is the World Title.”
Cody Rhodes and Triple H
While Cody has had less than pleasant words for WWE regarding Starrcade or the company patent-claiming the name “Cody Rhodes”, he’s always had high praise for Triple H.
Cody was upset following WWE’s decision to use the name “Starrcade” this fall. He sent out the following in response:
Cody and Triple H have always spoken highly of each other. This fuels speculation Cody left WWE due to his belief Vince McMahon didn’t seem him as a star. It’s possible Triple H agrees with Cody and not Vince. This is even more likely to be the case now considering what Cody has accomplished since leaving the company.
With Vince McMahon expected to spend more time away from WWE in the coming years, it remains to be seen just how long Cody spends outside the promotion.
Cody has brushed off the question of a WWE return when asked. His responses to the question generally state he is happy where he is and happy with what he accomplished during his time in WWE.
I had a great run. Met my wife. Made the Mania' walk a bunch of times. Got a chance to see Dad's last elbow. Won a bunch of titles. Made millions without a college education.
but I'm happy where I'm at and where this is going. 2018 will be the most important year of my career. https://t.co/G32flxqPXc
It turns out that former WWE Champion Randy Orton is, in fact, dealing with a minor injury. Orton hasn’t been seen since losing his United States Title match to Jeff Hardy at the WWE’s Backlash pay-per-view (PPV).
WrestlingNews.co is reporting that Randy Orton had a minor surgery on his knee this past Tuesday. It was not specified which knee Orton had the operation on, but it was noted he could be out until July. Orton’s wife recently posted a video on Instagram in which The Viper’s left knee is wrapped up. You can check that out here:
A fan recently shared a picture of an old Playstation WWE game “SmackDown Shut Your Mouth” from 2002. The cover features Superstars such as Triple H, Booker T, Chris Jericho, Brock Lesnar, and Kurt Angle – all who are still affiliated with the company today.
Kenny Omega responded to the photo and joked that it could be a poster for the WWE’s upcoming PPV:
Impact Wrestling presented a taped show from Orlando, FL last night. This set of tapings was the 2nd under the new management regime and was held in the days following the Redemption PPV on April 22nd, 2018.
The promotion also announced a branded episode of Impact named “Under Pressure” to air in 2 weeks. The main event of Under Pressure will be Pentagon Jr defending the Impact World Championship against Austin Aries.
Impact Wrestling Results (5/18/18)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CN2h4K1G-Hc
1. Impact World Tag Team Championships DJZ & Andrew Everett defeated Scott Steiner & Eli Drake (c) (New Champions)
DJZ and Everett earned this title match by defeating former champions, LAX, last week.
The finish of this match came when Steiner accidentally hit Eli Drake with a chair, allowing Everett to get the pin and win the titles.
Following a commerical break, the new champions were shown celebrating with Petey Williams.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1F7C-i07OMo
2. Tessa Blanchard defeated Kiera Hogan
Madison Rayne joined Josh Matthews on commentary for this match.
After an early surge by Hogan, Blanchard took over and won with a Hammerlock DDT.
Blanchard kept up the attack after the match and this brought Madison Rayne out to make the save.
Rayne and Blanchard then jawed back and forth at each other for a bit.
In the back:
Grado confronted Jimmy Jacobs about the recent attacks in the back. His friend, Joseph Park, was the 3rd victim of the mystery attacker last week. Grado’s girlfriend, Katarina, goaded him into requesting a match with Jacobs’ monster, Kongo Kong.
Kongo Kong and Grado were then booked for a match later in the show.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1FfwpIRkSM
3. Kongo Kong defeated Grado
Grado got in some early comedic offense, but Kongo Kong won with a flying splash.
After the match, Kongo kept up the attack. Rather than help her new love interest, however, Katarina left the ring area.
“Mr. Impact” Moose made the save for Grado. Moose cleared Kong out of the ring to end the segment.
In the back:
The Cult of Lee made fun of LAX for losing two straight matches now that Konnan is gone. A future match between these two teams seems likely.
4. Street Fight House of Hardcore Eddie Edwards defeated Sami Callihan
This match was hosted by House of Hardcore. In storyline, Impact Wrestling officials wanted nothing to do with the match so Tommy Dreamer offered his promotion as a venue for Edwards to get his revenge.
Most of this match was a brawl around the arena. One of the bigger spots involved Callihan giving Edwards a Death Valley Driver on the entrance ramp.
Callihan picked up a bat and went to hit his opponent but Edwards landed a “Boston Knee Party” before he could and got the win.
After the match, Edwards kept going at Callihan, choking him with a baseball bat. Dreamer and security had to pry Edwards after his rival.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wiNYgriwAg
5. Destiny Wrestling Brian Cage defeated Facade
Brian Cage defeated Facade in Mississauga, ON, Canada.
This is part of Brian Cage’s ongoing world tour. He was shown wrestling for Pro Wrestling NOAH and the World Series of Wrestling (Australia) in previous weeks.
The classic moment of the week by the Global Wrestling Network was a match between Brian Kendrick and Austin Aries.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdNfUkkVNAE
Su Yung Creepy Funeral
Su Yung held a rather creepy funeral for Rosemary.
Yung and her army of undead bridesmaids locked Rosemary in a coffin on a previous episode.
Yung blew poison mist on the coffin and lit it on fire to close the segment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmY070IHHPk
6. El Hijo Del Fantasma and Pentagon Jr. defeated Matt Sydal and Austin Aries
Fantasma is scheduled to face Matt Sydal for the X-Division Championship next week.
At Under Pressure in 2 weeks, Aries and Pentagon will meet for the Impact World Championship.
Fantasma got the pin on Sydal with a Cradle Piledriver as Matthews explained on commentary that if this happens next week, Fantasma will be the new X-Division champion.
At yesterday’s NXT House show in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the Undisputed Era issued an open challenge to anyone in the locker room. While NXT tag team champions, Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong may have expected a team currently on the NXT roster, they got a team from Raw instead.
Former NXT tag-team champions, Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson answered the open challenge. It was the first time the team has wrestled in NXT since April of 2017. They were defeated by Strong and O’Reilly, however.
The Revival wrestled in NXT from 2014 to 2017. The team was previously known as the Mechanics as well. They are 2x NXT tag team champions and won the NXT Tag Team of the Year award in 2016.
So far, the Revival’s first year on the main roster has not gone as many hoped. Injuries hampered their initial debut and the team hasn’t seemed to have gained much momentum since returning.
Their most recent match on television came this week on Raw. Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy defeated the Revival in a match which went under 5 minutes. They have managed to score victories over Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows (Raw April 9th, 2018) as well as victories over Breezeango and Heath Slater & Rhyno on episodes of Main Event, however.
WWE is reporting that Shane McMahon underwent successful surgery to repair a hernia. The surgery took place last Friday in New York. Shane is said to be at home resting.
WWE released the following statement to media:
“McMahon is currently resting at home, but he’s feeling well and is excited to get back to work on Smackdown Live.”
While Shane performed at WrestleMania despite his hernia, the situation was said to be touch and go. Chris Jericho recently revealed that had Shane not been able to team with Daniel Bryan, that he would have been his replacement. Shane also suffered from diverticulitis and an infection which landed him in hospital in the weeks and months leading to WrestleMania.
Shane McMahon Performs at WrestleMania 34
On a recent episode of Chris Jericho’s podcast, Daniel Bryan relayed the story of speaking to Shane McMahon in the weeks leading up to WrestleMania.
“Shane called me and told me that he was in the hospital now, ‘I got diverticulitis when I was in Antigua, and when they put me on IV’s I got a staph infection from the IV’s and then I have this hernia that is coming out of my stomach,’ but he’s like, ‘don’t worry, I will be ready for WrestleMania.’ What? How? That doesn’t make any sense.”
Bryan continued to say WWE would not tell him who Shane’s replacement partner would have been.
“They keep all the secrets from the boys because they are afraid that the boys are talking to the dirt sheets and all of that kind of stuff,” Bryan said.
“I asked who it was, and they said that they couldn’t tell me. I thought, ‘wait, you can’t tell me? I’m in the match! Shouldn’t I know?’ I had assumed, I had kind of assumed that you [Jericho] that makes the most sense with your history with Kevin [Owens] and stuff.”
NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Nick Aldis, will be competing in ROH’s upcoming Honor United tour. It will be his first time in Ring of Honor.
News that Nick Aldis will be wrestling for ROH comes on the heels of Billy Corgan revealing the NWA title will be defended at All-In. Cody is scheduled to challenge whoever the champion is at the time. Now it appears, Aldis wants to get a piece of Cody’s Bullet Club teammates beforehand.
Shortly after the All-In Chicago press conference, Aldis seemed upset with Billy Corgan’s announcement. He sent out the following Tweet in response:
If back-room @billy & @CodyRhodes want me to sign on the line for #ALLIN#TenPoundsOfGold several things need to happen. They involve money & respect. But let's start with this: I want a match with The Young Bucks at #HonorUnited Edinburgh. @ringofhonor can pick my partner.
“Frontrunning contenders for “SmackDown” rights include Fox, Facebook and Amazon.” – Variety
Smackdown Live! is likely to have a new home when WWE and USA’s current agreement expires later this year.
Currently, Fox is the leading candidate to land Shane McMahon’s brand but there are other suitors out there. A recent article from Variety spoke to senior analyst for Wells Fargo, Eric Katz about how Smackdown will do on the open market.
“We think ‘SmackDown’ is due for a big raise as well, and likely still viewed as a bargain for several players reportedly interested,” Katz said.
The Variety article also included analysis from a Guggenheim report on WWE’s current television renewals situation.
“The company sits in a much stronger financial and negotiating position now than in 2014 (having just launched the WWE Network while PPV was winding down),” the report reads. “We believe that WWE stands to make significant headway during its coming television contract negotiations due to an enhanced brand, new [business-to-business] relationships, more potential bidders than ever, and a contract that under-indexes other live premium programming.”
Smackdown to Fox, Facebook, or Amazon?
Fox recently sold off the majority of their assets to pave the way for a switch to increased live programming. Facebook and Amazon are also interested suitors, however. The addition of streaming services and social media sites in the bidding has put the WWE in a greater place of leverage than ever before.
WWE previously partnered with Facebook Live for the Mixed Match Challenge. 35 million engagements were reported for the first episode of the tournament. WWE was said to be unhappy with the overall viewership of the Mixed Match Challenge, however. The tournament was eventually won by the Miz and Asuka.
Where do you want to see Smackdown Live end up? Fox? Amazon? Facebook Live? Tell us in the comments section below.
William Bernbach, one of the greatest minds in advertising stated that “advertising is fundamentally persuasion and persuasion happens to be not a science, but an art.”
When looking at the headline that the Cody Rhodes/Young Bucks financed show ‘All In’ had sold out in a staggering 30 minutes, I realized that the art form of professional wrestling was evolving at a rate that is quite frankly unprecedented. The talent involved isn’t just breaking boundaries inside the ring, they’re adopting a truly DIY ethic to show that a self-produced event without the help of the top ‘mainstream’ promotions can sell out a 10,000 seat arena. In 30 minutes. How can you not consider Cody and the Bucks artists?
If you were to ask a wrestling fan in May of 2017 whether this show would sell out so quickly they would likely laugh you out of the room. Yes, the show has been built on the strength of stars such as IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada, Kenny Omega, Marty Scurll, Rey Mysterio, Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks. One line of skepticism surrounding their chances was that they’d need CM Punk and/or Daniel Bryan to sell 10,000 tickets. Cue Ron Howard narration, “They didn’t.”
Curiously, CM Punk will be in Chicago during All In weekend for a signing at Pro Wrestling Tees – the Bullet Club affiliated retail store that just so happened to host the All In press conference this past Sunday. The prospect of Punk being involved at All In is exciting, but the hook of Punk’s involvement wasn’t necessary to sell out the Sears Centre.
In the headline I described ‘All In’ as having created a seismic shift in professional wrestling and it cannot be denied that this (currently) one-off special event has already blown away some of the biggest established independent companies in that market historically. Take into account that ECW peaked at around 6,000 fans at a time when wrestling was in the mainstream consciousness and at the highest peak on interest in history, WAY WAY above where we find ourselves in 2018. For a more modern comparison you can look at TNA and their reported 7,200 sales for the Lockdown event in 2013 which had confirmed feuds, storylines and an already well established fanbase to draw from…that’s nearly 33% less than ‘All In.’
When you also consider the fact that there was no major television exposure, there was no paid advertising in the local area AND not one major match has even been announced outside of Cody challenging for the NWA Title? Seismic might not even be the word…this is unprecedented in the history of professional wrestling, Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks have changed the landscape and for the better.
SEScoops has learned that Major League Wrestling recently signed many of the top performers who have been working for the promotion.
With the recent success of MLW and the launch of FUSION, its new weekly television series, there has been interest from other promotions in acquiring some of their talent. WWE in particular was interested in signing British star Jimmy Havoc, who also competes for Progress, Defiant and ICW.
The list of wrestlers who recently signed with MLW include:
MLW World Champion Shane Strickland
Jimmy Havoc
“Filthy” Tom Lawlor
Maxwell Jacob Friedman
Aria Blake
Salina de La Renta
Barrington Hughes
The MLW contracted wrestlers are given the opportunity to continue working elsewhere. The deals are win/win for all involved and allow the MLW performers to take independent bookings and continue honing their skills.
Visit our MLW News page for the latest on MLW’s next show on 6/7, MLW invading New York City in July and more.
Leader of the Los Ingobernables stable, former IWGP Heavyweight Champion and reigning IWGP Intercontinental Champion Tetsuya Naito is set to face Chris Jericho as part of New Japan Pro Wrestling’s upcoming Dominion event on June 9th at the iconic Osaka-Jo Hall. This will be Jericho’s first bout for New Japan since his show-stealing match against Kenny Omega at this year’s January 4th Wrestle Kingdom show in the Tokyo Dome and the seeds were sown for this clash way back on January 5th as part of the New Year Dash event.
Speaking on his feud with Jericho with Tokyo Sports, Naito stated that “Jericho lost at Wrestle Kingdom 12, attacked me unprovoked 1/5 (at New Year Dash). He’s not interested in the (Intercontinental) title, he’s interested in me. This can be a non title match.” He went on to state that “Even just the value of Naito transcends the belt, and Jericho is also world famous worldwide.”
The already stacked event will also feature the fourth instalment of Kazuchika Okada and Kenny Omega’s critically acclaimed series, the two men will face in a 2 out of 3 falls match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and the whole show will be available to view with English language commentary on NJPWWorld.com.
PROGRESS Wrestling Women’s Champion and inaugural Mae Young Classic entrant Toni Storm has reportedly signed a deal with WWE. The Australian star reached the semi final of the Mae Young tournament before being eliminated by eventual winner Kairi Sane.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Storm is believed to have signed or is at least working on the two Royal Albert Hall shows on June 18th/19th. Storm had allegedly turned down past offers from the company as she wanted to continue working with Japan’s STARDOM promotion, Pro Wrestling: EVE in the UK and other independents across the globe.
It was also mentioned that WWE have likely stepped up their advances and been more aggressive in attempting to sign Storm, who is expected to make the Royal Albert Hall dates followed by an already confirmed appearance for Will Ospreay’s Frontline Wrestling event on June 28th at the Stratford Circus in London, England.
Storm is currently scheduled to defend her PROGRESS Wrestling Women’s title this Sunday at PROGRESS Chapter 69: Be Here Now against longtime rival Jinny. With this announcement it is likely that Storm finally loses the title which she brought into the company and has been the only performer to ever hold.
It has been revealed that contracted talents to WWE’s United Kingdom division are no longer allowed to be featured as part of On Demand services for independent companies across the UK…apart from two notable exceptions.
PROGRESS and Insane Championship Wrestling are arguably the two biggest independent companies in the UK and the working relationship between them and WWE has been well publicised; both feature WWE UK Superstars on a consistent basis (PROGRESS have more contracted talent) and appear to have struck deals with WWE early to ensure that their presentation is not affected.
The companies that will certainly be feeling the effect of this are Revolution Pro (Rev Pro), RIPTIDE, DEFIANT and Fight Club: Pro. The four well established brands use WWE UK stars on a regular basis and whilst Rev Pro have a strong working relationship with New Japan Pro Wrestling the loss of some of their stars such as Zack Gibson, Chris Brookes et al could affect them greatly.
Fans of the UK scene had predicted this situation occurring early on during the initial WWE United Kingdom Championship tournament, with companies such as Fight Club: Pro having to show feature bouts such as The Elite (Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks) vs British Strong Style (Pete Dunne, Tyler Bate and Trent Seven) ‘behind closed doors’ to fans in attendance when they would certainly have generated a massive income from DVD sales prior to WWE striking deals with UK talent.
Former WWE Champion Chris Jericho recently did an interview with The Mirror to help promote his upcoming one-man shows in Glasgow, Manchester and London next week. Here are a few highlights:
Making sporadic appearances and people not knowing when you may turn up or what shows you might be on, gives you a ‘marquee attraction’ feel as a performer, similar to what Brock Lesnar has in WWE. It keeps an appearance by you a special event, in of itself.
“Well, Brock Lesnar has what Chris Jericho has in WWE, you know what I mean? I come and go when I feel it’s right. I’m there more than Brock is when I’m there, but as far as being there/not being there, I’m not under contract to WWE. Everyone always thinks that, they’re always like ‘oh is WWE cool with you working in New Japan?’
“It doesn’t matter if they’re cool or not because I’m not under contract. My contract with them ended in May of last year. So I have the right to do whatever I want to do, I don’t have to ask permission from anybody. I tell them what I’m doing out of courtesy because I respect the company and respect Vince McMahon, but I don’t have a contract with anybody, other than the match I have with Tetsuya Naito coming up.”
You made a dramatic return to NJPW on May 4, ambushing NJPW icon Tetsuya Naito. The seeds had been sown for that back in January, when you first attacked him the day after Wrestle Kingdom. You have long been the master of keeping people guessing, spreading misinformation, and down the years you have kept a lot of big surprises secret, such as your appearance at the Royal Rumble in 2013. This time there were a few rumours and the cat got out the bag – why do you think that was?
“I don’t know man. It’s one of those things, the cat got out of the bag, but everyone was convinced I was going to be in Long Beach too [NJPW held a show titled Strong Style Evolved in California on March 25]. You can’t tell me that you really knew for sure because no one knew for sure. I have found out that fans have a way to track your flight patterns now… which really makes me feel safe.
“Maybe that’s how, they found out that Chris Jericho was flying into Tokyo or whatever it was, but once again, I don’t feel bad because we were very specific, very secret about it. I flew into Haneda Airport, stayed a night there, then secretly flew into Fukuoka and stayed at a different hotel, so if people say they knew I was there that’s wrong, because there might have been some rumors, but it’s not like I was busted or caught red-handed or anything along those lines. If I hadn’t have been there, people would have just said ‘oh that’s Jericho, we thought he was going to be at Long Beach too’.”
Are there opponents still in WWE that you would love to work, a long program with [Daniel] Bryan for example?
“It’s all about the story. If it’s a good story I will work with anybody. I enjoy wrestling still but I enjoy the storyline behind it. I liked the idea of a surprise attack on Naito, I like all these type of things that you don’t really expect to see. That’s why I still enjoy wrestling.
“Yeah sure, working with [Braun] Strowman would be great, working with Daniel Bryan would be great, working with any of those guys would be great, I love Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins and all of those dudes. But what’s the story behind it? If we can come up with a good story, then I’m all in. If not, then I will just continue doing what I’m doing right now and having a lot of fun doing it.”
You can read Jericho’s full interview with The Mirror by clicking this link here.
Roman Reigns believes so long as fans are showing up to the arenas, it doesn’t matter if they boo him. The 32-year-old recently spoke to SunSport about his reaction to hearing fans respond negatively to him.
“I’ve done what I’m supposed to do and that’s draw people into the building,” Reigns said.
“What I and everybody in WWE thinks is to go out there and work hard and continue to show why I am the guy.”
Roman Reigns as “The Guy” in WWE
Roman Reigns has been in the main event of WrestleMania 4 years in a row. He is the company’s choice for their top babyface. Despite years of trying, however, the promotion has been unable to get fans to cheer him at live events.
“It’s not easy doing this every single day, going to every single town, and getting a reaction,” Reigns continued. “That’s what I do regardless of whether it’s all cheers, a mixed reaction, or heavy boos.”
Reigns would continue to say that although fans in the live arenas might boo him, WWE has to also consider the larger audience watching around the world.
“We have to look at it as a global company. We’re not just worried about the one town that we’re in, we’re covering our entire fanbase,” Reigns stated.
“The WWE Universe is humongous. We have to keep that in mind.”
WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin recently took to his podcast, The Steve Austin Show, to talk about working with fellow Hall Of Famer Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 14. Austin said to the best of his recollection, he can’t remember shaking Michaels’ hand after the match:
“Proper etiquette is if you work a match with somebody, whether you’re working heel, baby, it doesn’t matter, new to the territory or been around, you always thank the guy you work with.” Austin explained, “that’s just what you do.
“Whether you knocked it out of the park or whether you s–t the bed, you always go thank the person that you worked with. So there wasn’t any animosity between me and Shawn. Me and Shawn we always cool. He just wasn’t in a good place and we just didn’t know if he was going to get in the ring.
“And there were a couple of stories about The Undertaker taping up his hands and stuff like that. Shawn was late to a few things, but there was never any heat between me and Shawn. Man, as long as I’ve known Shawn, we’ve never had heat. He was just in a bad place in that time in his life.
“He had a bad back and he wasn’t thrilled about dropping the [world] title, but he certainly did and he was a complete pro about it. But I do not remember getting a chance to shake his hand or talk about the match.”
The Texas Rattlesnake said that he always got along well with Michaels whenever they’d work together. In fact, Michaels would let Austin call some of their matches, something The Heartbreak Kid didn’t do too often back then:
“I had worked with Shawn at house shows many times before that and we had absolutely ripped the roof off of these places having these matches, just calling it on the spot, calling it on the fly. Shawn was always cool with me calling the matches because 90% of the time, he was calling his own matches because that’s how Shawn worked.
“And I was used to calling my matches, so he was like, ‘dude, you want to call the match?’ It gives him a night off. You’re talking about hands down probably the best worker in the history of the business, and he’s going to let you call a match, so he can take the night off and just do his part, he’s down for it.
“I don’t remember shaking his hand after that match.” Austin added, “but never any heat, but that’s what you do. You shake people’s hand after. You’re trusting this person with your life, basically.”
Austin also shut down any rumors that he had heat with Shawn after what happened at the WrestleMania 14 press conference:
“Anyway, he shows up at the press conference that was for me, and Mike Tyson, and Vince [McMahon], or whoever it was, to answer questions.” Austin recalled, “and Shawn left, but Shawn was totally cool after that. And Shawn is probably one of the people I keep in contact with most.
“I mean, we don’t call each other everyday, obviously, but I give him a call every three to four months just to see how he’s doing, what’s going on, how the ranch is doing or if he’s able to get out and enjoy the woods anymore now that he’s down there working in Orlando [Florida] at the [WWE] Performance Center. And he’s doing really well and he’s happy. But I keep in contact or regular contact just to shoot the breeze with one of the guys and he’s one of my all-time favorites.
“I really think from bell-to-bell, Shawn Michaels was probably the best to ever do it in the business of professional wrestling. That’s my opinion. When it comes to well-rounded, athletic, storytelling, psychology, everything, performance, Shawn is the guy.”
You can listen to The Steve Austin Show by clicking this link here.