The Deadman and The Baddest Women on the Planet Return

News of the Undertaker’s return back to the square circle has been circling online for weeks now. In addition to Wrestlemania 34, where he defeated John Cena in less than two minutes, the Dead Man has also competed at the Greatest Royal Rumble Event where he defeated Rusev in a casket match.

This six-man tag match will allow fans to see The Undertaker in action while limiting the physical toll on his body. He’s scheduled to face Triple- H in October for the WWE Super Show-Down stadium show from Australia.

Rousey’s match against Nia Jax is still a go despite her “30-day Suspension” for attacking Alex Bliss and Kurt Angle on RAW.

News about Big Cass’s release has been the big topic of the wrestling community lately. The reason why his sudden release has been brought into the light.

Three Strikes And You’re Out

While many sources claim that Cass’s heat goes as far back to when he expressed his political views about Donald Trump backstage with bad reception, it’s been his recent return from injury and the events following that lined him up for the unemployment line.

The segment where Big Cass attacks a “little Daniel Bryan” wasn’t supposed to last as long as it did. According to the Pro Wrestling Sheets, officials were mad that Cass “went into business for himself” and didn’t follow the script.

Sports Illustrated‘s Justin Barrasso reported Cass “was drinking the majority of [WWE’s] European tour and had attitude issues when drunk.” Which only dug the hole even deeper.

The last straw comes an incident that involves Cass’s ex-girlfriend, Carmella.

According to WrestlingNews.co, reports come in from last Friday that Cass “caused a scene” when speaking to Carmella. She tried walking away but was immediately “grabbed by her arm” which led to other wrestlers to intervene.

PWInsider reported on Thursday that Cass has a 90-day no-compete clause that went into effect immediately after his release, which will prevent him from immediately working with another wrestling company.

At NXT Takeover: Chicago II on Saturday, Velveteen Dream had a very Hulk Hogan-esque look to him. This led the Hulkster to comment that he should play the role of Dream’s manager.

Yo when VelveteenMania hires me as his manager,then we will have “all the gold,HollyWood style”. Brother. HollyWoodHHoganLife

— Hulk Hogan (@HulkHogan) June 19, 2018

Unfortunately for Hogan, it appears Velveteen Dream is not going to be his ticket back to WWE.

https://twitter.com/VelveteenWWE/status/1009972953960853504

Hulk Hogan’s Possible Return to WWE

Speculation regarding Hogan’s possible return to the company increased earlier this year when Hogan attended the premiere for HBO’s documentary on Andre the Giant. Just before the screening, WWE made a public statement regarding Hogan. They said they had reached out to him in order to discuss how others could learn from mistakes he’s made. WWE insisted Hogan was not under contract, however.

In March, it was revealed by Mark Henry that there is a delegation of wrestlers who don’t believe Hogan is ready to return.

”The delegation is pretty much all of the more established African-American wrestlers in the country and in the world, for that matter. Every promotion… there’s not a wrestling promotion that doesn’t house someone from the delegation,” Henry explained.

”I believe that everybody should be given a second chance but I also believe that you have to own your issue, whatever that issue is. You gotta try to make closure on everybody else’s behalf, not just yours.”

Booker T on Hogan Returning to WWE

Booker T has also commented on Hogan’s possible return to the company. While both Henry and Booker agree that people should be given second chances, Booker is more forgiving of Hulk than Henry is.

He made the following statements on his Heated Conversations show:

“The only thing Hogan can do is apologize, atone for it, and we move forward,” Booker said. “Everyone deserves a second chance that’s just the way I am.”

Booker also explained that he believes Hogan was responsible for Harlem Heat receiving a push in WCW.

“I talk about Hulk Hogan being in my corner, back in the day and a lot of the boys they may look at me and say, ‘Why is Booker T talking to [Hogan]?’ Back in the day, if it wasn’t for Hulk Hogan, I don’t know if Booker T and Stevie Ray would have got the push that we got,” Booker said. “Back in the day, Sister Sherri was an intricate detail to Harlem Heat, and our success, and it was all because of Hulk Hogan. Saying ‘Hey man, those are the guys you need to put your money behind.'”

Transcriptions courtesy of Wrestling Inc

In WWE storyline, Ronda Rousey is suspended until after the Extreme Rules pay-per-view on July 15th, 2018. Rousey beat up several WWE referees on Raw this Monday causing Kurt Angle to suspend her for 30-days.

It seems Rousey is counting down the days until she can get her hands on Little Miss Bliss. She posted the following to her social media channels recently:

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

Raw Women’s Champion, Alexa Bliss, has not responded to Rousey. Bliss, who will face Nia Jax at Extreme Rules, posted the following graphic recently which states her MITB cash-in was the 3rd fastest in history.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BkQegLNB0nr/?hl=en&taken-by=alexa_bliss_wwe_

Ronda Rousey’s Goals in WWE

Similar to Kenny Omega, Ronda Rousey wants to change the world through pro-wrestling. WWE.com correspondents spoke with Rousey about her goals in wrestling and what she wants to accomplish before having children.

“I feel like I have so much potential, that even though I’ve accomplished a lot I feel like I’m always capable of more. I have more to contribute to this world than I already have. The WWE seems like the most direct way to affect lasting social change that I want to happen before I bring children into this world. This is the right time, this is the right place, and I have an idea whose time has come. I don’t want my kids to put up with some of the bullshit I had to, so I’m going to change it. And this is how.”

Rousey won over even her harshest critics with her performances at both WrestleMania 34 and the Money in the Bank PPV. On Sunday, it was reported that both Rousey and Nia Jax received standing ovations backstage after the match.

Following New Japan Pro Wrestling’s recent Dominion event, Chris Jericho spoke with Taylor Allen of the Winnipeg Free Press about two ‘Winnipeggers’ (he and Kenny Omega) leaving that show with NJPW’s two top championships.

Jericho is proud to be at the forefront of NJPW’s global expansion and feels the company is starting to gain ground on WWE.

“[New Japan] is a company that’s slowly but surely increasing its worldwide popularity and basically breathing down the neck of the WWE. It’s a Japanese wrestling company, the top stars are Japanese, but there we were, two foreigners, headlining and main eventing the Tokyo Dome. It would be like two Japanese football teams in the Super Bowl. The fact it’s two guys from Winnipeg is a really huge deal.”

WWE is such a well-oiled machine that it would be nearly impossible to knock them off the pedestal as the top wrestling promotion in the world. Several promotions have made the mistake of trying to compete with WWE by emulating them, but history shows that companies must take a different approach to compete. As successful as WWE is, their distinct product is not the only way to present pro wrestling. Jericho sees opportunity there and believes New Japan can continue growing by accentuating strengths that WWE does not have.

“Obviously, you’ll never beat WWE, but to carve out a niche for yourself within the market, you have to do something different, and New Japan is a completely different animal. Yes, it’s still pro wrestling, but it’s a completely different style and much more reformed, more hard-hitting and, in a lot of ways, more fun, depending on what you’re looking for.”

27 years into his wrestling career, Jericho, now 47, is still at the top of his game. He continues to reinvent himself and captivate fans around the world with his can’t-miss performances. He plans to return to WWE at some point, but for now, he’s invested in New Japan’s success.

Visit Winnipeg Free Press to read the full interview, which also includes quotes from IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega.

EC3 has reflected on his first stint in the WWE.

The WWE NXT superstar was a recent guest on E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness to talk with WWE Hall of Famer Edge and former World Champion Christian.

During this interview, he talked about departing from the sports entertainment company in 2013 where he admitted that it was the best thing to happen to him for various reasons and elaborated on them.

“As much as that sucked at the time, it was the best thing that could happen to me for a numerous amount of reasons.” EC3 continued, “and, like, what a better time, what a better opportunity than now? I don’t believe in, ‘ah, everything happens for a reason’. I believe in that in a sense, but the way that everything panned out, played out, worked out, damn, I couldn’t be happier or more excited about what’s to come and where it’s going.”

EC3 did note that his complacent attitude may have been a factor in the decision made by WWE to part ways with him at that time.

“‘What do I have to do to do this?’ ‘This, this, and this.’ ‘Yeah, but…’ ‘What do you mean, ‘yeah but’?’ Yeah, but do it or don’t.” EC3 elaborated, “I mean, we’re all guilty, probably, of ‘yeah buts’ in our lifetime too. ‘Yeah buts’ are probably what got me fired in the first place. There was a sense of complacency. There was a sense of ‘yeah, but, like, you know, I’m not going to get this shot because of this’. And then, yeah, you know what? You get fired, you lose it all, your back’s against the wall, you refuse to accept ‘no’ for an answer. You refuse to let anyone else dictate how you’re going to live your life, how you’re going to make your living, or what you’re going to do. Then you go out and you kill it. You just throw that ‘yeah but’ away and you go, ‘yeah, butts!’”

What are your thoughts on EC3’s comments about his WWE departure?

H/T to Wrestling Inc for the transcribed quotes

It was announced earlier this week that former WCW and WWE star Big Van Vader sadly passed away due to complications from pneumonia.

WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin recently took to his podcast, The Steve Austin Show, to share some of his thoughts on Vader. Austin used to team up with Vader in WCW and would compete against him in WWE.

Austin noted that the first time he ever saw the Big Van Vader gimmick was over in Japan:

“He [came] walking to the ring, and that guy was as big as a house to began with,” said Austin. “Just the intimidation factor. And then he’d set that thing on the floor, on the ground, and he’d start whistling and point at it, and of course that’d blow the steam, whatever that was that they blow out of there, it was incredible.”

Austin then revealed that the Big Van Vader gimmick was meant for someone else aside from Leon White.

“I think, if memory serves me correct, I think they originally wanted to give that gimmick to the Ultimate Warrior who I think passed it up,” said Austin.

Despite the original idea, Austin feels that no other person would have served it justice, and it “ended up with the right man at the right time, because I don’t think anybody else could have pulled that gimmick like Leon did with his work style, with his athleticism. It was a parallel along with the first time I saw the Road Warriors.”

You can listen to The Steve Austin Show by clicking this link here.

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcribed quotes

WWE is being creative with the latest t-shirt for former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey.

Rousey made her WWE in-ring debut at WrestleMania 34 by teaming up with Kurt Angle to defeat Triple H and Stephanie McMahon in a Mixed Tag Team Match. In this match, there was a famous scene in which Rousey made McMahon tap out to her armbar finisher.

Well, WWE has decided to use a photo of that finish from that match for a new t-shirt following the success of the “Hot Ronda” t-shirts. You can check out Rousey’s latest merchandise created by the sports entertainment company here:

In her #WWE debut, @RondaRousey made a statement and forced Stephanie McMahon to go #TapTapTap. Make a statement of your own with her new gear at #WWEShop. #RondaRousey https://t.co/fz7E2NfT8t pic.twitter.com/4YU9f8wYeZ

— WWEShop.com (@WWEShop) June 21, 2018

As we noted earlier on the site, Rousey got her revenge on WWE RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss on this week’s episode of Monday Night RAW in Grand Rapids, MI at the Van Andel Arena on the USA Network by attacking and sending her through a table.

The reason for the beatdown was due to Bliss attacking her during Rousey’s RAW Women’s Title Match against Nia Jax at the Money in the Bank PPV event. It was later announced that Rousey would be suspended for 30 days as a result of her actions.

Despite being suspended, it’s been reported that Rousey is still scheduled to appear at Monday’s RAW and will likely appear in a dark segment.

The sports entertainment company is advertising Rousey for the following dates including live events:

– WWE Live Event: June 24th in Anaheim, CA

– Monday Night RAW TV Event: June 25th in San Diego, CA

– WWE Live Event: July 7th in New York City

– WWE Live Event: July 8th in Bridgeport, CT

– Monday Night RAW TV Event: July 16th in Buffalo, NY

– Monday Night RAW TV Event: August 20th in Brooklyn NY

– Monday Night RAW TV Event: August 27th in Toronto, CA

– WWE Live Event: November 3rd in Madrid

– WWE Live Event: November 4th in Barcelona

– WWE Live Event: November 9th in Bologna

– WWE Live Event: November 10th in Rome

Ring of Honor has officially announced the location for the Death Before Dishonor event.

On Friday afternoon (June 22, 2018), the Baltimore-based promotion revealed that they would this upcoming pay-per-view event at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Friday, September 28, 2018. Also, they will hold a TV taping at the same venue the following night.

Tickets for the two events go on sale Wednesday, Aug. 1 at 10 a.m. local time for HonorClub members and Friday, Aug. 3 at 12 p.m. local time for the general public.

It was noted in the announcement that was released that it will mark the third year in a row that Las Vegas has hosted this event.

Although no names were advertised for this show, it was noted that it would feature “all of the top ROH stars.”

The next ROH PPV, Best in the World, is slated to go down on Friday, June 29, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland at the UMBC Event Center and will be headlined by Dalton Castle defending the ROH World Title against Cody and Marty Scurll in a Triple Threat Match.

PWG has been announcing several names for their upcoming Battle of Los Angeles tournament over the past few days. Two of the most intriguing competitors confirmed for the prestigious tournament are UK independent stars Chris Brookes and Jody Fleisch.

Chris Brookes is one of the most in demand stars on the UK circuit right now, his hugely successful run alongside Kid Lykos in #CCK has seen him catapulted into the ranks of PROGRESS wrestling’s main event scene and he was tipped as one of the favourites to win the Super Strong Style 16 tournament, unfortunately losing in an incredible bout against NXT Superstar Kassius Ohno. Since Lyko’s most recent injury Brookes has once again been establishing himself as a legitimate singles star and this inclusion in the BOLA is a testament to his abilities as an in-ring competitor.

Jody Fleisch is a severely underrated veteran from the UK independent scene, the ‘Phoenix’ has been wowing UK and European crowds since his debut in 1997 and he has gone on to appear for companies across the globe including Ring of Honor, TNA/IMPACT, IPW:UK, XWA, ICW, 5* and Rev Pro. Fleisch’s athletic abilities are going to finally be showcased at one of the biggest tournaments in independent wrestling.

Other names already confirmed for the tournament include PCO, Brody King, Ilja Dragunov, Robbie Eagles, Joey Janela, Puma King, David Starr and Rey Horus.

Chris Brookes is the tenth entrant in the 2018 Battle of Los Angeles!

— PWG (@OfficialPWG) June 22, 2018

Jody Fleisch is the third entrant in the 2018 Battle of Los Angeles!

— PWG (@OfficialPWG) June 20, 2018

UK based promotion DEFIANT Wrestling has announced the competitors for their upcoming ‘Ringmaster’ tournament taking place on July 16th/17th from the O2 Academy in Newcastle, England.

The company has described the ‘Ringmaster’ as follows: “featuring 16 competitors, the tournament will feature stars we have never seen before in Defiant, stars we haven’t seen for a while, and stars we see often!”

The full lineup for the tournament is as follows:

• Adam Brooks
• Bad Bones
• BT Gunn
• David Starr
• Kay Lee Ray
• Curtis Chapman
• Kyle Fletcher (of Aussie Open)
• Mark Davis (of Aussie Open)
• Martin Kirby
• Matt Riddle
• Millie McKenzie
• Nathan Cruz
• Omari
• Simon Miller
• Stevie Boy
• TK Cooper

With the recent announcement of the NXT UK brand and the news that WWE contacted talent cannot be featured on streaming services across the UK it is testament to the depth of talent that the United Kingdom scene has when looking at this stacked tournament.

The event will be available to purchase either on the FITE app or on DEFIANT’s Access On Demand service which available for $8.99 per month.

RINGMASTER. July 16/17. https://t.co/MRU9FH66vo@theadambrooksy@Lost_Rebel_BB@bt_gunn@TheProductDS
@Kay_Lee_Ray@supercontender@kylefletcherpro@DUNKZILLADavis@MKirbyProEgo@SuperKingofBros
@MillieMcKenzie0@Nathan_Cruz90@OmariM4x2@SimonMiller316
@stevieboyxavier@PureTKC pic.twitter.com/L0slZe5vbA

— DEFIANT Wrestling (@DEFIANTwres) June 21, 2018

WWE’s Triple H recently did an interview with Inside The Ropes at the WWE’s UK Championship Tournament tapings. The Game was asked how aware Vince McMahon is of the WWE’s NXT and UK brands with them being under his control:

“He’s well aware of all of it. It’s a funny thing, some people think he’s not aware of things in his own company. [Laughs] He’s well aware of all of it. He’s all for all of it. There’s a lot of things going on. We grow as a brand every single day and that growing and that expanding, and all of it is an important part of WWE.

“It doesn’t take away from any of the things we were in the past, but our intent is not to stay what we were, our intent is to be what we can become. Our vision of WWE is massive compared to what it is right now.

“His vision of what WWE will become is massive and you have to remember this is a guy who envisioned it going from little smoke-filled bars to 100,000 people in a stadium and being seen all around the world with one global brand. That vision is amazing, so he has a vision for all of it, but he’s well aware of all of it, trust me.”

HHH was then asked about those who say that NXT and the UK brands are putting out a better product than what’s happening on the main roster with shows such as Monday Night RAW and SmackDown Live:

“Everybody has opinions. I’m sure you’ve heard that quote before. Yeah, everybody has opinions. Look, you just try to put out the best product you can put out. For me, it’s a different reach and a different vibe. If you’re a fan of a certain genre of music, you just like that music better.

“If you go to that concert, you like that concert better. It’s a big world, lot of fans. WWE has almost a billion followers on social media, number one channel for sports, number two channel overall on YouTube. We got a lot of people watching. Some of them like different things. It’s just funny people believe what they believe is the answer. It certainly doesn’t seem to be hurting business, there’s enough product to go around for everybody.”

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega recently participated in a media call to help promote the G1 Special in San Francisco from the Cow Palace on July 7th. The Cleaner will defend his title against Cody Rhodes at the event. Omega was first asked how he would prepare for a match in an environment where his match length is limited:

“It’s funny there’s this idea where Kenny is only good because he can do what he wants and he gets time. Well, everyone else through those doors had had time and opportunity. Why didn’t they do anything special?”

He was then asked how he feels he’d work in a restrictive environment such as WWE. Omega feels he would thrive in such an environment as it would force him to think creatively to work around such restrictions:

“I actually work better within restrictions,” the IWGP Heavyweight Champion continued. “When you leave everything wide open things tend to get a little convoluted. So when you give me those restrictions and I start to use my brain creatively to work around those that’s when things get interesting.

“I mean no, you’re not going to get a seven-star match or six or five in a seven-minute segment but I always do the best I can to make that segment memorable and entertaining and I think that’s always the name of the game.

“The thing is too it’s like, ‘hey if you ever go to WWE what are you gonna do if you only get five minutes?’ I mean sure you’d have nights like that but would I take a contract with WWE if I were not gonna be able to show the best of Kenny Omega? That would be a disservice to fans to professional wrestling, it would be a disservice to my own career all the hard work I put in.

“I would for sure make sure that I was able to show the best of what I do and that requires a little bit of time. So yeah, things like that don’t really worry me I think I would be fine.”

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw) has announced that WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne will be taking on one of the hottest Independent talents on the planet when he faces WALTER at the first night of the Shotgun Live Tour.

Club Bahnhof Ehrenfeld in Cologne will play host to this veritable independent dream match between two of both PROGRESS/wXw’s biggest stars.

This will not be the first wXw opponent that Dunne will face this year, the WWE UK Champion has been booked for a bout against wXw Unified World Champion Ilja Dragunov at the Wembley Arena show on September 30th in a match that will determine who the best wrestler in Europe truly is.

If you’ve never heard of WALTER then he is certainly a performer that should be on your radar. The Austrian powerhouse has been dominating the Tag and Heavyweight divisions in wXw, PROGRESS and PWG over the past couple of years and he is now being slated as a future WWE/NXT signee (even if he denies any sort of negotiations). The de-facto leader of the Ringkampf stable (alongside Timothy Thatcher and previously NXT roster member Axel Dieter Jr) has a ton of potential on the world stage and has already garnered critical praise from the likes of Dave Meltzer, who gave his PWG All-Star Weekend bout against Zack Sabre Jr from October 2017 a 5 star rating.

https://twitter.com/wXwGermany/status/1010092634969378817

PROGRESS has announced the 7th and potentially final bout for their upcoming 72nd Chapter event ‘Got Got Need’ which takes place this Sunday 24th from the Electric Ballroom in Camden, London.

Former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion and the 1st ever British Born winner of the BOSJ tournament Will Ospreay will be facing NXT UK Superstar Jordan Devlin.

This announcement follows the news that PROGRESS World Champion Travis Banks will be defending his title against the ‘World Cup’ winner Chuck Mambo. Banks recently took part in the WWE United Kingdom Championship tournament and is scheduled to be part of the NXT UK roster going forward.

Devlin has also been announced for a bout against Naoki Tanizaki at the upcoming Fight Club: Pro ‘International Tekkers’ show. The Dragon Gate veteran (Tanizaki) will be taking part in a run across the UK shore sagainst the likes of Mark Haskins (Frontline Puro) and Chris Brookes (RIPTIDE) and this bout against Devlin should be dynamite.

7th Match. Casual. #Chapter72 #GotGotNeed pic.twitter.com/M4uCGpZdBH

— PROGRESS Wrestling (@ThisIs_Progress) June 21, 2018

Former WWE NXT Women’s Champion Ember Moon recently did an interview with The New York Post to talk about several professional wrestling topics. You can read some of the highlights below:

Where did the genesis of the Ember Moon character come from?

“To be honest, the qualities about myself that I always … I’ll say used to feel ashamed of. I used to be very secluded. I used to just kind of chill out on my own, but then when the opportunity presents itself, I just like fire up and just do it.

“I always felt that there was a lot of rejection thrown at me outside of wrestling and I always overcame that every single time and I just won’t be told “No” and I won’t stay down and that’s just amplified through Ember Moon. Man, it’s crazy. It is me times one thousand.”

What was it like eventually being trained by Booker T ?

“He’s kind of the person that started telling me to branch out and to start going to different states and just make a name for myself on the independent scene. It’s crazy because his knowledge extends well past what you guys have seen of him on WWE TV and I will forever be thankful for that. He’s the reason why the Eclipse is off the top rope.”

Were you trying to do it from the middle rope before?

“So, when I first started doing the Eclipse, I’m terrified of heights, I was doing it on the middle rope. And, Booker was the one who talked me into doing it on the top rope and it just worked so much better because I had more time to adjust and spin.”

You talked about yourself being kind of a shy person. When you’ve seen the success of Total Divas, is that something that would be hard for you or would you look forward to the opportunity if presented with it?

“You see everything. Me being the reclusive person that I am, I don’t know if that’s something I would do. I’ve been on Total Divas a couple of times in a guest role and I just don’t know. I really don’t. I’m not saying I would say “No.” I just don’t know.”

You can read Moon’s full interview with The New York Post by clicking this link here.

Adam Cole has revealed who would be his dream opponent at WrestleMania.

During a recent interview with WFF while in the UK this past week for the NXT UK Championship Tournament, the NXT North American Champion spoke about various topics.

Cole did discuss the pressure of making his debut with the sports entertainment company. If you recall, he made his debut at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III last August in Brooklyn, New York at the Barclays Center.

“Very nervous. So, it’s exciting when you think, ‘Okay, I’m going to make my WWE debut in NXT,’ but in my brain, I was a successful independent wrestler for ten years and I had gotten to wrestle all over the world. But WWE is a whole different animal and in my mind I’m thinking, ‘I really, really hope these people care and they know who I am. I hope they react and make noise when I come out.’

Finally, when it did happen and they reacted the way they did, I had such a sense of relief and was just so happy they responded the way they did. It was a big combination of emotions: excitement, nerves, fear, pressure, and all that stuff, but it ended up being one of the best nights of my life.”

It’s just a matter of time before the WWE calls Cole up from NXT to the main roster. Cole also talked about when he is on the main roster, who would he want to wrestle at WrestleMania, which is the biggest event of the year for the sports entertainment company.

“AJ Styles would be my number one pick. The reason being I wrestled him twice before and I didn’t beat him, either time. On top of that, I think AJ is the best pro wrestler that I’ve ever been in the ring with. I think he’s absolutely number one. His ability is just second to none, so to get the chance to wrestle him on that stage would be really cool and on top of that I can beat him. [Laughs]”

H/T to Wrestling Inc for the transcript

What are your thoughts on Cole’s comments?

AJ Styles Tweets

WWE Champion AJ Styles is slated to make his next title defense against Rusev at the upcoming Extreme Rules pay-per-view event on Sunday, July 15, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at the PPG Paints Arena that will air on the WWE Network.

As noted, Rusev earned this title shot after beating Big E, Daniel Bryan, The Miz, and Samoa Joe in a Gauntlet Match to become the #1 contender on this week’s episode of SmackDown Live in Toledo, OH at the Huntington Center on the USA Network. Styles sent out the following tweet to mock Rusev:

“Excited to face @RusevBUL for the #WWEChampionship and I know many are as well. And just for you and the little songbird next to you, I’m gonna make #RusevDay #Phenomenal. #AndStill.”

Excited to face @RusevBUL for the #WWEChampionship and I know many are as well. And just for you and the little songbird next to you, I’m gonna make #RusevDay #Phenomenal. #AndStill

— AJ Styles (@AJStylesOrg) June 22, 2018

WWE Hypes Tournament

WWE has sent out this promo on their official YouTube channel hype Mae Young Classic tickets being on sale now. As noted, the sports entertainment company will be taping the tournament on August 8th and August 9th from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida and will air later this summer on the WWE Network.

What are your thoughts on this match between Styles and Rusev?

New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) star Jay White has a lot on his plate at the moment. White is set to participate against some of Japan’s best in the G1 Climax tournament, but also is scheduled to defend his IWGP United States Title against Juice Robinson at the G1 Special on July 7th in San Francisco.

White recently participated in a media call to promote the G1 Climax and was asked about his preparation for the tournament. Unfortunately, due to how hectic his schedule is at the moment, White isn’t able to specifically train for the tournament:

“In terms of preparation we’re on tour at the moment,” White said. “If anything I don’t have the chance to prepare because I go home for two and a half days and I fly over for two Strong Style Evolved events in the UK. I’ll get home for another two and a half days and I fly straight to San Fransisco [for the G1 Special at the Cow Palace].

“Then I get home for another two and a half, three days and I go to the G1. A lot of those breaks is just going to be recovering,” the IWGP United States Champion continued. “I just need to get some food in me and some good training do what I can. But it’s not like I’ve got a month off. I’m not doing any kind of crazy cardio leading up to it I’m just trying to keep my body in healthy shape until then.”

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

Randy Orton Latest

It’s been well documented that Randy Orton underwent minor knee surgery last month. Orton was last seen on WWE programming at the Backlash pay-per-view event when he was defeated by Jeff Hardy in a United States Title match that aired on the WWE Network.

In regards to when he could return to in-ring action, the timeline is three months and that he would be back inside of the squared circle under the WWE banner before SummerSlam.

Orton is currently recovering from knee surgery and has been seen in Birmingham, Alabama where he’s likely doing rehab.

William Regal Absent

The expectation was that WWE NXT General Manager William Regal was set to work Thursday’s NXT TV tapings in Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University. However, he did not appear.

According to a report by PWinsider, the decision was made on Wednesday not to bring him in. It’s been noted that the reason he has not been used on TV since April is due to a personal situation.

AJ Styles Missing In Action

WWE Champion AJ Styles, who is slated to make his next title defense against Rusev at the upcoming Extreme Rules pay-per-view event next month, will be missing in action this weekend for SmackDown Live events.

The sports entertainment company is slated to hold blue branded events on Saturday in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Sunday in Fresno, CA at the Save Mart Center, and Monday in Bakersfield, CA at the Rabobank Arena.

However, Styles will not be wrestling at those shows due to him heading to Australia for promotion work for the October Super Show-Don stadium show’s ticket on sale. It should be noted that Styles will be working Tuesday’s SmackDown Live TV event.

WWE United States Champion Jeff Hardy vs. Samoa Joe vs. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. The Miz and WWE Smackdown Tag Team Champions The Bludgeon Brothers vs. The Bar vs. The New Day vs. Rusev & Aiden English are the top matches being advertised.

Kane Unmasked

Although Kane might not be a regular character on WWE television these days, it didn’t stop WWE’s YouTube channel from releasing this video looking at the six times that Kane has been unmasked. Check it out here:

What are your thoughts on Styles missing events this weekend?

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis has quite the match coming up.

He and Cody Rhodes’ bout for the title is the only one scheduled for September 1st’s All In event in Chicago. The man formerly known as Magnus in TNA, where he was also a World Heavyweight Champion, never seemed to make things work in regards to working for WWE.

Most might imagine Aldis could have quite an easy road to WWE if he wanted to, seeing as he’s married to current WWE Superstar Mickie James. In a recent interview with Digital Spy, Aldis revealed that the lack of communication on WWE’s part led him to the current position he’s in – NWA World Heavyweight Champion:

“I basically said that I hadn’t gotten anywhere with WWE, and, you know, there’s a myriad of reasons why that could potentially be the case, no-one really gives you a straight answer there anyway,” Aldis said.

“I’ve heard a few different versions of it, but I wedged to see if it was something that I wanted to see where it could have went.”

You can read Aldis’ full interview with Digital Spy by clicking this link here.

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

It looks like Ronda Rousey’s WWE suspension won’t prevent her from appearing on Monday Night RAW next week in San Diego after all. The 30-day suspension was issued out to The Rowdy One for attacking both RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss and RAW General Manager Kurt Angle earlier this week.

A report from The Wrestling Observer suggests that Rousey is still scheduled to appear at Monday’s RAW. That could simply mean, however, that she’s scheduled for a dark segment that won’t make it to TV. Perhaps WWE could even eliminate Rousey’s suspension altogether.

Regardless, W.O.N reports that the former UFC women’s bantamweight champ will be in San Diego on Monday. Here is her confirmed WWE schedule below:

• 6/24 – RAW live event in Anaheim, CA
• 7/6 – RAW live event in Philadelphia, PA
• 7/7 – RAW live event at MSG
• 7/8 – RAW live event in Bridgeport, CT
• 7/9 – Monday Night RAW in Boston, MA
• 7/16 – Monday Night RAW in Buffalo, NY

Discussion: Do you think that Rousey will be at Monday’s RAW in San Diego?

Cody has launched his own YouTube channel. The self-proclaimed leader of Bullet Club released his first video yesterday. The video features Cody and the Bucks talking about the process of organizing All-In.

“On May 13th, 2018, ALL IN sold out in 29 minutes. The ALL IN event was created by Cody Rhodes, Nick Jackson and Matt Jackson to prove a point. This series, ALL US, was created to document their process as they produce this landmark event on September 1st.

Is the success of ALL IN a blessing or a curse? Who called the three after the sell-out? What is their biggest fear the night before the event? And what makes ALL IN work?”

What Went Into Organizing All-In?

The Jacksons and Cody discussed how fans’ perception is All-In will be a money-making project. The three were quick to point out that even with 10,000 seats being sold, they will be lucky to break even.

“Some people think we’re getting rich, that’s completely the opposite,” Nick Jackson said. “We’re probably going to break-even at the end of the day because we don’t realize how much goes into an actual show. Every day it’s like ‘oh, we have to pay for this guy’s flight, I forgot'”

The trio also mentioned that Hulk Hogan had expressed interest in participating but his asking price is too high for them.

Potential Matches for All-In

The only match officially announced for the show thus far is Cody challenging for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Current NWA Champion, Nick Aldis, will have to remain champion through the summer but if he does, he will face Cody in the main event.

Other possible matches for the show include Joey Ryan taking on Hangman Page. The two wrestlers have been building a rather bizarre angle which has played out on Being the Elite.

Another possible angle which could lead to something at All-In involves Jay Lethal. Recently on Being the Elite, Lethal has been slipping in and out of his old Black Machismo character. This started when Lanny Poffo gave Lethal a pair of Randy Savage’s old sunglasses at an ROH show earlier this year.

Flip Gordon still has not been booked.

All-In takes place September 1st, 2018 from the Sears Centre in Chicago.

Austin Aries’ opponent for ROH’s upcoming Best in the World PPV has been revealed. The promotion has announced that Aries will take on Kenny King in singles competition. This event takes place on Friday, June 29, 2018 from Baltimore, Maryland at the UMBC Event Center.

Aries is the reining Impact Wrestling World Champion and will defend against Moose in the main event of next month’s Slammiversary pay-per-view.

Updated Card for ROH Best In The World (6/29)

– ROH World Title Match: Dalton Castle © vs. Cody vs. Marty Scurll

– ROH Tag Team Title Match: The Briscoes © vs. The Young Bucks

– ROH Six-Man Tag Team Title Match: The Kingdom © vs. Los Ingobernables De Japon

– ROH World Title Street Fight: Punishment Martinez © vs. Adam Page

– Bully Ray vs. Flip Gordon

– Austin Aries vs. Kenny King

– Eight-Woman Tag Team Match: Sumie Sakai, Jenny Rose, Tenille Dashwood & Mayu Iwatani vs. Kelly Klein, Kagetsu, Hana Kimura & Hazuki

Will you be watching ROH: Best in the World 2018?