On Thursday night, NXT taped the next several weeks of television from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida. Thanks to Will Henderson for the results and Marc Middleton for the write-up:

August 29 Episode:

– Johnny Gargano comes out on a crutch with no entrance music. He says we’ve had his back but he doesn’t deserve it right now. Says he broke a promise and couldn’t fix things. Says he doesn’t know where he goes from here, and says he lost himself in Brooklyn and he’s made a lot of mistakes and he doesn’t know how to fix things and make things right. Regarding the loss to NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa at Takeover, he says he became something he’s not proud of in Brooklyn, he became Ciampa. And he can’t get Ciampa out of his head, but he’s gotta be better.

NXT General Manager William Regal is out. Regal says before Aleister Black comes and burns the whole place down, he has to ask if Johnny attacked him. Johnny says “you tell me,” and tells him to look in his eyes and he’ll know. The Velveteen Dream interrupts and says he’s tired of listening to the same “woe is Johnny” spiel, and says tonight should be about him. Calls him Johnny Failure. Crowd actually chants that. Johnny says the crutch is just to keep the weight off, but he’s good to go and throws the crutch at Velveteen. Regal breaks it up and says we’ll have this match next week.

– Dakota Kai defeated Aliyah. Dakota misses a dropkick and Aliyah takes control. Aliyah with a leg lariat Thesz press into a body scissors. Dakota fights out. Dakota hits the running kick and the Facewash for 2. Aliyah drops Dakota by her hair. Dakota hits the Kaio-Driver for the win

– Lars Sullivan is shown backstage having laid out EC3

– Raul Mendoza comes out for a match but Lars Sullivan also comes out. Lars says unlike the mystery of the Aleister Black situation, he admits to taking out EC3. Lars cuts a heel promo and destroys Raul

– Keith Lee defeated Luke Menzies. Lee with an awesome hurricanrana. Menzies attacks during the basking. Lee rebounds with a huge pounce and a brutal double overhand chip in the corner. Lee hits a huge pop-up Last Ride for the win

– The Undisputed Era (NXT Tag Team Champion Roderick Strong & Adam Cole) defeated WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne and NXT North American Champion Ricochet. Roddy blind tags and hits a huge backbreaker on Ricochet. They tag in and out and work over Ricochet. Ricochet makes the hot tag to Pete, who runs wild and takes out both guys. Pete drops Cole on Strong for 2. Pete hits a sitout bomb but Cole breaks out the pin. Pete hits a moonsault to the outside, and Ricochet goes for a suicide dive, but takes out Pete. Kyle throws Pete back in the ring and Cole hits the shining wizard for the win. Undisputed attack both men after the match until War Raiders run out for the save

September 5 Episode:

– Kassius Ohno defeated Kona Reeves. Kassius launches Kona as he trash talks. Ohno goes for a running senton but Kona gets his knees up. Ohno slips out of fireman’s carry and hits a rolling elbow for the win. Kassius cuts a promo about how we he came back, there was so much hype, but he became an afterthought. He says he racked his brain trying to figure it out, but he finally got it: there’s always gonna be someone new and fresh coming in. He says the next person with buzz that comes in, he’s not going anywhere and will knock that person to the back of the line

– The Forgotten Sons (Steve Cutler and Wesley Blake) defeated The Street Profits. Montez Ford drinks from the cup and does a dive onto Cutler, Blake, and Jaxson Ryker. Montez works over Cutler’s arm. Cutler tags in Blake and Blake hits a massive clothesline on Montez. Cutler and Blake take turns working over Montez. Montez gets the tag to Angelo Dawkins, who runs wild. Angelo tags Montez for the frog splash, but Dawkins gets pulled out and thrown into the steps. Two masked men run in and steal Montez’s cup, but Montez unmasks one as Shane Thorne. Cutler and Blake hit a stomp off the top rope for the win. Cutler is busted open and spitting blood and is pretty upset at Montez after the match

– NXT Women’s Champion Kairi Sane defeated Trish Adora. Kairi comes out on stage and reveals the NXT Women’s Title in a treasure chest. Kairi tosses gold coins to the crowd on her entrance. Quick match. Kairi hits a spinning backfist, walks the plank, and hits the InSane Elbow for the win. Shayna Baszler comes out. She knocks over the treasure chest and says for Kairi to enjoy her pirate fantasy while it lasts because it won’t be there when she enacts her rematch clause. Shayna says let’s see if the pirate can swim and attacks. They brawl and Kairi gets the better of Shayna and sends her running with a spear

– The Velveteen Dream defeated Johnny Gargano. Great match. Dream is wearing one of Johnny’s shirts but has FAILURE written on tape over the “Wrestling” part. Gargano is more intense than usual. Dueling Johnny Wrestling/Johnny Failure chants. Velveteen in control after a hot start by Gargano. Velveteen with a huge boot the head for 2. Johnny fights to his feet but Velveteen locks in a sleeper and hits knees to the back. Johnny fights back and hits his spear through the ropes for 2. Johnny hits a superkick on the apron and a huge dive to the outside. Dream ducks the roll out kick and hits a Fameasser for 2. Johnny rolls out of the DVD and they trade 2 counts.

They trade shots on the apron. Johnny goes for a sunset flip, but tweaks his knee. Dream shoves him into the steps, rolls him into the ring, and hits his DDT, but Johnny kicks out. Dream works over the knee. Johnny rolls out of the way of the elbow drop on the apron and hits a suicide dive. Johnny puts the Gargano Escape on outside of the ring, but Velveteen gets in at 9. Johnny sets Dream up for a dropping DDT to the outside, but can’t do it. He talks to a kid with a Johnny Wrestling sign at ringside. Johnny hesitates, goes for the running knee, but Dream hits him with the rolling DVD and gets the pin. Awesome, awesome match. Gargano leaves through the side exit of the arena, looking disheartened and unsure of himself

September 12 Episode:

– Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch defeated Cezar Bononi & Adrian Joude. Joude works over Danny at the start. Nothing match really

– NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa has a new entrance and finally has music. Ciampa says the music is a personal message to the audience to shut up. He says he’s heard the rumors that he took out Aleister, but when he wants to attack someone, he does it on the biggest stage so you can worship your master. Ciampa says he won’t lie, because the champ never lies. He says he planned on taking out Aleister, but someone beat him to it. If he knew he they were, he’d pat him or her on the head. He says if Aleister made it to Brooklyn, the results would be the same: He Wins.

Ciampa says the title has something it wants him to say and that is that it felt really good to be back in the main event of a Takeover. Ciampa says he has one final thing to address, and he wants everyone to listen: the fact is, if you want to be a success, a winner, or a champion, follow the lead of Tomasso Ciampa. Ciampa goes to the kid who Johnny spoke to during his match, takes his Ciampa Sucks sign, and beats it up, tears it in half, and throws it back at the kid

– Shayna Baszler defeated Violet Payne. Shayna kills her with wrist locks, steps on her arm, and taps her out with the choke. Super quick match. Shayna comes back down and locks the choke back in. Refs pull her off and check on Violet. Shayna grabs her again and locks the choke on once more. Shayna then tosses her out of the ring before leaving

– Lars Sullivan defeated Raul Mendoza. Lars tosses Raul all over the place and just brutalizes him. Raul attempts to fight back, and sidesteps a charge, sending Lars into the ringpost. Raul with a springboard dropkick. Lars cuts him off with a pop-up powerslam and hits the Freak Accident for the win

– Nikki Cross and Bianca Belair go to a no contest. Nikki ducks a clothesline and waves hi at Bianca. Nikki is fascinated by Bianca’s moves, but Bianca is not amused. Bianca has control with a bearhug. Bianca catches Nikki attempting a crossbody and impressively deadlifts her into a gorilla press. Nikki ducks a clothesline and hits the crossbody. Nikki with stomps in the corner. Nikki hits a splash and goes up top, but Bianca rolls to the apron. Nikki traps Bianca in the ringskirt.

Bianca tosses Nikki into the steps and hits her hairwhip. Nikki jumps on her back and gets a sleeper, but Bianca drops back on the ramp and neither can answer the 10, resulting in a double countout. They continue brawling after the match, as refs attempt to keep them apart. Bianca tosses Nikki over the announce table, but Nikki gets on top and hits a diving crossbody off the table to Bianca and the refs. Nikki gets to her feet and celebrates

September 19 Episode:

– Lacey Evans & Aliyah defeated Dakota Kai & Deonna Purrazzo. Good start between Deonna and Lacey. Lacey and Aliyah tag in and out and work over Deonna for most of the match, with your usual heel spots behind the ref’s back. Deonna gets the hot tag to Dakota. Dakota with the running boot and facewash, but Lacey breaks up the pin. Aliyah makes the tag while Dakota goes for an O’Connor Roll, and Lacey hits the Women’s Right for the pin.

– Jaxon Ryker defeated Humberto Carrillo. Ryker is the former Chad Lail, aka Gunner in TNA. Total squash. Ryker knocks Carrillo out of a springboard with an axe handle, and hits a toss powerbomb for the win

– First-ever NXT Champion vs Champion match: NXT North American Champion Ricochet vs. WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne goes to a no contest. Incredible match. Arm drags and kip-ups to start. They square off. Dunne works over Ricochet’s left arm. Dunne works over Ricochet’s limbs with various holds. Crowd is chanting like crazy, with dueling One and Only/Bruiserweight chants. Good technical stuff from Dunne to start. Ricochet fights out but gets laid out with a brutal forearm. Ricochet fights back and sends Pete outside and hits a big suicide dive. Ricochet flips up, but Pete catches his foot and twists it, then kicks his hand out from him.

Pete with wrist locks and goes after the fingers. Ricochet dodges the arm stomp and hits a lariat. Ricochet hits a running shooting star to Pete’s back for 2. Pete counters the rolling cutter into an armbar. Pete stomps on Ricochet’s hands. Pete hits a forearm out of mid-air and hits the X-Plex for 2. Pete lands on his feet from a suplex, but Ricochet dumps him to the outside. Ricochet hits a backflip to the floor but meets a forearm. Pete with an X-plex on the apron, but Ricochet hits a reverse rana for 2. Back and forth strikes. Ricochet with an incredible counter into a DDT for 2. Crowd is on their feet. Ricochet goes up, but Pete cuts him off. Ricochet hits a springboard hurricanrana, and a modified Bitter End but only gets 2. Ricochet with a springboard 450, but Dunne catches him in a triangle. Ricochet powerbombs him with one arm, but Pete catches him and goes for a kimura style hold. Ricochet fights out and hits a deadlift suplex. They trade blows, but the Undisputed Era run in for the no contest.

War Raiders run down and chase them out of the building. War Raiders return to the ring while Undisputed appear on the ramp. Oney and Danny run down and toss Undisputed back into the ring and they get laid out. Cole escapes and taunts that they can’t get him, when Keith Lee appears behind him and tosses him into the ring. They lay Cole out with finishers and pose to send us home. It appears everything after War Raiders chased off Undisputed Era was stuff for the crowd

IMPACT Wrestling World Champion Austin Aries was recently a guest on Keeping It Real With Konnan.

Aries discussed the differences between working in WWE and IMPACT Wrestling. Since leaving WWE last year, Aries has returned to great success on the indies. He currently holds several titles from different promotions. Of course, the most prominent of the bunch is his IMPACT World Title.

Why Aries Doesn’t Watch Much Pro Wrestling

During the episode, Aries noted that he doesn’t watch much professional wrestling anymore. He said that today’s product is more geared towards a young audience and it doesn’t appeal to him:

“I really don’t watch a lot of wrestling. I really don’t. People are surprised that I don’t. There was a time that I really loved pro wrestling, but I’m not a pro wrestling junkie, per se,” Aries said.

“I don’t have a lot of free time with the amount of traveling that I do, but most of pro wrestling isn’t catered to me. I am not a kid.

“There are a lot of guys that complain to me about the product, but it’s like, well, you are not a kid. It is catered to sell t-shirts and merchandise to kids and their parents.

“That is why with some of the things that we are doing at Impact Wrestling and other places there are more of a resurgence to more of an adult-orientated version of pro wrestling because that is what is missing for a long time,” he continued.

“Maybe, there is something we can do at Impact Wrestling that some corporate companies don’t want to touch. I think that there is a lot of people that miss what pro wrestling can give them too.

“I don’t watch a ton of it, I watch enough to see what is going on, I think it is also good to not be watching it because your ideas are your ideas.”

Discussion: What do you make of Aries’ comments on why he doesn’t watch much wrestling anymore? Sound off in the comments!

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

John Cena has announced his latest non-WWE endeavor.

Entertainment Weekly reports that Cena has partnered with hypnotist Chris Jones for a new prank series on Facebook Watch. Cena is producing and appearing in the six-episode series that will run 12-15 minutes long.

The show will also feature celebrities such as Steve-O, Adam Rippon, NeNe Leakes, Gabriel Iglesias and Pamela Anderson. The show’s premiere is set for September 5th. Watch a preview for the program here. Cena said the following about the show:

If you thought you couldn’t C me in a @WWE ring, get ready to do a #DoubleTake — premiering on Facebook Watch September 5th! https://t.co/xA91AI0CqN

— John Cena (@JohnCena) August 22, 2018

WWE even released a statement on Cena’s new show. Here’s what they said:

John Cena to star in new Facebook Watch prank show

John Cena is gearing up for quite a busy fall season. As far as in-ring action goes, The Cenation Leader is preparing to debut his “6th Move of Doom” for WWE Live Shanghai on Saturday, Sept. 1, and he’s training for a tag team match at WWE Super Show-Down, where he’ll partner with Bobby Lashley to face off against Kevin Owens and Elias on Saturday, Oct. 6.

Outside the ring, though, Cena will star in a brand-new Facebook Watch prank series, “Double Take.”

As announced by Entertainment Weekly, Cena will partner with celebrity hypnotist Chris Jones for “Double Take,” featuring celebrities pranking their biggest fans … but with a twist.

The 16-time World Champion took to Twitter with the news, sharing excitement and a taste of what’s to come.

Don’t miss “Double Take” when it premieres Wednesday, Sept. 5, on Facebook Watch!

Cena’s Current Whereabouts

“The Leader Of The Cenation” is currently in China filming a movie with Jackie Chan. He has been in the gym working on his physical appearance for the film. Cena is investing a lot of time into this project.

In fact, he missed his first SummerSlam in 15 years recently in order to film in China.

Discussion: What do you make of Cena producing “Double Take?” Will you be checking it out? Sound off in the comments below!

Sasha Banks has seen enough of Alexa Bliss standing across the ring from her.

What was once a fierce rivalry in WWE as they battled for the RAW women’s championship, Banks doesn’t really seem to care much about facing Bliss again, although she’s not airing dirty laundry as to why.

The interesting comments came during an interview with Peter Rosenberg on “Open Late” when he talked to Banks about her fierce dedication to professional wrestling and how the chip on her shoulder has always driven her to do better and better.

Banks didn’t shy away from the fact that she absolutely has a chip on her shoulder when it comes to her career in WWE and that it might lead to ‘complicated relationships’ in the locker room with other athletes. “I have people I don’t like. I’m not going to push them down the stairs,” Banks said with a laugh.

That’s when Bliss’ name came up after Rosenberg heard rumblings about backstage heat between the two superstars.

The rumors about their rocky relationship started after Banks made an appearance on “RAW Talk” last year and made comments about Bliss that seemed to blur the line between fiction and reality when discussing her lifelong love of wrestling and spot on “Total Divas”.

In response, Bliss then said that she doesn’t need to make things personal with Banks and they could just stay focused on business to put on the best matches possible in WWE.

Banks wasn’t taking the bait about the real life beef she might have with Bliss but the most telling part of the interview came when she was asked about her desire to work with the former RAW women’s champion again

“Not really,” Banks said in response. “I think if they want to have me versus Alexa, they can do that cause I can do my job very well.”

Would you like to see Sasha Banks take on Alexa Bliss again or should WWE just try to keep these two apart? 

Earlier this summer Hulk Hogan was reinstated into the WWE Hall Of Fame.

Several years ago Hogan was essentially black-listed from WWE history after some racist comments of his became public via a leaked sex tape. After years of apologies and rebuilding his reputation, Hogan is now back in the WWE fold.

Hogan apologized to the entire WWE roster backstage at the Extreme Rules pay-per-view (PPV). The roster’s response to Hogan’s apology was essentially split. WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair recently gave his thoughts on the matter.

Flair On Hogan’s HOF Reinstatement

“The Nature Boy” spoke to Raj Giri of Wrestling Inc. and admitted he’s “very happy” to see Hogan back with WWE:

“I’m very happy to see him back,” Flair said. “I don’t pretend to understand any of that. I’ve heard so many different sides of the story and all that.

“I think that anyone who portrays him as anything less than a good person that has done an excellent job, I mean he’s been through a lot — just think about it. His wife was terrible during the divorce and then there was the accident with [Hogan’s] son and then this.

“I mean, he’s had to go through a lot and the thing is great about Hulk is that he’s still the most expensive guy to get out there to sign autographs. He’s still Hulk Hogan, they can do whatever they want. If you want Hulk Hogan, you gotta have a big wallet, that’s the way it is.”

Flair explained how he’s glad there wasn’t the technology around in his day that there is today to catch him in some of his old antics:

“I mean Jesus Christ, we’re all sitting here wondering if [there’s] a spy camera now, you know?” Flair continued. “You never know, right? It’s a good thing they never put a camera in my room, Wendy would be a national hero. I couldn’t probably get work for her anywhere.

“I wonder how I’d react to social media in the 80’s wearing my robe up and down the airplane serving drinks. [I] would have probably ended up on the cover of Time.”

Discussion: What do you make of Flair’s comments? Sound off in the comments below!

Earlier this week Alberto Del Rio pulled from his appearance at AAA TripleMania.

Del Rio recently spoke to The Roman Show and explained the reason for his withdrawal. He explained that he wasn’t happy with the way the promotion did business:

“I don’t like how they are doing things in the business,” he said. “We continue to see promoters take advantage of the talent. Thank God I am in the position where’ I am able to say, ‘OK you can do this, but you won’t do this to me’. It happened with Triple A.”

He further explained that the promotion failed to pay him for the agreed upon appearance. Apparently he was “spoiled” and pitched a big match at their largest event of the year. However, AAA was unable to fulfill their financial promise to him. Thus, he pulled from the appearance:

“They called me and found me and took me somewhere and spoiled me to see if I can do their biggest event of the year,” El Patron stated.

“Then, they never sent the money. They never came. I was supposed to fight someone and they were never able to seal the deal… They didn’t fulfill their commitment with me.”

Discussion: What do you think about Del Rio pulling from the AAA show? And what do you make of his explanation? Sound off in the comments below!

Check out the updated card for TripleMania below:

TripleMania Lineup
August 25th, 2018

• Cruiserweight Championship
  Australian Suicide (c) vs Multiple opponents TBD
• AAA Mixed Tag Championships
  Big Mama and Nino Hamburguesa vs Hijo Del Vikingo and Vanilla vs Dinastia and Lady Maravilla vs Angelikal and La Hiedra
• AAA Tag Team Championships
  Aerostar and Drago vs Golden Magic and Laredo Kid vs Bandido and Flamita vs Andrew Everett and DJZ
• Mamba, Maximo, Pimpinela Escarlata vs Carta Brava Jr, Mocho Cota Jr, Tito Santana vs Hijo de LA Park, Puma King, and Taurus
• Jack Evans, Juventud Guerrera and Teddy Hart vs Averno, Chessman, Super Fly
• La Mascara, Rey Escorpion, and Texano Jr. vs Joe Lider, Murder Clown, and Pagano
• AAA Heavyweight Championship
  Jeff Jarrett (c) vs Fenix vs Brian Cage vs Rich Swann
• Mask vs Hair
  Lady Shani vs Faby Apache
• One Luchador Will Be Unmasked Cage Match (After 2 Luchadors escape the other 2 wrestle, loser losing his mask)
  Psycho Clown vs Hijo Del Fantasma vs LA Park, vs Pentagon Jr.

Prior to being released from WWE, Big Cass worked a program with Daniel Bryan.

Cass was one-half of a very popular NXT tag team alongside Enzo Amore. Once they were called up to the main roster the pair were thrown into the RAW Tag Team Title mix. Unfortunately they were never able to capture the straps.

Subsequently the move was made to split Cass and Amore, as Cass attacked Amore to break up the team. During a match against Amore, Cass suffered a torn ACL that would sideline him for several months.

Amore went on to win the Cruiserweight Championship before getting released by WWE. Cass returned to SmackDown Live shortly after WrestleMania 34 following his injury recovery. He immediately begun a feud with Bryan.

Bryan and Cass worked back-to-back pay-per-views (PPVs) at Backlash and Money In The Bank (MITB). Both times Bryan defeated Cass via submission. Shortly after his defeat to Bryan at MITB, Cass was released from WWE.

Sports Illustrated reported that the reason for Cass’ release was due to behavioral issues and disobeying direct orders from Vince McMahon.

Daniel Bryan On Working With Big Cass

This past weekend, Bryan did an interview with Sky Sports and was asked about working with Cass.

Bryan actually had nothing but good things to say about the seven-footer. He said he liked Cass as a person and as a performer and wishes him well in his future on the indies:

“I really liked working with Big Cass, I thought that he progressed a lot in the time that we were working together. I honestly wish him the best of luck, I like him a lot as a person and as a wrestler so I hope he does really well.”

Discussion: What do you make of Bryan’s comments about Cass? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!

https://twitter.com/SkySportsWWE/status/1032528239758114818

Rey Mysterio is expected to return to WWE very soon.

The Mexican star has been rumored to return to the company for the past several months. Mysterio made his return to WWE in January as part of the Men’s Royal Rumble match.

The following April he returned for the Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia. Mysterio has reportedly been negotiating for a return ever since.

Recently, signs have indicated that Mysterio’s return to WWE is inevitable. Last week Mysterio pulled from a Northeast Wrestling appearance due to his “upcoming contractual situation with WWE.”

Rey Mysterio Expected To Return Within A Month

PWInsider‘s Mike Johnson is now reporting that Mysterio will in fact be back with WWE within the next month or so. Johnson is unaware if the deal will be full-time or part-time, however, his return seems to be eminent.

Mysterio will compete at September 1st’s “All In” event. Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks are self-funding the historical show. The action goes down live from the Sears Centre in Illinois. Mysterio will team up with Fenix and Bandido.

They will take on The Golden Elite (The Young Bucks and Kota Ibushi). Perhaps after the event Mysterio will finally make his return to WWE TV. As of this writing, Mysterio is still scheduled to appear at Warrior Wrestling 2 from Chicago on September 2nd.

WWE 2K19

Mysterio is expected to be back in WWE by October prior to the release of the WWE 2K19 video game. He is a featured character in the game, which is set to release on October 5th.

If he is back in time for the release of WWE 2K19, Rey Mysterio would be available to appear at WWE Super Show-Down. The stadium show from Australia the following day.

He recently spoke to the Miami Herald about his negotiations with WWE.

“We started off with the Royal Rumble at the beginning of the year in January,” Mysterio said.

“There was another offer on the table to do the Greatest Royal Rumble, and in between those two events, we’ve been going back-n-forth in conversations, trying to work out the right deal…It’s still up in the air. Nothing secure, yet.”

Discussion: What do you make of Mysterio reportedly returning within a month? Let us know in the comments!

Miroslav Barnyashev traveled to the United States from Bulgaria with a dream to become a professional wrestler. However, the road to becoming Rusev was filled with plenty of detours along the way. Rusev’s wife Lana believes his ‘Coming to America’ story deserves to be told on the big screen.

“He followed his dream to Hollywood,” Lana said about her husband when speaking to “Open Late” with Peter Rosenberg. “I want to make a movie out of your story, it’s so great. It’s literally a Hollywood movie and it’s like Oscar winning.”

According to Rusev, before he finally started attending classes a professional wrestling school in San Diego, he had just about every job imaginable while trying to make ends meet.

“Work here and there, worked a whole bunch of different places,” Rusev said. “I was doing a taxi job, I was security at a strip club, I was doing construction.

“Most of the time, I had two or three jobs at a time because I had to survive.”

It wasn’t until the WWE came to San Diego almost exactly a decade ago that Rusev finally took the initiative to pursue his ultimate goal to become a professional wrestler.

“I was living in Los Angeles and in San Diego they had a WWE pay-per-view like Great American Bash, I think it was 2008. After leaving the show, I saw a flier on my car it said ‘professional wrestling school’,” Rusev stated.

“I was like ‘oh great, it’s only a two hour drive, I’ll make the drive and I’ll start learning what I actually came to America to do’.”

Rusev then began training under former WWE superstars Gangrel and Rikishi before making his debut in late 2008. The rest, as they say, is history — and Lana believes it’s the perfect story that would fit a Hollywood movie detailing Rusev’s rise to fame.

Would you like to see Rusev have his life story translated into a major motion picture? 

There’s a new top dog in WWE’s merchandise sales. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, roman Reigns recently surpassed John Cena as the company’s top merchandise mover.  This gives WWE all the more reason to continue to promote Reigns as the centerpiece of their company, despite negative fan reactions.

Reigns recently downplayed the mixed reactions get gets from live audiences. “I think they’re like closet lovers to be honest,” Reigns said.  “You can say whatever you want, but it’s how you say it that matters. The way they deliver it, they’re more connected to me than their so called ‘favorites.’ For me to be able to pull on whatever string I pull on, it just goes to show there’s a deep rooting there.”

Of course, John Cena is no stranger to getting a strong negative reaction from a large part of the WWE Universe. That never affected his merchandise sales and continued to outdraw everyone on the roster by a big margin. It appears Roman Reigns is now in a similar position.

SummerSlam

Over the weekend Cena missed his first SummerSlam pay-per-view (PPV) event in 15 years. He’s currently in China filming a movie with Jackie Chan. As for Reigns, he toppled Brock Lesnar in the main event of SummerSlam for the Universal Championship. Reigns’ victory sealed a rivalry between he and Lesnar that has been going on for three years.

On Monday Night RAW this week, Reigns also realigned himself with Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose to reunite The Shield. Rollins and Ambrose came to Reigns’ aid to prevent Braun Strowman from cashing in his Money In The Bank (MITB) briefcase.

When former UFC champion Ronda Rousey first arrived in WWE back in January at the Royal Rumble, there were more than a few women on the roster who weren’t exactly excited at the attention she received after a historic match just took place.

The first ever women’s Royal Rumble won by Asuka was suddenly dwarfed by Rousey’s arrival and superstars like Sasha Banks weren’t very happy about the way it all unfolded.

Now eight months later, Rousey is the new RAW women’s champion and it appears opinions about her have changed dramatically now that she’s been part of the locker room for most of 2018.

“When I first found out she was going to come, I was like we don’t need that,” Banks told Peter Rosenberg on “Open Late”. “I don’t need that taking away what we’re doing but she helps so much. She works so hard. She always wants to learn. She loves it and respects it and I appreciate that.

“She works really hard. You can see that in the ring.”

Rousey seems to have won over the entire women’s roster since her arrival and now just about everybody is anxious to share the ring with her at some point.

Banks hasn’t actually had any kind of opportunity to work with Rousey yet, but she believes when it does happen, they will put on a phenomenal match together.

“Any time, I’m ready for her,” Banks said about facing Rousey. “Especially like knowing her now, I’m more than happy to have a match with her. I think she’s awesome.

“I think we can make magic together. I [haven’t got] anything bad to say about her.”

What do you think about a potential Sasha Banks vs. Ronda Rousey match in the future? Sound off in the comments and let us know!

A lot of people were surprised with the way the match between Kevin Owens and Braun Strowman at SummerSlam was handled and there were many who weren’t happy with Owens getting squashed by the Monster Among Men.

During the recent episode of his Steve Austin Show, WWE Legend Stone Cold Steve Austin shared his thoughts on the former Universal Champion getting “steamrolled” by the Money In The Bank contract holder.

Austin claimed that he is a big fan of both the men and said that he hopes that Kevin will be able to claw his way back up after this defeat and get back where he was.

Continuing on the topic, the Texas Rattle Snake revealed that he wasn’t a fan of how the match rolled out and he doesn’t think that Owens needed to get “steamrolled” because he’s a top guy.

The former World Champion also talked about the Universal Championship match between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns, saying that he loved the physicality of the bout.

According to him, the whole part where Strowman got beat up by Brock Lesnar and then Lesnar threw his briefcase onto the ramp was great, and WWE made the most out of the situation they could.

What did you think about Kevin Owens’ match against Braun Strowman at the SummerSlam PPV? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.

When The New Day first formed back in 2014, the group wasn’t exactly met with open arms from the WWE faithful. Largely billed as a heel faction, The New Day struggled to gain a foothold with audiences but the talent possessed by the three members — ‘Big’ E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods — was undeniable.

While ‘Big’ E had tasted some success as a singles wrestler while previously holding the Intercontinental title, Kingston was by far the most established superstar of the group after a long run as one of the WWE’s top performers.

It turns out when The New Day first came together, The Big Show actually pulled Kingston aside and told him that he’d be better off without ‘Big’ E and Woods because he deserved to be competing for world titles, not mired in a three-man faction.

“So ‘Big Show’ when we were trying to get off the ground, ‘Big Show’ would pull Kofi to the side — like legit pull him [nearby] so we’re within earshot — and say ‘what are you doing with those two? They’re bringing you down. You should be in the world title picture’,” ‘Big’ E revealed when speaking to “Open Late” with Peter Rosenberg. “And this is [not] at a time when it’s ‘oh ‘Big Show’ it’s all fun and games’.

“We’re struggling to get on TV, me and [Xavier] Woods, thinking we’re about to get fired.”

Woods added that Big Show never tried to hide his contempt for the New Day when having conversations with Kingston backstage.

“He was legit concerned for me” ~ Kofi Kingston on The Big Show’s advice

“I had been on the road three months doing nothing,” Woods said. “So I had just come up from developmental like ‘oh everything is so shiny and new, I’m so happy to be here guys’ and then he’s just taking a dump on me like to my face.”

Kingston says Big Show wasn’t trying to be ill willed towards ‘Big’ E or Woods but rather was showing concern about his own individual future in WWE.

“I don’t think he cared that they were there at all,” Kingston said. “He was legit concerned for me.”

Obviously, The New Day stuck around past a rocky beginning and they are now one of the most marketable teams in all of WWE following multiple reigns as tag team champions. The New Day sell a ton of merchandise and are a massive hit amongst the WWE fanbase.

As it turns out, Woods says out of everyone who has ever talked bad about The New Day, Big Show was on the one superstar who came back around and apologized for what he had said previously.

“To his credit, for all the people who didn’t say things to our face, said things behind our back, he’s the one person who came up to us and said ‘I was completely wrong, you guys are awesome and you’re killing it and I’m glad that you didn’t listen to me’,” Woods stated. “He’s the only one.”

London based company UnPro Wrestling has announced a new project which gets off the ground this January. ‘Never Mind The Wristlocks’ is a panel show based on the popular BBC programme ‘Never Mind The Buzzcocks.’ The show will feature two teams of three competing in similar challenges to the iconic British show.

UnPro Wrestling’s first two events ‘The Man Who Would Be King’ and ‘Time For Heroes’ are available to view for free via their Pivotshare channel. UK stars such as Roy Johnson, Jack Sexsmith and Sebastian appear on these stellar events.

Already announced for the first taping are NXT UK Superstar Eddie Dennis,. Also announced are TK Cooper, Mad Man Manson, Chuck Mambo, Candyfloss and David Starr.

Tickets will be available to purchase at 9am on Friday 24th August via Gigantic. The show will be taking place on January 24th.

https://twitter.com/NMTWristlocks/status/1032368639100444673

PROGRESS Wrestling has announced the final match for Jimmy Havoc before their Wembley Arena show. The longest reigning Champion in PROGRESS’ history will be taking on his greatest rival, Will Ospreay. The match was actually originally scheduled to happen at the Wembley event in September. Unfortunately plans had to change due to Ospreay’s NJPW contract and a pre-existing date in Los Angeles.

The stakes in this bout are extremely high. Havoc has 2 wins in the ‘3 and In’ series, if he bests Ospreay then he goes into Wembley as Number 1 contender to the PROGRESS World Championship. Ospreay however has different plans and wants to end the man who he refers to now as ‘James,’ claiming that Havoc is a shell of his former self. Ospreay famously ended Havoc’s record title run at the top of PROGRESS at Chapter 20.

To add extra weight and precedence to the bout PROGRESS has announced a special guest referee. Former member of Havoc’s ‘REGRESSION’ stable and Ospreay’s longtime tag partner Paul Robinson will be the man in charge for this No DQ, 2 out of 3 falls match.

The two men that defined PROGRESS and put them on the global stage will be facing for possibly the final time. It. Ends. Here.

#Chapter75: Havoc wants Ospreay. Ospreay wants 2/3 Falls. We've made it No DQ, AND put the only person who can control these two in charge: @PR_WRESTLING referees @WillOspreay vs @JimmyHavoc this Monday. IT ENDS HERE. #ThisIsPROGRESS #ViolentDelights pic.twitter.com/AzYsJXcijW

— PROGRESS Wrestling (@ThisIs_Progress) August 23, 2018

Joe Hendry signed with Impact Wrestling in May of this year. He only has positive things to say about the 3 months he’s spent with the promotion. “I couldn’t be more thrilled,” Hendry said on today’s Impact media call. “Impact has been amazing in letting me do what I do.”

As with many other recent additions to Impact’s roster, what has Hendry so enthusiastic is the freedom the company is giving him. “What I’ve noticed since I’ve been there is a real element of working with the talent to bring out the best in us.”

Hendry joins other Impact wrestlers, such as Konnan and Sami Callihan, who have echoed similar sentiment in recent months. “It’s just been fun since the get-go,” Hendry stated.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXE7_HCGCUE

Impact Wrestling Across The Globe

While Anthem Sports and Entertainment’s head office is located in Toronto, they are an international company with their sights set on expanding into global markets.

Impact will head to Manchester, England on September 9th for an event before traveling to Mexico City for two nights of tapings on the 13th and 14th.

The company signed the Scottish wrestler back in May. Two months after Hendry signed, Anthem launched the Fight Network in the U.K. We asked Hendry if he feels part of his role in the company is to get more UK eyeballs on the product.

“The U.K has historically been a such a stronghold for Impact Wrestling,” Hendry said. “It just makes sense to kind of reignite that and re-tap into that. If can help facilitate that then that’s a huge honor.”

Hendry is scheduled to face Eli Drake on the company’s return to Manchester at Wrestling MediaCon in two weeks.

Impact Wrestling MediaCon Twitch Special Lineup

• Impact Wrestling Tag Team Championships
  LAX (c) vs Jody Fleisch & Jonny Storm
• Barbed Wire Baseball Bat Death Match
  Sami Callihan vs Jimmy Havoc
• Eli Drake vs Joe Hendry
• Su Yung vs Lana Austin
• Rich Swann vs Matt Sydal vs Trevor Lee

Impact Wrestling returns to television tonight. Check out our preview of the upcoming episode here.

Impact Wrestling tonight will be their first episode from the August tapings. The promotion taped inside Toronto’s Rebel Nightclub on August 12 & 13th. Next week’s episode will be a special-branded “Impact ReDefined” show. Following the next 4 episodes, Impact will head to Mexico City for two nights of tapings there.

Impact Wrestling Preview 8/23

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CZMD1yC5Kw

Brian Cage Speaks

Brian Cage still hasn’t been pinned or submitted since arriving in Impact Wrestling earlier this year. He will speak for the first time since arriving in the territory tonight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ooJNRxXfbU

The current X-Division Champion found out last week his next title-challenger will be Fenix. The two will meet for the title next week at Impact ReDefined.

Kiera Hogan vs Alisha Edwards

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-S0fKEaIqw&t=7s

There is said to be mutual respect between Hogan and Edwards heading into this match.

Edwards better not be too worried about the ongoing mental spiraling her husband is going through. If so, Hogan could likely pick up her 3rd televised victory for the promotion. She’s already defeated Laurel Van Ness and Taya Valkyrie (via DQ) so far this year.

Fallah Bah & KM vs the Desi Hit Squad

Last week, Bah and KM were given some advice from Scarlett Bordeaux. The Smoke Show expressed to KM that they had tried things his way and maybe they should try things Bah’s way now.

KM seemed to get behind the idea and even stressed he would be buying matching tights.

LAX Celebrate Their Street Fight Victory

LAX defeated the OGZ and took back possession of the Impact tag-team titles they never officially lost. Tonight, Santana and Ortiz will host a live in-ring celebration.

Perhaps King and the OGZ will be watching…

Matt Sydal In Single’s Action

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGzp6buX6QA

Matt Sydal has had to find a new purpose and direction since losing the X-Division Championship at Slammiversary.

Sydal seems to have made peace with the fact that the X-Division Championship chose Cage and not him. He’ll continue his new journey tonight as he takes on a wrestler TBD (not Richard Justice).

Eddie Edwards Speaks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kM11TQSlorM&t=182s&frags=pl%2Cwn

Eddie Edwards was robbed of his chance to win the Impact World Championship recently. Just when it seemed as though Edwards had the title won, Killer Kross interfered and cost him the match. It was then revealed that Kross and Aries are aligned.

Kross and Edwards took out Edwards again last week during a talking segment. Edwards is going to try things again tonight, however, and perhaps hope for a better result.

Mexican Death Match
Pentagon Jr. vs Sami Callihan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6p_73F6etiA&t=8s

Impact Wrestling heads to Mexico in 3 weeks but tonight Mexico comes to the Impact ring. Callihan challenged Pentagon to this Mexican Death Match tonight.

The promotion is advertising that this will be the first Mexican Death Match ever broadcast on national television.

Last week’s quick results:

1. Fenix defeated Sami Callihan
2. Johnny Impact defeated Jimmy Jacobs via DQ
3. Eli Drake defeated Joe Hendry
4. Allie defeated Su Yung (non-title) via DQ
5. Street Fight: LAX defeated OGZ

If you missed last week’s episode, check out our 9 Takeaways from Impact Wrestling 8/16.

Billy Corgan’s National Wrestling Alliance is ready to produce their first show. The event will take place on October 21st from the Nashville Fairgrounds in Tennessee.

“It’s such an honor to be leading this historic brand into its next chapter,” Corgan said. “The enduring legacy of the National Wrestling Alliance — the men who forged it and the champions who defended it — illuminate our path in 2018. This event celebrates our first full year shepherding this brand while honoring the everlasting milestones, legends and champions of the NWA.”

The show will be available to purchase live through the FITE app.

Current NWA Champion, Nick Aldis, will next defend the title on September 1st against Cody. The result of that match could factor heavily into the booking of the NWA’s anniversary event.

NWA 70the Anniversary Special

The NWA will be running the show in conjunction with Jeff Jarrett’s Global Force Wrestling. Jarrett was quoted in the press release. He had the following to say in regards to the event. “This will be an event no fan will want to miss, and I’m honored to work with Billy on a show of this magnitude,” Jarrett said.

After taking ownership of the NWA in October 2017, Corgan and company have slowly built the brand back to respectability. Then champion, Tim Storm, carried the title for a few months before dropping it to Aldis at a CZW event late last year.

Other NWA regulars in the last year have included Jocephus, Tim Storm, and Auston Idol.

Chris Jericho likes to keep busy. In addition to promoting a cruise, wrestling with NJPW, touring with Fozzy, and hosting his own podcast, Jericho has signed on for a special with the Travel Channel.

“The Legend of…With Chris Jericho” will debut on November 17th, 2018 at 11 PM.

Did you hear the news? @IAmJericho has a new one-hour special on the way! Join him as he searches for legendary swamp creatures in Louisiana ? Stay tuned for more details. pic.twitter.com/0Dejotd8iI

— Trvl Channel (@travelchannel) August 22, 2018

Chris Jericho Travel Channel

The network describes the show as following Jericho while he “brings his lifelong fascination for history’s unexplained legends and the figures behind them to Travel Channel. Digging into the past, Jericho searches for answers that separate fact from fiction in order to find the true story behind the legend.”

A previous special involved Jericho searching for Butch Cassidy’s treasure. Jericho will now head to the Louisiana swamp to search for swamp creatures in this new special.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BbKa35fHgGE/?utm_source=ig_embed

What’s Next For Chris Jericho?

Jericho has said he pitched an idea to Vince McMahon for Summerslam this year. He pitched the idea of an IWGP Intercontinental Champion vs WWE Intercontinental Championship match. Jericho won the title from Tetsuya Naito at Destruction in Osaka on June 9th.

Following his cruise in October, Jericho will likely be looking to build toward a possible Tokyo Dome match with NJPW in January. Once 2019 begins, however, Jericho has promised things could get interesting.

2019 is gonna be an interesting year…. #FreeAgentJericho

— Chris Jericho (@IAmJericho) August 15, 2018

Jericho has also said he is no longer sticking to his promise of only working for Vince McMahon in the United States.

New details have emerged in the ongoing saga of Pentagon Jr. and Fenix. Last week, it was reported the brothers have told promoters dates they committed to in 2019 were now in question. In an update to this story, it appears neither brother is accepting bookings beyond 2018 at the moment.

“The main thing is that both are not taking any dates in 2019,” wrote Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer. “Which is usually a sign of going to WWE.”

MLW pulled the brothers from an upcoming show in October amidst the rumors. They have both been booked for Impact’s Bound for Glory show that month, however. If the brothers planned on committing to any other promotion, they’d probably still be able to accept bookings considering the attitude towards exclusivity currently exhibited by non-WWE promoters such as Impact and MLW.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d50dB48baXw&frags=pl%2Cwn

Pentagon Jr and Fenix WWE Speculation

The Lucha Bros contracts with LU contain opt-out clauses following this season. Both would have to wait for 6-months after the season airs to debut for another promotion, however.

The departure of the brothers from the non-WWE scene could potentially affect multiple promotions. As of the beginning of yesterday’s episode of Lucha Underground (I haven’t seen the episode), Pentagon Dark is the LU Champion. The Lucha Brothers are also the MLW Tag-Team Champions and play a large role in Impact Wrestling as well.

There is another reliable report out regarding the planned WWE Evolution main event. According to the Wrestling Observer, Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey will face Nikki Bella in the headline match of WWE’s historic all-women’s pay-per-view.

“The lead idea for the Evolution main event on 10/28 at the Nassau Coliseum is Rousey vs. Nikki Bella,” wrote Dave Meltzer. “With the idea you are headlining with the two biggest mainstream women stars in the company.”

Over the past week, we’ve seen The Bella Twins return to WWE television and Ronda Rousey capture the RAW Women’s Championship. At both SummerSlam and Raw, the Bella Twins have had stood alongside Rousey in celebrating her championship victory.

WWE Evolution takes place on Sunday, October 28th from Long Island, New York at the Nassau Coliseum. Expect to see more interactions between Rousey and the Bellas in the coming weeks. The Bellas have been supportive of Rousey thus far. It will be interesting to see how and when things go sideways.

Visit our WWE Evolution event page for more information.

WWE Evolution Main Event

The storyline may have already started to take shape this week. The Bellas were ringside during Rousey’s segment with Stephanie McMahon on Raw. They were also shown watching Rousey win the title at Summerslam.

The Bellas and Rousey are not strangers. The Bellas would sometimes train with Ronda when they were in California before Rousey got into the business herself. Rousey and her team would teach the twins MMA and judo moves, while the Bellas taught them wrestling moves. The Bellas and Rousey appeared together at the 2015 ESPY awards as well.

In 2015, Nikki told TMZ reporters she would love to face Ronda some day.

Alberto El Patron (Del Rio) has had a falling out with another pro-wrestling promotion. Yesterday, AAA Lucha Libre announced the full card for this weekend’s TripleMania show. Alberto was noticeably absent from the lineup.

“The promotion soured on him when he no-showed the Impact vs. AAA show in New Orleans and just felt with his track record that he wasn’t worth the risk,” wrote Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Earlier in the year, Alberto teased he would face a legendary opponent on the show. He has said he had talks with the promotion about wrestling against or teaming with Rey Mysterio Jr. for the event. While Albero has never officially left the promotion, his name has not been mentioned on their television in months.

Alberto El Patron TripleMania

AAA owner, Dorian Roldan, went public in Mexico saying Alberto’s no-showing the Impact vs LU was a significant factor. Alberto has gone public and said the two sides were negotiating after his no-show.

TripleMania takes place August 25th, 2018. The main event of the show will feature a 4-way cage match. Pentagon, Psycho Clown, El Hijo Del Fantasma, and LA Park will be the participants. After 2 luchadors have escaped the cage, the final two will wrestle a single’s match. The loser of that match also loses their mask.

WWE Confirms Erick Rowan’s Injury

We noted before how Erick Rowan suffered an injury during his SummerSlam match with the New Day though at the time, WWE was yet to officially confirm that he was injured.

The company confirmed his status after Bludgeon Brothers’ No Disqualification match with The New Day on SmackDown with the following statement, revealing that he is scheduled for a surgery later this week:

“Rowan of The Bludgeon Brothers has suffered a torn right bicep, WWE.com has learned. The former SmackDown Tag Team Champion is currently scheduled to undergo surgery to repair the injury this week.”

Charlotte Made History At SummerSlam

SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte made history when she defeated Carmella and Becky Lynch in a triple threat match at the SummerSlam PPV for the title, by becoming the female Superstar with the most Women’s title reigns.

Flair is on her 8th reign now after winning the Women’s title 4 times on Raw, 2 times on SmackDown, 1 time in NXT and winning the Diva’s title one time as well.

Hall Of Famer Trish Stratus also has 8 title reigns, but one of them was with the Hardcore Title. With her win, Charlotte now also holds the record for the most PPV wins at 24.

The ‘All In’ press train is still steaming ahead, with Cody, Kenny Omega, and The Young Bucks seemingly inundated with media junkets for their sold-out event, which takes place September 1st.

Anticipation for the event is undeniable, with the card offering a mix of wrestling styles and wrestlers from promotions around the world, brought together under one roof at the Sears Centre in Chicago to create wrestling history.

The breadth of work, craft, and organisation to book a feat of this magnitude would intimidate most people. Not Cody, et al.

A Booking Crossroads

Speaking during the Starrcast media conference, Cody broached the topic of modern pro wrestling booking, and how that has inflected ‘All In’, as well as his mindset towards the business going forward.

“The approach and the attitude of a booker, promoter, performer, competitor… however you wanna put it, towards the audience is still a bit gripped in the concrete of old. A little bit,” said Cody. “There was this whole thought process of “We know what they want more than they know what they want”. And to some extent, it’s still your narrative. And it’s still yours to put out there for them to enjoy. And you hope you judge their sensibilities correctly.”

He goes on to comment on today’s modern booking style, as he sees it, “[…] what I’ve learned, especially since I paired up and hooked myself up to the Bullet Club, which has been so beneficial to me, what I’ve learned is that you cannot force anything… anything on the fans.”

“This is the era of absolute gag reflex,” he states. “They [the fans] will push it back. They do not… They’re not interested in things being forced on them and that makes this playing field a lot more even for different wrestlers, managers, different promotions, everything. Because everybody gets to go out there, play their music and maybe it’s not the reaction folks intended but it gives you the opportunity… it’s a whole different ballgame. And it’s made me much more open-minded.”

If there’s anyone who would know about the old way of booking, it would be the son of a son of a plumber.
The education Cody would have been privy to through sheer osmosis watching his father, Dusty Rhodes, would put him in a prime position behind the scenes.

It’s encouraging to see him question the old mindset, pushing forward with his own ambitions for the backstage process, whilst listening to and acknowledging the tastes of a modern audience.

The kind of audience that sells out an event like ‘All In’ in approximately thirty minutes.

Visit our All In event page for more information.

While there has been no official news regarding his status, the perspective on Jason Jordan’s future with WWE has changed drastically in the past few weeks.

Jordan who was originally expected to return within a few weeks has spent the last 6 months on the shelf and just recently it was revealed that he has been shadowing WWE producers from a while.

Now Pwinsider is reporting that Jordon actually produced one of the matches on this week’s episode of SmackDown Live and the former NXT Star helped put together the match between Naomi and Peyton Royce on the show.

Jason Jordon was sent home to heal by his storyline father Kurt Angle back in February and he was originally expected to return to the ring just a few weeks later, after WrestleMania.

However, it has been more than 6 months since then and earlier this month it was reported that his neck injury has turned out to be worse than first thought.

With the reports of him shadowing WWE producers and now producing a match on a live show, speculation about his in-ring career possibly being over have begun.

Though since the company has not provided any official statement on his status, there is still hope for Jason and expectation about him returning to ring somewhere down the line are still alive.