Health insurance had become the talk of town in the wrestling world recently, with John Oliver having an entire segment on WWE refusing to provide its workers with insurance on Last Week Tonight. AEW, on the other hand, has promised benefits and lighter schedule for wrestlers – but has the same answer more or less when it comes to the question of health care.
There is, however, one promotion who claims to give health insurance and life insurance to its wrestlers. Speaking to Miami Herald, Alberto El Patron – formerly Alberto Del Rio – revealed that his new promotion Nacion Lucha Libre will offer “stuff they don’t have in other companies”, including insurance.
El Patron, who is teaming with Chavo Guerrero Jr. to form the promotion said (transcription via Wrestling Inc.), “We’re always going to have doctors. [Our wrestlers] are going to have health insurance and life insurance. Stuff they don’t have in any other companies.”
“Most of the companies, including WWE, they have their own doctors. They don’t provide you with health insurance. They force you to get your own health insurance. If you don’t get you own insurance, you’re not allowed to perform. If anything happens in their shows, yes you’re completely covered, which I think is the only company doing that. Me, I remember having a terrible injury about eight years ago and they took care of everything. I think they’re the only company doing that but they don’t actually provide you with health insurance. They’re just covered in their events.”
El Patron explained that NLL will also include a retirement plan. He claimed that other promoters don’t care about wrestlers’ well-being and they’re “just meat” to them.
The promotion has also secured a television deal with Imagen TV in Mexico. NLL’s debut show will be held on Friday, 11 July at Sala de Armas in Mexico City, Mexico. Ricardo Rodriguez will work as a referee in the promotion and names such as MVP, The Lucha Brothers, Chavo Guerrero Jr., El Hijo del Fantasma will be competing at the event. The entire lineup is as follows:
Alberto El Patron, Hijo Del Fantasma & Rey Wagner vs MVP, Apolo, & Mesias
The Lucha Bros (Pentagon & Fenix) vs Chavo Guerrero & Mechawolf 450
Daga & Flamita vs Puma King & Rey Horus
Thunder Rosa, Cristy James, & Stephanie Waquer vs Sexy Star, Lady Flammer, & Reina Oscura
Solar vs Negro Navarro vs Damian 666 vs Canek
Mr. Iguana & Fresero Jr vs Bestia 666 & Black Taurus vs Laredo Kid & the Tiger
Hijo De Dos Caras, Hijo De Wagner, Dual vs. Bram, La Mascara and Batab El Guerrero
We recently learned from a report that WWE is trying to strengthen their grip on the United Kingdom market after AEW signed a TV deal with popular free-to-air channel ITV. (More details here)
We only know that AEW has a weekly television deal with ITV in place and a possible PPV event in the island nation for now, and Young Bucks are here to give more info on the matter.
Speaking to The Independent, Matt explains why having a UK TV deal was a priority for the promotion. “We’ve had a large fan-base in the UK for years. The Khans are popular over there with Fulham FC and, I think, right away we have our foot in the door – we’re definitely looking to come there and present AEW.”
As for the UK PPV event, which will be a first in over 25 years, Young Bucks reveal they already have a working title for the event in mind.
“I don’t want to put out too many spoilers, but we might have already thought of the name for one event!” said Nick.
Matt added, “We already have a working title, if that tells you anything – I can’t take credit for it because a fan gave me the idea! I presented it in the group chat and everybody immediately gave it the thumbs up. “
While nothing is confirmed yet, the company seems to have UK on their bucket list for sure.
“Going over there is a big priority for us; we know there is a large fan-base there and that they want to see All Elite Wrestling,” Matt said.
“We don’t have anything confirmed yet, but I can almost guarantee that we’ll eventually be there.”
With their TV deal with ITV, Matt says AEW wants to become a household name and reach the casual audience.
“My hope is that we’re regularly on television, pulling in good ratings and have developed an even larger fan-base where more casual fans are AEW fans.
Right now we have that cult following, we have the ‘smarter’ fans, but it’s time to appease the children, to reach families and get everyone on board.”
A Bullet Club member has turned his back on his stablemates and instead joined the rival faction CHAOS at the NJPW Southern Showdown event in Sydney on June 30.
Robbie Eagles had enough of Bullet Club and turned on them by joining CHAOS’ Will Ospreay and Kazuchika Okada.
Eagles was frustrated with Bullet Club as he felt that his spotlight was stolen by the addition of Canadian indie star El Phantasmo to the group.
On Night 2 of the NJPW Southern Showdown event, Eagles was part of the six-man tag team match where he teamed up with Jay White & Bad Luck Fale against Hiroshi Tanahashi, Okada & Ospreay of CHAOS.
After the match, Eagles turned on Bullet Club after having enough and was subsequently beaten down by his now-former partners. Surprisingly, Ospreay returned to help Eagles and offered him a spot in CHAOS, which he accepted.
Germany’s Westside Xtreme Wrestling have announced on Twitter that WWE United Kingdom Champion WALTER, NXT UK Women’s Champion Toni Storm and NXT UK star Killer Kelly will be part of “wXw Toronto” event on 9 August. WALTER will also appear a day before on 8 August at “Ambition 11”. The show will be held at the MET in Toronto, Canada.
Mandy Rose has launched a new fitness app called Fit with Mandy, which offers a 12 week at-home training regiment requiring minimal exercise equipment.
She also posted behind-the-scenes pics from her photo-shoot for the app on Instagram. In the caption of the post, she explains why she created the app: “I love training and lifting heavy but we all know sometimes we get bored of the same routine & our bodies need change at times for specific goals. That is why I created this APP and this specific program bc (sic) I want exercising and living a healthy life to be fun and easily accessible to anyone!”
All Elite Wrestling has become the most trending commodity in the world of professional wrestling and everyone has thoughts about it. A particular event made more waves during the company’s Double or Nothing show during which Cody Rhodes smashed Triple H’s throne while making his entrance.
WWE Hall of Famer and Legend Ric Flair who is close friends with AEW President Tony Khan, spoke to WrestlingInc. on their WINCLY Podcast and gave his opinion on Cody smashing the throne with a sledgehammer.
Flair believes that Cody went straight for Triple H because The Game is a top guy. “If you are going to make a statement, Hunter’s a top guy,” said Flair.
“Hunter is a disciple of the business and could not have come along at a better time in wrestling than he did. Then of course marrying Stephanie and he’s got a work ethic just like Vince has. In my mind, if something ever happens to Vince, God forbid, Hunter will be the one running the company.”
And that is how a statement is made, according to The Nature Boy. “So, that’s how you get someone’s attention. You jump on a guy. When they are talking about you, you’re doing something good. That’s a good saying in this business.”
If you are unaware, All Elite Wrestling’s Fyter Fest event takes its name, logo and branding from the fraudulent “luxury music festival” Fyre Festival that took place in 2017. It was attended by more than 4,000 people on the Bahamian island of Exuma. The event was heavily promoted on Instagram by top “social media influencers” including Kendall Jenner (who was reportedly paid $250,000 for a single Instagram post to promote the event), and other celebrities.
The Fyre Festival was a huge disaster as during the inaugural weekend, the event experienced problems related to security, food, accommodation, medical services and artist relations, resulting in the festival being postponed indefinitely. Instead of receiving the promised luxury villas and gourmet meals for which festival attendees paid thousands of dollars, they received pre-packaged sandwiches and FEMA tents, which were declared “free for all”, resulting in absolute chaos.
The AEW boys of course made several spoof references on Twitter to the disastorous event and its organizers before Fyre Festival.
Below are the parody tweets, with some real tweets from Fyre Festival that they are referencing.
Eric Bischoff, whose recent hiring by WWE has shaken the wrestling world, has clarified that his 83 Weeks With Eric Bischoff podcast will continue despite his new WWE role.
Bischoff is set to be in charge of SmackDown Live and was hired along with Paul Heyman who is brought to be in charge of Raw.
The podcast made its debut on 30 April, 2018 and has been running for 61 episodes as of this writing. The name “83 Weeks” comes from the fact that Bischoff, when he was President of WCW, beat WWF’s Monday Night Raw with his Monday Nitro show for 83 weeks straight during the Monday Night Wars.
At the River City Wrestling Con last night, Teddy Long made a surprise appearance and introduced WWE Hall of Famer Billy Gunn’s son, Austin Gunn.
Austin arrived sporting a Ring of Honor t-shirt and reportedly declared that he has signed with the company. Fightful say they have been able to confirm that the company has indeed signed Austin.
Austin was seen at All In’s pre-show Zero Hour on 1 September, 2018 where he took part in the Over the Budget battle royal. The 24-year old has made appearances for MCW Pro, Ohio Valley Wrestling, etc since he started wrestling in 2017 after receiving training from his father, Bully Ray, and Devon Dudley.
It’s interesting that Austin has headed the other way instead of joining AEW where his father currently works. Billy Gunn is a coach and a producer for the new promotion, but ROH can be a great ground for gaining experience.
Former Impact Wrestling Knockouts Champion Chelsea Green made her return to in-ring action after being sidelined due to a broken wrist that resulted in her getting surgery.
She did so by teaming up with Deonna Purrazzo and lost to Lacey Lane & Kacy Catanzaro at Saturday’s NXT event in Venice, FL at the Venice Community Center. This served as the second match on the card.
This marks the time that she’s worked a match since suffering the broken wrist during a dark match at the March 13th NXT TV tapings where she defeated Jessie Elaban.
Before she signed with WWE in October 2018, Green established her name while competing under the Impact Wrestling banner as Laurel Van Ness where she was a Knockouts Champion.
WWE NXT Venice, FL Results
Jeet Rama defeated Dexter Lumis
Lacey Lane & Kacy Catanzaro defeated Deonna Purrazzo & Chelsea Green
Cezar Bononi defeated Ridge Holland
Mansoor Al-Shehail defeated Denzel Dejournette
Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch won a four-way elimination tag match
AEW’s second official event is in the books. Fyter Fest took place last night from Daytona Beach. Next up for the young promotion will be Fight for the Fallen on July 13th from Jacksonville.
Here is a list of updated win/loss records in the promotion broken down by division.
AEW Win/Loss Records
The updated win/loss records are below. We’ve separated losses in multi-person matches to their own category “MPL” or “Multi-person match losses). Wins in multi-person matches are grouped together with other victories. Detailed match breakdowns are below each wrestler.
Men’s singles division:
Adam “Hangman” Page 2W-0L
Multi-person match record: 2W-0L (won Casino Battle Royale, 4-way at Fyter Fest)
Chris Jericho 1W-0L
Singles record 1W-0L (defeated Kenny Omega)
Cody 1W-0L-1D
Single’s record 1W-0L-1D (defeated Dustin Rhodes, time-limit draw vs Darby Allin)
Kenny Omega 1W-1L
Singles record 0W-1L (lost to Chris Jericho)
Tag Team record 1W-0L (The Elite defeated Lucha Bros vs Laredo Kid)
Darby Allin 0W-0L-1D
Single’s record 0W-0L-1D (time limit draw vs Cody)
Kip Sabian 1W-0L
Singles record 1W-0L (defeated Sammy Guevara)
CIMA 1W-1L
Singles record 1W-0L (defeated Christopher Daniels)
3-on-3 record w/Strong Hearts 0W-1L (lost to SCU)
Christopher Daniels 1W-1L
Single’s record 0W-1L (lost to CIMA)
3-on-3 record 1W-1L (defeated Strong Hearts)
Jon Moxley 1W-0L
Singles record 1W-0L (defeated Joey Janela)**
Joey Janela 0W-1L-1MPL
Singles record 0W-1L (lost to Jon Moxley)**
Multi-person match record: 0W-1L (did not win Casino Battle Royale)
Michael Nakazawa 1W-0L-1MPL
Single’s record 1W-0L (defeated Alex Jebailey)
Multi-person matches 0W-1L (did not win Casino Battle Royale)
Alex JeBailey 0W-1L
Singles record 0W-1L (lost to Michael Nakazawa)
Dustin Rhodes 0W-1L
Singles record 0W-1L (lost to Cody)
Sammy Guevara 0W-1L
Singles record 0W-1L (lost to Kip Sabian)
Jungle Boy 0W-0L-2MPL
Multi-person matches 0W-2L (did not win Casino Battle Royale, or 4-Way at Fyter Fest)
Jimmy Havoc 0W-0L-2MPL
Multi-person matches 0W-2L (did not win Casino Battle Royale, or 4-Way at Fyter Fest)
Maxwell Jacob Friedman 0W-0L-2MPL
Multi-person matches 0W-2L (did not win Casino Battle Royale, or 4-Way at Fyter Fest)
** Unsanctioned match.
AEW Women’s Division
Riho 2W-0L
Single’s triple threat record 1W-0L (defeated Nyla Rose, Yuka Sakazaki)
3-on-3 tag record 1W-0L (defeated Aja Kong, Emi Sakura & Yuka Sakazaki)
Britt Baker 1W-0L
4-way record 1W-0L (defeated Kylie Rae, Nyla Rose & Awesome Kong)
Allie 1W-0L
Singles record 1W-0L (defeated Leva Bates)
Awesome Kong 0W-0L-1MPL
4-way record 0W-1L (lost to Britt Baker)
Nyla Rose 0W-0L-2MPL
Triple threat record 0W-1L (lost to Riho)
4-Way record 0W-1L (lost to Britt Baker)
Kylie Rae 0W-0L-1MPL
4-way record 0W-1L (lost to Britt Baker)
Hikaru Shida 1W-0L
3-on-3 tag record 1W-0L (defeated Aja Kong, Emi Sakura & Yuka Sakazaki)
Ryo Mizunami 1W-0L
3-on-3 tag record 1W-0L (defeated Aja Kong, Emi Sakura & Yuka Sakazaki)
Yuka Sakazaki 0W-1L-1MPL
Singles triple threat record 0W-1L (lost to Riho)
3-on-3 record 0W-1L (lost to Riho, Hikaru Shida and Ryo Mizunami)
Aja Kong 0W-1L
3-on-3 record 0W-1L (lost to Riho, Hikaru Shida and Ryo Mizunami)
Emi Sakura 0W-1L
3-on-3 record 0W-1L (lost to Riho, Hikaru Shida and Ryo Mizunami)
Leva Bates 0W-1L
Single’s record 0W-1L (lost to Allie)
AEW Men’s Tag Team Division
The Best Friends 2W-0L
2-on-2 record: 1W-0L (defeated Angelico & Jack Evans)
triple threat record: 1W-0L (defeated Private Party & SCU)
SCU 1W-0L-1MPL
3-on-3 record: 1W-0L (defeated Strong Hearts)
triple threat record: 0W-1L (lost to the Best Friends)
The Lucha Bros 0W-2L
2-on-2 record: 0W-1L (lost to the Young Bucks)
3-on-3 record (w/Laredo Kid): 0W-1L (lost to the Elite)
Angelico and Jack Evans 0W-1L
2-on-2 record 0W-1L (lost to the Best Friends)
The Young Bucks 2W-0L
2-on-2 record 1W-0L (defeated the Lucha Bros)
3-on-3 record w/Kenny Omega 1W-0L (defeated the Lucha Bros w/Laredo Kid)
Private Party 0W-0L-1MPL
triple threat record 0W-1L (lost to the Best Friends)
We will be heading into All Elite Wrestling’s Fight for the Fallen in two weeks as the promotion concludes Fyter Fest.
As Adam Page defeated Jimmy Havoc, Jungle Boy and MJF in a four-way match at Fyter Fest, it was announced that he will go on against Kip Sabian in a singles match at Fight for the Fallen. Sabian had joined the commentary team at Fyter Fest before the four-way and announced that he would face the winner on July 13 in Jacksonville.
AEW Fight for the Fallen will take place on July 13 from the Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida. This will be the third event promoted under the AEW banner. Proceeds from the show will be donated to a local charity benefitting victims of gun violence.
We haven’t seen Braun Stormwan wrestle for a couple of weeks now, and there seems to be a good reason behind it.
Strowman’s last match was a fatal five-way elimination match two weeks ago, and since then he has been involved in stuff like arm wrestling and tug-of-war contests.
The reason why we’re not seeing Strowman plow his enemies in the ring, is because he is currently working through a leg or knee injury which has slowed him down, according to report by Wrestling Observer Radio. It was reported that Strowman will still continue to work despite the injury.
Meanwhile WWE has announced a Falls Count Anywhere Match between Strowman and Bobby Lashley for tomorrow night on Raw.
It remains to be seen if he’ll actually participate in the match or not.
Strowman is also not booked for Extreme Rules yet, but there’s still two Raw episodes to go so it’s possible to find him competing at the event. Interestingly enough, Strowman was also not booked for Stomping Grounds and Money in the Bank.
The Young Bucks teamed with Kenny Omega last night at AEW Fyter Fest last night. The trio took on and defeated the Lucha Bros and Laredo Kid. After the event, the Young Bucks were asked about potentially introducing trio titles to AEW. Matt & Nick Jackson say they don’t want to oversaturate their title belts, however.
“No, we don’t want to oversaturate the titles,’ Nick Jackson responded when asked about adding trios titles.
“We have one (championship),” Nick continued.
“I think that’s enough,” Matt added. “That’s what I would do, keep it really simple. I mean there are great 6-mans…”
“We don’t need titles for them,” Nick added.
Currently, AEW plans to crown their first World Champion at All Out, have plans for a women’s championship, and will use a tournament to crown their first tag team champions.
The Young Bucks Post Event Media Scrum
The brothers also addressed their Street Fighter themed ring-gear for the event.
“We’re big Street Fighter fans,” Matt said. “Kenny’s the biggest. I kind of dropped off after 2. Nick’s a 2 guy too, I bought him the arcade. We’re just big Ryu, Ken, and Guile fans.”
The Bucks also address time-limits being used in their matches.
“We discussed that yesterday, actually,” Matt said. “That’s one thing I think I like that people do overseas internationally. I don’t know why but it makes it seem more sporty.”
The Kabuki Warriors manager, Paige recently talked about how Fighting with My Family helped take a new direction in her life and career.
Speaking to The Sun Sport, Paige revealed that she was going through terrible times when the movie was being made, but she was able to power through.
Paige was hit with two drug test suspensions by WWE, and a rocky relationship with her now-ex Alberto Del Rio. She was also the victim of a sex tape leak.
Paige suffered a neck injury and was out of action for a year. When she returned in 2017, she suffered another injury which forced her to retire from wrestling.
Paige says that even though she was going through a lot, she opened her eyes and got out of the bubble so that the movie could be made.
“The movie was in the process of being made while I was going through those terrible two years. I could have lost it completely but I opened my eyes and got out of that bubble quick enough that the movie was still able to be made. It was a wonderful feeling to finally get to watch it and put what I’d done before completely in the past and bury it and pretty much start over again.”
When the movie came out, Paige received a lot of well wishes by her co-workers. One particular personality that also wished her was Vince McMahon.
“I don’t know what Vince’s reaction to it was. But if you get a big hug from Vince McMahon you’re doing well. I saw him last week and he gave me a big hug and said, ‘I’m very happy for you.’ I don’t know it that’s about the movie or the fact that I’m healthy. I think he probably liked it if he did watch it.”
Additionally, Paige also talked about how helpful Triple H and Vince McMahon can be when it comes to issues with writing, or when they’re not utilised properly.
“It frustrates me but once you actually get to speak with Vince and Hunter about your problems and frustrations, they’re always the first to say, ‘Let’s change this.’
“If you go up to writers it’s like talking to a brick wall sometimes, whereas if you go to Vince and Hunter they’re like, ‘If you have a problem we can change that for you.’”
Last night at AEW Fyter Fest, Cody took a chair shot to the head delivered by Shawn Spears. Cody and Darby Allin had just wrestled to a 20-minute draw when Spears appeared in the ring and delivered the blow. After the match, AEW would later Tweet that it took 12 staples to close the wound but Cody did not suffer a concussion.
In a post-event media scrum, AEW President Tony Khan explained that the chairshot to the head was a mistake.
“We called the doctor immediately, it was obviously really regrettable what happened,” Khan said. “I don’t know if this is the time to go into what happened but we had taken precautions in this situation – in that specific situation. A doctor was available and Cody does not have a concussion, he has staples, and we’re all very grateful for that.”
Please leave me alone at this time. I’m grieving over what has happened to my best friend/mentor Cody Rhodes.
During his post-event media scrum, Nick Jackson insinuated the chairshot was not as unprotected as it perhaps appeared.
“You think it was unprotected,” Nick said. “I’ll just leave it at that.”
Tony Khan On Differences Between TV and Streaming Show
Khan would also stress that such violence won’t be apart of AEW TV when it begins in the fall.
“No, definitely not. This was not TV, it was a streaming show,” Khan said when asked if the hardcore wrestling at Fyter Fest would be part of AEW TV in the fall. “It was effectively a PPV in a lot of the world. In the US, it was presented free, but this was a PPV. You can expect different rules for PPV and we said going in these are non-sanctioned hardcore matches.”
“We wouldn’t have offered that on TNT, a 100% no,” Khan stressed.
Khan also addressed time limits, issues related to production, and more:
AEW Fyter Fest aired live from the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Preshow Results:
Best Friends def. Private Party, and SCU in a Triple Threat Match. Best Friends earned a match at WWE All Out.
Allie def. Leva Bates
Michael Nakazawa def. Alex Jebailey in a Hardcore Match
Here are 6 takeaways from the show:
CIMA Outlasted Christopher Daniels
Photo Credit: allelitewrestling.com
Christopher Daniels squared off against CIMA to start the main show. CIMA connected with a shoulder tackle but Daniels battled right back with an Arm Drag. CIMA knocked Daniels out of the ring and Dropkicked him into the barricade.
Daniels connected with a Northern Lights Suplex onto the floor outside the ring. Back in the ring, Daniels planted CIMA with a Suplex and followed it up with a Moonsault. Daniels applied a Crossface in the middle of the ring but CIMA was able to reach the bottom rope to break the hold.
CIMA caught Daniels on the top turnbuckle and slammed him to the mat for a two count. Daniels hit a Blue Thunder Bomb and then Angels Wings for another two count. CIMA hit Daniels with an Enziguri and followed it up with a Powerbomb. CIMA connected with the Perfect Driver but Daniels kicked out at two. CIMA climbed to the top rope and hit Meteora for the pinfall victory. CIMA will face Kenny Omega in two weeks at AEEW Fight for the Fallen.
CIMA and Daniels needed to put on a good match to get the crowd back because the last two matches of the Preshow were brutal. Thankfully, they did and I’m looking for CIMA versus Omega in a couple of weeks.
Riho faced Nyla Rose and Yuka tonight at Fyter Fest. Rose dominated early and planted them both with a Suplex. Yuka hit Rose with a Hurricanrana and Nyla tumbled to the outside. Yuka then hit Riho and Nyla with a spingboard Crossbody.
Back in the ring, Yuka climbed to the top rope and connected with a Dropkick on Riho for a two count. Riho hit Yuka with a Double Stomp and then kneed Nyla in the face. Riho followed that up with a 619 and then another Double Stomp off the top rope.
Yuka leveled Riho with a Clothesline and went for the cover but Nyla broke it up. Yuka tried to Clothesline Nyla but Rose caught her and slammed her to the mat for a two count. Nyla planted Yuka with a Suplex and then hit Riho with a Splash in the corner.
Rose hung up Riho on the top rope and hit Riho with a knee to the face as the crowd chanted “holy sh*t!”. Nyla went for a Senton off the top rope but Riho got out of the way at the last second. Riho went for a Crossbody but Rose caught her. Nyla then caught Yuka as well but both countered into a roll-up for a two count.
Yuka went for a Splash but Riho got her knees up. Rose planted Yuka with a German Suplex and then a massive Powerbomb but Riho broke up the cover. Nyla Rose planted Riho with the Death Valley Driver but Riho was able to kick out at the last moment. Riho rolled up Rose to win the match and Nyla attacked her from behind. Yuka and Riho Dropkicked Rose out of the ring and then Riho shoved Yuka to the canvas.
MJF came down to the ring and cut an absolutely incredible promo that insulted the crowd. MJF stated that he used to love video games but then he lost his virginity. He added that he is going to win tonight because he is better than everyone in the crowd and they know it. MJF, Jungle Boy, Jimmy Havoc, and Hangman Adam Page battled in a Fatal 4-Way match.
Jungle Boy hit Page with a Hurricanrana that sent him flying out of the ring. Hangman got back into the ring and planted Jungle Boy with a Fallaway Slam. MJF sent everyone to the outside and made it seem like he was going to flip onto everyone but opted to give the crowd the finger instead. Jungle Boy flipped onto everyone outside the ring in an awesome sequence.
Jimmy Havoc perched Jungle Boy on the top rope and set up for a Superplex. Hangman Powerbombed Havoc at the same time and Jungle Boy wound up landing on MJF. Adam Page Powerbombed Jungle Boy and went for the cover but MJF put Jungle Boy’s foot on the bottom rope.
MJF went for a Sharpshooter but Page reversed it. MJF screamed in pain but was able to reach the bottom rope to break the hold. Jimmy Havoc launched Jungle Boy onto Luchasaurus outside the ring. Havoc then hit MJF with Double Stomp for a two count. Adam Page booted MJF out of the ring and then planted Havoc with Dead Eye for the pinfall victory.
MJF is going to be a huge star once AEW has its weekly television show. After a rough start, this show is back on track with the women’s Triple Threat and then this very solid Fatal 4-Way match.
Shawn Spears Attacked Cody After A Great Match With Darby Allin
Photo Credit: allelitewrestling.com
Darby Allin battled Cody tonight and Brandi Rhodes was ringside for the match. Cody went for a Hip Toss but Allin countered and sent Cody to the canvas. Cody rolled out of the ring to regroup and took his time getting back into the ring.
Cody got pissed off and slapped Allen in the face. Cody launched Allin through the ropes and to the floor outside. He then did some pushups in the ring while he waited for Darby to return.
Allin slammed Cody’s wrist into the ring post but Cody leveled him with a Clothesline for a near fall. Cody lifted Allin up for a Suplex but Darby grabbed Cody’s injured hand. Allin unloaded punches and headbutts to Cody’s injured hand and then bent it back.
Darby connected with a Suicide Dive but Cody shrugged it off and slammed Allin into the steel steps. Cody hit a Suicide Dive of his own and rolled Allin back into the ring as it was announced that there are five minutes remaining in the match.
Allin climbed to the top rope but Cody clubbed him in the back. Cody connected with a reverse Superplex and both wrestlers fell to the canvas as the crowd chanted “AEW!”.
Darby bit Cody’s injured hand and knocked him to the canvas. Allin leaped off the top rope but Cody got out of the way and Allin landed back-first onto the ring apron. Cody booted Allin in the face and Darby fell into the bodybag he brought to the ring. Cody hit Allin with the Disaster Kick and went for the cover but Darby somehow kicked out at two with one minute remaining in the match.
Cody hit Allin with his belt a couple of times and was able to connect with the Cross Rhodes. Cody went for the cover but the time limit expired at two. Shawn Spears then rushed the ring and hit Cody on the top of the head with it.
I’m sure there will be some debate about wrestlers taking chair shots to the head after this one. I enjoyed because this entire match felt old school. A boot to the ribs and chair shot to the back would have been out of place by Spears here. I honestly knew hardly anything about Darby Allin before this match and now I can’t wait to see more of him. Allin is clearly an unbelievable athlete and showed just a glimpse of what he can do tonight. Cody deserves a ton of credit because he made Allin look like a megastar in twenty minutes. The pace of this match was perfect and I don’t have a bad thing to say about it.
The Elite Defeated Lucha Brothers & Laredo Kid In An Excellent Match
Photo Credit: allelitewrestling.com
Lucha Brothers (Pentagon Jr. & Fenix) and Laredo Kid squared off against The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega. All six wrestlers got in each other’s face during the beginning of the match and a brawl broke out. Lucha Brothers and Laredo Kid connected with a trio of Superkicks that sent everyone out of the ring.
Laredo Kid connected with a Michinoku Driver and then a Moonsault for a two count. Nick Jackson took out Laredo Kid and Fenix before tagging Matt into the match. Matt hit two Northern Lights Suplexes on Laredo Kid and then planted Lucha Brothers with a Northern Lights Suplex as well.
Kenny Omega tagged in and planted Laredo Kid with a Backbreaker for a two count. Laredo Kid went for a Crossbody off the top rope but Omega countered with a Dropkick. The Elite isolated Laredo Kid in the ring and Omega planted him with a German Suplex.
Pentagon Jr. hit Omega with a Backstabber that sent him out of the ring. Laredo Kick took out Nick Jackson with a Suicide Dive as Pentagon hit Matt with a Double Stomp for a near fall. Laredo Kid planted Omega with a Spanish Fly off the top rope and the crowd chanted “AEW!”.
A Superkick party broke out and The Elite knocked Lucha Brothers and Laredo Kid to the canvas. They followed that up with triple Powerbombs for a two count. Nick Jackson hit a ridiculous 450 Splash onto Fenix and Laredo Kid. Omega went for the cover but Pentagon kicked him in the head. Pentagon planted Nick Jackson with a Slingblade outside the ring as Omega hit Laredo Kid with the V-Trigger.
Fenix planted Omega with a Cutter and then got caught with a Neckbreaker from Nick Jackson. Omega hit Laredo Kid with the V-Trigger and then the Tiger Driver 98 for a new fall as it was announced that there are 10-minutes remaining in the match. Omega connected with the One Winged Angel on Laredo Kid for the pinfall victory.
If you are a fan of tag team wrestling, you will love this match. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time and it was amazing to watch how great these teams worked together. A tag tournament to crowd the first champs is going to be a major part of the beginning of AEW’s TV show. I simply cannot wait for that.
Jon Moxley battled Joey Janela in an Unsanctioned Match to close out the show. Moxley got a huge reaction from the crowd as he made his way down to the ring. Moxley hit Janela with a few chops to start things off but Joey quickly fought back and sent Jon to the outside.
Moxley and Janela fought through the crowd and traded chops before making their way back to the ringside area. A fan handed Janela his prosthetic leg and hit Moxley with it. Jon was already busted open and sent Joey into the steel steps. Moxley brought a chair into the ring and Body Slammed Janela on top of it.
Janela tried to flip onto Moxley but Jon got out of the way and Joey crashed onto the chair. Moxley pulled out a chair wrapped in barbed wire from under the ring and brought it inside. Jon set up on Janela and stomped on it as the crowd chanted “you sick f*ck!”.
Moxley took a bow on the apron as Janela got back up. Joey hit Moxley with a Hurricanrana and Jon landed on the barbed wire. Joey then hit Moxley with the chair across the back and went for the cover but Jon kicked out at two. Blood streamed down Moxley’s back as he stumbled to his feet.
Joey set up a table in the corner but wound up hitting a Russian Leg Sweep off the apron and through a table outside the ring. Back in the ring, Moxley lifted Janela up and sprinted across the ring to drive him through the table. Moxley set up a couple tables outside the ring and Janela gave him the finger. Jon called him a mother f*cker punched him the face.
Moxley brought a barbed wire board into the ring and set it up in the corner. Janela lifted Moxley up onto his shoulders and slammed Jon through the barbed wire board. Moxley battled back with a Clothesline but turned around into a Clothesline that sent him to the apron.
Janela brought out a ladder from under the ring and set it up in the ring. Moxley dragged Janela back outside but Janela bounced Jon’s face off the steps several times. Joey set up Moxley on the tables and connected with an Elbow Drop off the ladder for a two count.
Joey set up another barbed wire board from the barricade to the apron and got back into the ring. Moxley hit Janela with a DDT and then delivered a Death Valley Bomb that sent Joey onto the barbed wire. Moxley unloaded a flurry of knees to Janela’s face and brought thumbtacks into the ring.
Moxley took off Joey’s shoes and socks as the crowd once again chanted “you sick f*ck!”. Jon sent Janela flying onto the thumbtacks and then slammed his feet on top of them. Joey flipped Moxley the bird once again and Moxley brought out more thumbtacks. Jon poured them all over the ring and planted Janela with the Paradigm Shift (formerly Dirty Deeds) for the pinfall victory.
The crowd chanted “AEW!” as Moxley hobbled to his feet. After the match, Kenny Omega ran down the entrance ramp and hit Moxley with the V-Trigger. Kenny hit a Piledriver on Moxley onto a table and followed it up with a Double Stomp. Omega hit Moxley with a microphone stand a couple of times and bounced his head off a drum kit.
Omega struck Moxley in the back with a guitar before heading backstage. Omega came back down with a trash can and beat the hell out of Jon with it. Kenny planted Moxley with the Paradigm Shift on the trash can and posed on the entrance ramp to close the show. Moxley was shown laughing on the ramp as Fyter Fest went off the air.
Jon Moxley is a hell of a lot more entertaining than Dean Ambrose. I enjoyed every second of this match and enjoyed the vast majority of this show. What went down in the main event tonight will be far more extreme than what happens at WWE Extreme Rules in a couple of weeks. Moxley and Janela put on a great match to close the show, but Moxley versus Omega has the potential to be special.
The only real criticism I have right now has to do with production. The entrance themes sounded muffled throughout the show and the camera missed a couple of spots again. While WWE’s production value might be superior right now, I’ll take AEW’s style of filming a match all day. I’ve been sick of every WWE match looking like the Bourne Supremacy with zoom-ins at each impact for a long time. If you are an adult that loves professional wrestling but has grown tired of the WWE product, you need to be watching AEW.
ROH held TV tapings on Saturday night (June 29) in Philadelphia, PA at the 2300 Arena. Here are the spoilers from the tapings, courtesy of PWInsider:
ROH TV Tapings Spoilers
ROH TV Champion Shane Taylor pins Rhett Titus. Post-match, Kenny King cuts a promo on Titus.
Angelina Love vs. Jenny Rose vs. Tracy Steelz vs. Stella Grey sees Steele pins Grey.
The Bouncers & Jay Lethal over ROH Champion Matt Taven & TK O’Ryan & Vinnie Marseglia when The Bouncers hit their finish on TK.
Eli Drake defeated Grizzly Redwood. Drake cuts promo on signing with NWA.
Coast 2 Coast won a squash match.
Jeff Cobb & Jonathan Gresham defeated Kenny King & Dalton Castle when Gresham pins King with a hook of the tights.
Jay Lethal cut a promo. Matt Taven comes out as well that led toAlex Shelley making a return.
SOS beat Primal Fear in a squash match.
NWA Champion Nick Aldis cut a promo. He calls out Marty Scurll and challenges anyone in Villain Enterprises for the title at the Summer Supercard Toronto show.
Colt Cabana cut a promo. James Storm comes out that led to a match that saw Storm win by tapping Cabana with one legged crab to become the new NWA National Champion.
Silas Young beat Josh Woods after a low blow.
The Shinobi Shadow Squad beat Johnson/Keyes/Caberello.
Karissa Rivera defeated Sumie Sakai.
Rush & Dragon Lee beat the Briscoes
Lifeblood and Villain Enterprises had a promo to set up a match.
Lifeblood beat ROH Six Man Tag Team Champions Villain Enterprises in a street fight.
Jon Moxley was able to pick up a win in his in-ring debut with AEW (All Elite Wrestling) on Saturday night when he beat Joey Janela in a non-sanctioned match at the Fyter Fest event that aired live on Bleacher Report Live.
Moxley, formerly known as Dean Ambrose from his time in WWE, made his promotional debut at their inaugural pay-per-view event, Double or Nothing, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Moxley will be wrestling former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega in one of the top matches taking place at the AEW All Out pay-per-view event that takes place on Saturday, August 31st at the Sears Centre in Chicago, IL, which has already sold out.
Moxley departed from WWE at the end of April as he decided not to sign a new contract with the company. He finished up with WWE when he wrestled at The Shield: Final Chapter event that aired on the WWE Network from a live event at the Tax Slayer Center in Moline, Illinois.
Moxley has also been working in New Japan Pro Wrestling as he beat Juice Robinson for the IWGP US Championship at the NJPW Best of the Super Jr. Finals event on June 5 at Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan.
It appears that Cody Rhodes has his next feud lined up and it all started during his latest match.
Rhodes went to a draw with Darby Allin in their match at the Fyter Fest event after twenty minutes. This was billed as one of the top matches on Fyter Fest. It was also the highest profile match in Allin’s career up to this point.
Post-match, Shawn Spears, formerly known as Tye Dillinger, hit Rhodes in the head with a steel chair. Rhodes turned his head and didn’t put up his hands. As a result, Rhodes was bleeding pretty good from the back of his head.
Although not confirmed, it appears that the storyline that AEW is telling will lead to an eventual match. This match won’t take place at AEW’s next event, Fight for the Fallen, on July 13, 2019, from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida as Rhodes has a match booked.
He and his brother Dust will take on The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) in a tag team match. AEW could be booked this match at the All Out pay-per-view event in August.
Eric Bischoff took to social media to give his first comments on his new WWE role.
Earlier this week it was first reported and later announced via a press release that he would serve as the Executive Director of WWE SmackDown. He’ll be working directly with FOX executives when SmackDown Live goes on FOX when the show moves to Friday nights in October.
Bischoff went on his official Twitter account to comment about his new position with WWE. He wrote the following:
Equally humbled, honored, and more excited than I can possibly articulate here. Thank you so much for the overwhelming support. It’s been an amazing journey and the best is yet to come. @WWE#SDLive
Despite the fact that WWE sent out an email this week hyping that fans will see what Bischoff will ‘have in store’ for SmackDown Live this Tuesday, it was a mistake on WWE’s part as there was miscommunication due to WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon not signing off on the announcement.
The move to have the former WCW President in charge of SmackDown while Paul Heyman will serve as the Executive Director of WWE RAW is due to the decline of popularity that has impacted the company with television ratings and attendance.
It will be interesting to see the types of changes that both men bring to their brands going forward.
AEW is gearing up for their event, Fyter Fest, as the production staff is already prepared for the show.
The construction on the stage and set is done. A photo of the set up as has surfaced online as well as a quick video from Brandi Rhodes, which you can see here:
Fyter Fest airs live and free on the Bleacher Report Live streaming service tonight at Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida. The show is co-presented by the Community Effort Orlando (CEO) video game convention.
The ‘Buy In’ pre-show kicks off at 7:30pm (EST). The main card starting a half hour later. Here’s the card:
AEW Fyter Fest Card
Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks vs. Pentagon Jr., Fenix, and Laredo Kid
Jon Moxley vs. Joey Janela – Non-Sanctioned Match
Cody vs. Darby Allin
Adam Page vs. MJF vs. Jungle Boy vs. Jimmy Havoc
Yuka Sakazaki vs. Riho vs. Nyla Rose
Christopher Daniels vs. CIMA
Jebailey vs. Michael Nakazawa – Hardcore Match
Yuka Sakazaki vs. Riho vs. Nyla Rose – Triple Threat Match
Join us here for our Live Coverage of AEW Fyter Fest and check back after the event for our AEW Fyter Fest Takeaways feature.
WWE has released an interesting promo video on their official YouTube channel to hype their next pay-per-view event, Extreme Rules.
This show is quickly approaching as the card for the show continues to build with it taking place in the next few weeks. You can watch the entire creepy promo here:
WWE presents the Extreme Rules pay-per-view event on Sunday, July 14th, 2019 in Philadelphia, PA at the Wells Fargo Center that will air on the WWE Network.
While the company has yet to announce the main event of this show, it will likely be Becky Lynch & Seth Rollins vs. Lacey Evans & Baron Corbin. WWE will be announcing more matches for this show in the coming weeks. Here is the updated card:
Updated WWE Extreme Rules Card
Becky Lynch & Seth Rollins vs. Lacey Evans & Baron Corbin – Mixed Tag Team Winner Take All Match
Roman Reigns & The Undertaker vs. Shane McMahon & Drew McIntyre
WWE Champion Kofi Kingston vs. Samoa Joe
WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss
WWE Cruiserweight Champion Drew Gulak vs. Tony Nese
What are your thoughts on this match card thus far? Sound off in the comment section.
Titus O’Neil chimed in on his official Twitter page (@TitusONeilWWE) with a response to No Way Jose’s freestyle.
“This was EXCELLENT No Way Jose,” wrote O’Neil earlier this morning. “But you’ll have to beat me after I beat him, and unlike him I won’t run … I’ll fight you, him, them and all-y’all-stankin’-a** family members!”
No Way Jose & Titus O’Neil Get R-Truth’s Attention
The pair of tweets managed to capture the attention of the reigning eight-time WWE 24/7 Champion.
“You can’t stay on your feet long enough to fight,” wrote R-Truth via his official Twitter page (@RonKillings) today, before dropping a random “Lil Jimmy” mention. “I WILL bite both of y’all if Lil Jimmy said so!”
This lead to O’Neil posting another response with a GIF from the movie Friday that features “Deebo” intimidating some of the men in the neighborhood, along with a caption that read, “Shutcho…wait who TF you think you talkin’ too?!”
R-Truth would respond about 20 minutes later with a GIF of his own, as he posted a funny Kevin Hart facial expression from the actor / comedian’s stand-up comedy special. The WWE 24/7 Champion included a caption that again referenced “Lil Jimmy.”
“What does TF mean,” questioned Truth in his response. “I hope that’s not bad language.”
Truth concluded, “I don’t use bad language ’round Lil Jimmy.”
No Way Jose’s Rap Video, Titus O’Neil & R-Truth’s Tweets
Check out the interesting Twitter exchange, along with the initial No Way Jose freestyle rap video below.
SOUND OFF: What are YOUR thoughts on No Way Jose’s freestyle rap video and the interesting comments Titus O’Neil and R-Truth posted in response? Comment below!
You can’t stay on your feet long enough to fight ?????, I WILL bite both of y’all if Lil Jimmy said so!
The WWE is reportedly negotiating a free-to-air highlights package in the United Kingdom.
In the UK, WWE content was only available on Sky Sports behind a paywall. The broadcast time for Raw and SmackDown is in the early morning, and no highlights of the show were broadcasted later in the day since the early 2000s when Channel 4 aired a highlights show and some main events.
According to a report by SportsBusiness Media, WWE is in negotiations with broadcasters to televise a free-to-air highlights package.
The rights will reportedly start from 2020 but the end date has not been not defined yet. It is possible that the end date will depend on the broadcaster.
The WWE will also be ending their partnership with Sky Sports after three decades. Earlier this month, WWE signed a new multi-year deal with pay-television broadcaster BT Sport to air Raw and SmackDown in the UK. This deal also begins in 2020.
If all things go smoothly, the UK audience will be able to access WWE content better than ever before, considering a deal goes through.
This comes after All Elite Wrestling signed a deal with ITV to air their upcoming weekly show on free-to-air channel ITV 4 later this year.
Booker T appeared to have taken offense to Matt Riddle’s comments about Bill Goldberg. Riddle had said that Goldberg is “hurting people” when talking about his performance at Super ShowDown against The Undertaker:
“The thing for me is, and one of the reasons I was never a fan of Goldberg in the beginning when everybody was like ‘oh, he’s so good!’ I was like ‘no, he’s terrible, he’s hurting people’ and there’s nothing else.”
Booker T didn’t take this comment lightly and said that Riddle needs to work a lot on himself before he starts talking about anybody.
“I was listening to Matt Riddle talk about Goldberg,” Booker T said on his Reality of Wrestling show. “And I got a chance to watch Matt Riddle work. This guy needs a lot of work. You’re talking about somebody that needs to work on their craft? This Matt Riddle, he needs to work on his craft and that’s coming from Booker T.”
Riddle is known for being outspoken and speaking his mind, it is quite possible that these comments can get the attention of another wrestling veteran.
