SEScoops

Author: Staff

  • Matt Hardy Receives Emotional Send-Off At WWE Live Event

    Matt Hardy Receives Emotional Send-Off At WWE Live Event

    Matt Hardy got an emotional send-off at Sunday night’s WWE Live Event from Rochester, New York. The Woken one will now take extended time off as he deals with various injuries and re-evaluates his in-ring future.

    Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt teamed up on the show in what is likely their final match together. The B-Team retained the Raw Tag Team championships in a 3-team match that also included The Revival. After the final, Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt embraced in the ring and received a standing ovation from the live crowd. As they were on the ramp about to walk backstage, both Matt and Bray threw up the Hardy Boyz hand gesture.

    Later in the evening, Matt thanked fans on Twitter for the “WONDERFUL” and heartwarming send-off he received in Rochester. “I appreciate you,” he said.

    As we’ve been reporting, his future as an active wrestler are in question.  A long career of putting his body on the line may have finally caught up with the talented performer. In recent weeks, Matt Hardy has begun working behind the scenes as a producer/agent.

    Matt will address his nagging injuries over the next several months. We do not know the full extent of his injuries at this time. There is no reason to believe he is officially retired, but he won’t be wrestling any time soon.

  • Longtime WWE Live Events Executive Ed Cohen Passes Away

    Longtime WWE Live Events Executive Ed Cohen Passes Away

    Longtime WWE Live Events Executive Ed Cohen passed away on Friday. In a statement released at WWE.com, the company said, “Cohen was instrumental in helping to transform WWE’s Live Event touring business into the global phenomenon it is today. ”

    WWE Hall of Famer “Mean” Gene Okerlund provided some additional details regarding Cohen’s passing. Okerlund posted the following message on Facebook on Saturday:

    “Sad to report that longtime WWE executive Ed Cohen diéd yesterday. Ed was basically in charge of securing venues for WWE house shows and later television tapings. In the early years Cohen was especially close in working with Vince and Linda McMahon because income from house shows was a main revenue stream for the then-young company. Ed remained with the company for many years but his failing health became an issue in later years and he was less involved. RIP Ed Cohen.”

    SEScoops send our condolences to the family and friends of Ed Cohen.

  • First NXT UK Women’s Champion Crowned (Spoiler)

    First NXT UK Women’s Champion Crowned (Spoiler)

    History was made on Sunday night when WWE crowned the first-ever NXT UK Women’s Champion. WWE just held two nights of tapings at the Insomnia gaming festival at NEC Birmingham. These matches will air on the WWE Network as part of the upcoming NXT UK series.

    As part of the tapings, an 8-woman tournament was held to crown the first champion. The participants included Toni Storm, Rhea Ripley, Jinny, Isla Dawn, Millie McKenzie, Nina Samuels, Dakota Kai and Xia Brookside.

    When all was said and done, it was Rhea Ripley standing tall as the first-ever NXT UK Women’s Champion. Ripley defeated Toni Storm in the finals.

    The 21 year old competitor from Adelaide, Australia signed with WWE last year. She competed in the inaugural Mae Young Classic tournament and will be part of the event once again this year.

    As WWE’s latest female champion, Rhea Ripley is expected to be part of the all-women’s WWE Evolution pay-per-view in October.

    We have full spoiler results from both nights of NXT UK TV tapings:

    On Monday afternoon, WWE released these photos of the new NXT UK Women’s Championship in all its glory:

  • Chris Jericho On Working For Impact or ROH: “Sure, Why Not?”

    Chris Jericho On Working For Impact or ROH: “Sure, Why Not?”

    Chris Jericho says he’s open to the possibility of working for Impact Wrestling or Ring of Honor. the reigning IWGP Intercontinental Champion appeared on the DuhCast podcast this week and told James Ellsworth and Dennis Farrell that nothing is holding him back from working with companies outside of WWE.

    “When someone says ‘Would you ever go to IMPACT? Would you ever go to Ring Of Honor? Would you ever go here there or wherever’ – yeah sure, why not? If its creatively satisfying, if it’s something that I can really sink my teeth into, something that I can really enjoy, then why wouldn’t I give it a try?”

    Chris Jericho is almost three decades into his legendary wrestling career. He is loyal to WWE, but that hasn’t precluded him from wrestling for their top rival, New Japan Pro Wrestling. Jericho is looking to have fun and feels that other companies rising up to compete with WWE is best for business.

    “At this point, I’ve done everything I could ever do in wrestling. I have a loyalty to WWE but not a death wish with them or anything like that where by hook or by crook I have to be with the WWE. I think part of the fun of what’s going on right now in the business is there’s a real resurgence with independent wrestling and independent companies and it really gives the WWE a real kick in the ass when people go other places.”

    Jericho referenced guys like Kenny Omega, Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks who are able to achieve incredible success without the help of WWE. He says that would have never been possible 5 or 10 years ago, when everyone’s ultimate goal was signing with Vince.

    Back to the talk about Impact Wrestling, he clarified that he has not had formal discussions with anybody from that company about working for them. “I’m not saying I would ever go there, but I’m not saying I wouldn’t,” said Jericho. “And I’m not saying I wouldn’t go to WWE or I wouldn’t go to New Japan or go wherever. To me, it’s all about helping to change the business in a lot of ways and if there’s a way to do it by being a little bit of a revolutionary then why not? Let’s go for it, man. This is show business, it’s entertainment, it’s the Wild West. There’s no rules and nobody says that you have to work in the WWE or you don’t have to work there.”

    Jericho added that independent wrestling is as big as it’s ever been, which is great for guys like Kenny Omega and even James Ellsworth. For the first time in nearly 20 years, wrestlers have viable options of where to work outside of WWE. According to Jericho, “It’s an exciting time for everybody involved.”

    Listen to Chris Jericho on the DuhCast podcast here:

  • Spoilers: NXT TV Tapings Results (8/23/18)

    Spoilers: NXT TV Tapings Results (8/23/18)

    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

  • Sasha Banks Has No Desire To Work With Alexa Bliss Again

    Sasha Banks Has No Desire To Work With Alexa Bliss Again

    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? 

  • Lana Believes Rusev’s ‘Coming to America’ Story Should Be a Hollywood Movie

    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? 

  • Sasha Banks Explains How Her Opinion of Ronda Rousey Changed

    Sasha Banks Explains How Her Opinion of Ronda Rousey Changed

    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!

  • Kofi Kingston Reveals Big Show Originally Told Him New Day Would Hold Him Back

    Kofi Kingston Reveals Big Show Originally Told Him New Day Would Hold Him Back

    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.”

  • Cody, Kenny Omega, Young Bucks & Adam Page Pledged to Stay Together Next Year

    Cody, Kenny Omega, Young Bucks & Adam Page Pledged to Stay Together Next Year

    Cody Rhodes, Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks and Adam Page have made a pledge to stay together next year, no matter what.

    On Wednesday, a media conference call was held to promote next weekend’s All In event and the weekend-long Starrcast convention. I had a chance to participate in the call and there was a pretty newsworthy statement made by Cody about the Bullet Club members behind All In.

    When Cody and the Bucks sold out a 10,000+ person arena for All In in less than a half hour, you can be sure it got on WWE’s radar. When Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling sold out Madison Square Garden in a matter of minutes, many fans were left wondring the same thing. Which of the performers involved will WWE attempt to sign, in an effort to suppress the momentum of the Bullet Club, ROH and New Japan?

    Cody Rhodes was asked what’s next for his gang after All In on September 1st. Cody said he does not know where he (and the others) will be working next year. However, he did reveal that he, Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks and Adam Page have made a ‘verbal commitment’ to each other that they will stick together no matter where they wind up.

    “As far as what’s next, I really wish I could answer, ” said Cody.  “A lot has happened in the last few weeks. A lot of discussions about the future. One thing that’s special about this, and I have to be rather cagey in answering, one thing that is special about this group is we have verbally committed to each other and I don’t know that that’s ever been done in the history of professional wrestling, where I have verbally committed to the Bucks, the Bucks, Kenny Omega, Hangman Page.”

    He continued, “There’s this verbal commitment that the next step we take because it’s no secret.  Our contracts are all up…what happens next?  The next step we take, we’re going to take it together and we’re going to take it as a family.  It could be the dumbest move ever. Wrestling is sorta a shady business or we can do what my gut tells me, the right call.”

    A verbal pledge like this is unprecedented. It is the latest sign that Cody, the Young Bucks & company are onto something special and have tremendous confidence in themselves.

    It’s been reported that Cody and The Bucks’ Ring of Honor contracts expire at the end of the year. Kenny Omega is signed with New Japan Pro Wrestling through January 2019.

    Will Cody, the Bucks, Omega and Page remain with ROH & New Japan? Will they join WWE together? Will they star their own promotion? Only time will tell. One thing we do know: it’s going to be a very interesting few months ahead.

    For more on ALL IN, visit our All In news page.

  • Shawn Michaels Addresses the Possibility of Getting Back into the WWE Ring

    Shawn Michaels Addresses the Possibility of Getting Back into the WWE Ring

    Shawn Michaels officially ‘left the building’ back in 2010 when he announced his retirement from in ring competition in WWE but now eight years later, is there a chance he might consider a return to action?

    While Michaels has never actually walked away from working with WWE, he’s only made occasional appearances in the ring like when he delivered his ‘Sweet Chin Music’ to a couple of people at WrestleMania 32.

    Lately, Michaels has primarily been working as a WWE ambassador while helping his real life best friend Triple H promote brands like NXT internationally. Even at 53, Michaels can never go too far before somebody asks about the possibility that he could get back into the ring and mix it up with the next generation of superstars.

    “I always try to explain it to people, if you take me as a younger version and put me in with those guys, of course it would be a blast, but at the same time I’d like to be the younger version of me and be in the ring with a Harley Race or a Buddy Rogers. But none of those things can really happen in real life,” Michaels said in a recent interview with “Inside the Ropes”.

    “To put me in a singles match at WrestleMania, I was always thrilled to do it but it’s a very strenuous, it’s a very anxious, there’s a lot that goes into it, the anxiety. Once you get in there, and especially when it’s done, it’s phenomenal but the getting ready for it is 100-percent work and I don’t know that I want to put myself or my family through that, to go out there and try to steal the show at 53 for God’s sake.”

    While Michaels quickly shot down the idea of getting in the ring with the new generation of athletes who are currently occupying the majority of the WWE roster, he had a different opinion about potentially appearing with the superstars closer to his era.

    Obviously, Michaels is never going to return to any kind of full time schedule again but he didn’t shut the door on the possibility of mixing it up with somebody a little closer to his age.

    “It’s a whole different ball of wax if somebody says do you [and Triple H] want to go down and work with some other 40-plus year old guys or 50 and mess around and be silly’. That doesn’t seem like work to me,” Michael stated.

    “So it’s stuff like that, that I would consider. Nobody ever talks about that. It’s always me and somebody half my age.”

    Would you like to see Shawn Michaels return for a legends match in WWE? Sound off in the comments and let us know!

  • Wale Joins 205 Live Commentary Team Tonight

    Wale Joins 205 Live Commentary Team Tonight

    Grammy-nominated rapper Wale joins the commentary team for tonight’s edition of 205 Live on the WWE Network.  Wale will call the action alongside Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness and Percy Watson. At this time, it’s unclear if this is a one-off appearance.

    Wale is a longtime WWE fan. Fans might remember the Washington D.C. native hosted a rap battle between The Usos and The New Day last year (video below).

    For the past 4 years, Wale and MLW have hosted WaleMania, the official kickoff party for WrestleMania weekend. WaleMania V is scheduled for Thursday, April 4th, 2019.

    Tonight’s edition of 205 Live will feature Buddy Murphy and Tony Nese vs the Lucha House Party and Noam Dar vs TJP.

    Wale hosts Rap Battle between The New Day and The Usos (2017): 

  • RAW Viewership Increases Following WWE SummerSlam

    RAW Viewership Increases Following WWE SummerSlam

    Monday’s post-SummerSlam edition of WWE RAW from Brooklyn, New York averaged 3.096 million viewers, up from 2.825 million the previous week. Here is the hourly viewership breakdown, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:

    • Hour 1: 3.110 million viewers
    • Hour 2: 3.241 million viewers
    • Hour 3: 2.936 million viewers

    RAW was a stacked show featuring SummerSlam fallout, including appearances from new Universal Champion Roman Reigns and new RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey. Reigns battled Finn Balor in the main event, which culminated with Braun Strowman almost cashing in Money in the Bank and a surprise reunion of The Shield.

    Also on the show, Ronda Rousey got physical with Stephanie McMahon and Triple H cut an in-ring promo hyping his upcoming match against The Undertaker at WWE Super Show-Down. Check out our 11 Takeaways from RAW (8.20).

    RAW was the third most-watched show on cable television for the night behind MTV’s Video Music Awards (3.341 million viewers combined, based on the MTV and VH1 feeds) and Hannity on FOX News (3.237 million viewers).

    Watch: Top 10 Moments from Monday’s RAW (8.20.18)

  • Luke Gallows & Nia Jax No Longer Dating

    Luke Gallows & Nia Jax No Longer Dating

    During Sunday’s WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view, Luke Gallows announced on Twitter that he and fellow Superstar Nia Jax are dating. WWE broadcaster Renee Young congratulated the couple and wrestling fans seemed to relish at this romantic pairing.

    It almost seemed too good to be true. The idea of Gallows being romantic. The possibility of his courtship unfolding on a future season of Total Divas.  Well, it now seems like we got worked and this whole love affair was a big ruse.

    Just 24 hours after announcing that he was one half of WWE’s hottest new couple, Luke Gallows dropped a bombshell on Twitter. Citing the rigors of ‘high profile relationships,’ Gallows broke the news during Raw that his wild fling with Jax was just a #onedayrelationship.

    Nia Jax seems distraught and tweeted that she “cant handle” the situation right now.

    We’ll keep you posted if these two love birds ever link up again. You know how these volatile relationships can be.  Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

  • Reby Hardy Comments On Matt Hardy Transitioning From Wrestler To Producer

    Reby Hardy Comments On Matt Hardy Transitioning From Wrestler To Producer

    Matt Hardy’s wife Reby was a guest on the Busted Open satellite radio show on Sirius XM as part of their SummerSlam weekend coverage. During the discussion, Reby spoke candidly about Matt Hardy’s in-ring career winding down and the possibility of Matt transitioning to an agent/producer role. As noted earlier, Matt Hardy was backstage at SummerSlam doing just that.

    When asked about her husband’s condition, Reby Hardy revealed that Matt Hardy is going through a “transitional period” in his career and might not return to the ring.

    “Matt is good,” she said. “Matt is right now going through a transitional period. He’s not really sure what he’s going to be doing. His contract is up in March, which I’m not sure many people are aware of. But there’s sort of a decision to be made at this point as to whether or not he should continue his in-ring career or if he should pursue something different, which he would totally be up for and would be excited to do, I feel like.”

    She continued, “So, he’s kind of giving it a go right now backstage. He’s at Summerslam. He’s not on the card but he’s there. And we’re kind of going to see from here. It’s really a transitional time right now.

    WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry, a co-host on Busted Open, told Reby that Matt can survive in the wrestling business without having to put his body through the rigors that come with being an in-ring competitor. Reby said she tells that to Matt all the time. She said wrestling is all Matt has known since he’s 16 years old. After 25 years in the wrestling business, she hopes Matt embraces this next chapter of his career as an agent/producer.

    Catch Busted Open on Sirius XM channel 93 weekday mornings from 9am-noon (Eastern).

    Listen to Reby Hardy’s comments about Matt Hardy’s in-ring future:

  • ‘GLOW’ Officially Renewed for Season 3 on Netflix

    ‘GLOW’ Officially Renewed for Season 3 on Netflix

    The ‘Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling’ still have plenty of work to do in the ring after ‘GLOW’ was officially renewed for season 3 on Netflix.

    The streaming giant announced the news on Monday after ‘GLOW’ received critical praise for both season one and season two.

    Based loosely on the ‘Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling’ promotion from the 1980’s, the series on Netlix, which is one part comedy, one part drama, was expected to be renewed but the news didn’t come down the pipe until this week.

    Since first arriving on Netflix last year, ‘GLOW’ has been praised by both critics and audiences alike.

    In fact, ‘GLOW’ received a nomination for ‘Best Comedy’ for the 2018 Emmy Awards with Betty Gilpin — who portrays ‘Liberty Belle’ on the show — being nominated for best supporting actress in a comedy as well.

    The third season of the show will move from Los Angeles to Las Vegas after the storyline on ‘GLOW’ season two ended with the promotion losing its television contract but then being picked up by a promoter looking to put on a live show in Sin City.

    Of course there’s no word yet if ‘GLOW’ season 3 will actually be filmed in Las Vegas as most of the locations that would have been there in the 1980’s when the show takes place are no longer standing.

    Production on ‘GLOW’ season 3 will pick up in late 2018 or early next year with a 2019 debut date on Netflix.

  • Renee Young Shows Off Her New Tattoos

    Renee Young Shows Off Her New Tattoos

    WWE broadcaster Renee Young is sporting a few new tattoos. Last week, Renee Young made history by becoming the first woman in history to call a full episode of Monday Night Raw. She got rave reviews for her performance, with many fans arguing she would make a much better fit for the position than Jonathan Coachman.

    As you now, the WWE crew has been in New York City since late last week for SummerSlam weekend. After two huge back-to-back shows at the Barclays Center for NXT Takeover and SummerSlam, WWE returns to the venue for tonight’s RAW and Tuesday’s SmackDown Live.

    On Monday, Renee Young revealed on Instagram that she spent several hours at Snow Tattoo in Tribeca getting some new ink. Visit SarahGaugler.com for more on ”
    New York’s multifaceted contemporary female creative.”

    Renee worked with artist Sarah Gaugler on two new pieces: a stylized crescent moon on her right bicep and what appears to be the collision emoji (?) behind her right ear.

    Check out Renee Young’s Instagram page (and her “story”) to see more photos of her new tattoos. 

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BmtY5lcngIu/?taken-by=reneeyoungwwe

  • Impact Wrestling Mexico City TV Tapings Announced

    Impact Wrestling Mexico City TV Tapings Announced

    Impact Wrestling is headed to Mexico City next month for two nights of television tapings. This will be the first time ever that Impact’s flagship show emanates from south of the border.

    Impact will tape from Frontón México in Mexico City, Mexico on Thursday, September 13th and Friday, September 14th.

    In a press release sent in to SEScoops, Impact President Ed Nordholm said, “We are excited about this historic trip to Mexico as we continue to expand our live event schedule globally. We look forward to working closely with our promotional partners at Lucha Libre AAA and our broadcast partner 52MX to bring an unforgettable experience to our passionate fan base in Mexico heading into the final stretch for Bound for Glory this October.”

    Talent advertised for the show includes Impact World Champion Austin Aries, Johnny Impact, Eli Drake, Moose, Eddie Edwards, Sami Callihan and The Lucha Brothers,  Pentagon Jr. and Fenix. Ticket information will be announced shortly.

    Impact airs on Mexico’s 52MX Saturday nights at 9:30 p.m.

    Frontón México, described as a world-class entertainment complex, reopened last year after being closed for two decades. The venue can accommodate over 4,000 people.

  • WWE RAW Preview (8.20.18): A New Era Begins

    WWE RAW Preview (8.20.18): A New Era Begins

    Tonight’s edition of WWE Monday Night Raw takes place from Brooklyn, New York at the Barclays Center. SummerSlam is in the books and the landscape of Raw has changed dramatically.

    Roman Reigns is the new Universal Champion after finally dethroning Brock Lesnar. Ronda Rousey is the RAW Women’s Champion following a decisive victory over Alexa Bliss. WWE is touting that a ‘new era begins’ tonight with Reigns and Rousey leading the charge.

    Hall in a Cell is less than 4 weeks away, so there’s little time to waste as we look ahead to WWE’s next pay-per-view offering. WWE.com is advertising the following items for RAW:

    – Brock Lesnar is out of the picture. Raw is now officially Roman Reigns’ yard. However, the Big Dog won’t have long to celebrate. Braun Strowman has already stated his intention to challenge the new Universal Champion. Will Strowman look to cash in at Hell in a Cell, or will someone else step up to challenge Reigns?

    – Alexa Bliss’ title reign was nice while it lasted. Ronda Rousey scored a decisive win at SummerSlam and is the new queen of Monday nights. Will Alexa dare seek revenge from the Baddest Woman on the Planet?

    – Will Drew McIntyre remain loyal to Dolph Ziggler now that DZ is no longer Intercontinental champion?

    – The B Team continues to build their momentum. After a successful title defense on the SummerSlam kickoff show, will will step up to challenge the Raw tag team champions?

    – What will the fallout be after Finn Balor’s Demon appeared at SummerSlam?

    Join us here later tonight for our weekly WWE RAW Results Live Coverage.

  • Abyss Announced For MLW War Games Match

    Abyss Announced For MLW War Games Match

    Abyss has been announced for MLW’s upcoming War Games match. The Impact Wrestling legend is the 5th and final member of Sami Calihan’s team.

    With the announcement of Abyss, the teams for MLW’s big War Games match have been finalized. One team will feature John Hennigan, Tommy Dreamer, Shane Strickland, Kotto Brazil and Barrington Hughes. The other time will be Sami Callihan, Abyss, Jimmy Havoc and the Death Machines.

    In addition to the two-ring double-steel-cage War Games match, there are several big matches confirmed for this event:

    – Low Ki will put the MLW World Heavyweight Championship on the line against Rey Fenix. Fenix will have Konnan in his corner.

    – In a Mexican Massacre match, Pentagon Jr. (cornered by Konnan) will face lucha libre legend LA Park (presented by Salina De La Renta).

    – PCO will battle Brody King

    Also advertised to appear are MLW Middleweight Champion Maxwell J. Friedman, “Filthy” Tom Lawler, The Hart Foundation and more.

    MLW War Games takes place on Thursday, September 6th from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida at the War Memorial Auditorium. This will be an MLW Fusion taping for beIN SPORTS. Visit AXS.COM for tickets information.

  • Matt Hardy Begins Working as a WWE Producer

    Matt Hardy Begins Working as a WWE Producer

    It appears WWE Superstar Matt Hardy began working as a backstage producer/agent at Sunday’s SummerSlam pay-per-view.

    Last week, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported Matt Hardy will be taking extended time off soon to deal with several nagging injuries. His health will be re-evaluated later this year. At this time, there is no reason to assume Matt’s career is over. However, the report indicated that Matt Hardy’s in-ring future is in question.

    With a long road ahead, the Woken one has been gearing up for the next chapter of his career. Hardy has been “shadowing” WWE producers, which could result in him transitioning to a backstage role full-time. Matt Hardy is a 25-year veteran and is considered to have a very high wrestling IQ. He has a wealth of knowledge to contribute to WWE storylines and could have a long future ahead with the company.

    On Sunday afternoon, he tweeted that it was strange to be at SummerSlam in a ‘different capacity.’ Matt later tweeted this photo of himself with WWE broadcaster Mike Rome working together backstage at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.

    We’ll keep you posted as we learn more about Matt Hardy’s new backstage role.

  • Charlotte Flair Wins Triple Threat Match to Take Smackdown Women’s Title at SummerSlam

    Charlotte Flair Wins Triple Threat Match to Take Smackdown Women’s Title at SummerSlam

    For the seventh time in her career, Charlotte Flair is the women’s champion after defeating Becky Lynch and Carmella at SummerSlam.

    After making her return to action, Flair was able to overcome both champion and challenger in a triple threat match.

    A lot was made during the match about the friendship between Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch, which definitely played a major part in the outcome.

    The end sequence saw Becky Lynch nearly get the submission with the ‘Disarmer’ but Charlotte was able to reverse the position by hiting her with ‘Natural Selection’.

    Charlotte got the pin to earn the title as Carmella’s reign as champion comes to an end.

    Afterwards, as Charlotte embraced her friend, Becky Lynch turned on her with a big punch that brought the Brooklyn crowd to its feet with chants of ‘you deserved it’ throughout the arena.

    Becky assaulted Charlotte before tossing her over the announce table as she makes her turn from friend to foe in what will undoubtedly become the next big rivalry on Smackdown Live.

    As for Carmella, her title reign came and went without really playing a major part in the result, which has to be a bit of a disappointment considering the heat she has been getting over the past few months.

    Now Charlotte once again reigns as champion on Smackdown Live as her seventh reign (combined with the RAW women’s title) begins.

    What did you think of the triple threat match between Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch and Carmella?

  • Seth Rollins Defeats Dolph Ziggler to Become Intercontinental Champion at SummerSlam

    Seth Rollins Defeats Dolph Ziggler to Become Intercontinental Champion at SummerSlam

    Seth Rollins brought an equalizer to the ring with him on Sunday night and he’s now a two-time Intercontinental champion after defeating Dolph Ziggler at SummerSlam.

    Monday night saw the return of Dean Ambrose after being out of action for the past nine months due to an injured right arm but he was ringside with Rollins to help negate Drew McIntyre.

    The plan worked well as Ambrose got involved towards the final few seconds of the match, delivering Dirty Deeds to McIntyre to keep him from interfering in the finish.

    As for Rollins, he delivered another incredible match with Ziggler as these two hit several incredible spots as the kickoff bout for the main card at SummerSlam.

    The end came after Ambrose took out McIntyre and it looked like Ziggler would still take advantage of the distraction with a super kick warmed up for Rollins.

    Rollins reversed the moves as he turned around and immediately launched a super kick that clocked Zigger before nailing him with the Stomp to get the pin.

    Rollins is now a two-time Intercontinental champion while putting an end to Ziggler’s latest reign. Considering the heat between these two superstars — now with Ambrose also back in the mix — it’s hard to believe we won’t see Rollins face Ziggler again in the near future.

    What were your thoughts on Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler at Summerslam? 

  • Hulk Hogan Lashes Out At WWE Superstars Who Have Not Embraced His Return

    Hulk Hogan Lashes Out At WWE Superstars Who Have Not Embraced His Return

    Hulk Hogan was the first guest on Bill Apter’s new podcast, The Apter Chat. During the conversation, Hogan spoke about being reinstated into the WWE Hall of Fame and the backstage reaction to his return.

    After it was announced that WWE was welcoming Hogan back into the fold, the reaction from WWE’s locker room was mixed. Several performers, including The New Day and Titus O’Neil, issued statements that indicated they weren’t ready to forgive Hogan for his past racist remarks.

    Hogan was backstage at WWE Extreme Rules and issued a formal apology to the locker room. Hogan does not understand why some wrestlers aren’t welcoming him back with open arms.

    “A lot of people accepted my apology,” Hogan said. “And a lot of people heard what they wanted to hear and a lot of the narrative that came out of the meeting was on point. A lot of the narrative was really different. I was surprised to hear some people interpreted what I said that I was just sorry I got caught. I’m on camera, whatever they interpreted, but I never said that.”

    It’s not hard to understand why certain people would not be ready to forgive Hogan yet, if ever. Hogan says those people simply “don’t understand the bond and brotherhood of wrestling.”

    “Outside the ring, you’re supposed to protect your brother. In this case, it’s a situation where 75, 80, 90 percent of the wrestlers are protecting me and they’re giving me another chance to move forward. There’s just a few wrestlers that don’t understand the bond and the brotherhood of wrestling.”

    Hogan said if someone makes a mistake, “you need to forgive them” – a point that is certainly up for debate. In response to New Day and Titus O’Neil issuing statements on social media about the situation, Hogan says if anybody has a problem with him, they should say it to his face.

    “If anybody had any questions or anybody had anything to say at that time, I really just wanted them to say it to my face so I could address it,” Hogan said. “Hopefully understand the issue and get them to understand me.”

    You can listen Hulk Hogan’s chat with Bill Apter over at Stitcher.com.

    H//T to Fightful for the transcribed quotes

  • Justin Credible Issues Statement Following Arrest

    Justin Credible Issues Statement Following Arrest

    Justin Credible (Peter Polaco) is out of jail and has issued a statement addressing his arrest last week for violating a protective order. The former ECW World Champion acknowledges his battle with addiction and his troubled marriage, vowing to never be the subject of negative headlines again.

    In what he says will be his “one and only” statement on the matter, credible says he has worked hard over the past several months to battle his demon and keep his family strong. He has regained his sobriety and all he can do is take each day one at a time.

    “Issues came about Monday night, and I’ve regretted it every minute since,” he said. “Their was no domestic violence that night, the only one to call the police was me. I was arrested because of an old protection order that was still in place from a previous incident. I will not make excuses for any of the actions that happened that night, but I promise to my fans, my friends and my family that the man Peter Polaco will never be a negative headline again, and the character Justin Credible still has many great moments left.”

    Credible thanks his friends and fans who have stuck by him through his challenging times.

    “Most importantly thank you to my lovely wife and kids who know that though I am not perfect my love for them is unconditional, and we will get through this fight together. Stay tuned guys because Chapter 2 of my life is not only going to be a hell of a lot better, but it’s going to be done right. 2018/2019 is going to be our year.”