Tonight’s edition of WWE Raw takes place from Cincinnati, Ohio at the US Bank Arena. WWE.com is advertising the following items for the show: Here is what’s on tap for tonight’s show:
– Roman Reigns vs. Bobby Lashley to determine who will challenge Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship in the main event of next month’s SummerSlam pay-per-view.
– Raw Commissioner Stephanie McMahon will make an historic announcement. It’s rumored that her announcement will be WWE’s first-ever all-women’s special event.
–Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy will get a chance to reclaim their Raw Tag Team championships when they face The B-Team (Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas).
– Will Ronda Rousey honor her suspension?
– The road to SummerSlam continues.
Afternoon Update: WWE announced that Finn Balor vs. Drew McIntyre will take place tonight.
Impact Wrestling’s Bound For Glory 2018 pay-per-view will take place on Sunday, October 14th from New York City at the Melrose Ballroom.
This will be Impact’s third pay-per-view of the year following April’s Redemption from Orlando and Sunday’s Slammiversary XVI from Toronto.
The Melrose Ballroom in Queens, NY hosted last week’s MLW Battle Riot event and will play host to GCW’s Joey Janela’s Lost In New York during SummerSlam weekend.
Since 2005, Bound For Glory has been Impact’s signature event of the year. In recent years, Bound For Glory has emanated from Ottawa, Orlando, North Carolina Tokyo and San Diego. Last year’s Bound for Glory from Ottawa’s Aberdeen Pavilion was headlined by Eli Drake defending the Global Championship against Johnny Impact.
Impact has run the NYC market before, including TV tapings from the Manhattan Center back in 2014. The Melrose Ballroom has a significantly smaller capacity than the Manhattan Center, but it’s an intimate venue that will all but guarantee a sell-out crowd and will come across well on television.
Following Sunday’s Slammiversary PPV, tonight kicks off several months of television tapings that will begin setting up storylines for Bound For Glory.
WWE Champion AJ Styles’ SummerSlam opponent will be announced next week on SmackDown by General Manager Paige.
After wrapping up a months-long feud with new United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura, Styles retained against Rusev this past weekend at Extreme Rules.
It’s been rumored that Styles would be facing Samoa Joe at SummerSlam and marketing materials released prematurely by WWE reveal that Joe will indeed by Styles next challenger.
Courtesy of our friends over at WrestlingNews.co, a paid pre-roll video spot that is running on sports/entertainment websites shows the following match graphic for the yet-to-be announced match:
As of this writing, Styles has been champion for 254 days after defeating Jinder Mahal for the title last November at a SmackDown TV taping from London, UK.
Styles and Joe were longtime rivals dating back to 2003, when Styles challenged Samoa Joe during his memorable ROH World title run. They would go on to continue their feud in TNA/Impact Wrestling, battling many times for various championships.
WWE has managed to keep them apart since Joe’s main roster debut in January 2017, so this storied rivalry will actually seem fresh by the time they square off once again.
WWE SummerSlam takes place on Sunday, August 19th from Brooklyn, NY at the Barclays Center.
On Thursday night, Major League Wrestling made its grand return to New York City with Battle Riot at the Melrose Ballroom in Queens, NY.
Matches on this show were taped for a 2-hour Battle Riot special that airs next Friday night on beIN SPORTS, as well as future episodes of the weekly MLW FUSION broadcast on beIN. The matches that will air on the 2-hour Battle Riot special include:
Kotta Brazil vs. Myron Reed
MJF vs. Joey Ryan to crown the first MLW Middleweight Champion
40-Man Battle Riot Match to earn a MLW Championship opportunity
The show was a legitimate sell-out and the card delivered from top to bottom. As fans have come to expect from MLW, the show featured a hybrid of in-ring styles, up-and-comers and veterans and slick production values. MLW returns to the Melrose Ballroom on October 4th with LA Park (La Parka) advertised.
MLW Battle Riot Results
– Fred Yehi def. Richard Holliday. Solid opener with Yehi of Team Filthy being very over with the crowd.
– Kotto Brazil def. Myron Reed. Exciting high-flying match with a lot of near falls towards the end.
– Jake Hager def. Simon Gotch. A lot of solid mat-based grappling.
– Jimmy Havoc def. Brody King. King is quite large in person and moves around really well for a big man. King was in control for most of the match before Havoc pulled out the win.
– MLW Tag Team Champions The Lucha Bros (Fenix and Pentagon Jr.) def. Drago and Rey Horus to retain. This was probably the match of the night – first class lucha libre. Fans threw dollar bills into the ring afterwards as Pentagon & Fenix thanked the crowd.
– PCO def. Homicide. As you’d expect, this was a very hard-hitting match that showcased the monster that is PCO.
– Maxwell J. Friedman def. Joey Ryan to become the first MLW Middleweight Champion. This one went pretty long and allowed both guys to showcase their personalities. Joey Ryan did not do his signature dick spot, but channeled Mr. Socko in using a lollipop on Friedman. MJF was interviewed in the ring after his match and cut a nice heel promo.
– Sami Callihan def. Shane Strickland.
– The Hart Foundation (Teddy Hart & Davey Boy Smith Jr. w/Brian Pillman II) def. Rich Swann and ACH. It’s believed that Swann was concussed during this match.
– MLW World Heavyweight Champion Low Ki def. John Hennigan to retain. Salina de la Renta was ringside with Low Ki. Hennigan hit a lot of acrobatic spots as you’d expect.
– “Filthy” Tom Lawlor outlasted 39 other men to win the Battle Riot match and earn a shot at the MLW World Heavyweight Championship “any time, anywhere.” This match was a lot of fun and should come across great on television. They used a lot of battle royal tropes (including brothers Pentagon & Rey Fenix being the first two entrants, a large group of wrestlers working together to eliminate giants like Barrington Hughes, etc.). Surprise entrants included The Blue Meanie, Spirit Squad members Kenny & Mikey, Fallah Bahh and more. After his win, Lawlor was interviewed by Matt Striker in the ring and said he is achieving his goal of being the face of Major League Wrestling.
On Wednesday night, NXT held the latest round of television tapings from Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL. Thanks to Jacob Cohen & ProWrestling.net for these results:
– Jeet Rama defeats Chase Adams.
– Adam Cole defeated Sean Maluta. Ricochet challenged Cole to a North American Championship match at Takeover, but Cole declined.
– Lacey Evans defeated Tenilla Price.
– Heavy Machinery over The Mighty.
– Trent Seven and Tyler Bate defeated State Line.
– EC3 over Kona Reeves.
– Shayna Baszler defeated Candice LeRae.
– Tommaso Ciampa defeated Aleister Black to win the NXT Championship. The referee got knocked out during the match, which led to Johnny Gargano running in and attacking Ciampa and Black. Ciampa got the upper hand and pinned Black to win the title.
– Nikki Cross defeated Amber Nova.
– Kassius Ohno defeats Adrian Jaoude.
– Keith Lee defeats Marcel Barthel.
– Taynara Conti beat Vanessa Bourne in a Mae Young Classic qualifier.
– Street Profits defeated The Mighty.
– Tommaso Ciampa came out for a promo, which brought out Aleister Black. Johnny Gargano interrupted and Ciampa. Black blamed Gargano for Ciampa winning the title.
– Kairi Sane beat Aliyah.
– Tyler Bate over Roderick Strong.
– Velveteen Dream cut a promo on EC3, setting up EC3 vs. Velveteen Dream for NXT Takeover: Brooklyn.
– Johnny Gargano fought Aleister Black to a no-contest when Tommaso Ciampa attacked both men.
– William Regal came out and announced Ciampa vs. Gargano vs. Black for the NXT Title at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn.
On Tuesday night, ESPN hosted its 4th annual Sports Humanitarian Awards in Los Angeles. The event is “a celebration of the impact made by athletes, teams and sports industry professionals who use the power of sport to make a difference throughout the world.”
WWE personalities Stephanie McMahon, Roman Reigns and Charlotte Flair were to accept the award for League Humanitarian Leadership.
2-division UFC Champion Daniel Cormier was also in attendance and had some interesting things to say about Hulk Hogan and Seth Rollins. When asked about the news of WWE ending Hulk Hogan’s 3-year suspension. Cormier, a big WWE fan, called Hogan one of the greatest performers of all time and is willing to accept that Hogan is remorseful for his racist comments.
“People do make mistakes,” said Cormier. “I think if we know anything from the WWE, the UFC, NFL, any sport, if you are willing to learn from your mistakes, you get another opportunity. So, congratulations.”
Daniel Cormier is expected to defend the UFC Heavyweight Championship against Brock Lesnar in early 2019.
When asked if there is anyone he is pulling to defeat Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship, Cormier joked, “Maybe I’ll beat Brock for the Universal title.”
Visit ESPN.com to see video of Cormier’s comments about Hogan & Lesnar.
Travis Brown, MMA fighter and husband of WWE Superstar Ronda Rousey, is open to stepping inside a WWE ring.
The 6’7″ 243-pounder spoke with TMZ this week and commented on the possibility of crossing over to the world of sports entertainment.
“I’ll never say no, but we’ll have to see, really,” said Browne. “This is Ronda’s time in the WWE. She’s killing it, she’s taking over the world. She took over the UFC, she’s taking over the WWE, she’s gonna continue to do whatever she wants to do.”
Browne then said he would love to compete in a mixed tag team match with his wife and would not turn down the opportunity to do so, if WWE pitched the idea.
“I’ll never say no to the possibility of going out there and wrestling. I’d love to go out there and work with my wife. That’d be so much fun. A mixed match? Oh yeah. That was her at the WrestleMania. It’d be fun. I wouldn’t say no.”
Travis Browne’s professional MMA record is 18-7. His last fight took place in July 2017 at UFC 213. Following a submission loss to Oleksiy Oliynyk, UFC President Dana White said, “I think that Travis should retire.”
Check out Travis Browne’s comments to TMZ about teaming with Ronda Rousey in WWE:
2-division UFC Champion Daniel Cormier will most likely be stepping into the Octagon against WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar some time in early 2019. The fight was set up earlier this month at UFC 226.
After Cormier Cormier knocked out Stipe Miocic to capture the UFC Heavyweight Championship, he called out Brock Lesnar, who was cageside and ready to confront the winner of the UFC 226 main event. Lesnar shoved the former Olympic wrestler and the confrontation sent shockwaves throughout both the MMA and pro wrestling worlds.
Cormier was interviewed by Denise Salcedo of Instinct Culture at Tuesday night’s ESPN Sports Humanitarian Awards and asked Cormier about the confrontation with Lesnar. Salcedo jokingly asked Lesnar if he shoved Cormier because he knows DC is friends with another WWE Superstar, Seth Rollins.
“Maybe that’s why he’s mad at me, because I’m friends with Seth Rollins,” Cormier said. “I got a text message from Seth right after the fight. He goes, ‘congratulations now go kick Brock’s ass.'”
A confident Cormier added, “That’s what I’m gonna do.”
Check out the Daniel Cormier interview with Instinct Culture below.
WWE personality James Ellsworth appeared on The Wrestling Perspective Podcast this week and revealed new information about Hulk Hogan’s backstage speech to the WWE roster before Sunday’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view.
According to Ellsworth, Triple H began the talent meeting by telling the roster that Hogan has been reinstated and warning everyone about the dangers of social media. He explained that when you’re a WWE Superstar, you need to be very careful about your conduct because everyone has a camera on them these days and a gaffe can spread around the world within minutes .
Hulk Hogan then delivered his speech and apologized for his racist comments. Hogan said that he did not know he was being recorded when he said vile, inexcusable things about black people (on multiple occasions), which is just mind-boggling on many levels.
The talent meeting ended with Mark Henry offering support to Hogan.
Ellsworth said most of the WWE Superstars appeared to be accepting of Hogan’s apology. He feels that Hogan is sincere in his apology and regrets saying things like “f*** n****rs” and “I’d rather if [my daughter Brooke] was going to f*** some n****r, I’d rather have her marry an 8-foot-tall n****r worth a hundred million dollars. Like a basketball player.”
You can listen to James Ellsworth appearance on the Wrestling Perspective Podcast here:
Charlotte Flair has revealed she’s currently out of action due to rupturing both her breast implants. The 5-time WWE Women’s Champion appeared on the Conversations With Maria Menounos SiriusXM radio show on Monday and provided intimate details about the injury.
Charlotte says when she began wrestling, her saline implants ruptured during during a match. When she woke up the following morning, they were gone. She later had them ‘redone.’ A few months ago, she began experiencing pain behind her shoulder blade.
She spoke to her trainer about the injury and tried to relieve the pain through exercises, but the discomfort persisted. Upon visiting a doctor and undergoing a mammogram and ultrasound, Charlotte’s doctor found that she had free floating silicone in her chest due to the ruptured implants.
At the time, Charlotte had several big things on her schedule, including WrestleMania 34 and her photo shoot for ESPN’s Body issue She kept the situation hidden until recently, when she went under the knife once again to get the situation resolved around 4 weeks ago.
Charlotte said she is medically cleared to get back in the ring on July 31st. She joked that she does not consider this to be a “legitimate” injury and can’t believe she’s missing ring time due to her enhancements.
You can listen to a clip from Charlotte’s conversation with Maria Menounos here:
A new class of recruits began training at the WWE Performance Center today and you’ll probably recognize a few of the names. According to the Instagram story of WWE’s NXT brand, the following wrestlers comprise the latest group of NXT signees:
Former Impact Wrestling Knockout MJ Jenkins has signed with WWE. She participated in a tryout at the Performance Center back in February.
Jenkins (real name Monique Jacqueline Williams-Jenkins) hails from Brooklyn, NY and has already reported to the Performance Center. She, along with recent signees Keith Lee, Io Shirai and Deanna Parazzo, were featured on NXT’s Instagram story on Tuesday morning.
In addition to working for Impact Wrestling last year, Jenkins has worked for various independent promotions including Shine Wrestling and Combat Zone Wrestling.
Her Twitter bio states that she is a “Sports Entertainer” and has her based out of Orlando, Florida. Follow MJ Jenkins on Twitter and Instagram at @RealMJJenkins.
Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Curtis Granderson will be appearing at Sunday’s Impact Wrestling Slammiversary pay-per-view. Granderson, a 3-time MLB All-Star, will serve as the special “title holder” for the main event.
Slammiversary will be headlined by Impact Wrestling World Heavyweight Champion Austin Aries defending against Moose. Slammiversary takes place from Toronto’s Rebel Entertainment Complex and will broadcast live around the world on pay-per-view.
As part of Impact’s cross-promotion with the Toronto Blue Jays to promote Slammiveresary, Johnny Impact will throw the Ceremonial First Pitch at Sunday’s home game against the Baltimore Orioles.
Curtis Granderson is a lifelong pro wrestling fan and has attended numerous IMPACT Wrestling shows over the years.
“I’m thrilled to join IMPACT Wrestling as ‘Title Holder.’ As a long-time fan, it’s an honor to be included as part of the World Championship match,” Granderson told ImpactWrestling.com. “Inclusion in this event will undoubtedly be the highlight of my year, off the baseball field, and I’m looking forward to seeing who comes out on top.”
Sunday night kicks off three nights of action for Impact at the Rebel Entertainment Complex. Following Slammiversary, the venue will host Impact Wrestling television tapings on Monday and Tuesday.
Impact World Champion Austin Aries commented on Granderson’s involvement in his upcoming title defense and sounds unimpressed.
And I can barley contain my excitement…
Just make sure @cgrand3 washes his hands real good before touching my @IMPACTWRESTLING World Title.
WWE will return to China for the third straight year on Saturday, September 1st for a live event at the Mercedes Benz Arena in Shanghai. Tickets for the show go on sale this Thursday morning at Damai.cn.
Superstars advertised for the #WWEShanghai event include Ronda Rousey, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Bruan Strowman, Alexa Bliss, Finn Balor and more.
The event will be presented by in partnership with AEG.
“We are thrilled that WWE LIVE Shanghai will be presented in partnership with AEG, the world’s leading sports and live entertainment company,” said Robb Spitzer, Senior Vice President, Asia – AEG Presents. “AEG Presents is proud to be partnering with WWE for the first time in China and entertain people of all ages.”
“We are excited to return to Shanghai, demonstrating WWE’s commitment to our passionate and growing fanbase in China,” said Jay Li, Vice President & General Manager, WWE Greater China. “Fans can look forward to seeing an action-packed night of family-friendly entertainment that will create lifelong memories.”
Live WWE programming (including Raw and SmackDown) air on China’s PP Sports each week, with the WWE Network also available on the PP Sports platform.
On Monday afternoon, Chris Jericho announced a huge 6-man tag match for his Rock n Wrestling Rager cruise, which sets sail on October 27th from Miami.
Alpha Club vs. Bullet Club
The Alpha Club (Chris Jericho and the Young Bucks) will square off against The Bullet Club’s Kenny Omega, Cody Rhodes and Marty Scurll.
The Jericho Cruise website has a preview that reads, “How will the new team of Y2Jackson (or is it the Bucks of Jericho?) hold up against Omega’s One Winged Angel? Will Alpha Club prevail with never-before-seen moves that can only be perfected on a cruise ship?! BUCKLE UP, cruisers, it’s Alpha vs. Omega, and you’re about to experience this once-in-a-lifetime event and moment in wrestling history this October!
Marty Scurll will be pulling double duty on the cruise, as he’s already advertised to face Sami Callihan in what’s being billed as the first-ever Ring of Honor vs. Impact Wrestling match.
Last week, it was announced that the Starrcast convention during All In weekend will be available for streaming via FITE. Earlier today, FITE released full details on how fans across the world can be part of the Starrcast convention, including the complete streaming schedule for the weekend.
The Starrcast Platinum Weekend Pass is now on sale for $149.99. For more details and to purchase the Starrcast Platinum Weekend Pass, visit Fite.tv/Starrcast.
Your favorite wrestling podcast hosts be performing their shows live on multiple stages, and you can join them on FITE and enjoy over 20 live stage shows featuring legends, Hall of Famers, celebrities, and of course some of the top podcasters around like Bruce Prichard, Eric Bischoff, and Sean Waltman – LIVE on every screen.
Plus, you have the chance to own a piece of the actual ALL IN Ring canvas delivered to your door. The Platinum Weekend Pass is exclusive to FITE fans and is available while supplies last. Don’t miss out – Orders start at 8pm ET Monday!
Here’s the full weekend schedule, followed by the first Starrcast Event Center video, hosted by Sean Mooney.
8/30/2018
8pm EST – The Monday Night War Debate with Bruce Prichard & Eric Bischoff
8pm EST – Elite Karaoke with Marty Scrull
10pm EST – Papa Buck Jam Session
10pm EST – Botchamania w/Tony Schiavone PLUS Stand Up Comedy fromRon Funches & Casio Kid
8/31/2018
11:30am EST – Madusa Unthrottled w/a Panel on Women’s Wrestling featuring stars like Gail Kim, Lisa Marie Vachon, and GLOW Founder David McLane
1:00pm EST – What Happened When w/ Tony Schiavone & Conrad Thompson
1:30pm EST – Four Star Summit with the Wrestling Observer & the ProWrestling Torch
3:00pm EST – Empty Arena Match Retrospective w/ Jerry Lawler & Terry Funk, hosted by Bill Apter
3:30pm EST – WrestleCrap w/ RD Reynolds & Friends
5:30pm EST – War Games Retrospective w/ JJ Dillon, Tully Blanchard, Lex Luger & Road Warrior Animal
7:00pm EST – Clockblockers Trivia w/ Macaulay Culkin & Matt Cohen of the Bunny Ears Pod
9:00pm EST – The Roast of Bruce Prichard
9:00pm EST – The Raven Effect
11:00pm EST – Stranglemania with the Insane Clown Posse
12:00 Mid EST – Spend My Days Karaoke w/ Bruce Prichard & Jeff Jarrett
9/1/2018
9:30am EST – The ALL IN DDP Yoga Workshop
10:00am EST – Remembering Andy Kaufman w/ Jerry Lawler & Dutch Mantell, hosted by Bill Apter
12:00 noon EST – X-PAC 1-2-360 Degrees of the nWo w/ Scott Hall & Kevin Nash, hosted by Sean Waltman
12:30pm EST – Total Non Stop Jarrett w/ a Panel on TNA, hosted by Jeff Jarrett
2:00pm EST – PrimeTime with Sean Mooney Presents: Behind the Themes with Jim Johnston
2:30pm EST – Keepin’ It 100! with Konnan, Disco Inferno, & Shane “Hurricane” Helms
4:00pm EST – The Death of WCW Panel w/ Eric Bischoff, Kevin Sullivan, JJ Dillon & the Author of the Book, RD Reynolds
9/2/2018
11:30am EST – The Art of Wrestling with Colt Cabana
11:30am EST – Bunny Ears Podcast w/ Macaulay Culkin featuring Stephen Amell
1:30pm EST – Storytime with the Young Bucks
1:30pm EST – Greatest Trivia Rumble w/Many Wrestling Personalities
3:30pm EST – The Lapsed Fan
3:30pm EST – Why It Ended w/Robbie E & Matt Koon
Tonight’s edition of WWE RW takes place from Buffalo, NY at the Keybank Center. The show will feature fallout from Sunday’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view, including RAW GM’S bombshell ultimatum for Universal Champion Brock Lesnar.
Negotiations for Brock Lesnar’s next title defense have been ongoing, but Paul Heyman informed Angle that Lesnar is not interested in returning at this time. Angle is fed up with his absent champion and says Brock Lesnar must show up on Raw or commit to his next title defense to avoid being stripped.
It’s expected that Brock Lesnar’s next title defense will take place in less than five weeks at SummerSlam. Bobby Lashley and Roman Reigns have been positioned as the two top contenders for Lesnar, with Lashley getting the victory over Reigns at Extreme Rules. Of course, WWE’s ‘Monster in the Bank’ Braun Strowman hangs over the Universal Champion like a dark cloud.
Without saying whether or not Lesnar will be at RAW, Paul Heyman gave a brief response to Kurt Angle’s ultimatum, calling it an ‘amateurish negotiating ploy.’
WWE.com is also promoting the following items for tonight’s broadcast:
Is Braun Strowman finally finished with Kevin Owens?
What chaos will ensue when The B-Team return to the red brand as Raw Tag Team Champions?
Are the days numbered for The Goddess of WWE?
Does The Architect have plans for Dolph Ziggler?
As always, join us here tonight for our weekly WWE RAW Live Coverage.
You spring this on my client, the reigning defending undisputed Universal Heavyweight Champion @BrockLesnar and me with no notice? No warning? No letter of admonishment? Just an unwarranted ultimatum, so @RealKurtAngle can look tough in negotiations? https://t.co/A4h7P4x3eV
And it's really "cute" (most family-family facetious word I could conjure up at the moment) of @WWE to say "ATTENTION: @HeymanHustle" because everyone in #WWE is so scared to address my client @BrockLesnar, so they try to create separation between themselves and their message! https://t.co/A4h7P4x3eV
Former Olympian Jeff Cobb will debut this weekend for Ring of Honor at the Saturday Night at Center Stage TV tapings from Atlanta, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio. Cobb noted on Twitter that he has not signed an exclusive deal with ROH.
After representing Guam at the 2004 Olympic games in men’s freestyle wrestling, Cobb went pro in 2009 and has been making a name for himself in various promotions across the world.
Known for his amateur credentials, power move-set and agility, Jeff Cobb has long been one of the top free agent prospects in the industry. He’s competed for New Japan Pro Wrestling, Lucha Underground, PWG, Progress, MLW and more.
Several months ago, it was reported that Impact Wrestling offered him a 2-year deal. He has independent bookings scheduled through the end of August, including an appearance for ICW on July 29th and a match against Brian Cage on August 19th for California Vagabond Wrestling.
With WWE continuously signing top independent talent and Ring of Honor looking to hold its ground and build momentum, this is a very strong acquisition for ROH.
WWE is not wasting any time plugging Hulk Hogan back into the company’s promotional machine.
WWE announced on Sunday that Hogan has been reinstated into the Hall of Fame after a 3-year suspension due to his highly publicized racism scandal.
Hogan was backstage at Sunday’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view and formally apologized to the WWE locker room for his past conduct. According to sources backstage, the cameras were rolling during Hogan’s address, which will air on a future WWE Network special.
On Monday, WWE’s YouTube channel published a video of Hogan introducing the new Superstars For Hope Campaign to benefit the Special Olympics and the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health. Hogan is encouraging fans to visit SuperstarsForHope.com, which redirects to the WWE subpage on Charitybuzz.com, a site that allows companies to list special experiences for auction (ie. lunch with a WWE Superstar), with the proceeds going to charity. There are currently no live auctions live at the the Superstars For Hope link.
Hulk Hogan is officially back in the WWE Hall of Fame.
The 64-year old former superstar had been removed from the WWE Hall of Fame and virtually anything else to do with the company after he used racial slurs in a sex tape that was released back in 2015.
The video showed Hogan making racial slurs regarding his daughter’s then boyfriend, who was black, and it cost him a relationship with the WWE.
Hogan made numerous public apologies for his racist remarks as he attempted to rehabilitate his image after the tape was released.
While the two sides remained at odds ever since, there have been plenty of rumors recently that WWE was moving towards a reconciliation with Hogan and now it appears at least one piece of that puzzle is back in place.
“After a three-year suspension, Hulk Hogan has been reinstated into the WWE Hall of Fame,” WWE officials wrote in a statement released on Sunday. “This second chance follows Hogan’s numerous public apologies and volunteering to work with young people, where he is helping them learn from his mistake. These efforts led to a recent induction into the Boys & Girls Clubs of America Alumni Hall of Fame.”
It’s unknown at this time if Hogan’s re-entry into the WWE Hall of Fame will bring him back into the company’s fold in a larger role such as making appearances or potentially working on television again.
There had been rumors that Hogan could potentially appear at an upcoming WWE pay-per-view but again nothing has been confirmed at this time.
At least for now, Hogan is back in the WWE Hall of Fame and will likely find himself reinstated on the WWE’s website and company material after being completely removed for the past three years.
Did the WWE make the right call to reinstate Hulk Hogan into the Hall of Fame? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
Major League Wrestling returns to GILT Nightclub in Orlando, FL tonight for the latest round of TV tapings for the weekly MLW Fusion show on beIN SPORTS.
As usual, it’s a stacked card with the top stars of MLW in action, including MLW’s World and Tag Team Champions, Jimmy Havoc, “Filthy” Tom Lawlor, Joey Janela, John Hennigan, Jake Hager and many more.
Here’s the final card for tonight’s MLW Fusion tapings:
$60,000 Bounty Match: MLW World Champion Shane Strickland vs. Low Ki
MLW Tag Team Champions Pentagon Jr. & Rey Fenix vs. ACH and Rich Swann
Grudge Match: Jimmy Havoc vs. “Filthy” Tom Lawlor
John Hennigan vs. Teddy Hart.
Falls Count Anywhere: Joey Janela vs. MJF
Jake Hager vs. Fred Yehi
Jimmy Yuta vs. Jason Cade.
Barrington Hughes vs. Leon Scott.
Simon Gotch’s latest Prize Fight Challenge.
Check back here later tonight for results from these tapings.
Below, you can check out the latest full episode of MLW FUSION:
WWE has signed a new deal with Fox Networks Group Asia to broadcast Raw in the Philippines on Tuesdays via video streaming service Fox Plus, along with weekly broadcasts of highlight shows Afterburn, Experience and This Week.
Here’s the official press release, including quotes from WWE Co-President Michelle Wilson.
WWE Raw® to Stream Live in the Philippines Exclusively on FOX+
MANILA, Philippines & STAMFORD, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– WWE (NYSE:WWE) and FOX Networks Group Asia today announced a new agreement to stream WWE’s flagship program Raw® live exclusively on FOX+ in the Philippines.
Beginning next week, Raw will stream live on FOX+ at 8 a.m. on Tuesdays in the Philippines with a same day, primetime re-air on FOX Sports at 8 p.m. Additionally, each week, FOX+ will stream on demand WWE weekly highlight shows Afterburn®, Experience® and This Week®.
“We are very excited to bring more of the best content to our viewers in the Philippines with the exclusive live streaming of Raw through FOX+,” said Jude Turcuato, General Manager for FOX Networks Group Philippines. “Having this partnership with WWE further strengthens FNG’s push to make FOX+ the best go-to OTT entertainment platform in the country.”
“FOX Networks Group Asia shares our vision and passion for engaging and entertaining our fans,” said Michelle Wilson, WWE Co-President. “This partnership to stream Raw live in the Philippines on FOX+ allows us to deliver action-packed, family-friendly entertainment to our fans throughout the country.”
FOX+ is FOX Networks Group Asia’s (FNG) video-streaming service and is available on Android and iOS devices as well as on Apple TV and select Android TVs. A free 30-day trial is available for new subscribers.
On Monday night, Major League Wrestling announced that MLW War Games is coming to Ft. Lauderdale’s War Memorial Auditorium on Thursday, September 6, 2018.
Since then, fans have been wondering how MLW could feature the War Games name, which was created by the National Wrestling Alliance in the mid 80’s, later used by WCW at the annual Fall Brawl pay-per-view and most recently used by NXT last November at their Takeover event from Houston TX.
As it turns out, MLW LLC is the official owner of the “WAR GAMES” trademark. MLW actually has two trademarks on the “WAR GAMES” name, with their usage covering:
“Entertainment services in the nature of organizing and arranging professional wrestling exhibitions for entertainment purposes; providing information and news about professional wrestling via a global computer network; presentation of live wrestling show performances.”
WWE never actually trademarked the name WAR GAMES – and MLW’s usage of the event back in 2003 pre-dated NXT co-opting the show for an event 14 years later.
The original MLW War Games event took place on September 19, 2003 from Ft. Lauderdale, FL during Major League Wrestling’s initial run.
When asked if we’ll see September’s War Games event televised at some point, MLW CEO Court Bauer made it clear that is definitely in the works. Next week’s MLW Battle Riot event from New York City will be airing on beIN SPORTS as a 2-hour television special, so we could very well see a similar rollout for War Games.
