Daniel Bryan wasn’t on Smackdown last night. Former WWE Champion AJ Styles remarked that perhaps Bryan has been watching Raw and was hoping to have a schedule which more closely resembles that of the Universal Champion’s. Styles also mentioned that Bryan was not on the WWE live event schedule this weekend either.
Bryan responded to Styles’ comments earlier today on Twitter:
“The old Daniel Bryan wrestled 227 matches in a calendar year, much more than AJ has ever done in his career. Shortly thereafter he needed neck surgery. The New Daniel Bryan is above that sort of masochism.”
Daniel Bryan vs AJ Styles at TLC
Styles mentioned on Smackdown last night that he was not medically cleared to compete at Survivor Series or on Smackdown last week due to injuries suffered during Bryan’s post-match attack. Not long after losing the WWE Championship, however, Styles posted the following to Twitter:
The thing about being a real Champion, a reigning, DEFENDING champion is that any day someone can beat you. But holding the title is more than just wins and losses, it’s about who you are as a man. Daniel showed us that last night. And the receipt is coming. #SDLivepic.twitter.com/m99WvL1JpJ
“The thing about being a real Champion, a reigning, DEFENDING champion is that any day someone can beat you. But holding the title is more than just wins and losses, it’s about who you are as a man. Daniel showed us that last night. And the receipt is coming. #SDLive”
AJ Styles vs Daniel Bryan Head-To-Head Stats
Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles have met in single’s action 8 times, 3 in WWE, 3 in ROH, 1 in PWG, and once for IWA Mid-South. Outside of WWE, Styles leads the series 3-2. In WWE, they are tied at 1-1-1.
The WWE Network will present an episode of 205 Live and NXT tonight. 205 Live could get moved back to their live Tuesday night timeslot next month, however, as the Mixed Match Challenge is scheduled to finish at the TLC PPV.
NXT 11/28 Preview
Tonight’s episode of NXT was filmed at a San Jose house show on the 15th. WWE will be back in San Jose next month for TLC.
Keith Lee vs Lars Sullivan
A battle of heavyweights tonight. Sullivan is main roster-bound but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll lose to Lee tonight. Lee is someone who could have a big future ahead of him in NXT and WWE as well so it’ll be interesting to see who comes out looking stronger in this clash tonight.
Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch vs the Mighty
The NXT tag-team division will see Burch and Lorcan take on Australia’s the Mighty tonight. The Mighty have seen better results since they started breaking the rules but tonight they’ll be in tough against the hard-nosed team of Burch and Lorcan.
EC3 vs Marcel Barthel
EC3 could use a win after being bounced out of title contention before the last Takeover. He was also the target of an attack by the Undisputed Era which took him out of action for a few weeks. You can’t keep the top 1% down for long, however, and EC3 starts his road back to the top of the men’s singles division tonight.
Mia Yim vs Vanessa Borne
Mia Yim took a loss to Bianca Belair her last match out. In fairness, only Nikki Cross has faced Belair in NXT and managed to avoid taking a loss. Vanessa Borne has been progressing as of late, however, and won’t let Mia Yim get back in the win column so easily.
205 Live 11/28 Preview
Hideo Itami Returns
Hideo Itami has not wrestled since being defeated by Mustafa Ali in a Falls Count Anywhere match to blow-off their rivalry. Itami will be in single’s action tonight but his opponent has yet to be named, likely meaning they are enhancement talent.
Mustafa Ali & Cedric Alexander vs Tony Nese & Buddy Murphy
Things are tight atop the Cruiserweight division at the moment. Murphy’s reign as champ has included just the one title defense against Mustafa Ali thus far but a new challenger could emerge in this match here. Alexander has never received a rematch from his loss to Murphy in Australia and Alexander had previously defeated Murphy in a title defense as well. Their trilogy bout could be upcoming. On the other hand, Tony Nese recently defeated Alexander, so he could be in line for a shot at his training partner’s belt.
Former WWE Superstar and Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura spoke to TMZ Sports this week and had some newsworthy things to say about his future in pro wrestling and politics.
It’s been rumored that WrestleMania 36 will take place from Ventura’s home town of Minneapolis. The 66-year-old said he’s in great physical shape and teased that he could be part of WrestleMania one more time.
“I’m just telling you I’m in fighting shape,” Ventura said as he pulled up his shirt and showed off his abs. WWE has yet to announce which city will host WrestleMania in 2020, but Ventura says the company will bring the show to Minneapolis “if they’re smart.”
“I ain’t saying I am [wrestling again] but I’m just saying [WrestleMania] is in Minneapolis,” Ventura said. “If they were smart, if they’re smart, I’m not saying they’re smart.”
Ventura vs. Trump?
Jesse Ventura isn’t ruling out a Presidential run in 2020, either. In fact, Ventura said if he does run, President Trump won’t have a chance against him.
“If I do do it, Trump will not have a chance,” Ventura said. “For one, Trump knows wrestling. He participated in two Wrestlemanias. He knows he can never out-talk a wrestler, and he knows I’m the greatest talker wrestling’s ever had.”
Ventura also mentioned in the video he is getting a lot of interest from the Green Party about possibly running for President. His main points of focus are renewable energy and cannabis legalization.
Joey Mercury was able to prove he was not responsible for a series of fraudulent credit card purchases recently. Mercury was arrested over All In Weekend in Chicago when it was discovered he had an outstanding warrant from Florida. His passport records and proof of him participating at wrestling events during the time in which the crimes happened led to charges against him being dismissed yesterday, however.
Just because the charges were dismissed and Mercury was proven innocent doesn’t mean he hasn’t suffered as a result, however. The arrest led to Mercury not being able to work as an agent for All In. Reports of his arrest, even though he was innocent, could also have potentially prevented other promoters from booking Joey.
Mercury’s lawyer’s released the following statement in regard’s to his case:
WWE Intercontinental Champion, Seth Rollins, commented on the situation involving the former J&J Security Team member.
Innocence should never be taken for granted. Joey’s story is just one of many, but hopefully his case can help bring attention to those who’ve been wronged as well. #justiceforjoeyhttps://t.co/0ZUmZiVnmW
“Innocence should never be taken for granted. Joey’s story is just one of many, but hopefully his case can help bring attention to those who’ve been wronged as well. #justiceforjoey”
Unfortunately for Joey and others, the public can often view celebrities as “guilty until proven innocent” when reports of their arrest surface. In the case of Mercury, he was able to prove his innocence but doing so isn’t always that easy, even for the truly innocent.
Kevin Owens is not happy with Elton John at the moment. The famous singer canceled his scheduled Orlando performance last night just 30 minutes before it was to begin due to an ear infection.
Evidently, the former Universal Champion had planned to spend a “date night” with the Mrs. at the concert.
“Hey, @eltonofficial, nobody ruins my wife and I’s date night except me! You, me…WresteMania. I’ve fought men in their 70’s before, I can do it again! #KOvsElton#KOMania4”
“The last time I wore red heart-shaped glasses for another man before tonight was on January 12, 1996 at the Montreal Forum. I was 11 years old. It was for Shawn Michaels! I’m never wearing red heart-shaped glasses for another man again! @eltonofficial”
Kevin Owens’ Musical Taste
This is not the first time Owen’s concert attendance has been promoted on his social media. After leaving social media along with Sami Zayn earlier this year, Owens returned to Twitter only so he could encourage Shania Twain to sing a certain song when he attended her concert.
Owens was able to go on stage with Shania but she did not play the song “When” that he had hoped she would. He hasn’t appeared on WWE programming since an October 8th loss to Bobby Lashley on Monday Night Raw. Owens had surgery on his knees recently and at last update, his timetable for return is the first-quarter of 2019.
When Impact Wrestling returns to PPV early next year, there will be an Ultimate X match to determine a new X-Division Champion. The latest X-Division Champion, Brian Cage, will cash in “Option C” on the PPV for a shot at the Impact Wrestling World Championship currently held by Johnny Impact.
The rules for an Ultimate X match are as follows:
3 or more participants (at Homecoming there will be 4).
The X-Division Title or a giant red “X” are placed high above the ring (at Homecoming it will be the title).
Two cables are attached high above the ring with the title or X placed in the middle.
The first wrestler to grab the title or X is declared the winner.
Impact has announced 4 wrestlers will compete in the match, though none of the participants have been officially named as of yet. Qualifying matches will begin next week.
Homecoming takes place January 6th, 2019 from the Nashville Fairgrounds, also known as the TNA Asylum.
Impact Wrestling’s Ultimate X Match
The first Ultimate X match was held in 2003. Michael Shane won the X-Division title from Chris Sabin in a match which also involved Frankie Kazarian. Sabin is the all-time winningest competitor for these matches, however. He has won 8 out of 17 of such matches he has taken part in.
Pierre Carl-Oulette has revitalized his career in 2018. Now known as PCO, he is one of the biggest names on the independent circuit. Much of his new found fandom has come through is bizarre and often disturbing YouTube videos.
In his latest video, PCO bites the head of a dead fish. He is accompanied in the video as always by Destro.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1Vl019lDnc
PCO in 2018
The 50-year-old native of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec. He made his professional debut 31 years ago in 1987. By 1993, Oulette was in WWE as one-half of the Quebecers. By 1995, Oulette was repackaged as Jean-Pierre LaFitte, a decedent of real-life pirates. He would head to WCW in 1996 where he would team with Jaques Rougeou as one-half of the Quebecers.
He returned to WWE and WCW in minor roles in the early 21st century but largely kept to the independent scene after the 90s came to a close.
Largely due to his YouTube videos and a stellar performance for Game Changer Wrestling, PCO ascended to the top of the indies this year. This summer, he then signed a deal with Major League Wrestling.
“It’s been my greatest run ever in the pro wrestling business,” PCO described 2018 to the Pro Wrestling Torch this summer. “This is the best. This year has been really, really intense. It’s organic. It’s been a crazy run, and it’s also the run where I’m having the most fun and I enjoy the most.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN2pAmODbEw
Posted November 27th, 2018 in News, MLW. Tagged: PCO.
Tonight’s episode of Smackdown will take place inside the Target Center in Minneapolis, MN. Smackdown Women’s Champion, Becky Lynch, has been confirmed to appear on the show.
Only 3 segments have been announced for tonight’s episode. Although traditionally Smackdown announces more matches and segments ahead of time than Raw, that has not been the case in recent weeks.
Edit: New Day vs The Bar in a non-title match has now also been announced for tonight.
Smackdown 11/27 Preview
Becky Lynch Returns to Smackdown
The most reaction-garnering Superstar on the roster returns to Smackdown tonight. Although she is still not cleared to compete, Lynch has evidently been cleared to travel, which is a good sign.
The last time Lynch was in a WWE ring she was hugging Charlotte Flair and picking her as her Survivor Series replacement. Since then, quite a bit has taken place on social media. It will be interesting to hear what Lynch might have to say regarding Rousey, Flair, and/or Nia tonight.
AJ Styles Responds To Daniel Bryan
Last week on Smackdown, Daniel Bryan delivered a promo explaining his actions from the week prior. Bryan won the WWE Championship after kicking AJ in the groin 2 weeks ago today. He said his dreams took over for him and that’s why he did what he did. Tonight, former champion AJ Styles will address both Bryan and the WWE Universe.
Jeff Hardy Celebrates 20-Years in WWE
Jeff Hardy and his brother Matt debuted in WWE in 1998. Tonight, Jeff Hardy celebrates the 20-year anniversary of the Hardyz in WWE. Such celebrations rarely take place on WWE programming without incident, however.
Former WWE Superstar CM Punk is aware of All Elite Wrestling and would consider working for the upstart promotion if they made him a solid offer. During an interview with MMAFighting, Punk said, “If those guys all go and start their own thing, more power to them,” Punk said.
When asked directly if he’d entertain an offer to work for All Elite, Punk replied, “I would always listen. I would listen to them because … I like the Young Bucks, I text with Matt on and off. But business is business.”
Prior to All In, there was speculation as to whether or not he would be involved in that show. Cody Rhodes stated at one point that they reached out to CM Punk to appear, but Punk says an official offer was never made.
“I know Cody was out there in the media saying that an offer was made,” Punk said. “An offer was not made. Calling me up or texting me saying, ‘Hey, if you want to come to the show and do something, we would love that’ is not an offer. That’s not an offer.”
While the signing of CM Punk would be a huge deal for All Elite, Punk is pretty adamant that his pro wrestling days are most likely behind him.
“There are a couple more loose ends that I’m still trying to tie up to fully absolve me from the world of pro wrestling,” Punk stated. “I feel like I’ve still been attached to it since the day that I left it and that’s mostly because of fugazi lawyers and such. But we’re wrapping all that up and that’ll come to an end. And once I’m truly free, we can explore the world and just float and hang out and I can walk my dog and drink coffee and do commentary for Dave Sholler and continue to train at Roufusport and do all kinds of stuff. I’ve earned it, I’ve paid my dues.”
Dragon Lee is the latest wrestler to be announced as part of MLW’s 2-night set of Fusion tapings in Miami next month. Court Bauer made the announcement earlier today on Twitter.
The “tough few days” Bauer mentioned is in reference to the numerous injuries which have occurred recently. Top MLW star, Tom Lawlor, broke his hand in an MMA fight this weekend. He was scheduled to face Simon Gotch in Miami but there is no word on if his injury will prevent him from competing in Miami.
Joey Janela was involved in an angle with middleweight champion, MJF, up until he suffered an injury in late September. MJF has since announced he broke his elbow and is also off MLW’s Miami shows.
Dragon Lee in MLW
Dragon Lee is perhaps best known for his long-running feud with Hiromu Takahashi. The pair began their rivalry in CMLL and then continued it around the globe for various promotions. Unfortunately, in their last match, Takahashi was injured after landing on his head after a suplex spot. Takahashi finished the match but collapsed backstage. As of this writing, there is concern he’ll never wrestle again.
Dragon Lee was voted the rookie of the year by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter in 2014. He unmasked Hiromu Takahashi (who was wrestling as Kamaitachi) the following year in a mask vs mask match. PWI ranked him at #125 in their PWI top-500 list in 2018.
Last night on Raw, Natalya came to defend Ronda Rousey from a 2-on-1 attack from Nia Jax and Tamina. As she was running to the ring, however, she was ambushed by all 3 members of the Riott Squad. The attack led some to question where the group had been hiding.
Riott Squad member, Liv Morgan, revealed their hiding spot was under the ring earlier this morning on Twitter. The group wore black hoodies and pants in order to get under the ring unseen.
The Riott Squad recently celebrated their 1-year anniversary on the main roster. It’s been a successful year for the trio who have found themselves in rivalries with the Bellas, Ronda Rousey, and now Natalya.
Their rivalry with Natalya began earlier this month when Ruby Riott broke Natalya’s father’s sunglasses during a 6-person tag. Natalya defeated Riott last week in single’s competition.
To commemorate a successful first year on the main roster, the 3 Superstars each got matching tattoos on the back of their neck. The Riott Squad brought a WWE camera crew with them as they got the tattoos done. The tattoos are of the date of the group’s main roster debut, 11-21-17.
Morgan’s year wasn’t all positive, however. She was knocked out on an episode of Monday Night Raw last month. Morgan took a Yes Kick from Brie Bella right to the face and was later diagnosed with a concussion. She was cleared in time for her match at Super Show-Down. She had the following to say to the Mirror in the UK.
“I’m 100% cleared by the WWE doctors; they took great care of me. They have a very extensive concussion protocol, which we followed 100% and luckily I am feeling fantastic and we are ready to win.”
WWE has signed top European talent WALTER. According to a report from PW Insider, WWE have signed the heavyweight just hours after news broke regarding new restrictions on NXT UK talents.
It was reported back in September that the two sides were in negotiations but WALTER stated he wasn’t interested in WWE at the time.
“I don’t know if I mentioned this but being a part of the Raw or SmackDown roster is nothing I am interested in. I don’t want to live in the US,” WALTER said.
He did say, however, he enjoys NXT.
“I really like NXT though, I think it’s a great product, filled with the best talent in the world and is focused on competition in the ring, which is something I enjoy.”
“I don’t want to say it will never happen because in wrestling things change so quickly,” he later added.
There were also reports back in March that WWE had offered WALTER a contract. He denied these on Twitter, however.
31-year-old WALTER began his pro career in 2007 for WXW in Germany. WALTER later began competing for PROGRESS in 2015 as well. He is a former PWG Champion, 3x WXW Heavyweight Champion, and the current Defiant Internet Champion.
WALTER would certainly make a big impact Wednesday’s on NXT UK.
WWE Intercontinental Champion, Seth Rollins, plans to issue an “Open Challenge” for his title tonight. “Monday Night” Rollins already has plenty of potential opponents lining up for a chance to face him as well.
Time to refocus heading towards Ambrose and #TLC. I learn the most by testing myself…so the #ICTitle Open Challenge returns tomorrow night on #Raw. #mondaynightrollins It’s go time.
“Time to refocus heading towards Ambrose and #TLC. I learn the most by testing myself…so the #ICTitle Open Challenge returns tomorrow night on #Raw. #mondaynightrollins It’s go time.”
Seth Rollins Open Challenge Possible Challengers
Not long after the Intercontinental champion issued the challenge, challengers began making themselves heard.
Ricochet let Rollins know he’s open to challenging him. He’d even put his NXT North American Championship on the line as well.
Lio Rush also wants to face Rollins but he also took issue with Cedric Alexander calling out the champ. The two 205 Liver roster members then went back and forth on Twitter.
The amount of hot raw garbage that comes out of your face is amazing…..
Judging on what is happening on social media right now, we could still get a 4-Horsewomen vs 4-Horsewomen feud sometime soon. A match between the two factions was rumored for much of the year to occur at Survivor Series but never came to pass.
Charlotte Flair posted the following earlier today, insinuating she’d like to do to Baszler, Duke, and Shafir the same thing she did to Ronda Rousey at Survivor Series.
Shayna Baszler got involved in the ongoing social media battle yesterday as well. Baszler responded to a Tweet in which she was mentioned by Becky Lynch.
“Don’t try to name drop me in this attention grab, I’m too busy holding down the division you couldn’t. #ShaynaTwoTime”
Baszler has also been quick to point out her 4-Horsewomen are more like the original group than the NXT version:
The OG 4 horseman weren’t just simply 4 wrestlers that made history, they were friends, a real TEAM. Like us, the only ACTUAL team here. Those others, sure they made history, but they’ve never been a team. They are barely friends half the time. #4HW#FourHorsewomen
“The OG 4 horseman weren’t just simply 4 wrestlers that made history, they were friends, a real TEAM. Like us, the only ACTUAL team here. Those others, sure they made history, but they’ve never been a team. They are barely friends half the time. #4HW#FourHorsewomen”
This is not the first time Baszler has made such claims. She further described her opinions on the two factions earlier this year in an interview with Uproxx.
“They’re not in a stable,” Bazler said to Uproxx. “We’re not just four random guys. This is my whole argument about the thing. People are like, ‘Yeah but Charlotte is Ric Flair’s daughter.’ But they weren’t just four guys that made history which the fake Four Horsewomen did. They’re four girls that made history. That’s great, but that’s not what the Four Horsemen did. They were a team. They were a stable. And we’re a team. You don’t see us needing counseling to stay friends and bickering and feuding over … You know what I mean?”
Cody is said to be recovering comfortably after enduring a controversial exorcism at the hands of the “Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels.
On the latest episode of “Being the Elite”, the group concluded that Cody had become possessed, leading him to recite facts about WWE repeatedly. The Elite then decided to call in Daniels’ former “Fallen Angel” gimmick to give Cody an exorcism.
Matt Jackson provided the following description of the Fallen Angel to others on the show: “He’s the guy who has dealt with far worse evil spirits and demons of this Earth… named Vince Russo and Dixie Carter,” Matt Jackson said. “He’s the only guy who can perform this exorcism to save our friend, Cody.”
Daniels was quick to point out that Cody’s symptoms were some of the worst he’d ever seen. As Cody began to convulse, Daniels explained what was happening to the rest of the faction.
“(Cody’s got) the money-shakes,” Daniels said. “I haven’t seen them this bad since AJ debuted at the Royal Rumble.”
It was also revealed that the old WWF logo had been burned into Cody’s stomach.
Christopher Daniels Performs Exorcism On Cody
“The Power of Crockett compels you!” Daniels shouted as Cody responded with more random WWE facts. Scorpio Sky forcefully made Cody swallow a handful of “Blue Chew”. Unfortunately, Brandi would later confirm the medication was not effective.
Finally, after Daniels read to Cody from the Young Bucks’ recently published children’s book, he declared “this house is clean.”
Cody still has a torn meniscus which will require surgery in early 2019. Daniels didn’t do anything about that.
Although this is just speculation, one could possibly assume Cody’s possession on the show is an analogy relating to WWE’s attempts to sign him and/or other members of the group. There is a sledgehammer/Excalibur analogy going on as well. The mysterious allusions to candy bars which Matt Jackson has been making in recent weeks did not make an appearance in this episode, however.
You can watch the full episode and exorcism in the player below:
MLW Middleweight Champion, Maxwell Jacob Friedman, will be on the injured list until early 2019. MJW revealed on Twitter recently that he will be out of action for 4-to-6 weeks as a result of the injury. He doesn’t appear to be feeling too down about his upcoming time on the injured list, however.
I’ve fractured my elbow.
Recovery time 4-6 weeks.
The good news is I get a break from having to make eye contact with you poor fat slobs.
“I’ve fractured my elbow. Recovery time 4-6 weeks. The good news is I get a break from having to make eye contact with you poor fat slobs.”
He wasn’t pleased with what a fan wrote in response to his injury:
I wrestle in nearly every top promotion in the world. I am the most entertaining part of every show I’m on. Nobody can touch me on the microphone or in that ring. I’m a story teller in a league of my own who is forced to wrestle infront of mindless poor sheep like you. SAD.
“I wrestle in nearly every top promotion in the world. I am the most entertaining part of every show I’m on. Nobody can touch me on the microphone or in that ring. I’m a story teller in a league of my own who is forced to wrestle infront of mindless poor sheep like you. SAD.”
Joey Janela, MJF’s rival in MLW, tried to wish him a speedy recovery.
MJF began his career in 2015 and found his way into CZW later that year. He has continued to wrestle for top indies throughout 2018 but also signed with MLW. He is the promotion’s inaugural middleweight champion, defeating Joey Ryan for the honors this summer.
Shayna Baszler took a shot at Becky Lynch for never having won the NXT Women’s Championship today on Twitter. Lynch referenced Baszler in a previous Tweet making fun of Rousey’s social media posts. Baszler then issued a response to Lynch’s comments today.
All 4 Horsewomen of MMA are currently under WWE contract. Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir began training at the WWE Performance Center back in May.
Baszler commented on the difference between the 4 Horsewomen of MMA and the NXT version earlier this year.
“They’re not in a stable,” Bazler said to Uproxx. “We’re not just four random guys. This is my whole argument about the thing. People are like, ‘Yeah but Charlotte is Ric Flair’s daughter.’ But they weren’t just four guys that made history which the fake Four Horsewomen did. They’re four girls that made history. That’s great, but that’s not what the Four Horsemen did. They were a team. They were a stable. And we’re a team. You don’t see us needing counseling to stay friends and bickering and feuding over … You know what I mean?”
MLW’s Tom Lawlor broke his hand in an MMA fight last night. Lawlor dropped a decision to Deron Winn for Golden Boy MMA’s PPV debut. The bout was the semi main-event behind Chuck Liddell vs Tito Ortiz III. Multiple sources are reporting Lawlor suffered the injury sometime in the second round.
It was Lawlor’s first fight since March of 2016. He was suspended for 2 years after dropping a decision to Corey Anderson in his last UFC fight.
Lawlor was scheduled to face Simon Gotch at MLW’s Fusion tapings in Miami next month. As of yet, there is no word on if Lawlor’s injury will impact any of his wrestling bookings.
Tom Lawlor MMA/Wrestling Career
Lawlor did some pro-wrestling before beginning his pro MMA career in 2007. He returned to wrestling recently during his 2.5 years away from MMA. Lawlor stopped wrestling when he signed with the UFC in 2008, however. At one point Lawlor was a ranked middleweight but the promotion released him following his USADA suspension.
Since returning to wrestling, Lawlor has made a big impact for Major League Wrestling. He won the promotion’s first ever Battle Riot and is scheduled for an MLW World Title shot at their first annual Super Fight in Philadelphia’s 2300 Arena.
The World Tag League is currently going on in New Japan Pro Wrestling. Hangman Page and Yujiro Takahashi are teaming together in the tournament. NJPW color-commentator, Chris Charlton, has recently revealed Page and Takahashi will be going under a strange team name for the remainder of the tournament.
Important information: Page and Yujiro’s team name is Dick and Balls. What that name may be if it includes Ibushi as a trio is the subject of some debate. #njwtlhttps://t.co/lsEkO3NKwb
“Important information: Page and Yujiro’s team name is Dick and Balls. What that name may be if it includes Ibushi as a trio is the subject of some debate. #njwtl”
For clarification purposes, neither Page nor Takahashi have the either of the words “Dick” or “Balls” in their names or have wrestling moves with similar sounding titles.
Is Yujiro Takahashi In The Elite?
There has been some confusion in NJPW lately as to who is in Bullet Club and who is in the Elite. Both Takahashi and Chase Owens have been booked as Elite members recently in NJPW. Neither appears to be dropping their Bullet Club affiliation as other members of the Elite have, however.
“What’s up with Elite B*lls**t?” Takahashi asked Page on the show. “Am I supposed to be in it?”
“That’s not really up to me,” Page responded. “We kind of thought you’d be booked to be with the Tongans, to be honest. Maybe that’s why they don’t trust you completely yet.”
Sonya Deville just completed her first full year on the main roster. She spoke with Sky Sports in the UK regarding her WWE career thus far as well as her decision to tell Triple H about being gay while filming the show Tough Enough.
Deville was a contestant on the 6th season of Tough Enough in 2015. During the competition, she was asked if she was in a relationship at the time.
“Not only was I not expecting that question, I was in a bikini in high heels in front of Triple H and other WWE executives inside the ring! The other girls had spray tans and their extensions in, and they looked beautiful – and I was just like this MMA fighter chick. I felt so out of my comfort zone when they asked me that question,” Deville described her reaction to the situation.
“I thought ‘what do I do… well, tell the truth, right?’ So I said, ‘yeah, I have a girlfriend, but she’s not my wife yet’,” Deville continued. “I got nervous, and they all started smiling. I said, ‘oh my god, I just came out on national television’. And Triple H replied, ‘yeah you did!’ I just came back with, ‘oh well, that’s that!'”
Deville continued to say she takes her position as a role model for others seriously, backs UK’s Rainbow Laces campaign, and tries to help as many people as she can looking for support on social media.
Sonya Deville on Smackdown
Deville and Mandy Rose have been aligned since both debuted on Raw last year as part of Paige’s “Absolution” faction. They went through Tough Enough and developmental together and even have a YouTube show where they sample donuts. There appears to be some dissension between the two building on Smackdown, however. It’s possible the team could be feuding with each other before WWE even introduces tag-team titles for the women’s divisions.
WWE will air part of last night’s Starrcade show from Cincinnati tonight. For the second year in a row, WWE has used the Starrcade name for a house show held the weekend the event used to be held annually by the NWA and then later by WCW.
Bray Wyatt returned to WWE last night on the show. He answered an open challenge by current Raw temporary GM, Baron Corbin.
The following Twitter user captured video of Wyatt’s return:
The last time Bray Wyatt was shown on WWE programming was back in August. He continued to wrestle tag matches with Matt Hardy up until September. After discovering his lower back and pelvis had begun to fuse together due to a career’s worth of injuries, Matt Hardy moved into a backstage role with WWE and Wyatt was left in limbo.
WWE Starrcade Lineup For the WWE Network
WWE will air a one-hour show featuring 4 segments from last night’s Starrcade show in Cincinnati. Although this could change, here are the segments which are currently scheduled to air:
Steel Cage
AJ Styles vs Samoa Joe
Sasha Banks, Bayley, Ember Moon, & Dana Brooke vs Nia Jax, Tamina, Mickie James, and Alicia Fox
Elias concert featuring Ric Flair
MizTV featuring Rey Mysterio and Shinsuke Nakamura
Four Horsewoman of MMA, Jessamyn Duke, has been impressing her coaches at the WWE Performance Center. In fact, the former UFC fighter has been declared “a natural” much like her training partner, Ronda Rousey, has been.
Sean Waltman was backstage at NXT WarGames over the weekend. He mentioned that he was speaking to people backstage from developmental who are very impressed with Duke’s progression.
“I’m getting some high praise for Jessamyn Duke actually,” Waltman said on his latest podcast. “She’s doing fantastic from what I hear.”
Waltman said that is the opinion of those in high-up positions in developmental who are impressed with her. “Apparently, she is (a natural),” Waltman continued.
Jessamyn Duke WWE
Duke started her pro MMA career in 2012. She then competed on the Ultimate Fighter in 2013 and received Fight of the Night honors for her bout with Raquel Pennington.
By 2016, Duke was focussing on a Twitch video game streaming gig along with friend and teammate, Shayna Baszler. Once Baszler was signed to NXT and Rousey to WWE, Duke moved to Orlando and the team set up camp there. In May, she started training at the Performance Center along with Marina “the Supernova from Moldova” Shafir at the PC. Shafir is married to Roderick Strong and the couple had a child together last year.
Both Joey Ryan and Cody are on the injured list at the moment. That didn’t stop them from having a match for World Series Wrestling in Melbourne, however. In fact, Cody put his IWGP United States title on the line.
The catch is the match was contested under “staring contest” rules.
World Series Wrestling was founded in 2005 by Adrian Menara. They often bring in several big names for their tours. Much of WSW’s content can be seen on the Global Wrestling Network streaming service which is largely associated with Impact Wrestling.
Cody vs Joey Ryan – IWGP United States Championship – Staring Contest Rules
Cody tore his meniscus at the Global Wars: Buffalo show earlier this month. He was then unable to make his planned title defense against Beretta on the final night of the tour in Toronto.
Joey Ryan tore his pec recently (something he mentioned has been going around). Ryan wrestled with his arm in a sling at the last MLW show where he teamed with Swoggle under the team name “Size Matters”.
Cody will go into the final weeks of the year working injured at ROH’s Final Battle. He will be in the main event against Jay Lethal for the ROH World Championship.
Posted November 24th, 2018 in News. Tagged: Joey Ryan.
There has been some speculation that the brand-split could end in 2019 when Smackdown moves to Fox next October. Speculation has been that WWE will want the ratings for both shows to be high initially after the move.
According to a recent report from the Wrestling Observer, however, Fox does not want to co-promote the same talent which will be on Raw every week.
“There was speculation going around that with the move to FOX that they would go to one brand because they would need all the top stars on FOX because of how important network primetime numbers are,” Dave Meltzer wrote. “That was denied to us and said that FOX doesn’t really want to cross-promote the same talent as NBC Universal and the expectation is split crews would remain.”
There are no plans at the moment to move back to single-brand PPVs, however.
WWE New Television Deal With Fox
WWE’s new television deal with Fox begins on October 4th, 2019 when Smackdown will move to Friday nights. Vince McMahon released the following statement shortly after the 5-year deal was made official.
“Fox and WWE are a perfect match. Moving SmackDown Live to broadcast TV and having the ability to leverage Fox’s extensive portfolio of world-class sporting events will expand the reach of our flagship programming.”
Upsetting news coming out of New Japan Pro Wrestling at the moment. A recent report from the Wrestling Observer is stating popular junior heavyweight, Hiromu Takahashi, may never wrestle again.
“The updated word is that it is not certain when or if Hiromu Takahashi will be able to return to the ring,” wrote Dave Meltzer.
Takahashi was injured at the G1 Special in San Francisco during a match with Dragon Lee. Takahashi landed on the top of his head from a cradle-suplex spot. Although he finished the match, Takahashi collapsed backstage and was taken to hospital. Early reports had Takahashi being out anywhere from 9-12 months.
Hiromu Takahashi Injury Update
Earlier this month, it was reported that Hiromu was around 93% recovered and was up to 207lbs. Whether he will ever be recovered to the degree he is able to return to the ring, however, does not appear to yet be known.
Takahashi won the Best of the Super Juniors earlier this year and then went on to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. He successfully defended the title twice during his second reign with the belt. He defeated El Desperado at Kizuna Road. Following that win, his next title defense was against Dragon Lee at the Cow Palace. Many are hoping that match won’t turn out to have been his last.
