Cody, Hangman Page, the Young Bucks, Marty Scurll, and Kenny Omega are no longer part of Bullet Club. They announced the news officially on Chris Jericho’s cruise after months of speculation. The status of Bullet Club Elite members, Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi, is not as clear, however.
Owens and Takahashi were partnered with Bullet Club Elite after the Firing Squad attack in San Francisco. There has been some dissension shown between the two and Kota Ibushi on recent tours, however. Ibushi has refused to engage in underhanded tactics along with them during matches and offered up high-fives instead of “2-sweet’ing” them. Still, Owens and Takahashi are officially aligned with the Elite on the NJPW roster.
Following news that other Bullet Club Elite members were leaving the faction, Chase Owens Tweeted the following:
Owens has previously claimed to be from Tonga as well, though the validity of this cannot be confirmed. Regardless, Owens doesn’t appear to be dropping his Bullet Club affiliation.
Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi Bullet Club Status
Hangman Page and Yujiro Takahashi are teaming together in the World Tag League. Page addressed the division of wrestlers amongst the two factions with Takahashi on the most recent edition of “Being the Elite”.
“What’s up with Elite B*lls**t?” Takahashi asked Page on the show. “Am I supposed to be in it?”
Page then admitted to Takahashi that they figured he’d be booked to be with the BCOG faction.
“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.”
“I saw in the dirt sheet you guys are going to be sticking together?” Takahashi then asked.
Page then said the Elite had indeed made a pact but Takahashi warned him not to trust those, “greedy m**f**s”.
It sounds like Takahashi is warning Page about his fellow Elite stablemates. We’ll likely have to wait until 2019 to see what happens with Owens and Takahashi, however.
You can view the conversation between the two tag-team partners in the player below:
Johnny Impact was voted off of Survivor on the latest episode. He’s still the Impact World Champion, however. Johnny was also the guest on this week’s Impact Press Pass media call. He commented on his ongoing rivalry with Killer Kross and scheduled title defense against Brian Cage at Homecoming.
Johnny Impact On Rivalry With Killer Kross & Title Defense Against Brian Cage
Last week on Impact Wrestling, Johnny Impact turned down Killer Kross’ offer to watch his back. I asked Johnny if he gave Kross’ offer any second thoughts after finding out Brian Cage will be cashing in “Option C” at Homecoming.
“Brian Cage is no joke and him cashing in Option C to me just says that he wants the Impact World Championship more than anything,” Johnny said. “He gave up his title for a shot at me at Homecoming.”
Johnny Impact (c) vs Brian Cage for the Impact World Championship has been made official for the PPV.
Johnny continued to say he just doesn’t want Kross anywhere near him, his wife, or his dog. Based on what happened last week, however, it’s likely Kross continues to involve himself in Johnny’s business, even as Johnny prepares for Brian Cage.
“Honestly, would you rather have a sociopath anywhere near you or backstage out of the match completely?” Johnny asked.
“I don’t understand what (Killer Kross’) motivation is. For all I know, he could be trying to garner my trust just to kick me in the back of the head again,” he continued. “I would rather deal with the devil I know, ‘the Machine’ Brian Cage, then the devil I don’t understand, Killer Kross.”
Homecoming takes place January 6th, 2019 from the Nashville Fairgrounds (aka the Asylum).
You can listen to the conversation in the player below:
Hurricane Helms is not happy with how David Arquette was booked at the Game Changers Wrestling PPV over the weekend. Arquette was filling in for an injured Joey Ryan and was busted open pretty badly in a hardcore match with Nick Gage.
Arquette made a public statement that he’ll no longer be participating in any deathmatches. He said he has nothing but respect for Gage, Joey Janela, and the rest of the team from GCW.
Helms made his comments in response to Arquette’s statement.
With all due respect, they took advantage of your name value and put you in a situation that you weren’t trained or prepared for, and it came close to ending very badly. Regardless of whether you wanted to do it or not, that’s shitty and irresponsible booking. https://t.co/LynHWT5Ds6
“Regardless of whether you wanted to do it or not, that’s shitty and irresponsible booking,” Helms Tweeted.
22-year-old Marko Stunt broke his fibula in a match with Eli Everfly on the show as well. Joey Janela injured his knee in several places on a September 21st GCW event in a match against Psychosis. Janela was diving from the ring ropes to the floor when the injury occurred.
Hurricane Helms on David Arquette’s Deathmatch
Helms continued to comment on Arquette’s booking as his followers responded to his initial comments.
They put a barely trained guy in a death match that resulted in him being hospitalized. Does someone actually have to die before you admit that that was irresponsible? And of course they took advantage of his name, they wouldn’t have booked him in the main otherwise. ?????
“They put a barely trained guy in a death match that resulted in him being hospitalized. Does someone actually have to die before you admit that that was irresponsible? And of course they took advantage of his name, they wouldn’t have booked him in the main otherwise.”
Helms continued:
And he already said he didn’t realize how bad it would be. Don’t forget, I know him personally. I’ve seen people agree to shit a bunch and get taken advantage of. And don’t throw SOLD OUT like it was a 10,000 seat arena dude. FOH with that. They wanted the attention he’d bring.
WWE is said to have interest in Albert C. Hardle, better known to wrestling fans as ACH. According to a report from PW Insider, the 31-year-old is someone WWE is looking at bringing in when the company announces more signings in January.
The soon to be 31-year-old currently competes in MLW and in New Japan Pro Wrestling. He recently teamed with Ryusuke Taguchi in NJPW’s Super Junior Tag League. Their team finished up the tournament with a 3-4 record.
He left Ring of Honor after a 4-year run with the company in 2016.
ACH and WWE’s Rumored January Signings
ACH is one of several names being thrown around for a rumored batch of WWE signings to take place in January. Last year’s class of January signings included War Machine and Ricochet.
Shane Strickland is another name rumored to be WWE bound in early 2019. The former MLW Champion is reported to be finishing up with his former promotion at the 2-night Fusion tapings in Miami next month.
ACH also competed on the recent Lion’s Break shows in Anaheim. ACH defeated NJPW California young lion Karl Fredricks on the tour before being defeated by Hirooki Goto the next night. He was on MLW’s Fury Road event in October but did not compete at Fightland: Chicago show this month.
For the 4th night in a row, WWE is back inside Staples Center tonight. Smackdown should be interesting tonight considering how poorly the brand did against the Raw brand at Survivor Series (minus the tag match).
Smackdown 11/20 Preview
WWE is not advertising a segment featuring Shane McMahon yet for tonight. The Smackdown Commissioner did put out the following Tweet after the PPV on Sunday, however, indicating there will be changes made to his brand starting on tonight’s show.
This wasn’t the night I had in mind for Team Blue. Tomorrow is a new day, but something is going to have to change come Tuesday. #SurvivorSeries
Becky Lynch and Ronda Rousey won’t be on the show tonight but they’ll likely be watching this segment closely. Flair will likely explain her vicious assault of Rousey at Survivor Series tonight. Did Charlotte do what she did because she realized she couldn’t beat Rousey? To soften her up for Becky? Or has Flair’s recent frustrations from losing her title caused the old Charlotte Flair to surface? We’ll come closer to finding out answers to these questions tonight.
Daniel Bryan’s Explanation
Daniel Bryan has still refused to answer questions regarding his sudden change in temperament. Bryan uncharacteristically hit AJ low during their WWE Championship match last week and used the advantage to get the pin and win the title. Tonight, Bryan will explain to the WWE Universe why he did what he did. Styles will likely be watching this segment closely if he doesn’t decide to join in.
Thanksgiving Feast Fight
New Day (Kofi Kingston, Big E, & Xavier Woods) vs the Bar (Cesaro & Sheamus) & the Big Show
6-man action with a Thanksgiving gimmick theme to it will take place on Smackdown tonight. The Bar and the New Day will be on opposing sides of the first-ever Thanksgiving Feast Fight.
It might be an interesting time to be in the Smackdown tag-team division. After seeing his match was not included in the official Raw vs Smackdown score from Sunday, Xavier Woods was not pleased.
He also made sure to correct those who were saying Raw won 6-0.
The Usos were the sole survivors of the tag match at Survivor Series. It’ll be interesting to see if they are thrown in the tag title picture after also having defeated New Day in the build-up to the PPV.
Can Shinsuke Nakamura Bounce Back After Losing To Seth Rollins?
Nakamura lost to Seth Rollins at Survivor Series. WWE is advertising that the United States Champion is interested in bouncing back from his PPV loss tonight on Smackdown.
David Arquette participated in a deathmatch over the weekend. By the sounds of it, the 47-year-old actor turned wrestler won’t be taking part in any further such matches. Arquette released the following statement on the match recently.
Arquette suffered several cuts, including to his neck, though it does not appear any of his injuries are serious. He was taken to the hospital after the match, however.
“As some of you might have seen, last week I was injured in a wrestling death match. I wanted to make sure to address the photos and videos that have surfaced from the event, as this is not the type of wrestling you watch on TV,” Arquette Tweeted. “I knew it was violent and potentially bloody, but I truly did not know the extent of what I was participating in.”
David Arquette DeathMatch
Images of a bloodied David Arquette made its way onto mainstream media outlets, prompting the response from Arquette. He was filling in for the injured Joey Ryan on the Game Changer Wrestling event.
David Arquette basically shoots on Nick Gage at the end of the match. Figure Gage flipped him and told him to stay down for the pin. Once Arquette's neck got sliced, he kind of started freaking out and almost walked out of the match #GCW#JJLACpic.twitter.com/waao3yHNHe
Last week, TMZ reporters caught up with Arquette, who insisted his pro-wrestling return is not an attempt to get into WWE.
“WWE’s not the goal,” Arquette said to TMZ. “I mean, I love WWE. I would love to do anything with them ever, but my main goal is getting some respect. That really was what it’s about.”
Independent wrestling up-and-comer, Marko Stunt, was also injured at the event. Stunt broke his fibula while wrestling Eli Everfly and underwent surgery for the injury yesterday.
Enzo Amore says he’s done with pro wrestling, but he delivered a Stone Cold Stunner on stage at a rap concert in West Hollywood, California on Monday night.
The Superstar turned rapper made headlines on Sunday by crashing WWE Survivor Series. After making a scene at ringside, he was ejected from the Staples Center and has reportedly been banned from future WWE events.
Enzo held a rap concert at legendary rock and roll venue Whisky A Go Go on Monday night – not far from where WWE Raw was being held at the Staples Center.
Enzo Amore posted a live stream of part of the show, which you can view by following this link here. In the clip below, you can see him delivering the stunner.
Earlier this year Enzo told Steve Austin on his podcast that he’s focussing his efforts on a new music career. “I’m literally going to set the world on fire,” Amore said on the show. “I’m going to be one of the biggest stars in music and I know it.
He partnered with World Star Hip Hop to release his first music video, “Phoenix” back in May. A second video, “Bury Me A G”, was then released the next month.
You can watch the video to “Phoenix” in the player below:
AJ Styles is believed to be negotiating a new deal with WWE. According to a report from Fightful, Styles is looking for a reduced schedule on a new 3-year deal.
Styles is said to have pushed for his losing of the WWE title recently as a result of the amount of time being champion was causing him to be on the road. The deal he is looking for is said to be similar to Randy Orton’s, where he would work television but a limited amount of house shows.
There have been rumors as of late that NJPW has sent feelers to WWE talent about possibly jumping ship. Styles could potentially be someone NJPW is interested in bringing back. Speculation is NJPW reached out to Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows, and Shinsuke Nakamura, who all also signed 3-year deals with NJPW in 2016 at the same time as Styles did.
AJ Styles WWE Negotiations
Styles first signed with WWE in 2016, following a negotiation session with NJPW, WWE, and the former management of TNA Wrestling. Before he left NJPW, he was kicked out of Bullet Club and lost at Wrestle Kingdom to Shinsuke Nakamura.
He debuted in WWE at the Royal Rumble in 2016. Styles would win his first WWE Championship that September. He defeated Dean Ambrose for the belt at Backlash that year. Style’s first run as WWE Champion lasted until the Royall Rumble when he lost the belt to John Cena. It would take him over 10 months to win the title back, defeating Jinder Mahal in Manchester in November of 2017.
Enzo Amore was forcibly removed by security at the Staples Center last night. The former Cruiserweight Champion crashed Survivor Series and caused a distraction during the AOP vs the Bar match before being removed. The Staples Center has since announced he is banned from all future events.
Enzo sent out the following after his ejection from the arena:
Enzo has been embarking on a music career since being released from WWE. His debut album, Rosemary’s Baby, was just released. Enzo will be throwing a live event tonight in the Los Angeles area to promote the album.
I’m going-going back-back to Cali-Cali … COME SEE ME DOG. 11.19.18. meet & greet. new merch. comedy. And… NEW MUSIC!
Earlier this year, Enzo told TMZ he’ll never wrestle again. “There ain’t nobody who’s got enough money to put me back in the ring, kid,” Amore said. “Not unless it’s ‘Creed 3’ dog and I’m fighting [Adonis Creed].”
He also told TMZ he is working on “a ton of television content right now” and is “sitting on a lot of interesting things right now.”
Jim Ross is sporting two black eyes at the moment. Ross suffered a fall recently, missing a step and hitting his face on the concrete while at a friend’s house. The WWE Hall of Famer posted the following on Saturday before also adding he would still be at the OU football game that day:
Took a bad bump last night. The concrete went over.
Ross’ contractual status has made headlines recently. He said he’ll be finishing up with AXS TV calling NJPW at the end of the year. He is currently under contract with WWE until the spring and has said he is currently unable to legally negotiate a new deal with AXS TV.
JR addressed his contract status on his podcast last week.
“It’s a tough week for me with AXS TV,” Ross said. “I’m here (in Los Angeles), going to do my last three shows for them (yesterday). That will take us through the end of the year on our Friday night slot on Mark Cuban’s network.”
Team Smackdown defeated Team Raw in the tag-team Survivor Series match last night. The match took place on the pre-show, however, and so didn’t count towards the storyline of Raw sweeping Smackdown on the main PPV.
New Day’s Xavier Woods was not happy with the tag-team match not being included in the storyline Raw vs Smackdown score last night. He sent out the following on Twitter after the show ended:
The Usos, who were the sole survivors in the match, re-tweeted Woods’ comments.
WWE Tag Team Divisions
Only Heath Slater and Rhyno didn’t participate in the Survivor Series tag-team match last night. The Revival and the Usos were the two final teams remaining. The Usos are likely in line for a tag team title match after last night. They also defeated former champions the New Day to earn the team captaincy for Smackdown. Smackdown tag-team champions, the Bar, lost to the Raw Champions Authors of Pain on the main PPV.
Shane McMahon commented on Raw’s “clean sweep” over Smackdown last night. He is saying there will be changes to his brand as a result.
This wasn’t the night I had in mind for Team Blue. Tomorrow is a new day, but something is going to have to change come Tuesday. #SurvivorSeries
Jay Lethal has re-signed with Ring of Honor as the company approaches their final two shows of the year. Final Battle will take place in New York on December 14th. The company will then travel to Philadelphia the following day for TV tapings.
According to PW Insider, Lethal re-signed with the company recently. Although the terms of the deal aren’t known, many ROH contracts tend to start in January and end in December. Some ROH stars are known to be on different deals, however. Flip Gordon is said to be locked in for 2 years. Marty Scurll is believed to have signed an extension to his deal until April 2019 as well.
Jay Lethal – Greatest ROH Champion Of All-Time Statistics
Jay Lethal is on pace to pass the most combined days spent as ROH champion record of 645 days on February 3rd, 2019. The record is currently held by Samoa Joe who held the title for 645 straight days on his only run with the belt. Lethal, who is on his second reign with the title, also needs 3 more title defenses to tie Bryan Danielson and Nigel McGuinness’ record of 38.
Lethal will defend the title against Cody at Final Battle. Should Cody win, he is saying he’ll take the title with him into free agency.
Lance Storm is training Dominic Gutierrez at the Storm Wrestling Academy in Calgary, AB, Canada. According to Storm, Dominic was unaware of the trade secrets involved in delivering his father’s “619”.
Storm sent out the following in regards to teaching Dominic the move:
As with many relatives of famous wrestlers, many are tracking Dominic’s development. He started training with the Storm Wrestling Academy in September but he’s been to other schools. Dominic trained with Jay Lethal as well.
In March, Mysterio was on Edge and Christian’s podcast and had the following to say regarding his son’s training.
“I’m going to have him train as much as he can in different countries,” Mysterio said. “Right now he’s training with Jay (Lethal). I want to get him out with Lance in Calgary. Is he in Calgary? Yeah, uh huh. And eventually, if I can get him to Japan and to Europe. And the final touch would be the Mexican side. That’s when I get ahold of him and we do one-on-ones, so eventually, when it’s time to tap out and hang up the mask, I would love to leave him set, so he can take over the name and the brand and take it to the next level.”
Another up-and-coming star on the independent scene has gone down to injury. “Mr. Fun Size” Marko Stunt revealed following last night’s show that he suffered a broken fibula at Game Changer Wrestling’s PPV last night.
Stunt was wrestling Eli Everfly when the injury occurred. Twitter user @GIFSkull posted video of the injury:
Stunt is already scheduled for surgery this morning. He sent out the following Tweet after the event:
Thank you to everyone who has reached out to check on me, or wished me a speedy recovery! Unfortunately I did suffer a bad break in my leg tonight. I have to have surgery in a few hours, and will keep everyone updated
“Thank you to everyone who has reached out to check on me, or wished me a speedy recovery! Unfortunately, I did suffer a bad break in my leg tonight. I have to have surgery in a few hours, and will keep everyone updated”
Marko Stunt Breaks Leg On Game Changers Wrestling PPV
Less than 3 weeks after both Joey Janela and Marko Stunt appeared at All In, Janela wrestled Psychosis on a GCW PPV. While diving from the ring ropes to the floor, Janela suffered multiple injuries to his knees. He required surgery and is expected to be out 9 months to a year.
Janela posted the following to Twitter early this morning in regards to Stunt’s injury:
Unfortunately my man @MarkoStunt suffered a bad break of his Fibula and needs immediate surgery in the morning, can we take care of him in whatever means necessary everyone? ?
“Unfortunately my man @MarkoStunt suffered a bad break of his Fibula and needs immediate surgery in the morning, can we take care of him in whatever means necessary everyone?”
Cody Rhodes will require surgery for a torn meniscus. The recovery time for the surgery is expected to be about 6 weeks. In order to not miss two big dates coming up in December and January, Cody will be delaying the surgery until early 2019. He will honor his commitments for Ring of Honor next month, his final appearances for the promotion.
Cody will challenge Jay Lethal for the ROH World Championship on December 14th. He claims if he wins the title at the PPV, he will take it with him into free agency.
NJPW seems to be building a rematch between Juice Robinson and Cody for WrestleKingdom as well. Cody has previously defeated Juice at WrestleKingdom in 2017 and beat him for the IWGP United States title at Fighting Spirit Unleashed in September. Juice challenged Cody to another match after replacing him and defeating Beretta at Global Wars: Toronto.
Cody Working Injured
Cody was forced to pull out of his planned title defense against Beretta after suffering the injury at Global Wars: Buffalo. According to Cody, he was running around with a T-shirt gun when he heard his knee pop. It was later revealed he’d have to pull out of his match that Sunday against Beretta. Cody did make it to the Meet N Greets before the event, however.
GOOD news is my doctor is fairly confident that my mcl/pcl/acl are structurally sound.
BAD news is the meniscus is fairly damaged, gonna’ require a scope. No dates will be adjusted at the moment, and I’ll definitely still compete in the final battle main event & at WK. pic.twitter.com/PtyK1wpoiz
Former MLW Champion, Shane Strickland, will be finishing up with the company next month. There is rumored interest from WWE for Strickland as well. WWE is expected to announce several new signings in January and Strickland could potentially be one of them.
According to a report from PW Insider, Strickland’s last shows with MLW will be the 2-night Fusion tapings in Miami on December 13th to 14th.
WWE’s interest in Strickland was first reported in August. “Shane Strickland is another name (WWE) are looking at and will be coming in for a future look,” Dave Meltzer wrote this summer. Low-Ki defeated Strickland for the MLW World title just weeks before the report was published on July 12th.
Shane Strickland To WWE?
The 30-year-old Strickland’s first breakthrough in wrestling came as a member of the CZW roster in 2012. He later joined the Lucha Underground roster under the name “Killshot” in 2015. While in Lucha Underground, he took part in a well-reviewed angle with AR Fox that culminated in a Weapons of Mass Destruction match.
In 2018, Strickland has debuted for MLW, AAA, and EVOLVE earlier this year. He’s a former CZW Champion, MLW Champion, EVOLVE Champion, and was ranked #221 by Pro Wrestling Illustrated this year.
Strickland faced Low-Ki in a rematch for the MLW title at MLW: Fightland. The match will air in the coming weeks on Fusion.
Jim Ross announced recently his contract with AXS TV is up and he’s currently unable to negotiate a new one. JR mentioned that neither NJPW nor AXS TV played a role in him not signing a new deal to call NJPW.
He sent out the following Tweet today to provide further details on his departure from the network.
To clarify the speculation, my departure from @AXSTV had zero to do with @njpwglobal or @mcuban’s network.
“To clarify the speculation, my departure from @AXSTV had zero to do with @njpwglobal or @mcuban’s network. My contract ends at years end and I was unable to legally negotiate a new arrangement. #ItsJustBusiness#NeverSayNever”
Jim Ross Contract Situation in 2019
JR originally addressed his contract situation this week on his podcast.
“It’s a tough week for me with AXS TV,” Ross said. “I’m here (in Los Angeles), going to do my last three shows for them (yesterday). That will take us through the end of the year on our Friday night slot on Mark Cuban’s network.”
He then explained that his contract with WWE extends until the end of March. It seems likely then that he would be unable to negotiate a new deal with AXS or NJPW until that time.
“My shows will run through the end of the year, that’s when my contract will be expiring. So then, I have a contract with WWE that will end at the end of March,” Ross continued.
JR has consistently said he has plenty of options available to him and that 2019 should be an interesting year for the business.
“And then we’ll see where things go. I have a lot of options, a lot of opportunities. I’m very blessed with everything that’s happened.”
Tama Tonga doesn’t hold much back. In the midst of all the turmoil surrounding Becky Lynch’s recent concussion, Tama managed to get in his comments to both Lynch and Nia Jax.
First, Tama offered a sign of respect to “The Man”:
Tama Tonga will be competing in New Japan Pro Wrestling’s World Tag League from November 17th to December 9th. There has been a slight change of format this year. Teams will be combined into one big group as opposed to two separate ones. This format was used for the debut of the Super Junior Tag League earlier this year.
3x former Impact X-Division Champion, Trevor Lee, has departed Impact Wrestling. According to a report from PW Insider, there is interested from WWE in bringing him in as well.
“Former Impact Wrestling X-Division and Tag Team Champion Trevor Lee, 25 years old, has departed the promotion,” reported PW Insider. “Lee gave notice to the promotion that he was finishing up. We have confirmed with several sources there is WWE interest in bringing Lee into the WWE NXT system.”
Trevor Lee WWE Bound?
25-year-old Trevor Lee is from Cameron, North Carolina. He was trained by two famous brothers from the area, Matt & Jeff Hardy when he was still only a teenager.
After wrestling on the independents, Lee would align with another North Carolina wrestling name, Gregory Helms, as part of “the Helms Dynasty” in 2016. In the summer of 2017, he then formed “the Cult of Lee” in Impact Wrestling. He served as a mentor of sorts for Caleb Konley.
Lee is also the son of Tracey Caddell, a wrestler/promoter who helped form OMEGA with Matt Hardy. Unfortunately, Caddell passed away earlier this year.
Update: Trevor Lee tweeted the following on Friday afternoon in response to reports that he is leaving Impact Wrestling.
Impact Wrestling presented their first show from the Las Vegas tapings last night. Right out of the bat it looks as though we’ve got our two top matches for the Homecoming PPV in January.
Here are the top 9 takeaways from Impact Wrestling 11/15
Brian Cage is Cashing In Option C, Will Challenge For World Title At Homecoming
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHYndfb9qGM
Brian Cage (c) defeated Sami Callihan
In the main event last night, X-Division Champion, Brian Cage, pinned challenger Sami Callihan after delivering Weapon-X. In shocking fashion, Cage would then announce after the match that he is cashing in “Option C”; he’s turning in the X-division title for a shot at the world championship. He wants his shot at the Homecoming pay-per-view in Nashville on January 6. At the moment, this would mean he would face Johnny Impact, should Johnny still be champion come that time.
Dark Allie Debuts
Su Yung defeated Heather Monroe
Last week, Allie accepted James Mitchell’s offer to help her “heal”. Allie had left her soul in the undead realm when she went to rescue Keira Hogan at Bound For Glory. This week, Keira Hogan came out to stop Su Yung from a post-match beat down on her opponent when “Dark Allie” arrived and confronted Hogan.
A new Darker Allie has emerged. Gone is the bouncy, bubbly, bunny Impact Wrestling fans once Knew. Allie left the ring area along with Su Yung as Keira Hogan lay beaten on the mat.
Tessa Blanchard vs Taya Valkyrie III Will Take Place At Homecoming
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TW4ZWFt6MVc
Tessa Blanchard defeated Ray Lyn
Blanchard may have defeated Valkyrie at Bound For Glory but it was not without controversy. Had the referee not been out of position when Valkyrie delivered the Road To Valhalla, things could have worked out differently that night.
Then in a rematch at Final Hour, Blanchard saved her title by getting herself disqualified. This week Taya revealed she spoke to Impact management and they made the third installment of this rivalry official for Homecoming.
Killer Kross Offered To Protect Johnny Impact
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nOoCoROsdg
Johnny Impact defeated Matt Sydal
One week after Johnny Impact successfully defended his Impact World Championship against Killer Kross, the two would be face to face in the ring again. Johnny defeated Matt Sydal in a non-title match this week and Kross confronted him after the match.
Kross offered his services to Johnny, saying if he needed his back watch, he’d be there. Johnny turned down his request, however, and said he didn’t trust the offer.
Eddie Edwards Has Priors, Dragged Away By Orderlies
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tHe374zvzU
Moose baited Eddie Edwards this week. He said if Edwards tried to attack him again, he’d simply turn him into the authorities. Moose noted that Eddie has “priors” so a third strike could send him to prison for 20 years.
Edwards couldn’t resist going after his rival, however, even as Alisha Edwards screamed for him not to. 3 men in orderlies dragged Edwards away after injecting something into his neck.
Tommy Dreamer Doesn’t Like Eli Drake’s Skinny Jeans
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzWLXxRsRjs
In what was the second promo directed at skinny-jean millennials this week, Tommy Dreamer cut a promo on Eli Drake this week. Drake was cutting a promo saying he was going to get rid of hardcore wrestling when Dreamer appeared.
It looked as though Dreamer and Drake were going to have an impromptu match but ultimately Drake decided to roll of the ring and go to the back instead.
Konnan Turns Down LAX Vs Lucha Bros Match
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKaxjkxlccM
LAX defeated Fallah Bah & KM
LAX told Konnan this week that they want to defend their tag-team titles against the Lucha Bros, Pentagon and Fenix. Konnan, however, said it wasn’t the right time for that match and abruptly left the conversation. This is the second week in a row Santana and Ortiz has had an awkward discussion in the back regarding Konnan’s involvement with both teams.
In a scene reminiscent from that 70s show, members of the Rascalz were re-introduced to Impact Wrestling fans. Zachary Wentz, Trey Miguel, and Dezmond Xavier have impressed independent wrestling fans everywhere they have gone and also put in strong performances at the Impact tapings in Toronto this summer. They announced they have a match in two weeks.
Scarlett Bordeaux Turns Her Attention To The Impact Referees
Scarlett Bordeaux focussed her attention on the Impact Wrestling referees this week. Don Callis also noted that Bordeaux has brought in outside help to vet some of the submissions she receives for her open global talent search.
Quick Results:
Tessa Blanchard defeated Ray Lyn
LAX defeated Fallah Bah & KM
Johnny Impact defeated Matt Sydal
Su Yung defeated Heather Monroe
X-Division Championship
Brian Cage (c) defeated Sami Callihan
Enzo Amore was filmed getting kicked off a Delta flight recently before take-off. Evidently, Enzo had been vaping onboard the plane. Another passenger filmed Enzo being ejected from the flight. Naturally, the person couldn’t resist asking the former Cruiserweight Champion “how you doing?”
Enzo looked back and gave the guy a smile after he said it. TMZ posted the video which you can view in the player below:
In an update to this story, Enzo has now said he was not vaping. He explained the situation in the video below:
What is Enzo Amore Doing Now?
Enzo Amore has said he’ll never wrestle again after his release from WWE. He is now focussed on his music career. Now just going under the name Real1, Enzo has announced a big show coming up in just 3 days.
I’m going-going back-back to Cali-Cali … COME SEE ME DOG. 11.19.18. meet & greet. new merch. comedy. And… NEW MUSIC!
Comedy and new music is being advertised for the event.
Earlier this year, Enzo told TMZ he was working on “a ton of television content right now” and is “sitting on a lot of interesting things right now.”
Enzo has also announced his debut album will be titled “Rosemary’s Baby”. He also told TMZ there isn’t enough money in the world to get him back in a wrestling ring.
“There ain’t nobody who’s got enough money to put me back in the ring, kid,” Amore said. “Not unless it’s ‘Creed 3’ dog and I’m fighting [Adonis Creed].”
Ronda Rousey cut a memorable promo on Becky Lynch this past week on Raw. In whats been dubbed the “Millennium Man” promo, Rousey laced into the SmackDown Women’s Champion for being an avocado-toast eating snowflake. It seems some of that material came may have been inspired by none other than Paul Heyman.
Rousey keeps a YouTube channel where she uploads a weekly video blog. In latest video (filmed on Sunday), the Baddest Woman on the Planet revealed that she was getting ready to meet with Heyman to work on ideas for Raw.
“After a long, I don’t even know how long flight, I’m going to chill out and finally get to Kansas City,” Rousey said on the video. “And then meet up with Paul Heyman and we’ll go over some ideas for tomorrow. Then Raw’s tomorrow!”
Opinion: The prospect of Ronda Rousey and Paul Heyman working together in any capacity is intriguing. Heyman’s aptitude for professional wrestling is unrivaled and countless performers have credited him with enhancing the trajectory of their careers. One has to wonder what Paul Heyman’s future holds once Brock Lesnar finishes up with WWE. Some fans might love the idea of Rousey being a Paul Heyman Girl, but the real money is in Paul Heyman guiding a slew of challengers to rid WWE of Ronda Rousey once and for all.
Rousey & Becky Lynch’s Trash Talk
“Becky, you are so hypersensitive,” Rousey said on Monday’s Raw from Kansas City. “You aren’t just the man, you are the millennial man. You are the skinny jeans wearing, V-neck sporting, avocado toast munching, winged-shoe wearing, millennial man, with a bubble-wrapped ego and a porcelain self-perception. Someone needs to tell the man that I am not Charlotte Flair, Raw is not Smackdown, and being offended doesn’t make you right.”
Lynch responded to Rousey on social media. The Man tweeted, “When you’re babbling on about avocados, I’m main-eventing my show AND your show. Did you hear that last night, Ronda? That’s the sound they make when The Man comes around.”
Impact Wrestling will present its first show from their Las Vegas tapings tonight. The promotion held tapings at Sam’s Town Casino from November 11th to 13th.
Impact Wrestling 11/15 Preview
X-Division Championship – Brian Cage (c) vs Sami Callihan
Previously on Impact Wrestling, Brian Cage traveled to Ohio to confront Sami Callihan. Cage was greeted by Callihan’s numerous Ohio-based minions. Tonight, the X-Division title is on the line, however. Callihan is the only man in Impact Wrestling to ever pin Cage, if he does as such tonight he’ll be the new X-Division Champion.
Johnny Impact vs Matt Sydal – Non-Title
Johnny Impact’s World Championship won’t be on the line in his match with Matt Sydal tonight. If Sydal comes out victorious, however, he’ll likely put himself in title contention. We are just over 7 weeks until the Homecoming PPV in Nashville and somebody will likely be declared the new #1 contender in the coming weeks.
Johnny suggested he might be stretching himself a little thin recently on Impact Press Pass. He’s already had to fend off Fenix and Killer Kross since winning the title and a match against Matt Sydal isn’t any easier.
Tessa Blanchard In Single’s Action
The Knockouts Champion will also be in action tonight. Her opponent for tonight’s non-title match has yet to be announced, however. Blanchard still has unfinished business with Taya Valkyrie. She lost to Taya previously via DQ in a rematch from Bound For Glory. At some point, Blanchard will have to defend the title once more against Valkyrie.
Eli Drake Has Requested Time On Impact Wrestling Tonight
Last week, Eli Drake attacked Joseph Park. Drake said he doesn’t like the hardcore wrestling style Abyss was famous for. He especially didn’t appreciate Abyss attacking him at Bound For Glory.
Tonight, Drake has requested time to speak and explain his actions.
Vince McMahon is said to know which match he wants to main event WrestleMania this year. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer, the current planned main event for WrestleMania 35 is Becky Lynch vs Ronda Rousey.
“Right now the plan is for Ronda Rousey vs. Becky Lynch to headline WrestleMania,” wrote Dave Meltzer. He would continue to say the decision was made after Lynch suffered a concussion Monday. The injury will prevent Lynch from competing on Sunday but likely allows WWE to move the match to their premiere event of the year.
“The next day, both Vince McMahon and Rousey decided that the best course of action was to do the match at WrestleMania,” Meltzer continued. “Rousey and Lynch immediately went at it hard on social media, even though Rousey’s new opponent on the PPV is Charlotte Flair.”
WWE considered doing Ronda vs Charlotte Flair as the main event of WM35 earlier this year. At the time, there were concerns about Ronda’s ability, however.
“Rousey vs. Flair was talked about after last year’s Mania, and at the time there were questions about Rousey headlining such a big show as a single with her level of experience,” Meltzer continued. “There is far less doubt about that now.”
WrestleMania 35 Main Event & Top Matches
This last month has seen a lot of shakeup at the top of WWE’s roster. Roman Reigns will not be involved in WrestleMania this year either. He had previously been in the main event of the last 4 WrestleManias.
Barring an extremely rapid recovery, Triple H will probably not be back for WrestleMania either. His torn pec suffered at Crown Jewel will likely prevent a potential match with Batista taking place.
It is believed Brock Lesnar is signed through WrestleMania. Current speculation holds he will not face Braun Strowman at the event, however.
Don Callis and Impact Wrestling would love to bring in some of the top-talent from NJPW to their promotion. While it’s likely some in-roads have been made with Callis serving as English color commentator, it appears NJPW still isn’t budging. NJPW has talent sharing agreements in place with ROH & CMLL and apparently, they aren’t adding more North American promotions to the fold.
“(NJPW) didn’t use guys like Brian Cage and John Morrison because they were Impact guys,” Dave Meltzer wrote in the Wrestling Observer. “And stopped some of their own talent from working Impact.”
There have been rumblings in the past that some members of the NJPW roster were upset they weren’t allowed to work for Impact but who those wrestlers are is unconfirmed. As for Brian Cage and Johnny Impact, they were both said to be interested in working for the promotion but NJPW decided against it due to their status with Impact.
Don Callis Wants Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho In Impact Wrestling
The new management regime for Impact has been working in 2018 to clear the bad name left by the previous one. This includes a botched excursion between NJPW and Impact which saw Kazuchika Okada largely wasted by the former TNA Wrestling.
At a Slammiversary press conference in Toronto earlier this year, Callis said to me he’d love to bring both Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho to his promotion.
“There’s a young Canadian kid I like, we’d love to sign him, his name is Kenny Omega,” Callis said. “Another is Chris Jericho.”
