Hardcore wrestling legend, Tommy Dreamer, posted his thoughts regarding Crown Jewel to his Facebook page recently. He compared the show to two other wrestling events which took place under a large public spotlight due to major world news events.
Dreamer was part of the WWE roster in 2001 when the company put on the first large public gathering following 9/11. He talked about that experience and also in regards to WCW’s shows in North Korea in 1995.
Tommy Dreamer Facebook Post
“In 1995 WCW went to North Korea
over 150,000 fans attended
All the political turmoil was put aside
People were united for a moment in time through professional wrestling
I was part of the 1st LIVE gathering after 9/11
I was confused, scared, angry
It was Vince McMahon who told everyone it was our choice if we wanted to perform and he said Its our jobs(the wrestlers) to help put smiles on people faces and help people heal.
I cried when Lillian Garcia sang The National Anthem. I felt patriotism for the first time.
The most horrific event on US soil that changed all of our lives and it was wrestling for me (then baseball Mike Piazza HR) that helped me heal. We will never forget but we did smile & begin to heal as a community. A wrestling community.
I know the world was different in 1995 and before 9/11/2001 social media wasnt as strong as it is. Peoples agendas weren’t pushed,
Just giving my opinion of wrestling and the entire WWE Saudi Arabia show
From my personal perspective
We never stopped something in our country when something horrible happened.
All the wrestlers that I know that went said they had a great time and the kids made it worth it.
Putting smiles on peoples faces is our job
Thank you Vince”
The 2-night event in April of 1995 was attended by over 150,000 each show. Antonio Inoki faced Ric Flair in the main event. Hawk, the Steiner Brothers, Chris Benoit, Yuji Nagata, and several others performed on the shows.
WWE First Show Since 9/11
WWE filmed an episode of Smackdown just two days after September 11th, 2001. The show was filmed in Houston and it was a decision between the mayor of Houston and Vince McMahon which is said to have determined the show would take place.
Smackdown Women’s Champion, Becky Lynch, has arguably the biggest match of her life coming up. At Survivor Series 2018, Lynch will go one-on-one with Ronda Rousey. She spent some time on Twitter recently taking a shot at one of Rousey’s former rivals, Alexa Bliss, however.
Bliss posted a note on Twitter regarding her cosplay hobby which got Lynch’s attention:
In the early days of this brand-extension back in 2016, Lynch and Bliss faced each other often on Smackdown. From August 9th, 2016 to February 21st, 2017 they met each other 10x in single’s action. They haven’t faced each other in a single’s match since. Lynch leads the series 6-4. Bliss won the Smackdown Women’s Championship twice from Lynch while Lynch successfully defended the title against her once.
They have been in 3 multi-person matches together. Lynch won 6-Pack Challenge for the inaugural title in a match which also involved Bliss at Backlash 2016. Bliss won the 2018 Money in the Bank match which also involved Lynch. The other multi-person match they were both in was another 6-Pack Challenge at WrestleMania 33 which was won by Naomi.
WWE is said to have attempted to stop Rey Mysterio from appearing on the Chris Jericho Rock N Rager at Sea. The ongoing cruise docks back into Miami tomorrow. Mysterio has been a guest on the cruise but has not competed or performed. After the cruise, Mysterio will head to Saudi Arabia to perform at Crown Jewel with WWE.
“Chris is here bringing brands together, that stuff that’s going on is embarrassing…somebody along the way is going to create another company and they won’t have to worry about that bullsh**,” Ross said on the cruise.
The following video from a Q&A session on the cruise features Jim Ross calling WWE’s attempt to stop Mysterio from going on the cruise as “embarrassing.”
Jim Ross on WWE Trying To Prevent Rey Mysterio From Appearing On Chris Jericho’s Rock N Rager At Sea
Jim Ross days after WWE tried to stop Rey Mysterio from getting on @jericho_cruise “Chris is here bringing brands together,that stuff that’s going on is embarrassing…somebody along the way is going to create another company and they won’t have to worry about that bullshit” pic.twitter.com/BL5717Dn1j
Jim Ross is no stranger to mistreatment from the WWE. He’s been fired from the company 3x already after all. Ross has made no secret of the fact that he believes members of the Elite will not be at the Madison Square Garden show in April and that things in 2019 could get interesting.
“As I said early on, the card for the Ring of Honor Madison Square Garden Show, with New Japan, will probably look entirely different then, compared to what one would assume it look like if it was booked today,” Ross said on his podcast two weeks ago. “I think there’s gonna be a lot of movement with some of the biggest stars in the game.”
Stephanie McMahon is a fan of Tennis star, Serena Williams. So much so, she’s told media outlets she wants to bring Williams into WWE.
McMahon spoke with the Sun in the UK recently and indicated the 37-year-old Williams would make a good addition to the women’s evolution in the company.
McMahon continued to talk about the changes her and her husband have brought to women’s wrestling in recent years.
“We started training our woman the same as the men and hired our first-ever female coach.”
The coach Stephanie is referring to is Sara Del Rey. Real name Sara Ann Amato, she has been coaching at the PC since 2012.
“They started given our woman the same match time and opportunity at live events, which like anything else, the more reps you do the better you become.”
“So everyone had an even playing field and it made all the difference.”
Smackdown will head to Atlanta, GA tonight. The go-home show before Friday’s Crown Jewel event will take place inside the Philips Arena.
With just days left before the scheduled WWE Championship match between Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles, there are rumors Bryan will not travel to Saudi Arabia. Similarly, John Cena’s role in the upcoming show was written out last night on Raw likely due to his refusal to participate in the event. Cena was replaced by Bobby Lashley in the WWE World Cup.
Smackdown 10/30 Preview
AJ Styles To Confront Daniel Bryan
The real story behind what Daniel Bryan says to AJ Styles tonight on Smackdown is far more interesting than the fictional one. If Bryan has said he won’t go to Saudi Arabia for Crown Jewel what does that mean for the WWE Championship match scheduled for the event? Also, what does it mean for Bryan and WWE moving forward?
In storyline, Bryan will be confronting AJ about the two tag matches the pair have lost together to the Usos. In particular, Bryan may feel AJ took an opportunity to “accidentally” nail his upcoming challengers with some pre-emptive strikes.
We will start getting some answers to those questions tonight during this segment.
Becky Lynch To Prepare For Ronda Rousey
Last night on Raw it was revealed that it will be Raw Champion vs Smackdown Champion at Survivor Series this year. That means Becky Lynch and Ronda Rousey will be facing each other in single’s competition. Lynch sent out the following in regards to Rousey’s performance yesterday:
Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs Tye Dillinger – United States Championship Match
WWE appears to be going with the same format for Survivor Series this year that they used in 2017. Brand champions will collide when Ronda Rousey takes on Becky Lynch so the winner of this match could likely take on Seth Rollins at Survivor Series.
Dillinger has had his issues with Randy Orton as of late, which could factor into things tonight. Orton does seem to show up during Nakamura’s title defenses.
The Bar vs New Day – Trick Or Street Fight
It’s Halloween so somebody is taking part in a Trick Or Street fight. One member of the New Day will take on one member of the Bar in such a match tonight. The Bar will defend their newly won Smackdown Tag Team Championships against New Day on Friday at Crown Jewel.
World Cup Preview Segment
There will be a World Cup preview segment of some kind taking place tonight. Last night on Raw, WWE announced the brackets for the tournament to determine the Best in the World.
From the Smackdown side of the brackets, Rey Mysterio will take on Randy Orton and the Miz will face Jeff Hardy.
Daniel Bryan has been removed from the scheduled Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia on Friday. The news was first reported by Robbie Fox of Barstool Sports. His absence from the show will be addressed on tonight’s Smackdown. The outlet has been reporting that both John Cena and Bryan were doubtful for the show for the last week.
Cena was officially removed from the event last night on Raw. Constable Corbin replaced him in the World Cup with Bobby Lashley, who just lost via DQ to Finn Balor.
Daniel Bryan vs AJ Styles at the WWE Performance Center?
WWE has been aware of Daniel Bryan’s unwillingness to participate in Crown Jewel since last week. According to a report at PWInsider, there were discussions for Daniel Bryan to wrestle WWE Champion AJ Styles at the Performance Center in Orlando and for that match to air during the crown Jewel broadcast. That plan never came to fruition.
Another scenario being discussed is for Bryan vs. Styles to take place at tonight’s SmackDown tapings. Rusev’s name has apparently been mentioned as a possible challenger for Styles at Crown Jewel.
Tonight’s episode of Smackdown takes place inside the Philips Arena in Atlanta, GA. In addition to the Bryan and Styles segment, Shinsuke Nakamura will face Tye Dillinger with the United States title on the line.
New Japan Pro Wrestling has released the lineups for both nights of Lion’s Break: Project 1. The shows will take place on November 10th and 11th from Anaheim’s CharaExpo USA 2018. While several big-name NJPW stars will perform, the shows are a chance for the young lions NJPW is training in California to show what they can do.
Two of NJPW’s California-based young lions, Clark Connors and Alex Coughlin, debuted at Fighting Spirit Unleashed in a dark match. Karl Fredericks will join them as another trainee of NJPW’s American dojo to perform on the shows in November. NJPW’s American dojo young lions are trained by Katsuyori Shibata.
NJPW Lion’s Break: Project 1
November 10th:
Karl Fredericks vs Alex Coughlin
Rocky Romero vs Ryusuke Taguchi
David Finlay & Jushin Liger vs ACH & Clark Connors
Hirooki Goto vs Jeff Cobb
November 11th:
ACH vs Karl Fredericks
Jushin Liger vs Clark Connors
Hirooki Goto & Rocky Romero vs Jeff Cobb & Ryusuke Taguchi
Kenny Omega vs David Finlay
Karl Fredericks is a heavyweight from Nevada. He wrestles mainly along the south-west coast although he just lost a Loser Leaves Town match at one of his home promotions, APW, indicating he might be headed to NJPW in a more full-time capacity soon.
Carl Connors is a junior-heavyweight from the north-west coast of the United States. He wrestles a lot in Oregon, California and Washington State. Little information is available on Alex Coughlin, other than he competed in a dark match at Fighting Spirit Unleashed.
Evil isn’t too intimidated about taking on Chris Jericho on Saturday. The LIJ member will be looking to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship for the second time when he takes on Jericho at Power Struggle in Osaka.
NJPW1972.com sat down with Evil for an interview recently.
“Jericho’s undeniably a big name,” Evil said. “But he’s a big name. As a wrestler he’s done. A faded superstar is still a ‘superstar’ I guess.”
EVIL on Chris Jericho
Jericho has said that by facing him, Evil will become a star. Evil disputes this, however.
“Jericho’s going round saying ‘by facing me you’ll become famous’ ‘you’ll be a star’ ‘your career will skyrocket just by sharing a ring with me’,” Evil continued. “Ok fine. Here’s what I’ll do. I’ll take everything you’ve done, all you’ve achieved, everybody you’ve beaten and use that to make you the biggest stepping stone you can imagine. And, as I step on you, I’ll plunge you into darkness!”
Evil called out Jericho not long after Jericho took the title from Tetsuya Naito at Dominion in Osaka back in June. Jericho then jumped Evil before he was able to take on Zack Sabre Jr at King of Pro Wrestling. Saturday will be Jericho’s first attempted title defense of the belt.
Shayna Baszler was seen leaving the Nassau Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum last night after Evolution. Early speculation is she suffered a sprained ankle. An injury could mean the NXT Women’s Champion might not be able to compete in 18 days at Takeover: WarGames.
Baszler’s injury was addressed today on Wrestling Observer Live.
“Shayna injured her ankle during the match,” Bryan Alvarez said. “And I don’t know the extent of it. She was at the airport this morning on crutches. She is very much downplaying it because she is Shayna Baszler and this is what MMA fighters do. But she is scheduled to be evaluated today and we will find out if it is bad enough to keep her off the Takeover show. We’ll find out but something happened to her ankle in the match last night.”
Shayna Baszler NXT Women’s Champion
Shayna Baszler defeated Kairi Sane last night at Evolution to re-gain the NXT Women’s Championship.
It was the fourth time Kairi Sane and Shayna Baszler have met in single’s competition. They are 2-2 against each other.
Kairi Sane defeated Shayna Baszler – Mae Young Classic Final 2017 (September 12th, 2017)
Shayna Bazler defeated Kairi Sane (NXT February 2nd, 2018)
The Becky Lynch vs Charlotte Flair program may have not gone how WWE intended but it is still arguably the most talked about rivalry in the company at the moment. Last night at Evolution, Lynch retained the Smackdown Women’s Championship against Charlotte in a Last Woman Standing match.
Becky Lynch vs Charlotte Flair Rivalry Statistics
Sunday was the 6th time Flair and Lynch have wrestled each other in single’s competition on WWE programming. Lynch has a 4-1-1 record against her rival. Her only loss was by way of DQ meaning Charlotte has never pinned or made Lynch tap.
Becky Lynch vs Charlotte Flair 1-on-1 Statistics:
Lynch defeated Flair (Smackdown July 18th, 2017)
Lynch defeated Flair (Smackdown, June 5th, 2018)
Title Change: Lynch defeated Flair (c) (Hell in a Cell 2018)
Flair defeated Lynch via DQ (Super Show-Down, October 6th, 2018)
Double count-out Lynch vs Flair (Smackdown October 9th, 2018)
Lynch and Flair have been in 7 multi-person matches together. Flair has won 2 and Lynch has won 1.
2017 Money in the Bank Match (Winner: Carmella)
2017 Money in the Bank Match Do-Over (Winner: Carmella)
5-Way Battleground 2017 (Winner: Natalya)
4-Way Smackdown September 19th, 2017 (Winner: Charlotte Flair)
5-Way Smackdown October 24th, 2017 (Winner: Becky Lynch)
Money in the Bank Match 2018 (Winner: Alexa Bliss)
SummerSlam 2018 Triple Threat (Winner: Charlotte Flair)
They have only been on opposing sides of a tag-team match once. That was at the 2016 Survivor Series match when Lynch was on the Smackdown team and Charlotte was on Raw. Flair’s team from Raw won the match.
Jeff Jarrett is now bald. The former AAA Mega Champion dropped a Hair vs Hair match to Rey Wagner at Heroes Immortales XII last night. The event was held in the Gimnasio Miguel Hidalgo in Puebla, Puebla, Mexico.
Blue Demon Jr. was in Rey Wagner’s corner for the match. Demon also said he wants to challenge for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in Mexico recently. He made the comments at the NWA 70th Anniversary show held on October 21st, 2018.
In response to the match result, Jarrett simply Tweeted out a quote. “You have to take risks. We will only understand the miracle of life fully when we allow the unexpected to happen.” ~ Paulo Coelho
Jeff Jarrett Loses Hair In Mexico
Jarrett returned to AAA Lucha Libre earlier this year. He is now a 2x AAA Mega Champion. Additionally, Jarrett won the Rey De Reyes tournament for the promotion in 2014. Jarrett is still continuing with his Global Force Wrestling promotion. The GFW co-promoted the NWA Anniversary show recently and has also filed a lawsuit against Impact Wrestling regarding their intellectual property.
Additionally, Jarrett was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this year. He had previously not been associated with the promotion since leaving in 2000.
Becky Lynch retained the Smackdown Women’s Championship last night at Evolution. She defeated Charlotte Flair in a Last Woman Standing match. Ronda Rousey’s victory over Nikki Bella for the Raw Women’s Championship closed the show, however. This morning, Lynch took a shot at Ronda “following” her performance later on Twitter.
If Survivor Series this year follows the same pattern as in previous years, the Raw Women’s Champion would face the Smackdown Women’s Champion on the show. There has been some speculation that this is not what will happen this year, however, at least for the women’s champions, anyway. If this is the case though, it means Becky Lynch would face Ronda Rousey at Survivor Series. Last year, Charlotte Flair defeated Alexa Bliss in the Raw vs Smackdown Women’s Champion vs Champion match.
Lynch told media this summer that she feels her armbar is actually better than Ronda’s.
“Here’s why. Her’s is of course — have you been in a straight armbar before? Very painful. Very painful, it will snap your arm,” Lynch said to In This Corner. “But from my location, I can snap your arm, and choke you out with my leg at the same time. It’s a double whammy.”
Bubba the Love Sponge is broke, selling his house, and even had to give away his dog because he could no longer afford the veterinary costs. That house, by the way, is the same one Hulk Hogan was secretly recorded in having sex with Bubba’s wife and going on a racist tirade. Hogan sued Bubba after the tape was leaked and received an undisclosed settlement in 2012. Bubba claims former employees of his leaked the tape in an effort to get him fired.
The Tampa Bay Times caught up with Bubba the Love Sponge recently and it turns out things are not going well for the infamous DJ.
What Happened To Bubba The Love Sponge?
“There’s really nothing you can say to take me down further than I already am,” Bubba said to the Tampa Bay Times.
Bubba has even admitted to needing to borrow money from his neighbor so he could get his water turned back on. Before the Hulk Hogan secret-recording scandal, Bubba was believed to be making $2 million a year in the radio business. He has also been sued by Nielson’s recently to the tune of $1 million for a rating-fixing scandal. Howard Stern has stated on his show that he believes Bubba lives in a trailer now.
“This is hard for me to admit, but … I’ve had my water turned off,” Bubba said. “I had to go to my neighbor, Richard Fabrizi, just to borrow a few hundred bucks to get it turned on.”
Bubba’s home is listed at $1.3 million and he is said to owe $47,000 in property taxes and another $200,000 to the IRS.
The full article from the Tampa Bay Times can be read here.
Tickets to WWE’s upcoming Crown Jewel show in Saudi Arabia sold out in 3 hours. The Chairman of the Saudi Sports Authority, Turk Al Alshikh, announced the news through his social media channels today.
Tickets to the event were originally supposed to go on-sale last Saturday but were delayed.
Crown Jewel will not be held in the same venue as the Greatest Royal Rumble, however. The Greatest Royal Rumble was held in King Fahd International Stadium which has a capacity listed at 70,000. That building is being renovated so instead the event was moved to King Saud University Stadium. The University Stadium’s capacity is 25,000.
Crown Jewel – November 2nd, 2018
Universal Championship (Vacant)
Brock Lesnar vs Braun Strowman
WWE Championship
AJ Styles (c) vs Daniel Bryan
WWE World Cup Tournament
John Cena
Kurt Angle
Jeff Hardy
Randy Orton
Seth Rollins
Dolph Ziggler
The Miz
Rey Mysterio
Smackdown Tag Team Championships
The Bar (c) vs New Day
Will John Cena and Daniel Bryan Be At Crown Jewel?
There are some rumors and speculation that John Cena and/or Daniel Bryan will not be at the show. There is nothing concrete available on this, however. WWE responded to the rumors by referring to their previous statement on the matter, “As always, we maintain an open line of communication with our performers, as we continue to monitor the situation.”
NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa appears to be pleased with his former tag-team partner and rival, Johnny Gargano. On NXT this week, it was revealed that Gargano was the man who attacked Aleister Black. The attack took Black out of a scheduled triple threat match for the NXT Championship against himself and Ciampa.
Not long after the episode aired this week, Ciampa released the following statement:
His statement has led some to believe a heel version of the DIY tag-team could be near. Ciampa also posted the following to his Twitter account yesterday:
Jay Lethal has now held the Ring of Honor World Championship for more combined days than anyone aside from Samoa Joe. Lethal officially moved into second place in the all-time combined days as ROH World Champion category today.
Lethal just passed Nigel McGuiness on the list. Lethal’s 546 days as ROH World Champion across two reigns surpasses McGuiness’ 545-day reign from October 6th, 2007 to April 3rd, 2009. McGuiness’ 545-day reign is second only to Samoa Joe’s 645-day reign from March 22nd, 2003 to December 26th, 2004.
Jay Lethal ROH Champion
Lethal is also 5 title defenses away from tying Nigel McGuiness and Bryan Danielson’s record of 38. He is currently in 3rd place with 33, 4 ahead of Samoa Joe who is in 4th place in this category.
In recent weeks there have been reports that Don Callis was finished with NJPW. These reports came on the heels of Callis not being called to commentate for the King of Pro Wrestling event held earlier this month. NJPW has also been auditioning other English-language commentators at the moment. “The Genius” Lanny Poffo called the two shows from Korakuen Hall this weekend.
NJPW and Callis have announced they have struck a deal to bring Callis back to Japan for multiple major shows including WrestleKingdom 13.
#njpw is excited to welcome back @CyrusOverHuge to the commentary desk for multiple upcoming events as well as Wrestle Kingdom 13!
“#njpw is excited to welcome back @CyrusOverHuge to the commentary desk for multiple upcoming events as well as Wrestle Kingdom 13! He’ll be riding shotgun with @realkevinkelly!”
Don Callis NJPW Commentary
Chris Jericho has said that Callis played a key role in bringing him into the promotion to face Kenny Omega at Wrestle Kingdom 12. Jericho posted the following to Twitter recently:
Not using @CyrusOverHuge over huge for ANY AND ALL commentary is a big mistake and just plain stupid. @njpw1972https://t.co/uJBzsCnVJK
It’s not yet clear if Callis and Kelly will be working the commentary booth for the upcoming Power Struggle show. The event takes place on November 3rd from Osaka.
Impact Wrestling debuted in a new timeslot Thursday night on POPTV. The station bumped the program back from 8 PM to 10 PM. For the first time in the show’s history, their rating dropped below 100,000 people when they topped out at 98,000. Their previous low-mark had been 161,000.
It should be noted that the importance of Impact’s POP TV deal to the overall financial health of the company is not clear. Impact is owned by Anthem Sports and Entertainment, a Canadian-based media company which also owns the Fight Network. The wrestling promotion helped Anthem secure a deal to get the Fight Network broadcast across the UK earlier this year. Other international television deals are also said to be more lucrative than the deal the company has with POP TV.
Impact Wrestling in 2018
Impact has stated the company is in a far better financial position in 2018 than they were in 2017. They’ve also recently signed Willie Mack and Jordynne Grace to 2-year deals as well as re-upping Sami Callihan to a new deal.
Former Impact World Champion, Austin Aries, is no longer under contract according to comments made on Petey Williams’ Wrestling Perspective podcast. A report from the Wrestling Observer states he is suffering from a concussion at the moment.
Impact Wrestling presented their second show from the Melrose Ballroom tapings held in the days following Bound For Glory. Johnny Impact vs Fenix for the world title was the night’s main event.
Here are 10 Takeaways from Impact Wrestling 10/25:
Killer Kross Attacked Johnny Impact In The Back
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCuwnJQPjyY
Killer Kross is a frightening individual. The final scene of Impact this week was Killer Kross standing over an unconscious Impact World Champion, Johnny Impact.
Kross then said the following to the knocked out champion, “I don’t like that word (crazy), I find it offensive because when someone calls you crazy they’re insinuating that you’re not very intelligent. In this particular circumstance, I’d call you crazy because you really believe that you can change things and you can’t because I am the change and all paths moving forward lead to damnation.” Creepy guy.
A title match was then made official between the two for the November 8th branded-edition of Impact named “Final Hour.”
Knockouts Championship Rematch Next Week
.@Tess_Blanchard insists she can beat @TheTayaValkyrie no matter the circumstance and she plans to do that in a Knockouts Championship match NEXT WEEK.
Tessa Blanchard cut a promo on Taya Valkyrie in the back. The Knockouts Champion was not happy with what Taya said last week about her using underhanded tactics in their match at Bound For Glory. Blanchard said she doesn’t need shortcuts to beat Taya and said she’d put the title on the line again next week.
The OGZ Get To Konnan Through Fenix
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QD_EuaJlKlo
Earlier in the night, King told Homicide and Hernandez he had an idea about how they can get to Konnan even though the bosses say they can’t touch him or LAX. Then after Johnny Impact and Fenix had a stellar main event match, the OGZ hit the ring and continued the attack on Fenix until Pentagon came in with a chair to make the save. It looks like King and the OGZ will look to get at Konnan by attacking his longtime allies, Pentagon and Fenix.
Allie Backs Away From Su Yung
Last week, Allie continued to attack Alisha Edwards after defeating her. This week when she attempted to prevent Su Yung from giving Kiera Hogan a Panic Switch off the entrance ramp she stopped in her tracks at only a creepy stare from Yung. Allie uncharacteristically backed away and left Hogan alone.
Yung would pin Hogan after giving her a Panic Switch moments later.
Sami Callihan’s Bat Is Ineffective Against Brian Cage
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FRXIUJUOKA
Sami Callihan defeated Trevor Lee in single’s action this week. After the match, however, Brian Cage hit the ring to attack the guy who pinned him at Bound For Glory. Callihan was ready with a bat but even that wasn’t effective against the X-Division Champion. Cage stood in the ring as Callihan and OVE backed off to close the segment.
Eddie Edwards Has Come Back For Moose
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lUbSVEcDLU
Killer Kross and Moose defeated KM and Fallah Bah this week but it’s not clear if Moose knows that or not. Eddie Edwards returned during this match and dragged Moose away. Kross then choked out Fallah Bah to end the match.
Moose and Edwards then continued to brawl throughout the backstage area and eventually onto the roof. Moose eventually locked Edwards on the roof and got away. Alisha Edwards would later berate Edwards for being out of his mind.
LAX Defend Against Matt Sydal & Ethan Page Next Week
Sydal and Page confronted LAX in the back and said they were destined for greatness. Konnan said they were consuming too much peyote and/or mushrooms. Despite this, a match between the two teams for the tag-team titles was made official for next week.
There Is A New Member Of The Desi Hit Squad
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIe0h6flNn4
The Great Gama Singh took on Rohit Raju this week. While the 63-year-old may not be as athletic as he once was he still knew to have a devious plan to get the victory. Someone who appears to be a new recruit into the Desi Hit Squad attacked Raju from behind and gave him a super gut-buster. Gama Singh then lifted Raju up and the three of them left the ring together.
Scarlett Bordeaux’s Talent Search Open To Everyone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMJfEZ9Gbnk
Scarlett Bordeaux continues to scout for talent both from the Impact roster and also from fans submitting their videos. She was watching a few of such videos in the bath this week.
Eli Drake’s Lawsuit Against Impact Continues
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwG8a1jZS9Y
Eli Drake is suing Impact Wrestling. This was revealed last week but this week Drake still decided up to do commentary for LAX’s victory over the Heavenly Bodies. Josh Mathews was critical of Drake’s lawsuit but Drake insisted he’s just one of a few to sue the company.
Quick Results:
Sami Callihan defeated Trevor Lee
LAX defeated the Heavenly Bodies
The Great Gama Singh vs Rohit Raju – no contest after interference
Killer Kross and Moose defeated KM and Fallah Bah
Su Yung defeated Kiera Hogan
Impact World Championship
Johnny Impact (c) defeated Fenix
Next Week:
Willie Mack vs Rich Swann
Impact Tag Team Championships
LAX (c) vs Matt Sydal and Ethan Page
Knockouts Championship
Tessa Blanchard (c) vs Taya Valkyrie
Sami Callihan had plenty to say on today’s Impact Wrestling Press Pass. Perhaps the most impactful statements he made, however, were in regards to the X-Division. Callihan echoed sentiment previously expressed by Brian Cage in regards to wanting to bring the title back to the prominence it once enjoyed.
Sami Callihan On The X-Division And Wrestling Kangaroos
I had the chance to ask Callihan on today’s call about what competing in the division means to him.
“I remember being a young little death machine and watching Impact and TNA PPVs back before I was even in the wrestling business,” Callihan said. “The X-division title was something I always wanted to be a part of. Now, getting a chance to actually make this division mean something again, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
Callihan then spoke about how the importance of the X-Division decreased for a period.
“The fact the X-Division Championship isn’t up to where it used to be is sad,” he continued. “And I want to be one of the people, just like I’m saving Impact Wrestling, I want to be one of the people that saves the X-Division title.”
At this point, Callihan received a text message which he felt contained some disturbing information. He learned from the text that there are roughly 40 million people worldwide and only 8 million people in Ohio. Callihan then did some surprisingly quick math to work out each person from Ohio would have to fight 5 kangaroos. He was quick to say he felt OVE vs a trio of kangaroos would do great buyrates on PPV.
https://youtu.be/1IjpPakgm9g
Sami Callihan vs Brian Cage – X-Division Championship
At Bound For Glory, Sami Callihan became the first man in Impact Wrestling to pin Brian Cage. It took a barrage of super-kicks from OVE and a Cactus Driver from Callihan to do it, however. Last week on Impact, Callihan made his intentions to challenge for the X-Division title known.
X-Division History
When TNA Wrestling debuted in 2002, many feel it was the X-Division matches which separated it from other promotions. The early X-Division was dominated by guys like AJ Styles, Low-Ki, and Jerry Lynn. Other names such as Christoper Daniels, the Amazing Red, Frankie Kazarian, and Chris Sabin would follow.
The X-Division became so popular many felt it had risen to the same level (if not greater) that the World Title. Over time the title’s importance faded, seemingly relegated to mid-card status. 2018 has seen a change in how the division has been handled, however. With names such as Brian Cage and Matt Sydal leading the charge, the division has a larger spotlight on it now than it has in years. If Sami Callihan gets his way, the title will be back to main event PPVs sooner rather than later.
The Mayor of Slamtown, Impact World Champion, and current Survivor contestant, John Hennigan, recently revealed he has heat with Triple H stemming back to a rap battle he did shortly after he left WWE.
He made the comments while on Impact Wrestling’s “Behind the Lights” show with Anthony Carelli and Alicia Atout. Hennigan’s story comes in around the 1-hour mark in the player below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9g_VpOQUaOA
John Hennigan/Johnny Impact on Rap Battle Incident
Apparently, Hennigan decided to perform both parts of a rap battle while dressed as Triple H and the Undertaker shortly after leaving WWE. He posted the video to his YouTube channel in March of 2012.
Johnny says he texted Triple H about it who gave him the OK but his feelings may have changed after the fact.
Apparently, Johnny was at a party the Miz was throwing a couple of years ago and the two got to talking about Johnny coming back to WWE. Johnny said he’d likely go back at some point but the Miz mentioned Triple H has mentioned this rap battle on a couple of occasions.
“Miz goes, ‘Oh, you know what? Hunter keeps bringing up that battle rap video,’” Johnny said. “He goes like, ‘Didn’t Morrison do some weird battle rap video where he’s burying me and ‘Taker?’ And until I heard that, I didn’t think it was even a thing. I would’ve thought he would’ve been too busy to even realize that.”
Impact Wrestling presents their second episode since Bound For Glory tonight. Already scheduled for tonight’s show will be Johnny Impact defending the Impact World Championship for the first time against Fenix.
Impact Wrestling 10/25 Preview
Impact World Championship
Johnny Impact (c) vs Fenix
Last week on Impact Wrestling, Johnny Impact said he would be a fighting champion. That brought out Fenix who said he wanted a title shot. Impact agreed and the match was made official for tonight.
Killer Kross & Moose vs KM & Fallah Bah
Austin Aries might be gone but Killer Kross and Moose aren’t slowing down their path of destruction. The team recently named “Money & Violence” will take on KM and Fallah Bah tonight. Remember it was Moose and Kross who assaulted KM and Fallah Bah back in Toronto at the tapings following Bound For Glory. They will be looking for a little revenge for that tonight.
Tessa Blanchard Replies To Taya Valkyrie
Last week on Impact Wrestling, Taya Valkyrie said she no longer respected Tessa. Valkyrie had just defeated Katarina when she made the comments in a post-match interview. She is upset that Tessa dragged the ring apron into the ring moments before Taya gave her the Road to Valhalla. The referee was momentarily out of position, which allowed Blanchard to get a shoulder up just before the 3-count. Blanchard then hit Taya with a Buzzsaw DDT, which Taya kicked out from, making her the first in Impact to do so. She then debuted a new move, however, a top-rope codebreaker she calls Magnum. After hitting Magnum on Taya, Blanchard got the pin and retained her title.
Tonight, Tessa Blanchard will respond to Taya’s comments from last week.
Su Yung vs Kiera Hogan
Su Yung locked Kiera Hogan in a coffin before Bound For Glory. Allie had to travel to the Undead realm to rescue her. When Su Yung locked Madison Rayne in a coffin, however, she just went to Ring of Honor. Regardless, Hogan will get a chance for revenge tonight but the real question might be how Allie reacts to all of this. Allie showed a new vicious side last week when she continued to attack Alisha Edwards even after defeating her single’s competition. We might find out more about Allie’s condition tonight.
The Great Gama Singh vs Rohit Raju
Arguably the biggest heel in the history of the Hart Family’s Stampede Wrestling promotion, the Great Gama Singh returns to in-ring action tonight. The 63-year-old will face his pupil, Rohit Raju tonight. Singh has said it will be Raju’s final test.
Raju defeated Gursindher Singh in a loser-leaves-the Desi Hit Squad match last week.
Tom Lawlor and other members of the MLW roster were in Chicago yesterday to promote MLW: Fightland on November 8th. The event will be held in Chicago’s Cicero Stadium.
Lawlor confronted MLW Champion, Low-Ki, during a backstage promo but was then attacked from behind by Sami Callihan. The incident was caught on camera and posted by TMZ.
MLW Fightland
The promotion also announced Brian Pillman Jr. of the new Hart Foundation will face Tommy Dreamer at MLW: Fightland. Rush will also make his MLW debut against Sammy Guevara on the show.
No DQ
PCO vs Brody King
MLW Tag Team Championships
Fenix & Pentagon Jr. (c) vs LA Park & El Hijo de LA Park
Tommy Dreamer vs Brian Pillman Jr.
Rush vs. Sammy Guevara
Size Matters (Joey Ryan & Swoggle) vs The Dirty Blondes
MLW Fightland will be filmed for future episodes of MLW Fusion. The promotion’s weekly show airs Friday nights on BeIN Sports. Full episodes are released on their YouTube channel at 6 PM every Saturday.
Following their Chicago show next month, MLW’s December tapings will be held in Miami. Their Miami Fusion tapings will be held over a 2-day period and travel packages are available for fans wishing to attend the shows as part of a winter vacation to Florida.
WWE will be going to Saudi Arabia on November 2nd for Crown Jewel. The company released their 3rd Quarter Earnings report today and confirmed they will be following through with their contractual commitment to the event.
The company addressed the situation on the 1st page of the report:
“WWE has operated in the Middle East for nearly 20 years and has developed a sizable and dedicated fan base. Considering the heinous crime committed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, the Company faced a very difficult decision as it relates to its event scheduled for November 2 in Riyadh. Similar to other U.S.-based companies who plan to continue operations in Saudi Arabia, the Company has decided to uphold its contractual obligations to the General Sports Authority and stage the event. Full year 2018 guidance is predicated on the staging of the Riyadh event as scheduled.”
He was once one of the leaders of the Bullet Club, but now Cody is talking about the faction like it’s a fond memory in his rear view mirror. In response to a fan asking who he’d like to see join the Bullet Club, Cody said the faction is “all Jay’s thing now” [Jay White] and that he loved being a part of it.
The Bullet Club is all Jay’s thing now. Loved being part of it! Met some good folks. https://t.co/lEn7E8X4af
The Young Bucks, Hangman Page, and Cody have all announced their newest Bullet Club t-shirts will be their last. Cody also posted the following Tweet in reference to his team with Hangman Page being listed as Bullet Club.
These developments come just days after Cody posted a lengthy message on Instagram addressing his future. In that message, he referenced finishing up with Ring of Honor and looking forward to the next chapter of his career in pro wrestling.
Bullet Club vs The Elite
In NJPW, members of the Elite are still introduced as representing “Bullet Club Elite”. There is speculation the Elite could leave NJPW when their contracts are up (minus Marty Scurll) at the end of the year, however.
Although the Young Bucks are not Bullet Club originals, they joined the faction not long after its inception. They had been a part of Bullet Club their entire NJPW careers going back to 2013.
Jay White doesn’t consider the members of Elite as Bullet Club. He had the following to say after joining the faction.
“Inevitable. One word, inevitable,” White said. “I met Bad Luck Fale in London in 2014. Since then it’s been inevitable that I would end up here with these boys. Not the BC Elite, what is that rip-off sh**? Original Bullet Club taking it back to what started it. Get used to these faces, we’re taking over!”