Tickets to WWE’s Crown Jewel event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia were supposed to go on sale on October 19th. It seems ticket sales have been indefinitely postponed to the event. Advertisements now state tickets will go on sale November 2nd, the same day the event is set to take place. It is not clear if an earlier on-sale date will be announced.
Many are speculating the reason tickets didn’t go on sale as planned could be related to recent events surrounding the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi of the Washington Post. The Saudi government admitted responsibility for the death of Khashoggi yesterday.
Crown Jewel Controversy
In the last week, the controversy surrounding the Saudi Arabia-WWE deal has been covered by the mainstream media. JBL and Randy Orton both made public statements recently in support of the event.
JBL was on Fox Business recently and explained his position on why WWE should follow through with the show.
“My personal opinion is that they should go (to Saudi Arabia),” stated JBL. “Look at what we did with Cuba. You isolate a country all you do is impoverish that country. You want to promote change? WWE went to Abu Dhabi, did the first women’s match that had ever happened in the Middle East. The crowd was chanting, in English, ‘This is Change’.”
Matt Hardy debuted on WWE programming when he was just 19-years-old in 1994. Now close to a quarter-century later, Hardy has moved his career behind the camera. Not only is the 44-year-old working as an agent, but he’s also filmed a Halloween special for the WWE Network. There is also speculation the special will serve as a pilot for a more regularly airing show.
According to a report from WWE Network News, the House of Hardy Halloween Special will begin airing on the network Sunday, October 28th, 2018 directly after the upcoming WWE Evolution Pay-per-view.
House of Hardy Halloween Special
Over the last few weeks, Hardy has been dropping hints regarding the special through social media. He Tweeted out a photo from the set after the crew had wrapped filming for the special.
Hardy returned to WWE in 2017 after creating a buzz around him and his brother’s Woken gimmicks. After leaving TNA Wrestling, however, the old-new management team would not allow the brothers to continue portraying the gimmicks. They could not bring the Broken Universe to either Ring of Honor or WWE. After Don Callis was named to the Impact Wrestling management team, the company reversed its stance, however. Now, Impact allows talent to continue performing as characters developed through their programming.
Impact Wrestling aired their first episode since Bound For Glory last night. For the next 4 weeks the Impact will take place inside New York’s Melrose Ballroom.
Here are 9 Takeaways From Impact Wrestling 10/18:
Fenix To Challenge For Impact World Championship Next Week
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExgKZhn5VUo
Johnny Impact kicked off this week’s episode with an in-ring promo. He said he will be a fighting champion and then threw some shade on Austin Aries for having been the opposite. Impact also said if he felt someone deserves a title shot, he will give one to them. This brought out Fenix who said he wanted a shot at the title. That title match was then made official for next week.
Sami Callihan Wants A Shot At The X-Division Championship
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odg2NQ1acxE
X-Division Championship Brian Cage (c) defeated Rich Swann
Brian Cage defended his title this week against Rich Swann in the main event. After finishing off his challenger with Weapon-X, Sami Callihan hit the ring. Callihan made it clear he wants a shot at Cage’s title next. The Draw became the first person to pin Cage at Bound For Glory on Sunday, albeit it took a barrage of super-kicks from 3 wrestlers and Callihan’s Cactus Driver to do it.
On Sunday, champion and challenger each kicked out of the other’s signature finishing moves. In Tessa’s case, however, the referee was momentarily out of position putting away the ring apron which she had dragged into the ring. The question is then would Valkyrie have won if Tessa hadn’t of brought the ring apron into play? Valkyrie kicked out of Blanchard’s Buzzsaw DDT but was then unable to kick out after a top-rope codebreaker (Magnum – named after her step-father, Magnum TA), allowing Blanchard to retain.
After defeating Katarina this week, Valkyrie said she was not impressed with the champion’s tactics at the PPV, referring to bringing the ring apron in to buy time. Lucha Royalty continued to say she has lost her respect for Tessa Blanchard.
“I’m just more disappointed more than anything,” Valkyrie said after her match with Katarina. “I really respected Tessa and after that, I don’t.”
Allie’s Fine, Totally Fine. Don’t Even Worry About It
Allie defeated Alisha Edwards
Despite having descended into the Undead realm on Sunday, Allie’s fine, don’t even worry about it. That was what she told Kiera Hogan earlier in the show. She defeated Alisha Edwards this week but it’s clear her experience in the underworld has left her unhinged or possibly even possessed. Allie was adamant on Sunday that she and Hogan had to go back for Rosemary.
She began slapping herself in the face near the end of the match. She finished Edwards off with a codebreaker shortly after. Allie then continued to beat down Edwards after the match, choking her until Kiera Hogan brought her back to her senses.
Killer Kross And Moose Have Taken Out Their Competition
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecSpkIKRZC0
Killer Kross defeated Tommy Dreamer via referee stoppage
Austin Aries may be gone but his two henchmen are still running rampant over the Impact Wrestling roster. They may have lost to Edwards and Dreamer at the PPV, they won the war by taking out Edwards after the match. They delivered a beatdown to Tommy Dreamer this week. Kross defeated Dreamer in single’s action via referee stoppage after 2 Doomsday Saito suplexes. Moose and Kross again kept up the attack after the match.
With Edwards and Dreamer out of the way, Moose and Killer Kross have an open road ahead of them.
The Great Gama Singh Returns To The Ring Next Week
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6X8ReWGJuCI
The Great Gama Singh hasn’t wrestled since some reunion shows in Alberta in 2006-07 and also in Puerto Rico around the same time. Backstage this week, Singh told Rohit Raju he would have to face him next week in Rohit’s final test. Raju defeated Gursinder Singh last week in a match where the loser had to leave the Desi Hit Squad and go back to India.
The OGZ Still Have A Piece Of New York
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSPcDHGsAi8
After losing the Concrete Jungle Deathmatch at Bound For Glory, the OGZ met with the family bosses. King told Konnan the bosses were kind enough to allow them to keep a piece of New York provided they stay on their side and leave LAX alone. Then they left. So, I guess this means King and the OGZ are still around but they can’t do anything to mess with LAX, for a while at least, anyway.
Ethan Page and His 3rd Eye Pick Up A Victory
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkMR8u3Q8QA
Ethan Page defeated Trevor Lee
Page and Sydal lost at Bound For Glory but that’s ok because as the Buddha teaches, life is suffering. That was how Sydal told Page to think about it, at least. They got back into the win column this week when Page defeated Trevor Lee in single’s action.
Jordynne Grace Is On Her Way To Impact Wrestling
Josh Mathews mentioned the news that Impact signed Jordynne Grace to a contract. Grace competed in the Battle Royal at All In. With the nickname “Thick Mama Pump”, Grace is a powerhouse who has won over fans across the independent scene.
Check out Grace in this free match from Smash Wrestling’s Northern tournament held this summer. Grace takes on Joey Janela in the tournament’s 1st round:
Quick Results:
Taya Valkyrie defeated Katarina
Ethan Page defeated Trevor Lee
Killer Kross via referee stoppage
Allie defeated Alisha Edwards
X-Division Championship
Brian Cage (c) defeated Rich Swann
As WWE gets closer to Crown Jewel on November 2nd, they will further the build to DX vs the Brothers of Destruction on Monday. According to a recent report from PW Insider, there are plans for Shawn Michaels to be on Monday Night Raw next week.
Monday Night Raw this week will be held in the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island.
Shawn Michaels On Raw This Week
Shawn Michaels’ last match in WWE was a loss to the Undertaker at WrestleMania 26. Now, 8.5 years later, it’s looking as though HBK will be coming out of retirement. In storyline, the justification appears to be that it is the man who retired HBK who is calling for him to come back. In reality, the Saudi Arabia deal makes it possible for Michaels to earn more in one night than he’d previously been able to do.
The last time Shawn Micheals and Triple H teamed up as part of D-X was just two weeks before WrestleMania 26, aka the end of Shawn’s career. HBK and Triple H teamed up with John Cena on the March 14th, 2010 house. They defeated the team of Jack Swagger, Sheamus, and Batista. Michaels’ last match on Monday Night Raw was a win over Kane in a No DQ match.
From October 2017 to October 2018, Billy Corgan has turned the NWA from a nearly dead brand to one with renewed relevance. He expects the next year to be just as monumental as this last one.
Corgan’s NWA will run their first branded event on Sunday from the Nashville Fairgrounds. The NWA 70th Anniversary will be main event’ed by the NWA World Heavyweight Championship rematch between Cody and Nick Aldis.
Corgan sat down with the Ringer to give his thoughts on where his promotion is going.
Billy Corgan on the NWA in 1-Year
Because of Corgan’s financial independence, he’s in a good position to take his product where he believes it should go.
“I don’t need anybody’s financing, I don’t need anybody’s TV network. I can operate on my own and do exactly as I please. And so that gives me sort of a different ability on a street level to pursue what I think is the coming market,” Corgan stated.
Corgan also mentioned at some point the person who dictates where wrestling is going is going to be the person who is writing the cheques.
“The question is as simple as this: This alternate kind of universe, this 24/7 collection of disparate forces that now exist, non-WWE in the world, they are going to come together at some point. Because the market will dictate it. Cody and the Bucks have already proven that that’s there. And I feel pretty strongly in saying that I think everybody in the business, including WWE, is aware that that’s coming. The question is, who’s going to write the check to decide which direction it’s going to go in?”
WWE’s all-female PPV, Evolution, takes place in Long Island on October 28th, 2018. Up until recently, ticket sales had not thought to be going well.
According to a recent report from the Wrestling Observer, however, sales spiked after WWE announced Ronda Rousey vs Nikki Bella would headline the event.
“The announcement of Rousey vs. Nikki Bella last week did lead to a surge in ticket sales for the Nassau Coliseum show and it is expected to sell out,” wrote Dave Meltzer.
Ronda Rousey vs Nikki Bella at WWE Evolution
WWE originally had announced Alexa Bliss vs Trish Stratus and Mickie James vs Lita for Evolution. Those two matches were later changed to single’s matches, however. The company was not able to announce Rousey vs Nikki until after Super Show-Down and Nikki’s heel turn. Some speculation holds that WWE announced the two single’s matches originally in an effort to boost ticket sales. Then, after they were able to announce Rousey vs Nikki Bella, WWE produced the angle where the legends matches were combined into one tag-team match.
In addition to Rousey vs Nikki and the legends matches, the NXT, Smackdown, and Raw Womens’ Championships will be defended on the show. Evolution will take place October 28th from Uniondale, New York.
Alexa Bliss has been out of action since Hell in a Cell. After losing a match to Ronda Rousey, Bliss began complaining of numbness in her arm. It’s not clear if that was her actual injury or whether it was to sell Rousey’s armbar, however.
According to a recent report from the Wrestling Observer, Bliss will be back in action this weekend at house shows.
“Bliss is scheduled back on the road for the house shows this weekend,” wrote Dave Meltzer. “She hasn’t wrestled since the Rousey match at Hell in a Cell on 9/16 due to an injury that had caused numbness in her arm.”
Alexa Bliss At Evolution
Bliss’ return to the lineup comes just in time for her program at Evolution. Bliss is scheduled to team with Mickie James to go up against Lita and Trish Stratus. The match was originally announced as two separate single’s contests but was later changed.
Lita recently spoke to UpRoxx regarding the all-female PPV and how she found out she’d be on it.
“We were told a while ago that there was going to be an all-women pay-per-view and they were still getting it together, but they asked if I’d be interested in being a part of it in some capacity – and I told them to count me in. That’s pretty much all the conversation was. I didn’t know if I’d be doing commentary or even just being invited to attend to support the women. And then I found out when you all did that Mickie James would be my opponent and I would not just be a part of Evolution but I’d actually be in the ring. That’s when you just hold your breath and go with it.”
Impact Wrestling will air their first show since Bound For Glory tonight. This episode will also kick-off the first from the Melrose Ballroom tapings held Monday and Tuesday this week.
Johnny Impact World Championship Address
Johnny Impact defeated Austin Aries at Bound For Glory. While the post-match antics of Austin Aries may have dominated headlines, Johnny’s title reign is will be on center stage tonight. We’ll find out what Impact has to say about his championship win tonight.
X-Division Championship
Brian Cage (c) vs Rich Swann
Rich Swann has been one of the X-Division’s most consistent stars this last year. He also pinned former X-Division Champion, Matt Sydal, at Bound For Glory. Tonight, he has a chance to earn the title but he’ll have to go through Brian Cage to do so.
As for Cage, he suffered his first pinfall loss at Bound For Glory in trios action. Sami Callihan and OVE may not be finished with the Machine, however.
Allie vs Alisha Edwards
With the help of Rosemary and some black magic sorcery, Allie was able to escape the Undead Realm with Kiera Hogan at Bound For Glory. Allie seems shook up by what happened on Sunday, however. She didn’t seem comfortable leaving Rosemary in the Undead World with Su Yung. Anyway, she’ll go up against Alisha Edwards tonight.
LAX Celebration
LAX won the Concrete Jungle Death Match at Bound For Glory. They will hold a celebration for that tonight. The last time LAX held a big celebration a child got run over by a car. They might try to be more careful tonight, however.
Those Impact Tag Team Championships haven’t been defended in a while. We could hear more about what happens next with them tonight.
Scarlett Bordeaux’s Open Talent Search
Scarlett Bordeaux is searching for someone to be her full-time client. She’s opening up her talent search tonight. Allowing anyone to demonstrate to her why she should dedicate her services to them.
Ethan Page vs Trevor Lee
Ethan Page is now under the mentorship of Matt Sydal. He’ll have a chance to show how in-tune with his 3rd eye he is when he takes on a former X-Division champion in Trevor Lee tonight.
According to multiple reports, wrestling legend Dick Slater has passed away at 67 years-old. The National Wrestling Alliance paid tribute to Slater through their social media channels:
The National Wrestling Alliance sends its deepest sympathies and condolences to the family, friends and fans of Dick Slater.
As tough as they come. A decorated champion of the @NWA across every territory he wrestled including being United States, Mid-Atlantic and TV champion. pic.twitter.com/dqHlLqnOJx
“The National Wrestling Alliance sends its deepest sympathies and condolences to the family, friends and fans of Dick Slater. As tough as they come. A decorated champion of the @NWA across every territory he wrestled including being United States, Mid-Atlantic and TV champion.”
Tommy Dreamer also sent out the following:
Dirty Dick Slater was an awesome wrestler Champion in many territories I wrestled him for 22mins & he never said 1 word to me Accept good job kid RIP pic.twitter.com/N2kgziol0u
“Dirty Dick Slater was an awesome wrestler Champion in many territories I wrestled him for 22mins & he never said 1 word to me Accept good job kid RIP”
Dick Slater Wrestling Achievements
Slater wrestled professionally from 1972 to 1996. He finished up his career wrestling in WCW. Throughout his run in the territory system, Slater won numerous NWA championships. He is a 4x Georgia Heavyweight Champion, 2x NWA Macon Heavyweight Champion, 1x NWA United States Champion, 1x NWA Mid-Atlantic Champion, 2x NWA TV Champion, 2x NWA Florida Heavyweight Champion, and a former NWA Brass Knuckles Champion.
Slater and Dusty Rhodes were a team briefly. They won the NWA Florida Tag-Team Championships once as well. Slater would win the same tag-team titles along with 3 other partners too.
Sad to hear that Dick Slater passed away this morning at age 67. One hell of a worker, and promo man. Go with God my friend.?
Sami Callihan became the first man in Impact Wrestling to pin Brian Cage on Sunday at Bound For Glory. According to a recent report from PW Insider, Callihan has also come to terms on a new contract with Impact Wrestling.
Impact Wrestling contracts allow talent to work for other promotions provided they make Impact TV tapings their first priority. Callihan also competes regularly for promotions such as MLW and Lucha Underground.
Other Impact Wrestling talent also frequently appear on MLW and Lucha Underground as well. Additionally, Tessa Blanchard is primed to become the face of the WOW promotion next year. The all-female promotion debuts on AXS this January.
Sami Callihan in Impact Wrestling
Sunday at Bound For Glory, Callihan and OVE teamed up against Brian Cage and the Lucha Brothers. After his trio had taken out Pentagon and Fenix, they triple-teamed Cage. After a barrage of super-kicks, Callihan gave Cage his Cactus Driver and pinned him. Previously, nobody in Impact had pinned or submitted Cage.
This could set-up a future X-Division Championship match between Brian Cage and Sami Callihan.
Callihan is approaching his 1-year anniversary with Impact. He debuted in November last year along with Dave and Jake Crist, entering into a rivalry with LAX.
Kevin Owens underwent knee surgery recently and it looks like the former Universal Champion will be out of action longer than expected. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer, Owens isn’t expected back until February or March.
“Kevin Owens had double knee surgery,” Dave Meltzer said. “The damage in his left knee was worse than expected but they’re hopeful late February – early March return. So, that’s sort of the timetable for what it is. He didn’t have full-blown reconstructive surgery on either knee but it was serious in the left knee especially.”
Owens underwent knee surgery in 2015 and 2017 as well.
Kevin Owens Injury
The current timetable for Owens’ return is just before WrestleMania. He’ll have little time to build up a program, however. Owen’s best friend, Sami Zayn, is expected back in WWE around the same time as Owens. Zayn had surgery on both his shoulders recently and has been out of action since the summer. He spoke with Sports Illustrated regarding his injury:
“I was apprehensive [at WWE Money in the Bank], but it was still manageable,” Zayn said. “It’s just so weird how you get so used to what we do: I could go in there and wrestle main events on Live Events for 25-30 minutes, but I couldn’t really get the sheets off me in bed. It’s weird how that works. Your body just adapts. And I guess my body’s used to being in the ring and that kind of punishment.”
John Hennigan is having a terrific year. The current Impact Wrestling World Champion competes regularly for both Lucha Underground and Impact and is also a contestant on this season of the hit reality TV show “Survivor”.
According to Hennigan, giving out scoops on Survivor is a far riskier proposition than doing so for pro-wrestling.
“Nobody gets Survivor scoops!” Hennigan said to Fightful recently. “There are some pretty iron-clad NDAs (non-disclosure agreements). I think you have to chop off your left arm if you give away a secret (laughs). They don’t mess around at all. Hunting for Survivor scoops would be a very tough job.”
John Hennigan On Survivor
Hennigan’s season of Survivor pits “Davids” against “Goliaths”. He spoke to Fightful regarding his experience filming the show.
“I cleared my schedule and everyone was supportive, and seemed pretty happy I was doing something. There’s a lot of people who watch Survivor and a lot of Survivor fans — that’s certainly true about the Impact office. Every time I come to work and everyone’s asking me what happened and I can’t say anything. It’s cool to be a part of something like Survivor, that’s a mainstay of pop culture. It’s good to be on the other side and get to experience it.”
WWE will present 4 previously unaired television programs today. At 3 PM est, the NXT UK brand will debut on the network. At 7 PM est, the WWE Network will air 205 Live, NXT, and the next episode of the Mae Young Classic.
Here are the matches and segments airing on the Network today:
NXT UK Brand:
United Kingdom Championship
Pete Dunne (c) vs Noam Dar
The United Kingdom title will be defended tonight on NXT UK. Pete Dunne will look to keep his 500 day plus title reign going when he faces Noam Dar.
Toni Storm vs Nina Samuels
The NXT UK brand’s women’s division kicks off with two stars destined to become a bit part of the brand.
Mark Andrews vs Joe Coffey
Joe and Mark Coffey cost Andrews a match during the second UK title tournament and now he’s out for revenge.
Dave Mastiff vs Sid Scala
Big Dave Mastiff looks to make an impact tonight when he takes on Sid Scala.
205 Live:
Akira Tozawa vs Drew Gulak
Drew Gulak recently kicked Brian Kendrick out of his small faction. Tonight he’ll take on a former Cruiserweight Champion in Tozawa. Gulak’s other ally, Jack Gallagher, lost to Tozawa in single’s action recently as well.
Why Did Mike Kanellis Attack Lince Dorado?
Mike and Maria Kanellis showed up on 205 Live last week and cost Dorado a match against Lio Rush. We’ll hear why Mike and Maria did what they did this week.
NXT:
NXT Tag Team Championships
The Undisputed Era (c) vs War Raiders
Hanson and Rowe will have a chance to win NXT gold tonight when they take on Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong.
Nikki Cross vs Bianca Belair
The last time these two met it was a double count-out after a tense match-up. Cross had been lobbying William Regal for a rematch and she gets her wish tonight.
Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan In Tag Action
Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan will team up tonight. Their opponents haven’t been announced.
Shayna Baszler In Single’s Action
Shayna Baszler will also be in single’s action tonight. Her opponent has not been named either.
Mae Young Classic:
4 quarter-final matches will take place tonight. Each winning Superstar will earn entry into the tournament’s semi-finals.
In New Japan Pro Wrestling, a new Bullet Club has formed. Jay White, Gedo, and Jado recently joined the Tongans side of the faction. At the same time, members of “the Elite” are stating they will not be putting out any further Bullet Club style T-shirts past the ones they just released.
Tama Tonga seems convinced it was members of the Elite who made comments to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter running down the promotion’s new management. He also seems convinced the Elite are on their way to WWE when their contracts expire at the end of the year.
Tama Tonga Warns Finn Balor About the Elite
It was Tama Tonga’s birthday yesterday. Fellow original Bullet Club members Karl Anderson and Finn Balor each wished him a happy birthday. Tonga then commented there might be some “OG Business” heading their way.
Much love OG senpai. Might need you to handle some OGBC business if it goes unsettled over here ??? https://t.co/brZhlr8hCV
As with some other storylines currently playing out in wrestling, it’s not clear if this is real or not. The Elite and Bullet Club are feuding in storyline but much of what has been said online seems to go beyond what is showcased on NJPW programming.
Tonga alleges it was members of the Elite who spoke anonymously to media in regards to the company.
Lol no no no you’re fine, You know I love me a little competition…just don’t run to your boyfriend Dave Meltzer crying about how it’s not fun anymore……Bitch.. ? oops https://t.co/gn2mo2vKGO
Riki Paul Johnson has filed a lawsuit for defamation against his former wife, Charlotte Flair. The couple was married between 2010 and 2011. Johnson alleges that comments made by Flair in her book “Second Nature” about him are untrue and have had a negative impact on him and his family.
The lawsuit alleges that Flair’s book states Johnson is sterile, a claim he denies. Johnson also claims the book contains “multiple false allegations physical and/or psychological abuse.”
He is also disputing parts of the book stating he lost 2 jobs due to illicit drug use. The lawsuit is seeking $5 Million in damages. The lawsuit contends that Johnson was made to look bad in order to showcase Flair as a “victim who overcame personal adversity and domestic abuse.”
Neither Ric nor Charlotte Flair has commented on the lawsuit.
Charlotte and Ric Flair’s “Second Nature”
Ric and Charlotte Flair released “Second Nature” together last year.
“Charlotte grew up in the shadow of her famous father, “the dirtiest player in the game,“ but now she is poised to take the Flair name to new heights,” an intro to the book states. “As the inaugural WWE Women’s Champion, Charlotte has had an impressive career, and she’s just getting started. With the (dare we say it) flair of the “Nature Boy“ running through her blood, Charlotte is destined for greatness. Find out how she embraced her heritage and battled her own challenges through her rise to the top of WWE. For these two Champions, sports entertainment is simply SECOND NATURE.”
John Bradshaw Layfield recently appeared on Fox News to discuss the controversy surrounding WWE’s planned Crown Jewel event. The former WWE Champion didn’t mince words, stating his belief WWE needs to follow through with the planned event as scheduled.
“My personal opinion is that they should go (to Saudi Arabia),” stated JBL. “Look at what we did with Cuba. You isolate a country all you do is impoverish that country. You want to promote change? WWE went to Abu Dhabi, did the first women’s match that had ever happened in the Middle East. The crowd was chanting, in English, ‘This is Change’.”
He continued to blame the Senators for trying to improve their approval ratings.
WWE’s planned Crown Jewel event is scheduled for November 3rd in Saudi Arabia. Recently several US Senators have spoken out regarding the event.
“I would hope that WWE will recognize on its own a conscience and conviction if there is proof that Saudi officials approved and ordered this kind of killing, and I would lean first on the United States government to do its duty so that it can lead private interests like WWE, and the first place to look is to the United States of America,” stated Senator Richard Blumenthal recently.
Posted October 16th, 2018 in WWE, News. Tagged: JBL.
Several members of the Smackdown Live Women’s division responded in interesting fashion to news of the battle royal at Evolution. The match was added to the upcoming all-women PPV last night during Raw.
WWE tagged each confirmed participant of the battle royal on Twitter last night. Several of the competitors then responded to the news. They don’t seem that impressed.
Former Smackdown Women’s Champion, Carmella, also responded with a reaction GIF. She didn’t respond in the actual thread, however, but she did post the following:
The Iiconics didn’t respond in the WWE thread about the match either but their recent social media activity seems to have a similar theme to Lana, Carmella, and Naomi.
In addition to the battle royal, WWE Evolution will feature Ronda Rousey defending her championship against Nikkie Bella. Becky Lynch will also face Charlotte Flair in a Last Woman Standing match.
Tonight’s episode of Smackdown will be the 1000th to air in the show’s history. As such, WWE has planned a night of returns, reunions, and high-profile matches.
Smackdown 1000 Preview
WWE World Cup Qualifying Match
Rey Mysterio vs Shinsuke Nakamura
Rey Mysterio will return to WWE tonight. He’ll face Shinsuke Nakamura with the winner earning a spot in the WWE World Cup (to determine the best in the world.) It will be Mysterio’s first match on Smackdown since 2014.
The Undertaker At Smackdown 1000
The Undertaker has been confirmed for Smackdown 1000. While the Dead Man isn’t wrestling in a match, he’ll likely have plenty to say regarding his upcoming match with Kane against HBK and Triple H at Crown Jewel.
Evolution Reunites
Evolution was primarily a Raw brand faction but they’ll be celebrating Smackdown 1000 tonight as well. Both Randy Orton and Triple H have matches upcoming at Crown Jewel, with Orton having qualified for the World Cup last week and Triple H teaming with HBK to face the Brothers of Destruction.
It will be a coming home for Batista, as tonight’s episode is also taking place in his hometown of Washington, DC. The Guardians of the Galaxy star has openly said he’d like to return for another run with the company.
WWE World Cup Qualifying Match
Rusev vs the Miz
The Miz will take on Rusev in another World Cup Qualifying match tonight. Rusev might want to look over his shoulder to see if his rival, Aiden English is watching the match. Meanwhile, the Miz has stated he gets next crack at the WWE Championship no matter who wins at Crown Jewel between Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles.
Yesterday, it was revealed that several WWE Superstars spoke to the media regarding Crown Jewel. These Superstars, speaking on the condition of anonymity, suggested to Sports Illustrated they are uncomfortable performing on the show. WWE has now reached out to the media to give a statement on the matter.
“As always, we maintain an open line of communication with our performers as we continue to monitor the situation,” WWE stated to the New York Post.
WWE Crown Jewel Controversy
The ongoing situation was covered by HBO’s “Last Week Tonight” on Sunday. Host John Oliver commented on both the upcoming event and WWE’s Greatest Royal Rumble event held back in April.
“Audiences around the world were treated to wall-to-wall propaganda about the new Saudi Arabia,” Oliver said. “Including a video showing women happily driving, men dancing, and tourist-destination beauty shops, as well as constant excited compliments throughout the broadcast.”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal made the following statements to media recently as well:
“I would hope that WWE will recognize on its own a conscience and conviction if there is proof that Saudi officials approved and ordered this kind of killing, and I would lean first on the United States government to do its duty so that it can lead private interests like WWE, and the first place to look is to the United States of America.”
The leader of Los InGobernables will make his Major League Wrestling debut next month. The match will take place on November 8th in Chicago’s Cicero Stadium. Rush will take on Sammy Guevara at MLW: Fightland.
“Arena Mexico’s greatest sensation Rush will finally arrive in what should be a fantastic fight as he takes on the talented Guevara, who himself is an accomplished luchador having won championship gold in Mexico and beyond,” an MLW press release reads.
Rush’s Los InGobernables won the Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s award for the best gimmick in 2017.
“A known brawler, the charismatic Rush will look to showcase his talents against the Houston high flyer Guevara. If Guevara can shutdown Rush in his debut, the impact will be felt all the way to Mexico City. No stranger to high-pressure matches, Rush has promised to show Chicago what the founder of Los Ingobernables is all about at Cicero Stadium.”
It’s been a huge year for MLW. The recently re-launched promotion already has a television deal with BeIn Sports for Friday nights. They also post full episodes to their YouTube channel every Saturday.
“Both men represent MLW’s reloaded roster as the league looks to 2019 and beyond with some key fresh match-ups. This is the first of many exciting encounters you can expect from both in MLW.”
Impact Wrestling is ‘coming home’ for its next pay-per-view event.
Impact Wrestling: Home Coming will take place on January 6th, 2019. The show will emanate from the former ‘TNA Asylum’ at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds in Nashville, TN.
The TNA Asylum is the venue the promotion held many of their big events from their early years. The promotion’s first venue was the Martin Van Buren Arena in Huntsville, Alabama. In the summer of 2002, Impact moved most of their events to the Asylum, however.
Most of these shows are available on the Global Wrestling Network, which also features promotions such as World Series Wrestling, Destiny, Smash, and now Championship Wrestling From Hollywood as well.
The TNA Asylum is the nickname given to the Tennessee State Fairgrounds in Nashville. The company was founded in the city by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett. TNA was originally part of the National Wrestling Alliance now owned by Billy Corgan. Their first recognized World Champion was Ken Shamrock, who won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at TNA’s first-ever weekly PPV.
The genesis of the promotion was evidently a fishing trip taken by WCW’s Bob Ryder, Jeff Jarrett and his father Jerry. WCW and ECW had just closed and at the time there was only one wrestling promotion on television.
John Oliver made some critical comments regarding WWE’s involvement with the Saudi Royal Family last night. Oliver hosts “Last Week Tonight” on HBO.
Before launching into his commentary regarding Crown Jewel, however, Oliver opted to make a joke about wrestling being “homoerotic”.
“It seems the WWE is as overtly pro-Saudi Arabia as it is lately homoerotic, which is to say, intensely.”
He was then critical of WWE for continuing with the Crown Jewel event.
“As for the WWE, while they say they are monitoring the situation, their gigantic Crown Jewel event is still scheduled for November, meaning John Cena could well be back there [praising Saudi Arabia again], which I guess in this context means you don’t see these human rights abuses right here,” Oliver then did the Cena “You Can’t See Me” gesture.
Watch John Oliver’s comments about WWE’s Saudi Arabia propaganda:
Last Week With John Oliver speaks on WWE's deal with Saudi Arabia in the latest episode. pic.twitter.com/fo1OLglY1i
It is assumed the company will make a great deal of money from the event. The exact details of their contract with the Saudi Royals are not known, however. While some are pointing to changes made to the WWE schedule on WWE.com, there is nothing firm which states WWE is planning to cancel or move the event.
As of this writing, WWE plans on having two World Cup Qualifying matches take place on tonight’s Raw.
Swann announced Mack as his partner this week on Impact after Page and Sydal challenged him to find someone to face them at the PPV. Swann pinned Sydal with a Phoenix Splash after a fast-paced opener. Mack cut a promo after, encouraging fans to make noise and running a sponsorship promo giving two fans front row seats.
Konnan was shown beat up in the back. He said King attacked him.
Eli Drake defeated James Ellsworth
James Ellsworth answered Drake’s Open Challenge. He was not well received and booed heavily. Fans cheered for Drake, who defeated him quickly with Gravy Train.
Drake cut a promo after saying he wanted stiffer competition, which brought out Abyss. The recently inducted Hall of Famer gave Drake the Blackhole Slam and a chokeslam through a table.
Valkyrie looked to have Blanchard beat after giving her the Road to Valhalla but the referee was momentarily out of position, allowing Taya to kick out. Blanchard hit her Buzzsaw DDT but Taya kicked out. She then hit a codebreaker from the top rope and got the pin.
Eddie Edwards and Tommy Dreamer defeated Moose and Killer Kross
This match was originally scheduled to be Moose vs Edwards but after Kross interfered and Dreamer made the save, it was turned into a tag match. Edwards won with a roll-up on Moose. After the match, Kross and Moose kept up the attack, delivering a powerbomb onto the ring apron to Edwards.
Sami Callihan & OVE defeated Brian Cage and the Lucha Brothers (Pentagon Jr and Fenix)
Sami Callihan became the first person in Impact to pin Brian Cage here. Fenix had been thrown from the top onto the stage ramp and Callihan gave Pentagon a piledriver on the apron, leaving Cage alone with OVE. After the trio gave Cage a series of superkicks, Callihan delivered his Cactus Driver and got the pin. This will likely lead to Callihan vs Cage for the X-Division title sometime in the future, likely in the coming days of television tapings.
Concrete Jungle Deathmatch
Konnan & LAX defeated King and the OGZ
This match consisted of no mat on the ring, exposed boards, and exposed turnbuckles. Konnan was not there to start the match. Lots of weapons, brawling, and a few table spots. Then they actually started taking big bumps on the exposed boards as well. After everyone was down after a big superplex spot, Konnan came out and brawled with King. LAX then hit Street Sweeper for the win.
Allie Rescues Kiera Hogan From the Undead Realm (W/ Rosemary’s Help)
.@WeAreRosemary stayed behind to fight The Undead Bride and allow @AllieImpact to escape. #BFGCOMDA
James Mitchell arranged for Allie’s safe passage into the undead realm and we got a rather intense Final Deletion style mini-movie here. Allie started her trip into the undead realm by killing several undead bridesmaids with an ax. She then found Hogan in a coffin but Su Yung was not far behind. Yung and Allie then had an ax fight but Allie eventually rescued Hogan from the coffin and got away. James Mitchell then revealed he would not grant them passage out of the undead realm. Rosemary then showed up to fend off Su Yung with some sorcery and black magic feasible only in the undead realm. So both Rosemary and Su Yung are still in the undead realm but Allie and Kiera Hogan are out.
The company then announced their next PPV in Nashville:
They say you can't go home again? We disagree!
We're delighted to announce our return to where it all began – The Asylum in Nashville, TN on January 6th for our next live PPV event Homecoming. pic.twitter.com/InunQhnxb9
Impact World Championship
Johnny Impact defeated Austin Aries (c)
In the days leading up to this match, they started to blur the lines between reality and fiction through social media. They kept the theme up in this match by starting with a realistic MMA approach and stiff looking shots. The stiffness kept up throughout most of the match. Taya was at ringside for Johnny and Kross and Moose were there for Aries. In the closing moments, Aries was sent to the ropes and ended up doing a suicide dive into Taya. Johnny then capitalized on that by hitting Aries with his own brainbuster, followed by Starship Pain for the win.
Johnny Impact (John Hennigan) – Impact World Champion
The title is his first in Impact. He’s previously been Lucha Underground Champion as well, having won the title in Season 3. In WWE, he’s a 3x former Intercontinental Champion, a 4x Tag Team Champion, a WWECW World Champion, and a 2-time Slammy Award winner. PWI ranked him #24 in their Top-500 rankings last year. He won the AAA Mega Championship in Mexico as well.
The loss for Austin Aries concludes his 3rd run as Impact World Champion. He had lost and regained the title to Pentagon Junior earlier in the year. He originally won the title from Eli Drake shortly after the new management team took over in January.
Impact will hold two nights of tapings in the Melrose Ballroom over the next two nights. They will then travel to Las Vegas for 3 nights of tapings in November. Tonight, they announced their next PPV will take place on January 9th, 2019 in Nashville, TN.
Tonight’s Concrete Jungle Deathmatch at Bound For Glory will be contested between Konnan and LAX against King and the OGZ. Impact Wrestling recently unveiled the unique set of rules for the match.
The ring mat will be gone, exposing just the boards underneath. Also gone will be the turnbuckle coverings. Josh Mathews goes into greater detail regarding the stipulations in the video below.
The ringboards will be exposed. The steel turnbuckles will be uncovered.
The unique gimmick match comes by way of an order from a crime boss. King would later admit he put a hit out on Konnan and that he feels Konnan leaches off of the talent he represents.
Konnan recently returned to the ring for Major League Wrestling in their Battle Riot event. This will be the first non-battle royal match for Konnan in over 5 years, however.
Bound For Glory Lineup
Impact World Championship
Austin Aries (c) vs Johnny Impact
Knockouts Championship
Tessa Blanchard (c) vs Taya Valkyrie
Eddie Edwards vs Moose
Sami Callihan & oVe vs Brian Cage & the Lucha Brothers
Concrete Jungle Deathmatch
LAX & Konnan vs OGZ & King
Rich Swann & Willie Mack vs Ethan Page and Matt Sydal
Eli Drake Open Challenge
Allie Travels To the Underworld
The event takes place at 8 PM inside the Melrose Ballroom in NYC.
