As we approach arguably the most important period of free agency in wrestling since the Monday Night Wars, one free agent claims to have signed with NXT.
On the latest episode of Being the Elite, the faction reiterated they would stay together in 2019. One member then spoke up and claimed he was heading to NXT, however. That man was “Fat-A$$ Masa”.
— "FAT ASS" MASA ??BEING THE ELITE ??AEW ??????????? (@Masa_Anchan1971) October 10, 2018
This is just part of Being the Elite, however. Masa hasn’t actually signed with NXT.
Where Will The Elite Sign?
Between now and 2019, there will be much speculation about where the group could land. On the surface, there are actually only a few available options for them. Let us review:
WWE/NXT – likely to be the largest offered contract but comes with little creative freedom. They would be able to join back up with Masa, however.
ROH/NJPW – Arguably the front-runner to end up with the team once again is a combination of ROH and NJPW.
Impact Wrestling – This group has more money than what is being let on. Whether they see bringing in all 5 guys on monster contracts as a good investment for them at this point in their development is another story, however. In all likelihood, Impact would be better off partnering with other groups such as MLW and Lucha Underground to put in a joint offer to the group. Impact also has deals with promotions in Australia, Europe, Canada, and Mexico where the Elite could also wrestle from time to time.
ROH/NJPW and Impact/MLW/Lucha Underground – There is a chance that every non-WWE territory who wants the faction will team up to offer them a deal to prevent them from going to WWE or any other non-talent-sharing territory.
Other international territories could be in play as well.
Former WWE tag-team champion and current ROH producer, Joey Mercury, was arrested over All In weekend. He had been found sleeping in his car as finding a hotel room was a little difficult. When the police looked him up they found he had an outstanding arrest warrant in the state of Florida.
They arrested him but released him the next morning (likely just allowing him a place to sleep that night) as the warrant for his arrest in Florida was not on a charge serious enough to warrant extradition.
Joey Mercury Charged With Credit Card Fraud Under $300
Mercury is scheduled to be arraigned this morning in Orange County, Florida. He is pleading not guilty to everything he is charged with and claims he’ll be able to prove he was out of the country at the time they took place. Mercury is accused of charges relating to fraudulent credit card use above $100 but below $300. Nothing too serious but he is being charged in criminal court. The official charges can be read here.
Should Mercury be able to prove he was out of the country during this time (as passports and wrestling performances are able to prove) then he likely will be found not guilty. That is just speculation, however.
Mercury appeared on Lucha Underground recently. He was a guest at Taya and Johnny Mundo’s wedding and later a sacrifice to Matanza Cueto.
Bobby Lashley’s new hype man, Lio Rush, had to deal with bullies when he was younger. The Man of the Hour released a video on Twitter today which features Rush talking about an encounter he had with a bully when he was younger.
“True Story: When i was a young boy, a bully tried to light the #ManOfTheHour on fire. Fast Fwd to present day. Now I’m hot like a fire
! #LioHatesBullies”
“That guy tried to light me on fire,” Rush said. “I was 12 years old, 7th grade, middle school, I remember it. He tried to light me on fire, I stopped him from lighting me on fire. But you know what happened? You know what happened about 15-16 years later? Now the Man of the Hour is on fire! I’m hot like a fire right now!”
Lio Rush and Bobby Lashley On Monday Night Raw
Rush’s “main man” Bobby Lashley was victorious last night on Raw. He defeated Kevin Owens in single’s action. Owens would need help to the back and was later placed on the injured list. He is expected to undergo minor knee surgery and be out indefinitely.
Rush was shown in the back later with Lashley interrupting a promo by Bayley and Finn Balor.
The end of 2018 is shaping up to be the most important free agency period in pro-wrestling since the Attitude Era. Members of Bullet Club Elite are all going to hit free agency at the end of the year and have stated they plan to stick together as a group.
Kenny Omega Teases Signing With WWE or Impact On Latest Being The Elite
On the latest edition of Being the Elite, Kenny Omega teases potentially signing with WWE or Impact Wrestling.
During the episode, Omega is shown in a hotel room speaking on the phone. Omega makes it clear he is speaking to his friend, Impact Vice President Don Callis, when he says the line “Anyway, sucks you couldn’t be on commentary this week.” A reference to Callis not being available to call King of Pro Wrestling.
Then several notes are slipped under Omega’s door which seemed to be encouraging him to sign with WWE.
“Stuck in Japan but looking for more, why not come on down as entry #4? – H” reads one of the notes slipped under Omega’s door.
“Perhaps looking for a better payday? What about a single’s match with AJ? – H” reads the second note slipped under Omega’s door. He then decided to keep that note in his back pocket. When Omega finally did find who was slipping notes under his door, however, it turned out to be Cody. After Omega was able to get Cody to show him both his hands at the same time, the NWA Champ admitted he was just trying to give Omega a promotional code for Blue Chew.
A countdown was shown at the end of the episode. The same countdown was shown after the last episode as well. The clock is counting the days, hours and minutes until the group becomes free agents.
The full episode is listed below. Omega’s part starts at the 7:31 mark.
It was an eventful night at King of Pro Wrestling yesterday. One of the most talked about moments was when Jay White, Gedo and Jado aligned with Bullet Club’s Firing Squad. The faction then attacked Kazuchika Okada.
White had been offered a spot in Bullet Club at New Year’s Dash this year. He rejected the offer, however, and then attacked Kenny Omega. White’s history with the faction actually goes back years before then, however, to when he was originally recruited for the New Japan Dojo. He was recruited for NJPW by former BC leader Prince Devitt (aka Finn Balor) and fellow New Zealander, Bad Luck Fale.
Fale posted a photo of the two taken when White was just entering into his training at the New Japan Dojo.
In addition to adding White, Gedo, and Jado, Bullet Club also added Robbie Eagles to their roster this weekend. Eagles will team with Taiji Ishimori in the Super Junior Tag Tournament taking place in the build-up to next month’s Power Struggle event in Osaka.
Tama Tonga Clashes With Rocky Romero and Others
Shortly after the conclusion of King of Pro Wrestling, Rocky Romero and Tama Tonga clashed on Twitter. As if attempting to prove to everyone that NJPW is not PG-rated content, the two posted the following back-and-forth:
The 999th episode of Smackdown will take place tonight from the Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. Not only will Becky Lynch look to defend her Smackdown Women’s Championship tonight, 2 World Cup Qualifying matches will take place. The Big Show will also wrestle his first match in over a year.
Smackdown 10/9 Preview
Smackdown Women’s Championship
Becky Lynch (c) vs Charlotte Flair
Arguably the most talked about angle in WWE at the moment continues in a big way tonight. Lynch will take on Flair in a rematch from Super Show-Down. This time, however, if Lynch is DQ’ed, Flair wins both the match and the title.
Tonight’s match will be the 5th time the two have met in single’s action on the WWE roster (not including house shows). Lynch is 3W-1L while Charlotte’s only victory against Lynch came on Saturday by way of DQ.
WWE World Cup Qualifying Match
Jeff Hardy vs Samoa Joe
The WWE World Cup will be an 8-man tournament featuring 4 Superstars from Raw and another 4 from Smackdown. John Cena and Kurt Angle (aka the COnqu have already qualified. Hardy and Joe will have a chance to qualify with a win tonight.
WWE World Cup Qualifying Match
Big Show vs Randy Orton
So far, no non-American has qualified for the tournament. Several were given the opportunity in Baron Corbin’s Battle Royal last night but Spain’s the Conquistador was later revealed to be Kurt Angle.
Show’s match tonight will be his first in over a year.
Miz TV W/ AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan
Daniel Bryan will challenge for AJ Styles’ WWE Championship at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia. Tonight, however, he’ll appear alongside the champ on an edition of Miz TV. Bryan defeated the Miz at Super Show-Down to earn the title opportunity.
New Japan Pro Wrestling has released the main 5 matches for the Power Struggle event scheduled for Osaka on November 3rd. As previously reported, one of those matches involves Chris Jericho defending his IWGP Intercontinental Championship against EVIL.
NJPW recently revealed 4 more matches for the event in addition to the Super Junior Tag Tournament finals and Jericho vs EVIL.
NJPW Power Struggle
November 3rd, 2018
Osaka, Japan
The Golden Lovers (Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi) (Bullet Club Elite) vs Hiroshi Tanahashi and David Finlay
IWGP Intercontinental Championship
Chris Jericho (c) vs EVIL (LIJ)
NEVER Openweight Championship
Taichi (Suzuki-Gun) (c) vs Will Ospreay (CHAOS)
Tetsuya Naito (LIJ) vs Zack Sabre Jr. (Suzuki-Gun)
Kazuchika Okada and Beretta (CHAOS) vs Bad Luck Fale and Jay White (BCOG)
Finals of the Super Junior Tag Tournament
The teams announced for the Super Junior tournament include:
BUSHI & Shingo Takagi
Jyushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask
KUSHIDA & Chris Sabin
Super 69 (ACH & Ryusuke Taguchi)
Volador Jr. & Soberano Jr.
Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH)
Taiji Ishimori & Robbie Eagles
Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado
The Super Junior tournament which concludes at Power Struggle will take place on the tour leading up to the event. Not all of the shows will air on New Japan World but the ones on the 16th, 17th and again on the 26th and 27th will.
The Super Junior tag tournament in NJPW this year will follow a different format. Instead of being a single-elimination tournament as has been the case previously, this year’s tournament will follow the G1/World Tag League format.
2018 NJPW Super Junior Tag Tournament Teams
The teams entered into this year’s tournament are:
BUSHI & Shingo Takagi
Takagi was announced as the newest member of Los InGobernables De Japon at King of Pro Wrestling yesterday.
Jyushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask
KUSHIDA & Chris Sabin
Super 69 (ACH & Ryusuke Taguchi)
Volador Jr. & Soberano Jr.
Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH)
Taiji Ishimori & Robbie Eagles
Eagles joins up as the newest member of the Bullet Club OG faction.
Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado
The team’s ranked 1st and 2nd from the 8-team round-robin will meet in the finals on November 3rd at NJPW Power Struggle in Osaka Japan. Unless current champions, Kanemaru and Desperado, win the tournament, the winning team will earn a shot at the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships.
The tournament will begin on October 16th on the Road to Power Struggle show in Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.
Kevin Owens requires knee surgery and will be out indefinitely. This injury was made part of storyline last night on Monday Night Raw. Owens lost to Bobby Lashley and his knee was a focal point during the match.
There is no timetable for Owens’ return at this moment. He also missed time in 2015 and again in 2017 due to requiring knee surgery. The surgery he currently requires is being described as minor, however.
Kevin Owens Babyface Turn?
Some are saying Owens was wrestling more of a babyface style against Lashley in Chicago last night. Lashley’s new hype man, Lio Rush, was irritating fans and Owens at ringside during the match, causing Owens to lose focus on Lashley and go after him. Despite having teamed with John Cena at Super Show-Down, it appears Lashley now falls on the heel side of things with Lio Rush by his side. Rush later appeared to challenge Finn Balor to a future match with his client.
Owens has won 7 titles since signing with the company. He’s a former NXT Champion, Universal Champion, 2x Intercontinental Champion, and former 3x United States Champion. Before arriving in WWE, Owens was a former ROH World Champion and 3x former PWG Champion. He was elected into the Quebec Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2017.
Matt Hardy released a video on his personal YouTube account today. The video seems to be a teaser for the Broken Universe special expected to air on the WWE Network later this month.
Hardy explained to Senor Benjamin that there are dark forces gathering and he needs him to prepare the battlefield for massacre. He was then distracted by two of his pets sparring. Hardy revealed earlier this month that filming was taking place at the Hardy compound.
Matt Hardy From Wrestler To Producer
Although he never specifically used the word retirement, Hardy indicated last month he is stepping away from in-ring wrestling.
“Thank you for letting me live my dream for 26 years, wrestling fans,” Hardy wrote on his YouTube channel. “I don’t necessarily wish it was this way, but it’s time to go home. Time to go home and be a father. Time to go home and be a husband. I did so much more than I ever imagined I would do. Thanks for making this incredible journey with me, ladies and gentlemen. I love you all.”
Matt Hardy’s in-ring career might be over but his career behind the camera might just be beginning. The ever creative Hardy brother has moved into a producers role with the company and the Broken Universe special is to serve as a pilot for a potential reoccuring series.
WWE has confirmed that Rey Mysterio’s WWE return will indeed take place at Smackdown 1000. The landmark episode is scheduled to take place on October 16th from the Capital One Arena in Washington, DC.
It will be the first time in 4 years Mysterio has appeared on an episode of Smackdown.
Mysterio had been rumored for the event in recent days but WWE just officially confirmed the news today.
Rey Mysterio Returns To WWE
Mysterio wrestled in WWE for a 12-year stretch from 2002-2014. He is a former 2x World Heavyweight Champion and briefly held the WWE Championship on one occasion as well. Mysterio is also a 2x Intercontinental Champions, and 3x Cruiserweight Champion. He won the tag titles along with Edge, RVD, Eddie Guerrero, and Batista. Additionally, Mysterio won the 2006 Royal Rumble.
Mysterio has also received numerous awards from the wrestling media as well. The Wrestling Observer voted him Rookie of the Year in 1992, Most Outstanding Wrestler in 1996, and was voted into their Hall of Fame in 2010.
WWE Smackdown 1000
Smackdown 1000 will not only feature the return of Rey Mysterio but also the reunion of Evolution. The faction consisting of Randy Orton, Batista, Triple H, and Ric Flair is scheduled for the show as well.
WWE has added an important new stipulation onto the scheduled Becky Lynch vs Charlotte Flair match on Tuesday night. Shortly after Lynch was disqualified at Super Show-Down, the promotion announced the rematch would take place this week on Smackdown.
According to the recently announced stipulation, should Becky Lynch get disqualified Tuesday night as she did in Melbourne, Flair will be awarded not only the victory but also the Smackdown Women’s Championship.
Becky Lynch vs Charlotte Flair Rivalry Statistics
Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair have met 4x in single’s matches (not including house shows). Lynch has won 3 of the 4, her only loss coming by way of DQ at Super Show-Down this weekend. They’ve met another 3x on house shows (all recently), where Lynch has successfully defended the championship on each occasion.
They have been in 7 of the same multi-person matches including 2 Money in the Bank matches. Of those 7 matches, Charlotte has won 2, Becky just one, and the rest were won by other competitors. In tag-team matches, they’ve only been on opposing sides once, which was the Raw vs Smackdown match at Survivor Series 2017. Flair’s Raw team won that match. So of the 12x they’ve been opposed each other on WWE programming, with each of them having won 4 matches, with the remainder having been won by other competitors in multi-person matches.
Impact Wrestling will present a live show on Twitch tonight in conjunction with Scott D’Amore’s Border City Wrestling. “Motown Showdown” will begin airing at 7PM live from Detroit city.
The show can be watched live and for free on Impact’s Twitch channel.
Impact Wrestling/Border City Wrestling
Motown Showdown
Johnny Impact vs Moose
Eddie Edwards and Tommy Dreamer vs Johnny Swinger and Jon Bolen
Kiera Hogan vs Gisele Shaw vs Scarlett Bordeaux
D-Lo Brown vs Kongo Kong
Ace Romero vs Sami Callihan
N8 Mattson vs Petey Williams vs Ace Austin vs Matt Sydal
The promotion released the following promotional video for the event:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCKaT4Rj6sM
Impact Wrestling Upcoming Schedule
Impact Wrestling kicked off a busy October last night in Windsor. They filmed a One Night Only PPV with Border City Wrestling which is scheduled to air on the Global Wrestling Network on November 9th. They have the live Twitch show tonight and then head to New York for Bound For Glory.
Following BFG, Impact will remain in the Melrose Ballroom for 2 nights of television tapings. Their November tapings will take place over 3 days in Las Vegas’ Sam’s Town Casino, a former longtime ROH venue. Impact will film episodes there from November 11-13th. They will also run a seminar the night before for wrestlers, referees, and personalities.
The Big Show will wrestle his first match since losing inside a steel cage to Braun Strowman on the September 4th, 2017 edition of Monday Night Raw. Show will take part in 1 of 2 WWE World Cup Qualifying matches scheduled to take place Tuesday night on Smackdown.
Big Show will face Randy Orton with the winner earning a spot in the World Cup tournament scheduled to take place at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia. In the other World Cup Qualifying match to take place on the show, Jeff Hardy will face Samoa Joe.
Charlotte Flair vs Becky Lynch for the Smackdown Women’s Championship has already been confirmed for Tuesday’s Smackdown as well.
WWE World Cup At Crown Jewel
Little information is available regarding the format of the tournament. It is not clear as of this writing if it will be a tournament for individual competitors or if they will be grouped together by nations.
Confirmed matches for Crown Jewel include:
WWE Championship
AJ Styles (c) vs Daniel Bryan
Universal Championship
Roman Reigns (c) vs Braun Strowman vs Brock Lesnar
WWE World Cup Tournament
Shawn Michaels and Triple H versus Undertaker and Kane is also rumored for the event. That match could become official later this week.
Former NXT Women’s Champion, Shayna Baszler, recently took a shot at the 4 Horsewomen of NXT. During the inaugural Mae Young Classic, Baszler’s 4 Horsewomen of MMA got into a posturing-battle of sorts with the version consisting of Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Bayley, and Sasha Banks.
Baszler took a stab at her faction’s rivals during a recent interview with Uproxx.
“They’re not in a stable,” Bazler said in reference to the NXT Horsewomen. “We’re not just four random guys. This is my whole argument about the thing. People are like, ‘Yeah but Charlotte is Ric Flair’s daughter.’ But they weren’t just four guys that made history which the fake Four Horsewomen did. They’re four girls that made history. That’s great, but that’s not what the Four Horsemen did. They were a team. They were a stable. And we’re a team. You don’t see us needing counseling to stay friends and bickering and feuding over … You know what I mean?”
Shayna Baszler in WWE 2K19
Baszler recently made her video game debut in WWE 2K19. An avid gamer, Baszler and Jessamyn Duke regularly stream games on their Twitch channel. She was asked if her move-set in the game is reflective of her real one.
“Obviously I spent a lot more time developing my in-ring style here at the [WWE Performance Center]. So even since the game, this new game, came out, I think I would probably be different than that. But it’s pretty wild to just be a selectable character. And to think my nieces can select me and play as me, that’s weird to think of.”
Kota Ibushi has a chance to become the new IWGP Heavyweight Champion tomorrow at King of Pro Wrestling. Ibushi will wrestle Kenny Omega and Cody in a triple threat match with the title on the line.
At a recent KOPW press-conference, Ibushi teased putting his career on the line in the match. His comments were transcribed by occasional NJPW World commentator and author, Chris Charlton.
Wow! Ibushi: ‘Cody has a title, Kenny obviously is putting his title on the line. I have nothing to put on the line. So I want to put my wrestling career on the line here. That’s how much I want to have a legendary match.’ #njkopw
“Wow! Ibushi: ‘Cody has a title, Kenny obviously is putting his title on the line. I have nothing to put on the line. So I want to put my wrestling career on the line here. That’s how much I want to have a legendary match.’”
The comments were made in such a way, however, that they likely shouldn’t be taken as a literal stipulation.
NJPW King of Pro Wrestling Lineup – October 8th, 2018
IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match
Kenny Omega vs. Cody vs. Kota Ibushi
G1 Briefcase
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Jay White
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship
KUSHIDA vs. Marty Scurll
EVIL vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano and Roppongi 3K vs. Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, BUSHI, and a new LIJ member TBD
Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto, and Will Ospreay vs. Minoru Suzuki, Taichi and Takashi Iizuka
The Young Bucks, Hangman Page and Chase Owens vs. Guerillas of Destiny, Bad Luck Fale and Taiji Ishimori
Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma vs. Juice Robinson and Toa Henare
IWGP Jr. Tag Team Title Match
Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Jushin Thunder Liger and Tiger Mask
It has been an interesting weekend for Irish trash-talkers. Becky Lynch lost to Charlotte Flair at Super Show-Down in Melbourne yesterday but she is still the Smackdown Women’s Champion. Lynch was disqualified during the match for hitting her opponent with the title belt. Charlotte had her locked in figure-8 at the time.
WWE cameras caught up with Lynch as she was preparing to leave the venue at the event’s conclusion. Despite being the loser of the match, Lynch seemed proud just to be leaving with the belt.
“One of us walked out of Australia as the champ and the other was helped out as not the champ,” Lynch boasted. “WWE is filled with champions and nobody’s and for the champ business is good.”
Becky Lynch (c) vs Charlotte Flair – Smackdown
Shortly after Lynch retained her title through dubious means, the rematch was announced for this Tuesday on Smackdown. Lynch offered up her thoughts on the rematch as well.
“I don’t know how many more times I need to prove that I own Charlotte Flair,” she continued. “And I don’t care if I have to fight Charlotte. if I have to fight this company, if I have to fight anybody. I will make my mark on WWE and prove that I am the face of this company.”
How Long Do You Think Becky Lynch Will Be Smackdown Women’s Champion For?
Ahead of Super Show-Down in Melbourne, Australia Triple H spoke with Manny Tsigas of ABC Australia. The topic of inter-gender wrestling came up and Triple H offered his thoughts on the subject.
“There’s just a shock moment to that and a spectacle moment to that,” Triple H said. “They don’t need a man to step in the ring with them to make them have a spectacular match.”
“To have a man vs a woman, it’s just shock value, you don’t need it,” he continued.
Triple H On Inter-Gender Matches
The interviewer continued that inter-gender wrestling would empower female wrestlers but Triple H disagreed.
“To say for a female to prove that she is empowered she has to compete against a man, or to have a man in the ring with her to be able to do what she does at a high enough level? No, you know what makes a female empowered?” Triple H asked. “When she is so good with another female in the ring that no man on the card can stand up to them.”
WWE has had several inter-gender wrestling matches in the past. The most recent of which involved James Ellsworth losing to Asuka on Smackdown. Ellsworth defends the Inter-Gender Championship on the independent scene.
Ring of Honor has announced several new matches for their upcoming event on Friday. The promotion will be in their hometown of Baltimore, Maryland for Glory By Honor on October 12th.
Here is the scheduled lineup for the event:
ROH Glory By Honor Friday, October 12, 2018 UMBC Event Center Baltimore, Maryland
ROH World Championship
Jay Lethal (c) vs Silas Young
ROH World 6-Man Tag Team Championships
Cody and the Young Bucks (c) vs Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, and Scorpio Sky
Kenny King & Flip Gordon vs TK O’Ryan & Vinny Marseglia (the Kingdom)
Villain vs Hero III
“The Villain” Marty Scurll vs Shane “Hurricane” Helms
Shane Taylor vs Adam “Hangman” Page
Bully Ray vs Jonathan “the Octopus” Gresham
Non-Title
the Briscoes vs the Beer City Bruiser and Brian Milonas
Non-Title
Jeff Cobb vs Eli Isom
Ring of Honor is also advertising that Madison Rayne is scheduled to appear. Rayne recently signed a 1-year deal with the company. She’ll be looking to give a boost to the Women Of Honor division which just lost Tenille Dashwood to shoulder surgery.
2 nights after Glory By Honor in Baltimore, ROH will head to Philadelphia for a set of television tapings from the 2300 Arena. So far, a 6-man tag has been scheduled for that night featuring Jonathan Gresham, Jay Lethal, and a partner TBD will take on all three members of the Kingdom.
WWE’s upcoming show in Saudi Arabia has been moved to a new venue. The event will now take place at King Saud University Stadium. As with the Greatest Royal Rumble, the event was originally scheduled to emanate from the King Fahd International Stadium.
The capacity of the new venue is listed at 25,000. King Fahd stadium’s capacity is listed at just under 70,000. Both venues are located in the city of Riyadh. No word has been released as to why the change was made.
WWE Crown Jewel
There have only been two matches announced for the event thus far.
WWE Championship
AJ Styles (c) vs Daniel Bryan
Universal Championship
Roman Reigns (c) vs Brock Lesnar vs Braun Strowman
Another heavily speculated match could involve Shawn Michaels wrestling his first professional match since losing a match with his career on the line to the Undertaker at WrestleMania. The match was teased in the closing moments of Super Show-Down in Australia this weekend when the Undertaker and Kane attacked Shawn Michaels and Triple H. At the time, Triple H had just defeated the Undertaker in the main event of the show.
The Saudi Sports Authority has also advertised a “WWE World Cup” will take place on the show.
Australia’s Peyton Royce and Billie Kay were victorious at WWE Super Show-Down today at the Melbourne Cricket Grounds. They defeated the team of Asuka and Naomi in tag-team action.
WWE cameras caught up with both of the Iiconics shortly after their victory. Needless to say, they were emotional about the response they received from the live crowd.
While Billie Kay and Peyton Royce did go to the same high school together, they are actually 4 years apart in age. Billie is 29 and Peyton 25. They both received tryouts when WWE toured Australia in the summer of 2014, however. At the time, both were competing on the indy scene in Australia. Kay and Royce were signed and reported to the WWE Performance Center the following April.
“Melbourne is where we had our WWE tryout,” Royce said to Fox Sports recently. “Not the same venue, obviously – but it really is full circle for our whole journeys so far.”
During the same interview, Billie Kay mentioned they hope to spearhead a new Women’s tag-team division. “That’s realistically the next step in this evolution,” Kay said to Fox Sports.
Before signing with WWE, they were both regulars for the Pro Wrestling Alliance in Australia. Each was trained by Madison Eagles, a former 2x Shimmer Champion. Royce also traveled to Calgary, AB, Canada earlier in her career to train with Lance Storm. The Storm Wrestling Academy also trained the first-ever female Australian to sign with WWE, Tenille Dashwood.
Austin Aries and Johnny Impact will face each other for the Impact World Championship in 8 days at Bound For Glory. They took some time to build up their feud today through social media and they were not holding anything back. In fact, it’s not altogether clear things didn’t just get intensely “real” between the two.
Austin Aries and Johnny Impact
Johnny got things started by taking a stab at Aries’ height:
Aries took offense to the “short shaming” and offered up some negative comments of his own. He referred to Taya Valkyrie (Johnny’s wife) as “husky” and also made other disparaging comments.
Due to the nature of the wrestling business, it’s not easy to determine how much of what is written above was real and how much was in an effort to build up their match at Bound For Glory. It’s possible it started as a way to build up the match and was taken too far. On the other hand, it’s possible everything written above was a work. Then again, on a rare 3rd hand, it could be that everything happened organically in this situation.
Taya and Aries each offered closing thoughts on the matter earlier today:
Don’t worry about me…after years of this kinda stuff you grow a very veryyyyyy thick skin. I’m human, but I’m also Taya…..and I won’t let anyone ruin or I should say try to ruin what I’ve worked so hard for. It’s really a shame that some ppl are still so hateful. Adios haters https://t.co/vz8RlD6lbV
With just 10 days to go until Bound For Glory, Impact Wrestling presented their third show from the Mexico City tapings held last month. Here are 10 key takeaways from the show.
Impact Wrestling 10/4
Bound For Glory Came Early In The Main Event
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjBi_RdB1ZI
We are now just 9 days away from Bound For Glory but we got Brian Cage and the Lucha Brothers vs Sami Callihan and OVE tonight. The difference this week is that it wasn’t under OVE rules as will be the case at Bound For Glory. As a result of the difference in rules this week, the match was declared a DQ after Callihan pushed the referee. Not a bad move to get intentionally disqualified when you are in the ring with Brian Cage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01kI289R2ig
Dave Crist, who was kidnapped by the Lucha Brothers recently, has come under the belief that Pentagon and Fenix have magical powers. Sami Callihan does not agree but he’s really upset regardless.
Austin Aries Offer Johnny Impact A Spot In His Faction – Johnny Declined
Austin Aries promised he will go into Bound For Glory without the help of Moose and Killer Kross. Is he telling the truth? Or will he stoop to all levels to keep his belt on October 14th?
Johnny Impact knew Austin Aries was alone tonight in Mexico City. Eddie Edwards let him know Moose and Killer Kross were tied up with him. So Johnny called out Impact World Champion, Austin Aries.
Impact commended Aries on coming out by himself, even with his hand in a sling after Johnny’s attack last week. Aries promised he’d do the same at Bound For Glory because he’s the best wrestler in the world.
The Impact World Champion then offered Johnny a spot in his faction with Kross and Moose but obviously, Johnny declined. Aries then hit Johnny with the microphone and looked to soften up his upcoming challenger. Johnny got the better of the exchange, however, and ended the segment with Starship Pain.
Moose Kidnapped Alisha Edwards, Eddie Edwards Came To The Rescue
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tn2QROyogrw
Moose kidnapped the wrong Bostonian woman this week. He opted to kidnap Alisha Edwards as if she was helpless or something. He did this to lure Edwards into a trap. Like most heels luring a babyface into a trap, Moose spent some time explaining to Edwards his motivation for turning on him. He talked again about how Aries was the only one to call him in the hospital after Slammiversary. Edwards explained he didn’t call Moose because he was just a few rooms down in the hospital as a result of what happened in his match with Tommy Dreamer.
Alisha attacked Moose and Eddie was able to get away from Killer Kross in the melee. This allowed both Eddie and Alisha to escape and Eddie to call Johnny and let him know Aries was by himself.
Su Yung Locked Kiera Hogan In A Coffin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PguGITAm8sk
Su Yung defeated Kiera Hogan
Former Knockouts Champion Su Yung picked up a victory this week over up-and-coming Kiera Hogan. She then motioned for the undead bridesmaids to bring the coffin down to ringside. Allie attempted to break up the attack but was simply out-numbered. Cameras caught Allie in the back reacting to what happened.
Petey Williams Teaches Scarlett Bordeaux The Canadian Destroyer
Several wrestlers were attempting to impress Scarlett Bordeaux in the back. One of the wrestlers, Petey Williams, attempted to teach Scarlett the Canadian Destroyer piledriver, a move I have a feeling we might see her attempt in Impact at some point.
Trevor Lee took offense to Petey’s actions and Scarlett suggested the two should take it up in the ring.
Murder Clown Got Revenge For Katarina
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfYditQjyh8
Murder Clown defeated Joe Hendry
Joe Hendry may have dropped a new music video this week but Katarina was the last one laughing this week.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tqyfw6lCAcY
Katarina has enlisted the help of Murder Clown in her quest for revenge against Joe Hendry and Grado. So far, her plan is working to perfection. Not only did Murder Clown defeat Joe Hendry, but he also delivered a splash off the top and through a table to end the segment.
LA Parka Answered Eli Drake’s Challenge
LA Parka defeated Eli Drake via count-out
Scarlett Bordeaux joined Don Callis and Josh Mathews on commentary for this match. She’s holding her Global Talent Search to find the right wrestler to earn her services full-time.
Drake likely didn’t expect one of the most legendary and high-profile luchadors in Mexico to answer his call. As a result, Drake ended up abandoning the match and allowing La Parka to pick up the win via count-out. Bordeaux indicated she was shocked at what Eli Drake did and wouldn’t mind asking him in the back about what was going through his head.
Taya Valkyrie Promo On Tessa Blanchard
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxxGicQN7Qw
Arguably the biggest match to take place in the Knockouts Division in the new era of Impact Wrestling, Tessa Blanchard will defend her Knockouts Championship at Bound For Glory against Taya Valkyrie.
The returning Valkyrie cut a backstage promo this week.
Ethan Page Is Matt Sydal’s New Protege
Matt Sydal defeated Rich Swann
Matt Sydal and Rich Swann went one-on-one finally this week. Swann had been trying to get a single’s match with Sydal earlier but Sydal went to management and had them put together as a team first. When that didn’t work, the single’s match was finally scheduled for tonight.
Ethan Page wrestled a couple of matches for Impact last year under the name Chandler Park. He interfered tonight, allowing Sydal to pick up the win. Page would later announce he’s aligned with Sydal and is likely looking at things through his 3rd eye.
Page and Sydal will take on Rich Swann and a partner of his choosing at Bound For Glory.
The OGZ Tried To Bait Konnan And LAX
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmNZBn8gRxM
Last week, the OGZ burned Konnan’s mask but K-Dawg said this week he’s not taking the bait and not breaking the ceasefire. This week, King and the OGZ showed up again and tried to bait Konnan. They got in his face, grabbed the title belts, and tried to bait them into breaking the ceasefire. They did some shots and then left. Konnan seemed calm but the other members of LAX looked as though they wanted revenge.
Quick Results:
Matt Sydal defeated Rich Swann
Murder Clown defeated Joe Hendry
LA Parka defeated Eli Drake
Su Yung defeated Kiera Hogan
The Lucha Brothers and Brian Cage defeated Sami Callihan and OVE via DQ
We are down to the final two episodes of Impact Wrestling before Bound For Glory. The two episodes left will both be from the 2nd night of tapings from Mexico City last month.
Impact Wrestling 10/4
Rich Swann vs Matt Sydal
Two of the most innovative wrestlers there are will clash tonight. Sydal and Swann are two big reasons fans have to be excited about the future of the X-Division. Swann has rebuffed Sydal’s offer at being his mentor so Swann will want to prove he doesn’t need one tonight. I would have to imagine that whoever comes out of this program the winner would be the next in line for a shot at Brian Cage’s X-Division title. That will have to wait until after Bound For Glory, however.
Joe Hendry vs Murder Clown
Possibly the best-named wrestler ever, Murder Clown, has been enlisted by Katarina to help get revenge on Joe Hendry and Grado. Murder Clown is part of the clown faction in AAA, with Psycho Clown perhaps being the best known of the bunch.
Katarina is a woman-scorn and she wants revenge on Hendry and Grado. Murder Clown seems like a good wrestler to turn to with help on this.
Eli Drake Open Challenge
Eli Drake will issue another open challenge tonight. Anyone from the Impact roster or any luchador near Mexico City could answer the call.
Su Yung vs Kiera Hogan
Kiera Hogan picked up arguably one of the most important victories in her young Impact career last week. Hogan pinned former Knockouts Champion, Su Yung, in a tag match. Hogan and Allie defeated Yung and one of her undead bridesmaids. A win in a single’s match for Hogan could push her high up in the Knockouts rankings. Yung, on the other hand, could be out for revenge.
Scarlett Bordeaux Smoke Show
Last week, Scarlett Bordeaux announced she was holding a global talent search. The lucky winner will have Bordeaux’s mentoring services all to themselves. Perhaps we will find out more about her plans tonight.
On a side note, Scarlett Bordeaux’s AAA debut is one of the most watched things on YouTube for the promotion ever. She has certainly been winning over new fans as of late.
What Is Next For LAX?
Last week, King burned Konnan’s mask in an act of disrespect. King called Konnan one of the biggest myths in all of Mexican wrestling. Tonight, Konnan and LAX will have to adhere to the ceasefire but they might just have something to say with only 10 days left until Bound For Glory (wow, just realized that).
Knockouts Championship Tessa Blanchard (c) vs Taya Valkyrie
There doesn’t appear to be anything specific dedicated to this pending matchup on tonight’s show but that doesn’t mean there won’t be anything. Likely we’ll get backstage promos from both or a video package.
Sami Callihan and OVE Issue A Challenge To Brian Cage and the Lucha Brothers
As I was writing this, Impact posted the following video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01kI289R2ig
Bound For Glory Lineup
Just for reference:
Bound for Glory LIneup October 14th
Melrose Ballroom, NYC
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
It has been a banner year financially for WWE. The new TV deals the promotion signed along with a lucrative deal with Saudi Arabia have broken new ground for the company. With the new deals comes increased revenue to invest. According to a recent report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, that revenue is going to be invested in international territories, NXT, and new Performance Centers.
“WWE is looking at expanding talent and the NXT side with all the added revenue coming in from the new deals,” Dave Meltzer wrote. “Among the ideas are more international Performance Centers and international territories, which means being even more aggressive in locking down people who they spot having marketable potential.”
WWE To Present More NXT
There has also been talk of increasing NXT to 2-hours every week as well as increasing the time of Takeover specials.
“There are those in the company pushing for the idea of the NXT TV show going two hours because they have so much talent, and to also increase the time of their Takeover shows.”
Johnny Gargano recently mentioned more NXT wrestlers are starting to feel as though they’d rather stick it out with the brand than go to the main roster.
“Everyone’s dream – and mine too – is to wrestle at WrestleMania, but right now NXT is such a special place. You have guys like me who have been wrestling around the world for ten years whose goal was to get here, and now we are all here tighter. We are focused on building something wrestling fans can be proud of, and we are building it together.”
