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.”
Despite having spent most of the year accused of Joey Ryan’s murder, there appears to be significant interest from WWE toward Adam “Hangman” Page.
On the most recent edition of Being the Elite, Page received a gifted pair of boots and a note that read “Nice Try. If you want to be an assassin, try being more cerebral. – H”.
It was later reported that WWE has made an offer to Page recently, which BTE was spoofing. In an update to this story, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter is noting Page has not turned the offer down.
“There has been serious WWE interest in Page in real life,” wrote Dave Meltzer. “He didn’t accept the offer but it was apparently more of a ‘needs time to decide answer.’”
Hangman Page Free Agency
Members of the Elite have said they will stick together as a group when most of them become free agents at the end of the year. Marty Scurll will not be a free agent and has already been confirmed for the G1 Supercard at Madison Square Garden next year, however. It’s not clear how Scurll’s situation will impact the rest of the group.
Page did an interview with CBS Sports recently and made a point of stating they were not ruling any promotion out of their negotiations.
“I think as a collective, as a group, we have been able to change wrestling,” Page said. “I think, as a group, we are really on to something, and I think we wanna continue this. It would be a real disservice to everyone who has supported us and got us to this point if we were to abandon what we’ve built.”
“Which could conceivably happen anywhere. It could happen … You catch my drift. So I don’t want to, at any point, rule anything out. If you kinda catch my drift on that one.”
It should come as no surprise that Don Callis and Impact Wrestling are hoping to make a talent-sharing arrangement with New Japan Pro Wrestling. Callis would likely love to bring Kenny Omega and others into Impact for a show or two.
Taiji Ishimori competes for both promotions but according to a recent report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, we shouldn’t expect many more to do the same.
“At least one NJPW wrestler asked about going to Impact and got a very negative reaction,” wrote Dave Meltzer.
Impact officials have met with NJPW officials and even apologized for Kazuchika Okada’s negative excursion experience under a different Impact management. It appears NJPW is still not ready to do business with them again, however.
Impact Wrestling and NJPW Talent Sharing
It should be noted that the report is not clear on who the one wrestler in question is, who they got the reaction from, or if it is reflective of a general attitude the promotion still carries. Still, the report makes it clear that a wrestler from NJPW contacted Dave Meltzer and said NJPW didn’t want them wrestling for Impact Wrestling. That’s a significant development considering how badly Impact likely wants to strike a deal for NJPW talent.
NJPW has a long-standing talent-sharing agreement with Ring of Honor. Even though Impact’s television and live event markets are international, NJPW likely feels Impact is a competitor of ROHs similar to the relationship between CMLL and AAA.
Charlotte Flair has pegged an up-and-coming NXT talent as the future of WWE. Flair believes NXT’s Bianca Belair is the future of the company. She made the comments while speaking with Give Me Sport recently.
“Bianca Belair,” answered Charlotte when asked who she feels is the future of the business. “She is the future. She’s a real stud.”
Flair is not the only one confident in Belair’s abilities.
Bianca Belair – Blue-Chip Prospect In Development
Amy “Lita” Dumas has also chimed in on Belair’s talent after working with her in the WWE PC recently as well.
“Bianca Belair, along with some other the others there, is very talented,” Lita said to SunSports recently. “She’s physically gifted, a great attitude, and when I very first saw her she had that intangible star quality that I just want to see more.”
Belair was a Track and Field star at 3 different high-level Universities. She then competed in power-lifting and Crossfit before getting into wrestling. Belair was scouted on the Crossfit scene by Mark Henry and signed after shortly after. She was assigned to the WWE Performance Center in April of 2016. In that time, she has developed into someone the company is confident in putting on NXT television and someone who is turning the heads of others in her industry.
Belair was married earlier this summer to a member of the Street Profits, Montez Ford. The newlyweds will both make their video game debut in WWE 2K19 which will be released later this month.
The second edition of the Mae Young Classic enters its Sweet 16 tonight. On the line in all 4 matches will be a spot in the tournament’s quarter-finals as we start the 2nd round tonight.
Mae Young Classic 10/3 Preview
Kacy Catanzaro vs Rhea Ripley
2 of WWE’s hottest prospects clash in the MYC second round tonight. Rhea Ripley defeated MJ Jenkins in the 1st round while her opponent tonight defeated Reina Gonzales.
Catanzaro is a veteran of American Ninja Warrior and the gymnast has been receiving rave reviews since joining the WWE PC earlier this year. Ripley joined the PC after last year’s tournament and looks to have bulked up considerably over the last year. Both are considered top prospects, although Ripley’s been in the system for a year longer.
The winner of this match will face the winner of Tegan Nox vs Nicole Matthews in the quarter-finals.
Mercedes Martinez vs Meiko Satomura
Martinez defeated Madison Rayne in the first round while Satomura defeated Killer Kelly.
Martinez is an 18-year pro out of Waterbury, Connecticut, and a former 2x SHIMMER Champion. Satomura competed on WCW Nitro as a teenager and now at 38 years of age, is one of the most experienced in the tournament.
These two veterans of women’s wrestling clash tonight with a spot in the quarter-finals on the line. The winner will face the winner of Lacey Lane vs Taynara Conti in the next round.
Toni Storm vs Hiroyo Matsumoto
22-year-old Toni Storm steps into the ring with Hiroyo Matsumoto tonight. The woman from Gold Coast, Australia has been winning over a lot of fans in her short career thus far. Storm was a big success in both Progress and Stardom before signing with WWE earlier this year. She defeated Jinny in the 1st round.
Matsumoto is a Stardom vet and was ranked #25 in the 2017 PWI Top-50 female rankings. She defeated Rachel Evers in the 1st round.
The winner of this match will take on the winner of Mia Yim vs Kaitlyn in the quarter-finals.
Lacey Lane vs Taynara Conti
Both of these two women are already signed to WWE and working in the Performance Center at the moment. Lane is a local talent as well, having attended Winter Park High School not far from Full Sail University. She trained with the Dudley Boyz at the Team 3-D Academy. Lane defeated Vanessa Kraven in the 1st round.
As for Conti, the 23-year-old is the first female Brazilian signed to the company. The Judo and Jiu-Jitsu expert defeated the awkward Jessie Elaban in the 1st round.
The winner of this match will face the winner of Martinez vs Satomura in the quarter-finals.
WWE is back with 3-hours of previously unaired programming tonight. 205 Live, NXT, and the Mae Young Classic will take up primetime on the Network tonight.
NXT 10/3 Preview
EC3 vs Lars Sulivan
Two top-ranked wrestlers in the men’s single’s division clash tonight.
EC3 alleged that Lars Sullivan was the person responsible for the attack on Aleister Black, leading to Lars wanting revenge on the top 1-percenter tonight.
Velveteen Dream made comments to William Regal that NXT Champion, Tommaso Ciampa, may have been responsible for the attack on Aleister Black. Otiz Dozovic and Candice LeRae have implied the same thing.
Tonight, Ciampa addresses the allegations tonight.
Johnny Gargano vs Tony Nese
Ciampa’s former tag-team partner, Johnny Gargano, will look to get back in the winner’s column tonight against 205 Live’s Tony Nese. Gargano hasn’t wrestled on NXT programming for over a month (in TV time).
Gargano has said he’s done with complaining and now just wants to get back to competing, which is what he’ll try and do tonight.
Candice LeRae vs Lacey Evans
A big match atop the NXT Women’s division this week as Candace LeRae takes on Lacey Evans.
Evans has been critical of LeRae for not acting like a “real lady” as of late. LeRae said she wants to separate her personal life from her professional one and not focus on her husband, Johnny Gargano’s, career. Evans seems to take offense to this and will bring her 1950s pin-up girl style into action tonight.
The Forgotten Sons in Trios Action
Jaxson Ryker, Wesley Blake, and Steve Cutler will be in trios action today. The Forgotten Sons will look to continue their NXT unbeaten streak since debuting on the brand in early September.
Their opponents have yet to be announced, which likely means they are enhancement talent.
205 Live 10/3 Preview
Akira Tozawa vs Gentleman Jack Gallagher
The stable of Drew Gulak, Brian Kendrick, and Jack Gallagher have been making life difficult for many as of late on 205 Live. Kendrick also returned to action last week and attempted to take out Tozawa.
Tozawa will have to worry about Gulak and Kendrick but he’ll have a chance to get revenge on Gallagher tonight.
TJP vs Kalisto
2 weeks ago, TJP ripped off Lince Dorado’s mask during a match. In Lucha rules, TJP would have been DQ’ed but in 205 Live the move helped him pick up the win.
Despite wrestling as a luchador himself for a period, TJP dishonored the tradition of masks in Mexican wrestling. The Lucha House Party will seek revenge for that tonight.
On Monday Night Raw, Elias made a crack about a basketball team in Seattle not making sense. The live crowd, likely still upset at the Sonics departure a decade ago, pelted Elias and Kevin Owens with boos for the remainder of the segment.
While the city is hoping to bring not only NBA basketball but also NHL hockey back to Seattle, they were not pleased with Elias’ comments. Several former Seattle Supersonic basketball players even got in on the action through social media.
Former Slam Dunk contest winner, Brent Barry, played on the Sonics from 1999-2004.
Shawn Kemp could not be reached for comment (nobody tried).
Renee Young and Detlef Schrempf
Some fans on social media felt Young’s Schrempf reference was so obscure that the line was likely fed to her. Young offered up that she used to be a sports reporter for the Score in Canada. She insinuated that she knows more about team sports than some fans seem to think she does.
Michelle Obama has selected Titus O’Neil to lead two projects of hers. Titus will be an official ambassador for “When We All Vote” and “Reach Higher.”
“When We All Vote” is a get-out-the-vote campaign.
“When We All Vote—a new national, nonpartisan not-for-profit—brings together citizens, institutions, and organizations to spark a conversation about our rights and responsibilities in shaping our democracy. Namely, the responsibility of registering and voting,” a description for the organization reads. Michelle Obama, Tom Hanks, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Janelle Monáe, Chris Paul, Faith Hill, and Tim McGraw serve on the board of the organization.
Reach Higher is another organization headed by Michelle Obama. The organization aims to encourage more young people to attend college.
“.@MichelleObama I can’t thank you enough for having me as an Ambassador for the @WhenWeAllVote Campaign and Also @ReachHigher Campaign as well!! We’ve been Blessed for sure and part of that comes with Blessing others!! Proud to team with @KeeganMKey@PiperPerabo and Many More.”
Titus O’Neil and Michelle Obama
Michelle Obama may see Titus as a great leader but some of his Titus Worldwide teammates may not. Dana Brooke recently left the group, stating she feels she would do better on her own. She Tweeted out the following last month:
Tonight’s Smackdown and 205 Live taping will take place in the Moda Center in Portland, OR. It will be the go-home show before Saturday’s Super Show-Down in Melbourne, Australia.
Smackdown Preview 10/1
Paige Addresses Samoa Joe’s Actions From Last Week
Smackdown General Manager Paige has announced she will kick off tonight’s show by addressing Samoa Joe’s actions from last week. Joe showed up at the home of WWE Champion AJ Styles last week. Now just 4 days before Super Show-Down (less if you count the time change), what will Paige have in store for Joe?
Becky Lynch Planning A Surprise For Super Show-Down
Smackdown Women’s’ Champion, Becky Lynch, has some sort of surprise for Charlotte Flair. What it is will be revealed tonight.
“WWE.com has learned that The Irish Lass Kicker has a very special Super Showdown Surprise that she will reveal on SmackDown LIVE,” WWE stated about Lynch’s planned surprise.
R-Truth & Carmella vs Andrade “Cien” Almas & Zelina Vega
Not only are R-Truth and Carmella teaming together in the Mixed Match Challenge they will also be in a mixed-tag match tonight on Smackdown as well. They take on Zelina Vega and Andrade “Cien” Almas tonight.
Between Miz and Maryse, Daniel Bryan and Brie, Vega and Almas, and Truth and Carmella, there is quite an inter-gender tag division brewing on Smackdown.
Zelina and Carmella got into a social media spat this week after the Fabulous Truth lost on the MMC.
Babe, #TruthTv was one of the best parts of #SDLive this week.. yano, the same show y’all weren’t even on. ?
Shelton Benjamin called out Smackdown General Manager Paige this week, stating he was not getting enough in-ring action on Smackdown.
I Am a warrior I am a competitor & I am DAMN GOOD! Yet I have not had a match on #SmackDownLIVE in months. I’m here to compete I thrive on competition @RealPaigeWWE Its time you Got me off the bench & LET ME FIGHT!
So Paige has given him what he wants, a chance to prove himself. Daniel Bryan and Benjamin will go one-on-one tonight. You have to wonder if Bryan’s Super Show-Down opponent, the Miz, will be watching closely.
New Day Reveal Recipe For Pancakes
New Day has been tag team champions so often that a little old upcoming title match doesn’t stop them from enjoying pancakes. While New Day will take on the Bar this Saturday, they will be sharing their secret pancake recipe during a segment on Smackdown tonight.
While Matt Hardy’s in-ring career might be finished, his career behind the camera likely is not. The ever-creative Hardy brother is believed to have just completed filming on a WWE Network pilot from the Hardy Family Compound.
The pilot is expected to air as a type of Halloween special later this month and serve as a pilot for a series. Matt Hardy recently shared a pic from the set of “Broken Universe”:
Previously, WWE has used footage owned by Impact Wrestling for the Hardy brothers DVD. It’s possible the pending Broken Universe pilot is why Impact Wrestling officials were spotted in Stanford, Connecticut recently. That is only speculation, however.
The Hardy Saga
Since returning to WWE on April 2nd, 2017, Hardy has only produced one Broken Universe style segment. The Ultimate Deletion would main event Raw that night, however. His rival at the time, Bray Wyatt, ended up being thrown into the Lake of Reincarnation. Wyatt was then freed from Sister Abigail, who had been using him as a vessel for some time.
Matt Hardy is a former ECW Champion (WWE’s version), Cruiserweight Champion, Raw tag champ 3x, WCW tag champ x1, United States Champion, European Champion, Hardcore Champion, World tag champ 6x, and won the Andre the Giant Memorial Trophy in 2018.
Kenny Omega has twice offered Kota Ibushi a shot at his IWGP Heavyweight Championship title. On both occasions, Ibushi has not seemed interested in facing his partner. Following the Golden Lovers victory last night, Omega again offered Ibushi a shot at his championship. Cody ended up interjecting himself into the matter, however, and now there will be a triple threat match for the belt at King of Pro Wrestling.
In the backstage area after the show, Omega told the press, “The Golden Lovers can only face each other in a ‘legendary building’ that’s even bigger than Budokan”
King of Pro Wrestling will be held at Ry?goku Sumo Hall in Tokyo. The venue holds just under 12, 000. The Budokan holds just under 15,000. Its possible Omega is referring to the Tokyo Dome as a legendary building that is bigger than the Budokan. For Omega and Ibushi to face each other in the Tokyo Dome this year, however, Omega would have to either lose the title beforehand or Ibushi would have to win the G1 Briefcase.
Omega will be looking to defend his title for a 3rd straight time at King of Pro Wrestling on October 8th. Omega has already defeated Cody and Tomohiro Ishii with the IWGP Heavyweight Championship on the line.
