Road Dogg is asking fans to pick a side in the Becky Lynch vs Charlotte Flair rivalry. While he isn’t saying which side he wants them to pick, Road Dogg is adamant that fans choose one of the two to cheer for. Road Dogg made the comments while responding to a fan on Twitter. A fan commented on Road Dogg saying he’s not trying to turn fans against Becky when the Smackdown creative head responded.
Pick a side. That’s what I’m asking you to do, pick a side!!!
The Flair vs Lynch rivalry has been contentious since before Summerslam. Lynch went on a winning streak and earned a title match against Carmella. Flair then returned from hiatus and was added to Lynch’s title opportunity by defeating Carmella in a non-title match. This also led to R-Truth and Carmella becoming a tag-team in the Mixed Match Challenge but that is another story entirely.
Flair won the title at Summerslam by capitalizing on Lynch’s turned back. She has stated since that Lynch would have done the same thing. The two will meet one-on-one on Sunday for the Smackdown Women’s Championship.
WWE will air the second episode of the 2018 Mae Young Classic tonight. Former Knockouts Champion Madison Rayne will make her WWE debut tonight.
Blue-chip prospect from American Ninja Warrior, Kacy Catanzaro, will also be in action tonight.
Mae Young Classic Preview 9/12
Ashley Rayne vs Mercedes Martinez
Known in Impact Wrestling as Madison Rayne, the former Knockouts Champion takes on Mercedes Martinez in the 1st round tonight. She’ll be in tough, however, as Martinez made it all the way to the semi-finals of last year’s tournament.
Martinez is a regular for SHINE, Shimmer, RISE, and WSU. Ryane has competed for Impact, ROH, and at All In already this summer.
Kacy Catanzaro vs Reina Gonzalez
Catanzaro is receiving rave reviews since starting at the WWE Performance Center earlier this year. She is formerly of American Ninja Warrior, a show which Matt Cross was also once featured on.
Catanzaro will be up against fellow WWE PC trainee, Gonzales. The 6-footer is also said to be impressing trainers as of late. This should be a David vs Goliath type situation for Kacy but if she’s really as good as the rumors state, she’ll be able to handle it.
Deonna Purrazzo vs Priscilla Kelly
Deonna Purrazzo returns to the tournament this year to take on EVOLVE regular, Priscilla Kelly. Purrazzo was an alternate in the tournament this year but signed a WWE contract earlier this year. She lost to Bianca Belair on the Takeover: Brooklyn IV preliminary card which would later air on NXT.
Kelly is only 21 and just getting her career started. Purrazzo will be looking to lock in her Fujiwara armbar tonight.
Monroe was trained by her husband, Cedric Alexander, and George South. She sometimes goes by the nickname “Big Swole” and is formerly of the United States Air Force. Her opponent tonight is the Lucha Strong-Styled Zeuxis. .
4 matches will take place on NXT programming tonight. In addition to the in-ring action, NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa is also scheduled to make his first appearance since Takeover: Brooklyn IV.
NXT Preview 9/12
Nikki Cross vs Bianca Belair
Bianca Belair is undefeated in NXT but she will put that streak on the line tonight against Nikki Cross. As for Cross, she’s been looking to find herself on the NXT roster since dropping an NXT Women’s Championship match to Shayna Baszler earlier this summer.
Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch Reunite
Oney Lorcan found himself on the injured list for months with a broken orbital bone recently. He’ll be back tonight and reunited with his tag-team partner Danny Burch.
Their opponents are TBD and likely are local competitors.
Lars Sullivan vs Raul Mendoza
Lars Sullivan has been out of action since a broken jaw suffered at the hands of Aleister Black. He was also questioned by General Manager William Regal regarding his whereabouts when Black was attacked recently.
Sullivan said he wished he was the one who beat up Black but it was not him. He’s said since returning a couple of weeks ago that he is putting the entire NXT roster on notice.
Shayna Baszler In Single’s Action
Former NXT Women’s Champion, Shayna Baszler, will be in single’s action tonight. Her opponent has yet to be named and is likely just a local competitor.
Baszler has already said she plans on cashing in her rematch clause against Kairi Sane. We still don’t know when she plans to do that, however.
Tommaso Ciampa Speaks
NXT Champion, Tommaso Ciampa, will address the NXT Universe tonight. Ciampa has said he hasn’t appeared in front of the Full Sail crowd yet because he doesn’t have a title challenger.
He’ll likely have something planned for tonight but it’s possible a new challenger might as well.
205 Live last night took place inside the Cajundome in Lafayette, LA. 3 matches took place last night, including a tag-team main event featuring the Cruiserweight Champion Cedric Alexander.
At the end of the night, General Manager Drake Maverick announced a Cruiserweight Championship match for next week.
205 Live Results 9/11
Buddy Murphy defeated Gran Metalik
Murphy will challenge for the Cruiserweight Championship at Super Show-Down. The Australian will likely have the large crowd inside Melbourne Cricket Grounds cheering for him that night. As for Gran Metalik, he came into this one having just defeated Murphy’s training partner, Tony Nese last week.
Gran Metalik was looking good until Murphy kicked out of the Metalik Driver. He then came down awkwardly on his knee. Murphy took the opening and hit a knee to the face, followed by Murphy’s Law for the win.
highlights of Hideo Itami beating Mustafa Ali last month were shown. The commentators speculated on if Ali came back from injury too soon.
Mustafa Ali defeated Michael Thompson
Before the match, Hideo Itami came out and said he’ll be watching this match closely. Ali won without much difficulty, hitting the 054 for the win.
After the match, Ali dared Itami to get in the ring but his rival didn’t take him up on the opportunity.
In the back, Noam Dar and Lio Rush cut promos on each other. They’ll face each other next week.
Jack Gallagher and Drew Gulak defeated Cedric Alexander and Akira Tozawa
The odds were even this week as Brian Kendrick is out with an injury and Alexander had Tozawa watching his back.
It would be Gallagher and Gulak who would pick up the victory this week, however. Gulak got Tozawa to tap in the middle of the ring to the Gu-Lock.
In the back, Drake Maverick announced that next week Drew Gulak will face Cedric Alexander for the Cruiserweight Championship.
The G1 Climax 28 tournament will go down in history as one of the most unique in the history of the event.
Hiroshi Tanahashi would walk away from the G1 with the briefcase this year. Leading up to his victory, however, there were several big moments in the tournament. NJPW counts down the top-5 in the video below:
Top 5 Heated Moments From the G1 Climax 28
5. Sanada defeats Toru Yano
Sanada found a unique way to defeat Toru Yano. The two wrestlers frequently like to tie their opponents up in knots but it would be Sanada who would gain the upper hand this year. He wrapped Yano’s hands around the guardrail with athletic tape and left Yano there to be counted out.
4. Kota Ibushi defeated Kenny Omega
Tomohiro Ishii was the first to defeat Kenny Omega in the G1 Climax this year. It was Omega’s loss to Kota Ibushi on the final night of the round-robin which cost him the block, however.
The two Golden Lovers teammates hadn’t found since they were back in DDT.
3. Tomohiro Ishii defeats Kenny Omega
Ishii and Omega have met 4 times in single’s action. They’ve each beaten the other twice. Ishii defeated Omega in the 1st round of the New Japan Cup in 2017 but then lost a single’s match to him 2 months later at Wrestling Dontaku.
Omega then defeated Ishii in the finals of the inaugural IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship tournament in Long Beach last year. Ishii then even the series between the two on August 4th when he defeated Omega in B Block action.
2. The Firing Squad Ejected
The Firing Squad spent the entire tournament interfering in matches, getting disqualified, and abusing referees. They were finally ejected from the building on the final night of the round-robin tournament.
NJPW President Harold Meij assured fans the Kota Ibushi vs Kenny Omega match would go on without interference and it did.
1. Kazuchika Okada vs Hiroshi Tanahashi – Time Limit Draw
In the final match of the A Block, Tanahashi and Okada went to a time limit draw. Tanahashi only needed a draw to advance but Okada needed a win. Tanahashi will put his briefcase on the line against Okada at Destruction in Kobe on September 23rd.
Natalya and Ronda Rousey teamed up to give their opponents a “Hart Attack” last night. The move was the finisher for Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart for years when they were a tag-team.
Hart took the time to say how honored he was by the gesture.
Rousey spoke about Natalya earlier this summer while promoting the movie Mile 22.
“I’ve known Nattie years before I started wrestling,” Rousey said. “She teaches me so much technically, obviously but I was coming into a new environment, I was nervous and felt like the new kid in school,” Rousey said. “She really went out of her way to make me feel welcome and comfortable and part of the family. She’s been amazing since day one and I’m so lucky to have her as a friend.”
Ronda Rousey (c) vs Alexa Bliss
It took less than 5 minutes for Ronda Rousey to roll through Alexa Bliss when they met at Summerslam. Rousey is undefeated since joining WWE earlier this year. Including house shows, Rousey is a perfect 18-0.
On WWE programming she’s 5-0 with 3 singles victories, 1 in mixed tag-team action, and one last night in traditional tag-team action with Natalya.
2K completed their roster reveal for the upcoming WWE 2K19 video game today. One notable omission was NXT Champion, Tommaso Ciampa. While the game’s downloadable content (DLC) has yet to be announced, Ciampa has seemingly been left off the game. Ciampa himself commented on the matter:
In a since-deleted tweet, Ciampa wrote, “@WWEGames had their final roster reveal for WWE2k19,” Ciampa Tweeted. “A lot of people are wondering why The Champ is not in the game. Well, it’s quite simple. I’m The Champ for a reason. I don’t lose. Not in real life. Sure as hell not in your fantasy world.”
Tommaso Ciampa WWE 2K19
It is entirely possible this is a marketing/troll job orchestrated to get more attention for the game. Ciampa has been mocking many things online as of late. He mocked star-based match ratings after his NXT title match with Aleister Black:
It seems unlikely that Ciampa would actually have been left off the 2K roster this year. He was in the game last year and his character model would only need a little updating.
The Rock’s daughter, Simone Johnson, has previously expressed interest in pursuing a career in wrestling. According to a report from Pro Wrestling Sheet, the 17-year-old already attends training sessions at the WWE Performance Center.
Simone spoke to the Hollywood Reporter last year about wanting to pursue a career in wrestling. “It’s a sport that is unlike anything else in the world,” she said. “There’s just a certain amount of passion that every move and match requires, and that’s so admirable. It’s definitely something I’ve thought about and want to pursue.”
Simone Johnson was named Golden Globes ambassador last year. When asked, however, she stressed a career in film isn’t something she’s currently interested in pursuing.
“As much as I love and admire the film industry,” she continued. “I don’t see myself pursuing a career in it at the moment. I plan to study business in college — NYU, hopefully — and after graduating, I want to pursue wrestling and eventually transition into talent management.”
In other family news, Simone Johnson’s Grandfather, Rocky Johnson, will be featured in a biopic on his life. The movie will be titled “Ring King”. There is no word on a release date or if any other members of the family will be involved, however.
Scarlett Bordeaux skipped her prom and went to an independent wrestling show in Chicago instead. It was an AAW show that some of her friends were into.
In her senior year of high school, Bordeaux says some of her friends were into going to independent wrestling shows. She didn’t know much about wrestling at the time, however.
“One day I was just like ‘can I just come with you guys?’ because I chose not to go to my prom,” Bordeaux said. “I was dating someone from out of state I was like ‘I can miss it it’s fine’. I decided to go to a wrestling show instead, it was AAW. I saw it, I loved it.”
Earlier this month Bordeaux turned some heads with her in-ring ability. In front of a packed Chicago crowd on Friday of All In weekend, Bordeaux delivered a Canadian Destroyer onto Trevor Lee.
Trained by Jimmy Jacobs and Truth Martini, Bordeaux is now a fixture on Impact Wrestling.
The International Smoke Show
Over the last year, Bordeaux has wrestled in Japan for Stardom and in Mexico for AAA. I had the chance to ask her about her experiences wrestling in both cultures on today’s Impact Wrestling media call.
Bordeaux mentioned the two styles are completely different and communication with other performers could be difficult. She would continue to say, however, that wrestling across the globe has given her perspective on wrestling’s “universal language.”
“I’ve never done the lucha style before, I didn’t speak Spanish,” Bordeaux continued. “But wrestling – you kind of realize when you are travelling the world that it really is a universal language.”
She also mentioned India as a country she enjoys performing in.
“I’m excited to try going to England and Australia because I know those two are also very different,” she continued. “Every little thing adds to my arsenal and makes me a better performer slowly.”
What Did Scarlett Bordeaux Say To Grado and Joe Hendry?
Previously on Imact Wrestling, Scarlett Bordeaux gave career advice to KM and Fallah Bah that turned out quite well for them. She did the same for Joe Hendry and Grado recently.
This week on Impact, Grado and Hendry are planning to give the Smoke Show a gift to show their appreciation.
You can listen to the full Impact Wrestling media call below:
Zelina Vega lost her father when she was only 10 years old. While her father’s story ended in tragedy, however, his last words and actions left his family with a lot to be proud of.
Vega was a guest on the most recent edition of Lillian Garcia’s “Chasing Glory” podcast and told the tragic story of losing her father in the September 11th, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center.
She spoke about how her father was an amateur wrestler and a big wrestling fan. When Zelina told her father she wanted to be a wrestler, he was supportive. Vega said she knew from the time she was 4-years old she wanted to be a wrestler and her father played a big role in that.
“He took me to ECW and that scared the hell out of me as a kid,” Vega recalled.
Vega kept a lot of mementos from going to wrestling events with her Dad. A Hardy Boyz T-shirt from her childhood still seems to be one of her prized possessions.
“We didn’t have a lot of money but we were always at the events,” she continued.
Such an emotional day for ??
Hear @Zelina_VegaWWE open up like never before about her father’s untimely death during the 9/11 attacks, and her father’s heartwarming message to her stepfather. #NeverForgethttps://t.co/h0gytOv7k9
Zelina Vega Recalls Losing Her Father In 9/11 Attacks
Vega recalled the emotional story of her experience of September 11th, 2001. She had stayed home from school that day and her father phoned from inside the second tower after it had been hit but before the building collapsed. He worked inside the World Trade Center on the 103rd floor.
Vega’s mother and step-father were taking turns speaking to him on the phone. She recalled overhearing him coughing and the coughing growing louder.
Vega then overheard her father say something very touching to her step-father through the phone. “When he got onto the phone with my step-dad he said ‘honestly Kermit, I don’t think I’m going to make it out of here. I know you’re a great man I need you to be a father to my kids,” Vega said. “Love them like I would.”
Garcia posted part of the conversation to her YouTube channel below:
In a match Paige made official earlier this week, Brie Bella will face Maryse. This will be Brie Bella’s first single’s match in 2.5 years. Her opponent, however, hasn’t wrestled a single’s match since 2011 and last wrestled at WrestleMania 33.
Daniel Bryan and the Miz will likely be watching this match closely.
Andrade “Cien” Almas vs R-Truth
Paige also made this match official earlier this week. Almas is coming off of 2 straight losses to Daniel Bryan and could really use a win. In total, however, Almas is 6-3 in single’s matches on the main roster. His only losses have come to Bryan and AJ Styles.
As for R-Truth, he picked up a win in the Smackdown main event last week against the Miz. Another win tonight and Smackdown General Manager Paige might consider R-Truth in contention for a single’s title.
Charlotte Flair vs Sonya Deville
Before Charlotte Flair defends her title against Becky Lynch at Hell in a Cell, she’ll have to get by Sonya Deville tonight. Under WWE’s “pin the champion” rules, however, if Deville is successful tonight she could get added to the Smackdown Women’s Championship match on the pay-per-view. Seems unlikely, however.
Becky Lynch will no doubt be nearby while this match is going on.
Smackdown Tag-Team Championship #1 Contenders Match The Bar vs Rusev Day
Both the Bar and Rusev Day won triple-threat tag matches recently to advance to the finals of this mini-tournament. The winners will face the New Day for the tag titles at Hell in a Cell.
English and Rusev have been working well together recently but can they keep their hot streak going against the former multi-time champions the Bar.
Jeff Hardy vs Shinsuke Nakamura
Jeff Hardy will face Randy Orton at Hell in a Cell but will have a chance to settle unresolved business with the United States Champion tonight. It seems as though this is a non-title match.
Paige has announced this match will kickoff tonight’s show.
Gran Metalik defeated Tony Nese last week on 205 Live. Tonight he’ll face Nese’s training partner Buddy Murphy.
Murphy will challenge Cedric Alexander for the Cruiserweight Championship in Australia for Super Show-Down on October 6th. Alexander will likely be watching his match with Metalik tonight.
Cedric Alexander & Akira Tozawa vs Drew Gulak & Jack Gallagher
Even though Cedric Alexander is scheduled to defend his title against Buddy Murphy next, Drew Gulak is still trying to position himself for a title rematch. Alexander defeated Gulak at Summerslam.
Gulak has aligned with Jack Gallagher and others in an attempt to rid the division of its current champion. Tonight, Alexander has Akira Tozawa watching his back, however, in an attempt to even the odds.
Ring of Honor television this week featured a 30-minute Ironman match for the ROH World Championship. Jay Lethal would defend his title against “the Octopus” Jonathan Gresham.
This match was filmed before SCU and the Briscoe Brothers would face off on the All In preshow. The feud between these two teams doesn’t seem as though it is close to being over.
Mark Briscoe missed a Froggy-bow and Kazarian countered into a crucifix-pin for the win. This brought out Jay Briscoe to start a 2-on-1 beatdown but SCU made the save. SCU then had a 3-on-2 advantage but Punishment Martinez hit the ring and aligned with the Briscoes.
The Briscoes and Punishment Martinez stood tall to end the segment.
Highlights of the Dawks beating up Cheeseburger and LSG (the Bouncers) were shown. The Bouncers had just defeated the Dawgs in tag action.
Video recap of Bully Ray walking out on Silas Young last week was shown.
ROH World Championship Match 30-Minute Ironman Match Jay Lethal (c) defeated Jonathan Gresham (2-1)
The vast majority of the match went without a pin. Then, with only minutes to spare, Lethal tapped out to an Octopus stretch.
Lethal went after Gresham as soon as the next fall started. He locked in a figure-four leglock in the middle of the ring with 2minutes and 24 seconds to go. Gresham tried to turn it over but was forced to tap out with just under 90 seconds remaining.
Gresham went for several pinning combinations with under 30 seconds left but none were successful. The 30 minutes ended with each wrestler having earned one fall. Gresham challenged Lethal to a 5-minute sudden death overtime period and the champion accepted.
With under 2 minutes remaining in overtime, Lethal countered a sleeper into a cutter and then hit Lethal Injection for the pin and the victory.
Joey Mercury was arrested over All In weekend. As a result, he was forced to miss the event. Mercury had been scheduled to work as a producer and backstage agent.
In an update to this story, Mercury has been released and will not face any further charges.
Real name Adam Birch, he was discovered by police sleeping in his car last weekend. Police ran his information and discovered he had an outstanding warrant in Florida. The only available information regarding his outstanding warrant is that it was for a non-violent offense and it wasn’t serious enough to warrant extradition back to Florida.
Joey Mercury/Wrestling in 2018
Birch recently made his Lucha Underground debut under the name “Joey Wrestling”. The longtime tag-team partner of John Hennigan was introduced into the LU world as a guest at the wedding of Johnny Mundo and Taya.
Joey Wrestling also appeared in the most recent episode when he faced Matanza Cueto in single’s action. Matanza had interrupted Mundo and Taya’s wedding the week prior and Joey wanted revenge.
The 39-year-old is also a regular for Tommy Dreamer’s House of Hardcore promotion. Mercury aligned with Shane Douglas and Nick Aldis in the promotion earlier this year. The trio is something of a remake of Douglas’ old Triple Threat faction.
On October 27th the New World Order will reform at Mango’s Tropical Cafe in Orlando. Hollywood Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall will take part in a Q&A and reunion event. Hogan has been making the media rounds lately to promote the event.
When he was asked how the original 3 NWO members would fare against the Shield, Hogan didn’t mince words. Hogan declared, “We would murder the bums, brother!”
Watch: Hulk Hogan says nWo would “murder” The Shield
Hulk Hogan On NWO Reunion
“I use to wrestle with Roman Reigns’ Dad,” Hogan continued. “You’ve seen pictures of me holding Roman Reigns as a baby, c’mon. We taught them almost everything we know!”
Hogan would continue to say their reunion event will begin with a 3-hour Q&A session before moving into pictures and autographs.
Speculation of a possible NWO reunion began earlier this summer. Fans attempting to visit Hulk Hogan’s Beach Shop noted it was closed and Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and Hollywood Hogan were all seen inside wearing NWO gear.
Scott Hall and Kevin Nash “invaded” WCW in 1996 as “the Outsiders.” At first, the angle was meant to appear as though WWF talent were invading WCW. Hogan would join the Outsiders at Bash at the Beach that summer. He would win the WCW World Championship from the Giant shortly after and re-christen it the NWO World Title.
Bullet Club’s Firing Squad is looking for new members. The group previously put out a call for new member suggestions on social media and has now produced a recruitment video of sorts. Bullet Club OG Tama Tonga posted the following earlier today:
A few names were brought up multiple times by Tonga’s followers. Jay White, Toa Henare, and Punishment Martinez were all suggested as potential new members. White had previously been offered a spot in Bullet Club by Kenny Omega. He turned down the offer in epic fashion, however, and joined CHAOS instead. Ring of Honor’s Kenny King volunteered for the role:
The Firing Squad have a few big matches coming up in September. Tonga, Loa, and Taiji Ishimori will defend the NEVER Openweight 6-Man tag-team titles on Saturday. They will face the team of Taguchi, Juice Robinson, and David Finlay.
The Guerillas of Destiny will then face the Young Bucks for the IWGP Heavyweight Tag-Team Championships on September 30th in Long Beach.
Renee Young is now a full-time member of the Monday Night Raw broadcast team. After calling two episodes earlier this summer, Young has been named as a permanent replacement for Jonathan Coachman at the booth.
Young will be Raw’s first female broadcaster to work the announce booth on a full-time basis. Jonathan Coachman has been removed from the Raw team and will now work the pay-per-view Kickoff panels.
Renee Young commented on the news, “I am so so so insanely excited about this! To be the first woman to take over that chair that so many amazingly talented voices and personalities have sat in before me! Thank you to Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, TripleH, Michael Cole, Corey Graves and MANY others.”
Coachman, meanwhile, offered sincere congratulations to Renee.
A sincere congratulations to @ReneeYoungWWE for a much deserved move to the table on Raw. To be part of a team means understanding your strengths and using them to help the team grow. I have always embraced with positivity any role asked of me. That will not change.
“Starting tonight, Renee Young will join Michael Cole and Corey Graves each week on Raw,” WWE’s press release states. “Young started with WWE in 2012 and has served as a backstage interviewer and commentator on Raw, SmackDown Live and NXT. She is currently part of the Mae Young Classic commentary team on WWE Network. Prior to WWE, Young worked at The Score Television Network in Canada, building her reputation by co-hosting WWE Aftermath and interviewing high-caliber talent such as The Rolling Stones on other programming.”
Young was a popular host of “Aftermath” on the Score in Canada from 2009-2012. The show continues to exist as a post-WWE show on Sportsnet 360. Young was then hired by WWE in 2012 and has worked commentary previously for NXT and WWE Superstars.
Reactions from the Wrestling World
Work hard and you will be rewarded. Simple but true. Tonight will be a top 5 highlight in my 22 year career. Congrats @ReneeYoungWWE
I would like to think I had a hand in pushing this talented individual to lock down a more stable income for her household, but this isn’t about me. Congrats Renee. https://t.co/l7Ch5xZFhS
Smackdown General Manager Paige has revealed two matches for this Tuesday’s Smackdown. After defeating the Miz in the Smackdown main event last week, R-Truth will face Andrade “Cien” Almas this week. Maryse will also face Brie Bella in this week’s Smackdown main event.
Andrade “Cien” Almas vs R-Truth
R-Truth’s victory last week was the first single’s win he’s had on WWE programming since July 2017. He defeated Curt Hawkins on Main Event for that victory. Before then, his last win in a single’s match had been on Monday Night Raw in October 2016 when he defeated Titus O’Neil.
Andrade “Cien” Almas has dropped his last two single’s matches on WWE programming. Both losses were to Daniel Bryan. In total, however, Almas is 6-3 in single’s matches since debuting on the main roster earlier this year. His only losses have come by way of AJ Styles and the two to Daniel Bryan.
Brie Bella vs Maryse
Brie Bella will have her first single’s match in 2.5 years tonight when she faces Maryse. She returned to the ring for the first time since 2016 at the Women’s Royal Rumble in January and had her first tag match back last week on Raw.
As for Maryse, this will be her first single’s match since 2011. It will be her first match since she teamed with her husband at WrestleMania 33.
Cody will be appearing for Championship Wrestling From Hollywood next weekend. The promotion is where many of the NWA’s most recent angles have played out. The current NWA World Heavyweight Champion is referring to the show as his first “NWA booking.”
Also yesterday, it was confirmed Cody will defend his title against Nick Aldis next month. Aldis defeated Doug Williams yesterday to earn his rematch against Cody.
Cody NWA World Heavyweight Champion
Cody vs Nick Aldis II will take place on October 21st at the NWA’s 70th Anniversary show. Before then, however, Cody has said he’ll be bringing the belt with him to Ring of Honor. The promotion holds Death Before Dishonor on September 28th. They will remain in Las Vegas the next night for a TV taping.
NWA Owner Billy Corgan took control of the promotion last October. Since then, they’ve been furthering their storylines through NWA’s social media platforms and episodes of Championship Wrestling from Hollywood.
“It’s such an honor to be leading this historic brand into its next chapter,” Corgan said. “The enduring legacy of the National Wrestling Alliance — the men who forged it and the champions who defended it — illuminate our path in 2018. This event celebrates our first full year shepherding this brand while honoring the everlasting milestones, legends and champions of the NWA.”
Chelsea Green turned a lot of heads at All In last weekend. The “Hot Mess” participated in the well-reviewed fatal 4-way match along with Tessa Blanchard, Madison Rayne, and the fastest rising dentist on the independent scene, Dr. Britt Baker DMD.
Now 4 years into her pro-career, Green is a former Knockouts Champion and was ranked #26 in the PWI Female 50 rankings last year. Her career in wrestling began in rather unique fashion, however. Just months into her pro-career, Green was admitting to having an affair with Daniel Bryan live on Monday Night Raw.
Green was a guest on the most recent edition of Edge and Christian’s podcast and told the story of how she was given the role of Megan Miller on WWE programming. Miller was Daniel Bryan’s storyline physiotherapist in the summer of 2014.
Chelsea Green On Role As Daniel Bryan’s Physiotherapist
Green is from Victoria, British Columbia. The coastal city is also where Taya Valkyrie is from. As Taya would years earlier, Green also decided to train at the Storm Wrestling Academy in Calgary. Storm’s school has an excellent reputation and as such WWE will reach out periodically for his students if they need extra performers.
“I started in January and by August I was already cutting a promo on Raw,” Green said.
Green was touring through Canada and got a call to be a “Rosebud”. Green dropped what she was doing and joined WWE at their house show in Vancouver. In the back that night, she overheard WWE offer another indy wrestler a larger role on Raw. Green knew this Canadian indy wrestler didn’t have a passport and wouldn’t be able to work the show, however.
“What she didn’t tell WWE is that she didn’t have a passport. So she said ‘yeah’ but I’m standing beside her and I know she doesn’t have a passport,” Green said.
Eventually, Green was given a call and offered the spot. She was called into an office with Vince McMahon, Triple H, and Stephanie to talk about the role of Daniel Bryan’s physical therapist. She admitted that she would likely feel more pressure if she met the same three today.
“If I met them now my knees would be shaking,” Green said. At the time, she says, she was just trying to be professional.
Chelsea says her performance on the August 11th, 2014 Raw was the first of her sports entertainment career. It can be viewed below:
Hanson and Raymond Rowe are now known as the War Raiders in NXT. The team formerly known as War Machine were a successful team in New Japan Pro Wrestling before signing with WWE, however.
The pair recently Tweeted out praise for some of their mentors from NJPW.
Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima are one of the most successful tag-teams in NJPW history. As Tencozy, Kojima and Tenzan are 6x IWGP Tag-Team Champions. They also won the Wrestling Observer award for Tag-Team of the Year in 2001. Tokyo Sports gave them the same award the following year.
War Raiders In NXT
At Takeover: Brooklyn IV, War Raiders inserted themselves into the NXT Tag-Team Championship picture. The pair attacked the Undisputed Era after the current champions had disposed of Moustache Mountain.
Hanson and Rowe reported to the WWE Performance Center in January. Candice LeRae and fellow NJPW alumni, Ricochet, are also in their class of trainees. Triple H had the following to say on the class back in April:
“I mean the talent level, the amount of people, the amount of amazing athletes that want to come here, that want to be a part of NXT, that want that opportunity like there was tonight to stamp their place in history and immortality and become those icons…this is the place to do it.”
Charlotte Flair is currently part of one of the most talked about angles in WWE. The supposed Becky Lynch heel turn has left many fans unsure who to cheer for.
Flair won the Smackdown Women’s Championship at Summerslam. She pinned Lynch in a triple threat match which also involved then-champion Carmella.
Smackdown General Manager Paige has announced Charlotte Flair will be in single’s action on Tuesday. She’ll face Paige’s former Absolution protege, Sonya Deville.
This will be the first-ever meeting between Deville and Charlotte. They have been on opposing tag-teams at live events but have never faced each other on WWE programming or in single’s action.
Under the often-disputed WWE rule that a non-champion beating a champion in a non-title match leads to a future title match, this is a big opportunity for Deville. This same rule allowed Flair to be added to the Summerslam title match. Flair had defeated then-champion Carmella in a single’s match on Smackdown.
It is also the same rule which R-Truth has been comically misunderstanding for the last few weeks.
Based on what has been established on Smackdown recently, however, if Deville beats Charlotte she should be added to the match between Lynch and Flair at Hell in a Cell.
Matt Riddle was fired from the UFC while on a 4-fight win streak. The issue was that he had two of those victories overturned due to failing drug tests for marijuana.
UFC President Dana White took Matt Riddle to task in 2013 for failing another marijuana test. White fired Riddle and called him a “weak-minded dummy” for his failure to abstain from marijuana. What new evidence is showing, however, is that Riddle could have abstained from marijuana for months and still flunked those tests.
With his NXT debut pending, Riddle took an opportunity to take a shot at his former employer.
“You have to go to work three times a year, and you couldn’t pass a drug test?” Dana White asked of Riddle in 2013. “You’re so weak-minded and so addicted to marijuana, that you couldn’t stay off it enough to pass a drug test three times a year. Well, guess what dummy, they drug test in the real world, too!”
Science Now Unsure About Cannabis Test Matt Riddle Failed
The tests used to determine that Riddle had consumed cannabis not long before his UFC fights have recently been shown to be based on disputed-science, however. The latest research in this area is stating such tests are flawed and lead to false-positives for medical or frequent cannabis users.
Studies out of Norway in 2014 have shown that THC does not leave the body in a time-determined manner. Thus previous claims by medical testing companies that their devices only test for “recent cannabis use” have been misguided. This includes the testing used by the UFC prior to the advent of USADA. This is a controversial issue, however, and several medical testing companies still claim otherwise.
Based on the new research though, Riddle could have abstained for months from marijuana before his fights and still failed the tests he was given. Don’t cry for Matt Riddle, though, he seems to be doing just fine.
The above image is not of Lana in a match, however. The image is from a WWE photoshoot from earlier this year. The photoshoot involved Superstars recreating current movie posters. Lana was portraying the lead role of “I, Tonya”.
UPDATE: It now appears Lana is aware of the “I, Tonya” photo 2K used. She responded with the following:
Things are going slightly better on Smackdown for Rusev Day. The team of Aiden English and Rusev will face the Bar on Tuesday night with the winner earning a tag-team title opportunity.
Lana and Rusev are also once again entered into the WWE Mixed Match Challenge. In the inaugural tournament, Lana was able to score the first victory of her career on the WWE main roster.
Impact Wrestling presented another show from Toronto’s Rebel Nightclub last night. Next week’s episode will be the last of Impact’s 5 shows over a 22-day period in the city. In total, 8 episodes and 1 pay-per-view have taken place over the last couple of months from Toronto.
Impact heads to Manchester for a live show on Sunday and then they head to Mexico City for two nights of tapings next week.
Bound For Glory Main Event Revealed
Perhaps the biggest story coming out of Impact Wrestling this week is the confirmed main event for Bound for Glory. Johnny Impact interrupted Austin Aries’ promo time last night and informed the champion he will challenge for his belt in New York.
Aries, Moose, and Kross didn’t waste any time trying to soften up Johnny. The trio wrapped Johnny’s head around a steel chair and smashed it into the steel post.
Should Johnny still be able to make it to Bound for Glory, it would kick-start a big month for him. His season of Survivor begins airing in late September, he’ll challenge Aries on the 14th, and then sets sail with the Jericho cruise at the end of the month.
Konnan Returns To The Ring At Bound For Glory
Another match booked for Bound for Glory last night was the OGZ and King to face Konnan and LAX. A fictional crime boss ordered a ceasefire between the stables leading up to Bound for Glory.
The crime boss was upset a kid got run over as part of their rivalry and has ordered them to settle things once and for all at Bound for Glory.
Rich Swann Is Sick of Matt Sydal and His 3rd Eye
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUkKzGlYp7Y
Petey Williams defeated Rich Swann
Matt Sydal has been saying he would like to mentor Rich Swann. He appeared at the commentary booth during Swann vs Petey Williams this week.
Swann had defeated Petey Wiliams last week with a standing shooting star press but a rematch was ordered for tonight between the two X-Division stars. Williams picked up the win after Sydal distracted Swann, allowing him to hit the Canadian Destroyer.
Swann and Sydal were seen arguing in the back later.
Allie and Kiera Hogan Rescued Tessa Blanchard
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBO8vT3OEB8
Knockouts Championship Tessa Blanchard (c) defeated Su Yung
Tessa Blanchard solidified her spot at the top of the Knockouts division this week when she pinned former champion, Su Yung clean. After the match, however, Yung’s army of undead brides eerily marched a coffin onto the entrance ramp.
With Blanchard distracted, Yung attacked and hit her with the Panic Switch. As Yung was about to lock Blanchard in the coffin, however, Allie and Kiera Hogan came to the rescue. Allie has promised she won’t let Su Yung lock anyone else in a coffin.
After being rescued, Blanchard did not seem pleased with Allie or Hogan. Blanchard said she can take care of things by herself.
Brian Cage To Team With The Lucha Bros
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH1QrsZS_LY
The Lucha Bros cut a promo in the back. They sent a message to Brian Cage that if he really wanted to know what it felt like to cause Sami Callihan and oVe pain, then he should team up with them.
Previously, Cage saved Pentagon and Fenix from a 3-on-2 beatdown from the Ohio-based wrestlers.
Katarina Does Not Understand What Platonic Means
The Desi Hit Squad defeated Joe Hendry & Grado
Before the Desi Hit Squad defeated Joe Hendry and Grado last night, Hendry debuted a new music video. This video was a tribute to the platonic love he feels for his buddy’s girlfriend, Katarina.
After the Desi Hit Squad defeated her team, however, Katarina cut a promo on Grado. She said he was always losing and then said she was in love with Hendry. She kissed Hendry but the Prestigious One was having none of it. He loudly questioned if Katarina knew what “platonic” meant.
Grado and Hendry were shown in the back later. It seems Grado really appreciated Hendry being a good friend to him. Wrestling loves good friends!
Eli Drake’s Great Adventure and “Night of the Dummies”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnRcY8itQtA
Eli Drake defeated Stone Rockwell
Eli Drake held another “Open Challenge” this week. This brought out local wrestler, Stone Rockwell. The man of adventure was quickly dispatched by Drake, however, after being attacked from behind before the bell.
Drake’s themed One Night Only pay-per-view “Night of the Dummies” will premiere on the Global Wrestling Network on September 14th. The lineup for the show is below:
Eli Drake vs Eddie Edwards
Moose vs KM
Sean Carr vs Brute Vanslyke
Z&E vs LAX
Homicide vs TBD
Wagner Brown vs Axel Lennox
Alisha Edwards vs Rebel
Fallah Bah vs Richard Justice
Impact Wrestling At MediaCon
On Sunday, Sami Callihan will bring a barbed wire baseball bat into a match with the famed UK-hardcore wrestler, Jimmy Havoc.
The show will air live on Twitch. Here is the lineup:
Impact Wrestling Tag Team Championships
LAX (c) vs Jody Fleisch & Jonny Storm
Barbed Wire Baseball Bat Death Match
Sami Callihan vs Jimmy Havoc
Eli Drake vs Joe Hendry
Su Yung vs Lana Austin
Rich Swann vs Matt Sydal vs Trevor Lee
Quick Results:
Petey Williams defeated Rich Swann
the Desi Hit Squad defeated Joe Hendry & Grado
Eli Drake defeated Stone Rockwell
Knockouts Championship
Tessa Blanchard (c) defeated Su Yung
Sami Callihan & oVe defeated Zack Wentz, Trey Miguel, & Ace Austin
Bound for Glory (October 14th)
Impact World Championship
Austin Aries (c) vs Johnny Impact
Konnan will return to an Impact Wrestling ring this October. At Bound for Glory, Konnan will be involved in a 6-man tag-team war between his LAX and King’s OGZ. Until then, a ceasefire has been ordered between the two rival factions.
The 54-year-old veteran recently participated in MLW’s Battle Riot as well.
BREAKING: The first match is OFFICIAL for Bound For Glory. Konnan returns to the ring to join LAX to face The OGz and King in six man tag team warfare.
Head Of Crime Family Books Match For Bound For Glory
The first match for Bound for Glory 2018 was booked by the leader of a fictional crime family last night.
Even the most violent of gangs have to answer to some higher authority. @MadKing1981 and @Konnan5150 were summoned to a meeting for breaking the code and a MAJOR match was then made for Bound For Glory on October 14th! #IMPACTonPoppic.twitter.com/N5bzy3ymTw
Last week both Konnan and King received calls that caused them to drop what they were doing and leave. This week it was revealed Konnan and King had been summoned by the leader of the crime family that evidently Konnan and King are both in. The leader of the crime family was upset that a child got hurt in the middle of their rivalry.
Why Did A Kid Almost Get Killed On Impact Wrestling?
Two weeks ago King ran over a child in the streets of Toronto. The kid was hanging around with Konnan and LAX celebrating their tag title win when King ran him over.
Some fans expressed concern or criticism of the angle. Last night, the storyline reason why the kid was run over became clear. The fictional crime family only decided to get involved in King and Konnan’s feud after a civilian, and a child civilian at that got hurt. The crime leader said their feud was bad for business and it needs to be sorted out once and for all. He then booked the 6-Man match for Bound for Glory with King joining the OGZ and Konnan returning to the ring with LAX.
The leader of the crime family then ordered a ceasefire between the two groups until Bound for Glory.
