Ring of Honor was back on television this week. The promotion’s television episodes air throughout the weekend and then on their Honor Club streaming service on Mondays.
Last night’s show featured a Women of Honor Championship match as well as the Best Friends taking on Silas Young and Bully Ray in the main event.
Women of Honor Championship Sumai Sakai (c) defeated Madison Rayne
Madison Rayne has had an eventful summer. She challenged for the Impact World Championship at Slammiversary, wrestled in the Mae Young Classic, and challenged for the Women of Honor Championship here.
Unfortunately for Rayne, she lost this match via “Smashmouth”, which is a move similar to the Cross Rhodes or Tongan Twist.
Sakai will next defend her title against Tenille Dashwood on September 28th at Death Before Dishonor.
Shane Taylor defeated Josh Woods
Woods has been saying he never felt anything like when he was punched by Shane Taylor in their last match. There was speculation that perhaps Taylor loaded up his MMA-styled fighting glove.
During the match, Woods pulled off Taylor’s glove and discovered some type of foreign object. The ref went to throw the match out but Woods begged him not to. Then just as the ref agreed to keep the match going, Taylor hit “Greetings from the 216” for the win.
Heading into this match the two were tied 2-2 in their all-time series. Taylor picked up the win here to pull ahead by 3 wins to 2, however.
Jeff Cobb Broke Up A Future Of Honor Match
A Future of Honor tournament match was thrown out after interference from Jeff Cobb. On commentary, they referred to Cobb as the top free agent in wrestling today. He took out both prospects as well as another Future of Honor prospect who came out from the back.
The crowd popped huge for Cobb.
Main Event The Best Friends defeated Bully Ray & Silas Young
What looked to be the beginning of a tag-team has already turned into a rivalry. Young and Bully Ray lost this match after Bully refused to tag in Silas and let him take the Dudebuster from the Best Friends for the finish.
Bully Ray told Silas he had to learn a lesson although it is not altogether clear what he meant.
Next Week’s Episode:
On next week’s episode of Ring of Honor, Jay Lethal will defend his ROH World Championship. Jonathan Gresham will challenge Lethal in a 30-minute Iron Man match.
One of the longest-running unsubstantiated claims in pro-wrestling history is the infamous “Macho Man” Randy Savage and Stephanie McMahon rumor. Savage’s brother Lanny Poffo recently addressed the rumor on the first episode of his new podcast, The Genius Cast.
Longtime fans have probably heard the urban legend that Randy Savage had a liason of sorts with an underaged Stephanie. The rumor has been discounted by countless wrestlers over the years, but it persists to this day. Some fans still believe it’s the reason Savage was never brought back to WWE after his departure in 1994 and why the company waited so long to induct him into the Hall of Fame. According to Poffo, he doesn’t know if there is any truth to the rumor. Even if he did know, however, he wouldn’t tell. Poffo did offer up a theory as to why the rumor has persisted as strongly as it has over the years, however.
Lanny Poffo On Randy Savage Stephanie McMahon Rumor
“I don’t know and if I knew I wouldn’t tell you because Randy was very very private and I have absolutely no idea if that happened,” Poffo said “I’ll tell you what did happen. Triple H did an interview on a magazine and they said ‘what do you think of Hulk Hogan and the Macho Man’ and he says ‘well they’re great but they are dinosaurs.’ Well, evidently Hulk Hogan didn’t mind being called a dinosaur.”
So Poffo’s theory is that Savage mentioned Stephanie on his diss-track to Triple H just to get even with Hunter calling him a dinosaur.
“I have absolutely no idea if the urban legend is true. Like I said if I knew I wouldn’t tell you. It’s none of anybody’s business. There’s only one person who knows for sure and that is Stephanie. Randy is not here and she’s not talking,” Poffo continued.
Click Here to listen to Episode 1 of Lanny Poffo’s The Genius Cast podcast.
The Pro Wrestling Tees store in Chicago is happy with how All In and Starrcast weekend went. The retail outlet for the popular T-shirt company is reported to have brought in a half a million dollars in sales over the weekend. In total, they estimate over 20,000 products were sold.
Normally, the store says their retail outlet is not that busy as most customers order online. Under normal circumstances, the store might see 50 customers a weekend. This was not a normal weekend, however.
Pro Wrestling Tees owner, Ryan Barkan, spoke to Sports Illustrated after the event.
“I was really excited Cody Rhodes and the Young Bucks were bringing All In to Chicago,” Barkan said. “This was a huge event and I knew how big it could be for us, so I wanted some of the biggest events of the weekend to be at the store.”
Several Starrcast or All In related events took place at the store. Not the least of which was CM Punk’s marathon autograph signing the day before. Barkan said fans began lining up for Punk’s appearance as early as 4 AM for the 9 AM signing.
“There may not be another WrestleMania in Chicago, so this was the ideal wrestling weekend to have fans meet Punk. There were people in line locally and ones from all over the world.”
Posted September 4th, 2018 in News. Tagged: CM Punk.
It looks as though not only will Charlotte Flair be defending the Smackdown Women’s Championship against Becky Lynch at HIAC but the match itself will take place inside the cell structure. At least that is what has been building between the two Superstars online.
Lynch posted the following message over the weekend:
The idea of the match taking place inside the Hell in a Cell appealed to Flair. She sent the following message in response:
.@BeckyLynchWWE So you want to settle this in a cell? I’m going to make one thing very clear. In a regular match I let go of your leg after you tap. In a cell, I let go when I want to. Either way this ends the same way… With you wondering what could have been as you limp away.
Lynch and Flair have wrestled two single’s matches against one another on WWE programming. The first match took place July 18th, 2017 and the second was on June 5th, 2018. Lynch won both matches.
They’ve wrestled in 4 multi-person matches where they were on opposing sides. Of those 4 matches, Flair has won twice (including the title match at Summerslam), Lynch has won once, and Natalya the other. Additionally, Lynch and Flair have both been in all three Women’s Money in the Bank ladder matches, with the first two having been won by Carmella and the latest being won by Alexa Bliss.
They have been on opposing sides of just one tag-team match to take place on WWE programming. Charlotte Flair and Team Smackdown beat Becky Lynch and Team Raw at the Survivor Series in 2016.
Dustin Runnels could not be any prouder of his little brother, Cody. According to a video the wrestler known as Goldust posted to Instagram, he’s already watched All In and Cody’s match with Nick Aldis multiple times.
“Hey little brother, it’s big brother here,” Dustin begins. “I love you. Congratulations on an incredible match with Nick Aldis to become the new NWA World Heavyweight Champion. Unbelievable.”
After winning the ROH World Championship last year, Cody spoke about how supportive his older brother was.
“I love my big brother. I absolutely do. And if the shoe was on the other foot and he became World Champion or becomes World Champion, I’ll be there,” Cody said in a media conference call in 2017.
As a team, the brothers are 2x former WWE tag-team champions and won the Slammy award for tag-team of the year in 2013. Earlier that year, Cody had eliminated his brother from the Royal Rumble, the second such time he had done so.
Earlier this summer, Dustin commemorated the 3-year anniversary of Dusty Rhodes’ death.
“Been an especially hard year for me,” Dustin Tweeted on June 11th. “3 yrs. ago we lost our dad. Every damn day, I wish I could see you, or pick up the phone and call you. God, I miss you, Dad. You are the strongest, greatest man I ever knew. I love you pops.”
Both Nick Aldis and Cody were accompanied to the ring by “fight teams” at All In. In Cody’s corner was Diamond Dallas Page, Brandi, Pharoah and a few others. There was one face which jumped off the screen in the corner for Nick Aldis, however. Jeff Jarrett, who had a public falling out with Aldis not long ago, helped walk Aldis to the ring for the match. Today, Aldis released a statement on his decision to have Jarrett in his corner.
In the statement, Aldis admitted he and Jarrett have had a falling out. Aldis also said he believes in second chances, however, and decided to give one to the man who gave him his first chance to be a World Champion.
Aldis has won both the Impact World Championship and the Global Force Wrestling World Championship as well.
Jarrett and Aldis had a falling out as it concerns Jarrett’s Global Force Wrestling. Aldis opted not to sign a new contract with the promotion in 2017 as Jarrett was asking for 10% of all money GFW talent earned on the independent scene. Jarrett was looking for similar deals from Impact Wrestling talents when he was briefly in charge of the company again last year.
Aldis agreed to lose the GFW World Championship to Alberto El Patron last summer. He wrestled in one other match for the promotion and then left. Jarrett would eventually lose his position with Impact Wrestling and has since filed a lawsuit against the company. Jarrett is primarily wrestling for AAA in Mexico these days where he recently lost the AAA Mega Championship to Fenix.
The pay-per-view feed for All In cut out shortly after the 3-count in the night’s main event. Live inside Sears Center Arena, however, an extended celebration took place.
Rey Mysterio, Bandido, and Fenix thanked the crowd as Kenny Omega and Cody came out to join them. The Massie family along with some of their small children also filled the ring as confetti drifted down from the ceiling.
Omega gave his standard “Goodnight and Goodbye speech” while Cody reiterated that WWE does no own pro-wrestling.
Cody, Kenny Omega, the Young Bucks, Marty Scurll and Hangman Page
The group reiterated that they will not be splitting up when their contracts come due in 2019. This likely means they will not be going to WWE next year as Scurll’s contract commits him to ROH past then.
What happens when Omega, Cody and the Bucks are all free agents in a few months should be interesting. Both WWE and Sinclair should have the money to keep the stable but its also possible multiple non-WWE promotions could work together to provide the team with a joint offer. What this new era of non-WWE promotions working together means should become more apparent during what is looking to become the hottest free agent period in wrestling since the Monday Night War era.
Next up for most of the crew will be NJPW’s Destruction tour. Omega’s next IWGP Heavyweight Championship match is on September 15th versus Tomohiro Ishii.
Fans of Chris Jericho’s rock band, Fozzy, were likely surprised to see him appear at All In last night. The event happened to fall within a set of dates that the band had 4 straight shows to perform.
It is believed Jericho arrived at All In show shortly before it began. He then stayed hidden in the Young Bucks dressing room until it was time for him to appear. Jericho then left the building and hopped on a plane to get to a Fozzy show in Meriam, KS.
Following his attack on Omega, Jericho boarded a plane while still wearing Pentagon makeup in order to make it to Fozzy’s show later that night. Jericho is back on the road with Fozzy again tonight and has a show in Madison, WI.
Jericho’s appearance at All in is significant for a few reasons. Although he didn’t wrestle a match, Jericho did contribute in a significant way on a non-WWE pro-wrestling show held in the United States. He had previously said he would not do as such but then more recently stated he had changed his mind on the matter.
After attacking Omega, Jericho challenged Omega to a match on his upcoming cruise at the end of October. On Twitter, Jericho said there are under 100 cabins left to be sold on his cruise and he is probably hoping the marquee matchup is what sells the boat out.
During the main event of last night’s All In pay-per-view, voices could be heard yelling “Go home!” as the wrestlers scrambled to ensure the match ended before the feed cut out.
The main event Trios match featuring the Golden Elite vs Rey Mysterio, Bandido, and Fenix had to be cut short. The match was supposed to go just under 30 minutes but ended up going less than half that time.
“The main event got cut from 28 to 12,” Bryan Alvarez said on Wrestling Observer radio. “I guess the Hangman Page match went long and the Marty Scurll match went long.”
All In Main Event Cut Short
As the match was on traditional pay-per-view in addition to streaming services, the show had a strict window within which to work. During the match, it was said they were hoping to get the finish in with 2 minutes to spare but in the end, the finish came with only seconds to go.
Alvarez and Meltzer lamented that had the 6 performers had the full 28 minutes to perform, it would have been a heck of a match.
“It’s too bad because there was an incredible amount of talent in that match,” Meltzer said. “They didn’t get a chance to show what they can do by any means.”
Last night at All In, Kenny Omega defeated Pentagon Jr. in one of the night’s most high-profile matches. Omega barely escaped with the victory after Pentagon was able to hyper-extend his arm during the match.
As Omega celebrated in the ring after his win, however, the lights went out for a moment. When the lights turned back on nothing appeared out of place though. Moments later Pentagon would jump up to his feet and attack Omega. Fans began to notice the tattoos on Pentagon’s arm was different. When he delivered a Codebreaker to Omega, there was little doubt left as to who was attacking the IWGP Heavyweight Champion.
Jericho then challenged the beaten Omega to face him in the ring again but this time on the Jericho Cruise.
Chris Jericho’s Rock N Rager at Sea is set to sail from Miami to the Bahamas at the end of October. Jericho has said the only way to see the matches which will take place on the cruise is to book a cabin. There will be no footage of the matches, they are only for fans attending live.
In addition to Jericho vs Omega II, the Sea of Honor tournament will determine a new challenger for Jay Letha’s ROH World Championship. Jericho is also set to team with the Young Bucks to take on Cody, Marty Scurll, and Hangman Page. The Bucks will also take on LAX during the cruise.
Cody is the new NWA World Heavyweight Champion. He defeated Nick Aldis for the honor in front of a sell-out crowd in Chicago’s Sears Center Arena. In a match which felt like an old-school NWA title match, Cody pinned Aldis by reversing a sunset flip. Reminiscent of when NWA champions of yesteryear won the title, a period of silence preceded the official announcement and then the playing of Cody’s music.
With shades of Bret Hart psychology throughout the match, Cody Rhodes achieves the greatest moment of his surging career #AllInpic.twitter.com/4wWCcv04MM
Cody is now the 54th person to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. He’s the 3rd to hold the belt since Billy Corgan took ownership of the promotion last October.
Dusty Rhodes is a former 3x NWA World Heavyweight Champion. He never held the title long, however, as his combined days spent with the title only equal 107 days. In comparison, Nick Aldis’ title reign ends at 266 days. Tim Storm held the title for 414 days.
This is Cody’s second World Championship. He held Ring of Honor’s World Championship for 175 days last year. He won the title from Christopher Daniels on June 23rd, 2017 but then lost it to Dalton Castle at Final Battle on December 15th, 2017.
“Let’s not stop. Let’s keep going,” Cody Tweeted not long after the event completed.
Fans looking to get a sneak peek at the upcoming All In pay-per-view have been sharing the following image of the stage set-up. It’s clear the Young Bucks and Cody have invested some money in production.
The pay-per-view gets going at 7 pm est and the “Zero Hour” pre-show gets going on WGN at 6 pm.
According to Tama Tonga, WWE has tried to recruit him on multiple occasions but he’s not interested. Tona was interviewed today in Chicago where he is present with other members of the Firing Squad for Starrcast weekend.
“I’m the only one who stayed loyal to that company,” Tama Tonga said during an interview with WhatCulture. “Even when WWE came to me not once but f*****g twice!”
Tonga has come under fire for his usage of social media recently. The multi-time IWGP Heavyweight Tag-Team Champion was banned by Twitter for a 12-hour period earlier this summer. NJPW President, Harold Meij, also made public statements about wrestlers being more careful on social media after Tonga’s incident.
“It’s a different time for wrestling,” Tonga said. “Everything’s changing. Start off with Starrcast and start off with All In. It’s changing, the business is changing. Wrestlers and fan interaction is changing because of social media, it’s causing us to be more ‘friends’.”
Tama Tonga On All In
While Tama Tonga and his Firing Squad allies are not booked for All In, they’ve made a point of letting people know they are in Chicago. Bullet Club’s Firing Squad might be in a feud with the Elite at the moment but that doesn’t mean Tonga isn’t impressed and respectful of what they have accomplished with All In.
“It’s very historic,” Tonga said regarding All In. “This is the biggest thing you’ve seen outside WWE and New Japan in a long time.”
Naomichi Marufuji celebrated his 20th anniversary in wrestling today. A special anniversary show was held today and Marufuji wrestled his former partner KENTA, also known as Hideo Itami.
Before the match, Marufuji admitted he felt some jealousy in 2014 when Itami left for WWE.
“(Itami) and I are on different paths,” Marufuji said to Japanese media recently. “I did feel some jealousy when he went to America because I had decided that I had to do it ‘here.’ I don’t want it to be lost in the meaning of his going to America, I have been thinking about that. Because of the excitement, I want to show content that matches it, and above all the ‘results.'”
Marufuji would continue to speak on his former partner and rival. “He will not give up, and I want to take advantage of my ability to win,” Marufuji continued. “I think he is thinking many things, especially about the reaction of the fans when he was displayed on the monitor at Korakuen. I think that was the most and best ‘real.’ I want him to have an explosion like that at the venue. Everyone had hoped for him, and that was the proof.”
Earlier this year, it was revealed WWE was allowing the cruiserweight to perform on the show.
In 2003, both Tokyo Sports and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter named KENTA and Naomichi Marufuji as the top tag-team in the world. The Wrestling Observer would give them the honor in 2004 as well. In 2006, Tokyo Sports would award them the “Match of the Year” for a match they had against each other.
By 2014, each had established themselves as a top guy in Pro Wrestling NOAH. KENTA was looking to do something else with his career, however. He signed with WWE, reported to the Performance Center, and adopted the name of Hideo Itami.
John Cena may only be a part-time Superstar these days but he’s still adding moves to his repertoire. Cena was in Shanghai for WWE’s live event today and debuted a new finishing move which many are comparing to the anime character “One Punch Man”. Cena has named the move “Lightning Fist.”
For years, fans have joked about Cena’s “5 Moves of Doom”. Leading up to the live event in China, however, Cena let fans know he was about to debut the 6th move of doom.
“I couldn’t think of a better way to show my appreciation for China, Chinese people and Chinese culture,” he said, “than to debut what I think is a finishing move that will provide me much victory than Shanghai on Sept. 1.”
John Cena has a significant match upcoming in Australia next month. He will team with Bobby Lashley at Super Show-Down and take on Elias and Kevin Owens. Although this match is now somewhat up in the air as Kevin Owens recently quit WWE on Monday night.
Cena hasn’t wrestled on WWE programming since the Greatest Royal Rumble earlier this spring.
Marty Scurll will take on Kazuchika Okada tonight at All In. Many have commented that Scurll is simply too small to take on a heavyweight such as Okada. Even Okada himself has joked that once he defeats Scurll he will send the Villian to 205 Live.
At yesterday’s Starrcast, however, a fan presented Scurll with a replica of the title belt those on 205 Live chase after. Scurll had the fan toss it in the trash.
Marty Scurll is one of the only members of the Ring of Honor roster signed on passed next year’s G1 Supercard from Madison Square Garden. Others on the roster have their contracts up at the end of the calendar year after Final Battle.
NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Nick Aldis, recently told media he tried to get Dixie Carter to sign his friend as well as the Young Bucks but was unsuccessful to this end. Aldis had the following to say on his efforts to get TNA to sign Scurll:
“Marty had several non-started gimmicks, but they are all him and are manifesting every part of his personality, but as soon as The Villain thing hit, I’ve been with him every step of the way towards the fun and I am not taking any credit whatsoever, he is one of my best friends, but he is someone that I told TNA multiple times to sign him.”
A CM Punk autograph signing was set up by Pro Wrestling Tees yesterday in Chicago. While Punk himself won’t be appearing at All In, many feel the influence Punk has had on the wrestling of today will be evident in the event itself. The former MMA fighter had the following to say about the experience:
I don't have the words to properly express how thankful I am to have seen, spent a small amount of time with, and listened to some moving stories from some great people today. Appreciate you all. Thanks for the smiles. #fans#friends#strangers#samekids
Lines were said to be around the block for the signing. Advanced tickets sold out but Punk aimed to make accommodations for all fans who wanted to attend.
Going to be trying to accommodate everyone. Patience please. And thanks! ?? https://t.co/3nJ8fpUFy2
Fans have sent in photos from their meeting with Punk as well:
I’ve never paid to meet another human being before… .@CMPunk was definitely worth the money and wait…he liked my PBS shirt and was so humored by my Brawlin Buddy he took a pic of it before he signed it ? #BestInTheWorld#CMPunk@PWTeespic.twitter.com/PhAKi3ik41
CM Punk and Colt Cabana both played a pivotal role in the creation of Pro Wrestling Tees, the store where Punk’s autograph signing was held. The two former Second City Saints have had a rather tumultuous summer.
While Punk and Cabana were successful in their defense against WWE’s lawsuit, Colt Cabana has since launched a lawsuit against CM Punk for his half of the legal defense. Cabana was guarded on the topic during a recent episode of his podcast.
“All I want is for this thing to be settled,” Cabana said on his podcast. “I don’t have anything to say about it. I’m going to try not to say anything about this until after everything unfolds, I guess.”
Raw Superstar Mickie James is hoping her husband, Nick Aldis, retains his championship tomorrow night at All In. Aldis is scheduled to defend his NWA World Heavyweight Championship against Cody inside Chicago’s Sears Center Arena.
The 9x champion (6x WWE and 3x TNA) posted the following to Instagram recently:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BnH7laql0nN/
Nick Aldis vs Cody – NWA World Heavyweight Championship
As of this writing, Nick Aldis’ NWA World Heavyweight Championship reign is at 265 days. Aldis has officially defended the title 22x during that period. The matches, however, have all occurred on other promotions’ programming.
This will change on October when the NWA will present their 70th Anniversary Show. The event will take place on October 21st in Nashville.
Notable opponents of Aldis’ during his reign include Tommy Dreamer, Flip Gordon, Colt Cabana, James Ellsworth, Crimson, Jocephus, and Matt Cross.
“It’s such an honor to be leading this historic brand into its next chapter,” NWA owner Billy Corgan said of the event. “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.”
IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Kenny Omega, will take on Pentagon Jr. tomorrow night at All In. The event will take place inside a soldout Sears Center Arena in Chicago.
Omega credits the success of the event to wrestling fans being willing to take a chance on an alternative product.
“All In shows there are enough people willing to take a chance on an alternative,” Omega said to Sports Illustrated recently. “It shows that it’s worth putting your heart and soul into that alternative. We’re not looking for a quick path or quick WWE money. Opportunities like All In are great, it’s a tool to find who you are.”
A great piece with some friends and familiar names adding their insight. Please check it out if you have some time! https://t.co/OszEGQCCcn
Omega would continue to say that WWE is no longer the only goal for top-tier professional wrestlers.
“WWE was always the be-all, end-all, but now it’s changed so much that you can have your best years without WWE,” Omega continued. “You don’t necessarily have to stress or worry about not having that ‘WrestleMania Moment.’ I used to hear that all the time when I was coming up in DDT. People found a measure of joy by saying, ‘You’ve never walked the ramp on Raw, so who the hell are you?’ I’m hearing a lot less of that. People are realizing the alternative can be just as good, if not better.”
Omega has two big single’s matches coming up in the near future. First, he will face Pentagon Jr at All In tomorrow night. The two have never met in single’s competition before, though they were on opposing sides of a tag match once in PWG. Omega will also defend his IWGP Heavyweight Championship coming up against Tomohiro Ishii on September 15th.
At TripleMania, El Hijo Del Fantasma lost his mask in the main event. The match featured four luchadors and guaranteed that one would lose their mask.
The rules were that all four would star inside a steel cage. After two luchadors had escaped, then the final two would have a single’s match. After Pentagon Jr. and Psycho Clown escaped the cage, the match came down to LA Park and El Hijo Del Fantasma.
While speculation had been that LA Park would lose his mask, it was the man known as King Cuerno in Lucha Underground who would drop the fall.
“Some guys in Mexico wear a mask because they’re told to, but it means more when it is passed down from the generation before you,” Fantasma said to Sports Illustrated recently. “Myself, like Rey Mysterio before me, I wear a mask because of my heritage. Rey Mysterio Sr. gave Rey Mysterio Jr. the mask, the name, and the legacy, and that is what happened with me.”
El Hijo Del Fantasma
The popular luchador competes in Mexico as well as with Lucha Underground. Earlier this year, he wrestled several matches for Impact Wrestling. Its possible Impact brings him back when they head to Mexico City for their next set of television tapings.
Fantasma continued to say that Lucha Libre could do a better job of communicating to other wrestling fans about the importance of the mask in Mexico.
“We need to let the American audience know what the mask means because they already dig Lucha Libre. So we’re still in that process, which is a cultural part of Mexico City. It’s more than a sport, it’s a culture. Lucha Libre is in almost every house in Mexico all over the country.”
Keith Lee tried out for WWE on three occasions before the company finally signed him in 2018. His first tryout was a decade ago.
“I had a five-day tryout in 2008, a three-day tryout in 2011, and in 2013 I was part of the first tryout group at the WWE Performance Center,” Lee recently told WWE.com. “I believe there were 32 of us there.”
Lee said it was during this tryout that he received some advice from the legendary Dusty Rhodes.
“During the 2013 tryout, if you were going to show who you were on a microphone, you had to do it in front of The American Dream. When I finished, he pulled me aside and said to me, “That’s it, baby. You’ve got a presence I can literally bask in. Take it and do what you want.” And thus, ‘Bask in my glory’ was born. It is now something I hold very dear.”
Keith Lee WWE
In the 10 years since that first tryout, Lee has gone from someone WWE was willing to pass on to a superstar with “Limitless” potential.
“When I first met and worked with him, he let me know how much and where I lacked,” Lee said of Dusty. “I applied his words and honed myself.”
Lee has had two televised matches thus far on NXT programming, winning both in squash-match style.
The Starrcast convention is underway in Chicago. The multi-day convention features numerous fan interactive sessions including one last night with Eric Bischoff and Bruce Pritchard.
Both Prichard and Bischoff have weekly podcasts with Conrad Thompson (convention organizer) where they relive their times as key figures for WCW and WWE respectively.
At last night’s “Monday Night Wars” panel, Bischoff and Prichard shared the stage and both reflected on “Macho Man” Randy Savage’s departure from WWE in 1994.
Bruce Pritchard and Eric Bischoff on Randy Savage in 1994
According to Bischoff, Savage approached him in 1994 saying that Vince McMahon didn’t want him to wrestle anymore. Vince had given him a job at the commentary booth instead and Savage wasn’t happy. According to Bischoff, Savage told them he wanted to wrestle but Vince wouldn’t let him.
“Essentially (Randy Savage) told me, he said ‘Vince didn’t want him in the ring any longer. He wanted to retire him to the announce booth,'” Bischoff said. “Randy called me and said ‘I’m not ready to give it up in the ring, is there a spot for me?'”
Furthermore, Bischoff continued to say that Savage’s contract was “almost free” until 1997 as it was covered by his Slim Jim endorsement deal.
Meanwhile, Prichard’s story is that Macho Man had recently moved to Connecticut at the time in order to work in the office. Savage told them he didn’t want to take bumps anymore and was looking at the next 20 years of his career.
“He was saying different things to different people,” Pritchard said. “If he had told us ‘hey I want to go back and I want to be on the road, I want to work, put me in a major program’, to have Randy Savage involved in something – that would have made a big world of difference.”
“Randy expressed to us he didn’t want to take bumps anymore,” Pritchard continued.
Last fall, Hogan, and Beefcake were involved in a public spat. Beefcake mentioned he was writing a book and that it would be a “Tell All”. This message seemed to be directed at the Hulkster, or at least Hogan replied as if it was.
Working on my book which is fastly becoming a tell all! Hold onto your bandana Brother it's about to get real! #BTFBB#KARMA
“Got the bandanna glued on tight, get a good lawyer, brother..HH”
The two continued back and forth on Twitter for some time like this. It now appears, however, that the two have patched things back up again.
Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake – The Mega Maniacs
Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake formerly comprised the tag-team “the Mega-Maniacs”. They first teamed together at SummerSlam 1989 when they defeated the team of Randy Savage and Zeus.
Hogan and Beefcake would team up again 4 years later at WrestleMania IX. Later that night, Hogan would defeat Yokozuna for the WWF Championship in an impromptu match. They would align again in WCW and again in 1998 while both were members of nWo Hollywood.
Longtime wrestling promoter, Gabe Sapolsky, has commented on NXT’s Velveteen Dream being booked for upcoming EVOLVE shows.
It was announced yesterday that Velveteen will wrestle on EVOLVE 112 and 113. The events will take place on September 7th and 8th respectively. His opponents for the shows have yet to be announced, however.
When asked on Twitter if Velveteen was sent to EVOLVE, Sapolsky was quick to deny this was the case.
“Let’s just kill this narrative now,” Sapolsky Tweeted. “Dream was requested by us because of his history at the MCW Arena in Joppa, MD. We wanted a homecoming. He was then asked to do Queens, to give the fans something special at La Boom. Dream was not ‘sent’ by anyone, he agreed and wanted to.”
Velveteen Dream started his career in Maryland Championship Wrestling. EVOLVE 112 on September 7th takes place in Joppa, MD. The city was home to many of Velveteen’s early matches back in 2014 and 2015. WWE didn’t take long to sign him, however, and Dream was on the NXT house show circuit by 2016.
Velveteen Dream Evolve 112 and 113
Sapolsky then commented that Velveteen being sent to EVOLVE was WWE helping the independent scene.
Impact Wrestling presented a special branded show “Impact ReDefined” tonight. The show featured two championship matches and one main event caliber tag-team match featuring the Impact World Champion, Austin Aries.
Tonight’s show was the 2nd from the August 12th, 2018 taping out of Toronto’s Rebel Nightclub.
Here are 9 Takeaways from Impact ReDefined:
Tessa Blanchard Is The New Knockouts Champion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tx0u7DnXBk
Knockouts Championship Tessa Blanchard defeated Allie and Su Yung (c) – Title Change
When Tessa Blanchard made her first appearance for Impact Wrestling at the Redemption pay-per-view, she was portrayed as a blue-chip prospect. In the months since Blanchard has shown she is one of the best women’s wrestlers on the planet.
While Blanchard came out the winner, the story this match told actually favored Allie right up to the very end. It was Allie who got the initial first bit of offense in the match and it was Allie who broke up Su Yung’s mandible claw on Blanchard near the end of the match. Shortly after this, Allie hit a codebreaker on Yung but Blanchard rolled her up, grabbed Allie’s tights, and won the title.
The Weapon X Division Continues
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Gd6HyxjZxw
X-Division Championship Brian Cage (c) defeated Fenix – (2nd title defense)
Tonight’s episode started off with a 20-minute opening match that was as good as anything you’ll see on television this year. Cage dominated the match early but Fenix got back into things when he hit a rolling cutter on the entrance ramp.
Fenix reversed both Weapon X and a discus clothesline, something Don Callis made a point of mentioning on commentary. Rather than attempt one of the two moves which had already been reversed, Cage chose to give his opponent a powerbomb from the top rope instead and got the victory as a result.
After the match, oVe and Sami Callihan attacked Fenix and Pentagon. Although he initially hesitated, Cage sprinted back to the ring and took out Fenix’s attackers to close the segment.
Moose Aligns With Austin Aries
Austin Aries & Killer Kross vs Eddie Edwards & Moose – No Contest
In a shocking heel turn, Moose delivered a spear to his partner during the night’s main event.
Moose had been shown beaten up in the back so it looked as though Edwards would be forced to take on both Aries and Killer Kross by himself. After Edwards started the match by himself, Moose hit the ring with his head all in bandages. At the same time, it looked as though Kross had double-crossed Aries as he jumped off the apron and looked like he was refusing to tag. Moose then attacked Edwards, however, and the 3 men reveled in their clever ruse.
Austin Aries now has both Killer Kross and Moose working to protect his Impact World Championship reign.
The Kid Isn’t Dead
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pcOBq8wpW4
Following Slammiversary there have been a couple of complaints about Impact Wrestling which I’ve received. Some fans were not happy that a kid was shown run over by a car last week. These fans tend to feel the segment went too far while other fans are willing to put the angle into the same category as a Lucha Underground or Total Deletion styled scene.
What may have also thrown people off was that last week Don Callis and Josh Mathews reacted to the scene. In Lucha Underground, the idea is the commentators do not see all the over-the-top scenes and are then not in a position where they have to respond. It’s a little disturbing to the 4th wall to have a commentary team acting like the promotion’s tag-team division is running over children as part of their rivalry.
Regardless, a clear message was sent by the commentary team this week that the kid is not dead. Both Konnan and King received phone calls in their respective segments that caused them to leave immediately.
Throughout the show, fans were shown commercials for Impact’s upcoming show in Manchester on September 9th. The show will air live and for free on Twitch.
The main event will be a hardcore wrestling fan’s dream as Sami Callihan takes Jimmy Havoc in a Barbed Wire Baseball Bat Deathmatch.
The rest of the card is as follows:
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
Matt Sydal Wants To Mentor Rich Swann
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vj1xcHwxJew
Rich Swann defeated Petey Williams
Last week, Rich Swann told Alicia Atout he wanted to win the X-Division title. It’s a title Swann has been dreaming about his whole career. Unfortunately for Swann, the title belt is currently in the Weapon X division.
Swann defeated Williams via standing shooting star press after the two had exchanged pinning combinations. Callis suggested that Williams is too reliant on the Canadian Destroyer.
In the back, former X-Division Champion Matt Sydal offered to mentor Swann and seemed to go frustrated when Swann was not interested in his offer.
Scarlett Bordeaux Whispered Something To Grado
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hC1ssMng-3w
After KM and Fallah Bah visited the Smoke Show a couple of weeks ago, the team turned things around by beating the Desi Hit Squad. This week, Grado, Joe Hendry, and Katarina were her guests.
Bordeaux whispered something to Grado which seemed to have quite the impact on him. After some hijinx ensued it was clear that whatever she whispered to Grado will do something to get in between Katarina and her boys.
In addition to the upcoming Twitch special taking place a week from Sunday, Impact presents a One Night Only pay-per-view which debuts on the Global Wrestling Network on Friday night. The streaming service also features the video libraries of Destiny Wrestling, World Series Wrestling, Smash, and several other independent promotions from around the world.
The lineup for the show is as follows:
Petey Williams vs Michael Elgin
The Desi Hit Squad vs OVE
KC Spinelli vs Kiera Hogan
Steel Cage:
Josh Alexander vs Sami Callihan
Tessa Blanchard vs Gisel Shaw
Eli Drake Beat Some Dummies
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ec_8g5a2yOE
Eli Drake beat both Brandon Tidwell and Mr. Atlantis this week. The two local Toronto wrestlers had defeated the Cult of Lee last week.
Speaking of Eli Drake, another Impact Wrestling One Night Only pay-per-view was filmed recently. “Night of the Dummies” does not have a release date yet but will air on the Global Wrestling Network in the near future.
The lineup for that show is as follows:
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 “Impact ReDefined” Quick Results:
X-Division Championship
Brian Cage (c) defeated Fenix – (2nd Title Defense)
Knockouts Championship
Tessa Blanchard defeated Allie and Su Yung (c) – Title Change
Eli Drake defeated Brandon Tidwell
Rich Swann defeated Petey Williams
Austin Aries & Killer Kross vs Eddie Edwards & Moose – No Contest
