Impact Wrestling airs a special branded episode tonight. “Impact ReDefined” will feature two championship matches and a main event caliber tag-team match with Austin Aries and Killer Kross facing Eddie Edwards and Moose.

Tonight’s episode was filmed August 12th, 2018 at Rebel Nightclub in Toronto.

Impact ReDefined Preview

Knockouts Championship
Triple Threat
Su Yung (c) vs Tessa Blanchard vs Allie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIudo0FmZSM

Tonight’s the night. Tessa Blanchard gets her first crack at the Knockouts Championship since arriving in the company. She took a rather odd route to get here, however.

Blanchard was knocked out of title contention for Slammiversary after suffering two losses to Madison Rayne via clever pinning combination. She bounced back by beating former champion, Allie, in a single’s match on the PPV, however. Allie then defeated the champion, Su Yung, in a non-title match, which then put her in title contention despite her earlier loss to Blanchard.

Allie says she only wanted to face Yung to prevent the Bloody Undead Bride from putting any more Knockouts in coffins. Blanchard says Allie was just trying to weasel her way into a title shot. The result is tonight’s triple threat and the toughest test yet for Su Yung’s reign.

X-Division Championship
Brian Cage (c) vs Fenix

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FqwN-6bAWU

Cage will look for his second defense of the X-Division title tonight against Fenix. The popular luchador just won the AAA Mega Championship in Mexico and will be looking to add the X-Division title to his list of accomplishments.

Brian Cage was this week’s guest on the Impact media conference call. He spoke about the importance of the X-Division title to him and the promotion.

“I want to make the X-Division so awesome and so entertaining,” Cage said on the call. “That the world title becomes option C because I have option A.”

I asked Cage if he feels he can bring the X-Division title to a level of prominence where it feels on-par with the world title.

“Absolutely,” Cage answered. “I think that’s going to be through the quality and the entertainment and the matches set going forward.”

Cage will look to keep ushering in the “Weapon X” era of the division tonight.

Moose & Eddie Edwards vs Austin Aries & Killer Kross

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2waSNkkMqc

Eddie Edwards has been spiraling as of late. The return of his old friend Moose evens up the odds in his rivalry with the Impact World Champion, however.

For two weeks in a row, Aries and his new ally, Killer Kross, have gotten the better of Edwards. They even cost Edwards the Impact World Championship. Now with Moose back by his side, however, Edwards is in prime position to get his revenge.

The Smoke Show with Scarlett Bordeaux
Guests: Joe Hendry, Katarina, and Grado

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCTXB7NEwtk

So far, Scarlett Bordeaux’s advice has worked out great for Fallah Bah and KM. The comedic team scored a victory over the Desi Hit Squad last week after Bordeaux advised KM to start doing things Bah’s way.

Tonight’s guests on the Smoke Show are Joe Hendry, Grado, and Katarina. Perhaps Bourdeaux will help the trio navigate through what appears to be a platonic and non-platonic love triangle.

Rich Swann vs Petey Williams

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m__UL61TzU&t=15s

Last week on Impact Wrestling, Rich Swann told Alica Atout that it is his goal to capture the X-Division Championship.

Swann echoed similar sentiment during an Impact media conference call earlier this summer.

“Growing up aspiring to be a professional wrestler my size and stature that was one of my goals, if not the goal, to be in the X-Division to be in Impact, to get the X-Division championship,” Swann said.

If Swann wants to join the ranks of those who have held X-Division gold, he’ll likely have to defeat a former champion in Petey Wiliams tonight.

Maria Kannelis was discovered in the 2004 Diva Search. Her first stint in WWE was during a time when the Divas Championship played a prominent role. If Maria had her way, the title would be brought out of retirement.

Earlier this week, Maria made comments that she’d like to see the return of the Butterfly-winged belt. Last night, Maria went into greater detail regarding how she would use the title:

I want to see it as a third title. As a symbol of never forgetting our history. Respecting it. Learning from it. As a statement about redefining the meaning of a Divas Championship where the women can define their worth as performers. Make every match for it an Ironman. #diva https://t.co/s6w1mBVpZ8

— MariaKanellisBennett (@MariaLKanellis) August 30, 2018

Paul Heyman Praises Maria Kanellis As An “Underrated Creative Mind”

Paul Heyman offered praise for his former pupil recently as well. Maria and Heyman were in OVW together and each has consistently praised the other in statements since.

. @wrestling_page2 @RealMikeBennett
I DOUBLE DAWG DARE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
cc – @MariaLKanellis, the most underrated creative mind in the industry, has been since 2005 when I witnessed it myself in @WWE – #OVW. #JustSaying
But I digress.
Oh yeah …
I DOUBLE DAWG DARE YOU! https://t.co/suyY6K2CxG

— Paul Heyman (@HeymanHustle) August 28, 2018

Heyman’s comments regarding Maria are not without supporting evidence. 3 years after her WWE release in 2011, Maria applied to the WWE Talent Scholarship Fund. The fund awards scholarship money to ex WWE talent who apply and wish to continue their education. Paul Burchill and Michael Thompson have also received scholarships from the fund.

Maria was approved for a scholarship and received a highly relevant degree considering her field. She graduated with a degree in Sports, Entertainment and Event Management from Johnson and Wales University in 2017. Two months after she graduated her and Michael Bennett debuted at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view.

Although she is now back from maternity leave, Maria is on the sidelines with an injured wrist at the moment.

NXT Champion, Tommaso Ciampa, is not interested in getting called up to the main roster. The man many consider the hottest heel in the industry at the moment says NXT is the pinnacle of pro-wrestling and he plans on spending the rest of his career proving this.

The champion also expressed he is more than simply a “Wrestler”, he is a “Sports Entertainer”.

https://twitter.com/ProjectCiampa/status/1034854272922468357?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

Following the release of the PWI Top 500 this week, Ciampa also unveiled his own version of the rankings:

https://twitter.com/ProjectCiampa/status/1034908917367758848

Ciampa has also released his own version of a star-based rating system for matches this year. He used the system to evaluate his own match with Aleister Black.

https://twitter.com/ProjectCiampa/status/1022988360229384192

Tommaso Ciampa NXT Champion

Ciampa expressing his desire to stay in NXT comes on the heels of rumors surrounding a change to the brand in 2019. Speculation is Fox Sports is possibly interested in airing the show on national television. Such a TV deal could fully establish NXT as a 3rd brand rather than a developmental one.

Triple H expressed similar sentiment on an NXT media call recently.

“Once we get into the Fox deal, certainly as we begin to get closer to October next year, we’ll all be beginning to have conversations and we’ll see what those conversations bring up,” Triple H said. “We’ll see where it should be, how long it should be, all those things, but everything is on the table.”

Brian Cage was this week’s guest on the Impact Wrestling media conference call. He took the time to speak on how important the X-Division title is to him.

“This title to me is what Impact Wrestling is all about,” Cage said on the call. “It’s what put Impact Wrestling on the map.”

Cage would continue to say that the X-Division title had always been a goal of his.

“People would ask me about the idea of ever going to Impact Wrestling long before I was here,” Cage continued. “I always said I’d love to just be part of the X-Division.”

While the X-Division has always been about “no limits” rather than “weight limits” Cage’s size stands out amongst the majority of previous champions. It’s perhaps that he can do the moves other X-Division Champions have done before him despite his size, however, that is what makes Cage such a notable title-holder.

“To me, this was the main goal and the title I wanted to go for out of the gate,” Cage said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z16e8xDcQgM&frags=pl%2Cwn

Brian Cage: Impact Wrestling’s X-Division Champion

We asked Cage what fans can expect of the “Weapon X” era he hopes to usher in while champion. Cage was quick to say he’s not looking to make the division better as it’s always been good but is hoping to make it stand out as it once did.

“I want to make the X-Division so awesome and so entertaining,” Cage continued. “That the world title becomes option C because I have option A.”

There was a time when the X-Division title felt on par to TNA Wrestling’s version of the world title. I asked Cage if he feels he can bring the title back to that level of prestige.

“Absolutely,” Cage answered. “I think that’s going to be through the quality and the entertainment and the matches set going forward.”

Cage will defend the title against Fenix on tomorrow night’s special “Impact ReDefined” episode.

NXT is back inside Full Sail University tonight. The brand presents its first show from the television tapings which took place after Takeover: Brooklyn IV.

4 matches have been confirmed for tonight along with an update from William Regal on the investigation into Aleister Black’s attacker.

NXT Preview 8/29

Non-Title
Ricochet & Pete Dunne vs Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly (Undisputed Era)

Ricochet and Dunne are not allies but they will have to work on the same page tonight. The two unlikely partners were involved in a backstage altercation with the Undisputed Era last week, however, leading to this match tonight.

Dunne seems more interested in challenging for Ricochet’s NXT North American Championship than he is gaining a tag partner. This could create an interesting dynamic in tonight’s main event. Should the NXT NA Champion and the WWE UK Champion be victorious tonight they’d likely find themselves in line for a future title shot against the NXT tag champs.

EC3 vs Raul Mendoza

EC3 will be looking to get back in the win column tonight. He suffered a loss to Velveteen Dream at Takeover: Brooklyn IV.

EC3 said his rivalry with Dream isn’t over until he wins. He made the comments backstage following his loss at Takeover. If that is the case, EC3 might want to send a message to his rival tonight.

Dakota Kai vs Aliyah

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xX-BSO9V4Vw&frags=pl%2Cwn

The NXT Women’s division will see former title-challenger, Dakota Kai, go one-on-one with Aliyah on tonight’s show.

The New Zealander Kai looks as though she will also compete in the NXT UK Women’s division as well. She took part in the NXT UK tapings recently. Kai’s last single’s match on NXT North American programming saw her drop a match to Lacey Evans. Kai has actually dropped 3 of her last 4 matches on the brand, losing to Baszler, Bianca Belair, and Lacey Evans. Her only victory during that period was over Santana Garrett.

As for Aliyah, 2018 has not been kind to her. She’s had 4 matches on NXT programming this year and she’s lost all of them. Lacey Evans, Ember Moon, Bianca Belair, and Kairi Sane have all scored wins over her in 2018.

Keith Lee In Single’s Action

Keith Lee will step back into an NXT ring tonight. He was victorious in his first match over Marcel Barthel last month. Since that match, Lee has won 5 straight on NXT house shows.

William Regal Updates The Investigation Into The Attack on Aleister Black

NXT General Manager, William Regal, has promised to update fans tonight on the investigation into who attacked Aleister Black.

Last week, EC3 speculated Lars Sullivan might have been Black’s attacker. Several surveillance videos have been released recently but who attacked the former champion is still unclear.

Cody Rhodes released a new video on his YouTube channel today. He referred to the video as his “go-home” show before Saturday’s big All In pay-per-view. Cody was respectful toward WWE during the interview, but was sure to tell fans that All In represents a true alternative to their product.

“They Don’t Own Pro Wrestling”

“It sounds cliche but WWE does what they do and they are great at it,” Cody said of his former employer. “They’ve just made such a significant impact in what was, at one point, a pro-wrestling business. But for all the great things WWE has done, they don’t own pro-wrestling. Pro-Wrestling can look different ways, it can sound differently and I think with All In you are going to see what is that alternative.”

• Cody Rhodes Talks ALL IN, Randy Orton, and Future Shows during Reddit AMA

Watch: ALL US Episode 6: “The World Is Watching”

Other than the main event, Cody said the match order will not be revealed. The Young Bucks vs Rey Mysterio, Bandido, and Fenix has been confirmed as the main event, however. Cody would not say where on the card his match with Nick Aldis will take place.

When asked about the significance of the event, Cody acknowledged the opportunity the event was providing for the younger talent.

“I think it’s bold for me to say ‘lives will be changed’,” Cody continued. “But if we look at the history of wrestling, how significant this is already without the show having happened yet, I think it does have the potential to change some lives.”

Cody then mentioned the wrestlers in the Battle Royal will only have a few minutes to make an impression. Those few minutes will take place on WGN, however, and there will be more eyes on them than ever before.

Check out SEScoops’ coverage of the show on the All In Event Page.

An interesting new match stipulation has just been announced for All In. The match between “Bad Boy” Joey Janela and Adam “Hangman” Page will now be a “Chicago Street Fight”.

https://twitter.com/ALL_IN_2018/status/1034819101913440261

The no DQ and no count-out rules might just come into play during the match in terms of potential interference. Recent episodes of Being the Elite have suggested Joey Ryan might have a vested interest in the match.

The presumed-dead Ryan has organized two “Ghostly Meet and Greets” and a “Joey Ryan Murder Mystery” event for Starrcast weekend.

https://twitter.com/JoeyRyanOnline/status/1034166152266567680

Joey Janela vs Hangman Page
Chicago Street Fight

Janela is the current WWN Live Champion, a title often defended on EVOLVE shows. He is just the 4th person to hold the title with Matt Riddle, Keith Lee, and Auston Theory being the others.

Janela is perhaps best famous for the unique and creative pay-per-views he does with Game Changer Wrestling. The most recent installment, “Joey Janela’s Lost in New York”, featured a main event of Janela taking on Jinsei Shinzaki, otherwise known as Hakushi. The pay-per-view featured scenes of Janela fighting off the Japanese mafia before finally taking on Hakushi in the night’s main event. Joey Janela’s Spring Break events are also becoming a cult-hit over WrestleMania weekend.

Check out SEScoops’ coverage of the event on our All In Event Page.

New Japan Pro Wrestling returns to Long Beach on September 30th, 2018. Only 3 matches have been confirmed for the show thus far, however.

The promotion has 3 big shows before Long Beach and will likely only announce more matches after the Destruction in Kobe event on the 23rd. In lieu of announcing more matches, NJPW has confirmed that several wrestlers will be apart of the show.

NJPW has just confirmed the following wrestlers for Fighting Spirit Unleashed on September 30th:

• Kota Ibushi
• Kenny Omega
• Evil
• Sanada
• Tetsuya Naito
• Tomohiro Ishii
• Kazuchika Okada
• Hiroshi Tanahashi

More Wrestlers Announced for Fighting Spirit Unleashed in Long Beach, CA!https://t.co/7OTwvRF4BM@tanahashi1_100 @rainmakerXokada @s_d_naito @KennyOmegamanX #njpw #njpwUSA pic.twitter.com/JHrWHopUpT

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) August 28, 2018

Fighting Spirit Unleashed Lineup

• IWGP United States Championship
  Juice Robinson (c) vs Cody

This will be Juice Robinson’s first defense of the title he won back in July. Following his title victory over Jay White, Juice only went 3-6 in the G1 Climax. He was sporting a broken hand during the tournament, however.

Robinson was trained by Cody’s father and often uses Dusty Rhodes’ trademark jabs during his matches. Cody defeated Juice at Wrestle Kingdom 11 on January 4th, 2017.

• IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
  The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) (c) vs The Guerillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa)

The Young Bucks won the IWGP Heavyweight Championships at Dominion in Osaka back in June. They then defended the titles against Evil and Sanada successfully at the G1 Special in San Fransico. Later that show, however, the Bucks were the victims of a beatdown at the hands of the Firing Squad.

The last time the Bucks were in the same ring as the Firing Squad, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa and Taiji Ishimori defeated them and Marty Scurll for the NEVER 6-Man titles.

• IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Tournament (Semi-Final)
  Will Ospreay vs Marty Scurll

Hiromu Takahashi was forced to vacate “Mr. Belt”, his name for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. Takahashi will be out of action for 9-12 months after sustaining a neck injury at the G1 Special in San Francisco.

The other semi-final match in the tournament will be between Bushi and Kushida on September 23rd.

Jim Ross is not a fan of how Finn Balor has been used in WWE as of late. The popular Irish Superstar has been involved in a rivalry with Baron Corbin as of late.

“This Baron Corbin thing with Balor is wearing me out,” Ross said. “I’m done with it.”

Balor squashed Corbin in under 2 minutes at Summerslam but then dropped a Universal title match to Roman Reigns the next night. Constable Corbin defeated Balor this week on Raw after initially being DQ’ed and then restarting the match.

“Finn Balor needs to be restarted,” Ross said. “Gotta regroup here, hit the reset button. Too good of a talent, too young, too talented. He should be the head of a faction, in my view. I think he’d be a bitter, pissed off, contrary, under-sized guy who thinks he’s 300 pounds.”

Ross continued to say there are several members of the WWE roster who would benefit from being put in such a stable. Ross said being in a faction with Balor would give their characters purpose and direction.

A new, The Jim Ross Report will escape this Wednesday morning & I’m recording it Tuesday night in #OKC at the #KATT. @RicFlairNatrBoy Pt 2@OfficialPWI names #1 on PWI500

Catch @MattJackson13 @NickJacksonYB now, pic.twitter.com/QyGx5nhYkP

— Jim Ross (@JRsBBQ) August 28, 2018

Finn Balor and the Club

Finn Balor is a founding member of Bullet Club. Earlier this year he was aligned with Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows as he was during his time in NJPW as well. Anderson and Gallows were then drafted to Smackdown, however, once again breaking up the faction.

Anderson recently commented that he and Gallows are now on their own.

#TheClub has been done for a long time, babe.
@LukeGallowsWWE n I on our own..#WeGotThis https://t.co/2ecTvsmo4h

— The Machine Gun (@MachineGunKA) August 6, 2018

IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega has landed the top spot in this year’s installment of Pro Wrestling Illustrated famed PWI 500 list.

It is the first time Omega has topped the list and the second straight year a wrestler from New Japan Pro Wrestling has earned the distinction. Prior to 2017, the last time a non-WWE wrestler earned the top spot was 2010 – when AJ Styles did so while a member of TNA. Prior to 2010, then-WCW Cruiserweight Dean Malenko topped the list in 1997.

PWI 500 2018 Top 10

The Top 10 wrestlers on the 2018 PWI 500 were revealed on the latest episode of The Jim Ross Report podcast.  (Previous ranking in brackets)

1. Kenny Omega (#5)
2. AJ Styles (#2)
3. Kazuchika Okada (#1)
4. Brock Lesnar (#25)
5. Seth Rollins (#16)
6. Braun Strowman (#34)
7. Roman Reigns (#4)
8. Cody (#33)
9. Tetsuya Naito (#12)
10. The Miz (#10)

PWI Top 500 Explained

While often controversial, the PWI 500 could use some explaining. Pro Wrestling Illustrated used to be one of the only ways for fans to follow promotions outside of their local territory. The magazine was, at one point (and might still be), based in kayfabe. The PWI 500 is then based on who were the most successful wrestlers of the year if wrestling was a real sport.

Omega won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and beat the greatest champion in the title’s lineage to do so. Styles has been the WWE Champion since November. Okada completed the greatest reign in IWGP Heavyweight title history this year.

Brock Lesnar won the main event of WrestleMania and held the Universal title for almost the entire year in which the PWI 500 capsules.

Spots 11-500 are available through the PWI-Online or the magazine itself.

New NXT Women’s Champion, Kairi Sane, lost and regained her championship in quick succession recently but it is unlikely fans will be shown this on NXT programming. The Pirate Princess has landed on the blooper reel for accidentally throwing her title belt into the crowd as she was making her entrance.

Sane’s championship entrance involves her opening a treasure chest to find the championship belt. Also in the treasure chest are gold coins which Sane then throws into the crowd. As she was throwing the coins into the crowd, however, she lost grip on the title.

Watch: Kairi Sane accidentally throws her Women’s Championship belt in the audience at NXT Live Event:

Good hangs at #NXTFSLive with the crew as always @bonez216 @ItsIzzyMania @Cody_Starbuck @JJWilliamsWON @JohnBetz who became NXT Women’s Champion tonight for about 4 seconds. The look in Kairi’s face, Lmaoooo!!!! pic.twitter.com/ekq6gO3Ybf

— James Carr II (@HBJaguar) August 24, 2018

I’m embarrassed…????? https://t.co/XdIsOz627N

— Kairi Sane (@KAIRI_official) August 28, 2018

Kairi Sane NXT Women’s Champion

Sane is the 8th NXT Women’s Champion in the title’s 5-year lineage. Paige, Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, Bayley, Asuka, Ember Moon, and Shayna Baszler are the only others to hold the belt.

Most records for this title are owned by Asuka. Her 510-day reign with the title included 11 successful title defenses which aired on WWE programming (i.e not house shows).

The Women’s roster on the North American version of NXT has several wrestlers who could move into title contention soon. Bianca Belair is undefeated on the brand, Lacey Evans has gotten a few people talking, and of course, there is also Candice LeRae and former champion, Shayna Baszler, who would like to get the next crack at the title.

Tonight’s episode of Smackdown and 205 Live will emanate from Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, ON, Canada. The city and venue have just been announced as the host of Summerslam 2019 weekend.

Smackdown 8/28 Preview

Smackdown Women’s Championship
Charlotte Flair (c) vs Carmella

Carmella has cashed-in her rematch clause and will face Charlotte Flair tonight for the title. This will be the 4th time the two women have faced each other for the Smackdown Women’s title.

Carmella cashed in her Money in the Bank briefcase on the April 10th, 2018 Smackdown. She defeated Charlotte Flair in 7 seconds to win her first WWE championship. Flair then cashed in her rematch at Backlash but Carmella rolled her up and pinned her after Flair’s knee buckled following a missed moonsault.

Flair then defeated both Becky Lynch and Carmella in a triple threat match for the title at Summerslam. What role Becky Lynch might play in this match is unclear.

New Day Celebrate Tag Team Championship Gold

After winning the championships last week, New Day will hold a title-victory celebration tonight.

Don’t expect the Bludgeon Brothers to interrupt this celebration either. Rowan is likely out for several months with a torn bicep.

Tag-Team #1 Contenders Tournament
The Club vs The Bar vs The Colons

https://twitter.com/RealPaigeWWE/status/1033793943098482689?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1033793943098482689&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fs46315.p1736.sites.pressdns.com%2Fpaige-tournament-challengers-new-day%2F

For the second straight month, Paige has organized a tournament to determine new contenders for the Smackdown tag-team championships.

There will be two triple threat tag-team matches with the winning two teams facing off to determine who gets a crack at New Day. The second triple-threat match participants have yet to be announced.

The Colons return to action for the first time since January as Epico has been out with an injury.

Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella Segment

The rivalry between WWE power couples will continue to tonight. Last week, an inter-gender match between Brie and Bryan against the Miz and Maryse was confirmed for Hell in a Cell.

Not much is advertised for this other than Bryan and Bella will likely be involved in a talking segment.

Samoa Joe and AJ Styles Segment

It was confirmed last week that Samoa Joe and AJ Styles will once again wrestle for the WWE Championship at Hell in a Cell. Joe came out of their Summerslam tilt with the victory but not the championship after Styles was DQ’ed.

This highly personal rivalry, which has involved Styles’ wife and daughter, will rage on tonight.

205 Live 8/28 Preview

Drew Gulak Demands Another Shot At The Cruiserweight Championship

Drew Gulak has put the entire division on notice that there will be no peace until he receives a rematch for the Cruiserweight Championship.

Gulak dropped the most recent CW title match to Cedric Alexander on the Summerslam Kickoff show. Alexander used a clever pinning combination to get the victory over the submission expert to retain.

What does Drew Gulak have in store for 205 Live tonight?

Nick Jackson is said to be battling an illness just days out from All In and Starrcast weekend. Cody, Matt Jackson, and others have been asking fans to send the 29-year-old well-wishes.

“Full blown flu for the last 24 hours,” Nick Tweeted. “That 12 hours of travel home was the worst of my life. BTE might be delayed this week. I’ll keep you updated.”

Send them prayers to @NickJacksonYB ??

Dude is fighting a major virus

— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) August 27, 2018

My kids got me a card for being sick lol. Love them so much! pic.twitter.com/tbGVfPdVfT

— Being the Elite (@BeingTheElite) August 27, 2018

Being the Elite was released a little later than normal this week. The Bucks didn’t factor heavily into the episode, however.

Being the Elite Notes

• Marty Scurll opened the show this week and cut a promo on Okada. Scurll has been trying to bulk up for the match and prove he is a heavyweight. Okada has joked that after he beats Scurll, he’ll send the Villain to 205 Live.
• Cody tried to give Stephen Amell some advice on how to face Christopher Daniels at All In. Daniels interrupted them, however. Amell said he was going to beat Daniels and that he wanted some royalties from the Young Bucks for wearing their T-shirts (Cody wasn’t impressed with this comment). He then said his first single’s victory would be Daniels’ last match.
• Joey Janela interuptted a Hangman Page autograph signing and smoked a cigarette inside. He stabbed Page’s hand with a pen and said he’d see him at All In.
• Rey Mysterio cut a promo about his main event match against the Bucks and Kota Ibushi. After the director called “cut” the cameras kept rolling and Rey revealed he isn’t getting paid for the event but is just doing Cody a solid. Some are saying the person he was talking to is the actor who played Juice on Sons of Anarchy but that is not confirmed.
• SCU trained like Rocky in Philadelphia. At first the crew seemed to enjoy the city but after awhile they figured out that they like SCU way better.

Is Black Machismo All In?

• The Bucks ran into Jay Lethal in the back. Lethal has been acting funny as of late. With the simplest bump to the head Lethal has been chanelling his old “Black Machismo” gimmick from TNA. This week he opened his travel bag and saw only Macho Man wrestling gear. Lethal left in a huff but when the camera panned back to his bag it showed his normal Jay Lethal gear.
• Chico asked Cody to book some of his family into the Over Budget Battle Royal.
• Jay Lethal had a conversation with Black Machismo in the mirror while in the washroom. Black Machismo said he’ll be going to All In and not Jay Lethal.
• A fan gifted Hangman Page a new pair of boots that he hopes don’t talk to him.
• Finally, Cody’s promo from the last ROH event was shown. He said WWE does not own all of professional wrestling. Cody did not take the opportunity to book Flip Gordon for the show, however.

Don’t tell Ring of Honor’s Joe Koff he is in the sports entertainment business. According to ROH’s Chief Operating Officer, his promotion is an “entertaining sport” but not “sports entertainment.”

“I think people are seeing something that they’ve longed for, and didn’t realize they longed for, which is unbelievable good wrestling,” Koff said to Forbes recently. “We are not sports entertainment, we are an entertaining sport.”

Go #ALLIN THIS SATURDAY at the lowest available price!#HonorClub VIP streams @ALL_IN_2018 FREE!
Standard members ($10/month) get 50% off!
Watch LIVE and On-Demand starting Saturday at 7pm ET!

Order Now: https://t.co/pgi64nIqMC
Available on all Apple & Android devices! pic.twitter.com/4YujHfjhq6

— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) August 27, 2018

Joe Koff On Ring of Honor’s Future

It’s been a remarkable year for the 16-year old promotion. Koff does not want to take any credit of All In’s success away from Cody and the Bucks, however. He was quick to say All In is their event and not ROH’s.

“All In was Cody and the Young Bucks and their vision,” Koff said. “How Ring of Honor played into that, is we supported them in doing this. So, they sold out the 10,000-seat arena. We didn’t. They did.”

The promotion sold out Madison Square Garden for next year’s G1 Supercard of Honor in conjunction with NJPW as well.

“Our people, the New Japan people, these men and women are athletes,” Koff continued. “And both of our platforms give them this opportunity to show their best. And I think what people are beginning to realize is that this is the best.”

Ring of Honor television aired last night. The promotion’s television show airs throughout the weekend on various networks and then on Honor Club every Monday.

This week’s episode was taped from the famous Center State in Atlanta, GA.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aF-fTLFvCNY&frags=pl%2Cwn

ROH TV Results 8/27

• Christopher Daniels (SCU) defeated Jay Briscoe via DQ

Christopher Daniels had just hit Jay Briscoe with a uranage when Mark Briscoe ran-in with a chair. He hit Daniels in the back causing the DQ.

Scorpio Sky and Kazarian then hit the ring to save Daniels from a 2-on-1 attack.

The Briscoes will take on Scorpio Sky and Kazarian at All In. Daniels will take on Stephen Amell from the show “Arrow”.

• Flip Gordon defeated Silas Young

Flip Gordon rolled up Young into a pinning combination with a bridge for the victory here. After the match, however, Bully Ray hit the ring and delivered a low blow to the young prospect.

Ray and Young locked eyes for a few moments but nothing happened.

• ROH 6-Man Tag-Team Championships
  Cody, Matt & Nick Jackson (Bullet Club Elite) defeated Matt Taven, TK O’Ryan, and Vinny Marseglia (the Kingdom) (c) – Title Change

We have new ROH 6-Man Tag Team Champions, as the Elite defeated the Kingdom. The match was not without controversy, however, and the Kingdom will likely claim there has been a conspiracy against them.

Cody pinned Vinny Marseglia after Cross Rhodes for the victory but Matt Taven was the legal man for his team. Taven attempted to argue the official decision after the match but to no avail. The Kingdom will likely be given a rematch sometime in the near future. 

Also this week:

Kenny King and Marty Scurll each commented on their match from last week. King defeated Scurll after putting his feet on the ropes for leverage. He explained this week that he learned during his match with Austin Aries that sometimes you have to cheat to win.

Scurll commented about how King had embraced his inner-villain but that he was going to get his revenge.

Upcoming on ROH Television

In 2 weeks:

ROH World Championship
30-Minute Ironman Match
Jay Lethal (c) vs Jonathan Gresham

Maria Kanellis wants to bring back the Divas Championship. The title was retired at WrestleMania 32 when Charlotte Flair won the new WWE Women’s Championship.

When asked on Twitter recently, Kanellis said the one thing she would change about the Women’s Evolution is to bring back the now-retired title.

I’d bring back the Divas title. https://t.co/Dl64nzfRLZ

— MariaKanellisBennett (@MariaLKanellis) August 28, 2018

Kanellis would explain her position in later Tweets.

“There are few people that truly understand what the Divas title was supposed to be,” she continued. “It was supposed to be another title to fight for, just like there are today, not the only title. But people criticize that don’t understand and that’s just ignorance.”

Maria Kanellis and the Divas Championship

This isn’t the first time this summer that Maria has jumped to defend the term “Diva”. After Charlotte used the term to demean Carmella on a recent episode of Smackdown, Maria issued a warning to the current Smackdown Women’s Champion.

“Real Diva. Be careful disparaging the women that fought for what you are getting,” Maria wrote on IG. “Experience is more of a bitch then entitlement ever will be.”

Maria continued to talk about the Divas era of Women’s Wrestling in WWE. She might be looking to build a future angle or she might be expressing her real opinion. As she is a “Paul Heyman Girl”, she’s likely doing both.

“We were in the trenches together in full makeup, dresses, and heels every day, every show,” she continued. “Still fighting with babies, careers, husbands, and a stigma. Is it better to fight for the system or the spot?”

Ring of Honor Television Champion Punishment Martinez has been added to the “Over the Budget Battle Royal” at All In. The Battle Royal will take place on the “Zero Hour” preshow which airs on WGN.

The winner of the Battle Royal will earn the right to challenge for the ROH World Championship later the same evening.

https://twitter.com/ALL_IN_2018/status/1034196002138255360

Punishment Martinez Added To “Over Budget” Battle Royal

Martinez is the 11th wrestler to be confirmed for the match so far. The first set of participants was revealed on August 6th. The first announced names were Jordynne Grace, Moose, Rocky Romero, Colt Cabana, and Ethan Page.

Brian Cage, Billy Gunn, Jimmy Jacobs, and Mark Stunt were all confirmed by August 18th. Stunt was booked after a stand-out performance on Joey Janela’s “Lost in New York” pay-per-view earlier this month.

PWG wrestler Brandon Cutler was added to the match on August 23rd.

On a recent episode of “All Us”, Cody explained how he paid for the Over Budget Battle Royal.

“When you look at the ring for the entire show – you look at the canvas, you look at the aprons, the buckles, all the soft goods that make up a professional wrestling ring,” Cody said. “Know that I sold each and every one of them to various collectors so that I could afford the Over Budget Battle Royal.”

Colt Cabana briefly spoke on his pending lawsuit against CM Punk during a recent episode of his podcast. The “Art of Wrestling” host is suing his former friend for the cost of legal fees stemming from WWE’s lawsuit against the two of them.

Cabana said he wished news of the lawsuit had not leaked out and he does not sound as though he’s interested in discussing it much.

“All I want is for this thing to be settled,” Cabana said on the show. “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.”

Cabana would continue to say that the rumors regarding a falling out between him and Punk stemming from Cabana going backstage at a WWE event are untrue. The last time Cabana says he was backstage at a WWE event was 4 years ago when he interviewed Hornswoggle for his podcast.

Colt Cabana CM Punk Lawsuit

Cabana claims to have text messages from Punk stating he would pay for the pair’s legal defense. Something changed during the course of their defense, however, and Punk evidently has not paid for Cabana’s half of their lawyer bill.

Cabana is suing for the $200,000 he must pay lawyers along with $1 million in punitive damages.

Joey Ryan has not been murdered. In fact, the popular independent wrestler is still very much alive and will be attending Starrcast this weekend.

In the world of “Being the Elite”, however, Ryan is believed to have been murdered by Hangman Page. Some assumed this would lead to a match between victim and murderer at “All In” but Page has been booked for a match against “Bad Boy” Joey Janela instead.

Ryan will hold two “Ghostly Meet and Greets” on August 31st and September 1st before a full “Murder Mystery” event on the Sunday. Whether or not he plays a role in the match between Janela and Page remains unclear.

https://twitter.com/JoeyRyanOnline/status/1034166152266567680

Did Hangman Page Murder Joey Ryan?

It’s been a huge year for 27-year-old Adam “Hangman” Page. He made his debut in NJPW’s G1 Climax tournament this year and racked up a 3-6 record but earned praise for his performances.

On the YouTube show “Being the Elite”, Page has started to unravel in recent months. It is speculated that Page grew jealous of Joey Ryan’s popularity and wanted to be known as the only “dick-wrestler” in the business.

Page spoke with Impact Wrestling’s Alicia Atout back in June regarding his opinion of Ryan.

“He was a penis pretender,” Page said. “I’m going to talk about him in the past tense maybe; he’s missing.”

“For years and years he built his whole career off a lie,” Page said regarding Ryan’s gimmick. “As if he had a more impressive nether-region than I did and it just wasn’t true.”

https://youtu.be/X2iNXTXWoVU?t=11m15s

One of the most legendary wrestlers of all-time will not be at Starccast this weekend. Terry Funk has been forced to withdraw from his planned “Empty Arena Match Retrospective” along with Jerry Lawler.

Starrcast announced the change recently on Twitter:

Unfortunately, Terry Funk has informed us he will be unable to make the trip to Chicago next week citing health reasons. As a result the Emtpy Arena Match Retrospective is now cancelled. Refunds for his Meet & Greets and Eat & Greets will be issued within the next 48 hours. (1/3)

— Starrcast (@StarrcastEvents) August 24, 2018

The 74-year-old has been dealing with diverticulitis and an abdominal hernia this summer. It is not clear, however, if this is what has caused him to withdraw from Starrcast.

Jerry Lawler vs Terry Funk Empty Arena Match

The famous empty arena match between Jerry Lawler and Terry Funk is now 37 years old. The match took place April 25th, 1981 as part of the long-standing rivalry between the two.

Leading up to the match, Funk expressed it was impossible for him to get a fair fight against Lawler in Memphis. Funk said the entire city of Memphis was biased in Lawler’s favor.

This included the referees, promotion management, fans and even the Memphis police according to Funk. The only way Funk felt he could get a fair fight against Lawler would be within an empty arena.

Starrcast Replacement

Starrcast announced that they have found a replacement session for the Empty Arena Retrospective. A “Total Non-Stop Jarrett” session will now replace the Empty Arena Retrospective.

Jerry Lawler will still be on-hand at Starrcast for photos and autographs despite the change in plans.

The latest episode of Eric Bischoff’s 83 Weeks podcast focuses on Sting’s 1996. A lot was changing for WCW that year. In addition to launching Monday Nitro in the fall 1995, WCW was acquiring WWF talent at a breakneck pace. After signing top names from the WWF like Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage, 1996 saw many more high-profile acquisitions ushc as Scott Hall and Kevin Nash.

As the franchise player of WCW, there was no guarantee that Sting would react kindly to so many big stars coming in. While some people in Sting’s position would have reacted negatively to so many new challengers to his spot, Bischoff says Sting was the consummate professional and welcomed the new opportunities that awaited him.

“One of the things that stands out to me so much is that (Sting) was the ultimate team player.”  Bischoff said.  “He was one of the few guys that really was completely supportive. He wasn’t [just] supportive – he was excited that Hulk Hogan was coming to WCW, he was excited that Randy Savage was coming to WCW.”

When Bischoff took over WCW, Sting was the top babyface in the company. With political sharks like Hogan, Hall and Nash entering his waters, Sting took it all in stride.

Bischoff explained “[Sting] was so apolitical in that regard, in an era where everybody was worried about their spot or all of a sudden the spotlight going from them to someone else.”

Head over to 83Weeks.com for more on Eric Bischoff’s podcast.

It’s Sting – 1996!

Head over to https://t.co/XcMBzRdz3T to join Eric & Conrad as they dive deep into 1996 and the career of the man they call Sting! pic.twitter.com/l5ujQQ5n91

— 83 Weeks w/ Eric Bischoff (@83Weeks) August 27, 2018

On Saturday night, Impact Wrestling returned to Mississauga, ON for another One Night Only show. The show, “Bad Intentions, in conjunction with Destiny Wrestling featured a main event of Sami Callihan taking on Josh Alexander inside a steel cage.

Callihan hit Alexander with a trash can during the match, busting his opponent wide open the hard way.

@Walking_Weapon pic.twitter.com/Uy2dgsli1R

— Robert H (@r_huntley86) August 26, 2018

https://twitter.com/Walking_Weapon/status/1033568220500971520

Destiny Wrestling sent out a Tweet just to let fans know that Alexander is OK.

Please READ – a thank you to everyone for an amazing summer! @ScottDAmore @IMPACTWRESTLING @fightnet YOU the amazing fans and all the talent and a special thank you to @Walking_Weapon pic.twitter.com/c2CLODstT4

— Destiny Wrestling (@DestinyWrestle) August 26, 2018

Sami Callihan vs Josh Alexander

“The Walking Weapon” Josh Alexander is a 31-year-old Canadian independent wrestler. He’s well-regarded on the Canadian independent scene but unfortunately, you won’t find him performing anywhere else for a while. Visa problems are preventing him from traveling outside the country, limiting which promotions will book him.

Even after being sponsored by a promotion for a work Visa, Alexander was denied.

https://twitter.com/Walking_Weapon/status/1032058748125163520

Impact Wrestling’s Big September

Although Alexander has taken part in Impact tapings so far this year, he won’t be on either of the next two trips for the promotion.

First up for Impact in September is a trip to Manchester for the Wrestling MediaCon event. The promotion will air the event live on their Twitch channel.

Just 4 days after their show in Manchester, Impact is then off to Mexico. On September 13th and 14th, Impact will bring their TV tapings to Mexico City. Those tapings will be the final ones until Bound for Glory in October.

The biggest event of the year for AAA Lucha Libre took place last night. The promotion presented TripleMania XXVI from the Arena Ciudad in Mexico City, Mexico.

The main event featured a 4-way cage match which guaranteed one luchador would lose their mask. The rules were that 4 luchadors would start in the cage and once two had escaped, the remaining two would wrestle a single’s match. The loser of that match would be forced to unmask.

El Hijo Del Fantasma Unmasked

In a shocking turn of events, El Hijo Del Fantasma (aka King Cuerno in Lucha Underground) has been unmasked.

AAA TripleMania XXVI Results

1. Astrolux, Dragon Bane, and Freelance defeated Aramis, Drastik Boy, and Latigo
2. AAA World Cruiserweight Championship
   Sammy Guevara defeated Australian Suicide (c) vs Shane Strickland vs ACH
3. AAA World Mixed Tag Team Championships
   Big Mami and Nino Hamburguesa (c) defeated Angelikal and La Hiedra vs Dinastia and Lady Maravilla vs El Hijo del Vikingo and Vanilla
4. AAA World Tag Team Championships #1 Contender
   Bandido and Flamita defeated DJZ and Andrew Everett vs Golden Magic and Laredo Kid vs Aerostar and Drago
5. Averno Chessman and SuperFly defeated Jack Evans, Juventud Guerrera and Teddy Hart
6. El Texano, La Mascara and Rey Escorpion defeated Joe Lider, Murder Clown, and Pagano
7. AAA World Heavyweight Championship
   Fenix defeated Jeff Jarrett (c) vs Rich Swann vs Brian Cage
8. Mask Vs Hair
   Ladi Shani defeated Faby Apache
9. Mask vs Mask 4-Way Cage Match
   LA Park, Pentagon Jr, and Pscyho Clown defeated El Hijo Del Fantasma

Bret Hart was honored by the Siksika Nation on Thursday in a ceremony held at Mount Royal University. The same University also celebrated Bret back in May with an honorary degree.

Bret was given a “Blackfoot name” which is an honor bestowed by the Blackfoot Confederacy of First Nations. The Blackfoot or Blackfeet people are First Nations communities located mainly in BC, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. Stampede Wrestling used to regularly run tours in these communities, even traveling there in treacherous conditions during the dead of winter.

Recently, a First Nation community decided to give back to the Hart Family. You can watch the ceremony in the player below:

Bret Hart Given Blackfoot Name “Iyiikitapinna” Meaning: “Courageous Chief”

During the ceremony, an Elder spoke of an ancient warrior named Iron Shield. Bret, the Elder said, exhibited similar courage as the ancient warrior.

The chief gave Bret the name, “Iyiikitapinna”, which translates to “Courageous Chief”.

“It might be too bold a name for me. It’s a huge honour for me,” Bret said. “Growing up here all my life, being from Calgary, there’s a strong sensitivity to the struggles” of Indigenous people.”

Bret would continue to say he felt he was representing his whole family at the ceremony.

“I feel like I’m here representing the whole family, and I know my father always had a really strong relationship with the First Nations community,” Hart said. “This day would have been special to him. There’s always been a warmth, friendship and kind of respect there.”

Bret would continue to say Iyiikitapinna was a more important nickname to him than “Hitman”.

There’s only ever been two WWE United Kingdom Champions in history and both have just been confirmed for WWE 2K19.

“As WWE expands globally, we want the WWE 2K roster to reflect those changes as much as possible,“ said Sean Conway from Visual Concepts. 

The standard game releases on October 9th. Pre-Orders will be available on October 5th, however. AJ Styles is this year’s cover athlete.

Behold the #Bruiserweight! Step into the ring with @PeteDunneYxB for the first time ever in #WWE2K19! #i63 #NXTUK https://t.co/TMWIsw0EFY pic.twitter.com/1lUSWUC24h

— #WWE2K25 (@WWEgames) August 25, 2018

Get ready for a dose of British Strong Style! @Tyler_Bate makes his official @WWEgames debut in #WWE2K19! #i63 #NXTUK https://t.co/TMWIsw0EFY pic.twitter.com/vwzNXYyEAS

— #WWE2K25 (@WWEgames) August 25, 2018

And here are a couple of @PeteDunneYxB screenshots to celebrate his inclusion in #WWE2K19! #i63 @IGFestUK @WWEUK @WWENXT #NXTUK pic.twitter.com/dwJRmUg7Ia

— #WWE2K25 (@WWEgames) August 25, 2018

WWE 2K19 Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate

2K has confirmed several other features of the game as well. Most notably, Showcase mode will return to WWE 2K19 this year. 2K is promoting Daniel Bryan’s showcase as the mode returns after a one-year absence.

Pre-Order bonuses also include access to the game 4 days early and Ronda Rousey and Rey Mysterio as bonus characters.

A commemorative Ric Flair version of the game has also been announced as well. This version of the game includes a plaque with a real piece of one of Flair’s iconic robes incased and a replica of a WWE Hall of Fame ring. The Flair version of the game also involves the following characters as bonus content:

• “Rowdy” Roddy Piper character (1980s)
• Dusty Rhodes (1980s)
• Rick “the Dragon” Steamboat (1980s)
• “Macho Man” Randy Savage (WM8)
• The Undertaker (2002)
• Ric Flair (WM24 attire)
• Charlotte Flair (WM32 attire)
• NWA Starrcade 1983 Arena