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
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.
“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. #divahttps://t.co/s6w1mBVpZ8
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
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”.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
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”.
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.
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.
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:
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
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.
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)
Kenny Omega (#5)
AJ Styles (#2)
Kazuchika Okada (#1)
Brock Lesnar (#25)
Seth Rollins (#16)
Braun Strowman (#34)
Roman Reigns (#4)
Cody (#33)
Tetsuya Naito (#12)
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.
