Brian Christopher was buried yesterday in Memphis. His friends and family prepared a custom-made casket for him they say he would have loved. It was decked out in Pittsburgh Steelers colors and logos with “Grand Master Sexay” on the top.
Local 24 Memphis news was on-hand to cover the funeral. They spoke with many of Brian’s friends as well as with his father, Jerry Lawler.
Jerry Lawler Comments On Brian Christopher’s Funeral
“This is gotta be one of the toughest days of my life and if I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a thousand times,” Lawler said. “They say the toughest thing for anybody to do is have to bury a child and that’s what we’re going through today.”
“My fiance Lauren and I are standing next to the casket and I keep looking down almost expecting Brian to sit up and start laughing,” Lawler continued. “It’s just tough.”
Brian’s friends spoke of remembering their friend as funny, fun, and as having a big heart. They also remembered him as willing to go out of his way to make someone laugh. Other friends say he was always quick to help a friend in need.
Investigation Into Brian Christopher’s Death
There is currently an active investigation into the circumstances surrounding Brian Christopher’s death. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has asked family not to comment publicly on the ongoing case.
A lawyer for the family has made a public comment that they are hoping to receive camera footage from within the jail to gain a better understanding of how he was being housed.
The Sherrif’s department has stated Brian was being housed in a cell by himself but was not in solitary confinement.
Can you defend the IWGP Heavyweight Championship 13 straight times?
Wrestlers have their signature moves and Tetsuya Naito can even be Tranquilo:
NJPW King of Sport
A unique feature of the game is that players are awarded points for not just winning matches but also making them exciting. Players are awarded points for making comebacks, kicking out of near-falls, and other crowd-pleasing moves.
“Players can choose their favorite NJPW stars with their signature moves to compete for the championship!” A press release for the game reads. “Players can also create their own custom character, select special moves, and train them to become a champion. Online Battle mode allows you to play against others in real-time. Featuring both singles and tag team matches, King of Sports is full of excitement and real action that only New Japan Pro-Wrestling can deliver.”
Not only are all the top NJPW stars included in the game but there is an advanced character creator mode as well. As of this writing, I’ve currently created myself as a young lion in the junior heavyweight division and am learning new moves in the New Japan Dojo.
The loading screens also feature real pictures and descriptions of famous NJPW moments.
Drew McIntyre says he “lost his fire” when he was released from his WWE contract in 2014. The Scottish SuperStar had been with the company since 2011. He’d even been touted as a future World Champion by Vince McMahon himself.
Initially, McIntyre found success in WWE. He won the Intercontinental Championship in 2009 and later won the tag titles along with Cody Rhodes. By 2012, however, things had changed drastically for him. He would be placed in a trio along with Heath Slater and Jinder Mahal known as 3MB.
He recently spoke to Sky Sports about how he sees others on the WWE roster who have lost their fire in a similar way to how he did a few years back.
Drew McIntyre on Complacent WWE Superstars
“When I was there (before), I kind of lost my fire and forgot why I was there, I forgot why I was in WWE and it’s embarrassing to think about that,” McIntyre said. “It was only when I left I realized what an opportunity I’d let slip away and I knew I’d never do that again.”
He then spoke about seeing the same attitude in some members of the current roster.
“I see a lot of the same looks in people’s faces and quite frankly it annoys me,” he continued. “I’ve been around the world and there are independent stars and NXT stars waiting to take their slots.”
McIntyre is currently aligned with Dolph Ziggler on the Raw brand.
“I’m back as the wake-up call to everybody to tell them they have to take their opportunity because there are people ready to take their spot.”
Luke Harper was a guest recently on Edge and Christian’s podcast. Edge mentioned that Harper can play many different roles in WWE, including wrestling in main events. Harper mentioned he just tries to make whatever he is given the best it can be.
“I’ve tried to make it a thing where somebody in WWE wants me or needs me there,” Harper said. “If I do my job well then that becomes a thing and I just try to make it a reality, I guess. I’m just trying to not get released, you know?”
Luke Harper Compares Sanity to the Wyatt Family
Harper continued to talk about the Smackdown tag-team division. The Usos were mentioned specifically as a team who have tweaked their characters and taken their game to a new level.
Edge would later talk about how the Bludgeon Brothers are a tweaked version of the previous version of their team.
“Every team has its own thing going,” Harper said of the Smackdown tag division. “Nobody’s much alike at all… except Sanity is kind of like the Wyatt Family but we’ll just keep that to ourselves.”
After making the joke, Harper would continue to say he has nothing against the faction. He mentioned he worked with Eric Young on the indies.
“I worked with Eric on the indies a couple times and had some of my best matches,” he said. “For him to come back around now in 2018, it’s exciting for me to think about that too.”
Roman Reigns returned to his college football roots yesterday. The former Yellow Jacket made a surprise appearance as his former school unveiled their new team jerseys.
— WBB #18 From the Rumble Seat (@FTRSBlog) August 4, 2018
Reigns was a starter for 3 seasons in Georgia Tech and named a Team Captain as a senior. He went undrafted but was later signed to the Jacksonville Jaguars. The team released him after a month.
Reigns would later sign with the Minnesota Vikings as well but failed to crack the roster. He had a short stint in the CFL with the Edmonton Eskimos. He played in five games with Edmonton before being released and retiring from football.
Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar – SummerSlam
While his Georgia Tech alma mater prepares for a new season, Reigns prepares to yet again challenge Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam. It will be the 6th the two have faced each other but only the 3rd time they have met in single’s action.
Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns Stats
WrestleMania 31 – Seth Rollins defeated Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar (triple threat)
Fastlane 2016 – Roman Reigns defeated Brock Lesnar and Dean Ambrose (triple threat)
SummerSlam 2017 – Brock Lesnar defeated Braun Strowman, Roman Reigns, and Samoa Joe
WrestleMania 34 – Brock Lesnar defeated Roman Reigns
The Greatest Royal Rumble – Brock Lesnar defeated Roman Reigns (steel cage)
Impact Wrestling and MLW’s Rich Swann began his pro-wrestling training at an early age. Swann was recently a guest on X-Pac’s 12360 podcast and talked about training to wrestle at an early age.
“I was going on 15 years old. Started training at 15 with Adam Flash and Darren Wyse,” Swann said. “They saved my life, they guided me in the right direction.”
Swann made his professional debut in 2008 at the age of 17.
Waltman said on the podcast that he feels wrestling saved his life too. Wrestling came into both Swann and Waltman’s lives at a time when they needed something to steer them away from trouble. Waltman was also only a teenager when he began his training as well.
When asked if there was anyone else his age on the scene when he began, Swann replied there wasn’t. “Just grown men, you know?” he said.
Swann debuted with Impact Wrestling this April and has become something of a crowd favorite. His match with Fenix from the tapings in Windsor was particularly well-received. He spoke to X-Pac about the time he’s had with Impact over the last 3-4 months.
“The roster is amazing,” Swann said of Impact Wrestling. “Wherever I land on IMPACT I am happy with because I’m just trying to have great matches and I am happy I am with IMPACT. The company is growing, it’s on national TV. The guys are wrestling everywhere it doesn’t matter if it’s Ring of Honor or New Japan… Slammiversary had a sprinkle of everything and it culminated and made it like ‘Boom this is IMPACT!’.”
Swann suffered a concussion during a preliminary match at the MLW Battle Riot tapings. The injury caused him to miss Slammiversary and the following two nights of tapings. He has since been cleared to compete once again and is scheduled to be at the August 12th and 13th tapings.
“The production value is amazing,” Swann continued to say regarding Impact. “How they present stuff; promos and packages are unique. I think that catches people eye. I think another thing that has IMPACT on an upward is just the wrestling. The wrestling right now is hotter than ever.”
The G1 Climax 28 has completed 13 shows so far. There are still another 6 to go. With the A-Block only having two matches left and the B-Block just 3, we can start to see who could realistically win this thing.
G1 Climax tie-breaker rules:
A tie between two wrestlers is broken based on the result in their 1-on-1 match.
If 2 or more wrestlers are tied at the end of round-robin the winner is determined based on which wrestler has the most points in only the matches against the other wrestlers they are tied with.
G1 Climax 28 A-Block (2 nights remaining)
The A-Block is likely coming down to the Kazuchika Okada vs Hiroshi Tanahashi match on the final night of the round-robin on August 10th.
Jay White holds the tie-breaker over both Okada and Tanahashi, however, so if he wins his remaining two matches and Okada beats Tanahashi on the final night, then he’d move on to the finals. White would move on to the finals with most multi-person tie situations as a result of his victories over both Okada and Tanahashi early in the tournament. Suzuki lost to both Okada and Tanahashi (although he did beat Evil and Jay White), so I believe he is mathematically eliminated at this point (there is a lot of math here and I’m no Scott Steiner)
If Evil wins his remaining two matches against Jay White and Okada and Okada beats Tanahashi on the final night, then he’d move on.
With a record of 5 wins and 0 losses, Kenny Omega is just 2 wins away from clinching the B-Block. He’s only got 3 matches left, however, meaning he could clinch the block before the final night of the round-robin.
If Omega defeats Tomohiro Ishii tomorrow, he’d only need to defeat Toru Yano on August 8th to win the group. Naito would need Omega to lose 2 of his final 3 matches due to Omega having the tie-breaker over him. Ibushi needs Omega to lose to either Ishii or Yano otherwise he would be mathematically eliminated by the time he faces Omega on the final night.
Kenny Omega (12pts)
Tetsuya Naito (10pts)
Kota Ibushi (8pts)
Sanada (6pts) – eliminated
Zack Sabre Jr (6pts) – eliminated
Hirooki Goto (4pts) – eliminated
Tomohiro Ishii (4pts) – eliminated
Juice Robinson (4pts) – eliminated
Tama Tonga (4pts) – elminated
Toru Yano (2pts) – eliminated
Night 14 (B Block)
August 4th, 2018
Juice Robinson vs Zack Sabre Jr
Hirooki Goto vs Tama Tonga
Tomohiro Ishii vs Kenny Omega **
Toru Yano vs SANADA
Tetsuya Naito vs Kota Ibushi ***
** If Omega wins he only needs to win his next match (against Yano) to clinch the block
*** If Naito loses and Omega beats Ishii, Naito is eliminated.
Night 16 (B Block)
August 8th, 2018
Juice Robinson vs Tomohiro Ishii
Hirooki Goto vs Zack Sabre Jr
Toru Yano vs Kenny Omega **
Kota Ibushi vs Tama Tonga ***
Tetsuya Naito vs SANADA
** If Omega beats Ishii on Night 14 and defeats Yano here, he clinches the block.
If you ever wanted to smell just like the members of Bullet Club, now is your chance. A special Bullet Club cologne will be released by New Japan Pro Wrestling tomorrow.
NJPW has previously released “King of King” and “Fighting Spirit” scents in the past as well.
Although we are currently unaware of what this cologne smells like, a few potential odors seem possible:
The Bullet Club Cologne might smell like:
ProWrestling Tees packaging.
Bad Luck Fale’s post-match scent.
It smells like nothing but 5 minutes after you put it on you are attacked by Tanga Loa and win your G1 match by disqualification.
Cody’s ego.
WCW Nitro Cologne
WCW released a cologne late in their existence. There are still Amazon listings for it online. WWE released both a cologne and a perfume during their Attitude Era. Currently, John Cena is the spokesperson for a line of Axe Body Sprays as well. So, there is a history of wrestling companies promoting similar products.
NJPW G1 Climax 28
The G1 Climax tournament has a day off today but they are back in Osaka tomorrow for B-Block action.
Tetsuya Naito vs Kota Ibushi
Kenny Omega vs Tomohiro Ishii
Juice Robinson vs Zack Sabre Jr
Hirooki Goto vs Tama Tonga
Toru Yano vs SANADA
As Omega is still undefeated he needs just two more wins to clinch the block. Meaning if he beats Ishii and then Yano, he’ll have already clinched the block when he faces Kota Ibushi. If he was to lose to Ibushi still, however, it would set up a future title match between the two.
Of note here is that if Omega defeats Ishii tomorrow it would mean his match against Toru Yano would be to clinch the block. Only one wrestler, Tetsuya Naito, trails Omega by only 2pts and Omega has the tie-breaker over him.
Impact Wrestling’s second episode since Slammiversary aired last night. It was the 2nd episode of the 12 which will air before Bound for Glory on October 14th, 2018.
Impact has two more shows from the recent Toronto tapings before they film 4 more episodes from Rebel Nightclub on August 12th and 13th.
Here are 9 Takeaways From Impact Wrestling 8/2
Allie Pinned the Knockouts Champion & Tessa Blanchard Was Not Happy About It
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ch_PdL4gfT4
Last week on Impact Wrestling, Allie said she was going after Su Yung to make sure she never locked anyone in a coffin again. Kiera Hogan volunteered to help her in this task as well.
This week Allie and Hogan teamed up to take on Yung and an Undead Bridesmaid in tag action. Yung gave the Panic Switch to Hogan but the momentum knocked the Girl on Fire out of the ring. Allie then hit a codebreaker on Yung and pinned her for the win.
A win over the champion often puts the wrestler in a position to challenge for the title but Allie lost a match at Slammiversary to Tessa Blanchard. Perhaps this was what Blanchard was thinking about when she attacked Allie after the match.
Blanchard cut a backstage promo afterward stating that Allie was trying to weasel her way into a title shot by taking on Yung under the premise of wanting to protect others from the Undead Bride’s actions.
Ortiz Was Going To Hit Homicide With An Ax!
After King’s OGZ won a squash match against two local competitors, they cut a promo running down LAX, believing Konnan and company were still on the shelf. Santana, Ortiz, and Konnan rushed the ring, however, and took out the OGZ.
Things took a bit of a turn when Ortiz brought out an ax and looked to strike Homicide with it. This brought out additional security and Konnan separated his boys from the fight. Konnan told them in the back that timing is everything and when the timing is right the OGZ will “kiss the ring.”
Ortiz and Santana were this week’s guests on the Impact media call. We asked them what it’s like to go from watching LAX as teenagers 11 years ago to being LAX now in Impact.
“LAX has been something we’ve watched since when we were kids,” Santana said. “The fact that two Latinos out there not like playing a gimmick but being them and being proud of who they are and what they represent.”
KM & Fallah Ball Aren’t On The Same Page (The Desi Hit Squad Are)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ugd3NOGAtE
Impact was telling two stories this week when the Desi Hit Squad defeated the team of KM and Fallah Bah.
The first story was how the Great Gama Singh is guiding Rohit Raju and Gursinder Singh to being an old-school heel-style tag-team. They win their matches either through clever tag-team work or dirty under-handed tactics.
The second story is the team of KM and Fallah Bah not being on the same page. KM had been trying to teach Fallah when to distract the referee but evidently, Bah’s not the greatest student. Fallah tried to enter the ring when KM was in control of the match. KM tried to tell him “this isn’t when you distract the ref!” but the distraction allowed the Desi Hit Squad to hit a combination knee to the face and a flatliner for the win.
Johnny Impact Is Looking For Kongo Kong
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDF6oXqJDN8
“You know, for a big guy, Kongo Kong is a pretty hard guy to find these days,” Impact said to Alicia Atout.
Jimmy Jacobs interrupted his interview and looked to begin a promo when Johnny just wound up and punched him in the mouth. He let Jacobs know he wants Kongo Kong and he doesn’t appear to be playing around on this one.
Eddie Edwards Will Challenge Austin Aries For the Impact World Championship Next Week
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQW6q6vYgbE
Austin Aries defeated Dustin Cameron this week via corner stoppage. The champion had the challenger beaten but opted not to pin him in favor of giving him another brainbuster. That’s when Anthony Carelli threw in the towel to prevent his Battle Arts Academy student from taking any more punishment.
After the match Carelli kicked Aries in the groin, causing the champion to stumble back on the entrance ramp. That’s where he was greeted by Eddie Edwards and a Singapore cane. Edwards hit him with the cane but Aries was able to escape before receiving more punishment.
Josh Matthews then announced Edwards will face Aries next week for the Impact World Championship.
Scarlett Bordeaux Really Had An Impact on Bobo
Alicia Atout was not assigned to interview Scarlett Bordeaux this week. Atout was likely not impressed at how she was treated by Bordeaux last week.
Instead of Atout, a guy named Bob was given the task of interviewing Bordeaux. He was left a little tongue-tied by Bordeaux’s antics. After dismissing who Josh Matthews thought was a horribly aged Jeremy Borash, Bordeaux reminded us she plans to bring sexy back to wrestling.
“I think that people will be pleasantly surprised as we move forward,” Callis said. “She’s actually a very good wrestler and I think it got people talking in a good way.”
Eli Drake and Trevor Lee defeated Grado and Joe Hendry
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39dkwMbFQ60
Drake pinned Grado after giving him the Gravy Train this week. Grado was distracted by the actions of Joe Hendry and Katarina on the outside. Katarina was getting into an argument with Caleb Konley and Hendry was restraining her.
There was more speculation from Callis and Matthews at commentary that Hendry and Katarina have something going on behind Grado’s back.
Matt Sydal Accepts Losing the X-Division Championship
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JflTo5tli0I
“The X-Division championship chose him,” Sydal said. “Who am I to question what that belt has done with itself? Because its history speaks for itself. I’m really proud of all the time I put in as X-Division Champion.”
He would continue to say his loss to Brian Cage taught him something. He said he still has much to learn and still needs to go deeper into his consciousness and “question everything”. The X-Division title was once his destiny but not anymore.
The Lucha Bros Took Out oVe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d50dB48baXw
In an exciting main event, Pentagon Jr and Fenix fended off outside interference from Sami Callihan and repeated unmasking attempts in order to get the victory over oVe this week.
Sami Callihan has responded to having his head shaved by descending further into madness. His minions from Ohio losing to Pentagon and Fenix isn’t going to help that situation at all.
Callihan’s attempt at revenge was thwarted this week but he likely isn’t finished with Pentagon or Fenix.
Impact 8/2 Quick Results:
Allie & Kiera Hogan defeated Su Yung & An Undead Bridesmaid
The OGZ (Homicide & Hernandez) defeated 2 Local Competitors
The Desi Hit Squad defeated KM & Fallah Bah
Impact World Championship
Austin Aries (c) defeated Dustin Cameron via corner stoppage
Eli Drake & Trevor Lee defeated Grado & Joe Hendry
The Lucha Bros (Pentagon Jr & Fenix) defeated oVe (Jake & Dave Crist)
Matches scheduled for next week:
Impact World Championship
Austin Aries (c) vs Eddie Edwards
Unlike his former tag-team partner, Enzo Amore, Big Cass is not retiring from pro-wrestling. The match will take place just days after Cass’ 90-day no-compete clause with WWE finishes.
Cass will be going under the ring-name “Big Cazz” for the show. Big Time Wrestling has added Cass to their event on September 21st in at the Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium in Spartanburg, SC.
Haku, Barbarian, James Ellsworth, Tommy Dreamer, Jim Duggan, Tenille Dashwood, and Mick Foley are all booked for the show. The promotion also frequently books Scott Steiner, Kevin Nash, and Jake Hager (FKA Jack Swagger).
Big Cass On The Indies
Jim Ross commented on Big Cass’ release shortly after it happened in June.
“I saw where Big Cass got released. I don’t know what it was, I have no idea and it’s none of my business,” Jim Ross said. “Hey look, I have had three sabbaticals from that company. Did I like it? Nope. Did it ruin my life and my career? Hell no.”
Ross would continue to say Cass’ future is still in his hands.
“So all he’s gotta do is figure out how I can get better how I can cure the perceived ills that I may or may not have. Your world’s not over. Don’t say anything stupid, don’t do anything stupid just get better. You’re too damn young with too much of an upside to not be able to resurrect yourself without question. Let’s keep an eye on how Big Cass progresses.”
At All In on September 1st, the Young Bucks will team with Kota Ibushi to face Rey Mysterio, Fenix, and Bandido. According to the Bucks, however, they were originally supposed to face a different team.
According to Nick Jackson, the Bucks were originally to face the Best Friends at All In. The team of Beretta and Chuck Taylor were evidently forgotten about, however. Only Cody was able to confirm they are booked for the show.
“Hey man what about best friends?” An All In ticket holder Tweeted. “I just want to see @trentylocks and @SexyChuckieT at all in tbh.”
Nick Jackson responded:
Originally we had them booked against us in a 6 man but we completely forgot about that match.
Cody then explained how the Best Friends were forgotten about.
Sorry if you don’t like your match. After Trent got hurt I was fairly certain he retired and then I saw him in the locker room last week all jacked up.
“A Ghetto Soap Opera” is how Santana and Ortiz describe the LAX vs OGZ rivalry. The backstage scenes often resemble more of an HBO drama than a pro-wrestling show. Although LAX defeated the OGZ at Slammiversary, King’s team stole the belts, tagged them and are claiming them as their own.
Santana and Ortiz recently took part in an Impact Wrestling media call.
When the original LAX first hit the pro-wrestling scene over 10 years ago, Santana and Ortiz were only teenagers. We asked Santana and Ortiz how the original version of the faction influenced them when they were younger.
“LAX has been something we’ve watched since when we were kids,” Santana said. “The fact that two Latinos out there not like playing a gimmick but being them and being proud of who they are and what they represent.”
“It’s pretty surreal, it’s a pretty cool thing,” he continued. “I never would have thought when I was 14-15 years old that when I was watching them on tv, I never would have thought ‘hey I’m going to be at Slammiversary XVI wresting the original LAX and putting on one of the best matches in Impact history.”
Ortiz would say his background as a wrestling fan is different from Santana’s. He got into wrestling more in the early 2000s boom when Homicide was first making his mark.
“Homicide was definitely one of the dudes that was just killing it on the indies,” Ortiz said. He’d continue to say watching Homicide’s growth as a performer had an impact on him.
“This is a dude from where we come from and he’s killing it having these insane matches,” Ortiz continued. “Then putting him together with Hernandez and Hernandez is just a truck!”
“We can’t ask for a better position,” he continued. “We are carrying the ball and are going to take it to the moon.”
Santana and Ortiz have come from idolizing LAX to being LAX. Not only that, they are feuding with the original LAX over the Impact tag-team Championships.
LAX vs the Young Bucks on Chris Jericho’s Cruise
The OGZ aren’t the only tag-team LAX need to worry about, however. They have a big match coming up this October on Chris Jericho’s “Rock N Rager at Sea.”
Konnan challenged the Young Bucks to a match during a recent episode of the “Keepin’ it 100” podcast. The match was made official later the next day.
Impact Wrestling returns tonight. The show tonight will be the second from Rebel Nightclub in Toronto.
Impact Wrestling spent the two days following Slammiversary taping matches in the venue. The promotion returns to Rebel Nightclub on the 13th and 14th for more tapings.
Impact Wrestling 8/2 Preview
Impact World Championship
Austin Aries (c) vs Dustin Cameron
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfwvgfD3TIE
Last week on Impact, Aries and Anthony Carelli got into a backstage argument. One of Carelli’s students, Dustin Cameron, was on-hand and somehow got himself an Impact World title match during the confrontation.
That match takes place tonight.
Update From King and the OGZ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU8lJYnxdzk&t=11s
According to King, Konnan and LAX may have won a battle at Slammiversary but they didn’t win the war. King explained last week that Konnan and LAX put their guard down after winning the 5150 Street Fight and thus allowed the OGZ to steal their title belts.
The OGZ also tagged the belts which in their world, means they own them.
Allie & Kiera Hogan vs Su Yung & An Undead Bridesmaid
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrJRSCTlMQk&t=13s
Tag-team action in the Knockouts division this week as Allie and Kiera Hogan team up to take on Su Yung and one of her undead brides. Last week, Allie said she wouldn’t let Su Yung lock anyone else inside a coffin and Kiera Hogan showed up to offer her support.
Last week, the Desi Hit Squad attacked Taiji Ishimori and Petey Williams after their opening match. This week Rohit Raju and Gursinder Singh will be in tag action with the Great Gama Sing at ringside.
The Lucha Bros vs oVe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrxTLmFXFRc
Last week we saw Sami Callihan descend further into madness after having his head-shaved by Pentagon Jr. Callihan had a rather unpleasant interaction with a person while at a men’s urinal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3BzjT4oRxs&t=16s
Tonight the Lucha Bros will take on the Crist brothers, who both had their arms broken recently. Where oVe is, Sami Callihan is sure to follow.
Impact Wrestling airs tonight on POP TV at 8PM. Replays can be seen on the Global Wrestling Network.
Kevin Lawler has posted a photo of the custom casket his brother will be buried in.
“My brother Brian was a die hard Pittsburgh Steelers fan,” Kevin Lawler wrote on Facebook. “He had and collected everything Steelers imaginable. Special thanks to our friends for making him this customized casket so he can go out the only way he would want to! Brian would have loved this.”
Christopher’s funeral and visitation are scheduled for tomorrow at the Memphis Funeral Home and Memorial Gardens.
Brian Christopher Death Under Investigation
Christopher’s death is being investigated by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. The 46-year-old was not on suicide watch as he was not thought to be a danger to himself at the time.
What is potentially more at play is the length of time he was left in a cell by himself. The use of solitary confinement has been heavily critisized by human rights advocates. The United Nations states solitary confinement, defined as imprisonment for more than 22 hours a day without meaningful human contact, should not exceed 15 days as per the Mandela Rules updated in 2015.
Brian Christopher was left alone in a cell for 23 days.
The Hardeman County Sheriff’s Office, however, says Christopher was never in solitary confinement but rather in a cell by himself as a result of his fame. Some are suggesting being alone all day by yourself in a cell carries the same effects of being left alone all day by yourself in a solitary confinement hole.
Sean “X-Pac” Waltman addressed the issue yesterday on his podcast. He also addressed it on social media.
“I’m saddened beyond words by Brian’s death,” Waltman wrote on Twitter. “He and I were close during our time in WWE together. I have many great memories of Brian both inside the ring and out. No one but the most dangerous criminals should be kept in solitary confinement for almost a month.”
The current IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, Hiromu Takahashi, will be out of action for at least 9 months. Takahashi was injured during the G1 Special in San Francisco after being dropped on his head in his match with Dragon Lee.
Updates from NJPW on his condition have been scarce (as is often the case with NJPW). The promotion announced shortly after the injury that Takahashi was awake and conscious and later that he had been transported back to Japan. It was reported last week he was still in hospital.
“The New Japan doctors believe it will be nine to 12 months before he can return,” Dave Meltzer wrote in the Wrestling Observer. “The belief is that he suffered a broken neck, which sounds terrible and that’s why nobody has said anything public.”
Although Takahashi is believed to have suffered a broken neck there was not said to be any nerve damage.
Hiromu Takahashi Injury Update
While a broken neck sounds bad, several wrestlers have sustained the injury and returned. Sean “X-Pac” Waltman mentioned on Twitter that he broke his neck twice and came back each time.
“I broke my neck twice,” Waltman Tweeted. “2nd time had it surgically repaired. I was able to make a full recovery & return for the most successful run of my career. Takahashi walked out of the ring on his own. He’s not done yet.”
Juice Robinson was a guest on Waltman’s podcast shortly after Takahashi’s injury.
“When you hear broken neck people think (he could be paralyzed) but that’s not with every broken neck but hopefully his broken neck is just you know time off,” Juice said. “Even though that still sucks but that beats the alternative. After seeing it, this is probably the best case scenario cause that looked like it could’ve been the last bump he ever took.”
WWE has expressed interest in the services of both Lucha Brothers. Both Pentagon and Fenix are believed to be locked into contracts with Lucha Underground, however. Their current deals require them to prioritize Lucha Underground tapings throughout 7 seasons.
Lucha Underground’s 4th season is currently airing.
“There’s been overtures to Fenix and Pentagon Jr.,” wrote Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer. “Even though as far as I’ve heard both still have three seasons left on their Lucha Underground deals.”
Pentagon and Fenix have been all over the professional wrestling scene as of late. Pentagon Jr is the Lucha Underground champion (unless he lost it last night) and was the Impact World Champion earlier this year. Fenix is also a former Lucha Underground World Champion.
WWE has been interested in several talents as of late who have decided not to sign. Eli Drake opted not to give the company another chance after his developmental experience didn’t go as planned. Brian Cage gave a similar reason for not signing with WWE before he signed with Lucha Underground. Juice Robinson completely rebuffed WWE last week after rumors the company was interested in him surfaced.
Fenix and Pentagon are scheduled to face the members of oVe tonight on Impact Wrestling.
Earlier this year, Pentagon spoke with Sports Illustrated regarding the influence Konnan, Rey Mysterio, and Alberto El Patron have had on his career.
“Those three men are very, very important, especially Konnan,” said Pentagon. “He’s always been with me, he is my guide and a friend. Rey Mysterio has also had a major influence on me. He is one of the greatest wrestlers of all-time, a great person. Before, he was my idol. Now, he is my friend. Alberto is another person I admire and he is someone who believed in me. I am grateful to have support from my idols.”
New details have been released as it concerns Rey Mysterio’s return to WWE. There has been a long back-and-forth between the two sides ever since Mysterio’s Royal Rumble appearance earlier this year.
In all likelihood, Rey Mysterio will be back in WWE before October.
Mysterio does not have any bookings past the first weekend of September, meaning a WWE return not long after is almost certain. The WWE 2K19 video game is released October 5th, 2018 and Mysterio is a featured character in the game’s advertising. It’s unlikely he won’t return in time to promote the game. Mysterio returning before October would also allow him to participate in the Australian mega-show on October 6th, 2018.
Rey Mysterio to WWE Update
“It appears (Mysterio’s) last dates are the first weekend of September,” stated Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer. “They did push the idea of bringing him in sooner, to keep him off All In in particular as well as some of the other shows he’s got but really All In was the key one.”
Earlier this week, Mysterio’s match for All-In was announced. He will team with Fenix and Bandido to face Kota Ibushi and the Young Bucks.
Mysterio’s WWE return was likely sealed at this year’s Royal Rumble.
“It’s been incredible,” Mysterio said to the Mirror UK. “I have nothing to say but to thank the fans for their loyalty, for their respect, for being a Rey Mysterio fan from day one… and for all those fans that have never seen me on TV, because this is a new generation of fans that are watching the WWE.”
“So to all the new fans that have heard about Rey Mysterio, or played as me in a video game, or seen me on the Network, for the first time if you got the chance to see me at the Royal Rumble, thank you very much for being part of it as a fan.”
If there was ever any doubt regarding Ronda Rousey’s wrestling-fandom, it was squashed during her recent appearance on the Stephen Colbert show.
While she was on the show to promote her appearance on Shark Week, her use of wrestling lingo made it clear what she spends most of her time doing these days.
Stephen Colbert – “Nice to see you again. We met briefly backstage at the Apollo theatre when Conan was in town.”
Ronda Rousey – “Yeah, I marked out pretty hard, I’m sorry.”
Stephen Colbert – “You what?”
Ronda Rousey – “I marked out, I..”
Stephen Colbert – “What’s ‘mark out’?”
Apparently, only Stephen Colbert and Harrison Ford have had this effect on her.
Ronda Rousey vs Alexa Bliss
Raw Women’s Championship
SummerSlam
While Ronda Rousey may be busy preparing for SummerSlam, she has her first single’s match on Raw next week. Rousey is scheduled to face Alicia Fox.
As for Fox, she’s just returned from a broken tailbone. The injury caused her to miss the first-ever women’s Royal Rumble earlier this year. She defeated Natalya this week on Raw in her first single’s victory since January.
Meanwhile, Alexa Bliss has had nothing but positive things to say regarding her upcoming title challenger.
“I was very impressed with her match against Nia Jax, and also her match at WrestleMania with Stephanie McMahon and Triple H,” Bliss said to the Cheap Seats podcast. “It was just awesome. I am very proud of her and it’ll be fun to see where things go with that.”
When Rousey was confronted with the positive comments from Bliss, she wasn’t fazed, however.
“She had nice things to say about me?” Rousey asked TMZ reporters. “Aw, that’s like the opposite of two-faced – she’s being mean in my face and nice behind my back. What do you call that? It’s still two-faced in a way, I don’t know.”
Mark Henry, the Rock, and D-Lo Brown once found themselves in a potentially dangerous situation outside Madison Square Garden. Henry recalled the story recently on the latest edition of Chris Jericho’s podcast.
According to Henry, a mob of fans once smashed in their rental car’s window, hit D-Lo Brown in the face with pizza, and damaged their car so badly they almost couldn’t get away.
Jericho and Henry were talking about how at MSG, talent often has to park in the same lot as fans. This they said, can lead to some unpleasant interactions.
— SiriusXM Busted Open (@BustedOpenRadio) August 1, 2018
Mark Henry Recalls Being Attacked By Fans Outside MSG
“There are 3 other people who can verify this story,” Henry said. “Because you’re going to think this is B***S***.”
The story happened while Henry, Brown, and the Rock were all still in the Nation of Domination and were leaving a show from MSG one night.
Henry said that the Rock asked them to pull up the car right next to the exit so he wouldn’t get mobbed by fans when they were leaving. They weren’t so lucky, however. D-Lo and Henry went to get the car from the public lot they had to park in. That’s when D-Lo got hit in the face with a slice of pizza and things started to go downhill.
“D-Lo gets hit in the face with a piece of pizza,” Henry said. “And that was light of the s*** they were throwing at us.”
Then Henry explains what happened when they picked up the Rock from outside the arena.
“Dwayne throws his bag in, gets in the car, the window goes out,” Henry said before making a sound to resemble a window being shattered. “Somebody bust the window out. They start beating the car, they totaled the car with their hands.”
“They totaled a Lincoln Towncar beating on it with their hands,” he continued. “We got back and they said ‘this car is totaled.’”
“They mashed the hood in so much that it broke the carburetor. I don’t know how we made it to the airport. By the grace of God, we made it to the airport and the car wouldn’t start after that.”
He’s arguably the most talked about heel in the business right now. Not only that, Tommaso Ciampa is the new NXT Champion. His era begins tonight on NXT.
Last week, Ciampa defeated Aleister Black after Johnny Gargano accidentally(?) hit Black in the face with the title belt. This week, Ciampa will address the NXT Universe.
NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa Addresses The NXT Universe
The new champion will address the NXT Universe tonight. What will Ciampa have to say about the former champion and his longtime rival who inadvertently helped him win the belt?
EC3 vs Kona Reeves
EC3 will face Kona Reeves in single’s action tonight. This was built-up in a backstage segment where Reeves stated EC3’s clothes were nice but they were not the finest.
This will be EC3’s 4th televised match since returning to NXT. He is 3-1 thus far with his only loss coming to Johnny Gargano. He’s defeated Raul Mendoza, Fabian Aichner, and Kassius Ohno.
As for Reeves, he’s on a 3-match winning streak. Granted, those 3 wins came over Max Humberto, Raul Mendoza, and Patrick Scott. They are the only single’s victories he has on NXT programming.
Shayna Baszler vs Candice LeRae
Candice LeRae could likely earn a future title shot against Baszler with a win in this non-title match tonight. LeRae recently defeated Lacey Evans on NXT. She’s also defeated Zelina Vega but dropped a match to Bianca Belair.
As for Baszler, she’s been sitting at 118 days as champion with title defenses over Dakota Kai, Nikki Cross, and Toni Storm.
Heavy Machiner vs the Mighty
These two teams have met once previously on NXT programming. The Mighty used under-handed dirty tactics to defeat Heavy Machinery back in May.
The Mighty are also suspected to be behind the attack to Tucker Knight which put him out of action for several weeks.
Moustache Mountain Return To Action
The former tag-team champions return to NXT for the first time since losing the titles back to the Undisputed Era a couple of weeks ago. Tyler Bate threw in the towel to save his mentor, Trent Seven. How will that impact the team’s dynamic moving forward? We should find out more regarding that tonight.
Charlotte Flair defeated Carmella last night on Smackdown. Flair, who had been out of action since Money in the Bank, also qualified for the Smackdown Women’s Championship match at SummerSlam.
She spoke with WWE.com in an exclusive interview after the show.
Charlotte Flair vs Becky Lynch vs Carmella
Smackdown Women’s Championship
SummerSlam
Flair has had a difficult 2018 from an injury perspective. She worked with a ruptured implant for most of the year as she delayed surgery to not miss WrestleMania. In May, she also lost a couple of teeth in a match with Carmella.
Becky Lynch cut a fiery promo to start Smackdown last night. She mentioned she has not held the Smackdown Women’s Championship since 2016 and hasn’t even received a title shot in a year and a half.
I missed #Summerslam last year. Excited to be in the title match with my best friend @BeckyLynchWWE Let the best woman win. #SDLive
Flair spoke to ESPN last month to promote her appearance in their 2018 Body Issue. She also spoke about how she deals with injuries.
“With injuries, every match varies,” Flair said. “The black eyes are accidents. The broken noses are accidents. But the bumps from when we land on the mat, they’re hard. I think it looks easier, or the fans don’t really understand what’s happening, but it does take a toll. Every week I have some kind of mark on me. And that goes for all the girls. I think that’s what separates us from other people, we’re always walking around with our battle scars, and we’re proud of them.”
Jim Ross and Amy “Lita” Dumas were the play-by-play and color commentators for last year’s Mae Young Classic. It is believed there will be a change to the team this year, however. According to a report from PW Insider, the current plan is for Mauro Ranallo to be the lead announcer of 2018’s tournament.
Mauro Ranallo Mae Young Classic
The Mae Young Classic is set to tape over 2 days from Full Sail University next week. The tournament will be filmed August 8th and 9th at Full Sail University. The finals will be held at the Evolution pay-per-view in October.
Already confirmed for the Mae Young Classic II are:
Ashley Ryane
Deonna Purrazzo
Io Shirai
Isla Dawn
Jessie Elaban
Jinny
Kacy Catanzaro
Kaitlyn
Karen Q
Kavita Devi
Killer Kelly
Lacey Lane
Meiko Satomura
Mercedes Martinez
Mia Yim
Nicole Matthews
Priscilla Kelly
Reina Gonzalez
Rhea Ripley
Taynara Conti*
Tegan Nox
Toni Storm
Xia Brookside
Zeuxis
** defeated Vanessa Borne in a qualifying match
Mauro Ranallo on Commentary
Earlier this year, Ranallo spoke with Sports Illustrated regarding his time as a commentator for Smackdown Live.
“With WWE, the biggest issue was the weekly travel for SmackDown,” Ranallo said. “I also had a job with Showtime Championship Boxing, and now Bellator MMA, so I was busy almost every weekend and the fact that I had to be on the road with SmackDown Live, which was a dream job in live TV on the USA Network, was going to kill me.”
Ranallo would say there were other issues which impacted his happiness at the time but he’s in a much better place with the company now.
“There were other issues, and they’ve been dealt with,” Ranallo continued. “Honestly, I’ve never had a better relationship with WWE, especially Paul [Triple H] Levesque and Michael Cole, two people who are instrumental in me being the voice of NXT. The amount of support I’ve received from everyone, and I mean from Vince McMahon to Stephanie to Shane to the entire locker room, it’s incredible.”
Vice President of Impact Wrestling, Don Calls, recently addressed some controversy concerning a recently debuted Impact Knockout. Scarlett Bordeaux made her Impact debut last week. Some fans see the character as a fitting heel for today’s modern women’s wrestling divisions. Others feel the character is a regression to an era of women’s wrestling they would rather not return to, however.
Callis addressed the matter during on a recent edition of his podcast.
“What (Scarlett Bordeaux) is doing she’s basically saying, ‘Hey, I am not going to be told how to dress and how to look and that I shouldn’t look how God made me and I’m not gonna cover up because some man or whatever thinks it’s politically correct for me to cover up,” Callis explained. “I thought that was an empowering message from her. But some people, they look for things to be offended about. I’m unclear as to why anything she said was offensive.”
Callis continued to say there is more character development to come with Scarlett.
“I think that people will be pleasantly surprised as we move forward,” he continued. “She’s actually a very good wrestler and I think it got people talking in a good way.”
Scarlett Bordeaux in Impact Wrestling
Scarlett Bordeaux: “I want to be remembered as the greatest women’s activist of all time.”
Alicia Atout: “Like Susan B Anthony?”
Scarlett Bordeaux: “Ew. Like Marylyn Monroe. Or Cardi B.”
We covered Bordeaux’s debut in last week’s “Takeaways from Impact Wrestling 7/26” article. It seemed to me the character was playing up many of the aspects that have been removed from women’s wrestling for the purpose of getting heat.
Bordeaux is a Chicago-based indy wrestler who has competed for Women of Honor previously. She also worked as Matt Taven’s valet briefly in Ring of Honor. In 2016, Bordeaux appeared as enhancement talent on Raw in a losing effort to Nia Jax.
Impact Wrestling returns on Thursday night with the second show from their 2-nights of tapings from Rebel Nightclub following Slammiversary.
Jerry Lawler has said he was with his son Brian Christopher when he died. He told WHBQ news he was “glad to hold his son’s hand when his heart stopped beating around 3:30 p.m.”
Lawler told the news outlet he and family are overwhelmed with support from friends and the public.
There is an ongoing investigation into Brian Christopher’s death after the former WWE Superstar was found hanging in his cell on Sunday. Christopher was arrested for a 3rd DUI offense and for evading the police a week prior. He was still in jail as he had not posted the $40,000 needed for bail. The family has said they were waiting to determine if they would hire a private or public attorney for his case.
Jerry Lawler Comments On Investigation Into Brian Christopher’s Death
A recent statement by the Sheriff’s office has indicated Christopher was not on suicide watch as he was not thought to be a danger to himself. The police did state he was in a cell by himself due to his fame.
“Mr. Lawler, because of his notoriety, was placed in a cell by himself but as the Sheriff’s Department had no indication he was suicidal, he was not on suicide watch,” the statement reads.
Lawler would only briefly comment on the ongoing investigation into his son’s death. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has asked Lawler not to comment publicly on the matter.
“There may be more to this than meets the eye,” Lawler said in a phone call to WHBQ news.
Yesterday, we reported that Lawler had told Christopher he could get him a job at the WWE Performance Center. The offer came with the condition that Christopher had to stay clean for a year. Christopher’s “Too Cool” tag-team partner, Scotty 2 Hotty, is currently an instructor there.
Brian Pillman Jr. is set to make his national television debut with Major League Wrestling. The son of “the Loose Cannon” or “Flyin” Brian Pillman made his pro-wrestling debut in late 2017.
MLW CEO Court Bauer revealed the news that Pillman will appear on MLW Fusion this Friday night. The show airs Friday nights on BeIN Sports and is posted on MLW’s YouTube page in full the following evening.
Pillman spent much of 2017 being trained by some of the best in the business. He spent time at the Lance Storm Wrestling Academy in Calgary earlier this year. His connection to Calgary runs even deeper, however, as he has aligned himself with Teddy Hart and Harry Smith in MLW.
Additionally, Pillman Jr has spent a lot of time training with Rip Rogers.
Pillman doesn’t plan on lean off his father’s legacy, however.
“My gimmick is that I’m Brian Pillman Jr. That’s my gimmick,” Pillman told the Sporting News earlier this year. “Eventually I’m going to have to change, I’m going to have to evolve and drop the ‘II’ or drop the ‘Jr.,’ become somebody else, somebody fresh, somebody new. I’m kind of in that process of that. I’m trying to develop my first beyond-the-legacy gimmick.”
