SEScoops

Author: Chris Stephens

  • Don Callis On Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho Potentially Going To Impact Wrestling

    Don Callis On Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho Potentially Going To Impact Wrestling

    Don Callis is believed to have played a key role in organizing the Chris Jericho vs Kenny Omega match at the Tokyo Dome this year. All three are from Winnipeg and Callis also has his own podcast through the Chris Jericho podcast network.

    At the Slammiversary press conference in Toronto recently, Callis indicated to me he’d love to bring Omega and Jericho to Impact Wrestling. “There’s a young Canadian kid I like, we’d love to sign him, his name is Kenny Omega,” Callis said. “Another is Chris Jericho.”

    Callis recently doubled-down on his comments during his appearance on Jim Ross’ podcast.

    Don Callis On Jim Ross Podcast

    Callis explained his history with Omega. “I’ve been on this journey with Kenny Omega since he was a 16-year-old kid who I booked,” Callis explained.

    “I gave him his first break wrestling for the promotion I had in Winnipeg [Canada]. And his uncle, The Golden Sheik, who was an indie wrestler in Winnipeg helped train me in the [pro wrestling] business in 1989, so my roots with Kenny go back many years. I’ve been on this journey with him, and specifically since I’ve been in New Japan and we have a very close relationship. We talk about ideas, we do things, I helped put together the match between him and Chris [Jericho] for the Tokyo Dome.”

    Callis On Omega and Jericho to Impact Wrestling

    Callis continued to say the chances of Omega and Jericho appearing in an Impact Wrestling ring are less remote than they seemed not too long ago.

    “I kind of say, ‘never say ‘never” and I think that one of the things that we’ve been doing under Ed Nordholm here at Impact is breaking some longstanding paradigms of pro wrestling,” Callis said.

    “The intellectual property stuff that we’ve talked about before, but also we’ve been working with multiple people now and now recently announced by Chris Jericho and I know [Ross] will be on that cruise, so that’ll be cool, get to have a beer together. It’s going to be Impact and Ring Of Honor on the same cruise ship, so there’s some stuff that’s probably going to happen and I don’t think you can have those talents in a closed environment like that, so we are working, in a sense if you take that, with Ring Of Honor right now.

    We’ve got Taiji Ishimori coming in for our pay-per-view and our TV in July. The Bone Soldier just started with New Japan, so we’ll see what happens. How many people would’ve thought that Chris Jericho would’ve headlined the Tokyo Dome with New Japan Pro-Wrestling? I was so sheepish when I pitched it to him because he always told me, ‘I will never work for anyone except Vince McMahon and I have a deep respect for Vince.’ Obviously, he took Vince into consideration. Vince is the first guy he told about it. Nevertheless, it shocked me that Chris was on a New Japan show, so I’ve learned to say, ‘never say ‘never” in this business.”

    transcriptions via WrestlingInc

  • Kenny Omega Responds To Criticism Over Booked Wrestler

    Kenny Omega Responds To Criticism Over Booked Wrestler

    On Friday night, Kenny Omega produced a live CEOxNJPW show which aired on Twitch. After the show, word began to spread that one of the wrestlers booked for the show was a registered sex offender.

    Fans took to social media to voice their concern over the wrestler being booked. Omega issued the following response to the situation:

    Kenny Omega Responds to Criticism

    Earlier in the day, Omega released a series of Tweets addressing the matter:

    “Here it is: I produced all matches from dark match #2 on. I gave the ring crew (also a wrestling school) carte Blanche to have our first dark. No entrances, no name graphics. And thus they had a match. I met Chasyn once in 2004 so his name was familiar. The other guy I’d never met.”

    “Regardless of their history or whatever, this crew of people were all very helpful in set up, tear down, and various odd jobs around the arena. I’d felt giving them the opportunity to have a dark match was the least I could do as a way to show appreciation.”

    “I’m gutted that people feel betrayed by their involvement, but at no point did I feel I was working with criminals or anything of the sort. As I’d said earlier, they were nothing but polite and helpful throughout the entire experience.”

    “I’ll know better for next time to only use those I’m absolutely familiar/comfortable with”

  • New ROH World Champion Crowned At TV Tapings

    New ROH World Champion Crowned At TV Tapings

    Ring of Honor crowned a new World Champion last night in Fairfax, VA.

    Following his ROH World title defense at Best in the World 2018, Dalton Castle would have to defend his title again for the second night in a row. Not only that, Castle would have to defend the belt in a fatal 4-way match against Cody, Jay Lethal, and Matt Taven.

    The winner of the match and new ROH World Champion is Jay Lethal. He is now just the 4th person to ever hold the title on multiple occasions.

    The show in Fairfax last night was a scheduled TV taping but the world title match streamed live for Honor Club subscribers. Normally, TV tapings don’t air on the streaming service until after they have aired on television.

    New ROH World Champion

    Jay Lethal’s first run with the ROH World title lasted 427 days. During his reign, Lethal successfully defended his title 28 times. He would eventually drop the title to Adam Cole.

    As for the former champion, Dalton Castle, it looks as though he’ll be taking some time off. Castle was walking gingerly on his left leg last night and at Best in the World on Friday. Commentary let fans know that he was also suffering from a herniated disc in his lower back as well.

    Castle’s reign as ROH World Champion concludes at 198 days. He defeated Cody for the title at Final Battle 2017. He defended the title 5x during his reign. He defeated Punishment Martinez, Tarkan Aslan, the Beer City Bruiser and Beretta (3-way), Jay Lethal, and Cody and Marty Scurll (3-way).

    Only Adam Cole has won the ROH World title more than 2x. Lethal now joins Austin Aries and Jay Briscoe as the only others to hold the title multiple times.

    Lethal currently sits at #5 on the all-time list of most combined days spent with the title. The record holder is still Samoa Joe, whose one reign with the belt lasted 645 days.

  • Io Shirai Appears At WWE Event In Tokyo (Video)

    Io Shirai Appears At WWE Event In Tokyo (Video)

    WWE’s newest signee, Io Shirai, was on hand at the WWE live event in Tokyo this morning. She was officially unveiled as the newest addition to the roster. Shirai will be assigned to the NXT brand.

    Shirai is a former 2x Wonder of Stardom champion. She has been voted as Tokyo Sports’ Joshi Puroresu Grand Prize winner (the equivalent of woman’s wrestler of the year award) the last 3 years in a row.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BkpvJjzgX3S/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=1qqoted9k7qzi

    Io Shirai

    Shirai was rumored to be heading to WWE last year but failed medical evaluations prevented this from happening. It was reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that neck and heart problems caused WWE to back away from signing her. She continued to compete for Stardom the following year after not signing with WWE.

    Pro Wrestling Illustrated ranked Shirai #6 in their female top-50 rankings in 2017.

    Shirai confirmed her departure from Stardom back in late May with many speculating she would be headed to WWE.

    Parts of Shirai’s blog in late May revealing her departure from Stardom were run through Google Translate.

    “I’m going to leave Stardom with me aiming for a further leap of pro-wrestling life in the future.

    The Korakuen Hall show on June 17 will be the last for Stardom.”

    World of Stardom also Tweeted out the following facts about Shirai’s time with the promotion:

    “Io Shirai’s done it all in Stardom.
    World of Stardom champion twice, 1014 days.
    Wonder of Stardom champion twice, 375 days.
    Tag champion 407 days.
    High Speed champion.
    Artist of Stardom champion 6 times.
    SWA champion.
    5 Star Grand Prix champion.
    Now she will show it to the world.”

  • Twin Sons of Hall Of Famer Receive WWE Tryouts

    Twin Sons of Hall Of Famer Receive WWE Tryouts

    There are several brother tag-teams performing at a high-level in wrestling today. Last night, the Briscoe Brothers faced Matt and Nick Jackson for Ring of Honor. Jimmy and Jey Uso are one the best teams in the world. The Hardy Boyz have done fairly well for themselves as well throughout their lengthy careers.

    While the Dudley Boyz don’t count as a real-life family combination, the 23-year-old twin sons of D-Von Dudley do. They both received tryouts at the WWE Performance Center recently.

    The pair has wrestled both under their real names of Terrence and Terrell Hughes, as well as with the surname Dudley.

    You can check out video of the brothers competing at an indy event in late-2016 below:

    Terrence and Terrell Hughes

    The Hughes brothers were among the 40 WWE hopefuls at the Performance Center this week. Former Impact Wrestling stars, Robbie E and Chelsea Green were also in attendance.

    WWE.com had this to say regarding the brothers:

    “Terrell & Terrence Hughes, the 23-year-old twin sons of WWE Hall of Famer D-Von Dudley. Both men played football in high school, and Terrell qualified for regional and state competition in wrestling. Their sports-entertainment training began in 2012 at the Dudleys’ Team 3D Academy, and the Hughes brothers have held tag team titles on the independent circuit under the name TNT.”

    The brothers have wrestled 36 professional matches on the independent circuit. They have also won several tag team championships already in their short careers.

    Their father, D-Von Dudley, retired from in-ring action in 2016. He continues to work with WWE in a producer role, usually for tag-team matches. D-Von and Bubba Ray have been inducted into both the Impact Wrestling and WWE Hall of Fames. D-Von also has two younger sons as well, born 6 and 13 years after Terrell and Terrence.

    NXT Head Trainer, Matt Bloom, and Mark Henry presided over the tryouts.

  • Sasha Banks Blames Bayley For Missed Flight, Rivalry Statistics

    Sasha Banks Blames Bayley For Missed Flight, Rivalry Statistics

    Sasha Banks is taking her hatred of Bayley to great lengths. The multi-time women’s champion has kept kayfabe alive in her recent social media posts.

    Recently, Banks missed a flight and blamed Bayley for it.

    “Good morning to everyone except Bayley” – Sasha Banks

    Sasha Banks vs Bayley Rivalry

    Now that the Banks vs Bayley rivalry appears to be in full swing, it’s a good opportunity to take a look at their career stats against each other.

    They have wrestled each other 14x in single’s competition in matches that have aired on television or the WWE Network (i.e not including house shows). Banks has won 4x, Bayley has won 9x, and they went to a no-contest once.

    1. NXT September 12th, 2013: Banks defeated Bayley
    2. NXT January 9th, 2014: Bayley defeated Banks
    3. NXT January 30th, 2014: Bayley defeated Banks
    4. NXT March 13th, 2014: Bayley defeated Banks
    5. NXT April 24th, 2014: Banks defeated Bayley
    6. NXT July 17th, 2014: Bayley defeated banks
    7. NXT July 31st, 2014: Bayley defeated Banks
    8. NXT September 25th, 2014: Banks defeated Bayley
    9. NXT Takeover Brooklyn August 22nd, 2015
      NXT Women’s Championship
      Bayley defeated Banks (c)
    10. NXT Women’s Championship
      30-Minute Ironman
      Bayley (c) defeated Banks (3:2)
    11. Raw March 6th, 2017: Banks defeated Bayley
    12. Raw July 24th, 2017: Bayley defeated Banks
    13. Raw February 12th, 2018: Bayley defeated Banks
    14. Raw April 16th, 2018: No Contest

    Sasha Banks vs Bayley Multi-Person Match Stats

    Banks and Bayley have met another 13x in multi-person matches. Of these, Banks has won 4x, Bayley once, and neither were the victor in the rest of the matches.

    1. NXT Takeover Revival
      February 11th, 2015
      NXT Women’s Championship
      Sasha Banks defeated Charlotte Flair (c), Bayley, and Becky Lynch
    2. Raw, September 12th, 2016
      Sasha Banks defeated Bayley and Dana Brooke
    3. Clash of Champions 2016
      September 25th, 2016
      Raw Women’s Championship
      Charlotte Flair (c) defeated Bayley and Sasha Banks
    4. WrestleMania 33
      Raw Women’s Championship
      Fatal 4-Way Elimination
      Bayley (c) defeated Charlotte Flair, Nia Jax, and Sasha Banks
    5. Raw June 26th, 2017
      Gauntlet Match
      Sasha Banks defeated Bayley, Dana Brooke, Emma, Mickie James, and Nia Jax
    6. No Mercy 2017
      September 24th, 2017
      Raw Women’s Championship
      5-Way
      Alexa Bliss (c) defeated Bayley, Sasha Banks, Emma, and Nia Jax
    7. Raw October 9th, 2017
      5-Way Elimination
      Emma defeated Alicia Fox, Bayley, Dana Brooke, and Sasha Banks
    8. Raw October 23rd, 2017
      3-Way
      Alicia Fox defeated Bayley and Sasha Banks
    9. Raw November 20th, 2017
      5-way
      No contest
    10. Royal Rumble 2018
      January 28th, 2018
      Women’s Royal Rumble
      Neither won
    11. Elimination Chamber 2018
      February 25th, 2018
      Raw Women’s Championship
      Elimination Chamber Match
      Alexa Bliss (c) defeated Bayley, Sasha Banks, Mickie James, Sonya Deville, and Mandy Rose
    12. WrestleMania 34
      April 8th, 2014
      Women’s WrestleMania Battle Royal
      Neither won the match
    13. Raw May 28th, 2018
      MITB Qualifying Gauntlet Match
      Sasha Banks defeated Bayley, Dana Brooke, Liv Morgan, Mickie James Ruby Riott, and Sarah Logan

    In total, Banks has won 8 matches against Bayley and Bayley has won 10 matches against Banks. These numbers do not include tag matches (either on the same side or against) and house show results.

  • Stephanie McMahon Talks Future of Mixed Match Challenge

    Stephanie McMahon Talks Future of Mixed Match Challenge

    World Wrestling Entertainment is a company now valued at over $5 billion. The rise in company profile is largely due to recently announced television contracts with the USA and Fox Networks.

    What allowed WWE more leverage during this round of television contract negotiations was the presence of new suitors at the table. Streaming services, such as Amazon and Facebook Live, entered the market in a big way recently. WWE did business with Facebook Live early this year with the Mixed Match Challenge.

    Stephanie spoke with the media outlet, the Drum, about the success of WWE’s Mixed Match Challenge tournament. “It had over 100 million views and it was considered a success by Facebook,” she said. “We’re now in conversations to see where we go from here, but we’re nimble and flexible.”

    Streaming Services and WWE

    While WWE ended up going with traditional cable networks for this round of television contracts, there is nothing that says they could not end up on a streaming service next time around.

    Stephanie also spoke recently about the possibility of WWE products ending up on Amazon, Facebook Live, Netflix, or a similar service.

    “I don’t think we’re there yet…Linear is still incredibly important and reaches a huge audience and delivers, but absolutely, I see content moving everywhere that’s why WWE is everywhere because we want to be ready when that time is right.”

    WWE Mixed Match Challenge Season 2

    Stephanie didn’t go into great detail about whether there will be a season 2 of Mixed Match Challenge on Facebook Live. She did stress that Facebook considered the experiment a success, however.

    Miz and Asuka were the eventual victors of the tournament. They defeated the “Robe Warriors” team of Charlotte Flair and Bobby Roode in the finals.

    Do You Want To See Another WWE Mixed Match Challenge Tournament? Let us know in the comment section below. 

  • ROH Best in the World 2018 Results

    ROH Best in the World 2018 Results

    Ring of Honor’s Best in the World pay-per-view last night was from just outside Baltimore in the UMBC Event Center.

    The venue holds just over 6000 for basketball and the commentary team said attendance was 2.5x more than for any other Ring of Honor event in the area. ROH has also been looking at booking bigger venues in most markets they run as of late.

    The company was also looking to run Madison Square Garden in New York next spring. That deal ended up falling through, however.

    ROH Best in the World 2018 Results

    1. ROH 6-Man Tag Team Championships
      The Kingdom (Matt Taven, TK O’Ryan and Vinny Marseglia) (c) defeated Los Ingobernables de Japon (Bushi, Evil and Sanada)
    2. Flip Gordon defeated Bully Ray via DQ
      • Bully hit him with a low blow.
      • Several ROH “young boys” attempted to help. Cheeseburger made the final save.
    3. Sumie Sakai, Jenny Rose, Mayu Iwatani and Tenille Dashwood defeated Kelly Klein and Oedo Tai (Hazuki, Kagetsu and Hana Kimura)
      • Kagetsu is the Stardom champion and Sakai the WOH champ. They were teasing something between the two.
      • Iwatani got the pin for her team.
    4. Austin Aries defeated Kenny King
      • They mentioned Aries is the Impact World champion but Cabana pretended as though they shouldn’t have said that.
    5. Jay Lethal defeated KUSHIDA
      • They teased some dissension between the two here. KUSHIDA refused to shake Lethal’s hand before the match. He also later mocked Lethal with a Randy Savage styled axehandle. I feel as though this is something which could be explained during a later episode of Being the Elite. Lethal has been slipping in and out of his old Black Machismo gimmick on the show.
    6. ROH World TV Championship
      Punishment Martinez (c) defeated Hangman Page

      • The finish of this match came when Martinez delivered a South of Heaven chokeslam to his opponent through a table. As the ref counted the three, however, both wrestlers’ shoulders were against the mat. Despite this, the ref awarded the victory to Martinez. ROH officials may have a later ruling due to the controversy at the finish of this match.
    7. ROH World Tag Team Championships
      the Briscoes (c) defeated the Young Bucks

      • The Briscoes have now defeated the Bucks 8 out of their 13 meetings with the Bucks.
      • After the match, SCU came out and looked as though they were going to attack the Bucks. Instead, they attacked the Briscoes and made their intentions of being the next title challengers clear.
    8. ROH World Championship
      3-Way
      Dalton Castle (c) defeated Cody and Marty Scurll

      • Castle retains his title despite seemingly dealing with several nagging injuries. His leg and shoulder were taped up for this match.
      • NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Nick Aldis, was ringside. At one point, Aldis pulled the ref out of the ring when it looked like Scurll would win the title.
      • The finish came when Scurll gave Cody his own Cross Rhodes finisher but then Castle gave Scurll the Bangarang and got the pin.
      • Cody loses the first of 3 big title opportunities he has this summer.
  • Matt Cappotelli Has Passed Away At 38

    Matt Cappotelli Has Passed Away At 38

    Former Tough Enough winner, Matt Cappotelli, has lost his battle with brain cancer. He was 38.

    Matt’s wife, Lindsay, has been keeping fans up-to-date on his well-being through her blogs and Facebook posts. Yesterday, she shared the news with the world.

    “Hey Team Capp…I’ve been struggling with what to say and how to say this, and I’ll probably end up rambling, but here goes,” she wrote. “Today my love-my strong, sweet, beautiful love-took his last breath at 3:30 a.m. and went Home to be with Jesus…exactly one year after his brain surgery,” she continued. “You think you can be prepared for this when you know it’s coming, but you just can’t. The only person whose comfort I want right now is the one who can’t give it to me.”

    https://www.instagram.com/p/Bjp8fG9BNHr/?utm_source=ig_embed

    Matt Cappotelli Loses Battle With Brain Cancer

    Earlier this year, Lindsay outlined the timeline of Matt’s latest battle with brain cancer.

    “Dr. Yao, the brain surgeon, came to our room to discuss things more with us and give us our options,” Lindsey wrote. “He explained that the tumor was of significant size and that he was shocked at how fast it had grown in the 4 months since Matt’s February MRI.”

    Cappotelli had been working as a trainer at Ohio Valley Wrestling since 2013. He had previously won the promotion’s heavyweight championship before being diagnosed with a brain tumor for the first time in 2006. He announced last summer that he’d been diagnosed with a grade IV glioblastoma multiforme cancer. This form of cancer is the most aggressive of its kind.

    “Throughout all of this, Matt and I really never discussed death,” Lindsey wrote. “A part of me wishes that we had, but I just never wanted to make him think that I didn’t think he would make it. Because I still had hope, and I didn’t want him to give up hope.”

  • 6 Takeaways From Impact Wrestling (6/28/18)

    6 Takeaways From Impact Wrestling (6/28/18)

    This week’s Impact Wrestling was the first to broadcast from Windsor, ON, Canada. The promotion continues to build toward their Slammiversary PPV on July 22nd from Toronto’s Rebel nightclub.

    This week’s episode confirmed two new matches added to the card and built towards several others. This article breaks down the top 6 developments in Impact Wrestling from this week’s episode.

    We’ll start things out with the LAX storyline, where Konnan has returned to confront King (aka Eddie Kingston). King took over a leadership position with the faction due to Konnan and Homicide’s absence.

    Konnan Confronts King

    “All warfare is predicated on deception. You think you’re playing me, I’m playing you” – Konnan to King

    LAX may have won back the tag-team championships with King at their side but now that Konnan has returned things could get interesting. Konnan confronted King this week. He told LAX that King can’t be trusted as well. From Ortiz and Santana’s point of view, however, King has turned things around for the faction.

    Diamante has already expressed concern that King has ulterior motives. Konnan says he has proof King can’t be trusted and he’ll reveal it shortly.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twba5ieaEB4

    Brian Cage Is Targetting Matt Sydal But Kongo Kong Is Targetting Him

    Last week on Impact, Sydal defeated Cage via count-out after interference from Kongo Kong and Jimmy Jacobs. It’s clear Cage still has Sydal and the X-Division title in his sights, however.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue86JXlRo2E

    This week on Impact, Sydal defeated Dezmond Xavier in a non-title match. After the match, Cage came down to ringside to confront Sydal. This brought out Kongo Kong and Jacobs who attacked Cage before he could get to the champion.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jutIGsxA0cA

    If Cage wants another shot at Sydal’s title, it looks as though he will have to go through Kongo Kong first. The machine will meet Jimmy Jacobs’ monster in single’s action next week.

    If Cage gets through Kong, he could be granted another shot at Sydal. The match would likely be scheduled for Slammiversary.

    Eddie Edwards Has Made An Enemy of Tommy Dreamer

    Eddie Edwards is moving on from his rivalry with Sami Callihan. The feud with Sami seems to have sent Edwards spiraling to a dark place. Tommy Dreamer attempted to help him but Edwards is too far gone and now sees Dreamer as an enemy. In fact, Edwards’ delusions have grown so intense, he’s begun to believe Dreamer is involved with his wife.

    This week on Impact, Edwards traveled to Philadelphia to confront Dreamer at a House of Hardcore show. He interfered in Dreamer’s match, caning him on the head with a kendo stick.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1ri3YNnmgU&frags=pl%2Cwn

    Looks like we could get Eddie Edwards vs Tommy Dreamer sometime soon, possibly at Slammiversary.

    Su Yung is Haunting Madison Rayne/Allie’s Back!

    Madison Rayne opened up this week’s show and spoke on why she’s returning to the ring. She was interrupted by Tessa Blanchard, however. The two would meet later in the night in the main event.

    On a previous episode of Impact, Rayne defeated Blanchard with a pinning combination. Many called the win an upset. She’d defeat Blanchard again tonight, however. This time she used a crucifix combination to get the win.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAFnQuf4zKg

    Blanchard beat down Rayne after the match but was interrupted by Su Yung and her army of Zombie brides. The brides and Yung surrounded Raye after Blanchard made a timely escape.

    Just when it looked like Yung was going to give Rayne her finisher, Allie returned and broke up the macabre scene.

    Rich Swann Has Arrived in the X-Division

    Rich Swann defeated Trevor Lee this week on Impact. It was just Swann’s second match for the promotion after having lost to Austin Aries at the Zero Fear PPV show.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTprua3eK9Q&frags=pl%2Cwn

    We asked Swann earlier this week what competing in the X-Division means to him.

    “Oh man, I was such a fan,” Swann said of the early days of the X-Division. “Seeing guys like Frankie Kazarian, Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley, Sonjay Dutt, Jay Lethal.”

    “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,” he continued.

    After Swann defeated Trevor Lee, it was revealed he will take on Fenix next week. Later in the show, it was revealed Swann will be part of a 4-way match at Slammiversary. His opponents will be Johnny Impact, Taiji Ishimori, and Fenix.

    Sami Callihan vs Pentagon Jr Mask Vs Hair

    Last week on Impact, oVe took on Pentagon and Fantasma. Callihan took it upon himself to interfere in the match and hit Pentagon in the head with his signature baseball bat.

    This week on Impact, we traveled to a PCW Ultra show in Los Angeles, where Callihan attacked Pentagon. Along with the Crist brothers, Callihan unmasked Pentagon.

    Later in the show, Pentagon would issue a challenge to Callihan for a Mask vs Hair match at Slammiversary.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sh0ru4dUCQ&frags=pl%2Cwn

    Callihan didn’t take long to accept.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mTThSnWWmo&frags=pl%2Cwn

    With that, arguably the biggest match for Slammiversary has been booked.

    The updated card is now as follows:

    • Impact World Championship
      Austin Aries (c) vs Moose
    • Knockouts Championship
      Su Yung (c) vs Madison Rayne
    • Mask vs Hair
      Pentagon Jr vs Sami Callihan
    • Fenix vs Johnny Impact vs Rich Swann vs Taiji Ishimori
  • ROH Best in the World 2018 Lineup and Preview

    ROH Best in the World 2018 Lineup and Preview

    Ring of Honor is back on pay-per-view tonight. Best in the World 2018 will also stream live for VIP Honor Club subscribers. The event will emanate from the UMBC Event Center (holds approx. 6000) from Catonsville, Maryland.

    ROH Best in the World 2018 Lineup and Preview

    ROH World Championship
    3-Way Match
    Dalton Castle (c) vs Cody vs Marty Scurll

    Castle has held the title since December 15th, 2017 when he defeated Cody at Final Battle 2017. Tonight could easily be his last with the belt.

    Scurll and Cody have not been on the same page as of late and competing for the World Title in the same match will not make things easier. This match could lead to a full-blown Cody and Scurll feud, although Cody has a lot of other things going on as well.

    This will be the first of 3 big championship matches for Cody this summer. He will also challenge Kenny Omega for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at the G1 Special in San Francisco. He will then challenge for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on September 1st.

    ROH World Tag Team Championships
    The Briscoes (c) vs the Young Bucks

    This match pits the most successful two tag-teams in Ring of Honor history against one another. Technically, the Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero and Cesaro) and reDragon (Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish) have held the tag belts longer than the Bucks, though nobody has held them longer than the Briscoes.

    The Briscoes have adopted an anti-Bullet Club stance as of late. Now working as heels, this will be the most high-profile match yet featuring the Briscoes rivalry with the American faction of Bullet Club.

    The Young Bucks are fresh off having won the IWGP heavyweight tag team championships in NJPW. They will have to defend those titles at the Cow Palace next weekend, however, against former champions, Evil and Sanada.

    Flip Gordon vs Bully Ray

    Bully Ray has been trying to take out all the lower-card and younger guys on the roster. He’s already bullied Cheeseburger and several other wrestlers.

    Tonight, Flip will try and upset the veteran and maybe try and impress the All-In bookers in the process.

    ROH 6-Man Tag Team Championships
    The Kingdom (Matt Taven, TK O’Ryan, Vinny Marseglia) (c) vs Bushi, Evil, and Sanada

    The Kingdom is the only 2-time holders of these titles. They have defended the titles more times than any other team as well. They are just 52 days away from breaking the Hung Bucks record for most combined days spent with the title.

    LIJ has held 6-man gold in NJPW but never in ROH. In fact, no team from NJPW has ever won these titles. Tonight could easily be the first time it happens, however.

    ROH World Television Championship
    Baltimore Street Fight
    Punishment Martinez vs Adam Page

    Martinez won a 6-way proving ground match and then defeated Silas Young for the belt last weekend in Texas. He will be in tough against Page, who is still trying to win his first singles title in either ROH or NJPW.

    Also Booked for the show:

    • Jay Lethal vs KUSHIDA
    • Kenny King vs Austin Aries
    • Sumie Sakai, Jenny Rose, Mayu Iwatani, and Tenille Dashwood vs Kelly Klein, Hazuki, Kagetsu, and Hana Kimura
  • Impact Wrestling Preview 6/28/18: Pentagon vs Callihan, X-Division Shines, more….

    Impact Wrestling Preview 6/28/18: Pentagon vs Callihan, X-Division Shines, more….

    Tonight’s episode of Impact Wrestling will be the first from the company’s television tapings in Windsor, ON, Canada earlier this month. The city is home to Scott D’Amore’s Border City Wrestling.

    Not every segment will be from Windsor tonight, however. Eddie Edwards will travel to Philadelphia and confront Tommy Dreamer. The segment was filmed at a recent House of Hardcore show from the 2300 Arena. There will also be a match on tonight’s show which was filmed at a PCW show from Los Angeles.

    Tonight’s show will continue the build to Slammiversary on July 22nd from the Rebel nightclub in Toronto, ON, Canada.

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

    Impact Wrestling Preview 6/28/18

    1) Sami Callihan vs Pentagon Jr. (From PCW Ultra)

    • Sami Callihan has said he wants to take Pentagon’s mask. If his feud with Eddie Edwards is any indication, it’s clear Callihan will go to great lengths to do damage to his rivals.
    • Last week, Callihan took a bat to Pentagon following a brawl after oVe took on Pentagon and Fantasma.
    • This could be the beginning of a feud which will carry over until Slammiversary.

    2) Matt Sydal vs Dezmond Xavier

    • It looks as though this will be a non-title match. You can bet if Xavier is able to defeat the champion tonight it will put him in line for an X-Division title match, however.
    • Speaking of the X-Division, we still don’t know who the champion’s challenger will be at Slammiversary. Xavier is likely hoping he can improve his chances of earning a title shot tonight.

    3) Rich Swann vs Trevor Lee

    • X-Division champion, Matt Sydal, Tweeted out that he will be keeping his 3rd eye fixed on this match. It will be Swann’s second match for the promotion after wrestling Austin Aries at the recent One Night Only PPV, Zero Fear, from Mississauga, ON, Canada.
    • Trevor Lee’s “Cult of Lee” tag-team has hit a rough patch as of late. He might be thinking it’s time for him to climb back up the single’s rankings.
    • We talked to Rich Swann yesterday about what competing in the X-Division means to him.

    Desi Hit Squad Debuts

    • The Great Gama Singh will debut the Desi Hit Squad tonight.
    • While we’ve seen individual members of the group in action previously, tonight the Great Gama will be there to officially manage the faction.
    • The Desi Hit Squad is expected to be a heel faction of Indian wrestlers similar to the Karachi Vice stable from Stampede Wrestling in the 70s and 80s.
    • We spoke to Desi Hit Squad member, Rohit Raju, about what we can expect from the new stable.

    Also booked for tonight’s show:

    • Moose talks about challenging Austin Aries for the World Title at Slammiversary.
    • Eddie Edwards confronts Tommy Dreamer at a recent House of Hardcore show.
  • Alberto Del Rio Being Sued For Incident At Karaoke Bar

    Alberto Del Rio Being Sued For Incident At Karaoke Bar

    Earlier this year, a man named Alex Pardo filed a lawsuit against Jose Alberto Rodriguez, FKA Alberto Del Rio. It seems unlikely he’ll have to pay out much, however.

    The lawsuit stems back to an incident from November 2016. The Pro Wrestling Sheet was the first to report on the lawsuit. Court documents relating to the case outlined Pardo’s claim below:

    “While returning to his table from the restroom, Plaintiff noticed the Defendant, JOSE ALBERTO RODRIGUEZ, flashing his rear end to the other patrons in the establishment. Upon returning to his seat, which was close in proximity to that of the Defendant’s, an altercation broke out and the Defendant and the individuals that were present with the Defendant began to assault the Plaintiff, ALEX PARDO. As a result, Plaintiff had to receive immediate medical attention and was transported to the hospital by means of EMS for further examination.”

    Alberto’s side of the story is different, however. His version of the incident is below:

    “[Alberto] attempted at this time to resolve the issue without conflict and while he did exchange words with the people celebrating with the 19-year-old Patricia at an adult establishment it the Counter-Defendant Alex Pardo who threw a glass at the Counter-Plaintiff’s head causing severe injury, including multiple lacerations. The entire group with the Counter-Defendant began a huge melee and the entire establishment was in a brawl. Counter-Plaintiff slowly rose to his feet only to be rushed again by the Counter-Defendant. The Counter-Plaintiff immediately protected himself and defended against the Counter-Defendant as it was necessary to protect himself and his companions against the Counter-Defendant’s use of unlawful force.”

    Ongoing Legal Proceedings

    The case has been going back and forth with legal proceedings. The plaintiff’s lawyer has withdrawn from the case as well. Alberto is counter-suing for $5,000 due to pain and suffering. His lawyer has filed a motion for a default judgment in Alberto’s favor. This was due to the plaintiff missing deadlines to file certain documents.

  • Update On WWE Profits Stemming From New Television Deals

    Update On WWE Profits Stemming From New Television Deals

    It won’t matter who WWE pushes on television from October 1st, 2019 to September 30th, 2024. WWE’s ratings can tank, their shows can receive poor reviews, and in the end, they will still hit record profits. This is all thanks to the new television contracts they signed with the USA Network and Fox.

    In a press release from earlier this week, WWE revealed revenue generated from television contracts will more than double in the next 2 years.

    As the deals won’t take effect until the fall of 2019, it will be a steady climb for the company. The value of their stock has jumped significantly recently with the news.

    Expected WWE Television Revenue

    The difference between this round of television contract negotiations and last is the boom in streaming services. Amazon, Facebook Live, and Netflix have entered the market in a big way, creating leverage for content producers like WWE. With more media outlets vying for live content, WWE was put in a far more advantageous position this time around.

    As a result, WWE’s current television contract revenue is projected to increase drastically.

    2017 – $217 million

    2018:  $235 million

    2019: $314 million (includes 3 months of new TV contracts)

    2020: $435 million

    2021: $462 million

    2022: Past $470 million

    Update On WWE Stock Price

    A report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter is indicating the company should achieve double record-profits next year and beyond that for the following years.

    On June 26th, WWE stock closed at $70.86 per share. The company is now estimated at $5.467 billion.

    Some are now saying Vince McMahon may have waited to sell his stock had he known the stock price would go up as much as it did. This is likely not the case, however. McMahon was under pressure to announce his XFL deal before Charlie Ebersol announced his. Had Vince McMahon waited to invest in his own company, he would have been behind Ebersol’s league in terms of negotiating with venues, players, and cities.

    With that being said, however, McMahon sold his stock at less than $30 a share. Had he waited until now to sell his stock, he would have gotten 133% more for it in return.

  • New Day & Becky Lynch Riding Go Carts in Tokyo As Mario Cart Characters (Video)

    New Day & Becky Lynch Riding Go Carts in Tokyo As Mario Cart Characters (Video)

    The inner child of Xavier Woods is very much alive. The proprietor of YouTube’s UpUpDownDown has spent part of today riding around the streets of Tokyo dressed up was “Wario” from the Mario Cart video game franchise.

    Although Big E is not present for the fun, Kofi Kingston and Becky Lynch have each joined Woods for the ride.

    Check out Xavier Woods’ post on what the three are up to below:

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BkkEk3Vhaf_/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=15pgksuc8bwdi

    Woods says he plans to release the whole footage on his YouTube channel later.

    Xavier Woods’ UpUpDownDown

    After his recent E3 showdown with Kenny Omega, Woods posted the following thank you to fans of his YouTube show.

    “I started my YouTube channel ‘UpUpDownDown’ in order to have a creative outlet that was my own where I had the ability to create something that was mine. For the past three years all of you have watched the videos, laughed with me, cried with me, made fun of me, and most importantly just had a good time with me.

    Every day my amazing team works hard to bring you the most ridiculous and fun content that we possibly can. Yesterday we did something that no one thought we could ever do. We pulled off the “impossible” and I couldn’t be more proud of everyone involved. Yes, the rivalry between Kenny and myself was our story. But the larger picture was to shine a spotlight on the fighting game community. This group of guys and girls live this life all year long. They are an amazing group of people and we wanted to show the world what they are missing if they aren’t keeping an eye on them.

    Yesterday was an example of how entertaining esports can be so find your local tournaments scene and support them. Thank you to everyone who has come along on this wild ride!”

  • Police Issue Statement On Bomb-Sniffing Dog That Bit Shinsuke Nakamura

    Police Issue Statement On Bomb-Sniffing Dog That Bit Shinsuke Nakamura

    Since being called up to the main roster, Shinsuke Nakamura has had 6 televised WWE Championship matches. He’s failed to win the title in all 6. He was scheduled to have his first match for the WWE United States championship this Tuesday. Unforeseen events prevented this from happening, however.

    On Tuesday, it was reported Nakamura had sustained an injury on the previous day’s house show. He would not be able to face Jeff Hardy on Smackdown. Instead, Sanity’s Eric Young took his place.

    It was later revealed that Nakamura had been bitten by a police dog on Tuesday, causing him to be taken to a local medical facility for treatment.

    Police Statement On Dog Biting Nakamura

    “On Monday, June 25, 2018, officers of the Bakersfield Police Department Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) Team were conducting a protective sweep of the Rabobank Arena in preparation for the WWE Live Summerslam Heatwave Tour.

    During the sweep, the EOD Team, which consisted of an explosive detection trained canine team and bomb technicians entered an area of the arena where an employee of the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) was present. The canine entered the room to sweep for the presence of any explosive material. As the sweep took place the WWE employee was accidentally bit by the canine. The employee sustained an injury to his lower left leg. Medical aid was immediately summoned to the scene and the employee was transported to a local area hospital for medical treatment.”

    Nakamura’s 2018

    There is no update on Nakamura’s condition. WWE is likely hoping he will be in good shape to compete on WWE’s shows in Japan this weekend. Nakamura is expected to challenge AJ Styles for the WWE championship on the tour. He has played a primary role in the company’s advertising of the shows as well.

    It’s been a difficult 2018 for Nakamura so far. After starting the year hot by winning the 2018 men’s Royal Rumble, he then followed that up by failing to win the WWE championship from AJ Styles in 4 attempts.

  • Update On NJPW Cow Palace Show Ticket Sales

    Update On NJPW Cow Palace Show Ticket Sales

    There has been some concern in NJPW about low ticket sales for their upcoming G1 Special in San Francisco on July 7th. A recent report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter is stating that the company has sold a little over 5,000 tickets to the event. The venue is believed to hold approximately double that for wrestling events.

    Despite the low ticket sales, the revenue generated is still expected to produce the highest gate in venue history. This is due to the high cost of ticket prices. It is also notable that while only half the tickets have been sold, it is primarily the most expensive seats which have been purchased.

    There has also been speculation that most of the tickets sold have gone to fans traveling from out of town. The tickets available on the secondary market have gone from being 95% local sellers to 86%, indicating recent ticket sales are going to people outside the Bay area as well.

    A reader of the Observer Newsletter wrote in to say they have not seen any local advertising for the event. This leads to further speculation the fans who have purchased tickets are from the hardcore wrestling base and not casual fans located in the area.

    NJPW G1 Special in San Francisco

    1. Sho, Yoh, Rocky Romero, Gedo, YOSHI-HASHI (CHAOS) vs Chase Owens, Yujiro Takahashi, Tanga Loa, Tama Tonga, and King Haku (Bullet Club)
    2. Toru Yano and Tomohiro Ishii (CHAOS) vs Zack Sabre Jr and Minoru Suzuki (Suzuki-Gun)
    3. KUSHIDA and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Marty Scurll and Hangman Page (Bullet Club)
    4. NEVER Openweight Championship
      Hirooki Goto (CHAOS) (c) vs Jeff Cobb
    5. IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships
      the Young Bucks (Bullet Club) (c) vs SANADA and EVIL (LIJ)
    6. Will Ospreay and Kazuchika Okada (CHAOS) vs Tetsuya Naito and BUSHI (LIJ)
    7. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
      Hiromu Takahashi (LIJ) (c) vs Dragon Lee (CMLL)
    8. IWGP United States Championship
      Jay White (CHAOS) (c) vs Juice Robinson
    9. IWGP Heavyweight Championship
      Kenny Omega (Bullet Club) (c) vs Cody (Bullet Club)
  • Rich Swann Focussed On Positivity and X-Division Gold

    Rich Swann Focussed On Positivity and X-Division Gold

    Rich Swann will take on Trevor Lee tomorrow night on Impact Wrestling. Many feel the 27-year-old’s style is a perfect fit for the promotion’s X-Division. He was given an opportunity to show what he can do at Impact’s recent television tapings in Windsor, ON, Canada.

    Additionally, Swann wrestled Austin Aries for the Impact World championship at the One Night Only pay-per-view, Zero Fear. He can also be seen on Major League Wrestling’s show on BeIN Sports, Fusion.

    Swann recently answered questions from the media as part of Impact Wrestling’s teleconference call.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bkABou9rGw&t=2s&frags=pl%2Cwn

    Rich Swann On Impact Wrestling’s X-Division

    “Oh man, I was such a fan,” Swann said of the early days of the X-Division. “Seeing guys like Frankie Kazarian, Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley, Sonjay Dutt, Jay Lethal.”

    Swann would also specifically mention AJ Styles as someone he enjoyed watching during this period of the X-Division.

    “At that point in time in professional wrestling, there was only one company,” Swann continued. “Then to see these guys kind of throw out this style, this cruiserweight style, this style that had kind of been forgotten about thrown out and abandoned, and put it on TV, it mesmerized me.”

    Swann emphasized that he was influenced by the X-Division style growing up. Winning X-Division gold was something he dreamed of as he aspired to be a pro-wrestler.

    “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.”

    The X-Division roster is pretty stacked these days, so Swann will have no easy climb to the top. Current champion, Matt Sydal, recently Tweeted that he will be keeping his 3rd eye fixed on Swann’s match with Lee tomorrow night.

    “That’s a dream right there for me,” Swann said in reference to competing in the X-Division. “That means the world.”

    What’s Up With Rich Swann’s Hair These Days?

    Swann’s recent haircut was addressed on the conference call as well. He stated the haircut is an homage to Minoru Suzuki. The “Beautiful Sadist” and leader of Suzuki-Gun often shaves designs into the top of his head and leaves the back longer than the top.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBuaP8L1tcs&frags=pl%2Cwn

    Rich Swann and Su Yung Moving Forward, Focussed on Positivity

    “My wife and I are living a happy life,” Swann said on today’s conference call. “We would like to forget about the past and focus on the present and our future and focus on positivity.”

    Impact Wrestling Vice President, Don Callis, addressed Swann’s hiring on an earlier conference call. He stated unequivocally that after speaking with Su Yung, Impact management (Scott D’Amore, Ed Nordholm, and Don Callis) made the decision on the spot to give Swann a chance in Impact Wrestling.

    “(Su Yung) explained the situation to us and what happened and it was decided there and then between the three of us” – Don Callis

    Yung and Swann are moving forward, focussed on the future, and focussed on Impact Wrestling.

  • Lio Rush Reunites With Danielle Fishel Backstage At 205 Live (Video)

    Lio Rush Reunites With Danielle Fishel Backstage At 205 Live (Video)

    It’s easy to see why Lio Rush is so full of himself these days. He’s got Topanga (Danielle Fishel) from “Boy Meets World” as his biggest fan.

    From 1993 to 2000, Danielle Fishel played the role of Topanga on the show “Boy Meets World.” She then reprised the role from 2014 to 2017 in the spin-off series, “Girl Meets World.”

    Fishel is a huge wrestling fan. Her current favorite wrestler appears to be 205 Live’s, Lio Rush. She followed him in PWG as well.

    That Topanga is a big wrestling fan is more or less impressive depending on what age group you fall into. WWE cameras caught last night’s backstage meeting between Rush and Fishel.

    Fishel, who has attended PWG shows in Los Angeles in the past, was backstage at last night’s Smackdown and 205 Live shows from Ontario, California. Fishel has posed for pictures with Rush at PWG shows as well.

    She was active on social media during Rush’s 205 Live debut.

    Rush struggled to get one of his expensive bracelets off his wrist before his match last night could begin. Fishel commented that she should give Rush a costume bracelet as a gift.

    Lio Rush on 205 Live

    Rush’s WWE career got off to an auspicious start late last year. The 23-year-old earned some heat for making an insensitive remark after Emma (Tenille Dashwood) was released. Perhaps as a result of this, Rush has been working a gimmick of a cocky, arrogant, young up-and-comer since being announced as heading to the cruiserweight division.

    Rush has continued to engage in Twitter battles with his fellow WWE Superstars in 2018 as well. He’s been involved in back and forth social media arguments with Cedric Alexander and Ricochet.

  • The Rock Recalls Losing To Hurricane Helms

    The Rock Recalls Losing To Hurricane Helms

    The Rock and Gregory Helms have only met in single’s action once. It was a NO DQ match from March 10th, 2003. Despite the Rock being arguably the greatest sports entertainer of all time, it was Hurricane Helms who came out the victor that night.

    The Rock and Helms were often involved in backstage skits together during this time. Recently, Helms posted video of one of the segments to his Instagram.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BkhtjbNHJFs/?utm_source=ig_twitter_share&igshid=10o52vnkczmr8

    The Rock took to Twitter to offer praise to Hurricane. He also explained why he lost to Helms in their only match back in 2003.

    “Dude always a pleasure working with you. Never an ego and always down to do whatever it took to entertain the fans. And to be honest, I only did “the job and put you over” because you paid me in hamburgers.”

    Hurricane Helms in 2018

    Hurricane Helms began the year by being a surprise entrant in the men’s 2018 Royal Rumble. He has since continued competing for promotions such as Ring of Honor and Tommy Dreamer’s House of Hardcore.

    Helms also played a key role in the most recent WWE documentary on Matt and Jeff Hardy. As a long time friend of the brothers, Helms is shown on camera often speaking on what the brothers have gone through over the years.

    The 43-year-old is a former 3x cruiserweight champion (2x WWE, 1x WCW), European champion, Hardcore champion, and twice won the WWE tag team championships. Most recently Helms wrestled two matches on ROH’s State of the Art tour in Texas.

  • Team Hell No Comments On Reunion

    Team Hell No Comments On Reunion

    Last night on Smackdown, Kane returned to WWE and saved Daniel Bryan from a 2-on-1 beatdown at the hands of the Bludgeon Brothers. Kane and Daniel Bryan previously formed “Team Hell No” in 2012-13 and even won the WWE tag team championships.

    Renee Young attempted to interview the team after Smackdown last night. It appears Bryan and Kane are a little out of sync so far, however.

    Smackdown General Manager, Paige, revealed Team Hell No will challenge the Bludgeon Brothers at Extreme Rules for the Smackdown tag-team championships.

    Team Hell No: Daniel Bryan and Kane

    Daniel Bryan and Kane became a team in 2012. That spring, Daniel Bryan was left at the altar by AJ Lee. Instead of choosing to marry Bryan, AJ accepted the role as Raw General Manager offered to her by Vince McMahon. She then proceeded to deny Bryan championship matches and instead booked him in a match against Kane at SummerSlam.

    Bryan’s anger began to get the better of him. After Bryan defeated Kane at SummerSlam, the same began to be the case for Kane. Lee, still serving as the General Manager at the time, then ordered both Kane and Bryan to attend counseling with Dr. Shelby.

    Coincidentally (or perhaps not), a similar storyline is currently underway on Raw with Bayley and Sasha Banks. The two former friends will attend mandatory counseling next week as ordered by Kurt Angle.

    Team Hell No as WWE Tag Team Champions

    Bryan and Kane won the tag team championships at Night of Champions 2012. They defeated the team of Kofi Kingston and R-Truth for the belts. They would hold the titles for 245 days before dropping them to Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins at Extreme Rules 2013 nearly 5 years ago.

    During their title reign, Team Hell No defended the titles 8 times on WWE programming. They defeated teams such as the Rhodes Scholars, Ziggler and Big E, and 3MB.

    Will Team Hell No defeat the Bludgeon Brothers at Extreme Rules? Let us know what you think in the comments section below:

  • Kevin Owens Joins Shania Twain On Stage at Concert (Video)

    Kevin Owens Joins Shania Twain On Stage at Concert (Video)

    Kevin Owens lived out one of his biggest dreams last night. He attended the Shania Twain concert in Montreal, QC, Canada and was brought up on stage by the singer. Owens only returned to Twitter earlier this year in the hopes he would be able to convince Twain to sing the song “When” at the concert last night.

    Owens even brought a wrestling-styled sign to the concert for Twain which he was able to bring on stage with him.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/Bkg3gqqgrnR/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=3j1niuegm6rt

    Kevin Owens Loves Shania Twain

    While Owens might be a huge Shania Twain fan, he confused the date of her Montreal performance last week. Owens spent hours posting on social media last Tuesday that he was going to see Shania Twain that night. When he discovered he had confused the date, Owens turned on himself.

    https://twitter.com/FightOwensFight/status/1009064499884806144

    https://twitter.com/FightOwensFight/status/1009063057694347265

    Kevin Owens Twitter Bio

    “I got verified again so that I can beg Shania Twain to play my favorite song “When” at her concert this summer in Montreal because I’ll be there. I’m serious.”

    Last Tuesday Owens sent out a Tweet reading the following:

    “Hello @Shania Twain! I’m Kevin. I’m a @WWE wrestler and fellow Canadian,” Owens wrote in a since-deleted Tweet. “I had quite a rough couple of days. I was thrown off a very tall ladder by an awful man. I’m really hurting … What would make me feel better is hearing you sing ‘When’ at your concert in Montreal tonight.”

  • Damien Sandow Reveals New Look

    Damien Sandow Reveals New Look

    Aaron Steven Haddad, better known to WWE fans as Damien Sandow, has revealed a new look. The former “Intellectual Savior Of The Masses” is now sporting a clean-shaven appearance these days.

    Where is Damien Sandow?

    In April of 2017, Sandow announced he was leaving Impact Wrestling and taking a sabbatical from sports entertainment. He has specifically stated he is not retired, however, only wishing to take a break from the wrestling industry.

    “Ending on this note is not a bad thing,” he said. “I’m not saying that I’m never going to get in the ring again, but this is pretty cool and I’d much rather have people remember me for all the good stuff.”

    He took to Twitter shortly after the comments and reaffirmed he was not retiring, however.

    “I never said retirement,” Sandow Tweeted. “I’m just doing some other stuff for a while. One thing I will never do is lie to you guys.”

    One promotion which has shown interest in bringing Sandow back to pro wrestling is Billy Corgan’s National Wrestling Alliance. Corgan and Sandow worked together briefly in Impact from 2016-17.

    “I am not retired,” Sandow reiterated again on Twitter after leaving Impact. “@lmpactWrestIing was some of the most fun I have had in my career, great company. Just exploring other opportunities.”

    One of those opportunities appears to be writing. Sandow is due to publish a book on his life after wrestling soon.

    https://twitter.com/AronsThoughts/status/1002611164017143808?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mandatory.com%2Fwrestlezone%2Fnews%2F961171-taiji-ishimori-returning-to-impact-wrestling-damien-sandow-announces-new-project

    “Hello all, I am happy to announce I have co-authored a book with my good friend Dennis Vanasse titled “Off The Road” Available Soon.”

  • Enzo Amore Opens Up About WWE Release, Final Days With Company

    Enzo Amore Opens Up About WWE Release, Final Days With Company

    Former WWE Cruiserweight Champion and current rapper, Enzo Amore, has opened up further about his final days with WWE. Now going by the name @Real1, Enzo was a guest on the most recent episode of Steve Austin’s podcast.

    One of the most controversial parts of Enzo’s WWE exit regards whether or not he informed WWE he was being investigated for a crime. Enzo is still claiming he did not know he was being investigated but did relay a story of his friend receiving an odd email from someone claiming to be an investigator.

    “I got a buddy of mine who hit me up and said ‘hey man, my girlfriend got an email from a guy saying he was an investigator,” Enzo said. “Saying he was investigating a claim against a wrestler, never mentioned my name.”

    Enzo then continued to say he called his lawyer who got in contact with the police department. The police told Enzo’s lawyer he was not being investigated or charged for anything. He then said the next he heard about it was when his accuser began posting on social media. Neither Enzo nor his friend’s girlfriend replied to the investigator’s email.

    Enzo on What He Said To Vince McMahon and WWE The Day He Was Suspended

    January 22nd, 2018 was the day the story began to leak. It was also the day of the Raw 25th Anniversary Special. Enzo was sent home that day and fired the next. He admitted he was wearing a t-shirt that said “Today is the Best Day of My Life, I Can’t Wait for Tomorrow” at the time. He also admitted that is kind of funny.

    Enzo continued to say that when he left the Barclays Center that day he drove for 5 hours and recorded himself talking the whole time. He plans to release the footage someday.

    Enzo said that when Vince McMahon told him to go home and wait to be called, he told Vince “I don’t deserve this, I’m a good person.”

    When he was called the next day by WWE lawyers and told he was being fired, Enzo says he told them “It’s your loss, not mine.”

    Enzo Amore and Liv Morgan

    Enzo also spoke about his relationship with Liv Morgan. He said the pair remain friends despite having broken up a year and a half ago. Liv is even still roommates with Enzo’s friend. Previously, the three of them lived together in Orlando.

    Evidently, Liv is not a great driver. Enzo relayed a story of how she damaged a car he gave her.

    “I was leasing a Dodge Dart so I was broke bro, I didn’t have no damn money,” Enzo said. “So the Dodge Dart I called the Gionna Mobile because I gave it to my ex Liv Morgan, Gionna. She put dents, she didn’t know how to drive so she learned how to drive in that Dodge Dart. So we called it the Gionna Mobile, just chalked it up as an L bro.”

    The full interview can be listened to here.

  • “Filthy” Tom Lawler Added To MLW’s Battle Riot

    “Filthy” Tom Lawler Added To MLW’s Battle Riot

    Major League Wrestling’s upcoming “Battle Riot” has gained another confirmed participant. The show will take place on July 19th from the Melrose Ballroom in Queens, NY.

    As of this writing, the event is scheduled to be a television taping for the promotion’s Fusion show which airs Friday nights on BeIN Sports. A report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter last week stated they were looking at possibly broadcasting the event on traditional pay-per-view, however.

    MLW announced recently that the 18th participant in the Battle Riot match will be “Filthy” Tom Lawler.

    https://twitter.com/MLW/status/1011561467160784896

    On the most recent episode of Fusion, Lawler, and stablemate, Simon Gotch, played a prank on manager Col. Rob Parker. Although not shown on camera, it is believed Lawler left a deposit of sorts in Parker’s hat.

    Battle Riot Confirmed Participants

    • Tom Lawler
    • Pentagon Jr.
    • Pierre Carl Ouellet
    • Rich Swann
    • Jason Cade
    • Joey Ryan
    • “Taskmaster” Kevin Sullivan
    • ACH
    • John Morrison
    • Lance Anoa’i
    • Swoggle
    • Konnan
    • Jake Hager
    • “Worldwide Desperado” Sami Callihan
    • Davey Boy Smith Jr.
    • Teddy Hart
    • Barrington Hughes
    • Jimmy Yuta

    Konnan will be coming out of retirement for the match.

    “A mash-up of a battle royal, royal rumble and anything goes street fight, this super-sized main event will feature 40 wrestlers with new participants entering the ring every 60 seconds.

    Elimination is by pinfall, submission or by throwing an individual over the top rope.”

    “Filthy” Tom Lawler

    Lawler is currently signed to UFC but is suspended for a USADA doping violation. He’s wrestled 6 matches for Major League Wrestling and another two which have yet to air on the promotion’s television show, Fusion.

    In MLW singles matches, Lawler has a 4-1 record with his only loss being to the King of Bros, Matt Riddle. He’s defeated Jeff Cobb, MVP, ACH, and Fred Yehi.