SEScoops

Author: Chris Stephens

  • Best of the Super Juniors Update: 13 Confirmed Names

    Best of the Super Juniors Update: 13 Confirmed Names

    New Japan Pro Wrestling’s “Best of the Super Juniors” is the next big tournament for the promotion. The 25th edition of the tournament is scheduled to run from May 18th to June 4th. Both the first and last night will be held in Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall.

    Advertising for the show has seemingly confirmed 13 of the entrants. In recent years, the tournament has consisted of 16 junior heavyweight wrestlers.

    Names Leaked for 2018’s Best of the Super Juniors

    Names leaked for the 2018 Best of the Super Juniors include:

    • Hiromu Takahashi
    • Sho Tanaka
    • Yohei Komatsu
    • Will Ospreay
    • KUSHIDA
    • El Desperado
    • Yoshinobu Kanemaru
    • Bushi
    • Dragon Lee
    • Flip Gordon
    • Marty Scurll
    • Tiger Mask
    • Ryusuke Taguchi

    Flip Gordon’s name being included will be exciting to some fans. The 26-year-old has only been a professional since 2015 but has won over the respect of many in a short amount of time. Gordon has been a major player as of late in Ring of Honor and on the Being the Elite YouTube series.

    Travis Gordon was trained by Brian Fury and made his pro-wrestling debut on May 6th, 2015.

    This will be a big tournament for Kushida, who has won 2 of the last 3 BOSJs. Only two wrestlers in history, Jushin “Thunder” Liger and Koji Kanemoto, has ever won the tournament 3x.

    Will Ospreay won the tournament in 2016 but he won’t have to wait until the tournament this year to face Kushida. The 2016 and 2017 winners of the Best of the Super Juniors will clash for Ospreay’s IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship at Wrestling Dontaku in May. Ospreay most recently defended the title against Marty Scurll at Sakura Genesis.

    Ryusuke Taguchi is the only other former tournament winner to be announced for the 2018 edition so far. Taguchi won the 2012 version of the tournament. In the 2013 version, the then-IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, Prince Devitt, ran the table, winning every single match en route to a tournament victory. Devitt had just formed the new faction, Bullet Club, at the time.

  • 3 More Names Confirmed For “All-In”

    3 More Names Confirmed For “All-In”

    The Bullet Club/the Elite organized “All-In” show for September 1st in Chicago gained 3 more names yesterday. The show is scheduled for the Sears Center in Chicago and will be accompanied by a fan and podcast convention (Starrcast) in the days leading up to the event.

    Yesterday the organizers of the event announced Penelope Ford, “Bad Boy” Joey Janela, and Chelsea Green have declared they are “All In”.

    https://twitter.com/JANELABABY/status/988500292944760832

    Updated List of Who is “All In”

    As the list of All In performers continues to grow, we’ve got an updated roster below:

    Confirmed for All In:

    • Penelope Ford (new)
    • “Bad Boy” Joey Janela (new)
    • Chelsea Green (new)
    • Kazuchika Okada
    • Deonna Purrazzo
    • Pentagon Jr.
    • Ray Fenix
    • Cracker Barrel
    • Tessa Blanchard
    • Kenny Omega
    • Matt & Nick Jackson
    • Hangman Page
    • Cody
    • Specifically not Flip Gordon
    • Stephen Amell
    • Marty Scurll

    New Japan Pro Wrestling Cow Palace Show on July 7th, 2018

    The Elite’s planned “All In” show is getting eclipsed somewhat by the scheduled NJPW show at California’s Cow Palace. New Japan Pro Wrestling announced the show at Strong Style Evolved this year.

    While reports vary, it is believed the Cow Palace can currently hold 13,000 – 15,000 for wrestling. This makes it a bigger venue than the Sears Center in Chicago.

    All in on September 1st, 2018, is not associated with any promotion. There are also no plans to air the show on a paid-streaming service such as Honor Club or New Japan World. For that reason, it is open to wrestlers contracted to other promotions. As it stands now, the World Champions in NJPW and Impact Wrestling are scheduled for the show. NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Nick Aldis, has also expressed interest in competing on the show. On a recent edition of the “10lbs of Gold” YouTube series, Aldis appeared on the Busted Open radio show and spoke on how the NWA title should be at All In.

  • Gail Kim Says Stephanie McMahon Had Zero Interest In Women’s Wrestling

    Gail Kim Says Stephanie McMahon Had Zero Interest In Women’s Wrestling

    Gail Kim’s 2011 exit from WWE is among the most daring ways anyone has ever burned their bridge with the company. Frustrated with how women were being used on WWE programming, Gail Kim went off script (kind of) in a women’s battle royal match on Raw.

    The Raw battle royal on August 1st, 2011 was to determine a new #1 contender for the Divas title. Kim was told to be eliminated early in the match. Shortly after the match started, Kim decided to simply roll out of the ring, walk to the back, and quit.

    Kim then signed with TNA and finished up her career there. She still works backstage with the company.

    Check out Gail Kim give her reasons for leaving WWE in 2011:

    Gail Kim on Stephanie McMahon

    The TNA Hall-of-Famer recently gave an interview to AfterBuzz and expressed her opinion that Stephanie McMahon had zero interest in women’s wrestling while she was in WWE.

    “WWE always thinks in a business mindset. For them, they are thinking, ‘ok this woman’s revolution is becoming hot, Ronda Rousey, this “Me Too” movement’; so of course, to be honest, I’m going to say this, because I’ve said it on Twitter; Stephanie (McMahon) could have been fighting for us a long time ago. She was there every single time I worked there and she had zero interest in fighting for the women back then. So, for them, everything is business motivated. So, them having this women’s revolution, and it’s from the fans as well….the fans did demand it through social media and Vince heard it and made it happen. And I think finally the girls are getting treated the way they want to get treated.”

    In addition to working backstage for Impact, Kim married celebrity chef, Robert Irvine, in 2012. Kim had studied nutrition at the University of Ryerson in her hometown of Toronto, ON, Canada. She topped the PWI Top 50 Female Wrestlers list in 2012.

  • Enzo Amore On Social Media: “It’s Been Real”

    Enzo Amore On Social Media: “It’s Been Real”

    31-year-old Eric Arndt, better known to wrestling fans as Enzo Amore, posted to his Instagram account yesterday. The former WWE Cruiserweight Champion has been silent on social media since his release from the company in January.

    All of Enzo’s previous Instagram posts, including his videos from the Floyd Mayweather vs Conor McGregor fight, have been taken down. The following post is all that remains:

    https://www.instagram.com/p/Bh7nB2Fgukl/?hl=en&taken-by=real1

    Enzo Amore Retired?

    The image of boots being hung up could be Enzo expressing that he is “hanging up the boots”. The last time Enzo posted to Twitter was January 23rd, 2018. The post only includes a statement from his lawyer.

    Enzo has also changed his bio on Instagram to read: “Believe half of what you see, and none of what you hear.”

    After news broke of the pending investigation into an alleged sexual assault committed by Enzo, WWE suspended and then fired him. It is speculated that the company released him for failing to notify them of the pending investigation.

    Enzo’s WWE career lasted a little under 5 years. He debuted in NXT on May 22nd, 2013. He was quickly paired with Colin Cassady and the Enzo and Big Cass tag-team was born. Although the team would never win the NXT tag-team championships, they were quite popular. Enzo and Cass were called up to the main roster in 2016.

    The following year, Enzo and Cass were split up with Enzo remaining babyface and Cass turning heel. An injury to Big Cass led to Enzo turning heel as well and joining the cruiserweight division on 205 Live. An attempt was made to build the show around Enzo but was later abandoned after his release in January of 2018.

  • The Rock Confirms He Was Asked To Team With Ronda Rousey At WM34

    The Rock Confirms He Was Asked To Team With Ronda Rousey At WM34

    The Rock recently confirmed he was asked to be a part of the inter-gender tag-team match at WrestleMania 34. According to the megastar, he was asked to be Ronda Rousey’s partner against Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.

    The Rock recently gave an interview to UK radio station, Kiss FM. During the interview, Rock spoke on a conversation he had with Vince McMahon regarding a potential WrestleMania 34 match:

    “Matter of fact, Vince McMahon and I were talking about two months ago trying to figure out what I was going to do if I went back to WrestleMania. He pitched me this really great idea that I’d get involved in a tag match with Ronda Rousey who is, of course, incredible and I’m very proud of her,” said The Rock. “We couldn’t make it work this time because I was in Shanghai. But, Who knows down the line?”

    The Rock & Ronda Rousey vs Triple H & Stephanie McMahon

    Had the Rock been Ronda Rousey’s partner at WrestleMania, it would have better played off the WrestleMania 31 segment featuring Rock, Rousey, Triple H, & Stephanie. Considering the response Rousey & Angle vs Triple H & Stephanie got, however, nobody is complaining too much the Rock wasn’t able to make it.

    Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson is currently promoting his latest movie “Rampage”. In the movie, Johnson plays a gorilla expert who befriends a large and mutated gorilla named George. It currently holds a 50% approval rating amongst critics on Rotten Tomatoes and an 81% approval rating amongst users of the site.

    During the above interview, Rock spoke on several other topics. He discussed what would happen if he and Conor McGregor were to meet in a fight amongst other topics.

    Rock also took the time recently to respond to a young woman who asked him to promo:

    https://www.instagram.com/p/Bhy0c7RFhaq/?utm_source=ig_embed

  • World of Sport Wrestling To Hold TV Tapings In May

    World of Sport Wrestling To Hold TV Tapings In May

    World of Sport Wrestling has scheduled a series of TV Tapings for mid-May. The promotion previously announced television taping dates for May of 2017 as well but abruptly canceled them a few weeks ahead of time. At the time, talent and fans were told the decision had been made to postpone the project.

    Now it appears, World of Sport Wrestling is ready to give the project another go.

    WOS Wrestling recently announced the following TV Taping dates:

    All shows will take place at Epic Studios in Norwich:

    • Thursday, May 10th, 630PM
    • Friday, May 11th, 2pm & 630pm
    • Saturday, May 12th, 2pm & 630pm

    All shows are free to attend.

    World of Sport Wrestling

    In 2016, WOS Wrestling filmed a pilot episode which featured Grado winning the World Championship. This was to be followed up with a 10-part series in 2017 with Jeff Jarrett serving as executive producer. The TV tapings were scheduled for late-May in 2017 but were abruptly canceled. The promotion blamed prolonged contract negotiations for the postponement.

    It’s not clear at this moment exactly who is still involved with the project. Most of the social media accounts previously associated with 2017’s revival attempt are still not active. Nick Aldis, Grado, El Ligero and Sha Samuels were expected to be key parts of the 2017 version of the show but it is not clear if that is still the case or not. None of the wrestlers involved in previous revival attempts have mentioned the tapings in their social media feeds either.

    Here are the results from the one-night 2016 revival show for World of Sport Wrestling:

    1. WOS World Championship (vacant)
      Dave Mastiff defeated Grado
    2. 4-Way Ladder Match
      Kenny Williams defeated CJ Bans, Danny Hope, and Sam Bailey
    3. Viper defeated Alexis Rose
    4. The Coffey Brothers (Joe and Mark) defeated Ashton Smith and Rampage
    5. El Ligero defeated Zack Gibson
    6. #1 Contender Battle Royal
      Grado defeated Davey Boy Smith Jr, El Liger, the Coffey Brothers, Johnny Moss, Kenny Williams, and Sha Samuels
  • Rob Van Dam Shares His Plans For 4/20

    Rob Van Dam Shares His Plans For 4/20

    During his prime, there was no better high-flyer in wrestling than Rob Van Dam. As today is April 20th, a celebrated day amongst marijuana enthusiasts, it has become a popular day for Rob Van Dam to make media appearances. RVD has shared through his social media channels that you can hear him on a popular podcast later today and check out a collection of his matches on the FITE App.

    Conrad Thompson and Bruce Pritchard of the “Something to Wrestle With Podcast” decided April 20th was the perfect day to bring RVD on as a guest. The 4-hour session with Rob Van Dam will be released at noon today.

    Rob Van Dam in 2018

    RVD is still wrestling these days, though he doesn’t keep a full schedule. He’s a regular for Pacific Coast Wrestling which operates out of California. His last match for the promotion was on March 18th when he unsuccessfully challenged Pentagon for the promotion’s heavyweight championship.

    PCW is releasing a collection of Rob Van Dam’s matches in the promotion through the Fite App today to celebrate 4/20:

    RVD is a former PCW champion, having held the title for 202 days between November 2016 and June 2017. Pentagon was the promotion’s inaugural champion, having defeated Brian Cage in the finals of a tournament. He lost the title 3 months later to RVD.

    RVD would successfully defend the title against Willie Mack and MVP before dropping it to John Hennigan. As for Hennigan, he would defend the title 3x before losing it. Hennigan defeated Pentagon, Jeff Cobb, and Brian Cage. He’d lose the title to Pentagon at the Refuse to Lose event, however. His only title defense came recently against RVD.

    The 47-year-old Rob Van Dam also wrestled frequently for the now-defunct 5-Star Wrestling promotion based out of Liverpool. The short-lived promotion brought in several big names for their events, including Rey Mysterio Jr and Jake Hager (FKA Jack Swagger).

  • Scott Steiner Goes Off During Impact Wrestling Media Call

    Scott Steiner Goes Off During Impact Wrestling Media Call

    Scott Steiner was on Impact Wrestling’s recent media call to promote Sunday’s Redemption PPV. Steiner is scheduled to team with Eli Drake to challenge LAX for the tag-team championships on the show.

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

    Scott Steiner Promotes Redemption

    As is usually the case with Scott Steiner interviews, he had plenty to say on several topics.

    Transcriptions courtesy of Cageside Seats:

    “Konnan’s gonna be doing what he always did in WCW after we finish this match. He’s gonna be carrying my bags and shining my belt. Maybe my shoes, too. Actually, he might come and cut my grass. I might have all three of them do it, really. I don’t know. I haven’t decided yet,” Steiner said in reference to Konnan, who will manage LAX on Sunday.

    “They will be with Konnan, cutting my grass. I actually have a tee spot on my lawn where I need to be putting, so they better be just right. I hate golf. But they better cut my grass right. That’s what I don’t understand. Why does Trump want to keep out all the Mexicans, but who’s going to cut the grass? Seriously. I mean, that’s a legitimate question.”

    Scott Steiner Goes Off on Dixie Carter and Hulk Hogan

    Scott Steiner does not like Hulk Hogan. This has been clear for some time but Steiner re-iterated it again during the media call:

    “The beginning was the most profitable time at TNA, as far as viewership, making money, merchandise and all that stuff combined. Unfortunately, that led to the next incarnation, which was working for dumba** Dixie Carter, that brought in the racist Hulk Hogan and all those other guys. That’s what killed it. Of course, I’ve let my feelings be known, and she put a lawsuit on me, because of the stuff I was saying on Twitter about Hogan.”

    Impact Wrestling’s Redemption takes place Sunday, April 22nd, 2018 from the Impact Zone in Orlando, Florida.

  • Davey Boy Smith Jr Wanted By Police For Assaulting Jake Roberts

    Davey Boy Smith Jr Wanted By Police For Assaulting Jake Roberts

    There was an incident over WrestleMania weekend where Harry Smith (Davey Boy Smith Jr) is alleged to have thrown a cup of coffee in the face of Jake “the Snake” Roberts. The incident is said to have happened during WrestleCon.

    New Orleans Police are now looking for Smith according to Pro Wrestling Sheet. A representative for the New Orleans Police Department issued the following statement:

    “The NOPD is investigating a simple battery incident that occurred on April 7, 2018 in the 500 block of Canal Street. The victim told police that at about 11 a.m., he was signing autographs at the location when he was approached by a known subject, later identified as Harry Smith (DOB: 08-02-1985). The victim told police he attempted to shake hands with Smith, at which time a verbal argument ensued. Smith then allegedly threw a cup of coffee at the victim’s face and fled the scene. No major injuries were reported by the victim.”

    Davey Boy Smith Jr and Jake “the Snake” Roberts

    This is technically the remnants of a feud which began with Jake and Harry’s father in the 1980s. Roberts has made public disparaging comments about Smith’s father. Davey Boy Smith Sr. and his partner, the Dynamite Kid, had a reputation for being bullies. Several wrestlers from the era have spoken out against their actions during this period.

    Roberts has told a story of how the Bulldogs used to throw lit cigarettes at his snake to upset him. In retaliation to this, Jake fed Matilda (the Bulldogs pet bulldog) food laced with laxatives. When prompted, Jake is not shy about sharing his hatred for the now-deceased Davey Boy Smith Sr.

    Shortly after the incident, Davey Boy Smith Jr. admitted to WrestleZone that he confronted Jake at WrestleCon. Smith says he asked Jake to apologize for the negative comments he made about his father. According to Smith, Jake offered to shake his hand but refused to apologize for his comments or step outside to fight the much younger Smith. After Jake told the member of the Killer Elite Squad to “F Off”, Smith says he threw the coffee in his face.

    The New Orleans Police Department is asking anyone with knowledge of the incident to contact them.

  • The Rock Praises Ricochet Again

    The Rock Praises Ricochet Again

    Ricochet began wrestling house show and dark matches for NXT back in February. He then participated in the amazing ladder match at Takeover: New Orleans as his first-ever televised match with the promotion. It hasn’t taken long for Ricochet’s talents to be noticed by one of the all-time greats.

    Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson, whose movie “Rampage” is currently in theatres, had this to say regarding NXT’s newest superstar recently:

    It’s not the first time the box office megastar has heaped praise on Ricochet. Back in the summer of 2016, The Rock posted a message on Instagram calling Ricochet “incredibly gifted” and warning him to stay away from backstage politics.

    Ricochet’s Career Up To Now

    The 29-year-old Ricochet has long been on WWE’s radar. A lengthy contract term with Lucha Underground, however, prevented him from signing with the company until recently.

    Trevor Mann began his pro-wrestling career by moving up the independent rankings quickly. He made his debut as a teenager for Chikara and a couple of years later moved on to compete with Evolve and Dragon Gate as well. In 2010, Ricochet began competed for Pro Wrestling Guerilla too.

    He made his first appearance in New Japan Pro Wrestling in 2013. In his time with the promotion, he won the Best of the Super Juniors tournament (2014), the Super Junior Tag Tournament (w/ Matt Sydal in 2015), and the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag-Team titles on 3 occasions (2x with Sydal and once with Ryusuke Taguchi). Surprisingly, he never won the company’s IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.

    In 2014, Ricochet signed with Lucha Underground. At the time, the company was signing performers to 7-season long contracts, though they have since gone back on these types of commitments. His Lucha Underground contract prevented him from appearing on television for other promotions. He was even prevented from appearing on the first NJPW show in Long Beach last summer.

    Ricochet was officially declared a free agent after Lucha Underground’s 3rd season finished airing. During his time with Lucha Underground, he became the promotion’s first-ever World Champion. As the character, Prince Puma, he was to be the promotion’s first top babyface performer.

  • “American Ninja Warrior” Kacy Catanzaro Makes NXT Debut

    “American Ninja Warrior” Kacy Catanzaro Makes NXT Debut

    Kacy Catanzaro made her debut at an NXT house show in Sanford, Florida last night. She lost to another female prospect, Reina Gonzalez.

    From 2014-2016, Catanzaro competed on the 6th, 7th, and 9th seasons of NBC’s “American Ninja Warrior”. She eventually earned a reputation as the greatest female competitor in the show’s history.

    Before the American Ninja Warrior, Catanzaro was a Division I gymnist with the University of Towson, Maryland. She received a tryout with WWE at the Performance Center in January of 2017. WWE announced she had signed with the company during the Mae Young Classic last summer.

    Here are the full results from last night’s NXT house show in Sanford, Florida:

    1. Reina Gonzales defeated Kacy Catanzaro
    2. Lio Rush w/Babatunde Aiyegbusi defeated Kona Reeves
    3. Dakota Kai & Steffanie Newell defeated Aliyah & Kavita Devi
    4. Adrian Jaoude, Cezar Bononi, & Taynara Conti defeated Big Boa, Rocky, & Xia Li
    5. Ember Moon defeated Vanessa Borne
    6. the Authors of Pain defeated TM-61

    ** Babatunde Aiyegbusi is a 6ft10 355lbs former football player who signed with WWE in 2016. He appears to be managing the much smaller Lio Rush. 

    Kacy Catanzaro in NXT Women’s Division

    With the recent call-ups of the Iiconics and Ember Moon, it has left a hole in NXT women’s roster. It was also only back in November when 5 other NXT women (Ruby Riott, Sarah Logan, Liv Morgan, Mandy Rose, & Sonya Deville) were called up as well. This leaves the door open for Performance Center trainees, like Catanzaro, to get an opportunity.

    Currently the female performers who are used on NXT television are:

    NXT Women’s Champion: Shayna Baszler

    1. Kairi Sane
    2. Nikki Cross
    3. Candice LeRae
    4. Dakota Kai
    5. Bianca Belair
    6. Aliyah
    7. Lacey Evans
    8. Vanessa Borne

    There are also several female performers who work on the NXT house show circuit but do not appear on NXT televsion.

    Wrestle at NXT House Shows:

    1. Kacy Catanzaro
    2. Reina Gonzales
    3. Steffanie Newell
    4. Kevita Devi
    5. Taynara Conti
    6. Xia Li
  • Luke Harper Sends Ominous Tweet To Naomi & the Usos

    Luke Harper Sends Ominous Tweet To Naomi & the Usos

    One-half of the Smackdown tag-team champions, the Bludgeon Brothers, is taunting their rivals on social media. 38-year-old, Luke Harper, took time away from his normal social media routine to send a message to the Usos and Jimmy Uso’s wife, Naomi.

    Normally, Harper sends out a daily Tweet similar to this:

    The below screenshot of Harper’s Twitter feed shows this is usually all he does on Twitter:

    Today, however, Harper decided to use his Twitter account to send a message to Naomi and the Usos. Harper commented on the real-life relationship between the couple:

    Following Smackdown this week, Harper wished the couple a good evening as well. Additionally, he addressed Naomi by her abbreviated real name:

    It appears as though the storyline between the Bludgeon Brothers and the Usos will involve some real-life elements, including the real-life relationship between Jimmy Uso and Naomi. It’s unlikely the Bludgeon Brothers show up on Total Divas, however. The angle seems to be leading to a long-awaited Usos babyface turn as well.

    WWE cameras caught Naomi and the Usos backstage on Tuesday:

    the Bludgeon Brothers vs. the Usos and Smackdown’s Tag-Team Division

    The Smackdown tag-team division is arguably the deeper of the two brands at the moment. With Anderson & Gallows and the Bar joining Smackdown from Raw, it creates a log-jam at the top of the division.

    With the Usos and the Bludgeon Brothers feuding over the titles, that leaves the New Day, the Bar, and Anderson & Gallows all vying to be declared the next challengers. Sanity has also been called up to Smackdown as well. Eric Young, Killian Dain, and Alexander Wolfe could be inserted into the tag division too.

    In the Superstar Shakeup, Smackdown gained two former tag-team championship winning teams and gave up the Ascension and Breezeango. Not a bad deal for Shane McMahon and Paige!

    The Bludgeon Brothers are scheduled to defend their newly won Smackdown tag-team championships against the Usos. The match will take place at the Greatest Royal Rumble on April 27th, 2018 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It will be their first televised title defense since winning the belts at WrestleMania 34.

  • Impact Wrestling Preview: Last Road to Redemption

    Impact Wrestling Preview: Last Road to Redemption

    The final episode of Impact Wrestling before the company’s Redemption PPV on Sunday airs tonight.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5OvN6kXxT8

    Impact Wrestling Preview (April 19th, 2018)

    • KM Issues an Open Challenge
      • Kevin Matthews, aka KM, plans to issue an open challenge to the Impact Wrestling locker tonight.
    • Johnny Impact vs Kongo Kong w/Jimmy Jacobs
      • The Emo Princess, Jimmy Jacobs, has control over Impact’s newest monster, Kongo Kong, but how will he fair against perennial top-contender, Johnny impact?
      • Neither of these two has a match booked for the Redemption PPV. Perhaps something will be set up here or they might both be left off the show.
    • Su Yung and Braxton Sutter vs Fallah Bahh and Kiera Hogan
      • An inter-gender match featuring two of Impact’s newest female wrestlers, Su Yung and Kiera Hogan takes place tonight.
      • Yung will take on Knockouts Champion, Allie, on Sunday for the championship.
      • We are still finding out just how dangerous the undead bride is. Perhaps tonight we will find out more about Su Yung’s plans for Allie.
    • Brian Cage in single’s competition
      • Nobody is rising up the Impact Wrestling rankings faster than Brian Cage. He’ll be in single’s action tonight but his opponent has yet to be named.
      • Cage defeated Lashley recently on Impact and the victory over a former World Champion likely means the promotion has big plans for him.
      • Brian Cage is scheduled to be in a 6-way match at the Redemption PPV. His opponents are scheduled to be Taiji Ishimori, Dezmond Xavier, El Hijo del Fantasma, DJZ, and Trevor Lee.

    • Last Road to Redemption

      • While not confirmed, it is expected the company will air some promotional segment for the Redemption PPV main event.
      • Impact was forced to explain for Alberto El Patron’s removal from the Redemption show during last week’s episode. Aries explained that since he lost the triple threat match at the LU vs Impact show, the same match will be run back again at Redemption. Should Pentagon win at Redemption, he would simultaneously hold both the Lucha Underground and Impact Wrestling world championships in storyline. While season 4 of Lucha Underground has been filmed (so he may have lost the title, I don’t know), it has yet to air.
  • Tyrus Gone From Impact Wrestling (Again)

    Tyrus Gone From Impact Wrestling (Again)

    George Murdoch, FKA Tyrus, is gone from Impact Wrestling… again.

    The 45-year-old heavyweight had originally left the company in the summer of 2017 but resurfaced at the last set of TV tapings from Orlando. The episodes of Impact filmed during these tapings have been airing since February 1st, 2018.

    According to a recent report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Tyrus has once again given Impact Wrestling his notice. Tyrus stated that he and the company didn’t see eye-to-eye creatively.

    George “Tyrus” Murdoch

    Tyrus gave similar reasons for ending his relationship with Impact Wrestling the last time around in 2017 as well. He has plenty going on for himself outside of wrestling, so it is not too big a surprise that he is willing to leave a company if he doesn’t enjoy what he is working on.

    Tyrus is a regular on several Fox News programs and has had a successful 2017 as an actor. He appeared in 2 episodes of the hit show GLOW on Netflix last year. Tyrus also appears in an episode of the Netflix original series, Love, which was released earlier this year. Several other IMDB credits have been added to his profile the last two years as well.

    Impact Wrestling Redemption

    This is an important weekend for Impact Wrestling. The company’s Redemption PPV runs on Sunday and curious eyes will be interested in what kind of product they present.

    The main event had been scheduled to be Alberto El Patron vs Austin Aries. Since El Patron no-showed the LU vs Impact show WrestleMania weekend, however, it has since been changed. The Lucha Brothers, Fenix & Pentagon, will now join Austin Aries in a triple threat match for the Impact World Championship in the main event of Redemption.

    The last set of TV tapings included writing off several departing wrestlers and finishing up storylines. The Redemption PPV should give Impact fans a better idea of where the company is trying to go in the future.

  • ROH Backstage Fight: New Details Emerge

    ROH Backstage Fight: New Details Emerge

    Last weekend, several wrestlers from ROH Tweeted that a backstage fight had taken place. The company was in Pittsburgh for “Steel City Excellence” on Saturday, which was also a set of TV Tapings for ROH TV.

    Saturday afternoon, several Tweets from ROH wrestlers started to come out which indicated a backstage altercation had taken place. Some of those Tweets have since been deleted, however. All that was known at the time was that a scuffle had occurred and Cody’s chipotle got trampled in the process.

    New Details on Backstage ROH Fight

    A recent report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has shed some new light on what happened.

    During the company’s show in Pittsburgh on Saturday, an extra (local talent) was sitting in a chair reserved for Christopher Daniels. According to the Observer, the wrestler was asked to move but did not respond kindly. A fight ended up breaking out and Flip Gordon apparently saved the day by subduing the wrestler quickly. Other than Flip, no ROH regulars were involved and no one was hurt.

    Cody would later Tweet that he is now considering booking Flip for All-In but it has since been deleted. Brandi Rhodes and Flip Gordon have been getting pretty tight lately, by the way.

    ROH This Weekend

    The ROH shows this weekend were reportedly not well attended. The Observer reported the shows only drew around 700 fans each. The company is coming off their most well-attended show of all time, however, and all of their recent promotion had been geared towards that show.

    Next up for ROH is two shows from Florida on the 28th and 29th. The “Bound for Honor” 2-day tour in Florida begins in West Palm Beach on the 27th and continues to Lakeland on the 28th.

    On the 27th, the Young Bucks and Hangman Page take on the Kingdom and Punishment Martinez takes on Cody.

    The show in Lakeland will be headlined by an 8-man tag-team match featuring the champions of ROH (Dalton Castle, Silas Young, the Briscoes) versus 4 members of Bullet Club.

  • The Young Bucks Ending “Being the Elite”?

    The Young Bucks Ending “Being the Elite”?

    Last week, Bullet Club’s “the Elite” released the 100th episode of their YouTube series, “Being the Elite”. Although they had previously been releasing episodes on Monday nights, no episode was released this week. As the last episode was named “Finale”, there is speculation the popular series is done.

    Matt and Nick Jackson recently spoke with the Sporting News about the future of the series. They recorded the interview backstage at ROH’s TV tapings in Pittsburgh on Saturday.

    “I think it’s poetic if we did end it at 100 episodes,” Nick Jackson told the Sporting News, “but everyone else says we shouldn’t.”

    “We’re like, man, 100 episodes, we can end it when it’s the hottest,” Matt Jackson added. “It almost feels like we should end it.”

    “On the other hand, it’s kind of undecided, but I feel like we’d be crazy not to bring it back at some point. It’s become such a popular tool for us now.”

    Being the Elite: 100 Episodes

    The series has been widely successful and provides a platform for members of the faction to tell stories. Much of what has been built up in terms of the Bullet Club 2018 Civil War has taken place on “Being the Elite”.

    “We had a guy at the airport on our way here stop me, and he puts his hand out and says, ‘I love your YouTube videos,’” Matt Jackson added. “He didn’t mention anything about pro wrestling.”

    Originally, the series was just meant to follow the Young Bucks around as they travelled to shows.

    “We did that for like six months,” Nick Jackson said. “Then Matt had the idea of adding stories to the mix. … People started to love it and it grew a lot faster. I think we found our calling.

    “It started with me getting sick in real life. We knew Adam [Cole] was leaving the Bullet Club, so Matt said, ‘Why don’t we say Adam poisoned you?’ I said, ‘That’s a brilliant idea. Let’s try it.’ The fans loved it. From there we just went nuts.”

    The last episode of Being the Elite ended with Cody finding himself alone in the Elite locker room. While he had defeated Kenny Omega, Cody was left to ponder all that he had lost along the way.

  • NXT Preview: Ricochet, War Raiders, Johnny Gargano Returns & more….

    NXT Preview: Ricochet, War Raiders, Johnny Gargano Returns & more….

    NXT tonight will be a taped show from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida. Several matches and segments have been confirmed for tonight’s episode.

    2 singles matches have been confirmed for tonight. Zelina Vega will take on Candice LeRae in a match which has been building for months. Lars Sullivan will take on Killian Dain in a NO DQ match tonight. Dain and Sullivan met last month in a match which was ruled a no-contest. Johnny Gargano will also make his return to NXT tonight after having defeated Tommaso Ciampa at Takeover.

    Ricochet is also scheduled to be a part of tonight’s episode as he makes his Full Sail University debut.

    NXT Preview (April 18th, 2018)

    • Johnny Gargano Returns
      • Fresh off defeating his rival/former partner, Tommaso Ciampa, at Takeover: New Orleans, Johnny Gargano is once again in NXT.
      • Tonight will be Gargano’s first appearance in Full Sail after being reinstated.
    • No DQ Match
      Lars Sullivan vs Killian Dain 

      • Lars Sullivan recently returned from injury and Killian Dain was recently announced as moving up to Smackdown. They will meet tonight in a NO DQ match between two of NXT’s most powerful SuperStars.
      • These two last wrestled each other in single’s action on the March 7th edition of NXT. That match was declared a no-contest.
      • Both were inovlved in the NXT North American Championship ladder match in New Orleans.
    • Ricochet in Single’s Action
      • The high-flying Ricochet was also involved in the ladder match at Takeover: New Orleans.
      • Tonight, Ricochet makes his debut in front of the NXT fans at Full Sail University.
    • Candice LeRae vs Zelina Vega
      • Vega may have moved to Smackdown along with former NXT Champion, Andrade “Cien” Almas, but she has a single’s match with Candice LeRae tonight on NXT.
      • These two have had a budding rivalry ever since Johnny Gargano challenged Almas for the NXT Championship back at Takeover: Philadelphia.
    • War Raiders Wreak Havoc
      • The War Raiders (War Machine) are both scheduled appear on NXT television tonight as well.
  • Updated RAW & SmackDown Rosters Following Superstar Shake-Up

    Updated RAW & SmackDown Rosters Following Superstar Shake-Up

    Now that the 2-day 2018 Superstar Shakeup is over, we can take a look at the updated rosters for each brand.

    There were plenty of changes this year at the Superstar Shakeup, with each brand looking significantly different than they were previously.

    Raw Updated Roster

    Men’s Single’s Division: Brock Lesnar (Universal Champion)

    • Roman Reigns
    • Braun Strowman
    • John Cena
    • Seth Rollins (Intercontinental Champion)
    • Finn Balor
    • Jinder Mahal (new)
    • Kevin Owens (new)
    • Sami Zayn (new)
    • Elias
    • Bobby Lashley (new)
    • Dolph Ziggler (new)
    • Bobby Roode (new)
    • Dean Ambrose (injured)
    • Drew McIntyre (new)
    • Kane (part-time)
    • Big Show (part-time)
    • Baron Corbin (new)
    • Goldust
    • Mojo Rawley (new)
    • Jason Jordan (injured)
    • Chad Gable (new)
    • No Way Jose (new)
    • Mike Kanellis (new)
    • Curt Hawkins

    Women’s Single’s Division: Nia Jax

    • Alexa Bliss
    • Natalya
    • Sasha Banks
    • Bayley
    • Ronda Rousey
    • Ruby Riott (new)
    • Sarah Logan (new)
    • Mickie James
    • Ember Moon (new)
    • Liv Morgan (new)
    • Dana Brooke
    • Alicia Fox (injured)

    Tag-Team Division: Titles Vacant

    • Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy
    • The Revival
    • The Authors of Pain (Akam and Rezar) (new)
    • Titus Worldwide (Titus O’Neil and Apollo Crews)
    • Heath Slater and Rhyno
    • Breezeango (new)
    • Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel
    • The Ascension (new)

    Smackdown Updated Roster

    Men’s Single’s Division: AJ Styles (WWE Champion)

    • Shinsuke Nakamura
    • Randy Orton
    • Daniel Bryan
    • The Miz (new)
    • Samoa Joe (new)
    • Rusev
    • Jeff Hardy (United States Champion) (new)
    • Chris Jericho (part-time)
    • Andrade “Cien” Almas (new)
    • Shelton Benjamin
    • Big Cass (new)
    • Tye Dillinger
    • R-Truth (new)
    • Aiden English
    • Sin Cara

    Women’s Division: Carmella (World Champion)

    • Charlotte Flair
    • Asuka (new)
    • Naomi
    • Becky Lynch
    • Sonya Deville (new)
    • Mandy Rose (new)
    • Peyton Royce (new)
    • Billie Kay (new)
    • Tamina (injured)
    • Lana

    Tag-Team Division: The Bludgeon Brothers (Champions)

    • the Usos (Jimmy & Jey Uso)
    • New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods)
    • the Bar (Cesaro & Sheamus) (new)
    • Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows (new)
    • Sanity (Alexander Wolfe, Eric Young, Killian Dain) (new)
    • The Colons (injured)

    Additionally, there will be some new faces in NXT to make up for some of the departing performers. There are always some cuts not long after Mania as well.

  • Triple H Comments on Carmella, Peyton Royce, & Billie Kay

    Triple H Comments on Carmella, Peyton Royce, & Billie Kay

    Triple H has a soft spot for performers who came through NXT and the WWE Developmental system. One of those performers is Carmella, who last week successfully cashed in her Money in the Bank briefcase and defeated Charlotte Flair.

    In two months it will be exactly 5 years since WWE signed Carmella. She signed as a 27-year-old after having worked as a New England Patriots cheerleader for 3 seasons and a Laker Girl for one. She is the daughter of former WWE enhancement talent, Paul Van Dale.

    Carmella won the first two women’s Money in the Bank matches last summer. The first match ended when her former valet, James Ellsworth, detached the briefcase and dropped it down to her. After a second match was scheduled, Carmella found a way to win that as well. Now, she’s a World Champion.

    Disappointment is often the thing that propels you forward. took every opportunity presented and cashed in on hard work. Ms. Money in the Bank is now Ms. Women’s Champion.

    the Iiconics: Peyton Royce and Billie Kay

    The weeks after WrestleMania is always an important time for call-ups to the main roster. While Carmella may now be a World Champion, other NXT stars are just getting their starts on either Raw or Smackdown.

    Two performers from NXT who debuted on the main roster recently are the Iiconics, Peyton Royce & Billie Kay. The duo are former high school friends from Sydney, Australia who both followed the same paths to the company. The team started in NXT in 2015 and made their main roster debuts on the Smackdown after Mania last week. Triple H also posted about their debuts on the main roster.

    From their debut in , and have always brought something to the Universe. Proud to see how far they’ve both come and excited to see how far they will go! – Triple H on the Iiconics

  • Smackdown and 205 Live Preview

    Smackdown and 205 Live Preview

    Smackdown and 205 Live will emanate from the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, RI tonight. The Superstar Shakeup will continue as Superstars from Raw are expected to be drafted to Smackdown.

    Smackdown Live! Preview

    No matches have been announced for this week’s edition of Smackdown but several segments are expected to occur.

    • Superstar Shakeup Continues

      • So far, Smackdown has lost Jinder Mahal, Breezeango, Bobby Roode, Chad Gable, Dolph Ziggler, Natalya, Mojo Rawley, Baron Corbin, Mike Kanellis, the Riott Squad and Zack Ryder.
      • Smackdown has gained the Miz but they will need more names added tonight to keep a strong roster.

    • Shinsuke Nakamura’s Heel Turn Continues

      • Tonight will be just the 2nd Smackdown since Shinsuke Nakamura gave AJ Styles a low-blow at WrestleMania.
      • Last week, Nakaura issued a rather insincere apology. This week will find out what happenes next in this re-born rivalry.

    • Carmella’s Championship Reign Begins

      • Last week on Smackdown, Carmella cashed in her MITB briefcase and defeated Charlotte Flair to win the Smackdown Women’s World Championship.
      • It could be an entirely new division on Smackdown starting tonight. Who knows which Superstars from Raw will show up and become an instant threat to Carmella’s new championship? Of course, Charlotte Flair will have something to say about that as well.

    • The Usos Preparing For the Bludgeon Brothers?

      • Last week, the Usos defeated the New Day to earn the #1 contendership for the Smackdown tag-team titles. They lost those titles to Harper and Rowen at WrestleMania.
      • This week, the Usos may have a message for the team which defeated them at WrestleMania 34.

    • The Miz Returns to Smackdown

      • Last night on Raw, Kurt Angle announced that Daniel Bryan pulled some strings to get the Miz moved to Smackdown. Now that Daniel Bryan is once again an in-ring competitor on the brand, this could set the stage for a renewed rivalry between the two.

    205 Live Preview

    • Drake Maverick Addresses Buddy Murphy’s Attack on Cedric Alexander

      • Last week on 205 Live, Buddy Murphy spoiled Cedric Alexander’s championship celebration. Murphy won a #1 contenders fatal 4-way match on March 27th, defeating Akira Tozawa, Kalisto, and TJP and is likely Alexander’s next challenger.
      • This week, 205 Live GM, Drake Maverick, will address Murphy’s actions from last Tuesday night.

    • Hideo Itami & Akira Tozawa vs Lince Dorado & Gran Metalik (tornado tag rules)

      • The rivalry between the Lucha house party and Itami & Tozawa continues tonight in this tornado tag match.
  • Jack Swagger (Jake Hager) Signs With MLW

    Jack Swagger (Jake Hager) Signs With MLW

    Major League Wrestling is positioned to have a big year in 2018. The promotion recently signed a television deal with BeIN Sports to air episodes of MLW: Fusion on Friday nights beginning April 20th.

    Today, the company announced the signing of Jake Hager (FKA Jack Swagger) to a “multi-fight” deal. MLW is presenting their product more as a fictional combat sport than sports entertainment, hence the “multi-fight” wording regarding Hager’s signing. Hager’s first event with MLW will be at the promotion’s TV tapings on May 3rd. Pentagon is scheduled to face Shane Strickland for the MLW World Championship on the show.

    It also appears Hager has aligned with the returning manager, Colonel Robert Parker and his re-formed “Stud Stable”. The 67-year old grandfather recently made his return to pro-wrestling at an MLW show in February.

    “A reckoning is coming to the heavyweight division of Major League Wrestling,” – Col Robert Parker

    Jake Hager in Bellator and MLW

    Earlier this year, Hager signed a deal to fight in MMA with Bellator as well. The former collegiate wrestling standout would later say he hopes to fight once and possibly even twice in 2018.

    “I want to fight in 2018 for sure,” Hager said to MMA Junkie back in January. “I almost want to fight twice. That’s a bold statement, but I don’t want to waste any time. I want to jump in there. I feel like I’m in good shape now. I feel like in six months, in the summertime, I’ll be ready to make a statement.”

    While training for his MMA debut, Hager has continued to stay active on the independent wrestling scene. Earlier this year, he completed a tour for the now-defunct 5-Star Wrestling in England.

    Major League Wrestling just finished an 8-person single-elimination tournament to crown a new World’s Champion. Shane Strickland defeated Matt Riddle in a tournament which also featured Tom Lawlor, MVP, Jimmy Havoc, Jeff Cobb, Brody King, and Maxwell Jacob Friedman.

  • Corey Graves Comments On His Bullet Club/Balor Club Flub On Raw

    Corey Graves Comments On His Bullet Club/Balor Club Flub On Raw

    During Finn Balor’s entrance last night on Monday Night Raw, Corey Graves inadvertently referred to “Bullet Club”. Michael Cole would quickly correct Graves, insinuating he meant to say “Balor Club”.

    A few hours after Raw went off the air, Graves sent out the following reaction to his flub:

    Bullet Club or Balor Club?

    Finn Balor hasn’t been placed alongside his Balor Club teammates, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson in a few weeks. After spending several weeks working as a trio together, Balor was placed in the Intercontinental Championship picture while Gallows and Anderson fell out of the Raw tag-team Championship hunt.

    With the WWE Superstar Shakeup in full swing, it’s possible any of the 3 Raw members of the Club could be moved to Smackdown. AJ Styles, another historical member of the faction, is currently the WWE Champion on the blue brand. Styles, Gallows, and Anderson also had a brief run as a trio under the name, “the Club” not long after signing with WWE.

    Finn Balor was one of the four founding members of the faction in 2013, though it can be argued he was the most important member of the group at the time. Balor was the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion but was frustrated over a recent loss to Hiroshi Tanahashi. Then known as Prince Devitt, he brought out Bad Luck Fale as his new personal bouncer and the pair aligned with Karl Anderson and Tama Tonga as well. Not long after, Balor would go on to sweep the Best of the Super Juniors, winning every single match in the tournament.

    Devitt would leave NJPW for NXT in 2014. Anderson, Gallows, and Styles would all follow suit in 2016. A later member of Bullet Club, Adam Cole, was signed to WWE in 2017 after having won the ROH World Championship on two occasions as a member of the faction.

  • Apollo Crews Gets His Last Name Back

    Apollo Crews Gets His Last Name Back

    Apollo is Apollo Crews once again. In February, WWE removed the last name Crews from his gimmicked name (his real name is Sesugh Uhaa). There was speculation that his name change may have been in response to Nikolas Cruz, the Florida school shooter who killed 17 people earlier this year.

    Crews’ last name has been added to his profile on WWE.com. It is also once again his listed name on Wikipedia. Last night on Raw, Apollo was also wearing a T-shirt which featured the last name “Crews” written on it.

    Apollo’s name has not been changed back on Twitter or Instagram, however.

    Titus Worldwide on Raw

    Last night on Monday Night Raw, Apollo and the other members of Titus Worldwide were taken out by Dolph Ziggler and the returning Drew McIntyre. Ziggler arrived on Raw from Smackdown as part of the Superstar Shakeup. McIntyre returned from injury for the first time since Takeover: War Games.

    Crews still has never won championship gold in his WWE career. He was signed to the company in 2014 and debuted on the main roster in 2016, a quick ascension to the main roster by today’s standards.

    Despite advancing to the main roster quickly, Apollo has struggled to win titles. Recently, his tag-team along with Titus O’Neil was in the mix for the Raw tag-team Championships. A week ago on Raw, they lost to Bray Wyatt and “Woken” Matt Hardy, taking them out of title contention for the Greatest Royal Rumble. Wyatt and Hardy defeated the Revival last night to punch their ticket to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where they will take on the Bar for the titles. The Bar lost the titles at WrestleMania 34 to Braun Strowman and Nicholas. The new champions, however, were forced to vacate the titles due to Nicholas’ schedule in the 4th grade.

  • ROH Masters of the Craft Results

    ROH Masters of the Craft Results

    Ring of Honor was in Columbus last night for a live show which aired on Honor Club. The promotion had been in  Pittsburgh on Saturday for a set of TV tapings.

    The main event for “Masters of the Craft” from Columbus featured a Defy or Deny elimination match pitting ROH World Champion, Dalton Castle, against Punishment Martinez, the Beer City Bruiser, and Marty Scurll. The rules were that if Dalton Castle won the match then the last person eliminated would not be able to challenge for Castle’s championship again during his reign. If, however, someone else wins the match then they earn a future title shot against Castle.

    ROH Masters of the Craft Results

    1. Coast 2 Coast defeated the Dawgs
    2. ROH TV Title
      Silas Young (c) defeated Cheeseburger

      • After the match Bully Ray came out and berated Cheeseburger. Flip Gordon attempted to make the save by Bully took him out too.
    3. Deonna Purrazzo, Sumie Sakai & Tenille Dashwood defeat Brandi Rhodes, Jenny Rose & Madison Rayne
    4. Hangman Page, the Young Bucks, and Flip Gordon defeated SoCal Uncensored and Shane Taylor
    5. ROH World Tag Team Championships
      the Briscoes (c) defeated Davey Vega and Matt Fitchett
    6. Jay Lethal defeated Jonathan Gresham
    7. First Blood Match
      Matt Taven defeated Cody

      • Cody went to punch Taven but Taven blocked it with his 6-man championship belt. This busted open Cody’s hand and caused the ref to stop the match.
    8. Defy or Deny Main Event
      Marty Scurll defeated Dalton Castle, the Beery City Bruiser, and Punishment Martinez

      • Marty Scurll earns another title shot against Castle.
  • Bullet Club Member Set To Return

    Bullet Club Member Set To Return

    It has been over a year since this wrestler has stepped foot in a ring and many felt it would never happen again. He was never the most popular member of the faction in NJPW but despite this, Bone Soldier is set to return shortly.

    Who is Mitsuhide Hirasawa aka Captain New Japan aka Bone Soldier?

    Mitsuhide Hirasawa returned from excursion in Puerto Rico in 2011. Under the name Hideo Saito he would join CHAOS that year. After a 1-8 performance in the G1 tournament, however, the rest of the faction kicked him out. He would return dressed up as Captain New Japan and even had a shield similar to Captain America.

    In 2016, Captain New Japan joined Yoshi-Tatsu’s “Hunter Club” of wrestlers who targetted Bullet Club. Again, Captain New Japan ended up being kicked out of this club due to poor performance. In response to being kicked out of the group, Captain New Japan turned on Tatsu and joined Bullet Club as “Bone Soldier”.

    In the 2016 World Tag League, Bone Soldier teamed with Bad Luck Fale and the pair lost every match. Omega then called Bone Soldier an “intergalactic disaster” and he was seemingly gone from both Bullet Club and NJPW. Now it appears, after over a year away from the promotion, Bone Soldier is returning.