SEScoops

Author: Chris Stephens

  • Tim Storm vs. Nick Aldis NWA Championship Match (Video)

    Tim Storm vs. Nick Aldis NWA Championship Match (Video)

    Billy Corgan took over ownership of the National Wrestling Alliance on October 1st, 2017. Yesterday, the first NWA World Championship match under his ownership took place during a taping of Championship Wrestling from Hollywood.

    Billy Corgan’s NWA

    Billy Corgan is working with former Impact Wrestling and WWE writer, Dave Lagana, on the project. The promotion has released several mini-documentaries through their YouTube channel as of late to build towards this match.

    Tim Storm (c), the 52-year-old journeyman wrestler who also works as a history teacher, defended the title against Nick Aldis. A former GFW and TNA World Champion, Aldis threw his hat in the ring for an NWA title shot earlier this month.

    The NWA streamed the match live on Facebook. The title match starts around the 7:30 mark below:

  • Eric Bischoff’s New Wrestling Project Revealed

    Eric Bischoff’s New Wrestling Project Revealed

    Eric Bischoff is back in wrestling. The former President of WCW was recently announced as the new co-owner of the Cleveland Knights Championship Wrestling promotion out of Ohio.

    The first show for the promotion under Bischoff’s reign will be on February 2nd, 2018 at “New World Rising”.

    Erich Bischoff and Cleveland Knights Championship Wrestling

    The promotion announced Bischoff’s ownership role at their event on Saturday night. Also in attendance Saturday, was UFC fighter, Jessica Eye.

    Here are the complete results of their show on Saturday:

    “RING ANNOUNCER: Hank Hudson
    REFEREES: Dave Dawson, Michael Contos
    D.V.D. COMMENTATORS: Jeff Gorman, M.E. Howerton
    NEXT LIVE EVENT: Friday, February 9, 2018

    (1) “GOLDEN TICKET” 12-PERSON TAG-TEAM MATCH (WINNER OF THE FALL BECOMES FINAL ENTRANT IN C.K.C.W. WORLD’S TITLE TRIPLE-THREAT MATCH LATER ON THE CARD): Taya (Valkyrie)/El Nazareno/Sonny Vice/O.T. Fernandez/”Riot City’s Most Wanted” (Sicend/Mac Mayhem) defeated C.P.A./R.C. Dupree/Ricky Mandel/Pat “Hooked On” Monix/”Bulletproof” Brandon Edwards/”The Impact Player” Seth Allen (Vice pinned C.P.A. via a top-rope leap for a flying cross-bodyblock press to win the “Golden Ticket”) in 12:20!!!

    (2) GRUDGE MATCH: “Luchasaurus” Vibora pinned “Mr. Entertainment” J.D. Smooth in 7:39 following a chokeslam!!!

    (3) C.K.C.W. WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: Champion Vanilla Vargas (with Angel Fashion and Mike Mendoza) pinned Miss Hannah in 7:58 following a spinning sit-out “Tiger Bomb” to retain her title!!!

    (4) FATAL FOUR-WAY MATCH FOR THE C.W.A. (CHAMPION WRESTLING ASSOCIATION) WORLD’S CHAMPIONSHIP: Champion El Sensacional Star Roger defeated DJZ, Robbie E, and Mike Mendoza (Roger pinned Mendoza following a “sunset-flip” short powerbomb despite earlier interference from Angel Fashion) in 9:33 to retain his title!!!

    (5) “Tokyo Monster” Kahagas pinned “The Firebird” Shawn Phoenix in 5:43 following a modified package-piledriver!!!

    (6) THREE-WAY TAG-TEAM “FLAG MATCH” (U.S.A. vs. CANADA vs. PUERTO RICO) (WINNING TEAM GETS TO WAVE THEIR FLAG): “Team Puerto Rico” (El Fenomeno BJ/”The Owner Of The World” Hiram Tua) defeated “Team Storm” (representing Canada) (Jaxon Argos/”The Next Trending Topic” Jack Pollock) and “Team U.S.A.” “The Rock ‘N’ Roll Express” (Ricky Morton/Robert Gibson) (Fenomeno pinned Argos) in 11:29!!! Morton and Gibson blasted Argos with simultaneous shoulder-tackles to enable Fenomeno to complete his “sunset-flip” takedown cradle for the duke!!!

    (7) SPECIAL ATTRACTION MATCH: “Bad Ass” Billy Gunn pinned “King Of Sleeze” Joey Ryan in 10:04 following his “Fame-ASS-er” legdrop!!!

    (8) TRIPLE-THREAT MATCH FOR THE VACANT C.K.C.W. WORLD’S HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE: “The Big Daddy Of Destruction” J-Rocc (with M.M.A. fighter Jessica “Evil” Eye and “personal ring-announcer” Dave Kich) defeated Angel Fashion (with Vanilla Vargas) and “Golden Ticket” winner Sonny Vice (J-Rocc pinned Vice following a piledriver) in 14:16 to regain the title!!!

    *****It was announced that Eric Bischoff would be appearing at the next live C.K.C.W. event on Friday, February 9, 2018 as the new co-owner of Cleveland Knights Championship Wrestling!!!*****

    (9) STEEL CAGE MATCH TO CROWN THE FIRST EVER C.K.C.W. WORLD’S TAG-TEAM CHAMPIONS: “The Heavy Artillery” (Thunder & Lightning) defeated “Stateline” (Damien Angel/Eddie Taurus) (Lightning pinned Taurus after his partner had elevated him for his “Ace Crusher”) in 7:20 for the title!!! All four participants were bloodied in this cage battle!!!”

  • Randy Orton Takes Shot at Kevin Owens For Getting Sent Home

    Randy Orton Takes Shot at Kevin Owens For Getting Sent Home

    Earlier this month, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn were sent home from the WWE European tour. Speculation is they were removed from the tour for not following the script for their segment on last week’s Smackdown.

    Owens and Randy Orton have been going back-and-forth with light-hearted insults on social media since this summer. Orton recently got in a good crack about Owens having been sent home from the tour.

    Randy Orton and Kevin Owens Social Media Feud

    It all started when Kevin Owens decided to crash someone’s wedding wearing a Rock t-shirt:

    https://twitter.com/FightOwensFight/status/929538544560992258

    Orton decided to chime in and didn’t spare in his usage of emojis:

    Owens probably thought this would earn him the last word:

    https://twitter.com/FightOwensFight/status/929855822796087298

    Until he was hit with a verbal RKO:

    UPDATE: Owens is not tapping out just yet:

    https://twitter.com/FightOwensFight/status/929865752395513857

  • Latest On Daniel Bryan Trying To Get Medically Cleared To Wrestle

    Latest On Daniel Bryan Trying To Get Medically Cleared To Wrestle

    Daniel Bryan has made no secret that he wants to return to in-ring action. While WWE doctors are unwilling to clear Bryan, he has received conflicting advice from other medical professionals. Bryan recently spoke to the Trentonian to provide an update.

    “I’m trying to get cleared as we speak,” Bryan said. “All my tests have come back fantastic, better than people who have never had any concussion-type stuff. But it’s a weird thing. We’re in a weird situation politically with the climate around concussions; right now, it’s very difficult.”

    He continued, “WWE would love to have me back, but is that the smart thing for me as a business to bring me back? If I was to come back, and they let me back, would they get a lot of flak for it? They have a ton of stockholders that they’re responsible for. It’s more than just, ‘Is he healthy to do it?’ There’s more than that to the whole situation.”

    Bryan is adamant that he’s healthy enough to wrestle again, but the the ‘politics’ of WWE being a risk-averse public corporation is a big obstacle.

    “All the concussion doctors think that I’m healthy enough to do it and that I should be able to do it — well, I don’t want to say all of them, I’m sure there’s somebody out there who doesn’t think that — but there’s a lot more than goes into it than just that. That’s the unfortunate situation with giant corporations and big business in the United States.”

  • Report on How Chris Jericho vs. Kenny Omega Came To Be

    Report on How Chris Jericho vs. Kenny Omega Came To Be

    A recent report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has detailed the timeline of events leading up to Chris Jericho vs Kenny Omega being signed for WrestleKingdom.

    According to the report, Jericho was influenced by the build-up to Conor McGregor vs Floyd Mayweather and wanted to do something similar. A match with Omega, he felt, would feel similar in that it is something fans thought they’d never see.

    Jericho’s Secret Meetings with NJPW

    Jericho ended up pitching the idea to NJPW commentator, Don Callis, who then pitched the idea to Omega. All 3 men involved are from Winnipeg and Callis’ podcast with Lance Storm is on Jericho’s podcast network.

    Omega then pitched the idea to Gedo. In August, Jericho and NJPW officials arranged a secret meeting in New York. The deal wasn’t finalized until October, however, with Jericho’s videotaped challenge to Omega being filmed shortly after.

  • Jonathan Coachman Gone From ESPN

    Jonathan Coachman Gone From ESPN

    News broke on Thursday that ESPN was set to lay off 100 employees, including including on-air talent, producers and executives. The majority of the departures are expected to take place after Thanksgiving, but former WWE broadcaster Jonathan Coachman announced that he has parted ways with ESPN.

    While it has been suspected for awhile that he was finished with the sports media outlet, he recently confirmed the news on Twitter.

    Jonathan Coachman

    Coachman worked for WWE from 1999 to 2008 before leaving for ESPN. Someone asked him if he had any interest returning to the company and this was his response.

    He changed his tune a couple of tweets later, however.

  • Emma’s Negotiations with Stardom Fall Through

    Emma’s Negotiations with Stardom Fall Through

    Fans of Emma (Tenille Dashwood) will not get to see her perform for Stardom anytime soon. According to a recent reporting from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dashwood was asking for $2,000 per match, 1st class tickets, and creative control in her contract.

    Whether these were actually Emma’s contract demands or if there is another side of the story is not currently known. The report does not specifically state whether the information was obtained by Stardom, Emma, both, or a 3rd party.

    Options for Emma

    The independent scene isn’t as lucrative for female talent as it is for men’s at the moment, but there are strong signs this is changing. Shine, Shimmer, and ROH’s Women of Honor could all be potential homes for Dashwood in the future.

  • Brutus Beefcake Posts Letter From Hulk Hogan’s Lawyer

    Brutus Beefcake Posts Letter From Hulk Hogan’s Lawyer

    Brutus “the Barber” Beefcake recently announced plans to write his autobiography. This elicited a response from his former friend and veteran lawsuit-winner, Hulk Hogan.

    Beefcake recently posted a picture of a screenshot sent to him via Hogan’s attorney as well.

    Here is a brief history of their Twitter war last month:

    The issue may have something to do with Hogan’s relationship with Beefcake’s ex-wife. Beefcake alludes to this in a prior tweet:

    https://twitter.com/brutusbeefcake_/status/924075440502910976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cagesideseats.com%2Fwwe%2F2017%2F11%2F2%2F16600696%2Fhulk-hogan-brutus-beefcake-twitter-feud

    Somewhat relevant to this is that Hulk Hogan had relations with his former friend, Bubba the Love Sponge’s, wife in 2012. Hidden recordings of these encounters led to his lawsuit against Gawker last year.

    Earlier this week, Beefcake tweeted a screenshot of a letter he received from Hogan’s attorney.

    https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

    Video of Beefcake Turning on Hogan:

  • Pete Dunne Challenges Legend to UK Title Match

    Pete Dunne Challenges Legend to UK Title Match

    WWE United Kingdom champion, Pete Dunne, made his Raw debut this week in a winning effort over Enzo Amore. Now it seems, Dunne has his sites set on a different opponent.

    He challenged legendary Irish grappler, Fit Finlay, recently on Twitter after Finlay mentioned him in a post of his.

    Pete Dunne vs. Fit Finlay

    Unfortunately, the likelihood of this match taking place is slim. Now 57-years-young, Finlay’s last match was on December 22nd, 2012. He teamed with his son, David Finlay, in a winning effort against Dan Collins and Robbie Brookside in Germany.

  • Kenny Omega On Jericho’s WWE Status, Staying With NJPW

    Kenny Omega On Jericho’s WWE Status, Staying With NJPW

    Kenny Omega recently took part in an interview with Tokyo Sports. During the course of the interview, he addressed the rumors that his rivalry with Chris Jericho will lead to him going to WWE.

    Interestingly, the article also states Chris Jericho is still a WWE contracted star. Current speculation is Jericho is a free agent and did not inform WWE of his decision to perform at WrestleKingdom.

    Kenny Omega Interview in Tokyo Sports

    The full article is available in Japanese here.

    We’ve used Google Translate to decipher Omega’s comments below. Translation from Japanese to English can be difficult but the general point of his comments still comes through.

    Omega on if his rivalry with Jericho will lead to him going to WWE:

    “I denied the possibility that this round will be a priming call for WWE transfer, “I am absolutely here, I will tell you that the new Japan is a place where players can keep fighting on their real self, I’d like to say that it is a wonderful place”

    Tokyo Sports on WWE’s Interest in Kenny Omega:

    “There is no doubt that WWE has keen interest in Kenny as success of Shinsuke Nakamura (37) and other newcomers professional wrestlers continues. It is said that there was an offer even after 1.4 dome this year.”

    Omega on receiving a WWE offer after WrestleKingdom last year:

    “I do not know why they are here (WWE Superstars) because they do not go there and I have to come here, as I have refused to contact WWE many times, have you come to crush me?”

    Tokyo Sports Comments on Chris Jericho’s WWE Contract Status:

    “The two (Omega and Jericho) have been controversy on Twitter since October, but this factor alone is not sweet enough to make the entry into war. A related official said, “Although Jericho is not full-time, he still has a deal with WWE, so of course Vince (President McMahon) is also giving permission for this entry, although the real intention is not certain, WWE ‘s attention to Kenny got particularly high this year, it is revealed that it is realized only because the opponent is Kenny.”

  • Daniel Bryan & Renee Young Joke About Hosting Rogue Post-SmackDown Show

    Daniel Bryan & Renee Young Joke About Hosting Rogue Post-SmackDown Show

    Take this for what you will, but both Daniel Bryan and Renee Young are claiming they will be hosting a new show after Smackdown tonight. According to them “Smacking Talk” actually will debut tonight on Tout.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BW_DHmIlET2/

    Does Tout Still Exist? Did Anyone Ever Use It?

    In 2012, WWE invested $5 million in Tout, a social media blogging and video platform. It is unclear what percentage of Tout WWE owns. They would sometimes even use “touts” from wrestlers on their programming.

    WWE stopped using their Tout channel in 2014. Unless Daniel Bryan and Renee Young are trolling everyone, that will change tonight after Smackdown!

  • G1 Climax 27 Night 6 Results and Updated Standings

    G1 Climax 27 Night 6 Results and Updated Standings

    The 6th night of NJPW’s G1 Climax tournament concluded earlier this morning in Fukushima, Japan. The show’s matches involved competitors in the B-Block. Results and updated standings below.

    G1 Climax 27 Night 6 Tournament Results

    • Michael Elgin (2pts) defeated Satoshi Kojima (0pts)
    • Evil (4pts) defeated Tama Tonga (2pts)
    • Minoru Suzuki (4pts) defeated Juice Robinson (2pts)
    • Kenny Omega (6pts) defeated Toru Yano (2pts)
    • Kazuchika Okada (6pts) defeated Sanada (2pts)

    Current Standings

    A Block

    • Hirooki Goto 4pts
    • Tetsuya Naito 4pts
    • Zack Sabre Jr. 4pts
    • Hiroshi Tanahashi 4pts
    • Bad Luck Fale 4pts
    • Tomohiro Ishii 2pts
    • Kota Ibushi 2pts
    • Yoshi-Hashi 2pts
    • Togi Makabe 2pts
    • Yuji Nagata 0pts

    B Block

    • Kazuchika Okada 6pts
    • Kenny Omega 6pts
    • EVIL 4pts
    • Minoru Suzuki 4pts
    • Juice Robinson 2pts
    • Tama Tonga 2pts
    • Sanada 2pts
    • Toru Yano 2pts
    • Michael Elgin 2pts
    • Satoshi Kojima 0pts
  • Bayley and Sasha Post-Raw Reactions; Still Friends?

    Bayley and Sasha Post-Raw Reactions; Still Friends?

    Friendships in WWE don’t tend to last. Many are wondering if recent events may serve as the catalyst to a potential Sasha vs. Bayley rivalry down the road.

    Heading into the match Sasha gave a confident interview, one that some might describe as “arrogant”:

    Bayley and Sasha Banks Post-Raw Reactions

    Bayley won the match last night by countering Banks’ frogsplash into a pinning combination. Banks was visibly upset after the match’s conclusion.

    WWE.com reporters caught up with Bayley after the match:

    Sasha Banks sent out a somewhat ambiguous tweet after the match:

  • Update On The Planned Finish to AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens at Battleground

    Update On The Planned Finish to AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens at Battleground

    If you couldn’t figure out what the heck happened at the end of the Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles match at Battleground, you are not alone. Something appeared to go wrong at the end of the match, though nobody is quite sure what.

    AJ Styles Heavily Favoured to Win

    Fans who follow betting odds were the first to notice something awry had occurred. AJ Styles went into the match a -4950 favourite. Such heavily favoured betting odds normally means that a Superstar has been booked to win. All other favoured wrestlers won their matches at Battleground.

    Wrestling historian, Dave Meltzer, has speculated that the finish of the match was changed last minute to have Owens win the title. How this plays into the botched finish however, is anyone’s guess.

    The ref was knocked out, then AJ and Owens exchanged submissions but neither tapped out. Then Owens countered into a pinning submission and a groggy ref counted the 3. The referee never missed a submission or a pin attempt, so why was he knocked out?

    Some believe AJ was supposed to have his shoulder up during the pin, and just didn’t do that.

    https://twitter.com/megal0maniak/status/889347378913869824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wrestlinginc.com%2Fwi%2Fnews%2F2017%2F0725%2F628470%2Fbackstage-news-on-wwe-changing-backlash-ppv-finish-at-the-last%2F

  • Photos of WWE Superstars and New Action Figures at San Diego Comic Con

    Photos of WWE Superstars and New Action Figures at San Diego Comic Con

    Paul Heyman’s Heyman Hustle website dispatched veteran photographer Bob Mulrenin to the recent San Diego Comic Con and got a first look at Mattel’s new line of action figures featuring the Women of WWE.

    Bob Mulrenin’s San Diego Comic Con Photo Diary

    Here are a few samples – check out the Heyman Hustle for the full gallery.

  • Sami Zayn Comments On Defeating Mike Kanellis

    Sami Zayn Comments On Defeating Mike Kanellis

    Sami Zayn defeated Mike Kanellis at Battleground last night. The win ties the series between the 2 at 1 win a piece, as Kanellis defeated Zayn on Smackdown earlier this month.

    WWE.com reporters caught up with Sami after his match:

    Sami Zayn vs. Mike Kanellis

    The feud between Kanellis and Zayn appears to be continuing. Now with each SuperStar having won and lost once, it’s almost certain a 3rd match between the two is scheduled shortly.

    Zayn and Kanellis have had one singles match outside the WWE previously. That took place in 2011 on a Ring of Honor show, when El Generico defeated Mike Bennett.

    Battleground was just Zayn’s 3rd ever win on a WWE main roster PPV. He’s now 3W-5L in PPV singles matches, with his other wins coming against Baron Corbin and Kevin Owens.

  • WWE Posts Photo of Randy Orton’s Back After Punjabi Prison Match

    WWE Posts Photo of Randy Orton’s Back After Punjabi Prison Match

    Jinder Mahal took no mercy on Randy Orton last night during their Punjabi Prison match. The WWE Champion took advantage of several kendo sticks placed under the ring, and tore up Orton’s back with them.

    WWE posted a photo of the aftermath late last night:

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BW6hnXWgdhl/

    What’s Next For Randy Orton?

    Randy Orton has now lost to Jinder Mahal on 3 straight PPVs. All 3 of his losses were more or less due to outside interference however.

    Jinder’s victory, combined by the reappearance of the Great Khali, brings up several possible options for SummerSlam matches.

    One possibility is Orton taking on Khali, while Jinder defends his championship against another challenger. Another option however, is Jinder and Khali in a tag-team match against Randy Orton and a partner to be determined.

  • Charlotte Flair Reveals Why She Feels She Lost At Battleground

    Charlotte Flair Reveals Why She Feels She Lost At Battleground

    The final two women in Battleground’s 5-woman elimination match were Charlotte and Natalya. Although many expected Charlotte to win, it was Natalya who ended up getting her hand raised.

    The finish of the match saw Natalya pin Charlotte after ramming her head into the lower turnbuckle. Charlotte spoke to WWE.com reporters after the match and explained she hit her head hard, and simply wasn’t able to collect herself in time to kick out.

    Charlotte in Smackdown’s Women’s Division

    Many had expected Charlotte Flair to skyrocket to the top of Smackdown’s women’s rankings upon her arrival on the brand. Charlotte was transferred from Raw to Smackdown during the Superstar Shakeup earlier this year. So far all her attempts to win the Smackdown women’s championship have been thwarted.

    Charlotte had hoped to become the first woman to win titles on Raw and Smackdown. She ended up being beaten to the punch by Alexa Bliss however.

  • Jinder Mahal Comments On The Great Khali’s Return

    Jinder Mahal Comments On The Great Khali’s Return

    WWE Champion, Jinder Mahal, defeated Randy Orton in the 3rd ever Punjabi Prison match to retain his title last night. The creator of the Punjabi Prison match, the Great Khali, returned to the company in dramatic fashion to help secure Jinder’s victory.

    After his win at Battleground, Jinder spoke to WWE.com reporters regarding what having the Great Khali with him means.

    Jinder continued to express his thoughts on Talking Smack:

    Is the Great Khali Back in WWE Full-Time?

    We should know more about Khali’s WWE status in the coming days, but it certainly seems as though he is back in the company on at least a temporary basis.

    Khali is 44 years old, and has had mobility problems due to his enormous size. Since leaving WWE in 2014, Khali has opened his own wrestling school and promotion in India, “Continental Wrestling Entertainment”. WWE recently signed Khali’s student, Kavita Devi, to compete in the Mae Young Classic. Devi is WWE’s first female-born Superstar from India.

  • NJPW G1 Climax 27 Updated Results and Standings

    NJPW G1 Climax 27 Updated Results and Standings

    Day 5 of New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s annual G1 tournament concluded early Sunday morning. Below we have updated results and standings for the tournament thus far.

    Night 1 (A-Block)

    • Yoshi-Hashi defeated Yuji Nagata
    • Bad Luck Fale defeated Togi Makabe
    • Hirooki Goto defeated Tomohiro Ishii
    • Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi
    • Tetsuya Naito defeated Kota Ibushi

    Night 2 (B-Block)

    • Juice Robinson defeated Satoshi Kojima
    • Tama Tonga defeated Michael Elgin
    • Sanada defeated Evil
    • Kazuchika Okada defeated Toru Yano
    • Kenny Omega defeated Minoru Suzuki

    Night 3 (A-Block)

    • Hirooki Goto (4pts) defeated Yuji Nagata (0pts)
    • Tomohiro Ishii (2pts) defeated Togi Makabe (0pts)
    • Kota Ibushi (2pts) defeated Zack Sabre Jr. (2pts)
    • Hiroshi Tanahashi (2pts) defeated Bad Luck Fale (2pts)
    • Tetsuya Naito (4pts) defeated Yoshi-Hashi (2pts)

    Night 4 (B Block)

    • Toru Yano (2pts) defeated Satoshi Kojima (0pts)
    • Evil (2pts) defeated Juice Robinson (2pts)
    • Minoru Suzuki (2pts) defeated Sanada (2pts)
    • Kenny Omega (4pts) defeated Tama Tonga (2pts)
    • Kazuchika Okada (4pts) defeated Michael Elgin (0pts)

    Night 5 (A Block)

    • Zack Sabre Jr (4pts) defeated Yoshi-Hashi (2pts)
    • Hiroshi Tanahashi (4pts) defeated Yuji Nagata (0pts)
    • Bad Luck Fale (4pts) defeated Tetsuya Naito (4pts)
    • Kota Ibushi (4pts) defeated Tomohiro Ishii (2pts)
    • Togi Makabe (2pts) defeated Hirooki Goto (4pts)

    Current Standings

    A Block

    • Hirooki Goto 4pts
    • Tetsuya Naito 4pts
    • Zack Sabre Jr. 4pts
    • Hiroshi Tanahashi 4pts
    • Bad Luck Fale 4pts
    • Tomohiro Ishii 2pts
    • Kota Ibushi 2pts
    • Yoshi-Hashi 2pts
    • Togi Makabe 2pts
    • Yuji Nagata 0pts

    B Block

    • Kazuchika Okada 4pts
    • Kenny Omega 4pts
    • Juice Robinson 2pts
    • Tama Tonga 2pts
    • Minoru Suzuki 2pts
    • EVIL 2pts
    • Sanada 2pts
    • Toru Yano 2pts
    • Satoshi Kojima 0pts
    • Michael Elgin 0pts
  • Jinder Mahal Receives Custom Jersey From Indian Cricket Team

    Jinder Mahal Receives Custom Jersey From Indian Cricket Team

    WWE has been attempting to create an Indian hero out of Jinder Mahal. The current WWE champion was born in Calgary, but has family roots in India.

    Recently WWE sent Indian Premiere League cricket champions, the Mumbai Indians, a WWE championship to honour their 3rd straight title victory. In response, the team sent Jinder Mahal a custom jersey.

    Jinder Mahal’s WWE Championship Reign

    It should be interesting to see how long WWE runs with Jinder as champion. The decision to put the title on him was made with less than a month of pre-planning, so it is unclear how committed they are to their current direction.

    Ticket sales for Sunday’s Battleground event in Philadelphia are not selling well. Jinder’s push however, will most likely be evaluated based on Network subscribers in India, and overall revenue coming out of the country. WWE’s social media numbers are higher in India than in any other country.

  • Chris Jericho and Dave Meltzer Discuss Chris Benoit: 10 Years Later

    Chris Jericho and Dave Meltzer Discuss Chris Benoit: 10 Years Later

    The Chris Benoit murder/suicide tragedy occurred over the weekend of June 22-25 2007. Chris Jericho decided to sit down with Dave Meltzer recently to discuss Benoit’s career.

    The topic of the podcast, for the most part, had little do with the Benoit murder/suicide. Rather Jericho and Meltzer discussed Benoit’s career.

    Chris Jericho and Dave Meltzer on Chris Benoit Highlights

    Chris Jericho On Not Being Able to Talk About Benoit

    “I’ve been wanting to do something like this for awhile, and it was just the 10 year anniversary of Chris Benoit’s death. It’s interesting Dave, obviously because of the horrific circumstances at the end of his life, his career up to that weekend has basically been buried. No one really takes about it.”

    “You don’t want to ever demean or diminish those events, but i want to talk about Chris’s career. The reason for that is a couple of years ago they did another Jericho DVD, it’s the 3rd one they’ve done, and once again you choose the matches. I can’t choose those Benoit matches, nor do I think I’d want to. That’s like half-a-dozen to a dozen of my favourite matches that I ever had. For a lot of people, for all of Chris’ work, it almost feels dirty to watch them if you even can watch them”

    Meltzer on Not Being Able to Talk About Benoit:

    “It’s so hard to talk about it. You would feel guilty if you really talked about… because he was an incredible wrestler obviously. You know that better than almost anyone. But you feel guilty about saying ‘well, he’s a great wrestler” then it’s almost like you’re praising a murderer type of a thing.”

    Jericho and Meltzer went through Benoit’s career over the course of the 2-hour show.
    You can check out the full episode here: https://player.fm/series/talk-is-jericho/benoit-10-years-later

  • WWE Network Adds More 1980s Content

    WWE Network Adds More 1980s Content

    The WWE Network has added 6 new cards to their “Old School” section. All 6 events added took place inside Boston Garden in 1986.

    New Content Listings

    • Boston Garden January 11th 1986
      • Bruno Sammartino & Paul Orndorff vs. Roddy Piper & Bob Orton
    • Boston Garden February 8th 1986
      • Bruno Sammartino vs. Roddy Piper – steel cage
      • Macho Man vs. Tito Santana – IC Title
    • Boston Garden May 24th 1986
      • Macho Man vs. Hulk Hogan – WWE Title
    • Boston Garden June 27th 1986
      • Macho Man vs. Hulk Hogan – WWE Title
    • Boston Garden September 6th 1986
      • British Bulldogs vs. Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff – TT Titles
    • Boston Garden October 4th 1986
      • Macho Man vs. George Steele – IC Title
  • Alexa Bliss Comments On Total Divas, Re-Sizing Title Belts, more…

    Alexa Bliss Comments On Total Divas, Re-Sizing Title Belts, more…

    25-year old Alexa Bliss celebrated her 1 year main roster anniversary on July 19th, having been drafted from NXT to Smackdown on that day last year. In that time she has already become a 3x women’s champion (2x Smackdown, 1x Raw).

    It has been an eventful rookie year for Bliss. She sat down with local Houston media outlet, “Great Day Houston”, recently to speak about her career thus far.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_epseAf3MKE

    Alexa Bliss Interview Highlights

    Why she loves wrestling:

    “It’s such an amazing sport, I watched it growing up and it was never really something I knew I could get into, but once I got the opportunity I knew I had to get on it and I knew I had to try for it. I told my mom, I said, ‘Mom I’m going to try out for WWE.’ Her response was, ‘The heck you are!’ She was like ‘You’re are not doing that!’ So I had to try out without her knowing but know she’s like the biggest supporter and so proud of me.”

    Being on Total Divas:

    “It’s a lot of fun I’m just starting to get into it. They filmed us all in Japan which was really cool, we got to dress up in all these really cool character outfits and it was a lot of fun. It’s really cool, except like, I myself am a very private person and I’m not as mean as I appear to be. But its been a lot of fun and its been really cool to see how everything works. I just feel bad cause sometimes they as me ‘What are you doing this week?’ And I’m like ‘I’m sitting at home with my dogs watching Netflix, what are you doing?’”

    Advice to those wishing to get into the business:

    “I would say wrestling gives you confidence, it gives you strength, it helps you learn discipline, and to know that you have to love the process and respect the process, and if you just keep going you can accomplish anything.”

    On needing the Championship re-sized:

    “This is the RAW Women’s Championship. What’s funny is – this is a little backstage information – the championship had to be shortened for me because it was so big on me, they actually had to take off size to let it fit me. But that’s why I’m ‘Five Feet Of Fury.’”

    Translations courtesy of WrestlingInc, Interview via Great Day Houston

  • Mattel and WWE Announce New Action Figures Aimed At Girls (but anyone can play with them)

    Mattel and WWE Announce New Action Figures Aimed At Girls (but anyone can play with them)

    WWE has announced a new line of toys geared towards a young female audience. The Barbie-esque dolls, according to Stephanie McMahon, are part of the company’s ongoing women’s evolution.

    Strong Female Role Models

    “We know girls expect to see empowered characters in the toy aisle,” stated Lori Pantel from Mattel

    “The WWE fashion dolls offer a unique play experience that allow girls to re-create the in-ring action with a doll that was designed to appeal to them.”

    “There’s this movement towards women’s athletics,” stated Stephanie McMahon

    “We are noticing the interest of girls more and more.”

    Meanwhile, additional action figures were announced today, including one for James Ellsworth: