SEScoops

Author: Chris Stephens

  • NXT Highlights: Gargano Returns, Bobby Fish Debuts, more…

    NXT Highlights: Gargano Returns, Bobby Fish Debuts, more…

    Last night’s episode of NXT featured the return of Johnny Gargano. It was the first time the WWE Universe had a chance to hear from Gargano since being turned on by former tag team partner, Tommaso Ciampa.

    The episode also featured the Authors of Pain defending their tag titles against Heavy Machinery.

    NXT
    July 12th 2017
    Full Sail University

    1. Aleister Black vs. Bobby Fish

    • No Highlights of this match were uploaded by WWE, though a post-match interview with Bobby Fish was.
    • Fish provided the most challenge for Black thus far, but in the end the dutch kickboxer hit his roundhouse head kick and picked up the win over the former ROH TV champion.

    Winner: Aleister Black

    2. Mae Young Classic Qualifying Match
    Vanessa Borne vs. Jayme Hachey

    • The Mae Young Classic gets going later today from Full Sail University. At 630pm all of the participants, including the winner of this match, will be announced on WWE’s Facebook page.
    • Vanessa Borne picked up the win to move onto the MYC.

    Winner: Vanessa Borne

    Johnny Gargano Segment

    • Johnny Gargano talked about the shock and disappointment he felt at Takeover: Chicago, when he was attacked by former teammate, Tommaso Ciampa.
    • Gargano also mentioned he wants to compete at Takeover: Brooklyn, and he’s going back to being Johnny Wrestling again.

    3. NXT Tag Team Championship Match
    the Authors of Pain (c) vs. Heavy Machinery

    • The Authors of Pain came up victorious in what was built up as the largest (in total size) match in NXT history.
    • After the match however, members of Sanity appeared no on the stage and cackled as pieces of the Authors of Pain’s book fell from the ceiling.
    • The commentators speculated that this was all a ploy by Sanity’s leader, Eric Young.

    Winners: Authors of Pain (retain titles)

  • Becky Lynch and Elite Level UFC Fighter Challenge Each Other

    Becky Lynch and Elite Level UFC Fighter Challenge Each Other

    Conor McGregor may not be the only athlete from Ireland looking for a big time fight this summer. Former Smackdown women’s champion, Becky Lynch, has had some choice words for Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino lately.

    For those of you unfamiliar, Cyborg is arguably the most dominant female athlete in the history of MMA. She has been dogged by a previous drug test failure, and continued allegations of steroid use however.

    Becky Lynch and Cyborg on Twitter

    Whether this conflict between Cyborg and Becky was staged or not is currently unclear.

  • Sami Zayn Lauches “Sami 4 Syria” Project

    Sami Zayn Lauches “Sami 4 Syria” Project

    Sami Zayn’s real name is Rami Sebei. He was born in Laval, Quebec Canada, the son of Syrian immigrants who moved to Canada in the 1970s.

    He grew up Muslim and speaks fluent Arabic, French and English. Zayn has spoken before of wanting to use his WWE fame as a way to dispel myths about muslims.

    Yesterday he launched his “Sami for Syria” program, aimed at raising money for medical clinics in the war-torn country.

    Syrian American Medical Society

    “SAMS’s mission is to save lives and alleviate suffering. SAMS is one of the most active and trusted medical organization working inside Syria.

    In Syria, SAMS operates over 100 medical facilities that provide general and specialized medical care for Syrians in need. Programs range from primary care to more specialized treatment, such as our GI endoscopy program, in order to provide effective and needs-based healthcare in Syria. SAMS proudly supports medical programs in eight governorates. To learn more about our work in Syria, please visit the Medical Relief Work page.

    “The Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) is a nonpolitical, nonprofit medical relief organization that is working on the front lines of crisis relief in Syria and neighboring countries to alleviate suffering and save lives. SAMS proudly provides medical care and treatment to every patient in need.”

    more information about the Syrian Medical Society can be found here.

  • Jim Ross: I Need To Prove Myself To New Fans

    Jim Ross: I Need To Prove Myself To New Fans

    Jim Ross recently appeared on the “2 Man Power Trip of Wrestling” podcast, and spoke at length about several issues. One of which was the recent criticism he faced following NJPW’s G1 Special shows in Los Angeles.

    Jim Ross Interview Highlights

    On wanting to rove himself, despite his accomplishments:

    “I am competitive, I’ve always been competitive. When you come up in the business like I did and you get in the business like I did where you are not somebody’s relative, you are not related, you are not a shooter, you are not a world class athlete, etc etc and complete cold turkey getting in the back door working for Bill Watts and Leroy McGuirk at 22. I wasn’t supposed to stay long. I thought I’d have a summer time job and have some great stories to tell my wrestling fan buddies when I went back to school in the fall and that is how it would be. Well, forty years later I am still waiting to go back to that one more semester of college and I’m not sure that I’m not still going to do that one day but this has lasted so much longer than I ever dreamed and I’ve had a dream career but I wasn’t supposed to make it. Unfortunately for me, I still believe that I have to prove myself everyday. Every broadcast you have got to prove yourself. Today’s audience that didn’t hear my work in the 80s or in the 90s in the Attitude Era and the 2000s, they are young, they are defiant, they are millennials, they have a little different mindset and they don’t know my history and so I have to prove myself to them that I am worthy of them investing their time to listen to my broadcasts and I don’t have a problem with that. I am a Hall of Famer, in fact I am in three Halls of Fame so who cares for the young fans that don’t give a damn. They just give a damn about themselves and what they are hearing now. What can you do for me now? What have you done for me lately? I’ve got no problem with those rules and I know the rules going in and I am happy to play the game that way.”  
     

    On the NJPW G1 Special shows in Los Angeles: 

    “It was a good weekend for me and I would have liked to not been called out on the carpet by the fans about a couple of boo-boos that I made but you are doing live TV and there is no net, you live with what you say, you do the best you can and hopefully you get better next time. I’ve been doing this a long time and I’ve never called a perfect match ever and my best work has yet to be recorded. That is how I approach every job.”
     
    “You can’t rest on your laurels and I can’t stay in a comfort zone and you want to get better all the time so I wish that some of that had been better but I think that is what you get when you have a crew that is out manned and you’ve got not a lot of experience and you will just have one of those deals. I like this; I like that fact that everything you heard was real, everything you heard if it was a mistake or fumble was real and it wasn’t packaged or rehearsed. We rehearsed nothing and I love that part, we did it live just like we would do a ball game. I had no idea who was going to win any of the matches, didn’t talk to anyone from New Japan and neither did Josh about what was going on with the creative that night and didn’t want to know. Somebody told us that the New Japan people didn’t want us in the locker room and they aren’t going to tell us about the creative. That was cool with me and I would have preferred not to know what the creative was going to be. Why do I need to know the creative? It makes it more of a work, makes it more of a “show biz” presentation. If we are doing great athleticism than that is enough show business for me.” 

    On returning to WWE: 

    “I had never stopped communicating with WWE and the WWE had never stopped communicating with me. Basically, I was in contact with Vince regularly because we are friends and are still friends and if I saw something on TV that I liked than I might send him a text. Kevin Dunn and I are friends from OU football because he is an OU football fan and a lot of people don’t know that so that was always our link. Triple H was a guy that I signed and he’s done pretty well for himself like a lot of guys that we were fortunate enough to get under contract and I had just moved on because they didn’t have a spot for me at that point in time and I thought that was cool because I had plenty of work to do. I really reinvented myself and I had plenty of projects to work on. My wife (God bless her) wanted me to go back to the “home team” as she called it.”
     

    How did his WWE return materialize: 

    “Kevin Dunn and working through Vince was very instrumental in me coming back. It was the Friday night before WrestleMania and this was a week after my wife got killed that I signed my contract. They were negotiating with my manager Barry Bloom (who represents a lot of guys like Goldberg, Jericho and Foley I think) but we got a deal done and I signed the contract on Friday night, got it notarized and I think it was on Saturday before WrestleMania that I heard Vince wanted me to work a match.”
    “I went there on Saturday and found out they wanted me to work the Undertaker’s match and by the way it is going on last. I was very honored that Vince had picked me to call that match with Cole and JBL and it was a great way to get put back on the team and we kept it under wraps as best we could because there are so many leaks and guys calling me asking if I can give them a story and can you give me the scoop and it got to be ridiculous. The wrestling websites and guys that have podcasts would say that I’ve got to have a story and what is the deal. I didn’t answer those calls and didn’t want to feed that monster. Let somebody else feed it because I know there are plenty of other guys that love to do that but it wouldn’t be me. The whole thing was a good healthy negotiation and the biggest aspect of the negotiations believe it or not was not the money because WWE stepped up big time on the money but it was my other obligations that I had on going like my Fox Sports contract, my AXS TV contract and my book was in the process of being written. Those were the business issues that needed to be worked through and they were. They were all satisfied to everybody’s level of comfort.”

    What is his future outside of WWE looking like and does he have to be exclusive to WWE:

    “With social media like it is and everybody sensibilities like they are, the last thing I want to do is overstay my welcome and be an embarrassment to my body of work. I am not going to let that happen. I plan on being a WWE guy for the duration and in a perfect world and if I was allowed to do it and I don’t know that I am not or I am, I would love to be able to continue my AXS TV work because I think it keeps me sharp, allows me to call a lot of matches, it is a couple of days a month in L.A. (which is not a bad place to hang out) and I hope I can continue to do both. But the WWE is always going to be in my professional life and personal life quite frankly.”
  • 205 Live Highlights: I Quit Match, Alicia Fox Dumped Again

    205 Live Highlights: I Quit Match, Alicia Fox Dumped Again

    It was an eventful night in 205 Live last night. The show aired from the At&T centre in San Antonio. The main event featured an “I Quit Match” between Noam Dar and Cedric Alexander.

    205 Live
    July 12th 2017
    AT&T Centre

    • The show opened with Tozawa speaking to Titus O’Neil (who was on speaker phone).
    • Titus told him he will get a rematch for the cruiserweight title.
    • Daivari came in and cut a really good promo somewhat out of the blue, about how prestigious wrestling is in Iran.
    • He also lets Tozawa know they have a match later tonight.

    1. Akira Tozawa vs. Ariya Daivari

    • Once Tozawa gained the upper hand in this match, Neville hit the ring and attacked him.
    • Neville put Tozawa in the Rings of Saturn as we build towards a rematch between the two.

    Winner: No Contest (match thrown out after interference from Neville)

    • Highlights are shown of Drew Gulak attempting, and missing, a high flying move against Mustafa Ali last week.
    • Gulak cuts a backstage promo, similar to a politician giving an apology for some scandal. He admits he “…dove”.
    • He then challenged Mustafa Ali to another match next week to determine once and for all whose approach to wrestling is better. It will be a 2-out-of-3 falls match.

    2. Rich Swann vs. Mario Connors

    • Before the match could get started, TJP’s 8-bit music begins to play, and he walked to ringside.
    • TJP definitely had heel mannerisms while walking to the ring area.
    • Swann picked up the victory with the Phoenix Splash as TJP watched on.

    Winner: Rich Swann

    • TJP got in the ring after and told Swann he could beat the guy in half the time. Then he decided he was going to wrestle Mario as well.
    • He also asked that Swann’s time to beat Mario be put on the screen so he can try and beat it.

    3. TJP vs. Mario Connors

    • TJP only needed 28 seconds to beat Mario with the Detonation Kick.
    • Swann watched on.

    Winner: TJP

    • Brian Kendrick came dressed up as Jack Gallagher.
    • Kendrick doesn’t like that Gallagher is turning wrestling into something cartoonish.
    • He called Gallagher a “2nd rate William Regal”.
    • This brought out Gallagher who said he was a “1st rate Jack Gallagher”.
    • Kendrick ended the segment by beating up Gallagher with the umbrella.

    4. I Quit Match
    Noam Dar vs. Cedric Alexander

    • I wonder if after this Cedric Alexander really will be done with Noam Dar and Alicia Fox. It seems likely, but this angle has found a way to seemingly never die.
    • Alexander picked up the victory after wrapping Noam’s arm in a chair and repeatedly stomping on it until he quit.

    Winner: Cedric Alexander

    • After the match Cedric Alexander got on the mic and told Alicia Fox that he also quit her. This led the crowd to chant “yes! yes!”.
    • He said he was never really into her.
    • Noam said that at 23 he was the youngest member of the roster, and he is a world class athlete. Says he has a woman in every city and ever continent and was just using Alicia Fox.
    • Said Alicia Fox has become more trouble than she’s worth and that she means nothing to him.
    • Cameras focussed on a teary-eyed Alicia Fox to close the show.
  • NXT Preview: Gargano Returns, Tag Team Championship Match

    NXT Preview: Gargano Returns, Tag Team Championship Match

    NXT tonight is a taped show from Full Sail University. The episode will feature the return of Johnny Gargano to NXT for the first time since his partner, Tommaso Ciampa, turned on him at Takeover: Chicago.

    Tonight’s show will also feature an NXT tag team championship match between the Authors of Pain (c) and Heavy Machinery.

    NXT Announced Segements

    WWE.com previewing the NXT tag-team championship match:

    “The Authors of Pain have built their NXT Tag Team Championship reign upon a foundation of brute force and physical dominance. However, against Heavy Machinery — AOP’s newly confirmed challengers tonight on NXT — Paul Ellering’s menacing monsters, for once, find themselves against opponents who can more than match their immensity.”

    WWE.com Previewing Johnny Gargano’s NXT return:

    “It’s been more than seven weeks since Johnny Gargano’s life was turned upside-down.

    Johnny Wrestling never saw it coming when he was ruthlessly attacked by his best friend and tag team partner, Tommaso Ciampa. Just moments after Gargano & Ciampa fought valiantly for the NXT Tag Team Championship against The Authors of Pain in a Ladder Match, Ciampa viciously assaulted his #DIY partner, causing the beloved Gargano to be wheeled out of Chicago’s Allstate Arena in a stretcher and into an ambulance as the NXT Universe looked on in utter shock.

    Tonight will be the first time the NXT Universe sees Gargano since the brutal assault. What kind of shape will Gargano be in, physically and mentally? Has he completely healed?

    Plus, how will the betrayed former #DIY member respond to Ciampa’s explanation and rationalization for his callous actions? See what Gargano has in store for NXT and Ciampa when he returns tonight at 8/7C on the award-winning WWE Network.”

  • 4 More Names Confirmed For Mae Young Classic, Madusa Joins Commentary Team

    4 More Names Confirmed For Mae Young Classic, Madusa Joins Commentary Team

    The Mae Young Classic begins taping tomorrow from Full Sail University. WWE plans on introducing all 32 participants tomorrow in a live Facebook stream.

    It has also been announced that Madusa will be joining Jim Ross and Lita at the commentary booth for the tournament.

    Recently Announced Mae Young Classic Participants:

    • Rachel Ellering
      • Trained by Lance Storm
      • 24 year old daughter of Paul Ellering.
      • Wrestled in NXT and TNA, mainly as enhancement talent.
    • Shayna Baszler
      • 4 Horsewomen of MMA member (she’s the Arn)
      • Been tearing it up on the independents for the last year.
      • Received a tryout in 2016, hard to believe WWE hasn’t signed her considering how badly they want Ronda Rousey
    • Mercedes Martinez
      • Current Shimmer champion.
      • Longtime veteran, highly touted.
      • 36 years old.
    • Ayesha Ray
      • 27 year old from London, England.
      • Trained by Ricky and Saraya Knight.
      • Wrestled with Stardom.
      • Over 6 feet tall.

    Previously announced participants:

    1. Lacey Evans
      • Lacey has been in NXT since the fall. She tours the house show circuit. She’s appeared on 4 episodes of NXT. Losing a battle royals, 2 singles matches and a tag match for an 0-4 record.
    2. Sarah Logan
      • Well known on the indy scene as “Crazy” Mary Dobson.
    3. Toni Storm
      • 21 year old can’t miss prospect from New Zealand. Current Progress Women’s champion.
    4. Princesa Sugehit
      • 37 year old veteran from Mexico.
      • Been wrestling in CMLL since 2005.
    5. Kavita Devi
      • Recently signed out of Great Khali’s school in India.
      • WWE’s first female Indian born superstar.
      • Powerlifter.
    6. Taynara Conti
      • Brazilian superstar with a martial arts background.
      • Been on the NXT house show circuit since May.
    7. Abbey Laith
      • Known on the indy scene as Kimber Lee.
      • Made her NXT TV debut in April, losing a squash to Ruby Riot.
    8. Tessa Blanchard
      • Amazing WWE hasn’t locked her up. Daughter of Tully Blanchard, step-daughter of Magnum TA.
      • Only 21, but has seemingly been wrestling non-stop since debuting in 2014.
    9. Jazzy Gabert
      • Known as Alpha Female on the indies.
      • 35 year old, 6ft 1 and 185lbs.
      • From Germany.
    10. Dakota Kai
      • 29 year old, formerly known as Evie.
      • Wrestled for Shine and Shimmer.
      • Signed with WWE last winter.
      • From New Zealand.
    11. Kairi Sane
      • Formerly known as Kairi Hojo.
      • 6 year pro from the Stardom promotion.
      • Very highly touted.
    12. Piper Niven
      • Formerly known as Viper.
      • 26 years old from Scotland.
      • Wrestled with ICW, WCPW
    13. Bianca BelAir
      • Crossfit enthusiast signed by WWE last year.
      • Appeared in NXT sparingly.
      • Wrestles on the NXT house show circuit.
    14. Rhea Ripley
      • Australian wrestler formerly known as Demi Bennett,
      • Recently signed a WWE contract.
      • MYC will be her debut with the company.
    15. Sage Beckett
      • Wrestled as Rosie Lottalove in TNA
      • 10 year veteran
      • Trained by the Dudleys
    16. Vanessa Borne
      • Only been wrestling for 1.5 years
      • Trained by Rikishi and Gangrel
      • Signed a contract just months into training.
      • Former NFL and NBA cheerleader and presenter for Fox Sports.

     

     

     

  • Matches Announced For Lucha Underground Tonight

    Matches Announced For Lucha Underground Tonight

    The 2nd round of the Cueto Cup begins tonight on Lucha Underground. The promotion is building towards the final night of the tournament, which will also feature a Lucha Underground championship match between champion, Johnny Mundo, and Rey Mysterio Jr.

    The winner of the Cueto Cup will meet the winner of Mundo vs. Mysterio in the main event of Ultima Lucha III.

    Matches Announced for Lucha Underground Tonight

    • Marty “the Moth” Martinez vs. Fenix – Cueto Cup (2nd round)
    • Taya (World Wide Underground) vs. Jeremiah Crane
      • Keep in mind that Crane has been making “advances” towards Catrina, and assaulted Mil Muertes in the back last week.
    • Paul London (Rabbit Tribe) vs. Mil Muertes
      • Is Muertes healed up enough to even wrestle this match?
  • Finn Balor Speaks on Teaming with the Hardyz, Bullet Club in WWE, more…

    Finn Balor Speaks on Teaming with the Hardyz, Bullet Club in WWE, more…

    Don’t expect a Club or Bullet Club reformation in WWE anytime soon, or at least not one involving Finn Balor. The 35 year old sat down with Sports Illustrated recently, and referred to a Bullet Club reformation in WWE as “regressing”.

    He does however, hint at possibly forming a team with the Hardys.

    skip to 17:25 of the video below or scroll beneath for highlights:

    Finn Balor Interview Highlights

    On a Bullet Club reformation in WWE:

    “You know, for us as a group, especially myself and Karl, you know, two of the original members, that was you know, very, it was very much like a moment in time,”

    “You know, to kind of like reform that now would be kind of like regressing like in our careers, maybe, so to speak. Maybe going forward in the future that could be a possibility but right now I think we’re both, you know, pretty happy doing our own thing.

    On a Potential Stable with the Hardy Boyz:

    “I was a huge fan of Team Xteme as a kid, growing up in my teenage years. To get the opportunity to tag with those guys and be around and learn from them has been a great experience.

    Are we going to be a team? Maybe.”

    On Kazuchika Okada Visiting RAW, and Potentially Signing With WWE:

    “I don’t know about anytime soon. Possibly, you know, in the distant future,”

    “I’m sure, you know, as you say, anything can happen. And nobody thought Finn Balor would be in the WWE. Here I am.”

    “True, Okada was backstage at RAW. He was backstage at SmackDown but it’s because he has a lot of friends there,”

    “Myself, Karl Anderson, Shinsuke Nakamura, I think he was just visiting friends so I wouldn’t read too much into that.”

    transcripts courtesy of WrestlingInc

  • Baron Corbin Gives Kid His Shirt, Denies Being A Good Guy

    Baron Corbin Gives Kid His Shirt, Denies Being A Good Guy

    After Smackdown and 205 Live last night, Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Baron Corbin in a dark match.

    Video of Corbin appearing to console an upset young fan after the match was posted earlier this morning:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNqObfrzE30

    Did Corbin Break Character?

    If Baron Corbin broke character upon seeing the young fan upset, he was back in character later on social media. According to Corbin, he is related to the youngster, and would not do anything similar for kids he doesn’t know.

    The 32-year old Corbin is a former Golden Gloves boxing champion, and attended pre-season camps with the both the Indianapolis Colts and Arizona Cardinals. He was signed to a WWE contract in August of 2012.

    Since debuting on the main roster, Baron Corbin has already won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, and the Money in the Bank briefcase.

  • Tye Dillinger vs. Jinder Mahal Announced for Smackdown

    Tye Dillinger vs. Jinder Mahal Announced for Smackdown

    WWE.com announced a new match for Smackdown Live! tonight from San Antonio. Tye Dillinger will take on WWE champion, Jinder Mahal, in a non-title match.

    Last week on Smackdown, it was Jinder’s Battleground opponent, Randy Orton, who was in singles action against Aiden English.

    Preview of Dillinger vs. Mahal

    WWE.com posted the following regarding tonight’s match between Jinder Mahal and Tye Dillinger:

    “As one of the final three competitors in last week’s special Fourth of July Battle Royal, Tye Dillinger was so impressive that he has now been granted arguably the biggest opportunity of his career tonight – a non-title contest against WWE Champion Jinder Mahal.

    However, while The Perfect 10 has proven that he can handl

  • Witness: Paige Called Alberto “Abusive”, said he “Ruined Her Career”

    Witness: Paige Called Alberto “Abusive”, said he “Ruined Her Career”

    The bystander/witness of the Alberto and Paige incident on Sunday gave her side of the story to reporters this morning. She has chosen to remain anonymous.

    Witness Statements on Alberto and Paige Domestic Battery Incident

    “They were arguing back and forth, screaming at each other,” stated the witness, who also described herself as a wrestling “superfan”.

    She also stated that Paige screamed at Del Rios that he had been “doing coke for two-days straight” and said “You’re so abusive to me”

    “He was soaked and she was saying, ‘You’re such an abusive husband, I hate you. You’ve ruined my life, you’ve ruined my career,’” the witness continued.

    As Paige was trying to flee from Alberto, he said out loud in the airport, “Check her bag, she’s got all the coke in it, it’s all hers,” the witness claims.

    She also stated that Del Rios wanted to call the cops on Paige for assaulting him.

    The full report can be read here. 

  • WWE Releases Statement On Braun Strowman’s Condition

    WWE Releases Statement On Braun Strowman’s Condition

    Last anyone saw Braun Strowman he was limping away from the scene of a serious accident. Fans were told he refused medical attention and hasn’t been seen since.

    WWE.com has since posted an update regarding Strowman’s whereabouts and condition.

    WWE Statement on Braun Strowman’s Condition

    “While Raw General Manager Kurt Angle provided an update on Braun Strowman’s condition following the post-Ambulance Match attack from Roman Reigns at WWE Great Balls of Fire, WWE.com has obtained additional details on The Monster Among Men’s condition.

    While Strowman miraculously walked out of Dallas under his own power after refusing medical attention, WWE.com can confirm that he is currently in the care of his personal physician and will not disclose the nature of his injuries at this time. Also, per Angle’s office, if and when Strowman is cleared to compete again, there will be a public announcement confirming his status.”

  • Smackdown Preview: New Face of America

    Smackdown Preview: New Face of America

    Smackdown Live! will air from the AT&T Centre in San Antonio tonight. No matches have been announced for the show (Edit: Tye Dillinger vs. Jinder Mahal, and Xavier Woods vs. Jey Uso have now been made official), but several storylines should continue to develop.

    Tonight’s show will be the first televised event for the brand since AJ Styles won the US championship in Madison Square Garden on July 7th.

    Smackdown Preview

    WWE posted the following regarding a future rematch between Styles and Owens:

    “There is no doubt that Owens will return to Team Blue thirsty for retribution, but will we see a rematch between Styles and The New Face of America this week on the blue brand? Or will we have to wait until the July 23 pay-per-view? ”

    It seems likely we get an answer to that question tonight.

    Other storylines likely to be followed up on tonight:

    • Baron Corbin attacked Shinsuke Nakamura in the back last week. Perhaps this will set up a match between the two at Battleground.
    • Last week Daniel Bryan fined James Ellsworth $10,000 and suspended him 30 days. Now Carmella must go it alone without Ellsworth’s help.
    • Last week Tamina came out to help Lana, after the Ravishing Russian lost yet another title match to Naomi. What could be building there? There have been no women’s matches announced for Battleground yet.
    • New Day won a Rap battle with the Usos last week. It is now official the two teams will meet again for the titles at Battleground. New Day defeated the Usos at MITB via count-out.
    • Jinder Mahal and Randy Orton meet in a Punjabi Prison match in 2 weeks for the WWE championship. Last week Jinder attacked Orton after his match with Aiden English (which Aiden won via DQ).
    • In 2 weeks Rusev will meet John Cena in a flag match at Battleground. Cena’s return spiked a big rating for Smackdown last week.

    Matches Announced for Battleground So Far:

    • John Cena vs. Rusev – Flag Match
    • Jinder Mahal (c) vs. Randy Orton – Punjabi Prison Match for the WWE Championship
    • The Usos (c) vs. New Day – Smackdown Tag Team Championship Match
  • Alexa Bliss Comments on “This is Your Life” Segment, Boring Chants, more…

    Alexa Bliss Comments on “This is Your Life” Segment, Boring Chants, more…

    Alexa Bliss appeared on the Sam Roberts wrestling podcast recently and speak on the epic year she has had on the main roster. Bliss was drafted to Smackdown from NXT last year during the brand-extension draft, where she surprised many by winning the women’s championship.

    After being drafted to Raw in the Superstar shakeup, Bliss won the Raw women’s championship, this time by defeating Bayley.

    Alexa Bliss on Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast

    On how she handled the “What” chants:

    “They said, ‘what, what, what’ so loud and so many times that I legit got hot and I was like, ‘I swear to God, if you say, ‘what’ one more time,’ and that wasn’t the best way to handle it. So after that, I was like, ‘okay, I need to think of other ways to shut that down’ because that didn’t work and it made me legit really mad. And I was like, ‘okay, if they’re going to try to fit it in, I’m not going to let them fit it in and if they’re really trying to, I’m just going to turn it around on them.’ So one of them was, ‘Alexa Bliss is the best say, ‘what” and then, one of them, I was talking about Bayley in the kendo stick-on-a-pole-match, and they were like, ‘what?’ and I was like, ‘I know, right?’”

    On the “This is Your Life” Segment:

    “Going into it, I don’t know – I didn’t really have any opinion on it whether it would be bad or good. I was just really excited to have fun with it and throw the little dolls and trophies off the table and just kind of make fun of Bayley in the best way I could.”

    “When the crowd started chanting, like, ‘boring’ and stuff like that, I remember playing with the people’s names, just kind of, like, I called Mrs. Flapper, Flaps McGaps and stuff like that. And I was just trying to lighten the mood a little bit and I was like messing with the other actors.” Bliss added, “when it’s slowly dying, you’ve got to try to pick it up in any way that you can, so I was like, ‘do you know what? If this is going to go down, I’m going to have fun with it while it’s going down.’ While it was deemed the worst segment in RAW history, I feel like it could have gone a lot worse, okay? Okay? It wasn’t that bad!”

    On D-Von’s Advice For Going Through a Table:

    “For the tables match, we did ask D-Von Dudley if he had any suggestions or any ideas of how we can even do this because I told him, ‘I haven’t even been through a table!’ Like, ‘how do I go through a table?’ And he was like, ‘just breathe out.’ And I was like, ‘oh, okay.’”

    transcription courtesy of WrestlingInc

  • Paige’s Brother Posts an Emotional Plea To His Sister

    Paige’s Brother Posts an Emotional Plea To His Sister

    Zak Bevis, older brother of WWE Superstar Paige (Saraya Jade Bevis), has taken to Facebook to issue an emotional plea to his sister regarding her volatile relationship with Alberto El Patron. Zak accuses “control freak” Alberto of beating Paige. He’s concerned she will end up like Whitney Houston or Amy Winehouse, two celebrities whose lives were cut short due to drugs. He says the message is on behalf of his entire family.

    “Please share this, I want the world to know that i care about my lil sister.”

    Zak Bevis Facebook Post

    “I’ve got too say I’m very worried about my sister, Please keep a eye on her, she had one Prick Known as brad Maddox who took advantage of an 18 year old girl. Physically and mentally abused her. And now she’s with a control freak who think he’s a tough guy cause he’s beats my sister and has money too cover his tracks..I love my sister she will end up like Whitney Houston or Amy Winehouse ….please share this,,I want the world to know that i care about my lil sister…..everyone keep an eye on her …you’ll be argry at me but I love you, I’m writing this on behalf of all the Knights.”

    Zak’s Facebook page can be followed here.

  • Matt Hardy, Mick Foley Comment on Dixie Carter on WWE 24

    Matt Hardy, Mick Foley Comment on Dixie Carter on WWE 24

    Kurt Angle’s episode of WWE 24, set to premiere after tonight’s Raw, features an interview with former TNA owner, Dixie Carter. Considering that Carter was a key figure for much of Angle’s career, her perspective on Angle’s career should be interesting.

    Matt Hardy and Dixie Carter

    Matt Hardy and Dixie exchanged a few posts through social media recently. Matt had sent out a tweet about AJ Styles winning the US championship and Dixie responded to him and AJ:

    Mick Foley Comments

    Mick Foley, who also had a run in TNA, posted the following on his Facebook page regarding Dixie Carter appearing on WWE programming:

    “DIXIE CARTER ON WWE TV – this makes me happy!

    Yes, I am very happy that Dixie Carter will be appearing Monday night, after WWE Raw on the WWE Network special on Kurt Angle. Dixie did a lot for wrestling, a lot for Kurt and so many wrestlers – and in my opinion, her contributions to the wrestling business have been largely overlooked or greatly underestimated.

    I have heard most of the criticisms before. I was personally critical of Dixie and TNA on several occasions when I worked there – and have poked a little good-natured fun at them from time to time since leaving. But, with the benefit of hindsight, I came to see how fortunate I was to have had Dixie Carter in my life – and how fortunate professional wrestling was to have had her in our business.

    For the past few years, I wanted to write an article, “It’s a Wonderful Life, Dixie Carter”, where – in the spirit of the classic Jimmy Stewart movie – I would try to imagine the wrestling landscape had Dixie not been part of our world. I never quite got around to it. So instead, I wrote her a hand-written letter last month, expressing both my appreciation for what she had done for professional wrestling, and my gratefulness for having had the opportunity to work for her. But, try if you can to imagine the landscape of professional wrestling has she chosen not to become part of it in 2002. It almost certainly would look much bleaker than it does today. I didn’t always agree with Dixie’s decisions, but she was a good boss, a good person and a blessing to our business. I’m proud to call her a friend – and happy that she will be appearing on WWE TV.

    If you could do me a small favor, try to fight that strong urge to say something negative – and perhaps think about sharing a nice thought about Dixie or TNA in the comments.”

  • WWE Network Adds More Content, ECW, New Collections, more…

    WWE Network Adds More Content, ECW, New Collections, more…

    New content has been added to the WWE Network recently.

    The streaming service has begun rolling out episodes of WWE’s ECW relaunch. The first 143 episodes are now available (although you still have to search for them on some devices), with the remaining episodes to be added later.

    Other New Content on the Network

    Additionally WWE added 2 new collections:

    • Piper’s Pit: Born to Controversy”
      • over 30 videos of Roddy Piper’s famous interview section.
    • Razor Ramon: Oozing Machismo
      • 29 videos of Razor Ramon in WWE. Does not contain Scott Hall matches.
  • RAW Championship Title Statistics for 2017

    RAW Championship Title Statistics for 2017

    There were 5 championship matches at the Great Balls of Fire PPV last night, and all 5 titles were successfully retained. In the case of the Raw women’s championship however, Alexa Bliss only retained after being counted-out, but all the same.

    Raw Championship Title Defences in 2017
    (doesn’t include house shows)

    Universal Championship 2017 Title Defences

    • Royal Rumble 2017: Kevin Owens (c) defeats Roman Reigns (via interference from Braun Strowman)
    • RAW January 30th 2017: Kevin Owens (c) defeats Braun Strowman (via interference from Roman Reigns)
    • Fastlane 2017: Goldberg defeats Kevin Owens to win the Universal Championship
    • WrestleMania 33: Brock Lesnar defeats Goldberg to win the Universal Championship
    • Great Balls of Fire 2017: Brock Lesnar (c) defeats Samoa Joe

    Raw Women’s Championship 2017 Title Defences

    • Royal Rumble 2017: Charlotte Flair (c) defeated Bayley
    • RAW February 13th 2017: Bayley defeated Charlotte Flair to win the championship
    • Fastlane 2017: Bayley (c) defeated Charlotte Flair
    • WrestleMania 32: Bayley (c) defeated Charlotte Flair, Nia Jax, and Sasha Banks
    • Payback 2017: Alexa Bliss defeated Bayley to win the championship
    • Extreme Rules 2017: Alexa Bliss (c) defeated Bayley in a Kendo Stick on a Pole match
    • Raw June 5th 2017: Alexa Bliss (c) defeated Nia Jax via DQ
    • Great Balls of Fire 2017: Sasha Banks defeated Alexa Bliss (c) via count-out (Bliss retains)

    Raw Tag-Team Championships 2017 Title Defences

    • Raw January 16th 2017: the Club defeated Cesaro & Sheamus (c) via DQ
    • Royal Rumble 2017: the Club defeated Cesaro & Sheamus to win the championships
    • Raw February 6th: the Club (c) defeated Cesaro & Sheamus via DQ
    • Fastlane 2017: the Club (c) defeated Enzo and Cass
    • Raw March 6th: the Club (c) defeated Enzo and Cass via DQ
    • WrestleMania 33: the Hardy Boyz defeated Enzo and Cass, Cesaro & Sheamus, and the Club to win the championships.
    • Raw April 3rd: the Hardy Boyz (c) defeated the Club
    • Payback 2017: the Hardy Boyz (c) defeated Cesaro & Sheamus
    • Extreme Rules 2017: Sheamus & Cesaro defeated the Hardy Boyz to win the championships in a steel cage match.
    • Raw June 12th: Sheamus & Cesaro (c) defeated the Hardy Boyz in a Best-2-of-3 falls match
    • Great Balls of Fire 2017: Sheamus & Cesaro (c) defeated the Hardy Boyz in an Iron Man Match.

    Intercontinental Championship 2017 Title Defences

    • SD January 3rd: Dean Ambrose defeated the Miz to win the championship
    • SD January 24th: Dean Ambrose (c) defeated the Miz in a lumberjack match
    • WrestleMania 33 Kickoff show: Dean Ambrose (c) defeated Baron Corbin
    • Raw May 15th: The Miz defeated Dean Ambrose (c) via DQ
    • Extreme Rules 2017: The Miz defeated Dean Ambrose to win the championship
    • July 3rd: the Miz (c) defeated Heath Slater
    • Great Balls of Fire 2017: the Miz (c) defeated Dean Ambrose
  • Paul Heyman Reacts to Samoa Joe vs. Brock Lesnar

    Paul Heyman Reacts to Samoa Joe vs. Brock Lesnar

    Brock Lesnar and Samoa Joe tore the house down in the main event of Sunday’s Great Balls of Fire pay-per-view. Lesnar retained the WWE Universal Championship after a hard hitting match that will only strengthen Samoa Joe’s spot in the upper echelon of WWE.

    Fans are giving the match rave reviews and friend of the site Sean Ross Sapp notes that Brock Lesnar was said to be “really, really happy” with how the match went.

    Paul Heyman’s Reaction to Lesnar vs. Joe 

    Paul Heyman posted the following early this morning:

     

  • The Bullet Club Invades Hot Topic (Video)

    The Bullet Club Invades Hot Topic (Video)

    The Bullet Club invaded a Hot Topic during on the latest episode of “Being the Elite.”

    Buy Bullet Club Merch from Hot Topic

    What’s Upcoming for the Young Bucks?

    Currently the Young Bucks aren’t taking many independent dates. Their schedule consists entirely of ROH, NJPW, and monthly PWG shows at the moment.

    They will probably be away from Japan for most of the summer now, as the company focusses on their heavyweight G1 tournament.

    Look for the Bucks to play a key role in ROH for the remainder of the summer.

  • Former WWE Writer Comments on “Divas Revolution” and GLOW

    Former WWE Writer Comments on “Divas Revolution” and GLOW

    Former WWE creative team member, Nico Gendron, has a lot to say regarding WWE’s backstage attitude during the initial Divas revolution. The writer recently penned a letter for the entertainment website, birthmoviesdeath.com.

    Gendron compares WWE’s recent emphasis on women’s wrestling to the Glorious Ladies of Wrestling, and the new Netflix series which dramatizes their story. Highlights:

    Why WWE Hired her:

    “I was hired at WWE in the summer of 2015, right after they introduced ‘The Divas Revolution.’ In a male-dominated writers room, a female perspective was needed as WWE’s women wrestlers were expected to rise above their traditional role of full-time arm candy and part-time wrestler to share consistent (though limited) air time with their male, Superstar counterparts.”

    WWE’s Attitude Towards Women’s Wrestling at the Time:

    “I learned quickly that this wrestling dynasty hadn’t caught up to the main cultural dialogue around feminism and female empowerment that was electric outside WWE. With a great deal of ground to cover, I realized I would have to embrace the little victories, like storylines that do not hinge on a disagreement over a male love interest, avoiding dialogue where male Superstars reduce female wrestlers by telling them to shut up or by positioning them as getting in the way of their own success.”

    GLOW (Glorious Ladies of Wrestling):

    “In comparison, GLOW and the original Gorgeous Girls of Wrestling portray women as their own and each other’s champions. Their gimmicks are self-identified and perfected by their chemistry with one another. This camaraderie defies the historically flawed gender dynamics at WWF and WWE.

    Shows like GLOW force wrestling enthusiasts and “girl on girl” fanatics alike to consider just how far women wrestling has come since its inception in a Las Vegas ballroom in the mid-eighties. No longer a sideshow, women wrestlers have demonstrated that they are more than anything, fighters, and deserve a league of their own.”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZqDO6cTYVY

  • Cody Gets Good News After MRI

    Cody Gets Good News After MRI

    On Friday night in Los Angeles, Cody wrestled arguably the most impactful match of his career. He challenged IWGP heavyweight Kazuchika Okada, in the main event of an important card for the promotion.

    Many are calling his match with Okada “better than expected”. The results of a recent MRI also provided Cody with some good news.

    Potential Cody vs. Kenny Omega Feud, Shows Over WM Weekend

    Both nights of the NJPW Los Angeles shows featured teased dissension between Cody and Kenny Omega. The two members of Bullet Club each hold distinguished singles championships. Cody is the new ROH champion, and Omega won the inaugural IWGP US championship on Saturday. With news that Omega’s championship will be defended on ROH shows, one has to wonder if a power struggle is brewing between the two stars.

    The shows this weekend were considered a huge success for NJPW. Recent rumours suggest the company is considering holding evens in New Orleans over WM33 weekend. Plans to open a Los Angeles office and dojo are also being considered.

  • Looking At A Possible Women’s Royal Rumble Match

    Looking At A Possible Women’s Royal Rumble Match

    We’ve had a Women’s Hell in a Cell match main event a pay-per-view. We’ve seen two Women’s Money in the Bank ladder matches. Could a Royal Rumble be next?

    There have been rumours of a potential women’s Rumble going back as early as last year. In the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer noted, “There has been at least talk of doing a women’s Royal Rumble match in January.”

    With the strength RAW, SmackDown and NXT’s women’s rosters and more female competitors being brought in for the Mae Young Classic, there’s certainly enough talent to pull this off.

    Recently, Becky Lynch had this to say regarding a women’s Rumble match:

    “I think there’ll definitely be a time where the women get their own Royal Rumble. When you look at the fact that in July there is the Mae Young Classic taking place between 32 women. Then you have the women in NXT and the women on both brands. I think it’s a year or two away from having our own Royal Rumble, then maybe our tag titles. The sky is the limit.” [Source]

    Charlotte Flair commented on a women’s Rumble match earlier this year:

    “I hope in the future, if we have a big enough division to do it or if they ever bring RAW and Smackdown back together, I’d love for us to have an all-female Royal Rumble. I think that would be awesome.” [Source]

    Prior to this year’s Rumble, Bayley was asked her thoughts about a potential women’s Rumble match:

    “I kind of honestly think we need a few more girls to do something like that because the guys have 30 men. We don’t have many girls. Even if it was Raw and Smackdown combined, I don’t think it would make it 20. If we had more girls brought in, maybe like NXT girls, that would be really cool and I think it would be a lot of fun.” [Source]

    Sasha Banks meanwhile, notes that Chyna and Beth Phoenix have both appeared in the men’s Rumble match, and leading up to the 2017 Rumble, she wanted to do the same:

  • Young Bucks Criticize NJPW Commentator

    Young Bucks Criticize NJPW Commentator

    During NJPW’s Los Angeles specials over the weekend, the Young Bucks appeared to make several moderately heated comments towards NJPW commentator, Josh Barnett.

    Barnett didn’t engage with the Bucks, and the incident was largely ignored on commentary. Recently, the Bucks appeared on Sean Waltman’s podcast, and clarified their criticism of Barnett’s commentary.

    Young Bucks on 12360 w/ X-Pac Highlights

    On Josh Barnett’s Commentary:

    Matt Jackson: “I feel like he should be doing his job instead of trying to get whatever he wants over for himself. He has a certain style he likes and it comes across so much like obviously, Josh doesn’t like this style.”

    Nick Jackson: “Announcers are not supposed to get themselves over. You’re supposed to get the product over.”

    On Possibly Going to WWE:

    Matt Jackson: “Our names are always floating up according to our buddies. If you asked me right now no, why do I even need to go there at this point, in a year in a half from now the landscape may change. We may have to go somewhere different, do something different to get hot again. I’ll never ever say never.”

    On Deal with Hot Topic:

    Matt Jackson: “The CEO of Hot-Topic was actually at WrestleMania, and he kept seeing Young Buck T-Shirts, Kenny Omega T-Shirts, Cody Rhodes T-Shirts and Bullet Club T-Shirts. So he was like ‘WOW, Why don’t we have those T-Shirts in our shop.’ So he called someone from WWE to find out who owned all of these shirts. When WWE said no, we don’t own those shirts, he was like ‘What? I need to find out who owns them.’ He finds out who owns Pro-Wrestling Tees and calls Ryan (Owner of PWT) to see if any way he can get the t-shirts. So Ryan contacted us and we’re like yeah let’s get it done. They just talked to us yesterday about an exclusive Elite T-Shirt.”