Kenny Omega faces Kazuchika Okada this weekend in Osaka, Japan for the IWGP heavyweight championship. It is a rematch from their highly-praised Tokyo Dome match at WrestleKingdom.
Omega wrote an article for Sports Illustrated recently, and spoke about the importance of not falling into patterns.
Kenny Omega’s Letter to Fans
On his health heading into Dominion: “Okada and I had the most recent Best of the Super Juniors tour off (partially), and it’s done wonders for my health both physically and mentally. Even though it has only been a few weeks, I’ve made improvements to my physique, healed various nagging injuries, and found new sources of inspiration for future matches.”
On his rematch with Okada being “different”: “As for the next match with Okada, I’ve mentioned previously that I hope to create something very different in feeling from the Tokyo Dome match. It would actually be easy to copy the old formula for an easy 4.5+ match rating, but I’ve never been one to follow patterns for the sake of a standalone rating and/or reaction.”
On his relationship with the Young Bucks: “Speaking of the Young Bucks, they’ll be here this weekend and we plan to tear the house down at the Road to Dominion show in the main event on June 9 against Okada, Rocky Romero, and Beretta. Of course, they’ll corner me on June 11 as well (not to mention film a few Being the Elite’s, as well). Those guys mean the world to me, and no matter how much negativity surrounds me, their support and positivity help me be the best Kenny Omega that I can possibly be.”
WWE recently posted video highlights of Titus O’Neil’s TED Talk. The video was shot at UCLA University on May 20th. Amongst other topics, Titus was said to speak of “the domino effect of advocacy”.
40 year old, Thaddeus Michael Bullard Sr, has been with the WWE since 2009. Before then he was a standout college football player for the University of Florida, and then spent a few seasons in the Arena Football League.
He cracked the main roster in 2012 as part of the Prime Time Players. As of late he is currently the proprietor of the Titus Brand, and seems to be managing Apollo Crews.
Earlier this month, rumours began to circulate that NXT star, Hideo Itami, was going back to Japan. Itami addressed the rumours in a segment that aired on NXT.
Hideo Itami
36 year old, Kenta Kobashi, changed his ring name to Hideo Itami when he debuted in NXT in 2014. He has battled injury problems in the 2.5 years he’s been with the company.
Itami made a name for himself in Japan for Pro Wrestling Noah from 2000 to 2013. He wrestled a tryout at the Performance Centre in January of 2014, and was signed shortly afterwards. He would debut at NXT Takeover: Fatal 4-Way in September of that year.
Lucha Underground was back this week for their 2nd episode to season 3 pt II. Last week, Johnny Mundo and the Mack fought to a 3-3 draw in an “All-Night Long” match (basically Iron Man rules). Dario Cueto however, ruled that the match must continue under sudden death rules this week.
Lucha Underground S03E21 Boyle Heights, Los Angeles
In the back we see a video of Prince Puma staring into a mirror. Images of Vampiro, and having been locked in a coffin flash. Rey Mysterio walks in and says he’s worried about him, and not to trust Vampiro. Puma says no one is his master, and that includes Rey Mysterio.
Puma leaves, and a ghostly image of Vampiro appears in the mirror. He tells Mysterio to stay away from Puma. Rey punches and shatters the mirror to end the scene.
1. Lucha Underground Championship Match Johnny Mundo (c) vs. the Mack
Before the match Dario Cueto came out and announced it would be a Falls Count Anywhere match.
Mack dominated early. He hit a Samoan drop, standing moonsault, and clothesline in the corner.
The match then moved to the outside where Mack still got most of the offence. He body slammed Mundo into a pile of chairs, and hit a cannonball while Mundo was sitting in the 3rd or 4th row of seats.
Mundo then fled throughout the crowd.
Ricky Mandel came out and interfered, which allowed Mundo to go on offence. Hit hit a dividing corkscrew like move from the guardrail. Mandel asked Mundo what he needed, to which Mundo replied “a chainsaw”.
Mandel couldn’t find a chainsaw but did start to bring over a trash can when Sexy Star came out and took him out.
Mack got back on offence, but then PJ Black came out from under the ring and hit him in the head with a kendo stick. Mack ended up giving Black a stunner on the apron, causing him to fall through a table.
Mundo was able to go back on offence afterwards. He hit a running knee strike before going for the End of the World. Mack got his knees up and then hit a sit down power-bomb for a near-fall.
Mack looked as though he was going to try and power-bomb Mundo through the pile of chairs on the outside, but Taya pulled Mundo into the ring. Shortly after, Mundo hit a sunset flip power-bomb to Mack, who was on the apron at the time, sending him into the pile of chairs. Mundo got the 3-count afterwards to retain his title.
Winner: Johnny Mundo
Dario Cueto announced the “Cueto Cup”, which will be awarded to the winner of a single elimination tournament. The winner will receive a Lucha Underground Championship match at Ultima Lucha 3.
He also announced that Johnny Mundo would defend his Lucha Underground championship against Rey Mysterio Jr. on the same night of the Cueto Cup finals.
2. Lucha Underground Trios Championships Aerostar, Fenix, & Drago (c) vs. the Reptile Tribe
Most of this match seemed to involve Aerostar taking out the smaller reptile character. Neither Kobra Moon or Drago tagged in for their teams until the end.
The Giant Viper like reptile took out Fenix with a tombstone on the outside.
Aerostar went to tag Drago, but Drago hit him with the poison green mist.
Drago then walked over to the other corner, and tagged in for the Reptile team.
Drago hit Aerostar with a splash and pinned him.
Evidently, Drago had been on the Reptile team all along, and was doing the bidding of Kobra Moon.
They celebrated with the titles, as Moon attached a collar around Drago’s neck.
Winners: the Reptile Tribe (new champions)
In the back Taya tells Johnny Mundo that he will have to defend the title against Rey Mysterio.
Mundo says he’ll have to train harder than he’s ever trained before.
3. Boyle Heights Street Fight Mill Muertes vs. Prince Puma
Puma and Muertes spent the early portion of the match fighting throughout the crowd.
Muertes ended up putting Puma on his shoulders and carrying him back towards the ring. Then he gave him a TKO.
Muertes then walked over to Vampiro at the announcers booth and the two stared each other down for a few moments.
Puma seemed to gain the advantage on the inside and set Muertes up for a Van Terminator. His version of the move included doing a flip as well, which he landed into a drop kick. Muertes kicked out at 2 after the move.
After that, Puma hit his 630 splash, but Katrina hit Puma with the rock before he could pin him. As Katrina is helping Muertes, Vampiro hands Puma a brick.
Puma hit Muertes with the brick and pinned him for a 3 count to end the show.
This week on 205 Live, Noam Dar faced Cedric Alexander, Mustafa Ali was back in action, and in the main event a cruiserweight title match between TJP and Neville.
205 Live June 6th 2017
1. Noam Dar vs. Cedric Alexander
Before the match, Noam Dar cut a promo explaining that Alicia Fox was at home nursing a neck injury.
Alexander took the early advantage, and the bulk of the offence in the mach. Dar would occasionally cut him off and lock him in submission holds. Alexander hit a springboard clothes for a near-fall, followed shortly after by the Lumbar Check for the win.
After the match Cedric told Noam he was done with him and Alicia Fox and was moving on.
Winner: Cedric Alexander
2. Mustafa Ali vs. Louie Valle
Ali looked to have the match under control and was going to the top rope when Drew Gulak’s siren blared and he made his way to the ring. He had his normal “No Fly Zone” protest sign and was shouting more rhyming phrases about how cruiserweights shouldn’t dive.
The distraction allowed Ali’s opponent to roll-him up, but Ali countered into a roll-up of his own and got the 3 count.
Gulak was pleased with this as Ali won with an actual wrestling move. He would later say that he felt he was really getting through to Ali.
After the match, Ali landed a springboard cannonball onto Gulak.
Winner: Mustafa Ali
A video package of Rich Swann’s latest highlights was shown. He mentioned that he plans on climbing all the way back to the top of the brand, and once again becoming cruiserweight champion.
3. Cruiserweight Championship Neville (c) vs. TJP
TJP finally gets his title shot, his reward for weeks of doing Neville’s bidding, and helping him get through his title defences against Austin Aries.
Despite having turned heel not long ago, TJP wrestled as the babyface here. The story was that Neville getting the majority of the offence, but TJP kept coming.
Neville missed a diving corkscrew from the 2nd rope, which allowed TJP to lock in his knee-bar.
Neville looked as though he was going to tap, but then countered the hold into the Rings of Saturn, and TJP tapped.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross is fired up about the Samoa Joe vs. Brock Lesnar match-up at Great Balls of Fire. On the latest episode of his Ross Report podcast and in his latest blog at JRsBarBQ.com, JR says it would be an announcer’s dream to call the match.
At JRsBarBQ.com, Ross said he enjoyed Sunday’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view and thought the main event delivered in a big way. “All five men worked diligently and without personal agendas or so it seemed and delivered in a manner that main eventers are supposed to deliver,” he said. “Very proud of the men in this match.”
He also commented on Samoa Joe’s upcoming match against Brock Lesnar at Great Balls of Fire. “Samoa Joe getting his long awaited bout with Brock Lesnar is a stellar booking IMO and one that I endorsed at our RINGSIDE Show the night before WM31 in San Jose when Joe was my guest at our RINGSIDE Show .. I say that the Lesnar-Joe match will receive plenty of talk/hype over the next several weeks and that the two, physically demanding athletes will provide us a tremendous one on one main event in Dallas.”
Ross Hinting That He Is Calling GBOF Main Event
“I am personally looking forward to this match as much as any match I can recall this year and will tell you that it is an announcer’s dream to be privileged to call a bout like this … Yep, I’m fishing here.”
Lucha Underground will air the 21st episode of their 3rd season tonight on the El Rey Network. Last week, Dario Cueto ruled that the “All Night Long” match between Mundo and the Mack, which ended in a tie, will continue under sudden death rules.
In the first part of season 3 we learned Kobra Moon is the leader of the “Reptile Tribe”, presumably one of the seven Aztec Tribes. We also learned that Kobra Moon believes that Drago should worship her as his Queen.
The El Rey Network posted this video of Kobra Moon giving a warning to the current LU Trios Champions:
NXT is a taped show from Full Sail University tonight. Two big matches, including the main event, have already been confirmed. Two other matches are believed to air tonight as well.
Matches For NXT Tonight
No Way Jose vs. Killian Dain (Sanity)
No Way Jose made his return to NXT last week, helping Roderick Strong fend off Sanity.
Hideo Itami vs. Oney Lorcan
Itami was shown getting into a heated confrontation with Kassius Ohno backstage at Takeover. The two were later shown shaking hands in the Performance Centre parking lot. Will Itami’s frustration with his NXT run continue?
On the latest episode of his “Dinner with the King” podcast, Jerry Lawler mentioned WWE needed to make an arrangement with Jerry Lee Lewis over the “Great Balls of Fire” PPV name.
While WWE has shied away from potential legal action from both Ring of Honor and Anthem Sports and Entertainment recently, they were able to successful negotiate an arrangement with Lewis.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkuptd-gInQ
Jerry Lawler’s Comments on “Great Balls of Fire”
On Great Balls of Fire Name:
“It’s ‘Great Balls of FIRE’ not ‘Great BALLS of Fire’. You put the emphasis on the ‘Fire’, not on ‘Balls'”
On Jerry Lee Lewis Legal Action:
“My personal attorney here in Memphis, is Joe Barton, good friend of mine and attorney. I got a phone call from Joe a few weeks ago, and Joe also represents Jerry Lee Lewis. ‘Hey Jerry do you happen to know who I’d contact at the WWE about copyright infringement?’ and I was like ‘what are you talking about?’
‘Well, we understand that they’re doing a PPV called ‘Great Balls of Fire’ and Jerry Lee has that phrase trademarked. He has ever since they recorded the song’.
Lawler said attorney contacted WWE and now they are not only using the name but also the song as well. You can hear the whole podcast here.
Ric Flair injured his hand at the NBA Finals game this weekend. While this is likely just a joke, he seems to be implying he hurt his hand while fighting with a Warriors fan.
One Warrior Fan down! Left hand still good. Be in the Land on Wednesday! Rihanna, Move over and Let the Naitch show you how it is done! pic.twitter.com/QyAC8sWzaK
LeBron and Ric Flair are friends. James grew up a huge Ric Flair fan, and according to Ric, has credited his fan-ship of Flair for keeping him out of trouble.
Flair, who is associated with several sports teams, has been a big supporter of the Cavs this NBA post-season.
Triple H and Stephanie McMahon are often on-hand at Super Bowls to personally deliver customized WWE championship titles to the winning team. WWE also sends championship titles to other championship-winning teams all over the world.
It appears Bray Wyatt has caught the eye of a former Hall-of-Famer, one who appears ready to come out of retirement to face him.
Bray Wyatt opened this Monday’s Raw with a promo on having lost the opportunity to face Brock Lesnar, and slay the beast. He would then lose to Roman Reigns in the 1st match of the night.
DEAR WRESTLING GOD'S PLEASE GIFT ME A MATCH VS. BRAY WYATT. PROMISE TO WORK REALLY HARD AND SURE IT WOULD BE EXTREMELY INTERESTING. #WWE
Jake has talked about coming back for years, but unfortunately, he is 62 years old, and WWE will likely never put him in an actual match again.
The most recent documentary on Jake followed him as he cleaned up his life and attended his Hall of Fame ceremony in 2014. It is said that Jake wanted to make an appearance in the Royal Rumble that year, as other legends have done in the past, but WWE was hesitant.
#BRAY WYATT FAN INTEREST HAS GOT MIND AND BODY ON FIRE. @WWE I'LL EVEN GET WRINKLES OUT OF THE SNAKE!!! STARCH TOO.
As was the case with several other superstars who lost at Extreme Rules, the Hardys were not on Raw last night. Cesaro & Sheamus wrestled, and won, a non-title match against Heath Slater & Rhyno.
The Hardys might have been kept off Raw to sell their loss at Extreme Rules, as was the case with Bayley. Finn Balor only appeared to the live audience after Raw went off the air, and Austin Aries was absent from the show as well.
New Hardy Family Member on the Way?
Earlier this morning, Matt Hardy indicated on social media that the newest addition to the Hardy family might be on their way soon.
David Finlay, Shota Umino and Tomoyuki Oka vs. Hirai Kawato, Katsuya Kitamura and Tetsuhiro Yagi
Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Jushin Thunder Liger, Manabu Nakanishi and Satoshi Kojima vs. Tiger Mask, Tiger Mask W, Togi Makabe and Yuji Nagata
NEVER 6-Man Tag Team Championships Gauntlet Match Los Ingobernables (Bushi, Evil and Sanada) (c) vs. Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Hangman Page and Yujiro Takahashi) vs. Chaos (Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano and Yoshi-Hashi) vs. Suzuki-gun (Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Zack Sabre Jr.) vs. Taguchi Japan (Juice Robinson, Ricochet and Ryusuke Taguchi)
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championships Roppongi Vice (Beretta and Rocky Romero) (CHAOS) (c) vs. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) (Bullet Club)
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships War Machine (Hanson and Raymond Rowe) (c) vs. Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Roa) (Bullet Club)
Cody (Bullet Club) Vs. Michael Elgin
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship Hiromu Takahashi (c) (Los Ingobernables) vs. Kushida
NEVER Openweight Championship Lumberjack Deathmatch Minoru Suzuki (c) (Suzuki-Gun) vs. Hirooki Goto (CHAOS)
Kenny Omega was a guest on Live Audio Wrestling recently, and spoke on many things relating to his career.
Omega will be wrestling Kazuchika Okada next weekend at NJPW Dominion. It will be a rematch of their epic Tokyo Dome match from WrestleKingdom on January 4th.
Afterwards, Omega will play a big role at the G1 USA specials from Los Angeles on July 1st and 2nd.
Here are some of the highlights from his interview with the LAW:
On using big moves in his matches:
“I think a lot of people, unfortunately in this day and age, rely too much on the flash of the move itself. So many moves now look prettier than they ever did when they were first performed. The Shooting Star [Presses] of today look so much prettier than the Shooting Stars of the 90’s, but the Shooting Stars from the 90’s arguably meant more because it was always a finish. Now, I can name 25 guys that are doing Shooting Star Presses and a lot of times it doesn’t mean anything. I think that’s sort of the plight of today’s pro wrestling: Our every day athlete has actually gotten better; however, because it’s so easy to rely on your physical ability, the intellect has been sort of ignored […] As a professional wrestler in the position I am in, I would rather have people remember my matches for an emotion or for a certain thought it evoked when they saw it. I don’t want people to look back at my matches and say, ‘When you did that move it was good and I liked it because it was cool,’ I want people to sort of remember a rush of images and the emotion that they felt when they saw it. That’s when I think you have a real masterpiece in your hands.”
On Shibata’s Injury, and “Strong Style” Wrestling:
“Everything we do in general, there’s gonna be a percentage of risk. Me, making my entrance to the ring, there’s actually a percentage of risk I’m going to trip and fall and hurt myself. Me, getting up on the apron, there’s a percentage of risk. It’s [asking ourselves], ‘How do we keep that percentage as low as possible at all times?’ […] Shibata had been battling injury and toughing out tours, probably for a long time. […] When you’re just generally tired and you’re already battling a myriad of injuries, that percentage is naturally going to creep up. […] It’s not something I would ever do. I do feel that Shibata probably felt comfortable in doing it and that he probably felt that, ‘It’s a big match, so I need to express myself in this manner.’ I get that. But, we sometimes as performers don’t even know our limits.”
On What is Strong Style Wrestling Exactly:
“There’s actually a very safe way to do ‘Strong Style’ and it doesn’t necessarily have to be how I see people mimicking it. I see a lot of folks on the indies that don’t quite know the secret to what ‘Strong Style’ really is, and they’re killing each other with elbows, they’re killing each other with head butts, they’re killing each other with kicks as hard as they can, and that actually isn’t the true art form of what ‘Strong Style’ is. What true ‘Strong Style’ really is, is the battle of the heart of man. It’s not about how strong and how forceful you’re throwing your blows. It’s showing the never-say-die attitude of the human spirit. As long as it looks like you’re fighting and giving your all, people will believe.”
On his rematch with Kazuchika Okada at NJPW Dominion:
“Much like I do with all of my matches, I’m not really one to ‘rinse, wash and repeat’ things. I think that rather than trying to force fans into drawing a direct comparison to [ask themselves] which match is better, I would rather give them two completely different stories that they can appreciate on their own. So whether they like the first one better or not, I want the stories to be so different from each other that you can watch them apart and have something that you like [about both of them]. That’s my goal.”
On his future goals in wrestling:
“Right now, I’m 100% content with where I am because I would love to be the driving force behind New Japan in the global market. However, generally, I’m just guided by how I feel, where my heart’s at and where I’m needed, if that makes sense. I’m not gonna lie, there are things that I haven’t been able to do that I would love to do at some point in time. One of those things is, I really feel I need to have a high stakes main event with AJ [Styles]. I really feel I have to. I’m not sure where it will be, I’m just saying that it’s always in the back of my mind.”
The Miz achieved a significant milestone at Extreme Rules, winning his 7th Intercontinental championship. While the statistic of how many times a wrestler wins a title is somewhat flawed, it is treated as important in WWE storylines.
With the win last night, the Miz moves passed Jeff Jarrett and Rob Van Dam for 2nd most IC title wins all-time. He is behind only Chris Jericho, who has won the title on 9 occassions.
Miz and the Intercontinental Championship
The Miz is also moving up the ladder in terms of his “Most Days Spent as Intercontinental Champion” statistics.
Currently the Miz has held the title for 354 total days, ranking him 12th all time. If he gets through Raw tonight as champ he’ll move passed Shelton Benjamin as the 11th most days as champ. He needs just 100 more days to move all the way into the #3 spot.
Top 10 IC champions of all time:
Pedro Morales – 2x champ – 619 total days Don Muraco – 2x champ – 541 total days the Honky Tonk Man – 1x champ – 454 total days Tito Santana – 2x champ – 443 total days Razor Ramon – 4x champ – 437 total days Ultimate Warrior – 2x champ – 432 total days Randy Savage – 1x champ – 414 total days Shawn Michaels- 3x champ – 406 total days Mr. Perfect – 2x champ – 406 total days Wade Barrett – 5x champ – 397 total days Shelton Benjamin – 3x champ – 354 total days the Miz – 7x champ – 354 total days the Rock- 2x champ – 339 total days Jeff Hardy – 4x champ – 329 total days Chris Jericho- 9x champ – 318 total days Dolph Ziggler – 5x champ – 310 total days Jeff Jarrett – 6x champ – 298 total days Bret Hart – 2x champ – 290 total days Greg Valentine – 1x champ – 285 total days Kofi Kingston – 4x champ – 285 total days Cody Rhodes – 2x champ – 257 total days Pat Patterson – 1x champ – 233 total days
Impact Wrestling held a series of tapings last night. The episodes filmed are expected to air on July 13th and 20th.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGDi4Fkk5tQ
July 13th Episode (assuming parts weren’t filmed out of order):
LAX comes out, and Konnan cuts a promo about adding a new solider. He introduces Alberto El Patron, who asks what he is doing. Konnan tells Alberto he should join LAX so they can protect him, and that they can start a Latin revolution. Alberto again says no so the group attacks him. Bobby Lashley makes the save, hands Alberto back his title and then leaves.
Naomichi Marufuji faced Moose for the Grand Championship, but EC3 ran in and hit Marufuji with the belt, busting him open. The match was waved off.
Trevor Lee defeated William Weeks in a singles match, while wearing the stolen X-division title the whole time.
Laural Van Ness won a singles match over Ava Storie. Grado Park asked Van Ness out for some #NetflixandChill, but Kongo Kong ran in and scared him and Joseph Park away.
Bobby Lashley and Alberto El Patron teamed up to defeat members of LAX in a non-title match. After the match El Patron said they made a good team, but then Lashley just left and allowed El Patron to get beaten down by LAX.
July 20th Episode (assuming parts weren’t filmed out of order):
Drago beat Sammy Guevara in a singles match.
Sienna defeated Amber Nova in a singles match (non-title). She cut a promo saying Karen Jarrett didn’t believe in her, which brings Karen out. Allie also came out however and beat Sienna down with a kendo stick. Laurel Van Ness comes out to make the save, then so does Gail Kim. Karen Jarrett announces Rosemary vs. Sienna in something referred to as a “Last KO standing match” next week.
Garza Jr, Laredo Kid and Octagoncito defeated Trevor Lee, Idris Abraham and Demus 3:16.
Matt Sydal pinned Low-Ki and then called out Bruce Prichard to give him a title shot. Lashley came out and said the only one who deserved a title shot was him, and then he speared Sydal.
2 unknown assailants came out of the crowd and attacked Chris Adonis and Eli Drake.
LAX then came to the ring with Alberto’s father, Dos Caras and his 29 year old brother, El Hijo De Dos Caras. Konnan threatened to rip Alberto’s father’s mask off if he didn’t join LAX. Alberto finally relents and puts on the LAX t-shirt. He then attacks LAX, showing he hadn’t actually joined the faction.
WWE has posted a YouTube video of 5 superstars who shocked the world with their first world championship win. Some of the inclusions are a little surprising.
The list is published below if you don’t want to watch the whole video.
Superstars Who Made The List
Diesel – defeated Bob Backlund in 1994 for the WWF title.
Mankind- defeated the Rock in 1999 for the WWF title.
Vince McMahon- September 14th 1999.
Eddie Guerrero defeated Brock Lesnar – No Way Out 2004.
Jinder Mahal was recently interviewed by GQ Magazine. The fashion-based publication was not interested in Mahal’s in-ring work, but rather how he has gotten himself in such good shape over the last year.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BP6tUDkBKCL/
Jinder Mahal GQ Interview Highlights:
On when he started getting in better shape:
“It started almost exactly a year ago. June 1st. I wasn’t signed back to WWE and I was eating a bunch of junk food and drinking too much beer. One day I just decided I was going to quit drinking, focus on my health, and start dieting again. One of the very first things I did was I contacted a meal prep company. It’s called Nutrition Solutions. So I quit drinking, got the Nutrition Solutions going, and just started training hard again. Two months later, I was signed back to WWE.”
On his unique eating schedule:
“I actually started being more consistent with my meals. Before when I was hungry, I would eat a big meal and then not eat for a couple of hours. Maybe have a snack. But what I do now, what’s made the biggest change in my physique, is I eat every two hours and I eat the same portion meal—about 350 to 400 calories, about 30 grams of carbs, and 30 to 40 grams of protein. I eat a meal with that same breakdown every two hours.
When you’re constantly feeding your body like that, it knows that it’s going to be fed again in two hours. So it doesn’t hold any fat. Your body starts to hold fat basically when you’re inconsistent. You might eat a big meal and then the body thinks, “I’m not going to get fed for six more hours,” but then maybe an hour later you eat again. So the main thing has to be consistency. If you eat every two hours, your body doesn’t really hold much fat and it actually speeds up your metabolism. I actually eat more throughout the day now because I’m having seven or eight meals, but I’m leaner because I’m eating those meals so consistently that it speeds up my metabolism.”
Yesterday, WWE posted a preview of their new Collections being added to the Network in June.
WWE’s two scheduled-to-be-released collections were previewed by WWE correspondent Cathy Kelley:
New Collections to the WWE Network
WWE will be honouring longtime WWWF champion, Bruno Sammartino, with the collection: “Sammartino: The Legend Lives”. Sammartino and Vince McMahon Jr. have long had a stormy relationship after Vince Jr. took over the territory from Vince Sr.
Triple H is said to have mended fences between WWE and the 81-year old Sammartino, leading to his Hall of Fame induction in 2013. Amongst other things, Sammartino blames Vince for the influx of steroids into the business, and the impact this had on his son David
The other collection WWE will be adding is “the Ladder Match: Reaching For Glory”, and it will focus on the evolution of ladder matches.
Earlier this week, Vince Russo revealed he has been in contact with Vince McMahon regarding a return to WWE. According to Russo, Vince was not enthusiastic about the idea however, and he is not expecting a job offer from the company.
Jim Cornette, a longtime Russo critic, reacted to to this news on his most recent podcast. He posted his comments on his YouTube channel earlier today:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQAyE7PVRss
Cornette’s Critique of Vince Russo
According to Cornette, Russo contacts WWE on a weekly basis, critiquing Raw and possibly looking for a job.
Cornette and Eric Bischoff appeared on a recent episode of “Table for 3”, where Russo, and their complaints about him, were a topic of conversation.
NXT this week was the brand’s first show taped after NXT: Chicago. Not surprisingly, Tommaso Ciampa came out at the start to explain his actions from the latest Takeover event.
NXT airdate: May 31st 2017 Full Sail University
Tommaso Ciampa Segment
Ciampa was in street-clothes and explained that he felt his knee go out in the middle of his match at Takeover. He knew that after that match he was going to be on the injured list for awhile.
He remembered how after he injured his ankle at a house show the week before Takeover, the fans started to discuss which dream partner they wanted for Gargano. This did not sit well with Ciampa.
He knew that Gargano would team up with someone else while he rehabbed his injured knee, and Ciampa did not want to be a footnote in another team’s history. So, he decided if he was going away for a “long time”, then Gargano was going away for a “long, long time”.
1. Pete Dunne vs. Danny Burch (non-title match)
WWE didn’t post highlights of this match.
Somewhat surprisingly, Burch was on offence for the bulk of this bout. A lot of punches, uppercuts, an exploder suplex and a draping DDT made up his offence for the most part.
Dunne kicked out after a draping DDT, then somewhat out of nowhere, he landed a german suplex into the corner, followed by the Bitter End, and and got the win.
Burch was definitely made to look at, or just below, Dunne’s level.
Winner: Pete Dunne
It appeared as though we were going to be shown an interview with the Velveteen Dream, but the former Patrick Clark declared the ambience on the set was not quite right and walked away.
A highlights package for the Authors of Pain was shown instead.
2. Cezar Bononi vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas
Commentary continued to play up how Almas likes to go out and party all the time.
Bononi is a rare Brazilian pro-wrestler, who made his NXT debut in a losing effort to Aleister Black not long ago.
Almas was on offence for pretty much the entire match, until Bononi pulled off the surprise win with a small package.
The win is Bononi’s first on WWE television.
Winner: Cezar Bononi
After the match, Almas walked to the back and appeared to be laughing the whole thing off.
A short video of Billy Kay and Peyton Royce at the Performance Centre was shown. They were making fun of Ember Moon for being injured, then Moon walked into the room and appeared to sign papers indicating she is now cleared to return.
It was announced that in 2 weeks Asuka will again defend her title against both Ruby Riot and Nikki Cross. This time under elimination rules.
Highlights of Hideo Itami and Kassius Ohno getting into a heated verbal confrontation in the back at Takeover was shown. A further video taken from the Performance Centre parking lot was shown, here we saw the two men talking and shaking hands. Well, I guess they patched things up and we will never hear about it again.
3. Kassius Ohno & Roderick Strong vs. Eric Young & Alexander Wolfe (Sanity)
Early in the match, Sanity was able to take offence on Kassius Ohno and prevented Strong from tagging in.
Killian Dain would get involved several times on the outside, as commentary played up how Sanity has a numbers advantage.
When Strong got his hot-tag, he took everyone out until Young blind-tagged himself in and hit a neck-breaker. Young covered Strong, but he kicked out at 2.
Ohno then took out Wolfe with a discus elbow, but Killian Dain got up on the apron and looked to interfere.
No Way Jose returned (he’d been gone since Takeover: Orlando) and took out Dain, ending Sanity’s numbers advantage.
This allowed Roderick Strong to hit the End of Heartache and pick up the win for his team.
Lucha Underground returned from their mid-season sabbatical last night. Only one match was scheduled for the show: Johnny Mundo defending the LU championship vs. the Mack in an “All-Night Long” match.
Lucha Underground S03E20 airdate: May 31st 2017 Boyle Heights, Los Angeles
1. Lucha Underground Championship
All-Night Long Match Johnny Mundo (c) vs. the Mack
Essentially an Iron Man match, this was scheduled to last the length of the program, most pins and/or submissions by the end of the show is declared the winner and champion.
The Mack earned this title shot by winning the “Battle of the Bulls” tournament during the first part of season 3.
Mundo won the Lucha Underground championship the show after Aztec Warfare III, by cashing in his Gift of the Gods championship for a shot at then-champion, Sexy Star.
The Mack got the first near-fall with a fireman’s carry into a double-knee to the midsection move. Shortly after, Mundo hit Moonlight Drive and End of the World, then pinned the Mack. Mundo leads 1-0.
Mundo would pick up the 2nd fall as well with a roll-up while illegally holding onto the ropes for leverage. Mundo leads 2-0.
After going down 2-0, the Mack started to pick up steam, while Mundo tried to avoid him and hide outside of the ring.
The Mack would get the 3rd fall however, after a sit-down power-bomb to Mundo. Mundo leads 2-1.
Mundo would go back on offence and land a diving corkscrew plancha to the outside. He started clutching at his ankle however, and several LU staff came to check on him. A stretcher was brought out, and Matt Striker indicated the match was being called off.
With the Mack’s back turned, Mundo did a kip-up and hit a low-blow. Mundo then hit a DDT onto the back-brace from the stretcher and pinned the Mack for his 3rd fall. Mundo leads 3-1.
Mundo then did jumping jacks to show his ankle was OK.
He would then go back to avoiding the Mack, and crawled under the ring. It appeared as though Mundo came out a different side of the ring and ran to the back, with the Mack in pursuit. As the Mack ran after him, the real Johnny Mundo emerged from under the ring. Then, who we now could see we was PJ Black, ran back to the ring with the Mack chasing him, allowing Mundo to hit him in the back with a kendo stick.
Black and Mundo double-teamed the Mack until Son of Havoc came out with 2 kendo sticks to even up the odds. Havoc then revived the Mack with some beers that were handed to him by Dario Cueto (Havoc knocked on his office door and asked for them).
The Mack and Havoc beat down the two members of the World Wide Underground and then set up two tables side-by-side on the outside. After briefly losing control of the offence, the Mack gave Mundo a piledriver off the apron and through the two tables on the outside. He then rolled him back in the ring and pinned him. Mundo leads 3-2.
While up 3-2, Mundo would again go on offence. This prompted him to instruct the mariachi band to play some celebratory music for him, which they did.
Then one of the mariachi band members dove off the stage and landed on Black and Mundo. We would then see that it had been Sexy Star all along.
Shortly after, the Mack would hit a Stunner on Mundo inside the ring and pin him to tie the score. Score is tied 3-3.
Both went to the outside to get weapons; Mack got a ladder, Mundo set up a table. With not long to go the Mack set Mundo up on the table and started to head up the ladder.
Ricky Mandel, who has been used as “enhancement talent” on LU previously, hit the ring and grabbed onto the Mack’s leg to prevent him from going up the ladder. Son of Havoc ended up taking him out, but it slowed the Mack up just enough.
The Mack hit a frog splash onto Mundo and through the table. He was finally able to cover him with 2-seconds to go, but the bell rang before the referee’s hand could count to 3.
Result: 3-3 Draw (Mundo retains)
After the match Dario Cueto came out of his office and said there were no ties in his temple.
The match would continue next week under sudden death rules, even if it takes All-Night Long again.
The Mack then gave Mundo a Stunner and celebrated in the ring with the belt to close the show.