Triple H appeared on ESPN yesterday to promote WrestleMania, and found himself speaking on WWE’s current recruitment process. As the conversation moved to what WWE looks for in new talent, Triple H told a story of how whenever Enzo Amore’s review came up in developmental, HHH and Dusty Rhodes were the only ones who didn’t want to cut him.
“There’s been guys that have made it that over the course of a couple of years that were constantly on the cut list,” Levesque told espn. “Enzo Amore, when I brought him in, everyone at the tryout was saying, ‘Get rid of this kid!’ I was like, ‘He’s got a huge personality. If he can annoy us all this bad here, imagine what he can do on TV.’ … Every time he’d get his review, they’d be like, ‘I’d cut him.’ Dusty [Rhodes] and I would be like, ‘Keep him.’ Look at him now. … Is he ever going to make you money from an in-ring performer standpoint? Probably not. But he’s money on the mic.”
Triple H would also comment on what it is like to be both the COO of the company and a part-time talent as well.
“It’s probably the hardest thing I think I’ve done in my career — do the deal where you’re not in the ring for a year,” he said. “You can do all the cardio you want, You can look as great as you want, You can diet, You can do all those things, but then getting in there — when you do it every day, it’s automatic. There’s no thinking. You just do. When you haven’t done it in a year, you just think, and that’s what makes it tough.”
Yesterday before the start of Smackdown, Matt Hardy released a video on his YouTube channel. The video consists of him and Jeff dipping the TNA tag team titles into the “Lake of Reincarnation”. The team used the old TNA tag team belts which they are still in possession of.
Hardy Family vs. Anthem
Anthem Sports and Entertainment have been attempting to prevent the Hardys from using the #Broken universe in other promotions. The company has placed “TM” (trademarked) next to all videos featuring the Broken storyline on their YouTube page. They have also sent cease and desist letters to ROH and cable companies broadcasting their PPVs.
The Hardy family, most notably Reby, feel they went above and beyond the call of duty for TNA, only for the company to attempt to harm them on their way out. In the notes of the video Matt posted yesterday, he includes the following comments:
“After exerting everything within our VESSELS to make TNA trendy and cool again, we were betrayed by the OBSOLETE OWL. Since we carried the TNA Tag Titles to a CELESTIAL plane, as well as becoming greater than our host, the #7Deities mandated that I REINCARNATE these OBSOLETE Titles.. These titles have now been transformed into something worthy of The Greatest Tag Team in Space and Time.
This video was shot, edited and scored by the BRILLIANT Queen Rebecca Hardy, who also shot/edited/scored several similar vignettes for TNA without ever being paid, credited, or signing over the rights for TNA to use them. Rebecca, like Jeff and I, did many things for this brand because we’re upstanding beings. #HouseHardy will now continue to soar to new heights while the OWL fades away and classifies itself as OBSOLETE.”
Sheamus & Cesaro introduced a ladder into the equation last night on Raw. The move backfired for Sheamus however, as he would need 15 stitches as a result of getting struck with it.
Tag Team Ladder Matches at WrestleMania
With speculation looming of a potential WWE return for Matt Hardy, the added ladder stipulation is interesting. The Hardys were involved in the original WrestleMania triple threat tag team championship ladder match at WM17 with the Dudleys and Edge & Christian. If the team is expected to return to WWE soon, this match certainly could be the place and time it happens.
Recently WWE tweeted a throwback video of the Hardys in another WrestleMania match at WM25. They happened to capitalize the letters in the word “BROKEN” as well.
Yesterday on NBC’s Today show, John Cena found himself on the hot seat as the hosts asked him questions regarding his relationship with Nikki Bella. In particular, the talk show hosts questioned whether Cena might propose to Nikki at WrestleMania on Sunday.
Cena appeared on the program wearing his most Vince McMahon-inspired suit.
John Cena and Nikki Bella Relationship
John Cena and Nikki Bella have been together since 2012. That was also the year Cena divorced his first wife. Cena had been married to Elizabeth Huberdeau for a period of 3 years beginning in 2009.
While Cena has always said to be lukewarm to the idea of getting married again, the recent inclusion of Nikki Bella into his on-screen storylines indicates a possible change.
Cena and Nikki are scheduled to face the Miz and Maryse on Sunday in a mixed-gender tag match.
Fans of pro wrestling’s old territory era will be happy to learn that 6 new episodes of Mid-South Wrestling have been added to the Network.
The episodes added are:
12/12/1981 – North American champion Ted Dibiase vs. Paul Orndorff 12/30/1981 – Best Matches from 1981 hosted by Bill Watts 02/06/1982 – Wild Samoans vs. Junkyard Dog and Mike George for tag team championships 02/13/1982 – Junkyard Dog vs. Bob Roop for the Louisiana championship 04/17/1982 – Dick Murdoch vs. Bob Roop 04/24/1982 – Junkyard Dog, Dick Murdoch and Mr. Olympia vs. One Man Gang and the Wild Samoans
Mid-South Wrestling
Mid-South Wrestling ran from 1979-1986 and was owned by “Cowboy” Bill Watts. He purchased the territory from Leroy McGuirk when it had been known as Tri-state Wrestling. In 1986, Watts changed the name again to the Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF). Watts attempted to take the UWF national to compete with Vince McMahon and Jim Crockett. The attempt failed, and Watts sold the UWF to Crockett in 1987. WWE bought the promotion’s tape library in 2012.
Triple H spoke with Sports Illustrated recently, and addressed criticism the company has faced because of how they push Roman Reigns.
“Roman Reigns gets one of the loudest reactions every night, whether that reaction is a boo or whether that reaction is a cheer. The fans who say, ‘I don’t understand why they don’t turn Roman Reigns heel!’ Isn’t he already?”
The most natural comparison for Roman Reigns is John Cena. Similar to Reigns, Cena is pushed as a top babyface but receives a heel reaction from fans. Triple H addressed this comparison:
“I spoke with John in 2004 when I was going to work with him at WrestleMania, and he was a little bothered by the fact he was getting booed. I said to him, ‘Dude, it’s sold out. What do you care? You are the Yankees and the Red Sox in the same game.’ You cannot dictate to people anymore.”
Triple H continued to discuss problems the company faces when segments of their audience want to see different types of pro wrestling.
“Raw and Smackdown have to be pop music,” HHH told SI. “They have to appeal to the masses most. There is always a subset of people who’d rather listen to Metallica or Jay-Z, so we give those people NXT and 205. I give them the cruiserweights. Go to the U.K., it’s a different style with different talent. Now you can follow a local talent work his way from the U.K. all the way to NXT and to the main roster. Now you feel like you’re a part of helping that kid succeed.”
The full interview with Triple H can be read here.
According to WWE.com’s official WrestleMania preview page, there will be two matches taking place on the WrestleMania Kickoff show on Sunday. Those two matches will be the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, and the Cruiserweight championship match between Neville and Austin Aries.
This is in contrast to last year’s event where every match was considered to be part of the main show.
Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
The news that he is only competing on the kickoff show must be frustrating for the Big Show, who had been training to take on Shaq at this year’s event. In last year’s battle royal, Shaq was a surprise entrant, with the idea being it would lead to a match between the two at this year’s event.
Cruiserweight Championship Match
Neville vs. Austin Aries for the cruiserweight championship being moved to the kickoff show is sure to frustrate fans of 205 Live. The brand got off to somewhat of a slow start following the cruiserweight classic last year. The addition of stars such as Neville and Aries has given the division new life however.
Austin Aries suffered an orbital bone injury last year which kept him out of action for months. Since returning however, Aries has been quite over with live audiences.
Click here to view WWE.com’s official WrestleMania preview.
Enzo and Cass will be the featured superstars on a new episode of WWE 24 set to air after Raw tonight. The documentary series will focus on the tag team’s Raw debut the night after WrestleMania 32 last year.
The promotion added a teaser video of tonight’s episode onto their YouTube page earlier today.
The episode will be the 10th in the series, with WWE producing an episode every few months since early 2015.
Enzo and Cass at WrestleMania
Enzo and Cass, both 30 years old, are coming up on their 1 year anniversary on the main roster. They have the chance to end their rookie year by winning their first tag team championships at WrestleMania.
On Sunday Enzo and Cass will be one of two teams challenging the current Raw tag champs. Anderson & Gallows will be defending the belts in a triple threat tag match which also includes Cesaro and Sheamus.
The situation between WWE, ROH, Impact Wrestling and the Hardys continues to get weirder. The current belief is the Hardys’ contracts with ROH do not extend passed Supercard of Honor. It is believed they will be headed to WWE after that.
WWE and Matt Hardy exchanged a few ominous tweets recently. Tweets which made reference to the #BROKEN universe which Impact is attempting to claim as their creation.
When the Hardy brothers signed with Ring of Honor wrestling, Anthem Sports and Entertainment (Impact owners) sent out cease and desist letters to the promotion and the cable companies carrying ROH PPVs. Anthem is claiming that the #BROKEN storyline was an Impact Wrestling creation, and thus belongs to them.
The Hardy family, most notably Reby, dispute that Impact played a role in developing the characters. In response Impact has placed “TM” trademark signs next to all of the YouTube videos featuring Matt Hardy and his family.
There is also vagueness in the law here, as Matt Hardy has been using the character on the indie scene in addition to on Impact. As such his claims to ownership of his character might fit under the “Gangrel” precedent. David Heath, former leader of the Brood, was involved in a legal battle over the name “Gangrel” with WWE and the makers of a vampire-based roleplaying game which claimed the character was based on one which appeared in their game. A judge in that case eventually ruled that since Gangrel had been using the name while performing for years, he was the true owner of the name.
Regardless, we should find out in a few weeks if WWE (assuming the Hardys go there) decides to run with the #BROKEN angle, or go back to the old Hardy team previously used in the WWE.
NJPW’s next big show is on April 9th at Sakura Genesis. Many of the matches on this show here were meant to build up interest to that show.
1. Tomoyuki Oka vs. Bad Luck Fale (Bullet Club) Oka got some offence in, but the young lion was defeated quickly in this opening match squash. It was a bit of a statement for Fale, who made it all the way to the finals in the New Japan cup when last we saw him. Winner: Bad Luck Fale
2.Taka Michinoku, El Desperado and Takashi Iizuka (Suzuki-Gun) vs. Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask, and Hirai Kawato
Iizuka had to be leashed by Taka Michinoku on his way to the ring. End of the match came when Suzuki Gun had Kawato isolated and Desperado hit his Guitarra de Angel for the win. After the match Desperado threw Kawato out of the ring and Liger chased Suzuki Gun away with a chair. Winners: Suzuki Gun (Desperado pinned Kawato)
3. Togi Makabe, Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. War Machine and David Finlay
We get a preview of the heavyweight tag team championship match coming up on April 9th, when Kojima and Tenzan defend the belts against War Machine. Kojima pinned David Finlay after a 3-d with Tenzan and a hard clothesline. War Machine and the tag champs then had a bit of a staredown inside the ring for a bit. Winners: Makabe, Kojima and Tenzan (Kojima pinned Finlay)
4. Kanamura, Minoru Suzuki and Taichi (Suzuki-Gun) vs. Jado, Gedo, and Hirooki Goto (CHAOS)
Suzuki-Gun’s Zack Sabre Jr. will challenge Goto for the intercontinental championship on April 9th, however he’s not in Japan for this show. Jado and Gedo will challenge Kanamura and Taichi for the junior heavyweight tag team titles on that show as well.
Finish of the match came when Taichi hit Gedo with a title belt and Taka hit a ddt from the top rope for the pin. Winners: Suzuki Gun (Taka pinned Gedo)
5. Kenny Omega, Yujiro Takahashi, and Chase Owens (Bullet Club) vs. Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, and Beretta (CHAOS)
Ishii eliminated Omega in the first round of the new japan cup, and we might get a rematch for that somewhere down the line. Omega will team up with Bad Luck Fale to take on Toru Yano and Ishii at Sakura Genesis.
There were some comedy spots here between Yano and Omega. The finish of the match was Yano hitting a low blow on Owens, followed by a lariat from Ishii and Yano rolling him up for the pin. Winners: CHAOS (Yano pinned Owens)
6. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Ryusuke Taguchi, Juice Robinson, Kushida and Nakanishi vs. Tetsuya Naito, Evil, Bushi, Hiromu Takahashi, and Sanada (Los Ingobernables)
At Sakura Genesis Kushida will challenge Takahashi for the junior heavyweight title. On the April 4th “Road to Sakura Genesis” show, Tanahashi will team with Taguchi and Ricochet to take on Evil, Bushi and Sanada for the 6-man tag team championships.
Juice Robison continues his feud with Naito and Los Ingobernables by picking up the win with “Pulp Friction” on Sanada in this match. Naito beat Juice up after the bell and gave him a crossface where he pulled on his dreads for leverage. Los Ingobernables left the good guys laying in the ring after the match. Winners: Tanahashi, Taguchi, Robinson, Kushida and Nakanishi (Juice Robinson pinned Sanada)
7. Katsuyori Shibata and Yuji Nagata vs. Kazuchika Okada and Yoshi-Hashi (CHAOS)
Shibata earned the right to challenge for Okada’s IWGP heavyweight championship by winning the new japan cup. Last year Naito won the cup and successfully defeated Okada for the title, though he would lose it back to Okada in the rematch.
Shibata continued his successful run here by defeating Yoshi-Hashi with the penalty kick. Could Shibata win the heavyweight championship for the first time in his career on April 9th?
Shibata and Okada had a stare down and exchanged words after the match but not much came from it. Winners: Shibata and Nagata (Shibata pinned Yoshi-Hashi)
Kenny Omega was interviewed recently by NJPW1972.com, the promotion’s new english language website. The website has been part of a recent surge of attention NJPW has been giving to promote their product to english speaking countries, most notably in the United States.
The most notable move the company has made to break into the American market however, has been their decision to hold part of their annual G1 tournament in Los Angeles this summer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BE0jms-zvs4
Kenny Omega Interview
“Coming to America is cause for celebration! But what would make people party the longest, hardest and loudest would be watching me in the main event wearing the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.” – Kenny Omega
NJPW have referred to WWE’s recent string of signing Asian and European based talent as a “global takeover”. Others have compared it to when Vince McMahon bought up or raided all the territories in the 1980s, but on a global scale. NJPW heading to America could be seen as a reaction to WWE’s current strategy.
Other notable Kenny Omega quotes from the interview:
On shoulder injury:
“You know, I really wanted to keep that injury secret. I didn’t want to tell anyone about it before the [New Japan Cup] match… I didn’t even want to tell anyone after the match either! Because if I said anything after the match, they’d say I was making excuses.”
On recent losses to CHAOS members Kazuchika Okada and Tomohiro Ishii:
Does CHAOS know something about me? My weakness? How is it that Okada beat me after I gave it my all, and then Ishii as well? It blows my motherfXXXking mind! So what I need to do is go on a quest, a search for what I am lacking. What is Kenny Omega’s weakness!? That’s what I need to find next!
It’s been a big week for Kyle O’Reilly. The former Ring of Honor world champion was praised by Triple H on a recent conference call, and was interviewed by Sports Illustrated. O’Reilly has also been announced as joining the Evolve roster starting next month.
The rumors are true. Kyle O'Reilly is coming to EVOLVE, starting April 22 & 23 in NYC. Much more including matches in tomorrow's WWN Alerts
While little is known regarding the details of his agreement with Evolve, one can probably assume it is a flexible deal that O’Reilly could break if the WWE came calling.
Kyle O’Reilly is a Very Good Wrestler
O’Reilly finished off 2016 by defeating Adam Cole for the Ring of Honor world championship. He started off 2017 by losing that same title back to Adam Cole inside the Tokyo Dome at WrestleKingdom. It seemed as though O’Reilly was WWE bound after leaving ROH, but that doesn’t appear to be the case. Not yet, anyway.
Many wrestlers are opting not to sign with ROH or Impact at the moment, as such deals would prevent them from signing with WWE. With WWE now interested in signing indie talent, many are choosing to stay away from unbreakable contracts. O’Reilly may fall into that mix.
Triple H made it clear O’Reilly is on their radar recently on a media conference call:
“I have no doubt that (O’Reilly) will end up in the WWE at some point and time,” Triple H stated when asked about the 30 year old from British Columbia.
“I think it just comes down to where he’s at and his availability and where we’re at with our availability to work with him. “
By signing with Evolve instead of Ring of Honor, O’Reilly is likely keeping his WWE availability open. Triple H added,
“I hope those two worlds collide very soon because I’d love to have him.”
The lone wolf picked up a near squash match level victory here, and then made out with Angelina Love for a bit. Not a bad day’s work for Richards. Winner: Davey Richards
Laurel Van Ness has yet to wash her face or change out of her wedding dress now for multiple weeks. Her sanity is being tested after her disastrous attempt at a wedding.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9ngflchHmg
2. Fallah Bath, Idris Abraham and Mario Bokara vs. Laredo Kid, Garza Jr and Shera
A lot of new faces in this match, but for the second week in a row Laredo Kid and Garza Jr. from the Crash Lucha Libre promotion pick up the win. Fallah Bahh and Mario Bokara are the Monster Factory tag champs and made their Impact debut here. Bahh is from the Philippines and goes with a a bit of a sumo gimmick, while Bokara is from Croatia. Idris Abraham is from Michigan but they played up his Egyptian roots as this match served as a showcase for how “global” Impact is. Winners: Laredo Kid, Garza Jr and Shera
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hk_TWwL1Qns
3. Reno Scum vs. Decay
The tag team division continues to take centre stage in Impact, as the company looks to move on from the Hardys (whilst making it more difficult for the Hardys to move on from Impact). Reno Scum pick up an upset victory here, defeating the former tag team champions. Based on how they’ve been used since the Jarretts took over, things are looking good for Reno Scum. Winners: Reno Scum
4. Moose vs. Eli Drake
Moose is back from his Pro Wrestling NOAH trip, but he never got the chance to wrestle here. Cody, who has been challenging Moose in recent weeks, took the opportunity to attack Moose from behind with a chair, and leave him laying with the Cross Rhodes. Result: No Contest (Cody attacked Moose pre-match)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Yp_SXuXle8
5. LAX w/Konnan vs. DCC
More action in the tag team division as the returning LAX (Homicide and Diamante wrestled here) defeated Bram and James Storm from the DCC. LAX could be considered top favourites to become the new Impact tag team champions shortly. If they do win the titles don’t expect them to defend the belts against a team from AAA however, Konnan made that fairly clear on Twitter earlier this week.
As for DCC, Storm ended up arguing after the match with Bram and Kingston, which could be an indication their faction is not long for this world. Winners: LAX
6. ODB vs. Rebel
Knockouts division action here, with two former members of the division returning in this match. ODB took advantage of some shenanigans between Earl Hepner and Rebel however, which allowed her to pick up the victory. As such, she moves a little bit closer to title contention. Winner: ODB
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4acMgSeThHI
7. Bobby Lashley vs. Jake Holmes
Despite losing the title a couple of weeks ago, Bobby Lashley is still the Impact Wrestling champion. He took apart Jake Holmes here in squash match style. Alberto El Patron is waiting in the wings for a future title shot however. Winner: Bobby Lashley
The main segment to close out the show was Karen Jarrett returning, and her slapping Josh Mathews. She did not directly fire Josh however, so he might still be on commentary next week.
Last spring, 28 year-old former Polish football player Babatunde Aiyegbusi was signed to WWE developmental. Throughout 2016, Aiyegbusi has been training in Orlando. So far the 6ft 10inch 350lbs recruit has wrestled in two battle royals and one squash match at NXT live events.
NXT trainer Steve Corino sent out video of the giant in action:
Meet Babatunde Aiyegbusi, the giant of the WWE Performance Center https://t.co/m6zn4sQcw4 via @wwe Great article!
Babatunde actually played American football in Poland, playing in the Polish American Football league. He played in preseason play with the Minnesota Vikings in 2015.
Better later than never. The bromance between Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho is deader than dead, but WWE is offering a chance to commemorate one of the best storylines of the past year. WWEShop has released a poster of the “Creation of Kevin” painting Jericho unveiled at the Festival of Friendship.
As we head into WrestleMania, there are still many unanswered questions surrounding the Kevin Owens vs. Chris Jericho match. Some of the reasons Owens has given for why he turned on Jericho still don’t add up completely.
Owens said he turned on Jericho because of Jericho accepting the match with Goldberg on Kevin’s behalf. That ignores the secret conversation Owens had with Triple H earlier on the night he turned on Jericho. What did Triple H tell Owens? It’ll be interesting to see if Triple H’s involvement in this storyline is ever mentioned again, or if we are just expected to forget about that part.
NXT TV (March 22nd 2017)
Taped: February 22nd 2017
Full Sail University
1. Andrade “Cien” Almas vs. Oney Lorcan
This was a rematch from the December 3rd 2016 episode of NXT, where Lorcan pulled off the upset over Almas. At the time Almas’ character was still a good guy, with suspenders and a feather in his hat. Now as a heel, Almas was able to put away Lorcan here. The 27 year old Almas, formerly known as La Sombra in Mexico, was a highly touted prospect, but one who floundered in his original NXT debut. So far things are going better for him as a “bad guy”. He wins clean with a a hammerlock DDT.
It was revealed later in the show however, that Almas will face the debuting Aleister Black at Takeover: Orlando. Winner: Andrade “Cien” Almas
2. Asuka vs. Priscilla Zuniga (non-title)
It’s been a big week for Priscilla Zuniga, also known as Angel Rose. A 25 year old who has been wrestling professionally since 2009, Rose also debuted in Impact Wrestling last week as a member of the newly formed LAX faction.
Asuka got on the mic before the match and told Ember Moon that this would be “her head” at Takeover, and then kicked Zuniga square in the face. She then proceeded to beat her opponent up unmercifully. Asuka would go for the cover and then lift Zuniga up to punish her some more. Finally she locked in the Asuka-lock, but wouldn’t let go for a few Rousimar Palhares type moments after Zuniga tapped. It was all to send a message to Ember Moon. After the match Asuka said there would be no “eclipse” in Orlando.
Commentary played up how damaging Ember Moon’s “Eclipse” move is, mentioning how Billie Kay needed help to the back after taking it the other week. Winner: Asuka
A rather tattooed gentleman, by the name of Aleister Black, is featured in a vignette. Black is a 31-year old former kick boxer from the Netherlands. He started as a pro in late 2015 and is already about to debut at a Takeover event, which indicates WWE may be high on this guy.
3. Sanity vs. Tye Dillinger, No Way Jose and Roderick Strong
NXT’s mid-card feud continued here, only the match ended up being thrown out when all six men were brawling at once. Dillinger kept trying to get at Eric Young, but something always prevented it from happening. After the match was thrown out the two sides kept brawling, but Nikki Cross from Sanity jumped on Dillinger giving her faction the advantage. Then we got the debut of Heidi Lovelace who came to the ring to even things up for the babyface team. They ended the show by clearing the bad guys out of the ring. Lovelace had been a regular with Shimmer and Chikara before reporting to NXT earlier this year. Winners: No-contest
Jimmy and Jey Uso won WWE tag team gold for the 3rd time last night on Smackdown. They won their first championships in March of 2014, and their second in December of the same year. With another championship win to their name, the Usos are making a case for themselves as the greatest tag team their bloodline has ever produced.
Jimmy and Jey Uso’s real names are Jon and Josh Fatu. Why the WWE doesn’t go with their more famous sounding last name is anyone’s guess. They are part of a long lineage of championship tag teams that their family has produced.
Anoa’i Family Tag Team Legacy
The Wild Samoans were the first tag team the family produced, and Afa and Sika would play a major role in cementing wrestling as the family business. A legendary tag team, they held the WWF tag titles on 3 occassions and were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2007.
Afa and Sika’s sister married and had children with I’aulualo Folau Solofa Fatu. They had 3 sons who became wrestlers. Eddie Fatu would go on to have a very successful WWE run as Umaga before dying at the early age of 36. The other two sons were twins, Sam and Solofa Fatu. They would become the Tongan Kid and Rikishi respectively.
The Tongan Kid, Uncle to the Usos, would form a tag team with family friend Haku as the Islanders in the 1980s. While they would never win the WWE tag team titles, they were successful in their own right.
The next tag team the family produced was “the Headshrinkers”, which consisted of Rikishi (as Fatu) and his cousin Samuel Anoa’i, who was known as Samu. They would win the WWE tag team championships on one occasion.
Next up was 3 Minute Warning, which consisted of Eddie Fatu (Umaga) and Matthew Anoa’i (Rosey). The team would serve as bodyguards for Raw GM Eric Bischoff for a period, before both wrestlers would move into different characters.
Finally the Usos are the first 3rd generation tag team the family has produced. Now with 3 championship title reigns to their name, they are starting to make a case for themselves as being the greatest tag team in family history. They still might need to do more to pass the Wild Samoans however, but considering the Usos are only 31 years old, they have plenty of time left still.
Matt Hardy has commented on the ongoing battle with Impact Wrestling parent company Anthem regarding ownership of his “Broken” character and the associated likenesses. Matt did not take as strong of a stance as his wife Reby, but he did call out Impact Wrestling president Ed Nordholm for being “condescending & disingenuous.”
As we’ve covered, Anthem has been fighting the Hardy family over the rights to the Broken Universe, sending cease & desist letters to Ring of Honor and the cable companies that carried their 15th Anniversary PPV featuring the Hardys.
Ed Nordholm’s tweets, while appearing genuine, seem to be an effort to set the precedent that Impact believes the Broken family is their creation. This is why Jeremy Borash, Dave Lagana and Billy Corgan are all thanked as being part of the creative process, even if some of them are no longer with the company.
Last week, Reby Hardy stated her case as to why Anthem has no case for ownership of the Broken Universe and blasted them for an “absolutely laughable” settlement offer. With Anthem looking to revitalize a badly damaged Impact Wrestling grand, their recent actions towards the Hardy family, Ring of Honor and cable companies are not a “good look” and will not endear them in the eyes of wrestling fans.
Mauro Ranallo was absent from Smackdown for the second consecutive week. After missing last week’s show due to travel issues related to the big snowstorm in the Northeast United States, WWE says that he was “out sick.”
Silent on Social Media
Ranallo, who is typically very active on social media, has not posted anything on Twitter since March 13th, the day before last week’s SmackDown. He was ridiculed for not making the show by JBL (in a since deleted tweet) as well asformer WWE announcers Taz and Josh Mathews.
With @OfficialTAZ in the car, I once drove us 2 days to Indianapolis to make a TAPED Smackdown show from NYC. #JustSayin'
Further speculation regarding Ranallo’s absence may have to do with his well-documented battles with bi-polar disorder. Ranallo has been quite open previously about his mental health battles, which have caused him to miss shows in other sports previously.
In addition to being the current Smackdown lead announcer, Ranallo has also called fights for Showtime Boxing, Pride FC, EliteXC and numerous other combat sport organizations. He got his start in wrestling working as a manager in Vancouver’s All-Star Wrestling promotion.
Former cruiserweight champion, and winner of the cruiserweight classic, TJ Perkins’ stock is falling fast. He takes another loss this week. Tony Nese beats Perkins clean with a running knee (aka the Running Nese) after suplexing his opponent into an exposed turnbuckle. The last time Perkins won a televised singles match it was on January 24th, when he beat the guy he lost to here in Tony Nese. He’s lost 4 straight televised singles matches. Nese picks up a win after losing to Aries on Raw. Winner: Tony Nese
2. Akira Tozawa vs. Local Competitor
Tozawa ended this match in near record time, as he landed a bridging german suplex for the pin almost immediately after the bell sounded. He then got on the mic and called out Brian Kendrick, who had stolen his passport, preventing him from being on Raw last night. When Kendrick didn’t appear, Tozawa headed to the back to find him. Kendrick was dressed as a security guard however, and clobbered Tozawa from behind as he walked up the ramp.
This week’s lesson for Tozawa from Kendrick is that “appearances can be deceiving”. Winner: Akira Tozawa
Austin Aries interviews himself about his upcoming match at WrestleMania. Neville interrupts.
3. Mustapha Ali vs. Neville (non-title
With Aries at the commentary table, Neville looked to do the same thing to Ali that Aries did to Nese on Raw. Ali wasn’t going silently however, and landed plenty of big offence, including an impressive looking springboard Spanish fly from the top rope. In the end Neville made Ali tap to the rings of Saturn however. Immediately after the match Neville got right up in Aries’ face at commentary but things never did get physical between them. Winner: Neville
Ring of Honor TV airdate: March 20th 2017 (On Fite App)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VTqTXEcYkk
1. Will Ferrara & Cheeseburger vs. Silas Young and the Beer City Bruiser
Before the match they cut to a video of Young and the Bruiser talking about having a mystery partner and eventually challenging for the 6-man titles. Young and Bruiser pulled out the victory here after Bruiser pinned Ferrara with a rather painful looking frog splash. Winners: Silas Young and Beer City Bruiser (Bruiser pinned Ferrara)
2. 2017 Top Prospect Tournament 1st Round
Chris LeRusso vs. Josh Woods
Definitely a few LeRusso supporters in the audience tonight. Silas Young joined the commentary team and mentioned he might be scouting this match for a 3rd member of his team with the Beer City Bruiser.
We got the rare “win via referee’s stoppage” in this bout, after Woods hit a head kick and some ground and pound until the ref stepped in. Woods advances to the tournament semi-finals. Winner: Josh Woods via ref stoppage
3. Kenny King (Rebellion) w/Caprice Coleman vs. Lio Rush
Commentary played up the prior relationship between Lio Rush and the Rebellion. Chris Sabin joined on commentary, who is now aligned with Rush through his Search and Destroy faction.
King won clean with the Royal Flush after a back and forth match.
After the match Shane Taylor came to the ring and power bombed Rush. Taylor is now the newest member of the Rebellion. Winner: Kenny King
4. Jay White vs. Jay Briscoe
Mark Briscoe joined on commentary. This is a rematch from a time limit draw that occurred on ROH TV previously. The whole story is that the youngster, Jay White, took the veteran, Jay Briscoe, to the limit in the first match.
White, who is a loanee from NJPW, was made to look at or near Jay Briscoe’s level here, and commentary played it up as though he would be a future world title challenger. Finish of the match came when Briscoe, who had put White through a table moments earlier, hit a hard clothesline and pinned him. It was the old veteran gets the win but rookie earns respect and shows he’s for real type of match. Winner: Jay Briscoe
When Finn Balor was forced to vacate the WWE Universal Championship the night after SummerSlam, he had just defeated Seth Rollins in the finals of a tournament to crown the inaugural champion. Balor suffered a shoulder injury in the match, but it would later be revealed he had significant wear and tear damage as well. Ultimately Balor’s shoulder would require surgery that has kept him out of action since August.
At the time Rollins was a “bad guy”, and would only turn “good guy” later after Triple H screwed him out of the Universal championship. If Balor and Rollins are to feud, one of them is most likely turning.
Balor drew a heart around a sign reading “Balor Not Far” and a squiggly line around Rollins, indicating he’s coming for Rollins, and soon. Could Balor make his return at WrestleMania? Is it possible Balor interferes in the Rollins vs. Triple H match?
There are a lot of unanswered questions regarding how and when Balor returns to WWE.
Ross was introduced to his wife by Ric Flair sometime in the early 90’s. She has made appearances with him at various pro-wrestling related events, such as his Hall of Fame induction, where he spoke at length about how important she has been to his life and career.
Please keep Jan Ross in your thoughts.
Just talked to JR, and this is VERY serious–please everyone keep Jan and Jim in your thoughts today. https://t.co/cxd9Q79xnC
Two weeks ago on Raw Chris Jericho put Tom Phillips on “the List” for, amongst other reasons, not knowing his own name. Jericho was confusing backstage interviewer Mike Rome for host/commentator Tom Phillips, and didn’t believe Rome when he tried to tell him so.
Recently Chris Jericho took to Instagram to illustrate his point about the two looking similar.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BR4jl2KFyXz/
In the picture Tom Phillips is the smaller one who has his phone in his hand.
Chris Jericho vs. Kevin Owens at WrestleMania
In 12 days at WrestleMania, Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens will bring an epic storyline to its conclusion. The two Canadian wrestlers started an alliance this spring which grew to be one of the most popular storylines in recent memory. Jericho has called this last year in WWE one of the most fun times he’s had in wrestling. He has also said he ranks this last year only behind his memorable rivalry with Shawn Michaels as his favourite program of his career.
Edge and Christian’s new podcast will hit iTunes this week, and recently Christian took to Twitter to announce their first guess will the WWE Universal champion, Bill Goldberg.
— Jay 'Christian' Reso (@Christian4Peeps) March 21, 2017
Edge and Christian Podcast
Edge and Christian previously had their own show on the WWE Network, though reviews were not overly positive. It looks as though the two best friends from Orangeville, ON Canada believe a podcast is better suited towards their humour.
They also announced they want their podcast to be interactive and are encouraging fans to leave questions in the form of audio voicemails. They released the number fans can call earlier this week.
We're making @EandCPod listener interactive. We wanna hear what you got to say. Call 929-367-8204 leave a vm and you may end up on the show
Edge and Christian grew up together in a town just outside of Toronto. They would both end up training with Ron Hutchinson in Toronto, and would later be groomed by Bret Hart. They would both make their WWE debuts in 1998.
