Tama Tonga recently took part in an interview with Chris Van Vliet. During the discussion, he revealed the name that was originally proposed for the faction before it was ultimately decided to call the group Bullet Club.
“I didn’t have no say in the name, I was just like ‘alright, tell me what to do and I’ll do it,'” Tonga said on the show. “Prince Devitt was thinking of calling it the ‘Bullet Brigade’ and Fale was like ‘brigade sounds…what if you called it club?'”
“Fale is from New Zealand and played professional rugby and ‘club’ is a thing. So, that’s where Bullet Club came from. So, took that and ran with it.”
Bullet Club is a faction in New Japan Pro Wrestling that has produced multiple IWGP Heavyweight Champions. AJ Styles, Kenny Omega, Jay White, and now EVIL have held that title while a member of the faction.
Tonga was also asked his opinion of WWE’s version of the club.
“It’s just like anything else, just like Mexico’s LIJ that became LIJ of Japan. Just like the Hurt Business or the Mob whatever. When you are doing something so good, everybody wants to copy it. That’s a nod to us, I’m okay with that but you aren’t going to do it like us,” Tonga said.
Arn Anderson recently spent some time on the Arn Show discussing WWE’s attitude towards tag-team wrestling. According to the Enforcer, WWE soured on tag-team wrestling during the Attitude era.
“They went through a time up in the WWF, I can’t specifically tell you when it was when they went through all these factions,” Anderson said. Conrad and Anderson then nailed down 1997 as the year he is talking about.
“Taker had the APA and all those guys with him, you had the guys from Puerto Rico, you had all these different factions, you had D-X, all those guys. Just guessing, when you start paying all those groups when you have the big shows and you had a lot of those factions on there, you had a lot of sets of trans (payment for transportation).”
Anderson then continued to say that the additional costs associated with tag-teams and factions likely played a role in WWE’s decreased use of teams.
“If you add all those transportation costs to pay and all that, I imagine it did get expensive and it was probably overwhelming so when he decided to peel back from factions and all that, he probably just included tag matches in the equation and that was a mistake.”
Conrad then asked Arn if AEW will try to feature tag-team wrestling in main events and in a bigger role.
“I certainly think it can,” Anderson said. “They have some tremendous tag-teams.”
Bret Hart is currently promoting his Confessions of the Hitman web series which features interviews with the Excellence of Execution himself.
The legendary grappler has been posting excerpts from the shows recently on Instagram. In one teaser clip, Bret details his father Stu Hart teaching him how to fight after finding out he got into a scuffle at school.
“I remember my Dad giving me all these pointers on where the head goes, the body follows. I remember him telling me that,” Bret said about pointers his father gave him on how to fight. “He’s telling me all this stuff and he goes wrestle him down and stuff like that.”
“I remember he told me this too in this same little moment he had to teach me to fight. He told me that if you ever get in a really tough spot, bite that guy on the tip of the nose if you’re close enough and get him right on the tip. He won’t bother you again.”
WWE has announced a groundbreaking new viewing experience for fans that will premiere this Friday on SmackDown, WWE ThunderDome.
WWE sent out a press release Monday morning detailing ThunderDome as a “state-of-the-art viewing experience featuring video boards, pyrotechnics, lasers, cutting-edge graphics, and drone cameras. “
Thunderdome will also involve fans being virtually projected into Orlando’s Amway Center via massive LED boards. Fans who would like to participate in this aspect of ThunderDome can sign up at WWEThunderDome.com.
The launch of ThunderDome coincides with WWE moving regular television production to the Amway Center arena in Orlando, FL. Both SummerSlam and TakeOver XXX will take place from the venue this weekend.
Amway Center, Orlando, FL
WWE ThunderDome
The company sent out a press release today to announce the news.
“WWE has a long history of producing the greatest live spectacles in sports and entertainment, yet nothing compares to what we are creating with WWE ThunderDome,” said Kevin Dunn. “This structure will enable us to deliver an immersive atmosphere and generate more excitement amongst the millions of fans watching our programming around the world.”
“As WWE takes residency at the world-class Amway Center, we have reimagined our live event experience for today’s environment,” said Brian Flinn, WWE Chief Marketing & Communications Officer. “In partnership with The Famous Group, we will virtually bring our fans back into the show and recreate the interactive in-arena atmosphere that has been a staple of WWE events for decades.”
Former ROH World Champion John “Xavier” Bedoya has passed away. Details regarding his death are not currently known. Xavier was the 2nd ever champion in the history of the promotion. He defeated Low-Ki for the title in 2002.
“A product of the New York independent wrestling scene, Xavier defeated Low Ki on Sept. 21, 2002 to become the second ROH World Champion. He held the title for 182 days before losing it to Samoa Joe on March 22, 2003,” reads a statement released by Ring of Honor.
Christopher Daniels also posted the following Tweet in tribute to Xavier:
Rest In Peace Xavier. Thank you for the matches, both as opponent and partner. You will be missed.
“Xavier was scheduled to come out of retirement to face Jay Lethal at the ROH Past vs. Present show this past March in Las Vegas, but the show was canceled due to the pandemic,” ROH’s statement continues.
Xavier was trained by Tony Devito and made his pro debut in 1997. He largely retired from the business in 2011.
“Damn, I’m so sadden by this. #xavier the all around best, was my 1st ever favorite and intro into the indy/ROH world. X was drastically underrated & someone I was stoked to befriend after gaining him as a fan of my own. He gave me the green light using “kiss you x goodbye,” wrote Brian Cage.
Damn, I'm so sadden by this. #xavier the all around best, was my 1st ever favorite and intro into the indy/ROH world. X was drastically underrated & someone I was stoked to befriend after gaining him as a fan of my own. He gave me the green light using "kiss you x goodbye" pic.twitter.com/Y63MnnXFjW
“I’m just learning now of the death of Xavier. He was the second ever ROH champion, and very highly respected by his peers. So sad to lose someone so young. #RIPXavier,” wrote Mick Foley.
The NBA Playoffs have disrupted the upcoming AEW Dynamite schedule. The promotion recently posted an updated schedule complete with content set to air on YouTube during Dynamite’s normal timeslot Wednesdays at 8 PM est.
There will be no Dynamite on Wednesday this week due to the NBA Playoffs. Part 1 of All Out 2019 will air on AEW’s YouTube page beginning at 8 PM EST. Dynamite this week will air on Saturday at 6 PM or after the NBA game is over.
There will also be no episode of Dynamite on August 26th, 2020. The episode will instead air the following night at 8 PM. AEW will air part 2 of All Out 2019 on its YouTube channel Wednesday, August 26th at 8 PM.
On Wednesday, September 16th, 2020, a special 1-hour episode of Dynamite will air after the NBA game is over. The following night a full episode will air beginning at 8 PM est.
The Saturday, August 22nd episode of Dynamite will feature Cody vs Brodie Lee for the TNT championship.
Also, fans in Canada should note that next Saturday’s episode of Dynamite will air at 10 PM on TSN. The show will air on TSN 2.
Lance Storm recently caused some controversy due to statements he made regarding intergender wrestling. Storm says that he has spoken with many female wrestlers who are uncomfortable with such matches but are afraid to speak up due to feeling as though it could cost them bookings.
Storm recently appeared on Wrestling Observer Radio and clarified his comments.
“The vast majority, I won’t say all but so many of the girls that came through (his school) when class was getting to the end, so many of them said ‘I’m not really comfortable with this inter gender thing, am I going to have to do that?'” Storm said.
“I would tell them the same thing I’d tell guys that are like ‘I’m not really comfortable with the idea of getting color, do I have to do that?’ The answer is you can always say no but you have to realize that that could hurt your chances of ever getting booked again.”
Storm also spoke about some wrestlers who disagreed with his stance when he came out with his comments last week.
“I was annoyed at the higher-end women in the business that jumped out with ‘oh but I really like doing it!’ And it’s like yeah, but it’s not about you.”
Lance Storm On Intergender Wrestling in WWE vs At Independent Shows
Storm then said he’s more concerned with intergender wrestling on the indie scene than in a bigger company. This is due to WWE having a human resource department and agents whereas independent shows do not have people in these roles.
“If you’re in WWE. Like if Nia Jax wanted to end up having a match with Pat Buck. Does anybody think there’s going to be some sexual harassment or pressure there? Of course not.”
Storm also said that he’s spoken with male students who were uncomfortable with intergender matches as well.
He also spoke about the idea that getting rid of intergender wrestling would take away opportunities for women in the business.
“I disagree because if intergender is not an acceptable booking practice, especially at the indy level, you have to book more women.”
Major League Wrestling’s Head of Wrestling Operations, Jared St. Laurent, issued a statement recently regarding Davey Boy Smith Jr. The statement is in response to recent reports that Smith was unable to work for Impact Wrestling due to his contact status with MLW.
“(Smith) had an offer from Impact to do a program with Ken Shamrock but his MLW contract prevented it, which is tough because it’s a contract where he’s not getting paid a regular salary, just per appearance,” wrote Dave Meltzer in the most recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The report would continue to say that Smith has drawn interest from both AEW and WWE.
Smith’s MLW contract is believed to be up in December.
MLW Responds To Report Regarding Davey Boy Smith Jr.
MLW then posted the following comments from St. Laurent on Smith’s status with MLW.
“I want to address some misinformation put out there. I had talks with Impact about Davey Boy possibly crossing over and doing some dates. We had a very positive conversation with Impact. Scott D’Amore and Impact were great to deal with and we were absolutely open to it. We gave Davey several options for how we could make this work as well as help him out financially during the pandemic. Davey opted to do nothing, unfortunately. It could’ve been a win/win for all 3 parties. It’s a shame but that is the full story,” the statement reads.
“On a personal level, I’ve known Davey for almost 2 decades. It’s sad to see him elect to end his tenure with yet another company on such a sour note.”
It was also reported recently that MLW sent WWE a cease and desist letter in regards to Smith appearing on an episode of the Bump.
“MLW also sent a cease-and-desist to WWE after Smith appeared on “The Bump.” Smith is scheduled to at least make a WWE appearance inducting his father into the Hall of Fame, but that may be some time off,” Meltzer wrote.
An obsessed fan has been arrested after breaking into the Florida home of Smackdown Superstar, Sonya Deville. The Tampa Bay Times is reporting that Phillip A. Thomas of South Carolina was arrested early this morning. He has admitted to breaking into Deville’s home and that he had planned to kidnap her.
The police department has said that Thomas had been planning the kidnapping attempt for 8 months. He had a knife, plastic zip ties, duct tape, and mace on him at the time of his arrest. He has been charged with aggravated stalking, armed burglary of a dwelling, attempted armed kidnapping, and criminal mischief.
Reports are that the suspect cut a hole in Deville’s screen door around midnight last night to gain access to her porch. He remained there as Deville and a friend watched the UFC PPV. Thomas then attempted to enter the home through a sliding glass door at 2:43 AM. This triggered Deville’s alarm system. Deville then spotted Thomas on her property, fled the premises, and called the police.
“Our deputies are unveiling the suspect’s disturbing obsession with this homeowner who he had never met, but stalked on social media for years,” Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a press release. “It’s frightening to think of all the ways this incident could have played out had the home alarm not gone off and alerted the homeowner of an intruder.”
Paul Heyman has resurfaced in a new video promoting his role in the new WWE 2K Battlegrounds video game.
Heyman served as the Executive Director of WWE Raw from June ’19-’20. WWE opted to consolidated its writing teams, with Bruce Prichard serving as the head.
Heyman is a focal point of the 2K Battlegrounds Career mode of the arcade-style brawler. In the video seen below, Heyman holds ‘story time’ running down the different game modes.
“The world of WWE is your battleground with all-new, over the top, in-your-face arcade action as your favorite WWE Superstars and Legends battle it out in outlandish interactive environments around the world,” reads a description of the game.
WWE 2K Battlegrounds is set to be released on September 18th, 2020 for major video game consoles.
RAW Ratings Since Paul Heyman’s Departure
The ratings for RAW increased for 2 weeks after Heyman was removed from the creative team. They have since fallen to numbers below what they had been during Heyman’s time as Executive Director of the brand.
June 7th, 2020 was the last RAW with Heyman in charge. It did 1.737 million viewers and a 0.52 in the key demo. Typical ratings for the show in his last couple of months in charge hovered around the same numbers. RAW ratings in July then slipped to around 1.6 million and below a 0.5 in the key demo. They have increased the last two weeks, however, with numbers again hovering around 1.7 million viewers and a 0.5 in the key demo.
The Ultimate Warrior briefly returned to WWE in 1996. He defeated Hunter Hearst Helmsley at WrestleMania 12 but was gone from the company by that July. Jim Ross recently spent some time on his Grillin JR podcast talking about Warrior’s return to the company and why it was so short-lived.
JR commented on why Triple H was booked against Warrior at WrestleMania 12.
“The deal with Hunter was the fact that he already was a hell of a good worker and we knew that he could take care of Warrior and be in the right place at the right time to not exploit the Warrior’s weaknesses. That’s the mark of a great talent and Triple H is a great talent.”
Jim Ross On Ultimate Warrior/Jerry Lawler Angle
One thing that was brought up was when Warrior conspicuously wore a baseball hat during a segment on RAW. Jerry Lawler was going to hit him with a picture frame during the segment and Warrior evidently wore the hat to protect him from the shot.
“Selfishness. Lack of trust. Lack of understanding,” JR said about Warrior’s decision to come out wearing a hat for the segment. “You’re working with Jerry Lawler for god’s sake. Do you think Lawler’s going to hurt you? No, he isn’t. You think that you’re the first guy to get hit over the head with a framed picture? No, you’re not. But, he influenced his angle because it was convenient for him, and the fact that his balls are small, they’d fit in a thimble, and he decided to basically hijack the angle.”
Warrior then no-showed some events and things fell apart between him and WWE.
“The reason he wasn’t given a bigger push is the lack of confidence. He still was a volatile, combustible talent that you could not really fully trust, ever.”
Tessa Blanchard and Impact Wrestling parted ways this summer while Blanchard was still the Impact World Champion. Impact vacated the title which is now held by Eddie Edwards. It had been reported that Blanchard was asking for a large sum of money to return the title.
Impact got a new set of belts.
Tessa reported wanted $150,000 to return the old one.
This was disputed by Blanchard’s team who stated they only got an address to send the belt to the week of Slammiversary.
Konnan recently spent some time on his podcast talking about Blanchard’s departure from Impact and what might be in store for her next.
“It almost feels like to me, and I could be wrong, like she got heat over it, people found out, now she’s sending it back but that should have been sent back before the match. As a matter of fact, she probably should have defended it,” Konnan said.
Konnan then speculated something must have happened between the two sides.
“Who knows what happened but something happened for her after she was put over Brian Cage, Sami Callihan, and all these other people, first woman to ever have the belt. Something happened for her not to want to come back one last time and lose the belt. So, who knows what happened?”
Ring of Honor hasn’t run an event since February due to the ongoing global pandemic. Marty Scurll’s status with the company has also been up in the air since allegations were levied against him as part of the #SpeakingOut movement.
ROH will be returning to taping this month in Baltimore. Delirious will be returning to his former role as head of creative, however. He is replacing Scurll who had been given the position in January. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Scurll is on hiatus. He is said to not be involved in ROH production at the moment.
“Hunter Johnston (Delirious) is back as the head of creative. Marty Scurll, who had been head booker, is technically on hiatus with no ROH responsibilities pending a human resources investigation of the claims made against him,” wrote Dave Meltzer.
The tapings on August 22nd and 23rd will be in a tournament format.
Marty Scurll Comments On Allegations Against Him
Scurll released the following statement in regards to the allegations against him:
“I am aware that a young woman has bravely come forward with her account of sexual abuse by some members of the wrestling community in the UK 5 years ago, a community I was part of.”
“Although I truly believe that our encounter that evening was consensual, and the fact that the encounter was legal; is almost not the point. I understand that she now views our encounter as part of a bigger problem within the wrestling community.”
Major League Wrestling has inked a deal with the Fubo Sports Network to air episodes of Fusion. The show will air at 10 PM EST on Thursday nights. A replay of the previous week’s show will air at 9 PM the same night.
Fubo is a free live streaming sports station. It can be streamed through Roku, Pluto TV, TV Plus, Xumo, Vizio and on their official website here.
“At a time when sports are in high demand we’re thrilled to add Major League Wrestling to our lineup on fubo Sports Network,” said Ben Grad, head of content strategy and acquisition for fuboTV. “MLW features some of the best quality fighting out there, and consumers will be able to watch it all for free on fubo Sports Network.
“We are proud to partner with fubo, given their emerging position in sports and broadcasting,” said MLW’s Court Bauer. “We are excited about our future with fubo as we further the reach and popularity of the league with this partnership.”
“I’ve been very encouraged by how the UFC, NBA, the NHL, Top Rank Boxing and DAZN Match Room boxing have managed operations as they restart,” said Bauer. “We’re also seeing TV and film start back up in certain regions in a cautious manner and that’s the mindset you need to operate with during this moment in time: caution.”
In storyline, MLW has been shutdown due to a hostile takeover by Contra Unit.
Last week on Dynamite, Sammy Guevara chucked a chair at Matt Hardy. The end result was a deep laceration to the 45-year-old’s head. Hardy posted a video to Twitter recently to talk about the incident.
“You ever have those moments in life where it seems like time stands still?” Hardy asks to begin the video. “I had one of those last week, AEW Dynamite, when I got into a brawl with that little weirdo bitch Sammy Guevara.”
Hardy then continued to mention that the chair Sammy hit him with was not the usual kind seen in pro-wrestling.
“I was thinking ‘that’s no average steel chair, folding chair, that you see in pro wrestling. No, that’s 3 or 4 times heavier, heavy-ass industrial-grade chair, that’s what is flying at my face.’”
The chairshot was referenced this week on Being the Elite as well. Hardy said he felt fine but then switched between several of his many personas in short succession.
“Sammy, that literally could have killed me,” Hardy continued. “Congratulations, you are going to go down in pro-wrestling history as the guy who threw the most dangerous, reckless, vicious chairshot in history.”
Hardy then promised to get revenge on Guevara.
“It’s my mission to rid you from this business because you don’t deserve to be in the same industry I’m in,” Hardy said to Guevara.
GIMME AN OL' RE-TWEET if you're excited to watch @AEWrestling's #AEWDynamite tonight.. Here's my in-depth thoughts on last week's @AEWonTNT incident & what I'm going to do to that weird & reckless piece of shit, Sammy Guevara. pic.twitter.com/Nnw3oI1k58
This week’s edition of WWE RAW ended with Randy Orton turning on Ric Flair. The 16x World Champion had been serving as something of a manager for his former Evolution stablemate as of late. Orton said Flair was a liability to his career, as his ego was what led to his match Monday night against Kevin Owens.
Flair took to Twitter recently to send a message to both the WWE Universe and Orton regarding the events from RAW.
“I Wanted Last Night To Go Differently. What I Would Have Said Is I Don’t Know What Would’ve Happened If My Son Was In This Business. But I Do Know What Charlotte Has Done, And Like You Randy, She Is Much Better Than I Ever Was, Just Like You Have Surpassed Your Father. That’s it.”
Flair’s son Reid passed away in 2013 at the age of 25.
I Wanted Last Night To Go Differently. What I Would Have Said Is I Don’t Know What Would’ve Happened If My Son Was In This Business. But I Do Know What Charlotte Has Done, And Like You Randy, She Is Much Better Than I Ever Was, Just Like You Have Surpassed Your Father. That’s it. pic.twitter.com/TNOsjSodVi
Flair and Orton have a long history together in WWE dating back to the formation of Evolution in 2002. Orton would be kicked out of the group shortly after winning the World Championship at SummerSlam 2004 in Toronto.
Orton and Flair have wrestled each other 6x (not including house shows). They have split their all-time series with 3 wins apiece.
AEW has released its latest series of top-5 rankings ahead of tonight’s episode of Dynamite.
AEW Men’s Singles Division
AEW World Champion: Jon Moxley (15-0) TNT Champion: Cody (17-1)
MJF (8-0)
Lance Archer (10-1)
Brian Cage (6-1)
Brodie Lee (5-1)
Scorpio Sky (7-1) (previously unranked)
#5 Scorpio Sky replaces Darby Allin in the final spot in the rankings this week. Sky has been racking up the wins as of late on Dark and will challenge Cody for the TNT Championship tonight on Dynamite. Allin falls out of the rankings after dropping his AEW World Championship shot to Jon Moxley on last week’s episode.
#4 Brodie Lee pinned Hangman Page in tag action last week when the Dark Order defeated The Elite and FTR.
#3 Brian Cage and #2 Lance Archer each had the week off.
#1 Contender MJF is preparing for his upcoming World Championship match against Jon Moxley on PPV next month.
AEW Women’s Division
AEW Women’s Champion: Hikaru Shida (15-1)
Nyla Rose (7-2)
Big Swole (6-3)
Penelope Ford (6-4)
Abadon (3-1)
Dr. Britt Baker (4-4)
There was no movement in the women’s singles division this week but #2 Big Swole picked up a couple of victories. She defeated Rebel (aka Reba) on Dynamite and teamed with “Lil Swole” Nicole Savoy in victorious fashion in the 1st round of the Women’s Tag Team Cup. Swole still has to worry about Britt Baker, who is scheduled to return from injury in time for next month’s All Out PPV.
#3 Penelope Ford also picked up a singles victory this week on Dark. She defeated Rachael Ellering.
Champion Hikaru Shida, #1 Nyla Rose, and #4 Abadon had the week off from in-ring competition.
AEW Tag Team Division
AEW Tag Team Champions: Kenny Omega & “Hangman” Page (11-0)
FTR (5-0)
Best Friends (13-4)
Dark Order (8-1)
Young Bucks (5-2)
Jurassic Express (5-2)
Champions Hangman Page and Kenny Omega, #1 FTR, and #4 the Young Bucks all teamed together last week and lost to 6 members of the Dark Order including #3 ranked Stu Grayson and Evil Uno.
#2 The Best Friends defeated the unranked Santana and Ortiz. Sue’s van was damaged in the aftermath, however.
Tonight on Dynamite, Hangman Page and Kenny Omega will look to defend the titles against the #5 ranked Jurassic Express.
The National Wrestling Alliance will be returning to live events starting next month. The promotion recently announced a partnership with the United Wrestling Network. The two companies will produce an ongoing series of weekly PPVs beginning September 15th.
The United Wrestling Network is a group of united promotions. These include Championship Wrestling From Hollywood, Championship Wrestling from Arizona, and Championship Wrestling From Memphis. It was created in 2013 by David Marquez.
? BREAKING: The United Wrestling Network, @nwa & @Thunder_Inc are partnering to launch a new, live, weekly wrestling PPV series on national cable / satellite TV and streaming on @FiteTV!
“United Wrestling Network’s Primetime LIVE” will premiere on Tuesday, Sept. 15 at 9 pm ET. pic.twitter.com/KBnIGqnNIO
— United Wrestling Network (@unitedwrestling) August 10, 2020
The shows will air live from Thunder Studios in Long Beach. They will be 90-minutes long and air on traditional PPV outlets as well as on the FITE app.
“My goal here is simple: to provide the best contests possible with the greatest talent available, carrying on the great legacy of the National Wrestling Alliance as an independent governing body. And in that we hope to feature at least one championship match on every live broadcast,” said NWA Owner, Billy Corgan in a press release.
The tapings will adhere to strict COVID-19 protocols. These include testing, temperature checks, and a zoning system which prevents people from entering certain areas.
“In my 30 years in both television production and promoting wrestling, this project will be the biggest of my career,” said UWN: Primetime LIVE Executive Producer David Marquez.
Impact Wrestling presented a show on AXS TV and Twitch last night. The card was the go-home show before the 2-week Emergence event that starts next Tuesday night. It featured the in-ring return to the promotion of Brian Myers, who now wishes to be referred to as “The Most Professional Wrestler.”
Impact World Championship Eddie Edwards (c) defeated Brian Myers
Here are 10 takeaways from Impact 8/11:
“The Most Professional Wrestler” Brian Myers Faces Eddie Edwards
Brian Myers returned to Impact Wrestling in the main event this week. He answered Eddie Edwards’ open challenge for a shot at the belt. Edwards had called out Eric Young for a match but Myers answered instead. He told the champion that in Edwards’ hands, the Impact World title is a “belt” but in Myers’ hands, it would be a “championship”, which is perhaps a nod to what Myers means when he says he’s “The Most Professional Wrestler.”
Myers would give the champion all he could handle but in the end he couldn’t dodge multiple Boston Knee Party attempts, allowing the champion to retain his title. Edwards will continue his Open Challenge for the Impact World Championship at Emergence as well.
The Good Brothers To Face Ace Austin & Madman Fulton At Emergence
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rifVthN7ckw
It was announced this week that Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows will face Ace Austin and Madman Fulton next week on night 1 of Emergence. Recently on Impact, Austin planted a trap for the Good Brothers which resulted in Gallows being arrested. This allowed Austin and Fulton to attack Anderson 2-on-1. This week on Impact, Anderson and Gallows were on the search for Austin and Fulton.
Later in the show, The Good Brothers told Scott D’Amore that they were headed out to the ring to search for Austin and Fulton. This caused D’Amore to remark that he was getting some real “Hall and Nash” vibes from Anderson and Gallows.
Anderson and Gallows then interrupted the match between Dez and Suicide. They called out Austin and Fulton but only got them to appear on the big screen. Austin and Fulton said they will fight the Good Brothers on their terms, which will be next week on night 1 of Emergence.
EC3 says he is returning to Impact Wrestling to destroy his past. Part of his past is the TNA World Heavyweight Championship and EC3 let the current self-proclaimed holder of that title, Moose, know this week that he is coming to destroy him.
EC3 found a rather interesting way to deliver his promo this week as well. As Moose was backstage, an image of EC3 was projected on the wall. The former champ let Moose know that he is coming to destroy what he currently holds as it is synonymous with his past.
Susie Showed Cousin Jake Her True Self Then Blamed Alisha For Their Bad Date
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRe5CXhxsSM
Wrestle House sure has developed into a showcase of Impact’s humorous side. This week saw Susie, Alisha, and the Deaners all involved in an interesting angle.
Susie and Cousin Jake seemed to have a bit of a budding romance going. Alisha was helping Susie with her dating game but things didn’t go too well. Cousin Jake got all dressed up in his best Fantastics gear and Susie repeatedly mentioned that she has the runs, which set the stage for their dinner date. Unfortunately, when Jake was saying he had a good time, Susie showed him her “true self” which is, of course, a dark and frightening undead soul. Upon seeing this, Jake fled. Susie then blamed Alisha’s dating advice for this and the two ended up having a match.
With Crazzy Steve serving as a rather unorthodox referee, Susie was able to secure the victory with a roll-up pin.
After the match, Taya attempted to get everyone back in the living room to continue watching “The Best of Taya Valkyrie.” Kylie Rae suggested they go to bed instead and this seemed to irritate Taya, as most things Kylie says seem to do. Taya mentioned that while Kylie is the #1 contender to the Knockouts title, she’s never defeated a champion. This led to Kylie challenging Taya but Taya mentioning she’s “all booked up” right now.
Last week on Impact, Kimber Lee struck a deal with Deonna Purrazzo. Kimber Lee said she would take out Jordynne Grace for the champion so long as she was granted a title shot in return. She wasn’t able to take out the former champion, however. The end of the match came when Grace countered a swanton into a choke and got the tap out.
Later in the show, Deonna Purrazzo cut a promo and informed fans that when she faces Grace on night 2 of Emergence it will be a 30-Minute Ironman Match.
Sami Callihan Attacks Rob Van Dam On Locker Room Talk, Heath Purchases Advertisement
Madison Rayne hosted another edition of Locker Room Talk this week. She also announced that the show this week had a sponsor. A 38-second ad from Heath was then played. He encouraged fans to use the hashtag “Heath4IMPACT” to help get him a contract in the promotion.
Rayne brought on Katie Forbes and Rob Van Dam as her guests this week. When the couple began ignoring her and making out, Rayne opted to just leave. Eventually, Sami Callihan managed to teleport himself into Madison’s chair and then began attacking RVD, furthering the ongoing rivalry between the two. Forbes ended up spraying Callihan in the face with an aerosol can and this allowed RVD to turn the tables of the melee.
Eric Young Defeats An Emotional Willie Mack
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9phnKUQIvU
Before this match began, viewers watched highlights of Rich Swann’s emotional retirement speech and the brutal attack from Eric Young that followed. This week, Swann’s tag-team partner Willie Mack sought revenge on Eric Young when they faced each other in singles competition.
The match kicked off the show but only because the two began brawling in the backstage area before the show began. They eventually made it to the ring and decided to have their match earlier then scheduled.
Mack seemed in control of the match but he eventually let his desire for revenge cloud his judgement. He put a chair over EY’s leg, perhaps intending to injure him as he had done to Swann, and then went to the top rope. This gave Young a chance to recover, however, and he countered with a stalling pile driver for the win.
Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz defeat Neveah & Havok In A No Disqualification Match
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_coRaLn3peg
The ongoing tag-team rivalry between Kiera Hogan and Tasha Steelz and Neveah & Havok continued this week. The two teams faced off in a no disqualification match that seemingly favoured Neveah and Havok. For weeks, it seemed as though Neveah and Havok were on their way to getting revenge on Hogan & Steelz for the two singles victory they had stolen from the team as of late. No such revenge would happen here, however.
The finish of the match came when Hogan and Steelz super kicked Havok off the apron and through a table. This allowed Hogan to hit a spinning fisherman suplex for the win. Big win for Hogan and Steelz as they likely walk away from this rivalry here the strong victors.
Team XXXL Fight Following a Spell From Rosemary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xck8FXeXRBs
Rosemary is having a difficult time trying to seduce John E Bravo on Wrestle House. Bravo’s frequent attention given to Taya Valkyrie seemed to frustrate her this week. She opted to cast a magical spell on Larry D from Team XXXL which seemed to cause him to fall in love with her. Perhaps, Rosemary was doing this in an attempt to make Bravo jealous.
With Larry D under a spell, he gets into an argument with his tag-team partner, Acey Romero over his apparent change in attitude (and lack of appetite.) This led to a match between the two partners which Larry won with a Knockout punch. He’d then point at Rosemary and say “that was for you.”
Ring of Honor is getting set to return. The promotion has not run a live event since February. Previously, they were forced to cancel their scheduled 18th Anniversary PPV show on March 13th as the pandemic hit.
According to a report from PW Insider, ROH plans to film empty arena shows in Baltimore on August 22nd and 23rd. The promotion had originally planned to film the shows in July but canceled after there was a spike in COVID-19 cases. ROH is planning on using a “bubble system” similar to the NHL or NBA. Talent would only be permitted within a certain radius and everyone will be tested.
ROH will also be returning to PPV next month. They do not plan on holding a live event, however. Rather, the promotion will run a PPV on September 25th featuring previously aired matches.
ROH has continued to pay talent and staff while the pandemic has been ongoing. They have not released anyone despite not having run a show in almost 5 months.
ROH’s Marty Scurll was set to start his new role as head of creative when the pandemic hit. He spoke to the ROH Strong podcast about what he had in store for the shows.
“No one was more heartbroken then myself,” Scurll said on the podcast. “Even though I’ve sort of been hands-on with the show since January, I felt like these were really my first shows that I had full control of.”
“I put so many hours of time and thought into these shows.”
Eric Bischoff returned to WWE from June to October of last year. His short-lived time as the Executive Director of Smackdown was recently addressed on Bischoff’s 83 Weeks podcast. He spoke about what led to him returning to the company.
“It hit me out of left field. If others felt like it was a surprise to them you should have been sitting on my deck when I got that phone call in early June or May or whenever it was,” Bischoff said.
“Bruce (Prichard) and I started talking, and I think it happened at a Starrcast event, at an event Bruce and I were both at.”
Bischoff continued to say that Prichard asked him what he would think about his name being thrown out to Vince for a potential role. Bischoff suggested he was happy with this as he would enjoy working with Bruce again.
“We worked together very closely in TNA and we kind of learned how to work together.”
Bischoff also spoke about negotiating with Vince McMahon on a deal to return to the company. He said the first meeting the two had didn’t get into specifics too much.
Eric Bischoff On Meeting With Vince
Bischoff says his meetings with Vince went very smoothly.
“More social than business is how I would characterize it,” Bischoff said about his first meeting with Vince last year about coming back.
“Vince and I hadn’t seen each other in 12 years or whatever, I think the last time I had seen Vince was in 2007 or so,” he continued. “Big bear hug, how you doing, pal? It was all very social and positive.”
Bischoff continued to say that he knew when he was invited back for a 2nd meeting that talks of him returning had gotten more serious.
“That meeting went equally as well and we were off and running.”
Ken Shamrock has not been impressed by the worked-shoot style of fighting in the RAW Underground segments. The MMA pioneer sent out a Tweet yesterday to Vince and Shane McMahon suggesting they should contact him if they want the segments to look good.
“Hey @WWE and @shanemcmahon next time you guys want to do some worked shoots on #RawUnderground and actually make them look good, you got my number, give me a call!” Shamrock Tweeted.
Hey @WWE and @shanemcmahon next time you guys want to do some worked shoots on #RawUnderground and actually make them look good, you got my number, give me a call!
Shamrock’s contributions to MMA are the subject of a recent book by Jonathan Snowden.
“From his fights inside the cage with Hall of Famers Royce Gracie and Dan Severn to his even more fearsome battles outside of it, this book takes an in-depth look at one of the most fascinating men in all of combat sports.,“ reads a description of the book.
Ken Shamrock In Impact Wrestling
Shamrock is also part of the Impact Wrestling roster currently. He was involved in a feud with Sami Callihan but then the two briefly formed a tag-team. They unsuccessfully challenged the North for the tag belts at Slammiversary on July 18th.
Major League Wrestling hasn’t run an event since March. Court Bauer has been adamant that the promotion would not run any events until it was safe to do so. The company recently posted an article on its website which suggests the league has been looking at how to run events safely.
“I’ve been very encouraged by how the UFC, NBA, the NHL, Top Rank Boxing and DAZN Match Room boxing have managed operations as they restart,” said Bauer. “We’re also seeing TV and film start back up in certain regions in a cautious manner and that’s the mindset you need to operate with during this moment in time: caution.”
Bauer would continue to say that the league has consulted with medical professionals. They have also spoken with NJPW, who recently returned to live events as well. MLW’s Tom Lawlor has been competing on NJPW USA shows as of late.
“We are speaking with some of the sharpest minds at Johns Hopkins University & Medicine on a restart and talked with New Japan’s people on how they’ve approached it – and they’ve done an incredible job… we also engaged some of our athletes who have competed outside of MLW during the pandemic to see what worked, what didn’t, and what could be improved upon.”
In storyline, MLW’s shut down occurred after a takeover by Contra Unit. They have been airing old episodes of MLW Underground in place of new episodes of Fusion.
Arn Anderson recently addressed Vince McMahon’s legacy in wrestling on an episode of the Arn Show. Anderson said Vince’s legacy is complex and how you view it depends on a variety of factors.
“It depends on what seat you are looking at. Are you looking at it from a fan’s seat? Are you looking from a wrestler’s seat? It just depends on your view,” Anderson said about Vince’s legacy.
“Did he revolutionize the business as far as expanding it to having children and females and hoards of them as fans and all the marketing genius that he is? Yes.”
Anderson would continue to say, however, that Vince McMahon has downplayed the importance of in-ring skill during his time in wrestling.
“The bell-to-bell action, he has put on a back burner as being one of the least important things,” Anderson continued.
“You can’t send a guy through the curtain on RAW with 3 minutes and expect him to go sell, tell a story, get the product over, get himself over, and accomplish all those things in 3 minutes. Can’t be done,” Anderson continued.
“It’s not sports entertainment. This is not Saturday Night Live. It’s a wrestling show. Let the guys and the girls do what they do best, go perform, and give them enough time to do it.”
Wrestling legend Madusa is calling out WWE for its use of female cage dancers during the RAW Underground segments last week. During scenes of Shane McMahon’s underground fight club, 3 scantily clad women can be seen up on a stage dancing. Madusa took to Twitter recently to express her concerns with the segments.
“SO? We are bringing back half naked women in the same breath of promoting the evolution and equality of women? Yes this is entertainment yes this is a skit yes this is acting yes these are wrestlers why resort to women sexually dancing opening a show? Why not Men in speedos?” Madusa responded to a Tweet featuring the RAW Underground segments.
SO? We are bringing back half naked women in the same breath of promoting the evolution and equality of women? Yes this is entertainment yes this is a skit yes this is acting yes these are wrestlers why resort to women sexually dancing opening a show? Why not Men in speedos? https://t.co/y4L8XbadKN
Madusa also has responded to some critics who feel she is being negative about WWE because she is involved with the Women’s Tag Team Cup in AEW.
I respect ur answer. I’m not saying you are wrong. Nor should you tell me I’m wrong. Nobody in AEW told me to shit on anybody nor would I. These are my beliefs on how I feel about women being exposed and promoted. You shouldn’t falsely say things when you don’t know the truth.
Madusa also responded to someone who noted that AEW had bikini-models during Fyter Fest.
That’s a very great point and I need to go look at that. I don’t know I don’t have an answer for you. I don’t know why it always has to sexually degrade women. If we’re going to move ahead we have to stick with what we believe in and keep the changes positive.
Madusa also spoke about the AEW Women’s Tag Team Cup which got underway last week. A new episode of the tournament will air tonight on YouTube.
Super impressed by the women’s talent here in @AEWrestling @AEWonTNT Just when you thought it was going to go one way it totally screws with the outcome in which you wanted it to go… for some of you! #suspence I like that?? Don’t forget tonight on YouTube https://t.co/AjAntaGm0v
