In 2016, Randy Orton was critical of Colin Kaepernick’s taking a knee during the national anthem. In a recent interview with CBS Sports, however, Orton stated it took him some time but he now understands that “until black lives matter, all lives can’t matter.”
“It took me a little time, but what I had to do was realize, Kaepernick, he wasn’t sh****ng on the flag. He wasn’t disrespecting the people that have given their lives for our freedom. He was taking a stand against police brutality,” Orton said during the interview. “As a white guy, I don’t see it. But then I started listening to my black brothers and sisters, especially the ones I’ve known for years and some for more than a decade. I was hearing first-hand accounts of interactions with cops that took advantage of the situation and the power they had because they maybe felt a certain way about the color of someone’s skin. That’s when the lightbulb went off.”
Orton has been posting several Tweets in support of the protests in the wake of George Floyd’s killing by police.
“The more that social media has allowed us to see these horrific videos — and it wasn’t just George Floyd. I’ve seen so many after I did a little digging,” Orton continued. “You realize it is tough to be a black person in this country, and we’ve got a ways to go before all lives truly matter. I think what we have to do is make sure black lives matter.”
Orton fell under criticism for the below Tweet and similar posts from 2016:
Americans are dying. Pigment of skin doesn't matter. American people matter. https://t.co/MgUbMiPteM
AEW owner Tony Khan noted on Twitter that Orton said the N-word during a video game streaming session last fall. The interaction came after Khan cracked a joke about the incident involving the WWE roster in Saudi Arabia for last year’s Crown Jewel event.
No one is safe? Sounds like a plane full of wrestlers in Saudi Arabia!
I thought you only tagged me in your posts when you were grasping for leverage. That article’s over a year old + is about baseless claims made about my dad years ago. That’s the best you can do, nothing. Meanwhile in the time since that was written, you used the N word on twitch.
The Viking Raiders faced the Street Profits in a fairly bizarre cinematic match at Backlash last night. The match played off the recent videos that have been airing on RAW pitting the two teams against each other in various competitions.
During their encounter last night, however, the two teams were forced to team up to take on a team of ninjas led by Akira Tozawa.
“The Viking Profits” managed to fend off Tozawa’s band of motorcycle-riding ninjas but then Tozawa motioned for someone to come forward. A ninja much larger than the rest then scared off both the Viking Raiders and the Street Profits.
The ‘giant ninja’ in question is WWE Performance Center trainee, Jordan Omogbehin. His height is listed at 7ft, 3 inches.
Jordan Omogbehin In WWE
Jordan Omogbehin is a former basketball player from the University of South Florida. He was born in Lagos, Nigeria in 1994. Omogbehin signed with WWE in the fall of 2018 and would make his in-ring debut the following year. He’s only wrestled in 6 matches for WWE, all on NXT live events.
Last November, Kevin Nash & Scott Hall commented on working with Omogbehin at the WWE Performance Center.
“And I saw this new kid they have down there, Jordan, big kid about 7’4’ about 440, just a monster, and I was there for his debut match,” Scott Hall said.
“I got to produce it. And it’s just that connection, you know how it is when you connect with a guy and when he doesn’t know anything and you teach him something.”
A former WWE Superstar is now a confidential witness in a lawsuit against the company. WWE is being sued by stockholders who feel the company has misrepresented the nature of its dealings in Saudi Arabia. In documents relating to the case, a former WWE wrestler who was in Saudi Arabia last year for Crown Jewel, speaks about what happened that caused members of the WWE roster to be unable to fly out. Several wrestlers missed that week’s Smackdown as a result.
“A former WWE wrestler, who performed for the Company from 2012 to April 2020 and who participated in the October 31st, 2019 Crown Jewel event, confirms the substance of media reports,” reads documents relating to the suit.
“CW-2 (the former WWE wrestler) explained that he spoke with a stewardess on the flight about the delay, who told him ‘it seems someone doesn’t want us to leave the country.’ CW-2 further explained that the pilot sounded ‘distressed’ when he informed the passengers the flight was unable to take off.”
The report continued to mention that the witness feels they weren’t being allowed to leave the country due to an argument between the Crown Prince and Vince McMahon over late payments.
“CW-2 explained that he asked the Senior Director of Talent Relations, Mark Carrano, about what was going on and that Carrano told him that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and McMahon had gotten into an argument over late payments in connection with the June 7, 2019 Super ShowDown event.”
Middle East Broadcasting Center Employee Also Confidential Witness
The documents also include statements from an employee of the Middle East Broadcasting Center (MBC). These statements confirm that the Saudi government-controlled network and WWE encountered issues coming to terms on a licensing deal.
“WWE then reduced its licensing fee ask to $50 million. However, MBC felt it could not go above $14.5 million. CW-1 (the MBC employee) was later informed that MBC and WWE concluded their negotiations due to the differences in ‘numbers.'”
Kris Statlander will be out of action for an extended period of time.
“The Galaxy’s Greatest Alien” tore her ACL in her match last week on AEW Dynamite. Statlander was teaming with AEW Women’s Champion, Hikaru Shida, in a bout against Penelope Ford & Nyla Rose.
She confirmed on social media that she tore her ACL while diving onto Kip Sabian during the match. Statlander also confirmed the injury will require surgery.
Statlander is currently ranked #2 in the AEW Women’s division. She’s twice challenged unsuccessfully for the title, once against Riho and again against Nyla Rose. Her record in 2020 is 5-7 and she is 8-9 overall in her AEW career.
Statlander was also a guest recently on the AEW Unrestricted podcast. During the discussion, she spoke about how her alien gimmick came to be.
“I kind of feel like in a weird way it’s a weird play on how I’ve always been perceived in life. No one really cared to get to know me until I had something interesting to say or I had something to offer that interests them and that’s kind of like what aliens are in a way. So, I was just kind of like ‘why not just play up how odd I am?”
Impact Wrestling has teased that some of the recently released WWE wrestlers could appear at the Slammiversary PPV on July 18th, 2020. The promotion has teased wrestlers such as Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows, EC3, Eric Young, Heath Slater and more could be on their way to the promotion.
Recently on Twitter, there has been some speculation that former NXT wrestler, Taynara Conti, could be headed to Impact as well.
Knockouts Tag Titles Returning?
This speculation started when someone asked Gail Kim if the Knockouts tag-team titles could be returning to the promotion. Kim then tagged several potential teams for the division, including two names who aren’t currently in Impact.
Taya and Rosemary are friends/rivals in the promotion. Tasha Steelz and Kiera Hogan recently became aligned. Nevaeh and Jessika Havok look to be aligned now in Impact as well as do Kylie Rae and “Susie.” Neither Sarah Stock nor Taylor Wilde is currently involved with Impact, though Wilde has been teasing a comeback on social media. Stock was working as a producer in WWE until being furloughed. The furlough period is up on July 1st.
Madison Rayne then said that if Kim won’t return as her partner then she could team with Deonna Purrazzo, Diamante, or Taynara Conti.
Ok ok I fully support this tweet, and let’s play fantasy booker for a second… If I can’t convince my former tag partner (hi @gailkimITSME) to get back in the ring… perhaps the ??? and:@TenilleDashwood@DeonnaPurrazzo@DiamanteLAX @TayConti_
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre will look to defend his title against Bobby Lashley at Backlash tonight. To help promote the match, McIntyre took part in an interview with TV Insider recently. During the discussion, he spoke about being champion during a global pandemic.
“It has been everything I imagined it to be within the confines of a pandemic,” McIntyre said. “I know my unique journey of all the ups and downs, being released before and finding myself as a person and performer. It prepared me to not just be one of the top guys but the top guy in the company who can handle any situation presented to him.”
“Nobody could predict [the coronavirus pandemic]. I’m the guy to move the company forward. Whenever I could step up like I did for British wrestling and independent wrestling, I’m all about it. The fact I got to step up for the company and the fans during a pandemic means the world to me.”
McIntyre also mentioned he doesn’t know much about the ins and outs of WWE’s creative process but commented on the recent changes.
“I don’t know the ins and outs regarding creative,” McIntyre said. “I get my creative and go from there.”
McIntyre also spoke about the possibility of Paul Heyman taking on new clients in storyline.
“Perhaps Paul Heyman has his eyes on other superstars he wants to bring to Drew McIntyre,” McIntyre said. “Either way, I always enjoy a little joke with Paul Heyman on the microphone. There is nobody better than him. It forces you to up your game. Hopefully, we’ll be seeing him soon enough.”
McIntyre defeated Brock Lesnar to win the WWE Championship after having earned a title shot by winning the 2020 Royal Rumble.
Depending on if you count Ted Dibiase and/or Antonio Inoki, McIntyre is the 52-54th person to hold the title. His is the 137th reign in the title’s lineage. McIntyre has successfully defended the title against the Big Show and Seth Rollins so far in his title reign.
Randy Orton will face Edge tonight in what is being billed as “The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever.” Orton took part in an interview with CBS Sports recently and spoke about both his upcoming bout with Edge and the one they had at WrestleMania this year.
“At WrestleMania, I think we stole the show. At WrestleMania, I think we had the best story going into it, which definitely helped,” Orton said.
“Now, at Backlash, are we doing to have ‘the greatest wrestling match ever?’ Eh. That’s subjective. I kind of painted myself into a corner and the pressure is definitely on, but if anybody is capable of it, it’s myself and Edge.”
Orton also spoke about the criticism some had regarding the length of his match with Edge at WrestleMania.
“You ever read a book in 3 minutes? Watch a sitcom or a movie that lasts 3, 4, 5 minutes? No. It takes time. For the fans that want to sit down, grab a bowl of popcorn and get ready for some seriously good f—ing wrestling? I’ll see you at Backlash. For the ones that want to go see a 3-minute match with five of the same moves back-to-back-to-back-to-back? Don’t tune in.”
The full interview with Randy Orton can be read here.
Edge and Randy Orton faced off in a Last Man Standing match at WrestleMania. It was Edge’s first match in 9.5 years. Orton then challenged him to a traditional wrestling match at Backlash tonight. The match has since been billed “The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever.”
Edge took to social media recently to speak about the challenge of the match being billed as it has been.
“This is my first pure wrestling match in 9.5 years. After having another neck fusion and my right wrist fused(my “good” hand). At 46 years old. Being billed beforehand The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever. During a pandemic. With limited audience. Kinda crazy. Kinda fun. MASSIVE challenge,” Edge wrote.
He would continue to say that he really did pour his heart into this match. The bout between Orton and Edge has already been taped but will air tonight on the WWE Network.
“What I can say is that I have poured my full heart and soul into this match. I’ve studied. Didn’t sleep much. Because I care. I care about my work ethic. I care about my body of work.”
He would continue to say, however, that the “Greatest Wrestling Match Ever” is subjective. His full statement can be read in the Instagram post below:
New Japan Pro Wrestling reportedly taped matches yesterday at their dojo in Los Angeles. According to a report from PW Insider, 9-10 matches were filmed for a show titled “Lion’s Break Collision.”
Former MLW World Champion, “Filthy” Tom Lawlor, is believed to have participated in the tapings. Other wrestlers reported to have taken part include Jeff Cobb, TJP, Rocky Romero, Misterioso, Alex Coughlin, Karl Fredericks, and Clark Connors.
NJPW is back taping matches in Japan tomorrow. The company’s first show since February titled “Together Project Special” has no advertised matches. On Tuesday and Wednesday, NJPW will begin the New Japan Cup.
25-year-old Jake Atlas trained with the Santino Bros out of Southern California. The highly-touted prospect recently took part in the NXT Interim Cruiserweight Championship tournament, sporting a 2-1 record and advancing to Group A’s tie-breaking triple threat. Atlas recently spoke to People.com about not wanting to be known as “the Gay Wrestler.”
“You’re not going to watch me because I’m gay. You’re going to watch me because I’m good,” Atlas said to People.
He also noted that Sonya Deville reached out to him and the two have grown closer since.
“Sonya Deville was one of the first superstars that reached out to me,” he said. “We have been able to get closer and understand each other. And like we’re both here, you know? I have your back; we have my back.”
Unfortunately, coming out was difficult for Atlas when he was a teenager. He spoke about his Mother’s reaction when he came out to her during the interview as well.
“I came out when I was 15,” Atlas said. “I didn’t tell a friend. I went straight to my mom. When I told her was the first time that I uttered the word ‘gay.’ I didn’t even say bisexual, because I knew I had been lying to myself. I was crying and I even said the words, ‘I know this is wrong, but I’m gay.’ ”
“I know that more than anything, she was crying out of disappointment. And she brought religion into it. It was a difficult moment,” he continued. Atlas would continue to say the two have had better conversation since, however.
Smackdown Superstar, Mustafa Ali, is a former Chicago-area police officer. He has previously said that he joined the force in order to create change from the inside. He recently took part in an interview with SI.com where he spoke about Black Lives Matter, George Floyd’s death at the hands of police, and more from the perspective of a former police officer.
“As a former police officer, I can look you in the eye and tell you with zero hesitation in my voice that George Floyd was not just killed by the police,” Ali said. “He was murdered by the police.”
Ali continued to explain why he joined the police force.
“I thought the best way to bring change to the police department [was] from within. That’s why I joined.”
Mustafa Ali On Black Lives Matter
Ali would then say that it is the structure and culture of policing that needs to change. He continued to talk about the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement as well.
“The Black Lives Matter movement isn’t something that happened overnight. It’s not something over one Black man being murdered. This is 400 years of getting shoved and hit and kicked and spit on and murdered and raped, insulted and degraded, and killed. This is 400 years of that. The Black Lives Matter movement is essential to the survival of every Black man and woman in this country. Yeah, there’s going to be that permanent scar there and the only way to really repair that relationship is massive change. And yes, it starts with the police.”
Ali goes even deeper during the interview to talk about the culture of the criminal justice system.
“Look at the private prison industry,” he continued. “It makes millions every year off of what? Arresting, detaining, and putting Black people in custody.”
It wasn’t even a year ago that WWE announced Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff as the new Executive Directors of RAW and Smackdown. The Heyman and Bischoff experiment was first announced by WWE on June 27th, 2019. Heyman lasted just under a year in the role, while Bischoff was gone in under 4 months.
Now, both RAW and Smackdown’s creative teams have been consolidated with Bruce Pritchard serving as the lead. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the move did not come as a surprise to many behind the scenes.
The report would quote an unnamed source from WWE’s front office as saying, “I am shocked it took this long. Everyone knew it was coming. Vince did not like Paul.”
It is also being reported that the global pandemic caused a shift in Vince McMahon’s priorities. While Heyman said upon taking the role that it would take RAW 18-months to establish new stars, McMahon evidently ran out of patience.
“It’s said by those close to the situation that once COVID-19 started that McMahon’s mentality changed about everything,” wrote Dave Meltzer. Before the pandemic, WWE had a more longterm outlook. Since the pandemic hit, short-term viewership performance became the greater concern.
WWE’s statement on Thursday stated that Heyman will continue to have an on-air role in the company. He currently serves as the advocate of Brock Lesnar.
The Undisputed Era will turn 3-years-old this summer. The faction debuted in August of 2017. During their time in NXT, they have frequently held championships including Adam Cole’s current 1-year long reign as NXT Champion. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the faction won’t be leaving the promotion anytime soon.
“WWE made sure to sign a lot of the NXT key talent to new long-term deals which included all four members of the Undisputed Era,” wrote Dave Meltzer. He would continue to say that they won’t be free agents for “multiple years from now.”
A previous report from PW Insider stated that Cole’s contract had 18-months left on it.
The 4-wrestler faction has captured all gold available to them in NXT. The combination of Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly and sometimes Roderick Strong are 3x NXT tag team champions. Both Adam Cole and Roderick Strong have won the NXT North American Championship on one occasion. Adam Cole is the current NXT Champion, having held that title since TakeOver: XXV on June 1st, 2019.
On the most recent episode of NXT, Adam Cole wrestled Dexter Lumis in the main event.
Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows signed new WWE deals in July of 2019. 9 months later, they were released from the promotion.
According to an update from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Anderson & Gallows are looking to return to NJPW and also looking for a North American promotion to work for. They could be headed to Impact Wrestling but nothing is for sure at this point.
“Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson are looking for what was described as two deals, one of which would be New Japan, which would be the main deal, and the other would be a U.S. deal, and Impact is in play for being the second deal,” wrote Dave Meltzer.
The tag-team’s 90-day no-compete clause with WWE expires in time for them to appear on the Impact Slammiversary PPV. The event is scheduled for July 18th, 2020.
Impact has been heavily-teasing that several recently released WWE stars could appear on the show.
Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows
Anderson & Gallows began teaming together shortly after the Bullet Club angle began in 2013. Gallows debuted for NJPW as Anderson’s tag partner in November of 2013, with the faction having been formed that May. They won the World Tag League tournament that year. They would then go on to win the IWGP Heavyweight tag-team titles 3x before leaving the promotion in 2016.
Anderson & Gallows then appeared in WWE shortly after WrestleMania 32. They would win the RAW tag team championships twice and won the WWE Tag Team World Cup in Saudi Arabia in 2019 as well.
Kris Statlander is currently ranked #2 in the AEW Women’s division rankings. She was this week’s guest on the AEW Unrestricted Podcast with Tony Schiavone and Aubrey Edwards. Amongst other topics, Statlander talked about how she became the “Galaxy’s Greatest Alien.”
“When I first started wrestling, I went by the name Liza Viero,” she said on the show.
“I was getting work and I was able to do stuff, it just wasn’t really like a character that was good.”
She continued to talk about how the alien gimmick is a bit of a play on how others have perceived her throughout her life.
“I’m a little bit weirder than people realize,” she continued. “I know I’m a little bit weirder and I never really fit in with any specific group of people. When I was in school, high school and everything, it was kind of like no one really wants to get to know you until they do start to get to know you and then they realize you’re so interesting and you have so much more to offer than what you just lead people to believe.”
“In a way, it’s almost like you feel alienated from everybody and I know that’s a weird play on words.”
“No one wants to believe aliens are real until somebody can prove something about it. No one cares to look into it more until there are facts to be known or things to research.”
“I kind of feel like in a weird way it’s a weird play on how I’ve always been perceived in life. No one really cared to get to know me until I had something interesting to say or I had something to offer that interests them and that’s kind of like what aliens are in a way. So, I was just kind of like ‘why not just play up how odd I am?”
Ric Flair recently took part in an interview where he discussed his longtime friendship with the Undertaker. The two first met in 1989, when Taker was part of a tag-team along with Dan Spivey called the Skyscrapers. Evidently, Taker, Flair, and Horace Grant’s brother went out one night and the Jack Daniels was flowing. According to Flair, he lost a Rolex that night.
“Me and Taker and Harvey Grant were out one night and I lost a Rolex, which is a whole different part of the story,” Flair said to Metro UK. “Trying to hang with him and that Jack Daniels man, it’s tough. We’ve had so much fun!”
Flair also spoke about coming back to WWE in 2001 and working against Taker at WrestleMania the following year.
“When I agreed to come back to work it was never to wrestle,” Flair said regarding his return to WWE in 2001. Flair would end up facing the Undertaker at WrestleMania 18 in Toronto that year.
“I was so nervous wrestling Taker – when anybody in the world would be so excited to walk down that ramp and I was horrified.”
Flair was 53-years-old when that match took place. He noted that he told Taker he was hurting at the time.
“Once we got going – and he knew, I told him, it’s hard to tell somebody I’m struggling. Well, Ric Flair’s got a problem, guys. I’ve always been so comfortable with him, I had no problem telling him. And he got it.”
Recently released from WWE, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows appeared on Tama Tonga’s podcast recently and discussed a variety of topics. During the discussion, Gallows stated that there would be no AEW without Bullet Club.
”The f**king Bullet Club revolutionized professional wrestling and if somebody hears this and they’re mad about it, sorry,” Gallows said. “If there’s no Bullet Club there’s no AEW. If there’s no Bullet Club there’s no growth in professional wrestling. If there’s no Bullet Club there really is no reason to have an NXT because why do you turn developmental into indie heaven and hire everybody in the business? There’s no reason to do it.”
The Young Bucks joined Bullet Club in 2013 as the faction’s junior heavyweight tag-team. Kenny Omega would join the following year, originally as the group’s junior heavyweight single’s competitor. Cody, Hangman Page, and Marty Scurll were all involved with the faction during their time in NJPW.
Tama Tonga, Karl Anderson, Bad Luck Fale and Prince Devitt (Finn Balor) are the group’s founding members dating back to May 2013. Doc Gallows would join that November, shortly after the Young Bucks did.
“Professional wrestling advanced because of what the Bullet Club was in Japan,” Gallows continued. He would continue to credit Bullet Club with wrestling resurgence over the last few years.
Gallows would continue to say the success of Bullet Club was also why they were recruited by WWE.
“That’s why they bought us, they f**king wined and dined us, then they fired us.”
AEW has released new top-5 rankings ahead of tonight’s episode of Dynamite. Perhaps the biggest news coming out of the rankings this week is that Chris Jericho is once again featured.
AEW Men’s Single’s Rankings
AEW World Champion: Jon Moxley (13-0) TNT Champion: Cody (11-1)
MJF (6-0)
Lance Archer (5-1)
Brodie Lee (5-1)
Kenny Omega (4-0)
Chris Jericho (2-1) (previously unranked)
Darby Allin drops out of the top-5 rankings this week after having been ranked #5 last week. He is currently not medically cleared to compete. Allin’s last match was at Double or Nothing in the Casino Ladder Match won by Brian Cage.
Brian Cage is still unranked but is owed a title shot at Fyter Fest due to his victory in the Casino Ladder Match.
#5 Chris Jericho is back in the rankings this week. He defeated Colt Cabana on Dynamite last week.
#4 Kenny Omega competed in the tag division this week. Along with his partner Hangman Page, they defended the tag belts successfully against Jimmy Havoc and Kip Sabian on Dynamite.
#3 Brodie Lee didn’t compete this week. He did welcome Alan Angels into the Dark Order on AEW Dark last night, however. Angels is now known as #5.
Neither #2 Lance Archer or #1 MJF competed last week.
TNT Champion Cody defended his title against Jungle Boy on Dynamite while AEW World Champion Jon Moxley defeated Robert Anthony on Dark.
AEW Women’s Division
Champion: Hikaru Shida (11-1)
Nyla Rose (6-2)
Kris Statlander (4-4)
Britt Baker (4-4)
Yuka Sakazaki (1-1)
Penelope Ford (3-3)
There was no movement the women’s division this week.
#1 Nyla Rose picked up a win over Big Swole on Dynamite.
Upcoming in the division is a big tag match booked for tonight’s Dynamite. #1 Nyla Rose teams with #5 Penelope Ford to go up against champion Hikaru Shida and #2 Kris Statlander. #3 Britt Baker might be watching the match from her “Role’s Royce.”
AEW Tag Team Division
Champions: Kenny Omega & Hangman Page (7-0)
Best Friends (9-3)
The Natural Nightmares (5-0)
Private Party (4-2)
SCU (3-4) (previously unranked)
Young Bucks (2-2)
After dropping a tag team title match against Omega and Page, Jimmy Havoc and Kip Sabian drop out of the rankings this week. #4 SCU are back in the rankings after picking up a victory over Fuego Del Sol & Low Rider on Dark.
A few matches take place in the tag division this week. FTR will make their debut against the Butcher and the Blade. #1 The Best Friends team with Orange Cassidy to go up against Santana, Ortiz and Jake Hager from the Inner Circle.
An iconic wrestling legend has passed away. Johnny “Mr. Wrestling II” Walker has died. He was 85 years old. No cause of death is immediately available.
Long-time wrestling journalist Bill Apter broke the news this morning.
Horrible way to start any day …https://t.co/mdi4RkS7iW Johnny "Mr. Wrestling II" Walker has died.
Walker adopted the Mr. Wrestling II persona in 1972. He originally partnered with Mr. Wrestling (Tim Woods) in Florida, Georgia and a few other areas. He had previously wrestled as “The Grappler” and under his real name.
One of the greatest "masked men" in Wrestling history, Mr Wrestling 2, Johnny Walker has passed away today.. R.I.P. Johnny https://t.co/x5acsFxVGU
During the 1970s, President Jimmy Carter said that Mr. Wrestling II was his favorite wrestler. Carter invited Walker to his inauguration but he was forced to decline due to the Secret Service’s insistence that he attend unmasked.
The National Wrestling Alliance sends its deepest sympathies on the passing of "Mr. Wrestling II" Johnny Walker.
A huge star in the 1970s and 1980s in Georgia Championship Wrestling, Mid-South and all over the NWA. He was also the favorite wrestler of President Jimmy Carter. pic.twitter.com/OJAFuItZK7
In the twilight of his career, Walker spent 2 years working with Vince McMahon in the then-WWF. He rarely appeared on television and was not involved in any major storylines during his time with the company.
The great Mr. Wrestling II passed away today at age 85. He held dozens of championships over the years and was voted Wrestler of the Year in our 1975 year-end poll. pic.twitter.com/bQ63pFL85a
— PWI (Pro Wrestling Illustrated) (@OfficialPWI) June 10, 2020
Mr. Wrestling’s II’s numerous championships include:
Paige commented on WWE’s handling of the Women’s Tag Team Championships this week on WWE Backstage. According to Paige, the titles have been thrown under the rug and are not being treated as seriously as they should.
“I just feel like the tag team championships haven’t been utilized to their full potential,” Paige said.
“I feel like they are not being defended right, I don’t think they are being used right. They’ve kind of just been thrown under the rug, they are not being taken very seriously. At some point, they have to be taken seriously because this was such a big moment for the women’s divisions to have these tag team titles. Instead of just having one championship, now we have a tag team division.”
Paige also expressed the sentiment that WWE could be building up some other teams, including ones in NXT.
“Bayley and Sasha, they are good, they are solid, we all love them but let’s try and build some other people, you know?”
WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships
The women’s tag team championships returned to WWE on February 17th, 2019. Sasha Banks and Bayley won the titles at the Elimination Chamber PPV before dropping them to the Iiconics at WrestleMania just 49 days later.
WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship Teams:
The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka & Kairi Sane) 1x champions, 171 days as champions.
Bliss Cross (Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross) 2x champions, 123 days as champions.
The Iiconics (Peyton Royce & Billie Kay) 1x champions, 120 days as champions.
Bayley & Sasha Banks 2x champions, 64+ days as champions.
Impact Wrestling 6/9 featured an update on the Impact World Championship scenario. The promotion also continued to tease that several wrestlers recently released from WWE could be on their way to the promotion.
Impact Wrestling 6/9 Quick Results:
Michael Elgin defeated Sami Callihan vs Ken Shamrock
Tasha Steelz w/Kiera Hogan defeated Susie
Willie Mack & Cousin Jake defeated Chris Bey & Johnny Swinger
Jacob Crist w/Joey Ryan, Rob Van Dam, & Katie Forbes defeated Crazzy Steve
“The Virtuoso” Deonna Purrazzo had been advertised to appear on this week’s show but as we went to the night’s main event, she had yet to be seen. Attempts to interview her backstage had proved to be difficult.
The night’s main event was a match originally planned for Rebellion. It pitted the longest-reigning Knockouts champion in history, Taya Valkyrie, against the current champion and the woman who took the title off of her, Jordynne Grace. During the match, Taya was not able to get the usual help she’s often been able to rely on from John E. Bravo. The former corrupt referee was distracted by his budding romance with Rosemary on the outside. This led to Grace securing the tap-out from a rear-naked-choke/sleeper hold.
After the match, Purazzo’s music hit and the 26-year-old confronted the champion. She went to shake Grace’s hand but locked her in an armbar instead. Purrazzo then stood over the champion to end the show.
5-Way Championship Match Booked For Slammiversary
Scott D’Amore came out to the ring this week to address the Impact World title situation. He was interrupted by several wrestlers who feel they should be in-line to compete for the championship. This included Ace Austin, who believed D’Amore should just hand the title over to him since he won the #1 Contenders tournament.
D’Amore, however, announced that Tessa Blanchard will be at Slammiversary and she’ll defend the title against 4 challengers in a 5-way match at the PPV. Trey Miguel was announced as in the match just before he came off the ropes to attack Ace Austin. It’s largely assumed at this point that Austin is the one who attacked Trey before he was to compete in the finals of the #1 Contenders tournament.
Eddie Edwards, Michael Elgin, Trey Miguel, Ace Austin and champion Tessa Blanchard will all face off for the belt at Slammiversary.
During a backstage segment this week, Rohit Raju confronted Rhino backstage. Raju told Rhino he should be treating him like a tag-team partner. Rhino responded that he already has a tag-team partner, and his partner “has kids.”
Was this a tease that Rhino’s former tag-team partner Heath Slater is on his way to Impact Wrestling? Slater and Rhino are former Smackdown tag-team champions.
Raju and Rhino brawled to end the segment. A match between the two has been scheduled for next week.
Mike Bennett, Maria Kanellis, and EC3 Featured In “Flashback of the Week”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-QTi0dS89s
During the Flashback Moment of the Week (the one that aired on Twitch anyway) EC3, Mike Bennett, and Maria Kanellis were featured. All 3 were recently released by WWE and their 90-day no-compete clauses will be up in time for them to appear for Impact on July 18th at Slammiversary.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gyo1iQxjag&t=13s
Could we see “The Miracle” return to Impact Wrestling? EC3 is a former Impact World Champion and has been heavily teased as someone who could appear at Slammiversary.
"You know us Canadians, we've always been team players."
Impact also dropped a hint that maybe Eric Young is returning to the promotion. Elgin was shown on his phone at the very end of the episode and said something along the lines of “You know us Canadians, we’ve always been team players.” Young is a former member of Team Canada in the promotion.
Michael Elgin Wins, Shamrock vs Callihan Not Over
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0U55UeiK-4
Michael Elgin picked up a big win this week to kick off the show. This triple threat featured 3 of the top ranked male single’s stars in the promotion, so the win here is likely what helped get him booked in the 5-way championship match at Slammiversary mentioned earlier.
Elgin threw Shamrock into an exposed turnbuckle before taking Callihan out with a strike. He then hit a sit-down power bomb on Shamrock for the win.
After the match, Callihan and Shamrock stared each other down before Callihan caused the lights to go out and then disappeared.
Chris Bey and Willie Mack seem to be on a collision course for the next big X-Division title tilt. This week, however, Mack and Cousin Jake teamed up to defeat Bey and his run-in buddy Johnny Swinger. Mack picked up the victory for his team with a Stunner on Swinger.
After the match, however, Swinger and Bey tried to beat down their opponents but Cody Deaner returned from quarantine and made the save. Mack, Jake, and Deaner celebrated to end the segment.
Cancel Culture Picks Up Win Over “Mentally Unwell Steve”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=achftV6MUuE
Joseph P. Ryan of Cancel Culture gave a speech before the newest member of Cancel Culture, Jacob Crist, took on Crazzy Steve. Ryan suggested that the name “Crazzy Steve” is “problematic” and referred to him as “Mentally Unwell Steve.” He was flanked by the other members of Cancel Culture, Katie Forbes & Rob Van Dam as well.
During the match, Ryan distracted Steve with something on his iPad, which allowed Crist to hit a leg lariat for the win.
Next Week On Impact Wrestling
The following matches have been booked for next week’s show:
Rohit Raju vs Rhino
TNA World Heavyweight Championship Moose (c) vs Hernandez
Street Fight Ace Austin vs Eddie Edwards
Impact Tag Team Championships The North (c) vs The Rascalz (Wentz & Dez)
Chris Jericho has said that when he was growing up, he used to dream of forming a tag-team with Owen Hart. Jericho even attended the Hart brothers school in Calgary along with Lance Storm when he started his training. Jericho took part in an interview with Sportskeeda recently to promote the UK airing of the Dark Side of the Ring episode focused on Owen. During the discussion, Jericho said he’s never felt it would be right for Owen to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
“I never thought Owen should go in the Hall of Fame it’s just not right. I think anybody who had any problems with that should watch it and will understand where the family’s coming from.”
Jericho continued to say that Owen’s contributions to the wrestling business can be celebrated outside of WWE.
“His influence doesn’t go away and it shouldn’t be minimized but if (Martha) doesn’t want to do that through the WWE system, I totally get that,” Jericho continued. He then said he’d like to see Martha Hart do something to honor Owen in AEW.
“I’d love to see (Martha) do something with AEW. I think the spirit of Owen Hart lives on in AEW for sure.”
Jericho would continue to talk about having been influenced by Owen and that it’s important for his contributions to wrestling to be remembered.
“I’m very much influenced by Owen Hart. So I think that, whether it’s New Japan or AEW, I think it’s important for Owen to be remembered by his fans and by the people that he influenced, myself included.”
John Cena has donated $1 million to the Black Lives Matter Foundation. The donation is part of a $3 million donation made by K-Pop band BTS and their fans.
The music group donated $1 million, which was then matched by their fans’ fundraising efforts. Cena matched that gift with another million to bring the total donation to $3 million from this effort.
On Tuesday, Cena tweeted the following inspirational words:
Change is never easy because it takes us admitting that our efforts and methods may be flawed to a point of severe distortion. Be brave and open minded in these moments. Welcome ideas and limit excuses. Change is uncomfortable but can yield much more joy for all in the long run.
While not confirmed, Cena is thought to be responsible for a large donation made to a GoFundMe for Shad Gaspard’s family. The name attached to the donation read “CTC RIP” which many recognized as the acronym used during the brief period when Cena and Cryme Tyme were allies in WWE.
JTG would later say that he was 99% sure the large donation was made by Cena.
“There was a donation for $40,000 and they said that the person donated the money was ‘CTC RIP’ and CTC was a faction between Cryme Tyme and John Cena and it was 2008,” JTG said on Lillian Garcia’s podcast. “It was one also one of the most fun I’ve ever had at the WWE was teaming with Cena.”
John Cena Make-A-Wish
Cena has also taken part in more Make-A-Wish experiences than any other person in history. Last year, he became the first person to take part in over 600 Make-A-Wish experiences.
Big E, Xavier Woods, and Kofi Kingston spoke about racial injustice this week on The New Day: Feel The Power podcast. During the discussion, all 3 members of the group noted the emotional impact current events have had on them.
“I haven’t been able to get this out of my mind and it’s really weighed heavy on me,” Big E said on the show. “I think it’s been a hard few months for so many of us. When Shad passed, when Hana Kimura passed, I kept imagining myself in the water. For some reason, I just kept putting myself in Shad’s position. I don’t know if he knew his son got to safety, I don’t know what his last thoughts were when he died. With Hana, the stuff that was going through her mind when she took her life.”
Big E Talks Racial Injustice
Big E continued to talk about the empathy he has been feeling for others during what has been a very difficult time both in wrestling and the world at large.
“I just keep putting myself in George Floyd’s position when I saw him be murdered like that,” he continued. “To have a man put his knee on his neck like that, man, I don’t know how you don’t feel empathy for a man like that who was accused of passing a counterfeit $20 bill. He didn’t deserve to die like that and we cannot be okay with murdering us, you just can’t be okay with it because it’s not the first time and it’s not the second time. I’ve seen and heard these stories from my parents and their parents and their parents before them. I cannot accept living in a country where this is acceptable.”
“I can’t stop imagining myself in their shoes, in that position. This man had a daughter, he had people who loved him, he had people who cared about him. Same thing with Ahmaud Arbery,” Big E continued.
Kofi Kingston On Racial Injustice
“That’s the scariest thing about all these situations is that it could very well have been any of us,” Kofi said. “Seeing the video of Ahmaud Arbery, he was just going for a run in his neighborhood. I’ve recently just started running around in my neighborhood.”
“No one should have to live like that,” he continued. “Constantly looking over their shoulder in fear or worrying that harm may come but the reality of the world that we live in today is that it is possible.”
“It’s very refreshing in a sense to see that so many people who are not African-American coming to the aid and really wanting to know what they can do,” Kofi continued. “White America wants to know what they can do because I feel like these images specifically, watching this, seeing this with your own eyes and knowing that it’s real and that it’s actually happening and it’s not hearsay.”
“Seeing that makes it very real and it’s not just for us, it’s for anybody that witnesses it.”
“I feel like this situation is just hitting a little bit differently. I feel like we are hopefully on the cusp of something turning around because we are not the only ones who have had enough. It feels good to have White America listening, you know what I’m saying? As opposed to talking about the semantics of Kaepernick protesting and talking about it being about the flag.”
Velveteen Dream was defeated by Adam Cole in a Last Chance Backlot Brawl at NXT Takeover: In Your House this past weekend.
One of the stipulations to the match was that if Dream failed to win the title, he could no longer challenge for it while Cole is the champion. His loss has led some to speculate whether Velveteen Dream could be getting called up to the main roster soon.
According to comments made on Wrestling Observer Radio, however, Dream will not be debuting on either RAW or Smackdown anytime soon.
“Velveteen Dream is not coming up,” Dave Meltzer said bluntly. “I was pretty much told that’s not happening now. Someday, of course, it will happen but it’s not in the plans today.”
Velveteen Dream In WWE
Patrick Clark Jr. was signed to WWE in 2015 after participating in the 6th season of Tough Enough. In 2017, Clark would debut his Prince-inspired gimmick of the Velveteen Dream. Since then, the 25-year-old won the 2017 NXT Feud of the Year award for his angle with Aleister Black.
Dream is a former 1x NXT North American Champion as well. He defeated Johnny Gargano for the belt on the January 30th, 2019 edition of NXT. Dream held the title for 231 days before dropping it to Roderick Strong.
