SEScoops

Author: Rayan Sayyed

  • Eli Drake Signs With NWA

    Eli Drake Signs With NWA

    Former Impact World Champion Eli Drake has been announced as the latest NWA signing.

    Drake was revealed as Nick Aldis’ tag team partner at ROH Best in the World last night. He came out and cut promo in which he mentioned that he is no longer a free agent.

    During the pre-show, Aldis came out to reveal his tag team partner. James Storm came out and said he wasn’t his partner, but he wanted to know who it is. That’s when Aldis introduced Eli Drake.

    Drake was fired from Impact Wrestling back in April when he criticised Impact’s booking. He didn’t want to wrestle in inter-gender matches and asked to be removed from a planned match with Tessa Blanchard.

    The NWA had announced this week that Aldis’ tag team partner had signed an exclusive deal with them.

    Colt Cabana was supposed to be Aldis’ tag team partner but pulled out due to a leg injury.

    https://twitter.com/tde_wrestling/status/1144771905905410049
  • Updated Slammiversary Card

    Updated Slammiversary Card

    Impact Wrestling has revealed another match that will be added to their pay-per-view event Slammiversary XVII. On Friday, it was revealed that Killer Kross and Eddie Edwards would face each other in a First Blood match.

    The company issued the following: “Eddie Edwards and Killer Kross will cross the line on Sunday, July 7th in Dallas, TX at Slammiversary. Their match will not be an ordinary wrestling match, their match will be a violent affair and there is only one way to win this match… Make your opponent bleed. A First Blood Match is not one you see very often, because the violence is so extreme. Both men have found a dark place inside of themselves and they will have to unleash that fury on Sunday, July 7th in Dallas, TX on Pay Per View.”

    The PPV will begin at 8 PM ET and will be available via all major distributors including DISH, DirecTV, iN Demand, Vubiquity, Rogers, Bell, Shaw, Sasktel.. It will be streamed globally live on IMPACT Plus and FITE.tv app.

    Slammiversary XVII will be emanating from Gilley’s Dallas in Texas on Sunday, July 7.

    Slammiversary XVII Card

    Here is the current card of the event:

    • Impact World Championship: Brian Cage (c) vs Michael Elgin
    • X-Division Championship: Rich Swann (c) vs Johnny Impact
    • Moose vs Rob Van Dam
    • Monster’s Ball – Knockouts Championship: Taya Valkyrie (c) vs Havok vs Su Yung vs Rosemary
    • Impact Tag Team Championships: Santana & Ortiz (LAX) vs Dez & Wentz (the Rascalz)
    • Tessa Blanchard vs. Sami Callihan
    • Eddie Edwards vs. Killer Kross
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dzLLkdTVkM
  • Rocky Romero: Fans Turning To NJPW Because WWE Doesn’t Listen To Them

    Rocky Romero: Fans Turning To NJPW Because WWE Doesn’t Listen To Them

    Eight-time IWJP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion Rocky Romero discussed the current state of wrestling and its boom, why the NJPW is gaining momentum, and whether the golden age of wrestling has begun while speaking to Fansided.

    Romero thinks that the current era of professional wrestling is just the beginning and the true golden era is yet to arrive.

    “I think we’re in the most interesting era of professional wrestling where every company big or small can make their own impact and every wrestler has more options than ever before. I think we are just seeing the beginning of it and the golden [era] is still to come.”

    Romero also believes that the reason behind the current wrestling boom is the inability of WWE to deliver a quality product. More people are turning to alternative promotions, including NJPW, because WWE are unable to give what fans actually want.

    “As the world gets smaller through social media, YouTube, etc. people can pick and choose the types of professional wrestling they want to watch, and the biggest producer of professional wrestling isn’t giving a lot of fans what they want. So, fans have a choice and that’s why you’re seeing a NJPW boom and an overall wrestling boom. The professional wrestlers are the best they have ever been in any era and that helps.”

    Romero also stated that he would like to see NJPW’s international audience to triple, and become a household name in the United States. “In Japan I would like to see our audience double and internationally I would like to see our audience triple. Especially in the United States, I would love to see NJPW be a household name in professional wrestling.”

  • WWE Stars Encouraged Jon Moxley To Participate In G1 Climax

    WWE Stars Encouraged Jon Moxley To Participate In G1 Climax

    In a recent interview with New Japan Pro Wrestling, Jon Moxley talked about being part of the G1 Climax, and his thoughts on Shinsuke Nakamura.

    Although part of All Elite Wrestling’s roster, Jon Moxley is currently competing for NJPW’s G1 Climax tournament and is the IWGP United States Champion. He reveals that he wanted to follow in the footsteps of former WWE Superstars Chris Jericho and Cody Rhodes, as they inspired him to go to Japan.

    “I tried to follow [the careers of Chris Jericho and Cody Rhodes]. When you travel in WWE, you’re kind of in a bubble and it’s difficult to follow along, but I did watch what I could. Then, when I knew I was leaving – Japan in general was definitely on my bucket list. I wanted to have a good run in Japan, and of course NJPW was the goal. So when I got the call from them, I was just like, ‘let’s go, put me on the airplane’.”

    Moxley also revealed that current WWE stars Shinsuke Nakamura and Karl Anderson,who performed previously in NJPW, encouraged him to participate in the tournament.

    “Well, Shinsuke Nakamura is in WWE and doing very well. I never got to wrestle him sadly, but he heard that I was likely going over to be in the G1, and he was very pleased,” Moxley said. “[He] said it was a great life experience. Karl Anderson, who I’ve actually been friends with since I was 18, since we’re both from Cincinnati, I asked him about the G1. A few others as well, and everybody was great and said, ‘yeah, go for it’.”

    Moxley also had some praise for Nakamura. Moxley believes Nakamura has a differrent style but he fits well in the WWE because of his flamboyance.

    “I think [Nakamura is] doing great there. Fans love him,” Moxley said. “It’s a different style, but he fits in well because he is charismatic, he is flamboyant. He can go, so whether it’s a New Japan ring or a WWE one he can do well anywhere.”

    NJPW announced that the 2019 edition of the G1 Climax would take place from July 6 to August 12. The first night of the tournament will be held at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, marking the first time the tournament has been held outside of Japan. Like the previous year, the final three shows will be held at Nippon Budokan. Moxley announced that he will be part of the tournament at at Dominion 6.9 in Osaka-jo Hall. He will be participating in Block B.

  • Io Shirai Turns Heel, Attacks Candice LeRae

    Io Shirai Turns Heel, Attacks Candice LeRae

    On last night’s episode of NXT, Shayna Baszler successfully retained her NXT Women’s Championship against Io Shirai in a steel cage match.

    Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir came out during the match to help Baszler, by preventing Shirai from escaping the cage. Candice LeRae help keep things balanced by coming out to help Shirai.

    During the end of the match, Shirai was about to make it out of the cage when Baszler locked on her with her submission finisher ther Kirifuda Clutch through the bottom rope. Shirai was able to muster some strength to smash the cage’s door on Baszler’s head, but the champ ended up falling to the floor to win.

    While The Horsewomen helped Baszler to the ramp, LeRae went to console Shirai. But what the Genuis of the Sky did next surprised the audience. She snapped, and put LeRae down, and kicked her multiple times. She next gets a chair and hit LeRae in the gut and on her back. Shirai then headed back to the ramp after beating up LeRae, and claimed that she didn’t need any friends.

    The vicious attack left LeRae to recieve medical attention from WWE officials.

  • Becky Lynch Celebrates 5 Year Anniversary with WWE

    Becky Lynch Celebrates 5 Year Anniversary with WWE

    ‘The Man’ Becky Lynch posted to Twitter to commemorate the 5th anniversary of her WWE debut. The Raw Women’s Champion thanked her supporters and stated how fun it was to watch her haters’ head explode.

    Lynch wrote, “It’s been 5 years since I debuted. 5 years of looking for ways to break through and not asking permission. For those who’ve supported me, thank you. For the others, it’s been fun to watch your heads exploding”

    https://twitter.com/BeckyLynchWWE/status/1144186340935794688

    Becky Lynch signed a contract with WWE in 2013, where she worked at NXT. She made her main roster debut in July 2015, and went on to become the inaugural SmackDown Women’s Champion at Backlash 2016, and went on to hold the titles two more times.

    After sitting on the sidelines for most of 2017, Lynch developed a more aggressive persona starting at SummerSlam 2018, where she would attack Charlotte Flair after their match with Carmella. She dubbed herself “The Man” and lobbied for herself to get a chance as she thought of herself as an unfairly-treaten underdog. This would mark a turning point for Lynch’s career, as she would gain immense popularity and support from fans.

    Lynch would ride on the momentum and win the 2019 Women’s Royal Rumble match, and would go on to headline WrestleMania for the first time, by winning both the Raw Women’s Championship and SmackDown Women’s Championship in a Winner takes all match against Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair. This would make her a double champion and the only woman to do so.

  • Joey Janela Squashes Cody Hall In Twitter Beef

    Joey Janela Squashes Cody Hall In Twitter Beef

    All Elite Wrestling’s Joey Janela got into an online beef with Cody Hall yesterday on Twitter, where he told Hall to get his act together.

    Janela tweeted out that he wasn’t having a great morning owing to a very late flight. He also had to catch a train that would take two hours to get him home. He implied that he was in a bad mood, and asked everyone to leave him alone.

    This is exactly when Cody decided to respond, and Hall wasn’t having any of the trolling. Hall wrote, “Post for attention, says leave me alone.”

    Janela reponded in a brutal fashion and stated that Hall is 28, 6’9 and the son of Scott Hall, yet he isn’t signed anywhere, nor is he getting any notable independent dates. The Bad Boy urged Hall to get his act together.

    https://twitter.com/JANELABABY/status/1143688432499200001

    This prompted Hall to write a response of his own, where he specifically mentioned how handsome he is.

    https://twitter.com/Cody_Hall1/status/1144003150652645376

    It isn’t clear if the both of them are building up heat for a match down the road, or if they simply just don’t like each other. Whatever the case may be, it’s clear that it’s best to leave the Bad Boy to himself when he asks you to.

  • Britt Baker On Balancing Her Jobs As Wrestler & Dentist

    Britt Baker On Balancing Her Jobs As Wrestler & Dentist

    Current AEW wrestler Dr. Britt Baker who is a doctor by day and wrestler by night, talked about juggling both of her careers and how she manages to do it while speaking to Diva Dirt.

    Baker has studied behavioral medicine with a minor in human development and family studies at Pennsylvania State University, and is currently employed at a private practice in Winter Park, Florida. Baker talked about being a doctor-cum-wrestler and how she ended up taking this unusual path.

    “It was when I was graduating from undergrad at Penn State University and I was moving to Pittsburgh to start my dental school education at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. That was right at the same time I enrolled in the IWC Wrestling Academy, also in Pittsburgh, and I literally started my training for both dentistry and wrestling at the same exact time, like within months of each other.”

    Baker reveals that it takes mental toughness to juggle both drastically different careers. She has to sometimes manage both on the same day, which includes work at the dental office, working out in the gym and wrestling, etc.

    “Sometimes that seems a bit daunting as far as, is there enough hours in a day to get everything done, but it’s just a matter of putting one step in front of the other and just trying to relax and get everything done; and that’s the part that has been… my secret to success is never panicking and just power forward and get everything done that needs to be done.”

    Baker was asked which wrestlers inspired her and she named legends like Lita, The Rock, Shawn Michaels, Edge as well as current female wrestlers such as Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Bayley, Natalya and Sasha Banks. She also said that her current boyfriend, WWE’s Adam Cole is also a huge inspiration to her.

    “…I’m hugely inspired by Adam Cole, he’s obviously one of the most important people in my life. It may be biased, but I think he’s one of the best wrestlers in the world, and I love watching him wrestle and I love learning from him.”

    Also See:
    Adam Cole Talks About Britt Baker’s AEW Performance


  • WWE Setting Up Finn Balor vs. Nakamura Feud

    WWE Setting Up Finn Balor vs. Nakamura Feud

    Current WWE Intercontinental Champion Finn Balor, who we haven’t seen much of lately, could have a former world champion as his next challenger.

    On this week’s episode of SmackDown Live, Balor was being interviewed backstage by Kayla Braxton on what his plans are next. He was about to answer but his eye caught someone in the distance. The camera panned to the left and it revealed Shinsuke Nakamura, who then walked toward Balor.

    Both of them stared down each other as Nakamura seemed to set his sights on the IC Championship with a ‘Two Sweet’ gesture.

    It was noted by the announcers that Balor looks to have found his new challenger. All we need is a confirmation and the two will likely face each other at Extreme Rules.

    The two have faced each other before under the WWE banner back in NXT in 2016. Nakamura came out as the winner that time, and the match was critically acclaimed.

    The pairing of the two superstars looks great and the two performers are capable of giving five-star performances. We will be looking forward to their bout as it comes to fruition soon.

  • NXT Star Gets Name Change To Fans’ Delight

    NXT Star Gets Name Change To Fans’ Delight

    Another week, another new ring name. But this time, it seems like the wrestler himself had a say in the name change.

    Brennan Williams from NXT, underwent a name change recently and will be called “Dio Madden” from now on. If you think the new name is just random and meaningless – it isn’t. The “Dio” is actually a direct reference to the popular Japanese anime show JoJo’s Bizzare Adventure‘s antagonist “Dio Brando”.

    Williams is known as a huge anime/games nerd by his fans and this is surely a great way to connect with them as they are delighted by the name change. Even his Twitter username is “GREATBLACKOTAKU”, otaku being a word for an anime super-fan, basically. He has also appeared multiple times on Xavier Woods’ YouTube channel, UpUpDownDown.

    In another interesting tidbit, Williams showed his finisher on Twitter which is named after his love for the cult-classic anime show from the mid-90s called Neon Genesis Evangelion. The show is trending in pop culture right now because it was recently picked up by Netflix to be on their streaming platform. Fans of the show are celebrating as a new generation will be discovering the much-loved series for the first time. Williams used this opportunity to remind of his finisher called “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis” which is a reference to the show:

    William has been part of NXT for almost three years now when he joined the development brand in August of 2016, and has been appearing on NXT house shows from time to time. He was a former football player was drafted by the Houston Texans of the National Football League in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He was released and was subsequently signed by Jacksonville Jaguars but released shortly. The New England Patriots signed Williams to their practice squad in late 2015 but waived him two days later. After being released by the Patriots, he received wrestling training by Booker T and debuted in 2016 with the Hall of Famer’s promotion, Reality of Wrestling.

  • Aleister Black’s Potential Challenger Teased On SmackDown Live

    Aleister Black’s Potential Challenger Teased On SmackDown Live

    Aleister Black, who was recently separated from Ricochet as part of a tag team, has not been seen in the ring for a couple of months. Where he is seen though, is in some ominous vignettes airing on SmackDown Live.

    In these vignettes, Black asks for someone to step up and challenge him by “knocking on his door”, and on this week’s SmackDown Live, someone finally answered Black’s pleadings.

    In the video, Black talks about how frustrated he is because seemingly no one has the guts to face them. And that’s exactly when we hear a knock on the door – and the vignette ends on a cliffhanger, without revealing who it was.

    The internet has been speculating who Black’s opponent could be. One fan theory that’s making the rounds on the net suggests that the Firefly Fun House’s character sightings on the same episode of SmackDown are related and the person who knocked could be Bray Wyatt.

    On the other hand, Twitter account WrestleVotes, which has broken some stories in the past says that Black is scheduled to work Extreme Rules and WWE has decided that his opponent will be Cesaro. We would like to remind our readers to take this report as a rumor as WrestleVotes themselves are saying that they “can’t 100% confirm” Black’s opponent. Also, Cesaro is on Raw, but so was Black until he was re-drafted to SmackDown due to his real-life wife Zelina Vega being drafted there.

    The opponent will most likely be revealed next week and it will be interesting to see who it ends up being.

  • Awesome Kong Recalls Jim Ross Telling Her She Didn’t Fit The ‘Diva’ Mold In WWE

    Awesome Kong Recalls Jim Ross Telling Her She Didn’t Fit The ‘Diva’ Mold In WWE

    Awesome Kong recently spoke at Netflix’s Scene Stealers panel to promote GLOW where she also discussed her wrestling career, her time in Japan, and more. While on the topic of what fueled her fire for wrestling and how she found herself wrestling in Japan, Kong said that it was during her time in Tough Enough when former WWE commentator Jim Ross told her that she wouldn’t make it due to her size.

    “I went to on a show called Tough Enough and it was for a WWE contract and Jim Ross who’s an announcer there told me I would never make it in wrestling because of my size and so that gave me the fire to be like, ‘watch this.’

    So a friend of mine got me on a show Discovery Health Body Challenge, a weight loss show from 10 years ago on Discovery Health. They actually introduced me to a dojo from Los Angeles where Chyna was training. She did a surprise segment for me and that dojo invited me to go to Japan. I only planned to go there for two weeks and that turned into like, six years.”

    This statement from Kong garnered response from netizens who didn’t like Jim Ross’ comment on Kong’s size. JR clarified this on his Twitter and said that he believed Kong wouldn’t make it in the Diva Search because she was not “Diva material”, and that he never doubted Kong’s ability to become a wrestler.

    Ross wrote, “I never said Kia wouldn’t make it as a wrestler.

    This was at the Diva Search and I was honest that at that time she was unlikely “Diva Material.”

    I love her work. Listen to #DoubleOrNothing @AEWrestling”

  • Batista Reveals He Tried To Talk Undertaker Out Of Goldberg Match

    Batista Reveals He Tried To Talk Undertaker Out Of Goldberg Match

    Before the now infamous main event took place at Super ShowDown, Batista tried to jokingly talk Undertaker out of his match against Goldberg.

    In an interview with Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet, Batista discussed his match against Triple H at WrestleMania 35, and while on the topic, he also talked about the recent match between the two legends that took place in Saudi Arabia.

    Batista said that he hasn’t watched the entire match but only seen a few clips and didn’t want to comment on it. But The Animal did reveal that he called Undertaker on the day of the show and asked the Deadman if there is any way to talk him out of the match.

    Batista reveals that as soon as Taker heard this, he started laughing and said that the offer sounded good to him initially but now he has to do it since he is obligated.

    Undertaker vs. Goldberg

    The entire internet was in a debate on whether the Undertaker and Goldberg should retire after their performance at Super ShowDown.

    At the match, Goldberg rammed into the second turnbuckle during a spear spot and took a nasty shot to the head. Goldberg later revealed that he had actually knocked himself out when he hit the ring post, and continued because he thought he could finish the match.

    “Knocked myself out and thought I could finish…. love my fans…..but let u down. Everyone else that found “pleasure” ….. hope ur happy”

  • John Cena Talks Retirement, Goldberg vs The Undertaker

    John Cena Talks Retirement, Goldberg vs The Undertaker

    John Cena dropped a hint about his retirement while talking about Super ShowDown’s disastrous Goldberg vs The Undertaker match.

    TMZ Sports caught up with Cena in New York where they asked him about his part in the upcoming Fast & Furious film, as well as his thoughts on the Goldberg vs The Undertaker match and whether the two legends should just retire and hang up their boots.

    Cena made it clear that he thinks it’s up to the individual to retire whenever they want and they will when they are ready to and it is not his place to advise them. However he also added that he has been having the same conversation with himself lately.

    “I think an individual’s career is up to the individual. I think that’s pretty much the way I can describe that. I’ve been having the same conversation with myself – I’m only 42 but it’s something that we’ve gotta address each day. And that’s individually specific. When those people are ready to stop, they’ll stop.”

    Cena is still just 42 and while he says he’s thinking about retiring from wrestling – possibly to focus on his acting career more, it’s not like we’ll not see him in the ring occasionally on special events.

    Cena last appeared at WrestleMania 35 where he returned with his Doctor of Thuganomics gimmick and interrupted Elias’ concert. He dissed Elias with a rap and mentioned turning heel, and hit the Attitude Adjustment on him but only this time he called it by its original name, the FU.

    Watch: John Cena Talks WWE Retirement, Undertaker vs. Golberg

  • Kurt Angle Believes AEW Will Do Well But Isn’t The Monster WWE Is

    Kurt Angle Believes AEW Will Do Well But Isn’t The Monster WWE Is

    WWE Hall of Famer did a Q&A on his Facebook page where he answered a lot of interesting questions submitted by fans, including All Elite Wrestling ones.

    One submitter asked what Angle’s expectations are from AEW. Angle said that he thinks AEW will be successful but won’t reach WWE’s level:

    “AEW will do very well. BUT, it’s not WWE. WWE is a monster. It will be fun to see how this pans out. I’ve seen companies in the past attempt to make a run against WWE. WCW was actually neck and neck. TNA was not able to compare, but they had a great run with amazing talent, and TNA was a solid #2. AEW has some amazing talent as well, but WWE is so global, I don’t think anyone will catch them. That’s my opinion and I could be wrong.”

    Angle also talked about his favorite wrestling gimmick, the “Wrestling Machine”. Angle said that wrestling machine gimmick fit him better than any other heel gimmick. The gimmick came about during his run in the ECW brand in 2006, where he would wear a mouth guard and squash opponents.

    “It was my favorite character. I played the cheating heel, the nerd heel, and the White Meat baby face, but the Wrestling Machine fit me better than any of them. I was the best wrestler in the world from 2002-6. I knew that. I was literally a “wrestling machine”. And it worked.”

    Speaking on his drug abuse issues, Angle said that denial was no longer an option for him after his fourth DUI.

    “When I got charged with my 4th DUI. That was it. Denial was no longer an option. I look back now and think, “what took me so long to get help?”. I’m ashamed of the many things I’ve done, but I can’t regret it, because I got clean and I’m staying clean. My past is now part of who I am. I’m a great husband, great father, and loyal Christian. I have many beautiful things in my life that are valuable to me, especially my kids. Clean is the only option.”

    Angle also responded to a question asking who he would have liked to face in his last match and he said he would have preferred a veteran like John Cena,
    HHH, Brock Lesnar, or Shawn Michaels.

    You can check out the entire Q&A on Kurt Angle’s Facebook page by clicking here.

  • Corey Graves On Plot Hole In Brock Lesnar-MITB Storyline

    Corey Graves On Plot Hole In Brock Lesnar-MITB Storyline

    On last week’s Raw, Brock Lesnar appeared and teased to cash in his Money in the Bank contract but decided against it later that night when he learned that he has a whole year to decide which champion he wants to face.

    Stephanie McMahon, for some reason, called out Lesnar for, you know, playing by the rules and said that Lesnar and Paul Heyman have disrespected the WWE Universe and they are going to take action against them.

    Stephanie said in the video, “They disrespected what the money in the bank contract represents. They disrespected both the Universal champion as well as the WWE Champion. I think they disrespected WWE and the entire WWE universe.

    So on behalf of our organization, on behalf of all of our fans, I am going to take this matter up officially and we are going to take action.”

    This move by the company which left many heads scratching, including announcer Corey Graves.

    Graves tweeted out the following about WWE’s disregard for the previously set MITB rules:

    “So, he’s is cashing in because the boss was mad at him for not cashing in when he said he was, even though the point of the contract is to cash in at the holder’s discretion? ?

    Where’s my new chair?”

    Heyman has said that Lesnar would cash in his Money in the Bank contract on the upcoming June 3 episode of Raw, with the time and moment of his choosing, against WWE Universal Champion Seth Rollins. This remains to be seen, along with what actions Stephanie is going to take against Lesnar.

  • Sasha Banks Posts Cryptic Tweet After Reportedly Meeting With Vince McMahon

    Sasha Banks Posts Cryptic Tweet After Reportedly Meeting With Vince McMahon

    Sasha Banks has penned a cryptic tweet regarding her freedom following her reportedly meeting with Vince McMahon.

    Banks has not been seen in the ring in almost 2 months and her last match was also a losing attempt to defend the tag titles with Bayley on April 7 at WrestleMania 35.

    A recent report from the Wrestling Observer suggested that Banks met with Vince McMahon last week and she is expected to come back this summer.

    https://twitter.com/SashaBanksWWE/status/1134185047710425088

    Banks posted a photo of herself on Twitter with the following caption which talks about conquering dreams after attaining freedom from a supposed “cage”:

    “I will conquer my biggest dreams. Once you open the cage, I bet that I’ll spread my wings”

    The line, which comes from Kendrick Lamar’s Dumb it Down, clearly talks about getting freedom from restrictions and realizing what one can truly do without them.

    Many on Twitter are speculating that the “cage” here is supposed to be WWE and Banks is looking to get out of it.

    Only time will tell what the meaning behind the lines are. It of course doesn’t necessarily have to be about WWE. But if the Observer’s report is to be believed then Banks should be back in WWE, if not, then this is an early sign by Banks about her future outside of the company.

    For what it’s worth, AEW executive Jim Ross responded to Sasha Banks’ post with the hashtag, #Money.

  • Tomohiro Ishii & Jeff Cobb Announced For Opening Day Of G1 Climax 29

    Tomohiro Ishii & Jeff Cobb Announced For Opening Day Of G1 Climax 29

    New Japan Pro Wrestling has announced on Friday that Tomohiro Ishii and Jeff Cobb will be appearing at the opening day of G1 Climax 29.

    “The Stone Pitbull” Tomohiro Ishii is known for his strong style of wrestling, and was known as one of the most underrated wrestlers in the business, until he rosed to prominence in 2013. He has been a 4-time NEVER Openweight Champion.

    Jeff Cobb has made his name on the independent circuit, with capturing the PWG World Championship, and winning the 2018 Battle of Los Angeles, and numerous other titles in various independent promotions. Cobb has also captured the NEVER Openweight Championship like Ishii in NJPW.

    The two will join the likes of already announced wrestlers such as: Kazuchika Okada, Kota Ibushi, Tetsuya Naito, Jay White, Jyushin Thunder Liger, EVIL, and SANADA.

    The company says they will announce the G1 Climax 29 entrants at a later date.

    G1 Climax 29 will take place at the American Airlines Center on 6 July, 2019 in Dallax, Texas.

  • Tony Khan Says There Will “Definitely” Be An AEW PPV in UK

    Tony Khan Says There Will “Definitely” Be An AEW PPV in UK

    After taking over the wrestling world by storm on Saturday with their successful Double or Nothing event in Las Vegas, All Elite Wrestling says they have similar plans for the United Kingdom.

    talkSPORT caught up with SoCal Uncensored ahead of the event and asked them about AEW’s plans for UK.

    “I think when you look at who is involved and you look at somebody like a Tony Khan who has heavy ties to the UK and London specifically, I think that it is a foregone conclusion,” Kazarian said. “And one thing that we want to do is be different. And to be different, you take your product to the people. You don’t necessarily make the people come to you. You take it to where the fans are.”

    Related: AEW: All Out Announced For August 31st in Chicago

    “We’d love to do a Starrcast, I’d love to do a cigar event, a jam session; let’s do everything we’re doing over here in Vegas and do it in the UK. And I think it will happen.”

    talksSPORT’s Alex McCarthy also went straight to Tony Khan after the event for a word who assured them there will “definitely” be a UK PPV. The venue or the date has not been set yet but the important thing we need to know is that it will happen.

    It would only make sense for the company to broaden their horizons by making their presence felt on a different continent. And with Khan spending a lot of time in London with Fulham F.C., it only makes sense for the company to eventually visit the islands.

    Also read: Cody Says AEW Won’t Do Monthly PPVs

  • Sasha Banks & Bayley Had To “Annoy” Vince McMahon Every Week To Bring Tag Titles In WWE

    Sasha Banks & Bayley Had To “Annoy” Vince McMahon Every Week To Bring Tag Titles In WWE

    Sasha Banks revealed a few details on how she and Bayley pursued Vince McMahon to bring the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles in the company.

    Banks says that they would visit Vince McMahon’s office every week asking for the introduction of tag titles and would be met with mixed reponses.

    “It felt like the whole of last year we were asking, like we would be knocking on the door of Vince’s office every week,” Banks told Sky Sports.

    “Me and Bayley would go up to him and some weeks he’d say no and some weeks he’d say yes and then bam, it’s here. So that just proves that you should never give up on your dreams. If you’re annoying enough you can make things happen and that’s probably what happened, he just got annoyed with us.”

    Despite constantly “annoying” McMahon for the titles, Banks hopes that the CEO understands how much it means to them.

    “I hope he understands how important this is to us and we’re going to make it really special. That’s just Vince every week – you never know how he’s going to be. You just have to keep on trying.”

    The titles were established in December of 2018 and were unveiled on the January 14, 2019 episode of Raw. The inaugral champions were decided in a tag team Elimination Chamber match on the Elimination Chamber event, which took place on February 17. Sasha Banks and Bayley as The Boss ‘n’ Hug Connection won the match, making them the inaugral champions.

    The duo will be seen defending their titles against The Divas of Doom (Beth Phoenix and Natalya), The IIconics (Billie Kay and Peyton Royce), and Nia Jax & Tamina at WrestleMania 35.

  • Jimmy Uso Reaches Plea Agreement Over Police Standoff Incident

    Jimmy Uso Reaches Plea Agreement Over Police Standoff Incident

    Current one-half of the SmackDown Tag Team Champion Jimmy Uso was involved in an incident with the police in Detroit back in February. When Jimmy’s wife Naomi was pulled over for driving the wrong way on a one-way street, Jimmy took his shirt off and tried to square off with the cops, body cam footage showed.

    Jimmy was arrested with disorderly conduct and obstruction of justice. Despite this, it looks like Jimmy will not be having any problems with the case anymore.

    According to TMZ, Jimmy and his attorney, John Freeman have reached a deal with prosecutors for Jimmy to plead no contest to the charge of interfering with a government employee. In exchange, Jimmy had to pay $450 in fines.

    During the time of the incident, Naomi took to Twitter and lashed out at fans, defending her husband’s actions, claiming, “as for my husband he’s more of a man you’ll ever be & I’ll leave it at that (sic)”

    WWE didn’t punish Jimmy, but they released a statement on the incident, which read, “Jonathan Fatu is responsible for his own personal actions.”

    The Usos actually went on to become tag team champions just a few days later at the Elimination Chamber event. They were also able to retain the titles at Fastlane in early March. The two were seen on this week’s episode of SmackDown where they forfeited their gauntlet match against Big E and Xavier Woods in support of Kofi Kingston’s WWE Championship pursuit. As of now, a match for the SD Tag Titles isn’t confirmed for WrestleMania.

  • Jay Lethal On Opportunity To Headline G1 Supercard At Madison Square Garden

    Jay Lethal On Opportunity To Headline G1 Supercard At Madison Square Garden

    G1 Supercard, which will be brought by Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling at the Madison Square Garden on April 6, will see ROH Champion Jay Lethal as one of the wrestlers in the main event of the show at the historic and important venue.

    Lethal will be facing Marty Scurll and Matt Taven in a three-way ladder match for the ROH World Championship, which will be one of the main events in the card.

    Lethal talked to the Tampa Bay Times about his opportunity to headline the first non-WWE event in nearly 60 years at MSG.

    “Every wrestler from my generation thought that the only way to work in Madison Square Garden was to work for the WWE or fill out an application to work security,” Lethal said. “I get to go there without doing either of those two things.” ”

    Lethal adds that he is more than happy with how his career is going and equates it to winning the lottery, to be going in as a champion at a sold-out show in MSG.

    “I feel like my career is like winning the lottery. Everything just seems to go right.”

    “I couldn’t write my story any better,” Lethal added. “We are wrestling a sold-out show at Madison Square Garden and I am champion. A few years ago, I would have said this is impossible. But it is a reality.”

  • Batista Returning On Raw To Respond To Triple H

    Batista Returning On Raw To Respond To Triple H

    WWE Superstar Dave Batista and Triple H are set to face each other at WrestleMania 35 in a No Holds Barred Match after the two had a face-to-face confrontation on Raw.

    Now, WWE has announced that the Animal will be returning to the last Raw before WrestleMania, and he has a message for Triple H.

    On the October 16, 2018 episode of SmackDown, which was the 1000th episode special, Batista reunited with former Evolution stablemates Triple H and Ric Flair. Batista showed hostility towards Triple H and teased a match claiming that The Cerebral Assassin has never beaten him in a singles match.

    Rumors and speculation about the match became reality on the February 25, 2019 episode of Raw when Ric Flair’s 70th Birthday Celebration hosted by Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, was set to take place. Flair did not make it to the ring and it was because Batista attacked him backstage, to seek Triple H’s attention.

    On the March 11 episode of Raw, the two came together in the ring and Batista
    Batista challenged Triple H for a match at WrestleMania. Batista said that he wanted his final match to be on his own terms, and Triple H accepted and made it a No Holds Barred match. Batista stated that the reason behind his hatred was because Triple H had only used him and underestimated him, before their time in Evolution.

    On this week’s Raw, Batista demanded Triple H to put his career on the line against him, or the match would be off. Triple H agreed to the stipulation and must retire as a wrestler if he loses.

    WrestleMania 35 is set to take place on April 7, 2019 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

  • Johnny Gargano: TakeOver NY Match Shaping Up To Be Biggest Match Of My Life

    Johnny Gargano: TakeOver NY Match Shaping Up To Be Biggest Match Of My Life

    Johnny Gargano is set to headline the upcoming NXT TakeOver: New York event in a two-out-of-three falls match against Adam Cole for the currently vacant NXT Championship.

    Gargano talked about this match and revealed how important it is for him personally and for his career, and also gave his opinion on his opponent Adam Cole.

    Gargano told WWE.com that the pinnacle of his time on the yellow brand will be to capture the NXT Championship.

    “You can’t call yourself Mr. TakeOver and not deliver something special, right? One thing I’ve learned this past month is you can’t control the future. You can only control the now. Who knows what tomorrow may bring? So, for me and the NXT Championship, it’s now or never. I believe it is my destiny to be NXT Champion. I know it’s not going to be easy. It’s a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match against Adam Cole in a building where I’m 0 for 3. Plus, we all know that when you fight one member of Undisputed ERA, you’re essentially fighting all of Undisputed ERA, so this could essentially be four-on-one. The odds aren’t in my favor. But I’ve been an underdog my whole life – I wouldn’t have it any different!”

    “This has been building for a very long time, and to return to the Barclays Center, which is the site of my very first TakeOver, with the whole world watching during the biggest wrestling weekend of the year, with my friends and family in the crowd, it’s shaping up to be the biggest match of my life. This has the potential to be the biggest night of my life. I’ve been dreaming of this night since I was a kid and the only thing I can guarantee, the only thing I can promise, is I’m going to give everything I have on April 5. I know it’s going to be a crazy atmosphere, but to the people riding with me in the Barclays Center, I won’t let you down.”

    Gargano, while speaking on his opponent Adam Cole, said that he has an immense amount of respect for him and believes that he is one of the best in the business.

    “I have nothing but respect for Adam Cole. I’ve known him for a very long time and he’s one of the best in the world. He not only has my respect, but he also has the fans’ respect, as he should. Cole’s earned that. Everywhere he’s been, he’s been successful, and he’s been a champion. Cole expects to be NXT Champion, and he has expected to be champion since the moment he debuted in the Barclays Center and held the title above his head. Adam Cole always felt like it was a matter of time. I never expected any of this. None of this was ever supposed to happen for me. Our paths here were vastly different, but destiny has brought us together for this match.”

    NXT TakeOver: New York is to take place on April 5, 2019, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. You can check out the full card of the event here.

  • Mojo Rawley Confident We’ll See Rob Gronkowski In A WWE Ring

    Mojo Rawley Confident We’ll See Rob Gronkowski In A WWE Ring

    On Sunday, former tight end of New England Patriots Rob Gronkowski announced his retirement from NFL.

    WWE’s Mojo Rawley who is good friends with Gronkowsk said that we can expect to see the Gronk in a WWE ring at some point.

    Speaking to TMZ Sports, Rawley said, “That wouldn’t shock me one bit. I mean, he’s always been a wrestling fan,” Rawley said. “… In the future, I’m sure at some point you’ll see him inside a WWE ring in one capacity or another, but I don’t know if that’s day gonna be today.”

    On whether the company themselves would be interested in the former NFL star, Rawley responded positively and said that a personality like Gronkowski is exactly what the company looks for:

    “I’m absolutely positive they would be pretty receptive to that,” he said. “A guy that can move the way he can, that has his size and overall demeanor and charisma, yeah, that’s kinda what we recruit around. That’s exactly what we’re looking for here.”

    Rawley continued, “So you know, I’m sure they’d be on board with it, and like you said, there’s been a lot of Superstars from other walks of life that have come here and been successful. That’s kinda the beauty of WWE – everyone’s got their own story, they all have their own path of getting here. It’s just a very diverse and unique locker room. So yeah, he’d be a perfect fit. Absolutely.”

    Gronkowski appeared at WrestleMania 33 to help his friend Rawley win the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Gronkowski was sitting ringside and Jinder Mahal threw a drink at him which prompted the star to get in the ring and attack Mahal.