During his most recent podcast, “Talk Is Jericho”, Chris Jericho recounts his involvement with the recent All In event. Topics include how he agreed to be a part of the event, the kinds of ideas that were pitched to him, and the challenges he faced using Pentagon Jr.’s second outfit for his surprise appearance.
The whole thing comes across as a comedy of errors, where if anything can go wrong, it probably will. One singular moment, however, could have unravelled all of the team’s hard work and secrecy.
Photo Finish
Jericho travelled to All In with his friend, Jack Slade, who would be instrumental in averting a leak over Chris landing in Chicago.
Arriving late to avoid the majority of fans, who would have already been at the Sears Centre, didn’t stop one fan from recognizing Y2J. Adorned in a Bullet Club t-shirt, he would attempt to take a discreet photo as Jericho exited the plane.
Having noticed, Slade was able to catch up to the fan and discovered they had taken more than one picture on their phone. After a brief conversation, the fan was decent enough to delete the pictures. With the amount of secrecy involved, Jericho knew it would only take one photo to leak for his appearance to have been completely ruined.
In this day and age where leaks are so prominent and social media so accessible, it’s amazing that they were able to keep Jericho under wraps the way they did, with the payoff – which saw Jericho appear disguised as Pentagon Jr. issue a beating on Kenny Omega – having even more impact because of it.
There has been a lot of speculation over the current status of both Pentagon Jr. and his brother, Fenix. Rumours have been rampant that the duo are WWE bound, with neither taking bookings in 2019 – a move that is, according to Dave Meltzer, “usually a sign of going to WWE.” Pentagon Jr. has added another element of intrigue into the fray, however, in a recent video uploaded to YouTube by PCW Ultra.
“I Am Not Going Anywhere.”
The video took place after a championship match up between Pentagon Jr. (wrestling here as Penta El Zero M) and Hammerstone. In it, Pentagon thanks the crowd, reminding them that he is their champion:
“Respect that I am the PCW champ and no one is going to take that from me. Thank you very much!”
But before heading to the back, Pentagon had one more thing to get off his chest:
“And before I forget,” he said. “I am not going anywhere. Penta will be in PCW for many more years.”
Another promotion, Major League Wrestling (MLW), had previously added to this confusion over the brothers’ futures when they Tweeted out the following:
With so much evidence pointing towards the WWE, it’s interesting to see these teases and moments that contradict that narrative.
Championship Bros.
Pentagon Jr. has accomplished a lot on the independent scene. He has won the AAW Heavyweight Championship, AAA Latin American Championship, Impact World Championship, and Lucha Underground Championship.
Fenix accomplishments include the AAW Heavyweight Championship and currently, he is the AAA Mega Champion. He is also a former Lucha Underground Champion.
The Lucha Bros. currently hold the MLW World Tag Team Championship for Major League Wrestling.
PROGRESS Wrestling’s ‘Hello Wembley’ takes place at the end of this month, September 30th in front of the largest audience PROGRESS have ever had.
Headlining the card in the main event will be the current PROGRESS Wrestling World Champion, WALTER, going up against number one contender and inaugural WWE UK Champion, Tyler Bate.
Speaking to DailyStar.co.uk, WALTER had some firm words for his opponent:
“Tyler is a phenomenal athlete and pro wrestler. He is only 21-years-old and we all can only imagine what the future will have in store for him,” he praised, before pressing on.
“I also respect his high ‘Pro Wrestling IQ.’ That being said, even though he is more mature than his age in the ring, I don’t think he is outside of it.”
The PROGRESS World Champion would continue, saying, “He [Bate] portrays himself in a way that I cannot respect because I think he does not take it seriously enough at times. His time will come, but it won’t be at Wembley.”
Tyler Bate was successful in the recent ‘3 And In’ series that PROGRESS organised since losing their Super Strong Style 16 winner Zack Sabre Jr. to contractual obligations to NJPW.
Hello Wembley
Tickets are still available to purchase via AXS. This will be the biggest English Independent show in years. The event is also the final indie appearance of former UFC fighter, Matt Riddle, before he heads to NXT.
Eddie Dennis vs Mark Andrews
Jimmy Havoc vs Paul Robinson
Thunderb*stard Tag Team Title Match
Ilja Dragunov vs Pete Dunne
PROGRESS Women’s Title Match – Jinny (c) vs Millie McKenzie
PROGRESS World Championship Match – WALTER (c) vs Tyler Bate
Wrestling Weekender
PROGRESS has also announced a ‘warm-up’ show on Saturday 29th featuring the following live shows:
NEVER MIND THE WRISTLOCKS
Doors 12.30pm; show 1-2.30pm
TUESDAY NIGHT JAW LIVE
Doors 3pm; show 3.30-5pm
JIM SMALLMAN – I’M SORRY, I LOVE YOU
Doors 5.30pm; show 6-7.30pm
Tickets are available now, and the event itself will take place out of The Phoenix, London.
On Monday’s RAW, WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels spoke candidly about the possibility of coming out of retirement. Michaels said every time he is in a WWE arena, the crowds chant for, “one more match.” He has resisted those calls out of respect to The Undertaker, but the Dead Man implied that if Michaels does wrestle again, it should be against him.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, there is more to this situation than meets the eye. Dave Meltzer writes, “The working idea internally right now is that Michaels is coming out of retirement. Right now it is not for a singles match, and it is targeted, if not scheduled, for Saudi Arabia on 11/2.”
HBK’s Retirement
Shawn Michaels has been retired from in-ring competition for the better part of eight years after losing to The Undertaker at Wrestlemania XXVI.
The added stipulation to their clash was that if Michaels were to lose to The Undertaker, he would have to retire from wrestling.
HBK accepted the challenge, stating with confidence that if he could not end the streak, there was no reason why his career should continue.
Undertaker’s Raw Return
Michaels has always been vocal about staying retired, but this past Monday night on Raw, he found himself standing opposite his old foe, The Undertaker.
There to give his support for his best friend Triple H, HBK warned ‘Taker that Triple H was still the “Cerebral Assassin,” and that this upcoming matchup at Super Showdown was a bad matchup for the Dead Man.
During this confrontation, The Undertaker had some critical words for HBK. “You chose Triple H because I took the one thing from you that was most important: your career.”
Michaels fired back, stating, “I have stayed away and stayed true to my retirement because I am a man of my word. Because I am a man of honour. A man of integrity. I have stayed away and stayed retired out of respect for the system, out of respect for them [the fans], and most importantly, I have stayed retired out of respect for you. Out of respect. Respect for The Undertaker.”
The Undertaker took this opportunity to get underneath Michaels’ skin by asking if it was fear that kept him away from the ring, before declaring that, if it came to it, he would put HBK down “all over again.”
The prospect of Michaels coming out of retirement is bound to leave fans with mixed feelings. His was an exit that appeared final, given the numerous opportunities HBK has had in the past to return that he declined. WWE Super Show-Down takes place in Melbourne Australia on October 6th 2018.
What do you think? Do you want to see HBK up against The Undertaker, one last time?
Taken from the September 10th edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, here are the financial numbers from All In, as per Dave Meltzer:
Live Gate: $458,525
Merchandise: Every item sold out, no finite numbers from this
FITE: Grossed more than $1 Million between Starrcast and ALL IN iPPV sales.
Starrcast sold 11,000 tickets
Pro Wrestling Tees did just under $500k of t-shirt sales (which SEScoops reported here)
Highspots had it’s biggest merchandise day ever at the convention
PPV Numbers: Not out yet and impossible to predict due to no prior reference point.
Google Trends showed that this didn’t have mainstream steam, but no wrestling show outside of WWE has shown that in recent memory.
WGN Zero Hour: 196k Viewers. In line with station’s top-rated prime-time shows, even on worst week of the night for TV and not in prime-time.
Overall financial verdict: Grand Slam home run
The total attendance number for the event, which went down September 1st in Chicago, was a phenomenal 11,263 – a figure that they have since commemorated with a t-shirt featuring the number emblazoned front and center.
With the wrestling world still awash in the afterglow of All In, and the numbers speaking for themselves, it’s unsurprising that Cody has been openly teasing the possibility of an All In II.
New Japan Pro Wrestling has posted a new video to their YouTube channel.
Documenting “The Wrestler” Katsuyori Shibata’s journey segueing into his new role as NJPW LA Dojo’s head coach, it is the first of a two part series and features English subtitles, running for just over 21 minutes.
NJPW visited the LA Dojo in July to cover the wrestling camps taking place during that time. They state that “the footage reveals the inner workings of their Dojo system.”
Sakura Genesis
Shibata has been away from in-ring action since his brutal match up against “The Rainmaker” Kazuchika Okada at Sakura Genesis 2017. The men would wrestle for an astounding 38 minutes before Okada finally defeated Shibata.
The aftermath of the match, however, left a lot of people concerned over Shibata’s well being. During the match itself, Shibata delivered a headbutt to Okada that split him open. Shibata subsequently collapsed backstage and was rushed to a hospital, where it was discovered that he had a subdural hematoma and required emergency surgery.
On April 13th, Dave Meltzer reported that Shibata would probably never be cleared to wrestle again.
Come August 13th, at the 2017 G1 Climax Finals, Shibata made a surprise appearance, simply expressing, “I am alive. That is all.”
NJPW note that the second part of this documentary will be aired soon, so be sure to catch up on Part 1 before it does!
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin took to his podcast recently to discuss his opinion on the rumoured Wrestlemania 35 match between Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey.
When contemplating Charlotte Flair’s character work as a compelling heel, Austin first juxtaposed her with her father, Ric:
“I loved [Ric] Flair as a heel. He’s the greatest [pro] wrestler of all time, but his heel work was outstanding. His baby work, eh, he’s still Ric Flair, but I like Ric Flair as a heel,” he observed.
“For me, Charlotte is a defined heel. We know she’s a heel. We’re pushing her as a heel. We’re booking her as a heel. Yeah, to me, she has a defined role. She’s totally confident in either one, but I think she’s more comfortable as a heel,” Austin said, before continuing, “And that’s not from me talking to her. That’s from me guessing that she’s more comfortable as a heel, but she’s going to do whatever they [the WWE] ask of her.”
With that in mind, Austin’s thoughts then turned to the rumoured match up that could take place next April.
“Boy, that has the potential to be a hell of a main event, but then you’ve got two babies. Would you go two babies or would you make sure Charlotte’s a heel because Ronda needs to be the baby?”
RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey (Photo: Scott Lesh)
Austin’s insight on this is timely, given the recent debate over the current Smackdown feud between Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch, who many have compared to “Stone Cold” in her recent antihero/heel turn.
Thanks to WrestlingInc.com for the transcription.
So, if the match were to go down at Mania, who would you prefer to go in as the face/heel of their showdown? Charlotte Flair or Ronda Rousey?
Jim Ross has made his feelings clear on the All In main event going short on the most recent episode of his podcast, The Jim Ross Report. Recorded during a panel at Starrcast, and available to download and listen to now, Jim Ross had this to say:
“The last match was cut from 28 minutes to 12; that’s because the guys before them were trying to get their own s**t in and they went over [time],” he said, before continuing, “It’s not funny really, because all they did was rob the main event and matches later on of time, and those matches are in those spots for a reason.”
Not holding back, Ross concluded with the fact he “found that to be selfish and not professional. So, better they work for these guys [Young Bucks/Cody] and not for me.”
The main event of All In saw The Young Bucks and Kota Ibushi defeat Rey Mysterio, Bandido, and Rey Fenix in a six-man tag match, and has been widely reported as being cut short due to time constraints.
The Young Bucks were honest that this was a dream match for them, so it would be understandable for all six competitors to be left frustrated with their match being cut down so dramatically.
Listen to the latest episode of the Jim Ross Report podcast:
During the near 15 minute outro that closed All In, Cody emphatically stated he and his Elite cohorts would be “sticking together.”
The group has gone, as Cody declared, “from undesirable to undeniable.”
This makes the Young Bucks’ recent comments in an interview with Fightful.com all the more interesting, as Matt Jackson remarked that, “Contract season’s here, right? I think it’s been 20 years since there’s been wrestlers who have the leverage that we currently have.” He continued that they are both “[…] aware of that, we know the position that we have. Next year will be the year we get paid, no matter where we’re wrestling,”
With the WWE reportedly interested in getting them under contract, and ROH wanting to “aggressively” keep the team on their roster, it begs the question as to where the could end up.
The team currently work for both Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling, where they’ve helped to revitalise not only themselves but the divisions they compete in.
Nick Jackson is more direct in how he looks at the situation, “I think everyone wants to sign us right now, which is a good problem to have. It shows that the interest is high. It’s great for us.”
No doubt, it will also be great for whatever company that ends up signing them.
Chris Jericho took to Twitter recently, responding to a fan question regarding Batista joining Jericho’s Alpha Club in New Japan Pro Wrestling.His answer is short, sweet, and intriguing:
Former WWE superstar, Dave Batista, has been making waves within the pop culture sphere in recent weeks since openly declaring his support for the recently fired director of Guardians of The Galaxy and GoTG Vol 2, James Gunn.
I will do what Im legally obligated to do but @Guardians without @JamesGunn is not what I signed up for. GOTG w/o @JamesGunn just isn’t GOTG. Its also pretty nauseating to work for someone who’d empower a smear campaign by fascists #cybernazis . That’s just how I feel https://t.co/Ym4FwruVDu
He appeared recently on the popular British chat show, The Jonathan Ross Show, which was covered on SEScoops here.
On the show, he spoke concisely on his feelings about the whole situation:
“It’s a bitter-sweet conversation — um, no it’s a bitter-bitter conversation because I’m not really happy with what they’ve done with James Gunn.”
“They’re putting the movie off,” he added. “It’s on hold indefinitely. To be honest with you I don’t know if I want to work for Disney.”
Following this, The Animal would go on to do an interview with WhatCulture Wrestling, promoting his new movie, Final Score. During the course of the interview, Batista had this to say regarding professional wrestling:
“I have to say that it’s something I think about daily. I miss it daily. I love it. I have a passion for wrestling. I feel that at the core of me that’s just who I am. I’m a physical performer, and I miss it every day.”
The possibility of an open schedule, coupled with Dave Batista’s longing for the ring, make for a tantalising possibility if it were to happen.
An open invite into the Alpha Club may be too good for the Animal to turn down.
The main event of Saturday night’s All In pay-per-view saw The Young Bucks and Kota Ibushi defeat Rey Mysterio, Bandido, and Rey Fenix in a six-man tag match. After the broadcast ended, the wrestlers were joined in the ring by new NWA World Champion Cody, Brandi Rhodes, Kenny Omega, Hangman Page and family members.
In a post-match celebration that lasted around 15 minutes, The Young Bucks, Cody and Kenny Omega addressed the audience about the show that just ended and what the future holds for all of them. SEScoops was ringside for the show and got exclusive video of everything that happened after All In.
The Young Bucks Ready To Deliver More of ‘Their Vision of Pro Wrestling’
Nick Jackson of the Young Bucks revealed to the crowd that due to time constraints, they had to defeat their opponents even faster than they would have otherwise. The main event was in fact cut short and ended with just seconds to spare before the pay-per-view feed cut out. Things got a bit more serious, however, as the conversation turned to reflect on their collective journey towards ‘All In’.
Matt Jackson recalls, “You know guys, about a year ago – or maybe even longer – this man [Cody] came into our lives. And I liked him right away because I thought to myself ‘man, that guy is as crazy and as ambitious as us, Nick.’ So I said, ‘hey, let’s take this guy, let’s ride with him, let’s dine with him, let’s hang out with him.’”
During the course of their burgeoning friendship, Cody would one day come to them with a proposition. Matt remembers, “Cody came to us with this wild idea. He said, ‘Young Bucks, Bullet Club, I think we can put 10,000 asses in 10,000 seats.’”
A lofty goal that they were able to accomplish, with their event selling every single one of those 10,000+ seats in just under thirty minutes. A fact that isn’t lost on the trio.
“[…] it didn’t take just three men,” Matt claims. “It didn’t take just the Young Bucks and Cody. It took each and every one of the people standing in this ring. This was a group collaboration. All the people in the back. And most importantly, as cheesy as it sounds, all 10,000+ of you. You can feel it. You can feel it. There’s a hunger. There’s a thirst. You guys want good. Pro. Wrestling.”
This was met with huge applause as Matt pressed on.
“You guys want good entertainment. And what we presented to you in those 4 hours and 57 minutes – Oh my God – was our vision of what we think we can do with pro wrestling.”
Before handing the mic over to Cody, Matt had one final thing to admit to the crowd in attendance: “[…] if you guys want it, you want more pro wrestling from the cast of Being The Elite, then my family, my great friends, my cast of bandits, we will give you more of this. Because we couldn’t have done this without you,” he admits, before continuing in an emotional moment, “Chicago, this is was one of my favorite – you know what, this was my favorite night of my career.
Cody: “No Man, No Company, No Entity Owns Pro Wrestling. We Own Pro Wrestling!”
For Cody, however, it seemingly became more than just a pro wrestling event. It became about the importance of the relationships he clearly cares most about.
“‘All In’ is a serendipitous tale of things just falling in line one after the other. And one of those things is – not only did I find colleagues right here, not only did I find peers, these people are my best friends in the entire world.”
With people wondering about what could be coming next, Cody tried to allay any sort of worry by proclaiming, “And that big question of what happens next with this group? We are sticking together. Because no money, no man, no company, no entity owns pro wrestling. We own pro wrestling!”
His last words were particularly poignant, as he declared that “[…] the reality is this: this group [behind ‘All In’] went from undesirable to undeniable!”
At this point, Cody introduced his friend and leader of the Bullet Club, Kenny Omega to close the show.
Kenny Omega Addresses His Future
Kenny admitted that he was “merely a piece of the puzzle” and not a part of original three minds that created the show, before giving “all the credit in the world to Cody and the Young Bucks”. Omega said All In was probably the greatest pro wrestling show and addressed rumors that he could be WWE bound next year.
“You guys know where I come from. You guys know where some people want me to go. But guess freaking what? Guess freaking what? What we did today blew everything out of the water.”
He continued, “Believe it or not, that’s not just talking about the match quality. That’s not talking about this incredible cast of characters. Guess what the most important ingredient is…Did you figure it out yet? Oh, yes. It’s each and every single one of you. You guys believed in the change. You believed in the movement. You believed in the alternative. And thus, we shall continue this journey.”
Omega ended his words with his signature sign-off “But for now, we all must bid you adieu. So, please, with me now, if you will…good-bye and good-night. Bang!”
There was something – to borrow a phrase from Cody – undeniably special about the event, with an electricity coursing through the crowd throughout the entire show, from Zero Hour to ‘All In’ actual. It will be with great interest that the wrestling world watches where the Elite, and those who helped them put together ‘All In’, go from here.
New Japan Pro Wrestling has uploaded a video to their YouTube account today featuring an interview with their current IWGP Intercontinental champion, Chris Jericho.
The sit-down interview with Jericho took place the day after his victory over Naito at Dominion on June 9th.
During the course of the interview, he discusses a range of topics, including his thoughts on Naito, a potential rematch with the ex-champ, Naito’s Los Ingobernables stablemate, EVIL, his feelings on winning the IWGP Intercontinental championship, as well as what he enjoys about wrestling in Japan and NJPW.
Reflecting on his performance from the previous night where he became the 19th IWGP Intercontinental champion, Jericho said, “it’s very exciting and very important to the legacy of Chris Jericho.”
On accepting a rematch with Naito, Jericho states, “Absolutely. I think Naito is an excellent opponent for me.” He goes on to emphatically declare, “I’m better, and that’s okay. It’s okay for Naito to lose to me.”
He does admit, however, that his thoughts already go past Naito somewhat.
“I would wrestle with Naito again in a second. But I also want to wrestle with Okada, Tanahashi; I want to challenge Kenny Omega for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. EVIL needs to mind his own f*****g business, I don’t know why he came down last night. So there’s a lot of opponents in New Japan that I would like to wrestle with.”
EVIL Thoughts
Elaborating his thoughts on EVIL, Jericho says, “ EVIL is – when I look at the New Japan roster and see who are the next superstars of the company – the next Okada, the next Naito, the next Tanahashi – I think EVIL is one of those candidates.” He continues, “But he made a big mistake coming down to save Naito. I know Naito is his friend, I know Naito is his senpai, but he needs to mind his own f*****g business. That really made me mad. But he’s going to pay price. I don’t know when, but I hold grudges very deeply. I don’t forget. And I don’t live and let die.”
He promises, “I will get my revenge on EVIL at some point. And only I know when. So congratulations EVIL, you made a name for yourself. I didn’t know your name before, now I do. And now I can’t think of anything else other than getting my revenge on EVIL. So watch out for that.”
It’s a NJPW World, We Just Live In It
On New Japan as a company, and its place within the wrestling industry at this point in time, Jericho had this observation: “New Japan is not a Japanese company anymore. It’s a world-wide company.”
It’ll be interesting to watch Jericho’s New Japan experience continue to evolve, especially as he continues to reinvent himself, embroiling himself with major storylines across multiple promotions.
Whether it’s against Naito/EVIL in NJPW or his recent appearance at All In setting up a deeper feud with Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho continues to be wrestling’s renaissance man.
According to an interview with PIA, New Japan Pro Wrestling allegedly did 4.9 billion Yen (44.1 million USD/34.2 GBP) in sales this year. This reported number easily outstrips their last previous record, which has stood for over 21 years since 1997.
https://t.co/LrHiUVJIsx PIA reporting NJPW did 4.9 billion Yen (44.1 million USD) in sales this year, comfortably outstripping their previous record in 1997.
This swell in interest in NJPW, and the subsequent spike in revenue can be linked to the promotions recent business savvy in diversifying their content, embracing and catering to an international audience that was more than ready to accept their product.
Mr. Kizutani, who is the founder and current director of the Bushiroad Group, the parent company of New Japan, had this to say (please note the interview, originally in Japanese, has been translated via Google Translate):
“It is the best sales ever. It is the second largest scale in the world’s professional wrestling organisation. The best is America’s WWE, as you know.”
He goes on to reflect that “[the spike in sales] is about 20 times the sales ratio.”
The cross-promotion work we see via the beneficial New Japan Pro Wrestling/Ring Of Honor/Revolution Pro Wrestling relationship is another key step in getting new eyes onto NJPW’s product. This, coupled with the power of social media and outlets like Reddit, has brought about a perfectly timed resurgence in interest for something different from WWE, not only in production value and presentation but in terms of in-ring style and storytelling, something that NJPW provides.
All In On NJPW World
With that in mind, the dust has barely settled from All In and the weekend of action it provided, but for those who weren’t able to enjoy the event live on September 1st, they are now able to catch up with the history-making event via New Japan’s subscription service, NJPW World.
The turn around to uploading the show was surprisingly quick, so those of you who have an NJPW World subscription and haven’t caught up with All In yet (whether that was via the FITE app, ROH HonorClub, or via PPV) should log in as soon as possible in order to catch up with the event.
WWE has ranked The Shield as the Greatest Faction of All Time, which is sure to get fans debating the topic. A graphic posted on the company’s Instagram account lists Seth Rolins, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns in the top spot of the Top 10 Greatest Factions of All Time.
The account doesn’t detail what went into the WWE Instagram accounts’ voting process in order to determine the order of these factions, nor does it highlight the number of stables that were in contention before being eliminated or the range of promotions they could stem from.
WWE’s Top 10 Factions Of All Time
WWE ranks the following groups as the ‘greatest’ of all time:
10. Undisputed Era
9. Freebirds
8. Nexus
7. Hart Foundation
6. The New Day
5. Evolution
4. nWo
3. DX
2. Four Horsemen
1. Shield
A post like this, based so much on subjective taste and opinion, was always going to be divisive amongst fans – and has been, given the Instagram comments section for the photo. Still, what’s controversial for some aligns with others.
With that in mind, who would be your top factions of all time?
PROGRESS Wrestling have announced that not only will they be taking over Wembley Arena on Sunday 30th September, they’ll also be hosting a range of events on Saturday 29th September, turning their event into a loaded weekend for Britwres fans to enjoy as they congregate in the capital.
Their upcoming arena show, Chapter 76: Hello Wembley!, will be the biggest independent UK wrestling show in 30 years and is a testament to the resurgence of quality and popularity of independent wrestling in past years, spearheaded by promotions such as PROGRESS.
Wembley Warm Up
The Saturday is loaded with different events for fans to enjoy beginning with the debut of the recently announced, and wonderfully named, Never Mind The Wristlocks.
Never Mind The Wristlocks is described as: “A brand new comedy panel game featuring host Kieron Liley, regular team captain – and winner of 2018’s So You Think You’re Funny competition – Danny Garnell, plus special guests TK Cooper, Spike Trivet, Jack Sexsmith, Pastor William Eaver and The O.J.M.O.”
Kieron Liley was one half of the team behind Hackney based promotion, UnProfessional Wrestling.
Following the game show shenanigans will be a live recording of the popular podcast, Tuesday Night Jaw. Hosted by Jim Smallman, they promise “nonsense, wrestling chat, stupidity and tangents.”
Rounding out the evening will be a stand-up show based on Jim Smallman’s recent book, entitled I’m Sorry, I Love You.
Day passes are priced at £20, with individual shows going for £7.50 each.
Tickets are available now, and the event itself will take place out of The Phoenix, London.
The Day:
NEVER MIND THE WRISTLOCKS
Doors 12.30pm; show 1-2.30pm
TUESDAY NIGHT JAW LIVE
Doors 3pm; show 3.30-5pm
JIM SMALLMAN – I’M SORRY, I LOVE YOU
Doors 5.30pm; show 6-7.30pm
You can also buy tickets to Chapter 76: Hello Wembley! here.
After originally teasing a reunion on August 16th in a video alongside Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, Hulk Hogan has officially announced via Twitter that the New World Order (nWo) will be reforming for what they have entitled the ‘Too Sweet’ Tour.
In the video, Hogan hypes up the reunion and directs fans to his website HulkHogan.com in order to purchase tickets.
When speaking about putting together a “plan” for the tour, Hogan decisively states that “bones and rules are made to be broken, Jack.”
He then goes on to announce a VIP system will be in effect.
Only those lucky enough to be one of the first 100 tickets will “get a ticket with the boys in the band” for an exclusive Q+A session with the original members of the nWo.
Hogan proclaims that it is “the first time the nWo has sat down in 22 years and hashed it out.”
There is a slight catch, however, for those 4-Lifers out there, already getting their funds in order.
According to Hogan’s announcement, those 100 VIP tickets will only be available to the highest bidders, with Hogan explaining that “the first 100-VIPs gotta bid your rear ends off.”
The original nWo line up – consisting of Hogan, Nash, and Hall – originally formed on July 7th, 1996 at WCW’s summer event, Bash At The Beach, where it was revealed that Hulk Hogan was the third man of the new faction.
This formation kickstarted a new era for WCW, with the antics and attitude of the nWo helping them to lead in the ratings war against the WWE (WWF at the time) for over 84 consecutive weeks.
With more than 1.6 million subscribers worldwide, Xavier Woods (real name: Austin Watson) has been presented with a certificate recognising his popular YouTube channel, UpUpDownDown, as the most subscribed to celebrity video games channel on YouTube by Guinness World Records.
He received the honour at the Insomnia Gaming Festival in Birmingham, United Kingdom.
Woods started his YouTube endeavour in 2015, attempting to use the platform as a way to cross boundaries and connect with his fanbase.
Originally showcasing himself playing video games with different superstars, it allowed fans to see superstars out of character, and enjoy a peek behind the curtain of their lives.
UpUpDownDown has since expanded, allowing other superstars an opportunity to engage with their love of video games, providing a now established platform to share their passion, such as AJ Styles’ new series, Retro Styles.
Revolution Pro Wrestling (Rev Pro) recently announced a set of television tapings to take place at York Hall, Bethnal Green in London, – an announcement that, like an RKO, took a lot of Britwres fans by surprise.
Today, they sent out a teasing Tweet to their fanbase that read, “Lots of stuff to announce. Shall we get started?”
It wasn’t long after this initial tease that the account would proceed to give us the first two matches announced for their two day take over on September 5th and 6th.
The first of these was revealed to be Kushida going up against Suzuki-Gun’s Zack Sabre Jr.
Sabre Jr. is coming off the back of a successful G1 Climax 28, which saw him pick up notable victories over NJPW stalwarts such as Tomohiro Ishii and Tetsuyo Naito, ending the tournament with 12 points to his name.
The matchup of different weight classes, with Kushida still wrestling as a Junior Heavyweight, could have interesting implications, given Rev Pro’s connection with NJPW. The two have faced off before – in RPW, no less – so it will be interesting to see how they’ve developed and what kind of match unfolds as the two styles clash.
A Legend Returns
The second match announced shortly after Kushida vs Sabre Jr., was Tipton’s own Chris Brookes versus the living legend, Jushin Liger.
CHRIS BROOKES goes one on one with JUSHIN THUNDER LIGER Wednesday September 5th Live from York Hall, Bethnal Green, London All tickets £15 GET THEM: https://t.co/1l2oT0wciDpic.twitter.com/UTOcOvlAQs
The man from Tipton has accrued himself a large following over the years, honing his craft, as well as his Twitter game, and will undoubtedly be going to pull out all the stops against the living legend, Jushin “Thunder” Liger.
Rev Pro claims that they will be making “history” with these tapings, and they’re already shaping up to be an undeniably entertaining couple of days as they continue to lean into their positive relationship with New Japan.
The ‘All In’ press train is still steaming ahead, with Cody, Kenny Omega, and The Young Bucks seemingly inundated with media junkets for their sold-out event, which takes place September 1st.
Anticipation for the event is undeniable, with the card offering a mix of wrestling styles and wrestlers from promotions around the world, brought together under one roof at the Sears Centre in Chicago to create wrestling history.
The breadth of work, craft, and organisation to book a feat of this magnitude would intimidate most people. Not Cody, et al.
A Booking Crossroads
Speaking during the Starrcast media conference, Cody broached the topic of modern pro wrestling booking, and how that has inflected ‘All In’, as well as his mindset towards the business going forward.
“The approach and the attitude of a booker, promoter, performer, competitor… however you wanna put it, towards the audience is still a bit gripped in the concrete of old. A little bit,” said Cody. “There was this whole thought process of “We know what they want more than they know what they want”. And to some extent, it’s still your narrative. And it’s still yours to put out there for them to enjoy. And you hope you judge their sensibilities correctly.”
He goes on to comment on today’s modern booking style, as he sees it, “[…] what I’ve learned, especially since I paired up and hooked myself up to the Bullet Club, which has been so beneficial to me, what I’ve learned is that you cannot force anything… anything on the fans.”
“This is the era of absolute gag reflex,” he states. “They [the fans] will push it back. They do not… They’re not interested in things being forced on them and that makes this playing field a lot more even for different wrestlers, managers, different promotions, everything. Because everybody gets to go out there, play their music and maybe it’s not the reaction folks intended but it gives you the opportunity… it’s a whole different ballgame. And it’s made me much more open-minded.”
If there’s anyone who would know about the old way of booking, it would be the son of a son of a plumber.
The education Cody would have been privy to through sheer osmosis watching his father, Dusty Rhodes, would put him in a prime position behind the scenes.
It’s encouraging to see him question the old mindset, pushing forward with his own ambitions for the backstage process, whilst listening to and acknowledging the tastes of a modern audience.
The kind of audience that sells out an event like ‘All In’ in approximately thirty minutes.
Roman Reigns may have been trying to reestablish a competitive WWE Universal title scene during last night’s Raw, but that doesn’t mean SmackDown LIVE! has slowed down since SummerSlam.
At Monday night’s SmackDown live event from Atlantic City, Charlotte Flair successfully defended her SmackDown Women’s championship against former champ, Carmella. Post-match, however, she would be attacked from behind by an irate Becky Lynch.
Fans in attendance noted that although Becky Lynch was the heel during the altercation, the crowd cheered the onslaught doled out onto Charlotte Flair.
https://youtu.be/J3rM2DmXnhw
It’s not surprising to see the WWE Universe’s support for Becky continue after SummerSlam. On Sunday, she snapped after having a victory taken from her in the closing moments of the SmackDown Women’s championship triple threat match.
Becky Lynch, having locked in her finishing move, the Dis-arm-her, onto Carmella was seconds away from victory when Flair came from behind and executed the Natural Selection, pinning her friend for the three count.
Becky Balboa
Becky Lynch has been on a tear through the women’s division for months, picking up victories to prove her worth and clawing her way back to the top of the division.
Flair, who only recently returned from time away from the ring on July 31st, was immediately granted an opportunity into a championship match at SummerSlam, providing she could defeat Carmella. Which she did.
This development left Lynch bewildered, given the arduous journey she has been forced to undergo to obtain a spot against the champ.
With this as context, it is unsurprising for Becky to hold a simmering, subconscious grudge that finally boiled over this past Sunday.
Her mission was to earn herself an opportunity, to get herself back into the main event, and to win the title. What she didn’t count on was her best friend interjecting herself into the situation and taking that moment away from her.
Lass-Kicker Connection
The fact that WWE wants to try and sell this story from the other side is perplexing. It makes no narrative sense for Charlotte to be portrayed as the heroine.
The outcome, however, hasn’t connected in the way that the WWE hoped, with fans rallying behind Becky.
It will be interesting to see how the story develops, and where the WWE lean into from a character perspective.
This is a great opportunity to develop both characters and, if done right, Becky will be right back in the main event scene – assuming they don’t mimic the frenemies angle unfolding on Raw between Bayley and Sasha Banks.
There’s one man that is immediately synonymous with the city that ‘All In’ will be broadcasting from come September 1st. Chicago, for many wrestling fans, equals CM Punk.
Punk is scheduled for a meet and greet appearance the day before the show, in association with the ‘All In’ event, but has not been announced as an actual participant for the event despite being made a “real offer” to compete.
“Mythical” Punk
During a recent interview with WrestlingInc, Cody Rhodes spoke about Punk’s “mythical” presence and what he would bring to All In.
“Yes, I mean I talked to [Punk] just vaguely,” Rhodes said. “He even at one point said ‘nobody’s asked me — hey here’s how much we’ll pay you and here’s who you’ll wrestle.’
He went on to say, “Matt [Jackson] actually made a full offer or full pitch for his services and I think Punk is focused on the Mixed Martial Arts element of his career. One of the reasons we didn’t first come out and say, ‘here’s who we want you to wrestle,’ because I think we just wanted him to be a part of the event for a lot of fans, he’s captured their imagination even with the amount of time he’s been gone. He has a mythical presence to them. I thought it would be good for him to connect with them, but that’s me, you know?”
“Nobody owns Punk but Punk,” Cody remarked, “so if he wants to do Mixed Martial Arts, go for it. He was always very nice to me and helpful to me in OVW. I always looked at ‘All In’ with the perspective that it’s about the present and future of the industry and not really about cheap pops, even though I’m sure they’ll be plenty of those on the show. Matt had reached out to [Punk] and made him a real offer. I think Punk is set on not being part of it.”
So, you could say, that Punk was only partially in? CM Punk is currently signed to the UFC, where he has a record of 0-2.
‘All In’ is just a week and change away at this point in time, and things are starting to heat up, with every competitor involved across the eclectic card doing all they can to hype their matchups at every opportunity.
‘Arrow’ star, Stephen Amell, and ‘The Fallen Angel’ Christopher Daniels, are two men in particular who are using social media and the reach of the astoundingly popular web series, Being The Elite, to great effect, allowing their bout to gain traction in places that professional wrestling may not normally garner attention.
Amell recently took to Twitter to highlight the training regime that he has undergone for the match:
In Being The Elite, episode #116, Christopher Daniels responded, cutting a captivating, single take promo from the back of the Ring Of Honor tour bus during the recent Honor ReUnited tour.
He compares the acting careers between himself and Amell, as well as their in-ring experience, before capping it off with an emphatic statement, claiming when it is all done, Christopher Daniels will lean over him and, in a clear voice, say:
“Stephen, you have failed this city. Fade to black. The end. Roll credits.”
Shots Fired
It didn’t take long for Amell to harness his social media presence to fire back:
When speaking about this match previously, Christopher Daniels has had this to say:
“It is a different style match for me. It’s a challenge,” he said. “I feel like I’ve prided myself on being able to adapt to the strengths and weaknesses of any opponent I’ve been able to face. Stephen in terms of wrestling specifically, he is very untrained. But he is an accomplished athlete and a fan growing up.”
He continues, “That basically lends itself to an easier time for me than when WCW did it with Dennis Rodman and Karl Malone or Jay Leno. Stephen Amell is probably the best pure athlete and wrestling fan that has ever dabbled in professional wrestling. I challenge anyone to find someone better suited for it than him. I’m going into this with a lot of expectations. I think it’s going to surprise people how well it’s going to go.”
The star of ‘Arrow’ first appeared in a bout at Summerslam 2015 alongside Neville against Wade Barrett and Cody Rhodes (then Stardust). Amell also performed as part of the Bullet Club in a match against Flip Gordon, Scorpio Sky & The Addiction last November’s during ROH Survival of The Fittest PPV.
‘All In’ will be live on pay-per-view (PPV) from the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, September 1st.
NWA World Heavyweight Championship: (C) Nick Aldis vs. Cody Rhodes
ROH World Championship: (C) Jay Lethal vs. TBD (Winner of The Over Budget Battle Royale)
Kazuchika Okada vs. Marty Scurll
Adam Page vs. Joey Janela
Rey Mysterio, Bandido and Fenix vs. The Young Bucks and Kota Ibushi
Stephen Amell vs. Christopher Daniels
Madison Rayne vs. Tessa Blanchard vs. Britt Baker vs. Chelsea Green
All In: Zero Hour Pre-Show
The Over Budget Battle Royale (Winner will face Jay Lethal for ROH Title): Jordynne Grace, Moose, Rocky Romero, Colt Cabana, Ethan Page, and TBA
Luke Harper, one-half of the current SmackDown Live tag team champions, was a recent guest on the popular podcast, E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness.
Hosted by WWE legends, Edge and Christian, the podcast covered a range of topics, including how Harper assumed WWE wouldn’t sign him, his run with the Wyatt family, as well as building chemistry with his partner Rowan.
The conversation turned to how Harper and Rowan were going to be split up, as well as his initial reservations over the mallet gimmick.
“Years ago, me and Rowan were told we’re done. We’re done being a team, we’ve done everything we can, and we’re here for five years later in a whole new thing and we’re tag team champions, so I can’t complain.”
Forgotten Push
It was only last year that it looked like Harper was being prepared for a major single run. Matches against the likes of AJ Styles, Randy Orton, and even his old leader, Bray Wyatt, pointed towards a renewed belief in his singles ability.
All that was put to the back burner, however, after WWE repackaged the former Wyatt members as the Bludgeon Brothers.
Harper said during the podcast, “[…] what WWE wants right now, they want me in a team, so here we go. Let’s make it the best we can. And maybe there’ll be a time when I’m not in a team and then I’ll worry about that.”
When first approached by WWE Chairman, Vince McMahon, about the team carrying hefty mallets around with them, Harper recollected, “[…] instantly, in my head, I go, ‘man, it’s 2018. What are we doing?’ And that lasted about a fleeting second. And then I said, ‘oh, this is f*****g awesome!”
The Bludgeon Brothers defend their SmackDown Live tag team championships against The New Day this Sunday at SummerSlam, in Brooklyn, New York.
It’s been reported that former ECW and WWE wrestler Justin Credible, real name Peter Joseph (PJ) Polaco, is currently behind bars after violating a protective order.
According to ProWrestlingSheet.com, who broke the news, Connecticut authorities state that Credible was taken into custody on Tuesday, August 14th. He is currently being held on a $7,500 bond.
With information still scarce, it is unclear as to what the 44-year-old former superstar did in order to violate the protective order. It’s worth noting there was a prior incident involving his wife last year in June following a domestic dispute.
In his last Tweet before his arrest on Monday, Credible posted a lengthy, confusing diatribe that ends with “welcome to the blood lost faith in dreams.”
Welcomening. The beginning of blood lost sacrifice dreams and hatred. This is become the new show I love lust Hatred and the dreams. There is a new leg and nothing in between where clowns we are just yours we are killers among men welcome to the blood lost faith in dreams
Justin Credible had only recently returned to the independent scene after announcing his retirement in 2015. He has been unassociated with the WWE since 2003, with his last stint seeing him involved in minor angles on shows like Sunday Night Heat.
Though he enjoyed success in ECW, Justin Credible was never fully utilised during his time with the WWE, even after breaking from the X-Factor stable in order to join Paul Heyman and his old cohorts in the ECW faction during the infamous Invasion angle.
SEScoops will be sure to keep you updated as further news breaks.
