SEScoops

Author: Steve Russell

  • Revolution Pro (Rev Pro) Announce TV Commentary Team

    Revolution Pro (Rev Pro) Announce TV Commentary Team

    It was only for a few days ago that Revolution Pro (Rev Pro) surprised the Brit Wres scene by announcing a pair of television tapings taking place on September 5th/6th at York Hall, London.

    Today, they announced via Twitter that Kevin Kelly and Andy Boy Simmonz will be the commentary team for the production.

    Kevin Kelly has just finished a gruelling schedule, providing commentary duties for the entirety of NJPW’s G1 Climax 28. He will undoubtedly add the same level of insight and detail that he gave to NJPW’s summer event.
    His partner, Andy Boy Simmonz, is an experienced grappler with a keen understanding of the British scene. His skills will no doubt be able to showcase RPW at its finest during the two-day taping.

    Rev Pro have cultivated a wonderful working relationship with not only NJPW but also Ring Of Honor, with the promotions frequently working in tandem to craft intriguing cards and dream matches.
    This three-way relationship has also allowed for crossover storylines, with feuds and matches developed and furthered on a plethora of different shows on different shores.

    Just recently, Rev Pro and NJPW teamed up in order to put on a series of successful shows in the United Kingdom entitled Strong Style Evolved UK, with the action being articulated by the same commentary team attached for the upcoming RPW TV tapings.

    It’s not that far until September, and it will be interesting to see what Rev Pro have planned with these tapings, especially given ITV’s recent reboot of World Of Sport.

    So do you indeed to be there in York Hall, Bethnal Green in order to, as RPW put it, “#BeAPartOfHistory”?

    Tickets for the tapings are on sale now, with tickets costing £15.

  • “Filthy” Tom Lawlor Released By UFC

    “Filthy” Tom Lawlor Released By UFC

    “Filthy” Tom Lawlor was only two months away from his two-year suspension from the UFC being lifted. However, instead of preparing for a grand comeback to the light heavyweight division, the company released him instead.

    Lawlor was suspended from the UFC on October 10th, 2016, after failing a USADA drug test for Ostarine, a banned substance and member of the SARM group. The UFC, however, did not release him, so Lawlor segued to pro wrestling, intending to return to MMA once the suspension had been served.

    Lawlor has been wrestling on the independent circuit, including Major League Wrestling (MLW). As the leader of the Team Filthy stable, Lawlor recently won MLW Battle Riot and earned a shot at the MLW World Heavyweight Championship anytime, anywhere.

    Coffee Culprit

    Though the Ostarine amount found in his system was low, Lawlor couldn’t find an explanation as to what caused the test to turn out positive, going so far as to test his coffee in an attempt to understand how it could have happened.

    Lawlor, 35, had an MMA record of 10-6 with one no contest, and a 6-5 UFC record. His last fight to take place for the company was on March 6th, 2016, where he lost to UFC ranked No. 6 Corey Anderson via decision.

    Interestingly, Lawlor puts forth in an official statement that he had previously asked for his release during the suspension period, but that these requests were “denied.”

    “All things come to an end and it was inevitable that so would my time in UFC,” said Lawlor. “Today I was informed that I will be released by the UFC despite my USADA suspension being nearly over and my previous requests for a release being denied. While the timing is unexpected, hopefully, this opens the doors for me to continue with my mixed martial arts career as well as in the squared circle (pro wrestling). Combat sports is one of my life’s great loves and I look forward to showing and sharing that with the fans as soon as possible.”

    Tom Lawlor found popularity in the UFC, in particular during weigh-ins, where he would come out in different costumes that paid homage to a range of different people and characters, including Hulk Hogan, Dan Severn, and The Shockmaster.

    He had experience within the squared circle prior to UFC, garnering a WWE tryout before being selected for the cast of The Ultimate Fighter Season 8. Before that, he had won three NCWA small college national championships in wrestling whilst at the University of Central Florida.

  • Brian Pillman Jr. Initially Thought His Father’s Passing Was An Angle

    Brian Pillman Jr. Initially Thought His Father’s Passing Was An Angle

    Brian Pillman Jr. was a guest on Wrestling Observer Radio over the weekend. The son of the late “Loose Cannon” Brian Pillman spoke with Dave Metlzer and Bryan Alvarez about a wide variety of topics during their half hour discussion.

    Pillman spoke about his decision to follow in his father’s footsteps in becoming a pro wrestler, what he perceives to be his strengths and weaknesses, his father’s legacy and much more.

    Pillman was only four years old at the time of his father’s tragic passing. It was such a surreal moment that when his family was called and informed about the tragedy, he thought it was a television angle, “like Austin and the gun.” Young Pillman Jr. was so unsure of the nature of the call versus the reality of it that he actually thought “my dad’s death was a work.”

    The second generation wrestler recently made his debut for Major League Wrestling. Pillman, along with Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Teddy Hart, comprise the new Hart Foundation faction that is already making waves in MLW.

    Listen to Brian Pillman Jr. on Wrestling Observer Live over at F4WOnline.com.

    https://twitter.com/antmaurizio/status/1028745725285421057

    Brian Pillman Sr.

    Brian Pillman was at the forefront of edgy storylines during the 90s, and seemed to relish the opportunity to push the boundaries of his character and whatever feud he was involved with.

    From his time with the Four Horsemen and the initial beginning of the “Loose Cannon” gimmick, where he would court controversy through a myriad of worked shoots, including grabbing the mic during SuperBrawl VI and directly referring to Kevin Sullivan as “booker man,” to the previously mentioned altercation between “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and a more developed “Loose Cannon,” where the infamous WWF segment took place with Austin breaking into Pillman’s home only to be confronted with a gun as the camera faded with the sound of screams, supposed gunshots and carnage. The then WWF would later have to apologise for the entire angle.

    With Pillman Sr. being so willing to blur the lines of his own reality and character, it’s not surprising that a four-year-old Pillman Jr. would believe the initial reports of his father’s unfortunate passing were a work.

  • All In Television Replay Negotiations Underway

    All In Television Replay Negotiations Underway

    It wasn’t so long ago that wrestling fans worldwide weree unsure if they’d be able to experience All In without being there in person. Thankfully, that is not the case.

    In recent weeks, it was announced that All In will be sold on traditional pay-per-view and online streaming services such as ROH’s Honor Club and FITE.tv.

    This past week, the Wrestling Observer reports that there are in fact negotiations taking place in order to get All In a traditional television replay once the initial PPV window expires. The report explains the reasoning behind this push:

    “The idea is to more get as many people watching as possible, so in a sense they are undercutting their own PPV by allowing it on HonorClub, with the idea of using the show to build up HonorClub subs.”

    All In Subscription Initiative

    Ring Of Honor has seen a spike in HonorClub subscriptions this past week after members were offered first crack a G1 Climax ticket presale. The ROH-NJPW co-promoted event at Madison Square Garden on April 8th, 2018 sold out the day remaining tickets went on sale to the general public.

    All In will conform to the way ROH have been presenting PPVs via their HonorClub service, with HonorClub VIP’s getting the show for free, whilst regular HonorClub subscribers can purchase the iPPV for half the cost.

    The regular television PPV will come in at $39.99 and $49.99. Interestingly, this was “an insistence from their side at running it lower as the PPV companies wanted it at closer to WWE prices.”

    For those outside America, Fite TV will be broadcasting the iPPV for $39.99.

    WGN America is reported as having wanted to show the entirety of All In live. However, Cody and the Young Bucks “had an idea for what they wanted from the show and live television of the big matches wasn’t going to work.”

    All In has had an interesting journey (to say the least) from ‘concept’ to selling out a 10,000 person arena and now global distribution What started as a live event for fans in the Chicago area is now shaping up to be one of the biggest shows of the year. Fans are counting down the days until September 1st. Will you be All In?

  • Revolution Pro (Rev Pro) Announce TV Tapings

    Revolution Pro (Rev Pro) Announce TV Tapings

    Revolution Pro Wrestling (Rev Pro) are heading to the world famous York Hall in Bethnal Green, London, in order to present something that will no doubt intend to further change the landscape of British wrestling.

    September 5th and 6th 2018 will see RPW take over York Hall for two days straight, accompanied by TV production trucks, as they put on what will be a hotly anticipated potential rival to the recently rebooted World Of Sport on ITV.

    With a call to arms to fans to come and “Be A Part Of History,” the poster, featuring British star and Suzuki-gun darling Zack Sabre Jr. popping his collar in a way that would make Finn jealous, boldly declares that they will present “Pro Wrestling At Its Best.”

    Early September is only around the corner, and Revolution Pro Wrestling haven’t even gotten past their key summer event, Summer Sizzler 2018 – which features a tag match between Aussie Open and Killer Elite Squad, as well as boasting an astounding main event between WALTER vs Tomohiro Ishii – but this hasn’t stopped them from leaping at an opportunity that was too good to decline.

    Owner and promoter, Andy Quildan, acknowledges the workload RPW have just shouldered but are unafraid of carrying:

    “When you passionately believe in something and an opportunity like this comes along you take it. No matter how much work you’ve just created for yourself. Come and join us as we make history.”

    When asked for further details via Twitter, Andy had this to say in regards to the surprise announcement via the Rev Pro account:

    “For now all you need to know is we will be presenting wrestling our way, with no compromises and we need all of you to play your part in that!”

    Tickets for the tapings go on sale from Monday 13th at 7 PM, with ALL tickets costing £15.

  • IMPACT Wrestling Scores Second Lowest Viewership In Their History

    IMPACT Wrestling Scores Second Lowest Viewership In Their History

    This past Thursday’s edition of IMPACT Wrestling, featuring the ‘Belt Collector’ Austin Aries retaining his World Heavyweight Championship in a main event victory over Eddie Edwards drew a total of 168,000 viewers.

    This is down from last week’s 248,000 viewers and sets a new low viewership score for 2018, a record that is second only to their December 14th episode, which drew 161,000 viewers.

    Impact ranked #127 on the Cable Top 150 this week, with last week’s slotting in at #138. This number will undoubtedly be disappointing for IMPACT Wrestling, who have seemingly been riding a wave of recent good-will coming off the back of their Slammiversary XVI event.

    Recent reports have indicated that current reigning IWGP Intercontinental Champion and sure-fire WWE Hall of Famer Chris Jericho may well be heading to the company in the near future. Could this be the answer to IMPACT’s fall in their viewership? It is difficult to assess the drawing power of Jericho who, whilst still performing at a top level across the globe, is not perhaps a star on the level of Kurt Angle and Jeff Hardy who themselves did not make much of a difference to weekly ratings, at least over the entirety of their runs in TNA.

    Are you watching IMPACT week to week? Let us know in the comments

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66MgOHqU7JA

  • ROH “Aggressively” Aiming To Keep Bullet Club Members

    ROH “Aggressively” Aiming To Keep Bullet Club Members

    Wrestlemania weekend may be the better part of eight months away at this point in time, but that hasn’t stopped speculation amongst fans over the kind of unsigned talent that could potentially show up over that April weekend when WWE descends upon New Jersey.

    With Ring Of Honor holding their G1 SuperCard show on April 6th at the legendary Madison Square Garden, that places the company in direct opposition to WWE’s NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn event at the Barclays Center.

    This move from ROH has already been paying dividends as the eyes of the wrestling world have turned towards it, leading to the show selling out, with fans anticipating the mix of ROH/NJPW action.

    There are a few wrestlers, however, that may not be present to take part in ROH’s historic event at the Garden.

    Aggressive Negotiations

    Contracts for The Young Bucks, Cody Rhodes, and the Best Bout Machine; Kenny Omega, all expire months before the G1 SuperCard show takes place, and speculation is rife with whispers and rumours revolving around a potential jump to WWE, with the behemoth wrestling company in a position to offer them deals that other companies like ROH and NJPW may not be able to match.

    General Manager for Ring Of Honor, Greg Gilleland, had this to say on ROH’s plans to keep the Bullet Club members within the ranks of ROH:

    “They’re our top guys, right? Of course, we’re going to do everything that we can to keep them. And we have fair offers and fair plans to retain them.” He goes on to say, “We always operate with solid backup plans. And we have to always think about what if this, and what if that. If they go to the WWE, and they very much deserve that opportunity, we’ll continue to offer the best wrestling that we can. There’s other talent out there.”

    Greg is candid over ROH having lost top talent in the past, referencing Kevin Owens, Bryan Danielson, and CM Punk as all top tier ROH stars that have jumped from ROH to the WWE, and is fully confident in ROH’s ability to thrive despite this.

    “They all went to the WWE, and the brand has continued to grow and prosper. […] We pride ourselves on the ROH experience, and it goes back to the question of losing top guys. Do I wanna lose the Young Bucks and Cody? No. Of course not. Why would I wanna lose them?”

    He ends his discussion on the Bullet Club members, declaring, “Am I gonna make an aggressive attempt to retain them and sign longer-term agreements? Of course, we are. But, at the end of the day, the ROH brand is about the ROH experience, and that’s how we continue to grow.”

  • Cody Teases ‘All In’ Stage Design

    Cody Teases ‘All In’ Stage Design

    ‘All In’ is set to take Chicago by storm come September 1st. If Cody’s latest Instagram post is anything to go by, they’re certainly going all in with a Bullet Club-inspired stage design.

    In the post, Cody has leant into every millennial-with-an-Instagram’s favourite pastime and taken a picture of his dinner, accompanied by the caption, “Bit of grub, bit of work.”

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BmTmY75BWdT/

    However, artfully placed next to his meal is an iPad that appears to show off what could be the set design for the “All In” event, replete with banners or video screens (a la Ring Of Honor), lighting rigs, ramp, and a large Bullet Club logo below the “All In” banner. 

    Upon releasing the tickets on May 13th, it only took thirty minutes for the show to sell out, despite only having one match announced for the show at the time.

    Updated lineup for All In

    Below is the current card, comprising the rest of “All In”:

    NWA World Heavyweight Championship

    Nick Aldis (c) vs. Cody Rhodes

    ROH World Championship

    Jay Lethal (c) vs. Winner of The Over Budget Battle Royale

    Kazuchika Okada vs. Marty Scurll

    Adam Page vs. Joey Janela (with Penelope Ford)

    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

    The Over Budget Battle Royale (Winner will get a future ROH Title shot) – All In: Zero Hour

    Jordynne Grace, Moose, Rocky Romero, Colt Cabana, Ethan Page, and TBA

    All In: Zero Hero

    The Briscoes vs. Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky

    “All In” will be available to stream via PPV, Fite TV, and ROH HonorClub as it unfolds live from the Sears Centre Arena in Chicago from 7 PM ET on September 1st.