– WWE Hall of Famer Lita is rumored to be joining Jim Ross on commentary for the upcoming Mae Young Classic women’s tournament, which airs on the WWE Network this summer.
– Emma is currently out of action recovering from a shoulder injury that took place during WWE’s recent European tour. The injury is not as serious as initially thought, so she could be ready to return around mid-June.
– Former Ring of Honor World Champion Adam Cole remains a free agent. There’s interest from both WWE and Impact Wrestling, but he will most likely wind up in NXT.
– WWE is stacking the card for the July 7th RAW-branded live event from Madison Square Garden in New York City. Two big SmackDown “special attration” matches have been added to the show: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Dolph Ziggler and Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles. The event is being promoted as Nakamura and Finn Balor’s first appearances at MSG.
H/T to Dave Meltzer of f4wonline.com for the information used in this report
the Young Bucks & Kenny Omega turned on Adam Cole to close out ROH’s “War of the Worlds” PPV earlier this month.
New footage released by the trio seems to indicate the Young Bucks are having 2nd thoughts about firing Cole from Bullet Club.
Adam Cole vs. Bullet Club Rivalry
Adam Cole is no longer under contract to ROH, leading to speculation he is WWE bound. He is still taking independent bookings however, so if he is WWE bound he’s not headed there immediately.
Cole and Omega teased dissension during a tour with NJPW earlier this year, something they have yet to pay off. The big angle to close out the ROH PPV a couple weeks ago, also seemed to indicate Cole will be feuding with Bullet Club before heading to WWE.
At Sunday’s ROH TV tapings from Philadelphia, PA, Adam Cole gave a farewell address to the fans of Ring of Honor. Cole recently became a free agent and has been doing interviews discussing what might be next for him. Big thanks for SEScoops correspondent Michael Hottle for sending in this recap of Adam Cole’s speech that took place after the tapings:
“Thank you Adam”, “Please Don’t Go”, & “Speech” chants filled The 2300 Arena as Adam Cole asks, “Who’s ready for story time with Adam Cole baybay?” A “We will miss you” rang out. Cole then delivered his farewell address to the ROH crowd.
“I fell in love with pro wrestling at the young age of nine years old and I was infatuated with guys like “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and The Rock and all the countless superstars that I saw. But what really made me decide that I wanted to be a professional wrestler was Ring of Honor.
I’ve said this countless times and it’s the truth, this place- not just the locker room, not just the camera men, not just the referees, but all of you, we are one big, giant family. The love and respect that each and every one of you have shown me is the reason I can stand before you here today nine years a pro wrestler, three times a world champion traveling the globe because you guys thought I was good enough. No matter what happens going forward, I just want each and every one of you to know that I deeply love you and Ring of Honor will always be my home. And I’ll end it with this, since she’s here, Mom- Happy Mother’s Day!”
Cole’s music hits as the crowd applauded. Cole held up his index finger indicating “one more time”. Cole bent down and throws ‘em up as the crowd let out a thunderous, “ADAM COLE BAYBAY!!!” The crowd chants “Thank you Adam” as he departs.
‘The Villain’ Marty Scurll has officially joined Bullet Club. Scurll joined the Club during last night’s ROH/NJPW War of the Worlds show as Adam Cole was ejected from the group.
Marty Scurll now joins the likes of Kenny Omega, Cody, The Young Bucks, Hangman Page, Bad Luck Fale and Yujiro Takahashi in one of the longest running stables in pro wrestling today.
With Adam Cole seemingly heading to NXT, Marty Scurll appears to be an excellent replacement to add a ‘villainous’ flair to New Japan’s largest stable and sets up Scurll’s impending New Japan debut at the Best of the Super Juniors nicely.
Former Ring of Honor world Champion Adam Cole was a guest on Live Audio Wrestling this week and spoke at length about his status as a free agent. After a 7 year run with ROH, he’s not really sure what the future holds for him.
“It’s really tough to say actually right now, what exactly I want,” Cole said. “I will say this, since 2010 I have been contracted to Ring of Honor Wrestling so for the past seven years, I’ve been contracted to Ring of Honor and haven’t even considered the idea of going anywhere else. So, for me, this is a situation where I have had and still am having the time of my life in Ring of Honor. So for me to just take a step back and look at the landscape and decide if I want to stick around, if I want to go elsewhere and making that decision.”
Despite a lengthy career up to this point, Adam Cole is only 27 years old. He has a ton of respect for Ring of Honor and says his next move won’t be moving up, but ‘moving on.’ He sounds excited about new challenges elsewhere, but still needs time to evaluate where he’ll work next.
“Unfortunately, you can’t make those decisions in a couple of days. You’ve got to think about it and process what would be best for you but I’m in a very cool, very lucky scenario right now where I have the option of exploring these different areas. At the end of the day, the decision that is made will be the one that makes me the happiest.”
Adam Cole understands he’s at a crossroads and does not want to make any decisions before he’s ready.
“For me, I don’t want to have anything that I’m second-guessing. I want to totally make sure, this is the decision I want to make, this is where I want to go, this is what I want to do. And for me, that does take some time because, again, a lot of people think this is just some easy, okay you just make your decision and you go, it’s not. My entire life could potentially change so this is definitely something that I need to sit back and think about, talk to the people that I’m closest with and decide what is best for me, what is best for Adam Cole.”
Head over to FightNetwork.com to listen to Live Audio Wrestling.
Discussion: Where do you think we will see Adam Cole next ?
– Adam Cole is officially a free agent after his Ring of Honor contract expired Sunday night, according to PWInsider. Cole is a former 2-time ROH World Champion and wrestled for the company since 2009. He’s now free to negotiate with other companies, including WWE/NXT and Impact Wrestling.
– WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash provided the following update on longtime friend Sean Waltman, who missed a scheduled appearance over the weekend had people concerned about his whereabouts. Nash says Waltman is “great” and there’s nothing to worry about.
@TheRealXPac is great. Nothing to worry about. Love you Sean my brother.
– Kevin Owens noted on Twitter that he just got added to tonight’s SmackDown live event from Stockton, California and plans to take out his aggression on whoever stands in his way. Owens dropped the United States Championship to Chris Jericho at Payback and says things are not going to end well for whoever his opponents are tonight and tomorrow in Fresno.
– Fans in attendance at Sunday’s WWE Payback pay-per-view voiced their displeasure with the pre-recorded portion of the House of Horrors match. Twitter user @CrimsonDevies posted this video of the crowd chanting “boring” while the House of Horrors match played on the big screen.
WCPW will be hosting their latest live event on Monday 20th from the Bowlers Exhibition Centre in Manchester, England.
Dubbed ‘Bulletproof,’ the show is a Bullet Club themed event and several bouts have already been announced including:
WCPW Title Match: DREW GALLOWAY vs JOE COFFEY
ADAM COLE vs ZACK SABRE JR
Magnificent Seven Match: RICOCHET vs DOUG WILLIAMS vs MARTY SCURLL vs BT GUNN vs MARTIN KIRBY vs TRAVIS BANKS vs EL LIGERO
VIPER vs LANA AUSTIN
RAMPAGE vs DRAKE
GRADO vs PRINCE AMEEN
What Culture have now announced that the WCPW Tag Team Titles will be on the line in a very special 4-way bout. The Young Bucks, Swords of Essex, Prospect and the team of Matt Riddle & Liam Slater will be looking to prove they are the best team in What Culture Pro Wrestling.
The event will be available to view live via the What Culture Extra service at 7pm GMT (that’s 3pm Eastern and 12pm Pacific): whatculture.com/extra.
UK independent promotion What Culture Pro Wrestling (WCPW) announced back in January that they would be hosting the first ever ‘Pro Wrestling World Cup,’ an event that would take place over several qualifying stages over the coming months that would build up to the finals in August.
The first of the qualifying nights takes place on March 21st at the Harvey Hadden Sports Village in Nottingham, England and tickets are still available to purchase at Eventbrite.uk.
The brackets for the English Qualifying Round can be found below. The two eventual winners will then go on to compete at the finals in Newcastle, England this August.
Confirmed bracket for England qualifier in Pro Wrestling World Cup. Which two competitors will progress to the finals in August? pic.twitter.com/NxzTRV1dan
WCPW have announced two of the top matches taking place on March 20th in Manchester, England as part of their ‘Bulletproof’ show.
Former Ring of Honor Champion Adam Cole will be taking on recent NJPW signee Zack Sabre Jr in a match of contrasting styles.
Drew Galloway will be defending his WCPW Title in a match against fellow ICW mainstay Joe Coffey.
Tickets for the event in Manchester’s Bowlers Exhibition Centre are still available to purchase through Eventbrite: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/wcpw-manchester-march-20th-live-wrestling-tickets-31029100876 – Meet and Greet opportunities with members of Bullet Club are also available to purchase.
WCPW have announced that their Bullet Club themed March 20th event ‘Bulletproof’ will now be moving to a larger room in the Bowlers Exhibition Centre, Manchester. The venue change has prompted the company to release more tickets for sale in what promises to be a star-studded event. Tickets can be purchased through Eventbrite now: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/wcpw-manchester-march-20th-live-wrestling-tickets-31029100876.
The announced performers and matches for the event are as follows:
WCPW World Title Match – DREW GALLOWAY vs TBC
Ring of Honor World Title Match – ADAM COLE vs ZACK SABRE JR
WCPW Women’s Title Match – BEA PRIESTLEY vs TBC
WCPW Internet Title Match – CODY RHODES vs TBC
WCPW Tag Team Title Match – SWORDS OF ESSEX (Will Ospreay/Scott Wainwright) vs TBC
As reported previously here on Sescoops the main event of ROH’s Supercard of Honor XI show will see Dalton Castle getting an ROH World Title shot at 3-time champion Adam Cole.
As part of ROH, CMLL and New Japan Pro Wrestling’s continued working relationship two more names have been announced for the April 1st event; Japanese legend Jushin Thunder Liger and CMLL standout Dragon Lee will be competing in Florida, however their opponents have yet to be announced.
Ring of Honor have announced that 3-time ROH Champion Adam Cole will be defending his title against Dalton Castle at the Supercard of Honor event on April 1st. ROH released the following press release for the match:
“When Dalton Castle arrived in ROH for the 2015 Top Prospect Tournament, he immediately turned heads with his flamboyance and unorthodox style.
Since then, “The Party Peacock” has not only proved to be one of the most entertaining performers on the roster, but also one of the toughest and most skilled.
With The Boys by his side, the crowd-pleasing Castle has steadily climbed the ranks in ROH, and now he could be on the verge of becoming ROH World Champion.
At the monumental Supercard of Honor XI in Lakeland, Fla., on Saturday, April 1, Castle will receive his first shot at the ROH World Title, which is currently held by the only three-time champion, Adam Cole.
Whether it’s Cole or someone else who enters Supercard of Honor as ROH World Champion, they would be wise not to underestimate Castle, who has scored victories over the likes of Roderick Strong, Colt Cabana and Japanese legend Jushin “Thunder” Liger in singles matches.
The last time Castle and Cole were in the ring together, it was Castle who got his hand raised in victory. On a recent episode of “Ring of Honor Wrestling,” the team of Castle and reDRagon defeated Bullet Club’s Cole and The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) in a six-man tag match.“
Ring of Honor have announced several high profile bouts for their ‘Honor Reigns Supreme’ event that takes place February 4th in Dallas. The announced bouts are:
2/3 FALLS (1st PINFALL, 2nd LUCHA TAG, 3rd NO DQ)
Young Bucks (NICK & MATT JACKSON) vs Mark & Jay Briscoe
Here are the results from New Japan’s annual New Year Dash show. This is traditionally seen as New Japan’s version of the ‘Raw After Mania’ and the main storylines/feuds heading into February’s New Beginning shows start to take shape.
Kyle O’Reilly, Ricochet & David Finlay b. Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV & Henare – Finlay took the win for his team
Yujiro Takahashi & Hangman Page b. Yoshitatsu & Billy Gunn – Hangman Page took the win after hitting the Right of Passage on Yoshitatsu
YOSHI-HASHI, Rocky Romero & Barreta b. Adam Cole and The Young Bucks – Yoshi-Hashi took the pinfall victory for his team after rolling up ROH Champion Adam Cole
Scott Norton, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Hiro Saito & Cheeseburger b. Kenny Omega, Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & BONE SOLDIER – Kojima hit the Lariat on BONE SOLDIER to take the win for his team
Michael Elgin & KUSHIDA b. Tetsuya Naito & Hiromu Takahashi – Elgin took the win after hitting a Burning Hammer on Naito, he now looks set to be the next challenger for Naito’s Intercontinental Championship. CMLL Star Dragon Lee also appeared to attack longtime rival Takahashi and stated that he wants a shot at Takahashi’s IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title. Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma, Katsuyori Shibata, Yuji Nagata & Juice Robinson b. Kazuchika Okada, Hirooki Goto, Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii & Will Ospreay – Robinson took the shock win over NEVER Champion Hirooki Goto to set himself as the next challenger for the title
NJPW/NOAH legend Minoru Suzuki appeared after the bout with his stable (The Suzuki Army) and attacked the members of CHAOS, Suzuki then proclaimed that all of New Japan’s titles will soon be theirs.
NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag Championship Match – Hiroshi Tanahashi, Manabu Nakanishi & Ryusuke Taguchi b. SANADA, EVIL & BUSHI – Nakanishi hit the Hercules Cutter on BUSHI to win the titles and make Los Ingobernables’ title reign end after one day.
FloSlam announced this week that German-based promotion wXw will have shows available live through the streaming service going forward.
“Based in Germany, wXw is world-renowned for the quality of their shows and now they will be easier to see than ever. Over the next several years, FloSlam will be bringing you their top events as part of our World Premiere Events series, including the annual16 Carat Gold tournament.
Best of all, you don’t have to wait long. Their 16th Anniversary Show will be coming to you at 8:30 p.m. EST on Wednesday, December 21st. The card features the FloSlam premiere for Adam Cole, as he takes on Marty Scurll and Jurn Simmons in a three-way dance for the Unified World Wrestling Championship.
After the initial airing, shows will be available for unlimited rewatching via our ever-growing library. In fact, the partnership also will include selections from the wXw back catalog as we continue to seek ways to bring you more and more incredible wrestling content.
We’d like to welcome wXw to FloSlam, and can’t believe we now get to bring you two House of Hardcore shows, Shine 39, ACW: Yuletide Beatings, IPW:UK Supershow 5 and two OTT shows all before the New Year. There’s never been a better time to sign up….”
A few headlines have filtered out of ROH headquarters today; Nigel McGuinness has ‘resigned’ as ROH Matchmaker. ROH have released the following statement regarding Nigel’s decision to leave his post:
“Earlier this evening, with heavy hearts, Ring of Honor officials accepted the resignation of ROH Matchmaker Nigel McGuinness.
Speculation surrounding McGuinness’ sudden resignation has begun to boil among ROH officials. While some chastised his leniency toward Bullet Club’s behavior in the summer, others believe that now McGuinness may be under extreme duress from Bullet Club’s Adam Cole for changing the stipulations of the Final Battle main event just days in advance.
One of ROH’s all-time greats, the former ROH World Champion has resigned. ROH management has announced it is forming an executive committee to oversee matchmaking in ROH. We wish Nigel McGuinness the best of luck in his future.”
Newly signed ROH star and Bullet Club member Cody Rhodes has been booked to appear alongside Adam Cole against ROH Champion Kyle O’Reilly and Jay Lethal when ROH appears in Atlanta 01/14/17.
As reported recently Ring of Honor have decided to bring back the Manhattan Mayhew event next year, today they announced that British sensation Will Ospreay will be at the event:
Here are the results from PROGRESS’ Chapter 40 show – ‘Intercepted Angel.’ The show was PROGRESS’ first event to be held in Sheffield:
The London Riots (James Davis & Rob Lynch) b. The New Nation (Alexander Henry & Jason Prime) – The Riots took the win after hitting the GBH and securing the pinfall
NATURAL PROGRESSION SERIES MATCH – Toni Storm b. Bea Priestley – Storm hit a top rope leg drop to take the pinfall victory and move on in the tournament to crown the first ever PROGRESS Women’s Champion
ATLAS CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH – Rampage Brown b. Dave Mastiff – Brown hit the Piledriver on ‘Banter Claus’ to retain his ATLAS title
Jimmy Havoc b. Marty Scurll – Havoc took the pinfall victory after hitting the Acid Rainmaker to become the Number 1 Contender to the PROGRESS Championship
F.S.U. (Eddie Dennis & Mark Andrews) b. The Origin (El Ligero & Nathan Cruz) – Eddie Dennis rolled up El Ligero for the win
Adam Cole b. Will Ospreay – In what was an incredible bout (and possibly Cole’s best of 2016) Adam Cole took the pinfall win following his third Last Shot
PROGRESS CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH – Pete Dunne b. Zack Sabre Jr – Dunne took the win following a Drop Dead Facebuster to retain his Championship
The Ring of Honor World Championship will once again be defended at New Japan Pro Wrestling’s annual January 4th Tokyo Dome show.
At Wrestle Kingdom’s 11th iteration, it will be Kyle O’Reilly will be defending his newly won title against the man that he defeated at ROH’s Final Battle: Adam Cole.
Wrestle Kingdom will be available to watch on New Japan’s World Service here.
PROGRESS have finalised the card for their debut show in Sheffield, and it is as follows:
PROGRESS Championship Match – Newly crowned PROGRESS Champion Pete Dunne will be defending arguably the most prestigious title in UK Wrestling against Zack Sabre Jr. Sabre Jr has had a very stop-start year in PROGRESS with his appearances in the CWC and Rev Pro being far more high profile.
Number 1 Contender Match – After returning at Chapter 36 Jimmy Havoc has been relentless in his attacks on ‘The Villain’ Marty Scurll, and now they face off for the first time one-on-one in PROGRESS ring for the chance to be Number 1 contender to Pete Dunne’s title.
Will Ospreay vs Adam Cole (BABAAAYYYY!) – Two of Ring of Honor’s top stars face off in a bout that could easily steal the show. Ospreay has had an absolutely incredible year having won the BOSJ and making the transition to ROH.
Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI & Will Ospreay b. Adam Cole, Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi – Ishii hit the Brainbuster on Yujiro to secure the win for his team
Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma, Ryusuke Taguchi & Bobby Fish b. Toru Yano, Jado, Rocky Romero & Barreta – Honma hit the Kokeshi headbutt on Romero to take the win
NJPW vs NOAH Special 8 Man Tag Match:Go Shiozaki, Maybach Taniguchi, Katsuhiko Nakajima & Masa Kitamiya b. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi – Shiozaki hit the Go-Arm Lariat on Nakanishi to take the win
IWGP Junior Tag Championship Match: The Young Bucks b. Ricochet & David Finlay – The Bucks hit the More Bang For For Your Buck on Finlay to retain their titles IWGP Tag Championship Match:Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa b. The Briscoes – Tonga hit the Guerrilla Warfare on Mark Briscoe to secure the win and make he and his brother the new IWGP Tag Team Champions
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Michael Elgin, KUSHIDA & Jay Lethal b. Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, EVIL & BUSHI – Elgin hit the Elgin-Bomb on Naito to take the win for his team
NEVER Openweight Championship Match:Katsuyori Shibata b. Kyle O’Reilly – Shibata took the win via referee stoppage at the 18 minute mark.
Tokyo Dome IWGP Heavyweight Title Contender Match:Kenny Omega b. Hirooki Goto – Omega hit the One Winged Angel to hold on to the briefcase that earns him an IWGP Title match at the Tokyo Dome in January 2017
?Winner: Omega (21:52) with the Katayoku no Tenshi.
IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match:Kazuchika Okada b. Naomichi Marufuji – Okada retained his title following a Rainmaker
-There was alot of praise for Christopher Daniels for the segments he put together in ladder war 6.
-Hanson needed five stitches after being busted open during a brawl at the TV taping the day after the PPV.
-Kamaitachi suffered a twisted ankle last night but was fine this morning and wasn’t even walking with a limp.
-The main event of the 12/2 Ring of Honor Final Battle PPV will be ROH champion Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly.
-Will Ospreay is going to be in as a regular starting as soon as his Visa goes through. The same goes for Marty Scurll. Both are starting on the November tour of the U.K
Source: PWInsider and The Wrestling Observer Newsletter
New Japan have announced a huge match for the Hiroshima stop in the upcoming ‘Destruction’ tour. ROH World Champion and Bullet Club member Adam Cole will be defending his belt against British sensation Will Ospreay.
It was recently announced that Ospreay had agreed to be part of ROH’s upcoming Reach for the Sky tour in the UK, his involvement with the US based company beyond the tour is unknown at this point.