Former Ring of Honor World Tag Team Champion Frankie Kazarian recently spoke with The Wrestling News Hub about various topics including his friendship with AJ Styles and Samoa Joe as well as Christopher Daniels winning the ROH World Title from Adam Cole at the ROH 15 Anniversary pay-per-view event in March. Here are some of the highlights:
Christopher Daniels winning the ROH World Title earlier this year:
“First and foremost, I was very, very proud of the entire angle, and how we were able to hook everybody and pull the wool over everyone’s eyes, which is hard to do these days in the professional wrestling landscape. That was great and everyone played their part so well. The Young Bucks and Adam Cole. Everyone played their part so well. The night Chris won the title I was right there with him and it was as though I had won the title myself. How much he has given this business, if people only knew they would be astonished, and I know it was something he wanted for so long and worked so very hard for. It was like imaging two guys who were actors that came up together, and one gets nominated for an Academy Award, you are going to be happy for them, it’s the pinnacle. For him to be the Ring of Honor World Champion meant so much to him because of his pedigree there. It was just a great night, one of the better nights of my career. I am very happy for him and so very happy the angle came off the way that it did. Everyone enjoyed the match, and everyone enjoyed the way the angle came off. It was just a really, really good night for me and my career.”
His friendship with AJ Styles and Samoa Joe:
“We just make it work. You would be hard pressed to find four guys that were closer than AJ, Joe, Daniels, and I; we have been through a lot together. From our time in TNA and being there from day one, and just all the ebbs and flows and ups and downs that each guy has gone through, great times and hard times, and being there for each other and having each other’s backs, and then wars in the ring whether it be on the same side or against each other. It creates a unique bond. I can’t really put it into words. We have such a strong bond, and no matter how much time passes, when you see each other and when you talk on the phone you are right back to where you started. I could go months without seeing Joe and AJ, but when we do get together it’s like it was five minutes. I am blessed and fortunate to have a bond with three guys that I have known many years. They are the best friends I could ask for. For me, it was real easy, and I have a lot of really good friends, but those are the guys that I will communicate with until they throw dirt on me. It is pretty simple because that bond is so strong.”
After a hard fought match against Shinsuke Nakamura last week on SmackDown Live, John Cena has another “dream match” lined up against one of the RAW brand’s most dangerous competitors.
Local ads for the Labor Day edition of WWE RAW (9/4) from the CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Nebraska are advertising two big matches for that night. John Cena will square off against Samoa Joe and Roman Reigns will challenge Braun Strowman in an Omaha Street Fight.
It remains to be seen whether or not these matches will be televised, but Cena facing Samoa Joe next month is a good indication that the two men will feud when Cena begins working on the RAW brand after SummerSlam by way of his “free agent” status.
As noted earlier, Cena is advertised for most episodes of WWE RAW after SummerSlam leading up to September’s No Mercy pay-per-view (9/24) from Los Angeles.
Update: It looks like John Cena vs. Samoa Joe is being advertised for several more upcoming shows, based on social media activity.
Former NXT Champion and current WWE Universal Championship contender Samoa Joe is approaching his second shot at the coveted strap. Last month, Joe went one-on-one in the main event of the Great Balls Of Fire pay-per-view (PPV) for the Universal strap, however, “The Destroyer” came up just short. He’ll get his second crack at the title at SummerSlam in a Fatal Four-Way match against Lesnar, Roman Reigns, and Braun Strowman.
Recently, Joe did an interview with The Mirror to promote SummerSlam and talk about working with Lesnar at Great Balls Of Fire. You can check out some highlights from their conversation here:
At Great Balls of Fire you faced Brock Lesnar in a first-time encounter, which you referred to in advance as a dream match. Aside from the result, did it live up to your expectations?
“Aside from the result, it was every bit the physical encounter I expected it to be. Brock is one of those special athletes, so everything in the ring is elevated to another level with him. I’m a very intense individual and I have no qualms in saying he definitely lives up to his hype as a very intense individual too. It was furious. It definitely lived up to the experience I thought it would be.”
Part of what made it so exciting I think is that you were seen and presented as a genuine threat to Brock, in a way that very few of his opponents are. Fans aren’t used to seeing somebody manhandle him like you did.
“Yeah and it’s also because Brock sees it that way. He knows what I’m capable of and what I can do in the ring. I think there is this false assumption that he’s really tone-deaf to the rest of the world, when really he’s probably, from what I’ve seen of how he has conducted himself, he is probably one of the most savvy businessmen in our industry, if not all combat sports. So he knew what he was getting into, who he was doing it with, and he understood the magnitude of what was going to go down and what kind of threat I presented to him. I think him being convinced if anything was what kind of lent more fire and hyper meaning to the match.”
You can read Joe’s full interview with The Mirrorat this link.
Former WWE NXT Champion and current Universal Title challenger Samoa Joe recently did an interview with The UK Sun to talk about a variety of professional wrestling topics. Joe is approaching a massive SummerSlam main event in which he’ll take on Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns, and Braun Strowman for the WWE Universal Championship. During the interview, Joe was asked about his former Ring Of Honor (ROH) opponent CM Punk and if he ever think he’ll return to WWE. Here’s what he had to say:
If he thinks Punk would ever return to WWE:
“You never know with Punk,” said Joe. “He is definitely somebody who does things his own way and I think the biggest thing is that you can never count out what his next move will be.
“I think no one would have predicted his move to UFC, nobody would have predicted a lot of things he does, so whatever he chooses to do, he will do what feels best in the moment.”
Would he like to form a tag team with Punk:
“It depends on how I feel about him that week,” Joe said. “It changes a lot as good friendships do!”
Check out Joe’s full interview with The UK Sun by clicking here.
Former WWE NXT Champion Samoa Joe has had a heck of a year since making his WWE main roster debut. “The Destroyer” put on an epic back-and-forth clash with WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar in the main event of the Great Balls Of Fire pay-per-view (PPV), however, in the end it was an F5 from “The Beast” that was able to pick up the victory for a successful title defense. He’ll get his crack at the Universal strap come SummerSlam later this month, as he’ll be involved in a Fatal Four-Way match along with Lesnar, Roman Reigns, and Braun Strowman.
Joe recently did an interview with WWE Fan France to talk about his Universal Title pursuit, and during the interview was asked about his desired dream opponents for WrestleMania 34 next year. He named a number of elite WWE stars as potential candidates, but claimed regardless of the opponent he’ll be ready to go:
“When it comes to WrestleMania, obviously you’ll take whatever opportunity is put in front of you,” said Joe. “I’d love to see something like Brock [Lesnar] or Roman [Reigns], Seth [Rollins] or Dean [Ambrose]. Maybe Finn Balor or AJ Styles or John Cena. I mean, the list is really endless. You put any of those guys in front of me and I’ll be more than ready to go.”
WrestleMania 34 will go down live from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana on April 8, 2018.
Former two time WWE NXT Champion and Universal Championship challenger Samoe Joe recently did an interview with 102.5 The Bone’s Drew Garabo Livein Tampa Bay to talk about his journey through WWE. Joe is coming fresh off a great program with WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar, which led to a great match between the pair at the WWE’s Great Balls Of Fire pay-per-view (PPV) earlier this month – which Joe went on to lose.
Joe discussed a number of professional wrestling topics during the interview, one being which talents he thinks WWE should sign from Ring Of Honor (ROH), where Joe used to perform before signing with WWE. Joe named Jay Lethal and Dalton Castle as his top candidates:
“A couple of dudes, Jay Lethal, I think, is one of them. He’s the kind of guy who can do any character, and do anything you put in front of him, he can kill it. And another guy I was just recently watching a lot of, God, I’m trying to remember, Dalton Castle. And I don’t know if you guys have seen his act, but it’s… I won’t even spoil it, if you just look up ‘Dalton Castle Entrance. A lot of guys in NXT are making their debuts in NXT, Bobby Fish, Kyle O’Reilly, and other are kind of the main ones.”
Joe also had a ton of praise for NXT Tag Team Champions Authors of Pain :
“He’s got a brand new tag team that’s very LOD-like. Yeah, they’re called The Authors Of Pain. They’re AOP and they’re basically, one was a former shoot fighter who was called ‘The Albanian Psycho’. Huge guy. The other one was an Olympic-Qualifying wrestler for Canada. They’re young and you’re going to be something special. Managed by ‘Precious’ Paul Ellering.”
As we’ve previously reported, Brock Lesnar is set to work a couple of SmackDown Live Events these next few weeks. “The Beast” is set to work this Saturday’s (July 29, 2017) event from the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. He will also work the August 12th show from Tampa, Florida. His opponent for both of those shows will be none other than Samoa Joe.
Lesnar and Joe worked together earlier this month at the Great Balls Of Fire pay-per-view (PPV) where the pair put on and epic back-and-forth fight for the Universal Championship. Although he put up a heck of a fight, Lesnar was able to capitalize on a mistake from “The Destroyer” and hit an F5 for the win. Joe will be part of a Fatal Four-Way match at SummerSlam, along with Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, and Lesnar for the Universal Title.
The former UFC heavyweight champ is also set to appear at Monday Night RAW next week from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Here is Lesnar’s full confirmed updated WWE schedule:
* WWE live event – July 29th in Detroit, MI
* Monday Night Raw TV event – July 31st in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
* SmackDown live event – August 12th in Tampa, FL
* Monday Night Raw TV event – August 14th in Boston, MA
* SummerSlam PPV – August 20th in Brooklyn, New York
* Monday Night Raw TV event – August 28th in Memphis, TN
* Monday Night Raw TV event – September 11 in Anaheim, CA
Last month, former NXT Champion Samoa Joe downed Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, and Bray Wyatt in a Fatal Five-Way match to become the new No. 1-contender for Brock Lesnar’s WWE Universal Championship. For weeks leading up to the bout Joe and Lesnar engaged in some great back-and-forth prior to their meeting, and it lived up to the hype when the pair finally collided in the center of the squared circle during the main event of the Great Balls Of Fire pay-per-view (PPV) earlier this month.
Joe recently joined Tampa Bay’s 102.5 The Bone to talk about what it was like to work with Lesnar, comparing him to a ‘shaved gorilla’ who doesn’t know his own strength:
“Not a lot of people get into Brock Lesnar like I did.” Joe continued, “Brock is every bit as intimidating as you’d imagine he would be times two. No, I mean, he’s a shaved gorilla. It’s just he’s stronger than strong. I don’t even think he even realizes how strong he is. I mean, he [has] got great control, but he is ‘The Beast’. He’s a big dude.”
“The Destroyer” then divulged the fact that Lesnar doesn’t like to put too much time into planning out a match:
“When you’re going in there and you’re going to get into it with Brock,” Joe said, “Brock isn’t going to work on a lot of stuff; he’s going to want to go out there and he’s going to want to get down, so like Brock’s not a preplanned dude at all, man, so you’ve just got to go out there and do it. For some people it trips them out, but for me, I’m like, ‘if we’re going to scrap, we’re going to scrap.'”
Samoa Joe sends a message to Brock Lesnar by way of Paul Heyman
Joe compared Lesnar to a ‘bigger Kurt Angle’ and noted that his past run-ins with the former Olympic Gold Medalist was a good ‘primer’ for his meeting with Lesnar:
“Like, honestly, a lot of getting ready for Brock was realizing he’s basically a bigger Kurt Angle. But Kurt is… he’s crazy, man. We just had the documentary about him and everything I said is true. If Kurt Angle’s leg fell off, he’d hop twice as fast to make up for the loss of mobility, man. There’s no quit in him. It was kind of a nice primer to get ready for Brock.”
This week’s episode of RAW kicked off with a bang as the main-event of SummerSlam was announced. Brock Lesnar will defend his Universal Championship against Roman Reigns, Samoa Joe and Braun Strowman in a Fatal 4-Way match. During last night’s episode of RAW, a massive brawl broke out between Roman Reigns, Samoa Joe and Braun Strowman after Angle announced the Fatal 4-Way at WWE SummerSlam. It was later announced that next week on RAW, the three Superstars will battle in a Triple Threat match.
Jason Jordan has his first match on RAW last night after being announced as RAW GM Kurt Angle’s son last week. Jordan faced Curt Hawkins and won easily. Kurt Angle was seen watching the match backstage with a big smile on his face.
It was announced that Jason Jordan will be on Miz TV next week on RAW. Jordan was interviewed backstage last night on RAW by Renee Young. It was a short interview and Jordan stated that Angle was his hero and it was a dream come true to final out that he was his biological father. It will be interesting to see if any more secrets get revealed when Jason Jordan joins Miz TV next week.
Fatal 4-Way for Universal Championship announced for SummerSlam
RAW kicked off Kurt Angle coming down to the ring. Angle stated that his son, Jason Jordan, will have first match tonight on the RAW roster. Angle was about to reveal who Brock Lesnar would be facing at SummerSlam when Braun Strowman interrupted. Strowman told Angle that he better be the one that faces Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship. Samoa Joe interrupted and made his way down to the ring. The crowd chanted “Joe!” as he walked down the entrance ramp. Joe got right in front in Strowman’s face and said that he was the man that does not fear Lesnar. Joe then claimed that he definitely doesn’t fear Braun Strowman. Roman Reigns then came down to the ring.
Reigns started talking the crowd started to boo. Reigns claimed that neither Joe or Strowman have done anything in WWE. Reigns listed off his accomplished and brought up how he won the Royal Rumble in Philadelphia. Roman said that the crowd was certainly loud that night, making light of the fact that the crowd was basically silent last night at WWE Battleground at the Wells Fargo Center. Kurt Angle announced that it will be a Fatal 4-Way at SummerSlam. Brock Lesnar will defend his Universal Championship against Roman Reigns, Samoa Joe and Braun Strowman.
RAW GM Kurt Angle then went to leave the ring and Samoa Joe started yelling at him. Joe stated that he is the only Superstar that deserves to face Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam. Braun stated that he doesn’t care about anything else besides stacking bodies. An epic brawl then broke out. Samoa Joe and Roman Reigns teamed up for a moment to beatdown Strowman. Joe had the Coquina Clutch locked in on Strowman and Reigns connected with a Spear onto both Joe and Strowman. Several WWE Superstars then came down to the ring to try to break up the brawl. Strowman beat them all down and then started whipping security guards out of the ring. Strowman then planted Reigns with the Running Powerslam.
Bayley earns a shot at the RAW Women’s Championship at SummerSlam
On tonight’s episode of RAW, Bayley faced Sasha Banks to determine who will get a shot at the RAW Women’s Championship at Summerslam. It was a back and forth match, but in the end Bayley was able to roll-up Sasha for the victory after Banks connected with a Frog Splash. After the match concluded, RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss entered the ring and raised the title in Bayley’s face.
Brock Lesnar and Samoa Joe tore the house down in the main event of Sunday’s Great Balls of Fire pay-per-view. Lesnar retained the WWE Universal Championship after a hard hitting match that will only strengthen Samoa Joe’s spot in the upper echelon of WWE.
Fans are giving the match rave reviews and friend of the site Sean Ross Sapp notes that Brock Lesnar was said to be “really, really happy” with how the match went.
Paul Heyman’s Reaction to Lesnar vs. Joe
Paul Heyman posted the following early this morning:
Former Impact Wrestling star and NXT Champion Samoa Joe has made a huge impact since being called up to the main roster, already having won a huge match at the WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view (PPV) when he defeated Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, and Bray Wyatt in a Fatal Five-Way match to determine the new No. 1-contender for the Universal Championship.
That title is currently held by “The Beast” Brock Lesnar, who will defend his title against Joe in the main event of the Great Balls Of Fire PPV this weekend. Joe recently did an interview with ESPN to promote his match against Lenar, talking about his decision to sign with WWE, already being in the main event, and getting the opportunity to face Brock Lesnar:
Signing with WWE full-time:
“After I made my initial debut at NXT TakeOver, they looked at the interest and merchandise sales and decided I would be better signed full-time than not. I had a pretty full calendar regardless, so for me there wasn’t much of an inherent risk in originally signing because there was other work in place if they didn’t sign me full-time. But it didn’t surprise me when it happened as fast as it did.”
Already being in the main event scene:
“There’s no timeline you can put on these things, but that I’m in the main event this quickly is a welcome surprise — but it’s not a surprise that it has happened. When you look around and see how many people I’ve worked with in former companies that are here now, it’s not surprising. Talent is one of the few things that can’t be created. It can be enhanced, it can be coached and brought out of people, but you can’t deny it.”
Getting the opportunity to face Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title:
“Some people want to be called up as quickly as possible, but I’ve been around the industry long enough to know that timing is one of the most key and important things. Brock was at the top of my list of guys that I wanted to work with. There are certain special guys in this industry and Brock is one of those special guys, and to be able to go out there and work with guys like that, that’s where legacies are built.”
If you’d like to read Joe’s full interview with ESPN you can do that by clicking this link here.
Brock Lesnar and Samoa Joe are in the midst of what is arguably been the rivalry of the year thus far. Joe won a No. 1-contenders match for the WWE Universal Title back at Extreme Rules when he defeated Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, and Bray Wyatt in a Fatal Five-Way match. Now “The Destroyer” will collide with “The Beast” at Great Balls Of Fire next month for the Universal title in the main event.
For the past few weeks on RAW, the pair have been going at it via verbal exchanges and physical altercations, and things really got heated last night (6/26) when Joe jumped Lesnar from behind while he was making his way to the ring, and locked in the Coquina Clutch on the Universal Champ.
The rivalry has been well received by the WWE Universe, and former WCW President Eric Bischoff took to his podcast, Bischoff On Wrestling, to praise the work between Lesnar and Joe. Bischoff even compared the feud to the program between Lesnar and Goldberg earlier this year:
“I love that match-up,” he said. “I can’t say enough about Samoa Joe and I think just chemistry wise and intensity wise that’s a very natural match-up. So was Bill Goldberg, by the way, but Bill Goldberg and Brock Lesnar had history attached to it.”
Bischoff continued, “They did a great job with that history. They had a great angle in WWE but Joe is fresh. This has never happened before and Joe is a guy who can go toe-to-toe with Lesnar with character, intensity and the ability to make me believe it in the ring. When they are standing there eye-to-eye and chest-to-chest I believe it. I think it’s great.”
The confrontation between Brock Lesnar and Samoa Joe could come to a head once again tonight (Mon. June 26, 2017) on Monday Night RAW.
A few weeks ago, Lesnar and Joe engaged in an all out brawl in the middle of the ring that needed the entire WWE locker room to come out and help separate. Joe is riding high after his Extreme Rules Fatal Five-Way match victory against Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, and Bray Wyatt to become the new No. 1-contender for “The Beast’s” Universal Title. Lesnar and Joe will lock horns in the main event of the WWE’s Great Balls Of Fire pay-per-view (PPV) next month (Sun. July 9, 2017).
Tonight’s episode of Monday Night RAW will go down live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, and Lesnar’s advocate, Paul Heyman, took to Twitter to reveal that his client plans on calling out Samoa Joe in the middle of the ring – and he’s looking for a fight:
Austin Aries recently had an interview with Sports Illustrated’s “Extra Mustard”. Aries spoke about wrestling topics and also promoted his book, Food Fight: My Plant-Powered Journey From The Bingo Halls To The Big Time. Here are some highlights from the interview:
His experience at WrestleMania 33:
“WrestleMania is the pinnacle. My music was the very first thing that hit that night, and there was an energy when I walked out there that was unlike anything I’ve ever walked out in front of. The enormity hit me, and it was a very special moment.”
Eye injury he suffered in a match against Shinsuke Nakamura:
“Nakamura didn’t kick me that hard, or at least not as hard as he kicked me other times. It just happened to catch me at the right spot, and I didn’t protect as I would have liked.
We’ll just add it to the list of sacrifices that anyone who has done this for a length of time has made, physically, with our bodies. We accept that because we love what we do. In some ways, it may be a blessing in disguise.
I don’t know where my path would have taken me had that not happened. I do know where it took me after it did – to go into commentary on 205 Live, then transition onto Raw, which led to my opportunity at WrestleMania and a great series of matches with Neville. If that came out of the broken eye hole, it’s a fair trade-off.”
Samoa Joe getting a shot at Brock Lesnar and the Universal Championship:
“Joe is a man who doesn’t fear Brock Lesnar. He has been doing this a long time, and he’s been in the ring with legends, main eventers, and Hall of Famers. Joe is a cool cat and a cool customer. I’m sure he’s preparing, but I don’t think he’s sweating it. I think he’s looking forward to it as much as I’m looking forward to watching.”
Road Dogg responds to fan criticism of Shinsuke Nakamura’s entrance not being aired last night on SmackDown
Former WWE Superstar and now SmackDown producer Road Dogg responded to fan criticism of Shinsuke Nakamura’s entrance not being aired during SmackDown last night. A fan tweeted directly at Road Dogg to voice his displeasure in the decision to not show the entrance. Road Dogg responded with the following:
Thanks. We run a television show, they have commercials. See how sarcasm sounds?!
Fans have also been critical of Shinsuke Nakamura’s entrance being altered since joining the main roster. Pyro sounds have been added to Nakamura’s entrance since Nakamura made his WWE main roster debut following the Superstar Shake-Up. The pyro sounds can be heard during Nakamura’s entrance in the video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F54g3QFJX3A
Jim Ross says Brock Lesnar versus Samoa Joe at Great Balls of Fire is going to be a classic
Jim Ross recently spoke to Busted Open about the upcoming Universal Championship match between Brock Lesnar and Samoa Joe at Great Balls of Fire. In regards to the match, Jim Ross stated the following:
“I believe those two guys are gonna have a whole hell of a lot to say about their presentation in Dallas. I really do. I also believe that each guy is an alpha male. They’re going to bring each other their best, there’s gonna be locks up that would make some people leave wrestling school. So, I believe Samoa Joe and Brock Lesnar is going to be a classic.”
Jim Ross also stated in the interview that he still wants to call their match at Great Balls of Fire.
Last night’s Raw from the Cajundome in Lafayette, LA opened with Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar. They addressed Joe’s attack on Heyman from last week. This brought out Joe and led to a pull-apart that has garnered strong reactions from fans and those in the pro-wrestling community.
Highlights of the segment have already been viewed over 2 million times on YouTube:
Reactions to Samoa Joe/Brock Lesnar Segment
Dropped you twice. Next time bring a blanket , you're getting slept. #andNew
Former Impact Wrestling star and former NXT Champion Samoa Joe has found a tremendous amount of success since making his main roster debut in the WWE. Joe won a Fatal Five-Way Match against Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, and Bray Wyatt in the main event of Extreme Rules earlier this month, and became the new No. 1-contender for Brock Lesnar’s WWE Universal Championship.
Joe has done plenty of people proud since jumping up to Monday Night RAW, and that includes former WCW President Eric Bischoff who took to his podcast, Bischoff on Wrestling, to comment on “The Destroyer’s” newfound success. Bischoff stated that he ‘loves’ the decision to put Joe against Lesnar at Great Balls Of Fire, and wishes him nothing but the best:
“Love it. Joe is one of the coolest people I know. I saw Joe at WrestleMania a couple months ago and I just couldn’t be happier. That’s all. I couldn’t be happier. It warms my heart in such a great way. He’s such a good guy and such a talented guy. He’s stuck it out and put up with so much crap. People saying, “Bro! You’re too fat, bro! You’ll never get over, bro!” He’s emerged. He took all the criticism. He’s an amazing talent and, God, I just wish him the best.”
– WWE.com is running a poll asking fans Which Superstar’s skill set is best suited for the first Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match. Charlotte Flair is in the lead by a long shot with 46% of the vote followed by Becky Lynch (26%) and Carmella (14%).
– Chris Jericho noted on Twitter that the music video for Fozzy’s new song Judas hit 5 million views after just five weeks. You can watch the video here.
In just 5 weeks (and 2 days) the #Judas video has hit FIVE MILLION VIEWS on youtube! Thanks so… https://t.co/cJQISkAwdY
– Ahead of Brock Lesnar’s return to WWE television tonight on RAW, Samoa Joe is ready to confront the Universal Champion face-to-face. Joe and Lesnar will go at it next month in the main event of Great Balls of Fire (7/9).
Last week my message was sent, received, & understood completely. Tonight we have ourselves a proper face to face "misunderstanding". #RAW
– WWE uploaded Lana’s new official entrance theme, “Ravishing.” Lana will challenge Noami for the SmackDown Women’s Championship this weekend Money in the Bank (6/18).
The WWE Universe is getting quite the ‘dream match’ at the upcoming Great Balls Of Fire pay-per-view (PPV). After defeating Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Bray Wyatt, and Finn Balor in a Fatal Five Way Match in the main event of Extreme Rules earlier this month, former Impact Wrestling star Samoa Joe will challenge Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship.
WWE Hall Of Famer and former WWE Champion Edge recently took to he and former tag team partner Christian’s podcast, E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness, to comment on the Lesnar vs. Joe match-up, and explains why he believes the company may have rushed the pairing:
“You want my take? Here’s my take. I’m assuming that they wanna go Reigns and Brock at WrestleMania — I personally would have gone Brock and Joe at WrestleMania because it’s different. It is fresh, it is believable. You have this 300 pound Samoan you know, beast and then The Beast Incarnate. So I don’t know — I think that to me it would have been a fun match to get at WrestleMania and I think people would have been excited to see that too.”
“But this is what bothers me about it. It just seems like everything is hot-shotted and not thought out far enough. Because if it were and you knew you were gonna go Brock/Joe — you don’t have him lose to Seth Rollins at the pay-per-view the month before. You have him win and just keep winning. Joe keeps barreling through people. And he can cheat, he can use heat, you know there’s nothing wrong with that — but have him keep winning. Have him build to Brock. Now — oh my god — which tells me they didn’t think far enough ahead. I don’t know, I’m just guessing but that’s what it seems like to me. Or you know what happened? You know, [Joe] dropped the match to Seth. It just doesn’t make sense to me. Build him up as a juggernaut to meet this other juggernaut and now [makes sound of a rocket falling] boo-ya, here we go.”
– WWE has announced that Shinsuke Nakamura will headline a WWE live event in Osaka, Japan on September 16th at the Edion Arena. This show is in addition to two live events scheduled for Tokyo, Japan later this month.
– Lana tweeted the following about her upcoming SmackDown Women’s Championship opportunity at Money in the Bank:
– On Monday’s RAW, Samoa Joe sent a message to Brock Lesnar by choking out Lesnar’s Advocate, Paul Heyman. The two are getting rave reviews for the segment, which went a long way in solidifying Joe as a top-tier player and a serious threat to WWE’s Universal champion. The following day, Joe and Heyman had the following exchange on Twitter.
Brock Lesnar returns to WWE RAW next week and you can bet he won’t be pleased with what transpired this week. Lesnar and Joe square off in the main of event of Great Balls of Fire, which takes place Sunday, July 9th.
Last night on RAW, the newly crowned #1 contender Samoa Joe brutally attacked Brock Lesnar’s advocate, Paul Heyman. Samoa Joe locked in the Coquina Clutch until Heyman passed out in the middle of the ring.
During the final hour of last night’s RAW, Paul Heyman received a call backstage from Brock Lesnar. Heyman said that Lesnar should show up on RAW next week and confront Samoa Joe.
WWE is currently hyping Lesnar’s return to RAW next week and posted the following on their website:
Samoa Joe showed no fear when he trapped Paul Heyman in the Coquina Clutch on Raw, but next Monday night, he’ll have to answer to Universal Champion Brock Lesnar.
Lesnar hasn’t been seen on Raw since the night after he captured Team Red’s most prestigious prize from Goldberg at WrestleMania 33, but now that he has a No. 1 contender in The Samoan Submission Machine — who painfully attacked Lesnar’s advocate this week — The Beast Incarnate has decided to resurface. We might be weeks away from Joe and Lesnar’s Universal Title clash at the WWE Great Balls of Fire pay-per-view, but things are already heating up.
What will happen when Lesnar and Joe meet under the same roof next Monday night? Find out by tuning in to Raw at 8/7 C on USA Network.
Brock Lesnar is set to defend his Universal Championship against Samoa Joe at WWE Great Balls of Fire on July 9th. WWE released the following promo for the PPV yesterday:
After winning the No. 1-contenders Fatal Five Way main event match at the WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view (PPV) last night (Sun. June 4, 2017), Samoa Joe will challenge Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title in the main event of the Great Balls Of Fire PPV next month from Dallas, TX.
Following his win, Joe joined RAW commentator Corey Graves and Renee Young on RAW Talk to discuss his big win and his upcoming match with Lesnar. He then proceeded to issue a warning to Brock Lesnar, saying that no matter what “The Beast” does in his training camp – he won’t be ready for what “The Destroyer” is bringing to the table:
“To Brock Lesnar, you start your training camp up right now. You climb those mountains and carry those logs, you throw people around, you beat up every sparring partner that you can bring into your camp and I can guarantee you still won’t be prepared for what I do to you.”
Samoa Joe is the new #1 contender to Brock Lesnar’s RAW Universal Championship after winning the Fatal 5 Way main event of Sunday’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view.
Joe defeated Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Finn Balor and Bray Wyatt to earn the shot at Lesnar, which is scheduled for next month’s Great Balls of Fire pay-per-view.
On the RAW Talk post-show that took place after Extreme Rules, Joe says he’s fully prepared for his ‘dream match’ with the Beast Incarnate.
It’s been a quick rise to the top for Joe, who made his main roster debut back in January as the hired gun of Triple H. Brock Lesnar will have his hands full in his first title defense, as Joe is one of the most physical athletes on the RAW roster.
Great Balls of Fire takes place on Sunday, July 9th from Dallas, Texas at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX. WWE released this promo video hyping the show:
There will be a Fatal 5-Way match this Sunday at Extreme Rules to determine the #1 contender for Brock Lesnar’s Universal Championship. This match was made after Braun Strowman suffered an elbow injury that required surgery. Strowman was most likely going to face Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at Great Balls of Fire. Thus, Seth Rollins, Samoa Joe, Finn Balor, Bray Wyatt and Roman Reigns will compete this Sunday to determine the Superstar that is next in line for a shot at Brock Lesnar.
Here is the list of the potential opponents for Brock Lesnar that are the most intriguing:
5. Bray Wyatt
If this was a month ago, Bray Wyatt may be at the top of this list. Wyatt won the WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber and was on top of the world. For a brief period of time, Wyatt actually did have the whole world in his hands. His promos actually carried weight because he was winning matches and held the most important title in WWE. Wyatt then went on to have two terrible matches with Randy Orton. He lost the WWE Championship to Orton at Wrestlemania 33, in a match where bugs were projected onto the ring. All of this was done to make Wyatt seem scary and present him as a monster. The problem with that is that Wyatt still lost via an RKO, even though he apparently possesses powers that can turn off lights in the arena and project scary images onto the ring.
Wyatt and Orton followed up their disastrous Wrestlemania match with a “House of Horrors” match at WWE Payback. This was originally supposed to be Wyatt’s rematch for the WWE Championship, but instead turned into a non-title match. Wyatt defeated Orton in a train-wreck of a match, but won with the assistance of Jinder Mahal and the Singh Brothers. Wyatt then switched from SmackDown to RAW and is still cutting promos as if he is some monster who should be feared. His character is a model of inconsistency. How can anyone view Bray Wyatt as a monster when all of his theatrics usually result in him losing a match? It is already highly unlikely that Brock Lesnar will lose his first Universal Championship defense. If Wyatt wins at Extreme Rules, it becomes impossible to convince yourself that Lesnar may drop the title. It is also difficult to believe that WWE would place the Universal Championship on Bray Wyatt after his underwhelming run with the WWE Championship.
4. Seth Rollins
Rollins picked up a huge victory over Triple H at Wrestlemania 33. After that, he has been battling Samoa Joe for weeks on RAW and had a match against him at Payback. Samoa Joe dominated most of the match, but Rollins was able to counter the Coquina Clutch into a pin and defeated Joe. Rollins and Lesnar could certainly put on a great match, we have seen it before. Rollins defended his WWE Championship against Brock Lesnar at Battleground 2015. Lesnar essentially had the match won, but was attacked by The Undertaker and Rollins was subsequently disqualified. Rollins lost the match but kept his WWE Championship at the time.
Rollins is one of the most popular Superstars in WWE right now. It wouldn’t be a negative if Rolling emerged victorious at Extreme Rules. Lesnar and Rollins have a history, as Rollins cashed in his MITB briefcase during the Lesnar and Reigns match at Wrestlemania 31. It would be entertaining to revisit that feud now simply because Rollins is no longer aligned with The Authority. If Stephanie McMahon and Triple H return to RAW, the possibility of Lesnar aligning with them would be intriguing. It would cast Rollins as the major underdog and the WWE Universe would certainly get behind him heading into his Universal Championship match against Brock Lesnar.
3. Samoa Joe
The idea of a match between Samoa Joe and Brock Lesnar is exciting enough without a storyline in place. Samoa Joe is a freak athlete for a man of his size and can put on one hell of show with Lesnar in the ring. It would be an extremely physical match and would be a bout most wrestling fans would want to see. Samoa Joe was an excellent heel in NXT and arrived to the main roster as Triple H’s assassin. Joe targeted Seth Rollins and seemed primed to become the biggest badass in WWE. However, Rollins sustained an injury during Joe’s attack and Samoa Joe hasn’t become that monster everyone thought he would be when he arrived on the main roster.
If Samoa Joe wins at Extreme Rules, it would set up an awesome match with Lesnar at Great Balls of Fire. If The Authority returns and has Joe’s back, Brock Lesnar would then be in the unique position of having to overcome the odds. Timing is everything and it simply doesn’t seem like now is the time to have a feud between Lesnar and Samoa Joe. Unfortunately, Joe hasn’t been built up as an unstoppable force on the main roster. All of that could be changed if he wins at Extreme Rules and The Authority returns to RAW. I don’t think that it will happen, but if it does I certainly won’t be complaining.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsTeLFUaZRI
2. Finn Balor
All signs are pointing towards Finn Balor winning the Fatal 5-Way at Extreme Rules. Paul Heyman made a random appearance on RAW a couple of weeks back and interrupted Finn Balor’s promo. Heyman praised Balor and even said that his client Brock Lesnar wanted to wish Balor good luck heading into Extreme Rules. Balor told Heyman to inform Lesnar that he will win at Extreme Rules and will then reclaim the Univeral Championship that he never lost. Balor became the first-ever Universal Champion by defeating Seth Rollins at SummerSlam 2016. Unfortunately for Balor, he had to relinquish the title the following night on RAW due to an injury he sustained after being Powerbombed by Rollins into the barricade outside the ring.
Some argue that a match between Lesnar and Balor is ridiculous, simply because Balor is much smaller than Lesnar. I beg to differ, as WWE has already shown that they believe in Balor in the past. Balor defeated Roman Reigns in his main roster debut to earn a shot at the Universal Championship. Balor and Reigns put on a great match and I don’t see why a match against Lesnar would be any different. The days of Superstars being required to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger in Conan the Barbarian are gone. Lesnar and Finn Balor can put on an interesting match and it seems like WWE is heading in that direction.
1. Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns versus Brock Lesnar is the match that would attract the most viewers, which is why it probably will not happen at Great Balls of Fire. It has been rumored that WWE has already made the decision that Lesnar and Reigns will main-event Wrestlemania 34. However, plans may have changed after Braun Strowman went down with an injury. The ratings for RAW have dipped and WWE could decide to bump that match up to Great Balls of Fire on July 9th.
Reigns and Lesnar would be the most intriguing match for several reasons. Many WWE fans still cannot stand Roman Reigns and Reigns retiring The Undertaker at Wrestlemania 33 didn’t help that at all. There are also a lot of people that dislike Brock Lesnar as Universal Champion because he doesn’t appear on WWE television every week. Whenever this match does take place, the energy in the arena will be amazing. There will be hatred for both Superstars and their fans will be battling to drown out those chants. Wrestlemania seems like the perfect place to have this match and it wouldn’t feel as special if it were to take place this July. Having said that, it is still the most intriguing out of them all and will be awesome to watch whenever it goes down.
Discussion: Which potential feud for Brock Lesnar intrigues you the most? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
