The trio of Shane McMahon, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn have all been feuding for the past several months, and it’s expected that rivalry will come to an end at WrestleMania 34 this April in New Orleans.
Per a report from WrestleVotes on Twitter, who broke the news about Neville walking out on WWE, Shane McMahon is penciled in for another ‘high profile WrestleMania match.’ In recent years McMahon has shared the WrestleMania ring with the likes of The Undertaker and AJ Styles (both losing efforts), but seemingly stole the show in both of those matches. The exact details of McMahon’s match at WrestleMania 34 is not yet known, however, it’s speculated a Tag Team match of sorts against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn is possible.
Shane McMahon is penciled in for another high profile WrestleMania match. Question is, in what form will he take on Owens & Zayn. This storyline started in July. Finishes at Mania. If it's a tag… it very well might be… & Bryan's not cleared, who should Shane's partner be?
Daniel Bryan is still not cleared by WWE to compete (and likely never will be), and his relationship with Shane on WWE TV has been rocky, so who would McMahon’s partner be? We’ll keep you posted as more information becomes available….
SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan announced on tonight’s show that he will be the second special referee for Shinsuke Nakamura & Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn at Sunday’s WWE Clash of Champions pay-per-view, along with SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon.
Also official for Sunday’s Clash pay-per-view is Breezango vs. The Bludgeon Brothers and Zack Ryder vs. Mojo Rawley.
Below is the updated card for Sunday’s show from the TD Garden in Boston:
WWE Title Match
Jinder Mahal vs. AJ Styles
Lumberjack Match for the SmackDown Women’s Title
Natalya vs. Charlotte Flair
Triple Threat for the WWE United States Title
Dolph Ziggler vs. Bobby Roode vs. Baron Corbin
Fatal 4 Way for the SmackDown Tag Team Titles
Rusev & Aiden English vs. The New Day vs. Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable vs. The Usos
Special Referees: SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon & SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan
Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens vs. Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura If Owens & Sami lose the match they will be fired from WWE.
– WWE posted the following video in which Sami Zayn reacts to SmackDown Live Commissioner Shane McMahon inserting himself as Special Guest Referee for he and Kevin Owens’ Tag Team match against Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura at Clash Of Champions. If Zayn and Owens lose the match, they will be fired from WWE. Check it out:
– FOX 5 in Washington, D.C. did an article in which they discuss the recent social media exchanges between Hulk Hogan and The Rock, teasing a possible WrestleMania rematch between the two icons. John Cena gave his thoughts on the possible rematch in the article, and had this to say:
“My thoughts are the age-old adage that is WWE: Never say never,” Cena said.
SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon announced on tonight’s show that he will be the special referee for Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn vs. Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura at the WWE Clash of Champions pay-per-view. If Owens & Sami lose the match they will be fired from all of WWE.
Shane also announced that Natalya vs. SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair will be a Lumberjack Match. Confirmed ringside participants include Carmella, Lana, Tamina, Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan.
Finally, SmackDown saw Rusev & Aiden English defeat The New Day to earn a spot in the SmackDown Tag Team Title match at Clash of Champions, making it a Fatal 4 Way with champions The Usos, The New Day, Rusev & English and Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin.
Below is the updated card for Clash of Champions, which takes place on December 17th from the TD Garden in Boston:
WWE Title Match
Jinder Mahal vs. AJ Styles
Lumberjack Match for the SmackDown Women’s Title
Natalya vs. Charlotte Flair
Triple Threat for the WWE United States Title
Dolph Ziggler vs. Bobby Roode vs. Baron Corbin
Fatal 4 Way for the SmackDown Tag Team Titles
Rusev & Aiden English vs. The New Day vs. Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable vs. The Usos
Special Referee: SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon
Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens vs. Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura If Owens & Sami lose the match they will be fired from WWE.
– As seen on SmackDown Live this past Tuesday Night, the Raw roster took revenge for SmackDown’s Invasion last month by attacking the stars of the Blue Brand during the final segment of the program.
After the show, the SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon didn’t update his twitter for a while and he broke his silence via the following tweet telling Raw to expect their receipt this Sunday:
– As we noted before The Game Triple H announced that he’ll be going head to head with the Big Dog Roman Reigns at the upcoming WWE Live Event from Abu Dhabi, UAE on December 8th. After the announcement, Roman Reigns made the following tweet hyping his upcoming match with the Cerebral Assassin next month:
Tonight’s WWE SmackDown in Charlotte, NC, which was the final show before Sunday’s WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view, saw the RAW roster finally get revenge on the SmackDown roster for the recent “Under Siege” attacks.
The big brawl started when The Shield interfered in the SmackDown main event, which saw The New Day take on Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. This led to Team Captain Kurt Angle, Braun Strowman, RAW Tag Team Champions The Bar and other red brand Superstars destroying blue brand Superstars, including Team Captain Shane McMahon. SmackDown went off the air with Team RAW standing tall while Team SmackDown struggled to recover.
You can check out the current Survivor Series card for Sunday at this link.
Below are photos, videos and Twitter reactions from tonight’s big angle:
– Above is video of Samoa Joe talking to Mike Rome after teaming with Finn Balor to defeat Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson on this week’s Survivor Series go-home edition of RAW. Joe says its no secret that he and Balor haven’t seen eye to eye but Balor is a strong competitor and a strong part of Joe’s team for Sunday. Joe says Balor is not a weak link. Regarding Triple H being named the fifth member of Team RAW, Joe says Jason Jordan is the young upstart and the prodigy, but Joe isn’t here to compete with potential – he’s here to compete with professionals.
Joe says it’s unfortunate that Jordan got hurt but it’s not unfortunate for the team because Jason Jordan is a weak link. Joe says now that Jordan was injured, it’s a good thing Triple H did what he did because Joe would’ve. Joe says now they’ve upgraded and The Game is on their side, but so is the most dangerous player. Joe walks off to end the segment.
– As noted, the two-hour WWE Survivor Series Kickoff pre-show on Sunday will feature Kalisto vs. WWE Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore. Tonight’s WWE 205 Live episode will feature a birthday celebration for Kalisto, who turns 32 years old today. Below is video of Kalisto and Akira Tozawa talking to Mike Rome after their loss to Drew Gulak and WWE Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore on RAW. Kalisto says the loss fires him up and motivates him for Sunday. Kalisto believes they had the match won but he’s confident about leaving Survivor Series with the title.
– Triple H and SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon tweeted the following after The Game named himself the final member of Team RAW on last night’s Survivor Series go-home edition of RAW from Atlanta. Sunday’s pay-per-view will now see Triple H team with Braun Strowman, Samoa Joe, Finn Balor and Team Captain Kurt Angle to face Team Captain Shane, John Cena, Bobby Roode, Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura. Triple H wrote:
Team #Raw certainly upped it’s “Game” tonight! But will fall @WWE#SurvivorSeries due to lots of egos, dissension and a complete lack of team focus. Go Blue!
Former Attitude Era Superstar Pete Gas of the Mean Street Posse recently appeared on X-PAC 12360 to talk about various topics. Here are some of the highlights:
Shane McMahon’s helicopter incident:
“I didn’t even know, I was working and my phone starts blowing up about Shane- you know asking if Shane is okay. I didn’t know what was going on so I hit the news and I see it, so I called him, and I said ‘obviously you’re alright because you’re talking to me’ and he says ‘Yeah, I am fine…’. And the thing is that he won’t sell anything like when he last jumped off the cage against Kevin Owens, he was hurting and I called him, he no-sold me as usual. And then I find out he cracked ribs- so I called him back and I said, ‘Don’t kayfabe me, you always do that.’ And he says ‘Yeah, I cracked a few ribs, I am a little sore, but I’ll be alright.’”
Two things he regrets in his wrestling career:
“There are two regrets in my career that I wish. One, is that we got to work with Hunter and got to learn from him and to me he’s absolutely brilliant. We did vignetts with him and he called me a bucket head; that was fun and stuff but I mean actually working with him in the ring, like actually learning in the ring would have been amazing.The other thing was when we first started we took a stunner from Stone Cold in MSG on a house show. We came out with The Rock, and it was a huge thrill. We got a stunner from Stone Cold, beer poured on us Rock came in and gave us a double peoples elbow in MSG – Stone cold wasn’t happy the way we took the stunner & unfortunately, I think because of that, we didn’t get to work with him as much, and I don’t think he wanted to work with us. One day on my bucket list I want to apologize and say sorry.”
Moment Vince McMahon said he was proud of him:
After we became involved and got contracts we weren’t allowed to drive with Shane. And Vince and Shane were driving together- and I remember the phone ringing and I was driving and Rodney answered, and Shane said ‘Put me on speaker so Gas can hear.’ And he said, ‘Guys someone here wants to talk to you.’ I get goosebumps every time I say this because it’s the one and only time Vince has ever said this, ‘Boys, the ratings came out, you guys had the highest rated 15 minute segment in wrestling history on cable.’ Then he went on to say, ‘ I’m proud of you.’ We never heard that from him, never heard it again afterwards. That is in my head forever.
A week after the successful return to the ring at TLC, Kurt Angle is fully involved with more plans for his competitive future in WWE.
The Olympic gold medalist featured in the main event which saw The Shield take on The Miz, Sheamus, Cesaro, Kane, and Braun Strowman. As Roman Reigns was ruled out of The Shield’s PPV return due to a viral infection, Kurt was medically cleared to compete in WWE for the first time in 11 years.
Here is the RAW General Manager’s take on his emotional return to the ring:
Since Sunday’s TLC, it appears that WWE has given Kurt Angle the green light to move forward with more in ring appearances. He recently posted this photo on instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BazcCDMA6gm/
At TLC Angle wore a tactical vest, a must for any member of The Shield. Therefore, a photo of him working on his patriotic attire tells us that WWE want to use him in the ring again, and not just as a replacement.
To add even more fuel to this, WWE have released a poll asking the fans who Kurt Angle’s next opponent should be. To be absolutely clear though, it does state “If Kurt Angle were to compete…”.
AJ Styles, Cesaro, and Brock Lesnar feature as the top three competitors that fans want to see against Kurt Angle, while Bray Wyatt is last with 0% of the vote.
Opinion:
Kurt Angle won’t have many big matches left in him. While WWE appear to be giving him what he deserves, the matches he features in will need to be chosen carefully to make the most of this golden opportunity.
The next step for Kurt Angle however, is taking control of his roster and delivering at Survivor Series after Shane McMahon and SmackDown Live ransacked RAW.
– Former WWE NXT Women’s Champion Asuka made her WWE main roster debut last night at the Tables Ladders and Chairs (TLC) pay-per-view (PPV) when she picked up a win against Emma. The match was a lot more competitive than fans expected, however, Asuka emerged victorious from the back-and-forth affair when it was all said and done. A fan criticized Asuka on Twitter after the event, and here’s how she responded:
– WWE posted the following promo to hype SmackDown Live Commissioner Shane McMahon’s return to Tuesday nights after his Hell In A Cell loss to Kevin Owens. Check it out:
SmackDown Live star Kevin Owens was the latest guest on Edge and Christian’s Pod of Awesomeness podcast, which has recently featured great interviews with John Cena and Randy Orton.
Kevin Owens revealed to Edge and Christian that he wasn’t entirely satisfied with his role in the feud with AJ Styles. Owens stated that he ‘plateaued’ when facing AJ Styles and that he didn’t enjoy the matches as much as some of his other opponents. With AJ Styles considered one of the top performers in WWE and the the amazing programs he had with the likes of John Cena and Chris Jericho, you can understand why Owens is frustrated.
“You (Edge) say you enjoyed the series of matches with AJ and I’m glad you did and hopefully a lot of people did as well but I don’t know if I can say that I did, to be honest.”
Owens’ comment was supported as he explained that, retrospectively, he wasn’t performing as best as he could have at the time. The former Face of America explained that the transition to working with Shane McMahon gave him a greater sense of purpose as it was much more of a big deal.
Owen’s then had this to say about working with Vince McMahon:
“You know not that many people get to do that with Vince, especially nowadays. If you look at the last five, six years there hasn’t been a whole lot of people who got to physically assault Vince in the way I did. So obviously I knew that was a big deal and I did think that maybe this is what I’ve been waiting for and so far it feels like that was it.”
KO finally said that he believes he has moved on to a new level since being able to physically assault Vince McMahon, and that he’s going to run with it as he moves forward.
Author’s Opinion:
Being able to reflect and evaluate performances is a good skill in any professional, and it is important to note that at no point does Kevin Owens mention or pass blame to AJ Styles for his thoughts and feelings about the feud or his own performance. KO’s interview on the podcast does come across as a form of self-reflection rather than criticism.
Catch the Pod of Awesomeness episode with Kevin Owens here.
– While Shane McMahon is particularly liked by many of his fans for his risk-taking abilities and all the crazy spots he pulls off in his matches, it appears not everybody is pleased with this.
WWE Hall Of Famer “Superstar” Billy Graham recently made a post from his Facebook acount about McMahon. In the post as seen below, he ripped off Shane for jumping from the cell during his match against Kevin Owens for a ‘cheap pop’:
Shane “Idiot” McMahon
“As always, the WWE will first lie to us, then when they get caught they tell the fans the truth. I consider Shane McMahon to be nothing more than a rich man’s foolish son. In a deliberate attempt to deceive us, the WWE released a statement that daddy’s little son was just fine after this leap below and now they have told us that he really is hurt. Disgusting and I have no sympathy for this spoiled brat and maybe he wont try to defy gravity ever again for a worthless, meaningless, and dumb as Hell cheap pop.”
– The upcoming comedy movie starring WWE Star John Cena which was previously titled The Pact has now been renamed to Blockers. You can check out the latest red band trailer of the movie below which is about three parents who are trying to stop their daughters from losing their virginity on prom night:
– A fan in attendance posted the following video of Shane McMahon’s dive off the top of the Hell In A Cell this past weekend. Shane was trying to drop an elbow on Kevin Owens who was laid out on an announce table down below, however, Sami Zayn came out of nowhere to pull “KO” off the table and McMahon landed on it himself:
– As we’ve previously reported, Emma won a Fatal Five-Way match on RAW to earn the opportunity to welcome Asuka to the main roster at Tables Ladders and Chairs (TLC) later this month. WWE posted the following RAW Fallout video in which Emma goes off on how sick she is of hearing about Asuka’s debut:
In the main event of last night’s (Sun. October 8, 2017) WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view (PPV) former Universal and United States Champion Kevin Owens went head-to-head with SmackDown Live Commissioner Shane McMahon inside “The Devil’s Playground.” The finish to the match saw Shane head to the top of the cell in attempt to recreate his WrestleMania 32 bump off the top of the structure and onto Owens who was laid down on top of an announce table down below.
Right before Shane came down crashing on Owens, however, Sami Zayn came out to make the save and pull Owens off the announce table just in time. It seems Zayn will be working as a heel moving forward and has rekindled his alliance with “KO,” and Shane McMahon’s son isn’t a fan. A fan captured a screenshot of Shane’s son reacting to Zayn’s heel turn, and he was giving the ex-NXT Champion the one-finger salute:
The main event of Sunday’s WWE Hell in a Cell pay-per-view saw Kevin Owens get a hard fought victory over Shane McMahon. The match saw both men brawling inside and on top of the cell, with Kevin Owens getting thrown off the side of the cage through a table at ringside and Shane McMahon jumping off the top of the demonic structure.
Just as Shane was about to deliver the death defying off-the-cage attack on Owens, who was sprawled out on the announcers table, Sami Zayn made a surprise appearance and pulled Owens out of the way, leaving Shane to crash and burn in spectacular fashion. Zayn would then pull Owens to Shane and assist him in getting the pinfall victory.
WWE.com has provide a [storyline] injury update on Shane, noting that he was taken to a ‘local medical facility’ after leaping off the cell and crashing through the announce table.
A preliminary report has determined that Shane may be dealing with multiple injuries, including neck trauma, fractured ribs and a dislocated shoulder.
WWE.com noted that none of the injuries are confirmed and Shane’s condition will be monitored in the coming days.
The Sami Zayn heel turn and alliance with longtime rival Kevin Owens should freshen up both characters as these two have not been on the same page since their short-lived friendship during Owens’ early days in NXT.
During Shane McMahon’s match with Kevin Owens, it is highly likely that the commentary team will say something along the lines of:, “This man has no regard for his body/family!”
WWE viewers are used to seeing Shane McMahon put everything on the line. Here is a key example from WrestleMania 32 against The Undertaker.
Sunday’s Hell in a Cell will be no exception as Shane takes on the former Face of America, Kevin Owens. In an unusual move, the match has been given the added stipulation that falls count anywhere. It is clear that something big is going to happen and it will be extremely shocking.
However Dave Meltzer has provided an explanation as to how and why Shane can pull off these risk maneuvers, giving him an unfair advantage over the full-time superstars like Kevin Owens.
Meltzer said that other wrestlers would often comment on how Shane could take a huge hit or bump and then have time off to rest and recover without making many appearances. This contrasts with full-time superstars who would be contracted to appear and possibly perform the following night or week.
‘Well, Shane’s gonna do one or two matches a year, and he’s gonna do this big bump, and he can get hurt and rest up. And he shows us all up that are trying to do big bumps, and we gotta come back the next day.’
The manner in which Dave Metlzer presented this information in TheWrestlering Observer Newsletter suggests that full-time wrestlers were annoyed by the way Shane could get away with these jaw dropping moments that create instant memories for those watching.
Opinion: I don’t think any superstars would openly criticize or comment on Shane’s apparent preferential treatment, however it will be interesting to see how extreme the match becomes and where this takes the feud with Kevin Owens. If Owens wins, SmackDown Live may need a new temporary commissioner to help Daniel Bryan run the show while Shane recovers.
Shane McMahon suing marijuana company he invested in
The New York Daily News is reporting that Shane McMahon invested $500,000 in a company called EnviroGrow back in 2015. EnviroGrow is a company that builds modules that help the growth of legal marijuana.
A source stated in the article that Shane “thought it was going to be a big boom and make a lot of money”. The news of Shane’s investment was revealed after Shane filed a lawsuit last year to recoup his money.
Shane visited the company’s production plant and found it to be “virtually nonexistent”. EnviroGrow then refused to reimburse Shane McMahon of his investment. The McMahons declined to comment on the story, but EniroGrow’s CEO stated that they are a growing business and denied Shane McMahon’s allegations.
Corey Graves’ brother responds to Enzo Amore
Corey Graves and Enzo Amore had an exchange on Twitter over the weekend. Graves stated that he had failed as a father because his son was dancing like Enzo Amore during a baseball game. Enzo quickly responded and said that Graves didn’t fail as a father, he failed as a professional wrestler.
My son just ran to second base, and danced like @real1 to celebrate.
Nah u didn't fail as a father!? U failed as a wrestler, thats why they dressed ya up in a suit N tie & told ya 2 sit down #HowYouDoin#Champhttps://t.co/mdkrvflAfY
Corey Graves’ younger brother is Sam Adonis, who is currently a top heel for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) in Mexico, responded to Enzo Amore. Adonis said that it might be time to return to WWE so he can kick Enzo’s teeth down his throat.
– John Cena met with Nintendo executives on Tuesday, including Nintendo of America President Reggie Fills-Aime and Nintendo’s Head of Sales and Marketing, Doug Bowser.
It’s unclear at this point what the meeting was about, whether it’s related to WWE 2K18 coming to Nintendo Switch this fall or another project.
Cena worked with Nintendo earlier this year as part of the marketing campaign for the Nintendo Switch launch.
Shane McMahon reveals how he brought his own WWE 2K18 playable character to life in this behind-the-scenes look at Shane-o-Mac’s motion capture session.
In the main event segment of Tuesday’s SmackDown Live from ‘Sin City’ Las Vegas, Kevin Owens came down to the ring and waited for Vince McMahon to join him. Vince’s music hit and he power-walked down the entrance ramp and joined Owens in the ring.
Owens said that Vince was intimidated to be in the ring with him. Vince said he wasn’t intimidated, he was nauseated.
Vince McMahon said that Owens didn’t fight back against Shane last week because Shane was kicking his ass. Vince asked Owens how he has any respect at all when he looks in the mirror. Vince said that if Owens filed the lawsuit against the McMahons, he will fire him. The crowd chanted “yes!” as Vince dared Owens to file the lawsuit.
Vince bragged about never losing a lawsuit and being a billionaire. Owens got pissed off and said that Vince’s son put his hands on him. Vince said that he suspended Shane for not finishing the job the last week. Vince said that he suspended Shane because he didn’t kick Owens’ ass enough.
Vince announced that he was going to reinstate Shane and that there is going to be a match between Shane and Owens. Vince then announced that the match will be inside a Hell in a Cell. The crowd once again chanted “yes!”. Owens stated that he needed Vince to promise that he will not be fired if he beats a McMahon senseless. Vince said that Owens has his word that he will not be fired. Owens then shook Vince’s hand and headbutted him. Vince’s head was cut open and Owens grabbed the microphone.
Owens said that Vince just gave his word that he can beat a McMahon senseless. Vince got back to his feet and Owens punched him the face. A referee came down to the ring but Owens continued the attack. Owens then booted Vince in the ribs and more referees got into the ring. Vince got back to his feet and Owens hit him with a Superkick. Owens then threw a referee out of the ring and climbed to the top rope. Owens hit a Frog Splash onto Vince McMahon.
Stephanie McMahon then confronted Kevin Owens on the entrance ramp.
Stephanie then walked down to the ring to help her father. Vince limped up the entrance ramp and fell to his knees. Vince said that his ribs were hurting and Stephanie asked Vince to get on the stretcher but Vince refused. Vince slowly started walking up the entrance ramp as SmackDown went off the air.
Vince McMahon returns to WWE television next week on SmackDown Live to address the suspension of SmackDown commissioner Shane McMahon.
At this time, it’s unknown what the WWE Chairman has in store for his son and the future of the SmackDown commissioner role. News of the suspension comes after Shane McMahon attacked Kevin Owens on this week’s SmackDown Live broadcast. Shane logically can’t put his hands on a wrestler as an authority figure, but if he’s no longer Owens’ boss, anything goes.
Shane and Owens have been rumored to be squaring off in the ring at Hell in a Cell (10/8) and/or at November’s Survivor Series pay-per-view (11/19). We’ll find out next Tuesday if Shane’s attack on Owens and Vince’s announcement
After attacking Kevin Owens earlier in the night, Shane McMahon is informed by SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan that he has been suspended indefinitely as SmackDown LIVE Commissioner.
AJ Styles defended his United States Championship against Kevin Owens tonight during WWE SummerSlam. SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon served as the referee for the match.
AJ controlled the match early and connected with a Dropkick. Styles then spent the next couple of minutes in control until Owens connected with a jab to AJ’s throat. Owens followed it up with a Clothesline that sent AJ flipping across the ring. Owens connected with a series of right hands and shouted “who is phenomenal now?”.
Owens threw Styles to the corner and connected with a Cannonball for a two count. Owens shouted at Shane McMahon for a slow count and yelled at his positioning in the ring. Owens connected with a Senton for another two count and then applied a Chin Lock. Owens slammed Styles to the mat for a two count and once again started shouting at Shane McMahon.
Owens went for the Pop-Up Powerbomb but AJ countered it into a Fireman’s Carry Neckbreaker for a two count. AJ went for the springboard 450 Splash but Kevin Owens dragged Shane McMahon on top of him and Styles landed on Shane. Owens then hit the Pop-Up Powerbomb but Styles kicked out at two.
Kevin Owens once again started shouting at Shane McMahon as AJ made his way back to his feet. Owens charged at Styles but AJ got out of the way and Owens hit the ring post. Styles locked in the Calf Crusher but Owens raked AJ’s eyes to break the hold. Styles got frustrated and shoved Shane McMahon. Shane shoved back and Owens rolled AJ up for a two count.
Styles Suplexed Owens into the turnbuckle and then perched Owens up on the top rope. Owens battled back and hit a massive Superplex for a two count. Owens and Styles got back to their feet and started trading punches and chops. Styles went for a Pele Kick but Owens got out of the way and connected with a Superkick. Styles planted Owens with a Styles Clash but Owens was somehow able to power out at two.
Owens avoided a forearm from Styles and planted AJ with a Pop-Up Powerbomb. Owens thought he won the match but AJ’s foot was on the rope. Owens got in Shane’s face and the two started shoving each other. AJ rolled up Owens for a two count. Styles hit the Phenomenal Forearm and then hit the Styles Clash for the victory.
Shane McMahon looking forward to being the special referee for US Title match at WWE SummerSlam
Smackdown commissioner Shane McMahon was announced as the special referee for the United States Championship match at WWE SummerSlam on August 20th. AJ Styles defended the US Title against Kevin Owens to kick of this week’s episode of SmackDown on Tuesday night. Styles won the match in a controversial manner as Owens accidentally struck referee Mike Chioda. Styles then rolled up Owens for the victory, but Owens’ shoulders were clearly off the mat.
Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan were telling Mike Chioda backstage that he made a huge mistake during the finish of the match and that he should have called for help. Owens then interrupted and flipped out on Chioda. Owens tried to grab Chioda but Shane McMahon got in his face. Shane McMahon gave Owens another shot at the US Title at SummerSlam, but Owens wasn’t satisfied. Owens demanded a capable official and Daniel Bryan suggested Shane McMahon. Owens claimed that McMahon was the most incompetent person on SmackDown, but Shane informed Owens that the only way he will get his rematch is if Shane is the referee. Owens accepted but was visibly frustrated before walking away.
Shane McMahon tweeted out the following a couple of hours ago and said that he back to training and is looking forward to being the referee for the match at WWE SummerSlam:
Back in the ring in the BK. Looking forward to refereeing the US championship match at #SummerSlam.
AJ Styles on his WWE SummerSlam match against Kevin Owens
While this storyline and the fan reaction seems to be focused on Shane McMahon and Kevin Owens, United States Champion AJ Styles tweeted out the following to let everyone know what he is focused on:
A lotta talk about the guy wearing the black and white stripes but I'm focused on the red, white, & blue title on my shoulder. #SummerSlampic.twitter.com/zrNRXHAltb
AJ Styles defended his United States Championship against Kevin Owens tonight to kick off this week’s episode of SmackDown. Kevin Owens controlled the majority of the match, but the match turned when Kevin Owens accidentally punched referee Mike Chioda in the face. Owens then quickly went for the Pop-Up Powerbomb on Styles but AJ reversed it into a roll-up for the victory. Owens’ shoulders were clearly off the mat but Chioda didn’t realize it due to being punched in the face.
SmackDown commissioner Shane McMahon and SmackDown GM Daniel Bryan had a conversation with Mike Chioda backstage. They pointed out that he made a huge mistake and Chioda owned up to it. Owens then stormed in and interrupted the conversation and started shouting at Chioda. Owens went to grab Chioda but Shane McMahon got in his face.
Shane said that Owens will indeed get another shot at the United States Championship because of the referee’s mistake. Owens wasn’t satisfied and continued to shout at Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon. Owens demanded a competent referee for the match and Daniel Bryan suggested Shane McMahon. Shane agreed to it and Owens got even more pissed off. Owens said that Shane McMahon was even more incompetent than the referees on SmackDown.
WWE and SuperSport in Africa announced a new multi-year agreement today to broadcast WWE programming live throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Below is the official announcement:
WWE® and SuperSport Announce Multi-Year Agreement to Televise Raw® and Smackdown®
JOHANNESBURG & STAMFORD, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– WWE (NYSE: WWE) and SuperSport, Africa’s premier sports broadcaster, today announced a new, multi-year agreement to broadcast WWE programming live for the first time in more than 50 countries throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Starting Monday, August 28, SuperSport will air WWE’s flagship shows Raw® and SmackDown® as well as WWE specials, including WrestleMania® and SummerSlam®.
“WWE is a global phenomenon, so securing the broadcast rights for SuperSport is a terrific coup,” said Gideon Khobane, chief executive of SuperSport. “The athletes involved are larger than life figures who command huge followings. At long last our viewers will get to share in this entertainment spectacle in high definition. I look forward to a long and fruitful partnership with WWE.”
“SuperSport is a best-in-class partner who shares our vision and passion for engaging with and entertaining our fans,” said Ed Wells, WWE Executive Vice President, International. “Televising WWE programming live in sub-Saharan Africa for the first time is an important milestone for us, and we look forward to working with SuperSport to cultivate new fans in the region.”
SuperSport channels S3, S4, S9 and SS10 will televise Raw on Tuesdays and SmackDown on Wednesdays, offering both live telecasts and same-day re-airs, and will broadcast all WWE specials live, including WrestleMania®,SummerSlam®,Survivor Series® and Royal Rumble®. All programs will be available with English commentary and on demand.
WWE programming will also be made available across some of DStv’s general entertainment channels.
To celebrate the new partnership, SuperSport will televise the prior week’s episodes of Raw and SmackDown on Monday, August 28.
Global Force Wrestling has announced that their new post Impact Wrestling show “After Impact” will make it’s debut this week. The show will me hosted by Josh Mathews and Tyrus and will premiere this Thursday on ImpactWrestling.com
John Cena wants fans to attend WWE Battleground this Sunday
John Cena tweeted out the following promo about his Flag Match against Rusev this Sunday at WWE Battleground. Cena told people to “get their butts to Philadelphia for the good ol’ USA!”.
Rusev makes fun of Shane McMahon’s helicopter accident
Shane McMahon took the biggest bump of his life earlier today when the helicopter he was in had to have an emergency landing in the ocean. As to be expected, Shane McMahon emerged uninjured.
SmackDown superstar Rusev took to Twitter and referenced Shane McMahon not responding to his previous video messages he uploaded on Twitter. Rusev demanded a title shot at Money in the Bank but never heard back from Shane McMahon or Daniel Bryan. Rusev wound up making his return recently and will face John Cena at Sunday’s WWE Battleground PPV.