Cody and the Young Bucks have both announced that their newest T-shirts will be their final ones with a Bullet Club theme to them. This comes amid growing speculation that the members of the Elite will drop Bullet Club from their name, leaving it to the NJPW faction.
The Bucks unveiled a golden version of their classic Bullet Club tee:
Members of the Elite are still announced as being from “Bullet Club Elite” during their ring introductions. They are still listed as part of the larger faction. With their contracts coming due at the end of the calendar year, however, it’s possible they want to distance themselves from the group.
Bullet Club’s “Firing Squad” attacked the Elite at the G1 Special in San Fransico this summer. The group became fractured in two. At King of Pro Wrestling last week, “Switchblade” Jay White joined the faction. White had previously rejected a spot in Bullet Club when it was offered by Kenny Omega at New Year’s Dash. Gedo and Jado also joined the new version of Bullet Club, which might not have room in it for the Elite.
New Japan Pro Wrestling will be on tour from now until the Power Struggle event on November 3rd. Live events will focus on the Super Junior Tag Tournament.
As we approach arguably the most important period of free agency in wrestling since the Monday Night Wars, one free agent claims to have signed with NXT.
On the latest episode of Being the Elite, the faction reiterated they would stay together in 2019. One member then spoke up and claimed he was heading to NXT, however. That man was “Fat-A$$ Masa”.
— "FAT ASS" MASA ??BEING THE ELITE ??AEW ??????????? (@Masa_Anchan1971) October 10, 2018
This is just part of Being the Elite, however. Masa hasn’t actually signed with NXT.
Where Will The Elite Sign?
Between now and 2019, there will be much speculation about where the group could land. On the surface, there are actually only a few available options for them. Let us review:
WWE/NXT – likely to be the largest offered contract but comes with little creative freedom. They would be able to join back up with Masa, however.
ROH/NJPW – Arguably the front-runner to end up with the team once again is a combination of ROH and NJPW.
Impact Wrestling – This group has more money than what is being let on. Whether they see bringing in all 5 guys on monster contracts as a good investment for them at this point in their development is another story, however. In all likelihood, Impact would be better off partnering with other groups such as MLW and Lucha Underground to put in a joint offer to the group. Impact also has deals with promotions in Australia, Europe, Canada, and Mexico where the Elite could also wrestle from time to time.
ROH/NJPW and Impact/MLW/Lucha Underground – There is a chance that every non-WWE territory who wants the faction will team up to offer them a deal to prevent them from going to WWE or any other non-talent-sharing territory.
Other international territories could be in play as well.
Current SmackDown Live Tag Team Champions The New Day are arguably the best trio in professional wrestling today. The squad consisting of Big E, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods have proven dominant over the past several years. The New Day have faced the best tag teams WWE has to offer.
However, there’s one team that sits above all that the three men have yet to share the ring with. That team being New Japan Pro Wrestling and Ring Of Honor’s The Elite (The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega). The two teams had a run-in with one another at E3 earlier this year. Their chemistry as entertainers got fans excited about a possible professional wrestling program.
New Day member Kofi Kingston spoke about this on a recent media call to promote tonight’s episode of SmackDown Live. Here’s what he had to say:
“It would be The Elite. It would be The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega. I think it’s something that from the moment we came out, people were like, ‘Oh, is this going to happen? I mean, The Young Bucks and Kenny, and The New Day, there are three of you’.
“They are so talented, and they’ve been able to do so many cool things all over the world, especially in Japan, which are… the way they’ve been able to do those cool things. I think it’s kind of a fantasy match-up that people have been waiting with bated breath to see.
“But, you never know what’s going to happen in the WWE. Never say never, and I hope that it does happen at some point in time, but I guess we will have to wait and find out.”
What do you think about a potential New Day vs. Elite match?
Ring of Honor has announced several new matches for their upcoming event on Friday. The promotion will be in their hometown of Baltimore, Maryland for Glory By Honor on October 12th.
Here is the scheduled lineup for the event:
ROH Glory By Honor Friday, October 12, 2018 UMBC Event Center Baltimore, Maryland
ROH World Championship
Jay Lethal (c) vs Silas Young
ROH World 6-Man Tag Team Championships
Cody and the Young Bucks (c) vs Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, and Scorpio Sky
Kenny King & Flip Gordon vs TK O’Ryan & Vinny Marseglia (the Kingdom)
Villain vs Hero III
“The Villain” Marty Scurll vs Shane “Hurricane” Helms
Shane Taylor vs Adam “Hangman” Page
Bully Ray vs Jonathan “the Octopus” Gresham
Non-Title
the Briscoes vs the Beer City Bruiser and Brian Milonas
Non-Title
Jeff Cobb vs Eli Isom
Ring of Honor is also advertising that Madison Rayne is scheduled to appear. Rayne recently signed a 1-year deal with the company. She’ll be looking to give a boost to the Women Of Honor division which just lost Tenille Dashwood to shoulder surgery.
2 nights after Glory By Honor in Baltimore, ROH will head to Philadelphia for a set of television tapings from the 2300 Arena. So far, a 6-man tag has been scheduled for that night featuring Jonathan Gresham, Jay Lethal, and a partner TBD will take on all three members of the Kingdom.
Current IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions, Matt & Nick Jackson, will not be appearing on as many NJPW tours moving forward. The Young Bucks are now in a position where it makes sense for them to only participate in the bigger NJPW shows.
According to a recent report from the Wrestling Observer, the Young Bucks will not participate in the World Tag League this November despite being IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions. The last time the heavyweight tag champs didn’t participate in the tournament was 2009 when the titles were held by Team 3-D.
The Young Bucks NJPW Schedule To Reduce
“In the spot they are in now, it really doesn’t make sense both for ROH which they are key players on every show, as well as time with family, and even non-wrestling autograph show bookings which they can get when ROH doesn’t have weekend shows,” wrote Dave Meltzer.
The Young Bucks will continue to play a key role on big shows, however, especially when the promotion holds shows in the United States. It sounds as though the “Road to ___” shows will rarely feature the Bucks in the future.
At Fighting Spirit Unleashed this Sunday, the Bucks will defend their IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships against Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa, the Guerrillas of Destiny. At Death Before Dishonor tomorrow, the Bucks will team with Cody, Marty Scurll, and Hangman Page to take on CHAOS.
Daniel Bryan recently praised the organizers of All In for selling out a 10,000 seat arena. Bryan made the comments recently while promoting the upcoming WWE 2K19 video game.
“They are like their own new 4 horsemen,” Bryan said “They are so different but they compliment each other and have this buzz about them. The idea that they are doing their own event outside of Ring of Honor, outside of New Japan. They are bringing in people from IMpact and doing all this kind of stuff.”
Unfortunately for fans who were hoping to see Bryan compete at All In 2, he is reported to have agreed to terms on a new deal with WWE recently.
Daniel Bryan On All In
“If you were to tell me 5 years ago that that would happen I’d say you’re crazy, you don’t know what you’re talking about,” Bryan said in reference to All In selling out the Sears Center Arena in Chicago. “But that’s a testament to these guys.”
Bryan would speak further on how Cody, the Bucks, and Omega have all created a buzz for themselves in different ways.
“I think it’s especially a credit to Cody, the Young Bucks, and Kenny Omega,” Bryan continued. “Because they’ve all created waves in different ways: Cody leaving WWE to say ‘you know what? I think I’m better than what they’re giving me, I’m going to go out and prove something.’ The Young Bucks doing this whole thing on their own being creative, they are starting this YouTube thing, doing this thing where they are like anti-authority anti-corporate people who are bucking the trends. And then Kenny Omega going out and having these matches some people look at them and say ‘these are the greatest pro-wrestling matches of all time.'”
“I think it’s so empowering and so cool,” Bryan continued.
Last week’s All In pay-per-view (PPV) was a big success. The Sears Centre in Chicago, Illinois played host to the self-funded event by Cody and The Young Bucks.
Several big names in the indy professional wrestling scene were on the card. Kenny Omega, Cody, The Young Bucks, Rey Mysterio, Pentagon Jr., Okada, and so many more competed at the show.
Also, big names like Jeff Jarrett, Diamond Dallas Page, Tommy Dreamer, and Road Warrior Animal made special appearances as well. When it was all said and done, Cody and The Young Bucks did what they set out to do – put on one of the biggest professional wrestling shows of the year.
Recently, a fan on Twitter asked Matt Jackson if there were any plans to bring in Batista for the show. The former WWE Champion is currently a free agent in the professional wrestling world but is focusing more on his acting career.
Jackson joked that they considered “The Animal” to be put in the Burnard the Business Bear suit:
@NickJacksonYB@MattJackson13@CodyRhodes Quick question for you guys, at any point in the process of booking talent for #ALLIN did you guys ever consider booking @DaveBautista in any capacity for the event? Considering he has expressed interest in returning to pro wrestling.
WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross was recently a guest on Busted Open Radio. “Good Ole’ JR” sat down for a conversation with fellow Hall Of Famer Bully Ray.
The pair discussed next year’s G1 Supercard being put on by Ring Of Honor (ROH) and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). Some of the biggest names in indy professional wrestling are expected to be on the card.
Ross doesn’t expect three big names to be on the card, however. He says his gut tells him Cody and The Young Bucks probably won’t be a part of the show:
“No, I don’t think so,” said Ross. “I don’t have anything concrete to base that on other than my gut instinct. My gut instinct is no. There’s too many big, big dollars that are possible to obtain. Cody has to start a family, probably will someday. Money is big in this delicate business.
“Bubba, you’re a [expletive] tank. You don’t get hurt, but everybody ain’t like you. Some of these guys can’t even tie their shoes nowadays and they need to save their money. So I’m hoping these kids will learn from some of their peers and predecessors.
“Hey I can have my run and sell a bunch of T-shirts, but the bottom line is I gotta have a bunch of money in the bank.”
Discussion: Do you think Cody or The Young Bucks will be on the G1 Supercard? Let us know in the comments section below!
"There may other players in the game that we are not aware of at this moment, that may end up making it a very interesting 2019."@JRsBBQ speculates on the future of Cody and the Young Bucks. Full interview on our YouTube channel soon!@davidlagreca1@bullyray5150pic.twitter.com/7Qwbf5WUrV
During the near 15 minute outro that closed All In, Cody emphatically stated he and his Elite cohorts would be “sticking together.”
The group has gone, as Cody declared, “from undesirable to undeniable.”
This makes the Young Bucks’ recent comments in an interview with Fightful.com all the more interesting, as Matt Jackson remarked that, “Contract season’s here, right? I think it’s been 20 years since there’s been wrestlers who have the leverage that we currently have.” He continued that they are both “[…] aware of that, we know the position that we have. Next year will be the year we get paid, no matter where we’re wrestling,”
With the WWE reportedly interested in getting them under contract, and ROH wanting to “aggressively” keep the team on their roster, it begs the question as to where the could end up.
The team currently work for both Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling, where they’ve helped to revitalise not only themselves but the divisions they compete in.
Nick Jackson is more direct in how he looks at the situation, “I think everyone wants to sign us right now, which is a good problem to have. It shows that the interest is high. It’s great for us.”
No doubt, it will also be great for whatever company that ends up signing them.
The main event of Saturday night’s All In pay-per-view saw The Young Bucks and Kota Ibushi defeat Rey Mysterio, Bandido, and Rey Fenix in a six-man tag match. After the broadcast ended, the wrestlers were joined in the ring by new NWA World Champion Cody, Brandi Rhodes, Kenny Omega, Hangman Page and family members.
In a post-match celebration that lasted around 15 minutes, The Young Bucks, Cody and Kenny Omega addressed the audience about the show that just ended and what the future holds for all of them. SEScoops was ringside for the show and got exclusive video of everything that happened after All In.
The Young Bucks Ready To Deliver More of ‘Their Vision of Pro Wrestling’
Nick Jackson of the Young Bucks revealed to the crowd that due to time constraints, they had to defeat their opponents even faster than they would have otherwise. The main event was in fact cut short and ended with just seconds to spare before the pay-per-view feed cut out. Things got a bit more serious, however, as the conversation turned to reflect on their collective journey towards ‘All In’.
Matt Jackson recalls, “You know guys, about a year ago – or maybe even longer – this man [Cody] came into our lives. And I liked him right away because I thought to myself ‘man, that guy is as crazy and as ambitious as us, Nick.’ So I said, ‘hey, let’s take this guy, let’s ride with him, let’s dine with him, let’s hang out with him.’”
During the course of their burgeoning friendship, Cody would one day come to them with a proposition. Matt remembers, “Cody came to us with this wild idea. He said, ‘Young Bucks, Bullet Club, I think we can put 10,000 asses in 10,000 seats.’”
A lofty goal that they were able to accomplish, with their event selling every single one of those 10,000+ seats in just under thirty minutes. A fact that isn’t lost on the trio.
“[…] it didn’t take just three men,” Matt claims. “It didn’t take just the Young Bucks and Cody. It took each and every one of the people standing in this ring. This was a group collaboration. All the people in the back. And most importantly, as cheesy as it sounds, all 10,000+ of you. You can feel it. You can feel it. There’s a hunger. There’s a thirst. You guys want good. Pro. Wrestling.”
This was met with huge applause as Matt pressed on.
“You guys want good entertainment. And what we presented to you in those 4 hours and 57 minutes – Oh my God – was our vision of what we think we can do with pro wrestling.”
Before handing the mic over to Cody, Matt had one final thing to admit to the crowd in attendance: “[…] if you guys want it, you want more pro wrestling from the cast of Being The Elite, then my family, my great friends, my cast of bandits, we will give you more of this. Because we couldn’t have done this without you,” he admits, before continuing in an emotional moment, “Chicago, this is was one of my favorite – you know what, this was my favorite night of my career.
Cody: “No Man, No Company, No Entity Owns Pro Wrestling. We Own Pro Wrestling!”
For Cody, however, it seemingly became more than just a pro wrestling event. It became about the importance of the relationships he clearly cares most about.
“‘All In’ is a serendipitous tale of things just falling in line one after the other. And one of those things is – not only did I find colleagues right here, not only did I find peers, these people are my best friends in the entire world.”
With people wondering about what could be coming next, Cody tried to allay any sort of worry by proclaiming, “And that big question of what happens next with this group? We are sticking together. Because no money, no man, no company, no entity owns pro wrestling. We own pro wrestling!”
His last words were particularly poignant, as he declared that “[…] the reality is this: this group [behind ‘All In’] went from undesirable to undeniable!”
At this point, Cody introduced his friend and leader of the Bullet Club, Kenny Omega to close the show.
Kenny Omega Addresses His Future
Kenny admitted that he was “merely a piece of the puzzle” and not a part of original three minds that created the show, before giving “all the credit in the world to Cody and the Young Bucks”. Omega said All In was probably the greatest pro wrestling show and addressed rumors that he could be WWE bound next year.
“You guys know where I come from. You guys know where some people want me to go. But guess freaking what? Guess freaking what? What we did today blew everything out of the water.”
He continued, “Believe it or not, that’s not just talking about the match quality. That’s not talking about this incredible cast of characters. Guess what the most important ingredient is…Did you figure it out yet? Oh, yes. It’s each and every single one of you. You guys believed in the change. You believed in the movement. You believed in the alternative. And thus, we shall continue this journey.”
Omega ended his words with his signature sign-off “But for now, we all must bid you adieu. So, please, with me now, if you will…good-bye and good-night. Bang!”
There was something – to borrow a phrase from Cody – undeniably special about the event, with an electricity coursing through the crowd throughout the entire show, from Zero Hour to ‘All In’ actual. It will be with great interest that the wrestling world watches where the Elite, and those who helped them put together ‘All In’, go from here.
The pay-per-view feed for All In cut out shortly after the 3-count in the night’s main event. Live inside Sears Center Arena, however, an extended celebration took place.
Rey Mysterio, Bandido, and Fenix thanked the crowd as Kenny Omega and Cody came out to join them. The Massie family along with some of their small children also filled the ring as confetti drifted down from the ceiling.
Omega gave his standard “Goodnight and Goodbye speech” while Cody reiterated that WWE does no own pro-wrestling.
Cody, Kenny Omega, the Young Bucks, Marty Scurll and Hangman Page
The group reiterated that they will not be splitting up when their contracts come due in 2019. This likely means they will not be going to WWE next year as Scurll’s contract commits him to ROH past then.
What happens when Omega, Cody and the Bucks are all free agents in a few months should be interesting. Both WWE and Sinclair should have the money to keep the stable but its also possible multiple non-WWE promotions could work together to provide the team with a joint offer. What this new era of non-WWE promotions working together means should become more apparent during what is looking to become the hottest free agent period in wrestling since the Monday Night War era.
Next up for most of the crew will be NJPW’s Destruction tour. Omega’s next IWGP Heavyweight Championship match is on September 15th versus Tomohiro Ishii.
During the main event of last night’s All In pay-per-view, voices could be heard yelling “Go home!” as the wrestlers scrambled to ensure the match ended before the feed cut out.
The main event Trios match featuring the Golden Elite vs Rey Mysterio, Bandido, and Fenix had to be cut short. The match was supposed to go just under 30 minutes but ended up going less than half that time.
“The main event got cut from 28 to 12,” Bryan Alvarez said on Wrestling Observer radio. “I guess the Hangman Page match went long and the Marty Scurll match went long.”
All In Main Event Cut Short
As the match was on traditional pay-per-view in addition to streaming services, the show had a strict window within which to work. During the match, it was said they were hoping to get the finish in with 2 minutes to spare but in the end, the finish came with only seconds to go.
Alvarez and Meltzer lamented that had the 6 performers had the full 28 minutes to perform, it would have been a heck of a match.
“It’s too bad because there was an incredible amount of talent in that match,” Meltzer said. “They didn’t get a chance to show what they can do by any means.”
The Bucks talked about former WWE stars who have worked for NJPW, moving up to the heavyweight tag team division, and every NJPW title (except the NEVER Openweight Title) being held by a foreign wrestler. Check out the highlights from The Bucks’ interview with NJPW here:
Former WWE stars working for NJPW:
Nick Jackson:
“I think it’s great. It shows you how big of company New Japan is. And it shows you that even from up bigger company like WWE, those superstars want to compete here because they know deep down in their head that this is where the best wrestling is.”
Matt Jackson:
“New Japan is the destination now. Everybody wants to come here because NJPW has the best wrestlers.”
Moving up to the Heavyweight Tag Team division:
Matt Jackson:
“Now we don’t have to just wrestle the junior tag teams, who we’ve wrestled many years. So now, we wrestled bigger guys, different guys, different styles.”
Nick Jackson:
“Different matches now. We won the junior titles 7 times, so it was time for us to move on.”
Matt Jackson:
“Let’s us change our styles.”
All NJPW titles currently being held by foreigners (except for the NEVER Openweight belt):
Nick Jackson:
“I think it’s crazy. It shows you how much talent there is worldwide. Every nationality has good wrestlers everywhere. New Japan is all about expanding and I feel like it’s good because it shows how many different wrestlers are around the world.”
Matt Jackson:
“I think pro wrestling is the healthiest stage right now. I think the wrestling economy is booming. Wrestling is cool again because of the vast majority of wrestlers in styles, characters, and talent.”
The ALL IN weigh-ins from Starrcast took place on Friday, although only one match ended up on the scales.
Following a brief introduction, The Young Bucks made their way to the stage to talk about ALL In and celebrate with the crowd after selling out 10,000 seats for what is being hailed as the biggest independent pro wrestling show of all time.
While everybody involved put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into building the card, the Young Bucks were obviously excited by the reaction from the crowd and the wrestling community as a whole.
“The way I feel right now, I wanna do 50 more of these damn things!” the Young Bucks shouted to the crowd.
From there it was time for the only actual weigh-in that took place at the hour plus long event as Cody Rhodes and NWA heavyweight champion Nick Aldis made their way to the stage. Cody officially weighed 206 pounds while Aldis was at 238 pounds.
Afterwards, Aldis refused to shake hands with Cody before leaving the stage to a loud chorus of boos from the audience.
Cody then made a special announcement regarding his match as famed referee Earl Hepner will be the third man in the ring during the NWA heavyweight championship match on Saturday night.
Bill Apter also made an appearance during the weigh-ins where he presented three custom made ALL IN championship belts to Cody and The Young Bucks, who spearheaded the entire idea behind this massive show.
The show was then turned over to “The Hangman” Adam Page, who came out without wearing any boots — and then he allowed the fans to ask him a few questions.
Unfortunately for Page, all anybody wanted to talk about was Joey Ryan, which finally led to him erupting on the microphone.
“The truth is I murdered Joey Ryan. I murdered him!,” Page shouted before his “attorney” came onto the stage to take away the microphone to protect his client.
Following a brief appearance from the SoCal Underground, the crowd then came to its feet when Marty Scrull came to the stage. He definitely received one of the loudest ovations during the entire weigh-ins before addressing his upcoming match against former IWGP heavyweight champion “The Rainmaker” Kazuchika Okada.
“I will stop the rain!” Scurll shouted to the crowd in anticipation of his match at ALL IN.
Joey Janela also popped up out of the crowd before making his way to the stage to stir up the audience while smoking a cigarette and chugging a beer while promising to beat “Hangman” Page at ALL IN.
Finally at the close of the weigh-ins, one final guess was introduced as reigning IWGP champion Kenny Omega came to the stage to the loudest reaction of the night.
Omega answered a few questions from the crowd — and even anticipated an inquiry about his interest in going to WWE, although that never actually came.
Perhaps the biggest piece of news to come out of Omega’s appearance was a question about him appearing at the upcoming G-1 Supercard co-promoted by Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling taking place in Madison Square Garden in New York.
While Omega wasn’t ready to commit to anything just yet, a giant smile crept across his face after the question was asked. He joked about getting a ticket before adding more intrigue to the card coming up on April 6, 2019.
“I will probably be there,” Omega said. “Whether I’m needed or not, I don’t know.”
Before leaving, Omega was asked what it felt like being the greatest wrestler in the world right now on the heels of reaching No. 1 in the 2018 PWI 500.
Omega said that as much as awards and accolades are nice to receive, what means even more to him is the reaction he gets from the fans who watch his matches and they are the ones he’s representing each time he steps into the ring.
“That’s what fuels me to continue to fight,” Omega said. “To represent every one of you guys as the alternative for ALL IN.”
While there is a good number of fans who want to see The Young Bucks in WWE once their current ROH contract expires, the whole transition won’t be an easy one for the duo.
We noted before how in a recent interview, the ROH Stars had explained that they are used to making their own decisions so it will be hard for them to sign with the company since they will have no control there.
During their recent appearance on the Jim Ross Report podcast, the duo revealed another reason why they may hesitate from going to the Biggest Wrestling Company in the world.
Bucks talked about their current ROH contracts revealing that they are set to expire in four months and claimed that at this point they cannot make a wrong decision because of the position they are in.
The Young Bucks Reveal Their Priority
Revealing their priority after the ROH deal is up, the former IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Champs said that family is their top priority and their goal is to retire at a young age so they can spend even more quality time with the family.
Signing a WWE contract will mean that the Young Bucks will be on the road for the most part of the year and they would be spending even less time with their family, so it’s another reason why they may ditch the WWE deal.
Do you think Young Bucks should sign a WWE contract or should they continue their run in the indie circuit? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.
Check out our All In event page for all the latest news and updates regarding the show.
Nick Jackson is said to be battling an illness just days out from All In and Starrcast weekend. Cody, Matt Jackson, and others have been asking fans to send the 29-year-old well-wishes.
“Full blown flu for the last 24 hours,” Nick Tweeted. “That 12 hours of travel home was the worst of my life. BTE might be delayed this week. I’ll keep you updated.”
Being the Elite was released a little later than normal this week. The Bucks didn’t factor heavily into the episode, however.
Being the Elite Notes
Marty Scurll opened the show this week and cut a promo on Okada. Scurll has been trying to bulk up for the match and prove he is a heavyweight. Okada has joked that after he beats Scurll, he’ll send the Villain to 205 Live.
Cody tried to give Stephen Amell some advice on how to face Christopher Daniels at All In. Daniels interrupted them, however. Amell said he was going to beat Daniels and that he wanted some royalties from the Young Bucks for wearing their T-shirts (Cody wasn’t impressed with this comment). He then said his first single’s victory would be Daniels’ last match.
Joey Janela interuptted a Hangman Page autograph signing and smoked a cigarette inside. He stabbed Page’s hand with a pen and said he’d see him at All In.
Rey Mysterio cut a promo about his main event match against the Bucks and Kota Ibushi. After the director called “cut” the cameras kept rolling and Rey revealed he isn’t getting paid for the event but is just doing Cody a solid. Some are saying the person he was talking to is the actor who played Juice on Sons of Anarchy but that is not confirmed.
SCU trained like Rocky in Philadelphia. At first the crew seemed to enjoy the city but after awhile they figured out that they like SCU way better.
Is Black Machismo All In?
The Bucks ran into Jay Lethal in the back. Lethal has been acting funny as of late. With the simplest bump to the head Lethal has been chanelling his old “Black Machismo” gimmick from TNA. This week he opened his travel bag and saw only Macho Man wrestling gear. Lethal left in a huff but when the camera panned back to his bag it showed his normal Jay Lethal gear.
Chico asked Cody to book some of his family into the Over Budget Battle Royal.
Jay Lethal had a conversation with Black Machismo in the mirror while in the washroom. Black Machismo said he’ll be going to All In and not Jay Lethal.
A fan gifted Hangman Page a new pair of boots that he hopes don’t talk to him.
Finally, Cody’s promo from the last ROH event was shown. He said WWE does not own all of professional wrestling. Cody did not take the opportunity to book Flip Gordon for the show, however.
Ring of Honor television aired last night. The promotion’s television show airs throughout the weekend on various networks and then on Honor Club every Monday.
This week’s episode was taped from the famous Center State in Atlanta, GA.
Christopher Daniels (SCU) defeated Jay Briscoe via DQ
Christopher Daniels had just hit Jay Briscoe with a uranage when Mark Briscoe ran-in with a chair. He hit Daniels in the back causing the DQ.
Scorpio Sky and Kazarian then hit the ring to save Daniels from a 2-on-1 attack.
The Briscoes will take on Scorpio Sky and Kazarian at All In. Daniels will take on Stephen Amell from the show “Arrow”.
Flip Gordon defeated Silas Young
Flip Gordon rolled up Young into a pinning combination with a bridge for the victory here. After the match, however, Bully Ray hit the ring and delivered a low blow to the young prospect.
Ray and Young locked eyes for a few moments but nothing happened.
ROH 6-Man Tag-Team Championships Cody, Matt & Nick Jackson (Bullet Club Elite) defeated Matt Taven, TK O’Ryan, and Vinny Marseglia (the Kingdom) (c) – Title Change
We have new ROH 6-Man Tag Team Champions, as the Elite defeated the Kingdom. The match was not without controversy, however, and the Kingdom will likely claim there has been a conspiracy against them.
Cody pinned Vinny Marseglia after Cross Rhodes for the victory but Matt Taven was the legal man for his team. Taven attempted to argue the official decision after the match but to no avail. The Kingdom will likely be given a rematch sometime in the near future.
Also this week:
Kenny King and Marty Scurll each commented on their match from last week. King defeated Scurll after putting his feet on the ropes for leverage. He explained this week that he learned during his match with Austin Aries that sometimes you have to cheat to win.
Scurll commented about how King had embraced his inner-villain but that he was going to get his revenge.
Upcoming on ROH Television
In 2 weeks:
ROH World Championship 30-Minute Ironman Match
Jay Lethal (c) vs Jonathan Gresham
Cody Rhodes, Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks and Adam Page have made a pledge to stay together next year, no matter what.
On Wednesday, a media conference call was held to promote next weekend’s All In event and the weekend-long Starrcast convention. I had a chance to participate in the call and there was a pretty newsworthy statement made by Cody about the Bullet Club members behind All In.
When Cody and the Bucks sold out a 10,000+ person arena for All In in less than a half hour, you can be sure it got on WWE’s radar. When Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling sold out Madison Square Garden in a matter of minutes, many fans were left wondring the same thing. Which of the performers involved will WWE attempt to sign, in an effort to suppress the momentum of the Bullet Club, ROH and New Japan?
Cody Rhodes was asked what’s next for his gang after All In on September 1st. Cody said he does not know where he (and the others) will be working next year. However, he did reveal that he, Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks and Adam Page have made a ‘verbal commitment’ to each other that they will stick together no matter where they wind up.
“As far as what’s next, I really wish I could answer, ” said Cody. “A lot has happened in the last few weeks. A lot of discussions about the future. One thing that’s special about this, and I have to be rather cagey in answering, one thing that is special about this group is we have verbally committed to each other and I don’t know that that’s ever been done in the history of professional wrestling, where I have verbally committed to the Bucks, the Bucks, Kenny Omega, Hangman Page.”
He continued, “There’s this verbal commitment that the next step we take because it’s no secret. Our contracts are all up…what happens next? The next step we take, we’re going to take it together and we’re going to take it as a family. It could be the dumbest move ever. Wrestling is sorta a shady business or we can do what my gut tells me, the right call.”
A verbal pledge like this is unprecedented. It is the latest sign that Cody, the Young Bucks & company are onto something special and have tremendous confidence in themselves.
It’s been reported that Cody and The Bucks’ Ring of Honor contracts expire at the end of the year. Kenny Omega is signed with New Japan Pro Wrestling through January 2019.
Will Cody, the Bucks, Omega and Page remain with ROH & New Japan? Will they join WWE together? Will they star their own promotion? Only time will tell. One thing we do know: it’s going to be a very interesting few months ahead.
The Young Bucks will debut a new entrance at All In. Their new ring entrance music debuted earlier today, however, during an episode of Chris Jericho’s podcast.
The entrance music was produced by Meat Sauce Media in conjunction with Killing the Business. Check out the new Young Bucks theme in the player below:
The song is by the band Class of 88. On August 24th, fans will be able to purchase the theme on 7-inch vinyl which will also feature bonus tracks by “Papa Buck” Matthew Lee Massie.
Fans can also purchase a “Championship Gold Bundle” which features the vinyl and various Young Bucks merchandise.
“This exclusive CHAMPIONSHIP GOLD Bundle includes the Superkick Party 7? Gold Vinyl Variant with alternate cover artwork, printed on gold foil, and the bundle exclusive Superkick Party Shirt and Bumper Sticker,” states the Meat Sauce Media webpage.
The popular tag-team announced last week that a new theme song and new entrance would debut at All In “Nick and I are excited to announce, we will be debuting our new entrance & theme song at ALL IN!” Matt Jackson wrote on Twitter recently.
“Tune into @IAmJericho’s Podcast, Talk is Jericho on Aug 22 to check out the song in its entirety! (follow @MeatSauceM on Twitter for more)”
Rousey’s feud with Bliss has turned personal in the past several weeks. It looks like she’s taking her training for SummerSlam very seriously. WWE posted a video on their YouTube channel showing a glimpse into Rousey’s preparations.
She was working at the WWE Performance Center and drilling inside the ring. Watch the video here:
Discussion: Do you think Rousey will win the RAW Women’s Title this weekend? Let us know in the comments below!
The Young Bucks Set To Debut New Theme
Matt Jackson made an interesting announcement on Twitter. He revealed he and his brother, Nick, will be debuting a new entrance theme at “All In.” The event goes down in Illinois on September 1st.
The actual song will be heard on August 22nd on Chris Jericho’s podcast. Listen to a small clip below:
“Nick and I are excited to announce, we will be debuting our new entrance & theme song at ALL IN! Here’s a sneak peak… Tune into @IAmJericho‘s Podcast, Talk is Jericho on Aug 22 to check out the song in its entirety!”
Wrestlemania weekend may be the better part of eight months away at this point in time, but that hasn’t stopped speculation amongst fans over the kind of unsigned talent that could potentially show up over that April weekend when WWE descends upon New Jersey.
With Ring Of Honor holding their G1 SuperCard show on April 6th at the legendary Madison Square Garden, that places the company in direct opposition to WWE’s NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn event at the Barclays Center.
This move from ROH has already been paying dividends as the eyes of the wrestling world have turned towards it, leading to the show selling out, with fans anticipating the mix of ROH/NJPW action.
— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) August 8, 2018
There are a few wrestlers, however, that may not be present to take part in ROH’s historic event at the Garden.
Aggressive Negotiations
Contracts for The Young Bucks, Cody Rhodes, and the Best Bout Machine; Kenny Omega, all expire months before the G1 SuperCard show takes place, and speculation is rife with whispers and rumours revolving around a potential jump to WWE, with the behemoth wrestling company in a position to offer them deals that other companies like ROH and NJPW may not be able to match.
General Manager for Ring Of Honor, Greg Gilleland, had this to say on ROH’s plans to keep the Bullet Club members within the ranks of ROH:
“They’re our top guys, right? Of course, we’re going to do everything that we can to keep them. And we have fair offers and fair plans to retain them.” He goes on to say, “We always operate with solid backup plans. And we have to always think about what if this, and what if that. If they go to the WWE, and they very much deserve that opportunity, we’ll continue to offer the best wrestling that we can. There’s other talent out there.”
Greg is candid over ROH having lost top talent in the past, referencing Kevin Owens, Bryan Danielson, and CM Punk as all top tier ROH stars that have jumped from ROH to the WWE, and is fully confident in ROH’s ability to thrive despite this.
“They all went to the WWE, and the brand has continued to grow and prosper. […] We pride ourselves on the ROH experience, and it goes back to the question of losing top guys. Do I wanna lose the Young Bucks and Cody? No. Of course not. Why would I wanna lose them?”
He ends his discussion on the Bullet Club members, declaring, “Am I gonna make an aggressive attempt to retain them and sign longer-term agreements? Of course, we are. But, at the end of the day, the ROH brand is about the ROH experience, and that’s how we continue to grow.”
With Ring of Honor having booked Madison Square Garden for WrestleMania weekend next year, many are wondering if WWE plans to retaliate. There has been talk that many ROH talents have contracts which expire before the event and that WWE may attempt to sign-away ROH’s bigger attractions.
If ROH is worried about losing their top draws to WWE, they aren’t saying it. Ring of Honor General Manager, Greg Gilleland recently spoke to CBS Sports. He was asked about the possibility of losing guys like Cody or the Young Bucks.
“They’re our top guys, right?” Gilleland asked. “Of course, we’re going to do everything that we can to keep them. And we have fair offers and fair plans to retain them. With that said, I don’t think we ever operate in fear. We always operate with solid backup plans. And we have to always think about what if this, and what if that.”
Gilleland admits there’s a chance the talent could leave before the MSG show but he’s not too worried about that.
“If they go to the WWE, and they very much deserve that opportunity, we’ll continue to offer the best wrestling that we can,” he continued. “There’s other talent out there. And we will continue as our brand has for the past however many years. We’ve lost top guys before.”
He then mentioned several times in the past when the promotion has had to overcome losing their top stars to WWE.
“Think about Kevin Owens and even going back to Bryan Danielson and CM Punk and all of them. They all went to the WWE, and the brand has continued to grow and prosper.”
“Do I wanna lose the Young Bucks and Cody? No. Of course not. Why would I wanna lose them?” Gilleland continued. “Am I gonna make an aggressive attempt to retain them and sign longer-term agreements? Of course, we are. But, at the end of the day, the ROH brand is about the ROH experience, and that’s how we continue to grow.”
Not to be confused with the self-funded professional wrestling event being put on by Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks. A recent promo for the new season of Total Divas on E! has professional wrestling fans scratching their heads.
The promo continuously referenced the phrase “All In.” Watch the video here and see for yourself:
It’s unknown if this was a jab by WWE at the upcoming Chicago show. Perhaps this was simply an unintentional mistake by those at E!. Whether or not it was intentional, professional wrestling fans are certainly talking about it.
The Exchange
As a result of the frenzy, this urged Matt Jackson of The Young Bucks to recently respond to the promo on Twitter. He used a GIF of Cody Rhodes motioning to his ear:
Ring of Honor presented “Honor for All” from the Nashville Municipal Auditorium tonight. The main event featured Flip Gordon challenging for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.
Not only was the NWA title on the line, however, if Flip wins he will earn the right to defend the title against Cody at All-In.
ROH: Honor For All
July 20th, 2018
Nashville, TN
Nashville Municipal Auditorium
This was Martinez’ second title defense. He defeated Silas Young for the belt on June 16th and would later defend it successfully against Hangman Page at Best in the World 2018.
2. WOH Championship Proving Ground Match (non-title but if the challenger wins they earn a title shot at a later date) Sumie Sakai (c) defeated Karen Q
Karen Q attempted to distract the ref and then attempted to convince the ref that Sumie Sakai was going to hit her with the championship belt. All of this led to Karen Q trying to pick up Sakai in a fireman’s carry but Sakai reversed it into a sunset flip and got the pin.
3. Jonathan Gresham defeated Shane Taylor, Chris Sabin, and Kenny King
After Shane Taylor had taken out the others in the match, Jonathan Gresham got a hold of his back and never let go. He locked in a sleeper and with both Sabin and King out of the equation at that point in the match, Taylor went out and the ref called for the bell.
4. Chuckie T defeated Bully Ray via DQ
Bully Ray has been picking on smaller wrestlers and young lions for the past several months. Chuckie T been wrestling for 16 years, however, which Bully Ray pointed out. Bully said he has no problem with Chuckie and even said he’s a fan. He even mentioned Chuck’s work in Pro Wrestling Guerilla and compared it to ECW.
When Chuckie T got on the mic, however, he told Bully Ray where he could shove all those nice things he said about him.
Not long after the match started, Bully kicked Chuckie in the groin to cause the disqualification. He continued to beat on Chuckie until Colt Cabana left the broadcast station to make the save. Bully ended up getting the advantage on Cabana as well though. This brought out a returning Beretta to make the save!
5. Will Ferrara, Rhett Titus, Silas Young, the Beer City Bruiser defeated Cheeseburger, Eli Isom, Ryan Nova, FR Josie vs
Cheeseburger teamed up with 3 Future of Honor wrestlers in Eli Isom, Ryan Nova, and FR Josie. In the end, it was the more established heel team who picked up the victory, however.
6. Marty Scurll defeated Vinnie Marseglia
Before the match, Matt Taven came out in streetwear. He brought the old ROH World Title with him, though he kept the belt covered with a red tarp for his whole promo. Taven eventually said that Scurll would not face him tonight, he would face his Kingdom minion, Vinny Marseglia instead.
Scurll made Marseglia tap to the chicken-wing but Taven hit the ring after and the Kingdom started teaming up on Scurll. This brought out Cody to make the save and led into the next match between Cody and TK O’Ryan.
7. Cody defeated TK O’Ryan
Security had to separate Cody and Scurll from the Kingdom. Eventually, Scurll, Taven, and Marseglia were sent to the back. Brandi Rhodes and Bernard the Business Bear were allowed to stay, however.
Cody picked up the win with the Cross Rhodes and celebrated with Bernard and Brandi before leaving the ring area.
8. NWA World Heavyweight Championship
Nick Aldis (c) defeated Flip Gordon
As much as Flip’s fans wanted it to happen, Flip Gordon did not defeat Nick Aldis for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Cody joined the commentary team for this match. He said that in 5-7 years, Flip Gordon might be a franchise guy but he’s not ready yet. Cody continued to say that he considered this match an open-workout for Aldis.
Aldis took control early. He hit a standing suplex, a couple of fall-away slams, a modified camel clutch and a chin lock. Flip began his comeback after the chinlock, hitting several springboard moves. He hit a springboard dropkick, running kick in the corner, a suicide dive, and a diving moonsault. He began selling as if he had tweaked his knee, however, which led the commentary team to speculate that Flip is too inexperienced to change his gameplan mid-match due to injury.
Flip missed a diving move which allowed Aldis to hit a Jerry Lawler-style piledriver and then a flying elbow. He pinned Flip after the flying elbow. The ref counted Flip’s shoulders down for 3 but Flip had actually gotten his bottom foot on the rope. The match was awarded to Aldis but several refs and even Cody came down to argue. It was declared a “Dusty Finish” and the match was restarted. Flip hit a suicide dive on Aldis to re-start the match.
Gordon hit a Star-Spangled Stunner for a near fall. Cody started cheering for Flip at this point while back at the commentary booth. Flip then went for a springboard move but tripped on the ropes and went down selling his knee. Aldis got back on offense, locked in the cloverleaf, and Flip eventually passed out causing the referee stoppage.
After the match, Cody came to ringside. Aldis and Cody helped Flip to his feet. Cody raised Flip’s arm as the crowd chanted “All-In” and later “Flip! Flip!”
After Cody left Flip in the ring by himself to celebrate, Bully Ray hit the ring and hit Flip low.
9. The Young Bucks defeated the Briscoes, and The Addiction (non-title match)
In 2018, Jay and Mark Briscoe have become the biggest anti-Bullet Club threat in Ring of Honor. This was a non-title match but the commentary team mentioned that if either the Bucks or the Addiction win they could get the next shot at the Briscoes’ titles.
The Bucks hit a Meltzer Driver on Mark Briscoe for the win, seemingly putting them in a position now to challenge the Briscoes for the tag-team titles.
There has been a ton of speculation regarding IWGP Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks’ (Nick and Matt Jackson) professional wrestling futures.
The pair are one of the most decorated tag teams of all time and have won championships all over the world. Their current contracts with Ring Of Honor (ROH) and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) are set to expire at the end of the year, causing many to speculate as to whether or not they’re going to be WWE bound soon.
Matt Jackson recently answered 10 questions in a Q&A on his Instagram account. Given that their contracts are set to expire soon, Jackson was asked if he’s considering signing with WWE. He said “I’m considering everything right now.”
Another fan asked if Jackson has plans for retirement and how much longer he and his brother plan on wrestling. Interestingly enough, Jackson answered “much shorter than people imagine.”
He also noted that he doesn’t think The Young Bucks are the greatest tag team of all time, but said when their careers are all said and done the goal is to make that notion come true.
