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Lana Shoots Down Rumors of Her Inheriting Eva Marie’s Gimmick

While recent reports would suggest that Lana inherited the gimmick that was originally planned for Eva Marie, Lana is saying otherwise. During an interview with USA Today, she claims that she is still using the “Ravishing Russian” gimmick she previously had while she was managing Rusev.

“I’m the same ‘Ravishing Russian’ that you’ve always known. It’s funny to me when I hear people say that it’s a new character. I embody ‘Ravishing.’ I come out in the most ravishing dress. I have a ravishing entrance. I’m ravishing people’s hearts. I was managing Rusev and wearing a suit because if you’re managing someone or an agent in real life, you are going to wear a suit to work. Right now, I’m the focal point, I’m the one competing. If people know anything about Russians, we do things really over the top. We wear high heels everywhere. We show up in the most extravagant outfits. I am just embodying how I was raised and what I grew up in. Some people might think we’re extra, I just think we’re ravishing. I’m the same woman, I’m just going to be crushing people myself.”

You can check out her full interview at this link.

Rumored Matches for This Year’s SummerSlam Event

The following matches are being rumored for this year’s SummerSlam event, courtesy of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman
John Cena vs. Jinder Mahal
Triple H vs. Kurt Angle

With WWE holding for back-to-back shows in the row at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, they are expecting to make this show as big as possible. Those events include NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III on August 19th, SummerSlam on the 20th, RAW on the 21st and SmackDown Live on the 22nd.

How Each Money in the Bank Contestant Should Cash In

There are different types of cash-ins when it comes to the Money in the Bank briefcase. Some people do it like Edge and pick up the pieces after a grueling match. There’s also the RVD method, where you announce when and where you will be cashing in. If you’re truly a mad lad, you can do what Seth Rollins did and insert yourself into a match that’s already happening. There’s a decent amount of variety.

Each contestant in the match is different. They have different agendas, different ways of doing their thing. Not everyone will do it the same way. I hope to show the potentially best way for each man to cash in their contract.

6. Dolph Ziggler

I have a higher chance of meeting pretty much anyone on the WWE roster than Dolph Ziggler does of winning Money in the Bank again. Bear in mind, I live on a completely different side of the globe from pretty much everyone in the WWE. What I’m trying to say is this: Dolph Ziggler is not winning.

However, for the purpose of this article, let’s assume he does. It would be hard to top his original cash-in in 2013. If you haven’t seen it yet, you should. For the newer fans who wonder why so many people still love him, check out when he won the World Heavyweight Championship.

Right now, Dolph is lacking in the heat department. Lots of people simply don’t care. So if he should win (he won’t, though), he needs to cash in on a beloved babyface. Cashing in on a wounded AJ Styles or Sami Zayn could be the spark to rejuvenate Ziggler’s heel turn.

5. AJ Styles

Honestly, AJ Styles doesn’t need Money in the Bank. He’s done so much for Smackdown that he could just say “Hey Shane, could I have a title match?” and we’d all buy it. We’d eat it up. So in my honest opinion, I do not want AJ Styles to win. And I say this as a fan of the guy.

If Styles does win, I wouldn’t be mad. Not at all. However with Styles now acting as a face, that does limit his options somewhat. However, he is still an arrogant guy, so it makes total sense for him to announce when and where he is going to cash in his Money in the Bank contract.

There are so many great opponents for Styles, because he’s had great matches with almost everyone. Styles v. Orton would be must-see. So would Styles v. Zayn. Hell, imagine the anticipation for Styles v. Nakamura. Even something a bit more out-there like Styles v. Rusev or Styles v. Corbin would be a treat to watch.

If Styles wins, expect him to announce when he’ll have his match, and expect a lot of hype and anticipation.

4. Kevin Owens

Kevin Owens is one of the most fleshed-out characters on the roster today. He’s a heartless psychopath who only wants to do what is best for his family. He will destroy anyone and everyone who gets in the way of that. There are a lot of ways that his cash-in could go down, but there’s one idea in particular that I really love, and I found it on Reddit.

Imagine this. Kevin Owens wins Money in the Bank. A few months later, Sami Zayn becomes the number one contender. Come the pay-per-view, Zayn has the champion pinned. 1, 2, 3! Before Sami Zayn’s music can play, Kevin Owens’ music hits, and he strolls to the ring, laughing like a maniac because he once again gets to dick Sami Zayn over.

Of course, this idea isn’t perfect, as it would require Owens to drop the title back to Zayn in a few months, or Zayn losing to Owens again. Still, the heat from that would be like a thousand suns. It’s such an evil thing to do, which is why Kevin Owens would do it.

Vince Russo’s The Brand Recap – Karma Gets Jeff Jarrett, Responding to Corey Graves, More!

Russo says that he can’t believe how much people are talking about him lately, whether it be on their podcasts or on the WWE Network. He says that he’s currently waiting on a bill from WWE for all the promotion that he has been receiving lately that frankly, he wouldn’t be able to afford. At this point, he’s starting to think it’s all a rib.

Russo comments on the recent passing of Adam West. He says that the original Batman (Adam West) was his first hero, and he looked up to him as a child. There have been only two people in the world that he really wanted to meet, Gene Simmons and Adam West. He was lucky enough to meet Simmons during his time working in WCW, and years later he was able to meet West.

Russo said he had one question that he really wanted to ask West, “How were you able to portray that Batman character so perfectly?” West looked at him and said, “Vince, the first time they gave me the script and I read the script, I got it.” West knew right away what the Producers and Writers wanted from this character and he was able to get into that frame of mind right from the start.

WrestleMania Possibly Heading to London?

The Independent published an article about the possibility of WrestleMania coming to London.

In the piece, they reference a survey that WWE sent out this week to individuals that attended WrestleMania 33, asking for their interest in future venues. It listed locations like New York City and Toronto.

The article points out that the last major show held in England was SumerSlam in 1992 and it drew over 80,000 fans at the Wembley Stadium. The event headliner saw the British Bulldog defeat Bret “The Hitman” Hart for the Intercontinental Championship.

Reason Why Tom Phillips Was Replaced on 205 Live

As seen on this week’s episode of 205 Live, former House of Hardcore announcer Vic Joseph made his debut at the broadcasting booth for the brand. He will be replacing Tom Phillips moving forward.

The reason Vic replaced Tom on 205 Live is because the company wants Tom to focus on other duties in the company and he has a lot on his plate with being the lead announcer for SmackDown Live. With Vic is on the rise within the company, the belief is that he is the perfect replacement. Since arriving in the company, Vic has worked on WWE Main Event and NXT in a short time. The company is very high on his work and that’s why Vic has been chosen as Tom’s replacement.

Tom posted the following on Twitter regarding Vic’s new role on weekly WWE television:

Reason Why Finn Balor Hasn’t Been Using The Demon Character

While speaking to news.com.au, Finn Balor was asked about why his Demon Character hasn’t been being used on WWE programming lately. He responded with the following remarks:

“The Demon character is something I draw on occasion. It’s something that requires a lot of focus to tap into and really requires the right situation for me to sort of draw on that darker side of my personality. Since I’ve been back on Raw, the opportunity hasn’t really presented itself to tap into that side and I’ve had such a good time being back I haven’t wanted to change. I quite like walking out in my sweet new Balor club jacket. popping my collar and being Mr Cool.”

You can check out the full interview here.

Speculation on John Cena Facing Roman Reigns at SummerSlam

Following the announcement of John Cena being a “free agent” and appearing on both RAW and SmackDown, there was a lot of online speculation that the company may be setting something up between Cena and Roman Reigns for this year’s SummerSlam event. However, we can now confirm doesn’t appear to be the case.

Dave Meltzer was asked on the latest installment of Wrestling Observer Radio about the speculation between a match between the two at this year’s blockbuster summer event. Meltzer said that he was told that Cena will not be Reigns opponent for the event.

As previously noted, there is speculation that Cena will face Jinder Mahal for the WWE Title at this year’s SummerSlam event, despite Cena appearing for both brands moving forward.

The Ross Report Recap w/ Adam Cole – Main Eventing in ROH, Thoughts on Kenny Omega, Cody Rhodes Returning to WWE? More!

Ross opens today’s show by sending his best wishes to his friend Harley Race. Race suffered a fall in his home which resulted in multiple broken bones in both of his legs. Ross wishes Race a speedy recovery.

Ross really enjoyed the pull apart between Samoa Joe and Brock Lesnar on this week’s episode of Monday Night RAW. He points out that to his knowledge, Samoa Joe is the only Superstar to ever block Lesnar’s double leg takedown. He suspects that this will become a focal point of their match at Great Ball of Fire later this month.

He says that he has no problem admitting that he has been politicking to call this match, because it’s going to be a great bout in his opinion. He adds that if your profession is announcing professional wrestling matches, this is the type of match that you absolutely long for.

Ross welcomes Adam Cole to the show.

Ross mentions that Cole’s recent match against Christopher Daniels was a great piece of work. They took him on an emotional journey, and that’s the sign of a great match. Cole says that particular match holds a special place in his heart because he looked up to and respected Daniels for an awfully long time, so it was his pleasure to be able to tell that kind of story with Daniels.

Money in the Bank Event Not Sold Out

Sunday’s WWE Money in the Bank event has not sold out yet.

Ticket IQ claims that there are still hundreds of seats available for the event via TicketMaster with rices ranging from $50 to $1005. The average sale price is $155 with cheapest seats starting at $47 on the secondary market.

At this time, prices are very similar to the last pay-per-view event held at Scottrade Center, during the same time frame; 2015’s Battleground featured an average resale price of $157 with cheapest seats costing $53.

WWE has been having a downward trend at events recently. It’s being said that the trend has to do with the ticket price increase for their shows.