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Road Dogg Responds to Complaints About Nakamura’s Entrance Being Cut

Lead SmackDown creative writer Road Dogg responded to fans on Twitter that complained about Shinsuke Nakamura’s entrance on Smackdown Live being cut to commercial. He made the following remarks:

Braun Strowman’s Possible Return Date

Braun Strowman may be returning at the upcoming Great Balls of Fire event, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Dave Meltzer mentioned in the latest installment that Strowman is currently scheduled to be part of the event. It’s unknown if he will face Roman Reigns at the show, but Strowman is still scheduled to face him one more time before having his match against Brock Lesnar.

Rusev Cleared to Return to Action

Rusev has been medically cleared to return to action.

Pro Wrestling Sheet reports that Rusev met with doctors yesterday and was given the go-ahead to return to in-ring competition. Rusev had surgery back in March to repair an undisclosed shoulder injury.

WWE teased Rusev’s return on SmackDown Live last month to confront Shane McMahon for not putting him in the Money in the Bank main event. Those plans ultimately got nixed. It is very possible that Rusev not being cleared at the time could be the reason for those plans following through.

Ranking the Candidates for the Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match

To date, the WWE has held 17 Money in the Bank matchups, with 15 of the cash ins being successful and leading to major title reigns. This Sunday night the WWE will host its 18th Money in the Bank Ladder match and its first ever Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match as well.

The Women’s Revolution is at an all time high in the WWE right now and the decision to host the first ever female Money in the Bank ladder match is a massive one by the WWE.

The five women involved will all be hoping to deliver a belter of a match, cementing this match as just as must see as the men’s one. But who will walk out on Sunday as the first ever ‘Mrs. Money in the Bank’? Let’s take a look through each opponent and rank their chances of winning from worst to best.

Favorites to Win at Sunday’s Money in the Bank Event

Here are the updated Betting Odds for Sunday’s Money in the Bank event, courtesy of Best Wrestling:
(Note: The lower the number, the higher the chances of winner are)

WWE Money in the Bank Match
* Baron Corbin -190
* Sami Zayn +650
* Kevin Owens +650
* AJ Styles +750
* Shinsuke Nakamura +450
* Dolph Ziggler +1500

WWE Women’s Money in the Bank Match
* Carmella -145
* Becky Lynch +350
* Natalya +365
* Charlotte Flair +950
* Tamina +2800

WWE Championship Match
* Jinder Mahal(c) -250 vs. Randy Orton +175

WWE Smackdown Women’s Championship Match
* Naomi(c) -500 vs. Lana +300

WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championship
* The Usos(c) -120 vs. The New Day -120

Length of Men’s MitB Match
* Under 24 Minutes -137
* 24 Minutes or More -110

Length of Women’s MitB Match
* Under 20 Minutes -137
* 20 Minutes or More -110

Length of WWE Championship Match
* Under 18 Minutes -120
* 18 Minutes or More -120

MitB Men’s Special Bets
* Rusev to Appear Ringside During the Match +400
* Briefcase to be Cashed in the Night of MitB +500

MitB Women’s Special Bets
* James Ellsworth to be Ejected from Ringside +110
* Nikki Bella to Appear at Ringside +300
* Briefcase to be Cashed in at Event +500

Triple H Frustrated With Vince McMahon

Triple H is reportedly frustrated with Vince McMahon and the recent booking of NXT Superstars on the main roster.

According to Wade Keller of Pro Wrestling Torch, Triple H hasn’t been very impressed with how Vince McMahon has used some of the NXT call-ups. Keller claims that Triple H is frustrated because he feels that his hard work is being wasted once a Superstar from NXT is called up to work the main roster.

The Taz Show Recap – Smackdown Analysis, Defending Roman Reigns, Lana Readying for A Title Run, More!

Blocks 1 & 2:

Taz says that he didn’t think last night’s episode of Smackdown Live was very good for a ‘go-home’ show. It was an average show at best, but it should have been more given that it was the last show before Money in the Bank this coming Sunday.

Taz says that he liked the ladder match tease which ended the show, where Nakamura reached up and grabbed the briefcase. He thought this did a good job of promoting the ladder match and driving people to the PPV this Sunday, but this was the only part of the show to do so.

He didn’t like that during Jinder Mahal’s promo, The Singh Brothers were also standing on the area rug along with Mahal. He believes that mat should be solely for Mahal, and if he was the only person who was allowed to stand on it, it would seem far more important. He liked Randy Orton’s RKO out of nowhere, and he thought that spot was very well executed by the talent and captured perfectly by the cameraman.

Taz thought the 8-man tag team match between The Usos/Colons & Breezango/New Day was pretty entertaining. He adds that WWE is giving their viewers a lot of Breezango lately with in-ring matches as well as the Fashion File segments, and he urges them to be careful as to not over-expose the emerging team.

Spoilers for Tonight’s SmackDown Live Episode

The following are spoilers for tonight’s episode of SmackDown Live, courtesy of PWInsider:

Zack Ryder is backstage and is expected to make his return on tonight’s show. Ryder has been out of action with a knee injury since December.
There is talk that American Alpha will return.
Charlotte vs. Natalya
Naomi vs. Tamina
Usos/Primo/Epico vs. Breezango/New Day

Check back here at 8PM ET for our live play-by-play coverage. Also, you can join us on RingsideTalk.net for our live fan chat.

Paige Now Training for WWE Comeback

We noted earlier today that Paige went to go visit the doctors for a check up on her neck injury that has sidelined her for nearly a year.

Paige may have got some good news, as she posted the following photos to Instagram which would indicate that she’s training for her return:

Just getting alberto to take pics in the gym. Pretending to work out… Jkkkk. Boxing gym later. Time to start kicking ass again! ??

A post shared by Paige WWE (@realpaigewwe) on Jun 13, 2017 at 11:55am PDT

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A post shared by Paige WWE (@realpaigewwe) on Jun 13, 2017 at 11:58am PDT