editor

The Taz Show Recap – Calling Live Matches Vs. Taped, Asuka Needs A Challenge, Does Lana Deserve A Title Shot? More!

Blocks 1 & 2:

A listener calls into the show and presents an idea he has for the Mae Young Classic. He says that Asuka has been complaining about a lack of competition in NXT as of late, so perhaps she should be entered into the upcoming women’s tournament where she’d have to defend her NXT Women’s Title in every match.

Taz says thats a cool, unique idea, but WWE wouldn’t really be able to explain giving out multiple Title opportunities to women who didn’t earn it. Taz admits that WWE just did this by giving Lana a Title opportunity against Naomi at Money in the Bank, so perhaps they don’t worry about those types of details as much as we’d think.

Another listener calls into the show and asks Taz what your main goal should be as a colour commentator for a wrestling company. Taz says that first and foremost, you should never worry about getting yourself over. Your talking points should always focus on the story that the talents are telling in the ring, and your goal is to do everything you can to get those talents over with the audience.

Taz points out that a lot of commentators seem interested in getting themselves over more than the talents in the ring, and that should never be the case. He adds that colour commentators such as JBL or Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler can get away with that to a degree because they both had lengthy, successful in-ring careers before transitioning to the announce booth.

Emma Returns to Action at WWE Live Event

Emma returned to action at the WWE Live Event in Jackson, Mississippi Friday night.

Emma teamed up with Alexa Bliss and Nia Jax to take on Mickie James, Sasha Banks and Dana Brooke. The match concluded with Emma submitting to the Bank Statement.

As previously noted, Emma was off WWE television after she suffered an injury at last month’s WWE Live Event in Liverpool, England. She apparently landed on her shoulder wrong after taking a double knee spot from Banks. She had just returned to action full-time after being sidelined since last year.

Rumored Matches for WWE Great Balls of Fire

The following card is rumored for the upcoming July 9th WWE Great Balls of Fire event:

WWE Universal Championship (confirmed)
Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Samoa Joe

RAW Tag-Team Championship
Shesaro (c) vs. The Hardyz

Intercontinental Championship
The Miz (c) vs. Dean Ambrose

RAW Women’s Championship
Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Nia Jax

Seth Rollins vs. Bray Wyatt

Goldust vs. R-Truth

With the event being 3 hours long and with the pre-show, it is very possible that they add one or two more under card matches.

Vince Russo’s The Brand Recap – Mahal’s Inability to Have 5-Star Matches, Dreaming of Wrestlers, Lucha Underground Talents Want Out? More!

A listener sends in a clip of Dave Meltzer, where Meltzer criticized The Drifter’s segment at Extreme Rules. Meltzer said that this was clearly just thrown into the show to kill time, and he wanted Samson off his television. Russo says that this proves that Meltzer has no experience in the wrestling business, because The Drifter’s presentation is a prime example of character development. WWE is being consistent with him and they have to be because he has a good look and they have a chance to do something cool with him.

Bryan Alvarez said this week that RAW has a great main event scene, where all five guys from the Fatal 5-way can be considered a legitimate threat to Brock Lesnar. Russo says he hates to break it to Alvarez, but wrestling is a work. In a real life environment, Russo thinks that Roman Reigns is the only guy in that group who could give Lesnar a run for his money, and he’d still get beat up.

Mike Johnson sent out a tweet this past week which you can read above. Russo says that this has to be the best line he has ever heard. He says that Johnson and these other ‘journalists’ are the biggest marks he has ever seen and comments like this just prove it. If you’re a grown man who’s dreaming about fake fights, you’re definitely a mark.

Which Female Is The Favorite to Win Money In The Bank?

Carmella is the early favorite to win the first-ever Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match with a -140 odds, according to 5 Dimes. The odds will most-likely change several times between now and the pay-per-view event on June 18th, especially when “smart money” bets start to come in.

Here are the current bets for that match:

Carmella -140
Becky Lynch +350
Natalya +360
Charlotte Flair +900
Tamina +2500

Jinder Mahl Receives Substantial Pay Increase

Jinder Mahal has received a substantial pay increase since his push to the top of the SmackDown Live card, according to Dave Meltzer.

When asked if the now-WWE Champion was getting paid more for his current position in the company, Meltzer responded with the following on Twitter:

Footage of John Cena’s Appearance on The Tonight Show

Steve is the Founder of RingsideNews, AllWrestlingNews, and Wrestling dot News. He has been writing about professional wrestling since 1996. He first got into website development at the time and has been focusing on bringing his readers the best professional wrestling news at it’s highest quality.

John Cena on How Many Title Runs He Has Left

John Cena spoke with WSVN-TV promoting the upcoming second season of American Grit. Highlights are below:

If he wrestled the entire match at WrestleMania 33 with the engagement ring in his pocket: “There are some secrets that should be kept secret my friend. That one’s for me to know. I like the fact that a lot of folks ask me where I kept the ring. I know where I kept it and I think that’s a secret I’ll keep with me.”

What to expect from his WWE return: “I just want to get back in the fray. I think it’s a wonderful time to be a fan, to be a member of our WWE Universe. The rosters on both sides, SmackDown Live and Monday Night Raw, is packed with very capable, unbelievable superstars and I’m just waiting to get back into the mix and try to prove my worth once again.”

His interaction with Ric Flair immediately after tying his record at the Royal Rumble: “I have a longstanding friendship with Ric Flair. He’s been a mentor to me over the years. It was very important to me that he was there for me that night. He was nothing but encouraging, so honorable and so inspirational. He’s a wonderful guy and a lot of fun and I’m really happy that he was there. It was a great moment for all of us.”

How many more title runs he thinks he has left: “I truly don’t look at it like that. I just want to be able to be able to perform at an elite level. I know that at 40 years old and 15 years in the WWE now it’s been a long journey, longer than most. I have to find my grit every day to keep working hard to keep up with all of these young, strong guys. It truly is a young man’s game but I feel really good. I look forward to July 4th and I think everybody will see that I haven’t lost a step yet.”

Who he thinks he should pass the torch to: “I think it’s been passed without me. There’s a lot of folks who are currently doing a lot of damage on the roster. The show is thriving in my absence. I think it’s extremely competitive. I did win the 16th Championship at the Rumble but I was unfortunate in my first defense at Elimination Chamber and before that I hadn’t really been in the Championship picture for a while. I think the company is moving on quite well. I don’t know if there needs to be a formal anointment but they’re really doing well without me.”

Title Match Announced for Monday’s RAW

WWE announced that Sheamus and Cesaro will defend their RAW tag team championships against The Hardy Boyz on Monday’s episode of RAW. WWE wrote the following regarding the match:

Just one week after losing the Raw Tag Team Championship in a brutal Steel Cage Match at WWE Extreme Rules, The Hardy Boyz invoke their rematch clause against new titleholders Cesaro & Sheamus this Monday night, live on Raw.

Last Monday, The Celtic Warrior boasted that Matt & Jeff were “sitting at home, licking their wounds — Jeff gluing in his false tooth — just dreaming about their rematch.” This Monday night, the dream becomes a reality much sooner than the champions likely anticipated.

Can The Hardy Boyz reclaim the titles they won during their triumphant return at WrestleMania, or will Cesaro & Sheamus continue to raise the figurative bar in Team Red’s tandem division?

Brock Lesnar has also been announced to return to the show to address Samoa Joe’s attack on Paul Heyman.