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Vince Russo’s The Brand Recap – Joe Going Off Script Against Lesnar, Cena Putting Over Styles, Samson’s Botched Guitar Shot, More!

Russo is joined on today’s show by his co-host Jeff Lane.

To open today’s show, Lane plays a clip of Dave Meltzer who’s discussing Jason Jordan’s upcoming push. Meltzer says that while having the spotlight on you is good, WWE is a tricky spot to receive a big push because if Vince McMahon decides you don’t get over during your big push, you have a black mark on you for the rest of your career.

Russo says that this can be said about any profession because if you have an opportunity at your workplace and you don’t succeed, you’re going to be taken out of that spot. Meltzer and these other dirt sheet writers mightn’t understand this because they’ve never worked in the real world. He also says that if you don’t want to have the spotlight on you in the biggest promotion in the world, you’re in the wrong business.

A clip of Wade Keller presents him discussing the Brock Lesnar/Samoa Joe angle. Keller says that Joe came off as someone that could kick Lesnar’s ass during the entire program, and we haven’t really seen that before. There were a couple times when Keller thought Joe might get in trouble, specifically when he told Lesnar to ‘look at me when I’m talking to you’, because that wasn’t scripted.

Possible Spoiler Debut for NXT Takeover: Brooklyn

Dave Metlzer discussed Adam Cole’s status in the latest installment of Wrestling Observer Live and indicated that he could be arriving to the company any time now.

Meltzer speculates that Cole will head to the NXT brand and could possibly debut at the upcoming NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III event. Cole has been rumored to debut for the company ever since he let his contract with Ring of Honor run out on May 1st.

There is a new policy within WWE were talents from ROH are not allowed to debut for the company until a 90-period runs out. With Takeover taking place on August 19th, this would meet the required waiting period for his debut.

We will keep you updated if we receive any other information on Cole’s status.

Why Brock Lesnar Must Become A Free Agent

Rumours have been circulating this week that Brock Lesnar will return to UFC. There is also an accompanying rumour that Lesnar will not resign his contract after Wrestlemania 34. Even if these are simply rumours WWE and Vince McMahon must be scared. Lesnar is sports entertainment’s biggest draw bar none. He is a mega star and a huge asset to the company. However, his career is winding down and there is still infinite value in Lesnar over the next year or two. His value will be used best though if he becomes a free agent and here’s why.

More Dream Matches

Samoa Joe vs Brock Lesnar was a legitimate dream match. WWE capitalised on this feud and booked it perfectly from Extreme Rules all the way to Great Balls of Fire. This feud proved Joe to be a superstar and also that Brock Lesnar dream feuds are a necessity. Dream matches with Brock Lesnar create superstars. They give wrestlers a career defining match as well fans exactly what they are desperate for.

That said, there are not that many dream feuds left for Lesnar on RAW. The only real one is Finn Balor which is as dream worthy as Samoa Joe was. Behind Balor is – at a stretch of the word dream – Bray Wyatt and even Braun Strowman. These feuds must happen in Lesnar’s time left in WWE without a doubt, particularly with Balor. On Smackdown Live however there are more. Three legitimate dream matches face Lesnar on Smackdown Live. Kevin Owens, AJ Styles and of course there is also Shinsuke Nakamura. On a smaller level there is also stars like Corbin and Zayn who would likely be excellent opponents for Lesnar.

Heyman can simply announce the Beast Incarnate will do what he wants and go where he wants. This opens the door for so many feuds and matches that WWE must capitalise on. Especially now that Lesnar is likely in the very end of his WWE career. With Lesnar fighting only a limited number of times a year, now is the time to do this. If not for the wrestlers opposite Lesnar, then for us the fans.

Favorites to Win at Sunday’s WWE Battleground Event

Here are the current bedding odds for Sunday’s WWE Battleground event, courtesy of Bet Wrestling. These betting outcomes will most-likely changed several times between now and Sunday.

(Note: The lower the number, the more favorable they are in winning the bout)

WWE Championship – Punjabi Prison Match
Jinder Mahal (c) -333 vs. Randy Orton +220

WWE United States Championship
AJ Styles (c) -300 vs. Kevin Owens +188

Smackdown Tag Team Championship
The Usos (c) +163 vs. The New Day -227

Flag Match
John Cena -1000 vs. Rusev +500

Fatal 5 Way for the Smackdown Women’s Championship #1 Contendership
Charlotte +120 vs. Lana +200 vs. Becky Lynch +230 vs. Tamina +350 vs. Natalya +1000

Shinsuke Nakamura -250 vs. Baron Corbin +175

Aiden English +150 vs. Tye Dillenger -200

Sheamus Talks About His Relationship With Cesaro

On the recent episode of Talk Is Jericho ‘Sheamus And Cesaro’, one-half of the WWE RAW Tag Team Champions Sheamus spoke about his relationship with Cesaro and how they got close after their team of Sheamus and Cesaro came together and how they found great mutual respect for each other:

“We had a lot of respect for each other. I don’t think we were super close or anything, but we’re both Europeans, kind of the same background, and we get here. From wrestling each other enough, we both definitely had a lot of respect. Do you know what I mean? I think there has always been a competition between us and that’s a great thing because you always want to try to one up each other.”

He also talked about how their characters evolved their relationship through time and the ‘odd couple’ kind of fighting their team did:

“It [has] definitely been an evolution from when we started, but even when we were tagging, there was that thing of like the odd couple kind of fighting each other and we wanted to push it. We didn’t get the opportunity to push it as much as we wanted because you have a segment and it’s taken away. Do you know what I mean? And so, like, people were enjoying it. Do you remember the boo/yay stuff? The boo/yay stuff was great!”

You can check the rest of the podcast here.

Major Update on Brock Lesnar’s WWE & UFC Status

It was reported via Pro Wrestling Sheet yesterday that Brock Lesnar has made it clear to WWE officials that he won’t be re-singing with WWE after his contract expires shortly after WrestleMania next year. This doesn’t appear to be the case, according to the Wrestling Observer.

Dave Meltzer indicated on today’s installment of Wrestling Observer Radio that reports of Lesnar leaving WWE once his contract expires to pursuit a career in the UFC are premature and he wouldn’t take these reports serious. Meltzer has a hard time believing that Brock would turn down “easy money” working for WWE at his current age of 40. The belief is that WWE is the better long-term option for Lesnar at his age.

In regards to UFC’s Jeff Novitsky shooting down reports that Brock Lesnar has not entered into the USADA drug testing pool, Meltzer said that he could enter the pool today and be ready to return for a fight early next year. Meltzer doesn’t believe that Lesnar will fighting for the UFC at the end of this year and also hinted that a fight early next year wouldn’t pan out well because of the Royal Rumble and the risk of him possibly getting hurt.

As far as possible opponents for Brock if he does make a UFC return, Meltzer named Stipe Miocic and Jon Jones as potential fights.

Superstars Who Have Thrived Through The Brand Split A Year Ago

A year ago WWE produced the second ever official brand split. Smackdown moved to Tuesday nights becoming a live event while also taking the logical moniker of Smackdown Live. Some fans were sceptical of the idea while others could not help but become excited. In the year since the brand split and draft took place a lot has happened in WWE. There has been returning legends, a new world championship and of course rising and falling stars.

Some superstars on RAW and Smackdown Live have thrived while some have failed to make a significant impact. The stars who took advantage of the brand split were 2016’s best and are currently doing the same in 2017. Whether it be due to having more airtime or due to simply relishing in opportunities is up to interpretation. There is no denying the hard work and insane work some superstars have done this past year.

With that this article looks at the stars who have thrived most in the past year. Specifically those who were aided massively by the brand split and took full advantage of it.

Footage of Shane McMahon’s Rescue Released

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.

Kevin Owens Says He Doesn’t Enjoy Working with AJ Styles

Whiles speaking to The Shore, Kevin Owens talked about several topics and also mentioned that doesn’t enjoy working with AJ Styles at all, especially after he took his title.

“Yeah, I don’t enjoy it at all actually. I’d rather never having to work with him again. He has my title, and I have to go after and it looks like we’re nowhere near done. Unfortunately, I have to step in the ring with him several more times. It’s part of what we do.”

Owens also revealed that he feels Sami Zayn would be the perfect opponent for him if he ever main evented WrestleMania.

“I feel like Sami Zayn. It would be such a great chapter to add to our story. We’ve been at each other’s throats and by each other’s sides simultaneously the last 15 years. It would be great to do something with him.

“And also Finn Balor, who is my best friend. We got to the WWE the exact same time and didn’t know each other before hand. We had a bit of contact here and there before because we knew we both would spend time there. We bonded over that. Once we got to Orlando we’ve became very close quickly and getting to main event with him would be incredible. It would be another incredible chapter to our story. We both kind of dove in to uncharted territories, him from Japan and me from other places. We both did well for ourselves. To get to achieve that was very special.”

You can check out the full interview here.

Possible Spoiler on the Mystery Team for WWE Battleground

As seen on Tuesday’s SmackDown Live, WWE announced that the conclusion of The Fashion Files will take place at Sunday’s WWE Battleground event.

Dave Meltzer mentioned on today’s installment of Wrestling Observer Radio that the mystery team behind the segments will possibly be revealed as Luke Harper and Eric Rowan. Meltzer mentioned that neither one of them haven’t been used on television for a while and this would be a good opportunity to bring them back.

Meltzer also said that there is always the chance that they could bring up a team from NXT such as Sanity to be revealed as the mystery team.

Global Force Wrestling Taking 10 Percent Cut of Talent’s Money

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that most of the talent that has signed with Global Force Wrestling are forced to give the company a ten percent cut of all their independent date money.

Also, talents will not receive a cut from any merchandise sold with their likenesses that is sold directly by Global Force Wrestling.

Bischoff on Wrestling LIVE Recap – Talking Smack’s Cancellation, Favourite nWo Member, Lesnar Returning to UFC? More!

On this special ‘1 Year Anniversary’ edition of the show, Bischoff and his co-host Nick Hausman go live in order to answer fan questions.

To start the show, Bischoff says he’s very grateful that Shane McMahon emerged without injury from a forced landing in a helicopter yesterday. He says he doesn’t know McMahon well, but he knows how much McMahon loves his wife and kids and he was certainly thinking about them during that situation yesterday.  In typical McMahon fashion, Shane didn’t really sell anything during his news interview, and Bischoff says that only Shane could top his Hell in the Cell leap by falling out of the sky in a helicopter.

A listener calls into the show and asks Bischoff how WWE can get back to the days when they were doing 6.0 and 7.0 ratings. Bischoff says that things have changed so much in the world of entertainment since those days, and there are so many alternative ways to consume programming these days. He doesn’t think we’ll ever see those types of numbers again, and with respect to the current television landscape, Bischoff thinks that WWE is ‘blowing it out of the water’.

Another listener calls into the show and asks Bischoff who his favourite member of the nWo was. He says that Hulk Hogan is his best friend, but he also really enjoyed Scott Hall’s performance as a member of the nWo. Hall brought a lot to that group, and then his pairing with Kevin Nash resulted in a terrific tandem. Hall and Nash’s pairing is a perfect example of 1+1=5.