News

Vince McMahon is Reportedly Very High On This Talent

September 11, 2018 • Admin

That’s quite the spot to be in. One of the most entertaining things to do in WWE is seeing which talent will be brought up from NXT to the main roster. You can often guess who it’s going to be, though every now and then there might be a surprise. This spring we saw a pair of talents being brought up from NXT and they’ve certainly hit the ground running. It turns out that someone has been impressed. According to Fightful, Vince McMahon is very impressed by Andrade Cien Almas and Zelina Vega, especially due to Almas’ work with Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles in recent weeks. Almas was brought up with no particular plan but McMahon being impressed with Almas’ main event matches would suggest that he will be wrestling near the top of the card going forward as well. Maybe this got McMahon’s attention. [This post contains video, click to play] Opinion: Good for Almas. The guy has come off like a complete star in the last few weeks and hopefully that trend continues. Almas came into the devel..

Video: Top Ten Entrance Ramp Ambushes

September 10, 2018 • Admin

That’s one way of getting them. With most of the action on a wrestling show taking place in the arena, there aren’t a lot of places to get things done. Of course there’s the ring itself and various backstage places, but what if you want to mix things up just a little bit? There aren’t many other options available, but the entrance ramp is pretty ideal for a surprise attack, and it’s happened several times over the years. Make sure to shut the curtain behind you. [This post contains video, click to play] WWE has released a new Top Ten video looking at Ten Entrance Ramp Ambushes. The video is exactly what it sounds like, with wrestlers being jumped as they make their entrance down the ramp. These range back a long time over the years, with some of them going all the way back to the famed Attitude Era and coming all the way forward to earlier this month for some modern flavor. One of the most recent entries took place last week. Check out the details here. Opinion: These things almo..

Permanent Changes Made To The Monday Night Raw Announcers’ Team

September 10, 2018 • Admin

It’s about time. Monday Night Raw has been on the air for going on twenty six years now and has seen a lot of different broadcast combinations in that time. There have been several people behind the microphone over the years but they’ve all had one thing in common: they’ve all been men. With the Women’s Revolution in full swing though, it’s time that someone breaks that barrier. As announced on WWE.com, Renee Young is now a full time member of the Monday Night Raw announce team, replacing the departing Jonathan Coachman. Young have performed in the role in a guest capacity a few times but this will be the first permanent move. Coachman has occasionally had to miss the show due to commitments to the Golf Channel and will continue to work on the pay per view Kickoff Shows. It was a big deal in the first place. [This post contains video, click to play] Opinion: That’s very cool to see. Young is rather good in the role as she’s witty, charming and smart, offering a different perspecti..

Mae Young Classic Results – September 5, 2018

September 9, 2018 • Admin

Mae Young Classic Date: September 5, 2018 Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida Commentators: Michael Cole, Beth Phoenix, Renee Young Well it worked the first time. This is the first episode of the second edition of the tournament and this year’s version is being shown a little differently. Instead of having big batches of four episodes at a time, it’s a weekly show every Wednesday after NXT, which is probably a better idea. I’ve done my best to avoid spoilers here so let’s get to it. All matches are first round matches. We open with a look at last week’s tournament, with Kairi Sane defeating Shayna Baszler in the finals. Various women talk about how important it is to win the second tournament. Opening sequence. The announcers welcome us to the show. Zatara is a masked wrestler from Chile. She wants to show the world how great her country can be and says she’s smart. Tegan Nox (better known as Nixon Newell) is from Wales and is influenced by Molly Holly, who did ..

Video: Top Five Monday Night Raw Tag Team Title Changes

September 9, 2018 • Admin

Remember this one? There have been a lot of Tag Team Titles in the history of WWE. There are currently two sets of titles in the company and that’s not even counting down in NXT. With the first Tag Team Titles being introduced all the way back in 1971, there have been several title reigns, meaning a lot of title changes. Some of those have taken place on Monday Night Raw and that’s where WWE wants to go. That’s awfully specific. [This post contains video, click to play] On their Instagram page, WWE has posted a video looking at the top five Tag Team Title changes to take place on Monday Night Raw, likely inspired by Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre winning the Tag Team Titles earlier this week. The first Tag Team Title change on Monday Night Raw took place in September 1993 when the Quebecers defeated the Steiner Brothers. Opinion: Those are some pretty specific title changes and I’m really not sure where some of the other ones are. I mean, nothing from the 1990s? All of the picks b..

Major League Wrestling Fusion Results – September 7, 2018

September 9, 2018 • Admin

Fusion #21 Date: September 7, 2018 Location: Melrose Ballroom, New York City, New York Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Matt Striker It’s time for another big tag match with the Lucha Bros defending against Drago and Rey Horus as Lucha Underground continues to take over the wrestling world. Other than that it’s time for the fallout from WarGames, which should be airing sometime soon. They’re getting the schedule down at least and that’s a good sign. Let’s get to it. Here are last week’s results if you need a recap. We open with a video on Pentagon Jr. and Fenix winning and defending the Tag Team Titles. They’ve also gotten on Salina de la Renta’s bad side, which is never a smart move. Opening sequence. Matt Striker runs down the show. Richard Holiday vs. Fred Yehi Holiday was on some of the standalone shows that aired before Fusion debuted and describes himself as the Most Marketable. Yehi takes him down without much effort as Striker talks about Yehi going to German on an excursion..

Video: Update On Seth Rollins’ Injury, Is He Back In The Ring Yet?

September 9, 2018 • Admin

Nothing about this sounds good. Earlier this week on Monday Night Raw, Seth Rollins was thrown off of the stage and went arm first into the window of a police van (check out the video here). The arm went through the glass and Rollins was cut open very badly, leaving a pool of blood underneath Rollins. The immediate questions was how bad the injury might be, and a few days later, we have an update. According to Wrestlinginc.com, Rollins did not wrestle at Friday’s house show in Birmingham, Alabama but did appear at the end of the show to help Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose powerbomb Dolph Ziggler through a table. The table however didn’t break and Ziggler bounced off of it instead. Reigns got another table for another TripleBomb, though it wasn’t clear if that one broke either in the following video: [This post contains video, click to play] WWE has yet to comments on Rollins’ status. Opinion: The fact that Rollins is being allowed to get physical is a good sign. I have no idea how b..

Video: Top Ten Shocking Home Invasions

September 8, 2018 • Admin

Anybody home? Most of what happens on a wrestling show takes place inside the arena. That makes for a pretty simple formula but at the same time, it puts a firm limit on what can happen. You can only feature so many things inside an arena, where there aren’t a bunch of options for locations. That’s why it makes sense to take things outside of the arena, and what better place to go than someone’s home? And stay out. [This post contains video, click to play] WWE has posted a video of the Top Ten Shocking Home Invasions, looking at ten instances where someone took a fight to someone else’s home. These entries range throughout history, dating back from the late 1990s all the way to modern times, ranging over a variety of companies. Most of these involve a fight breaking out, but several of them are just someone showing up at a house and scaring someone. Opinion: I wasn’t expecting much from this list but it turned out to be something pretty fun. This is an idea that works a lot more o..

Does Braun Strowman Really Have a Chance to Beat Roman Reigns at WWE ‘Hell in a Cell’?

September 8, 2018 • Admin

Braun Strowman will challenge Roman Reigns for the WWE Universal Championship at Hell in a Cell on Sunday, September 16. The Monster Among Men is hot off the heels of his recent heel turn against The Big Dog and now the two men will wage war for Monday Night Raw’s top prize. But what kind of shot does Strowman really have? From the moment Braun went heel, many WWE fans immediately said that he simply had no chance against Roman. WWE supposedly wants to give Reigns a lengthly title run. If that is indeed the case, then anyone that faces him in the near future probably has very little chance of taking the belt. That includes Strowman, who has really never looked better in his WWE career. But is he merely just a contender? Why did WWE do all of the work to get him over as main event material only to keep the championship from him? If the point was to prepare him and test him for a top spot, then WWE must consider it as mission accomplished. Braun has more than earned his spot in WWE. Ho..

Rumor: WWE Wants The Rock Back And Has A Specific Plan In Mind For Him

September 8, 2018 • Admin

Rock on a roll? It’s safe to say that the Rock is one of the biggest stars in all of entertainment with wrestling just being a small part of the deal. However, wrestling was where the whole thing started. There are some long periods where Rock isn’t around, but every now and then he’ll pop up again. The idea of him wrestling seems like a lost cause, but that’s never stopped WWE before. According to Joe Peisich on the Barn Burner Fired Up podcast, WWE is trying to have The Rock appear on three major shows in the upcoming months. The plan would be for Rock to appear at the 1000th episode of SmackDown Live on October 16, the Royal Rumble and then WrestleMania 35 in April. Rock last wrestled for the company at WrestleMania 32 in a six second win over Erick Rowan. There is no word on Rock’s level of interest or availability in a WWE return. Remember this one? [This post contains video, click to play] Opinion: Well, it would be a huge deal and there have been rumors over the last few mo..

Big Cass On What He’s Been Doing Since Being Released And Who He Still Talks To In WWE

September 8, 2018 • Admin

Why yes, he does still have a lot to say. Earlier this year, Big Cass was released from WWE in what was probably a bit of a surprise. He had only been been back on the active roster for a few weeks after returning from his torn ACL and just like that he was gone. Even though he’s out of the company, he’s not away from wrestling entirely and that means he has some thoughts on the business. Cass recently appeared on Booker T.’s Heated Conversations podcast and talked about his time away from the WWE. When asked about how much he still follows WWE since his released on June 19, he said that he hasn’t watched WWE whatsoever, to the point where he doesn’t even know who the current champions are. He also mentioned that he still keeps in touch with some of the company’s current stars, who have given him some advice. Here are some highlights, with transcription courtesy of Wrestlinginc.com: On How Far He Is Removed From WWE “One-hundred percent. I haven’t watched SmackDown, Raw, PPV, I haven..

Rumor: Will WWE Be Holding Future Evolution Events?

September 8, 2018 • Admin

Evolution stage two? Earlier this year, WWE announced the first ever all women’s pay per view event, called Evolution. This marks another major step in the Women’s Revolution, which has been going on for just over the last three years. That’s a long time in the wrestling world, and it turns out that there might be several more years left in the movement still. According to Joe Peisich on the Barnburner Fired Up podcast by way of Ringsidenews.com, WWE is already making plans for future editions of Evolution, meaning that this year’s show won’t be a one off event. The show, which will be taking place on October 28, will be featuring every WWE Women’s Title as well as the finals of the Mae Young Classic and a few past vs. present dream matches. At the moment, only a few matches have been confirmed as the title matches have yet to be announced. The announcement alone is worth another look. [This post contains video, click to play] Opinion: I can’t say I’m surprised by this as WWE cert..

New Book: KB’s Complete 2003 SmackDown Reviews

September 7, 2018 • Admin

You have to grow up sometime. Back in 2002, WWE had the greatest influx of talent the company has ever seen. New stars of the future debuted and were mixed together with some of the already established talents, meaning it was time for things to start picking up. You can’t go from rookie to main eventer overnight though, meaning there had to be a time when the new stars grew up. That’s what happened in 2003 and it was a very exciting time. In this book, I’ll be looking at all fifty two episodes of Smackdown from 2003 as I try to find out what worked and didn’t over the course of the entire year. Each one will be broken down match by match and segment by segment. Included will be analysis and ratings for the shows to see why the year is remembered so poorly. The book runs about 320 pages and is available on Amazon both in a physical paperback for $9.99 or an e-book format for $2.99. In case you don’t have a Kindle, there are plenty of FREE apps you can get from Amazon for pretty much a..

He Only Has Five Of Them: Six Superstars Who Have Stolen Moves From John Cena

September 7, 2018 • Admin

Though he did add another one recently. John Cena is an institution in WWE, having debuted sixteen and a half years ago and becoming one of the biggest stars the company has ever seen in the process. As is the case with any big name star, he’s going to have a series of moves that he uses more than any others and a list of opponents that he faces more than anyone else. Now what happens when those begin to mix? Hey come back here with that. [This post contains video, click to play] WWE has posted a new video looking at 6 Superstars Who Stole John Cena’s Moves. The list is exactly what it sounds like, with a variety of people copying the moves against Cena. In this case the entries are much more recent than most and every one of them is someone using either the Attitude Adjustment or STF. One entry, which happens to be the most recent, is a bit of cheating though. Opinion: What does it say that Cena has so many people stealing his moves but they only steal two of them? And the AJ Sty..

Main Event Results – September 6, 2018

September 7, 2018 • Admin

Main Event Date: September 6, 2018 Location: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio Commentators: Vic Joseph, Percy Watson, Nigel McGuinness The march towards three different pay per views continues and that could mean a variety of things. Well actually it means we get what we already know we’re getting, because this show is a collection of highlights. Monday’s show was pretty dreadful while Tuesday’s was a lot of fun so let’s get to it. Here are last week’s results if you need a recap. Opening sequence. Tyler Breeze vs. Mike Kanellis Mike kicks him down early on and goes up top, only to get small packaged for two. Some stomping has Breeze in trouble and it’s time to work on the knee. A half crab (with some yelling at the fans) keeps Breeze down but a superkick gives him two. Breeze actually rolls him up into a half crab of his own but gets catapulted into the corner. Kanellis grabs a rollup, only to be reversed into another one to give Breeze the pin at 4:50. Result: Tyler Breeze b. Mi..

Update on Seth Rollins’ Potential Injury; How Serious Is It?

September 7, 2018 • Admin

It had been previously reported that Seth Rollins may have suffered an injury this past week on Raw, as his arm was bloody after being thrown into an ambulance during the final segment of the show. When he made contact with the vehicle, a glass window broke, causing the cut. Will this cause him to miss any time? According to the latest episode of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Rollins has been cleared to appear at this weekend’s house shows, so it would appear that the injuries weren’t serious. You can see a clip of the final segment of Raw below: [This post contains video, click to play] Although he is the current Intercontinental Champion, it is unknown what his role will be at Hell In A Cell at this time. Editor’s Opinion: This is VERY good news. As soon as I saw that the window broke, my first thought was that it was unintentional and could be extremely problematic. Rollins is doing some incredible things right now and having him out due to injury would be very problema..

Update On Toni Storm Injury; Will She Miss Any Time? (Includes Spoilers)

September 7, 2018 • Admin

It sounds like everything will be OK, which is a VERY good thing. Toni Storm, who is currently participating in the 2018 Mae Young Classic, was recently injured while competing at a recent set of NXT U.K. tapings. She made to the finals of the tournament to crown a new Women’s Champion, but was injured during her match with Rhea Ripley, who ended up winning the tournament. The “X” was thrown up and Storm was helped to the back. According to the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Storm has a spinal injury. However, the belief is that it’s not serious, and will not be missing much time. She is currently scheduled to compete against Io Shirai in the finals of the 2018 Mae Young Classic; you can find the spoilers here. [This post contains video, click to play] Editor’s Opinion: This is certainly good news. Storm is one of the most well-known names in the “non-WWE” female wrestling circuit, and she deserves the opportunity to compete against some of the best of the wor..

Attendance, Revenue Figures For All In Pay-Per-View, Other Facts

September 7, 2018 • Admin

The recent All In pay-per-view, put on by Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks, is being praised for its outstanding matches and excellent marketing. But how did the event do from a numbers standpoint? The most recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter provides some insight. Total attendance at the show was 11,263, which was the maximum amount that the fire department would allow. That figure is a combination of the 10,541 tickets sold in the first 30 minutes back in May, any late production seats that were opened up, as well as people in the suites. The suites were packed and the building was 100% used. [This post contains video, click to play] The live gate drew $458,525. While final merchandise numbers are not available, every item that they had sold out and the official All In shirt, sold out at 3:30 p.m., 90 minutes before the show started and 30 minutes after the doors opened. FITE TV grossed more than $1 million between iPPV sales and Starrcast iPPV sales. That would ..

The Rock at the Verge of a WWE Return

September 3, 2018 • Admin

Rumours circling round counsel that former WWE champion The Rock is ready to go back to the WWE. According to a number of assets, The Rock has earmarked 2019’s ...

Backstage News On Why WWE Refused To Release Neville

September 3, 2018 • Admin

Breaking orbit and precedence. One of the more interesting sagas of the year in WWE has been Neville’s contract status. He walked out on the promotion late last year and hasn’t made an appearance ever since. Last week it was reported that Neville had been released, which makes you wonder why it took him so long to be released from the company. It turns out there is a pretty simple reason. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Neville’s contract was frozen for the sake of not allowing a precedent to be set of people walking out and then being released from their contract, allowing them to wrestle anywhere. Neville was rumored to be going to New Japan Pro Wrestling when he originally walked out, though there is no word on if there is any interest from New Japan. Neville is now allowed to wrestle anywhere he likes. Here’s one of Neville’s final appearances, when he was still awesome. [This post contains video, click to play] Opinion: I understand why this is the case but it..