Backstage Update on the Mae Young Classic

As previously noted, WWE will head to Full Sail University on July 13th and 14th to tape the Mae Young Classic. Here are some notes regarding the show, courtesy of PWInsider:

WWE has already locked in a number of talents for the tournament. There is expected to be around 32-women total.
The WWE Network will feature a preview special for the tournament on August 20th.
The first round of the tournament will be released on VOD the following week.
The second round of the tournament will release the week after that, which is the first week of September.
The finals of the live special are expected to air on Tuesday September 12th. SmackDown runs that night in Las Vegas and it’s being speculated that they could hold the finals there, instead of Orlando.

Alberto Del Rio Removed from Events Next Month

Pro Wrestling Elite announced today that Alberto El Patron will no longer be appearing on their July 21st and 22nd events. They posted the following on their Facebook page:

***BREAKING NEWS – MAJOR CHANGE TO JULY EVENTS***

It is with regret we have to inform our fans that Alberto El Patron will no longer be appearing at our 6 Year Anniversary weekend of events on Friday and Saturday the 21st and 22nd of July.

It is due to various factors that we are unable to bring you the advertised appearance and match with Alberto, and for this we are very sorry. We would like to wish Alberto El Patron well, and hope that we may be able to work with him in the future.

Please be assured we are working round the clock to bring you suitable changes to combat this disappointment and we kindly ask your patience and understanding at this time.
Thank you.

The Taz Show Recap – RAW Analysis, Heyman & Joe Steal the Show, Mae Young Classic Info, More!

Block 1:

Taz opens today’s show by saying RAW was really good last night on the whole. He says the Paul Heyman and Samoa Joe segment was fantastic and he loved a lot of the subtleties from Heyman and Joe in that promo.

When Heyman makes his way to the ring he does it nice and slowly, and he always asks the performer in the ring if he can step through the ropes before doing so because he respects the ring and the performers who stand in it. Heyman’s promos are always tremendous, but an underrated part of Heyman’s delivery is his facial expressions.

Taz says that he didn’t anticipate Joe attacking Heyman but once Heyman turned his back to Joe, Taz could see the writing on the wall. He actually anticipated Joe choking Heyman from behind because that would have been a real heel, scumbag thing to do. However, he liked what WWE chose to do by having Joe corner Heyman and threaten him while the handheld mics picked it up.

Taz thought this was very well done, and he has been asking WWE to do this type of thing for a while now. The focus should never be on the live audience, because the millions of viewers at home are the priority. For this reason, it was very cool to see Joe cut this promo right to Heyman’s face which made it more realistic, and only the fans at home knew what he was saying.

The Hardy Boyz Working Lighter Schedule

The Hardy Boyz will be working a lighter schedule over the next few weeks as Rebecca Hardy’s due date gets closer.

Rebecca is expected to give birth to her and Matt’s second child soon and he’d want to be there for that. They were off yesterday’s RAW because of it and may be absent for other events moving forward.

In regards to their rematch against Cesaro and Sheamus for the Tag-Team Titles, we haven’t heard anything yet, but we will keep you updated.

New Match Announced for Money in the Bank

WWE announced on tonight’s episode of SmackDown Live that Naomi will defend her SmackDown Women’s Championship against Lana at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view. Here is the updated card for the show:

WWE Championship
Randy Orton vs. Jinder Mahal

SmackDown Women’s Championship
Lana vs. Naomi

Money in the Bank Ladder Match
AJ Styles vs. Baron Corbin vs. Sami Zayn vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Nakamura vs. Kevin Owens

Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match
Tamina vs. Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch vs. Natalya vs. Carmella

SmackDown Tag Team Championship
The New Day vs. The Usos

Money in the Bank will take place on June 18, 2017 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri. As always, we will be providing live play-by-play coverage of the event.

WWE 205 Live Results – 6 June 2017

Welcome to the fastest hour on television, 205 Live!

Two nights ago at WWE Extreme Rules Neville battled Austin Aries in a submission match and retained his Cruiserweight Championship. That marked the third time Neville bested Aries and the end of their series. Last night on Raw, TJP asked Neville to hold his end of the bargain and give him a title shot. Neville spoke to Kurt Angle about it, then attacked TJP before telling him he had his shot.

So, on tonight’s show, TJP gets a shot at Neville’s Cruiserweight Championship in what is sure to be a great match and take up the majority of the program. We may also hear from Austin Aries, who is in need of a new direction after losing again.

Also on tonight’s show, will Akira Tozawa join The Titus Brand? And is the drama between Rich Swann and Noam Dar really finished.

The Ross Report Recap w/ John Pollock – Extreme Rules Analysis, Delivering on ‘Extreme’ Expectations, Ross to Call Samoa Joe vs. Brock Lesnar?…

Ross opens today’s show by speaking about the fact that wrestling commentary teams continue to  document the length of every Title reign. He can only assume that the higher-ups in each promotion want to have those stats discussed, but it’s starting to bother Ross because he doesn’t think it’s a necessary talking point.

He says that he was pleased to see Samoa Joe emerge victorious form the Fatal 5-way match at Extreme Rules, because he thinks a match between Joe and Brock Lesnar is a real money maker. He can’t wait to see  how WWE decides to book this program because if it’s done correctly, Ross thinks this can be a massive success for Joe, Lesnar and WWE as a whole.

Ross thought that all five men in that Fatal 5-way match came out of it stronger than they went into it. All five competitors had their chance to shine and none of them were really sacrificed to highlight another. He gives each man credit for carrying their weight Sunday night and delivering a terrific match.