Slammiversary Spoilers: Paige & Others Backstage, New Title Belts, More

Here are a couple of spoilers for tonight’s GFW Slammiversary event, courtesy of PWInsider:

The company has ordered all new championship title belts for after they hold the unification matches tonight.
Gail Kim, who is expected to return to storylines, is backstage for the show.
Eddie Kingston and “Mr. 450” John Jesús Yurnet are backstage.
Paige is also backstage to support Alberto El Patron.

Check back here at 8PM ET for our live coverage of Slammiversary.

Famous Rapper to Appear at SmackDown Live Next Week

As reported earlier, next week’s SmackDown Live episode will see the Team of New Day going up against The Usos in a rap battle. However, it seems like WWE has decided to bring in a professional rapper in that angle.

Longtime hardcore wrestling fan and successful rapper, Wale took to Twitter to ask his fans to check him out next week on SmackDown Live. Here’s what he said:

CM Punk Allegedly Consumed Alcohol

Bruce Prichard made the following remarks on his latest podcast installment about the time CM Punk consumed alcohol despite lving a “straight edge” lifestyle:

“I looked at him and said, ‘so you don’t drink, you don’t do drugs, you don’t do anything?’ [CM Punk] says ‘no, but I’m not a prude either.’ I said: ‘okay, explain that.’ So he explained that he really didn’t want to judge others that did choose that lifestyle and this is what got him over with me automatically. He was in Kansas City or St. Louis or somewhere and it was Harley Race’s birthday and he was in a camp; Harley’s camp and they were out at a restaurant bar type thing and they wanted to do. Everybody got shots for Harley’s birthday. Now Punk doesn’t drink, don’t do drugs, but he took a shot out of respect for Harley Race.”

“And he goes, ‘you know, Harley asked me to do it, one shot’s not gonna kill me. I’m not gonna go get hammered, I took a shot out of respect for Harley Race and for whatever reason I just thought that was cool. That just kinda showed the love and passion he had for the business and respect for the old-timers. He didn’t have to and it would have been fine.”

Click here for the full podcast.

Speculation on Nakamura vs. AJ Styles at SummerSlam

After their teased angle during the Money in the Bank ladder match a couple weeks back, it’s being speculated that Nakamura will face AJ Styles at this year’s SummerSlam event. Bryan Alvarez discussed the possibilities of this match taking place when a listener called in asking about it going down.

Alvarez said, “I think that is the match. I would say with some degree of confidence that you’re gonna see Styles and Nakamura against each other at SummerSlam. That was the whole idea behind the tease they did at the Money In The Bank show.”

Other matches rumored for the event include Cena vs. Jinder Mahal and Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns. We will keep you updated if we hear of any other matches that are expected to be added to the card.

Rumored Ring of Honor Talents that May Be Headed to WWE

The following names are now free agents after their contracts with Ring of Honor have expired and could be on their way to WWE in the near future:

Kyle O’Reilly
Adam Cole
Hanson Rowe
Raymond Rowe

The belief is that any of these guys could end up in WWE, presumably the NXT brand. We will keep you updated if we hear anything regarding their status.

Chris Jericho Says Recent WWE Run Was A “Last Hurrah”

WWE.com spoke with Chris Jericho about his 50th trip to Japan and mentioned that it feels like a “second home” for him whenever he comes back. Jericho said he’s been going to Japan since the age of 19.

What was most notable about the interview was when Jericho started talking about what’s next for him. Jericho indicated that this trip to Japan was his “last hurrah” for his run with the WWE for the time being. He said he wanted to go out on a high note and is now ready to work on more on his music.

You can check out Jericho’s comments below:

The Brand Split Not to Affect House Shows?

It’s being speculated that the Brand Split won’t be an issue for Superstars appearing at house shows of the opposite brand.

Incidents like Seth Rollins’s appearing at SmackDown Live house show and Brock Lesnar’s upcoming matches with Baron Corbin are just a start and that such instances. It’s expected that it will happen more and more in the future.

However, this will only be limited to the House Shows and won’t affect the weekly television in any way.

Bobby Lashley Reveals What He Felt Like When He First Arrived In TNA

ESPN recently interviewed TNA wrestler Bobby Lashley. Lashley spoke about a variety of topics during his time with them.

The former WWE Intercontinental Champion revealed in this interview, his exact feelings when he first arrived in TNA after having a successful run with the WWE. Here’s what the TNA World Champion said:

“When I came over from the WWE, I didn’t know what to think. Wrestling is wrestling. WWE is the flagship program, of course. But there’s just so much incredible talent [here]. …When I came over and worked with Bobby Roode, we did two matches together, I thought he was amazing. Amazing. The guy is really good. Bobby Roode is born to be their star. And I’m glad they found something with him. That ‘Glorious’ thing is pretty nice.”

You can check out the full interview here.

Kurt Angle Says WWE Hasn’t Tested Him Yet for In-Ring Return

While speaking with ChannelGuideMag, Kurt Angle revealed that he has’t had any medical evaluations for a WWE in-ring return yet. He also revealed which WWE Superstars he’d like to face if he does get the opportunity to compete again.

“If that occurs, there is a lot of talent. There is talent I would like to revisit again like Brock Lesnar, John Cena, Randy Orton, Triple H, definitely. When I wrestled Triple H last time I had just started. I didn’t consider myself very good back then. So I think we would have a much, much better match right now. I’d love to get Samoa Joe or AJ Styles in a WWE ring. Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Cesaro, Sheamus. Even some of the 205 guys like Austin Aries and Neville. There is a lot of great talent right now. I would love to be able to mix it up with them. Hopefully, eventually it will happen down the line.”

As previously noted, Angle’s on-going storyline with Corey Graves is rumored to lead to Stephanie McMahon’s return to WWE television. This is expected to ultimately lead to a match between Angle and Triple H at WrestleMania.