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Vince Russo’s The Brand Recap – Kurt Angle Controversy, Billy Gunn Criticism, Was Shawn Michaels A Draw? More!
Russo is joined on today’s show by his co-host Jeff Lane.
Russo says he usually gives WrestleZone and WrestlingInc. a pass when he rips apart dirt sheet opinions, but this past week both of these sites published stories that they simply shouldn’t have. Nearly a decade ago Kurt Angle was involved in a very troublesome relationship, and he has spent the years since getting over that time in his life.
This past week Angle’s ex went on a Twitter rampage, bringing up things that have been buried for years, and for some reason these wrestling sites thought it was a good idea to publish stories on this. Russo thinks this was an embarrassing thing to do, and he’d love to get an explanation as to why either of these sites chose to publish those stories. By publishing these stories they’ve given this women attention, and have jeopardized Angle’s position in WWE.
Lane plays a clip of Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez from this past week, when they were discussing who Alvarez would be able to have a good match with in NJPW. Meltzer says that Tanahashi would be a good choice because he can have a good match with anyone, except for Billy Gunn evidently.
Russo says that Billy Gunn is a legend in this business, and at 53 years of age he looks better than ever. Russo says he’d love for Meltzer to run into Gunn in the street someday, because he’d run away like a scared little girl. Russo adds that Alvarez is an independent wrestler because he’s not good enough to have great matches with anybody.
Internal Concern Within WWE Over Recent Cutbacks
WWE is expected to announce their earning reports this Thursday and there is some internal concern within the company regarding those reports.
Bryan Alvarez discussed the earning reports on today’s installment of Wrestling Observer Live and mentioned that he heard that employees within the company are worried, especially with the recent cutbacks. With the decision to cut pyros from weekly programming and cutting shows with low viewership from the network, has many concerned.
Speaking of pyros, Alvarez mentioned that the company spent millions of dollars on the WrestleMania 33 set, which attributed to the company cutting the pyros. The decision to drop pyros for the time being was a cost cutting measure and Alvarez indicated that there is a chance that WWE may bring the pyros back in the future.
Brock Lesnar Not Re-Signing with WWE Next Year?
It was reported earlier today that Brock Lesnar has re-entered the USADA testing pool for MMA and he could possibly be fighting for the UFC before the year ends.
Pro Wrestling Sheet reports that Lesnar’s current deal with WWE expires shortly after WrestleMania 34 and he has made it clear to the company that he doesn’t intend to re-sign. Bryan Alvarez indicated on Wrestling Observer Live today that this is probably why Roman Reigns’ match against Lesnar is being moved up to SummerSlam instead of it taking place at WrestleMania.
The reason Lesnar has re-entered the testing pool is so that he can make the right career decision about his career move when his WWE deal runs up. Lesnar has to re-enter the testing pool and fulfill the rest of his suspension before he is allowed to fight in the UFC again.
WWE to Make Changes to 205 Live?
While talking about the cancellation of Talking Smack on Friday’s episode of Wrestling Observer Live, Bryan Alvarez indicated that the company may be making changes to some of it’s programming on the WWE Network.
It was previously reported that WWE decided to cancel Talking Smack because it wasn’t getting the viewership that the company was hoping for. Alvarez indicated that 205 Live could possibly be getting a change as well if fans don’t tune into the show. The general feeling right now is that not enough people are watching 205 Live, which could ultimately led to some changes before the year ends.
Carmella Reacts to James Ellsworth’s Suspension
As seen on Tuesday’s episode of SmackDown Live, Daniel Bryan suspended James Ellsworth for 30 days and fined him $10,000 for his involvement in the Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder matches. He also added that if he violates the terms, Carmella will be stripped of her MITB briefcase.
Carmella and Ellsworth both took to Twitter and made the following remarks in regards to the suspension:
Possible Reason Why WWE Booked A Flag Match at WWE Battleground
As seen on Tuesday’s episode of SmackDown Live, WWE announced that John Cena would face Rusev in a flag match at the upcoming WWE Battleground event. Bryan Alvarez speculated on today’s installment of Wrestling Observer Live that the reason WWE decided to have a flag match between the two was in case they decide to have Rusev win.
“The Flag match is essentially the professional wrestling version of capture the flag. For the match two flags are placed on opposite turnbuckles, each representing a specific wrestler or team of wrestlers, and the object of the match is to retrieve the opponent’s flag and raise it while defending the flag in the wrestler’s corner.”
According to the rules (seen above), the match will conclude when a specific wrestler retrieves the flag of their opponent. This means Cena doesn’t have to actually be pinned to lose the match. Historically, WWE normally has gimmick matches as a blow-off match in a feud or as an “out” for a screwy finish.
The Taz Show Recap – Smackdown Analysis, Carmella Wins Again, Where’s Tye Dillinger? More!
Taz opens today’s show speaking about last night’s episode of Smackdown Live.
He says that it was nice to see Carmella scale the ladder and claim the Money in the Bank briefcase on her own this time, but James Ellsworth found a way to get back into the building and got involved in the match again, even after being banned from the building by GM Daniel Bryan.
Taz thinks that Daniel Bryan and/or Shane McMahon need to do something to maintain their credibility moving forward, such as suspending Ellsworth for some amount of time. Bryan specifically ordered Ellsworth to stay out of the building and Ellsworth ignored him. Taz says that Bryan needs to show Ellsworth who’s boss.
He thought that Randy Orton cut a good, convincing promo last night and Mahal’s interruption was well done as well. He’s exciting to see the return of the Punjabi Prison match, but if he was WWE he wouldn’t have had Mahal talk nicely about The Great Khali. Taz says that Mahal should be a dirty, nasty heel who shouldn’t talk nicely about anyone.
Jim Ross Seriously Doubts Daniel Bryan Will Ever Wrestle Again
As noted over the weekend, Daniel Bryan teased on social media that he could possibly return to Ring of Honor and challenge Cody Rhodes for the ROH Title once his contract with WWE expires. Jim Ross took to his blog on JrsBarBq.com and made the following remarks regarding Bryan possibly returning to the ring again:
“Seems as if Daniel Bryan is having some fun trolling social media as he teases a return to the ring which I seriously doubt will or should ever happen. If his existing medical condition put DB in a higher risk category, then he needs to be the responsible husband and father and refrain from lacing up his boots again. Don’t get me wrong, if DB could safely resume his career I’d be all for it as he is one of the great talents in recent memory.”
Cody Rhodes Asked About Daniel Bryan’s Challenge
While speaking with Sports Illustrated, Cody Rhodes was asked about Daniel Bryan’s challenge to a match once his contract with WWE expires. Cody made the following remarks:
“I don’t think it was a challenge, just fun. Daniel Bryan remains one of my friends. Final Countdown would be a welcomed tune, even as a competitor. I have always looked up to Dan. It would be major, major box office for all involved.”