Cody Rhodes is the new ROH Champion after last night’s Best in The World pay-per-view event. However, the Grandson of A Plumber was busted open early on into the match by his opponent, Christopher Daniels.
According to Wrestling Observer, the American Nightmare needed six stitches on his busted upper lip. A headbutt by Daniels is the cause of this minor injury.
Rusev made his return to the WWE at a SmackDown live event last night. The Bulgarian Brute took part in a Triple-threat match against Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens.
Rusev had been out with an injury ever since the Fastlane pay-per-view. He was drafted to SmackDown Live as a part of the Superstar Shake-up.
Rusev returned donning the shorter hairstyle that he used before his injury. It is safe to assume that the former 2-time US Champion will return to WWE TV at this week’s SmackDown LIVE.
Here are clips and images of his return taken by the fans in attendance:
https://twitter.com/TestSubjectB/status/878829714080579584/
According to Cageside Seats, former 2-time United States Champion Rusev is scheduled to enter into the US title picture upon his return on SmackDown Live. Rusev’s wife, Lana has already made her return and had a shot at the SmackDown Women’s Championship at Money In The Bank event.
Rusev has been out of action for some months because of an injury that required surgery. He posted a video demanding a WWE Title match at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view and the said video was also aired on the post-Superstar Shakeup episode of SmackDown Live. WWE ultimately dropped the plans for Rusev to go after the WWE Championship after they finalized long-term plans for Jinder Mahal to keep the title.
What do you think about Rusev’s future? Sound off in the comments!
TNA issued the following release regarding Lashley asking Donald Trump to be in his corner at the July 2nd Slammiversary event:
Lashley Wants President Trump In His Corner For Slammiversary on July 2
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nashville (June 23, 2017) – IMPACT Wrestling World Champion Bobby Lashley made an unprecedented Presidential appeal on Thursday morning.
Via Twitter, Lashley (@fightbobby) asked President Donald Trump to be in his corner for his title defense at Slammiversary on July 2, when Lashley puts the gold on the line against Alberto El Patron.
El Patron earlier this week announced that his father, legendary Mexican wrestler Dos Caras, will be in his corner at Slammiversary.
Lashley asked Trump to join him at Slammiversary, which will be held on pay-per-view and filmed at the backlot of Universal Studios Florida in Orlando.
“Well, it looks like I need to find a cornerman for Slammiversary? @realDonaldTrump? It won’t be the 1sttime! #reallegend,” Lashley tweeted.
IMPACT Wrestling is waiting for an answer from Trump.
IMPACT Wrestling is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment Corp.
Bully Ray was recently interviewed by USA Today’s “For The Win”. The former 9-time WWE Tag Team Champion talked about a number of topics in the session. Bully Ray had some really interesting comments about the scope of the infamous BROKEN Gimmick in the WWE.
Here’s what he said: (quote credits: USA Today)
“I think that they will get the best of both worlds. They can milk this Hardy run for every dime it’s worth and then they can evolve into a version of the Broken Universe that the WWE sees fits. WWE is not going to allow creations that got over someplace else to come in and rule their world. It’s not going to happen. It didn’t happen with the Bullet Club and it’s not going to happen with Matt Hardy’s Broken Universe. They are going to have to put their stamp of approval on it and have their creative input.”
Bully Ray is set to appear at Ring of Honour’s Best In The World Pay-per-view in the 6-Man Tag Team Championship match alongside the Briscoes against Dalton Castle and the Boys.
Daniel Bryan spoke to Fox Sports very recently. There he gave his two cents on the state of Luke Harper on SmackDown Live right now. Bryan admitted that the former Wyatt Family member is indeed being “wasted” on the blue brand.
Here are Bryan’s thoughts on Harper:
“I think that he is somebody that we can utilize better. When he left the Wyatt Family, I thought the fans were really starting to get behind him. And his match with Randy Orton, gosh, I loved his match with Randy Orton.”
The former 3-time World Champion didn’t stop singing Harper’s praise here, as he continued:
“Every time you see him, he’s dynamic. The crowd gets behind him, and then you just kind of lose him on TV, where we don’t really see him much. I think we’re really losing out on that.”
WWE announced that NXT Champion Bobby Roode will defend his title against Roderick Strong at the July 5th NXT episode. Here is the announcement:
Bobby Roode to defend NXT Championship against Roderick Strong on July 5 episode of NXT
NXT Champion Bobby Roode will defend his title in a huge head-to-head showdown against Roderick Strong on the July 5 episode of NXT.
The Glorious One’s rivalry with Strong has intensified rapidly, with tensions reaching their boiling point on June 21 when a photo shoot erupted into a brawl between Roode and Strong.
This came after the titleholder and Strong had a war of words two weeks prior on NXT. Strong bared his soul to the NXT Universe, opening up about his journey into fatherhood and his desire to become NXT Champion, only to be met with ridicule and disrespect from Roode, who verbally tore down Strong’s title aspirations.
Following their backstage photoshoot throw down, the heated foes will now settle their differences inside the squared circle with NXT’s most prized possession on the line. Don’t miss this epic NXT Title contest on Wednesday, July 5, at 8/7 C, on the award-winning WWE Network.
WWE has announced that Brock Lesnar calling out Samoa Joe will open tonight’s episode of RAW. Here is what they wrote on their preview for the event:
Will Brock Lesnar bring the pain to Samoa Joe?
You should never intentionally provoke Universal Champion Brock Lesnar, and you definitely shouldn’t put your hands on his advocate, Paul Heyman. And yet, Samoa Joe accomplished both of those feats last Monday night on Raw when, in a difficult-to-watch show of force, he viciously locked Heyman in the Coquina Clutch.
The Samoan Submission Machine’s message was received by the Universal Champion, who will respond to his No. 1 contender’s sadistic attack tonight when Raw goes on the air at 8/7 C on USA Network. The juggernauts’ Universal Title clash at the debut WWE Great Balls of Fire pay-per-view event is still weeks away, but someone’s going to get burned tonight. Will it be Joe or Lesnar?
Welcome to another edition of SmackDown Live!
Tonight we have a bonafide first-time ever match-up between two huge stars: Kevin Owens and Shinsuke Nakamura! These two men are set to lock horns in the Money In The Bank ladder match in less than two weeks but tonight they get to inflict some damage and probably have a show stealer!
Also on tonight’s show, AJ Styles will face Dolph Ziggler once again – after losing last week in what was seemingly a botched finish. Dave Meltzer predicted this match would happen again tonight, in order to give AJ a win and some momentum back. The match last week was really starting to heat-up into a great affair but it ended abruptly when Ziggler superkicked AJ in the back of the head.
The New Day jumped right into the tag team title picture upon arriving on SmackDown last week. Xavier Woods, Big E, and Kofi Kingston challenged The Usos in their first appearance on the blue brand since coming over via the Superstar Shake-up. And now a SmackDown Tag Team Championship match awaits them at the Money in the Bank PPV. I expect to finally see The New Day in tag team action tonight, but will The Uso’s play fair?
The women’s Money In The Bank ladder match is also less than two weeks away, and it’s a match that has gotten a lot of people excited. However it does seemingly leave Naomi off of a PPV, having not defended her title in a while. This could really hurt the Champion as she looks to add credibility to her reign. Rumours suggest Lana might appear soon and challenge Naomi at Money in the Bank but I don’t see this happening – why would WWE promote Lana so heavily, only to have her lose her first match and fade away? Hopefully we find out tonight if Naomi will have a role at the PPV.
And then there’s Jinder Mahal and Randy Orton. The two didn’t meet physically last week, but Orton did give a good promo and Jinder appeared on the tron afterwards to annoy him. Expect things to really heat-up tonight between these two, as WWE need to add some fuel to the fire before long. That’s the preview for tonight’s show, let us know what you’re excited to see in the comments below, check out the free Ringside News app, and enjoy the show!
Welcome to another exciting edition of Monday Night Raw!
Samoa Joe shocked the world last night at Extreme Rules when he grabbed Finn Balor in a Coquida Clutch and choked him out. Joe became the number one contender to Brock Lesnar’s Universal Championship and the Samoan Bulldozer had some words for Brock Lesnar on Raw Talk:
WWE.COM has been teasing a response from Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar tonight but I would be shocked if The Beast actually appeared. A showdown between Joe and Lesnar will be amazing, even if it is just a one-off match. Joe will also look to keep his momentum tonight with a comfortable win over some poor soul.
Two title changes also occurred at Extreme Rules last night, with The Miz winning his 7th Intercontinental Championship, and Sheamus and Cesaro regaining the Tag Team Championships from The Hardy Boyz. The Miz was able to beat Dean Ambrose, with a little cheating, to win another Intercontinental Championship and hopefully begin to restore meaning to that title again. Ambrose has been a fairly lacklustre champion every time he has held a belt, whereas The Miz thrive with a title on his shoulder. The Hardy Boyz lost their first tag match since returning last night, and thus lost their titles as well. It was a solid match and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a rematch at Great Balls of Fire.
Alexa Bliss battled Bayley in a weird match last night. I say weird because the story built around the match was that Bayley wasn’t able to get extreme, well then you would think the match would climax when Bayley finally discovered her edge. Nope, Alexa just blasted Bayley with the Kendo Stick multiple times, hit the Bliss DDT and pinned her clean. It was a really odd finish but, frankly, I’m glad to see the end of this rivalry. Nia Jax made it clear on the pre-show last night that she is next in line, no matter who the Champion is, so I would expect an altercation on tonight’s program.
Then there’s Neville, still the Cruiserweight Champion, Kurt Angle’s cryptic phone messages, and Elias Samson still singing his heart out. All that and loads more happening on tonight’s Raw. What are you excited to see? Let us know in the comments, check out the Ringside News app, and enjoy the show!
Ahead of tonight’s Extreme Rules event, WWE has announced that Kalisto will face Apollo Crews on tonight’s Kickoff Pre-show.
They wrote the following on their website regarding the bout:
Apollo Crews will look to once again represent The Titus Brand tonight when he squares off with Kalisto on WWE Extreme Rules Kickoff, streaming live on WWE Network.
In an effort to prove himself worthy of The Titus Brand, Crews faced off with The King of Flight two weeks ago in a semi-friendly match on Raw. However, when Kalisto overcame Crews, a disappointed O’Neil volunteered to show his protégé how it’s done by going one-on-one with the former United States Champion himself. O’Neil bested his masked opponent with the help of a hand full of tights, which he informed Crews was just the way to showing his man the ropes.
Can Crew make O’Neil happy by besting Kalisto? Find out on WWE Network, tonight beginning at 7 ET/ 4 PT, streaming live on the award-winning WWE Network.
Jinder Mahal recently spoke with nishant.jayaram of sportskeeda.com for an interview. Here are some highlights:
WWE’s Plans to Expand The India Market: Yes, definitely, WWE is looking to expand in India. It already has a huge presence in India. So I believe, alongside other Indian Superstars like the Singh Brothers, Akam in NXT, Lovepreet (Kishan Raftar), I think the more Indian wrestlers come, the bigger the Indian audience becomes, the bigger the WWE Universe in India becomes, which I think would be a great thing because our Indian fans are very passionate.I would love to do more live shows in India – because I know the last two shows in Delhi last year were a huge success, they were both sold out. I would love to see WWE all across India, in Punjab, Mumbai and Delhi.
How US Fans Treat Him: Actually, it’s a very unique dynamic because the American fans boo me – and sometimes in my promos, I say that America doesn’t accept diversity, which is all character stuff. But I like this unique dynamic of how Indians really like me, even American Indian fans like me. In shows here in the USA, a lot of the crowd has Indian fans who are cheering for me, but the American fans are booing for me.I think it’s very unique. It reminds me of the time of Bret Hart, who was a huge and successful star in Canada – Canadian fans would cheer him, but when he was wrestling in the USA, they would (fans) boo him out of the building. I think it is a very similar situation.
New Finishing Move The Khallas: To be a WWE Superstar you’ve to constantly be evolving and improving. I study a lot of tapes, I watch a lot of old wrestling matches and see moves that work and moves that don’t work. I watch guys that are similar to my size, frame and body shape and the moves they do. Because it’s pointless for me to watch high-flying moves or guys that weigh 300+ pound power moves. I’m a unique blend of speed, size and light – I’m only 230 pounds but I’m very strong. I watch guys who are similar to my body type and see what kind of moves they do, and see what works and doesn’t, and based of that I try new stuff on live events. So, if they’re not successful I can scrap it and take it out of my repertoire.
The Success of 3MB: We’re proof – me, Heath and Drew (former members of 3MB) – are proof that anything is possible, it doesn’t matter where you are on the card. You could be the opening match, it is possible to get to the top of the card, through hard work. WWE is great, it gives people opportunities who deserve opportunities, Vince rewards hard work, WWE rewards hard work, so it motivates the rest of the locker room – they’ve seen me go from the bottom of the card to the top.
Dream Opponent: I think my dream opponent is Brock Lesnar. Imagine that match – Champion vs Champion, WWE Champion vs Universal Champion. He is my dream opponent because if I can knock off Brock Lesnar that would truly solidify me… I’m the best and let the world know that the WWE Champion is better than Universal Champion.