matches

Huge Match Set for SmackDown Live Next Week

Daniel Bryan announced on tonight’s episode of SmackDown Live that John Cena will face Nakamura on next week’s show. The winner of that match will be the #1 contender for the WWE Championship and will face Jinder Mahal for the title at SummerSlam.

As of this writing, no other matches or segments have been announced for next week’s show but we will keep you updated.

WWE Battleground Results – 23 July 2017

Welcome to WWE Battleground 2017!

The Punjabi Prison makes a (hopefully) triumphant return after a decade in a match that sees Randy Orton get one more shot at regaining the WWE Championship from Jinder Mahal. It’s no secret that the Punjabi Prison hasn’t had a good track record in WWE, particularly because it’s a weird match with silly rules, but tonight’s definitely has the chance to be the best ever! We’re hoping a decade will allow Randy and Jinder to learn from the mistakes of those before and build a pretty decent match. If nothing else the Prison is always a spectacle.

Also on tonight’s show, John Cena makes his triumphant return to the ring to face Rusev in a Flag Match. This match doesn’t feel all that important because we’ve seen this feud before and because flag matches are generally silly. Regardless, John Cena wrestling is always worth checking out because he’s become an attraction in WWE and here’s hoping his current run will last a while. Rusev’s return has been a very long time coming and fans were hoping that he would be given a strong run upon return and maybe that will be the case if he can eek a win tonight!

There’s a small truth in the women’s division that few people want to acknowledge: Naomi hasn’t had a real contender since winning the title at WrestleMania. Other than fighting Lana on a weekly basis, Naomi’s title run has been marred by a lack of competition. This has happened because the SmackDown ladies have been embroiled in a multi-woman feud for months and months. Tonight the company aims to end this long-running battle royal with a five-way match with the winner becoming the number one contender to Naomi. I don’t think there is a clear winner for this match because the two strongest challengers, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair, are both babyfaces. The idea of Lana winning is painfully possible.

Also on tonight’s card, Shinsuke Nakamura takes on Baron Corbin, Sami Zayn looks for revenge against Mike Kanellis, The New Day get another shot at The Uso’s Tag Team Championships, and Kevin Owens will look to regain his US Championship from AJ Styles! Tonight’s Battleground is a pretty stacked card with some crazy match stipulations and it all starts with Tye Dillinger Vs. Aiden English on the Kick-Off Show at 7pm EST. And don’t forget, you can watch Talking Smack after Battleground! Download the free Ringside News app for all your wrasslin’ news, and the Ringside Talk app to join your fellow marks in conversing about the show. Enjoy!

WWE SmackDown Live Results – July 18 2017

Welcome to our SmackDown Live results, less than a week away from WWE Battleground!

WWE Champion Jinder Mahal brings the Punjabi Prison structure to SmackDown Live! It’s been a decade since we’ve had a Punjabi Prison match in WWE, so I’m curious to see if the structure itself will have changed at all. It’s unclear what Mahal will do with the Prison but Randy Orton is scheduled to return on tonight’s SmackDown!

The main event for tonight’s SmackDown Live gives us a preview to two of Battleground’s biggest matches as AJ Styles teams with Shinsuke Nakamura to face Kevin Owens and Baron Corbin. SmackDown Live has unfortunately been featuring quite a few tag matches recently, which always feels like lazy booking, but I expect these four guys to put on a heck of a match. Sparks should fly between the combatants as Owens faces Styles for the US Championship in less than a week, and Corbin also faces Nakamura at the PPV.

We get a big in-ring debut on tonight’s SmackDown Live, which sees Mike Kanellis take on Sami Zayn. For weeks Sami has unintentionally crashed the romance between Mike and Maria Kanellis, which led to Mike finally bursting last week and smashing a glass over Sami’s head. I figured this match would be kept until Battleground but we’re getting it tonight, which will probably end in a no contest or some form of screwy finish that leads to a Battleground rematch.

And finally, The Fashion Police will take one step closer to finding out who was behind their attacks, and John Cena is set for a sit-down interview ahead of his Flag Match with Rusev! Are you excited for the show? Let us know on the free Ringside News and Ringside Talk apps, and enjoy the show!

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.

Two Possible Matches for WWE Battleground

Dave Meltzer discussed the upcoming WWE Backlash event on today’s installment of Wrestling Observer Radio. As of this writing there are only two matches confirmed for the show. Those matches are Jinder Mahal defending his WWE World Title against Randy Orton in a Punjabi Prison match and The Usos defending their tag team championships against The New Day.

Meltzer revealed that two other matches that will take place on the card. Those matches are:

Sami Zayn vs. Mike Kanellis
Nakamura vs. Baron Corbin

WWE Battleground takes place on July 23rd from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. As always, we will be providing live play-by-play coverage of the event.

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.

Conversation with the Big Guy Recap – Carmella’s MITB Win, Lesnar vs. Samoa Joe, Brainstorming PPV Name Ideas, More!

Ryback is joined on today’s show by his co-host Pat Buck.

Ryback opens today’s show speaking about the finish of the Women’s Money in the Bank ladder match from last Sunday. There has been plenty of fan backlash since James Ellsworth scaled the ladder and retrieved the briefcase for Carmella, but Ryback believes that means the finish was a success.

He believes that people need to realize that this is a fake scenario, and the events that transpire in the ring are meant to elicit a response from viewers, whether they be positive or negative. With this in mind, WWE succeeded last Sunday because the finish of this match has been a hot topic of discussion ever since.

Buck believes that the Women’s Money in the Bank ladder match should have went on later in the show instead of going first. WWE could have taken advantage of the crowd’s energy early on by having a less impactful match go on first, which would have saved the historic women’s match for later on in the show. Ryback points out that WWE needed to separate those two main event ladder matches, so that’s probably why they started the night with the women’s match and closed the night with the men’s match.

Buck also points out that this finish made James Ellsworth relevant again. It looked to be fairly certain that Ellsworth’s WWE contract wouldn’t be renewed after his one year deal was up, but now WWE creative has some options with Ellsworth moving forward. They might be able to stretch this angle out long enough to secure another contract for Ellsworth.

Quite simply, Ryback calls the finish of that match ‘perfect’.

Vince Russo’s The Brand Recap – RAW Analysis, Jobbers in Bear Suits, Cass & Enzo Split, More!

Russo is joined on today’s show by his co-host Jeff Lane and Rue from ‘Rue TV’.

Russo opens today’s show by informing that Bruce Prichard has denied his invitation to appear on this show. He now lumps Prichard in the same category as Jim Cornette and Eric Bischoff, of people who love to talk crap behind his back but refuse to discuss it with him in person.

Rue asks Russo about his connection to Bruce Prichard’s arrival in TNA years ago. Russo says he doesn’t like to talk about this much, but he played an instrumental part in bringing Prichard into TNA. Prichard was released from WWE because he and Stephanie McMahon didn’t see eye to eye, but Prichard had two small children and his wife was sick at the time, so Russo went to work and found a position for him in TNA.

Russo informs that Wade Keller appears to be getting his own podcast on PodcastOne in the near future, and someone has already reached out to him about being a guest on that show. Russo said he’d absolutely appear on that show as a guest because he has no issue debating their opposing wrestling philosophies, even though they’ve had their differences in the past. Russo is interested to see whether Keller actually agrees to have him on as a guest.

Stipulation Added to Next Week’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match

Daniel Bryan announced on tonight’s Talking Smack that James Ellsworth will be banned from ringside from the Women’s Money in the Bank ladder match on next week’s episode of SmackDown Live.

As noted, the following is confirmed for next week’s show:

Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match – James Ellsworth Banned from ringside
SmackDown Women’s Championship: Lana vs. Naomi
Sami Zayn vs. Baron Corbin
The Hype Bros vs. The Usos

WWE Money in the Bank Results – June 18, 2017

Welcome to the SmackDown-branded, Money in the Bank 2017 results!

Tonight’s PPV is an historic one because it will host the first-ever women’s Money in the Bank ladder match! The monumental match-up features Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Tamina Snuka, Carmella, and Natalya, all vying to climb the ladder and grab the contract hanging above the ring, becoming the first-ever winner in the process. Whoever wins the briefcase will get an instant title shot against the Champion.

Currently the Women’s Champion is Naomi but tonight she faces a mysterious challenger in the form of Lana. A lot of controversy has surrounded Lana’s instant push to the stars and seemingly unearned title shot – considering she has only wrestled one televised match and that was at WrestleMania 32. Lana appeased some concerns on SmackDown Live this week when she hit an impressive sit-out powerbomb, and it’s worth mentioning that the ravishing Russian has been wrestling on live events for over a year. So, do you think Naomi can retain against the unproven but unpredictable challenger? And who will win the Money in the Bank to challenge the Champion? Let us know in the comments!

Of course, there’s a second ladder match on tonight’s show, featuring six men who are willing to go through hell for a contract. AJ Styles, Kevin Owens, Dolph Ziggler, Shinsuke Nakamura, Baron Corbin and Sami Zayn, will battle it out tonight in one of the hardest-hitting matches in all of wrestling. Any one of these men could realistically walk out with the briefcase but Nakamura was the one left holding in on SmackDown Live this past week. Baron Corbin seems the most obvious winner but it would be great to see AJ Styles or Sami Zayn grab the briefcase and go on to cash it in for a blockbuster match, rather than when a Champion is down and hurt. John Cena did this against CM Punk in 2012, on the Raw 1000 main event, and he failed but it made for a more monumental cash-in than the typical opportunistic approach. Just some food for thought, let us know who you’d like to see walk out with the briefcase!

Hometown boy Randy Orton has a huge match tonight as he challenges the WWE Champion, Jinder Mahal! Orton and the modern-day Maharaja have been going back and forth for months now, with Jinder usually getting the upper-hand due to the numbers game. The Singh Brothers could also play a huge role in tonight’s title match but Orton will look to nullify their presence, perhaps by taking them out before or during the match, allowing him to take-on the lesser-talented Jinder one-on-one!

Elsewhere on tonight’s show, The Uso’s defend their Tag Team Championship’s against The New Day, and The Hype Bro’s face The Colon’s on the pre-show. It’s a fairly small card tonight, although that means the ladder matches will probably get plenty of time to breathe. I wouldn’t be surprised to see an episode of The Fashion Files also. Let us know all your thoughts in the comments, and be sure to check out the Ringside News app and enjoy the show!