samoa

New Match Added to WWE SummerSlam

Bayley defeated Sasha Banks to earn a shot at the RAW Women’s Championship against Alexa Bliss at the upcoming WWE SummerSlam event.Here is the updated card:

WWE Universal Championship
Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman vs. Samoa Joe vs. Roman Reigns

RAW Women’s Championship
Alexa Bliss vs. Bayley

SmackDown Women’s Championship
Naomi vs. Natalya

WWE SummerSlam will take place on August 20, 2017, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. As always, we will have live coverage of the event.

Vince Russo’s The Brand Recap – Joe Going Off Script Against Lesnar, Cena Putting Over Styles, Samson’s Botched Guitar Shot, More!

Russo is joined on today’s show by his co-host Jeff Lane.

To open today’s show, Lane plays a clip of Dave Meltzer who’s discussing Jason Jordan’s upcoming push. Meltzer says that while having the spotlight on you is good, WWE is a tricky spot to receive a big push because if Vince McMahon decides you don’t get over during your big push, you have a black mark on you for the rest of your career.

Russo says that this can be said about any profession because if you have an opportunity at your workplace and you don’t succeed, you’re going to be taken out of that spot. Meltzer and these other dirt sheet writers mightn’t understand this because they’ve never worked in the real world. He also says that if you don’t want to have the spotlight on you in the biggest promotion in the world, you’re in the wrong business.

A clip of Wade Keller presents him discussing the Brock Lesnar/Samoa Joe angle. Keller says that Joe came off as someone that could kick Lesnar’s ass during the entire program, and we haven’t really seen that before. There were a couple times when Keller thought Joe might get in trouble, specifically when he told Lesnar to ‘look at me when I’m talking to you’, because that wasn’t scripted.

Kurt Angle Homecoming: A Touching Story About An Olympic Hero

WWE Network finally released the WWE 24 special involving Kurt Angle. I was unable to tune in last night so I watched it this afternoon, and there was no disappointment here. Goosebumps popped up on my arms and tears ran down my eyes. It was a whirlwind of emotion about the career of one of the greatest to ever lace a pair of boots. Life has came full circle for out Olympic Hero.

While watching the program, the memorable moments Kurt gave us over the years ran through my head. You all remember the milk truck correct? Or how about the Sexy Kurt song? Heck, even the miniature cowboy hat was hysterical. He was pure gold during his segments and his matches. However, Kurt’s career wasn’t all sunshine and roses.

Television has a way of portraying a normal individual as a superhero, but reality steps in and shows how destructive they really are. WWE 24 did a fabulous job of describing the demons Kurt faced throughout most of his adult life. Some of you may remember that Kurt broke his neck just weeks before Wrestlemania XIX. It was the second time he broke his neck, but the first time inside the WWE. Painkillers helped Angle battle some of the pain, but they took control of his life. He became addicted to them just like many others do. There was even an instance where Angle took around twenty-five at once and hoping he wouldn’t wake up. Angle would then go on explaining how he broke his neck again at Wrestlemania XX and eventually asking for his release just a couple of years later.

This is when the next chapter in Angle’s illustrious career takes a different path, one to the Impact Zone. Here is where Angle would put on some phenomenal matches against guys like AJ Styles and Samoa Joe. Even though Angle was in TNA, he kept hoping a certain McMahon over at WWE would see his work and realize that he was still a great wrestler. His time in TNA was longer than his time in WWE, but he always wanted to come back to his home.

Angle still battled his addiction with painkillers, and added alcohol to that addiction as well. It became so bad that his wife, Giovanna, was close to leaving him and taking the children with her. Sometimes all it takes to straighten you up is a caring woman. Angle would enter rehab and stayed thirty days before leaving and being clean. He’s been clean ever since, and you can tell it too by the way he looks and acts.

Now that Angle was clean and was a changed man, he knew the next stop in his redemption tour was the WWE.

Things started happening fast. Kurt became inducted into the Hall of Fame and now he is the Raw General Manager. Sure Angle burnt some bridges, but they always say that everyone can make their way back to the WWE. Angle is proof of that. The man made mistakes, but overcame them and is now doing much better. Will we ever see Angle compete inside a WWE ring again? Only time will tell, but rest assured that Angle is content with the role he is playing now. He has a loving wife, five beautiful children, and a job working for a man who was always like a father to him.

Life is great for Kurt Angle these days, and he has plenty more great days ahead of him.

Big Match Announced for Next Week’s RAW

Kurt Angle announced on tonight’s episode of RAW that Samoa Joe will face Roman Reigns on next week’s episode of RAW. The winner of that match will face Brock Lesnar at the upcoming WWE SummerSlam event for the Universal Championship.

As of this writing, no other matches or segments have been announced. We will keep you updated if they announce anything.

What to Expect on the July 3rd Episode of RAW

WWE heads to the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, AZ for tonight’s episode of RAW. Here are the focus point’s for the show:

How will Enzo Amore rebound?
Can The Boss knock “The Goddess” off her pedestal?
Will Roman Reigns get payback against Braun Strowman?
Samoa Joe scorches Brock Lesnar before WWE Great Balls of Fire

Check back here at 8PM ET for our live play-by-play coverage of the show.

WWE Changes Plans for SummerSlam Main Event

As previously reported, SummerSlam was expected to be headlined by Braun Strowman vs. Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Title this year. Those plans have changed and WWE has decided to go a different direction, according to the Wrestling Observer.

Dave Meltzer reported on Wrestling Observer Radio that Lesnar vs. Strowman is not the plan anymore. Meltzer mentioned that Lesnar will defend his WWE Universal Championship against Roman Reigns or Samoa Joe at SummerSlam instead of Strowman.

If WWE decides to book Reigns against Lesnar at SummerSlam, it’s expected that Roman will carry the championship all the way until WrestleMania 34, where he would then defend it against the “free agent” John Cena. This could be one of the reasons as to why Cena is now working both RAW and SmackDown Live shows.

Tyson Kidd to Receive Non-Wrestling Gig with WWE

Pro Wrestling Sheet reports that Tyson Kidd will be moved into a non-wrestling role with WWE.

According to the report, it’s too early to determine if the role will be a backstage one such as a producer or an on-air personality. Kidd has been out of action since suffering a career-ending injury during a match against Samoa Joe back in 2015.

Speaking of Kidd, he is also set to return to Total Divas next season after sitting out the previous one.

Alberto El Patron Says His Match Against Lashley Will Be A Thousand Times Better Than Lesnar vs. Joe

Alberto El Patron recently spoke with Sports Illustrated. Here are some highlights from the interview:

Match With Lashley Topping Lesnar vs. Joe: “Our match is going to be a thousand times better. I have deep respect for Brock Lesnar and Samoa Joe, and I know they’ll give the fans an amazing match, but they’ll be limited by the politics in that company. That company won’t let one of them give one-hundred percent to the audience, they’re going to hold them back. Impact Wrestling says, ‘Here is the ring, go do your thing.’”

Facing Bobby Lashley: “When you’re in the ring with Bobby, you feel it. You know you’re competing and performing with a guy that is not just a sports entertainer. He’s a real athlete and a real wrestler. When you combine two wrestlers with the same background and similar styles, you’re going to get magic. That’s what is going to happen at Slammiversary. We’re going to go the extra mile. We’re not afraid, and that’s just the way we were brought up in the business. If I punch him extra hard, and he kicks me extremely hard, then we’re OK with that–that’s part of what we want to offer to the audience.”

Calling Vince McMahon to Resign: “I was in a place where I was not happy. I was waking up every morning and really struggling to go to work. I got to the point where I asked myself if I wanted to continue in the pro wrestling business. I said to myself, ‘I’ve lost the passion and love for the business.’ But I was wrong. I never lost passion for the pro wrestling business. I lost respect for that other company. …I realized that it was not the business, it was the place where I was working. So I decided to call the one that matters in that company and said, ‘I’m sorry, sir. Thank you for the opportunity, and thank you for everything, but I’m not happy in this place and I need to move on.’ I am blessed and lucky to find a place like Impact Wrestling. They needed someone like me, and I needed a company like Impact Wrestling. It was perfect timing to start doing business together.”

Speculation on Roman Reigns’ SummerSlam Announcement

It was announced by WWE that Roman Reigns would be making a SummerSlam announcement on the upcoming episode of RAW on Monday night.

Dave Meltzer discussed this topic on today’s installment of Wrestling Observer Radio. While Meltzer couldn’t confirm exactly what the announcement is, he presented a scenario that would see Reigns challenge the winner of the Great Balls of Fire match between Brock Lesnar vs. Samoa Joe.

Meltzer would go on to speculated that somehow WWE would do an angle that would setup Reigns vs. Strowman before the SummerSlam event (possibly on RAW or Great Balls of Fire), with the winner of that match facing Lesnar. Strowman would defeat Reigns and move onto the SummerSlam match against Brock for WWE Universal Championship.

Opening for Tonight’s RAW Revealed

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?