Former Impact talent Gunner made his debut at the NXT Live Event in St. Petersburg, FL tonight. Here are photos of his new look:
Gunner left Impact Wrestling back in 2015 and he was considering retiring from the business. Plans changed and rumors of him signing with the company date back to a couple months ago.
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.
It was reported over the weekend that Alberto Del Rio dumped Paige over after the two had another argument. After these reports surfaced online, Paige took to her Twitter account to debunk those reports.
Del Rio also sent out a message but deleted it on Twitter. It read:
OK MARKS LEAVE US ALONE
INTERNET SHIT IS INTERNET SHIT WE ARE PERFECT AS ALWAYS
Dave Meltzer discussed this topic on today’s installment of Wrestling Observer Radio. Meltzer mentioned that he has spoke to people close to the situation and he can confirm that as of yesterday that the two are not together.
As many of you are aware, John Cena will be making his return to WWE programming on the July 4th episode of SmackDown Live. WWE has been hyping his return for around a month now, however it’s unknown exactly who he will be feuding with upon his return.
Dave Meltzer speculated on today’s installment of Wrestling Observer Radio that once Cena returns to television, he will enter into a feud with the returning Rusev. Meltzer attributes this speculation to the company not having anyone available for either individual to work with. This feud would eventually leave to a blowoff match at either WWE Battleground or SummerSlam. Meltzer didn’t specify which event.
X-Pac opens today’s show speaking about Cody Rhodes’ recent ROH World Title victory. He says that he’s very proud of Rhodes, who took a huge risk and left the safe surroundings of WWE in order to bet on himself. It’s safe to say that Rhodes’ bet is paying off right now. X-Pac says that he heard a lot of friends criticize Rhodes’ decision, some even calling him a mark for doing this, but X-Pac was happy to see Rhodes follow his heart.
X-Pac mentions that he was lucky enough to be backstage at RAW this week in Los Angeles, where a lot of interesting things were happening. He was able to sit and talk with guest star Josh Duhamel for a while, and he was able to experience the backstage reaction during the MizTV segment featuring LaVar Ball and his two sons.
He says that WWE should have known that this was going to be a disaster and they very well might have, but they obviously didn’t care. He says that LaVar Ball went off script nearly right from the start and was jumping all over everyone else’s lines. In spite of all that, and even after the youngest son used derogatory language, McMahon was still urging cameramen to follow them to the backstage area and through Gorilla, because he didn’t want the cameras to miss anything good.
WWE has announced that Heavy Machinery will receive a shot at The Authors of Pain for the NXT Championships on the July 12th episode of NXT. Here is the preview they posted for the match:
NXT Tag Team Champions The Authors of Pain to defend against Heavy Machinery on July 12
The Authors of Pain have built their NXT Tag Team Title Championship upon a foundation of brute force and physical dominance. However, against Heavy Machinery — AOP’s newly confirmed challengers for the July 12 episode of NXT — Ellering’s menacing monsters, for once, find themselves against opponents who can more than match their immensity.
For Tucker Knight & Otis Dozovic, the battle cry of “steaks and weights” isn’t just playful banter; it’s a way of life. The numbers tell the story: 320-pound Knight boasts a 365-pound bench press and 500-pound squats and deadlifts, while 330-pound Dozovic lays claim to a 475-pound bench press, a 610-pound squat and a 710-pound deadlift. Beneath the muscle and outsized personalities are two elite grapplers who torched collegiate competition before turning to NXT, where their success has been just as great.
Not that any of those facts will intimidate The Authors of Pain. Akam & Rezar are 300-pounders, and they have MMA and world-class wrestling backgrounds, too. Their WWE Hall of Fame manager appears to have his misgivings about the burly challengers, even if he won’t admit it, but AOP only has one thing in mind: Adding Knight & Dozovic to The Book of Dominance.
Which super-heavyweight tandem will prevail? Don’t miss this huge NXT Tag Team Championship battle when it takes center stage Wednesday, July 12, on NXT, streaming exclusively on the award-winning WWE Network at 8/7 C.
Jericho welcomes Baron Corbin to the show.
Corbin informs that he lives just down the street from Jericho, in a house that was previously owned by both Big Show and The Undertaker. He says that the house was definitely built for a big man as the doorways are enormous and the ceilings are 18-20 feet.
Jericho congratulates Corbin on his big Money in the Bank ladder match victory, and Corbin thanks Jericho for coming up with the idea many years ago. Jericho informs that he and then-writer Brian Gewirtz were brainstorming ideas on how to utilize a bunch of talents who were getting a push within the company.
Jericho suggested that they have a ladder match where they’d fight over a contract for a Title shot the following night. Gewirtz took that idea to McMahon who adjusted it so the talents could cash in the contract at any point during the next year, and he also insisted that the contract be in a breifcase.
Former WWE Diva Victoria (Lisa Marie Varon) was in attendance for Tuesday’s SmackDown taping in San Diego but was not allowed backstage.
Victoria noted on Facebook that she wanted to go backstage and congratulate the female Superstars on their Money in the Bank Ladder match but the office would not allow her to due so. She wrote the following remarks on Facebook regarding the matter:
Impact Wrestling sent out the following press release today announcing their acquisition of Global Force Wrestling :
NASHVILLE | TORONTO – Anthem Wrestling Exhibitions LLC, a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment Corp. and parent company of IMPACT Wrestling, announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Global Force Entertainment, LLC d/b/a Global Force Wrestling.
Jeff Jarrett, the founder of both IMPACT Wrestling and Global Force Entertainment, will join Anthem Wrestling Exhibitions as a member of its board of managers, equity owner and Chief Creative Officer.
“We are thrilled to be joining forces with Anthem as a partner to build the business,” said Karen Jarrett. “This partnership will be complementary of our strengths and bolster our capabilities to grow the IMPACT Wrestling brand. Ed Nordholm as President and Jeff Jarrett as Chief Creative Officer make a great tag team”
“We are excited by the progress we have made with IMPACT Wrestling since acquiring the business in January,” said Ed Nordholm, president of Anthem Wrestling Exhibitions. “Jeff and his team have been instrumental in this success and we are pleased that we have reached an agreement on the basis of which we can combine our businesses to continue to grow. Slammiversary XV will be a fitting occasion to bring the promotions together and merge the titles under the new IMPACT combined belts. By combining our resources and talent, we can produce the best product for our global audience.”
