Week in Wrestling - Sunday July 15, 2018
WWE Extreme Rules Preview
A.J. Styles vs. Rusev
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Roman Reigns vs. Bobby Lashley
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Braun Strowman vs. Kevin Owens
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Bludgeon Brothers vs. Daniel Bryan & Kane
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Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins
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Jeff Hardy vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
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Alexa Bliss vs. Nia Jax
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Finn Balor vs. Baron Corbin
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Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt vs. The B Team
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Carmella vs. Asuka
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New Day vs Sanity
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Andrade Cien Almas vs Sin Cara
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If the goal is for “B” PPV shows to end by 10:30 p.m., don’t expect tonight's show to hit that mark. The card is listed for 12 matches, one of which is a 30:00 Iron man match. With the gimmick matches, Extreme Rules shows are usually action filled.
Reigns vs. Lashley seems to be the key match, as it is the most heavily promoted bout on the show. It’s a match that should be good. While not outright said, one would expect the winner to face Brock Lesnar for the Universal title. What happens from there is anyone’s guess, because Braun Strowman has the MITB briefcase and I can’t imagine them booking him to fail in the cash-in, so it’s almost a lock he ends up as champion. There are limited gimmick matches as compared to years when nearly every match had a gimmick. There is the Iron Man match, an Alexa Bliss vs. Nia Jax Raw women’s title match which is an Extreme Rules match, likely to allow for interference from Ronda Rousey, who will be in the front row. The Smackdown women’s title match with Carmella vs. Asuka will have James Ellsworth in a shark cage. Braun Strowman faces Kevin Owens in a cage match. It should be entertaining, but Owens has been portrayed as completely out of his league with Strowman.
The other gimmick match is the preshow bout with Sanity vs. New Day in a six-man tag tables match, which should be action filled, but pre show matches are usually limited by time constraints and aren’t supposed to be too good as to steal the show.
Reigns vs. Lashley seems to be the key match, as it is the most heavily promoted bout on the show. It’s a match that should be good. While not outright said, one would expect the winner to face Brock Lesnar for the Universal title. What happens from there is anyone’s guess, because Braun Strowman has the MITB briefcase and I can’t imagine them booking him to fail in the cash-in, so it’s almost a lock he ends up as champion. There are limited gimmick matches as compared to years when nearly every match had a gimmick. There is the Iron Man match, an Alexa Bliss vs. Nia Jax Raw women’s title match which is an Extreme Rules match, likely to allow for interference from Ronda Rousey, who will be in the front row. The Smackdown women’s title match with Carmella vs. Asuka will have James Ellsworth in a shark cage. Braun Strowman faces Kevin Owens in a cage match. It should be entertaining, but Owens has been portrayed as completely out of his league with Strowman.
The other gimmick match is the preshow bout with Sanity vs. New Day in a six-man tag tables match, which should be action filled, but pre show matches are usually limited by time constraints and aren’t supposed to be too good as to steal the show.
WWE NEWS
Hulk is Back!
WWE sent out a release today saying that Hogan has been reinstated into the WWE Hall of Fame: "After a three-year suspension, Hulk Hogan has been reinstated into the WWE Hall of Fame. This second chance follows Hogan's numerous public apologies and volunteering to work with young people where he is helping them learn from his mistake. These efforts led to a recent induction into the Boys & Girls Club of America Alumni Hall of Fame.
A photo of Hogan and Jimmy Hart at the Cleveland airport surfaced yesterday which started speculation Hogan would be appearing at tonight's Extreme Rules pay-per-view. The show is in Pittsburgh, but him flying into Cleveland was likely to make sure fans staking out the Pittsburgh airport didn't see him.
PWInsider reported that the two were in Cleveland and noted the proximity to Pittsburgh and a WWE source informed the Wrestling Observer that Hogan was back, without elaborating on anything else. Hogan was fired from WWE and removed from their Hall of Fame in July 2015 due to a racist rant where he used the n-word multiple times being made public.
A photo of Hogan and Jimmy Hart at the Cleveland airport surfaced yesterday which started speculation Hogan would be appearing at tonight's Extreme Rules pay-per-view. The show is in Pittsburgh, but him flying into Cleveland was likely to make sure fans staking out the Pittsburgh airport didn't see him.
PWInsider reported that the two were in Cleveland and noted the proximity to Pittsburgh and a WWE source informed the Wrestling Observer that Hogan was back, without elaborating on anything else. Hogan was fired from WWE and removed from their Hall of Fame in July 2015 due to a racist rant where he used the n-word multiple times being made public.
Brock Lesnar Update
Brock Lesnar’s next WWE match is set for next month’s SummerSlam event. Dave Meltzer has confirmed that Lesnar will be back in the ring for WWE’s premier summer show. It isn’t known who he will face. A multi-man match was originally set for Extreme Rules that would have determined the next contender for the Universal title, but that was canceled as part of a storyline where negotiations for Lesnar's next title defense fell through. Reigns and Lashley, who were the first two announced for the bout, will instead battle in a singles match.
Lesnar made headlines this past weekend at UFC 226 when he responded to a challenge by new UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier. The two got into a brief shoving match before being seperated. It was later revealed that Lesnar had returned to USADA testing and would be able to fight starting in January.
Despite the high profile altercation, there was no mention of Lesnar in this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw. In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it was said that this was a Vince McMahon call as they want to focus on stars that will be on Extreme Rules.
Lesnar made headlines this past weekend at UFC 226 when he responded to a challenge by new UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier. The two got into a brief shoving match before being seperated. It was later revealed that Lesnar had returned to USADA testing and would be able to fight starting in January.
Despite the high profile altercation, there was no mention of Lesnar in this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw. In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it was said that this was a Vince McMahon call as they want to focus on stars that will be on Extreme Rules.
WWE Making Billions
BTIG has increased the WWE stock price target to $92 per share, pointing to prospects of rights fees increases in the U.K. and India. The funny thing is that U.K. ratings are way down, far more than in the U.S. But there are thoughts that the rights fees in India will skyrocket with this deal because India has been paying substantially more for other programming since the last deal was signed.
What’s also notable is that within WWE, higher-ups and those in the company connected to the top have openly talked about a potential sale, whether to FOX or somebody else. A FOX purchase of WWE started being talked about long before we had reported FOX’s interest in getting the complete TV deal (USA paid through the nose to retain Raw and had the right to match any outside offer and did) where Raw would move to the FOX Network, which was the original idea.
But the purchase of WWE at the time was with the idea of the same thing Viacom did with Bellator, and that FOX and other networks had been in talks of doing with UFC in 2016 until the bidding price got past $3.5 billion when all the networks dropped out and WME IMG and a heavily-Chinese backed consortium were the last two left. The idea of spending $3 billion to $4 billion for WWE would have made sense at the time, because you then get WWE programming on your network and then no longer have to pay rights fees or get in bidding wars for it because you would own it. But now, with the stock price so high, the cost would be far greater.
f the stock gets up to $92 per share, instead of the idea FOX may spend $3 billion to $4 billion for WWE, you would be looking at a $7 billion market value meaning they’d have to spend significantly more than that to actually buy it. That changes everything. FOX wasn’t going to attempt a purchase of that magnitude until it completed its sale, originally to Disney and now looking like Comcast, and would also have to wait for federal approval of the sale, so they weren’t going to be making that level of purchase for some time. The high stock price if anything makes selling more complicated because the cost to get it would be so much higher.
What’s also notable is that within WWE, higher-ups and those in the company connected to the top have openly talked about a potential sale, whether to FOX or somebody else. A FOX purchase of WWE started being talked about long before we had reported FOX’s interest in getting the complete TV deal (USA paid through the nose to retain Raw and had the right to match any outside offer and did) where Raw would move to the FOX Network, which was the original idea.
But the purchase of WWE at the time was with the idea of the same thing Viacom did with Bellator, and that FOX and other networks had been in talks of doing with UFC in 2016 until the bidding price got past $3.5 billion when all the networks dropped out and WME IMG and a heavily-Chinese backed consortium were the last two left. The idea of spending $3 billion to $4 billion for WWE would have made sense at the time, because you then get WWE programming on your network and then no longer have to pay rights fees or get in bidding wars for it because you would own it. But now, with the stock price so high, the cost would be far greater.
f the stock gets up to $92 per share, instead of the idea FOX may spend $3 billion to $4 billion for WWE, you would be looking at a $7 billion market value meaning they’d have to spend significantly more than that to actually buy it. That changes everything. FOX wasn’t going to attempt a purchase of that magnitude until it completed its sale, originally to Disney and now looking like Comcast, and would also have to wait for federal approval of the sale, so they weren’t going to be making that level of purchase for some time. The high stock price if anything makes selling more complicated because the cost to get it would be so much higher.
Miz & Maryse Show
The Miz & Maryse reality show, Miz & Mrs., debuts on 7/24 in the 10 p.m. Tuesday time slot. While WWE shoulder programming in the past has failed on USA because it couldn’t draw USA-level ratings, this has a chance for two reasons. The first is that USA-level ratings are much lower than ever before so a success on that channel is a much lower figure. The second, and key, is that airing it right after Smackdown is absolutely the greatest time slot the show could ever have. The show is built around Maryse giving birth and then becoming parents, but also them moving from their mansion in Los Angeles to Austin, TX.
More Names Announced
WWE announced four more wrestlers for this year's Mae Young Classic.
Kaitlyn, Rhea Ripley, Shirai, Matthews, Jinny, and Catanzaro are the first six wrestlers to be announced for the tournament, which will be taped at Full Sail University in Orlando, Florida on August 8 and 9. There will be 32 participants in total.
- Io Shirai will be one of the participants in the tournament. Shirai departed Stardom in June and then made an appearance at a WWE house show in Tokyo, Japan, where it was announced that she would be joining NXT this summer.
- Nicole Matthews, an indie wrestler from Canada who was an alternate for the first Mae Young Classic, will be an entrant this year.
- Kaitlyn (Celeste Bonin, 31), will be returning after leaving the company four plus years ago to get married at the Mae Young Classic.
- Rhea Ripley was also announced for the tournament.
- Verrice Gabriel, a woman wrestler from The Philippines.
- Jinny, who recently signed a United Kingdom-brand contract with WWE, will also be taking part in the Mae Young Classic. She's PROGRESS Wrestling's current Women's Champion.
- Former "American Ninja Warrior" standout Kacy Catanzaro has been confirmed for the tournament. She made her debut at an NXT house show in April after signing with WWE in 2017 and reporting to the Performance Center this January.
Kaitlyn, Rhea Ripley, Shirai, Matthews, Jinny, and Catanzaro are the first six wrestlers to be announced for the tournament, which will be taped at Full Sail University in Orlando, Florida on August 8 and 9. There will be 32 participants in total.
Goldberg Pissed
Goldberg did an interview and said that nobody has contacted him about doing anything since his match with Lesnar. He said he was never asked about doing WrestleMania this year. He said he talked to Vince about the Hall of Fame, since he went on last and the place emptied out. He said it was a disservice to the people being inducted and it was a disservice to the fans at home. He said before fans wanted to be entertained at wrestling but now they want to dictate what happens. He said some fans are poison to the rest of the fans and said it’s not fair to the guys who bust their ass and are on the road away from their families trying to entertain the fans. He said he’s be interested to come back to face either Reigns or Undertaker, but that’s not up to him.
NXT NEWS
Ciampa vs Black
The Tommaso Ciampa title challenge to Aleister Black will be on the 7/25 episode of NXT, which is being taped on 7/18. Just based on promos, it would appear they are doing another Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano match in Brooklyn, and either they want to make it a title match with Gargano chasing, or Gargano will cost Ciampa the title match to lead to a blow-off match. HHH more than strongly hinted after the last Gargano vs. Ciampa match that we haven’t seen the last of that feud.
Sullivan Update
Lars Sullivan broken jaw that was reported is actually storyline. My guess is that they wanted to tell the story that he was so tough he broke his jaw early in the match with Aleister Black, kept going, and that’s an excuse for losing to protect the mystique, since it was his first loss since they started pushing him. They are keeping him off shows for a while to sell the injury as legit.
New Japan Pro Wrestling News
NJPW/ROH Supershow at MSG
While it appeared that the show had fallen through, Ring of Honor is set to run Madison Square Garden in 2019 after all. ROH and New Japan Pro Wrestling announced that "G1 Supercard," a co-branded show from the two companies, will take place at MSG on April 6, 2019. That's on the Saturday of WrestleMania weekend in New York/New Jersey.
NJPW's Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Tetsuya Naito are already advertised, along with "all of the top ROH stars." After ROH's plans to hold a show at Madison Square Garden next year were made public, Dave Meltzer reported in June that WWE was doing everything possible to block it from happening. Koff then did an interview with PWInsider where he said that MSG informed ROH that they were backing out of the event after "communications from the WWE." Koff said he expected that ROH's lawyers would be contacting all of the involved parties in hopes of finding a resolution.
Tickets will go on sale to Honor Club members on Wednesday, August 8 at 10 a.m. Eastern time before being made available to the general public on August 10.
NJPW's Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Tetsuya Naito are already advertised, along with "all of the top ROH stars." After ROH's plans to hold a show at Madison Square Garden next year were made public, Dave Meltzer reported in June that WWE was doing everything possible to block it from happening. Koff then did an interview with PWInsider where he said that MSG informed ROH that they were backing out of the event after "communications from the WWE." Koff said he expected that ROH's lawyers would be contacting all of the involved parties in hopes of finding a resolution.
Tickets will go on sale to Honor Club members on Wednesday, August 8 at 10 a.m. Eastern time before being made available to the general public on August 10.
Takahashi Injury Update
Since last week, the only thing reported by New Japan is that Hiromu Takahashi had a neck injury, severity of which was never addressed, and was able to sit up and talk. The only report we have at this time is that Takahashi won’t need surgery. He was still hospitalized three days later, and was then flown from San Francisco back to Tokyo, where he is still receiving treatment.
Jim Ross Injured & Pissed
During the White U.S. title defense against Juice Robinson at the Cow Palace, on several occasions White whipped Robinson into the barricades. Unlike in most places where the barricades are hooked together and will move from a body being thrown into them, these barricades were not linked together. So when one guy would throw the other into the barricade, the barricade would tumble over. They did it a few times, and White whipped Robinson into the barricade right in front of announcers Ross and Barnett. The barricade moving knocked Ross backwards out of his chair and he took a fall. Barnett then said something to the effect of “You just done f***ed up” and left the announcing position and chased White around the ring. Security, thinking it was part of the show, did nothing. Live fans thought it was part of the show. It wasn’t.
Ross was in great pain flying home and checked himself into the hospital on 7/9. He was diagnosed with bruised ribs, a bruised sternum and some lung issues that could possibly lead to pneumonia. With the rib injury, every movement was painful and he had to cancel three commitments this week due to the injury. Ross was even more upset because the night before he had said to New Japan officials to keep the talent away from doing stuff near the announcing position, because they do that in Japan and the announcers usually scatter.
Ross was in great pain flying home and checked himself into the hospital on 7/9. He was diagnosed with bruised ribs, a bruised sternum and some lung issues that could possibly lead to pneumonia. With the rib injury, every movement was painful and he had to cancel three commitments this week due to the injury. Ross was even more upset because the night before he had said to New Japan officials to keep the talent away from doing stuff near the announcing position, because they do that in Japan and the announcers usually scatter.
Rey Mysterio Returning
NJPW announced tonight that Mysterio will be wrestling at Budokan Hall on August 12 as part of the final show for this year's G1. The show is the last of NJPW's three consecutive nights at the venue. NJPW didn't reveal an opponent for Mysterio or any further details about the match that he'll be in.
While Mysterio has not signed with WWE, the discussions are close enough that they’ve talked about what commitments he has and doesn’t have left. All In is obviously a key thing. For obvious reasons, because of the nature of the show, he wants to do it and for the same obvious reasons, they would rather he doesn’t do it. He also wants to drop his Crash heavyweight title, which right now is most likely to be to Bestia 666, since that’s the direction it looks like it’s going, if he signs.
While Mysterio has not signed with WWE, the discussions are close enough that they’ve talked about what commitments he has and doesn’t have left. All In is obviously a key thing. For obvious reasons, because of the nature of the show, he wants to do it and for the same obvious reasons, they would rather he doesn’t do it. He also wants to drop his Crash heavyweight title, which right now is most likely to be to Bestia 666, since that’s the direction it looks like it’s going, if he signs.
IMPACT News
Slammiversary PPV Preview
Next Sunday Impact will be run of their biggest shows of the year, Slammiversary, from Toronto. The card has been extremely well built up on TV, and presents some strong angles and matches that are worth checking out.
Austin Aries(c) vs. Moose
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Pentagon Jr. vs. Sami Callihan
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Matt Sydal(c) vs. Brian Cage
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Eddie Edwards vs. Tommy Dreamer
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Su Yung(c) vs. Madison Rayne
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Santana & Ortiz vs. Homicide & Hernandez
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Swann vs. Impact
vs. Ishimori vs. Fenix
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Tessa Blanchard vs. Allie
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Impact Tapings in Vegas
Joe DeFalco, the promoter of the Las Vegas based Future Stars of Wrestling, said that he would be promoting Impact TV tapings for three nights in November in Las Vegas. The plan right now is to tape about once a month, doing four to six shows over two or three days, and going to a new market every time out with the idea of it being fresher crowds. They could return to Orlando at some point but right now they have different markets booked for all television through November and Orlando is not on the list of cities.
INDEPENDENT NEWS
New MLW Champion
Low-Ki cashed-in on the $60,000 bounty and captured the MLW Heavyweight Championship from Shane Strickland in the process on Friday night at the Gilt nightclub in Orlando, FL. As per MLW rules, Low-Ki now must defend the title against any opponents Strickland had been scheduled against. Low-Ki will defend his newly won title against John Hennigan next Thursday in Queen’s NY. Low-Ki becomes just the second champion since the title was brought back into existence earlier this year and the 6th champion in MLW history, joining Shane Douglas, Satoshi Kojima, Mike Awesome, and Steve Corino.
MLW has trademarked the term War Games, which is notable since WWE used the term last year for an NXT PPV show but didn’t trademark the term. I think WWE’s belief would be that by buying the WCW Intellectual property, they would own the term. Court Bauer announced they would be doing an original two ring War Games cage match on 9/6 at the War Memorial Auditorium in Fort Lauderdale. Bauer said that they trademarked the term months ago with plans on doing such a match. Bauer’s old MLW had promoted a War Games match, but that was when WWE had no plans for such use. He said they had both a trademark and patent office approval to use the War Games term. He also said that if another company wanted to use the name War Games for a show, he would not stand in their way, and the trademark was just to protect their own right to use the term.
All In has their broadcasting team set for the upcoming September event. Their Twitter account revealed that their broadcasting team will comprise of Impact backstage interviewer Alicia Atout, Impact and New Japan color commentator Don Callis, former WWE backstage interviewer and announcer Sean Mooney, ROH announcer Ian Riccaboni, PWG announcer Excalibur, ROH ring announcer Bobby Cruise and former WWE ring announcer Justin Roberts. It wasn't announced what roles each would have on the broadcast, though the Young Bucks did ask Don Callis to do announcing when they made him part of All In last month during a New Japan's Dominion event.
By: Larry Causion Jr. CausionCreations.com
Posted: Sunday, July 15, 2018
Credit: Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter
Posted: Sunday, July 15, 2018
Credit: Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter