It’s a bad start of the week for Celeste Bonin, the former WWE Diva known as Kaitlyn, as several new private photos and a solo video were leaked online.
Back in March, over two dozen naked photos of her were released on the Internet along with those of Paige, Melina, and other former WWE Superstars.
The new Kaitlyn leaks contain a video where she is dressed in a skimpy outfit and she addresses someone, who was never named. “I wanted to send you a special little video while I’m gone so I make sure you don’t miss me too much,” she says, at which point she tries to sit down on a stool and she nearly falls over, stopping the video. A second video, a continuation of the first, gets more sexual and includes nudity.
Hey Gang! It’s @TheMagnumDA in a setting you normally don’t see me in. Typically, I’m writing the Raw Reports for this fine establishment called Wrestling-Online, but I asked Colin if I could take on this project as an aside. This, without question, could be the most interesting “Table For 3” yet.
For those of you unfamiliar with the show, it’s a program on WWE Network that puts people who may (or may not) be too familiar with each other, but their careers are intertwined somehow with a common theme. This week’s theme is “Creative Committee”, and it features three guys who headed up some pretty huge Creative Departments throughout their careers. These are also three volatile personalities, with two of them never publicly meeting until this day (Bischoff and Cornette). Because of this, I expect the jabs to start flying from the bell.
Quick Background: Jim Cornette was part of WWE’s creative team in the late 1990’s, and was a big part of the Attitude Era coming to the forefront. Eric Bischoff was head of WCW Creative during most of the WCW Monday Nitro heyday, most notably during its peak period: the formation of the New World Order. Michael Hayes, founding member of the Freebirds, has been part of many Creative teams since his days at World Class, where he helped Fritz Von Erich build one of the great rivalries of all time: The Freebirds (Hayes, Terry Gordy, and Buddy Jack Roberts) vs. The Von Erich Family. From there, he was part of Creative with Mid-South, NWA/WCW, and subsequently WWE, where he is still writing Creative with the Smackdown Live Brand.
The dinner starts with Cornette pointing out what I shared from the onset: He and Eric have never publicly met face-to-face to have a conversation in this setting until today. They both appeared in a WCW PPV (SuperBrawl III) but Cornette and the boys of Smoky Mountain Wrestling were brought in by Bill Watts, the previous Executive VP of WCW. Watts was fired in early 1993 in light of some racially charged remarks that he made before he was even hired. Somehow, they came to the surface, and Hank Aaron found out about it. You don’t piss the Home Run King off. Although Bischoff was given the Executive Role in WCW around this time, he did not bring Cornette’s people in.
They were considered “Persona Non Grata” to Bischoff and company when they arrived. Why? Simple Misunderstanding. The real story is that Cornette cut a scathing promo on the management that ONCE ran WCW (Watts), but Bischoff’s people misperceived that as a promo against the CURRENT management. They chopped the promo to bits, and Cornette never understood why it was edited until this conversation. Eric felt like he did not have to give a justification, but Corny thinks it’s the root of why they never continued to work together. Jim does point out, however, that they have a mutual hatred for Vince Russo, so it’s all forgiven! THE THREE GUYS EVEN TOAST! Wow…I guess it’s Russo who is Persona Non Grata. What a hilarious introduction into this dinner.
Hayes talks about Bischoff creating talent through the Power Plant: his WCW Training Facility. These days, you’re seeing quite the same thing with Triple H & the Performance Center in Florida. Bischoff actually had a lot of good ideas that are used these days in wrestling. Hayes asks Bischoff if he would’ve given Cornette a chance with his concept of a developmental system (if the Power Plant wasn’t established). Eric says, “Probably.” Both Eric and Jim wanted to create homegrown talent, but I couldn’t see it working out. I don’t think Hulk was too keen on Cornette. They go into a discussion about promos, and Cornette says that sometimes talents have great input, and sometimes they overthink it. Cornette came from an era where they were told, “You got 3 minutes, talk about the Rock & Roll Express.”
The conversation rips the curtain to reveal Oz, and there he is…in a glowy green jacket that glows. With big levers and such. No, I’m just kidding. Here’s the discussion: Hayes opens it up by saying that today’s talent is the most athletic talent we’ve ever seen. In essence, Hayes is opening himself up the same way Frank Pentangeli opened up his own arm in Godfather II. Cornette says that the concept has changed, and that pro wrestling changed from “presenting a believable, simulated conflict that the people can buy as a fight” into “a performance of awe-inspiring moves.” Nailed it! Cornette says the wrestlers want to have their moves get over, and it’s putting the cart before the horse. Jim continues by saying, “Now, it’s hard for anybody to work up a good dislike for the heel.” Truer words have not been spoken.
Hayes opens up the next dialogue by asking both men, “What do you think is your greatest creation/most enjoyable experience?” Bischoff opened with talking about the Nitro format. He was extremely proud of being able to create a live, unpredictable, reality-based environment showcasing the best talent in the world. Cornette said that in the 1980s, he loved being a part of the Midnight Express. In the 1990s, it was being an announcer for the WWF. Overall, it was his developmental work with young talents. I’m sure Jim’s referring to his time in OVW. Michael says that his favorite experience is booking, especially booking main event matches. He says that he “gets a high off of it.” Amongst other things, I’m sure. Hayes’ finest work was booking Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels from WrestleMania XXV. I was there, and I personally believe that it’s the greatest match I’ve ever seen live…and I’ve seen some doozies. They show footage of Michaels and Undertaker hugging!! Awesome! I have never seen that until now.
Hayes throws out one more question. He asks if either of them could book next year’s WrestleMania Main Event, what would it be? Cornette starts with a Submission Match between Brock Lesnar and Samoa Joe. You know, I understand what he’s trying to do, and that would make for good business. Eric would book a heel Roman Reigns versus a babyface AJ Styles. Okay, I really like that one, as long as you put AJ over. Michael would book John Cena vs. Roman Reigns. Personally? I wouldn’t be surprised if they tried to do Lesnar vs. Reigns again.
Closing Thoughts: These men need to have breakfast, lunch, and dinner for 2 weeks straight. Give them the best meals on Earth. Then let the camera roll. I bet the stories would be incredible. In this twenty-minute morsel, we got plenty enough to whet my appetite for more. Until next time! @TheMagnumDA
Welcome to the Raw report for this evening! @TheMagnumDA here with you. It’s Memorial Day here in the USA: A day to celebrate and thank those who gave their lives to protect our country. A very touching video narrated by John Cena starts us off.
We open with The Miz, who is out for MizTV! Miz runs down Dean Ambrose as a rule-breaker, which is exactly why Miz asked to have the DQ rule waived at Extreme Rules (Miz vs. Dean for the IC Title, championship can change hands on a DQ). Sorry, but the timing sucks Miz. It’s EXTREME RULES, and you want to waive the DQ title rule next week? A real man makes it “No DQ”. Miz actually has two guests this evening: Cesaro & Sheamus! Miz puts both of them over, and says that both of them have scratched and clawed their way to the top. Miz says it’s a shame that the Hardy Boyz came in and stole their spotlight.
Sheamus agrees, and says that the fans turned their backs on Cesaro after the Hardy Boyz showed up. Sheamus says that these fans are fickle. They only care when “a new, shiny toy” shows up. Well, the Hardyz are over 40…so they’re not exactly new and shiny. Sheamus promises to break their new toy next Sunday at Extreme Rules (Hardy Boyz vs. Cesaro/Sheamus in a Cage Match for the Tag Titles). Somehow, this turns into Miz “putting himself over”, as Booker calls it. I am going to miss Booker so much. Dean Ambrose shows up and calls all three guys in the ring “buttheads”. Really? Miz calls out Dean for showing up outnumbered, and this brings out the Hardy brothers! There’s a huge brawl in the ring, but Ambrose and the Hardyz clean house! I smell a six-man tag match for later tonight.
Match #1 – Dean Ambrose & The Hardy Boyz vs. The Miz, Sheamus, and Cesaro
Who needs later when you have right now? Matt tags in Jeff and they double team Cesaro. Jeff gets a nearfall on Cesaro, and then a dropkick to the back of the head. Matt is tagged back in and hits Cesaro with an elbow to the prone arm. Cesaro returns serve with a European Uppercut, followed by a tag to Miz. Miz stomps on Matt and tags in Sheamus. Sheamus throws Matt in his corner and pounds him down with a clothesline that gets two. Matt gets up after a sleeperhold, but Sheamus knees him in the gut. Sheamus goes for the Ten Beats on Matt, but he stops and tags in Cesaro. Cesaro awkwardly and slowly clotheslines Matt over the ropes back into the ring. Cesaro flies back in with an attack that only gets two. Matt fights out of the sleeper with a back body drop, and tags in Ambrose. Dean catches some clotheslines on his opponents, and hits a suicide dive on Miz. Dean leaps over Cesaro back in the ring, and tries to hit his finish, but it’s countered. Sheamus tags in and Dean clotheslines him over the ropes. Dean hits a neckbreaker, and climbs the top rope. Sheamus climbs the ropes and knees Dean right in the mouth as we go to break. Every time Sheamus hits something like that, I cringe because I think he’s going to hurt someone legit…again.
After the break, Miz hits the Daniel Bryan kicks on Ambrose. Ambrose rolls-up Miz for two! Miz tries a cover of his own, but it only gets two. Cesaro tags in and misses a charge to the corner. Ambrose throws Miz to the outside, but Miz ends up catching both Hardyz off-guard, allowing Cesaro and Sheamus to hit their double team White Noise on Ambrose for two. Sheamus throws Dean in the corner, and props him on the top rope. Ambrose tries White Noise from the top, but Ambrose fights out and headbutts Sheamus to the ground. Dean hits the flying elbow from the top onto Sheamus! Dean hits another clothesline on Cesaro and FINALLY makes the tag to Jeff Hardy! Jeff is a HOUSE OF FIRE! He hits the clotheslines and the legdrop on Miz! Tag to Matt, as Jeff hits the Poetry in Motion on Miz. This is followed by the Side Effect by Matt! One, two, no! Crazy sequence leads to the Twist of Fate by Matt on Miz! Jeff tags in and hits the Swanton Bomb! One, two, three!
Winners: Dean Ambrose & The Hardy Boyz (**1/2)
After the match, Corey Graves abruptly leaves the commentary booth for no disclosed reason. Why do I feel like this is an angle? The announcers collect themselves and talk about the rest of tonight’s Raw, including a “This is Your Life” for Bayley later tonight! I can’t imagine this ending well.
After the break, Corey shows up to talk with Kurt. Corey shows Kurt something on his phone that makes Kurt say, “I can’t let anyone else find out about this. It’ll ruin me!” I wonder where this is going…
Match #2 – “The Drifter” Elias Samson vs. Zac Myers
Myers looks like the 10-year-old son Rick Martel never had. This is your classic jobber match, with Samson destroying this poor kid for about 3 minutes before mercy killing him.
Winner: Elias Samson (No Stars)
After the match, Corey Graves returns to the announcing booth. Charly is backstage with Samoa Joe, who says that he is looking past Finn Balor’s comeback, and focusing on hurting him. Bray interrupts the promo and confirms what Joe also said: Bray is the devil he does not know. Bray goes off on some acid trip dialogue about seeing the future and slaying the beast. I’m sure Vince thinks this writing is heady and smart, and I’m sure Windham believes what he’s saying…but guys. Make these promos a little more accessible with a little less mumbling. I don’t think people can even understand half of what Bray’s saying, let alone what he means.
Match #3 – Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe vs. Bray Wyatt
Bray slithers into the corner (a la Jake Roberts), as Finn and Joe start fighting in the ring. Joe gets some knees on Finn, and chops him in the corner. Joe misses a charge in the corner, and Finn hits a kick sending Joe back into the ring. Bray looks on and claps. Samoa Joe sees this, and throws Bray into the ring. Bray and Finn trade offense, and then Bray kicks Balor down. Finn gets up and hits a combination of kicks, sending Wyatt into the corner. Wyatt kicks out of the corner, but then he gets kicked in the face, and down on his back. One, two, no! Finn almost got it there. Joe with some VICIOUS offense on Balor. Joe walks over to Bray and picks him up by the beard?! Finn stops this, but then Wyatt offers a hand of help to Joe! Balor breaks up their second attempt at teamwork, and then beats down both guys. Wyatt DRILLS Balor with a running body press splash. Right hand to Balor’s jaw, sending him down. Wyatt props Balor on the top rope, but Balor fights back. Joe comes back and throws Bray out of the ring. Joe tries to suplex Balor, but Wyatt comes in to make this a TOWER OF DOOM! Sister Abigail attempt is blocked by Joe into the Coquina Clutch! Balor breaks this up with a sick kick! Both Wyatt and Joe are sent outside, and Balor hits a beautiful running swanton bomb onto both men!
After the break, Joe beats down Finn in the corner. Bray and Joe double team Balor while he’s down. They take turns kicking him. Balor gets hung on the ropes by Joe, and Bray takes his turn doing the same from the top rope. Joe and Bray start getting hit with chops, as Finn fights back. Finn isolates Joe in the corner, but Wyatt just runs in and splashes both men. Balor is thrown to the opposite corner, and the big boys take turns with some more splashes. Cole calls this the “Alliance of Convenience” as Booker endorses what they’re doing. Balor continues to fight back, but Joe kicks him in the face and then hits Balor with the Senton Splash. Copycat continues, as Wyatt hits a Senton of his own. Joe goes for another Senton, but Bray catches him offguard with a HUGE lariat! Wyatt tries the Uranage, but Balor hits the Overhead Kick! Everybody is down! Balor kicks Wyatt out of the corner, and catches him with some clotheslines and a dropkick. Balor turns and gets decked by Samoa Joe. Same goes for Wyatt, sending hhim outside. Both men are sent outside, and Balor hits the running kick on Joe from the apron. Wyatt gets the dropkick into the barricade! Another dropkick, this time for Joe! Back inside, Balor chops Joe in the corner. This is followed up with a clothesline. Balor charges but Joe is waiting to put Finn in the Uranage! Coquina Clutch! Counter by Balor! Double stomp to Samoa Joe! Wyatt sneaks in to finish Balor, but Balor fights out and hits another double stomp! Joe gets up and catches Balor with an awesome throw! Spider Dance by Wyatt! Joe is distracted, and this leads to Sister Abigail by Bray! Balor hits the Sling Blade on Wyatt! Running kick to Wyatt! COUP DE GRACE on Wyatt! Joe throws Balor in the corner! SICK! Joe covers Wyatt! One, Two, Three! Great match! I give the nod to Miz vs. Seth vs. Balor (from earlier this month) because Seth was completely insane in that match.
Winner: Samoa Joe (***3/4)
Mike is with Seth Rollins, who talks about tonight’s main event with Roman Reigns. Seth says that he owns Roman every time they’re in the ring together. Rollins promises to change the course of WWE history again this Sunday.
Match #4 – Rich Swann vs. Noam Dar
Dar attacks from behind to start, and throws Swann in the opposite corner. Dar misses a charge in the corner, but counters a suplex attempt into armbar for two. He continues to work on the arm, and then hits a European Uppercut on Swann. Dar goes back on the arm, but Swann gets right up. Dar takes him back down, continuing on the left arm. Dar puts a knee between Swann’s arm and back, and pulls back. Swann fights up, and they both go in the corner. Dar gets elbowed after a charge in the corner. Swann with a drop toe hold, followed by some rights and a back leg kick and a somersault Harlem Hangover for two! Swann climbs to the top, but Alicia Fox climbs up. Sasha pulls her off the apron, face first! OUCH! As Sasha throws Fox back-first into the apron, Swann hits the incredible PHOENIX SPLASH in the ring for the One, Two, Three!
Winner: Rich Swann (**)
Afterwards, Rich and Sasha have a dance! They have pretty good chemistry together! Just saying. Charly interviews The Revival, who talk about their return to Raw. Charly corners both men about a promo from last week for Sasha Banks, where they showed up in the background. I THOUGHT that was them. Nice. So this is all playing into a storyline. They turn away all questions and go back to TOP GUY business. The cameras go back to the announcers, where they recap last week’s ***1/2 Street Fight between Tozawa and The Brian Kendrick. The Senton at the end was amazing. Go watch it.
Meanwhile, Corey continues to stir the pot about the Enzo beatdown. Booker’s getting pissed.
From the sounds of things, it sounds like Corey/The Revival/Big Cass/Enzo/Angle are all involved in some kind of plot. If I can piece it together, Corey has footage of Enzo’s beatdown. It’s not clear WHO is beating down Enzo. Is it The Revival? Could it somehow be Cass?
Cass comes out and threatens Corey. He says that he hopes Corey isn’t actually implying that Cass would beat down someone he considers his own brother. Uh oh…only Corey might know the truth.
Match #5 – Kalisto vs. Titus O’Neil
Titus is in appropriate gear today, which means he does not have to wrestle in his $3000 suit. Titus and Apollo are good comedy together. Titus throws Kalisto into the ropes, but Kalisto fights back and hits some kicks. Kalisto dropkicks Titus to his knees, and tries to hit the Salida Del Sol! Titus fights out, and Kalisto tries a Victory Roll! Titus intelligently falls on it and grabs the tights for the One, Two, Three!
Winner: Titus O’Neil (1/4*)
Titus promises Apollo that they’ll party tonight, and that gets a smile out of Apollo. I love these guys, I can’t help it. They are a good comedy team.
It’s time for THIS IS YOUR LIFE, BAYLEY! Alexa has a table, and some people with her in the ring. Alexa shows off a “Sportsmanship” trophy that Bayley won. There’s some toys and a yearbook sitting on the table. Bayley was voted “Most Likely to Apologize” in her yearbook. This crowd is so dead. Mrs. Flapper, the 4th Grade Teacher, is introduced. This gets some jeers from the crowd. This Flapper lady has some terrifying make-up on. The teacher says that her Dad would come to class with her. Flaps McGaps, as she’s called by Alexa. Then Tracy, the best friend was introduced. Tracy has some not-so-nice things to say about Bayley, and the crowd starts booing all over the segment. Not the good kind of booing, either. It’s unique, because Alexa keeps going and all you hear is continuous “boo” under this. Phil, the ex-boyfriend is introduced. Alexa asks about her first date, and Phil starts to talk about her overprotective Dad. “DELETE” chants! Phil says that the truth is, he always liked Tracy more than Bayley. Oddly, Tracy and Phil START MAKING OUT to MORE groans. Kids, that’s not how romance works. Booker with the line of the night: “This is too much.” Bayley charges down to the ring and gets the best of Alexa Bliss! She starts throwing the trinkets on the table down on Alexa. Just throw the frickin’ table on her, Bayley! GET EXTREME! Bayley climbs to get the Kendo Stick, but Alexa catches her on the way down, knocking the stick out of her hand. Alexa beats her down with the stick as Bayley writhes about in pain. What the hell did I just watch? That’s the WrestleCrap Gooker Award Winner of 2017, hands down.
After this atrocious segment, Enzo is beaten down AGAIN backstage but we see nothing. Two weeks in a row! Angle comes into the screen, and Cass is soon to follow. Cass wants to know what’s going on. He pleads with Angle to look into The Revival doing this, and the proof is that they’ve been at Raw for the last two weeks.
Match #6 – Austin Aries & “Gentleman” Jack Gallagher vs. WWE Cruiserweight Champion Neville & TJP
More Purple Tape, please! Aries and TJP start. Aries with a kick to the gut, and then taken to the opponent’s corner. Jack tages in and grabs a headlock. TJP reverses into one of his own. Jack crawls out with the handstand, and this gets NO reaction. Incredible. They have another exchange, and Neville tags in. Jack with another handstand into the dropkick in the corner. This one gets a reaction, at least. Side headlock by Gallagher, and after a brief exchange Aries is quickly tagged in. Neville retreats outside and we go to break. I’m still flummoxed by how silent the crowd was over that Gallagher spot.
After the break, Neville sends Gallagher into the corner. Neville taunts the crowd after sticking a boot in Jack’s throat. Snapmare by Neville, followed by a dropkick to the back of Gallagher’s head. Neville with a knee to Jack’s throat. He’s ruthless. Jack comes back with headbutts to the gut, but Neville grabs him and throws him face first into the ring, taunting Aries in the process. Neville continues to stomp down Jack, pulling him by the hair as he tags in TJP. TJ hits a senton over the ropes for two. He dabs while driving his foot in Jack’s face. Gallagher is put in the chinlock. This crowd has been completely deflated since “This is Your Life”. TJP wrenches down and goes into the sleeperhold, but Jack tries to fight up. TJP with a knee to Jack’s gut, followed by an attack on Aries. While Aries argues with the ref, TJP pulls on Jack’s face with his fingers. I like it. Dirty pool. We go BACK into the chinlock, but Jack finally fights up. TJ grabs him by the hair, but Jack turns around with the headbutt. Hot tag to Aries! Chops to Neville! Clothesline by Aries! Middle kick by Neville. Shinbreaker into the back suplex by Aries! One, Two, No! Last Chancery attempt is broken up. Austin goes for the Five-Arm, but TJ interrupts! This leads to a sequence where Aries hits the Suicide Dive! Back inside, Aries climbs to the top but misses the Missile Dropkick! Neville misses the Red Arrow off the second rope, and Aries catches him in the Last Chancery! NEVILLE TAPS!
Winner: Austin Aries and “Gentleman” Jack Gallagher (**3/4)
Backstage, Roman Reigns tells Mike that Seth Rollins will find out who the Big Dog is. Roman says that this is his yard. Oh, he’s good. He’s real good. Can we admit that this guy is extremely limited in his “John Cena” role, and that he’d be better suited as a bad guy? Please? Charly tries to interview Neville backstage, but he saunters off. We get another Goldust video! He’s much closer to his 1995 character than last week. Much more serious. This could be good. It could be…Golden. This is countered by a video where R-Truth does his own portrayal of Goldust with lines from Pulp Fiction. Crowd seemed to like it. Man, when the crowd pops more for R-Truth’s promo than the Alexa/Bayley segment…well, I don’t need to say anything else.
Main Event – Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns
They lock up and it’s a stalemate. They try again, and Seth gets a go-behind into a rollup for two! Whoa, that was quick. Another go-behind by Seth, but Roman gets an armbar on Seth. Seth turns this into a standing Moonsault for One, Two, No! Two quick nearfalls. Roman retreats outside, and then comes back into the ring. Roman gets a sloppy go-behind, and this leads to a cat-and-mouse game where Seth averts Roman after three dashes into the ropes. Roman is waiting with a HUGE lariat, though. They go outside, and Roman throws Seth into the barricade ribs first. Roman follows this with a Drive-By with Rollins’ torso propped in the corner. Yowza! Back inside, Rollins hits a desparation knee, and launches to the outside with a dive!
After the break, Rollins is thrown into the corner barricade! Reigns throws him back into the ring and follows him in the corner. He stalks Seth, beating him down as he follows him. In the near corner, Reigns hits the ten lariats in the corner, followed by a HUGE boot to the jaw. Roman goes for a Superman Punch, but Rollins counters and catches him with the Sling Blade. Rollins charges into the corner with a set of running forearms. He tries a third time, but Roman is waiting for him. Rollins catches Roman with a dropkick to the outside, and a suicide dive hits Roman. Back inside, Rollins tries a Springboard Clothesline, but Roman catches him with the Superman Punch! One, Two, No! Reigns goes for the Spear, but it turns into a rollup for two! Superkick by Rollins! One, Two, No! Rollins climbs to the top, but Roman smashes him in the mouth with a right hand. Roman climbs up and tries a top rope Samoan Drop, but Seth turns it into a Turnbuckle Power Bomb that is RETURNED WITH A SUPERMAN PUNCH BY ROMAN! Both men are down! Reigns sits up on the apron, but Rollins barely gets to his feet. Roman tries a charge, but Seth throws him into the steps! Back inside, Rollins DRILLS Reigns with the Blockbuster! One, Two, No! Rollins goes back up and hits the Frogsplash! ONE, TWO, NO! That man got HIGH! What a move by Rollins! He goes up YET AGAIN but rolls out of the Phoenix Splash! They trade shots but Roman catches Seth with a SPEAR! ONE, TWO, THREE! That started slow, but that was a hell of an ending.
Winner: Roman Reigns (***1/2)
Final Thoughts: “This is Your Life” was an all-time trainwreck. Everything else wasn’t too bad, though. I’m stoked for this Sunday and Extreme Rules! See you next Monday! Also, don’t forget to check out my “Table For 3” Report RIGHT HERE at W-O featuring Eric Bischoff, Jim Cornette, and Michael “PS” Hayes!
Every wrestling fan knows about the three important wrestling federations in the world today, WWE, Impact Wrestling, and to a lesser extent Ring of Honor.
But what most fans don’t know is that there is plenty of great wrestling taking place outside of these companies. There are much smaller independent federations, also known as the independents, performing all over the United States and the world.
Up until recently, fans did not get many opportunities to watch the incredible shows that these federations put on unless they know where to purchase tickets to see the shows live. However, thanks to FloSlam, a new online streaming service, fans are able to experience these shows for themselves.
There are several differences between WWE programming and the programming that the fans will see on FloSlam, and we thought that we tell you some differences and similarities that you might see so that you can decide if you would like to purchase FloSlam for yourself.
The first thing that a fan would notice when watching independent matches is that most independent federations don’t have WWE’s discretionary funds to spend on extras such as pyrotechnics so there aren’t many fireworks in independent shows. Similarly, independent federations lack WWE’s costume budget and seamstresses, so most wrestlers are responsible for their own wardrobe.
Furthermore, the independent wrestling feds don’t have exclusive contracts with their talent, so you might see a wrestler in a show for one federation one night and another federation the next night.
Furthermore, the indies themselves realize and acknowledge that their wrestling talent does not wrestle for them exclusively, and will frequently mention the wrestlers participation in events for other federations. All the independents have no problem promoting each other’s shows because they do not see other independents much as competition, but rather as different branches of one large federation.
For example, SHINE, an all-women’s wrestling federation is happy to promote a show that EVOLVE is having the next night because they know that their viewers might be interested in seeing the show. Also, independents do not have weekly televised shows, and often have large periods of time in-between shows, so the wrestlers have to wrestle on more than one show or different federations each month simply to make a living, and therefore are happy promote other shows as well.
Another marked difference between indies and larger federations such as WWE is that there is less focus on feuds between wrestlers and more focus on the wrestling that happens inside the ring. Wrestlers in the independents know that the that the fans have come here to see wrestling so they try to make wrestling the focus of their shows, unlike the bigger feds who tend to focus on developing storylines from week to week. There are storylines in independent wrestling, but they are minor in comparison to the wrestling itself.
However, there are also similarities between independents and larger ones. In both cases wrestlers try to develop a character that the fans will make a connection with, and one that they will either boo or cheer for depending on whether the wrestler is meant to be a heel or a face. The ultimate aim of both the independent and larger feds is to entertain fans and keep them coming back to enjoy the next show.
Also, both have tremendous athletes who put their heart and soul into performing and making sure that everyone who comes to their shows has a good time. Further, in both independent and WWE arenas there are extremely intense fans who devote all their energy to cheering on their favorite performers, although in independent wrestling the fans get to be a lot closer to the athletes and raucous cheering can be heard at both events.
Either way fans are guaranteed a good time when they attend a wrestling event, and you can learn more about the independent wrestling circuit when you catch our new column T & D’s Indie Top Five right here on Wrestling-Online.
Article written by Dorsey Schroeck and Tory Hotstream.
PWInsider.com is reporting that 22 Impact Wrestling stars are currently in India to participate in the television tapings which are set to take place tomorrow and Wednesday at the Reliance MediaWorks Studios in Mumbai.
The talent who will be appearing in the four weeks worth of television tapings are Alberto el Patron, Allie, Bobby Lashley, Braxton Sutter, Chris Adonis, Davey Richards, EC3, Eddie Edwards, Eli Drake, James Storm, KM, Laurel Van Ness, Low Ki, Mahabali Shera, Moose, Rockstar Spud, Rosemary, Swoggle, Suicide, Sienna, and Trevor Lee. Joining them on the trip are Bruce Prichard, Jeff Jarrett, Jeremy Borash and Josh Mathews.
This is an important trip for the company and one of their major partners, Sony Six. The tour was part of a contractual obligation which was supposed to take place last year but then rescheduled due to financial difficulties.
Nikki and Brie Bella will be on Whose Line Is It Anyway? on Monday, June 5 starting at 9PM ET on The CW Network.
Hosted by comedian Aisha Tyler, the show features Ryan Stiles, Wayne Brady and Colin Mochrie, along with guest comedian Jeff Davis as they put their comedic skills to the test through a series of spontaneous improv games that are prompted only by random ideas supplied by the studio audience.
The Bellas are listed as “WWE Diva Champions” according to the press material. It’s not clear when this show was taped but this is a new episode and not a repeat of a previous appearance.
Dwayne Johnson’s newest movie, Baywatch, failed to attract the expected audience this weekend as the movie debuted in third place in box office charts with $18,100,000 in box office receipts.
The movie also did an additional $873,000 from one overseas market, with 31 more countries getting the film next weekend.
Baywatch was beaten by Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 for second place. It’s good to note that the Guardians movie is in its fourth week of release and it was expected that Baywatch would open in second place. Pirates of the Caribbean 5 topped the chart with $62,179,000.
While Baywatch is getting okay reviews from moviegoers, critics absolutely destroyed it, which probably did not help the attendance.
Tomorrow night following Monday Night Raw, WWE Network will air a brand new episode of Table for 3, featuring Eric Bischoff, Jim Cornette, and Michael PS Hayes.
The much-anticipated episode, filmed over WrestleMania weekend in Orlando, will see Bischoff and Cornette sit down and talk for the first time in over 20 years. The two were big enemies in the past and both hated each other pretty much equally.
Bischoff once described Cornette as a “low rent con man” who is only capable of moving the Internet wrestling community and pretty much downplayed his storied career. Cornette fired back at Bischoff, pointing out that the company Bischoff was in charge of (WCW) lost more money than any promotion he ever worked for in his career.
The animosity between the two grew even stronger when Cornette was released from his TNA duties just before Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff were brought in in 2010.
Speaking with the Associated Press, former champion Chris Jericho said it will be a long time before he will have another long run in WWE and is now focusing on his musical career.
“WWE, it’s the brand name. I’m just a cog. An important part of it, people like it. But this is our band. People are here to see us. That to me is a little more of a rush. It’s not under the auspices of another name. It’ll be a long time before I go back,” he said.
Y2J is booked for some overseas shows in July, shows that will not be televised, He is not advertised for any WWE television show and his last appearance was on Smackdown a few weeks ago when he dropped his newly won United States title to Kevin Owens.
“If I ever do go back, if I never go back, it’s fine. If I never wrestle another match, it wouldn’t bother me,” Jericho concluded.
The stars of Impact Wrestling are on the way to India as they prepare for two days of television tapings in Mumbai on March 30 and 31. These episodes will be airing in the four weeks leading up to the Slammiversary show in June.
This tour was supposed to take place last year and is part of a contractual obligation with their broadcast partner Sony Six. Unfortunately, lack of funds and a lot of problems prevented the tour from happening.
According to different sources, not all the talent are traveling to India for these tapings so it will be interesting to see how these shows will be filled.
Impact Wrestling will become the first North American wrestling promotion to tape an event for television from India.
A 2-year-old toddler died from injuries after her mother’s boyfriend performed several wrestling moves on her, including a Batista Bomb.
WWE issued a statement to distance themselves from the story after several news outlets picked it up. “We are deeply saddened by this tragic death and hope that the guilty parties are brought to justice. There is no excuse or justification for the brutal and ultimately fatal beating of a 2-year-old child by a grown man. This is a clear case of criminal intent and a lack of parental supervision,” a WWE statement read.
The girl’s 19-year-old mother is charged with endangering the welfare of a child and her 24-year-old boyfriend is facing a charge of abuse or neglect of a child resulting in a death. The child suffered a seizure after she hit her head on a concrete wall near the bed and died at the hospital.
NXT Women’s champion Asuka has officially passed Goldberg’s undefeated streak. The Japanese Superstar won the title at NXT Takeover: Dallas last year by defeating Bayley and has been champion ever since, defeating pretty much every woman on the NXT roster.
Asuka, in a tweet wrote, “I respect Goldberg so much. He is amazing. I am honored to be the undefeated champion with the longest streak in WWE history.”
Both Triple H and Stephanie McMahon congratulated the NXT Women’s champion on her record, using the hashtag #UDeserveIt. Even Goldberg himself chimed in, saying “the ‘streak’ is in very good hands.”
Goldberg’s streak of 173 matches came to an end after he lost the WCW title to Kevin Nash. Assuming she doesn’t get injured, the streak will likely continue up to at least NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III this August.
Impact this week did 305,000 viewers, up 33,000 viewers from last week’s broadcast. The NBA Playoffs did nearly 6 million viewers on TNT (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Ryan Satin of ProWrestlingSheet.com is reporting that all charges against Sean “X-Pac” Waltman stemming from his drug arrest at the Los Angeles airport last month were dismissed over lack of evidence.
The District Attorney’s office told Satin that the case was thrown out yesterday in court due to “insufficient evidence.”
Waltman was arrested by airport police in late April while he was on the way to the United Kingdom after the CBP computer system flagged him for his past drug problems. A sniffer dog found the drugs and police officers eventually managed to locate three cannabis chocolate bars, two THC liquid cigarettes, and 38 meth capsules. He was charged with possession of narcotics with intent to sell.
The former DX member later told TMZ that the capsules he was carrying were not meth but medicine to treat a yeast infection and said that the truth will eventually come out.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office handed Matt Hardy his first defeat in the fight to trademark the ‘Broken Matt Hardy’ term with the registration being refused because it identifies only the name of a particular character/personal name and it does not function as a service mark to identify and distinguish applicant’s services from those of others and to indicate the source of applicant’s services.
The name of a character is registrable as a service mark only where the record shows that it is used in a manner that would be perceived by consumers as identifying the services in addition to identifying the character. The USPTO refusal listed precedents to back up their judgment.
Hardy submitted two YouTube videos as part of the package to secure the trademark. “In this case, the two Youtube specimens merely name a wrestler. The name of the wrestler, however, is not an indicator of source for the services. Consumers would understand ‘TNA One Night Only’ as the trademark for the wrestling service. The ‘Moments of Glory’ specimen does not appear to advertise the provision of any services at all,” the refusal letter continues.
Hardy can appeal the decision within six months. He applied for the trademark on March 1, the day after he was free from all his TNA contract and obligations.
We all have noticed how pro wrestlers die the youngest, and we are used to not seeing them reach old age. It’s a sad fact and a dark consequence of being in the entertainment industry. Not long ago they were even dying in droves, suddenly and unexpectedly.
It’s sad because wrestlers are some of the most fun people to hang around with. They have sense for humor and they care about their fans. Sometimes their acts and costumes are borderline ridiculous and a bit over the top. But, if you ask me the luchaderos are even more ridiculous, although legendary so much that they have inspired some great works in different areas of the industry, from slots like Nacho Libre to animated series like ¡Mucha Lucha!.
Recently, John Cena made an interesting comment on the subject while discussing The Wrestler, a movie depicting the harsh life of the average wrestler trying to earn his livelihood in the 1980s. He believes that there is a big connection between an early death and the wrestler’s life style.
According to Cena, a premature death of a wrestler is largely attributed to his personal choices. By personal choices he meant drugs, although he never expressly said the word. His belief is that life on the road does not bode well with wrestlers, and ultimately affects them negatively.
When you live on the road, you tend to feel a certain freedom. Every day is different, every day is an adventure. You meet new people, everyone likes to party with you and you live like there’s no tomorrow. But, Cena understands that if you live like there’s no tomorrow, you can be certain that there won’t be one.
It can be safe to assume that all the premature deaths of pro wrestlers happened because they were heavy entertainers, and it’s something that has plagued the entire entertainment industry as a whole ever since its beginnings. Actors, musicians, and other entertainment faces have faded too quickly over the years due to their turbulent and ultimately depressive life choices produced by the industry. Wrestlers too.
It’s a good thing that the WWE has started to react on this. It was about time. Now there is a greater focus on the health and safety of the wrestlers. There is even financial assistance for wrestlers having money difficulties, they get injury payments and all kinds of programs that show the depths to which the WWE goes to protect them.
The biggest example of what Cena was talking is the Von Erich family. David Von Erich, who was once thought to be the best wrestler there is died of drug overdose, which was covered up. Kerry Von Erich ended up abusing drugs too, went to prison and committed suicide. Mike Von Erich also took his own life. Even the youngest Chris couldn’t endure the pressure to live up to the family name and killed himself. If you think about it, maybe he did live up to his family name… by ending his life tragically.
WWE has canceled the planned NXT live event in Manchester for June 6 following the terrorist attack of this past Monday.
“Out of respect for all those affected by the Manchester tragedy, WWE is cancelling the NXT event on Tuesday, June 6 at the Manchester Arena, and giving fans who purchased tickets to the show a full refund and offering them the option to receive a free ticket at point of purchase to the NXT show on Wednesday, June 7 at First Direct Arena in Leeds,” a statement from the company said.
Despite no show being held that day, NXT Superstars will still be in Manchester on June 6 and instead they will be visiting hospitals and other locations where those affected by the tragedy currently reside. WWE is also making a donation to the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund.
The next time WWE will be in Manchester will be on November 6 and 7 for the Raw and Smackdown television tapings.
Impact Wrestling was going to hold an Impact viewing party tomorrow in Manchester for its UK fans but the event has been canceled due to the terrorist attack on Monday night.
Jeff Jarrett, Jeremy Borash, Grado, and Rockstar Spud were all scheduled to appear at the event, hosted at Shooters Sports Bar at The Printworks. The location is very close to the Manchester Arena, the scene of Monday’s terrorist attack.
“Due to the horrific terrorist attack yesterday, so close to where Friday’s fan event was scheduled, we feel a party is not appropriate,” the UK Impact Twitter account said in a statement. “Ticket holders have been emailed. Full refund are being provided and alternative plans made so they can still meet Jeff Jarrett and JB. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Manchester and the whole of the UK.”
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is back in theaters today with his new movie Baywatch, the R-rated remake of the popular television series that at one point was the most watched show on the planet.
Baywatch opens in 3,647 theaters nationwide and features The Rock as Mitch Buchannon, Zac Efron as Matt Brody, Alexandra Daddario as Summer Quinn, Kelly Rohrbach as CJ Parker, Ilfenesh Hadera as Stephanie Holden, Jon Bass as Ronnie Greenbaum and Priyanka Chorpa as the villain Victoria Leeds. David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson also have cameo appearances.
The movie is about the Baywatch team uncovering a criminal plot that threatens the future of the bay.
Smackdown did 2,328,000 viewers this week, up 153,000 viewers for the post-Backlash broadcast. Smackdown was #3 on the top 50 cable chart among the 18-49 demo and had very strong competition from the NBA Playoffs which did 7 million viewers on TNT. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
