A story by the New York Post yesterday valued TNA “at around $40 million,” a figure which couldn’t be more farther than the truth.
The story revolves around Smashing Pumpkins front man and current TNA President making his bid to buy 100% of the company, although Corgan did not want to reveal the price tag put on TNA. Corgan told the NY Post that at the Bound For Glory pay-per-view, he hopes to make some sort of announcement.
“I would love nothing better than to stand up in front of everyone and give a clear picture of where this company is and where it’s going,” he said.
The New York Post also added that both WWE and Sinclair Broadcast Group, which owns Ring of Honor, are rumored that have made bids to buy TNA. WWE already bought WCW and ECW and own several other video libraries which come in handy for the WWE Network. WWE bought WCW for around $4 million back in 2001.
TNA is owned by Dixie Carter, Billy Corgan, and Aroluxe Marketing while other companies have smaller stake.
The CW released a quick 15-second teaser on the upcoming season 5 of Arrow which features a fast glimpse of Cody Rhodes who will be guest starring in an episode.
The former WWE Superstar will be featured in the third episode of the new season and in the teaser he’s seen holding The Green Arrow by his neck against a wall.
Rhodes has a history with the show’s leading man, Stephen Amell, and the two shared a feud while Rhodes was in the WWE which led to a tag team match at SummerSlam with Amell teaming up with Neville and Rhodes teaming up with King Barrett.
The announcement of Rhodes’ appearance in season 5 of Arrow was made during a joint Wrestling Rivals appearance at the Heroes & Villains FanFest held in July at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, New Jersey.
WWE announced the first six cruiserweights who have been confirmed to be making part of the Raw roster come this Monday along with the new WWE Cruiserweight champion TJ Perkins.
These six are Rich Swann, Cedric Alexander, Lince Dorado, Gran Metalik, Noam Dar, and the returning Brian Kendrick. All of them are appearing on Raw for the first time apart from Kendrick, who already had multiple stints with the company. Prior to the Cruiserweight Classic tournament, Kendrick was seen on-and-off on the E! show Total Divas where he was training Eva Marie.
The cruiserweight division will be a Raw exclusive and while Triple H said that it would have made more sense to have the cruisers on Smackdown, Raw needs the extra talent due to the extra hour they have on the air.
The division has been absent from WWE since 2007 and even then it wasn’t given the proper treatment and never really showcased the great cruiserweights from all around the world.
TMZ.COM is reporting that Brandi Rhodes, the wife of Cody Rhodes, has signed a deal with TNA Wrestling, and it’s not for announcing, but wrestling.
TNA’s Jeremy Borash reacted like he wasn’t aware of the news and wrote, “Interesting…” on Twitter when retweeting the story from TMZ.
Brandi, who worked for WWE under the name Eden Stiles, started with the company in 2011 but left later in the year before returning in 2013. She was Smackdown’s and Main Event’s ring announcer and also worked Raw when Lilian Garcia was away.
A few days after Cody Rhodes requested and got his release, she followed suit and WWE granted her wish to be released from her deal as well.
The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic is returning to NXT television and started at last night’s tapings at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida.
The tournament was created last year to honor the late, great WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes, who passed away a few months earlier. NXT kicked off a 16-tag tournament and the matches were taped during NXT television and non-televised live events. The semifinals and final took place at NXT Takeover: Respect with Samoa Joe and Finn Balor defeating Baron Corbin and Rhyno to win the tournament.
Dusty’s family, including Cody and Dustin Runnels, presented the trophy to the winners.
The winners of this year’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic will be crowned at the next NXT Takeover in Toronto, on November 19.
The first trailer of Disney’s newest and much-anticipated animated movie Moana featuring the voice of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, has been released.
The movie is set in ancient Oceania in the South Pacific, where a young girl named Moana from Motinui Island is a born navigator who sets sail in search of a fabled island. During her journey, she teams up with her hero and legendary demi-god Maui.
Dwayne Johnson voices the character of Maui while newcomer Auli’i Cravalho plays Moana. The movie is created by those behind Frozen and Zootopia and features songs and music by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Opetaia Foa’i, and Mark Macina.
It’s set for release in both 2D and 3D on November 23. You can watch the fantastic trailer. You can watch the fantastic trailer below.
On October 24, DK Publishing will release the WWE Encyclopedia of Sports Entertainment, 3rd Edition, the most expansive, all-encompassing chronicle ever unleashed on the WWE.
The full-color 416-page book includes over 1,200 Superstar and event profiles. The collection of images and information in this book represents the most ambition published project to date, as DK delved into the archives of WWE further than ever thought possible.
The artwork for the encyclopedia features 11 of the most popular WWE Superstars of all time with John Cena front-and-center. Notably missing from the cover is Hulk Hogan.
WWE revived the Cruiserweight title last night during the finale of the WWE Cruiserweight Classic, with the division now represented with a title for the first time since 2007.
The company started using the title when WCW was bought in 2001, abandoning the WWE Light Heavyweight title in favor of the Cruiserweight title. The lineage of that particular title dates back to 1991 when Brian Pillman won the tournament final against Ricky Morton at Halloween Havoc. The title was then unified in 2001 with the Light Heavyweight title, with X-Pac beating Billy Kidman to become the new Cruiserweight champion.
The title eventually swapped hands 79 times during its history with Hornswoggle being the last one to hold it after defeating Jimmy Wang Yang, Shannon Moore, Funaki, and Jamie Noble at the Great American Bash in 2007. The title was retired in September 2007 with Hornswoggle being the last recognized champion.
The new title introduced by WWE does is not carrying the same lineage as the other Cruiserweight title that preceded it and TJ Perkins is listed as the first ever title holder, ignoring the past history of the division title.
TJ Perkins, the 32-year-old California native became the new WWE Cruiserweight champion last night after defeating Gran Metalik in the finals of the Cruiserweight Classic tournament, an event which aired exclusively on the WWE Network.
Perkins and Metalik advanced to the final after defeating the popular and favorites Zack Sabre, Jr. and Kota Ibushi. The tournament was originally only going to crown a winner but it was changed to also crown the new Cruiserweight champion, a division which will be part of the Raw brand only.
Perkins made his wrestling debut in 1999 and he wrestled for New Japan Pro Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Guerilla, Ring of Honor, and TNA before landing in WWE. In TNA he wrestled as Puma, Suicide and Manik, winning the X Division title and the X Division tournament in 2013. This is actually his second time with WWE after very brief stints in 2009 and a couple of appearances on WWE’s version of ECW TV.
Perkins, who is also of Filipino descent, defeated Da Mack, Johnny Gargano, Rich Swann, and Kota Ibushi to claim the revived WWE Cruiserweight title.
The inaugural Cruiserweight Classic is over, with a five-star, two-hour live finale that was full of surprises – and stellar matches.
Triple H opens the show by narrating a video package that would have been done by Corey Graves had this been a normal episode. Four competitors, four nations, and one prize – a really phallic-looking trophy!
Mauro Ranallo does his best to squeeze in Japanese wrestling references from the start – Satoru Sayama to name just one – and we see the final set of brackets, as our semi-finals feature Gran Metalik vs. Zack Sabre Jr. and Kota Ibushi vs. TJ Perkins!
Another video package chock-full of CWC highlights – personally, almost all of this entire tournament has been a highlight for me.
Cruiserweight Classic Semi-Final: Gran Metalik vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Sabre got a few boos on his entrance, which eventually gave way to a more even crowd. Metalik blasts Sabre with a dropkick, then a tope con hilo straight out of the gate, as Sabre got rocked from the bell. A springboard senton gets a near-fall for the Mexican, before Sabre countered another springboard with a European uppercut.
Sabre twists the neck of Metalik between his feet, before he cranks Metalik with a grounded cravat and then a raised headscissors. That’s turned into a single-leg crab whilst the headscissors were on, and Metalik crawls to the ropes to force a break.
Metalik drops Sabre with some flying headscissors, then a dropkick, before Sabre blasts the Mexican with some more uppercuts, only for a kick from Sabre to get blocked and turned into a modified abdominal stretch. Sabre takes a stiff slap into the ropes, before Metalik just about pulls off a handspring elbow and springboards off the rope into a move that looked like a Dragon Sleeper mixed with a Stump Puller.
Sabre grinds his elbow into Metalik, then steps forward into a double armbar, which Metalik flips out of, before taking a big boot from Sabre. Another European uppercut follows, but Metalik gets a boot of his own, then a Slingblade and a running shooting star press for a near-fall. A La Magistral cradle gets reversed back and forth for some near falls, before Metalik locks Sabre in an Octopus hold, and then rolls him into a sunset flip pin for another two-count.
Sabre gets a guillotine from a tiltawhirl, but Metalik slips out and turns it into a Boston crab, and then rolls through some more for another pinfall attempt. Metalik levels Sabre with a lariat, then a superkick, before a springboard back elbow gets him a near-fall.
A rope-walk from Metalik is met with an European uppercut from Sabre, then a PK for a near-fall. From their knees, the pairs traded forearms, then headbutts, which gets Sabre a near-fall after Metalik slumped to his back. Metalik reverses out of a half nelson slam, but he gets caught in an Octopus from Sabre, and finally slumps into the ropes to break the hold.
Sabre rocks Metalik with some forearms, before he places him on the top rope, where Sabre locks in a cravat for some reason. He relinquishes the hold and tries for a superplex, but Metalik crotches him and follows up with a hurricanrana off the top rope! A springboard from Metalik is caught as Sabre locks in a triangle, but Metalik jack-knives over into a pin for a near-fall! Out of nowhere, Metalik picks up Sabre and lands the Metalik Driver for the win! A frenetic match from start to finish, maybe a touch sloppy, but a fantastic advert for this style of wrestling. ****¼
Zack Sabre Jr. looked suitably dejected in defeat, as William Regal gives Metalik an absolutely massive finalist medal. We have a translator in the ring for Metalik as Andrea D’Marco gets the scoop: surprise surprise, Metalik wants to win! The translator only translated questions, not the answers for some reason, so we don’t know for sure if Metalik wants to trade in that XL medal for a trophy.
Mauro and Daniel plug the arrival of the cruiserweights to Raw, and Bryan looks dejected as hell that “his show” isn’t getting them. A heavily-filtered video is shown to plug the cruiserweights.
Charlie Caruso’s backstage with Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa… or #DIY as they’re known. Only Gargano is wearing the “team shirt”, but will they pull the trigger on the heel turn tonight?
Cruiserweight Classic Semi-Final: Kota Ibushi vs. TJ Perkins
Like Sabre before him, Perkins gets some healthy booing from this pro-Kota crowd.
A much more measured start here, as Ibushi takes Perkins into the ropes from the bell, before he tries for a cheapshot from the break. Perkins takes down Ibushi, and tries for a knee-bar early on before Kota makes a quick escape. Ibushi works a wristlock, but it’s switched into a headscissor takedown from Perkins for a near-fall, before a flying kick to the chest takes down TJP.
Perkins hangs himself into the ropes, but ends up taking a missile dropkick to the outside as his plan to avoid a dive went awry. Ibushi takes a nasty spill to the floor via the turnbuckles as Perkins cut off the Golden Triangle DDT, and he barely breaks the ten-count back into the ring. A snapmare and a dropkick gets Perkins a near-fall, but Kota replies with a kick, before a second one is countered with a Dragon Screw.
Perkins grabs a heel hold, then works it into a Sugar hold, but Ibushi again works free and takes down TJP with a dropkick. A hurricanrana sends Perkins to the outside, and Ibushi finally follows up with the Golden Triangle Moonsault from the top rope to the floor. Back inside, a missile dropkick connects to the head of Perkins for a near-fall, before an Ibushi powerslam ends with him trying for a moonsault and meeting the knees of Perkins, who immediately goes for another kneebar, forcing Kota to the ropes.
Ibushi takes a kick to the face, but responds quickly with a snap bridging German suplex for a near-fall. More kicks from Ibushi send Perkins into the ropes, where he’s left prone for a flurry of kicks to the chest as the referee is forced to separate the pair. From the apron, Ibushi sets up for a deadlift German suplex from the outside in, but Perkins grabs onto the ropes and forces a break.
An inside-out dropkick knocks Ibushi loopy, but he counters with an overhead kick as Perkins was on the top rope, before a Golden Star powerbomb is turned into a DDT, as Perkins lands a double-knee gutbuster for a near-fall. Perkins catches a Pele kick and turns Ibushi into the knee-bar in the middle of the ring, but Kota rolls out as the pair level each other with punches and kicks, before the Golden Star Powerbomb gets yet another near-fall!
Ibushi sets up Perkins as he goes up top, but a Phoenix Splash misses, and Perkins crawls over to Kota… before laying into him with more forearms. They’re eagerly returned, before a missed kick from Kota is turned into a fireman’s carry with an overhead kick. Perkins grabs another knee bar, but Ibushi falls into the middle of the ring as he tries to escape, and Perkins yanks back with a crossface on top of the kneebar, and that forces a submission! A completely different style of match to the opener, but my word, TJ Perkins put on the performance of a lifetime here – this is going up there with the best matches of this year. ****½
Well, we’re an hour into the finals, and we’re going to need some considerable down-time matches to get the crowd calmed down for the finale!
William Regal gives Perkins a bloody great big medal, and he gets some boos during his post-match promo with Charlie Caruso. Curiously, that medal has “2016 Finalist” on there… sewing the seeds for next year, perhaps?
Cedric Alexander and Noam Dar are backstage with Andrea D’Marco… and Bryan Alvarez is hating this.
Sasha Banks is shown in the crowd, alongside Kalisto, who’s doing his Lucha Thing. Kofi Kingston and Jack Gallagher are there too! Ditto Bayley, who’s back at Full Sail.
Noam Dar & Cedric Alexander vs. #DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa)
Cedric gets the “welcome back” chants, whilst Gargano and Ciampa are forced to share Johnny’s titantron. More seeds for the future!
Alexander rolls over Ciampa to begin with, then flips over his back, and takes him down with a headscissor takedown, before a dropkick knocks Tommaso to the outside. Gargano tags in, as does Noam Dar, who grabs a wristlock only to be knocked down with a palm strike. Dar tries for the Champagne Super-Knee-Bar, but instead rolls up Gargano as they go back and forth for pinfall attempts.
A knee to the jaw of Dar allows Gargano to tag back out, and in comes Alexander to boot Gargano off the apron. Alexander hits a tope con hilo to the floor, then slingshots back in with a DDT before Ciampa dropkicks him in the head as he went for a handspring off the ropes.
Gargano tags back in to clean house, and sends Alexander onto the apron with an overhead belly to belly. Ciampa grabs Dar in an electric chair position for a superkick from Gargano, who slingshots into the ring with a spear on Alexander for a near-fall as the match had a frenetic spell.
Alexander sends Gargano flying before dragging him down for a Michinoku driver, before Ciampa is forced to kick out from a Dar roll-up. A springboard lariat from Alexander takes down Ciampa, as everyone trades high impact moves, ending with a lariat from Ciampa that turns Cedric inside out. Dar and Gargano trade kicks, before a rolling forearm knocks Dar.
Dar surprises Gargano with an ankle lock, but Ciampa runs in to break up the hold, as Gargano tags back out – selling the right leg in the process. Ciampa sets up Dar for a superplex, but instead tries for an Air Raid Crash off the top rope. Dar escape, and sets up Ciampa for a Cheeky Nando’s dropkick from Alexander, who followed up with a brainbuster for a near-fall – all after Dar had taken out Gargano with a tope.
Ciampa kicks out after a spinning heel kick from Cedric, before superkicks from Gargano and Ciampa take down both of their opponents. Gargano lawn-darts Dar into the turnbuckles, as DIY levels him with a double-team superkick for the win. And that was meant to be a cool-down match?! How!? We’re three-for-three on outstanding graps tonight. ****
William Regal’s brought on with Mauro and Daniel to go over the work that went into bringing the Cruiserweight Classic to life, as Mauro positively beamed at Regal’s Sammy Lee reference. Corey Graves tags in to give his two cents now he’s been released from the 3D Studio…
They replay highlights from the two semi-finals – set to the Raw theme music – and now it’s time!
Triple H comes out after the introductions for the finals, and reminds us that we’re only looking for “the one” best cruiserweight in the world. The winner’s going to get the trophy, and the brand new Cruiserweight title belt… which is purple?!
Cruiserweight Classic Final and WWE Cruiserweight Championship: TJ Perkins vs. Gran Metalik
Both men start in search of an early pin-fall attempt, and get one-counts. A knuckle-lock forces Perkins to the mat for a couple of two-counts, before he uses headscissors to take down Metalik.
Metalik reverses the headscissors, and slaps away at Perkins’ back, who then counters with a reverse pendulum submission, and then rolls him up for a near-fall. A headlock takedown keeps the advantage with Perkins, who switches a crucifix pin into a drop toehold and a bridging Indian Deathlock. Metalik catches Perkins with a dropkick on the apron, and rolls back into the ring for a tope suicida as he crashed head-first into Perkins, then the floor.
A rope-walk springboard senton gets Metalik a near-fall, as the Mexican catches Perkins in a surfboard stretch near the corner of the ring, but Perkins shuffles towards the ropes and forces the break. Perkins pulls of a headscissors out of a headstand in the corner, before another set of headscissors takes Metalik flying to the outside.
Perkins connects with a slingshot senton, again for a near-fall, before an armbar forces Metalik into a rope break. A hammerlock met with a rear chinlock keeps Metalik down, as Perkins follows with a suplex, before Metalik flips out of a back suplex. Again, Perkins gets knocked off the apron with a flying headscissors as Metalik flew over the top rope to the floor… that was insane! As was the follow-up tope con hilo as Metalik did not get caught at all, as he crashed and burned to the mats.
Metalik flies in with a springboard elbow for a near-fall, before he counters an irish whip into the corner by leaping up and walking across the ropes, but a running shooting star press misses as Perkins grabs a kneebar. A rope break saves Metalik, as Perkins chops away at the legs of the Mexican, who really fires back with an overhand chop to TJ’s chest.
A spinning back kick from Perkins is returned as Metalik hits a superkick, only for a low dropkick to the knee to send him crashing to the canvas. Another superkick in the corner dazes Perkins, but he’s able to avoid the Metalik Driver, as Metalik counters a Fireman’s carry into a DDT for a near-fall.
Perkins hits a double-knee gutbuster after Metalik missed a top rope moonsault, then trapped Metalik in a knee-bar after a near-fall. Metalik gets dragged into the middle of the ring as he’d gotten close to the ropes, but he shocks Perkins with a roll-up for a near-fall. This is getting great!
Another attempt at the Metalik Driver’s successful, but the Mexican’s tweaked his knee, and takes a while to make the cover, allowing Perkins to kick out at two. Perkins is dropped by another overhand chop, as his chest tries to match the purple of the new Cruiserweight title belt, but Perkins is still able to counter a Metalik driver.
Perkins takes Metalik into the ropes and lands an inside-out dropkick, before Metalik replies with a Pele kick on the top rope. Metalik climbs the turnbuckles, and sets up for an avalanche Metalik Driver… Perkins tries to elbow out, but he drops down and catches Metalik in the knee-bar… and that’s it! Gran Metalik taps! TJ Perkins and his bloody chest wins the trophy and the title! A phenomenal way to cap off the entire tournament! ****½
TJ Perkins is your first “new” Cruiserweight champion… William Regal and Triple H pose in the ring with TJ, the title and the trophy, as we see Gran Metalik stumble to the back.
Hey, didn’t TNA have this guy? And wasted him?!
Perkins’ post-match interview tells us about his necklace having the key to the house he was evicted from, and how he keeps that as a memory of a part of his life that he never wants to go back to.
What a night – four matches, and all of them at the top end of the scale when it comes to the subjective world of match ratings. This more than lived up to the hype. Without a shadow of a doubt, the best WWE-labelled show of the year, with the only argument being the fact that there was only four matches on this card.
So, Raw, now you have the cruiserweights, and a champion. DON’T MESS THIS UP.
Reproduced from BackBodyDrop.com, where a day of work was used to good effect to watch this Cruiserweight Classic final live!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:Ian Hamilton has been a wrestling fan since 1992, and when he’s not watching WWE, New Japan or his latest wrestling love, PROGRESS, he’s usually suffering through Sunderland AFC and the New York Jets. He’s got a couple of books out on Amazon – “Wrestling’s Sinking Ship” and “Gone Too Soon”, and can be reached via his website, BackBodyDrop.com, or on Twitter @theianhamilton
Smackdown came super close to beating Raw in the ratings this week, getting 2,658,000 viewers for the post-Backlash show, up 204,000 viewers from last week. Raw did 2.69 million viewers so Smackdown was just 32,000 viewers away from Raw. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
In a long message posted on Twitter, Paige confirmed that she will be back to WWE and all the rumors of her leaving are “completely false.”
Paige also explained what happened with the Wellness Program violation that led to her 30-day suspension. “Let me be clear that I was not suspended for failing a drug test, it was merely due to a procedural issue,” the former champion wrote. “I arranged said test to happen after I wasn’t at my home when Aegis [who administer WWE’s drug tests] contacted me. I didn’t do it in time, according to Aegis,” she wrote, adding that she drove 200 miles to do it.
Paige said that she was disappointed by the suspension but respects the Wellness Program and looks forward to return, thanking her fans for their support during the past few weeks.
The top two matches for Smackdown’s No Mercy pay-per-view were set on last night’s show with both the main even for the WWE World title and the Smackdown Women’s title match announced.
The Smackdown Women’s champion Becky Lynch will be making her first title defense against Alexa Bliss, who surprisingly pinned Nikki Bella after Carmella super kicked the former Divas champion and then Bliss took advantage by getting rid of Carmella and pinning Nikki. The number one contender match was decided in a 5-way match between Nikki, Carmella, Natalya, Naomi, and Bliss.
Meanwhile the main event will be a triple threat match between champion AJ Styles and challengers Dean Ambrose and John Cena. Cena decided he wanted AJ Styles’ title to tie Ric Flair’s record of 16 world titles but Ambrose wanted his rematch, so Shane McMahon set the triple threat match.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Daniel Bryan said WWE didn’t really give him a choice and after they offered him the Smackdown General Manager job, he had to show up because he’s under contract.
With two years left on his current WWE deal, Bryan said that despite everything, he is treated fairly by the company and doesn’t think they are keeping him away from wrestling on purpose.
“There are times I just get all worked up and I’m like, I need to call them and I’m just going to ask for my release,” he said, adding that if he didn’t have a family, he would have pushed harder to get out of his deal and go wrestle somewhere else. “Because it’s what I love to do. But, it becomes different when you have a wife and you’re trying to have kids.”
Bryan said that WWE has not changed their position over him wrestling again. “You can see it from their point of view. If something happens to me…and then they let me back in the ring, and something happens to me, even if these other doctors say I’m cleared, they’re not the ones who the media will blame,” he told the Associated Press.
When the AP asked WWE for comments regarding the story, WWE replied, “WWE determined it is not in the best interest of Bryan Danielson (aka Daniel Bryan) to continue as an in-ring performer.”
PWInsider.com published an exclusive story saying that former WWE Divas champion Paige will be returning on the road next week with the Raw brand and is also booked on the upcoming Raw.
On August 17, her birthday, WWE announced that Paige was suspended for 30 days effective August 18. She was suspended along with her real-life boyfriend Alberto Del Rio, who has since departed the company.
PWInsider adds that both parties have been discussing what the future holds for her following the departure of Del Rio. Paige accompanied Del Rio to his press conference in Mexico City but did not give any comments to the press. There were rumors that Paige has sought legal aid to get her out of her long WWE contract but those rumors were never verified.
Both Paige and Del Rio are part of the Total Divas season 6 series, which is yet another complication for WWE and E! if Paige is indeed allowed to leave as well.
The much-praised WWE Cruiserweight Classic tournament finale will be held tonight in Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University and will be airing live on the WWE Network.
The two semifinals will also be airing on tonight’s broadcast featuring Gran Metalik vs Zack Sabre, Jr., and Kota Ibushi vs T.J. Perkins with the winners of each match meeting in the final for the Cruiserweight Classic trophy.
The show will start at 9PM EST and will be two hours long. The WWE Network currently has a Cruiserweight Classic marathon scheduled all day long.
Many of the cruiserweights who participated in this 32-man tournament will be wrestling on Raw as part of the cruiserweight division starting next week.
A recap of Backlash from last Sunday plays, including Becky becoming the Smackdown! Live Women’s Champion, and Heath Slater and Rhyno winning the Tag-Team Championships. The package finishes with A.J. Styles capturing the WWE World Championship from Dean Ambrose.
The regular Smackdown! Live video plays and we go to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Segment #2: Arena Promo
The NEW WWE World Champion is brought out. A.J. Styles walks out with his new title around his waist. He puts himself over and tells us to believe everything he says, since he said he would become WWE World Champion at Backlash and he did. “I am the champ that runs the camp!”
Suddenly, his summer rival returns! John Cena walks out and gets serious in the ring with Styles. He wants his property back, which A.J. thinks is his headband. Cena reiterates that he still has to get something back from Styles – the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. John wants to become a 16-time World Champion, a record that matches 2-time Hall of Famer and former 16-time World Champion Ric Flair.
“A.J., your life changes when I am your enemy,” Dean warns. He continues to threaten A.J. until John turns him around. Cena calls out Ambrose on hypocrisy for how he punished Styles a couple o weeks ago on Smackdown! but complains that A.J. basically did the same thing to win. Dean is also worn-out from hearing all of Cena’s “pump-up” talks, and as the two argue, Commissioner Shane McMahon joins.
Shane books the No Mercy main event, which will be a Triple-Threat Match for the WWE World Championship; Dean Ambrose VS. John Cena VS. A.J. Styles! He goes on about tonight, ordering Cena and Ambrose to team-up, and A.J. to find a partner for their Tag-Team main-event!
Later tonight, there will be a Fatal 5-Way between Carmella, Nikki Bella, Alexa Bliss, Naomi, and Natalya to determine who the new #1 Contender is to Becky Lynch’s Women’s Championship. Also,
Commercials.
Match #1: Tag-Team – The Usos (Jimmy and Jey) VS. The Hype Bros (Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley)
Jey and Zack start out, with Zack hammering on Jey out of the corner. The Usos soon take control, working over Ryder’s leg for a bit. Zack kids Jey away and manages to tag in Mojo, who clotheslines Jimmy hard. He gives the Uso twin a big shoulder-tackle and then a splash in the corner. Jimmy soon gets the advantage with a superkick, and then the brothers finish with a Samoan-Splash!
Winners via Pinfall: The Usos
Intercontinental Champion The Miz and his wife Maryse are walking through the halls; they will be out next!
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Segment #3: Video Promo
Curt Hawkins is ready to debut on Smackdown! soon.
Segment #4: Arena Promo
Intercontinental Champion The Miz and his wife, Maryse, strut to the ring; the lights are dimmed with only a spotlight on them in the ring. “For weeks Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler and most of the WWE Universe has been calling me a ‘coward.’ I’ll tell you what, you can call me a ‘coward’ all you want, but I left Backlash with the Intercontinental Championship and my wife by my side.” Miz goes on about his reign, saying he has been champion longer than 132 others, at 162 days and counting.
Dolph Ziggler interrupts and eggs on Miz to wrestle mano-e-mano to prove his can go properly. “Just you and me.” Maryse interjects and doesn’t get it. She questions Ziggler’s motives and then General Manager Daniel Bryan enlists in this conversation. He sides with Dolph and informs them of a rematch, but Miz protests. He holds out until he reaches a contract agreement; Miz and Maryse storm away.
Segment #5: Backstage Promo
WWE World Champion A.J. Styles sees Baron Corbin in the hall and tries to convince him to tag together; Corbin denies, and instead warns A.J. he is more about the WWE World Championship.
Commercials.
Match #2: Single – Baron Corbin VS. Apollo Crews
As Apollo poses on the turnbuckle, Baron hits him from behind and Crews tumbles to the floor. Corbin slings him into the barricade and then plants him with End of Days.
Winner: None due to No Official Start
Post-match, Jack Swagger surprises us. He stares down Baron, and then announces he has signed with Smackdown! Live as of 12:01am September 13th. Swagger cautions that we don’t know anything about him anymore, and he is here to start again. He proclaims that he and “we” – the Universe – are a force to be reckoned with.
Up next, Women’s Champion Becky Lynch will address the fans.
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Segment #6: Arena Promo
Women’s Champion Becky Lynch strolls out. “You deserve it” chants start, and she commends Philly for being the place to begin her reign. “On Sunday, I was in the ‘fight of my life’ against five other competitors. And every I got beaten down, I had to drag myself back up again because there is nothing that I wanted more in my life than this. And until five became four, and then four became three, became two, and then there was one, and your first-ever Smackdown! Women’s Champion, yes! Now, now there’s saying. There’s a saying that goes ‘that the journey is greater than the destination.’ Well, I’ll tell ya, whoever said that never traveled this journey. And they certainly didn’t arrive at this destination, because this destination is pretty freakin’ sweet! So come one, come all, because just like Philly is a fightin’ city, I am a fighting woman, so come at me bros!”
Naomi’s music plays and she makes her entrance, as do Nikki Bella, Alexa Bliss, Natalya, and Carmela for the next contest!
Match #3: Fatal-5-Way – Naomi VS. Nikki Bella VS. Alexa Bliss VS. Natalya VS. Carmela
(Stipulation: #1 Contender’s Bout for the Women’s Championship)
Nikki cleans house on all, and then begins to take them one-one. Naomi catches her with a kick and locks on a headscissors from the turnbuckle, but Bella counters it with an Electric-Chair drop. Alexa covers both, but can’t pin either. Natalya is back in and yanks Bliss by her hair; she knees Alexa and then runs her into the corner and follows with a shoulder-ram.
Naomi is back in and hits a running enziguri on Bliss and then drops her with a full-nelson bomb! Natalya hits Alexa with a running front-dropkick! 1 – 2 – Alexa gets her shoulder up! Nikki’s back and plants Nattie with the Bella-buster facebuster! 1 – 2 – Natalya kicks out!
Naomi follows with the Rear-View bump on Bella but can’t get this! She goes for a baseball slide, but Natalya stops it and slams Naomi’s face on the steel steps. Nikki chucks Natalya into the barricade and then goes back into the ring to meet Bliss. They wrestle on the turnbuckle until Bella catches her and tries her T.K.O. Carmela superkicks Nikki, and then Alexa throws Carmela out and covers Nikki for the victory!
Winner and NEW #1 Contender: Alexa Bliss
Segment #7: Backstage Promo
WWE World Champion A.J. Styles makes a case to team with Kane, but “The Big Red Machine” just laughs and walks away.
Up next, Tag-Team Champion Heath Slater is going to sign is Smackdown! Live contract!
Commercials.
Segment #8: Arena Promo
Commissioner Shane is in the ring, which also has a carpet on the canvas and a table in the middle. He announces Tag Team Champion Heath Slater, who walks out with his Tag-Team Champion partner Rhyno!
Shane gives them props and gets right to the signing. Heath holds the papers high and then puts pen-to-paper! He takes the microphone and is truly excited, as he gets to move with his family. He starts to thank his numerous children, but The Ascension – Konnor and Viktor (looking more like Demolition) – interrupt. They take Heath on his offer, and Shane books it, so up next, we will have a Tag-Team Title bout!
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Match #4: Tag-Team for the Tag-Team Championship – Heath Slater and Rhyno (Champions) VS. The Ascension (Konnor and Viktor) (Challengers)
Viktor has Heath in a rear chinlock, and then picks him up, running him into The Ascension’s corner. They double-team for a bit, but Rhyno stops a pin and throws Konnor into the ring post. Heath kicks Viktor off and makes the hot-tag! Rhyno is all over Viktor, pushes Konnor to the outside, and Gores Viktor for the 1 – 2 – 3!
Winners via Pinfall and STILL Tag-Team Champions: Heath Slater and Rhyno
Segment #9: Backstage Promo
A.J. is still without a partner, so General Manager Bryan proposes James. Styles walks away, but Daniel insists James “will do great.”
Commercials.
Segment #10: Arena Promo
Randy Orton makes his way to the ring. “Bray, Bray, Bray. All you do is talk. You say, you’re ‘the face of fear.’ And I finally know what that means. You are the ‘face of fear’ because you’re afraid. You’re afraid of me. You’re afraid of me Sunday night at Backlash, that’s why you attacked me from my behind. You tried to maim me, you tried to end my career. But it didn’t work. You’re not the first to try and you won’t be the last to try.” He challenges Bray to “come on down to the ring and face your fear.”
Wyatt appears on the Titantron. “A wise man knows when to day down, Randy. And this world we live in is cruel and unfair. I know it. And I gave you a gift. I gave you a ‘way out.’ All you had to do is stay down, but you didn’t. Instead, you chose to embarrass me. I didn’t like that. but it’s okay, man. Because now, I know what I must do. I can’t stop now, Randy, no. ‘Till death do us part I promise you. Not fire, not daggers, not bullets can end this now. Don’t sleep, Randy. Do …. not …. sleep.” The lights go out and Bray appears on the commentator’s table. The two glare, but the lights go out again and in the ring is Erick Rowan. He attacks Orton, but “The Viper” quickly hits back with an R.K.O!
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Match #5: Tag-Team – WWE World Champion A.J. Styles and James Ellsworth VS. John Cena and Dean Ambrose
As James makes his way to the ring, Intercontinental Champion The Miz attacks from behind. He drives James into the ramp with his Skull Krushing Finale, and then seem sot take over as Styles’ partner!
Commercials.
Miz is in control over Cena, stomping and kicking away. He DDT’s Cena, and after getting in referee Mike Chioda’s face, runs at John in the corner with a clothesline. He goes for another in the opposite corner, but John moves and gets the tag to Dean!
“The Lunatic Fringe” is on fire over A.J., giving him a swinging-backbreaker (Thanks Mauro!), and then dives off of the top turnbuckle with an elbow! He gives … numerous kicks in the corner, and then tosses Miz into the barrier. Dean slides back in the ring but eats a Pele Kick by A.J.!
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Miz and Dean are down, and Ambrose continues to wrestle The Miz instead of making a much-needed tag. Miz punches back and then soars off of the top with a one-arm axe-handle! He switches with A.J., who knocks Cena off of the apron. He punches Dean in the corner and then chops him against the ropes. Styles stretches Dean’s face, but Ambrose battles back. He and A.J. switch out, and Cena is all over The Miz.
John drops Miz with a spin-out-backdrop and the Five-Knuckle-Shuffle Fistdrop! He goes for the Attitude Adjustment, but A.J. interrupts. Cena gets ride of him, and Dean follows with a dive-through-the-ropes! Cena picks Miz up again and drops him with the Attitude Adjustment; he covers for the victory!
Winners via Pinfall: John Cena and Dean Ambrose
Post-match, Ambrose and Cena celebrate until Dean drives John to the canvas with his Dirty Deeds DDT, surprisingly to a lot of boos! He yells at Cena, and then frowns at WWE World Champion A.J. Styles, who is on the ramp to close the show.
Monday Night Raw got absolutely smashed in the ratings yesterday, with the lowest rating – holiday or not – in over two decades with just an average of 2,690,000 viewers tuning in. It’s down 379,000 viewers from last week.
Hour one started with 2,833,000 viewers, then went down to 2,717,000 in the second hour, and then down to 2,520,000 in the third and final hour.
Raw will now be facing NFL competition every week since football season is here so expect a good chunk of WWE audience to vanish weekly depending on which game is airing. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Petmate, the worldwide leader of solutions and excellence in the pet industry providing fun trusted, quality products to enhance the lives of pets and their families, revealed the launch of its new collection of WWE pet products available at retailers nationwide. The new collection features iconic pet beds, fan favorite collars and leashes, and assorted rough and tough rubber and plush toys and some healthy products like cbd oil to deal with your pet stress symptoms, you can try this out by just going to our online shop.
WWE Superstars John Cena, The Rock, and WWE Hall of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin are part of the collection, available online at PetSmart.com, Amazon.com and when you visit vetnaturals.com.
“There are more than 68 million American families to their pets and you can count WWE fans among those passionate pet lovers,” said Chris Wilson, executive vice president of marketing and new product development for Petmate. “The Superstars and iconic symbols of WWE translate extremely well into these new innovative quality pet products that appeal to all fans.”
Toys WWE Superstars are brought to life with printed canvas and rugged rubber chew toys. Highlights include: WWE Championship and Diva Belt Tug – $14.99 WWE Money in the Bank Tug – $10.99 Designed for tough tug play between you and your dog, or for two dogs to wrestle and tug together. Beds
The WWE World Heavyweight Championship makes an appearance in the shape of a rectangular lounger for your pet to enjoy after a hard day of play. Other pillow beds and loungers feature The Rock, the iconic WWE logo and Divas leopard print. Highlights include: WWE Pillow Bed with The Rock Logo – $24.99 WWE Diva Pink Leopard Pinch Corner Lounger Bed – $24.99 WWE Championship Rectangular Lounger Bed – $29.99 A wide variety of bedding styles for dogs of all sizes who want to feel like a true Superstar. Collars & Leashes
WWE collars and leashes feature custom Superstar prints showcasing WWE favorites, such as John Cena, The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin.
WWE Adjustable Collars – $5.99 – $9.99 These adjustable dog collars are soft and durable, and feature patterns from your favorite WWE Superstars.
WWE Leashes – $13.99 Leashes feature custom fan favorite Superstar patterns and coordinate to match WWE adjustable collars.
