The Kevin Owens era on Monday Night Raw has begun as the former Intercontinental champion won the WWE Universal title last night, becoming the second champion to hold the belt after Finn Balor.
The match was turned to an elimination match from a fatal 4-way with Big Cass the first one eliminated by Owens. Then Triple H made a surprise return and helped Seth Rollins eliminate Roman Reigns before turning on Rollins and giving Owens the opportunity to pin him after Triple H delivered the Pedigree on his former protégé.
The fans went absolutely crazy when the three-count hit the mat as Owens, first confused by what happened, celebrated with the new red title.
Owens joined WWE in 2014, but spent a year down in NXT where he positioned himself as one of the most popular – and hated – Superstars in Orlando. He won the NXT title at NXT Takeover: Rival in February 2015 and held the title until July 4, when he lost it to Finn Balor at the WWE Network event in Tokyo, Japan.
The 32-year-old moved to the main roster in May, two months prior to losing the NXT title and confronted John Cena on his first night on Raw. His first match on the main roster was a clean pin on Cena. He then went on to win the Intercontinental title from Ryback at Night of Champions, a title he held twice so far.
A couple of pictures of Hall-of-Famer Harry Fujiwara – a.k.a. Mr. Fuji – is displayed, as he passed away yesterday; he was 82, born in 1934.
Segment #2: Video Promo, Welcoming, and Arena Promo
A recap of Finn Balor winning the Universal Championship at Summerslam, and then him having to give it up just a day later on Raw last week, along with the qualifying for tonight’s Fatal=-4-Way for the Championship airs.
The regular Raw video plays and we are live in Houston, Texas! Michael Cole greets us, and in the ring, Corey Graves is with Seth Rollins, Big Cass, Kevin Owens, and Roman Reigns, along with the Universal Championship.
Corey starts off but is quickly stopped by Rollins, who puts himself over. He challenges Kevin to speak, and Owens does, making fun of everyone. Cass replies that “size does matter,” and Roman slugs Owens instead of saying anything. A brawl breaks out.
Up next, Chris Jericho is in action against Neville!
Commercials.
Match #1: Single – Neville VS. Chris Jericho
(Note: Before the bout, Jericho is interview) Neville delivers a fist and chop, and then hits a flying-forearm. Jericho goes to counter a run with a front-dropkick, but Neville catches him and sling-shots him to the floor! Back in the ring, Neville soars off the top turnbuckle with a crossbody for a two-count, and then Jericho gets the advantage soon after.
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Chris pushes Neville from the turnbuckle and follows with a diving tornado-elbow! 1 – 2 – Neville raises his shoulder! Jericho whips Neville off the ropes, but Neville counters with a spin-kick. He also counters a top-turnbuckle dive from Jericho with another kick, and then gives him a standing Shooting Star Press for a near-fall!
Neville whips Jericho, but “Y2J” slides to the floor again. “The Man That Gravity Forgot” springs off the middle rope with a moonsault onto Chris! He brings him back into the ring, but Jericho gains quick control. He tries a running-bulldog from the corner, but Neville throws him into the opposite turnbuckle, crotch and stomach-first! Neville picks him up in a German Suplex position, but Jericho rolls through and goes for his Walls of Jericho submission. Neville counters, and hits an enziguri! He goes to the top turnbuckle and his Red Arrow twisting-splash, but Jericho moves. Neville lands on his feet, but Jericho traps him in his Liontamer – the old version of the Walls of Jericho – forcing Neville to give-in!
Winner via Submission: Chris Jericho
Segment #3: Backstage Promo
New Raw wrestler Bayley is walking through the halls, where she hugs an assistant and then meets Tag-Team Champions The New Day! She is overjoyed to do so, and they are just as equally happy; until Dana Brooke joins. She is not pleased with their happiness, and declares to collect Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson for a match. Kofi Kingston, Big E., Xavier Woods, and Bayley answer her challenge, and tell her to get another partner for an Eight-Person Match!
Commercials.
Match #2: Single – Ion VS. Nia Jax
Nia takes this convincingly after her Fireman’s-Carry Sidewalk-Slam finisher!
Winner via Nia Jax
Segment #4: Video Promo
Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows have left the doctor business and now are in the retirement business. They are part of the Octogenarian Leisure Destination For Aging Rehabilitation Treatment, a.k.a. O.L.D. F.A.R.T., and talk about Tag-Team Champions The New Day. Footage of them dismantling the WWE-retired Dudley Boys plays, and then Dana Brooke joins them dressed as a nurse.
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Segment #5: Video Promo
Seth Rollins highlights are aired, hyping him for the Fatal-4-Way.
Match #3: Single – Jinder Mahal VS. Sami Zayn
Sami controls this quickly at first, until he hits the jumping calf-kick and appears to have hurt his right leg again. Jinder clamps on a grounding rear-chinlock, but Zayn fires back with a hard clothesline. He gives Mahal the Exploder Suplex into the corner, and then runs at him with his Helluva Kick! 1 – 2 – 3!
Winner via Pinfall: Sami Zayn
Up next, it will be Tag-Team Champions Big E. and Kofi Kingston, teaming with Bayley to face Dana Brooke, Karl Anderson, and Luke Gallows in Six-Person Mixed Tag-Team! (My correction; I misunderstood from the promo earlier and thought this was an Eight-Person one.)
Commercials.
Match #4: Six-Person Tag-Team – Tag-Team Champions The New Day (Big E. and Kofi Kingston) (with Tag-Team Champion/New Day member Xavier Woods) and Bayley VS. Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, and Dana Brooke
Dana and Bayley begin, with Brooke slamming Bayley to the mat and pounding her with punches. Bayley reverses into a jackknife pin for a near-fall, and then another roll-up, also getting a two-count! She holds Dana in an armbar, but Brooke counters and slams Bayley’s head a couple of times into the turnbuckle. Bayley reverses and does the same, and then tags in Big E. as Brooke switched with Karl.
Big and Kofi double-team Karl with a snapmare and kick, and then slams him down. Anderson and Gallows trick Big, and then Luke takes over for a bit. Big hits back and then makes the hot-tag to Kingston who flies all over Anderson. He and Big give Karl the Unicorn Stampede, and then Bayley gets slung into Anderson by Kofi, and she hits him with a front-dropkick! New Day and Bayley pose while Xavier sounds off on his trombone.
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Anderson and Gallows start to govern now after a spinebuster by Anderson. He goes for a knee drop, but Kingston moves! Kofi kicks Karl away, but Luke pulls Big before Kingston could tag him. Anderson sets Kofi up in the corner, but Kingston double-stomps him as he ran! Kofi gets the hot-tag to Bayley, who is all over Dana!
She elbows her in the corner and then T-Bone suplexes onto the canvas. Bayley drops an elbow, but Luke yanks Brooke out of the ring to prevent the pin. Kofi and Big take out Anderson and Gallows, and Bayley Bayley-to-Belly suplexes Dana and covers to take this!
Winners via Pinfall: Tag-Team Champions The New Day and Bayley
Post-match, Charlotte glares at Bayley, as Cole talks about both Bayley and Sasha Banks being potential challengers to her Women’s Championship.
Segment #6: Locker Room Promo
Tom Phillips asks Cesaro about being down 1 – 0 against Sheamus in their Best-Of-Seven series. Cesaro admits he’s in trouble, especially if he falls 2 – 0, but promises to Swing Sheamus repeatedly, and go on to win the series overall and a Championship Match that General Manager Mick Foley will give the winner.
Commercials.
Segment #7: Video Promo
Big Cass talks about his Raw debut and what it would mean to win the Universal Championship.
Match #5: Best-Of-Seven Series (Single) – Sheamus VS. Cesaro
(Note: Sheamus leads, 1 – 0)
Before the contest, Sheamus cuts a promo with Byron Saxton, putting himself over, and wondering what Cesaro will think when Sheamus bests him.
They lockup and Cesaro brings Sheamus to the mat with a waistlock and roll-up for one! they lockup again and Cesaro trips Sheamus up by his leg, and then after a little back-and-forth, he tries for the Swing. Sheamus blocks and goes to the outside, and then shoulder-blocks him between the ropes from the apron. Cesaro elbows back, knocking Sheamus to the floor, and then hits a couple of uppercuts. Cesaro brings Sheamus back into the ring, but “The Celtic Warrior” yells that his elbow is hurt. Cesaro axe-handles the left elbow, and focuses on it. He dropkicks Sheamus and boots him back to the floor!
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Sheamus is in control now with a standing side-headlock, and then drives him down with his Irish Curse backbreaker. He ties him up for the Cloverleaf submission, but Cesaro blocks by separating Sheamus’ hands, and then springs off the middle rope with a tornado-elbow! He goes for the Swing again, but Sheamus pulls himself to the ropes to stop. Cesaro yanks and plants Sheamus with a sit-down powerbomb for two!
Sheamus reverses a crossbody pin into a roll-up for a very near-fall, and then does the same with his legs on the ropes, but the ref sees that. Cesaro gives Sheamus nine uppercuts in one corner and then a couple running runs in two corners! He follows with a dropkick while Sheamus was on the top turnbuckle! He runs on the outside, but Sheamus reverses into a backdrop that sends Cesaro flying onto the apron and post! The referee checks on Cesaro, and then Sheamus puts him back into the ring and locks on the Cloverleaf, where Cesaro has to tap quickly!
Winner via Submission and LEADING 2 – 0: Sheamus
Segment #8: Remembrance
Harry Fujiwara’s, also known as Mr. Fuji, career highlights from 1977 – 2007 (including a Hall of Fame induction) plays.
Commercials.
Segment #9: Video Promo
Kevin Owens’ reasons for wanting to win the Universal Championship are seen.
Match #6: Single – Americano VS. Braun Strowman
Braun picks this one up after his finisher!
Winner via Pinfall: Braun Strowman
Post-match, Braun rips off the mask of Americano, but we do not see his face.
Up next, Stephanie McMahon will call out Paul Heyman regarding Brock Lesnar.
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Segment #10: Arena Promo
Commissioner Stephanie McMahon saunters out and puts over the Universal championship match. She moves on to Brock Lesnar, who gave Smackdown! Live Commissioner Shane McMahon an F-5 at SummerSlam. She can’t get too far, as Paul Heyman interrupts. He does understand that Brock “crossed a line” when he did that, and wants to pay the $500 fine. He takes a stack of money out and begins to dish out dollars, one-by-one.
Stephanie slaps that stack away and warns him “there’s a storm coming your ugly way.” Heyman retorts that McMahon is the one who deserves an apology, as Lesnar is going to be the real “storm.” He says he really did her a favor by lining her up with the Board of Directors, who he says that Stephanie will one day rule over. McMahon takes his apology and walks away.
The commentators recap Finn Balor’s injury from SummerSlam and show still-pics of his shoulder surgery. Up next, Darren Young wrestlers Titus O’Neil.
Commercials.
Segment #11: Video Promo
Roman Reigns broadcasts his cause to become Universal Champion.
Match #7: Single – Titus O’Neil VS. Darren Young (with Bob Backlund)
Darren starts off strong, but after Titus throws Young over the turnbuckle, he takes control. Darren kicks out after a clothesline, and then catches Titus in a pin-combo for the three!
Winner via Pinfall: Darren Young (with Bob Backlund)
Post-match, O’Neil assaults both Young and Backlund, and slams Darren to the mat with his Clash of the Titus Spinebuster.
Segment #12: Backstage Promo
General Manager Mick Foley apologies for not backing up Stephanie against Heyman; she is fine with that and Foley proposes to ban anyone associated with the wrestlers in the Universal Championship Match. She agrees and then Seth Rollins walks up. Stephanie puts him over and gives him a hug, as he declared “I won’t let you down.”
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Match #8: Fatal-4-Way Elimination for the Universal Championship – Roman Reigns (Challenger) VS. Kevin Owens (Challenger) VS. Seth Rollins (Challenger) VS. Big Cass (Challenger)
GM Foley and Commissioner Stephanie are standing ringside, with Foley holding the Universal Championship. After formal introductions, we go to a break.
Commercials.
Owens rolls to the outside and stands by Foley and McMahon, as he knows he doesn’t have to be included for a while due to the elimination rules! All four go at it now, with Owens and Reigns, and Rollins and Cass pairing up against each other.
Cass and Reigns square off and slug away at each other. Reigns runs off the ropes and leaps with a forearm, and then gears up for the Superman Punch. Big stops it, but Roman elbows out. Cass runs back at him with a huge boot that puts Reigns to the floor and Cass exits as well. Seth follows with a dive-through-the-ropes and Owens then drops Rollins onto the barricade. He picks up Big, but both are put to the floor mat by a soaring Roman!
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Kevin has the better of everyone and works over Cass. He tries for a Cannonball Splash, but Seth pulls him to the floor. Cass misses on Rollins, and Seth hits a running-forearm. He goes for another, but Reigns cuts him off with a clothesline, and then hits a couple more. Big boots back on Roman, and shoves Seth and Kevin with shoulder-blocks. He splashes both in corners a couple of times, and then boots Owens off of the apron.
Seth rolls-up Cass, but Big kicks out! He drops The Empire Elbow, but Roman Superman Punches Cass. Rollins capitalizes with a kick-to-the-head, but Big still kicks out! Owens rockets off the top turnbuckle with a Frogsplash, and eliminates Cass!
Big Cass is eliminated!
Commercials.
Roman powerbombs Kevin from the turnbuckle, who was also gives Seth a superplex! Reigns covers but only gets two on both competitors! He goes for another Superman Punch, but Rollins counters. He goes again, but Seth ducks and twirls him with the Falcon Arrow front suplex! 1 – 2 – Roman kicks out! Seth tries the Pedigree, but Reigns counters! Rollins springboards from the top rope with a knee, but Roman hits a Superman Punch! 1 – 2 – Seth kicks out!
Owens is back in and hits both with Cannonball Splashes. He goes for a third, but Roman counters with a Superman Punch! 1 – 2 – Kevin gets his shoulder up! Roman runs for his Spear, but Owens kicks back and slings him for the Pop-Up powerbomb, but Reigns reverses into a Superman Punch! Kevin rolls to the floor, and Seth tries The Pedigree; Roman reverses into a roll-up and sit-down powerbomb for a very-close call! Loud chants of “this is awesome” commence!
Reigns hits Rollins with his Drive-By running front-dropkick, Kevin with another Superman Punch, and then Seth with a Spear! As he goes to put Rollins back in the ring, Triple H comes from the crowd and Pedigrees him! “The Game” places Roman back in the ring and yells at Seth, and then puts him back in the ring and on top of Reigns to eliminate “The Guy!”
Roman Reigns is eliminated!
HHH walks around and throws Kevin back in the ring too, and lines him up. Seth looks on, but Triple H turns around and Pedigrees “The Architect!” He nodded to Owens, and then Kevin jumps on top of Seth for the victory!
Seth Rollins is eliminated!
Winner and NEW Universal Champion: Kevin Owens
Post-match, Triple H holds Owens’ hands high. He leaves and stares at Mick and Steph on his way out. Kevin continues to celebrate, crying with his head on the title! The fans call out boisterous “you deserve it” chants as to close the show.
End of Raw.
Reporter’s Rumblings
In respect to Mr. Fuji, instead of my usual review, I will give my thoughts on him.
Unfortunately, I was not as into wrestling (or even born) when he was super-popular/at his peek. I have only seen footage of him, but what I have seen, he seemed to be a fantastic manager and personality. It looked like he made the wrestlers he was with, and if it wasn’t for him, they may not have reached the heights in their careers. I’m sure a few of today’s stars could use his talents. May God rest his soul and provide love and support to his family at this time.
Back in May, Variety announced that Netflix has ordered 10 episodes of a comedy series based on the 1980’s female wrestling league with the name Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, and today, The Hollywood Reporter revealed the first member of the cast – Alison Brie.
Brie will star as Ruth, a struggling actress whose dreams of fame take a surprising turn when she joins G.L.O.W. The series is inspired by the real story behind the wrestlers and will be a fictionalized tale of an out-of-work actress who finds one last attempt to live her dreams in the form of a weekly series about female wrestlers. G.L.O.W. will be set in Los Angeles and is described as showcasing “big hair and body slams.”
The series will be exec produced by Jenji Kohan, the woman behind the Netflix original series Orange Is The New Black. Joining her from OITNB is Tara Herrmann who will also serve as executive producer while Liz Flahive (Homeland) and Carly Mensch (Nurse Jackie) will serve as showrunners. They are also the co-creators of the series.
In the first episode of his podcast Conversation With The Big Guy, former WWE Intercontinental champion Ryback revealed that money was not the reason he walked away from WWE as he had a 3-year, $1.5 million contract.
Ryback said that there were several aspects of life in WWE which he did not like, including the constant lies he was fed, the opportunities he was not allowed to undertake even though others were doing the same thing, and the expensive travel expenses. Despite all the negativity, Ryback said he was thankful that the WWE gave him the opportunity to perform and left without burning any bridges.
He noted that most of the lies he was told were said by Vince McMahon and when the new contract was presented to him, he did not want to sign it and offered a revised one. On his last day, he gave them what he wanted in his contract, knowing that they would never accept, and then asked to be taken off television. He said he never spoke to Vince McMahon on his last day and told WWE Senior Director of Talent Relations Mark Carrano that he’s out.
The Facebook page of the Allstate Arena in Chicago, Illinois, announced today that the September 24 non-televised live event will feature a SummerSlam rematch between Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton. Their first match ended in a TKO in favor of Brock Lesnar after Orton was unable to continue due to a massive laceration in his head thanks to an elbow from Lesnar.
The website of the Allstate Arena still has the old lineup advertised which featured Finn Balor vs Seth Rollins for the Universal title as the main event and does not have Lesnar’s appearance on it yet as of this writing.
While Brock does not do many non-televised live events, he is usually brought in for the large markets and has previously worked house shows in Los Angeles and New York as well.
Tickets for this live event are available on Ticketmaster.com with prices of $20, $35, $55, $70, $85, and $125.
In a series of tweets, former WWE Universal champion Finn Balor recounted the roller coaster week he had at the SummerSlam weekend, winning the title and then vacating it just 24 hours later.
“The moment I got injured I knew it was serious, it was an instinctive reaction to pull on my wrist, I entered survival mode,” Balor wrote. He said that after the bell rang, he was reluctant to celebrate as he knew what was going to happen on Monday Night Raw the next day. Despite knowing he had to surrender the title, he said he wanted to fulfill his duty as a champion and appear on Good Morning America on Monday morning along with Charlotte.
Balor said that at 5PM on Monday evening, the worst news possible was confirmed. “The most difficult part of relinquishing the title was when I came back through the curtain and I was overcome by a feeling of inadequacy,” he wrote, adding that being a champion for the 24 hours gave him strength, but now he wasn’t anymore.
The former NXT champ traveled to Birmingham, Alabama on Tuesday at 3AM and underwent surgery which lasted 4 hours, 3 hours longer than anticipated due to the several complications and worse injury than everyone previously thought. Following the surgery he woke up at 5AM on Wednesday morning all groggy and sore and that’s when the gravity of the situation began to set in.
He noted that on Thursday, he flies back to Orlando, Florida and then he will check in with the WWE Performance Center, a place he called home for a couple of years. He will continue his long road of rehabilitation at the WWE state-of-the-art training facility, with WWE’s medical staff overseeing the process.
A new WWE Universal champion will be crowned on Monday Night Raw tonight with Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, Big Cass, and Roman Reigns battle it out in a fatal 4-way match.
All four won their respective qualifying matches last week on the show to end up in this final match. The title became vacant seven days ago when Finn Balor had to surrender the Universal title just 24 hours after winning it at SummerSlam due to an injury which will keep him out of action for at least six months.
Meanwhile, Rollins and Owens have started badmouthing each other on Twitter leading up to the match. It all started when Rollins said that his middle name is “Dangerous” but “next Universal Champ” works just as well. Owens replied saying that his middle name is Yanick and he is still walking out of Raw as the new champion. “Who wants to see me put this chump in his place? WELL worth the price of admission,” Rollins fired back. “You misspelled ‘champ’…Also, I don’t need you to put me in my place, buddy. I can get to the top all on my own,” Owens replied, with a dig at Rollins and his help from The Authority during his first WWE title reign.
Rollins told Owens to watch his mouth as he’s not Sami Zayn while Owens hilariously told him that no conflict between the two could ever be so serious that he would “ever confuse or compare” him to that.
Who will be the new WWE Universal Champion tonight on Raw?
Soon after WWE announced the passing of Mr. Fuji, the WWE Hall of Famer was trending on Twitter with many in the business remembering him with tributes. “An unforgettable character in front of the camera and an even better one behind it. Rest in Peace, Mr. Fuji,” tweeted Triple H following WWE’s announcement.
Demolition Smash, who worked a lot of years with Fuji, wrote, “Mr Fuji was a great manager and a great friend. He will be missed big time.” Hulk Hogan had some run-ins with Fuji over the years in his wrestling career, especially when he was involved with Yokozuna. He described Fuji as one of the greats and a “true mastermind” when it came to managing champions.
“I lost a very dear friend today with the passing of Mr. Fuji. RIP ‘Uncle Harry,’” wrote fellow Hall of Famer and former ring announcer Howard Finkel. Another Hall of Famer, Jim Ross, said that Fuji was a bump machine, funny man, and one of the great robbers of all time while Gerald Brisco remembered the Fuji as a true legend and a friend to many, also agreeing with Jim Ross’ statement by describing him the “king of robbers.”
W-O reader Bob Wilson attended the live WWE event in San Angelo, Texas at the Foster Communications Coliseum yesterday and sent in the following results.
Enzo and Big Cass defeated The Vaudevillains; The Miz defeated Titus O’Neil and Darren Young in a triple threat match to retain the Intercontinental title; Golden Truth, Jack Swagger and Sin Cara defeated The Shining Stars and The Ascension; Kane defeated Baron Corbin; Dolph Ziggler defeated Sheamus; Becky Lynch and Alicia Fox defeated Natalya and Dana Brooke; Chris Jericho defeated Neville; Dean Ambrose defeated AJ Styles and Bray Wyatt in a triple threat match to retain the WWE World title.
WWE today announced that Harry Fujiwara, better known as Hall of Famer Mr. Fuji passed away this morning at the age of 82.
Fuji made his debut in the then WWWF in 1972, working for Vince McMahon Sr, tag teaming with Toru Tanaka. He spent two years then before leaving and then returned in 1977 for another one year run. In 1981, after wrestling for Georgia Championship Wrestling, he started with the World Wrestling Federation and had a long career well after he retired from professional wrestling in 1985.
Soon after he hung up his boots, Mr. Fuji went into managing. His 10 year career as a manager saw him leading Superstars such as George “The Animal” Steel, Don Muraco, Demolition, The Powers of Pain, The Orient Express, The Berzerker, and Yokozuna.
In his long career associated with the WWE, Fuji won the WWWF/WWF Tag Team titles on five different occasions and in 2007 he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by Don Muraco. Fuji, who was born in Hawaii, attended the Hall of Fame in a wheelchair.
The Raw brand will be racking up some miles next month as September will see the red roster go to England and the Far East for a couple of shows.
The upcoming one night only WWE Live in London at the O2 Arena will take place on Wednesday, September 7. This was originally thought to be a WWE Network event when it was announced however it’s not the case and seems to be just a regular non-televised live event. WWE goes to the England twice a year as part of their European tours in April and November however this stand alone event doesn’t form part of any tour in the region.
From London, the Raw roster, plus John Cena, will travel to Manila in Philippines for an event on Friday, September 9 at the Mall of Asia Arena. Their stop in the Philippines will be short as immediately following the event, they take the 1,100 mile flight north to Shanghai, China, for a show on September 10 at the Mercedes-Benz Arena. The Shanghai show will be special for Bin Wang, the first-ever Chinese WWE developmental wrestler who will make his debut on the show in front of his home country fans.
Interesting to note that Cena will not be part of the first post-draft brand-specific pay-per-view Backlash with the Smackdown brand since he will be in China with the tour. Backlash takes place on September 11.
The injury that sidelined Finn Balor is much worse than originally thought and recovery might take longer to complete.
“Turned out that surgery was a lot more complicated than it was anticipated,” Balor told WWE.COM in a video interview at the Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center. He recounted that it was the longest day of his life and can’t even imagine how slow the upcoming six months will pass as he doesn’t know how he’s going to cope with being out of the ring for that long.
Dr. Jeffrey Dugas, who operated on Balor, explained that if you look at a clock face, the labrum tear started at around 1 o’clock and went all the way down to just past 6 o’clock, so it went almost 180 degrees. He also said that Balor tore part of his bicep and pec muscle.
The long road to recovery already started the day after surgery, with the folks at Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center working immediately to get mobility back in his shoulder, a painful process which is step one in continuing the rehab process.
An Attitude Era tag team is making their WWE return next Tuesday on Smackdown, possibly to be part of the Smackdown Tag Team title tournament and facing the new tag team of Heath Slater and Rhyno.
Chaz Warrington and Glenn Ruth, better known to fans as Mosh and Thrasher of the Headbangers, announced on their respective social media accounts that they will be in Dallas for the live Smackdown.
Warrington, who plays Mosh, said that ever since his son was old enough to realize that he wrestled, he had a dream and wish to lace up the boots and wrestle in a WWE ring one more time so he could see it. “The dream/wish will come true this Tuesday night in Dallas, TX!!! I will be on WWE’s Smackdown Live show on the USA Network,” he wrote in a message on Facebook which was later deleted.
Ruth, who is Thrasher, answered several questions from fans on Twitter and said WWE is their home and WWE simply asked them to come back when he was questioned how the return came about. Ruth said that for now, it’s just for this Tuesday and nothing else.
The Headbangers made their WWE debut in November 1996 and remained a tag team until July 2000. The duo won the WWF Tag Team titles once during their WWE career while Thrasher also won the Hardcore title.
Former WCW President and Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff traveled to the United Kingdom to do a Q&A Tour in association with WhatCulture.com. Our good friend Liam Johnson attended yesterday’s show at the Ruby Lounge in Manchester and wrote the following report.
The show started with some discussion about SummerSlam. Eric said he was fascinated over the Orton vs Lesnar finish. Eric said he wasn’t sure whether he liked it or not but did say he thought that trying to be different is often better than trying to be good. He didn’t like the predictability of sending people home unhappy and says you shouldn’t do that. The way Eric sees it, it’s OK to have finishes like that on TV but when you’re taking money from fans like with WWE Network subscriptions, it can creative negative reactions. Eric thought that if Orton vs Lesnar was on second to last with Cena v Styles on last, the fans would’ve felt differently.
A fan asked whether Raw of today would compare with WCW Nitro in the 90s. Eric answered by comparing being a wrestling fan with a domestic abuse situation (where the fans keep coming back for more). Eric said that the three hour Raw is a marathon for everyone involved. Eric mentioned that all TV producers would wish they could pull in the kind of ratings that Raw draws where even if the show is bad, fans still come back for more. Eric said that Nitro going to three hours in the end was a mistake as it put too much pressure on everyone in WCW.
One fan asked that of the wrestling stars of today, who would Eric have signed in WCW. Eric replied with Dolph Ziggler. Eric described Ziggler as being gifted, funny and that he also has charisma and personality. Eric compared Ziggler to Chris Jericho but said Ziggler is more polished now than when Jericho was in WCW.
The host asked why the WCW Nitro and Thunder brand split didn’t happen as was originally planned. Eric said that there were too many shows to oversee in different towns across America. Eric said that Harvey Schiller once called Eric when he was on vacation with his family where he told Eric he wanted to add a new show on Thursday nights on TBS. Eric thought it was a rib.
Eric said that Ted Turner believed in wrestling. Schiller asked Eric to pull the car over and told him he was serious. That’s how Thunder was born. Eric was already working 60 hour weeks at the time and didn’t think another show could be done without overexposing the talent and harming Nitro. Thunder was one of the main reasons for signing Bret Hart. Nitro was originally going to be an nWo show with Thunder being WCW’s show. Of course it didn’t quite work out that way in the end.
The Bret Hart involvement in the Hogan vs Sting Starrcade ’97 finish and the three count on Sting was mentioned. Hogan pinned Sting after his legdrop finisher. The referee was scripted to have made a fast count but just made a normal count which made the finish appear botched. Bret Hart then ended up acting as referee where Hogan submitted to Sting’s Scorpion Deathlock and won the WCW World Heavyweight title. Eric implied that even he didn’t really know how the fast count didn’t actually happen.
Eric said that Sting had been an animated and colorful character before then going to the Crow style character which Scott Hall suggested he portrayed. Eric said everyone knew straight away that the Crow character was going to be cool and that they had to milk it and had to make it last. Eric wanted a long term storyline with a long term payoff. All Sting had to do was hang around in the rafters. Sting was going through a lot of personal things in his life so he didn’t talk much to anyone at the time. Sting looked like he quit working out as he didn’t need to as he wore a trench coat to cover his physique. Eric said that Sting didn’t look physically good shortly before his match with Hogan. Hulk Hogan and Eric felt that Sting seemed disengaged and disconnected from wrestling. The plan was always for Sting to go over Hogan though.
One person asked if Eric regretted not buying WCW. Eric said no and that he and his business partners raised 67 million dollars to buy it. Without a television deal at the time though, there was no point. Eric mentioned that internet streaming wasn’t anywhere near as big at the time (television, ticket revenue and traditional pay-per-view was how the money was made at the time).
The host asked if back handed compliments about WCW people in WWE DVDs bothered him. Eric said he was annoyed with WWE for a while about their burial of him and WCW. Eric said that while getting older sucks in general, it has made him wiser and that he realizes that WWE have their job to do and their own business to get on with. Eric said that what reconnected him with WWE was his interview with John “Bradshaw” Layfield.
The host asked if the burial of guys like Scott Steiner and other WCW talents bothered him when joining WWE. Eric said not really as it was a great opportunity. Eric also said he was a heel, basically the number one heel in WWE at the time, and that it’s hard to hurt a heel anyway. Eric also mentioned that he stayed three years and six months longer than expected.
Eric said that if AJ Styles was pushed like John Cena, he could be the main man in WWE as he lives a clean lifestyle and everyone was happy when he beat Cena.
Eric said that it took a lot of balls of WWE to do away with pay-per-view and go with the Network. Eric also mentioned it was a smart decision but said he would probably go back to having far fewer PPVs with less fast moving storylines.
The host asked what WWE need to do to make the brand split successful full time. Eric used the analogy of thinking of Raw as a big baby face (good guy) and Smackdown as the opposite. Eric said both shows need to be diverse and completely different to each other otherwise it’s like having two white guy twins. Eric said that he made mistakes and so did WWE during the first brand split. Eric also said that everyone makes mistakes but that smart people learn from them. Eric tells his kids not to be afraid of failing. The brand split should be as such that when someone switches, it means something (and that WWE should wait at least a year or so before anyone moves).
A fan asked how authority figures should work. Eric answered that it’s a case of WWE making the fans focus on characters and interpreting them in the right way. Eric thinks the biggest problem is Foley is too likable and that the fans couldn’t see him as a heel. Eric sees Daniel Bryan as even more difficult to be treated as a heel.
The host brought up the Ultimate Warrior in WCW and Eric said, “let’s talk about the Dungeon of Doom” (which got quite a few laughs). Eric said Hogan had a lot to do with Warrior coming in and that Hogan had good ideas and bad ones. Eric mentioned other people had bad ideas who he’d worked with and said “Katie Vick” straight after that statement (which again made the crowd laugh).
Eric flew to Phoenix to meet Warrior and Warrior won him over and as WCW was on a roll, Eric thought they might as well give the signing of Warrior a try. As it turned out, Warrior tore a muscle early on in his WCW run and couldn’t work. Eric also mentioned the unexpected 49 minute promo that Warrior cut on Hogan during his WCW debut on Nitro in 1998. Eric said although Warrior was a lunatic, he was a passionate one. The crowd as a whole applauded Warrior out of respect.
A fan brought up Raven. Eric alluded to Kevin Sullivan hiring him. Eric said he doesn’t talk to Raven anymore and that Raven started becoming the character and started getting to levels where the depth of the character was no longer entertaining at times.
The host asked how important it was for all WWE PPVs to have their own personalities. Eric said that the final chapters of the stories (PPVs) need to feel special. The host asked about WWE bringing back Clash Of The Champions on PPV. Eric said that WWE should build on the history of it. To not build on the history, you might as well give Clash Of The Champions a different name.
Someone asked what it was like being backstage at first in WWE being amongst guys he’d fired. Eric said he didn’t fire Jim Ross and he didn’t have the authority to do so at the time. JR was pissed off in WCW as Eric got the job he wanted. JR was closely associated with Bill Watts so he guessed that when Watts was no longer in charge of WCW, it wasn’t the same for JR. It was Bill Shaw who said that as Ross was miserable, he was put onto syndicated TV. JR ended up leaving WCW off his own accord. Fast forward to when Eric debuted in WWE. Eric said that he flew to New York on his own credit card in a separate hotel, and hiding from fans to keep his debut a secret. Eric said there was a lot of bullshit online about how certain people left WCW.
The host asked about Steve Austin working with him in WWE. Eric suggested that people should listen to Austin’s podcast with Eric as guest for the truth about how Austin left WCW. Eric said he saw Austin for the first time in seven years when he joined WWE and that they both got along like two best friends who hadn’t seen each other for six months. Eric said that he goes to Los Angeles quite often with having an office there and speaks to Steve on a regular basis. Eric was even wearing a Broken Skull IPA T-shirt during the show.
A fan asked about WCW and WWF guys being close to switching brands under his reign. The fan said that Tatanka claimed he was close to joining WCW. Eric said he wasn’t prepared to offer Tatanka a contract. Eric did say that someone else might have been interested but as WCW were offering big money at the time and Tatanka never took it, it likely wasn’t true.
Another fan asked what Eric thought about Paul Heyman. Eric said that both himself and Heyman were talking about working on a film project and he has nothing but respect for Paul.
A fan asked about the Diamond Dallas Page and Randy Savage feud. Eric said that he had nothing to do with it. The angle and the match was all between Savage and DDP. Eric said he’s not close with Page and they haven’t talked for a year and a half. Eric dismissed the delay of Savage’s Hall Of Fame Induction as horse shit.
A fan asked if there was too much wrestling on TV and the internet. Eric said there kind of is but it’s a good opportunity for everyone to get some exposure.
The host asked what Eric was most proud of. Eric answered that he broke the mold and things like cruiserweights and three hour flagship shows are part of his legacy.
The host asked why when WCW finally made it big in the mid to late nineties, why didn’t they come to the UK. Eric said there were no suitable promoters in the UK at the time as the existing ones already had relationships with WWE.
A fan asked about the Final Deletion angle with Matt and Jeff Hardy in TNA. Eric said he hadn’t seen it but as it has resonated with fans, it must have been good.
Someone asked about Conor McGregor’s comments about WWE. Eric said he was in a restaurant with Ric Flair and his wife. Flair got a text from Conor asking if he was going to be at his next fight. Eric said that Conor’s recent comments have confused him and that Eric smelled BS and that what Conor said was done to build interest in his own fight (most likely with WWE fans).
Eric also said he was on a flight to Korea with Muhammad Ali back in the mid-nineties. Eric talked about how Ali said he went from Cassius Clay to the Muhammad Ali character by being influenced by the wrestling that he watched in Louisville growing up.
Overall, a fascinating insight into the business of professional wrestling and was well worth the watch.
While speaking on the MMA Report podcast to promote tonight’s UFC Fight Night, UFC fighter Paige VanZant acknowledged that WWE did speak with her management regarding a possible appearance, rumored to have been in conjunction with SummerSlam. The negotiations however did not go far though as VanZant was ready to get back in the Octagon following the conclusion of ABC’s Dancing With The Stars, where she came in second.
VanZant said that she’s a big fan – and always have been – of WWE and it’s something she would love to eventually get into. “They’re a huge organization and a very successful organization. It’d be great. There have been lots of successful crossovers from Brock Lesnar going back and forth and now CM Punk coming over, it seems like a successful match up and it seems like I would fit really well in that area,” she said.
The 22 year old will be back in the Octagon tonight after an eight-month hiatus to face Bec Rawlings on UFC on FOX.
Impact on POP on Thursday night did a pretty good 373,000 viewers, up 22,000 viewers from the previous week. This was the best number since the July 5 episode which featured the Final Deletion match between Jeff and Matt Hardy. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
UFC President Dana White was a guest on The Ric Flair Show podcast on Thursday and discussed a lot of topics with the Nature Boy during his 15-minute appearance.
White talked about how Brock Lesnar started in the UFC and how he went over to him after a show and said that he wants to do this. White had some doubts but admits that Brock made him a believer. He said he didn’t know what to expect when he came back in July and said that regardless of the stuff that went down afterwards with the USADA testing, Brock is truly a freak of nature. “To come here and compete at that level is pretty impressive,” White said.
The discussion turned to CM Punk, who debuts in the UFC next month at UFC 203. White said that he and Punk became friends and it was his dream to fight in the UFC and when Punk asked White for a shot, he agreed. He said that Punk has been working very hard and he understands that there are a lot of jokes made about him but everyone who trains with him respects CM Punk.
“Win, lose, or draw, I have a lot of respect for the guy,” Punk told Flair, adding that he’s at training everyday, with no superstar attitude and started from the bottom and climbed his way up.
White was asked about how is it to work with Vince McMahon and try to do deals with him. “I’ve been working, or trying to work, with Vince for years. It was obviously very difficult. Vince is a maniac, he’s a f*cking competitor, man,” White exclaimed. He said Vince accomplished a lot over the years and he’s still on top and he only does it cause he loves the business cause he sure doesn’t need the money.
White said that dealing with Vince McMahon for the Ronda Rousey deal and Brock’s return were the two best experiences he had over the past several years. He mentioned that Vince had always been difficult to deal with in the past but he got better as time passed. He gave kudos to both Stephanie and Triple H, describing them as “always great and always cool to work with.”
Talking about Ronda Rousey, White said that she’s had few minor surgeries and she’s training now but there’s no way she will be on the Madison Square Garden card. Ric Flair goes over the stuff that happened at WrestleMania 31 and how everyone in the back was watching Rousey and Rock in the ring, calling her “absolutely phenomenal.”
When asked if there’s a possibility of another type of WWE/UFC crossover, White said that he doesn’t know as no one reached out to him yet. “Listen, I respect WWE. Every pro wrestler that has come to a UFC event…they’re the nicest people in the world,” White said, adding that he’s pretty sure something will happen again in the future.
At last night’s Cruiserweight Classic tournament tapings, Daniel Bryan and Brian Kendrick shared a special moment in the middle of the ring following Kendrick’s match.
After the match was over and Kendrick was in the middle of the ring, Bryan left his commentary position and entered the ring and hugged Kendrick as fans gave them both a standing ovation. He then lifted Kendrick’s hand up and fans chanted “Please don’t go.”
Kendrick and Bryan share a long history together as they were roommates when they started training at the Shawn Michaels Wrestling Academy in 1999. Kendrick went on to have two runs in the WWE prior to returning for the Cruiserweight Classic. He was also recently the wrestling coach of Eva Marie when she was having private training.
WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels was helping out at the NXT television tapings yesterday, his first taping since he became a coach at the WWE Performance Center.
HBK moved with his family, at least temporarily, to Orlando to teach a class at the Performance Center, believed to be the class of the final stage before the call-up to the main roster. His move to Orlando is not a short-term one but he is not signed to a full-time deal as a coach yet.
There were 14 matches taped yesterday which will be part of the upcoming weekly NXT shows on the WWE Network. The new NXT champion Shinsuke Nakamura was in town along with other favorites such as Bobby Roode, Hideo Itami, Samoa Joe, and others.
The quarter finals of the WWE Cruiserweight Classic will be taped tomorrow at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida.
Advancing to the final eight were a mix of International cruiserweights, with two Americans, two Japanese, one Mexican, one English, one Scottish, and one Filipino. The matches in the brackets are Akira Tozawa vs Gran Metalik, Zack Sabre Jr., vs Noam Dar, Brian Kendrick vs Kota Ibushi, and TJ Perkins vs Rich Swann. The winners of matches one and two will face each other while the winners of matches three and four will face each other during the live finale on September 14.
Doors will open at 6:30PM EST and the show is absolutely sold out.
