Author: John Bass

Ric Flair Confirms His In-Ring Return

WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair has confirmed he will be making his in-ring return for one final match on July 31st for Jim Crockett Promotions.

The Nature Boy announced the news on Twitter by writing:

“The Rumors Are True! I’m Going To Walk That Aisle, Style And Profile, One Last Time! July 31st! Nashville, Tennessee! Jim Crockett Promotions! I Will Prove Once Again, That To Be The Man, You’ve Got To Beat The Man! Now We Go To School! WOOOOO! TIX: RicFlairsLastMatch.com”

Rumors of Ric Flair making his return to the ring had begun after he shared a video of himself training with Jay Lethal online. Flair was seen taking bumps, and getting himself back in ring shape, and it is now clear why. According to a report by PWInsider, the current plan is for Flair to be involved in a multi-man match. It is unknown whether that would also feature AEW’s Lethal or not. No official opponents have been confirmed at this time.

That report added that Ric Flair has been training hard for this match, as he wants to look good when stepping back inside the squared circle. As of right now, the match is being promoted as the final one of his career. The last time he competed in a match was for TNA, back in 2011. The Nature Boy defeated Sting on that occasion.

Flair’s final WWE match famously happened at WrestleMania 24 against Shawn Michaels.

The event will be taking place in Nashville, just one day after WWE’s SummerSlam, which will also be in Nashville. The show is set to be available to watch via FITE TV for fans who cannot attend live.

Even though Ric Flair’s in-ring return has now been confirmed, that does not mean everyone is supportive of it. Former WCW announcer Chris Cruise made a public appeal to stop the Hall Of Famer from being able to wrestle due to his age and various health issues.

https://twitter.com/RicFlairNatrBoy/status/1526205498852315137

Source: Wrestling Inc.

NJPW Capital Collision Results 5/14/2022

Karl Fredericks defeated Ren Narita

Team Filthy (Jorel Nelson, Royce Isaacs, JR Kratos, Danny Limelight, and Tom Lawlor) defeated The DKC, Yuya Uemura, David Finlay, Tanga Loa, and Fred Rosser

Chase Owens defeated Great-O-Khan

TMDK (Mikey Nicholls, Shane Haste, and Jonah) and Bad Dude Tito defeated United Empire (Aaron Henare, Kyle Fletcher, Mark Davis, and Jeff Cobb)

Brody King defeated Minoru Suzuki

Tomohiro Ishii defeated Eddie Kingston

Lio Rush makes his way to the ring. Lio says he is still not cleared to compete, yet. He came to Washington tonight to send a message to multiple people. He says that message is when he is cleared, the entire landscape of the Junior Heavyweight division will drastically change.

Bullet Club (Jay White and Hikuleo) defeated Chaos (Kazuchika Okada and Rocky Romero)

– Jay White and Hikuleo attack Okada after the match. Jay White picks Okada up and delivers a Bladerunner. Tanga Loa comes out and tells Hikuleo that he doesn’t turn his back on family.

IWGP UNITED STATES CHAMPIONSHIP
Juice Robinson defeated Will Ospreay, Hiroshi Tanahashi(c) and Jon Moxley (TITLE CHANGE)

 After the match, Bullet Club come out to congratulate Juice Robinson, as the commentators debate over whether Will Ospreay’s foot was under the rope when he was being pinned. Juice gets on the microphone and says he beat Ospreay, Moxley and Tanahashi at the same time. He says no more flamboyant bullsh*t, he’s rock hard. He says he’s the boost that Bullet Club needed.

NJPW Capital Collision 5/14/2022

DATE: May 14, 2022 7:00 pm
LOCATION: D.C. Entertainment and Sports Arena, Washington, District Of Columbia, USA
AVAILABLE ON: FITE, Pay-Per-View

CARD

IWGP UNITED STATES CHAMPIONSHIP
Hiroshi Tanahashi(c) vs. Jon Moxley vs. Juice Robinson vs. Will Ospreay

IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada & Trent Beretta vs. Jay White & Hikuleo

Eddie Kingston vs.  Tomohiro Ishii

Brody King vs. Minoru Suzuki

Great-O-Khan vs. Chase Owens

Karl Fredericks vs. Ren Narita

Jeff Cobb, Aaron Henare & Aussie Open vs. JONAH, Bad Dude Tito, Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste

NJPW Strong Openweight Champion Tom Lawlor, Jorel Nelson, Royce Isaacs, JR Kratos & Danny Limelight vs. Fred Rosser, Tanga Loa, David Finlay, Yuya Uemura & Rocky Romero

WWE SmackDown Preview 5/13/22

The post-WrestleMania Backlash edition of WWE SmackDown on FOX will air live tonight from the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre, PA.

New SmackDown Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey is advertised to appear tonight, returning to the show as champion after her WrestleMania Backlash win over Charlotte Flair.

AEW Rampage Preview 5/13/22

For the second week in a row, this week’s Rampage will air in the early timeslot of 5:30pm ET due to the NHL Playoffs airing at 6:30pm.

AEW Rampage will continue to air in different timeslots this month due to coverage of the NHL Playoffs and the NBA Playoffs on TNT.

The May 20 episode will air at 7pm ET due to the NBA Playoffs airing at 8pm.

You can see the card for AEW Rampage below:

Jade Cargill & The Baddies appear

Death Triangle (PAC, Penta Oscura, & Rey Fenix) vs. AFO (Butcher, Blade, and Marq Quen)

Shawn Spears vs. Bear Boulder

TNT Championship Match
Scorpio Sky (c) vs. Frankie Kazarian

Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Quarterfinal Match
Ruby Soho vs. Riho

Queen Of The Mountain Match Announced For Impact Slammiversary

The first-ever Queen of the Mountain match has been announced for Impact Wrestling’s upcoming Slammiversary pay-per-view.

During last night’s episode of IMPACT on AXS TV, Gail Kim announced that Tasha Steelz will be defending the Knockouts Championship against Mia Yim, Chelsea Green, Jordynne Grace, and Deonna Purrazzo in a Queen of the Mountain match.

Impact is celebrating its 20th anniversary with Slammiversary on Sunday, June 19 from the Nashville Fairgrounds in Nashville, Tennessee.

Below is the updated Slammiversary line-up and video of Gail Kim’s announcement:

Impact World Title Match

Eric Young vs. Josh Alexander (c)

Ultimate X for the Impact X Division Title

Kenny King vs. Laredo Kid or Mike Bailey vs. three challengers TBD vs. Ace Austin (c)

Queen of the Mountain for the Impact Knockouts Title 

Tasha Steelz (c) vs. Mia Yim, Chelsea Green, Jordynne Grace, and Deonna Purrazzo

NBC Renews “Young Rock” For A Third Season

NBC has ordered a third season of “Young Rock” from WWE Legend Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and his Seven Bucks Productions company.

The second season of “Young Rock” is currently airing on NBC Tuesday nights, and is available on Peacock the following day. NBC announced today that the show is being renewed for a third season, while “American Auto” and “Grand Crew” are being renewed for their second seasons.

NBC touted in today’s press release how “Young Rock” is the network’s #1 primetime comedy in the 18-49 key demographic.

Season one of “Young Rock” averaged 3.036 million viewers with a 0.62 key demo rating per episode, over 11 episodes. Season two has averaged 2.150 million viewers with a 0.40 key demo rating so far, across the 9 episodes that have aired as of this week.

The Rock has not commented on the renewal as of this writing, but Seven Bucks Vice President and former WWE head writer Brian Gewirtz took to Twitter and reacted to the NBC announcement.

“We’re BACK baby! Can’t wait to dive into Season 3 of #YoungRock! This is shaping up to be a helluva week!,” Gewirtz wrote.

The Rock stars in the show alongside Joseph Lee Anderson, Stacey Leilua, Ana Tuisila, Adrian Groulx, Bradley Constant, Uli Latukefu, Fasitua Amosa, John Tui and Matthew Willig.

The show was created by Nahnatchka Khan and Jeff Chiang and inspired by Rock’s life. Rock, Khan, Chiang, Gewirtz, Dany Garcia, Jennifer Carreras, and Hiram Garcia serve as Executive Producers, while the show is produced by Seven Bucks, Universal Television, and Fierce Baby Productions.

https://twitter.com/bfg728/status/1524870816386670592
https://twitter.com/nbc/status/1524867066716487680

Source: Wrestling Inc.

MLW Fusion Preview 5/12/22

Major League Wrestling FUSION tonight at 8pm ET features an Apocalypto Match, streaming worldwide for free on MLW’s YouTube channel and Saturday nationwide on cable and dish on beIN SPORTS. 

  • Apocalypto Match: Jacob Fatu vs. Bestia 666
  • Caribbean Championship Cyclone Match: King Muertes (champion) vs. Octagon Jr vs. El Dragon vs. Hijo de LA Park
  • Holidead vs. Chik Tormenta

Cesar Duran has unleashed the “Tijuana Gremlin” Bestia 666 on Jacob Fatu as they clash in an Apocalypto match. Can Fatu overcome Mexico’s most sadistic or will El Jefe’s luchador once again leave Fatu down in a world of hurt?

Following 5150 stealing the Von Erich family’s heirloom, the World Class championship, Ross and Marshall look to their legendary father Kevin Von Erich for advice as the family demands retribution. 

Lucha Libre’s finest rumble for gold in a Cyclone match as King Muertes puts The Caribbean Championship on the line against Octagon Jr, El Dragon and Hijo de LA Park.

MLW’s matchmaker Cesar Duran has guaranteed a major announcement regarding Hammerstone’s next opponent for The World Heavyweight Championship! Who will it be? Tune in to find out.

The Clout Couple are confirmed for making an appearance. All eyes are on Richard Holliday and Alicia Atout. Does their appearance have anything to do with Cesar’s announcement?

The Featherweights throw down as luchadora Chik Tormenta squares off with the undefeated Holidead. Will Gangrel’s new brood Strange Sangre play a role in the outcome?

Go inside Calvin Tankman’s journey to the top as MLW gives fans an all access look at ½ of the World Tag Team Champions.

IMPACT Preview 5/12/22

Following a wild Under Siege event, the road to Slammiversary heats up on an all-new IMPACT! tonight at 8/7c on AXS TV and 8:30pm ET on YouTube for IMPACT Insiders!

* Gauntlet for the Gold: Winner to face IMPACT World Champion Josh Alexander for the Title at Slammiversary

* IMPACT World Champion Josh Alexander and Tomohiro Ishii battle the Bullet Club’s Jay White and El Phantasmo.

* Knockouts World Tag Team Championship: Gisele Shaw and Alisha vs. The Influence (c)

* Ultimate X Qualifying Match: Kenny King vs. Chris Bey

* Aiden Prince vs. X-Division Champion Ace Austin – Before the IMPACT, streaming tonight at 7:30pm ET exclusively on IMPACT Plus, YouTube and Facebook.

Hikaru Shida Removed From AEW’s Owen Hart Tournament, Replacement Announced

A segment taped ahead of time for this week’s Rampage revealed Shida is injured and can’t compete in the cup.

There has also been a slight shake-up in AEW‘s Owen Hart tournament on the women’s side of things, one that won’t be announced officially until this week’s Rampage airs.

As is usually the case in AEW, this week’s Rampage was taped ahead of time. That means spoilers are out there, and among them is the reveal that Hikaru Shida will no longer be a part of the tournament. As reported by PWInsider, Tony Schiavone has taped a segment with Jade Cargill and The Baddies, one of whom is Red Velvet, Shida’s first round opponent.

During that segment, Schiavone will reveal Shida is still suffering from injuries sustained during her Street Fight against Serena Deeb two weeks ago. Velvet will now have to take on Kris Statlander in her first round match on next week’s Rampage. Statlander never had the chance to compete in a qualifying match but will have the opportunity to compete in the tournament and progress should she beat Velvet next week.

Whether Shida is actually injured or not remains unclear. Shida is currently in Japan, and even though her last official match was the street fight in AEW, the former AEW Women’s Champion boasted that she had wrestled almost three hours worth of matches in just three days. If that’s where she sustained an injury, if she really does have one, that likely won’t sit well with AEW.

The men’s and the women’s tournaments will continue over the coming weeks, both culminating at Double Or Nothing. Owen’s widow Martha Hart will be at the event to present both winners with trophies. There are also still two Joker spots to fill. Mystery opponents who will compete in the men’s and women’s tournaments.

Source: TheSportster