Category: WWE

Lucha Underground – AAA Stars Appearing At Slammiversary This Sunday

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Lucha Underground / AAA stars El Hijo del Fantasma and Drago will team up at Slammiversary this Sunday in a 4-way match for the IMPACT Wrestling Tag-Team Championship, now held by the Latin American Xchange (LAX). The match will also feature talent from two other international promotions.

Impact Wrestling issued the following:

Mexican Wrestling Stars Set to Debut at Slammiversary 15

El Hijo del Fantasma, Drago Team Up for Shot at World Tag-Team Championship

NASHVILLE | MEXICO CITY – IMPACT Wrestling, a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment Corp., announced today that it will bring two superstars from Mexico-based Lucha Libre AAA (AAA for short) to participate in Slammiversary 15 on July 2, a live pay-per-view filmed on the backlot at Universal Studios Florida.

AAA stars El Hijo del Fantasma and Drago will team up at Slammiversary in a 4-way match for the IMPACT Wrestling Tag-Team Championship, now held by the Latin American Xchange (LAX). The match will also feature talent from two other international promotions.

El Hijo del Fantasma (Spanish for Son of the Ghost) is a second-generation wrestler who has been wrestling since 2000, following the wrestling boots of his father, El Fantasma.

Drago, who has been wrestling professionally since 1998, has won multiple tag-team championships and is regarded as one of the most colorful, charismatic and creative wrestlers ever.

In March 2017, IMPACT Wrestling announced a landmark alliance with AAA, including a talent exchange between the organizations and other opportunities to collaborate in their respective markets. The high-flying lucha libre style synonymous with AAA events was an early influencer of IMPACT Wrestling’s X-Division, which has produced some of the most memorable matches in professional wrestling history.

“I have worked with the founder of AAA, Antonio Pena, and his family for 15 years,” said Jeff Jarrett, who is the founder of IMPACT Wrestling and now serves as the company’s Chief Creative Officer. “Slammiversary is 15 years in the making, and we are thrilled to have these two AAA stars be part of the show. I am sure the fans who have never seen them before will be so impressed. AAA has been a revolutionary wrestling promotion at the forefront of lucha libre wrestling in Mexico. We are looking forward to taking the working relationship between IMPACT Wrestling and AAA to the next level later this year, and fans can look forward to more collaborations between the two promotions through the rest of 2017, including Bound For Glory in November.”

Dorian Roldán, the owner of AAA, said he is thrilled to be expanding the relationship between the two promotions during a milestone year, as AAA celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2017, while IMPACT celebrates its 15th anniversary at Slammiversary.

“I feel really proud to send Drago and Hijo del Fantasma to participate in this important show, that is IMPACT Wrestling’s 15th anniversary, not only for the importance of this promotion worldwide, but also because of the high quality entertainment they offer to thousands of people in each of their presentations, live and on TV. I’m completely sure that AAA and IMPACT Wrestling have a long and bright future together, where great battles, and extremely intense matches will be achieved,” Roldán said.

TripleMania is the biggest annual event promoted by AAA, commemorating the anniversary of the company’s founding. The show has been promoted for 20 years with 27 shows in total under the TripleMania banner.

TripleMania XXV is scheduled for August 26 in Mexico City, highlighted by Psycho Clown against Dr. Wagner Jr., in a mask vs. mask match. Several IMPACT Wrestling stars will also appear on TripleMania XXV, Jarrett confirmed.

For more information, please visit http://www.impactwrestling.com.

Source: WrestlingINC

RAW Preview 6/26/17

Tonight’s WWE RAW will take place from the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

* Is Samoa Joe prepared for Brock Lesnar’s return?

* Will Goldust be smacked by “the hand of Truth” during his movie premiere?

* What’s next for Enzo Amore?

* Will Bray Wyatt retaliate against Seth Rollins?

* Is an ambulance ride in Roman Reigns’ near future?

WWE Announces Lita Will Join Jim Ross On Commentary For The Mae Young Classic

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WWE announced that Lita will be joining Jim Ross to announce the upcoming Mae Young Classic.

 WWE has announced that the first-ever Mae Young Classic women’s tournament will stream exclusively on WWE Network, starting Monday, Aug. 28, with the first four episodes available on demand. Episodes five through eight will be available on demand on Monday, Sept. 4. The final match will stream live from Las Vegas on Tuesday, Sept. 12 at 10 p.m. ET.

The Mae Young Classic will be called by WWE Hall of Fame announcer Jim Ross, who will be joined on color commentary by four-time Women’s Champion and WWE Hall of Famer Lita. The tournament, named after WWE Hall of Famer and one of the greatest WWE Superstars in history, Mae Young, will feature 32 of the top female competitors from around the world participating in a single-elimination tournament.

“The Mae Young Classic is a unique and exclusive offering for WWE Network subscribers and further highlights our ongoing commitment to the ‘women’s evolution’ in sports and entertainment,” said Paul “Triple H” Levesque, WWE Executive Vice President, Talent, Live Events and Creative. “It’s a privilege to showcase these talented women from around the world and to provide them with an opportunity to shine before a global audience on WWE Network.”

Competitors announced thus far include Toni Storm from New Zealand; Princesa Sugehit from Mexico; Lacey Evans, Sarah Logan, Tessa Blanchard, and Abbey Laith from the United States; Kavita Devi from India; Jazzy Gabert from Germany; and Taynara Conti from Brazil.

WWE Network will also stream an exclusive special entitled, Mae Young Classic: Bracketology immediately following SummerSlam, on Sunday, Aug. 20 at 11 p.m. ET.

Fans can watch the Mae Young Classic and all of WWE Network’s programming by signing up at WWENetwork.com.

Daniel Bryan Teases Returning To ROH, Reveals Date His WWE Contract Expires?

Cody Rhodes won the ROH World Championship this past Friday night, which resulted in several of his former WWE co-workers offering their support and congratulations on social media. One tweet in particular stood out, especially amid rumors that Daniel Bryan is working on returning to the ring.

Bryan tweeted the following:

Bryan has “a little over a year” left on his contract with WWE. This of course would make him a free agent by the aforementioned date in September and it would certainly be possible he could wrestle then.

The latest update on Bryan’s health came on a recent episode of Wrestling Observer Live where Dave Meltzer stated Bryan had tests performed in April and while he doesn’t know the results of the tests, they could have provided the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion with some hope about returning to the ring.

Bryan is not medically cleared to wrestle in WWE and officially retired in February of last year. An EEG reflex test revealed a lesion in his brain’s temporoparietal region. The lesion is believed to be responsible for seizures Bryan suffered after concussions that he hid from WWE.

Bryan has been working for WWE since in an on-camera role that does not include him getting physical as the general manger of SmackDown. He returned to television last week after being off due to paternity leave.

Source: WrestlingINC

Alberto El Patron (Del Rio) Breaks Up With Paige

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Alberto El Patron, f.k.a. Alberto Del Rio, broke up with Paige last night while in Orlando. The couple went public with their relationship in May of 2016, and got engaged last October.

According to a source who saw the breakup, Alberto reportedly said that “enough was enough” and that he reached his limit and knew that it was time to break up. SEScoops also reported on the breakup, and noted that the couple had a “blowup” and that most of Alberto’s family and friends are glad that they split.

Earlier in the day, Paige posted photos with Alberto thanking Jeff Jarrett for VIP treatment at Universal Parks, as seen below.

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Paige apparently responded to reports of the breakup on Twitter:

Source: WrestlingINC

GLOW Netflix Series Features Cameos From A Bunch Of Popular Wrestlers (Photos)

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The new Netflix series GLOW was finally released yesterday … and the series included a few surprise cameos from across the world of wrestling!

While the involvement of Awesome Kong and Chavo Guerrero, Jr. was known about before airing, the series based around Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling also surprised viewers with unexpected cameos.

Lucha Underground star Johnny Mundo appeared in the first episode as Salty “The Sack” Johnson, a pro-wrestler hired (and fired) to train the female wrestlers.

Ex-WWE star Carlito and Impact Wrestling‘s Tyrus have small reoccurring parts as Carmen’s older brothers Tom and Kurt Wade — aka The Lumberjacksons.

While Alex Riley was known to have a part in the show before airing, now we know what it was. He plays a wrestler named Steel Horse, who main events a show some of the girls attend in episode 5.

Joey Ryan plays Mr. Monopoly in the same episode and his wife Laura James is there as well.

Episode 5 also features the Legion Hall where PWG events occur and Christopher Daniels/Frankie Kazarian in a match as nameless wrestlers with Lucha Underground referee Marty Elias — and Daniels hits the Best Moonsault Ever.

Finally, while Guerrero himself does not appear in the series, the gym where the cast trains is named after him … but blink and you’ll miss the easter egg. Plus, a later episode is dedicated to Chavo Guerrero Sr. — who passed away earlier this year — and Brooke Hogan makes an appearance.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

 

Bobby Fish Wrestled His First Match In NXT

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Former Ring of Honor star Bobby Fish wrestled his first match in NXT on Friday against one of the brand’s top talents.

In his debut match, Fish lost to rising star Aleister Black.

Jim Cornette Talks His Response To Police When Served With Vince Russo’s Protective Order

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Jim Cornette released a new YouTube video where he responded to Vince Russo filing an order of protection against him. In the video, Cornette detailed police officers serving him with the document, an EPO out of Posey County, Indiana, at his home.

Cornette joked that he didn’t know what an EPO was, nor did he know the location of Posey County, Indiana. He thought EPO had something to do with environmental protection or hazardous waste until one of the officers asked him if he knew a Vincent Russo. Cornette recalled laughing and joking, calling for his wife, who also thought it was hilarious. The officers informed him the order was filed due to threatening comments made on national podcasts.

“I guess I’m going to have to modify my behavior,” Cornette said in response to being served with the 9-page protective order. “I thought that we were just bros doing podcasts, he always said it was my shtick — I think that was a quote — to knock him, then I did it for downloads and attention and everything. You know, ’cause that’s what my people expected of me and etc. and you wouldn’t take out a protection order over that, you’d be foolish to do that. So I didn’t realize he was taking it so seriously.”

“And obviously the last thing that I would ever do is disobey a court order, I would not do that. And I certify that here right now in public,” Cornette said. “So I’m going to do the things this court order says because a lot of the boxes are checked off… Vince Russo says he’s been a victim of stalking by me. That I threatened to cause physical harm to him that I placed him in fear of physical harm and this would happen not only on national podcasts but that I’ve been doing this — in his own handwriting here — since October of 1999 in five different states.”

Russo and Cornette’s feud goes back decades, with things escalated recently when Cornette claimed on WWE Network‘s Table For 3 episode entitled ‘Creative Committee’ that Russo writes Vince McMahon every week about wanting to go back. A claim Russo emphatically denied on the Wrestling Inc. podcast. This resulted in Cornette challenging Russo to a shoot fight and Russo issuing an ‘apology’. It was learned on Thursday that Russo had filed an order of protection against Jim Cornette.

“So I’m going to stay away from Vince Russo’s house that I’ve never been to,” Cornette said in response. “And his place of employment if we can find it. And I’m going to stay away from his wife Amy, who I haven’t seen since 1997. And I won’t call him on his current phone number that I’ve never called and didn’t have before last week.”

“And most of all, I promise that I would never commit,” Cornette paused and cleared his throat. “Excuse me, hold on, I’m going to read from, I’m actually quoting here. I would never do any of these things I’m prohibited from doing. I would never commit acts of domestic or family violence, stalking or sex offenses against Vince Russo or his household members or any other kind of member that he might have hanging around. Never would I do such a thing. I swear to that.”

Cornette stated that he wants to apologize to Vince Russo for putting him in fear of physical harm. He stated the last thing he wants on his conscious is the thought of Vince Russo lying awake at night sacred of him. Cornette said he didn’t realize what he had done and feels horrible. Cornette thought after Russo’s “apology” that they were making progress. You can watch Cornette’s latest video embedded in the player above. If you use any of the quotes in this article, please provide with a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

Source: WrestlingINC

Hardcore Legend Mr. Pogo Passes Away At Age 66

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Former Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling, W*ING, and Big Japan Pro Wrestling star, Mr. Pogo, has passed away at age 66. According to a Yahoo Japan article, Pogo died in the hospital from a cerebral infection after receiving back surgery in Gunma, Japan.

Initially starting in Japan in the early 70s, he worked his way to Canada and the United States before coming back to his home country. Along the way, Deathmatches became his specialty and most fans will remember him – with his scythe in hand – facing off against Atushia Onita in a feud that would lead them to encounters like an Electrified Exploding Barbed Wire Double Hell Death Match. He also faced off against some of the best in the world including Ric Flair, Harley Race, and Terry Funk. In 1996, Pogo broke his neck during a match against Terry Funk and while he attempted a comeback, he was semi-retired after the injury.

Source: WrestlingINC

Mauro Ranallo Announces He’s Returning To WWE NXT

Just when you thought he was out, Mauro Ranallo gets pulled back in — because the announcer says he’s not sitting out his WWE contract after all, he’s just switching brands.

Ranallo revealed on Thursday that he’ll soon join the NXT announce team and explained, “WWE and I mutually agreed to end my responsibilities on SmackDown having nothing to do with rumors about disputes. As I remained under contract with WWE, we discussed a variety of options.”

As we previously reported, this is now the second time Mauro has shot down rumors that he intended to leave the company due to bullying at the hands of JBL.

Mauro adds, “Despite originally agreeing to part ways, there was always a desire to continue working together. We have come to terms on a new agreement that benefits both WWE and me, and I am thrilled to announce I will now be part of the NXT broadcasting team.”

According to Fight Network, he’ll be replacing Tom Phillips.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

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