Tonight’s WWE SmackDown Live will take place from the US Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio with the final hype for Sunday’s WWE Clash of Champions pay-per-view.
Shinsuke Nakamura clashes with Kevin Owens this Tuesday on SmackDown LIVE
* WWE Champion AJ Styles and Jinder Mahal come face to face tonight on SmackDown LIVE
* The Riott Squad battle Carmella, Tamina & Lana
* The Usos take on Rusev & Aiden English
* Breezango pay tribute to The Ascension in A Very Special Fashion Files
Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega took part in a press conference earlier this morning, which you can watch in the video below, to promote their upcoming match at WrestleKingdom 12 on January 4th at the Tokyo Dome. Omega addressed the media first, and spoke for about 18 minutes before leaving.
Jericho made his way out next. Jericho only got to speak for about 3 minutes before he was attacked by Omega. They brawled briefly before being pulled apart as Jericho cursed. Jericho finally regained his composure and addressed the crowd again.
“This is going to be a match that you have never seen in New Japan,” Jericho said while breathing heavily. “This is not about five stars, seven stars, this is not about how many times you can go for your finishing move. This is a fight, it’s a war, it’s Alpha vs. Omega and Kenny, you are going to get the s–t kicked out of you, do you understand me?
“I’ve been to Japan sixty times,” Jericho continued. “This match is the most important match I’ve ever had in Japan!”
An irate Jericho also cursed at someone in the crowd, calling him “f–kface” before saying that he would prove that he’s the best in the world at Wrestle Kingdom 12. He finished by saying that their bout would be Omega’s last match ever in New Japan.
As noted, Jericho made a surprise appearance and attacked Omega at the NJPW World Tag League Final on Monday in Fukuoka. After Omega and The Young Bucks had defeated YOH, SHO & Rocky Romero, the lights went out and a video from Jericho aired, who congratulated Omega on his victory. When the lights came back on, Jericho was in the ring and planted Omega with a Code Breaker. He then hit Omega in the face with the U.S. title belt. By the time the melee was over, he had also a referee and announcer Don Callis. Jericho continued his attack on Omega and busted him open before the Young Bucks finally hit the ring and Jericho retreated to the back.
Source: WrestlingINC
As noted, WWE has suspended Rich Swann after he was arrested for false imprisonment/kidnapping and misdemeanor battery (touching or striking) following a weekend domestic incident with his wife, Vannarah Riggs, who works the indies as Su Yung. You can read full details on the incident at this link.
Swann was released on his own recognizance from the Alachua County Jail in Gainesville, FL on Sunday, according to PWInsider. A stipulation of Swann’s release is that he will abide by an order that says he will have “no direct or indirect hostile contact” with his wife, which will also prevent them from living together. Swann was also ordered to contact court services within 24 hours of his release. A judge has been assigned to the case but no court date has officially been set.
No word yet on Swann’s future with WWE but he will be immediately terminated if he’s convicted of the charges. Swann was suspended indefinitely this weekend due to the company police on domestic abuse. Swann was set to face Drew Gulak on tonight’s RAW to determine the new #1 contender to WWE Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore but WWE removed all mentions of the match from their website and no replacement plans have been announced but we will keep you updated.
Source: WrestlingINC
Tonight’s WWE RAW will take place from the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
* Who is Raw’s true monster?
* The Shield battle The Bar and Samoa Joe in three singles matches
* Absolution move in on Asuka
* Bray Wyatt faces “deletion” at the hands of Matt Hardy
Earlier today, the finals in the NJPW World Tag League took place with EVIL and SANADA defeating The Guerrillas of Destiny to win the tournament for the first time in their careers. Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks were also in action defeating YOH, SHO, and Rocky Romero.
After the match, the lights went down and Chris Jericho appeared, giving Omega a Code Breaker in the ring, and eventually busting open the IWGP US Champion. Jericho also gave NJPW Announcer, Don Callis, a Code Breaker in the ring. The two wrestlers will meet at Wrestle Kingdom 12 for the IWGP US Championship.
Below are the full results from today’s event:
* EVIL and SANADA defeated The Guerrillas of Destiny (World Tag League Final)
* Hiromu Takahashi and Tetsuya Naito defeated Will Ospreay and Kazuchika Okada
* The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega defeated YOH, SHO, and Rocky Romero
* Marty Scurll and Cody defeated KUSHIDA and Kota Ibushi
* Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Manabu Nakanishi, and Jushin Thunder Liger defeated Togi Makabe, David Finlay, Henare, Hirai Kawato, and Katsuya Kitamura
* Michael Elgin, Jeff Cobb, and War Machine (Hanson and Raymond Rowe) defeated Bullet Club (Hangman Page, Yujiro Takahashi, Chase Owens, and Leo Tonga)
* Bad Luck Fale defeated BUSHI
* Best Friends (Beretta and Chuckie T) defeated Death Juice (Juice Robinson and Sami Callihan)
* CHAOS (Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, and YOSHI-HASHI) defeated Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer, Davey Boy Smith Jr., and El Desperado)
Source: WrestlingINC
WWE issued the following statement on Rich Swann’s arrest.
“WWE has zero tolerance for matters involving domestic violence, and per our policy, Rich Swann has been indefinitely suspended following his arrest.”
Yesterday morning at 12:09am in Gainesville, Florida, 205 Live Star Rich Swann was arrested and charged with Kidnapping and False Imprisonment: Adult, a third-degree felony in Florida that is punishable with up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine, if convicted. Swann was also charged with Battery (touching or strike), a first degree misdemeanor that is punishable with up to one year in jail or 12 months probation and a $1,000 fine, if convicted.
The Gainesville Police tweeted out Swann’s mugshot and the police report, due to the numerous national media requests. According to the report, the victim was pro wrestler, Su Yung (Vannarah Riggs). Swann was driving a car and apparently began critiquing Riggs’ performance at a wrestling show, earlier in the night. Swann was said to get angry and Riggs “got scared that the argument was going to escalate” and eventually jumped out of the car. The report continues Swann stopped the car in traffic, yelled for her to return, ended up putting her in a headlock and dragged her back to the vehicle.
Two witnesses filed what they saw in the police report below, which gives full details on what happened.
Due to numerous national media requests…mugshot and arrest report for Rich Swann can be found here: https://t.co/PvQj5B7A7n
Source: WrestlingINC
Hiroshi Tanahashi has been forced out of his remaining dates on NJPW’s World Tag League Tour due to injury, NJPW announced on Thursday. The company revealed in an announcement that Tanahashi suffered a right knee injury that led them to have to remove him from their show in Yamaguchi tonight, as well as the remainder of the tour which ends on December 11th.
The company noted, that details on Tanahashi’s condition are unknown and that he’s undergoing medical tests. When more information becomes available, the company will decided as to future appearances. It added, “New Japan Pro Wrestling apologizes to fans who were looking forward to seeing Tanahashi perform.
Additionally, the company said that due to the absence, “there will be changes made to the remainder of the cards in the World Tag League tour.”
Source: 411Mania
We noted before how Bobby Lashley and Ethan Carter III could be leaving Impact Wrestling when their contracts expire soon. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that former World Heavyweight Champion Eddie Edwards may be joining EC3 and Lashley as his contract expires in February 2018.
Regarding contracts moving forward, word is that the company will only be offering the new per-day contracts instead of significant guaranteed money deals, which Lashley, EC3 and Edwards are currently signed to. There’s a good chance these three veterans may be leaving because of this, just like James Storm. Storm recently left the company as he was signed to a high-paying contract that the company did not want to renew as they are looking to stop losing money.
No word yet on Eddie’s future plans but the belief right now is that WWE and ROH do have interest in signing him. WWE’s interest is for the WWE NXT brand, according to The Observer.
Source: WrestlingINC
Pro Wrestling Sheet has learned there have been serious internal discussions within WWE regarding a possible Global Warning pay-per-view event that would take place next year in Australia.
For those who don’t remember, WWE Global Warning Tour 2002 took place in Melbourne and over 50,000 people attended the live event. We’re told officials want to top that in a big way next year.
Sources with direct knowledge say WWE have discussed running Global Warning II in October at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which holds 100,000 people. This time, however, they want to broadcast the event on PPV and the WWE Network.
Nothing official has been set quite yet, but The Sheet was told things are headed in the right direction.
Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet
According to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Jim Ross and AXS TV have verbally agreed to a contract extension, and the new contract is being finalized. Since Ross isn’t appearing on WWE TV (he was signed for the UK project, which hasn’t launched), WWE didn’t stand in the way of the deal. Aldo, his WWE deal allowed him to continue doing existing work.
Source: 411Mania
