AEW Double Or Nothing 5/29/2022

DATE: May 29, 2022 8:00 pm
LOCATION: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
AVAILABLE ON: Pay-Per-View, Bleacher Report

AEW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
CM Punk vs. Hangman Page (c)

AEW WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP
Serena Deeb vs. Thunder Rosa (c)

TBS CHAMPIONSHIP
Anna Jay vs. Jade Cargill (c)

AEW TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland vs. FTW Champion Ricky Starks & Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus (c)

OWEN HART FOUNDATION MEN’S TOURNAMENT FINAL
Adam Cole vs. Samoa Joe

OWEN HART FOUNDATION WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT FINAL
Dr. Britt Baker vs. Ruby Soho

ANARCHY IN THE ARENA
Jericho Appreciation Society (Chris Jericho, Angelo Parker, Daniel Garcia, Jake Hager & Matt Menard) vs. Bryan Danielson, Eddie Kingston, Jon Moxley, Ortiz & Santana

MJF vs. Wardlow
(*If Wardlow loses, he can never sign an AEW contract)

The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) vs. The Hardys (Jeff Hardy & Matt Hardy)

Death Triangle (Pac, Penta Oscuro & Rey Fenix) vs. House of Black (Malakai Black, Brody King & Buddy Matthews)

Darby Allin vs. Kyle O’Reilly

Scorpio Sky, Ethan Page & Paige VanZant vs. Sammy Guevara, Frankie Kazarian & Tay Conti

“BUY-IN” PRE-SHOW
Danhausen & Hook vs. Mark Sterling & Tony Nese

WWE SmackDown Preview 5/27/22

Tonight, WWE SmackDown on FOX will broadcast live from the Simmons Bank Arena in North Little Rock, Arkansas, as part of the road to Hell In a Cell.

As of this morning, the following line-up is announced for tonight’s show:

  • Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods & TBA vs. Sheamus, Ridge Holland & Butch
  • The Bloodline returns to “SmackDown” with all the gold

This week, Drew McIntyre will be back to continue his battle with The Bloodline.

After missing last week, SmackDown Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey is expected to return this week.

Max Dupri, the former LA Knight, is expected to be on tonight’s SmackDown. He revealed the new gimmick last week and is expected to join the blue brand with his Maximum Male Models firm.

Cody Rhodes, Kevin Owens, and Ezekiel are all expected to be on tonight’s show, although most likely as dark match participants, if at all. The venue is advertising Rhodes vs. Owens.

AEW Rampage Preview 5/27/22

The last stop before AEW’s “Double Or Nothing” pay-per-view on Sunday is a live episode of “Rampage” tonight. The show at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada begins at a special early start time of 6:30 PM ET.

The following line-up is announced for tonight:

  • Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament Semifinal: Kris Statlander vs. Ruby Soho
  • Bryan Danielson vs. Matt Sydal
  • Scorpio Sky receives a new TNT Title
  • The Young Bucks will be in action
https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1530157872847327232

Backstage News On Queen Zelina Vega’s Absence From WWE TV

Queen Zelina Vega recently suffered an in-ring injury for which she required surgery, according to PWInsider.

The report didn’t specify the type of surgery or when Vega got hurt, but she was last seen on the April 11 episode of Raw. Prior to that appearance, Vega and Carmella dropped their Women’s Tag Team Titles at “WrestleMania 38” in a Fatal Four Way Match.

Vega is expected to be out of action for another 6-8 weeks, which would mean she’d be available to return in time for the July 30 “SummerSlam” premium live event.

The report added there’s been talk within WWE creative about Vega receiving a push upon her return. The Queens native has reportedly been praised backstage for her “willingness to do what was requested of her” and for her work ethic.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Tony Khan Says Ring Of Honor Isn’t A Subsidiary Of AEW, Provides Update On Promotion’s Future

Ring Of Honor owner Tony Khan has hinted at what’s in store for the beloved promotion.

Ring Of Honor owner Tony Khan seems pretty adamant that he doesn’t expect ROH to play second fiddle to AEW, the other pro wrestling promotion he owns.

“Is Ring of Honor as big as AEW right now? No. Is it selling as many PPVs? No. But that was incredible growth for Ring of Honor, a company that has over 20 years of history now,” TK said during the May 26 media call to promote AEW Double or Nothing (h/t Wrestling Inc.) “And they sold a ton of PPVs over the years, and that was, of all the shows they’ve promoted, one of the biggest Ring of Honor shows. It was the biggest show by far in years. When we get all the final numbers in, it’s going to be probably 20 times or more than the recent Ring of Honor PPVs. So we’ve been able to rebuild and get Ring of Honor, I think, to a stronger place it’s been in many years.”

Tony Khan announced his acquisition of ROH in the opening segment of the March 2 edition of AEW Dynamite on TBS. During the post-AEW Revolution media scrum on Sunday, March 6, Khan confirmed that he will be booking Ring Of Honor when the beloved promotion returns from hiatus … an event that is yet to occur.

Aside from the Supercard of Honor event — which had been scheduled way before TK finalized his acquisition of the promotion and was referenced by the man himself in the above quote — ROH is yet to return. Ring Of Honor titles have been defended on AEW TV and at various independent shows, but we still don’t know when the company will return to producing weekly shows.

“I would love to get Ring of Honor weekly TV series, or streaming series, wherever it ends up going, very soon,” Khan said in response to a question regarding ROH’s future. “And it’s something I’m working on, and I think it would be awesome for the fans, in addition to the great shows they get from AEW. There are a lot of Ring of Honor fans around the world that can’t wait until the TV comes back. And I am hopeful we’ll have Ring of Honor TV and continue the great calendar of Ring of Honor PPV events. Supercard of Honor was a big success for us, and I’d like to bring Ring of Honor back to PPV as well and follow up on it. I don’t know when the TV will start back up on a weekly basis, but that is my goal, to get it going again. It’s something I’m working on.”

Source: TheSportster

MLW Fusion Preview 5/26/22

Major League Wrestling FUSION tonight at 8pm ET features Alex Hammerstone versus MLW matchmaker Cesar Duran for the World Heavyweight Championship, streaming worldwide for free on MLW’s YouTube channel and Saturday nationwide on cable and dish on beIN SPORTS. 

  • World Heavyweight Championship: Alex Hammerstone (champion) vs. Cesar Duran
  • Trios Action: Microman, Aerostar and El Dragon vs. Arez, TJP and Mini Abismo Negro
  • Davey Richards vs. Danny Rivera 

Cesar Duran promises “violent consequences” for the World Heavyweight Champion in a main event that promises to be unpredictable and controversial. 

Following the infamous physical altercation at a recent press conference, “El Jefe” will step into the ring with Alex Hammerstone for the World Heavyweight Championship this week on Fusion!

Will Your Boy Hammer send a thunderbolt through the ruthless heart of lucha promoter and MLW matchmaker Cesar Duran? Or will the scheming Cesar have an ace up his sleeve and win the World Heavyweight Championship in his in-ring debut?

Stop the press! Richard Holliday and Alicia Atout have confirmed they will be in the house! What dirty tricks could The Clout Couple have in store for the mighty Hammerstone?

“The American Wolf” Davey Richards is back in competition as he fights 5150’s Danny “Limelight” Rivera.

The end of Micromania? The stakes have never been higher for Microman as “The World’s Greatest Wonder” as Cesar Duran puts his career in jeopardy tonight in trios competition. 

Mads Krugger and King Muertes make a deal with the devil that could spell the demise of one of MLW’s greats.

Ross and Marshall Von Erich stake their claim for gold after their Texas sized victory over 5150 last week.

IMPACT Preview 5/26/22

The biggest event of the summer, Slammiversary, continues to draw near on an all-new IMPACT! Tonight at 8/7c on AXS TV and 8:30pm ET on YouTube for IMPACT Insiders.

The following line-up is announced for tonight:

  • Impact World Champion Josh Alexander & Impact World Tag Team Champions The Briscoes vs. Violent By Design (Eric Young, Joe Doering & Deaner)
  • Ultimate X Qualifying Match: Trey Miguel vs. Alex Shelley
  • Frankie Kazarian vs. Chris Sabin
  • Jordynne Grace vs. Chelsea Green
  • Masha Slamovich vs. Havok
  • Raj Singh & Shera vs. Bhupinder Gujjar & W. Morrissey
  • Black Taurus vs. Laredo Kid – Before the IMPACT, streaming tonight at 7:30pm ET exclusively on IMPACT Plus, YouTube and Facebook.

WWE’s Brand Split Format “Is Essentially Done” [Report]

WWE went back to the brand split six years ago. According to a new report, the format “is essentially done” now.

It’s been six years since WWE went back to the brand split for its main roster stars, but a new report suggests that the format will end soon.

In recent weeks, WWE has been showcasing plenty of Raw stars on SmackDown and vice versa. There is only one world championship for the male superstars (Roman Reigns is the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion) right now, and The Usos defeated RK-Bro on SmackDown last week to become the “Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions.”

Speaking on Wrestling Observer Live (h/t Ringside News), Bryan Alvarez reported that the brand split format “is essentially done” now, pointing out that several Raw stars are going to be on this week’s edition of SmackDown. Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com recently reported that Seth Rollins, Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens are scheduled to appear on SmackDown this Friday.

“This isn’t anything official, but the brand extension is essentially done,” Alvarez reported. “Half of the RAW crew is going to be on SmackDown Friday. Cody’s gonna be there, I think Seth is gonna be there. Edge doing whatever and it makes for a better show, as we’ve mentioned a thousand times.”

Reigns defeated Brock Lesnar in a “Winner Takes All” unified title bout at WrestleMania 38 to become the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. He and The Usos have appeared on Raw frequently over the last two months, and RK-Bro has made several appearances on the SmackDown brand.

For the 2019 Superstar Shake-Up, Vince McMahon introduced a “Wild Card Rule” which allowed four superstars on each brand to appear on the opposite brand per week. The rule was taken out following the 2019 WWE Draft and SmackDown‘s move over to Friday nights on FOX.

WWE’s decision to go back to the brand split in 2016 was a great success in many ways. Having differnet championship belts on each brand really helped the company build new main event stars, after all. So it’s certainly interesting to see the company basically move away from the brand split formatting and rules, at least for the time being. Instead of pushing different tag team and world championship holders on Raw, WWE has put all of its eggs into one basket here. Only time will tell if the decision to go all-in on The Bloodline’s historic push pays off over the long run.

Source: TheSportster

AEW Dynamite Preview 5/25/22

AEW is celebrating the company’s third anniversary and kicking off “Double or Nothing” week in Las Vegas tonight. A live episode of “Dynamite” will be broadcast from the Michelob Ultra Arena at Mandalay Bay.

The following line-up is announced for tonight:

  • ROH World Tag Team Championship Match: Roppongi Vice vs. FTR (c)
  • Steel Cage Match: Shawn Spears vs. Wardlow with MJF as the special referee – (Wardlow must compete in the match to secure a one-on-one match against MJF at “Double or Nothing”.)
  • Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament Semifinal: Dr. Britt Baker vs. Toni Storm
  • Owen Hart Foundation Men’s Tournament Semifinal: ROH World TV Champion Samoa Joe vs. Kyle O’Reilly
  • AEW Tag Team Champion Jungle Boy vs. FTW Champion Ricky Starks vs. Swerve Strickland
  • AEW Champion Hangman Page and CM Punk face-to-face
  • We hear from AEW Women’s Champion Thunder Rosa

Alexa Bliss Alerts Authorities To Fan Threatening Her And Her Husband

Alexa Bliss has dealt with her fair share of crazed fans over the years. On Tuesday night, Bliss exposed another such person for threatening to shoot her and her husband Ryan Cabrera.

As seen in the screengrab below, Bliss responded directly to the fan, informing him that she had turned in screenshots of their direct messages to the authorities.

In response, the fan seemingly laughed off the idea of Bliss wanting to impose a restraining order on him. Through several other posts, the fan claimed he speaks regularly to Buddy Matthews, Bliss’ ex-fiancé, on Twitch, and that he burned all of Bliss’ merchandise.

Bliss’ original Instagram post was an invitation to a fundraiser IG live session on Friday, May 27. The session intends to raise money for “Saving Huey Foundation,” a nonprofit organization that specializes in the rescue of abused animals. The session will also celebrate the life of Larry-Steve, Alexa Bliss’ former pet pig that passed away last May.

“Let’s celebrate my Angel piggy in heaven Larry-Steve by raising money for animals in need,” Bliss wrote in her post.

On this week’s Raw, Bliss continued her momentum with another singles victory over Nikki A.S.H. Bliss has now won three consecutive matches since her return on the May 9th episode of Raw. Bliss returned earlier this month from a three-month hiatus dating back to the “Elimination Chamber” event in February.

https://twitter.com/WrestleOps/status/1529311335757975552

Source: Wrestling Inc.