NJPW Wrestling Dontaku (Night Two) Results 5/4/21

NJPW Wrestling Dontaku (Night Two) was earlier today.

As noted, six wrestlers (Kazuchika Okada, Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, SHO, and YOH) were held off today’s show due to COVID-19 concerns. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion El Desperado was scheduled to wrestle YOH, but the title match was taken completely off the event.

Below are the results:

* Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., and DOUKI defeated Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, and Jado

* Yujiro Takahashi and Taiji Ishimori defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Master Wato

* Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb, and Aaron Henare defeated Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, and BUSHI

* Hiroshi Tanahashi, Toru Yano, and Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Jay White, EVIL, and Dick Togo

* Will Ospreay (c) defeated Shingo Takagi (IWGP World Heavyweight Championship)

Multiple NJPW Stars Removed From Show Over COVID Concerns

Kazuchika Okada, Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, SHO, and YOH were taken off today’s NJPW Wrestling Dontaku (Night Two) card due to COVID-19 concerns.

NJPW announced a wrestler scheduled to appear on today’s show had a fever and was undergoing evaluation (including PCR and antibody testing). Another wrestler who has been involved in events since May 1 also had a fever and was undergoing further evaluation.

“In an abundance of caution, neither participated in today’s event, and any wrestler who competed with them on recent cards were also removed from the event,” NJPW said in a statement.

NJPW ended up removing the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship match between El Desperado and YOH completely off the card. They made addition changes to other tag matches that were featured on the undercard.

Kazuchika Okada and SHO vs. Minoru Suzuki and Yoshinobu Kanemaru became Master Wato and Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Taiji Ishiomori and Yujiro Takahashi. Also, Master Wato, Ryusuke Taguchi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Toru Yano, and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Dick Togo, Taiji Ishimori, Yujiro Takahashi, EVIL, and Jay White was changed to Ryusuke Taguchi, Toru Yano, and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Dick Togo, EVIL, and Jay White.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Eva Marie Announces Return On WWE RAW

Eva Marie is back with WWE.

Last night’s WWE RAW featured a new vignette where Marie declared that “The Eva-lution” is coming soon.

“Do I have your attention?,” Marie asked in the vignette. “I’ve been thinking about where I’ve been and where I’m going. Do I have your attention now? Good. You know, on the road of life there are twists and turns, and I’ve always tried to be the one in control of my own life, and the independence that comes with it, but part of that is giving back. Now I have your attention. I want to be someone others look up to, I want to influence others to go after their own ambitions like I did. So, I’m back where my journey started. This is Eva-lution.”

Eva tweeted after the vignette and wrote, “Do I have your attention? @wwe #EvaLution #WWERAW”

It was reported back in the fall of 2020 that Eva’s WWE return was in the works. She had been rumored for RAW appearances a few times since then, but there had been no concrete updates until now.

Eva first joined WWE in 2013 for Total Divas and the Divas Search, but left the company in August 2017 to focus on other interests outside of the company. She has done some acting and reality TV work since then, and has also launched her own fashion brands, among other projects. She has stayed away from pro wrestling for the most part, but was recently working with WWE Performance Center recruit Parker Boudreaux.

https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1389379249962954755

Source: Wrestling Inc.

NBC Renews “Young Rock” For A Second Season

NBC has renewed “Young Rock” for a second season.

“Young Rock is the No. 2 new comedy of the current television season in the key 18-49 demographic.  The pilot episode, which premiered back on February 16 has been seen by 13.4 million viewers. NBC also noted that “Young Rock” is the network’s top comedy debut across digital platforms on record through 60 days with 3.6 million digital views.

“Young Rock” has former WWE Superstar Dwayne Johnson starting as a fictionalized version of himself, where he telling stories about his childhood and teenage years during his run for President of the United States during the 2032 election.

Episodes during the first season focused on different chapters of Johnson’s life – from growing up in a strong and resilient family, to being surrounded by the wild and crazy characters of his professional wrestling family, and playing football at the University of Miami.

“Young Rock is produced by Universal Television, Seven Bucks Productions and Fierce Baby Productions with Johnson, Nahnatchka Khan, Jeff Chiang, Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia, Brian Gewirtz and Jennifer Carreras as executive producers for season one.

Source: Deadline via WrestleView

https://twitter.com/DEADLINE/status/1388191571095564289

WWE RAW Preview 5/3/21

Tonight’s WWE RAW on the USA Network will feature more build for the upcoming WrestleMania Backlash pay-per-view.

NJPW Wrestling Dontaku (Night 1) Results 5/3/21

NJPW Wrestling Dontaku (Night One) took place earlier today in Fukoka.

* EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, Taiji Ishimori, and Dick Togo defeated Toru Yano, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Tiger Mask, and Master Wato
* Kazuchika Okada, SHO, and YOH defeated Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru
* Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, and BUSHI defeated Will Ospreay, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb, and Aaron Henare
* Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Tanga Loa
* Taichi with DOUKI defeated Tama Tonga with Jado (Iron Fingers From Hell Ladder Match)
* Jay White with Gedo defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) (NEVER Openweight Championship)

Post-match, White referred to himself as “the real belt collector” (a reference to Kenny Omega) and offered up anyone to find him if they had a problem with that.

Night two of Wrestling Dontaku takes place tomorrow and features the following matches:

* Will Ospreay (c) vs. Shingo Takagi (IWGP World Heavyweight Championship)
* El Desperado (c) vs. YOH (IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship)
* Hiroshi Tanahashi, Toru Yano, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Ryusuke Taguchi, and Master Wato vs. Jay White, EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, Taiji Ishimori, and Dick Togo
* Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, and BUSHI vs. Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb, and Aaron Henare
* Kazuchika Okada and SHO vs. Minoru Suzuki and Yoshinobu Kanemaru
* Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., and DOUKI vs. Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, and Jado

WWE SmackDown Preview 4/30/21

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown on FOX will feature two big title matches as the show goes up against the NFL Draft and build toward WrestleMania Backlash.

WWE Reportedly In Talks With MLW About Possibly Working Together

WWE officials are reportedly in talks with MLW officials.

It was noted in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that WWE does not like the reputation it has of not working with anyone in the modern pro wrestling world.

Regarding MLW and WWE, the talks are along the lines of the old EVOLVE deal or to a degree, the ECW deal from the 1990s. The idea is to give some of the developmental guys, who aren’t working WWE NXT, some work on TV. There is also the idea of WWE creating their own EVOLVE-like group as a weekly streaming show, but this would allow the talents to work on actual TV and get some more exposure than on Peacock and the WWE Network, and it also makes it seem like WWE is changing and modernizing.

There’s also the idea of alleviating the frustration of so many talents on the roster who sign with the company and then basically are never used, especially with no NXT live event running right now due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was also said that people see AEW having partnerships with NJPW, Impact Wrestling and AAA, and WWE wants to make it look like they are not set in their old ways and uncooperative,

There’s no word on if anything will come of the WWE – MLW talks or a timeframe on when something might happen, but right now within WWE there is a mentality to work with other promotions.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Impact Wrestling Preview 4/29/21

With the main event match that will forever be etched in history, we are now on the verge of witnessing a new era after Impact’s annual event, Rebellion. Tonight on Impact Wrestling at 8/7c on AXS TV, witness the fallout that’ll ensue following the well-executed event.

* Fallout from Rebellion

* Kenny Omega’s in-ring celebration

* X-Division Championship: Josh Alexander (c) vs. Ace Austin

* Taylor Wilde vs. Kimber Lee

* W. Morrissey IMPACT debut

* Deaner vs. James Storm will kick things off on Before The Impact

Ted DiBiase Humiliates Cameron Grimes On NXT

WWE Hall of Famer Ted DiBiase made a cameo appearance on NXT and embarrassed his fellow money man Cameron Grimes.

It all went down on the latest edition of NXT on USA Network.

During a pre-taped segment, wealthy upstart Cameron Grimes could be seen shopping for an extravagant new watch. Grimes settled upon an expensive looking time piece, and was admiring the fruits of his riches. Suddenly, another wrist appeared, and this one was wearing an even fancier watch!

The wrist belonged to none other than “The Million Dollar Man” himself, WWE legend Ted DiBiase!

DiBiase laughed in the face of Cameron Grimes, and exited the picture while Grimes pouted.

Check out the encounter in the video below!