NWA Powerrr Preview 11/5/19

NWA Powerrr returns with Episode 5 with the main event of James Storm vs. Colt Cabana for the NWA National Championship. Learn more at http://www.NationalWresltingAlliance.com

In Episode 4 of NWA Powerrr, it was the manipulation of Eli Drake that lead to the six man tag team match between Team Aldis and Team Storm. The stakes were high and in the end Team Aldis won and lead to Colt Cabana getting. this shot.

This rivalry with Colt Cabana and James Storm dates back to The NWA Crockett Cup and escalated when Storm manipulated an injury of Cabana to win the NWA National Championship.

Also in this episode of NWA Powerrr, Tim Storm speaks with Joe Galli about his future. Plus the in-ring debut of Thunder Rosa as she faces Ashley Vox. The Dawsons are in action but we know Eddie Kingston & Homicide are looking for their revenge.

We can confirm that Aron Stevens is looking to go one more round with Ricky Starks and has asked the National Wrestling Alliance for a special stipulation.

NJPW Reveals Match Cards For Showdown In California

The latest tour in the United States for New Japan Pro Wrestling has arrived. New Japan Showdown will be taking place in California on November 9 and 11. The event on the 9th will be taking place inside the San Jose Civic in San Jose while the event on the 11th will be in the Globe Theatre in Los Angeles.

NJPW announced all of the details for the two nights in a press conference earlier this morning. The main event on the San Jose Showdown show will feature Will Ospreay and Kazuchika Okada against Amazing Red and Kota Ibushi. The British Cruiserweight Championship will be on the line that day, as El Phantasmo will defend his title against SHO. Lance Archer will be defending his newly-won IWGP United States Title as well when he faces Dave Finlay.

The main event on the LA Showdown show will be Tetsuya Naito, BUSHI and Shingo Takagi against Jay White, Chase Owens and Gedo.

Here are the full cards for the tour:

11/9 – New Japan Showdown: San Jose – San Jose Civic

* Will Ospreay and Kazuchika Okada v. Amazing Red and Kota Ibushi
* Tetsuya Naito and Shingo Takagi v. Jay White and Chase Owens
* Lance Archer (c) v. David Finlay – IWGP United States Championship
* El Phantasmo (c) v. SHO – British Cruiserweight Championship
* Rocky Romero, YOH and Hirooki Goto v. KENTA, Taiji Ishimori and Jado
* TJP, Juice Robinson and Tomohiro Ishii v. BUSHI, EVIL and SANADA
*Clark Connors and Karl Fredericks v. Minoru Suzuki and El Desperado
*Jushin Thunder Liger and Aaron Solow v. Colt Cabana and Toru Yano
*Ren Narita v. Alex Coughlin

11/11 – New Japan Showdown – Los Angeles – Globe Theatre

*Tetsuya Naito, BUSHI and Shingo Takagi v. Jay White, Chase Owens and Gedo
*Hirooki Goto, SHO and YOH v. KENTA, El Phantasmo and Taiji Ishimori
*Kota Ibushi v. Ren Narita
*Tomohiro Ishii and Rocky Romero v. EVIL and SANADA
*Juice Robinson, David Finlay and Clark Connors v. Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer and El Desperado
*Colt Cabana and Toru Yano v. Karl Fredericks and Alex Coughlin
*TJP and Amazing Red v. Aaron Solow and Alex Zayne

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Scarlett Bordeaux And Three Other WWE Signings Confirmed

Former Impact Wrestling star Scarlett Bordeaux has officially signed with WWE and is now training at the WWE Performance Center.

Bordeaux’s signing had been rumored for weeks, but was finally announced Tuesday morning.

She joins the Performance Center alongside three other new recruits:

  • Shotzi Blackheart, who was offered a contract by William Regal last month at an EVOLVE show
  • Indi Hartwell, a 22-year-old standout on the Australian scene
  • Referee Stephen Smith, who graduated from OVW and worked in EVOLVE

As you’ll recall, Scarlett was released from Impact in June. She attended a private WWE tryout months later and was locked down with a deal shortly after.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

NJPW’s ‘New Year Dash!!’ 2020 To Have A Mystery Card

Following the craziness that will be two Wrestle Kingdom 14 cards, New Japan Pro Wrestling will be back in action on January 6 for New Year Dash!!

Already announced for the card will be Jushin Thunder Liger’s retirement ceremony. Prior to that, he will be wrestling on both nights of Wrestle Kingdom. During night one, Liger will be teaming up with Tiger Mask, Tatsumi Fujinami and The Great Sasuke to take on Ryusuke Taguchi, Tatsuhito Takaiwa, Shinjiro Otani and Naoki Sano. In Liger’s corner will be El Samurai while Kuniaki Kobayashi (who Liger debuted the current character against) will be in the opposite corner. Norio Honaga will be the special guest referee. Each person involved in the bout has had a history with Liger in some way or another.

While Liger is all set, what will be happening during the rest of the card is a mystery. NJPW has decided to throw a curveball by not announcing anything until the first bell. The company announced that the card will be announced exactly at 6:30 p.m.

New Year Dash!! will be taking place inside the Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Announces Expansion Of Partnership With Saudi Arabia

WWE announced that they have expanded their partnership with the Saudi General Entertainment Authority through 2027, to include a second annual large-scale event.

WWE originally announced in March 2018 that the Greatest Royal Rumble event was to be the first of a new 10-year “strategic multiplatform partnership” between WWE and the Saudi Arabian government. WWE has now held 4 events under the deal – Greatest Royal Rumble in April 2018, Crown Jewel 2018 in November 2018, Super ShowDown in June 2019, and Crown Jewel 2019 this past Thursday. It should be noted that WWE has been holding 2 events per year, but this announcement makes it official, perhaps to show solidarity amid the rumors coming out of Crown Jewel on Thursday.

The announcement comes after last Thursday’s Crown Jewel 2019 event, which ended with a travel debacle that you can read the latest on by clicking here.

There’s no word yet on when the next WWE event will be held in the Kingdom, but it should be in early 2020. They would then likely return in late 2020.

Below is the full announcement sent to us by WWE today:

For Immediate ReleaseWWE® AND THE SAUDI GENERAL ENTERTAINMENT AUTHORITY EXPAND EVENT PARTNERSHIP

STAMFORD, CONN. and RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA, November 4, 2019 – Following the historic Crown Jewel event in Riyadh, WWE (NYSE: WWE) and the Saudi General Entertainment Authority (GEA) have expanded their live event partnership through 2027 to include a second annual large-scale event. WWE and GEA also continue to work towards the completion of a media agreement in the MENA region.

This long-term partnership demonstrates WWE and GEA’s commitment to bring sports entertainment to the region and supports Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Denies Crown Jewel Flight Issues Had Anything To Do With Saudis Owing Money To WWE

WWE has denied that the flight troubles coming out of Saudi Arabia following Thursday’s Crown Jewel event had to do with the Saudi government owing money to the company.

Alfred Konuwa of Forbes reached out to WWE for comment and reports that they “swiftly denied” the owed money allegations that were first brought up by former WWE and current AAA announcer Hugo Savinovich. Konuwa added how WWE confirmed to him that their relationship remains strong with partners in the Kingdom.

Regarding how Crown Jewel started almost an hour late on the MBC Action Network in Saudi Arabia, WWE told Konuwa that the TV feed issues in the Kingdom were “entirely unrelated” to anything regarding a payment. WWE reiterated that mechanical issues were a cause of the flight delay, pointing to how Atlas Air, the charter company, also issued an apology for the mechanical issues.

Savinovich said during a Facebook Live video that while WWE blamed the travel woes on a mechanical issue, he was told that they had to do with WWE not being paid for two of the shows held in the Kingdom. He did not know the exact figure owed, but speculated that it could be between $300 and $500 million. He also said Vince McMahon retaliated on the Saudis by pulling the live Crown Jewel TV feed in the Kingdom. Savinovich also alleged that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman Al Saud was upset by Vince pulling the feed, so he ordered the WWE crew to be removed from the Atlas Air flight as it was preparing to take off to the United States. Savinovich claimed he heard this account directly from someone close to the situation.

It’s worth noting that the figure of $300 to $500 million is really high as WWE has been estimated to generate $40 – $50 million per event in the Kingdom.

WWE Co-President George Barrios revealed on Thursday’s 2019 Q3 earnings call with investors that WWE received a $60 million payment “for an outstanding receivable” at the end of the third quarter. Barrios did not specify on where the payment come from.

Savinovich continued to push the narrative that there was more to the Saudi situation than a mechanical issue.

“It was a very difficult and dangerous situation because of the fact that Saudi Arabia had already been in serious trouble when they killed that reporter in Turkey at the embassy. So the boys were a little bit – not a little bit, they were very, very concerned,” Hugo added in the new Hannibal TV interview. “Vince (McMahon) had left the country already and Brock (Lesnar) had his own plane. It was just about big, big money, millions of dollars that this guy did not send and Vince got upset and cut the feed for South Arabia.

“And that has the Prince upset, and it stopped them from leaving the country and got them off the plane,” Hugo continued. “So basically what they’re doing is they’re originally trying to make it look like it was just a mechanical situation, but an executive from the company – well, my wife had died, so they were just calling to comfort me. At the same time, I was told not to mention any names but they were concerned, they were very concerned.”

Savinovich went as far as to say that the WWE crew was “kidnapped” while waiting to fly out of the Kingdom. He affirmed that the talents are upset about what happened, and said there will be more people speaking out about the incident.

“A friend of mine that is from Saudi Arabia, that I’ve known for years and years since the era of VHS tapes that I used to do from Puerto Rico, he also gave me the scoop about what happened at the airport,” Hugo explained. “So a lot of people will be talking more about it. The boys are very upset, so I don’t know what the deal is.”

“Of course, we always know that money talks. And if Vince gets the millions of dollars, and maybe the Middle East – that big TV contract, because it didn’t happen and in one day he lost over 200 million dollars (in stock value). So, it’s a very complicated situation but the talent was, you know, I don’t want to use the word kidnapped but he ordered a kidnapping and the guys were stopped from leaving the country.”

Dave Meltzer reported on Wrestling Observer Radio that WWE wasn’t paid for the June 7 Super ShowDown event from Saudi Arabia, as of September 30. It was noted in the Q3 earnings call that WWE did receive $60 million after September 30, which is when the report closes, but before October 30, hours before the Crown Jewel event. Meltzer said there was “clearly money owed” by the Saudis. It was noted that because of the money, Vince didn’t air Crown Jewel live in the Kingdom, but it ended up airing on a delay after the two sides made an agreement during the show. It was also noted that WWE talents were apparently aware that money was owed by the Saudis.

As noted, WWE Champion Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman flew out of the Kingdom on Lesnar’s private jet that he is given for these events, before the flight issues came up. WWE Hall of Famers Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan and Jimmy Hart also left the Kingdom on their private jet. It’s believed that Tyson Fury also left on one of the private jets, but Cain Velasquez was with the group that was forced to stay longer. Vince and his inner circle left Saudi on the WWE private jet, before any of the flight issues even came up.

As noted, WWE has denied to Forbes that the flight issues had to do with any money owed by the Saudis. They have reiterated that their Saudi partnerships remain strong.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE RAW Preview 11/4/19

Tonight’s WWE RAW will take place from the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island, New York with fallout from WWE Crown Jewel.

No matches have been announced for tonight’s RAW but WWE Champion Brock Lesnar is set to appear after he quit Friday Night SmackDown and said he was headed to RAW to come after Rey Mysterio.

WWE has not posted their official preview for tonight’s show as of this writing, but it’s worth noting that their events page has new WWE Universal Champion “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt, Seth Rollins, Charlotte Flair, RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch, and WWE United States Champion AJ Styles advertised to appear.

The arena has Rollins vs. Wyatt in a Steel Cage match advertised locally, which would be the dark main event as The Fiend is a SmackDown Superstar, plus appearances by Lynch, Styles, Flair, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio, Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley, Ricochet, Aleister Black, and The Street Profits.

It’s rumored that WWE NXT Superstars will appear on tonight’s RAW to continue the Survivor Series build that began on Friday’s SmackDown with the NXT invasion angles.

Seth Rollins took to Twitter today to issue his first wrestling-related comments since losing the WWE Universal Title to “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt at last Thursday’s WWE Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia.

Rollins thanked Dubai Tourism for the trip he took with RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch, and mentioned Ringside Collectibles for the Ringside Fest event on Sunday. He also revealed that he will address his WWE future during tonight’s RAW episode from Long Island.

He wrote, “So much swirling in my head after #CrownJewel. Thank you @dubaitourism & @RingsideC #RingsideFest & all of our incredible fans for the weekend. Will address my future tonight on #Raw.”

https://twitter.com/WWERollins/status/1191377720829267968

 

Source: Wrestling Inc.

A.J. Styles Discusses The Delayed WWE Plane Ride From Saudi Arabia

This past weekend there was some controversy surrounding WWE’s already controversial Crown Jewel event. There was a flight issue that kept several WWE stars and crew in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia following Thursday’s event. As a result, SmackDown was changed due to virtually from the brand nobody being there.

Several stars that were stuck in Saudi Arabia vented their frustration on Twitter, especially after a WWE statement regarding certain talent wanting to buy their own separate charter flight over others. One person who didn’t post anything was A.J. Styles.

Speaking on his Mixer gaming stream, Styles was asked several times what happened and why there was a delay. Styles gave his own perspective on the situation, based on all the facts he knew.

“We were supposed to leave after the show. We got to the airport, they weren’t letting us board,” Styles stated. “What was the problem? Not really sure, heard there was a fuel truck in the way, the guy who drove the truck had left to go home. I know, this makes no sense. Why would the fuel guy leave if he knows he’s got a plane that’s leaving? Then there were some paperwork issues.

“Finally, after at least 4-5 hours, we get on the plane. Then they found something wrong, the fuel or something or another was broken. People can say what they want, ‘It wasn’t broken.’ But I talked to the pilot. On that 14-hour flight the pilots, I guess they take naps as well. We were all chatting, sitting around on this flight and he said, ‘Listen, there was a problem. That’s a real thing.'”

There have been a lot of rumors going around whether this was planned by those in Saudi Arabia or if it was all a misunderstanding regarding convenience. Styles has heard the latter.

“The problem was, we spent all that time, from one o’clock all the way to six or eight in the morning, waiting to board this plane, they are telling us we can’t go anywhere because the pilots and everybody had timed out,” Styles continued. “They can only go so long before they are not able to fly because they’re not able to go 24 hours at a time. They had to go back to a hotel, we had to find a hotel.

“Were there guns? Were there people yelling ‘EVERYBODY OFF THE PLANE!’? No, that never happened. My wife called me in a panic, she’s scared to death. I go, ‘Babe, listen, we’re just not able to go anywhere. It is not a big issue, nobody has threatened to kill us.’ There was none of that going on. Nobody was going to get murdered, it never happened. There was no threat of physical harm or anything like that.”

Former WWE Spanish commentator Hugo Savinovich claimed that he heard from a source that WWE was owed money by the Saudis for past events and Vince McMahon retaliated by cutting off the Crown Jewel live TV feed in Saudi Arabia. On the WWE third quarter earnings call, WWE avoided answering questions regarding Saudi Arabia, although they did mention receiving a $60 million payment “for an outstanding receivable” after September 30 (when the report closes) and before October 31, hours before Crown Jewel. Crown Jewel also reportedly started nearly an hour later on the MBC Action network in Saudi Arabia than scheduled.

A.J. did admit he had the best sleep of his life on the flight due to jetlag. He also explained his understanding of what has been going on between Vince and the Saudi government.

“It is almost blown up, as if, we were on the verge of being killed. That wasn’t the case,” Styles went on to say. “I don’t know what happened between Vince and the King, the Prince or whoever it is. That’s not my job to say anything, my jobs to go to work, my jobs to get home. Was I pretty angry about not going home because I missed my son’s wrestling match? You have no idea. But, if this is out of our hands, if it is out of the pilot’s hands, then there’s nothing we can do.

“There is no point in getting mad, getting angry about something I have no control of. I’m home now, and I’m happy to be here. We’ll find out as we go along why things happened, or we won’t. I don’t know what’s going to happen going forward, it is just going to be what it is going to be.”

Several stars are sure to be wanting answers following the new Plane Ride From Hell. While Styles is not in a rush, he wants to make sure he himself has all the facts together.

“I’ll deal with it when I need to, but I’m not going to throw WWE under the bus, that’s not how I work” Styles stated. “I am a guy who’s committed to making the best product that I can and it is not going to do me any good to throw good people under the bus. There are a lot of good people that work for WWE, and I will not make them look bad. There are a lot of people that were on that plane with me. Until I know more I’m not going to say anything. And if I did find out, and I was offended, I will go to the source, believe me on that one.”

Source: Wrestling Inc,

Hugo Savinovich Continues To Say That There’s More To WWE Talent Being Stranded In Saudi Arabia

Statements from WWE talent and other people close to the situation in Saudi Arabia continue emerging after reports claimed people from the company were stranded in Saudi Arabia following their Crown Jewel event this past weekend.

As seen below via THE HANNIBAL TV, former WWE Spanish commentator, Hugo Savinovich, has continued to speak out about his claim that WWE stars were kept from flying out of the Middle East because the company was owed millions of dollars for two of the shows that the company held in Saudi Arabia.

“It was a very difficult and dangerous situation because of the fact that Saudi Arabia had already been in serious trouble when they killed that reporter in Turkey at the embassy. So the boys were a little bit – not a little bit, they were very, very concerned,” Hugo added. “Vince (McMahon) had left the country already and Brock (Lesnar) had his own plane. It was just about big, big money, millions of dollars that this guy did not send and Vince got upset and cut the feed for South Arabia.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Cody Rhodes To Make Career Announcement On This Week’s AEW Dynamite

Cody Rhodes announced on Twitter that he’s going to be making a career announcement on this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite.

Rhodes tweeted, “This week’s @AEWonTNT #AEWDynamite I will be uninterrupted and have the chance to make my career announcement. I hope it resonates with the fans, because it matters a great deal to me. Wednesday – 8/7c on @tntdrama.”

As noted before at AEW Full Gear, Cody Rhodes will be going against AEW World Champion Chris Jericho.

Below is Cody’s announcement:

Source: Wrestling Inc.