Vince McMahon Reportedly Furious Over AEW Name-Drop During WWE RAW Segment, More Backstage Talk

There have been conflicting reports over whether or not Sami Zayn’s AEW name-drop on last night’s WWE RAW was scripted. Dave Meltzer noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that the line was scripted, but co-host Bryan Alvarez said he heard otherwise. PWInsider then reported that several sources said Zayn’s AEW line was not scripted, and was likely something that Zayn improvised as he is known to pitch his own verbiage for promos. PWInsider also pointed to how WWE could have used their 15-second delay to bleep the plug out, if they had a real issue with it.

In an update, Alvarez noted on Wrestling Observer Live yesterday that Vince McMahon was furious when AEW was mentioned live on RAW. Alvarez fueled the speculation with stories from multiple sources.

“These are two facts about the situation, alright? There are absolutely people who insist that Sami was given the OK to mention AEW, alright?,” Alvarez said. “I’ve even heard from one person who said that in the script that went around in the morning yesterday, it was in the script that he was going to mention AEW. One person said that. I had another person say, and Dave had people tell him that it was a scripted line. Now, with that said, I heard from multiple people, far more people in fact, and people that heard from other people, that all said, the line was not scripted, the line was not supposed to be said.

“I was also told from multiple people that when it happened, Vince flipped his lid. He was furious that this happened, OK? So, that’s literally… those are the two things that I can tell you. So, however you want to figure out what the hell is going on here, there’s various ways that you could explain this. The one that people seem to think is the most likely, is that a small number of people were told that he was given the OK, and that they’re working the boys and flipping out about it. I don’t know what the answer is, all I know is that some people were told that he was given the OK, but most people said that he wasn’t, and that Vince flipped out. I wasn’t there, I don’t know how the flip out occurred, I wasn’t there to witness it, but I do know that the people there who absolutely 100% believed that he was very angry, that this was not him putting on a show for people, that this was not him trying to work the boys, that he was angry when this got on the air. I don’t know how to explain everything, I just know that’s what happened last night.”

If the line was not scripted, it’s believed that Zayn could face some sort of consequences. Meltzer speculated that he could be suspended. Stay tuned for updates on the situation and check out the name-drop in the clip below. As we’ve noted, WWE did edit the AEW mention out of the segment that was posted to YouTube, seen below.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE SmackDown Live Preview 5/28/19

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown Live will take place from the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma as the road to Super ShowDown continues.

* Kofi Kingston to clash with Kevin Owens

* Dolph Ziggler to appear on “The Kevin Owens Show”

* Bayley goes one-on-one with RAW’s Lacey Evans

* How will Roman Reigns respond to Shane McMahon and his “insurance policy”?

* Can R-Truth make it through another night as 24/7 Champion?

WWE 205 Live Preview 5/28/19

Tonight’s WWE 205 Live will take place from the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Is Tozawa the next challenger?

At WWE Money in the Bank, Tony Nese’s incredible 2019 continued with a successful WWE Cruiserweight Championship defense against another Superstar who was previously undefeated this year – Ariya Daivari. Keeping his reputation as a fighting champion, The Premier Athlete was once again in search of his next challenger. Of course, there is no shortage of hungry contenders vying for a title opportunity, and that was evidenced by the Fatal 5-Way Match that took place last week.

Believing his loss at WWE Money in the Bank was a fluke, Daivari competed against Akira Tozawa, Oney Lorcan, Mike Kanellis and The Brian Kendrick, as each Superstar looked to prove they were more than ready to battle Nese. The contest was undoubtedly a showcase of five of the top competitors in the Cruiserweight division, and there was no shortage of thrills and ovations from the WWE Universe as the action reached breathtaking intensity.

However, the chaotic nature of the match gave Tozawa the opportunity to steal Daivari’s momentum in the final moments and roll up The Persian Lion for the victory.

With an impressive victory against four of the division’s best, has The Stamina Monster proven he’s ready for another title opportunity?

Sami Zayn’s AEW Reference On WWE RAW Was Reportedly Scripted

Sami Zayn name-dropping All Elite Wrestling on Monday’s RAW episode was reportedly scripted, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio. As seen below, WWE edited the line out of the video that they uploaded on their YouTube channel.

Sami was a guest for a new segment on RAW called “Electric Chair”, where a wrestler sat in an electric chair while Charly Caruso, Kayla Braxton and Sarah Schreiber took questions from fans in the crowd. After several questions, Sami ripped on the crowd for what he was being asked. Sami said that they could ask him about anything, including about his love life, if he was a good kisser and “even about AEW.” The crowd popped for the AEW reference and Seth Rollins’ music immediately hit.

The questions in the segment were from real fans, however their questions were screened. Meltzer said a backstage source noted that the AEW mention “was so f–king stupid.” Meltzer’s co-host, Brian Alvarez, said that he heard from a different source that the line wasn’t scripted, however Meltzer noted that the person who he spoke to was in the meeting before the show.

You can hear the name-drop in the Twitter clip below:

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Note on AJ Styles Injury, Reportedly “Banged Up”

AJ Styles was pulled due to injury from last night’s WWE RAW Fatal 4 Way Elimination match with Braun Strowman, The Miz and Bobby Lashley, with the winner going on to face WWE Universal Champion Seth Rollins at Super ShowDown. Styles was replaced by Baron Corbin, who ended up winning the match.

Styles later appeared in a backstage RAW segment with Charly Caruso and noted that he felt his back pop during the recent Money In the Bank loss to Rollins. That was the last time he wrestled. Styles was dropped by Corbin in that backstage segment, but that’s the only physical action he saw this week. When asked how long he will be out of action, Styles noted that he still has more tests that need to be done.

There’s been speculation on Styles’ injury being a work, but apparently he has been working hurt. PWInsider reports that word going around RAW was that Styles is “banged up” but there’s no word on the nature of his injury beyond that.

Below is last night’s RAW segment with AJ.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Starrcast 3 Announced For AEW All Out Weekend In Chicago

Starrcast III has officially been announced for Labor Day Weekend in Chicago, Illinois.

The convention announced today that they will return to the city where the first Starrcast was held last year. Full details will be revealed later tonight.

Starrcast III will run from Thursday, August 29 – Sunday, September 1. Labor Day is on Monday, September 2. AEW’s All Out event will take place on Saturday, August 31 from nearby Hoffman Estates, IL at the Sears Centre Arena.

https://twitter.com/StarrcastEvents/status/1132494918838972416

https://twitter.com/StarrcastEvents/status/1132504848274845701

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Road Dogg Reportedly Working Full-Time On The WWE NXT Brand

According to PWInsider, WWE Hall of Famer “Road Dogg” BG James is now working full-time on the WWE NXT brand. His official role and title haven’t been confirmed yet though.

As it was reported earlier this month, James has been working at the Performance Center. He also made a cameo Sunday on the WWE PC Combine, which aired on the WWE Network.

Last month James stepped down as the co-lead writer of SmackDown Live. He quit the position because he was reportedly frustrated with Vince McMahon always making changes to the TV scripts.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Jon Moxley Heading To NJPW Event In June, Talks “Paradigm Shift” In Wrestling, Upcoming Appearances For Northeast Wrestling

After appearing at AEW “Double or Nothing”, Jon Moxley announced that he will be heading to New Japan Pro Wrestling.

Via a tweet, Moxley showed a vignette that has been making the rounds for weeks of a man with a knife. The video has ended with “Time’s Up” and a picture of IWGP United States Champion Juice Robinson. Moxley is then revealed to be the mysterious figure in the bar. The expected date of his arrival is June 5, 2019, the day of the finals of the Best of the Super Juniors.

After Double of Nothing, it was announced by Tony Khan that Moxley signed a multi-year deal with AEW. Part of the deal included an opportunity to do bookings outside of the company when the schedule is light. AEW’s TNT deal doesn’t start for another few months.

Moxley is the second major AEW wrestler to be competing for NJPW in the next few months. Chris Jericho, who defeated Kenny Omega this past weekend to become a contender for the AEW World Championship, is set to face Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship on June 9.

On August 16 in Poughkeepsie, New York, Moxley will face Pentagon Jr. for Northeast Wrestling at the Mid Hudson Civic Center.

In a tweet through All Elite Wrestling, Moxley also cut a promo about wanting to cause a paradigm shift in pro wrestling.

“One day, they will all come to my funeral just to make sure I stay dead, but today is not that day,” Moxley said. “I’m alive! My heart is still beating and I’m breathing fresh air for the first time in a long time. My name is Jon Moxley and I am on a mission to reclaim my soul. And I’m not the only who thinks, ‘You know it’s about time this industry got a face lift.’ So make no mistake about it, this is an official declaration of war against anybody who wants to get in my way or anybody who stands in AEW’s way. We’re on a mission to knock the pillars of this industry on their ass. We ain’t reading history books anymore, we’re writing them. This is what you call a paradigm shift.”

https://twitter.com/AEWrestling/status/1132859918338236418

https://twitter.com/newwrestling1/status/1132762500347310080

 

UPDATE: Jon Moxley Vs. Juice Robinson For IWGP U.S. Title Official For June 5th

New Japan Pro Wrestling has made Jon Moxley Vs. Juice Robinson official for the Best of the Super Juniors final card on June 5th. According to their website, it will indeed be for the IWGP United States Championship.

In the video Below, Juice accepts Moxley’s challenge, while also talking about the brief history they have. Juice brings up the fact that they both started on the same day in Florida Championship Wrestling while with WWE. He looked up to Moxley and the latter even has a win over Juice while with WWE. Juice promised to flip the script; he plans to beat Moxley and retain his United States Championship.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE RAW Preview 5/27/19

Tonight’s WWE RAW will take place from the Sprint Center in Kansas City, MO.

* Brock Lesnar to announce blockbuster decision

* Future of the United States Championship to be addressed

* 24/7 Championship chaos continues

* Who will be Becky Lynch’s next challenge?

More On Jon Moxley Joining All Elite Wrestling, When Is His In-Ring Debut?

Jon Moxley (fka WWE’s Dean Ambrose) showed up at the close of AEW Double or Nothing where he took out both Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega after their main event match. Jericho defeated Omega and will face Adam Page at a later date for the AEW World Championship.

According to Sports Illustrated’s Justin Barrasso, AEW confirmed that Moxley has a signed a multi-year deal with the company.

His in-ring debut will take place on June 29 at Fyter Fest in Daytona Beach, Florida. An opponent has yet to be named.

Last month, Ambrose finished up with WWE after working for the company since 2011.

https://twitter.com/JustinBarrasso/status/1132510572283650048

https://twitter.com/tde_wrestling/status/1132493327474057217

https://twitter.com/WrestlingInc/status/1132494471688359937

Source: Wrestling Inc.