Backstage News On PAC And Adam Page Match Getting Pulled From AEW Double Or Nothing

Yesterday, Adam Page showed up at a Wrestle Gate Pro event in Nottingham, England to confront PAC and answer his open challenge. The two had a match where Adam Page won by DQ. Afterwards, PAC took down Page with a chair and told him he wouldn’t be coming to Double or Nothing or AEW.

Initially, this all seemed like a way to hype their upcoming match at AEW Double or Nothing, but in actuality the match had been called off and this was how it was written off. It was reported the cancellation was do to creative differences as PAC (and Dragon Gate) didn’t want to lose a match while he’s the Open the Dream Gate Champion. AEW had other ideas for how they wanted the match to go and things weren’t lining up for the two sides.

Page will still have a match at the show against a yet to be named opponent.

On this morning’s Wrestler Observer Radio it was noted the bout in England will be streamed by AEW, most likely on Tuesday, as a way for fans to still be able to see a match between the two since it won’t be on Saturday’s PPV.

In terms of the match itself, AEW did not want a tie/DQ as they are looking for wins/losses in their matches, especially on PPVs. PAC previously went to 30-minute draws with Will Ospreay and Zack Sabre Jr., which drew boos and would probably get a similar reaction at Double or Nothing. Also, it was reported PPV time was a factor as AEW is working within a four hour limit and that match would take up a big chunk of time, only for a tie to happen.

Dave Meltzer also speculated AEW is looking at things long-term, PAC beating Page wasn’t so much a problem, but he would have to keep winning against bigger names to make the win against Page mean something. He felt Kenny Omega would have been next in line and AEW probably didn’t want to have PAC beat Omega at this point.

When PAC eventually drops his title, doing the DQ finish in England allows an easy reentry point for PAC, if he does return to AEW.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Money In The Bank 5/19/19

WWE Money in the Bank, this Sunday beginning at 7 ET / 4 PT. Pre-Show (Kickoff) at 6 ET / 3 PT.  XL Center, Hartford, CT.

Universal Championship: (C) Seth Rollins vs. AJ Styles

SmackDown Women’s Championship: (C) Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair

RAW Women’s Championship: (C) Becky Lynch vs. Lacey Evans

WWE Championship: (C) Kofi Kingston vs. Kevin Owens

Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Sami Zayn vs. Ricochet vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Baron Corbin vs. Ali vs. Randy Orton vs. Andrade vs. Finn Balor

Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Naomi vs. Natalya vs. Dana Brooke vs. Nikki Cross vs. Bayley vs. Mandy Rose vs. Carmella vs. Ember Moon

Steel Cage Match: Shane McMahon vs. The Miz

Roman Reigns vs. Elias

United States Championship: (C) Samoa Joe vs. Rey Mysterio

WWE Cruiserweight Championship: (C) Tony Nese vs. Ariya Daivari

(Kickoff) Daniel Bryan & Rowan vs. The Usos

 

MLW Fusion Preview 5/18/19

The National Openweight Championship Finals will come into focus as Brian Pillman Jr. wrestles Rich Swann with the winner advancing to the finals on June 1st at Fury Road live from Milwaukee.

Swann’s newfound aggression and experience could come into play in a major way. Flanked by Myron Reed, the advantage may go to Swann in this big bout with championship implications.

However, don’t count the “Cincinnati Kid” Brian Pillman’s scrappy tenaciousness. For the youngest member of the Hart Foundation it is his destiny to claim his first major championship in the sport.  Can he get one step closer? Tune in to find out as Swann and Pillman fight to advance to the finals of the National Openweight Championship tournament.

Following the chaos sparked by Mance Warner and Sami Callihan on Salina de la Renta’s special edition of FUSION, the empresaria looks to take a pound of flesh in revenge. Promociones Dorado’s Hijo de LA Park and “El Sicario” Ricky Martinez take on Ol Mancer and Callihan in what should be a wild fight.

One week out from a major World Heavyweight Championship bout, FUSION takes a look at Germany’s top ranked wrestler “Avalanche” Robert Dreissker.  “Filthy” Tom Lawlor will also check in from his fight camp in Las Vegas.

The maestro of Mexican Strong Style, Daga, will test his technical talents as he grapples with GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion Minoru Tanaka.  The Japanese shoot-boxer and submission guru will be tested on the mat and in the air as he squares off against a top-level luchador in Daga.

You won’t want to miss the Fury Road Control Center as the full card for the June 1st broadcast is revealed.

That’s not all!  CONTRA Unit has demanded a pre-taped video air. What will the global dealers in violence have to say? Tune in to find out.

Last week the Big Apple Miracle occurred with Air Wolf defeating elite luchador Rey Fenix. Will there be a rematch?

Join play-by-play announcer Rich Bocchini and legendary analyst Jim Cornette from New York City’s sold-out Melrose Ballroom for 60 minutes of wrestling. It doesn’t get realer than Major League Wrestling!

CARD:

  • National Openweight Championship Semi-Finals: Rich Swann vs. Brian Pillman Jr.
  • GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion Minoru Tanaka vs. Daga
  • Sami Callihan & Mance Warner vs. Hijo de LA Park & Ricky Martinez (presented by Salina de la Renta)

Austin Aries Coming Soon To MLW, His “Fury Road” Opponent Revealed

MLW announced last week that former Impact Wrestling and WWE star Austin Aries is coming to the company. He will be competing at their upcoming Fury Road event and TV tapings at the Waukesha Expo Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on June 1.

It was revealed that his opponent will be Australian wrestler Adam Brooks.

https://twitter.com/MLW/status/1129017319500505088

Impact Wrestling Preview 5/17/19

Scheduled for tonight’s Impact airing on Pursuit and Twitch.

* RVD Returns To The 2300 Arena In South Philly

* Knockouts Battle Royal

* Glen Gilbertti Returns

* Killer Kross vs. Eddie Edwards

* X-Division Champion Rich Swann vs. Michael Elgin

* First-Ever Demon Collar Match: Rosemary vs. Su Yung

WWE Co-President On What Fans Can Expect From New FS1 Studio Show, Third Hour Of SmackDown

In addition to SmackDown’s move to FOX this fall, WWE will also be getting an additional hour of programming. A WWE-themed studio show will air on FS1 and WWE Co-President George Barrios spoke more about it during a fireside chat at the 47th Annual J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference in Boston.

“We’re thrilled. We’ve seen around the world the value of these…clip shows, magazine shows, highlight shows. We’ve seen the value of shows like that to continue to drive engagement, not dissimilar to what we do on social platforms. We’re continuing the storytelling and try to do it 24/7 although Vince keeps reminding us we’re missing 10 minutes here and there,” stated Barrios.

“I think the FS1 show will be something similar where we will continue the excitement. I think people are gonna love it and FOX is gonna do an amazing job with it as obviously they have a lot of expertise doing shows like that. I think it’s gonna be great for fans.”

That FS1 show is expected to be in addition to the six hours of live programming that WWE already does every week. With three hours of Raw and two hours of SmackDown, currently that sixth hour is devoted to 205 Live.

Barrios was asked about WWE’s priorities when it comes to allocating content for that sixth hour.

“To your point, for a long, long time we have created live in-ring content across six hours on Monday and Tuesday. It used to be that Raw and SmackDown were two hours and the other two hours went to either ECW, the precursor to the current NXT, Main Event, WWE Superstars. So, this is not something new as we’ve done it forever,” said Barrios.

“Last year, to your point, it was primarily 205 Live, Mixed Match Challenge on Facebook for 20 weeks. So for us, when you say ‘What’s the focus?’ Our content is always one of three things: we’re trying to drive engagement, trying to drive some level of direct monetization or drive some level of indirect monetization as a promotional platform. That doesn’t change so we’re thinking for that sixth hour, across those three parameters what’s the best structure for the content? It’s not a new thing and is something we’re always working through.

“Right now it’s 205 Live… but we’ll see where we come out on that.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Rusev Says 99.9% Of The WWE Roster Feels Overlooked, Lana Says Husband Rusev Is Overlooked

Lana recently spoke with Express UK and said she agrees with WWE fans who say husband Rusev is overlooked.

Lana also agreed with fans who say Rusev deserves many more world title shots than he’s received, like the WWE Title shot from then-champion AJ Styles at Extreme Rules 2018, the one he’s had in 6 years of being with the company.

“I mean, Rusev should get more title opportunities,” she said. “He should be champion, that’s just the bottom line. He’s been there six years and he’s had one title opportunity, I had three. I’m not the Super Athlete, my first Singles Match was for the title.

“There’s no question if Rusev should be champion. That’s just a given, it’s true, we all know that he’s the best and #1.”

Rusev also spoke with Express and claimed that almost the entire WWE roster feels underestimated because they are all very passionate and talented. It was noted that it’s up to every Superstar to figure out how to stick out because there are only a few titles for a large roster.

“It’s not just us, 99.9 per cent of the roster feels overlooked because we’re all so good and we’re all so passionate,” Rusev said. “Everybody wants to be a champion and everybody can be a champion because we’re that good. It’s just that there’s only so many titles. You gotta find what sticks out, you gotta be different.

“It doesn’t matter if [we hear] Rusev Day or Lana Day chants or whatever it is, the most hyped thing doesn’t make you a champion. There’s so many moving parts to become a champion, it’s beyond my head. Only Vince McMahon knows these things.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Former WWE Star Ashley Massaro Passes Away

Former WWE Superstar Ashley Massaro has passed away at the age of 39, according to The Blast.

Massaro reportedly passed away today but details of her death have not been announced. The Suffolk County Medical Examiner in New York told The Blast that Massaro passed on Thursday and was brought to the medical examiner’s office. Her death is currently under investigation by that office.

Police sources told The Blast that a “rescue call” came in at 5:23am ET from Massaro’s home in Smithtown, which is about 1.5 hours from New York City. First responders then took Massaro to a local hospital and that’s where she passed. Police do not believe foul play was involved, and are classifying her death as non-criminal.

Massaro won the 2005 WWE RAW Divas Search and went on to sign with the company. She was with WWE until July 2008 but made just a few wrestling appearances since then. She had announced in March of this year that she was making a return to wrestling.

Massaro would have turned 40 on May 26. She leaves behind a daughter.

Ashley Massaro’s daughter, Alexa, reacted on social media to her mother’s untimely passing. In a post on Instagram Alexa wrote, “i love you mommy i want to wake up in your arms more than anything i want to give u a big hug please come back this can’t be real.”

In a second post she added, “please god this cant be it”

Funeral services will take place on Tuesday in New York, according to a good friend of hers who shared the details in a Facebook post.

WWE issued a statement on Massaro’s passing:

https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1129175515921833985

Sources: Wrestling Inc. and Pro Wrestling sheet

WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair Expected To Make Full Recovery, Wife Issues Statement

We noted yesterday that WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair had been rushed to a hospital in the Atlanta area after suffering a medical emergency. It was also reported that Flair was facing a “very serious” situation. Flair’s son-in-law Conrad Thompson, while doing media for Starrcast II, downplayed the reports on Ric about an hour after TMZ’s original report. Thompson said Flair’s situation was not as serious as TMZ made it out to be, and that Flair underwent a surgery that he had been scheduled to undergo. Conrad said Flair decided to have the operation this week, instead of having it after he got back from Starrcast and his big roast event next week.

In an update, TMZ now reports that Flair’s wife Wendy Barlow issued a statement to this this evening. Barlow says The Nature Boy is expected to make a full recovery. You can see the full statement below:

“Due to ongoing health complications, Ric was taken to the hospital and is expected to undergo a procedure tomorrow morning, after which he expects to fully recover.”

On a related note, Flair has reportedly been dealing with some heart issues as of late, according to Pro Wrestling Sheet. Their report stated that Flair’s trip to the hospital today was related to those issues.

Flair, who is 70 years old, suffered a medical scare back in 2017 and was placed into a medically induced coma before undergoing colon surgery. He spent nearly a month in the hospital. The situation was very serious, but Flair recovered and even married longtime girlfriend Barlow last year.

Flair underwent an operation back in March of this year but details of the surgery were never confirmed. He appeared on WWE TV at WrestleMania 35 for an angle during the No Holds Barred match between Batista and Triple H, and is 70th birthday party was the beginning to the build for that match. “The Roast of Ric Flair” will take place during Starrcast II weekend later this month.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Why Alexa Bliss Is Not Cleared For Money In The Bank, Who’s Her Replacement

As noted, WWE announced yesterday that Alexa Bliss is not medically cleared to compete at Sunday’s Money In the Bank pay-per-view.

Bliss is reportedly out of action with a concussion, according to PWInsider. She last wrestled on the April 29 RAW, losing to Naomi.

Bliss has suffered several concussions during her WWE career and recently spent several months out of the ring due to issues related to the concussions.

WWE has announced that Nikki Cross will be replacing Alexa Bliss in the women’s Money In the Bank Ladder Match at Sunday’s WWE MITB pay-per-view.

The women’s MITB Ladder Match will now feature Cross, Naomi, Natalya, Dana Brooke, Carmella, Mandy Rose, Bayley and Ember Moon.