MLW: Fusion Preview 6/29/18

Kick off your weekend with Major League Wrestling: FUSION tonight on beIN SPORTS at 8pm ET / 5pm PT.  Learn more how you can watch FUSION here.

ACH VS. RICH SWANN is tonight’s main event. In a battle of 2 high flyers, climb the rankings. See these two collide on beIN SPORTS tonight!

BATTLE RIOT CONTROL CENTER WITH EXCLUSIVE!
Will your favorite wrestlers join the 40-man first-ever Battle Riot? Find out!  [Buy tickets to see it live]

SAMI CALLIHAN AND THE DEATH MACHINES
“Worldwide Desperado” Sami Callihan along with his followers known as the Death Machines continue their march of violence and mayhem.  What chaos will they cause at MVP’s expense tonight? What happened when Barrington Hughes was attacked last week by the Death Machines? You might just be shocked.

$60,000 REASONS TO DESTROY SWERVE
Low Ki has come to some sort of arrangement with Salina de la Renta to collect the now $60,000 bounty on the reigning World Heavyweight Champion Shane Strickland.  Given the shocking attack last week, what will happen next? Can “Swerve” hold up to the pressure of being the World Heavyweight Champion and fighting off these threats?

The man of 1,000 counters Fred Yehi takes on the returning Sammy Guevara (presented by Salina de la Renta). What has Guevara learned while on his Japanese and Mexican excursions?

Will it be enough to put away the grappling guru from Waterloo, Iowa? Tune in to find out!

Join Tony Schiavone and Rich Bocchini as they call the action for an action packed 60 minute shot of Major League Wrestling: FUSION!

MLW.com

Jeff Hardy Working Through Injuries

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WWE United States Champion Jeff Hardy continues to deal with minor injuries.

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter notes that WWE has been protecting Hardy with short Fatal 4 Way main events at live events, where he has been limping a lot. Hardy defended against Eric Young on this week’s SmackDown but the match ended up being a six-man with Hardy and The Usos defeating SAnitY.

Hardy injured his leg during his entrance at the May 17th SmackDown tapings but has also been battling a nerve injury that caused numbness in his fingers. No word yet on if he will be taking any time off to deal with the injuries.

Source: WrestlingINC

Robbie E And Chelsea Green Attending WWE Performance Center Tryout (Video)

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Former Impact Wrestling stars Robbie E and Chelsea Green are among the wrestlers attending a tryout this week at the WWE Performance Center.

NXT‘s Instagram account shared videos from the first day and both Chelsea — aka Laurel Van Ness — and Robbie are seen working out with other WWE hopefuls.

As you may recall, Green was on the 2015 season of Tough Enough alongside current NXT/WWE stars Velveteen Dream, Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville. She made her departure from Impact earlier this year and filmed episodes for the current season of Lucha Underground.

Robbie left Impact in September of last year and has since focused on outside projects related to fitness, while still wrestling on the independent scene.

Both can be seen in the video (Chelsea is in a Disney shirt and Robbie is on the ring apron) at the link below:

Impact Wrestling Preview 6/28/18

The following is scheduled for tonight’s Impact on Pop TV:

* First ever Impact broadcast from Windsor, Ontario – St. Clair College

* Rich Swann debuts

* Desi Hit Squad debuts

* Moose talks about World Title

* Matt Sydal vs. Dezmond Xavier

* Pentagon Jr. vs. Sami Callihan at PCW Ultra in Los Angeles

* Eddie Edwards goes to House of Hardcore in Philly

Police Issue Statement On Shinsuke Nakamura Dog Bite Accident At WWE Event, Nakamura Status Update

As noted, Shinsuke Nakamura was pulled from the ring on Monday and Tuesday after being bitten by a police dog during a routine pre-show security check at Monday’s WWE live event in Bakersfield, California.

There is no timetable for Nakamura’s return and his status for the weekend shows in Japan is still up in the air, according to F4Wonline.com.

Bakersfield police issued the following statement on the incident:

“On Monday, June 25, 2018, officers of the Bakersfield Police Department Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) Team were conducting a protective sweep of the Rabobank Arena in preparation for the WWE Live Summerslam Heatwave Tour. During the sweep, the EOD Team, which consisted of an explosive detection trained canine team and bomb technicians entered an area of the arena where an employee of the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) was present. The canine entered the room to sweep for the presence of any explosive material. As the sweep took place the WWE employee was accidentally bit by the canine. The employee sustained an injury to his lower left leg. Medical aid was immediately summoned to the scene and the employee was transported to a local area hospital for medical treatment.”

Source: WrestlingINC

WWE Expects Additional Programming On Fox Stations

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WWE says cross-promotional content outside of SmackDown Live is part of the new contract with Fox — but they weren’t willing to disclose additional details.

WWE’s co-presidents George Barrios and Michelle Wilson hosted a conference call to Wednesday discuss the new blockbuster TV deals with Fox and NBCU. During the 30-minute investor call, a few questions were asked about additional programming with its newest partner.

“Those absolutely have been in discussions with Fox,” answered Wilson. “There have been discussions around additional promotional programming that would highlight other activities in WWE. So those are certainly very positive discussions that are taking place — both on FS1 and Fox Broadcast.”

Wilson later added some of those opportunities were laid out in the new contract. However, she wasn’t in a position to elaborate.

Sources tell Pro Wrestling Sheet there have been discussions in regards to a weekly airing of NXT on Fox Sports 1 … however, we’ve been unable to verify if this is a plan that’s already set in stone.

In reference to the new TV deals, Barrios said the price on WWE programming is still a bargain — and added the company’s brand is stronger than it’s ever been. He pointed to an increase revenue in global sponsorships, mainstream coverage through ESPN and ecosystem’s need for live programming.

“The success we have had in social, digital and direct-to-consumer re-positions the WWE as a business brand and as a business partner. We went from being viewed as a live-event business to more of a social, digital, direct-to-consumer media business with proven expertise around it,” added Barrios.

Another focus of the call centered around TV deals outside of the U.S. — specifically the U.K. and India. Barrios said it would be ideal to split up RAW and Smackdown, as they did in the U.S., but noted those specific markets will dictate what’s possible.

They hope to have a U.K. TV deal done by the end of 2018 and contract in India signed in early 2019.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

Lucha Underground Preview 6/27/18

The Following is scheduled for tonight’s Lucha Underground on the El Rey Network:

* Johnny Mundo and the Worldwide Underground plot revenge

* Jack Evans issues a Put Up or Shut Up Challenge

* A new competitor comes for the Lucha Underground champion

* Fenix, Jeremiah Crane, and Mil Muertes battle it out in an epic 3-Way to the Grave Match

Team Hell No Reunited On SmackDown Live (Video)

Last night on WWE SmackDown Live as Daniel Bryan was getting beat down by The Bludgeon Brothers, Kane made his return to SmackDown coming to Bryan’s rescue. After some encouragement from fans with a YES! chant they hugged it out. Paige then announced that Kane and Bryan will face The Bludgeon Brothers for the SmackDown Tag Team Titles at Extreme Rules on July 15th. Team Hell No is officially back together.

Shinsuke Nakamura Out Of Action Due To Bite From Police Dog

As noted, WWE announced today that Shinsuke Nakamura is currently injured and not cleared to compete. They noted that he was injured on Monday night. Nakamura worked Sunday’s WWE live event in Fresno, California but did not wrestle at Monday’s show in Bakersfield.

Nakamura was pulled from the ring after being bitten by a police dog before Monday’s live event, according to PWInsider. The police dog was reportedly brought around the backstage area as part of a pre-show security check when the dog sniffed Nakamura and bit him on the leg, without being provoked.

WWE decided to pull Nakamura from the ring as a medical precaution. Nakamura was backstage for last night’s SmackDown but was not cleared to compete and is said to be suffering from a very sore leg. No word yet on when he will be cleared.

Source: WrestlingINC