U.K. Championship Tournament takes place from the Royal Albert Hall in London, England. It airs today at 3/2 pm C on the WWE Network:
* Who will prevail in the 2018 WWE U.K. Championship Tournament?
* Toni Storm, Killer Kelly and Isla Dawn vie for NXT Women’s Title opportunity in Triple Threat Match
* Hear from Triple H and U.K. General Manager Johnny Saint
Tonight’s WWE RAW takes place from the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, California.
* Seth Rollins battles Dolph Ziggler in Intercontinental Championship rematch
* Who else will battle to become Brock Lesnar’s next challenger?
* What does Nia Jax have planned for Alexa Bliss?
* KO and The Constable forge powerful alliance
* Where do Sasha Banks and Bayley go from here?
A WWE vs. NJPW event sounds like an impossible pipe dream, but Kenny Omega says he’d love to see a working relationship form between the two companies so it could happen.
Omega took part in a media call to promote NJPW‘s upcoming live G1 Special in San Francisco on AXS TV and at one point said he believes now is the time to ease up on “us vs. them” mentality.
As you may have seen, Triple H recently said WWE was open to the idea of forming working relationships with other organizations … which naturally got people talking about an NJPW alliance.
When asked about the WWE exec’s comments, Omega was on the exact same page.
“I definitely would want to see that,” he answered. “I think that nowadays, with the popularity and respect level of other sports — for example basketball, or baseball or soccer — I feel that it wouldn’t be out of place for pro wrestling to stand at the same level as those sports. And I think the only way we stand a chance at doing that is if we really band together and give them the best of the best.”
The Cleaner went on to say most “dream matches” currently on fan wishlists are, for the most part, people who compete in different promotions. This includes matches like The Elite vs. New Day or Tommaso Ciampa vs. Kenny Omega.
“I think that now is a very good opportunity to cash in on that. And I believe that both parties benefit.”
Listen to the interview clip below:
Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet
Raw will be without Sami Zayn for the foreseeable future … as the wrestler revealed both his shoulders are busted and surgery is required before he can return.
Zayn told WWE.com he’s got two torn rotator cuffs and underwent surgery to fix one of them today in Birmingham, Alabama.
“I guess people don’t know about this injury; I’ve been working with it for some time,” Sami explained. “I don’t know exactly when I tore it. I think I tore it, or initially injured it, on a Montreal Live Event. Which is ironic because I injured my left shoulder — now somewhat famously — in Montreal in my [Raw] debut against John Cena. And at a Live Event this past August wrestling Jinder Mahal, I think I injured it then.”
He continued: “But then my left shoulder, a.k.a my bad shoulder, started to act up again as well. That shoulder hasn’t quite been the same since surgery anyway, so I had just kind of gotten used to the fact that that shoulder was the bad one. But it started to get progressively worse, so basically, long story short, it turns out I have two torn rotator cuffs. The left one and the right one are both torn. I just underwent surgery on the right one, and then in about six or seven weeks, I’ll be undergoing surgery on the left one, and hopefully I can come back healthy and happy.”
As we previously reported, Sami traveled to Alabama to determine how serious his shoulder injuries were. Zayn says he learned surgery would be required after getting an MRI on “the bad shoulder.”
No exact return estimate was given, but Sami says he’d like to be “in the mix” for WrestleMania.
Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet
Ronda Rousey was scheduled for 7 dates during her storyline WWE 30-day suspension, 3 of which were RAW tapings. While Rousey is still scheduled for this Sunday’s WWE live event in Anaheim, she has been pulled from this Monday’s RAW in San Diego. Here is her updated schedule during her suspension:
* 6/24 – RAW live event in Anaheim, CA
* 7/6 – RAW live event in Philadelphia, PA
* 7/7 – RAW live event at MSG
* 7/8 – RAW live event in Bridgeport, CT
* 7/9 – Monday Night RAW in Boston, MA
* 7/16 – Monday Night RAW in Buffalo, NY
Source: WrestlingINC
WWE announced that taping of the 2018 Mae Young classic will take place Wednesday, Aug. 8, and Thursday, Aug. 9, from Full Sail Live in Orlando. Tickets will be available tomorrow at 10 a.m. ET/7 a.m. PT via www.nxttickets.com.
Below is WWE’s announcement:
STAMFORD, Conn. – WWE today announced that Mae Young Classic 2018 will take place Wednesday, Aug. 8, and Thursday, Aug. 9, from Full Sail Live in Orlando, Fla., with tickets available tomorrow at 10 a.m. ET/7 a.m. PT via www.nxttickets.com.
The tournament, named after WWE Hall of Famer and one of the greatest WWE Superstars in history, Mae Young, will once again feature 32 of the top female competitors from 12 countries participating in a single-elimination tournament. The second annual event will stream exclusively on WWE Networklater this summer.
“We are thrilled to once again present the Mae Young Classic and provide a global showcase for 32 of the top female talent from around the world,” said Paul “Triple H” Levesque, WWE Executive Vice President, Talent, Live Events & Creative. “Last year’s event was a significant milestone in WWE’s Women’s Evolution, and I am confident this year’s event will break even more barriers.”
Additional information on Mae Young Classic 2018 will be announced in the coming weeks.
Click here for more information on the life and legacy of WWE Hall of Famer Mae Young.
Rey Mysterio has appeared twice for WWE in the past six months and he was in a Royal Rumble environment each time. As the WWE Universe waits to see Mr. 6-1-9 once again, the idea of Mysterio making some kind of WWE return seems more likely than ever.
LuchaCentral reports Rey Mysterio is discussing a three-year deal with WWE. These on-going negotiations reportedly revolve around the idea of Rey Mysterio getting to work a part-time schedule with the company. This kind of part-time contract isn’t atypical for a guy with Mysterio’s name recognition but the deal reportedly hinges on Mysterio getting to work a limited schedule of some kind.
This information coincides with a previous report from PW Insider when it was reported in January after Mysterio’s surprise Royal Rumble appearance that WWE wanted a full-time deal but Rey Mysterio would rather work a part-time schedule.
Mysterio was honored with his own holiday on June 19th in San Diego and he also spoke about this deal while during the event.
When Rey Mysterio returned to WWE after nearly three years away from the company to surprise the Philadelphia fans and the rest of the WWE Universe at the 2018 Royal Rumble he said: “I’m truly blessed to come back and realize that the fans don’t forget about you and not only the fans, but the WWE family. This is a universal reaction and it feels good, it feels great.”
Triple H is reportedly the point person in current negotiations with Mysterio as well. It’s still looking good for Rey Mysterio’s WWE return, it’s just a matter of working out the right deal.
Source: WrestlingINC
As noted, former World Heavyweight Champion Leon White, Vader aka Big Van Vader passed away at the age of 63 on Monday night. His son noted on Twitter that he passed away due to complications from pneumonia.
WWE remembered Vader with the following announcement on their website:
Vader passes awayWWE is saddened to learn that Leon White, better known to WWE audiences as Vader, passed away Monday night at the age of 63.
White began his sports-entertainment career in the mid-1980s after retiring from the NFL due to injury. He rose to national prominence in Verne Gagne’s American Wrestling Association before joining New Japan Pro Wrestling as the masked Big Van Vader. He went on to become one of the promotion’s biggest stars and most feared competitors.
Vader then transitioned to World Championship Wrestling, where he would make the biggest mark of his career. He engaged in memorable rivalries with the likes of Sting and Ron Simmons, becoming a dominant, three-time WCW World Champion in the process.
In 1996, Vader joined the WWE roster, where he squared off against Superstars such as Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker. He also found success on the small screen with a recurring guest role on the popular 1990s television program, “Boy Meets World.”
WWE extends its condolences to White’s family, friends and fans.
It looks like WWE may be trying to repair any damage done to their relationship with Madison Square Garden in New York City as Ring of Honor has lost the date for their MSG debut in 2019, according to PWInsider. It was believed that ROH may have debuted at MSG during WrestleMania 35 Week in April 2019 but that was never confirmed.
As we’ve noted, MSG officials recently reached out to wrestling promotions about working together after they were not happy over how WWE had been using the Barclays Center in nearby Brooklyn, and how none of the WrestleMania 35 Week events were booked at MSG. ROH COO Joe Koff spoke to PWInsider today and confirmed that they lost the date after MSG had talks with WWE.
“You know, I’m going to tell you Mike because you are asking. I’m not going to discuss beyond this statement because I am not going to litigate this in the press,” Koff told PWInsider’s Mike Johnson. “We had a deal with [Madison Square] Garden and they then told us they were backing out after communications from the WWE. We are not able to get any other dates in any kind of discussion. I’m expecting that our lawyers will be contacting all the parties involved and the best we can hope is that we can find a resolution, so we can bring the kind of energy and excitement that ROH and our partner New Japan to a bigger audience and to bigger arenas and to the fans of New York City. ”
When asked if there was the possibility of ROH having a date on the books at MSG, Koff responded, “There is no date and the discussion is going to end here on that.”
No word yet on if Mexico’s AAA promotion still has MSG dates booked for this fall. WWE will return to MSG on July 15th with a live event, featuring The Undertaker and Ronda Rousey.
Source: WrestlingINC
As reported, WWE announced that Big Cass has been released from the company. Apparently, per Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline, Vince McMahon held a meeting Tuesday prior to SmackDown Liveairing, and made the decision to let Cass go.
According to Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, a major issue was Big Cass excessively drinking during most of the European tour, and having attitudes with others while drunk. Moreover, being intoxicated while in public is something the WWE does not condone, which is why they were sour on Cass.
Regarding Cass’ backstage demeanor, former WWE wrestler Simon Dean (Mike Bucci) shared a story on Facebook where he recalled Cass acting in a rude manner. According to Bucci, Cass “big-dogged” a former co-worker who was backstage, and forced him out of the locker room.
“A former wrestling co-worker of mine from back in my WWE days was backstage at a show about a year ago and Big Cass big dogged him and asked him to leave the locker room,” Bucci wrote on Facebook. “If their paths cross again on the indys, I hope I’m there to see my old buddy return the favor.”
According to a source that WrestlingINC’s Chris Featherstone had reached out to, Cass could have been getting too comfortable with his character and getting in conflict with people backstage, and these are situations that usually get wrestlers in hot water. The source added that Cass could have been trying to make up for offending others by “playing politics,” and it was probably a case of “keeping it real going wrong.”
Source: WrestlingINC
