TPWW's Official Dirty Sheets News Thread

[ClockShot]

Originally Posted by Maluco It's an absolutely shite product right now. Actually can't believe they would do Reigns/Lesnar again. This will eventually tell and I think we are seeing the start of it with ratings and lack of interest in events. Casual viewers aren't going to watch that 3 hour mess every week and I would much prefer my Netflix or amazon prime to WWE network. It's just a pity that there is no-one in a position to really challenge right now, because for all the money and branding they have, they would be competing against a terrible product.

New Japan will get there if this new president they hired does what he wants to do.

[Emperor Smeat]

Originally Posted by Maluco It's an absolutely shite product right now. Actually can't believe they would do Reigns/Lesnar again. This will eventually tell and I think we are seeing the start of it with ratings and lack of interest in events. Casual viewers aren't going to watch that 3 hour mess every week and I would much prefer my Netflix or amazon prime to WWE network. It's just a pity that there is no-one in a position to really challenge right now, because for all the money and branding they have, they would be competing against a terrible product.

TNA/Impact could have been at least an ECW-like competitor to the WWE in terms of status but they bungled the chance to be one way too many times.

ROH probably could have been a real minor challenger had Sinclair been a lot less penny pinching with their handling of the company over the years.

Now nobody has any chance of being a real threat to WWE's dominance since WWE will just swoop right in with talent raids or use their NXT brand for proxy fights. Even if another Ted Turner arrived, WWE would do everything possible to kill any chance of another real rival appearing on their doorsteps.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Originally Posted by Emperor Smeat TNA/Impact could have been at least an ECW-like competitor to the WWE in terms of status but they bungled the chance to be one way too many times. ROH probably could have been a real minor challenger had Sinclair been a lot less penny pinching with their handling of the company over the years. Now nobody has any chance of being a real threat to WWE's dominance since WWE will just swoop right in with talent raids or use their NXT brand for proxy fights. Even if another Ted Turner arrived, WWE would do everything possible to kill any chance of another real rival appearing on their doorsteps.

TNA has jumped the shark. I'm not sure when exactly that was, but I don't think anyone will ever take them seriously again unless The Rock buys them, fires Eli Drake for being a shitty impersonator and announces a partnership with New Japan on a national network people have heard of.

I wanted to like ROH for a long time. Early on it had that "technical wrestling" glossy soul-sister to ECW kind of vibe to it. Back then, the independent style was different. Now it's the norm, so like...why watch ROH? And they've committed to that aesthetic of being that glossy indy promotion. It's odd to think of them sinking money into things, filling up arenas and trying to generate a legitimate star. ROH feels like a feeder and doesn't have the "range" of other promotions.

I actually think it's a great time for another promotion to come along though. With the money being sunk into WWE to get them onto network television and all that, it should, at least in theory, be easier to con some other networks into sinking money into wrestling, because look at what Vince has achieved. Imagine what a good product run by someone that actually knows how to produce could do.

Daniel Bryan reportedly still hasn't signed with WWE. I believe Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ Styles were signed for 3 years in 2016. The wrestling fan in The Rock has got to be pissed at how Roman is turning out. The boys could use another place to work in order to bounce off Vince. I'm not even sure Vince would care if wrestling got hot and more people spoke about them.

I don't think anyone woudl put Vince out of business or anything, don't get me wrong -- and someone trying to compete for that slice of the pie might put Vince into "Okay, now I'm actually going to try -- Heyman, get in here and give me your best ideas" mode, but if there was another place for talent to go and be artists at a level where they get paid and maybe get treated a bit more humanely, run off the principles of pro-wresting -- fuck, I'd support it. In the end, I think it would be good for the industry.

I'd try and get a timeslot that isn't in the WWE's scope. The nostalgic side of me is charmed by the idea of a 6:05-8:05 Saturday style slot, but that might be archaic. Try and get a deal for 16 weeks or something like that. Try and get Jim Ross away from the WWE (not sure what his deal allows or if there is still one) and sign up all the stars that are free to work elsewhere (try for Danielson, Punk, Rey, Jericho, The Rock for appearances). Work with New Japan. "Hey Harold, look, you've got this Naito guy that is #2 there, but people are getting angsty about him not being the champ or whatever. While you're doing this Okada thing, maybe let him work some dates over here, we'll make him champion, you can talk about it and promote it, and eventually he can come back a bigger star for you guys..." You'll very quickly know whether this thing has a chance of working, and then you can turn it into a full-time thing, or consider doing a weekday show now that you have an audience that might follow you. But you might just want to stay in that timeslot if it is established. If not, you've got something you can sell on DVD or to streaming services -- maybe even the WWE.

I think there's room for wrestling that is more organic, with real promos, that goes for heat, with good commentating and that isn't afraid to admit it exists in a real world with other promotions, and isn't afraid to give them exposure in order to feel like it's emerging and cutting edge.

[Maluco]

Yeah, it would have to be someone with serious money/power now. But I really believe the market is there. I used to watch RAW almost every week and ordered every PPV, even when there was 1 a month. I was a big wrestling fan.

Would definitely go back tomorrow even if it were crazy WCW. Just want something mainstream other than the turgid rubbish that they serve up, that has honestly driven me away completely. A slow grind from super fan to not even checking results.

[erickman]

I don't think one company will compete with wwe, but it looks like they are uniting working togather roh impact AAA new japan even nwa. all in jericos cruise lets see how long it lasts.

[Mr. Nerfect]

If you don't like the idea of them doing Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns at SummerSlam, stop watching. Follow recaps and watch old wrestling on YouTube. Cancel your Network subscriptions. Don't subscribe to their tiered pricing system when they bring it in. Don't buy their merchandise. Don't go to their shows when they are in town. I know it is hard when you are a fan struggling for a fix, but why the fuck would WWE change a single goddamn thing when they are handed more money each time their TV deals come up because idiots like us keep watching? Stop it.

[Maluco]

Originally Posted by Noid If you don't like the idea of them doing Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns at SummerSlam, stop watching. Follow recaps and watch old wrestling on YouTube. Cancel your Network subscriptions. Don't subscribe to their tiered pricing system when they bring it in. Don't buy their merchandise. Don't go to their shows when they are in town. I know it is hard when you are a fan struggling for a fix, but why the fuck would WWE change a single goddamn thing when they are handed more money each time their TV deals come up because idiots like us keep watching? Stop it.

This is exactly what I do, bar a free run over wrestlermania,just out of curiosity and a cancel straight after. I listen to podcasts and the like and come here, but I don't give them a penny. Hope others, many others, do the same, because I agree completely with what you are saying

[Mr. Nerfect]

Originally Posted by Maluco This is exactly what I do, bar a free run over wrestlermania,just out of curiosity and a cancel straight after. I listen to podcasts and the like and come here, but I don't give them a penny. Hope others, many others, do the same, because I agree completely with what you are saying

I'm actively rooting against the company now. I love wrestling, but I just hate what they've become. It's like if you're a fan of film in general, but then Michael Bay buys up everything and everything is Transformers, and even the stuff that tries to not be Transformers is still about robot cars. There's no way I'm going to buy a ticket to Transformers 42 out of the blue to do my part to keep them churning out.

[Mr. Nerfect]

By the way, Punk clearly laying down the foundations for a WWE return there. "Never say never."

[Mr. Nerfect]

By the way, my official prediction for SummerSlam is Brock vs. Roman vs. Braun vs. Lashley.

[Emperor Smeat]

Dirtsheets sponsored by Ryusuke Taguchi Appreciation Day:

Originally Posted by Observer One of the original homes of Raw, the Rec Center at the Fernwood Resort in Pennsylvania, burned down this past week. They taped Raw several times in the building in 1994 and 1995. Afa used to promote his WXW shows there as well.

WWE Hall of Famer Bret "The Hitman" Hart spoke with TalkSport while in the UK for his speaking tour. Below are some highlights: The currentWWEproduct: "I think I was a better storyteller than any of the wrestlers they've got today. I watched Wrestlemania this year and there's no drama anymore. They do some amazing stuff, there are some incredible athletes, but people don't know how to tell a story. "Wrestling has it's flows, it will change again as people get tired of the 'phoney' wrestling, I watched my match with Davey Boy at Wembley with some journalists in a bar and they almost bought into it like it was real. The fact that fans reacted so strongly to those two British Wrestlers (Pete Dunne & Tyler Bate) shows you it might be going back in the other direction." Owen Hart not being in the WWE Hall of Fame: "Like a lot of people, if he's not in the WWE Hall of Fame, then what kind of Hall of Fame is it? I'm embarrassed on their part they can take so many great wrestlers and not include them in the Hall of Fame. "I don't have any problem with anyone who is in there, but I think Demolition should be in there, that Dynamite Kid should be in there, that Davey Boy should be in there. I'm embarrassed Owen isn't in there. Owen was one of the most respected and admired in the business for his integrity alone. Why they won't acknowledge him is beyond me?"

Link: https://talksport.com/wwe/bret-hart-...ritish-bulldog

Originally Posted by Observer Indies Roundup: Mark Cometti challenges Nick Aldis for the NWA title on 7/11 in Perth, Western Australia on the House of Hardcore show. Cometti is the son of Australian Rules football announcer Dennis Cometti and Mark does stats for the radio commentators and also is in a television commercial. Jack Bonza will challenge Aldis for the title on 7/15 in Queensland, Australia for House of Hardcore. Mid States Wrestling on 6/23 in Harrison, AR and the Youth Center with Jerry Lawler vs. Matt Riviera with Bill Dundee and Tim Storm also on the show. New Japan When World's Collide takes place on 6/29 in Daytona Beach, CA at the Ocean Center. This will be a show promoted as part of the CEO 2018 Fighting Game convention. We'll have more on it in a few days, but announced as appearing are Kenny Omega, who is the co-promoter of the event, Kota Ibushi, Tetsuya Naito, Hiromu Takahashi, Jushin Liger, Juice Robinson, Ryusuke Taguchi, David Finlay, Dragon Lee, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Sho, Yoh, Rocky Romero, Chase Owens and Jeff Cobb. The new season of Lucha Underground debuts Wednesday at 8 p.m. on El Rey. They are pushing the season hard around the debut of Jessie Godderz, who will be featured on the first show. Sumie Sakai & Jenny Rose & Mayu Iwatani & Tenille Dashwood vs. Kelly Klein & Kagetsu & Hana Kimura & Hazuki has been announced for the next ROH PPV show on 6/29 from Baltimore.

Originally Posted by Observer Adam Cole is set to defend his NXT North American Championship outside of WWE later this month. WWE announced today that Cole will be putting his title on the line at EVOLVE 107 in Melrose, Massachusetts on June 24th. Cole's opponent will be revealed this coming Monday. Whether Cole's match will be airing on the iPPV broadcast or not is to be determined. He previously wrestled for EVOLVE four times during the promotion's first year.

Link: https://twitter.com/WWENXT/status/1005147544215801856

Originally Posted by Observer Four wrestlers advanced to the quarterfinals of WWE's United Kingdom Championship tournament as Download Festival began today. Zack Gibson defeated Amir Jordan, Flash Morgan Webster defeated James Drake, Travis Banks defeated El Ligero, and Ashton Smith defeated Joseph Conners. They join Jack Gallagher in the next round, who advanced by defeating Drew Gulak during a set of NXT television tapings last month. With that, Gibson vs. Gallagher and Banks vs. Smith (on opposite sides of the bracket) are set for the quarterfinals. The remaining first round matches will take place as Download Festival continues over the next two days.

Originally Posted by Observer Tomorrow's New Japan show, which you could call the second biggest of the year, is actually, because of the main event and to a degree the Jr. title match, it right now feels like it's the biggest show for in-ring itself, will also be shooting angles for a number of upcoming shows including the 7/7 show at the Cow Palace. The Cow Palace card should be announced in a couple of days, as should the Daytona Beach show. There will be ads for Cow Palace tickets and promoting the show starting tonight on New Japan programming on AXS. They will start advertising the show in the Bay Area next week.

Originally Posted by Observer Steffanie Newell in NXT, who used to be Nixon Newell in the U.K., will from this point forward be Tegan Nox.

Originally Posted by PWI The 6/7 edition of Impact did 296,000,overnight viewers, up from last week's 283,000 overnight viewers.

Originally Posted by PWI What happened to the Authors of Pain? Nothing that we have heard. It appears that WWE is just holding them off TV for the time being.

From PWI's weekly Q&A articles talking about the lack of AoP on RAW.

Originally Posted by PWI Xavier Woods and Kenny Omega will face off in Street Fighter V this Thursday at the Capcom booth during the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo IT'S SET! I END @KennyOmegamanX (aka Kenneth) IN @StreetFighter ON JUNE 14 @e3 - IM ABOUT TO GO ALL IN ON THE CLEANER Kenneth, make sure you shower before the event and don’t wear that hand me down suit. You look ridiculous. https://t.co/IS1dS2NuBc — Austin Creed (@XavierWoodsPhD) June 7, 2018

Link: https://twitter.com/XavierWoodsPhD/s...30909252677637

Originally Posted by Fightful.com Game Changer Wrestling will be in New York for the new event. After two years of successful Joey Janela's Spring Break events during WrestleMania week, Game Changer Wrestling has created an August event called Joey Janela's Lost in New York. The event will take place at the Melrose Ballroom in Queens, New York on August 17th. Joey Janela tweeted the following video with information about ticket sales. Tickets are on sale at 5pm... #JoeysLost pic.twitter.com/NrSVMtc1Fh — Bad Boy Joey Janela (@JANELABABY) June 8, 2018 The song in the video is John William's Somewhere in My Memory which was featured in the 1992 movie Home Alone 2: Lost in New York which starred Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, and Macaulay Culkin.

Link: https://twitter.com/JANELABABY/statu...67185193586688

Originally Posted by Observer WWE also has signed Charlie Morgan and Nina Samuels to what are being called “extended tryout” contracts. Basically it’s a deal that they are going to give the talent tryouts but aren’t actually signing them to contracts, but it keeps them away from ITV. Mark Coffey and Wildboar are said to have deals of this sort

Originally Posted by Observer Regarding ITV World of Sport, the plan is if the TV ratings are a success for the shows, which will start airing in mid-to-late July on Saturday late afternoons, that they will follow up with touring in the U.K. That’s a big if. Martin Goldsmith, who was the promoter of the 1992 SummerSlam show at Wembley Stadium and owned Event Merchandise, which handled WWE merchandise for years, and later TNA merchandise, was mentioned as possibly being involved in the ITV promotion if it tours. He wasn’t at the ITV tapings but his son was there. ITV had the mentality of wrestlers as being athletes and actors working on a television show as opposed to wrestlers. The performers were paid $1,000 or more per day and the deals were structured like they would be for a TV show. They are looking at different venues. The talent will be receiving royalties for replay showings, although traditionally pro wrestling shows aren’t replayed so that’s in the contract but may be a moot point. They will also receive merchandise rights similar to an actor on a television show. All performers are allowed to work anywhere in the world except WWE, or for a promotion that has national television distribution in the U.K Chris Brookes was offered a WWE U.K. deal but turned it down. However, there were 12 wrestlers that were on ITV’s original list that opted for WWE. The edge WWE has is that you know they will be in business while the ITV thing is iffy. The downside is that there’s so much less exposure, in the sense while it certainly helped Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate for their indie work, and they are more over, they aren’t television stars. If the ITV thing works, the guys will be seen by maybe 25 times as many people as the biggest WWE stars are seen by, so the chance to make a name if it does make it is multiplied, and if there is touring, it would be a faster movement to stardom and making money. But it is a gamble.

Originally Posted by Observer Money in the Bank right now is an 11-match show. There’s always the chance to also add a cruiserweight title match next week. Besides the two briefcase matches, it’s Styles vs. Nakamura last man standing, Jax vs. Rousey Raw women’s title, Rollins vs. Elias for the IC title, Carmella vs. Asuka for the Smackdown women’s title, Reigns vs. Mahal, Zayn vs. Lashley, Bryan vs. Cass, Matt Hardy & Wyatt vs. Dallas &Axel for the Raw tag titles (putting brother vs. brother which is never acknowledged) and Harper & Rowan vs. Anderson & Gallows for the Smackdown tag titles. Chicago is maybe the best U.S. market for crowd reactions but it feels like a lot of matches that may not get over big all on the same show. The men’s briefcase match is always good. The women’s one has question marks. Jax vs. Rousey certainly has question marks, a does Carmella vs. Asuka. Reigns, Zayn, Bryan and Rollins should be in great PPV matches but in each case, the opponent is questionable, not so much for a good match, but for a great match

Originally Posted by Observer Regarding the disappointing ticket sales for the 6/18 and 6/19 U.K. shows at Royal Albert Hall, I’m told there are two reasons for it. The main one is the ticket prices, as the cheapest tickets are 60 pounds ($80). The belief is that the WWE audience for the most part isn’t interested in these shows, as evidenced by the lack of reaction the U.K. exclusive wrestlers get when on a WWE house show (as opposed to the reaction they get on indie shows). The main audience is the audience that attends groups like Progress, Revolution Pro and ICW, and they are used to paying far less for tickets. But even worse, is the 6/18 show goes against England in the World Cup. That’s a monumental booking mistake, because that’s like booking a house show against the Super Bowl. Still, if that was the entire reason, and it is absolutely a huge reason for 6/18, that doesn’t explain 6/19. Michaels was added in the advertising for 6/18, although just as an appearance. People who had sixth row tickets this week got notified via e-mail they were being upgraded to the front row for 6/18 without having to pay front row prices The decision was made not to air it live, so they can post-produce it and also put it out in a not so crowded period. Both shows will air on a one-week tape delay. The first night will air on 6/25 at 3 p.m. and the second night will air on 6/26 at 3 p.m. That is a Monday and a Tuesday afternoon, so it should end each day a few hours before Raw on those respective days. But it’s away from a weekend with a Takeover and a PPV plus Raw and Smackdown

Originally Posted by Observer With a lot less in the way of non-wrestling programming being released, the most-watched network shows this past week were: 1. NXT from 5/30; 2. Camp WWE Episode 5; 3. 205 Live from 5/29 (I think this show, which was the Alexander vs. Murphy show, was the highest finish the show has done); 4. Something Else to Wrestle With with Conrad Thompson and Bruce Prichard from 5/30; 5. This Week in WWE (a show that rarely even hits top 20); 6. Camp WWE Episode 4; 7. NXT from 5/23; 8. Table for 3 with Edge, Christian and Hardys; 9. Backlash 2018; 10. Something Else to Wrestle With from 5/23.

Some other sheet news includes:

• Website WrestlingDVDNetwork recently revealed some details and content listing for WWE's upcoming 30 Years of SummerSlam DVD set arriving this August. https://www.pwinsider.com/article/11...ealed.html?p=1
• Website WrestlingDVDNetwork also recently uploaded several clips from WWE's upcoming Women's Evolution DVD set. http://www.wrestlingdvdnetwork.com/d...ion-dvd/155709
• Recent episode of the Edge & Christian podcast show had EC3 as the guest.
• Recent rumor going around the net teases AAA's upcoming show at MSG might be a co-branded show. Konnan reportedly has been trying to get a deal made with CMLL for a AAA vs. CMLL event to occur at the venue.
• According to Colt Cabana, he strongly believes the main reason why Punk's defamation trial kept getting delayed was due to WWE's pettiness. He believes WWE pushed Amann's side to keep getting the trial delayed solely to mess with Punk's UFC fight preparations. Also believes this is why Amann's side suddenly stopped asking for delays since the next one likely would have pushed the trial after Punk's fight.

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

• Various: WWE Interested in Eli Drake? Daniel Bryan’s WWE Contract
• WWE: WWE UK Brand GM, Almas vs. Sin Cara? Lio Rush on 205 Live
• Billy Gunn on Apologizing to HHH; Adam Rose on No Way Jose, Retirement

[Mr. Nerfect]

I hate the idea of a PPV having two of the same type of matches. It dilutes the story of the match it's duplicating. Two MITB? Two Tag Team Titles? Two Women's Titles? They cannibalize each other.

[Droford]

Originally Posted by Noid I hate the idea of a PPV having two of the same type of matches. It dilutes the story of the match it's duplicating. Two MITB? Two Tag Team Titles? Two Women's Titles? They cannibalize each other.

What they should do is have brand title matches alternate on the non major ppvs and have non title midcard matches for the other brand

[Mr. Nerfect]

Originally Posted by Droford What they should do is have brand title matches alternate on the non major ppvs and have non title midcard matches for the other brand

That's what I think. I mean, I'm not big on the brand split, but if you are going to do it, have your main event title matches or whatever, but don't do two Women's Title matches on the same show. If Ronda Rousey vs. Nia Jax is happening, then do Charlotte vs. Asuka without the belt. Then give SmackDown the Tag Title match and don't do a Raw Tag Title one.

[slik]

Ric Flair claimed in an interview Ronda has only signed for 1 year and then she wants to leave and have kids...I think that's probably not accurate tbh


http://wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018...will-be-short/

[slik]

PWInsider is reporting James Ellsworth has been rehired by WWE and could appear as early as MITB. Hmmm...

[ClockShot]

Originally Posted by Slik PWInsider is reporting James Ellsworth has been rehired by WWE and could appear as early as MITB. Hmmm...

via GIPHY

[Simple Fan]

Asuka is not ready for Ellsworth.

[slik]

Asuka about to embrace ppv loss #2 this Sunday

[Sepholio]

Watch Ellsworth help Asuka now.

[Jordan]

I bet James Ellsworth is going to help Carmella retain.

[Lock Jaw]

I am so down for an Ellsworth return

[Emperor Smeat]

Dirtsheets sponsored by WCW Nitro Appreciation Day:

Originally Posted by Observer Raw last night bounced back eight percent from the low marks the past few weeks, doing 2.72 million viewers. The key to the rating was the third hour had less of a decline than usual with the four-way men's main event of Braun Strowman vs. Kevin Owens vs. Finn Balor vs. Bobby Roode. The number was well below the 3.10 million viewers that the first show last year did after the conclusion of the NBA playoffs ... The three hours were: 8 p.m. 2.75 million viewers 9 p.m. 2.81 million viewers 10 p.m. 2.63 million viewers

Originally Posted by Observer John Cena has booked a role alongside Jackie Chan in one of his next film projects. Chan and Cena are slated to star in the action-thriller "Project X," which is a working title. Sylvester Stallone was originally scheduled for Cena's role before having to be replaced. Cena is playing a former Marine who Chan, a private security contractor from China, teams up with to stop attackers who are trying to steal oil from a Chinese refinery in the Middle East. The film is being directed by Scott Waugh, written by Arash Amel, and Chan is one of the producers. Waugh previously directed "Need for Speed" in 2014 and "Act of Valor" in 2012. Cena hasn't appeared on WWE television since his matches against Triple H at the Greatest Royal Rumble and The Undertaker at WrestleMania 34 in April. He has a role in the Transformers spinoff "Bumblebee," which is set to be released this December.

Originally Posted by Observer It was 35 years ago today that the Road Warriors, Mike Hegstrand & Joe Laurinaitis, debuted on World Championship Wrestling as a team. There is a good article talking about the start of the career of a tag team that literally every promotion tried to copy.

Link: https://prowrestlingstories.com/pro-...-and-tv-debut/

Originally Posted by Observer/PWI/Post Wrestling Indies Roundup: The new season of Lucha Underground debuts Wednesday night on El Rey at 8 p.m. With Kevin Kelly doing commentary, NJPW’s Strong Style Evolved UK shows on June 30th and July 1st will be uploaded to Revolution Pro Wrestling’s streaming service within 48 hours of taking place. RevPro noted that they'll then be posted on New Japan World shortly after. ROH confirmed that KUSHIDA will be facing Jay Lethal at their Best in the World pay-per-view in Baltimore on June 29th. Matt Riddle vs. Tomohiro Ishii, KUSHIDA vs. Shane Strickland, and Timothy Thatcher vs. David Starr are set for OTT’s WrestleRama 2 at The Arena in Dublin on August 18th. MLW announced Johnny Mundo, ACH, Davey Boy Smith Jr., and Kevin Sullivan as the first four wrestlers for their Battle Riot match, which will be taking place at their TV tapings in Queens, New York on July 19th. It’s a no DQ, 40-person match with someone entering every 60 seconds, with eliminations occurring via pinfall, submission, or being thrown over the top rope. Stardom has sold over 1,200 tickets for Io Shirai’s farewell show at Korakuen Hall on June 17th. EVOLVE announced that WALTER will challenge WWE NXT North American Champion Adam Cole at the 6/24 EVOLVE event in Melrose, MA. EVOLVE sent out a press release with the following glowing comments from Gabe Sapolsky, who of course also works for NXT. "This is a landmark announcement for EVOLVE. WWE has been growing this relationship with EVOLVE for a few years. We are ecstatic that the next step is this historic match on June 24th. This is all about giving the fans in the Boston area something special. Our deepest thanks to Mr. Levesque for making this happen." Madison Rayne & MJF defeated Brandi Rhodes & Flip Gordon at Friday’s WrestlePro card to gain spots on the “All In” event on September 1st and continuing the story of Gordon not being booked. There was also a segment at Dominion where The Young Bucks invited Don Callis to call the event in September. This confirms that there will be some form of an outlet for the show to be viewed.

NJPW: https://twitter.com/RevProUK/status/1006577800759906304 , ROH: https://www.rohwrestling.com/news/le...ial-best-world , OTT: https://twitter.com/OTT_wrestling/st...66688995926017 , MLW: https://mlw.com/2018/06/12/first-bat...nts-announced/ , Stardom: https://twitter.com/we_are_stardom/s...74440623235072

Originally Posted by Observer So here's a weird one. If you go to the WWE Network Hidden Gems page, there is a Sgt. Slaughter vs. Kokina Maximus (who later became Yokozuna) match from the AWA library. After the match, there is significant time left in the video. It rolls right into Kokina's WWE tryout match video with no commentary. Howard Finkel announces him as Kokina and not as Yokozuna.

Originally Posted by Observer In a tweet yesterday, Rusev accused a hotel employee of stealing from him and Lana: “Thank you @sheratonhotels Memphis for ‘cleaning’ the room and stealing my wife camera and my money from my wallet”

Link: https://twitter.com/RusevBUL/status/1006248146396221442

Originally Posted by Fightful.com After Money in the Bank, WWE will premiere the new WWE 24 special about the Hardy Boyz on the WWE Network. THIS SUNDAY immediately following @WWE #MITB, don't miss an ALL-NEW episode of #WWE24: The Hardys: WOKEN! @MATTHARDYBRAND @JEFFHARDYBRAND pic.twitter.com/QUhqdoi9Dq — WWE (@WWE) June 12, 2018

Link: https://twitter.com/MATTHARDYBRAND/s...84866508800000

Originally Posted by PWI WWE is seeking to build a new, larger WWE Performance Center facility, according to former WWE United States and NXT Champion Bobby Roode. Roode mentioned WWE’s plans today during a promotional appearance on KARK-TV in Little Rock, Arkansas to promote tonight’s Raw taping at the Verizon Arena. While discussing the NXT brand and the Performance Center Roode commented, ““From what I hear, it’s going to continue to grow. I heard that they’re looking to build a new facility — a larger facility.” The existing WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida launched in July 2013. The 26,000 square foot Performance Center houses seven wrestling rings, a complete production studio, medical and physical rehab facilities, a complete gym and more. You can read my coverage from attending and touring the opening of the PC in 2013 by clicking here. PWInsider.com has reached out to WWE seeking further clarification on Roode’s comments.

Link: http://www.kark.com/news/the-gloriou...806/1231436608

Originally Posted by PWI Wrestling DVD Network revealed the trailer and the hosts for the upcoming "30 Years of Summerslam" set: WWE Hall of Famer "Mean" Gene Okerlund will host disc one. Jonathan Coachman will host the second disc. And Charly Caruso will host disc three.

Link: http://www.wrestlingdvdnetwork.com/f...am-dvd/155599/

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling After CM Punk’s loss to Mike Jackson, WWE commentator Corey Graves took to Twitter and released details of their friendship falling apart and indicating that Punk ended their friendship over his association with the WWE ... Sean Ross Sapp at Fightful.com reached out to Graves for clarification on the tweets. Graves told Sapp that he had texted with Punk prior to his fight with Mickey Gall. Punk would not have dinner with Graves and didn’t want to associate with anyone from the WWE. Graves added that others at WWE lost their friendship with Punk over where they work.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling New Japan Pro Wrestling has announced the top matches for the G-1 special event on Saturday, July 7th at the Cow Palace in San Francisco with the following matches announced at the press conference: *Kenny Omega vs. Cody for the IWGP heavyweight title *The Young Bucks vs. EVIL & Sanada for the IWGP tag titles *Kazuchika Okada & Will Ospreay vs. Tetsuya Naito & Bushi *Jay White vs. Juice Robinson for the United States title There will also be three Kizuna Road cards on June 17th, 18th, and 19th and they will be announcing the G1 participants, blocks, and main events over the course of those three events. The June 17th card will be headlined by Michael Elgin vs. Hirooki Goto for the NEVER Openweight title and the June 18th card will feature Hiromu Takahashi taking on El Desperado for the IWGP junior heavyweight title.

Originally Posted by Fightful.com During a recent interview with Ring Rust Radio, Lucha Underground Producer Chris DeJoseph discussed the challenges of replacing Prince Puma on their show. Obviously, there’s challenges to replace your main character of a show. The first three seasons were based around Prince Puma in his mythology, in his place in the world of Lucha Underground. It was tough, it was tough to lose Trevor, Ricochet, Prince Puma for those who don’t know. He was kind of the heart and soul of Lucha Underground but I’m glad he had the opportunity to go somewhere else and had the chance to show the rest of the world what he can do. As far as replacing him, I think we set ourselves up pretty well with a bunch of characters that are over and people care about. I wasn’t too concerned about that. We have guys like Johnny Mundo, Phoenix, Mil Muertes, those are characters that we’ve invested a lot of time in and not to mention we have Pentagon Dark. Ultimate Lucha was kind of a passing of the torch from Puma to Pentagon as kind of the kingpin of Lucha Underground.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fFEw_yZOM4


Some other sheet stuff includes:

• In a "WWE Did You Know" type fact, today is the 13th anniversary of ECW One Night Stand ppv event.
• In another "WWE Did You Know" type fact, today is also the 3rd anniversary of Dusty Rhodes' passing.
• Konami announced Xavier Woods will be a playable character in the Super Bomberman R video game. https://twitter.com/XavierWoodsPhD/s...61087599210499
• Revolution Pro Wrestling recently revealed the cards for their upcoming Strong Style Evolved: United Kingdom with NJPW co-promoting the event. https://www.pwinsider.com/article/11...stars.html?p=1
• Recent rumor going around the net hints that ROH's parent company, Sinclair, is helping finance Cody and the Young Bucks' All In event. They are already loaning out ROH crews to help with the preparations and production of the event.
• Interactive Wrestling Radio had a recent interview with Lucha Underground's led producer and writer, Chris DeJoseph, talking about Season 4, the appeal of LU, his previous work in the WWE, and more. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/...ason-3-hiatus/
• According to Eric Bischoff, he feels WWE managing to land tv deals with both FOX and NBC is actually bad for the rest of the wrestling industry. His basis is WWE snagged the two biggest networks interested in wrestling and the huge number of markets now shut for promotions wanting their own tv deals or expansion. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/...e-devastating/
• Recent episode of the Inside the Ropes podcast show had Chris Jericho as the guest talking about his NJPW schedule, not wanting to work for non-WWE promotions in the US, and juggling his indies work with wanting to stay in WWE's good graces. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/...in-the-states/

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

• Jeff Hardy Pleads Guilty to DWI
• Ring Honor Planning Show at Madison Square Garden Next Year
• Ric Flair Says He Thinks Ronda Rousey’s WWE Contract Is Only for One Year
• Injury Updates: Alicia Fox and Noam Dar Could Return Soon
• Rumor: Could James Ellsworth Return to WWE Soon?

[Emperor Smeat]

Dirtsheets sponsored by Reason #456 Why the Blue Brand is the Best Brand:

Originally Posted by Observer Tuesday night’s SmackDown averaged 2.183 million viewers, up two percent from last week’s 2018 low mark. The episode was also up five percent from the same week in 2017, the first time in four weeks SmackDown was up year-over-year ... The show retained 80 percent of the Raw audience from the night before, slightly less than what SmackDown has been doing of late but still in the normal range. Of note, this is the sixth straight week that SmackDown has been below 2.3 million viewers. Prior to that, they had only been below that mark once, on Halloween night, since June 13th of last year.

Originally Posted by CageSideSeats.com Rumors for the Day: Jason Jordan is expected back on television after Money in the Bank and there’s been talk of a feud with Baron Corbin.

Originally Posted by Observer Despite missing a house show on Tuesday, Ricochet will still be facing Velveteen Dream at NXT TakeOver: Chicago. "He just tweaked himself a little bit in the show in Paris," Paul "Triple H" Levesque said on today's pre-TakeOver conference call. "He's not injured. We just didn't want to take a chance with it with TakeOver being just down the road a bit here." Levesque added that the issue was with Ricochet's shoulders. According to the report we received, Ricochet appeared to hurt himself on a tope while teaming with Johnny Gargano against Velveteen Dream & Tommaso Ciampa at Monday's show in Paris. He was helped to the back before returning to celebrate with Gargano after the match but didn't appear in Antwerp, Belgium on Tuesday.

Originally Posted by Observer After Rusev tweeted that a hotel employee stole from him and Lana, Paige also criticized the Sheraton in Memphis and said things were stolen: “If you’re in the Memphis area don’t EVER stay at the @SheratonMemphis it’s literally the worst. Things stolen, bad customer service and room service takes two hours just for a salad and WE are the inconvenience. Ugh. The worst.”

Link: https://twitter.com/RealPaigeWWE/sta...50819394387968

Originally Posted by Observer WWE uploaded Jack Gallagher and Drew Gulak’s first round match in the United Kingdom Championship tournament, which was taped at Full Sail University last month.

Link: https://youtu.be/21KVoHjeN8c

Originally Posted by Observer Woods and game streamer CDNThe3rd finished 24th out of 50th in a Fortnite celebrity pro-am at E3 and earned $10,000 for Connor’s Cure.

Link: https://www.wwe.com/article/xavier-w...rtnite-e3-2018

Originally Posted by Observer On today’s pre-TakeOver: Chicago conference call, Triple H denied that WWE is looking to build a new Performance Center. He was responding to comments made by Bobby Roode and said there aren’t any current plans for it, but they’re always looking to grow and evolve.

Originally Posted by Observer Wrestling DVD Network reported that “Shawn Michaels -- The Showstopper Unreleased,” a three-disc DVD on Michaels, is scheduled to be available for purchase in late September or early October.

Link: http://www.wrestlingdvdnetwork.com/a...r-2018/155879/

Originally Posted by Observer/PWI Indies Roundup: Jushin Thunder Liger threw out the first pitch at a Japanese baseball game and then wrestled one of the mascots. Adam Cole’s NXT North American Championship defense against WALTER at EVOLVE 107 on June 24th won’t be airing on the broadcast for the show but is being taped to potentially be used in the future. Joey Janela will be challenging for Austin Theory’s WWN Championship at EVOLVE 106. ROH announced a United States vs. United Kingdom International Cup tournament for their Honor Re-United tour shows this August. The first round will take place in Edinburgh on August 16th, the semifinals and finals are set for Doncaster on the 18th, and the winner will challenge for the ROH World Championship in London on the 19th. PCW Ultra changed the name of their July 27th show in Los Angeles from “All Violence is Legal” to “Sound the Alarm” after backlash due to Rich Swann being booked on it. Swann will still be appearing, and the name of the show wasn’t a reference to him. Su Yung, Swann’s wife, tweeted in defense of her husband: “@GottaGetSwann is amazing & talented. Any & all crowds should be lucky to see him live. We happy. He doesn't beat me. Stop harrasing him. RT” Jimmy Havoc vs. Tom Lawlor is set for MLW’s TV tapings in Orlando on July 12th. EVOLVE was set to return to La Boom in Woodside, Queens, NY on Saturday 6/23 but announced this afternoon that the company has been "forced" to move the event to the Gravesend area of Brooklyn, NY at the Most Precious Blood Youth Center (2739 Harway Avenue) ... The La Boom website lists an event for MMA company Extreme Cage Fighting on their website for the 6/23 date, so it appears the venue double booked and EVOLVE was bounced out ... EVOLVE is offering refunds to anyone who cannot attend at the new location. All existing tickets and seating arrangements will be honored at the Brooklyn location. AXS TV officially announced today that they will be airing a marathon of material themed to The Bullet Club hosted by The Young Bucks and Cody on Saturday 7/7 leading into AXS' live broadcast of the New Japan Pro Wrestling G-1 Special from San Francisco, CA.

Liger: https://twitter.com/SI_wrestling/sta...30210678362113 , EVOLVE: https://twitter.com/JANELABABY/statu...76486539235333 , ROH: https://www.rohwrestling.com/news/in...united-uk-tour , PCW: https://twitter.com/realsuyung/statu...45655372337152 , MLW: https://mlw.com/2018/06/13/jimmy-hav...12-in-orlando/ , AXS TV: https://www.pwinsider.com/article/11...cisco.html?p=1

Originally Posted by PWI The following announcement was issued by the official Twitter account of the late Roddy Piper by Piper's wife Kitty Toombs: It's true! You can't keep a good man down! #RowdyRoddyPiper #ForeverRowdy Looking "Ever Forward" to this exciting project! ~Kitty https://t.co/QdtgXqi3C1 — Rowdy Roddy Piper (@R_Roddy_Piper) June 13, 2018 This would be the third publishing project celebrating Piper since his passing in July 2015 and the second comic book.

Link: https://twitter.com/R_Roddy_Piper/st...83135168819200

Originally Posted by WrestleInc As noted, Triple H took part in a media conference call today to discuss this Saturday's NXT Takeover: Chicago event. Wrestling Inc. was on the call, and with the sharp increase in television rights fees for live sports-oriented programming, I asked Triple H if he sees the show going live and moving to a cable network in the future. "To your point, the landscape of the world changes on a regular basis, whether that be cable live television, broadcast television, networks, OTT services and everything else, it's changing on a daily basis," Triple H said. "My point of view on that would be, 'never say never.' "RAW and SmackDown are obviously the juggernauts, that will never change, but NXT has kind of grown into its own. It still is, at its core in some way, where people are developing. But at the same time, they're still developing when they're on RAW and SmackDown, I think you never stop doing that in this business. It really has become a third brand, an alternative brand. I think it's different from both RAW certainly, and SmackDown. It has its own wide fanbase and I think that there's interest there, so you can never say never. It's all in what comes up down the line." Earlier this week during a media interview, Bobby Roode had suggested the WWE was building a "new" and "larger" Performance Center. Triple H squashed that rumor, stating that while Roode's information is "glorious", it's "just not accurate always." "We have no current plans for a larger facility that are in the works," Triple H said. "It is constantly something we are looking at, growing and evolving, I never want to be stagnant to where we are. The Performance Center is kind of the heart of what we do, because it's creating the future and it's churning out all this talent, plus the content we're creating there. There will be some announcements on some new things we are doing from there soon. "I'm always open to that idea of expanding out in the future. Is it in my mind? Absolutely. Have we started actually doing that yet or physically going down that road? We have not. But I do appreciate Bobby's enthusiasm for it, certainly."

Link with more details: https://www.pwinsider.com/article/11...-more.html?p=1

Originally Posted by WrestleInc Below is a clip from this week's WWE Photo Shoot with Goldust talking about how he went from "The Natural" Dustin Rhodes to Goldust. The WWE veteran recalls the phone call he received from Vince McMahon and how Vince kept using the word "androgynous" while discussing the character. "At this point in my career I wanted to kind of do something on my own, step out of my father's shadow and try to accomplish something as Dustin, away from the Rhodes name just a little bit, I guess," Goldust said. "I just said, 'OK, let's do this.' And I hung up the phone, and immediately I ran to the dictionary and looked up androgynous. And my jaw dropped, 'What did I just get myself into?'" Little did @Goldust know how much the word "androgynous" would change his ENTIRE career... #WWEPhotoshoot @WWENetwork pic.twitter.com/yLbjwXxwSK — WWE (@WWE) June 12, 2018

Link: https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1006379703844761601


Some other sheet news includes:

• Hideo Itami recently paid tribute to Mitsuharu Misawa in honor of today being the 9th anniversary of his passing. https://twitter.com/HideoItami/statu...29489933238275
• Ring Rust Radio held a recent interview with Lucha Underground's lead producer and writer talking about LU's partnership with AAA and their growth plans with Netflix. https://www.fightful.com/wrestling/l...ng-partnership

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

• Various: Stephanie / Undercover Boss Disguise, Bellas Ratings, Lucha S4
• John Cena to Co-Star in Jackie Chan Movie, “Project X”
• WWE 205 Live Results – June 12, 2018 – Ali vs. Nese

[slik]

In this week's Observer Meltz says Brock may not be used at SummerSlam (I am sure he will be, those Roman/Brock drops are a real thing during RAW) - but Meltz says Brock's status is a bit undecided at this point, despite SummerSlam being the last date on his contract and there is a lot of confusion about what will happen if Brock's contract runs out and he isn't used on TV again despite being Universal Champ, if the belt will just retire w/ Brock or he'll be stripped of it or w/e.

[Evil Vito]

lmao if they retire the belt already

Even if having a floating world champion is the "right thing" or whatever, it'd still be funny because it shows this company can't ever make up its fucking mind.

[slik]

It sounds like it's alllll Vince to. Meltzer said the plan WAS Brock/Roman for SSlam and they still are pushing Roman should face Brock on RAW during commentary -- but now Vince has changed his mind and doesn't know if he wants to use Lesnar again before his contract ends.

I am sure he will -- but I remember Meltz reporting a few months back Vince wanted Brock to drop the belt at Extreme Rules and wasn't planning on using him at SummerSlam but then changed his mind to SummerSlam.

[erickman]

well that will keep the boos from summerslam, until roman wins a the belt against other challngers.

[Jordan]

You know what. Let him keep the belt, let him go fight for a year or two in UFC. Then he comes back, as a 4 year champ and of course, loses to Roman. Then it might work. Maybe. But I'd hope someone else would step up to take the shot by then.

[Emperor Smeat]

Instead of being petty over Punk and other dumb decisions regarding the RAW brand, WWE could have saved themselves the headaches by never having 2 major belts to begin with. Would have made them a lot more cautious of giving Lesnar a long reign and actually force themselves to put real work and effort into the IC and US divisions.

Even if Reigns finally defeats Lesnar for the belt, he's beyond damaged goods as a top star now. Maybe even worse than Luger or Diesel were as top star material.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

Originally Posted by Emperor Smeat Even if Reigns finally defeats Lesnar for the belt, he's beyond damaged goods as a top star now. Maybe even worse than Luger or Diesel were as top star material.

Definitely worse than both. With Reigns this has been going on for almost 5 years. Nash had a bit of a spotty title reign but was over immediately after because he reinvigorated his character and really began delivering in his promos and in ring. It's almost a shame he went to WCW because there were legs with asskicker Diesel.

Luger is Luger - good booking or bad booking. He tended to fit in better in WCW.

Roman is the worst damaged goods I've ever seen.

[LibSuperstar]

Originally Posted by The Dastardly One Definitely worse than both. With Reigns this has been going on for almost 5 years. Nash had a bit of a spotty title reign but was over immediately after because he reinvigorated his character and really began delivering in his promos and in ring. It's almost a shame he went to WCW because there were legs with asskicker Diesel. Luger is Luger - good booking or bad booking. He tended to fit in better in WCW. Roman is the worst damaged goods I've ever seen.

Definitely were legs! He was the Diesel we needed as champ especially since there weren't many credible heels. But WWE has been a babyface territory going back to Vince Sr. so no heel was staying champ for too long.

[slik]

Doctor who sued CM Punk had relationships w/ a few WWE wrestlers while being the company doctor, including Jillian Hall:

https://deadspin.com/court-records-w...l-r-1826818551

[Mr. Nerfect]

Originally Posted by Slik Doctor who sued CM Punk had relationships w/ a few WWE wrestlers while being the company doctor, including Jillian Hall: https://deadspin.com/court-records-w...l-r-1826818551

Lol, Amann picked the fight and now this is coming out.

[slik]

Sounds like his lawyer forbid it from being discussed during the trial b/c they were concerned it would make Amann appear 'unprofessional'.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Yes. Appear.

[LibSuperstar]

How do you sue someone for defamation and come out looking worse?

[Emperor Smeat]

Dirtsheets sponsored by Nothing:

Originally Posted by Observer While there haven't been any names officially announced, a standout wrestler of her generation looks set for WWE's second Mae Young Classic. Tokyo Sports reported today that 38-year-old Meiko Satomura would be participating in the tournament this summer. Whether or not Satomura would have any involvement with WWE past appearing in the Mae Young Classic wasn't made clear. Satomura is a founder of the Sendai Girls promotion in Japan and has been wrestling for over 20 years. She's also been wrestling on the United Kingdom independent scene fairly often recently, appearing for Pro Wrestling: EVE and Fight Club: PRO. She won the Fight Club: PRO title from Chris Brookes earlier this year. The Mae Young Classic will be taped in Orlando, Florida on August 8th and 9th. Last year's tournament had a 32-wrestler field that included a mix of wrestlers who were under contract with WWE and those who weren't.

Link: https://twitter.com/reasonjp/status/1007151310003531776

Originally Posted by Observer It wasn’t that long ago when FloSports started an independent streaming service with grandiose plans, which collapsed quickly for a number of reasons. The goals were too big, and more importantly, it was announced before it had key deals in place. And the key deals it needed to get, they never got. Hoping for tens of thousands of subscribers with EVOLVE as your home company just wasn’t going to cut it, and with just a few thousand subscribers, FloSports closed the entire pro wrestling division This week, Pivotshare, which has deals with more than 100 companies in 15 countries, is trying to do what FloSlam failed, which is to be the destination for independent wrestling, with the creation of the Powerslam Wrestling Network. The key differences are that Pivotshare already has deals in place with a number of promotions, and that they are starting out with a $5.99 per month price as opposed to the $20 per month price that FloSlam charged. They, being around wrestling for four years, also have a better idea of the independent marketplace ... The service will be launching immediately on iOS and Android devices, as well as Apple TV, Roku Channels, Amazon Channels and at the portal powerslam.tv. They expect to release 40 to 50 events per month. At launch, there will be deals with 75 different promotions and 2,000 hours of archived content.

More details and list of promotions included: https://www.f4wonline.com/indies/piv...network-259696

Originally Posted by Observer 2K has a press conference on Monday to announce the cover superstar for WWE 2K 19. The cover superstar will also reveal news about the new game and host a Q&A session. The press conference takes place at 11 a.m. Eastern at www.2K.com.

More details: https://www.pwinsider.com/article/11...tails.html?p=1

Originally Posted by Observer Indies Roundup: Teddy Hart & Davey Boy Smith Jr., seconded by Brian Pillman II, face ACH & Rich Swann for MLW on 7/19 in Long Island City, NY. They will also be in he 40 man Battle Riot. All Star Wrestling on 6/23 in Cloverdale, BC at the Fairgrounds headlined by Chris Masters vs. Tom Lawlor. They will also be honoring Diamond Timothy Flowers and Buddy Wayne. AAW on 6/23 in Merrionette Park, IL at 115 Bourbon Street has ACH vs. David Starr for the AAW title, Kimber Lee vs. Kylie Rae for the women's title, Trevor Lee vs. Trey Miguel for the Heritage title, Sami Callihan vs. Brody King, Hudson Envy vs. Su Yung, plus Eddie Kingston, Colt Cabana, Curt Stallion, Jake Something, Stephen Wolf, Moose, Myron Reed, Paco, MJF and Ace Romero.

Originally Posted by PWI WWE released the Flash Morgan Webster vs. James Drake WWE U.K. Championship Tournament First-Round Match today: The remaining matches from the first round of the tournament will be released on the following days and times: TODAY - Ashton Smith vs. Joseph Conners – 3 p.m. ET Friday, June 15 Kenny Williams vs. Dave Mastiff – 12 p.m. ET Ligero vs. Travis Banks – 3 p.m. ET Monday, June 18 Amir Jordan vs. Zack Gibson – 12 p.m. ET Tucker vs. Joe Coffey – 3 p.m. ET Tuesday, June 19 Jordan Devlin vs. Tyson T-Bone – 3 p.m. ET

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-XZ1RaujEc

Originally Posted by PWI According to WWE Network News, the following will be today's selection of Hidden Gems which seem to have two themes going on. One, a look at fathers and sons in light of Father's Day on Sunday as well as early footage of Xavier Woods and Kenny Omega from their time in WWE developmental in light of their cross-promotional gaming showdown today when the The Elite faces off with The New Day at E3 today. CWF 04/20/1976 – Bob Orton Sr. and Bob Orton Jr. Training Video / Bob Orton Sr. and Bob Orton Jr. vs Steve Keirn and Mike Graham (Reel Footage) AWA 04/21/1985 – Curt Hennig and Larry “The Axe” Hennig vs The Road Warriors NWA 04/11/1987 – Brad Armstrong and Bob Armstrong vs Lex Luger and Tully Blanchard (Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup 1987 Quarterfinals) Deep South Wrestling 09/03/2006 – Kenny Omega vs Cru Jones FCW 06/05/2011 – Xavier Woods vs Michael Tarver

Originally Posted by PWI A Las Vegas-based company titled KBN INC. CORPORATION NEVADA has applied to trademark 'Halloween Havoc' on 6/8, listing the trademark filing for "T-shirts; Baseball caps and hats; Clothing for wear in wrestling games; Graphic T-shirts" as well as for "Entertainment in the nature of wrestling contests; Entertainment services in the nature of a wrestling club; Entertainment services, namely, wrestling exhibits and performances by a professional wrestler and entertainer; Providing wrestling news and information via a global computer network" ... Also as interesting is that Caliifornia-based Tatevik Hunanyan (who wrestles independently as Tatevik the Gamer) applied to trademark the name 'Sister Abigail' on 6/5, listing the trademark as for "Entertainment services, namely, wrestling exhibits and performances by a professional wrestler and entertainer also for wrestling purposes." WWE have never previously applied to trademark the name of the Sister Abigail character, which has been referenced the entire course of Bray Wyatt's WWE run.

Link: https://www.pwinsider.com/article/11...y-wwe.html?p=1

Originally Posted by Observer Alberto El Patron said he was returning for TripleMania and said he would be wrestling through the end of 2019. I think he’s been retiring “next year” for the last four years. He said he also expects a farewell match at Arena Mexico. He said that if his plans don’t turn out, he may be doing more farewell matches. Still, he wasn’t at the press conference and isn’t planned for the main event Vampiro announced he was leaving and going back too Canada because he suffered a broken neck from Killer Kross’ back suplex and has to retire. If you’ve followed Vampiro’s careers and retirements enough you’d know this isn’t much of a story. The last time he said he broke his neck and had to retire was a few months ago

Originally Posted by Observer A major note on the talent that worked the ITV tapings is that in a sense they were the first wrestlers in modern times to perform under a collective bargaining agreement since they were treated as television actors in the U.K. They adhered to the rules of the Equity UK/ITV agreement, and used the terms used primarily for those on soap operas on ITV. The Equity union negotiated the minimum rate through collective bargaining. The talent was able and was encouraged to negotiate above the minimum. The performers were treated like any other talent in a dramatic production as far as having their costs associated with being in the area and performing taken care of as far as travel and accommodations. During the old World of Sport days, wrestling was not treated in this manner and was unregulated, but this was a precedent for wrestling in the U.K. The hope is that if the first season is a success they’ll be able to collective bargain for better minimum rates for season two

Originally Posted by Observer Hogan, while appearing for a weekend talk show with Ric Flair and Eric Bischoff, said things are moving “quite quickly” about a return

Originally Posted by Observer Lots of rumblings about WWE making moves on opening communication with talent in New Japan as well as those announced for All In. Obviously the Rey Mysterio Jr., name will pop up, but WWE has had open lines with him about returning since January and that was before he agreed to the New Japan and All In dates so this is not suddenly having interest in a guy who is working big dates elsewhere in his case. I think it’s clear by how good a shape he’s in that they want him back and it’s just a matter of making the right kind of money and schedule deal. He’s doing very well working a limited schedule because he commands the highest price per appearance on the independent market right now. But WWE can afford seven figures for limited dates even more now than ever before. It is going to be a very interesting next several months

Originally Posted by Observer Regarding Paul Ellering, he is still listed on the NXT roster. Paul Levesque on the conference call this week said he wasn’t part of the decision-making process to take him away from the Authors of Pain. He said that he felt Ellering was valuable and is open for a role to bring him back in NXT

Originally Posted by Observer With a lack of new programming and the long gap between PPV shows, this was the top ten most watched shows of the past week on WWE Network: 1. NXT on 6/6; 2. Something Else to Wrestle With on 6/8 on the ECW revival; 3. Photo Shoot with Goldust; 4. 205 Live from 6/5; 5. NXT from 5/30; 6. Camp WWE episode 5; 7. Photo Shoot with The Godfather; 8. Backlash 2018; 9. Something Else to Wrestle With on 5/30 on John Cena; 10. WrestleMania 2018

Some other sheet news includes:

• According to the Observer, Dr. Christopher Amann's contract with the WWE currently expires this October.
• For those that actually care about Meltzer's star ratings, Omega-Okada IV got rated 7 stars.

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

• WWE Reportedly Trying to Block ROH From Doing a Show at MSG
• Various: Authors of Pain Update, Eli Drake Signs Short-Term Contract
• James Ellsworth Update (Possible Spoiler)

[Mr. Nerfect]

I think Amann will leave the company quietly when his contract is up.

I'm hoping for an exodus of WWE talent over the next year. I want Brock, Bryan, Ziggler, Styles, Nakamura, Gallows and Anderson to all turn down WWE offers and go to New Japan/Pro-Wrestling Other.

[LibSuperstar]

Don't see any of those leaving except for Lesnar and it'll most likely be UFC instead.