NEWS

They almost got there. With Sunday’s Summerslam card all but set, there wasn’t much room to add anything. The show already had eleven matches on the main card alone, which is pushing it even on a four hour pay per view. That being said, WWE has never seemed to mind adding in as much stuff as they can, which is why some changes were made to the Summerslam card this week on Monday Night Raw.
As announced on this week’s show, the Kickoff Show will now feature three matches instead of the previously announced one. In addition to the already announced mixed tag between Rusev/Lana vs. Andrade Cien Almas/Zelina Vega, two title matches were added. Now, the show will also feature the new match of the B Team defending the Raw Tag Team Titles against the Revival and the previously announced (for the main card) Cruiserweight Title match between champion Cedric Alexander and Drew Gulak. The new card will be three Kickoff Show matches and ten regular show matches.
Here’s a preview of one of the ti..

Anvil smash. When I was growing up, the Hart Foundation was one of the coolest tag teams around. They made pink and black look awesome with a combination of speed and technical skills from Bret Hart to go with the raw power of Jim Neidhart. There were few teams better and that status has stood the test of time. Now though, something has happened to make their legacy all the stronger.
WWE.com has confirmed that Neidhart passed away at the age of 63 with no cause of death announced. Neidhart was best known for his team with Hart, both as the regular Hart Foundation tag team and later as part of the Hart Foundation stable. He and Hart were actual family as Neidhart married Hart’s sister Ellie. The couple’s daughter Natalya has wrestled for WWE for ten years.
His own chance to shine.
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Opinion: I’m not sure what happened to Neidhart, but it’s always sad to see someone go before their time. Neidhart was very good in his role and a heck of a tag w..

That’s one way to go. We’re less than a week away from Summerslam and the main event certainly has people talking. This year’s show will be headlined by Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title and that presents a problem. Reigns isn’t the most liked person on the roster and there’s a good chance that he won’t be cheered no matter what happens. WWE is looking for a way around it and they seem to have an idea.
According to Rajah.com, one of the potential endings to the match would see Reigns winning clean to become Universal Champion, only to send Lesnar over the edge in the process. Lesnar would attack Reigns, which would draw out Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose in a Shield reunion. The trio would TripleBomb Lesnar through the announcers’ table to end the show. Ambrose hasn’t wrestled this year after suffering an arm injury last December.
Reigns knows how to hurt him.
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Opinion: That’s been an idea that has floated around in recen..

For one night only. Tag team wrestling has always been a rough patch for WWE. There are periods where things will be great (late 1980s, the Dudley Boyz vs. Hardy Boyz vs. Edge and Christian) but other than that, there are very few long term instances of great tag team wrestling. A lot of the time WWE will go with two people being thrown into a team and hoping for the best. Sometimes they’re just a one off team, to the point where WWE is looking back at the idea.
Teddy Long is smiling somewhere.
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WWE has released a new Top Ten video looking at the ten best one off tag teams in company history. The video is almost exactly what it sounds like, looking at pairings that only teamed together once for some random occasion. The idea seems to be much more of a recent concept, as all but one of the entries coming from 2001-present, with a sole outlier from 1992.
Opinion: This wasn’t one of their better lists as for the most part, there is a reason th..

Fusion #17
Date: August 10, 2018
Location: Melrose Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Rich Bocchini
Things are already starting to get interesting around here all over again, just after Battle Riot. We still have Black Friday Management and Promociones Dorado hooking up to make things that much more dangerous, but there are several stars who could rise up to challenge them. Let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
Earlier this week, Kotto Brazil, Barrington Hughes and Shane Strickland challenging Sami Callihan and the Death Machines to WAR GAMES.
The ten man WarGames, with two more partners for each team to be announced, is confirmed for September 6 in Fort Lauderdale.
Barrington Hughes vs. Leon Scott They slug it out and Hughes is rocked less than ten seconds in. A release Rock Bottom plants Scott and there’s the big elbow to draw in Sawyer Fulton for the DQ at 37 seconds.
Result: Barrington Hughes b. Leon Scott via DQ when ..

Fusion #16
Date: August 3, 2018
Location: Melrose Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Matt Striker
We’re past Battle Riot and that means things are back to normal around here. Tom Lawlor won the big event and has what is pretty much a Money in the Bank contract. Other than that we have some stories coming out of the Battle Riot which could make for some interesting TV. You never know what to expect around here so let’s get to it.
Here are the Battle Riot results if you need a recap.
Note that this is listed as episode 16, meaning Battle Riot was 15.
We look at the footage of Shane Strickland being attacked. Sami Callihan has admitted to being behind it due to bringing Shane out of the horrible places in wrestling and making him a star. Now he’s doing it for the money because Shane believes that he’s a bigger star than he really is. That means it’s time for a match.
Opening sequence.
The announcers run down the show.
Brody King vs. Jimmy Havoc King sho..

Go Tournament Ace! One of the most interesting stories that can be told in wrestling is the story of the former star who is trying to have one last run at the top. It can create a great moment if they can reach the mountaintop one more time but even if they lose, the road back is often amazing to see. There are very few promotions ever at the level of the current New Japan product and that means they could pull off this story again. They’re taking a shot.
Earlier this morning, Hiroshi Tanahashi won his third G1 Climax Tournament by defeating Kota Ibushi, earning the right to challenge for the IWGP World Title at the January 4, 2019 Wrestle Kingdom 13. Tanahashi will have to defend the title shot until then and could lose the shot on the way. This is Tanahashi’s third win, with his previous victories coming in 2007 and 2015. He also set a record for the most points in a 20 man tournament with 15 (seven wins and one draw).
This is always worth a listen.
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That’s a relief. Every time a wrestler goes into the ring, you never know what’s going to happen. While wrestlers are professionals and some of the best trained performers in the world, there’s always the chance that someone is going to get injured. It can happen all the way from the main event of WrestleMania to the lowest of house show matches, which is what happened on Sunday night.
According to Ringsidenews.com, Tye Dillinger seemed to have been knocked out during a match with Shelton Benjamin in Florence, South Carolina. The details are sparse but it seems to be due to Dillinger taking a hard bump. There is no word on whether or not the match was finished or if Dillinger got back to his feet. At the moment it isn’t clear if he was selling or actually knocked out.
@davemeltzerWON Tye Dillinger appeared to get legit ko'd during a match with Sheldon Benjamin at the house show in Florence SC tonight. Building was less than half full. pic.twitter.com/L657nM4i8r
— Tex Johnson [B..

We’re moving forward. Impact Wrestling has undergone a renaissance this year with some of the best television they’ve put on in years, including a heck of a show at Slammiversary. It’s been one of the best things I’ve seen them do in a very long time and I’m actually curious to see where they’re going to go in the future. Now we know where some of those things are going to be going.
Impact Wrestling was back at the Rebel Sports Complex in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on Sunday to tape some more television. It’s not clear when this show will air but the most likely date would be sometime later this month, probably starting on August 19. There is always the chance that these results will air out of order, which is a common situation for Impact Wrestling. Here are the results, courtesy of Wrestlinginc.com:
* Joe Hendry defeated Tyson Dux (Xplosion Match)
* LAX (w/ Konnan) defeated Tarik and Brent Banks (Xplosion Match)
* Brian Cage (c) defeated Fenix (w/ Pentagon Jr.) (Impact X Division C..

The King of Strong Style is going to show the world how strong his writing skills are.
Shinsuke Nakamura’s Autobiography, entitled “King of Strong Style: 1988-2014”, will be released in English on August 7, 2018, by VIZ Media. The book was originally completed in 2014, and released in Japan on 2015.
Below is a synopsis of the book, on the VIZ Media website:
Before he became a star of American professional wrestling, Shinsuke Nakamura was Japan’s “King of Strong Style.” Follow his life and career from the amateur grappling ranks to the Nippon Budokan, thrill to his matches against such legends as Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar, his reign as the youngest New Japan Pro-Wrestling Heavyweight Champion, and his success as a mixed martial artist.
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Nakamura is the current United States Champion, which he won from Jeff Hardy at the recent Extreme Rules pay-per-view event.
Editor’s Opinion:
YES! Count me all in on this book. The King of Strong Style ..