Vince Russo’s The Brand Recap – Kurt Angle Controversy, Billy Gunn Criticism, Was Shawn Michaels A Draw? More!

Russo is joined on today’s show by his co-host Jeff Lane.

Russo says he usually gives WrestleZone and WrestlingInc. a pass when he rips apart dirt sheet opinions, but this past week both of these sites published stories that they simply shouldn’t have. Nearly a decade ago Kurt Angle was involved in a very troublesome relationship, and he has spent the years since getting over that time in his life.

This past week Angle’s ex went on a Twitter rampage, bringing up things that have been buried for years, and for some reason these wrestling sites thought it was a good idea to publish stories on this. Russo thinks this was an embarrassing thing to do, and he’d love to get an explanation as to why either of these sites chose to publish those stories. By publishing these stories they’ve given this women attention, and have jeopardized Angle’s position in WWE.

Lane plays a clip of Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez from this past week, when they were discussing who Alvarez would be able to have a good match with in NJPW. Meltzer says that Tanahashi would be a good choice because he can have a good match with anyone, except for Billy Gunn evidently.

Russo says that Billy Gunn is a legend in this business, and at 53 years of age he looks better than ever. Russo says he’d love for Meltzer to run into Gunn in the street someday, because he’d run away like a scared little girl. Russo adds that Alvarez is an independent wrestler because he’s not good enough to have great matches with anybody.

NoDQ Video #988: Plans for Cena vs. Nakamura

Here is the latest edition of my Q&A video series. You can submit questions for future videos on my Twitter page and make sure to use the hashtag #RoadToNoDQ1000.

You can leave a comment or question below and I’ll try to respond to as many people as possible!

Click here for the t-shirt page!

WWE Changes RAW Superstars Name

It appears that WWE has decided to shorten Elias Samson’s name to just “Elias” moving forward.

In his bio section on WWE.com, the last name has been cleared away. This would be an indication that they have decided to shorten his name. WWE has done this in the past with Superstars like Big E Langston, Antonio Cesaro and Adrian Neville.

Rumored Matches for WWE SummerSlam

The following matches are excepted to be added to the upcoming August 20th WWE SummerSlam event:

RAW Tag Team Championship
Sheamus & Cesaro (c) vs. Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose

Smackdown Tag Team Championship
New Day vs. Usos

Kevin Owens vs. Shane McMahon

Intercontinental Championship
The Miz vs. Jason Jordan

United States Championship
AJ Styles vs. Chris Jericho

The Hardy Boyz vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson vs. The Revival

Finn Balor vs. Bray Wyatt

Big Cass vs. Big Show

Cruiserweight Championship
Neville vs. Akira Tozawa vs. Ariya Daivari

Witness Comments on Braun Strowman & Karen Jarrett’s Bar Incident

It was reported via Wrestling Observer Newsletter that there was an incident between Braun Strowman and Karen Jarrett at a bar establishment in Nashville when Global Force Wrestling had meetings and RAW was in the same city.

PWInsider has picked up the story and was informed by a witness at the bar that the altercation was just “a drunken conversation between two drunk people in a bar that got loud, nothing more.”

For those who missed the original story, you can check it out here.

CM Punk Advertised for SmackDown Live

Several of our readers have sent word that CM Punk was being advertised this week for the Hulu version of SmackDown Live. You can check out a screen shot that reader Erik Glenn sent in:

It’s obvious CM Punk isn’t appearing on the episode as he hasn’t returned to the company. Someone at Hulu screwed up and somehow this happened.

At last word Punk was under contract to UFC and has voiced in several interviews that he has no plans to return to WWE anytime in the near future.

Matt Hardy Says Ed Nordholm Blatantly Lied to Defame Him

Matt Hardy has took to his Twitter account to fire back at Ed Nordholm’s claims made during a Sports Illustrated interview.

Hardy says that Nordholm blatantly lied to defame him and he has the entire conversation recorded to prove it.

Reby Hardy has also said that all of the conversations they had with Nordholm have been recorded.

Mike Kanellis Knocks Global Force Wrestling Over Pay Issues

Mike Kanellis knocked Global Force Wrestling over their pay issues in a Twitter exchange with a fan.

The fan pointed out how Mike was a joke in Global Force Wrestling and is also a joke in WWE. That is when Mike decided to point out that he’s getting paid now. You can check out the exchange below:

WWE Planning Match Between Shane McMahon & Kevin Owens?

As seen on Tuesday’s episode of SmackDown Live, Shane McMahon announced that Kevin Owens would defend the United States Championship against AJ Styles and Chris Jericho in the main event of the show. After the announcement, Owens and Shane went face-to-face.

Dave Meltzer mentioned in the latest issue of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter that this is it very clear that this was done as a tease for a match between Shane and Owens down the line. There is a lot of online speculation that the two could possibly face each other at this year’s SummerSlam event.

While nothing has been confirmed, there is always the possibility that the match gets added to SummerSlam as WWE is trying to book the event strong and a match between the two would definitely be something the fans would pay to see. We will keep you updated if we hear anything regarding the two facing off at the biggest even of the summer.

Do you think we’ll see Shane McMahon wrestle at SummerSlam? Sound off in the comment section below…

El Rey Exec on Lucha Underground Renewal: “Looks Good”

IGN recently interviewed Skip Chaisson, El Rey Network’s chief creative officer, about the potential of Lucha Underground being renewed for a fourth season. During the interview, Chaisson said the show’s future “looks good.” He would not confirm nor deny, however, the show itself being renewed.

Chaisson noted that one of the biggest talking points at the El Rey Network is where LU fits into their TV schedule going forward. Though he also noted that he and network head/famed filmmaker Robert Rodriguez love the show. “I can’t emphasize enough just how giving the wrestlers are,” he said, “and just working with Eric [Van Wagenen, Lucha Underground’s executive producer] and Chris [DeJoseph, co-executive producer] – it’s just so much fun.”

Luckily for LU, El Rey is still airing season 3 of the series. This leaves plenty of time for the network to decide the show’s future.