Reason Why Sasha Banks Loss to Alicia Fox on Monday’s RAW

As seen on the May 8th episode of RAW, Sash Banks pinned Alicia Fox, but the the former Divas Champion had a shoulder up outside the ref’s field of vision, which led to Fox getting another shot at The Boss this past Monday night. This time around, Fox won the match.

With Noam Dar at ringside, Fox managed to muscle out of a Bank Statement attempt and nailed Banks in the small of her back with a ruthless Scissor Kick to claim the victory.

For those wondering about Banks losing to Fox, the word going around is that Vince McMahon isn’t high on her like other people are. Therefore, he won’t protect her from losing matches.

While McMahon recognizes the reaction that Banks gets from the crowd and her overall appeal, he believes that she is injury prone because of how she operates in the ring.

It’s also believed that a long title reign is very unlikely for her anytime soon.

Banks became a three-time champion last year, but she didn’t have a successful title defense against Charlotte Flair. A lot of the reasoning behind that is McMahon doesn’t trust her to hold a title for long periods of time.

Banks has a history of back problems and that is a huge huge red flag for McMahon because he sees putting the RAW Women’s Championship on her as a big risk. She’s been hurt or injured quite often and will need to have back surgery eventually.

WWE NXT TakeOver: Chicago Live Results – May 20 2017

Welcome to NXT TakeOver: Chicago!

For the past several months, the general feeling has been that NXT had lost a little something with so many talents leaving and few stars being made in their wake. Last months NXT TakeOver: Orlando was a very good show but definitely a transitional one. Tonight in Chicago however, all the places have fallen in place and NXT is set to have its best show of the year.

NXT Champion, Bobby Roode, has reigned supreme since defeating Shinsuke Nakamura. There were a number of viable contender’s to Roode’s title, from Kassius Ohno and Roderick Strong, to Drew McIntyre and Eric Young. However it was the returning Hideo Itami who staked his claim as next-in-line. Itami has had a rough tenure in NXT thus far, having been injured for the majority of that time, but tonight looks set to be his crowning. Roode has been a great Champion so far but the time feels right for Hideo to finally assert himself as the man in NXT.

Asuka is still undefeated! The Empress has been undefeated since her debut in NXT, and this is an amazing fact that WWE doesn’t play-up enough. Asuka has had a personality change as of late and she’s so much fun to watch. Tonight’s match was originally a Fatal 4-Way with Ember Moon, Nikki Cross, and Ruby Riot, however Moon injured her arm and was forced out of the match. So we’re set for a Triple Threat match for the NXT Women’s Championship and Asuka’s streak is once again on the line. This should be a great match but I would like to see Asuka retain again. Nikki Cross and Ruby Riot are more focused on killing each other, than they are the title, so I think it would make sense for Asuka to retain and look towards a new challenge. Maybe Asuka will face Ember Moon again, or maybe, and more exciting if you ask me, she will be challenged by NXT’s newest signee: Io Shirai. This Japanese phenomenon has wrestled for Lucha Underground and she would make for an amazing opponent for Asuka; imagine Asuka’s face when a rising talent from Japan comes to challenge her as she did several years ago, the story writes itself.

Next up we have the NXT Tag Team Championship match between D.I.Y and The Author’s of Pain. These two teams have been doing battles for months and tonight is set to be an end-cap on their rivalry, as they square-off in the first-ever NXT tag team ladder match! As is customary for D.I.Y, this match is expected to be an off-the-charts affair that blows the roof off of the All-State Arena in Chicago. We had a scare over the past 24 hours as Tommaso Ciampa was injured at a live event, however he has been cleared to compete and will look to win back the NXT Tag Team Championships with his partner, Johnny Gargano!

Another match on tonight’s card see’s the United Kingdom Championship be defended, as Pete Dunne challenges Tyler Bate. This match comes hot-off the heels of the first episode of the WWE UK show, in which Dunne defeated Trent Seven to become number one contender, and Bate overcame Mark Andrews in an insane match. Dunne and Bate were the two finalists of the United Kingdom Tournament, which saw Bate crowned as the first-ever UK Champion, and tonight we get the rematch. This match has all the makings of an instant-classic.

Elsewhere on the card tonight, Roderick Strong takes-on Eric Young in a bid to destroy Sanity once and for all. Strong has had a renaissance since WWE aired the 2-part series looking at his difficult life. Can he do what Tye Dillinger never could, and finally take-out the head of the beast? I expect at least one more match to take place on tonight’s show, possible a women’s match, or Aleister Black.

NXT TakeOver: Chicago begins at 8 PM ET, with the half-hour pre-show beginning at 7:30 PM. Which match are you most excited for? Let us know in the comments, be sure to check out the awesome Ringside News app, and enjoy the show!

Earl Hebner Says He’ll Probably Never Go Into the WWE Hall of Fame

Earl Hebner recently appeared on Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling, here are the highlights from his appearance:

Did he think after that night in Montreal, the wrestling business would still be talking about the Screwjob 20 years later: “Not at all. Not at all. But it is just one of those things that it is like Hogan and Andre it was shocking to the world and believe me the people in Canada still hate me. I have talked to Bret and we are great friends and we’ve had a couple personal appearances together and hugged me and he hugged my brother (Dave) and we all know the deal. I really don’t want to go into all that because we all know the deal.”

Doing the “You Damn Right I Did” act at shows and who did “screw Bret”: “Whenever I’m around Bret I don’t bring them and truthfully Vince screwed Bret. Earl didn’t screw Bret, Vince screwed Bret. Earl did what he had to do. It was his (Vince’s) command and that is what happened but I think most Americans understand but I don’t think any Canadians will ever forgive me but I hope that they do. If you look at my track record, I’ve been put in a lot of tough spots in my career. Where other referees would not volunteer, Vince knew what I would do and whatever his demands were is what I did. So you can’t put the blame on me, you’ve got to put it on him.”

Will he ever be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame and being inducted into the IMPACT Wrestling Hall of Fame: “It an honor and since I’ll probably never go into the WWE Hall of Fame because we still have problems down the road and it doesn’t really matter to me whether I do or I don’t, anybody that knows me will know who I am. If Vince doesn’t ever want to induct me into it that is fine. I really think I should be but the problems that we still have, it is what it is. If I never get in there that is fine and it is no problem to me but people know who I am and I’ll let it be my legend of being a Hebner and I’ll just base it on that.”

Being the “evil twin” referee in Hulk Hogan vs. Andre The Giant’s Main Event title match his first night in the WWE: “I was nervous. They invented this whole program over about I’d say a good three weeks in Connecticut. Bu it was great for me that I was the evil twin (and I’m still evil) and if you look at my past record you can tell I’m evil (laughing), I’m actually not I am a nice guy but it worked great for me that they put me on the goal line of working for somebody and I’m not knocking the NWA but to make a life in this business and to make money. It was so quiet or if you want to say it was kayfabed so long and nobody knew anything until it happened. It was so great. It is the way the business should be but today it isn’t like it was when I first started. What a great opportunity for me and it made me who I am today and is one of the main angles that made me who I am today.”

The injury sustained after Hulk Hogan launched Earl over his intended target of Ted Dibiase, Virgil and Andre: “When he started running and I was in his arms, I was saying to myself that is not the plan. He was supposed to walk to the ropes and throw me in their arms. When he shot me I missed everybody including Andre and when I hit the floor I destroyed my rotator cuff in my right arm. When I hit that floor it just exploded my whole right arm and rotator cuff and I was out for about eight weeks or nine weeks getting it repaired. When I got to the back I was thinking that this is sure a good way to get into the front door because when I hit that concrete floor and it exploded, brother it was horrible.”

The Taz Show Recap – Backlash Predictions, New Champion Will Be Crowned, How Would Taz Get Heat as A Heel Today? More!

Block 1:

A listener calls into the show asking Taz how he’d get heat from fans if he was still wrestling as a heel today. Taz says that first and foremost, it all depends on the type of push he’s receiving. His approach as a heel all depends on whether he is getting pushed as as ‘killer’ heel, a ‘comedic’ heel or a ‘cowardly’ heel. Braun Strowman gets heat in a far different way than someone like The Miz.

The listener also asks Taz if he thinks it’s a good idea as a performer to get some intentional heat backstage, as a way to show your confidence and move up the roster’s depth chart. Taz says that you’ll never see a new talent come into the locker room like a hotshot because quite frankly that would be career suicide. Some veterans can give their opinions and that may result in some heat with another talent, but it’s never intentional.

Tye Dillinger vs. Aiden English – Tye Dillinger
* Taz doesn’t see Dillinger losing this match. The NXT call-up is still getting established on the main roster, and Taz would be very shocked if English picked up the win here.

Luke Harper vs. Erick Rowan – Erick Rowan
* Taz thinks WWE is going to get behind Rowan for a push. He points out that Harper was the recipient of a small push for a period of time, but that has apparently slowed down. Taz isn’t sure why WWE gave up on Harper, because he thinks with a few changes to Harper’s look, he could be a gamer.

The Hardy Boyz Hint at Possible Singles Run In WWE

While speaking with SPORTBible, Matt and Jeff Hardy were asked about the possibilities of each of each of them having a singles run and/or feud.

Jeff responded, “I think the brotherly feuding might be over, I don’t think people really want to see us fight each other but when you think back to the beauty of the Final Deletion, if ever something like that comes into play again then that’s the only way I see us doing something like that but it’s inevitable that we’ll go do our solo things before we’re done but right now it’s all about the tag teams.”

Matt explain why it was necessary to return as a tag team but that eventually he could see he and his brother doing their own thing.

“I think right now our goal, especially starting, coming back, being re-introduced to the WWE Universe after being away for a substantial amount of time, really was to be a tag team,” Matt said.

He continued, “I think down the road there will be potential for both of us doing our own things; we’re both strong singles personalities in many ways, and I think as performers we’ve grown as we’ve got older, we’ve got smarter.”

“Just for starters, if we get to where we need to be, I think ‘Broken’ Matt Hardy against Bray Wyatt would be an amazing deal, and you look at him [Jeff] – him vs Seth Rollins, him vs Finn Balor, either one of us vs Roman Reigns – there’s a lot of cool, interesting combinations of guys who became stars in the last five or six years that we’ve never worked against, it’s totally like a fresh slate. So there’s a lot of potential forces as singles competitors also.”

Reby Sky Has Heated Exchange with Dutch Mantell Over “BROKEN” Gimmick

Dutch Mantell responded to a fan on Twitter that said if Matt Hardy had a case over the rights to the “Broken” gimmick, Hardy would’ve seen a judge by now:

Reby Sky responded to Mantell’s remarks with the following:

“Someone please tell me if this is this MFer’s actual twitter. So I should let our attorneys know TNA is ready & eager to go to court NOW. And I assume YOU’LL be picking up court cost$ for TNA’s team ? As cute as it is to watch @DirtyDMantell play into the naivety of most fans, no; it is not smart – financially or otherwise to take……ANYTHING ‘straight to court’ without trying to reach resolution by other means first. @DirtyDMantell, maybe you should STFU before you……COMPLETELY ruin any chance of a deal being made by the lawyers your dumbass company pays VERY HANDSOMELY per hour for @DirtyDMantell ***OR*** We can “get in front of a judge” right tf now because fcking Dutch Mantel is legal counsel all of a sudden LMAO. ! @EdNordholm, might wanna check ya boy @DirtyDMantell out here making ur uphill battle even steeper ? I won’t even charge u for that advice.”

Mantell fired back with the the following tweet:

Reby then responded:

Reasons Why Backlash Will Be A Great Show on Sunday

This Sunday, Backlash will grace our screens. Many bemoaned the event’s lackluster build-up. Jinder Mahal is challenging for the WWE Championship. The women’s division is caught in a six-man tag team match that doesn’t look too promising. Many would even say that Smackdown has lost its groove. While it may be true, Backlash still looks exciting. Hopefully the event sets in motion a return to action and excellence for the blue brand. Even if it doesn’t, it looks like it will be hard to be disappointed with Backlash.

Luke Harper Fights Erick Rowan

This doesn’t sound too exciting, I know. Erick Rowan’s wrestling skills are quite pedestrian. It’s hard to imagine him having a match on pay-per-view. Yet here he is. The reason this match has a lot of promise, though, is because of Rowan’s opponent, Luke Harper.

Harper was on a roll on the Road to Wrestlemania. For a while, it seemed like he would be added to the WWE Championship match between Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton. He wasn’t, but fans were behind the big man, and it wasn’t hard to see why. He had an organic face turn in a well-crafted story (that bombed in the end, but it was good for a while), and he is a skilled athlete. He’s tall and heavy, but he can perform frankensteiners and suicide dives as if he was significantly lighter. He was given time to develop his character, and the fans loved it. Combine all of this with Erick Rowan’s unsettling Talking Smack promo, an you have a match with a surprising amount of potential.

Rowan is the potential perfect counterpart for Harper. Harper will shine in this match, which is what many of us want to see. Hopefully their styles can mesh well and they can deliver a good match.

Breezango Is Getting a Championship Match

People often talk about Cesaro or Sami Zayn being underutilized. They may be, but at least they appear on TV regularly. Not Breezango, though. Last month, many people even forgot they existed. Fandango has been on the roster for almost a decade. How many Fandango matches can you name?

Both Tyler Breeze and Fandango are criminally underrated performers. Wrestlers like Dolph Ziggler have praised Breeze’s skill. He was part of a 5-star match, for goodness’ sake. As for Fandango, he’s not even bad in the ring. He’s more than capable of having good matches. Together both men work well, and their charisma and charm works well. They’re also quite funny, and it’s nice to see them getting such a high-profile match.

However, standing in their way is the Usos. Many people didn’t like them, but the Usos are quite skilled at this whole “wrestling” thing. Look back at their matches with American Alpha over the Tag Team Championship. Those were TV matches, but by god they felt like PPV quality matches. It’s insane.

The two teams had an exciting contest last year on the Battleground pre-show, so there’s no reason for them not to have another good match.

Bischoff on Wrestling Recap – Orton’s Tweets, Wrestling’s Changing Landscape, Are There Too Many Titles in WWE? More!

Eric Bischoff is joined on today’s show by his co-host Nick Hausman.

Bischoff opens today’s show speaking about the tweets sent out by Rip Rogers and Randy Orton last weekend. He says that for the most part, he agrees with the points made by both men. He says that he has always liked Orton and he has a lot of respect for Orton personally and professionally.

On the other hand, for as long as Bischoff can remember, veteran performers have had an issue with the young wave of performers that were making their way into the business.

When he was working in WCW, veteran performers in their late 30s and 40s at that time were complaining about guys like Chirs Jericho and Rey Mysterio Jr., because those guys were bringing a new element to the wrestling business and it was different compared to what the veteran performers were accustomed to. Bischoff says that this cycle appears to repeat itself in 5-7 year cycles.