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As seen at Sunday’s WWE Battleground event, the crowd was noticeably quiet for a majority of the evening with. Someone would argue it would have a lot to do with the show being one of the worst pay-per-view events of 2017 and even some are saying in recent WWE history.
Roman Reigns took to his Twitter account to react to the crowd reactions the event received. He sent out the following tweet:
Brock Lesnar is not scheduled to make an appearance on tonight’s episode of RAW.
Kurt Angle is expected to announce plans for Lesnar defending the WWE Universal Title at WWE SummerSlam tonight. It’s being rumored that he will be announcing a Fatal 4-Way for the Championship.
Here is the current list of WWE dates Lesnar is confirmed for:
SmackDown Live Event: July 29th (Detroit, MI)
RAW: July 31st (Pittsburgh, PA)
SmackDown Live Event: August 12th (Tampa, FL)
RAW: August 14th (Boston, MA)
SummerSlam: August 20th (Brooklyn, NY)
RAW: August 28th (Memphis, TN)
WWE No Mercy: September 24th (Los Angeles, CA)
RAW Live Event: September 30th (Winnipeg, MB)
There have been several shifts in the betting odds for tonight’s WWE Battleground event. “Smart Money” bets still have not been made, but here are the odds right now:
(Note: The lower the number, the more favorable they are of winning the match)
WWE Championship – Punjabi Prison Match
JJinder Mahal(c) -260 (favorite) vs. Randy Orton +180
WWE United States Championship
AJ Styles(c) -210 (favorite) vs. Kevin Owens +160
Smackdown Tag Team Championship
The Usos(c) -215 (favorites) vs. The New Day +165
Flag Match
John Cena -1125 (favorite) vs. Rusev +575
Fatal 5 Way for the Smackdown Women’s Championship #1 Contendership
Charlotte +195 vs. Lana +3000 vs. Becky Lynch +2100 vs. Tamina +4500 vs. Natalya -215
Shinsuke Nakamura -270 (favorite) vs. Baron Corbin +190
Sami Zayn +135 vs. Mike Kanellis -175 (favorite)
Aiden English +330 vs. Tye Dillenger -490 (favorite)
Check back here at 7PM ET for our live play-by-play coverage of the event.
Austin Aries posted the following photo on Instagram showing off his new “updated” look. It was noted last week that he completely shaved everything off. It appears now that he is growing out his facial hair again:
“A big shout out and thank you to @therock for the fresh new @underarmour gear… and the inspiration for my fresh new haircut? Time to go to work, as you can’t be wearing these horns and not be kicking ass. #humblehungry #smedium #underarmour #plantbased #plantpower”
Sound off in the comment section on how you feel about his new look…
Darren Young is set to make his return to the company really soon. You all remember Darren Young right? He was one half of The Prime Time Players with Titus O’Neil, which I thought was one great tag team. Although he isn’t the greatest wrestler, he isn’t half bad either. We last saw him as a student of Bob Backlund, working hard and doing things the right way. He injured his elbow back in January and has been off our television screens ever since.
With a return nearing, one has to wonder how Young should be booked and portrayed in his return. It doesn’t make sense to pair him back with Backlund, but he could be used in another form.
Young is on the Raw brand, which is loaded with star studded talent. To get television time there, you have to do something impressive and shocking at the same time. Do something that draws ratings and garners attention for yourself. For Young to do that, he must turn on and destroy Bob Backlund.
It sounds harsh and inhumane in a way, but it makes perfect sense. Backlund is a sixty-seven year old man who isn’t physically the same as he was back in his prime. He may can defend himself, but not like a thirty-three year old Darren Young could. Young turning on Backlund would make the crowd feel uncomfortable, sad, and even disgusted at the sight before their eyes. So how should he do it?
Start out with Young making a surprise return to Monday Night Raw with Backlund by his side. They can do the skit where Backlund proclaims he’s going to make Darren Young great again. This is when Young turns on Backlund, hitting him with heavy shots and kicks. Young grabs a chair and hits Backlund across the back. As the crowd stares at the motionless body of Backlund, they will also see the sinister grin on Young’s face. A new heel is born, one with nothing to lose.
Young’s success after that moment determines how he performs in the ring and cut promos. Start him off against a Heath Slater or a Rhyno, a low-card babyface that can help put someone over. Eventually this will lead up to him getting a shot at the Intercontinental Championship. It may be puzzling, but if Young can put in the work then he definitely deserves a shot at the Intercontinental Championship.
Jinder Mahal winning the WWE Championship has opened the door for so many others. Mahal went from jobber to champ in a blink of an eye. If he can do it, then Young has the chance to do it too. Just put in the time and the work, then anything is possible.
Darren Young has had his fair share of success within the company. He is a former Tag Team Champion and knows what it’s like to perform in big time matches. The ability is there, he just needs the opportunity. Attacking his mentor could create just the perfect opportunity. Young as a heel will be a little fresh thing to help keep the fans interested and may get the notice of the powers that be. I wish Young all the best during his return to the WWE.
WWE heads to the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia for tonight’s WWE Battleground event. Here is the card for event:
Punjabi Prison for the WWE Title
Randy Orton vs. Jinder Mahal
WWE United States Title Match
Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles
SmackDown Tag Team Title Match
The New Day vs. The Usos
Flag Match
Rusev vs. John Cena
Fatal 5 Way Elimination Match to Crown a New #1 Contender
Charlotte Flair vs. Lana vs. Becky Lynch vs. Tamina Snuka vs. Natalya
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Baron Corbin
Sami Zayn vs. Mike Kanellis
Kickoff
Aiden English vs. Tye Dillinger
Check back here at 7PM ET for our live play-by-play coverage of the event. We will also be having a live fan discussion at RingsideTalk.net!
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!
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Charlotte recently spoke to Noelle Foley for Ringside Collectibles. Here are some highlights from the interview:
Possibility of holding the NXT, RAW and Smackdown Women’s titles in her career: “Honestly, I wouldn’t have the opportunity or the ability if it wasn’t for all the amazing women that I work with. I mean, it means a lot to me, it’s crazy, I don’t know. It’s my passion, it’s what I love doing and I literally dedicate almost every second of the day thinking about work.”
Wrestlemania match with Ronda Rousey: “Well, I would say that I would still have the undefeated PPV streak, but Bayley crushed that. I would win, and I would show her who the real Four Horsewoman is.”
Mae Young Classic: “I sat in the audience – both days – and watched every single match. It made me want to work that much harder, I was so inspired. Especially [because] I had a different background and to watch these women who have traveled all over the world, living their dream and then seeing them in the NXT ring, knowing that their dream is being fulfilled. It’s one more step in the women’s revolution, but it’s also showing the world that we could have a full show of just women. The stories and the impact, aggression, athleticism, and Superstar power is just as evident in women, as it is in men.”
You can check out the interview embedded below:
Buddy Murphy may have suffered some sort of ankle or leg injury at Thursday’s NXT Live Event in Cocoa, Florida.
Our correspondent at the event mentioned that Murphy went down after a bad landing on his ankle in the main event tag match match. A WWE trainer came out and talked to Murphy for a few minutes. Murphy looked as if he wanted to continue the match but Referee Drake Wuertz came down shortly after and talked Murphy into going to the back to get checked out. Murphy left his partner shortly before the half-way point of the match, forcing Ohno to work the match by himself against Hideo Itami & The Velveteen Dream.
Here is a photo of Murphy before he headed to the back:
Combate C.E.O. Campbell McLaren stated in a recent interview that Alberto El Patron (Jose Rodriguez) will be stepping down from his figurehead role as the president of Combate Americas, according to The Fight Network.
“He’s probably stepping back his official roles from Combate and he’s going to focus on more on wrestling for the next year or two. It’s a very challenging enterprise and I think it’s very, very hard on the body and difficult to do. Very physical, very athletic, so I he’s kind of asked me if he can step away and with Saraya, focus on wrestling”.
As previously noted, Patron was suspended by Global Force Wrestling following reports of a domestic battery incident at the Orlando International Airport earlier this month.
