Eric Bischoff Rips WWE Booking a Flag Match at WWE Battleground — Says It’s Boring

Former WCW President and former RAW GM Eric Bischoff talked about the Rusev-Cena flag match on his podcast, Bischoff On Wrestling :

“I hate it. I just hate it. I haaaate it. I hate it. God, whose idea was that? Vince McMahon, if you are listening to this or someone that works for you is listening to this re-think that. That is just… gwuck. My teeth hurt just listening to you talk about this”

He continued:

“What’s a Flag Match?! What the hell is a Flag Match?! It’s like it’s been around for a thousand years and eeeeverybody knows what a Flag Match is. So, I am going to take your flag? Or, you’re going to take my flag? I am sorry… do not care. Boring. Here is what I do believe now once I take off my cynical hat. If you want to build up a story, create emotion, build anticipation, have a sense of reality, give yourself an element of surprise and wrap it all in some great action you’ve got to be a little believable. The stakes have to be a little relatable. What are the stakes?! You are going to grab my flag? Huh? You are grabbing my flag? That’s what I am going to get pissed off about and fight my heart out about? You’re going to grab my flag. I am sorry. I am sleeping through that one.”

New Match Announced for WWE Battleground

WWE announced on tonight’s episode of SmackDown Live that John Cena will face Rusev in a “Flag Match” at the upcoming WWE Battleground event. Here is the updated card:

WWE Title: Punjabi Prison match
Randy Orton vs. Jinder Mahal

SmackDown Tag Team Championship
The New Day vs. The Usos

Flag match
Rusev vs. John Cena

Battleground takes place on July 23rd from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

GFW Impact Wrestling Spoilers – July 4th, 2017

GFW taped the following tonight in Orlando, FL for an upcoming episode of Impact Wrestling:

– In-ring segment with LAX: Konnan introduces Alberto El Patron as the newest member of LAX. Alberto asks Carlos what he is doing? They have been friends for a long time, but he said it was BS, he is not joining LAX. Konnan asks Alberto to join, not to forget what other places have done to him, he has to join them to have protection. Alberto says the company is doing great things, Carlos has just become a bitter man, Alberto doesn’t mind being a loner. Konnan says that they can start a Latin Revolution, Alberto says no, LAX attacks him. Lashley out, decimates LAX, save Alberto, and hands him the title before leaving.

– Naomichi Marufuji vs Moose for The Grand Championship. EC3 hit Marufuji with the belt during round 3, he tried to hit Moose after. No winner is announced.

– Trevor Lee vs. William Weeks. Trevor comes out with the stolen X Division Title. After the match, Sonjay Dutt attacks Trevor.

– Laurel Van Ness defeated Ava Storie. Grado and Joseph Park are out to talk to Laurel Van Ness. Grado has flowers and champagne. He introduces himself to Laurel, he says that she is the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. Grado asks Laurel if they can go out, eat some food, get some drinks, and watch some movies. Then suggests #netflixandchill. Before Laurel can answer Kongo Kong comes out and scares off Grado and Joseph Park.

– Lashley & Alberto defeat LAX, this was a non title match. Alberto says they make a damn good team to Lashley. LAX attacks Alberto, this time Lashley leaves Alberto to get beat down.

– Drago defeats Sammy Guevara.

– Sienna defeats Amber Nova in a non title match. After the match, Allie comes out and attacks Sienna with a kendo stick, Laurel comes out to Sienna’s aid, Rosemary Sienna. Gail Kim comes out. Gail removes Sienna and Laurel, Karen says next week it will be Rosemary vs Sienna for the title in a last KO standing match.

– Garza Jr, Laredo Kid, & Octagoncito vs Trevor Lee, Idris Abraham, and Demus 3:16.

– Sydal pins Low Ki to win the 3 way. Sydal says trust yourself and question authority, calls out Bruce Prichard. Bruce says he’s sick of tired of guys demanding spots, Sydal descended a title shot but so do other guys, out comes Lashley. Lashley says he is the only one who deserves a world title shot, Sydal says nobody wants to hear it from Lashley. Lashley says he’s telling Bruce to give him that title shot, he then spears Sydal and says that is only a start.

– These muscle dudes jumped out of the crowd and attacked Eli Drake and Chris Adonis.

– Eddie Edwards vs Moose vs EC3 vs Eli Drake. Eli Drake steals the pin on Eddie Edwards after Moose pulls EC3 out of the ring.

– LAX comes out attacking Dos Caras and El Hijo De Dos Caras, tells Alberto there are consequences. Konnan threatens to take off Dos Caras’s mask, Alberto out and says Carlos has taken this too far and to stop this nonsense. Konnan asks if he’s ready to join, Alberto says he will destroy them if he touches his dad, he will let them go if Alberto joins. LAX lets Alberto’s family go, Alberto says him and Carlos are no longer friends, Konnan says he needs a soldier. Alberto puts on the shirt… then attacks LAX. Alberto does not join LAX. Alberto lets everyone know they were a great crowd tonight expect Josh Matthews because he “f***ing sucks”. Alberto thanks everyone for making this one of the greatest days of his life, happy 4th of July!

WWE Monday Night Raw Results – July 3 2017

Welcome to the final edition of Monday Night Raw before Sunday’s Great Balls of Fire PPV!

Tonight’s show is anchored by the return of Brock Lesnar, who will defend his Universal Championship for the first time since WrestleMania on Sunday. Lesnar has had to sit back and watch as Samoa Joe took centre stage for this feud and even attacked his advocate Paul Heyman. So Lesnar decided to pay Joe a visit and was promptly choked down by the Samoan Bulldozer! One week from the huge showdown, Lesnar will definitely want to regain some momentum, meanwhile Samoa Joe is on the roll of a lifetime and fans are hungry for more!

Speaking of being hungry and never satisfied, Braun Strowman and Roman Reigns will also have a gargantuan showdown at Great Balls of Fire – which ironically might be the best card for a terribly named PPV ever. The two big canines will fight for ownership of the back yard in an Ambulance Match and I would be shocked if we didn’t see said ambulance come into play one more time this week, seeing as Braun threw Roman into it last week and sent him packing. Fans will hope to see more of the same this week.

Last week’s main event saw Sasha Banks defeat the seemingly unstoppable Nia Jax, who had already bested Emma, Mickie James, Dana Brooke, and Bayley, in a Gauntlet Match to become number one contender. Banks’ win was pretty surprising but sets-up an exciting showdown at Great Balls of Fire. The Champion Alexa Bliss came to the ring after the match and shoved her title in Banks’ face but was promptly met with a dropkick to her own dentures! Expect more fireworks tonight ahead of the 4th of July!

Elsewhere on tonight’s show, Enzo Amore was ceremoniously dumped by Big Cass for the second week in a row and it seems inevitable that these two will have a showdown on Sunday night. The match hasn’t yet been announced but surely tonight is the night. And then there’s Seth Rollins and Bray Wyatt who’ve done more talking in the past three weeks than Undertaker did in over 30 years, so hopefully we get something more substantial tonight.

All that and more to look forward to on tonight’s show. Don’t forget to check out the Ringside News app, as well as our new Ringside Talk app, which allows you to converse with all your fellow marks! Let us know your thoughts and feelings and enjoy the show!

Injury Suffered at Sunday’s Slammiversary Event

PWInsider reports that Jeremy Borash suffered 25-35 puncture wounds on his wrists and palms after hitting the top rope splash onto thumbtacks during the match with Abyss vs. Scott Steiner and Josh Mathews at Sunday’s Slammiversary event. After the match, Borash received medical attention and had his hands taped up.

Speaking of Borash and Mathews, they are expected to be returning to the announce table for commentary beginning with this week’s TV tapings.

Kurt Angle Says WWE Hasn’t Tested Him Yet for In-Ring Return

While speaking with ChannelGuideMag, Kurt Angle revealed that he has’t had any medical evaluations for a WWE in-ring return yet. He also revealed which WWE Superstars he’d like to face if he does get the opportunity to compete again.

“If that occurs, there is a lot of talent. There is talent I would like to revisit again like Brock Lesnar, John Cena, Randy Orton, Triple H, definitely. When I wrestled Triple H last time I had just started. I didn’t consider myself very good back then. So I think we would have a much, much better match right now. I’d love to get Samoa Joe or AJ Styles in a WWE ring. Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Cesaro, Sheamus. Even some of the 205 guys like Austin Aries and Neville. There is a lot of great talent right now. I would love to be able to mix it up with them. Hopefully, eventually it will happen down the line.”

As previously noted, Angle’s on-going storyline with Corey Graves is rumored to lead to Stephanie McMahon’s return to WWE television. This is expected to ultimately lead to a match between Angle and Triple H at WrestleMania.

Final Card for Sunday’s Slammiversary Event

The following matches are confirmed for Sunday’s Impact Wrestling Slammiversary event:

Title Unification Match
GFW Global Champion Alberto El Patron with Dos Caras vs. Impact World Heayweight Champion Bobby Lashley with King Mo

Title Unification Match
GFW Women’s Champion Sienna vs. Impact Knockouts Champion Rosemary

Fatal 4 Way for the Impact Tag Team & GFW Tag Team Titles
Laredo Kid & Garza Jr. vs. Naomichi Marufuji & Taiji Ishimori vs. Drago & El Hijo del Fantasma vs. The LAX

2 of 3 Falls for the X Division Title
Low Ki vs. Sonjay Dutt

Full Metal Mayhem Tag Team Match
Eddie Edwards and Alisha Edwards vs. Davey Richards and Angelina Love

Strap Match
James Storm vs. Ethan Carter III

Jeremy Borash & Joseph Park vs. Josh Mathews & Scott Steiner

DeAngelo Williams & Impact Grand Champion Moose vs. Chris Adonis & Eli Drake

Spoiler: Winner of the Independence Day Battle Royal

It was announced this past week that an Independence Day Battle Royal will take place on Tuesday’s episode of SmackDown Live next week. The winner of that bout will move on to face Kevin Owens for the WWE United States Championship at the July 23rd WWE Battleground event.

According to PWInsider, AJ Styles is expected to leave the battle royal victorious. Styles is currently scheduled to face Owens for the Title at Battleground. As of this writing, Styles is the only participant in the match, however more names will likely be revealed in the next couple of days heading into the match.

Rumored Stipulation Confirmed for WWE Battleground

PWInsider has confirmed speculation that WWE is planning on bringing back the Punjabi Prison match for the upcoming WWE Battleground pay-per-view event.

PWI claims that their sources have informed them that the match will indeed taking place on the card. The match is expected to see Jinder Mahal defend his WWE Title against Randy Orton. This will be the 3rd Punjabi Prison match in WWE history.

WWE Monday Night Raw Results – June 26, 2017

Welcome to Monday Night Raw for June 26 2017!

Last week’s Raw was a pretty stacked episode and ended with a shocking reveal: Big Cass was the one who attacked Enzo Amore! Weirdly enough, it was Corey Graves who revealed the information – because he has access to security footage where no one else did – and Cass admitted to it before explaining exactly why he did it. It was hard to disagree with anything Cass said before he planted his big boot in Enzo’s face and walked off to the boo’s of the WWE Universe. The break-up received mixed reactions as some thought the duo had run their course, where others wanted them to get at least one tag title run. Regardless, tonight’s Raw will be interesting to see how Enzo responds to his former brother.

A huge return also bolstered last week’s Raw, as Braun Strowman came back from injury to cost Roman Reigns the match against Samoa Joe. Strowman then walked down to the ring and reverse chokeslammed Roman. The two are set to meet again, at Great Balls of Fire, in an Ambulance Match! The winner of this bout will go on to face Broc….I mean, the winner of the Universal Championship match at Great Balls. Strowman’s return was awesome and the fans exploded for him. Expect more brawling tonight between the two giants.

Speaking of Brock Lesnar, the Champion is scheduled to appear on tonight’s Raw and once again cross paths with Samoa Joe. Maybe they will be kept apart, rather than trying to kill each other again, but one thing is for sure, when Brock is in town, everyone watches. Joe has been fantastic since becoming number one contender and, even if he doesn’t win the strap, at least we get a few more weeks of him being the destroyer that he is billed as!

Bray Wyatt and Seth Rollins have given a lot of lengthy promo’s against one and other recently, which often go around in circles and do little to help either man. Which is why tonight I’d like to see them actually put some actions behind their words and go toe-to-toe! Elsewhere, Finn Balor will be looking for revenge on Elias Samson, and The Miz will put his new entourage to good use against Dean Ambrose, but is Maryse gone for good?

All that and loads more to look forward to on tonight’s show! Let us know what you’re excited to see in the comments and be sure to check out the Ringside News app, and enjoy the show!