Here is your news for October 25, 2019
We're starting with some news from RAW today and after the love triangle between
Rusev, Lana and Lashley took a violent turn, the Bulgarian Brute is out for revenge.
During this week's RAW, Lana and Lashley were spotted enjoying a meal together
and taunting Rusev, who responded by fleeing the Rocket Morgage Fieldhouse
in Cleveland and finding the pair in the restaurant.
After choking Lashley in front of his wife, Rusev was arrested, but has
since been released, with a statement from WWE.com reading:
"WWE.com has confirmed Rusev was taken into custody by the Cleveland
Police Department on Monday and was released after no charges
were pressed by Bobby Lashley and Lana.
The Bulgarian Brute will be in attendance for Raw on Monday Night in Kansas City, Mo
following his chaotic attack on The All-Mighty at a local fine- dining establishment."
In a video, Lana revealed why she didn't press charges against her husband
saying that she didn't want to rob Lashley of the chance to punish the Bulgarian Brute
himself, when the two meet on opposing teams as part of the Team Hogan
Vs. Team Flair match at Crown Jewel.
The Saudi show is less than a week away, but neither man may be able to
wait that long in this highly- personal feud.
Now, it's been over three years since Adam Rose was released by WWE,
and the former party animal is a changed man from 2016.
Rose recently announced his retirement from wrestling, but is apparently
wrapping up some final dates, and has bulked up considerably.
In one post on social media, the Exotic Express leader said that at he is 258lbs
and growing, and credited his startling transformation to bulking up in the gym.
Fans may have a difficult time recognising Rose from the man they knew in WWE, but
what we do know is that the South-African star is spending a lot of time in the gym, and it shows.
From wrestling to MMA now, and reigning UFC Lightheavyweight Champion Conor McGregor
McGregor has confirmed that he will return to the cage on January 18th in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Speaking on a tour of Ukraine and Russia, McGregor said he has an opponent already
but didn't want to say it publicly in fear the UFC would switch it on him, and
whilst his tour was UFC heavy, Mystic Mac did find the time to namedrop WWE.
When asked about his future after the UFC, McGregor said Hollywood and maybe the
WWE, but admitted: "I've had a bit of beef with those guys over the years."
It's true that the Irish fighter has had a love-hate relationship with WWE
one moment badmouthing the company, and the next teasing an appearance.
If he does join, McGregor would join a growing list of fighters to crossover
including Ronda Rousey, Cain Velasquez and boxer Tyson Fury.
McGregor's fascination with WWE can be traced back to his beef with Sheamus in 2014,
but given that McGregor has had his fair share of problems with the law recently
it's understandable why WWE would be hesitant to bring him in.
More UFC news now, as TMZ reported yesterday that former two-division UFC Champion
Randy Couture is in intensive care in an LA hospital after suffering a massive heart attack.
Details are scarce right now, but the reports says Couture suffered the attack after a
workout at Jay Glazer's Unbreakable Gym, and somehow walked himself to the Hospital.
One of the faces of UFC in it's formative years, the 56-year- old fighter is a three-time
UFC Champion and known for his classic bouts against Tito Ortiz, Chuck Liddell and
Tim Sylvia, who he defeated in an underdog victory in March 2007.
The fourth UFC Hall of Fame inductee, Couture would lose the Heavyweight
title to Brock Lesnar, starting the Beast's solo title reign that'd last 707 days.
Nicknamed the Natural, Couture would retire after being knocked out by Lyoto Machido
at April 2011's UFC 129 event, ending his career with a 19-11 record in his late 40s.
We here at Slat Rock would like to send our best wishes to Couture and his family
at this time, and hope he makes a full recovery.
Back to wrestling now and the Wednesday Night War continues in it's fourth week
where both companies have suffered a hiccup.
Since the war between AEW Dynamite and NXT on USA started on October 2nd
each show has seen a decline in viewership each week, and this time was no different.
AEW once again defeated NXT, getting a total 963,000 fans tuning in, compared to WWE's
698,000, but both shows were expected to see a drop, because they were
up against the World Series and the start of the NBA season.
AEW Dynamite dropped for it's third straight week and NXT for it's fifth
though neither company will have to deal with the World Series next week,
so in theory, they should see an increase.
In the 18-49 demographic, AEW dominated again, garnering a 0.45 rating
according to ShowBuzz Daily, much better than NXT's 0.21 rating.
Despite the decline, AEW was still the fourth most-watched original cable telecast
telecast in the 18-49 demo, only being beaten by the two NBA on ESPN games and
American Horror Story on FX, while NXT checked in at 21st on the night.
For what it's worth, both Dynamite and NXT saw a small 0.01 gain in the 18-49
demo from last week's show, but that increase needs to be bigger soon.
We're looking ahead to tonight's SmackDown now, and wit tonight being the final edition
of the blue brand before Crown Jewel, the WWE are going all out to get fans tuning in.
This week, the company announced that Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan will be on
MIZ TV, with members of both their Crown Jewel teams present as well.
Hogan will be joined by Roman Reigns, Ali and Shorty G, Chad Gable,
whilst the Nature Boy will be joined by Shinsuke Nakamura and Baron Corbin.
This is all leading to the Saudi show on October 31st, where Reigns, Rusev, Ricochet
Ali and Gable will face Randy Orton, Corbin, Bobby Lashley, Nakamura and Drew McIntyre.
Also on tonight's show, the New Day's Kofi Kingston and Big E will face Dolph Ziggler
and Robert Roode, and Mandy Rose Vs. Nikki Cross has also been announced.
It'll certainly be an exciting night of TV for fans, but those fans should remember that
SmackDown is moving to FS1 for one night only this week because of the World Series.
Immediately after SmackDown, fans will get to see a special preview of WWE backstage
ahead of it's November 5th release date, and this will be the first of two
special preview episodes hosted by Booker T and Renee Young.
Fans certainly will want to catch this week's Backstage, which will feature
an appearance by Finn Balor, fresh off his heel-turn on NXT.
Speaking of the Gold brand, the latest WWE Now has posted it's latest injury
report from NXT, and unsurprisingly, Johnny Gargano was on top of the list.
The report lists Gargano as " not medically cleared" following Balor's attack
attack this week, after the Irishman delivering a shotgun dropkick through the railing
and spiked Gargano with a 1916 on the entrance ramp.
Taking out of the Full Sail Arena on a stretcher, Gargano was later given a CT scan to see
any head trauma and spinal injuries, and the future remains unclear on when he'll be back.
Gargano wasn't the only NXT star on the report, however, as Cameron Grimes
reportedly suffered a left hip pointer in his loss against Matt Riddle.
Grime's condition is currently listed as "day-to-day" and despite the reported injury, is
scheduled to face Tyler Bate on next week's show, after an alter cation between the two this week.
Fans should keep in mind that the NXT injury is a blend of kayfabe and reality
so take everything said with a pinch of salt.
Now, last week we covered WWE's attempts to purchase Stardom, and whilst the
deal fell flat, another promotion in the company's crosshairs is Dragon Gate.
According to the Wrestling Observer, the WWE reached out to the company
several months ago about a possible acquisition, and it's believed that this would likely
be the male half of the equation in launching the rumored NXT Japan division.
As for Stardom, the plan fell through due to WWE's lack of planning, as if they
had been bought, the all- female promotion would have had to change their entire
structure, and ditch their 100- 125 yearly house show schedule.
This proved to be too much for CEO Hirishi 'Rossy' Ogawa, who ultimately sold Stardom
to the parent company of New Japan, where they'll be run as an independent entity.
Although WWE failed in their attempts to purchase Stardom, the company had
some good news this week, as it surpassed 50 million subscribers on YouTube.
With this accolade, the promotion has eclipsed some of the biggest current names
in entertainment, including Justin Bieber, Dude Perfect, Ed Sheerhan and Taylor Swift.
With nearly 27 billion video views, WWE is the No.1 Sports channel on YouTube
ahead of the NBA, NFL, MLB, ESPN, and Nascar, and is also the 4th viewed channel
in the world, only behind T- Series, SET India and Cocomelon-Nursery Rhymes.
There's no shortage of WWE videos out there to watch on YouTube
and many of which include legendary commentator Jim Ross
who had some very strong words for his former employer.
Now a part of AEW, JR has been a constant supporter of the new brand and recently
responded to a comment by Universal Champion Seth Rollins about the promotion.
When asked about a dream match against Kenny Omega, Rollins referreed to AEW
as the minor leagues, in what is just the latest odd comment by the babyface
who has made snide remarks about Jon Moxley and New Japan's Will Ospreay this year.
Responding on his 'Grillin JR' show with Conrad Thompson,
the Oklahoma native didn't hold back, saying:
"I don’t know how many houses Seth has drawn that have sold out.
As another Hall of Famer has mentioned to me, it’s not about the individuals
being over or drawing the house or selling out, it’s about the WWE brand selling out.
Hence, the best illustration is WrestleMania. The brand name WrestleMania and the
parent company, the big dog in the yard, WWE is what sells tickets to WrestleMania under the
auspices that they’re going to do deliver a special show, opponents
and participants to be named. But Rollins he’s got a great spot, he’s blessed,
maybe someday he’ll be as over as his girlfriend, I don’t know, but nonetheless, I’ve always
liked his work. He’s a solid guy. He’s a solid guy, but saying things like that
make him look bad and for that I feel badly. I just do.”
Like an old-west style shoot out, Ross completely eviscerated the Universal Champion
with ease, and even went as far as to wonder whether Rollins is cracking
under the pressure of being WWE's number 1 guy, or feeling the heat
for his recent questionable public statements.
With that said, JR would also praise Rollins for all his incredible in-ring work
dating back to his time in Ring of Honor, and ended the segment by contemplating
whether the Beastslayer's recent comments had come out with WWE management in mind.
Whatever the truth is, JR certainly isn't afraid to make his feelings known, and hopefully
Rollins is wise enough to avoid bickering with one of the most beloved figures in all of wrestling.
Sticking with the AEW theme now, and as reported by ESPN, Jake Hager
will be bringing the new company to his next fight in MMA.
After joining Chris Jericho's inner circle on the pilot AEW Dynamite
Hager will have Sammy Guevara, Santana and Ortiz beside him
for this fight at the Connecticut Mohegan Sun for Bellator 231.
Currently undefeated, Hager will hope to extend his winning streak when
he faces the 29-year-old Anthony Garrett, who has a 4-2 record of his own.
The fight will air on the Paramount Network tonight at 9pm, with Hager's fight
being the first on the card which will also see former UFC Champ
Frank Mir clash with Roy Nelson for the second time.
Since his 2017 requested WWE release, Hager has had an interesting career
that's included several indie promotions, a blossoming MMA career, being the final
Lucha Underground champion and now being a part of the Inner Circle.
When speaking to Sports Illustrated recently, Hager was asked about his disappointing
end in WWE, the former WWE World Champion said:
"I was lost in the mix there [in WWE]. When I look now at guys like Cesaro
guys like Bobby Lashley, they’re just lost. When I look at them, that whole cloud of
doom comes right back over me. I’m so glad I’m not in that. It’s something you deal with
within big companies, but it’s also about how they treat their talent. They know
exactly what they’re doing, and I hate to say it, but it’s on purpose.”
He continued:
"“They want you lost in there so they can control you. They don’t control
me anymore. Now, I’m finally being portrayed in the way I always should have.”
Hager's theory of WWE keeping stars lost "on purpose" is interesting, and plays
into a couple of theories about how WWE have handled their massive
roster to create new stars over the past few years.
With the rise of AEW, it's no secret that WWE have started Stockpiling Superstars
with lavish contracts, but if WWE doesn't have any idea how to balance everyone
on the roster, it's easy for a talented star to get lost in the shuffle.
One big name that joined WWE recently is Cain Velasquez, who spoke
this week about his lucrative contract with the company.
Speaking to Adam Gyln, the former Two-time UFC Heavy weight Champion revealed
that his contract is for three years, which does leave the door open for multiple
WrestleMania appearances if he stays healthy.
It's still unclear how much WWE is paying Cain for his skill and star power
but given that he signed with them over various other potential promotions,
including AEW, his deal must obviously be very good for him.
And finally today we're ending with some news from AEW, as another
match has been added to their Full Gear Pay Per View.
After this week's Dynamite went off the air, the company set up
PAC Vs. Hangman Page for Full Gear, in what will be a physical match to say the least.
The show, which will take place at the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore
Maryland on Saturday, November 9th, already has plenty going for it,
including AEW World Champion Chris Jericho facing Cody Rhodes, Jon Moxley
facing Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks Vs. Santana and Ortiz.
Fans should expect more matches to be added to the show in the coming weeks
but for now, AEW Full Gear is shaping up to be another huge show by the new promotion.