Here’s your news for September 18 2019 WWE NEWS – WWE SMACKDOWN REVIEW Brock Lesnar Returns 2019 (Brock Lesnar Vs Kofi Kingston)
We're kicking off with some huge news from SmackDown Live today, as much like
this week's Monday Night RAW, there were several big names missing backstage.
This week, Vince McMahon was once again absent from the show, with his duties
being split across Bruce Prichard, Michael Hayes, Ed Kosky and Eric Bischoff
and the the Chairman was missing, the Blue brand was rocked by
an appearance by the Beast Brock Lesnar.
Joined by his advocate Paul Heyman, Lesnar was clearly in a fighting mood
and Heyman confirmed this by issuing a challenge to WWE Champion Kofi Kingston
for the debut episode of SmackDown on FOX on October 4th,
which will also be the 20th Anniversary of the show.
Accepting the challenge, Kingston met the Beast in the ring face to face
for a handshake, but was instead levelled with a devastating F5,
a similar sight to what happened to the New Day star four years ago,
when the pair met at the Beast in the East Network special.
This will be Brock's first match on WWE weekly TV since 2004, with the last match featuring
featuring the Beast taking place on the March 2nd,
2004 edition of SmackDown, where he defeated Bob Holly.
Though that episode featured Lesnar's last TV match, it's probably best remembered
for Brock showing his funnier side, riding to the ring on
Stone Cold Steve Austin's ATV to the Rattlesnake's music
Since his return in 2012, Lesnar has competed exclusively on Pay Per View, Network specials
and the odd Live event, though many are already calling him the next WWE Champion.
This week's SmackDown Live also saw Daniel Bryan appear, and though
he wasn't looking for an apology, he was looking for answers.
After last being seen being laid out by his former Tag Team partner Erick Rowan
on the September 3rd edition of the show, Bryan planted the seeds of a future babyface
turn this week, with a segment against Rowan.
After Bryan's promo, his former tag partner came out to the ring and demanded some respect
but before the two could come to blows, Luke Harper joined the fray to ambush the Eco-Warrior.
Although Roman Reigns quickly appeared in the show's closing segment to help Bryan, the Big
Dog was no match for Rowan and Harper, who then proceeded to destroy everything in sight.
The Bludgeon Brothers easily dispatched of the State Farm Arena's security team, and then
continued to destroy the ringside area, with commentator Tom Phillips also getting some.
This isn't the first time Bryan has locked horns with Rowan and Harper, but with the Big Dog
by his side, expect the two former World Champions to be in a fighting mood
next week, and a huge tag team match down the line.
In other news from SmackDown Live, recently fired Superstar Kevin Owens
just hit Shane McMahon with a $25,000,000 lawsuit.
This follows up from McMahon firing the Prize fighter on last week's show,
as Owens is claiming wrongful termination against the Best in the World.
If there's one things that can bore the WWE Universe, it's seeing the US legal system in action
so hopefully fans will get to see another Owens Vs. Shane
matchup in the ring, instead of the courtroom.
The feud between Shane and the former Universal Champion has been one of the best things
on SmackDown recently, and this lawsuit could see the pair face off in three weeks
at Hell in a Cell, but it's possible this angle has officially jumped the shark.
Though neither Owens or Shane can be in a good mood, one match who was feeling great
on SmackDown live was Baron Corbin.
The 2019 King of the Ring,Corbin was even more smug than usual as he received the
robe and sceptre, and demanded adoration, both from the crowd, and the man he beat
in the tournament finals, Chad Gable.
Making his way to the ring, Gable listened to a series of awful short jokes by the King
with Corbin even claiming no matter how hard the Olympian tries, he'll always come up short.
Gable responded in kind with an attack, hurling the King through his own throne, and beating
him with his own scepter, ripping his robe, and destroying the throne even more.
It'll be interesting to see what happens next in the feud between these two
as Corbin is quickly finding out it's hard to be the King.
More news from King Corbin now, as the new monarch appeared on the Not Sam Wrestling podcast
to speak about a very particular moment in his career.
During the talk, Corbin spoke about his Winner Takes All tag team match
at Extreme Rules earlier this year, and though Corbin and Lacey Evans were unable
to defeat the Power couple of Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins, the Lone Wolf
did make an impact by hitting Lynch with the End of Days.
Speaking about the segment, the King admitted that it was a surreal moment for him saying:
“I was curious about the reaction. It was one of the craziest reactions that I have ever heard
When you stand behind her and I’m getting up behind her and when I snatch her
and the fans are yelling, it’s almost dead quiet for a second. They couldn’t believe
I had done it. They popped and then booed. It was the most confusing
and greatest reaction of just pure, natural excitement and hatred.”
I even had to give some stuff to our social media team because I received death threats
after that; it was insane. People went way overboard, but people were like,
, ‘I’m coming to Raw to stab you. ’ It was crazy. I can’t remember but I called Seth Rollins
a piece of sh*t or something. I don’t know what it was, but I was so excited when I did that
and the reaction was so unreal and loud that I turned around and I was mad and whatever
I was feeling, it came out and it was so funny because it was totally natural
But I had to click back into the zone. It was a surreal moment that I will remember forever
Though Corbin nailing The Man with his finisher was shocking, no person should receive
death threats, as it's clear some fans shouldn't take wrestling so seriously.
We've got even more news about the new King of the Ring next, as though Randy Orton
isn't the one to usually offer praise, he made a special exception this week on Twitter.
Recently, Orton tweeted that Corbin "gets the art" of Pro Wrestling after Lance Storm
complimented the Lone Wolf on his work as a heel.
Now though, the Viper is taking it all back, claiming that some late night boozing
was responsible for his compliments, and even issued an apology to his peers.
Let this serve as another example of why you should never drink and tweet,
especially if you have 6 million followers like the Viper.
Back to SmackDown Live now, and though Charlotte Flair has been the victim of beatdowns
from the Boss 'n Hug Connection over recent weeks, this episode was much different.
After an introduction by Migos' Offset brought the Queen out, a match between
Flair and Banks took place, though it wasn't long until Bayley made an appearance.
From there, both Banks and Bayley took advantage of the 9-time Women's Champion
and this assault would have surely continued, if Carmella hadn't made the save.
Whilst a shocked Bayley looked on at the appearance of her real-life friend,
Carmella delivered a swift kick to the Boss' head, with Carmella and Flair teaming up
to send the former Women's Tag Team Champions out of the ring.
Over the past few months, the Staten Island Princess has been seen as the partner
of 24/7 Champion R-Truth, helping the rapping Superstar with his various escapades.
It's good to see that Carmella is more than a sidekick though, and it'll be interesting
to see what comes next for these four Superstars.
We're taking a break from WWE now, as former Superstar Big Caas
has issued a statement after his most recent incident,
Cass, who was fired from WWE last year, recently caused a scene at a Wrestle Pro event in Rahway
New Jersey, even getting into a fistfight with new WWE producer Pat Buck.
Now, the seven-footer has issued a statement via the social media of his friend Enzo Amore, saying:
"I have been very honest with my past struggles, and it has been an ongoing battle
On Saturday night, I obviously let my demons get the better of me and I ruined
an important night for a really great guy in an unfortunate series of events
I have worked incredibly hard to get where I am, and even harder to overcome
my ongoing battle with depression. But I will work my absolute hardest to right the wrongs
of Saturday night and apologize to Kevin Mathews, Pat Buck, Joey Janela
the entire WrestlePro locker room and all parties involved from the bottom of my heart.
I’m getting help from family and friends as we speak and will be getting professional help in the
near future and ask all to please respect my privacy in the meantime.
When & if I reemerge as a public figure it will be in good faith and I hope to inspire
those who struggle with the same mental health issues I do to seek the help they need
If Tyson Fury can do it....so can I. Remember...I ain’t dead yet. And neither are you."
Peace and love,
William Patrick Morrissey III"
A classy move by the former Superstar who knows what he did was wrong
Cass was responded to by Wrestle Pro's Kevin Matthews, who said in a tweet
that the entire company was behind him, and that they wish him health and happiness.
Though what Cass did at the show was obviously bad, it's good to see him own up to his mistakes
and the fact that Wrestle Pro are still supporting him
throughout this is a great ending to a troubling time.
Back in WWE now and former United States Champion Rusev made his return
to Monday Night RAW this week in a surprise to everyone.
Rusev, who lives in Nashville, Tenneessee, reportedly made a three hour drive
to Knoxville according to a report by PW Insider, who claimed:
“WWE had Rusev drive from Nashville, where he lives, to prevent his return
from leaking and then hid him until right before he was to come to the ring.”
Rusev's return was certainly a huge shock to fans, as the Bulgarian hasn't been seen
in a major match since Wrestle Mania 35, though he was one of the 50 participants
in the Battle Royal at Super Show Down.
With WWE taking drastic measures to make his return a surprise, it's clear the company
still see something in the three time former United States Champion,
though we'll just have to wait and see what comes of this storyline that claims
he is the father of Maria Kanellis' baby.
The WWE have gotten pretty good at keeping these huge surprise returns a secret
as they were able to pull off a huge shock at Clash of Champions with the return of Luke Harper
and on SmackDown Live this week with the return of Brock Lesnar.
Before Rusev was announced as the Baby Daddy, Maria claimed that the father
was actually Ricochet, an accusation that has left the highflyer's
girlfriend Kacy Catanzaro pretty peeved off.
Firing a tweet at the first ever pregnant 24/7 Champion, Catanzaro called Maria out
about lying about Ricochet, and even said she'd have to pay Maria a visit on RAW if she
did so again.
Catanzaro, who is currently competing in NXT, is no stranger to fighting the odds,
as she is also a former America Ninja Warrior Champion
someone Maria clearly doesn't want to mess with.
In response though, Kanellis kept her cool, sarcastically thanking Catanzaro for the follow
and to be fair to Maria, she probably received a lot worse tweets from other people.
Rusev coming out after Ricochet really makes us wonder what is going on,
and if he is the father of Maria's baby, what will Lana have to say about all this.
Things are certainly getting interesting on RAW to say the least, and with Maria, Rusev
Mike Kannellis, Lana, Ricochet and Catanzaro already involved in this escapade,
it seems like only Maury Povich will be able to get the truth out of the pregnant Superstar.
And finally, today we're ending with some Starrcade news, as WWE have confirmed
the WCW tradition will return again, on December 1st.
The event will eminate from the Infinite Energy Center in Duluth, Georgia,
and several major stars have already been announced.
Though the show will take place after next month's draft, the show will seemingly
be cross branded, featuring Universal Champion Seth Rollins, WWE Champion Kofi Kingston
SmackDown Women's Champion Bayley, United States Champion AJ Styles,
Roman Reigns, Sasha Banks, Charlotte Flair, Daniel Bryan and many more.
With the WWE network introducing a tiered plan in early next year, one idea that has been
suggested is allowing fans on the upper tiers watch live events.
With this in mind, Starrcade could be a great trial period for the company, to see if fans
would tune in to a house show atmposphere, and if so, how much they'll be willing to pay.