Seth Rollins doubts that he, Roman Reigns & Jon Moxley will ever reunite as a trio — unless it happens down the road at a WWE Hall of Fame induction.
To promote the new season of “WWE: Unreal,” Rollins and his wife Becky Lynch participated in an “Actually Us” interview for GQ. They fielded questions that have been posed on the internet, with Rollins addressing one post that asked if The Shield will ever get back together. Because Rollins and Reigns are rivals in storyline and Moxley is now with AEW, he thinks the chances are “very slim.”
“Not a lot of love lost between myself and Roman Reigns. Dean Ambrose — Jon Moxley — not currently with the company. Don’t know if he’s ever coming back,” Rollins said. “I would say chances are very slim. Maybe one day there will be a Hall of Fame induction where all three of us will be in the same place at the same time. I would say we’re looking at like a real, real [slim chance]. Maybe Kurt Angle [who once teamed with The Shield for one night] has a better chance.”
The Shield debuted for WWE in 2012 and last teamed together in 2019, when Moxley departed WWE for AEW. Moxley has been one of the faces of AEW throughout its existence, earning praise from Tony Khan as the most consistent presence in company history.
Rollins, who has been sidelined since October due to a shoulder injury, noted during the GQ interview that his rehab is going “quite well.” He’s hoping to make it back for WrestleMania 42, but that all depends on whether WWE will clear him in time.
“Ambrose can do what he wants. He’s a big boy. He’s got his big boy pants on, he can go out there and say whatever he wants, but the bottom line is not everyone is equipped to handle the rigors of the WWE and the schedule and how it affects you mentally and emotionally,” Rollins told Sports Illustrated when asked if Moxley’s interview with Chris Jericho put Rollins in an awkward position.
“Ambrose gave everything he had to the company for the entire time he was here. He put his heart and soul into the travel and the schedule and the injuries and the work in the ring and all that stuff, but at the end of the day, he took his ball and he went home, or he went elsewhere, at least.
“I think it’s a little presumptuous of him to get on a podcast and talk down about the company that gave him such opportunities, and he referenced some of those, he did talk about how he was thankful for the time he spent here and the fact that he was able to learn, meet his wife, and all that good stuff. Like I said, I love the guy. I love him, I’ll always love him, but at the end of the day, we share differing perspectives about what we want out of life and where we’re at in our own lives. I hope he does well, I’ve kept enough tabs on him to know he’s doing super well for himself right now and I’m happy for that, but I don’t think there’s any reason to hop on a soapbox and complain after the fact. You need to take the first step and that’s looking in the mirror and asking yourself, did you do every single thing you possibly could to make yourself and your situation what you want it to be. If the answer is yes you did, then you can go elsewhere and complain, and if you feel good about it, if that’s where he’s at mentally, then go right ahead, but if he hasn’t done that and looked in the mirror and made that decision, maybe he should think about that, and that goes for any other disgruntled talent, past or present.”
Rollins said he hasn’t spoken with Moxley about his comments and doesn’t feel that he needs to. Rollins added that there’s nothing but mutual love and respect between him and Moxley and said that Moxley is one of his favorite people in the entire world.
Rollins told Sports Illustrated that he feels extremely comfortable with the amount of input he gets in his matches, promos, stories, and schedule in WWE. He said he does things he doesn’t want to do at points, but sometimes that stuff works. Rollins noted that he can’t see things perfectly every time and doesn’t have the perspective others around him have.
The Sports Illustrated podcast with Rollins was recorded prior to yesterday’s episode of Raw. Rollins tweeted on Saturday that WWE is the “Best pro wrestling on the planet. Period.” He’s continued to stick up for the company in tweets since then. In the Sports Illustrated interview, Rollins said that he hopes he speaks for the other talent in WWE.
The former Dean Ambrose is coming to New Japan Pro Wrestling.
On his Twitter account tonight, Jon Moxley revealed that he’s the person NJPW has been hyping in their “Time’s Up” video. Moxley tweeted the video, which now ends with “Mox” appearing on the screen:
IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Juice Robinson has been the target of the video, and the date June 5, 2019 is included in it. That’s the day NJPW’s Best of the Super Juniors finals is taking place at Sumo Hall in Tokyo.
Moxley made a surprise appearance at AEW Double or Nothing on Saturday night, laying out Chris Jericho, Kenny Omega, and a referee at the end of the show. AEW announced that Moxley has signed a full-time, multi-year deal with them, but AEW president and CEO Tony Khan noted in his post-show media scrum that Moxley will also do some other international and indie dates.
Moxley will make his AEW in-ring debut at Fyter Fest in Daytona Beach, Florida on Saturday, June 29.
The former Dean Ambrose has joined All Elite Wrestling.
Jon Moxley made a surprise appearance at the end of tonight’s Double or Nothing pay-per-view. After the show, AEW tweeted out a graphic officially announcing that Moxley is All Elite.
Moxley’s appearance came after Chris Jericho defeated Kenny Omega in the main event. As Jericho was cutting a promo demanding to be thanked by AEW and the fans, Moxley came out through the crowd. He laid out Jericho with Dirty Deeds, then hit Dirty Deeds on the referee as well.
Omega brawled with Moxley after fighting out of Dirty Deeds. They fought through the crowd and to the stage, where AEW had a prop of oversized poker chips set up. Moxley hit Dirty Deeds on the poker chips and then slammed Omega off of them.
After WWE confirmed in January that Moxley would be leaving the company when his contract expired in April, Moxley had his last WWE match at “The Shield’s Final Chapter” on April 21. He teamed with Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins against Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley & Baron Corbin.
The former Dean Ambrose is set for a role in a mixed martial arts-themed movie.
Deadline reported today that Ambrose (real name Jonathan Good) has joined the cast of the action movie “Cagefighter.” The film is currently in pre-production.
Cagefighter “tells the story of a lauded MMA champion who unexpectedly loses a heavily promoted match to a professional wrestling star making his crossover debut in the MMA fighting world. Humiliated by the defeat, he must fight his way back to the top and earn his place for a rematch.”
WWE’s Christian (Jay Reso) is an executive producer on Cagefighter. Deadline notes that the movie features appearances by UFC fighters Anderson Silva, Georges St-Pierre, and Alexander Gustafsson and stars actors Michael Jai White, Gina Gershon, Josh Herdman, Michelle Ryan, and Jason Maza.
Ambrose had his final match for WWE on April 21, teaming with Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins against Baron Corbin, Bobby Lashley & Drew McIntyre. Ambrose departed WWE when his contract expired in April. On May 1, Ambrose released a video announcing that he’s returning to using the name Jon Moxley in professional wrestling.
In the video, Moxley can be seen forcibly breaking through what appears to be a brick wall inside a prison. Escaping from guards and dogs, he jumps a fence, grabbing barbed wire as he makes his way down. Clips of him training are shown as he is seen wrapping barbed wire around his fist. The word “MOX” then appears on the screen.
Ambrose has changed his Twitter name to Jon Moxley. His bio is “Professional.wrestler.”
It was confirmed in January that Ambrose would not be renewing his contract with WWE when it expired in April.
Ambrose had his last match for WWE on April 21 when he teamed with The Shield to defeat Baron Corbin, Bobby Lashley & Drew McIntyre at “The Shield’s Final Chapter,” which streamed live on the WWE Network.
‘The Shield’s Final Chapter’ is airing live on the WWE Network Sunday with WWE promoting it as the final time Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose will team together as a trio.
They will take on Baron Corbin, Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre in Ambrose’s last match in WWE. The special is airing from the Sunday Raw house show at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline, Illinois.
Reigns, Rollins & Ambrose also defeated Corbin, Lashley & McIntyre at March’s Fastlane pay-per-view.
WWE confirmed at the end of January that Ambrose wouldn’t be renewing his contract when it expires this month.
Reigns was drafted to SmackDown in the Superstar Shake-Up while Rollins, Corbin, Lashley, and McIntyre stayed on Raw. Intercontinental Champion Finn Balor moved to SmackDown in the Shake-up and will defend his title in a match on tonight’s special in addition to Bayley & Ember Moon vs. The Riott Squad.
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WWE Intercontinental Champion Finn Balor defeated Elias to retain
The show opened with Elias in the ring doing a song. He mocked the Shield, basically saying that Ambrose was the only one with enough sense to get out since there was no future for The Shield in WWE. Balor’s music interrupted. Balor claimed that he’s one of Elias’ biggest fans and he’s out because he wants to “Walk With Elias”. Elias asked him to sing with him and Balor sayid he’d be honored.
He sang “When I Love Elias”, you say “Yes I Do”. Balor sang (really badly) “When I say Elias sucks”, you say “Yes he does”. Elias didn’t like that and he attacked Balor and the ref called for the bell. Renee Young and Corey Graves joined Michael Cole on commentary and they were particularly annoying during this segment with Renee actually singing along to the “Yes I Do’ part.
Elias took most of the match but Finn made a comeback at the end and won with a La Magistral cradle (called that by Corey Graves) in about six minutes.
Elias stayed in the ring and was about to sing again when he was interrupted by The Riott Squad. They asked if they could be the Elias Squad just for tonight. All three members are back together for this show. Elias did the same song and the Squad sang along “Yes I Do”. They tried to change it to “When we say I love the Riott Squad”….Elias was cringing during this and their singing was thankfully stopped by Bayley’s music. She was joined by Ember Moon.
Bayley and Ember Moon beat The Riott Squad (Ruby Riott/Sarah Logan) w/Liv Morgan
The Squad got the heat on Bayley. She mad a hot tag to Moon who ran wild for awhile. She made the tag in to Bayley, who again was beaten up 2 on 1. Liv Morgan was interfering at ringside. She tagged in to Moon. Ruby got what appeared to be a three count with her foot on the ropes with Morgan holding her feet. The ref caught that and sent Morgan to the back. While this was going on, Moon went to the top rope and hit Riott with the Eclipse for the win in about eight minutes.
— We got a taped promo from The Shield, one with their old one camera, grainy footage style. They said they have been together for seven years, have always done things their own way and are doing it the same way tonight. They showed Cole, Young and Graves at ringside. Young was wearing a jean jacket with an Ambrose symbol on the arm and “The Dude” on the crest.
— We got highlights from earlier tonight with Lashley, Drew and Corbin breaking up a tag match involving Lucha House Party and the Singh Brothers, destroying all of them. Corbin then cut a promo saying this was just a preview of what they were about to do to The Shield.
The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins) defeated Drew McIntyre, Baron Corbin and Bobby Lashley
All three heels entered separately. Corbin got the special introduction, calling him the Quad Cities favorite son. He said that tonight won’t be a fairy tale ending. Just like he spoiled Kurt Angle’s retirement, he’s going to do the same thing to The Shield. Lashley took the mic and said they would be lucky to limp out of there after the beatdown they were about to get. Drew told the fans to get on their feet and show them the respect they deserve. He said you are only as good as your last match and after they destroy the Shield, they will be the new dominant force in WWE.
The Shield did the entrance through the crowd like they used to and all three were wearing their classic gear.
The first part of the match was Rollins getting the better of Lashley and Reigns doing the same on McIntyre. Ambrose hit a big dive to the outside on McIntyre, but Corbin and Lashley attacked before he could get back in the ring to turn the tide. Ambrose took most of the match before getting a hot tag to Rollins. Rollins eventually hit a hot tag to Reigns who ran wild on Lashley, hitting the big Superman punch. He eventually got a hot tag to Ambrose who quickly lost the advantage again.
The end came when Reigns hit a spear on Lashley, Rollins hit the curb stomp on McIntyre, and Ambrose hit Dirty Deeds on Corbin. That led to all three guys hitting the big powerbomb on Corbin for the pin with Rollins getting the nod.
Cole mentioned afterward how Ambrose was unselfish in not getting the pin himself after the Dirty Deeds but tagged in Rollins so he could get the pin in his hometown.
Crowd chanted “Thank you Ambrose” afterward and “Please don’t go”. Rollins joked that they tried telling him that already. Ambrose was selling injuries from the match, but Rollins and Reigns looked fine.
Rollins said that beating Brock Lesnar for the Universal title was the culmination of 15 years in the business and he couldn’t have done it without the support of his family and friends, many of whom are in the audience. He also said it wouldn’t be possible without the brotherhood that is The Shield. He said that he’ll always love The Shield and that “this is for us” and all three guys embraced which elicited a “Thank you Shield” chant.
Ambrose took the mic. He said that we (The Shield) are just like any of you and that if you set your mind to anything and Seth Rollins, who is from right here, is proof of that. He brought up how Reigns came back from something worse than anyone can imagine and he’s here. The Shield is about breaking down doors and doing what others don’t think are possible and if someone tells you that you can’t do something, break down the door, stick your middle finger in the air and tell them The Shield said that you could. Another “Thank You Ambrose” chant and they did The Shield fist bump as their music played.
WWE is promoting that The Shield’s final match as a trio will stream live on Sunday night.
“The Shield’s Last Chapter” will air live on the WWE Network at 9:30 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday (April 21). It will feature Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose’s final match as a team, though WWE has yet to announce their opponents.
An Intercontinental title defense by Finn Balor will also air on the broadcast. His opponent is to be announced.
Raw’s Sunday night house show is taking place at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline, Illinois.
The Shield held a sendoff for Ambrose after last Monday’s Raw in Brooklyn, New York went off the air. Dave Meltzer reported that Ambrose is at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada for tonight’s Raw. Ambrose’s contract with WWE expires this month, and WWE confirmed in January that he will be leaving when his contract is up.
The Shield most recently teamed together in the main event of March’s Fastlane pay-per-view, defeating Baron Corbin, Bobby Lashley & Drew McIntyre. That was also promoted as Reigns, Rollins & Ambrose’s final match as a team.
A sendoff for Dean Ambrose took place after last night’s Raw went off the air.
Seth Rollins spoke on the mic and said there’s one more thing he wanted to do before the night was over. He asked Roman Reigns to come out to the ring, then asked Ambrose to do the same.
Rollins thanked Ambrose and told him he loves him. Ambrose said Rollins winning the Universal Championship and Reigns returning now that his leukemia is in remission are two of the sweetest sights he’s ever seen.
Ambrose talked about The Shield’s history at the Barclays Center and it being where they made their in-ring debut, but he said the fans are what makes a building. Ambrose said there are no fans like the ones who come from all over the world for WrestleMania week.
Ambrose thanked the crowd and bowed to them. The Shield then posed to close the show.
On last night’s Raw, WWE promoted that Ambrose would be having his final match in the company. The match never got started, with Ambrose attacking Bobby Lashley when Lashley said he’ll make sure to take care of Renee Young when Ambrose is gone.
After Lio Rush getting involved in the brawl distracted Ambrose, Lashley speared Ambrose on the stage and put him through the announce table.
WWE confirmed on January 29 that Ambrose wouldn’t be renewing his contract when it expires in April. Here’s the statement they released at the time: “Dean Ambrose (Jonathan Good) will not be renewing his contract with WWE when it expires in April. We are grateful and appreciative of all that Dean has given to WWE and our fans. We wish him well and hope that one day Dean will return to WWE.”
Video of last night’s post-Raw segment is available to watch below:
Though the road getting here was as convoluted as possible, WWE has finally confirmed Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch for WrestleMania 35.
Storyline suspensions, injuries, and even an “arrest” for Lynch, the McMahons getting involved and Vince replacing Lynch with Charlotte, Charlotte fully turning heel and Rousey turning against the crowd, and dozens of tweets all led to Lynch facing Charlotte at Fastlane. The stipulation was that if Lynch won, the Raw Women’s Championship match at WrestleMania would officially become a triple threat.
One of the two biggest issues of the year, the awards issue, is out right now.
The awards issue contains not only the award winners, but also top placeholders in every category and an all-time history of award winners dating back to 1980.
Have a look at the career and life of Dick “The Destroyer” Beyer, from football to college wrestling to TV stardom in Japan to teaching school. It’s really an amazing story of one of the first Americans to become a TV celebrity in Japan and the greatest American masked wrestler of all-time.
Read full coverage of the road to WrestleMania with most of the card as well as full coverage of Fastlane with a match-by-match rundown with star ratings, poll results and business notes.
Look at SummerSlam tickets, WWE creative, Bruce Prichard, Jeff Jarrett, AEW vs. WWE, Takeover Brooklyn’s complete card, newcomers to WWE this week, Dwayne Johnson award, Harlem Heat Hall of Fame notes, WrestleMania 2020 week updates, new WWE hire, WWE ticket sales, WWE stock price, most watched shows of the past week no the WWE Network plus notes from all the weekend house shows with results, angles and business.
This issue has updated coverage of the New Japan Cup, with this week’s shows, a rundown of every match so far in the tournament and an updated look at the brackets.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.
In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.
For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell,CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.
TUESDAY NEWS UPDATE
By Joseph Currier and Bryan Rose
WWE
SmackDown tonight is at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN. It will feature a gauntlet match pitting Kofi Kingston against Randy Orton, Samoa Joe, The Bar and Rowan. If Kingston can get through all five wrestlers, he’ll get a WWE title match at WrestleMania. Also advertised is The Miz responding to Shane McMahon, as well as Women’s Tag Team Champions Sasha Banks & Bayley facing Peyton Royce & Billie Kay in a non-title match.
205 Live’s number one contender’s tournament will conclude tonight with Cedric Alexander facing Tony Nese in the finals. The winner will challenge for Buddy Murphy’s Cruiserweight Championship at WrestleMania 35.
Kurt Angle posted on Instagram about facing Baron Corbin at WrestleMania: “My farewell match will be against Baron Corbin at Wrestlemania. I realize it’s not the most popular decision from a fan’s perspective… BUT I will make Corbin tap out on the biggest stage of them all…. and I Hope you can share this moment/accomplishment with me on April 7th. Baron is a legit tough guy. It won’t be easy but it never is. #itstrue #wrestlemania35 #wwe #wrestling”
Total Bellas on Sunday fell to 395,000 viewers, down from last week’s 441,000, a new series low.
Although PWInsider had a report yesterday that Sin Cara signed a new contract with WWE, he took to Twitter to say he has not, a play off of AJ Styles’ tweet saying he had re-signed.
Ray Leppan, the former Adam Rose, announced his full-time retirement from professional wrestling. Leppan wrote that he’ll be fulfilling his dates that are currently booked, but he isn’t taking new ones.
Ahead of challenging for Jay Lethal’s ROH World Championship at Pro Wrestling Association’s Passover Bash 2019 in Israel on April 21, David Starr cut a promo on Sinclair Broadcasting and their politics.
Donald Cerrone’s next fight has been confirmed. He’ll face Al Iaquinta on May 4 in Ottawa, according to Brett Okamoto.
Ariel Helwani tweeted about Cerrone vs. Iaquinta: “The booking of Cerrone vs. Iaquinta could very well clear the path for McGregor vs. Diaz 3 happening later this year. Developing.”
Ed in San Antonio presents the WRESTLEMANIAWeekend Events (more to be added):
Saturday, April 6th, at 12:00 pm: Lunch (all you can eat) at Churrascaria Plataforma ($90 per person), located at 316 W. 49th street in Manhattan. Purchase tickets here~!
Luxury Bus to MetLife Stadium for Wrestlemania: We will depart from the Hilton Midtown (site of Wrestlecon) located at 1335 Avenue of the Americas. Departure time is 4:00 pm and will return from MetLife approximately 30 mins after the event. Times are subject to change, and cost $67.00 per person for the round trip. Purchase tickets here~!
A title change took place on this week’s episode of Raw.
Bobby Lashley defeated Finn Balor to win the Intercontinental Championship. This is Lashley’s second reign with the title. He won it from Dean Ambrose on the January 14 episode of Raw and then dropped it to Balor at Elimination Chamber, though Balor pinned Lio Rush in a handicap match to win the championship.
The finish of tonight’s match was Rush distracting Balor as Balor was going for the Coup de Grace. Balor kicked Rush and went for a springboard move on Lashley, but Lashley gave him a spear and mid-air and pinned him to become Intercontinental Champion. Lashley and Rush celebrated together after the match.
Lashley teamed with Baron Corbin & Drew McIntyre in the main event of Fastlane on Sunday night, with them losing to The Shield (Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose). Finn Balor didn’t wrestle at the pay-per-view.
We’re looking for your thoughts on last night’s Fastlane from Cleveland so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]” target=”_blank”>[email protected]
We’re also looking for reports tonight from Raw in Pittsburgh with anything that happened off Raw as well as reports from the Smackdown house show in Youngstown, OH to [email protected]
Raw is Monday night from Pittsburgh. Ronda Rousey, Dave Bautista, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins are all scheduled.
Smackdown and 205 Live will be taped on Tuesday night in Dayton. 205 Live has the semifinals of the tournament for a WrestleMania shot at Buddy Murphy’s cruiserweight title with Tony Nese vs. Drew Gulak and Oney Lorcan vs. Cedric Alexander.
NEW JAPAN CUP ON WEDNESDAY MORNING AT 6 A.M. EASTERN FROM OKAYAMA ON NEW JAPAN WORLD
“When I made my announcement, I said that I was going to swing for the fences. We did better than that, y’all. We didn’t just swing for the fences, we hit a home run.”
The entire professional wrestling world breathed the sigh of relief they’ve been waiting four months for as Roman Reigns announced last Monday that his leukemia is in remission.
Reigns shared the positive update while appearing on WWE television for the first time since revealing his battle with leukemia, which had returned 11 years after he was first diagnosed with the disease.
Read the update on the situation with Roman Reigns as the lead story in the new issue of the Observer, talking about his leukemia diagnosis with more details as to the strain, his health situation and what he did in his four months away as well as other athletes with similar strains.
This issue has a major story on the career of Chris “King Kong Bundy” Pallies. Look at how he broke into wrestling, the irony of his very first match, his first role, his first push, where the King Kong Bundy name came from, where the five count came from, what pop culture characters he inspired, the story behind his famous WrestleMania matches including one that has rarely been talked about.
Also look at Jushin Liger’s retirement announcement. Read about his background, how he got started in pro wrestling, his New Japan Dojo legendary class, who he idolized and copied, his first match with the gimmick and what the plans are for his retirement.
This issue has an update on Tommaso Ciampa regarding the nature of his surgery, and what decisions NXT has to make.
Look at the career of Harley Race, how he broke into wrestling, the run that made him a national star and how he got the NWA world title, and how close he came to being champion a second time before it happened more than a year later.
Read full coverage of UFC 235, with all the highlights, business notes, and match-by-match coverage and poll results. Also look at contracted base pay for the show.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.
In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.
For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell,CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.
MONDAY NEWS UPDATE
Bryan and I will be back tonight covering Raw and the rest of the wrestling news with Wrestling Observer Radio. You can send question to the show to [email protected]
Also want to mention the show Garrett and I did with Mike Tenay yesterday, that so many have enjoyed. Like I mentioned yesterday, this is a very different show than we’ve done before and it was only due to the closeness of Tenay with The Destroyer that the show happened.
Regarding Dean Ambrose, I think anyone who watched that PPV and heard that commentary would think Ambrose is staying. I was told last night it wasn’t the case, or at least that he hasn’t signed (and granted those are two different things). They are doing a Shield tribute tonight so I think that will all be answered in a few hours based on however the angle goes down. Roman Reigns had a WrestleMania match (obviously) that is being kept secret and given we’ve only got a few shows left, hints could be coming tonight.
Tickets for New Japan in London and Dallas go on sale Wednesday. Based on advance codes, London is expected to sell out. Dallas is something that right now there is no indication about, but will be very interesting, since it is a G-1 show and people won’t know the lineup this week. It’s the first attempt at a major NBA arena in the U.S., and without Kenny Omega, Cody and The Young Bucks.
The funeral for Dick Beyer will be Saturday at 10 a.m. at One Church, 6 Scotland Road, Akron, NY 14001. Contributions can be made to either Hospice Buffalo or the Ilio DiPaolo Scholarship Fund. For those wanting to send message you can to www.mcandrewfuneralhomes.net
Regarding interest in the weekend shows. Fastlane had 200,000 searches yesterday, putting it in 10th place among every term in the U.S. on Google. Saturday’s UFC show on ESPN+ had 100,000 searches, putting it in 11th place for the day.
WWE sent out a release today pushing that they now have 1 billion social media followers. That’s a number adding up every account combined, meaning there are likely fans counted 30 or 40 or even 100 times if they follow everyone through all the different platforms. They count this as 501 million on Facebook, 226 million on Instagram, 221 million on Twitter, and 46 million on YouTube.
WWE
The movie Changeland, “which Randy Orton is a co-star in, is scheduled for a theatrical release on 6/7.
Valentina Shevchenko vs. Jessica Eye for the flyweight title looks to be happening on the 6/8 UFC PPV show in Chicago. Also announced for that show is Nina Ansaroff vs. Tatiana Suarez in a match which could determine a contender for the strawweight title.
MISCELLANEOUS
Limitless Wrestling in front of 500 fans Saturday in Westbrook, ME: MJF became the company’s first champion in a fatal four-way over Ace Romero, Anthony Greene, and JT Dunn; Chris Dickinson defeated Tommy Dreamer in a hardcore match; Teddy Hart defeated Darby Allin; Jay Freddie and Put defeated The Butcher & The Blade; Ashley Vox defeated Brandon Kirk; Kris Statlander defeated Christian Casanova; Maine State Posse defeated The Shook Crew; The Platinum Hunnies defeated Brett Domino in a handicap match; Brad Hollister won a six-way over Josh Briggs, Pat Buck, Antoine Nicolas, Jake Something, and Donovan Danhausen. Next show on May 10 with Ethan Page.
Demand Lucha on 4/18 in Toronto with Joey Ryan, Rory Gulak, Phil Atlas and others.
Psicosis, Mentallo and Austrian MMA fighter Marin Pain headline for CWE on 3/26 in Rosau River First Nation, MB and the Ginew School Gym.
Tickets are on sale now for MLW on 6/1 in Waukesha, WI at the Expo Center. Announced on the show are Tom Lawlor, L.A. Park The Hart Foundation, Pentagon Jr., Rey Fenix, Low Ki, Salina de la Renta, El Hijo de L.A. Park, Simon Gotch, Jacob Fatu, Josef Samael, Ace Romero, Mance Warner and more.
The final night of the WSW tour of Australia from today in Sydney: Marty Scurll b Mick Moretti, Joey Ryan & Concrete Davidson b Matty Wahlberg & Carter Deams, Jack Bonza b Matt Diamond, Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky b Mikey Broderick & Slex, Bandido b Flamita, Brian Cage b Christopher Daniels, Jordynne Grace b Shazza McKenzie in a women’s title match, Robbie Eagles b Austin Aries to keep the WSW title. The whole locker room paid tribute to Abyss, in his final appearance with the promotion since he’s now a producer with WWE.
Woman wrestler Leon apparently had her purse stolen in the U.K. Promoter Dan Read was super upset about it and feels that the U.K. will look bad to those in Japan because of it. A Go Fund Me for her regarding the losses which was close to being met at last word. It’s at https://www.gofundme.com/pro-wrestling-eve-fund-for-leon
All Star Wrestling on 3/22 in Chilliwack, BC at the Tzeachten Hall.
Matt Morgan will return to the ring on Saturday teaming with Deon James vs. Chico Adams & Braydon Knight at Team Vision Dojo in Orlando.
USA Championship Wrestlnig’s Tribute to Eddie Gilbert from Saturday in Jackson, TN: Chris Styles & Brandon White b Big Gravy & Alex May, Kevin Zion b Colorado Kid, Jimmy & Gary Valiant b Tony & LT Falk, Tom Prichard b Christian James, Jake Law & Matt Boyce b Starr Twins to win the tag titles, Jerry Lawler & Doug Gilbert b Tommy Rich &Matt Riviera. Bill Dundee was in the corner of Colorado Kid. Phil Hickerson was also there. Kevin Lawler was there as Freddie Gilbert. Riviera broke a beer bottle over Jerry Lawler’s head and Lawler came back to throw fire at Riviera.
MCW on 3/31 in Joppa, MD at the MCW Arena has Corey Graves and Renee Young appearing. The show will be at 2:30 p.m. that Sunday.
IWA East Coast on 3/16 in Nitro, WV at the King’s Way Outreach Center.
Ed in San Antonio presents the WRESTLEMANIAWeekend Events (more to be added):
Saturday, April 6th, at 12:00 pm: Lunch (all you can eat) at Churrascaria Plataforma ($90 per person), located at 316 W. 49th street in Manhattan. Purchase tickets here~!
Luxury Bus to MetLife Stadium for Wrestlemania: We will depart from the Hilton Midtown (site of Wrestlecon) located at 1335 Avenue of the Americas. Departure time is 4:00 pm and will return from MetLife approximately 30 mins after the event. Times are subject to change, and cost $67.00 per person for the round trip. Purchase tickets here~!
An angle with Ronda Rousey closed Raw’s go-home show for Fastlane.
Rousey interrupted Stephanie McMahon, Becky Lynch, and Charlotte Flair in the main event segment. She said she didn’t vacate the Raw Women’s Championship last week, she gave Stephanie a week to think about things and add Lynch to the match at WrestleMania. Rousey got her title back from Stephanie.
Rousey then cut a promo where she spoke out against the fans. She brought up that the crowd booed her out of the Staples Center and people chant for Lynch while Rousey’s working her ass off to entertain them. She then kicked Charlotte and put the armbar on Lynch three times, with Charlotte backing away instead of getting involved.
Lynch vs. Charlotte is set for Sunday’s pay-per-view. The stipulation is that — if Lynch defeats Charlotte — she’ll be added to the Raw Women’s title match at WrestleMania, officially making it Rousey vs. Lynch vs. Charlotte.
The Shield also reunited and will face Baron Corbin, Drew McIntyre & Bobby Lashley at Fastlane, and Triple H responded to Batista after Batista returned and attacked Ric Flair last week.
The Shield has reunited once again, with the trio taking on the new team of Baron Corbin, Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre at Fastlane.
Roman Reigns started off Raw tonight noting that life was too short, and he wanted to reunite the Shield one last time. He called out Rollins and, after some debating, eventually agreed. Dean Ambrose came out to give his response, but before he could answer ended up being laid out by Elias.
The two had a match later on Raw, with Elias picking up the win. Reigns and Rollins came out to persuade him to rejoin the Shield. Ambrose exited the ring and headed through the crowd, seemingly rejecting the offer. Corbin, McIntyre and Lashley then came out, with McIntyre saying they were going to end this now. They attacked Rollins and Reigns until Ambrose made up his mind, coming in for the save. The trio then did their signature pose.
Fastlane will take place this Sunday at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
The Nia Jax vs. Dean Ambrose “intergender special attraction match” that had been advertised for a WWE house show later this month won’t be happening.
Jax vs. Ambrose had been advertised via a commercial for Raw’s house show in Jonesboro, Arkansas on Friday, February 22, but WWE has confirmed to Dave Meltzer that the match isn’t happening.
Ambrose has lost to EC3 at Raw’s house shows this weekend. Jax and Tamina have taken part in angles where they’ve attacked Bayley, Natalya & Dana Brooke after six-woman tag matches where Bayley, Natalya & Brooke defeated Mickie James, Alicia Fox & Nikki Cross.
Jax was an entrant in last month’s men’s Royal Rumble match. She’s been involved in segments with Ambrose on Raw over the past two weeks. On the post-Royal Rumble episode, she struck Ambrose and sent him out of the ring when his attention was turned away from her.
WWE confirmed on January 29 that Ambrose won’t be renewing his contract when it expires in April.
