Tag: Gran Metalik

WWE SmackDown live results: Two title matches

Posted on by Dave Bath

With the WWE Draft one week away, tonight’s SmackDown takes place at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio.

Intercontinental Champion Gunther defends his title against Xavier Woods tonight. After Woods defeated LA Knight last week, he interrupted Gunther’s meeting with Imperium. Woods demanded a title shot since it could be his last chance because of the Draft.

The WWE Women’s Tag Team titles will also be on the line as Raquel Rodriguez & Liv Morgan defend against Sonya Deville & Chelsea Green. Deville and Green interrupted Rodriguez and Morgan’s celebration last week, leading to tonight’s contest.

Ricochet and Braun Strowman are out for revenge when they take on The Viking Raiders. Last week, The Viking Raiders attacked Ricochet and Strowman backstage.

A no DQ match between Matt Riddle and Solo Sikoa will headline tonight’s show. The feud between the LWO and Judgment Day will also continue as Rey Mysterio & Santos Escobar take on Finn Balor & Damian Priest.

Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

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– Michael Cole and Wade Barrett ran down the lineup for tonight.

– They recapped Damien Priest attacking his former friend Bad Bunny. 

Judgment Day (Damien Priest & Finn Balor) defeated LWO (Rey Mysterio & Santos Escobar) (11:29)

Priest and Balor defeated Mysterio and Escobar in a fun opener. The focus was on Bad Bunny’s appearance this Monday on Raw. 

Mysterio was in control until Priest blocked a moonsault. Judgement Day took over, isolating Mysterio on their side of the ring. Balor slowed the pace down with a chin lock. Mysterio fought back with a bulldog, tagging in Escobar. Escobar was firmly in control, sending Priest into Balor. Escobar and Mysterio worked together to clear the ring. 

Mysterio missed a splash to the floor. Escobar set up for a dive, but Balor wiped him out with a clothesline as they went to a break. 

Escobar and Priest traded stiff shots. Priest took over with a kick to the head. He slowed the pace with a chin lock. Escobar tried to fight back, but Priest recovered. Escobar rocked Priest with a dropkick, and Mysterio got the hot tag. Mysterio ran wild on Balor with a senton and middle rope crossbody for a near fall. Mysterio sent the legal man Priest to the floor. Instead, Mysterio caught Balor with the 619, allowing Escobar to hit a splash. Priest sent Mysterio into the ring post and hit South of Heaven on Escobar for the win. 

After the match, Priest addressed Bad Bunny appearing on Raw this Monday. He hopes it goes better for Bad Bunny this time. 

********* 

– Cole and Barrett recapped Solo Sikoa beating Matt Riddle and hitting the spinning Solo onto the announce table last week. 

– Zelina Vega approched Adam Pearce. Like everyone else, she doesn’t know where she will end up after the draft. Vega demanded a title shot against Rhea Ripley at Backlash. As a Puerto Rican, she deserves the chance to beat Ripley in Puerto Rico. 

– An excellent video package looked at Shinsuke Nakamura. 

Karrion Kross addressed Nakamura backstage. He noted it wasn’t his fault he hurt people; it was the cards. He discussed everything he took away from Drew McIntyre, Madcap Moss, and Rey Mysterio. Next, he’s going to take away Nakamura’s honor.

***********

Ricochet & Braun Strowman defeated The Viking Raiders (w/Valhalla) (10:14)

These two teams never disappoint when they face off. Everyone worked hard and had the fans on their feet by the end of the match. 

Strowman and Ricochet had the early advantage. The Raiders made a blind tag, isolating Strowman in their corner. Strowman fought back and tagged in Ricochet. He threw Ricochet at the Raiders, but it looked like it hurt Ricochet more. Ricochet cleared the ring and wiped out the Raiders with dive. 

During the break, Valhalla caused a distraction, allowing the Raiders to take over. Ricochet broke free, tagging in Strowman. Strowman took out Ivar with a shotgun dropkick. The Strowman express ran over Ivar and Erik at ringside. Valhalla caused another distraction, giving the Raiders the advantage. Ivar hit a huge splash for a close near fall. 

Ricochet tagged in and rocked Ivar with a kick to the head and a jumping knee. Strowman threw Ricochet into Ivar and sent Erik to ringside. Ricochet then hit a Swanton bomb off Strowman’s shoulders for the win. 

*****************

WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Raquel Rodriguez & Liv Morgan defeated Sonya Deville & Chelsea Green to retain the titles (6:08)

The champions retained the titles in a solid match. Deville and Green weren’t credible challengers, but they’re entertaining. They managed to tell a pretty good story about water. 

They recapped Chelsea Green throwing water on Liv Morgan on Monday’s Raw. 

Deville and Green cut a promo on the way to the ring. Green pretended to throw water at Morgan as she did on Raw. Rodriguez had to hold back a furious Morgan. 

Morgan caught Green with a dropkick at the bell. The champions were firmly in control as they beat down Deville. Deville briefly fought back. Rodriguez tossed Green around the ring. Green sent Rodriguez to ringside and went for a suicide dive. Rodriguez caught Green, but Deville took her out with a knee. 

Morgan took out the heels with a dive. The heels quickly took over, cutting Morgan off from her corner. The heels kept trying to win with their feet on the ropes, but the referee caught them each time. 

Morgan escaped, and Rodriguez got the hot tag. Rodriguez hit the Vader bomb-twisting elbow, but Deville broke up the pin attempt. Morgan caught Green with a backstabber, but Deville took her out with a boot to the face. The finish came when Morgan threw water in Green’s face, allowing Rodriguez to roll her up for the win.

 ***********

– Kayla Braxton spoke with Matt Riddle. She wonders if facing Solo Sikoa a few weeks before Backlash is a good idea. He knows Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens aren’t there, but he’s not worried. He promised to beat Sikoa later. 

**********

Intercontinental Champion Gunther defeated Xavier Woods to retain the title (10:36)

Gunther beat Woods in an excellent, hard-hitting match with a hot crowd. Gunther was awesome, like always, but Woods was impressive too. 

They started slow trading moves back and forth. Woods had a brief advantage until Gunther took over with a chop. Woods tried fighting back, but Gunther destroyed him with more chops. Gunther slowed the pace with a sleeper. Woods tried to escape, but Gunther rocked him with another chop. 

Woods fought back with forearm shots. He avoided Gunther, slid through his legs, and hit an elbow. Gunther rolled to ringside to get away. Woods wasted no time, hitting a dive to the floor. Gunther tried to slow Woods’s momentum with a chop. Woods recovered, pushed Gunther down, and hit a giant leg drop off the top rope for a close near fall. The fans broke into a “New Day Rocks” chant. 

Woods escaped a powerbomb and went for a series of pin attempts. Gunther kicked out of an O’Connor roll into the sleeper for the win. 

*************

– A video package recapped Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens beating The Usos for the titles at WrestleMania 39.

The Usos Segment

The Usos entered the ring. They talked about losing the titles at WrestleMania. People kept asking them how they felt. Before Backlash, they have a rematch with Zayn and Owens next week. They promised to win the titles and bring them to the Bloodline and Roman Reigns. They introduced Solo Sikoa. 

No Disqualification Match: Solo Sikoa defeated Matt Riddle (14:04)

Sikoa defeated Riddle in a fantastic main event. They beat the hell out of each other with kendo sticks and chairs. There was even an exploder suplex on four upright chairs. The fans were going crazy by the end of the match. 

Riddle jumped Sikoa from behind during his entrance. Sikoa quickly took over and pulled out kendo sticks and chairs from under the ring. Riddle tried to use them first, but Sikoa cut him off. Sikoa beat Riddle with the kendo stick. The fans broke into a “We want tables” chant. 

Riddle recovered and destroyed Sikoa with the Kendo stick. Riddle teased pulling out a table to a giant pop. Sikoa cut him off to loud boos. Riddle recovered and hit the bro-ton off the steps. 

Back from the break, Sikoa hit a Samoan drop for a near fall. Sikoa put  Riddle in the corner with the chair on his face. He went for the splash, but Riddle threw the chair in his face instead. Riddle sent Sikoa into another chair. He then kneed the chair into Sikoa’s face. Riddle followed with an exploder onto four upright chairs. Sikoa rolled to the floor to recover. Riddle tried going after him, but Sikoa grabbed his leg, slamming him on the apron. 

Sikoa tossed Riddle over the announce table and tried to flip it over like last week. Instead, Riddle used his leg strength to block Sikoa. Riddle regained control and turned the table onto Sikoa. That’s when The Usos ran out, attacking Riddle. He fought them off, wiping them out with the floating bro.

Sikoa emerged from under the table. Riddle tried to cut him off with a flash knee. Riddle hit the ropes, but Sikoa hit a flying Samoan Spike for the win. 

After the match, The Usos gave Riddle the 1 D through a table to end SmackDown. 

********

Next Week: The WWE Draft begins on next week’s episode. In a WrestleMania main event rematch, Undisputed Tag Team Champions Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens defend their titles against The Usos. 

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World title defense announced for ROH TV

Posted on by Joseph Currier

A World Championship match is set to air on this week’s episode of Ring of Honor television.

On ROH TV this Thursday night, Claudio Castagnoli will put his ROH World Championship on the line against Metalik (Mascara Dorada). The episode airs on HonorClub starting at 7 p.m. Eastern time.

Castagnoli is coming off a successful title defense against Eddie Kingston at Supercard of Honor. He’s held the ROH World title since defeating Chris Jericho at Final Battle last December.

Metalik was part of an ROH Six-Man Tag Team title match at Supercard of Honor. The Embassy (Brian Cage, Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona) defeated Metalik, AR Fox & Blake Christian to retain the titles.

The matches airing on this Thursday’s ROH TV were taped in Rhode Island at AEW Rampage/Battle of the Belts VI last week.

The full lineup for the episode can be seen below:

  • ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli defends against Metalik
  • Mark Briscoe vs. Ari Daivari
  • Proving Ground match: ROH Women’s World Champion Athena vs. Ashley D’Amboise
  • Katsuyori Shibata & Alex Coughlin vs. The WorkHorsemen (JD Drake & Anthony Henry)
  • Stu Grayson vs. Tony Nese
  • Mike Bennett vs. Darius Martin
  • Skye Blue vs. Kelly Madan
  • Wheeler Yuta vs. Tracy Williams
  • Willow Nightingale vs. Little Mean Kathleen

Six-Man Tag Team title match added to ROH Supercard of Honor

Posted on by Ian Carey

The Six-Man Tag Team Championships will be defended at Supercard of Honor. 

Tony Khan revealed on Monday that The Embassy will put their titles on the line against AR Fox, Blake Christian, and Metalik on the show. 

According to a report earlier this month from Fightful, The Embassy’s Brian Cage is expected to leave the promotion following Supercard of Honor. His contract was said to have expired earlier this year but the two sides reached an agreement for him to work through the pay-per-view. 

The Embassy defeated Dalton Castle and The Boys for the belts at Final Battle in December. They then retained the titles in a rematch held at the ROH TV tapings last month. 

ROH presents Supercard of Honor on Friday, March 31, 2023, from the Galen Center in Los Angeles. 

ROH Supercard of Honor lineup:

  • ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli defends against Eddie Kingston
  • AAA Mega Champion El Hijo del Vikingo defends against Komander
  • Reach for the Sky ladder match for the ROH Tag Team titles: Lucha Bros vs. Top Flight vs. The Kingdom vs. Aussie Open vs. Rush & Dralistico
  • ROH Television Champion Samoa Joe defends against Mark Briscoe
  • ROH Pure Champion Wheeler Yuta defends against Katsuyori Shibata
  • ROH Six Man Tag Team Champions The Embassy (Brian Cage, Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona) defend against AR Fox, Blake Christian & Metalik 

Mascara Dorada announced for NJPW Strong Style Evolved

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Mascara Dorada is set for NJPW Strong Style Evolved in the Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida area on March 20. 

The former Gran Metalik was officially announced on the NJPW of America Twitter page today. 

While working with CMLL, Dorada frequently participated in NJPW tours in the 2010s due to the partnership between the two companies, including participating in multiple Best of the Super Juniors and Super Junior Tag League tournaments, as well as the annual CMLL Fantastica Mania tour of Japan. 

Dorada challenged then-IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega for the title at NJPW Invasion Attack in April 2015 in a losing effort.

Mascara Dorada joins Tom Lawlor, Jay White, Juice Robinson, Fred Rosser, JONAH, Karl Fredericks, Clark Connors, Hikuleo, Rocky Romero, and Josh Alexander as talent announced for the show. 

Tickets for Strong Style Evolved are on sale now. There is no mask or COVID-19 testing mandate for the show, but wearing a mask is encouraged on the event’s website. 

GCW Fight Club 2 results: Gran Metalik/Mascara Dorada returns to the ring

Posted on by Josh Nason

For the first time since their successful Wrld on GCW pay-per-view from New York City’s Hammerstein Ballroom, GCW returned to live event action Friday in Houston, Texas, with their Fight Club 2 PPV.

The event had a newsworthy return as Mascara Dorada, the former Gran Metalik in WWE, made his promotional debut in a four-way with Blake Christian, Gringo Loco and ASF that was won by Christian.

This was Dorada’s first match since being released by WWE in November and his first in-ring action since last September.

The event was headlined by a wild four-way steel cage death match that saw Atticus Cogar pick up the win over Jimmy Lloyd, Sadika and Chris Carter. As expected, the bout featured light tubes, doors, chairs and more.

It was Cogar’s second win of the night as he defeated Gino Medina earlier in the show.

After losing to Jeff Jarrett at The Wrld on GCW, Effy rebounded with a victory over Bryan Keith.

Here’s the full results from the show ahead of Saturday’s If I Die First PPV that this website will have live coverage of starting at 9 PM Eastern:

  • Jordan Oliver defeated Chris Carter, Low Rider and Grim Reefer in a four-way
  • Allie Katch defeated Mysterious Q
  • Ninja Mack defeated Nick Wayne
  • Sam Stackhouse defeated Dante Leon for the Loko title
  • Atticus Cogar defeated Gino Medina
  • Effy defeated Bryan Keith
  • Blake Christian defeated Gringo Loco, Mascara Dorada and ASF in a four-way
  • Atticus Cogar defeated Sadika, Jimmy Lloyd, & Chris Carter in a four-way steel cage death match

Mascara Dorada heading to GCW in February

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Mascara Dorada is returning to the independent scene.

GCW announced that Dorada will be making appearances for the promotion starting in February. Dates include February 4 in Houston, February 19 in Atlantic City, and February 26 in Los Angeles.

Dorada, known in WWE as Gran Metallik, had asked for his release back in September of last year. It was granted on November 4 as part of WWE roster cuts, with the company citing budget concerns. Signing with the company in 2016, Dorada competed in the company’s cruiserweight division before going to the main roster as part of a team with Lince Dorado and Kalisto known as the Lucha House Party. 

Prior to signing with WWE, Metalik had wrestled primarily for CMLL. He also made sporadic appearances in NJPW before signing with them for a full-term, one year contract in 2015. He challenged Kenny Omega for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title at The New Beginning in Osaka that year, but came up short. 

Gran Metalik reportedly requests WWE release

Posted on by Skylar Russell

Image: WWE

According to a report from Mas Lucha, Gran Metalik has requested his release from WWE after more than six years with the company.

The report stated that the former 24/7 Champion requested the release due to “lack of opportunities.” His contract runs through 2022 (“valid until 2023”) according to the report.

Metalik, 32, signed in the summer of 2016 and has spent time on Raw, Smackdown, NXT and 205 Live. He was a participant in the Cruiserweight Classic in 2016, defeating Tajiri, Akira Tozawa, and Zack Sabre Jr. on his way to the finals where he lost to TJ Perkins.

In recent years, Metalik has been a part of the Lucha House Party trio alongside Lince Dorado and Kalisto. After Kalisto left the group last fall, Dorado and Metalik continued to team together. He hasn’t wrestled more than twice in a month since March of this year.

Before signing with WWE, Metalik went by the name of Mascara Dorada. he spent time in CMLL, New Japan Pro Wrestling and Lucha Libre Elite before his run in WWE, capturing the CMLL World Welterweight Championship a total of four times.

Two title matches, Miz TV segment set for WWE Raw

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Two title matches involving members of The Hurt Business are set for tonight’s post-Royal Rumble episode of Raw.

WWE has announced that Riddle will get his shot at Bobby Lashley’s United States Championship on Raw tonight. Lashley’s Hurt Business stablemates Shelton Benjamin & Cedric Alexander are also defending their Raw Tag Team titles against The Lucha House Party (Gran Metalik & Lince Dorado) on tonight’s show.

Riddle got the US title shot by defeating The Hurt Business’ Benjamin, MVP, and Alexander in a gauntlet match last Monday. That match featured dissension between Alexander and his stablemates.

Lashley attacked Riddle after last week’s gauntlet match and put him in the Hurt Lock.

Riddle, Big E, Daniel Bryan, and Christian eliminated Lashley in last night’s men’s Royal Rumble match.

Lashley quickly retained his United States title against Riddle on the January 11 episode of Raw after attacking Riddle before the bell rang.

Metalik & Dorado defeated Benjamin & Alexander in a non-title match on Raw Legends Night last month.

Metalik & Dorado are taking part in NXT’s men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic and will face Legado Del Fantasma’s Raul Mendoza & Joaquin Wilde in a quarterfinal match on NXT this Wednesday.

WWE is also hyping that The Miz has promised that he’ll have rapper Bad Bunny on Miz TV tonight. Bad Bunny, who performed his song “Booker T” at the Royal Rumble, hit a crossbody from the top rope on The Miz and John Morrison at the pay-per-view after Miz destroyed his equipment.

Metalik challenging for Cruiserweight title at NXT New Year’s Evil

Posted on by Joseph Currier

A member of the Raw roster is set to challenge for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship.

WWE has announced that Gran Metalik will challenge for Santos Escobar’s Cruiserweight Championship at NXT New Year’s Evil next Wednesday (January 6). The special edition of NXT is the show’s first episode of 2021.

The match was announced after The Lucha House Party (Metalik & Lince Dorado) appeared on NXT tonight. They interrupted a promo by Escobar and then defeated Legado Del Fantasma’s Raul Mendoza & Joaquin Wilde in a tag team match.

Metalik pinned Mendoza in the tag match after hitting a rope-walk elbow drop. After the match, Metalik motioned that he wants Escobar’s title.

During his promo tonight, Escobar said NXT general manager William Regal can’t find any challengers who belong in the ring with him. Metalik and Dorado interrupted Escobar after he called Legado Del Fantasma the leaders of lucha libre.

Metalik was also in action on Raw this Monday and defeated The Miz. 

It was also announced on NXT tonight that Xia Li and Boa will return at New Year’s Evil. There have been videos on NXT over the last several weeks where Li and Boa were taken to a building and tortured as a form of training while a mysterious woman watched on. With their training complete, Li, Boa, the man who took them there, and the woman walked out of the building at the end of tonight’s video.

Dexter Lumis will be the host of New Year’s Evil. Here’s the updated card for the show:

  • NXT Champion Finn Balor defends against Kyle O’Reilly
  • Karrion Kross vs. Damian Priest
  • Last Woman Standing match: Rhea Ripley vs. Raquel Gonzalez
  • Fight Pit match: Tommaso Ciampa vs. Timothy Thatcher
  • NXT Cruiserweight Champion Santos Escobar defends against Gran Metalik
  • Xia Li and Boa return

WWE Main Event results: Tozawa vs. Erik, Carrillo vs. Metalik

Posted on by James Cox

The Big Takeaways:

This week’s Main Event featured two wholly acceptable matches that were made all the better for having been called by the returning Samoa Joe in place of Byron Saxton. Erik got a win over Akira Tozawa in a match perfectly pitched for the big man while Humberto Carrillo won yet again on this show, this time against Gran Metalik.

**********

Erik defeated Akira Tozawa (5:07)

After debuting on Main Event as a singles performer last week in a losing effort against Titus O’Neil, he was much better here against a much more capable opponent, getting his win back. Tozawa was sans ninjas, but worked really hard to make Erik look great. He took the opening few minutes, leading the match and looking both plucky and in control.

But when Erik took over, Tozawa sold beautifully. First, Erik hit him with an ura nage before charging to nail him with a running knee strike. Tozawa flopped over backward and looked dead.

In the end, Erik finished him with a knee to the back of the head, leaving Tozawa to sell like a rag doll on the mat. 

The win made Erik look a lot more of a legitimate prospect and somewhat of a monster heel. Simply put, this is exactly the kind of person he should be working with each week and why on Earth they chose to beat him last week is beyond me.

Humberto Carrillo defeated Gran Metalik (w/ Lince Dorado) (7:26)

Carrillo worked with Lince Dorado last week on Main Event — a show that is fast becoming his home. The win here against Metalik made it three in a row for a performer whose Raw opportunities have tailed off since the summer.

The opening minutes were well mannered as the two tried to outwork each other and were all smiles as they appreciated each other’s attempts. Before they went to the break, there was a nice moment where Carrillo countered a tilt-a-whirl headscissors into a power bomb.

Unfortunately much of the second half after the commercial break was rest holds as Carrillo had an abdominal stretch in place before pulling and cranking Metalik’s arms back behind his body. They did come back to life, though, and began to trade near falls.

The finish started with a moonsault that Metalik had scouted, so Carrillo landed on his feet and then hit a backbreaker. He followed it up by hoisting Metalik up on to his shoulders and hitting him with his unnamed finisher — a sit-out facebuster from his shoulders — for the win.

Final Thoughts:

There was nothing much wrong with Main Event this week and actually, quite a lot of it was right. Erik was booked in an infinitely more logical way than he was last week with a lot of credit owed to Tozawa for the performance in addition to a really well-worked contest between Carrillo and Metalik.

WWE Main Event results: Carrillo vs. Garza, Ricochet vs. Metalik

Posted on by James Cox

The Big Takeaway:

On a show that he rarely loses on, Ricochet defeated Gran Metalik before Angel Garza dispensed with Humberto Carrillo in a strong match to close out the show.

**********

Ricochet defeated Gran Metalik (w/ Lince Dorado) (5:50)

Lucha House Party become two when Kalisto was drafted to SmackDown two weeks ago. The stable had had mixed success over the last two years, but were probably due a refresh and reset.

Ricochet’s plight continues as he is regularly relegated to this show despite being one of the most interesting in-ring workers on the active roster. Time will tell whether he is content to wait for his chance.

This was all action as you might expect. There was, however, quite a slow pace by the end as both men looked tired and labored. 

In the end, Ricochet looked slightly heelish as he hit a modified suplex, growling and posturing to the crowd. He then hoisted Metalik up and nailed him with the Kick Back for the win.

Angel Garza defeated Humberto Carrillo (8:06)

Since making the move from 205 Live to the Raw roster back in February, Garza has had quite a bit of success. This being only his second appearance on Main Event, it was yet another win for the impressive 28-year-old from Mexico.

In comparison, the wins have really dried up for Carrillo who now finds himself somewhat of a Main Event regular and rather directionless.

They worked beautifully together at times, both generous with each other until they culminated in a nice creative finish where Garza was arguing with the ref over holding the tights.

Carrillo hit a missile dropkick and a crossbody for two near falls, but when Garza rolled him up and held the tights, the referee took issue with it. Garza dodged Carrillo’s attempts to take advantage, nailed him with a superkick, and hit the Wing Clipper for the win.

Final Thoughts:

These were two good matches, but there wasn’t much to go out of your way to find here. Ricochet and Garza should be used better elsewhere, but for now, they are by far the most entertaining thing on Main Event for some time.

Gran Metalik & Lince Dorado drafted to WWE Raw

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado are heading to Raw.

WWE Watch Along announced that Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado are heading to the Raw brand. This splits them up with Kalisto, who was drafted to SmackDown.

WWE Network’s twitter account posted an interview with Lucha House Party earlier on Monday. Kalisto was boasting about how he had been in meetings with FOX. When Dorado asked if he or Gran Metalik were brought up, Kalisto said the meetings were only about him. Dorado said that he and Dorado would remain “lucha lit” with or without Kalisto.

Since returning from injury in August, Kalisto has been teasing dissention between himself and the other two members of Lucha House Party, with Kalisto often instigating the confrontations.

Both Metalik and Dorado were in SmackDown’s draft pool, but neither were picked on the show nor were they drafted on Talking Smack the following day, leaving them free agents. Shorty G, who was also left as a free agent, was later confirmed today signing with the SmackDown brand.

Gran Metalik to challenge AJ Styles for WWE Intercontinental title

Posted on by Joseph Currier

The Intercontinental title will be on the line on next week’s episode of SmackDown.

AJ Styles defending the Intercontinental Championship against Gran Metalik has been confirmed for SmackDown next week. Metalik became the number one contender to Styles’ title by defeating Shorty G, Drew Gulak, and his Lucha House Party stablemate Lince Dorado in a fatal four-way match on SmackDown tonight.

After Shorty G gave Dorado a German suplex off the top turnbuckle, Metalik hit a rope-walk elbow drop on Shorty G to get the win.

Styles offered Metalik a handshake after the match but then slapped him in the face. Styles turned his attention to Dorado, then Metalik slapped Styles and gave him a tornado DDT.

This is the second title match announced for next week’s SmackDown. In a rematch from Extreme Rules, Bayley will defend her SmackDown Women’s Championship against Nikki Cross next Friday. Cross defeated her tag team partner Alexa Bliss on SmackDown tonight to set up her challenging Bayley next week.

Naomi vs. Lacey Evans is also set for next week’s SmackDown, and Otis and Mandy Rose will appear on the show.

WWE Main Event results: Lucha House Party vs. EC3 & Eric Young

Posted on by James Cox

The Big Takeaway: After doing something different last week, this was a dull show with two meager matches. Mojo Rawley defeated No Way Jose and Gran Metalik & Kalisto saw off EC3 & Eric Young in under two minutes.

Dio Maddin was on the announce team this week alongside Bryon Saxton and Renee Young.

*********

Mojo Rawley defeated No Way Jose (4:44)

Rawley’s look is absurd at the moment. He has a few lines of blue face paint across his face that look like they were applied at a kids’ party. He also looks like he’s carried an injury at some point in the last few months and is still getting back into ring shape.

For a guy with Rawley’s physical presence and intensity, it feels that it’s already time to hit the reset button on a character that they gave some vignettes and hype to but then quickly gave up on.

They’ve done this match several times before on Main Event and it doesn’t get any more exciting the sixth time around. It’s your basic back and forth and offers nothing creative or new.

After Jose tried to roll Rawley up with a schoolboy, Rawley kicked out and caught the charge of Jose. He planted Jose with an Alabama slam and got the victory. 

The Lucha House Party (Gran Metalik & Kalisto w/ Lince Dorado) defeated EC3 & Eric Young (1:54)

Speaking of guys that they’re not doing enough with right now, EC3 and Eric Young have to be right up at the top of that list. And with new opportunities to appear on live television each week and on new networks that can reach new audiences, if I were them, I’d be making a fuss.

As the runtime suggests, they went at this at 100 mph, with Metalik and Kalisto getting all their stuff in as best they could. They teamed up on EC3 and Young with flips and dives and then did stereo suicide dives to the outside.

After a commercial break, Metalik flipped over the top rope to take out EC3, and Kalisto countered Young’s attempt to finish him off, nailing him with the Salida del Sol for the win. 

Rey Mysterio vs. Gran Metalik announced for WWE Raw

Posted on by Joseph Currier

A first-time matchup is set for Monday’s episode of Raw at Madison Square Garden.

WWE has announced that Rey Mysterio will face Gran Metalik on Monday’s show. This will be Mysterio’s first televised match since the angle where he was talked out of retiring by his son Dominick.

After losing a two-out-of-three falls match to Andrade in two straight falls the previous week, Mysterio did a backstage interview on the August 19 edition of Raw where he teased that he was going to retire. As Mysterio was about to take his mask off, Dominick stopped him.

Dominick reminded Mysterio that he promised him that when Dominick made his debut, he would debut as Mysterio’s partner.

Mysterio did another interview on this week’s Raw and said that he could never thank Dominick enough for convincing him not to retire.

Mysterio vs. Metalik is the second match that’s been announced for Monday’s Raw at MSG. Baron Corbin, Ricochet, and Samoa Joe will face off in a triple threat match in the semifinals of the King of the Ring tournament.

Steve Austin will also make an appearance on the episode as he moderates a contract signing for Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman’s Universal title match at Clash of Champions.