We have an update with more info on a number of COVID cases involving pro wrestling including more on Chris Jericho, Nick Jackson, Drew McIntyre, Mick Foley, Les Thatcher and more. We look at what Paul Levesque said about the COVID issue, Jericho talking about getting it in September, Nick Jackson, and more on others in the industry.
Also in this issue:
We also have our 2020 Business Year in Review issue talking about the biggest crowds, the biggest PPVs, how the year was totally different from any other, UFC business history and more.
Every major promotion, why this year is so hard to evaluate, what you can’t learn from the past year and can, how things look going into the new year, and issues going forward for every company.
Raw, Smackdown AEW and NXT and compare how they are doing now with one year ago, and where things will be in one year if the current direction doesn’t change.
How much money Linda McMahon donated to Trump’s re-election and funding of the recent attempt to take over the capitol.
Royal Rumble update, how much money top stars can earn from doing social media advertising, Update on WWE’s new A&E documentaries for this year, biggest Wednesday drawing card, more on the next TV special for India, new stars from India debuting including two giants, Dusty Rhodes tag tourney news, the next Takeover show, Injury updates, Lita talks about when she was threatened with being fired, Ricochet contract notes, U.S. sports ratings, U.K. and Canadian TV ratings, New NXT stars, movie star teases working with WWE, Upcoming WWE television shows WWE market value and the most-watched shows on the WWE Network.
Vince McMahon’s lawsuit against Oliver Luck and Luck’s lawsuit against Vince McMahon. We look at McMahon’s complaints as well as what others involved said including some day-by-day looks at aspects of the XFL and its death.
How COVID has changed Japanese wrestling along with new restrictions and what they mean and how they relate to wrestling and the New Japan big show lineup over the next several weeks.
List of the 20 biggest crowds for pro wrestling ever in the country of Canada and notes about business peaks.
Rundowns of the major television shows.
Television ratings of the past week, including segment-by-segment numbers for the past two weeks on Wednesday, who was watching in different age groups, how different segments did on Raw & Smackdown and more.
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Rey Mysterio, Booker T, Dolph Ziggler, Robert Roode, and Chad Gable were guests on today’s episode of The Bump.
Gable on The Bump hinted that his former tag team partner, Jason Jordan, may be returning to the ring. “It is unfortunate what happened to him with his injury,” said Gable. “But you never say never. He’s working on it, he’s trying to get back and who knows. A reunion is always something that I would never be against.” Jordan has not wrestled since suffering a neck injury in 2018 and is currently working backstage as a producer.
The Undertaker was a guest on this week’s Joe Rogan Experience podcast.
A Fight Pit weigh-in was held prior to tonight’s match between Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher.
Stephanie McMahon spoke to The Wrap about WrestleMania 37 moving to Raymond James Stadium.
Stephanie also spoke to TMZ on WWE planning to have fans at WrestleMania.
Tegan Nox, Santino Marella, and Charlotte will be on next week’s episode of The Bump.
Fightful Select reports that James Storm, who returned and competed on Impact last night, is not under contract.
Lindsay Snow on Twitter: “Surgery set for a week from tomorrow, tore my acl and meniscus so I get to have a dead persons acl now. I’ll be part zombie upon my return… 9 months and one week. 2021 can still be my year Face with tears of joy. Wanna see what a $700 knee brace looks like ?”
AEW Heels will hold their first 2021 session on January 29 with special guest Kate Matsudaira and a Q&A with Tay Conti.
Tinieblas, Blue Demon Jr., and Caristico expressed interested in running for mayor of Mexico City.
A day after he was written off television for the time being, Jason Jordan underwent “minimally invasive” neck surgery today.
WWE.com announced that Jordan underwent a procedure called a “minimally invasive posterior cervical microdiscectomy” this morning. The announcement noted that the timetable for Jordan’s return isn’t yet known.
“He had an injury to a disc in his neck which resulted in significant pain that was refractory to all conservative measures,” Dr. Joseph Maroon said. “It was decided to do a minimally invasive operation to decompress the nerve, to allow it to heal.”
In an angle on Raw last night, Jordan couldn’t compete due to issues with his neck and was later told by Kurt Angle to go home until he’s medically cleared. Roman Reigns took Jordan’s place in a Tag Team title match against Cesaro & Sheamus, with Jordan coming down to ringside and causing Reigns & Seth Rollins to get disqualified when he punched Cesaro and Sheamus as they tried to bail on the match.
Jordan has largely been kept out of action since early last month. He held the Raw Tag Team Championship with Rollins until they lost the titles to Cesaro & Sheamus at the Royal Rumble, with the story of the match being that Rollins had to essentially face them on his own.
Following the angle on Raw where Kurt Angle told him to go home until he was medically cleared, Jason Jordan will be facing some time off the road due to injury.
In a report that has been confirmed by our Dave Meltzer, PWInsider noted that Jordan has been pulled from the road and that it appears he won’t be on television until the injury is dealt with.
Roman Reigns subbed in for Jordan as Reigns & Rollins challenged Cesaro & Sheamus for the Raw Tag Team titles last night. The storyline was that Jordan was doing neck bridges, something didn’t feel right, and he wasn’t allowed to compete.
Jordan came out to ringside during the match. He tried to stop Cesaro & Sheamus from bailing, but he blocked a punch from Cesaro and then punched him and Sheamus — which resulted in Rollins & Reigns getting disqualified. After the match, Angle told Jordan to go home and stay there until he’s cleared.
Aside from appearing in a limited capacity at an event in Baltimore before the Royal Rumble, Jordan hasn’t been wrestling at house shows since early last month. At the Rumble pay-per-view, Rollins effectively wrestled against Cesaro & Sheamus on his own.
How much time Jordan will miss due to the injury remains to be seen. April Everhart, Jordan’s wife, claimed on Instagram that the neck injury is minor and he’s already planning his comeback, but she wrote that she’s very excited to have him home for a bit.
Two more matches have been announced for tonight’s episode of Raw in Des Moines, Iowa.
In a rematch from the Royal Rumble, Cesaro & Sheamus will defend their Raw Tag Team titles against Seth Rollins & Jason Jordan. There will also be a triple threat match between John Cena, Braun Strowman, and Elias. Those three qualified for the men’s Elimination Chamber last Monday, and the winner of the triple threat will be the last person to enter the Chamber during the match.
Cesaro & Sheamus won the titles from Rollins & Jordan at the Royal Rumble last month. Dave Meltzer reported that Jordan is dealing with a neck injury, and that was worked into the story of their title match at the Rumble as Rollins had to effectively face Cesaro & Sheamus on his own. Jordan also didn’t wrestle at any of this weekend’s house shows.
As was previously announced, Roman Reigns will face Bray Wyatt in an Elimination Chamber qualifying match on Raw tonight. The build to the women’s Elimination Chamber will continue as well.
UPDATE: Asuka vs. Bayley is also set for Raw tonight.
With less than three weeks before the pay-per-view, there are now six matches announced for the Royal Rumble.
Seth Rollins & Jason Jordan defending their Tag Team titles against Cesaro & Sheamus was officially added to the card during a backstage segment on Raw last night. Cesaro & Sheamus lobbied for their rematch and accused Kurt Angle of favoring Jordan, but Angle made the title match official for the PPV.
Rollins & Jordan started teaming together after Dean Ambrose was forced out of action due to a legitimate triceps injury. They won the titles from Cesaro & Sheamus on the Christmas Day episode of Raw.
Cesaro & Sheamus lost to Titus O’Neil & Apollo Crews on Raw last night when O’Neil pinned Sheamus with a roll-up. Rollins, Jordan & Roman Reigns lost to Finn Balor, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson in the main event, with Rollins being pinned by Balor and Jordan accidentally messing things up for his team during the match.
The Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia will host the Royal Rumble on January 28th. Here’s the updated card for the PPV:
Men’s Royal Rumble match
Women’s Royal Rumble match
Universal Champion Brock Lesnar defending against Braun Strowman and Kane in a triple threat match
WWE Champion AJ Styles defending against Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn in a handicap match
The finals of the United States Championship tournament
Raw Tag Team Champions Seth Rollins & Jason Jordan defending against Cesaro & Sheamus
– Heath Slater, Rhyno, Apollo Crews & Goldust defeated Curtis Axel, Bo Dallas, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson
Rhyno got the pin on Dallas after hitting a spinebuster. Goldust worked much of the match and was the most over person in it.
– Asuka defeated Alicia Fox
Asuka submitted her with an armbar.
– Matt Hardy defeated Bray Wyatt
Hardy was still using the Hardy Boys music and won with the Twist of Fate.
– Elias performed a song and got more heat than anyone else on the show. Braun Strowman interrupted him and hit a running powerslam. Kane came out and brawled with Strowman, then Strowman ended up putting him through a table with a running powerslam.
– Sasha Banks & Bayley defeated Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville and Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss & Nia Jax in a triple threat match
Rose tapped out to the Banks Statement.
– WWE Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore defeated Cedric Alexander to retain his title
Amore retained with a thumb to the eye.
– Intercontinental Champion Roman Reigns & Raw Tag Team Champions Seth Rollins & Jason Jordan defeated Samoa Joe, Cesaro & Sheamus
New Tag Team Champions were crowned on last night’s Christmas Day edition of Raw.
Seth Rollins & Jason Jordan won the titles from Cesaro & Sheamus in the main event and then celebrated with Kurt Angle after the show went off the air. Their win came after WWE had teased whether they would be able to work together earlier in the night.
Also on Raw, Roman Reigns got disqualified in an Intercontinental Championship defense against Samoa Joe, Asuka declared herself for the women’s Royal Rumble and laid out Alexa Bliss with a kick to the head, and John Cena was put in a program with Elias for the night in his return to WWE television.
The card for Survivor Series took another turn as Triple H returned to WWE television on tonight’s episode of Raw.
Triple H was announced as replacing Jason Jordan on Raw’s Survivor Series men’s team, with that coming after Jordan was involved in an injury angle where he hurt his knee earlier in the night. Jordan defeated Bray Wyatt before being laid out by him in a post-match attack.
Jordan, Kurt Angle’s storyline son, was pleading with Angle about not being replaced when Stephanie McMahon came out and urged him to make the announcement. Triple H then made his way to the ring and gave Jordan a Pedigree. Heading into Survivor Series, Stephanie has been threatening to fire Angle if Raw doesn’t beat SmackDown at the pay-per-view.
The men’s five-on-five elimination tag match for Sunday’s PPV is now Angle, Braun Strowman, Samoa Joe, Finn Balor & Triple H vs. Shane McMahon, Randy Orton, Bobby Roode, Shinsuke Nakamura & John Cena.
Though he hasn’t wrestled on TV since WrestleMania, Triple H has been in action fairly regularly at house shows recently. He filled in at a show in Santiago, Chile last month before wrestling at several stops on WWE’s European tour.
The Big Takeaway: Jason Jordan returned to Main Event and took Curt Hawkins’ loss tally to 121, then Cedric Alexander beat Tony Nese in a short back-and-forth bout.
**********
Jason Jordan defeated Curt Hawkins (4:58)
You have to go back a year ago — almost to the week — to find a Jason Jordan appearance on Main Event. In November 2016, he defeated Viktor in an unmemorable singles match and there was just as little of note here in his bout against Curt Hawkins.
Hawkins’ losing record is now being referred to as the “longest in the modern era” on commentary. Jordan dispensed with him with relative ease, despite giving Hawkins more of the match than his status deserves, using his as-yet-unnamed finisher — a belly-to-back suplex lifted and dropped into an elevated neckbreaker.
The match was full of drop down/leapfrog combinations until Hawkins worked over Jordan’s storyline injured shoulder and took control with rest holds. The turning point was when Hawkins came off the top rope for an elbow drop and Jordan rolled out of the way. It led to a quick finish from Jordan, who had stopped selling his elbow and pinned Hawkins to continue his losing misery.
Cedric Alexander defeated Tony Nese (4:30)
So often on Main Event, the cruiserweights aren’t given nearly long enough and this was no different. It becomes a see-how-much-of-our-stuff-we-can-get-into-five-minutes contest and it does them a disservice when you look at the talent on display.
Despite its brevity, there were several good moments in the match. Alexander had a shine segment where he slid under Nese’s legs, sprung up and rolled underneath him, and came up with an overhead kick. He then did a kip up and drank in the roar of the crowd while mocking Nese by counting his abs. These two are very good together.
The finish really could have gone either way: after Nese had used his pumphandle slam, Alexander barely kicked out, but quickly recovered to nail Nese with a springboard handstand scissors takedown. Alexander used the Lumbar Check and leaped on top of Nese as hastily as he could to ensure that he got the win. This was a good, solid match.
Jason Jordan will be challenging for the Intercontinental title on Sunday.
Jordan won a six-pack challenge on Raw tonight to become number one contender and get the title shot at No Mercy. He pinned Curtis Axel to win the match, which also included Bo Dallas, Elias, and Matt & Jeff Hardy.
The storyline with Jordan on Raw focused on him trying to prove that Kurt Angle wasn’t favoring him. Angle first made it a fatal four-way match between Jordan, both Hardys, and Elias, with Jordan then telling Angle to add Axel and Dallas to it when Miz said that Angle was giving undeserved opportunities to his on-screen son.
Jordan and Miz went face-to-face after the main event, then Jordan laid out Miz with suplexes when he went to punch him. But Miz was able to stand tall after Axel and Dallas attacked Jordan. Miz said that he’ll still be champion after Sunday, Angle will still be a terrible father, and Jordan will still be a bastard.
No Mercy takes place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California on Sunday night. Here’s what the card looks like after tonight’s go-home show:
WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar defending against Braun Strowman
John Cena vs. Roman Reigns
Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss defending against Sasha Banks, Nia Jax, Emma, and Bayley in a fatal five-way match
Finn Balor vs. Bray Wyatt
Raw Tag Team Champions Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose defending against Cesaro & Sheamus
Intercontinental Champion The Miz defending against Jason Jordan
WWE Cruiserweight Champion Neville defending against Enzo Amore
Another match has been added to the SummerSlam pre-show.
It was announced in a video today that The Hardys would again team up with Jason Jordan against The Miz, Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas on Sunday. The New Day defending their SmackDown tag titles against The Usos is currently listed for the pre-show as well, along with Neville getting his rematch against Akira Tozawa for the Cruiserweight Championship.
The Hardys & Jordan vs. The Miztourage is also a rematch from this week’s episode of Raw. The faces won that first meeting after it was turned into a six-man tag when The Miz got disqualified in a singles match against Jordan due to Axel and Dallas’ interference.
The addition of the six-man tag brings the SummerSlam lineup up to 13 matches. Here’s the updated card:
WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar defending against Roman Reigns, Samoa Joe, and Braun Strowman in a fatal four-way match (Lesnar and Paul Heyman have vowed to leave WWE if Lesnar loses)
WWE Champion Jinder Mahal defending against Shinsuke Nakamura
United States Champion AJ Styles defending against Kevin Owens (with Shane McMahon as the special guest referee)
John Cena vs. Baron Corbin
Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss defending against Sasha Banks
SmackDown Women’s Champion Naomi defending against Natalya
Raw Tag Team Champions Cesaro & Sheamus defending against Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose
Finn Balor vs. Bray Wyatt
Randy Orton vs. Rusev
Big Cass vs. Big Show (with Enzo Amore suspended above the ring in a shark cage)
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day defending against The Usos (kickoff show)
The Hardys & Jason Jordan vs. The Miz, Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas (kickoff show)
WWE Cruiserweight Champion Akira Tozawa defending against Neville (kickoff show)
The Big Takeaway: The main event of SummerSlam will be a Fatal Four-Way with Brock Lesnar defending the Universal Championship against Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman and Samoa Joe. Next week, it will be Reigns vs. Strowman vs. Joe in a Triple Threat match.
Also at SummerSlam, Alexa Bliss will defend the Raw Women’s Championship against Bayley. That became official after Bayley defeated Sasha Banks in a number one contender’s match. Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose defeated the Miz, Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel in the main event, but Ambrose stopped short of declaring a full-fledged Shield reunion when he declined to bump fists with Rollins after the victory.
Jason Jordan debuted to little reaction with a victory over Curt Hawkins.
Show Recap:
Angle came out and said he had been distracted over the past few months over the fact that Jordan was his son. He announced that Jordan would have his first Raw match tonight. Angle shifted the subject to the Reigns-Joe-Strowman situation. He was about to announce who Lesnar would face at SummerSlam when Strowman came out and said the next words out of Angle’s mouth better be “Braun Strowman” or else.
He said, unlike Reigns and Joe, he won at Great Balls of Fire, that Lesnar fears him and that he would be the Universal Champion. That brought out Joe, who walked out to “Joe” chants. Joe said he was the man who came within seconds of putting Lesnar to sleep, he doesn’t fear Lesnar and he doesn’t fear Strowman. Joe said the only thing Strowman accomplished by interfering in his match last week was keeping Reigns from losing to him for the third straight time. Joe told Angle to give the beast to him.
Reigns walked down to loud boos past a sign that said “I miss Tom Zenk.” Reigns said neither Joe or Strowman have done anything, while in five years he had been a tag team champion, a 3-time world champion, a U.S. champion, had headlined three WrestleManias and retired the Undertaker. He asked Joe and Strowman what they have done. They remained silent. Reigns said he’ll show them what he’s about to do. Reigns started to go after Joe when Angle stepped between them. Angle said Lesnar would face Joe, Reigns and Strowman in a Fatal Four-Way match at SummerSlam for the Universal Championship.
Joe was mad over that announcement and screamed at Angle. Strowman said he didn’t care if it was one-on-one, two-on-one, he just wanted to pile up bodies. Reigns told him to shut up and punched Strowman in the mouth. Strowman started to fight back, but Joe joined Reigns and sent him to the floor, then dumped him in into the crowd. Joe sucker-punched Reigns and they brawled into the ring.
Strowman recovered to send Reigns to the ring. Angle then ordered security to come out to separate them, but Stowman cleared the ring, with one guard being thrown over the top rope to the floor right on his hip. Angle cleared the locker room with Axel, Dallas, Heath Slater, Curt Hawkins, R-Truth, Karl Anderson, Goldust and many others trying to pull them apart, but Reigns set almost all of them to the floor. Strowman wound up giving Reigns the Oklahoma Stampede and walked out while Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson held Joe back.
Elias Samson defeated Finn Balor in a no-DQ match (18:26)
Balor had Samson pinned after four chair shots across Samson’s back, a corner drop kick and the Coup de Grace. Then Bray Wyatt appeared in the ring and gave Samson Sister Abigail. Samson crawled over Balor for the pin. A good match where Samson introduced the chair when a shot across Balor’s back. Balor’s left shoulder was taped after Samson’s guitar shot from last week. Samson worked on that arm most of the way. Balor turned the tables with a unique spot where he trapped Samson’s body inside the ring apron, then kicked and punched him at will. Crowd was really into the match, particularly Balor. Afterwards, Wyatt crab walked from the corner over Balor’s body and hovered over him.
They showed a package of Renee Young’s interview with Angle and Jordan last week. Young, in her first Raw backstage appearance in a long time, then interviewed Angle as Jordan was about to face Curt Hawkins. Angle started to say he was a nervous father watching his son compete in a match. Emma walked in and asked Angle what she had to do to get ahead. She claimed to have started the Women’s Revolution, only to have Sasha Banks and Alexa Bliss get more opportunities than her. She said she figured the way to get ahead was to start dating Jordan. Angle gave her a match tonight with Nia Jax, which didn’t leave Emma happy.
Enzo Amore was backstage about to fight Big Cass. Big Show asked Enzo if facing Cass tonight was a good idea. Enzo said screw plans, he was going to take the fight to Cass. Show just watched Enzo leave like a lamb walking to his slaughter.
Enzo did a pre-match promo calling himself the little engine that could that’s fueled strictly by passion and he’s got a full tank. He said the key that starts his engine were the people. Enzo said Cass had lost the key to success and Cass’ tank is running on E. Enzo quoted Drake that Cass was like the finish line and he can’t wait to run into him.
Big Cass defeated Enzo Amore (3:36)
Cass won a squash with a big boot. Cass hit two Empire Elbows are basically destroyed Amore, who got in a brief bit of offense with a dropkick to the knee.
Show came out as Cass continued to punish Enzo post-match. Cass warned Show not to get in the ring or else he would break Enzo’s neck. Show got in the ring anyway. Cass threw Enzo into Show, then gave Show a boot to the ribs. Cass beat up Show using an Empire Elbow and various other big man moves. Michael Cole talked about how it’s time for Enzo to move on from Cass.
Bliss did a promo with Young. She said she wasn’t worried about SummerSlam. Tonight, she said Bayley and Banks would destroy their friendship when they face each other tonight. Bliss said she would watch SummerSlam at home eating Twinkies watching her former best friend lose to her. Bliss said she would be the biggest winner tonight.
Nia Jax defeated Emma (1:23)
Jax pinned Emma in another squash with a somersault senton. No offense at all from Emma.
Charly Caruso interviewed Akira Tozawa, who still had his left shoulder taped up. They showed Tozawa defeating Ariya Daivari after reversing a crossbody block. Daivari rammed Tozawa’s shoulder in the post after the match. Tozawa is set to wrestle Daivari again tonight, but Titus O’Neil walked in and said that Tozawa can’t wrestle and told Angle to cancel the match. Tozawa screamed at O’Neil that he was going to wrestle. The two argued as Tozawa went to Gorilla and out to the ring. They continued to bicker until Tozawa slapped O’Neil before a commercial.
O’Neil bolted after being slapped. Tozawa called out Daivari. Instead, Neville came down and badmouthed Tozawa, calling him a shell of his former shelf and a parody of himself. Tozawa belted Neville and gave him a senton bomb.Tozawa immediately started selling his injured shoulder. Daivari ran down and gave Tozawa a hammerlock into a short-armed clothesline. Daivari then gave Neville a hammerlock into a short-armed lariat and posed with the Cruiserweight championship.
Bayley laced up her boots backstage as Banks walked up. Banks was mad over Bliss’ comments. Bayley said Banks can’t let Bliss interfere in their friendship. Banks said she couldn’t wait to get her hands on that little troll at SummerSlam. Bayley said maybe Banks should focus on tonight because she wants to win the championship at SummerSlam as badly as Banks does. Bayley said “May the best woman win.” Banks said “May the best woman win, because I will.”
Jordan did an interview with Young. He discussed how surreal the past week had been learning that a childhood hero had also been your biological father without even knowing it. You could hear the groans and catcalls in the background as Jordan recited his dialogue. This gimmick feels like its DOA.
Rollins and Ambrose talked backstage. Ambrose wanted nothing to do with him. Rollins wanted to go over strategy, but Ambrose said he wasn’t one for planning and just wanted to fight. Rollins said Ambrose’ plans hadn’t helped against the Miz lately. Ambrose said Rollins had to worry about three people while he had to worry about four.
Bayley defeated Sasha Banks to become the #1 contender for the Raw Women’s Championship (12:11)
Banks hit a frog splash and got a two count, then Bayley reversed it into a lateral press for the three count. A good match where the crowd was cold early, but they got into it after a sequence where Bayley hit a running knee, which Banks no sold and responded with a Shining Wizard. Banks hit the back stabber into the Bank Stabber, then rolled Bayley back to the middle of the ring. Bayley broke free with a snap mare. Bayley went for the Bayley-to-belly, but Banks slapped her, Bayley slapped Banks back and the two started throwing punches. There was a big dueling chant late in the match.
Cole mentioned that today was the one year anniversary of Bayley’s WWE debut as Banks’ mystery tag team partner at Battleground, where they defeated Charlotte and Dana Brooke. Look up the reaction to Bayley last year and compare it to tonight. Bliss was on commentary. Afterwards, Bliss went to the ring and held up the belt in front of Bayley. Banks looked on the verge of tears after losing, which may finally lead to her turning heel at SummerSlam.
Hawkins did an interview with Caruso. Hawkins said he didn’t care about Jordan, he was going to smack Jordan in his face tonight and ruin Jordan’s Raw debut. Hawkins said everyone would be talking about him tomorrow.
James Jordan defeated Curt Hawkins (1:43)
Jordan won with a hoisted neckbreaker after ripping down a piece of his singlet like his “father.” No reaction at all for Jordan. Angle watched with a smile on his face from the back.
The Revival came out for an in-ring interview with Caruso. Dawson interrupted Caruso and said he and Wilder knew exactly what she was going to ask before she even got the questions out. Wilder said they dominated NXT and are the greatest tag team on the planet, now they are ready to take their place as the greatest tag team on Raw. Dawson said they sent the New Day packing for SmackDown and beat the Hardy Boyz last week, which meant they were the best tag team going.
Anderson and Luke Gallows came out and said they didn’t want to hear the Revival anymore. Gallows said they beat up the New Day first, they beat up the Hardy Boyz first and were even baldski first. Gallows said the Revival call themselves top guys but all they see are a couple of top nerds.
The Revival defeated Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson (8:35)
There have been tons of distraction finishes on Raw, but this was probably the first one where both teams got distracted by the same team. Gallows gave Dawson a big boot in the corner. Anderson tagged in to give Dawson the Boot of Doom, but Wilder ran in. Dawson gave Gallows a chop block. Dawson and Wilder were ready to give Anderson the Shatter Machine when the Hardys came out. The Revival got distracted, allowing Anderson and Gallows to throw Dash and Dawson out of the ring. Then, for some reason, Gallows and Anderson got distracted by the Hardys. The Revival recovered and gave Anderson the Shatter Machine, and Dawson pinned Anderson. Afterward, Jeff Hardy gave Wilder the Poetry in Motion. Matt Hardy gave Wilder the Twist of Fate, but Dawson pulled Wilder out of the ring before Jeff could deliver the Swanton.
Miz addressed Dallas, Axel and Maryse in the back. Miz said they were one big happy family, as opposed to Rollins and Ambrose. Comparing his MizTourage to Ambrose and Rollins is like comparing his Marine 5 to Tom Cruise’s Mummy, which Maryse claimed flopped because Hollywood doesn’t have any original ideas anymore and just reboots any semi-successful idea. Miz said Rollins was trying to reboot a semi-successful franchise in the Shield. Miz gave Dallas and Axel they will prove that Rollins and Ambrose are a box office bomb waiting to happen.
Next week, it will be Reigns vs. Strowman vs. Joe in a Triple Threat match.
Wale was at ringside, complete with his own diamond-crested Million Dollar belt.
Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose defeated The Miz, Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel in a 2-on-3 handicap match (17:20)
Good finishing sequence that ended with Ambrose pinning Miz with Dirty Deeds. Long heat segment with Rollins that lost the crowd. Miz got a two count after his backbreaker/neckbreaker combination. After Axel hit a Rolling Neck Snap just like his father, hit nailed Rollins with a dropkick. Dallas was much more aggressive. Miz hit Rollins with Yujiro Takahashi’s Pimp Juice DDT and started throwing the Daniel Bryan “Yes” kicks, which Corey Graves calls the “it” kicks.
Miz and Rollins clotheslined each other, leading to Ambrose getting the hot tag. Ambrose gave Dallas a bulldog awhile clotheslining Axel, then delivered a pescado to Miz. Miz tagged Dallas and gave Ambrose the Skull Crushing Finale. Rollins dropped in at the last possible second for the save. Dallas snapped his neck on the bottom rope getting thrown out of the ring by Rollins. It led to Rollins and Ambrose doing stereo topes onto Axel and Dallas.
Post-match, Rollins and Ambrose shared a brief hug. Ambrose largely celebrated by himself. Rollins stuck out his fist for a Shield salute handshake, but Ambrose left the ring and left Rollins hanging.
Back after a longer absence than originally planned, Les Thatcher and Vic Sosa pay their respects to two people who passed away recently, Molly Roop (wife of pro wrestler and Olympian Bob Roop) and Buddy Wolfe and send well wishes to Matt Cappotelli and Dotty Curtis.
Within that part of the discussion, you’ll get a couple of stories on how some territories used to allow fans to get in the ring and take on a wrestler. From there we’ll touch on the two big stories coming out of Raw last night: Braun Strowman laying out Samoa Joe and Roman Reigns and Jason Jordan being revealed as Kurt Angle’s son.
Then we’ll open the mailbag to answer your questions about Reigns still not turning heel and the Personality Profile segments Les brought to wrestling years ago. Thanks for listening~!
Going into last night’s Raw, it was advertised that Kurt Angle would reveal his big secret and that we would find out who would be challenging Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam.
One of those things came to fruition, with the Angle storyline resulting in him revealing that Jason Jordan is his son. But Braun Strowman returned and attacked both Roman Reigns and Samoa Joe before a winner could be decided in the main event.
Also on the episode, Alexa Bliss took on Bayley in a non-title match, Elias Samson laid out Finn Balor with a guitar shot, and some matches were made for next week’s show.
After months of speculation, the storyline surrounding Kurt Angle and his secret led to a revelation on Raw tonight: he has a son, and it’s none other than one half of American Alpha, Jason Jordan.
Angle made the announcement at the top of the third hour of Raw. He revealed that he had a relationship with a woman during his college years. They broke up, but nine months later she gave birth to a baby boy. The son was adopted to loving parents, with Angle being unaware of the pregnancy or the birth until recently, and eventually grew up to be Jordan, who he also announced as the newest member of the Raw roster.
He said that in making the announcement, he had the full support of both his family and the WWE.
The storyline had been building for months, with Corey Graves sharing text messages with Angle in various backstage segments. Angle felt the need to make the announcement after more information came out last week, ending Raw with an “I love you” to what is now known to be his (in storyline) son.
Jordan had been absent on SmackDown recently, with Chad Gable becoming a regular as a singles competitor in recent weeks.
Jordan posted on Twitter shortly after the reveal: “I am proud to be Gold-Blooded!!”
