WWE SUMMERSLAM MAIN EVENT SPOILER !

Well, it's not like it hasn't gotten out already, but here it is confirmed, via a video that sent by Matys Marco.

TNA CHAMPION RETURNING TO MMA !

Bobby Lashley, the current TNA champion, will return to competing in MMA at a 9/5 Bellator MMA event in Uncasville, CT.

Lashley is set to fight Josh Burns at the event. If he is still TNA champion when the fight takes place, he would be the first champion from a nationally broadcast wrestling promotion to fight MMA while holding the top belt for a promotion.

OFFICIAL DETAILS ON NBC WRESTLEMANIA SPECIAL NEXT MONTH !

NBC issued the following: “WRESTLEMANIA® 30: THE WORLD TELEVISION PREMIERE” TO AIR ON NBC SUNDAY, AUG. 3 Hourlong Telecast to Feature Iconic WWE® Personalities Including Hulk Hogan™, John Cena®, “Stone Cold™” Steve Austin and The Rock® NEW YORK – July 16, 2014 – NBC and WWE are bringing WrestleMania® to network television Sunday, Aug. 3 (7-8 p.m. ET) with “WrestleMania 30: The World Television Premiere.” 

For the sixth year in a row, this special will allow fans to relive moments celebrating 30 years of the world’s most popular sports entertainment extravaganza. The one-hour broadcast will feature the return of pop culture icons and WWE legends Hulk Hogan, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and The Rock, as well as highly-anticipated matches, including John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt™, and Undertaker® defending his epic WrestleMania undefeated streak against former UFC Heavyweight Champion, Brock Lesnar™. 

On April 6, WWE's annual pop-culture extravaganza sold-out the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans with more than 75,000 fans from all 50 states and 37 countries in attendance. WrestleMania 30, grossing $10.9 million, broke the record for the Mercedes-Benz Superdome's highest grossing entertainment event, which was broadcast worldwide in more than 100 countries and 20 languages and reached a record 1 million households in the U.S. on WWE Network and pay-per-view combined.

THE ROCK TALKS ORIGINAL PLANS FOR WRESTLEMANIA 30...AND 31 !!

The Rock appeared on Sports Nation last night and discussed the idea of returning to a WWE ring. He noted that the original plan was to wrestle Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania 30 and then possibly return for a rematch at Wrestlemania 31, but his injury changed plans:
Rock also noted that he and Vince McMahon have discussed the idea of returning for another match but they have to find the right opponent and see who would have the "marquee" value against Rock like Brock or John Cena.
Rock noted there are some upcoming guys there right now, naming "his cousin" Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt.

STING TALKS ABOUT WORKING WWE WRESTLEMANIA 31 AND WHO HE WOULD LIKE TO WRESTLE !!

Sting was interviewed by The Mirror in the UK and had some pretty interesting comments about joining WWE. When asked if he would wrestle for the company he said, "I'm all for it." He implied that he will have one last match at WrestleMania 31. He added that 55 years old, "It's a now or never thing." As for who he would like to wrestle he said, "I've made it clear I'd love to have one last hurrah, one last big match hopefully. And of course I've been outspoken about Undertaker being the opponent." You can read the whole article by clicking here.

WWE SMACKDOWN SPOILERS !

Here is the report from tonight's show.
The show started with Dean Ambrose seeking revenge against Kane, Randy Orton and Seth Rollins.  He will get Kane tonight.
Alberto Del Rio beat Kofi Kingston.
Alicia Fox and Eva Marie were supposed to have a match with Nikki Bella as the ref, but they attacked here instead.
Chris Jericho and Luke Harper had a great match that saw Jericho about to win when Erick Rowan and Bray Wyatt interfered.  The Usos made the save for Jericho.
Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter did a back and forth with Lana and Rusev.
Sheamus and Dolph Ziggler beat The Miz and Fandango.
AJ Lee and Paige beat Summer Rae and Layla.
Dean Ambrose beat Kane by DQ when Seth Rollins interfered.

WWE-CM PUNK UPDATE + CM PUNK ISSUES STATEMENT

WWE officially moved former WWE champion CM Punk to their Alumni Section of their website this evening. The company made no statement regarding his status.

As we have noted, it is believed Punk's contract expires on 7/17.
"#ThankYouPunk" is already trending on Twitter.

On his Twitter account, former WWE champion CM Punk responded to the #ThankYouPunk term trending on Twitter, writing:
"Nope, thank YOU.Thanks for all the help and support through the years. Health and happiness above all.Don't ever take any s--t from anybody." 

NJPW: 7/13/14 Results + bad news about Ustream/iPPVs

NJPW, 7/13/14
Big Palette Fukushima
2,500 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. El Desperado beat Yohei Komatsu (7:48) with the Guitarra de la Muerta.
2. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Tomoaki Honma beat Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi & Captain New Japan (10:03) when Tenzan used the Anaconda Vice on Captain.
3. Minoru Suzuki, Takashi Iizuka & TAKA Michinoku beat Toru Yano, Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov (10:07) when Suzuki used a Gotch-style piledriver on Koslov.
4. Togi Makabe, KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley beat Hirooki Goto, Ryusuke Taguchi & BUSHI (12:27) when Makabe used a King Kong kneedrop on BUSHI.
5. Tetsuya Naito, Tiger Mask & Fuego beat Hiroshi Tanahashi, Jushin Thunder Liger & Mascara Dorada (11:54) when Naito used a Stardust press on Dorada.
6. Special Elimination Match: Bad Luck Fale, Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, Yujiro Takahashi & Tama Tonga beat Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI & Gedo (25:44) when Anderson used the Gun Stun on YOSHI-HASHI.
* If you haven’t already heard, Ustream has announced the discontinuation of its iPPV service. This is bad news for New Japan fans outside of Japan because the company has been using Ustream for close to two years to broadcast events.
Their service ends on October 1st, but New Japan has yet to say whether the G1 Climax will again be on Ustream in August, with no shows currently listed on their schedule. That doesn’t mean it won’t be shown, but the iPPV service will be ending soon, if it already hasn’t, and it will be interesting to see if New Japan offers an easily accessible alternative.
UPDATE: The news is good as New Japan’s Ustream page confirms the ENTIRE G1 will be streamed live on the service ($110 for the full package – individual shows can be ordered for $15 to $25 at this alternate link)!

Pro Wrestling NOAH Event Cards for July & August 2014 !

Pro Wrestling Noah “GREAT VOYAGE 2014 in Tokyo Vol.2”, 7/5/2014 [Sat] 17:00 @ Ariake Colosseum in Tokyo

(1) Mitsuhiro Kitamiya & Hitoshi Kumano vs. Rocky Lobo & Jinzo
(2) 3WAY Match: Hajime Ohara vs. Super Crazy vs. Quiet Storm
(3) Yoshihiro Takayama [Takayama Hall] & Genba Hirayanagi vs. Muhammed Yone & Daisuke Ikeda [Futen]
(4) GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Championship Match: [21st Champions] Yoshinari Ogawa & Zack Sabre Jr. vs. [Challengers] Taiji Ishimori & Atsushi Kotoge
~ 2nd title defense.
(5) GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship Match: [27th Champion] Daisuke Harada vs. [Challenger] Kenou (Michinoku)
~ 3rd title defense.
(6) Special Tag Match: Akitoshi Saito & Katsuhiko Nakajima [DIAMOND RING] vs. Hirooki Goto [NJPW] & Katsuyori Shibata [FREE]
(7) Special Single Match: Maybach Taniguchi vs. Daisuke Sekimoto
(8) GHC Tag Championship Match: [31st Champions] “Dangan Yankees” Takashi Sugiura & Masato Tanaka vs. [Challengers] “TMDK” Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste
~ 1st title defense.
(9) GHC Heavyweight Championship Match: [21st Champion] Yuji Nagata (NJPW) vs. [Challenger] Naomichi Marufuji
~ 5th title defense.
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Pro Wrestling NOAH “8th Annual NTV G+ Cup Junior Heavy Tag League War – Opening Day”, 7/18/2014 [Fri] 18:30 @ Shibata Culture Center

(1) Kickoff the Jr.TL 4 Big Single Match #1 ~ Growing Bear vs The Shark: Hitoshi Kumano vs. Jinzo
(2) Kickoff the Jr.TL 4 Big Single Match #2 ~ Pink Hot-Blooded Youth vs Heisei no Strong Style: Atsushi Kotoge vs. Mitsuhiro Kitamiya
(3) Kickoff the Jr.TL 4 Big Single Match #3 ~ Flying Star vs Super Boy: Taiji Ishimori vs. Rocky Lobo
(4) Kickoff the Jr.TL 4 Big Single Match #4 ~ Young Master vs Crazy Estrella: Daisuke Harada vs. Super Crazy
(5) Weaponized NO MERCY vs TMDK: Takashi Sugiura & Quiet Storm [FREE] vs. Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste
(6) Revenge to Colosseum Runaway Iron Mask vs Strong BJ: Maybach Taniguchi vs. Daisuke Sekimoto [BJW]
(7) JTL A BLOCK Match: Kenou & Hajime Ohada vs. Genba Hirayanagi & Kikutaro
(8) JTL A BLOCK Match: Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask IV vs. Yoshinari Ogawa & Zack Sabre Jr.
(9) GHC Heavyweight Prelude Special Single Match: Naomichi Marufuji & Muhammed Yone vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima [DIAMOND RING] & Akitoshi Saito

Pro Wrestling NOAH “8th Annual NTV G+ Cup Junior Heavy Tag League War – Day 2″, 7/19/2014 @ Korakuen Hall in Tokyo

() Special 3WAY Match: Muhammed Yone vs. Maybach Taniguchi vs. Shane Haste
() NO MERCY vs TMDK Special Single Match: Takashi Sugiura vs. Mikey Nicholls
() GHC Heavyweight Prelude: Naomichi Marufuji, Taiji Ishimori & Atsushi Kotoge vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima [DIAMOND RING], Super Crazy & Matt Striker
() JTL A BLOCK Match: Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask IV vs. Genba Hirayanagi & Kikutaro
() JTL A BLOCK Match: Yoshinari Ogawa & Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Kenou & Hajime Ohada
() JTL B BLOCK Match: Daisuke Harada & Quiet Storm vs. Shiori Asahi & Hiro Tonai
() JTL B BLOCK Match: Mitsuhiro Kitamiya & Hitoshi Kumano vs. Rocky Lobo & Jinzo

Pro Wrestling NOAH “ARK YAMAKASA ~ 8th Annual NTV G+ Cup Junior Heavy Tag League War – Day 3″, 7/21/2014 [Mon] @ Hakata StarLanes in Fukuoka

() GHC Tag Prelude Match: Takashi Sugiura, Daisuke Harada & Quiet Storm vs. Muhammed Yone, Daisuke Ikeda & Akitoshi Saito
() JTL A BLOCK Match: Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask IV vs. Super Crazy & Matt Striker
() JTL A BLOCK Match: Yoshinari Ogawa & Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Genba Hirayanagi & Kikutaro
() JTL B BLOCK Match: Taiji Ishimori & Atsushi Kotoge vs. Rocky Lobo & Jinzo
() GHC Heavyweight Championship Match: [22nd Champion] Naomichi Marufuji vs. [Challenger] Katsuhiko Nakajima
~ 1st title defense.

Pro Wrestling NOAH “8th Annual NTV G+ Cup Junior Heavy Tag League War – Day 4″, 7/23/2014 @ Nagasaki Peace Hall, 3F Hall

() Maybach Taniguchi vs. Genba Hirayanagi
() Takashi Sugiura & Daisuke Harada vs. Super Crazy & Matt Striker
() BRAVE vs TMDK: Naomichi Marufuji, Muhammed Yone & Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Mikey Nicholls, Shane Haste & Quiet Storm
() JTL B BLOCK Match: Taiji Ishimori & Atsushi Kotoge vs. Mitsuhiro Kitamiya & Hitoshi Kumano

Pro Wrestling NOAH “8th Annual NTV G+ Cup Junior Heavy Tag League War – Day 5″, 7/24/2014 @ Kagoshima Oro City Hall

() Akitoshi Saito & Kishin Kawabata [FREE] vs. Daisuke Ikeda [Fu-ten] & Junji Tanaka [Kyushu]
() Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste vs. Super Crazy & Matt Striker
() BRAVE vs NO MERCY: Katsuhiko Nakajima & Atsushi Kotoge vs. Takashi Sugiura & Genba Hirayanagi
() BRAVE vs Chokibogun: Naomichi Marufuji, Muhammed Yone & Taiji Ishimori vs. Maybach Taniguchi, Kenou [Michinoku] & Hajime Ohara [FREE]
() JTL B BLOCK Match: Daisuke Harada & Quiet Storm vs. Rocky Lobo & Jinzo

Pro Wrestling NOAH “8th Annual NTV G+ Cup Junior Heavy Tag League War – Day 6″, 7/25/2014 @ Itsuwa Gymnasium in Amakusa

() JTL B BLOCK Match: Daisuke Harada & Quiet Storm vs. Mitsuhiro Kitamiya & Hitoshi Kumano

Pro Wrestling NOAH “8th Annual NTV G+ Cup Junior Heavy Tag League War – Day 7″, 7/27/2014 @ Yonago Convention Center

() JTL B BLOCK Match: Mitsuhiro Kitamiya & Hitoshi Kumano vs. Shiori Asahi & Hiro Tonai

Pro Wrestling NOAH “8th Annual NTV G+ Cup Junior Heavy Tag League War – Day 8″, 7/28/2014 @ Hiroshima Industrial Hall West Exhibition Hall

() JTL A BLOCK Match: Genba Hirayanagi & Kikutaro vs. Super Crazy & Matt Striker
() JTL B BLOCK Match: Taiji Ishimori & Atsushi Kotoge vs. Shiori Asahi & Hiro Tonai

Pro Wrestling NOAH “8th Annual NTV G+ Cup Junior Heavy Tag League War – Day 9″, 7/29/2014 @ Tottori Industrial Gymnasium, Sub-Arena

() Katsuhiko Nakajima & Mitsuhiro Kitamiya vs. Inaba no Buffalo [Osaka] & Junji Tanaka [Kyushu]
() Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste vs. Genba Hirayanagi & Kikutaro [Akiba]
() JTL A BLOCK Match: Kenou & Hajime Ohara vs. Super Crazy & Matt Striker
() BRAVE vs Weaponized NO MERCY: Naomichi Marufuji, Muhammed Yone & Atsushi Kotoge vs. Takeshi Morishima, Daisuke Harada & Quiet Storm

Pro Wrestling NOAH “8th Annual NTV G+ Cup Junior Heavy Tag League War – Final Day”, 8/2/2014 @ Differ Ariake in Tokyo

() Genba Hirayanagi & Kikutaro [Akiba] vs. Mitsuhiro Kitamiya & Hitoshi Kumano
() JTL A BLOCK Match: Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask IV vs. Kenou & Hajime Ohara
() JTL A BLOCK Match: Yoshinari Ogawa & Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Super Crazy & Matt Striker
() JTL B BLOCK Match: Taiji Ishimori & Atsushi Kotoge vs. Daisuke Harada & Quiet Storm
() JTL B BLOCK Match: Shiori Asahi & Hiro Tonai vs. Rocky Lobo & Jinzo
() JTL FINAL MATCH: A BLOCK #1 vs. B BLOCK #1
() GHC Tag Championship Match: [31st Champions] “Dangan Yankees” Takashi Sugiura & Masato Tanaka vs. [Challengers] “Muhammed Bomber” Muhammed Yone & Daisuke Ikeda
~ 2nd title defense.

A Special Thank You ProWrestling Fans !!

From June 15th to this very day, this blog's pages has been visited for 21.131 times. 

Since late 2009 (remember I stopped updating the blog two years ago and restarted early this year) has reached an impressive total of 558.802 pages visited from all over the world, as You can see from the "Live Global Viewers" on the right of the blog !

Therefore I want to Thank All of You Pro Wrestling Fans for this Journey !

VINCE RUSSO IS STILL WORKING FOR TNA !

As previously noted here on the site, Vince Russo has publicly declined to comment on PWInsider.com's story that he is still working for TNA as a creative consultant.

Therefore, it was very interesting today that I received an email from Russo, who accidentally cc'd me in, featuring instructions and advice from him to Mike Tenay and Taz on how certain segments of a TNA TV episode about to be voiced over should be handled.
That should put to rest, once and for all, any question that Russo is still involved and working for TNA.

WOULD THE ROCK COME BACK FOR ANOTHER MATCH?

The Rock appeared on ESPN Sportscenter today to promote his film "Hercules", which will be released on 7/25.

When asked about a potential return to the ring, Rock responded, "Possibly, yeah."

ANOTHER BIG RETURN EXPECTED SOON FOR WWE !

As reported in the PWInsider Elite section, Paul Heyman was kept away from Cesaro last night on Raw as the plans are for Brock Lesnar to return shortly, possibly as soon as Monday's Raw in Miami, Florida and Heyman's focus will be on the Lesnar storyline leading into Summerslam.

FIRST LOOK AT STING IN WWE'S 2K15 VIDEOGAME !!

2K Sports released the following images of Sting, in both his "surfer" era as well as the "black and white" era, as he will be seen on the roster of the WWE 2K15 videogame.

HULK SIGNS KENTA AND MORE: 7/12 WWE RESULTS FROM OSAKA, JAPAN

Dolph Ziggler defeats The Miz with the Zigzag.

Kofi Kingston and Big E. defeat Luke Harper and Erik Rowan (Kofi pin on Harper).

NXT Championship match: Adrian Neville defeats Sami Zayn with the Red Arrow.

Paige over Alicia Fox by submission. (Pre-show, fans were asked to vote on Twitter for either a match or a dance battle.)

Dean Ambrose defeats Seth Rollins via DQ after Rollins uses MitB briefcase.

Hulk Hogan, with Jimmy Hart, appeared and talked about the memories from Japan and the legends he wrestled here, name dropping Antonio Inoki, Tatsumi Fujinami, Riki Choshu, Strong Kobayashi, The Great Muta, and Chono.  He also put over the talent in the back, specifically Ambrose, Rollins, and Reigns, and his "favorite" John Cena (who wasn't at this show).    Hogan then called out Kenta, "the future of WWE" and they did the contract signing.  Kenta didn't speak, but Hogan put him over on the mic.  They also showed a pre-taped guest spot by a Japanese dignitary (government sports minister/organizer for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics) wishing Kenta luck. Segment ended with Kenta motioning Hogan back into the ring for the usual shirt ripping and posing routine.  There was a TV camera in the ring for the signing, whether for Japan TV or WWE purposes I don't know.

RVD over Cesaro with the 5 Star Frog Splash.  Heyman was getting great reactions from the crowd with his ringside antics.

Roman Reigns over Kane with the spear after run-ins by Rollins then Ambrose.

First show in Osaka in a decade, and nearly full (possibly a sell out, just one section with some empty seats).  Despite the lack of Cena or Bray Wyatt from the Tokyo shows and all the talent that didn't make the trip at all due to injuries (Barrett, etc.) or being scheduled for the same date NYC show, it was a very well received show.  Also, TONS of merchandise sold, especially (but not near limited to) Wyatt sheep masks and Hogan shirts.

GFW REACHES AGREEMENTS WITH MULTIPLE EUROPEAN PROMOTIONS!!

On the heels of partnership agreements with the top promotions in Japan and Mexico, Global Force Wrestling has formed an alliance with several of the top independent wrestling promotions throughout Europe. Revolution Pro Wrestling (www.revolutionprowrestling.com, covering south of England), New Generation Wrestling (www.ngwuk.com, covering north of England), Premier British Wrestling (www.pbwwrestling.com, covering Scotland), Westside Xtreme Wrestling (www.wxw-wrestling.com, covering Germany) and Emerald Wrestling Promotions (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Emerald-Wrestling-Promotions/100651866652805, covering Ireland) all have decided to #JoinTheForce. 

“If you look through the history of pro wrestling it’s littered with great talent from Europe,” Global Force Wrestling founder and CEO Jeff Jarrett said. “We put the word ‘Global’ in this new brand, and we meant it. We believe fans want a wrestling promotion that brings something new and exciting and will engage them at every turn, and that’s what we’re going to do.” Veteran wrestler Doug Williams, a multiple singles and tag team champion in his native England and in various U.S. promotions, has been instrumental in helping Global Force Wrestling put together this European alliance. “I am very excited to be a part of the Force, and I really look forward to helping facilitate the relationships between GFW and these top independent wrestling promotions,” Williams said. “The European style will bring something a little different to the table, just as the other partners will.I can’t wait to see it all come together under one umbrella.” GFW announced its partnership with Mexico’s AAA on April 29 and with New Japan Pro Wrestling on June 23.

#JointheForce

www.globalforcewrestling.com

UPDATED WWE BATTLEGROUND PPV SPOILER LINEUP

The updated lineup for the 7/20 WWE Battleground PPV in Tampa, FL features:

*WWE World champion John Cena vs. Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton vs. Kane.

*Best 3 Falls: WWE Tag Team champions The Usos vs. The Wyatt Family.

*WWE Divas champion AJ Lee vs. Paige.

*Battle Royal to crown new WWE Intercontinental champion: WWE United States champion Sheamus, Cesaro, RVD, Damien Sandow, The Great Khali, Ryback, Curtis Axel, Bo Dallas, Kofi Kingston, Dolph Ziggler, Big E, Fandango, Alberto Del Rio and more to be announced.

*Cameron vs. Naomi.

*Rusev vs. Jack Swagger.

*Chris Jericho vs. Bray Wyatt.

SPOILER: ANOTHER BIG WWE TV RETURN SET

Ric Flair is scheduled for Monday's Raw taping in Richmond, VA and Tuesday's Smackdown taping in Fayetteville, NC.

Flair was originally booked to work the weekend house shows in the Northeast but WWE creative has written him into this week's coming TV shows.

Flair recently passed medical tests with the company, clearing the way for him to return as a regular on screen performer for WWE. Flair's return to TV this week is not a short-term thing as he'll be on semi-regularly leading into Summerslam.

KURT ANGLE-TNA UPDATE

On Jim Ross' podcast today, Kurt Angle announced that his TNA contract expires on 9/21. He said that TNA has offered him a new deal but he hasn't signed it because his next contract will probably be his last one and he wants to consider his options. He also noted that he think he will be able to wrestle again in October. Let the speculation begin.

You can listen to the podcast by clicking here.

Thanks to Bill Jenkins for sending that along.

Update on WWE Big Return

Chris Jericho's return to WWE is not a short quick in and out, PWInsider.com has confirmed. WWE sources indicate that Jericho is figured into WWE's current creative plans through the 9/21 Night of Champions PPV in Nashville, TN.
Jericho returned tonight, interrupting The Miz's return promo before being laid out by The Wyatt Family. In an attempt to mask his return, Jericho posted Tweets and Instagram photos that indicated he was with his family.
PWInsider.com broke the news of Jericho's return late Monday afternoon.