WWE tributes:
WWE started Raw last night with a graphic in memory of 26 people that had been murdered in a shooting incident in Texas this week. They also presented Manchester Arena a custom WWE title as tribute to the 22 victims of a terror attack at a concert in the building earlier this year.
Survivor Series:
Sasha Banks, Bayley and Asuka have filled out the women's red team and Braun Strowman, Finn Balor, Samoa Joe and Jason Jordan did the same for the men's. In a huge twist to one of the champion vs champion matches, Shield dropped their gold to the BAR last night. They will now face Uso's instead. James Ellsworth has challenged Becky Lynch to put her spot on team blue on the line for their match today.
Chris Jericho on TV:
Chris Jericho has landed a show on the Travel channel, telling the true story of iconic movie characters. First up will be Butch and Sundance.
Brother Love responds to rapper:
Brother Love is not happy with Puff Daddy...
''Yo. Find a new gimmick. I invented and perfected Brother Love. I am the original and you are not. Remember North Carolina.''
Pay-pered:
Impact are hiring actors to fill the crowd for their TV taping's this week. They paid $50 per person, per day, according to the talent agency they hired to enlist the ''Background actors''.
Alum coming home:
Michelle McCool appears to have accepted a challenge to one more match from Charlotte on social media. She says she has been waiting for someone to ask, and will sit by the phone.
Roman ready:
Roman Reigns will be back on TV next week.
Injury:
Sin Cara has confirmed he has injured his knee.
SmackDown UK:
SmackDown has taped in the UK today, and like Raw last night has had major implications for Survivor Series. Here is the teaser...
- AJ Styles to challenge WWE Champion Jinder Mahal tonight on SmackDown LIVE
- Becky Lynch to face James Ellsworth tonight on SmackDown LIVE
- SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos defend against Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable
- Will Raw retaliate for The New Day's raid?
Y2NJPW:
Chris Jericho approached NJPW to offer his services to them. He talked to the Jakyl who presented the offer to booker Gedo, who then approached Kenny Omega to gauge his interest. The talks were done in NYC and a one shot deal was signed.
Kurt Angle:
Kurt Angle wrestled his first live for WWE in 11 years this afternoon.
Impact departure:
Bram has left Impact.
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WWE snub responsible for Jericho match:
Questions have been asked of Chris Jericho's motives to go to New Japan. He has long said WWE would be his only home in wrestling, but he opened talks with NJPW in August, and will debut for them in January. He is not breaching any deal with WWE, he is out of contract, and is free to work elsewhere should he so choose. The reason for his trip to Japan may be his way of getting back at WWE for snubbing his new Rock 'N' Wrestling cruise business. He wanted WWE to partner him on the venture, and to have the wrestling side of the trip provided by NXT. WWE were not buying what he was selling, and refused to get on board, leaving Y2J forced to fund the inaugural sailing out of his own pocket. He has paired up with ROH for the cruise, but has reportedly been left with a bitter taste in his mouth from the WWE knock back.
Emma:
Emma says she is taking indie bookings now, but cannot work until February, after her WWE 90 day exemption clause expires.
Bound For Glory:
Alberto Del Rio returned, Sami Callihan and Jimmy Jacobs made their debuts and Gail Kim won the Knockouts title in her retirement match at Impact BFG last night.
Santino Marella was in the crowd, and was shown on camera.
Injury:
Sin Cara suffered a leg injury in Spain, and had to be helped to the back last night.
TE champ released:
WWE have released Josh, the male winner of the last Tough Enough. Plans to drop him emerged over the summer, but WWE shot them down, they have now confirmed he was dropped last week because he is showing no signs of recovering from concussion syndrome. He has not been training at the PC for months because of the injury.
4th member:
The Shield have named Joey Mercury as the unofficial 4th member of their group, because of the work he put in to the creation of the faction.
Raw tease:
- Miz TV kicks off Raw in Manchester with special guest Kurt Angle
- Jason Jordan and Elias to battle in a Guitar-on-a-Pole Match
- Can Alicia Fox find Superstars to be on her Traditional Survivor Series Team?
- Will Kane's monstrous reign of destruction continue in Manchester?
- Will Raw's titleholders still be standing tall for the Champion vs. Champion Match at Survivor Series?
The show has taped and has major implications for Survivor Series.
PPV cut backs:
WWE are planning to cut back to one PPV a month for next year. 4 for each of the brands and the big 4 held as jointly run shows.
Paige:
Paige has created a YouTube channel.
Balor backs UK PPV:
"I love the idea of doing international pay-per-views and I don't see why we should be anchored, so to speak, to the United States. Obviously there are issues of time zones and logistics but that's for someone else to figure out. The fans here deserve a pay-per-view in the United Kingdom. They haven't had one since 1992 and that one went down as one of the greatest pay-per-views in WWE history. Why it hasn't been done since then is beyond me. People above me will make excuses about how it's not financially beneficial to the company but I think there are more important things beyond the bottom line and that's giving the fans what they want at any cost. We've been touring here since 1991 and the fans deserve a pay-per-view. The talent want it too. So it's time they figured it out and brought a big pay-per-view here."
SS plans:
Roman Reigns is still not ready for a return from his sick bed. WWE are concerned he will not be cleared in time for this months PPV and have lined Jason Jordan up as a substitute for team red.
Band back together:
JR and the King are going on a speaking tour together next year.
Nia talks absence:
"Thank you. Well actually I had live events off for the last couple of weeks because that's just how it worked out, for cycling and stuff, so I got a little rest from TV because I wasn't in anything storyline-wise, so I had a little rest there. But yeah, it's been great. I love what we do, I love the storytelling, especially being such a different character and obviously a different size than everybody, we get to play on that and it's always cool to see where we can go in the ring."
Inter-gender match:
James Ellsworth and Becky Lynch will wrestle each other on SD this week.
Why Taya is out of BFG:
Taya has been pulled from tonight's Bound For Glory because of a delay in her application to become an American citizen. Impact are worried she won't be able to return to America from her native Canada because of the forms not being completed, so withdrew her match.
NJPW return:
NJPW are returning to the US in the new year.
Jericho back in the ring:
Chris Jericho will be back in the ring in January, but not for WWE. He shocked the wrestling world by appearing via video link on NJPW TV last night. He has challenged Kenny Omega to a match for the Wrestle Kingdom show at the Tokyo Dome. Omega accepted.
Impact closure:
Impact have told their office staff that they are closing their Nashville office and re-locating to Toronto.
HHH at indie:
HHH surprised fans at the ICW show this weekend to thank the promotion for their support of the UK title tourney.
ROH:
Rocky Romero will be the next challenger for Cody Rhodes' title.
Nikki wants new job:
Nikki Bella wants to have the comeback match with her twin next year, then move into acting. She says DWTS gave her a love of performing that she wants to pursue.
Rock the vote:
The Rock continues to tease a presidential run is in his future plans...
"I think the 'People's President' has a really nice ring to it. I'll just say that."
Kane has released wrestling themed shirts to promote his mayoral bid (Photo).
Media heat on Taker:
Undertaker got some negative media attention for leaving a restaurant wearing a t-shirt embossed with a gun in the colours of the American flag.
Match off:
Personal issues have cost Impact a BFG match. Taya has had to withdraw her services until January.
UK Mania:
After an article was released rubbishing news that London was on the short list for Mania 35, UK fans took their plea to the boss. Chanting ''We want Mania'' throughout HHH's match last night. They drew this response from the man himself...
"There's only one guy that can make that decision for ya, but unfortunately he's not here. If you're loud enough, maybe he can hear you on the other side of the Pond. Try again!"
The article stated that Vince was dead against the idea because of time differences. The show would air too early on one coast, and too late on the other. Loyalty of international fans also, it was suggested, counts against them, as fans from the UK and Australia in particular are happy to travel to the show every year in their droves. WWE do not believe American fans would be any where near as willing to do the trip the other way, as they are used to having WWE come to them, and feel entitled to having that continue. Any international Mania would only come out of Mexico City, in the reporter's opinion, but even that would be a push, and would be a long way off.
Rapper wants WWE name:
Puff Daddy says he plans to change his stage name to Brother Love.
Regal rescues Rush:
Heat was so bad on Lio Rush after his tweet mocking the release of Emma that WWE were ready to fire him. He was only saved by the intervention of William Regal. He chastised the WWE roster for the torrent of anger he received on social media...
''We all make mistakes.All the people who’ve had “heat” or problems, have I ever joined in with the pack on you?Perhaps a chat and a bit of guidance would be better.Being a Pro comes in many ways in and out of the ring.''
...And also fought for him backstage. The former ROH star is still on very thin ice, but has, it seems, survived this one.
Return imminent:
Alberto Del Rio says Paige is ''Days'' away from returning to WWE TV.
Ref-less:
Impact have lost all of their referee's. Long term employee Brian Stiffler followed the rest of the refs out the door today, ending 13 years on the Impact books and most notably Impact HOF'er Earl Hebner is gone after 11 years. Impact will hire local ref's to officiate their matches from now on.
Million Dollar Man on choosing his title over World:
"There was a lot of talk of that happening at WrestleMania 4. Somehow I win the tournament, and then I have my run with Hogan, and, of course, in the WWF, as it was known then, if you're a heel champion, you're not going to be champion very long. You're transitional. You're either going to give it back to the guy who you took it from, or you're going to be a transitional champion and you're going to lose it to the next guy who will be a babyface champion. And there was talk of that, but Pat Patterson said to me one day, he said, 'Ted, we've kicked this thing around and we thought about it, but in reality, because we're pushing you so hard, you're the top heel right now, that's what the people are going to expect. What if we don't give him that? Let's say you don't win the tournament and then in your arrogance, you create your own title and just declare yourself the Million Dollar Champion?' As soon as he said it, I said, 'do that,' I said, 'because that will put more heat on me than anything else we can do.' And, again, that's me the businessman going, 'what's best for business?' and 'what's going to be the bottom line?' And that's what I tell people all the time, 'it would have been nice to be the world champion,' I said, 'yeah, but in this business, the bottom line is titles are props and it's a business, so what was best for business and what was best for me at the time was to go that other way.'"
UK want Emma:
Fans in Brighton chanted for Emma throughout the women's match at the live there last night.
PWI:
PWI have named Asuka as the female wrestler of the year.
Matt still fighting:
Matt Hardy has hired a specialist lawyer to fight Impact for ownership of his broken gimmick.
WWE releases:
Sawyer Fulton has been released from NXT. His five years with WWE were highlighted by being an original member of Sanity, before injury cost him his spot. Chinese star Leo Gao is also gone from the PC after suffering a serious neck injury in training.
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Flair worries for Hulk's health:
Ric Flair has recalled a visit from Hulk Hogan, when he was in hospital himself recently...
"You can imagine how everybody was bugging Hulk, and even though he came in through a security area where I was, but the Nurses and everybody wanted a picture with him; he's Hulk Hogan, and he was gracious to do it, but one of the Doctor's said to me, 'Geez. Hulk Hogan can barely walk.' It's true; he can barely walk. His back is so bad. I feel terrible for him."
WarGames:
William Regal officially announced NXT WarGames last night. As well as confirming the bout, and it's participants, he also booked Aleister Black vs Velveteen Dream for the show.
WCW star puts HOF'er on blast:
Buff Bagwell has gone on another sweary, angry rant against Jim Ross, who he blames for lying to ruin his WWE career, before it really started...
"Do you really believe that you're gonna fire Buff Bagwell over one bad match? Come on, man. Do you really believe, out there in video world, that Buff Bagwell got fired because of his mother? Do people really believe that I had my mother call the WWF and say let him off Augusta in Birmingham? Well f**k no that's not true! Why would I do that? But people believed it. And one person was responsible: Jim Ross. And only God, Jim Ross and me know the truth, and who's gonna believe me. Nobody... The true, true story is Jim Ross created that monster, and people believed it. It may not have been Jim. Jim made the call, and that's the route he took. He said, 'Hey, it's a s****y job what I got here. It's a job I gotta do, I gotta call people. It's a bad job.' To be honest with you, that could be true, but somebody, and I was told it was Jim, somebody started the 'mother called in'. And what Jim's leaving out right there, is on video they have a roundtable meeting, and Jim Ross rips my f***ing ass out. There's no way to mend a fence, brother, of costing me my life. Jim Ross, I feel and I just proved on tape, Jim Ross ruined my career. He started this f***ing rumor about my mother and ruined my career. How do you mend that fence? How do you do that? Now, do I think he was the mastermind behind it all? Absolutely not... But I think Jim has all to do with what I'm talking about with my mother calling the office, and starting that rumor and everybody believed it. I think Jim was 1,000 percent behind that."
Impact release:
Referee Brian Hebner has left Impact.
Impact awarded:
Impact have earned a gold plaque from YouTube for securing a million subscribers to their channel.
Why Raw did not invade:
WWE did not have Raw attack SmackDown in retaliation to team blue doing so to them because they had to fly out for the Euro tour. They may still do the angle before this months PPV.
Impact champ blames Alum for failing at NXT:
Eli Drake says Bill DeMott fought against him during his time with NXT...
"We were hot and cold from day to day. It would be very strange when you would walk in and go 'Hey Bill, Good morning, how are you doing?' and you go to shake the guy's hand. He looks at it and then walks away. This guy's the head coach. I'm not trying to air out dirty laundry. It's onward and upward at this point. At this point, I'm Global Champion. I'm living the dream. I'm getting taken care of well. I'm doing well for myself so I can't even contemplate or dwell on that. Was it kind of a bad rep at the time? Yeah, yeah. Forget it. Move on. Who cares?"
Poster leak spoils angle:
The poster for Survivor Series has leaked, and seemingly confirms the guest ref angle (Photo).
Party sell out:
The pre sale bookings for tickets to Raw 25 sold out in under a minute today. They go on general sale tomorrow.
Why WWE snubbed Japanese:
WWE rescinded a contract offer to Lo Shirai after their doctors found a problem with her heart.
Feud continues:
Tyrese continues to attack Rock on social media for delaying 'Fast 9' to make a spin off film. The actor now says when the film is made, it's filmmakers better not cast Rock, or they will lose his services.
World champ ready to go:
James Storm is expected to leave Impact after Bound For Glory.
SS change:
AJ Styles has been pulled from his qualifier for Survivor Series next week, and instead will challenge for the WWE title. Rusev has claimed the last spot as his own.
Rhodes on TV:
Brandi Rhodes has joined the cast of WAGS.
Feud taken to court:
Hulk Hogan has made good on his threat to take his former best friend, Brutus Beefcake, to court over their social media feud. Brutus received a legal letter today.
Bella boss:
Nikki Bella says signing for 'Dancing With The Stars' may have cost her the GM job for SmackDown. She had offered her services, but was told they would need her full commitment to do it, and her DWTS deal was already signed.
New WSM?:
This years winner of World's Strongest Man, Eddie Hall, says he has a booking with WWE within the next month.
Survivor Series:
Shane McMahon has named himself as a team member, and captain, of team blue for this months Survivor Series. Bobby Roode and Shinsuke Nakamura earner spots 3 & 4 by winning qualification matches. AJ Styles vs Rusev will determine the last member next week.
Enzo Amore vs Kalisto for the Cruiserweight is now official.
Announcer returns:
Tom Phillips was back at work last night.
HOF'er unretires:
Tony Atlas will wrestle in Canada, for Elite, later this month.
Young Bucks on board:
The Young Bucks have signed up for Chris Jericho's Rock 'N' Wrestling cruise.
Best friends for-never:
Former best friends Hulk Hogan and Brutus The Barber are friends no more. Their fall out went public in spectacular fashion with a huge Twitter war this week. Brutus is angry that Hulk has started some kind of relationship with his ex wife. She then went on to take pride in reciting every negative word Hulk said about Bruti to him in a series of e-mails. Brutus, slighted by being stabbed in the front and the back, replied to a fan comment on a Hogan tweet, revealing the relationship between HH and his ex, Hogan threatened him with legal action, and things degenerated into a pretty ugly spat which included Brutus publishing the messages from his wife. Barber also claimed that Hogan tried to make a move on his current wife, before moving onto his ex, and got put in his place by her.
Tour starts:
Raw have arrived in the UK for the pre Survivor Series Euro tour. HHH is working as the third man in the Shield, and Bray Wyatt is back at work for the tour.
Bella business:
The Bella's have launched a sports and fitness clothes line, named after Brie's daughter.
Legend at PC:
Les Thatcher is coaching at the PC this week.
Rock names 3 matches he wants before he stops:
"One would be Triple H, The Game. The other would be The Beast Brock Lesnar. The other one would be a guy that actually just needs my foot in his ass, Roman Reigns. Yeah."
Jerry Lawler recalls early days of Raw:
"One of the things about was amazing about it, was the Manhattan Center wasn't a very big venue. At the time, they didn't know how successful this thing was going to become. It was in the very early stages. Just an infant being born at the Manhattan Center. And this place was small compared to the Barclays Center. It was a very small venue. The main thing I remember is having to dress, get ready for the matches, and get ready for the show in the stairwells. There was just not enough dressing rooms. And guys were dressing every little nook and cranny and broom closets to get ready for the show."
SD grope resolved:
Natalya and Zack Ryder have confirmed they are still friends after an inadvertent grope on Raw last week. Natalya grabbed Zack's junk as she pushed past him to brawl with the Raw women during the siege and with the media storm going on now with sexual harassment and abuse, the story got more legs than it probably deserved, or would have gotten otherwise.
Why Emma was cut:
Emma was fired by WWE to make an example of her. She had real heat with the writing and creative team for being outspoken on social media, particularly in relation to the awful Emmalina debacle, which has dragged on for some time. Being one of the most respected workers in the women's locker room could not save her, as WWE wanted to stamp down on talent shooting on angles they are not happy with, and talent fighting against creative when presented with stuff they did not want to do. The door is said to still be open for a return, but her release was described as subtraction to gain addition.
Vince McMahon made the decision to make some cuts on Friday during the WWE quarterly shareholders meeting.
Charlotte talks domestic violence abuse:
"At that time, we were young, and he had family issues as well, and I was constantly trying to make up for those - but when, in reality, we were both in unhealthy situations. And I kept thinking, 'Well maybe if I looked a certain way or acted a certain way, or if I did this better he wouldn't do xyz.' But it really had nothing to do with me, so I was continuing to make excuses. And when you're in a codependent relationship like that, you're listening to what the person says, but even though they do something else and say, 'Oh, I'm sorry. It will never happen again,' but that's not really how it is if the behavior never changes."
