Watch Gopher highlights from the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational that took place on Friday and Saturday.
The Gophers compete next when they travel to Brookings, S.D., to wrestle South Dakota State University on December 20th at 7:00 pm. Fans can catch the action live on flowrestling.org.
Golden Gopher Wrestling Tickets
Check out Gopher Wrestling at gophersports.com and on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Hello AW Universe,
Well, it’s that special time of year. For ordinary people, January can be a bit of a slog, with the post-Christmas glow fading fast but for wrestling fans, it’s a fantastic time because it means that, arguably, the most exciting PPV on the WWE schedule is jut around the corner, Royal Rumble.
Now it’s usually the match itself that garners the most excitement, but this year’s undercard is starting to fill out nicely, with a Universal title match between “The Fiend” and Daniel Bryan and a Raw Women’s title match between Becky Lynch and Asuka already both booked.
And it seems that the question as to who will be challenging Brock Lesnar for his WWE Championship at the event will be answered tonight on the first episode of Monday Night Raw of 2020, as The Beast has already been announced to appear.
It’s likely that this is to setup the feud with whoever the #1 Contender is going to be. so, who will face Brock Lesnar for his WWE Championship at Minute Maid Park in Houston on January 26th?
Here are some of the likely candidates.
Rey Mysterio
Mysterio is booked to face Andrade in a rematch for the United States Championship that he dropped to only two weeks ago. Andrade seems to be getting a pretty legitimate push, so it’s unlikely that he’s going to drop the title back to Rey. Mysterio obviously played a large role in Lesnar’s last feud– first with Rey himself and then the ill-fated Cain Velasquez program– so it could be easy to just rollout a re-tread of if this match as a placeholder feud until WrestleMania 35. Lesnar clearly has a lot of respect for the veteran, and therefore would put time and effort into another match, something that can be an issue for Brock depending on his opponent.
Samoa Joe
He’s back from injury and from behind the announcer’s table to team with Kevin Owens to take a stand against Seth Rollins and The Authors of Pain, so there might be some other longterm booking going on there. But Samoa Joe is such a badass, and that was featured when Joe first stood up to the AOP two weeks ago. “Imma tell you something right now; if I get up, it’s not to move. If I get up, it’s both your asses.” He delivered that line first with nonchalant arrogance, then with measured aggression. The man is perfect on the mic and in the ring, so a Samoa Joe/Paul Heyman promo feud alone leading up to a championship match would be sublime.
Aleister Black
This one might seem farfetched, but I see Aleister Black at the Rumble going one of two ways: he enters the Rumble match and dominates, leading the match with the most eliminations, or he knocks on Lesnar’s door and picks the biggest fight of his young career.
Now, Lesnar hasn’t seemed particularly interested in putting over, let alone wrestling, younger talent (see: WrestleMania 32 match against Jon Moxley Dean Ambrose). But Black is a unique talent who might be able to win Lesnar over with his look and in-ring style. This would undoubtably be the freshest matchup for Lesnar in a very long time, and could be a fantastically-worked match if the effort is put in by the champion.
Fast-Count
Tonight’s Monday Night Raw is also going to feature a Triple Threat match for the Raw Tag Team Championship, with The Viking Raiders defending against The Street Profits and Gallows & Anderson. There seems to a title change coming here, and as much as it would be cool to see the Street Profits get that gold– Montez Ford is the next biggest upcoming star– it might make more sense to have the World’s Greatest Tag Team in Gallows & Anderson steal the titles now and build a longer-term feud with the Street Profits.
What’s next for AJ Styles and Randy Orton after that fantastic swerve by Orton last week? Orton’s a master, and every time the chatter of him getting too old or too bored to stick around in WWE, he pulls off something like this. The fact that it’s AJ Styles who’s going to be the heel to clap back at him is just too good to be true.
Drew McIntyre’s new gimmick is fire. Give this guy all the personality and have him melt hearts and break bones on his way to a World title.
What’s the fallout from the nightmare wedding last week? Does Rusev finally get to move on now that Liv Morgan is involved, or is going to be riding this wave of dysfunction all the way to ‘Mania?
The first Raw of 2020 is setting up to be a very good episode! It all goes down tonight.
Kazan and Belgorod need only one hour to win again their opponents. In the fight for the third place in Superleague Novosibirsk met Fakel.
Siberian battle has changed into one team show, Novosibirsk did not allow anything to Fakel. Kazan is still leading Russian Superleague, after the lost with Dynamo in the last round Kazan played at home with 11th Ekaterinburg. Kazan receive 3 points after straight win. Middleblocker of Kazan A. Bogomolov made 6 blocks in this game.
Also second Belgorod gained easy points with Tyumen. 5th Dynamo Moscow won the last six games and did not want to give any points to Iskra Odintsovo. However without Dante Dynamo could not stop good playing Iskra. J. Schops was again the leader of Iskra, German opposite scored 26 points. Yaroslavl and Ufa had to fight hard at home to receive two points from tiebreak.
Three matches have been finalized for tomorrow’s second Wrestle Kingdom 14 event.
The main event will be IWGP Heavyweight champion Kazuchika Okada facing new IWGP Intercontinental champion Tetsuya Naito. After Okada successfully defended his title against Kota Ibushi in tonight’s main event, Naito came out and said he’d be leaving tomorrow with both belts.
This would mark the second time Okada and Naito have headlined a Wrestle Kingdom card, the previous time being in 2018. The two also faced one another in the co-main event of Wrestle Kingdom 8 back in 2014.
Jay White and Kota Ibushi, who lost their respective matches tonight, will now face each other on tomorrow’s show.
Jon Moxley, who defeated Lance Archer tonight to win back the IWGP United States title, will now face Juice Robinson tomorrow with the title on the line.
Here is the full card for tomorrow’s Wrestle Kingdom 14 event:
Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito for both the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental titles
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Chris Jericho
Jay White vs. Kota Ibushi
KENTA vs. Hirooki Goto for the NEVER Openweight title
Jon Moxley vs. Juice Robinson for the IWGP United States title
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. SANADA for the RevPro British Heavyweight title
El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori vs. SHO & YOH for the IWGP Jr. Tag Team titles
Jushin Thunder Liger & Naoki Sano vs. Hiromu Takahashi & Ryu Lee in Jushin Thunder Liger’s final match
A six man gauntlet match for the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team titles featuring champions Ryusuke Taguchi & Toru Yano & Togi Makabe vs. Robbie Eagles & YOSHI-HASHI & Tomohiro Ishii vs. BUSHI & Shingo Takagi & EVIL vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado & Taichi vs. Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi & Bad Luck Fale
The young opposite, Poland coach’s son is going to play in the A1 Argentina League champion, Drean Bolivar. Castellani is 19 years old, 1,98 meters tall and he is playing in the young national team in the South American championship in Chile.
Castellani is 19 years old, 1,98 meters tall and he is playing in the young national team in the South American championship in Chile. In his fast career he played in Buenos Aires Club and UPCN Volley, the runner-up in 2009 A1 Argentine League.
His father, Daniel –the Poland National Team coach- had also coach Bolivar during four seasons (between 2002 and 2006) and he won two championships, a silver medal and a bronze medal. The specialists think that Ivan has some similar characteristics of the mythic captain of Argentina in the eighties.
Ivan will be surrounded of and experienced group of players as libero Pablo Meana, middle blocker Gabriel Arroyo, wing spiker Javier Filardi and brazilian Jean Carlo Badalotti to grow up in first level with setter Luciano De Cecco, opposite Federico Pereyra, Lucas Ocampo, Sebastian Sole, Nicolas Mendez, Juan Riganti and Franco Giachetta.
Beyond that, Castellani won the Boy`s World Champion bronze medals and the golden one in South American Championship last year. Now, he is defending the first continental place in the 2010 edition that has place in Chile.
Name: Ivan Castellani Age: 19 (19/01/1991) Position: Opposite Height: 1,98 m. Weight: 82 kg Spike: 3,36 m. Block: 3,20 m.
Royalton-Upsala 46 Eden Valley-Watkins 30 106: Teagyn Ludwig (EVW) over Michael Zimmerman (ROUP) (Fall 0:43) 113: Treyce Ludwig (EVW) over (ROUP) (For.) 120: Will Gorecki (ROUP) over (EVW) (For.) 126: Conner Lincoln (EVW) over (ROUP) (For.) 132: Gavin Caron (EVW) over (ROUP) (For.) 138: Jacob Leibold (ROUP) over Taylor Ludwig (EVW) (MD 10-0) 145: Christopher Borash (ROUP) over Gavin Mathies (EVW) (Dec 11-5) 152: Brayden Conrad (ROUP) over Sam Nistler (EVW) (Dec 10-6) 160: Gabe Gorecki (ROUP) over Ian Nisler (EVW) (Fall 0:27) 170: Carter Mathies (EVW) over Isaac Kasella (ROUP) (Fall 4:05) 182: Austin Wensmann (ROUP) over Sonnie DeHeer (EVW) (Fall 5:15) 195: Matthew Kasella (ROUP) over (EVW) (For.) 220: Gage Louden (ROUP) over (EVW) (For.) 285: Mason Novitzki (ROUP) over Austin Schlangen (EVW) (Fall 2:27)
Brazil is still no.1 volleyball country in the FIVB World Ranking. Russia remain second. Serbia and Cuba have both moved up one place in the men’s FIVB World Rankings to No.3 and No.4.
The changes come after the reduction of percentage points in continental championships (100 per cent to 50 per cent) and from the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games (75 per cent to 50 per cent).
Brazil and Russia remain on top of the men’s rankings following the changes but despite their gold medal win at the Olympic Games, the reduction in weighting means USA slip to No.5 from No.3 while Germany move to No.9 from No.10 at the expense of close rivals Poland. Further down the table the Czech Republic celebrated the biggest jump in the rankings, rising six places from No. 23 to No. 17 while Spain moved up four places to No. 20 from No. 24 with both teams benefitting from their 2010 FIVB Men’s World Championship outings in Italy last September and October.
The winners from two matches that are scheduled for tonight’s Dynamite will face each other next week in a number one contender’s match for the AEW World title.
PAC vs. Darby Allin and Jon Moxley vs. Sammy Guevara have already been announced for tonight. AEW’s social media today added a new stipulation to those matches. The winners of both matches will face one another next week on the Jericho’s Rock ‘n’ Wrestling Cruise edition of Dynamite. The winner of that match will become the one contender to the AEW World title.
Moxley and Jericho have had plenty of interactions with one another in the last few weeks. Jericho offered Moxley 49% ownership of the Inner Circle as well as a Ford GT if he were to join the Inner Circle. Last week, it appeared that Moxley had accepted the offer, but then told Jericho he was just kidding. He instead laid out Jericho and took the car keys.
The Bash at the Beach edition of AEW Dynamite will take place tonight at the Watsco Center in Miami, Florida.
PWTorch editor Wade Keller presents a special Thursday Flagship edition of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast featuring a WrestleMania 36 Preview with ex-WWE Creative Team member and professional stand-up comedian Matt McCarthy.
(Search “wade keller” to subscribe in podcast app or CLICK HERE to subscribe in Apple Podcasts.)
The following is the latest in a new series of weekly in-depth articles exclusive to PWTorch which will help put in perspective major wrestling promotions with a weekly overview, looking at news and roster developments, results, future line-ups, social media activity, key interviews, plus a timely commentary at the end. We will be featuring similar features on other promotions each week and each will be updated weekly.
•Top Stories of the Week
A.J. Styles announced on Twitter that he has signed a new contract with WWE.
Kurt Angle announced his retirement match at WrestleMania will be against Baron Corbin, Braun Strowman became the first person to declare entry in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, and Rey Mysterio announced that he is taking on Samoa Joe at WrestleMania for the United States Championship
WWE announced that Sue Aitchison, a 30+ year WWE employee, is this year’s recipient of the Warrior Award and the latest member of the WWE Hall of Fame.
•WWE Weekly Event Results
WWE Live Event – Raw Roster (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) 3/15/19
(1) Drew McIntyre beat Dean Ambrose
(2) Natalya beat Tamina
(3) The Ascension defeated Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins
(4) Lucha House Party beat Jinder Mahal & The Singh Brothers
(5) The Revival (c) defeated Chad Gable & Bobby Roode to retain the Raw Tag Team Championships
(6) Bobby Lashley (c) beat Apollo Crews & EC3 in a Triple Threat match to retain the Intercontinental Championship when he pinned EC3
(7) Sasha Banks & Bayley defeated The Riott Squad (Liv Morgan & Sarah Logan) to retain the Women’s Tag Team Championships
(8) Braun Strowman beat Baron Corbin in a No Disqualification match
SOURCE
WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster (Dubuque, Iowa) 3/16/19
(1) Samoa Joe (c) beat R-Truth (w/ Carmella) to retain the United States Championship
(2) Jeff Hardy beat Andrade
(3) Nikki Cross defeated Sonya Deville
(4) Carmella & Nikki Cross beat Sonya Deville & Lacey Evans
(5) Rowan defeated Mustafa Ali
(6) Becky Lynch beat Charlotte
(7) The New Day (Big E & Xavier Woods) beat Sanity (Eric Young & Alexander Wolfe w/ Killian Dane)
(8) Asuka (c) beat Mandy Rose to retain the Smackdown Women’s Championship
(9) Randy Orton defeated A.J. Styles
SOURCE
WWE Live Event – Raw Roster (Milwaukee, Wis.) 3/16/19
(1) Ronda Rousey (c) beat Dana Brooke to retain the Raw Women’s Championship
(2) Drew McIntyre beat Dean Ambrose
(3) Natalya beat Tamina
(4) The Ascension defeated Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins
(5) Bobby Lashley (c) beat Apollo Crews & EC3 in a Triple Threat match to retain the Intercontinental Championship
(6) The Revival (c) defeated Chad Gable & Bobby Roode to retain the Raw Tag Team Championships
(7) Lucha House Party beat Jinder Mahal & The Singh Brothers
(8) Sasha Banks & Bayley defeated The Riott Squad (Liv Morgan & Sarah Logan) to retain the Women’s Tag Team Championships
(9) Braun Strowman beat Baron Corbin in a No Disqualification match
SOURCE
WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster (Peoria, Ill.) 3/17/19
(1) Samoa Joe (c) beat R-Truth to retain the United States Championship
(2) The Hardy Boys defeated Shinsuke Nakamura & Rusev
(3) Nikki Cross beat Sonya Deville
(4) Nikki Cross & Carmella beat Sonya Deville & Lacey Evans
(5) Rowan defeated Mustafa Ali
(6) Becky Lynch beat Charlotte
(7) The New Day beat Sanity
(8) Asuka (c) defeated Mandy Rose to retain the Smackdown Women’s Championship
(9) A.J. Styles beat Randy Orton
SOURCE
WWE Live Event – Raw Roster (Green Bay, Wisc.) 3/17/19
(1) Drew McIntyre beat Dean Ambrose
(2) Lucha House Party defeated Jinder Mahal & The Singh Brothers
(3) The Ascension beat Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins
(4) Bobby Lashley (c) (w/ Lio Rush) beat Apollo Crews & EC3 to retain the Intercontinental Championship
(5) The Revival (c) defeated Bobby Roode & Chad Gable to retain the Raw Tag Team Championships
(6) Ronda Rousey (c) beat Dana Brooke to retain the Raw Women’s Championship
(7) Natalya beat Tamina
(8) Sasha Banks & Bayley (c) defeated The Riott Squad (Ruby Riott & Liv Morgan) to retain the Women’s Tag Team Championships
(9) Braun Strowman beat Baron Corbin in a No Disqualification match
SOURCE
WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster (Rockford, Ill.) 3/18/19
(1) Samoa Joe (c) beat Andrade & R-Truth in a Triple Threat match to retain the United States Championship
(2) Nikki Cross beat Sonya Deville
(3) Nikki Cross & Carmella defeated Sonya Deville & Lacey Evans
(4) The Hardy Boys beat The Bar and Shinsuke Nakamura & Rusev in a Triple Threat match
(5) Rowan defeated Mustafa Ali. Kevin Owens ran out after the match and hit Rowan with a Stunner
(6) Becky Lynch beat Charlotte
(7) The New Day defeated Sanity
(8) Asuka (c) beat Mandy Rose to retain the Smackdown Women’s Championship
(9) A.J. Styles defeated Randy Orton
SOURCE
If you attend a live event, please send results to [email protected]. Thanks!
•WWE TV Match Results
Monday Night Raw TV Results 3/18/19
(1) Finn Balor & Braun Strowman beat Bobby Lashley & Lio Rush when Strowman pinned Rush
(2) Elias defeated No Way Jose
(3) Kurt Angle beat Chad Gable
(4) Natalya (w/ Beth Phoenix) vs. Sasha Banks (w/ Bayley) ended in a no contest when Tamina attacked all four while Nia Jax had them distracted while talking on the stage
(5) Ricochet defeated Jinder Mahal (w/ Singh Brothers)
(6) Ronda Rousey (c) beat Dana Brooke in less than a minute to retain the Raw Women’s Championship
(7) Apollo Crews defeated Baron Corbin
(8) Drew McIntyre beat Seth Rollins after Brock Lesnar distracted Seth leading to a Claymore Kick by McIntyre
Smackdown Live TV Results 3/19/19
(1) The IIconics beat Sasha Banks & Bayley
(2) Kofi Kingston’s Gauntlet Match:
– Kofi Kingston beat Sheamus with a quick roll-up
– Kofi Kingston pinned Cesaro after the S.O.S.
– Kofi Kingston beat Rowan via Disqualification after Rowan attacked Kofi with a chair. Rowan would continue the attack until he claw slammed Kofi through the announce table
– Kofi Kingston pinned Samoa Joe after countering Joe’s Muscle Buster into a leverage pin. Joe put Kofi into a sleeper hold in the ropes after the match.
– Kofi Kingston beat Randy Orton after countering an RKO attempt into a roll-up pinfall
– Vince McMahon came out to congratulate Kofi, but also let him know he had one more opponent to beat in this Gauntlet Match. Daniel Bryan then came out as the final opponent
– Daniel Bryan pinned Kofi Kingston after a running knee
205 Live Results (Aired on WWE Network) 3/19/19
(1) Mike Kanellis (w/ Maria Kanellis) beat Akira Tozawa
(2) Tony Nese defeated Cedric Alexander to win the Cruiserweight Championship Tournament. Nese will face Buddy Murphy at WrestleMania.
WWE Main Event (Aired on Hulu and WWE Network) 3/21/19
(1) Rezar beat Curt Hawkins
(2) Titus O’Neil & Lucha House party defeated The Revival & The Ascension
Source: WKPWP Post-Raw On-Site Correspondent
•Upcoming Lineups for Stadium/PPV Events
WWE WrestleMania on April 7 from New York City, N.Y.
– Alexa Bliss announced as the host of WrestleMania
Ronda Rousey (c) vs. Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch for the Raw Women’s Championship
Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Seth Rollins for the Universal Championship
Buddy Murphy (c) vs. Tony Nese for the Cruiserweight Championship
Triple H vs. Batista in a No Holds Barred match
Kurt Angle vs. Baron Corbin in Kurt Angle’s final match
Shane McMahon vs. The Miz
A.J. Styles vs. Randy Orton
Samoa Joe (c) vs. Rey Mysterio for the United States Championship
Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
Known Entrants (1): Braun Strowman
•Upcoming Events
Fri. 3/22/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Cure Insurance Arena, Trenton, N.J.
Sat. 3/23/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, First Arena, Elimra, N.Y.
Sat. 3/23/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Adirondack Bank Center, Utica, N.Y.
Sun. 3/24/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Keybank Center, Buffalo, N.Y.
Sun. 3/24/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Mullins Center, Amherst, Mass.
Mon. 3/25/19 WWE Raw, TD Garden, Boston, Mass.
Mon. 3/25/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, PPL Center, Allentown, Pa.
Tue. 3/26/19 WWE Smackdown, Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Conn.
Fri. 3/29/19 WWE Live Event – Supershow, Eastern Kentucky Expo Center, Pikeville, Ky.
Sat 3/30/19 WWE Live Event – Supershow, Wesbanco Arena, Wheeling, W.Va.
Sun. 3/31/19 WWE Live Event – Supershow, Giant Center, Hershey, Pa.
Mon. 4/1/19 WWE Raw, Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C.
Mon. 4/1/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Berglund Center, Roanoke, Va.
Tue. 4/2/19 WWE Smackdown, Royal Farms Arena, Baltimore, Md.
Sun. 4/7/19 WWE WrestleMania, Metlife Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J.
Mon. 4/8/19 WWE Raw, Barclays Center, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Tue. 4/9/19 WWE Smackdown, Barclays Center, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Mon. 4/15/19 WWE Raw, Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Tue. 4/16/19 WWE Smackdown, Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Fri. 4/19/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Enterprise Center, St. Louis, Mo.
Sat. 4/20/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Alliant Energy Center, Madison, Wis.
Sat. 4/20/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Bank of Springfield Center, Springfield, Ill.
Sun. 4/21/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Mayo Civic Center, Rochester, Minn.
Sun. 4/21/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Tax Slayer Center, Moline, Ill.
Mon. 4/22/19 WWE Raw, Wells Fargo Center, Des Moines, Iowa
Mon. 4/22/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Sioux City, Iowa
Tue. 4/23/19 WWE Smackdown, Pinnacle Bank Arena, Lincoln, Neb.
Mon. 4/29/19 WWE Raw, Rupp Arena, Lexington, Ky.
Mon. 3/29/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Big Sandy Superstore Arena, Huntington, W.Va.
Tue. 4/30/19 WWE Smackdown, Schottenstein Center, Columbus, Ohio
Sun. 5/5/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Ford Center Evansville, Evansville, Ind.
Mon. 5/6/19 WWE Raw, U.S. Bank Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio
Mon. 5/6/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, The Corbin Arena, Corbin, Ky.
Tue. 5/7/19 WWE Smackdown – KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Ky.
Wed. 5/8/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, SSE Arena, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Thur. 5/9/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, 3Arena, Dublin, Ireland
Thur. 5/9/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Forest National, Brussels, Belgium
Fri. 5/10/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Helsinki Ice Hall, Helsinki, Finland
Fri. 5/10/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Arena Du Pays D’Aix, Aix-en-Province, France
Sat. 5/11/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Hovet, Stockholm, Sweden
Sat. 5/11/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Utilita Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Sun. 5/12/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Oslo Spektrum, Oslo, Norway
Sun. 5/12/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool, England
Mon. 5/13/19 WWE Raw, The O2, London, England
Mon. 5/13/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Bournemouth International Centre, Bournemouth, England
Tue. 5/14/19 WWE Smackdown, The O2, London, England
Tue. 5/14/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Accorhotels Arena, Paris, France
Wed. 5/15/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Resorts World Arena, Birmingham, England
Wed. 5/15/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Getec Arena, Magdeburg, Germany
•Latest TV Highlights
Monday Night Raw
Brock Lesnar was back on television this week with Paul Heyman. The two opened Raw this week and Heyman began by saying Seth Rollins necessitated this appearance by Brock. Heyman then began talking about Brock’s alleged issues with smaller wrestlers that Seth had brought up previously. Heyman then moved on to talk about Seth and why in the world he’d want to fight Drew McIntyre tonight. Drew’s music hit and he walked out on the stage. He said it’s about time he gets the respect he deserves. Drew then told Brock to have his advocate find him a new opponent for WrestleMania because he was going to brutalize Seth and he won’t make it to WM. Seth ran out with a chair and hit Drew with it a number of times, maybe a dozen or more. Seth then turned his attention towards the ring where Brock stood unimpressed. As Seth climbed into the ring, Brock climbed out and Heyman kept talking with Brock to ensure he didn’t enter the ring to face off with Seth. In the Main event, Seth and Drew had a very physical match, as Rollins went for The Stomp, Brock’s music hit distracting Seth. As Seth stared at Lesnar, McIntyre hit him with a Claymore Kick for the win.
Kurt Angle named his WrestleMania opponent tonight. He thanked the McMahon’s for allowing him to pick his opponent for his retirement match, then said he had so many people he’d like to face, but only one he wanted to beat. He then said nothing would make him happier than making Baron Corbin tap out at WrestleMania so he can retire as the happiest man in the world. Kurt then took on Chad Gable in his “retirement tour” of matches on the way to WrestleMania. The fans were not thrilled with Corbin being the announcement, there was no reaction when Kurt said it, and later in the night when Corbin wrestled Apollo Crews, the fans could be heard chanting “We want Cena.”
Smackdown Live
Kofi Kingston gets tricked by Vince McMahon again. Before the Gauntlet match, Daniel Bryan addressed the crowd to talk about Kofi. He started by questioning the fact that he’s being held back by the McMahons. He said Kofi was chosen for an unearned title shot out of the tag division and he’s a B+ player, which is why the fans like him because B+ is good enough for them. In the Gauntlet match itself, Kofi pinned four of his five known opponents, Rowan actually got himself disqualified very early into his match with Kofi when he grabbed a chair and hit Kofi with it. After Kofi rolled up Randy for the fifth and final win, The New Day came out to celebrate with him. Big E and Xavier Woods, along with a large group of other baby faces on the roster, were shown multiple times throughout the Gauntlet match cheering Kofi on, showing that the locker room is behind him. Vince McMahon interrupted the celebration by The New Day to congratulate Kofi, but also let him know he had one more opponent in the Gauntlet match. Big E and Woods were irate and Daniel Bryan would come out and eventually get the pin after a running knee to defeat Kofi.
Becky and Charlotte face off again, this time on the “Kevin Owens Show.” Owens read off multiple examples off the trash talk between Becky, Charlotte, and Ronda from social media, but finished by saying the fans don’t want to hear them talk anymore. As Owens left the ring he said fans want to see them fight. Charlotte made a comment, Owens asked Becky for her response, and Becky punched Charlotte prompting the brawl. Referees and other backstage people struggled to keep them apart, but the brawl continued. As they continued the brawl, the show moved on to the next segment.
•Listen to the latest Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Post-Show – Smackdown Post-Show
PWTorch editor Wade Keller is joined by Ring Rust Radio’s Mike Chiari as they discuss WWE Smackdown with live callers first, then an on-site correspondent from Indianapolis, Ind. followed by a mailbag segment. They talk about Kofi Kingston running the gauntlet and then No Chance In Hell kicks in with Vince McMahon pulling the rug out of New Day’s and the fans’ celebration, Becky Lynch and Charlotte on The KO Show, Sasha & Bayley pay a visit, and Miz reacts to Shane McMahon’s turn, and more.
-On Tune In Radio HERE
-On Apple Podcasts HERE
-Or search “Wade Keller” on your podcast app of choice
•WWE Social Media Highlights
Big E with a strong and thoughtful message here posted on Wednesday afternoon following the events on Smackdown. It will be very interesting to see what The New Day do in response to McMahon’s latest swerve on Smackdown this week.
pic.twitter.com/ml7MhQwOGj
— Florida Man (@WWEBigE) March 20, 2019
Becky Lynch update:
An all new #RondaOnTheRoad is up!!!! follow me and @RRouseydotcom to #wwelive shows in Toronto & Rochester, #Raw in Cleveland and #Fastlane in Pittsburgh!!! https://t.co/daPW7EMTWt
— Ronda Rousey (@RondaRousey) March 15, 2019
pic.twitter.com/iODXtM0kfQ
— The Man (@BeckyLynchWWE) March 16, 2019
pic.twitter.com/iDL0gYp7iX
— The Man (@BeckyLynchWWE) March 19, 2019
We all wish you would https://t.co/y1x0ea6r70
— The Man (@BeckyLynchWWE) March 19, 2019
Kurt Angle’s decision was a bit underwhelming, so much so that even he made a comment about it.
View this post on Instagram
My farewell match will be against Baron Corbin at Wrestlemania. I realize it’s not the most popular decision from a fan’s perspective… BUT I will make Corbin tap out on the biggest stage of them all…. and I Hope you can share this moment/accomplishment with me on April 7th. Baron is a legit tough guy. It won’t be easy but it never is. #itstrue #wrestlemania35 #wwe #wrestling
A post shared by Kurt Angle (@therealkurtangle) on
Underwhelming. https://t.co/BzUZL4Ip1A
— Jim Ross (@JRsBBQ) March 19, 2019
Chad Gable took a minute to celebrate Kurt’s career this week.
What’s that saying about heroes becoming rivals? @RealKurtAngle signed this for me in 2000. Wished me luck after I told him I was going to make the Greco-Roman Olympic Team and then wrestle in WWE. 20 years later, here we are. Grateful for last night. Thanks, Kurt. pic.twitter.com/KUSzEwxkx4
— Chad Gable (@WWEGable) March 19, 2019
Thank you Chad. You’re an Amazing athlete, and one of the most technical Superstars in the business. It was an honor to be in the ring with you. #itstrue #fellowolympians https://t.co/7tSbpU7BKa
— Kurt Angle (@RealKurtAngle) March 19, 2019
•Closing Commentary
– I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I was absolutely shocked with Kurt Angle’s WrestleMania opponent, but not the good kind of shocked. I didn’t see my face, but I felt like the guy WWE caught on camera after Brock broke the streak vs. Undertaker. I couldn’t (and still can’t) believe that WWE is going to make Kurt Angle’s retirement match be against Baron Corbin. No offense to Corbin, but he is not worthy of that spot at all. Sure, he gets booed, but come on, this is just hilarious. On a positive note, I’m glad WWE built in a bathroom break for me; I’m going to need it with this 7+ hour adventure.
Just looking back at some other legends and their last matches, usually they get a premier opponent they finish their careers against – until now! Shawn Michaels’ last match (before last year) was against Undertaker. Stone Cold Steve Austin’s final match was with The Rock. Ric Flair’s final match was with Shawn Michaels. Kurt Angle’s final match as of now is against Baron Corbin. One clearly does not fit in here.
The disappointment is partially the fans’ fault, but it’s also WWE’s fault for teasing Kurt’s announcement for a week, allowing the fans a chance to let their imaginations run wild. The most popular option I heard was John Cena, and I think that would’ve been great. I guess it’s still possible to do, and I’m as sick of the recent swerves as everyone else, but I’d love Vince to come out and say Corbin isn’t box office enough and announce Cena as Angle’s actual opponent.
I’m not the most rabid Kurt Angle fan in the world, but he was fantastic throughout his career, and I just feel like his final match being against Baron Corbin isn’t the respect he deserves. Is WWE going to allow John Cena’s final match to be against No Way Jose? Absolutely not, and while I know Corbin is a few rungs on the ladder above No Way Jose, I still don’t think he’s at a level to justify him being Angle’s final match in WWE.
– I know that the stories have been told for a few weeks – even months – now, but the idea that Vince is just taking away the things people rightfully earn continues to eat away at me. First, he takes away Becky’s (Royal Rumble earned) WrestleMania match because he thinks she has a bad attitude. Then, he takes away Kofi’s match at Fastlane because “it’s his obligation to the fans and stakeholders to provide the biggest box office attraction possible.” He’s completely undermining the idea of this being a sport where people compete and earn title shots. I know he doesn’t like the word wrestling, but “sports entertainment” still contains the word “sports!” Imagine if Roger Goodell were to take away a Super Bowl appearance because a smaller market team like Kansas City or Indianapolis won their Conference Championship game simply because they weren’t the most profitable matchup. Or what if he took away a team’s Super Bowl appearance because the coach or fans have a bad attitude? It’s just moronic. WWE is showing fans once again that wins and losses don’t matter at all, until the one time a year when they do. Remember, Becky Lynch’s run to the top started with her quietly going on a long winning streak, and before WWE knew it, she’d been undefeated for six months and had more fan support than ever.
What’s worse than the ridiculousness of him arbitrarily taking away these matches that they both earned is the way that they “triumphantly” earn back what is rightfully theirs to begin with! Becky Lynch “earned back” her WrestleMania match by having Ronda Rousey interfere and get Charlotte disqualified to give Becky back her already earned opportunity. That’s the triumphant moment for the underdog baby face? Now, we haven’t seen the resolution to Kofi’s quest to WrestleMania, but it’s not going to be a triumphant moment either. How can it be? He earned the opportunity by pinning Daniel Bryan previously and in the past. That’s been enough, but now it isn’t. Kofi may earn back his opportunity, but again, that was already his, so getting back what you’re owed isn’t triumph; that’s justice.
The other issue I have is in both situations Vince doesn’t get his comeuppance. Just another way the baby face wrestler didn’t triumphantly win. Sure, Becky got her match back, but nothing happened to Vince. Not even a “take that” type of moment. It’s still possible with Kofi, but highly unlikely. It’s as though Vince just says,“oh, okay, fine,” and that’s the glorious triumph. We the fans who “are the authority” can actually get what we’ve been rooting for. Take that, Vince!
WWE is trying so hard to keep these stories interesting that they’re falling apart at the last possible moment. The finish is in sight, and it just seems like WWE can’t get out of their own way to cross the finish line. There was no need to have Becky Lynch have her match taken away so arbitrarily, and if you wanted to go that route of her getting her match back, I guess that’s understandable because there’s a ton of time between Royal Rumble and WrestleMania, but why did Vince have to take her match away from her for “having a bad attitude” when they had the built-in story that she wasn’t a scheduled competitor in the Royal Rumble match? The obvious story that most people thought would be told was completely ignored. Then, if you still want Vince to do that angle with Becky, don’t go do a similar story on the men’s side with him taking away Kofi’s opportunity because he isn’t the biggest star! They’re just overthinking everything. Get back to basics! Tell simple stories, have wins matter, have people go one winning streaks that get them title matches, have someone at the top of the card go through a serious losing streak and have to refocus themselves. Instead, we have stories about people not being big enough stars to main event, tag teams forming because their fathers didn’t tell them they were proud of them as kids, and having someone destroy a sports car that was being held together with a hot glue gun just to sell a toy and to have a few backstage segments at WrestleMania. I hope they can reset after WrestleMania and get back to basics – because right now they’ve really lost their way and I’m finding it hard to justify watching 5 hours of television every week.
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