SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)…
The following article is part of our Weekly Overview Series to 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
- WWE signed El Hijo del Fantasma last week. Viewers of Lucha Underground may recognize him as King Cuerno.
- WWE is replacing NXT Takeover with WWE Worlds Collide during Royal Rumble weekend in January 2020. WWE released travel package information Monday afternoon this week and Worlds Collide was listed as an event, but not NXT Takeover. WWE ran a Worlds Collide show during the 2019 Royal Rumble weekend at the Axxess event and they aired a WWE Network Special showcasing the event. SOURCE
- WWE also announced that they have expanded their partnership with Full Sail University and NXT will now emanate weekly from Full Sail Live. With NXT going live in a couple weeks, there had been speculation that they may start to travel across the country like Raw and Smackdown, but with this announcement that is not their plan at this time. SOURCE
- Elias suffered an ankle injury over the weekend that prevented him from competing in the King of the Ring semifinal match.
- On Tuesday, Newsweek released an interview with Triple H where he stated that 205 Live will start moving towards sitting under the NXT banner. He doesn’t really expand on what that means, but it seems to insinuate that 205 Live may start being taped at Full Sail, or possibly even dissolved and the talent will join the NXT roster. SOURCE
•WWE Weekly Event Results
WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster (Santiago, Chile) 9/5/19
(1) Andrade beat Apollo Crews
(2) Ember Moon defeated Zelina Vega
(3) Aleister Black beat Sami Zayn
(4) Roman Reigns defeated Samoa Joe
(5) Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville beat The Kabuki Warriors
(6) Bayley (c) beat Charlotte to retain the Smackdown Women’s Championship
(7) Kofi Kingston (c) defeated Randy Orton to retain the WWE Championship
SOURCE
WWE Live Event – Raw Roster (Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada) 9/6/19
(1) Ricochet defeated Cesaro
(2) Cedric Alexander beat Robert Roode
(3) Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson beat The Revival and Curt Hawkins & Zakc Ryder
(4) Becky Lynch (c) defeated Lacey Evans to retain the Raw Women’s Championship
(5) Titus O’Neil beat Mojo Rawley
(6) Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross (c) beat Natalya & Dana Brooke to retain the Women’s Tag Team Championships
(7) Seth Rollins beat Baron Corbin in a Street Fight to retain the Universal Championship
Click Here:
SOURCE
WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster (Buenos Aires, Argentina) 9/6/19
(1) Asuka beat Mandy Rose via Disqualification
(2) The Kabuki Warriors beat Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville
(3) Apollo Crews defeated Sami Zayn
(4) Aleister Black beat Sami Zayn
(5) Roman Reigns defeated Samoa Joe
(6) Ember Moon beat Zelina Vega
(7) Bayley (c) beat Charlotte to retain the Smackdown Women’s Championship
(8) Kofi Kingston (c) defeated Randy Orton to retain the WWE Championship
SOURCE
WWE Live Event – Raw Roster (Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada) 9/7/19
Event cancelled by WWE due to expected extreme weather from Hurricane Dorian.
SOURCE
If you attend a live event, please send results to [email protected]. Thanks!
•WWE TV Match Results
Monday Night Raw TV Results 9/9/19
(1) Cedric Alexander beat A.J. Styles via Disqualification when Gallows & Anderson interfered
(2) Becky Lynch & Charlotte defeated Bayley & Sasha Banks
(3) Rey Mysterio beat Gran Metalik
(4) Baron Corbin beat Samoa Joe & Ricochet to advance to the finals of the King of the Ring Tournament
(5) Natalya defeated Lacey Evans
(6) Cedric Alexander, Seth Rollins, Braun Strowman, & The Viking Raiders beat Dolph Ziggler, Robert Roode, and The OC
Smackdown Live TV Results 9/9/19
(1) The Miz beat Andrade (w/ Zelina Vega)
(2) Nikki Cross (w/ Alexa Bliss) defeated Mandy Rose (w/ Sonya Deville)
(3) Heavy Machinery beat Johnny Silver & Alex Keaton
(4) Bayley defeated Ember Moon
(5) Chad Gable beat Shane McMahon in a Two-Out-of-Three Falls match in two straight falls with Kevin Owens as the Special Guest Referee to advance to the King of the Ring Finals.
205 Live Results (Aired on WWE Network) 9/9/19
(1) Jack Gallagher & Kushida beat Brian Kendrick & Akira Tozawa
(2) Lince Dorado, Gran Metalik, & Humberto Carillo defeated Drew Gulak, Tony Nese, & Ariya Daivari
WWE Main Event (Aired on Hulu and WWE Network) 9/11/19
(1) The IIconics defeated Dana Brooke & Sarah Logan
SOURCE: WKPWP Post-Raw On-Site Correspondent
24/7 Championship Update
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- Before Raw
– Enes Kanter beat R-Truth to win the 24/7 Championship
– R-Truth pinned Enes Kanter to win the championship back
•Upcoming Lineups for Stadium/PPV Events
WWE Clash of Champions on September 15 in Charlotte, N.C.
- Bayley (c) vs. Charlotte for the Smackdown Women’s Championship
- Becky Lynch (c) vs. Sasha Banks for the Raw Women’s Championship
- Seth Rollins (c) vs. Braun Strowman for the Universal Championship
- Kofi Kingston (c) vs. Randy Orton for the WWE Championship
- Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. The Miz for the Intercontinental Championship
- Seth Rollins & Braun Strowman (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode for the Raw Tag Team Championships
- Big E & Xavier Woods (c) vs. The Revival for the Smackdown Tag Team Championships
- Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross (c) vs. Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville for the Women’s Tag Team Championships
- Drew Gulak (c) vs. Humberto Carillo vs. Lince Dorado for the Cruiserweight Championship
- R-Truth to defend the 24/7 Championship in some fashion
- Roman Reigns vs. Erick Rowan in a No Disqualification match
•Upcoming Events
Fri. 9/13/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, McKenzie Arena, Chattanooga, Tenn.
Sat. 9/14/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Macon Centreplex Coliseum, Macon, Ga.
Sun. 9/15/19 WWE Clash of Champions, Spectrum Centre, Charlotte, N.C.
Mon. 9/16/19 WWE Raw, Thompson-Boling Arena, Knoxville, Tenn.
– King of the Ring Finals: Baron Corbin vs. Chad Gable
Tue. 9/17/19 WWE Smackdown, State Farm Arena, Atlanta, Ga.
Fri. 9/20/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Stampede Corral, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Fri. 9/20/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Araneta Coliseum, Manila, Philippines
Sat. 9/21/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Sat. 9/21/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Mercedes Benz Arena, Shanghai, China
Sun. 9/22/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Neal S. Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii
Mon. 9/23/19 WWE Raw, Chase Center, San Francisco, Calif.
Tue. 9/24/19 WWE Smackdown, Chase Center, San Francisco, Calif.
Fri. 9/27/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Don Haskins Center, El Paso, Texas
Sat. 9/28/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Findlay Toyota Center, Prescott, Ariz.
Sun. 9/29/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Tucson Convention Center, Tucson, Ariz.
Mon. 9/30/19 WWE Raw, Talking Stick Resort Arena, Phoenix, Ariz.
Fri. 10/4/19 WWE Smackdown, Staples Center, Los Angeles, Calif.
Sat. 10/5/19 WWE Supershow, Pechanga Arena, San Diego, Calif.
Sun. 10/6/19 WWE Hell in a Cell, Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, Calif.
Mon. 10/7/19 WWE Raw, Rabobank Arena, Bakersfield, Calif.
Fri. 10/11/19 WWE Smackdown, T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nev.
Sat. 10/12/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, N.Y.
Sat. 10/12/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Ector County Coliseum, Odessa, Texas
Sun. 10/13/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Istbank Center, Broomfield, Colo.
Sun. 10/13/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Amarillo Civic Center, Amarillo, Texas
Mon. 10/14/19 WWE Raw, Pepsi Center, Denver, Colo.
Fri. 10/18/19 WWE Smackdown, Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Ind.
Sat. 10/19/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Cure Insurance Arena, Trenton, N.J.
Sun. 10/20/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, N.Y.
Mon. 10/21/19 WWE Raw, Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, Cleveland, Ohio
Mon. 10/21/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, Australia
Tue. 10/22/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane, Australia
Wed. 10/23/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, Australia
•Latest TV Highlights
Monday Night Raw
- Stone Cold Steve Austin opened Raw this week which was airing from Madison Square Garden for the first time in 10 years. Stone Cold came out and told a few stories about his experiences at The Garden, then shifted to the reason he was there, the Universal Championship contract signing. Braun and Seth both made their way to the ring, Seth told Braun no one is stabbing him in the back tonight, Braun responded and wasn’t so confident in that. After both eventually signed the contract, The OC came out. A.J. Styles complained about Gallows and Anderson not getting a Tag Team Championship rematch as the fans all chanted “Asshole!” Stone Cold interrupted to make sure Styles could hear them. Styles told Stone Cold “in your old age you’ve turned into a real asshole.” Stone Cold looked down as if he was restraining himself from hitting Styles and he moved the table in the ring to the corner. Seth and Braun then attacked The OC as Stone Cold watched in the corner. A.J. avoided a stomp by Seth and threw him out of the ring, which just left Styles and Stone Cold in the ring together. Styles had his back turned to Austin while he trash talked Rollins and when he turned around Austin gave him two middle fingers and a Stunner before having a few beers and leaving.
- Charlotte and Becky teamed up to take on Sasha and Bayley ahead of their two title matches. Before the match began Becky and Charlotte attacked Banks and Bayley as they walked to the ring, but after a commercial break, order had been restored and the match began with Becky and Bayley. The announcers talked about Becky and her ESPN commercials as well as an ESPN article that talked about these four women known as The Four Horsewomen in NXT. Late in the match Charlotte climbed to the top rope and missed a moonsault that missed completely. Meanwhile, Becky put Sasha in a Dis-Arm-Her on the outside, but Bayley attacked Becky to stop the attack. Eventually Charlotte would hit Bayley with the Natural Selection for the win.
Smackdown Live
- WWE announced Tuesday afternoon that Elias had suffered an injury (which is reportedly real, not just a storyline) and that he was unable to compete in the King of the Ring semifinal match against Chad Gable. As Smackdown began, we didn’t know who the replacement was going to be. Chad Gable was seen approaching Shane backstage and Chad was under the impression that he would get an automatic bye into the finals. Shane responded saying a guy like Gable doesn’t want a freebie, he wants to earn his way to the finals, Chad nodded in agreement. Shane said he hadn’t figured out who his opponent would be yet, but it could be anyone. Later, Shane walked into the men’s locker room where Gable, Matt Hardy, and Apollo Crews were all standing together. Shane asked Hardy and Crews if they’d see Chad Gable while making a height joke (Hardy and Crews aren’t any taller than Gable by the way) and suddenly Shane saw Gable. Shane said he found his opponent and Elias thoroughly approved of his selection and he was right outside the locker room door, he’d go get him. Shane walked out of camera frame, then walked right back in. Shane announced himself as Elias’ replacement. Later, Kevin Owens came to see Shane, who told Owens his $100,000 fine could disappear. Owens asked him what the catch was and Shane handed him a referee shirt and told Owens he knows how important family is to him, so he should think about them tonight and walked off. In the match, Owens quick counted the win for Gable almost immediately. Gable celebrated, Shane looked angry and grabbed a microphone to say this was now two-out-of-three falls. After a commercial the match restarted, Owens began quick counting falls for Shane and slowly counting pinfalls Gable attempted. Eventually, Gable put the Ankle Lock on Shane who tapped out and the bell rang while Kevin Owens looked at him and asked Shane what he was supposed to do since McMahon tapped out. Owens went to leave and Shane attacked him, hobbled over to a microphone, yelled at Owens saying he’s fired while punching him a few more times to end Smackdown.
•Listen to the latest Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Post-Show – Smackdown Post-Show
PWTorch editor Wade Keller is joined by ProWrestling.net’s Jake Barrett to review WWE Smackdown with live callers and answer mailbag questions including the destruction of Kevin Owens’ character by awful booking, a King of the Ring curveball, final Kofi Kingston-Randy Orton angle leading into the Clash PPV, Undertaker’s appearance and angle with Sami Zayn, Rowan speaks and gets his hands on Roman Reigns, Charlotte-Bayley hype, and more. They also talked with Frank Peteani who attended…
-On Tune In Radio HERE
-On Apple Podcasts HERE
-Or search “Wade Keller” on your podcast app of choice
•WWE Social Media Highlights
Seth Rollins’s mood went from excited to very disappointed in the span of a few hours on Thursday, all centering around the Chicago Bears before their season opening game then after the game, a game they lost.
Charlotte is out here on social media trying to make the most of an illogical situation as WWE announces she’s going to tag with Becky Lynch again inexplicably and illogically. Amazing performers have to do stuff like this to try and save face as WWE continuously undermines their own characters.
Becky Lynch still trying to get a match with Stephanie, but she’s not having any of it.
Becky also starred in three new “This is Sportscenter” commercials for ESPN that were unveiled this week.
It’s not just wrestlers that can get the call to the main roster; officials can as well. Congratulations to Eddie Orengo for his call-up to Raw!
This is such a cool story. I couldn’t imagine discovering siblings I didn’t know I had!
Is Kevin Owens tweeting a teaser that he’s going back to NXT? 14=N 24=X 20=T
https://twitter.com/NXTCiampa/status/1172126652421345280
•Closing Commentary
– The closing angle on Smackdown has to be the stupidest idea WWE has had in quite some time, and they just had their top star almost be crushed and subsequently run over the following week only a month ago. The incompetence to book Kevin Owens that way is unparalleled levels of stupidity. In all seriousness, what the hell are they doing? It’s like the perfect storm of stupidity right now. Roman Reigns looks bad, Daniel Bryan looks bad, Erick Rowan looks bad because of their dumb story, now Kevin Owens looks like an absolute moron and Chad Gable doesn’t benefit from winning at all! I wrote about the Owens fine a few weeks ago at the start of the King of the Ring tournament trying to put a positive spin on why Owens was kissing up to Shane so much and holy cow do I feel stupid now. There is just so much wrong with this story, it’s disorienting.
First, let’s look at the financial aspects of this imposed fine. We’re supposed to believe that Kevin Owens won’t make enough money to send his kids through college? Really? Kevin has two kids, and his son isn’t even a teenager yet, so Owens doesn’t have time to save up more money? Forbes last year released a list of estimated earnings for wrestlers in which Kevin Owens came in 10th on the list at an estimated salary of $2 million. Since then, we know Kevin Owens signed a new long term contract with WWE. We aren’t really supposed to think he’s hurting financially are we? Even if he was, why can’t his kids get loans like most of us do? That’s what I had to do and I now owe thousands in student loans just like the vast majority of kids who go to college because my parents aren’t television stars with seven figure salaries. Does WWE want us to think they’re not paying talent appropriate or acceptable wages? I mean if $100,000 is so crippling to Owens, how much is his storyline salary supposed to be? Also, there’s not a single other job Owens is capable of doing? There are no other wrestling companies in existence? WWE had Sami Zayn mention AEW on live television not that long ago, so obviously in the WWE World other wrestling companies do exist (I can’t use Universe, feels too corporate now, thanks a lot Vince).
Second, what does Kevin Owens stand for now? Okay fine, let’s ignore all of the financial plot holes here. Let’s say Owens is incapable of working for any other company and he makes some weird amount of money were $100,000 will cripple him financially for over a decade thus not allowing his kids to have money to pay for college, while also not being allowed to take out loans of any kind on their own. What Owens did on Tuesday was still moronic and it completely killed his character. He goes to the ring, the bell rings and he immediately quick counts the win for Gable. My first thought was he’s being defiant and telling Shane “screw you” which is great, but no. We come back from commercial after it’s made two out of three falls by Shane and he’s done a complete 180 to where he’s scared to count the second fall for Gable, but eagerly quick counting to help Shane win. Why? What did WWE do to establish him changing his mind so fast? Did I miss something? These things need explained! This isn’t hard! How can someone write this story with this planet sized plot hole in it? How can someone proofread the script and let it be accepted? I love Owens too much to think he didn’t try and say something, but who knows maybe Vince tore up the script to Smackdown again two hours before the show because he’s a damn psychopath so there was no time to.
So, in the end, Shane taps out and Owens doesn’t even call for the final bell because Shane taps, so there’s no need for him to. So, Owens doesn’t really play a role in the final outcome, yet he’s blamed for it. So then crippled Shane beats him up, which is ridiculous, then fires him. Fine whatever. There were so many other ways to get to that point without sacrificing the entirety of Owens’ credibility and character. Gable doesn’t benefit from this at all. He advances to the finals of this tournament with him being an absolute after thought in the story. This absolutely sucked. I could go on more tangents about the unforgivable incompetence shown in this segment alone, but I won’t. This isn’t even touching the Mandy Rose promo flat out calling Nikki Cross ugly, or Bayley’s weird heel turn and that’s just Smackdown.
Congratulations, Fox, you spent $1 Billion for this. WWE has three weeks to get it together. If they want to succeed on Fox, you have to do infinitely better than this. This is not how you gain new fans. This isn’t even how you retain your current fans. All the promotion in the world won’t get people to watch your show when it looks like you aren’t even trying to write good stories.
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