Alberto El Patron looks set to return to GFW before the end of the year.
What’s the story?
Almost two months after being slapped him with an indefinite suspension, Alberto El Patron looks set to be brought back to into the GFW fold in the not-to-distant future. In this week’s issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reports that El Patron is currently scheduled to make his return at the November television tapings.
In case you didn’t know…
On July 12, El Patron was suspended indefinitely following a domestic battery incident involving with fiancé, Paige, at Orlando International Airport. As the company’s heavyweight champion at the time, that not only meant he’d be stripped of the title, but it also forced GFW to change their main event plans for their Bound for Glory pay-per-view on Nov 5.
Going in depth
Just a few weeks back, Jim Cornette cut a promo on Impact in which he wished El Patron all the best in his future endeavours, and so it appeared entirely plausible that the former champ was finished with GFW.
Fast forward to this week though, and it seems the two parties have made amends. Furthermore, Meltzer is reporting that the real-life drama could be used as an angle upon El Patron’s return, with the idea being floated that he’d come back as a heel who was mad about being suspended.
What's next?
GFW recently wrapped up a marathon batch of television tapings, in which they filmed enough content to take them up to that Bound for Glory show in early November. They’ll then be back in Orlando to tape the next batch of TV, which is where you can expect to see El Patron make his return — providing these plans don’t change, of course.
Author’s take
Given his track record, bringing El Patron back into the picture is certainly a bit of a risk for GFW. On the other hand, he does offer a degree of star power and the proposed storyline playing off the suspension could well make for a decent angle.
Then again, how many times have we seen reality-based storylines flop in professional wrestling?
Nia Jax and Lana get into a tiff while Alexa Bliss chimes in with her two cents.
What’s the story?
WWE Superstars Nia Jax, Lana and Alexa Bliss reportedly got into a tiff on social media over the issue of body shaming.
The argument started after Jax posted the aforementioned inspirational message on her Instagram page, urging big women to unashamed of themselves, fight against body shaming and pave their own path by being different. That, in turn, led to SmackDown Superstar Lana chiming in with her two cents on the topic of body shaming, throwing a subtle shot at Natalya who often body-shames Lana for not being able to push weights like a pro in the gym.
However, Jax took offence to the same and reverted back, insinuating Lana to be a crazy person who always makes it about herself, besides accusing the Russian of body-shaming her. Apparently, Alexa Bliss got wind of the argument and took a jab at Jax holding the RAW Women’s Championship, to which the Samoan giant accused Lana and Bliss of being the most attention-seeking women in the business.
In case you didn’t know…
Nia Jax has time and again spoken about being body-shamed in her life.
Jax, who is a tad on the heavier side, often hits out at critics who discriminate against her accusing her of not fitting the traditional mould of a stereotypical WWE female performer.
The heart of the matter:
The social media back-and-forth has reportedly drawn the attention of several professional wrestling fans to the same, with most noting that Jax went after Lana when the latter replied to the Instagram post.
Furthermore, once WWE RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss inserted herself into the debate, Jax went all-out on not only Lana but also Bliss, branding the two of them as attention seekers. Not to be outdone, the Ravishing Russian replied:
“Literally never making it about myself…. actually you come on my posts and always make it about yourself ! Interesting. But anyways. All these people attacking me I was just calling her out but I wish her the best and I am all for people breaking moulds… I also ”
What’s next?
Lana presently performs for the WWE’s SmackDown brand and has assumed a managerial role for Tamina.
On the other hand, Nia Jax and Alexa Bliss are set to feud for the latter’s WWE RAW Women’s Championship in the weeks to come.
Author’s take
My hat is off to these women. It truly is! The art of maintaining kayfabe seems to be lost in today’s world of high-speed internet and privacy-invading photogs.
Nevertheless, Lana, Jax and Bliss seem to be using social media to their advantage in order to get fans buzzing about their rivalries and more importantly their presence in the WWE Universe. In my opinion, several other pro-wrestlers, the world over, ought to take notes from these women and maintain at least a certain degree of trash-talking and rivalry outside the ring, so as to spice up their feuds.
Kane and Undertaker wreaked havoc in the WWE for years.
What’s the story?
On a recent edition of The Ross Report, Kane weighed in on whether his kayfabe brother the Undertaker would lace up the boots one more time.
In reference to the Deadman potentially returning to the ring, Kane first went on to praise the former calling Undertaker his favourite tag team partner and added that ‘Taker had the right to choose whether or not he wanted to make an in-ring return. He said that a return would be the icing on the cake for the Phenom’s legendary career.
Additionally, the Big Red Machine asserted that the Attitude Era was the golden age of professional wrestling, explaining that the Monday Night Wars between the WWE and WCW forced performers to bring their very best to the ring every week.
In case you didn’t know…
Kane and the Undertaker are storyline brothers in the WWE, and they're known to have great camaraderie outside the ring as well.
The two legendary WWE giants played a pivotal role in several WWE storylines during the Attitude Era, as a result of which the promotion succeeded in putting rival company WCW out of business.
The heart of the matter
Kane reminisced about the Attitude Era, pointing out that during the aforementioned era, the WWE boasted about a dozen performers who were notable main event stars.
Furthermore, he elucidated that today’s Superstars were excellent as well, but what made the Attitude Era special was the presence of several top talents at the right place and more importantly, at the right time. On that note, he emphasized that timing was key in the wrestling business.
Besides, Kane spoke about wanting to have one last go with the Undertaker, possibly as the Brothers of Destruction. On the issue of ‘Taker coming back to the ring, he stated:
"He deserves and I think he'll be able to do what he wants and it's going to be up to him. And in the end, I think it'll be, his decision will be the quality of what it is.”
“And certainly, he (has) been one of those guys that when you watch him at WrestleMania, it's like, 'golly, does the guy ever age?' And I think that will ultimately be how he feels he will be able to perform will be the deciding factor."
What’s next?
Kane is presently busy with his political career, whereas the Undertaker recently underwent a major surgery in order to repair his hips.
Both legends’ professional wrestling future is up in the air…for now.
Author’s take
Kane and the Undertaker will go down as two of the most important characters in the history of professional wrestling.
Regardless of whether the Devil’s Favorite Demon or the Deadman return to the ring, their respective legacies are already secure.
Further talk that, on face value, seems to suggest the Undertaker may not be finished just yet...
Is The Phenom still going to make a WWE return?
What’s the story?
Not for the first time in recent weeks, all that talk about the Undertaker having retired at WrestleMania 33 is starting to look a little premature. It’s being reported by various outlets,courtesy of PWInsider.com, that the Undertaker was actually training in the ring before SummerSlam.
In case you didn’t know…
Talk of a possible return for the Deadman was fuelled when news broke that ‘Taker was in fact in Brooklyn during SummerSlam weekend. Jerry Lawler then suggested that his presence may have had something to do with prep for a new, non-2K video game, but Dave Meltzer recently confirmed that wasn’t the case in this week’s issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
If these latest reports are to be believed, maybe this training was the reason he flew to Brooklyn in the first place.
Going in depth
Though the Undertaker seemingly bowed out at WrestleMania 33, having lost to Roman Reigns before ceremonially leaving his gear in the ring, there was never actually any official announcement that ‘Taker was indeed retired.
Since then, various hints on commentary, as well as a ‘Taker reference from John Cena on this week’s Raw, seem to be suggesting that this “retirement” wasn’t a permanent one. In fact, Cena’s comment about Undertaker may well have been a very deliberate one, as rumour has it that a Cena vs. ‘Taker match could still be a possibility for next year’s WrestleMania, or even this year’s Survivor Series a couple of months down the line.
Next steps
With Cena busy with Reigns for the time being, any potential angle with the Undertaker wouldn’t even begin for at least a few weeks. Even then, Survivor Series seems a tad premature, so don’t be surprised if we don’t hear too much more on this one until nearer WrestleMania season.
Author’s take
It seems like every year we find ourselves discussing an unexpected return for the Undertaker, so in some ways, this news isn’t too surprising.
Still, there's no word on whether or not 'Taker was in the ring training for an actual return, per se. He might've just been testing out that hip after the reported surgery he underwent after 'Mania. In that case, we may be getting ahead of ourselves in fantasy booking that Cena vs. 'Taker match, so let's not count our chickens just yet.
Mahal is likely to drop the WWE Championship very soon.
Jinder Mahal has managed to successfully hold on to the WWE Championship after taking the prestigious belt off Randy Orton at Backlash earlier this year.
"The era of the Modern Day Maharajah would be short-lived," they said. "The WWE will halt his push any time now," they said.
Long Live the Modern Day Maharajah! The Indo-Canadian WWE Superstar has ground through a considerable number of PPV events, escaping with the WWE title, albeit with outside interference from the Singh Brothers and the Great Khali. Legions of hardcore fans and professional wrestling pundits have deemed Mahal’s title reign as a farce — a slap not only on the face of the WWE Universe but also on that of the entire pro-wrestling business.
The vast majority of them have resorted to levying accusations at WWE management for favouring Mahal due to his allegedly ‘steroid-enhanced’ physique, in reference to the popular notion that Vince McMahon and co. only like promoting wrestlers who fit their beef-cake factory stereotype, so to speak.
On that note, one ought to understand the fact that the WWE’s push of Mahal came in lieu of the company’s attempts to make further inroads in the Indian market. Nevertheless, as per multiple reports, WWE head honchos aren’t too pleased with the results, since Mahal’s reign as WWE Champion hasn’t really boosted the WWE Shop sales in the country nor led to a significant increase in revenue from the aforementioned market.
In other words, the promotion is likely to take the WWE Championship off Mahal very soon. Keeping that in mind, here are a few intriguing storylines that could prove to be vital if the WWE intends to ensure a smooth transition of its most important title from Mahal to someone more suitable.
#5 Outside interference
Rusev feuding with Mahal and costing him the title would set up a future, long-running program between the two
The WWE would be best advised to use the good ol’ Outside Interference trick, here’s how. As a champion, Mahal often competes in matches outside of his primary rivalry, regardless of against whom his rivalry is with. On that note, the WWE could book him in a one-off match against a fellow established star like Rusev -- having Mahal beat him clean in the matchup.
Following this, they could set up a potential feud with Rusev which in turn would be an excellent way to take the belt off Mahal, by having "The Bulgarian Brute" interfere in the WWE Champion's matches every week. Furthermore, Rusev would provide the distraction in the Maharajah’s future WWE Championship defence (again, regardless of whom it’s against), costing Jinder the match and the title.
The former tag team partners can then be shifted to a solid mid-card feud, wherein neither of the two performers look weak. Well, speaking of making performers look weak…
#4 Triple Threat or Fatal-4 Way?
Mahal earned the number-1 contender spot for the WWE Championship by winning a 'Six Pack Challenge'
The WWE has painstakingly built up former 3MB member Jinder Mahal into a semi-respectable, cowardly heel champion.
With that in mind, they simply mustn’t have him lose clean to anyone except a select few Superstars (something I have explained in the points that follow). The promotion would be smart to book him in a Triple Threat or Fatal-4 Way matchup, so as to protect Jinder from being pinned or submitted clean by a Generic George on the roster, so to speak.
Additionally, the WWE mustn't force the aforementioned matchup on us either. They ought to have him compete in a couple of Triple Threat matches in the weeks leading up to a SmackDown PPV, showing him barely slither away with the WWE Championship each and every time.
Finally, on the big pay-per-view night, they can take the WWE title off him by having someone else take the pinfall.
WWE accorded a ton of respect to Jinder by handing him its biggest prize. They’d be at fault should they choose to take it off in a way that shows the man in bad light.
#3 Slow and steady does it
The Lone Wolf has all the makings of a true star
The WWE shoved Jinder Mahal down our throats much like one does bitter cough syrup during the flu. Off you go, Jinder!
Granted that when you examine his rise to the top of the WWE food chain, the promotion did in fact hint towards a potential push for Mahal when he was booked as the runner-up in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at Wrestlemania earlier this year.
However, they cannot afford to do the same while taking the belt off him. The WWE has to implement a slow and steady strategy before having Mahal lose the title.
The WWE could potentially go with a long-term program between Mahal and Baron Corbin, irrespective of all the recent rumours of the Lone Wolf’s backstage heat and/or issues with WWE management. The promotion is in desperate need of new stars and Corbin oozes charisma, albeit of the Silent Sam (sic) variety.
A long-running feud with Corbin, that has the two heels going back and forth every week, stretching the feud over a couple of PPVs, and voila!
A new star is born as Corbin takes the belt off Mahal, while the latter puts someone over while losing the belt in a long, drawn out war.
#2 Dolph Ziggler 2.0
Ziggler is all set to come back a man reborn
Rumor has it that the WWE plans on reconstructing Dolph Ziggler’s character in the days to come, given the fact that the Showoff went from being a former World Heavyweight Champion to nothing more than a jobber for the blue brand.
The man has all the talent in the world to be a top performer in the WWE, given his excellent amateur wrestling background and awesome mic-skills as a heel.
Enter Jinder Mahal.
The WWE can kill two birds with one stone, so to speak, by re-inventing Ziggler to steal Mahal’s gold, and in the process getting the WWE Championship off the Modern Day Maharajah.
That brings me to the best possible feud for Mahal to end his WWE title reign with…
#1 Shinsuke Nakamura
It’s safe to say that Shinsuke Nakamura is one of the most poorly booked performers in the WWE today, outside of maybe Finn Balor.
Nakamura is super over with the WWE Universe and the WWE are dropping the ball with him right now. The WWE needs to put its biggest title on him right about now; well, they probably should have a long time ago.
Jinder Mahal has done a commendable job as the WWE Champion thus far. The problem is the fans don’t seem to love him, not even caring to boo him!
The best way of having the honourable piece of gold, known as the WWE Championship, change hands is by booking Mahal in a feud with Nakamura. And no, I don’t want it to end like that abomination of a match between the duo at SummerSlam. Have Mahal lose to Nakamura clean.
The former IWGP Heavyweight Champion debuted on the main roster following the Superstar Shakeup and has been in the mix with some of SmackDown’s biggest stars since. Nakamura became a contender for the WWE Championship when he defeated John Cena and went on to challenge Jinder Mahal for the title at SummerSlam.
Following interference from the Singh Brothers, Mahal managed to defeat Nakamura and retain the WWE Championship past SummerSlam and hold the title for 100 days.
The heart of the matter
The match was announced via Twitter and will mark the first time that Orton and Nakamura will compete in singles action.
The announcement of this match seems to be following a trend from the company that gives big matches away at lesser shows. The trend was set back in March when AJ Styles and Orton competed in a No. 1 Contender’s match for Bray Wyatt’s WWE Championship, only for the WrestleMania match between Wyatt and Orton to be highly disappointing.
The second time this occurred was a few weeks ago when Nakamura faced Cena in a No. 1 Contender’s match to challenge Mahal at SummerSlam.
Monday Night Raw seems to be operating on a similar trend with Cena vs. Reigns being announced for No Mercy despite the opinion of many wrestling fans and WWE officials that it was a WrestleMania caliber match.
What’s next?
Rumors regarding an extended feud between Mahal and Nakamura suggest that "The King of Strong Style" will emerge victorious next week.
Orton delivered an RKO to Nakamura following their tag team match tonight, but that may be the last time he stands tall.
Author’s Take
Despite wanting to see this on a bigger stage, Orton facing Nakamura is a dream match for many and could make for a great edition of SmackDown Live
This week's RAW was all about the build towards No Mercy and over at SmackDown, the same happened for the blue brand's Hell in a Cell PPV.
With a huge tag team main event and a host of other storyline developments, the latest offering from the WWE was a decent affair. Below are the results and video highlights from the show:
Opening Segment
The Singh Brothers opened this week's SmackDown by introducing the Modern Day Maharaja, who looked as majestic as ever.
The WWE Champion comments on the main event set for tonight, in which he would go on to team up with Rusev in a match against the dream team of Shinsuke Nakamura and Randy Orton.
He addressed the disrespect he garners from the WWE Universe and declared himself the face of Asia. He called the fans hypocrites and said that someone had to pay for the disrespect while addressing Shinsuke Nakamura.
The Singh Brothers interrupt the Champ and issue an apology for last week's slip-up in which they were unable to save the Maharaja from getting take out at the hands of the Artist.
The brothers go on to apologize to everyone under the son - the people of Asia, the 1.3 Billion people in India, their 'mummy and daddy', and most importantly, the Maharaja himself.
The duo claims that they will never let Nakamura or anyone touch Mahal ever again and requested Mahal to let them kiss his 'royal feet'.
Nakamura's theme hit and the deafening boos turned to cheers as the Artists made his way out to the ring. Mahal and his stooges get the better of the Japenese sensation before Orton came out to the make the save.
Mahal's tag team partner for the night, Rusev too made his presence felt. The segment ended with Nakamura being laid out with the Khalas.
The Gold Standard returns to action
Shelton Benjamin finally returned to in-ring action in the WWE after seven long years and it was totally worth the wait.
Benjamin and Chad Gable came out to a bouncy new entrance theme as they prepared to take on the criminally underused Ascension.
Viktor and Gable kicked off the match with Gable getting off to a great start. He tagged Benjamin in, who connected with a huge right and a couple of suplexes. It was Gable's turn now to showcase his suplexing skills as he got tagged in and hit a belly-to-belly suplex.
The momentum shifted in Ascension's favor as SD went into a commercial break. Back from the break, Gable took a little punishment before eventually making the hot tag to the Gold Standard.
Benjamin came in and delivered two clotheslines followed by an enzuigiri. He continued the onslaught on Viktor as he connected a huge clothesline from the top rope.He went on to drop him face first into the mat and successfully got the three-count.
Benjamin and Gable def. The Ascension
The Gold Standard looked impressive in his first WWE match in over 7 years! The new tag team has potential to be huge. Hope WWE doesn't screw this one up!
Tye Dillinger vs. AJ Styles (WWE United States Championship match)
The US Open Challenges is back!
AJ Styles made his way to the ring and called out any superstar who wanted a shot at his title. The Perfect Ten stepped up and answered the call!
The fans erupted as Tye Dillinger came down the ramp only to see Baron Corbin interrupt and attack him even before the match began. Tye knocked Corbin off and his US title match against Styles began
However, it was painstakingly short-lived for Tye as got caught in the Calf Crusher and was forced to tap out moments into the match. Corbin was at it again as he attacked Tye and attempted to do the same on Styles, who had him well-scouted and foiled his assault.
The Lone Wolf looked bemused, as usual!
A backstage segment featuring Rusev and Mahal aired next as the two caught up before their match. The Bulgarian Brute stole the spotlight here as he made a big statement by making his intentions clear of coming after Mahal's WWE title. He claimed that he was on SmackDown not to make friends but to become WWE Champion. Machka is awesome!
Mike Kanellis vs. Bobby Roode
Kanellis himself must have known before the match that he was in for a Glorious squash! Nevertheless, the fans of the blue brand love the 'greatest acquisition in Sports Entertainment'.
The two locked horns as Kanellis targetted Roode's left arm. Roode countered and mocked Mike by rotating on top of him. After a brief round of dominance for Mike, Roode connected with the popular chops on Kanellis and upped the ante and the speed of the match.
He floored Mike with the Blockbuster from the second rope. He followed it up with a an epic Spinebuster, a Glorious DDT, and then the three count.
Bobby Roode def. Mike Kanellis
It's surprising to see Roode work as a face on SmackDown Live after a successful heel run down at NXT. A proper main roster heel turn could be coming soon, just saying.
Kevin Owens has snapped!
Aiden English was in the ring doing his regular singing shtick before a visibly frustrated Owens interrupted the proceedings.
The former US Champion trashed the fans in attendance and requested English to vacate the ring. Did English oblige? Damn right he did!
Owens addressed the controversy from last week and vented his frustrations out regarding Shane McMahon. He was distraught on being screwed over by Shane O'Mac and just to remind the fans about what happened, a recap from last week played.
KO highlighted the fact that just over a year ago, the greatest moment in WWE history happened when he became WWE Universal Champion. 365 days later, KO is without a title and is being screwed over.
He reminisced the 'good old days' on RAW, and claimed that a classy Stephanie McMahon would never abuse her power on the red brand as her brother does on the blue counterpart.
This was the cue for the SD Live commissioner to show up and he did so to a huge pop.
Shane reminded Owens that it was him who picked the referee and that Corbin was biased. Shane told him that he lost to Styles fair and square and that he had no option but to wear the black and whites after Corbin bailed out.
Shane added that he was tired of complaining and asked Aiden English to get back in the ring, and introduced Sami Zayn as his opponent for the night.
A Sami Zayn vs. Aiden English
English got a two-count to begin the match as a result of a suplex. Zayn recovered quickly and clotheslined English out of the ring. He went for the and just the two count.
Zayn then went up to the top rope, but Owens entered the ring and surprisingly took the referee's shirt.
What just happened!
KO, in the midst of all the confusion, declared himself the referee and laid Zayn out with the Pop-Up Powerbomb! English picked up the scarps and pinned Zayn. KO made the quick count as he slapped the mat in anger in the process.
Kevin Owens looked deranged!
Aiden English def. Sami Zayn
Post match, Shane O'Mac said that the English-Zayn match didn't count and added that he was on his way out of the arena to confront Owens. Things were bound to get explosive!
Dolph Ziggler was involved in a backstage interview as he was asked about this new persona he had adopted. The Show Off claimed that the WWE Universe would have to wait until next week to see his new avatar.
New Day vs. The Usos (Winner decides the stipulation for their title rematch)
The New Day come out with boxes of Booty O's as Big E and Kofi Kingston were the ones who would represent the trio tonight. Woods seemed to be injured as he had a 'it's sore' sign in his hand.
Jimmy kicked off the bout with a right hands on Big E as the champs asserted control of the match. Big E created some separation as both teams tagged.
Kofi came in hot with a couple of clotheslines and a dropkick followed by a New Day boom drop. The momentum ended with Jey's swift kick.
Jimmy got tagged in and superkick Big E right in his jaw. Jey looked for the pop-up Samoan Drop but Kofi responded with a Dragon Sleeper submission.
The match saw a controversial finish as Jey came in and rolled up Kofi for the three-count, albeit holding up is tights.
source by :-www.sportskeeda.com
The Usos def. New Day and will choose the stipulation for the Tag Team titles rematch.
Squash Squash Squash!
It was time to build up the Nia Jax of SmackDown, TA-MI-NA!!
Lana was out in the ring first as she introduced 'the most dominant and feared women wrestler in the WWE' Tamina.
Tamina was scheduled to destroy to a hopeless enhancement talent (local jobber). The jobber drew first blood, but Tamina retaliated with a couple of kicks followed by a stiff one to the jaw. Lights out Jobber!
Randy Orton & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Jinder Mahal & Rusev
Nakamura and Orton attacked Mahal and Rusev even before the bell is rung. Nakamura and Orton stand tall in the ring, as we head into the commercial break...
Mahal and Nakamura kick off the in-ring action as Nakamura connected with a kick on Mahal;
Nakamura connected with the jawbreaker and tagged Orton. The Viper stunned Jinder Mahal with a host of punches, uppercuts, and stomps. Mahal looked for the clothesline but Orton ducked and attempted the RKO. Mahal blocked and was sent out of the ring. Orton then sent Mahal back first into the barricade
Orton slammed Mahal into the mat. However, the Singh Brothers distracted the referee and Rusev took advantage and pinned Orton down with a huge kick. The Bulgarian Brute landed some good kicks and locked him in a submission hold.
Orton created some separation and made the hot tag to the Rockstar. The pop is deafening! Nakamura toom Ruseb out with a big kick. He yielded a near fall and followed it up with an exploder suplex. Rusev reversed, but Nakamura replied with an attempted cross arm breaker.
Orton came in and went for the RKO, Rusev, though, shoved him into the ropes. Nakamura then laid Rusev out with a knee strike from the second rope. Kinshasa! 1-2-3!
Orton and Nakamura def. Mahal and Rusev
The winners initially smiled at each other but things turned volatile as Orton snapped and shocked Nakamura with an RKO outta nowhere! Next week's #1 contenders match for the WWE title just got more interesting!
This could have been Orton's much-needed heel turn or just a notice ahead of next week's big match! We'll have to wait and watch out this unfolds next week.
