By Brandon Albright, @B_Rock1978
Wrestling Lockup with Brandon, brought to you by Triple Threat CLE brings you the Weekend 3 Count. W3C brings you wrestling news, rumors and recaps from around the wrestling world. You'll find news and recaps involving WWE, NXT, TNA, ROH, Lucha Underground, GFW, NJPW, House of Hardcore and any Indy promotion that I find an interesting story or a cool discovery in. Be sure to check out the W3C every Sunday afternoon at @TripleThreatCLE.
*** WWE/NXT ***
- Roman Reigns Suspended: In a breaking and shocking news story on Tuesday afternoon, WWE announced the official suspension of Roman Reigns. Reigns (Joe Anoa'i) was suspended for 30 days for his first offense in violating the company's talent wellness policy. Reigns tweeted out the following on Twitter after the announcement:
"I apologize to my family, friends and fans for my mistake in violating WWE's wellness policy. No excuses. I own it."
- Did Roman Reigns' Suspension Change Things?: Sources are saying that the original ending scripted for the Reigns vs. Rollins match at WWE Money In The Bank was for Reigns to defeat Rollins. Dean Ambrose meanwhile was not supposed to cash in his WWE World Heavyweight Championship contract yet. With WWE learning of Reigns failing his drug test, they immediately rewrote the ending of the show.
- Will There Still Be A Triple Threat Match At WWE Battleground?: According to sources, Reigns will be back in time to still compete in the scheduled Triple Threat Match at WWE Battleground, between the three members of Shield. On the day Reigns was suspended 30 days, there was still 33 days left until WWE Battleground, putting Reigns back within 3 days of the pay per view. Sources are also saying that rumors are that Reigns will win the title back immediately on his return, which if true, means Dean Ambrose is just holding the title till Reigns returns.
- Money In The Bank Madness: Be sure to check out my recap of Money In The Bank and check out how the WWE World Heavyweight Championship changed hands not once, but twice.
- Stone Cold Podcast With AJ Styles: After RAW went off the air this past Monday, Steve Austin brought us the latest edition of his podcast on WWE Network. This time around Austin sat down with The Phenomenal AJ Styles. Austin and Styles talked about Styles growing up with an alcoholic father, getting into wrestling, his opinion on Shawn Michaels, his short run in WCW, working in TNA and New Japan Pro Wrestling, his WWE Royal Rumble debut, meeting with Triple H and joining WWE.
- Upcoming WWE Pay Per View Schedule: With the brand split coming up, WWE officially announced that RAW and Smackdown would both have their own pay per views monthly except for the Big 4 pay per view months. The following pay per view schedule was leaked but it's not official as of yet.
- WWE Summer Slam - August 21st in Brooklyn, both brands
- WWE Backlash, September 11th in Richmond, SmackDown event
- WWE Clash of the Champions, September 25th in Indianapolis, RAW event
- WWE No Mercy, October 9th in Sacramento, SmackDown event
- WWE Hell In a Cell, October 30th in Boston, RAW event
- WWE Survivor Series, November 20th in Toronto, both brands
- WWE TLC, December 4th in Dallas, SmackDown event
- WWE Roadblock, December 18th in Pittsburgh, RAW event
- Royal Rumble 2017 Location Announced: According to F4WOnline.com, the 2017 WWE Royal Rumble PPV will be taking place at The Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The Staples Center had previously been the regular home of WWE’s annual SummerSlam PPV, but with WWE successfully selling out three nights in Brooklyn over SummerSlam weekend last year, the decision was made to keep SummerSlam in New York City again this year. The WWE decided to use the Staples Center and their Hollywood vibe for the beginning stages of the Road to Wrestlemania 33 to kick off 2017.
- Daniel Bryan And Mauro Ranallo Calling The WWE Cruiserweight Classic: WWE announced on Wednesday that they have chosen Daniel Bryan and Mauro Ranallo as the hosts for the upcoming WWE Cruiserweight Classic 32 Man Tournament. The tournament kicks off with first round action on July 13th.
- Cleveland Cavaliers Get A Custom Made Title: Monday morning, Triple H sent out his love to our Cleveland Cavaliers for winning the NBA Championship and is sending us a custom made WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
- WWE and Pabst Blue Ribbon: Last month PBR put a cease and desist order on WWE's new John Cena apparel that was set to hit the shop zone at the end of May, forcing WWE to make changes. John Cena posted on Twitter that things are now cool with WWE and PBR and they accept Cena's new T-shirt.
- Who Was The Best Smackdown General Manager?: With the brand extension coming up soon, a couple weeks ago I did a list of worst to first of RAW general managers. This week let's hit the blue brand and do a worst to first of Smackdown general managers. Who was your favorite Smackdown GM?
#8. John Laurinaitis
#7. Vince McMahon
#6. Kurt Angle
#5. Paul Heyman
#4. Booker T.
#3. Stephanie McMahon
#2. Vickie Guerrero
#1. Teddy Long
*** TNA ***
- TNA Impact TV Recap:
-- Drew Galloway demands a match against Ethan Carter. Galloway and EC3 get into a heated argument until Bobby Lashley and Eli Drake interrupt and challenge Galloway and EC3 to a tag match.
-- Drew Galloway and Ethan Carter defeated Bobby Lashley and Eli Drake, by pinfall, after EC3 hit the One Percenter on Drake and Galloway scored the pinfall. With this win, both Galloway and EC3 earned future TNA World Heavyweight Championship Matches.
-- Bram gets beaten down by The Decay, after Rosemary tries to seduce Bram into joining The Decay. Rosemary sprays mist in Bram's face, which led to the beat down.
-- Marti Belle defeated Jade, by pinfall, after hitting Jade with her baton.
-- The Bennett's threaten to sue Dixie Carter. Billy Corgan tells Dixie to take a week off and cool down. Mike Bennett thanks Corgan, asks for a TNA X-Division Championship Match and Corgan gives it to him.
-- Mike Bennett defeated Eddie Edwards, by pinfall, after a rollup and using the ropes for leverage, to win the TNA X-Division Championship.
-- Braxton Sutter defeated Rockstar Spud, by pinfall, after a Flatliner. After the match, Spud low blows Sutter and beats him with a belt.
-- Jeff Hardy defeated Matt Hardy, by pinfall, in a Six Sides Of Steel Match. Jeff climbed a ladder in the corner of the cage, leaped off and hit a Swanton Bomb on Matt through a table. Matt also had a chair and ladder stacked on top of him.
- Chelsea Green Signs With TNA: This past Monday, TNA announced the signing of Chelsea Green to the company. Chelsea was a former WWE Tough Enough contestant and also graduated from Lance Storm's Wrestling Academy. It is unknown when Chelsea will make her in ring debut.
- Resigned Talent: TNA officially announced they have resigned Trevor Lee and Rockstar Spud to new contracts.
- Top 10 Worst TNA X-Division Champions: With the TNA X-Division Championship changing hands again this week, a new top 10 was posted this week of the top 10 worst TNA X-Division Champions. Who would you consider one of the worst?
#10. Eric Young
#9. Michael Shane and Kazarian
#8. Suicide
#7. Sheik Abdul Bashir
#6. Rob Van Dam
#5. Johnny Devine
#4. Sonny Siaki
#3. Syxx-Pac
#2. Kurt Angle
#1. Abyss
*** RING OF HONOR ***
- ROH TV Recap:
-- Dalton Castle defeated Gedo, by pinfall, with the Bang A Rang.
-- Tomohiro Ishii defeated Will Ferrara, by pinfall, with the brain buster.
-- Roderick Strong, Jay Lethal and The Briscoes defeated The Bullet Club, by pinfall, in an Eight Man Tag Team Match, after Lethal hit the Jay Driller for the pinfall. After the match, Jay Lethal and Jay Briscoe have a stare down to promote their ROH World Title Match.
*** Best In The World 2016 Recap***
-- Kyle O'Reilly defeated Kamaitachi, by submission, with an arm bar submission.
-- ACH defeated Silas Young, by pinfall, after hitting the Midnight Star.
-- Mark Briscoe defeated Roderick Strong, by pinfall, after hitting the Fisherman's Buster. After the match, both men hug it out as this was Strong's last ROH match.
-- Adam Cole and The Young Bucks defeated Moose and War Machine, by pinfall, in a Six Man Tag Team Match, after Cole and The Bucks hit a triple super kick, followed by the Meltzer Driver on Moose.
-- The Addiction defeated The Motor City Machine Guns, by pinfall, to retain the ROH World Tag Team Championship. Kamaitachi comes down to ringside and attacks Jay White, who's sitting in the crowd, watching tonight's event. Alex Shelley gets distracted and gets a low blow by The Addiction. The Addiction hit The Best Meltzer Driver Ever for the win. Kamaitachi joins with The Addiction after the match.
-- BJ Whitmer defeated Steve Corino, by pinfall, in a Fight Without Honor Match. Whitmer hit the exploder suplex for the win.
-- Bobby Fish defeated Dalton Castle, by pinfall, to retain the ROH Television Championship, after countering the Bang A Rang and scores a rollup pinfall.
-- Jay Lethal defeated Jay Briscoe, by pinfall, to retain the ROH World Championship. Lethal hit a super cutter on Briscoe from off the top rope and then hit the Lethal Injection for the win. After the match, Lethal and Briscoe shake hands to end the show.
- Roderick Strong Update: Strong officially announced that this past Saturday night was his last match with ROH. Strong is moving on to other wrestling promotions.
*** LUCHA UNDERGROUND ***
- Lucha Underground TV Recap:
-- New signee Night Claw is given a medallion by Dario Cueto and Night Claw will compete at Ultima Lucha Dos for the Gift of the God’s Championship. Night Claw has a history with Prince Puma.
-- Daga defeated Mascarita Sagrada, by submission, with a crossface, to win a medallion. After the match, Famous B turns on Sagrada with a super kick and beats Sagrada down with his boot.
-- Dario Cueto tells Azteca that his brother didn't kill his master. Black Lotus did it.
-- Killshot, Sinestro De La Muerte and Marty The Moth defeated Joey Ryan, Cortez Castro and Mr. Cisco, by pinfall, in a Six Man Tag Team Match, after a double stomp by Killshot to Cisco, to win medallions.
-- Ivelisse and Taya Valkyrie defeated Mariposa and Sexy Star, by pinfall, after Mariposa hits White Noise on Taya, to win medallions.
-- Prince Puma and Rey Mysterio agree to face each other one on one to see who's more superior, the newcomer to Lucha or the veteran.
*** NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING ***
*** NJPW Dominion 2016 Recap ***
-- Satoshi Kojima, Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Manabu Nakanishi defeated Jay White, David Finlay and Juice Robinson, by submission, in a Six Man Tag Team Match. The end came when Tenzan applied the Anaconda Vice for the tap out victory.
-- Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi and Adam Page defeated Togi Makabe, Yoshitatsu and Captain New Japan, by pinfall, in a Six Man Tag Team Match. Page hit the Last Rites on Captain to score the pinfall. After the match, Captain was hung by The Bullet Club.
-- Tomohiro Ishii and YOSHI-HASHI defeated SANADA and BUSHI, by submission, after Ishii made SANADA tap out to a rear naked choke.
-- Hirooki Goto defeated EVIL, by pinfall, after Goto hit the Ushigoroshi and the GTR for the win.
-- The Young Bucks defeated Matt Sydal and Ricochet, ReDRagon and RPG Vice, in a Fatal Four Way Elimination Match to win the IWGP Jr. Tag Team Championship. The Bucks hit the Meltzer Driver on Sydal to score the final pinfall.
-- KUSHIDA defeated Will Ospreay, by submission, with the Hover Board Lock, to retain the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship.
-- The Briscoes defeated Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa, by pinfall, with the Doomsday Device, to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship. After the match, Adam Page and Takahashi attack The Briscoes and The Bullet Club hang Mark Briscoe.
-- Katsuyori Shibata defeated Yuji Nagata, by pinfall, after hitting the PK, to win the IWGP NEVER Openweight Championship.
-- Michael Elgin defeated Kenny Omega, in a Ladder Match, to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship.
-- Kazuchika Okada defeated Tetsuya Naito, by pinfall, with the Rainmaker, to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.
*** OTHER NEWS ***
- Kurt Angle Says He'll Be Back In WWE Soon: This past week, Kurt Angle himself has come out and said publicly that he will be returning to World Wrestling Entertainment, although when this happens is as yet unknown. Angle stated that he has had meetings recently with Triple H and Vince McMahon both, and things are looking good for a return. WWE have been reaching out to independent wrestlers, free agents and ex-WWE veterans to sign with WWE for their upcoming brand split and draft on July 19th.
- WWE Denies Kurt Angle Comeback: Despite recent speculation and comments from Kurt Angle himself, it appears WWE will not be bringing back the Olympic Gold Medalist. According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE confirmed on Thursday that they will not be bringing Angle back.
- David Angle Murder Case: The brother of Olympic Gold Medalist, Kurt Angle, David Angle, was in court on Tuesday and pled guilty to killing his wife, Donna Angle, last fall. By pleading guilty, Angle will receive a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter, as opposed to the more serious charge of homicide, which was the original charge. Defense Attorney Bill Diffenderfer stated the following to Pittsburgh action news:
“It was really a product of alcohol. And there was a domestic fight where she started smacking him and he stopped her from doing that. His knees were on her chest and basically she suffocated. And he was intoxicated as well and it was almost accidental."
- CM Punk's UFC Debut: After two years in the company, Phil "CM Punk" Brooks will finally have his first official fight at UFC 203 against Mickey Gall, live on September 10th, in Cleveland, Ohio.
- UFC's Paige VanZant Interested In WWE: Paige VanZant recently spoke with ESPN's Hannah Storm and talked about her upcoming fight against Bec Rawling. Paige said she's 100% focused on UFC, but if the timing was right she'd love to do something involving the WWE. Paige said she loves the WWE and would love to work a storyline with them when the timing is right.
- Cody Rhodes And WWE Talk: PWInsider have said that WWE have spoken to Cody Rhodes the past few days. WWE has been interested in signing Cody Rhodes to a deal similar to a Legends Contract. This would allow WWE to release merchandise and other items with Cody's likeness. It's possible that WWE had merchandise planned for Stardust, perhaps through a third-party like Mattel, and are offering Cody a deal so they can legally move forward with the plans. There has been no talk of Cody returning to work for WWE as a wrestler.
And that's this week's W3C! Join me every Sunday afternoon as I bring you news, recaps and rumors all around the wrestling world!
