Weekend 3 Count 6.5.16 #WWE #NXT #TNA #Lucha #ROH #GFW #NJPW

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, CZW, 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 at @TripleThreatCLE. 

*** WWE/NXT ***

- AJ Styles Goes Dark Side: In case you missed RAW last week, go back and check out my recap and read about how AJ Styles fooled us all and turned heel. Obviously with Styles turning heel and rejoining The Club, that has silenced all talk of Finn Balor debuting as The Club leader. Sources have said that with Balor's huge popularity with the fans, WWE would make a mistake debuting Balor as a heel. However, if you look at Styles, he was WWE's top merchandise seller at the moment, so with Styles turning heel how will that effect his merchandise sales?

- Possible Shield Triple Threat Coming: With Seth Rollins now back from his leg injury that sidelined him since last November, WWE may possibly put a major feud in motion soon. The grand daddy match of them all that every WWE fan has been waiting for, for the past two years, Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose, a Shield Triple Threat. Sources are saying that WWE may be looking at a possible triple threat match between the trio at Summer Slam this year. There has also been talk that if not at Summer Slam than WWE will go with the year build up and do it at Wrestlemania 33. I'll keep an eye on this story and I'll be hoping it comes true.

- Bray Wyatt Cryptic Messages: Bray Wyatt, who's been out with a calf injury since April has been posting cryptic messages on Twitter, involving his character and Sister Abigail. Many think that this is a sign that Bray will be returning from injury soon and maybe even see the debut of Sister Abigail. The Sister Abigail story has been around since The Wyatt's debuted, but WWE have yet to pull the trigger on going forward with the storyline.

- Who Is Sister Abigail?: Ever since The Wyatt Family debut in FCW, NXT and WWE, Bray Wyatt has spoken of Sister Abigail in his promos, on Twitter and even named his finishing move after "her".  If WWE were to ever make Sister Abigail a real person, just who would be the perfect candidate to pull it off? This week on the internet, a top 10 list was posted on who the fans think would be the perfect Sister Abigail. If you were a WWE Booker, who would be your Sister Abigail?

#10. Paige
#9. Courtney Rush (TNA's Rosemary)
#8. Crazy Mary Dobson (NXT newbie)
#7. Sara Del Ray (WWE's Women's head trainer)
#6. Allysin Kay (Independent veteran and currently signed in TNA)
#5. Leva Bates (NXT's Blue Pants)
#4. Santana Garrett (Formally TNA's Brittany)
#3. Mika Rotunda (Bray's real life sister)
#2. Saraya Knight (Independent Veteran)
#1. Stephanie McMahon

- Big Cass Going Solo?: WWE officials have stated on numerous occasions that Vince McMahon was very pleased with Cass during Cass' mini solo run in May while Enzo was out with a concussion. Some are speculating that Enzo and Cass might get separated during the Draft and Brand Split in July. Where does this leave Enzo? Enzo and Cass have been a huge fan favorite team together. Why ruin a good thing you have by splitting them up?

- Is NXT Ending?: This is the latest rumor that has been making the internet rounds ever since Triple H announced that the next NXT Takeover would be entitled The End. Some speculate that it only means it's the end of the Finn Balor and Samoa Joe feud, but others are thinking it means the end of NXT. Ticketmaster have pulled all up coming NXT shows and NXT Takeover: Brooklyn in August was dropped, however, was put back up on the WWE website. Many are thinking that with the up coming brand split about to happen in July, NXT may have been sacrificed to an end. I'll be keeping an eye on this and keep you informed.

- Hideo Itami Update: There has still been no word on when Hideo Itami will make his return to NXT, after being on the injured list for over a year with a shoulder injury. Itami did however recently post a tweet on Twitter as a possible sign for a return. No date was given, but Itami tweeted "See you soon". I'll keep you updated on Itami when he officially announces his return.

- Vince Not High On Sasha Banks: Sasha Banks returned to action this week after suffering a concussion at a WWE live show on May 15th. Banks was accidentally kneed in the head by the referee during the match, causing the concussion. But what has people talking this week is the comments that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon made recently. Vince stated that Sasha only has one speed in the ring and that's "Go All Out". Vince also called Sasha injury prone and even compared her to Daniel Bryan a few months back. Sounds like Sasha may be in a bad predicament right now if the boss isn't sold on you.

*** Money In The Bank Card ***
- "WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match": Roman Reigns (c) vs. Seth Rollins
- "Money In The Bank Ladder Match": Sami Zayn vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens vs. Cesaro vs. Chris Jericho vs. Alberto Del Rio
- "WWE vs. TNA Dream Match": John Cena vs. AJ Styles

- Who's Winning Money In The Bank?: Right now as of this writing, the top 3 names that are being tossed around to win the Money In The Bank Briefcase are Kevin Owens, Dean Ambrose and Alberto Del Rio.

*** NXT Takeover: The End Card ***
- "NXT World Title, Steel Cage Match": Samoa Joe (c) vs. Finn Balor
- "NXT Women’s Championship Match": Asuka (c) vs. Nia Jax
- "NXT World Tag Team Championship Match": American Alpha (c) vs. The Revival
- "#1 Contenders Match": Austin Aries vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
- Andrade “Cien” Almas vs. Tye Dillinger

*** TNA ***

- TNA Impact Recap:
-- Impact kicked off with Dixie Carter talking to someone, stating that Billy Corgan agreed when she vouched for him to help keep control and help run Impact tonight. The segment ends without the big reveal yet.
-- Mike Bennett and Maria demand to know who's running Impact. Ethan Carter reveals himself as the show runner tonight. EC3 gives Bennett the night off from wrestling, makes Bennett the janitor, announces that Maria will be given a job evaluation and makes EC3 vs. Bennett at TNA Slammiversary official.
-- Bobby Lashley threatens EC3, so EC3 announces that he and Drew Galloway will pick each others opponents tonight since Lashley wants a fight.
-- Bram defeated Bobby Lashley, by DQ, after Lashley attacks Bram with a steel chair. After the match, Bram gets speared by Lashley twice before Drew Galloway makes the save. Eli Drake's music hits and he cashes in his TNA King of the Mountain Championship contract on Bram.
-- Eli Drake defeated Bram, by pinfall, after hitting a spinning lariat, to win the TNA King of the Mountain Championship.
-- EC3 tells Earl Hebner to teach Mike Bennett how to referee because he's refereeing tonight too.
-- The BroMans defeated Rockstar Spud and Tyrus, by submission, to become #1 contenders to the TNA World Tag Team Championship, after Jessie Godderz made Spud tap out to the Adonis Crab. Mike Bennett was the special guest referee.
-- Maria tells EC3 she wants Gail Kim fired for attacking her last week. EC3 says they'll figure things out tonight.
-- EC3 says Maria is doing a poor job at running the Knockouts Division, plus put her hands on Gail Kim, which should be automatic termination. EC3 let's Gail pick Maria's punishment and Gail picks a one on one match against Maria at TNA Slammiversary.
-- Gail Kim and Jade defeated Sienna and Allie, by pinfall, after Gail hit Eat Defeat and Jade hit the package pile driver on Allie.
-- EC3 says he lied about giving Mike Bennett the night off and puts him against James Storm. 
-- Mike Bennett defeated James Storm, by pinfall, after Maria slaps Storm and Bennett rolls up Storm. After the match, EC3 says he's done playing with Bennett, will see him at TNA Slammiversary and is leaving him with a kick. Storm hits the Last Call super kick out of nowhere on Bennett.
-- Al Snow introduces his new tag team called The Tribunal. They will make wrestling great again by being judge, jury and executioner. Grado and Shera arrive, talk smack and brawl with The Tribunal. Snow hits Grado and Shera with a steel chair and The Tribunal beat them down.
-- Drew Galloway defeated The Decay, by pinfall, in a Handicap Match. Bobby Lashley tries to cost Galloway the match, but it backfires. Galloway hits Claymore and Future Shock on Crazy Steve for the pin.
-- Matt and Jeff Hardy meet at Matt's house inside their old OMEGA wrestling ring to sign their contract for Full Metal Mayhem. After signing the contract Reby Hardy distracts Jeff, allowing Matt to hit Jeff with a bottle. Matt hits the Side Effect on Jeff through a table and says that now it's done.

- Dixie Carter Looking For Talent: Dixie Carter was asked recently if there was any possibility that she would be interested in signing any of the talent WWE just released. Dixie had the following to say:

"Yes, there are some great talent on the market right now, and there hasn't been for a while. So, I think that there are some big opportunities for us to see if a couple of names that are available fit with what we're trying to do right now. You know, great in-ring product, great personality and ability to show, to have big characters and we're very excited about that."

Dixie also talked about signing talent in India, where she is currently visiting trying to freshen up the TNA talent roster.

*** TNA Slammiversary Card ***
– "TNA World Heavyweight Championship, Knockout or Tap Out Match": Drew Galloway (c) vs. Bobby Lashley
– "Full Metal Mayhem Match": Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy
– Ethan Carter vs. Mike Bennett
– Gail Kim vs. Maria Bennett
– "TNA World Tag Team Championship Match": The Decay (c) vs. The Bro-Mans
- "TNA King of the Mountain Championship Match": Eli Drake (c) vs. Bram

*** RING OF HONOR ***
- ROH TV Recap: (After weeks of best of shows, we finally got new ROH this week)
-- ACH defeated Lio Rush by pinfall, with the 450 Splash. After the match, Silas Young attacks ACH and lays him out with Misery.
-- The Addiction brag about being the new ROH World Tag Team Champions. The Motor City Machine Guns and Roppongi Vice arrive and all trade verbal shots at each other. Addiction lay down a challenge that if either team can beat them in a triple threat then they'll get at title shot at ROH Best In The World.
-- Motor City Machine Guns defeated The Addiction and Roppongi Vice, by pinfall, in a Triple Threat Match to become #1 contenders. MCMG hit their finisher Skull and Bones for the win.
-- The Bullet Club defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Yoshi Tatsu and Michael Elgin, by pinfall, in a Six Man Tag Team Match. Kenny Omega sprayed cold spray  into Tatsu's face, which set up a BC triple super kick and the One Winged Angel for the win.

- Roderick Strong and Moose Updates: Both Roderick Strong and Moose are set to have their contracts expiring this month. Moose has shown interest in jumping to the WWE last year before resigning with ROH. WWE is looking to add new talent with their brand extension coming up in July. No word on any plans for Strong as of yet.

- Katsuyori Shibata Debut: ROH is hoping to debut Shibata in August at the ROH shows on August 19th and 20th. There will also be other top NJPW talents there as well for both shows.

- ROH and CMLL Alliance: The Wrestling Observer recently stated that Ring of Honor is looking at a possible alliance with Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, which is a lucha libre free style wrestling organization. New Japan Pro Wrestling and CMLL currently work together and produce the Fantasticamania shows every January. ROH and CMLL have been in talks to work together, and are working on bringing in a major CMLL star for the July 16th event in Philadelphia.

*** ROH Best In The World Card ***
- "ROH World Heavyweight Championship Match": Jay Lethal (c) vs. Jay Briscoe
- "ROH Television Championship Match": Bobby Fish (c) vs. Dalton Castle
- "ROH World Tag Team Championship Match": The Addiction (c) vs. The Motor City Machine Guns
- "Fight Without Honor Match": BJ Whitmer vs. Steve Corino
- The Young Bucks vs. Mark Briscoe and Kyle O'Reilly
- Donovan Dijak vs. Lio Rush
- "#1 Contenders, Triple Threat Match, For a Shot at The ROH World Championship": Adam Cole vs. Colt Cabana vs. Roderick Strong

*** LUCHA UNDERGROUND ***
- Lucha Underground Recap:
-- Son Of Havoc defeated Daga, by pinfall, with the Shooting Star Press.
-- Prince Puma, Rey Mysterio and Dragon Azteca Jr. have a verbal fight backstage. Azteca wants revenge on Matanza, Mysterio tells Azteca to stay focused on their match tonight and tells Puma to mind his own business when he tries to separate Azteca and Mysterio from going nose to nose.
-- PJ Black, Jack Evans and Johnny Mundo defeated Rey Mysterio, Dragon Azteca Jr and Prince Puma, by DQ, to retain the Lucha Underground Trios Championship. Mundo low blowed Azteca. Puma low blowed Mundo in retaliation for the DQ, cause the referee missed Mundo's first low blow.

-- Black Lotus says that Dragon Azteca Jr's master killed her parents. Azteca walks away not believing her accusation.
-- Matanza defeated Brian Cage, by pinfall, with the Wrath Of The Gods, to retain the Lucha Underground Championship.

- King Cuerno Update: According to Wrestling Observer Newsletter, King Cuerno was recently in Los Angeles, taping backstage vignettes for Lucha Underground. Cuerno has not been at any of the season three tapings, due to a contract dispute and back surgery.

*** NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING ***

- Hiroshi Tanahashi Update: Last week NJPW announced that Tanahashi was taking time off to be at 100% for his match against Kenny Omega. This week, however, all that has changed. NJPW has announced that Tanahashi will be sidelined due to a shoulder injury that he has been fighting for sometime. Due to the injury Tanahashi is dropping out of his match against Kenny Omega to get shoulder surgery performed.

*** OTHER NEWS ***

- Muhammad Ali Passes: One of the greatest boxers and sports entertainers in the sports world passed away on Friday. Cassius Clay aka Muhammad Ali passed away at the age of 74 this week. Not only was Ali known for his boxing skills, but Ali also had a hand in the professional wrestling world. Ali had a segment with Gorilla Monsoon, that saw Monsoon airplane spin and slam Ali. Ali served as a guest referee in the Wrestlemania 1 main event between Hulk Hogan and Mr. T vs. Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff.  Ali also competed in a boxer vs. wrestler match against Japanese legend Antonio Inoki, where Ali suffered two blood clots from Inoki's vicious kicks.

WWE issued a statement, saying: "WWE is saddened to learn that two-time world heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali passed away at age 74 on June 3, 2016."

- Adam Cole On WWE Radar: Former ROH World Champion Adam Cole is said to be on WWE's radar of wanted talent. According to Daily Wrestling News, the man himself, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, wants Adam Cole to join the WWE. He is apparently a fan. Vince's plan is to bring Cole in and have him start with NXT. Cole has been asked about joining WWE and stated that it's eventually in his plans to join WWE one day.

- Kurt Angle Return?: With Kurt Angle currently a free agent in the wrestling world, talk of Angle rejoining WWE has surfaced again. Many think it's only a matter of time before Angle returns to the WWE in some capacity, whether that be as a full or part-time performer, a WWE Hall of Fame inductee and future ambassador. Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer recently commented on the situation. Meltzer revealed that Vince McMahon is adamantly opposed to the idea, and has been for quite some time. Angle’s wrestling career has been tarnished with drug, alcohol, and domestic abuse that has been low-lighted by multiple DUI’s. His injury history has been well-documented, and Vince doesn’t want him to suffer the one that ultimately ends his career on WWE’s watch. Apparently, Vince has held this stance since Kurt left in 2006. It might take some serious convincing from Triple H also, who has plenty of history with Angle to begin with. So the question remains, will we ever see Angle back in a WWE ring?

- Cody Rhodes' Dream Matches: Last week Cody Rhodes posted a list of wrestlers that he would love to face in wrestling now that he's a free agent. Rhodes received two of those dream matches as it was first announced that he'd be facing Kurt Angle. For the first time ever it'll be Kurt Angle vs. Cody Rhodes at Northeast Wrestling's "Wrestling Under the Stars" event on August 27th in Wappingers Falls, NY. A few days later, Cody Rhodes received another dream opponent from his list. On August 26th in Pittsfield, MA, Cody will battle "The Miracle" Mike Bennett at an Indy event.

- Cryme Tyme WWE Return?: With the WWE draft and brand extension coming up this July, WWE has been on a mission to bring in new and possibly some ex-talent back into the company. Two guys that have been very vocal on Twitter about a possible return were Shad Gaspard and JTG, known as Cryme Tyme in the WWE.

Gaspard tweeted the following: "Don't call it a #WWE comeback."

JTG tweeted three days later, commenting about a list of tag teams that were over, but never won the WWE World Tag Team Championship. Cryme Tyme made that list.

- AJ Lee Finishes Autobiography: AJ Lee recently tweeted out on her Twitter that she has finished writing her book and did it alone without a Co-Writer or Ghost Writer. AJ's book will be entitled "Crazy Is My Superpower".

- WWE 2K17: According to PWInsider, WWE will be releasing their yearly video game WWE 2K17 on October 25th. No word yet on who will be included, what will be included or DCL packs to purchase yet.

- WWE 2K17 Pre-Order Wrestler: WWE.com did however announce a wrestler you can get by Pre-Ordering WWE 2K17. By ordering WWE 2K17 now, you will receive former WCW World Heavyweight Champion Goldberg as an exclusive playable character. With WWE working a deal with Goldberg many are wondering if this is the beginning stages of Goldberg being inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame or possibly having one more match at Wrestlemania 33.

- Jimmy Snuka Trial: Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka was ruled mentally incompetent to stand trial for the 1983 murder of his ex-girlfriend Nancy Argentino. Argentino was killed following an alleged altercation with Snuka in her hotel room before one of his matches in 1983. Snuka’s lawyers argued the WWE Hall of Famer, now 73, suffers from early onset dementia. His wife supported these claims under oath. A judge believed the argument and Snuka is set to be re-evaluated in December. Unless his mental state improves, he cannot be tried for the charges because defendants have a right to understand what is going on so they can participate in their defense.

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!