Weekend 3 Count 8.21.16 #WWE #NXT #TNA #ROH #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, 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 ***

- Alberto Del Rio Suspended: WWE announced this past Wednesday that Alberto Del Rio (Jose Rodriguez) has been suspended for 30 days for violating the WWE Talent Wellness Policy.

- Paige Suspended: WWE announced this past Wednesday that Paige (Saraya-Jade Bevis) has been suspended for 30 days for violating the WWE Talent Wellness Policy. Many find it a coincidence that both Paige and Alberto Del Rio were suspended for the same reasons considering they have been dating the past couple months.

- Eva Marie Suspended: WWE announced this past Thursday that Eva Marie (Natalie Coyle) has been suspended for 30 days for violation of the company’s talent wellness policy.

- Eva Marie's Husband Speaks Out: After the suspension of Eva Marie was announced, Eva's husband Jonathan Coyle made a comment on Twitter that stated that once the wrestling world finds out why Eva was suspended we'd all be outraged. Coyle quickly deleted the comment, possibly realizing he could be jeopardizing Eva's career if he went public with anything negative against the WWE.

- How RAW Almost Didn't Happen: Last Monday, RAW took place at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. Due to horrible weather the arena lost power for most of the afternoon and there was fear that the lights weren't coming back on anytime soon. The lights did return by mid-afternoon and RAW was scheduled to continue as planned. Backstage interviewer Tom Phillips said that during the power outage the WWE makeup team were working on the Superstars by candlelight.

- RAW Intruder Arrested: Last Monday on RAW during Seth Rollins' promo, a fan jumped the barricade and entered the ring. The gentleman got in Rollins' face and was shoved away by Rollins as WWE security tackled the fan. TMZ has identified the man as 23 year old Edward Ferrero. Ferrero was arrested and charged with assault and criminal trespassing, according to the Corpus Christi Police. Ferrero bit one of the WWE security guards who took him down. The officer did not require medical attention. Fans on social media have reported seeing the man rambling before the show outside of the arena, appearing to be very unstable.

- Vince McMahon Sells Stock: WWE CEO Vince McMahon sold 1.547 million shares of WWE stock for purposes of estate planning this past Wednesday. The sale price was not revealed, however, WWE stock closed at $20.97. If you were to use that price, the sale would net McMahon over $32.44 million.

- Dean Ambrose Catching Backstage Heat: According to Dave Meltzer and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE World Heavyweight Champion Dean Ambrose may be catching some backstage heat from his recent appearance on the Steve Austin Show. The heat is being said to stem from his negativity toward creative, and being negative on creative means being negative on Triple H and Vince McMahon. WWE Officials also were not happy about Ambrose publicly talking about how Brock Lesnar didn't want to do anything for their match at WrestleMania 32.

- Cesaro Heading To Smackdown Live?: Last week it was reported that there might be a possibility that Kevin Owens gets traded to Smackdown Live and Randy Orton gets traded to RAW. This week there is talk of Cesaro possibly being traded to Smackdown Live as well. Cesaro has been in a storyline on RAW currently with Mick Foley and Stephanie McMahon, with them mentioning how Cesaro wanted to be drafted to Smackdown Live. This may actually be the beginning stages of a future trade to Smackdown Live for Cesaro.

- Curt Hawkins Returning: This past Tuesday on Smackdown Live, it was made official that Curt Hawkins would be returning. Hawkins has a new gimmick that resembles Chuck Norris Facts. For example Curt Hawkins can count to infinity...twice. Curt Hawkins can slam a revolving door.

- Nikki Bella Cleared To Wrestle: Nikki Bella announced on Instagram this week that her doctor has marked her neck surgery as a success and has officially cleared Nikki to be able to wrestle again.

- Smackdown Live's First PPV: Tickets officially go on sale this weekend for Smackdown Live's first solo pay per view. WWE No Mercy will take place at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California on Sunday, October 9th.

- CM Punk Comments On The Conor McGregor Incident: The past few weeks UFC's Conor McGregor has been making negative comments toward the wrestling business, WWE in general. McGregor has been calling WWE and it's wrestlers a joke that he could defeat easily in a real life fight. McGregor's comments lit a fire under the wrestling world, as guys like Ric Flair, Kurt Angle and Roman Reigns quickly defended their business. Former WWE World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk was reached to give his comments on the whole situation and Punk stated that he thinks McGregor's comments were all a work. Punk stated that Conor was just being Conor and seeing how much of a scene he could make out of the situation. Punk stated the following:

"I think the thing that shocked me the most about what Conor said was the number of people who work there who responded to him who should know better. I don’t feel they got worked, they got worked. Ric Flair, c’mon. Just stop. Just knock it off."

- Brock Lesnar Finally Comments On Conor McGregor: Brock Lesnar finally gave his opinion on Conor McGregor's comments towards him two weeks ago. Lesnar stated the following:

I take s**ts bigger than that kid, alright? I know you guys all play f**king video games and you live in this false sense of reality and s**t. I'm two hundred and f**king ninety pounds, alright? This guy's a hundred and forty five pounds if he's lucky and gets up and eats his f**king Wheaties, ok? If Conor McGregor wants to say some s**t to me, and get his name out there more than he already has by dropping my name, I got f**king about ten words for him. Come here, face to face Conor, and say it to my face. Otherwise leave me and the f**king WWE out of it, because I came to your arena and kicked ass. Now, if you want, and if you're so f**king tough, come to our arena and try and kick some ass. Now, get the f**k out of here!"

- Kota Ibushi News: Kota Ibushi announced to the Japanese media that he has turned down a full time deal offered by WWE. Ibushi stated that he may continue wrestling for WWE, but that his dream is to become the most famous wrestler in the world. Ibushi confirmed that he will continue wrestling in Japan.

- Cruiserweight Classic Episode #6 Recap: Second Round action in the tournament continued this week.
-- Akira Tozawa defeated Jack Gallagher, by pinfall, with a deadlift german suplex.
-- Noam Dar defeated HoHo Lun, by submission, with a kneebar submission.
-- Brian Kendrick defeated Tony Nese, by submission, with the Bully Choke submission.

*** WWE Summer Slam Card ***
- "WWE Universal Championship Match": Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor
- "WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match": Dean Ambrose (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler
- "WWE Intercontinental Championship Match": The Miz (c) vs. Apollo Crews
- "WWE United States Championship Match": Rusev (c) vs. Roman Reigns
- "WWE World Tag Team Championship Match": The New Day (c) vs. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson
- "WWE Women's Championship Match": Sasha Banks (c) vs. Charlotte
- Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton
- John Cena vs. AJ Styles
- Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens vs. Enzo and Big Cass
- "Best of Seven Series, Match #1": Sheamus vs. Cesaro
- "Six Women Tag Team Match": Becky Lynch, Carmella and Naomi vs. Nattie Neidhart, Alexa Bliss and Eva Marie
- The Dudley Boys vs. Neville and Sami Zayn
- "12 Man Tag Team Match": The Ascension, The Vaudevillains, Tyler Breeze and Fandango vs. The Usos, American Alpha and The Hype Bros

- Summer Slam Recap: If you can't catch tonight's WWE pay per view, be sure to check out my recap Monday afternoon.

- The Undertaker Possibly Returning At Summer Slam?: Though nothing is official at all, there have been rumors of The Undertaker possibly returning at tonight's Summer Slam to plant seeds for his Wrestlemania 33 match. Right now it is just a huge rumor, as The Undertaker already said Wrestlemania 32 against Shane McMahon was his last match. If and this is a big IF, Taker returns tonight, the rumors are that he will interfere in the John Cena vs. AJ Styles match and set up his WM33 match against Cena.

*** NXT ***

- WWE Wants Shawn Michaels As An NXT Trainer: PWInsider recently stated that WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels was now leading the "finishing class" at the WWE Performance Center after Terry Taylor, who is still with the company, recently had neck surgery. WWE have shown major interest in bringing Michaels in full time to help train new NXT superstars. The main issue is Michaels relocating his family from Texas to Orlando.

- Samoa Joe Interview: This week Forbes did an interview with NXT World Champion Samoa Joe. Joe was asked about Conor McGregor's recent comments on wrestling. Joe said until the day comes when Conor is under a WWE contract he doesn't care what Conor is saying. Joe also stated that he wants Brock Lesnar to defeat Randy Orton because Joe would love to get a shot at Lesnar at Wrestlemania 33. 

- NXT Tour: WWE officially announced that for the first time ever NXT will tour Australia and New Zealand. No dates or locations have been announced yet, but it's official and it will be a first for NXT.

- NXT Release: WWE NXT announced that they have released King Konstantine (Radomir Petkovic) from his deal today. The 29 year old former amateur wrestler from Serbia was signed back in April of 2015 but never made it to TV.

- NXT Takeover: Brooklyn 2 Recap: If you missed the NXT pay per view this past Saturday, be sure to check out my full recap of the show later today.

*** TNA ***
- TNA Impact Recap:
-- Bobby Lashley goes nose to nose with Aron Rex backstage.

-- James Storm demands a rematch against Bobby Lashley. TNA President Billy Corgan says otherwise and says that maybe Storm just can't win the big one. Storm threatens to take apart the company and Corgan brings in TNA Security. Storm hits a security guard with a beer bottle and tells Corgan he's been loyal to TNA unlike guys like AJ Styles and Bobby Roode. Storm threatens to beat up Corgan next time they cross paths. Corgan suspends Storm indefinitely.
-- Moose defeated Eddie Edwards, by pinfall, with his Go To Hell finisher off the top rope.
-- Maria Bennett tells Jade that if she doesn't beat Gail Kim tonight than she'll never get another chance at the TNA Knockouts Championship. Jade wants to attack Maria, but Maria tells her to save it for Gail Kim.
-- Gail Kim defeated Jade, by DQ. Gail hits Eat Defeat on Jade, but Sienna attacks Gail causing the DQ. Sienna lays out Gail with the AK-47 and then lays out Jade with The Silencer. Maria Bennett calls Jade a failure and will never get another title shot.
-- DJ Zema Ion defeated Rockstar Spud, Mandrews and Braxton Sutter, in a fatal four way match. DJZ drops Mandrews with a DDT to score the pinfall.
-- Drew Galloway and Ethan Carter meet face to face and accept the challenge to wrestle a match against each other. Aron Rex interrupts and says this is what everybody wants to see and just to make sure there is a clear cut winner, Rex got TNA Management to make him special guest referee.
-- Eli Drake defeated Mahabali Shera, by pinfall, with the Blunt Force Trauma.

-- Bobby Lashley tells Dixie Carter and Billy Corgan that he wants to unify all three of his titles and become the Undisputed World Champion. Corgan says he can defend them separately, but there will be no unification. Lashley throws down the TNA King of the Mountain Championship and calls it garbage. Lashley throws down the TNA X Division Championship and says the X Division has been destroyed. Dixie calls Lashley disrespectful and Corgan informs Lashley that he'll be defending his TNA World Title against the winner of a battle royal next week.
-- The Hardy Boys defeated The Tribunal, The Helms Dynasty and The BroMans in a Fatal Four Way Tag Team Ladder Match, to become #1 Contenders to the TNA World Tag Team Championship. Broken Matt Hardy lands a Side Effect on Trevor Lee onto a ladder. Everett climbs the ladder, but gets missile drop kicked off by Brother Nero. Broken Matt climbs the ladder and grabs the contract for the win.

- TNA Reveals TNA Grand Championship: Last weekend, TNA President Billy Corgan revealed the brand new TNA Grand Championship. Corgan announced that a tournament will be held to crown the first ever champion. The uniqueness of this championship is that it will be defended in matches that will feature MMA style rounds. There will be three rounds that will last three minutes long. If a winner isn't determined after all rounds are fought then there will be a team of judges that'll decide the winner. TNA also announced that the TNA King of the Mountain Championship is being retired and the TNA Grand Championship will replace it.

- James Storm Finished With TNA?: This past week James Storm had a match against Bram, Storm stated that he has finished up with all his commitments to TNA and told the fans he'd see them down the road after he joins up with his good friend. Rumors and speculations have begun that Storm is talking about returning to NXT and joining up with his best friend Bobby Roode.

- Drew Galloway Interview: Former WWE creative writer Kevin Eck of Press Box Online recently interviewed former TNA World Heavyweight Champion Drew Galloway. Galloway talked about his favorite TNA match being against Kurt Angle in his home country of England in Manchester. Galloway also stated that he wouldn't rule out a return to the WWE one day, but he is extremely happy where he is in TNA right now.

*** RING OF HONOR ***
- ROH TV Recap: 
-- Lio Rush defeated Donovan Dijak, by pinfall, with a reversal into a crucifix roll up.
-- Donovan Dijak attacks and beats down Lio Rush. Jay White makes the save for Rush. Kamaitachi hits the ring and joins Dijak in beating down White. ROH Security finally separate everyone.
-- The Cabinet try to take Dalton Castle's Boys for training, but Castle refuses.
-- Keith Lee and Shane Taylor are shown backstage beating down War Machine with steel chairs.
-- Hangman Adam Page insults and calls out Jay Briscoe. Briscoe hits the ring and brawls with Page as ROH Security try to restore order.
-- Nigel McGuinness announces The Young Bucks vs. Roppongi Vice tonight to decide a new #1 contender to The Addiction and the ROH World Tag Team Championship.
-- The Young Bucks defeated Roppongi Vice, by pinfall, to become the #1 contenders to the ROH World Tag Team Championship. Beretta hits a running knee on Matt Jackson and covers. Matt counters the pin into his own pin for the win.
-- The Addiction attack and beat down The Young Bucks.
-- Jay Lethal and Adam Cole sign their contract, making their ROH World Championship Match official at Death Before Dishonor. Cole taunts Lethal through the whole segment until Lethal and Cole begin brawling. Lethal landed a low blow on Cole and then tried to cut Cole's hair. The Young Bucks saved Cole and pulled him to safety.

*** Death Before Dishonor 14 Recap ***

-- Donovan Dijak defeated Lio Rush, Jay White and Kamaitachi, in a Fatal Four Way Match, to become #1 Contender to the ROH Television Championship. Rush hit a springboard plancha, taking everyone out. Dijak hits Rush with a boot and then hits Feast Your Eyes for the pinfall.
-- Katsuyori Shibata defeated Silas Young, by pinfall. Shibata nails Young with the PK Kick and scores the pinfall. Young shows respect to Shibata after the match.
-- Chaos defeated The Bullet Club, by pinfall, in a Six Man Tag Team Match. Yano lands a low blow on Takahasi and then rolls him up for the pinfall. After the match, The Bullet Club attack Yano and drop him with Gorilla Warfare. Adam Page joins in and beats down Chaos. Jay Briscoe hits the ring and goes after Page, who rolls outside to escape.
-- "Hangman" Adam Page defeated Jay Briscoe, by pinfall, in an Anything Goes Match. Page hits Rite Of Passage on Briscoe through a table for a near fall. Page chokes Briscoe with his bull rope and hits another Rite Of Passage for the pinfall.
-- Kazuchika Okada defeated Dalton Castle, by pinfall. Okada counters the Bang A Rang and connects with a drop kick. Okada plants Castle with the Rainmaker to score the pinfall.

-- Bobby Fish defeated Mark Briscoe, by pinfall, to retain the ROH Television Championship. Fish knocks Briscoe off the top rope, hits an exploder suplex and finishes Briscoe with the Falcon Arrow.
-- The Addiction defeated Testuya Naito and EVIL and Hiroshi Tanahashi and Michael Elgin in a Triple Threat Match, to retain the ROH World Tag Team Championship. Tanahashi hits the Sling Blade and the High Fly Flow on EVIL. Tanahashi goes for the pin, but Daniels tags himself in, hits the jack knife power bomb and scores the pinfall.

-- Adam Cole defeated Jay Lethal, by pinfall, to win the ROH World Heavyweight Championship. Cole kicks out of the Lethal Injection. Cole gives Lethal the middle finger before hitting a shining wizard. Cole plants Lethal with a Fireman’s Carry into a Neck Breaker to score the pinfall. After the match, Kyle O’Reilly returns, attacks Cole and plants him with a Brain Buster. O’Reilly poses with the world title to close the show.

- ROH Pledge: This past Monday, Ring Of Honor wrestling announced that they have made a pledge with Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). All three promotions will bring their superior blend of styles and athletes found nowhere else in the wrestling world and work together in promoting each others promotions.

- Jay Lethal On The Ross Report With J.R.: This past week ROH World Heavyweight Champion Jay Lethal was on Jim Ross' The Ross Report Podcast. Lethal talked about wanting to work for WWE one day under the right circumstances, wanting to wrestle Chris Jericho at a Wrestlemania, his work in TNA and who he would pick for his personal Mount Rushmore of professional wrestling.

*** LUCHA UNDERGROUND ***

- Season 3 Poster: Lucha Underground have posted the following poster for season three. Season three will debut on September 7th.







*** NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING ***

- Kenny Omega Wins G1 Climax Tournament: For the past 26 days, NJPW have been holding their yearly G1 Climax Tournament. Last weekend the finals came down to Kenny Omega vs. Hirooki Goto. The 27 minute main event ended with Omega hitting the One Winged Angel on Goto to score the pinfall and winning the G1 Climax Tournament Title. Omega became the first ever North American and Canadian to win the title. After the match, Omega slapped honor and tradition in the face by refusing to wave the G1 flag in his celebration. Instead, Omega hoisted The Bullet Club flag and waved it. By winning the G1 Climax Tournament Title, Omega has earned himself a IWGP Heavyweight Championship match at Wrestle Kingdom 11 in January.

- Time Bomb Teaser: NJPW ran a cryptic teaser during their G1 Climax Tournament that said "Time Bomb Is Exploding Soon" on November 5th. November 5th is the promotion’s annual Power Struggle event, which takes place this year at the EDION Arena in Osaka. Dave Meltzer noted during a recent edition of Wrestling Observer Live that current rumors are that the teaser is for wrestling legend Minoru Suzuki, who will likely be making his return at Power Struggle to set up a match at Wrestle Kingdom 11. There were also rumors floating around that it may be the debuting Ryback in NJPW. Those rumors were soon shot down when it was announced that Ryback was already signed to an independent date in the United States on that same day. 

- J-Cup Tournament: In next Sunday's Weekend 3 Count edition I'll be bringing you the recap of this weekends NJPW J-Cup Tournament. The tournament took place live in Japan at 2:00am Sunday morning in the United States.

*** GLOBAL FORCE WRESTLING ***

- GFW Partnering With The Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl: GFW owner Jeff Jarrett announced that GFW will be the first ever wrestling promotion to partner with a college football bowl game when it provides a night of entertainment for the teams at the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl. Players, Coaches and Team Officials will be treated to a meet and greet which at the moment includes Jeff and Karen Jarrett and Scott Hall. Jeff Jarrett had the following to say about the announcement:

“Give all of the credit to the folks at the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl. They approached Global Force with the idea of giving the players something different than any other bowl game, and I think it’s a perfect fit. Males 18 to 24 are a huge part of our demographic, and we’ll be as hyped to put on a great show as they will be to see one. There are a lot of ties between football and wrestling. So many great football players at the collegiate level have come into the ring and been successful when they put the cleats away. Who knows, we might have a future wrestling superstar in the crowd that night.”

*** W3C Wrestler Of The Week ***

This week's Wrestler Of The Week goes to TNA's "Broken" one himself, Matt Hardy. Hardy has had a great career whether winning gold in WWE, WCW, ECW or TNA.

- WWE Hardcore Champion (1 time)
- WWE European Champion (1 time)
- WWE Cruiserweight Champion (1 time)
- WWE United States Champion (1 time)
- WWE World Tag Team Champion (6 times) - with Jeff Hardy
- WWE Smackdown World Tag Team Champion (1 time) - with MVP
- WCW World Tag Team Champion (1 time) - with Jeff Hardy
- ECW World Heavyweight Champion (1 time)
- WWE Bragging Rights Trophy Winner (2009) – with Team Smackdown (Chris Jericho, R-Truth, Kane, Finlay, David Hart Smith and Tyson Kidd)
- Terri Invitational Tournament Winner - with Jeff Hardy
- TNA World Heavyweight Champion (2 times)
- TNA World Tag Team Champion (1 time) - with Jeff Hardy
- TNA World Tag Team Championship #1 Contenders Tournament Winner (2014) - with Jeff Hardy

Matt Hardy has also won many independent wrestling championships and along with Jeff Hardy is the founding father of OMEGA Championship Wrestling based in North Carolina.

- "Steel Cage Match": Edge vs. Matt Hardy:

- Matt Hardy Wins His First TNA World Heavyweight Championship:

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!