Weekend 3 Count 6/4/17

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 rumors and recaps involving WWE, NXT, Impact Wrestling, GFW, ROH, Lucha Underground, NJPW, House of Hardcore, NWA, ICW, CZW, FIP, AAW, EVOLVE, PROGRESS, SHINE, SHIMMER 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

** Theme Song Of The Week **
With WWE Extreme Rules live tonight on WWE Network, this week's song will be the official theme song of WWE Extreme Rules, "Hellfire", by Barns Courtney.

*** WWE ***

- The New Day Returns: If you missed Smackdown Live this passed Tuesday, check out my recap and see how The New Day finally returned and made their long awaited Smackdown Live debut.

- First Ever Women's Money In The Bank Made Official: Shane McMahon officially announced the first ever Women's Money In The Bank Ladder Match to take place at WWE Money In The Bank between Charlotte, Carmella, Becky Lynch, Nattie Neidhart and Tamina.

- Lana Wants Included In Money In The Bank: This past week after Shane McMahon made the huge announcement of the first ever Women's Money In The Bank Ladder Match, Lana went to Twitter. Lana tweeted the Smackdown Live commissioner and asked to be included in the ladder match. Shane has yet to comment.

- Who Texted Negativity About Kurt Angle?: This past week on Monday Night RAW, Angle received text messages from Corey Graves stating something was found out about Angle that could ruin his current run as RAW GM. If the storyline doesn't change, it'll be revealed to be Stephanie McMahon behind the whole thing.

- Who's Attacking Enzo?: For the past two weeks, Enzo has been attacked from behind and left laid out backstage, but has no clue who did it. As of right now WWE is going with two options as the attacker. The first idea is The Revival and the second and the one that is rumored to be the one they will go with is Big Cass. Sources are saying that Cass will be revealed as the attacker of Enzo and begin a heel run. Enzo, meanwhile, is being rumored to being moved over to 205 Live.

- Lince Dorado Possibly Injured: This past week while wrestling Drew Gulak, Lince Dorado may have suffered an injury. Dorado appeared to have landed bad on his knee after a tilt-a-whirl and looked to be legitimately injured. No official word has been announced yet.

- Possible Hulk Hogan Return: According to The Wrestling Observer, WWE has opened an internal dialogue regarding the possible return of Hulk Hogan to the WWE. WWE distanced itself from Hogan after he was caught making derogatory racial remarks, but apparently they considered bringing him back for WrestleMania 33 before deciding against it.

** 205 Live Recap **
Rich Swann/Sasha Banks build up their feud with Noam Dar/Alicia Fox leading into WWE Extreme Rules. Austin Aries also builds up his feud with WWE Cruiserweight Champion Neville as they will also do battle at WWE Extreme Rules.

- Noam Dar/Alicia Fox Promo: Both mock the new friendship between Rich Swann and Sasha Banks, calling them friends with no benefits. Swann and Sasha interrupt and call Noam and Alicia a hot mess. Sasha and Alicia trade verbal shots with each other, forcing Swann and Noam to hold the ladies back before they start fighting. Noam and Swann decide to have a singles match to kick off 205 Live.

- Noam Dar vs. Rich Swann: The match closes out with Alicia tripping up Swann, forcing Sasha to confront Alicia and they both start brawling and hair pulling. Noam hits a running kick on Swann while he's distracted and scores the pinfall.
Winner: Noam Dar, by pinfall.

- Backstage, Cedric Alexander says karma will get Noam Dar and Alicia Fox. Alexander says he returned from his injury to make up for lost time not reopen his past relationship with Alicia Fox.

- Cedric Alexander vs. Corey Hollis: The match closes out with Alexander connecting with a forearm, a handstand enziguri and a springboard clothesline. Alexander hits the Lumbar Check on Hollis and scores the pinfall.
Winner: Cedric Alexander, by pinfall.

- Mustafa Ali vs. Drew Gulak: The match closes out with Ali hitting a rolling neck breaker, but pops back up favoring his leg. Ali misses a cross body block attempt off the ropes with the injured leg and gets rolled up for the pinfall by Gulak.
Winner: Drew Gulak, by pinfall.

- Backstage, Drew Gulak says that he just proved that high flying will cost you matches and staying grounded is the way.

- Austin Aries Promo: Aries mocks Neville and brags that he made Neville tap out. Aries shows the footage repeatedly until Neville interrupts. Neville says Aries got lucky, calls Aries scum and a disgrace to 205 Live and promises to make Aries suffer at WWE Extreme Rules. TJ Perkins suddenly tries to attack Aries from behind, but gets laid out with the Discus Five Arm. Neville hits the ring and goes after Aries' injured knee. Perkins holds up Aries and Neville demands Aries to bow to the king. Aries refuses and then takes the two on one beat down. Neville traps Aries in the Rings of Saturn submission as Perkins kicks Aries in his gut. WWE Officials finally break things up to end the show.

- Final Card For Tonight's WWE Extreme Rules: The following matches will be shown tonight at WWE Extreme Rules. If you can't catch the event, no worries, just check in to Triple Threat CLE Monday afternoon and I'll have the full recap of the show.

** WWE Extreme Rules Card **

- "#1 Contenders Fatal Five Way Match": Seth Rollins vs. Samoa Joe vs. Roman Reigns vs. Finn Balor vs. Bray Wyatt.
- "WWE Intercontinental Championship Match, If Dean Ambrose Gets DQ'ed He's Loses The Title": Dean Ambrose (c) vs. The Miz.
- "WWE RAW World Tag Team Championship, Steel Cage Match": The Hardy Boys (c) vs. Sheamus and Cesaro.
- "WWE Cruiserweight Championship, Submission Match": Neville (c) vs. Austin Aries.
- "WWE RAW Women's Championship, Kendo Stick On A Pole Match": Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Bayley. 
- "Mixed Tag Team Match": Rich Swann and Sasha Banks vs. Noam Dar and Alicia Fox.

*** NXT ***

- Tommaso Ciampa Injury Update: PWInsider reported this week that Tommaso Ciampa has suffered a torn ACL and will need surgery. No timeline on how long Ciampa will be out are available at the moment, but surgery and recovery time for a torn ACL isn’t usually a quick turnaround.

- Ember Moon Returns: If you missed this past weeks NXT episode, Ember Moon was officially cleared to wrestle by her doctors and will be returning soon. Ember was out for a month with a shoulder injury.

*** Impact/GFW Wrestling ***

** Impact TV Recap **
This week's main event saw Alberto El Patron defend his GFW Global Championship against Ethan Carter in Six Sides Of Steel, with the winner going on to Impact Slammiversary to battle Bobby Lashley for the Impact World Championship.

- Ethan Carter Promo: EC3 kicks off the show with a barbershop quartet in the ring. The quartet play music about how great EC3 is and being the #1 Contender. The quartet then play a song about Bobby Lashley and him saying goodbye to his Impact World Championship. Alberto El Patron interrupts as does Bruce Prichard with Tyrus, Karen Jarrett and Dutch Mantell. Prichard announces that tonight EC3 will battle Alberto El Patron for the GFW Global Championship in Six Sides Of Steel, with the winner going on to face Bobby Lashley at Impact Slammiversary.

- "Impact Grand Championship Match": Moose (c) vs. Eli Drake: Drake takes Round one 30-27. Moose takes Round two 29-28. The third round ends with Moose landing forearms on Drake. Chris Adonis reaches in and grabs Moose's leg, distracting Moose. Drake hits his finisher and covers Moose, but time runs out in Round three. After judges decision, Moose is rewarded the round and the victory to retain the title.
Winner: Moose, by decision, to retain the Impact Grand Championship.

- Backstage, Allie asks Rosemary why she helped her last week. Rosemary says she lost her Decay family, but she is here to protect those in danger.

- Allie vs. Amber Nova: The match closes out with Allie hitting an Allie Valley Driver on Amber to score the pinfall.
Winner: Allie, by pinfall.

- "GFW World Tag Team Championship Tournament Finals, No DQ Match": LAX vs. The Veterans of War: The match closes out with Diamante getting involved and distracting the referee. Mayweather goes after Diamante, but gets smacked in the leg by Konnan with a bat. Homicide hits the ring and smacks Wilcox in the head with the Impact World Tag Team Championship. LAX hit their double team power bomb, score the pinfall and win the GFW World Tag Team Championship.
Winners: LAX, by pinfall, to win the GFW World Tag Team Championship.

- Backstage, Jeremy Borash is terrified of Scott Steiner and is dropping out of the tag match at Impact Slammiversary. Joseph Park says he'll train JB and tries to give him a motivational speech. JB tells Park he's lost his mind.

- "Impact X Division Championship Match": Low Ki (c) vs. Andrew Everett: Sonjay Dutt is on commentary with an eye patch on. Dutt thinks that Low Ki purposely tried to blind him last week. The match closes out with Everett missing the Shooting Star Press, as Low Ki gets his knees up for the block. Low Ki hits a running double foot stomp and then Warrior's Way to score the pinfall and retain his title.
Winner: Low Ki, by pinfall, to retain the Impact X Division Championship.

- Rockstar Spud returns and viciously attacks Swoggle, who's sitting in the crowd, with a hammer. Swoggle is left busted open by Spud.

- "GFW Global Championship, Six Sides Of Steel Match": Alberto El Patron (c) vs. Ethan Carter: The match closes out with Patron countering the TK3 and traps EC3 in the cross arm breaker submission. EC3 escapes and hits the TK3 for a near fall. EC3 hits a Liger Bomb on Patron for another near fall. EC3 mocks Patron with a salute and then climbs the cage wall. Patron follows where both men trade shots from the top of the cage. EC3 ends up in the tree of woe and Patron hits the double foot stomp by leaping off the cage. Patron goes to the top rope and hits a frog splash on EC3 to score the pinfall and retain his title.
Winner: Alberto El Patron, by pinfall, to retain the GFW Global Championship and become the new #1 Contender to the Impact World Championship.

- Sonjay Dutt Wins Gold: This week during live tapings of Impact TV episodes, Sonjay Dutt walked out a champion. Dutt for the first time in his career won the Impact X Division Championship after defeating Low Ki. The episode is expected to air sometime in June.

*** RING OF HONOR ***

** ROH TV Recap **
This week's main event saw Cody Rhodes battle Frankie Kazarian. The Bullet Club officially welcome Marty Scurll to the group.

- The Bullet Club Promo: The Young Bucks officially welcome Marty Scurll to The Bullet Club, Scurll thanks them and promises big things for The Elite of The Bullet Club. Adam Cole interrupts, tells Bullet Club they were stupid to kick him out because he's the ROH franchise. Hangman Adam Page challenges Adam Cole to a match and promises to run Cole out of ROH. Cole accepts and we have a match for a future show.

- Josh Woods vs. David Starr: The match closes out with Woods unloading a knee strike on Starr and taking control of the match. Woods applies a rolling knee bar submission and makes Starr tap out.
Winner: Josh Woods, by submission.

- Silas Young/Beer City Bruiser Promo: Young says he's sick of Jay Lethal getting all the attention, considering Young beat Lethal a month ago because he has Lethal's number. Jay Lethal interrupts and brings a referee so he can shut Young's mouth tonight. Young backs down and volunteers Bruiser to fight tonight.

- Jay Lethal vs. Beer City Bruiser: The match closes out with Lethal suplexing Bruiser. Bruiser rolls outside as Lethal goes to the top rope. Lethal leaps off and takes out Bruiser with a cross body outside. Lethal then attacks Young and the referee throws out the match. Young and Bruiser double team Lethal until Bobby Fish hits the ring and makes the save.
Winner: No Contest.

- Cody Rhodes Promo: Cody says he should be ROH World Champion, but Christopher Daniels stole the win. Cody then blames ROH management, stating they don't want a free agent like Cody as their champion. Cody goes on about how he had Lethal pinned during the triple threat match, but they gave the win to Daniels. Kazarian finally interrupts and it's main event time.

- Cody Rhodes vs. Frankie Kazarian: The match closes out with Kazarian hitting a springboard cutter for a near fall. Kazarian counters Cross Rhodes and the Disaster Kick and connects with a heel kick. Cody rakes Kazarian in the eyes and connects with Cross Rhodes to score the pinfall. After the match, Hangman Adam Page attacks and beats down Kazarian until Christopher Daniels hits the ring and makes the save.
Winner: Cody Rhodes, by pinfall.

- Dalton Castle Contract News: Rumours have begun that ROH wrestler Dalton Castle may be heading to the WWE this summer as his ROH contract expires in June. WWE have apparently shown major interest in Castle. Rumors are stating that Castle will make the jump unless ROH offers a nice size contract.

*** Lucha Underground ***

** Lucha Underground TV Recap **

Lucha Underground finally returned this week with the second half of season three. Tonight's show saw Lucha Underground World Champion Johnny Mundo defend his title against The Mack in an All Night Long Match. The rules of the match were simple, the match kicked off the show and which ever wrestler had the most wins at the shows end walks out the Lucha Underground World Champion.

- "Lucha Underground World Championship, All Night Long Match": Johnny Mundo (c) vs. The Mack:

** First Fall: Mundo and Mack battle on the top rope. Mundo sends Mack to the mat and then hits End of the World to score the pinfall. Johnny Mundo leads 1-0.

** Second Fall: Mundo and Mack trade springboard leg lariats with each other. Mundo gets a cradle pinfall in on Mack, uses the ropes for leverage and steals another win. Johnny Mundo leads 2-0.

** Third Fall: Mack hits a release Exploder suplex on Mundo, forcing Mundo to roll outside. Mundo with a springboard cross body on Mack, but Mack catches Mundo in mid air and power bombs Mundo to score the pinfall. Johnny Mundo leads 2-1.

** Fourth Fall: Mundo hits Mack with a corkscrew plancha off the ropes and to the floor. Mundo, however, lands wrong on his leg and appears to have seriously injured it. Mack gets pushed back as medics check on how severe Mundo's injury is. Mundo is unable to continue as medics get ready to load Mundo onto a stretcher. Mundo suddenly pops up, low blows Mack and gets the pinfall. Mundo does jumping jacks, showing off his fake injury and takes a 3-1 lead.

** Fifth Fall: A very angry Mack beats down Mundo, chases him up The Temple's staircase in the crowd, straps Mundo onto the stretcher and then shoves him down The Temple's flight of stairs. Mundo is trying to unstrap himself at the bottom of the steps, but Mack flips Mundo off the stretcher, tosses him into the ring and then hits the Stunner on Mundo to score the pinfall. Johnny Mundo leads 3-2.

** Sixth Fall: PJ Black arrives and helps Mundo attack and beat down Mack with a kendo stick. Son of Havoc hits the ring and lays down stick shots of his own on Mundo and Black. Havoc gets beer from Dario Cueto and uses it to revive Mack. Mack unloads stick shots on Mundo and Black after coming to. Mundo and Black make a comeback, beat down Havoc and Mack, set up tables and then demand the in house Mariachi Band to play victory music. One of the Mariachi Band members hit a cross body on Mundo and Black and reveal themselves as Sexy Star. Mack grabs Mundo and hits a leaping Blue Thunder Driver through two tables and scores the pinfall. Johnny Mundo and The Mack are tied 3-3.

** The Last Fall: Mack lays down Mundo on a table and then climbs a ladder with 1 minute left. Ricky Mandel hits the ring and grabs Mack by the foot. Havoc and Sexy hit the ring again, where Havoc hits a springboard moonsault on Mandel. Mack frog splashes off the ladder and puts Mundo through the table with 30 seconds left. Mack can barely cover Mundo and when he finally does the match ends with the referee only getting a two count. The match ends tied 3-3.
Winner: No Contest

- Dario Cueto Promo: Cueto arrives, compliments both men on one hell of a match, but there are no ties in Lucha Underground. Cueto announces that next week the match will be restarted with the first person to score the pinfall winning the Lucha Underground World Championship. And if it goes all night until a victor is crowned, so be it. Mack hits a Stunner on Mundo and poses with the title to end the show.

*** NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING ***

- Best Of Super Juniors 24 Tournament Finals Announced: NJPW has been having their nightly shows the past few weeks to determine this year's Best of the Super Juniors winner. This year's Finals will be last year's winner Will Ospreay taking on KUSHIDA for the Super Juniors Trophy. I'll be sure to keep you posted on the winner of this match.

*** Defy Wrestling ***

** Defy 3: Swerve City Recap **
Defy 3: Swerve City was live in Seattle, Washington. CZW World Champion Lio Rush defended his title against Davey Richards, as CZW worked out a deal with Defy Wrestling to allow the CZW World Championship Match to take place at the event.

- Moose defeated Mike Santiago, by pinfall.

- The Cunninghams defeated Los Sexi-Mexis, by pinfall.

- "CZW World Championship Match": Davey Richards defeated Lio Rush (c), by submission, to win the CZW World Championship.

- Davey Richards sends a warning to CZW that if they want their World Championship back then they'll have to come back to Seattle and try to get it from him.

- Joey Ryan defeated Mr. Fitness, by pinfall.

- Taya defeated Christina Von Eerie, by pinfall.

- Shane Strickland defeated John Morrison, by submission.

*** CZW Wrestling ***

- Davey Richards Sets A Record: This past week at Defy 3: Swerve City, Davey Richards defeated Lio Rush to win the CZW World Championship. Davey Richards is now the only wrestle to become a CZW World Champion, PWG World Champion and an ROH World Champion.

*** ICW Wrestling ***

- Noam Dar Making A Special Appearance: ICW announced that current WWE Cruiserweight Noam Dar will make a special appearance at ICW Shug's Hoose Party 4 on July 29th. Dar will team up with Sha Samuels and battle Grado and ICW World Champion Joe Coffey.

- Kevin Nash Named Commissioner For One Night Only: Former WWE and WCW World Champion Kevin Nash announced this week that he will be at the ICW Fear and Loathing 10 event on November 19th. Nash will be the honorary Commissioner of ICW for that night at the event.

*** 5 Star Wrestling ***

- Tournament Canceled: 5 Star Wrestling made news again this week for the third week in a row, but it's not good news this time. 5 Star Wrestling has officially cancelled their huge 128 man tournament they had scheduled for this summer. The company stated that they will attempt to kick off the tournament in February of 2018. 5 Star Wrestling made news two weeks ago when they offered CM Punk $1 million to wrestle in the tournament, which Punk turned down. They again made news last week when they were able to sign Rob Van Dam for the tournament.

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!

Weekend 3 Count 5/28/17

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 rumors and recaps involving WWE, NXT, Impact Wrestling, GFW, ROH, Lucha Underground, NJPW, House of Hardcore, NWA, ICW, CZW, FIP, AAW, EVOLVE, PROGRESS, SHINE, SHIMMER 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

** Theme Song Of The Week **
The theme song of the week goes to a man that proved that once again anything can happen in the WWE. The new WWE World Heavyweight Champion Jinder Mahal. Don't Hinder the Jinder!!!!

*** WWE ***

- Jinder Mahal Wins The Big One: If you missed WWE Backlash last Sunday night, check out my recap and read about how Jinder Mahal became the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion.

- Pete Dunne Wins A Title: If you missed NXT Takeover: Chicago last Saturday night, check out my recap and read about how Pete Dunne became the new WWE United Kingdom Champion.

- Brock Lesnar News: Sources are saying that there is a huge possibility that the five men competing in the Fatal Five Way Match at WWE Extreme Rules, all will eventually get one on one matches with Lesnar from now until Wrestlemania 34.

- Matt Hardy/Impact News: Matt Hardy recently tweeted out this week that Impact Wrestling never once paid Matt's father in law Senor Benjamin the whole time he was used as a character in the Broken Universe. The Hardy Family are still having legal issues with Impact Wrestling over who owns the rights to the Broken Gimmick, Broken Universe and all the characters that were used during that time frame.

- WWE Comments On Broken Gimmick: WWE recently stated that they are not interested in buying the rights to the Broken Gimmick from Impact Wrestling because they are not interested in using the gimmick. There is word, however, that if Matt Hardy were to win the lawsuit and become sole owner of the Broken Gimmick then WWE would be interested in using it.

- Women's Money In The Bank: Many sites are stating that we will finally be seeing a women's division Money In The Bank match this year. The match has been rumored for a few years now, but sources are saying that WWE is set to pull the trigger this year at the Smackdown Live pay per view.

- More Women's Tournament News: WWE has announced that the first ever 32 Woman Tournament this summer will be named the Mae Young Classic and will take place on Thursday, July 13th, and Friday, July 14th, from Full Sail University in Orlando, Fla. The tournament, named after WWE Hall of Famer and one of the greatest WWE Superstars in history, Mae Young, will feature 32 of the top female competitors from around the world participating in a single elimination tournament. Triple H stated the following:

“The Mae Young Classic will mark a significant moment in the evolution of WWE. We are proud to provide this unique opportunity for the best female talent from around the world.”

- Shinsuke Nakamura To Make MSG Debut: WWE announced this week that Shinsuke Nakamura will be making his Madison Square Garden debut on July 7th against Dolph Ziggler.

- Emma Update: WWE announced this week that Emma should be cleared to wrestle by mid June. Emma suffered a shoulder injury at a WWE live event on May 7th in Liverpool, England.

- Owen Hart Tragedy: This past week marked the 18th anniversary of the accident that claimed Owen Hart's life. Owen was using the Blue Blazor masked superhero gimmick at the time and was scheduled to face The Godfather at WWE Over The Edge for the WWE Intercontinental Championship. Owen was to be lowered to the ring from the rafters on a harness, however, something went wrong and Owen plummeted to the ring below. Owen later died on his way to the hospital. According to sources, Owen was scheduled to defeat The Godfather that night and begin a WWE Intercontinental Championship run. 

** 205 Live Recap **
The main event of the show saw Brian Kendrick battle Akira Tozawa in a Street Fight Match. Also on the show, Cedric Alexander returned from his injury and had a one on one match.

- Rich Swann vs. Ariya Daivari: The match closes out with Swann taking control with a drop toe hold and a spinning hook kick on Daivari. Swann hits the Phoenix Splash and scores the pinfall. After the match, Noam Dar hits the ring and tosses Swann outside.
Winner: Rich Swann, by pinfall.

- Austin Aries and Neville Interview Via Satellite: Neville says Aries is no more of a threat than the others before him and the only surprise is that Aries is getting yet another title shot. Aries says he deserves another shot because Neville cheated to win the first time and purposely got DQ'ed the second time. Aries says he's had roadblocks thrown at him before so this is nothing new. Aries promises to make Neville tap out at WWE Extreme Rules. Neville tells Aries to walk away now because Neville will not take full responsibility after he seriously injures Aries. Aries promises the same to end the segment.

- Cedric Alexander vs. Johnny Boone: The match closes out with Alexander getting the quick pinfall after hitting the Lumbar Check on Boone.
Winner: Cedric Alexander, by pinfall.

- "Street Fight Match": Brian Kendrick vs. Akira Tozawa: The match closes out with Kendrick trapping Tozawa in the Captain's Hook submission, but both men fall outside. Tozawa gets tossed onto the announcers table. Tozawa counters a Pedigree attempt by Kendrick on the steel steps, then both men counter suplex attempts. Tozawa front suplexes Kendrick off the steel steps and onto the floor. Tozawa follows that up with a Saito Suplex and then DDT's Kendrick on the steel steps. Tozawa tosses Kendrick onto a table and then hits a senton on Kendrick, both men crashing through the table. Tozawa tosses Kendrick back into the ring and scores the pinfall.
Winner: Akira Tozawa, by pinfall.

*** NXT ***

- Tommaso Ciampa Heel Turn: If you missed NXT Takeover: Chicago last Saturday night, check out my recap and read about how Tommaso Ciampa turned on his partner and best friend Johnny Gargano.

- Why Was #DIY Split Up?: According to Dave Meltzer, he has stated that #DIY was split up because both men will be making their main roster debuts in WWE soon. WWE wanted to bring both men to the main roster as singles wrestlers instead of a tag team.

- CM Punk Picture Prank: In case you missed the above picture making the internet rounds this week, it's a fake. The night after NXT Takeover: Chicago a picture of CM Punk sitting in the crowd at the event began circulating on the internet. The picture was debunked as an old picture of CM Punk sitting in the crowd at a UFC event that was photoshopped to make look like he was at Takeover last Saturday in Chicago.

- Asuka Sets Record: This past week, NXT Women's Champion Asuka went on to pass Goldberg on most wins during her current undefeated streak. Asuka continues to dominate the NXT Women's Division and many wonder if there is any woman that can stop her.

- NXT Manchester Live Show Possibly Cancelled: TMZ is reporting that the WWE NXT live event scheduled for June 6th at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England will possibly be cancelled due to the recent terrorist attack during the Ariana Grande concert this past Monday night. WWE officials are working with local officials to determine if the event should go on. A WWE rep told TMZ:

"WWE offers its heartfelt condolences to those affected by this tragedy. We are working with local authorities on the appropriate course of action as it relates to our event scheduled for Tuesday, June 6 at the Manchester Arena".

- "The Velveteen Dream" Patrick Clark Debuts: This past Wednesday on NXT, Patrick Clark made his NXT debut with his Velveteen Dream gimmick.

** Patrick Clark Career Highlights

- From Capital Hill, Washington D.C.
- Trained by Maryland Championship Wrestling.
- Made wrestling debut in 2014
- Was on the 6th Season of WWE Tough Enough, eliminated 5th.
- Has wrestled for MCW, CZW, World Xtreme Wrestling and Marvelous Puroresu USA.
- 1 Time MCW World Tag Team Champion with Lio Rush.

*** Impact/GFW Wrestling ***

** Impact TV Recap **
The main event of the show saw James Storm battle Ethan Carter and Magnus in a Triple Threat Match to determine a new #1 Contender to the Impact World Championship.

- Bruce Prichard Promo: Prichard has hired Tyrus for security after Ethan Carter's actions last week. Prichard invites Impact World Champion Bobby Lashley out. Lashley says he's a dominate champion and everyone else are a bunch of nobodies. EC3 interrupts, mocks Prichard and guarantees that he's taking Lashley's title. Magnus interrupts, mocks Prichard and EC3 and mentions that he and Lashley have never wrestled each other. James Storm interrupts and mocks Lashley's size of his head. Prichard stops a brawl from starting and announces that the triple threat match between the three of them will be a No DQ Match. Prichard then says that they can not attack each other until their match later or else face suspension.

- Kongo Kong and KM vs. Braxton Sutter and Mahabali Shera: The match closes out with Laurel Van Ness and Sienna going after Allie. Kongo takes advantage of the distraction and head butts Shera. KM rolls up Shera with a handful of tights and scores the pinfall. After the match, the men brawl backstage as Laurel and Sienna beat down Allie. Rosemary hits the ring and surprisingly helps Allie by spitting mist at Laurel and Sienna. Rosemary clotheslines Sienna and hits Red Wedding on Laurel.
Winners: Kongo Kong and KM, by pinfall.

- "GFW World Tag Team Championship Tournament Match": The Veterans Of War (Mayweather and Wilcox) vs. Fallah Bahh and Mario Bokara: The match closes out with Wilcox hitting an overhead suplex on Bokara and then tossing Bahh outside. VOW hit their double team finisher called the Mother of All Bombs on Bokara to score the pinfall.
Winners: The Veterans of War, by pinfall, to advance to the Finals of the tournament to face LAX.

- Josh Mathews Promo: Mathews calls Jeremy Borash into the ring. Mathews apologizes to Shark Boy, Dave Penzar, Mike Tenay (for taking Tenay's job) and mocks Jim Ross. Mathews apologizes and fake cries to JB and offers a hand shake. Joseph Park interrupts and advises JB not to accept the apology. Mathews snaps, demands respect and feels he should be calling every major event in Impact Wrestling. JB and Park demand to know who Mathews' partner is. Mathews continues to insult Parks and demands to wrestle Parks right now. Parks and Mathews are about to fight when suddenly Scott Steiner's music hits and out comes Big Poppa Pump. Steiner chases JB and Park outside. Mathews lands a low blow on Park. Steiner takes Park into the ring and applies the Steiner Recliner submission. Mathews officially announces Steiner as his tag team partner and then Steiner chases JB backstage.

- Backstage, Eli Drake tries to comment on Moose. Moose interrupts, tries to attack Drake, but gets held back by officials. Moose accepts a challenge from Drake for the Impact Grand Championship for next week. Moose and Drake brawl until Chris Adonis arrives and helps Drake beat down Moose.

- Davey Richards and Angelina Love vs. Eddie Edwards and Alisha Edwards: The match closes out with Edwards dodging an aerial assault by Richards. Edwards overhead suplexes Richards and then both ladies are tagged in. Alisha misses a cross body and Angelina misses a scissors kick. Alisha rolls up Angelina and scores the pinfall. After the match, Richards attacks Edwards and handcuffs him to the ropes. Edwards is then forced to watch as Angelina power bombs Alisha through a table.
- Eddie and Alisha Edwards, by pinfall.

- Rockstar Spud Interview: Spud says the UK doctors are making him take another week off, but promises he'll get revenge on Swoggle.

- "#1 Contenders, Triple Threat Match": James Storm vs. Ethan Carter vs. Magnus: The match closes out with Magnus in the tree of woe while Storm is on the top rope. EC3 attempts a superplex, but Magnus reaches up from the tree of woe and suplexes EC3 and Storm through the air. Storm tosses EC3 into the steel chair wedged in the corner and then hits a neck breaker. Magnus hits an elbow on Storm, but then eats a Last Call from Storm. EC3 knees Storm to the outside and then steals the pinfall on Magnus for the win.
Winner: Ethan Carter, by pinfall, to become the new #1 Contender to the Impact World Championship.

*** RING OF HONOR ***

** ROH TV Recap **
This week's show was a blast from the past, as three matches from February's Honor Rising event were shown.

- "Six Man Tag Team Match": Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask and Delirious vs. Evil, Bushi, and Sanada: The match closes out with Evil hitting Delirious with a steel chair while the referee was distracted. Sanada traps Delirious in the Skull End submission for the tap out win.
Winners: Evil, Bushi and Sanada, by submission.

- Hiroki Goto vs. Punishment Martinez: The match closes out with Goto hitting the GTR on Martinez to score the pinfall.
Winner: Hiroki Goto, by pinfall.

- "Eight Man Tag Team Match": Will Ospreay, The Briscoes, and Kazuchika Okada vs. The Bullet Club (Kenny Omega, Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks): The match closes out with Cody drilling Ospreay with Cross Rhodes to score the pinfall for The Bullet Club.
Winners: The Bullet Club, by pinfall.

*** Lucha Underground ***

- The Return: Have you been missing the Lucha Underground as much as I have been? Well have no fear wrestling fans because the second half of season 3 begins this Wednesday, May 31st. As usual I will provide you with the quick recaps of every show every Sunday afternoon in the Weekend 3 Count.

*** EVOLVE ***

** EVOLVE 84 Recap **
EVOLVE 84 took place live in Summit, Illinois. EVOLVE World Champion Zack Sabre Jr. defended his title against Ethan Page. WWN World Champion Matt Riddle defended his title against Kyle O'Reilly.

- Donovan Dijak vs. Keith Lee: The match closes out with Lee getting Dijak placed on the turnbuckles and hitting the Spirit Bomb to score the pinfall.
Winner: Keith Lee, by pinfall.

- Fred Yehi vs. Jason Kincaid: The match closes out with Yehi trapping Kincaid in the Koji Clutch submission and forcing Kincaid to tap out.
Winner: Fred Yehi, by submission.

- Lio Rush vs. Austin Theory: The match closes out with Rush going to the top rope and hitting the frog splash on Theory to score the pinfall. After the match, Priscilla Kelly comes to the ring and tells Austin Theory that he belongs with her. 
Winner: Lio Rush, by pinfall.

- "Hot Sauce" Tracy Williams vs. Jeff Cobb: The match closes out with Williams countering the Tour of the Islands and scores a rollup pinfall on Cobb.
Winner: "Hot Sauce" Tracy Williams, by pinfall.

- "EVOLVE World Tag Team Championship Match": Catch Point  (Chris Dickinson and Jaka) (c) vs. Matt Knicks and Isaias Velazquez: The match closes out with Catch Point hitting their finisher to score the pinfall and retain their titles.
Winners: Catch Point, by pinfall, to retain the EVOLVE World Tag Team Championship.

- "EVOLVE World Championship Match": Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Ethan Page: The match closes out with Sabre locking in the Dragon Sleeper submission almost putting Page to sleep. Sabre then connects with four Penalty Kicks on Page to score the pinfall and retain the title. After the match, Darby Allin arrives with his arm in a sling and wants a future title match with Sabre when he's at 100%.
Winner: Zack Sabre Jr., by pinfall, to retain the EVOLVE World Championship.

- "WWN World Championship Match": Matt Riddle (c) vs. Kyle O'Reilly: The match closes out with Riddle hitting a jumping Tombstone on O'Reilly. Riddle then locks in the Bromission submission and gets the tap out win to retain the title.
Winner: Matt Riddle, by submission.

** EVOLVE 85 Recap **

EVOLVE 85 took place live in Detroit, Michigan. WWN World Champion Matt Riddle defended his title against Jeff Cobb. EVOLVE World Champion Zack Sabre Jr. defended his title against Lio Rush.

- Dominic Garrini vs. Alex Reynolds: The match closes out with Garrini trapping Reynolds in a Triangle Choke submission and making Reynolds tap out.
Winner: Dominic Garrini, by submission.

- "EVOLVE World Tag Team Championship Match": Catch Point (Chris Dickinson and Jaka)(c) vs. Austin Theory and Jason Kincaid: Dickinson and Jaka hit their double team finisher on Kincaid to score the pinfall and retain their titles.
Winners: Catch Point, by pinfall, to retain the EVOLVE World Tag Team Championship.

- Allysin Kay vs. Priscilla Kelly: The match closes out with Allysin drilling Priscilla with a discus lariat to score the pinfall.
Winner: Allysin Kay, by pinfall.

- Donovan Dijak vs. Ethan Page: The match closes out with Page nailing the Spinning Dwayne on Dijak and scoring the pinfall.
Winner: Ethan Page, by pinfall.

- "Hot Sauce" Tracy Williams vs. Kyle O'Reilly: The match closes out with Williams trapping O'Reilly in the crossface submission and getting the tap out win.
Winner: "Hot Sauce" Tracy Williams, by submission.

- Keith Lee vs. Fred Yehi: The match closes out with Lee drilling Yehi with Ground Zero and scoring the pinfall.
Winner: Keith Lee, by pinfall.

- "WWN World Championship Match": Matt Riddle (c) vs. Jeff Cobb: The match closes out with Riddle trapping Cobb in the Bromission submission and forces Cobb to tap out to retain the title.
Winner: Matt Riddle, by submission, to retain the WWN World Championship.

- "EVOLVE World Championship Match": Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Lio Rush: The match closes out with Sabre trapping Rush in the Ode to Jim Breaks double arm submission and forcing Rush to tap out to retain the title.
Winner: Zack Sabre Jr., by submission, to retain the EVOLVE World Championship.

*** House of Hardcore ***

** House of Hardcore 26 Recap **

House of Hardcore 26 was live at The Sports Arena in St. James, New York. The main event of the show saw HOH's creator himself Tommy Dreamer battle Cody Rhodes. The show also included Lucha Underground's Matt Striker, Impact's Moose and Ethan Carter, ECW Original and Ring of Honor's Bully Ray and ECW Original Little Guido.

- Papadon vs. Little Guido Maritato: The match closes out with the ECW Original, Little Guido, picking up the pinfall victory after hitting the Kiss of Death on Papadon.
Winner: Little Guido Maritato, by pinfall.

- TJ Marconi vs. Matt Striker: The match closes out with Marconi missing a corner boot. Striker hits a slam and a splash for a near fall. Marconi looks for a slam of his own, but Striker counters and grabs the rollup pinfall.
Winner: Matt Striker, by pinfall.

- Alex Reynolds (w/Friedman and Maria) vs. Lance Anoai: The match closes out with Friedman getting involved and knocking Anoai off the top rope. Anoai super kicks Friedman and Reynolds both. Reynolds comes back and locks Anoai in a crossface submission and wins by tap out.
Winner: Alex Reynolds, by submission.

- Moose vs. Dan Maff: The match closes out with Moose unloading elbows and a bicycle kick. Maff lands a german suplex, but Moose is back up and nails a spear. Maff counters the Game Changer, but Moose counters that and hits the Game Changer on the next attempt for the pinfall.
Winner: Moose, by pinfall.

- "Fatal Four Way Match": Ben Ortiz vs. Pat Buck vs. Bull James vs. Rhett Titus: The match closes out with Titus and Buck trading offense. Ortiz takes out Buck and then brawls with James. James hits the Whoopie Cushion off the top rope on Buck. Titus sneaks up behind James and steals a rollup pinfall.
Winner: Rhett Titus, by pinfall.

- Ethan Carter vs. Bully Ray: The match closes out with EC3's attorney trying to get involved. The referee holds up EC3's legs allowing Bully to grab the attorney and toss him head first into EC3's jewels for the Whazz Up. Bully tells the referee to get the tables and he does. The ladies that accompanied EC3 to the ring get involved next and low blow Bully, bringing out Bully's girlfriend Velvet Sky. Velvet clears the ladies from the ring and EC3 accidentally hits his attorney going after Velvet. EC3 chases Velvet backstage when suddenly Mick Foley emerges and stalks EC3 back to the ring. Foley shoves Socko into EC3's mouth and Bully puts EC3 through a table for the pinfall.
Winner: Bully Ray, by pinfall.

- "Triple Threat Match": The Squad (Kenny and Mikey) vs. Team Tremendous (Dan Barry and Bill Carr) vs. The NOW (Hale Collins and Vik Dalishus): The match closes out with Mikey hitting a cutter, but misses a top rope splash. Barry gets crotched on the ropes by Mikey and then Mikey climbs up with Barry. Carr makes the save and Barry hits Bookem Danno  on Mikey. Barry gets pulled outside by Dalishus and super kicked. Carr hits a bossman slam on Collins and then hits the Destroyer on Dalishus. Kenny leaps off the top rope outta nowhere and nails the Alabama Jam leg drop and scores the pinfall.
Winners: The Squad, by pinfall.

- Tommy Dreamer vs. Cody Rhodes: The match closes out with Dreamer grabbing a kendo stick, but Cody kicks the ropes into Dreamer's jewels and steals the kendo stick. Cody unloads kendo stick shots on Dreamer and then applies the figure four leg lock submission. Cody wedges a chair in the corner. The referee accidentally gets knocked out as Cody attempted another figure four leg lock submission. Cody hits the Disaster Kick, but Dreamer comes back with the Dreamer DDT for a near fall as the referee awakens. Dreamer unloads kendo stick shots on Cody until Cody sends Dreamer head first into the wedged chair in the corner. Cody hits Cross Rhodes on Dreamer and scores the pinfall.
Winner: Cody Rhodes, by pinfall.

- Cody Rhodes Promo: Cody thanks Tommy Dreamer and the House of Hardcore fans for inviting him here tonight and thanks Dreamer for facing him in the main event. Dreamer talks highly of Cody and the whole Rhodes family. Cody bro hugs Dreamer and says he loves him. Dreamer says he loves Cody and the whole Rhodes Family. Cody suddenly turns on Dreamer and lays Dreamer out with another Cross Rhodes. Cody stands tall as the boos rain down on him to end the show.

*** Full Impact Pro ***

** FIP Accelerate Recap **

FIP World Champion Fred Yehi defended his title against Ethan Case. Also FIP Florida Heritage Champion Jon Davis defended his title against Caleb Konley. 

- Anthony Henry vs. Teddy Stigma: The match closes out with Henry hitting the Avalanche Kudo Driver through a stack of chairs for the pinfall.
Winner: Anthony Henry, by pinfall.

- Mila informs Anthony Henry that the bounty on his head has yet to be lifted and Maxwell Jacob Friedman is coming after him. Amber Young interrupts and challenges Mila. Mila looks like she's going to fight, but backs down.

- FIP World Champion Fred Yehi brags that his original opponent Martin Stone is unable to compete tonight. Yehi says he does have an open challenge for us which is answered by Ethan Case. Case said he's here to prove he belongs in FIP and will take Yehi's title tonight.

- J Spade vs. Matt Lancie: The match closes out with Spade hitting the Ace of Spades on Lancie to score the pinfall. After the match, Parrow and Odinson hit the ring and beat down both men. Parrow tells Odinson to keep following his lead and they will run FIP. Their opponents for the six man tag team match hit the ring and that match is now.
Winner: J Spade, by pinfall.

- "Six Man Tag Team Match": Drennen, Odinson and Parrow vs. Bu Ku Dao, Danny Flamingo and Socorro: The match closes out with Parrow drilling Dao with a piledriver to score the pinfall.
Winners: Drennen, Odinson and Parrow, by pinfall.

- Aria Blake and Dynamite DiDi vs. Lindsey Snow and Priscilla Kelly: The match closes out with Aria hitting a double underhook DDT on Lindsey right on top of a street sign.
Winners: Aria Blake and Dynamite DiDi, by pinfall. 

- AR Fox vs. Jason Kincaid: The match closes out with Fox hitting the straightjacket brain buster on Kincaid to score the pinfall.
Winner: AR Fox, by pinfall.

- "FIP Florida Heritage Championship Match": Jon Davis (c) vs. Caleb Konley: The match closes out with Davis trapping Konley in a half crab submission and getting the tap out win to retain his title.
Winner: Jon Davis, by submission, to retain the FIP Florida Heritage Championship.

- Jon Davis calls Caleb Konley a scumbag and demands him to get out of the ring. Davis then goes on to challenge WWN World Champion Matt Riddle and says FIP needs to stop taking Davis lightly. 

- "FIP World Championship Match": Fred Yehi (c) vs. Ethan Case: The match closes out with Yehi trapping Case in the Koji Clutch submission and wins by tap out to retain his title.
Winner: Fred Yehi, by submission, to retain the FIP World Championship.

- "Fatal Four Way Match": Jason Cade vs. Austin Theory vs. James Drake vs. Jon Cruz: During the match, AR Fox arrived and went after Theory, chasing Theory backstage. The match closes out with Cade hitting a frog splash on Cruz and scoring the pinfall. After the match, Cade challenges Caleb Konley. Konley attacks, beats down Cade and accepts the challenge.
Winner: Jason Cade, by pinfall.

*** 5 Star Wrestling ***

- New Signee: Last week 5 Star Wrestling offered CM Punk  $1 Million dollars to compete in their massive tournament they are holding this summer. Punk turned down the offer, however there is one man that has signed on to do the tournament and that man is the Whole F'n Show Rob Van Dam. RVD officially announced he'd be competing in the tournament this past week.

*** Other ***

- Brian Pillman Jr. News: This past week it was reported that Brian Pillman Jr. (son of the late great Brian Pillman) has begun training at Ohio Valley Wrestling with Rip Rogers as his teacher. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on the son of a loose cannon.

- GLOW On Netflix: If you haven't seen the trailer for the new Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling show on Netflix yet then check it out below. GLOW begins in June of this year.

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!

Weekend 3 Count 5/21/17

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 rumors and recaps involving WWE, NXT, Impact Wrestling, ROH, Lucha Underground, NJPW, House of Hardcore, NWA, ICW, CZW, FIP, AAW, EVOLVE, SHINE, SHIMMER 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

** Theme Song Of The Week **

This week's theme song of the week will also be a tribute. This past Wednesday, Chris Cornell, lead singer of Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog and Audioslave sadly ended his own life. Chris played a huge part in the music I loved in high school and I still listen to today. Be Yourself, by Audioslave was used in the WWE's 2005 Diva Search Contest. RIP Chris and Say Hello To Heaven.....

*** WWE ***

- Brock Lesnar Universal Championship Defenses: Due to Braun Strowman being out for the next possible 6 months with his elbow injury, WWE had to switch things up storyline wise. Originally Braun Strowman was set to face Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship at WWE Great Balls of Fire, however, that has all changed now. The winner of the Fatal Five Way Match at WWE Extreme Rules will now get the title shot against Lesnar at WWE Great Balls of Fire. Rumors are stating that if Strowman is able to return by August for WWE Summerslam than that will probably be the time Strowman gets his WWE Universal Championship Match.

- Original Plans For Chris Jericho: Chris Jericho was interviewed this week on Busted Open Radio and revealed the original plans that almost happened. Jericho stated that he originally was to defeat Kevin Owens at Wrestlemania 33 for the WWE Universal Championship and then go on to WWE Payback and lose it to Brock Lesnar. With all the Goldberg hype started up, the WWE decided to go with Goldberg dropping it to Lesnar instead.

- WWE Women's Tournament News: WWE announced this week that they are heavily preparing for their Women's 32 Superstar Tournament that will take place on the WWE Network this summer. WWE is expecting women from at least 17 different countries to compete in the tournament. Some of the promotions that WWE is looking at talent in are the World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion in Japan, SHINE and SHIMMER. WWE is set to begin taping the tournament on Thursday, July 13th and Friday, July 14th at Full Sail University. The current plan is to release 3 or 4 episodes of the series at a time on the WWE Network, with the Finals being shown live  on Tuesday, August 29th.

- Braun Strowman Injury Update: Last week it was announced that Braun Strowman would miss 4 to 6 weeks due to issues with his elbow. This week things took a turn for the worse as now WWE is stating that Strowman will be out for 6 months, after receiving elbow surgery. Strowman had been dealing with elbow issues the past month and needed to get the problem addressed before it was too late.

- Emma Injury: WWE announced that Emma was recently sent home from the WWE European tour this past week after suffering an apparent shoulder injury at a live event in Liverpool, England. Emma tweeted out on Twitter that she has started rehab on her shoulder. WWE has yet to announce how serious the injury is or how long Emma will be out for.

- John Cena Update: WWE announced that John Cena will return for a special RAW and Smackdown Live edition on July 3rd and July 4th. Those are the only dates Cena is scheduled for with nothing permanent in the future at this time. Cena is currently following the Hollywood path and making movies. Cena is currently promoting his war movie called The Wall and is currently filming the comedy Daddy's Home 2 with Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg.

- New Signee: F4WOnline.com is reporting that Io Shirai has accepted an offer with WWE and is expected to start at the WWE Performance Center soon. Shirai, who is said to be one of the top women's wrestling stars in Japan, was at the WWE tryouts in March. It's rumored that Shirai will join NXT to strengthen the Women's roster, but no official announcement has been made yet.

** Io Shirai Career Highlights:
- Was born and raised in Kamakura, Kanagawa.
- Was trained by Takashi Sasaki and Tomohiko Hashimoto.
- Made wrestling debut in 2007.
- Has wrestled for Japan's World Wonder Ring Stardom, All Japan Pro Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Zero1, Ice Ribbon Wrestling, NEO Japan Ladies Pro Wrestling, SMASH, IWRG, AAA and Pro Wrestling Wave.
- 1 Time TLW World Young Women's Tag Team Champion, with Mio Shirai.
- 4 Time Artist of Stardom Champion,  with Mayu Iwatani and Takumi Iroha (1), Kairi Hojo and Mayu Iwatani (1), HZK and Momo Watanabe (1) and AZM and HZK (1).
- 1 Time Goddess of Stardom Champion, with Mayu Iwatani.
- 1 Time High Speed Champion.
- 1 Time SWA World Champion.
- 1 Time Wonder of Stardom Champion.
- 2 Time World of Stardom Champion.
- 1 Time Americas World Mixed Tag Team Champion, with Nosawa.

- WWE Signs Female Referee: This past week the WWE completed a first in wrestling history as they signed Indie wrestler  Kennadi Brink, which WWE plans to use as a first ever full time female referee. Kennadi is a graduate of The Dudley Boys' Team 3D Academy in Florida. Bully Ray recently sent out a tweet congratulating his graduate.

- Summer Rae Update: WWE announced this week that Summer Rae has been finally cleared to return to the ring. Summer has been out of action since last August due to neck and back injuries. She was training at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando in March to get back into wrestling and working off ring rust.

- Work For Good Ol' J.R.: Jim Ross announced on the WWE UK Special this past Friday afternoon and he also announced the WWE United Kingdom Championship Match at NXT Takeover: Chicago. WWE has announced that Jim Ross will also do the announcing during this summer's Women's Tournament on WWE Network. Jim Ross recently signed a new WWE contract, but it was unknown at the time what kind of work JR would be doing.

- Final Card For Tonight's WWE Backlash Pay Per View: Tonight is WWE Backlash and as usual I will provide you with the shows recap on Monday afternoon if you miss the show.

- "WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match": Randy Orton (c) vs. Jinder Mahal.
- "WWE United States Championship Match": Kevin Owens (c) vs. AJ Styles.
- "WWE Smackdown Live World Tag Team Championship Match": The Usos (c) vs. Breezango.
- Dolph Ziggler vs Shinsuke Nakamura.
- "Six Woman Tag Team Match": Naomi, Charlotte and Becky Lynch vs. Carmella, Nattie Neidhart and Tamina.
- Erick Rowan vs. Luke Harper.
- Baron Corbin vs. Sami Zayn.
- Tye Dillinger vs. Aiden English.

** 205 Live Recap **
This week's main event saw Austin Aries battle TJ Perkins.

- Backstage, Austin Aries knows that Neville is using TJ Perkins and he plans to beat Perkins tonight even with his current knee injury.

- Noam Dar vs. Gran Metalik: The match closes out with Dar hitting the Supernova Kick to score the pinfall.
Winner: Noam Dar, by pinfall. 

- Backstage, Brian Kendrick is disappointed with Akira Tozawa because he's still catering to the fans instead of listening to Kendrick's life lessons. Kendrick will face Tozawa in a Street Fight Match next week.

- Mustafa Ali vs. Tony Nese: Before the match can even start, Drew Gulak attacks Ali from behind and tosses him into the ring post. Gulak holds Ali allowing Nese to hit the Running Knees. Gulak says he's making an example out of Ali.
Winner: No Contest.

- Backstage, Rich Swann says he's not worried about Noam Dar and Alicia Fox. A package arrives for Swann, he sends it to Ariya Daivari, Daivari denies it, so Jack Gallagher takes it. Daivari takes it back, opens it and gets powder shot into his face from inside.

- Austin Aries vs. TJ Perkins: The match closes out with Aries making Perkins tap out to the Last Chancery submission. After the match, Neville attacks Aries from behind and works over his knee injury. Neville wraps Aries' injured leg around the ring post and then applies the Rings of Saturn submission. Jack Gallagher hits the ring, makes the save and chases off Neville.
Winner: Austin Aries, by submission.

** WWE UK Special Recap **
This past Friday afternoon WWE held a special United Kingdom show which showcased some of the best talent in the United Kingdom and the Cruiserweights of the WWE. The main event of the show saw WWE United Kingdom Champion Tyler Bate defend his title against Mark Andrews.

- Wolfgang vs. Joseph Conners: The match closes out with Conners unloading kicks on Wolfgang and a near fall lung blower. Conners with a slingshot flatliner on Wolfgang for another near fall. Conners works on the ribs and hits a spinebuster for a near fall. Wolfgang catches Conners coming off the ropes and nails a spear. Wolfgang goes to the top rope and hits the Senton Splash for the pinfall.
Winner: Wolfgang, by pinfall.

- TJ Perkins and Brian Kendrick vs. Rich Swann and Dan Moloney: The match closes out with Swann hot tagging and unloading. Swann gets a near fall front flip leg drop on Kendrick. Swann and Kendrick battle to the top rope where Swann hits an atomic drop on Kendrick. Moloney gets sent outside, but makes it back in to break up Kendrick's Captain's Hook submission on Swann. Perkins gets in a cheap shot and Kendrick gets a rollup pinfall to win the match.
Winners: TJ Perkins and Brian Kendrick, by pinfall.

- #1 Contenders Match For The WWE United Kingdom Championship": Pete Dunne vs. Trent Seven: The match closes out with Dunne countering a Dragon Suplex, but gets destroyed by Seven with a lariat for a very close near fall. Seven is holding his arm in pain that he hit the lariat with, as Dunne was working on it the whole match. Dunne goes for a hanging Kimura Lock submission, but Seven powers out and hits a Dragon Suplex. Dunne rakes Seven in the eyes, hits the Bitter End and scores the pinfall, earning Dunne a WWE United Kingdom Championship Match at NXT Takeover: Chicago.
Winner: Pete Dunne, by pinfall, to become the new #1 Contender to the WWE United Kingdom Championship.

- "WWE United Kingdom Championship Match": Tyler Bate (c) vs. Mark Andrews: The match closes out with Andrews going to the top rope, but Bate lands an enziguri. Bate goes up top and places Andrews on his shoulders. Andrews counters by hitting a hurricanrana on Bate. Andrews hits a running shooting star press on Bate and gets a near fall. Bate plants a super kick and then drills Andrews with a lariat. Bate counters a suplex by Andrews and hits Stundog Millionaire. Bate attempts a Shooting Star Press off the top rope, but Andrews blocks with the knees up. Bate comes back and plants a rolling front kick, stunning Andrews. Bate with the Tyler Driver 97 and the pinfall follows to retain the title. After the match, Pete Dunne hits the ring and beats down Andrews. William Regal arrives and forces Dunne to back off. Dunne and Bate stare each other down to end the show.
Winner: Tyler Bate, by pinfall, to retain the WWE United Kingdom Championship.

*** NXT ***

- The Original Idea For SAnitY: Former NXT superstar Marcus Louis was interviewed this week and he revealed the original plan for the SAnitY stable that is currently led by Eric Young.

“Initially, SAnitY was supposed to be Sami Callahan, myself, and Sawyer Fulton. We were the the three people who were supposed to be SAnitY at first. I was told about this idea in late 2015. It was September 2015, I think, I was told by Triple H himself. He came and said, "I have this great idea for you guys. We’re gonna bring you in as a trio of sort of like punk-looking people, sort of like Mad Max." And then it was supposed to be Crowe, myself, and Fulton. But he was like long-term, and it was a long shot already. So Callahan left NXT, and then there was a different talk. They were talking about bringing in somebody new to be the leader of this faction.”

Obviously the original idea never worked out as former Impact World Heavyweight Champion Eric Young was signed to NXT and was made as the leader of SAnitY. SAnitY debuted as Eric Young, Sawyer Fulton, Alexander Wolfe and Nikki Cross. Fulton suffered an injury and was soon replaced by Damian Killian.

- Tommaso Ciampa Injured: This past week Tommaso Ciampa of #DIY was reportedly injured at Thursday night's NXT live event in Highland Heights, KY. Ciampa and his partner, Johnny Gargano, were facing Sanity at the show when a few minutes into the match, Ciampa dove off the ring apron onto Sanity and hurt his left leg. The match was quickly stopped and ruled a no contest. An upset Ciampa hopped to the back yelling, "get me the f**k out of here". It's unknown at this time on how severe the leg injury is.

- NXT Takeover: Chicago: If you missed last night's show, make sure to check out my full recap on Triple Threat CLE.

*** Impact/Global Force Wrestling ***

** Impact TV Recap **
This week the GFW World Tag Team Championship Tournament kicked off. The main event of the show saw Low Ki defend his Impact X Division Championship in an Ultimate X Match against Trevor Lee and Andrew Everett.

- "GFW World Tag Team Championship Tournament Match": LAX vs. The Lorado Kid and Garza Jr.: The match closes out with Santana hitting the Code Red on Garza Jr. LAX then hit their double team finisher to score the pinfall and advance in the tournament.
Winners: LAX, by pinfall.

- Backstage, Magnus blames Bruce Prichard and says it's Prichard's fault that he lost the GFW Global Championship last week. Prichard says it's his own fault. Magnus says he's going to prove what he can do.

- Kongo Kong vs. Braxton Sutter: The match closes out with Sutter going for a pump kick, but gets splashed in the corner by Kong. Kong hits an Island Driver on Sutter and scores the pinfall. After the match, KM and Sienna attack and beat down Sutter. Mahabali Shera hits the ring and makes the save. Sutter challenges Kong and KM to a tag match next week.
Winner: Kongo Kong, by pinfall.

- Backstage, Karen Jarrett announces Eddie and Alisha Edwards vs. Davey Richards and Angelina Love for next week. Magnus suddenly pushes past Karen, upsetting her.

- Ethan Carter vs. James Storm: The match closes out with EC3 hitting the TK3 and then grabs a belt. EC3 hits a second TK3 on Storm and then knocks out the referee, catching the DQ. After the match, EC3 whips the referee with the belt. Storm hits a Backstabber on EC3 as Magnus suddenly hits the ring. Magnus and EC3 start arguing with each other as Bruce Prichard hits the ring. Prichard restores order and announces a triple threat match for next week between EC3, Storm and Magnus with the winner getting a title shot against Bobby Lashley at Slammiversary.
Winner: James Storm, by DQ.

- "GFW Women's Championship Match": Sienna (c) vs. ODB: The match closes out with ODB unloading chops and then corner splashes Sienna. ODB sends Sienna head first into the turnbuckle. Sienna suddenly hits The Silencer out of nowhere on ODB and scores the pinfall to retain her title.
Winner: Sienna, by pinfall, to retain the GFW Women's Championship.

- Jeremy Borash Promo: JB announces that he has an attorney and he's been reinstated to Impact. JB introduces Joseph Park as his attorney. Park challenges Josh Mathews to find a tag team partner and face him and JB at Slammiversary. 

- "Impact X Division Championship, Ultimate X, Triple Threat Match: Low Ki (c) vs. Andrew Everett vs. Trevor Lee: The match closes out with Shane Helms trying to help Lee grab the title. Low Ki hits a springboard kick, taking out Lee and Helms. Low Ki climbs on top of the Ultimate X metal structure. Everett and Lee, meanwhile, both shimmy across the Ultimate X wire towards the title. Low Ki jumps off the metal structure and lands on the wire where the X connects and the title hangs. Low Ki kicks Everett off the wire and then stomps on Lee sending him off the wire. Low Ki reaches down and grabs the title for the victory. 
Winner: Low Ki, by title retrieval, to retain the Impact X Division Championship.

*** Ring Of Honor ***

** ROH TV Recap **
The main event of the show saw Bully Ray and The Briscoes defend their Six Man Tag Team Championship against The Rebellion.

- Search and Destroy (Chris Sabin and Jonathan Gresham) vs. Cheeseburger and Will Ferrara: The match closes out with Cheeseburger accidentally taking out Ferrara with the Shotei Strike. Gresham applies the Octopus submission on Cheeseburger and forces the tap out. After the match, Ferrara walks out on Cheeseburger. 
Winners: Chris Sabin and Jonathan Gresham, by submission.

- Backstage, Silas Young talks trash to Jay Lethal, calling him the ROH golden boy. Young attacks, hits Lethal with a forearm and tosses him head first into the lockers.

- Bobby Fish vs. Silas Young: The match closes out with Beer City Bruiser trying to interfere, forcing the referee and Fish to go after him. Young uses his knee brace to hit Fish with while the referee is distracted and scores the pinfall.
Winner: Silas Young, by pinfall.

- Backstage, Dalton Castle says alot of people think he hit rock bottom when he lost to Christopher Daniels, but he promises to keep fighting for the ROH World Championship.

- "Six Man Tag Team Championship Match": Bully Ray and The Briscoes (c) vs. The Rebellion: The match closes out with The Briscoes suicide diving The Rebellion. Rhett Titus blocks Froggie Bow by getting his knees up. Titus hits a drop kick but misses a frog splash. Bully and The Briscoes hit 3D and score the pinfall to retain the titles. After the match, Bully and The Briscoes set up a table and Bully hits the Bully Bomb on Caprice Coleman through the table.
Winners: Bully Ray and The Briscoes, by pinfall, to retain the ROH Six Man Tag Team Championship.

** ROH War of the Worlds Recap **
ROH War of the Worlds was live at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City last weekend. Both ROH and NJPW were present for the show. The main event of the show saw ROH World Champion Christopher Daniels defend his title in a Triple Threat Match against Cody Rhodes and Jay Lethal.

** Dark Matches **

- The Kingdom defeated The Tempura Boyz, by pinfall, after TK O'Ryan hit Yohei with a crutch, allowing Matt Taven to score the pinfall.

- The Rebellion defeated Cheeseburger, Will Ferrara and Gedo, by pinfall, in a Six Man Tag Team Match. Shane Taylor hits a top rope splash on Cheeseburger for the pinfall.

** ROH War of the Worlds  **

- NJPW Officials Announcement: New Japan Pro Wrestling officials kicked off the show by announcing their newly created title called the IWGP United States Championship. A tournament will take place on July 1st and 2nd to crown the first ever champion. NJPW announced Jay Lethal as the first official wrestler in the tournament. Hangman Adam Page interrupted and disagreed with their decision on choosing Lethal. Page was held back by ROH officials and forced to leave.

- "Four Corner Survival Match": KUSHIDA vs. Bobby Fish vs. Dalton Castle vs. "The Last Real Man" Silas Young: The match closes out with Fish unloading with kicks and then sends Silas into KUSHIDA with an Exploder. Fish counters Castle's Bang A Rang and locks in a submission, but KUSHIDA breaks it up. KUSHIDA goes for the Hoverboard Lock on Fish, but Silas breaks it up. KUSHIDA counters Silas' Misery finisher and drives Silas into the mat. Castle ends up catching Fish, hits the Bang A Rang and scores the pinfall.
Winner: Dalton Castle, by pinfall.

- "The Heavy Metal Rebel" Frankie Kazarian vs. Hangman Adam Page: The match closes out with both men seriously spitting in each others faces and then trade strikes. Kazarian gets a near fall slingshot cutter. Page blocks the referees view and lands a cheap shot low blow on Kazarian. Kazarian comes back and goes for a sunset flip on Page. Page counters it, wraps up Kazarian in a rollup, grabs the ropes for leverage and steals the pinfall.
Winner: Hangman Adam Page, by pinfall.

- "Triple Threat Match": War Machine vs. EVIL and SANADA vs. Chris Sabin and Jonathan Gresham: The match closes out with Sabin hitting a double DDT on EVIL and SANADA. Sabin teases the New York crowd as they hit him with boos being a Detroit guy. Hanson tags in and unloads on everyone in his path. War Machine take control and go for Fallout. Sabin and Gresham counter and lay out Hanson and Rowe. Rowe gets double suplexed and then EVIL and SANADA take over the match, hitting a lariat on Hanson. SANADA distracts the referee allowing EVIL to drive a steel chair into Hanson's throat. All six men start brawling with War Machine hitting a Pop Up Power Slam on Sabin. Rowe scores the pinfall on Sabin as Hanson hits a suicide dive on EVIL and SANADA.
Winners: War Machine, by pinfall.

- Jay White vs. "The Aerial Assassin" Will Ospreay: The match closes out with Ospreay landing a double underhook front face suplex for a near fall. Both men go up top where Ospreay kicks White and then springboard moonsaults White outside. Back in the ring, Ospreay hits the springboard cutter off the ropes on White and scores the pinfall. After the match, Punishment Martinez comes out of nowhere and lays out both Ospreay and White with a choke slam.
Winner: Will Ospreay, by pinfall.

- "ROH Six Man Tag Team Championship, No DQ Match": The Briscoes and Bully Ray (c) vs. Hirooki Goto and Roppongi Vice: The match closes out with Jay unloading on Goto, but RPG make the save, delivering knees on Jay. Mark is in and lands a Pele Kick, a rolling DVD and goes for the Froggie Bow. Beretta stops it from happening and a corner pyramid is formed. Mark and Bully counter the pyramid and deliver double doomsday devices. Bully and The Briscoes hit Whazzz Up on Goto and then a table is set up in the ring. Bully grabs Beretta and power bombs him through the table. Romero gets laid out with the 3D and Bully and The Briscoes score the pinfall to retain their titles.
Winners: The Briscoes and Bully Ray, by pinfall, to retain the ROH Six Man Tag Team Championship.

- "ROH Television Championship Match": "The Villain" Marty Scurll (c) vs. "Reborn" Matt Sydal: The match closes out with Scurll hitting a brain buster on Sydal, goes for the Chicken Wing submission, but Sydal escapes. Sydal attempts a standing moonsault, but Scurll breaks Sydal's fingers. Sydal counters the Chicken Wing submission again and gets a near fall hurricanrana. Scurll tries a third attempt at the Chicken Wing submission, but Sydal again counters and gets a near fall underhook driver. Scurll blocks the 450 Splash from Sydal with his knees up and is able to finally lock in the Chicken Wing submission for the tap out win to retain his title. 
Winner: Marty Scurll, by submission, to retain the ROH Television Championship.

- "ROH World Tag Team Championship Match": The Young Bucks (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito and Bushi: The match closes out with Matt countering Destino and Bushi countering the Meltzer Driver. Bushi spits green mist in Matt's eyes blinding him. Matt starts blindly super kicking everyone, even hitting his brother Nick and the referee. Matt clears his vision with water as Naito goes for Destino again. Nick makes the save and hits a Swanton Bomb on Naito. Both teams trade more offense and near falls until The Bucks finally hit the Meltzer Driver to score the pinfall and retain their titles.
Winners: The Young Bucks, by pinfall, to retain the ROH World Tag Team Championship.

- Adam Cole vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi: The match closes out with Cole countering the High Fly Flow and hits The Last Shot for a near fall. Cole hits Tanahashi with his own version of High Fly Flow and gets another near fall. Tanahashi counters The Last Shot and drills a super kick on Cole. Tanahashi goes to the top rope and leaps off, but eats a mid air super kick from Cole on the way down. Cole hits a running knee and gets another near fall. Tanahashi counters The Last Shot and hits a suplex on Cole. Tanahashi finally hits the High Fly Flow on Cole and scores the pinfall.
Winner: Hiroshi Tanahashi,  by pinfall.

- Adam Cole's Farewell: After the match, Cole receives the traditional streamer toss and gets the "Thank You Adam" chants from the crowd. Cole has been rumored to be leaving ROH for NXT and this was Cole's last ROH pay per view appearance. The Young Bucks hit the ring and tease a super kick attack on Cole, but laugh and hug Cole instead. The lights suddenly go out in the building and Kenny Omega appears on the big screen. Omega mocks Cole's farewell and is highly disappointed in The Bucks for going along with this considering Cole tried to fire The Bucks from The Bullet Club last month. Omega fires Cole from The Bullet Club, calls Cole's tenure in ROH and in The Bullet Club storied and in every story the story has a hero and.........a villain. The camera pans out and reveals "The Villain" Marty Scurll sitting beside Omega. The lights pop back on in the arena and Marty Scurll is inside the ring. Scurll opens his umbrella and reveals The Bullet Club logo on it as The Bucks turn and drill Cole with double superkicks. Scurll reveals that he's wearing a Bullet Club t-shirt as he hits Cole in the head with his umbrella. The Bucks then plant the kiss of death on Cole's cheeks, tell him goodbye and leave Cole laying. 

- "ROH World Championship, Triple Threat Match": Christopher Daniels (c) vs. "The American Nightmare" Cody Rhodes vs. Jay Lethal: The match closes out with Lethal and Cody trading strikes. Cody gets tossed into Daniels, who flies off the apron and through a table outside. Cody low blows Lethal, but misses the Beautiful Disaster Kick after Lethal hits a cutter on Cody in mid air and gets a near fall. Lethal goes for the Lethal Injection, but Cody counters with Cross Rhodes and gets a near fall. Cody traps Lethal in a figure four leg lock and it looks like Lethal is about to tap out. Daniels returns and nails the Best Moonsault Ever on Cody and scores the pinfall to retain his title, while Lethal was still trapped in the figure four leg lock.
Winner: Christopher Daniels, by pinfall, to retain the ROH World Championship. 

- New Signee: ROH announced the signing of Travis “Flip” Gordon to an ROH contract. Gordon made his mark at a ROH tryout camp before getting an opportunity on Ring of Honor television. From there, the high-flying Gordon impressed the ROH Board of Directors and earned a contract.

** Travis "Flip" Gordon Career Highlights:

- Born and raised in Kalispell, Montana.
- Was trained at New England Pro Wrestling Academy.
- Made his wrestling debut in 2015.
- Has competed in NEPWA and Chaotic Wrestling.
- Has yet to win any titles in his career.

*** SHINE ***

** SHINE 42 Recap **
SHINE 42 was live in Ybor City, Florida. The main event of the show saw LaFisto defend her SHINE World Championship against Leva Bates.

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- Dementia D'Rose defeated Aja Perera, by pinfall, in a Sparkle Showcase Match.

- Maria Maria defeated Dynamite DiDi by pinfall, with a Gory Bomb.

- Kiera Hogan defeated Priscilla Kelly, by pinfall, with a lateral press, after Aria Blake and Candy Cartwright interfered and hit DDT's.

- ACR defeated Lindsay Snow, by pinfall, with a roundhouse kick.

- Aerial Monroe defeated Aria Blake, by pinfall, with Dirty Dancing.

- "SHINE Tag Team Championship Match": Las Sicarias (Ivelisse and Mercedes Martinez) defeated Gabi Castrovinci and Santana Garrett, by pinfall, with a high kick and a victory roll, to win the SHINE Tag Team Championship.

- Allysin Kay defeated Chelsea Green, by pinfall, with a counter Stunner on a dive.

- Renee Michelle defeated Candy Cartwright, by DQ, when Aria Blake and Kiera Hogan attack Renee. Aerial Monroe and Priscilla Kelly make the save. An impromptu tag match is made after a challenge is thrown out by Aerial.

- "Six Woman Tag Team Match": Aerial Monroe, Priscilla Kelly and Renee Michelle defeated Aria Blake, Candy Cartwright and Kiera Hogan, by pinfall, with a lateral press from Kelly onto Hogan.

- It's announced that a new title is being created for SHINE and it will be called the Nova Championship. The first champion will be crowned in Ybor City over two days on July 13th and July 14th.

- "SHINE World Championship Match": LuFisto (c) defeated Leva Bates, by pinfall, with the Burning Hammer to retain her Shine World Championship.

*** CZW ***

- Sami Callihan Takes Over Creative Team: Pro Wrestling Sheet has learned Sami Callihan recently took over CZW's creative team to help lead them into the future. Sources stated that Callihan and his team will be handling creative/promotional decisions from now on, while CZW Prez DJ Hyde will focus on managing all the back-end business aspects of the company.

*** 5 Star Wrestling ***

- 5 Star Wants CM Punk: The Sun reported this past week that 5 Star Wrestling promoter Daniel Hinkles is offering $1 million to former WWE Champion CM Punk to make a return to the ring for 5 Star Wrestling's 128-man tournament that begins on June 10th in Liverpool, England. Hinkles stated the following. 

“We’ve been trying to contact CM Punk on and off for well over a year. We wanted him on the first show we did in Edinburgh in 2015. I’ve tried going through friends in the industry, I’ve gone through his website and sent dozens of emails but the opportunity has never been this big. We want to offer CM Punk $1 million dollars (£770,000) to come and join the 5 Star Wrestling tour starting June 10th. It’s a genuine offer. We’d love to hear back from the man himself. We want to do this with him.”

Punk who hasn't been apart of the wrestling world since 2014 is currently signed under UFC and is actually training for his second fight, but nothing has been announced.

*** Other ***

- Shelly Martinez Retires: Former WWE and ECW diva Shelly Martinez announced this week that she is officially retiring from all of professional wrestling  

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!