WrestlingRumors.net

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(WATCH): Thats How You Do It. Maxwell Jacob Friedman Does A Pretty
Horrible Thing.

Posted: 11 Aug 2019 01:03 AM PDT https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/watch-thats-maxwell-jacob-friedman-pretty-horrible-thing/


That’s just dastardly. It’s hard to be a top heel in wrestling today. While anyone can go out there and insult a local sports team or call the
fans stupid, it takes a lot to make the people genuinely hate everything
about you. Not everyone is capable of making that work but when you find someone who can do it at a high level, it’s like watching an artist at
work. That’s the case with a certain young villain.

In a new video posted to his Twitter account, Maxwell Jacob Friedman stomps
on a dolphin made of sand that someone made on the beach. The caption of
the Tweet says that he hopes someone learned to protect their valuables.
It is not clear if anyone was around when Friedman stomped on the sand
dolphin or if the other people had already left. There is always the
chance that this was staged.

That’s quite the jerk move. Check out Friedman’s destruction of some work: [This post contains video, click to play]

If that isn’t your taste, there’s always this. Check out Friedman yelling at fans:
[This post contains video, click to play]


Opinion: While I think that this was staged, it’s the kind of thing that makes Friedman look like a jerk. It’s a pretty stereotypical idea of something a mean person would do but it’s a little different when you actually see it happening. Friedman is one of the best heels in wrestling today because he comes off as someone with nothing redeemable about him. I could go for more of this and odds are that’s what we’ll be getting.

How good of a heel is Friedman? What is the best heel promo you have ever seen? Let us know in the comments below.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen
over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since 2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his Amazon author page with 28
wrestling books. His latest book is the History Of In Your House.

Get the latest and greatest in professional wrestling news by signing up
for our daily email newsletter. Just look below for GET EXCLUSIVE UPDATES
to sign up. We are proud to offer our popular Wrestling Rumors app and encourage you to download it for an optimized user experience. It is
available for Android and also on iOS. Thank you for reading!

The post (WATCH): Thats How You Do It. Maxwell Jacob Friedman Does A
Pretty Horrible Thing. appeared first on WrestlingRumors.net.


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(WATCH): So Long? Johnny Gargano May Be Leaving NXT.

Posted: 11 Aug 2019 12:59 AM PDT https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/watch-long-johnny-gargano-may-leaving-nxt/


Is that it? NXT is one of the most unique places in all of wrestling.
While it is designed to be the developmental system for WWE, in reality it serves as more of a holding tank for the bigger names before they come up
to the main roster. That has created some amazing television as the
promotion is almost an all-star team of independent wrestlers. Sometimes
they have to leave though and a big one may be doing just that.

WWE has posted a new video to their YouTube page showing Johnny Gargano receiving a standing ovation from both the audience and General Manager
William Regal after his match at Takeover: Toronto. Gargano lost in a
fifty one minute long main event to NXT Champion Adam Cole. While not confirmed, there is a chance this means Gargano is moving up to the main roster, where he appeared for a few matches earlier this year.

This could be goodbye. Check out what might be the sendoff:
[This post contains video, click to play]


Opinion: Really, Gargano should have been on the main roster a long time
ago. There is nothing left for him to accomplish in NXT as he has won all
of the titles and had more great matches than he knows what to do with.
He’s an all time legend down there, if not the biggest legend there is.
Let him come up to the main roster already and see what he can do up there.

Is this it for Gargano in NXT? How will he do on the main roster? Let us
know in the comments below.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen
over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since 2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his Amazon author page with 28
wrestling books. His latest book is the History Of In Your House.

Get the latest and greatest in professional wrestling news by signing up
for our daily email newsletter. Just look below for GET EXCLUSIVE UPDATES
to sign up. We are proud to offer our popular Wrestling Rumors app and encourage you to download it for an optimized user experience. It is
available for Android and also on iOS. Thank you for reading!

The post (WATCH): So Long? Johnny Gargano May Be Leaving NXT. appeared
first on WrestlingRumors.net.


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The Big Change? Summerslam To Be TV-14 For The First Time In 11 Years?
Maybe?

Posted: 11 Aug 2019 12:57 AM PDT https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/rumor-big-change-summerslam-tv-14-first-time-11-years/


It’s been a long time. Like it or hate it, WWE has become the biggest wrestling company in the world and knows how to maintain that position.
One of the reasons for their dominance has been the PG Era, which has
opened the doors to a lot of fans who might not have watched otherwise.
That has been the case for a long time, but it might not be every single
time anymore.

According to Ringsidenews.com, Summerslam is listed as a TV-14 event on DirecTV. This marks a change from all other WWE events, which are usually rated TV-PG. At the moment is it not known what will be taking place on
the show that is going to elevate the rating or if this is going to be a permanent change. WWE’s last TV-14 event was the 2008 Great American
Bash. Keep in mind that there is a chance this is a mistake on DirecTV’s part and no change could be coming.

Some of these things weren’t PG. Check out some of the more extreme
moments in Summerslam history:
[This post contains video, click to play]


Opinion: This is one of those things where I will believe it when I see
it. WWE just randomly changing over to TV-14 would be very hard to accept
as they have been sticking with PG for so long now. I know the PG product
is blamed for a lot of troubles, but how many benefits do both WWE and fans receive from it? There’s more to it than just “bring back Attitude” and everything gets better, which is why it isn’t likely happening anytime soon.

Do you want WWE to be TV-14 again? Will it ever be? Let us know in the comments below.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen
over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since 2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his Amazon author page with 28
wrestling books. His latest book is the History Of In Your House.

Get the latest and greatest in professional wrestling news by signing up
for our daily email newsletter. Just look below for GET EXCLUSIVE UPDATES
to sign up. We are proud to offer our popular Wrestling Rumors app and encourage you to download it for an optimized user experience. It is
available for Android and also on iOS. Thank you for reading!

The post The Big Change? Summerslam To Be TV-14 For The First Time In 11 Years? Maybe? appeared first on WrestlingRumors.net.


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The New Star? Top Independent Name Makes NXT Debut At Takeover: Toronto.

Posted: 11 Aug 2019 12:52 AM PDT https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/new-star-top-independent-name-makes-nxt-debut-takeover-toronto/


The intermingling continues. WWE is the biggest wrestling company in the
world but there is no reason for them to not keep trying to expand. While
they already have the WWE Network offering fans more content than they
could ever hope to consume, there is always room for more and sometimes it
is easier to go and get something that someone else has created and use
that instead.

On Saturday night at NXT Takeover: Toronto, Evolve Champion Austin Theory
was shown in the crowd. This is the second WWE Network appearance for
Theory this summer as he was also featured on the Evolve Tenth Anniversary special on July 13. While there is no word on Theory being brought in to
WWE full or even part time, it does seem to suggest more of a working relationship between the two companies.

You might need to get to know him. Check out a look at Theory:
[This post contains video, click to play]


Opinion: I have no idea how much Evolve we will be seeing on the WWE
Network but if Evolve can turn into something of a stand alone
developmental territory, I’m sure both sides can benefit in some way.
Theory was impressive on the Tenth Anniversary show and it would not
surprise me to see him working for WWE one day in the near or not so
distant future.

Is it a good idea for the companies to work together? Who should WWE pick
up from Evolve? Let us know in the comments below.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen
over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since 2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his Amazon author page with 28
wrestling books. His latest book is the History Of In Your House.

Get the latest and greatest in professional wrestling news by signing up
for our daily email newsletter. Just look below for GET EXCLUSIVE UPDATES
to sign up. We are proud to offer our popular Wrestling Rumors app and encourage you to download it for an optimized user experience. It is
available for Android and also on iOS. Thank you for reading!

The post The New Star? Top Independent Name Makes NXT Debut At Takeover: Toronto. appeared first on WrestlingRumors.net.


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Yes Again. Yet Another NXT Talent Suffers Horrible Knee Injury.

Posted: 11 Aug 2019 12:48 AM PDT https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/yes-yet-another-nxt-talent-suffers-horrible-knee-injury/


It’s an epidemic. It feels like every single week, another injury pops up
in WWE. I don’t know if it’s bad training, a run of bad luck or just the amount of wrestlers the company has on its payroll, but it feels like you can’t go more than a few days without someone else having another injury,
be it severe or just a minor problem. This time around, it’s a serious one and it doesn’t sound good.

According to Squared Circle Sirens, NXT talent Kavita Devi has torn her ACL
and will be undergoing surgery to repair it on August 15. It is not clear
when Devi suffered the injury, though her most recent match took place on
July 26 and she had not mentioned the injury in her next social media
posts. There is no word on how long she will be out of action, but it will
be at least several months.

Devi has some power to her. Check out one of her matches in the Mae Young Classic:
[This post contains video, click to play]


Opinion: That’s not good no matter how you look at it. Whether you’re a fan of a wrestler or not, there is nothing good about someone who gets
injured in any way, let alone someone who going to be out of action for a
very long time. This is the kind of injury that can completely change someone’s career and hopefully Devi recovers from it sooner rather than later.

Has Devi impressed you so far? What do you want to see her do when she
gets back? Let us know in the comments below.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen
over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since 2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his Amazon author page with 28
wrestling books. His latest book is the History Of In Your House.

Get the latest and greatest in professional wrestling news by signing up
for our daily email newsletter. Just look below for GET EXCLUSIVE UPDATES
to sign up. We are proud to offer our popular Wrestling Rumors app and encourage you to download it for an optimized user experience. It is
available for Android and also on iOS. Thank you for reading!

The post Yes Again. Yet Another NXT Talent Suffers Horrible Knee Injury. appeared first on WrestlingRumors.net.


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Summerslam 2019 Preview Predictions And Thoughts

Posted: 11 Aug 2019 12:45 AM PDT https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/summerslam-2019-preview-predictions-thoughts/


It’s the second biggest show of the year (in theory I guess but that’s for another time) and this year’s show….isn’t really that big. For once we only
have ten matches scheduled over six hours, but you can probably guess
another match or two being added at the last minute. The build for this one
has been a bit all over the place as the TV shows are transitioning to the
Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff era and since we’ve had four weeks since Extreme Rules (including Raw Reunion), it hasn’t had time to be fleshed
out. Maybe they can pull off something good so let’s get to it.
Bray Wyatt vs. Finn Balor

We’ll start off with what should be a pretty easy one. This is Wyatt’s first match back in about a year and now he’s the Fiend, which is the first major change for Wyatt in a very long time. It’s basically his evil side
and while that might seem a little redundant, it’s better than bringing Sister Abigail up again, though you know that’s’ coming one day.

Does this make it a handicap match:

[This post contains video, click to play]
As for the match itself, it isn’t going to be in much doubt. Balor is reportedly taking some time off soon so he’s not going to win here, as even WWE isn’t dumb enough…..ok so they are but I don’t think they’ll have Wyatt
lose his first match back. The Fiend is a good choice for him and if they
do it right, they could have a very evil monster on their hands. Wyatt
wins, and he should do so again in a rematch against the Demon.
Goldberg vs. Dolph Ziggler

Let’s just get this one out of the way early. For some reason WWE thinks
the fans want to see Ziggler mock the legends and then get beaten up by one
so they can trot out Goldberg again to make up for the horrible Super
ShowDown match. I’m sure Ziggler will sell the spear rather well and
Goldberg will look awesome, but my goodness this might have been the
biggest waste of time I can remember this side of a Baron Corbin push.

This could be different:

[This post contains video, click to play]
So yeah they’re not going to do anything stupid here as Ziggler is
scheduled for more comedy shows in the near future and probably needs to go away again for those, meaning some of my medications can go away for the
time being. Sidebar: how does Ziggler not qualify for Legend status? Two
World Titles, eight midcard titles, Money in the Bank, wrestles part time
and he’ll be forty next year. I’m sure it’s in the fine print somewhere but
whatever gets him out of here faster is what matters most.
Cruiserweight Title: Drew Gulak(c) vs. Oney Lorcan

Another month with another Cruiserweight Title match all but destined to
wind up on the Kickoff Show. This was only set up on Tuesday but Lorcan has been the obvious challenger for weeks now. Lorcan is a hard hitter and
someone who will go head first at Gulak the whole way, though that might
not be the smartest thing in the world to do against a submission expert.

Its like a big preview:

[This post contains video, click to play]
That hole in Lorcan’s strategy is why I’ll go with Gulak to retain. He’s got something with this new, serious character and while Lorcan is good,
he’s not the one to take the title off of Gulak, who shouldn’t be losing for a long time. I’m not sure who does take the title off of him, but it’s not Lorcan and certainly not in this spot.
SmackDown Women’s Title: Bayley(c) vs. Ember Moon

Despite having held the title for most of the summer, Bayley is in a bad
place as champion at the moment. She’s winning matches and getting some credibility back, but it’s the same place that Seth Rollins and Kofi
Kingston were for months: as long as the big star (Charlotte in her case),
it doesn’t feel like this is a reign that particularly matters. It feels
like we’re waiting for Charlotte to get the title back and that makes a lot of these matches feel less important.

Let the mind games continue:

[This post contains video, click to play]
That being said, Bayley wins pretty handily here as there is no reason to believe that Moon is going to take the title from her. Moon feels like a challenger of the month and while she has the biggest weapon around, I
don’t think it’s going to hit Bayley. After this they might do a rematch, but odds are it’s going to come back around to Charlotte sooner or later, because that’s how women’s titles work in WWE (because her dad is Ric Flair and she has to win a bunch of titles you see).
Raw Women’s Title: Becky Lynch(c) vs. Natalya

Yay Canada! Is there any other reason to put this match on the card?
Natalya has never been interesting in her WWE career and this will be no exception. She can go out there and have a passable if not good match with anyone, but putting her in one of the highest profile matches of the year doesn’t exactly seem like the most intriguing idea. The promos haven’t worked and even making it a submission match doesn’t do them much good.

Theyre not doing well together:

[This post contains video, click to play]
Of course Lynch retains because what else are they going to do? The problem here is that there isn’t anyone else for Lynch to face as she’s beaten Lacey Evans and….well who else is there? Alexa Bliss? The women’s divisions aren’t deep at the moment so I can understand Natalya getting the spot, but that doesn’t really make it better. The match should be good, but it isn’t something that is going to draw a lot of interest.
Kevin Owens vs. Shane McMahon

Has anyone else noticed that less McMahon on the show has made it that much easier to watch? McMahon is still around but he hasn’t been the focal point of the whole thing as of late and I don’t think it’s any surprise that things are at least a little better. I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of him after this, but if Owens loses he’s off of the show. Again: I’m sure.

I think this is bad employee behavior:

[This post contains video, click to play]
This seems to be a pretty easy layup and I’ll take Owens for what should be the win. Owens can set up a rematch where McMahon’s power is on the line to get rid of him for good, but he can’t do that if he loses here. What
matters most is getting McMahon’s screen time down (not eliminated mind
you) and Owens beating him would be a good first step in that direction.
Owens wins in one of the most likely picks of the show.
US Title: AJ Styles(c) vs. Ricochet

Of course they’re fighting again because they only had three matches in the span of a few weeks. There is plenty of time left to drive a feud into the ground before people get sick of it. Styles turned heel and joined up with
the OC again to get the title and now Ricochet needs to fight back and get
his big moment. Winning the title was nice but winning it back at
Summerslam is what would make him seem like a star.

Try part one:

[This post contains video, click to play]
That’s what I think is happening too, as Styles certainly doesn’t need the title and Ricochet has everything to gain here. The OC is the kind of
stable that can do a bunch of stuff without the title, especially when they already have the Raw Tag Team Titles. Ricochet needs this one and I think
WWE knows what kind of potential they have with him. Give him the title
back and let him run with the thing for a few months.
Trish Stratus vs. Charlotte

It’s pretty rare to have an actual dream match but that’s what they’ve done
here. Charlotte has dominated the women’s divisions since showing up about four years ago and has a serious claim to being the best ever. Then again
so does Stratus, who is viewed as one of the goddesses of women’s
wrestling. Putting Charlotte in there against her, in Stratus’ hometown no less, could be a rather big moment.

One legend to another:

[This post contains video, click to play]
This is Charlotte’s to win and I don’t see any reason to consider the alternative. You don’t bring Stratus out of retirement for the one big singles match and then have her win, so let her go out in a fight and come close to beating Charlotte, only to come up short and show that Charlotte
is better. Just keep Charlotte away from the title because we’ve more than covered that one already.
SmackDown World Title: Kofi Kingston(c) vs. Randy Orton

How did we get here? How in the world is Kingston the WWE Champion with a
four month reign? This is the match that should have rocketed Kingston up
to the main event scene about ten years ago but Orton didn’t see it that
way so Kingston took the long route. This has been the best built match on
the show and you could easily seeing it being the best match on the show, assuming Orton is motivated.

Heres what the champ wants:

[This post contains video, click to play]
I’m going with Kingston to retain here but there is going to be a rematch. Eventually I think Orton does take the title from him, but Kingston has
been playing with the house’s money since the night he won the title. Who would have expected him to be champion for this long and actually make it
into a decent length reign? It has to end sometime, but that won’t be on Sunday.
Raw World Title: Brock Lesnar(c) vs. Seth Rollins

And then there’s this too because we’re right back to WrestleMania and pretending the summer didn’t happen. Rollins had a lot of things working against him during his title reign and Lesnar was a big one, but enough of
the problems are likely going to be put on him, meaning I don’t know when he’s going to get the title back.

So serious it lost color:

[This post contains video, click to play]
What I do likely know is that it won’t be Sunday so I’m going with Lesnar to retain. That makes the most sense from WWE’s perspective at the moment (mainly because they have set it up so that Lesnar is the only real option
to carry the title until someone, likely named Roman Reigns, gets to take
it from him again). WWE is going to want Lesnar as champion when they move
to FOX so he keeps it here, as he probably should.
Overall Thoughts

The more I think about it, the better this show is starting to sound. While
you can all but guarantee a few matches being added (Reigns vs. Rowan (or
at least a segment about them) and Drew McIntyre vs. Cedric Alexander seem
to be locks), it sounds very nice to have a shortened card that isn’t overflowing with stuff most people don’t want to see. They have a long way
to go to beat last year’s show but maybe they’ve got a trick or two left.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen
over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since
2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his Amazon author page with 28
wrestling books. His latest book is the History Of In Your House.

Get the latest and greatest in professional wrestling news by signing up
for our daily email newsletter. Just look below for GET EXCLUSIVE UPDATES
to sign up. We are proud to offer our popular Wrestling Rumors app and encourage you to download it for an optimized user experience. It is
available for Android and also on iOS. Thank you for reading!

The post Summerslam 2019 Preview Predictions And Thoughts appeared first on WrestlingRumors.net.


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Takeover: Toronto Live Coverage And Results

Posted: 10 Aug 2019 03:59 PM PDT https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/takeover-toronto-live-coverage-results/


TakeOver: Toronto

Date: August 10, 2019

Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Beth Phoenix, Mauro Ranallo

We’re going north for this one with the second Takeover from Toronto. The second part is rather appropriate as the main event is a rematch (of a
rematch) with NXT Champion Adam Cole defending against former champion
Johnny Gargano in their second 2/3 falls match. A lot of the show centers around Cole’s Undisputed Era so there is certainly a theme. Let’s get to it.

There is no special narration for the opening video, which is your standard highlight package, though we do watch the crowd watching it from the arena.
Tag Team Titles: Street Profits vs. Undisputed Era

Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish are challenging for the Era. The Profits won
the titles in a four way ladder match in June and the Era say that was a
fluke win. The champs have their always high energy entrance as the fans
have the red solo cups. Dawkins takes O’Reilly into the corner to start and shouts that O’Reilly thinks he’s a joke. A takedown goes to Dawkins but it’s off to Fish, who gets run over with a big shoulder.

The champs start taking turns on Fish’s arm until a shot to Ford’s face gives Fish a breather. O’Reilly comes in but everything breaks down for a
few seconds, with Fish walking into a double flapjack. O’Reilly gets
knocked outside and manages to get Dawkins to follow him, allowing Fish to
get in a surprise shot to take over for the first time. Some
running/sliding knees to the ribs have Dawkins in trouble and O’Reilly adds
a Samoan drop.

Mounted palm strikes set up a front facelock but Dawkins wins a slugout
with O’Reilly. A backdrop lets Ford come in off the tag and it’s a standing moonsault for two. Ford hits the spinebuster but O’Reilly breaks up a People’s Elbow. Instead, Ford goes with a Rock Bottom for two on Fish. Dawkins gets knocked off the apron, leaving Ford to get caught with an
elevated DDT into a wheelbarrow suplex for two.

We settle down to Ford being in trouble, including a superplex from Fish
and a top rope knee to the knee. O’Reilly slaps on an Achilles lock with
Fish adding a top rope headbutt and the fans are rather nervous. Dawkins
comes back in and spinebusters Fish onto O’Reilly for the save. Ford makes the hot tag and everything breaks down.

A spinebuster/super Blockbuster combination gets two on O’Reilly and they’re all down again. The slugout is on with Dawkins and Fish being
knocked outside. O’Reilly is sent to the floor as well, meaning it’s a big running flip dive from Ford. Back in and Ford’s frog splash retains the titles at 15:50.

Result: Street Profits b. Undisputed Era Frog splash to OReilly (15:50)

Ricochet is here.

We recap Io Shirai vs. Candice LeRae. Candice had tried to help Shirai win
the Women’s Title but Shirai kept coming up short. Shirai snapped and
turned on LeRae, saying that she didn’t need anyone’s help. Tonight is about revenge for LeRae and for Shirai to prove herself.
Io Shirai vs. Candice LeRae

Candice starts the fight before the bell and it’s Shirai bailing to the floor. That means a baseball slide from Candice but Shirai suplexes her
onto the announcers’ table to knock her silly. That’s only good for a nine so Shirai keeps pounding her down for a cocky near fall. The early chinlock goes on until Candice fights up with a headscissors, only to have Shirai
land on her feet. A camel clutch goes on for a bit but Shirai misses a
missile dropkick.

Candice hammers away in the corner and gets two off a brainbuster, setting
up an Iron Octopus of all things. That’s broken up as well so Shirai tries the 619, which is countered into a neckbreaker. Candice is sent to the
apron though and now the 619 hits the back of her head. That goes nowhere
as Candice sends her outside for a suicide tornado DDT,.

Back in and a top rope double stomp to the back gets two more on Shirai,
who is right back with a Crossface. That’s reversed as well with Candice flipping over so Shirai puts her on her shoulders, only to get reverse hurricanranaed for two. Ms. LeRae’s Wild Ride gets two and the fans declare this to be awesome. Shirai catches her on top with a super Spanish Fly for another near fall and frustrated screaming ensues. A double underhook backbreaker plants LeRae again and the moonsault….gets two With nothing
else working, Shirai grabs a Koji Clutch to knock LeRae out at 15:00.

Result: Io Shirai b. Candice LeRae Koji Clutch (15:00)

Here’s an unscheduled Matt Riddle through the crowd to call out Killian
Dain for a fight. Dain comes through the crowd and the fight is on with
Dain hitting a jumping kick to the head. Referees come out for the save
with Dain stomping on Riddle’s bare foot. Riddle doesn’t care and they fight to the stage so Dain goes for the eyes. Some knees to the face put
Dain down and Riddle takes care of security, including with a GTS to a
guard. Dain uses the distraction to hit a crossbody, only to have Riddle
jump on his back for a choke. They dive off the stage with Riddle being
crushed through a table to finally wrap up a hot fight.

Evolve Champion Austin Theory is here.

We recap the North American Title match. Velveteen Dream has held the title longer than anyone in its history and Roderick Strong pinned him in a tag match. Then just to mess with what seemed to be an obvious ending, Pete
Dunne was added to the mix as a wildcard.
North American Title: Velveteen Dream vs. Roderick Strong vs. Pete Dunne

Dream is defending and goes full Canada with his entrance, complete with an army of Mounties (and yes with the Mountie song of course), who then morph
into Toronto Raptors dancers before Dream himself comes out. Strong says
the other two don’t matter and it’s Dream being sent outside early on. Dunne clotheslines Strong down and it’s time to go after Strong’s fingers.

Dream is back in and tosses Strong but it’s the big showdown with Dunne.
That lasts all of one stare though as Strong comes back in and gets punched
in the face by the champ. A Bret Hart pose looks to set up the Sharpshooter
but Strong slips away. That just means it’s time for Dream and Dunne to
beat him up at the same time, with Dream holding the arm for Dunne’s stomp.

Strong is sent outside so Dream can gyrate the hips, earning himself most
of a cross armbreaker. It’s too early for the Bitter End as Dream slips
out, only to get crotched against the post (Mauro: “NOTHING BUT NUTS!”). The backbreakers start for Strong and the UNDISPUTED chants get going
again. Back in and Dream finally gets the Sharpshooter but Dunne comes off
the top with a double stomp to Dream’s back for the save. Dunne starts throwing suplexes and alternates with stomps onto both of them.

Strong and Dream get together to beat him up before fighting each other
(duh). Dunne is back up as well and it’s a three way slugout for a triple knockdown. Dream and Strong get their fingers snapped but it’s a Dream
Valley Driver to Dunne, an Olympic Slam to Dream and an X Plex to Strong to
put everyone down. Dunne catches Dream up top and Strong joins them for an Olympic Slam to Dunne, which brings Dream down with them.

Strong is up first with a backbreaker to Dunne, who tries to grab a
triangle. They go into the corner with Dream hitting a springboard Purple

[continued in next message]

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