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Names and Matches announced for WWE's Global Cruiserweight Series

F4W Website wroteToday WWE announced qualifying matches for their Global Cruiserweight series.

Announced for the Evolve show on 5/7 in Queens, NY, with Drew Gulak vs. Tracy Williams and Fred Yehi vs. TJ Perkins.  Gulak and Williams are the current Evolve tag team champions.  The show takes place at La Boom in Queens, NY and will air on iPPV at www.WWNlive.com

Also, announced for the PROGRESS on Sunday April 24th in Camden Town, London, Zach Sabre Jr. will face Flash Morgan Webster.  Jack Gallagher will go up against "Bruiserweight" Pete Dunne.

The names WWE has announced thus far for the tournament are Rich Swann, Tommaso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano, Noam Dar, Akira Tozawa, Ho Ho Lun and Lince Dorado.  Swann, Ciampa and Gargano are already under contract to WWE.  Dar is an independent wrestler from the U.K., Tozawa is a star with Dragon Gate, Lun is from Hong Kong and Dorado is a Florida-based Lucha style independent wrestler.

Thrilled to see Noam Dar getting a chance and I think WWE will probably end up signing Akira Tozawa at some point in the future.
Zack Sabre Jr. will almost certainly be one of the standouts of the series/tournament (WWE is reportedly very interested in him) and will probably advance to the end alongside Swann, Kota Ibushi and, quite possibly, the former 'La Sombra', Manny Andrade (if he's included).

Dorado is an odd choice as he's not been as prominent on the Independent scene in recent years and I have no idea who Ho Ho Lun is, but, it's nice to see there's a wrestling scene in Hong Kong. I hope Jack Gallagher advances as he's really good too.

Chyna: Legendary WWE wrestler found dead aged 45


http://www.itv.com/news/2016-04-21/chyna...d-aged-45/

(16 Apr 2016, 9:29 pm)MurdnunoC wrote [ -> ]WWE Suspends Raymond Leppan and Ryan Parameter for Wellness Policy Violation

Of course nobody is going to miss either Adam Rose or Konnor from The Ascension, but this is apparently their second violation of WWE's wellness policy and both wrestlers have been handed a 60 day suspension notice.

Although I wasn't aware of their first wellness violation, I can't see either lasting the course of 2016. WWE's roster is quite large at the moment and could probably do with some trimming.

Ray Leppan responds

Adam Rose releases statement about Wellness Policy Violation Suspension

(21 Apr 2016, 6:27 am)Michael wrote [ -> ]Chyna: Legendary WWE wrestler found dead aged 45


http://www.itv.com/news/2016-04-21/chyna...d-aged-45/

Shame, quite probably one of the finest female wrestlers of our generation...

I wonder if WWE will do anything to publically acknowledge Joanie Laurers passing, as Stephanie McMahon has already took to Twitter already



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(21 Apr 2016, 8:37 am)MrFozz wrote [ -> ]Ray Leppan responds

Adam Rose releases statement about Wellness Policy Violation Suspension
Shame, quite probably one of the finest female wrestlers of our generation...

I wonder if WWE will do anything to publically acknowledge Joanie Laurers passing, as Stephanie McMahon has already took to Twitter already



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Seems I have answered my own question lol

Chyna Passes away


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Mr Fozz wroteShame, quite probably one of the finest female wrestlers of our generation...

I wonder if WWE will do anything to publically acknowledge Joanie Laurers passing, as Stephanie McMahon has already took to Twitter already

(21 Apr 2016, 3:05 pm)MurdnunoC wrote [ -> ]

While I certainly disagree with you about Chyna being 'one of the finest female wrestlers of our generation', she was nonetheless one of the most notable personalities from the 'Attitude Era' when wrestling was far more mainstream than it is today.

When she first broke into the WWF as the bodyguard of HHH, her character provided an interesting storyline dynamic. There she was, a woman who shared similar physical attributes to many males on the roster; who would also physically get involved in HHH's matches - often dominating those who was she was attacking. As the WWF had not fully shifted into the 'Attitude Era' at this point, her actions went mostly unchallenged. The booking allowed her and HHH to remain strong and both got over as a result. Of course, later on, she went onto wrestle both men and women and, no matter how bad she was in the ring, she was a figure synonymous with the period and undoubtedly a star in her own right.

We cant agree on everythig mate...

But I see where ya coming from mate

How are you these days mate...never spoke to you for ages [SMILING FACE WITH SMILING EYES]

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Highlights of the first two qualifying matches for WWE's Global Cruiserweight Series.

---

It's always weird to see other promotions feature on WWE's website/programming.

I think at least one of these wrestlers will be signed by WWE before the year is over.

Finally the Brand Split is back - http://www.wrestlingnewssource.com/news/...ay-Nights/

(26 May 2016, 7:37 pm)Malarkey wrote [ -> ]Finally the Brand Split is back - http://www.wrestlingnewssource.com/news/...ay-Nights/

Because it worked so well last time around....?

(26 May 2016, 7:54 pm)MurdnunoC wrote [ -> ]Because it worked so well last time around....?

Although I watched wrestling back then? I dont really remember much about the roster split...IIRC was the original brand split used to deal with the WCW/ECW wrestlers that joined during the Invasion? I also seem to remember someone saying that Vince was trying to plug the gap left by WCW/ECW by starting competition within the WWE itself

Do you think the World Championship will be split again with seperate Raw and Smackdown Titles or would it be along the lines of thw original idea the Champ is not tied to one show...

Who would actually benefit from a Brand Split? Would it work as a way to bring NXT wrestlers onto the roster quicker?

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(26 May 2016, 8:19 pm)MrFozz wrote [ -> ]Although I watched wrestling back then? I dont really remember much about the roster split...IIRC was the original brand split used to deal with the WCW/ECW wrestlers that joined during the Invasion? I also seem to remember someone saying that Vince was trying to plug the gap left by WCW/ECW by starting competition within the WWE itself

Do you think the World Championship will be split again with seperate Raw and Smackdown Titles or would it be along the lines of thw original idea the Champ is not tied to one show...

Who would actually benefit from a Brand Split? Would it work as a way to bring NXT wrestlers onto the roster quicker?

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The following is taken from F4W/Wrestling Observer website.

The big news of today, and really for the week, month and maybe the year, is that WWE and USA Network is moving Smackdown to Tuesdays and running it as a live show. Additionally, they are going to attempt to relaunch the brand split and according to our Dave Meltzer, they are going to be aggressive in signing talent outside the company to help restock the cupboards.


As history has told us, WWE’s first brand split eventually failed due to the crossover of the big stars on their two shows -- especially guys like John Cena. If they want to truly create two brands, they need to be two distinct brands with different aesthetics that may have WWE DNS but not the same look, feel, and even sound. Unfortunately, that also might mean a return to the dual champion era with one distinctively being pushed far heavier than the other. (Basically, the WWE title defended on RAW and especially when Cena wore the strap.)

There are still questions to be answered (dual tours? Dual monthly Network events? What about NXT?), but this is the company’s latest attempt to do something different with the 5+ live hours they have on USA every week. NXT showed that when done organically, uniquely, and firmly using wrestling’s roots as the foundation, having two promotions under one banner can work if you put them in two different parts of the wrestling universe and believe in both succeeding equally.

But if WWE doesn’t learn from history, they are doomed to repeat it….with just as much McMahon on our TV screens as ever.

WWE already have a big roster excluding NXT and Developmental. However, some of the wrestlers there are pretty green and nowhere near ready for the main roster. However, NXT has been a huge success and you could, perhaps, transition some of that roster (Joe, Aries, Balor, La Sombra and Nakamura) and add Bobby Roode and Eric Young to the mix to create a second-tier show beneath RAW but that, in my opinion, does two things. Firstly, it positions NXT as a decisive third-brand which undermines what NXT has achieved over the last few years; and secondly, it creates a three tier system where those on tier two are going to feel undervalued if they never make it to tier one. Additionally, the brand-split is going to need wrestlers currently in tier one which might cause more unrest if those wrestlers see Smackdown as a demotion.

(26 May 2016, 8:19 pm)MrFozz wrote [ -> ]Although I watched wrestling back then? I dont really remember much about the roster split...IIRC was the original brand split used to deal with the WCW/ECW wrestlers that joined during the Invasion? I also seem to remember someone saying that Vince was trying to plug the gap left by WCW/ECW by starting competition within the WWE itself

Do you think the World Championship will be split again with seperate Raw and Smackdown Titles or would it be along the lines of thw original idea the Champ is not tied to one show...

Who would actually benefit from a Brand Split? Would it work as a way to bring NXT wrestlers onto the roster quicker?

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I believe WWE will split the World Championship again, I do wonder what will happen with the Womens/Tag Titles though.

WWE have recently brought up Sami Zayn, Enzo Amore, Big Cass, Apollo Crews, The Vaudvillians, Dana Brooke & Emma from NXT, to make up for those who requested there release after Wrestlemania, which included Wade Barrett, Damien Sandow & most recently Cody Rhodes among many others. 

A lot of Superstars are also coming back from Injury also, Seth Rollins returned at Extreme Rules last Sunday, Super Duper Cena is returning this Monday on RAW, Randy Orton is also due back soon, and you have HHH, Lesnar & Taker who will probs Wrestle again at Summerslam to come back.

Then you those who recently joined WWE from other promotions including AJ Styles, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson adding quite a lot of depth to the WWE Roster, so much so that really I think they have no choice but to do a brand split to shake things up.

(26 May 2016, 8:39 pm)Malarkey wrote [ -> ]I believe WWE will split the World Championship again, I do wonder what will happen with the Womens/Tag Titles though.

WWE have recently brought up Sami Zayn, Enzo Amore, Big Cass, Apollo Crews, The Vaudvillians, Dana Brooke & Emma from NXT, to make up for those who requested there release after Wrestlemania, which included Wade Barrett, Damien Sandow & most recently Cody Rhodes among many others. 

A lot of Superstars are also coming back from Injury also, Seth Rollins returned at Extreme Rules last Sunday, Super Duper Cena is returning this Monday on RAW, Randy Orton is also due back soon, and you have HHH, Lesnar & Taker who will probs Wrestle again at Summerslam to come back.

Then you those who recently joined WWE from other promotions including AJ Styles, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson adding quite a lot of depth to the WWE Roster, so much so that really I think they have no choice but to do a brand split to shake things up.

I think you raise an interesting point here. The WWE does have a lot of depth nowadays but very few stars have been created in recent memory. If you take Cena, Orton, Trips, Lesnar and Taker (WWE's Top 5) out of the mix, who is there to headline the new brand? There are a lot of wrestlers who Id'd like to see at the top of the card but WWE booking isn't exactly conducive to getting anyone over. Look at Roman Reigns for instance; a couple of years ago he was probably on course to be the next big thing, the fans once bought into his character but now look at him - the fans have turned because of the way WWE have booked him. So, once again who does the company position at the top of the Smackdown brand? If WWE's Top 5 only appear on RAW and nowhere else, it sends out the message that that is the only brand worth watching as that where the stars are. If they appear on both RAW and Smackdown, it undermines the point of the brand spilt.

To really shake things up, WWE needs competition. Internal competition, in my opinion, will only cause more problems unless WWE learns from their past mistakes.

I'm going to see CHIKARA today in North Shields.

Anyone else going?

Show starts at 4:00pm
http://chikarapro.com/events/season-16/0...two-towers

(29 May 2016, 8:13 am)MurdnunoC wrote [ -> ]I'm going to see CHIKARA today in North Shields.

Anyone else going?

Show starts at 4:00pm
http://chikarapro.com/events/season-16/0...two-towers

I really enjoyed this show and the whole CHIKARA experience.

The venue was small but decent enough to hold wrestling events. It was moved to the Linksill Centre from its original venue of Dominion (somewhere in Newcastle apparently) to accommodate more people and meet demand. There were a few seats spare but these were few and far between. On the DVD release, the venue should look quite full.

Before the main show started there were a couple of showcase matches from local promotions North Wrestling and Absolute Wrestling. The first was a tag team match where The New Nation beat The Sons of Ulaid; and the second was a singles match where H.T. Drake lost to CHIKARA's own Soldier Ant in a comedy affair.

Resident CHIKARA MC and Ring Announcer, 'The Party Czar' (because he knows where the parties are!) Vlad Radinov made a couple of announcements and reminded everyone that CHIKARA is a family-orientated promotion in which there's no swearing or general lewdness. Despite the crowd consisting mostly of adults (there were a few kids there, kids get in free when accompanied by an adult); everyone abided by the conditions set by the company.

The main card, consisting of six matches, was completely different to the showcase matches featured earlier. When attending local events (especially those around the North East), one is usually left unsatisfied due to obvious botches, mis-timings and general business exposure. This is not an attack on local wrestlers as workers have to learn their trade somewhere but it does serve to emphasise the difference between a amateurish affair and a polished product. The best analogy I can think of is noting the difference between a kids-party magician and someone like Dynamo where one is going to look miles better than the other.

Despite CHIKARA's small-time setting, their performers were very polished indeed and everything they did looked mostly believable. In quick results: Heidi Lovelace beat Lucas Calhoun; Slim Perkins (aka Chuck Taylor - in storyline he's not allowed to use the name Chuck Taylor in CHIKARA) beat Officer Warren Barksdale; Solider Ant beat the new, and improved, Chuck Taylor (who attempted to serenade the ladies in the crowd with a PG-style R n' B song both before and during the match); Eddie Kingston beat Hermit Crab; Fire Ant beat Ophidian; and Princess Kimberlee, Los Ice Creams and NRG beat Hallowicked, Frightmare, Icarus and The Batiri in the main event. This main event contained some intrigue for me for, despite following CHIKARA, I hadn't realised The Batiri and Icarus had turned heel recently and became affilated with Nightware Warriors (Hallowicked and Frightmare) and I'm still trying to figure out when this happened in storyline. Princess Kimberlee and Co. are your ultimate underdogs so pitting them against a really strong heel faction works well. A bonus match was also added after the main event where WWE-bound Drew Gulak beat Fight Club Pro wrestlers Dan Mahoney and Tyler Bate in a triple-threat match.

After the event, all the faces were stood at the exit and made sure to shake everyones hand and thanked them for coming to the show. I thought this was a really nice gesture.

Decent little angle for Cena's return last night.

Full list of participants in WWE's upcoming Global Cruiserweight Classic.

The list (courtesy of http://www.f4wonline.com/wwe-news/kota-i...sic-214521)

Kota Ibushi

Gran Metalik

Tajiri

Zack Sabre Jr.

Noam Dar

Cedric Alexander (expected once he announced he was leaving ROH)

Da Mack - A German wrestler

Tony Nese - Evolve talent that qualified at Saturday's iPPV

Zumbi - A Brazilian wrestler who had been working for Elite Lucha Libre but had kind of disappeared

Clement Petout - A bodybuilder from France

Fabian Aichner - A bodybuilder from Italy

Harv Sihra - One of the Bollywood Boyz tag team from British Columbia and half of the GFW tag team champions

Gurv Sihra - The other half of the Bollywood Boyz tag team and brother of Harv

Rich Swann - Anounced even though he's been out of action with a shoulder injury but has apparently healed up

Brian Kendrick

Akira Tozawa - One of the top stars in the Dragon Gate promotion

Jack Gallagher - a U.K. wrestler

Johnny Gargano - a regular in NXT

Tommaso Ciampa - another regular in NXT

Ho Ho Lin - A small wrestler from Hong Kong

TJ Perkins - The former Manik from TNA who was recently cut by that promotion and works for Evolve as TJP

Anthony Bennett - A New Jersey independent wrestler

Drew Gulak - A top independent star that works in Evolve

Tyson Dux - The veteran Canadian independent star

Lince Dorado - Masked Florida independent wrestler that works in Evolve

Sean Maluta - the nephew of Afa Anoa'i, related to a number of current WWE stars

Raul Mendoza - Known as Jinzo in Mexico from the DTU promotion

Kenneth Johnson - a  Detroit based independent wrestler

Alejandro Saez - A wrestler from Chile who is known as XL

Damien Slater -An Australian based independent wrestler

Jason Lee - Japanese talent

Arya Daivari - The younger brother of Shawn Daivari, the former WWE talent

WWE announces television deal with China's PPTV service and signs it's first Chinese-born wrestler to developmental deal.

Jerry "The King" Lawler arrested along with his girlfriend Lauren McBride for alleged charges of Domestic Assault-Bodily Harm, Lawler has also been suspended indefinitely by WWE. 

http://www.wwe.com/article/jerry-lawler-...28914808=1

Roman Reigns suspended for violation of WWE's Wellness Policy - arguably the most high-profile suspension since the policy was implemented in the mid-2000's.

http://www.f4wonline.com/wwe-news/wwe-su...ion-215006

Opening ceremony of WWE's Cruiserweight Classic tournament...



This is going to be amazing. Spoilers of the first round are already online but I genuinely can't wait to see a world-class tournament with the added quality of WWE production.

(23 Jun 2016, 9:13 am)MurdnunoC wrote [ -> ]Roman Reigns suspended for violation of WWE's Wellness Policy - arguably the most high-profile suspension since the policy was implemented in the mid-2000's.

http://www.f4wonline.com/wwe-news/wwe-su...ion-215006

Whats gone on there?

Isn't he supposed to be the face of the company?

I have not watched it for a while

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(30 Jun 2016, 9:00 am)MrFozz wrote [ -> ]Whats gone on there?

Isn't he supposed to be the face of the company?

I have not watched it for a while

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He was tested and the result showed positive for a banned substance.

He admitted his wrongdoing through his twitter account and accepted his suspension.

He'll return to action at the next PPV (Battleground) where he's scheduled to face Seth Rollins and WWE Champion, Dean Ambrose, in a triple-threat match for the belt.

(01 Jul 2016, 12:40 pm)MurdnunoC wrote [ -> ]He was tested and the result showed positive for a banned substance.

He admitted his wrongdoing through his twitter account and accepted his suspension.

He'll return to action at the next PPV (Battleground) where he's scheduled to face Seth Rollins and WWE Champion, Dean Ambrose, in a triple-threat match for the belt.

How does the Wellness Policy work these days anyway?

Is it a 3 strike system, sure I remember it supposed to be

1st strike...30 days
2nd strike...60 days
3rd strike...Contract terminated

Is this still the same programme that was brought in after either Eddie Guerrero or Benoit???

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Anyone watching the Draft tonight on Smackdown?

(19 Jul 2016, 8:10 pm)Malarkey wrote [ -> ]Anyone watching the Draft tonight on Smackdown?

Not live but will be watching tomorrow at some point. Is anyone watching the Crusierweight Classic? Participants Gran Metalik (Mascara Dorada) and Kota Ibushi have already been offered and signed contracts.

Vinny Mc at it again trying to squeeze his competition...

WWE puts in bid for TNA

What exactly is that going to achieve, the WCW thing did not work too good...Or is Vince just looking to get the trademarks and video library????

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(18 Sep 2016, 10:59 am)MrFozz wrote [ -> ]Vinny Mc at it again trying to squeeze his competition...

WWE puts in bid for TNA

What exactly is that going to achieve, the WCW thing did not work too good...Or is Vince just looking to get the trademarks and video library????

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I would take that story with a huge pinch of salt. 

I've said it once and I'll say it again, unless the story is reported by either The Observer (Meltzer/Alvarez) or The Torch (Keller), it's probably bullshit. The Observer and The Torch are the most well-read and respected outlets for wrestling news and it's the place to which industry insiders leak stories.

(18 Sep 2016, 7:12 pm)MurdnunoC wrote [ -> ]I would take that story with a huge pinch of salt. 

I've said it once and I'll say it again, unless the story is reported by either The Observer (Meltzer/Alvarez) or The Torch (Keller), it's probably bullshit. The Observer and The Torch are the most well-read and respected outlets for wrestling news and it's the place to which industry insiders leak stories.

Fairy Snuff, I will take your word for it mate ?

I have seen it in a few places though...

As you know I have never claimed to know much about the business or anything, but out of interest is TNA actually in financial difficulty???

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(20 Sep 2016, 8:21 pm)MrFozz wrote [ -> ]Fairy Snuff, I will take your word for it mate ?

I have seen it in a few places though...

As you know I have never claimed to know much about the business or anything, but out of interest is TNA actually in financial difficulty???

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Billy Corgan, frontman of The Smashing Pumpkins and longtime wrestling fan, seems poised to take financial control of the company. He has been involved behind the scenes for quite some time now and I believe he's made some recent on-air appearances as an authority figure.

Corgan has been involved in the wrestling industry prior to TNA co-founding the promotion, Resistance Pro Wrestling. However, after failing to secure a television deal, he left the company in 2014. Although the promotion still promotes shows around the Chicago area, most consider the Resistance Pro to be a failure given the profile it received. Corgan's name was also bandied around as a potential investor in ECW before it went bust in 2001 but, aside from attending shows, it seemed to be a wild rumour with no actual basis.

TNA has been in financial difficulty in the past but has always had Panda Energy to bankroll the losses. But, over the last few years, a lot of streamlining has taken place, so it's probably in a better financial position as it was when Hogan and Co. were running rampant.