The Wrestling Roundup is here to bring you all the news and rumors you need to know in one place.
More Details Emerging From WWE Delay In Saudi Arabia
The story of WWE’s departure delays from Saudi Arabia continues to get more interesting. New details have emerged surrounding missed payments from Saudi Arabia for shows, leading to disagreements between Vince McMahon and Saudi officials.
Most of the information has been from Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer (h/t to CagesideSeats, WrestlingInc & Cultaholic).
Other details that have emerged include:
- WWE was not paid for Super ShowDown as of September 30th, but was paid sometime in October.
- Vince McMahon decided not to air the show live on television in Saudi Arabia. An agreement was put in place eventually to air it on delay.
- Multiple wrestlers have stated they won’t be going back to Saudi Arabia. Some have gone farther, saying they “can’t wait to be out of the company”.
- Vince McMahon, Kevin Dunn, and other top officials were gone before the plane delay occurred. Many wrestlers were upset about Vince McMahon leaving right after the show occurred, leaving them to be “pawns” and made them feel deserted.
- Certain wrestlers were able to get out due to having private chartered planes. These wrestlers included Brock Lesnar, Paul Heyman, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Jimmy Hart and Tyson Fury.
- WWE tried to get as many wrestlers as possible to tweet about the “mechanical issues” the plane was experiencing, which according to Meltzer is extremely strange.
- Some 20 wrestlers & top staff were chartered out early in an attempt to make it for SmackDown that was unsuccessful. This included Roman Reigns, New Day, Revival, Shinsuke Nakamura and some others who had been advertised for SmackDown. Some wrestlers are upset with a WWE statement about this charter that read:
“With SmackDown emanating live from Buffalo, N.Y., several Superstars felt so strongly that they arranged for their own separate charter in order to make it back to the U.S. for the show. Due to unforeseen issues, that charter did not land until after the live broadcast on FOX.”
- This lead to wrestlers who had been stuck in Saudi Arabia expressing frustration over being portrayed as unmotivated or lazy for not being in this “Top 20”.
The story of WWE & Saudi Arabia is still being told in full. We’ll keep updating with information that comes to light as it happens, but the story continues to get more and more interesting.
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NJPW Power Struggle Results
New Japan held their Power Struggle event on Sunday from the Edion Arena Osaka. It’s the final major show for NJPW before Wrestle Kingdom, and had lots of action. Full results from the show are:
- Clark Connors, Titan, TJ Perkins, & Volador, Jr. def. Jushin Liger, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tiger Mask IV, & Yuya Uemura
- Bullet Club (El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori) def. Chaos (Robbie Eagles & Rocky Romero)
- Los Ingobernables de Japon (EVIL, SANADA, & Shingo Takagi) def. Suzuki-gun (Lance Archer, Minoru Suzuki, & Zack Sabre, Jr.)
- Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi def. Chaos (Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI)
- Tetsuya Naito def. Taichi
- Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH) def. Suzuki-gun (El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) to win Super Junior Tag League
- KENTA (c) def. Tomohiro Ishii to retain the NEVER Openweight Championship.
- Will Ospreay (c) def. BUSHI to retain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.
- “Switchblade” Jay White (c) def. Hirooki Goto to retain the IWGP Intercontinental Championship
AEW-NJPW Partnership Not Happening: Matt Jackson
Speaking of New Japan, an AEW-NJPW partnership has been rumored for some time. AEW stars like Kenny Omega, Cody, Chris Jericho and the Young Bucks all have had big matches in New Japan. According to Nick Jackson, there will be no partnership between the two companies (h/t Fightful):
Not happening.
— Being the Elite (@BeingTheElite) November 2, 2019
Jackson confirmed it even further:
It’s really not happening. Been asked this thousands of times and telling the truth is always best. Don’t want fans holding onto something that has zero chance of happening.
— Being the Elite (@BeingTheElite) November 2, 2019
Jackson continues on Twitter, saying they gave New Japan 4-6 months to plan with them. Some will be disappointed to see that this partnership won’t come to fruition. Still, AEW and NJPW keep putting out great wrestling for us to watch.
Two New WWE/Performance Center Hires
WWE will have a new producer and a new coach in the Performance Center soon. Former WWE, WCW & ECW star Lance Storm announced on Twitter that he will join the company as a producer. Storm had been working as a trainer previously, and last wrestled for WWE in 2005.
For those wondering: After SWA closes I will be returning to the #WWE to work as a Producer. I’m really looking forward to working with such a high level of talent again.
— Lance Storm (@LanceStorm) November 2, 2019
Independent wrestler Ace Steel will be joining WWE’s Performance Center as a coach. Steel, real name Chris Guy, was hired this week according to the Wrestling Observer (h/t Fightful). He was the trainer for both CM Punk and Colt Cabana. Steel has been signed to a developmental contract before with WWE in 2007-2008. He apparently was signed after impressing WWE officials while assisting with wrestling scenes for their new Netflix movie, leading to this offer.
One for the Road:
We should definitely keep an eye on this.
https://twitter.com/GoGoMyles/status/1191174913295605762
