Speculating on the rumors surrounding pro wrestling is a favored pastime of many fans, perhaps second only to actually watching the matches. In this daily column, we take a look at the latest rumors being churned out by the pro wrestling rumor mill.

Important reminder: Rumors are just that -- rumors. None of this has been confirmed as legitimate news or fact, it’s just circulating around the pro wrestling rumor mill. We track rumor accuracy in a weekly feature called Rumor Look Back you can find here. Remember, take it all with a grain of salt.

Rumors for the Day:

• The No Holds Barred podcast says Brock Lesnar met with Vince McMahon prior to Raw last week and said he wants to work in both WWE and UFC.
• There’s still an expectation that multiple matches currently set for SummerSlam could be changed in some way.
• Per PW Insider, Hulk Hogan and Jimmy Hart were backstage at SmackDown Live this week.
• Paige was apparently at Monday Night Raw this week to do a photoshoot.
• Kenny Omega vs. Pentagon Jr. is expected to be announced for ALL IN at some point in the very near future. PW Insider says Omega vs. Rey Mysterio was planned at one point but that was obviously changed.

If you have heard of any interesting rumors that you’d like to add, feel free to post them in the comments section below. Just remember they are rumors and not confirmed as fact, so please take them as such. Have fun with it. And check our weekly Rumor Look Back here to keep track of how often rumors turn out to be correct!

WWE SmackDown Live returned last night (Aug. 7) from the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. Find all the results at the stupendous live blog here.

Friendship Dynamics

I feel I short changed the Becky Lynch/Charlotte story last week.

I pretty much write these recaps as I watch SmackDown, edit it the next hour, and then I’m done. It’s an instant reaction. So those stories that grow on me after I sleep on them get short changed.

This story was one of them.

By Wednesday evening, I realized how good this story is.

We’ve spent over a year watching Becky down on her luck, losing any time it was even close to counting. Then we spent the last couple months watching her finally turn it around and eventually earn a chance to reclaim the title she won years ago.

Then Charlotte, who’s almost always on top, waltzes in after some time off and earns the same right the same night. This is obviously a hindrance to Becky’s journey to the top.

The fact they’re friends makes it even better. Because it’s super relatable.

Who hasn’t had that friend who just seems to have it easy? Who doesn’t have to try as hard to get the same opportunities. The one that no matter how hard you try, you always seem in their shadow in one way or another. I know I have.

It’s not easy to always be happy for that friend, especially when it starts stepping on your toes. That’s what Becky is experiencing. It probably wasn’t easy for her to watch Charlotte on top all last year while she was on a skid. It’s even harder now that Charlotte’s time in the spotlight is directly hindering Lynch’s long journey.

The friends teamed up to pick up a win over the IIconics this week. Becky took some damage so Charlotte tagged in and picked up the win with the Figure Eight soon after. As Lynch watched in the corner, it seemed like she wasn’t too thrilled to watch Charlotte get the win even though it meant her team won. And while they celebrated together, Becky’s smile didn’t seem 100% sincere.

It’s only been two weeks, but this has been a great story about the dynamics of this friendship, with one friend who always seems to have it easier than the other.

Missing Chapter

This week, the Miz cut another great promo on the set of Miz & Mrs., masterfully running down Daniel Bryan until Bryan attacked him from out of nowhere. (It was a great surprise attack.) Miz hit Daniel in the head with a flower vase and bailed.

This has been a very good story, and they teased it out since Bryan’s return very well. All that said, I’m going to gripe now.

Last week, they ended the Bryan/Miz segment with Miz emphatically saying that he would not face Daniel Bryan at SummerSlam because it was beneath him. He reiterated that online this week.

Then today, the match was made on Twitter.

But why?

The storyline driven aspect of me is annoyed they skipped that part of the story. If they’re going to build last week’s segment to highlight that Miz won’t accept the match, they need to do more than gloss over the resolution via a “negotiation” with Paige.

The story has been really good, but they pretty much skipped a part between last Tuesday and yesterday. It’s like reading a book that goes from chapter five to chapter seven. We want to know what connected the two, despite how good the five & seven have been.

Family

The WWE title program hasn’t been fancy. After it was announced, we had Joe cut a promo one week and AJ this week.

But it’s been working.

Last week, Joe cut a promo specifically designed to get under the champ’s skin, talking about how AJ is a bad father because he’s never there. And it worked.

This week, the champ talked about how this job makes it hard to be a family man. He’s not there to see little league games and recitals. He admitted that his wife is pretty much a single mom. Joe focused on an already presented wound to get Styles to pick at it.

It angered Styles, which was likely Joe’s intent. It was effective enough to throw away the friendship they had for years though. Now AJ is going to come into SummerSlam angry. Is that what Joe wants? Or is that going to bite him in the ass?

While I’ve enjoyed the build so far, they really need an electric main event segment next week to really complete the build.

Violence

Have I said prior that heel Orton is the best Orton?

Yes, multiple times. But it remains true.

Much like a few weeks back, Randy opened the show with another explanation of his actions. Last time, I said that I felt that the “fans don’t respect me” didn’t seem to fit with Orton’s general personality. But at the same time, what he’s saying isn’t wrong. He’s one of the most decorated wrestlers currently if not all time. And fans still don’t really give him that due. He’s criticized for being bland or boring. And while there is merit to that, it doesn’t mean all his accomplishments aren’t there.

But the more important thing is how well he’s selling it in these promos. It’s simple but he says it like he means it. And he’s promising violence to repay our disrespect. He’s going to target all of our favorites until we learn our lesson. And it’s not just going to be physical violence. He’s going to erase their very identities.

I’m one of those people who have felt Orton has been bland in the past. But if there’s another title feud for RKO in the future (and he’s spoken about wanting to work AJ in the past), this is the Viper I want there.

Main Event

The main event this week was a 30 minute tag team match between The Bar and The New Day to decide who faces the Bludgeon Brothers at SummerSlam.

It was fan-friggin-tastic.

These teams pulled out all the stops until Big E stood up with a Cesaro Crossface still locked in to tag Kofi in, power Cesaro onto his shoulders, and with Cesaro struggling the entire time (I loved that detail), they delivered the Midnight Hour for the win.

This is one of those matches that my analysis is “Go watch it.”

Everyone played their part well, including Xavier Woods, who was just on the outside cheering his boys on. But even just in that role, Woods is able to help sell the emotion of the match.

While I was rooting for the Bar because I really wanted to see that war, I can’t be mad with either outcome tonight. The tag team division proved that when they’re actually given time on WWE TV (and that’s not often), they deliver.

So how about we give the tag team divisions more time on WWE TV, eh?

That Slow Breakup

Aiden English continues to trip over his own feet trying to endear himself to the rest of Rusev Day.

Lana and Zelina Vega had a rematch this week, this time with Rusev in Lana’s corner. When Rusev and Andrade Almas got into it, Aiden English (who Rusev asked to stay in the back after accepting his apology) ran out to get involved, but ended up shoving El Idolo into the ring post. That knocked Lana off the top rope (a couple moments after impact).

Rusev Day is slowly dying, and it’s sad to see. Fans still enjoy the gimmick. We’re pretty much all Aiden English here, wanting them to stay together but powerless to stop the break.

The Rest:

Truth Rules: Shinsuke Nakamura defeated R-Truth in a short match. The more entertaining part was the backstage segment where Truth felt the only way to get a shot at Shinsuke’s title is to pin Carmella, and only decided to fight Nak when the US champ said something to him in Japanese that he didn’t know. Truth still has it.

Squash: The Bludgeon Brothers won a 3 on 2 handicap match against some enhancement dudes.

This was a really good episode this week. Let’s get the tag division time like they got this week more often, WWE.

Grade: A

Sound off below.

It’s that time of year again, and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW)'s G1 Climax tournament is back to ruin sleep schedules all over the globe!

This year's version, the 28th annual, will feature 20 men competing across 19 dates for a spot in the finals on August 12. Each show will be broadcast worldwide on New Japan's streaming service, NJPW World.

We'll have open threads & results for each show (past results can be found here) as well as the standard match recommendation posts at regular intervals throughout the tournament, so why not watch along with the best pro wrestling community on the internet?

Current standings

14 Points

• Hiroshi Tanahashi (A Block, 7-1)

12 Points

• “Switchblade” Jay White (A Block, 6-2)
• Kazuchika Okada (A Block, 6-2)
• Kenny Omega (B Block, 6-1)

10 Points

• Kota Ibushi (B Block, 5-2)
• Tetsuya Naito (B Block, 5-2)

8 Points

• EVIL (A Block, 4-4)
• Minoru Suzuki (A Block, 4-4)
• SANADA (B Block, 4-3)
• Zack Sabre, Jr. (B Block, 4-3)

6 Points

• Hangman Page (A Block, 3-5)
• Michael Elgin (A Block, 3-5)
• Hirooki Goto (B Block, 3-4)
• Tomohiro Ishii (B Block, 3-4)

4 Points

• Bad Luck Fale (A Block, 2-6)
• Togi Makabe (A Block, 2-6)
• YOSHI-HASHI (A Block, 2-6)
• Juice Robinson (B Block, 2-5)
• Tama Tonga (B Block, 2-5)

2 Points

• Toru Yano (B Block, 1-6)

Our sixteenth day of action takes place in Kanagawa’s Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium, kicking off at a brisk 5:30AM Eastern / 2:30AM Pacific, and it's all about B Block, one of two groupings whose winner will go on to a spot in the finals.

Juice Robinson vs. Tomohiro Ishii

Hirooki Goto vs. Zack Sabre, Jr.

Kota Ibushi vs. Tama Tonga

Kenny Omega vs. Toru Yano

SANADA vs. Tetsuya Naito

Enjoy the show!

Here's a place to check results and comment along with the latest airing of WWE NXT in its regular Wednesday night at 8PM Eastern time slot on WWE Network.

Check out our Wednesday morning preview post to get caught up on what's been happening, and what we expect this week.

We'll post match results here, and we will also have our regular reactions post later. In the meantime, and most importantly, this gives you Cagesiders a dedicated place to rave and/or bitch about whatever happens on WWE’s third brand - during its initial broadcast!

NOTE: Spoilers are out there for these pre-taped broadcasts (including here), but many Cagesiders don't partake. If you are going to post or discuss spoilers for this show before they happen, or results of future shows, please use the spoiler bar in your comment.

Enjoy the show!

- Vanessa Borne vs. Taynara Conti in a Mae Young Classic Qualifying match

- Ricochet in action

- Keith Lee debuts

- Johnny Gargano vs. Aleister Black

Tonight was a victory for tag team wrestling in the WWE. With a shot versus The Bludgeon Brothers at SummerSlam on the line, The Bar and The New Day brought out the best in each other.

Winning their way to the the finals of SmackDown GM Paige’s four team tournament, Kofi Kingston and Big E represented The New Day versus Sheamus and Cesaro.

As the match wore on, The Bar held the early edge thanks to their isolation tactics on Kofi Kingston. Both Sheamus and Cesaro beat down on the veteran member of The New Day and controlled most of the match.

When Big E finally got the hot tag he cleared out the ring and all four men partook in the chaos. During the melee, Sheamus wiped out Kingston from the match and The Bar then began to work over Big E for several minutes.

For the back half of the match-up, Big E was working two on one versus The Bar.

Able to played defense long enough for Kingston to recover, Big E finally got the tag to his injured teammate.

Then after another brief rally, The Bar again squashed The New Day’s hopes and dreams.

Multiple times over and over again, Cesaro and Sheamus hit high impact moves on both Big and Kofi Kingston, only to get nothing more than close two counts.

After Cesaro trapped Big E in a sharpshooter then rolled into a modified crippler crossface, the powerhouse of New Day lifted the Swiss Superman on his back and carried him over to Kingston for a tag.

One Midnight Hour later and The New Day got their 1-2-3 victory.

Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston and Big E move on to SummerSlam to take on The Bludgeon Brothers for the SmackDown tag team titles.

Do The New Day walkout out of the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. NY as five-time WWE tag team champions on Aug. 19?

Get complete SmackDown results and coverage here.

This was too good.

The multi-year long feud between The Miz and Daniel Bryan got physical on this week’s episode of SmackDown. In a set-up similar’s to last week’s dueling promos, this week the Hollywood A-Lister was interviewed by Bryon Saxton while on the set of Miz and Mrs.

The Miz was in the midst of cutting another top notch promo on Bryan and then in a split second he was getting repeatedly elbowed in the head.

Doing a little research and perhaps some light stalking, Daniel Bryan found his way on to the Miz’s set and beat the hell out of him. Bryan even got some licks in on the security team before the Miz hit him over the head with a glass vase.

Since he’s still The Miz, after he stopped Bryan in his tracks and he ran off the set without hesitation.

Two weeks away from SummerSlam, will Daniel Bryan and The Miz get physical again before their official match?

Get complete SmackDown results and coverage here.

Here's a place to check results and comment along with the latest airing of WWE 205 Live as it airs on WWE Network.

Whatever sent Mustafa Ali to the hospital isn’t keeping him out of action for two straight weeks. He’s back tonight to battle another man who came up short in the battle to challenge Cruiserweight Champion Cedric Alexander at SummerSlam, Hideo Itami. The Japanese legend took the heart of 205 Live out of the running for a WrestleMania rematch, so DM THE GM is letting them settle things in the ring.

Ced would have liked to have Ali watching his back last Tuesday. Despite picking up a win over The Brian Kendrick, he fell to the numbers game when #1 contender Drew Gulak and Gentleman Jack Gallagher jumped him after getting the referee raised his arm raised. DRAKE MAVERICK wasn’t having it, but Gulak’s message had been sent.

Heading into Orlando, We’re also still following the issues between Akira Tozawa and Lio Rush, a feud pitting TJP against Noam Dar, and Buddy Murphy & Tony Nese trying to end the Lucha House Party.

We'll post match results and plot developments here. And this gives you Cagesiders a dedicated place to rave and/or bitch about whatever goes down on the WWE’s cruiserweight showcase - while it’s being broadcast at 10PM Eastern!

Enjoy the show!

- DRAKE MAVERICK brings us in, recapping Kalisto’s win over Tony Nese from last week and revealing our opener is Kalisto and Lince Dorado vs. Nese and Buddy Murphy. He also recaps Itami’s repeated attacks on Ali in multi-man encounters, saying Mustafa has returned from a “medical scare” to face Hideo in the main event.

- Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness and Percy Watson welcome us to Orlando, prepping us for our pair of first time encounters tonight and informing us we’ll also check in with Cedric after he was jumped by Gulak and crew last Tuesday.

- Buddy Murphy and Tony Nese def. Lucha House Party (Kalisto and Lince Dorado with Gran Metalik) via pinfall with a roll-up and a handful of tights

Joseph reminds us about Lince’s sprained thumb ligament when he starts with Murphy. The Aussie overpowers him and the heels isolate him in the corner early, but Dorado fights back. Both teams get tags and Kalisto gets a nearfall on Buddy after a fast-paced sequence.

Before he can try for anything else though, blind tag and Nese pulls the former champ off the apron to put Kalisto in peril. He eventually jaw-jacks Murphy, but even after a springboard roll-up, Buddy is in between him and his corner. When he finally gets there after fighting off both his opponents, Tony pulls Lince off the apron. He finally kicks Nese off him into Murphy - they crack heads and Lince comes in hot.

He cleans house and gets a close two count on a sitout facebuster/inverted suplex, but Buddy breaks it up. Lince catches them both with a double Lethal Injection, then tags Kalisto and they connect with tandem dives. When they get back in the ring, though, Murphy throws roughly throws Dorado out to the floor. Kalisto goes for his finisher on Nese but Tony ducks under. Murphy trips him up from the floor, and when Kalisto goes to yell at him, we get the finish.

- The announce team shows Ali’s tweet from the hospital, and then Mustafa is taping himself up in the locker room. DM THE GM comes in to check on him. DRAKE is worried, but Ali assures him the doc told him to slow down, so he did, and everything is fine. MURPHY is still worried, but ends up hearing what he needs to hear from Ali.

- Itami is working out backstage, and cuts a promo in Japanese before saying, “Mustafa Ali, you should have shown me respect”.

- Noam Dar gets the typically great WWE video package. He got overconfident and full of himself, but the injury brought him back down to Earth. The Scottish Supernova refocused on what got him to the show in the first place. He let TJP get in his head when he targeted his knee last time, but it won’t happen again.

- Noam Dar def. Sean Maluta via pinfall following a Super Nova kick

Maluta got about a minute to work the knee, but otherwise this was a quick win for Noam. TJP was watching from the monitor, but was mostly disinterested and even was on his phone for a while.

- After a highlight of the end of last week’s show featuring DRAKE MAVERICK’s run-in save for Cedric, we check with the champ. Alexander says he understands why Gulak attacking with his guys, because he knows he can’t win one-on-one. He wants a shot at Jack Gallagher next week.

- Drew is at his podium with Gallagher and The Brian Kendrick flanking him. If the champ is foolish enough to want to face someone else days before their title match in Brooklyn, he accepts on Jack’s behalf. Gulak will be focused on the same thing the WWE Universe is, his winning the title at SummerSlam so he can bring about a better 205 Live.

- Hideo Itami def. Mustafa Ali via pinfall after three shotgun dropkicks (and Ali getting light-headed when setting up for the 0-5-4 and getting racked when Itami knocked him off)

After a typical technical stalemate to open, Ali speeds things up and gets an early cover after a crossbody. He then looks a little winded however, and begins showing signs of fatigue/light-headedness/holding his back from the hospital visit throughout the match.

Action spills to the floor, where Hideo gets the better of things with some kicks. Ali tries to stop him when he returns to the ring to break the count, and ends up taking a dropkick on the apron that BLASTS him into the post...

Hideo sets about punishing his opponent, demanding respect while flattening him with kicks and knees. There are several comeback attempts, including a crucifix roll-through which gets a two count, and a nearfall on a x-factor follow-up to an enziguri. Both men fall after Ali lands a kick to the back of Itami’s head, and Hideo answers with a spinning backfist.

The pair go at it in a sequence which includes trading a couple great nearfalls, Itami off a falcon arrow and Ali following a sitout powerbomb. Hideo slams Mustafa into the corner, kicks him in the face and then suplexes him into the turnbuckles for two. He pulls Ali out fo the ring and tries for a shotgun dropkick against the steps, but Mustafa sits up and Itami crashes and burns. That lets him hit a tornado DDT to the floor.

Back inside, he climbs for his finisher but stalls out, leading to the finishing series described above.

- Afterwards, as the heel taunts his way up the ramp, Ali rises but collapses. The referee checks on him, and Mustafa has trouble correctly telling him what year it is. DRAKE MAVERICK runs in, yelling for officials to get medics as the show ends.

Everything is fine in the land of tea.

One week after Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair friendship became a little bit rocky, the pair was placed in a tag match on this week’s SmackDown. Put opposite of Billie Kay and Peyton Royce, Flair and Lynch dominated The IIconics in short order.

Prior to the match-up, Lynch and Flair were even extra friendly as they threw shade at Raw’s version of their story-line.

In the ring, Lynch and Flair seemed on the same page for the most part. Towards the latter half of the contest, Flair took control and carried her team to a victory.

Though maybe Flair grabbed a little bit too much of the spotlight during their easy win over The IIconics? And maybe Becky Lynch isn’t the best at hiding her emotions when she is forced to a take a backseat to Charlotte Flair.

Yup, nothing to see here but some tea loving buds.

Can Team Fire and Flair make it to SummerSlam in one piece?

Get complete SmackDown results and coverage here.

It’s been almost eight months or so since Dean Ambrose underwent surgery to repair a triceps injury. His initial recovery time was roughly nine months, and it’s long been expected he would be back in late summer, early fall.

SummerSlam just so happens to be taking place on Aug. 19, exactly eight months after his surgery. That event will feature Seth Rollins challenging Dolph Ziggler for the Intercontinental championship, a title he held until running up against not just Dolph but also his partner, Drew McIntyre. In fact, the entire story here is that Rollins has been outgunned at every turn simply because of, that’s right, that damn numbers game.

Well, this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw featured Rollins needing to find a partner against Ziggler & McIntyre. WWE went out of its way to have Michael Cole tell the viewing audience at home that it wouldn’t be Ambrose because he is still out injured. That’s a curious thing to do — unless, of course, they simply wanted to remind everyone that it’s about time for him to come back.

Now, there are rumors popping up that he’s actually going to be at SummerSlam at the Barclays Center.

Then there’s this:

“I gotta figure something out. I gotta figure something out because two weeks away is SummerSlam, and I’ve done so much for that Intercontinental championship and you know what? It’s done just as much for me. I’ll be damned if I let Dolph Ziggler walk out of Brooklyn still the Intercontinental champion. So whatever it takes, whatever I’ve got to do, whether it’s me against the world, it doesn’t matter. I’m all heart, I’m no quit, and I’m going to find something, man. I’m going to find a way.”

Ambrose is definitely returning at SummerSlam.

Right?

Elias brought his documentary crew with him to Monday Night Raw this week to capture some footage of him playing in front of the crowd in Jacksonville. Naturally, Bobby Lashley interrupted and the segment ended with Elias writhing on the mat in pain.

You saw it all on the USA Network broadcast, but now you can watch the footage the documentary crew captured in the video above.

Enjoy!

My biggest gripe with WWE is not with its storylines, or even its creative direction more generally, it’s with the characters and how they act -- and interact -- within said storylines. Put simply, everyone comes off so unnatural. It’s rare that anyone responds to any given situation the way a real live human being actually would.

Take, for instance, Roman Reigns and his interview with Corey Graves that aired on Monday Night Raw this week. His unending belief in himself is great and all but it doesn’t work all that well as a storytelling device. It’s not nearly as easy to relate to on a human level.

He really has failed to defeat Brock Lesnar every time he’s gone up against him, and he’s had multiple opponents since then criticize him for it. Why not, then, have him experiencing some sense of doubt, of himself, of his ability to do what he knows deep down he can? There’s a great story to be told there, and it’s within that story that you give a character depth. There’s potential for growth there. Instead, Reigns is who he has always been.

Contrast that with Paul Heyman and his interview with Renee Young that also aired on Monday Night Raw this week. Take a look at this greatness:

You could argue it’s overdone, but that’s about the only argument you could make and even that would be weak. That is a man who just last week had someone he considered a best friend outright say he doesn’t view him that way before literally terrorizing him physically. His entire view of one of the most important relationships in his life was flipped upside down. He is devastated both personally and professionally.

So he weeps. Openly and uncomfortably, because it’s that powerful, because he can’t help it, and damn you people for sitting him down and doing this to him. Maybe he deserves it; after all, this is Paul Heyman we’re talking about. But there’s a central humanity you can’t help but connect to here.

The best part? It could all be fake!

You empathize, because of course you do, you’re not a monster. But this is Paul Heyman we’re talking about. Maybe he’s legitimately emotionally destroyed and worthy of our sympathy but it’s equally possible this is simply more planning, plotting, strategizing, tactically moving the pieces around on the chess board. There’s depth here, to this character.

And, now, to this story, thanks to this outstanding performance from Paul Heyman.

We’re not worthy.

You know, I really liked how WWE started the show with a Roman Reigns match. With Lesnar missing, it seemed like a great opportunity to give other storylines some love.

...uh. Welp.

By my count, Regins was in 6 different segments of this show. Two video packages, three talking segments, and a long match. And throughout it all, I felt like WWE tried to shoehorn a bunch of different things into how he’s being portrayed. Let me show you what I mean.

The show started with Reigns being portrayed as a protector. A brother. A locker room leader. He interrupted Constable Corbin and Kurt Angle at the start of the show to talk about protecting the business from Lesnar, who apparently hates everyone and everything nowadays. Reigns called Corbin out for being a coward when Lesnar stared him down – a fair point, to be sure! - and they had a very good match. I feel like we often forget that Corbin’s a great wrestler. Balor intervened to get revenge on Corbin and he shared a moment with Reigns that reminded me of Otto and Twister from Rocket Power. Anyway, everything up until this point in the show was totally fine.

When Seth Rollins suddenly needed a tag partner, Reigns appeared again. Again, this was fine. He’s always got his Shield brothers’ backs and this is honestly when I enjoy Reigns the most.

Here’s where it gets sketchy. WWE put a video package in the middle of the show to overview the “epic” 3-year feud between Lesnar and Reigns. Firstly, I think calling it such is a blatant attempt to rewrite history. I doubt you could find a consensus opinion on this feud at all, to be honest. Secondly, WWE tried to use this package to frame Reigns as the guy who gets up where others didn’t. Again, that’s a narrative I wouldn’t agree with. And finally, Reigns said the thing again that he should be champion already.

Stop doing that, WWE! Who does that help? Is it supposed to make Reigns look good? The cage match was a dumb result then and it’s still dumb; stop talking about it!

It also drags up this hypermasculine streak of Reigns’ that was prominent in the Bobby Lashley feud. It complicates what should be a simple story. It makes me hate the guy. And when you mutilate an easy story by shoehorning in lines and added bits and pieces to make people like him, you’re doing the exact opposite.

WWE, don’t you remember that that’s what got Reigns his hate in the first place?

I’m so sick of writing about my complicated feelings about Reigns each week. I think he’s a fantastic wrestler working with a shoddy script. I liked some of these segments and loathed the rest. Fight me.

Paul Heyman is a Wrestling God

I ripped WWE above for the context surrounding the Reigns vs. Lesnar feud. Here’s one thing I can’t criticize at all: Paul Heyman.

Red-eyed and slumped before Renee Young, Heyman gave a tormented interview backstage. He was rocking back and forth and fighting tears as Young pursued the truth surrounding Lesnar. Heyman had no answers.

And then, when Young gave him a moment to get his emotions together, he dropped the line that blew my mind: “Just do your job.”

You know, like Heyman had been doing for 16 years behind Lesnar. Like he tried to do last week before his friend betrayed him. WWE, if I could give you any advice at all...give this entire story to Heyman and do precisely what he says. He gets it.

Lesnar apparently changed his phone number. He won’t communicate with Heyman at all. Their kids were apparently friends, but Lesnar snapped that tether connecting the two men as well. He’s removed all traces of Heyman’s presence in his life, and he did it seemingly without any remorse at all.

And when Young asked him if Reigns could beat Lesnar, Heyman used himself as an example. If Lesnar’s that merciless, that cruel...how could Reigns stand a chance?

This might have been one of the best promos I’ve ever seen. I’m not kidding, nor am I hyperbolizing. You’re a god, Paul Heyman.

Rousey’s Raw Debut

It was a squash. Of course it was a squash.

WWE tried to pass off Alicia Fox as if she were some formidable opponent which was hysterical to me. Do you really think you can heat people up in one week, WWE?

Alexa Bliss and Fox came out to do a long-winded promo before the main event that was just more of the same. Anyway, none of that matters. This story’s Rousey. It’s always been Rousey. She threw Fox around like the Hulk slammed Loki around in The Avengers.

And it was great!

That’s always been my perception of this feud and this did nothing to change that. Alexa Bliss is extremely talented, but she’s done the same thing for months and months and months. Talk, talk, talk.

It’s time for Judo throws and broken elbows. This felt a lot like Rousey’s UFC appearances and I’m sure that was by design. She was the main event, had a quick, electrifying match, and a short interview to end.

I enjoyed it.

Best of the Rest

A Wild Balor Appears – Finn Balor kept Constable Corbin from scurrying away during the Reigns match. And that was the end of his night. Distinctly disappointing.

Bobby Roode def. Mojo Rawley – This was a fun little match that could have used more time or more...anything to develop the story, really. Rawley’s been a punk in the locker room, Roode defeated him, and WWE did nothing to say if this feud’s continuing or not. I’d imagine they fight again on Summerslam’s pre-show?

Kevin Owens Strikes Again – Owens is low-key killing it once again. He called Jinder Mahal his “personal guru” before calling his meditative methods crap, which was hilarious. He shouted “SHANTI!” at Mahal to persuade the Maharaja to fight in a match that Owens goaded him into. Even more hilarious.

Here’s the truth: Owens is enacting the revenge on Strowman that he promised. He’s cost the big guy two wins and he’s proven that his ability to get under Strowman’s skin might end up winning him the briefcase.

Ladies and Gentlemen: Elias – Apparently Elias’ documentary last week wasn’t good enough. They got it wrong and portrayed him as egotistical and self-centered. How dare they?!

Anyway, he tried to direct his own documentary until Bobby Lashley screwed it up. Lashley got a brief chant, but this isn’t working. I don’t even remember how this feud started.

Rezar def. Titus O’Neil - This was your usual status quo of boring tag team booking. A short match that led to the opposite result of last week.

Seth Rollins needs help – Reigns was banned by Corbin from tagging with Rollins, and Rollins lost his handicap match against Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre. Gee, if only there were a third man...

...B Team is the Spirit Squad? - Good grief. B Team‘s new music is the worst thing ever, isn’t it? Please drop it immediately. I was hoping that the Revival would defeat them for their auditory sins, but the Deleters of Worlds showed up to play mind games. Ho hum. This tag division needs life so badly.

Ruby Riott’s back, Riott Squad def. Bayley and Sasha Banks – I laughed when Michael Cole had to inject the fact that Riott had been hurt. This match was entertaining, but I’m in no way excited about any of this. It’s just a staple of Raw nowadays: Riotts vs. Hug-a-Boss-whatever-their-name-is.

The best part of this show – by far- was Paul Heyman’s interview. Rousey was great as well and Owens’ work was brilliant. But man, the rest of this show really struggled to grab my attention at all.

Grade: C

How do you grade a show with brief, fantastic moments and long stints of boredom? Par for the course, I guess. Thoughts, Cageside?

Speculating on the rumors surrounding pro wrestling is a favored pastime of many fans, perhaps second only to actually watching the matches. In this daily column, we take a look at the latest rumors being churned out by the pro wrestling rumor mill.

Important reminder: Rumors are just that -- rumors. None of this has been confirmed as legitimate news or fact, it’s just circulating around the pro wrestling rumor mill. We track rumor accuracy in a weekly feature called Rumor Look Back you can find here. Remember, take it all with a grain of salt.

Rumors for the Day:

• Dean Ambrose is due back “within the next month” according to PW Insider. One source told them he’ll be at SummerSlam, but didn’t confirm he’d work the show, just that he’ll return to storylines “around that timeframe”.
• Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall filmed something at Hogan’s Beach Shop in Florida last week. Wrestling Observer says its unknown if WWE is involved. Hogan is teasing an Oct. 27 release or update for his website.
• A Dave Meltzer comment on The Observer Board about the seriousness of Aleister Black’s groin injury has fans concerned about his availability for next weekend’s TakeOver.
• That’s also lead to talk of a debuting Matt Riddle being used in TakeOver’s main event.
• WWE may not be done adding to the SmackDown Women’s title match at SummerSlam. WrestlingNew.co says they’ve heard Asuka could be added to make it a Fatal 4Way.

If you have heard of any interesting rumors that you’d like to add, feel free to post them in the comments section below. Just remember they are rumors and not confirmed as fact, so please take them as such. Have fun with it. And check our weekly Rumor Look Back here to keep track of how often rumors turn out to be correct!

WWE SmackDown Live comes waltzing back into our lives tonight (Aug. 7, 2018) from the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida, featuring all the latest build to the upcoming SummerSlam pay-per-view scheduled for later this month in Brooklyn.

Advertised for tonight: AJ Styles returns to confront Samoa Joe, the tag team tournament comes to a close with The Bar vs. The New Day, and more!

Come right back here at 8 p.m. ET when the SmackDown live blog kicks off once the show starts on USA. It will be below this line here. (REMINDER: NO GIFS OR PICS ARE ALLOWED IN THE COMMENTS SECTION. OFFENDERS WILL BE BANNED.)

WWE SMACKDOWN RESULTS AND LIVE BLOG FOR AUG. 7

Baron Corbin won the first match at Extreme Rules. Finn Balor won the rematch on Monday Night Raw. Now, they’ll wrestle a rubber match at the upcoming SummerSlam pay-per-view (PPV) scheduled for Sun., Aug. 19, 2018, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

“Half as big, twice as good. You come at Finn, you better not miss.”

If that doesn’t get you excited for it, what will?

Here’s the updated SummerSlam match card:

• Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Roman Reigns (Universal championship)
• AJ Styles (c) vs. Samoa Joe (WWE championship)
• Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Ronda Rousey (Raw women’s championship)
• Carmella (c) vs. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair (SmackDown women’s championship)
• Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. Seth Rollins (Intercontinental championship)
• Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Jeff Hardy (U.S. championship)
• The Bludgeon Brothers (c) vs. TBA (SmackDown tag team championship)
• Cedric Alexander (c) vs. Drew Gulak (Cruiserweight championship)
• Braun Strowman vs. Kevin Owens (Money in the Bank contract match)
• Finn Balor vs. Baron Corbin

Six months after her WWE debut at the 2018 Royal Rumble, Ronda Rousey had her first singles match-up on Monday Night Raw.

Booked opposite of Alicia Fox, Rousey started out slow. With Raw women’s champion Alexa Bliss ringside, Fox was able to get the upper hand early thanks to some brief interference from The Goddess.

Then it was all downhill for both Fox and Bliss.

Once Rousey got her feet wet she steamrolled Fox. Breaking out her usual arsenal of moves, the former UFC champion drowned Fox in punches before she tossed her opponent repeatedly across the ring.

The hybrid judo throw-single arm takedown maneuver Rousey used looked like it was going to snap Fox’s arm in half.

After Rousey beat up on Fox some more and chased away Bliss, Rowdy would lock in an armabr for a very quick tapout from her opponent.

During her post-match interview Alexa Bliss tried to sneak attack Rousey again and was dropped on her head for her efforts.

It was a short match, but how did Ronda Rousey do in her first in-ring appearance on Raw?

Get complete Raw results and coverage here.

Speculating on the rumors surrounding pro wrestling is a favored pastime of many fans, perhaps second only to actually watching the matches. In this daily column, we take a look at the latest rumors being churned out by the pro wrestling rumor mill.

Important reminder: Rumors are just that -- rumors. None of this has been confirmed as legitimate news or fact, it’s just circulating around the pro wrestling rumor mill. We track rumor accuracy in a weekly feature called Rumor Look Back you can find here. Remember, take it all with a grain of salt.

Rumors for the Day:

• Don’t be surprised if Ronda Rousey vs. Alicia Fox is the main event of Raw tonight. At the very least, it’s expected Rousey will win impressively.
• Paul Heyman was at the WWE Performance Center recently teaching promo classes, according to PW Insider.
• Matt Hardy has raised speculation on his future in pro wrestling with recent tweets. The Observer notes they weren’t retirement tweets but he is injured and in pain.
• There are rumors going around that ALL IN could be broadcast on WGN America. Dave Meltzer couldn’t confirm that but did say Cody told him “the announcement is pretty big” and that it will likely be revealed on the next episode of Being The Elite.
• PW Insider says WWE has looked into sites in both New York and New Jersey for WrestleMania Axxess next year.

If you have heard of any interesting rumors that you’d like to add, feel free to post them in the comments section below. Just remember they are rumors and not confirmed as fact, so please take them as such. Have fun with it. And check our weekly Rumor Look Back here to keep track of how often rumors turn out to be correct!

WWE Monday Night Raw comes waltzing back into our lives tonight (Aug. 6, 2018) from the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, featuring all the latest build to the upcoming SummerSlam pay-per-view (PPV) scheduled for later this month in Brooklyn.

Advertised for tonight: Ronda Rousey wrestles her first match on Raw against Alicia Fox, Bobby Roode vs. Mojo Rawley, and more!

Come right back here at 8 p.m. ET when the Raw live blog kicks off once the show starts on USA. It will be below this line here. (REMINDER: NO GIFS OR PICS ARE ALLOWED IN THE COMMENTS SECTION. OFFENDERS WILL BE BANNED.)

WWE RAW RESULTS AND LIVE BLOG FOR AUG. 6

The IIconics did their usual annoying thing in a promo directed at Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair the other day, so Tea-Generation X punched back with this:

You come at the queens, you best not miss.

The G1 Climax is upon us! As we do with New Japan’s big tournaments, we’re focusing strictly on the tournament action here, folks. For full results of each show, you can check out our NJPW category right here, and for previous match recommendations, you can click right here for the first batch, here for the second, and here for the third.

As always, I’ve got a very simple five point scale laid out where a 1 is total skip, 2 you can probably skip unless you love one of the folks in it, 3 is a match that’s worth watching but not necessarily worth making time for, a 4 is a solid recommendation to make time for if you can, and a 5 is a must-watch.

Mind you, these are not star ratings. They’re not meant to be absolute ratings in any sense, but rather a simple (and hopefully sensible) way to determine if a match is worth your time. A one is not necessarily a bad match, but rather just one I feel like you’re best off skipping. I have my biases, of course, but hopefully I can make it easy for you to adjust for them.

Night Twelve (B Block, August 1)

Tama Tonga vs. Tomohiro Ishii (2): Ishii with eyes in the back of his head, forcing Tonga to play it straight in the early goings and they have a nice pleasant fast-paced matchup with plenty of hard striking... until the interference comes and it’s the same old Firing Squad story we’ve seen a dozen times this G1. Tom does manage to fight Tanga Loa off and, mercifully, the interference isn’t the direct end of the match and we get a few more sequences that actually build up some drama (as well as a pretty sweet finish for once), but there’s still not a lot here.

Juice Robinson vs. SANADA (3): Robinson pulling ahead in the feeling out, which leads into some fast-paced high flying jockeying for position and a slugfest on the floor that nearly sees both men counted out. Juice tries to keep the pace up, but SANADA soon has him locked down, going after the broken hand. The pace picks up once again and there are some really cool exchanges in this, but something felt like they were holding back a little and not quite getting all the way to the raging climax that a match between them “should” have.

Tetsuya Naito vs. Toru Yano (4): Yano eager to get the match started so of course Naito stalls, and this gets the Sublime Master Thief hot enough to take it to the floor. A move, as it happens, that backfires, because it’s the Stardust Genius that busts the roll of tape out and we get one of the most epic countout nearfall spots I’ve ever seen. Thus is the tone of the match, Toru aggravated enough to drop any pretense of fair play, Naito giving him just as good as he’d get.

This is an absolute hoot, and while not the best ever shenanigans-for-shenanigans Toru Yano G1 match, certainly good enough for a strong recommendation.

Kenny Omega vs. Zack Sabre, Jr. (5): Sabre making every effort to pull ahead in the feeling out, cutting Omega off and grabbing holds, and he eventually succeeds in creating a target on the leg, keeping the focus even as they shift to striking. That story doesn’t go on to dominate the match, however, ZSJ taking a rather more kitchen sink approach as things escalate and escalate, trading big holds for big moves all the way into a pleasantly surprising finishing stretch. Great match, very much worth watching!

Hirooki Goto vs. Kota Ibushi (4): Ibushi indulging in his tendency to meet someone at their own game at first, but soon enough he’s got the gas on and... gets cut down by grumpy champ Goto, actually. This leads to a good long sequence of Hirooki in control, but you can’t keep Kota down for too long and the next phase of the match is more back and forth with plenty of striking. Into the closing escalation from there and this is a really good match overall, although just shy of getting the full recommendation out of me.

Night Thirteen (A Block, August 2)

Bad Luck Fale vs. Michael Elgin (3): Strength testing from the jump, Elgin eager to prove that he can overcome the size differential but a bum right shoulder and bicep are hurting him and it’s not long before Fale is targeting the injury. And so the stage is set, with Mike fighting from underneath as Bad Luck tries to grind his arm into dust.

Unfortunately, this does end up descending into the usual Firing Squad interference nonsense, but while the good stuff lasts it’s shockingly compelling, and so I’m going a little stronger than I’m usually inclined here.

Hangman Page vs. Togi Makabe (2): Page playing Makabe’s game to start, testing his strength bull moose style and paying the price initially but a trip to the floor turns it around. Back and forth, slugging it out and trading power moves, the match never really builds to a firey crescendo or shifts into high gear but it’s a pleasant enough experience with Page again shining as the underdog.

“Switchblade” Jay White vs. YOSHI-HASHI (3): Switchblade with a cheap shot at the bell, hurling abuse over YOSHI-HASHI’s refusal to play ball with his plan to take a night off and just throw the match in the undercard tags the night before and Tacos comes back just as hard. White takes control with one of his trademark apron bumps but a little too much time wasted trying to keep Red Shoes from stopping the match on a chair gives YOSHI-HASHI a chance to get back into it.

So it goes, the tide turning as Jay’s viciousness is countered by Tacos’ heart, and the end result is a strong, heated match. The final act isn’t quite as strong as I’d like to give it a real recommendation, but consider this about as high a middle of the road recommendation as I can hand out.

EVIL vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (4): Tanahashi going hard out the gates but soon enough EVIL has his perenially-injured right arm targeted and our story is set. The 1/100 Ace fights from underneath, the King of Darkness uses every trick in his book to keep the pressure up, eventually Hiroshi gets his trademark dragon screws in and the final stretch is a back and forth injury-for-injury question of trading moves until one puts the other away.

A bit standard, but a good match all the same, and with EVIL’s chance to stay in contention on the line, quite compelling.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Minoru Suzuki (5): Suzuki jumping Okada right away and taking him to the floor for violence! It’s all Minoru in the early goings as a result but the Rainmaker is able to mount a comeback when they return to the ring. Slugging it out as the match evens up, they escalate to a fever-pitch of bomb dropping and this is excellent. Watch it!

Night Fourteen (B Block, August 4)

SANADA vs. Toru Yano (4): Yano with the attack before the bell, hogtying SANADA on the ramp with his t-shirt, so no fair play tonight! SANADA is game to play at that and what we’ve got is a classical Toru Yano G1 match, fun as hell, full of shenanigans (including the tape!), and never outstaying its welcome. Special shoutout to the Sublime Master Thief’s Chaos stablemate Rocky Romero for being such a helpful friend, too.

Hirooki Goto vs. Tama Tonga (1): Another Firing Squad interference match, unsalvagable even by grumpy NEVER champ Goto. Add in a blown finish thanks to an overeager timekeeper and it’s a pass.

Juice Robinson vs. Zack Sabre, Jr. (5): Sabre going right after the broken hand, and both men end up quite heated and slugging it out a while. When the dust clears on that, the game is afoot, Zack countering most things Robinson throws at him, grabbing whatever holds he can get but always preferring the hand and arm if available.

Juice fights bravely from underneath, ZSJ keeps his array of submissions varied and exciting, I do think I might have preferred it if it was just a bit more focused on the hand in the middle stages, but all in all it’s a match that you should definitely be watching.

Kenny Omega vs. Tomohiro Ishii (5): Omega cocky in the early goings, toying with Ishii and ducking his attempts to suck him into testing strength. Tom is nothing if not persistent, though, and forces Kenny to take him seriously and we’re off to the races from there! Every bit as hard-hitting and violent as you’d hope, Ishii’s resolve is unbreakable, and this match builds to an absolutely epic crescendo. Watch it!

Kota Ibushi vs. Tetsuya Naito (5): So Ishii and Omega were a tough act to follow but by god Naito and Ibushi found a way! Fast-paced and frantic early, Tetsuya takes control after taking Kota’s knee out from under him and it’s up to a one-legged Ibushi to fight his way back into it long enough for the adrenaline to take hold. Escalations on escalations, just absurd stuff happening left and right, go watch it!

Night Fifteen (A Block, August 5)

Bad Luck Fale vs. YOSHI-HASHI (1): YOSHI-HASHI bringing it to the big man early, going toe-to-toe in feats of strength... and of course Tanga Loa gets involved. Fale targets the bum shoulder, so it has a better through-line than your average Bullet Club interference match (not unlike Bad Luck’s match against Elgin, really), but it’s still tiresome and frustrating to see so many of these matches go down this road. Pass.

Hangman Page vs. Minoru Suzuki (3): Page full of spit and vinegar from the jump, knowing that he’s gotta take it to Suzuki to have a hope of beating him, and at one point going high risk with a moonsault off the entry stage! Minoru turns the tide, and the match is a rollicking back-and-forth hate-filled fun time for everybody. Not the best match of the tournament by any means, but quite enjoyable and worth tossing on.

”Switchblade” Jay White vs. Togi Makabe (2): Right into Makabe’s preferred bull moose clubberin’ action, and a trip to the floor sees White take full control. Togi fires back up eventually, and this is basically the physical back-and-forth match you’d expect. Very much in the same mold as Page/Makabe, only not quite as good. Watch accordingly.

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Michael Elgin (4): Testing strength early, Elgin managing to prevail even with a bum wing, and Tanahashi finds himself on the outs. Eventually the injury catches up to him and he wears down such that the 1/100 Ace is able to create an opening and we’re off to the races. Fighting with a desperate energy, Hiroshi gets his usual leg attack program going and that sends the match into an escalatory phase with big moves a-plenty.

This is really good, and gets a solid recommendation for telling a good story and having a really well assembled (if slightly fumbled at the very end) finishing sequence.

EVIL vs. Kazuchika Okada (5): EVIL grinding Okada down from the jump, almost erasing all the progress the cocky former champion had made since losing the title. After a while, the Rainmaker finds his groove again and turns the speed up to shift the momentum. The King of Darkness digs down and gets extra violent, Kazuchika matches his tempo and the match takes on a decidedly personal edge from there.

Hate-filled and violent, full of move-stealing and tight exchanges, this is a good one, folks. Watch it!

There you have it, folks

Agree? Disagree? Feel free to toss in your two cents below, Cagesiders.