By: Andrew Thompson
**Two-time WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair recently trademarked “The Man” nickname which is currently associated with RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch. TMZ caught up with Flair at an airport and Flair cleared the air on the situation. Ric expressed that he simply wants to take care of his family and recalled conversations with WWE’s lawyer in-which he felt disrespected. At the conclusion of his point, Flair stated that Becky Lynch can have ‘The Man’ nickname but he also wants WWE to pay him for it:
As God is my witness, and I feel so bad and I’m glad I’m having this opportunity to clear the air.” Ric continued, “When I first saw this go down in August of 2018, I thought cool — The Man. My gimmick versus my daughter, Charlotte. That’s the day it started — right after SummerSlam. I thought, ‘Cool’. I said I’m gonna make some money, it’s my trademark, they have it, they use it. Yeah, I know. I’ve been saying it since 1981.
I sent them a text and their lawyer who just has no respect for me whatsoever which is something I’m not gonna deal with much longer — he said, ‘You’re wrong, not even close’. I said, ‘Not even close!?’ So then I send him another text — he didn’t respond. So, I had my lawyer call him, and he blew off my lawyer. This is all in 2018 or in January of ‘19. So I go, ‘Okay,’ — so I go, I called Hunter. I said, ‘Hunter, I’m gonna file’. The reason they don’t have it — my understanding is the reason they don’t have it is because it’s too close to mine. I’ve been saying ‘To Be The Man’ which I’ve trademarked.
I wrote a book ‘To Be The Man… and I told Hunter, ‘Hey, push comes to shove, I’m gonna file for it’. I mean I get it but here’s the deal: I love Becky Lynch and no one has supported the women’s division more than me as an outsider. As a matter of fact, I’ve told the guys and I would’ve texted Becky last night and Sasha but I’m sure Becky — I don’t know what the WWE’s spin has been to her. They stole it last night. It’s funny my daughter is so mad at me because I filed, not even understanding, it’s not for Becky.
I have no beef with Becky, but here’s the deal: When I almost died, three years ago, one person stayed by me the whole time. 30 days in I.C.U., 12 days when I was dying on the respirator and I’m gonna take care of her and her family and my family that has taken care of me.” He expressed. “No matter what. I don’t care what the WWE thinks of me personally. I know they love me, but obviously they’ve lost respect for me. If I don’t win, even if I won, Becky can have it all day long, but I want the company to pay me for it. I want to take care of my family. I am gonna be The Man, and if I don’t get it, you know what my tombstone will say? He died trying to be The Man.”
**Killer Kross has not wrestled for IMPACT Wrestling since Slammiversary XVII In July of 2019. WrestleZone and Fightful both confirmed that Kross was asked to blade during his match with Eddie Edwards at Slammiversary but refused to do so. A reason for Kross’ refusal to blade is because of the lack of blood testing and there was not a doctor on-site. PWInsider added to the report and noted that Kross is not booked for this week’s IMPACT TV tapings in Las Vegas, Nevada. Kross has 18 months left remaining on his current deal with IMPACT and has hired an attorney to middle-man the communication between himself and IMPACT officials. PWInsider’s sources told the site that there was EMT’s present at Slammiversary and there was no issue with Kross not wanting to blade. The report also noted that Kross was offered a six-figure deal that spanned through three years.
**Following the 9/4/19 edition of NXT, it was announced that Velveteen Dream will defend his North American Championship against Roderick Strong on September 18th which is NXT’s debut episode on the USA Network. To add, Bianca Belair, Io Shirai and Mia Yim are slated to compete in a Triple-Threat match during NXT’s USA Network debut with a shot at the NXT Women’s Championship hanging in the balance. The 9/11/19 episode of NXT TV will see Rhea Ripley clash with NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler.
**Squared Circle Sirens first reported that former IMPACT Wrestling star Scarlett Bordeaux was spotted at the WWE Performance Center. Pro Wrestling Sheet followed up on the report and noted that there was a private tryout held for Scarlett. IMPACT Wrestling announced that they released Scarlett from her contract on June 18th of this year.
**Sportskeeda’s Gary Cassidy interviewed Gallus’ Mark Coffey and Wolfgang ahead of NXT U.K. TakeOver Cardiff. During the interview, the duo was asked who they would like to add to their group and Wolfgang stated that he would like for the current NXT U.K. Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray to join Gallus.
Well, I would personally like to see Kay Lee Ray join us. Obviously bringing a female element to the whole thing but she’s actually fighting for the WWE United Kingdom Women’s Title this week, so it’s another Scot going for a WWE title.” Wolfgang said. “I think it’s going to look pretty Gallus with Mark and I standing there with the Tag Team Titles and Kay Lee standing with the Women’s Title.
**This past Monday’s episode of ‘Straight Up Steve Austin’ on the USA Network with RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch drew 1.097 million viewers according to ShowBuzzDaily.
**Tegan Nox will make her NXT U.K. debut next week. Nox returned to in-ring competition this past July after blowing her knee out in the 2018 Mae Young Classic tournament. Tegan dislocated her knee cap, tore her MCL and LCL, tore her ACL and both meniscus’, suffered bone contusions and had a Segond Fracture on her left tibia.
**Newsweek conducted an interview with Becky Lynch. Becky talked about the female athletes of NXT being given opportunities and she also recalled a moment during her career when she was told to “move like a girl”:
We were given more time. We would have a match and it would be good and we would prove ourselves and get more time, and then with that more time we would prove ourselves again and so on and so forth,” Lynch explained. “I remember being told to ‘move like a girl.’ What the hell does that mean? I’m a girl and I’m moving, you know? And to go from that to being told that girls can’t do this or that to now where none of that is an issue. You’re just told to go out there and do your job. Your job is to entertain people and be a damn good wrestler. Be that, go do that and of course that’s what we ended up doing.
**Kevin Owens praised Juice Robinson’s promo skills during an interview with Sports Illustrated.
**Rob Van Dam confirmed with Fightful that he has extended his deal with IMPACT Wrestling through the company’s Bound For Glory pay-per-view.
**Here’s the lineup for CMLL’s 86th Anniversary Show On 9/27/19 At Arena Mexico
* Seven-man Steel Cage Match (Last Wrestler Remaining In The Cage Loses His Hair)
Ciber the Main Man vs. Ultimo Guerrero vs. Gilbert el Boricua vs. Volador Jr. vs. Negro Casas vs. Big Daddy
* Mexican National Trios Championships – Forastero, El Cuatrero & Sanson (c) vs. Caristico, Misticio & Valiente
* Mask vs. Mask Match – Microman vs. Chamuel
* Mephisto, Ángel de Oro & Niebla Roja vs. Gran Guerrero, Euforia and Dragon Lee
* CMLL World Women’s Championship – Marcela (c) vs. Dalys la Caribena
* Dulce Gardenia, Diamante Azul & Titan vs. Hijo del Villano III, Hechicero & Rey Bucanero
* Stigma, El Audaz & Rey Cometa vs. Misterioso Jr., Tiger & Virus
**SmackDown Live’s Ali surprised his daughter after a month away from home.
**Set for next week’s 205 Live: Drew Gulak and Tony Nese vs. Humberto Carrillo and Lince Dorado. Also, Brian Kendrick and Akira Tozawa are teaming up to take on Jack Gallagher and a partner of Gallagher’s choosing.
**EVOLVE unveiled the details of the ‘Evolution’s Edge’ tournament and here’s the press release concerning the tourney:
Evolution’s Edge Tournament: EVOLVE officials are very excited with the new class of talent who has emerged in EVOLVE in 2019. We have seen several success stories from the WWN Seminar/Tryout and WWN Recruitment Camp. EVOLVE officials have also found other prospects that they are excited to test. In addition, we have seen the EVOLVE roster replenished with several new contract signings. EVOLVE officials have decided to take eight of the talents who have emerged as “The Class Of 2019” to the ultimate test. Let’s see who is the best. We will see who sinks and who swims. There will be two multi-person elimination matches at EVOLVE 135 on September 20th in Brooklyn, NY. The two winners will then compete in a singles match at EVOLVE 136 on September 21st in Queens, NY. The elimination matches will be announced this week at WWE.com. The eight participants are: Anthony Greene w/ Brandi Lauren, Anthony Gutierrez, Brandon Taggart, Curt Stallion, Daniel Garcia, Karam, Sean Maluta, Stephen Wolf
**“A Little Bit of The Bubbly” t-shirts are available on Pro Wrestling Tees in celebration of Chris Jericho reuniting with the AEW World Championship.
**Tomohiro Ishii and YOSHI-HASHI are getting a shot at the Guerrillas Of Destiny’s IWGP Tag Team Championships at Destruction In Beppu on September 15th.
**One-half of the current SmackDown Live Tag Team Champions Big E spoke with Asbury Park Press and shared his thoughts about Kofi Kingston being the first African-born WWE Champion and Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey main-eventing WrestleMania 35:
I think that it’s incredible, and I think it’s also reflective of what you see in media as a whole now — more representation across lines, not just in our industry but elsewhere, and I think the problem is a lot of times people bristle at the mere mention of race or representation or feminism or whatever minority group there is that’s trying to have a voice in media. People don’t even want to have that discussion. But I think for Kofi to be the first African-born champion I think is such an incredible feat, and also Becky Lynch and Ronda and Charlotte being able to close WrestleMania.” Big E continued, “To have the women close the biggest show of the year is also pretty incredible. So I think it’s a discussion that we just need to be open to, and I guess I don’t really consider myself one for politics but I just think having this discourse and being able to talk about these things and being open to these things I think is big. So I’m glad we’re doing a better job with that in our industry and I hope we continue to grow.
**Paige was interviewed by FOX News.
**WALTER revealed during an interview with talkSPORT that there are wrestlers who do not want to take his chops but he does not care because it’s going to happen anyway.
**Myron Reed and Kotto Brazil are taking on Gringo Loco and Air Wolf at MLW’s War Chamber event on September 7th in North Richland Hills, Texas.
**Celebrate Hilton Head interviewed Lana to promote her landing the cover of their magazine. ()
**UFC Hall Of Famer Ken Shamrock spoke with Sporting News to promote his appearance[s] at the forthcoming IMPACT Wrestling TV tapings in Las Vegas. Shamrock commented on AEW and WWE going head-to-head and feels that it is a bad move for AEW because they should not want to wake the ‘sleeping giant’ in Vince McMahon.
**Drew McIntyre further expressed his desire to join NXT U.K. while being interviewed by SPORTbible.
RESULTS
NJPW Road To Destruction Results (9/5/19)
* Young Lion Cup League Match – Michael Richards def. Yuya Uemura
* Young Lion Cup League Match – Ren Narita def. Karl Fredericks
* Satoshi Kojima, Clark Connors & Alex Coughlin def. Yota Tsuji, Shota Umino & Hiroyoshi Tenzan
* Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI & Toa Henare def. Chase Owens, Tanga Loa & Tama Tonga
* Yujiro Takahashi, El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori def. Tomoaki Honma, Robbie Eagles & Will Ospreay
* SHO, YOH, Ryusuke Taguchi & Hiroshi Tanahashi def. Zack Sabre Jr., Minoru Suzuki, DOUKI & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
* Rocky Romero, Hirooki Goto & Kazuchika Okada def. BUSHI, SANADA & Shingo Takagi
* Tetsuya Naito & EVIL def. Jay White & Bad Luck Fale
Bar Wrestling: The Wildest Ride In The Wilderness Results (9/4/19)
* Los Luchas (Phoenix Star & Zokre) def. Scorpio Sky & Watts
* Jungle Boy def. Royce Isaacs
* Dom Kubrick & Heather Monroe def. Kip Sabian & Penelope Ford
* Killer Kross def. Jake Atlas
* Andy Brown, Joey Ryan & Tyler Bateman def. BHK, Yuma & Ryan Taylor
* Ivelisse def. Ray Rosas
* Three-Way Match – Diego Valles def. Johnny Impact and Luchasaurus
VIDEO
**Triple H joined Xavier Woods on UpUpDownDown.
**UFC Hall Of Famer and former RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey posted a video of her stitches were removed from her finger following the incident on the set of FOX’s 9-1-1.
**Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson filled in for Kevin Hart on The Kelly Clarkson Show. Kevin Hart suffered injuries to his back in a car accident Sunday morning. Hart was scheduled to be the surprise guest and Johnson left his honeymoon early to fill in for his close friend.
**The first episode of Road To AEW on TNT is up on the All Elite Wrestling YouTube channel.
*****
RASD 9/3/19: The Ramdeen Laugh, Jericho loses AEW belt, KENTA
John Pollock and Wai Ting review Tuesday’s WWE SmackDown as Daniel Bryan demands an apology from Roman Reigns (again). Chris Jericho’s AEW title is either lost or stolen. We discuss NJPW’s handling of concussions with regards to KENTA vs. Tomohiro Ishii.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2019/09/04/rasd-9-3-19-the-ramdeen-laugh-jericho-loses-aew-belt-kenta/
*****
RAR 9/2/19: Bayley’s Irish Cream
John Pollock and Wai Ting review WWE Raw featuring Bayley’s attack on Becky Lynch. Plus, a discussion on the AEW media scrums, Royal Quest added to New Japan World, and fallout from the weekend.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2019/09/03/rar-9-2-19-bayleys-irish-cream/
*****
BWE Special: NJPW Royal Quest, NXT UK TakeOver & Summer Sizzler
Martin, Benno & Jamesie are back to review two major shows this weekend: NJPW Royal Quest (Okada vs. Suzuki) and WWE NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff (WALTER vs. Bate). Will Cooling drops in to give a live report from RevPro’s Summer Sizzler and a controversial main event between Will Ospreay and David Starr.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2019/09/01/bwe-special-njpw-royal-quest-nxt-uk-takeover-cardiff-revpro-summer-sizzler/
*****
Cruel Summer #28: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi (2018)
WH Park reunites with John Pollock on the final episode of Cruel Summer (for now) to discuss the finals of NJPW G1 Climax 28: Kota Ibushi vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi from August 12, 2018.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2019/09/01/cruel-summer-28-hiroshi-tanahashi-vs-kota-ibushi-2018-w-john-pollock/
*****
AEW All Out POST Show
John Pollock & Wai Ting review AEW All Out headlined by Chris Jericho vs. Hangman Page to determine the first AEW World Champion, Kenny Omega vs. PAC and The Young Bucks vs. The Lucha Brothers in Escalera de la Muerte.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2019/09/01/aew-all-out-post-show/
*****
upNXT MOVIE REVIEW: Star Wars Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002)
Braden Herrington & Davie Portman are back with another BDE movie review as they continue on their journey to review all the Star Wars movies, and this time it’s Episode II: Attack of the Clones!
https://www.postwrestling.com/2019/08/31/upnxt-movie-review-star-wars-episode-ii-attack-of-the-clones-2002/
*****
Cruel Summer #27: Kenny Omega vs. Tetsuya Naito (2017)
WH Park is once again joined by Joel Abraham of the Super J-Cast (which you can find at Voices of Wrestling) to discuss the finals of NJPW G1 Climax 27: Kenny Omega vs. Tetsuya Naito from August 13, 2017.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2019/08/31/cruel-summer-27-kenny-omega-vs-tetsuya-naito-2017-w-joel-abraham/
*****
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