Wrestling

ROH May 18th, 2013 Richmond, VA Estimated Attendance: 400-500 Michael Elgin def Kyle Matthews Adam Cole def Adam Page  Mark Briscoe def Roderick Strong Ciampa def Chris LaRusso American Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) def Cliff Compton and Rhett Titus A-1 (Jeff Early & Zak Hilton) def Aden Chambers and Brandon Day Steve Corino announces Matt Hardy will get his World title shot on JUNE 23rd at the TV tapings in Baltimore Jay Lethal, Caprice Coleman & Cedric Alexander def ROH World Tag Team Champions reDRagon (Kyle O'Reilly & Bobby Fish) & ROH World TV Champion Matt Taven  No DQ Match: Kevin Steen def Jimmy Jacobs  ROH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Jay Briscoe def BJ Whitmer -- Chris GST

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/jake-snake-roberts-sings-ballgame-turner-field-video-215145793.html Read the article, watch the video, but there really isn't that much more to say. I will say that he looks to be in great shape, even if his singing voice isn't. How did the Atlanta Braves allow this to happen? How did Major League Baseball allow this to happen? How do people even get these gigs anyway? http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/jake-snake-roberts-sings-ballgame-turner-field-video-215145793.html Read the article, watch the video, but there really isn't that much more to say. I will say that he looks to be in great shape, even if his singing voice isn't. How did the Atlanta Braves allow this to happen? How did Major League Baseball allow this to happen? How do people even get these gigs anyway?

Source: Wrestling 101 Former WWE star Bob “Hardcore” Holly talked about his experience recently in TNA: You took part in one of the TNA One Night Only tapings, could we see you back on our screens more permanently? “I did some stuff for TNA recently; I did one of these One Night Only PPV’s for them, which I enjoyed immensely. Everybody over there was so nice to me and I teamed up with James Storm and Magnus. It was a completely different vibe there, nobody had any pressure on them, no stress, and everybody was enjoying their jobs. I might be doing some more stuff with them in the future so hopefully you can look out for me popping up in TNA.” You can check out the entire interview at the link above.

United States Championship: Kofi Kingston (c) vs. Dean Ambrose The United States champion has a career full of secondary title runs during his time in WWE. The volatile young member of The Shield is looking for his first taste of a championship in the largest wrestling company in the world. The Road to Extreme Rules The wildcat was able to dethrone the man who had worn the red, white and blue belt for 2/3 of a year when he beat Antonio Cesaro. The high flier backed it up by also winning the rematch on Main Event. There's not a terribly long history between Kingston and Dean Ambrose. They first collided when Ambrose and his Shield-mates Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins faced the champ and the Uso twins in a six-man tag match on May 6th. In a hard fought match, the hound of justice pinned Kofi. And his eyes betrayed his intentions as he openly stared at the belt. Later that week, Ambrose was locked up one-on-one against tag team champion Daniel Bryan. Rollins and Reigns, themselves headed for their first title shot on Sunday night against Bryan and his Team Hell No partner Kane, couldn't resist getting involved for their brother in arms. Kane and the Boom-meister came to the rescue. As they ran off the trio, it was clear to see that Kofi and Dean were on a collision course. Just this past Monday night, this US title tilt was made official, and this rivalry looks to become one for the record books. What's at stake? Kingston is rumored to be getting another shot at moving up the card. Ambrose seems assured of a trip to the main event. Who's journey to the top is shorter after this match, and who's trip will be detoured or derailed? Find out when two of the most exciting and unpredictable men in WWE face-off at Extreme Rules! And remember to stick with Cageside Seats for blow-by-blow coverage of the fight for the US championship, and all the bouts on Sunday night's show!

Amit Swami, who is The Great Khali manages when the WWE Superstar returns to his India, was arrested Friday for allegedly attacking a shopkeeper in Rewari. Ajay Kumar filed complaint that Swami and other individuals barged into his shop Thursday evening, dragged him outside, and assaulted him. Swami claims that his family members had asked him to settle their domestic dispute as Kumar had been troubling them. You can read More details on the story are available here.

Source: Pwinsider With WWE on the verge of signing new developmental talent to coincide with the launch of its Performance Center in Winter Park, Florida, multiple talents situated in the developmental system were released today as we reported earlier. It has been confirmed that Derrick Bateman, Briley Pierce, Sakamoto, Percy Watson, Brandon Traven, Audrey Marie and Anya were let go by the sports-entertainment organization. Bateman, who had been under contract to WWE since 2008, appeared on the final season of NXT before the program was transferred to Florida. He last appeared on WWE programming late last year, and had been making infrequent appearances for NXT. Briley had been under a developmental contract to WWE since 2011, the highlight of which was a Florida Tag Team Championship reign with Brad Maddox. He was shifted to the role of backstage interviewer for NXT last June, though would still continue to compete. However, he lost the majority of his matches from that point on. Sakamoto was paired with Tensai last year before being demoted to developmental in November. Having been trained by Taka Michinoku at his Kaientai Dojo wrestling school in Japan, he joined WWE’s developmental system in 2011. Traven competed for various Midwestern independent organizations as Brian Beaker before being signed to a developmental contract last year. He was originally trained by WWE Hall of Famer Harley Race in Missouri. Watson, a former professional football player, joined WWE in 2009 and would frequently appear on NXT. At times, he appeared on the brink of joining the main roster, but ultimately did not. Marie had been under contract to WWE since 2011 and was a fixture in the developmental system’s women’s division. Anya is a 6’1? Russian kickboxer and martial artist WWE signed last summer. She was recently sidelined due to a broken arm. According to sources, at least two additional names are expected to be revealed as being no longer under contract to WWE. Despite more releases being rumored, nothing is confirmed as of this writing. We’ll keep you posted when we hear more.

WWE's biggest pay-per-view (PPV) event of the year Extreme Rules 2013 is back tomorrow night (Sun., May 19), live on pay-per-view (PPV) starting with the free streaming pre-show at 7:30 p.m. ET and rolling on into the Fifth Annual Hardcore pay-per-view event commencing at 8 p.m. ET. (Keep in mind that you can catch the pre-show on right here on CSS thanks to our friends at Yahoo Sports!, or find it over at WWE.com, Facebook.com/WWE, YouTube.com/WWEFanNation and XboxLive, as well as on the WWE App. Tomorrow night's show features all your favorite WWE Superstars and Divas, including John Cena, Ryback, Triple H, Brock Lesnar, Chris Jericho, Fandango, Alberto Del Rio, Jack Swagger, The Shield, Randy Orton, Sheamus, Mark Henry, Big Show, and much more! Luckily for you Cagesiders, our CSS staff of learned-wrestling-blowhards is faithfully here for you, yet again, in order to help you all figure out just how this latest PPV event is gonna play out. We've got our CSS Staffer predictions for each and every match on the Extreme Rules card, coming up next! __________________________ Extreme Rules Match Card: Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H - Steel Cage match John Cena (c) vs. The Ryback - Last Man Standing match for the WWE Championship Alberto Del Rio vs. Jack Swagger - "I Quit" match for the WHC #1 Contendership Kofi Kingston (c) vs. Dean Ambrose Singles - match for the United States Championship Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan and Kane) (c) vs. The Shield (Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins) - Tornado Tag Team match for the Tag Team Championship Sheamus vs. Mark Henry - Strap match Randy Orton vs. Big Show - Extreme Rules match Chris Jericho vs. Fandango Pre-show -- The Miz vs. Cody Rhodes __________________________ CSS STAFF PREDICTIONS: Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H Steel Cage match The General: This is where Lesnar gets to go over in exchange for agreeing to lose at the much bigger show, WrestleMania. Sure, Triple H needed to get his win back too, but it never made sense to do it the way they did and I expect that "The Game" will make the right call and let Brock put him on the shelf, maybe for good. Or, at least until his next retirement match. Lesnar wins, probably in a big way, and possibly with an injury angle right after. Prediction: Brock Lesnar Keith Harris: Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar (Steel Cage Match): The best thing for business would be for Brock Lesnar to decisively defeat Triple H here to set up a bigger money match with The Rock or The Undertaker at WrestleMania 30. Of course, when Hunter is involved ego often gets in the way of good business sense, but as he's been closing in on retirement that bad trait of his has become less common. Thus, I think Lesnar will still win this rubber match, as he well should. Prediction: Brock Lesnar Jesse Holland: Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar (Steel Cage Match) - You honestly never know when it comes to Triple H, with an ego the size of his, but he absolutely HAS to put Brock Lesnar over here. How can he be taken seriously as a crazed killer if he can't win a single match? Even if it has to be through nefarious means, a la Paul Heyman, Lesnar needs to win. If he doesn't, it proves that WWE was willing to spend millions just to get revenge on him leaving by watching him job at every PPV. Prediction: Lesnar Sean Rueter: HHH - Lesnar: If Trips wins, then Vince and WWE really did just spend millions of dollars (ptp.gif) on a rib against Brock and Dana White. Which, considering how much money went into Connecticut political campaigns, wouldn't totally surprise me. But, I'm going to bet that their knowledge of the business-ah and/or other company exec's common sense will prevail. Prediction: Brock Lesnar Eric B. Stephen: Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H - Triple H got lucky and staved off retirement at WrestleMania 29, and now it's time for Lesnar to get revenge. This is the guy who once beat a pissed-off Undertaker in a brutal cage match...Trips is small potatoes in comparison. Predicti

- Randy Orton is featured in the promotional video for WWE’s Payback pay-per-view: - John Cena commented on being away from Twitter with this tweet today: “Sorry I have been silent lately, had a very interesting few days with some really great people! #backtowork” - The Rock touted the success of Fast 6, writing on Twitter: “FAST 6 sets all time records in the UK/Ireland. #OurLoveIsMutual #BringIt” Updated Spoiler on CM Punk’s Return, Hot New Trish Stratus Pics, More…

Strap Match: Sheamus vs. Mark Henry One of the WWE's biggest bullies is the target of some rightful vengeance from the World's Strongest Man. The Road to Extreme Rules After a less than impressive victory over the Ryback at WrestleMania, wig splitter extraordinaire Mark Henry has been looking to make some major statements. Going back to his roots, Henry has been engaging in various competitions and feats of strength. One man has stood in the way of these friendly contests - Sheamus. WWE's biggest bully has been constantly flouting the rules and common decency because he cannot best the World's Strongest Man in fair competition. From tug of war to arm wrestling, at the first sign of losing, Sheamus has brogue kicked Henry and villainy has reigned supreme. (Editor's Note: to be fair, Henry did start it with a delicious bit of backstage, blindside tackling) This unsportsmanlike treatment by the Irishman finally pushed the Olympic weightlifter too far. Looking for something to show the Great White how he felt, he reached for a belt and used it to raise welts all over Sheamus' body. Somewhere in between the belt lashings and the tug of war, WWE had the idea to make their contest at the pay-per-view a strap match. The two rivals will be tethered together at the wrist - the first man who touches all four ringposts, dragging his opponent with him if necessary - will be declared the winner. What's at stake? Will Sheamus' campaign of violence and bullying continue? Or will Mark Henry represent Be a STAR proudly and score a victory for righteousness? Keep with Cageside Seats, where every day is a HOSS FIGHT, for the outcome of this and the matches at Extreme Rules!

The Undercard The Shield defeated The Uso's in a relatively quick match. Reigns hits a beastful spear for the victory. After the match, Kofi Kingston comes out and attacks the group. I would have enjoyed this more if Team Hell No had something to do. This is the biggest problem with the tag teams in the WWE. There are only two that have any level of importance. Who cares that Kofi saves The Uso's? Maybe put Kingston with Bryan or Kane and face off against Ambrose and Reigns, and then build the two stories into one. That would have been more important and logical. I really enjoy how The Shield is being booked though. They are the only consistently interesting group of men that are pushed on WWE television each week. Grade: C+ Tons of Funk defeated Primetime Players. What can you say about this match? Darren Young tries to ground the bigger opponents, but to no avail. Titus O'Neil comes in and cleans a little house until he is met with the strength of Tensai. The faces hit a big splash for the victory. I really wish PTP would be taken seriously because they do have an appeal to them. They are guys who are relatable to a general population. They also can connect to Hollywood and the world of sports. They need to be a team that hopefully gets a fresh change and is taken seriously for their talents and abilities. Grade: C- The Miz defeated Damien Sandow. MizTV started out the night, in place of the reported Highlight Reel. The Miz would be approached by Sandow backstage later on. Sandow wanted a show of his own and Teddy Long booked this match. While I enjoy both of these guys, the match itself was very bland. The Miz and Sandow are two guys who are going through transitions. Miz still needs to be booked against a strong heel to get over. Sandow needs to be taken more seriously as a single's competitor. That gave me a lack of interest in the match. If a title was on the line, then you could see a longer payoff. The action was fluent and the pacing of the match benefitted Miz. Miz does not have one great strength, but not one real weakness. Sandow was able to speak earlier in the night and cut a promo, so that boosts his overall appeal to the crowd. Grade: C Kaitlyn defeated Aksana in a quick match that was showcasing Kaitlyn's ability to overcome adversity. I am not sure how many people think adversity comes from facing Aksana, but the match was booked to make Kaitlyn look like she can overcome anyone. Aksana, shockingly enough, is not terrible in the ring. She was able to lock in a submission hold after a few quick take downs. The end came when Kaitlyn speared Aksana for the win. So, why can't we see AJ Lee after the match or even during it? Is she still the main challenger for the Divas Championship? Do they really care? Grade: C- The Main Events Chris Jericho defeated Antonio Cesaro in an excellent match. If Vince McMahon thinks Antonio Cesaro is boring, then why is he consistently put up against main event guys? His personality may be a work in progress, but his technicality and wrestling ability is second to none. I loved how he was able to control Jericho at his own game. The ring psychology was really solid. Cesaro hit his flurry of offense, including a brutal Uppercut that looked great. Jericho ended up firing back. Cesaro tried for a Gutwrench Powerbomb, but Jericho was able to have enough energy and lock in Walls of Jericho. -After the match, Jericho was distracted by Summer Rae on the stage. Fandango tries to attack him from behind, but Jericho catches him and sends him running out of the ring. He hits a Codebreaker onto Cesaro for emphasis. The feud, even though Jericho has been off televison here and there, has still kept my interest. There is something about this Fandango character that continues to stay fresh. He will need to put on a really good match against Jericho on Sunday to keep his momentum. Do not be surprised if he loses and sets up a rub