WrestleMania: Lesnar keeps Universal strap, Rousey wins in WWE debut

Brock Lesnar needed six F5s, including one through the announce table, as he got the better of Roman Reigns to retain his WWE Universal Championship in the main event of WrestleMania Monday (Manila time) in New Orleans.

Amid reports of his potential departure, the Beast Incarnate showed why he remains the company’s top dog as he bloodied his challenger and extended his reign.

AJ Styles bested Shinsuke Nakamura to keep his WWE Championship, but the dream match ended in a shocker as the King of Strong Style brutally attacked the Phenomenal One.

Styles reversed the Kinshasa into a Styles Clash to get the three-count, but just when he was showing respect to his Japanese foe, Nakamura low-blowed him and unleashed a hellacious beatdown to stun the fans in attendance.

Ronda Rousey also impressed in her WWE debut as she and Kurt Angle topped Stephanie McMahon and Triple H in a mixed tag match after the former UFC women’s bantamweight champion made the Raw commissioner tap out with an armbar.

The Undertaker finally answered the challenge of John Cena and delivered a squash, winning the match with his patented Tombstone Piledriver.

The 16-time world champion thought that the legend would not respond to his call, with Elias coming out and mocking him in front of the New Orleans crowd.

Cena heard enough and attacked Elias, but as he made his way to the back, the Undertaker’s gong sounded and the two faced off for the first time at the grandest stage of them all.

Daniel Bryan also made his triumphant return as he and Shane McMahon fended off an early attack from Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn and win the match, keeping the two out of SmackDown Live.

The SmackDown general manager looked in peak form in his first match in three years, displaying his full arsenal and hitting a running knee-Yes lock combo on Zayn to get the win.

Charlotte ended Asuka’s undefeated streak and retained her SmackDown Women’s Championship with the Figure Eight.

Nia Jax also won her first Raw Women’s Championship, waylaying Alexa Bliss and finishing her off with a Samoan Drop from the second rope.

Seth Rollins became a Grand Slam Champion as he won the Intercontinental title in a triple threat match to open the show.

Finn Balor was about to win the belt after a Coup de Grace on The Miz before The Architect nailed the Curb Stomp on the pinning Balor and gave the defending champion one for his own to get the three-count.

Jinder Mahal also captured the United States Championship after winning the fatal-four-way.

The Modern Day Maharaja took advantage of the distraction from Sunil Singh, hitting Rusev with the Khallas. He also bested defending champ Randy Orton and Bobby Roode in the bout.

Braun Strowman picked his tag team partner, a 10-year-old kid named Nicholas, from the crowd and beat The Bar to become the new Raw Tag Team Champions as the Monster Among Men put Cesaro through a Running Powerslam to get the victory.

The Bludgeon Brothers are the new rulers of the SmackDown tag team division as they emerged triumphant in the triple threat match over the Usos and the New Day.

Harper and Rowan connected with the assisted powerbomb from the top turnbuckle to Kofi Kingston to claim the belts.

Cedric Alexander became the new WWE Cruiserweight Champion after beating Mustafa Ali in the kickoff show.

Ali missed his second 0-5-4 on Alexander, leading to three elbows and a Lumbar Check for the pinfall finish in the tournament finals.

Naomi also was the winner of the first WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal, capitalizing on the confusion and eliminated Bayley after she took out her best friend Sasha Banks.

Woken Matt Hardy won the fifth Andre the Giant Battle Royal after the returning Bray Wyatt helped him eliminate former winners Mojo Rawley and Baron Corbin.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Confusion looms as Owens survives Hell in a Cell

Friends forever?

Sami Zayn made the shocking save on longtime friend and bitter rival Kevin Owens, pulling him out of danger and helping him top Shane McMahon in the brutal falls count anywhere Hell in a Cell match Sunday (Monday Manila time) in Detroit.

With the Prizefighter and the SmackDown commissioner beating each other to a pulp inside, outside, and on top of the cell for close to 30 minutes, it was Zayn who turned heads the most and baffled everyone on why he rescued Owens in the match’s conclusion.

McMahon seemed poised to win the war after sending Owens crashing to the Spanish announce table halfway down the cell, but he wanted to go for the home run and head-butted the brash Canadian to another announce table, putting him in position for the jaw-dropping elbow drop.

But just like the case in WrestleMania 32, McMahon crashed and burned as he fell on top of the cage and missed on his target, largely thanks to Zayn pulling Owens at the last moment.

Zayn then pulled Owens on top of McMahon and motioned the referee to do the three-count as he left everyone in the arena confused on what just transpired.

In the night’s other matches, Jinder Mahal once again retained his WWE Championship against Shinsuke Nakamura, but not without shenanigans from his cohorts The Singh Brothers.

The King of Strong Style was moments away from winning the title after connecting with the Kinshasa, but the Singhs distracted the referee, delaying the count for the pinfall.

Mahal tried to escape the match, but the challenger was in hot pursuit and brought him back to the ring. However, Nakamura would miss on his second Kinshasa attempt, opening the chance for the Modern Day Maharaja to nail the Khallas.

The Usos also became five-time tag team title holders after defeating The New Day in their brutal Hell in a Cell encounter to reclaim the SmackDown Tag Team Championships.

Jimmy and Jey Uso subjected the duo of Big E and Xavier Woods to a hellacious beatdown, finishing the match with a double splash with a steel chair on top of Woods for the three-count.

Baron Corbin stole the United States Championship in their triple threat match to grab his first title in the company.

The Lone Wolf squirmed to the ring and kicked AJ Styles out of the squared circle after the defending champion nailed Tye Dillinger with the Phenomenal Forearm.

Natalya also used a steel chair on Charlotte to force a disqualification finish and keep her SmackDown Women’s Championship after the Queen connected with a ringside moonsault to the Queen of Harts.

Randy Orton topped Rusev once again as he hit an RKO after wiggling out of the Accolade.

Bobby Roode was successful in his main roster pay-per-view debut, beating Dolph Ziggler after the Glorious One one-upped the Showoff with a rollup while holding the latter’s tights.

After the match, Ziggler nailed Roode with a Zig-Zag as he left the ring frustrated with the result.

In the kickoff show, Shelton Benjamin and Chad Gable defeated the Hype Bros after Gable pinned Zack Ryder with Mojo Rawley looking on from ringside.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Cena proposes, Gronk steals the show at WrestleMania

ORLANDO, Fla. — WrestleMania got Gronk’d.

WWE’s version of the Super Bowl also saw John Cena take a knee.

And the “yard” belongs now to Roman Reigns.

Cena, long WWE’s biggest star, stole the show when he seemingly gave a real proposal to Nikki Bella at the end of their victorious mixed tag team match. Cena got down on one knee after the pair defeated The Miz and Maryse on Sunday at WrestleMania 33 at the Citrus Bowl.

Bella said yes and the couple , who star on “Total Bellas,” celebrated with family at ringside. Cena and Bella are both scheduled for the “Today” show Monday morning.

Cena is a regular on the show and weatherman Al Roker was the guest ring announcer for the bout.

Rob Gronkowski took a break from rehabbing for the New England Patriots and got involved in the Andre the Giant memorial battle royal to help his real-life buddy Mojo Rawley win the event.

Gronkowski watched from the front row until bad guy Jinder Mahal tossed a drink in the tight end’s face. Gronk, who celebrated in the Daytona 500 victory lane with Kurt Busch, charged the ring and snapped into a three-point stance to take out Mahal and help Rawley win.

WWE announced a crowd of 75,245 at the Citrus Bowl, though those numbers are usually inflated for entertainment purposes.

Brock Lesnar, the former UFC heavyweight champion, defeated Bill Goldberg in the bout of the night to win the WWE Universal championship.

Reigns defeated The Undertaker , in perhaps his last match, in the main event of a card that stretched seven hours.

Other major results include:
— Randy Orton defeated Bray Wyatt to win the WWE world heavyweight championship.
— The Hardy Boyz made a surprise return to win the WWE Raw tag team championships. Matt and Jeff Hardy, WWE stars in the late 1990s and early 2000, had reinvented themselves in other promotions as “broken” characters who were on an expedition for tag team gold.
— Seth Rollins defeated Hunter Hearst Helmsley in a no-holds barred match.

source: sports.inquirer.net

WWE: Tyler Bate crowned new UK champ

Tyler Bate defied the odds was crowned as the first ever WWE United Kingdom Champion on Monday (Manila time) at Empress Ballroom in Blackpool, England.

The 19-year-old bucked an injured shoulder and topped Pete Dunne in the Finals of the WWE United Kingdom Championship tournament, putting an exciting end to the two-day affair.

Bate used a pair of wheel house kicks to the back of the head of Dunne before nailing him with Tyler Driver 97 for the pinfall win.

Dunne earlier looked poised to snare the crown after attacking Bate before their duel, slamming him to the ring posts which led to the kid from Dudley, England to separate his AC joint on his left shoulder.

But Bate wagered on to the championship match, as he showed his wares and nailed a Flosbery flop to the outside before setting Dunne for the 450 double foot stomp.

The “Bruiserweight,” though, continued to punish his former protege, connecting with the Bitter End and set him up for the Kimura Lock after kicking out. But the young technician just had enough in him, reversing the hold to a brainbuster before ending the match with the wheel house kicks and his finisher.

It was the two’s fourth match in two days, as 16 of the best British wrestlers battled for supremacy.

Bate first topped Tucker in the first round, before beating Jordan Devlin in the quarterfinals, and Wolfgang in the semis.

Dunne, meanwhile, beat Roy Johnson in the first round, before running roughshod of Sam Gradwell in the quarterfinals, and Mark Andrews in the semifinals.

The title is expected to remain in the UK, to be defended across different independent promotions in the country.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Balor vacates Universal title due to shoulder injury

The Demon King’s reign didn’t last very long.

Finn Balor was forced to vacate his newly won WWE Universal Championship on Monday (Tuesday Manila time) after suffering a torn labrum in his left shoulder.

“Last night, I achieved the impossible and I became the WWE Universal Champion. But there was a sacrifice and I have to relinquish this title,” the Irish said on Raw in Brooklyn.

Balor, though, said that reclaiming the title will be his main target when he returns.

“Rest assured that when I am healthy and when I am fit and when I am ready, I will be back and this title is the first thing I am coming for,” he said.

Balor is initially part of the roster for the upcoming WWE Live Manila on September 9.

Ringside physician Dr. Chris Robinson also shed light on the topic, saying that Balor injured his shoulder after taking a powerbomb to the barricade in his match against Seth Rollins at SummerSlam on Sunday.

“He hit the wall during the match, dislocated his shoulder and was able to put it back in himself in a split second,” he said.

Balor is expected to go to under the knife, which would leave him with a recovery time from four to six months.

Meanwhile, Raw commissioner Stephanie McMahon and general manager Mick Foley announced a series of bouts to determine the participants for next week’s fatal-4-way match for the vacated WWE Universal Championship in Houston.

Rollins beat an injured Sami Zayn with a Pedigree, while Kevin Owens also advanced after nailing Neville with a Torture Rack neckbreaker.

Big Cass also progressed after United States Champion Rusev got a boot and opted to be counted out, while Roman Reigns completed the field after beating Chris Jericho with a Spear.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Hulk Hogan sacked as taped racial slur surfaces

WASHINGTON, United States - The American professional wrestling legend known as Hulk Hogan has been dumped by World Wrestling Entertainment, the association said Friday.

News reports said this was because Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea, uses a racial slur in a 2008 conversation that was taped and has just now come to light.

"WWE terminated its contract with Terry Bollea (aka Hulk Hogan). WWE is committed to embracing and celebrating individuals from all backgrounds as demonstrated by the diversity of our employees, performers and fans worldwide," the association said.

It did not give a reason for its break with Hogan.

Hogan, who is 61 and known for his perpetual suntan and flamboyant bandana, is no longer viewable in the "Superstar" category on the WWE website's video archive.

He is also no longer listed as a judge on the WWE-released reality show "Tough Enough", and WWE has stopped selling Hulk Hogan merchandise.

US press reports say Hogan, in a sex tape made in 2008, part of which has surfaced online, uses the "N-word" in a conversation about his daughter's dating a black man.

Hogan reacted Friday on Twitter, writing cryptically: "In the storm I release control, God and his Universe will sail me where he wants me to be, one love. HH"

Later he apologized in comments to People magazine.

"Eight years ago I used offensive language during a conversation. It was unacceptable for me to have used that offensive language; there is no excuse for it; and I apologize for having done it," Hogan said. — Agence France-Presse

source: gmanetwork.com