Wrestling Goes Elite! (fantasy booking)

[Celexa Bliss]

So, this idea came about from the very first EWR diary I read over on EWB more than two years ago. The concept was focused on TNA/Impact, but I've expanded on it greatly. It's not just Impact, but also ROH, WWE/NXT and some NJPW. I was going to include MLW, as well, but the amount of work it would take me to incorporate it just isn't worth it. Before we get to the actual booking part of this, I have prepared nearly six years worth of news beats and relevant events results that will bring everything up to the beginning of October 2019. The starting date was chosen for one big reason. In real life, that was the point in time where the most change was taking place in the industry. With Smackdown moving to FOX, AEW debuting on TNT, Impact moving to AXS, and NWA Powerr launching on Youtube, it was the biggest shakeup in the modern era of wrestling. So when crafting the lead-up, I made a conscious effort to build to this point for where everything "begins".

Consider this the spiritual successor to the "Wrestling Wars", which may not be dead, but is definitely on a hiatus. I have a lot of ideas in mind and I've put a lot of time into this. I hope everyone enjoys my take on the wrestling world from 2014 to 2019... and beyond!

Next post will cover the year of 2014.

[Celexa Bliss]

2014
- January 4th, 2014: AJ Styles makes a surprise appearance at New Japan Pro Wrestling’s WrestleKingdom 8 event, carrying the TNA World Championship and aligning with the Bullet Club. This effectively kills any chance of a working agreement between NJPW and Ring of Honor, who had been hoping to achieve a talent sharing deal.

- January 26th, 2014: At the Royal Rumble, the live crowd turns on the event when Daniel Bryan, who many believed was earmarked for the WrestleMania main event, doesn’t even take part in the event’s titular match. In the fall out, CM Punk walks out of the company, while his fiance, AJ Lee, gives her notice, with the April 7th Raw, the night after WrestleMania 30, being her final night with the company.

- January-March 2014: AJ Styles returns to TNA to confront World Champion Magnus and his allies in Team Dixie. Magnus goes on to defeat Styles, becoming the undisputed TNA World Champion. AJ remains a part of the roster, however, acting as the liason to the “Mystery Investor” who Dixie Carter seems to be terrified of.

As for Magnus, he goes on to drop the World Title to Mr. Anderson at the Against All Odds special, only for James Storm, who has won the X Division Championship, to invoke Option C and become the new Champion at Destination X.

- February 27th, 2014: The WWE Network’s launch week concludes with the live airing of the first-ever NXT special event, NXT Arrival. At the show, Neville defeats NXT Champion Bo Dallas in a ladder match to win the title. Also on the show, Paige defended the NXT Women’s Championship against Emma, The Ascension retained the NXT Tag Team Championship against surprise opponents Too Cool, and Cesaro defeated Sami Zayn in a match that was awarded five stars by The Wrestling Observer.

- April 4th, 2014: At SuperCard of Honor, Adam Cole defeats Jay Briscoe in a Ladder War, giving him full claim to the ROH World Championship. Meanwhile, Jay Lethal defeats Tommaso Ciampa to win his second ROH Television Championship, beginning a long reign for the ROH cornerstone. In addition, the newly formed team of Raymond Rowe and Hanson, known collectively as War Machine, capture the ROH Tag Team Championship from a departing ReDragon, who announce their intentions to go to New Japan, after the partnership with ROH fell through.

- April 6th, 2014: At New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Invasion Attack show, Rysuke Taguchi defeated Prince Devitt, ending their year-long feud. During the match, The Young Bucks repeatedly ignored Devitt’s instructions to not interfere. After the match, Devitt and Taguchi shook hands, only to be beaten down by The Bucks and the rest of Bullet Club.

- April 6th, 2014: At WrestleMania 30, WWE finally listened to the fans, as Daniel Bryan defeated Triple H in the opening match, earning a spot in the evening’s main event for the WWE World Championship. Bryan would then go on to defeat Champion Randy Orton and Batista in a triple threat to capture the title. In addition, Cesaro won the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal, last eliminating Big Show, and AJ Lee successfully defended the Divas Championship against every other woman on the roster in a free-for-all. The following night on Raw, AJ would drop the title to the debuting NXT Women’s Champion, Paige, in her final WWE appearance.

But the most shocking moment of WrestleMania undoubtedly occurred when Brock Lesnar defeated The Undertaker, ending the legendary “Streak” at 21-1. After the match, The Undertaker had to be rushed to the hospital, due to injuries suffered during the match, with Vince McMahon actually leaving the show to accompany him.

- April 8th, 2014: Three days after being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame and one day after appearing on Raw, The Ultimate Warrior unexpectedly passes away from a heart attack in the parking lot of an Arizona hotel.

- April-May 2014: Not long after capturing the WWE World Championship, Daniel Bryan marries Brie Bella. Unfortunately, less than a week later, Bryan’s father passes away, as does superfan Connor “The Crusher” Michalek. Topping off the tragic events, Bryan suffers a serious neck injury, putting his title reign in jeopardy.

- May 3rd, 2014: At New Japan’s Wrestling Dontaku event, AJ Styles defeats Kazuchika Okada to capture the IWGP Championship. At the same show, the reunited Apollo 55 defeat The Young Bucks to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship for a record-breaking fifth time. After the match, ReDragon debuted in New Japan to challenge the Champions.

- May 10th, 2014: Kevin Steen wrestles his final ROH match, failing to capture the ROH World Championship from Adam Cole.

- May 29th, 2014: WWE holds it’s second NXT-exclusive event, entitled NXT Takeover. At the show, Neville successfully defends the NXT Championship against Tyson Kidd, while Charlotte, daughter of Ric Flair, defeats Kidd’s wife, Natalya, in a tournament final to crown the new NXT Women’s Champion, following Paige vacating the title to move up to the main roster. In addition, The Ascension would continue their Tag Team Title reign with a win over Kalisto and El Local, and Tyler Breeze defeated Sami Zayn to decide the next challenger for Neville’s Championship.

- June 1st, 2014: At WWE Payback, Daniel Bryan officially relinquishes the WWE World Championship. It is announced that at Money in the Bank, a new Champion will be crowned.

- June 2nd, 2014: The night after Payback, Seth Rollins betrays Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns, ending The Shield and rejoining The Authority.

- June 8th, 2014: Ricochet defeats KUSHIDA to win New Japan’s 2014 Best of the Super Juniors Tournament.

- June 12th, 2014: WWE releases Yoshi Tatsu, Aksana, Curt Hawkins, Drew McIntyre, Jinder Mahal, Teddy Long, JTG, Brodus Clay, Evan Bourne, Camacho, Emma, Alexa Bliss, Mason Ryan, Eden Stiles and Cody Rhodes. It later comes out that the latter pair requested their releases. Even later on, we learn that Cody was set to become “Stardust”, a clone of Goldust. Because WWE wouldn’t commit to a serious push for Cody, he asked to pursue other opportunities.

- June 13th, 2014: WWE send CM Punk his termination papers on the same day he marries the former AJ Lee, April Lee Mendez.

- June 15th, 2014: At TNA Slammiversary, Christian Cage makes his surprise return to the company, revealing himself to be the Mystery Investor. AJ Styles and Gail Kim are inducted into the TNA Hall of Fame, but are attacked by two men and a woman, all wearing masks. Also at the show, James Storm defeats former friend Gunner, Mr. Anderson, Matt Morgan and Magnus in a King of the Mountain Match to retain the TNA Championship, while Bobby Roode and Austin Aries defeat their EGO allies Bad Influence to capture the TNA Tag Team Championship. And Chris Sabin wins the tournament for the vacant X Division Championship, defeating AJ Styles in the finals, after Styles won a grueling match earlier in the night against Kurt Angle.

- June 2014: In the weeks leading up to Slammiversary, Jeff Jarrett had returned to TNA, appearing in segments with Dixie Carter, seemingly to talk about the history of TNA, but instead, he would announce the creation of Global Force Wrestling. A draft was held on Impact, with GFW obtaining the likes of CM Punk, April Lee Mendez, Johnny Global, Bobby Lashley, Sting, Kevin Steen, Bullet Club, Fergal Devitt and – in a huge shocker – Chris Jericho.

- June 22nd, 2014: At Ring of Honor’s Best in the World, Michael Elgin defeats Adam Cole to win the ROH World Championship. At the same show, The Briscoes defeat War Machine to win the ROH Tag Team Championship, and Matt Hardy, Michael Bennett and Maria Kanellis make their final ROH appearance, losing to Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano.

- June 29th, 2014: WWE Money in the Bank, John Cena wins an eight man ladder match for the vacant WWE World Championship. Seth Rollins wins the Money in the Bank Ladder Match, despite the best efforts of former friend Dean Ambrose.

- Summer 2014: Konnan has been appearing on TNA programming, introducing a number of lucha libre stars from AAA, such as Feinx, Pentagon Jr., El Hijo Del Fantasma, Aero Star and Drago, as well as the likes of Prince Puma (Ricochet), Son of Havoc (Matt Cross), Kill Shot (Shane Strickland), and Mil Muertes (Ricky Banderas). While the matches are top quality, the question of where Konnan’s loyalties lie is a frequent topic of debate.

- July 28th, 2014: Spike TV announce that they are not renewing the contract for Impact Wrestling, which expires in September. Dixie Carter denies the claims, saying that negotiations are still ongoing.

- July-August 2014: At TNA’s Redemption event, James Storm defeats Nick Aldis (FKA Magnus) to retain the TNA World Championship. At the same show, The Main Event Mafia (Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe, AJ Styles and Matt Morgan, managed by Christian Cage) defeat EGO (Austin Aries, Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian and Ethan Carter III, standing in for Bobby Roode) in an eight man tag.

In the weeks following the event, James Storm issues open challenges for the World Title, leading to matches on Impact against the likes of Crimson and Austin Aries, both long-running rivals of the Champion. At Hardcore Justice, Storm’s reign is finally ended by Abyss, in a bloody hardcore match. However, after the match, Magnus attacks the new Champion and cashes in the Feast or Fired case he won earlier in the night from Gunner, to become the new Champion.

- August 7th, 2014: Alberto Del Rio is released by WWE following a physical altercation with an employee over a “racist joke”.

- August 10th, 2014: Kazuchika Okada defeats Shinsuke Nakamura to win the G1-Climax and the right to challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at WrestleKingdom on January 4th.

- August 14th, 2014: Dixie Carter announces that Impact will continue to air on Spike TV through the end of the year, albeit being moved to Wednesdays. On that same day, news breaks that AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, James Storm, Bobby Roode, Austin Aries, Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin met with Dixie regarding employees being paid. While the details are never revealed, it is known that the wrestlers begin receiving paychecks for three-times their normal pay over the next several months.

- August 17th, 2014: At SummerSlam 2014, Brock Lesnar dominates WWE World Champion John Cena to capture his first World Title in over ten years. Brock will make one more defense of the title at September’s Night of Champions, before disappearing from television for the remainder of the year. Also at SummerSlam, Seth Rollins defeats Dean Ambrose in a Lumberjack match, Dolph Ziggler captures the Intercontinental Championship from The Miz, Stephanie McMahon defeats Brie Bella after Nikki Bella betrays her sister, and Roman Reigns defeats Randy Orton.

- September 6th: At ROH’s All-Star Extravaganza, Jay Briscoe defeats Michael Elgin, becoming the new ROH World Champion, in addition to holding the Tag Team Championship with his brother, Mark.

- September 11th, 2014: WWE holds the second NXT Takeover event, subtitled “Fatal 4-Way” and headlined by a Fatal 4-Way match between NXT Champion Neville, Tyler Breeze, Tyson Kidd and Sami Zayn, where Neville manages to retain the gold. As well, Charlotte defeats Bayley to retain the NXT Women’s Championship and The Lucha Dragons, Kalisto and Sin Cara, defeat The Ascension to capture the NXT Tag Team Championship. In addition, KENTA made his NXT debut, now going by the name Hideo Itami.

- September 14th, 2014: Alberto Del Rio, now known as Alberto El Patron, returns to AAA, teaming with La Parka and Myzteziz to defeat Averno, Perro Aguayo Jr. and AAA Mega Champion Texano Jr.

- October 12th, 2014: At TNA’s Bound For Glory PPV, Samoa Joe defeats his former tag team partner Magnus to finally recapture the TNA World Championship, six years to the day his only previous reign ended. Elsewhere on the show, Team 3D wrestle their final match in TNA, losing to EC3 and Rockstar Spud in a career vs. Feast or Fired case match; Bobby Roode and Austin Aries defended the TNA Tag Team Championship in a four-way match, defeating The Wolves, AJ Styles and Kurt Angle, and Bad Influence; Matt Hardy, Michael Bennett and Maria Kanellis were revealed as the masked attackers who have been showing up periodically since Slammiversary. Matt is out for revenge after how his original TNA run ended and has recruited Bennett and Maria, the trio collectively known as the Hive Mind; Konnan was publicly fired by Dixie Carter, after the latter learned that the former was working for Jeff Jarrett as a double-agent, effectively ending the lucha libre showcases on Impact; James Storm defeated Gunner in a Last Man Standing Match to end their feud.

- October 13th, 2014: At New Japan’s King of Pro Wrestling event, Hiroshi Tanahashi defeats AJ Styles to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. At the same show, Kazuchika Okada defeats Tesuya Naito to keep the Tokyo Dome Challenge Rights Certificate, setting up the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 9 between Tanahashi and Okada. Also on the show, Time Splitters (Alex Shelley and KUSHIDA) defeat The Young Bucks and IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions ReDragon to win the titles, while Rysuke Taguchi retains the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship against Kota Ibushi.

- October 2014: Reports come out that WWE made unsuccessful attempts to sign Kevin Steen and Prince Devitt during the spring and summer. Triple H, in particular, was said to be very disappointed by their failure to sign two huge free agents, as he was hoping to build NXT around them as Neville and Sami Zayn prepare to move up to the main roster.

November 15th, 2014: At Ring of Honor’s Glory By Honor XIII show, Jimmy Jacobs and BJ Whitmer of The Decade capture the ROH Tag Team Championship from The Briscoes, thanks to interference by Adam Cole. This sets the stage for Final Battle, where Cole will challenge ROH World Champion Jay Briscoe in a Fight Without Honor.

- November 19th, 2014: Spike TV airs it’s final episode of Impact Wrestling. In the show’s main event, Samoa Joe retains the TNA World Championship in a three-way match against Magnus and Matt Morgan. On the same episode, EC3 unsuccessfully cashes in his Feast or Fired Tag Team Title shot, as he and Rockstar Spud are defeated by Bobby Roode and Austin Aries. But later in the night, Roode declares himself the number one contender for the World Championship and attacks Joe. Immediately after the show ends, Dixie Carter announces on TNA.com that Impact will premiere on Destination America on January 7th, with a live episode from the Manhattan Center, with Samoa Joe defending the TNA World Championship against Bobby Roode in the main event.

- November 23rd, 2014: At WWE Survivor Series, The Authority stable led by Triple H seems to be disbanded for good, when John Cena, Dolph Ziggler, Ryback, Erick Rowan and Big Show defeat Seth Rollins, United States Champion Rusev, Intercontinental Champion Luke Harper, Kane and Mark Henry in a Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match. Ziggler is the sole survivor, fighting back from three-to-one odds, after Big Show betrayed his team to help eliminate Cena. Ziggler went on to eliminate Harper, Kane and Rollins to win the match and keep Team Cena employed.

It was heavily rumored that Sting was intended to debut at the show, but at the last minute, he renewed his GFW contract.

- November 2014: CM Punk appears on Colt Cabana’s Art of Wrestling podcast and reveals many of the details behind why he left WWE. In particular, Punk alleges medical malpractice against WWE doctor Chris Amman for failure to properly diagnose a staph infection.

- December 7th, 2014: Hirooki Goto and Katsuyori Shibata win New Japan’s World Tag League, defeating the reigning IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions, Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson. As a result, Goto and Shibata earn a title shot at WrestleKingdom 9.

On the same day, ROH holds Final Battle 2014, where Jay Briscoe defeats Adam Cole in a Fight Without Honor to retain the ROH World Championship. Afterwards, it’s announced that Cole will be taking time off for surgery, depleting ROH’s already stretched-thin roster. But the blow is softened by the debut of Drew Galloway, who confronts Briscoe after the match.

And ALSO on the same day, Alberto El Patron defeats Texano Jr. at AAA’s Guera de Titanes show to win the AAA Mega Championship

- December 11th, 2014: WWE presents NXT Takeover: (R)Evolution. In the main event, Sami Zayn defeats Neville to win the NXT Championship, ending a nearly year-long chase. Hideo Itami defeats Tyler Breeze, becoming the next challenger for the title, while Charlotte defeats her former ally Sasha Banks to retain the NXT Women’s Championship.

- December 14th, 2014: At WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs (and Stairs), Dolph Ziggler defeats John Cena and Seth Rollins in a Ladder Match to become the Number One Contender for the WWE World Championship at the Royal Rumble. Elsewhere, Bray Wyatt defeats Dean Ambrose in a Tables match, with the help of Intercontinental Champion Luke Harper; the popular duo of Miz and Mizdow defeat The Usos, Los Matadores and The New Day to win the WWE Tag Team Championship; and Divas Champion Nikki Bella defeats Paige to retain, after Brie Bella aligns with her sister once more

[Celexa Bliss]

2015
- January 4th, 2015: At WrestleKingdom 9 from the Tokyo Dome, IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi defeats Kazuchika Okada to retain the title in the show’s main event. Also on the card, IWGP Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura defeats Kota Ibushi to retain; the year long reign of Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson as IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions comes to an end when they are dethroned by Hirooki Goto and Katsuyori Shibata; Kenny Omega (now representing Bullet Club and accompanied by The Young Bucks) defeats Rysuke Taguchi to capture the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, only to be confronted and challenged by Prince Devitt afterwards; ReDragon regain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship in a 4-Way match against Time Splitters, Forever Hooligans, and The Young Bucks; and in an exhibition match, AJ Styles defeats Tetsuya Naito

- January 6th, 2015: Bobby Roode defeats Samoa Joe, with liberal help from the rest of EGO, to capture the TNA World Championship. This creates immediate friction between the already tenuous partnership between EGO and Team Dixie, as both EC3 and Magnus demand title shots.

- January 25th, 2015: WWE presented the Royal Rumble PPV, which went down as having an even bigger negative reaction than the 2014 edition. Going in, Roman Reigns was being positioned as the favorite to win, but the fans clearly wanted Daniel Bryan. Unlike last year, Bryan was actually in the match this time. Unfortunately, he was unceremoniously eliminated by Bray Wyatt halfway into the match. Reigns would then go on to eliminate Kane, Big Show and Seth Rollins to win the match. While The Rock came out to give his cousin his endorsement, not even The People’s Champ could turn the crowd. Elsewhere on the show, Dolph Ziggler was defeated by WWE World Champion Brock Lesnar, Seth Rollins defeated John Cena to earn the number thirty spot in the Rumble, while Cena was forced to enter at number one, and Miz and Mizdow defeated The Usos to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship, despite Miz stealing Mizdow’s thunder.

- January 2015: It’s revealed that Jeff and Karen Jarrett, along with their partner, Toby Keith, have purchased a minority stake in TNA. This is not addressed on-screen (yet), but is confirmed by a number of talents, who verify that their paychecks had become larger and consistent in the last several months. Immediately, there is online buzz that TNA and GFW will begin working together, which turns out to be true, later in the year…

- February 11th, 2015: New Japan’s New Beginning In Osaka event ends up being a banner night for Bullet Club. In addition to Kenny Omega retaining the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship against Prince Devitt, AJ Styles defeats Hiroshi Tanahashi to regain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson regain the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship from Goto and Shibata, and The Young Bucks defeat both the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions ReDragon and The Time Splitters to win back the titles, giving Bullet Club control of four out the six Championships contested by New Japan.

On the same day, WWE presents NXT Takeover: Rival. In the main event, Sami Zayn successfully defends the NXT Championship against Hideo Itami. In other action, Sasha Banks defeats NXT Women’s Champion Carlotte, Bayley and Becky Lynch to win the title in a critically acclaimed Fatal 4-Way Match.

- February 2015: WWE doctor Chris Amman files a lawsuit against Phil Brooks (CM Punk) and Scott Colton (Colt Cabana) for defamation, citing Brooks’ claims during his appearance on Colton’s podcast back in November.

- March 1st, 2015: Ring of Honor holds it’s 13th Anniversary Show. In the main event, Jay Briscoe defeats Michael Elgin, Hanson and Drew Galloway to retain the ROH World Championship. The event also features the debut of Alberto El Patron, who defeats Mark Briscoe. Elsewhere on the card, Jay Lethal defeats TJ Perkins to retain the ROH Television Championship, Roderick Strong defeats Adam Page, and Tomasso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano defeat ROH Tag Team Champions BJ Whitmer and Jimmy Jacobs to win the titles.

- March 11th, 2015: Austin Aries defeats Chris Sabin to capture the TNA X Division Championship. Later in the night, after Bobby Roode successfully defends the TNA World Championship against James Storm, Aries announces that he’s invoking Option C next week at Destination X. On the same episode, Nick Aldis returns after being kicked out of Team Dixie last month, and costs EC3 his match against Abyss.

- March 18th, 2015: Austin Aries defeats his tag team partner Bobby Roode to win the TNA World Championship at Destination X. Nick Aldis defeats Rockstar Spud in singles action, and PJ Black (formerly WWE’s Justin Gabriel) debuts with a win over Mandrews.

- March 27th, 2015: At ROH’s Supercard of Honor, Jay Briscoe retained the ROH World Championship, defeating Alberto El Patron. In addition, Jay Lethal defends the TV Championship against Michael Elgin, Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano retain the ROH Tag Team Championship against Josh Alexander and Ethan Page, and Jimmy Jacobs wrestles his final match for ROH, a loss to former partner BJ Whitmer, who had Steve Corino’s son, Colby, in his corner.

- March 29th, 2015: At WrestleMania 31, Seth Rollins makes history when he becomes the first wrestler to cash in his Money in the Bank the contract during the main event of WrestleMania. Fifteen minutes into the WWE World Championship Match between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns, with both men down, Rollins would run to the ring and turn the match into a Triple Threat, going on to pin Reigns, following a Curb Stomp, to capture the title. In other matches, The Undertaker returned for the first time since the Streak was ended the previous year, defeating Bray Wyatt; John Cena defeated Rusev to capture the WWE United States Championship; Daniel Bryan won the Intercontinental Championship in a six man Ladder Match; Damien Sandow defeated The Miz; Paige and recent NXT call-up Charlotte defeated The Bella Twins; Randy Orton defeated Seth Rollins (several hours before his cash-in); and Tyson Kidd and Cesaro defeated The Usos, The New Day and The Ascension in a 4-Way Elimination Match to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship.

The night after WrestleMania, Neville (his first name dropped) and The Lucha Dragons join Charlotte as the newest members of the main roster. As well, Sheamus returns from injury and turns heel, attacking both Daniel Bryan and Dolph Ziggler. John Cena also institutes the US Championship Open Challenge, facing a different opponent every week on Raw.

- April 5th, 2015: At New Japan’s Invasion Attack, Rocky Romero and his new tag team partner, Beretta (the former Trent Berreta of WWE) captured the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship from The Young Bucks. In the show’s main event, AJ Styles defeats Kota Ibushi to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.

- April 8th, 2015: PJ Black defeats Mandrews, Chris Sabin and Ricochet to win the vacant X Division Championship in an Ultimate X Match. In addition, Bobby Roode and Austin Aries’ volatile partnership implodes during a tag team match against Samoa Joe and AJ Styles of the Main Event Mafia, when Roode leaves the World Champion to eat the pin from Styles. And EC3 defeats Nick Aldis, thanks to a heavy amount of interference by Team Dixie.

- April 16th, 2015: Daniel Bryan and John Cena team up on Smackdown to defeat Cesaro and Tyson Kidd in a non-title match. This will turn out to be Bryan’s final match for quite some time.

- April 2015: Sometime during the month, Billy Corgan joins TNA as Senior Producer of Creative and Talent Development. In an interview, Corgan calls the job a dream come true.

- May 3rd, 2015: At New Japan’s Wrestling Dontaku, Hirooki Goto defeats Shinsuke Nakamura in the main event to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. In addition, The Young Bucks defeat Roppongi Vice and ReDragon to regain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, while AJ Styles and Yujiro Takahashi defeat Kazuchika Okada and Yoshi-Hashi in a featured tag team match.

- May 4th, 2015: NXT Champion Sami Zayn makes a surprise appearance on Raw as John Cena’s challenger for the WWE United States Championship. Unfortunately, Sami is injured prior to the match during a routine warm-up exercise, separating his shoulder.

- May 11th, 2015: Daniel Bryan forfeits the WWE Intercontinental Championship, due to an undisclosed injury, which he says could force him to retire.

- May 20th, 2015: WWE holds it’s fifth NXT Takeover event, which is headlined by a double main event. In the first main event, Sasha Banks successfully defends the NXT Women’s Championship against Becky Lynch, while in the second, Tyler Breeze, with the help of new bodyguard Bull Dempsey, defeats Sami Zayn to win the NXT Championship. Originally, Zayn was supposed to face Hideo Itami in a rematch from their encounter at Takeover: Rival, but Itami was found injured in the parking lot prior to the start of the show. As a result, Breeze won a battle royal at the start of the show to earn to title shot in the main event. With Sami also injured, Breeze was able to win the title, beginning the “Era of Pretty”.

- May 31st, 2015: At WWE’s Elimination Chamber PPV, Dean Ambrose defeats WWE Champion Seth Rollins (albeit by disqualification) in the main event. Elsewhere on the card, Ryback wins an Elimination Chamber Match for the vacant WWE Intercontinental Championship, while Nikki Bella defeats Paige and Naomi in a triple threat to retain the Divas Championship. On the pre-show, The Miz hosts Daniel Bryan on MizTV, where Miz says that everything Bryan accomplished in WWE is thanks to him. Bryan was unable to touch Miz, due to not being medically cleared, but John Cena came to Bryan’s aid, setting up a US Title match for later in the night, in which Cena would retain.

- June 7th, 2015: Kushida defeats Kyle O’Reilly to win the 2015 New Japan Best of the Super Juniors Tournament. With the win, he will now challenge Kenny Omega for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship at Dominion on July 5th.

- June 19th, 2015: At Ring of Honor’s Best in the World PPV, Jay Lethal defeats Jay Briscoe in a Title vs. Title match to capture the ROH World Championship, becoming both a double-Champion and the first African American ROH World Champion. Also on the show, War Machine defeat Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargno to win the ROH Tag Team Championship, while Roderick Strong defeats Michael Elgin and Drew Galloway to become the Number One Contender for the ROH World Championship.

- June 28th, 2015: TNA Slammiversary turns out to be a monumental event for the company. While Austin Aries defeats Samoa Joe, Bobby Roode, AJ Styles and Abyss in a King of the Mountain Match to retain the TNA World Championship, the big story comes during the 2015 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Former Director of Authority Christian Cage is inducted into the Hall of Fame by AJ Styles, while TNA and GFW founder Jeff Jarrett is inducted by new Director Authority Kurt Angle. When Dixie Carter tries to cut Jarrett’s speech short, Jarrett goes off, saying she’d be nowhere without him. Jarrett goes on to say that maybe it’s time he “consolidated his assets”… elsewhere on the card, Nick Aldis defeats EC3 in a bloody steel cage, Abyss’s “muse” Rosemary defeats Maria Kanellis for the TNA Women’s Championship, and Gunner and Crimson defeat The Wolves, Bad Influence and The Hive Mind to retain the TNA Tag Team Championship.

- July 4th, 2015: WWE presents The Beast in the East, it’s first-ever WWE Network Special from Japan. Brock Lesnar is featured in his first match since WrestleMania, defeating The New Day’s Kofi Kingston. In other prominent matches, Nikki Bella defeats Paige to retain the WWE Divas Championship, and in the main event, John Cena and Dolph Ziggler defeat Bad News Barrett and Kane.

- July 5th, 2015: At New Japan’s Dominion 7.5 event, Kazuchika Okada finally recaptures the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, defeating AJ Styles in the show’s main event. This signals the end of Styles’ run as a regular in New Japan, as he plans to return to TNA full-time. In other matches, Kushida defeats Kenny Omega to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, Prince Devitt defeats Tama Tonga, and Togi Makabe defeats Shinsuke Nakamura to retain the IWGP Intercontinental Championship.

- July 19th, 2015: The Undertaker makes his shocking return at WWE Battleground, costing Brock Lesnar the WWE Championship against Seth Rollins. Also on the show, Bray Wyatt defeats Roman Reigns, Randy Orton exacts a slight measure of revenge on Sheamus for beating him at Money in the Bank by pinning the briefcase holder, and Nikki Bella defeats Paige, only for Charlotte to return after the match, along with Becky Lynch, to save Paige from a beatdown by The Bellas and Alicia Fox.

- July 2015: Jeff Jarrett leads a group of GFW talents in an “invasion” of TNA. Joining “The Chosen One” in his first assault are GFW Global Champion CM Punk and his wife, GFW Women’s Champion April Lee Mendez, Sting, Bobby Lashley, Reno S.C.U.M., Kevin Steen and Moose.

- August 12th, 2015: GFW’s Brian Myers defeats PJ Black in his TNA debut match to win the TNA X Division Championship. On the same show, a TNA World Championship match between Austin Aries and EC3 is disrupted by the GFW invaders, with Johnny Global and Taya Valkyrie joining the invading force. However, in a show of unity, not only does Bobby Roode come out to help his former tag team partner, James Storm is flanking him, along with EC3’s bitter rival, Nick Aldis, Bad Influence, The Beautiful People and Mickie James. The battle lines have been drawn!

- August 16th, 2015: Hiroshi Tanahashi defeats Shinsuke Nakamura to win the 2015 NJPW G1-Climax and earn the Tokyo Dome Challenge Rights Certificate.

- August 22nd, 2015: WWE presents NXT Takeover: Brooklyn, the first Takeover to take place outside of Full Sail University. In the culmination of a months long storyline, Bayley defeats Sasha Banks to win the NXT Women’s Championship, while hometown boys Enzo Amore and Big Cass defeat Blake and Murphy to win the NXT Tag Team Championship. Apollo Crews debuts on this show, defeating Tye Dillinger, while in the main event, Tyler Breeze defeats Japanese legend Jushin “Thunder” Liger to retain the NXT Championship.

- August 23rd, 2015: One night after a successful NXT Takeover event, WWE puts on it’s main roster spectacular, SummerSlam. In the main event, The Undertaker gets revenge for the end of The Streak by defeating Brock Lesnar. Seth Rollins defeats John Cena in a title vs. title match to capture the United States Championship. Charlotte pins Nikki Bella in a six woman tag team match, which saw Charlotte team with Paige and Becky Lynch against The Bellas and Alicia Fox. Sheamus pins Randy Orton, Ryback defeated Big Show to retain the Intercontinental Championship, and Dolph Ziggler and Rusev battled to a no-contest. The New Day defeated The Prime Time Players, The Ascension and The Lucha Dragons to regain the WWE Tag Team Championship, but were attacked by the returning Dudley Boyz after the match. And Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper defeated Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose, thanks to their new ally, the monstrous Braun Strowman.

- September 2nd, 2015: Reno S.C.U.M. (Adam Thornstowe and Luster The Legend) defeat Gunner and Crimson to win the TNA Tag Team Championship on Impact. After the match, Konnan leads Santana, Ortiz and Diamante, the new LAX, to the ring to help Reno S.C.U.M. beat down Gunner and Crimson, only for the Main Event Mafia AND EC3 and Rockstar Spud, to make the save. On the same show, Angelina Love and April Lee Mendez have what is the called “The PipeBomb War of 2015”, as the two take shots at one another, while both taking credit for elevating the perception of women’s wrestling in the United States.

- September 16th, 2015: On Impact, Bram makes his debut, confronting Nick Aldis, who he claims is an old acquaintance. Bram accuses Aldis of leaving him and his past behind to chase fame and fortune in the US, but Bram is here to force Aldis to embrace his roots. Also on the show, Kushida makes a surprise appearance to set up an X Championship match with Brian Myers at Bound For Glory.

- September 20th, 2015: At WWE Night of Champions, Charlotte ends Nikki Bella’s historic 301 day reign as WWE Divas Champion. In the double main event, Seth Rollins loses the WWE United States Championship back to John Cena, before defeating Corporate Kane in the main event to retain the WWE World Championship.

- September 23rd, 2015, September 27th, 2015: New Japan Pro Wrestling holds it’s Destruction shows. On the 9/23 show, Kenny Omega recaptures the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, while Togi Makabe retains the NEVER Openweight Championship against Tomohiro Ishii. On 9/27, Shinsuke Nakamura defeats Hirooki Goto to regain the IWGP Intercontinental Championship, while Hiroshi Tanahashi successfully defends the Tokyo Dome Challenge Rights Certificate against Bad Luck Fale.

- October 4th, 2015: TNA holds it’s Bound For Glory PPV. In the main event, Jeff Jarrett defeats Austin Aries to win the TNA World Championship, after AJ Styles betrays the TNA locker room to help Jarrett capture the gold. Other matches on the card include: Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle defeating LAX; EC3 and Rockstar Spud defeating Reno S.C.U.M. to win the TNA Tag Team Championship; Kushida defeating Brian Myers to win the X Division Championship; GFW Women’s Champion April Lee Mendez defeats Angelina Love; EGO (Bobby Roode, Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian) defeat CM Punk and The Wolves, the latter being recent defections from TNA to GFW; and Awesome Kong made her surprise return to defeat Rosemary for the TNA Women’s Championship.

- October 7th, 2015: WWE presents NXT Takeover: Respect. This show features the highly anticipated rematch between Bayley and Sasha Banks for the NXT Women’s Championship, with Bayley retaining the title in a 30-minute Iron Woman Match. In addition, Sami Zayn returns to confront NXT Champion Tyler Breeze, challenging him for the title at December’s NXT Takeover: London event. In the co-main event, Chad Gable and Jason Jordan defeat The Mechanics (Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder) to win the inaugural Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, coming after The Mechanics upset NXT Tag Team Champions Enzo and Cass, and Gable and Jordan defeated Breeze and Bull Dempsey, in the semifinals. Asuka also debuted on the show, defeating Dana Brooke.

- October 23rd, 2015: At Ring of Honor’s Glory By Honor PPV, Roderick Strong ends Jay Lethal’s 567 day Television Championship reign.

- October 25th, 2015: WWE presents Hell in a Cell, headlined by Brock Lesnar defeating The Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell match to end their feud. In addition, WWE Champion Seth Rollins defeats Demon Kane to retain the title; Charlotte defeats Nikki Bella to retain the Divas Championship, with Nikki being taken out on a stretcher post-match; NXT Champion Tyler Breeze makes his surprise debut, costing Dolph Ziggler a match against Rusev; Roman Reigns defeats Bray Wyatt in a Hell in a Cell Match; Dean Ambrose defeats Ryback and Cesaro in a triple threat match to win the Intercontinental Championship; and the returning Alberto Del Rio defeats John Cena to win the WWE United States Championship. This will be Cena’s last appearance for several months.

- October 28th, 2015: Christopher Daniels defeats Jeff Jarrett to win the TNA World Championship. The same night, Nick Aldis defeats Bram in a Last Man Standing Match, exiling Bram from the company. In addition, Homicide and Hernandez return to TNA to confront Konnan and his new LAX group. Finally, Chris Jericho debuts, having a back-and-forth promo against Sting, who rejoined TNA several weeks earlier.

- November 4th, 2015: Seth Rollins suffers a torn ACL, MCL and damaged meniscus while performing in Dublin, Ireland. As a result, the WWE World Championship is vacated, with a tournament beginning on the following week’s edition of Raw, and a new Champion to be crowned at Survivor Series.

- November 22, 2015: A new WWE World Champion is crowned at Survivor Series, as Roman Reigns survives both Alberto Del Rio and Dean Ambrose to become the new Champion. However, immediately after the match, Sheamus, endorsed by Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase to capture the gold. Also on the show, The Brothers of Destruction defeat Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman, and Charlotte defeats Paige to retain the Divas Championship, turning heel to do so, with help from her father, Ric Flair.

- December 14th, 2015: Roman Reigns defeats Sheamus in the main event of Raw to win the WWE World Championship, fighting off the interference of the League of Nations (Bad News Barrett, Rusev and Alberto Del Rio) and Mr. McMahon to do so.

- December 16th, 2015: At NXT Takeover: London, Sami Zayn defeats Tyler Breeze to regain the NXT Championship, sending Breeze to the main roster full-time. Also on the card, Bayley retains the NXT Women’s Championship against Nia Jax, Dash and Dawson defeat Enzo and Cass to retain their newly-won NXT Tag Team Championship, Baron Corbin defeats Apollo Crews, and Asuka defeats Sasha Banks.

- December 18th, 2015: At Ring of Honor’s Final Battle 2015, Colt Cabana makes his return to the company, serving as Drew Galloway’s corner-man for his ROH World Championship match against Jay Lethal. In addition, Roderick Strong defeats ACH to retain the ROH Television Championship, and Cedric Alexander and Caprice Coleman defeat War Machine to capture the ROH Tag Team Championship.

- December 21st, 2015: New Japan Pro Wrestling announce the creation of a new Championship, the NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championship, which will be decided at WrestleKingdom 10. At the same press conference, NJPW announce a working relationship with Ring of Honor. It is explained that TNA has been less willing to send their talent away, while many wrestlers from both NJPW and ROH wish to work together, leading to the new partnership.

[Celexa Bliss]

2016
- January 4th, 2016: New Japan holds it’s annual Tokyo Dome supercard. In the main event, Kazuchika Okada avenges his loss from the year before by defeating Hiroshi Tanahashi to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. In the semi-main event, Shinsuke Nakamura retains the IWGP Intercontinental Championship against AJ Styles, making a one-off return appearance to give the fans a dream match. Elsewhere on the card: Katsuyori Shibata defeats Tomohiro Ishii to win the NEVER Openweight Championship; Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma defeat Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship; Hirooki Goto defeats Naito, despite interference attempts by Naito’s Los Ingobernables de Japon stable (EVIL and Bushi); Kushida defeats Kenny Omega to regain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship; Toru Yano and The Briscoes defeat Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga and Yujiro Takahashi to become the inaugural NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Champions; Jay Lethal retains the ROH World Title against Michael Elgin; and The Young Bucks defeat ReDragon, Roppongi Vice and Ricochet and Matt Sydal to regain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.

- January 5th, 2016: Shinsuke Nakamura, Prince Devitt, Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows part ways with New Japan Pro Wrestling, effective immediately. It is believed that all four men are heading to NXT, however…

- January 13th, 2016: AJ Styles defeats Sting on Impact, when Bullet Club (Prince Devitt, The Young Bucks, Doc Gallows, Karl Anderson, Cody and Brandi Rhodes, Kenny Omega and Amber Gallows) interfere. This launches the second phase of the GFW Invasion angle, with Jeff Jarrett also sporting a Bullet Club t-shirt. It is later revealed that Devitt, Anderson, Gallows and The Rhodes’ have signed exclusive contracts, while Kenny and The Bucks are working through a special agreement that allows them to continue working for New Japan.

- January 24th, 2016: WWE holds the Royal Rumble. This year, the WWE World Championship is at stake in the match itself, with Roman Reigns defending the title against 29 opponents. In the end, it’s Triple H, returning after a beatdown from Reigns at TLC, who wins the match and the title. Elsewhere on the card, Kalisto defeats Alberto Del Rio to recapture the United States Championship, concluding a three match series between the two; Charlotte defeats Becky Lynch to retain the WWE Divas Championship, but the real story came after the match, as Sasha Banks debuted on the main roster to confront Charlotte.

- January 2016: ReDragon return to ROH TV, saving Adam Cole from a beatdown by former ally Matt Taven and The All-Night Express.

- February 8th, 2016: Daniel Bryan announces his retirement from pro wrestling, due to an accumulation of brain-related injuries. The evening’s episode of Raw is dedicated to the career of the former WWE World Champion.

- February 9th, 2016: Titus O’Neil is suspended by WWE for “unprofessional conduct”, later revealed to be a physical altercation with Vince McMahon on stage during Daniel Bryan’s retirement ceremony.

- February 11th, 2016, February 14th, 2016: New Japan hold their New Beginning events in Osaka and Niigata. In Osaka, The Bullet Club trio of Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga and Yujiro Takahashi defeat Toru Yano and The Briscoes for the NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championship, while Matt Sydal and Ricochet defeat The Young Bucks and ReDragon to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. In Niigata, Kenny Omega defeats Hiroshi Tanahashi to win the vacant IWGP Intercontinental Championship and solidify himself as the new leader of Bullet Club, while Yano and The Briscoes regain the NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championship.

- February 19th, 2016, February 20th, 2016: New Japan and Ring of Honor team up to put on Honor Rising in Tokoyo, a two day interpromotional event. Night One is headlined by Tomohiro Ishii defeating Roderick Strong to capture the ROH Television Championship. Also on the card, ReDragon team up with Katsuyori Shibata in a losing effort against Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks, who have begun calling themselves The Elite. Night two is headlined by Jay Lethal successfully defending the ROH World Championship against Tomoaki Honma, while The Elite defeat Toru Yano and The Briscoes to win the NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championship.

- February 22nd, 2016: Shane McMahon returns to WWE for the first time in over six years. He immediately begins an angle to set up a Hell in a Cell match vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania 32 in Dallas.

- February 23rd, 2016: On the special “Lockdown” edition of Impact, Samoa Joe defeats Christopher Daniels and AJ Styles in a three-way Cage Match to win the TNA World Championship. After the match, Joe declares himself a wildcard, neither TNA nor GFW/Bullet Club. He issues a standing challenge to anyone who wants a crack at him. The same show sees Bullet Club steal the TNA Tag Team Championship, when Prince Devitt, Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson help The Young Bucks defeat EC3 and Rockstar Spud to win the titles.

- February 26th, 2016: Ring Of Honor holds it’s 14th Anniversary Show. In the main event, Adam Cole and Jay Lethal battle to a time-limit draw for the Ring of Honor World Championship. Elsewhere, ReDragon defeat C&C Wrestle Factory, War Machine and The All-Night Express in a 4-way elimination match to win the ROH Tag Team Championship, while Michael Elgin teams with Hiroshi Tanahashi to defeat The Briscoes. Drew Galloway also announces his departure from ROH during the show, following a loss to Donovan Dijak.

- March 2nd, 2016: Five days after making his final appearance for Ring of Honor, Drew McIntyre returns to WWE, attacking Sami Zayn on NXT to set up a Championship match for NXT Takeover: Dallas. On the same episode, William Regal announces that Shinsuke Nakamura will make his debut at Takeover: Dallas, battling Baron Corbin.

- March 12th, 2016: Tetsuya Naito wins the New Japan Cup, earning an IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match at Invasion Attack on April 10th.

- March 15th, 2016: Low-Ki makes his surprise return to Impact, defeating Moose, Sonjay Dutt and PJ Black to win the X Division Championship. He will go on to align with Samoa Joe, forming an unstoppable threat to both TNA and GFW.

- April 1st, 2016: WWE presents NXT Takeover: Dallas. At the show, NXT says farewell to Sami Zayn, who drops the NXT Championship to Drew McIntyre in the main event. In addition, Asuka defeats Bayley to win the NXT Women’s Championship, Shinsuke Nakamura makes his NXT debut with a win over Baron Corbin, and American Alpha (Chad Gable and Jason Jordan) defeat The Revival (Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder) to win the NXT Tag Team Championship.

- April 3rd, 2016: WrestleMania 32 takes place in Dallas, Texas. In the main event, Roman Reigns defeats Triple H to win the WWE World Championship, to a very strong reaction from the crowd. Elsewhere on the card, Brock Lesnar defeats Dean Ambrose in a No-Holds-Barred Match; The League of Nations defeat The New Day in a six man tag team match; Sasha Banks defeats Charlotte to win the WWE Women’s Championship; Zack Ryder wins the WWE Intercontinental Championship in a Ladder Match; and The Undertaker defeats Shane McMahon in a Hell in a Cell Match.

- April 4th, 2016: One night after WrestleMania, Shane McMahon is put in control of Raw for the evening. Billed as the start of a “new era”, the show sees the main roster debuts of Sami Zayn, Baron Corbin, Apollo Crews, Enzo Amore and Big Cass, The Vaudevillains, Eva Marie and Dana Brooke. In addition, The Miz regains the Intercontinental Championship from Zack Ryder, Cesaro returns from injury, and Ryback attacks Roman Reigns, turning heel and calling his shot at the WWE World Championship.

- April 10th, 2016: At New Japan’s Invasion Attack show, Tetsuya Naito defeats Kazuchika Okada to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, thanks to interference by the debuting Sanada, propelling Los Ingobernables de Japon to the top of the company almost overnight. In addition, Tama Tonga and his brother, Tanga Loa, The Guerrillas of Destiny, defeat Great Bash Heel to win the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, Roppongi Vice defeat Ricochet and Matt Sydal to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, and Hiroshi Tanahashi, Michael Elgin and Yoshitatsu defeat The Elite to win the NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championship.

- April 26th, 2016: TNA airs it’s special “Sacrifice” episode of Impact. During the show, Mickie James defeats Awesome Kong to win the TNA Women’s Championship. In the main event, Bullet Club members Kenny Omega and AJ Styles join forces with Chris Jericho and his new protege Kevin Steen, to defeat Bad Influence, EC3 and Nick Aldis, when Aldis betrays Impact to join forces with GFW. However, after the match, Eli Drake makes his return to TNA and helps turn the tide, allowing TNA to end the show on top.

- May 1st, 2016: WWE presents Payback 2016. In the main event, Roman Reigns defends the WWE World Championship against Ryback. On the undercard: Dean Ambrose defeats The Miz to regain the WWE Intercontinental Championship; Cesaro defeats Sami Zayn in an Intercontinental Championship contenders match; The Vaudevillains defeat Enzo and Cass in a Number One Contenders match, after Enzo suffers a stinger when thrown through the ropes, causing the match to be stopped; and Charlotte regains the WWE Women’s Championship, defeating Sasha Banks with help from Dana Brooke.

- May 6th, 2016: WWE announces the release of Bad News Barrett, Hornswoggle, El Torito, Cameron, Damien Sandow, Zeb Colter, Santino Marella and Alex Riley.

- May 8th, 2016: New Japan and Ring of Honor team up to present Global Wars. The main event sees Jay Lethal defeat Colt Cabana to retain the ROH World Championship, but the real story comes after the match, when Adam Cole calls his shot at the title, turning face in the process. On the New Japan side of things, Tetsuya Naito defends the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Hirooki Goto. In addition, The Briscoes defeat Bad Luck Fale and Yujiro Takahashi, while Shane Strickland defeats Tomhiro Ishii to win the ROH Television Championship, and ReDragon successfully defend the ROH Tag Team Championship against TenCozy.

- May 22nd, 2016: At Extreme Rules 2016, Seth Rollins returns from injury, attacking Roman Reigns at the conclusion of his WWE title defense against Ryback. This sets up the main event heading into June’s Money in the Bank, but Ryback is reportedly furious at being shoved aside so quickly after doing two consecutive jobs to Reigns. Elsewhere on the card, The Miz defeats Dean Ambrose, Sami Zayn and Cesaro in a Fatal 4-Way Match to regain the Intercontinental Championship, Charlotte gets a very tainted win over Natalya to retain the Women’s Championship, Rusev defeats Kalisto to win the United States Championship, and The New Day retain the Tag Team Championship against The Vaudevillains.

- May 24th, 2016: TNA airs a special “May Mayhem” edition of Impact. In the main event, Eli Drake defeats AJ Styles to become the number one contender for the TNA World Championship. Elsewhere on the show, Velvet Sky defeats Amber Gallows for the GFW Women’s Championship, while EGO reforms, aligning once again with Team Dixie, but fighting on the side of TNA this time. EC3 challenges Kenny Omega to a GFW Global Title match at Slammiversary, while EGO will battle Gallows, Anderson, Prince Devitt and Jeff Jarrett in a Lethal Lockdown Match.

- May 25th, 2016: WWE announces that in July, Smackdown will begin airing live on Tuesdays. In conjunction with that news, the brand split will be returning. Reports come out that WWE is reaching out to as many names as they can in order to fill out the rosters. On TV, an angle begins between Shane and Stephanie McMahon, who both want to be in charge of Raw.

- May 2016: Alberto Del Rio and Paige go public with their personal relationship.

- June 4th, 2016: UFC owner Dana White announces that Brock Lesnar will be returning to fight Mark Hunt at UFC 200 on July 9th.

- June 12th, 2016: TNA Slammiversary is headlined by Samoa Joe successfully defending the TNA World Championship against Eli Drake. Also on the show: Mickie James defends the Women’s Championship against Rosemary; Kenny Omega defeats EC3, thanks to an assist from Nick Aldis; Bullet Club defeats EGO in a Lethal Lockdown Match; AAA stars Jack Evans and Angelico score an upset win over the Young Bucks for the TNA Tag Team Championship; Low-Ki defeats Cody and James Storm in a 3-Way Ultimate X Match to retain the X Division Championship; and Dixie Carter and Angelina Love are inducted into the TNA Hall of Fame.

- June 13th, 2016: WWE announce the entire field of 32 for the upcoming Cruiserweight Classic. Included on the list are NXT mainstays Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa, ROH’s TJ Perkins, indy standouts such as Drew Gulak, Tony Nese, Cedric Alexander and Lince Dorado, veterans Brian Kendrick and Tajiri, and international stars like Mascara Dorada, Zack Sabre Jr. and Kota Ibushi.

- June 14th, 2016: TNA presents a special “Gold Rush” edition of Impact, with every TNA and GFW Championship defended. While none of TNA’s belts change hands, Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson capture the GFW Tag Team Championship and Prince Devitt defeats Kenny Omega, EC3 and Nick Aldis in a Four Corners match to win the GFW Global Championship.

- June 19th, 2016: At New Japan’s Dominion 6.19 show, Kazuchika Okada defeats Testsuya Naito to regain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in the main event. Other results: Michael Elgin defeats Kenny Omega in a Ladder Match to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship; Katsuyori Shibata defeats Yuji Nagata to regain the NEVER Openweight Championship; The Briscoes defeat The Guerrillas of Destiny to win the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship; Kushida defeats Will Ospreay to retain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship; The Young Bucks regain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship in a 4-Way Match; and Hirooki Goto defeats EVIL.

On the same day, WWE holds it’s Money in the Bank PPV. In the main event, Seth Rollins defeats Roman Reigns to capture the WWE World Championship, only for Dean Ambrose to then cash-in the Money in the Bank contract he won earlier in the night. In other matches, The New Day retain the WWE Tag Team Championship in a triple threat match, while Charlotte defeats Becky Lynch to retain the Women’s Championship, following Natalya betraying Becky.

- June 21st, 2016: WWE announces that Roman Reigns has been suspended for 30 days for his first violation of the WWE Wellness Policy.

- June 23rd, 2016: The first round of the Cruiserweight Classic is taped, with the matches to begin airing on the WWE Network starting on July 13th, following NXT.

- June 24th, 2016: Roderick Strong makes his final appearance for Ring of Honor, losing to ROH World Champion Jay Lethal at Best in the World.

- WWE.com reports that at SummerSlam on August 21st, Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton will go one-on-one for only the second time ever, and the first time on the WWE main roster.

- July 9th, 2016: Brock Lesnar defeats Mark Hunt at UFC 200. Lesnar is reported to have made $2.5 million for the fight.

- July 12th, 2016: TNA holds it’s Destination X special episode of Impact. For the first time since it’s inception, Option C is not utilized, as Low-Ki and Samoa Joe instead issue a challenge to TNA Tag Team Champions Jack Evans and Angelico. The match ends in a no-contest thanks to the Bullet Club and GFW contingent attacking both teams. In the semi-main event, EC3 and Eli Drake defeat Nick Aldis and Jeff Jarrett in a no-holds-barred tag team match.

- July 16th, 2016: One week after his UFC 200 appearance, Brock Lesnar is flagged for a potential violation of USADA’s anti-doping competition.

- July 19th, 2016: Smackdown goes live on Tuesday night for the first time, with the WWE Draft taking place to establish the rosters for both Raw and Smackdown going forward. Shane McMahon is named the Commissioner of Smackdown, while he chooses Daniel Bryan to be his General Manager. Together, the pair draft the likes of WWE Champion Dean Ambrose, John Cena, Becky Lynch, WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz, NXT standouts American Alpha, Randy Orton, Kane and Bray Wyatt, among their top choices. Meanwhile, Raw Commissioner Stephanie McMahon and General Manager Mick Foley select Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Sami Zayn, WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte, Sasha Banks, WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day, WWE United States Champion Rusev, and NXT’s Nia Jax among their first picks.

- July 25th, 2016: The WWE brand split officially goes into effect. On Raw, Mick Foley and Stephanie McMahon introduce the WWE Universal Championship, which will be Raw’s top prize. Seth Rollins, Raw’s number one draft pick, is automatically inserted into the title match at SummerSlam, while Sami Zayn wins a battle royal, last eliminating Roman Reigns, to qualify. In addition, Sasha Banks defeats Charlotte to recapture the newly-named Raw Women’s Championship.

- July 26th, 2016: Shane McMahon announces that at SummerSlam, Dean Ambrose will defend the WWE Championship against John Cena.

- August 14th, 2016: Kenny Omega makes history as the first non-Japanese wrestler to win the G1 Climax, defeating Hirooki Goto in the final. Omega now has control of the Tokyo Dome Challenge Rights Certificate and a title shot at WrestleKingdom if he can hold onto it in the mean time.

- August 19th, 2016: WWE announces the suspensions of Alberto Del Rio, Paige and Eva Marie, due to violating the Wellness Policy.

The same night, at Ring of Honor’s Death Before Dishonor, Adam Cole defeats Jay Lethal to end his 427 day reign. The show’s closing image saw Cole and ReDragon posing in the ring with the ROH World and Tag Team Championships. Also on the card, Kazuchika Okada defeats Jay Briscoe, while Shane Strickland defends the ROH Television Championship against Michael Elgin.

- August 20th, 2016: WWE holds NXT Takeover: Brooklyn II. In the main event, Shinsuke Nakamura defeats Drew McIntyre to win the NXT Championship. On the undercard, Asuka defeats Bayley in a rematch from Dallas to retain the NXT Women’s Championship and send Bayley to the main roster, while Ember Moon and Roderick Strong make their NXT debuts, and The Revival defeat Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano in a critically acclaimed match to retain the NXT Tag Team Championship.

- August 21st, 2016: In the main event of SummerSlam, Brock Lesnar defeats Randy Orton via TKO after Orton was deemed to injured to continue, thanks to being busted open via elbows to the forehead. Also, Dean Ambrose defeats John Cena to retain the WWE Championship, but has to resort to hitting Cena with the belt behind the referee’s back to do so. In other news: Seth Rollins defeats Sami Zayn to become the first-ever Universal Champion; Charlotte defeats Sasha Banks to regain the Raw Women’s Championship; Bray Wyatt defeats Dolph Ziggler in a Number One Contenders match; and Nikki Bella made her return following her neck injury last year.

- August 25th, 2016: TNA airs it’s “Turning Point” edition of Impact, headlined by Samoa Joe defeating EC3 and Nick Aldis in a three-way match to retain the TNA World Championship. After the match, Joe says he’s beaten everyone, but there’s one guy he wants a crack at: Kurt Angle. Angle comes out and gets in Joe’s face, but says he’s not a wrestler anymore and he won’t accept Joe’s challenge. Also on the show, Diamante defeats Mickie James with help from Konnan, Santana and Ortiz, to capture the TNA Women’s Championship.

- August 30th, 2016: Alberto Del Rio requests and his granted his release from WWE.

- August 2016: Billy Corgan is named the President of TNA. Soon, it’s rumored that Corgan has been funding TNA’s PPVs for the last several months and that he is angling to take ownership of the company. Dixie Carter (as is normal at this point) denies the rumors, claiming the company is self-sufficient and that “morale is high”, the latter quote by now a meme among online wrestling fans…

- September 11th, 2016: WWE hosts Backlash, it’s first Smackdown-exclusive PPV of the new brand split. In the main event, Dean Ambrose defeats Bray Wyatt to retain the WWE Championship. Also on the show, Heath Slater and Rhyno defeat The Usos in a tournament final to win the WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championship, while Becky Lynch defeats Naomi, Nikki Bella and Natalya to win the Smackdown Women’s Championship.

- September 14th, 2016: The finals of the Cruiserweight Classic take place, with TJ Perkins defeating Gran Metalik (Mascara Dorada) to win the new WWE Cruiserweight Championship. The Cruiserweight division becomes exclusive to Raw following this.

- September 17th, 2016, September 22nd, 2016 and September 25th, 2016: New Japan runs it’s Destruction tour. On the 17th, Bushi defeats Kushida to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship in the main event. On the 22nd, Adam Cole defends the ROH World Championship against Will Ospreay, then is courted by The Young Bucks to team with them on the 25th. On the 25th, Matt Sydal is unable to appear, leading to the NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championship being declared vacant. Ricochet and Satoshi Kojima, with their new partner, David Finlay, defeat Adam Cole and The Young Bucks to become the new Champions. And in the main event, Tetsuya Naito defeats Michael Elgin to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship, which he then spits on, declaring the title to be lesser than the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.

- October 2nd, 2016: TNA Bound For Glory sees a number of the year’s biggest storylines wrap up. In the main event, Kurt Angle defeats Samoa Joe to win the TNA World Championship. In the semi-main, the TNA contingent of EC3, Eli Drake, Bobby Roode, Austin Aries and James Storm defeats GFW’s Chris Jericho and Kevin Steen, and Bullet Club’s Kenny Omega, AJ Styles and Prince Devitt, in a Lethal Lockdown Match. Also on the card, Laura Dennis catches Diamante with a fluke roll-up to win the TNA Women’s Championship, but is immediately laid out Brandi Rhodes.

Behind the scenes of the event, however, the picture is not so cheerful. With the company in severe debt, there were reports the week of the show that TNA may not have the funds to even produce the PPV. At the last minute, the funds needed to put on the show and tape TV afterwards did come in. But people are left wondering if TNA is on borrowed time…

- October 4th – October 10th, 2016: TNA holds a “super-taping” event, where the remainder of the year’s TV is taped. As the company is dangerously close to bankruptcy, there is fear in the locker room that this could be the last set of tapings for TNA. During the tapings, the following events and title changes happen: Prince Devitt disbands the TNA Bullet Club (last TNA appearance for Devitt, Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks); Alexxiss Bliss defeats Velvet Sky for the GFW Women’s Championship, which she loses later in the day to Celeste Bonin; Killer Elite Squad (Lance Hoyt and Davey Boy Smith Jr.) defeat Jack Evans and Angelico to win the TNA Tag Team Championship; Brandi Rhodes, Karlee Perez, and finally, Scarlett Bordeaux, all capture the TNA Women’s Championship; Matt Sydal defeats Low-Ki to win the X Division Championship, but loses it later on to Shelton Benjamin; and Matt Hardy captures the TNA World Title from Kurt Angle.

- October 10th, 2016: Paige is suspended for her second violation of the WWE Wellness Policy. Paige and her father both issue statements saying she had a prescription for medication due to her neck injuries, but WWE issues a counter-statement, saying that she tested positive for an illegal substance, not a prescription.

On the same day, at New Japan’s King of Pro Wrestling event, the main event of WrestleKingdom 11 is made official, when Kenny Omega defeats Hirooki Goto and Kazuchika Okada defeats Naomichi Marufuji, retaining the Tokyo Dome Challenge Rights Certificate and the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, respectively. In addition, The Guerrillas of Destiny defeat The Briscoes to regain the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.

Also that same night, on Raw, Paul Heyman challenges Goldberg on behalf of Brock Lesnar, to a match at Survivor Series on November 20th.

- October 17th, 2016: Goldberg returns to WWE for the first time in twelve years, to accept Brock Lesnar’s challenge for Survivor Series.

- October 30th, 2016: At WWE Hell in a Cell, Sasha Banks and Charlotte make history as both the first women ever to main event a WWE PPV and the first women to compete inside Hell in a Cell, when Charlotte defeats Sasha to regain the Raw Women’s Championship.

- November 19th, 2016: NXT Takeover: Toronto, sees Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Garagno defeat The Revival in a Best 2-out-3 Falls Match to win the NXT Tag Team Championship, while The Authors of Pain win the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic to become the number one contenders for the titles. In the main event, Shinsuke Nakamura defeats Drew McIntyre to retain the NXT Championship. Also during the show, Prince Devitt is shown on camera, sitting in the front row.

- November 20th, 2016: At Survivor Series 2016, Goldberg shocks the world by defeating Brock Lesnar in just over a minute, dealing Brock his first loss in over a year. The rest of the show is built around a Raw vs. Smackdown rivalry, culminating in Smackdown’s Dean Ambrose, Shane McMahon, Baron Corbin and Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton) defeating Raw’s Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Braun Strowman, Rusev and Sami Zayn in a 5-on-5 Elimination Match.

- December 2nd, 2016: ROH holds it’s Final Battle show. Early in the show, ReDragon defeat The Motor City Machine Guns in a Ladder Match to retain the ROH Tag Team Championship, in what is The Guns’ last ROH match. But after the match, The Young Bucks made their ROH debut, attacking ReDragon and stealing the belts. During the main event, Adam Cole is battling Colt Cabana, when The Young Bucks come out. ReDragon run out to make the save, but are surprised when Cole and The Bucks superkick them. Cole and The Bucks then hit a triple Superkick on Cabana leaving him laying. The three men “too sweet”, as The SuperKlique is born…

- December 4th, 2016, December 18th, 2016: WWE ends their year with a pair of PPVs, one each for Raw and Smackdown. The big development coming of TLC is Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton defeating Heath Slater and Rhyno to win the Smackdown Tag Team Championship. As for Roadblock, the big story is the end of The New Day’s record breaking run as Raw Tag Team Champions, as they lose the titles to Sheamus and Cesaro in the evening’s opener. In addition, Charlotte defeats Sasha Banks in an Iron Woman Match to once again regain the Raw Women’s Championship (having lost it to The Boss on November 28th), and Neville turns heel, attacking Cruiserweight Champion Rich Swann after his match with TJP, and challenging him for the title.

- December 15th, 2016: Triple H announces the creation of the NXT United Kingdom Championship, with a two night event to crown the first Champion scheduled for January 14th and 15th at the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool.

- December 27th, 2016: On a special “Wildcard Finals” edition of Smackdown, John Cena returns to the brand to challenge Dean Ambrose for the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble. In addition, American Alpha defeat The Wyatt Family, Heath Slater and Rhyno, and The Usos to win the Smackdown Tag Team Championship.

[Celexa Bliss]

2017
January 4th, 2017: WrestleKingdom 11 is headlined by Kazuchika Okada defeating Kenny Omega to successfully defend the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, in a match that broke the Wrestling Observer’s scale, earning 6 stars from Dave Meltzer. Elsewhere on the card, Tetsuya Naito defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi to continue his desecration of the IWGP Intercontinental Championship; Hirooki Goto defeated Katsyuori Shibata to win the NEVER Openweight Championship; Huromu Takahashi defeated Kushida to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship; Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano defeated The Guerrillas of Destiny and Great Bash Heel to win the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship; Adam Cole defeated Jay Lethal to retain the ROH World Championship; Cody made his debut, defeating Juice Robinson; Bushi, EVIL and Sanada won the NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championship in a gauntlet match; and Roppongi Vice defeated The Young Bucks to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.

- January 5th, 2017: It’s announced at a press conference that Billy Corgan has purchased TNA. Corgan goes on to reveal that TNA and GFW will soon merge into one company, under the banner of Impact Wrestling. Dixie Carter is retained as an on-screen talent, serving as the manager of EC3 and Rockstar Spud going forward.

That same day, at New Japan’s New Year’s Dash, Suzuki-Gun returns to NJPW for the first time in two years, attacking everyone involved in a ten man tag team match, and vowing to win every title in the company.

- January 9th, 2017: Drew McIntyre returns to Raw as a surprise challenger for Roman Reigns’ WWE United States Championship. McIntyre win the title, utilizing a jumping front kick that will come to be known as The Claymore.

- January 14th, 2017, January 15th, 2017: WWE holds the two-night United Kingdom Championship Tournament in Blackpool, England. Tyler Bate is crowned the winner and the first-ever NXT United Kingdom Champion, defeating Pete Dunne in the final.

- January 26th, 2017: TNA presents it’s Impact special, “Genesis”. During the show, Maria Kanellis confronts Scarlett Bordeaux and calls her the “worst Champion this division has ever had!” Scarlett claps back at Maria, before being jumped by Sienna and Laura Dennis, the latter turning heel for the first time in TNA. Maria proclaims her stable The Lady Squad and promises that they are taking over the women’s division. In the show’s main event, Jeff Hardy, who had returned at the tail end of the mega tapings last year, defeats his brother, Matt, to win the TNA World Championship. Also on the show, Tessa Blanchard captures the GFW Women’s Championship, and Nick Aldis defeats Cody to win the vacant GFW Global Championship. It’s later revealed that when Billy Corgan bought the company, he restructured the contracts of the Rhodes’ and the Bennetts. The Bennetts’ new deal gave Maria her new push in the women’s division, while the Rhodes’ deal allows Cody to work for Impact, New Japan and Ring of Honor. Corgan felt the agreement could be beneficial for Impact to forge potential working agreements with other companies.

- January 28th, 2017: Finn Balor (the former Prince Devitt) makes his in-ring debut for NXT at NXT Takeover: San Antonio, defeating Andrade “Cien” Almas. In addition, Shinsuke Nakamura defeats Roderick Strong to retain the NXT Championship, while The Authors of Pain capture the NXT Tag Team Championship from Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa. Also on the show, Asuka continues to dominate the NXT women’s division, defeating SAnitY’s Nikki Cross, as well as Billie Kay and Peyton Royce, in a Fatal 4-Way Match, while Cross’ stablemate Eric Young fares better in his match, defeating Tye Dillinger.

- January 29th, 2017: Randy Orton wins the 30th annual Royal Rumble. With the field down to Orton, Bray Wyatt and Roman Reigns, Reigns manages to eliminate Wyatt, who took the bullet for Orton, mirroring when Orton did the same for Bray at Survivor Series. Orton then tosses Reigns to win the match and a guaranteed title shot at WrestleMania 33 in Orlando. Also on the show, John Cena wins his 16th World title when he defeats Dean Ambrose to win the WWE Championship. Neville defeats Rich Swann to capture the WWE Cruiserweight Championship, fulfilling his prophecy to become “The King of the Cruiserweights”. Also on the show, Seth Rollins defeats US Champion Drew McIntyre and Roman Reigns in a triple threat match to retain the Universal Championship, while Charlotte defeats Bayley to retain the Raw Women’s Championship.

- February 12th, 2017: Bray Wyatt captures his first-ever WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber 2017. Wyatt defeats John Cena, Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose, The Miz, Baron Corbin and Dolph Ziggler in an Elimination Chamber match to win the title. Also on the show, Naomi defeats Becky Lynch for the Smackdown Women’s Championship, despite injuring herself in the process. And in a critically acclaimed encounter, Randy Orton defeats Luke Harper.

- February 16th, 2017: Homicide and Hernandez defeat Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson to win the GFW Tag Team Championship, in what is Gallows and Anderson’s final Impact appearances. Also on the show, Laura Dennis defeats Scarlett Bordeaux with plenty of help from Maria Kanellis and Sienna, to win the TNA Women’s Championship.

- February 23rd, 2017: The Motor City Machine Guns return to Impact and immediately capture the TNA Tag Team Championship from Killer Elite Squad, marking the final appearance for Lance Hoyt and Davey Boy Smith Jr., who return to New Japan full-time. EC3 and Dixie Carter also turn heel, attacking Jeff Hardy, with EC3 promising to take the TNA World Title from him next week.

- February 26th, 2017, February 27th, 2017: Adam Cole and Cody make their official debuts as members of Bullet Club during the Honor Rising event, as both men team with BC members to score wins during the shows.

- March 2nd, 2017: EC3 defeats Jeff Hardy, thanks to a distraction by a disheveled, seemingly drunk Matt Hardy, to win the TNA World Championship. After the match, however, EC3 is confronted by a new face in Alberto El Patron. El Patron says he’s here to become World Champion and EC3 is on his list.

- March 5th, 2017: Goldberg defeats Seth Rollins to capture the WWE Universal Championship at Fastlane. Triple H interferes in the match, ensuring Seth’s loss. After the match, Brock Lesnar attacked Goldberg, calling his shot for WrestleMania 33.

- March 10th, 2017: At Ring of Honor’s 15th Anniversary Show, Austin Aries defeats Adam Cole to capture the ROH World Championship in the main event, marking Aries’ return to the company, being loaned to ROH by Billy Corgan as a gesture of goodwill. On the same show, The Young Bucks defeat ReDragon to win the ROH Tag Team Championship.

- March 23rd, 2017: Jeff Jarrett announces a partnership between Impact Wrestling and ITV to bring back World of Sport. Confirmed to be part of the roster are Douglas Williams, Rockstar Spud, Grado and Nick Aldis, among others.

- March 27th, 2017: Alberto El Patron goes on Periscope, alongside his girlfriend, Paige, and goes on a rant against WWE, among other things, calling Triple H “a pussy”. He also says that only he will decide when Paige can return to the ring. Paige, clearly uncomfortable during the whole thing, tries to end the stream, but El Patron insists on continuing. Clearly drunk, he then jokes that Paige is pregnant and that’s why she hasn’t returned yet.

- March 30th, 2017: After feuding for much of the month, Matt Hardy challenges Jeff Hardy to an I Quit Match on Impact. The match is filled with spots and weapon use, with the match finally ending in a draw, with both men doing stretcher jobs.

- April 1st, 2017: WWE presents NXT Takeover: Orlando, as a part of WrestleMania weekend. In the show’s main event, Luke Gallows returns to the company, alongside the debuting Karl Anderson, to help Finn Balor defeat Shinsuke Nakamura for the NXT Championship. In addition, Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa defeat The Authors of Pain and The Revival in Triple Threat match to regain the NXT Tag Team Championship, while Asuka defeats Ember Moon to retain the NXT Women’s Championship. Aleister Black also makes his NXT debut, defeating Andrade “Cien” Almas.

The same night, ROH presents Supercard of Honor, headlined by The Young Bucks defeating ReDragon in a Ladder War to retain the ROH Tag Team Championship. Austin Aries retains the ROH World Championship against Dalton Castle, and Cody and Adam Cole defeat Jay Lethal and Colt Cabana in a Fight Without Honor.

- April 2nd, 2017: WrestleMania 33 sees Roman Reigns defeat The Undertaker in dominating fashion. The show ends with Undertaker leaving his jacket and hat in the middle of the ring, and kissing his wife, Michelle McCool, who was seated in the front row. Also on the show, Randy Orton defeats Bray Wyatt to capture the WWE Championship; Seth Rollins defeats Triple H in an Unsanctioned Street Fight; Brock Lesnar defeats Goldberg to win the WWE Universal Championship; Naomi returns to regain the Smackdown Women’s Championship; John Cena and Nikki Bella defeated The Miz and Maryse in a mixed tag team match, followed by Cena proposing to Nikki; and Dean Ambrose defeats Shane McMahon in a Falls-Count-Anywhere match to retain the Intercontinental Championship.

- April 3rd, 2017, April 4th, 2017: The Raw and Smackdown after WrestleMania see the usual freshening up of the rosters, including Mr. McMahon announcing that the following week will see the Superstar Shakeup, the replacement for the draft lotteries of the past. Making their Raw debut is The Revival, while Smackdown sees the debuts of Tye Dillinger and Shinsuke Nakamura.

- April 7th, 2017: Paige is released by WWE.

- April 13th, 2017: Sienna defeats Tessa Blanchard on Impact to win the GFW Women’s Championship, giving The Lady Squad control of the women’s division. However, the celebration is short-lived, as Rosemary charges the ring to attack the trio. Maria Kanellis and Laura Dennis quickly bail out, but Sienna stands her ground, until Maria and Laura forcibly pull her from the ring. On the same show, The Motor City Machine Guns get into it with Homicide and Hernandez during a Champions Showcase Eight Man Tag. What starts as playful showmanship quickly gets physical, forcing officials to separate the teams.

- April 27th, 2017: Rosemary defeats Laura Dennis to win the TNA Women’s Championship, sparking a Champion vs. Champion feud with Sienna. Also on the show, Kevin Steen betrays Chris Jericho and takes him out with a Powerbomb on the ring apron. Out of kayfabe, this is done to write Jericho out so he can go on tour with Fozzy.

- May 1st, 2017: Impact Wrestling owner Billy Corgan signs a deal to purchase the NWA. While the deal doesn’t go into effect until October 1st, speculation immediately runs rampant on what this means for the future of Impact going forward.

- May 4th, 2017: The Hardys part ways with Impact Wrestling, their I Quit Match on March 30th, turning out to be their final appearance.

- May 11th, 2017: Alberto El Patron defeats Nick Aldis to capture the GFW Global Championship, and become the Number One Contender for the TNA World Championship at Slammiversary. Also on the show, Trevor Lee defeats Shane Helms to win the TNA X Division Championship.

- May 20th, 2017: NXT Takeover: Chicago is headlined for the first-time ever, by a ladder match for the NXT Tag Team Championship. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, collectively known as Balor Club, defeat Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa to win the titles, giving Balor Club control of both NXT Championships. After the match, however, Ciampa viciously attacks Gargano, ending their partnership and turning heel. Also on the show, Pete Dunne defeats Tyler Bate to win the NXT United Kingdom Championship, Asuka retains the NXT Women’s Championship against both Nikki Cross and Ruby Riott, Finn Balor defeats Hideo Itami to retain the NXT Championship, and Roderick Strong defeats Eric Young in a steel cage match.

- May 21st, 2017: Dubbed by some to be “the day WWE died”, Backlash 2017 sees Jinder Mahal defeat Randy Orton to win the WWE Championship in the main event. Given a massive push upon his move to Smackdown back in April, Mahal, aligned with The Singh Brothers (FKA The Bollywood Boys), won a six pack challenge to earn his title shot, then cost Orton a House of Horrors match at Payback. Mahal would utilize the Singhs’ interference to capture the gold at Backlash.

- May 2017: A fan on Twitter asks Dave Meltzer if ROH could sell 10,000 tickets, to which Meltzer responded, “Not anytime soon.” Cody would then reply, “I’ll take that bet, Dave.”

- June 1st, 2017: Alberto El Patron defeats Eli Drake in a Six Sides of Steel match to retain the GFW Global Championship and his title shot at Slammiversary.

- June 5th, 2017: Matt Hardy releases a video to Youtube, where he sports a drastically changed appearance and persona, a large section of his hair is bleached blond, and speaking in a British accent. He claims that he is now “Broken” and blames “Brother Nero” for that. Matt promises that Jeff will be “deleted”…

- June 11th, 2017: New Japan hosts Dominion 6.11. In the headline match, IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada fights to a one hour time limit draw with Kenny Omega. Elsewhere on the card, Hiroshi Tanahashi defeats Tetsuya Naito to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship; Kushida defeats Hiromu Takahashi to regain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship; The Guerrillas of Destiny defeat War Machine to win the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship; and The Young Bucks defeat Roppongi Vice to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.

- June 18th, 2017: WWE presents Money in the Bank, which plays host to the first-ever Women’s Money in the Bank match, which is won by Carmella. Baron Corbin wins the men’s match, while Jinder Mahal defeats Randy Orton to retain the WWE Championship.

- June 23rd, 2017: Adam Cole recaptures the ROH World Championship from Austin Aries in the main event of Best in the World. Also on the card, The Young Bucks retain the ROH Tag Team Championship against ReDragon and Best Friends, while Kushida defeats Cody to retain the ROH Television Championship.

- July 1st, 2017, July 2nd, 2017: New Japan holds it’s first-ever promoted event in the US, G1 Special in the USA, from Long Beach, CA. The two-night event is built around a tournament to crown the NJPW United States Champion. Kenny Omega emerges from the tournament with the title, after besting Tomohiro Ishii in the final. Also at the event, War Machine defeats Guerrillas of Destiny to regain the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, while Kazuchika Okada successfully defends the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against ROH World Champion Cody.

- July 3rd, 2017: The “Final Deletion” is uploaded to YouTube: youtu.be/hBCU8wELJAA

- July 2nd, 2017: The era of Impact Wrestling officially begins, as the TNA/GFW merger is solidified. In the main event, EC3 defeats Alberto El Patron to unify the TNA World and GFW Global Championships into the Impact World Championship. The Tag Team and Women’s Championships receive the same treatment, as The Motor City Machine Guns defeat Homicide and Hernandez in an Ultimate X Match, while Rosemary defeats Sienna in a Falls Count Anywhere Match. In addition, Trevor Lee, with the help of Shane Helms and Andrew Everett, defeats Petey Williams and Sonjay Dutt to retain the X Division Championship, Kevin Steen defeats Chris Jericho, Samoa Joe and Low-Ki defeated Bad Influence and AJ Styles and Bobby Roode in an “Impact Originals Showcase”, Eli Drake defeated James Storm in a Bar Fight, and Laura Dennis and Maria defeated The Beautiful People (Angelina Love and Madison Rayne). Also, Awesome Kong and Jeremy Borash are inducted into the Impact Hall of Fame.

- July 12th, 2017: Alberto El Patron is indefinitely suspended by Impact Wrestling, following a domestic assault incident with his girlfriend, Paige.

- July 20th, 2017: Petey Williams defeats Trevor Lee to win the Impact X-Division Championship. In addition, Kevin Steen defeats James Storm and Eli Drake in a 3-Way Match to become the Number One Contender for the Impact World Championship.

- August 7th, 2017: “Broken” Matt Hardy’s victory over “Brother Nero” in the Final Deletion gives Matt control of the Hardy name, hence Jeff now going by the name Brother Nero. Broken Matt releases a video to YouTube, where the terms of the Final Deletion are explained by a lawyer. But despite their long-running feud, the final term of the contract is that The Hardys as a tag team will resume. The end of the video then promotes the upcoming Championship Wrestling From Hollywood show.

- August 13th, 2017: Tetsuya Naito is the winner of the 2017 G1-Climax, defeating last year’s winner, Kenny Omega, in the final. At the same show, Ricochet and Rysuke Taguchi defeat The Young Bucks to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.

- August 17th, 2017: Petey Williams invokes Option C, the first time it’s been used in two years, to unsuccessfully challenge EC3 for the Impact World Championship. Due to Williams vacating the title two weeks in advance, a mini-tournament is organized, with Sonjay Dutt defeating Andrew Everett in the final to win the vacant Impact X Division Championship.

- August 19th, 2017: At NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III, Finn Balor retains the NXT Championship against Roderick Strong in the main event. Also on the show, SAnitY defeats Balor Club and The Authors of Pain to win the NXT Tag Team Championship, while Asuka once again retains her NXT Women’s Championship against Ember Moon. In addition, Andrade “Cien” Almas, with his new manager, Zelina Vega (the former Rosita), defeats Johnny Gargano, and Aleister Black defeats Hideo Itami.

- August 20th, 2017: SummerSlam is headlined by Brock Lesnar defeating Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman in a triple threat match to retain the WWE Universal Championship. Also on the card, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose reunite to beat Sheamus and Cesaro for the Raw Tag Team Championship, while Sasha Banks beats Bayley for Raw Women’s Championship, Natalya beat Naomi for the Smackdown Women’s Championship, The Usos defeat The New Day to regain the Smackdown Tag Team Championship, and Jinder Mahal retains the WWE Championship against Shinsuke Nakamura.

- August 26th, 2017: At AAA’s TripleMania event, Sexy Star makes headlines by legitimately injuring Impact Women’s Champion Rosemary with a shoot armbar. Outrage over the incident is so much so, that Star (real name: Dulce Garcia) is blackballed from professional wrestling.

- August 27th, 2017: The Broken Hardys debut for Championship Wrestling From Hollywood, defeating Jake Atlas and Lucas Riley.

- September 4th, 2017: A video posted to YouTube by The Broken Hardys shows the brothers talking about all the great tag teams they’ve never wrestled, such as “The Day of New”, “The Destined Guerrillas”, and “The Bucks of Young...”

- September 6th, 2017: Asuka forfeits the NXT Women’s Championship and announces that she will be heading to Raw very soon. William Regal announces that the new Champion will be crowned at NXT Takeover: Houston.

- September 12th, 2017: Kairi Sane defeats Shayna Baszler to win the Mae Young Classic. As her reward, she is inserted into the NXT Women’s Championship match set for NXT Takeover: Houston.

- September 22nd, 2017: Ring of Honor presents Death Before Dishonor XV, where Adam Cole defeats Minoru Suzuki to retain the ROH World Championship. Elsewhere on the show, Kenny King defeats Kushida to win the ROH Television Championship, the newest member of Bullet Club, Hangman Page, teams with Cody to defeat War Machine in the latter’s final ROH match, and The Young Bucks defeat ReDragon to retain the ROH Tag Team Championship. However, after the match, the lights dim, then classical piano music plays over the speaker, followed by familiar laughter. The lights come up, revealing “Broken” Matt Hardy on the video screen. He proclaims that Ring of Honor is now “broken” and that soon, he and “Brother Nero” will claim the gold from “The Bucks of Young”.

- September 24th, 2017: At New Japan’s Destruction In Kobe event, Killer Elite Squad defeat War Machine and The Guerrillas of Destiny to win the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.

- September 25th, 2017: Cody, The Young Bucks, Hangman Page, Adam Cole and Brandi Rhodes “invade” Raw from the arena parking lot, as part of skit for The Bucks’ “Being The Elite” web series.

- September 28th, 2017: On the special “Victory Road” edition of Impact, the Bound For Glory card begins to take shape. Eli Drake defeats AJ Styles in the final of the Road to Victory Tournament to earn an Impact Title shot at Bound For Glory, against whoever the Champion may be. In addition, after Rosemary defeats Alpha Female in a Street Fight to retain the Impact Women’s Championship, Alexxiss Bliss attacks the Champion, calling her shot for Bound For Glory. Finally, Low-Ki defeats Sonjay Dutt to win the TNA X Division Championship.

- October 1st, 2017: Billy Corgan officially becomes the owner of the National Wrestling Alliance. His purchases allows him rights to all of the company’s Championships and territories. Corgan announces his ultimate goal to make the NWA one singular promotion over the course of the next couple of years.

- October 5th, 2017: Major League Wrestling runs it’s first show since 2004. Without an official roster, the company promotes matches featuring a number of major indy names. However, the company will begin to establish a clear roster in the next year.

- October 9th, 2017: New Japan’s King of Pro Wrestling features a few developments on the road to Wrestle Kingdom. Tetsuya Naito defeats CHAOS member Tomohiro Ishii to retain the Tokyo Dome Challenge Rights Certificate, while in the main event, Kazuchika Okada defeats Naito’s stablemate, EVIL, to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Also on the show, Roppongi 3K (Sho and Yoh) defeat Funky Future to regain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, and Will Ospreay defeats Kushida to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.

On the same day, Neville walks out of Raw in protest of his character-s creative direction. This leads to a protracted contract dispute between Neville and WWE.

- October 11th, 2017: Jimmy Jacobs is fired after posting a photo of himself with The Bullet Club outside of Raw, on Instagram.

- October 15th, 2017: At Global Wars in Chicago, The Broken Hardys make their Ring of Honor debut, teaming with ReDragon and Dalton Castle to defeat The Bullet Club (Adam Cole, Cody, The Young Bucks and Hangman Page).

- October 21st, 2017: Nick Aldis defeats Tim Storm in Las Vegas to win the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship.

- October 22nd, 2017: Asuka makes her WWE main roster debut, defeating Dana Brooke at TLC. In addition, Braun Strowman defeats Kane, Enzo Amore defeats Kalisto to regain the WWE Cruiserweight Championship, and in the main event, The Shield reunites to defeat The Miz, Sheamus and Cesaro in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match.

- November 1st, 2017: NXT General Manager William Regal announces that the main event (and name) of the November 18th NXT Takeover special will be… WAR GAMES!!!! The titular match will return for the first time since 2000, as Balor Club (Finn Balor, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson) take on SAnitY (Eric Young, Killian Dain and Alexander Wolfe), and Roderick Strong and The Authors of Pain (Akam and Rezar)

- November 5th, 2017: A number of returns are among the big news coming out of Bound For Glory 2017. First, Nick Aldis and Mickie James make their return, being seen in the front row. Later in the show, Jeremy Borash introduces Aldis as the “traveling NWA Worlds Champion”. Aldis extends a standing challenge to anyone in Impact Wrestling who wants a shot at the “ten pounds of gold”. Later in the night, Alberto El Patron returns from his suspension, grabbing a “live mic” and going off on Billy Corgan, Dixie Carter, Kurt Angle, EC3 and Eli Drake, claiming a conspiracy to hold him back. “Everyone in this [redacted] company is a loser!” El Patron then challenges the winner of the Impact World Championship match. Drake ends up becoming the new Champion, defeating EC3, who begrudgingly shakes Drake’s hand after the match. Also on the show, Alexxiss Bliss defeats Rosemary to win the Impact Women’s Championship.

The same day, at New Japan’s Power Struggle 2017, Chris Jericho makes a surprise appearance to challenge Kenny Omega for the IWGP United States Championship at WrestleKingdom 12. Also on the show, Roppongi 3K defeat Rysuke Taguchi and ACH to win the 2017 Super Jr. Tag Tournament, and Adam Cole defeats Will Ospreay for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.

- November 7th, 2017: On an episode of Smackdown, Sami Zayn defeats Jinder Mahal to win the WWE Championship. This changes the Champion vs. Champion match at Survivor Series to Brock Lesnar vs. Sami Zayn.

- November 11th, 2017: Ring of Honor announces that at Final Battle, The Young Bucks will defend the ROH Tag Team Championship against The Broken Hardys.

- November 18th, 2017: NXT hosts the first War Games match in over 17 years, which sees Balor Club defeat SAnitY and Roderick Strong and The Authors of Pain. In addition, Johnny Gargano defeats Andrade “Cien” Almas to become the number one contender for the NXT Championship, Aleister Black defeats The Velveteen Dream in a star-making match for both men, Lars Sullivan tears through Kassius Ohno, and Ember Moon defeats Kairi Sane, Peyton Royce and Nikki Cross to win the vacant NXT Women’s Championship.

- November 20th, 2017, November 21st, 2017: A number of call-ups to the women’s division are made, as Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville debut on Raw as Sasha Banks’ “security detail”, while on Smackdown, Ruby Riott, Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan debut as The Riott Squad and wreak havoc on the division.

- December 10th, 2017: Rich Swann is suspended indefinitely by WWE for violating their zero-tolerance policy towards domestic violence.

- December 15th, 2017: At ROH Final Battle 2017, Dalton Castle defeats Adam Cole to win the ROH World Championship. In addition, Silas Young defeats Kenny King, Punishment Martinez and Shane Taylor in a four corners elimination match to win the ROH Television Championship, and in the main event, The Broken Hardys defeat the Young Bucks to win the ROH Tag Team Championship for the first time.

- December 18th, 2017: Stephanie McMahon announces the first-ever women’s Royal Rumble match will take place at the 2018 Royal Rumble on January 28th.

[Celexa Bliss]

2018
- January 4th, 2018: New Japan’s WrestleKingdom 12 takes place, headlined by Kazuchika Okada defeating Tetsuya Naito to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. In addition, Kenny Omega defeats Chris Jericho to retain the IWGP United States Championship. In other matches: Hiroshi Tanahashi defeats Jay White to retain the IWGP Intercontinental Championship; Will Ospreay defeats Adam Cole, Kushida and Hiromu Takahashi to regain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship; Hirooki Goto defeats Minoru Suzuki in a hair vs. hair deathmatch to regain the NEVER Openweight Championship; Evil and Sanada defeated Killer Elite Squad to win the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship; Kota Ibushi defeated Cody; Beretta, Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano won the NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championship in a gauntlet match; and The Young Bucks defeated Roppongi 3K to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.

- January 10th, 2018: Cody and The Young Bucks announce that All In, an independently run event, will take place from Chicago’s Sears Center on September 1st.

- January 22nd, 2018: Enzo Amore is suspended following allegations of sexual assault.

- January 23rd, 2018: Enzo Amore is released by WWE.

- January 25th, 2018: Impact airs it’s Genesis special. During the episode, LAX defeat The Motor City Machine Guns to win the Impact Tag Team Championship. Also, Pentagon Jr. debuts and attacks Impact World Champion Eli Drake during an in-ring interview.

- January 27th, 2018, January 28th, 2018: New Japan presents it’s two-night New Beginning in Sapporo event. Night one is headlined by Minoru Suzuki capturing the IWGP Intercontinental Championship from Hiroshi Tanahashi, via referee stoppage. Night two sees a pair of title changes, as Roppongi 3K defeat The Young Bucks for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. Then, in the main event, Jay White upsets Kenny Omega to win the IWGP United States Championship. After the match, Cody and Hangman Page attacked Omega, only for Omega’s former tag team partner, Kota Ibushi, to make the save.

- January 27th, 2018: WWE presents NXT Takeover: Philadelphia. The show is headlined by Finn Balor defeating Johnny Gargano to retain the NXT Championship. After the match, Tommaso Ciampa made his return by hitting Gargano in the back with his crutch, then continuing the assault, as Candice LeRae, Gargano’s wife, screamed in vain for him to stop. Also on the show, Aleister Black defeated Andrade “Cien” Almas and Roderick Strong in a triple threat Number One Contenders match, while Ember Moon defended the NXT Women’s Championship against Shayna Baszler in a brutal match for the Champion. Meanwhile, Ricochet and War Machine are shown in the front row, indicating that they are latest NXT signees.

- January 28th, 2018: WWE presents the Royal Rumble, featuring the first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble Match. In addition to women from the main WWE rosters, as well as NXT’s Ember Moon and Kairi Sane, the match features independent prospects Mercedes Martinez and Mia Yim, WWE Hall of Famers Lita, Trish Stratus, Jacqueline and Beth Phoenix, plus returning favorites including The Bella Twins, Kelly Kelly, Molly Holly, Michelle McCool and Torrie Wilson. The undefeated Asuka is the winner of the match, giving her the choice of facing either Sasha Banks or Charlotte at WrestleMania. But the night belongs to Ronda Rousey, who makes her debut following the match, shaking hands with Asuka, then confronting Stephanie McMahon, before leaving. In the men’s Rumble, Shinsuke Nakamura was the winner and he immediately selected WWE Champion Sami Zayn as his opponent for WrestleMania. Zayn would successfully defend the title in the opening match, defeating Drew McIntyre. In addition, WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar defeats Braun Strowman and Kane in a triple threat match to retain, while Sheamus and Cesaro regained the Raw Tag Team Championship from Seth Rollins and Jason Jordan, and The Usos successfully defended the Smackdown Tag Team Championship against Shelton Benjamin and Chad Gable.

- February 15th, 2018: WWE and Rich Swann agree to terms on Swann’s release.

- February 23rd, 2018, February 24th, 2018: New Japan and Ring of Honor present Honor Rising in Tokyo. Both nights are main evented by matches pitting The Golden Lovers (Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi) against Bullet Club. Other matches across both nights include The Broken Hardys defending the ROH Tag Team Championship against Great Bash Heel, Dalton Castle defending the ROH World Championship against EVIL, and Jay White defending the IWGP United States Championship against Punishment Martinez.

- February 25th, 2018: History is made once again at WWE Elimination Chamber, when Sasha Banks defeats Bayley, Sonya Deville, Mandy Rose, Dana Brooke and Alicia Fox to retain the Raw Women’s Championship in an Elimination Chamber Match. In the show’s other Elimination Chamber Match, Roman Reigns defeats Braun Strowman, John Cena, Seth Rollins, The Miz and Elias to earn the right to challenge Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans. Also on the show, Ronda Rousey signs her WWE contract, but gets in a confrontation with Stephanie McMahon. Triple H tries to bully Ronda, but The Rock makes his return to even the odds, and he challenges Triple H and Stephanie to a mixed tag team match at WrestleMania.

- March 8th, 2018: Impact presents it’s Crossroads special, headlined by Pentagon Jr. defeating Eli Drake to win the Impact World Championship. NWA Worlds Champion Nick Aldis makes an appearance as well, having a confrontation with EC3.

- March 9th, 2018: Ring of Honor’s 16th Anniversary Show is headlined by Dalton Castle retaining the ROH World Championship against Jay Lethal. But after the match, Bullet Club attacks Castle. In other action, The Broken Hardys defend the ROH Tag Team Championship against ReDragon, but are confronted afterwards by The Briscoes.

- March 11th, 2018: At Fastlane, John Cena sees his last hope for a WrestleMania match go up in smoke, when he fails to win the WWE Championship from Sami Zayn in a four-way match also including Baron Corbin and Dolph Ziggler. In addition, Asuka makes her intentions for WrestleMania known when she challenges Charlotte, the Smackdown Women’s Champion. And The Bludgeon Brothers (Luke Harper and Erick Rowan) attack The Usos and The New Day during their Smackdown Tag Team Title match, laying out all five men.

- March 20th, 2018: Daniel Bryan is cleared to return to in-ring competition. On Smackdown, he announces that he will be stepping down as the General Manager of Smackdown. Dolph Ziggler interrupts the promo and mocks Bryan’s retirement speech from two years prior, before challenging him to a match at WrestleMania, where he vows to end Bryan’s career for real. Bryan accepts the challenge for what will be his first match in almost three years.

- March 21st, 2018: Zack Sabre Jr. defeats Hiroshi Tanahashi to win the New Japan Cup and earn a shot at IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kushida at Sakura Genesis.

- March 25th, 2018: New Japan’s Strong Style Evolved show is headlined by The Golden Lovers defeating The Young Bucks in an emotionally driven main event..

- March 30th, 2018: MLW announce that starting on April 20th, BeIN Sports USA will be airing a new weekly TV show, MLW Fusion. The company also announces that they will be using exclusive contracts in order to better control workers’ bookings and keep themselves from being swindled.

- April 1st, 2018: At Sakura Genesis, Kazuchika Okada defeats Zack Sabre Jr. to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. In the show’s other main event, Cody and Hangman Page defeat The Golden Lovers.

- April 5th, 2018: Scarlett defeats Impact Women’s Champion Alexxiss Bliss to win the title. On the same show, Marty Scurll debuts for Impact, saving NWA Worlds Champion Nick Aldis from a two-on-one attack by EC3 and Rockstar Spud.

- April 7th, 2018: Alberto El Patron is released from Impact after no-showing an event in New Orleans the day before.

On the same night, ROH presents Supercard of Honor, headlined by Bullet Club’s Cody defeating Dalton Castle to win the ROH World Championship. In addition, The Briscoes defeat The Broken Hardys to win the ROH Tag Team Championship, while ROH Television Champion Silas Young defeats Kenny King and Marty Scurll in a three-way match to retain, with this also being Scurll’s final ROH appearance.

Also that same night, WWE presents NXT Takeover: New Orleans. After a year of dominance by Balor Club, the villainous group is finally defeated, with Finn Balor dropping the NXT Championship to Aleister Black, while The War Raiders, who stomped their way through the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, defeat Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson to win the NXT Tag Team Championship. Shayna Baszler defeats Ember Moon to win the NXT Women’s Championship, while Roderick Strong wins a six man ladder match to become the first-ever NXT North American Champion. But the real main event of the night is the unsanctioned match between Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa, with Gargano’s NXT career on the line. In a brutal match, Gargano picks up the win and lives to fight another day in NXT.

- April 8th, 2018: WWE presents WrestleMania 34. In the show’s main event, Brock Lesnar defeats Roman Reigns to retain the Universal Championship, confusing the many who believed Roman would be leaving the gold. The show also saw the in-ring debut of Ronda Rousey, who teamed with The Rock to defeat Triple H and Stephanie McMahon in a mixed tag, as well as the return to the ring of Daniel Bryan, who defeated Dolph Ziggler, silencing the perpetual complainer, for now, at least. As well, in a match that wasn’t even confirmed until during the show, The Undertaker defeated John Cena in under three minutes. The rest of the show: Braun Strowman and a young fan named Nicholas won the Raw Tag Team Championship from Sheamus and Cesaro; Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Sami Zayn to win the WWE Championship; Nia Jax defeated Sasha Banks to win the Raw Women’s Championship; The Bludgeon Brothers defeated The Usos and The New Day to win the Smackdown Tag Team Championship; Jinder Mahal defeated Randy Orton and Rusev to win the United States Championship; Charlotte defeated Asuka to retain the Smackdown Women’s Championship; and Seth Rollins defeated The Miz to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship.

- April 9th, 2018, April 10th, 2018: The usual post-WrestleMania refresh occurs on Raw and Smackdown. On Raw, Balor Club makes their debut, confronting Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, then winning a main event tag team match thanks to Finn Balor’s interference. Ember Moon debuts as Nia Jax’s mystery partner against Sasha Banks’ security detail, Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville. Due to Nicholas’ commitments to fourth grade, he and Braun Strowman forfeit the Raw Tag Team Championship, with a tournament being ordered. In addition, No Way Jose and AOP (Authors of Pain) make their Raw debuts.

On Smackdown, Carmella cashes in her Money in the Bank on Charlotte, thanks to a pre-match beat down by the debuting IIconics. SAnitY debut by calling out The Bludgeon Brothers, while Andrade “Cien” Almas and Zelina Vega debut with a win for Almas over Sin Cara. In addition, Baron Corbin tries to cash in his own Money in the Bank on Shinsuke Nakamura, but Nakamura defeats him in the ensuing match, then offers a title shot to Daniel Bryan at The Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia.

- April 12th, 2018: MLW crowns a new World Champion when Shane Strickland defeats Matt Riddle in the finals of a tournament.

- April 22nd, 2018: Impact presents Redemption, it’s first non-Slammiversary or Bound For Glory PPV since 2014. In the main event, Pentagon Jr. defeats Eli Drake in a Hardcore Match to retain the Impact World Championship, while Nick Aldis retains the NWA Worlds Championship over EC3. In addition, the returning Velvet Sky defeats Scarlett Bordeaux to win the Impact Women’s Championship, while LAX and The Decay fight to a no-contest for the Impact Tag Team Championship.

- April 27th, 2018: WWE presents The Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia. Featured on the show is Brock Lesnar defeating Roman Reigns in a Steel Cage Match to retain the Universal Championship, Shinsuke Nakamura defeating Daniel Bryan to retain the WWE Championship, following interference by Big Cass, The Revival defeating Breezango to win the vacant Raw Tag Team Championship, Seth Rollins retaining the Intercontinental Championship over The Miz and Finn Balor, The Undertaker defeating Rusev in a Casket Match, John Cena defeating Triple H, Sami Zayn defeating Randy Orton to retain the United States Championship, and Braun Strowman winning the titular Greatest Royal Rumble Match, by last eliminating Big Cass.

- April 29th, 2018: New Japan’s Wrestling Hinokini is headlined by Tetsuya Naito defeating Minoru Suzuki to regain the IWGP Intercontinental Championship, allowing Los Ingobernables de Japon a clean sweep over Suzuki-Gun in four matches.

- May 3rd, 2018, May 4th, 2018: New Japan holds it’s two-night Wrestling Dontaku event. On night one, in addition to The Superklique capturing the NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championship, Cody defeats Kota Ibushi, while Kenny Omega picks up a win over Hangman Page in the main event. Night two sees Kazuchika Okada retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship over Hiroshi Tanahashi, Will Ospreay retain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship over Kushida, and the continuation of the Bullet Club Civil War, as The Golden Lovers team with Bad Luck Fale and Guerrillas of Destiny to defeat Cody, Adam Cole, Hangman Page and The Young Bucks.

- May 6th, 2018: WWE Backlash features a number of rematches, including Seth Rollins defeating The Miz in a Ladder Match to retain the Intercontinental Championship, Sami Zayn defeating Rusev to retain the United States Championship, Carmella defeating Charlotte to retain the Smackdown Women’s Championship, and Nia Jax defeating Sasha Banks to retain the Raw Women’s Championship. In addition, Daniel Bryan defeats Big Cass, while Shinsuke Nakamura defends the WWE Championship against Randy Orton.

- May 13th, 2018: At the All In press conference, it’s announced that Nick Aldis will defend the NWA Worlds Championship against Cody. Tickets go on sale that same day and sell out in less than 30 minutes.

- May 31st, 2018: Impact holds it’s Under Pressure event. In the main event, Pentagon Jr. defeats Eli Drake in a Steel Cage Match to retain the Impact World Championship. Also on the show, Rosemary defeats Velvet Sky to win the Impact Women’s Championship, while The Decay and LAX brawl through the entire arena and eventually out into the streets, where the police have to be called to break up the fight.

- June 9th, 2018: At New Japan’s Dominion 6.9 event, Kenny Omega finally defeats Kazuchika Okada to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, in a two-out-of-three falls match, which receives seven stars from Dave Meltzer. The event sees several other title changes as well: Chris Jericho returns to Japan to defeat Tetsuya Naito and win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship; Hiromu Takahashi defeats Will Ospreay to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship; The Young Bucks defeat EVIL and Sanada to win the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship; and Michael Elgin defeats Hirooki Goto and Taichi to win the NEVER Openweight Championship. In addition, Cody, Adam Cole and Hangman Page defeat the trio of Jushin Thunder Liger, Rey Mysterio Jr., and Hiroshi Tanahashi. And to top off the night, after Omega defeats Okada, The Young Bucks reconcile with their friend to form the Golden Elite, along with Ibushi.

- June 17th, 2018: WWE’s Money in the Bank PPV is headlined by Braun Strowman winning the men’s Money in the Bank Ladder match and a guaranteed World Title match. As for the women’s Money in the Bank, Sasha Banks wins it, but doesn’t wait long to cash it in, attacking Nia Jax and Ronda Rousey during their match, causing a DQ, then defeating Jax to regain the title.

- June 19th, 2018: Big Cass is released by WWE following behavioral issues, including a segment where he went overboard attacking a midget wrestler, despite strict instructions from Vince McMahon himself.

- June 25th, 2018, June 26th, 2018: The NXT United Kingdom Championship special airs on the WWE Network. Night one sees Zack Gibson win a tournament to become the number one contender for the NXT United Kingdom Championship. Night two sees Pete Dunne defeat Gibson to retain the title, while Noam Dar becomes the next number one contender by winning a fatal 4-way match. And Mustache Mountain defeat War Machine to win the NXT Tag Team Championship.

- June 26th, 2018: FOX announces that they have signed a five year deal to air WWE Smackdown, beginning on October 4th, 2019.

- June 28th, 2018: Rob Van Dam returns to Impact and confronts Pentagon Jr. Also on this episode of Impact, Nick Aldis defends the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship against Bobby Roode. After the match, Kurt Angle confronts Aldis, saying that before he hangs up the boots for good, he wants to wear a belt he never thought he’d have the chance to win, the oldest Championship in existence. Aldis laughs off Angle’s challenge, pointing out his last match was a loss over a year ago. Angle vows to earn a shot at the gold, then shut Aldis up once and for all.

- June 29th, 2018: At ROH’s Best In The World PPV, ROH World Champion Cody defeats Dalton Castle and Kenny King in a three-way match, but afterwards, he chastises his Bullet Club teammates Adam Cole, Hangman Page and The Young Bucks for interfering in the match. Also on the card, The Bucks unsuccessfully try to win the ROH Tag Team Championship from The Briscoes, while Punishment Martinez defeats Hangman Page to retain the ROH Television Championship. In addition, The Broken Hardys defeat The Kingdom in a no-disqualifications match, Jay Lethal defeats Austin Aries to become the number one contender for the ROH World Championship, and Adam Cole defeats Josh Woods.

- July 7th, 2018: At New Japan’s G1 Special in San Francisco, Kenny Omega defeats Cody to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. After the match, Guerrillas of Destiny and King Haku attack Kenny, Kushida and The Young Bucks, but Cody, Hangman Page and Adam Cole choose to align with The Golden Elite. Also on the show, Juice Robinson defeats Jay White to win the IWGP United States Championship, while Hiromu Takahashi suffers a broken neck during his match with Dragon Lee for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.

- July 15th, 2018: At WWE’s Extreme Rules event, Finn Balor defeats Seth Rollins in an Iron Man Match to capture the WWE Intercontinental Championship. Also on the show, Shinsuke Nakamura retains the WWE Championship over Rusev, Sasha Banks defeats Nia Jax to retain the Raw Women’s Championship, The Bludgeon Brothers defeat Team Hell No to retain the Smackdown Tag Team Championship, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson defeat The Revival, Breezango and Heath Slater and Rhyno in a fatal 4-way match to win the Raw Tag Team Championship, Baron Corbin defeats Braun Strowman in a Steel Cage Match, SAnitY defeated The New Day in a Number One Contenders Tables Match, Drew McIntyre defeats Roman Reigns, and Dolph Ziggler defeats Sami Zayn to win the United States Championship.

- July 19th, 2018: MLW holds it’s first-ever Battle Riot show, headlined by a 40 man battle royal. Tom Lawlor wins the match, earning himself a future MLW World Heavyweight Championship match. Also on the show, Maxwell Jacob Friedman defeats Joey Ryan to win the vacant MLW World Middleweight Championship.

- July 22nd, 2018: Impact holds it’s Slammiversary PPV, headlined by Rob Van Dam defeating Pentagon Jr. to win the Impact World Championship. Also on the show, Nick Aldis defeats Marty Scurll to retain the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship, Kurt Angle defeats AJ Styles, The Decay defeat LAX in a Falls Count Anywhere Match to retain the Impact Tag Team Championship, Rosemary defeats Diamnte to retain the Impact Women’s Championship, Eli Drake defeats EC3, Bobby Roode and James Storm in an NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship Number One Contenders Match, and Laura Dennis defeats Maria Kanellis in a grudge match. In addition, Samoa Joe and Mickie James are inducted into the Impact Hall of Fame, by Low-Ki and Nick Aldis, respectively.

- July 23rd, 2018: Jay Lethal defeats Cody to win the ROH World Championship. After the match, The Young Bucks and Adam Cole attack Cody and beat him down, effectively kicking him out of Bullet Club. This is Cody’s final Ring of Honor appearance.

On the same night, Stephanie McMahon announces the first-ever all-women’s WWE PPV event, Evolution, to take place on October 28th.

- July 25th, 2018: Tommaso Ciampa defeats Aleister Black to win the NXT Championship, following inadvertent interference by Johnny Gargano.

- August 12th, 2018: Kota Ibushi defeats Hiroshi Tanahashi to win the G1 Climax and earn the right to challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at WrestleKingdom 13 on January 4th, 2019. On the same show, Taiji Ishimori and Guerrillas of Destiny defeat The SuperKlique to win the NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championship.

- August 18th, 2018: At NXT Takeover: Brooklyn IV, Tommaso Ciampa defeats Johnny Gargano in a Last Man Standing Match to retain the NXT Championship, in the pair’s third straight Takeover main event of the year. Also on the show, Ricochet defeats Roderick Strong to win the NXT North American Championship, while Kairi Sane upsets Shayna Baszler for the NXT Women’s Championship.

- August 19th, 2018: At WWE SummerSlam, Roman Reigns defeats Brock Lesnar to capture the WWE Universal Championship. Braun Strowman appears at the start of the match and promises to cash in his Money in the Bank contract on the winner, but Reigns and Lesnar work together to take him out, leading to Reigns finally finishing off “The Beast Incarnate” to capture the gold. Also on the show: Ronda Rousey defeats Sasha Banks to win the Raw Women’s Championship; Dolph Ziggler defeats Tye Dillinger to retain the US Championship; The Miz defeats Daniel Bryan following interference from Miz’s wife Maryse and Bryan’s wife Brie Bella; Shinsuke Nakamura defeats Randy Orton to retain the WWE Championship; Charlotte defeats Carmella and Becky Lynch to win the Smackdown Women’s Championship, but Becky turns heel on Charlotte after the match; Braun Strowman defeats Baron Corbin to keep the Money in the Bank briefcase; SAnitY defeat The Bludgeon Brothers to win the Smackdown Tag Team Championship; and Seth Rollins, with the returning Dean Ambrose in his corner, defeats Finn Balor to regain the Intercontinental Championship.

- August 20th, 2018: New Japan strips Hiromu Takahashi of the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship and announce a pair of semifinal matches involving the previous four Champions, Will Ospreay, Adam Cole, Kushida and Bushi.

- August 24th, 2018: After almost a year, Neville is finally granted his release by WWE.

- August 30th, 2018: That same day, Impact airs it’s ReDefined special episode. On the show, AJ Styles attacks Rob Van Dam and Pentagon Jr., causing their title rematch to end in a no-contest. Also on the show, Kurt Angle defeats James Storm and Austin Aries to earn an NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship match at Bound For Glory on October 14th, while Eddie Kingston and LAX defeat The Decay and Marty Scurll in a six man Hardcore War.

- September 1st, 2018: Cody and The Young Bucks present All In, a sellout event from Chicago. The show features wrestlers from the NWA, Impact, ROH, New Japan, AAA and MLW. In the main event, Kota Ibushi and The Young Bucks defeat Rey Mysterio Jr., Rey Fenix and Bandido. Also on the show, Nick Aldis defeats Cody to retain the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship, but is attacked by Kurt Angle after the match. Kenny Omega defeats Pentagon Jr., but after the match, the arena blacked out. When the lights came back on, Pentagon hit Kenny with a Codebreaker, then unmasked, revealing it was Chris Jericho, who switched places with the real Penta. Jericho then challenged Omega to a match at Chris Jericho’s Rock ‘n’ Wrestling Rager At Sea. In other action: Kazuchika Okada defeated Adam Cole; Hangman Page defeated Joey Janela; Tessa Blanchard defeated Dr. Britt Baker DMD, Chelsea Green and Madison Rayne; Christopher Daniels defeated actor Stephen Amell; Matt Cross defeated Maxwell Jacob Friedman; and ROH World Champion Jay Lethal defeated Flip Gordon to retain. Finally, CM Punk and April Lee Mendez make a special appearance at the show, watching in the front row. After Cody loses to Aldis, he and Brandi get into a shoving match with Punk and Mendez.

- September 15th, 2018, September 17th, 2018, September 23rd, 2018: New Japan holds it’s Destruction tour. On the first night, Kota Ibushi teams with Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi in a loss to Chuckie T., Beretta and Will Ospreay, after Owens and Takahashi turn on Ibushi. Later in the night, Kenny Omega retains the IWGP Championship against Tomohiro Ishii. On the second night, Taichi defeats Hirooki Goto to win the NEVER Openweight Championship, and Tetsuya Naito defeats Minoru Suzuki in the main event. On the final night, Kushida defeats Bushi to advance the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match at King of Pro Wrestling, and in the main event, Kota Ibushi defeats Kazuchika Okada to retain the Tokyo Dome Challenge Rights Certificate. But after the main event, Jay White and Okada’s mentor, Gedo, attacked both men, with White then joining Bullet Club.

September 16th, 2018: At WWE Hell in a Cell, Braun Strowman battles Roman Reigns in a Hell in a Cell Match, officially cashing in his Money in the Bank contract. But the match ends in a no-contest when Brock Lesnar interferes, ripping the door off the cell to attack both men. Elsewhere on the show, Becky Lynch defeats Charlotte to win the Smackdown Women’s Championship, to a positive crowd reaction, despite being the heel.

- September 30th, 2018: At New Japan's Fighting Spirit Unleashed, Adam Cole defeats Will Ospreay to advance to the Junior Heavyweight Championship match at King of Pro Wrestling. In addition, Cody defeats Juice Robinson to win the IWGP United States Championship, while The Young Bucks lose the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships to Guerrillas of Destiny.

- October 6th, 2018: WWE holds Super Showdown in Melbourne, Australia, headlined by Triple H defeating The Undertaker in a no-disqualifications match. Shawn Michaels and Kane get involved in the finish, leading to a future tag team match. In addition, Australia’s own Buddy Murphy defeats Cedric Alexander to win the WWE Cruiserweight Championship. Also on the show, Daniel Bryan defeats The Miz to become the number one contender to the WWE Championship, The Shield defeats Balor Club, and Shinsuke Nakamura retains the WWE Championship against Randy Orton in a Last Man Standing Match.

- October 8th, 2018: King of Pro Wrestling is headlined by Kenny Omega defending the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Hiroshi Tanahashi, while Kota Ibushi retains the Tokyo Dome Challenge Rights Certificate against Jay White. Additionally, Kushida defeats Adam Cole to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, and Bullet Club (Guerrillas of Destiny, Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi) defeat The Elite (The Young Bucks, Cody and Hangman Page).

- October 14th, 2018: Impact holds it’s Bound For Glory PPV, headlined by Kurt Angle defeating Nick Aldis to capture the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship. However, after the match, Cody attacks Angle. In addition, AJ Styles defeats Pentagon Jr. and Rob Van Dam to win the Impact World Championship, while The Decay defeat LAX in a Steel Cage Match to win the Impact Tag Team Championship.

- October 18th, 2018: Paige* debuts for Impact Wrestling, saving Laura Dennis and Rosemary from a three-on-two assault by the now-heel Beautiful People. On the same show, Sabu returns as RVD’s mystery partner, against Penta El Zero M and his brother, Rey Fenix.

* In this timeline, Paige has not reinjured her neck and been forced to retire, instead she makes her return nearly a year later than in real life and wrestles a reduced schedule for Impact.

- October 21st, 2018: At the NWA’s 70th Anniversary Show, Cody, now known as “The American Nightmare”, defeats Kurt Angle to capture the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship. After the match, CM Punk and April Lee Mendez come out and announce that they have signed a contract to work for the NWA and Billy Corgan. And Punk motions that he wants the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship... In addition, a one night tournament is held to determine the new NWA National Heavyweight Champion. In the semifinals, Sam Shaw defeats Colt Cabana, Sammy Guevara and Scorpio Sky, while Willie Mack defeats Ricky Starks, Mike Parrow and Jay Bradley, leading to the final, where Mack defeats Shaw to win the title.

- October 22nd, 2018: “My name is Joe.” Roman Reigns follows those four words with the announcement that his leukemia has returned and he will be taking time away for treatment, relinquishing the WWE Universal Championship in the process. Later that night, Roman’s Shield partners and best friends, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose, defeat Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson to win the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship, but during the emotional celebration that follows, Ambrose betrays Seth, attacking him and laying him out, to the loudest boos ever heard on WWE TV.

- October 28th, 2018: WWE presents the first-ever all-women’s PPV, Evolution. The show is headlined by three Championship bouts. Shayna Baszler defeats Kairi Sane to regain the NXT Women’s Championship, after interference by Marina Shaifr and Jessamyn Duke. Becky Lynch retains the Smackdown Women’s Championship against Charlotte in a Last Woman Standing Match. And in the main event, Ronda Rousey defeats Nikki Bella to retain the Raw Women’s Championship. Also on the show, Toni Storm defeats Io Shirai to win the Mae Young Classic, while Nia Jax wins a battle royal to earn a Raw Women’s Championship match.

- November 2nd, 2018: WWE presents it’s second Saudi Arabia PPV, Crown Jewel. John Cena and Daniel Bryan, both scheduled to be part of the show, refuse to compete, following the death of an American journalist at the hands of the Saudi Crown Prince. At the show, DX face the Brothers of Destruction in a match best left forgotten, it was that bad. Brock Lesnar defeats Braun Strowman to win the vacant WWE Universal Championship, while Shane McMahon wins the wins the WWE World Cup. Also on the show, The New Day defeat SAnitY to win the Smackdown Tag Team Championship.

- November 3rd, 2018: At New Japan’s Power Struggle, Chris Jericho makes his first defense of the IWGP Intercontinental Championship since winning it, defeating EVIL in the show’s main event. Also on the show, Roppongi 3K defeat IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru, and Bushi and Shingo Takagi, to win the 2018 Super Jr. Tag League, while Naito defeats Zack Sabre Jr., and Hirooki Goto defeats Taichi to regain the NEVER Openweight Championship. Additionally, WrestleKingdom 13 opponents Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi team up as The Golden Lovers to defeat Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi, and Kazuchika Okada and Beretta defeat Jay White and Bad Luck Fale.

- November 12th, 2018: Becky Lynch is busted open hardway by Nia Jax on Monday Night Raw. The image of Becky, blood smeared across her nose and mouth, becomes an iconic image of “The Man” going forward.

- November 13th, 2018: In the impromptu main event of Smackdown, Daniel Bryan turns heel to defeat Shinsuke Nakamura to win the WWE Championship.

- November 17th, 2018: NXT hosts it’s second-ever War Games event, this year headlined by Tommaso Ciampa, War Raiders and Roderick Strong taking on Pete Dunne, Mustache Mountain and Dave Mastiff. The NXT UK team wins the match, while in the co-main event, Aleister Black avenges his NXT Championship loss by defeating the man responsible, Johnny Gargano. Also on the show, Ricochet defeats Velveteen Dream to retain the NXT North American Championship, Shayna Baszler defeats Kairi Sane in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls Match to retain the NXT Women’s Championship, and Matt Riddle defeats Kassius Ohno in less than 10 seconds.

- November 18th, 2018: The biggest development to come out of Survivor Series is Charlotte snapping and attacking Ronda Rousey with a Kendo stick during their inter-brand encounter. The whole show is a sweep for Raw, winning every match against Smackdown, including Brock Lesnar defeating Daniel Bryan, Seth Rollins defeating Dolph Ziggler, The Revival defeating The New Day, and both the men’s and women’s Survivor Series teams winning, with Nia Jax surviving for the women, and Baron Corbin, Drew McIntyre and Braun Strowman surviving for the men.

- December 14th, 2018: Final Battle 2018 sees the apparent final bow for The Young Bucks and Adam Cole in Ring of Honor. The three men team up to face Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky, making a special appearance from Impact, by request of Cole and The Bucks. The SuperKlique wins the match, then all six men embrace and take a bow for the gracious crowd. In addition, Jay Lethal defeats Hangman Page to retain the ROH World Championship, while The Broken Hardys defeat The Briscoes, ReDragon and The Motor City Machine Guns (also on loan from Impact) in a Ladder War to regain the ROH Tag Team Championship.

- December 16th, 2018: The final PPV of the year, TLC, is main evented by Asuka capturing the Smackdown Women’s Championship in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs Match over Becky Lynch and Charlotte. Also on the show, Dean Ambrose defeats Seth Rollins in a brutal Chairs Match, while Ronda Rousey defeats Nia Jax to retain the Raw Women’s Championship. The Usos defeat The New Day to win the Smackdown Tag Team Championship in a Ladder Match, and Baron Corbin defeats Braun Strowman in a Tables Match.

- December 17th, 2018: The McMahons and Triple H appear on Raw and declare that “the WWE Universe” is The Authority, and fire Baron Corbin as Raw General Manager. Mr. McMahon then declares that from now on, “we will listen to our fans”.

[Celexa Bliss]

2019
- January 1st, 2019: Tony Khan, the senior vice-president of the Jacksonville Jaguars and vice-chairman of Fulham, holds a press conference to announce his purchase of Ring of Honor. Citing a recent downturn in attendance and ratings, Tony had learned of Sinclair Broadcasting’s intention to sell the company and placed a bid. Khan announces immediate changes, starting with the mutually agreed upon release of The Hardys and Bully Ray. Tony gives props to the three men for all their contributions to pro wrestling, but due to fan demand, change was necessary. Khan then went on to announce his partners in his new Ring of Honor venture, Matt and Nick Jackson, the new ROH EVPs. The Young Bucks announced that they, along with Adam Cole, would be remaining part of ROH and that The Elite will always be The Elite, no matter where they go. Khan would finally announce a new PPV for May 25th, Double or Nothing, to be booked and run by The Bucks.

- January 4th, 2019: WrestleKingdom 13 heralds big changes for New Japan, in the wake of it’s biggest stars, The Elite, leaving. In the show’s main event, Kota Ibushi defeats Kenny Omega to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, which is followed by an emotional embrace by the long-time partners. Tetsuya Naito defeats Chris Jericho to regain the IWGP Intercontinental Championship, while Jay White scores a major upset over Kazuchika Okada. Also on the show: Taiji Ishimori defeats Kushida for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship; Juice Robinson defeats Cody to regain the IWGP United States Championship; Evil and Sanada defeat Guerrillas of Destiny and The Young Bucks to win the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship; Zack Sabre Jr. defeats Tomohiro Ishii; Bushi and Shingo Takagi defeat El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru, and Roppongi 3K, to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship; and Will Ospreay defeats Hirooki Goto to win the NEVER Openweight Championship.

- January 6th, 2019: At Impact’s Homecoming PPV, Johnny Impact returns to the company, confronting Impact World Champion AJ Styles after Styles title defense against Bobby Roode. Also on the show, The Lucha Bros defeat The Decay and Rob Van Dam and Sabu to win the Impact Tag Team Championship.

- January 12th, 2019: NXT UK presents it’s first Takeover event, Takeover: Blackpool. At the show, Pete Dunne retains his NXT United Kingdom Championship over Joe Coffey, but is then confronted by the debuting WALTER. Also on the show, Toni Storm defeats Rhea Ripley to win the NXT UK Women’s Championship, while Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake and Zack Gibson) defeat Mustache Mountain to become the first NXT UK Tag Team Champions.

- January 17th, 2019: Brian Cage debuts for Impact Wrestling, getting involved in Johnny Impact and AJ Styles’ World Title feud. On the same show, Rhino and Raven return to Impact and jump the Lucha Bros backstage, while James Storm defeats Angel Garza to win the X Division Championship.

- January 26th, 2019: NXT Takeover Phoenix sees Tommaso Ciampa defeat Aleister Black to retain the NXT Championship in the evening’s main event. Also on the show, Johnny Gargano defeats Ricochet to win the NXT North American Championship, while Shayna Baszler retains the NXT Women’s Championship over Bianca Belair, and War Raiders defeat Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch to retain the NXT Tag Team Championship.

- January 27th, 2019: The Road to WrestleMania officially kicks off with the Royal Rumble. On the men’s side, Seth Rollins last eliminates Braun Strowman to earn his title shot at WrestleMania, against either Brock Lesnar or Daniel Bryan. On the women’s side, Becky Lynch first loses to Asuka in the opening match, then later replaces the injured Lana to win the Women’s Rumble, last eliminating Charlotte. Becky now has the chance to challenge either Ronda Rousey or Asuka at WrestleMania 35.

- January 28th, 2019: It’s reported by several online journalists, and later confirmed by WWE, that Dean Ambrose will be leaving the company when his contract expires in April.

- February 7th, 2019: Tony Khan and The Young Bucks hold a press conference in Las Vegas to announce tickets for May’s Double or Nothing show. Khan also announces that the ROH Tag Team Championship tournament will be the focus of March’s Anniversary Show. Teams confirmed for the tournament: The Young Bucks, Best Friends, ReDragon, SCU (FKA Bad Influence), The Briscoes, Angelico and Jack Evans, Private Party, and The Super Smash Bros. As far as TV goes, Khan has been negotiating with a number of networks, including AXS, which also carries New Japan Pro Wrestling. For now, Tony says they plan to run PPV events, beginning in March and leading to Double or Nothing in May, then assess going forward.

- February 11th, 2019: At New Beginning in Osaka, Jay White defeats Kota Ibushi to capture the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.

February 12th, 2019: On WWE Smackdown, Kofi Kingston is named Mustafa Ali’s replacement for the Elimination Chamber match. The six men involved compete that night in a gauntlet match for the right to enter the match last. Kingston puts in a star-making performance, lasting an hour and defeating WWE Champion Daniel Bryan, Sheamus and Cesaro, before being eliminated by Shinsuke Nakamura, who went on to be defeated by Randy Orton.

- February 15th, 2019: Impact’s Uncaged special sees Johnny Impact defeat AJ Styles to capture the Impact World Championship. Also on the show, Raven and Rhino defeat The Lucha Bros to win the Impact Tag Team Championship, following a run-in by Rob Van Dam and Sabu.

- February 17th, 2019: “Kofi-Mania” runs wild in WWE, after Kofi Kingston nearly leaves Elimination Chamber as the WWE Champion. Entering the match third, Kingston eliminates Shinsuke Nakamura and Randy Orton, before falling to Daniel Bryan, but his performance earns him a standing ovation from the audience as he is helped to the back by his New Day partners Big E and Xavier Woods. Also at the show, Charlotte wins the Smackdown Women’s Championship in a cross-brand Elimination Chamber Challenge, defeating Asuka, Sasha Banks, Bayley, Nia Jax and Carmella. And Seth Rollins defeats Dean Ambrose in a three stages of hell match, beating Ambrose in a Submissions Match, being defeated in an Extreme Rules match, then defeating Ambrose in an all-out war inside the Elimination Chamber structure. In addition, Becky Lynch attacked Ronda Rousey following her win over Ruby Riott, violating the no-contact clause the McMahon family placed on the two women and jeopardizing their WrestleMania match.

- February 23rd, 2019: At New Japan’s Honor Rising show, Kushida defeats Jay Lethal to win the ROH World Championship. Also on the show, Guerrillas of Destiny defeat EVIL and Sanada to regain the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.

- February 25th, 2019: With Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose at each other’s throats and ready to tear into one another, Roman Reigns makes his surprise return to Raw. He tells the two that life is way too short for this fighting between them. He has an important update and wanted them both to be in the ring when he announced it: “I’m in remission, y’all.” The ovation from the crowd is deafening as Seth and Dean both embrace Roman (separately). Roman then tells them he needs them to make peace with one another, because at Fastlane, he wants one more chance to stand with his brothers in battle. He wants to get the band back together for one final match with Balor Club. At first, both men refuse, but after a lot of prompting from the crowd, the match is set to main event Fastlane on March 10th.

- March 10th, 2019: The Shield wrestle their final match together as a team, losing to Balor Club at Fastlane, when Dean Ambrose walks out on his partners, leaving Seth to take a Coup de Grace. Afterwards, Ambrose returns to the ring with a chair and lays out Seth. Roman tries to stop him, but Ambrose nails him in the ribs, then delivers three Dirty Deeds to Reigns. He then wraps the chair around Roman’s throat, but officials charge the ring to stop him from doing any significant damage. Also on the show, Sheamus and Cesaro defeat Kofi Kingston in a handicap match, while Daniel Bryan defeats Mustafa Ali and Dolph Ziggler to retain the WWE Championship.

- March 15th, 2019: Ring of Honor’s 17th Anniversary Show sees the return of Kevin Steen to ROH. Steen, along with Adam Cole, The Young Bucks, PCO, TJP and Bandio, attack SCU and RUSH and Dragon Lee (replacements for ReDragon) following the former winning the ROH Tag Team Championship Tournament final. Also on the show, Kushida defends the ROH World Championship against the debuting PAC, while Jeff Cobb defeats Shane Taylor to retain the ROH Television Championship.

- March 20th, 2019: Due to a severe neck injury, Tommaso Ciampa is forced to vacate the NXT Championship. Roderick Strong wins a five-way match to earn the right to face Johnny Gargano for the vacant title at NXT Takeover: New York.

- March 24th, 2019: Kazuchika Okada defeats Sanada to win the 2019 New Japan Cup, earning an IWGP Championship match at April’s G1 Supercard at Madison Square Garden.

- March 29th, 2019: Impact’s Against All Odds special sees EC3 defeat James Storm and Nick Aldis in a three-way match to win the Impact X Division Championship. Also on the show, Brian Cage defeats Bobby Roode to earn an Impact Championship match at Rebellion, while Taya Valkyrie wins a battle royal to earn a Women’s Championship match at the same event.

- April 5th, 2019: At NXT Takeover: New York, Johnny Gargano makes history as the first man to win every available Championship in NXT, defeating Roderick Strong to win the vacant NXT Championship in the main event. Also on the show, WALTER ends Pete Dunne’s reign as NXT United Kingdom Champion, while Velveteen Dream defeats Matt Riddle to retain the NXT North American Championship, War Raiders send Ricohet and Aleister Black to the main roster with a loss for the NXT Tag Team Championship, and Shayna Baszler defeats Bianca Belair, Kairi Sane and Io Shirai to retain the NXT Women’s Championship.

- April 6th, 2019: For the first time in almost 60 years, a wrestling event takes place at Madison Square Garden which is not promoted by WWE, when ROH and New Japan present G1 Supercard. The show sees Kazuchika Okada defeat Jay White in the New Japan main event to capture the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. In the Ring of Honor main event, Adam Cole defeats Kushida and Jay Lethal in a three-way ladder match to win the ROH World Championship. Also on the show: Kota Ibushi defeats Tetsuya Naito to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship; Zack Sabre Jr. defeats Hiroshi Tanahashi; Guerrillas of Destiny retain the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship against EVIL and Sanada; The Young Bucks defeat SCU, RUSH and Dragon Lee, and The Briscoes in a four-corners match to win the ROH Tag Team Championship; and Jeff Cobb defeats Will Ospreay in a winner-take-all match for the ROH Television Championship and the NEVER Openweight Championship.

- April 7th, 2019: WrestleMania 35 is headlined by Becky Lynch defeating Ronda Rousey to capture the Raw Women’s Championship, in the first all-women’s main event in WrestleMania history. Also on the show, Kofi Kingston fulfills the dream of capturing the WWE Championship when he defeats Daniel Bryan. In addition, Seth Rollins captures the WWE Universal Championship from Brock Lesnar in the opening match. Other results include: Randy Orton defeats Rusev; The Usos retain the Smackdown Tag Team Championship over Shinsuke Nakamura and Sami Zayn, Sheamus and Cesaro, and Ricochet and Aleister Black; Shane McMahon defeats The Miz in a Street Fight; Charlotte defeats Asuka to retain the Smackdown Women’s Championship; Rey Mysterio defeats Andrade “Cien” Almas to retain the United States Championship; Roman Reigns defeats Dean Ambrose in an Extreme Rules match; Triple H defeats Batista; and Drew McIntyre defeats Finn Balor, Baron Corbin and Apollo Crews to win the Intercontinental Championship.

- April 8th, 2019, April 9th, 2019: The night after WrestleMania, Kenny Omega makes his WWE debut on Raw, confronting Finn Balor in the ring. The segment concludes with Omega, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson turning on Balor and beating him down in the center of the ring. Additionally, Lacey Evans attacks Becky Lynch, sparking a feud between the two. On Smackdown, The Hardys return to WWE and defeat The Usos for the Smackdown Tag Team Championship.

- April 16th, 2019: Luke Harper requests his release from WWE, but is denied by Vince McMahon.

- April 27th, 2019: The NWA holds the Crockett Cup Tournament, which will determine the new NWA World Tag Team Champions. Eight teams compete in the tournament: The War Kings (Crimson and Jax Dane) (NWA), The Briscoes (ROH), SCU (ROH/Impact), Reno S.C.U.M (NWA), The Decay (Impact), The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express (NWA HoF), Aero Star and Drago (AAA) and FinJuice (New Japan). The final sees The Briscoes defeat SCU to become the new Champions, but afterwards, Chris Jericho makes a surprise appearance, confronting the winners. He says that he’s been looking for a new protege and he thinks he’s found the guy he can teach his ways to. Out comes Sammy Guevara, the Spanish God. Jericho proclaims their team to be “Le Sex Gods” and vows to wear the NWA Tag Titles very soon. In other action, Colt Cabana defeats Willie Mack to win the NWA National Heavyweight Championship, while Cody defeats CM Punk to retain the NWA Worlds Championship.

- April 28th, 2019: Impact holds it’s Rebellion PPV, headlined by Johnny Impact defeating Brian Cage in the main event to retain the Impact World Championship. Also on the show, Sammy Guevara makes his debut for Impact, defeating Garza Jr., while EC3 defeats Nick Aldis to retain the X Division Championship. LAX defeat Raven and Rhino in a Hardcore Match to win the Impact Tag Team Championship, and Taya Valkyrie defeats Rosemary to win the Impact Women’s Championship. In addition, Cody defeats Eli Drake to retain the NWA Worlds Championship, while the new NWA World Tag Team Champions The Briscoes appear and get into a confrontation with SCU.

- May 3rd, 2019: Jon Moxley debuts on Impact, attacking both Mike Bennett and Marty Scurll during their match. Moxley then cut a promo, declaring himself to no longer be a “lunatic” or a “fringe”. He fights only for himself and he attacks with ruthless precision. His first order of business is to put out an open challenge for Sunday’s Code Red.

- May 5th, 2019: At NWA Code Red, Cody defeats Ken Anderson to retain the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship. After the match, Cody’s brother Dustin debuts and confronts him, demanding a title shot. Also on the show, Le Sex Gods defeat Caleb Konley and Jay Bradley, earning a shot at the NWA World Tag Team Championship at the next NWA PPV, while Jon Moxley defeats Trevor Murdoch, and Impact Women’s Champion Taya Valkyrie defeats Chelsea Green and Sienna in a three-way match to retain.

- May 15th, 2019: WarnerMedia announces the return of professional wrestling to TNT, as they have signed a deal to air NWA presents Impact Wrestling starting on Wednesday night, October 2nd. Impact’s TV situation since 2014 has been unstable, having jumped from Spike to Destination America to POP, to being forced to broadcast on Twitch. It is believed that if Impact does well on TNT, the NWA may get a second show somewhere down the road.

- May 19th, 2019: Money in the Bank is headlined by Kenny Omega winning the men’s Money in the Bank Ladder match, despite not even being a legal entrant in the contest. Raw is represented by Braun Strowman, Ricochet, Aleister Black and Baron Corbin, while Smackdown is represented by Randy Orton, Shinsuke Nakamura, Cesaro and Mustafa Ali. Late in the match, after several competitors have been taken out with spectacular bumps, the music of Omega Club hits and out come Kenny, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson and Eric Young. The four proceed to beat down Corbin and Cesaro, then the Good Brothers hit a Magic Killer on Ali, Young hits the Showtime Elbow off a ladder onto Ricochet, driving him through a table, then Omega hits the One Winged Angel on Orton. With everyone down, Omega climbs the ladder and retrieves the case. After several minutes of confusion and speculation from Michael Cole, Corey Graves and Byron Saxton on commentary, the bell rings and Omega is declared the winner, ending the night on a cliffhanger. Elsewhere on the card: Seth Rollins defeats Sami Zayn to retain the Universal Championship; Kofi Kingston retains the WWE Championship in a rematch with Daniel Bryan; Andrade “Cien” Almas wins the United States Championship from Rey Mysterio; Becky Lynch defeats Lacey Evans to retain the Raw Women’s Championship, but fails to capture the Smackdown Women’s Championship from Charlotte. However, after the match, Bayley cashes in her newly-won Money in the Bank to take Charlotte’s title; and Roman Reigns defeats Elias.

- May 20th, 2019: On Raw, Kenny Omega’s Money in the Bank win is overturned by Mr. McMahon, who orders a five-way main event between Omega and the four Raw participants. The winner will face the four Smackdown participants the following night, with the winner being declared Mr. Money in the Bank. Later in the night, Omega Club once again interfere on Omega’s behalf, allowing Omega to hit the One Winged Angel on Aleister Black to move on to Smackdown…

- May 21st, 2019: In addition to the huge Money in the Bank main event, Smackdown revolves around two other stories. The first sees Xavier Woods, then later Big E, found laid out by a mystery attacker. When Kofi Kingston demands to know who it was, the lights go out. When they come back on, Kofi is laid out in the middle of the ring, with no clear answers as to who did it. The second story centers around Smackdown Women’s Champion Bayley, who cashed in Money in the Bank on Charlotte. Bayley is called on her actions by both interviewer Kayla Braxton and fellow face Ember Moon, who point out that Bayley took a shortcut to win the gold. Bayley defends her actions as being perfectly legal due to precedent, but the concerns aren’t about legalities, but morality. Has innocent, pure Bayley started down a dark path? Earlier in the show, Mr. McMahon bars the rest of Omega Club from the building. However, during the main event, Ali low-blow’s Nakamura, allowing Omega to hit the One Winged Angel and capture the Money in the Bank contract. Ali has joined Omega Club and now they have the briefcase…

- May 25th, 2019: Double or Nothing is presented by The Young Bucks, in conjunction with Tony Khan and Ring of Honor. The show opens with Kevin Steen, The Bucks, Adam Cole, PCO, TJP and Bandido taking over the ring. Steen proclaims the name of their group to be The DisHonored. He says that they’re guys who bled and sweat for the company while even the mainstays (*winks at the camera* “who were here for more than a Decade”) left. Steen says that when he left, it wasn’t for greener pastures (“I was making $100 a night and a gold bar!”), it was to make waves. Steen needed to see who was willing to carry ROH and the one man he noticed never left, was Adam Cole (“BAY BAY!”). The DisHonored are now going to rule ROH. They already have the World and Tag Team Titles, and tonight, Steen promises to win the TV Title. And from there… “Well, we know something you don’t know”. Later in the night, Steen does indeed defeat Jeff Cobb to win the ROH Television Championship, putting all the gold in the DisHonored camp. But, as Steen hinted, there is more to come. The show cuts to Tony Khan in his office, where he announces that ROH will be presenting Best in the World on June 28th. In addition to that, the following night, they will be presenting Fyter Fest. Over these two nights, they plan to crown the first ever ROH Trios Champions with a six team tournament, culminating in a three-way elimination match at Fyter Fest. Also on the show, The Young Bucks defend the ROH Tag Team Championship against SCU in a Ladder War, while Adam Cole retains the ROH World Championship against Dalton Castle. However, after the match, Sami Callihan makes his debut for Ring of Honor, confronting Cole. When The Bucks and Steen come out to even the odds, Callihan points to the back, and out come Madman Fulton, Brody King and Joe Doering walk out to join him in the ring…

- June 1st, 2019: NXT Takeover XXV happens, which features Roderick Strong defeating Johnny Gargano for the NXT Championship, with the aid of the debuting Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish. In addition, new NXT Tag Team Champions are crowned, when The Street Profits defeat Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch, The Forgotten Sons, and The Singh Brothers in a Ladder Match. Also on the show, Velveteen Dream defeats Tyler Breeze to retain the NXT North American Championship, Matt Riddle defeats Shane Thorne, and Shayna Baszler defeats Io Shirai to retain the NXT Women’s Championship.

- June 8th, 2019: Impact and NWA co-promote Hardcore Justice, featuring a main event of Johnny Impact vs. Brian Cage for the Impact World Championship in a Full Metal Mayhem Match. Impact escapes with the gold, but afterwards, Cage lays him out with a Powerbomb through a table. In addition, Dustin Rhodes defeats Tyrus, Jon Moxley defeats Mike Knox, and LAX defeat The Lucha Bros to retain the Impact Tag Team Championship. Also, the NWA World Tag Team Championship match between Le Sex Gods and The Briscoes is set for Bash at the Brewery, two nights before Slammiversary.

- June 9th, 2019: Tetsuya Naito regains the IWGP Intercontinental Championship at New Japan’s Dominion event. Also on the show, Tomohiro Ishii defeats Taichi for the NEVER Openweight Championship, and Will Ospreay recaptures the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship by defeating Taiji Ishimori. KENTA also debuts for New Japan at the show, announcing his entrance into the G1 Climax.

- June 23rd, 2019: At WWE Stomping Grounds, we get advancement with the current major storylines. Omega Club capture their first piece of gold, that being the WWE Intercontinental Championship, when Mustafa Ali defeats Drew McIntyre, thanks to Eric Young’s interference. The group also scout the Raw Women’s Championship match and applaud when Becky Lynch defeats Lacey Evans to retain. Smackdown Women’s Champion Bayley previously challenged Ember Moon to a friendly contest for the title, but as the match wears on and Ember seems close to winning, Bayley takes another shortcut, grabbing Ember’s tights for leverage during a rollup to retain. As for The New Day, after Kofi Kingston defeats Buddy Murphy to retain the WWE Championship, the lights go out. When they come back on, The Fiend (Bray Wyatt’s new character) is in the ring and he has Kofi Kingston trapped in the mandible claw. New Day try to break it up, but The Fiend battles them three-on-one and is victorious. In other action, Seth Rollins defeats Baron Corbin to retain the WWE Universal Championship, while Daniel Bryan and Erick Rowan defeat Heavy Machinery to retain the Smackdown Tag Team Championship.

- June 28th, 2019, June 29th, 2019: ROH presents it’s two night Best in the World/Fyter Fest Double-Bill, headlined by the crowning of the first-ever ROH Trios Champions. At Best in the World, PCO, Bandido and TJP of The DisHonored defeat The Kingdom, SCU defeat Tracy Williams, PJ Black and Mark Haskins, and The Horror (Sami Callihan, Madman Fulton and Brody King) defeat Dalton Castle and The Boys, all advancing to Fyter Fest. Also at Best in the World, RUSH and Dragon Lee defeat The Young Bucks to win the ROH Tag Team Championship, while Kevin Steen retains the Television Championship against Silas Young. At Fyter Fest, SCU are crowned the first-ever ROH Trios Champions, defeating The DisHonored and The Horror in a three-way Elimination Match. Also on the card, The Young Bucks regain the ROH Tag Team Championship, while Adam Cole retains the ROH World Championship against Joe Doering and Dalton Castle in a three-way match.

- June 29th, 2019: Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff are named the Executive Directors of Raw and Smackdown, respectively.

- July 5th, 2019: At NWA Bash at the Brewery, Cody Rhodes formally accepts Dustin’s challenge for a match, which will take place in two days’ time at Slammiversary. In addition, Le Sex Gods defeat The Briscoes to win the NWA World Tag Team Championship in the main event. As well, Britt Baker defeats Marti Belle, while NWA National Heavyweight Champion Colt Cabana drops the title to James Storm.

- July 7th, 2019: Impact presents Slammiversary, headlined by the return of Austin Aries. Aries comes out at the start of the Impact World Championship match, making a challenge to the winner. Cage goes on to capture the Impact World Championship in a Six Sides of Steel Cage match. Aries attacks Cage at the bell, then announces he wants his match now. The ref tries to force him back, but Cage shouts into the mic that they’re doing it. Cage fights bravely, but the fresher Aries is able to score with a clutch brainbuster to pick up the win and the title. Also on the show, Cody retains the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship against his brother, Dustin Rhodes, in a bloody brawl, reminiscent of classic NWA Championship matches of the 80’s. Afterwards, the brothers shake hands and embrace in the middle of the ring. Other results include: Taya Valkyrie defeats Rosemary, Tessa Blanchard and Laura Dennis to retain the Impact Women’s Championship; LAX defeat Rob Van Dam and Sabu to retain the Impact Tag Team Championship; Eli Drake defeats Nick Aldis in an NWA Championship Number One Contenders Match; EC3 defeats Sammy Guevara to retain the X Division Championship; Britt Baker defeats Alexxiss Bliss; and Jon Moxley defeats Rhino. Finally, Christopher Daniels and Madison Rayne are inducted into the Impact Hall of Fame.

- July 13th, 2019: ROH presents Fight for the Fallen, headlined by The Horror (Sami Callihan and Madman Fulton) defeating The Young Bucks to win the ROH Tag Team Championship. Additionally, Adam Cole defeats Kushida to retain the ROH World Championship, but is challenged by a returning PAC after the match. Tony Khan also uses the event to announce that on August 31st, one day shy of a year since All In, ROH will present All Out. At the event, ROH will feature the debut of it’s long-talked-about Women of Honor division. Khan then introduces the six women who will compete for the inaugural Championship: Mercedes Martinez, Bea Priestley, Priscilla Kelly, Jordynne Grace, Kimber Lee and Kris Statlander.

- July 14th, 2019: Extreme Rules sees the return of Finn Balor, absent since the night after WrestleMania. Balor interferes in Kenny Omega’s match with Cedric Alexander, allowing Cedric to get the upset win. In addition, Bayley continues to straddle the line between good and evil, as she retains her title in a triple threat, tossing Ember Moon from the ring after Ember had laid out Peyton Royce, then stealing the pin for herself. Bray Wyatt defeats Kofi Kingston in a non-title match, earning The Fiend a title shot at SummerSlam. Other results: Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch defeat Baron Corbin and Lacey Evans in an all-or-nothing match for the Universal and Raw Women’s Championships; Ricochet defeats Andrade “Cien” Almas to capture the US Title; and The Undertaker returns to team with Roman Reigns in a win over Shane McMahon and Elias.

- August 2nd, 2019: NWA holds it’s Unbreakable PPV event, headlined by Cody retaining the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship against Eli Drake, thanks to Dustin Rhodes’ interference, establishing Dustin as a heel. Also on the show, Jon Moxley defeats Tyrus, Le Sex Gods defeat The War Kings to retain the NWA World Tag Team Championship, X Division Champion EC3 defeats Andrew Everett and Marshe Rockett in a three-way match, and Impact Women’s Champion Taya Valkyrie retains against Tessa Blanchard. In addition, this event sees the debut of “Hangman” Adam Page, who defeats Chris Adonis.

- August 11th, 2019: WWE presents SummerSlam in Toronto, Canada. Finn Balor defeats Kenny Omega in a grudge match on the show, after fighting off the interference attempts of Omega Club. Bayley finally turns heel, bludgeoning Ember Moon with a chair while the referee is knocked out, to retain the Smackdown Women’s Championship. Kofi Kingston manages to pin The Fiend with a roll-up to retain the WWE Championship, but gets destroyed after the match. As well, Charlotte defeats Trish Stratus in her hometown, Goldberg destroys Dolph Ziggler, and Roman Reigns and The Undertaker defeat Daniel Bryan and Erick Rowan to win the Smackdown Tag Team Championship. Other results: Ricochet defeats Eric Young to retain the US Title; Seth Rollins defeats Andrade “Cien” Almas to retain the Universal Championship; and Becky Lynch retains the Raw Women’s Championship against Natalya.

- August 12th, 2019: Kota Ibushi defeats Jay White to win the G1 Climax for the second year in a row.

- August 20th, 2019: WWE and USA announce that on September 18th, NXT will begin airing live on USA for one hour, with the second hour airing live on the WWE Network. Beginning on October 2nd, the show will air exclusively on USA, competing head to head with NWA Impact, which debuts on the day.

- August 31st, 2019: ROH presents All Out. The show features the crowning of the first-ever Women of Honor Champion, as Mercedes Martinez wins a six woman survival match to capture the title. The event is also notable for Tony Khan announcing that Ring of Honor has signed a deal to begin airing on AXS TV, beginning October 29th. Other matches on the card: PCO, Bandido and TJP defeat SCU to win the ROH Trios Championship; The Young Bucks defeat The Horror to regain the ROH Tag Team Championship; Adam Cole and PAC fight to a sixty minute draw for the ROH World Title, and Kevin Steen defeats Brody King to retain the ROH TV Championship. Another notable event during the show sees The Super Smash Bros reinvent themselves as The Dark Order, attacking Best Friends and Private Party after their match, aided by their “Creepers”, students of Stu Grayson and Evil Uno.

Earlier the same day, WWE presents NXT UK Takeover: Cardiff. In the headline match, WALTER defeats Tyler Bate to retain the NXT United Kingdom Championship. Additionally, South Wales Subculture defeats Grizzled Young Veterans and Gallus to win the NXT UK Tag Team Championship, while Kay Lee Ray defeats Toni Storm to win the NXT UK Women’s Championship.

- September 14th, 2019: Impact and the NWA present Victory Road, headlined by Austin Aries defending the Impact World Championship against Rob Van Dam, flying solo again since Sabu left the company. Additionally, Cody defeats Jon Moxley to retain the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship, thanks to interference by Dustin Rhodes, Brandi Rhodes and the debuting Shawn Spears. Le Sex Gods retain the NWA World Tag Team Championship against The Decay, while Impact Tag Team Champions LAX defeat The Lucha Bros to retain. Taya Valkyrie defeats Britt Baker to retain the Impact Women’s Championship, but is attacked by Tessa Blanchard after the match. Also on the show: Eli Drake defeats Marty Scurll, James Storm and Nick Aldis to become the number one contender for the X Division Championship, Brian Cage defeats Johnny Impact, and Maria Kanellis and Alexxiss Bliss defeat Laura Dennis and Rosemary.

- September 15th, 2019: WWE’s Night of Champions PPV returns, headlined by Seth Rollins retaining the WWE Universal Championship against Braun Strowman. Earlier on the show, Kofi Kingston defeated “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt in a Last Man Standing Match, only for Paul Heyman to then announce that on the October 4th episode of Smackdown, Brock Lesnar will challenge Kofi for the title. Other results: Becky Lynch defeats Nikki Cross to retain the Raw Women’s Championship; Bayley defeats Sasha Banks and Charlotte to retain the Smackdown Women’s Championship; Smackdown Tag Team Champions Roman Reigns and The Undertaker defeat Daniel Bryan and Erick Rowan, The New Day and The Hardys to retain; Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson defeat Kalisto and Lince Dorado to retain the Raw Tag Team Championship; Lio Rush defeats Drew Gulak to win the Cruiserweight Championship; Chad Gable defeats Mustafa Ali to win the Intercontinental Championship; and Ricochet defeats Finn Balor to retain the WWE United States Championship.

- September 18th, 2019: NXT debuts on USA, the first hour headlined by The Velveteen Dream defending the NXT North American Championship against a mystery opponent, revealed to be Smackdown’s Cesaro. Cesaro wins the match and joins forces with Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish.

- September 25th, 2019: Three huge Championship matches are announced for the first full 2 hour NXT on USA: Roderick Strong defends the NXT Championship against Matt Riddle; Shayna Baszler defends the NXT Women’s Championship against Candice LeRae; and The Street Profits get their rematch against Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish for the NXT Tag Team Championship.

- September 27th, 2019: At ROH Death Before Dishonor, The DisHonored secure their hold on all the Championships in Ring of Honor. Kevin Steen defeats Kenny King to retain the ROH Television Championship, PCO, TJP and Bandido defeat Sami Callihan, Brody King and Madman Fulton to retain the ROH Trios Championship, Adam Cole defeats PAC in a Ladder Match to retain the ROH World Championship, and in the main event, The Young Bucks defeat SCU in a Losers-Leave-ROH match to retain the ROH Tag Team Championship. The show ends with the entire DisHonored in the ring, holding up their gold, as Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman wonder what the future could possibly hold for ROH… followed by a video, promoting ROH’s premiere on AXS on October 29th, dubbed “A New Era Of Honor Begins...”

On that same day, Impact airs it’s final episode on Twitch, which serves as one big advertisement for the TNT debut: EC3 will defend the X Division Championship against Eli Drake; NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Cody, and Dustin Rhodes will take on Jon Moxley and a mystery partner; Le Sex Gods will defend the NWA World Tag Team Championship against The Decay; Tessa Blanchard will go one-on-one with Britt Baker; and in a Full Metal Mayhem match, LAX will defend the Impact Tag Team Championship against The Lucha Bros. In addition, we will hear from Impact World Champion Austin Aries, and Impact Women’s Champion Taya Valkyrie will be in the house.

- September 28th, 2019: WWE announce the cancellation of 205 Live, with the Cruiserweight Championship and it’s competitors being moved to NXT.

[Celexa Bliss]

So, I have the first week of shows from October 2019 written. Here's the issue: WWE is not fun to book week by week. I have a lot of ideas in mind, but the idea of trying to book weekly gives me anxiety. So what I'll do for WWE (including NXT) is do write-ups to build to the big PPV events. You'll get the gist of the story, but without the endless Andrade/Ricochet matches every week. You think you want that, but you really don't...

Impact and ROH will have their weekly TV shows recapped in full, along with quick results for Powerr and DARK.

[Celexa Bliss]

Monday Night Raw, September 30th, 2019

The “season premiere” of Monday Night Raw kicks off with Kenny Omega teasing that he’s going to cash in his Money in the Bank contract tonight, but after a confrontation between Omega, Universal Champion Seth Rollins and Finn Balor, the new General Manager of Raw, Jerry “The King” Lawler, announces a triple threat for the gold in the main event.

In the opening contest, Andrade “Cien” Almas defeats Ricochet to capture the United States Championship, with the help of Humberto Carrillo, making his Raw debut. After the match, Ricochet’s friend Aleister Black challenges Humberto to a match on the spot. Thanks to shenanigans by Andrade and Zelina Vega, Humberto manages to pick up a win in his first match on Raw.

Rusev makes his return to television on MizTV and immediately “goes into business for himself”, as he airs his issues with WWE: “being punished for having a hot wife”, “being pulled off of TV despite having the loudest cheers and the best selling merchandise”, and his biggest grievance, “the fans not standing up for me!” Rusev says that the fans were quick to rally behind their beloved heroes, pointing out Daniel Bryan and Kofi Kingston as examples, but not him. “I thought you all loved Rusev Day! But now, Rusev Day is cancelled!” Miz tries to take back control of the segment, but Rusev attacks him and locks in the Accolade. Officials finally intervene and force Rusev to leave…

Rey Mysterio and his son Dominick were being interviewed in the ring about Rey earning a future Universal Championship match. Brock Lesnar would interrupt, however, and attack both father and son, with Dominick being hospitalized due to his injuries.

A four corners tag team match took place, with the winners earning the right to challenge for the Raw Tag Team Championship at Crown Jewel. The Viking Raiders defeated The Revival, The Major Broskis and Lucha House Party to earn the title shot.

Sasha Banks and Bayley confronted Becky Lynch and Charlotte in the ring. The confrontation led to a tag team match tonight, which saw Sasha pin Becky. At Hell in a Cell this Sunday, Becky and Bayley defend their titles against Sasha and Charlotte, respectively.

In the main event, Seth Rollins defeated Kenny Omega and Finn Balor to retain the WWE Universal Championship. After the match, Rollins was attacked by “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt, who then dared Omega to cash in. Omega passed, wishing Wyatt good luck against Seth at Hell in a Cell this Sunday…

Quick Results
Andrade “Cien” Almas def. Ricochet to win the WWE United States Championship
Humberto Carrillo def. Aleister Black
Cedric Alexander def. Mojo Rawley
The Viking Raiders def. The Revival, The Major Broskis and Lucha House Party
Bayley and Sasha Banks def. Becky Lynch and Charlotte
WWE Universal Champion Seth Rollins def. Kenny Omega and Finn Balor to retain

[Celexa Bliss]

NXT, October 2nd, 2019
The biggest episode of NXT yet kicks off with Roderick Strong defending the NXT Championship against Matt Riddle. It’s a hard-fought contest, but in the end, Strong emerges victorious to retain the gold. After the bout, however, Kushida makes his debut and confronts Strong.

Later in the night, however, Strong is met with another challenger. After Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish defeat The Street Profits to retain the NXT Tag Team Championship, Strong and Cesaro come out to celebrate, all four men holding up their gold. Tommaso Ciampa then returns from injury to confront them, making it clear he wants “Goldy” back…

The show also saw the official debut of Damian Priest, who attacked Pete Dunne after the Englishman’s own in-ring return to the brand.

Quick Results
NXT Champion Roderick Strong def. Matt Riddle to retain
Io Shirai def. Mia Yim
Pete Dunne def. Danny Burch
NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler def. Candice LeRae to retain
Johnny Gargano def. Shane Thorne
NXT Tag Team Champions Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish def. The Street Profits to retain

Rosters for NXT and NXTUK (includes people training at the WWE Performance Center):

NXT
Roderick Strong – NXT Champion
Kushida
Matt Riddle
Tommaso Ciampa
Johnny Gargano
Cesaro – NXT North American Champion
Velveteen Dream
Pete Dunne
Killian Dain
Damien Priest
Keith Lee
Dominick Dijakovic
Jaxson Ryker
Raul Mendoza
Cameron Grimes
Joaquin Wilde
Bronson Reed
Dexter Lumis
Boa
Isaiah “Swerve” Scott
Babatunde
Arturo Ruas
Mansoor
Austin Theory
El Hijo Del Fantasma
Lio Rush – WWE Cruiserweight Champion
Tony Nese
Ariya Daivari
Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly – NXT Tag Team Champions
Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch
Breezango (Tyler Breeze and Fandango)
Riddick Moss and Tino Sabbatelli
The Forgotten Sons (Steve Cutler and Wesley Blake)
Ever-Rise (Matt Martel and Chase Parker)
Shane Thorne and Brendan Vink
The Singh Brothers (Samir and Sunil Singh)
Shayna Baszler – NXT Women’s Champion
Rhea Ripley
Io Shirai
Bianca Belair
Candice LeRae
Mia Yim
Aliyah
Xia Li
Reina Gonzalez
Taynara Conti
Deonna Purrazzo
Kacy Catanzaro
Shotzi Blackheart
Indi Hartwell
Dakota Kai
Tegan Nox
Karen Q
Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke

NXTUK
WALTER – NXT United Kingdom Champion
Noam Dar
Alexander Wolfe
Jordan Devlin
Joseph Conners
Saxon Huxley
Tucker
Jack Gallagher
Kassius Ohno
Brian Kendrick
Tyson T-Bone
Sam Gradwell
Travis Banks
Ilja Dragunov
Dan Moloney
H.C. Dyer
Roy Johnson
Amir Jordan
Joe Coffey
Dave Mastiff
Travis Banks
Ashton Smith
Ligero
A-Kid
South Wales Subculture (Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster) – NXT UK Tag Team Champions
Gallus (Wolfgang and Mark Coffey)
Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake and Zack Gibson)
Mustache Mountain (Tyler Bate and Trent Seven)
Imperium (Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel)
Pretty Deadley (Sam Stoker and Lewis Howley)
Kay Lee Ray – NXT UK Women’s Champion
Toni Storm
Piper Niven
Jazzy Gabert
Killer Kelly
Isla Dawn
Charlie Morgan
Jinny
Xia Brookside

[Celexa Bliss]

NWA Impact Wrestling, October 2nd, 2019
For the first time since March 26th, 2001, professional wrestling returns to TNT prime time with NWA Impact Wrestling! Tony Schiavone is given a hero’s welcome as he returns to the commentary table, alongside Josh Matthews and Matt Striker. And kicking off the night is the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Cody and his brother, Dustin Rhodes, accompanied by Brandi Rhodes and Shawn Spears. The Champion is all smiles as he makes his TNT debut, making sure to rub it in that he’s been Champion for nearly a year. He and Dustin mock Jon Moxley’s challenge for a tag team match, questioning who would want to team with him? Moxley makes his entrance through the crowd, grabbing the mic from Dave Penzer as he paces around ringside. He says that while he may not be the most well-liked guy in the back, there was no shortage of guys wanting to be his tag team partner tonight. But there was one guy that Cody has ducked for months and that’s the guy that Mox chose as his partner tonight. Out walk Nick Aldis and Mickie James, as it will be Mox and Aldis vs. Cody and Dustin! Mox and Dustin brawl at ringside, while Aldis and Cody fight on the ramp. Eventually, the ref gets the match started, and Aldis goes on to pin Dustin to pick up the victory. Later in the night, Schiavone makes the announcement that Billy Corgan has signed Cody vs. Nick Aldis for the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship at Bound For Glory!

Three Championship matches were hyped for tonight and the first pits EC3 against Eli Drake, with EC3’s X Division Championship on the line. While neither man exactly fits the mold of what the X Division has traditionally been about, the match is still fast-paced and tells a great story, with EC3 trying to out-muscle the smaller Drake. Eventually, EC3 makes a mistake, which Drake capitalizes on to capture the gold!

Impact Women’s Champion Taya Valkyrie makes her way to the ring for an interview with Jeremy Borash. Taya is asked about her recent wrist injury, Borash pointing out the cast on her arm. Taya says hurt or not, she’s a fighting Champion and will take on anyone. This brings out Laura Dennis, who says she didn’t know the NWA was in the habit of performing charity, saying that an injury should mean Taya is stripped of the gold. “After all, the NWA deserves a Champion who can compete, who can do press, and who can carry the gold with class. Someone like… me!” This brings out Saraya, who makes a title match between the two for next week on Impact Wrestling.

The NWA World Tag Team Championship match follows, as Le Sex Gods are out to the ring. Jericho’s self-performed song, “Judas” plays on the PA as the two enter, Sammy Guevara trying (and failing) to sing along. Rosemary and The Decay enter next, all business, knowing that this is their last chance to unseat Jericho and Guevara. What follows is a gritty, down and dirty tag team match, with the heel Decay isolating Sammy in their corner for much of the match. Some classic old-school heat occurs when Rosemary causes referee Scott Wheeler to miss a hot tag to Jericho. Eventually, Jericho does get in and begins cleaning house on The Decay. Once Abyss and Crazzy Steve have both rolled to the outside, Sammy pops up and does a double handspring moonsault over the top onto all three members of The Decay! Sammy rolls Steve back into the ring, where Jericho hits the Judas Effect to get the pin and retain the titles.

Tony Schiavone welcomes Impact World Champion Austin Aries to the stage. With the aid of still-frame images on the video screen, Schiavone catches up the audience on the recent history of the Impact World Championship. Aries says he is the greatest Champion that ever lived and he will prove it at Bound For Glory. Schiavone then confirms that Aries will defend the title against AJ Styles at the PPV. Styles comes out and goes face-to-face with Aries, but the confrontation doesn’t turn physical.

Tessa Blanchard is accompanied by her father, Tully Blanchard, for her match against Britt Baker. Baker tries to rally the crowd behind her, but Tessa actually gets the better reaction. While Tessa starts off working heel against the face Baker, the two switch roles mid-match, following a thumb to eye by Baker. After Baker dominates for several minutes, Blanchard is able to make her come back and pick up the win, using her father’s signature slingshot suplex. After the match, Blanchard is given a round of applause by the fans as she makes her way to the back. In the ring, a frustrated Baker sits on the mat, looking close to tears. She looks to the crowd for encouragement, but instead, is booed as she walks to the back, her head hung in shame.

Next week on NWA Impact Wrestling: Taya Valkyrie defends the Impact Women’s Championship against Laura Dennis; Hangman Adam Page will be action; SCU’s Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian take on Samoa Joe and Low-Ki; Johnny Impact faces Mr. Anderson; Marty Scurll in action; Cody and Nick Aldis will sign the contract to make their title match at Bound For Glory official; and on the premiere episode of NWA Powerr this Tuesday evening on Twitch: NWA National Champion James Storm defends against Trevor Murdoch; Alexxiss Bliss vs. Chelsea Green; Bram will be in action; and in a three-way elimination match, Ricky Starks vs. Garza Jr. vs. Robert Anthony.

Finally, it’s main event time, as LAX defend the Impact Tag Team Championship in a Full Metal Mayhem match against The Lucha Bros. Both teams impress with their fearlessness throughout the match, Konnan even taking a Superkick from Penta El Zero M. In the end, The Lucha Bros are able to retrieve the belts hanging above the ring and capture the Impact Tag Team Championship. Afterwards, in a show of respect for their long-time rivals, LAX shake hands and raise the arms of the new Champions as the first TNT broadcast of NWA Impact Wrestling.

Quick Results
Nick Aldis and Jon Moxley def. Cody and Dustin Rhodes
Eli Drake def. Impact X Division Champion EC3 to win the title
NWA World Tag Team Champions Le Sex Gods def. The Decay to retain
Tessa Blanchard def. Britt Baker
The Lucha Bros def. Impact World Tag Team Champions LAX in a Full Metal Mayhem Match to win the titles

NWA Impact Wrestling Roster
Austin Aries – Impact World Champion
“The American Nightmare” Cody w/ Brandi Rhodes – NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion
AJ Styles
Nick Aldis
Brian Cage
Johnny Impact
Jon Moxley
CM Punk
Rob Van Dam
Mr. Anderson
Jeff Jarrett
Kurt Angle
James Storm – NWA National Heavyweight Champion
Bobby Roode
Michael Bennett
Rhino
Dustin Rhodes
Shawn Spears
Maxwell Jacob Friedman
Tim Storm
Hangman Adam Page
Orange Cassidy
Trevor Murdoch
Aaron Stevens
Doug Williams
Willie Mack
Robert Anthony
Ricky Starks
Pepper Parks
Bram
Kevin Kross w/ Scarlett Bordeaux
Eli Drake – Impact X Division Champion
EC3
Marty Scurll
Scorpio Sky
Rockstar Spud
Garza Jr.
Marshe Rockett
Laredo Kid
The Lucha Bros (Penta El Zero M and Rey Fenix) – Impact World Tag Team Champions
Le Sex Gods (Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara) – NWA World Tag Team Champions
The Decay (Abyss and Crazzy Steve)
Samoa Joe and Low-Ki
SCU (Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian)
LAX (Santana and Ortiz) w/ Konnan
The Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley)
Caleb Konley and Jay Bradley
OVE (Jake and Dave Crist)
The War Kings (Jax Dane and Crimson)
Reno S.C.U.M. (Luster the Legend and Adam Thornstowe)
Taya Valkyrie – Impact Women’s Champion
Tessa Blanchard
Britt Baker
Maria Kanellis
Alexxiss Bliss
Rosemary
Laura Dennis
Chelsea Green
April Lee Mendez
Sienna
Saraya
Mickie James
Diamante
Karen Jarrett

[Celexa Bliss]

Friday Night Smackdown, October 4th, 2019
Michael Cole and Corey Graves are at ringside to welcome fans to the season premiere of Friday Night Smackdown! To commemorate the occasion of Smackdown premiering on FOX, The Rock returns to Smackdown to help Becky Lynch verbally assassinate Baron Corbin in the opening segment. As for the in-ring action, Roman Reigns takes part in an all-star ten man tag team match, which sees Reigns, Braun Strowman, Shinsuke Nakamura and The Hardys defeat Randy Orton, Sami Zayn, Daniel Bryan, Erick Rowan and Dolph Ziggler. Additionally, Chad Gable defeats Shelton Benjamin to retain the Intercontinental Championship, and then there’s the main event.

Brock Lesnar and Kofi Kingston both make their entrances. At the bell, Lesnar grabs Kofi and hits the F-5! But before he can make the cover, Rey Mysterio’s music hits, as Rey and Cain Velasquez make their way to the ring. Velasquez and Lesnar get into it, brawling up the ramp. As the ref throws the match out, however, Kenny Omega’s music hits! Omega runs out and shoves the Money in the Bank briefcase in the referee’s hands. As the cash-in is confirmed, Kofi barely gets to his feet. The bell sounds and Kenny delivers a Superkick! Cover, but a two-count only! Kenny pulls Kofi up and signals for the One Winged Angel, but Kofi counters into a roll-up! Kenny kicks out at two. Kofi goes for Trouble in Paradise, but Kenny blocks it, then hit’s the V-Trigger! Cover and we have a new WWE Champion! Smackdown ends with Kenny and Omega club celebrating Kenny successfully cashing in his Money in the Bank contract…

Quick Results
WWE Intercontinental Champion Chad Gable def. Shelton Benjamin to retain
Asuka and Kairi Sane def. Fire and Desire, and The IIconics
Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, Shinsuke Nakamura and The Hardys def. Randy Orton, Sami Zayn, Daniel Bryan, Erick Rowan and Dolph Ziggler
Brock Lesnar and WWE Champion Kofi Kingston fought to a no-contest
Kenny Omega def. WWE Champion Kofi Kingston to win the title

[Celexa Bliss]

So, the next post will be a news piece and Hell in a Cell, but I just want to clarify some backstage stuff, mainly defining who's where without AEW in the picture:

Petey Williams, Sonjay Dutt, Madison Rayne, Raven, Christian Cage, Arn Anderson and Dean Malenko are producers for NWA/Impact

BJ Whitmer, Jerry Lynn, Ace Steel, QT Marshall, Leva Bates and one other name I won't mention yet are the coaches for ROH. Marshall, Bates and the mystery person are also wrestlers

Billy Gunn is back with WWE as a producer

All other producers/coaches/road agents are as you'd expect in October 2019

As for referees, Paul Turner, Rick Knox and Todd Sinclair are ROH's officials. Mike Posey is back with Imapct, Stephon Smith is still with WWE, Bryce Remsburg never left Chikara, and Aubrey... we're getting there lol everyone else is where they were as of October 2019.

WWE's announce teams are Vic Joseph, Dio Maddin and Aiden English (Raw), Michael Cole and Corey Graves (Smackdown), Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness and Beth Phoenix (NXT), and Tom Phillips and Nigel McGuinness (NXT UK), while the ring announcers are Mike Rome (Raw), Greg Hamilton (Smackdown), Alicia Taylor (NXT) and whoever NXT UK was using

NWA's announce teams are Josh Mathews, Matt Striker and Tony Schiavone (Impact) and Jim Ross and Jim Cornette (Powerr), while Dave Penzer is the ring announcer

ROH's announce team is Ian Riccaboni and we're replacing Caprice Coleman, while Bobby Cruise is the ring announcer

New Japan's English Language announce team is Kevin Kelly and Caprice Coleman

Excalibur remains with PWG exclusively, while Justin Roberts mainly does indy guest shots

All backstage interviewers are who you'd expect, with the exception of Jeremy Borash still being in Impact as their backstage interviewer and occasional fill-in commentator

[Celexa Bliss]

- October 5th, 2019: The Wrestling Observer Radio Show discusses the past week in wrestling. On the WWE front, they question the logic of moving Michael Cole and Corey Graves to Smackdown and demoting Byron Saxton and Tom Phillips to NXT, leaving an untested trio of Vic Joseph, Dio Maddin and Aiden English to man the announce table on Raw. In addition, Dave Meltzer reports that Kenny Omega cashing in the Money in the Bank was always the big plan for the premiere on FOX. Saying that Brock as Champion has been played out, WWE wanted a fresh new star and a huge moment for the debut on a new network.

As for the NWA, it was noted that while Orange Cassidy and Maxwell Jacob Friedman are listed on the company’s internal roster, they were notably absent from the TNT premiere of Impact, a night where their debuts would have been logical. In addition, Bryan Alvarez says that there was talk of bringing in Jake Hager as an associate of Le Sex Gods, but Billy Corgan nixed it at the eleventh hour, instead wanting Jericho and Guevara to work as cocky babyfaces who take heat during matches before their big comeback. Britt Baker began an angle that is expected to lead to a heel turn. The belief among fans online is that she’s a heel being pushed as a babyface. The constant allusions to her being a dentist and her general cockiness at being the first NWA-only worker to be called up to Impact, has left the crowd feeling resentful. The hope is that she can find herself as a heel and eventually bring the crowd back around to cheering for her.


WWE Hell in a Cell, October 6th, 2019
Hell in a Cell opens with Omega Club making their way to the ring. The group is still celebrating Kenny Omega’s WWE Championship win from Smackdown two nights ago. The New Day come out to confront them, setting up an impromptu Raw Tag Team Championship Match between Anderson and Gallows, and Big E and Xavier Woods. Ultimately, Anderson and Gallows retain following a Magic Killer.

After that, the Cell descends for the first scheduled match of the night, Roman Reigns and The Undertaker defending the Smackdown Tag Team Championship against Daniel Bryan and Erick Rowan. The match serves to allow Roman to hit all his big spots, while Bryan and Rowan take turns doing the bumping. Undertaker finally gets the win for his team following a Tombstone to Rowan.

Up next is the Raw Women’s Championship match, which sees Becky Lynch defeat Sasha Banks to retain. Following that, Andrade Almas defends his newly won United States Championship in a rematch against former Champion Ricochet, and retains. It’s then time for Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Elias. Nakamura picks up the win following the Kinshasa.

Charlotte is out next to challenge Bayley for the Smackdown Women’s Championship. Charlotte initially seems to have one following Natural Selection, but Bayley’s foot was under the rope. Charlotte goes to finish her with the Figure 8, but Bayley catches her in a small package to retain! The penultimate match of the night pits Aleister Black against Buddy Murphy, with Black winning following Black Mass.

Finally, it’s time for the main event, Seth Rollins vs. The Fiend for the WWE Universal Championship, inside Hell in a Cell. Seth throws everything he’s got at The Fiend, who just keeps kicking out. Finally, at his wit’s end, Seth piles every bit of plunder he can find on top of The Fiend, then grabs a sledgehammer, even as the referee warns him. Seth uses the weapon… causing the match to be thrown out?

The fans are absolutely outraged by this ending, booing, jeering and pelting the ring with garbage. Even the ending, with The Fiend choking out Rollins with the Mandible Claw, is met with hostility, the fans even chanting “TNA!”, the former name of the NWA’s Impact brand…

Quick Results
WWE Raw Tag Team Champions Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows def. The New Day (Big E. and Xavier Woods) to retain
WWE Smackdown Tag Team Champions Roman Reigns and The Undertaker def. Daniel Bryan and Erick Rowan in a Hell in a Cell match to retain
WWE Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch def. Sasha Banks to retain
WWE United States Champion Andrade Almas def. Ricochet to retain
Shinsuke Nakamura def. Elias
WWE Smackdown Women’s Champion Bayley def. Charlotte to retain
Aleister Black def. Buddy Murphy
WWE Universal Champion Seth Rollins and The Fiend fought to a no-contest in a Hell in a Cell match

[Celexa Bliss]

Following the WWE Draft, the rosters for Raw and Smackdown are as follows*:

Raw
Seth Rollins – WWE Universal Champion
Kenny Omega – WWE Champion
Finn Balor
Randy Orton
Rusev w/ Lana
Andrade “Cien” Almas w/ Zelina Vega – WWE United States Champion
Ricochet
Humberto Carrillo
Aleister Black
Buddy Murphy
Mustafa Ali
Eric Young
Cedric Alexander
Shelton Benjamin
Sin Cara
Akira Tozawa
R-Truth
Mojo Rawley
No Way Jose
Titus O’Neil
Jinder Mahal
Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson – WWE Raw Tag Team Champions
Viking Raiders (Raymond Rowe and Hanson)
Street Profits (Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins)
The Hardys (Matt and Jeff Hardy)
Major Broskis (Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins)
AOP (Akam and Rezar)
Becky Lynch – WWE Raw Women’s Champion
Charlotte
Asuka
Kairi Sane
Natalya
Liv Morgan
Sarah Logan
The IIconics (Billie Kay and Peyton Royce)
Jerry “The King” Lawler – General Manager of Raw

Smackdown
“The Fiend” Bray Wyatt
Brock Lesnar w/ Paul Heyman
Rey Mysterio
Braun Strowman
Baron Corbin
Kofi Kingston
Shinsuke Nakamura
Chad Gable – WWE Intercontinental Champion
Drew McIntyre
The Miz
Elias
Dolph Ziggler
Apollo Crews
Sami Zayn
Drew Gulak
Heath Slater
The Undertaker and Roman Reigns – WWE Smackdown Tag Team Champions
Daniel Bryan and Erick Rowan
The New Day (Big E and Xavier Woods)
The Revival (Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder)
Heavy Machinery (Tucker and Otis)
Lucha House Party (Kalisto, Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado)
Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel
Bayley – WWE Smackdown Women’s Champion
Lacey Evans
Sasha Banks
Carmella
Dana Brooke
Nikki Cross
Tamina Snuka
Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville
Booker T – General Manager of Smackdown

Free Agents
Sheamus
Luke Harper
Lars Sullivan
The Usos (Jimmy and Jey Uso)
Primo and Epico
The Ascension (Konnor and Viktor)
Naomi
Nia Jax
Ruby Riott
Ember Moon

*names in italics are injured


So from here, the plan is I'm going to add the next installment daily. I currently have up to the Impact following Bound For Glory written. I will be working on the first ROH on AXS, then hopefully the WWE October recap and Crown Jewel. My big issue will be staying ahead of myself, but I'm feeling the project right now, so it shouldn't be too hard to keep on track lol

[Celexa Bliss]

NWA Powerr, October 8th, 2019 – Quick Results
Ricky Starks def. Garza Jr. and Robert Anthony
Chelsea Green def. Alexxiss Bliss
Bram def. Lee Johnson
NWA National Heavyweight Champion James Storm def. Trevor Murdoch to retain

NWA Impact Wrestling, October 9th, 2019
Impact opens with SCU making their way to the ring. The trio do their usual shtick, dunking on the town they’re in (Boston, MA) as they prepare for opponents who are no laughing matter. Samoa Joe and Low-Ki bring the fight to SCU from the opening bell, in a match that is a throwback to the heyday of Impact Wrestling, with four of the most prominent X Division Champions taking charge of the ring. In the end, the presence of Scorpio Sky at ringside is the difference maker, as he distracts the referee, allowing Daniels to clock Low-Ki with the megaphone SCU brought to the ring with them, giving Daniels and Kazarian the tainted win.

Tonight’s main event is for the Impact Women’s Championship, as Taya Valkyrie defends the gold against Laura Dennis. But Jeremy Borash is backstage with Tessa Blanchard, who will be challenging the winner for the gold at Bound For Glory on October 20th. Tessa explains that having her father in her corner last week awakened something deep inside her. And the way the crowd got behind her motivated her like never before. At Bound For Glory, with Tully Blanchard in her corner once again, Tessa vows to capture the Impact Women’s Championship.

Hangman Adam Page makes his way to the ring next. Waiting for him is Chris Bey. The match is quick, with Bey getting almost no offense in, as Hangman hits all his big moves, before finishing him off with the Buckshot Lariat. As Hangman exits the ring, he grabs a beer from a fan in the front row and chugs it down. The camera stays on the crowd as we see a lethargic man in jeans and a denim jacket slumped in a chair.

Backstage, Jeremy Borash interview’s the new Impact X Division Champion Eli Drake. As Drake praises EC3 on his title reign and offers a rematch anytime, Shawn Spears enters the scene and tries talking down to Drake. Eventually, the two agree to a match for the title next week on Impact Wrestling.

Back in the ring, Johnny Impact takes on Mr. Anderson. The two have a back-and-forth seven minute match, which Impact wins with Starship Pain. After the match, Brian Cage runs down to the ring and attacks Impact. Impact turns the tide on Cage, knocking him out of the ring. Impact then grabs the mic and demands an I Quit Match with Cage at Bound For Glory. Cage agrees, but with the additional stipulation that the loser must leave Impact Wrestling!

A vignette airs for a young rookie named Maxwell Jacob Friedman. Friedman is as brash as he is rich. Relaxing by the pool, he says that he’s coming to Impact to prove why he is better than everyone else in the company. And they know it.

We then go to the back where Jeremy Borash is interviewing the new Impact Tag Team Champions, The Lucha Bros. Rey Fenix does most of the talking, as he sings the praises of LAX, calling them their greatest rivals in Impact. Fenix goes on to say that they will accept any challenge from any team, as Borash shills a four-way number one contenders match for next week’s show.

In the ring, Marty Scurll prepares for action. His opponent is announced as “Freshly Squeezed” Orange Cassidy. Scurll waits, but nobody comes out. They announce Orange Cassidy again, but still nobody. Scurll demands the referee count to ten and award him the match, but as the ref begins the count, a staff member runs down the aisle and goes over to the man in denim who we saw earlier. The staff member wakes him up and points him to the ring. The man slowly climbs over the barricade, as the count has stopped. Scurll looks on in amazement as his apparent opponent slowly rolls into the ring. Cassidy remains on the mat as Scurll and the ref have no idea what to make of him. Scurll shrugs and covers Cassidy, as the ref calls for the start of the match. 1! 2! Cassidy rolls his shoulder off the mat! Scurll pushes him back down for another pin attempt, but Cassidy rolls over again before three. Scurll pulls Cassidy up and goes to whip him into the ropes, but Orange refuses to move. Scurll shoves Cassidy, who falls back against the top rope, then rebounds back into the same spot. The crowd is eating it up, but Scurll is pissed. Cassidy makes a show of putting his hands in his pockets, as Scurll screams at him to take this seriously. Cassidy responds with a pair of weak “kicks” to the legs, then a “superkick” to the shin. Scurll is glaring as the crowd chants “Freshly Squeezed!” for Cassidy. Scurll has had enough and kicks Cassidy in the groin. The referee calls for the bell, but Scurll has snapped, kicking Cassidy in the back and ribs as he writhes on the mat in pain. Officials escort him away, as the fans applaud Cassidy’s “efforts” and victory. As he is helped to the back, Cassidy gives a halfway thumbs up to the crowd.

Jeremy Borash is with the NWA World Tag Team Champions, Le Sex Gods. Chris Jericho talks about how he and Sammy celebrated their win last week by opening up “a little bit of the bubbleh!” to a nice crowd response. Sammy spends most of the segment flexing and showing off, while Jericho talks about this being a huge time for the NWA, being back in the national spotlight on TNT, with Le Champions Le Sex Gods leading the way. Jericho then hypes his match against Austin Aries next week, saying that if he were to win, they might have to make the main event of Bound For Glory a three-way…

It’s main event time, as Taya Valkyrie defends the Impact Women’s Championship against Laura Dennis. The two women have a battle, Taya forcing Laura to display a vicious side we haven’t seen out of her previously. Laura becomes more unhinged as the match wears on, at one point, after failing to pin Taya, throwing a massive tantrum and pulling at her own hair. Eventually, she gets desperate and that desperation in turn costs her, as she falls prey to a TKO from Taya for the win. After the match, Tessa Blanchard gets in Taya’s face, but the two don’t come to blows, instead having a staredown as Taya holds the belt up high for all to see.

Next week on NWA Impact Wrestling, Chris Jericho battles Impact World Champion Austin Aries in a non-title match; Eli Drake defends the Impact X Division Championship against Shawn Spears; Britt Baker will be in action; a four-way match to determine the number one contenders for the Impact Tag Team Championship, featuring SCU, Reno S.C.U.M., Motor City Machine Guns and OVE; Jim Ross will conduct a sit-down interview with Taya Valkyrie and Tessa Blanchard ahead of their Impact Women’s Championship Match at Bound For Glory; Brian Cage will be in action; and Rosemary faces Chelsea Green. And on NWA Powerr, CM Punk takes on Dustin Rhodes; Rhino faces Willie Mack; Diamante will be in action; and Jon Moxley takes on Tim Storm.

Tony Schiavone takes to the ring for the show-closing contract signing between NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Cody and Nick Aldis. Aldis speaks first, talking about how he lost the title almost a year ago to Kurt Angle, who go on to drop the title a week later to Cody, who will have reigned for one year if he can defeat Aldis at Bound For Glory. Aldis says that won’t happen, because the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship is his title, his symbol of excellence, his validation for all the hard work he’s put in over the last six years. Cody retorts that the title isn’t his baby, it’s his birthright. His father, The American Dream, Dusty Rhodes, wore this title and every day that Cody holds it, it’s another day he feels his dad’s spirit. But Cody says he’s nothing like his father, because while his dad lost the title three times, Cody will do anything to hold onto the gold. He is the American Nightmare, more cutthroat than Dusty could’ve ever hoped to be. And at Bound For Glory, he and Aldis are going to relive the glory days of Dusty vs. Flair, but Cody will be playing the role of “The Nature Boy” when he walks out of Chicago with the gold still around his waist…

Quick Results
SCU def. Samoa Joe and Low-Ki
Hangman Adam Page def. Chris Bey
Johnny Impact def. Mr. Anderson
Orange Cassidy def. Marty Scurll by disqualification
Impact Women’s Champion Taya Valkyrie def. Laura Dennis to retain

[Celexa Bliss]

NWA Powerr, October 15th, 2019 – Quick Results
Jon Moxley def. Tim Storm
Diamante def. Santana Garrett
Willie Mack def. Rhino
CM Punk def. Dustin Rhodes

NWA Impact Wrestling, October 16th, 2019
Impact opens with SCU making their way to the ring for the opening contest, a four-way match to determine who will challenge The Lucha Bros this Sunday at Bound For Glory. Out next are Luster The Legend and Adam Thornstowe, Reno S.C.U.M., followed by The Crist Brothers, Jake and Dave, and finally, The Motor City Machine Guns of Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley. After some fast-paced action, Sabin hits the Cradle Shock on Dave Crist to get the win.

Jeremy Borash is backstage with Marty Scurll. Borash asks Scurll about his match with Orange Cassidy last week, which Scurll says was a bad joke. Calling Cassidy pathetic and an embarrassment, Scurll says he hopes to never see him in the NWA again. Moving on, Scurll will be competing in the Call Your Shot Gauntlet at Bound For Glory this Sunday. Scurll vows to win the match and earn an opportunity at whatever title he wants, anytime he wants.

Back at ringside, Britt Baker is making her way to the ring, while her opponent, Nicole Savoy, is already in the ring. Baker is booed as she enters, which she smirks about. Britt wrestles more aggressively than normal, taking delight in tossing Savoy around. After finishing her off with the Lockjaw, Britt grabs the mic, to a chorus of boos. Britt says that she’s so pleased to be the fans’ role model and that at Bound For Glory, she is going to win the Call Your Shot Gauntlet and become the next Impact Women’s Champion, because she cares about her fans. Yours truly, DOCTOR Britt Baker, D.M.D.

We go to a vignette for Maxwell Jacob Friedman. Max is driving his corvette, talking about his journey to the NWA. This Sunday, he makes his debut at Bound For Glory. Calling himself “Salt of the Earth”, he vows to be the savior the NWA deserves.

Back in the ring, it’s time for the X Division Championship match, as Eli Drake defends against Shawn Spears. It’s not long before the match breaks down, as EC3 runs down, flanked by Rockstar Spud. The two attack both men as the match is thrown out. James Storm also runs in, as a brawl ensues. Finally, NWA President Billy Corgan comes out and announces that at Bound For Glory, we will see a four way elimination match between Drake, Spears, EC3 and Storm for the X Division Championship.

After a quick video recapping the history between Cody and Nick Aldis, we go back to the ring as Brian Cage prepares to take on Robert Anthony. Johnny Impact joins commentary for this one. Impact says that he’s secure about whatever happens on Sunday, as the company isn’t big enough for both of them. Cage finishes off Anthony with a Powerbomb, then he and Impact have a staredown.

A video plays with comments from CM Punk, Samoa Joe and Low-Ki, Garza Jr., Tim Storm and Jon Moxley about the Call Your Shot Gauntlet this Sunday. We then go to Jeremy Borash, who is with Dustin Rhodes. Dustin says that he is entering the gauntlet because he and Cody want total domination of the NWA. Dustin plans to cash in on the Impact World Champion so that the Rhodes family will control both World Championships. Hangman Adam Page then enters and stares Rhodes down, indicating that he is also in the gauntlet.

Rosemary takes on Chelsea Green in singles action. Chelsea puts up a good fight, but is soundly defeated. Afterwards, Rosemary declares herself and The Decay for the Call Your Shot Gauntlet.

Jim Ross sits down with Impact Women’s Champion Taya Valkyrie and her challenger this Sunday, Tessa Blanchard. Both women have agreed to no physicality for this interview. Ross asks Tessa about what it means to her to become Champion and she talks about her family’s legacy, the Championships won by her father and step-father, and what it would mean to them if she could capture the Women’s World Championship. Ross then asks Taya what being Champion means to her. Taya says that as a little girl, she had self-esteem issues, but when she’s in the ring and in front of the crowd, she feels on top of the world. Being Champion gives her career meaning and she will do anything to hold onto the gold. At the conclusion of the interview, the women shake hands, but it’s a tense handshake, as neither lady takes her eyes off the other…

This Sunday, the NWA and Impact Wrestling present Bound For Glory 2019! In the main event, NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Cody defends against Nick Aldis; Impact World Champion Austin Aries puts the gold on the line against AJ Styles; Brian Cage and Johnny Impact look to end their rivalry once and for all, in a Loser-Leaves-Impact I Quit Match; Impact Women’s Champion Taya Valkyrie defends against Tessa Blanchard; Impact Tag Team Champions The Lucha Bros defend against The Motor City Machine Guns; Eli Drake puts the X Division Championship on the line in a four-way elimination match against EC3, James Storm and Shawn Spears; Marty Scurll, Britt Baker, Hangman Adam Page, Tim Storm, Low-Ki, Samoa Joe, Abyss, Crazzy Steve, Rosemary, Dustin Rhodes, CM Punk, Garza Jr., and Jon Moxley are among those competing in the Call Your Shot Gauntlet; and Maxwell Jacob Friedman makes his NWA debut. Then, this Tuesday on NWA Powerr, Trevor Murdoch goes one-on-one with Aaron Stevens in an NWA World Championship Number One Contenders Match; The War Kings will return to action; Garza Jr. faces Sammy Guevara; and James Storm defends the NWA National Heavyweight Championship against Willie Mack.

It’s main event time, as Chris Jericho takes on Impact World Champion Austin Aries in non-title action. AJ Styles joins the commentary team, while Sammy Guevara is in Jericho’s corner. Aries spends much of the match on the run, until a slip-up by Jericho gives the advantage over to the Champ. Aries hoists Jericho up and hits the Brainbuster, but Jericho gets his shoulder up at 2-and-3-quarters! Aries goes for the Last Chancery, but Jericho fights out of it and locks in the Walls of Jericho! Aries gets to the ropes, forcing a break. We have a standoff, as both men trade punches, neither truly gaining the advantage. Jericho hits the ropes, looking for the Judas Effect, but Aries blocks most of it. Jericho goes for the pin, but Aries gets his foot on the bottom rope. Jericho pulls Aries up, but Aries catches him in an inside cradle and uses the ropes for leverage to score a tainted pinfall win.

After the match, Styles comes in to confront Aries, as Le Sex Gods try to regroup at ringside. Samoa Joe and Low-Ki then ambush Jericho and Guevara on the outside, as Styles and Aries begin trading punches in the ring! It’s pandemonium as the announcers do a final shill for Bound For Glory as we go off the air…

Quick Results
The Motor City Machine Guns def. SCU, OVE and Reno S.C.U.M. to become the number one contenders for the Impact Tag Team Championship
Dr. Britt Baker DMD def. Nicole Savoy
Impact X Division Champion Eli Drake and Shawn Spears fought to a no-contest
Brian Cage def. Robert Anthony
Rosemary def. Chelsea Green
Austin Aries def. Chris Jericho in a non-title match

[Celexa Bliss]

NWA Impact Wrestling presents Bound For Glory, October 20th, 2019
The evening kicked off with the four-way elimination match for the Impact X Division Championship. The multi-man format allowed the participants the freedom to build a classic X Division style contest, with Drake, Spears and Storm all performing high risk moves we aren’t accustomed to from them. EC3 scored the first elimination, pinning Storm after a 1 Percenter. Drake went on to pin Spears after a neckbreaker, leaving just Drake and EC3. EC3 went for the 1 Percenter, but Drake countered it into the Gravy Train to get the win and retain the title.

The Impact Tag Team Championships are on the line next, as The Lucha Bros defend against The Motor City Machine Guns. The match is a high-flying affair from the get-go, rivaling the opening contest in many respects. The Lucha Bros pick up the win following a package piledriver by Penta El Zero M to Alex Shelley. However, after the match, SCU run in and attack both teams, as Christopher Daniels announces that they’re coming for the Impact Tag Team Championship.

Up next is the debut of Maxwell Jacob Friedman, who takes on Marshe Rockett. Friedman enters the arena with a cocky air about him. Wearing a Burberry scarf to the ring, he thumbs his nose to the crowd, wearing an expression of disdain on his face. Entering the ring, he wipes his feet on the apron, the classic rich heel tactic. The match itself is a showcase for MJF, who hits his big move, the Heatseeker, before finishing off Rockett with his version of a Fujiwara armbar, called “Salt of the Earth” to get the debut win.

Up next is the Call Your Shot Gauntlet. The rules of the match are two entrants begin, with a new entrant every ninety seconds. Elimination occurs by a competitor going over the top rope, with both feet touching the floor. When it gets down to two, it becomes a traditional wrestling match, with victory being achieved by pin or submission. The first two entrants are Rob Van Dam and Mr. Anderson. After ninety seconds of action between the two, Bobby Roode is in next. We get a few additional entrants in the form of Crazzy Steve, Samoa Joe and Tim Storm. Crazzy Steve is the first elimination, courtesy of Samoa Joe. In next is Marty Scurll, who eliminates Anderson. Garza Jr. and Low-Ki make their entrances, while RVD is dumped by Joe and Low-Ki. Scurll eliminates Roode, before the next entrant comes out. It’s Orange Cassidy!

Cassidy gets in Scurll’s face and… sticks his hands in his pockets. Scurll is incredulous, as Cassidy does the kicks to the ankle. He backs up and goes for a “superkick”, but Scurll grabs the leg and takes Cassidy to the mat. He goes for a figure four, but Cassidy twists free, then kips up (hands still in his pockets). Scurll charges, but Cassidy ducks, then runs the ropes, coming back with a dropkick, which knocks Scurll back into the ropes! Cassidy then takes his hands out of his pockets and charges Scurll, taking both Scurll and himself over the top rope with a crossbody!

In next is the first female entrant, Rosemary. Rosemary goes after Garza Jr., while Samoa Joe and Low-Ki take turns teeing off on Storm. In next are Hangman Adam Page, then CM Punk. Punk and Joe go at it, while Page eliminates Low-Ki. Next up is the returning Awesome Kong! Kong eliminates Storm, before being taken out herself, by Page. Jon Moxley, Dr. Britt Baker DMD, and Dustin Rhodes all make their entrances. Baker and Rosemary fight it out, while Rhodes eliminates Garza Jr., before getting into it with Page.

The next entrant is the debuting “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry, who goes right after CM Punk. Rhodes eliminates Page, as Abyss makes his entrance. Abyss takes out Baker, then allows Rosemary to eliminate her. Moxley and Abyss fight it out, as Rosemary watches on from the apron. Rhodes is working over Joe, but Adam Page comes back in and attacks Dustin, tossing him over the top rope to eliminate him! As the two fight to the back, the final participant, April Lee Mendez, makes her entrance. Jungle Boy is able to get Punk over the top, but he lands on the apron. April skips up to him, then kicks him the balls! As Jungle Boy turns around, doubled over in pain, Punk back body drops him to the floor! Punk and April embrace, then Punk lifts April up and places her on the apron. The two argue, until Samoa Joe charges, knocking both to the floor, Punk breaking April’s fall. As Moxley is gaining the upperhand on Abyss, Rosemary climbs on his back. Moxley, while being choked out, charges Abyss, knocking him over the top with a clothesline! Mox then staggers back and swivels, slamming Rosemary into the turnbuckle, forcing her to let go. Mox then flings Rosemary over the top, eliminating her.

Mox and Joe go at it for several minutes, before Moxley hits the Paradigm Shift to get the win. Moxley now has a guaranteed shot at the Championship of his choosing, anytime for one year.

The Impact World Championship match goes on next, as Austin Aries defends against AJ Styles. Styles nearly wins the title on several occasions, only for Aries to either just kick out, or get his foot on the bottom rope. Eventually, Aries is able to cut Styles off as he sets up for the Phenomenal Forearm, then connect with a Brainbuster to retain.

Tony Schiavone welcomes Le Sex Gods to Bound For Glory. Jericho refers to Tony as “Skee-vone” during the segment, where the NWA World Tag Team Champions talk about their dominance so far. Sammy Guevara spouts off on the mic, claiming nobody’s better than the Spanish God, except of course for Chris Jericho. The interview is disrupted, however, by the return of The Wolves, Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards. Richards says they’ve never held gold in Impact, but intend to change that very soon. They go on to challenge Le Sex Gods to a title match this Wednesday on Impact.

Taya Valkyrie puts her Impact Women’s Championship on the line against Tessa Blanchard in our next match. The two women have been feuding off-and-on for most of the year, tonight is something of a culmination of the pair’s rivalry. Taya pulls out every stop to try and retain her title, essentially turning heel mid-match. Tessa, however, is able to eventually put her away with her Magnum double knee facebreaker to win the title. Afterwards, the two women shake hands and soak in the crowd’s appreciation for their efforts.

Next up, Taya’s husband, Johnny Impact, takes on Brian Cage in a Loser-Leaves-Town I Quit Match. Having spent most of 2019 embroiled in a bitter rivalry, this doesn’t even remotely resemble a wrestling match, it’s a straight up fight. While Impact does some damage, Cage not only refuses to quit, he comes back with a vengeance, unleashing a year of pent-up frustration on his rival. Cage Powerbomb’s Impact through a stack of tables off the stage, rendering him unconscious. Cage is keen to administer more punishment, until Taya runs out and quits on her husband’s behalf, not wanting to see any further harm befall him. Cage is declared the winner, while Taya tends to her now-unemployed husband.

This Wednesday on NWA Impact Wrestling, Le Sex Gods defend the NWA World Tag Team Championship against The Wolves; Marty Scurll and Orange Cassidy will meet in a rematch; Hangman Adam Page takes on Dustin Rhodes; Rosemary faces Dr. Britt Baker DMD; We will hear from the Call Your Shot Gauntlet winner, Jon Moxley; and much more!

It’s main event time, as Cody defends the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship against Nick Aldis. Cody won the title 364 days ago and is looking to complete an entire year as World Champion. Both men put everything on the line, Rhodes even attempting a top-rope Cody Cutter, which is blocked into Tormentum by Aldis, who regains the Championship. The show ends with Aldis and his wife, Mickie James, celebrating in the ring, as Cody and Brandi Rhodes lick their wounds on the ramp.

Quick Results
Impact X Division Champion Eli Drake def. Shawn Spears, EC3 and James Storm in a four-way Elimination Match to retain
Impact Tag Team Champions The Lucha Bros def. The Motor City Machine Guns to retain
Maxwell Jacob Friedman def. Marshe Rockett
Jon Moxley won the Call Your Shot Gauntlet, last eliminating Samoa Joe
Impact World Champion Austin Aries def. AJ Styles to retain
Tessa Blanchard def. Impact Women’s Champion Taya Valkyrie to win the title
Brian Cage def. Johnny Impact in a Loser-Leaves-Town I Quit Match
Nick Aldis def. NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Cody to win the title

[Celexa Bliss]

This isn't dead. I'm just stuck on writing Crown Jewel. WWE is such a bitch to write, just because it's so big. And the only thing stopping me from taking the real booking and just going, "here, it sucks" is the fact that I'm working under the premise that Kenny has a lot of power backstage, something I want to really emphasize in the product post-Crown Jewel

[Celexa Bliss]

NWA Powerr, October 22nd, 2019 – Quick Results
NWA National Heavyweight Champion James Storm def. Willie Mack to retain
Sammy Guevara def. Garza Jr.
War Kings def. John Silver and Alex Reynolds
Trevor Murdoch def. Aaron Stevens to become the number one contender for the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship

NWA Impact Wrestling, October 23rd, 2019
Opening this week’s edition of NWA Impact Wrestling is the new NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion, Nick Aldis. Aldis talks about how great it feels to once again be World Champion, but is interrupted by Cody and Brandi Rhodes. Cody says that he’s not ready to roll over and play dead just because he had one bad night. In fact, Cody says he’s cashing in his rematch at Turning Point on November 16th and when all is said and done, the Rhodes Family will once again be at the top of the mountain.

From one Rhodes to another, as Dustin Rhodes comes out to face Hangman Adam Page in our opening contest. Two tough cowboys just trading shots is the theme of the match. After a good ten minutes of action, Page goes for the Buckshot Lariat, but Rhodes ducks, then hit’s the End of the Rhodes (fka The Curtain Call) to get the win. Hangman is frustrated after his loss, but when Dustin offers a handshake, Page takes it. On commentary, Matt Striker notes the mutual respect both men seem to have earned for one another thanks to this match.

Brian Cage is interviewed by Jeremy Borash, who wonders what’s next for “The Machine” following his victory over Johnny Impact at Bound For Glory. Cage says you will never here “his name” again on NWA programming, and warns Taya Valkyrie to join her husband wherever he’s going, “for her own safety”. As for what’s next, Cage has his eyes set on the X Division Championship, as he challenges Eli Drake to a title match…

Dr. Britt Baker DMD is in action next, facing Rosemary, following Rosemary’s elimination of Britt in the Call Your Shot Gauntlet. Rosemary does not have The Decay in her corner for this match, opting to face Baker one-on-one. The two women fight it out, until Rosemary seems to have the clear advantage. But as she goes to finish Britt off, Britt manages to roll her up, with a generous handful of tights, to get the win. Baker bails out immediately afterwards, opting to celebrate on the ramp, rather than in the ring with an enraged Rosemary…

Backstage, EC3, Rockstar Spud and Dixie Carter are in Dixie’s office. EC3 is demanding to know what Dixie is going to do about getting him another shot at the X Division Championship, but she explains that her hands are tied. The Championship Committee have agreed that EC3 had his chance to regain the title, so now it’s time for someone else to have a shot. EC3 is pissed, promising that the Championship Committee will regret their decision…

Coming off a tough loss to Austin Aries for the Impact World Championship at Bound For Glory, AJ Styles is in action, taking on Laredo Kid. AJ wins a short match, then grabs the mic. Styles says that Impact is the greatest wrestling show in the world, because you can see matches like the one he just had, or like Hangman and Dustin had earlier, or even like the X Division bangers that Eli Drake has been putting on. Styles seems to be about to make a challenge, but is interrupted by EC3. EC3 says nobody is going to step on his toes to get another title shot. He’ll deal with Brian Cage in due time, but he warns AJ to stay out of his way…

Jon Moxley is backstage with Jeremy Borash, who both congratulates him on winning the Call Your Shot Gauntlet, and asks what his plans are for his title shot? Mox says he thought about jumping in on the X Division title hunt, but there are already a few people ahead of him. He could grab a tag team partner, but he doesn’t really like anyone and is sure most people feel the same about him. But him and Austin Aries haven’t really interacted much since Mox got here. And he wouldn’t mind being the Impact World Champion. Some food for thought, he says…

Orange Cassidy and Marty Scurll go one-on-one next, after Scurll was “shown up”, as he believes he was, a couple of weeks ago on Impact. Cassidy was a surprise entrant in the Call Your Shot Gauntlet this past Sunday at Bound For Glory and shocked everyone by eliminating Scurll. Tonight, however, Cassidy is back to his usual antics. Scurll’s shoves merely knock Cassidy back a bit, but Cassidy’s shoves don’t do a thing, except piss off Scurll. After a few minutes of trying to force Cassidy to fight him, Scurll hits the Black Plague to get the win. Scurll stomps off, unsatisfied with his win and promising that this isn’t over yet…

Backstage, The Wolves are interviewed about their upcoming NWA World Tag Team Championship match. Davey Richards says that he and Eddie Edwards have never been Tag Team Champions in Impact or the NWA, so this match is very important to them. Edwards says they haven’t wrestled on Impact in three years, but tonight, they remind everyone what The Wolves are all about…

Next week on NWA Impact Wrestling, Samoa Joe takes on Jon Moxley; LAX take on SCU; EC3 faces Bobby Roode; Laura Dennis and Sienna team up to face Impact Women’s Champion Tessa Blanchard and Alexxiss Bliss; we will hear from Impact X Division Champion Eli Drake in the wake of Brian Cage’s challenge and the confrontation between AJ Styles and EC3; Maxwell Jacob Friedman will make his Impact debut; and this Tuesday on NWA Powerr, Chelsea Green takes on April Lee Mendez; Bram takes on Kevin Kross; “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry battles Ricky Starks; and Caleb Konley and Jay Bradley will face Reno S.C.U.M. in an NWA World Tag Team Championship Number One Contenders Match.

It’s main event time, as Le Sex Gods defend the gold against The Wolves. The match follows the now-familiar formula of a Le Sex Gods match, as Sammy takes the beating from Richards and Edwards for a good portion of the match. Eventually, Sammy gets the hot tag to Jericho, who comes in and cleans house. A Judas Effect to Edwards gives Le Sex Gods the win to retain. Impact ends with the Champs celebrating to a standing ovation from the crowd.

Quick Results
Dustin Rhodes def. Hangman Adam Page
Dr. Britt Baker DMD def. Rosemary
AJ Styles def. Laredo Kid
Marty Scurll def. Orange Cassidy
NWA World Tag Team Champions Le Sex Gods def. The Wolves to retain