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The Scoop

Posted: Jun 13th 2020 By: Compiled by Oklafan Staff

NEWS
In another major change in the process of creative writing, WWE announced Bruce Prichard is taking over both the writing for Raw and Smackdown, elimination the Executive Directors job that they introduced last year. Paul Heyman, who was serving as the Executive Director of Monday Night Raw will return solely as an on-screen character. “In an effort to streamline our creative writing process for television, we have consolidated both teams from Raw and SmackDown into one group, led by Bruce Prichard. Paul Heyman will concentrate on his role as an in-ring performer,” a statement from WWE read. Back in July 2019, WWE announced that they created two Executive Director roles, one for each brand. Heyman led Raw and Eric Bischoff led Smackdown. However, Bischoff’s time in that role was quickly terminated as Bischoff was fired – again – in October after moving to Stamford, CT for the job he had started less than four months before. Bischoff was replaced by Bruce Prichard, who had been hired earlier in 2019. Part of the reason the WWE has consolidated their writing teams is that Vince McMahon believes that the decisions to push certain stars has failed with fans. Look for the spotlight to shift not only on Raw but Smackdown as well.

Apparently, the WWE was going to replace the Mae Young Classic with a Queen of the Ring tournament but due to the pandemic that idea was dropped as a result there will be no Mae Young Classic Tournament this year.

A special episode of "The Bump" will air this Sunday at 10:30am Eastern (9;00am Central) time prior to the "Backlash" pay-per-view event. Guests will include John Morrison, The Miz, Jinder Mahal, MVP and Paige.

Word is that before he was injured, Jinder Mahal was supposed to work a championship angle with his former Three Man Band partner Drew McIntyre.

WWE SmackDown Superstars A. J. Styles and Daniel Bryan both appeared via video as the Grand Marshals of NASCAR’s 2020 Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 race from Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, VA. Bryan delivered an intro for the race when he was interrupted by Styles. After a back & forth, they finally delivered the “start your engines!” call and sent it back to the track. The NASCAR On FOX commentators joked that they hope Bryan and Styles don’t talk each other to death. The segment was set up by FOX to promote the race and Friday’s SmackDown episode, which saw Bryan and Styles do battle for the vacant WWE Intercontinental Title in the main event.

Among the free matches being added to WWE’s YouTube page is A. J. Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura in a No DQ Match from "Backlash 2018".

Wrestling Inc. reported that the same team behind the A. J. Styles vs. Undertaker match, Michael Hayes, Triple H, and Jeremy Borash, also produced the Backlot Brawl from TakeOver.

Ric Flair spoke to Metro in the United Kingdom about a wild night out he had with The Undertaker. You can read the story by clicking here..

In an extra clip from the WWE 24 episode on Ric Flair, Triple H discussed having to tell Flair that his WWE Hall of Fame induction speech was going too long. The clip can be seen by clicking here.

Justin Roberts, who has largely been absent from AEW television since the COVID-19 outbreak, returned last Wednesday night on "Dynamite".

The latest "Inside the NWA" focuses on the legacy of Harley Race. You can watch the episode by clicking here.

Rick Bassman is teaming with Cameo and charities National Cares Mentoring Movement and Live FreeUSA to host an event called BeGood which will include Sting, Lou Ferrigno, Butterbean, Benny "The Jet" Urquidez, Mike O'Hearn, and Bas Rutten for a Facebook event on June 20th at 5pm to talk tolerance, unity, and reconciliation.

Oklafan extends condolences to Buzz Markley on the passing of his grandmother-in-law on June 8th.

Oklafan extends condolences to the family and friemnds of Mr. Wrestling II who passed away on June 10th at the age of 85. At the time of his death, the cause had not yet been announced. Wrestling, who's real name was Johnny Walker, debuted in 1949 and spent most of the first half of his career as a journeyman competitor under his real name. He was given the nickname "Rubberman" by promoter Paul Boesch, due to the unique ways that Walker could manipulate his body. During that first half of his career, Walker would end up in TSW, making his earliest appearance on October 31, 1960 in Tulsa where he defeated Baby Blimp in a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match. The next week, he and Prince Maiava lost to The Great Bolo & Karol Krauser in another 2-out-of-3 Falls Match in Tulsa for the vacant TSW (thought some sources say it was NWA) Southwestern Tag Team Titles. His final appearance in Oklahoma as Walker occurred the next week where he lost to Al Galento in Tulsa. He would go on to win the TSW Southwestern Tag Team Titles with Prince Maiava sometime after November 7th, 1960, but lost them quickly to Karol Krauser and Jack Donovan on November 18, 1960 and at that point he left TSW. Walker would continue to wrestle, primarily in Houston, until retiring in 1964. In 1967, Walker came out of retirement and donned a mask, but not the one he is most famous for. He became The Grappler (not to be confused with Len Denton) in Florida and used this identity through 1972. At that point, Paul Jones and Leo Garibaldi brought Walker into Georgia and gave him the identity of Mr. Wrestling II, the partner of Mr. Wrestling, Tim Woods. As Wrestling II, Walker became an immediate star, despite being almost 40 years old. He would hold numerous tag team titles and singles titles, including the Georgia Title on 10 separate occasions. Wrestling II spent most of his time in Georgia & Florida, but would eventually make his way back to TSW in 1979. He would capture the TSW North American Title from Ernie Ladd on February 16, 1978. Shortly after that, Bill Watts split from Leroy McGuirk and formed MSW, taking the North American Title with him. Wrestling II would continue to hold the North American Title until September 5, 1979 when he lost it to Mike George. He remained a mainstay of MSW and would continue to rack up championship accolades. He added the MSW Mid-South Tag Team Titles to his resume, teaming with Tiger Conway, Jr. to defeat The Rat Pack (Ted DiBiase & Matt Borne) on March 12, 1983. They only held the titles for a month, losing them to Dibiase & Mr. Olympia. On November 27, 1982, he defeated Mr. Olympia for the MSW Mississippi Title and was the last to hold that title which was retired in August 1983. And while the rivalry between Wrestling II and Olympia was certainly a notable one, perhaps the most famous feud in MSW for Wrestling II was between himself and Magnum T. A. Magnum was introduced as the protege of Wrestling II and the two won the MSW Mid-South Tag Team Titles on Christmas night, 1983 in a Steel Cage Match from Butch Reed & Jim Neidhart. But the jealousy between Wrestling II and Magnum had grown slowly and culminated with Wrestling II abandoning Magnum during a title match on March 13, 1984, against The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton & Dennis Condrey) where the loser of the match received 10 lashes. T. A. & II would continue to feud with each other over the MSW North American Title, which he won from the Junkyard Dog the night before losing the tag team titles. T. A. would eventually win the North American Title from II on May 13, 1984 and II would leave MSW for WWF. He would spend the last 2 years of his active career there and make his final Oklahoma appearance with WWF on September 21, 1985, losing to Randy Savage. He would retire from full time competition in 1986 and move to Hawaii, where, in 2007, he became the commissioner of Hawaii Championship Wrestling and won the HCW Tag Team Titles with Mr. Wrestling III (not Dusty Wolfe nor Hercules Hernandez). II would spend the rest of his life in Hawaii. During the late 1970s and very early 1980s, II was arguably one of the top 5 most popular wrestlers in the world, so much so, that he was invited to attend the inauguration of Jimmy Carter as president. The Carter family were fans of Wrestling II. He had to turn the invitation down as it would have required that he unmask (something that he had been forced to do by Ole & Gene Anderson in 1977, though he redonned the mask soon after), but he did have several private audiences with the Carters during the late 1970s. In total, II had 40 documented matches in Oklahoma and leaves an amazing legacy behind, including inductions into the WCW Hall of Fame in 1993 and the NWA Hall of Fame in 2012. He is considered one of the greatest wrestlers ever to never win a World Title and is the only wrestler to win Wrestler of the Year in PWI with that designation.

Bill Apter talks about his friend Mr. Wrestling II in a video whoch you can see by clicking here.

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RECENT RESULTS
June 7th
Karrion Kross (w/ Scarlett) defeated Tomasso Ciampa at "NXT TakeOver: In Your House" pay-per-view event in Winter Park, FL

June 8th
MVP & Bobby Lashley defeated The Viking Raiders (Erik & Ivar) at the "WWE Monday Night RAW" event in Orlando, FL

A. J. Styles defeated Daniel Bryan for the vacant title in the finals of the WWE Intercontinental Title Tournament at the "WWE Friday Night SmackDown" event in Orlando, FL. In other matches, Heavy Machinery (Otis & Tucker) & WWE Universal Champion Braun Strowman defeated John Morrison, The Miz, & Dolph Ziggler in a 6-Man Tag Team Match.

June 9th
SCU (Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky) defeated Fuego del Sol & Low Rider at the "AEW Dark" event in Jacksonville, FL

June 10th
Sammy Guevara defeated Colt Cabana at the "AEW Dynamite" event in Jacksonville, FL. In other matches, Orange Cassidy & Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent) defeated The Inner Circle (Jake Hager, Santana, & Ortiz) in a 6-Man Tag Team Match.

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UPCOMING OKLAHOMA EVENTS
All Star Pro
Sunday, June 14th
Venue 23
Bethany, OK
Bell Time 3:30pm

Extreme Midget Wrestling Federation
Friday, June 19th
Inner Circle Vodka Bar
Tulsa, OK
Bell Time 7pm
(NOTE: You must be 21 or older to attend)

Body Progression Wrestling
Saturday, June 20th
The Wrestle Center
Tulsa, OK
Bell Time 7pm

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UPCOMING EVENTS
June 14th
WWE Universal Champion Braun Strowman defends the title against John Morrison and The Miz in a Handicap Match at WWE's "Backlash" pay-per-view event in Orlando, FL

June 17th
Le Sex Gods (Sammy Guevara & Chris Jericho) take on Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent) at the "AEW Dynamite" event in Jacksonville, FL

June 19th
Malico and Chandler Hopkins are among the stars scheduled for Texoma Pro Wrestling's "Guess Who's Back" event in Sherman, TX

June 26th
Barrett Brown and Gino Medina are among the stars scheduled for the SOAR Wrestling event in Richardson, TX

Matt Cross is among the stars scheduled for the Revolution Championship Wrestling event in South Bend, IN

June 27th
Colt Killbane, Jamie Holley, K. J. Everly, Warren Powers, and Slam Shady are among the stars scheduled for the South Central Wrestling event in Pine, AR

Erica Torres and Double D are among the stars scheduled for the Liberty Pro Women's Wrestling event in Nashville, TN

June 28th
Chase Stevens is among the stars scheduled for the Revolutionary Wrestling Alliance event in Maryville, TN

July 5th
Tim Brooks, Bill Irwin, Black Bart, Steve Cox, Rod Price, Steven Dane, Terry Daniels, Tim Storm, Shawn Summers, and Brent McKenzie are among the stars scheduled for Pro Wrestling 2.0/Texoma Pro Wrestling's "GWF Reunion Show" in Sherman, TX

July 11th
Tony Atlas is scheduled for the Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling event in Quincy, IL

Dusty Gold and Mr. Wobble are among the stars scheduled for the SOAR Championship Wrestling event in Dallas, TX

July 24th
Stephan Bonner takes on Matt Justice in a Hardcore Street Fight at the "Heavy Hitters 2" tournament in Sellersburg, TN

July 27th
Brian Blade is scheduled for the Midwest Wrestling Association event in Union, IL

August
No Date Specified:
ACW Heavyweight Champion Jake Dirden defends the title against Brandon Groom at Arkansas Championship Wrestling's "Provoing Ground" event in Greenland, AR. In other matches, ACW North American Champion Spike Looez takes on Eugene, El Rey & The Texas Outlaws (Bobby Burns & Cody Burns) take on James Ellsworth & ACW Tag Team Champions The Trash-N-Bash Connection (Eijah Sparks & Murillo) in a 6-Man Tag Team Match, and Dusty Gold takes on Demon Freska to determine the 1st ever ACW Television Champion. Also scheduled to appear are Wesley Crane, Mr. Wobble, Samedi, Graham Bell, Spyder, and many more.

August 1st
Brian Blade is scheduled for the Midwest Wrestling Association event in Lincoln, NE

August 8th
Brian Blade is scheduled for the Midwest Wrestling Assciation event in Two Harbors, MN

August 14th
Brian Blade is scheduled for the Midwest Wrestling Association event in McCook, NE

August 15th
Brian Blade is scheduled for the Midwest Wrestling Association event in Holdridge, NE

August 21st
Brian Blade is scheduled for the Midwest Wrestling Association event in Chicago, IL

August 22nd
Brian Blade is scheduled for the Midwest Wrestling Association event in Chicago, IL

Gino Medina takes on Carlito for the South Texas WrestleFest Championship at the "South Texas WrestleFest II" event in Pharr, TX. In other matches, Andy Dalton takes on Ruben Steel in a Hardcore Match, Chavo Guerrero, Jr. takes on Sayrus, and Joey Ryan takes on Danny Ramons.

Michael Barry takes on Meklakov in a Flag Match at the Mid-States Wrestling event in Springfield, MO. In other matches, Matt Riviera takes on Alan Jefferson, Jason Jones & Jesse Inman take on Nate Winchester & Johnny Lightning, and Gary Gram takes on Niles Plonk.

August 23rd
Brian Blade is scheduled for the Midwest Wrestling Association event in Chicago, IL

GCW Tag Team Champions The Metro Brothers (Chris Metro & J. C. Metro) defend the titles against Super Beast & Funnybone at the Geration Championship Wrestling event in Avon, IN

October 17th
Shane Douglas is among the stars scheduled for the Canadian Wrestling Elite event in Gladstone, Manitoba, Canada

October 18th
Shane Douglas takes on Marcellus Prime at the Canadian Wrestling Elite event in Dauphin, Manitoba, Canada

October 19th
Shane Douglas is among the stars scheduled for the Canadian Wrestling Elite event in Yorktown, Saskatchewan, Canada

October 20th
Shane Douglas is among the stars scheduled for the Canadian Wrestling Elite event in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada

October 21st
Shane Douglas is among the stars scheduled for the Canadian Wrestling Elite event in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

October 22nd
Shane Douglas is among the stars scheduled for the Canadian Wrestling Elite event in Calgary, Alberta, Canada

October 23rd
Shane Douglas is among the stars scheduled for the Canadian Wrestling Elite event in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada

October 24th
Shane Douglas is among the stars scheduled for the Canadian Wrestling Elite event in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

October 25th
Shane Douglas is among the stars scheduled for the Canadian Wrestling Elite event in Whitecourt, Alberta, Canada

October 26th
Shane Douglas is among the stars scheduled for the Canadian Wrestling Elite event in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada

October 27th
Shane Douglas is among the stars scheduled for the Canadian Wrestling Elite event in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada

October 28th
Shane Douglas is among the stars scheduled for the Canadian Wrestling Elite event in Williams Lake, British Columbia, Canada

October 29th
Shane Douglas is among the stars scheduled for the Canadian Wrestling Elite event in Kamloops, Britih Columbia, Canada

October 30th
Shane Douglas is among the stars scheduled for the Canadian Wrestling Elite event in Golden, British Columbia, Canada

October 31st
Shane Douglas is among the stars scheduled for the Canadian Wrestling Elite event in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada

November 1st
Shane Douglas is scheduled for the Canadian Wrestling Elite event in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, Canada

November 2nd
Shane Douglas is among the stars scheduled for the Canadian Wrestling Elite event in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada

November 3rd
Shane Douglas is scheduled for the Canadian Wrestling Elite event in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada

November 4th
Shane Douglas vs. Tommy Lee Curtis is scheduled for the Canadian Wrestling Elite event in Oak Lake, Manitoba, Canada

November 5th
Shane Douglas is scheduled for the Canadian Wrestling Elite event in Morden, Manitoba, Canada

November 6th
Shane Douglas is scheduled for the Canadian Wrestling Elite event in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

November 7th
Shane Douglas is scheduled for the Canadian Wrestling Elite event in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada

Dusty Gold is one of the participants in the Pro Wrestling EGO Southern 8 Tournament at the Battle Zone Wrestling event in Raleigh, MS

November 8th
Shane Douglas is scheduled for the Canadian Wrestling Elite event in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada

November 9th
Shane Douglas is scheduled for the Canadian Wrestling Elite event in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada

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AUTOGRAPHS & APPEARANCES
June 14th
Rikishi and many more will be signing autographs at the "Steel City Convention" in Monroeville, PA

July 5th
Tim Storm will be conducting a wrestling seminar at 1pm for Pro Wrestling 2.0 and Texoma Pro Wrestling at the Sherman Elks Lodge in Sherman, TX. Cost is $50

August 13th - 16th
The Bushwackers (Bushwacker Butch & Bushwacker Luke), Col. DeBeers, Billy Jack Haynes, The Rock-N-Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson), Scott McGhee, Gary Young, Paul Ellering, Road Warrior Animal, Ron Simmons, Butch Reed, The Fabulous Ones (Stan Lane & Steve Keirn), Tom Prichard, Tommy Rich, Jackie Fulton, Bobby Fulton, Ken Resnick, Terri Runnels, Steve Simpson, Wendell Cooley, Ronnie Garvin, Bobby Eaton, Jim Cornette, Tito Santana, Bob Orton, Jr., Ted DiBiase, Brooke Adams, Jimmy Valiant, Kevin Sullivan, George South, Andrew Anderson, Chris Youngblood, Mark Youngblood, Nick Patrick, Bob Roop, Jim Crockett, Jr, David Crockett, Derrick Dukes, Paul Roma, Kevin Von Erich and many more will be appearing at "The Gathering" at the Hilton Charlotte University Place in Charlotte, NC. There will be a banquet hosted by Jim Cornette where they will honor The Road Warriors, The Von Erichs, The Rock & Roll Express, The Fantastics, and Jimmy Valiant. For tickets and more info, go to TMartPromotions.com.

September 6th
Sgt. Slaughter will be signing autographs at the "80's Toy Expo" at the Hilton Mississauga/Meadowvale in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.

September 19th
Greg Valentine, Ricky Steamboat, Marty Jannetty, The Boogeyman, The Headbangers (Mosh & Thrasher), The Ascension (Konnor & Viktor), Danny Davis, Mario Mancini, Paul Roma, Deonna Purrazzo, Renee Michelle, Lance Archer, Nyla Rose, Bob Orton, Jr., Jillian Hall, Simon Gotch, Swoggle, Tammy Sytch, and many more will be appearing from 10am to 3pm at "The Wrestling Classic" at the Doubletree by Hilton Hartford in Windsor Lock, CT. For tickets and more info, go to KSWrestlefest.weebly.com/Wrestling-Classic.html.

September 26th
The Honky Tonk Man, Lex Luger, Jim Duggan, The Rock-N-Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson), The Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner & Scott Steiner), Dutch Mantell, Ted Arcidi, Mike McGuirk, Ivan Putski, The Midnight Express (Dennis Condrey & Bobby Eaton), Missy Hyatt, The Fabulous Rougeaus (Raymond Rougeau & Jacques Rougeau), Madusa, Dan Spivey, Tommy Rich, Jimmy Valiant, and many more will be appearing at "80’s Wrestling Con" at iPlay America in Freehold, NJ

October 3rd
Gerald Brisco, Joey Janela, The Ascension (Konnor & Viktor), Melina Perez, Gerald Brisco, Mark Jindrak, Mad Maxine, Kane, Tito Santana, Brodie Lee, Jessica Penne, Layla, Tracy Smothers, Little Guido, The Wild Samoans (Afa & Sika), The Colons (Primo & Epico), Sinn Bodhi, and many more will be appearing at "Legends of the Ring 30" at the APA Hotel Woodbridge in South Iselin, NJ. For tickets and more info, go to LegendsOfTheRing.com/home-guests.html .

October 14th
Mick Foley is scheduled for a speaking engagement in Springfield, MO

October 15th
Mick Foley is scheduled for a speaking engagement in Little Rock, AR

October 16th
Mick Foley is scheduled for a speaking engagement in Cape Girardeau, MO

October 24th
Sting, Barry Windham, Tony Atlas, One Man Gang, Missy Hyatt, and many more will be appearing at "Superstar Fan Fest" in Rome, GA

November 14th
Barry Windham, J. J. Dillon, The Boogeyman, Cat Zingano, Tiny Lister (AKA Zeus), Celeste Bonis (AKA Kaitlyn), Nidia, Matt Morgan, Amy Weber, Mantaur, Tammy Sytch, Bob Holly, Stephan Bonnar, King Mo, The Colons (Primo & Epico), Mike Bennett, Maria Kanellis, Billy Silverman, Koko B. Ware, Joey Ryan, Trevor Murdoch, Taylor Wilde, and many more will be appearing at "The Big Event 19" at the LaGuardia Plaza Hotel in East Elmhurst, NY. For tickets and more info, go to http://www.BigEventNY.com/BigEvent.htm.

November 18th
Mick Foley is scheduled for a speaking engagement in Tampa, FL

November 27th - 29th
Dory Funk, Jr. is scheduled for the WrestleCade FanFest Weekend in Winston-Salem, NC

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UPCOMING BIRTHDAYS
June 14th - Buzz Sawyer, Trey the Bae
June 15th - Brad Armstrong, Jaxon Stone, Paul Linam
June 16th - Brock Landers, Chuck Hinds, Jef Tiger, Paul Jones, Shawn Matthews III, Ted Arcidi, Ultimate Warrior
June 17th - Mario Galento, Ray Martinez, Rob Justice, Zech Smith
June 18th - Andy Dalton, Bad Boy, Bruiser Brody, Johnny Angel, Sashimi Deluxe
June 19th - Billy the Kid, Canadian Red Devil, Compact King, Kid Krazy, Miguel Padilla, Mike Two, Wahoo McDaniel
June 20th - David Kizer, Jon Cross, Koko B. Ware, Professor Ito


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Most news & results derived from reports found on Gerweck.net, PWBTS.com, WrestlingFigs.com, MissouriWrestlingRevival.com, and various other wrestling news sites.