There are no real surprises when it comes to odds for Sunday’s Elimination Chamber matches.
Daniel Bryan is favored to retain the WWE Championship in the Elimination Chamber, while Sasha Banks & Bayley are favored to become the first WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions in nearly 30 years.
Based on betting odds, Kambi is looking at this as being a so-so show with only one great match, that being the men’s Chamber match.
The Miz & Shane McMahon vs. The Usos SmackDown Tag Team title match that was taken off the boards yesterday because of Jimmy Uso’s arrest is available again. Kambi has Miz & McMahon at -1000 favorites, while Sky Bet has them at -1600 and Paddy Power at -800. They are only -400 at 5 Dimes.
The current 5Dimes odds for other matches are —
WWE Championship Elimination Chamber match:
Bryan -505
AJ Styles +1150
Randy Orton +1250
Samoa Joe +1350
Kofi Kingston +1900
Jeff Hardy +2000
Women’s Tag Team Championship Elimination Chamber match:
Banks & Bayley -270
Nia Jax & Tamina +460
The Riott Squad (Liv Morgan & Sarah Logan) +800
Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville +850
The IIconics (Peyton Royce & Billie Kay) +1300
Naomi & Carmella +2300
Ronda Rousey vs. Ruby Riott for the Raw Women’s Championship:
Rousey -4500
Riott +1500
Bobby Lashley & Lio Rush vs. Finn Balor for the Intercontinental title:
Balor -140
Lashley & Rush +100
Braun Strowman vs. Baron Corbin no DQ match:
Strowman -600
Corbin +400
Cruiserweight title match (pre-show):
Buddy Murphy -750
Akira Tozawa +450
Kambi’s over/under betting line for star ratings:
Murphy vs. Tozawa ***1/2
Strowman vs. Corbin **1/4
Lashley & Rush vs. Balor ***
Rousey vs. Riott ***1/4
Miz & McMahon vs. Usos ***1/4
Women’s Chamber **3/4
Men’s Chamber ****1/4
In picking for best match, the men’s Chamber is -400 and every other match is +250.
PWTorch editor Wade Keller presents a special Thursday Flagship edition of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast featuring a WrestleMania 36 Preview with ex-WWE Creative Team member and professional stand-up comedian Matt McCarthy.
(Search “wade keller” to subscribe in podcast app or CLICK HERE to subscribe in Apple Podcasts.)
The Raw Roster is complete following the WWE Draft…
Raw Commissioner: Stephanie McMahon
Raw GM: Mick Foley
Seth Rollins (#1 overall pick)
Women’s champion Charlotte (#3)
Finn Balor (#5) (#1 NXT pick)
Roman Reigns (#6)
Brock Lesnar (#8)
WWE tag champions New Day (#10)
Sami Zayn (#11)
Sasha Banks (#13)
Chris Jericho (#15)
U.S. champion Rusev (w/Lana) (#16)
Kevin Owens (#18)
Enzo Amore & Big Cass (#20)
The Club (Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows (#21)
Big Show (#23)
Nia Jax (#25) (#3 NXT pick)
Neville (#26)
Cesaro (#28)
Sheamus (#30)
Golden Truth (R-Truth & Goldust) (#31)
Titus O’Neil (#33)
Paige (#35)
Darren Young (w/Bob Backlund) (#36)
Sin Cara (#38)
Jack Swagger (#40)
Dudleys (Bubba Ray & Devon) (#42)
Summer Rae (#44)
Mark Henry (#46)
Braun Strowman (#48)
Bo Dallas (#50)
Shining Stars (Primo & Epico) (#52)
Alicia Fox (#54)
Dana Brooke (#56)
Curtis Axel (#58)
***
Male Roster
Seth Rollins
Finn Balor
Roman Reigns
Brock Lesnar
Sami Zayn
Chris Jericho
U.S. champion Rusev
Kevin Owens
Big Show
Neville
Cesaro
Sheamus
Titus O’Neil
Darren Young (w/Bob Backlund)
Sin Cara
Jack Swagger
Mark Henry
Braun Strowman
Bo Dallas
Curtis Axel
Tag Team Roster
WWE tag champions New Day
Enzo Amore & Big Cass
The Club (Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows)
Golden Truth
The Dudleys
Shining Stars
Women’s Roster
Women’s champion Charlotte
Sasha Banks
Nia Jax
Paige
Summer Rae
Alicia Fox
Dana Brooke
PWTorch editor Wade Keller presents a special Thursday Flagship edition of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast featuring a WrestleMania 36 Preview with ex-WWE Creative Team member and professional stand-up comedian Matt McCarthy.
(Search “wade keller” to subscribe in podcast app or CLICK HERE to subscribe in Apple Podcasts.)
TNA continued the “Bound for Glory Playoffs” Thursday night on Impact with semi-final matches.
The winner of the tournament receives a TNA Hvt. Title shot at the Bound for Glory PPV this fall…
BFG Playoffs Week 1 – July 21
Quarterfinals: Mike Bennett beat Jeff Hardy
Quarterfinals: Matt Hardy beat James Storm
Quarterfinals: Ethan Carter III beat KOTM champion Eli Drake
Quarterfinals: Drew Galloway beat Bram
BFG Playoffs Week 2 – July 28
Semi-Finals: ECIII beat Matt Hardy
Semi-Finals: Mike Bennett beat Drew Galloway
BFG Playoffs Finals – August 4
Finals: ECIII vs. Mike Bennett
MATCH
DATE
WINNER/
Next Match
TIME
LOSER/
Next Match
ROUND
17/21Mike Bennett2:12
PinJeff HardyQuarterfinals
27/21Matt Hardy
PinJames StormQuarterfinals
37/21Ethan Carter III7:47
PinEli DrakeQuarterfinals
47/21Drew Galloway6:55
PinBramQuarterfinals
57/28ECIII7:49
PinMatt HardySemi-Finals
67/28Mike Bennett8:03
PinDrew GallowaySemi-Finals
78/4ECIII17:21
PinMike BennettFinals.
ECIII to TNA
Title match at
BFG PPV.
bfg 2016bfg playoffstnatna bfg 2016tna bfg playoffstna bound for glory
The return of Roman Reigns, as well as the Ric Flair 70th birthday party, led Raw to its best ratings in six months last night.
Raw averaged 2.92 million viewers this week, up five percent from the February 18 post-Elimination Chamber episode, which had been the highest rated Raw in more than five months.
The 3.17 million viewers in he first hour for Reigns was the most-watched first hour of the show since April 23.
Overall, it was the most-watched episode of the show since August 20.
Raw was third for the night on cable, and barely missed being number one, with the top spot of 2.96 million being for Tucker Carlson on Fox News and Rachel Maddow on MSNBC. The first hour even beat FOX network programming, losing only to ABC, CBS and NBC.
Raw still had the big drops, particularly in hour three, but given the nature of the show, where the key was the Reigns announcement that would bring in an audience that usually isn’t watching, the drops in hour two and three were expected and would have likely been even more pronounced without the show-long build to the Flair birthday segment. It saw stars of the past return and ended with an angle involving Batista attacking Flair to set up his WrestleMania match with Triple H.
The three hours were:
8 p.m. 3.17 million viewers
9 p.m. 2.95 million viewers
10 p.m. 2.65 million viewers
Here’s a chart from Paul Fontaine that looks at the last 10 weeks of Raw viewership and how it compares to the previous year:
A prison that houses some of China’s most high-profile criminals is reportedly installing an artificial intelligence network that will be able to recognise and track every inmate around the clock and alert guards if anything seems out of place.
The “smart jail” system inside Yancheng prison integrates surveillance cameras and hidden sensors that collect data points into a central “brain,” an AI-powered computer that will generate a daily report on inmates using facial recognition and movement analysis.
“If an inmate has been spotted pacing up and down in a room for some time, the machine may regard the phenomenon as suspicious and suggest close-up check with a human guard,” project representative Meng Qingbiao told the South China Morning Post newspaper.
The technology deployed allows each camera to track up to 200 faces at a time, according to Mr Meng.
“So the prisoners might be able to blend in the crowd in a packed corridor, busy canteen, exercise session or even massive brawl, but they will never be able to slip away completely.
Artificial Intelligence is greater concern than climate change or terrorism, says new head of British Science Association
It might even help guards behave better and treat prisoners more uniformly.
For instance, if inmates succeed bribing guards to help them escape, neither will be able to duck away from the surveillance technology, he said about the system, jointly developed by public research institutes including Tianjin University and Tiandy, a surveillance technology firm.
China has been rapidly developing artificial intelligence capabilities and rolling out new technologies for use in city streets to track traffic patterns to schools to monitor students.
In some airports, it’s already possible to board at the gate via facial recognition.
Former politician Bo Xilai is one of the prison's high-profile inmates Credit:
AP Photo/Jinan Intermediate People's Court
And one tech firm, Watrix, is working on a new “gait recognition” software that identifies people using their silhouettes and how they walk, even if their faces are obscured and their backs are turned.
In the long run, such technology could supplement facial recognition, which relies on high-resolution images of a person’s face to work properly.
Yancheng prison is often referred to as China’s ‘VIP’ prison as it houses some of formerly high ranking officials who have been fallen by a widespread anti-corruption crackdown, and is thought to have relatively more comfortable accommodations.
Yusuke “Wally” Yamaguchi, who was a former WWF manager of Kai En Tai but was a major figure in the Japanese pro wrestling business, passed away after a lengthy illness.
Yamaguchi was 60. He had suffered a serious stroke in 2017.
Yamaguchi, who grew up as one of the leaders of the Mil Mascaras Fan Club, ended up being a major player during the heyday of Japanese pro wrestling magazines, and one of the driving forces and faces of Gong Magazine, a weekly color magazine that had a huge circulation in the 80s and 90s before the bottom fell out of the Japanese magazine business.
He also had a hand in starting FMW, and was a key figure early in the career of New Japan booker Gedo. He was also, in the 80s, very close with the Baba family and All Japan Pro Wrestling until his being involved with independent promotions in Japan changed that relationship.
Yamaguchi had a ring in his house that many younger wrestlers trained at, and had tons of rare wrestling memorabilia.
On a personal note, he was a good friend of mine, and I stayed in his home on several trips to Japan during the 80s and 90s.
Yamaguchi was a key player in the Japanese coverage of wrestling in the Observer during that period and was very close with virtually every major star that came from the United States because he spoke perfect English and part of his role with the magazine and different companies was to make sure American talent’s tours were as much fun as possible.
He later worked as the liaison for Japan for WWF, and also as part of putting the deal together to bring in the Kai En Tai group, which was a stable in Michinoku Pro Wrestling that were brought to the WWF from 1998 to 2001. His most memorable role was “choppy choppy pee pee” with the idea they were going to chop off the genitals of Val Venis, who in the storyline, was sleeping with Yamaguchi-san’s storyline wife.
He is the older brother of current WWF announcer Shun Yamaguchi. Shun was a photographer working in the U.S. for his brother’s magazine at the time, often at ringside at major shows for almost every promotion.
There is no truth to any rumors going around on WWE contacting CM Punk for a return at WrestleMania 36.
There have been some rumors going around that say WWE had plans to do Punk vs. Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 36, but those are not true, according to PWInsider. There has been zero communication between WWE officials and Punk regarding a match, or an appearance at WrestleMania in any form. WWE never made an offer to Punk and the rumored talks never took place.
There has been no internal talk about using Punk in WWE, even after his debut as an analyst on FS1’s WWE Backstage program earlier this year. WWE hasn’t even promoted Punk’s appearances on the FOX Sports show, and he is not signed to the company as he is signed to FOX.
As we noted earlier in the week, Punk responded to the WrestleMania 36 announcement on the event airing from the WWE Performance Center and in those replies, indicated that a WWE Superstar had been texting him about a potential match at WrestleMania. There has been speculation on Punk referring to Rollins, who has pushed for the match publicly in the last few months.
There’s no confirmation that Punk was referring to Rollins being the one who contacted him, but Punk’s tweets could be where the rumors started. For those who missed it, Punk tweeted shortly after WWE made the WrestleMania 36 announcement and said holding the show in an empty venue is one way to guarantee no boos for Roman Reigns, and to guarantee no fan chants for Punk.
“Well that’s one way to make sure Roman finally gets not booed and nobody chants for meeeeeeee,” Punk tweeted.
After comments on WWE Hall of Famer Edge, another fan responded to Punk and asked, “is this you begging for a return? Like you did on Backstage? No crowd reaction seems to be your element.”
Punk then responded to that fan and seemed to indicate WWE or a certain Superstar recently contacted him about a possible ring return at WrestleMania 36.
“I’m not the one texting begging for a match with me at mania. [eyes emoji],” Punk wrote.
You can see the related tweets from Punk below, but as noted, there is no truth to the rumors on Punk possibly wrestling at WrestleMania 36, or WWE contacting him about a return.
Souvenir stalls that sell key rings, fridge magnets and figurines of Jesus giving a thumbs up and a cheery wink in front of Rome’s most famous monuments have been given their marching orders by the city’s mayor.
The stands, pitched in front of the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon and within some of the capital’s most picturesque piazzas, have been branded an eyesore.
The stalls, crammed with rosary beads, plastic statues of Michelangelo’s David, miniature Leaning Towers of Pisa and plumed centurions’ helmets, often obscure the view of some of the city’s most celebrated sights.
Rome council is also calling for the removal of vans that sell visitors overpriced drinks, sandwiches, snacks and sweets near the Colosseum and the Circus Maximus, the ancient arena where chariots once raced.
“They ruin the image of Rome,” said Virginia Raggi, the mayor of the city.
A winking Jesus and a smiling Pope Francis – a souvenir stall in front of the Trevi Fountain in RomeCredit:
Nick Squires /Telegraph
“For years, the monuments of the city have been tarnished by vendors who sell drinks, panini and trinkets in front of Rome’s architectural jewels. This is no longer tolerable.”
At least half the trinket stalls and snack vans will have to move to new locations, the mayor announced after deliberations by the city council.
The purge will “restore dignity to monuments and piazzas that are among the most beautiful in the world,” said Ms Raggi, a member of the Five Star Movement, which governs at the national level in coalition with the hard-Right League party.
But stall owners were dismayed by the announcement, arguing that they provide a service to tourists and that if closed down, they will not be able to find alternative work.
“This has been in my family for seven generations,” said Angelo Di Porto, 40, who runs a stall directly in front of the Trevi Fountain, the monument which was immortalised by the 1960 Federico Fellini film La Dolce Vita when the actress Anita Ekberg waded into its waist-high water.
Souvenirs on a stand in front of St Peter's Basilica at the Vatican Credit:
Martin Child/Stockbyte
“We pay an annual rent and a whole range of taxes so we are a legitimate business. We offered to move to a less conspicuous spot but the council didn’t listen to us.”
The majority of the stall owners are Jewish – the Vatican gave them their licences in the 19th century, when it was considered unseemly for Catholics to make money out of selling religious paraphernalia such as crucifixes and rosaries.
“Most of the families that run the stalls are still Jewish,” said Mr Di Porto. “My ancestors came here as slaves from Jerusalem when the city was sacked by (the Roman emperor) Titus. We are among the true Romans.”
While the city council has vowed to remove half the stalls, no timetable has been given yet. “We haven’t been told yet when we have to move,” said Mr Di Porto. “We hope the mayor will have a rethink.”
In a statement posted on his social media accounts this afternoon, Luke Harper revealed that he’s requested his release from WWE:
As of this evening, I have requested a release from WWE. The past 6 years have been a simply, amazing journey around the world and back with lifelong friends and family. I am proud of it all and proud to say I shared the ring with my co workers.
This decision, as difficult as it was, feels right for myself and WWE. My goal in the future is to continue to grow as a performer and person and continue to make my family proud.
Thank you. From the top to the bottom of WWE. Thank you to the fans for your undying support. Thank you everyone.
UPDATE: Dave Meltzer notes that the 39-year-old Harper hasn’t been given his release as of this moment, he’s only asked for it. Harper didn’t state what WWE’s response to his request was in his statement.
After undergoing wrist surgery while Erik Rowan was also out of action, Harper returned to the ring at a house show in March. He was an entrant in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 35 and defeated Dominik Dijakovic at WrestleMania Axxess, with their match airing as part of the NXT Alumni vs. NXT Worlds Collide special on the WWE Network.
Harper wasn’t used on television on Raw or SmackDown since returning from injury. Rowan returned at the Royal Rumble in January and aligned with Daniel Bryan in storyline.
On February 19, Tye Dillinger publicly stated that he had requested his release from WWE. WWE then announced Dillinger’s release on February 22.
A political row is brewing in Australia over the fate of orphans of Islamic State parents languishing in a camp in Syria.
The three children were taken from Sydney to Syria in 2014 by their parents, who have since died.
The eldest, Zaynab, 17, who now has two children of her own and is pregnant with a third; Hoda,16; and Humzeh, eight, were discovered in al-Hol displacement camp earlier this month by their grandmother Karen Nettleton.
Their father, Khaled Sharrouf – Australia’s most notorious Isil jihadist – was stripped of his citizenship after a picture emerged of one of his younger sons being made to hold the severed head of a Syrian soldier.
However, Ms Nettleton’s attempt to take them out of Syria has been beset with problems.
Australian jihadist Khaled Sharrouf poses in Syria with one finger up to God, a salute that was appropriated by Isil
Scott Morrison, Australia’s prime minister, suggested that the children would not return home anytime soon, saying he was “not going to put any Australian life at risk to extract people from these conflict zones.”
"Australia’s national security interests always come first," Mr Morrison said. "There are a lot of hurdles to clear on this and Australians can be absolutely satisfied that we will follow those processes extremely closely."
Mr Morrison is campaigning for his conservative coalition to be re-elected for a third three-year term on May 18. He argues that his government is stronger on national security and border protection than the centre-Left opposition Labor Party.
There are an estimated 70 children born to Australian nationals in the camps and their fate has become a hot button issue ahead of the vote.
Bill Shorten, the opposition leader, said the children should not be used for political capital.
"These kids should not be a political football," he told reporters. "Probably if they can get a lot of love, then I suspect that’ll be the best way to help reabsorb them into Australian life."
Zaynab said the siblings, who are likely to be traumatised after spending the last five years living in Isil’s self-declared caliphate, should not be blamed for their predicament.
Ms Nettleton, 62, insists her grandchildren and great-grandchildren are not a threat or danger. “Just because their last name is Sharrouf, doesn’t mean they are monsters,” she said.
Five orphaned siblings wait for their aunt and uncle to finish their adoption paperwork outside the administrative offices of al-Hol camp for displaced civiliansCredit:
Sam Tarling for the Telegraph
Zaynab played down their risk to Australian society. “Well I would say we weren’t the ones that chose to come here in the first place. I mean we were brought here by our parents. And now that our parents are gone, we want to live,” she told ABC Australia’s Four Corners.
“And for me and my children I want to live a normal life, just like anyone would want to live a normal life.”
Emotional footage of the reunion was broadcast on Four Corners on Monday showing Ms Nettleton finding her now grown-up grandchildren in al-Hol camp among a sea of women wearing black niqabs.
She cries before lifting the material off the two girls’ faces and smothering them with kisses as Hoda says: “tell me this isn’t a dream.”
Sharrouf and his two eldest sons – Abdullah, 12, and Zarqawi, 11 – were killed in an August 2017 air strike near Raqqa, at the time the Isil’s stronghold in Syria.
His wife, Tara Nettleton, a Muslim convert, died in hospital a year later of a perforated intestine.
Paul Ronalds, Save the Children Australia’s chief executive, said Australian children of foreign fighters are the victims of horrific decisions made by their parents and they must be brought back.
“The shift in rhetoric from the leaders of both major political parties is encouraging, but words alone will not bring these children home,” Mr Ronalds said in a statement.