As we inch closer to the RAW exclusive pay-per-view Great Balls of Fire, the Superstars of WWE were all over the map this past week, with stops in Singapore and Tokyo. If you are on Instagram, you would have kept up with the latest happenings in the day-to-day lives of all of your favourite WWE Superstars as they travel from town-to-town and even sometimes manage to squeeze in a little downtime at home.
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In this week's edition of Clicks n’ Kicks, we followed the likes of The Hardy Boyz, WWE Champion Jinder Mahal, Zack Ryder, and Erick Rowan, just to mention a few. Here are a few “Clicks” from this past week on Instagram.
New Champs in WWE! More RIGHT HERE
#16 WOOO-WOOO... WOW!
Zack Ryder is no stranger to the ladies of professional wrestling. While he has been linked to several of his colleagues in the past, his current love interest is a member of the TNA roster.
Zack is shown in this recent Instagram post with his current lady, Chelsea Green, better known by Impact Wrestling fans as Laurel Van Ness. You may recognise her as the belligerently intoxicated valet for Kongo Kong. Van Ness (who is a former Tough Enough competitor in the WWE) always comes to the ring with her makeup smeared all over her face, holding a bottle of whiskey.
#15 Japanese fans ain't SAWFT!
Enzo Amore may be going through a very difficult situation with his former tag team partner Big Cass, but as we can see in this screenshot from Enzo’s Instagram account, his fans remain just as loyal as they have been since day one.
As we prepare to go into the pay-per-view go-home edition of Monday Night RAW, it’ll be interesting to see how things continue to unfold between Enzo and Cass.
#14 Happy Birthday, Cody!
Fans who follow the official WWE Instagram page may have been a bit surprised this past week when the company took to their Instagram page to wish former WWE Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes a happy birthday.
Cody recently turned 32 years old on June 30th and it appears that 32 may very well be a good number for Cody as he has been enjoying quite a bit of success since leaving the WWE back in May of 2016.
Cody is currently the reigning Ring of Honor World Heavyweight Champion, and the Northeast Wrestling Heavyweight Champion as well.
#13 Family Reunion
Here you’ll see an incredible photo of Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns having an impromptu pose-down in front of the Tokyo fans as they closed out the recent Japan tour.
Ambrose and Reigns came to the main roster in late-2012, along with Seth Rollins as The Shield. This faction would go on to wreak havoc all over the WWE roster, laying waste to anyone who stood in their way. The Shield will likely be remembered as one of the greatest wrestling stables in the entire history of the industry.
Since The Shield split and each member went their separate ways, they have each gone on to achieve a massive amount of success as singles competitors. In fact, they have all held the company's top prize, the WWE Championship, at least once.
#12 Meanwhile in Texas...
Keeping with the spirit of Kayfabe, Baron Corbin has been clinging tight to his newly won Money in the Bank Briefcase. If you follow him on social media, you're probably aware of his new love obsession with his blue box, simply by the number of selfies he is taking with it on a daily basis.
Corbin created his own history this past June when he captured the the Money in the Bank briefcase, which ultimately guarantees him a shot at the WWE Championship at any time, any place.
#11 Hot on the trail
As ridiculous as the gimmick is, I have to give credit to Tyler Breeze and Fandango for remaining professional and riding this thing out, hoping for better booking. In my opinion, Breeze and Fandango both have much more potential than what they're being allowed to display on a weekly basis in the ring.
With that in mind, things aren't completely terrible. After all, the self-proclaimed Fashion Police are getting a ton of well-deserved television time.
#10 Farewell to a Saint
NXT head trainer Matt Bloom is shown here sharing a brief moment with wrestling legend Johnny Saint.
Johnny had spent the previous 6 months at the WWE Performance Center, helping with the stars and rookies of NXT by sharing his wealth of knowledge he has accumulated over the span of roughly half of a century that he has been in the wrestling business.
Johnny Saint is revered by UK fans as one of the alll-time great to come from that region.
#9 Beauty and The Lunatic
Judging from this recent Instagram post made by Renee Young, all is well in the Fringe household! WWE’s most adorable couple continue to be two of the most loved WWE Superstars in the company and it appears the couple are going strong.
Dean will be watching closely as the events unfold at the upcoming PPV, where he will take on The Miz for the WWE Universal Championship.
#8 Tokyo loves Rollins!
This was an incredible shot posted on WWE’s official Instagram page, where Seth Rollins acknowledges the Tokyo crowd following a victory during the recent Japan Tour.
WWE fans in the Phoenix area will be getting a special treat this week as both RAW and Smackdown Live will take place at the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix. Things should be pretty interesting this week, especially considering the upcoming Great Balls of Fire pay-per-view.
#7 Rusev CRUSH!... lunch!
Rusev took a stroll back to an old popular Greek grill in the Tampa Bay area that became popular among developmental superstars prior to the inception of NXT when Florida Championship Wrestling was still the training and development grounds for WWE Superstars.
Rusev has been out of action since February. Technically, he belongs to the Smackdown Live roster but has yet to make his in-ring return.
There was some speculation that Rusev would return and win the Money in the Bank ladder match, but that did not happen. Now there are rumours swirling that The Bulgarian Brute will be returning soon to a major Championship push.
#6 Remembering Connor
Connor “The Crusher” Michalek was a little boy with a huge spirit and an even bigger heart. In 2012, Connor submitted a YouTube video where he expressed his desire to meet his hero, who happened to be Daniel Bryan. Almost immediately, the video went viral and a movement was underway to get the attention of WWE officials, so Connor could meet Bryan.
As we all now know, Connor not only got to meet Bryan, but he sat ringside at Wrestlemania 30, where he rooted for his hero to victory and ultimately, a WWE Championship win.
Sadly, Connor’s condition worsened and in April of 2014, 8-year-old Connor passed away as a result of his battle with brain cancer. Stephanie McMahon and other WWE officials kicked off Connors Cure, to help bring awareness and resources to the condition that Connor struggled with.
As shown here by Dana Warrior, many of these Connors Cure bracelets have been sold, with proceeds going directly to the charity.
#5 Fade to black...
NXT fans have been fortunate lately, with the most recent signings of some of the industry's top talent from all over the world, including Aleister Black. UK fans recognised Black from his time as “Tommy End,” one of the premier stars from the region.
Since arriving in NXT, Aleister Black has adapted flawlessly and appears to be extremely comfortable in the WWE/NXT ring. It’ll be interesting to see just how long Black lasts in Orlando before his talents are requested on the main roster.
#4 Let it GLOW!
It's hard to believe that this current, two-time Smackdown Women's Champion was once nothing more than a dancing mascot for Brodus Clay. Thankfully someone had a creative epiphany one day and decided to give this breakout star a chance.
Naomi has been one of the most improved and dynamic women's performers in recent memory. Her new Glow gimmick has caught on well with the WWE Universe and she is currently riding a nice wave of success on Team Blue.
#3 Broken Balor Club
Matt Hardy was spot-on with the headline for this Instagram post – “Absorb the adoration.” This is really an amazing work of flawless photography and it shows how the WWE photographers are perfect when it comes to positioning and being in the right place at the right time, in order to catch incredible shots such as this one.
Fans were blown away when the Hardy Boyz returned at Wrestlemania and captured the WWE RAW Tag Team Titles.
Matt and Jeff Hardy have been going at full speed for the entire duration of their amazing careers. It was only right that they came back to the WWE to finish their run. The Hardy Boyz are arguably one of the top 2 or 3 tag teams of all-time and an absolute lock for a future WWE Hall of Fame nod.
#2 Punjabi family pride
WWE Champion Jinder Mahal has made the entire Indian wrestling fanbase proud with his recent success, but no one is as proud of his accolades than his family. Jinder recently posted this photo of him with his grandmother.
Jinder went on to mention how proud he was that his family, including his beloved grandmother, has able to follow along as he continues to reign strong as the man among men and the Superstar that everyone has their eye on, simply because he has something everyone else wants... gold.
#1 Monsters lost in the moment
Erick Rowan and Luke Harper are unlike anything or anyone you have ever known. In this photo, you see the former Wyatt Family henchmen fascinated by what appears to be a balloon floating by as the two brutes prepare to rip each other limb-for-limb.
Rowan and Harper have been bitter foes ever since the collapse of The Wyatt Family. However, considering the current turmoil that Bray Wyatt has found himself in, we may very well see the Family reuniting once and for all if for nothing else, to help get the negative spotlight off of The Eater of Worlds.
