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Impact Hard To Kill Main Event Changed: Alex Shelley Unable To Appear

Michael Reichlin
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Impact Wrestling has sent in word that there’s been a change to the main event of Saturday night’s Hard to Kill pay-per-view.

The scheduled main event was supposed to be AEW World Champion Kenny Omega and Impact World Tag Team Champions The Good Brothers vs. Impact World Champion Rich Swann and the Motor City Machine Guns. Unfortunately, MCMG member Alex Shelley will be unable to appear and has been pulled from the match. His replacement will be Moose.

According to Impact, Alex Shelley contacted the company late Thursday night and informed them he will be unable to travel to Nashville, TN for the PPV. The company cited “unavoidable circumstances” as to why Alex Shelley cannot appear.

Moose commented on Twitter, “Hey Kenny Omega, I heard you put on 5 star matches…. GREAT. But the real question is have you ever met a God? You meet one tomorrow night.”

Impact executive Scott D’Amore also commented on the situation:

“When we got the news from Alex there was no question what we needed to do. Extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary measures – I personally contacted Moose and he accepted the match immediately. I know Rich Swann in particular has his issues with Moose. but this is time to put personal issues and egos aside.

“HARD TO KILL is a huge event for IMPACT Wrestling and a historic one for professional wrestling in general. IMPACT Wrestling needs to put our best foot forward. Moose fits that bill. He is a physical specimen, a five-tool athlete, and has proven himself to be a world-class professional wrestler. Kenny Omega and The Good Brothers will have their hands even more full now when they step into the ring with IMPACT World Champion Rich Swann, IMPACT Original Chris Sabin, and the TNA World Heavyweight Champion Moose.”

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Hard To Kill: Updated Card

The following is the updated lineup for Impact Wrestling’s Hard to Kill PPV:

  • Rich Swann, Chris Sabin & Moose vs. Kenny Omega & The Good Brothers
  • Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo vs.Taya Valkyrie
  • Havok & Nevaeh vs. Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz to crown Knockouts Tag Teaam Champions
  • X-Division Champion Manik vs. Chris Bey vs. Rohit Raju
  • Old School Rules: Eric Young, Deaner & Joe Doering vs. Cousin Jake, Rhino & Tommy Dreamer
  • Barbed Wire Massacre: Eddie Edwards vs. Sami Callihan
  • Special Attraction: The Karate Man vs. Ethan Page
  • Rosemary & Crazzy Steve s. Tenille Dashwood & Kaleb

Hard to Kill is available for purchase at FITE TV and on traditional pay-per-view via InDemand, DISH, DirecTV, Vubiquity, Rogers, Bell, Shaw, Sasktel.

Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame Class Of 2021 Announced

Chris Stephens
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The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame in Wichita Falls, TX, has announced its class of 2021. The museum is still open for visitors but it is by appointment only.

This year’s inductees are as follows:

  • Pioneer Division: Mad Mountain Dean & Paul Bowser
  • TV Era Division: Tiger Conway Sr. & Jose Lothario
  • Modern Era Division: Tony Atlas & Wildfire Tommy Rich
  • Women’s: Judy Martin & Juanita Coffman
  • International: Leo Burke
  • Executive: Don Owen
  • Tag Team Division: Rock ‘n Roll Express (Robert Gibson & Ricky Morton)
  • Territory Era: Skandor Akbar
  • Referee: Ronnie West

The ceremony is currently scheduled for May but things could change. The Hall of Fame posted the following message to its Facebook page:

“We were hoping to be able to make a bigger announcement at this time regarding the Induction weekend, currently scheduled for May 13, 14 & 15, 2021 in Downtown Wichita Falls but we are still working towards a resolution towards an event to keep everyone safe in this crazy time in our World!!”

Notable inductees from last year included Dory Funk, Tim Brooks, Luna Vachon, the Great Kabuki, Debbie Combs, the Bushwackers/Sheepherders, Jake Roberts, Magnum TA, Curtis Iaukea, and Karl Kox. Gory Guerrero, Owen Hart, Bobby Eaton and several others were inducted in 2019.

Rosemary Talks Relationship With Taya Valkyrie & Hard to Kill PPV

Chris Stephens
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Impact Wrestling presents Hard to Kill on Saturday night. Rosemary will team with her old Decay stablemate, Crazzy Steve, on the show. They’ll take on the team of Tenille Dashwood and her personal photographer, Kaleb Conley (aka Caleb Konley). Rosemary’s longtime ally, Taya Valkyrie, will challenge Deonna Purrazzo for the Knockouts title on the show as well.

Rosemary spoke to Women’s Wrestling Talk about the upcoming PPV and her relationship with Taya. It should be noted that when Rosemary speaks she refers to herself in the plural sense, i.e “we” instead of “I”.

“The Valkyrie and the Demon have gone to war so many times. And we know each other so well, that when we decided, we say decided, when we were commanded by the shadow to form an alliance with her, it was not difficult to do so because we already knew her so well,” Rosemary said. “And the fact that we became so dominant as a tag team, leading up into the announcement of the tag team titles, by being returned to Impact, we really knew that we had something there because we could rely on her to be where we needed her to be and vice versa.”

Rosemary On Hard to Kill & Crazzy Steve

Rosemary also spent some time talking about the upcoming Hard to Kill PPV. She suggested that she would like it if Taya won the title and then the two of them later won the tag belts.

“In the most immediate future, the most ideal, the most ideal path, the most ideal reality to manifest, would be if the Valkyrie was to win the Knockouts championship this Saturday and then down the road we were to capture the tag titles and bring all the belts into the fold,” she continued.

Rosemary also spoke about realigning with her Decay teammate, Crazzy Steve.

“We already have seen the return of our dear brother Crazzy Steve into Impact Wrestling. While we have not had too many interactions with him as of yet just know that we are talking and when the time is right when the shadow was ready for our brother crazy still too Crazzy Steve to realign with the demon assassin. That would be as you said, trouble for anyone involved.”

The full interview can be viewed in the player below:

Kevin Nash Defends WWE’s COVID-19 Protocols

Chris Stephens
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Kevin Nash recently responded to an article online that was critical of WWE’s COVID-19 protocols and policies. Nash noted that he discovered he had the virus via WWE’s testing program. The article Nash was responding to was specifically critical of WWE using Ric Flair in storylines and angles during an ongoing pandemic.

“Saw this in a Google feed. The story says the WWE doesn’t do a adequate job Covid testing. Complete bullshit. Everytime I’m involved I’ve been quarantined in a hotel room after being tested then brought to the arena. I was positive and sent directly to my home to quarantine,” Nash Tweeted.

Nash revealed he had COVID-19 this September. He was responding to a Tweet by the Rock when he announced the news. The Rock had just revealed members of his family had tested positive.

“Welcome to the team. Very sorry you’re family is infected. I was tired for a while didn’t train for the 4th day. My wife still hasn’t got smell or tastes back. Son was asymptomatic. Pray you heal up quickly. Thank you for making people realize it’s real,” Nash Tweeted.

Nash also plays the lead role in a pandemic themed movie, “COVID-19 Invasion.” A description of the film reads “Chinese bats invade America. It’s up to Navy Seal Team Six to stop them.”

Update On Ricochet’s WWE Contract Status

Chris Stephens
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Ricochet won’t be leaving WWE anytime soon. While there have been several reports online with various different information regarding his contract situation, Ricochet is locked up to WWE for several years. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Ricochet is under contract with WWE until 2024.

“Ricochet’s contract here expires in the summer of 2024. He signed a five year deal when he moved to the main roster,” wrote Dave Meltzer. The report continues to say that he signed at a time when WWE was offering good deals to keep people from going to AEW.

This is the second time in 4 months that Ricochet has shot down rumors of him leaving WWE. Back in September he posted the following:

Ricochet originally signed with WWE in 2018. Rumors surrounding his contract status began being reported earlier this week. Ricochet commented on them last night and there was an update in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter this morning.

The 32-year-old has been on the main roster since on February 18th, 2019. He is a former United States Champion, and faced Brock Lesnar in Saudi Arabia. While in NXT, he won the NXT North American Championship and the 2019 Dusty Rhodes Classic along with Aleister Black.

Sha Samuels Announces Signing To NXT UK

Anutosh Bajpai
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Indie star Sha Samuels made his on-screen in-ring debut for the NXT UK brand during this week’s episode of their weekly show on WWE Network.

The heavyweight star was built as Ed Harvey and he competed in a match against Joe Coffey. Unfortunately for the new NXT star, Coffey emerged victorious in this bout.

One interesting thing that happened during the match was that Samuels grabbed the mic mid-match. He announced that he wasn’t Ed Harvey and everyone knows his real name Sha Samuels.

After the match, the new WWE star took on his Twitter and announced that he has officially signed a contract with the company after a long journey full of ups and downs:

https://twitter.com/NXTUK/status/1349810314137763841?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1349810314137763841%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.postwrestling.com%2F2021%2F01%2F14%2Fsha-samuels-officially-signs-with-wwe%2F

This is not the first WWE match for Samuels and he previously wrestled in a dark match for the company during the NXT UK taping in 2019 at Plymouth.

Prior to his signing with the company, Sha Samuels has wrestled for many top indie promotions including companies such as wXw, RevPro, OTT and ICW.

He is not the only star to have joined the brand in recent times and WWE has signed names such as Ben Carter and Rampage Brown in the past few months.

Chavo Guerrero On Why He Hasn’t Returned To WWE: “You Have To Give Up Your Life”

Anutosh Bajpai
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Chavo Guerrero had a decade long run with WWE from 2001 to 2011 but the former champion hasn’t made any appearances for the company since then and a lot of people wonder why he hasn’t made a comeback.

The former Lucha Underground star recently had an interview with Rick Bassman’s ‘Talking Tough’ show where he spoke about a number of things and also explained why he hasn’t returned to WWE.

Guerrero explained that he is doing a lot of different things such as running his own cigar and beer company which he would have to give up for a WWE return:

“I would have to give up too much to sit there and go back to WWE full-time. WWE takes — you have to give up what you’re doing in your life to do that,

And I have so many other things going on with Hollywood and my own ventures, my own cigar company, my own beer company, my podcast so it’s hard. I think it’d be hard for me to give up everything like that.”

Though later in the interview, Chavo Guerrero claimed that he doesn’t have any hard feelings and suggested that he would be open for a return for the right amount of money:

“It’s all about making money. If we can make money and Vince [McMahon] thinks like, ‘Hey Chavo, let’s bring you back in,’ make him money, make me money then it works out. If it doesn’t then it doesn’t. There’s no hard feelings.”

Chavo Guerrero had a successful career in WWE and he won over a half a dozen titles in the company but the former WWE star left the promotion in 2011 after requesting his release.

Candice Michelle On Unique Clause In Her WWE Contract

Anutosh Bajpai
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WWE is usually known for controlling the careers of superstars signed with the company in and outside of the wrestling world as well but it appears Candice Michelle was an exception to this rule.

The former WWE star recently had an interview with WrestlingInc where she talked about things like being considered an eye candy and more.

During the interview, Michelle talked about being featured in the ad for domain provider GoDaddy which got her a lot of attention and she revealed a unique clause in her contract that allowed her to keep control over certain things:

“So I had a clause in my contract which allowed me to do that. Because I was coming from Hollywood, I just had a different type of contract from the average wrestler who comes from the indie scene or comes from the wrestling school.

My website was off-limits and certain things on there were off limits that they weren’t allowed to take away from me or have control over,” said Candice Michelle, “and GoDaddy just happened to be one of those.”

The female star also recalled having heat in the locker room due to not having an indie background and her lack of experience in the pro wrestling industry.

Apart from this, Candice Michelle opened up about her infamous romantic angle with Vince McMahon. You can check out her comments on the matter at this link.

AJ Styles Wants To Face Triple H At WrestleMania 37

Anutosh Bajpai
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AJ Styles faced The Undertaker in a highly praised boneyard match at last year’s edition of WrestleMania and he wants to face another legend at this year’s edition of the show.

The former WWE Champion recently spoke to WWE Now India and answered fan questions such as the origin of the Styles Clash and more.

During the interview, the former champion was asked which star he wants to face next at WrestleMania after his match with The Dead Man and Styles took the name of Triple H:

“Triple H is definitely the next guy I’d like to face at some point if it could happen, maybe not. But it was an absolute pleasure to be in the ring, or not necessarily the ring, the Boneyard with the Undertaker.”

This is not the first time AJ Styles has expressed interest in a match with the King Of Kings and the Phenomenal One has previously listed him alongside people like Edge and Drew McIntyre as potential opponents.

Triple H also made a brief return to the ring earlier this week during Monday’s episode of Raw and the Evolution member seemed to be in pretty good shape.

With the probability of the Undertaker not competing at WrestleMania this year being high, it’s very much possible that Triple H could be brought in as a special attraction. It would be interesting to see if all this talk leads to an actual match between him and AJ Styles.

Ricochet Responds To Reports Of Him Leaving WWE Soon

Anutosh Bajpai
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WWE star Ricochet has responded to the reports about his contractual status with the company and denied the rumors about his future.

The high flying star took on his Twitter yesterday and replying to a report of him possibly leaving the company soon, he claimed that the news is fake:

For those who don’t know, it was first reported back in September that a top WWE star has decided not to re-sign with the promotion and leave the company when his contract expires.

It was then revealed recently that Ricochet’s current deal with the company is expiring soon and the One and Only has not signed a new deal with the promotion.

The former NXT star apparently signed a three year deal with WWE back in 2018 which means that his current contract will be expiring sometimes this year.

While Ricochet has claimed the news to be fake, we have seen a trend of stars denying reports about their comeback or departure from the company recently which have eventually come true.

So while the Raw star is claiming that the reports are not accurate, it’s very much possible that he is working the fans until he gets free of his WWE deal.

Stone Cold Steve Austin Joining The Third Season Of Dark Side Of The Ring

Anutosh Bajpai
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Stone Cold Steve Austin will be joining the third season of the Dark Side Of The Ring documentary series.

The former WWE star recently appeared on Won’t Stick to Sports talk show where the Texas Rattle Snake talked about the upcoming second season of Straight Up Steve Austin.

Interestingly during the interview, host Jemele Hill mentioned that the former world champion will be joining the first episode of Dark Side Of The Ring season three, to talk about the death of Brian Pillman:

“Other than our show, my favorite show on Vice is Dark Side of the Ring, which is a docu-series about pro wrestling, you’re actually on season three to talk about the life and unfortunate death of your friend Brian Pillman,”

The news has since been confirmed by both the official Twitter account of the documentary series and Steve Austin himself as well:

Brian Pillman began his wrestling career in the late 80s and he wrestled for many famous promotions such as NWA, WCW, ECW and WWE as well.

The American star crossed paths with Steve Austin in both WWE and WCW. In WCW, Pillman teamed up with Austin in a team called Hollywood Blonds.

The two then had a feud in WWE and fans remember this rivalry for a controversial promo filmed in the late star’s home where he pulled a gun on Stone Cold Steve Austin before the cameras went black.

Brian Pillman unfortunately passed away due to a heart attack in October 1997. The 35 year old star was found dead in his motel room in Bloomington, Minnesota.

AEW Tops NXT Ratings (1/13), Trump Impeachment Coverage Dominates

Michael Reichlin
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TV ratings are in for Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite and NXT TV. Dynamite scored a decisive win over NXT with New Year’s Smash (Night 2). Here’s the breakdown, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:

  • AEW: 762,000 viewers, 0.30 Rating (A18-49), 31st on cable
  • NXT: 551,000 viewers, 0.14 Rating (A18-49), 70th on cable

Both shows were impacted by coverage of US President Donald Trumps’ second impeachment, which dominated the list of Top 30 shows on cable for the evening. Unfortunately, NXT was hit much harder by this competition.

AEW viewership was up around 15% from last week (+20% in the key demo), while NXT viewership fell around 14% (-12% in the key demo). This was the lowest total audience for NXT since March 2020.

You can check out recaps from both shows here:

Charlotte Flair Blasts Article Calling Her An “Intolerable” Corporate Champion

Michael Reichlin
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Charlotte Flair is fed up with ignorant fans and publications questioning her worthiness to be featured in main events.

Earlier this week, the Daily DDT blog ran an article titled, “Does Charlotte Flair Deserve the Hate She Gets?” Writer Max Everett had some mixed things to say about the 12-time Women’s Champion. He acknowledged she is very talented, but also labeled her an ‘intolerable’ corporate champion who gets priority treatment at the expense of others who ‘legitimately’ earned their spots.

“Charlotte Flair is the latest corporate champion to be selected by Vince and the selected face of the women’s roster… What makes Flair so intolerable to many is how she lingers at the top and threatens to demean and squash any worker that has legitimately made their way up the mountain.”

Charlotte Flair: “I Will Always Be In The Title Picture”

Charlotte Flair replied to the article on Twitter and did not hold back. She took issue with the author ‘garbage’ take.

“I should just scroll block this garbage, but words matter, so I will take a few moments to educate you since both a human and I would assume an editor allowed this bullshit to sully Al Gore’s internet.”

Charlotte Flair responded to criticism that WWE thrusts her back into the title picture whenever she takes time off. She defended her occasional breaks and pointed out the double standard as it relates to her male counterparts.

“I have taken time off three times while on the main roster. First time was when my dad was sick. Second time was a 6 week injury that was followed up by 18 months of staring at lights to help create a star. 3rd time is now. What exactly is it that I’m avoiding? I keep looking for the article where you trash one of the male champions for taking time off and being inserted back into the title picture. Didn’t find one. Shocking. Wonder why.”

She then laid out clearly why she always winds up in the title picture. “I am in the title picture, and I will always be in the title picture. It’s one of those unfortunate side effects of excelling at something; you wouldn’t understand.”

Charlotte Flair

Bully Ray & Ric Flair Defend Charlotte

Former WWE Superstar Bully Ray recently defended Charlotte Flair on Busted Open. Bully calls her one of the greatest women’s wrestlers of all time. Unfortunately, says some ‘foolish and ignorant’ fans can’t appreciate that. “She’s possibly in the top three females of all time,” said Bully. “It’s not even up for debate. That’s a cold hard fact. And to sit there on social media and to talk crap about Charlotte? ‘Oh, she’s only in that spot because her father.’ I mean, how old is that one? Because OF COURSE if she didn’t have the last name Flair? She wouldn’t be as athletic as she is, she wouldn’t look as good as she does. She wouldn’t have the gear that she does…just stop it already!”

Charlotte’s father Ric Flair also recently sang her praises. Of course he may be a bit biased, but if anybody knows what it takes to make a successful pro wrestler, it’s Ric Flair. He told CBS Sports, “She’s the best woman on the roster, but she’s the best woman of all time. I’ve been in the business 49 years. Give me an example of who you think is better. You can’t.”

Charlotte Flair’s track record of success speaks for itself. Pay per view main events, singles matches, tag team matches, Royal Rumbles, she does it all. She is a 5-time SmackDown Women’s Champion, a 4-time RAW Women’s Champion, held the NXT Women’s Championship twice and was the final WWE Divas Champion. She’s one half of the reigning WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions and won last year’s Women’s Royal Rumble.

Don Callis Talks Wanting To Run The Wrestling Business

Chris Stephens
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Impact Wrestling co-Vice President and Kenny Omega’s manager, Don Callis, was recently interviewed by Chris Van Vliet. During the discussion, Callis teased that there is more to come in his angle with Kenny Omega and the Good Brothers.

“Kenny and I have a lot of plans and what people are seeing from a national television perspective is just the fruition of those things,” Callis said. “We take great pride in the fact that when people think they have seen the apex of it, we try to do something different, take it to the next level.”

Callis talked about how he cut a promo in WWF as a complete unknown and called out Vince McMahon. What he said in the promo, Callis said, was indicative of what he wants from the wrestling business.

“I called out Vince McMahon. I said that I wanted to run the World Wrestling Federation, I wanted to run the wrestling business,” Callis said. “But it was true. I never had any interest in being a pro-wrestling manager, or being a color commentator, I wanted to be the person pulling the strings. I was 29-years-old when I said that.”

Don Callis On Being Offered A Job On WWE Creative

Callis continued to say the timing wasn’t right for him to run the wrestling business, however. WWE did offer him jobs working in creative but he turned them down.

“I wrote 6 weeks of television for Kurrgan to get him to try to get him to a different level and I wrote it out in a week-by-week format,” Callis continued. “That would be fairly common now, in 1997, it was pretty unheard of.”

Callis said that after doing so, he was offered a spot in WWE creative but turned it down. He ended up getting released from the company in 1999. The belief is he was fired by Bruce Prichard for “getting over at the talent’s expense.”

Callis then went to ECW and performed as Cyrus the Virus. During his interview with Chris Van Vliet, Callis referred to Paul Heyman as one of the most influential people in his career.

Don Callis On Comparisons To Paul Heyman

“There’s probably been 3, I’d say,” Callis said when asked about the most influential person in his career. “Kenny’s uncle the Golden Sheik, for sure. Bad News Allen (aka Bad News Brown) who kind of took on my training after the Sheik moved on. And then Paul Heyman in ECW.”

Callis then explained the key difference between what he does and what Paul Heyman does, however.

“I’ve been happy for Paul that he’s had the success that he’s had cause he’s a very talented and hard-working guy. Did a lot for me. There have been people now that have been comparing us. I think it’s an unfair comparison for Paul. Cause Paul is a tremendous wrestling performer, a character on a wrestling show. He does a wonderful job of that. I’m not a character. I am the essence of who I am and what I do is done at a much higher level than what characters like Paul, with all due respect, can do.”

The full interview with Don Callis can be heard in the player below:

The Story Behind WWE Missing The Chance To Sign Big Show Before He Joined WCW

Jake Skudder
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Former WWE referee Mike Chioda recently appeared on an AdFreeShows Patreon exclusive interview. The special episode of the Monday Mailbag would see Chioda tell an unbelievable story regarding The Big Show, Pat Patterson and Vince McMahon from the 90s.

“We’re in North Carolina” Chioda began on the show. “We’re at the show, and of course Vince [McMahon] and Pat [Patterson] would always watch the monitors. They would watch what WCW was doing, and it’d be in Vince’s office. I’d say three to six months prior to this show in North Carolina? We’re doing Monday Night Raw and I’d met Big Show, before he was a wrestler. And I was in a nightclub in Philadelphia, I lived in South Jersey, and I was in a nightclub in Delaware Ave, in Philadelphia.”

“Well, who comes up to me? Big Show” Chioda continued. “He comes up to me and I turn around. This guy is huge! I’m like ‘holy sh*t, my god this is another Andre [The Giant].’ So, I talked to Big Show for a while at that club, and he knew who I was and everything, that’s why he came up to me. I mean his hands are huge, he’s got great hair, he’s in great shape, AND he’s huge. So I get his name and his number.

screenshot 214

Big Show as The Giant

“I’m at TVs one day and I said, ‘Pat, you’ve gotta check this guy out, he’s another Andre The Giant, unbelievable great shape. Huge, long hair, hands just like Andre! I’m like flipping out with Pat, you know? I’m telling them, ‘you got to call this guy!'”

Chioda would then reveal the funniest part of the story. “So a couple months goes by and that’s when I’m walking past Vince’s office in North Carolina. And all of a sudden? I see Big Show, which then he was Paul Wright, I saw him in WCW on the monitor. Vince and Pat had their eyes on his monitor like ‘holy sh*t who is this guy!?'”

“So I walked by, and I’d seen him on the monitor. I go ‘hey Pat, what happened to that guy? He didn’t work out? Or he didn’t want to come over here?’ Vince looks at me, looks at Pat. Pat goes ‘what do you mean?’ I said ‘I gave you that guy’s phone number a couple months ago, Pat. I told you I met him in Philadelphia nightclub. He was a bouncer.’

Then Vince McMahon lost it. “Vince went, ‘What the f*ck Pat!’ Vince goes ‘Mike, you mean this guy!?’ and I went ‘yes that guy.’ I get out of there because Vince says ‘excuse me, Mike,’ and he slams the door!”

“Only five minutes later Pat comes and chases me down. He said ‘Mike what the f*ck! What the f*ck? You gave me HIS number? That was him!? I said yes, that was him. ‘I thought you were talking about El Gigante! we had already signed him!'”

So Big Show could’ve been in WWE before he went to WCW.

Eric Bischoff On Trying To Purchase WCW In 2001

Chris Stephens
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WCW was sold to Vince McMahon at a reduced price in 2001. The transaction ended the Monday Night Wars. Eric Bischoff had been attempting to purchase the company in the days leading up to the sale to Vince McMahon, however.

He spoke about this recently on an episode of his 83 Weeks podcast. Bischoff mentioned that he knew he had his detractors in the company in 2001 but was excited to rebuild WCW.

“It was certainly exciting, no question about that,” Bischoff said. He’d continue to talk about the detractors he had in the company at the time.

“Many of the people that were such a big part of WCW while we were growing the brand and had so much success were still there, but there were also a number of people there that I knew were not fans of me. There were people that I wasn’t necessarily that thrilled with even while I was there. I knew going back under the circumstances it was going to be real challenging.”

Bischoff also mentioned that he would have put more emphasis on the cruiserweight division in 2001 if he had taken ownership of WCW.

“I knew that the cruiserweight division was something that was going to have to come back. In a way, that it represented some of the best cruiserweight action that we saw when we brought that division to professional wrestling on a consistent basis. Not just calling someone a cruiserweight, like the X-division.”

“It was definitely one of the things that I wanted to go back to in a big way,” he continued.

He specifically mentioned Shane Helms (aka Hurricane Helms) as someone who would play a large role in the division.

“Shane Helms, for example, was one of the early ideas that we had of really reaching out to a much younger performer, somebody that brought a different style and obviously a different demo to the party.”

Eric Bischoff also recently spoke about WWE’s NWO angle in 2002 on his podcast. He feels Vince McMahon’s involvement in the angle made little sense.

Bischoff’s comments can be heard in the player below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMH50visgvw

Eddie Kingston Talks Emotional Speech Following Brodie Lee Tribute

Jake Skudder
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AEW‘s Eddie Kingston recently appeared on Renee Paquette’s Oral Sessions podcast. The ‘Mad King’ would discuss a number of topics on the show, including his current relationship, appearing overseas and tribute to his long-time friend Brodie Lee.

Eddie Kingston made a speech following the Brodie Lee Tribute episode of AEW Dynamite. It wasn’t something that Kingston planned; but he felt he had to say something to the other talent about the emotion of the show. He also stated how as a further tribute to Brodie? They should bring that to the forefront every single week.

The speech was filmed and released by AEW. It would end up going viral amongst wrestling fans.

Eddie Kingston on Tribute Speech

“Homicide busted my balls about it” Eddie Kingston began on the podcast. “‘I see you’re the locker room leader now!’ I’m like, ‘leave me alone.’ He’ll randomly send me like a picture of something saying ‘boss’ on it or something, I’m like ‘oh come on.'”

“I just had this overwhelming feeling of energy after the show was over” Kingston then continued. “And I was kind of like, I feel like I need people to understand why I’m getting this energy. I just started…just yelling because I was like, ‘why can’t we do this every week? Why does it take one of our fallen brothers to pass away for us to be this emotional in the ring? Bring it out to the people so that people can feel us?’ You know?”

Eddie Kingston then described how everyone would quieten down and then his speech started to get filmed. “And then? I’m going on and on and I’m like ‘oh man this is really embarrassing, people are looking at me. What the fuck is going on!?’ And then I see the camera and you can actually see me, see the camera! I Look at it and I go ‘okay! We got to carry it! Then I run away as fast as I can, because it’s not about that. And I get why they (AEW) put it up [online] and that’s cool.”

Did you see the speech from Eddie Kingston? Let us know in the comments

Update On Chris Jericho Testing Positive For COVID-19 In September

Chris Stephens
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Chris Jericho revealed on an episode of Talk is Jericho recently that he tested positive for COVID-19 back in September. Jericho said he was asymptomatic and was actually surprised that he tested positive. More information on this was revealed recently on Wrestling Observer Radio.

“He believes that he got it from a family friend, is what I understand,” said Dave Meltzer regarding Jericho. “Had no symptoms. Nobody in the family had any symptoms but the friend tested positive so he went and checked and tested positive.”

“(He) quarantined, did not feel bad. At the next TV, he passed the test and worked the next TV after the quarantine was over.”

There have been some fans wondering if Jericho’s positive COVID test is related to cases that Lance Archer and Nick Jackson had around the same time. In the case of Lance Archer, however, it’s believed he got it from a friend.

“It was from a family member who may have gotten it from a friend when they were taking the dog to the vet, I think is the story,” Meltzer said about Archer.

Nick Jackson doesn’t know how he got the virus.

“Nick Jackson doesn’t know how he got it. He doesn’t know if he got it from a taping, he doesn’t know if he got it from the airport but when he got home from the taping, he was sick right away,” Meltzer continued. “He was traveling with Matt and he was traveling with Brandon Cutler and they were fine.”

Jay White Update: Tony Schiavone Throws Cold Water On Him Joining AEW

Michael Reichlin
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We have an update on Jay White’s status, courtesy of AEW broadcaster Tony Schiavone.

Switchblade has been in the news as of late. He recently competed at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 15. He challenged Kota Ibushi for the IWGP World & Intercontinental Championships, but came up short. A despondent Jay White announced after the event that he was leaving New Japan Pro Wrestling. He bemoaned, “I will never be appreciated like I should be” before stating that it might be time to take his talents elsewhere. “I am not going to do this anymore.. maybe my time would be better spent some place else.”

It has been rumored that Jay White’s contract with New Japan is expiring soon. If this was the case, he could test the waters by negotiating with other promotions.

During Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite post-show, Tony Schiavone was asked about the possibility of AEW signing Jay White. Schiavone revealed this is unlikely. He thinks Jay White is committed to NJPW longterm.

“I don’t think so,” Schiavone responded to a fan question. “I think he’s pretty much locked into what he’s doing there.”

Dave Meltzer on recently stated on Wrestling Observer Radio that AEW was interested in signing Jay White when the company launched in 2018. White reportedly told AEW executives that he had several years left on his NJPW contract.

For what it’s worth, Jay White’s profile has been pulled from the NJPW Website.

At only 28 years old, Jay White is one of the top pro wrestlers in the world. He would certainly be a top free agent, if he did leave New Japan. For now, it appears he is staying put for the foreseeable future.

MLW Fusion Results (1/13): Los Parks Win Tag Titles, Mil Muertes Debuts

Chris Stephens
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Salina de la Renta served as executive producer for this week’s edition of MLW Fusion. She booked the Von Erichs in a title match and stacked the decks in favor of the challenging Los Parks team. Salina also introduced former Lucha Underground Champion Mil Muertes to the league.

You can watch the full episode in the player below:

MLW Fusion 1/13 Quick Results

  1. Low-Ki defeated Budd Heavy via referee stoppage
  2. Mil Muertes defeated Brian Pillman Jr.
  3. MLW World Tag Team Championships
    Los Parks defeated The Von Erichs (c) – New Champions

Here are 7 key takeaways from MLW Fusion 1/13:

Low-Ki Makes Short Work of Budd Heavy

https://twitter.com/MLW/status/1349617998630449153

Low-Ki needed just 8 seconds to defeat Budd Heavy this week. The bell rang, Low-Ki charged at his opponent and drilled him in the face. Budd Heavy went down and Budd Heavy never got back up again. The ref called for the bell. After the match, Low-Ki had a few words for American Top Team to the camera. King Mo and Dan Lambert have been saying that Low-Ki shouldn’t even be cleared to compete but the former MLW World Champion seems to be gunning for revenge on team.

Konnan Is Missing & There Is Concern For His Well-Being

https://twitter.com/MLW/status/1349509785692073984

It was noted this week on commentary that nobody has heard from Konnan in days. Salina de la Renta has been promising to get revenge on Konnan for weeks after he revealed that Salina aided Contra Unit in the coup attempt at the MLW head offices this spring. She ordered a video tape be played of her in San Diego delivering a message to Konnan. In the video, Salina seems to imply that Konnan is no longer alive, perhaps having come face to face with the “Man of 1000 Deaths” Mil Muertes. Salina implied that Konnan’s only legacy left to wrestling will be that he was the one who forced her to summon Muertes and bring him into MLW.

Mil Muertes Destroys Brian Pillman Jr.

https://twitter.com/MLW/status/1349649960241930240

Brian Pillman Jr. pulled off a “Rick Rude” last night. He was on both MLW Fusion and AEW Dynamite. He ran into stiff competition on both shows, however. There was nothing Pillman could do against Muertes here. All of his chops and strikes failed to register on Salina’s new monster. Muertes fired back with chops and strikes of his own, several clotheslines, a power slam, and finally his Straight To Hell (flat-liner) finish for the win. Muertes, under the control of Salina, could run complete rough shot over the entire league.

MLW Strikes Up Deal With IWA Puerto Rico, Richard Holliday Comments

MLW has partnerships with promotions in many of wrestling’s top hot spots, like Japan and Mexico. They’ve now added IWA Puerto Rico to the mix. The league announced the alliance this week on Fusion.

Puerto Rican wrestling icon, Savio Vega, had his Caribbean Championship stolen by Richard Holliday before the shutdown. Holliday said this week that he’s upset that neither MLW nor IWA give him the proper recognition of being the Caribbean Champion. He invited the actual champion to face him in the ring.

MLW Top-10

The MLW top-10 rankings brought to you by Pro Wrestling Illustrated were announced on this week’s show. They are as follows:

MLW World Champion: Jacob Fatu (Contra Unit)

  1. Alexander Hammerstone (National Openweight Champion) (Dynasty)
  2. Tom Lawlor (Opera Cup Winner)
  3. Low-Ki
  4. LA Park (Promociones Dorado)
  5. Lio Rush
  6. Richard Holliday (Dynasty)
  7. Mads Krugger (Contra Unit)
  8. Myron Reed (Injustice)
  9. ACH
  10. Laredo Kid

 Promociones Dorado Sold?

https://twitter.com/MLW/status/1349585786514120704

Salina de la Renta was having a great time all night long as she produced this week’s episode. Then before the main event, Rich Bocchini informed her that he just heard Promociones Dorado had been sold. Salina tried to no-sell this but the confusion and anger was evident on her face. She stormed off the set.

It was later revealed that Salina’s organization has been sold to Azteca Underground Inc. An update on MLW.com reads as follows:

“MLW.com can confirm Promociones Dorado is now a subsidiary of Azteca Underground, Inc., a California based company. However, details remain unclear beyond this.” 

Los Parks Win MLW World Tag Team Championships From The Von Erichs

https://twitter.com/MLW/status/1349518623396782080

Salina de la Renta could not have stacked the deck any more in favor of Los Parks in this match. Longtime Von Erich rival, Tom Lawlor, was chosen as the special guest referee and he made no secret of the fact he was trying to help Los Parks win. There were numerous incidents of him trying to fast count the Von Erichs and delivering slow counts whenever one of the brothers would try to pin a Park.

It looked like the Von Erichs had the match won after an Iron Claw Slam but Salina came in the ring and sprayed mace in the eye of Ross. As Marshall was checking on him, LA Park speared him out of the ring. LA Park Jr. then came up from under the ring and joined his father and brother in attacking the Von Erichs. This allowed LA Park to hit a spear on Ross as well. Lawlor, who had tumbled out of the ring, finally got back inside and delivered a fast count on Ross and awarded the victory and the titles to Los Parks.

The Good Brothers On Losing Their Confidence In WWE

Anutosh Bajpai
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A lot of former WWE stars have said that their run with the company resulted in a loss of passion and confidence for them and The Good Brothers shared their similar experiences recently.

The team of Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows were recently interviewed by Sports Illustrated where they opened up about their time with the company and more.

During the interview, Anderson said that he hates to admit the fact that there was a point in WWE when they had lost their confidence:

“I hate to admit this, but I think there was a point in WWE where we had a loss of confidence, but I can promise you that the confidence is back.

We needed to get out of that environment to remind ourselves who we really are and what we can be. Right now, we’re on top of our game. It feels that way to us, and hopefully, it shows.”

Though later in the interview, Doc Gallows said that the Good Brothers don’t have any sour grapes about their time with the company before joking about not getting Slammy Awards for their participation in the Boneyard match:

“We don’t have any sour grapes about WWE, except that they forgot to mail us our Slammy Award for Match of the Year, maybe the mail is slow. I’m still waiting on that. But we’re focused on right now.”

Apart from this, the Good Brothers also discussed their reunion with the Elite on last week’s episode of AEW Dynamite and said that it felt good to do it in front of a live crowd. You can check out their full interview at this link.

Kurt Angle Says His TNA Career Was Better Than WWE Stint

Anutosh Bajpai
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Kurt Angle started his professional wrestling career in WWE in 1998 and the Olympic Gold Medallist achieved a lot of success in the company including half a dozen world title reigns.

However his WWE run came to an abrupt end in 2006 when the former champion asked for his release from the promotion due to health reasons.

After quitting WWE, Angle joined TNA and during his recent appearance on Wrestling Perspective podcast, Kurt claimed that his TNA career was better than his run with WWE:

“I actually had a better career there,” said Angle. “I hate to admit it because WWE was the big company, but I got better. I was only in the business six and a half years when I switched to TNA, and that was the prime of my career.

I mean, my matches with Samoa Joe, Sting, AJ Styles, Bobby Roode, all those guys, and I had a really great career there, “said Kurt Angle, “As much as I love WWE, that was so much better.”

The former Raw General Manager went on to say that there is a part of him that wishes that he would have stayed in WWE during those years because there were more eyes on WWE’s product.

Would you put Kurt Angle’s TNA run above his stint with WWE? Do let us know your thoughts on the claims made by the former world champion.

Tony Schiavone Confirms Erick Rowan’s AEW Status

Anutosh Bajpai
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Tony Schiavone confirmed on the latest Dynamite post show that former WWE star Erick Rowan is not part of the AEW roster just yet.

The AEW commentator was asked if fans can expect to see the former Wyatt Family member in action again.

Replying to it, Schiavone said that his appearance was only for the tribute show though he did not rule out the possibility of Rowan returning to the company in future:

“I believe Erick’s appearance only came on that tribute show to his former tag team partner. Then again, I say that but who knows? He might show up tomorrow,”

Erick Rowan made a surprise appearance during the Brodie Lee Celebration Of Life episode of Dynamite to pay tribute to his former tag team partner.

The former WWE star was released from his contract in April earlier last year as part of the company’s coronavirus budget cuts alongside several other stars.

Many of the released stars such as Miro and The Good Brothers have since signed new contracts with different promotions but Erick Rowan remains a free agent.

Now it would be interesting to see if the indie star makes any more appearances for AEW in future and which company he eventually joins as a full time star.

Update: Sonny Kiss Is Not Injured

Anutosh Bajpai
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AEW star Sonny Kiss has clarified a report that he is currently out of action due to injury.

The story about a potential injury began circulating late Wednesday night. During the AEW Dynamite post-show, Tony Schiavone was asked by a fan about Sonny Kiss’ whereabouts. Schiavone replied, “He’s been injured; I’ve seen him in the training room. So he’s been banged up. I’ve seen him in the gym but he’s just not able to perform. He is a tremendous athlete.”

On Thursday afternoon, Sonny Kiss set the record straight on social media:

Sonny Kiss signed an AEW contract back in February 2019. He made his debut at the company’s inaugural Double or Nothing PPV in May and has been a part of the AEW roster ever since.

Kiss last competed during the December 22 episode of AEW Dark where he was defeated by Miro. His last Dynamite appearance came on October 21 when he competed in a match against Kenny Omega.

AJ Styles Talks About Competing For WCW In 2001

Anutosh Bajpai
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AJ Styles wrestled for many well known promotions across the globe before eventually signing with WWE in 2016 and the list includes a forgotten run with WCW as well.

The former WWE Champion was paired with Air Paris in a team called Air Raid and the two had one match for the promotion as part of WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Championship tournament right before the company folded.

During his recent appearance on WWE’s The Bump, Styles opened up about his experience of competing in the promotion and revealed that he actually had a contract with the company:

“I knew I had a contract. So, I knew I was going to be coming back for a few more matches, Now, I didn’t know that WCW was going to go out of business. That sucked for me. But, it is what it is, and it happened for a reason.

I wasn’t ready to be in WCW. And I’m sure as heck was not ready to be in WWE.” said AJ Styles, “So, I’m glad things happened the way they did. I’m happy for the experience, but the timing wasn’t right.”

Later in the interview, the former TNA star also talked about his WWE debut and how the company had hidden him before Royal Rumble in order to try and stop the leaks about his debut.

WWE will be releasing a new episode of the WWE Untold featuring the story of AJ Styles’ Royal Rumble debut on WWE Network this Sunday at 9 AM EST.

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