Kalisto found out over the weekend that things don’t always go as planned a wrestling match.
Footage of Kalisto accidentally being unmasked at a recent WWE house show has surfaced on various social media platforms.
WWE held a live event on late last month in Anaheim, CA at the Honda Center that saw Kalisto challenge Cedric Alexander for the Cruiserweight Title.
The current champion accidentally ripped off Kalisto’s mask. This is when the 205 Live star was forced to hide his face in the corner while the referee picked up the mask from the center of the ring and hand it over to him.
Thus, Kalisto would then roll out of the ring to put his mask back on to continue the contest that would later see Alexander come out on top and retain his title.
Following the match, Alexander raised Kaito’s hand as a way of showing him some respect.
Bruce Prichard and Conrad Thompson decided to dedicate an episode of their podcast to King of the Ring 1998. On the 20-year anniversary of the event, Prichard revealed an emotional backstage story which took place during the event.
Prichard also revealed that contrary to popular belief, the second big bump taken by Mick Foley was planned. “I knew the two big bumps and I knew the finish but I didn’t know what they were gonna do immediately after the bump into the ring. I’m screaming backstage for Pat Patterson,” Prichard said.
“I’m going f–king nuts and I’m angry at this point because Pat’s the agent for the match and he’s not there at Gorilla to talk me through the thing. And Jerry Briscoe comes to me and sits down and says, ‘what do you want?’ I said, ‘I’ve gotta know what the hell what we’re doing here, what was planned here, what can we cut out? What can we do? What’s going on? Where the f–k is Pat?'”
Unfortunately, the reason Pat Patterson was absent was his long-time partner had died.
“Jerry just looks at me and says, ‘he got a call about Louis.’ Louis was Pat’s partner for many many years, 35 plus years. It shut me down I looked at him and said, ‘oh my god, is Louis okay?’ Jerry just looks at me and said, ‘he’s dead.'”
Prichard continues to say the events had an impact on him. “I’m screaming like an asshole and a lunatic for Pat not knowing what had happened,” he continued.
“I think Jerry knew I don’t even know if Vince [McMahon] knew at that point. Just that calm comes over ya and it’s a surreal feeling because all this other s–t that you think is so important becomes really unimportant.”
Kofi Kingston thought WWE would cancel the New Day vs the Elite gaming battle at E3. The member of New Day recently spoke to the Unsanctioned Podcast about his experience at the event.
Kingston mentioned he is a big Kenny Omega fan. “To see where [Omega’s] career has gone, and to see him just rise over there in Japan has been awesome to watch,” Kofi said. “So I always regretted not being able to have personal interaction with him, so for me, it was kind of a dream come true.”
Kofi Kingston on WWE Promoting E3 Battle With Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks
Many were surprised when WWE got behind the event, even mentioning the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega on WWE.com.
“It was just great, man. And the Young Bucks are just so cool. It was just an instant vibe, just instant chemistry,” Kingston said. “We were all on the same page and just went out there. And honestly, the vibe in general like leading up to it was like, okay, this is probably going to get canceled because there’s no way that Vince knows this is happening. When was the last time you saw WWE doing anything inter-promotional? Granted it was on the video game stage, but still. Ever since we came out, there was talk of The Elite versus The New Day, all this talk on the internet, on social media. We get those comments every single day. And hopefully, this was like the first step to open up some doors to do more things in the future. We’ll keep our fingers crossed.”
WWE has shown more openness to working with different promotions as of late. The company recently reached a deal with Pro Wrestling NOAH to allow Hideo Itami to appear on an event for the promotion as well.
AJ Styles isn’t afraid of shutting someone down on Twitter. He did so just recently to a fan who bashed WWE’s potential signing of Bullet Club members.
AJ Styles, Luke Gallows, and Karl Anderson were in Tokyo recently as part of the Smackdown brand’s live events this weekend. WWE posted the following Tweet in reference to the Club’s Japanese roots.
“I know you’re not implying you’d like to see them all in the WWE,” the fan Tweeted. “Seriously? So they could be ruined and tarnished and have WWE’s corporate stench on them? They’re perfectly fine changing the wrestling world in NJPW, ROH and ALL_IN.”
The fan who AJ ultimately shut down is of the belief if the Bucks and Omega went to WWE, it would not be as entertaining as what they are doing now is. In the fan’s defense, this is a popularly held belief.
Styles saw the Tweet and addressed it directly.
This is what you and some seem to forget….THIS IS A BUSINESS. We have bills and a family to take care of just like everyone else. Everything we put our body’s through on a weekly basis well not last forever. Work hard and earn it all. https://t.co/qdV76UjPgu
“This is what you and some seem to forget….THIS IS A BUSINESS. We have bills and a family to take care of just like everyone else. Everything we put our body’s through on a weekly basis well not last forever. Work hard and earn it all.”
Would WWE misuse Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
New Japan Pro Wrestling named a new President back in May. Dutch businessman, Harold Meij, was given the role. At NJPW’s show in Osaka Jo Hall recently, Meij appeared in the ring to address the fans.
“I will work with all my heart so that you fans can feel a stronger sense of inspiration, and enjoy yourselves even more,” Meij said. “I would like to take New Japan Pro-Wrestling to the next level.”
The 54-year-old recently sat down for an interview with Japanese media outlet, the Mainichi. He explained why he chose to address the crowd in Osaka.
“I think there are long-time fans that must be worrying, ‘What? The operator is a foreigner? What’s going to happen?’ Because I look like a foreigner, you know?” Meij said. “They worry that New Japan might change. I wanted to come myself as the president and talk with the fans to alleviate any anxiety they might have.”
NJPW Plans For Increased International Expansion
Meij would continue to say that 40% of the subscribers to New Japan World are from outside of Japan. Currently, the promotion has 100,000 subscribers to their streaming service.
“I want to expand the fan-base regardless of age, gender or nationality,” Meij explained. “New Japan has fantastic content, so it has the possibility of picking up popularity overseas. At the moment, there are some 100,000 registered members on our video streaming service ‘New Japan Pro-Wrestling World,’ and 40,000 of them live outside Japan. I would like to aim for the international market with things like videos in English or events for foreign tourists.”
Meij continued to say he plans to become a pioneer of sports marketing.
“Even though there are a plethora of markets abroad, many Japanese companies aren’t making any use of them. As someone not bound by language or cultural barriers, I would like to become a pioneer in sports marketing.” Meij continued. “In three years at least, I will achieve profits of 10 billion yen. The figure is close to the 10.2 billion yen made by the Japan Sumo Association in 2016.” He continued, “I will continue to show up at more and more matches because I have to judge the reactions of the fans for myself. To that end, I will speak with fans whenever I have the chance.”
Kevin Sullivan does not believe wrestling fans think Ring of Honor’s product is cool. He believes the roster is as talented as any he’s ever seen but he lacks faith in the promotion itself.
The 68-year-old former Dungeon of Doom leader was a guest on Interactive Wrestling Radio in May. Sullivan had plenty to say regarding his feelings towards Ring of Honor during the show.
Kevin Sullivan Interview Highlights
On the topic of Ring of Honor’s roster, Sullivan had this to say.
“Let me tell you about their talent. I’ve seen them all in my 40 years. Jay Lethal and Jay Briscoe matches are just as good as Funk and Brisco, Flair and Steamboat,” Sullivan said. These guys are just superb. They’ve got some great young talent. Dalton Castle? He’s a special talent. They get Cody [Rhodes] there. He’s a special talent and an influx of New Japan guys.”
Sullivan believes the only reason ROH broke their attendance record at Supercard of Honor this year is the event is held over WrestleMania weekend. He believes WWE draws the house for them in that situation.
“What are they going to do if they’re wrestling fans?” Sullivan asked out loud. “Of course, you’re going to go to the show! They haven’t drawn! Are you kidding me? What else would a wrestling fan do?”
Sullivan then described what he feels is definitive proof that ROH is not seen as cool by fans.
“I’ll give you why and I think this is the definite proof. Last Saturday, Ring of Honor was in Chicago with Cody and all of the boys, right? They drew 1,600 people. On Sunday, All In drew 11,000 people in 29 minutes and 31 seconds. What is wrong with this picture? People look at Ring of Honor and think it is uncool.”
What do you think of Kevin Sullivan’s comments about Ring of Honor?
Saturday Night’s Main Event looks to be coming back to NBC. The cable specials were frequently where big storylines and angles would play out in WWE outside of pay-per-views before the advent of Monday Night Raw.
Sports journalist, Brad Shepard, broke the news yesterday. “I have learned that an occasional special event, thought to be a reboot of Saturday Night’s Main Event, will be televised once WWE enters its new television deals with Fox and NBCU,” Shepard said. “The special is expected to happen several times throughout the year, with each event being strategically placed before big dates, like the Saturday night before the NFL’s Super Bowl. Airing of the events would be split between NBC and Fox.”
WWE’s new television contracts go into effect in the fall of 2020.
Shepard was also the journalist who broke the story that the XFL would be returning in 2020.
Saturday Night’s Main Event
The first run of Saturday Night’s Main Event lasted from 1985 to 1992. SNME began airing on NBC after the first WrestleMania. The agreement with NBC signified the end of the promotion’s relationship with MTV (aka the Rock N Wrestling Connection).
Once WWE struck a deal to begin airing Raw on Monday nights, SNME specials were canceled.
WWE would bring back the events in 2006, however. 5 events aired on NBC between 2006-2008.
The last episode of Saturday Night’s Main Event was taped on July 28th, 2008 from the Verizon Center in Washington, DC. On that night, Edge defeated Jeff Hardy, the Great Khali defeated Jimmy Wang Yang, and the team of JBL, Kane, & the Legacy defeated John Cena, Batista, and Cryme Tyme.
WWE Hall Of Famer Hillbilly Jim was recently interviewed on The Toddcast Podcast to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Jim revealed that he nearly skipped out on WrestleMania 34 this year after having a difficult time in Orlando the year before. That all changed, of course, when he got the Hall Of Fame call:
“I wasn’t really gonna go to WrestleMania this year because I had such an awful time last year,” said Jim. “I said to myself, if I get home, I’m not gonna go to this again this year, I’m gonna stay off a year because we were in Orlando, Florida last year and I had the worst time getting up there and getting back from it.
“I was three hours delayed out of the airport getting in to Orlando. Then, the whole weekend down there, I was just out of sorts. Whatever I did, I seemed like I couldn’t get caught up. It seemed like it was stressful and I didn’t enjoy it. Then, lo and behold when I came back, tried to get back home, I was four hours delayed. So, I said, if I get home, I’m not going next year.”
Jim tried to avoid WWE, who were relentlessly trying to get ahold of him, as much as he could just prior to WrestleMania. He told Mark Carrano in a voicemail that he thinks he’s going to skip out on “The Show Of Shows” this year:
“8:30 that morning, [WWE] started calling me, and I was curious,” said Jim. “Cause I know [WWE], when they want something, man, they’re like the government… finally, they start calling again, I’ve gotta make a decision. I picked up the phone, and I call one of these numbers back for this guy named Mark Carrano.
“He was the one calling me, and he had Howard Finkle trying to call me and everybody. I said, I might as well handle this now. So here’s what I did on that Sunday morning. I got his machine, I said Mark this is Billy, blah blah blah. Hope you had a good Christmas and a good New Year, I haven’t talked to you a while. But look. I know you’re trying to get me for WrestleMania in New Orleans, but I think I’m gonna pass this year.”
After hanging up the phone, Carrano called Jim right back and told him something that completely changed his mind – “Vince wants you in the Hall of Fame”:
“That was like getting hit in the ear by George Foreman,” said Jim. “I wasn’t ready for that. I totally was just trying to get out of going in the first place. I had no idea about this. I did not know this was in the workings.
“I didn’t know they would offer this, I didn’t know they had this going on. And my brain just knod of shut down, and I was talking like I had marbles in my mouth. And I said, ‘Mark, I gotta reboot my brain, here. And so that’s how I found out about it.”
You can listen to Hillbilly Jim on the Toddcast Podcast by clicking this link here.
Former WWE Divas Champion Nikki Bella took to her YouTube channel, The Bella Twins, and offered an update on her romantic relationship with 16-time World Champion John Cena. Bella first offered an update on whether or not she and Cena were still together.
Nikki admits that she and Cena are trying to work things out, but didn’t specifically note that they were back together – saying “Hopefully, one day we’ll get back together”:
“It has been a super emotional roller coaster ride and I think it’s hard for people to understand because we film and then things get shown a few months after and people are like, ‘Are they together? Are they not?’ Because I am a reality star, and I do have a reality show, I feel like I have to say what’s the update on John and I, but right now we’re just friends.
“We are both working on each other and trying to work on us. We talk everyday, he is not only my best friend, but he truly is one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met. He has patience with me and has really taught me a lot over over the past few months.
“I think one of those things is an inner-strength that I thought I had, but didn’t realize how strong I had it. I don’t know, I do have hope for us. … Hopefully, one day we’ll get back together, and if we don’t, we just both want each other to be very, very happy.”
She then discussed her aspirations to one day marry, and if she does she’d like to marry once and only once:
“Right now, John is in China filming a movie. I hate to say ‘perfect timing,’ but it’s giving us this time in life to see what we want for the future. I know some people – because of the media or what they read on social media – they look at this as a very negative thing, but for those of you who are going to get married, or are engaged, or who are married, understand that this is forever.
“I don’t want to be someone who is divorced or has kids and gets a divorce, I truly want to walk down that aisle, give my vows, and do this one time. So, there’s a lot of issues that I had to deal with and really want to know what I want for the rest of my life.”
Bella also hinted that the season finale of Total Bellas is going to be ‘raw and real,’ and also said fans will then understand why she and Cena are in the current situation they’re in:
“The season finale is very tough, I will just warn you all. It’s just very honest, raw, and real, and you will see why John and I are where we’re at today.”
Ring Of Honor (ROH) and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) star Cody Rhodes recently did an interview with ESPN to talk about several professional wrestling topics. “The American Nightmare” first discussed getting through the process of putting together he and The Young Bucks’ self-funded “All In” event on September 1st:
“I don’t want to complain about it because I’ve had my whole career to get to this position, and now I’m in it. The last thing I need to do is complain. A couple sleepless nights, a couple extra checks written — that’s why I surround myself with such a great team.
“I’m an independent pro wrestler, but I’ve got a manager, I’ve got an agent, I’ve got a publicist, I got the three best dogs in the world, and I have the best woman on earth. If I didn’t have Brandi, none of this would be happening. I’d still be putting that Stardust suit on, doing Jim Carrey Riddler.”
Rhodes then talked about earning the current spot he’s in after years of hard work. Despite the naysayers, the former WWE star has shared the ring with some of the best the sport has ever seen and knows he can compete at any level:
“I think fans of mine who are already on the bandwagon, God bless them, thank you for being there, but I think this is a great jumping-off point if you’re looking at what is Cody Rhodes. I think I’ve proven the naysayers wrong about, ‘Oh, he’s just ex-WWE,’ and the new set of naysayers, ‘Oh, he can’t compete at this level.’
“I can compete at any level. I’ve been doing this since I was 15 years old. Every time someone told me I couldn’t, I did. I’m still the same guy who’s responsible for one of the better Intercontinental runs of all time and changing that title. I’m still the guy who shared the ring with The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Triple H when they were still actually active.
“And I’m aware, as my wife loves to hear. It’s not different than any sport in the world where the best wrestlers are gonna get the best spots. That spot is for me, because I’ve earned it.”
You can read Rhodes’ full interview with ESPN by clicking this link here.
Former WWE Superstar and current Ring Of Honor (ROH) star Tenille Dashwood (a.k.a. Emma) recently did an interview with Daily Mirror to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Dashwood first shared her thoughts on the Women’s Revolution in ROH:
“What I’d like to do is bring some of what I’ve already done into Ring of Honor and Women of Honor. With the timing of the championship tournament back in April, Ring of Honor is putting a lot behind the women this year. So it’s really good timing and exciting for me to be a part of it.
“I want to continue to grow that and the awareness of the skill both ROH and the women have here and continue to kinda push those boundaries. Maybe we could do those things like intergender matches or women main-eventing pay-per-views and just pushing all those boundaries, especially now that we have the Women of Honor championship on the show as well.”
She then discussed having more control of her identity as a character, as well as having more freedom in the ring with ROH as opposed to WWE:
“It’s amazing. I guess you could say I’ve found this newfound energy in life and in wrestling. All of a sudden, all of these ideas started flowing through my head again. I wanted to try new things, I had ideas for things that I had done in the past and I watched people, I saw their styles, new things came to me and I’ve integrated that into my matches.
“All of a sudden, I just had this almost like new passion and energy. Excitement was there because I had the realization of having matches that weren’t always TV matches, that weren’t always strict on timelines or storylines and more so focused on the wrestling, different opponents I hadn’t worked before and a lot of one-on-one matches. I’m able to get out there and wrestle for longer periods of time. It was like a whole new thing I hadn’t done really in years.”
Finally, Dashwood named which WWE stars she’d like to see crossover into the ROH brand one day:
“It’s hard to name just one haha, but if I had to pick I’d say Bayley and I’ll explain why. She is one of the most passionate, dedicated and hardworking women I have come across in this business.
“Her and I are very close, we lived together at one point throughout NXT and still to this day, I admire her so much for the hard work she constantly puts in, the new ideas she has, the drive she has to never settle and always want more and those are all feelings I have within as well. If there’s anyone I could go out there and kill it with in a Ring of Honor ring that would be Bayley.”
You can read Dashwood’s full interview with Daily Mirror by clicking this link here.
WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin was recently a guest on IWGP Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho’s podcast, Talk Is Jericho, to talk about several professional wrestling topics. During their conversation, Austin shared the inspiration behind his famous “Shattered Glass” WWE theme.
Austin’s theme is one of the most iconic entrance songs in the history of professional wrestling. When fans hear the shattered glass at the top of the cue, it sends a buzz throughout the arena that will likely never be matched.
“The Texas Rattlesnake” revealed which song inspired his WWE theme, and also gave Jim Johnston a ton of credit:
“I went down to the studio and back in the day you know Chris I was pretty hands-on you gotta be. So I walked in there and I had a CD and I hand it to Jim Johnston and go, ‘it’s called Bulls On Parade by Rage Against The Machine’ and I played it.
“He got it, and so I don’t think my entrance music sounds anything like it but it was inspired by that and man I tell ya what the way he came up with that glass breaking I don’t know how he came up with that idea when he looped in that siren, I don’t know how or why he put that in a stroke of genius or luck or whatever it was that happened, magic?
“Sometimes things just happen the way they do. When I pitched him that song and we listened to it together and he came up with that and I give him all the credit in the world. I inspired him with their song… my idea, but his total creation [it’s] a fluke dude because you’ve been around and you’ve seen reactions when that glass breaks.
“Yeah I had to get over to get those reactions. It’s just the perfect music for the perfect setup for the perfect pop for any kind of dire situation or circumstance — goddamn that’s when we need Stone Cold. So, music is important.”
You can listen to Austin on Talk Is Jericho by clicking this link here.
Former WWE Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore recently joined WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin’s podcast, The Steve Austin Show, to talk about his release from WWE. Amore was released from the company back in January after some sexual assault allegations were made against him.
The charges have since been dropped and Amore is focusing on his rap career. Amore, now going by the name “Real1” opened up to Austin about his various issues with Triple H. He also detailed a heated exchange he had with “The Game” in his office:
“I got my voice taken away from me and it’s the only thing I ever cared about: the most important thing. In wrestling, I’ll lay on my back for anybody 1-2-3. A writer tries to write a line I don’t like in a promo, I ain’t saying it and I’m going to go talk to Vince because I’m not saying it and Hunter’s gonna threaten my job.
“Triple H is gonna tell me I’m gonna get fired because I ain’t saying this sh*t….I’m still going to get handed a microphone every fu*king night, every single time, so I started living like that. You guys have threatened me ever since I got in the door here. You have been hanging it over my head that you will fire me…in the endI was fuc*ing looking at him in the face saying, ‘You’re fuc*ing lucky to have me here.’ I didn’t walk on any eggshells at the end at all. I dressed in my own locker room. When people got mad at me I didn’t care and I just went to Vince….
“I had a conversation with Hunter that I don’t think any other talent in the business has had. He ripped me a new one. He went so off – pulled me into his office and went off….the way I looked at it is I’m not trying to be you, I’m not trying to be Triple H….I’m not trying to marry within the company and be here forever. He was going off and he said to me, ‘Enzo you’re not going to change the fuc*ing world.’
“When he said that I stood up and shot my chairto the point that it fell and I said, ‘Don’t you get it? I am trying to change the fuc*ing world.’ Triple H stood up and said, ‘There’s no getting through to you.’ Boiling hot mad and he walked me out of that room”
You can listen to Amore on The Steve Austin Show by clicking this link here.
Chris Jericho was recently on a three hour flight from Los Angeles to Dallas. “Y2J” apparently flew American Airlines who didn’t feature a movie for the long flight and didn’t accommodate passengers with USB outlets to charge their phones.
This seemed to really frustrate the IWGP Intercontinental Champion, who took to Twitter to put the airline on blast – asking “How old is this plane and what year are we living in?”:
No phone charger outlets or movies on a 3 1/2 flight from LAX to Dallas? How old is this plane and what year are we living in @AmericanAir?
One fan responded to Jericho and called him out for being a “primadona” and complaining for the pettiest of things when there are much more pressing issues going on around the world. The fan then suggested Jericho charter his own plane if those things are so important to him.
Jericho hilariously responded to the fan before blocking him on Twitter:
Last October, Jimmy Jacobs was fired from the WWE creative team. While multiple reasons have been given for Jacobs’ release, a selfie he took with members of Bullet Club during their “invasion” of Raw is largely believed to have been the catalyst.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BZfAy54Ancl/
Many felt Jacobs would sign with Ring of Honor and begin working with Bullet Club following his WWE release. After all, there was a built-in storyline regarding Jacobs being fired from WWE for his association with the faction.
Instead, Jacobs chose to sign with Impact Wrestling. He’s been working as the manager of Kongo Kong and serving as a producer backstage.
Jimmy Jacobs on Impact Wrestling
Jacobs recently gave an interview to Vulture Hound in the UK and spoke about how he has been enjoying his time with Impact.
“I really enjoy working with Impact,” Jacobs said. “I feel like with Impact right now, I get all the upside, I get the chance to help create, I get the chance to help out talents. Having the opportunity to have somebody like me for talents, like Tessa Blanchard who has a lot of potentials and is awesome in the ring.”
Jacobs has returned to in-ring work as well since leaving WWE. In fact, he recently defeated Joey Ryan on June 28th, 2018 for Bar Wrestling in Los Angeles.
Jacobs doesn’t believe he’ll step inside the Impact ring, however. “As far as wrestling with Impact goes,” Jacobs continued. “I don’t see that happening right now, it’s not especially completely off the table but what I do at the shows, producing the shows, honestly it’s a lot.”
Jacobs also mentioned Matt Sydal as someone who he has particularly enjoyed working with recently. On the latest episode of Impact Wrestling, we saw Sydal and Jimmy Jacobs possibly align with each other due to their mutual disdain for Brian Cage.
“Matt Sydal has been one thing his whole career,” Jacobs said. “It’s been great, being a sort of babyface that can have great matches, who doesn’t talk much, being a good wrestler and doing high-flying stuff. That’s been him his whole career and, a few months back, we took a chance on him when we said: “hey I think there’s something more.” We capitalized on what he’s in real life, with him being kind of spiritual and holistic and those sort of things.”
Jimmy Jacobs Speaks to the Irish Mirror
Last month, Jacobs spoke to the Irish Mirror in the UK. The conversation focussed on his time in WWE and his new role with Impact Wrestling
“Going to WWE and working there in the capacity that I did was a blessing,” Jacobs said. “It was great to be there, but that being said it’s great to not be working there anymore.”
“I spent so long on the independent wrestling scene, but sometimes it’s like the cliche goes ‘you don’t know what you have until it’s gone,'” he continued. “I’m very excited to be working in Impact Wrestling and using some of the things I picked up in my last job to help out here.”
Don Callis is believed to have played a key role in organizing the Chris Jericho vs Kenny Omega match at the Tokyo Dome this year. All three are from Winnipeg and Callis also has his own podcast through the Chris Jericho podcast network.
At the Slammiversary press conference in Toronto recently, Callis indicated to me he’d love to bring Omega and Jericho to Impact Wrestling. “There’s a young Canadian kid I like, we’d love to sign him, his name is Kenny Omega,” Callis said. “Another is Chris Jericho.”
Callis recently doubled-down on his comments during his appearance on Jim Ross’ podcast.
Don Callis On Jim Ross Podcast
Callis explained his history with Omega. “I’ve been on this journey with Kenny Omega since he was a 16-year-old kid who I booked,” Callis explained.
“I gave him his first break wrestling for the promotion I had in Winnipeg [Canada]. And his uncle, The Golden Sheik, who was an indie wrestler in Winnipeg helped train me in the [pro wrestling] business in 1989, so my roots with Kenny go back many years. I’ve been on this journey with him, and specifically since I’ve been in New Japan and we have a very close relationship. We talk about ideas, we do things, I helped put together the match between him and Chris [Jericho] for the Tokyo Dome.”
Callis On Omega and Jericho to Impact Wrestling
Callis continued to say the chances of Omega and Jericho appearing in an Impact Wrestling ring are less remote than they seemed not too long ago.
“I kind of say, ‘never say ‘never” and I think that one of the things that we’ve been doing under Ed Nordholm here at Impact is breaking some longstanding paradigms of pro wrestling,” Callis said.
“The intellectual property stuff that we’ve talked about before, but also we’ve been working with multiple people now and now recently announced by Chris Jericho and I know [Ross] will be on that cruise, so that’ll be cool, get to have a beer together. It’s going to be Impact and Ring Of Honor on the same cruise ship, so there’s some stuff that’s probably going to happen and I don’t think you can have those talents in a closed environment like that, so we are working, in a sense if you take that, with Ring Of Honor right now.
We’ve got Taiji Ishimori coming in for our pay-per-view and our TV in July. The Bone Soldier just started with New Japan, so we’ll see what happens. How many people would’ve thought that Chris Jericho would’ve headlined the Tokyo Dome with New Japan Pro-Wrestling? I was so sheepish when I pitched it to him because he always told me, ‘I will never work for anyone except Vince McMahon and I have a deep respect for Vince.’ Obviously, he took Vince into consideration. Vince is the first guy he told about it. Nevertheless, it shocked me that Chris was on a New Japan show, so I’ve learned to say, ‘never say ‘never” in this business.”
On Friday night, Kenny Omega produced a live CEOxNJPW show which aired on Twitch. After the show, word began to spread that one of the wrestlers booked for the show was a registered sex offender.
Fans took to social media to voice their concern over the wrestler being booked. Omega issued the following response to the situation:
Big thanks to all that made #CEOxNJPW possible, but I wanted to address a terrible oversight on my part, in depth, for all to read. pic.twitter.com/JKBiqcuzGK
Earlier in the day, Omega released a series of Tweets addressing the matter:
“Here it is: I produced all matches from dark match #2 on. I gave the ring crew (also a wrestling school) carte Blanche to have our first dark. No entrances, no name graphics. And thus they had a match. I met Chasyn once in 2004 so his name was familiar. The other guy I’d never met.”
“Regardless of their history or whatever, this crew of people were all very helpful in set up, tear down, and various odd jobs around the arena. I’d felt giving them the opportunity to have a dark match was the least I could do as a way to show appreciation.”
“I’m gutted that people feel betrayed by their involvement, but at no point did I feel I was working with criminals or anything of the sort. As I’d said earlier, they were nothing but polite and helpful throughout the entire experience.”
“I’ll know better for next time to only use those I’m absolutely familiar/comfortable with”
Ring of Honor crowned a new World Champion last night in Fairfax, VA.
Following his ROH World title defense at Best in the World 2018, Dalton Castle would have to defend his title again for the second night in a row. Not only that, Castle would have to defend the belt in a fatal 4-way match against Cody, Jay Lethal, and Matt Taven.
The winner of the match and new ROH World Champion is Jay Lethal. He is now just the 4th person to ever hold the title on multiple occasions.
The show in Fairfax last night was a scheduled TV taping but the world title match streamed live for Honor Club subscribers. Normally, TV tapings don’t air on the streaming service until after they have aired on television.
— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) July 1, 2018
New ROH World Champion
Jay Lethal’s first run with the ROH World title lasted 427 days. During his reign, Lethal successfully defended his title 28 times. He would eventually drop the title to Adam Cole.
As for the former champion, Dalton Castle, it looks as though he’ll be taking some time off. Castle was walking gingerly on his left leg last night and at Best in the World on Friday. Commentary let fans know that he was also suffering from a herniated disc in his lower back as well.
Castle’s reign as ROH World Champion concludes at 198 days. He defeated Cody for the title at Final Battle 2017. He defended the title 5x during his reign. He defeated Punishment Martinez, Tarkan Aslan, the Beer City Bruiser and Beretta (3-way), Jay Lethal, and Cody and Marty Scurll (3-way).
Only Adam Cole has won the ROH World title more than 2x. Lethal now joins Austin Aries and Jay Briscoe as the only others to hold the title multiple times.
Lethal currently sits at #5 on the all-time list of most combined days spent with the title. The record holder is still Samoa Joe, whose one reign with the belt lasted 645 days.
The 2017 Hall of Famer has been active in the WWE as the Raw GM for some time but hasn’t been in an active wrestling role.
The Wrestling Machine On E
According to the PWInsider.com,
They’re not going to put Kurt in the ring on a consistent basis. He can’t do it. I am sure Kurt wants to be in the ring on a consistent basis but His body is breaking down.
Remember the last six months of Impact and then the couple of indieshows he was doing? It was the same five spots the entire match. He can’t be that Kurt Angle anymore. It’s like Shawn Michaels saying ‘I could come back but people need to understand it’s not going to be HBK.’ It’s not fair to expect the Kurt Angle of 1999 to be wrestling.
Kurt Angle’s Future In The WWE
As of 2018, Angle has only competed twice, at Wrestlemania 34 as Ronda Rousey partner against Stephanie and Triple-H and at the Greatest Royal Rumble event in Saudi Arabia.
It has been rumored numerous times that the dream match between Kurt Angle and Daniel Bryan should happen if ever the two were under the same brand, but due to Bryan’s concussion status at the time the match was not going to happen.
With Bryan cleared to wrestle, it goes without saying that WWE may have plans down the road for the two to lock up before Angle’s official retirement.
Sound Off In The Comments Below On What Stipulation You Would Like To See If Bryan And Angle Were To Lock Up In The Near Future.
Hulk and Linda Hogan settled their divorce back in 2007, but it seems the Hulkster is holding out on his ex-wife.
The Hogan’s Divorce Settlement
According to the DailyMail.com, this was the settlement of the Hogan’s divorce is as followed:
Hulk Hogan and Linda Bollea were married for 23 years but split in 2007
She was awarded 70% of their liquid assets plus properties worth $3m in divorce
Also handed an ongoing 40% share in the revenue from Hogan’s businesses
Linda now claims the 64-year-old wrestler is refusing to pay
She’s demanding he pay her 40% of his earnings or be held in contempt
Linda is claiming that Hogan is committing ‘financial treachery’ from many of his companies and assets in Florida and demands her percentage to be met from the divorce.
The Divorce was settled back in 2007 due to the fact that Hogan was unfaithful in their marriage and Linda could not put up with the decades of affairs no longer.
Terry Bollea (Hulk Hogan) has yet to comment on the claim.
DEFIANT Wrestling has announced that former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion and one of the biggest stars to emerge from the thriving UK scene Will Ospreay will be taking on WALTER as part of their upcoming Stacked ’18 event which takes place Sunday August 26th from the Bowlers Exhibition Centre in Manchester, England.
The clash of styles between the two performers is evident, Ospreay is regarded as one of if not THE greatest high flying performer on the planet, although he is well versed in the British mat-based style. WALTER however is one of the most dominant forces in wrestling and will use his powerhouse style to keep Ospreay at bay. This has the potential to be one of the best matches of 2018.
If you’ve never heard of WALTER then he is certainly a performer that should be on your radar. The Austrian powerhouse has been dominating the Tag and Heavyweight divisions in wXw, PROGRESS and PWG over the past couple of years and he is now being slated as a future WWE/NXT signee (even if he denies any sort of negotiations). The de-facto leader of the Ringkampf stable (alongside Timothy Thatcher and previously NXT roster member Axel Dieter Jr) has a ton of potential on the world stage and has already garnered critical praise from the likes of Dave Meltzer, who gave his PWG All-Star Weekend bout against Zack Sabre Jr from October 2017 a 5 star rating.
Tickets for the show are available to purchase here.
Walter vs Ospreay is coming to Manchester! Sunday, August 26th.
Will Ospreay’s new promotion Frontline Wrestling held their debut show ‘Build Me An Empire’ this past Thursday and the show was met with acclaim from the fans in attendance.
During our exclusive interview with Ospreay earlier this year he stated that wanted the Frontline brand to be defined as British Puroresu, saying that “I have fallen in love with the Japanese style of wrestling, and not just the wrestling itself. The story telling, the Drama, the production. Most likely cause I’ve been sucked into that New Japan vibe.”
One of the major elements of the new promotion is the inclusion of ‘Young Lions,’ a concept that this hugely prevalent in Japanese wrestling culture and adds an extra layer of ‘Puroresu’ to the aesthetic of Frontline. The company has issued a press release highlighting the crop of talent chosen to be their first batch of ‘Young Lions’ and they are as follows:
Cieran Donnelly
Former IPW:UK Tag Champion with DND. With Duggan heading over regularly to the New Japan LA Dojo, Cieran sees this as an opportunity to rebrand and master the Young Lions Programme.
Joshua Joesph
Trained by The Wild Boar & Mark Andrews, Josh passed the course with flying colours. Showing his mix of strength & agility. He’s also undefeated in amateur mixed martial arts.
Nico Angelo
Another man trained by Mark Andrews, Nico has an Olympic Power Lifting background. What sealed the deal was his incredible standing “Mooncent” (450 moonsault)
Scott Davis
Better known in his home promotion OTT, he has been an amateur wrestling from a young age. Scott sees this as a platform to finally stretch out to the U.K. scene and take over.
Cameron Thomas
Cameron trains at the LSLL and wrestles for Lucha Britannia. He had a huge stand out match with Jody Fleisch at the recent Project W show. Not much match experience however but the heart on this man will shine through more than anything.
Chris Gladden
Mostly know for his work in Apex. Yet still not completely satisfied with the work he portrays and believes he can offer more. Chris shows so much determination through every single drill & workout we threw at him and wants the responsibility of being a main player in the British Wrestling Scene.
Callum Newman
15 Years Old. But Callum has been wrestling since he was 10. A high-flyer but prides himself on his technical wrestling. As the youngest he has a long journey ahead of him but the level of talent in such a young man is astonishing.
Rhonda Powell
As the only Female, she completed the drills quicker than 40% of the male athletes. Her cardio was the stand out & great coordination. Not much match experience however a lot of potential to become a strong stand out in Frontline
Scott Wainwright
Former WCPW Tag Champion, but nearly forced into retirement after a serious stomach injury. After rebuilding his strengths and losing a significant amount of weight, Scott has decided to take part in the Young Lions Programme to redesign himself. “Start from the bottom, climb to the top”
Nedeem Al-Astrabadi
Absent due to a family emergency, Ned has unlimited potential to be on of the best wrestlers in the world. Mainly seen as part of Triple L promotion as their former champ, he is one of the most charismatic characters you will ever meet, but has agreed to strip it back and allow his ability to shine through.
UK based promotion Fight Forever has announced a huge debut tour that will be taking place December 6th-9th and will feature some of the biggest stars from the Independent wrestling world.
Fight Forever will be hosting shows in Birmingham (6th), London (7th), Bristol (8th) and Liverpool (9th), they have issued the following press release for the tour which will feature a live wrestling show as well as a very special Live version of Something To Wrestle with Conrad Thompson and Bruce Pritchard:
“Brand New UK Professional Wrestling Promotion ‘Fight Forever Wrestling’ Announce Debut Tour featuring ‘Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard Live’, ‘The American Nightmare Cody Rhodes’, WWE UK Tournament Winner Zack Gibson and ‘The Godfather Charles Wright’.
Coming to the UK in December 2018, breakthrough UK Professional Wrestling Promotion, Fight Forever Wrestling, announce their debut tour, featuring an international roster including ‘The American Nightmare’ Cody Rhodes, Brandi Rhodes, Flip Gordon, Jimmy Havoc, James Drake, Flash Morgan Webster, El Ligero, Joe Hendry, Rampage Brown, Travis Banks, and WWE UK Tournament Winner, Zack Gibson. There will be more big names announced ahead of the tour.
WWE Hall of Famer, Charles Wright, will also be appearing on the tour as a special guest and the host of after show party events, ‘Papa Shango’s Voodoo Party’ and ‘The Godfather’s Pimp Party’.”
Tickets for the shows are available to purchase via Fight Forever’s official website.
WWE’s newest signee, Io Shirai, was on hand at the WWE live event in Tokyo this morning. She was officially unveiled as the newest addition to the roster. Shirai will be assigned to the NXT brand.
Shirai is a former 2x Wonder of Stardom champion. She has been voted as Tokyo Sports’ Joshi Puroresu Grand Prize winner (the equivalent of woman’s wrestler of the year award) the last 3 years in a row.
Shirai was rumored to be heading to WWE last year but failed medical evaluations prevented this from happening. It was reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that neck and heart problems caused WWE to back away from signing her. She continued to compete for Stardom the following year after not signing with WWE.
Pro Wrestling Illustrated ranked Shirai #6 in their female top-50 rankings in 2017.
Shirai confirmed her departure from Stardom back in late May with many speculating she would be headed to WWE.
Parts of Shirai’s blog in late May revealing her departure from Stardom were run through Google Translate.
“I’m going to leave Stardom with me aiming for a further leap of pro-wrestling life in the future.
The Korakuen Hall show on June 17 will be the last for Stardom.”
World of Stardom also Tweeted out the following facts about Shirai’s time with the promotion:
“Io Shirai’s done it all in Stardom.
World of Stardom champion twice, 1014 days.
Wonder of Stardom champion twice, 375 days.
Tag champion 407 days.
High Speed champion.
Artist of Stardom champion 6 times.
SWA champion.
5 Star Grand Prix champion.
Now she will show it to the world.”
There are several brother tag-teams performing at a high-level in wrestling today. Last night, the Briscoe Brothers faced Matt and Nick Jackson for Ring of Honor. Jimmy and Jey Uso are one the best teams in the world. The Hardy Boyz have done fairly well for themselves as well throughout their lengthy careers.
While the Dudley Boyz don’t count as a real-life family combination, the 23-year-old twin sons of D-Von Dudley do. They both received tryouts at the WWE Performance Center recently.
The pair has wrestled both under their real names of Terrence and Terrell Hughes, as well as with the surname Dudley.
You can check out video of the brothers competing at an indy event in late-2016 below:
Terrence and Terrell Hughes
The Hughes brothers were among the 40 WWE hopefuls at the Performance Center this week. Former Impact Wrestling stars, Robbie E and Chelsea Green were also in attendance.
WWE.com had this to say regarding the brothers:
“Terrell & Terrence Hughes, the 23-year-old twin sons of WWE Hall of Famer D-Von Dudley. Both men played football in high school, and Terrell qualified for regional and state competition in wrestling. Their sports-entertainment training began in 2012 at the Dudleys’ Team 3D Academy, and the Hughes brothers have held tag team titles on the independent circuit under the name TNT.”
The brothers have wrestled 36 professional matches on the independent circuit. They have also won several tag team championships already in their short careers.
Their father, D-Von Dudley, retired from in-ring action in 2016. He continues to work with WWE in a producer role, usually for tag-team matches. D-Von and Bubba Ray have been inducted into both the Impact Wrestling and WWE Hall of Fames. D-Von also has two younger sons as well, born 6 and 13 years after Terrell and Terrence.
NXT Head Trainer, Matt Bloom, and Mark Henry presided over the tryouts.
