The appearance of AEW stars on Attack of the Show this week shouldn’t come as a surprise. The show is shot in Glendale, California and AEW Dynamite will be taking place in Los Angeles tonight (June 1).
It’s likely that Adam Cole will continue his “feud” with Jirard “The Completionist” Khalil, a popular video game YouTuber and Twitch streamer. Cole called Jirard out for a face-to-face meeting at this week’s Dynamite event.
Cole was initially scheduled to compete in a tag team match on Dynamite this week. He ended up being pulled from the match and Bryan Alvarez of Wrestling Observer Live reported that Cole will be given some time off from in-ring action due to a shoulder injury.
As for Woods, he headlined the May 27 episode of Friday Night SmackDown. He teamed with Drew McIntyre and Kofi Kingston to defeat The Brawling Brutes.
Brett Lauderdale of Game Changer Wrestling was our guest on the latest episode of Business of the Business podcast, the official business podcast of SEScoops.
During the hour-long conversation with hosts John Poz and Lavie Margolin, Lauderdale spoke about a wide range of topics including last year’s The WRLD on GCW pay-per-view from the the Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC, as well as a possible return to thee venue.
Here are some highlights of what Lauderdale said about:
The WRLD on GCW PPV Buys
January’s The WLRD on GCW event from the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City was a special milestone for the company. Lauderdale has already said this was the biggest PPV in GCW history, but we now have a better idea of just how big it was.
Lauderdale says The WRLD on GCW crushed the company’s previous records.
“It was about, well, I don’t want to say average, but let me put to you like this.. it was about 5x higher than our previous high, we’ll put it like that.”
– Brett Lauderdale on The WRLD on GCW PPV Buys
Lauderdale says the company’s previous best-selling shows include Cardona-Gage, Moxley-Gage (“both way up there”) and Spring Break 3 (2019).
Return to Hammerstein
As for a return to the Hammerstein Ballroom, Lauderdale says there’s a good chance it happens. When asked when we could see another GCW Hammerstein show, he replied, “January, maybe.”
He says GCW wants it, Hammerstein wants them back and he’d love for it to become an annual special event. He doesn’t want to run the Hammerstein unless they can go ‘all out’ and do it big, but they’re hoping for a return.
Listen to our full interview with Brett Lauderdale of GCW:
Jeff Hardy has opened up on turning the WWE Hall Of Fame down.
Hardy was recently a guest on fellow All Elite Wrestling (AEW) star Chris Jericho’s podcast, “Talk Is Jericho,” to discuss a plethora of professional wrestling topics.
One of those topics being Hardy turning down the WWE Hall of Fame.
The former WWE Champion explained that he doesn’t want to go into the Hall of Fame without his brother, Matt Hardy.
“Well, first of all, I don’t want to go in there without my brother and it’s not my time. This is too early. This is crazy. So yeah, it was very emotional.
“I was like, ‘What are they trying to do because naturally, I’m going to be reunited with my brother in AEW when I’m free of WWE.’
“I told my wife what had happened. I said, ‘I can’t believe what they just offered me.’ So it was very emotional, but I happily declined it.”
Jeff and Matt Hardy broke into the business together in 1998 when they were signed by WWE. They quickly emerged as fan favorites in the tag team division with their wild and unpredictable styles inside the ring.
Together, The Hardys have won nine Tag Team Titles under the WWE banner. They’re undoubtedly considered one of the greatest tag teams in professional wrestling history.
However, Jeff Hardy himself was able to accomplish quite a bit as a singles competitor as well. Under the WWE banner, Jeff captured three World Titles, five Intercontinental Titles, and a United States Title win as well.
Now, he’s signed with AEW, back alongside his brother Matt, and could potentially add even more accolades to their legacies with the young promotion.
Kurt Angle admits he tried to get John Cena to blow up during his WWE debut in 2002.
Cena debuted on a June 27 episode of SmackDown, answering an open challenge from Angle at the time. Just days before the episode, Vince McMahon said on RAW that he wanted to see “ruthless aggression.”
When Angle asked what Cena possesses that makes him think he can get into the ring with an Olympic Gold Medalist, Cena answered by saying “ruthless aggression,” and smacking Angle before starting their match.
Angle ultimately wound up winning the match, but Cena certainly put up a great fight, impressing many in his debut.
Recently, Angle reflected on the moment during an episode of his podcast, “The Kurt Angle Show.”
Prior to their matchup, after finding out they’d be working together that night, Angle said Cena was very respectful towards him. He then noted he wanted to give him the “Angle test” inside the ring.
Angle admitted he wanted to make the match non-stop action, in an attempt to “blow up” Cena, or get him tired. However, Angle says that never happened, and Cena passed the test with flying colors.
“They told me the day of the show I was gonna wrestle John Cena. He came up to me and said, ‘Hey, Mr. Angle, I’m John Cena.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, and I’m gonna be working you tonight. It’s gonna be an honor to get in the ring with you.’ He was very respectful. You know what I tried to do with John?
“I really wanted him to take the test – the Angle test. I tried to blow him up and get him tired. I put the match together, and it was only 11 minutes.
“I made sure it was nonstop action and I wanted John to blow up. I wanted to take this monster-looking character, this Greek god, and show everybody how tired I could make him.
“And he didn’t get tired. The son of a bitch passed the test with flying colors. It was crazy.”
While Cena certainly impressed Angle inside the ring, his performance wasn’t completely flawless. Angle said he didn’t move as fluid as other wrestlers inside the ring, but made up for it with hard work.
“His moveset in the ring was awesome. He had a great moveset. He worked really hard – good-looking kid, great build.
“His only downfall was, you could tell the way he moved around that he’s not quite as fluid as other wrestlers.
“He’s more choppy and a little bit more uncoordinated, but he makes up for that with hard work. Being able to do what he does – nobody knew at this time how good a promo he cut.
“So, this was kind of a pleasant surprise when he eventually started doing it.”
PWTorch reports that MJF signed a starter deal with AEW back in 2019. This ranges from $40,000 to $70,000 per year.
With that said, the report notes that Maxwell is now making “hundreds of thousands of dollars.” It still pales in comparison to the salaries of some big names AEW has hired.
The PWTorch report notes that the gap in pay is a big reason why MJF has been at odds with AEW President Tony Khan.
MJF took the wrestling world by storm during AEW Double or Nothing weekend. He no-showed a meet and greet and had everyone wondering whether or not he’d appear at the PPV.
Ultimately, MJF did show up to do the job for Wardlow and an angle was shot where he was stretchered out of the arena.
WWE has decided against a slight name change that had been put in place for a SmackDown superstar.
In late May, WWE made a minor change to Ludwig Kaiser, the manager for Gunther. The small change had to do with the spelling of Kaiser’s first name.
It was changed from “Ludwig” to “Ludvig.”
Ludvig … We Hardly Knew Ya
(via WWE)
Well, as it turns out “Ludvig” was short-lived.
WWE has already reverted to using “Ludwig” for Kaiser’s first name again.
Kaiser and Gunther were introduced to the main roster back in April. Gunther, formerly known as WALTER (his real name), has already started a feud with WWE Intercontinental Champion Ricochet.
On the May 27 episode of SmackDown, Gunther and Kaiser defeated Ricochet and Drew Gulak in a tag team match after Kaiser pinned Gulak.
One AEW star has given Vince McMahon’s Hollywood Walk of Fame the finger.
It’s no secret that some AEW and WWE stars have engaged in some banter on social media in a show of gamesmanship. Some of the back-and-forth exchanges are in jest while others are a bit more heated.
We’ll put this one in the fun category.
Max Caster of The Acclaimed is in Los Angles for tonight’s (June 1) AEW Dynamite show. He took to Vince McMahon’s Hollywood Walk of Fame and had a little “sign language” as Stone Cold Steve Austin used to say.
WWE Hall of Famer Tammy Sytch has pled not guilty to several charges leveled against her following the death of 75-year-old Julian Lasseter.
Lasseter died in March 2022 when his vehicle was struck by the car Sytch was driving which belongs to her boyfriend James Pente.
After being arrested last month, Sytch was charged with one count of DUI causing death, one count of causing death while operating a vehicle with a suspended or revoked driver’s license, four counts of DUI causing injury to a person, and three counts of DUI causing damage to property.
PW Insider was the first to report that Sytch entered a not guilty plea in an arraignment hearing on Tuesday and did not speak at the hearing.
If convicted, Sytch faces up to 30 years in prison for the DUI Manslaughter charge, with a four-year minimum sentence, and a fine of up to $10,000.
Sytch was represented at the hearing at S. James Foxman Justice Center in Daytona Beach by defense attorney Steven deLaroche.
After the hearing, Pente spoke with The Daytona Beach News-Journal and said that Sytch regrets the events that happened in March.
“She feels absolutely terrible. I can’t emphasize it more. She just feels bad in general. Everybody’s life’s ruined.”
James Pente
Pente is being sued by the Lasseter family and said he has apologized to them.
Chris Jericho stood up for every victim of bullying by publishing a video of his niece being attacked at school, the AEW star has claimed.
Last month, Jericho shared a concerning video that showed his niece being attacked outside Mulrennan Middle School while a gathering of other students watched.
Jericho also claimed that Hillsborough County Public Schools had ignored the pleas of his family for help and threatened to take this incident to ABC Action News and WFLA.
During an interview with KTLA, Jericho explained his reasoning for sharing the footage online.
“My niece was bullied very badly in Tampa, there’s video of it which is very brutal. I wanted to try and put some light to it, not just because she’s my niece, but because the situation was horrible. I wanted to stand up for her and everybody else that’s been bullied, every other kid that doesn’t have a famous uncle who can go on Twitter and post that video.”
Jericho added that while the school has taken action, this only came about because of him posting the video online.
“They patted themselves on the back after disciplining the bully. There are warning signs that need to be moved on, and need to be addressed. Action needs to be taken.”
Jericho last competed at AEW Double or Nothing 2022 where the Jericho Appreciation Society defeated Bryan Danielson, Eddie Kingston, Santana, Ortiz and Jon Moxley.
Fans were a bit puzzled when AEW pulled Adam Cole and Jeff Hardy from a tag team match scheduled for the June 1 episode of Dynamite. While Hardy being removed was easier to see coming as he’s been noticeably hurt, that wasn’t exactly the case with Cole.
Bryan Alvarez reported on Wrestling Observer Live that Cole has an injured shoulder. He’s getting some time off from in-ring action to heal.
The extent of Adam Cole’s shoulder injury is unknown at this time.
Cole competed in the finals of the Owen Hart Cup against Samoa Joe this past Sunday at AEW Double or Nothing. Cole scored the pin to capture the specially made championship and trophy.
Adam Cole has confirmed he will be making an appearance on Dynamite this week. He has called out Jirard “The Completionist” Khalil, a popular video game YouTuber and Twitch streamer.
The May 31, 2022 episode of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center.
WWE NXT Results
Pretty Deadly defeated Diamond Mine
Cora Jade defeated Elektra Lopez
Wes Lee defeated Xyon Quinn
Solo Sikoa defeated Duke Hudson
Grayson Waller defeated Josh Briggs
Ivy Nile defeated Kiana James
Cameron Grimes defeated Nathan Frazer
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Thea Hail’s Announcement
Thea Hail stated in a pre-tape last week that she would be graduating from high school and had been accepted to many colleges. She said she would announce what college she’s going to on this show.
This week, footage aired of Hail graduating High School. Thea went to a press conference seat with a bunch of College caps in front of her. She teased going to Notre Dame, but said she’s going to attend Andre Chase University…
WWE did the final build on this show for the upcoming match between Joe Gacy and NXT Champion Bron Breakker at this Saturday’s In Your House special.
Gacy did a pre-taped promo about how Bron used to watch his father wrestle all over the world and would wrestle with his brothers at home. He saw his father’s strength and power. He took his talents to the football field and went to the redzone. Gacy said Bron knew his aggression needed to be in the squared circle and rose up the NXT rankings. He said he learned everything about Bron from his time with Rick Steiner. Gacy said Bron’s family handles things with violence and wants Bron to bring all of his anger so he can become NXT Champion.
Gacy was interviewed backstage and said he wouldn’t lose the title to Gacy. There was the sound of Gacy laughing and bron freaked out, but before he tossed a TV, he calmly put it down. Bron said being predictable wasn’t a weakness and he plans to rip Gacy apart.
Cora Jade vs. Elektra Lopez in a singles match took place.
This match was set up last week when Jade appeared in the crowd during Lopez’s match against Alba Fyre and after Fyre won, Lopez smacked the popcorn out of Jade’s hand.
The match saw Jade make a late comeback before going over with her finisher.
Cameron Grimes vs. Nathan Frazer in a singles match took place.
This bout came before Grimes defends the North American Title against Carmelo Hayes at In Your House.
The bout was saved for the main event. It was a fun match that had elements of the old NXT. Grimes went over with his finisher. Post-match, Hayes attacked Grimes, but Grimes got the better of him.
WWE booked a Championship Summit featuring Women’s Tag Team Champions Gigi Dolin and Jacey Jayne & NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose and Wendy Choo, Kayden Carter & Katana Chance.
Rose will defend her title against Choo while Dolin and Jayne will defend their titles against Chance and Carter at Saturday’s In Your House special.
Last week Chance and Carter attacked Dolin and Jayne backstage as they were walking with Rose to the ring. They also brawled around ringside during a match between Rose and Indi Hartwell. After Rose defended the NXT Women’s title against Hartwell, Choo attacked her and dumped a bag full of balls on Rose before holding up her title.
They signed the contracts for the matches. Toxic Attraction bragged about how they’ve been champions for a reason and the challengers are over their heads.Rose cut a promo about she’s better than Wendy, who launched a spit ball on her. They brawled and Wendy put her through a table.
A former WWE star recently made an appearance on AEW TV and he wonders if he’ll be brought back.
On the May 20 episode of AEW Rampage, Big Damo appeared as a mystery opponent for Shawn Spears. AEW was running a story where Spears portrayed himself as a giant killer en route to a steel cage match with Wardlow.
Spears ended up scoring the pin over Damo, who went by the name “Killian Dain” in WWE.
Is Big Damo AEW Bound?
(via AEW)
Big Damo appeared on the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling Podcast and expressed his hope that AEW will give him another call.
“Everybody there was so enthusiastic, so you never know. If it happens, great. If it doesn’t happen, then at least I had a cool experience.
“So for me, I wasn’t sure if AEW was ever going to be on the table because they were the one company who never really got in touch when I first got released. I had heard maybe it was because I was having status issues when I first got released. But at the same time, you just start thinking, well, ‘I’ll go on, I’ll do whatever I can elsewhere, and maybe that opportunity can come one day.’”
Damo also said that AEW felt like WWE when it came to production values. He said that a key difference was that he didn’t feel he had to walk on eggshells during his AEW appearance.
Could things be taking a positive turn between MJF and AEW?
MJF was the talk of Double or Nothing weekend. Fans were left wondering if Maxwell would even show up at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada for the show.
He failed to appear at a scheduled meet and greet on Saturday, forcing AEW to offer refunds and exchanges for those who paid to see MJF.
There was a later disputed report of a flight being booked for MJF out of Las Vegas. Ultimately, Maxwell showed up on Sunday and did the job for Wardlow at DoN.
He was stretchered out of the arena after the match.
MJF In The Area Of AEW Dynamite
(via AEW)
PWInsider is reporting that MJF was seen at LAX on Tuesday afternoon. This week’s AEW Dynamite will be taking place in Los Angeles.
This could be a good sign as it was said that MJF and Tony Khan would be having a meeting in Las Vegas. Assuming they had the meeting, MJF’s presence in Los Angles could indicate that the face-to-face talk went well.
PWTorch reported that MJF was “in a bad place” on Saturday and had no business making a public appearance in the state he was in.
Windham Rotunda, aka Bray Wyatt, sent out some interesting tweets that have seemingly hinted that he’s ready to step back into the squared circle again after being away for a while. He said the horrible suffering he was dealing with has disappeared and now it burns.
“Everything good that’s ever happened to me, first came a period horrible suffering. I never ask why, I just wait for the rough part to end. I was chosen for whatever reason. And I’ve got shit to do. It doesn’t hurt anymore, it burns. I’m ready now.”
There was also a red circle at the end of the tweet, which some fans thought was another indication that he’s come full circle and implied a WWE return, but there have not been any reports to confirm that at all. He sent out another tweet that reads the following:
“I’m tired of watching. Tired of hearing irrelevant clowns speculate how I’ll be perceived. Tired of hearing about my greed, my desire questioned. Wherever and whenever I decide to return, I’ll remind everyone why they know my name. Again. And again. Believe in me. #IFoundIt.”
In a follow-up tweet, Wyatt noted, “Patience. It’s almost time.”
It’s been previously reported that after Rotunda was let go by WWE, AEW and Impact Wrestling were interested in signing him. However, his asking price is said to be very high. It looks like we may find out soon what his next move is.
Everything good that’s ever happened to me, first came a period horrible suffering. I never ask why, I just wait for the rough part to end. I was chosen for whatever reason. And I’ve got shit to do. It doesn’t hurt anymore, it burns.
I’m tired of watching. Tired of hearing irrelevant clowns speculate how I’ll be perceived. Tired of hearing about my greed, my desire questioned. Wherever and whenever I decide to return, I’ll remind everyone why they know my name. Again. And again. Believe in me.#IFoundIt
There is some good news regarding the health of NJPW star Will Ospreay.
The former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion has been out of action as of late due to a nasty kidney infection. He was said to be in horrible shape just one week ago but things are going much better now.
Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer reports that Will Ospreay has been released from the hospital and is doing considerably better.
Numerous big names in the wrestling industry sent their well wishes to Ospreay. Even Minoru Suzuki sent Ospreay a “take care” message, followed by a “f*ck you,” naturally.
There’s no word on when Ospreay will be back in action at this time.
Ruby Soho recently spoke about Sasha Banks and Naomi walking out on WWE before an episode of Monday Night Raw. When the walkout happened, many people across the internet and different promotions began to give their own opinions. Sasha and Naomi have not yet commented on the incident. However, Ruby Soho, a former co-worker of theirs, has.
Ruby Soho On Her Relationship With Sasha & Naomi
When speaking with Shakiel Mahjouri of CBS Sports, Ruby revealed that she supports both women and how they decided to stand up for themselves and their careers.
Ruby said, “I’m a very firm believer in everybody’s career and everybody’s experiences are different. No matter what company you work for, no matter who you are or what level you feel like you’re on or what level people portray you to be on. I feel like everyone’s experiences are different.
I have for a long time considered Sasha and Naomi to be friends of mine. If that in the moment and in their heart of hearts is what they felt like they needed to do, then I can only understand from an outside perspective because you never know with that kind of stuff.”
Ruby Soho On Sasha & Naomi Walking Out
The AEW star continued, “You never know what they’re experiencing, what their journey is like to that point, and why they felt like they needed to do what they needed to do. But at the end of the day, you can only just try and see them for who they are as people, and I adore them. So whatever they felt like they needed to do, I understand. Everybody handles things differently. Everybody has different experiences. So until you’re in the shoes of that person, you can’t always say what you would do.
It’s definitely one of those things where I’m glad that they did what was best for them and what they felt was right at the time. I’m always for people standing up for themselves regardless of the circumstances. So if that’s what they felt like they needed to do. 100%.”
Ruby Soho In AEW
Ruby Soho recently faced Britt Baker, in a losing effort, at AEW Double or Nothing in the finals of the Owen Hart Foundation Memorial Cup Tournament.
The third annual edition of WWE NXT In Your House Event is just around the corner and the card is starting to take shape.
This show celebrates the 30th anniversary of the original In Your House show.
This will be the go-to article for an updated card of the matches and segments announced for NXT’s In Your House pay-per-view.
NXT In Your House 2022 Matches
NXT North American Championship: Cameron Grimes (c) vs. Carmelo Hayes (w/ Trick Williams)
NXT Tag Team Championship: Pretty Deadly (Kit Wilson & Elton Prince) (c) vs. The Creed Brothers (Julian & Brutus Creed) (w/ Roderick Strong and Ivy Nile)
NXT Championship: Bron Breakker (c) vs. Joe Gacy
If Breakker is disqualified, he will lose the championship.
NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship: Toxic Attraction (Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne) (c) vs. Kayden Carter and Katana Chance
NXT Women’s Championship: Mandy Rose (c) vs. Wendy Choo
Tony D’Angelo, Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo, and Troy “Two Dimes” Donovan vs. Legado del Fantasma (Santos Escobar, Cruz Del Toro, & Joaquin Wilde) (w/ Elektra Lopez)
The losing team must join the winning team’s stable.
Date, Time & How to Watch
NXT In Your House is scheduled to take place at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.
NXT In Your House takes place on Saturday, June 4, 2022. The air time is set for 7:00 PM EST.
You can watch NXT In Your House on Peacock in the United States or through the WWE Network internationally.
There has been little to no movement in the WWE saga with Sasha Banks and Naomi.
Fightful is reporting that there hasn’t been much, if any, communication between the two sides. It’s been said in the report that WWE has canceled all of its planned travel accommodations for Sasha and Naomi.
The former WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions walked out of the May 16 episode of Raw. They had been booked to compete in a six-pack challenge.
PWInsider reported that Naomi was going to challenge Bianca Belair for the Raw Women’s Championship, while Sasha was going to face SmackDown Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey.
Creative differences were the reason cited for Sasha and Naomi bailing on the show.
The two were suspended indefinitely for their actions. WWE vacated the Women’s Tag Team Titles and announced a tournament to determine the new champions.
Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer has reported that plans for the tournament are essentially “dead in the water.”
A WWE Hall Of Famer has commented on rejoining WWE as their SVP of live events.
Last week it was reported that Jeff Jarrett had joined WWE in an executive position. It has now been revealed by Jarrett himself that he has, in fact, joined WWE as their new SVP of live events.
Jarrett commented on the new opportunity during the latest episode of his podcast with Conrad Thompson, “My World.”
The former WCW World Champion noted that live events are his passion, so this role fits him perfectly.
He also confirmed he will continue to do his podcast while working for WWE, much like Bruce Prichard does currently.
“As you know me, Conrad, I’m a personal guy and I’ll leave it personal for that matter. It’s kind of what’s been stated out there, SVP, Live Events.
“You know as well as anybody, my passion is in live events, but I’ll just kind of leave that right there.
“It’s gonna be a journey that I’m excited about but, as it all comes together, you know what this means don’t you? Well, I am so ready for year two [of his podcast], let’s rock Conrad.”
Jeff Jarrett was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame in 2018, and begun working as a producer for the company shortly thereafter.
He had also been working as an executive for live events, before that came to a halt when the COVID-19 pandemic began. Soon after, Jarrett left the company.
The betting odds have been updated for WWE Hell In A Cell, as the card for the show that takes place this Sunday is nearly finalized.
Right now, only two championships are set to be on the line. Bianca Belair will be defending her Raw Women’s Championship against Becky Lynch and Asuka. The United States Championship will be on the line when Theory takes on Mustafa Ali. Right now, neither championship is set to change hands.
WWE Hell in a Cell Odds
Raw Women’s Championship Match: Bianca Belair -200 (1/2) vs Becky Lynch +220 (11/5) vs Asuka +300 (3/1)
Hell In A Cell: Cody Rhodes -225 (4/9) vs Seth “Freakin” Rollins +150 (3/2)
Handicap Match: Bobby Lashley -180 (5/9) vs Omos & MVP +140 (7/5)
Mixed Tag Team Match: The Judgment Day -350 (2/7) vs AJ Styles & Finn Balor & Liv Morgan +225 (9/4)
Ezekiel -150 (2/3) vs Kevin Owens +110 (11/10)
United States Championship Match: Theory (c) -450 (2/9) vs Mustafa Ali +275 (11/4)
— Lacey Evans ~ WWE Superstar. (@LaceyEvansWWE) May 31, 2022
While Lacey didn’t show up on Raw, WWE made sure to keep her name in the minds of fans watching the show. The promotion ran a video showing her appearance at the Coca-Cola 600 this past weekend.
The vignettes that WWE has run for Lacey initially seemed to indicate she’s being poised for a massive babyface push. After all, she has told stories of overcoming tragedy to get to where she is today.
As it turns out, PWInsider has reported that Evans is penciled in as a heel on the Raw brand. Time will tell if WWE changes plans.
NWA Worlds Champion Matt Cardona has confirmed his injury.
Matt Cardona’s Injury
On May 28 at GCW Downward Spiral, Cardona faced Blake Christian. During the match, he, unfortunately, injured his arm. Due to the injury he sustained, Cardona had to miss his scheduled afterparty. He revealed that he needed to take a ‘redeye’ to Orlando to get the injury checked out. Cardona noted before the confirmation that he ‘thought’ that he has suffered a torn bicep.
On Tuesday, Matt Cardona confirmed on Twitter that his bicep was torn, following an MRI. He also revealed that he needs surgery and that he will be canceling upcoming dates.
Got a MRI today. Bicep is torn. Surgery needed. Will unfortunately need to cancel some dates.
Cardona is set to defend the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship at NWA Alwayz Ready on June 11 against Nick Aldis. The title of the pay-per-view is a nod to Matt Cardona and his branding.
Cardona also is the reigning AIW Absolute Champion, AIW Intense Champion, and the ASW Heavyweight Champion. Cardona also competes regularly in IMPACT Wrestling and Game Changer Wrestling.
Cardona Injury Update
Cardona recently appeared on Busted Open Radio to reveal that he will still be at the NWA Alwayz Ready show in some way.
Cardona shared, “The doctor is suggesting surgery, which I will be getting on Tuesday, but there is no way I’m not coming to a pay-per-view named after me. I will be there. I don’t know what exactly is going to happen and what exactly is going to go down. I’m going to be there, I’ll have the Ten Pounds of Gold with me. It’s really Billy’s [Billy Corgan] decision on what he wants to do.”
“Part of me wanted to tape it up and work through it, but I want to be doing this for a long time. It’s probably better that I get it taken care of right now. There is no good time to get hurt and this certainly isn’t it. NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion, having a pay-per-view named after me, just being the King of Indies, the Deathmatch King, we have (IMPACT) Slammiversary coming up. It’s not a good time to get hurt, but shit happens,” Cardona continued.
It is unclear how long Cardona will be unable to complete. There is not yet an announcement on how the NWA will handle the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship situation.
H/T to Jeremy Lambert Fightful for the transcription
SEScoops would like to wish Cardona a speedy recovery.
There are results from GCW Downward Spiral included in our Saturday Night Results wrap-up here.
I think I tore my bicep and I still finished the match and beat you!!! https://t.co/PWzrCryEV6
Sorry guys. Gotta miss this after party at @NerdBarLV. Messed up my arm at GCW tonight and I need to get a red eye to Orlando to get it checked out. pic.twitter.com/tFgFRARlEE
AEW’s Lee Moriarty has suffered a horrible family tragedy.
Sadly, his infant nephew passed away on Sunday. Moriarty took to social media to release a statement. Moriarty posted a statement on his Twitter which relieved the tragedy.
Moriarty said:
“My nephew was 1 years old and his life was taken in a drive-by yesterday. I don’t share things from my personal life often but he deserves to be acknowledged for the great person he was growing to become. Miss you.
I’m muting this and I’d prefer no messages. Thank you.”
Throughout the United States, gun violence continues to be a persistent and continuous problem.
Following the murders of several children and teachers at a school in Uvalde, Texas, many performers across the wrestling landscape spoke out against gun violence.
SEScoops sends our deepest condolences to Lee and his family.
A recent AEW Meet & Greet had to go ahead without MJF as the “Salt of the Earth” was in “no place” to meet the fans.
MJF has been at odds with AEW President Tony Khan over his current contract, which MJF has made clear will expire in January 2024.
The Dynamite Diamond Ring winner has also teased joining WWE though some have questioned if this is all part of his character.
During a recent PWTorch.com audio show, Wade Keller detailed the issues between MJF and Khan and why the wrestler no-showed the recent Meet & Greet prior to Double or Nothing 2022.
“The way it was portrayed to us is MJF was in no place to be in public. He was in a bad place. And so it just seemed if not mutually agreed upon [it was] pretty obvious to everybody that it would be good for him to not make a public appearance.
“People in AEW were hoping that Tony and MJF could sit down and hash out their differences. There was just hope that cooler heads would prevail. Tony Khan on social media can come across sometimes as defensive.”
“MJF was in no place to be in public. He was in a bad place.”
Wade Keller
The issue between MJF and Khan is reportedly over money as the wrestler is earning substantially less than others in the promotion.
Keller explained that while MJF has received a raise, it is still less than several free agents signed to AEW contracts over the past year.
“MJF was given a raise once since he signed with AEW. So he’s making substantially more than the starter contract, like hundreds of thousands of dollars but it is modest compared to the contracts of more than a half a dozen free-agent signings AEW has made over the past year.”
Keller named Christian, Mark Henry, Malakai Black, Adam Cole, Bryan Danielson, and CM Punk as just some names signed to better deals than the “Salt of the Earth.”
He added that while MJF’s segments do better than most, his pay doesn’t reflect that performance.
MJF appeared at Double or Nothing 2022 where he lost to Wardlow, who earned a contract with AEW due to his win.
MJF was stretchered out of the arena after the match, indicating that he is being written off TV for the time being.
Following his victory against Hangman Adam Page at Double Or Nothing to win the AEW World Championship, CM Punk celebrated with the ROH and AAA Tag Team Champions, FTR, after the pay-per-view went off the air.
CM Punk and FTR celebrate after AEW Double or Nothing 2022
CM Punk & FTR Possibly Could Go After AEW Trios Titles
A user on Twitter brought up the possibility of FTR and CM Punk working together as a tag team in the highly anticipated trios division. CM Punk responded to the user with his thoughts on the idea.
The AEW World Champion responded, “Just give us the straps so we don’t have to hurt your favs.” You can view that exchange below.
