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Wrestler Takes Gnarly Bump Off Dive At GCW Maniac (Video)

As they say, “this ain’t ballet.”

The GCW Maniac event was held inside the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Los Angeles, California on May 21. The main event saw Drew Parker defeat Joey Janela.

At some point in the match, Janela lit his boot on fire and needed assistance extinguishing it.

Ouch

Also featured on the card was a GCW Tag Team Title match. Allie Katch and EFFY took on Juicy Finau and Toa Liona.

At one point in the match, Katch dove off the top turnbuckle onto the outside and had a brutal landing.

Check out the spot below:

https://twitter.com/braulio_dlc/status/1528428554974703616

Katch kept trucking along and she and EFFY emerged victorious.

Sasha Banks-Naomi Situation Expected To Get Worse (Report)

It doesn’t look like the Sasha Banks-Naomi situation is going to get better anytime soon.

WrestleVotes is reporting that the expectation is that WWE management is in a foul mood over the actions of Sasha and Naomi.

The former WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions walked out of the May 16 episode of Raw mid-show despite being booked for a match.

“After talking to a few people, I gather this Sasha / Naomi situation is going to get worse before it gets any better. While the majority of the support online is in their favor, it’s quite the opposite with management.”

Suspension & Reaction

As a result of what transpired on Raw, Sasha Banks and Naomi have been suspended indefinitely. In addition, a tournament will be held to crown new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions.

Taking a look on social media, there seems to be an overwhelming amount of support for Sasha and Naomi. Those who don’t agree with the support say the duo was unprofessional and did not fulfill their contractual obligations.

In WWE’s suspension announcement, Michael Cole said that Sasha Banks and Naomi let WWE fans down with their actions.

Sasha and Naomi took the tag team championships into the office of our Head of Talent Relations, left them there, and then promptly walked out of the arena. Their actions disappointed millions of WWE fans and their fellow superstars.

Tenille Dashwood Cast in Upcoming ‘The Charisma Killers’ Movie

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Impact Wrestling star Tenille Dashwood has joined other wrestlers as part of the cast for ‘The Charisma Killers.’

On Twitter, the director Michael Matteo Rossi confirmed Dashwood’s involvement in the project but did not specify what role the Australian wrestler will play.

The synopsis of the film is as follows:

“When the old mentor of 7 killers finds out he has terminal cancer, he gives them all an opportunity at his fortune to prove themselves for one night only to exact revenge.”

Dashwood is the latest wrestler to join the project after her fellow Australian Jessica McKay was cast last month one day after The IInspiration announced their hiatus from wrestling.

McKay, formerly Billie Kay in WWE, will play the role of ‘Swinger Wife.’

Last week, Rossi announced that AEW’s Brian Pillman Jr. has also signed on for ‘The Charisma Killers.’

The film will also feature performances by Vernon Wells (Commando), Marnette Patterson (American Sniper), and Jason Scott Jenkins (American Horror Story.)

Thanks to Mandatory for the transcription.

Tony Khan Shares Reaction To Johnny Elite’s AEW Debut

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AEW President Tony Khan has said it was “great” to see Johnny Elite make his debut for the promotion this week.

Johnny Elite, best known to fans as John Morrison, debuted as the Joker in the Owen Hart Foundation Men’s Tournament and faced Samoa Joe on Dynamite.

Despite losing to Joe, Khan told Busted Open Radio that he was pleased to see Elite make his presence felt in AEW on this week’s episode.

“It was great to have Johnny Elite here. What a great match-up he had with Samoa Joe. It was a great way to make his debut in the Owen [Hart Foundation Tournament]. That was tremendous, and really, I am very glad he was here. He’s a great mentor to some of the young wrestlers in the locker room, and somebody I think fans have looked up to for a long time, and he went toe-to-toe with one of the toughest wrestlers in AEW.”

Elite’s debut on AEW comes months after his release from WWE last November.

Joe will face Kyle O’Reilly on this week’s AEW Dynamite, with the winner facing Adam Cole at Double or Nothing 2022 in the Owen Hart Foundation Men’s Tournament finals.

Thanks to 411Mania for the transcription.

VIDEO: Joey Janela Fire Spot Nearly Goes Horribly Wrong

Joey Janela had a scary moment during a recent GCW show.

Janela was featured on the GCW Maniac show this past Saturday night (May 21). Janela went one-on-one with Drew Parker and he wanted to do something that would have fans talking.

Mission accomplished but at the expense of things nearly going terribly wrong.

At one point in the match, Janela set his boot on fire and superkicked Parker. The problem was that the fire wouldn’t go out for a while as it got more intense.

Thankfully, the fire was eventually put out before things got extremely dangerous.

Joey Janela poked fun at the scary moment after the match.

https://twitter.com/JANELABABY/status/1528334349187198977

Janela has been a main attraction for GCW and things have only picked up since he made his exit from AEW. His contract with AEW expired on April 30.

As far as the result of the match goes, Drew Parker picked up the win.

Ric Flair On Why He Is Returning To Ring

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Ric Flair’s decision to get back in the ring after more than a decade is garnering more concern from fans than it’s generating excitement, but the nature boy is trying to convince everyone that he is ready to go.

The 16-time world champion spoke to TMZ. He talked about things such as his training for the upcoming match and explained why he is returning to the squared circle.

Addressing the concerns about his health, Ric Flair said that he has consulted 40 different doctors and decided that he was only going to listen to one:

“I don’t have any aches or pains. I know I’ve had the health issues, but I asked 40 different doctors, and I decided I’m only gonna listen to one. Not necessarily the one that was gonna give me the right answer, but that I felt the most comfortable with,”

Speaking about the reason behind his comeback, Ric Flair explained that he is not content with his last couple of matches: “I couldn’t stand the last couple of matches I had. Couldn’t stand the last year I had,”

Flair last wrestled during an Impact Wrestling episode back in September 2011. He was defeated by Sting in a match that lasted about 15 minutes.

Ric Flair is set to make his return after more than a decade at Starrcast V during the SummerSlam weekend on July 31. An opponent for the WWE Hall of Famer is yet to be named.

Don’t Expect Kenny Omega Back Inside The Ring Anytime Soon

Kenny Omega doesn’t appear to be anywhere near ready for a return to in-ring action.

This past week, PWInsider reported that Kenny Omega has been around the backstage area at AEW TV shows. He’s been helping behind the scenes and has even produced some women’s matches.

Some took the report as a sign that Omega could be back in the swing of things on TV soon.

It turns out that isn’t the case.

Latest On Kenny Omega

Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio has a new report on Kenny Omega’s in-ring status and it isn’t ideal for fans of the “Best Bout Machine.”

Meltzer reports that a date for Omega’s return isn’t even close to being set.

Omega has been dealing with a slew of injuries. He had to undergo arthroscopic knee surgery. He had been on a waitlist for hernia surgery, which took longer to address than he hoped.

On top of that, Omega is also having neck and shoulder problems.

Omega’s last match took place on Nov. 13, 2021. He lost the AEW World Championship to Hangman Adam Page in the main event of Full Gear.

Kenny Omega Update: Injury, Surgery & Return

William Regal Gives his Opinion on WWE NXT 2.0

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AEW performer William Regal has said he thought it was “great” for WWE to relaunch NXT into NXT 2.0.

WWE revamped the brand last September with a new aesthetic and roster, which saw many Superstars released in the process.

The company’s mentality was for NXT 2.0 to be a developmental ground for the main-roster, like how NXT had initially been before becoming a third brand.

Joining Renee Paquette on the latest episode of The Sessions to talk about his WWE career, Regal said he was on board with the relaunch.

“When I heard last summer that we wanted to revamp, I was like, ‘Great!’ When I actually heard what Mr. McMahon wanted, I was all for that… I don’t know if anybody knew that I was open to the fact that I wanted to be a big part of that because I was. I was very hands-on with The Creed Brothers and very hands-on with Bron Breakker. I had an incredible run on the main roster and the absolute greatest run possible in NXT. If nothing else, the time came when it was time to go now so it didn’t become something I didn’t like and move on. That’s the way I look at it.”

“When I actually heard what Mr. McMahon wanted, I was all for that.”

William Regal, on Vince McMahon’s decision to relaunch NXT as NXT 2.0.

Regal was cut from WWE earlier this year after over 20 years with the promotion.

The former Intercontinental Champion has said he checked out of wrestling after his release, but has made it clear he will not bash WWE.

Regal now appears regularly for AEW as part of the Blackpool Combat Club.

  • William Regal Recalls Being Given Just 24 Hours to Live (March 2022)

Thanks to Wrestling Inc for the transcription.

Cody Rhodes and Kenny Omega Comment on Missing AEW Double or Nothing 2022

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Both Cody Rhodes and Kenny Omega are okay with missing next week’s Double or Nothing 2022 Pay-Per-View.

Next Sunday’s event will be headlined by AEW World Champion ‘Hangman’ Adam Page defending his title against CM Punk, in the latter’s first World title match since 2013.

The show will go on without either Rhodes, who left AEW in February and returned to WWE in April, or Omega, who is continuing to recover from injuries.

Omega hasn’t appeared in AEW since Full Gear 2021, where he lost the World Championship to Page.

On Twitter, a fan expressed their disappointment that neither will be appearing next weekend saying it isn’t the same without them, earning a response from both Rhodes and Omega.

AEW Double or Nothing 2022

In addition to the AEW World Championship match, AEW Double or Nothing 2022 will also see the finals of the Owen Hart Foundation Men’s and Women’s Tournaments.

In the men’s finals, Adam Cole will face either Kyle O’Reilly or Samoa Joe, who will face off on next week’s Dynamite to earn a spot in the finals.

For the women’s tournament, Toni Storm will face Britt Baker and Ruby Soho will face Kris Statlander, with the winners advancing to the finals at the Pay Per View.

Thunder Rosa On How Long She Plans To Continue Wrestling

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35-year-old Thunder Rosa is an inspiration for anyone who hasn’t found their path early in their life. The AEW star made her wrestling debut at the age of 28 back in 2014. Since then, she has not only forged a career path for herself but Rosa has gone on to become the women’s champion in the second-largest pro wrestling promotion of the world.

The current AEW women’s world champion recently spoke to Forbes. She talked about things such as her singing career and more.

When asked about her retirement plans, Rosa said that she will be competing for as long as possible. Though the former Lucha Underground star then explained why she doesn’t want to be wrestling after 45:

“I’m going to wrestle as long as possible, but I don’t think I want to be wrestling after I’m 45. I know some of my peers at that age and they’re still wrestling. I personally don’t want to because it’s very taxing on your body.”

Thunder Rosa went on to describe how she can wrestle at her level and caliber for only so long, before her age starts catching up to her:

“I can wrestle to the caliber, to the level that I’ve been wrestling at, for another three to four years… But I also have to scale back and take care of my body.”

Rosa also discussed her current health and said that her body feels 100 percent right now. She recalled how she was in a lot of pain before because she was wrestling so much.

Road Dogg On How Higher Ups Viewed NXT During Triple H’s Time

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A lot of fans were upset with WWE getting rid of Triple H’s NXT team and revamping the brand. Many believed that it killed the show’s unique identity that The Game had worked hard to build. Though according to Brian ‘Road Dogg’ James, the top brass never really saw it as the third brand. For them, NXT was always the developmental.

The former SmackDown head writer recently spoke to WrestleZone. He talked about WWE releasing talents such as Dexter Lumis. James explained that while Lumis was very talented, he didn’t fit into the plans because of his age. WWE’s focus now is on developing younger talents:

“Right now, what they’re trying to do is get as many young talent up and running as they possibly can, because then you’re gonna see a few of those thoroughbreds stick out, and you’re gonna go ‘Okay, so there’s so and so. We’re gonna sent her to SmackDown. We’re gonna send him to Raw.’

Road Dogg continued, “Because that’s what NXT was originally. It became because of the TV rights deal, a third brand. But it was never really intended to be a third brand. It was never thought about, from a business standpoint, as a third brand. It was kind of always thought of, really high up, as developmental. I think it got away from its roots a little bit. I think Vince came down there and said ‘we’re going to do things a little differently now.’ I think he saw an opportunity to do that and he took it. I think that’s how he’s wanted it to be run so that’s how it’s being run now.”

You can watch Road Dogg’s interview below:

More Originals From SEScoops:

If you use any quotes from the article please credit SEScoops with an H/t for transcription

How Much Killer Kross And Scarlett Bordeaux Are Making Now Compared To WWE

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Killer Kross and Scarlett Bordeaux have gone on from having WWE contracts to working indie dates in less than a year. This change, however, has not affected their finances as you’d expect.

Bordeaux recently had an interview with WrestlingInc. Among other things, she discussed their finances and said that they are making the same amount of money as they were making on the main roster:

“Financially, I will just say it — we are making the same as a WWE main roster salary.”

– Scarlett Bordeaux

Scarlett Bordeaux continued by mentioning how they are much busier now than they were before. It’s because they have multiple ventures and have to make all their business decisions by themselves as well:

“We are actually busier now than we were before, 100 percent. We are answering more emails, dealing with contracts, dealing with contracts with television shows, movies.

With his Twitch, with my OnlyFans, we are nonstop busy and hustling. But we have 100 percent creative freedom and no rules whatsoever to what we are doing.”

Both Killer Kross and Scarlett Bordeaux joined WWE in February 2020. They went on to have a successful NXT career with Kross winning the title twice during his stay.

Though the pair were broken up when they were called up to the main roster. After being in the creative limbo for months, both the stars were released in November last year.

Matt Hardy Reflects On Distasteful WWE Angle Involving Jeff

WWE has been known to turn real-life events into angles but one, in particular, went too far for Matt Hardy.

Back in 2008, Jeff Hardy’s house burned down and his dog died as a result. Matt told reporters that he initially thought his brother was a goner but thankfully that wasn’t the case.

WWE decided to use this as a storyline on TV with Matt acting as if he started the fire.

“This Is In Poor Taste”

Speaking to Freddie Prinze Jr. on Wrestling With Freddie, Matt Hardy looked back on the uncomfortable angle (h/t WrestlingNews.co).

“That was an event that was so tragic and so sad. Literally, his house burned down. All the old tights and all his old gear were lost in the fire.

“His dog died. It was a really traumatic event for him. Just for them to put that in our storyline was almost like it was in bad taste. I’ll never forget them burning a dog collar and then I held the dog collar.

“I remember saying, ‘I don’t know. I mean, I’ll do it. If this is what you guys want me to do, I’ll do it. But like, this could be too much.’ I could just feel the air coming out of the crowd. It’s not that they were mad at me because I’m playing the bad guy in the story. They were mad at me because this is in poor taste. So that’s how it felt.”

Jeff chimed in and said that he was irate when WWE management tried getting him “fired up” over the angle. He was shown a video package featuring his dog and nearly burst into tears.

He felt there was a complete disregard for how he was feeling following the tragic event.

Jon Moxley Set To Reunite With IMPACT Wrestling Star

Jon Moxley is going to turn back the clock with a longtime tag team partner.

Wrestling Revolver will be having a show on July 9. The event will be held inside the Horizon Events Center in Clive, IA.

The promotion’s official Twitter account has announced that Moxley will be reunited with IMPACT Wrestling’s Sami Callihan to take on The Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards).

Moxley and Callihan are known as The Switchblades.

Jon Moxley and Sami Callihan were initially scheduled to team back in Oct. 2021 for Pro Wrestling Revolver’s Tales From The Ring show.

That plan went awry when Callihan suffered a broken ankle during an IMPACT taping.

Callihan underwent successful surgery and made his return at IMPACT Under Siege earlier this month.

WWE Removes Sasha Banks & Naomi From TV Intro

WWE continues to wipe itself clean of content featuring Sasha Banks and Naomi.

Fans were quick to notice a couple of changes in the WWE TV intro. Both Sasha and Naomi have been yanked from the opening package.

Sasha has been replaced by Cody Rhodes, while Ronda Rousey takes Naomi’s place.

https://twitter.com/crater2001/status/1527956126717079552

Tensions Mount

Sasha and Naomi were the reigning WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. WWE booked them for a six-pack challenge with the winner going on to Hell in a Cell to challenge Bianca Belair for the Raw Women’s Championship on June 5.

PWInsider reported that Naomi was scheduled to win the match.

WWE was forced to pivot when Sasha Banks and Naomi left the building mid-show, citing creative differences. This prompted WWE to issue a statement, revealing that the former Women’s Tag Team Champions left the gold on the desk of John Laurinaitis and walked out.

During the May 20 episode of WWE SmackDown, Michael Cole announced that Sasha and Naomi have been suspended indefinitely and a tournament will be held to determine the new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions.

In addition, WWE has pulled all merchandise for Sasha and Naomi online.

Will Ospreay Reveals Surprising Reason He Won’t Sign With WWE

NJPW star Will Ospreay doesn’t plan on signing with WWE in the future and his explanation may come as a surprise.

Ospreay hasn’t been shy in expressing that he isn’t a fan of the WWE product. With that said, even though WWE may not be his cup of tea, his feelings aren’t the sole reason why he won’t be joining Vince McMahon’s empire.

The real reason comes down to lifestyle.

Not WWE Bound

During an appearance on WRESTHINGS, Will Ospreay detailed the truth behind WWE not being on his bucket list (h/t Fightful).

“I have no aspirations of going to WWE, at all. It’s not because of the product or anything. I’m not a fan of it, I will happily say, but my lifestyle. I never wanted to be the big star pro wrestler.

“Japan allows me to do a tour and come home and live my family life. If anybody has ever spent more than a couple of days with me, family to me is everything. I love my mom, I love my dad, no shame in saying it.

“Love my nan and granddad and will bend over backward and fold myself in half for those guys. If you are part of that friend circle that I consider family, I’ll do the exact same thing.

“It’s important for me to have those breaks away from wrestling to be able to live that life because one day I wish to be like my dad or granddad or even my mom because they are the people that made me. I want to do that one day.”

The former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion went on to say that he’s glad that he isn’t involved in WWE-esque storylines, allowing him to simply focus on perfecting his craft in the ring.

He also said he loves NJPW as a company because the locker room has always had his back.

WWE Faction Finally Gets A Name

It looks like a WWE stable has now got a name.

For weeks, Sheamus, Ridge Holland, and Butch have been a thorn in the side of The New Day. Wins have been traded back and forth between the groups but something has to give.

Xavier Woods said he plans on teaming with Kofi Kingston and a mystery partner to take on Sheamus, Holland, and Butch.

New Faction Name

Speaking of those three bruisers, it looks like their faction has a name. Together, Sheamus, Ridge Holland, and Butch are now being called the “Brawling Brutes.”

WWE had trademark listings for the “Bloody Brutes” through USPTO. It appears the company settled on “Brawling Brutes.”

It makes sense given that WWE has a no-blood policy with rare exceptions.

Xavier Woods pinned Butch on the May 20 episode of SmackDown. After the match, Butch attacked Woods from behind.

This prompted Woods to find a mystery partner to join him and Kofi Kingston to even the odds.

Mark Henry says Jimmy Uso Should’ve Confronted Corey Graves for Calling Naomi “Unprofessional”

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WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry has said he wouldn’t have tolerated his wife being called “unprofessional” on live TV.

During this week’s Raw, Sasha Banks and Naomi walked out of the show, forcing WWE to scrap plans for a six-pack challenge main event.

On TV, Corey Graves said that the pair had acted “unprofessionally” ahead of the main event singles match between Becky Lynch and Asuka.

Speaking on the latest edition of Busted Open Radio, Henry discussed the call by Graves and though he didn’t call-out Uso by name, said that Naomi’s husband should’ve spoken in her defense.

“My issue was not even with the walkout, my issue was not even with the disagreement, or the disclaimer. My issue was with people on the show saying that was unprofessional because I’m going to tell you right now, if that was my wife and I’m working on that show, I’m walking down to the announce table and I’m going to say, ‘Hey, you stay professional. Do your job and then I won’t have to walk down here to the ring to tell you to not do that again.'”

On SmackDown, it was announced that Banks and Naomi had been suspended indefinitely and stripped of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships.

Thanks to Sportskeeda for the transcription.

Booker T Compares AEW’s Hiring Process To WCW

A former five-time WCW Champion sees a lot of similarities between his old stomping grounds and AEW.

Some have criticized AEW for having a bloated roster. There are many times when some notable names aren’t seen on the main shows Dynamite and Rampage, but they will have matches on Dark or Dark Elevation, both of which air on YouTube and mostly showcase squash matches.

Booker T believes it’s a similar problem that WCW had.

Similarities

Taking to his Hall of Fame podcast, Booker explained why he sees a lot of similarities in how AEW handles hiring talent to how WCW handled the process (h/t ewrestlingnews.com).

“Yeah, there’s been a lot of guys on the show. They try to get a lot of guys on that show and highlight as many things as they possibly can. A lot of things get lost in the shuffle, of course, in doing that. WCW, back in the day, they hired a bunch of guys.

“Most of the guys, they just hired them just so they wouldn’t go to WWE. WCW had signed a bunch of guys and they were sitting at home, making money. They just didn’t want those guys to go to the WWE or back to WWE.”

It’s become a meme on social media that whoever is signed to AEW will end up on Dark in two or three weeks. While the company uses the YouTube shows to pad records, most people who tune into AEW TV aren’t watching the online shows.

Recently, the company has been letting contracts expire for wrestlers they aren’t doing anything with. Recent names include Jack Evans and Marko Stunt.

Stu Grayson’s contract also expired, but AEW tried negotiating with him.

Sasha Banks Attends Steve Aoki Concert Friday Night (Video)

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Sasha Banks is currently suspended from WWE indefinitely due to her decision to walk out of Monday’s Raw in protest of her character’s creative direction.

However, that didn’t stop her from having a fun Friday night out. The Boss was not in attendance for this week’s SmackDown.

WWE broadcaster Michael Cole addressed her absence on camera. In addition to being suspended indefinitely, Banks and Naomi have been stripped of the WWE Women’s tag team championships.

WWE also pulled all of their merchandise from WWE Shop, as well as their official Facebook pages. This should tell you where things stand between the two sides.

While all this was going down, Banks was in Minneapolis, Minnesota attending a concert by DJ Steve Aoki at The Armory.

Sasha Banks’ WWE contract is set to expire soon, which raises the stakes of her fallout with WWE even higher.

Check out this footage of Sasha Banks at the Steve Aoki concert and make sure to follow us on Instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd0lK97DsAC/

AEW Trademarks ‘Blood Moon Rising’ For New Show

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All Elite Wrestling has filed a trademark application for a new “continuing program about wrestling.”

The United States Patent & Trademark Office database has been a great source of information about wrestler and event names.

Earlier this week, AEW filed a trademark for a new show called, Blood Moon Rising.

According to the USPTO database, All Elite Wrestling, LLC applied to trademark the name on May 17th. The Goods and Services usage description for Blood Moon Rising reads:

“G & S: Educational and entertainment services, namely, a continuing program about wrestling accessible by radio, television, satellite, audio, video and computer networks; Entertainment services in the nature of live wrestling performances; Entertainment services in the nature of production of wrestling programs and events; Entertainment services, namely, an ongoing multimedia program featuring wrestling distributed via various platforms across multiple forms of transmission media; Entertainment services, namely, an ongoing series featuring wrestling provided through a global computer network; Entertainment services, namely, production and distribution of ongoing television programs in the field of wrestling; Entertainment services, namely, providing ongoing webisodes featuring wrestling via a global computer network; Entertainment in the nature of wrestling contests; Providing wrestling news and information via a global computer network.”

What is Blood Moon Rising?

Interestingly, the day before the Blood Moon Rising trademark application filing, Tony Khan tweeted the following photo of a blood moon on Instagram.

He included the caption, “@AllEliteWrestling presents Blood Moon Monday, live on pay-per-view. (No, not a real pay-per-view show, just a caption.)”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CdmvmC1tKzE/

AEW also recently sent out a survey to fans discussing a new reality show coming soon to TBS.

A description for the new show reads, “AEW’s top performers are ushering in a new behind-the-scenes wrestling series like no other… Every episode will track our core cast on the road at AEW events as they try to hold onto the titles they have or win back the ones they’ve lost, with everything culminating at the biggest Pay-Per-View event of the year.”

More on the new AEW reality show is available right here:

WWE Hall of Famer Compares MJF to ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper

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WWE Hall of Famer and AEW performer Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts has praised MJF’s work as a heel, comparing him to the late ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper.

MJF has proven to be a stand-out talent for AEW due to his heel persona and refusal to break character when appearing in public.

Speaking on his DDP Snake Pit podcast, Roberts was asked about just how similar MJF is to the former WWE Intercontinental Champion.

“Absolutely (on the piper-mjf comparrison.) Because he rants on you, man. he gets in your face. he throws sh*t at you quick and fast.”

Jake Roberts

MJF is expected to face Wardlow at Double or Nothing 2022 on May 29.

Will MJF jump to WWE?

MJF may be one of the most popular acts in AEW, but according to reports, he’s not happy with the promotion.

MJF has reportedly been at odds with Tony Khan in recent months and has openly teased going to WWE, saying he would have a “tremendous” match with Roman Reigns.

MJF’s contract with AEW will expire in 2024, and the “Salt of the Earth” has reportedly rejected all attempts to extend his current deal.

Thanks to Sportskeeda for the transcription.

Anthony Bowens Confirms Knee Surgery

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AEW star and one-half of the Acclaimed tag team Anthony Bowens has revealed that he has undergone a knee surgery.

The 31-year-old had made a cryptic post earlier this week saying that he wanted to be on Dynamite but the opportunity was taken away from him.

In an apparent update to the story, Bowens took on his Twitter to share the news of the surgery with fans on Friday. He claimed that he had to get the operation because of an attack after Elevation on Monday:

“Without getting into too much detail..bc of the attack after Elevation on Monday, I had to undergo a procedure this week to fix my knee. Story of my life..1 step forward, 2 steps back.” wrote Anthony Bowens.

The Acclaimed had teamed up with The Gunn Club to compete in an 8 men tag team match during this week’s Dark: Elevation episode. They defeated Bryce Donovan, GKM, Lucas Chase & Zack Clayton.

Footage shown on Friday’s Rampage saw Anthony Bowens getting attacked after the match. Though the culprit behind the attack was not revealed.

Before the Elevation match, the AEW star had been out of action for several months due to another knee injury. There is no word on how long he will take to recover this time.

Becky Lynch Reportedly Pitched Raw Main Event

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Sasha Banks and Naomi walking out of Raw put WWE in a strange position in regards to the already announced Raw main event. This is where Becky Lynch came to the rescue and pitched the alternative match to close the show.

WWE had originally planned a six-pack challenge to determine the new #1 contender for the Raw women’s champion Bianca Belair for this week’s episode of Raw.

However, the company was put in an awkward position because Sasha Banks and Naomi who were supposed to compete in the match walked out of the show.

Vince McMahon was informed about it after the show had already gone on air and they had announced the main event. This is when Becky Lynch suggested the alternative idea.

Per Wrestling Observer Newsletter, The Man suggested a one-on-one #1 contenders match instead and offered to put over Asuka in the main event of the show.

This worked because WWE is trying to save a rematch between Lynch and Belair for a major PPV. So she couldn’t win the championship contender match.

The match saw Becky trying to use Asuka’s umbrella as a foreign object. However, the Japanese star blew green mist in her eyes and pinned her for the win.

Asuka will now challenge Bianca Belair for the Raw women’s championship at the Hell In A Cell PPV. The show will take place from Allstate Arena in Chicago on June 6.

What Happened After May 20 WWE SmackDown Went Off The Air

The May 20 episode of WWE SmackDown concluded and fans inside Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, MI were treated to a dark match.

In the main event of the show, SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos took on Raw Tag Team Champions RK-Bro. This was a “Winner Take All” title unification match.

Ultimately, The Usos won thanks to an assist from Roman Reigns. After the match, The Bloodline attacked RK-Bro. Jey Uso landed a splash on Riddle from the top turnbuckle through an announce table.

Reigns choked out Randy Orton with a guillotine on the outside.

Special Dark Match

Once the cameras stopped rolling, Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair took on the newest member of The Judgment Day, Rhea Ripley. Belair pinned Rhea with the KOD.

Here’s some footage of the match courtesy of Twitter user @BigTimeGoat.

https://twitter.com/BigTimeGoat/status/1527840605338058753
https://twitter.com/BigTimeGoat/status/1527838788591968257

That match may have been a preview of things to come. Belair is set to put her Raw Women’s Championship on the line against Asuka at Hell in a Cell on June 5.

If she makes it past “The Empress of Tomorrow,” many believe Belair could be due for a summer feud with Rhea.

Currently, Rhea is in a feud with her former tag team partner Liv Morgan. Liv has aligned with AJ Styles and Finn Balor in the fight against Edge, Damian Priest, and Rhea Ripley.

The Judgment Day recently tried recruiting Liv, AJ, and Balor to the group.