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NJPW Negotiating With Multiple American TV Networks (Report)

Chris Stephens
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New Japan Pro Wrestling announced at Wrestle Kingdom that they would be returning to American television shortly. Not long after, it was revealed that the promotion had struck a deal with the Roku channel. According to a recent report from PW Insider, however, the company is in negotiations with multiple other networks.

The report states that some of the networks have been in talks with NJPW going back to early next year. Other networks NJPW is said to be negotiating with came along just recently, however.

NJPW negotiating with networks in the United States was also addressed recently in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

“Regarding the talks with AXS, the company is in talks right now with a number of U.S. stations, AXS being one of them,” wrote Dave Meltzer.

Previously, the Observer stated that talks between NJPW and AXS TV had hit an advanced stage.

“There are significant talks involving New Japan returning to AXS television. AXS was wanting the programming back, and it would likely involve more dealings with New Japan and Impact, as the Juice Robinson & David Finlay debut as regulars show,” wrote Dave Meltzer. 

A big episode of New Japan Strong will air tonight on New Japan World. KENTA finally challenges Jon Moxley for the IWGP United States Championship on the show.

Konnan Gives An Update On His Health

Chris Stephens
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Konnan was recently hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19. His situation was complicated by the kidney transplant he received in 2007. He is now out of the hospital and gave an update on his health while speaking with Disco Inferno.

“Just so you know, from here on out, I’m a whole different mother****er. I am not cow-towing to nobody,” Konnan said.

Konnan then told a story about how his doctors were trying to get him to take his situation more seriously.

“I was in the hospital, I wake up, there’s 6 doctors in front of me,” Konnan said.

“(The doctors) are very mad with me because I’m not taking my pills, I’m being very rude, I’m not listening to instructions.”

“Because I didn’t want to believe it was as bad as they were telling me, I didn’t want to hear bad news.”

Konnan then said one of his doctors told him there was a 60% chance his heart was going to stop and his kidneys were failing.

“Then another guy walks in, a chaplain, and you know I hate religion. The mother****er wanted to pray with me, I almost threw him out the window.”

He would continue to say he considers himself lucky to be alive now, however.

“I am very fortunate, and I do not over-dramatize this, to be alive.”

“I was looking at death dude, it’s not a script.”

Konnan said at that point he was taking a survey of his life. He also spoke about how he appreciates his friendships with Rey Mysterio, Disco and others.

While he didn’t say exactly how he contracted the virus, Konnan did offer some thoughts on what may have led to it.

“I was in a 1000% compromised situation,” Konnan said when Disco asked him how he thinks he contracted the virus. “Because I’m in a business where everybody in my business is a *Bleeped*.”

Konnan’s comments can be heard in the below video:

Scorpio Sky Injury Update Following Torn Meniscus

Chris Stephens
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Scorpio Sky is scheduled to take part in the upcoming ladder match at AEW Revolution. He hasn’t wrestled since January 7th, when he defeated Nick Comoroto on an episode of Dark.

As it turns out, Sky has been out of action with a torn meniscus. The match at Revolution will mark his return to the ring after 2-months on the shelf dealing with it.

Sky spoke about returning at the PPV recently on his Wrestling with the Week podcast.

“First match back coming off a torn meniscus,” Sky said. “I like to dive into the deep water and see if I can swim without getting wet. People like to think of things today as a TV business and the TV matches are most important. As an old-school guy, pay-per-view is where it’s at and I’m excited to be back on pay-per-view in a marquee match.”

Scorpio Sky on Revolution Ladder Match

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Scorpio Sky knows this is a big opportunity to catapult himself right back into the top of AEW’s rankings. “It’s a huge opportunity,” he said. “You can’t turn down a match like this. If I had to cut my leg off and crawl into the ring, I would do it. Anytime you’re attached to the name Cody Rhodes, it’s big.”

AEW Revolution takes place Sunday, March 7th and airs live on pay-per-view.

Watch Scorpio Sky’s comments about the AEW Revolution Ladder Match:

H/T to Fightful for the transcribed quotes

Update On Sammy Guevara & Impact, Who Is Impact’s Head of Creative?

Chris Stephens
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It was reported earlier this month that Sammy Guevara had been sent home from recent Impact Wrestling tapings. The tapings took place in Nashville from February 9th-11th. Various reports have suggested that creative differences are what led to him not taking part.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Guevara was scheduled to win 3 matches during the tapings. He is also said to have pitched to win the X-division title and not lose it before returning to AEW. There was an update on this in the most recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

“Regarding the Sammy Guevara stuff here, there were losses proposed and beatdowns scheduled and while he was to win his last match, it involved a post-match beatdown that he wasn’t coming back to get revenge for,” wrote Dave Meltzer. The report continued to state that Guevara did propose winning the X-Division title.

“Guevara did propose to Impact that he win the X title which (Impact) didn’t plan for,” Meltzer continued.

It was also noted that Jimmy Jacobs is the current head of creative for Impact Wrestling. Jacobs reports to D’Amore who ultimately has the final say but for the most part, Impact’s television is booked by Jacobs, Robert Evans, and Tommy Dreamer.

Kelly Klein Files Lawsuit Against ROH & Jay Lethal

Chris Stephens
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Former WOH Champion, Kelly Klein has filed a lawsuit against her former employers for employment discrimination. Listed as defendants are Ring of Honor, the company’s General Manager Greg Gilliland, the head booker “Delirious” Hunter Johnston, COO Joe Koff and Jay Lethal.

According to documents obtained by HeelByNature, Klein is suing for “breach of an implied contract, unpaid royalties, violation of state and federal equal pay acts, abusive discharge, discrimination and harassment and an unsafe work environment.”

“Plaintiff alleges that the Defendants terminated her contract as of December 31, 2019, because of her complaints regarding the disparate pay for WHO female wrestlers, the lack of safety and medical protocols after Plaintiff suffered the concussion in October of 2019, and the sexual harassment at ROH,” read documents relating to her case.

In the fall of 2019, Kelly Klein and Joey Mercury both made public statements regarding ROH’s work environment. ROH then stated that they would not be renewing Klein’s contact but disputed claims that they had fired her.

“We normally don’t discuss these matters but since it seems to have been made public — We did not fire Kelly but we did notify her that we would not be re-signing her when her current agreement expires. She is still under contract through the end of the year,” ROH stated to various media outlets in November of 2019.

Lacey Evans Confirms Pregnancy: “I’m Having A Baby, Y’all!”

Michael Reichlin
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WWE Superstar Lacey Evans is proud to announce, “I’m having a baby y’all!”

Evans is currently on hiatus from WWE. She was recently embroiled in a heated feud with Charlotte Flair, but announced on television that she was pregnant. It was implied on television that Charlotte’s father, Ric Flair, might have had something to do with her situation.

Ric Flair’s involvement was just for storylines, but the former United States Marine is in fact expecting another child. She recently appeared on American Brain and Braun to confirm the news.

“I’m having a baby y’all!” she announced. “I didn’t expect it to be right now, as of a week ago. Women in sports entertainment, women in general, you never know. I don’t have an office job where I can get a big belly and type away at a computer desk. That’s not what God put in my life. Unfortunately, I gotta’ take it easy.”

She was scheduled to face Asuka at the recent WWE Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, but that obviously was not meant to be.

Lacey Evans (Macey Estrella-Kadlec) and husband Alfonso already have one daughter together, Summer. She spoke fondly about the possibility of having a son, but will be happy with the baby’s gender no matter what.

SEScoops wishes Lacey Evans and her husband big congratulations on their growing family.

NJPW & CMLL Release Joint Statement Solidifying Their Partnership

Michael Reichlin
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New Japan Pro Wrestling and Mexico’s CMLL promotion have issued a joint statement about their “unique and prosperous” working relationship.

The public show of solidarity comes after the cancelation of their Fantasticamania event due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Since November 2009, New Japan Pro-Wrestling and CMLL have enjoyed a unique and prosperous working relationship,” the statement reads. “This relationship has seen CMLL stars travel to Japan every January for the annual Fantasticamania tour as well as competing in New Japan rings on a frequent basis, and NJPW prospects developing in excursions to CMLL in Mexico. NJPW remains deeply proud of the strong bond it has with CMLL. Unfortunately, the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic prevented Fantasticamania from taking place in January 2021.”

The remainder of message addresses the healthy state of their partnership.

“New Japan Pro-Wrestling would like to reassure fans that its relationship with CMLL is unwavering, and that CMLL will continue to be the exclusive business partner for NJPW in Mexico.”

New Japan Pro-Wrestling is proud to issue this joint declaration with CMLL to reaffirm our mutual commitment. There is plenty more to come from NJPW’s partnership with CMLL in the future, and we appreciate your support.”

CMLL President Salvador Lutteroth Lomeli added, “New Japan Pro-Wrestling is the leader of the Japanese pro-wrestling industry, and we have developed a strong relationship of mutual trust for 12 years now. It is an honor for us to continue working with NJPW moving forward. Gracias!”

Karrion Kross Wants NXT Champion Finn Balor At WrestleMania 37

Rayan Sayyed
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0

Karrion Kross says he wants to fight WWE NXT Champion Finn Balor at WrestleMania 37 for the title. This was in response to Balor saying in an interview that Kross deserves a title shot.

Finn Balor proposed the idea of defending the NXT Championship against Karrion Kross while appearing on After The Bell. He said that a dream scenario for him would be to defend the title one night on TakeOver and the next night at WrestleMania.

“The Prince” empathized with Kross and said that he really feels for him, in regards to Kross having to relinquish his title. Balor said that Kross deserves a title shot, whether it’s at TakeOver or at WrestleMania. Karrion Kross was asked about Finn Balor’s comments and if he would be down to have this hypothetical match.

“100 percent. Yes, I would,” Karrion Kross told FOX Sports. “I don’t know where that began — whether it was online or if it was Finn’s suggestion through another interview — but people have been creating these pictures where they post the both of us with the WrestleMania background for weeks now. I hope the company is listening to that because there seems to be an interest and a demand for that.”

Karrion Kross added that he hoped fans get what they’re looking for as he would be more than happy to step up on “The Grandest Stage of Them All.”

Karrion Kross In NXT

Karrion Kross joined NXT last year where he quickly rose to the top of the scene and defeated Keith Lee for the NXT Championship during just four months of his stint at the company. Unfortunately, Kross suffered a separated shoulder, forcing him to relinquish the title, making his championship reign the shortest at just 4 days.

Returning from injury in December, Karrion Kross would then go on to feud with Damian Priest and Santos Escobar. Meanwhile, the NXT Championship has been wrapped around Finn Balor’s waist who has defended the title against the likes of Kyle O’Reilly and Pete Dunne. When Kross was asked if Balor has been a worthy champion, he vehemently agreed.

“Absolutely. Yes, he has. He’s gone through virtually every single major name in NXT. He’s had killer matches. And that’s what this company is all about. When someone is not able to carry the ball for one reason or another, we’ve got the best guys in the world ready to step up, and he did that. If the situation were reversed, I would have done it as well, and I’m looking forward to eventually stepping into the ring to compete with him,” Karrion Kross said of Finn Balor.

Hikaru Shida Beats Jon Moxley AEW Championship Record

Rayan Sayyed
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0

Hikaru Shida, the current AEW Women’s World Champion, has beaten an impressive record that was previously set by former AEW World Champion Jon Moxley. The record in question, is of holding a championship for the longest duration in the company. Moxley won the title back in February 2020 at the Revolution 2020 event by defeating Chris Jericho. He held the title for a notable 277 days, but this record has been beaten by Shida’s reign which has surpassed a total of 278+ days.

Hikaru Shida won the AEW Women’s World Championship in a No Disqualification and No Countout match at the promotion’s Double or Nothing event by defeating Nyla Rode back in May 2020. She has successfully defended the title six times against the likes of Penelope Ford, Thunder Rosa, Big Swole, Nyla Rose, Anna Jay and most recently Abadon during the January 6, 2021 edition of Dynamite. She will be defending the title for the seventh time against the winner of the ongoing AEW Women’s Eliminator tournament at the upcoming Revolution PPV on March 7. Rose, Yuka Sakazaki, Ryo Mizunami have already emerged as the semifinalists and a fourth competitor among Rosa and Riho will be determined in a special airing on Sunday, February 28.

Meanwhile, Jon Moxley as the AEW World Champion defended the title a total of nine times. Starting with Jake Hager back in April 2020, Moxley successfully defended against Brodie Lee, Brian Cage, Darby Allin, MJF, Eddie Kingston, The Butcher, Lance Archer and Kingston again at Full Gear in November. He lost the title to Kenny Omega on the December 2, 2020 episode of Dynamite. Moxley will try to capture the title again from Omega at Revolution in an Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch, no less.

Related: Bully Ray Talks How Jon Moxley and Kenny Omega Need To Approach Revolution Match

The Miz Says He Doubted He’d Be WWE Champion Again

Rayan Sayyed
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0

The Miz became WWE Champion during Sunday’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view event when he cashed in his Money in the Bank contract against Drew McIntyre and entered into his second reign as champion. He also became the only 2-time Grand Slam Champion in the company by capturing the title.

His first reign a decade ago in 2010 wasn’t as significant though, as he appeared merely as a secondary character in the main story between John Cena and The Rock. After losing the title to Cena in 2011, Miz was moved from the main event scene to the midcard, where he slowly climbed up the ranks and was even lauded as a champion who bought importance and prestige to the Intercontinental Championship which was treated as a somewhat unimportant title with throwaway reigns.

Entering into the main event scene again and becoming the top champion seemed like a long shot for The Miz again, with even him admitting that he himself wasn’t sure a successful Money in the Bank cash-in against a strong competitor like Drew McIntyre was possible. In fact, it wasn’t until the day of the Elimination Chamber event that he found out that he could be cashing in his briefcase.

Speaking to the Bleacher Report, The Miz said: “To be completely honest with you, I thought, ‘I’m never going to cash in until these two get rid of the titles because they’re such strong champions. I can’t remember the last time we had such strong champions in WWE. To be able to go in there, beat Drew McIntyre, who has been on fire as of late, and win my second WWE Championship… I wasn’t sure it was ever going to happen.

“Ten years ago, I was WWE champion, and I’ve had opportunities here and there but sometimes you just wait and you see and you push and you make sure you’re always evolving, always getting better, always doing the right things,” The Miz said regarding his rise.

The Miz expressed confidence on his comeback to the top spot, stating earlier that he does not plan to be just a transitional champion. He is set to face Bobby Lashley on next week’s Monday Night Raw as part of the deal he stuck with The Hurt Business. Miz expressed confidence and said that his second reign will be better than the first because this time he’s ready.

“It feels better because I feel that I’m ready and I’m worthy,” The Miz said. “When I first won the WWE Championship, I was still gaining my confidence in WWE. I was pretty new to the main event scene.

“As a matter of fact, I think that was my first main event,” he continued. “I wasn’t in the main event picture. To be able to work with Randy Orton and John Cena, who literally took me from his lower-level midcard Superstar into a main eventer… This is how good they are, that when you’re in the ring with them, you have to elevate yourself and get to that level. If you don’t, they’ll swallow you up and spit you out, and so many Superstars have done that,” The Miz concluded.

RetroMania Wrestling Releasing Friday, First DLC Announced

Michael Reichlin
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RetroMania Wrestling is the highly anticipated sequel to the beloved WWF arcade game, WrestleFest. The game is scheduled for release this Friday, February 26th for PC Steam. (Purchase Here)

The Nintendo Switch console version will be out soon following a slight delay. Developer Retrosoft Studio says there were some last-minute bug fixes and the game is now in the certification process. PS4 and Xbox One players will also be able to purchase the game in the near future.

Retrosoft has announced the first DLC characters that will be available for RetroMania Wrestling. They include:

  • “Cowboy” James Storm
  • Mr. Hughes
  • Chris Bey of Impact Wrestling

Storm & Hughes will be on sale for a small fee, while Chris Bey is a free bonus character. More DLC content will be announced in the months ahead.

Discussion: Will you be playing RetroMania Wrestling?

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Melina Clarifies Reports About Her WWE Return

Anutosh Bajpai
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0

Former WWE women’s champion Melina was reported to have agreed to a new contract with the company late last year but she never returned to the promotion as people were expecting.

The female star recently had an interview with WrestleTalk where she cleared the air on her status with the promotion and the reports of her return.

Melina first confirmed that she had talks with the company officials about a potential return last year. However, she revealed that she couldn’t sign a contract because of her injured knee:

“It was talks of [a return]. Talks of seeing if it was possible and all that stuff. Everyone made such a big deal out of it. I was in talks with [WWE], but I never signed a contract,

There was nothing going on.” said Melina, “Just ‘hey would you consider, would you be open?’. I’m like ‘hell yeah’. Well it turned out I have like a bad knee, and I can’t wrestle.”

The former diva’s champion also explained that her re-signing wasn’t guaranteed even if she didn’t have a bad knee and it was possible that the company might not have signed her even if she was cleared:

“Who knows if I didn’t have a bad knee if they would have signed me? Or you never know, if I had a good knee they wanted to see if I was open to it, but probably not get signed. That’s just the way wrestling is. It’s never a guarantee.”

Melina has not been a part of the WWE roster since her release in 2011. Though she did make a cameo during the Raw legends night earlier this year in January.

Don Callis Recalls Almost Joining WCW With Joey Styles In 2001

Jake Skudder
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Don Callis is the latest guest on Gallows & Anderson’s Talk’n Shop podcast. The ‘Invisible Hand’ the Good Brothers for a conversation about the ‘Forbidden Door’ storyline involving AEW-NJPW-Impact, as well as some other interesting topics.

Callis revealed that he and fellow ECW alumnus Joey Styles almost joined WCW in 2001 as their new commentary team.

Vince McMahon and WWE purchased WCW in 2001 for a measly sum, but things almost unfolded entirely differently. Former WCW Eric Bischoff almost purchased the fledgling promotion alongside Fusient Media. Unfortunately, the deal did not go through, as Bischoff and Fusient were unable to secure a television deal in time.

Don Callis’ Brush With WCW

“In 2001 when WCW was about to go out of business, I had a gig lined up with Bischoff,” Callis revealed. “Joey Styles and I were gonna go in and be the commentators.. I was gonna make more money than I ever made, but that deal fell through.”

It was a tumultuous time in the pro wrestling industry. Callis recalls having leverage one minute and the deal falling through soon thereafter.

“All of a sudden, it was like, I went from being able to leverage three companies (WWF, WCW and ECW), to a monopoly (WWE). And I knew when a monopoly happens, guys on top like Jericho do well, but the guys underneath, don’t do well.”

Callis currently serves as the Executive Vice President of Impact Wrestling. He’s also the manager of AEW World Champion Kenny Omega.

Listen to the full episode of Talkin’ Shop with Don Callis at MLWRadio.com.

EC3 Officially Signs With Ring of Honor Wrestling

Jake Skudder
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Ring of Honor has confirmed that former WWE Superstar EC3 has signed with the company. The company issued a press release earlier today confirming that the former IMPACT World Champion will be joining the promotion going forward.

Here is the full release from ROH:

Ring of Honor is pleased to announce that EC3 has signed with the company.

EC3, who had been pro wrestling’s hottest free agent since he hit the open market last summer; made a few appearances with ROH in the fall. He made his unannounced return on last weekend’s episode of “Ring of Honor Wrestling” to confront Jay Briscoe.

EC3 and Briscoe had been scheduled to face each other at Final Battle in December. The match was called off after EC3 tested positive for COVID-19.

EC3 Signs With ROH

Recognized as a two-time former world champion, EC3 boasts one of the most chiseled physiques in the sport and stellar speaking skills.

EC3 seized control of his narrative during his time as a free agent. A darker, more intense and more dangerous EC3 showed up in ROH declaring that he was on a quest to see if honor is real.

Now that EC3 is making ROH his home, he’ll have ample time to find out.

Since leaving WWE last year during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the former 24/7 Champion has been promoting his character via YouTube videos and his social media presence. The former Derrick Bateman confirmed with Chris Van Vliet on his podcast that he wanted to work where he was offered creative freedom and be able to ‘control the narrative.’ It appears as though ROH have offered the former Ethan Carter 3rd what he was looking for.

Shayna Baszler Talks Why Not Just ‘Anyone’ Can Do BloodSport

Jake Skudder
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WWE Superstar Shayna Baszler recently appeared on Renee Paquette’s Oral Sessions podcast. The former MMA fighter discussed a number of topics during her time on the show; including the concept of the BloodSport PPV and the WWE ‘lite’ version, RAW Underground.

Creator of the current run of BloodSport PPVs Josh Barnett has a unique relationship with Shayna Baszler. Both former fighters transitioned into pro wrestling from martial arts, and Barnett was one of the trainers, alongside Billy Robinson, who helped Baszler adapt her martial arts background into a career inside the squared circle.

Renee Paquette suggested during the podcast that she felt the now defunct RAW Underground was created ‘especially’ for Baszler.

Shayna Baszler on BloodSport/RAW Underground

Baszler replied and said that the concept of RAW Underground/BloodSport would’ve worked perfectly for her. “Obviously [it would have], with my martial upbringing and everything with Josh and Billy Robinson. [It was] Kind of that Pancrase/UWF-i style, that’s what Bloodsport and RAW Underground was I think.”

Shayna Baszler also noted how she believes not every professional wrestler is suited to the ‘faux shoot fight’ style. It was discussed during the podcast how Jon Moxley was a big part of the recent BloodSport PPV events, and Baszler said how it really does take a certain type of performer to pull off the gimmick.

“The difficult part is that, and I’m just speculating I’m not speaking for anyone, but just knowing how I trained for that style of professional wrestling? I don’t think you can grab just any pro wrestler nowadays, and just throw them into this and they know how to do it and make it look the way it’s supposed to look.”

Would you like to see RAW Underground return for the likes of Shayna Baszler? Let us know in the comments

Hiromu Takahashi Vacates IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship

Chris Stephens
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One of the top IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champions in recent years, Hiromu Takahashi, was forced to vacate the belt this morning. It was announced recently that Takahashi is going to miss 6 months with a torn pec. He appeared on this morning’s Road to Castle Attack show and officially vacated the belt.

Takahashi asked his Los InGobernables teammate, Bushi, to take his place on Night 2 of Castle Attack against Bullet Club’s El Phantasmo. Suzuki-Gun’s El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru then won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships later that night. After the victory, El Desperado asked to be inserted into the title picture at Castle Attack as well. It’s not year clear who will wrestle for the now-vacant title on Sunday.

NJPW Castle Attack Lineup

Night 1:

  • Hiroshi Tanahashi and Tencozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima) vs. United Empire(Will Ospreay, Great-O-Khan, and Jeff Cobb)
  • Yoshi-Hashi vs. Tanga Loa
  • Hirooki Goto vs. Tama Tonga
  • KOPW Trophy
    Toru Yano (c) vs Chase Owens
  • Tomohiro Ishi vs Jay White
  • Kazuchika Okada vs EVIL

Night 2:

  1. Tencozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima) vs. United Empire (Will Ospreayand Jeff Cobb)
  2. Chaos (Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, and Toru Yano) vs. Bullet Club (Jay White, Evil, and Chase Owens)
  3. IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships
    Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa) (c) vs. Chaos (Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi)
  4. NEVER Openweight Championship
    Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs The Great-O-Khan
  5. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
    El Phantasmo vs TBD
  6. IWGP Heavyweight & Intercontinental Championships
    Kota Ibushi (c) vs Tetsuya Naito

PCO Confirms Expiry Date Of His Current ROH Contract

Anutosh Bajpai
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0

Wrestling veteran PCO has become one of the top stars for ROH since joining the company in 2018 and he has won multiple titles in the company including the promotion’s world title in 2019.

The former world champion recently had an interview with WrestleZone where he talked about things such as the development of his new persona and more.

During the interview, the former WCW star confirmed that his ROH contract is set to expire on December 1, 2021, but PCO claimed that he is very happy with his current situation:

“I haven’t even looked at options yet, I’m very happy with where I’m at right now and what I’m doing.”

PCO also talked about the success he achieved in 2019 mentioning his various accomplishments and he admitted that it was a huge year for him:

“I just think I had a tremendous year last year, being World Six-Man Tag Champ, World Tag Champ, World Heavyweight Champ with Ring of Honor,

And then the NWA World Tag Team, the Crockett Cup winner, and think that this is a lot of success, it’s pretty huge,”

With the amount of success he achieved before the coronavirus pandemic, PCO is likely to attract some attention when his contract expires.

It would be interesting to see if he stays with ROH or decides to join a different promotion when the time comes.

Update On Marty Scurll Returning To NJPW

Chris Stephens
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Marty Scurll was released from Ring of Honor in early January. After having signed the largest contract in company history, Scurll was let go following a months-long investigation by ROH into accusations made against him as part of the #SpeakingOut movement. It appears Scurll has landed back with NJPW, however.

Multiple reports have come out recently that Scurll worked a recent set of New Japan Strong tapings at the company’s Los Angeles Dojo. This was addressed recently on Wrestling Observer Radio.

“Marty Scurll worked the New Japan tapings a couple of weeks ago in California,” said Dave Meltzer.

“I’m not at all surprised at Marty Scurll working for New Japan, that’s just how they do things and in Japan, it’s not going to be an issue. In the United States, it’s going to be an issue to a lot of fans. There are people who want him black-balled for life.”

Scurll’s segments on the show have yet to air. New Japan Strong airs Friday nights beginning at 10 PM est. on New Japan World. This week’s show will be headlined by KENTA challenging Jon Moxley for the IWGP United States Championship.

The 32-year-old Scurll is a former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion in NJPW. He also once held the NEVER 6-Man tag-titles along with the Young Bucks. In ROH, he’s a former TV Champion and 6-Man tag champ along with Brody King and PCO.

NWA’s “Question Mark” Joseph Hudson Has Passed Away

Chris Stephens
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There is sad news to report this morning as Joseph Hudson, aka The Question Mark, aka Jocephus, has passed away. News of his passing was posted on Instagram by the NWA’s Billy Corgan.

“It’s with a heavy heart that I share that my friend and brother in wrestling, Joseph Hudson, has passed away suddenly from an as-yet undiagnosed medical issue. NWA fans would know him as Jocephus as well as The Question Mark; where thanks to the great fans at GPB Studios in Atlanta, Joseph was able to receive the kind of support in the ring he’d always dreamt of. He is survived by a young son whom he loved dearly, and if anything would pain him about leaving this Earth it would be not being able to be there for his boy. RIP Joseph, love to you and Godspeed.”

Dutch Mantell noted on Twitter that he believes Hudson’s death was the result of a stroke or a brain aneurism. An exact cause of death is not currently known.

Hudson was a major part of the NWA’s revival in recent years. As Jocephus, he feuded with Tim Storm and took part in some entertaining segments. On episodes of NWA Powerrr, he portrayed the Question Mark character and teamed with Aron Stevens.

Jon Moxley On WWE Legend He’d Like To See In AEW

Rayan Sayyed
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0

Jon Moxley has one WWE legend that he wants in AEW.

All Elite Wrestling has seen a few former WWE stars jumping ship to the rival promotion since its launch. Most recently, the company was able to bag in Big Show. He just signed a multi-year deal with AEW to work as a broadcaster and wrestler.

Jon Moxley recently spoke with Inside The Ropes and was asked who else he’d like to see join AEW. Moxley said that he’d like to see Christian on AEW’s roster.

Christian, a World Champion in multiple promotions, made a surprise appearance at last month’s WWE Royal Rumble. He has also signed a part-time contract with WWE, reportedly.

Jon Moxley said, “I’ll tell you, a guy I’d like to see here is Christian. I don’t know if that was a one-off for him in the Royal Rumble but he looked frigging good to me. He looked like he was in great shape, he looked sharp, man.”

Jon Moxley on Christian

Moxley continued, “I tell you, he’s one of the guys that’s — the wrestlers know it more so than anybody — Christian is so good. Like, his brain and his execution, and his mind for wrestling is just like next-level.

“First time we worked with him, you know, we’d come in and we’re doing these six-mans with The Shield, really pushing the pace and trying to make the most exciting matches. We’re pushing these guys to like, all these dream team guys. We’re pushing them to be like, ‘No, let’s do another thing and another thing, let’s add more to do another save and another thing, and let’s do a triple this,’ or whatever,” he later added. “And we’re really pushing the pace, you know, and like thinking, like, ‘All right. Yeah, nobody can keep up with us. This is awesome.'”

Christian’s return to the WWE was kept quiet from everyone backstage. Only a select few knew about his involvement ahead of time. Edge was one of them, who even said that they drew to the Rumble in his car together. Christian reportedly signed to appear with WWE on a part-time basis.

Christian had to hang up his boots in 2014 after a history of suffering concussions. In a similar case to Daniel Bryan, Christian was medically cleared years after he was told that he couldn’t wrestle again.

Kyle O’Reilly Out For At Least A Month, WWE Announces

Rayan Sayyed
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Kyle O’Reilly felt the brunt of the attack by his former teammate Adam Cole on last week’s NXT, where Cole kicked O’Reilly in the face and threw him onto the steel steps. After the show, fans got concerned as photos of O’Reilly being stretchered out of the arena came out online. However, WWE clarified the situation, and we now know that O’Reilly is okay and is not seriously hurt.

On tonight’s episode of NXT, it was revealed during a report how long O’Reilly will be out of action. The company announced that he will not be medically cleared to return for 4 to 6 weeks, that at least a month from now or month-and-a-half due to the injuries suffered by Cole’s brainbuster on the steel steps.

Thankfully, it was nothing serious as what fans were initially believing, and it’s relieving to know that he’s doing okay and will be back to action soon. This is to add to the storyline between Adam Cole betraying The Undisputed Era. It would be interesting to see how Kyle O’Reilly would exact revenge on Cole for his actions, as the given timeframe is around WrestleMania so we could probably see him back to start a new program with Cole after Cole possibly wins the title at the event.

WWE NXT Results (2/24): Kross vs. Escobar, Adam Cole Speaks, Io Shirai In Action

Adam Cole apologized for his actions during the final moments of NXT, and addressed his questionable actions from TakeOver and last week. He admitted that what he did to Kyle O’Reilly was wrong and vowed to fix things any he can. Roderick Strong came out and asked him why he feels sorry now, and not during the ten days since he turned on them. Finn Balor also got involved, who attacked Cole. He was superkicked away by Cole with him and Strong remaining in the ring. Cole apologised and said he loved Strong like a brother, and hugged him. Only to hit him with a low blow and betraying Undisputed Era and making his stance clear for good. It seems like the faction is gone now, with Bobby Fish out with an injury and O’Reilly gone for a good month.

Undisputed Era No More After Adam Cole Turns On Roderick Strong

Rayan Sayyed
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Adam Cole knew that it was time to finally explain his contentious actions at NXT TakeOver and the following week. At TakeOver, Cole attacked both Finn Balor and fellow Undisputed Era member, Kyle O’Reilly, and last week he went one step further and threw O’Reilly onto the steel steps so hard that fans got concerned for his health. Read more on O’Reilly’s health status here.

In the closing moments of this week’s episode of NXT, Adam Cole finally decided to explain himself. He said that he wanted to disclose what his intentions were, and he feels sick to his stomach with it. Cole said that he was upset with Kyle O’Reilly getting title shots, but it doesn’t excuse his actions. The NXT title means a lot to him, but he knows what he did was wrong.

WWE NXT Results (2/24): Kross vs. Escobar, Adam Cole Speaks, Io Shirai In Action

Adam Cole said he was wrong for taking O’Reilly out he should be in the ring with him, but that isn’t possible because of what he did. He apologised for the “stupid mistake”. Cole said that he’s sorry to Kyle and he would do anything in his power to fix this, or at least try if he can’t.

Hearing this, Roderick Strong came out and asked Adam Cole if he really feels bad about his actions. Strong said that everything’s changed because of his actions. “This Undisputed ERA. This was built on trust. Love, a brotherhood. We would do whatever it took to have each other’s back no matter what it was, and just like that you shattered that trust,” Strong said.

Finn Balor came out and pushed aside Roderick Strong, to beat down Adam Cole. Strong tried to make the save but he got attacked as well. Cole eventually superkicked Balor, knocking him out. Strong punched Cole but it seemed like he felt hurt inside from this. Cole started apologising and said that it was his fault, and called Strong his brother that he loved.

Adam Cole and Roderick Strong then hugged, with what looked like them making up at last. Unfortunately, Cole hit him with a low blow, ripping off his Undisputed Era necklace and hit Strong with a superkick to seal the deal.

This segment pretty much signified the apparent end of The Undisputed Era, with Bobby Fish out with an injury, and Kyle O’Reilly out of action too, it would be interesting to see how things go from here.

Corey Graves Names One Key Aspect He Thinks NXT Is Lacking

Jon Fuentes
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Corey Graves never shies away from the opportunity to offer WWE some constructive criticism on his podcast, “After The Bell.”

During the latest episode of the show, Graves discussed the current product over on WWE NXT, and what he believes it’s lacking. Graves pointed out that the program contains, possibly, the greatest in-ring work going at the moment within the business. However, he doesn’t feel like fans know who this current crop of NXT stars actually are. Graves went on to compare how stars of NXT’s past; such as Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, Bayley, and more had established characters during their respective runs on the show.

“A lot of people just watch NXT for in-ring action, and if that’s your vibe, if that’s your flavor of ice cream, cool. I understand it. I’m just saying, for Corey Graves, the wrestling fan, knowing what I know and knowing the way my mind works obviously with RAW and SmackDown that I’m focused on now, I think we need to know who these people are a little bit more,” Graves said (via NoDq.com).

“When I compare everything to NXT, I think back to my time there. You knew who Bayley was. You knew what made Seth Rollins tick. You knew what The Wyatt Family were about. Adam Rose, for goodness sake, he was this party animal. It didn’t translate, obviously, to major success on RAW or SmackDown, but you knew who these people were.

“I regularly watch NXT, but I don’t study it like I used to. I don’t follow every bit of it. So, when I sit down and watch TakeOver, I look at it thinking, as a general wrestling fan who may not know who all these people are, in this case, it was me, what could they show me to make me care a little bit more and to hook me a little bit deeper?”

Graves himself was one of the Superstars who was with NXT during its inception after it evolved from Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) in 2012. His run with the brand as an in-ring talent was short-lived, however, as he was forced to retire due to concussion complications in December of 2014. Since, Graves has established himself as a tremendous broadcaster for the company, currently working on SmackDown Live.

Ric Flair Reveals Gift Triple H Gave Him After His Son’s Passing

Jon Fuentes
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Two-time WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair was recently a guest on the WINCLY podcast to discuss several professional wrestling topics.

One topic touched on during that conversation was the passing of Flair’s son, Reid, back in 2013. Reid Flair passed away from an apparent drug overdose in March of 2013 at the age of 25. While discussing the issue, Ric Flair noted that he buried Reid with one of his two WWE Hall Of Fame rings. This prompted his longtime friend Triple H to gift him a new Hall Of Fame ring with his late son’s name inscribed on it.

“I’ve moved on. Trust me, I’ve had words with Hunter, and I’ve had words with Stephanie,” Flair said. “I’ve argued with them, and we’ve had tough times too. I was drinking a lot, and Steph and I had a bad argument.

“I said something terrible, but they’ve forgiven me and so has Hunter, and Vince has never left my side ever since the day I met him. And they couldn’t have done more for my son. I can remember after we buried Reid, I put one of my Hall of Fame rings on Reid. At NXT one time, Hunter said, ‘I need to talk to you,’ and I maybe thought I had done something wrong.

“And he called me into his office, and he had a duplicate ring with Reid’s name engraved on it. That’s someone who cares. I spent half the time with Hunter than I did with those guys (the Horsemen).”

Ric Flair In WWE Today

Flair continues to play a role in WWE today, even after his official in-ring retirement with the company back in 2008. He’s actually locked in a storyline with his daughter, Charlotte Flair, on Monday Night Raw. Ric Flair was previously managing Charlotte’s rival, Lacey Evans, before her real-life pregnancy forced her out of the ring. Now, Ric will likely continue his storyline with Charlotte heading into WrestleMania this April.

AEW Dynamite Results (2/24): Lance Archer vs. Rey Fenix, Sting & Darby Allin

Robert Lentini
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AEW Dynamite aired from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida. Lance Archer faced Rey Fenix in the main event of this week’s show. The winner of the match will earn a spot in the Face of the Revolution Ladder match at the PPV.

Dynamite Results (2/24)

  1. Jon Moxley def. Ryan Nemeth
  2. Brian Cage & Ricky Starks def. Varsity Blondes
  3. Jake Hager def. Brandon Cutler
  4. Hangman Page def. Isiah Kassidy
  5. Nyla Rose def Britt Baker to advance to the finals of the AEW Women’s Eliminator Tournament
  6. Lance Archer def. Rey Fenix to qualify for the Face of the Revolution Ladder match

Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:

Jon Moxley Commented On The Barbed Wire Death Match

Jon Moxley faced Ryan Nemeth in the first match of the night. Moxley went for a DDT but Ryan dodged it and applied a Headlock. Moxley leveled Nemeth with a chop to the chest. Moxley quickly battled back with the Paradigm Shift for the pinfall victory.

After the match, Moxley took a seat in the ring and said that he will do whatever it takes, for as long as it takes to get back the AEW Championship. Jon asked what images come to your mind when you hear the words “Exploding Barbed Wire Death match”.

Moxley said fire, blood, burns, torture, agony, vintage Japanese wrestling magazines come to mind. Jon stated that he is an addict, he is addicted to be in this ring and it is a feeling he cannot get enough of. Jon noted that even if it is some kind of trap by Omega and his boys, he cannot resist the thought of an Exploding Barbed Wire Death match. Jon added that his fans will know that he gave everything he had at Revolution and if it all done at the PPV, what a hell of a way to go out.

https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1364743236959539203?s=20
https://twitter.com/AEWonTNT/status/1364745105949687812?s=20

Sting & Darby Allin Attacked Team Taz

Varsity Blondes battled Brian Cage and Ricky Starks tonight on Dynamite. Taz joined commentary for the match as Starks and Pillman Jr. locked up in the middle of the ring. Pillman sent Ricky out of the ring and hit him with a Dropkick.

Back in the ring, Pillman rolled up Ricky for a two count. Starks sent Pillman to the outside and Cage planted him with a Powerbomb against the ring post as Dynamite went to a commercial break.

When Dynamite returned, Cage slammed Pillman to the canvas and tagged Ricky Starks back in. Ricky continued to beat down Pillman and hit him with a Splash in the corner of the ring.

Griff Garrison finally tagged in and unloaded some strikes to Cage and knocked him out of the ring. Garrison followed it up with a ridiculous Crossbody over the top rope onto Cage outside the ring. Garrison climbed to the top rope and leveled Ricky Starks with a Dropkick. Brian Cage tagged in and planted Griff with the Drillclaw for the pinfall victory.

After the match, Darby Allin was shown getting out of a body bag with a smile on his face. Sting then showed up with Hook (Taz’s son) in the body bag. Darby Allin then came down from the rafters and beat the hell out of Ricky Starks. Sting sent Cage to the corner and leveled him a Clothesline. Sting hit the Stinger Splash and followed it up with the Scorpion Death Drop on Cage to end the segment.

https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1364750782759899136?s=20

Chuck Taylor & Orange Cassidy Challenged Miro & Kip Sabian

Tony Schiavone interviewed Kip Sabian, Penelope Ford, and Miro. Sabian complained about his wedding being destroyed by Charles the Butler and Orange Cassidy. Miro said he will forgive Charles if he comes back and continues to be his butler. Tony said he was handed a note from Cassidy and Chuck that asked if they wanted a match at Revolution.

Jericho & MJF Attacked The Young Bucks’ Dad

Jake Hager faced Brandon Cutler tonight. Cutler hit a right hand to the face and unloaded some more punches to the face in the corner of the ring. Hager leveled Cutler with a kick to the face and posed in the ring. Hager followed it up with a massive Clothesline for the easy pinfall victory.

After the match, Inner Circle came to the ring and attacked Brandon Cutler. Young Bucks rushed the ring and made the save. Matt Jackson grabbed a microphone and said that they don’t have to wait until Revolution. Young Bucks challenged Jericho and MJF to get their asses to the ring right now.

Jericho and MJF showed up on the jumbotron and said they aren’t coming down to the ring. Jericho then revealed that they attacked Matt and Nick’s father and slammed his head into a production truck. MJF then bounced did the same and then they ran away before the Young Bucks showed up.

Hangman Page Picked Up A Win

Isiah Kassidy faced Hangman Adam Page tonight. Page stomped on Kassidy in the corner of the ring to start off the action. Kassidy sent Hangman to the corner but Page bounced off the turnbuckle and connected with a massive Clothesline. Hangman brought Kassidy out of the ring and sent him into the barricade.

TH2 distracted the referee and Matt hit Hangman with a cheap shot. John Silver and Alex Reynolds rushed the ring and informed referee Aubrey Edwards that Matt was interfering. Aubrey kicked out Matt from ringside as Dynamite went to a commercial break.

Kassidy hit a Brainbuster and applied am Armbar in the middle of the ring when Dynamite returned. Hangman escaped and planted Kassidy with the Deadeye for the pinfall victory.

Nyla Rose Advanced To The Finals

Nyla Rose and Britt Baker battled in the Women’s Eliminator Tournament tonight on Dynamite. Baker slammed Nyla’s shoulder into the ring post and focused her attack on the arm. When Dynamite returned from a break, Rose connected with a massive Clothesline.

Nyla made her way to the second rope but Rebel hopped on the ring apron for a distraction. Nyla hit her with a Chokeslam and then a Cannonball in the corner of the ring. Baker capitalized on the distraction and brought Nyla down to the canvas. Baker went for the Lockjaw but Nyla was able to block it.

Rose slammed Britt down to the canvas and went for the cover but Baker kicked out at two. Britt went for the Lockjaw again but Nyla broke free. Rose connected with a big right hand to the face and followed it up with the Beast Bomb but Baker kicked out at two. Nyla then planted Baker with another Beast Bomb for the pinfall victory. Nyla will face either Thunder Rosa or Riho in the finals of the US bracket.

Lance Archer Qualifed For The Ladder Match At Revolution

Lance Archer battled Rey Fenix in tonight’s main event. The winner of the match would qualify for the Face of the Revolution Ladder match. The winner of the Ladder match will be the #1 contender for the TNT Championship.

Fenix booted Archer in the face and followed it up with a Hurricanrana off the middle rope. Rey sent Lance Archer out of the ring and Fenix hit with a flip through the ropes. Jake Roberts hit Fenix with a cheap shot and started talking to Archer. Fenix leaped over Jake Roberts and onto Archer before the action returned to the ring.

When Dynamite returned, Archer connected with a Clothesline that turned Fenix inside out on the ring apron. Archer launched Fenix into the barricade and followed it up with a Senton against the steel. Back in the ring, Archer went for the Blackout but Rey escaped.

Fenix connected with an awesome Double Stomp to the back of Archer’s head and both wrestlers fell to the canvas. Archer and Fenix got to their feet and traded chops in the middle of the ring. Fenix planted Archer with a Cutter and went for the cover but Archer kicked out at two.

Archer connected with a Fisherman’s Buster and went for the pin but Fenix somehow was able to kick out at two. Archer climbed to the middle turnbuckle but Fenix caught him with a Spanish Fly.

Fenix went for another cover but Lance kicked out at two. Archer hit a shoulder tackle that sent Fenix flying across the ring. Archer planted Fenix with a Chokeslam for another two count. Archer connected with the Blackout for the pinfall victory. After the match, Lance Archer gave Rey Fenix a fist bump to close the show.

Opinion: AEW Revolution is stacking to be a great show. The only weak part of this week’s Dynamite was the Miro storyline in my opinion. It really isn’t working at all and I hope AEW has something good planned for him following Revolution. Fenix and Archer put on an awesome main event and I thought Nyla versus Baker was very good as well. Darby Allin ziplining to the ring and seeing Sting hit the Scorpion Death Drop was entertaining as hell. Overall, I thought this was one of the better recent episodes of Dynamite.

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