Month: August 2019

Mark Briscoe Dealing With Knee Injury, Out Of CMLL’s Grand Prix Tournament

Ring of Honor announced that Mark Briscoe will be out of tonight’s CMLL’s Grand Prix tournament because of a knee injury. The injury happened during an ROH live event last weekend.

Delirious will be replacing Briscoe on Team Resto del Mundo. The other team members include ROH World Champion Matt Taven, Jay Briscoe, Kenny King, Big Daddy, Luke Hawx, Mecha Wolf 450, and Oraculo.

During CMLL’s Grand Prix press conference, Jay Briscoe commented about his brother’s injury, “It sucks that he’s hurt. We do double-team moves like no other tag team in this world, so that was definitely going to be a blow to the Mexican team, but it ain’t going to matter. We still gonna win.”

Mark Briscoe is scheduled to undergo an MRI exam.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Dustin Rhodes Signs Multi-Year Agreement With AEW

All Elite Wrestling has announced Dustin Rhodes signed a multi-year agreement as a performer and behind the scenes employee.

According to AEW … Rhodes and Tony Khan came to an agreement after Fight for the Fallen that will see the 50-year-old wrestler continue his in-ring career, as well as work as a promo coach and match producer to help mentor younger wrestlers.

“Dustin Rhodes has had an incredible wrestling career that has spanned decades. His amazing journey brought him to AEW, and he’s rejuvenated his career here,” Khan stated in the press release.

“In addition to all of the wisdom he’s shared with us as we’ve launched All Elite Wrestling, he’s come here and worked so hard for us. His comeback match against his brother Cody at Double or Nothing was one of the most acclaimed bouts in recent years, and it marked a new chapter for all of us.”

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

 

Dustin had also posted a video on social media making the announcement of his signing and he thanked all the fans who he said without this wouldn’t be possible.

https://twitter.com/dustinrhodes/status/1167454430826041344

AEW presents All Out this Saturday evening on the B/R Live platform and at 8pm ET. It will also be available on traditional pay-per-view.

Backstage News On WWE Establishing Permanent RAW And SmackDown Rosters, Triple H’s WWE NXT Vision

WWE officials have been discussing a new Draft concept to build permanent RAW and SmackDown rosters, according to Dave Meltzer in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

It was previously reported that there would be no major changes to the rosters ahead of the SmackDown Fox premiere on October 4, just some minor changes. This new directive was made by Vince McMahon.

Meltzer noted that plans are being kept quiet as USA Network and Fox representatives will be the first ones to know when the new concept is decided on.

There’s no concrete word yet on WWE NXT Superstars being used on RAW to build their names ahead of the NXT USA premiere on September 18, but there have been arguments for and against this idea. Some feel that this will give the NXT talents the exposure they need to help build the USA Network launch, but the other argument is that any kind of “cross-pollination” on RAW would establish the NXT stars as secondary level talents, which they would want to avoid right now.

Bringing the NXT Superstars to RAW ahead of the big premiere could also lead to more interference from the vision that NXT higher-ups have. It was described to the Observer that Triple H’s dream of creating a legitimate third brand of his own just came true, but now he’s faced with the task of “playing defense” to keep Vince and Kevin Dunn’s influence away from NXT.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Tony Schiavone Says He’s Not On The AEW Broadcast Team, Details His AEW Role

On the heels of his new multi-year contract with AEW, Tony Schiavone spoke with Wrestlingepicenter.com about what the future holds in his new position. Tony is still in awe that AEW is going to be premiering on TNT, as he remembers how tumultuous things were when WCW was falling apart while under Turner Broadcasting.

“I had a very bad feeling about the Turner people when I left. The good news is, the Turner people that I didn’t have a good feeling towards are no longer around. I’m talking about the people that ran WCW, basically. I never thought I would do it again,” Schiavone admitted. “I never thought wrestling would be back on TNT again because they were very against wrestling. I guess under Brad Siegel and James Kelner – I don’t know the history. They didn’t want wrestling on their networks anymore.

“When I walked away from Panama City that night (the final WCW Nitro), I thought I was done with the wrestling business. I’m like that, James. I like to move on with my life… I’m not good at staying in touch with people; that is my fault. Thank goodness for guys like Arn Anderson and Jim Ross… Guys that are my friends in the business.”

Schiavone revealed that he will be acting as a producer for AEW going forward. He noted that his focus will mostly be on the videos seen throughout the show, and specifically pointed out that he has no intentions of being a part of the broadcast team the company has already established.

“Okay, well, I do know I’m a producer,” Tony stated. “I’m going to be working on a lot of the videos you see in the shows. I’m going to be working behind the scenes when the live shows are going, the TNT shows. I’ve met with Tony Khan, I’ve met with, obviously, Cody. We do some production here in Atlanta… Cody and I actually live pretty close to each other so when I talked to Tony Khan, the idea was that I would do control centers and on-camera stuff, but I would not be on the broadcast team because his broadcast team was in place.”

Schiavone praised the AEW broadcast team for the talent and experience they bring to their craft. He is definitely going to be involved in the production of each AEW on TV episode, however, the more specific details are still being determined by Tony Khan and the other AEW Executive VPs.

“I’m not looking to shoe-horn anyone out of the broadcast team – I’m not!” Tony emphasized. “Excalibur is a great guy. I know that Alex Marvez, gosh, is a very talented guy. But, I know that Jim Ross has always wanted me with him. I know that – He’s pushed for that. So, I told Tony, ‘I really want to work for you, but I don’t want to be the guy who is seen as trying to shoe-horn his way into the broadcast team.’ I don’t know what has happened since Tony and I have talked last, I just know I’m going to be part of the show in some capacity. I didn’t expect that and I don’t expect right now to be a part of the broadcast team. There’s not been any official announcement that has been made about that but I’m just going to have my hand in the broadcasts in some way.”

Jon Moxley Pulled From Starrcast III

Conrad Thompson has confirmed that Jon Moxley will not be appearing at the Starrcast III event in Chicago this weekend.

As noted, Moxley was pulled from Saturday’s AEW All Out match against Kenny Omega due to a bad case of MRSA in his elbow. He’s being replaced by PAC in the match. Moxley is expected to be out of action for 4 weeks.

“We received word today that unfortunately @JonMoxley won’t be able to travel to @StarrcastEvents. Once he got the word from his doctor he told us, “I’m sorry, this sucks.” I’m sure we all echo those sentiments. We wish him a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing him soon,” Conrad wrote on Wednesday night.

He continued, “Everyone who purchased his meet and greet has been notified via email. Refunds will begin being processed tomorrow. His stage show has been cancelled and a new schedule will be released tomorrow.”

https://twitter.com/HeyHeyItsConrad/status/1166955038566170624

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Enzo Amore And Big Cass Reportedly In Talks For WWE NXT Return

Enzo Amore and Big Cass could be returning to WWE NXT soon.

WWE officials have been in talks with the former tag team about a surprise return to be top stars on the black & yellow brand, according to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

There’s no word yet on if Enzo and Cass have accepted the offer, but they have been in talks. They recently returned to the indie scene together, as nZo and CaZXL. Obvious speculation would have them return on the September 18 NXT USA Network premiere, but the Observer speculated that Vince McMahon could save them for week three, which is head-to-head with the AEW TNT premiere on October 2.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Rey Mysterio, Impact World Champion Brian Cage And Melissa Santos Visits Columbia For Stem Cell Therapy (Photos)

Rey Mysterio, Impact World Champion Brian Cage and Melissa Santos were in Medellin, Colombia for a medical tourism trip.

Mysterio, Cage and Santos received stem cell treatment at the BioXcellerator facility in Medellin. During the trip, the wrestling stars also went paragliding.

Mysterio last appeared on RAW two weeks ago and teased retirement before his son, Dominick, talked him out of it. Mysterio is slated to return to RAW this Monday.

You can see photos from the trip below.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE NXT Preview 8/28/19

WWE NXT streaming tonight at 8 ET on WWE Network

WWE .com didn’t have a preview for NXT UK posted at the time of the writing.

Rob Gronkowski Wants “One Crazy Match” In WWE

Former NFL star Rob Gronkowski appeared at a press conference in New York City on Tuesday to announce that he will be partnering with Abacus Health Products, a company that will help produce topical CBD products called CBDMEDIC.

Gronkowski, who retired from the NFL last year, did not rule out a comeback to the league, but gave a wide-ranging timeline, saying a return could be possible in three months or two years, but not in the foreseeable future. Gronk, who is good friends with Mojo Rawley, did express interest in working with WWE again.

Gronk said he doesn’t think he could be a full-time pro wrestler, but he’s interested in “one crazy match” in WWE.

“With wrestling, I don’t feel like I would be a full-time wrestler, but there is one thing I’m down for,” Gronkowski said (H/T to CBS Sports). “And that’s to do one crazy match. Practice it for a little bit, go out there, like in a Royal Rumble, go out there, I got my friend in WWE [Rawley], practice it and do a full-on WWE match. I’m not saying when. Maybe five years. I got the rest of my life to do that. I’ve always dreamed about doing that, just one time, going in there and going full out. That may be a possibility, one time, down the road.”

The former New England Patriots tight end previously got involved in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 33, and helped Mojo get the win. There have been rumors on interest between WWE and Gronk since then.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

CM Punk’s Starrcast III Interview To Air Live On Traditional PPV

CM Punk’s sit-down interview and discussion at Starrcast III on Saturday will air live on some traditional pay-per-view outlets, and Fite.TV.

Fite is offering a Starrcast III weekend pass for $39.99. That pass includes over 55 shows, including the Punk special, with over 65 hours of content and unlimited replays.

DirecTV currently has the Punk special listed for $14.95. It has a TV-14 rating and begins at 1pm ET.

It’s interesting to note that promotional material for the Punk special has a “Pipebomb” theme to go along with Punk’s infamous “Pipebomb Promo” from WWE RAW in 2011. Below is the synopsis that DirecTV has listed for the “CM Punk Live: Best In The World” special:

“Experience the return of the Pipe Bomb as pro wrestling’s controversial superstar reveals all in an uncensored interview, where anything can happen during the sold-out special event in Chicago.”

Punk’s interview is scheduled to run from 12pm until 1:30pm local time on Saturday, August 31 from the Hyatt Regency Schaumburg in Chicago. It will take place on the Pro Wrestling Tees Main Stage. The pay-per-view begins at 1pm ET, and runs for 90 minutes.

Stay tuned this weekend as we will have coverage and highlights from the Punk event.

Below are two promos for Punk’s sit-down interview and discussion at Starrcast III:

https://twitter.com/HeelByNatureYT/status/1161251391475724289

https://twitter.com/StarrcastEvents/status/1151923037400436737

Source: Wrestling Inc.