Month: May 2021

FOX Reportedly Pushing For WWE Crowds To Return

FOX officials have reportedly pushed for WWE to return to live crowds.

It was reported today by @Wrestlevotes that FOX has privately pushed for a return to live crowds for WWE over the past few weeks. The network is reportedly actively seeking updates on timeframes and information related to the return to touring for the company.

It was noted that FOX wants their billion dollar investment in WWE to be on the same playing field as the MLB, the NBA and other sports leagues.

There is talk that WWE is headed on the road for at least one weekend in mid-July with fans in attendance at events. The report indicated that the Friday, July 16 would be a live SmackDown with fans, while Saturday would be some sort of live event, and then the WWE Money In the Bank pay-per-view would be held on Sunday, July 18, with a live RAW being held on Monday, July 19. There’s no word on if this would be a test weekend for the full-time return to touring, but that has also been rumored.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Dynamite Moving To TBS Next Year, New AEW Rampage TV Show To Premiere Soon

AEW President, CEO, General Manager & Head Of Creative Tony Khan appeared on Busted Open Radio and announced a new agreement with WarnerMedia.

The new agreement will see AEW Dynamite move to TBS in 2022.

It was also revealed that a new TV show, called AEW Rampage, will premiere on Friday nights at 10pm ET. The one-hour TNT show will premiere on Friday, August 13.

Rampage will move to TBS with Dynamite in 2022.

Khan also revealed that AEW will begin airing quarterly TV specials on TNT in 2022.

Khan noted that AEW has renegotiated their contract with TNT and TBS. More details will be announced soon as the WarnerMedia Upfronts are being held today, which explains the timing of Khan’s announcement. The 2019 Upfronts are when WarnerMedia presented AEW for the launch of Dynamite.

On the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer answered questions from fans regarding the deal. About the four supercard specials that will be airing TNT, it is similar to WCW’s “Clash of the Champions” specials, however that is trademarked by WWE. AEW will have to use a different name similar to AEW using “Beach Break” instead of “Bash at the Beach.”

Rampage is scheduled to air on Friday nights at 10 p.m. ET on TNT, which will be after SmackDown has ended. Meltzer noted that the show is expected to be aired live at times, especially on a week before a PPV. While everything is up in the air right now, the expectation is that Rampage, on most nights, will tape on Wednesday.

Rampage and Dynamite will both move to TBS in January.

It has been reported that this new deal between Warner Media and AEW has presented a “financial upside” for AEW. Some fans have questioned if AEW’s use of blood and profanity will change when they move to TBS with that station being more sitcom heavy. However, it was noted there will not be a change, and they’ll be under the same standards of practice.

Many fans have pointed out that the TNT Title might have to change its name due to changing stations. However, Meltzer said that the plan right now is to keep the title as is.

AEW is seeing an increase in revenue with this expanded TV deal. This has fans speculating on if this allows AEW to have the financial means to sign big free agents like Brock Lesnar and Daniel Bryan. Meltzer dismissed the likelihood of Lesnar signing with AEW. As for Bryan, he said that AEW’s added finances most likely won’t make a huge difference. Bryan is a free agent after his contract reportedly expired, but it is unknown what his next move will be.

In terms of financials, it was originally reported that AEW is making an “eight-figure payday”. Meltzer confirmed that AEW is making over $10 million with this expanded TV deal.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Says Austin Gunn Out 8-10 Weeks Due To Injury

AEW has announced that Austin Gunn, who faced Anthony Ogogo on this week’s AEW Dynamite, sustained injuries during the match and will be out of action for 8-10 weeks.

A few hours after Dynamite went off the air, AEW tweeted:

The one-sided contest saw Ogogo striking his opponent several times in the gut, which led to Gunn bleeding from his mouth. When the referee tried to stop the match initially, Gunn stopped him and went for a single leg takedown but to no avail. Ogogo eventually hit Gunn with a pop-up punch to the face, and the referee called off the match.

This was only Ogogo’s second televised match in AEW. His last match was against Cole Karter on the Apr. 14 episode of Dynamite. The English boxer-turned-wrestler will face Cody Rhodes at Double or Nothing on May 30.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Dynamite Preview 5/19/21

Tonight’s AEW Dynamite episode airs on TNT at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida. On tonight’s show, the entire Double or Nothing (May 30) PPV card will be revealed.

* The Inner Circle will respond to The Pinnacle’s Stadium Stampede challenge

* The full Double Or Nothing card will be revealed

* New TNT Champion Miro will speak

* Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston vs. The Acclaimed

* Christian Cage vs. Matt Sydal

* Anthony Ogogo vs. Austin Gunn

* NWA World Women’s Champion Serena Deeb defends against Red Velvet

* AEW World Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks defend against The Varsity Blonds

* AEW Women’s World Champion Hikaru Shida vs. Rebel in a Women’s World Title Eliminator

Kenny Omega And Andrade’s Mega Title Match Confirmed For Triplemania XXIX

AAA has confirmed Kenny Omega will defend the Mega Championship against Andrade at Triplemania XXIX.

Kenny Omega has had time to think about it and decided he would like to defend the Mega Championship against Andrade at Triplemania. Omega will return to the Mexican promotion to defend its richest prize this summer at Triplemania XXIX. The promotion also confirmed its biggest event of the year will take place on August 14, 2021, with a limited number of fans in attendance.

Andrade made a surprise appearance in AAA via a video package earlier this month, at which point he challenged Omega to a title match. Omega responded, telling Andrade he was very busy and would have to get back to him.  The Mega Champion found some time in his busy schedule to properly reply to Andrade’s challenge, accepting the match and telling the former WWE Superstar he should be thankful Omega is flying the flag for lucha libre.

In defense of Omega, he is a pretty busy guy right now. Being the World Champion for three different promotions comes with a pretty packed schedule. Following the announcement of his match at Triplemania, Omega now knows when he will have to defend each of those titles next. The Mega Title at Triplemania, the Impact Championship at Against All Odds, and his AEW Title later this month at Double or Nothing.

The women’s divisions in Impact and AAA are also set to merge at Triplemaina. Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo will defend her title against AAA Women’s Champion Faby Apache. As was the case when Omega faced Rich Swann earlier this year, the winner of this match will leave Triplemania with both titles. Wrestling’s forbidden door has truly never been more open.

Andrade fans won’t have to wait until Triplemania to see the lucha star back in action. The former NXT Champion currently has a match booked in June, and will also face Alberto Del Rio in July. As for where Andrade will land on a more permanent basis, he has teased a number of landing spots. The most recent reports suggest AEW will be his promotion of choice. Perhaps he will show up on Dynamite to confront Omega.

Source: The Sportster

WWE NXT Preview 5/18/21

Tonight’s WWE NXT episode on the USA Network will feature build for the upcoming “Takeover: In Your House” event, and will be headlined by a Steel Cage match.

* Prime Target preview for Finn Balor vs. NXT Champion Karrion Kross

* Arash Markazi interviews Pete Dunne

* Toni Storm vs. Zoey Stark

* WWE Hall of Famer “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase appears live to continue storyline with Cameron Grimes

* NXT North American Champion Johnny Gargano defends against Bronson Reed in a Steel Cage match

The Miz Could Be Out Of Action For 7-9 Months

The Miz could be out of action for up to 9 months.

It was reported on Wrestling Observer Radio that The Miz suffered a torn ACL during the Zombies Lumberjack Match loss to Damian Priest at Sunday’s WWE WrestleMania Backlash pay-per-view. He was kept off last night’s RAW, which saw John Morrison lose a non-Zombies Lumberjack Match to Priest.

There is still no word on the severity of the tear, but the hope is that it was a partial tear. If it is a full tear, Miz will need to undergo surgery and could be out of action for 7-9 months. PWInsider adds that Miz will be getting checked out by doctors this week to determine what’s next.

Apparently the injury occurred when Priest delivered a kick from the top rope, or when he delivered an elbow drop to The Miz.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

ECW Legend New Jack Passes Away At 58

Legendary former ECW wrestler Jerome Young, otherwise known by his ring name “New Jack” has  passed away at the age of 58 Friday afternoon. According to a report from Mike Johnson as PWInsider.com.

New Jack reportedly suffered a heart attack at his home in North Carolina. New Jack’s wife informed Johnson of her husband’s death.

New Jack was a controversial performer who specialized in the hardcore style matches typically associated with ’90s ECW. He began his career in Georgia and formed his stable The Gangstas with Mustafa and future WWE Superstar D-Lo Brown. The group had a run in Smoky Mountain Wrestling which put them on the map and drew the attention of Extreme Championship Wrestling. New Jack and The Gangstas joined ECW in 1995.

“I always saw New Jack’s performances as a mid-1990s urban version of the American Dream Dusty Rhodes,” Paul Heyman said of the New Jack in a Grantland piece back in 2015. “He’s a bad man, placed in a bad situation, under bad circumstances, and he’s going to now show the bad guys how to be truly bad.”

In the wake of his passing, some of New Jack’s friends and former colleagues paid tribute to him.

“New Jack was always good to me. He told me that since Jack Victory liked me, he’d put up with me,” former ECW star Steve Corino tweeted. “We used to do these crazy 8-mans in ECW. Jack would always be last and I’d get goosebumps when that music hit. Then pray I wasn’t getting the crutch that night! Thank you Jack.”

Like a lot wrestlers, New Jack retired and un-retired several times. His last match took place an ICW in April of this year.

In 1999, New Jack was featured in the pro wrestling documentary, Beyond the Mat. More recently, he was the subject of an episode of Dark Side Of The Ring.

Source: The Sportster

WWE RAW Preview 5/17/21

Tonight’s WWE RAW will feature fallout from last night’s WrestleMania Backlash pay-per-view.

WWE has not announced any matches for tonight’s show but it looks like the feud between Charlotte Flair and RAW Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley will continue based on Backlash. The Drew McIntyre vs. WWE Champion Bobby Lashley feud looks to continue as well.

MVP indicated in a post-Backlash interview that he has “some surprises” for Lashley on tonight’s RAW, indicating a possible vacation to celebrate Lashley’s recent success.

WWE will begin the build to Hell In a Cell with tonight’s RAW. The pay-per-view has been announced for June 20.

ROH Announces Best In The World PPV To Have Live Crowd

Ring of Honor announced Best in the World will be its next PPV on Sunday, July 11 at the Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena in Baltimore, Maryland.

This will also be the first time in almost a year and a half that ROH will have a show in front of a live audience. The event will have limited capacity with pod seating for proper social distancing. ROH noted they will take temperatures upon entry and masks will be required throughout the event.

“Our locker room full of tremendous athletes have missed the energy of connecting with our great fans that you only get with a live show,” said Joe Koff, COO of Ring of Honor. “We look forward to giving them more of the best bell-to-bell action, including the return of the ‘Survival of the Fittest’ tournament and the highly anticipated Women’s Championship Tournament this summer.

“I want to express my deepest gratitude to all of our talented athletes, fans and everyone who has done their part to keep each other safe.  It’s been a challenging year, no doubt, but we’re excited to continue to ramp up what we do best. Nothing beats the thrill of witnessing The Best Wrestling on the Planet and seeing your favorite stars LIVE and in-person. We would like to do this still with the fans’ safety, health and well-being as ROH’s top priorities.”

Tickets go on sale Monday, June 7 at 10 am ET for the general public. HonorClub members get first access on Monday, May 24 at 10 am ET.

Source: Wrestling Inc.