WWE SmackDown airs live tonight on FOX from the Heritage Bank Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Congratulations are in order for Valhalla and The Viking Raiders’ Erik.
In a joint statement via Instagram, Valhalla (Sarah Rowe) and Erik announced that they are expecting their second child together. Valhalla is pregnant with their second son, with the child set to enter the world in November.
A Vacant AEW Tag Team Title Tournament Finals Ladder Match with The Young Bucks vs. FTR that saw Jack Perry help The Bucks go over took place at the Dynasty pay-per-view event.
AEW will be without Harwood for a while as Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Harwood also suffered a concussion during the match.
Source: eWn
Tony Khan was given a shout out by NFL presenters during the NFL Draft after the AEW CEO was spotted wearing a neck brace. Khan, the owner of NFL side Jacksonville Jaguars, was seen in the NFL Draft room selling the injury he suffered on this week’s “AEW Dynamite” after he was attacked by Jack Perry and The Young Bucks.
The NFL analysts mentioned Khan, who was seated with his father Shad Khan, and the father-son duo was seen smiling as the cameras trained on them. The NFL Network’s Rich Eisen gave non-wrestling fans an update on why Tony Khan was wearing a neck brace, and even sent his best wishes to the AEW founder.
“Tony Khan becomes the first-ever NFL executive in a draft room, shaking off the effects of a piledriver he received on national television in a wrestling ring the night before. Such is life when you mix AEW and the NFL. Tony Khan, hang in there, buddy,” said Eisen.
WWE commentator and former NFL player Pat McAfee also mentioned Khan on “The Pat McAfee Show,” with McAfee even going as far as to claim that Khan has a broken neck from the Meltzer Driver, which was recently renamed the TK Driver by The Young Bucks, in honor of Tony Khan. Khan was also advised on the show to not move his neck around if he has a neck brace on, to better sell the effects of the injury.
The end of this week’s “Dynamite” saw Jack Perry and Khan seemingly hug things out, before the former turned on his boss. The promotion’s EVPs, The Young Bucks, who had sided with Perry, also attacked Khan before several members from the locker room came to the aid of Khan. Khan’s father, Shad, also made his first television appearance on AEW when he came to check in on his son.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
WWE star Dominik Mysterio has been the subject of much discussion as of late, after he appeared on the April 22 “WWE Raw” wearing a sling, implying that he had sustained an injury. Fightful Select recently reported that Mysterio’s injury was serious enough to take him off the company’s recent European tour, where he was replaced by Ricochet, but there was no word on how injured Mysterio was at the time. However, there has now been an update.
According to Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Mysterio suffered an elbow injury during his match with Andrade on the April 15 “Raw,” in what was described to Meltzer as a freak accident. While Mysterio did appear on TV the following week, it is believed that he will have to undergo ‘Tommy John’ surgery, a procedure which is typically used on baseball players.
Meltzer noted that baseball players who have the surgery are usually out of action for around nine months, but given that Mysterio isn’t going to be throwing fastballs anytime soon, his recovery time could be a little shorter. However, Meltzer was unable to confirm an official timeframe on how long Mysterio will be on the shelf, or when he will be going under the knife. Despite the injury, WWE are reportedly planning on keeping Mysterio on TV as a character to accompany The Judgment Day while not working any matches, something that has become common in WWE over the past few months with stars like Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre both remaining on TV despite having serious injuries.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Wednesday’s episode of “AEW Dynamite” at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida featured Powerhouse Hobbs challenging Jon Moxley for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. According to Bryan Alvarez on “Wrestling Observer Live,” Hobbs suffered a legitimate injury during his match against Moxley.
“That was not a worked knee injury,” Alvarez said. “[Hobbs] went for a high cross or something and smashed into the turnbuckles and injured his knee. He could barely walk, and he hopped his way back into the ring, hopped into like two spots, and got choked out.”
After about 10 minutes, the title bout came to an end via referee decision, leading to a post-match angle between Moxley and Konosuke Takeshita. It seems the feud between The Don Callis Family and Blackpool Combat Club will continue, but likely without any further involvement from Hobbs.
The match was initially set to go longer, with “Dynamite” reportedly scheduled for an overrun to take it past the normal 10 p.m. ending. However, due to the injury to Hobbs’ knee, the match ended early, allowing plenty of time for the angle involving Khan, the Young Bucks, and Jack Perry.
As of now, the severity of Hobbs’ injury is unclear. While he has been relatively active in recent months, Hobbs hasn’t picked up a significant victory since defeating Sammy Guevara on an episode of “AEW Collision” in late February.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
TNA iMPACT! tonight at 8/7c on AXS TV, and at 8:30pm ET on YouTube for Insiders.
ROH will air a new episode of its weekly television show tonight at 7 pm ET on HonorClub.
You can sign up for the streaming service here. Below is the lineup for the show:
As reported by Variety, a wrestling action-horror film titled “Dark Match” is set in the 1980s and will be released later this year that stars Chris Jericho.
The film’s festival premiere will be announced soon. Blue Finch Films, a U.K.-based sales and distribution company, has acquired the worldwide rights (excluding Canada) and will start sales at the upcoming Cannes Film Market.
“Dark Match” stars is written and directed by Lowell Dean. The film is produced by Dept. 9 Studios, with John K. MacDonald, Don Depoe, Michael Feehan, Michael Peterson, and Rhonda Baker involved.
According to the article, the movie revolves around a small-time wrestling company that accepts a lucrative offer in a remote town, only to discover that the community is under the control of a mysterious cult leader with sinister intentions for their match. As the lights dim, Miss Behave and her friends find themselves in a real fight for survival. The cast also includes Steven Ogg from “The Walking Dead” and Ayisha Issa from “Transplant.”
Source: eWn
Kenny Omega has been away from AEW programming for many months, dealing with a harrowing battle with Diverticulitis since December. Fans of the former AEW and IWGP Champion can breathe a sigh of relief, as “The Cleaner” is returning to AEW programming, at least for one night.
On Wednesday’s “Dynamite,” AEW announced that Omega would be in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada for next week’s episode of “Dynamite.” It will mark Omega’s first appearance on AEW television since before AEW Worlds End. Omega had initially been slated to team with Chris Jericho to challenge Ricky Starks and Big Bill for the AEW World Tag Team Championship but a bout of diverticulitis forced him to be pulled from the event. According to Omega, the illness nearly cost him his life.
Omega has been away from AEW programming but has still be communicating with fans via his Twitch channel, where the former AEW World Tag Team Champion streams games and tells stories. Omega has said the illness has left him with “good days” and “bad days” and that it’s still too soon to see if he will be able to recover without requiring surgery. Omega has said his pain is decreasing but training and taking impacts on his abdomen are still a struggle and recovery a long way off.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
