WWE SmackDown will air live tonight on FS1 due to FOX’s coverage of the MLB’s World Series. Tonight’s show will take place from Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, WI.
Ronda Rousey lost to Shayna Baszler in an MMA Rules Match at the WWE SummerSlam premium live event, ending her second run with the company.
She surprised everyone by returning to the ring for Lucha VaVOOM at the Mayan Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Rousey, sitting in the front row, teamed up with her longtime friend Marina Shafir to face Taya Valkyrie and Brian Kendrick in a tag team match.
The match lasted only five minutes, with Rousey securing the victory for her team by submitting Kendrick with an ankle lock. She shared the full match on Instagram, along with a message.
Source: eWn
WWE recently confirmed a brand new international event for August 2024 with WWE’s Bash In Berlin, which will mark the first-ever premium live event in Germany. However, that might not be the last, as the company has been in negotiations with a lot of different city governments around the world regarding future shows, according to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
The idea is that WWE wants to gain significant money for premium live events going forward, with Paris being one of the cities that have been in discussions. While it is not confirmed that an event will be taking place in France’s capital, there has been speculation that next year’s WWE Backlash event – which is typically the first PLE after WWE WrestleMania – might be happening in Paris.
WWE already has two overseas shows confirmed for 2024 with Bash In Berlin and WWE’s Elimination Chamber, which will be taking place in Perth, Australia. Meanwhile, it is expected that there will be at least one show taking place in Saudi Arabia as a continuation of the deal WWE has with their government, with the company continuing its worldwide growth.
These negotiations come off the back of several successful international events, with Clash At The Castle, Money In The Bank, and Backlash having all taken place outside of the United States in recent times. Nick Khan has been open in the past about wanting to expand WWE’s reach globally, with countries having recently paid for WWE to host events, with the popularity of them then giving back to the local economy in the form of hotel stays, restaurants, and local bars, making it mutually beneficial.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Salina de la Renta’s MLW FUSION airs tonight at 8pm ET
Salina de la Renta’s MLW FUSION streams 8pm tonight on MLW’s YouTube channel and FITE+, Friday on beIN XTRA and Saturday on Cable TV’s beIN SPORTS (find a provider). Watch around the world in over 60 countries.
Salina de la Renta, who serves as special executive producer of this week’s FUSION, has issued the following preview:
The Empresaria of Lucha Libre shares her divine vision of Major League Wrestling in a must-see broadcast unlike you’ll see with any of these pendejo billionaire promoters (and trust me they are watching this episode and taking notes!).
For the first time in broadcasting history, MLW cameras take you neckbeard gringos to the most famous arena in all of lucha: the “Cathedral of Lucha” Arena Mexico! Promociones Dorado’s Rocky Romero fights Volador Jr. for the CMLL World Historic Welterweight Title. See 18,000 glorious Mexican fans watch a super lucha clasico!
But wait: there’s more.
Since I have matchmaking powerI will have a biiiiig announcement for FIGHTLAND on FITE+. What could I ever do with such power?
For the first-time you’ll be enlightened by the words of your new World Featherweight Champion Janai Kai as she makes her first statement as champion… and trust me, the “Kick Demon” is a voice of wrestling that demands you listen!
I’ve also personally invited the World Heavyweight Champion Alex Kane be in attendance. Does he have anything else in his vocabulary beyond “bumblebeeyee”? I highly doubt it. But let’s find out!
Oh, and that little rat Ichiban has been pestering me for a title fight against my new World Middleweight Champion. Should I stick him in a match or call pest control?
PLUS: The greatest voice in lucha libre, Jesus Rodriguez, will serve as master of ceremonies for the evening!
So, now that you know tonight’s FUSION, do yourself a favor: Tap your phone and set a reminder with those sweaty gordito digits for 8pm tonight. You won’t regret it!! Bwahaahahaha
Relive the earth-shattering event that was Bound For Glory 2023, featuring an unforgettable night of action from Chicago. See exclusive highlights from the Knockouts World Championship match as Trinity defended against Mickie James, and the epic showdown pitting Will Ospreay vs. “Speedball” Mike Bailey. Plus, the IMPACT World Championship match between Alex Shelley and Josh Alexander will be shown in its entirety! Tune in to IMPACT! this Thursday at 8/7c on AXS TV and 8:30pm ET on YouTube for IMPACT 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:
Sting received his retirement gift from Tony Khan on “AEW Dynamite” Wednesday night, which turned out to be the AEW debut of “The Nature Boy” himself, Ric Flair.
Last week, after Sting told the world that the last match of his illustrious career would take place at AEW Revolution 2024, it was announced that Tony Khan had a gift for the legendary wrestler, to be unveiled on this week’s episode. After a brief conversation between Sting, Darby Allin, and Tony Schiavone, Flair’s iconic music hit, and “The Dirtiest Player In The Game” made his way down to the ring to the surprise and delight of the Philadelphia crowd. Getting on the mic, Flair and Sting hugged, and Flair said he wanted to “ride it out with you,” presumably referring to this final run of Sting’s career. It’s unclear whether that means Flair will be a regular on AEW programming going forward.
The segment was later interrupted by Christian Cage, Luchasaurus, and Nick Wayne, and a six-man tag was set up for AEW Full Gear on November 18. From the segment, it didn’t seem as though Flair, who supposedly wrestled his final match last year, would be Sting’s and Allin’s partner, but it also wasn’t explicitly stated that he wouldn’t be. However, Sting and Allin approached Adam Copeland backstage later in the broadcast, who has also been engaged in a storyline with Cage — though thus far, Copeland is still refusing to fight his old friend.
Flair and Sting had an acclaimed rivalry over the NWA World’s Heavyweight Championship back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, a feud that would carry over to WCW and even, eventually, to Impact Wrestling in 2011.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Tonight’s AEW Dynamite will air live on TBS and will take place from the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, PA.
Following the announcement that IMPACT Wrestling will become TNA Wrestling once again starting in January, the company announced PCO as the first signing of a new era.
Per the release on their website:
The first official signing of the new era of TNA Wrestling was announced this morning by company president Scott D’Amore.
PCO, who won the 4-person Monster’s Ball match this past Saturday at the 2023 Bound For Glory pay-per-view extravaganza in Chicago, has signed a new contract. Terms were not disclosed.
“I really wanted to be part of the new era of TNA Wrestling and Scott D’Amore made me an offer I could not refuse,” PCO said.
A report from Haus of Wrestling states that PCO’s new deal keeps him with the company through the end of 2024, a deal that was agreed upon due to the energy around the TNA re-brand and other requests being met.
The re-brand bringing back TNA Wrestling kicks off at their Hard to Kill PPV event, taking place Saturday, January 13 at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.
Source: eWn
Impact Wrestling will be switching back to TNA Wrestling on January 13, 2024, at TNA Hard To Kill, as announced by Scott D’Amore at Bound For Glory 2023.
Speaking on a recent media call, Impact President Scott D’Amore explained the rationale for maintaining the standard four-sided ring setup.
Many fans had expected to see the six-sided return with the major rebranding, but D’Amore has no intention of reviving the hexagonal ring configuration.
You can check out some highlights from the media call below:
On why TNA has no plans to utilize the six-sided ring: “The six-sided ring question comes up all the time, I get it, I was in the ring when the six-sided ring was brought in. I know it has its supporters. The fact is, at the end of the day, almost to a person, the athletes that have performed in the six-sided ring don’t prefer it. They say it’s harder on the body, it creates more injury, and more than injury, it creates more wear and tear on the body. Doing it night after night is harder on the body. We’re happy to have conversations about how to make the product look the best, but one of the things, unwaveringly, that we’re not willing to negotiate on or compromise is the athlete’s health and safety. We’re going to be a four-sided ring. I know that disappoints a lot of people, but my respectful and honest question to that is, ‘do you really love the six-sided ring more than you love ensuring the health and safety of the men and women who get in the ring and put their health on the line? Do you want to make a more dangerous situation for them?’ It’s wrestling, never say never, there could be changes in the future. It’s a simple one for us, athlete safety is number one, so we have four sides. Take that off the table and anything else is possible.”
On TNA’s development of new production designs: “I know the fans have been waiting for a new set, and some have been waiting very patiently and some have been waiting a little less patiently than others, and it all comes from a point of passion. We’re hard at work designing a new look and new feel for TNA to both honor our history but also to be forward thinking and forward moving.”
Source: eWn
Wrestling News Blog 