Author: John Bass

ROH Preview 9/7/2023

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: 

  • ROH Women’s World Championship: Athena (c) vs. Allysin Kay
  • Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent Beretta), Darius Martin & Action Andretti vs. The Outrunners (Turbo Floyd & Truth Magnum) & The Workhorsemen (Anthony Henry & JD Drake)
  • Willow Nightingale & Skye Blue vs. The Renegades (Charlette & Robyn Renegade)
  • Lady Frost vs. Leyla Hirsch
  • ROH Six Man Tag Team Champions The Mogul Embassy (Brian Cage, Toa Liona, & Bishop Kaun) vs. Griff Garrison, Metalik, & Gravity in a proving ground match
  • ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli vs. Lee Johnson in a proving ground match
  • Willie Mack & The Infantry (Carlie Bravo & Shawn Dean) w/Trish Adora in action
  • Angelico & Serpentico in action
  • NJPW Strong Openweight Champion Eddie Kingston & ROH Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata vs. Gringo Loco and Blake Christian

WWE Alumnus General Adnan Passes Away

General Adnan (Abdul Kareem Ahmed Alkaissie El Farthie), best known for his time in WWE, has passed away at the age of 84.

Former announcer Ken Resnick shared the sad news on social media, writing,

“So deeply saddened to learn that my friend of 40 years, the legendary Sheik Adnan Al-Kaissey/Gen. Adnan passed away this morning. May you rest in peace ‘my brother’.”

The details of Adnan’s passing remain unknown at this time.

WWE issued the following statement on Adnan’s passing:

Adnan Al-Kaissie “General Adnan” passes away
WWE is saddened to learn that Adnan Al-Kaissie, known to sports-entertainment fans as Billy White Wolf, Sheik Adnan Al-Kaissy and General Adnan, passed away on Sept. 6 at 84.

Debuting in 1959, Al-Kaissie wrote in his biography that he was born in Baghdad. He had an amateur wrestling career in Iraq and attended Oklahoma State University.

Beginning his career as Adnan Kaissy, he competed for a number of promotions under many names. He was Billy White Wolf in WWE, where he won the WWE World Tag Team Championship in 1976. He later joined WWE again as General Adnan. He was Sheik of Sheiks of Baghdad in New Japan Pro-Wrestling. He was also an in-ring competitor and manager Sheik Adnan El Kaissy in the American Wrestling Association and World Class Championship Wrestling.

He headlined SummerSlam 1991 with Col. Mustafa (The Iron Sheik) and Iraqi sympathizer Sgt. Slaughter against Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior.

Most recently, his General Adnan character appeared in WWE 2K15 and WWE 2K16.

WWE extends its condolences to Adnan Al-Kaissie’s family, friends and fans.

Sgt. Slaughter commented on Adnan’s passing:

Thunder Rosa Is Ready To Return To The Ring

After being out of action since August of last year due to a back injury, Thunder Rosa is reportedly ready to make her return to in-ring action.

Fightful Select is reporting that Rosa has been cleared to return as soon as creative comes up with something for her.

While there is no word on whether Rosa’s return is imminent, it’s said that she could show up at any time now.

WWE-UFC Merger Sets Expected Date To Close Deal, Create TKO Group Holdings

It was revealed last month that the WWE-UFC merger was expected to be finalized by “mid-to-late” September. Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc., UFC’s parent company, and WWE have said today that they expect their previously agreed deal to form a new sports and entertainment company, TKO Group Holdings, Inc., to close on September 12. TKO will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange once the transaction is complete.

It was announced on April 3 — the day after WrestleMania 39 had concluded at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, California — that WWE and UFC would be merging under the Endeavor umbrella to create a company. 

Ari Emanuel, Endeavor’s CEO, and Vince McMahon, WWE’s Executive Chairman, discussed the deal with CNBC after it had been announced. McMahon said that the newly formed organization would become “a $21+ billion live sports and entertainment powerhouse.”

According to the agreement, McMahon is set to become the Executive Chairman of the new organization, while Nick Khan and Dana White will retain their respective roles as CEO of WWE and President of UFC. Emanuel will become CEO of TKO.

It was recently reported that there was a sense of “doom and gloom” among WWE employees regarding the impending WWE-UFC merger. It’s said that many are worried about potential cuts once the deal closes.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Reported Reactions, Interest From WWE & Other Promotions With CM Punk On Open Market

With CM Punk’s time in AEW having reached an acrimonious end, many are wondering what is next for the two-time AEW World Champion, with some wondering if he could wind up back at WWE, another promotion, or if he would once again disappear as he did following his WWE departure in 2014. At least a few days removed from his AEW exit, it appears there is some interest in Punk popping up elsewhere.

PWInsider Elite reports that Punk became a topic of discussion within WWE as soon as he was fired, and the response has been pretty divided. While some in WWE look at it as a chance for the promotion to make a lot of money, with one top talent even going as far to endorse the idea, many more were said to be against it and didn’t believe it would happen. However it turns out, Punk joining WWE would be a discussion saved for later, as the promotion is currently focused on finalizing its merger with Endeavor, set to be completed this month. It is also believed that Endeavor themselves would make the call to sign him. Punk had previously worked for Endeavor when he competed in UFC, and is said to have had a good relationship with top Endeavor brass.

As for other promotions, Impact Wrestling was also said to be interested in Punk, though it’s unclear if they would be able to afford him, something considered a potential issue for other promotions that may have interest. As for NJPW, it is believed the promotion wouldn’t pursue Punk, due to their relationship with AEW. It is further believed that Punk was released without a noncompete clause, which would allow him to sign anywhere at any time.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Dynamite Preview 9/6/2023

Tonight’s AEW Dynamite live on TBS from the Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Fallout from All Out

  • AEW World Title Eliminator Tournament Begins
  • Grand Slam World Title Eliminator: Roderick Strong vs. Trent Beretta
  • Grand Slam World Title Eliminator: Darby Allin vs. Nick Wayne
  • Le Sex Gods (Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara vs. Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis)
  • We will hear from Hangman Page
  • MJF will address Samoa Joe

Becky Lynch Appears On WWE NXT, Will Face Tiffany Stratton Next Week

Becky Lynch is coming to the WWE NXT brand next week to challenge Tiffany Stratton for the NXT Women’s Championship.

On this week’s episode of WWE NXT, Tiffany Stratton successfully defended her NXT Women’s Title against Kiana James in the opening match.

Following Stratton’s win, Becky Lynch appeared on the TitanTron and congratulated Stratton on her win. Becky then went on to tell Tiffany that she’d see her next week in the main event with the NXT Women’s Championship on the line.

WWE NXT Preview 9/5/2023

Tonight’s WWE NXT live from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center on the USA Network: 

  • NXT Women’s Championship: Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Kiana James
  • NXT North American number one contender’s match: Dragon Lee vs. Mustafa Ali with special guest referee Dominik Mysterio
  • No DQ: Bron Breakker vs. Von Wagner
  • Tyler Bate vs. Dabba-Kato
  • Ilja Dragunov vs. Oro Mensah
  • Angel & Humberto return

CJ Perry Not Under Long-Term AEW Deal Despite All Out Appearance

CJ Perry made a surprise appearance at All Out this weekend, turning up after Miro’s match against Powerhouse Hobbs to help her husband during a post-match attack. She gained a huge ovation from the Chicago crowd which led to question marks about her future with the company, which Tony Khan addressed during the post-show media scrum.

“I think it’s great to have CJ here,” Khan said. “It’s not a long-term guaranteed thing or anything, but at least for tonight it was nice to have her appearing with us and I thought it was a great surprise. It was a great show. Miro and Hobbs was a match that I really believed would be great for All Out.” 

Perry hasn’t been seen in a wrestling ring since her time with WWE came to an end back in 2021, but despite the success of her CJPerry.com website, Perry has always made it clear that she was open to a return to wrestling. While Perry’s appearance proved to be beneficial for Miro as she distracted Hobbs long enough for “The Redeemer” to nail his rival with a chair, that doesn’t mean he was happy to see her. Miro walked away from Perry, leaving her inside the ring as he could be heard screaming, “You’re not real.” Perry then reacted to the situation on social media, claiming she’s not the type of woman you renounce.

https://twitter.com/TheCJPerry/status/1698522743992361295


Even though Perry is currently not on a long-term contract, that doesn’t mean that things can’t change. It now remains to be seen whether or not Perry will appear again on AEW television to continue the storyline.

Source: Wrestling Inc. Credit to AEW for the quotes

AEW All Out 9/3/2023 (Results)

ZERO HOUR — OVER BUDGET CHARITY BATTLE ROYAL:
Hangman Adam Page def. Best Friends, Jake Hager, Cool Hand Ange, Daddy Magic, Daniel Garcia, Scorpio Sky, The Mogul Embassy, Dalton Castle, Shawn Spears, Aussie Open, Action Andretti, Darius Martin, Tony Nese, Komander, Serpentico

ZERO HOUR — TRIOS MATCH:
Hikaru Shida, Willow Nightingale and Skye Blue def. Athena, Mercedes Martinez and Diamante

ZERO HOUR — AEW WORLD TRIOS CHAMPIONSHIP:
The Acclaimed and Daddy Ass Billy Gunn (c) w/Dennis Rodman def. Jeff Jarrett, Santam Singh and Jay Lethal

ROH WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP:
Better Than You Bay Bay (Adam Cole and MJF) (c) def. The Dark Order (Alex Reynolds and John Silver)

Samoa Joe appeared for his match, shoving AEW World Champion MJF out of the way as Adam Cole calmed him down. MJF then rushed Joe in the ring and promptly got  guillotined by Joe as security ran in to broke it up. MJF was furious as Joe mocked him from the top turnbuckle. Better Than You Bay Bay then showed off their titles as they left, but MJF was still fuming.

ROH WORLD TELEVISION CHAMPIONSHIP:
Samoa Joe (c) def. Shane Taylor

AEW TNT CHAMPIONSHIP:
Luchasaurus (c) (with Christian Cage) def. Darby Allin

Post-match Christian set Darby up for the Conchairto whilst Luchasaurus held Wayne in place, but members of the locker room ran out to save Darby and run off the heels.

Miro def. Powerhouse Hobbs

Post-match Hobbs stuck out his hand in respect as a hesitant Miro shook it, but it was all a ruse as Hobbs rushed ‘The Redeemer’ from behind. Then as Hobbs beat down Miro his ‘hot and flexible’ wife CJ Perry ran down with a chair to crack Hobbs in the back, to no avail. Hobbs stared down Perry, but this allowed Miro to rock Hobbs with two chairshots. Miro looked shocked to see CJ, then rolled out of the ring alone shaking his head before heading to the back in anguish whilst shouting “You’re not real”.

AEW TBS CHAMPIONSHIP:
Kris Statlander (c) def. Ruby Soho

STRAP MATCH:
Bryan Danielson def. Ricky Starks

Blackpool Combat Club (Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta) def. Eddie Kingston and Katsuyori Shibata

Konosuke Takeshita def. Kenny Omega

Bullet Club Gold def. FTR & The Young Bucks

AEW INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP:
Jon Moxley def. Orange Cassidy (c) to become new AEW International Champion