Author: John Bass

Backstage News On Whether There’s Been Any ‘Mending Of Fences’ Between CM Punk And AEW

Fans hoping for CM Punk to make his return to AEW television soon should know that there is reportedly much work left to be done. Dave Meltzer offered an update regarding the fallout of “Brawl Out” on the latest episode of “Wrestling Observer Radio.” “There was a lot of damage done that night,” Meltzer said, acknowledging that many want Punk to come back because the ratings for AEW have been flat as of late. Meltzer previously reported that Chris Jericho was pushing for Punk to not come back, but the ball remains in the court of AEW owner Tony Khan.

Backstage News On Whether There’s Been Any ‘Mending Of Fences’ Between CM Punk And AEW
Irvin Rivera/Getty Images
BY DOMINIC DEANGELO/FEB. 14, 2023 11:58 AM EST
Fans hoping for CM Punk to make his return to AEW television soon should know that there is reportedly much work left to be done. Dave Meltzer offered an update regarding the fallout of “Brawl Out” on the latest episode of “Wrestling Observer Radio.” “There was a lot of damage done that night,” Meltzer said, acknowledging that many want Punk to come back because the ratings for AEW have been flat as of late. Meltzer previously reported that Chris Jericho was pushing for Punk to not come back, but the ball remains in the court of AEW owner Tony Khan.

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“Tony’s gonna do what Tony’s gonna do and I don’t know what that’s going to be. … There’s a lot of damage there to the brand. It wasn’t just like he yelled at The Young Bucks. It was the brand. I mean he basically said that AEW is second-rate,” Meltzer added, having been in attendance for Punk’s infamous post-All Out press conference. According to Meltzer, there are bridges that haven’t been crossed yet between the two parties.

“There’s a lot of mending of fences that need to be done and there’s been no mending of fences at all,” he said. “Punk could be back in two months and then there’s a decision of how that goes. That’s going to be a big story of how that goes down or how it doesn’t go down.” Punk happened to tear his tricep that night while defeating Jon Moxley for the AEW World Championship, and hasn’t been seen in AEW since. Without Punk appearing for AEW, ratings for “AEW Dynamite” have plateaued below a million viewers and viewership for “AEW Rampage” has nosedived.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE NXT Preview 2/14/2023

Tonight’s WWE NXT airs live on USA Network at 8:00 pm EST.

MLW Lawsuit Against WWE Dismissed, Court Bauer Reacts

Last year, Major League Wrestling (MLW) filed a lawsuit against WWE on grounds of malicious interference with their contracts and business prospects. It was alleged that WWE had forced third parties to abandon agreements and prospective relationships with MLW. WWE was further accused of compelling the end of MLW’s negotiations with VICE TV in 2021.

Pwinsider is reporting that on Monday, February 14th, 2023, Judge Edward J. Davila of the U.S. District Court, California Northern District (San Jose) dismissed the antitrust lawsuit filed by MLW against WWE.

Judge Davila stated that MLW had not furnished adequate facts to plausibly allege a relevant antitrust market. He also ruled that some of the harms alleged by MLW were specific to them rather than the competition at large. These two reasons were pivotal for granting WWE’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

However, Judge Davila also stated that additional allegations may negate the deficiencies outlined in WWE’s motion, and thus allowed MLW three weeks to file an amended complaint.

MLW and WWE will go back into arguing over the discovery phase, which WWE had been fighting hard to avoid if MLW does file an amended pleading within 21 days. If MLW does not file an amended complaint, the case would be closed.

Following the dismissal of the lawsuit, MLW CEO Court Bauer issued a statement, noting that the MLW legal team is already preparing to file an amended complaint. He said,

“Our legal team is already at work on amending the complaint. We have every intention to continue pursuing our case against WWE.”

Source: eWrestlingNews

EC3 Signs With The NWA

Former WWE, ROH and IMPACT star EC3 announced Saturday during the NWA Nuff Said PPV pre-show, that he has signed with the promotion. He also said that he and would be bringing Control Your Narrative with him, and will help people across the industry recover their passion.

EC3 is squaring off against Kevin Kiley, (former WWE Superstar Alex Riley) on the pay-per-view.

Source: WrestleView

WWE RAW Preview 2/13/2023

WWE Raw will air live tonight on the USA Network, and emanate from Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, New York.

AEW Rampage Preview 2/10/2023

Tonight’s AEW Rampage on TNT at 10/9C.

  • Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta) vs. Kip Sabian and The Butcher & The Blade
  • “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry in action
  • Ruby Soho vs. Marina Shafir
  • Mark Briscoe to speak
  • All-Atlantic Championship: Orange Cassidy (c) vs. Lee Moriarty

WWE SmackDown Preview 2/10/2023

WWE SmackDown will air live tonight on FOX, and emanate from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT.

Jerry Lawler Set To Return Home Following Hospitalization

It’s been a rough week for Jerry “The King” Lawler, as the WWE Hall of Famer suffered a stroke while staying at his Florida condo on Monday.

As he fell ill, Lawler was rushed to the hospital to undergo emergency surgery. Following the procedure, Lawler’s movement and speech remained limited, but with some rehabilitation, he is expected to make a full recovery. In the latest update, Lawler has now been moved out of the ICU to begin the discharge process Friday, as confirmed by his long-time partner Lauryn McBride via a post on Lawler’s Twitter account.

“Jerry is out of ICU & will return to his Florida home for outpatient rehab for his limited speech & cognitive skills. Doctors hopeful for full recovery & Jerry is looking forward to returning to his fans very soon. – Lauryn #LongLiveTheKing,” the tweet read.

https://twitter.com/JerryLawler/status/1623785032623030272?s=20&t=wTD1zm2e7oTqJBnG7yOPbQ

Amidst his health scare, Lawler found himself in the comfort and thoughts of many of his family and friends, including “The Mouth of the South” Jimmy Hart, who visited Lawler in his hospital room. Former WWE broadcast partner Jim Ross also spoke with Lawler and took to social media to share that Lawler’s prognosis seemed positive.

Fellow WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley recently discussed Lawler’s contributions to the professional wrestling industry, and of course, his hope for his former colleague to make a full comeback. Noting Lawler as one of the “premier bump guys,” Foley applauded the multi-time champion’s work as a “top guy for decades.” 

“By the time the world got to know Jerry, he had a lot of wear and tear on his body,” he said on “Foley Is Pod.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

ESPN Secures Exclusive Broadcast Rights To AEW In Major Overseas Deal

All Elite Wrestling and ESPN announced a major partnership on Thursday, which will see Dynamite, Rampage and AEW pay-per-view events made available to ESPN subscribers in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.

You can check out an excerpt from the press release below:

“ESPN announced that it has secured exclusive broadcast rights to top American professional wrestling promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW), bringing its premium matches and entertainment to ESPN subscribers in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands starting February 16.

Each week on ESPN, fans in the region can catch all the action on “AEW: DYNAMITE” on Thursday AEDT, and “AEW: RAMPAGE” on Saturday AEDT, with same-day replays and episodes made available on-demand. In addition, through ESPN, fans will have access to all of AEW’s quarterly pay-per-view events on delay: REVOLUTION, DOUBLE OR NOTHING, ALL OUT and FULL GEAR.

AEW will be available on ESPN in the following locations: Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands, Solomon Islands, Niue, Nauru, Vanuatu, Kiribati, Northern Marianas, Tokelau, Tahiti, Tuvalu, New Caledonia, American Samoa, Marshall Islands, Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, and Wallis and Futuna.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CoduIjXIRRp/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=52edfa2f-9aef-471d-9e0b-a354e51bad0a

Starting on Thursday, February 16th, AEW Dynamite will air on AEDT and Rampage will air on Saturdays AEDT with episodes available via same-day replays and on-demand as well.

Source: eWrestlingNews

MLW Fusion Preview 2/9/2023

MLW FUSION tonight at 8pm ET streaming worldwide on Pro Wrestling TV.

  • Jacob Fatu vs Josh Alexander
  • Billie Starkz vs B3CCA
  • Doctor Dax vs The Great Moses

A high stakes interpromotional bout takes center stage this week on Fusion as 2022 Battle Riot winner Jacob Fatu goes one on one with IMPACT’s Josh Alexander for the first time ever!

Can Fatu bulldoze a top ranked competitor from another league and send a clear message to Hammerstone as The Samoan Werewolf kickstarts the road to SuperFight? Tune in and find out!

Real1 gives himself a five finger discount on Ol’ Mancers most prized possession.

Rising Featherweight phenom Billie Starkz goes one on one with New England’s B3CCA.

Doctor Dax rumbles with The Great Moses.