Author: John Bass

Tama Tonga Invites AJ Styles To NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17, Vows To Dethrone Karl Anderson

Karl Anderson will defend the NEVER Openweight Championship against Tama Tonga in two weeks at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17. This will be the first time that a WWE-contracted talent wrestles on the show.

Tonga took to Twitter to invite Styles to the Tokyo Dome show so that The OC Leader can watch The Good Bad Guy “smash” the WWE Superstar at the venue. He wrote,

“AJ can come too. He can watch me smash his boy. ( still got love for you #PhenomenalOne ) #Wrestlekingdom17 – January 4, 2023 #AndNew #NeverOpenWeightChampion.”

Earlier this year, Anderson defeated Tonga to win the NEVER Openweight Title at NJPW Dominion. It will be interesting to see if Anderson can retain the title in his second outing with Tonga come January 4th.

Source: ewrestlingnews

IMPACT Wrestling Preview 12/22/2022

The action continues on the road to Hard To Kill. Don’t miss an all-new IMPACT! this Thursday at 8/7c on AXS TV and 8:30pm ET on YouTube for IMPACT Insiders.

  • Knockouts Tag Team Championship: The Death Dollz (Rosemary & Jessicka) (c) vs. Deonna Purrazzo & Gisele Shaw
  • Steve Maclin vs. Rich Swann
  • Jordynne Grace & Mickie James vs. Tasha Steelz & Savannah Evans
  • “Speedball” Mike Bailey vs. Yuya Uemura

The action begins Before the IMPACT, streaming this Thursday at 7:15pm ET exclusively on IMPACT Plus, YouTube and Facebook. A new side of Taylor Wilde will be unleashed as the “Wilde Witch” locks up with IMPACT newcomer KiLynn King! 

MLW Fusion Preview 12/22/2022

MLW FUSION returns tonight at 8pm ET streaming worldwide on Pro Wrestling TV and Saturday 8pm ET nationwide on cable television on beIN SPORTS. 

This week’s card:

  • World Women’s Featherweight Championship: Taya Valkyrie (champion) vs Lady Flammer
  • Tables Match: Mance Warner vs Mads Krugger
  • The Peach State Prize Fight featuring Alex Kane 

The final stage of the 2022 Super Series closes out with an interpromotional title bout between Mexico’s Lady Flammer and World Women’s Featherweight Champion Taya Valkyrie as two of the best luchadoras clash for MLW’s top women’s title.

Will the toxic femme fatale bring gold back to Mexico, or can Taya Valkyrie put the exclamation point on the Super Series with a monumental win for MLW? Tune in and find out.

MLW brings the tables for Mance Warner and Mads Krugger in what promises to be a bloody bout. Tis the season for extreme violence and ol Mancer and the masked mercenary look to settle the score when each combatant looks to toss the other through the table. Who will crash and who will go on to fight another day in MLW? Watch Fusion to find out!

Alex Kane challenges Georgia’s best to take a one way trip to Suplex Island as The Bomaye Fight Club presents The Peach State Prize Fight! Who will rise up and accept? 

The age of titans reaches a critical stage and the World Heavyweight Champion Alex Hammerstone is in the house. What’s on the horizon for Hammerstone and EJ Nduka? Who will be left standing?

Santa Saint Laurent has a questionable holiday venture?

The Samoan SWAT Team throw down the eggnog and get lucha lit for the holidays with Microman and Lince Dorado.

AEW Dynamite “Holiday Bash” Preview 12/21/2022

AEW Dynamite “Holiday Bash” special will air live tonight on TBS and emanate from the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, Texas.

  • AEW Women’s Championship: Jamie Hayter (c) vs. Hikaru Shida
  • FTR vs. Gunn Club
  • Death Triangle (c) vs. The Elite in a no DQ match (match 5 in the best of 7 series for the AEW Trios titles)
  • Rick Ross to mediate a face to face meeting between Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland
  • Bryan Danielson appearance
  • Ricky Starks appearance
https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1605595449041231873

Jeff Jarrett Claims Vince Russo Has “Serious Mental Health Issues”

AEW personality Jeff Jarrett has said that Vince Russo is dealing with “serious mental health issues.”

In 1999, both Jarrett and Russo left the WWF for WCW, where Double-J became a multi-time World Champion.

Russo, who was responsible for some of the WWF’s biggest moments during the Attitude Era, has been lambasted for decades due to his booking during his WCW tenure.

Speaking on the latest episode of his “My World” podcast, Jarrett spoke about Russo and his alleged issues. He said,

“Candidly, he’s got serious, serious, and I’m speaking from experience, he’s got serious mental health issues. There’s no doubt in my mind, and I’ve said it for years.”

Source: ewrestlingnews

WWE NXT Preview 12/20/2022

Tonight’s episode of WWE NXT in Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center on the USA Network at 8/7C.

Mandy Rose Has Made Half A Million Dollars Since WWE Release

Mandy Rose may longer be collecting a paycheck from WWE, following her recent release, but given the income she’s generating from her FanTime account — which was at the heart of her WWE exit – the former “NXT” Women’s Champion has no reason to worry about covering her bills.

According to TMZ Sports, Rose has taken in $500,000 in just the seven days since being given her walking papers solely from the content she posts on FanTime, a subscription-based platform similar to OnlyFans. Rose’s agent, Malki Kawa, predicted the 32-year-old wrestler could become a millionaire by Christmas. WWE officials seemed to find her FanTime material became progressively more suggestive over time. However, reports suggest that Rose was not presented with an option to tone down or remove some of what was seen as problematic with WWE choosing to just cut ties entirely instead. 

Rose has not budged in her support for her FanTime content, using the platform to thank her fans for their backing after being fired by WWE. “I am overwhelmed with all the love and support from you guys,” she wrote. “And don’t worry the page is still up!”

Rose participated in bodybuilding and fitness competitions before joining WWE in 2015 following the 6th season of “Tough Enough,” where she placed second. In shifting back to “NXT” after several years on the main roster, she captured the “NXT” Women’s Championship within months of her return and held the title for 413 days. She would drop the belt on December 13 to Roxanne Perez –- her termination from the company followed the next day. 

Source: Wrestling Inc.

NJPW Planning Surprises For Wrestle Kingdom 17 Next Month

NJPW will hold its Wrestle Kingdom 17 event on January 4. It is New Japan Pro Wrestling’s biggest event of the year. 

While appearing on The Sessions podcast, Rocky Romero promised that there would be surprises at the show. 

As previously reported, Mercedes Varnado, better known to WWE fans as Sasha Banks, will make an appearance during Wrestle Kingdom 17.

“I’ve heard a lot of rumors, but I can’t confirm nor deny at this moment. Fingers crossed, you never know what could happen. There will definitely be surprises at the Tokyo Dome.”

Sources: ewrestlingnews and Fightful

Bronson Reed Returns To WWE On RAW,

Bronson Reed made his much-awaited return to WWE this week on Monday Night RAW, as he attacked Dexter Lumis during the latter’s “Winner Take All” ladder match against The Miz, thereby allowing The Hollywood A-Lister to clinch the victory. Reed celebrated with The Miz after the match.

https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1605027649121882112
https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1605028330344009732

Reed was released from his WWE contract this past August. Following his departure, he began working for NJPW and Impact Wrestling under the ring name JONAH.

Source: ewrestlingnews

AEW Dark: Elevation Preview 12/19/2022

The latest episode of AEW’s latest weekly show, Dark: Elevation, is slated to air tonight at 7pm ET via the official AEW YouTube channel. Here’s the card: 

  • Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta vs. The WorkHorsemen (Anthony Henry & JD Drake)
  • Emi Sakura & The Bunny vs. Lady Bird Monroe & Gigi Rey
  • Eddie Kingston & Ortiz vs. Hagane Shinno & Steven Andrews
  • Marina Shafir vs. Jazmin Allure
  • ROH Women’s World Championship: Athena (c) vs. VertVixen