Author: John Bass

WWE SmackDown Preview 7/1/2022

Tonight’s WWE “SmackDown” is the last stop before Saturday night’s Money in the Bank event. 

One of the spots in the men’s Money in the Bank ladder match has yet to be determined. Whoever it is will join Drew McIntyre, Omos, Riddle, Sami Zayn, Seth Rollins, and Sheamus in the match. Riddle is the latest man to earn a spot in the match. He won a “Money in the Bank Last Chance Battle Royal” on Monday’s “Raw”.

We may also see another attempt to debut Max Dupri’s Maximum Male Models stable on tonight’s “SmackDown”. The past few weeks have seen Dupri teasing the unveiling of his first client. However, multiple attempts have resulted in little more than a single spotlight shining over the ring and Dupri refusing to do the segment. Two weeks ago, he complained to Adam Pearce that the lighting was not up to his standards. Last week, Dupri complained that the bottled water and the temperature in his dressing room were not to his specifications.

Impact Wrestling Against All Odds 7/1/2022

DATE: July 1, 2022 8:00 pm
LOCATION: Center Stage Theater, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
AVAILABLE ON:Impact Plus, YouTube for Impact Ultimate Insiders

CARD

IMPACT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Joe Doering vs. Josh Alexander (c)

IMPACT KNOCKOUTS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Tasha Steelz vs. Jordynne Grace (c)

IMPACT X-DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Trey Miguel vs. Mike Bailey (c)

IMPACT KNOCKOUTS WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Gisele Shaw & Tenille Dashwood vs. Rosemary & Taya Valkyrie (c)

CLOCKWORK ORANGE HOUSE OF FUN MATCH (Raven will be there to watch)
Moose vs. Sami Callihan

Honor No More (Eddie Edwards, Matt Taven, Mike Bennett, Kenny King & Vincent) vs. Impact World Tag Team Champions The Good Brothers (Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson), America’s Most Wanted (Chris Harris & James Storm) & Heath

The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) vs. Bullet Club (Ace Austin & Chris Bey)

Chelsea Green & Deonna Purrazzo vs. Mia Yim & Mickie James

COUNTDOWN TO AGAINST ALL ODDS / IMPACT DIGITAL MEDIA CHAMPIONSHIP “DOT COMBAT” MATCH
Brian Myers vs. Rich Swann (c)

COUNTDOWN TO AGAINST ALL ODDS
Black Taurus vs. Laredo Kid

Jeff Hardy Pleads Not Guilty To DUI Charge

Jeff Hardy has pleaded not guilty to his recent DUI charge in Volusia County, Florida.

Hardy was arrested on June 13th for a DUI, marking the third time he’s been arrested for driving under the influence in 10 years. Hardy’s blood-alcohol level was reported to be more than three times the legal limit.

The evening before his arrest, Hardy had spent it at the SlamDown VII convention in Orlando, FL.

According to PWInsider, Hardy filed a written plea of not guilty on June 28th. Hardy is scheduled to be arraigned on July 5th.

It was also reported that the AEW star entered a rehab facility on June 21st.

As previously noted, AEW CEO Tony Khan suspended Hardy without pay until he’s able to maintain his sobriety for an undisclosed amount of time. AEW CEO Tony Khan had commented on Hardy’s current issues. He made it clear that treatment was Hardy’s last chance. Hardy has been in rehab since June 21st.

“I’m really glad nobody got hurt,” Khan said. “But what Jeff did going out and driving is different from the other thing. And I just don’t like hearing them the two compared if that makes sense. I feel like I’d be remiss if I didn’t give Jeff a lot of credit for now doing the right thing. And this is what we said — Jeff’s got to do the right thing if he wants to stay with AEW. Because it’s his last chance.

In the latest update from PWInsider, the site has acquired a copy of Hardy’s written notification that he was pleading not guilty to the June 13th DUI charge. Hardy was also charged with driving while his license was suspended/revoked and a violation of restrictions placed on his driver’s license.

According to the below copy from PWInsider, Hardy “waives arraignment by filing this written plea of not guilty.” Hardy’s arraignment was originally set for July 5th. He also waives the right to be present at any pretrial conferences.

Defendant, Jeffrey Nero Hardy, pursuant to rules 3.160(a), Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, waives arraignment by filing this written plea of not guilty. Albritton v. White, 948 So. 2d 852, 854 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007). Defendant further waives the right to be present at all pretrial conferences.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Adam Cole Reportedly Suffered ‘Very Serious Concussion’ At Forbidden Door

Adam Cole reportedly suffered “a very serious concussion” during his Four-Way Match for the IWGP World Heavyweight Title at the AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door pay-per-view on June 26.

According to Dave Meltzer in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Cole’s concussion led to a “rushed and awkward finish” to the match as Jay White pinned the leader of the Undisputed Elite to retain his title. In the final sequence of the match, Cole landed several superkicks on Kazuchika Okada for a near fall but then appeared to grow sluggish after taking a superkick from Hangman Page. Cole would also counter a Rainmaker from Okada before taking the pinfall to White.

In the lead-up to Forbidden Door, Fightful Select reported that Cole has been dealing with a torn labrum as far back as his AEW World Title program with Page, and braved through the injury during their match at the AEW Revolution pay-per-view. The report added that Cole has been “banged up for quite a while” and has been “battling a series of injuries” for longer than most realize.

Meltzer’s report Friday suggested that Cole could potentially undergo surgery to fix the torn labrum, or at least take extended time off for rehab, but there’s no confirmation on his plans. Meltzer suggested that Cole is “mentally wanting to continue” as evidenced by the fact that the Owen Hart Cup winner has avoided surgery up to this point.

If Cole is forced to miss time, it could prove to be a devastating blow to AEW as the company deals with a never-ending slew of injuries. The injury list is currently headlined by AEW World Champion CM Punk (foot), Bryan Danielson (concussion), Kenny Omega (multiple injuries), Jungle Boy (undisclosed), Kyle O’Reilly (undisclosed), Red Velvet (undisclosed), Anthony Bowens (knee), Darius Martin (car accident), Leyla Hirsch (torn ACL), The Bunny (undisclosed), Buddy Matthews (shoulder), Lee Johnson (knee) and Santana (knee/leg). On a positive note, AEW TNT Champion Scorpio Sky returns from a knee injury on next week’s “Dynamite” for a title defense against Wardlow.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

NXT’s Io Shirai Will Become A Free Agent Next Month Unless She Signs A New Deal

Io Shirai appears to be on a similar path to Adam Cole and Johnny Gargano.

NXT has undergone quite the transformation over the course of the past 12 months. Many of those who were a part of the black and gold brand have been called up, released, or allowed their contracts to expire and moved on. A handful remain, most of whom don’t appear on NXT TV all that often. Io Shirai falls into that final category, but could be an ex-WWE Superstar before long.

That’s according to The Wrestling Observer which has revealed Shirai’s NXT deal expires in August, and she is yet to sign a new contract with the company. What’s more, reports suggest it seems unlikely Shirai will be signing a new contract and will instead return to Japan. Apparently, the former NXT Women’s Tag Team Champion has been telling people close to her that she wants to be closer to her family once her time with WWE is done.

Shirai may well follow in the footsteps of Kairi Sane. However, where Sane worked the remainder of her WWE contract as an ambassador for the company in Japan, Shirai won’t have to do that since her deal will have come to an end, making her a free agent. She’ll be free to return to Stardom, or compete for whatever wrestling promotion she likes, whether it be inside or outside of Japan.

Shirai hasn’t been entirely absent from NXT since its revamp. She has actually featured quite prominently, most recently competing for the Women’s Title at Stand and Deliver over WrestleMania weekend. She has also held the Tag Titles with Zoey Stark since the 2.0 rebrand. Many fans would have hoped Shirai would get a run on the main roster, but unless she re-signs within the next month, that isn’t going to happen.

Shirai will be the latest in a run of NXT Superstars to reject a new deal should she let her contract expire and leave WWE next month. Johnny Gargano, Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, and Candice LeRae have all opted to do the same thing. Cole and O’Reilly have since shown up in and signed with AEW, while Gargano and LeRae’s next moves are currently unknown as they welcomed their first baby together only a few months ago.

Source: TheSportster

MLW Fusion Preview 6/30/22

Major League Wrestling FUSION tonight at 8pm ET features a high flying six man tag main event and the return of an Extreme icon, streaming worldwide for free on MLW’s YouTube channel and Saturday nationwide on cable and dish on beIN SPORTS. 

  • Microman, Taya Valkyrie and Lince Dorado vs. Strange Sangre
  • Samoan SWAT Team vs. Los Aztecas

The new era Samoan SWAT Team roll up in South Philly as Jacob Fatu links up with his cousin Lance Anoa’i and Juicy Finau. 

Cesar Duran looks to make Fatu and The Samoan SWAT Team pay for their smash and dash job on El Jefe’s office, as Juicy Finau and Lance Anoa’i team-up against Cesar’s Los Aztecas.

The Micromobile zips up 95 en route to a trios match, as Microman teams with World Women’s Featherweight Champion Taya Valkyrie and Lince Dorado to take on Strange Sangre.

Cesar Duran has dispatched Gangrel’s brood to take care of “The World’s Greatest Wonder” once and for all, but Microman finds himself with some serious back-up in the form of Valkyrie and Dorado!

Will Strange Sangre carry out El Jefe’s bidding and rid the league of Microman for good, or will Micromania go to the extreme to finally vanquish Strange Sangre? 

Richard Holliday is obsessed. The deranged Dynastic beautillion is fixated on proving he was the brains behind the brawn. With a big World Heavyweight Championship title fight on the horizon, Holliday takes you deep inside his warped mind leading up to the Kings of Colosseum event.

Real 1 shocks the world and puts the eyes of the league on him as he ignites a bitter war!

Davey Richards throws an interesting proposition at his sparring partner the World Middleweight Champion Myron Reed.

IMPACT Preview 6/30/22

Just 24 hours away from Against All Odds, don’t miss a loaded, all-new IMPACT! this Thursday at 8/7c on AXS TV and 8:30pm ET on YouTube for IMPACT Insiders.

The following line-up is announced for tonight:

  • Impact World Tag Team Championship Match: PCO & Vincent vs. The Good Brothers (Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson) (c)
  • Impact X-Division Championship #1 Contender Match: Chris Bey vs. Laredo Kid vs. Steve Maclin vs. Trey Miguel
  • Impact Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace vs. Savannah Evans
  • Chris Sabin vs. Frankie Kazarian
  • Ace Austin vs. Alex Zayne
  • Gisele Shaw vs. Rosemary

Santana Suffers Injury During Blood And Guts Match

Santana suffered an injury during the “Blood & Guts” main event bout last night on “AEW Dynamite.”

The Proud & Powerful star appeared to get hurt after hitting Jericho Appreciation Society’s Daniel Garcia with an Uranage throw, before landing awkwardly on both his wrist and knee, as seen in the video below. His leg buckled immediately following the maneuver, and he remained grounded for the rest of the match. According to fans at the arena, Santana would roll out of the ring, lying between the cage and the ropes, as he communicated with referees at the ringside area.

https://twitter.com/theangleradio/status/1542331064168873990
https://twitter.com/GOATGOD_1000/status/1542322738169356291

Santana never returned to the action and wasn’t part of the post-match celebration either. A few minutes before the brutal match concluded, Santana was seen being helped up the ramp and taken to the backstage area for a medical evaluation.

The “Blood & Guts” match would eventually conclude with Claudio Castagnoli tapping out Matt Menard atop the steel cage, barely seconds before Eddie Kingston would do the same to Chris Jericho. AEW teased some tension between Castagnoli and Kingston after the match, with the latter claiming he secured the win for William Regal’s Blackpool Combat Club & Co.

If Santana is forced to miss time with an injury, he’d be the latest to join AEW’s lengthy injury list. The list is crowded enough with AEW World Champion CM Punk (foot), Bryan Danielson (concussion), Kenny Omega (multiple injuries), Jungle Boy (undisclosed), Kyle O’Reilly (undisclosed), Red Velvet (undisclosed), Anthony Bowens (knee), Darius Martin (car accident), Leyla Hirsch (torn ACL), TNT Champion Scorpio Sky (knee), The Bunny (undisclosed), Buddy Matthews (shoulder) and Lee Johnson (knee) on the shelf with various injuries. On a positive note, Sky’s in-ring return has been announced for next week’s Dynamite.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Kenny Omega Says He Will Retire If He Suffers One More Major Injury

Kenny Omega is tired of rehabbing for injuries.

AEW superstar Kenny Omega has declared he will quit wrestling if he suffers another major injury setback. The former AEW World Champion has been out since last year’s Full Gear as he recovers from multiple injuries, including shoulder and knee problems, a hernia, plus more.

There was hope he could be back in time for Forbidden Door, but that wasn’t the case and there’s still no word on when he might return.

Omega appeared on the CEO Gaming channel on popular platform Twitch and would update fans on his injury. He said he will call curtains on his wrestling career should he suffer another big injury as he isn’t prepared to go through the rehab and the uncertainty that comes with trying to get back in the ring.

The Cleaner also inferred that people aren’t aware of how difficult it is for athletes to come back from major injuries, also revealing he’s on the end of ridicule on a daily basis.

“If I get another major setback, that’s it. That’s it, I’m done, I can’t do this ever again,” he said in quotes transcribed by Fightful. “Two times, three times a day, really painful rehab, not even knowing what it’s going to be like when I get back in the ring. I have no clue. It’s scary, actually.

“You see people, they come back to the ring and you’re just happy to see them back. There is a different kind of expectation put on me, and I think that anything less than what they are expecting, which is already unrealistic, is going to lead to a lot of ridicule, which is what I get every day anyway. You can probably understand and imagine how difficult it is, struggling twice, three times a day, trying to get things to work that maybe never worked before, and trying to re-route things in your brain to get around the things that aren’t going heal.

“People think, ‘Kenny is hurt, he took time off,’ snap your fingers, I come back and I’m 100%. Life doesn’t work that way. Bodies don’t work that way. Athletes don’t work that way. It’s very difficult to formulate a plan and to execute it. We’ll see how I do.”

Source: TheSportster

AEW Dynamite “Blood & Guts” Preview 6/29/22

AEW will present the violent spectacle of one of its signature matches on tonight’s episode of Dynamite – “Blood & Guts” from Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan.

The following line-up is announced for tonight:

  • Blood & Guts Match: Jericho Appreciation Society (Chris Jericho, Angelo Parker, Daniel Garcia, Jake Hager, Matt Menard & Sammy Guevara) vs. Blackpool Combat Club (AEW Interim World Champion Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Eddie Kingston, Ortiz, Santana & Wheeler Yuta)
  • TBS Championship Match: Leila Grey vs. Jade Cargill (c)
  • Ethan Page vs. Orange Cassidy
  • We hear from Christian Cage