Author: John Bass

Backstage Details On Why WWE Won’t Fire Sasha Banks Or Naomi [Report]

A new report explains why we shouldn’t expect WWE to fire Sasha Banks or Naomi. Both talents walked out of this week’s episode of Raw.

WWE reportedly isn’t planning to fire Sasha Banks or Naomi despite their decision to walk out of Monday Night Raw together this week.

As previously noted, Banks and Naomi walked out of this week’s Raw taping due to unhappiness over the show’s main event plans.. WWE posted a statement on the matter, claiming that the two placed the Women’s Tag Team Championships on the desk in John Laurinaitis’ office. The statement added that Banks and Naomi “claimed they weren’t respected enough as tag team champions” before departing with suitcases in hand.

It’s easy to speculate that WWE will simply release one or both talents from their current contracts, but that apparently won’t be the case.

Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Ringside News), Dave Meltzer explained that WWE won’t release Banks and/or Naomi with the obvious reason that they don’t want AEW landing either star. Meltzer also brought up the infamous title exchange incident between Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch, noting that The Queen wasn’t fired despite her actions

“If it was another time and another place, it’s very possible that they would have been fired, but it’s this time and this place,” Meltzer explained. “I remember when the Charlotte Flair thing happened with Becky Lynch and I was talking to people there and it was kind of, like, if it was another time and another place, yeah, they would have fired Charlotte Flair for what she did on live TV screwing up the angle on purpose. But it’s, like, do you want to send her to AEW? No. And essentially nothing happened and they don’t want to send either of them to AEW. Then you’ve got the whole Naomi married to Jimmy Uso…It’s just a waiting game to see what happens next.”

Source: TheSportster

MLW Fusion Preview 5/19/22

Major League Wrestling FUSION tonight at 8pm ET features a Bunkhouse Brawl, streaming worldwide for free on MLW’s YouTube channel and Saturday nationwide on cable and dish on beIN SPORTS. 

  • Bunkhouse Brawl: The Von Erichs vs. 5150
  • World Tag Team Championship: Hustle & Power vs. The Bomaye Fight Club
  • nZo in action

5150 crossed the line when they tossed the Von Erich family’s World Class championship belt into the river and now it is time for a reckoning… Texas style! The Von Erichs and 5150 collide in a Bunkhouse Brawl! 

Following the jaw dropping conclusion of last week’s Fusion, MLW matchmaker Cesar Duran will decide the fate of World Heavyweight Champion Alex Hammerstone. Could a dangerous and vengeful El Jefe actually strip Hammer of his championship?

nZo throws out an open challenge to anyone in the league. Who will step up against the “Certified G”?

After dispatching of Bestia 666, Jacob Fatu has a message for Cesar Duran.

National Openweight Champion Alex Kane and Mr Thomas look to add more gold to the Bomaye Fight Club trophy case as they challenge Hustle & Power for the World Tag Team Championship. Will Tankman finally silence the big mouthed Bomaye Fight Club? Or will new champs be crowned?

The first Battle Riot IV control center drops! Who has entered the biggest match in MLW? Find out on FUSION!

Plus: KC Navarro is in the house!

IMPACT Wrestling Preview 5/19/22

The road to Slammiversary continues on an all-new IMPACT! Tonight at 8/7c on AXS TV and 8:30pm ET on YouTube for IMPACT Insiders!

The Briscoes will defend their Impact World Tag Team Titles against Violent By Design. It’s a rematch from Under Siege, where The Briscoes won the titles.

All five women scheduled to participate in the first-ever Queen of the Mountain Match at Slammiversary will be involved in a 6-women tag team match.

The following line-up is announced for tonight:

  • IMPACT World Tag Team Championship Match: Violent By Design vs. The Briscoes (c)
  • Ultimate X Qualifying Match: Laredo Kid vs. Mike Bailey
  • IMPACT Knockouts Champion Tasha Steelz, Deonna Purrazzo & Savannah Evans vs. Jordynne Grace, Mia Yim & Taya Valkyrie
  • Matt Taven & Mike Bennett vs. The Good Brothers (Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson)

“Chaos” Backstage At AEW As Multiple Stars Reportedly Disgruntled

MJF isn’t the only one unhappy at AEW, according to a certain source.

It’s rumored that there’s been a lot of discontent behind the scenes at AEW in recent times.

We’ve already seen Cody and Brandi Rhodes walk away from the promotion, which has also failed to agree new terms with lots of the talent they signed in 2019. There’s also lots of talk of MJF being unhappy and the star has teased that he could move to WWE when his contract is up.

According to the Voices of Wrestling podcast, MJF isn’t the only disgruntled wrestler on the brand. The source has cited a source from AEW’s locker room that claims the atmosphere backstage is “chaotic” as wrestlers are displeased over things like not knowing angles or finishes until shows are ready to kick off.

“A source from the AEW locker says that MJF is hardly the only talent feeling some level of discontent, describing the backstage atmosphere as ‘chaotic’ with a lack of structure, with common complaints ranging from not knowing angles or finishes until close to showtime, and things like redundant finishes and angles to set up matches being very frustrating,” Voice of Wrestling reported (H/T WrestleTalk.com).

AEW has had a great start as a promotion but not so much when it comes to 2022. Losing Rhodes came as a huge blow and, with one of the biggest names on the roster openly unhappy, Tony Khan may have a few issues to iron out.

Source: TheSportster

John Morrison Makes AEW Debut As Johnny Elite

Under the ring name Johnny Elite, former WWE Superstar John Morrison made his AEW debut on the May 18 edition of AEW Dynamite on TBS, during which he lost to Samoa Joe in the first round of the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament after being revealed as The Joker.

AEW Dynamite “Wild Card Wednesday” kicked off with the first of two Joker’s in the men’s and women’s Owen Hart Cup tournament. Johnny Elite (John Morrison) was the Joker in the men’s tournament facing, Samoa Joe. Johnny was greeted with a massive pop from the audience. Samoa Joe couldn’t care less. The two veterans started the match off with a series of strikes before diving into some more of their flashy moves.

A solid opener then ensued between the two veterans, who had, remarkably, never gone one-on-one before. They were evenly matched for the majority of the contest. Johnny got a lot of his stuff in, but it wasn’t enough to put the big man away. Joe got the win after nailing Johnny with a brutal Muscle Buster for the 1-2-3, advancing to the second round of the inaugural Owen Hart Foundation Tournament in the process.

After the match, Jay Lethal, Sanjay Dutt, and Satnam Singh attacked the Ring Of Honor Television Champion, hitting his shoulder with a lead pipe. Dutt got a few stomps in on Johnny during the attack.

https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1527077285089759232

Prior to Morrison’s AEW debut, speculation regarding the identity of the Joke was rampant, with many fans expecting to see the likes of Cesaro and Johnny Gargano. Those two are yet to set foot in an AEW ring, but few will be disappointed with Morrison, who is a very good professional wrestler.

Whether Morrison has signed with AEW remains to be seen, but we’ll be sure to keep you posted.

As you might recall, John Morrison was released by WWE on Thursday, November 18 along with several of his now-former colleagues. According to Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp, WWE Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis informed the eight talents that they were being released due to budget cuts (although as we reported, WWE generated $256 Million in revenue the previous quarter).

Source: TheSportster and AEW Twitter

AEW Dynamite “Wild Card Wednesday” Preview 5/18/22

Tonight’s AEW Dynamite broadcasts live from the Fertitta Center in Houston, Texas. AEW is promoting the show as “Wild Card Wednesday”.

AEW has announced the following line-up for tonight:

  • Owen Hart Foundation Men’s Tournament Semifinal: Adam Cole vs. Jeff Hardy
  • Owen Hart Foundation Men’s Tournament Quarterfinal: Ring of Honor World Television Champion Samoa Joe vs. “The Joker”
  • Owen Hart Foundation Men’s Tournament Quarterfinal: Kyle O’Reilly vs. Rey Fenix
  • Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament Quarterfinal: Dr. Britt Baker vs. “The Joker”
  • AEW Champion Hangman Page vs. Konosuke Takeshita (CM Punk will be a special guest commentator)
  • Wardlow must take 10 lashes from MJF (It’s one of the requirements laid out for Wardlow to get a one-on-one match against MJF at Double or Nothing)
  • A face-to-face confrontation between Chris Jericho and William Regal

Two Released WWE Stars Returning To Ring After Hiatus

Lina Fanene (Nia Jax) and CJ Perry (Lana) are set to return to the squared circle for the first time since their WWE releases last year.

The two women will renew their WWE rivalry in a match to crown the first-ever Women’s World Champion of Wrestling Entertainment Series (WES). WES is a new wrestling promotion created by Legion of Pain, FKA The Authors of Pain.

While Nia Jax wrestled her last match on the September 20, 2021 episode of RAW, Lana was last seen in action on the May 31, 2021 episode of RAW.

Other matches announced for the event include Adam ‘The Titan’ Scherr (Braun Strowman) vs. Alistair Overeem to crown the inaugural WES World Champion, Legion of Pain (Authors of Pain) vs. Westin Blake & Steve Maclin, and Killer Kross (Karrion Kross) vs. Samuray Del Sol (Kalisto) vs. JONAH (Bronson Reed).

The other top women’s match will see Deonna Purrazzo & Chelsea Green team up against Madison Rayne & Tenille Dashwood to crown the inaugural WES Women’s Tag Team Champions.

Dean Muhtadi (Mojo Rawley), Lince Dorado and Dirty Dango (Fandango) will also be wrestling at the event.

WES’ debut show will take place June 4th at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham, England. The pay-per-view event will be available to stream on FITE.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

The Latest On Why Naomi And Sasha Banks Walked Out Of WWE RAW

 A new report is providing insight as to why the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions made their decision to walk out of WWE Monday Night RAW.

Early yesterday morning, PWInsider revealed that several sources had told them that the original plan for Banks and Naomi on RAW, a six-pack challenge for the right to face Bianca Belair for the WWE RAW Women’s Championship at Hell in a Cell, would have seen Naomi pin Sasha Banks to win the match and receive the title shot.

Furthermore, Banks and Naomi were to have been featured in several segments building to them facing off in the match. Post-main-event, the partners would have celebrated Naomi’s victory.

Sources say Naomi would go on to lose to Belair at Hell in a Cell. Though not confirmed, it was also noted that some sources believed that Sasha Banks would go on to face WWE Smackdown Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey at the same event, with Banks also losing.

It was also noted that this led to concerns from Banks and Naomi regarding creativity over the WWE Women’s Tag Titles, and later in the afternoon, an alternative idea was pitched that would have seen Banks and Naomi lose a short tag match to set up their next challenges. While PWInsider couldn’t confirm it 100%, they noted one source told them the planned opponents were Doudrop and Nikki A.S.H., who were at one point also scheduled for the six-pack challenge.

The report goes on to say that Sasha Banks and Naomi were told before RAW by producer Molly Holly that WWE was going forward with plans for the six-pack challenge. This then led to Banks and Naomi informing WWE Executive Vice President of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis that they were leaving, giving him the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships in the process. The report echos WWE’s statement regarding the matter during Monday Night RAW last night.

From there, it was said that Vince McMahon was informed of Banks and Naomi’s departure either shortly before or shortly after RAW began. A backstage vignette between Becky Lynch and Adam Pearce setting up Asuka and Lynch as the main event was pitched on the spot, with McMahon approving of it. One source suggested it was Lynch that came up with the idea for the segment.

Finally, those backstage at WWE apparently did not believe Naomi or Sasha Banks took issue with the finish to the six-pack challenge, but rather the duo’s creative going forward as the Women’s Tag Team Champions.

It should be noted that PWInsider’s report seems to confirm a Twitter thread from user @Addidas_Head88 from last night regarding the situation. The thread stated that Banks and Naomi had been upset with WWE for some time due to the promotion’s handling of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships, which the duo won at WrestleMania 38.

As of this time, neither Naomi nor Sasha Banks has commented on their walkout or WWE’s statement regarding their walkout.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

XFL Announces Exclusive Disney – ESPN Deal

It was announced on Tuesday at Disney Upfront, that the XFL has reached a multi-year agreement with The Walt Disney Company and ESPN.

The multi-year agreement is from 2023 to 2027. Each season’s 43 games will air on ABC, ESPN networks, and FX.

The 2023 season will kick off on Saturday, February 18, 2023.

Below is the full press release:

NEW YORK – May 17, 2022 – The XFL today announced a new, global multi-year agreement with The Walt Disney Company (“TWDC”) and ESPN, which includes exclusive broadcast rights for all gameday content, tentpole events and more, for its upcoming 2023 season through 2027. Each season, all 43 games (40 regular season games, two playoffs, one championship) will be featured on a combination of ABC, ESPN networks and FX. Additionally, the agreement includes exclusive content rights across TWDC and ESPN’s digital, social and direct-to-consumer outlets such as ESPN+. The XFL is excited to officially announce its 2023 season will kick off on Saturday, February 18, 2023.

The announcement was revealed today at the Disney Upfront, where XFL owners Dany Garcia and Dwayne Johnson were in attendance and presented the news.

“Without question, we have long admired Disney’s distinct ability to engage an expansive consumer fanbase across verticals, while also maintaining a deeply authentic, nuanced and heartfelt approach to storytelling much like our own,” said Dany Garcia, Chairwoman of the XFL. “To find a partner that honors our foundation and to be able to root our vision of unwavering passion, accessibility and the future of football with Disney as our home, is a dream come true. We are extraordinarily excited to explore the endless possibilities of this partnership – today is surely just the beginning.”

“The XFL will tap into sports fans’ deep love of football by emphasizing competitive action while dedicating itself to innovation and entertainment,” said Jimmy Pitaro, Chairman, ESPN and Sports Content. “You can see a great path to success when you combine the reach and influence of ESPN and Disney with the collective vision of XFL leadership led by Dany, Dwayne and Gerry.”

Dwayne Johnson added, “This is a definitive moment for the XFL and the beginning of an incredible, long-term partnership for the league, building on my longstanding, very successful legacy relationship I’ve had with Disney throughout my career. We’re excited to be working with global visionaries that are aligned with the XFL’s values, are true team players and share our ambitious goals to grow the XFL as a global sports and entertainment business. Through the combined power of Disney, ESPN and the XFL, together we will create a new powerhouse on the sports calendar and bring a dynamic game of football to fans everywhere. Time to ball out.”

Gerry Cardinale said, “With today’s announcement, the XFL has launched a truly innovative partnership with The Walt Disney Company and its world-class platforms across media, culture, sports and entertainment.  It is a privilege to join forces with the incredibly talented team at Disney and ESPN and bring Dany and Dwayne’s vision for world-class football and live event entertainment to our fans and players.”

For more information, visit XFL.com and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

As we’ve noted, the XFL went into bankruptcy after the COVID-19 pandemic brought an early end to their return season in the spring of 2020. WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon had sold the league to The Rock, along with business partners Dany Garcia and RedBird Capital in August of 2020, for $15 million.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Ricky Steamboat Declines To Wrestle Ric Flair At Starrcast V

It turns out Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat will not be taking part in Ric Flair’s retirement match at Starrcast V after all. While confirming a Fightful Select report that he was approached for a match at the event, the 69-year-old former NWA World Heavyweight Champion said he would not be part of the match during a Highspots Superstore signing (as transcribed by Fightful).

“Well, I was approached and [had] given it some serious thought,” Steamboat said. “A lot of respect to the guy in the ring … I thought about it for a week and just recently just declined on it. I know when I wrestled Jericho at WrestleMania 25, then we had the return match at Backlash in a singles [match], but at 69, and I know it’s a six-man tag and I could get a little this and that in, but with all due respect to our fans, I want them to remember me that last time I was in there with Jericho when they chanted ‘You still got it.’ I don’t want to scar that phrase … I don’t want to tarnish the memory that the fans have of me. It’d be a good payday, sure, but I don’t want them thinking ‘Maybe he should have stayed retired.’”

During the same signing, Steamboat also addressed recent comments by Jake Roberts regarding his health, telling everyone that he was doing okay and that doctors had described him as healthy. He attributed Roberts’ comments to being tied into a conversation about Roberts giving Steamboat a DDT onto a cement years earlier.

According to Fightful Select, Steamboat was scheduled to team with Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express to take on Flair and current AAA and ROH World Tag Team Champions FTR. There is no word currently on who will be replacing Steamboat, or if the match will be changed altogether.

Source: Wrestling Inc.