Author: John Bass

IMPACT Preview 2/17/22

Don’t miss the final IMPACT! before No Surrender, this Thursday at 8/7c on AXS TV and 8:30pm ET on YouTube for IMPACT Insiders!

* Impact Knockouts Champion Mickie James and Chelsea Green battle Tasha Steelz and Savannah Evans 

* Bullet Club collides with Violent By Design in a colossal six-man tag team match

* Kenny King goes one-on-one with Chris Sabin

* “The Quintessential Diva” Gisele Shaw vs. Lady Frost

* Ace Austin, Blake Christian and Laredo Kid collide in a Triple Threat match

* The action begins Before the IMPACT, streaming this Thursday at 7:30pm ET exclusively on IMPACT Plus, YouTube and Facebook. After making his shocking IMPACT debut last week, Big Kon looks to prove that he can go toe-to-toe with IMPACT’s best as he battles former IMPACT World Champion Eddie Edwards! Plus, Gia Miller, Josh Mathews and George Iceman get you ready for all things IMPACT with a recap of the latest action, a new Iceman’s Intel and more.

Photos: AEW Stars Meet Melissa Joan Hart After AEW Dynamite

Actress Melissa Joan Hart was in attendance at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, TN, for last night’s AEW Dynamite.

The cameras cut to the former Sabrina the Teenage Witch star sitting in the front row, shortly before the Bryan Danielson vs. Lee Moriarity match.

After Dynamite went off the air, The Young Bucks, Leva Bates and Vickie Guerrero shared pictures of themselves backstage with Hart.

Meanwhile, Hart took to Instagram to thank the Bucks for having her at the event. Hart shared another picture of herself and a friend reacting to a spot during the Mercedes Martinez vs. Thunder Rosa No DQ Match.

Hart, a lifelong pro wrestling fan, was involved in a brief Twitter beef with Kevin Owens in 2015. She would later blame WWE’s creative for Owens’ “lazy” character on WWE TV.

Hart wasn’t the only celebrity in attendance for last night’s Dynamite. Also appearing was actor Martin Kove, who was involved in a backstage segment with AEW Women’s World Champion Dr. Britt Baker. Kove is best known for portraying the character of “John Kreese” in The Karate Kid, and the film’s popular spin-off series, Cobra Kai.

https://twitter.com/VickieGuerrero/status/1494163811925962753

Source: Wrestling Inc.

New Details On Why Cody Rhodes Left AEW, Cody To WWE Update, Brandi

Sports Illustrated’s Justin Barrasso reports that multiple sources have said Brandi is not expected to join Cody in WWE.

It was also said that Cody could begin working for WWE as soon as this weekend, potentially visiting the WWE Performance Center in Orlando to film segments for his return.

Rhodes left WWE back in 2016 after being frustrated with a lack of direction, and dissatisfaction with certain members of the WWE creative team, mainly over his Stardust character. It was noted that this will be a non-factor in his upcoming return to WWE as he is expected to have a far different relationship with Vince and the writing team.

Regarding Cody’s AEW departure, Barrasso reports that another key factor in the decision was losing all responsibilities related to booking. Rhodes was originally a part of the process, but Khan, as AEW’s Head of Creative, has taken full control.

There is no timeframe for Rhodes’ return to WWE, but Barrasso reports that sources have confirmed he is headed back. There is also no word on if a deal has been reached. It’s believed that Rhodes could end up being a WrestleMania 38 surprise, or WWE could hold him off until the RAW After WrestleMania, which is the biggest RAW episode of the year.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Ex-ROH Star Quinn McKay Makes WWE Debut During NXT: Level Up Taping

Quinn McKay has seemingly joined WWE … as a ring announcer?

Quinn McKay made her WWE debut during the taping of the company’s new developmental show NXT: Level Up … but she didn’t work a match.

The former Ring Of Honor star was introduced as the show’s ring announcer under the name Kelly Kincaid. As well as wrestling in ROH, McKay also worked as a commentator and backstage correspondent, so she’s no stranger to broadcast duties. It seems that she will perform similar duties at the Performance Center.

https://twitter.com/WrestlingCovers/status/1493745532954722305

At the time of writing, no details regarding McKay’s WWE deal have been revealed — although it’s possible that she is yet to officially sign with the company and that the Level Up appearance was a tryout of sorts.

McKay debuted as a pro-wrestler in 2018 and joined Ring Of Honor in 2019. Though she only worked a few matches for the company, she made it to the quarter-finals of the inaugural ROH Women’s World Championship tournament last year, losing to eventual winner Rok-C, who could also be on her way to WWE if recent reports are accurate.

Source: TheSportster

AEW Dynamite Preview 2/16/22

Tonight’s AEW Dynamite on TBS will air live from the Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, TN with more build for the upcoming Revolution pay-per-view.

* CM Punk will reveal the time, place and rules for rematch against MJF

* Bryan Danielson vs. Lee Moriarty

* Face of The Revolution Ladder Match Qualifier: Wardlow vs. Max Caster

* Chris Jericho and Jake Hager vs. Santana and Ortiz

* No DQ Match: Thunder Rosa vs. Mercedes Martinez

* AEW TNT Champion Sammy Guevara defends against Darby Allin

Matt Hardy Gives Insight Into Bizarre WWE House Show Exit By Jeff Hardy

In a Q&A episode of The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy, AEW star Matt Hardy was asked about the possibility of him wrestling his brother, Jeff Hardy, in a singles match somewhere down the road. For all intents and purposes, Matt Hardy indicated the days of him and his brother wrestling each other have come and gone.

“The days of Matt and Jeff Hardy going head to head, they’re probably done,” Hardy said. “We’re teammates, we’re not opponents.”

Matt Hardy was also asked about how his brother, who was released from WWE in December of 2021, was doing as he waits for his 90-day noncompete clause to end. He also shed some light on what happened in Jeff Hardy’s last WWE match.

“He’s good,” Hardy said. “When he wants to share this story, he will I’m sure. But I mean, he ended up being exhausted after driving all night, he was on late in the dark Smackdown, the last match. They had a 300 miles plus drive and he got in early in the morning and then he had a family emergency and then he was up early.

“I think he was just exhausted and shot and probably beat up at the same time. And he was also very stressed out from his WWE job as well, you know? I think for him sometimes, he kinda gets in his head. Especially if he’s alone on the road and whatnot. I think it’s better with me there too. I think he feels a little more comfortable because he really can get in his own head.”

Source: Wrestling Inc. with credit to  The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy

AJ Lee Provides Updates On WOW – Women Of Wrestling

Former three-time WWE Divas Champion, AJ Lee, joined Freddie Prinze Jr. on this week’s Wrestling with Freddie podcast from iHeart Media’s My Cultra Network.

A hot topic that Freddie Prinze Jr. was keen to discuss was AJ’s involvement with WOW – Women of Wrestling. Lee is currently signed as an Executive Producer for the brand. She provided more details about when we can expect to see WOW in the future and what inspired her to join.

“So we’ll actually be shooting pretty soon, I think we’re maybe 60 days out, so it’s getting kinda close,” AJ Lee revealed. “We’re gonna be in syndication in the fall of 2022. Please check wowe.com for your local listings. It’s also on the CWC app and Pluto app. But you know, what really inspired me to join WOW, was the idea that it was women behind the scenes in every capacity and women in front of the camera in every capacity.

“And, to me, I love wrestling. I never stopped loving wrestling and this was the perfect way to rejoin the world of wrestling, but also combine it with what I’m doing now [as a writer] and what I have a passion for now. ”

AJ Lee also disclosed that she has had some offers to return to the ring, but ultimately, she felt the desire to compete again in the squared circle was absent.

“Wrestling opportunities have popped up over the years and I’ve just never been ready for that,” AJ said. “I’m not sure like physically that something like that the fires there, but the art of it, that’s always been there.”

It was announced that AJ Lee had signed with WOW in October 2021, alongside the promotion announcing that they had signed into a multi-year distribution agreement with ViacomCBS. Not only will AJ be working behind the scenes, but she will also be providing color commentary for the all-woman shows.

Source: Wrestling Inc. with credit to Wrestling with Freddie podcast

Nikkita Lyons To Make WWE NXT In-Ring Debut Next Week

Nikkita Lyons will also make her in-ring debut on next week’s NXT show. Formerly known as Faith Jeffries and Faith The Lioness, Lyons has been featured in recent vignettes to promote her arrival. Her character is that of the daughter to parents who were in the entertainment industry, and now she has a background of MMA and dancing/rapping. She noted in this week’s promo that the feeling of crushing a dance routine can only be compared to landing a knockout blow in the ring, and warned that she’s “a whole lotta woman who is ready to do a whole lotta whooping.”

https://twitter.com/WWENXT/status/1493777513436393475

New WWE NXT Show Coming Soon, WWE 205 Live Coming To An End

The new “WWE NXT: Level Up” series is scheduled to begin taping soon.

We’ve noted how there has been a WWE 205 Live re-branding in the works for a few months now, which is why more female Superstars and non-cruiserweight Superstars have been working the show as of late. WWE filed to trademark the “NXT: Level Up” name last week.

In an update, the WWE 205 Live series is finally coming to an end, according to PWInsider. The decision was made official earlier this week, but had been in the works for some time.

WWE was scheduled to tape the first “NXT: Level Up” episode last night at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, before the NXT Vengeance Day episode aired live. The episode is scheduled to be 60 minutes long.

WWE has been using NXT Superstar Joe Gacy as a storyline reason for the 205 Live changes. Gacy defeated Xyon Quinn last Friday night and promised that more changes to the show would be coming soon.

WWE officially announced last night during NXT Vengeance Day that NXT Level Up will debut this Friday night at 10pm on Peacock and the WWE Network.

The WWE 205 Live show originally debuted on November 29, 2016, airing on Tuesday nights before being moved to Fridays. WWE aired 269 episodes of the show.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Vince McMahon Reportedly Has Huge Plans For Cody Rhodes WWE Comeback

WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon is planning to give Cody Rhodes “a major match at WrestleMania” if Rhodes were to return to WWE, according to Wade Keller of PWTorch.

On his latest audio show, Keller noted how McMahon views Rhodes’ AEW exit “as a big deal” and wants to treat it accordingly.

“Cody and WWE haven’t confirmed it but Cody is going to WWE and he’s going to get a big push,” Keller said. “Vince McMahon is going to treat this as a big deal. Everybody I talked to thinks Vince loves the idea of acquiring a co-founder and EVP and, you know, main event wrestler. He just held their secondary singles title not that long ago, and having him show up on WWE TV is something that Vince is very interested in taking advantage of and making money on it. It could even be a situation where Cody is in a major match at WrestleMania.”

Keller said he had “four plus hours of conversations” with his sources within AEW and WWE, which led him to believe that Rhodes is expected to be on the WrestleMania 38 card.

“I fully expect Cody to be on WrestleMania either as a wrestler or making his first appearance,” Keller said. “I don’t know if they can hold back on putting him on TV so I could even see him appearing on Raw or SmackDown next week. I’m not aware of there being any kind of non-compete at this point since he’s been a free agent for a while so Cody could appear. I wouldn’t be shocked if there’s even some augmentation to the booking plans for WrestleMania perhaps related to the Elimination Chamber in order to set the stage for Cody to do something really big at WrestleMania.”

Keller continued, “I think Cody will get a big push, at least at first. You know, there’s different opinions on whether Vince is going to resent Cody for creating competition or admire Cody for his entrepreneurial spirit and being classy about it the whole way. You know, Paul Heyman, Eric Bischoff, Jeff Jarrett, they all competed with Vince [and] they all got jobs again. So, you know, we’ll, we’ll see how it goes. Vince saw Cody as a mid-carder. He saw Christian as a mid-carder. Christian went to Impact Wrestling and won a world title…He came back, he got a better push, but it wasn’t at the level of Edge, which is what, you know, Christian always wanted. He wanted to be at the Edge level.”

It is being widely reported that Cody Rhodes is in talks with WWE about a potential comeback. Since Rhodes is not under a non-compete clause with AEW, he is free to appear on WWE TV immediately.

Source: Wrestling Inc.