Author: John Bass

Impact Wrestling Gives Pay Raises To Portion Of Roster

Pro Wrestling Sheet reports that Impact Wrestling recently gave pay raises to a portion of the roster.

According to sources, a handful of wrestlers in the middle and lower parts of the card learned they’d be getting raises before today’s TV taping in Windsor. Some were also told before Bound for Glory.

Sources say management wanted to give back to the men and women who’ve sacrificed their bodies to help the company as of late now that they’ll be airing on AXS TV.

While it’s unclear how significant the raises were, one source told us everyone in the locker room seems to be very happy about the bump. Another source tells us one wrestler was almost brought to tears after management delivered the good news backstage.

Some of the wrestlers who reportedly received pay increases include Ethan Page, Josh Alexander, The Rascalz, Ace Austin and Jessicka Havoc.

Xavier Woods Reportedly Out Of Action For 6 months to 1 year After Undergoing Surgery

WWE SmackDown Superstar Xavier Woods reportedly underwent surgery to repair an Achilles tear earlier today, according to PWInsider.

There’s no official word yet on the timetable for Woods’ return, but PWInsider reports that it’s believed he will be out of action for 6 months to 1 year.

As noted, Woods suffered the Achilles injury at last Sunday’s WWE live event in Sydney, Australia. WWE confirmed the injury and pulled him from the rest of the tour, and word from within WWE was that the injury was really bad.

Woods suffered the injury, while teaming with Big E against SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Revival, after being Irish-whipped into the ropes. Fans in attendance noted that Woods came back off the ropes and just collapsed, clutching his ankle. Big E finished the match by himself as Woods was taken to the back.

Stay tuned for updates on Woods’ recovery and WWE status. For those who missed it, below is his tweet from earlier this week:

Source: Wrestling Inc.

MLW Fusion Preview 10/26/19

It’s the final stop on the road to Saturday Night SuperFight! November 2 LIVE on PPV from the Cicero Stadium in Chicago!

Promociones Dorado goes to war with CONTRA Unit in the main event. Following the savage attack on LA Park’s son last week, the destroyer is out for blood as he along with Promociones Dorado takes on CONTRA Unit in trios action.

The Hart Foundation clash with Dragon Lee and Extreme Tiger in a fast and thunderous tag team encounter.

Plus! A new H2tv featuring the Hart Foundation taking in the sights and sounds of Tijuana.

Do the Von Erich boys have the Dynasty’s number?

Salina de la Renta joins us from Sinaloa, Mexico as the Empresaria craves power, respect and more.

A shocking new addition to a SuperFight match is revealed in the control center.

What’s Low Ki’s reaction to Pillman’s poolside trash talking? The Lone Wolf of Brooklyn breaks his silence.

Join AJ Kirsch and Rich Bocchini bring us to Mexico for a night of Major League Wrestling just days out from MLW’s historic first Pay-Per-View, Saturday Night SuperFight!

Matches:

•Promociones Dorado vs. CONTRA Unit

•Hart Foundation vs. Dragon Lee and Extreme Tiger

•Torito and Toto vs. Terror Azteca and Proximo

Saturday Night SuperFight is now available to pre-order at FITE.tv [Pre-Order]

Available worldwide to stream on FITE for just $19.95 and featuring 4 title fights, dream matches, grudge matches and more, you won’t want to miss MLW’s first Pay-Per-View on November 2

Cut the line! Use this link and pre-order now: https://www.fite.tv/watch/mlw-saturday-night-superfight/2p1vk/

WWE Friday Night SmackDown Preview 10/25/19

Tonight’s WWE Friday Night SmackDown  -and WWE 205 Live will air live from the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri with the final blue brand hype for WWE Crown Jewel.

  • WWE Champion Brock Lesnar and Cain Velasquez come face-to-face this week on Friday Night SmackDown
  • “Miz TV” heads to FS1 as Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair preview the WWE Crown Jewel showdown
  • The New Day take on Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode ahead of largest Tag Team Turmoil Match in history at WWE Crown Jewel
  • Nikki Cross looks to continue SmackDown Women’s division ascent against Mandy Rose on FS1
  • Friday Night SmackDown heads to FS1 for one night only

WWE 205 Live will feature appearances by WWE NXT Cruiserweight Champion Lio Rush, Raul Mendoza and Angel Garza, but no matches have been announced.

Backstage Updates On WWE NXT TV Possibly Airing From Arenas Outside Of Florida

There has been talk of taking the weekly WWE NXT TV show out of Full Sail Live in early 2020. Now it looks like NXT will continue to run Full Sail Live at times, just not every week.

The current talk going around is that NXT will continue to run Full Sail Live in 2020, just not weekly, with the idea of doing the other shows in arenas outside of Florida, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Full Sail is a lot more cost-effective for the show, but the location and the look is believed to be part of the reason for the drop in viewership, especially with head-to-head competition with AEW Dynamite, according to the Observer.

WWE officials have reportedly had discussions with arenas for NXT TV starting in January 2020. The Observer adds that the main reason for doing the weekly USA Network NXT TV show from Full Sail Live was because they rushed to get the show on the air so they could get the jump on AEW, and didn’t have time to book arenas.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Jimmy Uso Arrest Video Released From July DUI Incident

TMZ Sports has released video from Jimmy Uso’s July 25 DUI arrest in Escambia County, Florida.

The footage shows Uso swerving while speeding before police pulled him over in his Cadillac Escalade. Police caught up with Uso and found him going from side to side in his lane, crossing over the double yellow line at one point. The officer clocked Uso going 86 MPH in a 45 MPH zone at one point.

Uso is visibly intoxicated as the officer tried to take him to a nearby parking lot for field sobriety tests. Uso kept asking what was happening and aggressively asked why he couldn’t have his lawyer present. The officer eventually arrested Uso for DUI.

TMZ notes that the police report said Uso reeked so much of alcohol that he had to roll down his cruiser window on the ride to the county jail.

Jimmy has been fighting his misdemeanor DUI charges in court over the past few months and has another hearing scheduled for next week.

As noted back in July, Uso was booked into jail at 3:04am ET that night and bonded out at 10:15am on a $1,000 bond. He was also hit with a speeding charge.

This was Jimmy’s second arrest in 2019 as he was hit with charges after being pulled over with wife Naomi in Detroit back in February. Bodycam footage from that night can been seen at this link.

Below is the video released by TMZ of Jimmy’s July 25 DUI arrest in Escambia County, Florida.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Corey Vereen Leaving XFL Over Salary Concerns

One of the key goals of the XFL leading up to 2020 was to sign high-profile players. 24-year-old Corey Vereen was one of them. Picked in the eighth round of the XFL Draft, Vereen was supposed to be a huge star for the Los Angeles Wildcats.

That doesn’t appear to be the case anymore. Vereen has decided to forgo the opportunity to play in the XFL due to the salary being lower than what he claimed was discussed.

It was recently reported by The Action Network’s Darren Rovell that a standard XFL contract is $1,040, while NFL players make $495,000. ProFootballTalk had the average salary as $55,000, with some contracts depending on skill. Players can become full-time employees of the XFL on December 4, 2019. If they are able to stay on the roster, those players will be employed until May 31, 2020.

The defensive end is the first player to go public with this issue. Via Logan Brown Sports, a statement was made talking about how talks between players and the XFL were different compared to the recent salary structure.

“The salary schedule did not come close to matching what was talked about rampantly throughout the XFL combine workouts and was discussed online by many different sources.” Logan Brown Sports stated. “…We wish the upstart league the best and would be open to the idea of playing when salaries reach an appropriate minimum.”

Vereen will now continue to develop his skills while also working in the career field he worked towards while with the University of Tennessee, Computer Science. It is unknown if others will step forward against the XFL as well.

The launched XFL season is expected to start in February of 2020, the weekend after the Super Bowl. The Wildcats face the Houston Roughnecks in Houston on the 8th at 5 p.m. ET on FOX.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Some AEW Inner Circle Members To Be In Attendance For Jake Hager’s Fight At Bellator 231

Bellator 231 takes place tonight where Jake Hager (2-0) will take on Anthony Garrett. In AEW, Hager is a member of the stable, Inner Circle, which also consists of AEW World Champion Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara, Santana, and Ortiz.

According to Marc Raimondi of ESPN, Guevara, Santana, and Ortiz will be in attendance for the fight and then get in the cage for a post-fight photo op.

Hager recently spoke to Wrestling Inc.’s Dan Yanofsky about being able to work for both Bellator and AEW at the same time.

“Honestly, it was such a breath of fresh air. Both of those guys were so willing to work with me,” Hager stated. “AEW loves what I’m doing with Bellator and Bellator loves what I’m doing with AEW. I don’t think 10 years ago you would see that happen where an MMA fighter would go work on a pro wrestling TV show right in the middle of camp.

“For Scott and Tony to be willing to work with each other and understand that this is something really cool and cross-promote, among other things, the sky’s the limit. I feel like that’s the mindset with it. Entertainment is a big part of MMA and it is unique.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Special WWE Backstage Episode Announced For Friday Night

FOX has announced a special edition of WWE Backstage for this week.

The special episode will air tonight, on FS1, right after the weekly WWE SmackDown episode goes off the air on FOX.

Hosts Renee Young and WWE Hall of Famer Booker T will be joined by WWE NXT Superstar Finn Balor, who turned heel on this week’s show.

The WWE on FOX tweeted this video yesterday of Renee announcing the special edition of Backstage. She also reveals that Paige and Christian will join them. This looks to be a regular role for Paige and Christian as they were also on the original WWE Backstage preview show that aired earlier this month.

This is the second WWE Backstage preview show to air. The official premiere of the show will air at 11pm ET on Tuesday, November 5. The studio show will then air each week in that same time slot.

https://twitter.com/WWEonFOX/status/1187498287365910528

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Start Time Changed For Next Week’s WWE NXT UK Episode, Debut And Match Announced

Next Thursday’s WWE NXT UK episode on the WWE Network will have a special start time of 11am ET.

The usual start time for the show is 3pm ET on Thursdays.

The time change for next week is due to the WWE Crown Jewel event. NXT UK will serve as the Crown Jewel lead-in as the Kickoff pre-show is scheduled to begin at 12pm ET, live from Saudi Arabia. The Crown Jewel main card is scheduled to begin at 1pm ET.

The following matches have been announced for next Thursday’s NXT UK episode on Halloween:

* A-Kid makes his NXT UK debut

* Jordan Devlin vs. Dave Mastiff

A-Kid is a 22 year old indie star from Spain. He recently signed with WWE and won a dark match over Joseph Conners for his debut, at the October 4 TV tapings in Brentwood, Essex, England. He then faced Kassius Ohno the next night, which could be the match that will air as his official debut next week.

Source: Wrestling Inc.