Author: John Bass

Ring Warriors Preview 9/22/18

The following is scheduled for Saturday morning’s episode of Ring Warriors on WGN America at 8 AM ET/7C.

* Damian Drake returns to face the five tool player, Alexander Hammerstone;
* The ladies are back as Nicole Savoy of Danger Incorporated takes on “Future Legend” Melissa Anderson;
* We’ll see a video message from the Honorable Reverend Joseph E. Nelson;
* One of the West Coast’s finest tag teams, The One Percent (Royce Isaacs and Jorel Nelson) will square off for the very first time against a team that has been with Ring Warriors since 2012, The Slambinos (Francisco Ciatso & AJ Jannazzo, now led by Glenn Gilbertti);
* And in one of our featured matches, Impact Wrestling World Champion Austin Aries puts his title on the line against an opponent to be named

Be sure to join Blake Chadwick and Larry Brannon for all the action.

MLW: Fusion Preview 9/21/18

What happens when 6’5″ California bounty hunter Brody King fights the French Canadian Frankenstein PCO for the first time ever?  Find out 8pm ET this Friday night on beIN SPORTS as two destroyers rampage in an MLW ring.

It’s hurricane season which only makes it appropriate that FUSION feature a hurricane match where tags are optional as six man collide in trios action.  Will the Hart Foundation continue their march up the rankings as they face Colonel Parker’s Stud Stable?  Will Parrow and the Dirty Blondes be able to stay on the same page?  Find out as the unpredictable Hart Foundation square off with three elite southern grapplers.

But that’s not all!  Lucha royalty Taya Valkyrie makes her debut as she teams with the sleaziest man in the sport Joey Ryan as they compete in a mixed tag team encounter against World Middleweight Champion MJF and his new flame Aria Blake.

A new FURY ROAD control center will reveal more matches for the upcoming October 4th NYC card plus tons more!

Tony Schiavone and Rich Bocchini call the action ringside from South Florida!

Watch MLW FUSION Friday nights on beIN SPORTS at 8pm ET/5pm PT.  Don’t get beIN? Subscribe to MLW’s YouTube channel for free and stream binge on MLW FUSION anytime anywhere!

Backstage Notes On Impact And WWE Officials Meeting Last Week

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Impact Wrestling officials recently met with WWE officials at WWE HQ in Stamford, CT. Impact was represented by Ed Nordholm and Scott D’Amore while WWE was represented by members of Triple H’s team. Vince McMahon was not there. The original report noted that the meeting was a general discussion about the two companies and a chance to get everyone in the same room, not any kind of specific negotiations. An Impact source added that the meeting had nothing to do with a potential sale of the company or its video library as neither are for sale.

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter now reports that Impact officials were pitching while WWE officials were listening to their ideas. The Observer adds that the belief is that the meeting did have to do with the WWE Network and the Impact tape library.

It was speculated that Impact could be interested in a deal that would see them make money by giving the WWE Network access to their footage or TV shows. Impact may have improved creatively as of late but it continues to struggle when it comes to mainstream star power and they continue to be a big money loser. Impact’s Pop TV deal ends later this year and pays very little if anything, and The Observer noted that the only way the promotion can make money these days is with paying TV deals. In addition to the Pop TV deal, they are making less money than before in the UK and the only real significant TV money they have is from India. The Observer also noted how Impact may not sell the tape library because so much of their footage is used on The Fight Network, which is also ran by Anthem, but there could be some sort of deal where they are able to continue using the archived footage.

WWE was in talks to purchase Impact a few years back with the idea of buying it for the tape library and then shutting it down, but they offered less money than Anthem and Billy Corgan. WWE and Anthem have been on good business terms as of late as Impact allowed WWE to use footage for projects on The Hardys and WWE Champion AJ Styles.

WWE apparently requested the recent meeting with Impact Wrestling, according to Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer.

Source: WrestlingINC

Abyss To Be Inducted Into Impact Wrestling Hall Of Fame

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Christopher “Abyss” Park will be inducted into the 2018 Impact Wrestling Hall of Fame. Park has spent the last 17 years of his career with Impact Wrestling, debuting at the first-ever TNA pay-per-view in June 2002.

He will actually be the first true Impact original to be inducted into their Hall of Fame, as the rest of the inductees first made their names elsewhere. He will also be the only person in the class to have never worked for WWE. During a 2016 episode of The Pancakes and Powerslams Show, which drops every Tuesday on the Wrestling Inc. YouTube channel, Park revealed that he turned down a WWE offer in 2006.

“There was interest from [WWE]. I was at a time in my career where my contract was coming up,” Abyss said. “But I decided to stay with TNA… It was definitely an offer there in 2006 to work with Undertaker, but again, I was such a big part of the beginning of TNA, I was such a home-grown talent, a base talent who they were building around, I decided to stay.

“I have no regrets, to be honest with you. Like I said, TNA has been my home and treated me so good, so in the end it was a pretty easy decision for me to make, and I’ve never looked back.”

The Impact Wrestling Hall of Fame ceremony will take place during Bound For Glory weekend in New York City.

Source: WrestlingINC

Below is a video package of Abyss that aired last night on Impact after the Hall of Fame announcement:

Abyss tweeted the following on his upcoming Impact Wrestling Hall of Fame induction:

https://twitter.com/TherealAbyss/status/1042959518148243456

Impact Wrestling Preview 9/20/18

Impact Wrestling makes history as Impact broadcasts from Mexico for the first time ever!

* Faby Apache vs. Alisha Edwards

* The best friends, Joe Hendry and Grado will debut a brand new music video

* Impact World Championship: (C) Austin Aries vs. El Texano

* King has a message for Konnan

* Announcement of  the newest member to be inducted into the IMPACT Wrestling Hall of Fame

* Will Rich Swann finally get his hands on Matt Sydal

Mae Young Classic Week 3 Preview 9/19/18

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The following first round matches were taped for tonight’s Mae Young Classic episode on the WWE Network:

* Mia Kim vs. Allysin Kay

* Kaitlyn vs. Kavita Devi

* Toni Storm vs. Jinny

* Karen Q vs. Xia Li

WWE NXT Preview 9/19/18

* NXT North American Champion Ricochet vs. WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne

* Dakota Kai & Deonna Purrazzo vs. Aliyah & Lacey Evans

* The Forgotten Sons’ Jaxson Ryker makes in-ring debut

* Search for Aleister Black’s attacker continues

WWE 205 Live Preview 8/19/18

Tonight’s WWE 205 Live was taped last night at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

* TJP defeated Lince Dorado

* WWE Cruiserweight Championship: (C) Cedric Alexander vs. Drew Gulak

Alexa Bliss Injury And WWE Status Update

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As noted, WWE announced today that Alexa Bliss is currently out of action with an arm injury and will be replaced by Ember Moon in season 2 of the Mixed Match Challenge. Moon and Braun Strowman will face Kevin Owens and Natalya at tonight’s tapings.

Bliss did suffer the injury while wrestling RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey at Sunday’s Hell In a Cell pay-per-view. PWInsider adds that the plan is for Bliss to return to the Mixed Match Challenge to team with Strowman once she’s cleared to compete, if she’s cleared in time. Bliss will also miss weekend WWE live events.

WWE explained the Bliss injury with the following announcement on their website:

Bliss suffers arm injury; Moon to team with Strowman in first week of WWE MMCAs first revealed in an Exclusive Video with Cathy Kelley, Alexa Bliss suffered an arm injury at the hands of Ronda Rousey during their Raw Women’s Championship Match at the WWE Hell in a Cell pay-per-view. With Little Miss Bliss sidelined, Ember Moon will now join forces with Braun Strowman to take on the hard-hitting team of Kevin Owens & Natalya.

After her match against The Baddest Woman on the Planet, Bliss began to complain of soreness on Monday before waking up with numbness in her left arm Tuesday morning. After seeking medical attention, Alexa received word that she is not cleared for WWE Mixed Match Challenge or live events this weekend. Accordingly, Acting Raw General Manager Baron Corbin decided to replace the five-time Women’s Champion with Ember Moon as Strowman’s tag team partner for tonight.

Check back with WWE.com for more details as they become available, and don’t miss the return of WWE Mixed Match Challenge when it streams LIVE tonight at 10 ET/7 PT, exclusively on Facebook Watch, with a special WWE MMC Pre-Show at 9:50 ET.

Source: WrestlingINC

WWE SmackDown Live Preview 9/18/18

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown Live will take place from the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma with the fallout from Hell In a Cell.

* WWE Champion AJ Styles vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas

* Shinsuke Nakamura to battle Rusev in a United States Title Match

* Will The Queen ruin The Irish Lass Kicker’s triumphant return?

* What will happen when Orton and Hardy return from hell?

* Who will be the mystery guest on tonight’s Miz TV?