Category: Independent Promotions

Flash Flanagan’s Big Weekend With WWE

The following article is up on Sportskeeda.com and was written by Anirban Banerjee.  I have the pleasure, on the first Saturday of each month in my duties as Ring Announcer for Hoosier Pro Wrestling (HPW), to work directly with Flash Flanagan, who this article is about. ”

Flash was seen on WWE programming as an EMT more than once in the last few days. The picture above wasn’t this weekend but comes from Flash’s Facebook profile.

Flash is the ultimate professional, and his love for the wrestling business is like none other that I have seen. It’s so awesome that he is getting this opportunity. He certainly deserves it.

Ed Boston

 

WWE News: Randy Orton vouches for Indy Wrestler to WWE officials

Hopefully, the Indy Wrestler will be signed by WWE officials

Randy Orton makes his entrance at WrestleMania
Randy Orton makes his entrance at WrestleMania

What’s the story?

Randy Orton is not known for being the most selfless WWE star. This time, however, he reportedly did a wrestler from the Independent Scene a favour by recommending him to WWE officials as a potential signee.

A former WWE Enhancement Talent, Flash Flanagan was present backstage during Sunday, Monday and Tuesday’s shows. According to F4WOnline (H/T Wrestling Inc), he was getting a look at from WWE officials as Randy Orton did him a favour and recommended him to the authorities backstage.

In case you didn’t know…

Flash Flanagan is a veteran wrestler on the Independent Scene. He has been connected to WWE previously, but only worked there as an Enhancement Talent. He wrestled in Ohio Valley Wrestling, the old developmental territory of WWE.

There he won the OVW Championship on four separate occasions. On WWE television Flanagan had lost to Brian Christopher in a Light Heavyweight Championship Tournament match in 1997. He also wrestled on Shotgun Saturday night and had a few dark matches as well. He does hold a victory over Chris Jericho when he pinned him in 2001 to retain the OVW Title.

He also wrestled in other promotions like Impact Wrestling, then known as TNA, and the International Wrestling Association.

The heart of the matter

He faced Randy Orton in a dark match in 2001 before the live broadcast of Raw. The match took place when Orton was still a rookie and just emerging in the wrestling business. On that occasion, Orton won the bout between the two.

You can see the match here:

Orton seemed to return the favour 17 years later when he recommended him to WWE officials and got him an opportunity to be looked at backstage.

He was present at the WWE shows on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, where the WWE officials were reportedly evaluating him backstage.

What’s next?

Flanagan is now 43 years old and wrestles for Hoosier Pro Wrestling in Indiana and SICW Wrestling Explosion in Illinois. If the WWE officials liked him, Flanagan may be signed by WWE in the coming months.

You can see Jericho take on Flash Flanagan in this video:

 

Rey Mysterio Pulls Out Of UK Show, No Longer Appearing At WrestleMania Weekend Indie Show?, E&C

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Rey Mysterio did not appear at tonight’s 5 Star Wrestling event at the SSE Arena in Belfast, United Kingdom. He was replaced by Alberto El Patron. The reason given to the audience for Rey’s absence was that he had “an urgent family emergency in San Diego.”

Rey is scheduled to be a guest on Edge & Christian’s podcast this Friday. As noted, The Wrestling Observer reported this week that Rey is reportedly meeting with Triple H soon regarding a WWE return.

Rey’s upcoming dates include an upcoming CRASH Lucha Libre event on March 17th in Tijuana, as well as the March 25th NJPW event in Long Beach, California, where he will be facing the legendary Jushin “Thunder” Liger. Mysterio was also scheduled to appear at the upcoming CRASH event during WrestleMania weekend on Friday, April 6th, as seen here. Updated advertising for the event released today no longer has Mysterio on the poster or on the card, as seen below:

Source: WrestlingINC

Impact Knockouts Champion Laurel Van Ness (Chelsea Green) Confronts Fan At Indie Show Over Derogatory Comments (Video)

Image result for Chelsea Green

Current Impact Wrestling Knockouts Champion Laurel Van Ness, known on the independent circuit by her real name Chelsea Green, was recently involved in an altercation at an indie show with a fan. Green was competing at a PWA Canada event when spectators reported that a fan shouted at her to “take it off,” basically calling her a stripper.

Green later confronted the fan at a concession stand. The person then got in her face and threatened her, stating that he will call the Hells Angels biker club, and also said that he was going to punch her. After having the confrontation, Green walked away from the fan and turned around to quickly give a few more expressions, as seen in the video below.

According to a fan account, the man walked out of the building after getting embarrassed by Green. Green went to Twitter and commented on the incident:

Fellow indy wrestler Ethan Page, known in Impact Wrestling as Joseph Park’s brother Chandler, also chimed in on the incident, stating that is was “the most Un-Canadian thing to happen in Canada.” Despite this incident, Green still thanked PWA for having her, and stated that he “can’t wait to come back.”

On television, Green, as Lauren Van Ness, is currently feuding with Allie over the Knockouts Championship. She is scheduled to defend the title against Allie at the upcoming Impact Wrestling episode. This match was taped in January, as Green is no longer with the company.

Fun Night At Independent Wrestling Event, The Boogeyman, WWA

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Last night me and my nephew attended an independent wrestling promotion (World Wrestling Alliance) in Evansville, Indiana. As far as I know, the WWA promotion is mostly a Kentucky area based promotion. This event was their debut in Evansville, In.

Last night’s event in Evansville, In featured former WWE Superstar The Boogeyman. He ate worms and slung them into the crowd. It was a great to see how he interacted with the little kids before the show and during intermission. He would approach the kids asking – “are you a good kid or a bad kid?” Some of the kids would go running. At one point I seen him go up to a little girl and squat down to her level and talk to her. Boogeyman is a class act.

We got to see new tag team champs crowned, a heel turn, a falls count anywhere match that included the use of chairs, a ladder and a table and someone getting shoved off the balcony onto a crowd of wrestlers and security. There was also a match between two very talented high flyers that probably put on the best match of the night. Both competitors received a standing ovation from most of the crowd.

It was a fantastic event, we had more fun at this WWA event than at a WWE event. I highly recommend attending a WWA event or any local indy promotion event.

https://www.facebook.com/WWAISNOW/

Below are some of my photos from the WWA event in Evansville, In:

Update: WWA has uploaded the WWA Hysteria 60: Return to Evansville  – featuring The Boogeyman on their YouTube page: WWAISNOW

James Ellsworth Reveals Intergender Title (Photo)

Image result for James Ellsworth Intergender champion

Former WWE Superstar James Ellsworth has a new Intergender Title that he will be defending on the indies. You can see the title in his Instagram post below:

Source: WrestlingINC

Justin Credible Attempts To Hijack Wrestling Show While Allegedly Intoxicated (VIDEO)

justin credible hijack wrestling show attempt allegedly intoxicated

Former WWE wrestler Justin Credible caused quite a scene last night in Connecticut, as he attempted to hijack a wrestling show while allegedly under the influence.

It all went down during Blitzkrieg Pro’s event in Enfield on Friday night after Credible rolled into the ring and began to stumble around demanding a microphone.

Wrestlers can then be heard asking each other if the situation is a shoot.

The next few minutes are filled with the roster/staff asking Justin to leave the ring, which he refuses, and it eventually leads to the promoter getting involved. The promoter says, “You were my hero growing up! I swear to God. And you are a freaking disgrace right now.”

He continued, “I’m the guy that’s paying you tonight and asked you not to come here because you reek like booze and you tell everybody that you’re sober. You’re not. And all these people paid to see you and you’re in there glossed over, stumbling everywhere. GET OUT!”

Credible announced he was going to WWE sponsored rehab back in July after posting an alarming video on the internet. However, he never stopped posting things on social media and we were never able to confirm he actually went to rehab.

After leaving the ring, Justin comes out again minutes later in attempt to once again get the microphone. He is denied and finally walks away from the ring.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

 

Macaulay Culkin Interferes In Wrestling Match Using ‘Home Alone’ Tactics (VIDEO)

Macaulay Culkin bar wrestling home alone match interfere video

Bar Wrestling in Los Angeles got a special Christmas surprise last night after Macaulay Culkin interfered in a match using Home Alone-style tactics.

Culkin got involved during a match pitting Worlds Cutest Tag Team and Dick Justice vs. Peter Avalon, Ray Rosas and Swoggle after he emptied a bucket full of balls into the squared circle — causing the heel team to trip and fall in the middle of the ring.

Macaulay then got into a scuffle with Swoggle and shoved him to the floor.

Minutes later, the actor climbed the middle rope and launched a bucket tied to a string into the face of the opposing team and helped the good guys pick up the win with a top rope splash.

Check out the full video below, which were told they filmed for a new YouTube series Macauley is planning to launch soon.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

Terry Funk Busted Open At PCW Event, 73-Year-Old Booked For Revenge Match

terry funk pcw bloody match

73 year old WWE Hall of Famer and hardcore legend Terry Funk got busted open and bled all over the place after getting spiked in the head with a giant nail at a recent PCW show.

It all went down on Friday at PCW ‘Demonized’ in Wilmington, California when Funk got involved in a match pitting Sandman and Masada vs. PCW tag team champs Warbeast.

Josef from Warbeast spiked Terry in the head multiple times for helping the ECW icon.

Funk will return to PCW on December 1 as part of a team with Sandman to face Warbeast in a revenge match at Refuse to Lose. Tickets are available at PCWLive.com.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

Former GFW Star Davey Richards Injured, Knee Surgery Required

davey richards injured knee surgery

Independent wrestler Davey Richards says he’s been forced to cancel the rest of his bookings in 2017 due to a knee injury that will require surgery.

Richards tweeted a statement on Sunday which said, “I can’t apologize enough to everyone but I have to cancel my remaining bookings for 2017. I am going to need surgery on Right knee.”

The wrestler continued: “I’ve always been someone who has bore my heart inside of the ring & “kept it real” with the fans. I’ve been known to as you call it “no show” events. Truth is ( no excuse) I’ve been battling knee issues since 2006 when I tore my knee the night before my first ROH match. Cortisone shots, Anti inflammatory drugs, Stem Cell therapy, hyperbaric chambers, etc have kept me able to perform this long but not anymore.”

For those who don’t recall, Davey underwent surgery last year for his other knee as well.

Richards concluded by writing: “I refuse to let it end like this. I’m going to take the proper time off to get the correct surgery and rehab. I hope to return to make good on the events I haven’t been able to perform at bc of my knee. I always prided myself on being a wrestlers wrestler and if I couldn’t give You 100% I didn’t want to waste your time. Perhaps foolish pride. But that’s me.”

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

Rosemary Provides Injury Update, Replaces Sexy Star At Event

sexy star

As noted, over the weekend Sexy Star purposefully injured Rosemary’s shoulder at the end of their Reina de Reinas Championship Match (which also included Lady Shani & Ayako Hamada) at AAA’s TripleMania XXV event. Since then, Rosemary has responded to what happened, commenting that Sexy Star tried to say it was a work, which Rosemary wanted to make very clear that it wasn’t. While a number of wrestling stars have reacted to the incident, Sexy Star has already felt the backlash, getting pulled from a WrestleCade Weekend event.

Yesterday, WrestleCade announced that Rosemary will be making an appearance for that same event.

Rosemary also took to Twitter yesterday to provide an update on her injury, saying it’s a strained tricep/bicep with swelling around the area and that time away from the ring should be minimal. She also thanked those who supported her and when wrestlers do make mistakes in the ring, they should own up to them. You can see her full comments below.

Source: WrestlingINC