Photos & Videos From Impact Wrestling/UCW: Critical Transformation In Owensboro, KY 4/13/19

I attending the Impact Wrestling/Universal Championship Wrestling: Critical Transformation show Saturday night in Owensboro, KY. Below are some photos and videos from the show. Sorry for the poor quality of photos, some are a bit blurry.

https://twitter.com/IMPACTWRESTLING/status/1117276290946519041

https://twitter.com/CameronMurphyMB/status/1117823636180754432

Impact Wrestling & UCW Present: Critical Transformation 4/13/19 Live On Twitch

It all goes down in Owensboro, KY LIVE on Twitch this Saturday. IMPACT Wrestling partners with UCW to Present: Critical Transformation.

According to Impact Wrestling’s website the Pre-Show gets started at 7:30PM ET and the show starts at 8PM ET LIVE on Twitch.

According to UCW’s Facebook page bell time is 7:30PM C

See all your favorite IMPACT Stars, Johnny IMPACT, Moose, Brian Cage, Madison Rayne and more compete at Critical Transformation. Anything can happen LIVE on Twitch and this show promises to be one that we will not soon forget.

I don’t know for sure if all the matches listed above will air live on Twitch.

Impact Wrestling Preview 4/12/19

Scheduled for tonight’s Impact airing on Pursuit, Twitch and FightNet.

* Madison Rayne vs. Tessa Blanchard

* Johnny Impact & Taya Valkyrie vs. Brian Cage & Jordynne Grace

* Rosemary vs. Su Yung

*  The North (Josh Alexander & Ethan Page) will be in action

Eli Drake’s Impact Wrestling Firing Might Get Ugly

Earlier this week, Impact Wrestling announced Eli Drake was done with the company via an announcement on its website.

The full statement by Impact at the time was, “Impact Wrestling announced today that it has terminated its relationship with Shaun Ricker, known as ‘Eli Drake.'”

PWInsider received word from those within Impact that the company will look into a breach of contract claim against Drake. This move would delay his ability to sign with another promotion until its settled.

Drake’s contract was set to expire on May 31, but he was officially terminated on April 7 over comments he made about Impact Wrestling. The report noted some in Impact believed Drake was headed to AEW once his contract expired.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Eli Drake Exits Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling announced former Impact World Champion Eli Drake is done with the company. Impact announced Drake’s exit on its website earlier today.

Impact Wrestling announced today that it has terminated its relationship with Shaun Ricker, known as ‘Eli Drake.’

Drake first began with the promotion back in 2015, during his time there he was a one-time Impact World Champion and one-time Impact World Tag Team Champion with Scott Steiner.

In regards to his contract, Drake said in an interview with The Wrestling Pespective Podcast his was ending with Impact on May 31.

“I know AEW is out there, all of that stuff, so, the fact is, there’s a lot of options at this point,” Drake explained. “This is a time where, truth be told, I run up on May 31 at Impact, so, if that’s the case, it’s time to start thinking about what options I have, things like that.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Impact Wrestling ‘United We Stand’ Results

Ultimate X Match: Johnny Impact vs. Jake Crist vs. Ace Austin vs. Jake Evans vs. Dante Fox vs. Pat Buck – Winner: Johnny Impact 

Team Impact vs. Team Lucha Underground: Impact (Brian Cage, Eddie Edward, Moose & Tommy Dreamer) vs. Lucha Underground (Aerostar, Drago, Daga & Marty the Moth) – Winners: Team Lucha Underground (Aerostar, Drago, Daga & Marty the Moth)

Impact Knockouts Championship: (C) Taya Valkyrie vs. Rosemary vs. Jordynne Grace vs. Katie Forbes – Winner: Taya Valkyrie 

Impact vs. MLW: LAX (Santana & Ortiz) vs. Promociones Dorado (Low-Ki & Ricky Martinez) – Winners: LAX 

Intergender Match: Tessa Blanchard vs. Joey Ryan – Winner: Tessa Blanchard 

Impact X-Division Championship: (C) Rich Swann vs. Flamita – Winner: Rich Swann

Monsters Ball: Sami Callihan vs. Jimmy Havoc – Winner: Sami Callihan

Extreme Death Match: Rob Van Dam & Sabu vs. Lucha Bros (Pentagon Jr. & Fenix) – Winners: Pentagon Jr. and Fenix 

Impact Wrestling United We Stand 4/4/19

Impact United We Stand will take place from the Rahway Reaction Center in Rahway, New Jersey at 11 pm ET!

The event will air live on FITE for $19.99.

The Pre Pre-Show for United We Stand starts at 9PM ET with the Pre-Show starting at 10:30PM ET and will be broadcast on Twitch.

(Pre-Show)  KM & Fallah Bahh in a WrestlePro Showcase

Extreme Death Match: Rob Van Dam & Sabu vs. Lucha Bros (Pentagon Jr. & Fenix)

Impact Knockouts Championship: (C) Taya Valkyrie vs. Rosemary vs. Jordynne Grace vs. Katie Forbes

Ultimate X Match: Johnny Impact vs. Jake Crist vs. Kotto Brazil vs. Jake Evans vs. Dante Fox vs. Pat Buck

Monsters Ball: Sami Callihan vs. Jimmy Havoc

Team Impact (Brian Cage, Eddie Edward, Moose & TBD) vs. Team Lucha Underground (Aerostar, Drago, Daga & Marty the Moth)

Intergender Match: Tessa Blanchard vs. Joey Ryan

Impact X-Division Championship: (C) Rich Swann vs. Flamita

Impact vs. MLW: LAX (Santana & Ortiz) vs. Promociones Dorado (Low-Ki & Ricky Martinez)

 

 

WWE Stars Pay Tribute To Former TNA Star Amazing Red After His Retirement

WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Sasha Banks took to Twitter to praise former TNA X Division Champion The Amazing Red, who runs the House of Glory wrestling promotion and school in New York City. Banks posted the tribute because Red has announced his retirement from the ring.

As seen below, Ali also took to Twitter to post a tribute to Red. Ali’s video features tributes to Red from Seth Rollins, Banks, Bayley, AJ Styles, Lince Dorado, Kevin Owens, Ricochet, Brian Kendrick, Rey Mysterio and WWE producer Sonjay Dutt.

Ali wrote, “@AmazingRed1 was such a huge influence on me. But I’m definitely not the only one who was influenced by him. He should know that.”

You can see the tribute video below, along with Red’s announcement video.

Red noted that he originally planned to “leave wrestling” after the WWE Cruiserweight Classic in 2016. In what could have led to his big break, Red was originally scheduled to work the tournament but an ankle injury kept him out of it. He said he felt like he has done everything he was supposed to do through HOG, and he’s cancelling all the shows he had planned for WrestleMania 35 Week in New York City. Red said he will continue to teach at HOG, and he will continue to support the business. “Throughout all my life, I have done things for everybody else, I’ve never done things for myself,” Red said.

He later added, “Be happy for me, don’t be upset. The reason why I made this video was for myself, because once I know I put this out there, there’s no turning back. This is me looking out for me. So, be happy about that.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Rob Van Dam Signs New Deal With Impact Wrestling

Rob Van Dam has signed a new deal with Impact Wrestling, according to a new interview he did with Sporting News.

RVD will team with Sabu to face Pentagon Jr. and Rey Fenix at Thursday’s Impact United We Stand event, but RVD will also be in action at the TV tapings on Monday, April 29 in Toronto. RVD talked about signing the extended agreement to work with the company.

“It looks like you are going to be seeing my face around for the foreseeable future,” RVD said. “We have an agreement to where I will be sticking after the show on Thursday. It does have a beginning and an end, but they can extend, so this is something to start us off. I had agreed to one match, and then we talked about and discussed doing their upcoming tapings after the show on Thursday and a couple of television tapings over the next few months. We looked at the schedule moving forward, and they asked if I was available. I told them I was.

“We will see how it goes. It’s a pretty friendly schedule, which has always been important to me. I want to be home more and on the road less. That’s still something I’ve done since I left WWE in 2007. Impact with their schedule and the position they want me to fill for my career seems like a perfect situation. Hopefully it will be mutually beneficial, and we will see “The Whole F’N Show” back on television. Let’s see how all these new guys matchup to me. I’m not there to compete with the guys who have stolen all my moves (laughs). I’m pretty much there to be myself.”

RVD said the motivation to sign the deal was business. He said, “The motivation for me is business. I’m always willing to listen to good business. That’s still an interest of mine. The last three years I’ve averaged 10-12 matches. This year it will be a little more, but not much more than that. Even if it was double, that’s still a relatively light schedule compared to when I was with WWE and doing over 200 matches a year. I had enough of that schedule. I was on the road full-time. I also get treated better outside of WWE than I do there.

That’s how I’ve always felt. Whenever fans spot me, they say, “RVD, you are a legend.” People treat me like I’m a legend. And I am a legend. I feel like I’ve been walking the globe for over a hundred years (laughs). When I’m in WWE, it’s hard to feel as appreciated because there are so many other stars and agendas. That’s part of their business. They will take advantage of you if you let them. I’m in such a better mental position after being gone for so long. I feel like this part of my life is rewarding for all the years of hard work and everything that I’ve been through up to this point. I’m happy with life now, and I find the universe takes care of me in a good way with Impact Wrestling. It’s more about opportunity and the one that has presented itself. Hopefully, it will be good for everybody.”

Regarding Impact, RVD was asked what changes he’s noticed from afar now to what Impact was when he first worked for the company years ago. He said the company is no longer focused on trying to be #1.

“When I joined Impact in 2010, at the time they had started doing live television on Monday nights opposite Raw,” RVD said. “They brought in some former WWE guys. They changed their mindset right away and pulled away from live TV and started focusing more on trying to get their brand established and less time on trying to compete and knocking the top guys off of their spot. I don’t see WWE changing for a while of being on top. Now, they aren’t focusing on trying to be No.1. They are focusing on being the best they can be and not worrying about everybody else. I think Impact has grown tremendously and will continue to do so.”

2019 WrestleMania Weekend Events – WWE, ROH, NJPW, Impact Wrestling, MLW & WrestleCon

WrestleMania Weekend Events:

WrestleMania Axxess

NXT vs. NXT Alumni
Thursday, April 4 (6-10 p.m.)
The past meets the present as former NXT Superstars battle current Superstars from the black-and-gold brand. The matches will include Roderick Strong vs. Tyler Breeze, Dominik Dijkaovic vs. Harper, SAnitY vs. Undisputed ERA, and Kassius Ohno vs. Aiden English.

Cruiserweights Collide
Friday, April 5 – Sessions 1 and 2 
Cruiserweights from 205 Live, NXT UK and NXT will soar to new heights in inter-brand bouts on Friday’s Axxess sessions. Featured matches will include Tyler Bate vs. The Brian Kendrick, Akira Tozawa vs. Jordan Devlin, Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews vs. Ariya Daivari & Mike Kanellis, and Albert Hardie Jr. vs. Gran Metalik. Session 1 runs 1-5 p.m., and Session 2 runs 6-10 p.m.

NXT UK Tapings
Saturday, April 6 – Sessions 1, 2 and 3
Each of Saturday’s three Axxess sessions will feature an NXT UK TV taping for future airing on the award-winning WWE Network. Don’t miss the rare opportunity to watch the United Kingdom’s best and brightest Superstars competing stateside. Session 1 runs 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., Session 2 runs 1-5 p.m. and Session 3 runs 6-10 p.m.

Brands Battle
Sunday, April 7 (8 a.m. to 12 p.m.)
Two 20-Superstar Battle Royals — one for male Superstars and one for female Superstars — will take place the morning of WrestleMania. Both Battle Royals will feature Superstars from NXT and NXT UK, and the Men’s Battle Royal will additionally feature Superstars from 205 Live.

Women Collide
Monday, April 8 (12-4 p.m.)
One day after female Superstars main-event WrestleMania for the first time in history, the WWE Women’s Evolution continues to take center stage at Axxess. Watch top female Superstars from NXT, NXT UK, Raw and SmackDown LIVE collide, with matches including Io Shirai vs. Sonya Deville, Toni Storm vs. Nikki Cross vs. Bianca Belair, Piper Niven vs. Zelina Vega, Candice LeRae vs. Kay Lee Ray and more!

*Talent listed and depicted above are subject to change.

 

MLW -Rise of the Renegades (Fusion TV Tapings) April 4 – New York City, Melrose Ballroom

Impact Wrestling – United We Stand – April 4 – Rahway Rec Center in Rahway, New Jersey – Steaming on Fite TV

MLW – Battle Riot II (Fusion TV Tapings) April 5 – New York City, Melrose Ballroom -2 Hour Special airing on beIN SPORTS

ROH – NJPW G1 Supercard “Festival of Honor” April 5 – Hulu Theatre at MSG (Pro wrestling fans from all around the globe have an opportunity to get up close and personal with the biggest stars in Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro-Wrestling with Meet & Greet experiences)

NXT TakeOver: New York – April 5 – Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

WrestleCon – April 5 & 6 – New York City Hilton Midtown

ROH – NJPW G1 Supercard – April 6 – MSG – PPV, Fite.tv, ROH HonorClub or NJPW World

WWE Hall of Fame – April 6

WrestleMania 35 – April 7