Impact Wrestling Preview 3/15/19

Tonight On Impact  at 10/9c on Twitch, Pursuit, and fightnetwork.com

Impact World Championship: (C) Johnny Impact vs. Brian Cage

* Tessa Blanchard vs. Jordynne Grace

* KM & Fallah Bahh vs. Reno Scum

* Glen Gilbertti “Exhibition of Skills”

* Eli Drake & Eddie Edwards vs. Desi Hit Squad

* oVe (Sami Callihan and Jake & Dave Crist) vs. Rich Swann, Tommy Dreamer & Willie Mack

Anthony Carelli (Santino Marella) Says Transgender Women Wrestling Cis Females Is Wrong

Santino Marella aka Anthony Carelli has strong opinions about transgender women in sports, as well as men wrestling women, and expressed them on an Impact Twitch stream.

On the latest edition of Behind the Lights with co-host Alicia Atout, the ex-WWE star was asked about his thoughts on intergender wrestling — due to the upcoming ‘United We Stand’ match pitting Tessa Blanchard against Joey Ryan — and he didn’t hold back.

“If there’s a girl out there that says ‘this guy’s giving us attitude, I’m gonna step in and fight this guy because I saw that women can fight men because of intergender wrestling.’ And she goes out there and lips off and this guy’s a mental case and he just cracks her with his fist and shatters an orbital and busts her lip … and she wouldn’t have done it — perhaps — beforehand, because she didn’t get this inflated sense of confidence because of intergender wrestling.”

Carelli says that because of this, he believes there’s a social responsibility attached. He also notes that movies featuring superpowered women aren’t quite the same in his opinion.

The 45-year-old wrestler then goes on to talk about how the news is amplifying issues between men and women — as well exaggerating racial tension — and things aren’t as bad as they seem.

At this point, Santino shifts his attention to transgender athletes. “There’s cases now in MMA and wrestling where there’s trans girls that were born boys that are beating the sh*t out of females and that’s wrong,” he states.

“If you’re a guy — born a guy — and you become a woman, you’re accepted everywhere,” he continued. “But in the field of actual competitive sport, there has to be a barrier. And the barrier is based on, sorry, you were born a God damn man. You’re accepted as a human being and as a person and you are loved in every single way EXCEPT it’s not fair that you compete against women in sports because you were born with different physical biological attributes. And we have to be realistic about it and we also have to not be so sensitive.”

Watch the video at the link below (this conversation begins around the 15.30-minute mark).

https://player.twitch.tv/?autoplay=false&video=v395009798

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

oVe’s Jake & Dave Crist Re-Sign With Impact Wrestling

Wrestling Increports that oVe’s Dave and Jake Crist have re-signed multi-year contracts with IMPACT Wrestling. The terms of their deals are not disclosed.

The former IMPACT Wrestling Tag Team Champions, with Sami Callihan, have been feuding of late with Rich Swann, Willie Mack and Tommy Dreamer. oVe will take on all three in a six-man match that is scheduled for this Friday on IMPACT Wrestling.

Jake Crist spoke to Wrestling Inc. to discuss oVe’s relationship with Swann and why they decided to re-sign with IMPACT.

“IMPACT has always been home to us,” said Crist. “They always gave us a platform and were the first ones to give us a chance so why not stay loyal? I know this business isn’t a loyal business, but we’re loyal people.”

Jake and his brother undoubtedly had offers from other promotions, but Jake revealed that they didn’t talk with anyone else.

“We were always deadset on staying loyal to IMPACT,” stated Crist. “They took a chance on my brother and I, so why not keep rocking and rolling? We love the direction and we are literally taking over everything. Sami Callihan, us…you’ll see what’s coming down the pipe. Ultimate X… it’s an amazing time for me as a performer with IMPACT Wrestling.”

Jake made his Ultimate X debut at IMPACT Homecoming at The Asylum. He came up short to Rich Swann, but he talked about the experience.

“It was nerve-racking. I can speak for every single one of us,” Crist said of all of the match’s performers. “They tell you otherwise – I can look them straight in the face and tell them they’re a liar. I was nervous but it was a dream come true because that’s where everything started for Impact Wrestling.

“I had a broken thumb going into it so I was just trying to concentrate on my grip the whole time,” Crist said before adding that his thumb is better now.

Crist will be involved in another Ultimate X match at United We Stand but says things will be different this time around.

“With the second one, the nerves will not be there and I’ll know what to expect. When you’re standing on that turnbuckle and you jump and reach for those ropes, it’s very nerve-racking the first time. Very few times do you do it the first time so coming into the second match I’ll know what to expect,” stated Crist.

Jake and his brother have already claimed tag team gold in IMPACT, and Jake revealed if he’s eyeing X-Division gold before making a detour towards Rich Swann.

“Absolutely. But the thing is, we want Rich Swann to come ‘home’ to Ohio, so the focus for me hasn’t been on the Ultimate X Championship. On April 4 my focus is Ultimate X,” said Crist. “Rich Swann is one of our brothers. We’ve got a long, long history with Rich Swann. Rich Swann just needs to come home.”

Crist then talked about the history between oVe and Swann and how Callihan took Swann from the gutters and gave him a place to live. Jake travelled the road with Swann and considers him one of his very close friends.

“With that being said, with the history we have….he just needs to come home to Ohio. Come on Swann. Come on Swann,” pleaded Crist.

When asked if oVe should use a different approach to bringing Swann “home,” Crist said, “Sometimes you just gotta go up to your friends and slap them in the face until they get some sense.”

Jake and Dave Crist lost the IMPACT tag titles earlier this year to LAX, and Jake was asked if one of his and Dave’s goals is to re-capture those belts.

“Absolutely. We’re gonna bring the tag team championships back to oVe and if Rich Swann doesn’t join oVe and the X-Division Championship isn’t a part of us, I’ll go out and get that as well,” said Crist. “My brother and I will always be a team. It’s us versus them. We’ve always had that mentality. That’s why it’s ‘For Ohio, By Ohio.'”

Jake Crist will be competing in an Ultimate X match at IMPACT Wrestling’s United We Stand. It goes down on April 4th at 11 pm EST and will be streamed live via Twitch.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Wrestling News Blog Podcast Episode Two – King Kong Bundy, AEW, Memphis Wrestling & More

In this week’s Wrestling News Blog Podcast Episode Two, Ed remembers King Kong Bundy, discusses All Elite Wrestling, Memphis Wrestling, Jim Ross and more.

Segment One – King Kong Bundy

Segment Two – This past week in wrestling news

Segment Three -All Elite Wrestling (AEW)

Segment Four -RAW Women’s Championship Triple Threat Match at WrestleMania 35: (C) Ronda Rousey vs. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair

Segment five – Blast from the Past: Jerry Lawler foes in Memphis Wrestling Territory

Wrestling News Blog Podcast is available on all major podcast apps such as Apple Podcast, Google Podcasts and Stitcher.

Impact Wrestling Preview 3/8/19

Tonight on Impact at 10/9c on Pursuit and Twitch:

* Ace Austin debuts

* Rascalz vs. Lucha Bros

* Alisha Edwards announcement

* Rich Swann vs. Ethan Page

The Dark War: Team Rosemary vs. Team Su Yung

Impact Wrestling To Stream First-Ever “Salute To The Troops” Special On Twitch

Impact Wrestling issued a press release today to announce their first-ever Impact Wrestling: Salute to the Troops special.

ImpactWrestling.com released the following announcement on Friday:

IMPACT Wrestling Partners with TNT Pro for ‘Salute to the Troops’ Free to All Military, Airs May 11 on Twitch

TORONTO | FORT CAMPBELL – IMPACT Wrestling announced today that it has partnered with Tried-N-True Pro (TNT Pro) for Salute to the Troops, a live event on April 12 at Fort Campbell Army Post in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, free for all military personnel and their families.

Salute to the Troops will premiere exclusively on IMPACT Wrestling’s Twitch channel at Twitch.tv/impactwrestling on May 11 at 8:00 p.m. ET. The event, which will be held in collaboration with MWR (Morale, Welfare and Recreation) of Fort Campbell Army Installation, will be free to over 1,000 active military and their families. The show will begin on April 12 at 6:00 p.m. ET.

“We are proud to partner with TNT Pro and Fort Campbell Army Installation for this special event, as we honor our servicemen and women and their families,” said Ed Nordholm, president of IMPACT Wrestling. “We are always striving to give back to our communities and taking care of military personnel and their families is an important initiative for us. We intend to provide a memorable evening of entertainment, serving as a well-deserved morale booster for these brave men and women.”

“As a United States Army Veteran, it has been my goal since Tried-N-True Pro’s inception in 2015 to bring live professional wrestling to the soldiers and families of Fort Campbell Army Installation,” said TNT Pro promoter and producer Anthony “Crimson” Mayweather. “Speaking from experience, I know that live entertainment is very important and can be a key factor in elevating morale within the soldier and their family members. It’s an honor to be able to provide that entertainment for these brave men and women. We are very proud and excited to forge a partnership with Fort Campbell MWR and IMPACT Wrestling to produce this special event.”

Salute to the Troops will be free to DoD ID card holders. ID is required to claim tickets to the event. Soldiers and their family members, military retirees and their family members and DOD civilians who work on post and their families will all be admitted. More ticket information is available at TriedNTruePro.com, including tickets for the general public.

A subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment Corp., IMPACT Wrestling will premiere Salute to the Troops May 11 on Twitch, featuring top stars such as IMPACT World Champion Johnny IMPACT, X-Division Champion Rich Swann, plus Brian Cage, Moose, Sami Callihan, Eli Drake, Madison Rayne and Kiera Hogan.

Moose Re-Signs With Impact Wrestling

Announced earlier today, Moose has re-signed with Impact Wrestling. Making his debut with the promotion in 2016, Moose is a two-time champion of the now retired Impact Grand Championship.

It was also announced recently that Impact re-signed Sami Callihan, Fallah Bahh and Rosemary, plus Madison Rayne returned to the company.

Caleb Konley Announces Departure From Impact Wrestling

Amidst multiple re-signings and returns the past few weeks at Impact Wrestling, one wrestler announced their departure.

Caleb Konley tweeted on Friday saying he’s now a free agent.

https://twitter.com/calebkonley/status/1101631185078444032

“For 3 years I’ve had the opportunity to wrestle on national TV Work on 4 continents & be ZNAs resident orphan child,” he wrote. “I owe all of that to [Impact Wrestling]. I want to thank everyone who has supported me. I look forward to what ever comes next.”

Konley signed with the company in 2016 and at one point portrayed the Suicide character. He also was part of a heel alliance involving Trevor Lee and Andrew Everett.

As we previously reported, Sami Callihan, Fallah Bahh and Rosemary recently signed new deals and Madison Rayne will be returning to the company.

Former Knockouts Champion Madison Rayne Returning To IMPACT

Madison Rayne wasn’t a free agent for long after parting with ROH … as Impact has already announced she’s coming back.

IMPACT made the announcement via social media on Friday.

The “Killa Queen” last wrestled for Impact at Slammiversary XVI in July of 2018. She competed in WWE’s Mae Young Classic the following month, then signed with ROH in September.

In case you missed it, Madison parted ways with ROH this week as she was reportedly unhappy with the creative direction of her character.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

Impact Wrestling Preview 3/1/19

Tonight on Impact airing on Pursuit Channel and Twitch at 10/9C.

* Impact World Champion Johnny Impact & Brian Cage vs. Killer Kross & Moose

* Tessa Blanchard vs. Delilah Doom

* Wentz vs. Ethan Page

* Jake Crist vs. Willie Mack

* Sami Callihan tells his side