Former WWE And Impact Star Ken Anderson Accused Of Unprofessionalism By Students At Wrestling School

Former WWE and Impact Wrestling star Ken Anderson (Mr. Kennedy) has been accused of unprofessional business practices by students at his wrestling school in Minneapolis, MN.

On Sunday, a Reddit user, claiming to be a student enrolled in Anderson’s “The Academy: School of Professional Wrestling,” stated that the school has been closed for “quite some time now,” and hasn’t resumed activities unlike other gyms in the area. The post claimed that students enrolled in the school for nearly two years have yet to receive any semblance of training, “not even remote homework like tape study, character development or promos.” Furthermore, the user pointed out that the school’s website was deactivated a while ago.

The user noted that Anderson has “gone silent and his only update every 2-3 months is that they’re in talks with a realtor for a new facility but no real progress comes out of it.”

The post led to another Reddit user commenting on his experiences with Anderson’s school. They claimed to have signed up for a 30-minute free consultation, only to show up to an empty warehouse at the time of the scheduled appointment. The Reddit thread can be found here.

According to Bodyslam.net, while some students are still hopeful that the school will eventually reopen, one particular student has given up hope. The student, who wishes to remain anonymous, pointed out how the reopening of the school has been postponed several times in the last 18 months since they paid for the program. He also corroborated claims by users in the Reddit thread that Anderson’s school has yet to issue refunds.

The student revealed the reasons he’s been given – for not receiving training – range from the outbreak of the COVID-19 Delta variant to the lack of a building to train in. This specific student came to a conclusion about six months ago that the situation seemed “super sketchy based on the lack of communication.” They also noted their communication with Anderson himself to be very minimal, citing brief conversations via text messages.

The student issued the following statement via BodySlam:

In no way am I making any claims on Ken’s personal character as I’ve had minimal contact with the man, but I believe his business practices and professionalism speaks for themselves. I’m personally not out to ruin anyone’s career but simply trying to hold others accountable for their actions as well as preventing others from making the same mistakes I did.

The money I’m out may not seem like a lot to some but it was my entire savings as well as my dreams, and at the end of the day, that’s all I really want back. My dream is crushed but hopefully I can get my money back.

Mr. Kennedy’s wrestling school has trained talents such as Dante & Darius Martin of AEW, and once had trainers such as Molly Holly, Shawn Daivari and Arik Cannon.

Anderson has yet to respond to the allegations. As seen in the screengrabs below, the school has reached out to the students at regular intervals, but hasn’t provided any training in two years.

Anderson was last seen in a match at the NWA Powerrr tapings in December 2019. He was scheduled to compete at the NWA Hard Times pay-per-view in January 2020, but was pulled from match versus Tim Storm due to an injury.

UPDATE: Through their Facebook page, Anderson’s wrestling school reached out to their students on December 18, 2021. As seen in the screengrabs below, the school also previously expected to reopen on November 1.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Rampage Beach Break Championship Friday Preview

Tonight’s AEW Rampage episode on TNT will be the special Championship Friday Beach Break edition, taped earlier this week from the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, OH.

* Jon Moxley vs. Anthony Bowens

* AAA World Tag Team Champions FTR vs. Brock Anderson and Lee Johnson

* AEW TBS Champion Jade Cargill defends against Julia Hart

* AEW World Tag Team Champions Jurassic Express defend against Private Party

IMPACT Preview 1/27/22

Honor No More continues to run rampant as the road to No Surrender rolls on. Don’t miss an all-new IMPACT! from Fort Lauderdale, tonight at 8/7c on AXS TV and 8:30pm ET on YouTube for IMPACT Insiders!

* Just 48 hours before Mickie James makes history by competing in the WWE Royal Rumble match, the reigning Knockouts World Champion will deliver a State of the Knockouts Address

* 8-on-1 Handicap Match: Brian Myers‘ Learning Tree vs. W. Morrissey

* The IInspiration and The Influence will collide in tag team action this Thursday. What was originally scheduled to be a Knockouts World Tag Team Title clash will now be a grudge match of epic proportions after Tenille Dashwood was deemed unable to compete. Taking her place will be The Influence’s loyal photographer, Kaleb With a K. 

* Chris Bey battles Jake Something 

* JONAH looks to assert his dominance as the “Top Dog” of IMPACT Wrestling when he goes one-on-one with Johnny Swinger.

* The action begins Before the IMPACT, streaming this Thursday at 7:30pm ET exclusively on IMPACT PlusYouTube and Facebook. After an impressive showing in last year’s Super X-Cup Tournament, Blake Christian makes his IMPACT return against the high-flying Laredo Kid

Matt Hardy Comments On Jeff Hardy’s Renewed Pro Wrestling Passion

AEW star Matt Hardy recently spoke with the Wrestling Perspective Podcast about how easy it is to get back into the groove with Jeff Hardy. For him, when it comes to teaming up, it is just like riding a bike. He also revealed that Jeff is excited about his future within the wrestling business following his WWE release.

“I’ll be honest, when it comes to myself and Jeff teaming up and being The Hardy Boyz, it’s like riding a bike,” he said. “You just get back on and you just start pedaling and it’s business as usual. That’s one thing that’s really cool, knowing that I have literally been there since this guy was born, you know, his whole life.

“So we really know each other inside and out and it’s going to be fun. You know Jeff’s excitement and passion for wrestling have been so renewed now that he has this new horizon in front of him. I’m very excited about that.”

Matt Hardy also provided a tease about the future of The Hardy Boyz as a tag team. Without giving away any official details, he did claim that 2022 will be good for both him and his brother.

“Without going too much into detail, I am very excited to where 2022 is going to take The Hardy Boyz,” he said. “I feel like it’s going to be a great year for both Matt and Jeff.”

While there have been rumors of Jeff joining Matt in AEW, their first official match has already been announced. The Hardy Boyz will be getting back into the ring on March 12, 2022, for Big Time Wrestling. Additional dates are set to be announced soon, but that has yet to happen.

Source: Wrestling Inc. with credit to Wrestling Perspective Podcast 

Danhausen Signs With AEW, Debuts At Dynamite Beach Break

Former Ring Of Honor star Danhausen is officially ALL ELITE!

After months of teases, Danhausen is officially ALL ELITE! The former Ring Of Honor star made his AEW debut last night at Dynamite Beach Break and was confirmed as an official member of the roster shortly afterward by Tony Khan.

It all went down at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio on Wednesday, January 26 for AEW’s third annual Beach Break-themed edition of its weekly flagship show on TBS. During the Lights Out main event between Adam Cole and Orange Cassidy, Cole tried to pull a steel chair out from underneath the ring … but there was no chair, only a very evil man by the name of Danhausen. Danhausen emerged from under the ring and pointed at Cole, who was visibly baffled. AEW’s newest acquisition then hobbled up the ramp and disappeared.

If you’re unfamiliar with his work, Danhausen is a spooky-looking guy with demonic face paint and an extravagant cape who walks around carrying either a cartoonish sack of “human money” or a regular jar filled with human teeth — or both! Danhausen speaks in an exaggerated high-pitched voice which sounds like a cross between Mark Hammil’s Joker and Conan O’Brien, from whom the artist behind Danhausen admits to drawing inspiration.

Danhausen’s addition means that CM Punk is no longer the only man on the AEW roster who uses the GTS as a finisher. Danhausen adopted the move for himself, but not before asking both Punk (and KENTA’s) permission.

So as Danhausen saw it, CM Punk, wonderful fellow, gave Danhausen the GTS as his finisher. Then Kenta got a little angry at him, but then said he doesn’t care who uses it besides CM Punk,” Danhausen said on an episode of Renee Paquette’s Oral Session’s Podcast. “So Danhausen got two blessings as far as he can see it, CM Punk and Kentahausen… Even named it Very Nice, Very Kneevil.”

Source: TheSportster

AEW Dynamite Beach Break Preview 1/26/22

The 2022 Beach Break edition of AEW Dynamite on TBS will air live tonight from the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio.

* CM Punk will speak

* AEW Women’s World Champion Britt Baker will speak

* Red Velvet vs. Leyla Hirsch

* The Inner Circle’s Chris Jericho, Santana and Ortiz vs Daniel Garcia and 2point0

* Lights Out Unsanctioned Match: Adam Cole vs. Orange Cassidy

* Ladder Match: AEW TNT Champion Cody Rhodes vs. Interim AEW TNT Champion Sammy Guevara

Impact TV Tapings Reportedly Hit Hard By COVID-19

The weekend Impact Wrestling tapings in Pembroke Pines, Florida were reportedly hit hard by COVID-19.

Impact officials dealt with a lot of issues related to COVID-19 at the tapings on Friday and Saturday, according to PWInsider. A number of talent and staff missed the tapings due to medical protocols, whether it was testing positive for COVID-19 or being in close contact with someone who had tested positive.

It was noted by one Impact source that the COVID issues this past weekend were the “worst they had seen” in a long time, and that there were a lot of pivots & re-writes over the course of the week.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Rampage Preview 1/21/22

Tonight’s AEW Rampage on TNT will be a live show from the Entertainment & Sports Arena in Washington, DC.

* Hook vs. Serpentico

* The Young Bucks vs. Roppongi Vice (Trent Beretta and Rocky Romero)

* AEW TBS Champion Jade Cargill defends against Anna Jay

* Jon Moxley vs. Ethan Page

IMPACT Preview 1/20/22

The earth-shattering fallout from Hard To Kill continues on an all-new IMPACT! tonight at 8/7c on AXS TV and 8:30pm ET on YouTube for IMPACT Insiders

* Charlie Haas competes in an IMPACT ring for the first time ever as he battles Josh Alexander 

* ROH World Championship: Jonathan Gresham (c) vs. Steve Maclin 

* Chelsea Green seeks retribution when she meets Tasha Steelz in singles action

* Doc Gallows and Joe Doering takes on Heath and Rhino

* VSK and Zicky Dice have a chance at revenge when they collide with Morrissey in a 2-on-1 handicap match set up by their teacher, Brian Myers!

* The Influence vs. Decay

* The action begins Before the IMPACT, streaming this Thursday at 7:30pm ET exclusively on IMPACT PlusYouTube and Facebook. –  Digital Media Championship: Jordynne Grace (c) vs. Lady Frost

Watch IMPACT!

  • USA: Thursdays 8pm ET on AXS TV, Thursdays 8:30pm ET on YouTube (IMPACT Insiders), Thursdays 10pm ET on IMPACT Plus

Cody Rhodes Delivers Fiery Promo On AEW Dynamite, Takes Shots At WALTER Name Change

Last night’s AEW Dynamite featured a segment where the TNT Champion Cody Rhodes came out to the ring and set up a large ladder. He then delivered a promo where he started by bringing up CM Punk’s pipebomb promo when he was still with WWE, and how Punk’s return is the greatest of the decade. He pointed out that despite mentioning working with ROH and NJPW when he leaves WWE, Punk never actually did that. Cody, however, did make those dreams a reality.

He claims that he is the one that built the forbidden door before it was ever recognized as a term. He also talks about how things have gone off the rails since he left AEW two weeks ago to recover from COVID, pointing to the “Wednesday Night Wars” almost repeating themselves when The Young Bucks and ReDRagon almost came to blows last week.

He says that Undisputed Era is just developmental talent from WWE, and he also brought up WALTER’s name change, referring to him as Gunner McGillicuddy after his name was changed to Gunther Stark. This also recalls another name change WWE did in the past when they named Joseph Henning Jr. “Michael McGillicuddy” before deeming him Curtis Axel in WWE.

Cody talked a bit about Malakai Black and his new stable member, Brody King. He criticized Brody for coming into the company and keeping that name because of the legacy it holds with Brodie Lee. He also says that years in the future when Negative 1/Brodie Jr. is ready to compete, he’ll be there to claim his name.

He says the TNT Championship has been built on a great foundation of champions like Brodie, Sammy Guevara, Miro, and others, but people don’t give it the same respect because it doesn’t have the word “World” in the title. He explains how now that there is an interim TNT Champion in Sammy Guevara, the two men need to compete to determine who the Undisputed TNT Champion is.

He says Tony Khan sent him a contract in the mail, though it wasn’t the contract he was looking for — likely referring to reports that Cody is now a free agent in AEW. Tony apparently proposed a ladder match on next week’s AEW Dynamite to finally determine the undisputed TNT champion of AEW, which Cody accepts.

You can see highlights from the segment below:

Source: Wrestling Inc.