Category: TNA

Tony Khan Reveals He Suffered Injury During AEW Segment

With Tony Khan mostly staying behind the scenes of AEW, an injury would seem unlikely. And yet the AEW President has recently found himself on the AEW Injury Report. In an interview with the New York Post, Khan revealed he had been hurt in an off camera incident at AEW Grand Slam, where American Top Team’s Junior dos Santos injured Khan’s ribs.

“He cracked them (my ribs),” Khan said. “I’ll be OK. But he legitimately cracked them. I’ll be OK. It’s been a few weeks, but I’m sleeping on my right side.”

The incident occurred following the match between Inner Circle members Chris Jericho and Jake Hager take on the Men of the Year (Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky), where American Top Team members (including dos Santos) laid Jericho and Hager out. Khan would confront American Top Team on the ramp right after, where the two, according to Khan, improvised a spot that led to the injury.

“It felt just right in the moment,” Khan said. “It was just kind of improvised. He’s a very strong man. I love the gasp pop it got. I was definitely asking for it.”

Khan doesn’t hold any ill will towards dos Santos, and even revealed that he no sold the injury to those in the back, returning to his seat in the GO position as if everything was fine. He’s also thrilled with the work dos Santos and American Top Team have put in thus far, both in giving AEW attention in helping to elevate Sky and Page.

“We built something very strong now with American Top Team and AEW,” Khan said. “We’ve gotten great crossover media opportunities because of dos Santos, (Jorge) Masvidal, Paige VanZant and Andrei Arlovski. It’s given good visibility and credibility to AEW and also Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page.”

dos Santos, accompanied by fellow MMA star Jorge Masvidal, will make his in ring debut for AEW this Saturday on a special AEW Dynamite, teaming with Sky and Page to take on Chris Jericho, Jake Hager and AEW TNT Champion Sammy Guevara. Given his experience with dos Santos, Khan expects him to be a handful for the Inner Circle members.

“I’m fine. I’m a not wuss,” Khan stated. “But he did break my ribs. So he’s going to be a handful in the ring for sure. I can tell you.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Impact Wrestling Preview 10/14/21

It’s a loaded IMPACT! just nine nights away from IMPACT Wrestling’s biggest event of the year, Bound For Glory! Don’t miss a moment of the action, this Thursday at 8/7c on AXS TV.

* Before IMPACT World Champion Christian Cage and Josh Alexander collide in one of the most anticipated Bound For Glory main events of all time, they will participate in the Bound For Glory Summit 

* Battle Royal: Win the Battle Royal and you enter the Call Your Shot Gauntlet at Bounf For Glory last – but come in second place and you enter first

* Chris Bey vs. Chris Sabin

* The tournament to crown a new X-Division Champion continues: El Phantasmo vs. Rohit Raju vs. Willie Mack 

* Savannah Evans vs. Lady Frost

* VSK vs. Rich Swann

* The action begins on Before the IMPACT, this Thursday at 7/6c on AXS TV. Following the closure of Swinger’s Palace, Hernandez turns his focus to in-ring competition when he takes on Fallah Bahh! 

AEW Adds Buy-In To Friday’s Rampage, Tony Khan Backtracks On Competition Comments

AEW seems serious about getting more viewers than SmackDown this week, but Tony Khan has walked back what he said about competition.

AEW has added a Buy-In show to this Friday’s Rampage in response to WWE tacking an extra 30 minutes onto the end of SmackDown.

Wrestling wars on television have usually been reserved for shows happening on the same night and in the same timeslot. Raw and Nitro battling on Monday, Dynamite going head to head with NXT. However, now that NXT has moved to Tuesdays and AEW‘s audience continues to grow, Dynamite’s numbers are being compared to Raw’s especially when it comes to key demographics.

Raw can take a break this week. Not just because Dynamite has been moved to Saturday, but also because all eyes will be on SmackDown and Rampage. Last week, WWE announced SmackDown will be Supersized this Friday and run for two and a half hours. That means the final 30 minutes of the show will run at the same time as the first half of Rampage.

Tony Khan responded to the news by tweeting that he can’t wait to beat WWE’s “main show”. In what is presumably an attempt to drum up as much interest in Rampage as possible, AEW has now announced it will be holding an hour-long Buy-In for Friday night’s show on its YouTube channel. The pre-show will include a match between Bryan Danielson and Minoru Suzuki, the first time the pair has clashed since 2004.

https://twitter.com/WFAN660/status/1447953614450872321

Not only is the Buy-In an attempt to get as many people to tune in to Rampage at 10 pm, but it also technically means an AEW show will now be going up against SmackDown for a full 90 minutes. However, Khan has backed down a little since the comments he made abiut beating WWE over the weekend.

“It’s not about competing with them. It’s about doing our best show,” Khan admitted during an appearance on Moose & Maggie. Whether this Friday is considered competition by either side or not, the numbers after the fact are going to be dissected no matter what. It’s hard to imagine Rampage will draw more viewers than SmackDown, but it will be fun to compare the two to see how they differ from previous weeks when both are on at the same time.

Source: TheSportster

Former WWE Stars Sign With Impact Wrestling

The IInspiration (Cassie Lee and Jessie McKay) are making their way to Impact Wrestling.

Just as Knockouts Knockdown was closing, it was revealed in a video (below) that Lee and McKay are to arrive at Bound For Glory on Saturday, October 23.

Formerly known as Peyton Royce and Billie Kay, both women were let go from WWE during its second massive round of budget cuts in April of this year. Following their release, both women expressed how they wanted to remain a tag team no matter where they ended up. Impact Wrestling will be their first promotional appearance since being let go.

It’s been confirmed that Lee and McKay have officially signed with Impact Wrestling.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Impact Wrestling Knockouts Knockdown Results 10/9/2021

The entire roster is stood in and out of the ring, honoring Daffney with a 10 bell salute

Mickie James and Veda Scott on commentary

 Melissa Santos returns as the main ring announcer.

 Knockouts Knockdown Tournament:

Opening-Round: Rachael Ellering defeated Lady Frost

Opening-Round: Chelsea Green defeated Renee Michelle

Opening-Round: Mercedes Martinez defeated Brandi Lauren

Opening Round: Tasha Steelz defeated Jamie Senegal

Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo (w/Matthew Rehwoldt) defeated Masha Slamovich

Semifinals of the Knockouts Knockdown Tournament:

Semifinals: Mercedes Martinez defeated Rachael Ellering

Semifinals: Tasha Steelz defeated Chelsea Green

 Christy Hemme reveals that Awesome Kong will be inducted into this year’s Impact Hall of Fame at Bound For Glory! 

Awesome Kong’s Speech:

Awesome Kong is greeted with a “You Deserve It” chant. She thanks the crowd. She begins by joking about how winded she is coming down to the ring. Kong dedicates this monumental moment to Daffney, who she says opened so many doors in the Knockouts division. She asks everyone to continue opening doors and breaking barriers in this industry and beyond. She thanks the crowd and tells them she’ll see them all at Bound For Glory!

Taylor Wilde takes a moment to reflect on her and Daffney’s first-ever and historic Monster’s Ball Match

https://twitter.com/IMPACTWRESTLING/status/1447018545527746564

Monster’s Ball: Savannah Evans defeated Jordynne Grace, Alisha Edwards and Kimber Lee

 Knockouts Knockdown Tournament Finals: Mercedes Martinez defeated Tasha Steelz

Mercedes Martinez will now be waiting in the wings for the shot at the Knockouts Championship. She will receive her opportunity after Bound For Glory!

Post-Match: Gail Kim presents Martinez with a trophy! 

Knockouts Tag Team Championship: Decay (Havok & Rosemary) (c)  (w/Crazzy Steve & Black Taurus) defeated The Influence (Madison Rayne & Tenille Dashwood) (w/Kaleb)

AEW Rampage Preview 10/8/21

Tonight’s AEW Rampage airs on TNT from The Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

* CM Punk vs. Daniel Garcia (w/2point0)

* AEW World Tag Team Championship: The Lucha Brothers (c) (w/Alex Abrahantes) vs. The Acclaimed

* Philly Street Fight: FTW Champion Ricky Starks vs. Brian Cage

* Jade Cargill (w/Smart Mark Sterling) vs. Skye Blue

Impact Wrestling Knockouts Knockdown 10/9/2021

Impact Wrestling presents Knockouts Knockdown airing Saturday, October 9 via Impact Plus and the Impact YouTube channel for Ultimate Insiders.

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* Knockouts Championship:

Deonna Purrazzo (c) vs. A Mystery Opponent (picked by Mickie James)

* Knockouts Knockdown Tournament Opening-Round Matches:

Tasha Steelz vs. Jamie Senegal

Chelsea Green vs. Renee Michelle

Lady Frost vs. Rachael Ellering

Brandi Lauren vs. Mercedes Martinez

* Knockouts Tag Team Championship:

Decay (Havok & Rosemary) (c) vs. The Influence (Madison Rayne & Tenille Dashwood)

* Monster’s Ball Match:

Savannah Evans vs. Jordynne Grace vs. Alisha vs. Kimber Lee

Impact Knockouts Knockdown Tournament Bracket Revealed

Impact Wrestling has announced the bracket for the Knockouts Knockdown tournament to be held on Saturday’s special on Impact Plus.

The first round matches include Tasha Steelz vs. Jamie Senegal, Chelsea Green vs. Renee Michelle, Lady Frost vs. Rachael Ellering, Brandi Lauren vs. Mercedes Martinez.

The winner of the tournament will receive a future shot at the Impact Knockouts Title, currently held by Deonna Purrazzo.

https://twitter.com/IMPACTWRESTLING/status/1446113105293955077

Knockouts Knockdown will also feature the Shannon “Daffney” Spruill Memorial Monster’s Ball Match with participants to be announced, plus a match for the Knockouts Tag Team Titles with Havok and Rosemary defending against Madison Rayne and Tenille Dashwood.

Impact Wrestling Preview 10/7/21

Impact Wrestling is tonight at 8 pm ET on AXS TV. This episode will be the go-home show for Saturday’s Knockouts Knockdown event on Impact Plus.

* Impact World Champion Christian Cage & Josh Alexander vs. Ace Austin & Madman Fulton

* Bullet Club (Chris Bey, El Phantasmo & Hikuleo) vs. FinJuice (Juice Robinson & David Finlay) & Chris Sabin

* Kimber Lee, Brandi Lauren & Lady Frost vs. Tasha Steelz, Savannah Evans & Mercedes Martinez (makes her highly-anticipated in-ring debut)

* X-Division Title Tournament Continues: Steve Maclin vs. Black Taurus vs. Petey Williams

* Heath Addresses the Impact Zone

* Matthew Rehwoldt will kick things off with Laredo Kid on Before The Impact at 7 PM ET!

AEW Unveils TBS Title, Announces Tournament To Crown The First Champion

AEW has unveiled its TBS Title and announced there will be a tournament to crown the first champion.

AEW is adding a new title to its ranks: the TBS Championship. A women’s title celebrating Dynamite’s move to TBS in 2022.

AEW‘s television journey has been an interesting one despite only turning two this week. Dynamite has aired on TNT weekly since its inception. On Wednesdays most of the time, but the day of the week has changed occasionally to accommodate for live sport. It then added Rampage to the mix earlier this year, a shorter show which also airs on TNT every Friday.

That all changes in the new year. Dynamite will remain on Wednesday nights but will be on TBS rather than TNT. To celebrate that move, which takes effect on January 5, 2022, AEW has created a brand new championship. The TBS Championship which fans got their very first look at when it was unveiled on Dynamite’s anniversary show this week.

https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1445917228407394304

While Tony Khan was the one teasing a big announcement before the show, it was Tony Schiavone and Aubrey Edwards who were afforded the opportunity to reveal it to the world. Edwards held up the title as Schiavone announced that a tournament will take place to crown its first champion. According to The Wrestling Observer, the tournament will begin on the January 5 edition of Dynamite, the show’s TBS debut.

https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1445921755185491970

The first handful of participants in the tournament were revealed later on in the show via the video package above. Ruby Soho, Jade Cargill, Thunder Rosa, and Skye Blue or stated their intent to become the first-ever TBS Champion, implying they will all be involved in the tournament when it begins at the turn of the year. The title itself looks very similar to AEW’s TNT Championship.

Of all the things AEW has been criticized for during its first three years, the lack of a push for its female stars might be at the top of that list for many fans. Britt Baker and Thunder Rosa’s brutal no DQ match felt like a turning point in that regard. While the women’s division probably still doesn’t get the time it deserves, a new title, and hopefully more female signings, will almost definitely change that.

Source: TheSportster