Category: TNA

AEW Rampage Grand Slam Preview

Tonight’s AEW Rampage Grand Slam airs on TNT from Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City. The show will be a special two-hour event.

* CM Punk vs. Powerhouse Hobbs

* Christian Cage & Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus) vs. Adam Cole & The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson)

* Men Of The Year (Ethan Page & Scorpio Sky) vs. Chris Jericho & Jake Hager

* Santana & Ortiz & Lucha Brothers (Penta El Zero Miedo & Rey Fenix) vs. Hardy Family Office (Isiah Kassidy, Marq Quen, The Butcher & The Blade)

* Penelope Ford vs. Anna Jay

* Lights Out Tag Team Match: Eddie Kingston & Jon Moxley vs. Lance Archer & Minoru Suzuki

Christopher Daniels Returned To Impact

Former four-time X-Division and two-time TNA World Tag Team Champion Christopher Daniels made his long-awaited return to Impact Wrestling last night’s episode.

Daniels helped Josh Alexander and Christian Cage take care of Ace Austin and Madman Fulton after Alexander won his scheduled bout against Austin in the main event. Because of his assistance, Daniels will have a comeback match against Fulton on next week’s show.

It has been seven years since “The Fallen Angel” has been on Impact. His first venture in the company began in 2002-2010. He came back from 2011- 2014. Currently, Daniels is part of the AEW roster. He signed with them in 2019 when they first launched their promotion.

AEW Dynamite Moving To TBS In January, Rampage Will Remain On TNT

AEW has set a date for Dynamite’s previously announced switch from TNT to TBS. Meanwhile, the company confirmed that Rampage is staying on TNT.

AEW Dynamite’s previously announced move to TNT’s fellow WarnerMedia network TBS will officially take place on January 5, 2022. AEW announced the date of the switch on Thursday, September 23 — the day after the company’s historic Grand Slam event in New York City’s prestigious Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The company also revealed that Dynamite’s sister show Rampage will remain on TNT instead of moving to TBS as was initially planned. “Rampage” has aired weekly on Fridays at 10 p.m. ET/PT since its debut on TNT on Aug. 13.

The move to TBS could potentially help Dynamite reach a wider audience, as the channel is available in more homes than TNT. That being said, the move was largely necessitated by TNT’s recent deal with the NHL.

“Both TBS and TNT have an incredibly storied past with wrestling so for us being able to put more AEW onto TBS was a natural fit,” Brett Weitz, General Manager, TBS, TNT and truTV, confirmed during a press call when the switch was first announced. “For me, being able to program these networks as a portfolio gives me the latitude to put them where it makes most sense for the consumer. Did the NHL have anything to do with it? Sure. The NBA had something to do with it… we felt TBS had an opportunity to be the best platform for expansion,” he added.

Regardless of the reasoning, having its two main shows spread out over two networks is unlikely to be anything other than beneficial to AEW.

In case you missed it, AEW will reportedly add a second women’s division championship called “The TBS Championship” in the near future. An exact date for the new title’s introduction is yet to be revealed, but it’s safe to assume that it will be up for grabs on the debut edition of Dynamite on TBS, or very shortly thereafter if not.

Source: The Sportster

AEW Will Reportedly Add A Second Women’s Title In The Near Future

AEW is gearing up to add a second women’s title which will apparently be known as the TBS Championship.

AEW is reportedly going to add another women’s title to the mix coming up and it will be called the TBS Championship.

AEW’s star continues to rise in the middle of what might be the biggest week in its short history. Grand Slam week’s Dynamite is in the books and the show closed with a Women’s Title match between defending champion Britt Baker and new signing Ruby Soho. The champ won and continues to move AEW’s women’s division forward.

That division will likely be built upon with new signings as AEW continues to move forward, but also a new title. Andrew Zarian revealed via Denise Salcedo’s podcast that a new women’s championship is in the works, but didn’t reveal when it will be unveiled. The belt will be called the TBS Title, much like the men’s secondary belt was dubbed the TNT Championship.

https://twitter.com/_denisesalcedo/status/1440902556620767233

Some fans might worry AEW is going the same way as WWE when it comes to adding more titles. However, it could also be argued that adding another title will help the women’s division continue to grow. One of the issues WWE faces is having nothing for a growing women’s roster other than a feud over the title, which is normally reserved for two wrestlers at a time.

As AEW continues to add more women to its ranks, it will need more for those wrestlers to do. While building feuds that don’t require a title at all will also be necessary, and is something WWE needs to improve upon too, adding another title into the mix will give at least two more female performers an angle to build alongside whatever the AEW Women’s Champion is doing at the time.

When the TBS Title is officially added to AEW’s collection of belts, it will bring its championship collection up to a total of five.

Source: The Sportster

AEW Dynamite Grand Slam Preview 9/22/21

Tonight’s AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam episode airs on TNT from Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York.

* Malakai Black vs. Cody Rhodes

* Brian Pillman Jr. vs. MJF

* AEW World Champion Kenny Omega with Don Callis vs. Bryan Danielson (Non-Title Match)

* CM Punk live interview

* Britt Baker (c) with Rebel vs. Ruby Soho (AEW Women’s World Championship)

* Sting and Darby Allin vs. FTR with Tully Blanchard

Sami Callihan Injured At Impact TV Tapings

Sami Callihan actually suffered multiple injuries at Saturday’s Impact Wrestling tapings.

Callihan suffered a broken ankle at the tapings, and will likely be out of action until the spring of 2022 following surgery.

PWInsider has confirmed that Callihan suffered the broken ankle, and revealed that he also broke the tibia and fibia bones in his left leg.

Callihan underwent surgery in Nashville and was released from the hospital today. He is now expected to be out of action until the middle of 2022 at the earliest.

The injury came while Callihan was doing a suicide dive from the ring to the floor. There is still no word on who he was wrestling, or if the match will air during an upcoming Impact TV episode.

Callihan was supposed to reunite with Jon Moxley as the Switchblades and face the reunited Eddie Edwards and Davey Richards (The Wolves) on October 30 for The Wrestling Revolver’s “Tales From The Ring” event in Clive, Iowa. No word yet if the match will still take place with a replacement for Callihan.

Tommy Dreamer Releases Statement Regarding Dark Side of the Ring Appearance

Tommy Dreamer took to social media on Sunday to apologize for comments he made during the latest episode of Dark Side of the Ring.

It took a few days, but Tommy Dreamer has released a statement regarding his comments on the latest episode of Dark Side of the Ring. Dreamer has been taking a ton of heat over the past few days after seemingly downplaying the alleged sexual misconduct of Ric Flair during a WWE private charter flight dubbed “The Plane Ride from Hell. Dreamer was suspended indefinitely by IMPACT Wrestling as a result of the fallout of those comments.

Dreamer took to social media a few days after the episode aired. During the show, he suggested that Flair would never force himself upon a woman or act inappropriately when it comes to the topic of sexual misconduct. He called what Flair did a joke and that it was just Flair being Flair. He noted that people nowadays take offense to everything, and while it would be 1000% inappropriate now, it wasn’t really a big deal then and compared the story of Flair running around nearly naked to his own double ponytail. He also noted that perhaps the victim shouldn’t have settled out of court if she was bothered by all of this and charged Flair in an attempt to get him thrown in jail.

Needless to say, the comments were not well received by the massive audience Dark Side of the Ring brings in and Dreamer was suspended. It’s not clear when he’ll be back.

In his statement, Dreamer said, “Regarding my comments on Dark Side of the Ring. It was never my intention to offend, hurt or victim shame anyone.” He adds, “I understand my comments were insensitive and could trigger emotions in someone’s own personal past. I do not condone sexual misconduct of any kind.” He finished with, “I apologize to anyone I offended. From the bottom of my heart, I am so sorry.”

There are mixed reactions on social media to his apology. Some are saying he’s doing the right thing by acknowledging he made a mistake while others are saying he’s apologizing to the wrong person and that it’s hard to believe considering it appears the main reason he went on the show was to play down Flair’s actions.

It’s not clear where this all goes or if, once a certain amount of time goes by, he’ll be welcomed back to IMPACT Wrestling or his work with Busted Open Radio. Flair hasn’t made comments or released a statement since the show aired.

Source: TheSportster

Awesome Kong Inducted Into IMPACT Hall Of Fame

IMPACT legend Awesome Kong has been inducted into the IMPACT Wrestling Hall Of Fame just a few weeks after announcing her retirement.

IMPACT legend Awesome Kong was present at the latest set of TV tapings, where she was inducted into the company’s Hall Of Fame.

The former Knockouts Champion was inducted during the Knockouts Knockdown on September 17 and dedicated her induction to her former IMPACT colleague Shannon Spruill (Daffney), who tragically passed away at the age of 46 earlier this month.

Kong announced her retirement from professional wrestling last month at EmPowerrr, the all-female pay-per-view produced by Mickie James in conjunction with Billy Corgan’s NWA.

During the event, Kong’s fellow legend and former IMPACT colleague Gail Kim addressed the crowd and commemorated the occasion. Kim was interrupted by Taryn Terrell, Jennacide, and Paola Blaze, who attempted to intimidate the former WWE Women’s Champion … until Awesome Kong made the save. “Only one thing could get me off my couch eating delicious ice cream bars,” Kong said to Gail, before telling her that she loved her. The soon-to-be IMPACT Hall Of Famer then stunned the crowd by revealing that she would be retiring from professional wrestling with immediate effect.

As a wrestler, Awesome Kong (real name, Kia Stevens) is best known for her time in IMPACT where she was a two-time TNA Knockouts Champion and a former TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champion. She left IMPACT in 2010 and joined WWE where she performed under the name Kharma. Kharma made her debut on May 1 at Extreme Rules, where she attacked Michelle McCool. She continued to attack former WWE Divas Champions on both Raw and SmackDown in the weeks that followed, but her angle was axed when she revealed that she was pregnant.

Stevens took a hiatus from wrestling to pursue an acting career which saw her cast as Tammé “The Welfare Queen” Dawson in the Netflix original comedy series GLOW.

While GLOW was still on the air, Stevens debuted for AEW as a surprise entrant in the women’s triple threat match at AEW’s inaugural Double or Nothing event, making it a Fatal 4-way match. Afterward, she was paired with Brandi Rhodes and the duo formed a stable known as The Nightmare Collective. The angle was poorly received and AEW pulled the plug on it soon after it began.

Awesome Kong’s influence on women’s wrestling cannot be understated and there can be no doubt that she and Gail Kim paved the way for what would later become known as the “Women’s Revolution.”

Kong joins the likes of Gail Kim, Kurt Angle, Ken Shamrock, and Earl Hebner in the IMPACT Wrestling Hall Of Fame.

Source: TheSportster

Tommy Dreamer Suspended By Impact After Dark Side Of The Ring Comments

Tommy Dreamer has been suspended indefinitely by Impact Wrestling following comments he made on Dark Side of the Ring.

Tommy Dreamer will not be at this week’s Impact tapings following comments he made on Dark Side of the Ring defending Ric Flair’s actions on the Plane Ride From Hell.

Impact Wrestling has revealed Tommy Dreamer has been suspended indefinitely from the promotion for comments he made defending allegations against Ric Flair during an appearance on Dark Side of the Ring. PW Insider reports that an email from Impact’s Ed Nordholm was sent to those within the promotion stating that Dreamer’s comments did not align with its core values.

Dark Side of the Ring returned to Vice this week to commence the second half of season three. The Plane Ride From Hell was covered in Thursday’s episode and it included the alleged actions of Ric Flair on that flight. Apparently, The Nature Boy spent part of the journey in nothing but an open robe, which was par for the course according to Tommy Dreamer who was also aboard the aircraft.

Heidi Doyle, a flight attendant on the Plane Ride From Hell, played a big role in the latest Dark Side episode. One of the darker allegations she made on the show was against Flair, claiming he attempted to force himself on her while naked in an open robe.

Dreamer came to the defense of Flair at that point in the episode, and it seems his controversial remarks may have landed him in hot water. According to Fightful, Impact staff have been told Dreamer will not be at this weekend’s tapings in Nashville. While not confirmed that Dreamer’s absence is related to his Dark Side comments, the timing makes it appear as if that’s the case.

“He’s just flaunting, styling and profiling, doing the Ric Flair stuff where everybody’s going to laugh about it. But obviously, someone took offense to it,” Dreamer said on this week’s episode of Dark Side. “If that’s how she felt, maybe she should have not taken a payout… I feel this is trying to portray someone as a sexual predator, and it’s not. It’s a joke. It’s a gag.”

Flair wasn’t a part of the episode, but a caption appeared on the screen clarifying the Hall of Famer denies all of the allegations made against him by Doyle. He also pre-empted the airing of the episode during a recent appearance on Oral Sessions, admitting that he wasn’t looking forward to it. The future of Dreamer with Impact Wrestling, or if his absence is connected to his Dark Side comments, will likely become clearer in the coming days.

Source: TheSportster

AEW To Hold An Owen Hart Cup, Could Include Him In Upcoming Console Game

AEW has partnered with the Owen Hart Foundation and will hold a tournament bearing his name in the future.

AEW has partnered with The Owen Hart Foundation and will hold The Owen Hart Cup as well as honoring the late star’s legacy in other ways.

AEW has released a statement detailing a new partnership with The Owen Hart Foundation. The charity, which was set up by Owen’s widow Martha Hart, was established to help people in need in Owen’s name. AEW will now work alongside the charity and will be putting a number of things in place to keep Owen’s name alive in the wrestling business.

As well as helping Martha and the OHF continue to help people around the world, AEW will be holding the first-ever Owen Hart Cup. The Owen Hart Cup will be an annual tournament where the winner will receive a cup named The Owen. No further details about the tournament, including when the first one will take place and who will be involved, have been revealed at this time.

AEW’s partnership with the OHF and the Hart family will also include the production and distribution of all-new Owen Hart merchandise. A few products were created following the Dark Side of the Ring episode on Owen’s death, but this sounds like it might be a step beyond although again, not many other details have been disclosed.

What is mentioned right at the end of the statement is the inclusion of Owen Hart merchandise in the upcoming AEW console game. While not mentioned specifically, that could mean Owen is a playabale character in the game. If so, it would be the first time the former Intercontinental Champion has been in a wrestling game since 1999’s WWF Attitude.

WWE has probably wanted to sell Owen merchandise and even include him in video games. However, Martha blames the company for his death and has said on multiple occasions that she doesn’t want them making any more money from his legacy. Either Martha and Owen’s children are okay with AEW benefitting from Owen’s legacy since the company has no affiliation with WWE, or everything made through their partnership will go directly to the Owen Hart Foundation.

Source: TheSportster

Below is the AEW release about their partnership with the Owen Hart Foundation and The Owen Hart Cup:

AEW and The Owen Hart Foundation Enter Into
A Relationship to Honor World Renowned Wrestler Owen Hart’s Legacy
September 20, 2021 – All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and The Owen Hart Foundation (OHF), a
nonprofit charity which provides a vast range of assistance and opportunities to individuals inneed across the world, are collaborating to honor the legacy of late wrestler Owen Hart, a
beloved figure in the professional wrestling community and beyond. This collaboration includes
launching the annual Owen Hart Cup Tournament within AEW, which will see the winner receive
a Cup known as “The Owen,” as well as the production and distribution of unique and original
Owen Hart merchandise, including specified retail goods as well as the upcoming AEW console
video game.
This alliance incorporates opportunities to develop Owen Hart action figures via AEW’s
partnership with Jazwares, apparel, posters, and additional collectable merchandise. Owen Hart
is survived by his wife, Dr. Martha Hart, who spearheads The Owen Hart Foundation with a
mission of providing global aid to at-risk communities (e.g., scholarships, housing, various forms
international assistance, food drives, backpack giveaways and Christmas projects).
“AEW’s relationship with the Hart family dates back to our inaugural pay-per-view event, Double
or Nothing in 2019, and Owen’s influence is still felt today,” said Tony Khan, AEW CEO, GM and
Head of Creative. “To extend his memory and his legacy even further through this agreement is
a powerful and meaningful moment for the entire wrestling community.”
“The Owen Hart Foundation is extremely pleased to partner with AEW in this wonderful joint
venture to honor Owen’s substantial international wrestling career and the lasting influence he
and his craft has had in the sport. AEW’s Owen Hart Cup Tournament serves as a tremendous
tribute to Owen and provides an incredible way for professional wrestling enthusiasts to
celebrate his work in a most fitting way. We trust that Tony Khan and his amazing AEW team
will do a brilliant job with this highly anticipated project. This OHF/AEW partnership is my
special gift to all of Owen’s magnificent loyal fans who forever remember him and his inspiring
repertoire of talents,” said Dr. Martha Hart.
About The Owen Hart Foundation
The Owen Hart Foundation was established in 2000 in memory of celebrated world-renowned
Canadian wrestler Owen Hart. Our mandate is ‘Education’ and our goal is to help provide opportunities worldwide for hard-working people who have limited resources but unlimited
potential. http://www.owenhartfoundation.org


About AEW
Founded by CEO, GM and Head of Creative Tony Khan, AEW is a new professional wrestling league
headlined by Kenny Omega, Dr. Britt Baker, CM Punk, Bryan Danielson, Chris Jericho, Cody & Brandi
Rhodes, The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson), Adam Cole, Sting, Jon Moxley, Miro, Lucha Bros.,
PAC, Hangman Page, MJF, Darby Allin, Nyla Rose, Red Velvet, Ruby Soho, Hikaru Shida, Jade Cargill,
Thunder Rosa, Malakai Black, Andrade El Idolo, Christian Cage, Jungle Boy, Sammy Guevara,
Scorpio Sky, Ethan Page, Orange Cassidy, Ricky Starks, Powerhouse Hobbs, Lance Archer, and
many more. For the first time in many years, AEW is offering an alternative to mainstream
wrestling, with a roster of world-class talent that is injecting new spirit, freshness and energy into
the industry.
“AEW: Dynamite” airs every Wednesday from 8-10 p.m. ET on TNT and attracts the youngest
wrestling audience on television. The new fight-forward show “AEW: Rampage” airs every Friday
from 10-11 p.m. ET. AEW’s multi-platform content also includes “AEW Dark” and “AEW Dark:
Elevation,” two weekly professional wrestling YouTube series, “Being the Elite,” a weekly behindthe-scenes YouTube series, and “AEW Unrestricted,” a weekly podcast series. For more info, check
out Twitter.com/AEW; Instagram.com/AllEliteWrestling; YouTube.com/AEW;
Facebook.com/AllEliteWrestling