Kenny Omega has topped the PWI 500 for the second time in his career, beating Roman Reigns to number one.
Kenny Omega has topped the PWI 500 for only the second time in his career, knocking Jon Moxley off the top spot and all the way down to number six.
Pro Wrestling Illustrated has been ranking the 500 best male wrestlers in the business since 1991. Who deserves to be number one each year is heavily debated, with the likes of Hulk Hogan, Stone Cole, CM Punk, and AJ Styles all having clinched the top spot in the past. This year’s top ten has been revealed, and PWI has declared Kenny Omega 2021’s best male wrestler.
This is actually the second time Omega has topped the PWI 500. The Cleaner was named the publication’s best wrestler in 2018 as well. It was hard to argue with the decision to place him first then, and maybe even more difficult to make a case against him in 2021. During PWI’s assessment period, Omega won World Titles in three different promotions, holding them simultaneously.
The rest of the top ten has been revealed too, with Universal Champion Roman Reigns claiming the number two spot. That’s the highest Reigns has placed since he took the number one spot in 2016, bouncing back from dropping out of the top ten completely in 2020 when he missed a chunk of the year due to the pandemic.
Bobby Lashley, Drew McIntyre, and Finn Balor also make the top ten, as does Will Ospreay. However, the New Japan star appears to be a little miffed with only making it as high as seventh. It’s actually the highest Ospreay has ever placed, only cracking the top ten one time before this in 2019. The British star tweeted that he could beat Omega any night of the week in response to the top ten being posted on Twitter.
I’d beat up number 1 any day of the week and twice on Wednesdays…..just saying https://t.co/VdZ26ul6rm
SouOmega responded that New Japan has been “ice cold” since he left, to which Ospreay replied by pointing to a sold-out MSG show and the best-selling Tokyo Dome show in the promotion’s history. Ospreay closes by challenging Omega to a match. The forbidden door between AEW and New Japan is wide open right now, so it could happen. Just last night on Dynamite Moxley defeated Minoru Suzuki.
WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley took to Facebook this morning and issued a video warning to WWE following the AEW All Out debuts of Adam Cole, Bryan Danielson and Ruby Soho.
Foley titled his video, “WWE – WE’VE GOT A PROBLEM.” You can read his full comments and watch the video below:
“Hello, this is ‘The Hardcore Legend’ Mick Foley. I’d like to title this video, ‘WWE – We’ve Got a Problem’ because I think you do and that problem is that WWE is no longer the place for talent to aspire to,” Foley began. “Part of it is because AEW is doing a great job of attracting great talent, proven talent, building other talent, creating storylines, but part of it is a problem of your own making. I think younger talent sees the way that developmental characters are cut or left by the wayside, or in the case of Karrion Kross, greatly watered down and even made a joke of when they debut on the main roster. If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.
“If I was an aspiring talent now, big league talent with a major decision to make, I’m not sure that I would trust WWE creative to do the right thing with my career. You guys did wonders with me back in the day… that was a different time, different place. If it was today, I’m not sure I would trust the powers to be with my career in their hands, and until that changes, WWE – you’ve got a problem.”
Bryan Danielson has revealed why he didn’t chant “yes” along with the fans at AEW All Out.
Bryan Danielson has explained why he didn’t chant “yes” along with the fans when he came to the ring at All Out.
Daniel Bryan, who will now go by Bryan Danielson since he is no longer with WWE, made his very first appearance for AEW at All Out. Danielson aligned himself with Jurassic Express and Christian Cage, chasing off The Elite along with its own brand new member, Adam Cole. Fans in-house broke out into a deafening yes chant as Danielson made his way to the ring, but the former WWE Champion didn’t join in.
On the surface, that was probably because he was focused on helping out the wrestlers getting beaten down in the ring. However, when asked about it after the show, Danielson admitted he’s not sure he’s legally allowed to chant yes and strike his signature pose on a non-WWE wrestling show.
“I don’t know, we’re going to have to talk about like what I can do and what I cannot do,” Danielson explained. “I appreciate the people I worked for before and respecting their intellectual property and that sort of thing… the fans doing it is great, but I’m not sure if I’m going to do it.” Tony Khan added afterwards that he doesn’t believe the yes chant is WWE’s IP.
Despite WWE’s penchant for trademarking everything it can when it comes to its employees, it seems unlikely that it would be able to lay claim to one of the most commonly used three letter words in the English language. Based on everything else Danielson said during the post-show scrum, it may be more of a case of him wanting to respect WWE. He said that he still has a great relationship with Vince McMahon, and sees some of the people still under WWE’s employ as family.
It could also be a case of Danielson simply not wanting to bring that part of his WWE persona with him. While he might have reached the once unfathomable levels of fame he as attained while under WWE’s banner, this is a whole new chapter in his career. He may want to reinvent himself using elements of his time in WWE, but not necessarily all of them.
AEW star Kip Sabian hasn’t wrestled since May 24 and underwent successful arm surgery in mid-May.
His last appearance on AEW TV was on April 28, thanks to a backstage attack from Miro. The current TNT Champion was not happy at the time about their loss to Chuck Taylor and Orange Cassidy in an Arcade Anarchy Match.
Sabian now looks to be potentially working on a new gimmick, posting a photo of himself wearing a suit and box over his head with the words, “underrated, over it” on the box. There’s also a sand timer on the side of the box.
“Time doesn’t heal…It changes you…” Sabian wrote in the caption.
During this weekend’s AEW All Out Fan Fest, Sabian did an unadvertised meet and greet with fans and scribbled different messages over his 8×10 photos.
On many of them he scratched out his face and wrote “no” as to indicate he’s not long connecting with that character. In the videos, it didn’t sound like Sabian talked at all with the fans that came up to him.
THE BUY IN Chuck Taylor, Wheeler Yuta, Orange Cassidy, and Jurassic Express defeated Matt Hardy, TH2, and Private Party
AEW TNT CHAMPIONSHIP Miro (c) defeated Eddie Kingston
Jon Moxley defeated Satoshi Kojima
Post-match, Minoru Suzuki’s music hit and a surprised Moxley looked to the stage in confusion. Suzuki eventually came out and calmly made his way to the ring.
Moxley and Suzuki faced off for a moment, Suzuki then took his jacket off and they battled in the ring. The two threw some big shots and laughed along the way. Suzuki eventually put Moxley down with a rear naked choke and a gotch style piledriver.
AEW WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Kenny Omega (c) defeated Christian Cage
AEW World Champion Kenny Omega defeated Christian Cage in the main event and then cut a promo about how anybody that could beat him was either dead, retired, or not in AEW. Cole’s music hit and out he came to a big pop. Cole got in the ring to face-off with Omega and quickly superkicked Jungle Boy (who had come down to help Christian during a post-match beatdown).
Cole reunited with his friends and said The Elite was the most dominant group in pro wrestling. Omega then went to do his signature sign-off and Danielson’s music hit. He got into the ring and teamed up with Jurassic Express and Christian against The Elite (with Omega running out of the ring). The Elite was quickly cleared away as Danielson and the rest of his guys celebrated to close out the show.
Tony Khan recently revealed he has spent eight figures of his own money on AEW’s video games.
Tony Khan recently revealed he has spent eight figures of his own money on AEW’s video game division, most of which will have gone on its upcoming debut console game.
AEW might still be less than three years old, but its early success makes it hard to imagine a wrestling landscape without it. Big names are joining the promotion’s ranks, and wrestlers who were relatively unknown when AEW launched are now household names in wrestling circles. Tony Khan also continues to prove he isn’t afraid to take risks to make sure AEW’s success continues to grow.
One area where Khan is very keen to make a splash is wrestling video games. The company has already released two mobile games, but its first mainline console game will be the real acid test. Khan mentioned during a recent media call that he has spent eight figures of his own money, so at least $10 million, on AEW’s video game division.
Although very little has been revealed about AEW’s first major video game, it seems likely that the majority of that investment has been on the console game. Development must be going well as Khan added he is confident he will make that money back. Since WWE and 2K don’t share specific development costs, it’s unclear how much it costs to create a wrestling game, but eight figures feels like enough that the game has to be a success.
AEW has shown off very little of the game so far. A trailer very early in development and some shots of what Darby Allin will look like in the game. However, the last we heard, Kenny Omega, who is close to the project, was hopeful AEW’s first big game will be here by early 2022.
That potential launch window was made a lot more interesting over SummerSlam weekend when WWE 2K revealed WWE 2K22’s has been delayed. The game won’t be here until March 2022 which might well coincide with the arrival of AEW’s first game. The Wednesday Night War might have ended, but six months from now we might have an all-new type of wrestling battle to watch pan out.
On Wednesday, former WCW and IMPACT star Shannon “Daffney” Spruill was on IG live threatening to harm herself and it has been learned she has passed away.
On Wednesday evening, there was real concern about the health and safety of former WCW and IMPACT Wrestling star Daffney Unger. After an Instagram Live post where she seemed emotionally distraught and was threatening harm to herself, the stream ended in a way that had many concerned. Multiple parties, friends and former co-workers including WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley reached out on Twitter asking, “If anyone has a way of reaching Daffney Unger, or knows her address, please help out. She’s in a bad personal place and is threatening to harm herself.”
Updates suggested authorities had been sent to her known address to check on her well being. Unfortunately, we are saddened to report that Daffney has died.
A spokesperson for the Gwinnett County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed the death to TMZ Sports, but did not reveal a cause or manner. Shimmer Pro Wrestling tweeted out an update after people were frantically trying to get to Daffney (real name Shannon Spruill) saying: “We are very sad to have to announce the passing of Shannon Spruill aka Daffney Unger @screamqueendaff. We are posting this at the request of her family. Please respect their privacy at this trying time. I will miss you my logical sister from another mister.”
Daffney’s mother, Jean Tookey Spruill, announced her passing on Facebook and confirmed that the date of her passing was Wednesday night.
“It is with great sadness I have to let you know that my daughter Shannon Spruill… Scream Queen Daff, passed away suddenly last night. Absolutely heartbroken,” she wrote.
Wrestlers and friends have taken to social media on Thursday offering support and their condolences in the loss. Foley wrote: “I’m so very sorry to learn of Daffney’s passing. A terrible loss for her family, friends and wrestling. She was far ahead if her time in our business. #RIPDaffney” He also tweeted out a phone number and contact information for a help line for those who might be struggling mentally or emotionally.
Gail Kim wrote: “So incredibly sad to hear the news about Daffney/Shannon. Heartbreaking to know that she felt so alone and in that dark space. If you are feeling this way, please reach out to others. You’re never alone.”
Big E of WWE wrote: “I’m so sorry to everyone who knew and loved Daffney Unger. If you’re struggling with your mental health, please don’t be afraid to be a burden. Reach out for help. It saved my life.”
Tegan Nox wrote, “My thoughts and love are with Daffney’s friends and family! She was such an amazing influence in the wrestling community, a true pioneer for us women. RIP Daffney.
“Velvet Sky wrote: “Rest in eternal peace my sweet, sweet, Angel friend. You were such an amazing, funny, loving, caring person, and I’ll never ever forget you. I love you always, @screamqueendaff My deepest condolences to the family, friends and fans of this beautiful soul.”
“We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Shannon ‘Daffney’ Spruill. We offer our sincere condolences to her friends and family,” Impact Wrestling said in a statement issued on social media. Daffney spent three years with Impact back when it was still known as TNA. She parted ways with the company in 2011. Impact also dedicated that evening’s edition of their weekly TV show to Daffney’s memory.
NXT star Dakota Kai recalled her first time visiting the United States to tour as an independent wrestler and spoke highly of her first encounter with Daffney. “During my first tour of the states, I was terrified. Daffney made everyone feel loved, welcomed and was such a truly beautiful soul [broken heart emoji] To anyone struggling, you are not alone. You are loved. Check in with your loved ones,” Kai tweeted.
Zelina Vega took to Instagram to share a screenshot of a text message she had received from Daffney in which The Scream Queen thanked Zelina for encouraging her. Daffney also told Zelina that she was proud of her. “She was such a kind soul,” Zelina captioned a series of photographs of Daffney. “Always wanted to help others and smile. She genuinely cared. She used to send me videos of her singing Aaliyah songs because we both loved her. I’ll miss you always.“
SmackDown’s Shotzi Blackheart tweeted about how much Daffney inspired her. “RIP Daffney thank you for being my spooky inspiration,” she wrote. “I had the biggest crush on you. I will never forget meeting you and telling you how cool I thought you were and how sweet you were to me. I scream for Daffney!”
ROH recalled how Daffney managed CM Punk, Colt Cabana and Ace Steel during the early days of the company, and then made a special appearance in 2018. They issued the following statement on her passing:
ROH Mourns The Passing Of Shannon ‘Daffney’ Spruill
Ring of Honor is saddened to learn that Daffney (Shannon Spruill) has died. She was 46.
Spruill worked as a wrestler, manager and valet in WCW, ROH, TNA and various independent promotions during a 16-year career that began in 1999.
Performing under the name Lucy, Spruill managed The Second City Saints (CM Punk, Colt Cabana and Ace Steel) during the early days of ROH.
Spruill made an appearance at Supercard of Honor in 2018 for the finals of the Women of Honor Title Tournament. After Sumie Sakai won the match, Spruill celebrated in the ring with her.
ROH extends its deepest condolences to Spruill’s family, friends and fans.
WWE paid tribute to Daffney with a post on Instagram, seen below, and also issued the following statement:
Shannon “Daffney” Spruill passes away
WWE is saddened to learn that former WCW star Shannon Spruill, known to sports-entertainment fans as Daffney, passed away at the age of 46.
Spruill gained worldwide recognition when she first arrived in WCW in November 1999 as Daffney, aligning herself with David Flair and Crowbar. Shortly after making a name for herself, Daffney made history in May of 2000 when she became only the second woman to hold the WCW Cruiserweight Championship. With her signature scream and ever-changing style, Daffney would go onto become a mainstay of the independent scene for more than two decades.
WWE extends its condolences to Spruill’s family, friends and fans.
According to the World Health Organization, one person commits suicide every 40 seconds on average. Over 700,000 individuals take their own lives each year — more than twice the number of people who die as a result of homicide. If you, or someone you know, is suffering from a mental health crisis, seek assistance immediately via one of the phone numbers listed below:
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