Category: TNA

AEW Has Reportedly Made NXT’s Adam Cole A Contract Offer

As Adam Cole’s NXT contract nears its end, AEW has reportedly approached the highly sought after Superstar with an offer.

AEW has reportedly made Adam Cole a contract offer as the former NXT Champion’s current WWE contract is set to expire after SummerSlam weekend.

Adam Cole’s time in NXT might be coming to an end. That would normally mean a call-up to the main roster. For Cole, it appears to mean that starting from the night after NXT TakeOver 36, he will no longer be a WWE Superstar. According to Wrestling Observer Newsletter, AEW has already offered Cole a contract.

The report also reveals Cole has still been negotiating a potential new deal with NXT as recently as the middle of this week. However, the former leader of the Undisputed Era is yet to strike a deal with either company. Cole’s contract actually came to an end in July. However, he signed a one-month extension, apparently so he can wrestle Kyle O’Reilly in a rubber match at TakeOver 36.

If Cole does decide to stay in NXT, it’s unclear what exactly there is left for him on the brand. NXT has been built as a brand in which wrestlers achieve all they can and then move on, preferably to either Raw or SmackDown rather than AEW. Cole has already been NXT Champion multiple times, UE has broken up, and there aren’t that many big opponents left in NXT that he hasn’t already faced.

In AEW, on the other hand, there’s a whole new slate of opponents and challenges waiting for him. Not to mention his girlfriend, current AEW Women’s Champion Britt Baker, and a number of other close friends he worked with prior to signing with NXT. Cole can even debut for AEW as soon as he wants after TakeOver 36. Since his contract is expiring, he won’t be subject to a non-compete clause.

That means Cole could turn up on Dynamite three days after TakeOver, the third episode of Rampage two days after that, or perhaps even at All Out in the first week of September. It’s going to be a fascinating period in Cole’s career the days and weeks after TakeOver. Not to mention the additional contract headache for NXT that is Pete Dunne. Apparently, The Bruiserweight’s contract is also nearing its end.

Source: TheSportster

New Japan’s Jay White Officially Invites IMPACT Wrestling’s Chris Bey To Join Bullet Club

Former IMPACT X-Division Champion Chris Bey was officially inducted into Bullet Club by New Japan Pro Wrestling star Jay White.

Bullet Club leader Jay White officially inducted IMPACT Wrestling star Chris Bey into the group on this week’s edition of IMPACT! on AXS TV.

It all went down following Bey’s victory over Juice Robinson. After the bell, White came out to celebrate with Bey. White handed the American wrestler a Bullet Club t-shirt and threw up the Too Sweet gesture, which Bey was more than happy to reciprocate.

https://twitter.com/IMPACTWRESTLING/status/1423436910161186818

White is a former IWGP Heavyweight Champion who is currently under contract with New Japan Pro Wrestling. He walked through the proverbial forbidden door and made his IMPACT debut when he confronted Kenny Omega at the company’s Slammiversary pay-per-view on July 17.

On the July 22 post-Slammiversary edition of IMPACT’s weekly show, Jay White explained his presence in the promotion. The NEVER Openweight Champion said he was there for David Finlay, the man he will defend hit tile against at New Japan Pro-Wrestling Resurgence on August 14. Don Callis, The Good Brothers, and Kenny Omega confronted White and a war of words ensued. Gallows and Anderson demanded a “thank you” for building Bullet Club, but White refused. The two men attacked White, but Chris Bey made the save.

On last week’s edition of IMPACT’s weekly TV show, Bey and White teamed up to take on The Good Brothers. They came up short, but their alliance was far from finished, as the events of this week showed.

Chris Bey is a former X-Division Champion who debuted for IMPACT in November of 2018.

“I want to keep growing. I don’t think I’m the best in the world, but right now, I’m the best version of myself. I have the ability to be better tomorrow, and then better than that the day after. Over time, I want people to think of Chris Bey when they think of wrestling,” the 25-year-old told Sport Illustatrated’s Justin Barraso back in December of 2020.

Bey joins Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens, Gedo, Hikuleo, KENTA, Taiji Ishimori, Dick Togo, El Phantasmo, EVIL, Yujir, and Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa)in Bullet Club.

Source: TheSportster

Impact Wrestling Preview 8/5/21

Tonight on Impact on AXS TV:

* Homecoming fallout

* The Elite vs. AEW’s Frankie Kazarian, Sami Callihan & Eddie Edwards

* Chris Bey (w/Jay White) vs. Juice Robinson (w/David Finlay)

* X-Division No. 1 Contender Match: Jake Something vs. Daivari vs. Rohit Raju vs. Trey Miguel

* Fire ‘N Flava vs. Jordynne Grace & Rachael Ellering

* Crazzy Steve (w/Decay) vs. Fallah Bahh (w/No Way) will kick things off on Before The Impact at 7 PM ET.

** Impact Wrestling will no longer air its flagship show on Twitch. The show will continue airing at its original time on AXS TV at 8/7c. For those of you who don’t have AXS TV, Impact has launched a YouTube membership called “Impact Insiders,” which will air the show, as well as other exclusive content for $0.99 a month.

Former WWE Superstar Ruby Riott (Ruby Soho) Is Expected To Sign With AEW

Former WWE Superstar Ruby Riott, who now goes by Ruby Soho, is expected to sign with AEW once her non-compete runs out.

Ruby Riott is expected to sign with AEW once her 90-day non-compete clause with WWE comes to an end.

WWE has released a lot of people so far in 2021. More than 40 of them so far with Bray Wyatt and Ric Flair being shown the door over the course of the last few days. Some of those released have already found landing spots elsewhere, such as Andrade and Chelsea Green. A number of others are still waiting for their non-compete clauses to come to an end, or may just be weighing up their options.

One of those waiting for their non-compete to come to an end is Ruby Riott. Well, the Superstar formerly known as Ruby Riott. She will now be called Ruby Soho going forward, reportedly with the blessing of  Rancid, the band who sings the song of the same name. She might even be able to use the track as her entrance whenever she wrestles next.

As for where that might be, according to Fightful Select (via WrestleTalk) Soho’s most likely landing spot is AEW. While the two parties can’t strike a deal until Soho’s time with WWE is officially over, which will be after the non-compete expires, apparently, once that time has passed fans can expect to see her become All Elite.

While AEW has been criticized for picking up a lot of the wrestlers WWE has released over the course of the past 18 months, Soho might be one of the wisest pick-ups so far. No element of AEW has been criticized more during its first two years than its women’s division. It is well on its way to improving that part of its promotion via the likes of Britt Baker and Thunder Rosa, adding Soho to the mix will further it even more.

Source: The Sportster

AEW Dynamite Homecoming Preview 8/4/21

Tonight’s AEW Dynamite: Homecoming episode airs on TNT from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida.

* Chris Jericho vs. Juventud Guerrera (The 5 Labours of Jericho: Chapter 3 — Jericho must win the match with a top rope move)

* Miro (c) vs. Lee Johnson (AEW TNT Championship)

* Malakai Black vs. Cody Rhodes

* The Bunny vs. Leyla Hirsch (Winner gets a shot at the NWA Women’s World Championship)

* Christian Cage with Jungle Boy vs. The Blade with Matt Hardy

* 2.0 (Matt Lee and Jeff Parker) and Daniel Garcia vs. Jon Moxley, Darby Allin, and Eddie Kingston

Former WWE Tag Team To Debut On AEW Dynamite Tonight

Former WWE NXT Superstars Ever-Rise are set to debut on AEW Dynamite tonight.

As seen below, AEW has announced that Matt Lee (fka Matt Martel) and Jeff Parker (fka Chase Parker) are now going by 2.0, and have joined the company. They will debut tonight on the Homecoming edition of Dynamite on TNT, which airs live from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville.

2.0 have aligned with Daniel Garcia, and will go up against Jon Moxley, Darby Allin and Eddie Kingston in six-man action tomorrow night.

2.0, known as 3.0 before signing with WWE in January 2019, were released from the company back on June 25. They had developed a following of fans on social media, and were endorsed by various WWE Superstars, including Kevin Owens. Ever-Rise worked the weekly NXT show at times, but also had several appearances on WWE 205 Live.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Impact Wrestling Homecoming Results 7/31/2021

Former WWE star Aiden English made his Impact debut under the ring name, “Drama King” Matthew Rehwoldt. He was Impact Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo’s mystery partner.

Below are the results:

First Round Mixed Tag Team Tournament: 

* Deonna Purrazzo & “Drama King” Matthew Rehwoldt defeated Hernandez & Alisha

* Chelsea Green & Matt Cardona defeated Jordynne Grace & Petey Williams

* Tommy Dreamer & Rachael Ellering defeated Brian Myers & Missy Hyatt (With Sam Beale)

* Decay (Rosemary & Crazzy Steve) defeated Fallah ‘n Flava (Fallah Bahh & Tasha Steelz)

SemiFinals: 

* Decay (Rosemary & Crazzy Steve) defeated Rachael Ellering & Tommy Dreamer

* Deonna Purrazzo & “Drama King” Matthew Rehwoldt defeated Chelsea Green & Matt Cardona

Finals: 

* Deonna Purrazzo & “Drama King” Matthew Rehwoldt defeated Decay (Rosemary & Crazzy Steve)

Non-Tournament Matches: 

* Deaner (with Violent By Design) defeated Willie Mack (with Rich Swann)

* Josh Alexander (c) defeated Black Taurus (X Division Championship Match)

* Eddie Edwards defeated W. Morrissey (Hardcore Match)

Impact Wrestling Homecoming 7/31/2021

A new King and Queen will be crowned at Impact Wrestling’s Homecoming.

Homecoming is available exclusively Saturday at 8 PM ET on Impact Plus.

Below is the card for Homecoming:

King & Queen Tournament Opening Round Matches:

Hernandez & Alisha vs. Deonna Purrazzo & Mystery Partner

Petey Williams & Jordynne Grace vs. Matt Cardona & Chelsea Green

Decay vs. Fallah Bahh & Tasha Steelz

Tommy Dreamer & Rachael Ellering vs. Brian Myers & Mystery Partner

X-Division Championship:

Josh Alexander (c) vs. Black Taurus

Violent Brawl:

W. Morrissey vs. Eddie Edwards

King and Queen Tournament information below:

The first-round winners will carry over to the second round and so forth until one team is left standing. The winners will carry the title of Impact’s 2021 Homecoming King and Queen.

A possible hint on who Purrazzo’s partner might be is “The Drama King” Matthew Rehwoldt (fka Aiden English). Before tonight’s broadcast, Rehwoldt tweeted out the following statement:

“[eyes emoji] On Impact Wrestling the next few days…just saying.”

Starting at Slammiversary, Impact began promoting multiple vignettes that showed someone painting the words “Long Live The Drama King” on a blank canvas and covering it up with other colors of paint. Rehwoldt, a former NXT Tag Team Champion, was let go from WWE during “Black Wednesday” last year.

AEW Star Frankie Kazarian Appeared On Impact Wrestling, Six-man Tag Team Match Set For Next Week

AEW star Frankie Kazarian will make his seven-year in-ring return to Impact Wrestling next week.

Kazarian will be joining Sami Callihan and Eddie Edwards in a massive six-man tag team match against The Elite (Impact World Champion Kenny Omega and the Impact World Tag Team Champions The Good Brothers).

“The Elite Hunter” made his return on tonight’s show after The Elite went down to the ring to call out Impact Management for making a No. 1 Contender Battle Royal that’s set for two weeks from now. The winner of the event will face Omega for his World Championship at Emergence.

During Callis’ monologue, Sami Callihan interrupted him and announced that not only will he participate in this Battle Royal, but he also spoke with Executive Vice President Scott D’Amore about setting up this six-man main event for next week. Outraged by this power move, The Elite were met with a major beatdown by Frankie Kazarian, who attacked them from behind.

At Slammiversary, Callihan and Omega squared off in the main event for the Impact World Championship. Omega won by the skin of his teeth when he hit the One-Winged Angel during their No Disqualification matchup.

As mentioned above, Impact will bring Emergence back next month. At this event, Omega will defend his Impact World Championship against the Battle Royal winner.

Last year, Emergence was a two-night event that saw The Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley) retain their Impact World Tag Team Titles against  The North (Ethan Page and Josh Alexander) on Night One. Then, on Night Two, Deonna Purrazzo retained her Knockouts Championship against Jordynne Grace in the company’s first-ever 30-Minute Iron Woman Match.

https://twitter.com/IMPACTWRESTLING/status/1420911392341770241
https://twitter.com/IMPACTWRESTLING/status/1420913520741425157
https://twitter.com/IMPACTWRESTLING/status/1420915270978351106
https://twitter.com/IMPACTWRESTLING/status/1420916060304429062
https://twitter.com/IMPACTWRESTLING/status/1420922949549363200

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Impact Wrestling Preview 7/29/21, Jay White Makes In-ring Debut

With Impact Wrestling’s Homecoming just around the corner this Saturday, anything can happen before this exclusive event.

Tonight, on the go-home show leading into Homecoming, New Japan Pro Wrestling’s top star Jay White will make his in-ring debut. White and Chris Bey will take on the Impact World Tag Team Champions The Good Brothers (Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson) in a non-title tag team match.

Following his unexpected appearance at Slammiversary, White is here in Impact not only to chase David Finlay before their title clashing at NJPW Resurgence for the NEVER Openweight Championship but to also take care of some unfinished business with The Elite.

Last week, White called out The Elite, which led to a brutal beatdown. Chris Bey, who earlier in the show declined White’s offer to join the Bullet Club, came to White’s rescue. Could Bey be changing his mind and possibly joining one of the most influential factions in pro wrestling history?

Also, on tonight’s card, tempers will flare once more as Moose and Chris Sabin add a sequel to their already explosive rivalry in the main event.

The last time these two brutes met in the ring was at Slammiversary, where Sabin created a major upset and picked up a victory over Moose. Can Moose redeem himself tonight, or will Sabin sustain his undefeated streak against Moose?

Below is the official card for tonight’s show:

* Homecoming go-home show

* Slammiversary Rematch/Main Event: Moose vs. Chris Sabin

* Jay White & Chris Bey vs. The Good Brothers

* Violent By Design ( Deaner & Rhino) vs. Rich Swann & Willie Mack

* Eight-Man Tag Action: FinJuice (Juice Robinson & David Finlay), Fallah Bahh & No Way vs. Ace Austin, Madman Fulton, Rohit Raju & Shera

* Kaleb (With A ‘K’) vs. Taylor Wilde

* Trey Miguel vs. Steve Maclin will kick things off on Before The Impact at 7 PM ET!

Source: Wrestling Inc.