Category: TNA

Fans Attending AEW Rampage In Chicago Required To Wear Masks

Fans attending AEW Rampage at the United Center in Chicago this Friday will be required to wear masks.

On Tuesday, Chicago officials imposed a new indoor mask mandate which covers all indoor public settings, including bars and restaurants, clubs and common areas of residential buildings.

Starting Friday, anyone over the age of 2 will have to wear a face mask in indoor public spaces, regardless of vaccine status, Chicago Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said in a news conference.

Following Friday’s Rampage, AEW will return to Chicago for three consecutive shows – Dynamite on Sept. 1, Rampage on Sept. 3 and All Out on Sept. 5.

With rumors of CM Punk showing up at United Center, Friday’s Rampage is expected to be one of the biggest shows in AEW history.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Former WWE Superstar Ruby Soho Teases Next Career Move In New Vignette

Former WWE Superstar Ruby Soho (Ruby Riott) has released a teaser video in anticipation of her return to the ring. Is she AEW bound?

Former WWE Superstar Ruby Soho (Ruby Riott) has shared a vignette in which she teased her return to the world of wrestling following her WWE release back in June.

Ruby took to Twitter to share the 1-minute-long teaser video on Tuesday, August 17. In the video, Ruby can be seen hurrying to catch a train. At one point, the camera cuts to focus o the ticket in her hand which says she is traveling from Orlando to New York’s Penn Station. Unfortunately, Ruby arrives at the platform too late and can do nothing but watch as the train pulls away from the station without her onboard. As the video ends, its title, “The Runaway” appears on screen.

https://twitter.com/realrubysoho/status/1427677496263204869

So far, there’s been no official word from Ruby regarding her next move, but if the ticket in the vignette is a clue, her destination is no longer unknown. We can assume that her return will take place at an event in New York, which is where AEW will be hosting its “Grand Slam Dynamite” on September 22nd.

Source: TheSportster

Christian Cage Defeats Kenny Omega For The IMPACT World Championship On Debut Of AEW Rampage

Christian Cage is the new IMPACT World Champion after defeating Kenny Omega on the debut episode of AEW’s new show, Rampage.

Christian Cage is the new TNA/IMPACT World Champion following his victory over defending champ Kenny Omega in the opening match of the debut episode of AEW Rampage.

Christian got the won after the Young Bucks attempted to interfere on Omega’s behalf by sliding a steel chair in the ring while Don Callis had the referee distracted. The plan backfired, however. Christian was able to hit a Killswitch on Omega and planted his fellow Canadian’s face on the chair. Christian then covered Omega for the win, much to the dismay of The Young Bucks and Don Callis.

After the bell, Christian celebrated alongside his friends, Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy, with both the IMPACT and TNA World Championship belts draped over his shoulders.

The victory marks Christian Cage’s first title win since he came out of retirement earlier this year. It’s also his first reign as IMPACT World Champion, although he did hold the NWA Championship during his initial run with TNA.

Christian is set to appear on Thursday’s Impact and will defend the Impact World Championship at Impact’s Emergence event on Friday August 20th, airing on Impact Plus.

AEW Rampage Preview 8/13/21

Tonight’s debut of AEW Rampage airs on TNT at Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Each episode is one-hour long.

* Kenny Omega (c) vs. Christian Cage (Impact World Championship)

* Britt Baker (c) vs. Red Velvet (AEW Women’s World Championship)

* Miro (c) vs. Fuego del Sol (AEW TNT Championship — If Sol wins, he’ll also earn an AEW contract)

Impact Wrestling Preview 8/12/21

Tonight, tensions will escalate as a new challenger arises in Impact Wrestling’s #1 Contenders Battle Royal.

The winner of this set bout will have the opportunity to face either Kenny Omega or Christian Cage for the Impact World Championship at Emergence on Friday, August 20. (Kenny Omega will defend the Impact Title against Christian Cage on this Friday’s debut of AEW Rampage)

Tonight on Impact on AXS TV:

* #1 Contenders Battle Royal

* Jay White & Chris Bey vs. FinJuice

* Non-Title Match: X-Division Champion Josh Alexander vs. Daivari

* Taylor Wilde vs. Tenille Dashwood

* Sam Adonis and Joeasa will kick things off on Before The Impact at 7 PM ET!

AEW Dynamite Preview 8/11/21

Tonight’s AEW Dynamite episode airs on TNT at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

* Matt Hardy and Private Party vs. Orange Cassidy, Chuck Taylor and Wheeler Yuta

* Darby Allin vs. Daniel Garcia

* The Labours of Jericho, Chapter 4: Chris Jericho vs. Wardlow with MJF at ringside

* Nyla Rose vs. Kris Statlander

* Dan Lambert will appear

* The Good Brothers (c) vs. Evil Uno and Stu Grayson (Impact World Tag Team Championship)

* AEW World Champion Kenny Omega and AEW World Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks vs. Dante Martin, Mike, and Matt Sydal

Renee Paquette Teases Return To Wrestling Broadcasting, Says AEW Is An Option

Former WWE broadcaster Renee Paquette (Renee Young) has revealed that her lengthy non-compete clause is due to expire soon.

Former WWE broadcaster Renee Paquette (known in WWE as Renee Young) has hinted that she may soon be returning to the world of professional wrestling broadcasting due to the imminent expiration of the lengthy non-compete clause in her WWE contract.

Renee addressed her current career situation in a recent interview with WrestlingINC.

“My non-compete with WWE is nearly up,” Paquette said. “I don’t ever want to separate myself from professional wrestling. I know that’s where my fanbase comes from; I know that’s essentially going to always be my bread and butter — and I love that. I love professional wrestling, so I’m not looking to get away from it by any stretch,” she continued.

Despite being unable to immediately return to broadcasting Renee made the most of her time. After leaving WWE, she launched a new podcast called Oral Sessions, published a cookbook, and became a parent for the first time with her husband, AEW star Jon Moxley.

In the aforementioned WrestlingINC interview, Renee commented on the possibility of her once again merging her family and professional lives by linking up with Mox in AEW.

“Looking at AEW, I think there are endless opportunities of other things I could be doing over there if that was to be something that came up down the line,” she said. “I’ve honestly not put much thought into it. That’s interesting to be like, ‘Oh, wait! I can do wrestling things again!’”

Renee Paquette would be an asset for whichever company she decided to work for, as she proved during her eight years with WWE.

Source: TheSportster

Deonna Purrazzo’s Opponent (Melina) For NWA Empower Revealed On Impact

Impact Wrestling’s Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo will defend her championship against former ex-WWE Superstar Melina at NWA Empower on Saturday, August 28.

Last night, on Impact Wrestling, Purrazzo and Matthew Rehwoldt came to the ring to celebrate their King and Queen Tournament victory from Homecoming. Just as Purrazzo was listing off her accolades since joining Impact, Mickie James came down to the ring and brought a contract in hand. Several weeks ago, James and Purrazzo made a handshake agreement that Purrazzo would attend NWA Empower later this month. James wanted to make it official.

Before “The Virtuosa” signed on the dotted line, she wanted to know who exactly her opponent was going to be. Lucky for Purrazzo, James brought Melina with her to the Impact Zone. As Purrazzo and Melina signed their half the contract, Melina guaranteed she’ll win the title the same way Purrazzo won her’s the first time around- in her first title request against Jordynne Grace at Slammiversary last year.

Melina made her NWA debut in November 2019. One month later, at Into The Fire, she made her in-ring debut teaming with Marti Belle. They took on and lost to former NWA Women’s Champion Allysin Kay and ODB. Since then, she has teamed with another former NWA Women’s Champion and current AEW star, Thunder Rosa, and recently fought against Kylie Rae back in June.

Currently, Purrazzo is on her second reign as the Knockouts Champion. Her first reign came at Slammiversary of last year against Jordynne Grace. This was the first title opportunity she received after making her first appearance with the company last summer. She lost the title to Su Yung at Bound For Glory last October but made up for it when she beat Yung at Turning Point to regain the title back. Purrazzo’s last title defense was against Thunder Rosa at Slammiversary.

Before she meets Melina, Purrazzo will face Faby Apache in a Champion versus Champion match for both the AAA Reina de Reinas and Impact Knockouts Championship at Triplemanía XXIX next Saturday. This could change the landscape of who faces Melina in a few weeks.

Below is the updated card for NWA Empower:

NWA Women’s World Championship:

Kamille (c) vs. AEW’s Lelya Hirsch

NWA Women’s World Tag Team Championship (Vacant):

TBA vs. TBA

Impact Wrestling Knockouts Championship:

Deonna Purrazzo or Faby Apache (c) vs. Melina

Chelsea Green vs. TBA (NWA Women’s Invitational Cup Finals)

NWA Empower will be available exclusively on Saturday, August 28, on FITE TV.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

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