Scheduled for tonight’s Impact airing on Pursuit, Twitch and FightNet.
* Michael Elgin Kicks off tonight’s Impact
* RVD on Impact Tonight
* Ace Austin vs. Petey Williams
* Fenix vs. Eddie Edwards
* Rosemary vs. Kiera Hogan
Category: TNA
Backstage News On Bill Goldberg’s WWE Return, WWE Reportedly Concerned About Goldberg And AEW
WWE may have signed WWE Hall of Famer Bill Goldberg for the June 7 Saudi Arabia show to keep him from All Elite Wrestling.
It was noted in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that WWE reportedly approached Goldberg for the show, figuring he was the one star left who could potentially bring back lapsed fans if he were to work with AEW. The situation was compared to how Vince McMahon, without the benefit of hindsight, left the door open in the 1990s for WCW to sign names like WWE Hall of Famers Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage and Roddy Piper.
WWE officials did have a concern that Goldberg would eventually sign with AEW, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio.
There’s no word yet on who Goldberg will face in Saudi Arabia, but a Lesnar vs. Goldberg match has been rumored.
Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker had been expected for the Saudi show, but Goldberg came out of the blue. Goldberg is believed to be making major money from the new contract with WWE. The Saudi shows usually bring a big payday to the wrestlers, as high as seven figures for some, but the fact that Goldberg rarely wrestles says a lot. There’s no word yet on if Goldberg’s deal is just for the Saudi show, or for more dates, but WWE could have made a strong offer to Goldberg if they are serious about keeping him away from AEW.
Randy Orton joked about Goldberg’s pay for the Saudi Arabia show this week, as seen below:
Source: Wrestling Inc.
New Impact Wrestling World Champion Brian Cage Pulled From Impact TV Tapings
Wrestling Inc. has confirmed that new Impact Wrestling World Champion “The Machine” Brian Cage has been pulled from this weekend’s Impact TV tapings due to injury. Cage is currently at his home resting and recovering from an injury sustained at Impact’s Rebellion pay-per-view last Sunday. This weekend’s tapings will be took place last night and tonihgt from the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, PA.
We can also confirm that Cage may miss tapings beyond this weekend. Cage was also not at last Monday’s tapings in Toronto.
There is currently no word about the status of the Impact Wrestling championship. Cage may hold the title for the time being until he returns, or Impact could produce an angle at the tapings this weekend to strip him of it.
Cage won the Impact Wrestling World Championship by defeating Johnny Impact this past Sunday night at Impact’s Rebellion PPV. During the bout, Cage appeared to suffer a back injury while taking a Spanish Fly from the entrance ramp to the floor. Following the match, and subsequent powerbomb from Michael Elgin, Cage was rushed to a local emergency facility in Toronto.
“Right when we hit, I’m rolling and the pain shoots down through my leg,” Cage told Busted Open Radio the following afternoon. “It’s a feeling I’ve never had before in my life. I’m instantly thinking, ‘ruptured disc or whatever. My back is f—ed, I’m going to have to have surgery or something.’ Then I’m thinking, ‘Maybe it’ll go away,’ and just trying to enter the ring after that moment, I’m bleeding and what not.
“Rolling into the ring, turning my hip over hip and trying to get up, I felt like there was no strength there and the pain shot down my leg again, and I’m like ‘crap.’ But it felt almost a little bit better, so maybe it will subside here in a second, like a flash thing. Then I think was in the corner and I evaded Johnny, and there was no movement, like, I couldn’t. I felt so slow and robotic in my mannerisms and movement because of the pain.”
At the time, Cage thought that he would not have to miss any action, however that is not the case.
“[The Doctor] goes, ‘I think you’re going to be fine, you have severe inflammation and a bone bruise, there could be a small fracture there,” Cage said. “I would like to rule that out, however, if there is a fracture, I don’t seeing it being any major fracture. Even then, you can’t do much more for that, just err on the side of caution.”
Wrestling Inc. will be revealing another exclusive Impact Wrestling story today on our Friday video installment of the WINCLY. It will air at 2 pm CST via the Ringside Wrestling app. The app is free to download and is available to download on iPhones and Android devices.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Impact Plus Streaming Service Launch Announced: Benefits For Ordering PPVs With It, First Live Event, More
Impact Wrestling today announced the launch of Impact Plus, which will replace their existing Global Wrestling Network streaming service. The video-on-demand (VOD) service will feature live monthly premium specials, instant access to their 3,000-plus hour library including past pay-per-views, original series, reality shows and documentaries, exclusive events from international promotional partners and historical content from old territories.
The service is now available on all major OTT platforms and devices, including online at plus.impactwrestling.com, iOS and Android, Apple TV, Roku and Amazon Fire TV. A premium subscription will be priced at just US $7.99 per month with a 30-day free trial for new members. Annual subscriptions will also be available for US $71.99.
Impact’s four major annual pay-per-view events will be available to purchase on the service. Fan who purchase a pay-per-view event on Impact Plus will also receive three months of free access to Impact Plus with each purchase.
The first live Impact Plus special, Code Red, will take place this Sunday, May 5 at 8:00 p.m. ET in partnership with House of Glory. The show will be headlined by Johnny Impact & Taya Valkyrie vs. Eddie Edwards & Alisha Edwards.
Impact sent out the press release below regarding the service:
IMPACT Wrestling Launches IMPACT Plus Subscription Video-on-Demand Service with Live Monthly SpecialsAnthem Sports & Entertainment’s IMPACT Plus service will be powered by Leading Video Solutions Provider Brightcove
TORONTO – IMPACT Wrestling today announced the launch of IMPACT Plus, a multi-platform digital subscription video-on-demand (VOD) service featuring live monthly premium network specials, instant access to the 3,000-plus hour IMPACT Wrestling library, groundbreaking original series, reality shows and documentaries, exclusive events from international promotional partners and historical content from old territories. The 17-year library from IMPACT Wrestling includes every classic pay-per-view event and features household names in professional wrestling such as Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Sting, Kurt Angle, Kevin Nash, Mick Foley, Booker T, Jeff Jarrett, AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Bobby Roode and many more.
Beginning today, May 1, IMPACT Plus is available on all major over-the-top (OTT) platforms and devices, including web at plus.impactwrestling.com, iOS and Android, Apple TV, Roku and Amazon Fire TV. A premium subscription will be priced at just US$7.99 per month with a 30-day free trial for new members. Annual subscriptions will also be available for US$71.99.
“Anthem Sports & Entertainment is proud to partner with Brightcove on the development and launch of IMPACT Plus, the latest evolution of IMPACT Wrestling’s subscription video-on-demand service,” said Ed Nordholm, EVP of Anthem Sports & Entertainment and president of IMPACT Wrestling. “As our subscriber base has grown, we have established the need for a more robust back-end technology, while looking to enhance our user experience and content offering. Starting this Sunday, we will be delivering a live premium event every month exclusively for IMPACT Plus subscribers.”
Brightcove is the leading global provider of powerful cloud solutions for managing, delivering and monetizing video experiences on every screen. A pioneering force in the world of online video since the company’s founding in 2004, Brightcove’s award-winning technology, unparalleled services, extensive partner ecosystem and proven global scale have powered video solutions for thousands of companies in over 70 countries.
The first live IMPACT Plus special – Code Red – takes place this Sunday, May 5 at 8:00 p.m. ET in partnership with House of Glory. Emanating from NYC Arena in Queens, NY, Code Red will feature top IMPACT Wrestling stars. The confirmed matches include:
* Johnny Impact & Taya Valkyrie vs. Eddie Edwards & Alisha Edwards
* Michael Elgin vs. Willie Mack
* LAX (Santana & Ortiz) vs. oVe (Dave & Jake Crist) vs. New York Wrecking Krew (Smoothe Blackmon & Chris Seaton)
* Rich Swann vs. Ace Austin vs. Trey vs. Smiley vs. Evander James vs. Mantequilla – HOG Crown Jewel Championship
* The Rascalz (Dez & Wentz) vs. The North (Ethan Page & Josh Alexander)
* Tessa Blanchard & Violette vs. Scarlett Bordeaux & Sonya Strong
* Moose vs. Ken BroadwayIMPACT Wrestling’s four major annual pay-per-view events, including Slammiversary and Bound For Glory, will also be available to purchase on IMPACT Plus. Anyone who purchases a pay-per-view event on IMPACT Plus will also receive three months of free access to IMPACT Plus with every pay-per-view purchase.
Legacy subscribers to IMPACT Wrestling’s Global Wrestling Network service will be migrated to IMPACT Plus.
Users will also have free access to episodes of the weekly flagship show IMPACT!, as well as new weekly episodes of Xplosion and other original digital content featuring top professional wrestling stars, including IMPACT World Champion Brian Cage, Johnny Impact, Rob Van Dam, Eddie Edwards, Sami Callihan, Moose, Michael Elgin, the high-flying X-Division and the Knockouts, including Taya Valkyrie, Tessa Blanchard, Jordynne Grace, Rosemary, Madison Rayne and Su Yung.
For more information, visit http://www.impactwrestling.com and plus.impactwrestling.com.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
David Arquette To Face Luke Perry’s Son Jungle Boy
Joey Ryan’s Bar Wrestling promotion has announced Jungle Boy (Jack Perry) vs. former WCW World Champion David Arquette for their “It’s Gonna Be May” event on Wednesday, May 8 in Los Angeles.
There is a unique story behind this match as Jungle Boy is the son of the late actor Luke Perry, who unexpectedly passed away at the age of 52 on March 4. Perry had encouraged his son to further his pro wrestling career and could be seen at some of his indie events. Arquette and his sister, actress Patricia Arquette, were friends with Perry for more than 30 years. Luke was the one by Arquette’s side after his bloody deathmatch with Nick Gage that went wrong back in November.
“I’m thinking, ‘I just got cut in my neck, and if that’s my jugular, I’m going to die.’ Pretty quickly after that I exited the ring and had someone look at it. Luke is a dear friend of mine, and his son, who is a fantastic wrestler named Jungle Boy, was wrestling on the same show. We’ve been friends for over 30 years, so Luke is the one I went to see to look inside the wound. He looked and said no, so I knew I didn’t cut a main artery or vein. I could feel something was wrong with my neck, but I wanted to finish the match and tell a complete story,” Arquette told Sports Illustrated last year after the bloody incident.
Arquette continues to take regular bookings on the indie scene following his comeback in 2018. Jungle Boy is making a name for himself on the indies and recently signed with AEW.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Dean Ambrose Shares Video Hyping The Return Of Jon Moxley, Will He Be At AEW’s Double Or Nothing?
Say goodbye to Dean Ambrose, and say hello once again to Jon Moxley … because the former WWE Champion just shared a video hyping his return to his former moniker.
The video was uploaded just minutes after midnight on May 1. Ambrose’s WWE contract expired on April 30, making him a free agent. Moxley continues to trend on social media, more than two hours after the video was released.
There’s obvious speculation on this promo being for Moxley joining another wrestling company, especially due to the high production values and other hints in the video.
Ambrose published a video on Tuesday night that begins with him sitting restless in prison before breaking out. This would seem to be a pretty obvious reference to him leaving WWE.
There are hash marks shown in the video as Moxley is breaking out of prison. The portion that is lit adds up to 25, which could be a teaser for Double Or Nothing. Double Or Nothing takes place on Saturday, May 25 from Las Vegas.
Some people have speculated that Moxley is initially in an asylum at the start of the video, and it’s Jon Moxley escaping from the Ambrose Asylum.
There are dice shown in the video and that has been the main symbol in promotional material for Starrcast in Las Vegas, which also takes place on May 25 (the event runs from May 23 – 26). The numbers on the dice shown are 2 and 5.
It’s believed that Moxley would be able to appear at Double Or Nothing as he is not under a non-compete clause from WWE because those usually apply to releases. His contract expired.
In another note on the speculation, AEW Executive Vice President Cody Rhodes has “liked” the Moxley promo on Twitter.
The account that the promo was tweeted from, @JonMoxley, is the @DeanAmbrose account that Ambrose had been using, but he changed the handle, which is why the official WWE Twitter account is currently following it. It will be interesting to see if they are still following him tomorrow. The account was created in March 2012, but this is the first tweet from the account in many years.
https://twitter.com/JonMoxley/status/1123438186410205184
Cody Rhodes Talks AEW, Filling Out Roster, Estimates The Percentage Of WWE Talent That AEW Would Sign & More
We’re less than one month away from AEW’s first official event, Double or Nothing. The startup promotion is still going through its growth phase and that means adding new talent to the roster.
Cody joined Jim Ross on The Ross Report to talk about the new guys and girls who will fill out the AEW roster.
“I know from a talent number we are nearing 40 talents under a certain type of contract with us. So, there is more talent than a lot of people know, because you know, slow and steady on our road to Double or Nothing on May 25th ,” said Cody. “We don’t want to just put a splash page down on everybody. We want you to slowly learn about them. That is the biggest thing for me; the road to Double or Nothing series that I put on the Nightmare Family YouTube channel, where we also announced your [Jim Ross] arrival. And even those that know you [Jim Ross] so well for so many years I still wanted to treat it like it is everyone’s first day, and tell me who this is, which is especially helpful to the guys with these younger guys.
While Cody is no Vince McMahon in terms of being fascinated with wrestlers’ physiques, he did reveal that those in charge at AEW went on a “hoss hunt.” They are looking for wrestlers 6’2″ and above who can turn heads with their looks and also perform in the ring.
“We went on this big hoss hunt and we want to find some big boys,” stated Cody. “You can’t replace that if that makes any sense? If you see one of those guys or girls that walk by an airport that makes you turn your head, that is still a part of wrestling – that going to the circus scene and you look at them and say, ‘damn, what do you do?’ I believe that is going to help us. We have a young and light-heavyweight roster, but to add that buffet to big, bigger, I want it all.”
Even though many of Cody’s friends such as The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega hold executive positions, that doesn’t mean all of his friends are going to just be given jobs. He talked about having to say no to many of his friends who came knocking on his door.
“I don’t know if I had a hard time to say no as much as I have been able to say that the door is unlocked, but it’s kind of up to them to kick the door down,” admitted Cody. “The best example of all that is when I left WWE, I did that full year before I fully signed on for one year with Ring of Honor. I did a full year of every indie under the sun. The best one, the worst one, the most niche one, the most mom and pop, I did all of that. That is the type of thing that kind of thing that helped me gravitate towards Matt and Nick Jackson and getting into New Japan and the first Tokyo Dome show I did and things of that nature.”
Cody didn’t just rest on his laurels or his family connections to get where he is today, he worked his tail off. He wants the same from AEW talent and, in a way, he echoes Vince McMahon in that he wants prospective AEW talent to grab the brass ring.
“People know what opportunities exist and it all lies on putting in the work,” said Cody. “You have to put in the work, and I swear by that. My wife is the same way. In this era of entertainment in general; content is king. It’s no longer, ‘oh this great show is coming on and has a great marketing appeal, and it’s all marketing.’ Now the sizzle and the substance have to match otherwise you get a big drop-off and we want our sizzle and substance to match. To answer your question, it hasn’t been hard to say no because most people know to not ask unless they are out there doing the work. It hasn’t been hard for me yet.”
Along the lines of his gimmick, AEW strives for only elite talent. Thus, Cody says that many current WWE performers wouldn’t even be accepted into AEW.
“Honestly, I’ve kind of jokingly said that it is five percent and I’m talking Jim Ross, Cody Rhodes and Chris Jericho, maybe a few others,” Cody replied on the percentage of WWE talent that would be accepted in AEW. “It’s not the same. Having that equity with WWE is wonderful, but like I have been talking, you have to be able to cut it and meet the standard that people have into their bell-to-bell contest. That number may increase, being that this opportunity that exists for the boys and girls to make more money, whether here [AEW] or there [WWE], for the boys and girls to have options. That number may increase.
“If they can play, they are going to play, but right now the recruitment was more about…I use the term ‘Tier 1.’ It was more about freshness, if that makes sense. I want to build a new class of guys. I have been there before where nobody has my back, nobody is my ally, and I don’t want to get into sour grapes over it but I know that it is one of the things that I look forward to the most once we really get into the schedule is the fact that these fresh faces…take Darby Allin for example who was just announced. I don’t want them to feel like they were set up and that was it. I want them to feel that they were set up to win and set up to succeed and then they went out there and hit it out of the park, so yeah.
“WWE at the moment I would say five percent at the current makeup, and that may increase. But right now there are a lot of faces you have never seen, and a lot of people you would be surprised once you do see them.”
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Joey Ryan Teases Signing With WWE And Announces Farewell To Indies
Joey Ryan wrote on Twitter that his time on the independent circuit is coming to an end. Ryan even has a new “Farewell” tour shirt available at Pro Wrestling Tees.
As previously reported, WWE had talks with Joey Ryan last week to work in their developmental system after they found out he was free from his Lucha Underground contract. In the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer noted that WWE’s offer was “nothing special” and wouldn’t be for the main roster. It is more of a case of signing him so that he wouldn’t be available for other promotions.
In The Wrestling Observer Newsletter last week, it was reported that WWE had asked Ryan to move to Orlando to wrestle in NXT for a few years before transitioning into a coaching position.
Ryan had been expected to sign with AEW, as he was a big part of All In last September and he has been regularly featured in the Being The Elite series. In his tweet, Ryan used #RAW, which could always be to swerve fans. Ryan also posted his schedule on the indies this month, which consists of 16 dates.
Ryan had a WWE tryout back in 2013. After the tryout, Ryan, who is 39 years old now, told Wrestling Inc. that the only feedback he received was that he was too old.
“I mean, it was what it was,” Ryan told us in 2013. “I don’t even know how to really describe it because it didn’t have a whole lot to even do with professional wrestling. It was more just conditioning and they focused very little on professional wrestling and very little of the drills they ran that had to do with professional wrestling. We did hours and hours of rolls and cardio and then like a minute on promos. So it was like, really different than I thought it was because I thought they’d want to focus more on seeing everyone’s acting abilities or everyone’s personalities, but they really didn’t. It was more like, let’s just have a look at everybody and see what we like. I don’t even know if there was any kind of measuring stick to be like, well if he does this well or they do this well then we’re going to have our interest in them.
“It was more kind of just them having a look at everybody and just getting everybody in one room and making their decisions based on what they personally liked or not. My only feedback from them really was that they feel like I’m too, which was kind of confusing to me, they feel like I’m too old and experienced to be in developmental. I’m in my 30s now, but my age and experience didn’t change from when they invited me to the camp, so I didn’t really understand that. To them, they’re in control of how they do their system. So that was my feedback. They just didn’t feel like it was the right time in my life to be in developmental. They’re not bringing anybody straight onto TV at the moment because they’ve got a full roster themselves. So it was what it was.”
You can check out Ryan’s tweets below:
https://twitter.com/JoeyRyanOnline/status/1123010635216736258
https://twitter.com/JoeyRyanOnline/status/1122929803638624257
Source: Wrestling Inc.
More Lucha Underground Stars Reportedly Seek Legal Help To Obtain Releases
Lucha Underground may have recently settled a class action lawsuit with some of their wrestlers, but it sounds like they could be heading back to court soon with more.
Lucha Central reports Matanza Cueto (ROH star Jeff Cobb), Famous B and XO Lishus (AEW’s Sonny Kiss) have all sought legal representation in order to get their releases from Lucha Underground.
Cobb is the most surprising name on the list, as it was assumed he was released from the company after Season 4 when his character was killed off. Lucha Central claims that despite Jeff signing a contract with ROH, his previous employer has tried to block him from working there because they insist he’s still under contract.
The site also suggests Willie Mack could soon be seeking representation as well due to speculation over his LU contract status being the reason for his NWA National title loss over the weekend.
As we previously reported … El Hijo del Fantasma, Ivelisse, Joey Ryan and Kobra Moon were also recently let out of their LU contracts after banding together in a class-action lawsuit.
Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet
Brian Cage Talks Injury At Impact Rebellion, If He’ll Be Out Of Action
Impact Wrestling announced after last night’s Rebellion PPV the new Impact World Champion Brian Cage was rushed to the emergency room after sustaining an injury during his match against Johnny Impact. Earlier today, Cage joined Busted Open to give an update after taking a spanish fly from the ramp down to the floor.
“Right when we hit, I’m rolling and the pain shoots down through my leg,” Cage said. “It’s a feeling I’ve never had before in my life. I’m instantly thinking, ‘ruptured disc or whatever. My back is f—ed, I’m going to have to have surgery or something.’ Then I’m thinking, ‘Maybe it’ll go away,’ and just trying to enter the ring after that moment, I’m bleeding and what not.
“Rolling into the ring, turning my hip over hip and trying to get up, I felt like there was no strength there and the pain shot down my leg again, and I’m like ‘crap.’ But it felt almost a little bit better, so maybe it will subside here in a second, like a flash thing. Then I think was in the corner and I evaded Johnny, and there was no movement, like, I couldn’t. I felt so slow and robotic in my mannerisms and movement because of the pain.”
Cage then said he shouldn’t be out of action for long as he was diagnosed with severe inflammation and a bone bruise. At worst, a small fracture, but there’s not much he can do for that aside from rest.
“Yeah it doesn’t look like I’m going to be out,” Cage said. “[The Doctor] goes, ‘I think you’re going to be fine, you have severe inflammation and a bone bruise, there could be a small fracture there. I would like to rule that out, however, if there is a fracture, I don’t seeing it being any major fracture. Even then, you can’t do much more for that, just err on the side of caution.'”
You can listen to the full clip below.
Sources: Wrestling Inc. and Busted Open Radio
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