Category: TNA

Ivelisse Comments On Not Getting To Wrestle On Impact Events, Possible Reason Why

Lucha Underground and indie wrestling star, Ivelisse, has been using Twitter as of late to express her frustration with her contracted employer. The former two-time Trios Champion previously said that she has asked for her release from the company but continues to be denied, even claiming that she’s being “held hostage” by LU.

In Ivelisse’s most recent tweet of the situation, she questions why she is unable to work for Impact Wrestling if the two companies have been producing joint projects together. Casey Michael, owner of Squared Circle Sirens responded to Ivelisse’s tweet, calling her out for a previous statement she made about Tessa Blanchard.

Blanchard would actually add herself to the mix of messages, explaining to readers that Ivelisse once implied that a part of Blanchard’s success is her father’s doing.

Ivelisse began by writing, “Since the collaboration between brands, not once included in any of these joint projects, and when they did contact me out of the blue for a program, they canceled the night before I flew out for no reason whatsoever. Soooo uummmm, again, let me GO.”

Casey would then respond with: “Maybe it’s cause you s–t talked Tessa big time on an IG comment. I fail to see how everyone else on LU can work anywhere but they are “holding” Ivelisse.”

Lastly, Tessa would add: “Her exact words to me were “I never had a family name, I had to work for everything I have from the streets.”

I have dealt with people like that since I started and I am much stronger than those people.”

You can read the full tweets below:

https://twitter.com/Tess_Blanchard/status/1109871514948636672

Another Lucha Underground star, King Cuerno (aka El Hijo del Fantasma), previously took the time to file documents in Los Angeles against the El Rey Network and Lucha Underground’s production Baba-G Productions. In it, Cuerno’s lawyers claimed that LU’s contracts “illegally restricting” wrestlers from finding work in wrestling is in violation of California law.

Documents sent to Pro Wrestling Sheet detailed how wrestlers under contract make money based on the shows they appear on, and it doesn’t add up to much. You can see that statement below:

By contrast, Lucha Underground broadcasts between 22 and 40 television episodes per year, with no live events like the other described wrestling promotions. If a wrestler appears on a show, it is usually just a couple. The payment per episode is usually less than $1,000.
The current contract that wrestlers signed with Lucha Underground require that wrestlers not perform services for other wrestling companies anywhere in the world without Defendants permission, but does not require Defendants to use Plaintiffs in their wrestling-theme television show.While Plaintiffs are obligated to restrict their trade under the contract (which is illegal), Defendants are not required to use or pay Plaintiffs. Defendants have the option to use Plaintiffs, and IF Defendants use Plaintiffs, Defendants will pay Plaintiffs. IF Defendants chose not to use Plaintiffs, Plaintiffs are prohibited for working for years, are not paid, but still under the restrictive contract until it expires.

Most wrestlers under a Lucha Underground contract make less than $4,000 a year. Wrestlers working for other wrestling promotions make a living wage, usually starting around $50,000 a year and entering either 6 or 7 figures.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

PAC No Longer Appearing At Upcoming WrestleCon Due To Visa Issues

WrestleCon has announced PAC will no longer be appearing at their WrestleMania weekend event due to visa issues.

The company released a statement saying:

We regret to inform you that PAC will not be at WrestleCon. We worked diligently over the past several months with our attorneys to ensure that he successfully received a Visa to travel into the United States. Our Visa application was filed in a timely manner, all fees were paid to attorneys, and all required information was disclosed to government officials. Our attorneys were confident there would be no issue and based on their experience and expectation, we advertised PAC on the assumption there would be no problem obtaining a Visa. However, after exhausting all efforts, we were unable to provide PAC the appropriate Visa to travel and work in the United States. We understand and share your disappointment of this unanticipated outcome, as does PAC.

Further, we would like to clarify that in no way will this unfortunate incident have any impact on his future with AEW. This issue is isolated to WrestleCon only.

According to WrestleCon, refunds will be issued to everyone who purchased photo ops and autographs with PAC. They’ll also be changing all the advertisements so he’s no longer shown.

Jeff Jarrett Asks For Extension In Lawsuit Against Anthem

PWInsider reports that Jeff Jarrett and his legal team have filed a motion asking for an extension that will give them until April 12 to submit an update on where things stand with the lawsuit Jarrett and Global Wrestling Entertainment have filed against Impact Wrestling’s parent company Anthem. Anthem’s attorneys have agreed to the request, which is due to Jarrett’s travel schedule, responsibilities his legal team has unrelated to the suit and international travel required from Anthem’s attorneys. All of the issues prevent all of the parties from meeting for a conference. They are currently figuring out a time to meet.

Jarrett and GWE are suing Anthem and Impact for Anthem allegedly violating state and federal trademark infringements in relation to GWE and violating Jarrett’s exclusive property rights to his own name, photograph, and other likeness. Jarrett says that Anthem prevented him from filing copyrights for the Amped footage, so he had to provide footage in order to do so and Impact/Anthem deleted all of the master recordings. Anthem admitted that they had had the footage in their possession and deleted all of it in the “normal course of business” so that they could “free up storage space.”

Source: 411Mania

Impact Wrestling Preview 3/22/19

Scheduled for this weeks Impact airing on Pursuit, Twitch and FightNet.

* Eddie Edwards & Eli Drake vs. Fallah Bahh & KM

* Johnny Impact to explain why

* Moose vs. Trey

* X-Division Championship: (C) Rich Swann vs. Sami Callihan

* Willie Mack vs. Ethan Page

* Ace Austin in action

* Allie’s last appearance on Impact

Backstage News On Television Deal For AEW, Streaming Double Or Nothing

It looks as though we’ll be waiting later rather than sooner for a confirmed television deal, as All Elite Wrestling is reportedly in no rush to sign any one contract, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Meltzer noted that talks for a TV deal are “smooth” and nothing has fallen apart.

The belief is that holding out will strategically benefit AEW, especially considering the new deal between UFC and ESPN, and the proven success of the DAZN streaming service. These examples of synchronization between sports promotions and streaming services, along with rights fees for sports continuing to rise, are apparently contributing to the hold up from AEW. Nevertheless, Meltzer notes that decision time will be coming at a certain point, and we will know more then.

Regarding AEW’s upcoming Double Or Nothing show, Meltzer noted that he is certain that there will be a streaming component involved so that people can watch along at home, as well as the traditional option of watching on pay-per-view. There are reportedly several options. The higher ups in AEW have the task of selling their product to different streaming companies based off of the exceptional ticket sales they’ve seen and the potential TV deals that are on the table.

In a recent interview with Wrestling Inc.’s  WINCLY Podcast, AEW Executive Vice President Cody Rhodes mentioned that a major TV deal remains an important aspect of AEW’s ongoing exposure. Rhodes expound only a bit further, claiming that their potential deal could create a “massive shift in the pro wrestling industry”.

“I can’t talk about it but I know that I was quoted as saying – not by you guys – that, ‘A TV deal was not important.’ And I think that in the context I was speaking, I was talking about how important social media and do-it-yourself brands are compared to the traditional TV median,” Rhodes explained. “But I also – let’s be serious, major TV is a huge thing, and it would be a massive shift in the pro wrestling industry. It would be a change-the-world-like move. But I can’t talk about any pending TV deals.

“A lot of the information that’s out there is very accurate about what we’re seeking to do and how frequently we’re seeking to do it,” Rhodes continued on. “But I don’t want to discourage any future partners. I can say that people have been really calculated about how we roll out announcements. We want to be proper. We can’t just stand on the podium in Jacksonville and say, ‘Hey, here’s the entire business model, here’s all of our plans, here’s x-amount of money.’ We can’t do that. I know the business of the business is very entertaining but I think if people put their trust in us like they have, we won’t let them down.”

AEW presents Double or Nothing on May 25th from the MGM Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Jim Ross Confirms He’s In Talks With AEW

Just weeks after announcing he’d soon be parting ways with WWE, wrestling legend Jim Ross has confirmed he’s in talks with All Elite Wrestling.

“We’re talking. We’re talking. I just haven’t signed anything yet,” JR said during an interview on Thursday with ESPN’s Outside The Lines. “My people and their people are doing their thing.”

As we previously reported, the WWE Hall of Famer sounded confident that he wouldn’t be out of work for long when he announced his WWE departure on an episode of his podcast.

Check out the clip of JR confirming the AEW talks below.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

AEW Signs Former Impact Knockouts Champion Allie, News On Title Belt Design

On the latest Road to Double or Nothing it was announced former Impact Knockouts Champion Allie has signed with AEW. The above video features Allie meeting with Brandi Rhodes and getting ideas for her new wrestling gear with former WWE seamstress, Sandra Gray.

Allie spoke about how she first got into wrestling and how she’s looking forward to working with All Elite Wrestling.

“Going forward, I really want to make my mark here at AEW,” Allie said. “I feel like even though I’ve had those opportunities, I feel like now I really want to show people what I can do and I don’t know if I had that chance before.”

Allie originally appeared in Impact back in 2013 and signed a contract with them in 2016. Allie has already finished up with Impact Wrestling, according to PWInsider. Allie’s last appearance will air on tomorrow’s episode of Impact. The report stated she knew back in January the company wouldn’t be renewing her deal as they look to refresh the roster. Allie was said to be well liked and ended up keeping the news mostly to herself, so when yesterday’s signing broke that would be when many in Impact were made aware of her exit.

The video below also showed Brandi talking about the design for a new AEW championship title. She noted it will be as large as the Mid-South North American Championship. They are looking to make it unique to AEW, but the size will be in the same ballpark, below is a photo of what the Mid-South North American Championship looked like.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Kenny Omega Appears At DDT Event

AEW brought in DDT Pro-Wrestling Star, Michael Nakazawa, who was joined by Kenny Omega (via video) at the most recent DDT event. Omega wanted to let the crowd know AEW is bringing in Nakazawa, but he will still be appearing for DDT. Omega also teased maybe he’ll show back up in his old stomping grounds in the future.

https://twitter.com/ddtuniverse/status/1108711047160946688

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Cody Rhodes Filed For New Trademarks

Earlier this week, Cody Rhodes filed for the following trademarks: “Prince of Wrestling,” “Battlebowl,” “Bash at the Beach,” and “Bunkhouse Stampede,” according to PWInsider. Bunkhouse Stampede (no holds barred steel cage battle royal) and Battlebowl (wrestlers who would not typically team with one another are randomly selected with the winners going to a final battle royal) were invented by Cody’s father, Dusty Rhodes.

In regards to Bash at the Beach (PPV originating in WCW in the early 90s), Cody tweeted out.

Matt Jackson responded to Cody:

https://twitter.com/MattJackson13/status/1108450898034851840

Source: Wrestling Inc.

MLW CEO Court Bauer Discusses AEW & States That MLW Talent Can Work Anywhere But WWE

MLW CEO Court Bauer was a guest on Wrestling Inc’s WINCLY podcast. During the interview, he addressed a number of topics, including MLW’s relationship with other companies.

On Wrestlers Working Elsewhere: “We signed MJF and Lucha Bros… we’ve had these guys for a while so there’s a mutual coolness there,” Bauer said. “There’s not a problem. We don’t block anyone from working anywhere. We only have one company where they’re prohibited working for which is WWE.”By doing that, if they end up on national TV somewhere – that’s great exposure. Now people are familiar with you elsewhere and also here.”

On AEW Entering The Mix: “I am very interested in the seeing the direction AEW goes. My philosophy is tide rises all ships. As long as your business is running at a high level and clicking with your fan base, you’re gonna do fine and the fans will support it. The fans will go beyond just one product. If AEW does well…if MLW does well, then that’s great for fans and the talent. It’s great for anyone. For every success story in wrestling, that helps validate it to a larger audience. To licensing people. To TV people. To potential investors….You don’t want a landscape where just one or two companies are successful – that doesn’t indicate a healthy industry.”

On AEW/MLW Wrestlers Leaving To Join AEW Full-Time: “We have very healthy and open lines of communication with [AEW] and I don’t anticipate it being an issue…. Whenever you can find a way to work together and take the ego out of the equation, you find that life is easier and business is better. The business problem people have in wrestling is ego…. Just get over it. It’s important to stay humble but also to be strategic and see the bigger picture.”