Category: TNA

AEW Dynamite Preview 5/24/2023

AEW Dynamite will air live tonight on TBS and emanate from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

  • ROH World Tag Team Championship: The Lucha Bros (c’s) vs. Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta
  • AEW International Championship: Orange Cassidy (c) vs. Kyle Fletcher
  • House of Black World Trios Championship Open Challenge: House of Black (c’s) vs. Metalik, AR Fox, and Blake Christian
  • Tony Khan will announce the first location of AEW Collision
  • Taya Valkyrie vs. Lady Frost
  • Adam Cole and Chris Jericho contract signing for their unsanctioned match at Double or Nothing
  • We’ll hear from FTR
  • We’ll hear from Ricky Starks
  • Four Pillars promos with World Champion MJF, Sammy Guevara, Jack Perry, and Darby Allin

Big Backstage Update On CM Punk & AEW

We have some new updates pertaining to the ongoing situation between CM Punk and All Elite Wrestling.

In recent months, both AEW and CM Punk have been in talks about continuing to work together. While a verbal agreement had reportedly been reached, there was an issue that arose last week over the fact that while Ace Steel would be able to work for AEW again, he would not be allowed to attend the live TV tapings for Collision. This didn’t sit well with CM Punk.

According to a report from Fightful Select, AEW and CM Punk have continued their talks over the past week. The conversations were said to have been “productive” and the feeling is that he’ll be appearing on AEW Collision on June 17.

While there were rumors that CM Punk was recently served with legal papers, it has been confirmed that several documents were sent to Punk to be signed over the last week. The legal papers reportedly involve certain subjects, disparagement clauses, and to make sure that Punk makes all of his scheduled TV dates. While not confirmed, it doesn’t appear the papers were legal “threats.” They simply protect AEW in the event that any issues come up moving forward.

As far as the location for the debut episode of AEW Collision is concerned, the United Center in Chicago, IL was still being discussed as of last week. It was noted that while Daily’s Place has been discussed as a backup location, there are other places besides the United Center and Daily’s Place being talked about.

As of this writing, the talent who will be working the debut episode of AEW Collision have not been given their travel itineraries.

Source: eWn

Cassie Lee (Peyton Royce) Returning To The Ring With World Series Wrestling

Cassie Lee – former WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Peyton Royce – will be returning to the ring later this year. Australia’s World Series Wrestling promotion has confirmed that Lee will be a part of their Full Throttle shows in Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, and Sydney in October. The Australian-born wrestler seemingly revealed on social media that she would be wrestling on the tour. She wrote, “Let’s grapple! @WSWWrestlingAUS.” Lee posted those words along with a GIF saying “I’m back in the game.” 

Lee’s most recent match came in April 2022 on Impact Wrestling’s Countdown to Rebellion show, where she and former IIconics teammate Jessie McKay — formerly Billie Kay in WWE — unsuccessfully challenged The Influence’s Tenille Dashwood and Madison Rayne for the Impact Knockouts Tag Team Championship. A few days after that title clash, Lee and Kay announced that they would be stepping away from the ring. Later that summer, Lee and AEW’s Shawn Spears – real name Ronnie William Arneill — revealed that they were expecting their first child. The married couple welcomed their son Austin Jay Arneill to the world earlier this year. 

Lee began her pro wrestling career in February 2009. She signed for WWE in April 2015 following a tryout in Australia. Lee debuted as Royce on “WWE NXT” later that year before moving to the main roster with IIconics partner Kay in April 2018. The duo went on to capture the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship at WrestleMania 35 in a Fatal Four-Way match. Lee and Kay joined Impact Wrestling a few months after being released from their WWE contracts in April 2021. The pair departed Impact the following year after announcing their decision to step away from the ring indefinitely. 

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Andrade El Idolo Set To Make In-Ring Return Soon

Andrade El Idolo is on his way back, just in time for the launch of AEW Collision on June 17.

Andrade has been out of action since September due to torn pec that he had surgery for in November. Also around this time, he was involved in a backstage fight with Sammy Guevara, leading to them sending him sent home. 

Andrade is slated to make his in-ring return soon. According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, Andrade is returning to the ring two days before Collision premieres for a show in Mexico.

Source: eWn

AEW Struggling To Sell Tickets For Collision

AEW Collision will premiere on June 17 on TNT as a two-hour program. AEW President Tony Khan will announce the location of the first episode this Wednesday on Dynamite. 

It was believed to be in Chicago at the United Center, but if they don’t work things out with CM Punk for him to return on the show, they will go to Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, FL. 

Dave Meltzer noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that AEW is off to a rough start with selling tickets to the Collision shows as none of them have sold out and is in a challenging situation with these being the first events of a show that is about to launch. 

Here is AEW’s updated touring schedule: 

AEW Dynamite/Rampage: May 24 – MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada

AEW Double or Nothing: May 28 – T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada

AEW Dynamite/Rampage: May 31 – Viejas Arena in San Diego, CA

AEW House Rules: Friday, June 2 – Cadence Bank Arena in Tupelo, Mississippi 

AEW Dynamite/Rampage: May 24 – MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada

AEW Double or Nothing: May 28 – T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada

AEW Dynamite/Rampage: May 31 – Viejas Arena in San Diego, CA

AEW House Rules: Friday, June 2 – Cadence Bank Arena in Tupelo, Mississippi 

AEW House Rules: Saturday, June 3 – Von Braun Center Propst Arena in Huntsville, Alabama 

AEW Dynamite/Rampage: Wednesday, June 7 – Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs, CO

AEW Dynamite/Rampage: Wednesday, June 14 -Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.

AEW Collision: Saturday, June 17 – TBD

AEW Dynamite/Rampage: Wednesday, June 21 – Wintrust Arena in Chicago, IL

AEW Collision: Saturday, June 24 – Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

AEW Forbidden Door: Sunday, June 25 – Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

AEW Dynamite/Rampage: Wednesday, June 28 – FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton, Ontario

AEW Collision: Thursday, June 29 – FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

AEW Dynamite/Rampage: Wednesday, July 5 – Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta

AEW Collision: Saturday, July 8 – Brandt Centre in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada

AEW Dynamite: Wednesday, July 12 – SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

AEW Collision: Saturday, July 15 – Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada

AEW Dynamite/Rampage: Wednesday, July 19 – TD Garden in Boston, MA

AEW Collision: Saturday, July 22 – Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey

AEW All In PPV: Sunday, August 27 – London, England at the Wembley Stadium

Source: eWn

AEW Fight Forever Set For June 27 Release, Official Announcement Expected Next Week

After more than a few delays, the long wait for AEW’s first console video game — AEW Fight Forever — is nearing its end. According to Fightful Select, the game is set for a June 27 release date — two days after the cross-promotional Forbidden Door pay-per-view with NJPW; the official announcement is expected in the next week. 

This morning, GameRanx had flagged that French retailer Just For Games had switched the release day to June 27, and now it looks like that was not in error. It had become clear earlier in the week that the release was imminent when the Xbox store started listing the game’s achievement trophies and allowed players to start the pre-installation process. Now we know why.

AEW announced the formation of AEW Games and the console game project in November 2020. Additionally, the key details offered then were that longtime wrestling game developer Yuke’s would be involved, something along the lines of 2000’s WWF No Mercy game was the target, and No Mercy director Hideyuki “Geta” Iwashita was on-board in some capacity.

A preview version of the game was available to play at industry trade shows like GamesCom last summer and retailers started taking pre-orders for the game, but no release date was ever claimed on the calendar. 

Source: Wrestling Inc.

The First AEW Collision Taping Location Will Depend On CM Punk’s Status

AEW Collision will be premiering on June 17 on the TNT Network.

While AEW President Tony Khan announced five upcoming TV taping locations for the new show on last week’s episode of Dynamite, he failed to mention the venue and location for the debut episode on June 17th. That announcement will be coming next week instead.

While the original plan was to hold the taping at the United Center in Chicago, IL, it’s all going to depend on whether the company can agree to terms with CM Punk on a return. If a deal can’t be reached, there is talk of having the first episode of the show airing elsewhere. The company would likely run a smaller venue and it may not be in the Chicago market. This is due to some concern that the fans would “hijack” the show as they’d expect CM Punk to show up whether he’s advertised or not.

For those wondering, Punk and AEW have both been in contact since he was pulled from the Collision announcement. Those talks are ongoing and the hope is that something will be worked out soon.

Source: eWn

Impact Wrestling Announces Partnership With Swerve Sports

Impact Wrestling has a new partnership with Swerve Sports. The following was issued:

Swerve Sports Partners with Anthem Sports and Entertainment to Add Impact Wrestling and Invicta FC to its Line-up

Impact Wrestling will air at 9:00pm ET on “Wrestling Wednesdays” and Invicta FC will air at 9:00pm ET
on “Friday Night Fights” on the Swerve Sports channel.

Swerve Sports, a category-leading free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channel, announced today that it has licensed Impact Wrestling and Invicta FC (MMA) from Anthem Sports and Entertainment. In addition to being available on the Swerve Sports channel, Swerve’s growing video-on-demand library will also feature popular Impact programming like Impact in 60 and TNA Wrestling’s Greatest Matches.

Swerve Sports continues to add fresh and exciting competitions from innovative leagues around the globe including the most recently completed season of Strongman’s Champions League, the world’s premier strength competition. In addition, Swerve continues to grow its foundation of premium sports documentaries with quality features like Autobiography: Mike Tyson.

“We welcome the Swerve audience to both Impact and Invicta,” said Ariel Shnerer, VP of Business Development for Anthem. “We look forward to working with Swerve to extend our reach and build audience together.”

“Impact delivers premium pro wrestling matches and one-of-a-kind drama, so we could not be any more excited to be partnering with a leader in the space” said Dan Keston, Swerve TV’s Head of Content, parent company of Swerve Sports. “And with featured matches and PPVs from the largest, all-women’s MMA organization in Invicta FC, Swerve is able to continue to expand its combat sport space footprint in the best possible way.”

About Swerve TV, LLC

Founded in 2021 by digital media veterans Steve Shannon and Dan Keston, Swerve Sports is the first FAST channel focused on telling the stories behind the world’s most inspirational athletes. Swerve is available on Fubo, LG Channels, The Roku Channel, SLING TV, VIZIO, Xumo Play and more and is accessible in over 80% of US households.

Anthem, Impact Wrestling, and Invicta are registered trademarks of Anthem Sports and Entertainment, Inc. Trade names, trademarks and service marks of other companies appearing in this press release are the property of their respective holders.

AEW Rampage 5/19/2023

AEW Rampage tonight with a special start time of 6:30 PM ET. on TNT.

  • Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta) vs. Best Amigos (Bandido, Chuck Taylor & Trent Beretta)
  • TBS Champion Jade Cargill title defense open challenge
  • The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens & Max Caster) and Billy Gunn vs. Varsity Athletes (Tony Nese, Josh Woods & Ari Daivari)
  • Dustin Rhodes vs. Bishop Kaun
  • Jeff & Matt Hardy promo

Impact Wrestling Preview 5/18/2023

Tonight’s episode of Impact Wrestling on AXS TV is all-new.

Here are the matches that have been announced for the show:

* Trinity vs. KiLynn King
* Moose, Eddie Edwards & Frankie Kazarian vs. Alex Shelley, Jonathan Gresham & Yuya Uemura
* Trey Miguel vs. Laredo Kid
* Jason Hotch vs. Ace Austin
* Before the Impact: The Design (Deaner & Kon) vs. Johnny Swinger & Zicky Dice