Category: TNA

AEW Planning Meeting Involving CM Punk, Chris Jericho & Others

AEW President Tony Khan is reportedly planning to have a meeting with Chris Jericho, FTR, and CM Punk soon. 

Dave Meltzer reported the news on today’s episode of Wrestling Observer Radio. There will also be others in the meeting, with the hope that the meeting can resolve the issues among them.

Meltzer brought up that there are still backstage issues with a lot of talent and Punk for his rant at the All Out media scrum and backstage brawl with The Elite. 

As previously reported, AEW is tentatively planning for Punk to make his return on the June 21 edition of Dynamite.

Source: eWrestlingNews

Update On CM Punk’s Potential Return To AEW, Return Reportedly Involves Saturday TV Show, Split Roster

After months of speculation on the status of one of wrestling’s biggest stars, it now seems as though CM Punk will be returning to AEW. Fightful Select reports that there are tentative plans within AEW to bring Punk back at or around the June 21 edition of “AEW Dynamite,” which will take place in Chicago. Punk’s return may also be announced ahead of time, possibly at the Warner upfront in May.

While Punk is reportedly hoping to work with Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks, Fightful Select has gotten no indication that The Elite are interested, and no word of communication between them and Punk. The report does claim that at some point there was a meeting planned between Punk and Chris Jericho. Jericho was one of the subjects of an acidic rant on Instagram from Punk, calling the former AEW Champion “a liar and a stooge.” Punk also targeted Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer and Jon Moxley as well in the tirade.

Punk has not been seen in AEW since September 2022, when he launched into a vitriolic promo against Colt Cabana, Hangman Page, The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, Tony Khan, and many of his co-workers at a press conference following All Out. Punk’s words led to an altercation in his locker room involving Punk, Omega, The Bucks, Ace Steel, members of the AEW talent relations staff, and Punk’s dog Larry, which was witnessed by AEW Chief Counsel Megha Parekh. The fallout from this turned Punk into a divisive figure in the wrestling business. AEW World Tag Team Champion Dax Harwood has been lobbying for Punk to return in time to wrestle at AEW’s upcoming All In event in Wembley Stadium.

A report suggests that Punk may find himself on AEW’s third television show that is allegedly slated to launch later this summer.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Punk’s return will involve him starring on AEW’s new Saturday night show. Internal discussions were revealed to be leaning toward a June debut for the additional two-hour show, but as of now, the only live and televised Saturday taping has been announced for July 8 in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Regardless of when the third show officially begins, Punk seems poised to be a focal figure of the program, as AEW aims to offer the same star power as their flagship show “Dynamite.”

WON also reports that with Punk as the star, the overall roster would split to a “large degree” for the Saturday show in an attempt to “ease the dressing room problems” and keep certain talent separated. The exact makeup of the expected roster for the third show was not identified. While the third show appears to be headed toward a roster split, pay-per-views or special events like All In at Wembley Stadium will continue to be “all hands on deck.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Impact Wrestling Rebellion 4/16/2023 (Card)

IMPACT Wrestling presents Rebellion 2023 live on Sunday, April 16th. Several high-stakes matchups will take place including a Hardcore War, an Ultimate X match, and a Last Rites match. Several major championship matches will take place including high-stakes matchups for the IMPACT World Championship and the IMPACT Knockouts Championship. The main card will begin at 8 pm Eastern time with a pre-show starting at 7:30 pm Eastern. The pre-show will air for free on the IMPACT YouTube channel and the main card will air on FITE TV. Let’s see what IMPACT has in store for us.

CARD

  • IMPACT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: KUSHIDA vs. Steve Maclin
  • IMPACT KNOCKOUTS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: Jordynne Grace vs. Deonna Purrazzo
  • IMPACT X DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP 3-WAY ELIMINATION MATCH: Trey Miguel (c) vs. Mike Bailey vs. Jonathan Gresham
  • IMPACT WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP ULTIMATE X MATCH: Bullet Club (Chris Bey & Ace Austin) (c) vs. Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley)
  • HARDCORE WAR: Team Bully (Bully Ray, Moose, Brian Myers, Kenny King & Masha Slamovich) vs. Team Dreamer (Tommy Dreamer, Frankie Kazarian, Yuya Uemura, Bhupinder Gujjar & Killer Kelly)
  • LAST RITES MATCH: Eddie Edwards vs. PCO
  • The Design (Deaner, Angels, Kon &/or Callihan) vs. Santino Marella, Joe Hendry & Dirty Dango
  • [Countdown to Rebellion Pre-show] IMPACT KNOCKOUTS WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP: The Coven (Taylor Wilde & KiLynn King) (c) vs. Death Dollz (Rosemary & Jessicka)
  • [Countdown to Rebellion Pre-show]
    Heath & Rhino vs. Champagne Singh & Shera

AEW Rampage Preview 4/14/2023

 Tonight’s AEW Rampage is scheduled to begin at 9:30 pm ET, or following the NBA Playoffs.

  • IWGP Tag Team Championship: Aussie Open (c) vs. Best Friends
  • Jay Lethal, Jeff Jarrett, Mark Briscoe and Satnum Singh vs. Manscout Jake Manning and The Spanish Announce Project
  • Taya Valkyrie vs. Emi Sakura
  • “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry vs. Shawn Spears
  • Tony Schiavone interviews FTR

Eddie Kingston Reveals He Has A Hernia, Likely Will Need Surgery

During a promo on Thursday’s Ring of Honor TV, Eddie Kingston Kingston revealed he wrestled against Claudio Castagnoli at the March 31 ROH Supercard of Honor with a hernia. Kingston said he likely will require surgery. He also noted that he has been dealing with the hernia since last September. He was unsuccessful in capturing the ROH World Championship.

He was originally scheduled to square off against Gabriel Kidd at this Sunday’s NJPW Collision PPV in Philadelphia, but was pulled off the event due to injury and replaced by Orange Cassidy. This match will now be for the AEW International Title, currently held by Cassidy.

Source: WrestleView

Mickie James Relinquishes Impact Knockouts Title

Mickie James has relinquished the Impact Wrestling Knockouts Championship.

During this week’s episode of IMPACT! on AXS TV, Mickie James was shown in the middle of a ring inside an empty arena. She revealed that she hasn’t been cleared to compete at Rebellion and wants to do what’s right for the business and the locker room. Before leaving her title and hat in the middle of the ring, an emotional James told Deonna Purrazzo and Jordynne Grace that it was their time now.

Grace vs. Purrazzo will now face off at Sunday night’s Impact Wrestling Rebellion pay-per-view event for the vacant championship.

Source: eWrestlingNews

Backstage Update On Jeff Hardy’s AEW Return

Latest on Jeff Hardy following his AEW return on Wednesday’s Dynamite.

Jeff Hardy is back on AEW television after the best part of year, having mounted a comeback on this Wednesday’s episode of Dynamite – but don’t expect the veteran to be wrestling anytime soon.

Fightful Select reports that despite his pro wrestling re-emergence, Jeff is still recuperating from a recent surgery. Thus, plans that don’t involve the 45-year-old competing have been put together for the next few weeks.

Jeff’s Dynamite appearance was his first since June 2022. The comeback angle saw him save brother Matt, HOOK, and Isiah Kassidy from The Firm, who were beating the babyfaces down. Hardy got physical in the segment, hitting a Swanton Bomb on Lee Moriarty to complete the save.

There is currently no word on the nature of Hardy’s physical situation, or how long his condition will prevent him from wrestling.

Hardy’s AEW absence came following his arrest in Volusia County, Florida last June. Facing charges of driving with a suspended license, violating restrictions placed on his license, and felony DUI, Jeff was ultimately sentenced to 38 days in prison (which he’d already served), a two-year probationary period, a 10-year suspension of his license, and more.

AEW founder Tony Khan stated, at the time, that Jeff would only be allowed to return to the company upon completing an alcohol treatment program and maintaining his sobriety.

Source: WhatCulture

Tony Schiavone Confirms New AEW Signing – 18-Year-Old Billie Starkz

18-year-old wrestling prodigy Billie Starkz has been signed by All Elite Wrestling, says veteran announcer Tony Schiavone.

Schiavone, who works as a broadcaster, producer, and special advisor in AEW, claimed that the promotion had signed Starkz during a recent episode of his What Happened When podcast with Conrad Thompson. This came as the duo were talking about Nick Wayne, whom AEW signed when he was 16 years old – and is now set to debut on Dynamite after turning 18 in July.

Starkz has wrestled in Tony Khan’s network of promotions several times since December 2022, when she served as an AEW Dark opponent for Dr. Britt Baker DMD. Most recently, Billie fell in a TBS Championship challenge against Jade Cargill, with the bout airing on the 7 April Battle Of The Belts VI special.

Billie is also 1-1 on ROH on HonorClub, facing Trish Adora and Miranda Alize at the brand’s February tapings.

A wrestler since 2018 despite her youth, Starks already has 365 documented matches on her CAGEMATCH profile. Billie has been a staple on the American independent scene for several years now, competing for such promotions as GCW, BLP, and ACTION while going through high school.

Source: WhatCulture

Vickie Guerrero Releases Legal Letter Regarding Allegations Made By Her Daughter

The Guerrero family issues continue to spill out in public.

As noted, Eddie and Vickie Guerrero’s youngest daughter Sherilyn accused Vickie’s current husband, Kris Benson, of sexually assaulting her during a cruise in early 2020 in a TikTok video.

Shaul, Sherilyn’s sister, also claimed that the sexual assault occurred.

On Wednesday, Vickie released the following legal letter via her official Instagram page.

April 12, 2023

Kris and Vickie Benson Respond to Sherilyn Guerrero’s Recent Allegations

Kris and Vickie Benson vehemently deny Sherilyn Guerrero’s recent allegations of sexual assault and abandonment. Ms. Guerrero’s unsubstantiated accusations have caused the Bensons to suffer public ridicule, scorn, derision, and humiliation. Kris and Vickie fully appreciate the seriousness of allegations of this nature and the need for public support of sexual assault survivors; however, they ask that you withhold final judgment on this matter until they have an opportunity to bring Ms. Guerrero and her claims into a court of law where judgment is based on facts and merit.

Contact

Reese Campbell
Attorney for Kris and Vicki Benson
EaDo Law, PLLC
Houston, Texas (713) 424-6653

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cq857S4PCTI/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=808a4830-be6b-48be-aa2a-e6efa760d8bb

Source: rajah.com

FTR Suggested They Will Retire Upon Expiration Of Latest AEW Contract

On the latest episode of the “FTR with Dax” podcast, Dax Harwood disclosed that he and Cash Wheeler had signed new deals with All Elite Wrestling. According to Wrestling Observer, the reigning AEW World Tag Team Champions revealed that they had inked new four-year contracts with Tony Khan’s promotion during an in-ring interview with Tony Schiavone that was taped last night following “AEW Dynamite” for this Friday’s episode of “AEW Rampage.” Additionally, FTR suggested that they would retire in four years once their new deals had expired.

With their initial contracts with AEW expiring this month, there had been a lot of speculation surrounding the futures of Harwood and Wheeler, with the former recently indicating that FTR had decided on their next move without disclosing any specific details. While it had been suggested that FTR could be heading back to WWE, Harwood pointed out on the “FTR with Dax” podcast that it was “the best course of action” that he and Wheeler stayed with AEW. 

Harwood and Wheeler made their debuts for AEW in May 2020 after being granted their releases from WWE the previous month; they would officially sign with the promotion two months later after initially working without contracts. FTR captured the AEW World Tag Team Championship from “Hangman” Adam Page and Kenny Omega at the All Out pay-per-view four months after debuting for the organization. They would also go on to win tag team gold in Ring of Honor, Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide, and New Japan Pro-Wrestling. After being absent from AEW programming earlier this year, FTR returned at March’s Revolution event and later captured the AEW World Tag Team Championship for a second time in a Titles vs. Careers match against Austin and Colten Gunn on the April 5 episode of “Dynamite.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.