Category: TNA

Tenille Dashwood Seems To Confirm She’s Done With Impact Wrestling, Possible WWE Return

Following recent speculation that Tenille Dashwood had parted ways with Impact Wrestling due to her profile being removed from the promotion’s official roster page, she seems to have all but officially confirmed it herself. Dashwood tweeted the definition of “free agent” earlier today to seemingly signal her departure. Mike Johnson of PW Insider has confirmed that the Australian wrestler’s contract expired and wasn’t renewed shortly after a loss to Masha Slamovich on AXS TV last month. 

After her time in WWE as Emma, Dashwood arrived in Impact in 2019 to challenge the Knockouts Champion Taya Valkyrie. While she didn’t capture gold as a singles competitor, she did find success in the women’s tag division when she formed The Influence alongside personal photographer Kaleb with a K and Impact legend Madison Rayne. At “Sacrifice” on March 5, Dashwood and Rayne defeated The Inspiration to become the Knockouts Tag Team Champions. They would reign atop the division until “Slammiversary,” when they lost the titles to the newly reunited Ragnarok, the team of Rosemary and Valkyrie.

While The Influence would add Gisele Shaw to the group, Dashwood’s exits marks the end of the original members’ time in Impact. Marking the end of his second run, Konley announced in April that he was leaving after two years. Then, after spending the better part of 14 years in the former TNA, Rayne joined All Elite Wrestling earlier this month as a coach in the women’s division. As for Dashwood, she has Wrestlefest appearances in the UK scheduled for September. Beyond that, it’s possible that she could follow her former partner to AEW, as she appeared in the inaugural AEW Women’s Casino Battle Royale. She could also head to Ring of Honor, as she did compete in the Women of Honor division in 2018-2019.

 There is growing speculation over Tenille Dashwood returning to WWE for the first time since 2017.

The former Emma confirmed her departure from Impact Wrestling over the weekend, tweeting the definition of “free agent” on her social media. The tweet came shortly after the promotion removed Dashwood from Impact Wrestling’s official roster page.

WWE Superstar Madcap Moss responded to the tweet with several rolling eyes emojis, hinting at Dashwood’s potential comeback to WWE. Earlier this month, Dashwood got the wrestling world buzzing by posting a photo of herself and Moss, confirming that they are seeing each other.

Ahead of her potential WWE return, Dashwood will be seen at several indie events in the United Kingdom next month for WrestleFest.  

Source: Wrestling Inc.

The Good Brothers’ Contract With Impact Wrestling Is Almost Up

The Good Brothers, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, have had an eventful run with Impact Wrestling, but it appears to be coming to an end.

Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson currently hold the Impact Wrestling Tag Team Championship but Fightful Select has reported (via Jeremy Thomas at 411mania) their contracts with the company may be just about up, set to expire at the end of this week.

The Good Brothers started their Impact Wrestling run in July 2020. They’ve had prominent placement in the tag team division that includes holding the Tag Team Championship, cumulatively, for about half their tenure, spread across three reigns. They found themselves in an especially featured spot during the period when Kenny Omega stepped through the Forbidden Door to simultaneously reign as AEW and Impact World Champion.

Omega revived his old partnership with Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson across both brands during this time. Of late, The Good Brothers factored into an issue between Honor No More and The Bullet Club, including a wild No Disqualification Match at the recent Emergence PPV.

The Good Brothers are presently two months into their third reign as Impact Wrestling Tag Team Champions. They have reportedly signed a contract extension to finish up with Impact for their August 26 and 27 TV taping dates in Dallas, where they will presumably drop the titles and tie up remaining loose ends with the company.

Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows established themselves as a top tier tag team in New Japan Pro Wrestling and are due to work dates there next month. After that, though, the pair will be free agents, and it will be interesting to see where they land next. There are some natural stories for Gallows and Anderson to continue in AEW with The Elite. Meanwhile, though their previous WWE run together was underwhelming, under Triple H’s creative and in a relatively thin tag team division, there’s reason to believe they’d enjoy better success if they were to return there. Time will tell what’s next for the talented tandem.

Source: TheSportster

AEW Rampage Preview 8/19/22

Tonight’s AEW Rampage continues at the West Virginia Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center, airing on TNT at 10/9C.

  • We Hear From ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli
  • Penelope Ford vs. Athena
  • AEW World Trios Championship Quarterfinal: Trustbusters (Parker Bordeaux, Slim J, and Ari Daivari) w/Sonny Kiss vs. Best Friends (Chuck Taylor, Trent Beretta, and Orange Cassidy)
  • FTW Championship: Hook (c) vs. Zack Clayton
  • AEW World Tag Team Championship: Swerve In Our Glory (Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland) (c) vs. Private Party (Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen)
https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1560676718565904384

Update On MJF’S AEW Status

The future of AEW star Maxwell Jacob Friedman — or MJF as he’s better known — has been up in the air for quite some time. The 26-year-old has been open about the possibility of jumping ship to WWE when his AEW contract expires in 2024, and his backstage issues in recent months have been well-documented.

MJF has been absent from AEW television since the episode of “Dynamite” that aired on June 1. His last appearance saw him take to the mic and air his grievances with Tony Khan for spending millions on ex-WWE superstars while leaving him in the lurch. The promo culminated with MJF begging Khan to fire him before calling him a “f***ing mark.” It’s been radio silence ever since.

However, it appears that MJF could be heading back to television in the near future, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. No specific date has been reported as of this writing, though it’s speculated that he could return in the coming weeks as AEW will soon be negotiating a new television deal with Warner Bros. Discovery, and the September TV ratings could be crucial in securing acceptable terms.

The report noted that AEW’s ratings have been down in recent times and the wrestling world has undergone significant changes following the retirement of Vince McMahon. WWE has a lot of momentum right now, so AEW needs “all hands on deck” as soon as possible.

Elsewhere, the report noted that MJF versus CM Punk could be on the cards when the former returns to action. Punk tried to confront MJF following the aforementioned shoot promo on June 1, potentially setting up another angle between them. However, given that CM Punk is reportedly unhappy in AEW at the moment, there is no telling what will happen.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

REPORT: There is “a ton of backstage drama” involving many top AEW stars

AEW World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk made headlines this week after he went off script and called out Hangman Adam Page on Wednesday’s episode of AEW Dynamite. Page was never planned for the segment to answer Punk’s challenge to a rematch.

As previously reported, there was a concern that Punk wouldn’t show up for the event. After his promo about Page, he shifted his focus to calling out Interim World Heavyweight Champion Jon Moxley.

In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that right now, there is “a ton of backstage drama involving many of the top guys that has gotten much worse in recent weeks.”

Meltzer suggested that AEW President Tony Khan have a meeting with the top stars to address the issues before things get worse. 

Punk will take on Moxley in a title unification bout on next week’s episode of AEW Dynamite, a match that many believed would be the main event of All Out next month in Chicago.

Meltzer also reported that Colt Cabana’s AEW status is an issue between Page and Punk.

Source: WrestlingNews.co

There Was Reportedly Internal Concern That CM Punk May Quit AEW

Some people within AEW reportedly grew worried that CM Punk would quit the promotion. Here’s the latest.

There’s reportedly concern within the company that AEW World Champion CM Punk may want to quit the company.

CM Punk called out “Hangman” Adam Page during his intense promo on yesterday’s episode of AEW Dynamite. But as previously noted, Punk’s comments caught folks in AEW by surprise. Apparently, this wasn’t supposed to be part of the script, as CM Punk was to focus on building up his world title unification match against Jon Moxley that will take place next week.

It’s not all that uncommon for a wrestler to go off-script, but there may be a lot more to this story that’s worth monitoring.

According to a report from Fightful Select (h/t WrestlingNews.co), Page and Punk didn’t agree on some of the promo stuff ahead of their match at Double or Nothing (which CM Punk won via pinfall). Apparently, Punk even decided to speak to AEW higher-ups about Page’s promos.

Fightful also heard from sources that the 43-year-old wrestler “has often verbally expressed his displeasure”, to the point where “they thought he might end up quitting the company.”

CM Punk isn’t the only notable star that is seemingly frustrated with AEW. It’s been more than two months now since 26-year-old superstar MJF cut his own pipe bomb promo and dared AEW President and CEO Tony Khan to fire him.

That was on the June 1 episode of Dynamite, and MJF hasn’t been on company programming ever since. Before his promo, there was reportedly concern within the company that he wouldn’t show up for his match with Wardlow at Double or Nothing. MJF did show up, losing to his opponent by pinfall.

As of now, the highly-anticipated match between Punk and Moxley is on for next week. But this is certainly something to keep an eye on, especially considering that it’s a major star like Punk. Of course, the former WWE Champion grew very frustrated with Vince McMahon’s promotion to the point where he walked out and never returned in 2014.

Source: TheSportster

IMPACT Preview 8/18/22

Following an adrenaline-filled Emergence event, the road to Bound For Glory begins on an all-new IMPACT! this Thursday at 8/7c on AXS TV and 8:30pm ET on YouTube for IMPACT Insiders. And with Victory Road just five weeks away, the action is just getting started!

  • Fallout from Emergence
  •  6 Way Elimination #1 Contenders match:  Eddie Edwards vs. Steve Maclin vs. Moose vs. Sami Callihan vs. Bandido vs. Rich Swann
  • Kenny King vs. Heath
  • X-Division Championship: “Speedball” Mike Bailey (c) vs. Chris Bey
  • Black Taurus vs. Laredo Kid vs. Rey Horus vs. Trey Miguel

The action begins Before the IMPACT, streaming this Thursday at 7:30pm ET exclusively on IMPACT Plus, YouTube and Facebook. After Rosemary and Taya Valkyrie lost the Knockouts World Tag Team Titles to VXT on Countdown to Emergence, the “Demon Assassin” looks to get back to her winning ways when she battles Gisele Shaw!

Backstage News On CM Punk Calling Out “Hangman” Adam Page

CM Punk’s promo calling out ‘Hangman’ Adam Page at the start of “AEW Dynamite” this week was not planned or expected, according to Dave Meltzer on the latest Wrestling Observer Radio. 

While the promo segment was mainly about building the feud between Punk and Jon Moxley – who will compete in a title unification match next week on “AEW Dynamite,” the former WWE Superstar kicked things off by offering Page a rematch, who then did not appear. This led to Punk claiming it was “coward s**t” in a knock to the Cowboy’s catchphrase, but Page responding was never part of the plans as nobody expected Punk to do that. 

It had previously been claimed there was reality to the feud that Punk and Page had over the AEW World Title, particularly when Page had claimed he was fighting for the locker room against Punk. While some fans may have speculated that this could be leading to a match between the two at AEW’s All Out PPV on September 4th, that is currently not on the books for the event, with the promo simply being done off the cuff. 

Page was not involved at all during “AEW Dynamite” this week, but he was backstage throughout the show as The Dark Order member John Silver shared a picture of him on Twitter eating catering in the back after Punk dropped the line stating, “Hangman is a little busy right now.” 

It currently remains to be seen whether this will be implemented into a storyline down the road, but the focus for AEW remains on unifying the AEW World Championships next week, with the storyline between Punk and Moxley heating up during the latest show. Punk threw several verbal jabs at Moxley in his promo, with the two men then being involved in two pull-apart brawls during the show.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Jon Moxley vs CM Punk AEW Championship Unification Match Set For Next Week’s Dynamite

Next Wednesday, AEW Champion CM Punk will face off against the interim champion Jon Moxley to determine who will become the true AEW World Champion.

AEW fans are in for a PPV calibre match-up on next week’s episode of Dynamite. The AEW World Champion, CM Punk, is set to take on the Interim AEW World Champion, Jon Moxley, and determine who will continue on as AEW’s true champion.

Last night’s episode of Dynamite saw the two men confront each other in the ring. The two had harsh words for each other; Punk called Moxley a second-rate wrestler, while Moxley effectively said that Punk is only in AEW because he “ran out of money.”

CM Punk became AEW World Champion this past May at Double or Nothing after defeating Hangman Adam Page. Just a few days later, however, CM Punk broke his foot during a trios match with FTR. He consequently had to announce his injury the following week and stepped away from the ring, much to the dismay of the AEW faithful.

Soon after Punk’s announcement, AEW began the process of crowning an interim champion. Jon Moxley first won a battle royale and then defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi at NJPW x AEW Forbidden Door to claim the title. He’s since defended the belt against several contenders, including Brody King, Rush, and Chris Jericho.

CM Punk made his return to AEW at Quake by the Lake, and he’s come back with a vengeance.

Many fans expected this bout to happen at All Out; it not only has incredibly high stakes, but will be between two of the biggest stars of this generation. For whatever reason, though, AEW has decided to give it to fans a few weeks earlier than anticipated.

Next week’s episode of Dynamite will take place in Ohio, so Moxley has a bit of a hometown advantage. However, it’s truly any man’s game heading into next week. Will CM Punk get the title reign he earned for himself in May? Or will Moxley continue to set the wrestling world on fire with the true AEW World Championship around his waist?

Source: TheSportster

https://twitter.com/BRWrestling/status/1560056997348667392
https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1560287908946378752

Kenny Omega Returns To AEW On Dynamite

“The God Of Pro Wrestling” Kenny Omega returned to an AEW ring following a 277-day hiatus on this week’s thrilling edition of AEW Dynamite on TBS.

Kenny Omega is BACK! The former All Elite Wrestling World Champion set foot in an AEW ring for the first time in 277 days when he was revealed as the mystery partner of The Young Bucks (Nick & Matt Jackson) prior to the main event of this week’s edition of AEW Dynamite on TBS.

It all went down at the Charleston Coliseum in Charleston, West Virginia on Wednesday, August 17. Omega joined forces with his Elite teammates The Young Bucks to take on La Faccion Ingobernable (Andrade El Idolo, Dragon Lee & Rush) in trios tag team action. Omega sold his knee injury throughout the match, and was clearly showing signs of ring rust — although that was almost certainly exaggerated as an element of his comeback story.

The Elite got the win when Omega hit the One-Winged Angel on Dragon Lee. With the win, the trio advanced to the semi-finals of the AEW Trios Championship Tournament where they will face with The United Empire or Death Triangle.

https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1560079093911126016
https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1560079579598946304

Omega had been out of action since losing the AEW World Championship to “Hangman” Adam Page at Full Gear on Saturday, November 13.

Per Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Omega was recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery and was scheduled to undergo several more surgeries in the months that followed. The Cleaner’s health woes don’t stop there, sadly. Last year, he revealed that he has been experiencing bouts of vertigo during his matches since 2018.

Between 2018-2021, Omega had one of the most packed schedules of any professional wrestler outside WWE. He participated in numerous highly-praised matches and is one of the most consistently phenomenal wrestlers in the business. On top of that, Omega also serves as one of AEW’s executive vice presidents. Needless to say, the fact that he was able to work around his numerous health issues and regular bouts of vertigo for three years is extremely impressive.

Whether Omega returns to a full-time schedule remains to be seen, but it’s good to have him back.