Category: Wrestling News

Kevin Sullivan Dies At Age 74

Kevin Sullivan, best known for his villainous performances and stint as lead booker for World Championship Wrestling, has reportedly died at age 74. The news was broken Friday morning by Pro Wrestling Insider. Sullivan had been dealing with health issues lately following complications from emergency surgery.

Sullivan is perhaps most notable to a certain generation of wrestling fans as the leader of the Three Faces of Fear and the Dungeon of Doom, stables that menaced Hulk Hogan in 1990s WCW prior to Hogan’s heel turn and “Hollywood” persona as part of the New World Order. He’s also remembered for his role in the intricate backstage politics of WCW, including his personal and professional rivalry with the late Chris Benoit and the infamous “I respect you, bookerman” incident involving Brian Pillman. Appropriately, Sullivan’s last match as a wrestler was against Pillman’s son, current “WWE NXT” star Lexis King, in 2019.

WWE issued the following on the death of Kevin Sullivan:

WWE is saddened to learn Kevin Sullivan has passed away at age 74.

A unique and influential figure in sports-entertainment history, Sullivan found success both in the ring and behind the scenes with his penchant for far out ideas that pushed creative boundaries.

As a villain, Sullivan was a major rival for the ring’s most legendary heroes, including Dusty Rhodes, Hulk Hogan and The Road Warriors. He specialized in leading dangerous factions, which included his wicked Army of Darkness, collegiate bullies The Varsity Club, and the wild Dungeon of Doom, which introduced Big Show to the wrestling world. The onetime “Taskmaster” also became a creative force behind the scenes for WCW.

WWE extends its condolences to Sullivan’s family, friends and fans.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Logan Paul & Jacob Fatu Got ‘Banged Up’ At SummerSlam, Triple H Confirms

WWE SummerSlam 2024 featured the return of Roman Reigns and other surprises, but it appears that the in-ring action produced some casualties. According to WWE’s Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque, two Superstars came out of the show feeling a little worse for wear, and it’s unknown how serious their injuries are.

“Unfortunately, [Jacob Fatu] got a little bit banged up in that last match,” Levesque told the post-show press conference. “Logan [Paul’s] a little banged up, as he should be, and Jacob’s a little banged up. I’ll see where that nets out here in a little bit. Hopefully nothing serious, but it was bugging [Fatu] a little bit, the leg, so we’ll see where he is.”

Fatu was hurt during the main event Bloodline Rules match between Cody Rhodes and Solo Sikoa, as “The Samoan Bulldozer” appeared to injure himself while performing a splash on “The American Nightmare.” Levesque praised Fatu’s talent during the press scrum, but hopefully he isn’t on the shelf for long, as he and Tama Tonga won the WWE Tag Team Titles on the August 2 episode of “SmackDown.”

Paul, meanwhile, lost the WWE United States Championship to LA Knight at “The Biggest Party of the Summer.” As it stands, it’s unknown where or how Paul got hurt, but fans on social media have speculated that the injury occurred during the match’s botched superplex spot. Given that Paul isn’t a full-time member of the roster, his injury shouldn’t greatly affect WWE’s week-to-week programming, but until more details become available, his status remains unclear.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

The Hardy Boyz Reportedly Met With Officials Ahead Of SummerSlam 2024

The Hardy Boyz Jeff and Matt, prominently featuring in TNA Wrestling as of late, could possibly be eyeing a return to WWE, following a meeting between the two parties on August 2. 

Saturday, WWE SummerSlam broadcast will be broadcast from  Cleveland Browns Stadium, and according to PWInsider, the multi-time WWE tag champs met with officials early in the morning. It was also said that some content had been filmed to be rolled out for WWE’s digital platforms. But at the time of this writing, there were no specifics on the discussions being held. The Hardys are scheduled for this weekend’s TNA “Impact” tapings in Tampa, Florida, and were signing at WrestleCon’s Destination Cleveland on Friday. 

Fightful Select has since reported that the former TNA World Tag Team Champions were invited to film interviews and content while in town for WrestleCon, some for an active series and some for potential Hardy-specific presentations. Sources in WWE reportedly communicated that there wasn’t much to be read into, while sources outside the company were said to believe they would be appearing at some stage or another. 

It was only recently that the pair, who only returned to TNA after their contracts with AEW expired earlier this year, had discussed the potential of making an appearance in “WWE NXT” through the working relationship between the promotions, particularly noting that the NXT Tag Team titles were amongst those they had not won. Despite featuring prominently with TNA, the Hardys are currently free agents so there could be a prolonged stay on the cards. Another TNA cross-over will be challenging for the titles during next week’s “NXT Great American Bash” when Zachary Wentz teams with Wes Lee to challenge Axiom and Nathan Frazer. Wentz and Lee have reunited as MSK/The Rascalz in recent weeks, with Trey Miguel also teaming with them through the interpromotional relationship.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AJ Styles & IYO SKY Victorious At Japan Events

On Saturday morning, WWE Superstars AJ Styles and IYO SKY participated in separate matches as part of their return to Japan.

During the Pro Wrestling NOAH Destination 2024 co-main event at Budokan Hall, AJ Styles faced off against NOAH Vice President Naomichi Marufuji. Styles emerged victorious after executing a Styles Clash.

Before joining WWE in 2016, Styles had been a regular competitor in Japan for NJPW, where he won the IWGP World Heavyweight Title twice.

Meanwhile, IYO SKY also participated in a co-main event at the Marigold Summer Destiny show at Sumo Hall. SKY emerged victorious against Utami Hayashishita after executing a tombstone piledriver and a moonsault.

Post-match, SKY expressed her gratitude to Hayashishita, WWE, and Marigold. She used her WWE entrance music for the match and wore a mask reminiscent of the one she wore at STARDOM before joining WWE.

You can check out some highlights from the matches below:

https://twitter.com/PuroresuFlow/status/1812045692367437994
https://twitter.com/PuroresuFlow/status/1812038995330683294

Source: eWn

WWE Star Shayna Baszler’s Opponent For Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport XI Announced

WWE Superstar Shayna Baszler may have found herself a couple of good friends in the form of Zoey Stark and Sonya Deville on “WWE Raw,” but she has been confirmed to be facing a well-respected international performer at an upcoming independent event. Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Josh Barnett took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to officially announce that Baszler would be facing TJPW star Miyu Yamashita at his upcoming “Bloodsport XI” event on July 28 in Brooklyn, New York. 

“Two fierce warriors of the ring,” Barnett wrote. “Two battle hardened women through martial arts and pro wrestling training. Two meeting for the first time in the hardest hitting event in all of Professional Wrestling. The kicks of Miyu Yamashita taking on the submission holds of ‘The Queen of Spades’ Shayna Baszler at Josh Barnett’s: Bloodsport XI.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

2 Cold Scorpio Arrested For Stabbing, Claims Self-Defense

According to a report from TMZ, former WCW, ECW, and WWE wrestler 2 Cold Scorpio was arrested earlier this month in connection with a stabbing incident.

The altercation occurred on June 15 at a Love’s Travel Stop in Kansas City, MO.

Scorpio, whose real name is Charles Scaggs, stated to the police that he was a security guard at the time. He noticed a man lighting a cigarette inside the building and approached him.

The situation escalated, leading to an altercation outside, during which Scorpio claimed he acted in self-defense by using a knife.

The injured man, found on the ground with multiple wounds, accused Scorpio of causing the incident.

As a result, Scorpio was arrested and charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action. He has since been released on bond and has pleaded not guilty.

An upcoming hearing on this case is scheduled for next month.

Source: eWn

Matt Hardy Hopes To Return to WWE, Says Jeff Hardy Wants To Prove He’s Changed

In an interview with Busted Open Radio (via Fightful), Matt Hardy spoke about he and his brother Jeff winding down their careers and noted that he hopes they end up back in WWE. Here are highlights:

On how he wants their careers to end: “I would like to do TNA and have a hell of a run there, and then I almost feel like now, just the destiny has revealed itself in many ways, I almost feel Jeff and I, we end up returning to WWE, do something small and then go onto the Hall of Fame. That’s a best case scenario.”

On Jeff Hardy wanting to prove himself: “That’s a great question. I think Jeff really wanted to come back to TNA to continue to build equity, and he knows that TNA and WWE are working together. I have friends in the WWE, I have spoken with people in WWE. So I think Jeff just wants to once again just show people how he is a different human being. The way to put equity into that is to go to TNA, have a kickass run, and show people he’s on his best behavior.”

Source: 411Mania

Rossy Ogawa’s Marigold Promotion Announces WWE Star Iyo Sky For Match At Summer Destiny Event

Rossy Ogawa’s new promotion Marigold has kicked off with a bang following the Fields Forever event at Korakuen Hall on May 20, and is currently embarking on its Grand Opening Wars Tour. However, the company’s next major event, Summer Destiny, on July 13 has just gotten a lot bigger, as a former WWE Women’s Champion has been announced for the card.

At the end of the company’s most recent show, Ogawa took to the microphone to inform Utami Hayashishita that he had finally found an opponent for her on July 13, before playing a video on the Korakuen Hall big screen that revealed IYO Sky. The WWE star told Hayashishita that she wants to write history in a Marigold ring, and that she can’t wait for her return to Japan, before the official match graphic was revealed.

The match has been given the title of “Queen of Queen” given that both Sky and Hayashishita are both former leaders of the Queen’s Quest faction in STARDOM. Sky, then known as Io Shirai, was the founding leader forming the group back in 2016 with HZK and Momo Watanabe. Once she left to join WWE in 2018, Watanabe led the group and brought Hayashishita in as an associate, before making her an official member towards the end of 2018. Hayashishita would take charge as leader in 2022, and would remain in that position until her departure from STARDOM in April 2024. July 13 will also be Sky’s first match in her home country in six years, as she has not performed in Japan since joining WWE in 2018. WWE last traveled to Japan in 2019 for a pair of live events in Ryogoku Sumo Hall in Tokyo, with Sky being part of the “NXT” roster at the time. 

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Half-Hour Wrestling Sitcom In The Works At FX

Between the seven hours of WWE programming, the five hours of AEW programming, and all of the other wrestling companies that have managed to get themselves television deals, there looks to be another TV show on the horizon based on the world of pro wrestling.

According to “Fightful Select,” a pitch was recently sold to the FX network of having a half-hour sitcom based on pro wrestling. The show, which has yet to be given a name, is said to be set in the Los Angeles independent scene, with the direction of the show being a cross between the 2008 drama “The Wrestler” and the 1993 stoner comedy “Dazed and Confused.”

Luke Hawx, who has balanced his life as a wrestler and actor over the last decade working as a consultant for the show “Heelz,” is reportedly set to be a part of the project. Aside from wrestling movies and shows, Hawx has also landed roles in “The Fast and The Furious” and “Logan.” He previously worked for the NWA as recently as 2022 and has wrestled several dark and squash matches in WWE. Many other wrestlers are set to be involved in the project with a strong incentive to use real wrestlers for the show as it will be set in the modern day.

“Fightful” also spoke to Adair Cole, who was involved in adapting the 2011 film “Warrior” into an upcoming series on Paramount+. As a lifelong wrestling fan, Cole is very excited about getting the project off the ground. Cole also revealed that he will be attending GCW’s Hit Em Up event in Los Angeles on June 15, where he will be happy to interact with anyone with questions about the project.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Sting’s Son Reportedly Training To Be A Professional Wrestler

WWE Hall of Famer and former AEW World Tag Team Champion Sting retired earlier this year, wrestling his last match not only alongside Darby Allin but also his sons Steven and Garrett. Sting’s sons dressed up as versions of their father’s past, with Garrett playing “Surfer Sting” and Steven playing “Wolfpac Sting,” and it seems getting in the ring has lit a fire for the business under at least one of them.

Fightful Select is reporting that Steven Borden is currently training with Allin for a possible career in professional wrestling. Allin revealed the information in an interview set to be released on Thursday. Allin has a ring in his backyard, and the appearance at AEW Revolution inspired Sting’s scion to pursue wrestling training — Steven is said to be sleeping in Darby’s front yard in a tent while he trains. Steven, a college football player, had previously said he was hesitant about joining pro wrestling, calling his future in the business “murky,” but had noted the emotional high”he got from performing for fans.

Sting and Allin were ultimately successful at Revolution thanks to the help from the Bordens, defeating Matt and Nick Jackson in Sting’s final match. Sting and Allin then relinquished their World Tag Team Championship, which ended up back in the hands of The Jacksons at AEW Dynasty after they defeated FTR in a ladder match for the vacant titles, thanks to an assist by the returning Jack Perry.

Source: Wrestling Inc.