Category: Wrestling News

GFW Announces “MiLB Grand Slam Tour”

Global Force Wrestling announced the following today:

Global Force Wrestling brings sizzle to hot summer nights at a ballpark near you

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – You might be able to buy peanuts and Cracker Jacks, and there’s sure to be a crowd. But this will be a whole new ballgame.

The historic first Global Force Wrestling show will be held on Friday night, June 12 at The Ballpark at Jackson in Jackson, Tennessee. as part of GFW’s “MiLB Grand Slam Tour.” The tour will feature stops from Florida to California and several points in between.

It’s grassroots approach building toward the first GFW broadcast event on Friday, July 24 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. Minor-league parks operated by both private ownership and municipalities have agreed to play host to Global Force Wrestling shows when their baseball-playing tenants are out of town. It’s an easy win for the parks, which gain another great source for revenue. For GFW it’s a chance to build momentum, show off its roster and deliver on its mission statement to be the most fan interactive brand in sports entertainment.

“These ballparks are the center of attention in the summer in most of these cities, and we’re eager to get out there and mix with our fans and show them what the GFW brand is all about,” said Jeff Jarrett, Global Force Wrestling founder and CEO.

The stars of GFW will be appearing in such cities as Knoxville, Tennessee, Richmond, Virginia, and Clinton, Iowa. Dates for the summer ballpark tour are available on globalforcewrestling.com, and more will be added in the coming weeks.

“Global Force Wrestling presented us with a great plan, one that will be beneficial to us and all ballparks, teams and cities as well as to their burgeoning brand,” said Todd “Parney” Parnell, vice president and chief operating officer of the Richmond (Va.) Flying Squirrels. “We know GFW will generate a lot of interest and excitement, not only the night of the show but for weeks in advance.”

Atlanta Braves catcher A.J. Pierzynski is excited about the alliance of his profession and his pastime.

“Wrestling and baseball make a great tag team, ” said Pierzynski, a wrestling aficionado. “And I’m thrilled to see so many minor-league parks, some of which I’ve played in, jump on board.”

Global Force Wrestling will roll out it’s talent roster in the next couple of weeks. It’s a lineup filled with speed and power, righties and lefties, starters and closers, sure to provide thrills at every ballpark.

#GFWGrandSlam

Media Contact:

PR@GlobalForceWrestling.com

 

 

Jeff Jarrett Contacting Talent For GFW TV Tapings

Jeff Jarrett has started the process of contacting talent to appear at the upcoming Global Force Wrestling TV tapings in Las Vegas beginning in July. Jarrett confirmed in a interview that he was in talks with at least three networks regarding a TV deal. According to Dave Meltzer from Wrestling Observer Newsletter, of the talent being contacted for the tapings, Jarrett is reportedly offering better money than Ring of Honor.

Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter via WrestleView

global-force-wrestling

DThe new Naomi

 

 On this past Monday’s Raw that took place from the U.K we saw a shift happen in the divas division and its a good one in my opinion. A battle royal took place to determine the new #1 contender for Nikki Bella’s  divas title. The final two in the match were the hometown girl Paige and the fun loving athletic Naomi.

Paige eventually eliminated Naomi earning her a massive pop from her hometown crowd along with a future title shot. After the match Byron Saxton was interviewing Paige. In the interview Paige got emotional in expressing how much it meant to get a victory in her hometown.

However that celebration was cut short since Naomi decided to attack Paige. Naomi wasn’t letting up at all. She even threw Paige into the barricade a few times. It was a vicious attack and what made it that much more good was the boos of the crowd.

I applaud the WWE for this move. Naomi is arguby the most athleticly gifted diva on the Roster. Some people  know her from her early days in FCW while others know her from season 3 of the completion show NXT.A show where she was runner up to that seasons winner Kaitlyn and not to mention Naomi is the only active diva left that competed in that season.

Over the years Naomi has always been billed as a face, from the silly things she did on NXT like dressing like the hambergur helper  to bring one of Brodus Clays’ funkadactyls, to fueding with Cameron and most recently her association with the Usos and feuding with Natalya.

 A new leaf has turned and you can just tell a fire has been lit inside her. In her backstage interview following the attack on Paige she said she was no longer waiting for opportunity, she was taking it. You couldn’t help but hear real life fustration in that interview and rightfully so.

Now the question remains, what is next for Naomi? Well with the news of Jay Uso recently being injured it’s safe to say the Usos may be taking a back seat which leaves the chance for Naomi to florish as a solo competitor and become a top heel in the company.

It’s obvious that Paige was never the true #1 contender. She’s going to be away filming the WWE film along side the Miz Santa’s little helper. Not to mention WWE has reported that she’s injured.

Wether we’ll see Paige written out of the title picture completely or a triple threat for the title, one thing is certain  Naomi is indeed in the title picture and I couldn’t be any happier about it. It’s been a long time coming and was hinted at happening sooner before she suffered an eye injury earlier last year.

I personally think Naomi would make a great champion. She has the athletisum and personality to win the universe over, but first I think she needs new entrance music and a new finisher.

What do you guys think? Do you like this new side of Naomi? Let us know in the comments.

-Vanessa (@GreatLove91)

Legends Of Memphis Wrestling & Other Stuff From POP!CON

I got to attend the comic convention POP!CON in Evansville, In, where I got to meet some of the Legends of Memphis Wrestling, Jerry “The King” Lawler, “Grand Master Sexy” Brian Christopher, “the Boogie Woogie Man” “Handsome” Jimmy Valiant, “The Voice of Memphis Wrestling” Lance Russell and “Superstar” Bill Dundee. I had a blast getting to meet these guys I grew up watching.

I had the chance to talk with “Grand Master Sexay” Brian Christopher about the old days of Memphis Wrestling. He shared with me a story about his dad (Jerry “the King” Lawler”) wrestling The Giant Gonzalez at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, where Lawler threw a fireball at Gonzalez and his fur he wore on his suit caught fire, Gonzalez for real got angry at Lawler and Lawler told him if he has a problem with it he could always fire him. We talked about the great matches that I got to see in Evansville, In at the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Coliseum.

Here are some of the photos I was able to take, Sorry but I realized I failed to get a photo of “Dangerous” Doug Gilbert, who was there:

Jerry Lawler

Lance Russell

Jimmy Valiant

Brian Christopher

Bill Dundee

Jerry Lawler was presented with a Super Hero of the year award.

Jerry Lawler

There was more than just wrestling at POP!CON, People were dressed in costumes of their favorite wrestlers, Super Heroes, Star Wars characters, Star Trek characters and other comic book and movie characters,  below is some photos I posted on Twitter from the event:

 

 

Tommy Dreamer’s ‘House Of Hardcore’ Lands TV Deal

Fight Network announced the following yesterday (Thursday, April 16, 2015).

Tommy Dreamer’s House of Hardcore Coming to Fight Network

Toronto – Fight Network, the world’s premier 24/7 television channel dedicated to complete coverage of combat sports, today announced a global programming deal with professional wrestling legend Tommy Dreamer’s promotion House of Hardcore.

Fight Network will televise eight one-hour shows featuring highlights from all the House of Hardcore events to date, beginning on Tuesday, May 12 at 9 p.m. ET. New episodes will premiere on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET for eight consecutive weeks leading up to the debut House of Hardcore live event in Canada on July 18 in Toronto.

House of Hardcore on Fight Network will air on Cablevision’s Optimum TV, Grande Communications, Shentel Cable and Armstrong Cable in the U.S., nationwide in Canada, Roku devices across North America, and globally in over 30 countries across Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

For more information on House of Hardcore go to http://www.houseofhardcore.net

For a full listing of Fight Network’s broadcast schedule, please visit http://tv.fightnetwork.com

Sanada Is Gone From TNA

It appears that The Great Sanada is gone from TNA. Last week James Storm mention that we would never see Sanada again. TNA has moved The Great Sanada to their Alumni roster. He is expected to return the Japan promotion Wrestle-1.

 

TNA In Talks With Mexico’s AAA, GFW Hurt By Talks?, AAA’s World Cup

According to Wrestling Observer Newslettter, TNA and Mexico’s AAA promotion have been in talks about TNA possibly sending a three-man team to the Lucha Libre World Cup trios tournament in late May, which could re-open relation between the two companies.

TNA and AAA resuming their relationship could hurt Jeff Jarrett because he has been talking about using AAA talent in his Global Force Wrestling promotion.

There will be just two teams from AAA in their Lucha Libre trios tournament. One will be made up of Alberto El Patron, Rey Mysterio and Myzteziz (the original Sin Cara in WWE).

Source: WrestlingINC.com

Legends Of Memphis Wrestling Reunion At Pop!Con Comic Convention In Evansville, In

Legends of Memphis Wrestling Reunion this weekend April 17 & 18 at the Pop!Con Comic Convention in Evansville, Indiana at the Evansville National Guard Armory. Legends in attendance will be – Jerry “The King” Lawler, “Superstar” Bill Dundee, “The Voice of Memphis” Lance Russell, “Boogie Woogie Man” “Handsome” Jimmy Valiant & “Dangerous” Doug Gilbert

Friday -April 17 4PM-8PM and Saturday – April 18 10AM-5PM

For tickets and information visit http://www.popconevansville.com

 

Pop!Con posted the following on their facebook page:

POP!CON is proud to announce the FAN’S Hall of Fame induction of Bill “Superstar” Dundee and the Gilbert Family (Tommy, Eddie and Doug).

Jimmy Valiant and Jerry Lawler are WWE Hall of Famers and they will be helping us honor Lance Russell, Superstar and the Gilbert’s.

FRIDAY 4PM to 8PM is PREVIEW NIGHT – The Legends of Memphis Wrestling will be LIVE and in person at Pop!Con meeting and greeting everyone! PLUS a sitdown interview with The Voice of Wrestling, Lance Russell.

SATURDAY 10AM to 5PM – Jerry “The King” Lawler joins the other legends for a full day of awards and presentations and a VIP EXCLUSIVE Memphis Wrestling Q&A. All the legends will be on hand to answer any questions that you’ve been wanting the answers to for years.

MEET AND GREET ALL THE LEGENDS! THE ONLY PRICE YOU PAY IS ADMISSION, $10 Fri, $15 Sat or the ALL WEEKEND PASS for $20.

http://www.POPCONEVANSVILLE.COM

There are only a few VIP POWERSLAM PACKAGES AVAILABLE at https://eventgrid.com/Events/15835/popcon-2015-evansville-indiana/Dates/15994

The legends will be available for photo ops on Saturday only at an additional cost – info at the link above.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So You Want To Be in the WWE? 

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During WrestleMania, a commercial aired promoting new series that were going to be on the WWE Network. There’s Swerved, a comedy from the mind of “Jackass” producer Jeff Tremaine, Jerry Springer Presents WWE Too Hot For TV, focusing on outrageous WWE moments, and Camp WWE, an adult animated comedy from the mind of Seth Green. While all of the new shows look exciting, the ones that caught my eye were the revival of two classics—Tough Enough and the Diva Search.

Tough Enough has had many incarnations and in the past has given us such stars as The Miz and Cameron and alum such as  John Morrison, Miss Jackie, and Josh Mathews. With weekly eliminations, it was the ultimate search for the next Superstar or Diva.

It’s all female equivalent was the Diva Search, which introduced the WWE world to such Divas as Christy Hemme, Ashley Massaro, Layla, and Eve Torres. The Bella Twins, Rosa Mendes, Maryse, Maria, Rosa Mendes, Michelle McCool, Kristal Marshall and Taryn Terrell, along with Eva Marie, JoJo and Lana in the unofficial 2013 search all came from the Diva Search.

Tough Enough and the Diva Search were excellent showcases for people looking to achieve their dream of stardom as a member of the WWE roster. It can be seen as the American Idolor Saturday Night Live even of the WWE—a group of people chasing the dream of making it, not-ready-for-primetime, and reaching that goal through perseverance, resiliency, dedication, and handwork. It shows the side not seen on WWE TV about the hardships, trials, and tribulations of making it to the big leagues and just how competitive it really is out there. It’s exciting to see both shows are coming back and it’ll be interesting to see the next big star get discovered before they make it big.

-Celine

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#ThankYouAJ: A Reflection

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The wrestling world lost one of its brightest young stars from in-ring competition when AJ Lee retired. Whether you loved her or not, there is no denying the powerful and lasting impact that AJ made during her time in the WWE, especially for the Divas Division alone. From that spunky fan who waited hours in line to see WrestleMania 20 to the underdog who finished 3rd on the divas season of NXT. From the self proclaimed geek to the manipulative lover and eventual RAW GM, Then finally, a multi-time Divas Champion, redefining what it means to be beautiful and tough as a WWE Diva.

On the August 26th, 2013 edition of Monday Night RAW, AJ Lee dropped a pipe bomb against the cast of Total Divas in a promo that can define her impact in the WWE:

Quotes such as,  “I have done more in one year than all of you have done in your entire collective careers. I have saved your divas division, I have shattered glass ceilings, I have broken down doors…I didn’t get here because I was cute, or because I came from some famous wrestling family, or because I sucked up to the right people. I got here because I am good. I earned this championship. No matter how many red carpets you guys want to walk, in your four-thousand dollar ridiculous heels, you will never be able to lace up my Chuck Taylor’s.”

While heel elements were added to the promo, AJ Lee was able to be in the ending segment of RAW during the summer of 2012 when she was in a love triangle with Daniel Bryan and CM Punk, her eventual real-life husband. That was only the beginning as she soon became the General Manager of Monday Night RAW and won the Divas Championship multiple times. After AJ’s rise in 2012, there became more focus on the Divas, including the hit E! reality show, Total Divas. Since then, The Bella Twins, Paige, Naomi, Alicia Fox, Natalya, and a majority of the Divas roster have made a name for themselves, receiving mercy, louder cheers from the audience, mainstream attention, and longer matches. In light of the #GiveDivasAChance campaign on social media, there is even more love given to the amazingly beautiful, talented, and tough ladies of the squared circle. In the not so far past of 2010 and 2011, NXT’s all divas third season was interrupted by Michael Cole’s rants and RAWs and SmackDowns were decorated with divas matches that would never go longer than two minutes.

That’s all changed now and it’s one of the best times for the Divas Division as all of the women are receiving positive love and support and are finally receiving the respect they all rightfully deserve. The diva who brought the division to light with the push of a lifetime during the Summer of 2012 was none other than AJ. With her “crazy chick” gimmick, fans were focusing more on here and her unpredictable antics as opposed to her male counterparts. It had been one of the most popular diva-related story lines arguably since the Trish Stratus/Mickie James feud of 2006 (LayCool and Maryse had popular story lines but failed to gain the momentum as AJ Lee’s).

AJ Lee’s time in the WWE will not only be remembered for her incredible talents, but for what she brought to the Divas Division—excitement, intrigue, and the light that helped to reignite interest in the Divas. While there are exciting things for the future (looking at you, Bayley, Sasha, and Charlotte) AJ Lee will be missed from the WWE. Her passion remained and it’s always a plus to see a Superstar or Diva who grew up as a passionate wrestling fan and were able to achieve their dreams and inspire others to be like them. The Divas Division has been the best it has been in years, and possibly ever. In the end, AJ Lee may not have single handedly started this trend, as credit should also be given to the Bella Twins combination of strength and beauty and the Anti-Diva allure of Paige, she was definitely instrumental in getting the ball rolling and giving the push the Divas Division has desperately been needing. Whether her retirement was due to being worn out from the business, a career ending injury, complications with the WWE as a result of her relationship with CM Punk, or just the idea that it was time to move on a pursue other interests, AJ Lee was able to leave on top and get that final WrestleMania moment. I’ll miss AJ Lee but I’m thankful for the impact that she left and I wish her only the best with her future as the next generation of WWE divas make their mark in the company. Let’s light it up!

-Celine

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