Matt Cardona is reportedly dealing with a torn pectoral muscle that will require surgery.
According to a report from Fightful, several promoters have been informed that Cardona will be undergoing surgery for the injury in the near future.
Cardona’s last match came in the form of a win over Blue Pain at Joey Janela’s Spring Break 8 event over WrestleMania 40 weekend in Philadelphia, PA.
Source: eWn
Piper and Chelsea Green were destroyed by Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill on this week’s show. The bigger news here is that there was another screen glitch with a message.
As the short match progressed, the screen glitched and the message “You forgot about us” appeared. A similar screen glitch took place on Monday’s episode of WWE RAW with the message reading “Hello.” This appears to be something related to Bray Wyatt – likely his brother Bo Dallas with the Uncle Howdy persona. There are also some rumors that Alexa Bliss and at least one other name will be involved in this.
Source: eWn
Like many wrestlers who have hung up their boots, WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley still has that itch that needs to be scratched. The hardcore legend announced earlier this year that he was thinking of having one final deathmatch for his 60th birthday, giving him over a year to get himself into ring shape as Foley won’t turn 60 until June 2025. However, that plan has now been scrapped as Foley took to his YouTube channel to explain that his final match will no longer be taking place, after suffering a concussion.
“As some of you know, I had to miss a couple of appearances because of dizziness and light headedness. After consulting a couple of doctors, and also using my own experience with concussions, the symptoms seem to point to a concussion that I did not even know I received. I hadn’t done too much in the ring, but I had done a little bit. I had noticed that I was lightheaded after one of the workouts but I thought it would go away. So it just seems like the wisest move, and one that’s strongly supported by family, is to call off that final match.”
Foley explained that if he can get concussed without even being aware of it, putting himself through one final deathmatch wouldn’t be the best idea, especially given the things that Foley himself was willing to do in the match. The hardcore legend would have initially liked to have faced someone like Matt Cardona given their on-and-off feud in recent years, or former AEW World Champion Jon Moxley as their planned bout in WWE never took place due to Foley not being medically cleared to compete.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
WWE star Sami Zayn is a man of many talents. He’s one of the most popular wrestlers in recent memory, has countless matches that could be considered all-time classics, and this May, he will be able to strut his stuff at one of the biggest comedy festivals in the world. The annual “Netflix Is a Joke” comedy festival has become one of the marquee events in the stand-up calendar, as comedians and entertainers from far and wide flock to Los Angeles for 12 days of non-stop laughter. Joining comedy giants like Jerry Seinfeld, Bill Burr, Kevin Hart and more will be the former Intercontinental Champion, who announced on his X account that he will be hosting the “Sami Zayn & Friends” show during the festival. The show will take place at the historic Avalon Hollywood nightclub in Los Angeles on May 11, with tickets going on general sale April 5.
Fans who have followed Zayn’s career for a long time will know full well what comedic chops he has due to his portrayal of the El Generico character in companies like ROH, DDT, and PWG, where despite being French-Canadian, he played the role of a friendly luchador who decided to head back to Mexico to run an orphanage around the same time Zayn signed with WWE.
Zayn will be hoping that he shows up to his stand-up special on May 11 with the Intercontinental Championship, as he looks to become champion this weekend at WrestleMania 40 when he takes on GUNTHER. Zayn has never beaten “The Ring General” in a one-on-one contest in WWE before, but he will hope to channel the spirit of El Generico this weekend, as the Mexican orphanage owner did pick up a win over the man then known as Big Van WALTER at a wXw event in 2012.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
“Hot Stuff” Eddie Gilbert will be inducted into Game Changer Wrestling & Orange Crush magazine’s Indie Wrestling Hall of Fame this Sunday (April 7). The induction ceremony is streaming live for free on YouTube starting at noon Eastern time.
Trent Acid, The Briscoes, indie superfan Kevin “Whack Packer” Hogan, Steve Corino, Sabu, and Mercedes Martinez are also part of the Hall of Fame class. Acid, Jay Briscoe, Hogan, and Gilbert are being inducted posthumously.
The son of Tommy Gilbert, Eddie began his in-ring career as a teenager. He worked as both a wrestler and a booker before passing away at 33 years old in February of 1995.
Gilbert is best known for his time wrestling in Memphis. He also has a connection to Philadelphia through the work he did for ECW.
Gilbert spent time in the NWA, USWA, AWA, ECW, and more. Along with being an in-ring performer, Gilbert was a booker for Global Wrestling Federation and Eastern Championship Wrestling.
The Sheraton hotel in downtown Philly is hosting Sunday’s Indie Wrestling Hall of Fame ceremony. The ceremony is held annually during WrestleMania weekend.
The Indie Hall of Fame ceremony takes place on April 7.
Gilbert will be inducted by Missy Hyatt.
Pwinsider has shared an update on former TNA tag team champions the Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin).
While Shelley and Sabin are now free agents, they will still be appearing on TNA Impact through the upcoming episode on Thursday, April 18 after working the latest set of tapings.
Their final match is reportedly against Eddie Edwards and Brian Myers.
Additionally, there is more of a realization backstage in TNA that the Motor City Machine Guns have permanently left.
Previously, there was some hope that they might return to work additional dates, but the current belief in TNA is that Shelley and Sabin will sign with AEW.
Source: eWn
WWE has announced that they will introduce a new title and a new match type called WWE Speed beginning next month.
“WWE SmackDown” commentator Corey Graves announced on X that the WWE Speed matches will last 3 minutes and air exclusively on the social media platform X. He revealed that WWE Speed will kick off on April 3, a few days before WrestleMania 40.
“Starting April 3, WWE Speed, airing exclusively on X, brings a fresh and dynamic new twist to classic in-ring competition, where some of the fastest and toughest WWE Superstars do battle with time itself because in WWE Speed our Superstars only have 3 minutes to defeat their opponent,” revealed Graves. “3 intense, adrenaline-fueled minutes where strategy, agility, and strength collide. This isn’t just another match; this is a sprint to the finish line. The prize? The prestigious, first-ever WWE Speed Championship. So brace yourself for a tournament like no other where every match is a finale, every second could define a Superstar’s legacy. WWE Speed, April 3, exclusively on X.”
In his announcement, Graves didn’t reveal the Speed Championship, but judging by the graphics WWE has used so far, it could likely have a green theme. WWE and X announced a partnership to create the Speed title last month, and reports suggest both main roster and “WWE NXT” stars will feature in it. New Catch Republic’s Pete Dunne has reportedly been involved in the WWE Speed matches as a producer. The last singles title that WWE introduced was the 24/7 Championship in 2019, which was an intergender title that was made inactive in 2022.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Dustin and Cody Rhodes’ nephews will make their debut at his Rhodes Wrestling Academy this coming weekend.
Taking to Twitter, Rhodes announced that Wyatt and Wayne Rhodes (The Texas Outlaws), the sons of Cody and Dustin’s sister Kristin Rhodes Ditto, will debut at the academy’s showcase event on Sunday.
Dustin wrote, “The #Rhodes Legacy is strong and growing. Introducing my nephews Wyatt and Wayne Rhodes, #TheTexasOutlaws who will make their debut at #RWA’s showcase this Sunday March 24th at 7/6 central on #RWA’s @youtube channel in the main event 2out of 3 falls 30 minute time limit for the new #RWATagTeamChampionship
Please tune in Sunday. #prowrestling #YouTube
RT please!”
Details have emerged regarding the recent announcement that WWE star Shayna Baszler will appear at GCW’s Bloodsport X event on April 4. In an update posted to F4WOnline, Dave Meltzer said he was told the decision came from WWE CCO Paul “Triple H” Levesque, and that he has a different view on WWE talent appearing with other promotions than did Vince McMahon.
Baszler’s appearance at Bloodsport won’t be the first time WWE sends talent elsewhere this year either, having previously sent Charlie Dempsey to All Japan Pro Wrestling in January. The event has historically been hosted by Josh Barnett — except Matt Riddle’s Bloodsport in 2018 — and is promoted under the GCW umbrella. Barnett was Shayna Baszler’s coach early in her transition from MMA to professional wrestling. Bloodsport competition differs from traditional wrestling as it takes place in a ring without ropes or turnbuckles, and matches can only be won via submission or knockout.
This event will be the tenth iteration, ahead of Bloodsport Bushido in Tokyo slated for June 22, and is also slated to feature Nic Nemeth — formerly Dolph Ziggler in WWE — as he faces “Speedball” Mike Bailey, due to be Bailey’s third Bloodsport outing. A whole slew of names are involved elsewhere, with Josh Barnett facing Johnny “Bloodsport” Hennigan, Minoru Suzuki vs. Royce Isaacs, and former “WWE NXT” stars Timothy Thatcher and Axel Tischer set to collide.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
The latest addition to the 2024 WWE Hall of Fame class has been announced, with Thunderbolt Patterson now set to join this year’s inductees.
Patterson was an active wrestler from 1964 to 1994, once holding the NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship as well as the NWA National Tag Team Championship alongside Ole Anderson. On top of that, Patterson reportedly made attempts to unionize wrestlers in the 1970s, which he has said caused him to be blackballed from the industry for years.
Throughout his career, Patterson experienced institutional racism in the industry. The performer sued multiple promotions for racial discrimination, which also is alleged to have contributed to his blackballing in the 70s.
In the late 1980s, Patterson became a labor organizer for the Service Employees International Union. Following his wrestling career, he also became a minister and was involved in running a Christian youth camp in Georgia.
The news of Patterson’s induction was first revealed by Andscape with WWE confirming. WWE CCO Paul “Triple H” Levesque also offered his comment on the announcement via social media.
“He was a champion in the ring, and championed the health and well-being of his peers outside of it,” wrote Levesque. “Thunderbolt Patterson’s influence is still felt today, and will receive the recognition it deserves when he joins the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2024.”
This year’s WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place on April 5, 2024, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In addition to Patterson, the inductees announced for the 2024 Hall of Fame class include boxing legend Muhammad Ali, Paul Heyman, Bull Nakano, and the U.S. Express, with several more likely to come.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Wrestling News Blog 