Category: Wrestling News

The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express To Begin Farewell Retirement Tour Against Top AEW Tag Team

WWE Hall of Famers The Rock & Roll Express are retiring from tag team competition.

Ricky Morton took to Twitter this week to announce that he and Robert Gibson will begin their farewell tour on Saturday, January 22 when they wrestle AAA World Tag Team Champions FTR at a Big Time Wrestling event in Spartanburg, SC.

Morton noted that he and Gibson will continue to make appearances together, but they are retiring from wrestling as a tag team. Morton wants to spend more time teaming with his son, Kerry Morton, and work with other up & coming talent.

“Rock & Roll Express Farewell tour begins January 22nd, 2022. I want to focus more with Kerry and behind the scenes in the wrestling business. #onelastride,” he wrote. “Specify, Robert and I are retiring from tag team wrestling together. Not appearances/signings. I would like to continue to tag team with my son and work with the younger generation in this glorious business.”

After the match against FTR, Morton will then wrestle Matt Cardona at GCW’s The Wrld On GCW the next night from Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. Morton is also scheduled to team with 2 Cold Scorpio to wrestle Effy and Allie Katch at this Friday’s GCW Notorious event in Detroit. Morton is then scheduled to compete in the 26th annual ECWA Super 8 Tournament on Saturday, March 26 in Morganville, NJ.

Morton and Gibson began teaming together in the early 1980s. The legendary tag team has held gold in more than a dozen promotions. They were inducted into the NWA Hall of Fame in 2006, the WWE Hall of Fame in 2017, and the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2021.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Taya Valkyrie Wants A Spot In The AEW Owen Hart Tournament 

Former Impact and NXT star Taya Valkyrie (Franky Monet) says she’s interested in working at AEW and thinks she deserves a spot in the Owen Hart tournament.

AEW’s inaugural Owen Hart Cup tournaments are set to kick off in a few months, and some wrestlers are starting to lobby for places … including former Impact and NXT star Taya Valkyrie (Franky Monet).

During a recent East Coast Autograph Auctions appearance, Valkyrie implied that she would jump at the opportunity to join AEW if offered.

“Of course, I would go to AEW. I mean, they are doing something different,” she said. “A lot of my peers and my best friends, my brothers Fenix and Pentagon are over there. So why not? Let’s wait and see what happens,” Taya teased.

La Wera Loca then commented on the possibility of her participating in the Owen Cup, saying that she deserves a spot as she shares a nationality with the man to whom the tournament is dedicated.

“I mean, as a Canadian, I think that I should definitely be in the Owen tournament,” Taya said. “I was trying to think what Canadian girls are part of AEW. I want to say Allie is probably the only one? So I think there needs to be more Canadians in that scenario. So, I would absolutely love to.”

AEW’s partnership with The Owen Hart Foundation was announced last September. Both the men’s and women’s Owen Hart Cup tournaments will be taking place in May 2022 with each final happening at this year’s Double Or Nothing. No competitors have been announced, but we’ll be sure to keep you posted with new developments.

https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1439967601854226434

Taya Valkyrie signed with WWE in February of last year and was soon repackaged as Franky Monet. She and several of her now-former co-workers were released by WWE on Thursday, November 4 allegedly due to budget cuts necessitated by the Covid-19 pandemic (although as we reported, WWE generated $256 Million in revenue in that quarter).

Source: TheSportster

Nick Aldis Re-Signs With NWA, NWA Powerrr Returning To YouTube

Former NWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis revealed on Busted Open that he has re-signed with the promotion. Aldis has been with the company since 2017, and during a recent interview with Wrestling Inc., he discussed what he enjoys about the promotion.

“One of the things I’ve enjoyed in my time with the NWA was the ability to breathe new life into things which have a tremendous amount of history and tradition attached to them, but haven’t always been celebrated in that respect,” Aldis told us. “They were always things people talked about in the past tense.”

NWA President William Corgan also announced today the addition of two more pay-per-views, bringing the 2022 schedule up to six events. The company will be including all PPV events in a brand new annual “All Access” plan, which launches today. A new Saturday morning show, NWA USA, will air free on YouTube before becoming available as replays via the NWA “All Access” plan on FITE. The NWA USA season starts this Saturday, January 8th and will revive the NWA Junior Heavyweight Championship as an extended tournament and a title.

“With the NWA coming off our biggest and most successful year of this modern era, I can’t express just how thrilled I am to make this newest offering to fans via NWA All Access,” NWA President William Corgan said. “And to that, we will work that much more to exceed expectations. Which is what makes the inherent savings in this annual package so exciting. Because we as an organization really believe this new model will change the game for us; all whilst rewarding our most loyal and ardent fans with more shows and more PPV events.”

The “All Access” Pass–Annual Plan will cost $49.99 and will get fans all six of NWA’s live and scheduled PPV events for 2022. All Access Pass holders, whether monthly or annual, will continue to watch NWA POWERRR first, each Tuesday at 6:05 ET. Exclusive specials such as the docu-series Ten Pounds of Gold will be available only with “All Access” plans.

NWA and FITE have also partnered to put NWA POWERRR shows on YouTube free on Friday nights at 6:05 PM ET. NWA USA will debut on YouTube on Saturday mornings at 12:05 AM ET, before moving to FITE for NWA “All Access” members on Sunday nights.

“Most wrestlers and wrestling fans grew up watching Saturday morning matches with classic promotions like NWA,” said Nick Aldis. “We wanted to bring back that joyful state of being and indoctrinate impressionable young minds into the National Wrestling Alliance.”
We guarantee that this fresh and exciting addition to the brand’s quickly growing slate of programming will be can’t miss.

You can get more details and subscribe at FITE TV by clicking here.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Booker T Comments On His Impending Return To In-Ring Action

It was confirmed this week that Booker T will be returning to the ring for his Reality Of Wrestling promotion. During his latest Hall Of Fame podcast, Booker himself discussed the situation, likening his current role when he returns to the ring as that of a player-coach.

“Player-coach baby. I’ll coach it from the outside and, hey, I’m putting myself in the game. Go in and score 30,” he added. “That’s what it’s all about. It’s about letting these young guys get a ‘rub.’ Get a rub and let them see exactly what it takes from an inside perspective.”

Booker T will be teaming with Gaspar Hernandez  and the match will be taking place on January 22 in Canton, Texas. He believes it is all about on-the-job training and also spoke about the future of his tag team partner.

“I mean, on-the-job training, baby,” Booker T said about the situation. “It’s about learning this thing the proper way. A straight line is the direction that Gaspar Hernandez is going. Do you feel me?”

Booker T is taking his return to wrestling seriously. He has not been in the ring since February of 2020, where he competed for Reality Of Wrestling as well. However, the Hall Of Famer has been getting ready to get back, by spending time inside of the gym in order to get ready.

“I just finished working out in the gym. I am getting prepared, I am getting ready,” the Hall Of Famer claimed. “To go out there and do something special, the first time that it has never been done. Player-coach, Booker T, Gaspar Hernandez, Canton, Texas. It’s going to be good.”

Source: Wrestling Inc. credit to Hall Of Fame podcast

Alexa Bliss Returning To WWE RAW Soon

Alexa Bliss is set to return to WWE RAW soon.

WWE announced this week that we will begin to see Bliss’ journey back to RAW next Monday night. It sounds like a series of vignettes will be released, leading up to Bliss making her return to the storylines.

Bliss has been away from WWE since losing to then-RAW Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair at the Extreme Rules pay-per-view on September 26. It was reported after the pay-per-view that Bliss would be taking “a few months” off due to sinus surgery. She noted on Twitter in late November that she needed “time to heal” when a fan asked about her return.

There’s been speculation on Bliss possibly returning with a new gimmick, or her old character. She was wrapping up the Lilly storyline the last time we saw her. There’s also speculation on Bliss possibly making her return in the 30-Woman Royal Rumble Match later this month.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Indie Star Dani Mo Reportedly Assaulted Backstage At OVW Event

Independent wrestling star Dani Mo was reportedly punched in the eye during a backstage altercation with one of her peers at an OVW show.

At a recent OVW event, independent wrestler Dani Mo was allegedly assaulted backstage during a pre-show meeting. after she broached the topic of some of her peers working while intoxicated.

Indie veteran Facade, who is Dani’s real-life partner, took to social media shortly after the incident to share his side of the story.

“We’re headed back from Louisville right now. During a backstage meeting where “officials asked to leave,” Dani was sucker punched in the eye from behind after speaking up about people getting intoxicated before the show,” Facade tweeted. In a follow-up tweet, Facade said he didn’t want to put anyone on blast but that the incident wasn’t cool.

https://twitter.com/1FACADE/status/1471659207812390913

Later, Dani clarified that OVW was not at fault for the incident and placed the blame solely on the unnamed individual who attacked her.

“I want to make this CLEAR, this has NOTHING to do w/ a company I work for, this insident was out of their hands COMPLETLY. It was w/ 1 particular person. Please do not make assumptions nor bash anyone,” she tweeted.

https://twitter.com/realdanimo/status/1471683769661014019

Dani Mo debuted for OVW back in May and has wrestled for the company 29 times since. She was originally scheduled to face Sierra for the latter’s OVW Women’s Championship at OVW’s Christmas Chaos event on Thursday, December 16. Dani withdrew from that match prior to the event, presumably as a result of the aforementioned backstage altercation.

Ohio Valley Wrestling is a Kentucky-based promotion that is currently owned and booked by businessman Matt Jones and former WWE Superstar Al Snow. The promotion was closely associated with WWE in the late ’90s and early 2000’s when it served as a developmental territory. During its glory days, the promotion was responsible for developing future megastars like Randy Orton, Brock Lesnar, John Cena, and Batista.

Source: TheSportster

Jimmy Rave Passes Away At Age 39

Former Ring of Honor and Impact Wrestling star Jimmy Rave has passed away today at the age of 39-years-old. The announcement came yesterday on Twitter, in a statement prepared by agent Bill Behrens and Rave’s daughter, Kailah.

“James Michael Guffey has died at the age of 39,” the statement began. “James was best known as Professional Wrestler Jimmy Rave. His career started in 1999, continued for over 2 decades. He was a two-time NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion. He appeared in Total Non-Stop Action Wrestling, where he teamed with Lance (Hoyt) Rock as the ‘Rock and Rave Infection.’ In Ring of Honor, he feuded with AJ Styles and was the ‘Crown Jewel’ of the faction, The Embassy, and last appeared in 2013 as a member of S.C.U.M. He toured Japan with both Dragon Gate Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling where in 2008 he competed in the Best of the Super Junior Tournament. In 2005, he appeared on World Wrestling Entertainment’s Sunday Night Heat. Rave also appeared in numerous independent promotions including Rampage Pro Wrestling, Atlanta Wrestling Entertainment, and Combat Zone Wrestling, among many others. He also served as the booker for several years in Rampage Pro Wrestling and led a faction known as Jimmy Rave Approved.

“Outside of wrestling, he held the position of Director of the Bartow County, Georgia Peer Support, Wellness, and Respite Center for several years. James had been struggling with drug addiction for many years. His struggles resulted in the amputation of his arm and, later, both of his legs. James is survived by his ex-wife Felicia, daughter Kailah, son James II, and his parents Jim & Toni Guffey. At the time of his death, he was living in Philadelphia, PA area with Gabby Gilbert. RIP, James Michael Guffy, 12/8/82 – 12/12/21. Memorial services will be held in Georgia. Details to be released at a later time.”

The news of Jimmy Rave’s passing comes only a few months after Rave was forced to have both of his legs amputated following a battle with a MRSA infection. Jimmy Rave had previously been forced to have his left arm amputated due to infection in 2020, which resulted in him being forced to retire from wrestling.

Many have tried to help Jimmy Rave as he worked to overcome his struggles in the past year. A Go Fund Me page was launched for Rave earlier this year to help him with the cost of his medical bills. In recent months, WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley also began raising money to assist Rave.

“I was thinking about Jimmy and how Jimmy’s Go Fund Me really needed a boost,” Foley told The Wrestling Inc. Daily last week. “Losing both legs, it’s devastating emotionally, psychologically, and also financially. He’s got bills that go for $100 thousand. He believes they’ll be able to whittle that down to $50 or $60 thousand, but it’s still a mountain of money.

“I just thought ‘hey, if there are some orders out there to be had, and I can combine that with some of my memorabilia, and also some personal interactions like the 2 nights in Georgia.’ Actually, it was 3 nights, and we had a fantastic time with a couple that bid a nice amount of money. It really exceeded my expectations. I thought we’d get maybe $10 or $12 thousand. Michael said ‘we’re going to try and get you and Jimmy to his goal’, which was $22 thousand. And we get it. It was really incredible.”

Debuting in October of 1999, Jimmy Rave joined Ring of Honor in 2003 and gained notoriety for being one of the most hated heels in the early history of the promotion. He would wrestle the likes of AJ Styles, Bryan Danielson, CM Punk, Nigel McGuinness, and countless others, and once unsuccessfully challenged Danielson for the Ring of Honor Championship in 2006. His most notable matches in ROH were a tag match where Rave and current WWE on-screen authority figure Adam Pearce wrestled Danielson and Punk at ROH Unscripted II, Punk’s last Ring of Honor match, and a Fight Without Honor match with McGuinness in March of 2007.

Jimmy Rave would join Impact Wrestling, then TNA, in 2007, but failed to catch on despite his aforementioned Rock & Rave tag team with Lance Hoyt (current AEW star Lance Archer). The duo would be released in 2009 after an uneventful two-year run, though Rave would eventually return for several one-off appearances until 2013.

Rave would also make several returns to ROH, first in 2009 to feud with Grizzly Redwood and Necro Butcher, though he was let go shortly after as he battled his drug addiction. He would return again in 2011 to feud with The Embassy’s new Crown Jewel Tomasso Ciampa, and one last time in 2013 as a member of the S.C.U.M. stable, alongside Kevin Steen, Jimmy Jacobs, Steve Corino, Rhino, Cliff Compton, Matt Hardy, and Rhett Tidus. He would continue to wrestle on the independent circuit afterward before his retirement.

 Condolences to Jimmy Rave’s family, and friends during this difficult time.

You can read the statement on Jimmy Rave’s passing below.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AJ Lee Speaks Out About Her Suicide Attempt And How A Stranger Saved Her Life

The former WWE Superstar planned on committing suicide in 2014 but was saved by a stranger on the other end of the phone.

Trigger warning: this article includes discussions about suicidal feelings and a suicide attempt.

The women’s division in WWE has come a long way over the course of the past six years or so. While the likes of Paige, Charlotte Flair, and Bayley quite rightly get a lot of the credit for that, there are quite a few others who were around beforehand who are yet to really reap the rewards. Perhaps most notably AJ Lee who left WWE, possibly never to return, in 2015.

Lee arguably left at the top of her game, something most wrestlers can only dream of. She won her final match, not to mention the match the night before at WrestleMania, and held the Divas Title on three occasions during the year prior to her departure. She also married CM Punk during that period, which is why it might surprise fans to hear Lee’s life was far from perfect at the time.

Lee planned to take her own life in 2014 while Divas Champion and after getting married. The former WWE Superstar recently opened up about her suicide attempt for the first time during an appearance on Maurice Benard: State Of Mind. You can check out the whole episode below in which Lee discusses her bipolar disorder and how nobody knew she had gone to a hotel with the intention of ending her life.

“It was my bipolar disorder couldn’t handle it. It was too much for me,” Lee explained, laying out the highs of her titles wins and getting married to the lows of getting hurt and having to undergo multiple surgeries. “The only solution to me, the only thing I could do was just, I booked a hotel room and that was my plan.”

Something in Lee’s brain told her to call the Suicide Prevention Hotline. Since she was in a different area, the person on the other end urged her to call the number linked to the area she was in for the purposes of needing to potentially call an ambulance. Lee saw that as a sign she should go through with her suicide attempt, but at the last moment she called 311 to get the other number. A man at the end of the 311 call listened to Lee as she poured her heart out. The retired wrestler credits him with saving her life. She doesn’t know his name or who he is, but she can still hear his voice all these years later.

Source: TheSportster – Josh Coulson

After six years away from the wrestling industry, AJ Lee (April Mendez Brooks) joined the WOW – Women of Wrestling promotion as an executive producer in October 2021, serving alongside Jeanie Buss. This announcement coincided with WOW entering into a multi-year distribution agreement with ViacomCBS, the biggest distribution opportunity in the U.S. and abroad in the history of women’s professional wrestling. Mendez will also provide color commentary for their upcoming weekly program beginning in late 2022.

Freddie Prinze Jr Hints At Launching His Own Pro Wrestling Promotion

Freddie Prinze Jr was interviewed on The Ariel Helwani Show lately and he revealed he’s interested in creating a wrestling promotion. He admitted that the recent releases actually make him hungry to possibly start things.

“No, it makes me want to start a wrestling brand is what it makes me want to do,” he claimed. “Like, everybody sees that and they get sad, I see that and I get hungry. I was in Karrion Kross’ DMs the day it happened, I was like, ‘hey man, I didn’t go back to work for fun. I went back to work to invest in things.’ Imagine having Keith Lee and Karrion Kross on the same roster and making people wait to watch them fight. Just keeping their stories connected but separate. Even if it was just indie shows, which is what it would have to be. I’m not trying to go in and put $50 million on something. But there’s so much talent out there now that I think people would love to watch.”

Freddie Prinze Jr went on to make it clear a return to wrestling is on his mind. However, going to a big main scale company is not.

“Yeah, in an independent fashion, but never on a huge main scale thing,” he stated. “I’ve flirted with Brian Kendrick’s Wrestling Pro Wrestling which is basically comedy cosplay wrestling. If the kids in the hall and Vince McMahon had a baby and it wanted to start its own wrestling brand it would be this.”

Freddie Prinze Jr admitted that he almost returned to wrestling recently. He nearly took a role with Women Of Wrestling.

“I got close on a couple of things, man,” he admitted. “I almost took over creative control of Women Of Wrestling for WOW Wrestling before AJ ended up doing it. Like I said, I spoke with Brian about him and his brand because I thought it was really fun and interesting.”

However, even though he did not get that role, Freddie Prinze Jr, is serious about starting a promotion. So much so that he spoke with his accountant about the steps he has to make.

“The most that I am comfortable saying, and we can talk more. Before I took the Netflix movie I spoke with my accountant about, ‘hey, if I wanted to screw around with like an indie wrestling league. What would I need to do?’ He said, ‘you would need to do A, B, and C.’ So then I did A, and I am getting ready to do B and C,” he revealed. “So you know, it’s definitely something I think about a lot.”

Freddie also spoke about the possibility of the promotion happening in 2022. He admitted it is down to the number of movies he shoots.

“It depends how many movies I do in 2022,” he said. “I have one that I am going to do. If I do two, then that’s A, B, and C and yeah, it’ll be something that I start pursuing aggressively.”

Source: Wrestling Inc. with credit to The Ariel Helwani Show 

Conrad Thompson Teases Starting Promotion With WWE Hall Of Famer Jeff Jarrett

Following another round of WWE releases this week, there has been some talk about another wrestling promotion starting. Conrad Thompson has taken to social media to tease that he and Jeff Jarrett could be doing just that.

Conrad Thompson responded to several tweets today with different GIFs, all hinting that he has an interest in starting up his own wrestling promotion. These questions also involved Jeff Jarrett, with who he co-hosts the popular My World podcast.

Earlier this week Jeff Jarrett spoke with The Wrestling Inc. Daily about the possibility of promoting again. During the interview, the WWE Hall Of Famer made it clear he is still open to that.

“I think there’s much more of an opportunity, an exponential more of an opportunity… So the ability to create good high-quality compelling content has never been more readily available. Then pair that with all the talent around the world that is working consistently, then yes, the opportunity is there for me and a lot of others.”

While nothing is confirmed at this time, it is clear that Conrad is at least thinking about the situation. There is currently a lot of talent available right now who are free agents following Ring Of Honor’s hiatus and the multiple WWE releases this year. At the moment, there are too many wrestlers to simply fit into the existing promotions out there.

Yesterday WWE released: Hit Row, John Morrison, Tegan Nox, Jaxson Ryker, and Drake Maverick.

Source: Wrestling Inc.