Category: Wrestling News

Terry Funk On Wrestling Again At 73-Years Old, His Father Passing Away After Wrestling, Jerry Lawler

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Terry Funk spoke with Sports Illustrated‘s “Extra Mustard” section on a number of wrestling topics. Here are some of the highlights:

Wrestling again at 73-years old:

“I’m back doing what I love. I’m really honest about this, I don’t need the money. …I don’t know if I can kick some ass or not, I don’t know if I can get my foot up that high. [Laughs] I’ll bet I can. I’ve been working out hard at it, and one more time is all I want.”

His Dad (Dory Funk) wrestling and passing away shortly after:

“My pop was in the business and he loved it very much. He actually went ahead and passed away while wrestling. We used to have a few parties out at the house and invite the wrestlers. There was one by the name of Lance Thornton, and he thought he could take my father. My father went ahead and said, ‘Dah gumit, I don’t think you can do that.’ So everybody pushed by the tables and chairs in the house, and they went at it. My father, who was 54 at the time, beat him. He sat down beside me and said, ‘Wasn’t bad for an old man, was it?’ Then he got up and left the room and went out the front door. About 15 minutes later, my wife came to me and said, ‘Your father is out on the front porch and thinks he’s having a heart attack.’ Sure enough, he was, and he passed away. He passed away doing what he loved. I certainly don’t want to pass away, but I’m doing what I love. And so what if I’m doing it in my 70s? I know this is hard for some people to understand, but I still think I can kick ass. This love of wrestling has been in my family with my dad, my brother, and myself. To this day, it’s what I love.”

Jerry Lawler (who will be one of his opponents in September):

“Lawler sure is different. I love sharing my moments with people that I made money with. I used to love to wrestle on the same card as him, and I’m back to doing what I love.”

You can read the full interview by clicking here.

Source: WrestlingINC

Funk is advertised to wrestle on Sept. 23 for Big Time Wrestling in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Backstage Update On Rey Mysterio – WWE, The Vince McMahon – Konnan Story, Rey Going To GFW, More

According to Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, Rey Mysterio would not be returning to WWE after the company had interest in bringing him back to help with the Latin market. Word was that Vince McMahon was not interested in working with Rey’s representation, specifically Konnan.

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports this week that while Rey and WWE were talking, the discussions were said to be overblown in the first place as Rey was looking at signing with GFW because of the easier schedule and because it would allow him more freedom to do side projects. When word first got out about Rey talking with WWE, The Observer was told that it was actually GFW that Rey was talking with, and that there was nothing significant to the WWE talk. Rey is unlikely to sign a regular WWE deal at this point in his career, unless it was for a very limited number of dates, and the pay wouldn’t come close to what he could earn as an indie talent if the company offered him a non-talent public relations job.

Regarding Rey’s status with Lucha Underground, he had a very good deal going with them but the fact that he’s looking for work elsewhere as their biggest name is not a good sign for the promotion. It looks like Rey and LU are parting ways, and it’s been noted that he’s expected to receive a significant offer from GFW. Rey’s deal with LU would have made him one of the higher paid wrestlers in the world, working a limited number of dates and still having freedom to work other indies. The Observer notes that the money isn’t there for Rey to be offered what his prior deal was, due to various issues with the promotion – long delays in between tapings, no live event touring and no movie, which was never promised but was pitched. Rey reportedly ended up signing for less than the numbers offered when he was first told about LU’s interest, but it was still far more money than he could get from any other promotion.

Konnan noted that he had not negotiated with WWE on behalf of Mysterio, and that if Rey wanted to return to WWE and anyone saw Konnan’s involvement as a negative, then he would stay out of the talks and Rey would negotiate for himself. The SI story noted that the rift between Vince and Konnan goes back decades to when the company invested big bucks into the Max Moon character for Konnan. He ended up staying in Mexico to work as a top star and while he was recently welcomed backstage at a WWE event as a guest of Chris Jericho, SI noted that issues still exist between Konnan and the WWE office. The Observer noted that the issues over the Max Moon character were started 25 years ago and almost nobody involved is still with the company, except Vince. It was indicated that the Vince – Konnan story may have been overblown.

Regarding Rey and GFW, GFW Executive Karen Jarrett fueled the rumors last month when she posted a photo with Rey to her Instagram account. It’s worth noting that the photo has since been deleted. Rey is under contract with LU through the end of season three, which airs in September, but he does have a 90-day non-compete clause in the deal. He will be a free agent after that and it’s believed he will debut with GFW then.

Source: WrestlingINC

Lucha Underground Preview 8/9/17

The quarterfinals of the Cueto Cup continues. An FBI agent arrives at the temple to speak with Dario Cueto. Captain Vasquez gets an unexpected visitor.

* The Rabbit Tribe strikes the Worldwide Underground in trios action!

* Cueto Cup Quarterfinal Match: Texano vs. Pentagon Dark

* Cueto Cup Quarterfinal Match: Mil Muertes vs. Jeremiah Crane

WWE And GFW Assigned Trademark Attorneys For Matt And Jeff Hardy

WWE’s applications for trademarks relating to Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy filed on June 19 were assigned to a trademark attorney on July 27, according to PWInsider. This means they’ll bypass the three-month wait period that applies to most applications.

Global Force Wrestling’s applications for trademarks relating to the Hardys were filed on April 28 and were also assigned to a trademark attorney on July 27.

WWE’s application for Matt Hardy received an initial refusal due to potential confusion with the “Broken Matt Hardy” application, which was filed first by Hardy himself. All other actions will be frozen until Matt’s application is finalized. A similar situation happened with GFW’s application.

Both of WWE’s applications also received an initial refusal due to WWE not providing consent from Matt and Jeff to trademark their respective names. They quickly responded with consent from both of them.

WWE’s application for a trademark on the Hardy Boyz name was filed in April and is set to be published for opposition to the public at the end of August.

Source: WrestlingINC

Japanese Star Yoshihiro Takayama Reportedly Paralyzed From Wrestling Accident

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According to MMA website, Middle Easy, MMA Fighter and former IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Yoshihiro Takayama is reportedly paralyzed from the neck down after a failed spot during a wrestling match back on May 6 for the DDT pro wrestling promotion. During the match, Takayama attempted a Sunset Flip on his opponent, but fell on his head performing the move.

MMA fans will remember Takayama in his incredible battle against Don Frye at Pride 21 in 2001. Takayama also worked for All Japan Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Noah, winning multiple titles at each promotion, including the GHC Heavyweight Championship in Noah.

While his injuries were known at the time, representatives have just now brought the severity of the news to the public. The article also indicates medical costs could be a concern for the family, but a way to help out has yet to come to light.

Samoa Joe and William Regal on the news:

Source: WrestlingINC

Jessamyn Duke Wrestling Training Photos

As reported yesterday MMA 4 Horsewomen Jessamyn Duke has begun wrestling training at Santino Bros Wrestling Academy in Southern California earlier this week during a seminar taught by NJPW’s Rocky Romero.

Jessamyn’s move is interesting, since last month she and her fellow Four Horsewomen had an on-camera encounter with the Four Horsewomen of NXT during a Mae Young Classic match featuring Shayna Baszler.  Furthermore, TMZ reported in 2014 that Rousey was only interested in a WrestleMania match if her crew were also involved.

Let the speculation continue.

Here are some photos:

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

Jessamyn Duke Starts Pro Wrestling Training

According to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, MMA fighter Jessamyn Duke started wrestling training last weekend. She was working out in a class run by Rocky Romero at the Santino Brothers pro wrestling school in Southern California. Duke is friends with Shayna Baszler, who is in the Mae Young Classic. Along with Ronda Rousey and Marina Shafir, the four were known as MMA’s four horsewomen.

Source: 411Mania

Lucha Underground Preview 8/2/17

Tonight on Lucha Underground on the El Rey Network.

The Cueto Cups quarterfinals begin; Dario admonishes Matanza;
Marty The Moth continues with his unscrupulous behavior towards Melissa.

* Dragon Azteca Jr vs Johnny Mundo

Reby Hardy On If They Are Willing To Face Anthem In Court, If She Thinks An Agreement Will Be Made

Sports Illustrated has an interview with Reby Hardy regarding the ongoing dispute between the Hardys and Anthem Sports over the “Broken” intellectual property. Below are a couple of highlights:

Are the Hardys willing to go to court to pursue the IP? Are you optimistic of a judge or jury ruling in your favor?

“Going to the court is not like going to the grocery store. There is a lot of money involved in a legal case, which is another reason why Anthem is dragging this out as long as they can. Jeff Jarrett said, “Just keep dragging it out, they’ll get tired of spending money.” We would rather settle this like civil human beings, which is what we have tried to do for months and months.

“There are so many things that, if we choose to go to court, we can also add into the case. Senor Benjamin, who is my father, never signed a release to have his image be marketed. Technically, they should not have been able to air his footage. They do not have a release for my son, Maxel, who had no written documents saying he could be on set at Universal Studios, which could jeopardize their relationship with the place where they film on a monthly basis. There is also the fact that I created—shot, directed, and edited—so much footage that I never gave them a release to use, either.”

Anthem also denies that it ever asked for a significant percent of Hardy merchandise, including Jeff Hardy’s art work and music, as well as stated that the contracts offered to Matt and Jeff were almost close to equal in terms of pay. Is the company being truthful, and where do we go from here?

“We literally have those documents in email form from Ed Nordholm.

“In one of the contracts, Anthem snuck in a percentage the company would be owed from any income from ShopMattHardy.com and JeffHardyBrand.com. The fact that they would feel entitled to that is a joke. Jeff Hardy’s site is literally his paintings and music; it has nothing to do with wrestling and is an artistic venture. Why are they entitled to any of that? To slide that into the contract was a real shady move, and we have the documents to prove it.

“Jeff Jarrett’s plan was to give Jeff Hardy all the money, and he actually said to pay Matt as little as possible because he believed Matt could not go anywhere without Jeff Hardy. I had reservations about WWE for a long time, but I forgot all of my reservations and our loyalty to the TNA brand after I learned that.

“F— these guys, to put it bluntly. After Matt financed his own shoots and put hours and hours of his own time writing the shows? F— these guys. We didn’t have any scripts. They’re claiming IP, they’re claiming this is their character and development, but we never had one script or one shoot sheet. That was all Matt pouring himself into the character and dedicating himself to it.

“The amount of time and effort he put into this made it his brainchild, which is why this is more of a personal matter than business. It was all our creation, and we can easily prove that it was all us, and it’s nothing but ego on their end. Matt refused to re-sign, they really believed that he could not go anywhere else, and we called them out on their bluff. Ed Nordholm actually told Jeff Hardy’s attorney, “Tell them to go to WWE.” Is that the way you negotiate? To try to get someone to sign a s— contract to work at your s— company for s— money? When it comes down to it, this comes down to their ego versus all of the time, effort, and passion we have put into this project and gimmick.

“This is a personal investment vs. ego. I feel like there will never be an agreement without going to court.”

Reby also discussed Anthem thinking they own the “Broken” gimmick, Anthem saying that Matt asked for an extra $100,000 during contract negotiations and more. You can read the full interview by clicking here.

Source: WrestlingINC

WWE Hall Of Famer Returning To The Ring

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The legendary Terry Funk has not wrestled his last match.

Funk, now 73, is advertised to wrestle on Sept. 23 for Big Time Wrestling in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

For the first time ever, Funk will team with The Rock N’ Roll Express, Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson. Their opponents in a six-man tag team match are Jerry “The King” Lawler, Doug Gilbert and Brian Christopher. Click here for details on the event.

According to PWInsider.com, Funk has not made any wrestling-related appearances since last September when health issues forced him to leave a wrestling show early.

Source: WrestlingINC