Report – Ricky Starks To Sign With WWE After AEW Deal Expires

Ricky Starks last appeared on the March 30th episode of AEW Collision, during which he suffered an injury scare, which changed the planned outcome of the match.

Since that show, Starks has publicly stated that he is not injured and expressed uncertainty regarding AEW’s decision not to involve him in programming. Meanwhile, AEW President Tony Khan publicly expressed his desire to bring Starks back to television.

There were plans to reintroduce Starks to television as a babyface and initiate a storyline involving a betrayal by Big Bill, leading to a feud between the two. However, the planned babyface turn did not materialize due to Starks’ decision not to pursue this direction.

Pwinsider reported earlier this week that there is “certainly interest” in several AEW stars, including Starks, whose deals are close to expiring or who have been absent from TV for some time.

According to the latest update by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Starks is expected to sign with WWE when his AEW contract expires.

The length of Starks’ AEW deal is unknown.

Source: eWn

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.

ROH TV Preview 8/8/2024

ROH will air a new episode of its weekly television show tonight at 7 pm ET on HonorClub. 

You can sign up for the streaming service here. Below is the lineup for the show:

  • Dustin Rhodes & Sammy Guevara vs. Dark Order
  • ROH World Tag Team Championship: Undisputed Kingdom (c) vs. The infantry
  • Tony Nese vs. Tomohiro Ishii
  • Rachael Ellering in action
  • The Outrunners vs. Stephen Barrett & Wolf Brown
  • Darian Bengston vs. Robbie Eagles

TNA Impact Preview 8/8/2024

TNA Wrestling will present a new episode of Impact tonight on AXS TV, featuring more crossover with WWE NXT.

TNA Knockouts World Championship: Jordynne Grace (c) vs. TBD
Ultimate X Qualifier: Mike Bailey vs. Trent Seven vs. Jake Something
Ultimate X Qualifier: KC Navarro vs. Zachary Wentz vs. TBD
Joe Hendry vs. NXT’s Wolfgang
KUSHIDA vs. Jonathan Gresham
Fallout from PCO and Steph de Lander’s wedding
Bound for Glory location announcement

Warner Bros. Discovery Rebranding TruTV’s Primetime Schedule As TNT Sports In Potential Good Sign For AEW

As AEW and Warner Bros Discovery continue their negotiations surrounding AEW’s future on WBD networks, the company has made an announcement that appears to be good news for the fledgling wrestling promotion. On WBD’s Q2 Earnings Call on Wednesday, CEO David Zaslav announced a plan to rebrand TruTV’s primetime schedule as “TNT Sports” in October, according to Brian Steinberg.

According to Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp, the programming block is intended to be similar to the Adult Swim programming block on Cartoon Network, which is treated as a separate brand despite sharing a channel with Cartoon Network, in the same way as TNT Sports and TruTV. This, coupled with AEW talents being a focal point in the advertisement for the upcoming “TNT Overdrive” program, likely spells good news for AEW. WBD continuing in the sports programming world, despite seemingly losing the NBA to Amazon Prime, means they’ll likely need sports-centric programming like AEW and even potentially Ring of Honor. AEW President Tony Khan has been publicly adamant throughout the negotiation process that ROH is an important part of AEW’s portfolio, though there have thus far been no concrete plans to bring the streaming promotion to television. There have also been conflicting reports as to how dedicated WBD is in investing in the television side of things.

Khan has described negotiations with WBD as “complicated” but has maintained an upbeat attitude throughout the process, recently meeting with Zaslav in Paris during the Olympics, about which Khan later tweeted very positively. The exclusive negotiating window with WBD recently expired, and AEW is free to entertain offers from competing networks unless a deal is announced in the coming days.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Dynamite Preview 8/7/2024

Tonight’s AEW Dynamite live from the LJVM Coliseum in Winston-Salem, North Carolina at 8 PM ET on TBS.

  • AEW American Championship Title Eliminator Match: MJF (c) vs. Kyle Fletcher
  • Anything Goes: Bryan Danielson vs. Jeff Jarrett (Ricky Steamboat is a special guest)
  • Bryan Keith vs. Katsuyori Shibata
  • Mariah May vs. Viva Van

AEW Star Britt Baker To Appear In Season 6 Of “Cobra Kai”

According to PWInsider Elite, AEW star Britt Baker will appear in season six of “Cobra Kai.”

The second half of season six is scheduled to premiere Friday, November 15 on Netflix.

The report further notes Baker, on the show, will be on one of the teams competing in an international karate tournament known as “Sekai Taikai.”

Martin Kove, who plays Karate instructor John Kreese in the Karate Kid movies and “Cobra Kai” made an appearance in a segment back on the February 16, 2022 episode of Dynamite, in which he gave karate advice to Baker.

Tony Khan – “AEW Is On The Verge Of Making The Most Important Deal With WBD”

AEW President Tony Khan traveled to Paris last week to meet with Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav during the Olympic Games. The two parties are continuing to negotiate a new media rights deal.

In a recent interview with “Q101,” Khan commented on the ongoing talks between AEW and Warner Bros. Discovery regarding the new television rights.

Khan said, “Right now is the most important time ever in AEW. We’re on the verge of the most important deal we’ll ever make, this upcoming media rights, and it’s been great working with Warner Brothers Discovery on the future. For all these years, we’ve had so much great experience with Warner Brothers Discovery, and now, under the leadership of David Zaslav, the company, for us, the connection, the things we’ve been able to do, I think it’s getting stronger and stronger. I think now, over five years, it’s really been building to this point where AEW’s going to jump into the media rights and be a very profitable, successful company that has lived up to every expectation we ever could have had because we’ve done so many amazing things in this years. We’ve had all these amazing pay-per-view records. We’ve really come in and we’ve done pay-per-view numbers, whether adjusted or straight-up, head-to-head, very strong compared to the last few years of WCW, and I think that’s really a success story. I think pay-per-views are really fun, but it’s a really interesting business point that our business on pay-per-view has continued to get stronger. This year’s been great for us, we’ve had some huge events, including Revolution, which was one of our biggest pay-per-views ever.”

Since the launch of AEW Dynamite in October 2019, AEW programming has been featured on Warner Bros. Discovery channels. Khan has consistently emphasized the significance of bringing wrestling back to TBS and TNT following the conclusion of WCW in 2001.

Source: eWn

WWE To Shake Up Commentary Teams For RAW & SmackDown

WWE is shaking up its commentary teams following the arrival of Joe Tessitore.

Tessitore will debut on RAW in Denver, Colorado, on September 2. This move aligns with Cole’s transition to SmackDown, prompted by Pat McAfee’s return to College GameDay.

This rearrangement will result in Cole partnering with Wade Barrett on SmackDown, while Tessitore will collaborate with Corey Graves on RAW.

WWE RAW is scheduled to move from the USA Network to Netflix in January 2025. The ten-year agreement is valued at over $5 billion, translating to at least $500 million annually.

WWE’s current contract with the USA Network expires in September 2024, and RAW will continue to air on the network as a transitional phase before moving to Netflix.

Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline is reporting that the changes to the WWE commentary teams are temporary. Tessitore will join SmackDown in January, and Cole will return to RAW upon its move to Netflix.

Moreover, Tessitore will continue working at ESPN, where he serves as a broadcaster for college football and Top Rank boxing.

Source: eWn

Wes Lee Turns On His The Rascalz Teammates Following Tag Title Match Loss At NXT GAB

The Rascalz are no more following a heel turn by former NXT North American Champion Wes Lee following a loss for the NXT Tag Team Championships against Axiom and Nathan Frazer on Tuesday’s episode of “WWE NXT.” Lee and Zachary Wentz, collectively known as MSK, fought for the championships they never lost, as they were forfeited when Wentz was previously released from WWE, but the pair came up short. Frazer and Axiom had been having their own issues as a tag team for weeks, and even suffered miscommunication in the match where Axiom accidentally super kicked Frazer, but the pair held on to the gold.

Following the match, Trey Miguel got in the ring to console his stablemates, but was met with violence from Lee’s end. The group hugged in the middle of the ring, but as Miguel pulled away, he ate a kick from Lee and Wentz received a low blow. Lee said he wanted to be left alone and continued beating down his partners, end sending Miguel through the ring barricade and Wentz into the ring steps. As he walked back the ramp with his head held high, Lee offered no explanation for his actions. As for Wentz and Miguel, as of this writing, there is currently no word on if they will continue to appear on “WWE NXT” through the company’s ongoing relationship with TNA Wrestling to continue a feud with their former friend.

Source: Wrestling Inc.