El Hijo Del Vikingo Forced To Vacate AAA Mega Championship

AAA star El Hijo del Vikingo has had to relinquish his AAA Mega Championship due to him being sidelined after suffering an injury.

The Mexican promotion announced on social media that Vikingo has vacated his title, and that a new champion will be determined at next month’s Triplemania XXXII show in Monterrey on April 27. Qualifiers for the match at Triplemania XXXII have begun, with Alberto El Patron winning the first qualifier match, defeating Psycho Clown and Cibernetico.

Vikingo’s reign as AAA Mega Champion lasted 833 days, which is the longest reign in the title’s history. The 26-year-old had to vacate the championship after a knee injury that he suffered recently forced him to undergo surgery. The Mexican star revealed later that he has ruptured ligaments and a torn meniscus, with reports suggesting that he could be out for anywhere between five and nine months. His injury occurred during a match on AULL in February, with the match being stopped due to its seriousness.

His reign as AAA Mega Champion began at AAA Triplemania Regia II in December 2021, when he defeated Jay Lethal, Bandido, Samuray del Sol, and Bobby Fish in a five-way match. Vikingo, who has wrestled in AEW and ROH since his debut AEW match against Kenny Omega in March 2023, last defended the Mega Championship in January on ROH against Action Andretti. 

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Asuka Reportedly Injured During Latest SmackDown

It hasn’t always been the smoothest road to WrestleMania 40, with plans involving The Rock, Cody Rhodes, and Roman Reigns changing a few times, while an injury to CM Punk also led to an audible regarding the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match. Now, another injury has emerged to potentially throw a monkey wrench into WWE’s plans for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships.

PWInsider reports that Asuka, one-half of the Women’s Tag Champions with Kairi Sane, suffered an injury to her knee on “SmackDown” this past Friday night. The news will not come as a huge shock to viewers, as Asuka could be seen limping during the closing angle of “SmackDown,” where she, Kairi, Dakota Kai, and WWE Women’s Champion IYO SKY attacked Bayley following the latter’s match against Kai.

Asuka was subsequently pulled off the road this weekend, as a precaution, and is expected to undergo medical tests to determine the severity of the injury. At this time, it remains to be seen whether Asuka will be able to wrestle through the injury, or if she will be forced to take significant time off. It would be Asuka’s second notable injury in three years, after she was forced to miss 9 months of action from July 2021 to April 2022 due to an arm injury.

While no match had been announced for Asuka and Kairi at WrestleMania, it was expected that the duo would put their titles on the line on either Night One or Night Two of the event. Should Asuka be forced to miss significant time, she would become the second WWE women’s star forced off of Mania this year due to injury, joining Charlotte Flair, who suffered an injury wrestling Asuka back in December and is expected to be out till later this year.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Collision Preview 3/16/2024

Tonight’s AEW Collision Live on TNT from the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Ontario, CA.

  • Bryan Danielson vs. Katsuyori Shibata
  • TBS Championship – Open House Match: Julia Hart (c) vs. Trish Adora
  • AEW Tag Team Title Tournament Wild Card Match: House of Black vs. The Infantry
  • Kyle O’Reilly vs. Bryan Keith
  • PAC vs. Komander
  • We’ll hear from Adam Copeland

MLW ‘Once Upon A Time’ In New York Special 3/16/2024

MLW presents a free simulcasted signature special on cable television and streaming worldwide on YouTube 10pm ET tonight.

Major League Wrestling presents “Once Upon a Time in New York,” a spectacular two-hour free special, broadcasting nationwide on cable’s beIN SPORTS (find a provider) and streaming live on MLW’s YouTube Channel (http://www.youtube.com/@mlw). 

  • Matt Riddle vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr (promoted by Saint Laurent)
  • Satoshi Kojima, Alex Kane and Okumura vs. World Titan Federation Superstars® “Filthy” Tom Lawlor, Richard Holliday and Josh Bishop (promoted by Saint Laurent)
  • AJ Franci$ (promoted by Saint Laurent) vs. Mr. Thomas
  • Magnus (with Cesar Dura) vs. Star Jr. (presented by Salina de la Renta)
  • Delmi Exo vs. Zayda (promoted by Saint Laurent)
  • Bad Dude Tito (presented by Salina de la Renta) vs. Azteca 66
  • Scramble-6 Match: Brett Ryan Gosselinvs. Love, Doug vs. Ichiban vs. Marcus Mathers vs. Dyln McCay vs. Cannonball

Darby Allin Injured In AEW Dynamite: Big Business Match, Mt. Everest Climb Postponed

Over 6,000 people have climbed Mount Everest, but after a TMZ report and Darby Allin himself posting an x-ray image of his broken foot onto X (formerly known as Twitter) it has become very clear that Allin will not be joining that exclusive club any time soon.

Allin faced off against “Switchblade” Jay White this past Wednesday on “AEW Dynamite: Big Business,” presumably his final match before leaving to climb Everest on March 27. Two minutes into the match (according to TMZ) he landed awkwardly, and after holding his now-injured foot briefly, limped back to a standing position. Allin ultimately finished the match against White, who pinned him following a Blade Runner.

Eerily, there were already plans in place for White and Bullet Club Gold to give Allin a kayfabe ankle injury after the match, which would have served to write Allin off of TV during his Everest trip. Allin completed the segment, broken foot and all. In his X post, he linked to the TMZ article, which confirmed his injury with a picture of the bandaged foot and a corresponding x-ray.

The extent of Allin’s foot injury is currently unknown. He had recently made headlines following an audacious glass pane high spot at AEW Revolution, and any timeline regarding his return to in-ring action is unclear as of this writing.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Backstage Update On WWE Allowing Shayna Baszler To Work Bloodsport X Event For GCW

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.

AEW Rampage Preview 3/15/2024

Tonight’s AEW Rampage on TNT.

  • The Undisputed Kingdom (Matt Taven, Mike Bennett, & Roderick Strong) vs. Action Andretti & Top Flight (Dante & Darius Martin)
  • Best Friends (Orange Cassidy & Trent Beretta) vs. The Dark Order (Evil Uno & John Silver)
  • AEW Women’s World Champion Toni Storm & Mariah May in tag team action
  • AEW World Tag Team Championship Tournament Bracketology

WWE SmackDown Preview 3/15/2024

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown, which airs live on FOX from the FedEx Forum in Memphis, TN.

  • WWE Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio returns
  • Bayley vs. Dakota Kai
  • The Rock to appear

Jerry The King” Lawler is expected to be at SmackDown tonight in Memphis, but it has not been confirmed if he will appear on TV.

Paul Wight Announces He Will Return To The Ring Soon

Paul Wight is returning to the ring soon.

The former WWE Grand Slam Champion posted a clip to his Instagram account where he announced his impending AEW in-ring return.

Wight last competed on the Chris Jericho Cruise in January. He last competed on AEW TV in November of last year.

You can check out Wight’s clip below:

New AEW Star Mercedes Mone Was Initially Told Her 2023 Ankle Injury Was Career-Ending

New AEW star Mercedes Mone has revealed that she was informed last year that she would never be able to wrestle again due to an injury she had suffered. 

Mone, in a recent interview with “Sports Illustrated,” stated that she suffered a nasty ankle injury in her match with Willow Nightingale last year, following which her doctor told her that she may not be able to wrestle again.

“I got an MRI in May, and the surgeon told me, ‘This is career-ending.’ That was the biggest shock in my whole life. I’d never really been injured like this before,” said the former WWE star. 

Despite the shocking prognosis given by her doctor, Mone was determined to get back in the ring, which she also told her doctor.

“It was devastating when I was told I was never going to come back. But I always knew I would be back, and I told that to my surgeon. Now I’m healthy and my surgeon is calling his mentor saying, ‘Look at what happened here, it’s incredible.’ I don’t like being told no. I always believed I would be back, and now it’s true,” said Mone.

The former Sasha Banks added that the ankle injury was extremely painful, even more than her injury at Hell in a Cell, which she called the worst injury in her career. She described her injury as a “fight every day” and detailed how she couldn’t put weight on her ankle for three months.

Mone made her highly-awaited AEW debut his past week on “AEW Dynamite: Big Business,” where she opened the show and explained her reasons for arriving at AEW, even highlighting how she and Nightingale have unfinished business. The former “WWE Raw” Women’s Champion hasn’t wrestled since her match against Nightingale last May, where she lost the NJPW Strong Women’s title to her fellow AEW star.

Source: Wrestling Inc.