Two Indie Promotions Based In United States And United Kingdom Announce ‘Major Merger’

Thanks to the usage today of social media and the internet, wrestling promotions of all shapes and sizes can form their own identities and develop their own followings around the world. Two promotions that have made a name for themselves in the United States and United Kingdom are DEFY and Progress, respectively. DEFY, based out of Seattle, Washington, has become one of the most popular independent promotions in the US, helping to launch AEW stars like Swerve Strickland, Darby Allin, and Nick Wayne.

In the United Kingdom, Progress has become one of the premiere promotions to benefit from the British wrestling boom in the mid-2010s, with some of its biggest alums ranging from Pete Dunne and GUNTHER in WWE, to Will Ospreay and Zack Sabre Jr. in NJPW.

Now the two companies have joined forces in a major merger first reported by Fightful Select, and have since gone public with their new venture as both DEFY and Progress aim to create a global presence that benefits both companies and aids further expansion plans.

DEFY’s recent anniversary event DEFY To Survive: Lucky Number 7 was the first event to take place since the merger was announced, and DEFY events will be available to stream on Progress’ streaming service Demand Progress Plus. The next Progress event, Chapter 163: Twisted Metal, will be the first event for the English promotion since the announcement, and will take place on February 25. The companies have held joint events together in the past, the most recent example being DEFY X PROGRESS in June 2023. Progress did help DEFY come to England over All In weekend in August 2023, with both companies running shows in London’s ‘Electric Ballroom’ on August 26, 2023. The next collaborative effort from the two companies will come over WrestleMania weekend in April, as both DEFY and Progress will host events as part of The Collective on April 4.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Unreleased Ashley Massaro Statement Accuses Vince McMahon Of Preying On WWE Wrestlers

Former WWE Superstar Ashley Massaro was one of more than 50 wrestlers to join a 2016 neurological injury lawsuit against WWE, in which Massaro claimed that she had sustained several concussions during her tenure in the company. Massaro also cited allegations of sexual assault stemming from a WWE tour of Kuwait, as well as abuse from former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon. WWE has since denied any knowledge of Massaro’s accusations.

Prior to her untimely death in 2019, Massaro provided a series of statements to lawyers that were later translated into a sworn affidavit. On Friday, VICE News released one of Massaro’s previously unpublished statements, with Massaro accusing McMahon of preying on female WWE wrestlers. Massaro also said that she was punished for rejecting McMahon’s advances.

Following the release of her Playboy cover, Massaro claimed that McMahon attempted to “get [her] alone with him in his hotel room,” repeatedly calling her hotel room phone and her cell phone. In response, Massaro contacted former WWE production chief Kevin Dunn, who instructed her to tell McMahon that she was not feeling well. In the days following, Massaro said that McMahon began personally writing promos scripts for her “with the clear intention of ruining [her] career.”

“I brought the first script Vince wrote for me to the WWE employee in charge of Creative at the time, Michael Hayes, and he said, ‘you’re not saying this, who the [expletive] wrote this?’ and I told him that Vince did,” Massaro stated. “He said, ‘Well kid, these are the breaks,’ meaning that Vince wanted to end my career and destroy my reputation on my way out. He is known for this type of behavior and also did this to [REDACTED] upon her departure from WWE. In addition, after that night, each time I walk by him he would make vulgar sexual comments that were clearly designed to make me uncomfortable.”

Massaro isn’t the only former WWE employee to levy sexual allegations against McMahon in recent years. Last month, Janel Grant filed a 67-page lawsuit against Vince McMahon, WWE, and former WWE executive John Laurinitis outlining sex trafficking, sexual assault, and a myriad of other abuses. McMahon has denied these respective allegations. 

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Rampage Preview 2/9/2024

Tonight’s AEW Rampage on TNT.

  • The Undisputed Kingdom (Roderick Strong, Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) vs. Best Friends (Orange Cassidy, Rocky Romero & Trent Beretta)
  • The Young Bucks (Nicholas Jackson & Matthew Jackson) vs. two enhancement talents (Mondo Rox & Robbie Lit)
  • Mistico vs. Matt Sydal
  • Willow Nightingale & Kris Statlander vs. Ruby Soho & Saraya

WWE SmackDown Preview 2/9/2024

WWE SmackDown will air live tonight on FOX from the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.

  • WWE Tag Team Title No. 1 Contender Match: Tyler Bate and Pete Dunne vs. DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa)
  • Nick Aldis announces Logan Paul’s next challenger
  • Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Bianca Belair vs. Michin

WWE Hall Of Famer Bret Hart ‘Embarrassed’ He Thought So Highly Of Vince McMahon

As details of former WWE CEO Vince McMahon’s alleged misconduct continue to emerge, more and more performers within the industry are sharing their opinions on the matter, such as WWE’s own Seth Rollins. Speaking to Slate, former WWE Champion Bret Hart also spoke out, sharing his disgust at the claims.

“I’m going to speak my truth,” Hart said. “I’m not worried about Vince’s feelings. He’s never cared about mine.”

Hart said that he’s aware McMahon is getting “his head [kicked] around the parking lot,” as he put it, but the former WWE star doesn’t feel bad. According to Hart, he was made aware a few months ago that some disturbing allegations regarding McMahon were likely to come out soon. Upon reading the text messages from the lawsuit, Hart confirmed that they sounded like McMahon’s way of speaking, and stated that McMahon is only part of the problem.

“I don’t think this is the only incident of this kind of predatory behavior,” Hart continued. “I think you’ll find that it’s everywhere in [WWE].”

In the past, McMahon has used his money and power to largely stay out of trouble, with Hart stating that the former CEO was “the Teflon guy.” Hart acknowledged that McMahon had a massive impact on his career and that he once respected him because of that.

“Now it’s tainted,” Hart said. “I’m embarrassed that I thought so highly of him.”

Hart also addressed the fact that he had once publicly discredited Rita Chatterton, a former WWE referee who accused McMahon of raping her in the 1980s. The WWE Hall of Famer says that he previously believed McMahon had too much at stake to do something as reprehensible as what Chatterton accused him of, but Hart has now come around.

“I apologized from the bottom of my heart,” Hart said. “I said, ‘I believe that what happened to you happened to you. And I apologize. I was wrong.'”

With WWE’s involvement in the death of his brother, Owen, as well as McMahon’s own treatment of Hart in 1997, Hart acknowledged that he’s always had some issues with McMahon. However, he had grown to respect him.

“Now, knowing what kind of a weirdo he became, I have absolutely zero respect for him,” Hart continued. “I do not think I could ever shake his hand if he extended it. Too creepy.”

McMahon stepped down from his position as the Executive Chairman of the TKO Board of Directors last month. The former executive is currently under investigation by federal prosecutors. Additionally, the defense attorney for John Laurinaitis, who is also part of the lawsuit involving McMahon, has seemingly taken up a strategy that attempts to implicate McMahon as the only individual responsible for misconduct.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Cody Rhodes Will Face Roman Reigns For Undisputed WWE Universal Title At WrestleMania 40

Cody Rhodes will challenge Roman Reigns at WrestleMania XL.

The WrestleMania 40 press conference in Las Vegas was nothing if not explosive. For the entirety of the men’s segments, chants of “we want Cody”, “let’s go Rocky”, and “Rocky sucks” reverberated off of the walls of the T-Mobile arena.

Roman Reigns made the first move by announcing that he wants to face Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in Philadelphia. “The Rock” came out immediately after to greet Las Vegas, and was met by a swelling wave of boo’s. Johnson stood silent for several minutes as the audience continuously hijacked the segment with chants, boo’s, and off-handed comments. Once the crowd offered a moment of quiet, Johnson formally welcomed the many media journalists in attendance, and introduced them to the “Cody Crybabies”.

Johnson presented a picture of the extensive Anoa’i family tree, and spoke about how Amituana’i Anoa’i and Fanene Anderson (formerly known as Peter Maivia), Reigns’ and Johnson’s grandfathers respectively, tied together their lineages in a blood oath to become aiga, or “family”. Johnson leveraged the history of the Anoa’i clan and their contributions to professional wrestling in order to validate a match between him and Reigns at WrestleMania 40.

Rhodes made his presence known with little introduction, and confronted Reigns and Johnson directly. He chastised Reigns for seizing the Royal Rumble victor’s power to choose any champion at WrestleMania. Rhodes reclaimed that power, and told Reigns, Johnson, Seth Rollins, and the entire world that he would be meeting Reigns in Philadelphia for WrestleMania 40.

Reigns attempted to invoke Rhodes’ father and his forgotten legacy to demoralize Rhodes. “The American Nightmare” shot back, and invoked both Reigns’ and Johnson’s family-based reasoning. He claimed that the Reigns did not care about family, given his treatment of Jey Uso, and that Reigns was just a “meal ticket”. He also criticized the reasoning behind a match with Reigns and Johnson, claiming that the two men were fighting to be the head of the table, but neither had “cooked”, or performed, in two years. Rhodes finished with scathing vitriol, and told Reigns and Johnson that their grandfathers, should they be alive, would be “ashamed” of where their grandsons were.

Johnson did not take too kindly to Rhodes’ comments, and reminded Rhodes that any attack on Reigns’ lineage was an attack on his (Johnson’s). Johnson physically attacked Rhodes, and it took the efforts of multiple WWE officials to separate all involved parties. The fans chanted and whooped as Rhodes, Johnson, and Rollins hurled expletives at each other, and Rhodes was escorted off the stage.

While “The Rock” has expressed a strong desire to be an active participant in Reigns’ WrestleMania 40 plans, his official place in the match has yet to be determined. As of writing, Rhodes has officially chosen to challenge Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 40.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

TNA Impact Preview 2/8/2024

The road to No Surrender intensifies on an all-new iMPACT! tonight at 8/7c on AXS TV and 8:30pm ET on YouTube for IMPACT Insiders!

  • Jordynne Grace & Trinity vs. Savannah Evans & Gisele Shaw
  • Chris Sabin vs. John Skyler
  • Zachary Wentz vs. “Speedball” Mike Bailey
  • Tasha Sheelz vs. Xia Brookside
  • Josh Alexander vs. Alan Angels
  • Alex Shelley vs. Eddie Edwards

ROH TV Preview 2/8/2024

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: 

  • Komander vs. Jack Cartwheel vs. Willie Mack vs. AR Fox
  • Diamante vs. Leyla Hirsh vs. Trish Adora vs. Kiera Hogan
  • Ethan Page vs. Aaron Solo
  • Billie Starkz  vs. Aria Thorne
  • Shane Taylor & Lee Mortiarty & Griff Garrison & Cole Karter (with Maria Kanellis) vs. The Infantry & The Iron Savages
  • Taya Valkyrie vs. Killa Kate
  • Lee Johnson vs. Gravity
  • The Righteous & Lance Archer vs. Jon Cruz, JC Valentine & John Lockheart

Mercedes Mone Reportedly Under Contract To AEW, Will Debut At ‘Big Business’ In Boston

Tony Khan’s latest big announcement officially branded the upcoming March 13 episode of “AEW Dynamite” as “Big Business,” following up on a tweet from the official TD Garden account earlier today. According to Fightful Select (and as anyone with a shrewd eye may have gleaned from the graphic), this special episode will feature the AEW debut of Mercedes Mone.

The report, from both Fightful and Andrew Zarian of “Mat Men Radio,” specified that Mone, formerly Sasha Banks in WWE, has been under contract with AEW since “at least early January,” and though other debut dates had been considered, Wednesday’s announcement in conjunction with the debut in Mone’s hometown of Boston has been finalized for weeks.

From a contract perspective, it was previously reported by Fightful that WWE confirmed talks in late December with the former Women’s Triple Crown and Grand Slam Champion ,but that they weren’t able to come to terms. Prior to that, Mone appeared on screen in the crowd at AEW All In in August, leading to speculation that she might debut for the company soon after, but nothing materialized there, either.

Khan called the event “one of the most important nights ever in AEW and a night that the entire pro wrestling industry will remember,” before a graphic promoting the event adorned the screen. On the lower left hand side, underneath the TD Garden logo, the word “BO$$TON” (dollar signs and all) was right there for all the world to see, making this very much “announcing a debut without actually announcing a debut” as Khan and AEW have so memorably done before.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Sting And Darby Allin Win AEW World Tag Team Championship On Dynamite

Sting will seemingly retire in All Elite Wrestling a champion, though Matthew and Nicholas Jackson did their best to take out “The Icon” following his win with Darbin Allin on Wednesday’s episode of “AEW Dynamite.”

Sting and Allin, an undefeated team, faced off against Big Bill and Ricky Starks for the titles in the main event. The match was billed as a tornado tag and saw both teams immediately go to the outside, with Sting waiting to hit a drop on their opponents from a set of steps high above the actual ring ropes. Bill and Starks regained control, however, and sent both Sting and Allin out of the ring. 

Sting battled back in the match after Big Bill had the legend wrapped up in the ropes. Starks attempted to hit “The Icon” with his own Scorpion Death Drop, though Sting was able to kick out with the help of Allin. Allin hit a Coffin Drop to Big Bill, and Sting was able to get Starks into a Scorpion Death Lock for the win. Following the match, Matt and Nick (now going by their “government” names of Matthew and Nicholas Jackson) beat down the duo of Sting and Allin, foreshadowing what is widely expected to be their match at AEW Revolution — a match which, presumably, will now be for the tag titles. The Bucks also took out Sting’s sons who was in the ring to celebrate with their father. It will also be the final match of Sting’s career, as he announced back in October.

Source: Wrestling Inc.