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.

TNA Impact Preview 3/14/2024

Experience the fallout from Sacrifice as the road to Rebellion begins! Don’t miss an all-new TNA iMPACT! this Thursday at 8/7c on AXS TV and 8:30pm ET on YouTube for Insiders!

  • TNA X-Division Championship: Mustafa Ali (c) vs. Chris Sabin
  • Steve Maclin and The Rascalz vs. Nic Nemeth & Speedball Mountain
  • Ace Austin vs. Franki Kazarian
  • AJ Francis vs. Joe Hendry

ROH TV Preview 3/14/2024

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: 

  • ROH Women’s Champion Athena vs. Aysha in a Proving Ground Match.
  • ROH Women’s Television Championship Quarter-Final: Billie Starkz vs. Diamante.
  • ROH Women’s Television Championship Quarter-Final: Mercedes Martinez vs. Abadon.
  • Kiera Hogan vs. Lady Frost vs. Robyn Renegade vs. Leyla Hirsch.
  • Komander vs. AR Fox vs. Jack Cartwheel vs. Slim J.
  • Orange Cassidy & Trent Beretta vs. Griff Garrison & Cole Karter with Maria Kanellis.  
  • Top Flight & Action Andretti vs. The Iron Savages & JT Davidson.
  • The Work Horsemen vs. Nick Comoroto & Jacoby Watts.
  • Lee Johnson vs. Aaron Solo.
  • Lance Archer vs. Darian Bengston.

Backstage Report On AEW Head Tony Khan Meeting With President Of STARDOM

There was plenty of big business happening onscreen at “AEW Dynamite: Big Business” last night, but there was also just as much happening offscreen. That’s because AEW owner Tony Khan met with STARDOM President Taro Okada, which in turn led to STARDOM star Mina Shirakawa wrestling Anna Jay in a Ring of Honor match before “Big Business” hit airwaves.

If it all seems to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship between AEW and STARDOM, that’s because it is. On this morning’s “Wrestling Observer Radio,” Dave Meltzer confirmed that the plan, at the moment, is for STARDOM talent, along with New Japan and CMLL talent, to be part of this year’s edition of Forbidden Door, signaling an alliance between AEW and the Joshi promotion. In addition, it’s also believed Shirakawa and former High Speed Champion will be working ROH Supercard of Honor at WrestleMania weekend in three weeks time.

The new relationship between AEW and STARDOM appears to correlate with the departure of STARDOM founder and promoter Rossy Ogawa, who was fired from the promotion in early February. Ogawa’s firing was subsequentially celebrated by Khan, which was said to be Khan showing loyalty to STARDOM and its new regime. Ogawa has since revealed he will be starting his own promotion, with former STARDOM star Giulia expected to join him for a few months before signing with WWE.

With Shirakawa’s appearance on ROH, she becomes the first STARDOM talent to appear in either AEW/ROH as part of the new alliance between AEW and STARDOM, and the second STARDOM star to appear in AEW/ROH. Former World of Stardom Champion Utami Hayashishita had previously appeared for ROH in July 2023, defeating Trish Adora in singles action.

Source: Wrestling Inc.