Freddie Prinze Jr. Provides An Update On His Planned Wrestling Promotion

Actor Freddie Prinze Jr. is more than just a wrestling fan, having previously worked in WWE as a writer. The “I Know What You Did Last Summer” star is also in the process of starting his own wrestling promotion, and Prinze offered an update on the project’s status on a recent episode of “Wrestling With Freddie.”

“I’m at the point now where we’re out pitching,” Prinze said. “I pitched to one place [and] it’s still actively out there. They haven’t said yes, they haven’t said no. The fact that they’re still talking about it is a good thing.”

Prinze said he was unable to reveal the companies he’s talked to about airing the promotion but promised to keep his listeners updated with both good and bad news as it comes. The actor has discussed the proposed wrestling promotion with at least two media companies, and he has four more meetings on the books.

There is footage shot to serve as a proof of concept, with Prinze stating that one company he’s met with had reached out to him for a meeting based on what they had seen. It was said to be a long and productive meeting, with the media company asking many relevant questions, and Prinze feels confident regarding their interest in the promotion.

As far as what would set his promotion apart from AEW and WWE, Prinze said that the lineup of wrestlers will be the main factor, stating he wants to offer a platform for performers to “get over.” However, there will be other noticeable differences, only some of which he can tease before the show becomes a reality.

“The look of it will be much different than AEW and WWE,” Prinze continued. “I would say I’m somewhere in-between what WWE and AEW are doing.”

Prinze also cited the defunct wrestling series “Lucha Underground” as an inspiration. Specifically, Prinze stated that he enjoyed how the performers interacted with the space around them, which is something he hopes to bring to his promotion.

In the past, the aspiring promoter revealed that his promotion would differ from WWE by offering death matches. Additionally, before the late Bray Wyatt’s return to WWE in 2022, Prinze had made an offer to Wyatt to join the promotion. At the time, Prinze acknowledged that he would be unable to match WWE financially and it was an unlikely prospect for him to land Wyatt for the fledgling idea.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Ex-WWE Chairman Vince McMahon Files Motion To Force Janel Grant Lawsuit Into Arbitration

As Janel Grant’s lawsuit against WWE, Vince McMahon and others continues, McMahon’s counsel has filed a motion to take the matter out of the public court.

According to a new filing, McMahon’s attorneys have cited a section of Grant’s Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) that states any grievances the two parties have should be settled in private arbitration, as opposed to public court. McMahon’s team also categorically denies Grant’s accusations, alleging that she couldn’t have been grieving the death of her parents in 2019, as they died much earlier, and also stating that Grant and her then-fiance’s ability to live in the same building as McMahon without incident, despite the sordid nature of the alleged affair, called Grant’s accusations and description of her relationship with McMahon into question.

According to Wrestlenomics’s Brandon Thurston, Grant’s attorney Ann Callis had the following to say: “Vince McMahon has never known a storyline that he doesn’t twist to fit his own shameful narrative. Her father was in in-home hospice during his final days where Janel continued to care for him around the clock. Prior to his death, she had been caring for her blind, wheelchair-bound mother. Using the grief of someone who lost both of her parents is an all new level of disgusting.”

Grant has accused McMahon, John Laurinaitis, and WWE of sexual harassment, abuse, and sex trafficking during her time as an assistant for McMahon between 2019 and 2022. The suit also mentioned various unnamed “Corporate Officers” as well as a “Former UFC World Champion” who was later revealed to be Brock Lesnar.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE NXT Spring Breakin’ Night 1 (4/23/2024)

Tonight is Night 1 of WWE NXT’s 2 week special Spring Breakin’ in Orlando, Florida at the Performance Center on the USA Network:

  • NXT Championship: Ilja Dragunov (c) vs. Trick Williams (If Williams loses, he leaves NXT)
  • NXT Women’s Championship: Roxanne Perez (c) vs. Lyra Valkyriavs. Tatum Paxley
  • No Quarter Catch Crew’s Charlie Dempsey, Damon Kemp & Myles Borne vs. The Family’s Tony D’Angelo, Stacks & Luca Crusifino
  • Beach Brawl: Sol Ruca vs. Blair Davenport
  • Natalya & Lola Vice contract signing

Dominik Mysterio Is Injured

Dominik Mysterio is reportedly dealing with an injury.

“Dirty Dom” was pulled from last week’s European tour and wound up being replaced by Ricochet.

On this week’s episode of RAW, Dominik appeared with his arm in a sling and he announced that he was banged up. Due to this, Santos Escobar would be taking his place in teaming with JD McDonagh.

According to a report from Fightful Select, Mysterio’s injury is legitimate. As of this writing, there is no word on the nature of the injury or how long he’ll be out of action.

Source: eWn

QR Code Leads To More Clues, ‘Coming Soon’ Video On 4/22 WWE RAW

Another week, another set of clues on “WWE Raw,” seemingly teasing the return or debut of a mysterious figure or figures. While most predictions center around Uncle Howdy (Taylor Rotunda, FKA Bo Dallas) perhaps in some sort of new stable, there haven’t been any clear-cut giveaways to that end just yet.

Tonight, as Chad Gable took the ring to address his actions after an Intercontinental Championship match with Sami Zayn last week, similar images to others we’ve seen in previous weeks — the glyph of Pluto and, an image of a raven — hit the screen, followed by a QR code. That link led to an interactive landing page at the wwe.com/55555, where the text “You will bear witness. Begin the endless crawl. Type the number of sense organs. And you shall behold all.” Entering the number five renders more text, “Preparing your invitation,” and the a call-to-action to “Proceed.” That button takes the user to another page, wwe.com/invitation, where a video is hosted.

The video leads with various old school graphics saying, “Coming soon,” before cutting to a shot of a creepy house, where a figure throws a note on the front porch that says, “Remember who you are.” The figure (seemingly holding the camera) then retreats before another series of images — different variations of the glyph and the raven, plus a shrouded figure and a lot else that is difficult to see clearly. In numerology, the number five, prominent on that first landing page and the answer to the question leading to the second page, often represents freedom, curiosity, and change but beyond that, the clues don’t seem to be meant to be too revealing at this point, all still very reminiscent of the buildup to the late Bray Wyatt’s 2022 return.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

NXT Star Von Wagner Among Recent Releases

Following a recent report of talents being released from WWE, Fightful Select has confirmed that Von Wagner was also let go from the company.

Wagner signed a developmental deal with WWE in 2019 and was a fixture of the NXT brand in recent years.

The son of Wayne Bloom (Beau Beverly) had his last NXT match on 4/2, facing Lexis King in a rematch from the 2/27 edition of the television program.

Source: WrestleView

WWE RAW Preview 4/22/2024

Tonight’s WWE Monday Night RAW live on USA Network from the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, OH.

  • World Tag Team Championship: Awesome Truth (The Miz and R-Truth) (c) vs. DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa)
  • Battle royal for the vacant WWE Women’s World Championship: Becky Lynch, Liv Morgan, Nia Jax, Maxxine Dupri, Ivy Nile, Chelsea Green, Piper Niven, Natalya, Tegan Nox, Katana Chance, Kayden Carter, Indi Hartwell, Candice LeRae, Shayna Baszler, Zoey Stark
  • Judgment Day’s Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonagh vs. Andrade and Ricochet
  • Former Intercontinental Champion Gunther to appear

Will Ospreay Says He’s Retiring This Controversial Move After AEW Dynasty Dream Match

The dream match between Will Ospreay and Bryan Danielson at AEW Dynasty was everything that wrestling fans wanted it to be: a dream. The two men went to war for over 30 minutes, with Ospreay picking up the victory after hitting a Storm Driver ’93 and a Hidden Blade. However, Danielson was visibly in pain after taking the Storm Driver ’93 to the point where doctors tried to get involved. Ospreay appeared at the AEW Dynasty post-show media scrum to talk about the match, where he opened up by apologizing to everyone after reviewing the footage and seeing the medical staff trying to get involved. 

“Within the confines of wrestling, I do go, like I said, in the ring it is more or less your life versus mine, until you kind of see it staring at you in the face of what I did and I’m honestly…I feel awful about this. So even though like 90% of the time, that move’s been absolutely fine, seeing the damage that it’s kind of done, I’m going to retire using the Storm Driver.”

Ospreay explained that after seeing what the Storm Driver ’93 did to Danielson – someone he has a huge amount of respect for and has wanted to wrestle since he was a child — it wouldn’t feel right continuing to use the move. The star then apologized to Danielson, the AEW medical team, and Tony Khan for being reckless in the ring, before the company President explained that Danielson would be okay and Ospreay should be proud of winning such a tremendous match.

Source: Wrestling Inc. credit to AEW post-show media scrum

AEW Dynasty 4/21/2024 (Results), Return Of Jack Perry

Results from  “AEW Dynasty” on April 21, 2024, from the Chaifetz Arena in Saint Louis, Missouri.

Zero Hour

  • Trent Beretta def. Matt Sydal (w/ Mike Sydal) via Submission (Modified Triangle Choke).
    • Beretta kept the hold on Sydal after the match, but Chuck Taylor made the save. Trent cut a promo and said that Taylor had been acting like a prick and that he had until Dynamite to tell him where he stood. Orange Cassidy & Berentta had a staredown ahead of Cassidy’s match.
  • Orange Cassidy & Katsuyori Shibata def. Shane Taylor Promotions (Shane Taylor & Lee Moriarty) (w/ Anthony Ogogo) via Pinfall (Orange Punch).
  • AEW World Trios Championships & ROH World Six Man Tag Team Championship Match: Bullet Club Gold (Jay White & The Gunns) (c) def. The Acclaimed (Max Caster & Anthony Bowens) & “Daddy Ass” Billy Gunn (c) via Pinfall (Blade Runner).
    • With this win, Bullet Club Gold (Jay White, Austin Gunn & Colten Gunn) were crowned as the new Undisputed AEW Trios Champions.

Main Broadcast

  • After a video package previewing the card, Taz, Excalibur & Jim Ross welcomed the audience to the main broadcast.
  • AEW Continental Championship Match: Kazuchika Okada (c) def. PAC via Pinfall (Rainmaker Lariat).
    • Despite the loss, PAC got a standing ovation from the crowd after the match.
  • The House Of Black (Malakai Black, Brody King & Buddy Matthews) def. Adam Copeland, Eddie Kingston & Mark Briscoe via Pinfall (Black Mass).
    • In the last parts of the match, Copeland went for a Spear on Black, but Black spat the Black Mist on Copeland before catching him with the Black Mass for the win.
  • TBS Championship – Skye Blue & Kris Statlander Banned From The Match: Willow Nightingale def. Julia Hart (c) via Pinfall (Doctor Bomb) to win the Championship.
    • Stokely Hathaway was on commentary for the match.
    • Kris Statlander & Stokely Hathaway celebrated with Willow after the match. Mercedes Mone interrupted and confronted Willow in the center. Willow and Mercedes Mone will go one-on-one for the title at AEW Double Or Nothing.
  • AEW International Championship Match: Roderick Strong (c) def. Kyle O’Reilly via Pinfall (End of Heartache).
    • The referee caught Wardlow trying to get involved in the match, leading to Wardlow to sit at ringside. The match ended with Strong hitting the Sick Kick before hitting the End of Heartache for the win.
    • Mike Bennett & Matt Taven appeared at the ramp with Adam Cole in a wheelchair. Cole managed to stand up from the chair and celebrated with Roderick Strong his victory.
  • FTW Championship – FTW Rules Match: Chris Jericho def. HOOK (c) via Pinfall (Bat to the Head) to win the title.
  • AEW Women’s World Championship Match: Toni Storm (c) (w/ Mariah May & Luther) def. Thunder Rosa.
    • Deonna Purrazzo laid out Mariah May & Luther at ringside. Despite Rosa surviving the Hip Attack & the Storm Zero Storm, the end of the match came when Storm kicked Rosa with a low blow, followed by hitting a second Storm Zero for the win.
  • Will Ospreay def. Bryan Danielson via Pinfall (Hidden Blade).
    • Multiple medics checked on Bryan Danielson after the match.
  • AEW World Tag Team Championship Tournament Finals – Ladder Match: Young Bucks (Matthew Jackson & Nicholas Jackson) def. FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) to win the vacant titles.
    • The ending came when Dax Harwood dropped Nicholas Jackson off the ladder. Dax was about to retrieve the titles, but was stopped when a fan pushed Dax off the ladder he was in and sent him crashing into the top rope. The fan was revealed to be none other than the returning “Scapegoat” Jack Perry. Nicholas Jackson climbed the ladder to retrieve the AEW Tag Titles for the win as Perry was escorted out of the arena by security.
  • AEW World Championship Match: Swerve Strickland (w/ Prince Nana) def. Samoa Joe (c) via Pinfall (Swerve Stomp) to win the AEW World Championship.
    • With this win, Swerve Strickland is the first-ever African-American World Champion in the history of All Elite Wrestling. In a ground-breaking moment in professional wrestling history, Strickland stood victorious as world champion to end the broadcast.
      Who’s house? Swerve’s house.

Matt Hardy Clarifies Contract Status Following TNA Return At Rebellion

Matt Hardy made a surprise return to TNA at the close of last night’s Rebellion event. Hardy is a free agent after opting not to sign an extension with AEW and has confirmed that he has been in talks with multiple companies. That said, many came to the conclusion that he had signed with TNA after taking out the reigning TNA World Champion Moose. However, Hardy stated he is still unsigned in response to one such fan on social media. 

“No. I’m a free agent. I will appear when I want to appear,” he wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter). 

While a match with Moose in TNA appears to be on the cards, Hardy refused to rule out an eventual return to AEW and said he continues to negotiate with the promotion. He said that he will always be an advocate of AEW and the schedule it affords, but reasoned that he has to take his time to make sure he is making the correct decision at a later stage in his career. 

Hardy first joined AEW in 2020 after leaving WWE at the end of his contract and has since reunited with Jeff Hardy in 2022. The younger Hardy brother is reportedly still signed to AEW, so any move elsewhere would surely spell an end to their latest run as a team. Their last match together came in January as The Hardys teamed with Mark Briscoe to defeat Kip Sabian, The Butcher, and The Blade. 

Source: Wrestling Inc.