Ric Flair Debuts On AEW Dynamite As Tony Khan’s Gift For Sting

Sting received his retirement gift from Tony Khan on “AEW Dynamite” Wednesday night, which turned out to be the AEW debut of “The Nature Boy” himself, Ric Flair.

Last week, after Sting told the world that the last match of his illustrious career would take place at AEW Revolution 2024, it was announced that Tony Khan had a gift for the legendary wrestler, to be unveiled on this week’s episode. After a brief conversation between Sting, Darby Allin, and Tony Schiavone, Flair’s iconic music hit, and “The Dirtiest Player In The Game” made his way down to the ring to the surprise and delight of the Philadelphia crowd. Getting on the mic, Flair and Sting hugged, and Flair said he wanted to “ride it out with you,” presumably referring to this final run of Sting’s career. It’s unclear whether that means Flair will be a regular on AEW programming going forward.

The segment was later interrupted by Christian Cage, Luchasaurus, and Nick Wayne, and a six-man tag was set up for AEW Full Gear on November 18. From the segment, it didn’t seem as though Flair, who supposedly wrestled his final match last year, would be Sting’s and Allin’s partner, but it also wasn’t explicitly stated that he wouldn’t be. However, Sting and Allin approached Adam Copeland backstage later in the broadcast, who has also been engaged in a storyline with Cage — though thus far, Copeland is still refusing to fight his old friend.

Flair and Sting had an acclaimed rivalry over the NWA World’s Heavyweight Championship back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, a feud that would carry over to WCW and even, eventually, to Impact Wrestling in 2011.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Dynamite Preview 10/25/2023

Tonight’s AEW Dynamite will air live on TBS and will take place from the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, PA.

  • AEW Women’s World Championship: Hikaru Shida (c) vs. Ruby Soho
  • ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship: The Elite (Adam Page and The Young Bucks) (c) vs. The Hardys and Brother Zay
  • Chris Jericho will speak to Renee Paquette
  • Tony Khan will have a gift for Sting
  • Rob Van Dam and HOOK vs. John Silver and Alex Reynolds
  • Dynamite Dynamite Ring Match: MJF defends the ring against Juice Robinson
  • Blackpool Combat Club’s Bryan Danielson and Claudio Castagnoli vs. Orange Cassidy and Kazuchika Okada

Impact Announces PCO As First Signing Of “New Era Of TNA Wrestling”

Following the announcement that IMPACT Wrestling will become TNA Wrestling once again starting in January, the company announced PCO as the first signing of a new era.

Per the release on their website:

The first official signing of the new era of TNA Wrestling was announced this morning by company president Scott D’Amore.

PCO, who won the 4-person Monster’s Ball match this past Saturday at the 2023 Bound For Glory pay-per-view extravaganza in Chicago, has signed a new contract. Terms were not disclosed.

“I really wanted to be part of the new era of TNA Wrestling and Scott D’Amore made me an offer I could not refuse,” PCO said.

A report from Haus of Wrestling states that PCO’s new deal keeps him with the company through the end of 2024, a deal that was agreed upon due to the energy around the TNA re-brand and other requests being met.

The re-brand bringing back TNA Wrestling kicks off at their Hard to Kill PPV event, taking place Saturday, January 13 at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.

Source: eWn

Scott D’Amore Reveals Why The Six-Sided Ring Will Not Return Under TNA Wrestling

Impact Wrestling will be switching back to TNA Wrestling on January 13, 2024, at TNA Hard To Kill, as announced by Scott D’Amore at Bound For Glory 2023.

Speaking on a recent media call, Impact President Scott D’Amore explained the rationale for maintaining the standard four-sided ring setup.

Many fans had expected to see the six-sided return with the major rebranding, but D’Amore has no intention of reviving the hexagonal ring configuration.

You can check out some highlights from the media call below:

On why TNA has no plans to utilize the six-sided ring: “The six-sided ring question comes up all the time, I get it, I was in the ring when the six-sided ring was brought in. I know it has its supporters. The fact is, at the end of the day, almost to a person, the athletes that have performed in the six-sided ring don’t prefer it. They say it’s harder on the body, it creates more injury, and more than injury, it creates more wear and tear on the body. Doing it night after night is harder on the body. We’re happy to have conversations about how to make the product look the best, but one of the things, unwaveringly, that we’re not willing to negotiate on or compromise is the athlete’s health and safety. We’re going to be a four-sided ring. I know that disappoints a lot of people, but my respectful and honest question to that is, ‘do you really love the six-sided ring more than you love ensuring the health and safety of the men and women who get in the ring and put their health on the line? Do you want to make a more dangerous situation for them?’ It’s wrestling, never say never, there could be changes in the future. It’s a simple one for us, athlete safety is number one, so we have four sides. Take that off the table and anything else is possible.”

On TNA’s development of new production designs: “I know the fans have been waiting for a new set, and some have been waiting very patiently and some have been waiting a little less patiently than others, and it all comes from a point of passion. We’re hard at work designing a new look and new feel for TNA to both honor our history but also to be forward thinking and forward moving.”

Source: eWn

WWE To Host First Ever PLE in Germany – Bash In Berlin 2024

WWE announced first thing this morning that it will hold its first-ever premium live event in Germany next August. Bash In Berlin will emanate from the Mercedes-Benz Arena in the capital city. Pre-sale registration is now available for European fans and those willing to make the trip overseas from elsewhere, although no further on-sale information has been provided at this point. 

This development comes in the wake of WWE expanding its international dates for major events of this nature with Clash At The Castle, Backlash, and Money In The Bank all traveling away from the continental United States as of late. It also marks the second overseas date that WWE has announced for 2024 with Elimination Chamber being hosted in Perth, Australia in February — and that doesn’t even take into account at least one expected show in Saudi Arabia. 

WWE is in Germany for a live event tour which commences tonight, hitting Munich, Cologne, and Hamburg over the next few days and ending in Berlin at the same 17,000-seat arena where Bash In Berlin will be held. Nick Khan had previously teased the company was in talks with several international cities for 2024 dates, so this may just be the tip of the iceberg for what WWE has planned heading into next year.

Bash In Berlin will also be the second major wrestling event taking place across Europe next August. AEW had previously announced a return to Wembley Stadium for All In, which will occur just six days prior to the Bash.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE NXT Halloween Havoc Night 1 Preview 10/24/2023

Tonight is WWE NXT Halloween Havoc Night 1 live on USA Network from the Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.

WWE also announced that Shotzi, Scarlett, and The Boogeyman as guests.

  • Devil’s Playground: Roxanne Perez vs. Kiana James
  • NXT Women’s Championship: Becky Lynch (c) vs. Lyra Valkyria
  • NXT Tag Team Championship: Tony D’Angelo & Stacks (c) vs. Chase U
  • Lights Out Match: Gigi Dolin vs. Blair Davenport
  • NXT Women’s Breakout Tournament Semifinals: Lola Vice vs. Karmen Petrovic
  • NXT Women’s Breakout Tournament Semifinals: Arianna Grace vs. Kelani Jordan
  • Lexis King (Brian Pillman Jr.) makes his in-ring debut

NWA Powerrr Preview 10/24/2023

The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) has announced the matches for tonight’s episode of their Powerrr series. The show will air at 6:00 PM EST on YouTube.

The following matches will be taking place on tonight’s broadcast:

  • Pretty Empowered vs. Ruthie Jay & The WOAD & Samantha Starr
  • Trevor Murdoch & Mike Knox vs. The Fixers
  • Magic, Inc. vs. Jeremiah Plunkett & Mario Pardua
  • NWA Worlds Champion EC3 and Jordan Clearwater in tag team action
  • NWA Tag Team Champions Blunt Force Trauma with Aron Stevens in action

Ring Of Honor Final Battle To Air Exclusively On HonorClub

Ring of Honor has announced that ROH Final Battle 2023 will be broadcast live for Honor Club members only. That event is set to take place at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas, on Friday, December 15.

ROH’s Honor Club streaming platform was launched in February 2018. Since AEW CEO Tony Khan acquired ROH last year, a number of changes have been made to the service, including the scrapping of tier levels. Subscribers can access the whole service by paying a $9.99 monthly fee. Honor Club also broadcasts ROH’s weekly television show. The most recent special event to air on Honor Club was the “Jay Briscoe Celebration of Life” show, which was filmed after Jay Briscoe (real name Jamin Pugh) died earlier this year.

Last year’s ROH Final Battle event, which was broadcast live via Bleacher Report in the United States, took place at the College Park Center in Arlington, Texas. That show saw several title changes, including Athena defeating Mercedes Martinez to become the new ROH Women’s World Champion, The Embassy’s Brian Cage, Kaun, and Toa Liona overcoming Dalton Castle and The Boys (Brandon and Brent Tate) to win the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship, Wheeler Yuta beating Daniel Garcia for the ROH Pure Championship, the Briscoes (Mark and the late Jay Briscoe) winning the ROH World Tag Team Championship from FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler) in a Double Dog Collar match, and Claudio Castagnoli ending Chris Jericho’s reign as ROH World Champion.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Backstage News On CM Punk’s Reported Appearance At Impact Wrestling Event

CM Punk is a free agent in professional wrestling following his abrupt AEW exit in September, and while questions remain over where he will go next, recent reports indicate that Impact Wrestling, soon to once again be known as TNA, may have his attention. Nick Hausman’s “Haus of Wrestling” is reporting that Punk was backstage for the “IMPACT Wrestling on AXS TV” tapings in Chicago, though not for the Bound for Glory pay-per-view event. According to the report, Punk arrived just before the tapings began, around 6:30 pm CST, and was quickly taken to the locker room area. 

Punk reportedly spoke with anyone who wanted to get some time with him backstage, which was said to have included key talent within the promotion. His backstage presence follows a weekend of post-Bound For Glory buzz, which has only gotten stronger since Impact announced it was returning to its original TNA name. There were also reports that his Punk’s friend, Ace Steel, had also been seen working backstage for Impact as a producer. Hausman claims Steel was even considered to wrestle in the “Gauntlet for the Gold” match on the PPV, but Impact didn’t want its fans to assume Steel coming into the fold was a guarantee that Punk would follow, generating potentially unfounded excitement. 

CM Punk left AEW amidst controversy following an altercation backstage at All In, the massive event held at Wembley Stadium back in August. Recent reporting has indicated Punk wanted a return to WWE but his former promotion turned him down. If these reports prove accurate, the newly-rebranded TNA — a name that hasn’t appeared on one of Punk’s checks since 2003 — could end up being a bidder for his services.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE RAW Preview 10/23/2023

WWE RAW will air live tonight on the USA Network from the American Airlines Arena in San Antonio, Texas.

  • NXT Women’s Championship: Becky Lynch (c) vs. Indi Hartwell
  • Judgment Day will celebrate as Finn Balor and Damian Priest are Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions once again
  • Drew McIntyre vs. Sami Zayn
  • Jey Uso vs. Damian Priest
  • Logan Paul returns
  • New Day vs. Alpha Academy