MLW Fusion Preview 9/21/2023

MLW FUSION streams 8pm tonight on MLW’s YouTube channel and FITE+, Friday on beIN XTRA and Saturday on Cable TV’s beIN SPORTS (find a provider). 

Matt Cardona has grand plans for Major League Wrestling. What’ the embodiment of sports entertainment up to? One thing is for sure: “The Agent” is alwayz ready.

Don King, backer of the Bomaye Fight Club and promoter of the World Heavyweight Champion is putting in the work on a big match. What’s next for Alex Kane… and how many zeroes are in the check for the big title bout?

Mance Warner lobbies for one of the strangest matches ever. Yes, really, that strange.

Salina de la Renta demands the attention of MLW’s boss as the Empressaria of Lucha’s conquest continues. 

The war between The Calling and Second Gear Crew rages on as the “Death Fighter” AKIRA goes one on one with Second Gear Crew’s highwayman Matthew Justice. 

“The International Popstar” promises to spill the tea on “something scandalous” involving the World Featherweight Champion Delmi Exo? B3CCA joins St Laurent on the latest rendition of Sessions by Saint Laurent. 

Microman is MISSING? Microman failed to show up at an autograph appearance. Since then, no one has seen or heard from the World’s Greatest Wonder. 

Ichiban takes to the air against Nolo Kitano in a high octane middleweight clash with championship implications.

When the moonsault hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s amore… or Love, Doug when he wrestles Little Guido for the first-time ever.

Plus BET ONLINE presents the MLW Slaughterhouse FITE+ Control Center!

Impact Wrestling Preview 9/21/2023,1000 Episodes Celebration Continues

The celebration of IMPACT Wrestling’s 1000th episode continues this Thursday at 8/7c on AXS TV and 8:30pm ET on YouTube for IMPACT Insiders!

  • Feast or Fired Match case reveals
  • Ultimate X Match: Zachary Wentz vs. Rich Swann vs. “Speedball” Mike Bailey vs. Alan Angels vs. Samuray del Sol vs. Ace Austin
  • Trinity, Jordynne Grace, Gail Kim, Awesome Kong, & Mickie James vs. Angelina Love, Deonna Purrazzo, Savannah Evans, Gisele Shaw, & Tasha Steelz
  • Eric Young vs. Kenny King
  • Jake Something vs. Dirty Dango
  • Josh Alexander vs. Trey Miguel

WWE Releases Multiple Wrestlers

WWE has released at least several members of their roster, including Mustafa Ali, Emma, Rick Boogs, Aliyah, Riddick Moss, Top Dolla, Elias and Shelton Benjamin

Emma initially reacted to the announcement that WWE was headed to Perth, Australia for Elimination Chamber next year, calling it a “dream”. However, then she found out about her release.

She wrote: “Oops nevermind. I just got released… I am no longer with WWE.”

https://twitter.com/EmmaWWE/status/1704870539540705609
https://twitter.com/WWE_Aliyah/status/1704876633289560122
https://twitter.com/SeanRossSapp/status/1704874964170485808
https://twitter.com/SeanRossSapp/status/1704881017494864376
https://twitter.com/SeanRossSapp/status/1704880947483595157
https://twitter.com/SeanRossSapp/status/1704880032986824823
https://twitter.com/SeanRossSapp/status/1704888762327572791

Source: 411Mania

Mustafa Ali Says He’s No Longer Working With WWE

It looks as if Mustafa Ali‘s time with WWE has come to an end.

“I am [no] longer working with WWE. I look forward to the future,” Ali wrote on Twitter.

There was some confusion about Ali’s initial statement, as it said, “I am longer working with WWE.” Ali replied and confirmed his departure before apologizing for the confusion.

Mustafa Ali was scheduled to face Dominik Mysterio for the NXT North American Championship at NXT No Mercy on September 30.

https://twitter.com/AliWWE/status/1704862785224450228

Mustafa Ali first appeared in WWE when he entered the Cruiserweight Classic in 2016. He signed a full-time contract with the company shortly after the tournament aired.

Ali spent time on 205 Live and SmackDown before he moved to RAW. He was part of the Retribution stable on the RAW brand, and went back to SmackDown after the stable disbanded.

He publicly requested his release in 2022, but it was not granted at that time. Once he returned to WWE after his request was denied, Ali challenged Gunther for the Intercontinental Championship and he was in the current program with Dominik for the North American title.

It is unclear for the reason for Ali’s departure this time.

Source: WrestleZone

Jon Moxley Believed To Have Suffered Concussion On AEW Dynamite Grand Slam

During the “AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam” special, Jon Moxley lost the AEW International Championship to Rey Fenix, though that’s not what caught the attention of the fans. After Fenix hit his Black Fire Driver, Moxley did not kick out of the move. It appeared something was wrong as referee Rick Knox only counted to two even though Moxley’s shoulders were still on the mat. Fenix quickly hit the move again, and this time around, Knox counted to three and Fenix won the title.

According to “PWInsider,” the reason behind the awkward finish was Moxley reportedly suffering a concussion. After being checked over by doctors for some time, Moxley walked out of the arena by himself. It’s also believed that Fenix winning the title was not the original plan and only happened because of Moxley’s injury. 

On social media, both Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp and Wrestling Observer’s Bryan Alvarez provided updates on the situation. Sapp noted that those he spoke with were “optimistic” that Moxley was fine, and that right after the incident AEW CEO Tony Khan and the other members of the Blackpool Combat Club went to check on him. Alvarez acknowledged that Moxley was hurt during the match, but said that “he is okay.”

Jon Moxley became the AEW International Champion on September 3 after he defeated Orange Cassidy at All Out in Chicago. He defended the title thrice before losing it to Fenix, with his previous defense coming against Big Bill on the September 13 episode of “Dynamite.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Details On Confirmed Deal For WWE SmackDown To Leave Fox, Return To USA Network

It’s official — “WWE SmackDown” will leave Fox next year (as previously predicted by Wells Fargo) and return to the USA Network. The company announced the move this morning, with a new five-year deal bringing “SmackDown” back to cable starting in October 2024. Included with the announcement was the news that “SmackDown” will remain on Friday nights, and there will also be four WWE specials aired on NBC’s broadcast channel each year.

“NBCUniversal has been a tremendous partner of WWE for decades,” WWE President Nick Khan said. “We are excited to extend this longstanding relationship by bringing SmackDown to USA Network on Friday nights and look forward to debuting multiple WWE special events annually on NBC.”

Despite the new agreement, a report from the Sports Business Journal, which broke the “SmackDown” news ahead of WWE’s press release, states that WWE and USA Network parent company NBCU have yet to reach an agreement for “WWE Raw.” With “SmackDown” returning to the network, however, NBCU reportedly remains a favorite to retain the rights to the company’s longest-running show, though corporations such as Disney and Amazon are reportedly still interested in WWE rights.

The report does note that it’s possible “Raw” moves away from Monday nights, which would obviously be a major shift, as the series has been a staple of Mondays since its inception in January 1993. While WWE will maintain some kind of partnership with NBCU through at least 2028, it’s not yet certain that their catalog will remain available on the company’s streaming app, Peacock, for the long haul. The streaming deal between WWE and NBCU, which saw the dissolution of the WWE Network in the United States in favor of Peacock, lasts until 2026.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Dynamite Grand Slam Preview 9/20/2023

AEW Dynamite Grand Slam will air live tonight on TBS from Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York.

  • AEW World Championship: MJF (c) vs. Samoa Joe
  • AEW World Championship: Saraya (c) w/Ruby Soho vs. Toni Storm
  • AEW International Championship: Jon Moxley (c) vs.Rey Fenix
  • Title For Title Match: ROH Champion Claudio Castagnoli vs. NJPW Strong Openweight Champion Eddie Kingston
  • Chris Jericho vs. Sammy Guevara

Randy Orton Is Working Out At The WWE Performance Center

Randy Orton has been spotted at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, FL in recent weeks.

According to a report from Pwinsider, numerous people training at the Performance Center have seen Orton at the facility over the past few weeks. The Viper has been spotted in the building and is often seen working out in the gym at the facility.

It’s worth noting that as of August, Orton had not been cleared for a return.

Finally, it was added that WWE has a very strict rule that talent who are returning have to work out in some capacity. As of this writing, there is no word on when Randy Orton will be making his return to WWE television. Of course, it’s obviously a good sign to see that he’s back at the Performance Center and beginning to work out again.

Source: eWn

WWE NXT Preview 9/19/2023

Tonight’s WWE NXT Live from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center on the USA Network: 

  • WWE NXT Women’s Champion Becky Lynch to appear
  • Champion vs. champion non-title: NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes vs. NXT North American Champion Dominik Mysterio
  • Roxanne Perez vs. Lola Vice
  • NXT Global Heritage Invitational: Tyler Bate vs. Butch
  • NXT Global Heritage Invitational: Duke Hudson vs. Joe Coffey

Reported Reason Behind Late Changes To Monday Night’s WWE Raw

Some late changes were made to the lineup for tonight’s episode of “WWE Raw.”

According to PWInsider, Tegan Nox was originally set to answer the open challenge issued by the new “NXT” Women’s Champion, Becky Lynch. However, at some point before the show, Nox was pulled from the title match and replaced by Natalya, who has reportedly earned plenty of praise backstage following her involvement in the Superstar Spectacle in India.

The segment started with Lynch coming out and cutting a promo about how important the belt is to her and revealing that she would also be live on “NXT” tomorrow night with the belt. Natalya eventually came out, calling Lynch a “hypocritical ginger witch” and answering the challenge. The 15-year veteran ended up losing the match to Lynch, getting rolled up by the new champion following a back-and-forth match.

Getting back to Nox, she was relegated to a match against Xia Li that was recorded for “WWE Main Event.”

Another key change to tonight’s episode, according to PWInsider, was to push the match between Shinsuke Nakamura and Ricochet deeper into the show. The reported reasoning behind this was a desire by WWE officials to position more star power later in the episode, namely WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins, who was involved in segments before and after the Nakamura-Ricocet match.

Source: Wrestling Inc.