Jade Cargill Reportedly Leaving AEW – Believed To Be Heading To WWE

Jade Cargill’s tenure with AEW is seemingly coming to an end, and the former TBS Champion could soon be calling herself a WWE Superstar.

Fightful is reporting that Cargill is believed to be “finishing up” with AEW, according to sources within the promotion.

Sources in both AEW & WWE believe that she will be heading to WWE when the time is right.

There is no word yet of an official offer being made by WWE and that as always, things can change in the world of professional wrestling.

It is currently unclear how long is left on Cargill’s current contract with All Elite Wrestling.

The report indicates that Cargill’s last AEW match may have already been taped, as she took on Kris Statlander Wednesday night in a TBS Championship match that will be broadcast on “AEW Rampage” on Friday.

Counting this week’s “Rampage,” Cargill has wrestled a total of 64 matches over the course of her two-and-a-half year career, all of them in AEW. If Fightful’s reporting proves accurate, she would be the second major AEW wrestler to leave Tony Khan’s “challenger brand” for the established pastures of Vince McMahon (and now Ari Emanuel), and the first homegrown AEW star to do so. AEW’s first major defection came in 2022, when Cody Rhodes returned to WWE at WrestleMania 38.

Backstage Update On The All In 2023 Attendance – Did AEW Inflate The #’s?

Did All Elite Wrestling inflate their attendance numbers for the All In 2023 pay-per-view event, which took place on August 27th from Wembley Stadium?

Brandon Thurston of WrestleNomics recently reported on a public records request about the attendance for AEW All In 2023. Earlier today, the Freedom of Information office for the Brent Civic Centre responded to the original request with the following statement:

“The actual numbers registered entering [Wembley] Stadium through the turnstiles was 72,265 – this is reflective of what attended on the night and not the total number of tickets sold or no-shows etc.”

It’s worth noting that AEW has said all along that the paid attendance for the event was 81,035. If that is true, it would have been a new worldwide record for pro wrestling.

WrestleTix previously announced that the number of tickets distributed for All In 2023 was 83,131.

The WrestleNomics report states that a “typical AEW event has a drop count (also known as a “turnstile count”) that is about 80% to 90% of the paid attendance or tickets distributed.” In this case, 72,265 is 89% of 83,131.

So while it remains to be seen whether 81,035 tickets were actually sold, it is known that 72,265 people did walk through the turnstiles. With that being said, over 10,000 no-shows seems a bit high. Of course, there are also scalpers out there who may not have been able to sell the tickets they purchased.

Source: eWn

AEW Dynamite Preview 9/13/2023

AEW Dynamite will air live tonight on TBS from the Heritage Bank Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.

  • AEW International Championship: Jon Moxley (c) vs. Big Bill 
  • No. 1 Contender Fatal-4-Way Match: Britt Baker, Toni Storm, Nyla Rose, and Hikaru Shida. The winner will go on to challenge Saraya for the Title at Grand Slam on September 20.
  • Grand World Title Eliminator Final: Roderick Strong vs. ROH World TV Champion Samoa Joe. The winner will go on to challenge MJF at Grand Slam on September 20.
  • Hangman Adam Page vs Brian Cage
  • Don Callis to reveal his next Masterpiece
  • We will hear from Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara

Minoru Suzuki vs. Jacob Fatu Set For MLW Slaughterhouse

Minoru Suzuki vs. Jacob Fatu has been announced for MLW Slaughterhouse. MLW issued the following:

Minoru Suzuki vs. Jacob Fatu signed for Slaughterhouse Oct 14 in Philly

Tickets available at MLW2300.com

Tickets Now Available at MLW2300.com

Major League Wrestling (MLW®) today announced Jacob Fatu vs. Minoru Suzuki at MLW Slaughterhouse live and exclusively on FITE+ Saturday, October 14 at Philadelphia’s 2300 Arena.

🎟 Grab tickets at MLW2300.com and the 2300 Arena box office. Tickets start at $15.

The MLW x New Japan Pro Wrestling crossover escalates come October 14 with the arrival of Minoru Suzuki in MLW LIVE on FITE+. Sign up for your FITE+ subscription now.

Lock in your tickets now at http://MLW2300.com as MLW Slaughterhouse will feature a DOUBLE main event.

MLW can confirm the first of two big main events today.

New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Minoru Suzuki will make his MLW debut against MLW’s “Samoan Werewolf” Jacob Fatu!

Last week on Fusion Fatu laid down the challenge, calling out Suzuki — and the “King of Pro Wrestling” was delighted to accept and cautions there will be no mercy as these two fight for the first time ever.

See this dream match, a match that has never happened EVER before LIVE at Slaughterhouse!

MLW can confirm a LIMITED meet & greet will also take place prior to the start of the show. More details will be revealed in the weeks ahead.

Get your tickets and see it go down Saturday, October 14 in Philadelphia at http://www.MLW2300.com

SLAUGHTERHOUSE FITE+ CARD

NJPW vs. MLW

Minoru Suzuki vs. Jacob Fatu

FUSION TV TAPING BOUTS

Some of the athletes and talent signed to compete and appear include:

World Heavyweight Champion Alex Kane and the Bomaye Fight Club

Salina de la Renta

Matt Cardona

Davey Boy Smith Jr.

Mance Warner

National Openweight Champion Rickey Shane Page

World Middleweight Champion “Death Fighter” AKIRA

“Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams

1 Called Manders

Matthew Justice

World Featherweight Champion Delmi Exo

“International Popstar” B3CCA

Ichiban

Love, Doug

Tony Deppen

Little Guido

Matt Striker

Joe Dombrowski

Mister Saint Laurent

Plus MORE to be announced in the days ahead!

The card is also an MLW FUSION TV taping, airing nationwide in the US and in over 60 countries around the world.

Tickets start at $15 at MLW2300.com. Tickets will also be available day of show at the box office unless the event sales out in advance.

DAY OF EVENT INFO
The schedule for the event is as follows:

5:30 p.m.: Early entry for front row ticket holders
6:00 p.m.: Doors open for general public (all ticket holders)
7:00 p.m : Showtime

The venue is located at: 2300 S Swanson St, Philadelphia, PA 19148.

The world of MLW never stops. See you at the historic 2300 Arena for Major League Wrestling!

About Major League Wrestling

Major League Wrestling (MLW®) is a sports media holding company, offering television content, action figures, apparel, live events, and ancillary entertainment. MLW operates live events in major markets throughout the United States and Mexico, including New York, Philadelphia, Dallas, and Tijuana.

One of the fastest growing wrestling leagues today, MLW programming is available in over 60 countries worldwide, including MLW Fusion on beIN Sports in the U.S. and Ayozat TV on SKY in the United Kingdom.

MLW premium live events stream monthly live and exclusively on FITE+.

MLW events showcase diversity and the full spectrum of professional wrestling, with athletes representing countries around the world with fighting styles, including: technical, Japanese strong style, lucha libre, King’s Road brawling, MMA, catch wrestling, hybrid wrestling, submission grappling and other disciplines.

For more information visit MLW.com and follow MLW on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Becky Lynch Defeats Tiffany Stratton, Wins WWE NXT Women’s Title For The First Time

Becky Lynch is one of the most decorated champions in WWE history, but last night on “WWE NXT,” she finally captured the one title that had eluded her.

Upon her return to “NXT,” Lynch was warmly welcomed by a sea of cheers from the WWE Universe. Once Tiffany Stratton appeared, Lynch shifted her focus to the prize at stake – the “NXT” Women’s Championship. Heading into her title defense, Stratton asserted herself as “the fastest-rising star within WWE right now.” Unfortunately for Stratton, that wasn’t enough to defeat “The Man.”

In a competitive closing contest, Stratton did her best to throw Lynch off her game, twice countering Lynch’s signature Manhandle Slam. In Lynch’s second attempt, Stratton reversed it with a roll-up. Lynch quickly bounced back though, evading Stratton’s third attempt at landing the Prettiest Moonsault Ever. In response, Lynch successfully nailed Stratton with a Manhandle Slam to secure the pinfall, and her first-ever reign as “NXT” Women’s Champion. With this win, Lynch is also now a Grand Slam Champion, having already won the “WWE Raw,” “SmackDown,” and Women’s Tag Team Championships. 

Naturally, Lynch was ecstatic upon winning the title. Stratton, on the other hand, is now faced with the reality of her reign as champion ending at 108 days.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

The Man addresses the NXT Universe moments after winning the NXT Women’s Championship in this WWE exclusive footage after NXT went off the air.

WWE NXT Preview 9/12/2023

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

  • NXT Women’s Championship: Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Becky Lynch
  • NXT Championship number one contender’s match: Wes Lee vs. Ilja Dragunov
  • Global Heritage Invitational: Tyler Bate vs. Axiom
  • Global Heritage Invitational: Akira Tozawa vs. Nathan Frazer
  • Creed Brothers vs. Edris Enofe and Malik Blade
  • Dana Brooke vs. Lyra Valkyria
  • Charlie Dempsey, Drew Gulak & Damon Kemp vs. Brooks Jensen, Josh Briggs & Myles Borne

Two Companies Believed To Be In Best Contention For WWE SmackDown Media Rights

WWE is in discussions with various networks regarding the upcoming media rights agreements for Raw and SmackDown, which will expire in 2024 with USA Network and FOX.

The company has ended its exclusive negotiations period with USA and FOX, allowing to remain in talks with them and also talk with other networks.

During Monday’s Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer noted that Amazon and Disney are the two primary contenders in bidding for the television rights to SmackDown, as FOX is not interested in bidding to pay WWE $300 million per year for the show.

WWE is seeking a substantial increase in price for both Raw and NXT, with the expectation that these two shows will continue to air on the USA Network.

Source: eWn

WWE-UFC Merger Officially Closes, Endeavor Announces Launch Of TKO Group Holdings

The WWE-UFC merger has officially closed, with Endeavor today announcing the creation of TKO Group Holdings. The new premium sports and entertainment company has now begun trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the “TKO” ticker symbol.

In the official press release, Endeavor and TKO CEO Ari Emanuel described the creation of TKO Group Holdings as an “exciting new chapter for UFC and WWE as leaders in global sports and entertainment,” while TKO’s Executive Chairman Vince McMahon said that “WWE is optimally positioned for future growth and success as part of TKO.” As per the previously agreed terms, Endeavor will hold 51 percent of the controlling interest in TKO, and existing WWE shareholders will hold 49 percent.

Moving forward, Dana White will become Chief Executive Officer of UFC, with Lawrence Epstein retaining his roles as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of UFC. On the WWE side, Nick Khan will switch positions from WWE CEO to President of WWE.

McMahon, who retired amid several sexual misconduct allegations last summer, returned to WWE in January as Executive Chairman to seek a potential sale of the Stamford, Connecticut-based organization. Following weeks of speculation about possible buyers, it was announced on April 3 that WWE and UFC would be merging under the Endeavor umbrella to form a new sports and entertainment company.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Matt Riddle Accuses A Police Officer Of Sexually assaulting Him At The Airport On Saturday

WWE has taken the decision to remove Matt Riddle from his scheduled appearances following allegations of sexual harassment made against a police officer at JFK airport in New York City on Sunday.

The accusations were initially made on Instagram, but the post has since been deleted.

According to law enforcement sources, Port Authority officers were alerted to a disorderly person who was disembarking from a plane, later identified as Riddle. Witnesses report that Riddle appeared apologetic during his interaction with the police, and no police report was filed.

Per the report, law enforcement sources told TMZ how Riddle got into contact with the officers. The report states, “Port Authority officers got a call for a disorderly person,” which happened to be Riddle, whom they met in the terminal after he had left the plane. They spoke with Riddle and other witnesses. There was no police report filed and Riddle was able to go without any trouble. Riddle was even said to be “apologetic” for the disorderly situation.

The sources also reportedly told TMZ that “the Port Authority was shocked” by Riddle’s now-deleted claim on Instagram, but the department will still be “taking his claim seriously.” They have started an internal probe.

Matt Riddle was not in attendance at this week’s RAW TV tapings. Additionally, he’s been pulled from all of WWE’s upcoming live events this weekend.

According to a report from Pwinsider, the word making the rounds backstage at RAW is that Riddle was pulled from the shows due to a “medical illness.”

Sources: eWn and Wrestling Inc.

Nia Jax Returns To WWE Last Night On RAW

Nia Jax is back with WWE after making her return to programming during last night’s episode of Monday Night RAW.

This week’s edition of RAW saw WWE Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley put her title on the line against Raquel Rodriguez, who was pulled off of the ring apron by the returning Jax.

This allowed Ripley to get the win, but the Women’s World Champion was attacked by Jax after the match, with the Irresistible Force standing over Ripley to end the show.

Jax was released from WWE in 2021 and made a one-off appearance for WWE during this year’s Women’s Royal Rumble match.

Fightful Select is reporting that Jax signed with WWE over a month ago after the company’s hiring freeze concluded in the summer.

Jax is WWE’s first main roster signing since Vince McMahon’s return to the company earlier in January.

Endeavor’s acquisition of WWE is unrelated to Nia’s return, and several people in the company expected to see her sooner.

https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1701430957935387108