Jushin “Thunder” Liger To Be At Saturday’s AEW Collision

This week’s AEW Collision will feature the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament finals for both the men’s and women’s tournaments. 

WWE Hall of Famer Jushin “Thunder” Liger noted on Twitter that he would be at the finals as he had classic matches with the late great star. He wrote the following on Twitter: 

“I am at Haneda Airport now. From now on, I will go to Calgary, Canada via San Francisco. I was invited as a guest at Owen Hart’s memorial tournament ☆ I’m looking forward to Calgary after a long time.”

Source: eWn

Impact Wrestling Preview 2/13/2023

It’s the last stop on the road to Slammiversary. Just 48 hours away , don’t miss an all-new IMPACT! tonight at 8/7c on AXS TV and 8:30pm ET on YouTube for IMPACT Insiders.

  • Open Challenge for Impact Knockouts Championship: Deonna Purrazzo (c) vs. TBD
  • Zachary Wentz vs. Chris Bey
  • Moose & Brian Myers vs. Rich Swann & Sami Callihan
  • Mike Bailey vs. Kevin Knight 
  • Digital Media Champion Joe Hendry & NJPW’s Yuya Uemura vs. Kenny King & Sheldon Jean

ROH Preview 7/13/2023

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: 

  • Leyla Hirsch vs. Bambi Hall
  • Shane Taylor vs. Shawn Dean
  • Big Bill vs. Serpentico
  • Tony Nese vs. Dalton Castle
  • The Boys (Brandon & Brett Tate) vs. The Kingdom (Matt Taven & Michael Bennett)
  • The Righteous & Stu Grayson vs. Levi Knight, Michael Allen Richard Clark & Evan Rivers
  • ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions Mogul Embassy (Brian Cage, Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona) vs. Darius Martin, Matt Sydal and Christopher Daniels in a non-title match
  • ROH Women’s Champion Athena vs. Ava Lawless in a non-title match

Kota Ibushi, PAC Announced As Final Participants In AEW Dynamite Blood & Guts Match

The full lineups for next week’s Blood & Guts match at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts are set, with the fifth man for both the Blackpool Combat Club and Elite teams announced at the end of the July 12 episode of “AEW Dynamite.” And while one was exactly who fans were hoping for, the other was a bit of a surprise, albeit one that makes plenty of sense.

After Don Callis made his entrance to announce the fifth member of the BCC team, replacing the injured Bryan Danielson, Kenny Omega made his way to the ring, only to be cut off by Jon Moxley and Konsuke Takeshita. As Omega fought back, he was blindsided with a steel chair by the returning PAC, who had not been seen in AEW since he and the Lucha Bros. lost the AEW World Trios Titles to Omega and the Young Bucks in January. PAC announced that he had not forgotten that Omega “shattered my nose bone” during the Death Triangle-Elite best-of-seven series.

As Moxley placed the chair around Omega’s neck and asked if he had any last words before being taken out, the Winnipeg native told him to turn his attention to the video screen. A video then played revealing that Omega’s Golden Lovers tag team partner, Kota Ibushi, will be the fifth member of his team, which allowed enough of a distraction for the Young Bucks and “Hangman” Adam Page to run in and clean house.

So it’s official: Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, Konosuke Takeshita, and PAC, representing Blackpool Combat Club and the Don Callis Family, will face the Golden Elite of Kenny Omega, “Hangman” Adam Page, Kota Ibushi, and the Young Bucks next Wednesday night in Blood & Guts, AEW’s version of War Games.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Dynamite Preview 7/12/2023

Tonight’s AEW Dynamite will air live on TBS from the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon, SK, Canada.

  • Swerve Strickland vs. Nick Wayne
  • Chris Jericho vs Komander
  • Blind Tag Team Tournament Semifinal: AEW World Champion MJF and Adam Cole vs. Brian Cage and Big Bill
  • Blind Tag Team Tournament Semifinal: Orange Cassidy and Darby Allin vs. Sammy Guevara and Daniel Garcia
  • Owen Hart Women’s Tournament Semifinal: Ruby Soho vs. Skye Blue
  • We will see a closer look at Blood & Guts as both sides are set to reveal their fifth team members.

Brian Pillman Jr. & AEW Part Ways

Brian Pillman Jr.’s time in AEW has come to an end, according to a new report.

Pwinsider is reporting that Pillman Jr’s deal with All Elite Wrestling has expired and he has left the company. As you know by now, AEW doesn’t publicly announce their departures unless they are the result of an arrest or another serious matter.

Pillman first competed for AEW at Double or Nothing 2019 and was a member of the Varsity Blondes along with Griff Garrison. He last competed for the company in May.

Pillman has still been busy in the ring, even since what appears to be his last match with AEW. He last wrestled last Friday at an Appalachian Championship Wrestling event.

WWE Keeping A Close Eye On Potential SAG-AFTRA Strike

There are several people in WWE who are keeping a very close eye on the possible SAG-AFTRA strike.

For those unaware, the actor’s union is currently in negotiations with the major production studios. There is a deadline set for Wednesday night at midnight, and at this time, it appears a strike will take place as the two sides are still far part on issues pertaining to higher wages, increased residual payments, and the use of AI. If no deal is agreed to by Wednesday night, the actors will be on strike alongside the WGA (Writer’s Guild of America). This would mark the first time in 63 years that both actors and writers are on strike at the same time. This would obviously shutdown Hollywood for the time being.

According to a report from Pwinsider, numerous people within WWE are waiting to see what happens and they feel the strikes could actually benefit the company. The strike would result in actor’s not being able to promote any new films, and network shows would have to air reruns. Of course, WWE and AEW will continue to provide new content on a weekly basis because wrestling is not part of any unions. As we previously reported here on eWn, The Bloodline segment that took place on last week’s episode of WWE SmackDown brought in 3 million viewers which was the most-watched segment in many years. The reruns of some popular shows may entice people to check out other shows with new content.

Finally, it was said that with WWE and AEW in negotiations for new media rights, the WGA strike and potential SAG-AFTRA strike come at a perfect time. The strikes will put WWE and AEW in a much better position for the entertainment world.

Source: eWn

WWE NXT Preview 7/11/2023

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

  • Andre Chase & Duke Hudson vs. Drew Gulak & Charlie Dempsey
  • The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, Damian Priest, Rhea Ripley, and “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio) appears
  • Number One Contenders Match For NXT Title: Bron Breakker vs. Ilja Dragunov
  • Cora Jade vs. Kelani Jordan
  • Freedom or Trial for Tony D’Angelo: Joe Coffey vs. Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo
  • Bronco Nima & Lucien Price debut
  • Tiffany Stratton vs. Ivy Nile

Video: See Samoa Joe Go Wild As Sweet Tooth In Twisted Metal Series Trailer

Last year, Samoa Joe took some time off from wrestling to film a new TV series: “Twisted Metal,” based on the video game series of the same name. Marketing for “Twisted Metal” has ramped up in recent months, and a new trailer has now dropped, giving fans another look at Joe’s performance as the villainous clown Sweet Tooth.

While Joe portrays Sweet Tooth’s physical form, the masked clown is voiced by “Arrested Development” and “Bojack Horseman” star Will Arnett. “Twisted Metal” will be available to stream on Peacock, with the first episode premiering on July 27. In addition to Joe and Arnett, “Twisted Metal” features Anthony Mackie, Neve Campbell, Stephanie Beatriz, and Thomas Haden Church.

It’s unclear how prominent a role Sweet Tooth will play in the series, or how many episodes Joe will appear in. However, what the trailer does make clear is that the character is in control of Las Vegas – or what remains of it in the show’s post-apocalyptic landscape.

The Twisted Metal series began in 1995, with the iconic Sweet Tooth gracing the cover of the first game. The series was developed and published by Sony as a PlayStation exclusive, and the first four Twisted Metal entries were released for the original Sony console between 1995 and 1999. In 2001, Sony brought the franchise to the PlayStation 2 with “Twisted Metal: Black” and, over a decade later, a reboot was released for the PlayStation 3.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Bray Wyatt Still Not Medically Cleared For WWE Return

Bray Wyatt disappeared from WWE television in March due to a reported illness, with his last match happening in February.

This caused WWE to nix his plans for a WrestleMania 39 match with Bobby Lashley.

According to a report from Fightful Select, Wyatt is still not “medically cleared” to make an in-ring return.

“When Fightful Select inquired about Wyatt’s status, a WWE higher up confirmed to us that Wyatt is still sidelined, and not cleared for action. We’re told that he’s still awaiting clearance and hopeful for a return whenever that occurs,” the report noted.

The report added that there have been no significant creative pitches for him since he was sidelined.

Source: eWn