Robert Roode Undergoes C4-C5 Cervical Fusion Surgery

Robert Roode took to Instagram earlier today to reveal that he underwent C4-C5 cervical fusion earlier this week on Thursday. This follows his C5-C6 neck fusion surgery in November last year.

Roode has been away from the ring since June 25th, 2022, when he suffered a loss against Omos at a WWE live event in Texas. The last time he appeared in a televised match was during SmackDown just before WrestleMania, where he participated in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Right around that time, he was a regular feature on Raw and NXT alongside then NXT Champion Dolph Ziggler.

Source: eWrestlingNews

News On AEW’s New Deal With Warner Bros. Discovery, Doesn’t Include Being The Elite

The new television deal between Warner Bros. Discovery and AEW, in addition to the rumored Saturday night show, AEW Collision, will be announced during WBD’s presentation at The Theater at Madison Square Garden next Wednesday. 

How much money AEW will be getting from the new deal is still unclear.

Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the new deal consists of all of AEW’s programming with two exceptions – ROH and Being The Elite as BTE is owned by The Young Bucks. 

“What is known is that the deal will encompass all television and streaming programming that has the AEW banner, but not ROH, which is considered a separate company. That would be five hours of wrestling programming per week, the two hours on Wednesday on TBS, one hour on Friday on TNT and the two hours on Saturday on TNT, as well as any and all spinoff programming other than Being the Elite, which is expected to be kept as something separate since it’s a property owned by the Young Bucks,” Meltzer wrote.

Source: eWrestlingNews

Current Capacity Setup For AEW All In

AEW will make its UK debut in London, England at Wembley Stadium, where they will hold the All In 2023 pay-per-view event on August 27. The venue can hold up to 90,000 fans.

The pre-sale tickets went on sale last week and sold 50,000 tickets before the general sale tickets went on sale, where they sold over 60,000 tickets. 

Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that 65,000 tickets have already been sold for the event.

The current setup allows for a capacity of 74,000 fans, but if AEW manages to reach that target, the promotion will open up more seats. 

Source: eWrestlingNews

Impact Wrestling Preview 5/11/2023

All-new IMPACT! tonight at 8/7c on AXS TV and 8:30pm ET on YouTube for IMPACT Insiders.

  • Impact World Championship: Steve Maclin (c) vs. Rhino
  • Knockouts Tag Team Championship: Taylor Wilde and KiLynn King (c) vs. Deonna Purrazzo and Jordynne Grace
  • Nick Aldis vs. Sheldon Jean
  • Masha Slamovich vs. Killer Kelly
  • The Good Hands vs. Decay
  • Frankie Kazarian sit-down interview part three

ROH TV Preview 5/11/2023

ROH will air a new episode of its weekly television show tonight on HonorClub. 

You can sign up for the streaming service here. Below is the lineup for the show: 

Anthony Henry (w/JD Drake) vs. AR Fox.

Ninja Mack vs. Willie Mack

Blackpool Combat Club (Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler YUTA) vs. The Foundation (Rhett Titus & Tracy Williams).

Mark Briscoe vs. Shane Taylor.

The Embassy (Brian Cage, Toa Liona & Kaun) (w/Prince Nana) vs. Adam Priest, Lucky Ali & Victor Benjamin.

The Infantry (Shawn Dean & Carlie Bravo) vs. The Righteous (Dutch & Vincent)

Kyle Fletcher (w/Mark Davis) vs. Tony Deppen.

Vert Vixen vs. Robyn Renegade (w/Charlette Renegade).

ROH World Television Championship: Samoa Joe (c) vs. Blake Christian

ROH Women’s World Championship: Athena (c) vs. Skye Blue

Sonny Kiss, Jeeves Kay, Slim J & Josh Woods vs. The Dark Order (Evil Uno, Stu Grayson, Alex Reynolds & John Silver).

Tony Khan Set To Make ‘Huge Announcement’ On Next Week’s Episode Of AEW Dynamite

Let us know if you’ve heard this one before – AEW President Tony Khan will be making a “huge announcement” on next week’s episode of AEW Dynamite.

For those unaware, next Wednesday is the same day of Warner Brothers Discovery’s upfront presentation. At the presentation, it is expected that AEW’s new show, “Collison” will be announced and it’s expected to be built around the returning CM Punk.

You can check out a video of Tony Khan’s announcement below:

Source: eWrestlingNews

Miro And Thunder Rosa Returns On AEW Dynamite

During Wednesday night’s episode of AEW Dynamite, Miro was shown in a hallway backstage. When Renee Paquette approached and tried to get a word in with him, he refused to comment and walked into Tony Khan’s office.

Miro hasn’t been seen since All Out 2022, where he teamed with Sting and Darby Allin in a winning effort against the House of Black.

https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1656453969118474258

Thunder Rosa made her return to All Elite Wrestling on this week’s episode of Dynamite.

Similar to Miro’s return on the same show, Rosa appeared in a hallway backstage and was seen entering Tony Khan’s office. Rosa has been out of action in recent months due to a back injury.

Despite appearing on the Wednesday night show for the first time in several months, Dave Meltzer of “Wrestling Observer Radio” has reported that her injury is still “really bad.” It’s said that Rosa has been hurting a lot while training. 

It’s currently unknown why Rosa entered Khan’s office last night on “Dynamite.” The last time the 36-year-old stepped into the ring was on “AEW Dark: Elevation” in August 2022, when she successfully teamed up with Toni Storm and Hikaru Shida against Emi Sakura, Nyla Rose; Rosa was the reigning AEW Women’s World Champion at that time. Shortly after, Rosa revealed that she would not be able to perform and defend the AEW Women’s World Championship due to an injury. Around the same time, it was alleged that Rosa had heat with various wrestlers behind the curtain, including Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. and Jamie Hayter. Despite being on the sidelines, Rosa continued to hold onto the AEW Women’s World Championship, but she would be forced to relinquish the gold three months after announcing her setback. 

While speaking on “Busted Open Radio” last month, Rosa revealed that she was still not cleared to return to the ring after having multiple MRI scans and epidurals. It was recently speculated that “La Mera Mera” may have to undergo surgery.

It should be noted that both Miro and Rosa’s returns are said to be tied to the upcoming debut of AEW Collision. The show is expected to be officially announced on next week’s episode of Dynamite.

https://twitter.com/AEWonTV/status/1656457707111473154

Sources: eWrestlingNews and Wrestling Inc.

WWE Personality Pat McAfee Reportedly Likely To Move His Show To ESPN

Pat McAfee may be looking to deepen his relationship with ESPN. McAfee, of course, took a step back from his WWE commentator duties last September to fill an analyst role at ESPN for “College Gameday.” Now, The New York Post reports that McAfee seems likely to strike a deal with ESPN to bring his daily talk show, “The Pat McAfee Show,” to their platform as well.

In December 2021, McAfee signed a four-year deal with FanDuel to sponsor his show for $30 million a year. McAfee had a clause that allowed him to opt out of the contract after three years, but The New York Post recently reported that McAfee had contemplated walking out on his current endorsement deal early. As McAfee seems to close in on an exit from FanDuel, he has begun exploring potential new homes for his show. ESPN has been cited as the “leading candidate,” but as of now, no deal has been finalized.

While McAfee continues discussions with ESPN, network executives are reportedly wanting a guaranteed profit on the deal, as they and their parent company of Disney are in the process of laying off thousands of employees. As McAfee’s search for a professional home continues, his personal home recently welcomed a new addition. Last week, McAfee announced that his wife, Samantha, had given birth to their first child. The couple has been open about their previous troubles with fertility. After enduring surgery, blood tests, and about 150 shots, Samantha finally conceived through in vitro fertilization (IVF), and on May 4, their daughter arrived.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Dynamite Preview 5/10/2023

Tonight’s AEW Dynamite, live on TBS from the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan.

  • Steel Cage Match: Kenny Omega vs. Jon Moxley
  • AEW International Championship: Orange Cassidy (c) vs. Daniel Garcia
  • AEW Trios Championship: The House of Black (c) vs. Bandido and Best Friends
  • No holds Barred Match: Anna Jay AS vs. Julia Hart
  • Double Jeopardy Match: ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli vs. ROH Tag Team Champion Rey Fenix
  • FTR will respond to Jay Lethal’s challenge
  • We’ll hear from Christian Cage

WWE NXT Preview 5/9/2023, WWE Reveals Brackets For NXT Women’s Title Tournament

WWE NXT on the USA Network this evening at 8/7c from the Capitol Wrestling Center inside the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.

  • Eddy Thorpe vs. Damon Kemp
  • Duke Hudson vs. Javier Bernal
  • Ilja Dragunov vs. Dijak
  • Bron Breakker vs. Trick Williams
  • Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen vs. Hank Walker and Tank Ledger
  • Tyler Bate vs. Charlie Dempsey with NXT North American Champion Wes Lee and Drew Gulak in their corners
  • Nathan Frazer hosts his second Hard-Hitting Home Truths segment
  • NXT Tag Team Champions Gallus defend against The Dyad

The WWE NXT Women’s Championship Tournament kicks off tonight.

Ahead of tonight’s NXT on USA show from the Capitol Wrestling Center inside the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, FL., the company has released the official brackets for the tournament designed to crown a new NXT Women’s Champion, as former champion Indi Hartwell vacated the title last week before moving up to the WWE main roster.

The tourney brackets are as follows:

FIRST ROUND (LEFT BRACKET)
* Gigi Dolin vs. Tiffany Stratton
* Roxanne Perez vs. Jacy Jayne

FIRST ROUND (RIGHT BRACKET)
* Lyra Valkyria vs. Kiana James
* Fallon Henley vs. Cora Jade

Things get started with tonight’s episode of WWE NXT, as the first two quarterfinal matches (Gigi Dolin vs. Tiffany Stratton and Lyra Valkyria vs. Kiana James) will take place.

Next week’s NXT on USA show will feature the other two quarterfinal bouts, with Roxanne Perez vs. Jacy Jane and Fallon Henley vs. Cora Jade.

Things continue with the WWE Battleground go-home show on May 23, with the Dolin or Stratton winner taking on the Perez or Jayne winner, and the Valkyria or James winner taking on the Henley or Jade winner.

Finally, the tourney wraps up with the NXT Women’s Champion being crowned when the finals take place at WWE NXT Battleground on May 28, 2023 at the Tsongas Center in Lowell, Massachusetts.

Source: Rajah.com