Brian Kendrick Has Requested His Release From WWE

The WWE release train refused to stop rolling in 2021, and it doesn’t appear to be running short on steam this year either. WWE kicked off the year by letting go of a number of its backstage staff in NXT. That was followed up by Mustafa Ali requesting his release, although the former Retribution leader doesn’t appear to have been granted his request at the time of this posting.

According to PWInsider, Ali isn’t the only Superstar waiting for WWE to grant a release request. The site has confirmed with multiple sources that Brian Kendrick asked to be released as far back as six weeks ago but is yet to be told he is free to leave. Kendrick hasn’t wrestled on WWE TV since October 2020 and even said he had retired from in-ring competition.

Kendrick has remained busy behind the scenes though, working with talent in NXT and on 205 Live. He even briefly returned to TV recently as a part of an angle involving NXT 2.0 stars Joe Gacy and Harland. Kendrick was thrown down the stairs during one of Harland’s fits of rage. That was supposed to lead to a match between the two, but it never came to fruition.

The timing of the angle and Kendrick’s reported release request is certainly very interesting. What’s unclear is when exactly Kendrick requested his release, and therefore what triggered it. Whether WWE knew he was unhappy with his lot in the company and started up an angle in an attempt to appease him, or if the angle was WWE’s idea and his involvement is what led Kendrick to ask if he could leave the company.

Source: TheSportster

WWE RAW Preview 1/24/22

Tonight’s WWE RAW will take place from the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio with the go-home build for the Royal Rumble.

WWE NXT Stand & Deliver, WWE Hall Of Fame And More Confirmed For WrestleMania 38 Week

The second WWE NXT Stand & Deliver event has been confirmed for WrestleMania 38 Weekend near Dallas, TX.

WWE announced today that NXT Stand & Deliver, without the Takeover name, will take place in the Dallas area leading up to WrestleMania 38, which takes place on Saturday, April 2 and Sunday, April 3 from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX.

The previous Stand & Deliver event was a two-night event, but there’s no word yet on if Stand & Deliver II will take place over two nights.

WWE also confirmed that RAW, SmackDown and the 2022 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place in the Dallas area during WrestleMania 38 Week. There will also be “an unprecedented” Superstore Axxess for fans.

WWE will be announcing full details on the WrestleMania 38 Week events in the coming weeks.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

NJPW Cancels/Postpones Remaining Shows In January

New Japan Pro-Wrestling has canceled or postponed all of its remaining shows scheduled for January. New Japan made the announcement early Monday.

“With a number of wrestlers presenting elevated temperatures or being in close contact with same, and in accordance with event protocols, New Japan Pro-Wrestling has arrived at the difficult decision to cancel or postpone remaining live events on the schedule for January.

“We deeply apologize to fans for the inconvenience, disappointment, and concern caused by this decision, and appreciate your understanding.”

New Japan canceled three shows. They were scheduled for Tuesday, January 25 at the Toyota Crown Arena in Fukushima, Saturday, January 29 at Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall, and Sunday, January 30 at Kamisu Bousai Arena in Ibaraki.

New Japan postponed and rescheduled the fourth show. It announced a new date on Monday. The show scheduled for Friday, January 28 will now be held on Monday, April 18 at Nagoya Congress Center Event Hall in Aichi.

Monday’s announcement came after New Japan pulled six wrestlers from a show last Friday. Toru Yano, Satoshi Kojima, Tomoaki Honma, Minoru Suzuki, Taichi, and TAKA Michinoku had participated in a 6-man tag team match on last Thursday’s New Japan show at Korakuen Hall. New Japan said one of the participants in the match was found to have a high temperature. It did not specify who that wrestler was.

New Japan held events over the weekend in Gunma and Tochigi. None of the wrestlers pulled from Friday’s card appeared on those shows.

All of the shows are part of the company’s Golden Series tour. It’s part of the celebration of the company’s 50th anniversary.

New Japan plans to resume live touring on Sunday, February 6 with its show in Chiba. Its next major show is at Xebio Arena Sendai on Friday, February 11. The scheduled main event for that card is El Desperado defending the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship against Master Wato.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

The Wrld On GCW Results 1/23/2022

Kickoff Show

– Big Vin wins the Pabst Blue Ribbon Battle Royal – Thunder Rosa and Lufisto also entered as surprises

– The Grim Reefer def. Shane Mercer vs. Alex Zayne vs. Jack Cartwheel vs. Ninja Mack vs. Dante Leon in a Scramble match

Main Show

Grab The Brass Ring Ladder Match
AJ Gray defeated Jordan Oliver vs. Jimmy Lloyd vs. Alex Colon vs. G-Raver vs. PCO vs Tony Deppen
Winner can choose any match at any time.

Team Gringo (Gringo Loco, Demonic Flamita, Arez) defeated Team Bandido (Bandido, Laredo Kid, ASF)

Blake Christian defeated Lio Rush

Matt Cardona with Chelsea Green defeated Joey Janela

WWE Hall of Famer X-Pac didn’t wrestle, but he did rush the ring with his DX music blaring in an attempt to help out Joey Janela. The Bad Boy was battling deathmatch legend Matt Cardona and ultimately failed to beat the former GCW Champion despite X-Pac’s best efforts. Marko Stunt, Hornswoggle, Brian Myers, and Virgil also got involved in the match.

Ruby Soho defeated Allie Katch

Jeff Jarrett defeated Effy

GCW World Title Match
Jon Moxley (c) defeated Homicide

Open Challenge for the GCW World Tag Team Titles
Matt Tremont & Nick Gage w/ Dewey Donovan defeated The Briscoes (c) to become the new GCW World Tag Team Champions

AEW Rampage Preview 1/21/22

Tonight’s AEW Rampage on TNT will be a live show from the Entertainment & Sports Arena in Washington, DC.

* Hook vs. Serpentico

* The Young Bucks vs. Roppongi Vice (Trent Beretta and Rocky Romero)

* AEW TBS Champion Jade Cargill defends against Anna Jay

* Jon Moxley vs. Ethan Page

WWE SmackDown Preview 1/21/22

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown on FOX will take place at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee with more build for the Royal Rumble.

Naomi gets an important rematch with SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair

WWE is also teasing another confrontation between Seth Rollins and WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns for tonight’s show.

MLW Azteca Preview 1/20/22

Major League Wrestling returns tonight at 8pm ET with the MLW AZTECA mini-series, featuring a Tijuana Street Fight and World Tag Team Championship bout, and streaming worldwide for free on MLW’s YouTube channel, Fite.TV and Saturday on beIN Sports.

•World Tag Team Championship: 5150 (c) vs. Aerostar and Drago
•Tijuana Street Fight: Mads Krugger vs. Bestia 666
•Barrio Brawl: Pagano vs. Richard Holliday
•Toto vs. Proximo

After nearly 3 months Jacob Fatu finally breaks his silence. For the first time ever, take an all access look at the “Baddest Man on Planet Earth”.

Following last week’s altercation, one of Mexico’s top tag teams go for the gold as 5150 defends the World Tag Team Championship against Aerostar and Drago.

Find out the main event for SUPERFIGHT in Charlotte! In the ultimate effort to impress Cesar Duran and secure his desired match with Jacob Fatu, Mads Krugger enters El Jefe’s cathedral of violence to face Bestia 666 in a street fight!

Can the masked mercenary take down the Tijuana gremlin, or will Bestia unleash his arsenal of chaos and topple the undefeated Krugger? Tune in and find out!

After being freed by Richard Holliday, World Heavyweight Champion Alex Hammerstone looks for answers from Cesar Duran but a certain hellraiser from Juarez looms large.

The National Openweight Champion Alex Kane has a new sponsor?

In other action, Toto takes on Proximo in a high flying lucha showcase!

Join Rich Bocchini, Joe Dombrowski, and broadcast journalist Alicia Atout as MLW presents AZTECA!

IMPACT Preview 1/20/22

The earth-shattering fallout from Hard To Kill continues on an all-new IMPACT! tonight at 8/7c on AXS TV and 8:30pm ET on YouTube for IMPACT Insiders

* Charlie Haas competes in an IMPACT ring for the first time ever as he battles Josh Alexander 

* ROH World Championship: Jonathan Gresham (c) vs. Steve Maclin 

* Chelsea Green seeks retribution when she meets Tasha Steelz in singles action

* Doc Gallows and Joe Doering takes on Heath and Rhino

* VSK and Zicky Dice have a chance at revenge when they collide with Morrissey in a 2-on-1 handicap match set up by their teacher, Brian Myers!

* The Influence vs. Decay

* The action begins Before the IMPACT, streaming this Thursday at 7:30pm ET exclusively on IMPACT Plus, YouTube and Facebook. –  Digital Media Championship: Jordynne Grace (c) vs. Lady Frost

Watch IMPACT!

  • USA: Thursdays 8pm ET on AXS TV, Thursdays 8:30pm ET on YouTube (IMPACT Insiders), Thursdays 10pm ET on IMPACT Plus

Sami Zayn Reportedly Re-Signs With WWE

Sami Zayn has reportedly re-signed with WWE.

It was reported in mid-December that Zayn was rumored to have signed a new WWE contract as his previous deal was set to expire at the end of 2021.

In an update, word now is that Zayn signed a new multi-year contract with WWE, according to Fightful Select. There is no word on the exact length of the deal, but it could be for the three years that several talents have re-signed for, including Zayn’s good friend Kevin Owens last month.

Zayn was said to be “kind of private” about his contract negotiations with WWE, but the company made it clear that they wanted to retain his services, and a new deal was reached.

There was talk within AEW of that company being interested in Zayn if he were to leave WWE, and ROH was also reportedly in bringing Zayn back before they went on a hiatus.

Zayn is currently feuding with Jackass star Johnny Knoxville for a payoff in the 30-Man Royal Rumble Match later this month. He is also the current #1 contender to WWE Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura, but there’s no word on when the title match will happen as Nakamura has been recovering from a hand injury.

Zayn originally signed a three-year WWE contract in 2018, which was modified a bit due to time off for surgery. He will remain with the company for the next few years.

Source: Wrestling Inc.