NJPW Cancels Wrestle Grand Slam Yokohama And Tokyo Dome Shows

NJPW announced today that the Wrestle Grand Slam shows in Yokohama and Tokyo Dome shows have been cancelled. The show were originally scheduled on May 15 and May 29, respectively.

The decision comes after the Japanese government announced an extension to the state of emergency currently in place in Tokyo and other prefectures. The state of emergency has been extended for three weeks until the end of May.

The only match that was announced for the shows was for the May 29 Tokyo Dome show that had Kazuchika Okada and IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay in the main event. In their announcement, NJPW apologized for the news and announced that new dates will be finalized in the future.

Earlier this week, NJPW announced that two wrestlers had tested positive for COVID-19. The news comes as Osaka’s medical system is reaching it’s limit and Tokyo nearing those levels as well.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Court Bauer Talks MLW Possibly Working With WWE

MLW promoter Court Bauer sat down with Alfred Nonuwa of Forbes to talk about MLW’s move to Vice TV.

During the interview, Bauer was also asked about a potential partnership with WWE. It was reported by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter last week that MLW and WWE were in talks regarding a potential working relationship. A later report from PWInsider claimed there had been no talks between the two promotions.

Bauer played coy on while saying he’s open to all possibilities if the opportunity is right.

“A collaboration must have a long-term vision and a genuine commitment to enriching both parties,” said Bauer. “We’re having some interesting conversations with some interesting people, and if there is a two-way relationship that feels like it’s a win-win for the companies, the talent and the fans, and has a long-term sustainability to it, we’ll always examine it. You can’t do one-sided. I don’t kiss rings, I don’t need the validation.”

“We’re competing with two billionaires and still growing with deals like Vice TV and growing our footprint abroad with 20+ countries now airing MLW weekly. If, hypothetically, a company is motivated to pursue how it can disrupt a meaningful system or an opportunity where it enhances both parties’ businesses, yes you should evaluate the opportunity.”

Bauer continued, “It can’t just be that you get acknowledged by a billionaire, and then all of a sudden you say ‘okay, how can we serve you as a master?’ That’s not happening. If I do that, what’s the point of even being in business? It makes no sense. If both sides can get something out of it and it’s rewarding, and there’s a favorable strategy for both sides, that could be cool. Is it easy to get those type of things done? Absolutely not.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Dark Side Of The Ring Season 3 Premiere Tonight On Vice TV, Brian Pillman

The third season of Vice TV’s popular documentary series about professional wrestling, Dark Side of the Ring, premieres tonight Vice TV at 9 p.m. EST.

https://twitter.com/DarkSideOfRing/status/1390330438863015936
https://twitter.com/DarkSideOfRing/status/1388510653879623681

Below is the updated list of confirmed topics for season three, which is narrated by Chris Jericho:

* Brian Pillman (season premiere, WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin interviewed)

* FMW (Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling)

* XPW (Xtreme Pro Wrestling)

* Nick Gage

* WCW/NJPW Collision In Korea event from 1995

* The Smith Family (Grizzly Smith and his children – Sam Houston, Rockin’ Robin, WWE Hall of Famer Jake Roberts)

* Ion Croitoru (aka Bruiser Bedlam and Johnny K-9)

* Chris Kanyon

* “The Dynamite Kid” Tom Billington

Impact Wrestling Preview 5/5/21

Tonight on Impact Wrestling at 8/7c on AXS TV

* 6 Way #1 Contender Qualifying Matchups: continue to determine who will join Matt Cardona, Chris Bey and Sami Callihan at Under Siege

Rhino taking vs. Chris Sabin

Trey Miguel vs. Rohit Raju

James Storm vs. Moose

*  Taylor Wilde vs. Susan (w/Kimber Lee)

* Doc Gallows (w/Karl Anderson) vs. Juice Robinson (w/David Finlay)

* Kiera Hogan (w/Tasha Steelz) vs.  Rachael Ellering (w/Jordynne Grace)

* NJPW’s El Phantasmo Makes His Impact Debut

* Jake Something vs. Shera will kick things off on Before The Impact

AEW Dynamite Preview: Blood And Guts 5/5/21

Tonight’s AEW Dynamite episode airs on TNT at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida.

* Inner Circle vs. The Pinnacle (Blood and Guts Match)

* Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston vs. Kenny Omega and MT Nakazawa

* Britt Baker in action

* SCU vs. Jurassic Express vs. Varsity Blonds vs. The Acclaimed (Winners get AEW World Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks on May 12)

* Cody Rhodes with Arn Anderson vs. QT Marshall with The Factory

* Miro to speak

WWE Reportedly “Pushing Hard” To Sign Daniel Bryan To New Deal

The WWE is reportedly “pushing hard” to sign Daniel Bryan to a new contract, according to Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer.

Bryan’s WWE contract expired last week, or was set to expire last week. Meltzer added that Bryan’s contract did indeed expire this past Friday following his loss in a Career vs. Title match to WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns on SmackDown.

Since the loss to Reigns, Bryan has been moved to the Alumni section on WWE’s official website.

Bryan recently stated that he would be interested in wrestling for other wrestling companies as well as WWE. He also recently praised Kenny Omega during an interview with Robbie Fox on My Mom’s Basement.

“I have a lot of respect for Kenny Omega,” Bryan stated. “And it’s not just the great matches he’s put on. It’s also that he looks at wrestling differently than anybody else.

“When you look at say, the Young Bucks, who you’d think of in a similar vein. You can see where the Young Bucks take of wrestling is. It’s like a takeoff, a genius takeoff, of the wrestling they loved when they were younger. And mimicking it but also evolving from that and evolving from the takes from that. That’s why I think it resonates with so many people, the way that they wrestle.

“Kenny, it doesn’t have a previous evolution point. It’s just these completely new things that have entered his head that he’s daring to try.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE NXT Preview 5/4/21

Tonight’s WWE NXT episode on the USA Network will be headlined by the return of Finn Balor.

NJPW Wrestling Dontaku (Night Two) Results 5/4/21

NJPW Wrestling Dontaku (Night Two) was earlier today.

As noted, six wrestlers (Kazuchika Okada, Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, SHO, and YOH) were held off today’s show due to COVID-19 concerns. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion El Desperado was scheduled to wrestle YOH, but the title match was taken completely off the event.

Below are the results:

* Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., and DOUKI defeated Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, and Jado

* Yujiro Takahashi and Taiji Ishimori defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Master Wato

* Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb, and Aaron Henare defeated Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, and BUSHI

* Hiroshi Tanahashi, Toru Yano, and Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Jay White, EVIL, and Dick Togo

* Will Ospreay (c) defeated Shingo Takagi (IWGP World Heavyweight Championship)

Multiple NJPW Stars Removed From Show Over COVID Concerns

Kazuchika Okada, Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, SHO, and YOH were taken off today’s NJPW Wrestling Dontaku (Night Two) card due to COVID-19 concerns.

NJPW announced a wrestler scheduled to appear on today’s show had a fever and was undergoing evaluation (including PCR and antibody testing). Another wrestler who has been involved in events since May 1 also had a fever and was undergoing further evaluation.

“In an abundance of caution, neither participated in today’s event, and any wrestler who competed with them on recent cards were also removed from the event,” NJPW said in a statement.

NJPW ended up removing the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship match between El Desperado and YOH completely off the card. They made addition changes to other tag matches that were featured on the undercard.

Kazuchika Okada and SHO vs. Minoru Suzuki and Yoshinobu Kanemaru became Master Wato and Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Taiji Ishiomori and Yujiro Takahashi. Also, Master Wato, Ryusuke Taguchi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Toru Yano, and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Dick Togo, Taiji Ishimori, Yujiro Takahashi, EVIL, and Jay White was changed to Ryusuke Taguchi, Toru Yano, and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Dick Togo, EVIL, and Jay White.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Eva Marie Announces Return On WWE RAW

Eva Marie is back with WWE.

Last night’s WWE RAW featured a new vignette where Marie declared that “The Eva-lution” is coming soon.

“Do I have your attention?,” Marie asked in the vignette. “I’ve been thinking about where I’ve been and where I’m going. Do I have your attention now? Good. You know, on the road of life there are twists and turns, and I’ve always tried to be the one in control of my own life, and the independence that comes with it, but part of that is giving back. Now I have your attention. I want to be someone others look up to, I want to influence others to go after their own ambitions like I did. So, I’m back where my journey started. This is Eva-lution.”

Eva tweeted after the vignette and wrote, “Do I have your attention? @wwe #EvaLution #WWERAW”

It was reported back in the fall of 2020 that Eva’s WWE return was in the works. She had been rumored for RAW appearances a few times since then, but there had been no concrete updates until now.

Eva first joined WWE in 2013 for Total Divas and the Divas Search, but left the company in August 2017 to focus on other interests outside of the company. She has done some acting and reality TV work since then, and has also launched her own fashion brands, among other projects. She has stayed away from pro wrestling for the most part, but was recently working with WWE Performance Center recruit Parker Boudreaux.

https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1389379249962954755

Source: Wrestling Inc.