NJPW Reportedly Considering Empty Arena Shows

Wednesday, NJPW was forced to cancel its upcoming Wrestle Dynasty event at Madison Square Garden on August 22 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“In the interests of running the best and safest possible event for fans, NJPW has arrived at the decision to postpone Wrestle Dynasty in Madison Square Garden,” NJPW wrote on Twitter. “Sorry for the delay, but we’ll be back stronger in 2021!”

This comes shortly after NJPW nixed the entire Best of the Super Juniors tour from May 12 until June 6.

On the latest Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer reported that NJPW did not want to cancel the MSG show as they were considering it their number two event of the year, behind Wrestle Kingdom.

Meltzer also noted NJPW is now discussing empty arena shows, something they weren’t doing previously. The company would have to wait until they were allowed to even do an empty arena show, but it’s something to consider as they don’t necessarily want their roster sitting around month after month.

Japan is currently under a state of emergency until at least May 31.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AJ Styles Says His Surprise Return On Raw “Could Have Been More”

AJ Styles has heard the rumblings from fans saying his return to Raw this week could have been more special … and “The Phenomenal One” agrees.

During a Mixer stream on Wednesday, Styles first addressed the lack of creativity in returning from being “buried alive” with no changes to his character.

“The return could have been more,” he said. “I’ve heard people talk about ‘Well, I mean, you kinda just wasted it. AJ Styles was buried alive and he could have come back as a different character, in a different mood, a different look. Something different about AJ Styles. He came back and he was exactly the same as before he got buried.’ I’m with you.”

In case you missed it … Styles returned to action Monday night on Raw, winning a Gauntlet Match to earn himself a spot in Sunday’s Money in the Bank ladder match. It was the first we’ve seen of Styles since getting “buried” in the Boneyard Match against The Undertaker at WrestleMania.

Speaking on his stream, AJ theorizes that he was brought back to beef up the card for Sunday’s pay-per-view. “I think circumstances had a lot to do with AJ Styles coming back when he did … maybe we need some more star power in that match,” he said. “Maybe that’s what it was.”

Styles joins Daniel Bryan, Rey Mysterio, Aleister Black, King Corbin and Otis in Sunday’s ladder match taking place at WWE Headquarters.

Regardless of reasoning, Styles wishes he had a do-over. “I wish we could have waited,” he said. “I think, if times would have been different, that would have been something that we went with.”

Watch his comments in the video at the link below (starting after the 12-minute mark).

https://mixer.com/STYLESCLASH?vod=IEvr5oDQBEel7EIJK6BLIg

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

Triple H And Stephanie McMahon To Host WWE Memorabilia Show For A&E

Triple H and Stephanie McMahon are (kinda) getting into the collectibles business!

According to Deadline, the two execs will host a new show for A&E called “The Quest For Lost WWE Treasures.” The show will feature Hunter and Stephanie leading a team of collectors and wrestlers around the country in an attempt to find “iconic and lost WWE memorabilia.”

No word yet on who might be joining them.

The show is produced by WWE Studios, continuing the working relationship between the studio and the network. Last year, it was announced A&E would produce original two-hour documentaries of their award-winning “Biography” series about five wrestling legends: “Macho Man” Randy Savage, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, Booker T, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels.

No premiere date has been set for “The Quest For Lost WWE Treasures.”

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

AEW Dynamite Preview 5/6/20, Matt Hardy In Action

Tonight’s AEW Dynamite on TNT and will air live from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida.

* Cody vs. Joey Janela

* AEW World Champion Jon Moxley vs. Frankie Kazarian (Non-Title Match)

* Matt Hardy and AEW World Tag Team Champion Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara (Street Fight)

* Lance Archer vs. QT Marshall

WWE NXT Preview 5/6/20, Karrion Kross In-Ring Debut With Scarlett

Tonight’s championship edition of WWE NXT will air on a tape delay on the USA Network, from the closed-set Performance Center in Orlando, FL.

WWE RAW Preview 5/4/20

Tonight’s taped WWE RAW will take place from the closed-set Performance Center in Orlando, FL as the final red brand show before WWE Money In the Bank.

WWE has not announced an official preview for tonight’s RAW as of this writing.

RAW will feature two non-title matches with WWE Champion Drew McIntyre vs. Murphy and RAW Tag Team Champions The Street Profits vs. The Viking Raiders. There will also be the Last Chance Gauntlet Match to determine Apollo Crews’ replacement for the MITB Ladder Match. Also, MVP will lead WWE NXT Superstars Brendan Vink and Shane Thorne against Ricochet and Cedric Alexander.

MLW CEO Court Bauer Announces MLW’s First Virtual Production

MLW CEO Court Bauer shared some Major League Wrestling news Saturday, May 2.

Bauer shared that this weekend MLW is producing its first virtual production due to COVID-19.

“This weekend we are producing @MLW‘s first virtual production,” announced Court Bauer. “All done 100% remote from our respective homes. I love getting to work again with our talent even though we aren’t doing it in person. Necessity is the mother of invention.”

The current MLW World Heavyweight Champion is Jacob Fatu. He won the title on July 6, 2019, at Kings of Colosseum from “Filthy” Tom Lawlor.

MLW: Fusion airs on Saturdays at 9 p.m. ET on beIN Sports. The show is also available to watch on YouTube and FITE.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Kevin Owens Reveals He Injured His Ankle During WrestleMania 36 Match

Kevin Owens announced that he is suffering from an ankle injury.

According to RDS in Quebec, Owens revealed the news in an interview with Pierre Houde on Et Le But.

He believes that he’s suffering from a sprain or a slight fracture. The injury happened during his WrestleMania 36 match with Seth Rollins.

Owens also revealed that he will be getting X-rays during the week to confirm the extent of the injury.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Becky Lynch Reportedly Lands Role In Upcoming Marvel Film

WWE RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch is joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe, according to Kris Tapley from Netflix’s The Call Sheet.

Tapley didn’t reveal which Marvel film it will be.

He teased on Twitter, “Becky Lynch grabbing Hollywood’s eye. (Psst: She’s also in a certain upcoming Marvel movie…)”

Becky appeared on Showtime’s season 5 premiere of Billions.

Becky Lynch is reportedly going to be featured in a major national women’s magazine soon.

Below you can see the announcement:

https://twitter.com/kristapley/status/1256632750230011904

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Jimmy Uso Out Of Action With Knee Injury

WWE star Jimmy Uso will be out for 6 to 9 months with a knee injury, according to Dave Meltzer from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The injury was first reported by Ringside News.

It’s believed that the knee injury happened during the triple threat ladder match at WrestleMania 36. John Morrison ended up winning the WrestleMania match and retaining the SmackDown Tag Team Titles.