New Japan Pro Wrestling announced that they will be coming to Los Angeles on November 11 at the Globe Theatre.
This will be their second event for New Japan Showdown. The first was announced in August during the Super J-Cup and will be in San Jose on November 9.
NJPW hasn’t announced when tickets will be available or any matches yet.
Matt Hardy’s WWE contract ends around March of next year and the 44 year old WWE Superstar has previously noted he has some “hard decisions” to make in the coming months.
Last year, Hardy took a break to heal up back/hip/pelvis injuries and recharge his batteries. During that time, he got into incredible shape and made a return in February, alongside his brother, Jeff Hardy.
Yesterday on Twitter, Matt replied to an individual who believed the internet had ruined pro wrestling.
“I disagree,” Hardy wrote. “The internet hasn’t ruined wrestling, but it’s def changing it. In my opinion, the industry has to be more creative & shrewd in the way stories are told, while blurring the lines of reality & fantasy between athletic matches & entertaining content. The ‘net forces evolution.”
A fan responded to Matt by saying he always felt like Hardy could be on the creative side of wrestling, “I’ve always felt that your true calling was as a promoter or in creative—and that’s saying something because you’re a very talented wrestler.”
Matt appreciated the compliment, but felt the years he still has left to wrestle are exactly how he plans to spend them, rather than behind the curtain, or on the bench. Since Jeff Hardy went down with a knee injury in late April, Matt has been pretty much left off WWE TV, although he’s kept busy on social media with his new “You don’t understand how hard it is to be Matt Hardy” gimmick, and doing a parody of the AEW World Title getting stolen.
“Thanks, Sam. Appreciate that,” Hardy wrote back. “I can’t say I disagree with you. For the few years I have left as an in-ring performer, I wanna kick ass & contribute to the industry-not sit on the bench.”
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Matt Hardy took some time out of his date night with wife Reby Hardy to parody what happened to AEW Champion Chris Jericho. As it was noted earlier this week, the AEW Championship was stolen on Sunday while Chris Jericho was eating at a LongHorn Steakhouse in Tallahassee, Florida. The title was later found along the side of the road.
Matt Hardy posted the above video on his YouTube channel. In the video, Hardy walks out of a LongHorn Steakhouse restaurant with a missing belt.
“Just had a wonderful date night with my beautiful wife here at a very classy restaurant as you can… Hold up (runs back inside the restaurant and grabs his belt) that son of a b—- tried to steal my belt. Reby, where’s our limousine?”
He also posted that he wasn’t teasing Chris Jericho, just the situation. Hardy wrote on Twitter, “For the record, I am not making fun of Chris Jericho. I just saw an opportunity to make a cute parody of last week’s wacky events & remind people of how entertaining I can be. Chris is a great friend & is an industry master of evolution & reaction. ENJOY!”
Chris Jericho responded to the video, “I loved it! It was OUTSTEEEEEENDING!!!!”
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Fox officials are said to be very high on Renee Young, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Renee is set to host the weekly WWE studio show on FS1, which will air each Tuesday night. The Observer described the studio show as the weekly WWE version of UFC Tonight.
We noted before that even the announce teams will be exclusive to RAW and SmackDown after the big fall changes are made. It was reported that Fox being high up on Renee could lead to her being exclusive to SmackDown, but that is still up in the air. Renee currently calls RAW action with Michael Cole and Corey Graves.
There’s no word yet on what brand Graves will end up on, but it’s believed that he won’t be calling both shows.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
For the first time in Major League Wrestling history, the league presents a main event hosted by Pro Wrestling NOAH from Nagoya, Japan!
3-time GHC Heavyweight Champion Go Shiozaki collides with MLW National Openweight Champion Alex Hammerstone in a pivotal N1 Victory tournament match.
An international showdown as two of top ranked NOAH and MLW heavyweights rumble, expectations are high for Hammerstone. In deep waters, Hammerstone faces one of the most accomplished NOAH wrestlers in history in Go Shiozaki.
Following the shocking conclusion to last week’s FUSION, Low Ki makes a statement… or is it a declaration of war as he readies for battle in the War Chamber?
½ of the World Tag Team Champions Richard Holliday looks to continue the Dynasty’s dominance and end the summer in triumph over the Hart Foundation as he wrestles Brian Pillman Jr. Will the rogue rookie of the Hart Foundation out scrap the 6’3” smug and uptight blue-chipper? Tune in to find out.
With Low Ki’s shadowy past, Ross and Marshall Von Erich look to their father Kevin Von Erich in Hawaii for wisdom as the war drums begin to bang louder for the War Chamber.
What in the hillbilly hell is up with Mance Warner??? Ol Mancer checks in after a wild ride to jail courtesy of Promociones Dorado.
“The Bone Collector” Dominic Garrini is coming to cripple the competition in MLW. Learn more about the BJJ gold medalist.
Injustice’s Jordan Oliver clashes with Gringo Loco as Loco looks for payback following the outcome of last week’s thrilling trios bout.
Rich Bocchiniand Tony Schiavone call the action from three cities in a world’s showcase edition of MLW FUSION!
Tonight on Impact airing on Pursuit and Twitch:
* The Future of the World Title – Brian Cage has been working incredibly hard to get back in fighting condition. However, Sami Callihan has become increasingly more frustrated and wants to know when he will be getting his World Title match.
* Madman Fulton vs. RVD
* Moose vs. Fallah Bahh
* Impact World Tag Team Titles vs. Careers: (C) The North vs. LAX
AEW has sent out information to cable providers for their debut show on October 2nd, according to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
It was noted that the show is rated TV-14 and not TV-PG, like WWE programming. According to The Observer, TNT had made the decision awhile to have the show be TV-14. While TNT and AEW have agreed to produce a more edgy show than WWE, TNT provided them specific rules regarding what lines they can’t cross.
The show was also categorized as “sports event” as opposed to “entertainment.”
AEW has yet to officially announce the name of the show, however AEW President told Wrestling Inc. at All Out this past Saturday that it will not be simply called “All Elite Wrestling.”
“It is not going to be called ‘All Elite Wrestling’ because I think it would be confusing between the company and the name of the show,” Khan said.
AEW debuts on TNT on Wednesday, October 2nd.
Chris Jericho will face-off against Cody Rhodes at Full Gear and AEW President Tony Khan says the challenger earned the opportunity due to his win-loss record.
Sports Ilustrated broke the news for AEW, with Khan telling the publication:
“Cody’s outstanding record in singles competition has secured him the number one contender ranking, and he will be challenging AEW world champion Chris Jericho in the first ever pay-per-view defense of the championship on November 9 in Baltimore at Full Gear.”
“Cody earned this opportunity over the summer as he remained unbeaten in singles bouts, scoring pins on a pair of proven veterans, defeating his older brother, the legendary wrestler Dustin Rhodes at Double or Nothing, and beating bitter rival and former partner Shawn Spears at All Out—and battling to a draw with the exciting upstart Darby Allin at Fyter Fest.”
AEW execs have heavily stressed that the promotion will focus on wins and losses mattering. This is the first indication of how that will play a part going forward.
“Full Gear” will also feature Jon Moxley vs. Kenny Omega.
Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet
It was recently reported that Killer Kross was considering hiring a lawyer to deal with his contractual standoff with Impact Wrestling. According to PWInsider, Kross has indeed hired an attorney who is handling all of the communication between Kross and Impact.
Kross and Impact have been at a standstill regarding his existing contract since May. It was then when he requested his release as he believes he is worth more than what Impact is paying him but Kross maintained his professionalism and continued working for the promotion. Per PWInsider, Impact recently offered Kross a new three-year contract worth $40,000, $60,000 and $80,000 over the life of the deal.
A source says that those numbers are outdated and the final figures were much higher, but either way, Kross declined and is still on his existing contract which has 18 months remaining on it.
Kross is not booked for this weekend’s Impact tapings and his last appearance for the promotion came at Slammiversay on July 7. Adding to the complexity of Kross’ issues with Impact was that he participated in a First Blood match at the event, however Kross, who took the loss, did not want to blade for the match. That prompted Impact to secure fake blood hours before the event to which Kross agreed to use during the defeat.
Kross was also upset that there were no doctor on hand for Slammiversary considering that he was involved in such a match which required blood. Impact conceded that no doctors were present but there were emergency medical technicians (EMTs) at the facility.
Impact is holding tapings on Sep. 5-6 from Las Vegas which also happens to be where Killer Kross lives. But despite the tapings practically taking part in his back yard, Kross will not be present and there is still no timetable for when or if he will return to the ring with Impact Wrestling.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
WWE announced today that two new talents have reported to the Performance Center in Orlando, FL to begin working for WWE NXT – Jorge Bolly and Edgar Lopez.
Bolly is known to pro wrestling fans as El Hijo del Fantasma or King Cuerno of Lucha Underground fame. He is a second generation talent. Lopez is a former soccer player from the Monterrey Institute of Technology’s Borregos Salvajes team. He worked the December 2018 WWE tryouts in Santiago, Chile.
Below is WWE’s full announcement on Bolly and Lopez signing:
Acclaimed luchador Jorge Bolly, former football player Edgar Lopez join WWE Performance Center
Second-generation luchador Jorge Bolly — better known to ring fans by the aliases El Hijo del Fantasma and King Cuerno — has arrived at the WWE Performance Center.
The 198-pounder from Mexico City boasts two decades of in-ring experience. A veteran of Mexico’s CMLL and AAA promotions, Bolly has held singles and trios titles during his career, and he won AAA’s Antonio Peña Cup in 2017. The son of legendary luchador El Fantasma, Bolly is proficient in classic lucha libre techniques, combining speed and aerial maneuvers, including arguably sports-entertainment’s most daring tope suicida.
Bolly isn’t the only new signee to be announced. Also joining the WWE Performance Center is Edgar Lopez, also of Mexico. Standing 6-foot-4 and weighing 250 pounds, Lopez played football on the Monterrey Institute of Technology’s Borregos Salvajes squad, where he served as the offensive captain. WWE talent scouts discovered Lopez during last December’s tryout in Santiago, Chile.
Last month, the WWE Performance Center welcomed nine new signees, including EVOLVE Champion Austin Theory and former Mae Young Classic competitor Santana Garrett.
Below is photos of Jorge Bolly as King Cuerno and El Hijo del Fantasma:
