Backstage News On The Undertaker’s WWE Status

The Undertaker’s working relationship with WWE is an interesting situation these days.

Things between the two sides changed greatly when Taker was announced for the upcoming Starrcast II convention, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The Observer also notes that people in WWE were at first saying there was no way Taker would appear at Starrcast, but he is making the appearance likely to due to contracts.

Taker reportedly thought his WWE career was over after the matches in late 2018 – the No DQ loss to Triple H at WWE Super Show-Down in October and the tag team match at WWE Crown Jewel in November, which saw Taker and Kane lose to WWE Hall of Famers Shawn Michaels and Triple H, and that’s when he started booking non-WWE paydays. Vince McMahon was upset when the Starrcast appearance was announced, but WWE reportedly made Taker an offer he couldn’t refuse, financially, once things calmed down between the two sides. Part of that new contract was an agreement that Taker could no longer work the outside dates, except for the ones he had already booked.

The Observer notes that Taker had no legal way to get out of the Starrcast deal, but for the UK deal with Inside The Ropes, they didn’t have the king of legal resources to fight WWE on it. Regarding those ITR appearances on April 29, April 30 and May 1, Taker was originally scheduled to meet fans for autographs and photos, plus a Q&A session. That was changed last week, and it was announced that WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley would be doing the Q&A part of the show, while Taker would be appearing for just the signings. This is because of the new WWE deal that Taker was signed as the company wanted to bring him back into the fold. Taker reportedly “pushed really hard” to keep the Inside The Ropes appearances, despite people in WWE not wanting him to go at all. The promoters would have had to refund all tickets and it could have really hurt them moving forward, and Taker did not want to do that. That’s when the compromise was made with Foley coming in to discuss his history with Taker each night. The Observer adds that Taker pushed to make sure he still came for at least the signings with fans.

There was a feeling that WWE believed Taker would never take bookings with people the company didn’t want him doing dates with, and WWE didn’t realize the large amount of money that some promoters would offer Taker for their events. It was reported in February that Taker was charging $25,000 per hour, and that he would have no trouble finding dates.

One source involved in booking non-WWE appearances noted to The Observer that the $150 per person price to get a photo and autograph with Taker was actually too low as WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin charged $316 for his VIP package at WrestleCon in New Orleans last year during WrestleMania 34 Week, and they had so many requests at that price that they were overwhelmed and had to cut sales off. There was a feeling that Taker could have had a similar demand at WrestleCon during WrestleMania 35 Week this year. Taker was approached by promoters for WrestleMania 35 Week appearances, including WrestleCon, but he had already agreed to do the post-WrestleMania RAW appearance.

It was also noted that it’s still not clear if Taker’s new WWE deal is to wrestle, but he’s expected to return to the ring at the next Saudi Arabia event, believed to be on Friday, June 7. A match with Elias has been rumored after their recent run-in on RAW, but that could have been changed now that Elias was moved to SmackDown in the Superstar Shakeup. Taker is also scheduled for a signing appearance that Sunday, June 9th at the Niagara Falls Comic Con in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.

MLW Fusion Preview 4/20/19

Join Rich Bocchini and Jim Cornette from New York City for four big fights this week on Fusion!

Are they friends or are they foes? The maniacal mercenary Sami Callihan and the “Southern Psychopath” Mance Warner will square off in this week’s main event.

The Lucha Bros fight Air Wolf & Rey Horus in high-flying tag team action as both teams look to climb the rankings in the stacked tag team division.

Salina de la Renta and Promociones Dorado are on the warpath. What does that mean for their enemies? Tune in to find out.

CONTRA Unit carved up super heavyweight Ace Romero with Josef Samael’s spike in Chicago and now the 400 pound walking jumbo jet wants revenge. League officials have brokered a match with the outsider Samael to face Romero 1-on-1 on Fusion.

What type of mischief has The Hart Foundation caused  in MJF’s rental car? Find out on a special 4/20 edition of H2tv.

Plus, Gringo Loco vs. Puma King in lucha action.

Which WWE Roster Will Nikki Cross Be Working With?

There’s been speculation on which brand Nikki Cross will go to now that the 2019 WWE Superstar Shake-Up is over, and now it looks like she will be working with the RAW brand.

The WWE website still lists Cross as having no official brand, but she revealed on Instagram that she will be working red brand live events in St. Louis, Springfield and Moline this weekend, which would put her at Monday’s RAW in Des Moines, Iowa.

Cross came to the main roster in December 2018, and had made some appearances on both shows since then. She was the only recent call-up to be left without a brand coming out of the Shake-Up.

Cross posted the following on working with the RAW brand this weekend:

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Source Calls TV Buy Reports “Total BS”

As previously reported, Tony Maglio of The Wrap appeared on the 411 Wrestling Interviews podcast this week and discussed AEW’s possible TV deal with Warner Media Group, which operates Turner Sports (TBS, TNT). Maglio had stated that AEW’s TV deal would actually be a time buy, where the company would be paying Turner to air their show.

“As excited as people are, they have cool t-shirts and a cool roster, you know, but they’re unproven, let’s be realistic,” Maglio said. “My understanding based on the people I’ve spoken to is that it would be more AEW paying for its time on TNT than Turner paying AEW for its show. Another very good wrestling reporter and I had been talking about whether that would be the case or whether it would be a revenue share, and we’d both heard rumblings and talked to people.”

A close source with AEW responded to the report, telling Wrestling Inc. that it is “total bullsh-t.”

In addition to Turner, Showtime is reportedly also in talks with AEW regarding a deal.

AEW is reportedly planning to air a weekly two-hour live show that will premiere in October.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Backstage Update On “Road Dogg” BG James’ WWE Status And Future

WWE Hall of Famer “Road Dogg” Brian G. James is now expected to take an extended break from the company, according to PWInsider.

As noted, James recently stepped down as the co-lead writer of the SmackDown brand and there had been talk on James possibly filling the behind-the-scenes role once held by WWE Hall of Famer Arn Anderson at live events. There was also talk of James possibly working as a commentator. Now word is that the parties involved will assess the situation and see where James may fit in the company going forward.

James was not at the WWE TV tapings in Montreal this past week. With James not there, Ryan Ward was leading the creative team on Tuesday for the Superstar Shakeup episode. Ward handled the responsibilities that were usually overseen by James.

James is still considered to be with the company, but there is no current timetable for his return to work.

It was reported before that James had become increasingly frustrated with changed made to blue brand TV scripts by Vince McMahon, and that he finally “hit a breaking point” at the post-WrestleMania 35 SmackDown in Brooklyn.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Enzo Amore And Big Cass Already Done With ROH?

Enzo Amore and Big Cass created headlines when they crashed the Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling G1 Supercard event earlier this month.

At the show, Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa retained the IWGP Tag Team Championship and won the ROH World Tag Team Championship against PCO & Brody King, The Briscoes, and EVIL & SANADA. Following the match, Enzo & Cass were at ringside and brawled with The Briscoes and Bully Ray. While it was a creative decision to bring them in, they have not appeared for the promotion since.

The former WWE tag team were not at any of the ROH shows this past weekend in Pittsburgh or Columbus. According to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, as of this moment, they are not booked for any future appearances and are not a part of any of ROH’s current plans.

The appearance at the G1 Supercard did not go over well with many people backstage. According to Dave Meltzer, the original plans for their ROH debut was for Enzo to grab Mark Briscoe causing Mark to shove him and that would be it. The segment was set to end with Enzo being escorted away by security to play off of Enzo crashing the WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view last year. The thought was that it would have been so quick that people would have felt like it was real. It ended up becoming a brawl that involved Bully Ray.

On an episode of Wrestling Inc.’s WINCLY podcast this week, PCO admitted that he was as confused as anyone despite being a part of the match.

“There was a lot of controversy about what happened. For me, I was just worrying about my back because I took a double powerbomb from 12-14 feet in the air straight to the concrete floor,” PCO said before adding that hell broke loose when Enzo and Cass appeared. “I didn’t know what was going on because nobody knew nothing about this. I just came back from TV tapings in Pittsburgh and Columbus… and I got back yesterday and there was no Enzo and no Cass at those events. I haven’t heard anything from the office so I don’t know what’s going on with that. Are they signed? Are they not signed?

“It’s all question marks for me as it is for you so I guess it’s a corporate decision. I have no power over it and I can’t say if I’m not in favor of it or if I am in favor of it. I don’t know nothing about it and I’m gonna let the ROH executives deal with it… I know GoD weren’t happy about it. It seems like they weren’t pleased with the fact that somebody could jump over the fence like that and take their moment so to speak.”

The G1 Supercard was the pairing’s first pro wrestling appearance together since they were let go by WWE.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Latest AEW TV Deal Rumors, Possible Reason No TV Deal Is Signed

Tony Maglio of The Wrap appeared on the 411 Wrestling Interviews podcast to discuss AEW’s possible TV deal with Warner Media Group, which operates Turner Sports (TBS, TNT). Turner is one of the top media outlets that is in talks with AEW regarding a potential deal.

Maglio reported on The Wrap last week that Turner is in “advanced talks” with AEW for a weekly TV show that would likely air on TNT. The report stated that the deal is “definitely not signed” and the talks are “pretty complex” and “not imminent.” It was also noted that the AEW TV show might not be year-round, suggesting that an off-season for the promotion could be likely.

During Maglio’s appearance on 411 Wrestling Interviews, he stated that AEW’s deal would likely involve the company paying for their time slot.

“As excited as people are, they have cool t-shirts and a cool roster, you know, but they’re unproven, let’s be realistic,” Maglio said. “My understanding based on the people I’ve spoken to is that it would be more AEW paying for its time on TNT than Turner paying AEW for its show. Another very good wrestling reporter and I had been talking about whether that would be the case or whether it would be a revenue share, and we’d both heard rumblings and talked to people.

“Maybe a couple of months ago it might have been a little bit of a different story. But the truth is, when you’re talking to Turner, [they’re] a very well-established, very well-off company inside of gigantic parent company…it’s not the UFC. It’s not WWE, it’s not MLB. They have MLB, they have NBA. They know what they have to pay for. And I think currently, AEW has way more to prove than Turner has in terms of trying to get them to come to their networks. I think AEW needs this deal more than Turner does.”

Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter took to their message board to dispute the story. According to Meltzer, the time buy story is false and one of the reasons that AEW has not secured a television deal yet is “because of multiple bidders.”

“One hour is false. Time buy is false,” Meltzer wrote. “It’s the exact opposite. Look at sports rights, Bellator, Matchroom, UFC on ESPN, people are offering tons of money both for weekly live programming and also to get their streaming services starting. That’s the reason this thing is starting this year.

“One of the reasons the deal hasn’t been signed yet is because of multiple bidders.”

According to a recent report from Prowrestling.net, Showtime is also in talks with AEW regarding a deal.

Maglio responded to Meltzer on Twitter, however he didn’t address his assertion that AEW would be paying for their time slot. Instead, he responded to Meltzer stating that a “one hour” deal is false, noting that he was simply stating his opinion. He also addressed Meltzer shooting down last week that AEW programming would be seasonal, noting that AEW themselves had publicly discussed that option.

“Never said AEW show would be 1 hour,” Maglio tweeted. “Said 1 hour makes more sense than 3 when asked if it’d be a 3 hour show. We all assume 2. Dave also apparently made a thing out of me reporting that a source on Turner talks said not doing 52 weeks is a possibility. You know who has also said an off-season is a ‘possibility’? AEW.

“Many things are possible when a deal is not signed. I’ve also said multiple times an off season would be problematic and my personal opinion is that it’ll be 52 weeks/year.

“Job is to report what told by sources.”

You can check out Maglio’s tweets below:

https://twitter.com/TonyMaglio/status/1119043488967012353

https://twitter.com/TonyMaglio/status/1119044463542906883

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Dean Ambrose Finishing Up With WWE, Sunday’s Shield WWE Special

Dean Ambrose is set to finish up with WWE this weekend.

Ambrose’s final dates with the company are this weekend in matches with The Shield vs. Drew McIntyre, Baron Corbin and Bobby Lashley. This match is booked for Friday’s live event in St. Louis, Saturday’s show in Springfield and Sunday’s show in Moline. The Moline match will air on the WWE Network as “The Shield’s Final Chapter” special.

WWE Intercontinental Champion Finn Balor is still booked for Sunday’s live event in Moline, despite his roster change to SmackDown in the Superstar Shakeup. WWE has not announced Balor’s opponent for the “Last Chapter” special, but the website still says he will be defending his title. It’s possible that Balor defends against Elias on the Network special as Elias vs. Balor has been advertised locally.

The event is scheduled to begin at 9:30pm ET on the WWE Network. The WWE website also has Braun Strowman advertised for the Moline live event, along with new SmackDown Superstars Bayley and Elias.

The actual live event this Sunday starts at 8pm ET, however the portion that will be televised on the Network will start at 9:30 pm ET.

Below is WWE’s full announcement:

WATCH THE SHIELD’S FINAL CHAPTER THIS SUNDAY ON WWE NETWORKIn what will be the groundbreaking faction’s FINAL match together, Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns & Universal Champion Seth Rollins will team up for a special event, The Shield’s Final Chapter, streaming LIVE this Sunday, April 21, at 9:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. PT on WWE Network. Don’t miss the legendary trio’s final ride together in WWE.

The Shield will face the team of Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley and Baron Corbin. Also, Finn Bálor will be in action to defend the Intercontinental Championship.

If you are not yet a subscriber, go to WWENetwork.com and start your one-month free trial today.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

“The Roast Of Ric Flair” To Headline Starrcast II And Stream Online, Flair Comments

The upcoming Starrcast II convention will be headlined by WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair getting roasted.

“The Roast of Ric Flair” will take place on Friday, May 24 at 9pm ET from the Pro Wrestling Tees Theater inside Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. It will stream live on StarrcastOnFite.com.

Comedian and longtime pro wrestling fan Ron Funches will host the roast. The roast is set to feature some of “the biggest names in pro wrestling and stand-up comedy, along with a few surprise guests.”

The roast was announced by Starrcast’s Conrad Thompson in a new interview with CBS Sports.

“Well, I wanted to turn the volume up, and we are here at Caesar’s Palace, and there is no bigger name in the history of wrestling than Ric Flair,” Thompson told CBS Sports. “So, the ‘The Roast of Ric Flair’ is happening.”

The Nature Boy told CBS that he is both prepared and excited for the type of no-holds barred comedy that he will be the victim of. Flair pointed out how familiar he is with Vegas.

“I’ve got a lot of history with Caesar’s Palace. Oh God, it was a regular stop in the 80s and 90s,” Flair said. “I’m lucky to be here and every day is a blessing. But one of those reasons is Las Vegas. I’ve had a couple of drinks in that town!”

There’s no word yet on pro wrestlers booked to roast Flair but the format will be very similar to popular Comedy Central roasts. Thompson said there will be “a who’s who of stand-up comedians” booked like Dan Soder, Taylor Williamson, Mike Lawrence and Dan St. Germain.

“There is going to be a handful of wrestling people there, but Ric sort of transcends pop culture, so we are going to have more mainstream roasters from outside the wrestling sector,” Thompson said. “The comedians are itching for the chance to carve up not just Ric but our dais as well. We are excited to have some fun, but some of these guys, they are not going for laughs. They are going for gasps.”

Thompson teased possible appearances by WWE Hall of Famers Jim Ross and Ricky Steamboat. We know that names like The Undertaker and WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle will be in town for the convention that weekend, and there will be AEW stars in town for Double Or Nothing, but there’s no word yet on if they might appear.

Thompson continued, “We will also have a whole host of wrestling names, whether it’s people from Ric’s past like Ricky Steamboat, probably his favorite opponent, or Jim Ross, who called some of his more iconic matches. And a whole bunch of surprises. Whether you are a wrestling fan or not, there will be names you will recognize because everyone wants to come out and pay tribute to one of the greatest of all time.”

https://twitter.com/HeyHeyItsConrad/status/1118910916072964097

https://twitter.com/StarrcastEvents/status/1118925107043422208

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Signs Key IMPACT Wrestling Backstage Personnel

When a new company like All Elite Wrestling comes along, wrestlers jumping from one company to another make big headlines. However, those behind the scenes have sometimes just as big an impact as a new main eventer. According to PWInsider, longtime backstage producer Keith Mitchell will no longer be working for IMPACT Wrestling, as he’s signed a full-time deal with All Elite. In his place recently, Kevin Sullivan and Michael Vedder are heading up production, with Vedder directing shows.

IMPACT is already feeling the sting of a number of recent departures towards WWE. On-screen voice of the company Josh Matthews is taking on the load of the burden, filling in for Sonjay Dutt’s duties since he left for Stamford.

Source: WrestleZone