Scotland based promotion Insane Championship Wrestling recently announced that due to contractual obligations Mick Foley would no longer be able to appear at their biggest annual event Fear & Loathing (now in its 9th year). A replacement enforcer for the event has been announced and it is former NXT & WWE Universal Champion Finn Balor.
NXT recently signed two of ICW’s biggest stars: Big Damo & Nikki Storm and it appears as though both WWE & ICW now will likely have some sort of working relationship going forward.
On Saturday, John Cena, Daniel Bryan, and The Bella Twins did a question and answer session at the Phoenix Fan Fest, a young fan asked Cena what his favorite food was. Then this happened:
“Hell in a Cell” has always been my favorite WWE PPV. I’m not sure whether it’s because I have a fondness for matches that take place in a cell, al la one of the most iconic matches of all time, Mankind vs. Undertaker, or because the event takes place around my favorite holiday. This year, however, will be treasured for a new reason—the first EVER women’s Hell in a Cell match.
The WWE has had many historic eras—The Golden Age, The Attitude Era, and now, it’s the era of outstanding women. Bob Dylan said it best—“The Times They Are a-Changin!” We are smack-dab in the middle of the “Women’s Revolution.” Who would have thought even a few years ago that women would be main-eventing PPVS, let alone having matches inside of cold, hard steel?… and there’s no two women in the WWE right now more fit for the title match than current Raw Women’s Champion, Sasha Banks, and former champ, Charlotte. We’ve been lucky enough to witness these two superstars have A+ matches against each other and other notable competitors, such as Becky Lynch and Bayley, since their days in NXT, and they have not disappointed us since making their debut on the main roster last year. They have proven themselves along with the other women time and time again that they’re no longer “Divas…” they’re “Superstars.”
I feel that a match of this nature has been a long time coming. Charlotte and Sasha are now both two-time Raw Women’s Champions. We’ve seen them compete for the belt on numerous PPVs, and recently had the opportunity to watch Sasha once again win the title during the main event of Raw. Long gone are the days of lingerie and pillow fights. These women compete with every ounce of blood, sweat, and tears that they possess… and it shows! Sasha and Charlotte have had such a compelling story to follow, which instantly makes viewers drawn to them. They’ve both shared so much of their lives in and out of the ring that it makes us feel completely invested in their journeys. We WANT to see who will be victorious and who will walk down the ramp in tears from a well-fought battle.
In only a few days time we will see if Sasha Banks retains, or if we will have a three-time Champion. We know that this match is considered one of the three main events of the evening, but it’s still unknown if it will be the final match of the evening. At this point, I’m also not entirely sure who will be triumphant, but I’m confident that it will be a historic match featuring two of the greatest superstars of this generation… and you can bank on that!
@KidCadet has been hooked on pro wrestling since she attended WrestleMania 28 live from Miami. She’s a regular panel host on the comic convention circuit and does ring announcing for the Shine Wrestling promotion.
That wording is likely to fuel plenty of speculation. With all of the conversation about whether or not the first women’s Hell in a Cell match will close the eponymous pay-per-view event, this tweet, giving it the same weight as the other Cell matches on the show, isn’t exactly clear. There’s clearly a lot of interest in the Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte, more so than the other Hell in a Cell matches. The argument is there that this is the bout most deserving of a headline slot since the women’s division was overhauled.
Even if you want to look at this pessimistically, with some fans seeing it as a lame duck show since promotion for the dual brand Survivor Series has already started, there isn’t much “harm” that Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte in the “real main event” slot could do. This will likely continue to be a hot topic among wrestling fans in the remaining seven days until the pay-per-view.
WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch returned to action at Saturday’s WWE house show in Sioux City, Iowa. She defeated Alexa Bliss.
Becky has been out of action for a few weeks with an undisclosed health issue unrelated to the ring. She wasn’t supposed to return until the 11/8 SmackDown TV in Glasgow, where she will defend against Bliss.
Becky Lynch will be returning to action earlier earlier than expected. The SmackDown Women’s Champion has been out dealing with an undisclosed health issue, but WWE is now advertising her for Tuesday’s SmackDown in Green Bay. Lynch posted this photo last week of what appears to be a cross-fit workout, so whatever she was dealing with is no longer preventing her from engaging in physical activity.
Also added to Tuesday’s tapings is Bray Wyatt vs. Kane in a No DQ match. As announced last week, the show will feature WWE World Champion AJ Styles vs. Dean Ambrose in a non-title match. If Ambrose wins, he’ll be the #1 contender.
WWE Hall of Famer and 5-time world champion Booker T is scheduled to be roasted on November 10th at the Houston Improv comedy club.
The RAW and SmackDown reshow host will be joined by “Brother Love” Bruce Prichard, the Dudley Boyz, MVP, Queen Sharmell, Stevie Ray and many more. There will also be special video appearances by The Undertaker, Chris Jericho, Rob Van Dam and Diamond Dallas Page.
The event is presented by SportsRadio 610 with a portion of the proceeds going to the Booker T Fight For Kids Foundation.
Tickets are now available. If you’re in the Houston area, this looks like a really cool event to check out. For more information, visit Houston.CBSLocal.com.
This afternoon, Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle of Nashville Chancery Court officially unsealed most of the filings in Billy Corgan’s lawsuit against TNA parent company Impact Ventures LLC. The only documents still hidden from public view are the initial complaint and the memorandum that Corgan filed to get a temporary restraining order against TNA. Those will be re-filed publicly on Wednesday (October 26th) with certain sections redacted, but everything else was made public today.
Of what came out today, two filings are especially noteworthy:
The restraining order is about what you’d expect: It stops TNA from “taking any action without the consent of” Corgan (like signing new contracts), as well as selling the company, its videotape library, other assets, etc. On Wednesday, there will be a hearing to determine if Corgan will get a injunction to replace the temporary restraining order.
The motion to compel discovery (or rather, the responses to previous requests attached as exhibits) is where we get the most information about the lawsuit so far. Based on the questions that Corgan asked of both Dixie Carter and Impact Ventures, as well as how they were answered, this is what appears to be going on:
Corgan and TNA (for the purposes of this article, TNA = all of the defendants unless otherwise noted), entered into an “equity pledge agreement.” The date of the agreement was possibly August 11th, as TNA claims to have not been insolvent since then . That was also 11 days before TNA’s debt to Anthem Sports and Entertainment was filed with the state of Tennessee.
If TNA defaulted/became insolvent, Corgan would be able to take over the voting rights to Dixie Carter’s shares. From there, Corgan could then “remove the managers of Impact Ventures and replace them with designees of [his] choosing,” as he would, for all intents and purposes, be the majority owner. This likely explains why Corgan loaned money personally to Dixie Carter, and, really, this was the only way that move made sense.
On September 29th, the Thursday before Bound For Glory, Corgan notified TNA that he was exercising his rights under the agreement because there had been “multiple events of default under the equity pledge agreement.” This was two days after Audience of One Productions sued TNA, which makes you wonder of the former tipped Corgan off. It was also the same day as Corgan’s cryptic interview on The Dan Le Batard Show, which is embedded at the top of this article. One day later, TNA’s debt to MCC Accquisitions (sister company to Anthem/Fight Network) was filed with the state of Tennessee.
TNA denied being insolvent, saying that “The term ‘insolvent’ is not defined in the Pledge Agreement. Under Tennessee law, an entity is insolvent only if the sum of the debtor’s debts is greater than all of the debtor’s assets, at a fair valuation. Impact Ventures’ assets are of greater value than its debt, […] There has also not been an Event of Default as that term is used in the Pledge Agreement.”
TNA objected to a request for all documents showing the company’s inability to pay any debts in full, “because it theoretically seeks all correspondence, financial documents, vendor invoices/statements, and other documents concerning any instance in which Impact Ventures may have been late and/or obtained an extension with regard to paying a debt in full, and any such documents are not maintained in a manner that would enable Impact Ventures to readily obtain such information[.]”
It would seem that, once TNA denied being insolvent and refused to let Corgan take over, he started preparing for the lawsuit. This ostensibly included filing Carter’s debt with the state of Tennessee on October 11th, the day before he sued. Since Carter/TNA said in sworn statements that TNA is not insolvent in spite of mounting evidence otherwise, and it would be wrong to assume that anyone is committing perjury, there’s only one logical explanation as to how that could be truthful. That would be that TNA valuing the company’s most subtantial asset, the video library, at more than Corgan thinks it’s worth.
Based on what WWE normally pays, the library is worth about $1 million, but TNA is more than $4 million in debt based on public records, which don’t include their debts to Corgan, the state of Tennessee, or any staff/performers. When you factor in that Dave Meltzer has reported that Anthem owns at least part of the video library know, it makes you wonder if they made a deal where TNA can point to a valuation of the collection at much more than $1 million. Otherwise, it doesn’t really track how TNA could not be considered insolvent right now.
Also: For what it’s worth, TNA’s income from its TV deals with Challenge TV in the U.K. and Sony Six in India would be classified as receivables and not assets.
Some other notes from the filings:
For the record, TNA Entertainment LLC (TNA’s old parent company) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Impact Ventures LLC (TNA’s current parent company).
For most, if not all of the documents Corgan asked Carter and TNA to produce, it was alleged that he already had access to them. This includes TNA’s communications with WWE in 2016. Before he filed the lawsuit, Corgan was cryptic about how he didn’t know about any such deal even though he should, so TNA’s position is interesting, to say the least.
There’s clearly a lot more to this that we still don’t know. Depending on what exactly is redacted from what is released on Wednesday, we may learn a lot more.
This week’s edition of “Something to Wrestling With,” Bruce Prichard’s podcast on the MLW network, went up today, and the topic is Prichard’s time in TNA. Late in the show, at the 2:37:30 mark, there’s a VERY interesting exchange between Prichard and co-host Conrad Thompson (they’re overlapping slightly at times, so I’ve removed any small interjections that didn’t go anywhere):
Conrad: “Do they owe you any money?”
Bruce: “[sighs] You know, they did something that was really bad. I had some financial issues, and they were supposed to pay to the government, and so on and so forth, and they didn’t do it. They garnished things from my check…”
Conrad: “Your withholdings from the federal government…”
Bruce: “Right. ”
Conrad: “That TNA kept, that weren’t included in your checks, but then they didn’t actually pay the government.”
Bruce: “Correct. Then the government came after me for [not] paying them.”
Conrad: “So they stole your money. How much money did they steal from you?”
Bruce: “Oh, that was about…it was only about $10,000.”
Conrad: “Still…”
Bruce: “But still, the arrogance…”
Conrad: “And you never got it.”
Bruce: “Well, it wasn’t coming to me, but the government finally got it. Because it was the government coming after me for the money.”
Conrad: “And you showed them proof…”
Bruce: “I show them proof! ‘Here’s where they took it…'”
Conrad: “‘I did my part.'”
Bruce: “So, I don’t know, ’cause I never heard the end of it, other than the government was satisfied. And…it was just those kind of little petty things that didn’t have to happen, that made you kind of feel dirty at the end.”
With everything that has come out about TNA as of late, it’s a very interesting allegation. Especially since, as we first reported a week ago, the state of Tennessee has a lien on TNA’s assets for unpaid business taxes. We’ve reached out to TNA for comment on Prichard’s allegations, and will update you if we hear back from them.
Polish Strongwoman and fitness athlete Sylwia Reichel announced on Instagram that she will be receiving a WWE tryout at the Glasgow, Scotland tapings next month. She will be the first Polish athlete to receive a WWE tryout.
Reichel has a background in karate, Muay Thai and kickboxing. She’s also a strongwoman champion, as seen below in this clip from the Arnold Classic 2015.
FOX has picked up a new comedy from The Rock’s Seven Bucks Productions and Will Ferrell’s Gary Sanchez Productions, based on Rock’s real-life experiences with former WWE head writer Brian Gewirtz. Andrew Gurland, creator of FX’s “Married,” will write the pilot script. Variety.com broke news on Friday.
The series offers a behind-the-scenes look at a fictional pro wrestling company and the odd couple relationship that develops between a charismatic young star and a painfully awkward comedy writer new to the business.
“This November will mark the 20th anniversary of my professional wrestling debut,” The Rock said. “I was 24 years old, putting in the hard work, making $40 bucks per match and had no clue of the long journey that lay ahead of me with characters and backstage stories so colorful you’d think there’s no way that can be true. The entertaining show that goes on in front of the crowd pales in comparison to the insanely entertaining show that goes on backstage. Brian and myself can’t wait to tell our stories.”
Gewirtz added, “Coming from Hollywood to the wrestling industry, with its intense backstage atmosphere and larger than life personalities, was a major culture shock. After working in the business for over 15 years, Dwayne and I had encounters and experiences that were unbelievable as well as unforgettable. We can’t wait to bring this project to the fans.”
Former WWE Superstar and manager Frenchy Martin (Jean Gagné) has passed away after battling cancer. He was 66. WWE confirmed the news on Friday, extending its condolences to his family, friends and fans.
Gagne had been moved to a local hospice back in early September and given just a few more weeks to live. He commented then to The Montreal Journal, “I led an extraordinary life. I am proud to have succeeded in the world of wrestling. I am no more worthy than another, but I’m not afraid of death. I accept the result.”
Martin is probably best remembered as the manager of fellow French Canadian, Dino Bravo.
Late Thursday night, The Boston Globe broke the news that for the first time since 2009, deceased professional wrestlers have been diagnosed with Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in a post-mortem examination. According to the article, both John “Balls Mahoney” Rechner and Brian “Axl Rotten” Knighton were suffering from the degenerative neurological condition at the time of their deaths, though it was in the “early stages” in Knighton’s brain. MMA fighter Jordan Parsons, who recently died in a car accident, was also diagnosed as having CTE.
CTE is the modern name for the former dementia pugilistica, a specific type of brain damage caused by repeated blows to the head. Initially discovered in football player Mike Webster, the issue began to get significantly more attention when Chris Benoit was diagnosed with CTE a few months after his suicide. Later, in 2009, Andrew “Test” Martin was diagnosed with CTE after his passing, but no pro wrestler had been diagnosed with it since then. Rechner and (to a lesser extent) Knighton were both known for taking incredibly hard chair shots to the head.
Dr. Julia K. Kofler, a University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Presbyterian neuropathologist, made the diagnosis, which was communicated to the Globe by Dr. Bennet Omalu, who verified the results. Omalu did the examinations of Benoit and Martin, which WWE has refused to accept the results of in the past due to missing chain of custody records, which would have documented the provenance of the samples as being from Benoit. WWE refused to comment on the new findings pending its own review of the research.
WWE also intimated that Konstantine Kyros, the plaintiffs’ lawyer in the “concussion” lawsuits against the company, pushed the story on the Globe to distract from court motions it filed this week asking for him to be sanctioned for misconduct. Kyros denied this when reached for comment.
Former NFL player Brennan Williams of the Houston Texans made his NXT in-ring debut at last night’s house show in Lakeland, FL. He lost his debut match to cruiserweight Lince Dorado.
Williams trained with WWE Hall of Famer Booker T and wrestled for Booker’s Texas-based Reality of Wrestling promotion. He was signed by WWE back in August.
Williams posted these photos from last night’s debut:
This week’s episode of Total Bellas on the E! Network took a hit, drawing 625,000 viewers. This is down from last week’s 756,000 viewers and the lowest audience of the season.
The third episode in the series ranked #28 for the night on cable in the 18-49 demo, down from last week’s #10 ranking.
SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan and wife Brie Bella will be having a baby girl next spring. The couple just revealed the news to WWE.com on Thursday.
“I’m so excited we’re having a little girl,” Bryan said. “I’m sure that, just like her mother, she’s going to steal my heart.”
Brie also expressed her excitement. “When I found out it was a girl, I actually got really emotional. I have such an amazing relationship with my mom and I think, wow, I’m going to have that with my daughter. Also, as a woman, I now have my own blood to follow my legacy. It’s such a special feeling — my mini me!”
Former WWE star Cody Rhodes recently did a promotional interview for his appearance on The CW’s Arrow where he spoke at-length about his former Stardust character. Rhodes left WWE back in May due to creative differences after reportedly “pleading” with the creative team for months to end the Stardust character.
“I think for me, internally, the entire thing was a comic book,” Rhodes said of his approach to playing Stardust. “In terms of psychologically thinking about it, I approached it like a symbiote, like Venom, taking over my initial persona. Especially since I’d wrestled for the prior eight years as myself and here was this drastic departure. I was treating it like this symbiote thing. That’s what I would say to myself in my head.”
The second-generation wrestler says that he also pulled on old Batman characters for inspiration. Rhodes had previously expressed disappointment that WWE fans would remember him as Stardust rather than for what he had done before being given that character.
“Then performance-wise, people know I was just stealing flat out from Frank Gorshin and Jim Carrey’s Riddlers,” Rhodes told IGN. I’d watch the scene where he blew up the Batcave and study how he moved around and just plucked some of that out in certain ways. In my mind, it was a mash-up of different comic book influences. I loved the idea that I had an alter-ego but that my true identity was very well known and very much on the surface. I was the only one who didn’t know who Stardust really was. So it was very much tied to comics. Everything I’ve done. I did a whole run where I’d wear a face mask when I was on SmackDown and that was based on Dr. Doom. Comics and me go way back.”
Since leaving WWE, Rhodes has performed for TNA and Ring of Honor under variations his real name. You can read his entire interview on IGN.com.
As previously reported, The Undertaker recently underwent a minor hip surgery which is why we’ve been seeing photos of him on crutches. WWE Hall of Famer weighed in on this news in his latest blog entry, assuring fans that the surgery likely won’t effect The Undertaker’s ability to show up at WrestleMania.
“This procedure will have little to no bearing on Taker performing at WM33 in Orlando next April based on what I know,” Ross claimed.
Ross added that he would be surprised if The Deadman doesn’t step in the ring in 2017. The former voice of RAW also talked about the possibility of this being Undertaker’s last WrestleMania performance. The Undertaker has reportedly been telling people for the last few years that he’s planning on wrapping up his career.
“If the next Wrestlemania is Taker’s last one, then one has to assume that WWE will do nothing but capitalize on this golden opportunity market the career and accomplishments of the Undertaker with an historic weekend,” J.R. wrote.
Ross also wrote about Monday’s RAW, featuring the return of Bill Goldberg. J.R. feels that Goldberg’s segment worked “in a major way,” but has reservations about WWE’s plans for the former undefeated WCW Champion at SummerSlam.
“Personally, I would not place Goldberg vs Lesnar last on the card at Survivor Series and I also think that they can tell a solid story in approximately 15 minutes bell to bell,” Ross wrote. “I’m very curious to see the match that I hope fans will be intelligent enough to reserve judgment on until they see the presentation.”
WWE World Champion AJ Styles wants to face the currently-retired Shawn Michaels at Royal Rumble. In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, “The Face That Runs The Place” said he wants Michaels in the Heart-Break Kid’s hometown of San Antonio, TX, where the 2017 Royal Rumble will be hosted.
“I’d love to learn from him, but who’s to say if that’s going to happen,” AJ explained. “Right now, it’s all speculation and rumors that I’m finding out like everyone else is, but man, what a match that would be.”
Styles also addressed Ryback’s story about Vince McMahon wanting Ryback to “squash” Styles at WrestleMania 32. That didn’t end up happening and rather than squashing him, Vince McMahon gave Styles a main event push and eventually the World Championship.
“I think what Ryback said may have been true at that time,” Styles said of Ryback’s story, which would have occurred either before or shortly after his debut.
“I don’t know that Vince knew exactly what he had in AJ Styles, and I think his opinion of me changed somewhat quickly,” explained Styles. “That’s OK, I’ve been doing that my whole life—changing people’s opinion of me and what I’m capable of. I’m not mad at Ryback. If it was said, it was said, and I’m not mad at Vince McMahon. Opinions vary, and they change.
You can read the WWE World Champion’s entire interview at SI.com.
Update: AJ Styles tweeted the following in response to the speculation of him facing Shawn Michaels at the Royal Rumble:
The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic continued on this week’s NXT episode with more first round matches and the reveal of Austin Aries’ mystery partner.
Aries and partner Roderick Strong defeated Otis Dozovic and Tucker Knight to advance. They will face TM-61 next.
Rich Swann and No Way Jose also advanced last night, picking up a win over Tony Nese and Drew Gulak. Swann and Jose will face The Authors of Pain in the second round.
Tournament matches announced for next Wednesday include:
Lince Dorado & Mustafa Ali vs. Kota Ibushi & TJ Perkins
Tian Bing & HoHo Lun vs. Gargano & Ciampa.
Here are the post-match interviews with this week’s winning teams:
– The following matches have been announced for tonight’s TNA Impact on POP:
TNA World Champion Eddie Edwards vs. Cody
TNA Tag Team Champions The Hardys vs. The Tribunal
Bobby Lashley vs. Moose
– The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that TNA may air a two-hour Hardy Family Christmas special on 12/22, taped at Matt Hardy’s North Carolina compound. As reported earlier, they will tape a special “Total Nonstop Deletion” episode of Impact that will air on 12/15, also from Hardy’s property.
– Speaking of Total Nonstop Deletion, Broken Matt’s son Baby Maxel is training for his big pro debut. The 1-year-old grappler tweeted the following video of his leg drop, which he’s really making progress with:
– James Ellsworth’s new t-shirt is the top selling “New Arrival” at WWEShop, out-selling all the new shirts from Roman Reigns, Goldberg and Seth Rollins.
– Former WWE Superstar Batista had the following to say about his greatest achievement in sports entertainment:
– After SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan tweeted about his wife Nikki Bella taking him to “tea time” on the latest episode of Total Bellas, Bray Wyatt pulled his punk card and threw some shade at his former Wyatt Family underling:
The latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter provided the following updates out of NXT involving Tough Enough winner Josh Bredl, Roderick Strong and Hideo Itami:
– Josh Bredl has been out of the ring due to months of suffering from a severe concussion. There is currently no timeframe for his return.
– Roderick Strong impressed WWE officials last week at his first NXT TV tapings. The former ROH Champion was revealed to be Austin Aries’ mystery partner in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. The duo advanced to the second round and have to be considered one of the favorites to win the whole thing.
– Hideo Itami will thankfully not need neck surgery his injury earlier this month at a live event. He was forced to pull out of the Dusty Classic and won’t be cleared in time for NXT Takeover: Toronto during Survivor Series weekend. He’ll miss around 2 months of action, while surgery would have kept him out at least 6 months.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding the future of TNA Wrestling, company officials are moving forward under the assumption business will continue as planned at the start of 2017. TNA has scheduled Impact Wrestling television tapings for early January, according to PWInsider.
The next round of Impact Wrestling tapings will take place from Wednesday, 1/4 through Tuesday, 1/10 at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida.
This year’s remaining episodes of Impact Wrestling have already been taped. You can check out complete spoilers here:
The following week’s episode (12/15) will be a 2-hour “Total Nonstop Deletion” special from Matt Hardy’s property in Cameron, North Carolina. The main event of Total Nonstop Deletion will be a “Open Invitational Tag Team Apocalypto Match” with all tag teams from “time and space” invited to participate. Hardy made it clear that teams such as The Young Bucks and The New Day are invited.
Below, you can catch up on the latest details surrounding TNA’s perilous financial situation:
