Samoa Joe is quite intrigued for his upcoming title fight against HOOK. The AEW World Champion will put his newly acquired hardware on the line against the FTW Champion in what will be Joe’s first defense of the belt.
“This typifies what I want to see during my reign–I want these first-time matchups with something at stake. Hook is quite the dynamic little athlete, and he’s been doing his best to make his case. His record speaks for itself, and we’re going to find out if he’s the truth or not.
“It takes about 29 other athletes to equal something approximating me, so this will be a good little test,” said Joe. “We’ll find out where we’re at.”
The fight got a good deal of stir on social media as AEW President was heavy in defending the match-up against his critics and notoriously factored Jinder Mahal into the equation.
This match-up isn’t just intriguing to Samoa Joe, however. Rob Van Dam recently mentioned on his “1 Of A Kind” podcast that he’s thinks it’s going to be beneficial for both Joe and HOOK. He also stated that he believe HOOK has what it takes to be a top star in pro wrestling. RVD mentioned that the bout could end in the two exchanging handshakes and that could be a possibility, as Joe envisions his father Taz in some well-regard.
“That no-nonsense attitude, destroy-at-all-costs, that’s who he was. That’s who I am. Now it’s exemplified in an athlete like Hook, so let’s get in the ring and go.”
The Hollywood star helped to make waves for the recently released biopic surrounding the heartbreak and tragedy behind The Von Erich family and it didn’t hit a note with just movie goers, but Efron himself.
Efron took to his social media to pen a short love letter showing his appreciation for all of the talent that make a decision to step inside the squared circle and points out one star in particular.
Notable WWE stars took a moment to commend both for their work on “The Iron Claw” including Natalya, Chelsea Green and Mojo Rawley.
Guerrero was a recent interview of SEScoops and went into detail behind the training process, particularly with Holt McCallany, who portrayed the patriach of the Von Erich family, Fritz.
Mercedes Mone and Bayley were on-hand to witness Trinitiy’s Knockout Title defense, but she ended up not being the only talent they showed support for.
Mone and Bayley were captured watching from afar at TNA Hard To Kill as Trinity put her championship on the line against Jordynne Grace, but unfortunately for the former Naomi, she suffered the loss.
However, there appears to be no ill will as after the fight went down, Grace got a photo opportunity with both Mone and Bayley. She also took a moment to commend the two for the love they have shown for their long-time friend.
“Women supporting women is my favorite. I may have won the title, but don’t think Trinity Fatu can ever really lose with friends like these in her corner.”
After Grace posted that, Mercedes Mone replied to her, giving her further praise after the big victory.
Grace has already built a track record for being a force in the TNA Knockouts division as her victory against Trinity marks her third reign as champion. Not only that, but Grace has also been a Knockouts Tag Team Champion and a Digital Media Champion.
What does 2024 have in store for Bayley, Trinity and Mercedes Mone?
2024 is setting up to be a bountiful year for Bayley, Trinity and Mone. The speculation for Trinity is that she could make a return to WWE and reports have indicated that Mercedes Mone is likely going to sign with AEW.
With Royal Rumble on the horizon, Bayley is aiming to win the women’s match and earn her first singles match at WrestleMania 40.
It wasn’t lost on Konosuke Takeshita that he recently competed in the ring against Sting and The Icon gave quite the hat tip to the young star.
With Sting’s retirement match impending at AEW Revolution, Takeshita took to social media to make note of his recent battles against Sting. Takeshita and Stinger competed in a multi-man tag match at the latest PPV and on the January 10 episode of Dynamite, the two fought once more in tag action. Konosuke noted how he admired Sting’s early work against a name star against someone like Great Muta.
“To be honest, it was very special to be able to fight against Sting. Sting vs Great Muta VHS had a huge impact on me as a kid. Thanks.”
Sting reciprocated Takeshita’s comments with even higher praise, saying that Konosuke has all the abilites to be the next Great Muta.
“Another Great Muta in the making. He has all the tools, for sure.”
Sting’s team came out victorious at AEW World’s End and also won his tornado tag this Wednesday on AEW Dynamite against Takeshita and Powerhouse Hobbs.
Sting’s road to Revolution should have its fair share of drama as it was indicated his final opponents appear to be Nick Jackson and Matt Jackson as The Young Bucks returned to the company. The brothers had heelish new looks and it’s likely Sting will team up with his “pillar” protege in Darby Allin.
However, Allin reportedly was messed up real bad in the match up after his neck bumped harshly off the ring ropes following a big toss by Hobbs and Takeshita.
Dax Harwood hasn’t been afraid to express his feelings against his critics and he just set his sights on Eric Bischoff.
Bischoff has been blunt in his constructive criticism of Tony Khan’s AEW and it hasn’t sat well with Khan and now apparently with one of Tony’s top tag teams.
In a new interview with Jeff Snyder, Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler didn’t hold back in what he felt about Bischoff and other wrestling personalities who have given their opinions on AEW.
“You got all these old-time, miserable podcasters like Eric Bischoff and some of the others who make a living just by going on their podcasts and burying Tony and AEW when they know that AEW is a place where business is thriving.”
Wheeler then goes on to accuse Bischoff that he holds sour grapes because Khan didn’t offer him a job with the company.
“I think he’s really mad that Tony wouldn’t give him a job the few times he was there to collect the paycheck.”
Harwood doubled down on Cash’s assessment before stating that Bischoff only criticizes AEW for clicks and publicity.
“I know there’s quite a few that glowingly talked about AEW initially, and when Tony didn’t give them a job, now all of a sudden, they’re talking crap about it? Eh, that don’t make sense to me.”
Harwood said that he takes Bischoff’s opinions personally because AEW is how he puts food on the table.
However, on previous episodes of “83 Weeks” and “Strictly Business,” Bischoff has mentioned multiple times that he hopes that AEW succeeds.
Rob Van Dam believes HOOK has a very “high” ceiling in pro wrestling.
On the upcoming episode of “1 Of A Kind With RVD” Van Dam got word that Samoa Joe was going to put his AEW World Title on the line against HOOK. Taz’s son will actually be Joe’s first title defense and it’s set to go down next week on AEW Dynamite.
RVD was asked what he thought about the Joe vs. HOOK match-up and if he thinks the current FTW Champion has what it takes to be a top guy.
“From what I know about him, absolutely. What I don’t know about him is very important here because this sounds like a good matchup. It’s probably a really exciting matchup.”
Van Dam said that he wasn’t completely aware of HOOK’s AEW journey and the path that he has taken to get to Samoa Joe, but believes their styles and size difference will compliment one another.
When asked about the bout itself, Van Dam believes HOOK being with Joe will elevate him even further and could see the finish of the fight involving the two earning one another’s respect. He adds that when that happens along with the two stars earning the crowd’s respect, that creates a special moment in wrestling.
“I could totally see that happening with these two guys. You know, I could see Samoa liking [HOOK] and maybe who knows, maybe take him under his wing or something?”
RVD also happened to share a special moment with Joe. On the previous episode of “1 Of A Kind” Van Dam talked about how while the two were in TNA Samoa Joe saved his life from choking to death on a hot dog.
Dirty Dango isn’t quite dancing with the devil at TNA Hard To Kill, but he will be squaring off against someone who is “Not Human.”
On January 13, the TNA brand officially returns with their Hard To Kill PLE and Dango will be one of the featured fights as he squares off against PCO in singles action.
When asked who has been great at balancing their athleticism with their in-ring persona. The first person he thought of was Steve Maclin, who Dango first worked with in NXT.
“Talking about a guy who kind of got brushed aside and, you know, maybe overlooked in the past, and he totally reinvented himself, came up with a really cool character. His promos are on really on par and his work I feel is way better than it was.”
Will Ospreay & TNA
However, another name Dango brought up is Will Ospreay, who will be competing this weekend in Las Vegas at the TNA Snake Eyes tapings.
“The thing I like about Ospreay is he can do the high flying, but his ground game and aggressiveness is really, really, really good.He lays his s*** in which I really like and I appreciate he doesn’t throw things away just to get to the high spot, right?
“In my book, probably the best out there right now. So it’s cool to have him around and he’s bringing out the best of the TNA locker room for sure.”
Ospreay has signed a long-term deal with AEW, but TNA expressed major interest in inking him to a contract before that.
Ospreay’s talent is obvious and Dango saw his influence first-hand behind the curtain and in the ring.
“Guys like Will Ospreay that bring that level up and so it’s cool. It’s cool to see. It’s fun to watch. I don’t get excited watching a lot of wrestling now, but his matches do make me sit down and watch. So it’s good.”
Other topics covered in our interview with Dirty Dango include Arn Anderson’s influence on his career, what pro wrestling can learn from baseball and so much more.
Watch WILL OSPREAY vs. MIKE BAYLEY from Bound For Glory 2023 | Impact Wrestling’s Match of the YEar
Tony Khan didn’t put the phone down on Tuesday. The AEW President addressed criticism once more on X and it has fans and wrestlers alike talking, including WWE Hall Of Famers.
Speaking on Busted Open Radio, Bully Ray believed that Tony Khan reacting the way he did didn’t do him or AEW any favors when it comes to further arrows being slung his way.
“What good did it do? Nothing. Zero. You are allowing people to get to you. You are showing the world that social media is bothering you because he had to have read this HOOK outrage somewhere.”
Co-host Dave LaGreca mentioned that Tony Khan could have had a work-around response by just crediting HOOK for his resume in the ring rather than bring outside parties into the equation. Bully Ray agreed with that approach.
“If a million people tweeted at you and you felt the absolute necessity to pick up your phone and engage, that’s exactly what I would have said back.”
Instead, Khan decided to bring Jinder Mahal’s name into the mix and it opened up a floodgate of reactions, including igniting another X argument with former WCW President Eric Bischoff where Khan even shared a GIF stating that Bischoff was a “miserable has-been.” Bischoff in turn, joked about Khan’s wild hairstyle.
Khan has notoriously called out his critics on social media and some of his past targets included Shawn Michaels, Triple and Vince McMahon. He even took a jab at former WCW star Disco Inferno, which prompted his K100 co-host Konnan to implore Khan to be accepting of constructive criticism.
CM Punk has earned the respect of two wrestling legends in Magnum TA and Greg Gagne.
The AWA veteran and NWA veteran have teamed up for a new podcast “Gagne & Magnum” as the two will look at the legends of yesteryear, the modern wrestling product and the details behind their PowerTown Wrestling figures line.
On the debut episode of the show, Magnum and Gagne were asked about the current state of WWE and it was Gagne who first mentioned his initial interaction with CM Punk back when both were working in Ohio Valley Wrestling.
Gagne mentioned that Punk expressed his frustration at not getting a call-up from WWE and Gagne noted that before Punk went out to do an interview, Gagne told him to go out and speak his mind.
“I said, go on your interview and tell them how you really feel about the WWE and Vince McMahon.”
Not long after, Punk entered the WWE fold as a member of ECW.
“CM Punk is a great guy. Great guy. He really is. You know, he learned to believe in himself, believe in what he had to say, believe in his talent, and he’s just being himself. And that’s what the people really want. They want to see somebody who’s really that character they see in the ring is really him and he’s done a fantastic job portraying that to the people. You don’t have to be the big muscle man, the great big guy in the ring…”
Magnum TA On The Respect CM Punk Has For The Legends
Magnum TA also had some brief interaction with CM Punk back when he was in AEW and Punk basically rolled out the red carpet for Magnum.
“He came up to me and treated me like like I was Babe Ruth. I mean, he was so kind, respectful, you know, truly made me feel like he was grateful for some of the bricks I laid in the road that he got to go down. And he even gave me a shout out on his Instagram.”
Episode One of “Gagne & Magnum,” which is hosted by SEScoops correspondent, Dominic DeAngelo and is now available everywhere. The show puts the spotlight on the late great Kerry Von Erich.
Orange Cassidy leads by example and he believes Jon Moxley does too.
In a new interview with Adrian Hernandez, Cassidy commented on how Jon Moxley, a recent rival of his, has earned the respect of his pro wrestling peers and is undoubtedly a leader behind the scenes in AEW.
“Jon Moxley is a leader for AEW. I think a lot of people look to Jon Moxley for leadership. I am too, like Jon Moxley, a person that leads by example and I saw the example that he was setting and I was like, ‘You know what? I want to do that.’ I tried, but no one can be Jon Moxley because there’s no Jon Moxley.”
Orange Cassidy Thanks Jon Moxley
Cassidy continues giving Moxley his flowers, noting that it was the aggressive nature of Mox in the squared circle that unleashed a new Freshly Squeezed identity in the current AEW International Champion.
“I am forever in his debt for him changing and bringing up this version of me that is clearly a better version because I still have this thing (the AEW International Championship belt).”
Orange Cassidy has certainly established himself as a name star for All Elite Wrestling, getting his polarizing “peeled back” persona over with the fans. Cassidy has even earned the admiration from the likes of Kevin Nash, who once noted on his podcast that he loves his character.
On this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite, Cassidy will team up with Dustin Rhodes, Adam Copeland and Preston Vance to face The Gates Of Agony, Lance Archer and Brian Cage in an eight-man tag.
Please credit Adrian Hernandez and h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
AEW has an official Vice President Global Programming & Partnerships. Shane Emerson, who has been with All Elite Wrestling since 2021, announced on his LinkedIn that he was given a new job title.
“I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as Vice President Global Programming & Partnerships at All Elite Wrestling!”
Previously, Emerson was simply listed as the Head of Global Programming & Partnerships, a position he held since September 2021. Before that, Emerson worked for TNA’s parent company, Anthem Sports, in the same type of role for over a decade.
Another name to receive a promotion is Eric Murphy, who also announced via LinkedIn that he is a senior producer with AEW.
Other Internal Changes In AEW
While Emerson sees a new horizon under AEW, a few other long-time employees decided to ride off in the sunset.
Before 2023 closed its doors, QT Marshall asked for his release from the company. Marshall was an imperative part to the growth of AEW and was held in high regard backstage, partly due to his versatility. Marshall wore a lot of hats in AEW including coach, talent relations manager and on-air competitor.
Another name to leave is Dana Massie, who was in charge of AEW merchandise since the company launched. Massie is Matt Jackson’s wife and voluntarily made the decision not to continue with the company as Chief Marketing & Merchandising Officer.
The final notorioius name of note to exit AEW is Rafael Morffi. Morffi served as Vice President of Live Events/Touring but has decided to take a new job at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Morffi is a New York City native.
WWE is making sure it’s media and production team is getting new leadership in 2024. The company announced on January 9 that Lee Fitting will now be the new Head Of Media & Production. The company made the announcement via a press release, praising Fitting as a “media industry veteran.”
STAMFORD, Conn., January 9, 2024 – WWE®, part of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO), today announced that media industry veteran Lee Fitting has joined the company this week as Head of Media & Production.
“Lee is a phenomenal leader and executive known for work that generates both critical acclaim and mass appeal,” said WWE President Nick Khan. “Lee will be a tremendous addition to our stellar media and production team and play a key role in helping catapult WWE’s growth.”
Fitting brings more than two decades of production experience to WWE from ESPN, where he oversaw production for tentpole properties including Monday Night Football, College GameDay, the College Football Playoff, and many other properties within the Disney portfolio.
Distributed in 25 languages across 165 countries, WWE delivers new and live programming to fans 52 weeks a year. Its flagship shows, including Monday Night Raw, Friday Night SmackDown and NXT; Premium Live Events including WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Royal Rumble; and award-winning slate of original programs reach more than one billion homes globally.
Fitting steps into a new role as long-time production executive Kevin Dunn leaves his old one. Dunn served as the head of WWE Production for years, but made his voluntary leave as 2023 came to a close.
Tony Khan’s initiative to shake up All Elite Wrestling’s front office has led to the hiring of a new Chief Operating Officer. Khan has tapped Kosha Irby for the role, according to reporting from Sean Ross Sapp and Dave Meltzer.
Irby previously worked for WWE as the Regional Director of Live Events from 2011 through 2018. He later moved on to work for Clemson University, and previously worked at Professional Bull Riding and the AAF’s Memphis Express.
As reported by Fightful Select yesterday, AEW has hired Kosha Irby as COO. He worked with WWE from 2011 to 2018 as Regional Director, Live Events pic.twitter.com/vgcdEaJUmP
— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) January 10, 2024
Kosha Irby joining AEW comes amid a big shakeup within AEW
There has been several changes internally at AEW. QT Marshall and Dana Massie, both long-established employees who were a jack and jill of trades backstage, made their exit from the company while Rafael Morrfi has decided to leave his production position to work in his backyard of Brooklyn, NY for the Barclays Center. Morffi had previous experience in pro wrestling before entering AEW being involve with promotions like TNA Wrestling and MLW
Two current AEW employees happened to find themselves in new positions with the company. Announced via LinkedIn, Shane Emerson was revealed to be the company’s new Vice President of Global Programming and Partnership as he’s been with the company since 2021.
Additionally, another name to get the nod was Eric Muprhy who announced his new role as a senior producer.
Talent also leaving
Not only has AEW lost backstage talent, but on-screen talent too. Andrade El Idolo just left the company. Before that, AEW saw other names leave in 2023. Jade Cargill, Brian Pillman Jr., Sonny Kiss and Brock Anderson are no longer with the promotion after all spent several years important years with the promotion.
Eric Bischoff knows Sting deserves a million dollar type send-off and in a universe where the stars aligned, he thinks The Icon would have the ultimate final match dance partner in Ric Flair.
Speaking on the latest episode of 83 Weeks, the former WCW President was joined by special guest co-host Matt Mitchell for an “Ask Eric Anything” episode and was asked about how would he handle Sting’s retirement match. Would he have him do a singles bout or team up in tag action to lighten the load? Bischoff gives a sound reason as to why he wouldn’t have him to a tag match.
“It’s faster paced, usually less emotion as a result of the pace and the fact that your attention is spread out.”
Bischoff then makes the case as to why he’d love to see Flair do his ‘Nature Boy strut’ across the ring from his longtime rival.
“In an ideal world (and it’s not an ideal world, trust me, I know that), but in an ideal world I would love for it to be Ric Flair. And I know I’m gonna get blistered, ‘Ah, Ric, he’s too old, blah, blah, blah.’ Bull****. Now Ric may not be interested in going out there and physically being in that position because again, he was almost dead a couple years ago so and 74 freaking years old so it’s kind of understandable that he’s not going to want to go out there and bounce around, but if he could, if he could go out there it would be the coolest thing in the world to see Ric Flair and Sting.”
Bischoff understands that Flair vs. Sting in 2024 isn’t really possible, but hopes Sting gets a proper sendoff and delivers one more classic match.
“Whoever it is, I would want it to be meaningful from a storyline point of view, and I would want that person to want nothing more in his life than to make Sting look like a million bucks because he deserves that.”
Sting’s final battle will take place at the very PPV he made his AEW debut at three years ago, AEW Revolution.
Nic Nemeth is now a “Wanted Man” after now officially being a free agent. The former Dolph Ziggler was one of several releases by WWE back in September, and he kicked 2024 off with a surprise appearance at Wrestle Kingdom.
However, Nemeth’s impending exit was something he actually fully expected and even inquired about.
Speaking on Busted Open Radio, Nemeth touched upon how his leave felt like a long time coming.
“I was planning for half of this entire last contract going, ‘I know at some point, I’m being paid way too much to sit at home so I’m gonna have to get out of here.’ I always wanted to be ready to go, just in case they said, ‘I know you’ve been doing 90-second matches, can you do 30 minutes with The Undertaker?’ You’re damn right I can. I was ready to go anyway.
“I just wanted to have every option available. It wasn’t out of the blue. I had sent emails to the boss over the last few months saying, ‘I have to move on to somewhere else, can you let me do this?’ Eventually, without exact back and forth, that’s how it worked out.”
Nemeth has plenty to look forward to as free agency is a new beginning for him. His appearance at Wrestle Kingdom even surprised talent backstage at NJPW, but Nemeth will be keeping busy overseas in the wrestling realm as he’ll be making appearances in the United Kingdom and Australia.
Since his release, Nemeth also has been doing stand-up appearances with his younger brother Ryan.
Please credit Busted Open Radio and h/t to Fightful for the transcription.
WWE had an original plan for Roman Reigns at Royal Rumble, but Chief Content Officer Triple H decided to call an audible.
Royal Rumble will naturally be featuring the two 30-person matches as its cornerstone bouts, but Roman Reigns will have his table full to kick off the road to WrestleManai. Reigns will be putting his WWE Undisputed Universal Championship on the line against AJ Styles, LA Knight and The Apex Predator, Randy Orton.
From a television and speculation perspective, the overall thought was that it would be Randy Orton facing Roman Reigns one-on-one for the gold, but that clearly wasn’t the direction taken.
According to Dave Meltzer on the latest Wrestling Observer Radio, the original plan was indeed Orton vs. Reigns, but there were certain parties within WWE that felt that The Viper shouldn’t be taking a loss so soon after making a major return.
By adding AJ Styles and LA Knight to the equation, WWE has more latitude for Reigns to keep his historic championship reign in tact without Randy Orton having to take a pin or submission, even under dubious circumstances. Everybody knows there’s money in in Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton and the company isn’t playing that card just yet.
If one were to put money on who would take the pinfall on Royal Rumble Saturday, the safe bet may likely be AJ Styles considering that LA Knight already took a pinfall loss to Roman at Crown Jewel. Styles just made a return back to the company as well, but Meltzer stated he believes AJ Styles would make the most since to take a loss.
AEW President Tony Khan made clear on a couple of occassions that he planned to be very active in pro wrestling free agency, but WWE has confirmed to be contact with a top independent talent.
PWInsider is reporting that WWE has reached out to former NWA Worlds Women Champion Kamille and offered her a NXT contract.
Kamille first entered into the NWA as Nick Aldis’ “insurance policy” enforcer before she ended up becoming an unprecedented women’s champion, holding the title for over 800 days before she dropped the belt to Kenzie Paige
Kamille is one of the rare women wrestling stars that rivals the look and presentation of Jade Cargill, who WWE notoriously signed a deal with the company last year.
Cargill has made several appearances on WWE programming since signing, but she also has focused her attention on improving her skills at the WWE Performance Center and hasn’t been since in months.
Other Women Free Agents WWE Has Interest In
Kamille isn’t the only name that WWE apparently wants to scoop up. The former champ joins the likes of Giulia, a top women’s star in NJPW who WWE reportedly has massive interest in.
However, WWE also has interest in two major names with previous ties to the company. It’s being reported that Trinity Fatu, the current TNA Knockouts Champion, is expected to re-sign with WWE once her contract expires, which appears imminent.
As for her former tag partner, Mercedes Mone, WWE does want to re-sign her, but there is no word as of yet if they’re close to a deal or where the former Sasha Banks may land.
Arn Anderson is already a legend in pro wrestling, but that legacy will get further cemented later this summer.
It was revealed this week that Anderson will be the 2024 recepient of Frank Gotch Award and becoming a new inductee of the National Wrestling Hall Of Fame. The venue’s official website describes the Frank Gotch Award as follows:
The Frank Gotch Award is given to a professional wrestler who brings positive recognition to professional wrestling through work outside the ring. It is named in honor of professional wrestler Frank Gotch, a Humboldt, Iowa native who became one of the best-known athletes in the world during the early 1900s.
The Enforcer joins quite the list of names to receive the Frank Gotch Award including Mick Foley, Stan Hansen, Ted DiBiase, Bruiser Brody, Lex Luger and Jesse Ventura. Anderson first received word of his induction on the upcoming episode of The Arn Show and it was courtesy of fellow National Wrestling Hall Of Famer, Gerald Brisco.
Anderson will be joining fellow AdFreeShows.com family member, Tony Schiavone as a 2024 inductee. Schiavone will be receiving the esteemed Gordon Solie Award, following in the footsteps of his “What Happened When” co-host, Conrad Thompson.
Obviously Arn is no stranger to being a hall of famer. Back in 2012, Anderson, along with his fellow Four Horsemen Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, Barry Windham and JJ Dillion were inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame.
After an in-ring career, Anderson further established his legacy in wrestling as an agent with WWE and then later found a great resurgance as an on-air talent with AEW.
According to Fightful Select, that Fatu’s deal with TNA is set to expire very soon and that sources within WWE have said that they feel confident they could re-sign the former Naomi.
— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) January 2, 2024
Not only that, but others believe that the company expected it to happen. One source from WWE actually said the following:
“Something huge would have to happen for her to not end up back in WWE sooner than later, but this is a crazy free agent period.”
Trinity has undoubtedly established herself outside of WWE as she made the move to IMPACT and it didn’t take her long to become the Knockouts Champion.
She’s to face Jordynne Grace at Hard To Kill, the official PPV showcasing the TNA rebrand.
Reverberations From Trinity’s WWE Walkout
Fatu would have plenty incentive to return to WWE considering her husband Jimmy Uso is still with the company, but there is an interesting aspect to all this. Fatu notoriously walked out of WWE back in May of 2022 with Mercedes Mone and from how it seems, Mone is expected to join AEW in what is absolutely a “crazy free agent period” for pro wrestling.
A former NXT and IMPACT Wrestling star is scheduled for a court appearance on January 3 following a DUI charge she received back in May 2023.
Kimber Lee, real name Kimberly Frankele, will be appearing in court due to a DUI and Resisting an Office with Violence and Battery on a Law Enforcement Officer. Frankele pled not guilty to all charges back in July and she waived her right to a speedy trial.
Lee, 33, reportedly was described to have “blood shot watery eyes, and she slurred as she spoke,” when Officer Roberts pulled her over. According to Roberts, Lee kept “Forgetting why and asked me several times when (sic) I was messing with her.” She also was very difficult with handing over her driver’s license, tried to leave the premises, which ultimately led to Lee striking Roberts after he tried to handcuff her.
Roberts decribed the incident as follows:
“[Kimber Lee] began kicking me in the chest and in my face, busting my lip and the gums in my mouth. At one point, the subject grabbed the cell phone and after I removed it from her hands and after I removed it from her hands, again I tried to place the restraints on her, and she my left hand twice hard enough to break my skin a (sic) bleed from it.”
MLW is returning to Florida, a state where it all began for the promotion over two decades ago.
Major League Wrestling will be ringing in spring with one of their primary PLEs, War Chamber and the event will take place at Coliseum in St. Petersburg, FL.
MLW made the announcement on Tuesday, giving fans plenty of time to purchase tickets in advance as the sale begins Friday, January 5.
The Coliseum certainly has its ties to the legacy of MLW as the venue last hosted the promotion all the way back in August 2003.
On the MLW website, the company gave further information on the history behind the Coliseum, noting that it’s been around since 1924.
Since the pandemic, MLW has greatly made Philadelpha its unofficial residence as they’ve hosted several of their live events at the 2300 Arena, originally the ECW Arena, on the corner of Swanson & Ritner.
However, the company has begun to venture out once more, most notably hitting an old haunt, The Melrose Ballroom in Queens, NY. MLW CEO Court Bauer and his crew also have added Chicago back on its list, making their return to Cicero Stadium in the Windy City.
2024 should be an intriguing year for Major League Wrestling as it just lost one of its primary stars in Alex Hammerstone to free agency. In the same turn, there have been some high-profile returns for the company. Matt Riddle, Tom Lawlor, Richard Holliday, Salina de la Renta and the promotion’s first-ever World Champion, Satoshi Kojima have all resurfaced as of recent.
Alex Hammerstone is now a free agent and for him, it’s “hunting season.”
The former MLW World Champion revealed weeks ago that MLW One-Shot was his last event for the company under his current contract and the clock ultimately ticked down to his leave. That day so happened to be New Year’s Day and on January 1, Hammerstone shared a video commenting on his new beginning for 2024.
The video starts off with a ticking clock and cut in between his Hammerstone showing his in ring athleticism before he addresses the wrestling world.
“Now I’m allowed to walk through whatever ‘door’ that I want to except the ones that are being boarded shut in a desperate attempt to keep me out cause they’re worried what’ll happen if I get through them.”
Hammerstone continues, stating that he’s not looking for an opportunity, but he is giving one. For years he’s been one of the best in the world for years and so he wants to face the best in the world and therefore he lays out his challenge.
“So this is my open challenge to anyone out there because I was never a big fish in a small pond. I have always been a shark and now I’m in open waters and it’s hunting season.”
WWE Raw may be starting 2024 in the most electrifying way possible.
January 1, 2024 is a busy day for sports entertainment and The Rock is in the thick of the action. The People’s Champion is currently in attendance for The Rose Bowl today and a social media catches him conversing with college football broadcast legend Lee Corso.
However, who happens to be lurking in the background but WWE CEO Nick Khan? Granted, Khan’s initial bread and butter was as a sports agent so him being there isn’t a huge shocker, but the fact that Triple H has teased a former WWE Champion would be in the building for WWE Raw Day 1 tonight.
Another fact of the matter is the location for both events. Per usual, the Rose Bowl takes place in Pasadena, CA and Raw so happens to be in San Diego. Pasadena is just over a two-hour drive to San Diego.
Could We See The Rock vs. Roman Reigns At WrestleMania 40?
Just this past September, The Rock made his epic return to SmackDown and before that on the Pat McAfee Show, teased an interest in participating at WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia.
The Rock versus Roman Reigns has been speculated to happen for years, but a potential appearance of The Rock being on Raw could lay the groundwork for The Bloodline battle between the two.
However, The Rock being positioned for a match against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania would throw a wrench in the works for Cody Rhodes being able to “finish the story” against “The Tribal Chief” at WrestleMania.
Mansoor is now officially a free agent and the former WWE star is aiming for a fresh start with no animosity.
The once Maximum Male Model joined Denise Salcedo for a new interview and he talked about the emotions he went through when he was let go by WWE back in September.
“I can joke about it because I’m not bitter about it. It did bother me, believe me, but 90 days is a long time. At a certain point, you’re in bed and you’re trying to go to sleep, and all you can think about is, ‘What did I do wrong? What could I have done better?’ At some point, you’re like, ‘I can’t live like this. I gotta just try and make the most of it and make the best of it.’”
Mansoor Wants To Handle His Destiny On His Own Terms
Mansoor, along with his tag partner Mace, officially became a free agent on December 21 and told Salcedo how as a member of the WWE roster, he’d go months without wrestling in the ring. Now that he’s not under contract, that element gets removed.
“I’m so excited to be able to go out there and say, ‘Listen, for whatever happened in WWE, what you’re about to see is who I really am, and you’re about to get the most serious and real indicator of my talent, and if it goes great, phenomenal. If it doesn’t, I’ll fade off into the sunset, but at least I get to know it was based on my own talent.”
Mansoor will be a participant on the upcoming GCW card Look At Me at Royal Rumble Weekend.
Please credit Instinct Culture and h/t to Fightful for the transcription.
Posted December 30th, 2023 in News, WWE. Tagged: Mansoor.
MJF has a big weekend ahead of him and he knows it. The AEW World Champion will be defending his “Triple B” against Samoa Joe in the main event at World’s End, which so happens to be in MJF’s backyard of Uniondale, NY at the Nassau Colliseum.
In a new self-written article on the Player’s Tribune, MJF had a lot to reflect on and noted that he’s been with AEW since the company started in 2019.
January marks the five-year anniversary of AEW’s launch and in the feature, MJF credits Cody Rhodes for bringing him in and Tony Khan for signing him to a contract.
MJF leans into the notion that he’s becoming a free agent on January 1, but an educated guess would lead many to believe that he’s already signed a new deal with AEW. Either way, MJF closed out the piece by noting how big World’s End means to him, especially one aspect of the bout.
“Right now, though, as I’m writing this? It’s Wednesday morning. It’s three days before Worlds End. It’s five days from five years of MJF in AEW. I don’t know what comes next. Here’s what I do know. Wrestling in the main event of a card at Nassau Coliseum as AEW world champ? That sh*t means everything to me. Really. EVERYTHING.”
Another solid indication that MJF is not leaving AEW is the simple fact that he’s the World Champ and involved in the major over-arching storyline that involves him and the mysterious identity of “The Devil.” AEW colleague Ric Flair believes MJF should stay with AEW, stating he could be the next Randy Orton.
Posted December 29th, 2023 in AEW, News. Tagged: MJF.
