SEScoops

Author: Chris Stephens

  • Jordynne Grace, Anthony Ogogo, & Hornswoggle Trade Shots On Twitter

    Jordynne Grace, Anthony Ogogo, & Hornswoggle Trade Shots On Twitter

    AEW’s Anthony Ogogo recently caused a stir online with some comments about Jonathan Gresham winning the ROH World Championship. Ogogo even tagged Gresham in his Tweet.

    “Super cute that @TheJonGresham was the last ever ROH champ, kinda reminds me when Hornswoggle was the last ever cruiserweight champ. Congrats kiddo,” Ogogo Tweeted.

    This led to Gresham’s wife, the ever outspoken former Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace, to respond.

    “Did you get to the hammer lock part of training yet or are you still at the wrist lock?”

    https://twitter.com/JordynneGrace/status/1470109138055274497
    https://twitter.com/JordynneGrace/status/1470111197051723784

    Ogogo then responded to Grace claiming he does not know who she is.

    “Sorry darling, who are you? Hammer locks are child’s play, that’s why Gresham can do them. I’m at the knocking mf’s out and becoming the best athlete turned wrestler there’s ever been, part!” He Tweeted.

    https://twitter.com/JordynneGrace/status/1470112610775441409

    The former Hornswoggle, Dylan Postl, responded to Ogogo as well.

    Ogogo then responded to him:

    “Damn bro, who pissed on your cornflakes? I was putting you, and Lil Bill, over. I was buzzing when you did your little thing off the top rope. But if you wanna compare lives, I’ve done a shit ton more in my life than you’ve done in your short life, kiddo. Cheers”

    The former Hornswoggle responded to this as well:

    Ogogo kept going:

    https://twitter.com/JordynneGrace/status/1470118590569459722

  • Deonna Purrazzo Disappointed More Female Wrestlers Haven’t Gone Through The Forbidden Door

    Deonna Purrazzo Disappointed More Female Wrestlers Haven’t Gone Through The Forbidden Door

    AAA Reina de Reinas Champion and former Impact Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo says she’s disappointed more women haven’t gone through wrestling’s forbidden door. She was recently interviewed by Fightful and spoke about wishing she’d be able to wrestle more opponents from other promotions.

    “Yeah. I think I was a little disappointed because for me there’s a ton of dream matches and people I haven’t been in the ring with for years or have never been in the ring with prior,” Purrazzo said. “But, you know what, I think IMPACT was the hub of all of the crossover and we got to do a lot of stuff with NWA. Obviously, my match with Melina was one of the headliners of EmPowerrr. So as disappointing as it is, I have tried to look at the positives now instead of harping on what could have been, let’s look at what was.”

    Purrazzo herself has appeared in AAA, NWA, and most recently Ring of Honor at Final Battle. Her and Britt Baker had been angling for a forbidden door match between the two of them, however.

    This summer, Impact’s Scott D’Amore says he was cornered by Britt Baker at an AEW show about facing Purrazzo.

    “I got cornered by Britt Baker down in Jacksonville a few weeks ago and she’s like, ‘When do I get Deonna?’ I said, ‘Hey, Britt oh, come on. We’ve always said we have an open-door policy and we’re open to doing it,’” D’Amore said on the show. 

    “Sometimes there’s a lot of hurdles to jump through but I think the relationship with AEW has been fantastic,” he continued.

    Scott D’Amore Says Britt Baker Cornered Him For Match Against Knockouts Champ
  • Bayley Provides Injury Update, Timeline for Return

    Bayley Provides Injury Update, Timeline for Return

    Bayley has been out of action since July after suffering an ACL injury while training for her match at Money in the Bank. At the time, her timeline for return was pegged at 9 months. This would mean she would be ready for return around WrestleMania next year.

    Bayley provided an update on the timeline of her return during a recent Q&A on Instagram. We might be seeing her back in action sooner than exepcted.

    “So, my knee is doing great, my ankle is doing great, my calf is doing great, my shin is doing great, my hip is doing great. My mind is doing great,” said Bayley.

    “It’s only a matter of time. I’m not going to tell you when and I don’t want all these idiots watching to know when. But I’m going to be coming back soon, maybe, no. Y’all better be ready, better be ready.”

    In 2020, Bayley topped the Pro Wrestling Illustrated top-100 women’s wrestlers list. Her tag-team with Sasha Banks also ranked #3 on the list of top-50 women’s tag-teams that same year.

    Bayley held the Q&A to benefit the Family Giving Tree charity, which provides assistance for family’s living below the poverty line in the Bay Area.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CXWsAnzohHG/

    H/T To Wrestling Inc. for transcriptions.

  • Entertainment Executives Attend Smackdown From Los Angeles

    Entertainment Executives Attend Smackdown From Los Angeles

    This week’s edition of WWE Smackdown in Los Angeles had some heavy hitters from the entertainment industry in attendance. According to a report from Deadline, the following people all were present inside Staples Center Friday night:

    • Kelly Kahl (President of CBS Entertainment)
    • Matt Cherniss (Head of Development and Programming at Apple)
    • Noah Harpster (Actor and Producer)
    • Barry Poznick, (President of MGM Studios) 
    • Larry Jones (Executive Vice President of Fox Sports)
    • Vanessa Hudgens (Actor)
    • Jemele Hill (Sports Journalist)
    • Reggie Bush (Analyst for Fox Sports, Retired NFL Running Back)

    WWE Smackdown this week emanated from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The estimated attendance for the event was just over 10,000. While Roman Reigns was not on the show, Brock Lesnar was there. RAW tag-team champions, Matt Riddle and Randy Orton also wrestled in the main event.

    In the opening contest Rick Boogs and Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Los Lotharios (Angel & Humberto). Drew McIntyre then defeated Sheamus. In a match for the Smackdown Women’s Championship, Toni Storm defeated Charlotte Flair via disqualification (title does not change hands). The main event saw New Day win a triple threat match against the Usos and RK-Bro. In the dark match main event, Sasha Banks won a fatal 4-way match against Becky Lynch, Bianca Belair, and Charlotte Flair.

  • Jay Lethal Returns To ROH To Wrestle Jonathan Gresham At Final Battle

    Jay Lethal Returns To ROH To Wrestle Jonathan Gresham At Final Battle

    Jay Lethal will be returning to Ring of Honor to face Jonathan Gresham at Final Battle. Gresham had originally been scheduled to face Bandido for the ROH World Championship on the card. Bandido had to pull out of the show due to testing positive for COVID-19, however.

    “This match is about more than winning or losing, more than who’s the best or what championship we hold,” Lethal said. “This match is about showing the world what this era of Ring of Honor is and I can’t wait to get back into the ring with one of the best wrestlers I know tomorrow night, Jonathan Gresham.”

    ROH has said they will address the World Title situation during the first hour of Final Battle.

    Gresham vs Lethal will be one-half of a double main event on the show. The Briscoes challenging the OKC (Mike Bennett and Matt Taven) will be the other. The updated lineup for the show is below:

    1. Jay Lethal vs Jonathan Gresham
    2. ROH World Tag Team Championships
      The OGK (Matt Taven and Mike Bennett) (c) vs. The Briscoe Brothers (Mark Briscoe and Jay Briscoe)
    3. ROH Women’s World Championship
      Rok-C (c) vs. Willow Nightingale
    4. ROH 6-Man Tag Team Championships
      Shane Taylor Promotions (Jasper Kaun, Moses Maddox, and O’Shay Edwards) (with Ron Hunt) (c) vs. The Righteous (Vincent, Bateman, and Dutch) (with Vita VonStarr)
    5. ROH Television Championship
      Dalton Castle (c) vs TBD
    6. ROH Pure Championship
      Josh Woods (c) vs. Brian Johnson
    7. Kenny King vs Shane Taylor
    8. Eli Isom, Taylor Rust, and Tracy Williams vs. VLNCE UNLTD (Brody King, Homicide, and Tony Deppen)
  • Impact Results 12/9: Build To Hard To Kill Continues

    Impact Results 12/9: Build To Hard To Kill Continues

    Impact Wrestling on 12/9 featured Eric Young vs Rhino in a street fight and furthered the build to Hard to Kill.

    Impact Quick Results 12/9:

    1. Deonna Purrazzo & Matthew Rehwoldt defeated Mickie James & Chris Sabin
    2. Rohit Raju vs Lawrence D – No Contest
    3. FinJuice (Juice Robinson & David Finlay) defeated The Learning Tree (VSK & Zicky Dice) 
    4. Street Fight
      Eric Young defeated Rhino
    5. Decay (Rosemary, Havok, Black Taurus & Crazzy Steve) defeated The IInspiration (Cassie Lee & Jessie McKay) & The Influence (Tenille Dashwood & Madison Rayne)
    6. Matt Cardona defeated W. Morrissey via DQ

    Deonna Purrazzo Pins Knockouts Champion Mickie James In Tag Team Action

    This week opened up with Deonna Purrazzo teaming with Matthew Rehwoldt and going up against Mickie James and Chris Sabin. After a back and forth match, James hit Purrazzo off the top rope with a diving attack but Purrazzo countered into a pinning combination. Rehwoldt held onto Purrazzo’s arm from the outside, giving the Virtuosa added leverage and she got the 3-count. Purrazzo and James will meet with the title on the line at Hard to Kill.

    Josh Alexander Calls Out JONAH

    Josh Alexander returned to the Impact Zone this week. He interrupted the match between Rohit Raju and Lawrence D, leading to the ref throwing the match out. Alexander called out JONAH. Scott D’Amore came out and said that JONAH would not be coming out because he’s not in the building. He then announced that Alexander would face JONAH at Hard to Kill.

    FinJuice Defeats The Learning Tree

    David Finlay & Juice Robinson took one step further to getting back in the tag title hunt this week. They took on two members of Brian Myers’ Learning Tree in VSK and Zicky Dice. The finish of the match saw them hit a backbreaker elbow drop double-team move for the win. VSK and Dice were seen arguing with each other after the match.

    Eric Young Defeats Rhino In A Street Fight

    Despite Eric Young telling the other members of VBD not to come out for the match, there was a lot of interference here. Joe Doering and Deaner came out but were thwarted by Heath. Willie Mack and Rich Swann also came out to help Young but this brought out the Good Brothers, who attacked Swann and Mack. This left Rhino and Eric Young in the ring together and Young delivered a low blow and a piledriver for the win.

    After the match, VBD and the Good Brothers beat down the babyfaces. There appears to be some alliance made between the two teams.

    Decay Defeats The Iinspiration and the Influence

    Before this match it appeared as though the Influence and the Iinspiration weren’t seeing completely eye to eye. In a backstage interview they debated what the name of their group should be. Madison Rayne doesn’t seem impressed with the Iinspiration. The finish of this match started when Taurus tossed Dashwood to the outside and everyone but Kaleb with a K moved out of the way. Madison Rayne then started arguing with the Iinspiration over them not helping to catch Dashwood. Dashwood was tossed back in the ring and Rosemary hit her with a spear and got the 3-count while Rayne and the Iinspiration were still arguing.

    Participants Announced For the Knockouts Ultimate-X Match

    The participants for the Knockouts Ultimate X match at Hard to Kill were announced. Gail Kim made the announcement as they were welcoming Lady Frost to the division. The participants in the match will be Lady Frost, Rachael Ellering, Tasha Steelz, Jordynne Grace, Chelsea Green and Rosemary.

    Matt Cardona Defeats W. Morrissey Via DQ

    The stipulation for this match was that if W. Morrissey could defeat Cardona, Cardona would be removed from the world title match at Hard to Kill. Moose was shown watching this match from a private suite. Morrissey was disqualified for shoving the referee while he was beating up Cardona in the corner. He then delivered a big boot to the referee following the end of the match. Morrissey continued the attack on Cardona until Chelsea Green came out. Moose also came out and told Morrissey to pick up Cardona and continue the attack. Morrissey hit Moose with a boot instead. He then shoved Chelsea Green out of the way but Cardona delivered a double-leg takedown and kicked Morrissey out of the ring. Cardona was left with the Impact world title in the ring to end the show.

    Coming Up In Impact Wrestling

    December 18th, Throwback Throwdown II

    Hard to Kill – January 8th, 2022

    • Impact World Championship
      Moose (c) vs Matt Cardona vs W. Morrissey
    • Knockouts Championship
      Mickie James (c) vs Deonna Purrazzo
    • Ultimate X Match For The #1 Contendership to the Knockouts Championship
      Lady Frost vs Rachael Ellering vs Tasha Steelz vs Jordynne Grace vs Chelsea Green vs Rosemary
    • Josh Alexander vs JONAH
  • Raven Comments On His New Backstage Role In The NWA

    Raven Comments On His New Backstage Role In The NWA

    Raven recently took to social media to praise the NWA locker room. The 2x ECW World Champion noted that he just finished his first set of tapings working with the promotion. This included the Hard Times 2 PPV from Atlanta’s GPB Studios.

    “Just did Tv for my good friend Billy Corgan as a producer, & I also did some on camera work for the new 2nd show he’s starting. I gotta say, no hyperbole, it’s one of the best locker rooms I’ve ever been in! But that’s bc of Billy, bc it starts at the top. Looking forward to the ride!”

    NWA Hard Times 2 Results

    The NWA recently presented Hard Times 2 on Saturday, December 4th:

    • NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship Match: Trevor Murdoch defeated Mike Knox
    • NWA World Women’s Championship Match: Kamille defeated Melina
    • Fatal Four Wat Match For NWA Women’s World Tag Team Championship: The Hex defeated Missa Kate & Natalia Markova and Kylie Rae & Tootie Lynn and Paola Blaze & Jennacide
    • Qualifying Gauntlet Match For NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship: Homicide defeated Alex Taylor, Ariya Daivari, CW Anderson, Darius Lockhart, Jeremiah Plunkett, Jamie Stanley, Kerry Morton, Luke Hawx, PJ Hawx, Sal Rinauro, Victor Benjamin, and Ricky Morton
    • Impact Knockouts Championship Match: Mickie James defeated Kiera Hogan
    • ROH World Tag Team Championship Match: OGK defeated Aron Stevens & Kratos
    • No DQ, No Time Limit NWA World Television Championship Match: Tyrus defeated Cyon
    • NWA World Tag Team Championship Match: La Rebelión’s Bestia 666 and Mecha Wolf 450 defeated The End’s Odinson and Parrow
    • NWA National Heavyweight Championship Match: Chris Adonis (c) defeated Judais
    • Matthew Mims defeated Jax Dane
    • Austin Aries defeated Rhett Titus
    • Nick Aldis defeated Thom Latimer
    • Colby Corino defeated Doug Williams

    On NWA Powerrr this week (From FITE TV), Nick Aldis and Doug Williams reunited their British Invasion tag-team from TNA. They will be entering the NWA’s tag-team division along with the new team of JTG and Dirty Dango (FKA Fandango). Trevor Murdoch addressed Matt Cardona’s appearance at Hard Times 2 but was interrupted by Aaron Stevens. NWA Powerrr airs most Tuesdays at 6:05 PM on FITE TV.

  • Tony Khan Says WWE Reached Out To Him Recently

    Tony Khan Says WWE Reached Out To Him Recently

    Tony Khan recently noted that WWE reached out to him recently. According to comments Khan made on My Mom’s Basement with Robbie Fox, WWE wanted to interview some current AEW wrestlers for upcoming documentaries. AEW has previously permitted Chris Jericho to appear on “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s podcast on the WWE Network.

    “They wanted to interview some of the people that wrestle here that used to wrestle there and some people that have had history there or [with] the other libraries that they own,” Khan said on the show. “So, we’ll see. I think I’m open to talking.”

    Khan continued to say that he is considering granting WWE’s request. He noted that the call was very respectful.

    “As long as everything’s classy,” Khan continued. “And just the way they approached me was very classy. So I have nothing bad to say about that. So, I don’t know if we’ll see that … but I’m considering some of these requests on some of these biographies and it was actually a very nice call I received the other day.”

    Khan also recently addressed WWE running the UBS Arena before AEW did. More on that story is available in the link below.

    Tony Khan Comments On WWE Running The UBS Arena Before AEW

    H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions.

  • The Rock Given “People’s Champion” Award At The People’s Choice Awards

    The Rock Given “People’s Champion” Award At The People’s Choice Awards

    The Rock is now officially the “People’s Champion” after having been given the very specific award at the People’s Choice awards. He was presented the award on Tuesday night but he would not hold onto it for long.

    “His achievements are legend. His work ethic is unparalleled. He transcends all demographics. He is impossible not to like and he can sure put down a lot of pancakes,” Amazon’s Jeff Bezos said while introducing the Rock. “But even with all that, the thing that really stands out the most? He’s kind. … You see, kindness is a choice. And what I admire most in Dwayne is his choice to show unwavering kindness to everyone around him.”

    After being given the award, Rock then gave it to a teen girl from the Make-A-Wish program.

    “I met her earlier. I told her how inspired I was by her story. She is a survivor, she has fought literally for her life,” Rock said. “She has inspired her family, her friends, now you guys here, now the world that is watching.”

    Rock told the girl, “you represent everything that it means to be a people’s champion” and presented her with the award.

    Footage of the Rock giving away his People’s Champion award can be viewed in the player below:

  • Update On Johnny Gargano & Kyle O’Reilly Possibly Staying In WWE

    Update On Johnny Gargano & Kyle O’Reilly Possibly Staying In WWE

    On NXT this week, it seemed as though both Johnny Gargano and Kyle O’Reilly were written off television. According to comments made by Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, however, there is reason to believe that both will be back in the company.

    “Both of their contracts are up or will be up in a couple of days. Neither has signed,” Meltzer said. “The feeling from what I was told from people in NXT is that they believe they are going to be back.”

    It was noted that both Gargano and O’Reilly are having children early next year. The belief from some in NXT is that the angles on Tuesday night were meant to write O’Reilly and Gargano off television but that they will both return later.

    “Both are having children early next year. Gargano talked about it, O’Reilly it’s the same situation. The feeling is the angles were to injure them, take them out for awhile and then they would comeback.”

    Meltzer noted that if they are returning in 2022, then why had they not signed new contracts with WWE?

    “If that’s the case, do you let your contract just expire? If that was the case then why didn’t you just sign a new contract? I don’t know exactly what the deal is. I know that in one of the cases, one of those people was very much considering AEW but had not made that choice.”

    He concluded that WWE would not have done the angle they did for Gargano if they were expecting him to show up on AEW shortly after, however.

    “WWE didn’t do that thing for Johnny Gargano to have him show up next week in AEW,” Meltzer said.

  • Tony Khan Comments On WWE Running The UBS Arena Before AEW

    Tony Khan Comments On WWE Running The UBS Arena Before AEW

    Both AEW and WWE have run the new UBS Arena in Long Island in recent weeks. WWE’s episode of RAW in the arena on November 29th sold or distributed 5,887 tickets. AEW’s show last night from the same arena sold or distributed 9,583 tickets.

    Tony Khan spoke to News 12 recently about outdrawing WWE in the UBS Arena. Khan says that he isn’t trying to compete with WWE, rather they keep trying to go head-to-head with him in various ways.

    “I just came to run a show on Long Island and it’s like hey, you know, they jump in the front of the line, run a show ahead of me, try to beat me in a market. Well how did it work out?”

    Khan also spoke about the week that WWE extended an episode of Smackdown (airing that week on FS1) so that it would go head-to-head with Rampage.

    “You try to compete, like [a] 30-minute window, head-to-head on FOX, FS1 against TNT and I didn’t make that choice for them to extend the broadcast by 30 minutes. I was very surprised to see it. My comments were genuine when I saw it. I’ve been expecting something like that and luckily, we had CM Punk and Ruby Soho and some great stars lined up to wrestle that week or I might have had to change the card and granted, Matt Sydal, CM Punk’s opponent for example, not the biggest star in wrestling.”

    AEW vs WWE Ticket Sales

    The Twitter account @WrestleTix has been providing updates on WWE and AEW ticket sales.

    As illustrated in the charts below, AEW averaged larger attendance for their shows than WWE in November and September. WWE beat AEW in the same category in October, August, and July, however. Bolstered by a John Cena tour and a highly attended SummerSlam event, WWE beat AEW by a wide margin in the summer months.

    Khan’s full comments to News 12 can be heard in the video below:

  • Hook Makes In-Ring Debut During AEW Rampage Tapings

    Hook Makes In-Ring Debut During AEW Rampage Tapings

    Taz’s son Hook made his in-ring debut last night in Long Island’s UBS Arena during the AEW Rampage tapings which took place after Dynamite. As Taz announced on commentary during last night’s show, Hook took on Fuego Del Sol.

    Footage of Hook making his in-ring debut at the tapings is available in the below Tweets:

    https://twitter.com/Zamazenta/status/1468792010895151105

    In addition to Hook’s in-ring debut, 3 other matches have been scheduled for Rampage this week. These will all air Friday night at 10 PM est. Continuing the feud between the Best Friends and the Super Kliq, Adam Cole will face Wheeler Yuta. After being attacked backstage this week, Ruby Soho will be joined by Tay Conti and Anna Jay to go up against Nyla Rose, the Bunny, and Penelope Ford. Also, the tag team titles will be on the line when the Fenix & Penta El Zero M defend against Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler.

    AEW Rampage 12/10 Lineup

    • Hook vs Fuego Del Sol
    • Ruby Soho, Anna Jay and Tay Conti vs. Nyla Rose, The Bunny and Penelope Ford
    • Adam Cole vs Wheeler Yuta
    • AEW Tag Team Championships: The Lucha Bros (Fenix & Pental El Zero M) (c) vs FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) w/ Tully Blanchard
  • Updated Card For AEW Winter Is Coming

    Updated Card For AEW Winter Is Coming

    For the second year in a row, AEW will run an event in December titled Winter is Coming. This year’s event will be headlined by Hangman Page defending the AEW World Championship against Bryan Danielson.

    On last night’s broadcast of AEW, the promotion announced more matches to take place on the show.

    After Dante Martin and Maxwell Jacob Friedman were the last two remanning in the Dynamite Diamond battle royal, they will face off next week. The winner of that match will earn the Dynamite Diamond ring. MJF has won the ring the last two years.

    Also next week at Winter is Coming, Hikaru Shida and Serena Deeb will have their rubber match. In their first contest, Deeb pulled off the upset over the former AEW Women’s Champion. They would then meet again in the TBS Title tournament where Shida would avenge her loss. Deeb then came out of the stands to attack Shida in her next tournament match, allowing Nyla Rose to pick up the victory.

    In the main event next week, Bryan Danielson will challenge Hangman Page for the AEW World Championship. Danielson has wrestled and defeated 4 Dark Order members in their hometowns leading up to this match.

    AEW Winter is Coming 2021 Lineup:

    • AEW World Championship: Hangman Page (c) vs Bryan Danielson
    • Dynamite Diamond Ring: Dante Martin vs Maxwell Jacob Friedman
    • Hikaru Shida vs Serena Deeb
  • Corey Graves Responds To Criticism From Former NXT On-Air Talent Alyssa Marino

    Corey Graves Responds To Criticism From Former NXT On-Air Talent Alyssa Marino

    Corey Graves has responded to criticism from former NXT backstage interviewer, Alyssa Marino. Recently, Marino commented that she does not enjoy when wrestling commentators speak on the physical attractiveness of the wrestlers, most notably the female ones. She never did mention Corey Graves specifically, however.

    “When an announce team can’t “focus” on a match and is constantly commenting on the physical appearance of competitors (especially when it’s women in the ring), it’s time to find professional broadcasters who can tell the story without being “distracted” by the athletes,” Marino Tweeted.

    “I don’t often share my takes on things, but I work hard to prepare myself as a broadcaster. I’ve studied how great commentary teams can elevate matches, but it’s really grating to hear announcers get lost in how attractive they think competitors are in the midst of a match.”

    Marino did not mention Corey Graves or his commentary regarding his fiancé Carmella, but he responded to her comments all the same.

    “Well then, I suggest you find a different field than sports entertainment. If you can’t differentiate between a TV character and an ACTUAL journalist, then I don’t trust anything you have to say. Good luck,” Graves Tweeted in response to Marino.

    Lance Storm evidently sided with Graves on this one.

    https://twitter.com/LanceStorm/status/1468413532743995397

    Graves continued to respond to people as well.

    Marino was released as part of the pandemic WWE roster cuts in April of 2020. She has since worked on commentary and ring announcing for numerous independent wrestling promotions. She did not offer a response to Graves’ comments but did respond to others about the situation.

  • WWE Unveils Inagrual NIL Class

    WWE Unveils Inagrual NIL Class

    WWE announced last week plans to create a college recruiting program that will allow athletes to monetize their Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) program.

    Today, WWE unveiled the first class of college athletes who will be taking part in the program. Some of the athletes will be offered the opportunity to sign a WWE contract once their college athletic eligibility is up.

    Gable Steveson is the first member of the class. He will continue to compete in NCAA wrestling during his senior year of school while being signed to WWE.

    WWE NIL Program Signees

    • John Krahn – Football player from Portland State University. 7-foot 400lbs.
    • Carlos Aviles – Track and Field athlete from Ohio State University. 6-foot-6 and 305lbs.
    • Haley Cavinder – Basketball player from Fresno State. 5-foot-6.
    • Hanna Cavinder – Basketball player from Fresno State. 5-foot-6.
    • A.J Ferrari – Wrestler from Oklahoma State University. 6-f00t 200lbs.
    • Lexi Gordon – Basketball player from Duke University. 6-foot.
    • Aleeya Hutchins – Track and Field from Wake Forest University. 5-foot-5, originally from Toronto.
    • Glen Logan – Football player from LSU – 6-foot-5 305lbs.
    • Isaac Odugbesan – Football player from University of Alabama. 6-foot-4 275lbs, originally from Lagos, Nigeria.
    • Mason Parris – Wrestler from the University of Michigan – 6-foot-2 275lbs.
    • Masai Russel – Track and Field athlete from University of Kentucky – 5-foot-5.
    • Jon Seaton – Football player from Elon University. 6-foot-1 285lbs.
    • Joe Spivak – Football player from Northwestern University. 6-foot, 300lbs.
    • Dalton Wagner – Football player from University of Arkansas, 6-foot-9 330lbs.
    • Riley White – Track and Field athlete from University of Alabama. 5-foot-6.
  • Cora Jade Comments On Wrestling In WarGames Match

    Cora Jade Comments On Wrestling In WarGames Match

    Cora Jade got the pin for her team in the women’s WarGames match on Sunday. The 20-year-old has only wrestled in 11 matches in WWE thus far. She recently spoke to Sports Illustrated about what her match at WarGames meant to her.

    “I started crying and it was such raw emotion,” said Jade. “I fell in love with this when I was eight. It’s what I’ve wanted and worked for over the past 12 years. To go into the back after the match, after a WarGames match, and have people like Shawn Michaels and Road Dogg shake my hand, it’s the craziest, most amazing thing.”

    Jade made her professional debut at only 17 years old in 2018. She then wrestled on the independents for a period. Jade was also squashed by Havok once on Impact and wrestled on 2 episodes of AEW Dark. In 2021, she was signed by WWE and debuted in the Women’s Dusty Rhodes Classic where she partnered with Gigi Dolin. They were eliminated in the first round.

    “I wrestled on the indies before this, but there is nothing that can ever compare to tonight,” said Jade. “And I’ll always remember standing up on top of that cage. It’s pretty high and scary. But when opportunity arises, you go get it.”

    Jade dove off the cage and went through a table during WarGames. She then sold an injured arm for the remainder of the match. Jade would later say that her dive off the cage symbolized that it’s her time now in NXT.

    “The ‘Generation of Jade’ is here in NXT 2.0,” said Jade. “It’s a new generation, a new time, and that dive off the cage symbolized that.”

  • Chris Jericho Comments On When He Plans To Retire

    Chris Jericho Comments On When He Plans To Retire

    Chris Jericho’s 31-year wrestling career does not appear to be coming to an end anytime soon. He was asked recently about how much longer he plans to wrestle in an interview with Newsweek. Jericho simply said he plans on wrestling until he doesn’t want to anymore.

    “I think part of the reason I’ve had such longevity is that I go with the flow and I follow my heart,” Jericho said. “Did I ever expect to be 31 years on the job? I can’t say that I did, but I can’t say that I didn’t.”

    “When people ask ‘how long are you going to do this,’ I say ‘I don’t know. When I feel like I don’t want to do it anymore.’ I don’t feel that way right now.”

    Jericho made his professional debut at 19 years of age in 1990. Now 51 years old, his career has spanned more than 3 decades. In that time he’s wrestled in CMLL, FMW, Smoky Mountain Wrestling, WAR, ECW, WCW, WWE, NJPW, and now AEW.

    “There’s really no reason to stop for me because it’s fun for me to work with this whole new generation of stars that are growing into their own and helping them,” Jericho continued. “I think when you kind of live in the now it makes things a lot better, a lot more important and a lot more special in what you are doing. I think we’ve done a great job with that and we’ve really only just begun in a lot of ways.”

    “If I didn’t enjoy it and I didn’t have fun with it, I wouldn’t f**king do it,” Jericho said.

    In WWE, Jericho became the first Undisputed World Champion in 2001. He’s also won the World Heavyweight Championship 5x. He holds the record for the most runs with the Intercontinental Championship with 9. Jericho has also won tag team gold in WWE 7x. In WCW, Jericho was a 4x cruiserweight champion and 1x TV champion. In AEW, he was the inaugural world champion.

    Jericho has won the Wrestling Observer Wrestler of the Year award 3x. He won back-to-back in 08-09 and then again in 2019.

  • Bron Breakker Comments On Being The 3rd Steiner To Wrestle In WarGames

    Bron Breakker Comments On Being The 3rd Steiner To Wrestle In WarGames

    When Bron Breakker wrestled in the men’s WarGames match on Sunday, he became the 3rd member of his family to do so. Both Rick and Scott Steiner were in the 1991 War Games match, and Scott also participated in the 2000 men’s War Games match.

    “It’s a night I’ve dreamed about for a long time,” said Breakker in an interview with Sports Illustrated. “WarGames was an unbelievable opportunity, and I put absolutely everything I had into it.

    “The path that my family has paved for me is something I have always wanted to do,” he continued. “I’m very blessed and privileged to be in a spot where I can look to my family for advice. They always give me great advice and pointers of where I can improve.”

    Breakker also commented on being in the match with Johnny Gargano. He also wrestled and defeated Gargano to earn his team the WarGames advantage on the November 30th episode of NXT.

    “To be in a WarGames with Johnny Gargano, that means the world to me,” Breakker said. “Johnny is a fantastic performer, among the best in the world. He’s so great out there, as tough as nails, he’s gone out of his way to help and give me advice. He’s a fantastic human being and performer, and I can’t say enough good things about Johnny Gargano.”

    Bron Breakker’s 12 Professional Wrestling Matches

    The WarGames match on Sunday was just the 12th professional wrestling match in Bron Breakker’s career. In addition to the matches he’s had on NXT, Breakker wrestled 5x on WWE’s recent live event tour in the UK. Breakker is 6-1 in matches on NXT. He’s also 0-5 in matches on house shows, where he lost a triple threat match to Tommaso Ciampa (Sami Zayn was the 3rd wrestler) 4x. He also lost one singles match to Ciampa on the tour.

  • 5 Matches Announced For Next Week’s NXT

    5 Matches Announced For Next Week’s NXT

    Bron Breakker pinned NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa in the men’s War Games match on Sunday. He will face Roderick Strong on next week’s episode.

    Breakker came out on last night’s NXT ready to issue a challenge for the title but instead he was interrupted by Diamond Mine manager, Malcolm Bivens, as well as the Creed Brothers and Ivy Nile. Bivens told Breaker that while he may have Ciampa in his sights, Strong’s sights are focussed on him.

    When Breakker faces Strong next week, it will be just his 13th professional wrestling match. He was defeated by Tommaso Ciampa in an NXT title match at Halloween Havoc in just his 4th professional match.

    4 other matches have also been scheduled for the December 14th show.

    We will also see the in-ring debut of Parker Boudreaux, aka Harland next week. He has been aligned with Joe Gacy since October. No opponent has been announced for him for next week.

    Cameron Grimes and Duke Hudson will continue their rivalry next week. They will meet in a no holds barred match.

    Tony D’Angelo will also be in action next week when he takes on Andre Chase.

    Boa will also face Edris Enofe on the show.

  • Matt Cardona Explains Attacking Trevor Murdoch At NWA Hard Times 2

    Matt Cardona Explains Attacking Trevor Murdoch At NWA Hard Times 2

    At the conclusion of NWA’s Hard Times 2 PPV, Matt Cardona appeared and attacked NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Trevor Murdoch. Following the show, correspondents from FITE TV caught up with Cardona and asked him why he aligned with Mike Knox and beat down Murdoch.

    “I came just to cheer on Trevor,” Cardona said. “Trevor and I go way back. We used to ride together, we used to work out in the gym together believe or not. He was not happy to see me. I don’t know if he’s upset that he hasn’t had an action figure in over a decade, that’s not my fault.”

    Cardona also spoke about aligning with Mike Knox at the end of the PPV. Knox attacked Murdoch, allowing Cardona to hold up the NWA World Heavyweight Championship for a moment.

    “Mike Knox, people don’t understand the history I have with Mike Knox. We’ve been best friends for over a decade, almost two decades. So, the Pope puts his hands on Mike Knox, of course I’m going to intervene.”

    Cardona also spoke about Mick Foley, who came out at the end of the PPV as well. Foley told Cardona he was an embarrassment to Long Island.

    “Mick Foley comes out trash talking me. Mick, are you just following me everywhere? Stop, stop following me, bro. I’m the king, the deathmatch king and the king of Long Island.”

    Cardona’s full comments can be heard in the Tweet below:

  • MJF Says Beating CM Punk Would Be The Highlight Of His Career

    MJF Says Beating CM Punk Would Be The Highlight Of His Career

    MJF believes that if he can defeat CM Punk, becoming the first person in AEW to do so, it would be the biggest highlight of his career. The 2x Dynamite Diamond Ring winner was recently interviewed by Sports Illustrated and spoke about what a win over Punk would mean to him.

    “It doesn’t get bigger than that,” MJF said. “I’m well aware of it. Pinning his shoulders to the mat would be the biggest highlight of my career.”

    MJF also spoke about his promo battle with CM Punk on the Thanksgiving episode of Dynamite doing particularly good in the ratings.

    “Here are the facts,” MJF continued. “We didn’t have a script. We didn’t have a time limit. Me and Punk were in that ring, just talking, on Thanksgiving Eve. That should have drawn, maximum, 700,000 viewers, and I’m being generous.”

    He continued, “That’s the greatest night to go out with your friends. It’s not a night to stay in. You’re with friends or you’re with family. But when we were in the ring, over a million people were watching.”

    MJF Returns To Long Island

    This week on Dynamite, MJF will enter into the 3rd annual Dynamite Diamond Battle Royal. The 2 final remaining competitors in the match will then meet at Winter is Coming on December 15th and the winner of that match will win the Dynamite Diamond ring.

    The show this will will be held from the UBS Arena on Long Island, MJF’s hometown. Last week on Dynamite, MJF said he will get a better reaction in Long Island than “Roddy Piper in Portland”, “Bret Hart in Canada” or “CM Punk in Chicago.”

    “Long Island is the most magical place in the world,” Friedman says. “That’s reality. I’ve had multiple chances to move other places, but nothing calls to me like home. I grew up in Nassau County. I’m the kid who raised his hand in class and said, ‘I’m going to be a pro wrestler.’ I’m becoming a god on the water in this little slice of Americana.

  • ROH Announces Full Card For “End of An Era” Final Battle PPV

    ROH Announces Full Card For “End of An Era” Final Battle PPV

    Ring of Honor has announced its full card for the “End of an Era” Final Battle PPV. The show is the last live event officially announced by the promotion. The company is switching to no longer utilizing contracted talent moving forward.

    ROH Final Battle will take place Saturday, October 11th, 2021 from the Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena in Baltimore, Maryland.

    1. ROH World Championship
      Bandido (c) vs Jonathan Gresham
    2. ROH World Tag Team Championships
      The OGK (Matt Taven and Mike Bennett) (c) vs. The Briscoe Brothers (Mark Briscoe and Jay Briscoe)
    3. ROH Women’s World Championship
      Rok-C (c) vs. Willow Nightingale
    4. ROH 6-Man Tag Team Championships
      Shane Taylor Promotions (Jasper Kaun, Moses Maddox, and O’Shay Edwards) (with Ron Hunt) (c) vs. The Righteous (Vincent, Bateman, and Dutch) (with Vita VonStarr)
    5. ROH Television Championship
      Dalton Castle (c) vs TBD
    6. ROH Pure Championship
      Josh Woods (c) vs. Brian Johnson
    7. Kenny King vs Shane Taylor
    8. Eli Isom, Taylor Rust, and Tracy Williams vs. VLNCE UNLTD (Brody King, Homicide, and Tony Deppen)

    While no future dates have officially been unveiled for Ring of Honor, they announced in October their intention to run an event in Dallas over WrestleMania week.

    “We anticipate returning to live events in April for the Super Card of Honor with a new fan-focused product and provide a unique experience for wrestling fans,” reads ROH’s statement announcing their hiatus after Final Battle.

  • MLW To Air Azteca Underground Series Next Month

    MLW To Air Azteca Underground Series Next Month

    Major League Wrestling has announced that a stand-alone miniseries will premiere on Thursday January 8th, 2022 at 8 PM est. Titled MLW AZTECA, it will air on MLW’s official YouTube channel and then on BeIN Sports at 10 PM est.

    “MLW AZTECA is the next chapter in our on-going anthology series, and it will take MLW, its wrestlers and our fans to a very different and thrilling setting,” said MLW CEO Court Bauer.

    MLW recently was filming from the Auditorio de Tijuana in Tijuana, Mexico. Court Bauer recently noted on Twitter that they had an attendance of 5,000 for one of the shows.

    https://twitter.com/courtbauer/status/1467164042712260637

    The latest edition of MLW Fusion featured the finals of the Opera Cup 2021 tournament. Davey Richards defeated TJP to win the trophy. He has now earned a shot at the MLW World Championship currently held by Alexander Hammerstone.

    On this week’s episode, nZo is scheduled to make his promotional debut. He will wrestle Matt Cross on the show. The tag team championships are also on the line when Los Parks take on 5150. World Middleweight Champion Tajiri will defend his title against Atsuki Aoyagi as well.

    Last week’s episode of MLW Fusion is available in the player below:

  • Jeff Jarrett Purchases Springfield Sliders Baseball Team

    Jeff Jarrett Purchases Springfield Sliders Baseball Team

    Jeff Jarrett’s Golden Rule Entertainment company has purchased collegiate summer league baseball team the Springfield (Illinois) Sliders. The collegiate summer leagues in the United States are for players who have had at least one year of college and at least one year of athletic eligibility left.

    The Sliders play in the Prospect League. The team’s first season was in 2008. They won their first and only league championship their inaugural season.

    “From the moment the opportunity to get involved was first presented to me, and hearing the passion in (Golden Rule Entertainment president) (Jamie Toole’s) voice about bringing the best entertainment experience possible to Springfield, I knew I wanted to be a part of this organization,” Jarrett said.

    “I’m excited about the challenges ahead of us, but I’m more than confident that this talented and experienced ownership group will be able to deliver and exceed all expectations.”

    In the 2019 season, the Sliders set a new record for most losses with 48. They also set a record for longest losing streak at 26.

    In 2016, the team caused some controversy with a promotion to give away guns as part of a 50/50 draw. The ownership group stressed that the guns would not be given away in the stadium. Rather the person would have to exchange a winning ticket at a gun shop.

    Jeff Jarrett is a 4x former WCW Champion and a 6x former NWA World Heavyweight Champion.

  • Dave Bautista To Star In M. Night Shyamalan Movie

    Dave Bautista To Star In M. Night Shyamalan Movie

    Dave Bautista is set to start in an M. Night Shyamalan movie titled “Knock at the Cabin,” according to reports by Deadline and the Hollywood Reporter.

    The movie is scheduled for a February 2023 release and will be released through Universal.

    The former WWE Champion says it’s a ”dream come true” to work with Shyamalan.

    Batista’s Movie Career

    Bautista is currently filming Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 where he will once again portray Drax the Destroyer in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

    He is also set to play Drax in the upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder. Bautista has also been attached to a buddy cop film alongside Jason Momoa.

    Shyamalan has released Old (2021), Glass (2019), Split (2017) and The Visit (2015) through his deal with the studio. As with most Shyamalan movies before its release, little is currently known about the plot of the movie.

    John Cena Responds To Batista Declining To Share Screen With Him

    Batista in WWE

    In wrestling, Bautista is a 6x world champion. He held the WWE Championship 2x and the World Heavyweight Championship 4x. He is a 4x tag team champion, holding the title with Ric Flair 2x, John Cena 1x, and Rey Mysterio once as well.

    Bautista is a 2x Royal Rumble winner having won the event in 2005 and again in 2014. He twice won the Feud of the Year award as voted on by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Bautista vs Triple H was voted the feud of the year in 2005 and his feud with the Undertaker won the award in 2007.

    Batista On His Wrestling Retirement: “Nothing Is Bringing Me Back”