WWE has just confirmed the Hart Foundation as the latest inductees into the WWE Hall of Fame. There had been reports in recent months the Hart Foundation would be inducted this year but WWE just made the news official earlier today.
“Bret “Hit Man” Hart & the late Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart symbolized tag team excellence in WWE in the 1980s and early 1990s,” a WWE press release reads.
Bret Hart commented on the news of the Hart Foundation joining the WWE Hall of Fame this year.
To our fans around the world, thank you. See you in Brooklyn! #WWEHOF
Both Hart and Neidhart joined WWE in 1984. Vince McMahon had just purchased Stu Hart’s Stampede Wrestling territory at the time. WWE chose to bring in 4 of the promotion’s top stars. Those wrestlers happened to be the Dynamite Kid, Davey Boy Smith, Bret “Hitman” Hart, and Jim “the Anvil” Neidhart.
Other mainstays in Stampede Wrestling, such as the Honky Tonk Man (Honky Tonk Wayne) and Bad News Brown (Bad News Allen), would also end up in WWE after the company purchased Stampede Wrestling. The Hart Foundation and the Bulldogs rivalry in the mid-80s would then launch each team into the spotlight.
From 1985 to 1991, the Hart Foundation won the WWF tag team titles twice. Their 483 combined days as champions is good enough for 3rd all-time in the title’s lineage.
Mosh and Thrasher, the Headbangers, are former WWE tag team champions but they don’t see themselves as going into the WWE Hall of Fame anytime soon. The long-time tag team partners recently spoke with journalist Chris Van Vliet about tag team wrestling and if they think the Headbangers are worth of going in the WWE Hall of Fame.
“No, I honestly don’t think we should,” Mosh said when asked about going into the WW Hall of Fame. “We had a great run, yeah we were there for a long time and we had two title reigns one as WWF tag champs and one as NWA world tag champs but we didn’t do that much. There are other teams out there who I think are more deserving than we are at this point.”
Mosh and Thrasher worked as a tag team in WWE from 1994 to 2000. They then reunited outside WWE in 2011. The Headbangers briefly returned to Smackdown in 2016. When they got the call to return 3 years ago, they apparently thought it was a joke.
“I actually got a text from Road Dogg and I thought it was a joke,” Mosh continued. “So the text came from him and I actually called him back and I was like ‘Brian?’ I needed to confirm it was him and it was him, it was Road Dogg.”
The pair also spoke about the state of tag team wrestling and what AEW means for the industry.
“Look at Cody Rhodes background and look at The Young Bucks background,” Thrasher said. “They’re going to be successful. Why do you like Pepsi? Because you don’t like Coke. So why do you like AEW? Because you don’t like WWE.”
New Japan Pro Wrestling released the full lineup of matches for the G1 Supercard in Madison Square Garden today. The event will take place the night before WrestleMania on April 6th, 2019.
Several new matches were added to the G1 Supercard, including an IWGP Intercontinental championship match between Tetsuya Naito and Kota Ibushi.
Two teams, EVIL & SANADA and the Briscoes, were added to the double tag team title match as well.
G1 Supercard From Madison Square Garden Updated Lineup
IWGP Heavyweight Championship match: “Switchblade” Jay White vs Kazuchika Okada
ROH World Championship Triple Threat Ladder Match: Jay Lethal (c) vs Matt Taven vs Marty Scurll
IWGP Intercontinental Championship Match: Tetsuya Naito (c) vs Kota Ibushi
British Heavyweight Championship Match: Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs Hiroshi Tanahashi
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship/ROH World Tag Team Championship 4-Way Match: Guerillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) (c) vs PCO & Brody King (c) vs the Briscoes vs EVIL & SANADA
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship 3-Way: Taiji Ishimori (c) vs Dragon Lee vs Bandido
NYC Street Fight Open Challenge: Bully Ray vs TBD
WOH World Championship Match: Mayu Iwatani (c) vs Kelly Klein
Dalton Castle vs Rush
NEVER Openweight vs ROH TV Title Match: Will Ospreay (c) vs Jeff Cobb (c)
Honor Rumble: Jushin Liger + TBD
The G1 Supercard from MSG will be available live to subscribers of either New Japan World or Honor Club.
Mayu Iwatani will look to defend her WOH World championship against Natsuko Tora on March 28th inside Tokyo’s famed Korakuen Hall. The match will air on Stardom World.
Iwatani defeated Kelly Klein for the title at Bound By Honor 2019 in Coral Gables, Florida on February 10th. 2 weeks later, Iwatani successfully defended the title inside Osaka Jo Hall in Osaka, Japan. She defeated Konami in what was her first title defence.
2 weeks ago, Iwatani again faced former WOH World Champion, Kelly Klein. Iwatani pulled a surprise roll-up victory after being dominated for much of the match by the former champ.
ROH teased that the winner of the match will end up taking the WOH title into Madison Square Garden for the G1 Supercard.
“Who will walk away from historic Korakuen Hall Women of Honor World Champion and take the title into Madison Square Garden? Watch on STARDOM-World.com to find out!”
Mayu Iwatani WOH World Champion
Iwatani was ranked #9 in the 2018 PWI Female 50 rankings. She’s achieved much of what is possible while in Stardom as well.
Impact Wrestling will present two separate PPVs in the month of April. Up first for the promotion is United We Stand on April 4th from Rahway, New Jersey. Impact will then look to Toronto’s Rebel Nightclub where they will present Rebellion on April 28th.
On the most recent edition of the Impact Wrestling Press Pass, X-Division pioneer Low-Ki, issued a challenge to former Impact tag team champions, LAX for United We Stand. It will be Low-Ki’s stable from MLW, Promociones Dorado, going up against Santana & Ortiz.
Ricky Martinez and Low-Ki will represent Salina De La Renta’s MLW faction at the event. Low-Ki recently held the MLW World Heavyweight Championship for a period of 255 days. He lost the title to Tom Lawlor last month in the 2300 Arena. Lawler then defeated Low-Ki in his first title defense this month inside Chicago’s Cicero Stadium.
“Low Ki has accepted and the battle is on for United We Stand! LAX will face Low Ki and Rickey Martinez in a battle of IMPACT vs. MLW! This is another dream match for United We Stand LIVE on April 4th in New Jersey on FITE.TV”
Updated United We Stand Lineup
Extreme Dream Tag Match: The Lucha Bros (Pentagon Jr. & Fenix) vs Rob Van Dam & Sabu
LAX vs Ricky Martinez & Low-Ki
Knockouts Championship: Taya Valkyrie (c) vs. Rosemary vs. Jordynne Grace vs. Katie Forbes
X-Division Championship: Rich Swann (c) vs Yamato (Dragon Gate)
Ultimate X: Jake Crist vs Dante Fox vs Pat Buck vs Kotto Brazil vs Jack Evans vs TBD
Monster’s Ball: Sami Callihan vs Jimmy Havoc
Impact vs Lucha Underground: Brian Cage, Moose, Eddie Edwards, & Johnny Impact (Impact) vs Drago, Aerostar, Daga, & King Cuerno (Lucha Underground)
When Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling present the G1 Supercard from Madison Square Garden, Rush will go up against a former ROH World Champion. ROH recently added Dalton Castle vs Rush to the G1 Supercard lineup.
Castle was on commentary for Rush’s match against Bandido at the 17th Anniversary PPV earlier this month. The former ROH World Champion cut a post-match promo directed towards Rush after the match.
“I look at you and I see a challenge,” Castle said. “I see someone I want to smash heads with.”
Rush then gestured as if he would accept the challenge. ROH has since made the match official for April 6th.
— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) March 22, 2019
Castle and Rush have been on different trajectories as of late. Rush has been undefeated since signing with ROH earlier this year. Meanwhile, Castle has been on a losing streak which has seen him grow visibly frustrated with his boys. A win over Rush might be what Castle needs to get out his slump, however.
“The top stars of Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro-Wrestling converge on Madison Square Garden in New York City on April 6 for the historic G1 Supercard. Under the bright lights and on the grand stage of “The World’s Most Famous Arena,” the best of the best in pro wrestling will do battle.”
It was wrestling night at the Memphis Grizzlies game last night. As such, Jerry Lawler and some other wrestling personalities were in attendance. Lawler paid tribute to his son, Brian Christopher, during the show. Along with Rikishi and the Grizzlies mascot, Lawler did the Too Cool dance at center court.
Lawler, Rikishi, and the mascot dancing was caught on the big screen by a fan in attendnace who then posted it to YouTube.
There was a match for Grizzlies wrestling night as well. Buff Bagwell and Jerry Lawler have been feuding at the games recently. Last night, Bagwell brought in the Steiner brothers as backup and Lawler brought in Rikishi.
The match can be watched in the player below:
Lawler Family Investigation In Brian Christopher’s Death
Brian Christopher died on July 29th, 2018 at the age of 46. The official cause of his death has been ruled a suicide after he was found hanging in his cell at Hardeman County Jail. Christopher had been housed at the center since a DUI arrest weeks earlier.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has launched an official investigation into the cause of Christopher’s death, however. Lawler has said the following in regards to his belief regarding the cause of his son’s death.
“It just doesn’t pass the smell test,” Lawler said just weeks after Brian’s passing. “We’ve received literally countless calls, text messages from people, actual eyewitnesses, that were in the jail and saw things that happened on the actual day that Brian died that now has opened up a new can of worms,” he continued. “It just doesn’t seem like it was suicide.”
The Young Bucks have announced that they will put the AAA tag team championships on the line when they face Pentagon and Fenix at Double or Nothing. They officially made their match at the PPV for the titles earlier today in Chicago at the C2E2 Comic and Entertainment Festival.
“Here’s a spoiler alert, we’re wrestling the Lucha Brothers and we’re going to kick their a$$,” Matt Jackson said.
“I’ll spoil something,” Nick Jackson added. “How about we put those AAA titles on the line?”
Along with Kenny Omega, they then agreed to officially make Lucha Bros vs Young Bucks for the AAA titles at Double or Nothing. The Bucks just defeated the Lucha Bros for those belts at AAA’s Rey de Reyes event.
Impact Wrestling will present Rebellion from Toronto’s Rebel Nightclub on April 28th. The venue is where the promotion hosted Slammiversary last year.
Last night on Impact Wrestling, the promotion confirmed that Johnny Impact will once again look to defend his World Championship against Brian Cage. They will meet one-on-one at Rebellion.
A second title match between was scheduled for last week on Impact but never materialized. Killer Kross came out with a seemingly lifeless Johnny Impact draped over his shoulder before the match could begin. This was all a swerve to get Cage to reach, however, and when he did, Impact took him out of action with a cinder block.
In the meantime, Cage will look to get his revenge on Killer Kross next week in single’s action.
Johnny Impact vs Brian Cage – Impact World Championship – Rebellion PPV 4/28
Provided they don’t face each between now and then, Rebellion will be the 6th time the two have faced each other in single’s action.
The first occurred for Wrestle Circus on April 30th, 2017. Cage defeated “Johnny Mundo” to retain the WC Ringmaster Title. John Morrison then defeated Cage less than 2 months later at an AAW show just outside Chicago. Johnny then improved his record to 2-1 against Cage with the PCW title on the line that October. In
2018, Impact defeated Cage for the WSW Heavyweight title in Australia. Impact then improved his record to 4-1 against Cage by defeating him at Impact Wrestling Homecoming on 1/6 this year.
Last night on Impact Wrestling, Sawyer “Madman” Fulton became the newest member of Sami Callihan’s OVE stable. The 28-year-old from Toledo, Ohio is formerly of WWE’s Sanity stable and also competed with Callihan in MLW’s War Games match last year.
Fulton is now going under the name Madman Fulton.
Listed at 6ft 8 and over 300lbs, Fulton helped Callihan beatdown both X-Division champion, Rich Swann, and Willie Mack last night to close the show. Swann had just defeated Callihan in a match for the X-Division championship. Mack had previously taken out the other members of OVE in the back to prevent their interference in the night’s main event.
Video of Fulton making his debut and attacking Rich Swann can be seen in the player below:
Madman Fulton in Impact Wrestling
Fulton spent nearly 5 years in WWE developmental from 2012 to 2017. He was briefly in a team with Angelo Dawkins of the Street Profits before being partnered with Alexander Wolfe in 2016. Wolfe and Fulton would then join Eric Young’s Sanity faction later that year.
In late 2016, Fulton was replaced in Sanity by Killian Dain. No on-screen explanation was given for Fulton’s departure. WWE released him the following year.
In 2018, Fulton began appearing for Major League Wrestling. He was a member of Sami Callihan’s Death Machines stable which lost at MLW: War Games in September.
Impact Wrestling presented a taped show from Las Vegas last night. The promotion is building toward both their United We Stand PPV on April 4th and Rebellion on April 28th from Toronto.
Here are 10 takeaways from Impact Wrestling 3/22:
Johnny Impact Will Face Brian Cage At Rebellion
Johnny Impact cut a promo this week explaining why he swerved Brian Cage last week. Impact made it appear as though he had been beaten up in the back by Killer Kross, only to then deliver a cinder block beat down to Cage and take him out of action.
Impact explained this week that the fans turned on him first by cheering for Cage over him. He’ll once again have to face Cage for the Impact World Championship, however, as a match between the two was made official for Rebellion.
Rich Swann Defeats Sami Callihan, Defends X-Division Championship
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUN0UuCU7BU
Before this match could get going, we saw Willie Mack enter OVE’s locker room with a chair. Sounds were heard leading one to believe Mack took action to prevent OVE from interfering with the night’s main event between Callihan and Swann. Swann won the match with a roll-up but the action wasn’t over once the bell rang. A new member of OVE would come out to assist Callihan in a post-match beatdown.
Sawyer “Mad Man” Fulton Debuts As OVE’s Newest Member
With no other member of OVE available, “Mad Man” Fulton came out to assist Callihan. Fulton is formarly a member of Sanity in NXT and was also aligned with Sami Callihan in MLW as part of War Games last year. OVE is arguably stronger than ever now that Fulton is backing them up.
Tessa Blanchard Insists Gail Kim Quit Impact Wrestling
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOKehlUPdhs
Gail Kim has been suspended from Impact Wrestling due to her actions towards Tessa Blanchard as of late. Blanchard has insisted that Kim apologize to her and resign from her role with Impact Wrestling. We’ll get Kim’s response next week.
James Mitchell Did Not Give Rosemary Allie’s Soul
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UGNreJAs4A
This week, Rosemary voiced her concerns to James Mitchell regarding Allie’s condition. Rosemary won Allie back in the Dark War match but the Allie she received is still without a soul and not the bunny we all once knew. That soul was left in the undead realm.
Rosemary said she would return to the undead realm to get the bunny’s soul back. No word on if Allie’s soul also signed a contract with AEW or if the new promotion only signed her soulless meat-suit (Rosemary’s words).
LAX & The Lucha Bros Brawl In The Back
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOKehlUPdhs
The rivalry between the Lucha Bros and LAX has turned heated in recent weeks. What was once a friendly rivalry between teams aligned with Konnan has turned into a blood feud. We could get the next chapter in this rivalry written at Rebellion. This week the two teams brawled in the back.
Eli Drake & Eddie Edwards Continue To Work Well Together
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78F6bWFR3g8
Despite having opposing theories on how to wrestle, Eli Drake and Eddie Edwards have been stringing some wins together in the tag team division. This week they managed to beat KM and Fallah Bah.
As for KM & Fallah Bah, they had just won 2 in a row over Reno Scum. This loss sort of cuts their rise to the top of the division. Perhaps, it won’t be long until Edwards and Drake are in that position.
Moose Got Revenge On The Rascalz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOVY79Kl_xg
Moose was not pleased last week when the Rascalz made fun of him striking out with Mellisa Santos. In response, Moose invaded their smoking circle on last week’s episode and then defeated Trey in single’s action this week.
Willie Mack Trending In A Positive Direction
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isKbPZV_JZ4
Josh Matthews noted this week that Willie Mack is trending in a positive direction. Mack defeated Ethan Page with a stunner. As we approach United We Stand and Rebellion, big things could be on the horizon for Mack.
Ace Austin Picks Up Another Victory
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlgqus76saE
Ace Austin defeated Damien Drake this week. He’s now 2-0 in Impact Wrestling after a successful Las Vegas TV tapings run. It looks like the X-Division is going to have to be on their toes with this guy coming up the rankings.
Quick Results:
Moose defeated Trey (Rascalz)
Eddie Edwards & Eli Drake defeated KM & Fallah Bah
Ace Austin defeated Damien Drake
Willie Mack defeats Ethan Page
X-Division Championship: Rich Swann (c) defeated Sami Callihan
Next Week:
Impact Wrestling Against All Odds:
Brian Cage vs Killer Kross
Will Gail Kim Resign and Apologize To Tessa Blanchard?
Knockouts Championship: Taya Valkyrie (c) vs Jordynne Grace
Sting vs Undertaker at WrestleMania will likely go down as one of the most often talked about but never delivered on matches in pro-wrestling history.
During a recent discussion with Wrestling Travel (a travel group specializing in pro-wrestling events), Sting revealed what it would take to lure him out of retirement.
“I mean, everyone knows who it would be,” Sting said when asked who he’d come out of retirement for. “Taker, he’s the only guy I’d come out of retirement for now. No one else. We could just never get it together to make it happen. When I started talking to WWE he was booked with Brock and then I did the deal with Triple H and he had another feud going on at the time, so it was just one of those things we couldn’t make happen.”
Sting wrestled 4x for WWE during his career. He lost to Triple H at WrestleMania 31.
“But I don’t regret it not happening either, I mean I got to face Triple H at my first WrestleMania and then wrestle Seth for the world title, so I didn’t do too badly out of that deal. But yeah, now, the only person I’m getting back in the ring for is Taker.”
Sting would continue to say there were no plans for what he would do with WWE after his match with Rollins had he not been injured.
Perhaps you are or know someone who could use a feline friend. If that’s the case, the Purrfect Angels Cat Rescue has several of King Kong Bundy’s cats up for adoption in the southern New Jersey area.
Bundy was a big cat person and had 10 of them living with him at the time of his death earlier this month. If you are interested in giving one of King Kong Bundy’s cats a new forever-home, you can contact Purrfect Angels Cat Rescue.
Founder of the Cat Rescue agency, Suzanne Pomeroy, was interviewed by the Daily News regarding Bundy’s love of cats.
“This was really a big part of his life,” she said. “We knew from processing his application he was a very serious cat lover. We knew (Gio – a cat of his) was going to be well-loved and well-cared for with King Kong Bundy.”
Check out the below video which illustrates King Kong Bundy’s love of cats:
“We are an all-volunteer, no-kill cat rescue based in Gloucester County, New Jersey dedicated to improving the lives of homeless cats in southern New Jersey,” states the Purrfect Angels Cat Rescue website.
King Kong Bundy passed away on March 4th, 2019 at the age of 61.
According to a report from Squared Circle Sirens, her injury is not believed to be serious. They are not expecting her to miss much time. Ripley evidently had been dealing with some lingering issues for awhile. She got it checked out and is likely just dealing with a minor sprain.
Rhea Ripley NXT UK
Ripley debuted for WWE in the inaugural Mae Young Classic and has quickly made a name for herself. Real name Demi Bennet, Ripley was plucked from Riot City Wrestling in Melbourne for the 2017 Mae Young Classic. She signed with WWE shortly after and reported to WWE developmental.
By the time the 2018 Mae Young Classic came around, Ripley had established herself as one of the most powerful female prospects in the WWE system.
After making it to the semi-finals of the 2018 Mae Young Classic, Ripley began to carve her path in NXT UK. Ripley marched through Xia Brookside, Dakota Kai, and Toni Storm to win the tournament to declare an inaugural NXT UK Women’s championship. She would end up dropping the title to Toni Storm at NXT UK Takeover: Blackpool, however.
Becky Lynch had some harsh words for Ronda Rousey during the Warriors vs Pacers game last night. The Warriors’ Twitter account posted the following video of “the Man” trash-talking one of her WrestleMania 35 opponents:
“Oh Ronnie you little weirdo, you can’t hack it, get your jacket,” Lynch started. “I’m going to chase you out of WWE, you have no business being there. You’ve held that title hostage for nearly a year and I’m taking it back at MetLife Stadium at WrestleMania!”
You can watch video of Becky Lynch’s promo on Ronda Rousey here:
While Lynch vs Rousey vs Flair is confirmed for the RAW Women’s championship match at WrestleMania, it is still unclear if the match will close the show, however.
There were reports last week that Vince McMahon was still undecided on which match will close the event. Some have speculated the decision won’t be made up until the afternoon of the show.
Mick Foley commented on his belief that the RAW Women’s championship match should close the show recently.
“I believe the women are going to main-event WrestleMania this year and if they don’t, I think there’ll be a mass exodus of people from around the world,” Foley said to Sky Sports.
“I believe their time has come. Becky Lynch has succeeded in becoming the biggest name in our business and I think that’s great.”
Jimmy Uso was arrested for disorderly conduct last month. Body-cam footage of the police interacting with Uso was released recently. The video does not contain footage of him actually committing the acts which led to his arrest, however.
In the police report, Jimmy Uso is alleged to have “squared up” in a stance to fight a police officer, however, this is not shown on camera. What is shown is an intoxicated Jimmy Uso being put into the back of a police car and the police interacting with Naomi.
The footage can be seen in the player below:
Naomi was pulled over for exiting a parking lot going the wrong way on a one-way street. She has since commented that it was dark at the time and the roads were confusing. Naomi was not intoxicated. Jimmy Uso was not driving.
I was NOT ticketed, I was NOT drinking, leaving the lot I was unaware that it exits to a 1 way street (it was dark snow no signs no traffic I was pulled immediately made a mistake and I own it) as for my husband he’s more of a man you’ll ever be & I’ll leave it at that #blockedhttps://t.co/ymRRanIQeH
After news of Uso’s arrest broke, WWE sent a release to media outlets. The release stated that Jimmy Uso is responsible for his own actions. While WWE often will suspend or release talent charged with domestic violence, they rarely take action on smaller offenses such as disorderly conduct.
Also in February, the Usos won the Smackdown tag team championships at Elimination Chamber. The Usos then successfully defended the titles against Miz and Shane McMahon at Fastlane.
Daga has been wrestling more frequently for Impact Wrestling as of late. He debuted for the promotion in January during Impact’s Mexico City tapings. Daga also recently took part in the promotion’s Las Vegas tapings held in February.
“Man, I have only good things to say about Impact Wrestling,” said DAGA. “Ever since I walked into this company, everyone treats me really good and the way a pro wrestler needs to be treated.”
Daga has spent the majority of his career wrestling for AAA in Mexico. He’s also competed on Lucha Underground. He was a member of the famed Perros Del Mal stable for many years.
“When I started in Mexico 14 years ago, we heard lots of things about trying to make a career in the States and Impact is a huge name. For me, it is a pleasure to be able to put my fit in that ring.”
Daga will be back wrestling for Impact at United We Stand on April 4th. Technically, Daga will be apart of Team Lucha Underground against Team Impact. Daga also mentioned, however, that there are plenty of matches for him in Impact.
“Johnny Impact and I are talking about a one-on-one and also with Brian Cage. Cage and I – every time we see each other we’re asking when are we gonna have a one-on-one? I’m a small guy but I’d like to face people that represent a huge challenge,” said DAGA.
“Also, the X-Division is really good and I want to face Rich Swann one-on-one. Impact has a complete roster and you can find any style in the locker room.”
All Elite Wrestling has added a new wrestler to their women’s division. Sadie Gibbs has recently signed with the upstart promotion.
Gibbs recently participated on a tour with Stardom in Japan where she is said to have been well-received by fans. She has a CrossFit, gymnastics, and MMA background. She was reported to have received a WWE tryout in 2017 by women’s wrestling site, Squared Circle Sirens.
Gibbs posted the following video to her YouTube channel recently. She wrestles ODB:
Gibbs is also a former competitive Track and Field athlete. She has sponsorships from BulletProof gymwear and Gaspari Nutrition Supplements and has also worked as a fitness model. Gibbs runs Sadie Gibbs fitness from SadieGibbs.com as well.
“I’m Sadie Gibbs, your personal trainer. I am based within London and Kent,where I take early mornings,pre-work clients and others sporadically during the day. I also run park based group sessions in Kent,early evenings and weekends,subject to demand.”
Sadie Gibbs Signs With AEW
As of this writing, AEW has one women’s match booked for Double or Nothing. Kylie Rae will face Nyla Rose and Britt Baker in a triple threat match on the show.
AEW’s Double or Nothing event will take place May 25th, 2019 from Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Rey Mysterio has filed for several trademarks recently under his real-name of Oscar Gutierrez. On Friday, Mysterio filed to trademark the term “Prince Mysterio.”
The Prince Mysterio mark is similar to a filing he submitted last year for the name “Principe Mysterio.” He filed to trademark “Rey Mysterio” last year as well.
Last month, Mysterio filed to trademark the name “GMOAT”. The trademark covers the use for toys, clothing, and similar items. The trademark is currently published for opposition, meaning he is waiting to see if others oppose his trademark application.
The following logo for GMOAT was filed last fall:
Rey Mysterio on Smackdown
Last night on Smackdown, it was announced that Rey Mysterio will face Samoa Joe at WrestleMania 35. Joe’s United States championship will be on the line as well. Mysterio’s son Dominic was on-hand for the announcement.
“This is my son Dominic all-grown-up now,” Mysterio said. “You know he’s been traveling with me, following in my foot-steps. I needed him here after I finish making the following announcement: After pinning Samoa Joe last week, I’ll be facing Joe for the United States championship at WrestleMania.”
“Samoa Joe is just a bully,” Dominic said. “And at WrestleMania, I’ll be sitting front-row watching my Dad do what he does best. That’s taking care of bullies and bringing home another championship.”
Cody Runnels has been busy at the US Patent and Trademark office recently. The co Executive Vice President of AEW filed for trademarks on March 10th for “the American Dream” and “the American Nightmare”. On March 14th, he applied to trademark the term “Dusty Rhodes”.
Now it appears Cody filed more documents on March 18th for the term “Prince of Wrestling” and “Battlebowl”. “Bunkhouse Stampede” and “Bash at the Beach” have also reportedly been filed for.
In addition to Cody’s recent trademark filings, a company named Toot Toot LLC filed to trademark the name “4 Horsemen”. Toot Toot LLC shares a business address with a company that Conrad Thompson is President of in Alabama.
Marty Lunde also recently applied to trademark his character name of Arn Anderson.
At the moment, the March 18th filings have not been made public at the US Patent and Trademark Office but are being reported as the case by PW Insider.
Battlebowl
Battlebowl was a battle royal/tournament concept WCW tried in the early 90s. The format of the tournament consists of 8 tag-team matches with the winners advancing to a battle royal in the main event. The tag-teams are drawn at random, meaning wrestlers did not know who their opponents or partner would be.
In 1991, Battlebowl was the format used for Starrcade and two rings were utilized for the event. Battlebowl returned at Starrcade in 1992 but with only one ring. It was then used as a stand-alone PPV in 1993. The format returned in 1996 for WCW’s Slamboree PPV as well.
On the latest episode of Being the Elite, several AEW Executive Vice Presidents made an announcement. The promotion is looking to fill the role of a “librarian” character. Fans are asked to submit videos of under 60 seconds with their take on what a librarian wrestling gimmick could be.
Few details were given about what exactly the multiple AEW Vice Presidents are looking for. Perhaps, they are looking to see if someone can stand out with their creativity.
During the episode, Cody and the Young Bucks were seen reading an email regarding a potential librarian-gimmicked wrestler. The three of them weren’t sure even they could get over such a gimmick.
“Hey, fans! Boy, do we have an exciting opportunity for you!” Cody started the announcement.
“That’s right Cody,” Matt Jackson chimed in. “We have an open casting call to find the world’s first librarian. Please send in your audition to @AEWrestling’s Twitter account.”
“You can be the next librarian,” Nick Jackson said.
“Keep em under 60 seconds,” Cody added.
They noted the audition tapes could be played on a future episode of Being the Elite.
Librarian Submissions
Some submission videos have already come in for the role.
@AEWrestling What a hilarious casting?. So yeah guess what. (Sorry for the Belgian accent) But I have been studying this business for over 30 years. I am the most brilliant mind this industry has to offer. #signme#thinkaboutit#thelibrarianpic.twitter.com/egj9MUlKa4
Former World Heavyweight and NWA World Heavyweight champion, Christian, won’t be returning to the ring. Christian spoke with the WINCLY podcast recently and said he accepts that at 45-years old, an in-ring comeback is just not in the cards for him.
“Well I’m 45 years old,” Christian said on the show. “If I was 29 or 30 and was forced to retire and felt like it wasn’t quite my time, then there may be a little push to see what I could do. But I’m also realistic at 45. I never wanted to be one of those guys who hung on too long.”
Christian’s last professional wrestling match came on March 24th, 2014. He defeated Alberto Del Rio, Sheamus, and Dolph Ziggler in a fatal 4-way match on RAW.
Christian also spoke about a potential Hall of Fame induction.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen. If I had a nickel every time someone asked me if I was going into the Hall of Fame, then…I could buy a lot of stuff [laughs]”
“I’m not worried about it. We’ll see if and when it ever happens. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
Christian also referred to the current era of wrestling as a boom period, something he experienced while with WWE during the Monday Night War era.
“There’s always going to be those boom periods and this is definitely one. I think that more than anything, there is a lot of talent out there,” said Christian.
“While there is a platform for them to show what they can do, there’s only so many spots on each roster. Ultimately, at the end of the day, the winner is the wrestling fan because they have a lot of options.”
Christian hosts a weekly podcast with Edge, “E&C’s Pod of Awesomeness”.
Cody Runnels has been busy with the US Patent and Trademark office recently. Last week, Cody applied to trademark the terms “American Nightmare” and “the American Dream”. On Thursday, March 14th, Cody filed documents looking to trademark the in-ring name of his father’s, “Dusty Rhodes”.
The day before Cody filed several trademarks, Marty Lunde filed to trademark his in-ring name of Arn Anderson. On March 10th, a company named Toot Toot LLC applied to trademark the term “4 Horsemen” for wrestling purposes. The creatively named company happens to share an address with 1st Family Mortgage in Alabama, the company features Starrcast promoter Conrad Thompson as its President.
The trademarks by Cody, Arn Anderson, and Toot Toot LLC were all filed by the same lawyer, Michael E. Dockins, as well.
Cody On Not Being Able To Use Name “Cody Rhodes”
Many fans were upset WWE chose not to allow Cody to use the last name Rhodes upon his exit from the company in 2016. Cody told SI.com, however, that he’s grown to appreciate going by just his first name.
“I’ll tell you this, and I’ve not told anyone this, but I don’t mind that WWE took away my last name. Deep down, in my bones, I definitely want it back – and I have plans to get it back – but there is something to being Cody. The longer I don’t have a last name, the more I’m OK with it.”
Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows’ status in WWE is in question at the moment. According to a report from PW Insider, Anderson and Gallows have been removed from all WWE live appearances. Some are speculating this could be because the team is reported to have turned down lucrative offers to re-sign with WWE recently.
On the heels of those reports, the Wrestling Observer published a piece last week which reported that Anderson and Gallows were waiting until their contracts were up in September to decide what they are going to do.
“There are a lot of factors in play but what I can say is that they have not decided what their next move is at this point,” wrote Dave Meltzer. “They could stay. They could go.”
“Many have not signed because they are waiting to see the lay of the land when their deals are up. For Gallows & Anderson, they’ll have a far better idea in September about their next five years than now.”
Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson
Anderson and Gallows’ previous relationship in NJPW with the Young Bucks has led to speculation the tag-team could end up in AEW if they don’t re-sign with WWE. They spoke with journalist Chris Van Vliet recently and gave their thoughts on the new promotion.
“We’re happy for our friends, we think those guys will do great,” Gallows said. “They’ve done great around the world. We wish we could have them here with us but we wish them the best in their new endeavor.”
“Happy for our friends,” Anderson added. “Happy for the industry and I hope everybody succeeds.”
AJ Styles will not be leaving WWE anytime in the near future.
After months of speculation about his future, the former WWE Champion confirmed on Monday that he has signed a new contract with the promotion. He also got a new puppy.
This is the newest member of my family. Also, I’ve signed a new contract with the WWE. What a cute little guy. pic.twitter.com/PNqh9shgTH
As of this writing, it is not clear when Styles original WWE deal was up. He signed a 3-year deal in late January of 2016. Styles made his WWE debut at the Royal Rumble just weeks after wrestling his final match for New Japan Pro Wrestling at the Tokyo Dome.
There have also been reports that Styles’ Bullet Club stablemates, Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows, have not been able to reach an agreement with WWE. The Good Brothers have reportedly been pulled from all upcoming live appearances in the wake of them turning down new WWE contracts.
Last week, the Wrestling Observer newsletter reported that Anderson & Gallows did not know if they would re-sign with WWE or go elsewhere. Dave Meltzer noted, “For Gallows & Anderson, they’ll have a far better idea in September about their next five years than now.”
