David Finlay injured his shoulder in the main event of Honor Rising night 2 last month. Finlay dislocated his shoulder, leading the Briscoes to go right into the finish of their match.
He is expected to miss 6 months due to the injury.
Finlay was replaced by Ryusuke Taguchi in the 1st round of the New Japan Cup. Taguchi defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan and we’ll take on Hiroshi Tanahashi in the 2nd.
David Finlay Out 6 Months With Shoulder Injury
25-year-old David Finlay has been wrestling as a pro since 2012. Finlay began competing for New Japan Pro Wrestling in 2015. He trained in the New Japan dojo along with Juice Robinson, now his tag-team partner in the promotion. Finlay and Robinson form the team “Fin Juice” and went 8-5 in the World Tag League last year.
Finlay has held the NEVER 6-Man tag-team championships in NJPW once. He teamed with Satoshi Kojima & Ricochet and defeated Adam Cole & the Young Bucks for the vacated titles on September 25th, 2016. They held the titles until the Tokyo Dome show in 2017 when they dropped the belts to Bushi, EVIL, & Sanada from Los InGobernables.
In Ring of Honor, Finlay is a member of the new faction, Lifeblood. Other members of the group consisting of Juice Robinson, Tenille Dashwood, Tracy Williams, and Bandido.
Brody King doesn’t plan on missing much time despite a recent injury. The Ring of Honor star and member of Villain Enterprises reportedly suffered a broken hand at a recent booking in Australia.
His injury was addressed recently by the Wrestling Observer.
“The prelim diagnosis is Brody King suffered a broken hand while wrestling for WSW in Australia on Friday night,” stated the report. “He’s been at shows the last two days with a cast on his hand.”
King is scheduled to team with PCO to take on the Briscoe Brothers at ROH’s 17th Anniversary PPV on Friday. According to Brody himself, however, his broken hand won’t cause him to miss the upcoming match.
King was brought into Ring of Honor recently as a member of Marty Scurll’s Villain Enterprises stable. He teamed with stablemate, PCO, and won the Tag Wars 2019 tournament at the end of January. The win means PCO & Brody King qualified for the NWA’s Crockett Cup one-night tournament on April 27th, 2019 and earned them an ROH tag title shot against the Briscoes.
King also wrestled recently on the recent NJPW tour of the United States. He dropped a single’s match to Jeff Cobb on the final night of the 3-night tour.
The Usos and the Hardy Boyz appear likely to face each other soon. Matt Hardy noted on Twitter recently that he would be watching the Smackdown tag-team title match at Fastlane closely.
The Usos opened up the main PPV at Fastlane by successfully defending their title against former champions, the Miz and Shane McMahon. After the match, Hardy sent out the following on Twitter.
The Usos and the Hardy Boyz are two of the most decorated teams in WWE history. Jimmy & Jey Uso have won tag-team gold in WWE on 6 occasions. They are 4x WWE SMackdown tag-team champions, which is the most any team has won the most particular belts. The Usos have also been awarded 2 Slammy Awards for “Tag Team of the Year” in 2014 and 2015.
Matt & Jeff Hardy have won tag-team gold in WWE on 8 occasions. The brothers are 6x WWE/F tag-team champions, 1x Raw tag-team champions, and also won the WCW tag team titles during the WWE vs WCW Invasion angle.
The Hardy Boyz recently reunited on Smackdown. They defeated the Bar on the February 26th episode. The Usos most recently defeated Shane McMahon and the Miz to retain the Smackdown titles at Fastlane.
Finn Balor will look to defend his Intercontinental championship tonight on RAW against Bobby Lashley. Balor won the title initially at the Elimination Chamber PPV on Feb. 17th. He later defended the title successfully against Lio Rush 2 weeks ago on RAW.
Tonight’s episode of Monday Night Raw takes place in the PPG Paints Center in Pittsburgh, PA.
Finn Balor vs Bobby Lashley – Intercontinental Championship
Bobby Lashley won the Intercontinental championship for the 1st time earlier this year. He defeated Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose in a triple threat match on the January 14th episode of RAW to win the title. He lost it just 34 days later at the Elimination Chamber PPV without having defended it successfully once. Lashley only lost the title in a 2-on-1 handicap match when his partner, Lio Rush, was pinned by Balor, however.
“Last week on Raw, Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley & Baron Corbin overcame Intercontinental Champion Finn Bálor, Braun Strowman & Kurt Angle in a frenetic Six-Man Tag Team Match,” a WWE press release for the match reads.
“Now, 24 hours after he and his cohorts battled The Shield, Bobby Lashley has an Intercontinental Championship Match against Finn Bálor. Who will walk out of Raw with the workhorse title on the turbulent Road to WrestleMania?”
Brie Bella has wrestled her last match. Her decision to retire from in-ring competition was revealed Sunday on Total Bellas.
“I decided that after Evolution, I’m gonna be fully retired,” she said on the episode. “Fully done.” I love WWE, but the one thing I learned is that I can’t do everything. I just can’t.”
Brie Bella Retiring From Wrestling
Bella’s last official match in WWE was on the October 8th, 2018 RAW. She and Nikki teamed with Ronda Rousey that night and defeated the Riott Squad. The twins would turn on Rousey that night, however, leading to Nikki Bella’s match with Rousey at Evolution.
A contributing factor to Brie’s decision appears to be wanting to have a second child with husband, Daniel Bryan.
“I know a couple of months ago I told you I wasn’t ready for baby number two because I have a lot on my plate,” Brie said. “But I’ve been thinking about it a lot and I think the comeback really made me realize that I am actually ready. And I do want Birdie and our next baby to be close in age.”
Brie Bella finishes her wrestling career as a 1x former Divas champion. She held the title for 70 days in 2011 after defeating Eves Torres. She would drop the title to Kelly Kelly on the June 20th, 2011 Raw.
New Japan Pro Wrestling made several announcements today. The promotion released the brackets for this year’s New Japan Cup tournament and also unveiled the main event of their upcoming Anniversary show on March 6th.
In a special champion vs champion match, IWGP Heavyweight Champion Jay White will face NEVER Openweight Champion Will Ospreay. The match will main event NJPW’s 47th Anniversary show from Ota City General Gymnasium.
Neither champion’s title will be on the line in the match.
NJPW 47th Anniversary Show Lineup – March 6th, 2019
Champion vs Champion IWGP Heavyweight Champion: Jay White (Bullet Club) vs NEVER Openweight Champion: Will Ospreay (CHAOS)
The Undertaker will be appearing at the Starrcast II convention in Las Vegas this May. Starrcast LLC has recently filed for the trademark “Dead Man Talking”.
The filing includes the following potential uses for the trademark:
Personal appearances by a professional wrestler and sports entertainment personality;
Live appearances by a professional wrestler and sports entertainment personality
Providing podcasts in the field of professional wrestling and sports entertainment
Video podcasts in the field of professional wrestling and sports entertainment
Wrestling exhibits and performances by a professional wrestler and entertainer
Starrcast II takes place May 23rd to 26th from Las Vegas, Nevada. The convention has already booked several events including an evening with Cody and the Young Bucks, Lita’s panel on women’s wrestling, and Bret Hart: In His Own Words.
Jim Ross addressed Taker’s Starrcast booking on his podcast last week. According to JR, WWE management isn’t pleased Taker will be at the convention the weekend of Double or Nothing.
“They’re not happy in the front office, apparently,” Ross said. “If (Undertaker’s) at the point age-wise where WWE doesn’t want to use him in the ring, or he doesn’t feel able to compete in the ring, if you want to keep him around, you’ve got to pay him something.”
Steve Corino began working with WWE at the Performance Center in early 2017 and is working on the main roster helping to produce RAW and Smackdown live events. According to a report from PW Insider, Corino began working in the role a few weeks ago.
Corino was put into the position in order to free up Jamie Noble, who has other responsibilities with the company. Also on the RAW and Smackdown live events team are Michael Hayes and Joey Maloney. Corino had previously been helping out with live events for NXT as well.
Steve Corino is a former NWA, ECW, and MLW World Champion. Corino had a couple of tryouts in WWE, as an announcer, writer, and wrestler but nothing came together between he and the company until after he did a guest coaching spot at the Performance Center in late 2016.
He spoke to Wrestling Inc in 2015 about tryouts he had in WWE previously.
“In 2007 when I had a tryout as a writer and a wrestler, they were thinking that I was too old, so maybe I didn’t have the right people coming in for me. I was still in Japan 29 weeks a year, so I had something to fall back on. They were great up there. Anyone who buries the system by saying ‘I went up there for a tryout and they didn’t hire me, blah blah blah.’ Oh man. It’s such a well-oiled machine up there.”
Arn Anderson was recently let go by WWE after nearly two decades. Anderson joined the company not long after WCW closed in 2001. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer, Anderson was fired due to an incident at a recent house show.
“Arn got fired. It’s an incident that everyone is pretty much keeping quiet what it was,” Dave Meltzer said. “It was an incident with Vince.”
“I don’t know the whole details of the incident other than it was something at a house show that evidently wasn’t handled well and Arn took the blame for that.”
The report continued to say that Arn and Vince had clashed over the years but that Arn had supporters in WWE management. Triple H is said to be a big Arn Anderson supporter. Anderson was also said to have been the agent assigned to John Cena matches as well. Some are speculating that if John Cena was full-time, Anderson would not have been let go.
The majority of Arn Anderson’s in-ring career was spent with Crockett and WCW. He did have a brief run in WWE during the late 1980s, however. He teamed with Tully Blanchard during this period as the Brainbusters along with their manager Bobby “the Brain” Heenan
When ROH and NJPW present the G1 Supercard from MSG on April 6th, the tag champs from each promotion will clash against each other. The Guerilla of Destiny will put up their titles against the Briscoes’ titles in front of a soldout Madison Square Garden.
The match came together yesterday on night 2 of ROH’s Honor Rising shows from Korakuen Hall.
Make that 5X IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champs. Come April 6th at Madison Square Garden, we’ll be ROH Tag Champs too. April 7th at the @BulletClubBP is gonna be lit AF
Guerillas of Destiny vs The Briscoes – Title vs Title – G1 Supercard From MSG
On night 1 of Honor Rising, the Briscoes and Guerillas of Destiny teamed together. The two teams don’t get along, however, and ended up coming to blows after the match. The two teams do have history together. The Briscoes defeated GoD to win the IWGP heavyweight tag titles at Dominion in 2016. GoD took the titles back just 4 months later at King of Pro Wrestling 2016, however.
In the semi-main event of Honor Rising night 2, Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa defeated Evil & Sanada to regain the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships for the 5th time. In the main event, the Briscoes defeated Juice Robinson & Dave Finlay to retain the ROH Tag Team Championships. Following the Briscoes defeat of Fin Juice, the Tongans hit the ring and challenged the Briscoes to a match at the G1 Supercard from Madison Square Garden.
Matt and Nick Jackson got some revenge on Pentagon and Fenix last night. In the process, they also made a match between them official for AEW Double or Nothing.
The Lucha Bros attacked the Young Bucks at the recent AEW rally in Las Vegas but the Bucks repaid the favor last night at an AAW show in Chicago. It is the first time the Young Bucks had been back in Chicago since All In on September 1st.
The Lucha Bros were defending the AAW tag-team titles against LAX when the Bucks interfered.
The interference by the Bucks allowed LAX to secure the victory over Pentagon and Fenix and win the AAW tag-team championships. The Bucks then challenged Pentagon and Fenix to a match at Double or Nothing and the Lucha Bros accepted.
Last night, Impact Wrestling presented their first show from their Las Vegas tapings held earlier this week. The show aired live on Twitch and Pursuit. The Lucha Bros faced LAX in the main event.
Here are 8 takeaways from Impact Wrestling 2/22:
Lucha Bros Defeated LAX – LAX Unmasked Lucha Bros
Pentagon Jr. and Fenix defeated LAX in what was supposed to be the final chapter of their rivalry. The 3-match series ends 2-1 in favor of the Lucha Bros.
After the match, Konnan congratulated the Lucha Bros and asked LAX to do the same. LAX was hesitant to do so but ultimately put out their hands to shake with their rivals. Perhaps remembering how LAX treated them after their first match, the Lucha Bros got up in LAX’s faces instead of shaking hands. LAX then attacked and would unmask both of the Lucha Bros, much to Konnan’s dismay. The show closed with LAX holding up Pentagon and Fenix’s masks.
Brian Cage & Johnny Impact Agree To Takeout Moose & Killer Kross
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3–BI4F2rd8
To kick things off last night, Johnny Impact announced he had defeated Cage, Kross, and Moose so he planned to move on to new competition. This didn’t sit well with Moose or Kross who both came out to confront Impact. A #1 contenders match between Moose and Kross was organized but resulted in a no-contest due to outside interference.
Later in the show, Impact presented Cage with a contract. The contract stated that if Cage helps Impact takeout Kross and Moose then Cage gets the next shot at his world title.
Tessa Blanchard Denied Title Match With Taya Valkyrie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiAuSpt9c1Q
We saw Tessa Blanchard in a backstage segment this week. She was storming out of management’s office, irate that she was denied another title match against Taya Valkyrie. Blanchard vowed she would get another shot at Taya one-way or another, however.
Later in the show, Blanchard would interrupt a match between Alisha Edwards and Delilah Doom and take out both Knockouts in an effort to make herself heard. Delilah Doom would later challenge Blanchard to a match next week.
A Dark War Is Coming
Rosemary has been haunting Dark Allie as of late. This week in a backstage segment, Father James Mitchell confronted Rosemary, claiming he is the one who owns Dark Allie. Rosemary asked Mitchell if they could cut a deal for Allie. Mitchell said he wants to bring Rosemary back to the underworld in exchange for Allie. Finally, the two sides decided to assemble their dark armies and battle it out in the ring. If Mitchell’s side wins, they get Rosemary. If Rosemary’s side win, she gets Allie.
Eddie Edwards Beats Eli Drake With A Wrestling Move
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULXcx7wQhYQ
Eddie Edwards didn’t need hardcore wrestling to beat Eli Drake. He attempted to use his kendo stick in the match but ultimately won with a roll-up pin on Drake, who had previously tried to use the kendo stick as well. Will this mark the return of the old Eddie Edwards?
Rich Swann Calls Sami Callihan “Family”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-XJ3ewVtZ4
Sami Callihan visited Rich Swann in the hospital this week. Callihan again tried to plead with Swann that Callihan is family and the only one really looking out for him. The nurses tried to get Callihan to leave, telling him only family is allowed to visit. Swann told the nurses that Callihan is family. Callihan then left an OVE shirt on Swann’s hospital bed as he left.
The Great Gama Singh Outsmoked The Rascalz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FU523INeQw
Impact Wrestling held their most recent tapings in Las Vegas. Then they head to Windsor in March followed by Toronto in April. What do all of these places have in common? Legal marijuana! While this should lead to the Rascalz advantage, they got outsmoked by the Great Gama Singh before their match with the Desi Hit Squad this week. Despite this, the Rascalz were still able to pull off the victory as they continue to rise up the rankings in Impact Wrestling.
The former Disco Inferno competed in the early days of TNA wrestling and was recently hired back to the promotion by Don Callis. His hiring occurred on an episode of Konnan’s “Keepin’ it 100” podcast.
Gilbertti showed up for work but was given faulty directions to the management office and ended up locked out of the building.
Quick Results:
Moose vs Killer Kross – no contest
The Rascalz defeated the Desi Hit Squad
Eddie Edwards defeated Eli Drake
Alisha Edwards vs Delilah Doom – No Contest (Blanchard interfered)
Impact Tag Team Championships
The Lucha Bros (c) defeated LAX
Next week:
Delilah Doom vs Tessa Blanchard
Jake Crist vs Willie Mack
Johnny Impact & Brian Cage vs Moose & Killer Kross
Last week, it was reported that Jimmy Uso was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. TMZ reported that Naomi was driving with Jimmy Uso in the passenger seat when they were pulled over for going the wrong way on a one-way street. Jimmy is then said to have exited the vehicle and “squared up” as if he was going to fight the officer, leading to his arrest.
Naomi commented on the recent incident on Twitter:
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
WWE issued the following statement to media following Jimmy Uso’s arrest: “Jonathan Fatu is responsible for his own actions.”
Naomi Featured In Kontrol Magazine
Naomi was recently featured in Kontrol Magazine. During the interview, she spoke on how having her personal life broadcast on Total Divas can be difficult.
“It is very difficult at times, but I’m happy we get to share our story and literally watch ourselves grow and learn together,” she said. “I like to think that our children and grandchildren years from now will watch us back, be proud and get a kick out of it (She Laughs)”.
Naomi’s latest storyline on Smackdown has involved her teaming with Carmella. The pair were the first eliminated from the Elimination Chamber match on Sunday, however. Mandy Rose had been antagonizing Naomi as of late by making overtures to Jimmy Uso.
The Usos just won the Smackdown tag-team titles from the Miz and Shane McMahon at Elimination Chamber. As a result of the events from Smackdown this week, the Usos will again face Miz and McMahon on March 10th at Fastlane.
When Lucha Underground hit the pro-wrestling scene in 2014, it was received as a truly unique take on what pro-wrestling could be. The show has generated over 90% positive reviews on IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes.
After 4 seasons and 127 episodes, however, it looks like Lucha Underground could be finished. Co-Executive Producer, Chris DeJoseph, responded to a fan on Twitter asking about the future of the show:
Lawsuits Launched Against El Rey Network were launched recently by Ivelisse, Kobra Moon, and Joey Ryan in attempts to get out of their contracts. King Cuerno has also filed a separate suit as well.
DeJoseph also commented on what they saw in Pentagon Jr. when they first brought him into Lucha Underground.
“Producers wanted Pentagon Jr. on Lucha Underground,” DeJoseph Tweeted. “He was a masked, cool looking heel and had charisma, we were told he “wasn’t the guy” and didn’t have ‘it’. We needed mid-level guy and thought he could be more. End of story.”
In 2016, DeJoseph told the Wrestling Mayhem show that WWE tried to shut Lucha Underground down.
“They basically tried to sign our entire roster, and pretty much tried to shut us down,” he said on the show. “I think that’s what they want to do is just take everybody, sign them into NXT and then wipe out companies. I know they tried to do it with TNA too, and I’m sure ROH too, but it makes sense for them to pay someone $750 a week, put them into developmental and then in the meantime, they try to take away a company’s roster. And they can just leave those guys down in NXT, they don’t care.”
Impact Wrestling’s event over WrestleMania weekend this year will now be a PPV on the FITE app. The promotion earlier announced a dream tag-team match for the event featuring Rob Van Dam & Sabu teaming up to face Pentagon Jr. and Fenix, the Lucha Bros. Sami Callihan vs Jimmy Havoc in a Monster’s Ball match was also scheduled for the event recently.
United We Stand takes place on April 4th from the Rahway Center in Rahway, New Jersey.
Impact Wrestling has recently announced 3 more matches for the event. Tessa Blanchard and Eli Drake will face each other in a special inter-gender match.
A team representing Impact Wrestling will also take on a team wrestling Lucha Underground on the show. Brian Cage, Johnny Impact, Moose, and Eddie Edwards will make up Team Impact. The Lucha Underground team will consist of Aerostar, Drago, King Cuerno, and Daga.
Jake Crist, Jack Evans, and Kotto Brazil are all confirmed for the Ultimate-X match that night as well.
“We are delighted to welcome two legends in Rob Van Dam and Sabu back to an IMPACT Wrestling ring,” said Ed Nordholm, President of IMPACT Wrestling. “Add this to the list of other matches we have announced and United We Stand is becoming a dream night of action for wrestling fans all over the world made available through our partners at FITE.tv.”
The most iconic member of the 4 Horsemen not named Ric Flair has been let go from WWE. According to a report from Pro Wrestling Sheet, Arn Anderson is no longer with the company. As of this writing, it is not clear what led to Anderson’s departure.
Anderson began working for WWE as an agent not long after WCW closed. The 60-year-old was also inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2012 as part of the 4 Horsemen. WWE has planned a 70th birthday celebration for Arn’s longtime ally Ric Flair on Monday.
While Anderson has spent most of his behind-the-scenes career in WWE, he spent most of his in-ring career outside of it. He only wrestled in the company for one stint between 1988 and 1990. During that time, Arn teamed with his longtime teammate Tully Blanchard. They were named “the Brain Busters’ and were managed by Bobby Heenan.
Despite winning the tag titles on one occasion with Blanchard, Arn returned to WCW in early 1990.
The readers of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter voted Arn as the “Best on Interviews” in 1990. The highest ranking he ever achieved on the PWI top 500 was at #9 in 1991. He was forced to retire in 1997 due to injuries.
According to comments he recently made on Twitter, Matt Hardy has about a week and a half left on his WWE contract. He also stated he’s always been comfortable outside of WWE even though he loves the company.
Hardy posted some throwback pictures on Twitter from 2014:
A fan responded that Hardy’s comments made it sound as though he was going to leave the company. To which Hardy responded with the following:
Not a threat at all, just a fact. I have 11 days left on my current deal. I love @WWE, but I’m 100% comfortable being outside the walls of pro wrestling’s "Alexandria" Safe-Zone. I’m a born SURVIVALIST.
the Hardyz signed with WWE just before WrestleMania 33 where they would return and win the RAW tag-team championships. It’s likely then that given Hardy’s comments both he and his brother Jeff signed 2-year-deals with the company back in 2017 that are coming up for renewal soon. It’s possible Jeff and Matt signed separate deals but that seems unlikely.
With the Hardyz likely testing free agency in the coming weeks, it could lead to speculation they are entertaining the idea of signing with a non-WWE promotion, possibly AEW. The last match the Hardyz had before signing with WWE in 2017 was against the Young Bucks at ROH Supercard of Honor XI. The Hardyz returned to WWE at WrestleMania 33 the next night.
Last night on NXT programming, Velveteen Dream defeated Johnny Gargano to win the NXT North American Championship. News concerning title changes on taped shows tends to be reported in the media but NXT found a unique way to combat this at the last set of tapings.
The match between Gargano and Velveteen was taped on January 30th from Full Sail and aired last night. NXT is said to have taped two different endings to the match, however, to prevent news of the title change from leaking. First, Velveteen was filmed winning the title and then later they restarted the match and had Gargano win. Last night, they only aired the version with Dream winning clean.
“At the 1/30 tapings, they decided to get cute and tape two different endings for the Johnny Gargano vs. Dream match, with each winning clean,” wrote Dave Meltzer in this week’s Wrestling Observer. “So fans wouldn’t know who won the match until it aired.”
Most websites covering the spoilers from the tapings reported that Dream won the title, however.
Velveteen Dream is already the 4th person to win the title in its just 10 months of existence. Adam Cole won the inaugural championship and then lost it 4 months later to Ricochet. Gargano then won the title at Takeover: Phoenix before dropping it to the Dream last night on NXT programming.
Mustafa Ali will be featured on season 2 of the television series “The Secret Life of Muslims”. A launch party for the second season of the show was held last night at New York University.
The Secret Life of Muslims lists the following description on the show’s website:
“Featuring a diverse set of American Muslims from a wide range of ethnic and national origins speaking directly to their own respective experiences, the series illuminates the existing complexity and diversity of America’s 3.3 million Muslims, while pointing to a common shared humanity. The first season has been viewed more than 35 million times in our effort to contribute to a dialogue of tolerance and peace in contentious times.”
“My mission is to erase as many preconceived ideas, barriers and stereotypes as I can.”
Ali told Aljazeera in 2018.
Ali was scheduled to be in the Elimination Chamber last Sunday. He was forced to withdraw from the match due to a concussion, however.
“I remember one kid … he said to me it’s always cool to see someone you consider a role model doing something big and chasing their dreams, but it’s even cooler when that person looks like you,” Ali recalled.
“When he said that, I really realised it’s true. It’s a little easier to relate to someone when you feel ‘hey that’s me. That’s how I look and it’s someone with the same concerns I have growing up’.”
Charlotte Flair told reporters in North Carolina recently that she isn’t over the death of her brother. Reid Flair died on March 29th, 2013 at the age of 25.
“I wish I could say that I was over losing my brother, but I’m not,” Flair told the Charlotte Observer. “I mean, I have so many regrets. … How did my brother never get to see me wrestle? … I ask myself that every single day: How am I here, where I am, and he never got to see me? This was his dream. I don’t know if I’ll ever get over it.”
Reid Flair had just returned home from a tour with AJPW in Japan at the time of his death.
Charlotte also spoke about the unique challenges she faces in her career due to being Ric Flair’s daughter.
“My dad’s legacy means the world to me,” Flair said. “(But) do I pay homage to him or do I not? Is it OK to ‘WOO’ , is it not OK, Is it too much? Is it not? I just have to tell myself, and remember, that I am way more athletic than my dad was and what I am doing now, it’s OK to continue my dad’s legacy and carry the last name, and WOO, and strut, and do all those things because … I’m going above and beyond and showing that I’m also a talent — versus just Flair’s kid.”
Chris Jericho made some comments regarding AEW’s sellout of the MGM Grand Garden Arena on the latest episode of Cody’s YouTube series. During the episode, Jericho said he is the sole reason AEW soldout the arena.
“It’s a very exciting time for All Elite Wrestling after selling out Double or Nothing in just 4 minutes,” Jericho said on the show. “12000 tickets sold at the MGM Grand in just 4 minutes, it’s unprecedented!”
Jericho continued to talk about how even the fans are celebrating this accomplishment as if it is their own.
Chris Jericho Claims He’s The Reason Double Or Nothing Sold Out In 4 Minutes
“Cody and the Bucks are saying ‘we did it!'” he continued. “And every single person who bought a ticket to go to the show or is going to watch at home on PPV is saying ‘we did it we are part of something special, we made this happen together, we did it!'”
Then Jericho started to insinuate he is the only reason the show sold out.
“But is that really the truth?” Jericho asked. “Or is the more accurate description ‘I did it’ as in Chris Jericho single-handily sold 12 thousand tickets in 4 minutes because that is the truth. It doesn’t matter if Kenny Omega is on the show, or Cody’s on the show, or MJF is on the show, I made it happen.”
Jericho is scheduled to wrestle Kenny Omega at Double or Nothing in a match which could close the show.
“I am the sole reason why AEW is a smash success right out of the gate,” Jericho continued. “And I want all of you to thank me for that. You’re welcome.”
AEW will be bringing back the Over Budget Battle Royal for Double or Nothing. The match was on the Zero Hour pre-show for All In as well with the winner being granted a shot at the ROH World Championship on the PPV. Flip Gordon (dressed as Rocky Romero’s Chico El Luchador character) won the battle royal but then lost to Jay Lethal.
On the latest episode of “Road to Double or Nothing”, Cody announced the match will return for the May 25th PPV.
Cody Announces Over Budget Battle Royal Will Return At AEW Double Or Nothing
“So when it came down to All In and we had an extra hour presented to us in the last minute,” Cody said. “We had a lot of people already in town with Starrcast. So we thought the idea we would do this battle royal but we would do a really good battle royal. But again, we didn’t have the money for it. So, we called it the Over Budget Battle Royal and I ended up selling the soft goods of the ring, the apron, the buckles, so that we could afford it and everyone could get a proper payday.”
“Now, I wouldn’t say it’s over-budget anymore but it’s still the Over Budget Battle Royal,” he continued. “And it’s returning for Double or Nothing.”
Cody would continue to say that battle royals are often thought of as bathroom breaks but not the one they had at All In. He also said the winner would receive a big reward. Cody would not say what that reward will be just yet, however.
Kofi Kingston was announced last night as Daniel Bryan’s opponent at Fastlane. His booking over the last couple of weeks has reminded some of the time from nearly 10 years ago when he also appeared to be in line for a major push. As it turns out, Randy Orton and Kofi Kingston may have referenced this time from 2009 last night.
In 2009, Kingston looked to be a breakout star. There are rumors his push was stopped after Orton was less than pleased with his performance during a match on RAW, however. Last night on Smackdown, that incident was referenced during the main event 6-man tag.
A user on Twitter put the two events back to back in the following video:
Tommy Dreamer commented on Edge and Christian’s podcast about Kofi’s lack of a push that year. He said it still bothers him.
“I am still angry about a few things in professional wrestling,” Dreamer said. “Great things which were either dropped or messed up. One of them being when Kofi Kingston send Randy Orton through the table at Madison Square Garden and they never went full board with it, am still upset about that”.
When asked about the incident from 2009, Kingston told Smack Talk Radio in 2012 he wasn’t too bothered by it. He said much of what Orton was doing was being in-character at the time.
“Everyone knows Randy kinda has an attitude,” Kingston said. “So that’s Randy being Randy. What everyone doesn’t remember is that we were in a heated rivalry so a lot of what you saw was him being his character and him kinda playing to that.”
Eddie Edwards signed a new deal with Impact Wrestling last week. Impact announced his signing during their recent tapings in Las Vegas. Edwards sat down with ImpactWrestling.com recently to discuss why he re-upped with the promotion.
“It wasn’t a tough decision for me,” Edwards said. “This has been my home for the past five years. Between Anthem, our office, the wrestlers, the ring crew, production, everything – I feel comfortable and confident in this team. I want to be one of the guys at the forefront of IMPACT Wrestling, trying to bring us forward to the next level.”
Edwards also spoke positively about the creative freedom he has.
“I have the most freedom I’ve ever had. It’s great. I get to go out there and try new things. (IMPACT’s) a very comfortable place for me, and it’s very exciting.”
In terms of 2018, it was an up and down year for Edwards. Everything worked out well in the end for him, however.
“Obviously I’ve been through a lot (this year), and it’s all been positive changes. As stupid as it sounds, getting hit with a baseball bat somehow worked into a positive. I enjoy the direction that I’m going, I enjoy the confidence that the company has put in me, and I enjoy trying to push the limit in the ring and outside the ring. I’m very grateful that the front office and everybody here has that faith in me.”
According to recent comments made by Kota Ibushi, he turned down AEW’s offer in late 2018. He also told Japanese media outlet, ShuPru, that he hasn’t spoken to Kenny Omega since Wrestle Kingdom.
NJPW commentator, Chris Charlton, provided some translations of the article.
“The second I went, that would be the end of my wrestling career, I thought,” Charlton translated Ibushi’s comments as.
“What I realized (talking to AEW) was I really don’t care about money,” he continued. “‘(Kenny and I) haven’t spoken since Wrestle Kingdom. I think he wanted me in his corner in the main event but after what happened (concussion in his match against Ospreay) he was worried and said I should leave early. After that..”
Ibushi continued to say AEW wanted him to move to the United States.
“AEW said they just want me in their ring in some form. The ideal for them was for me to move to America and be there full time. I turned them down just after Wrestle Kingdom.”
Ibushi continued to say that if he went to AEW he feels it would be the end of his career.
“If I went it would be the end of my career. There wouldn’t be anywhere else to go after that. No step up, nothing left to do. That would be the last step to make, and after that things would just go down. Great money, but I want to keep developing.”