Impact Wrestling this week was the first show since Kenny Omega defeated Rich Swann to become the new Impact World Champion. Omega would appear on this show but Scott D’Amore had to go to great lengths to ensure the new champion would fulfill his commitments.

The full replay is available on Impact Plus even for non-subscribers.

Impact Wrestling 4/29 Quick results:

1. Under Siege Qualifier
   Chris Bey defeated Jake Something
2. W. Morrissey defeated Sam Beale
3. Taylor Wilde defeated Kimber Lee
4. X-Division Championship
   Josh Alexander (c) defeated Ace Austin
5. Under Siege Qualifier
   Matt Cardona defeated Brian Myers
6. Under Siege Qualifier
   Sami Callihan vs Eddie Edwards – No Contest

Scott D’Amore Reveals How Kenny Omega’s Next Challenger Will Be Determined

Scott D’Amore cut an in-ring promo to start this week’s show. He noted that because of the “winner take all” aspect to Omega vs Swann at Rebellion, there was no rematch clause put in the contract. A new challenger will have to be determined to face Omega. D’Amore then announced there will be a 6-way match at Under Siege to determine who will challenge the champion next. 3 qualifying matches would take place on this week’s show and 3 on next week’s show. Without much delay, Jake Something was chosen to face the returning Chris Bey in the first qualifier.

Qualifying Matches:

• Chris Bey vs Jake Something (this week)
• Brian Myers vs Matt Cardona (this week)
• Eddie Edwards vs Sami Callihan (this week)
• James Storm vs Moose (next week)
• Rhino vs Chris Sabin (next week)
• Trey Miguel vs Rohit Raju (next week)

Chris Bey Qualifies For Under Siege

Something and Bey had a back-and-forth match with Bey using his speed and “finesse” against Something’s size and strength. The ending came when Rohit Raju grabbed at Something’s foot from ringside. The momentary distraction allowed Bey to roll-up Something for the pin. This could lead to some type of angle between Something and Raju as Bey now has a chance to qualify for a title shot against Kenny Omega.

W. Morrissey Debuts On AXS TV

After making his promotional debut at Rebellion, W. Morrissey (FKA Big Cass) made his debut on AXS TV this week. Before his match against Sam Beale, Morrissey cut a promo about how the fans don’t really know him and they don’t really know the wrestlers in the back. He continued to say the wrestlers in the back are all bad people and so is he. The difference is, he’s at least honest about being a bad guy.

Morrissey then made quick work of his opponent in a complete squash match. Later in the show, Willie Mack would challenge him to a match at Under Siege. Morrissey pinned Mack in 8-man tag action at Rebellion.

Taylor Wilde Not Interested In Teaming With Tenille Dashwood

Taylor Wilde has returned to Impact Wrestling and she’s looking to “Main Stage Impact-alooza” as she said this week. Tenille Dashwood and Kaleb interrupted her backstage segment and Dashwood implied that the two should form a tag-team. Wilde, however, is interested in going for singles gold and not teaming with Dashwood.

Wilde would go on to defeat Kimber Lee in singles action later in the show. Susan was at ringside and did everything she could to help her ally gain the advantage but it was all for not. Wilde made Lee submit to a deathlock.

After the match, Susan attacked and the heels had a 2-on-1 advantage on Wilde. Dashwood then made the save for Wilde. So it’s possible these two could end up teaming together even if that’s not what Wilde wants.

Josh Alexander Retains X-Division Championship

Josh Alexander won the title at Rebellion in a 3-way match that also involved TJP. This week, he’d have to face the former 2x champion Ace Austin in singles action. The end of the match came shortly after Madman Fulton had attempted to interfere on the outside. The distraction allowed Austin a momentary burst of offence but Alexander countered a Divine Intervention attempt and the locked in the Ankle Lock submission for the win.

Matt Cardona Avenges Loss At Rebellion, Defeats Brian Myers To Qualify For Under Siege

Brian Myers defeated Matt Cardona at Rebellion after taking advantage of his opponent’s injured knee. This week, Cardona attempted to gain the advantage by attacking Myers before the match. Myers would counter this by continuing to focus on Cardona’s leg throughout the match. Cardona struggled to get sustained offence as his former tag partner continued to focus on his injured limb. Finally, as Myers appeared to be setting Cardona up for the Roster Cut Lariat, Cardona countered it with Radio Silence and got the 3-count.

El Phantasmo Coming To Impact Wrestling

With the Forbidden Door getting wider and easier to walk through every week, NJPW’s El Phantasmo was advertised as coming to Impact Wrestling on this week’s show. ELP is a 2x IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion and has won the Super J-Cup tournament two years in a row in 2019 and 2020.

Kenny Omega, Don Callis & The Good Brothers Interfere In The Main Event

As the match between Eddie Edwards and Sami Callihan was ongoing in the main event, Kenny Omega, Don Callis, Karl Anderson, and Doc Gallows did a run-in.

Throughout the night, Scott D’Amore had said that if Omega didn’t appear personally live on the show, he’d be stripped of the title. Omega made it at the last second to interfere in the main event. Omega was about to give Callihan a V-Trigger when FinJuice made the save. The heels still had the numbers advantage, however, and were able to fight off the tag champs. With the ring cleared, Don Callis cut a promo praising Kenny Omega to end the show.

Coming Up In Impact Wrestling

The following matches are upcoming in Impact Wrestling.

Next week:

• James Storm vs Moose
• Rhino vs Chris Sabin
• Trey Miguel vs Rohit Raju
• El Phantasmo vs TBA

Under Siege (May 15th)

• Kenny Omega & The Good Brothers vs Eddie Edwards & Finjuice
• Knockouts Tag Team Championships
  Jordynne Grace & Rachael Ellering (c) vs Fire N Flava
• 6-Way #1 Contenders Match
  Chris Bey vs Matt Cardona vs TBD vs TBD vs TBD vs TBD

On last night’s edition of Impact Wrestling, a vignette for NJPW’s El Phantasmo was shown to preview the 34-year-old’s pending arrival in the promotion. ELP going to Impact comes on the heels of NJPW’s David Finlay and Juice Robinson doing the same. FinJuice are the current Impact Wrestling tag-team champions and wore the title bouts to the ring during a recent NJPW tour.

Phantasmo is a former 2x IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion. He’s also won the Super J-Cup tournament two years in a row in 2019 and 2020.

ELP is from Vancouver and began his training alongside other British Columbia bred wrestlers, Kyle O’Reilly and WWE’s Bollywood Boyz (aka the Singh Brothers).

Following the announcement of his forthcoming debut for Impact, Phantasmo named over a dozen wrestlers he wants to work with.

Forbidden No More

NJPW President Takami Ohbari recently commented on his company’s new approach to talent-sharing with other promotions:

“I will say this until I’m blue in the face: this is a star driven business, and the wrestlers are the focus,” Ohbari said in an interview with NJPW1972.com. “So if our wrestlers say ‘I want to wrestle that guy’ ‘I want to test myself against that guy’ ‘I want to show that I’m better than that guy’. Then it becomes our job as a company to do what we can to back them, make it happen and make it successful.”

Takami Ohbari took over from Harold Meij has President of New Japan Pro Wrestling in October. The change in management led to much speculation that NJPW could reverse its position on talent-sharing and working with other wrestling companies.

During a recent interview with NJPW1972.com, Ohbari clarified the company’s current position on the matter is to support wrestlers who wish to work for other companies.

“I will say this until I’m blue in the face: this is a star driven business, and the wrestlers are the focus,” Ohbari said. “So if our wrestlers say ‘I want to wrestle that guy’ ‘I want to test myself against that guy’ ‘I want to show that I’m better than that guy’. Then it becomes our job as a company to do what we can to back them, make it happen and make it successful.”

New Japan Strong

Ohbari continued to talk about the door is open for more American talent to wrestle for NJPW on New Japan STRONG, which airs Fridays on the New Japan World streaming service.

If there is someone who wants to come in and the fans want to see it, NJPW will work to make it happen. “When you look at things overseas right now, especially in the US, there are a lot of wrestlers who want to come to Japan, and can’t, right? Even if you get into the country, you have to quarantine. But STRONG is there for those guys.”

He added, “That is authentic, genuine New Japan Pro-Wrestling. If you want to be in NJPW, and you’re good enough, this door is open: come in, come do what you can do, and we’ll make sure the world can watch it. That goes for the fans too; if there’s a match you guys want to see, we’ll do what we can to make it happen.”

Ohbari’s comments come on the heels of several “Forbidden Door” type moves in recent months. NJPW’s David Finlay & Juice Robinson have been performing for Impact and are the promotion’s current tag champions. Yuji Nagata will be appearing on AEW Dynamite to face Jon Moxley next week for the IWGP United States title as well.

The full interview can be read here.

Daniel Bryan recently took part in an interview with Barstool Sports. During the discussion, Bryan said he doesn’t feel wrestling fans understand how talented many WWE Superstars are.

“I don’t think people truly understand how great a lot of the WWE Superstars are because we don’t necessarily put on a pure wrestling product,” Bryan said. “We put on a sports entertainment product.”

Bryan would continue to say that if some WWE Superstars performed for a more wrestling-based company, fans would better appreciate their talent.

“If all of a sudden you saw Cesaro in New Japan for example like people would be like, ‘oh my god, this guy is the greatest!'”

He continued to use Otis as an example of someone else who would be perceived differently if they wrestled in NJPW.

“I think you put Otis in New Japan and people would be like ‘Holy cow! This guy is amazing!’ Like Vader from the 90s type of vibe. People think of him as the worm guy but it’s just a different presentation.”

Daniel Bryan on the Forbidden Door

Bryan was also asked about recently having expressed a desire to wrestle outside of WWE while still working for the company.

“I’ve brought it up to a lot of people and now is more than ever is a time when people are open to new ideas,” Bryan said during the interview. “I think I have made some headway whether any of it actually happens, who knows?”

He would continue to say that he feels WWE Superstars performing for other companies would be good for WWE and wrestling in general.

“I also think it would just be good for WWE and just wrestling in general. For people that are in the developmental system right now, for them to be able to go and learn in other places. I wouldn’t be the performer I am today if I hadn’t wrestled in Japan and not just like Japan where it’s like sports stuff but also like Butlins in the UK where it’s all comedy.”

The full interview can be viewed in the player below:

MLW Fusion on 4/28 featured the Von Erichs and Team Filthy continuing their rivalry. Tom Lawlor would take on Marshall Von Erich in the main event. The full show is available in the player below:

MLW Fusion 4/28 Quick Results:

1. Ross Von Erich defeated Dominic Garrini
2. Bu Ku Dao defeated El Hijo de LA Park
3. Tom Lawlor defeated Marshall Von Erich via referee stoppage

The Von Erichs Strike First Against Team Filthy

The first match of the night also featured the rivalry between the Von Erichs and Team Filthy. Ross Von Erich picked up the victory over Dominic Garrini in just over 5 minutes after countering a suplex into a modified falcon arrow.

After the match, the two factions came to blows in the ring and had to be separated by referees.

Tom Lawlor Enlists Help From Tim Donaghy

After Garrini’s loss to Ross Von Erich, Team Filthy got nervous. They were shown in the back discussing strategy and Lawlor called someone. It was later revealed that Lawlor called disgraced former NBA official, Tim Donaghy. Lawlor was later shown in the back giving an envelope to Donaghy.

Later in the show, Lawlor and Donaghy confronted Marshall Von Erich and forced him to take a drug test. When Von Erich returned with a full cup, however, he just tossed it back in Lawlor’s face instead.

Bu Ku Dao Picks Up Another Big Victory

After a recent victory over his former mentor, TJP, Bu Ku Dao picked up another big win this week on Fusion. He picked up the victory over Azteca Underground’s El Hijo de LA Park after a diving flat-liner.

Immediately after the match ended, a worried-looking Salina de la Renta stormed away from the ring area. Later in the show, she was shown being shoved into the back of a car by a masked assailant, possibly an associate of “El Jefe.” She appeared to have escaped later, however.

Bu Ku Dao cut a promo after the match saying he hates TJP, that it’s his time now, and his victory this week was dedicated to his parents.

Lio Rush No Shows Media Event

Middleweight champion Lio Rush no-showed a media event ahead of next week’s title match against former champion Myron Reed. MLW would later announce that he has been fined for missing the event.

Tom Lawlor Defeats Marshall Von Erich In The Main Event

In the night’s main event, Marshall Von Erich and Tom Lawlor would go one-on-one. Von Erich came out with his knee taped up and Lawlor made a point to target the injured limb throughout the match. This included hitting Marshall with a wrench to the knee while the referee’s back was turned.

The match looked to be over around the 11-minute mark when Von Erich hit the Claw Slam but surprisingly, Lawlor kicked out. Shortly after, Lawlor locked in the leg lock and Marshall passed out due to pain. The ref called for the bell and Lawlor picked up a huge victory via referee stoppage.

Team Filthy and the Von Erichs continued the fight after the match with ACH coming out to help the brothers. The brawl would spill to the back and all around the arena to end the show.

Coming Up In MLW

MLW’s upcoming schedule looks like this:

Saturday May 1st:

• MLW debuts on VICE TV at 12 PM.

Wednesday, May 5th, 2021

• MLW World Middleweight Championship
  Lio Rush (c) vs Myron Reed
• Richard Holliday vs TBA

Wednesday, May 12th, 2021

• MLW Underground Classic episode featuring Terry Funk vs Steve Corino

July 10th, 2021

• MLW begins a new season with a show at Philadelphia’s famed 2300 Arena

Mauro Ranallo made his return to pro-wrestling commentary at Sunday’s Impact Rebellion pay-per-view. He called only the high-profile main event match between Kenny Omega and Rich Swann.

Ranallo talked about the experience recently on his Maurologue podcast. The former WWE and NXT broadcaster sounds like he had the time of his life.

“I’ve got to tell you, I had a blast working with D-Lo Brown and Matt Striker and what a match between AEW Champion Kenny Omega and Unified IMPACT belt-holder Rich Swann in a title-for-title mega main event,” Ranallo said.

There is no word on what the future might hold between Impact and Mauro. It sounds as though Ranallo appreciates how he was treated by the company, however. He said Rebellion “reignited his passion” for pro-wrestling.

“A big thank you to Scott D’Amore and all the people at IMPACT Wrestling for making me feel so welcome. It reminded me of, honestly, when I started my career at 16. Yeah, [Rebellion] reignited my passion for professional wrestling.”

Ranallo called it a “very chill, relaxed atmosphere” with a supportive, respectful locker room. He has been in several pro wrestling locker rooms and feels that Impact has a great mix of decorated veterans and talented up-and-comers.

He also spoke about the positive reaction the PPV has garnered.

“Man, they had their working boots on last night. I thought everyone delivered and from what I understand, the pay-per-view is getting rave reviews, and even more importantly, the pay-per-view buy-rate should be one of the best that IMPACT Wrestling has done in some time. Yeah, it was great to see so many familiar faces and I do hope to get to do it again.”

A link to the full episode is here.

When Hulk Hogan departed the World Wrestling Federation in 1993, the company looked to create their next top babyface out of Lex Luger. The man formerly billed as The Narcissist was repacked as ‘Made in the USA’ Lex Luger and traversed the United States in the “Lex Express” tour bus.

On July 4th of that year, Luger shocked the world by slamming the mighty Yokozuna onboard the USS Intrepid battleship in New York City. This set the stage for their clash over the WWE Championship at that year’s SummerSlam.

Luger recently appeared on Sean Waltman’s “Pro Wrestling 4 Life” podcast and spoke about Yokozuna’s legendary bodyslam challenge.

“We did a walkthrough the week before,” Luger said about the event on the USS Intrepid. “They didn’t allow me to slam Yoko because they didn’t want him to get hurt. I’m the one lifting 627 pounds, and they didn’t want him to get hurt. So, I was so nervous.”

“I didn’t have good footing when I got in that ring there. I had cowboy boots on, and Yoko calmed me down and said, ‘Don’t worry, I got this. Just get a wide base.’ I just got a good base and helped turn him, but Yoko, as you know, I called The Dancing Bear. Those island boys, so athletic and born to wrestle.”

Luger continued, “[Yokozuna] literally almost slammed himself off of me getting a good base and helping turn him just a little bit. He was that agile. I was so relieved after that. He was unbelievable.”

The Total Package recalls this as one of the most memorable moments of his storied career. The crowd reaction, the Manhattan skyline in the background and the overall atmosphere made this an extremely unique segment.

Lex Luger On Not Winning The WWF Championship At SummerSlam 93

Luger only defeated Yokozuna by count-out at SummerSlam, however, and Yoko retained the title.

“With that big of a buildup, as a babyface, you almost have to come through because it lets all the air out of your tires,” Luger said regarding not winning the title at SummerSlam that year. “I enjoyed the opportunity obviously, and it was a great promotion, but a lot of people thought it might have been more beneficial if you’re going to still go with Yoko to have the babyface win and have Yoko win it right back or something. It might have been good. I agree with that for sure.”

As announced last night, IWGP United States Champion Jon Moxley will defend his title on the May 12th edition of AEW Dynamite. His opponent will be Yuji Nagata.

This will be the second time Moxley has defended the title in the United States. He defeated KENTA on an episode of New Japan Strong from the company’s Los Angeles dojo recently as well.

IWGP United States Championship History

Moxley is one of only six wrestlers who have won the title since its inception in 2017. Kenny Omega became the inaugural champion that year after defeating Tomohiro Ishii in the finals of a tournament. Omega then dropped it to Jay White after a 210 day reign and 4 title defenses.

Moxley’s current title reign sits at 476 days as champion and 3 title defenses. His previous reign lasted 130 days but he was forced to vacate the belt due to injury before making any title defenses. Should he defeat Nagata on May 12th, Moxley will tie Omega for the most combined title defenses as well as the most title defenses in a single reign with 4. Juice Robinson and Jay White each had 3 successful title defenses during their respective reigns with the belt as well.

Dark Side of the Ring Season 3 will begin airing on Thursday May 6th, 2021. The first episode will be on the life and career of Brian Pillman. A complete episode listing for the show’s 3rd season is now available.

Season 3 Topics

The official Dark Side of the Ring Twitter account lists the following topics for the upcoming season:

• Brian Pillman (Premiere episode, May 6th)
• Nick Gage
• Collision in Korea (1995 WCW/NJPW event in North Korea)
• Ultimate Warrior
• Grizzly Smith
• Dynamite Kid
• Johnny K9 aka Bruiser Bedlam
• The Steroid Trials (Vince McMahon’s 1994 trial)
• FMW
• The Plane Ride From Hell (Infamous WWE flight back from European tour in 2002)
• Luna Vachon
• XPW
• Chris Kanyon

Dark Side Executive Producers & co-creators Jason Eisener and Evan Husney tell TheWrap, “With this epic, 14-episode season, we’ve had the opportunity to push the series to new heights and dig even deeper into a world that has captivated us our entire lives.”

They added, “We’re excited to unveil a season that encompasses a whole new spectrum of stories, ranging from legendary icons of the past, to contemporary snapshots from wrestling’s underground, to mind-blowing sagas overseas.”

Chris Jericho will serve as narrator once again for the series as he did in season 2.

Jason Jordan hasn’t wrestled a match since the Royal Rumble event in 2018. He underwent neck surgery that February and has never returned to the ring. Jordan has been working as a producer in WWE ever since. According to a recent report from PW Insider, he received a significant promotion recently.

Jordan has been promoted to the lead producer for both RAW and Smackdown. The 32-year-old will be taking over for duties formerly performed by John Laurinaitis. Jordan is expected to receive more responsibilities in his new role as well.

There was a big shake up in the talent relations department recently. Mark Carrano was let go following the Mickie James/trash bag incident. Laurinaitis now oversees the talent relations department, taking over for Carrano. Referee John Cone was briefly relieved of his duties in that department before the company changed course. He has since been bumped up to second in command of talent relations behind Laurinaitis.

Kurt Angle on Jason Jordan As His Storyline Son

Kurt Angle recently commented on his podcast about the storyline angle of Jordan being his son.

“They decided that I was going to have an illegitimate son and they weren’t sure who it was going to be and they decided to pick Jason over Chad and, you know, I’m not sure why. It might have been a politically correct move, but I was happy I was excited about it because Jason is a great talent and he was improving every week, his chops were improving, his work was improving. He was getting a lot better. He was on his way to main event status until he hurt his neck. That’s where the program ended and I was stuck high and dry without a partner for the next WrestleMania because that’s who I was going to wrestle was Jason.”

Bruno Lauer, better known to wrestling fans as Harvey Wippleman, is running for political office. The 55-year-old announced recently that he is running for Board of Aldermen in his hometown of Walls, Mississippi.

Lauer sent word to media that he is running in the election, absentee voting starts tomorrow for the June 8th election. A flyer for his campaign is below:

Late last year, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson repaid Lauer for helping him out when he was just a teenager. The Rock purchased him a $30K truck.

In a recent interview with Slam Wrestling, the former “Downtown Bruno” spoke about how it was the Rock’s father, Rocky Johnson, who convinced him to become a manager.

“I was just a ring crew guy, but in the dressing room I was always teasing people and being a wise guy,” Lauer explains. “Rocky said, ‘Man, look at you. You’re a little bitty guy, running your mouth like that, you could make a good living being a manager.”

“One step led to another, and me and Jerry Lawler, who was one of my dearest friend in the world, got together in Hawaii when he was over there.”

“(Rocky) was one of my mentors, and Dwayne’s mother Ata and I were very close,” Lauer recalls. “In ’83, when I was in Hawaii, (Ata) was like a mother figure to me, and Dewey and I — I was a few years older than  him, but we basically grew up together.”

The National Hockey League has signed a 7-year agreement with Turner Sports, which owns TBS and TNT. The news has drawn reactions from several people in wrestling. Chris Jericho, Britt Baker, Renee Paquette, and CM Punk all reacted to the new NHL TV deal online.

Chris Jericho, whose father is former NHL player Ted Irvine, reacted to the news:

Dr. Britt Baker DMD is a noted fan of her hometown Pittsburgh Penguins. She reacted to the news as well:

Renee Paquette was formerly a host on TheScore in Canada. Sports coverage in Canada has a heavy emphasis on hockey. She’s offering her hosting services to TNT.

Noted Chicago Blackhawks fan CM Punk also appears to be interested in this development:

72 regular season games will air on either TNT or TBS throughout the year. Turner can bounce the games between TNT and TBS to avoid having to move Dynamite. Turner will air 3 of 7 Stanley Cup Finals series as part of the deal as well.

The NHL’s deal with Turner was addressed recently by Dave Meltzer.

“AEW will stay in its timeslot, and NHL will probably end up on TBS or a different night,” said Dave Meltzer.

Kenny Omega is the new Impact World Champion. Following Omega’s victory over Rich Swann at Rebellion, Scott D’Amore Tweeted that he expects Omega to fulfill his obligations as champion. According to a report on Wrestling Observer Radio, that includes defending the title on May 15ths Under Seige event on Impact Plus.

“He’s definitely defending the title at Under Siege,” commented Dave Meltzer. “That’s the first title defense, so that’s May 15th. I believe he’s doing a tag-team match on television when they do the tapings as well.”

As for who Omega defends the title against at Under Siege, that is not yet clear.

“I have a feeling that on Thursday’s show that you would probably have an idea who it will be. It might be Rich (Swann).”

Meltzer continued to speculate that Moose or Eddie Edwards could also be Omega’s opponent on the show. Trey Miguel and Josh Alexander were also mentioned.

Following Under Siege, Impact will present Against All Odds on June 12th. Impact will return to PPV in July with Slammiversary but an exact date has yet to be announced.

Impact Wrestling on Thursday night will be the first show since Rebellion. Josh Alexander is the new X-Division Champion, Jordynne Grace & Rachael Ellering are the new Knockouts tag champions, and Kenny Omega is the new Impact World Champion. Only FinJuice and Deonna Purrazzo retained their titles at Rebellion.

Thunder Rosa’s Mission Pro Wrestling promotion is running an event in Buda, Texas on May 1st. Rosa will be performing on the show and will be involved in a “face-off” with the host of Busted Open Radio, Dave LaGreca. The event will be streamed through the Title Match Network.

The radio host has been busy preparing for the show. Impressively, LaGreca demonstrated that he can do 800 push-ups in the below video:

Tickets for the event range from $10 to $50. The last event thrown by MPW was on March 20th and featured the debut of Nyla Rosa. The all-female promotion’s champion is currently La Rosa Negra. She won a tournament last year to become the inaugural champion, beating Lacey Ryan in the finals in a best 2 of 3 falls match.

Thunder Rosa Comments On Lights Out Match

Thunder Rosa’s match against Dave LaGreca comes on the heels of her headlining Dynamite in a Lights Out match against Britt Baker. Rosa commented on the backstage reaction to that match on the AEW Unrestricted podcast.

“It’s one of those moments where you cannot fake it,” said Rosa “I was already crying at the end of the match because of all the things that I felt and all the things I’ve been through in the last 7 months. Just coming to a new place and knowing that you are ruffling some feathers and you know that you have to work really hard to show that you are one of the best talents and that’s why they brought you here.” 

Former WWE Superstar Ryback took to Twitter recently to tell people it is “perfectly okay and responsible to not want to get a vaccine.” The 39-year-old has also been responding to people online critical of his stance as well.

“It’s perfectly ok and responsible to not want to get a vaccine. Just like the whole mask deal, don’t let ourselves get distracted and focus our attention on others. Many people haven’t been sick in years because they’ve properly built up their immune systems. Let’s live life!” Ryback wrote.

This led to him responding to several people critical of his stance.

Mark Henry vs Ryback

Mark Henry and Ryback ended up in a back-and-forth recently regarding statements Ryback made regarding championships in wrestling. Back in January, Henry spoke about Ryback’s comments and his reputation in wrestling.

“A lot of his peers looked at him as difficult, a lot of his peers looked at him as dangerous,” Mark Henry said on Busted Open Radio 

Henry also responded to comments Ryback made on Twitter regarding titles in wrestling.

“Wrestling’s fake guys and the Championships are props to market entertainers as “Champions”’ Nobody has actually ever won or lost a prop, as scripted physical entertainment is incapable of that. This tweet explains so much though on your tv deal with them,” Ryback wrote.

“The championship is the championship, it’s not a prop and he’s wrong,” said Henry on Busted Open Radio. “I’ve been a world champion in 3 sports and I consider pro-wrestling one of those. Ryback can’t take away what I achieved. You are wrong. Every wrestler that sees your face should walk up to you and say ‘hey, you’re an asshole.’ And I hope you know how to fight for real because you know and I know, there’s a lot of people that would whoop your ass.”

Henry finished by saying, “You owe the wrestling industry an apology. If you don’t, I think that pro-wrestlers all over the world should never give you respect.”

Kenny Omega is now the AEW World Champion, AAA Mega Champion, and the unified Impact/TNA World Heavyweight Champion. Numerous people and organizations across the wrestling world have been reacting to Omega’s title win at Rebellion.

Scott D’Amore congratulated Rich Swann on his effort and also said he expects Omega to adhere to the commitments that come with the title.

“I trust/expect Mr Omega will honor the commitments & responsibilities that come with that prestigious title,” D’Amore wrote.

AEW’s Twitter account congratulated Omega and encouraged people to purchase the replay on FITE:

AAA Lucha Libre, where Omega is Mega Champion, commented on the match result as well:

Sami Callihan seems displeased:

Chelsea Green was impressed:

IWGP World Champion Will Ospreay responded when a fan tagged him in Omega’s Instagram post asking him to take the throne. “He knows where I am,” was Ospreay’s reply.

While not related to the Omega vs Swann match, NJPW congratulated FinJuice on retaining their tag team titles at Rebellion.

Also, Britt Baker was happy about her friend Deonna Purrazzo retaining her title over Tenille Dashwood.

Kenny Omega becomes the 29th person to win the Impact World Championship with his win at Rebellion. He begins the 52nd reign in the lineage of the title. As for former champion Rich Swann, his title reign finishes at 183 days. That is good for 10th all-time in that category. He successfully defended the title 6x during his reign. His opponents were Eric Young, Sami Callihan, Ken Shamrock, Chris Bey, Tommy Dreamer, and Moose.

Chelsea Green has released the debut episode of her new podcast. The show is titled “50 Shades of Green with Hot Mess Chelsea Green.” The former Knockouts Champion had filed to trademark the term on April 21st.

A description for the show notes that it will not only be about wrestling:

“Lovers! 50 shades of Green is more than just wrestling. Join Chelsea Green every Monday as she talks about the insides of the business, her relationship, sex, fitness and current events. No topic is off limits.”

“Chelsea Green discusses her release, who she wants to wrestle first, in-ring mishaps, celebrity breakups, friendships from wrestling, & much more!”

Chelsea Green Comments On Her WWE Release

In a recent interview with Chris Van Vliet, Green opened up about her release from WWE.

“At first I was kind of emotionless and I guess confused. My way of handling that has always been to go into overdrive with what’s next?” Green said. “That’s always the way my brain has worked with everything. So even when I became the IMPACT Champion, literally that night, what’s next? What am I going to do next?”

The full interview with Green and Van Vliet is available in the player below:

AEW Tag Team Champions Matt & Nick Jackson, the Young Bucks, were guests recently on Talk N Shop. During the conversation, the brothers revealed that WWE offered them $500,000 to sign with them in 2018.

“I knew [Good Brothers] money. Everyone else was getting [$150,000] to start. He’s already offering us $500,000 each guaranteed. I’m going, ‘what!’ Right then, we knew our street value. That was the first offer. Basically, he said, ‘by the end of your trip, I would love an answer.’ The whole trip, I’m [stressed]. I kept dragging it out,” said Matt (transcriptions via Fightful).

The Bucks also spoke about negotiations they had with Ring of Honor to stay with them. According to comments by Nick Jackson, they knew ROH would be unable to afford what they were looking for.

“They couldn’t afford it. We told them, ‘we know we can make a million and that’s our goal, to make seven digits this year.’ They knew they couldn’t come close to that,” Nick Jackson said.

During an interview with Chris Van Vliet in 2019, Matt Jackson opened up about how close they were to signing with WWE.

 “We talked to [WWE] endlessly. At one point, I remember me, Nick, and Kenny were in a room because all of our deals were up at the same time. We got off the phone one day and we looked at each other, and we said, ‘I think we’re all going to WWE.’ It was that close.”

Impact Wrestling presented Rebellion last night on PPV. Kenny Omega defeated Rich Swann to win the Impact World Championship in the main event. According to a report on Wrestling Observer Radio, the PPV is trending to have done very well.

“From the early returns as far as the streaming side goes, the numbers for this show were exceedingly strong,” said Dave Meltzer. “Probably, almost certainly the biggest PPV they’ve done in years, maybe many years but several years for sure.”

“That aspect was a success even without AEW promoting it hard on Wednesday night, there was enough promotion elsewhere,” he continued.

Impact Wrestling Announces Upcoming Schedule

Impact Wrestling announced their next 3 big events upcoming during last night’s PPV. On May 15th, Impact will present Under Siege on the Impact Plus streaming service. Against All Odds will then take place on June 12th. The company will then return to PPV in July for Slammiversary. An exact date for the PPV has yet to be revealed, however. A teaser for Slammiversary is available below:

Ron Simmons, Mark Henry, D’Lo Brown, and the Godfather will be reuniting for a show in Qatar next year. Qatar Pro Wrestling has a history of bringing in big names from wrestling’s past to their shows. They have not held an event since the onset of the global pandemic, however.

QPW is gearing up to return in 2022. They have announced that on February 26, 2022, they will return for a show at the Lausail Sports Arena in Doha, Qatar. The Nation of Domination reunion will take centerstage. The show will stream on FITE.

QPW Press Release On Nation of Domination Reunion

“QPW confirms that The Nation of Domination will be reunited for the first time in 22 years and will make their first appearance on Qatar. WWE Hall of Famers Mark Henry, Ron Simmons and The Godfather, along with former WWE Intercontinental Champion, D’Lo Brown, will do their first appearance together in over 22 years. This will be for QPW’s SuperSlam 3 on Doha, Qatar.”

The promotion also noted that Bret Hart, Sting, Eric Bischoff, and Booker T will also take part in the show.

“The Nation of Domination will be the special guests for that night. WWE Hall of Famers Bret “The Hitman” Hart, Sting, Eric Bischoff and Booker T are also confirmed for the event.”

QPW Super Slam II can be viewed in the player below:

Impact Wrestling presents a big PPV tonight. The AEW World Championship and the Impact World Championship will both be on the line when Kenny Omega takes on Rich Swann. According to a report from Inside the Ropes, former WWE Superstar Big Cass is about to debut for the promotion “imminently.”

This could mean that Big Cass, who now wrestles under the name CazXL, will appear on tonight’s show or on upcoming episodes of Impact’s weekly television show.

CazXL recently returned to the wrestling ring for Lariato Pro Wrestling. The promotion is owned by Doc Gallows and its events stream on Impact Plus.

Recently, Big Cass took part in an interview with Chris Van Vliet.

“I would love to go to AEW. I’d love to go back to WWE, go to AEW, IMPACT, New Japan, Ring of Honor, wherever,” CazXL said about his future. “Those conversations with Gallows and Anderson have happened and it’s something I would love to do. But one day at a time is the way I take it, I don’t want to look too far into the future. If a phone call comes tonight that’s great, if it doesn’t come for another 3 – 4 months or a year, that’s fine too. I’m open to go anywhere and to have fun, and to make a name for myself.”

Former Lucha Underground Champion, Marty “The Moth” Martinez, could possibly be appearing in an AEW ring shortly. Martinez was the 3rd last holder of the LU title. He won it from Pentagon Dark after cashing in the Gift of the Gods title but would drop it back to Pentagon shortly after.

Martinez took to Instagram last month to mention that he’s training for a comeback at QT Marshall’s gym in Atlanta.

He also posted a photo to Instagram recently and mentioned that he’d had a “fun week of shooting some wrestling” and tagged the post with several AEW hashtags including #AEWDark #AEW and #NightmareFactory.

In his post from March, he explained his absence from wrestling in recent years.

“In Feb 2019, I herniated my L4 & L5 in my spine while doing a workout stream. (twitch.tv/martythemothcasaus). Not lifting, I herniated them while hugging my pup on stream. Yes, I got injured hugging my adorable dog. Docs said I needed surgery. I opted for stem cells instead. I’ve spent the last 2 years relearning how to walk without pain from sciatica & muscle tension. I had to relearn how to run on the treadmill. Spent more time on rehab than heavy weights. My stream watched the struggle. I learned that progress is just as important as results. I had already beat sleep apnea, learned to manage my lyme disease, & I spent way to much time fighting to be healthy that there was not a chance in hell I wasn’t chasing my dream with it.”

Impact Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo will face Tenille Dashwood tonight at Rebellion. She appeared on Busted Open Radio recently and spoke about the PPV. Additionally, she also discussed which recently released WWE Superstars she would like to see in Impact Wrestling.

“Everyone that this happened to last year, myself included, has kind of found a new home and landed on their feet and been successful,” Purrazzo said referencing her release from WWE in 2020 (transcriptions via 411Mania). “So, I think this had to happen to the next round of people, and we set that template of it’s going to be OK, you will be successful and thrive wherever you land.”

“Obviously, I want my best friend Chelsea Green to come back to Impact. Mickie James is a former Knockouts Champion. And then I also love Cassie and Billie as individuals and as a tag team. I think of those four we would benefit tremendously from and vice versa.”

Purrazzo continued to say that as the Forbidden Door has been kicked open, she wants to defend the Knockouts belt across multiple promotions.

“Wrestling isn’t the boys club anymore. I want our Knockouts Championship to be contended for all over the world,” Purrazzo continued. “I know that whoever is in charge of the AEW women’s division and Tony Khan want their championship to be held in the same contention. So, if we can have Kenny vs. Rich, champion vs. champion, why can’t we have Deonna vs. Shida? Our division is continuously growing and is one of the best in the world. Their division, in the same light, is continuously growing and is becoming one of the best in the world. There is no lose-lose, no matter what the match is between Impact’s women’s division and AEW’s women’s division.”

The Miz believes he would be perfect in the role of Johnny Cage in Mortal Kombat. The latest installment in the film/video game franchise was released recently but the Cage character does not appear in it. Assuming the character is brought back at some point, The Miz would like to portray him.

The Miz took to Twitter to make his case.

Xavier Woods expressed that he likes this potential casting choice:

Co-creator of Mortal Kombat Ed Boon also seems interested in Miz’s idea:

The film appears to be quite popular amongst wrestlers. It was released in the United States on April 23rd. Miro saw to it that some from the AEW roster were treated to an early screening, however.

“Thanks for the movie King of the boys !” wrote Stu Grayson in response on Twitter.

“MMA fighter Cole Young seeks out Earth’s greatest champions in order to stand against the enemies of Outworld in a high stakes battle for the universe,” reads a description of the film.

It is the first Mortal Kombat film in close to 25 years. The last installment was Mortal Kombat: Annihilation released in 1997. An animated film, Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge, was released last year on April 14th, 2020.

John Cena didn’t perform at WrestleMania this year. The 44-year-old was unable to make it to the event due to his filming schedule. He spoke to the Bleacher Report about what it was like to miss the big show this year.

“We all have a window,” Cena said. “And I love listening to “Stone Cold” Steve Austin talk about his window. My goal when I stepped foot in WWE was to leave it better than I found it, and it’s really great to be able to see an event.”

“I almost had the best transition you can possibly have. My last two WrestleManias were very interesting: an almost cinematic-type match and before that I was a fan. I got to sit in the crowd and see WrestleMania. I got to see the product. I got to see a stadium full of fans and it was beautiful. I felt at home.”

Cena continued to say that he was happy to see that life after him for the WWE is thriving.

“I think it’s really special, and we all think they’re never going to go on without us. That’s not true. It’s more reassuring to me to not only see that WWE has a life after me, which is inevitable for sure, but that the life is thriving.”

“There’s so many great storylines, so many great matches. It’s called WrestleMania, not CenaMania, you know? I’ve been a part [of it], and that part is over.”

John Cena vs John Oliver

Today is John Cena’s 44th birthday. It is also HBO’s John Oliver’s 44th birthday. That the two were born on the exact same day as been a reoccurring joke on Oliver’s “Last Week Tonight” show.