Impact Wrestling 11/24 featured both a world title match between Rich Swann and Ken Shamrock and an episode of Wrestler’s Court. Johnny Swinger was put on trial for the attempted murder of John E Bravo.

Impact 11/24 Quick Results:

1. Knockouts Tag Team Tournament (1st Round)
   Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz defeated The Sea Stars (Delmi Elo & Ashley Vox)
2. Suicide (Later revealed to be Crazzy Steve) defeated Rohit Raju
3. Kimber Lee defeated Killer Kelly
4. Swoggle defeated Ethan Page
5. Fallah Bah vs Daivari – No Contest
6. Impact World Championship
   Rich Swann (c) defeated Ken Shamrock

Below are 8 Takeaways From Impact 11/24:

Johnny Swinger Goes To Wrestler’s Court

Impact Wrestling presented another one of their epic backstage skits this week. They went back to Wrestler’s Court, this time with Johnny Swinger on trial for having shot John E Bravo.

There is a lot to go over here but these are the main bullet points:

• John E Bravo is not dead, was in a coma, has come out of it. Doctors have warned he may be different.
• Johnny Swinger wore a neck brace to garner sympathy.
• Tommy Dreamer, who was originally the judge but then made the prosecutor, eventually started to feel as though Swinger didn’t do it.
• Swinger’s finger prints were found on the gun but so were a lot of other people’s.
• Then Rosemary got on the stand and admitted she never really loved Bravo. She’s a demon, you see.
• Bravo interrupted the proceedings to say he smelled the person who shot him and it was not Rosemary or Swinger.
• Team XXXL’s Larry D gets on the stand and is sprayed with a cologne that makes him tell the truth.
• He admits to having shot John E Bravo because he was going to marry the woman of his dreams, Rosemary.
• Johnny Swinger is declared Not Guilty!

Rich Swann Retains Over Ken Shamrock/Sami Callihan and Eddie Edwards Feud Continues

The feud between Eddie Edwards and Sami Callihan likely won’t be over until one of them is dead. It continued again this week after the world championship match between Rich Swann and Ken Shamrock concluded.

Swann pinned Shamrock in the main event to retain his title by reversing a choke attempt into a pinning combination. After the match, Shamrock and Callihan were continuing the assault on Swann when Eddie Edwards came out to make the save. Callihan delivered a baseball bat shot to the eye of Edwards, reminiscent of what he did years ago in an incident that almost ended Edwards’ career.

D’Lo Brown attempted to break everything up but took a shot from Shamrock for his efforts. The show closed with security trying to break up the chaos.

The We-nomenal One AJ Swoggle Defeats Ethan Page

The Good Brothers teased that they had a “phenomenal” opponent lined up for Ethan Page this week. Karl Anderson came out solo to introduce the wrestler since Doc Gallows is out with an injury.

AJ Styles’ music hit and it appeared as though the Good Brothers’ former Bullet Club stablemate had returned! Then when Page’s opponent came out it still looked a little like he’d be facing AJ Styles. Instead, it was Swoggle, who tends to look a little like AJ, albeit a bit shorter. 

The stipulation was that if Page could beat Swoggle he would earn a tag team title match for the North. Page was a little too cocky in the match, however. When Karl Anderson then took out Josh Alexander at ringside, Page took his eyes off his opponent and Swoggle rolled him up for the pin.

Jazz Revealed As Jordynne Grace’s Tag Partner

In a backstage segment last week, Jordynne Grace was seen talking to her future tag partner on the phone. Grace only revealed that the person is a legend who had said they are retiring soon. We found out this week that her partner is Jazz.

Jazz said she’s been a WWE champion, an NWA champion, and now will finish out her career as a Knockouts tag team champion.

Eric Young and Joe Doering Continue Their Path Of Destruction

Eric Young and Joe Doering continued their path of destruction this week. They quickly interrupted a match between Fallah Bah and Daivari. Rhino attempted to make the save but got beaten up for his trouble. Young then cut a promo that this is their world.

Crazzy Steve (As Suicide) Defeats Rohit Raju

TJP is not permitted to challenge for the X-division championship again while Rohit Raju is the champion. Scott D’Amore implied to TJP last week that perhaps he could wear a mask and face the champion, much like wrestlers such as Dusty Rhodes and Junk Yard Dog have done in the past. So when Suicide came out to challenge Raju during this week’s Defeat Rohit challenge, the champion was naturally suspicious and said it would only be a non-title match. He ripped off Suicide’s mask but as he did so, TJP appeared on the ramp proving it was not him in the ring. The unmasked Crazzy Steve then rolled up Raju and got a three count.

Kiera Hogan and Tasha Steelz Advance In KO Tag Tournament

There was a lot of talk between Josh Mathews and Matt Striker on commentary during this match about this side of the brackets being pretty tough. The winner of this match will face the winner of Taya and Rosemary vs Purrazzo and Kimber Lee, which is no easy test.

While the debuting Sea Stars certainly were able to show what they can do, it would be Kiera Hogan who would ultimately pick up the win for her team. She pinned Delmi after a swinging fisherman suplex.

Susie and Su Yung Appear In The Same Segment

Killer Kelly made her Impact Wrestling debut this week. She took on Kimber Lee in singles competition.

Kimber Lee would pick up an impressive-looking victory after delivering a Swanton onto her opponent but after the match, Susie and Su Yung both made an appearance. The mild-mannered Susie appeared on the entrance ramp and introduced Su Yung, her undead bride alter ego. What devious magic allowed for both to be in the same place at the same time is unknown. Su Yung then hit the ring and attacked both Purrazzo and Kimber Lee.

WWE Superstar Xavier Woods has been announced as a new host for the revived G4 video game brand. G4 was a popular gaming network from 2002 to 2014. They are set to relaunch next year in 2021. Woods’ involvement was announced during a holiday reunion special on the G4 YouTube channel.

#Creed4G4

Woods and his fanbase had been lobbying for him to be included in the brand’s relaunch. Supporters used the #Creed4G4 hashtag on social media.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I expect #Creed4G4 to gain so much momentum among WWE fans and gamers alike,” said Woods. “As a lifelong video game fanatic, I have always held a genuine affinity for the G4 brand, and I’m honored and humbled to be joining the G4 team at a time when interest in gaming and the gaming community has never been stronger.” 

Considering he campaigned for the role using the name ” Austin Creed” it seems notable that G4 is using his Xavier Woods name and WWE is actively promoting his involvement. He posted the following in June:

Xavier Woods Joins G4

Kevin Sabbe, Head of Content for G4, was quoted in a press release promoting Woods’ signing.

“We could not be happier to welcome Xavier to the family and introduce the first member of G4’s new cast,” said Sabbe. “The list of on-air talent with advanced degrees in psychology, unbridled passion for video games and multiple WWE Tag Team Championships is not long.”

“We loved Xavier’s creative #Creed4G4 campaign and cannot wait to showcase his many talents throughout G4’s developing slate of programming. Xavier stands as a fantastic first representative of an exciting and diverse team that we are assembling for G4 and will be introducing in the coming weeks and months.”  

• New Day Gears 5 Character Pack Released (Trailer)

G4TV original Olivia Munn congratulated Xavier Woods on landing the gig:

AEW World Champion Jon Moxley was known as Dean Ambrose from 2011 to 2019 while in WWE. According to information publicly available on the US Patent and Trademark Office website, WWE has filed to trademark the name “Dean Ambrose” once again.

WWE held the trademark from November 5th, 2013 until August 28th, 2020. Real-name Jonathan Good, the 34-year-old had used the name “Jon Moxley” before signing with WWE in 2011.

WWE could have renewed the trademark this summer but instead, it was officially canceled at the end of August. About 5 weeks later, WWE then filed again to trademark the term on October 8th, 2020. It is not clear what led the company to abandon the trademark and then file again for it over the course of such a short span of time.

WWE and Cody Rhodes Trademark Issues

WWE seeking to trademark the former ring name of AEW’s world champion comes on the heels of Cody Rhodes regaining use of his previous ring name.

Shortly after it was revealed Cody had regained use of the “Rhodes” name, WWE filed to trademark the names of several older WCW PPVs. More information about this is available in the link below:

• WWE Files To Trademark Several WCW PPV Names

Ricky Starks made his AEW debut in June by answering Cody Rhodes’ TNT Championship Open Challenge. During an interview with Chris Van Vliet, Starks reveals that he got a phone call from WWE almost immediately after the match.

This wasn’t Starks’ first communication with WWE. He previously worked as an extra on television and had a tryout back in 2017, but doesn’t believe he was close to being signed. “I don’t think I was close at all and I’ll never understand why,” he began. I love wrestling. I’ve never played any sports, I never did anything, I only watched wrestling. And I have immersed myself and become obsessed with it and I love it to death.”

Ricky Starks On WWE Contacting Him After Cody Rhodes Match

Later in the interview, Starks talked about WWE contacting him after his match against Cody this summer.

“The funny thing is, the day that I wrestled Cody I got a phone call from WWE saying ‘Hey, we’ve been watching you and we wanted to bring you in’. I said ‘Oh really? oh ok. Interesting. Of all days’. And so I entertained that conversation because I was curious but I think I knew already which decision I was going to make,” Starks said.

“And I had a very dear, great friend tell me once: you should look at the people who want to invest in you and not know anything about you as opposed to the people who only wanted you when they saw someone else having interest. So that put things in perspective and I don’t hold any ill will towards WWE but I really think they dropped the ball majorly on that. I’ll never know why and I guess I don’t care now.”

Chris Van Vliet’s full interview with Ricky Starks can be viewed in the player below.

• Kenny Omega Open To AEW Having A Working Relationship With WWE

At Survivor Series 2020, Seth Rollins was eliminated fairly quickly from the men’s 5-on-5 traditional elimination tag-team match. He tagged in and allowed Sheamus to kick him in the face and pin him after yelling “For the greater good!”

According to a report from the Wrestling Observer, that was Rollins’ last appearance in WWE before taking time away. Rollins is taking time off as Becky Lynch is due to give birth to the couple’s first child shortly.

Rollins is expected to be gone until some time in January. He might return before the Royal Rumble on January 24th or he might return at the Royal Rumble but that is roughly the expected time frame.

Becky Lynch’s expected return is a little less clear. There are rumors the company is hoping she will return in time to build-up a big WrestleMania match. Further rumors have Ronda Rousey returning in time for the two to headline WWE’s biggest event of the year this spring.

Rollins and Lynch released a photoshoot recently that can be viewed in the link below.

• Becky Lynch & Seth Rollins Release Pregnancy Photoshoot

Lynch opened up about the next chapter in her life recently during an interview with USA Today.

“I don’t know what the next chapter is because I only know what it’s like to think for myself when I’m by myself. So I don’t know what it’ll look like and how my priorities shift and what I’m going to want in the future. So, everything’s open.”

Survivor Series 2020 may have been the Undertaker’s final farewell but a few big-spending fans are still receiving messages from the Deadman’s character. The Undertaker recently began taking a limited number of requests for videos through Cameo. The price tag was $1000.

Some of the videos have been made available online by Cameo.

Don’t tell Sebastian because I think he’s being gifted this for the holidays:

Here is a reassuring and inspiring message from a comforting Undertaker:

The following thread has even more videos:

If you join the Undertaker’s “Fan Club” through Cameo you can view even more of the Cameos he has recorded. In all, Taker put 30 of the cameos up for sale and they have all sold out. You can click to be notified by Cameo of the next time he is available.

• WWE Survivor Series Results: The Undertaker’s Farewell, Reigns vs. McIntyre

The Undertaker On Watching WWE As A Fan

During a recent interview, the Undertaker spoke about what it is like to watch WWE strictly as a fan now that his in-ring career is over.

• The Undertaker On Watching WWE: It’s Hard To Be Just A Straight Fan

“I can to a certain degree. But a lot of times I catch myself talking to the TV like they can hear me. It’s hard to be just a straight fan, because I want everybody to succeed and to develop into their potential. So I’m kind of like, ‘Oh man, don’t do it. It didn’t make sense.”

“Don’t do that. Why would you do that?’ You would actually laugh if there was a camera watching me watch wrestling. I have these conversations and it’s pretty amusing, I’m sure.”

WWE Survivor Series 2020 took place last night from Orlando’s Amway Center in Florida. Several backstage updates from the event have recently become available.

According to a report from PW Insider, it was a busy day backstage at Survivor Series. WWE was filming interviews all day long with the many legends who were on-hand for The Undertaker’s farewell. These interviews will be used for future WWE Network documentaries.

Among the legends who were backstage at the event was Edge. The 47-year-old has been out of action since Backlash but was backstage at Survivor Series, though he did not appear on-screen.

In addition to legends that were on-hand, The Undertaker’s family, including wife Michelle McCool, were backstage as well.

While the Undertaker’s career was the one being celebrated, Survivor Series 2020 was also the 30-year anniversary of the Gobbledy Gooker character. The gimmick returned this year as well, winning the 24/7 title on the preshow and then losing it on the main PPV. Hector Guerrero played the original character but Drew Gulak portrayed it at Survivor Series 2020.

It was also revealed that Michael Hayes was the producer for the Drew McIntyre vs Roman Reigns match last night.

• WWE Survivor Series Results: The Undertaker’s Farewell, Reigns vs. McIntyre

WWE has a job advertisement out at the moment looking for a new lead writer. Both former WWE writer Brian Gewirtz and CM Punk responded to a story about WWE’s search for a new writer and cracked a couple of jokes at the company’s expense.

Gewirtz, who now works with the Rock’s “Seven Bucks Promotions”, joked about being the new writer and then pointing out problems with WWE’s booking of Survivor Series:

Gewirtz was with WWE from 1999-2015. He is currently working on NBC’s “Young Rock” series.

• The Rock Reveals Who Will Play Him On “Young Rock” TV Series

CM Punk then responded to Gewirtz. He noted that the two of them can team up to help Kevin Dunn win an Emmy.

“The Lead Writer will have the opportunity to manage, mentor, and develop experienced Writers/Producers with a diverse creative background while simultaneously being accountable for compiling, editing, and developing weekly/long term scripts, storylines, and character development,” reads WWE’s job advertisement.

Gewirtz also recently gave a humorous response to a question posed by New York’s Public Theatre. The venue asked, “What ISN’T Shakespeare but FEELS like Shakespeare?” Gewirtz’s answer was when Eric Bischoff was revealed as the official of the marriage between Billy and Chuck:

Jon Moxley somewhat casually mentioned he has a pregnant wife at home during a promo on AEW Dynamite this week. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Renee has been pregnant for some time now and was about to make a public announcement. Moxley was the one who decided to reveal the news in a wrestling promo, however.

At first, Moxley is said to have not wanted to announce anything but realized it was unavoidable. He was shown examples of other celebrities who have publicly announced a pregnancy and did not like what he saw.

“He was shown instagram notices on how celebrities have done it and found them gross and pretentious but never even considered the idea of announcing it in a wrestling promo. Then at 2 a.m. before the show, he came up with the inspiration to do a promo about his dad, which, by the way, was 100 percent real,” wrote Dave Meltzer.

He is then said to have determined the morning of the show that he can tie in Renee’s pregnancy with the promo he was going to deliver that night about his dad. He told Renee her phone would be blowing up during the broadcast and that was that.

Former Smackdown Women’s Champion, Bayley, found out about the pregnancy before others. She noted on Twitter that Renee actually sent her a text about it that was meant to go to Moxley.

After several weeks of rumors, WWE has officially announced they are moving the Thunderdome to Tropicana Field. WWE’s first show from the indoor baseball venue will be Smackdown on Friday, December 11th, 2020. The venue is home to MLB’s Tampa Bay Rays.

No live fans will be permitted in the venue for the foreseeable future, however. WWE noted that events from Tropicana Field will be on “closed sets with only essential personnel in attendance”.

Tampa Bay Rays President, Matt Silverman and WWE’s Kevin Dunn were quoted in a press release.

“The Tampa Bay Rays are excited to welcome WWE to Tropicana Field for this residency and shine a spotlight on the Tampa Bay area for WWE fans around the world,” said Silverman. “The ballpark will be transformed to host the spectacle of WWE ThunderDome, allowing fans to enjoy this wildly popular experience virtually.”

“We are proud to have reimagined the in-arena atmosphere and provide an interactive experience like nothing else in sports and entertainment with the launch of WWE ThunderDome,” said Dunn. “Our fans’ response and industry-wide recognition are both humbling and further validation of the innovative spirit and passion that exist across the entire WWE organization.” 

• Zelina Vega & SAG-AFTRA Reveal They Had “Powerful Conversation” Recently

Zelina Vega was released from WWE recently. This was reportedly due to conflict between Vega and WWE regarding the company’s new policy of preventing members of its roster from working with 3rd parties such as Twitch and Cameo.

Just 10 minutes before Vega’s release was announced publicly, Vega Tweeted out that she “supports unionization”. The President of The Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, then responded to Vega. Now, both parties have shared on Twitter that they had a “powerful conversation.” on Wednesday.

Earlier this week, SAG-AFTRA released the following statement about reaching out and working with professional wrestlers.

“Wrestling is as much about media as it is sports, and we are going to directly engage with members of this profession to help find ways for them to protect themselves.”

“As more people reinvest in unions, and as more working people are harassed by employers who don’t want to protect them, SAG-AFTRA is committed to doing what we can to help professional wrestlers secure the protections they deserve.”

Also of note, Zelina Vega wrote on her official Tumblr account that, “The truth will come out once the shackles come off.”

More details regarding the internal reaction to Vega’s release can be seen here:

• More Details On Zelina Vega’s WWE Release, Internal Resentment

Major League Wrestling presented its first new episode of Fusion in several months this week. The MLW World Heavyweight Championship and MLW Middleweight Championships were both on the line as the MLW restart kicked off.

MLW Fusion 11/18 Quick Results:

1. Alexander Hammerstone defeated Jason Dugan
2. MLW Middleweight Championship
   Myron Reed (c) defeated Brian Pillman Jr.
3. MLW World Heavyweight Championship
   Jacob Fatu (c) defeated Davey Boy Smith Jr.

Alexander Hammerstone Calls Out Jacob Fatu After Convincing Victory

MLW National Openweight Champion Alexander Hammerstone kicked off the MLW restart in a big way by making short work of Jason Dugan. He landed the Nightmare Pendulum on his opponent in just seconds.

After the match, Hammerstone made it clear he wants a shot at Jacob Fatu and the MLW World Heavyweight Championship.

Jacob Fatu Retains Over Davey Boy Smith Jr

The main event of MLW Fusion this week was an MLW World Championship match between Jacob Fatu and the winner of the 2019 Opera Cup, Davey Boy Smith Jr. The story of this match was that Smith is still feeling the effects of Contra Unit’s attack back in the spring. His back was broken in the raid of MLW’s head offices and this factored heavily into this week’s main event.

Smith’s lower back started to become a factor after hitting a suplex on the big champion early in the match. It would continue to play a factor thought the match, especially as Smith went for power moves. When the challenger went for his patented power slam, his back wouldn’t allow it. Fatu then delivered a thrust kick to the back of the challenger followed by a Samoan Drop and his patented springboard moonsault for the win.

The Black Hand Of Contra Attacks Hammerstone

After his victory in the main event, Fatu got on the mic and called out Alexander Hammerstone in response to comments the National Champion made earlier in the show.

As Hammerstone made his way to the ring, however, he was attacked by a masked man. Earlier in the show, we learned that Josef Samael is currently in the badlands of Tunisia but it appears he arranged for Fatu to have some backup at the restart. Fatu and the mystery new member of Contra Unit stood tall on the stage to end the show.

Myron Reed Retains Over Brian Pillman Jr.

The first of two title matches on the show featured Injustice’s Myron Reed defending the middleweight championship against Brian Pillman Jr. The middleweight division has a weight limit of 205lbs which the champion makes without having to cut weight. The challenger in this match, however, had to cut 15lbs to get down from 220lbs. His music played multiple times before Pillman finally came out. Before the commercial break, it was noted on commentary that Pillman “did not want to come to the ring area” but we were not told why.

Following the commercial break, Pillman did make his way to the ring but it was noted on commentary that he looked distracted by something. It was never made entirely clear what was going on with Pillman here.

Reed’s chest protector came into play multiple times throughout the match. Early on, Pillman’s offence was interrupted after he hurt himself attempting to deliver a chop to the protective vest. It would be the end of the match where it would make the biggest impact, however. Reed removed the vest and placed it in the corner. Pillman then charged at the champion with a running knee but missed and hit the vest. This allowed Reed to hit Captain Crunch for the win.

After the match, Reed let it be known he wants to face the newly signed Lio Rush next.

Opera Cup Brackets Revealed

The 2020 Opera Cup tournament kicks off next week. The brackets and alternates for this year’s tournament were announced on Fusion this week.

• Tom Lawlor vs. Rocky Romero
• Low Ki vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.
• Laredo Kid vs. ACH
• Richard Holliday vs. TJP

Alternates: Gino Medina, Jordan Oliver, Hijo de LA Park, King Mo, Dominic Garrini and Daga

Salina de la Renta To Explain Her Actions Next Week

Before the restart, several allegations were levied against the leader of Promociones Dorado, Salina de la Renta. Konnan got a hold of Salina’s phone and discovered she had been working as a mole on behalf of Contra Unit and helped the group seize control of the promotion during the raids on MLW offices this spring. As a result, MLW has revoked her manager’s licence and fined her. Salina de la Renta will speak on her actions on next week’s show.

Thanksgiving Special Next Week

MLW will present a special Thanksgiving day episode next week. We’ll see the 2020 Opera Cup begin, the arrival of Calvan Tankman, comments from Salina de la Renta, and more.

Pro Wrestling Illustrated debuted the inaugural top-50 tag-team list today. The official edition of the magazine is now available for pre-order. Topping the list this year are the former AEW World Tag Team Champions, Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler, FTR.

The Top 5 ranked tag teams include:

1. FTR
2. Kenny Omega & Adam “Hangman” Page
3. The Golden Role Models (Sasha Banks & Bayley)
4. The North (Josh Alexander & Ethan Page)
5. The Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins)

Cash Wheeler reacted to the news on Twitter. He wrote, “Love us. Hate us. Agree. Disagree. Everyone is entitled to their opinions. That doesn’t take away the pride we take in our craft. It doesn’t take away the passion we put into our profession. In our hearts, we’re the best tag team on Earth, so this is special to us.”

Love us. Hate us. Agree. Disagree. Everyone is entitled to their opinions. That doesn’t take away the pride we take in our craft. It doesn’t take away the passion we put into our profession. In our hearts, we’re the best tag team on Earth, so this is special to us.”

The evaluation period was from October 1st, 2019 to September 30th, 2020. PWI announced that the following criteria was used to rank the teams:

• Momentum
• Wins & Losses
• Chemistry
• Activity
• It Factor

FTR held the AEW tag-team championships for 63 days from All Out to Full Gear. They defended the titles 3 times successfully during their reign. Those matches came against the Hybrid 2, SCU, and the Best Friends.

Omega and Page held the same titles for 228 days in 2020. They won them from SCU on the Chris Jericho cruise in January and held them until losing to FTR at All Out.

Sasha Banks and Bayley dominated WWE programming this year. They won the titles for a second time and held them for a total of 96 days. More than that, however, they dropped the Boss N Hug Connection name and went with the Golden Role Models.

• Arn Anderson Says That FTR Could End Up The “Greatest Tag Team Ever”

Sasha Banks is having a good month so far. 2 weeks ago, she retained the Smackdown Women’s title against Bayley on Smackdown in a segment that pulled in huge ratings. The following Friday, she made her Star Wars Universe debut in the Mandalorian. And now today, a shoe designed by Sasha Banks and husband, Kid Mikaze, has sold out in minutes.

Mikaze noted on Twitter that the shoes have officially sold out online.

The shoes are part of a charitable effort between Banks, Foot Locker, and charity Soles4Souls. 19,000 sneakers will be donated to people in need and a $250,000 donation will go to the charity.

Banks posted the following earlier today before the shoes went live on the Foot Locker website:

Banks was also interviewed by Variety recently regarding her role in the Mandalorian.

“Not only to be part of ‘Star Wars,’ but one of legit the greatest episodes in the history of television like that. I could watch that all the time. That was such a badass introduction to the world of ‘Star Wars,’” Banks said of her first episode.

To read more about Banks’ comments regarding the Mandalorian, visit the below link:

• Sasha Banks Details How Jon Favreau Approached Her For The Mandalorian

Matt Sydal is All Elite. AEW recently announced they have officially signed the 37-year-old. Sydal debuted for the promotion back in September. He was the “Joker” in the 21-person Casino Battle Royale match.

Sydal has since performed in 8 matches for the promotion. He currently holds on 0-3 record on Dynamite, having dropped matches to Eddie Kingston, Brian Cage, and Shawn Spears. Sydal has a 5-0 record on AEW Dark. He’s defeated Christopher Daniels, Michael Nakazawa, Sonny Kiss, Shawn Dean, and Lee Johnson on that show.

Sydal is a former WWE tag-team champion under the name Evan Bourne. He teamed with Kofi Kingston as Air Boom in 2011. Along with Ricochet, Sydal is a 2x IWGP Junior Heavyweight tag-team champion and they won the Super Junior Tag League in 2015. He is also a former NEVER Openweight 6-man tag-team champion in NJPW with Ricochet and Satoshi Kojima.

Sydal is also a former X-Division Champion in Impact Wrestling and won the Grand Championship in the promotion once as well.

Sydal botched a shooting star press during his AEW debut at All Out. He took to Twitter to comment on what happened.

“Slipping was BONKERS! That was a first and hopefully a last. Thank you all for kind the messages and check in’s. I’m beyond honored to be a part of @AEWrestling’s All Out,” Sydal Tweeted. 

• Matt Sydal Comments On Botched Move During AEW Debut

In addition to being the Smackdown Women’s Champion, Sasha Banks is now starring on the hit show, Star Wars: The Mandalorian on Disney+. Banks was recently interviewed by Variety and talked about how she was approached to be on the show by Executive Producer, Jon Favreau.

Surprisingly, it was not her work in WWE that got her discovered. It was actually her appearance on the Youtube series Hot Ones, where celebrities are interviewed while eating increasingly spicy chicken wings.

“So Jon Favreau came to me because he watched an interview that I did with ‘Hot Ones.’ And he really liked me and got my contact information,” she revealed. “Then on FaceTime he asked me to be part of ‘The Mandalorian.’ I was like, ‘Well, I cannot say no,’ but I was so incredibly nervous, because I didn’t know if I was going to be able to do it with the WWE schedule.”

• The Undertaker Appearing on “Hot Ones” This Week

Banks continued, “You know, we used to travel a lot. But they made it work and everything happened. And it was such an incredible episode. I still just can’t get over how awesome that was.”

Sasha Banks on Joining the Star Wars Universe

Without giving anything away for those not caught up, the latest episode of the Mandalorian (which features Banks’ debut) is getting good reviews. Banks also spoke about the response to her debut episode.

“Not only to be part of ‘Star Wars,’ but one of legit the greatest episodes in the history of television like that. I could watch that all the time. That was such a badass introduction to the world of ‘Star Wars.’”

Banks was then asked what it was like to step into the Star Wars universe for the first time.

“It was beyond. Just like the first time ever seeing a wrestling ring. It’s like the first time ever seeing anything just so magical. I would hate to ruin like how it looked backstage, but you felt like you were in a different galaxy in a different world. It was so almost easy to play a Mandalorian because I was legit in the universe. And you know, Jon Favreau and David Filoni and Bryce Howard, they were so amazing towards me,” Banks answered.

Visit Variety to read their full interview with Sasha Banks.

• Sasha Banks “Absolutely” Plans To Do More TV & Movies

Impact Wrestling 11/17 was the first show since Saturday’s Turning Point event. It was also the final show for the Rascalz, who are leaving Impact Wrestling after having spent the last two years with the promotion.

Impact 11/17 Quick Results:

1. Moose defeated Willie Mack via referee stoppage
2. Suicide vs Gio – No Contest
3. Brian Myers defeated Crazzy Steve
4. Knockouts Tag Team Tournament
   Havok & Nevaeh defeated Alisha Edwards & Tenille Dashwood
5. Hernandez defeated Fallah Bah
6. Rascalz Farewell Match
   Rich Swann & Trey Miguel defeated Dez & Wentz

Impact Wrestling Bids Farewell To The Rascalz

For the last 2 years, The Rascalz have provided entertaining matches and segments for fans of Impact Wrestling. Their treehouse skits created many fun and literal LOL moments over the years. All 3 have had great matches throughout their run as well.

They’d finish up with Impact at these tapings and headlined last night’s show in tag action. Miguel teamed with Rich Swann and they faced Dez and Wentz. This match reminded me a little of the NBA All-Star game, where everyone was just trying to break out their flashiest moves and have a good time with no animosity between them.

In the end, it would be the Impact World Champion who would get the win for his team. He delivered a vicious-looking kick to the back of Dez’s head for the pin.

The Rascalz left their jackets on the ring ropes in a symbolic gesture as their time in Impact comes to an end. All 4 who had been in the match then walked through the curtain together only to be assaulted by Ken Shamrock and Sami Callihan. Swann will face Shamrock next week in non-title action.

Did Detective Tommy Dreamer Catch Johnny Swinger With A Smoking Gun?

The investigation into who shot John E. Bravo took a big turn this week. The Deaners sort of implied that Dreamer should look into Johnny Swinger, after finding a gun in his fanny pack. Dreamer then interviewed Swinger who didn’t seem to shy away from the fact that he had a gun during the interview. Dreamer said Swinger is literally holding the smoking gun and that he is being taken to Wrestlers Court next week to go on trial for having shot Bravo.

Eric Young Unleashes Joe Doering

A match between Suicide and Gio ended in a no-contest this week after Eric Young unleashed his new monster, Joe Doering onto both wrestlers. Doering debuted at Turning Point over the weekend and appears to be someone who is going to be a big deal in the promotion moving forward.

Young cut a promo saying that this world belongs to them. The two weren’t finished there, however. They went to the backstage area and attacked Rhino and the already-injured Heath.

Knockouts Tag Team Tournament Begins

Tenille Dashwood might not be the best tag-team wrestler. Her “It’s all about me” philosophy makes her a little more suited to the singles division. Two partners in two weeks have discovered this about her. The “Most Influential Person in Impact Wrestling” teamed with Madison Rayne last week in a losing effort to Havok & Nevaeh but would face them again this week in the first round of the title tournament but with Alisha Edwards as her partner.

The end of the match came when Nevaeh came charging out of the corner and Dashwood decided to save herself by throwing Alisha into Nevaeh’s waiting attack. Nevaeh then hit Dashwood with a DDT as well and that left Alisha alone for the rest of the match. Havok and Nevaeh then put her away with a wheel barrel/cutter combo for the win.

Also concerning the KO tag-team tournament. Jordynne Grace, who as of yet does not have a confirmed partner, was seen in the back talking on the phone to someone who will seemingly be their partner next week. Grace said she was thankful this person would be her partner as she had heard she was retiring.

Moose Sends A Message To Rich Swann

Ever since Rich Swann won the Impact World Championship, Moose has been taunting him, calling it the second most important belt in Impact. Over the last couple of weeks, Moose has been involved in backstage altercations with Swann’s friend Willie Mack and they would meet in the opener on this week’s show.

Moose used this match as an opportunity to taunt Swann further. Mack looked to be battling back, however. He hit a Stunner on Moose after missing a 6-star Frog Splash. Moose then caught him in a spear and delivered elbows to his prone opponent until the referee called for the bell. Moose then continued the assault after the end of the match, likely to further send a message to the Impact World Champion.

Anyone Not Named TJP Can Challenge For the X-Division Title, Anyone Not Named TJP At All

Last week, TJP lost an X-Division title match that carried the stipulation that if he lost, he’d never be able to challenge for the title again while Rohit Raju is champion. Later in the back, TJP was speaking with Scott D’Amore. The co-Executive Vice President said that he wondered how Dusty Rhodes would handle such a situation. D’Amore continued to point out that “anyone not named TJP” can challenge for the title and made numerous mentions of how Dusty Rhodes might handle the same spot.

D’Amore may have been referring to Dusty’s “Midnight Rider” gimmick, or maybe just to Stagger Lee like gimmicks from the past. In what may have been a bit of foreshadowing from Impact, Suicide wrestled on the show before this. TJP has played the masked character in the past, beginning in 2013.

Brian Myers Defeats Crazzy Steve

Brian Myers defeated Swoggle at Turning Point but Crazzy Steve came out to prevent a post-match attack from the “Most Professional Wrestler.” A singles match was then booked between the two tonight. After a competitive match, Myers resorted to underhanded tactics when he punched the legally blind Steve in the eye. Steve couldn’t see anything and Myers hit him with a clothesline for the win.

Hernandez Wins The Clash For Cash

For weeks now, several Impact wrestlers have been feuding over a wad of cash that was on the line in an arm-wrestling match between Rhino and Hernandez. Fallah Bah came into possession of the cash leading to the match between these two. The finish of the match came when Fallah Bah attempted a Samoan Drop but Hernandez fought out and slingshotted Bah off the ropes. Super Mex then flew off the top rope with a splash for the win.

Next Week In Impact Wrestling

A few big things take place next week on Impact Wrestling.

The Good Brothers have promised a “phenomenal” opponent for Ethan Page in singles competition.

Su Yung left a message for Deonna Purrazzo on a mirror in the back, letting the new Knockouts champion know she’s coming for her next week.

Also next week, Rich Swann and Ken Shamrock will go one-on-one, the KO tag tournament continues, and Johnny Swinger goes to Wrestlers Court.

When Don Callis was hired by Impact Wrestling in 2018, he had his eyes set on bringing in Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega. Callis famously helped organized the Jericho vs Omega bout from the Tokyo Dome on January 4th, 2018 that many credit with having changed the course of wrestling.

Callis recently told Fight Game Media that had it not been for AEW, Kenny Omega would have signed with Impact.

“I’ll say this: If AEW had not come into play … Kenny Omega would have come into Impact Wrestling. Not that he ever agreed to it, but it’s something that Scott D’Amore and I would have made happen,” said Callis.

At an Impact press conference to promote Slammiversary 2018 from the Rebel Nightclub in Toronto, Callis told SEScoops that he planned to pursue signing both Jericho and Omega to Impact.

“There’s a young Canadian kid I like, we’d love to sign him, his name is Kenny Omega,” Callis said. “Another is Chris Jericho.”

Callis talked about his history with Omega on the Jim Ross podcast that summer.

“I gave him his first break wrestling for the promotion I had in Winnipeg [Canada]. And his uncle, The Golden Sheik, who was an indie wrestler in Winnipeg helped train me in the [pro wrestling] business in 1989, so my roots with Kenny go back many years. I’ve been on this journey with him, and specifically since I’ve been in New Japan and we have a very close relationship. We talk about ideas, we do things, I helped put together the match between him and Chris [Jericho] for the Tokyo Dome.”

• Don Callis On Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho Potentially Going To Impact Wrestling

The full post from Fight Game Media can be found here.

While Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows are no longer with WWE, several former members of Bullet Club still are. Finn Balor is a founding member of the group from NJPW back in 2013. Then known as Prince Devitt, he introduced Bad Luck Fale as his “personal bouncer” and they were joined shortly after by Tama Tonga and “Machine Gun” Karl Anderson.

Balor, who is scheduled to appear on NXT this week for the first time since suffering a broken jaw against Kyle O’Reilly, posted the following to Twitter:

Finn Balor, AJ Styles, and Adam Cole In “The Club”

Finn Balor and AJ Styles’ time in Bullet Club didn’t really overlap. Styles arrived in New Japan Pro Wrestling in the spring of 2014 just as Balor was leaving for WWE. Styles would win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship twice before he would leave for WWE as well in 2016. Styles was joined by Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows in WWE later that same year.

Adam Cole was briefly a member of Bullet Club as well before his untimely death on an episode of Being the Elite in 2017. Cole was one of the top members of the faction in Ring of Honor. He won the ROH World Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 11 in the Tokyo Dome as a member of Bullet Club.

• Finn Balor Provides Update Days After Jaw Surgery

MLW is set to return to new programming tomorrow night. A new episode of Fusion will air for the first time since the spring. The show will be headlined by Jacob Fatu defending the MLW World Championship against Davey Boy Smith Jr.

Alexander Hammerstone is MLW’s reigning National Openweight Champion. He is part of the Dynasty along with Richard Holiday as well. Hammerstone recently spoke with Chris Van Vliet about how he almost gave up on wrestling after a frustrating experience stemming from a WWE tryout.

Hammerstone’s WWE Experience

As it turns out, WWE contacted Hammerstone in November of 2017 and implied that he was going to be brought into the company.

“It ended up being like ‘Hey, well I think we want to bring you in. We’re going to start the hiring process’. And I remember, I was on the toilet at work when I read that email and I had to read it four times over and then I started crying because I was like ‘Holy crap! Dream come true! It’s happening.’ And then I literally burst out of the bathroom and knocked on my boss’s office. It was just like an involuntary reaction, I was like ‘Jeff, read this!’ and he was like ‘Oh my God!’ and he legitimately called a staff meeting to tell everybody what had just happened and everyone congratulated me,” Hammerstone said.

He continued to talk about how he was getting ready to start his WWE career. Despite what they had told him earlier, however, WWE decided against bringing him in.

“The next step is my whole medical test and it’s not happening, it’s not happening, it’s not happening. And then I start pestering them to see what’s going on. Then in April, and keep in mind in my head I’m moving there in May, so in April they say ‘Sorry to inform you but we’re just way too full right now, we hired too many people this year and we can’t bring you in’. And it doesn’t say like ‘Give us three months’ or ‘Give us this’ it just says ‘We can’t bring you in’. And that was it. And I was like what?”

Similar Stories From Other Wrestlers

Hammerstone’s story is similar to ones told by other wrestlers in the past. Willie Mack once detailed being hired by WWE only to be released before actually reporting to the PC. Taya Valkyrie has told a similar story about WWE reneging on an offer that had been promised to her. This was before Taya started performing with AAA in Mexico.

“A little unknown fact is that about seven months before I went to Mexico, I was offered a contract by WWE. And I went through all the steps, I was waiting to get all my medical tests done, and they decided to not take me, so needless to say I wasn’t given an explanation and to this day I don’t really know what happened,” Taya said on Talk is Jericho in 2017.

Almost Quitting Wrestling

Hammerstone continued to talk about how the experience with WWE almost led to him quitting wrestling.

“And for the next couple of months someone every once in a while would be like ‘Hey, when are you going to Florida?’ and I’d have to explain the whole thing to them. I had to explain this so many times and every time it was like a punch in the gut, you know? So it was rough, man. It was a rough time and literally that experience almost made me quit wrestling. I was very close.”

• Multiple Former WWE Stars Worked MLW’s Recent Tapings

Hammerstone goes into detail on a range of other topics as well during the interview. It can be viewed in its entirety below:

Several members of the AEW roster recently took part in an interview where the main topic of discussion was diversity and representation in wrestling. Their comments were recently published in an article for Complex.

Scorpio Sky talked about the importance of representation in wrestling during the interview.

“If you look at pro wrestling now, there are a lot more people of color being heavily profiled, which is a great thing, ” Scorpio said. “I think kids of color can look up and say, Okay, I see people on television. I see people in wrestling that look like me, so maybe I can do it too. And I think that’s going to do a lot for their confidence.”

Hikaru Shida Comments

Hikaru Shida also was interviewed about the diversity of wrestling styles the promotion offers. In particular, she spoke about introducing joshi puroresu to an American audience.

“Joshi-style wrestling, which is Japanese women’s wrestling, is very unique and original,” Shida says. “So, I believe that joshi-style wrestling can be as good as women’s wrestling in other parts of the world. In Japan, our population, which compared to the US, is very few, but now, representing Japanese joshi wrestlers, I can show myself in front of American fans.”

AEW was expected to feature more Joshi than they have since the onset of the pandemic. Travel restrictions have prevented many of the top Joshi stars from traveling to AEW shows.

Nyla Rose Comments

Nyla Rose was also interviewed for the piece and the interviewer noted that she is the first Black champion in the promotion.

“I like to present the fact that I am Native American because I feel that gets overshadowed a lot, but I’m very much a proud Black woman as well. And I will shout that from the mountaintop every day of the week. To have achieved that goal in February is nothing short of monumental.”

Rose continued to talk about the diversity of AEW’s women’s roster.

“Every woman so far has been a person of color,” Rose continued. “And I think a large part of the public, they have blinders on to that, simply because Riho and Hikaru are fair-skinned. They kind of overlook that but, at the end of the day, they are women of color. They represent a minority, as well.”

• More Details On Zelina Vega’s WWE Release, Internal Resentment

The full article from Complex is available here.

The Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG AFTRA) President has released a statement to media concerning wrestlers needing protection from employers.

According to their statement, the organization plans on engaging wrestlers and working to secure the protection they deserve. SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris told Jon Alba:

“Wrestling is as much about media as it is sports, and we are going to directly engage with members of this profession to help find ways for them to protect themselves.”

“As more people reinvest in unions, and as more working people are harassed by employers who don’t want to protect them, SAG-AFTRA is committed to doing what we can to help professional wrestlers secure the protections they deserve.”

Carteris and the official SG-AFTRA account recently responded to Tweets by Zelina Vega following her release:

Earlier this year, WWE announced a new policy of preventing its independent contractors from working with sites such as Twitch or Cameo. Aside from the affected pro wrestlers and industry pundits, the policy got some mainstream attention.

2020 Presidential Candidate Andrew Yang, have voiced concerns that WWE should not be able to hold independent contractors to such a policy. Yang responded to SAG-AFTRA’s outreach to Zelina Vega and WWE wrestlers seeking fair rights. He tweeted on Monday, “Pro wrestlers joining SAG-AFTRA makes a lot of sense to me. They star in some of the highest-rated shows on TV each week.”

For more on Andrew Yang’s stance on WWE classifying wrestlers as independent contractors, check out”

• Andrew Yang Says He Won’t Rest Until WWE’s Independent Contractor Policy Changes

Brodie Lee hasn’t wrestled since October 7th, 2020. That was the night he lost the TNT Championship to Cody Rhodes in a dog-collar match on Dynamite. According to Wrestling Observer Radio, Lee is out of action with an injury.

While not confirmed, it is believed he’s dealing with an ankle injury. There are no details currently available regarding how long he’ll be out of action or the severity of the injury.

Lee’s loss to Rhodes last month was just his second loss in a singles match since arriving in AEW. He holds an 8-2 record in singles matches in the promotion. His only other loss came to Jon Moxley in an AEW World Championship match at Double or Nothing back in May.

Brodie Lee in AEW

Below is Brodie Lee’s record in singles matches since joining AEW:

1. 3/25/20: defeated QT Marshall
2. 4/8/20: defeated Lee Johnson
3. 4/22/20: defeated Justin Law
4. 4/29/20: defeated Marko Stunt
5. 5/13/20: defeated Christopher Daniels
6. 5/23/20: Jon Moxley defeated Brodie Lee
7. 8/13/20: defeated Cody Rhodes (won the TNT Championship)
8. 9/9/20: defeated Dustin Rhodes (retained TNT Championship)
9. 9/23/20: defeated Orange Cassidy (retained TNT Championship)
10. 10/7/20: Cody Rhodes defeated Brodie Lee (lost the TNT Championship)

Additionally, Lee is 3-1 in tag-team matches in AEW.

• WWE Reportedly Denied Aleister Black’s Request To Make NXT Return

Seth Rollins is set to take some time off from WWE soon. With him and partner Becky Lynch about to welcome their first child into the world, Rollins could be on the sidelines for a few months. His pending absence was discussed recently on an episode of Wrestling Observer Radio.

“Becky Lynch is about to give birth, I think within a week or two, that’s why they blew off the Rey thing this week,” said Dave Meltzer. “They are going to do the Seth Rollins and Buddy Murphy match next week and then the Survivor Series. Probably after Survivor Series, maybe a week after, but he’s going to be gone for probably to the 1st of the year maybe, I don’t know that there’s a definite date.”

Rollins and Rey Mysterio had a no holds barred match on Smackdown this week that was billed as the blow-off to the feud. Murphy turned on Rollins during the match, however, setting up a future match between the two.

Becky Lynch announced she was pregnant in the spring. Rollins then spoke to People about finding out they were going to have a child.

“We got the test back and it said pregnant and she was more shocked and I was just hyped,” Rollins said. “I was so excited, I think, right out of the gate. I wish we had a camera on because I threw my arms up in the air, I was so excited about it.”

• Seth Rollins On His Reaction To Finding Out Becky Lynch Is Pregnant

Impact Wrestling has announced the brackets for the upcoming Knockouts Tag Team title tournament. The 8-team single-elimination tournament will begin on Tuesday’s edition of Impact. The brackets are below:

1. Tenille Dashwood & Alisha Edwards vs Havok & Nevaeh
2. Killer Kelly & Renee Michelle vs Jordynne Grace & TBA
3. Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz vs Team Sea Stars (Ashley Vox & Delmi Exo)
4. Deonna Purrazzo & Kimber Lee vs Taya Valkyrie & Rosemary
5. Semi-Finals: Winner of Match 1 vs Winner of Match 2
6. Semi-Finals: Winner of Match 3 vs Winner of Match 4
7. Finals: Winner of Match 5 vs Winner of Match 6

In storyline, Jordynne Grace is having trouble finding a tag partner. She has almost formed a team with rival, Tenille Dashwood, but the “social media influencer” opted to choose Alisha Edwards as her partner instead.

Killer Kelly and Renee Michelle will each be making their Impact debut in the tournament. They’ll face Grace and a partner of her choosing in the first round.

The Team Sea Stars pairing consists of Ashley Vox and Delmi Exo. They are former tag champs in SHIMMER.

Knockouts Tag Team Championships

The Knockouts tag team titles didn’t have a long run in Impact. They were introduced in the fall of 2009 but were essentially gone by early 2012. Sarah Stock and Taylor Wilde were the first holders of the belts, after winning an 8-team single-elimination tournament similar to the one that has just been scheduled.

The titles were deactivated after ODB and Eric Young won them in 2012. Then Knockouts-division executive, Brooke Hogan, made the decision to strip them of the belts, though that didn’t officially occur until the summer of 2013.