PROGRESS Wrestling has unveiled the main event for their upcoming return to the Electric Ballroom in Camden, London.

PROGRESS World Champion Travis Banks will be defending his coveting title against the man that beat him a few months ago…Matt Riddle.

Former UFC star Riddle has been carving a path for himself on the independent scene across the world and his exploits in PROGRESS have been nothing short of spectacular, especially considering the length of time he has been a full time professional wrestler.

Banks won the PROGRESS title back at Chapter 55 when he beat current WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne, just weeks before he captured the belt he was forced to fight Riddle by Dunne as a way to ‘soften him up’ heading into their championship bout. Banks now has the opportunity to avenge his loss to an extremely credible challenger in Matt Riddle and there’s more an a good chance that PROGRESS throw a curve ball and make their top title a bit more ‘Bro.’

#Chapter58: @Travis_BanksPW's mission to lay the ghosts of the summer to rest continues – he defends vs former #Atlas champion @SuperKingofBros next Sunday! #ThisIsProgress #LiveYourBestLife pic.twitter.com/t5fgy03ZUp

— PROGRESS Wrestling (@ThisIs_Progress) November 16, 2017

In an update to Neville’s WWE status, the former King of the Cruiserweights has reportedly had “positive discussions” with the company regarding a potential return. Neville has been off television since last month.

There were several rumors going around regarding why he was unhappy, but we’ve heard from multiple sources that Neville grew frustrated with his positioning in the Cruiserweight division and wanted to be featured on the main roster again.

Since that time, WWE has made plans to bring several new faces to 205 Live, including NXT star Hideo Itami and former Impact Wrestling performer Rockstar Spud.

WWE recently released several performers, including Emma, Darren Young and Summer Rae. Neville was not part of that round of cuts, adding to the consensus that WWE remains optimistic a resolution can be worked out.

You’ll recall that Nia Jax had a similar situation to Neville, with reports that she “walked out” of a RAW taping and was unhappy with her creative direction. She returned just weeks later, citing a back injury and WWE rotating the schedules of the talent.

New Japan Pro Wrestling have been releasing a number of high profile bouts from their back catalogue for free on YouTube over the past couple of months. The company’s latest free to view contest is the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match between Kazuchika Okada and Finn Balor (then Prince Devitt) from 2013.

The match is essential viewing for any WWE fan that has never seen Balor outside of his NXT/WWE run. As the first leader of the now world wide phenomenon that is the Bullet Club Balor would work as a vicious heel character, he would dissect his opponents and cheat using his stablemates in Gallows, Anderson and Bad Luck Fale to draw the ire of the traditional Japanese fans.

Check out the match below:

Kazuchika Okada vs Prince Devitt IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH?July 20, 2013? NJPW Free Match of the Week. https://t.co/Nzv6JWIvGA

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) November 13, 2017

PROGRESS’ Chapter 57 event ‘Enter Smiling’ took place this past Sunday from the O2 Ritz in Manchester, England. Here are the full results from the sold out show:

Mark Haskins & Jimmy Havoc b. Jack Sexsmith & Matt Riddle – Haskins and Havoc took the win following a Superkick/Acid Rainmaker combo move on Jack Sexsmith

Joe Coffey b. Doug Williams – Coffey took the win following a Discus Lariat. Following the match Williams took the microphone and proclaimed “I don’t think I can do this anymore.”

Alex Windsor b. Dahlia Black, Jinny and Candyfloss – Windsor took the win when she put away Chapter debutant Candyfloss with the Libertine Driver

British Strong Style (Trent Seven, Tyler Bate & Pete Dunne) b. Zack Gibson, James Drake & Joe Conners – BSS took the DQ win after Conners attacked Pete Dunne with a Steel Chair. After the bout Dunne demanded that he get a singles match down the line with Conners, which was granted

PROGRESS Tag Team Championship Match – #CCK (Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos) b. RingKampf  (Walter & Timothy Thatcher) – Brookes and Lykos took the win after hitting a facebreaker/back senton combo on Timothy Thatcher

Keith Lee b. ‘Flash’ Morgan Webster – Lee took the win after hitting the Ground Zero in around 15 minutes, this was a squash match but the crowd were fully behind ‘Flash’

PROGRESS Championship Match – Travis Banks b. Mark Andrews – Banks took the win after applying an over the shoulder crossface to retain his championship

This match has been everything we thought it would be as the kiwi buzzsaw ups the ante #Chapter57 pic.twitter.com/rJ15rzqRCn

— PROGRESS Wrestling (@ThisIs_Progress) November 12, 2017

WWE’s latest PPV offering Survivor Series is just over a week away and following the events of RAW and Smackdown the card has been changed dramatically, arguably for the better.

One of the marquee matches on the card is the 5-on-5 Traditional Survivor Series Elimination match between Team RAW and Team Smackdown. On the face of it this is a star studded bout and it throws up opportunities for some in ring confrontations that we haven’t seen in years.

One thing however that isn’t being discussed is best summed up in a tweet I read earlier this week:

Randy Orton is the youngest in Team SD. 37 years old.

— Mustakim. (@Mustxkim) November 8, 2017

Now, looking at the match from an overarching standpoint you can clearly see that (relatively) recently promoted NXT stars Shinsuke Nakamura, Bobby Roode, Samoa Joe and Jason Jordan are in this bout, which is a bonus and a clear indication that the WWE is looking to promote newer stars on both sides of their brand split…but while Shinsuke, Bobby and Joe are new to the WWE fan base they are in the later stages of their career.

The fact that Jason Jordan is the only performer in this bout still in his twenties should be of concern to WWE, it is pivotal for the company to be constantly evolving and to be looking for ‘the next big thing’….which leads me to the main event.

AJ Styles vs Brock Lesnar is a top drawer match, no doubt about it. When it was announced that Brock would be facing Jinder Mahal in the Survivor Series main event it saw a fairly tepid response from the WWE faithful and on paper AJ is certainly a better foe for Brock on the 19th. But what is important to remember is the fact that both AJ and Brock are now both 40 years old, Jinder Mahal is 31.

I completely understand that Jinder did not set the world alight when he held the WWE Championship, and I can appreciate that while AJ may be 40 he could feasibly still perform at a top level for at least another 4-5 years. What concerns me as a longtime WWE fan is the fact that they are just not building younger stars and are now starting to purely rely on independent performers who they can cherry pick from the worldwide scene to plug the gap.

When you look at the current crop of ‘homegrown’ top level WWE performers, I’m talking John Cena, Randy Orton, Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle, you have to consider the age at which they debuted on television:

• John Cena – Smackdown June 27th 2002: 25 Years Old
• Kurt Angle – Heat March 7th 1999: 30 Years Old
• Brock Lesnar – RAW March 18th 2002: 24 Years Old
• Randy Orton – Smackdown April 25th 2002: 22 Years Old

Compare this to the recently promoted top stars of RAW and Smackdown and you have a real disparity there. I might be unfair in my assessment, I am comparing today’s crop of stars to one of the most unique and stacked group of performers from the old OVW territory back in the early 2000s…however the issue is truly evident when you take this final point into consideration:

In the 5-on-5 match, who is the one performer that seems out of place and hasn’t been given the same push as the others? If you said Jason Jordan then we’re on the same wave length. Jordan is a younger talent that needs to be built in this match, otherwise what is the point?

You may completely disagree with me, or you may agree that the ageing main event roster is a bubble that will eventually burst and cause a tremendous ripple effect on the WWE product…either way I want to hear from you in the comments.

IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada performed for Melbourne City Wrestling today in the main event of #MCWRain.

Okada defeated ‘The Business’ Slex in front of a sold out Thornbury Theatre in what was MCW’s biggest event to date.

During his time in Australia the ‘Rainmaker’ made some promises that will be massively beneficial to the Australian independent scene going forward, namely that he will be bringing in fellow New Japan Pro Wrestling stars Tanahashi, Naito and Kenny Omega to MCW “as soon as possible.”

Make of that what you will but this is a very exciting time for the Australian wrestling scene and it looks to keep getting bigger and bigger as time rolls on.

Are you based in Australia? Did you Okada in MCW today? Let us know in the comments…

Thank you to everyone who came out and supported #MCWRain! See you at Thornbury Theatre on 16 December for #MCWBattle! pic.twitter.com/gDffrc7MtA

— Melbourne City Wrestling (@mcitywrestling) November 11, 2017

Revolution Pro and New Japan Pro Wrestling hosted two nights of international action in London this week. Night 1 of ‘Global Wars’ took place Thursday night and the event is now available to purchase via Rev Pro’s On Demand service.

Here are the results from Night 2 in Walthamstow from Friday night:

CCK (Chris Brookes, Travis Banks & Kid Lykos) b. Chaos (Hirooki Goto, Yoshi-Hashi & Gedo)

Toru Yano b. “Liverpool’s No.1” Zack Gibson

Josh Bodom b. Rocky Romero

Tomohiro Ishii b. Dave Mastiff

Undisputed British Cruiserweight Championship Match: “All Day Star” Ryan Smile b. El Desperado – by pinfall to retain the Undisputed British Cruiserweight Championship

Tetsuya Naito & Bushi b. Yuji Nagata & Keith Lee

Minoru Suzuki b. “Super King Of Bros” Matt Riddle

Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship Match: Zack Sabre Jr defeated “The Aerial Assassin” Will Ospreay – by submission to retain the Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship

Tomorrow. #SabreVsOspreay Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship. https://t.co/LhHedYxXS8 pic.twitter.com/Ilbmc00m6K

— Revolution Pro (@RevProUK) November 10, 2017

‘The Pride of Wales’ Eddie Dennis recently took part in a tryout during WWE’s tour of the United Kingdom.

Dennis has been a longtime standout on the independent scene in the United Kingdom, having seen success with his F.S.U tag team partner Mark Andrews as well performing as a singles star for ATTACK! Pro, Rev Pro and now PROGRESS.

Eddie’s story is unique, he left his steady nine to five job as a head teacher to become a full time pro wrestler and follow his dream earlier this year…and the changes both in ring and physically are evident. Eddie recently posted a tweet showing his incredible transformation from July to November and you can check this out below:

https://twitter.com/EddieDennis1986/status/928939328943910912

You can check out a video released earlier this year detailing the journey for Eddie from classroom to wrestling ring below:

PROGRESS has unveiled the final 2 matches from their upcoming Chapter 57 show: ‘Enter Smiling.’

Moustache Mountain (Trent Seven & Tyler Bate) will be taking on the Grizzled Young Veterans, comprised of Zack Gibson and James Drake. Bate & Seven have been portrayed as heels on the preceding chapter shows however their appearance alongside Pete Dunne at last month’s Electric Ballroom show saw the PROGRESS faithful cheer the longtime antagonists.

Another massive tag team bout has been announced and will see the new team of Jimmy Havoc & Mark Haskins take on Jack Sexsmith and a mystery partner. Sexsmith has been teasing a number of names to appear alongside him, including ‘The Game’ Triple H (although this obviously isn’t likely…).

#Chapter57: @Tyler_Bate @trentseven v @JamesDrake_GYT @ZackGibson01 after #GYV gatecrashed #BSS’s address at #LaDanseMacabre! #EnterSmiling pic.twitter.com/BEv3SebJsd

— PROGRESS Wrestling (@ThisIs_Progress) November 9, 2017

As announced LIVE on Twitch, @TheJackSexsmith will bring a mystery partner to face @JimmyHavoc & @ThisIsHaskins at #Chapter57. Who do you think will be joining him? pic.twitter.com/YMwAyus7kH

— PROGRESS Wrestling (@ThisIs_Progress) November 8, 2017

Revolution Pro and New Japan Pro Wrestling are hosting two nights of international action in London this week. Night 1 of ‘Global Wars’ took place last night and the event is now available to purchase via Rev Pro’s On Demand service.

Here are the results from Night 1:

Undisputed British Cruiserweight Championship Match:  “All Day Star” Ryan Smile b. Josh Bodom & Bushi – Smile took the pinfall win to become the new Cruiserweight champion

Toru Yano & Gedo b. Lord Gideon Grey & No Fun Dunne

“Super King Of Bros” Matt Riddle b. El Desperado

“The Villain” Marty Scurll b. Tetsuya Naito – after the match Naito attacked the ring announcer and referee for the bout

“Blue Justice” Yuji Nagata b. Zack Gibson

CCK (Chris Brookes & Travis Banks) b. Rocky Romero & Yoshi-Hashi

Tomohiro Ishii b. Keith Lee

Hirooki Goto & “The Aerial Assassin” Will Ospreay b. Minoru Suzuki & Zack Sabre Jr

GLOBAL WARS UK NIGHT 1 is up NOW on https://t.co/vhLx7kP8wf wrestling > sleep #GlobalWarsUK pic.twitter.com/lDQrVhu7LK

— Revolution Pro (@RevProUK) November 10, 2017

Defiant Wrestling (Formerly WCPW) will be heading to London for the first time since their rebrand on December 12th.

The company will be invading the Coronet in South East London and they have issued the following press release for their show in England’s capital:

London is Defiant! On December 12th, Defiant Wrestling (recently rebranded from WCPW) returns to London. Featuring Zack Sabre Jr, Kay Lee Ray, Jimmy Havoc, Mike Bailey, David Starr, Primate, Travis Banks, Martin Kirby, El Ligero and MANY more. There will be some BIG name surprises appearing on this show, which will not be revealed until the week before.

Zack Sabre Jr is scheduled to defend his Defiant Internet Title against either Mike Bailey or David Starr.

CONFIRMED TO BE IN ACTION

• Zack Sabre Jr
• Primate
• Jimmy Havoc
• Martin Kirby
• El Ligero
• Joe Hendry
• Travis Banks
• Veda Scott
• Liam Slater
• Joe Coffey
• BT Gunn
• Alex Gracie
• Gabriel Kidd
• David Starr
• Mike Bailey
• and MANY more, including some BIG surprises.

Tune in to our first PPV event the week prior (follow @DEFIANTwres on Twitter for more details as they are released) from Newcastle.

LONDON is Defiant. Presale for attendees of our previous shows in London starts tomorrow at 10am! https://t.co/bOVjD9n2rw pic.twitter.com/0bFN738G6S

— DEFIANT Wrestling (@DEFIANTwres) November 10, 2017

Independent star Ricochet recently appeared for Japan’s Dragon Gate promotion and cut a promo to say farewell to a company he has helped build during his illustrious career.

The high flying star said “No Goodbyes, this is just ‘see you later’. I don’t know how, I don’t know when but someday I’m coming back to DragonGate.”

The rumors of a WWE run for Ricochet have been brewing ever since it was revealed that his Lucha Underground contract was not going to be renewed this year. Although it is not confirmed there is a very good chance that he will appear at a WWE or NXT event at some point in early 2018.

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

WWE/WCW legend Rey Mysterio will be making his debut for ICW in 12 days at Fear & Loathing X.

Fear & Loathing is ICW’s biggest event of the year and the inclusion of Mysterio has been a huge boost for the company looking to sell out the SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland.

Mysterio’s opponent for the event is ICW homegrown talent Kenny Williams, who has been a mainstay on the UK independent scene for the past couple of years. William’s highest profile bout to this point has been on the reboot episode of World of Sport however this match with Mysterio completely eclipses anything he has achieved so far in his career.

ICW recently released a shot promo from William’s where he calls out Rey, he asks why Mysterio has not yet responded to his verbal jabs and the company has begun teasing fans asking “will we hear from the master of the 619 before November 19th?”

Are you going to the event? Let us know in the comments after checking out the video below…

https://twitter.com/InsaneChampWres/status/927992327083356161

PROGRESS has announced more matches for their upcoming Chapter 57 event ‘Enter Smiling.’

EVOLVE star and Super Strong Style 16 standout Keith Lee will again be performing for the promotion when he takes on homegrown star and recent PWG   newcomer ‘Flash’ Morgan Webster.

Four of PROGRESS’ Women’s division stars will be looking to put themselves in contention for a match against Toni Storm down the line. Alex Windsor, Jinny, Dahlia Black and Candyfloss are all credible title challengers and this could be a contender for show stealer.

Two veterans of the UK scene will be looking to establish themselves in the ATLAS division when Doug Williams takes on Wolfgang. The WWE UK star Wolfgang recently joined the promotion and it is clear that the PROGRESS management have big plans for him going forward.

#MatchNewsMonday: @RealKeithLee makes his way to @O2RitzManc this Sunday where he faces @Flash_Morgan! #ThisIsProgess #EnterSmiling pic.twitter.com/D3DXuNiqda

— PROGRESS Wrestling (@ThisIs_Progress) November 6, 2017

#Chapter57: returning @HailWindsor v @JinnyCouture v @blahliadack v @CFlossWrestler making her Chapter debut! #ThisIsProgress #EnterSmiling pic.twitter.com/9ghoWhHQIV

— PROGRESS Wrestling (@ThisIs_Progress) November 1, 2017

#Chapter57: two men looking to re-set their #Atlas title credentials meet at @O2RitzManc: @WolfgangYoung vs @DougWilliamsUK! #EnterSmiling pic.twitter.com/ZBOpYxvABw

— PROGRESS Wrestling (@ThisIs_Progress) October 31, 2017

Germany’s biggest independent promotion wXw has announced the latest names to be taking part in next year’s 16 Carat Gold tournament.

The 2017 iteration of the tournament is widely regarded as one of the greatest in European wrestling history, you can check it out now on wXw’s on demand service, it certainly matches up to the annual New Japan G1 and PROGRESS Super Strong 16 tournaments on quality.

Joining the already named Jeff Cobb, Penta El Zero M and Travis Banks will be PROGRESS Tag Team Champion Chris Brookes and former PROGRESS World Champion Mark Haskins.

Both Brookes and Haskins are two of the most well respected performers on the European circuit and their involvement with this illustrious tournament will only serve to better their reputations on the global stage.

https://twitter.com/wXwGermany/status/927913923420065793

https://twitter.com/wXwGermany/status/925807195308134405

Legendary WWE superstar Chris Jericho recently announced his plans to host a wrestling themed cruise dubbed the ‘Rock n’ Wrestling Rager at Sea.’

NJPW/ROH stars The Young Bucks were the first performers to be revealed for this unique event and now Jericho himself has unveiled the latest name to be joining him on the cruise from Miami to the Bahamas…

That man is IWGP Junior Heavyweight and former ROH Television Champion ‘The Villain’ Marty Scurll.

More information on the event can be found here.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BbNBnF7FC6B/?taken-by=chrisjerichofozzy

2017 has been quite an incredible calendar year for Pete Dunne. The WWE UK Champion made his RAW debut last night defeating WWE Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore in front of his countrymen in Manchester, England.

Dunne is regarded as one of the hardest working performers in the UK and he isn’t making his way to the WWE full time just yet…

Top UK promotion Lucha Forever has announced that Dunne will be taking on PROGRESS World Champion Travis Banks this Saturday as part of their ‘Fire In The Booth’ event from Birmingham. Banks beat Dunne for the coveted PROGRESS Title at their Chapter 55 event back in September and now Dunne has his shot at retribution.

You can watch the bout in the coming weeks via the Lucha Forever On Demand service.

https://twitter.com/LuchaForeverUK/status/927588621766610944

New Japan’s Wrestle Kingdom 12 show on January 4th 2018 just got launched into the stratosphere. As well as announcing some high profile title bouts we now have the unbelievable treat of seeing Chris Jericho perform outside of a WWE ring for the first time in decades.

When Jericho appeared in a pre-taped promo video during Sunday’s Power Struggle it ignited the world of pro wrestling, and many fans were left wondering how this will play out. Here are the three questions that we have following the blockbuster announcement:

Is Chris Jericho Done with WWE?

As mentioned previously, Y2J has not performed outside of the WWE umbrella for an extremely long period of time, he has himself mentioned that he didn’t ever intend to wrestle for anyone other than Vince McMahon before he retired. The announcement of the ‘Alpha’ vs Omega has blown this right out of the water…

There have been multiple reports over the past few months of unrest within the WWE locker room, now while much can be attributed to hyperbole it cannot be understated how there’s no smoke without fire. There is a very good chance that we will see Jericho inside a WWE ring once again, remember that it isn’t unprecedented to see someone perform at a Wrestle Kingdom and then appear in WWE as early as the Royal Rumble, AJ Styles performed this feat last year.

This could easily be Jericho just wanting to test himself against one of the best in the world, but there could be deeper issues at play here.

Will This Be The First and Only Match Between These Two?

You may or may not be aware of the upcoming ‘Jericruise.’ Chris Jericho sent out the following Survey Monkey gauging interest for a Rock n’ Wrestling themed cruise and he recently announced that The Young Bucks would be part of the festivities.

The Bucks are very good friends with their fellow ‘Elite’ stablemate…Kenny Omega. There’s a very good chance that after the January 4th bout Jericho and Omega will face off once again in 2018 as part of this off shore event.

Did Jericho want Kenny as part of the cruise and New Japan would only agree if he took part at Wrestle Kingdom? There’s a very good chance of it.

How Will This Impact NJPW’s Global Expansion?

Whether you’re already a fan of New Japan or not, you have to admit that this is the most high profile bout in recent company history. Yes, Omega had one of the most incredible trilogies in wrestling against Kazuchika Okada, but this is a multiple time WWE champion making the jump back to one of his former stomping grounds.

If promoted correctly, the NJPWWorld site could see a huge influx of fans across the United States, Europe and beyond subscribing to see some of the most dynamic in ring work on the planet, even beyond this dream bout.

Are you looking forward to this mega matchup? Let us know in the comments.

This past Sunday’s NJPW Power Struggle event saw ‘The Villain’ Marty Scurll defeat Will Ospreay to be become the second ever British holder of the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.

Scurll proclaimed before the bout that there are three guarantees in life: “death, taxes and Marty Scrull beats Will Ospreay.”

The Villain’s American home Ring of Honor touted his success at the event by issuing the following statement:

The Villain @MartyScurll Captures IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title as ROH Stars Shine at Power Struggle! https://t.co/nYJrsM7gRK pic.twitter.com/bOYW3WboBD

— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) November 6, 2017

Former WWE/ECW star Rob Van Dam will be making his way to ICW’s biggest event of the year: Fear & Loathing X on November 19th.

RVD was slated to face ICW’s Lionheart but now another name has been thrown into the mix…Liverpool’s Number 1 Zack Gibson will be making this match a Three Way Dance.

Gibson is one of the top talents on the UK circuit, he has been plying his trade as part of PROGRESS, ICW, OTT and Revolution Pro for years and he also starred as part of the World of Sport reboot this past New Year’s Eve. Gibson will be looking to make a name for himself on the worldwide stage when he faces the One of a Kind star.

https://twitter.com/InsaneChampWres/status/927596780086276097

New Japan Pro Wrestling has been making some big moves recently, most notably with the signing of Chris Jericho vs Kenny Omega for January 4th’s Tokyo Dome show.

NJPW has now also announced some of the teams heading into their upcoming World Tag League event starting on November 18th, the event will be shown live and for FREE on Njpwworld.com.

Former NXT star Sami Callihan will be making his NJPW debut when he joins forces with Juice Robinson. Callihan had previously been rumored to debut as part of the ‘Switchblade’ promo packages leading up to the Power Struggle event this past Sunday. Jay White was eventually revealed as ‘Switchblade’ after much speculation.

Lucha Underground star Jeff Cobb will also be making his way to New Japan for the World Tag League. Cobb had previously been slated to join forces with Matt Riddle, however his confirmed partner for the tournament has been unveiled as NJPW standout Michael Elgin.

??WORLD TAG???????
12?8????????????&YOSHI-HASHvsEVIL&SANADA?
12?9??????????????&???vs???????????????https://t.co/5GODT5Nina#njwtl #njpw pic.twitter.com/WU1P6KsaoU

— ?????????????? (@njpw1972) November 6, 2017

??WORLD TAG???????
????11?18????????????????&?????vsEVIL&SANADA?
11?30??????????????vs K.E.S??????https://t.co/5GODT5Nina #njwtl #njpw pic.twitter.com/OnBqVYopSX

— ?????????????? (@njpw1972) November 6, 2017

As with the G1 and BOSJ, the World Tag League opener on November 18 will be broadcast completely free on NJPW World. #njwtl

— chris charlton (@reasonjp) November 3, 2017

Former stars of What Culture’s WCPW brand have officially launched their new Pro Wrestling themed YouTube channel and website. Cultaholics is headed up by former WCPW GM Adam Pacitti, Sam Driver, ‘King’ Ross Tweddell and Jack King. Their first video can be seen below:

Oh, it's good to be back…https://t.co/UHao0xKz9Z

— Cultaholic Wrestling (@Cultaholic) November 5, 2017

This new venture stemmed from a mass exodus of WCPW staff back in September, Adam Blampied, Adam Pacitti, Ross Tweddell, Sam Driver and Jack King left the company to ‘pursue other projects’ which lead to the formation of Cultaholics.

This shift in personalities also lead to the re-branding of WCPW to Defiant Wrestling, their debut show is taking place on Monday iPPV December 4th.

Defiant Wrestling will be making their long anticipated re-debut on Monday December 4th when they present #WeAreDefiant live on iPPV.

The card for the event has started to take shape and Defiant GM Stu Bennett/Wade Barrett has promised an electric night for the rebranding of WCPW. The card currently stands as follows:

• Marty Scurll (c) vs Joe Hendry vs Martin Kirby – Defiant Championship Match
• Kay Lee Ray vs Veda Scott – Defiant Women’s Championship Match
• Primate vs Jimmy Havoc – Defiant Hardcore Championship Match
• Mike Bailey (1) vs David Starr (0) – Best Of Three Series, #1 Contender For Internet Championship
• Pastor William Eaver vs Moose – Liam Slater Special Guest Referee
• El Ligero vs Travis Banks
• Coffey Gunn vs TBA

Championship Match! @DEFIANTwres #Newcastle @o2academynewc @MartyScurll vs @joeshendry vs @MKirbyProEgo Tickets https://t.co/KjmQpCIZbT pic.twitter.com/Z12ffqqDcN

— Ringside World (@RingsideWorld) November 1, 2017

When your friend is still your foe. The tag champs collide and the Hardcore Title is on the line! https://t.co/MpCZcygdm8 #WeAreDefiant pic.twitter.com/rIhgOQhk6V

— DEFIANT Wrestling (@DEFIANTwres) November 1, 2017

When Emma was released from WWE earlier this week it sparked a huge response from many fans, performers and even some owners of independent promotions across the world.

Whilst Emma’s tenure in the company was lengthy, it can be argued that she was vastly under-utilised, having only secured her first singles match on a PPV event against Asuka in the opening match of TLC.

So, now that Emma has left the big company in Connecticut, where should she ply her trade next? Well, here are the 3 companies that we believe Emma would be a good fit for.

PROGRESS

Any fans of the UK scene will of course know PROGRESS Wrestling. The upstart promotion has taken itself from humble beginnings in smaller London venues and is now on the verge of hitting Wembley Arena.

The company introduced a Women’s division earlier this year when they crowned Mae Young Classic competitor Toni Storm their first ever Women’s Champion. Now, rumors of WWE and PROGRESS having a closer relationship than appears could put a dampener on this suggestion however with the rabid and passionate crowd that PROGRESS attract an underdog/under appreciated star like Emma could strive.

Match ups against the likes of Laura Di Matteo, Jinny, Session Moth Martina, Dahlia Black and the aforementioned Toni Storm are too good an opportunity to miss.

IMPACT Wrestling

Now, I can completely understand fans that will question Emma’s potential move to Impact. The company has not always portrayed their female performers in the best light however the Knockouts division once was and could again be the shining light of the promotion.

In terms of major visibility across the United States few can argue that IMPACT do not have the, albeit distant, number two slot behind WWE, with only Ring of Honor challenging them for this accolade.

If Emma wants to keep her profile on a mainstream US basis then she could consider taking a role in Florida, especially when you take into account potential visa issues and keeping her base in the United States.

https://twitter.com/TheMooseNation/status/924763534613012486

Ring of Honor

Speaking of ROH…the Women of Honor division is certainly another avenue that Emma could be considering. The division is not quite as established as IMPACT’s Knockouts however a star the calibre of Emma could make her mark fairly quickly and help build upon the success that ROH have seen thus far.

Potential bouts against the likes of Deonna Purrazzo and Brandi Rhodes could lend a mainstream appeal to the Women of Honor and again help to establish the division even further.

Discussion: Where would you like to see Emma next? Let us know in the comments…

Honorable mentions:

• ICW
• Shimmer
• Pro Wrestling: EVE

https://twitter.com/ProWrestlingEVE/status/924668157457027073

New Japan Pro Wrestling commentator Don Callis is reportedly bound for Impact Wrestling. Although he has allegedly not yet signed with the company he is expected to be revealed as an on air talent as early as November, January at the latest. Interestingly Callis will not be leaving New Japan, which has ignited rumors of a potential partnership between the two companies.

During a recent visit with current working partners Pro Wrestling NOAH, Impact employee Scott D’Amore announced that he had met with New Japan officials and spoke to the locker room directly, confirming that Callis was heading to Impact.

D’Amore also made a point to apologise to IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada, who had previously been a member of the TNA roster and had been booked in a detrimental way, being made to dress like Kato from the Green Hornet and play Samoa Joe’s lackey being two of the more memorable creative decisions during his time in Florida.

New Japan currently have a close working relationship with Ring of Honor and it is likely that they will not be looking to join forces once again with Impact, however we will keep you up to date as the story develops.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcUH2FDzRSA