TNA Wrestling has been making an impact in recent weeks, and the latest tapings saw allies of a popular WWE faction face off.
During the latest aired episode of TNA iMPACT, Frankie Kazarian attacked Eric Young, turning heel on the former World Champion. The pair had previously lost to the Grizzled Young Veterans. During the most recent tapings, the angle continued and Kazarian told EY that he’d only face him once Young had banished a ghost of his past. This brought out Big Damp, better known to WWE fans as Killian Dain. Despite his best efforts, Damp would lose to Young.
Scoop #20: Eric Young out to wrestle
Frankie Kazarian says EY doesn’t get to decide when they wrestle, he does, and he’s not in the mood tonight
But EY has ghosts in his closet, and tonight he will face one
Damo and Young were part of SANITY in WWE, which was formed in 2016. The group would capture the NXT Tag Team Championships before being called up to the main roster in 2018 (sans Nikki Cross.) The faction’s time on the main roster would be underwhelming and the members were released in the coming years. The faction recently reunited in PROGRESS Wrestling and was represented by Damo, Young, and Axel Tischer (Alexander Wolfe in WWE.)
Big Damo in TNA Wrestling
Big Damo is no stranger to TNA, having had two matches for the promotion during their 2016 tour of the UK. Ironically, both of Damo’s matches for TNA would see him face Young. EY bested Damo in a singles match in their first encounter. Their second encounter saw Young retain the King of the Mountain Championship in a King of the Mountain match against Damo, Jimmy Havoc, Bram, and Will Ospreay.
A former WWE tag team has shown that they are as unified as ever despite being released from the promotion a few years ago.
In April 2020, WWE began a new strategy of releasing talents in massive waves, which at the time was explained to talent as being due to “budget cuts.”
Many found the reasoning to be fishy, as the time of the releases was also a time when the company was recording the biggest profits and highest earnings.
Sanity
Members of Sanity were just some of the names cut as part of these waves, with Killian Dain being cut in June 2021.
This week, Dain, back under the name Big Damo, lost the PROGRESS Atlas Championship to Ricky Knight.
Post-match, Axel Tischer, formerly Alexander Wolfe in WWE, appeared to congratulate his Sanity comrade.
Axel Tischer has made his way to the ring to congraulate Big Damo on all the success he has had recently.
WWE has released dozens of superstars from their contracts in the past few months. The company has let go stars in multiple waves, with each wave featuring at least a few surprising releases.
One such wave of releases on June 25 saw the company end the contracts of people such as Tony Nese, Ariya Daivari, Killian Dain, The Singh Brothers, Marina Shafir, Arturo Ruas, Curt Stallion, Fandango, Tyler Breeze, Ever-Rise, and August Grey.
Some of these names had a development contract with a 30 days non-compete and they have already become free agents. Others, whose contract had been upgraded had to wait until today before their 90 days non-compete clause expired.
A few such stars, who became free agents today, took on their social media to comment on this change and discuss their future after WWE.
The Singh Brothers indicated the return of their Bollywood Boys name and said that they are ready to represent the people of both India and Canada once again.
Former Sanity member Killian Dain thanked people for their support. He said that he cannot wait to get back in the ring. Though Dain also mentioned how he still has a few legal hurdles to go through before he can compete.
Other reactions included Tony Nese mentioning how his free agency has begun and Ariya Daivari saying that he is looking forward to the future. You can check out the reaction of all the stars below:
Today, I'm officially a free agent. I'm looking forward to the future. New promotions, new opportunities, new fans and new goals! Thank you all for the support. pic.twitter.com/RxhMwvSuqw
Being released from WWE can be more difficult for non-Americans living in the United States. The former Iiconcis (now known as the Iinspiration), Bronson Reed and others have all commented on the legal challenges they have faced following their release. The former Killian Dain, now known as Big Damo, mentioned in a recent interview with WrestleZone that he is dealing with the same challenges.
“I’ve been making sure to be as active as possible and then obviously with the world about to reopen again, touch wood as best I can, then it’ll be a lot easier for me. But my main issue is I’m a foreigner living in the USA so there’s still legal hurdles I have to make before I can get anywhere,” Damo said. “That could be sorted within a week, it could be sorted within a couple of months and sadly that’s the reality of the situation. I’m here legally, but I won’t be able to work legally just for a little time yet, and that is something that we’re hoping to get sorted ASAP….I’m really excited for what’s next.”
Big Damo On Re-Inventing His Character
When Damo does return to the ring, however, his character will be different. He continued to talk about re-inventing his persona and coming up with something that fans are interested in seeing.
“In so far as what my character’s gonna be after this, it’s gonna be my invention. And that’s gonna be fun because one of the hardest parts about being in this is, we’re characters in their soap opera,” said Damo.
“The emphasis is gonna be on me to come up with something that people are gonna be interested in seeing,” he continued. “And that’s what I’m excited about the challenge.”
Bronson Reed & The Iinspiration Also Dealing With Visa Issues
The Iinspiration have also mentioned that Visa issues delayed their return to the ring following their WWE departures.
“The difficult thing for us is, we still don’t have our green cards, so we’re not allowed to work until we get those or until we find sponsorship anywhere else” Cassie Lee said on Oral Sessions. “We’re so excited; we have all this freedom and so many ideas, but pump the brakes because we can’t do any of it.”
The Iinspiration have since announced bookings in the United States, however.
Bronson Reed has also spoken about legal challenges following his release from WWE earlier this year. He sent out the below Tweet this spring.
Former WWE Superstar Killian Dain recently spoke to the It’s My House Podcast. The former member of Sanity discussed a number of topics during the interview, including what his immediate plans are now that he has left the NXT brand.
“So for the time being I’ll be staying in America with Nikkis success and everything else” the former NXT Superstar confirmed. “So then, literally once I am free to work again, I’m going to be picky, choosy and I’m going to take a bit of time to really get around the world you know?”
“There’s places I want to go, there’s companies I want to work for and there’s people I want to work” Big Damo continued. “I’ve got a full list of people I’m desperate to work. It was a blast when I got to wrestle a lot of the New Japan guys through Rev Pro, and I’d love it if I get a chance to wrestle the likes of Ishi again and Tanahashi again.”
Killian Dain on New Japan Run
“I’d love to wrestle Okada, Shingo, you know all those guys” Damo noted, basically confirming that he wants to have a run in New Japan. “And there’s so many others across the world so for me, I’m taking these three months to take a bit of time for myself to get myself prepared mentally, physically, everything else.”
The former Killian Dain finished by confirming that he needs to sort out some visa issues to remain in the United States. “Obviously I have to figure out my being a foreigner living in America. “There’s a couple of hoops we have to jump through next which will hopefully go down without a problem. And then yeah get myself around the world, because I do want to get back and do some things back in Britain, and I want to see how he scene is there, I want to be an inspiration for the next group of guys coming through.”
You can check out the full interview with the former Killian Dain below:
The Wednesday Night Wars were always something fought out at the boardroom level. Talking in a recent interview with Sportskeeda, recently released superstar Killian Dain talked about how watching AEW matches while backstage at NXT.
Wrestling is a community. Regardless of what promotion you work for, there is a kinship that exists between wrestlers that runs deep. It is this friendship that keeps matters more than ratings and demographics in the eyes of the wrestlers themselves.
“Like, so, I think people would love [for] me to say it was this rivalry or whatever else, but the truth is, you know when we were going head-to-head if they had a particularly good match, we’d wanted to watch; we’d watch! You know what I mean? We’d be backstage in the locker room; we’ll be like, ‘Oh, such and such, let’s see that.’ A lot of [them] are our friends, [as is] with a lot of the guys on the roster,” Killian Dain said.
Killian Dain Enjoyed the Healthy Rivalry But Never Wants AEW to Fail
A rivalry is always a good thing. It can drive you to do the very best you can at every chance you get. This is a statement echoed by Killian Dain when talking about how the NXT and WWE stars thought of AEW.
“So yeah, sure, there is a rivalry so far as we wanted to do the best we could, we wanted to put on the best matches, and we felt that we had an incredible roster at NXT,” Dain said. “There is not one person there, who has gone, ‘F them’ or anything like that because I shared locker rooms with maybe at least 50 per cent of that roster. In fact, I’m probably underselling that; I’d say I’ve been at shows with about 75 per cent of that roster; some of the guys I even trained with or people who have [been] trained by myself, you know, are on that roster.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CQjwkhWsyLv/
Killian Dain is now a free agent. His wife, Nikki Cross is a WWE wrestler, and his friends are scattered across the globe. He is a hard worker in the prime of his career. Hopefully, it won’t be long before he’s back in a wrestling ring once more.
WWE Superstar Nikki Cross took to social media to react publicly to her husband Killian Dain being released from WWE yesterday.
Dain had been part of the NXT brand over the past year, where he was teaming with Drake Maverick. The duo had adopted an ‘odd couple’ type of gimmick, with Maverick of course being the far smaller of the pair and more of comedy type character.
“The whole world is waiting for you my love” Nikki Cross tweeted in reaction to Killian Dain being released. “I have seen your talent, your experience, your versatility, your work, your passion, your dedication, And your heart, first hand and up close.”
“I have the best seat in the house, I can’t wait to watch you unleashed. My man [heart emoji]” Cross would conclude.
Nikki Cross on Killian Dain
Nikki Cross and Killian Dain were both previously part of the Sanity stable in NXT. The group had a successful run on the gold and black brand, but notably they were underutilized and discarded quite quickly on the main roster of WWE.
With Dain now gone, Nikki Cross remains the only member of Sanity still contracted with WWE, as Eric Young and Alexander Wolfe were also previously released from the company.
Prior to signing with WWE, Killian Dain/Big Damo was a mainstay on the European independent scene, topping the card for the likes of Rev Pro, What Culture Pro Wrestling and OTT.
Damo issued his own response to the release, saying that “chip is back on my shoulder” and that his email was open for media and booking enquiries.
The now former Killian Dain also confirmed that he has a 90-day no compete clause, whereas some of the other talent that were released had either 30-60.
WWE released 13 Superstars on Friday – Killian Dain, The Bollywood Boyz (Sunil Singh, Samir Singh), Marina Shafir, Arturo Ruas, Curt Stallion, Fandango, Tyler Breeze, Ever-Rise (Chase Parker, Matt Martel), Tony Nese, Ariya Daivari, and August Grey.
WWE President & Chief Revenue Officer Nick Khan led a meeting at WWE Headquarters about the decision to do another round of talent releases. Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful reports there were apparently more names set to be released that had not been confirmed.
There were some wrestlers who were “saved” from the chopping block at the last minute.
The 205 Live wrestlers that got cut were on higher contracts than WWE had been giving out for work on that brand as of late. Just like the other talent releases, these cuts were a part of ongoing budget cuts ahead of the company going back on the road next month.
Dain and Nese are under a 90-day non-compete clause while Grey has a 30-day non-compete clause.
Wrestlers who are under the 30-day non-competes will become free agents after Friday, July 25 while those under the 90-day non-compete clauses will be free agents after Thursday, September 23.
WWE’s NXT premiere on USA Network ended in a brawl between members of the NXT locker room. This occurred after the Street Fight between Kilian Dain and Matt Riddle spilled out of the ring. They fought into the backstage area before eventually finding themselves back in the ring, surrounded by their fellow Superstars.
After the cameras cut on the WWE Network, NXT General Manager William Regal stormed to the ring. He then set a rematch for next week’s episode. Their rematch, which will also be a Street Fight, comes with an added caveat: the winner will face Adam Cole for the NXT Championship.
Regal got into Killian’s face saying, “This Street Fight will continue next week on USA, and I’m going to give you both some incentive because the winner will face Adam Cole in an NXT Championship match!”
His announcement was met with chants of “Thank you, Regal” from the WWE Universe within Full Sail University.
Both Matt Riddle and Killian Dain nodded, staring at each other after the announcement was made.
Last night saw Adam Cole’s stable, the Undisputed Era, finally fulfil their promise of being draped in NXT gold. No matter who comes out victorious from the Street Fight rematch next week, expect Cole and his stablemates to do everything they can to keep the gold within Undisputed Era.
WWE Superstars and former Sanity members, Killian Dain and Nikki Cross, were officially married this past week. Their ceremony took place in Cross’ hometown of Glasgow, Scotland.
The happy couple have been together for a number of years, and got engaged in 2018. They announced their relationship in January when Cross uploaded a social media post containing a picture of their wedding bands. This was accompanied by a picture of her and Dain from 2008.
Nikki Cross is currently a member of the RAW brand. She will be accompanying Alexa Bliss for her championship matchup this Sunday at WWE’s Stomping Grounds PPV.
Like Tyler Breeze, Killian Dain has recently returned to NXT. This comes after a brief stint as a SmackDown Live Superstar.
Superstar Attendance
Several NXT UK Superstars and WWE officials were in attendance for the ceremony. Joe Coffey, and NXT Performance Center coaches Robbie Brookside and Johnny Moss were all there.
Moss uploaded a photo of himself with the newlyweds, accompanied with the caption:
“Very rare 2 genuine people achieve their dreams together! So pleased to have been a witness to their success! @killiandain @nikkicrosswwe #happilyeverafter”
This week also saw 205 Live General Manager, Drake Maverick and former Mae Young Competitor, Renee Michelle, get married. Their ceremony would be crashed by R-Truth, who would successfully reclaim the 24/7 Championship from Maverick.
Several WWE stars made their return to NXT which is where it all began for them.
WWE is in Winter Park, FL at Full Sail University for Thursday’s NXT TV tapings. This is where Fandango, Killian Dain and Apollo Crews made their returns to NXT.
First up was Dain, who returned following Matt Riddle’s win over Arture Ruas as he appeared wearing a mask then revealed himself. Dain then destroyed Riddle and put him through the stage.
Dain had been rumored to be heading back to NXT when SAnitY was split up once Eric Young went to RAW and Alexander Wolfe was sent to NXT UK.
Crews wrestled Kushida in a singles match where he lost by submission. Both of their matches will air on the July 17 episode.
Finally, Fandango made the save for Tyler Breeze, who beat Jaxson Ryker. Post-match, Forgotten Sons beat down Breeze until Fandango made the save and reunited with Breeze.
Fandango had been out of action after suffering a shoulder injury back in July 2018 that originally expected for him to be out of action for around 6 months. The timeframe for his return was at the end of 2018 but it was delayed.
A number of teams broke up during the Superstar Shakeup this
year but probably the most disappointing of them all was the disbanding of
Sanity.
The team had great potential but were rarely used on WWE TV after their main roster debut on SmackDown Live last year. They were disbanded after their leader Eric Young was moved to Raw.
Shortly after this, another member of the faction in Alexander Wolfe was shifted back to Europe to work on NXT UK and it appears that the last member of the faction won’t be staying around the Blue Branded Show either.
According to reports from Wrestling Observer, Killian Dain, who is also the husband of the group’s former member Nikki Cross is being moved back to NXT and could make an appearance at Full Sail soon.
This is surprising news as WWE went to some length to keep couples together during the Superstar Shakeup and they even backed out from a number of roster moves so couples like Andrade and Charlotte Flair could stay together.
However, reports suggest that Cross will be a part of Raw
roster moving forward and it will be interesting to see how this affects the
relationship of these two stars.
Now, Dain took it a step further by clearly asking if is something that he said that didn’t sit well with the WWE. He asked why he wasn’t booked when the rest of the stable where in SmackDown and his wife Nikki Cross was at Raw.
“Last night my tag partners where with Smackdown in Vancouver and my wife with Raw in Regina. Whereas I’m….at home.
The group had moved to the main roster on SmackDown Live in July last year and they have been barely used since. The stable was doing quite well in NXT and it was expected that we would get to see more of them on the main roster, but it seemed like WWE had basically nothing for them.
Dain’s frustration is understandable as the group has a lot of potential and can be quite entertaining on WWE TV if used correctly. We will have to wait and see if the company responds to Dain’s concerns in a positive way.
Killian Dain and Nikki Cross are now married. The former SAnitY partners announced the news in recent messages that were posted on their official Twitter accounts. Although there were some rumors going around that they just got engaged, WWE.com is reporting that they are married as they congratulated the couple.
Dan wrote, “Only took us 10 and a half years but when it’s right, its right. I love you @NikkiCrossWWE. ”
Earlier this week on an episode of SmackDown Live, WWE announced that WWE United States Champion Rusev would make his next title defense against former champion Shinsuke Nakamura at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event takes place on Sunday, January 27, 2019 in Phoenix, Arizona at Chase Field. Rusev won the title from Nakamura on the Christmas night episode of SmackDown Live.
Rusev took to his official Twitter account to react to the news when he wrote, “Let me check my schedule….. oh It’s falls on #RusevDay ! Get ready Phoenix we gonna celebrate together.”
ICW had confirmed that a WWE Superstar would be appearing as part of their Garage show a week ago. The company had not revealed who will be appearing but did confirm beforehand that they would be in action against ICW’s Mikey Whiplash.
The WWE Superstar in question was Smackdown Live’s Killian Dain. The ‘Beast of Belfast’ made his return to ICW’s Fight Club to a rapturous reception from the ICW faithful. Previously known as Big Damo, the Belfast born Superstar was originally part of the company from 2013 to 2016. Dain actually won the company’s World Heavyweight Championship back in Belfast on 27 February 2016, this was the first time that the title changed hands outside of Glasgow and made Dain the first ever Irish-born champion.
Killian Dain’s Sanity stable returned to Smackdown Live recently. The team had originally been brought to the main roster without Nikki Cross. The November 6th edition of Smackdown saw Cross rejoin the group during a segment with WWE Smackdown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch.
ICW will be presenting their Fear & Loathing XI event on December 2nd. ‘Loathing is the biggest event in ICW’s year and some big names are on hand for the event. WWE’s Pete Dunne, Tyler Bate, Trent Seven and 205 Live Superstar Noam Dar will all be part of the show.
We reported last night on Insane Championship Wrestling bringing in a WWE Superstar for their hotly anticipated “Fight Club” event that took place in Glasgow’s Garage venue.
Prior to the event, ICW owner, Mark Dallas, hinted heavily at which superstar could be gracing the venue. He revealed he had asked the WWE for “a BIG favour” in order to find the right opponent for Mikey Whiplash.
Turns out that opponent was none other than Sanity’s own, Killian Dain.
Killian, who alongside his Sanity stablemates, returned to SmackDown LIVE last Thursday, has previously wrestled all over Europe, including ICW, under his previous moniker, Big Damo.
European Tour
The WWE has been touring across Europe this past weekend. This serendiptious scheduling gave Dain the perfect opportunity to revisit his old stomping grounds.
Dain became the ICW World Champion in 2016 when he defeated Chris Renfrew in Glasgow, Scotland. He is just one of a slew of WWE talent that have made recent appearances for the company. Others include 205 Live/NXT UK Star, Noam Dar, and RAW Superstar, Finn Balor.
Noam Dar is scheduled to compete at ICW’s upcoming December 2nd event. He will team up with Wolfgang and BT Gunn to face off against British Strong Style.
– This past Tuesday on SmackDown LIVE, The Bar beat Gallows, Anderson and The Colons in a Triple Threat Match to move one step closer to a SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match against The New Day at the WWE Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event on September 16.
WWE.com has announced that Sheamus and Cesaro’s opponents will be determined in a Triple Threat Match on next week’s episode of SmackDown LIVE. The teams that will be facing off are The Usos, SAnitY and the tandem of Rusev and Aiden English.
– Tino Sabbatelli, who is currently sidelined after tearing his pectoral muscle during a match in April, revealed on his Instagram Story earlier this week that he underwent another procedure.
There’s no word on how long the NXT star will be out of action, but this type of injury generally requires a six to nine month recuperation period following the initial surgery.
On another note, Sabbatelli turned 35 years old on August 24.
Killian Dain wore a singlet during his match with New Day on Tuesday night. Some people aren’t letting this fact go either.
Smackdown creative head, Road Dogg, has had to deal with complaints about it on Twitter recently. Fortunately for him, Killian Dain came to his rescue.
While his choice in ring gear is questioned by some, there is little question Dain has potential. The 33-year-old was originally trained by Robbie Brookside via NWA Scotland but honed his skills in the WWE Performance Center when he was sent there in 2016. Oddly enough, Brookside is now a coach at the WWE Performance Center.
“I don’t think there is enough hyperbole to explain how good a coach he is,” Dain said of Brookside. “I can’t think of a better coach I’d met in any sport”
Real name Damian Mackie, he began competing with ICW in 2013. He wrestled Drew Galloway for the EVOLVE title in 2014 as well. Dain would wrestle a couple of matches in 2015-2016 for Jeff Jarrett’s Global Force Wrestling and with TNA. He was signed by WWE that summer and began competing on the NXT house show circuit under the name Damo. In December of 2016, Dain was put alongside Eric Young and Sawyer Fulton as Sanity.
– Former WWE ring announcer Lilian Garcia was backstage at Monday’s Raw at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California and last night’s SmackDown LIVE at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles conducting interviews for her Chasing Glory podcast.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BfuYPjlgABK/
Stephanie McMahon is her guest on this week’s episode of Chasing Glory.
– WWE has announced that Aleister Black and Killian Dain will go one-on-one on next week’s episode of NXT.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bfw15gtBXU9/
According to WWE.com’s match preview, this contest could potentially have NXT Championship implications.
– WWE announced on Monday that NXT will return to the Mid-Atlantic region this April with four live events in Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania. One of those live events takes place at the APF Federal Credit Union Arena in Bel Air, Maryland, on Saturday, April 21. According to an email sent out today by WWE, there will be a presale for the event on Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. on harford.universitytickets.com with the passcode ‘NXT LIVE’.
ICW will be hosting their biggest event of the year tomorrow when they invade the SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland.
Several stars from the WWE UK and NXT rosters have performed for Scotland’s number 1 wrestling promotion and four ICW alumni have taken to Twitter to wish the company luck for Fear & Loathing X tomorrow night…WWE UK superstar Wolfgang sent out the tweet below alongside Killian Dain, Nikki Cross and NXT Champion Drew McIntyre.
Good luck to team #ICW this weekend from some former World Champs and your #FearAndLoathing alumni
Speaking of Fear & Loathing X, here is the full card for the event:
Tag Team Match: The Kings Of Catch (Aspen Faith & Lewis Girvan) vs. The Kinky Party (Jack Jester & Sha Samuels)
King Of Insanity Tag Team Match: Jimmy Havoc & Stevie Boy vs. The Legion (Chris Renfrew & Mikey Whiplash)
Lionheart vs. Rob Van Dam vs Zack Gibson
ICW Unified Zero-G World Heavyweight Title #1 Contendership Six Man Ladder Match: Aaron Echo vs. Bram vs. DCT vs. Jody Fleisch vs. Joe Hendry vs. Kid Fite
ICW Tag Team Title Match: The Marauders (Mike Bird & Wild Boar) (c) vs. Polo Promotions (Jackie Polo & Mark Coffey)
ICW Women’s Title Three Way Steel Cage Match: Kay Lee Ray (c) vs. Kasey vs. Viper
Kenny Williams vs. Rey Mysterio
ICW Zero-G Title / ICW World Heavyweight Title Match: BT Gunn vs. Joe Coffey
WWE’s UK Twitter account announced that WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne will be making a special appearance at the MCM Comic Con in London on October 27th for a meet and greet.
NXT Superstar Killian Dain took to Twitter to commemorate his Rev Pro match with Shinsuke Nakamura from 2 years ago. The bout took place in Bethnal Green’s York Hall and is available to view on On Demand. (Side Note: As someone who was in the building for this match it is well worth watching)
WWE has announced that NXT Superstar Killian Dain of SAnitY will be competing in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 33 tomorrow.
Dain joins Chinese recruit Tian Bing as the only NXT Superstars announced for the battle royal. Dain teamed with his SAnitY partners at TakeOver: Orlando tonight to defeat Ruby Riot, Kassius Ohno, Roderick Strong and Tye Dillinger.
The announcement on Dain’s WrestleMania role was made in this video by Cathy Kelley:
