Vince McMahon may be crazy, but perhaps craziness is what it takes to reach the heights he has reached, according to one former Superstar.
McMahon re-signed from TKO and WWE last week, following a lawsuit filed by ex-employee Janel Grant. Miss Grant claims that McMahon was sexually abusive to her and that he trafficked her to others in the company, including John Lauriniaits and a former UFC Heavyweight Champion. McMahon has denied the allegations against him and, via a spokesperson, has claimed the lawsuit is rife with “obscene made-up instances that never occurred.”
Justin Gabriel on Vince McMahon
One person who worked under McMahon for years as a WWE Superstar was PJ Black, better known as Justin Gabriel. On a recent edition of the Cafe de Rene podcast, Black was asked by Rene Dupree for when he realized McMahon was “bats**t crazy.”
“From day one. I mean all billionaires, I work with a lot of billionaires and I know a lot of billionaires so you have to be crazy to think on that level, you know? But I mean there’s a fine line between crazy and genius. And at the end of the day he is a genius. Say what you want about him, he’s a genius. He’s a self-made billionaire. Anyone who’s a self-made billionaire is crazy and a genius and comes with a lot of different labels.
“I’ve always had good interactions with him he’s he’s definitely a strange character, yeah. Bats**t crazy is the way to describe him. But you know like I there’s a good way to describe that and a bad way right I only saw the good sides of that so [I was]very fortunate. Very fortunate.”
Justin Gabriel on John Lauriniaitis
Former McMahon confidante John Lauriniaitis is also named in the litigation, though has claimed that he’s a victim in this situation, not a predator. On the show, Black recalled his relationship with ‘Johnny Ace’ and how his brothers once worked for the promotion run by Black’s father.
“He loved me. Because he’s the guy that signed me. He kind of knew who my dad was because his two younger brothers worked for my dad back in the day… they were big stars in South Africa. They looked great and my dad had them come to the ring with motorcycles and they had the badass metal music. They were just so over in South Africa and little did I know I was gonna get signed by their older brother one day.”
“The Darewolf” PJ Black has reportedly re-signed with Ring of Honor (ROH). Black has been competing for the promotion under a one-year deal but has allegedly signed a new multi-year deal with the company. According to Mike Johnson of PWInsider, Black’s new contract was signed right before his previous contract expired. He made his ROH debut last year during their Survival of the Fittest tournament.
PJ Black’s “No-Brainer” Decision
Black was previously offered an opportunity to return to WWE. He shared how he was offered the same amount of money as ROH. However, he would be required to compete for approximately 200 additional shows. Black noted how by staying with ROH, he’s been afforded creative freedom. This extends to his life inside and outside of the ring, which played an important factor in his choice. He ultimately declined WWE so he could continue his career in ROH, a decision he referred to as a “no-brainer.”
PJ Black is aligned with the Lifeblood stable. He is currently involved in a storyline where he is attempting to mentor ROH talent Brian Johnson.
The news comes in the wake of other notable stars choosing to stay. Other names include Bandido, Josh Woods and Villain Enterprises’ Marty Scurll, who will also shoulder new responsibilities as ROH’s co-booker. Before signing with ROH, the former WWE Superstar wrestled across several promotions including Lucha Underground, NWA and even TNA/Impact Wrestling.
After spending time in WWE’s developmental system, PJ Black would burst onto the WWE main roster in a big way. After first taking part in NXT, he would debut alongside other NXT rookies as the Nexus stable.
He would eventually leave WWE in 2015, wrestling around the world and for several companies before signing a deal with Ring Of Honor (ROH).
Formerly known as Justin Gabriel, PJ Black recently sat down with Joey G. from Wrestling Inc. to talk about his past, as well as his future in ROH.
One of the topics of discussion revolved around Black’s decision to not return to NXT, choosing instead to sign with ROH.
“I had an opportunity to go back to NXT. It was the same money for 200 shows more, so really that was a no-brainer for me,” Black said. “I have creative freedom and freedom outside because I do a lot of things outside of wrestling that they let me do whenever. And with creative freedom in wrestling – just to be yourself [is important].”
He points at ROH’s storytelling and the promotion’s Code of Honor as factors that helped his choice.
“I love the storytelling of ROH and the old-school Code of Honor of shaking hands before and after matches. I feel like fans appreciate wrestling different now than they did years ago. …As NXT shows, in-ring performance is very important right now, and that’s what I like about wrestling: it keeps on evolving.”
PJ Black recently aligned himself ROH’s newest stable. This came in the wake of a personal journey, where he decided he didn’t like the person he had become and wanted to make a conscious effort to change, ultimately siding with LifeBlood.
PJ Black, also known as Justin Gabriel in WWE, signed an exclusive deal with Ring of Honor a month ago. The former WWE Tag Team Champion spoke to CBS Los Angeles about going with ROH despite having an offer from WWE, among other topics.
Black was asked if there was any persuasion from WWE to have him on board. Black says that didn’t happen because after leaving WWE he was out for a year with the base jumping injury and was nowhere to be seen, and that didn’t instigate enough interest from the company.
“Oh, no pressure at all, because they kind of just remembered me from what I was doing when I was there. And while they did like me and stuff like that, they don’t know the stuff that I’m doing right now. I’ll give you an example, Drew McIntyre, he went back to the indies and just reinvented himself. He did fantastic, and they had to have him back. I was out for a year or two, three years due to a base jumping injury, so I feel like in wrestling, out of sight, out of mind.”
“So they kind of forgot about me, and while they did make a decent offer, it wasn’t strong enough for them and they didn’t force anything on it. Plus, I live in downtown LA, so Survivor Series was in Staples Center, and that’s a block away from my place. So I just walked over one day just to say hi to everyone, and that’s where it all happened. I ran into Vince McMahon, ran into [Triple H], and we started talking. It was never like they kind of reached out first. It was kind of like I was just being at the right place at the right time.”
Black also says that he never told WWE officials that he had other offers on the table. He thinks this might have been the reason WWE didn’t try too much to sign him.
Black added that the money with WWE was decent but not what he expected. Plus, the busy schedule and experience with creative put him off.
The important thing for Black is to show his character to the world, and the freedom with the ROH deal gives him exactly what he wanted.
“A lot of people don’t know who PJ Black is. I’ve been PJ Black for 15 years. Most people just know Justin Gabriel because he was on TV for seven or eight years. It’s very important for me to show the personality and the character of PJ Black, which is completely different to Justin Gabriel. And they give me freedom and that was the main thing. It wasn’t so much booking and stories that they were gonna give me, but they give me freedom to do whatever I want and that’s how you get yourself over. If people tell you what to do, what to say, how long your match should go, then you don’t have a lot of freedom. So, there’s no way for you to get over. For some guys, there is, but for a lot of guys it’s kind of like being handcuffed in a way.”
PJ Black officially signed with Ring of Honor two weeks ago. The 38-year-old from South Africa recently spoke to journalist Chris Van Vliet about his recent free agency period, Lucha Underground, and his idea for Vince McMahon to play Adam Rose’s bunny.
“Right before Ring of Honor, I actually got an offer from NXT,” Black said. “They wanted me to go back there. There were a couple of other offers too, from TNA and stuff, and I chose Ring of Honor because they give me freedom and it’s a great deal financially. It’s only for 12 months too. After that, it becomes like a 30-day notice deal. I have a feeling it’s gonna be like two or three years, but let’s see what happens. Also, merchandise royalties on that — it’s unheard of.”
Black spoke positively about his time with Lucha Underground but also expressed he had to work to get out of his contract.
“Who knows, man? It was such a great ride,” he continued. “I’m very sad about that. I personally feel like it’s not going to come back. That’s why I had to fight to get out of my contract — and it was a lot of fighting. I know a lot of the guys are trying to get out of their contracts right now. I guess I was lucky with that.”
Black continued to say that if Lucha Underground does return for a 5th season he can go back to tie up loose ends with his character.
“I did have them put in my Ring Of Honor contract that if (Lucha Underground) does come back, I’ll go back for a couple episodes and tie up some storyline ends,” he said.
Black would continue to say that working for NJPW has been a goal of his even before working for WWE was.
Black also mentioned he pitched the idea for Vince McMahon to be revealed as Adam Rose’s bunny.
“The bunny becomes really grizzled. He becomes like a hardcore champ, kind of like in the Attitude Era. There’s shots of him backstage smoking a cigar, dried blood on his fur and just dirt. He keeps losing matches, but he’s always there doing crazy stuff,” Black continued. “They take the mascot head off, and it’s Vince. I said to Vince — if it was anybody else in the world, everyone would be like ‘aw, yeah, that’s cool…’ But if it was him, how could would that have been?”
PJ Black, also known as Justin Gabriel in WWE, has announced on his Twitter account that he has officially signed with Ring of Honor. He would start working there from March 16 in Las Vegas.
Black also mentions that independent promotions looking for him should contact him now, because he has signed an exclusive deal with ROH and won’t be able to appear anywhere else after March 16.
“So I just officially signed with ROH! I start March 16th in Las Vegas. So any promoters running shows before that I could possibly make it!”
So I just officially signed with ROH! I start March 16th in Las Vegas. So any promoters running shows before that I could possibly make it!
PJ Black had previously signed for a number of dates with Ring of Honor last month and appeared at the ROH Honor Reigns Supreme event where he lost to Bandido.
Black would make a great addition to the roster, as anyone who has followed his career would know. The 37-year old has made rounds over independent promotions around the world and was a major player in Lucha Underground. He has also captured the Tag Team Championship three times during his time in WWE.
In their continued effort to lockdown talent, Ring Of Honor has managed to secure another two acquisitions to their roster.
Just recently, the company managed to sign Mark Haskins, RUSH, PCO, Brody King, and more.
Initially reported by PWInsider.com, ROH can now proudly add PJ Black (formerly WWE’s Justin Gabriel) and “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams to their growing talent pool.
PJ Black has been making a name for himself over the years, wrestling for a number of independent promotions worldwide. He was also a featured star on Lucha Underground, appearing as a member of Johnny Mundo’s Worldwide Underground stable. He is a former three-time WWE Tag Team champion.
Tracy Williams has been a stalwart for EVOLVE for the longest time, becoming a two-team EVOLVE Tag Team Champion during his tenure with the company. He has also been confirmed as one of the competitors to be taking part in a 12-team Tag Wars tournament. This tournament will take place across all three Road to G1 Supercard shows.
The winner of the tournament will earn a future shot against the current ROH World Tag Team champions, The Briscoes.
With All Elite Wrestling making moves, and companies like New Japan Pro Wrestling continuing their expansion plans into the west, locking down talent in the process, it’s unsurprising to see ROH follow suit in aggressively pursuing securing talent for themselves, especially in the wake of the majority of The Elite leaving.
PJ Black (better known as Justin Gabriel) has had a ton of injury woes over the past year.
Last year Black broke his leg and lost a finger in a base jumping accident. It was the third base jumping injury Black had suffered. He previously had broken both his ankles the fall before the incident.
For those who don’t know, base jumping is when one jumps off a cliff or high surface while wearing either a wing-suit or a parachute.
Black recently spoke to Interactive Wrestling Radio about the injury he suffered last year. He was unable to wrestle the entire year and described it as “the hardest year of my life”:
“Oh, bro. It has literally been the hardest year of my life. I was out the whole year. Six months in the hospital… I had to re-learn how to walk. It was literally the toughest year of my life.
“But, this year has been the most rewarding year of my life! I’m back to 100%! I don’t think I’ll ever be back to a full range of motion in my leg but that hasn’t stopped me from doing anything.
“But, right now, I’m great! I’m super happy to be alive, I’m super happy to be working! I’m super happy for the new season of Lucha Underground to be airing!”
PJ Black, who wrestled as Justin Gabriel in WWE, is believed to have been injured recently in a base jumping accident. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Black suffered a broken leg and lost a finger in the accident.
The injury was also mentioned on Edge and Christian’s most recent podcast as the reason Black won’t be on the Australian House of Hardcore tour.
PJ Black Base Jumping Injury Woes
This is the 3rd time the current Lucha Underground star has been injured this way. Base-jumping involves leaping from a cliff, or similar geological structure, while wearing a wing-suit or a parachute.
Last fall, Black broke both ankles base-jumping and was on the shelf until early 2017. Last week, Black posted photos of stitches being removed after another base-jumping accident.
Black, as Justin Gabriel, wrestled with WWE from 2008-2015. He signed with Lucha Underground in 2015 and is currently a member of the World Wide Underground stable, with Johnny Mundo, Taya and Jack Evans.
Over the weekend, we learned that Cody Rhodes will be working against NXT stars Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa. Those are in addition to upcoming matches against Kurt Angle and Mike Bennett, setting up a very busy summer for the son of a son of a plumber.
While a lot of fans are excited to see what Cody can do on the independent scene now that he’s a free agent, one person who couldn’t care less is former WWE Superstar Justin Gabriel, who now wrestles in Lucha Underground as Darewolf PJ Black. In response to the latest announcements regarding Cody’s summer schedule, Black tweeted:
"I'm so excited for a Cody Rhodes run" – said nobody ever.
Recap of Lucha Underground Season 2 Episode 9 – Aztec Warfare II – March 23, 2016
Fenix enters the warrior’s gym and is met by Pentagon Jr. Catrina appears, “Your master may be teaching you about the dark parts, but you know nothing about the darkness. I don’t even know why you’re here. You never received an invitation to compete in Aztec Warfare. You lost your privilege when you put your hands on me.” Pentagon Jr. replies, “You don’t scare me and neither does Mil Muertes. You don’t tell me what to do. I only listen to one person and that person is my master. I am Pentagon Jr. and I have zero fear. Catrina replies, “The only reason you have zero fear is because you don’t know true fear. As for you Fenix, last week you barely survived, tonight you will have to take your last breath and Mil will take his title back.” Catrina disappears, Pentagon Jr. and Fenix stare each other down and walk away.
As we get our first look inside the temple tonight, the fans chant “Aztec Warfare!” A tribal band, in wild, extravagant headgear, feathers, and colorful garb play the drums and dance. Matt Striker and Vampiro tell us tonight, for the first time ever, the Lucha Underground Championship will be defended at Aztec Warfare. 20 men will compete, every 90 seconds another participant will enter, and the only way to be eliminated is pinfall or submission. Matt says “Not to stir the pot, Pentagon Jr. was not invited.” Vampiro says “That is wacked. You know it and I know it. But it is what it is.” Matt says “Let the drums beat and let Aztec Warfare begin.”
Melissa Santos introduces us to Aztec Warfare and the first participant hailing from Mexico City, Mexico is Fenix. Fenix enters, stands at the top of the stairs, and spits sprays. He is high-fiving the fans on the way to the ring, one week into his reign as Lucha Underground champion, the fans are clearly on his side. The second entrant, by random draw, from San Diego, California, Rey Mysterio. The roof might just blow off this place. The King of Lucha Libre, as they call him, enters the temple, and climbs in the ring at Lucha Underground for the first time ever. Fenix motions for Rey to take his due applause on the turnbuckle. The fans pop big. The two men shake hands in the middle of the ring. Fenix takes off his belt, looks at it and hands it to the referee who hoists it to the crowd. The fans chant “Animal!” Vampiro tells us that “Animal” is the cry of the Mexican warrior. The fans chant “Lucha Libre!” The bell rings and we are underway, the fans are excited to get going.
Fenix shakes Rey’s hand again and embraces him in a show of respect. The two men lock up in the middle of the ring. Fenix throws Rey off the ropes, leapfrog, Rey up and over again, Rey circling around the head neck and shoulders of Fenix, then spins off and the crowd applauds. Fenix hits the ropes, looks like Rey might hit a 619, but Fenix is to his feet and hits him with a superkick. Fenix does a handspring off the ropes and hooks Rey Mysterio with an inside arm drag, pin attempt, kickout, both men are up. Kick misses, then kick to the gut, Rey throws Fenix off the ropes, but Fenix catches himself and circles through with his feet, reversal Rey off the ropes, but Rey catches himself and circles through same move, then an armdrag before entrant number 3 comes out.
“The Hunter” King Cuerno makes his way to the ring. He delivers a forearm to Rey, a jumping kick to Fenix, Cuerno goes to the corner, but meets a boot from Rey. Rey comes out and does a somersault flip overtop of Cuerno, but catches the worst of it, and “the Hunter” poses with his imaginary bow and arrow. Cuerno hits the ropes for a suicide dive through the middle rope onto Fenix on the floor. The fans chant “Lucha!” Rey Mysterio gets up, a kick to Cuerno knocks him to the floor. Rey now sets up for a suicide dive and instead dives upwards through the bottom rope in a cool looking spot.
Next out is number 4, Argenis. Argenis hits the apron and meets Fenix with a forearm then a springboard hurricanrana off the rope. Fenix gets in a kick, springboards off the middle rope, but is met by a superkick from Argenis. Argenis kicks Rey in arse, kick again, then pin attempt but Rey kicks out at 2. Off the ropes, reversal action, Rey takes out Argenis, knocks Cuerno to the floor, and then hits the 619 on Argenis, climbs to the top rope, frog splash, the pin and Argenis is eliminated. Fans chant “Eddy!” Cuerno tries to get on the apron, but Fenix takes him out and then goes off the rope for a corkscrew plancha onto the floor (some really great rotation). The next competitor, number 5 is introduced, its Johnny Mundo, and we go to commercial.
Mundo and Rey meet in the ring. Forearms to Rey, uppercut, sends Rey to the turnbuckle, Rey up and over, Fenix in, sends Mundo’s kick into Rey, then Fenix connects with a kick. Mundo slams Fenix to the mat and then Fenix and Mundo trade lateral press pin combinations back-and-forth. The next competitor is introduced and it’s Joey Ryan. Ha! The sleazy Joey Ryan oozes and grinds into the temple with lollipop in mouth. He pulls a pair of handcuffs out of his trunks and handcuffs himself to the railing. Matt Striker says it’s a wise strategy, because he can’t be pinned while he’s handcuffed! Cuerno walks by and delivers a superkick to Joey Ryan. Famous B who is watching nearby from the crowd offers Joey money.
Number 7 is out and it’s Prince Puma. He takes out Mundo, Fenix, then Cuerno. Puma sets up and hits a springboard 450 splash onto all all of them. Fans chant “Holy s***!” Striker reminds us that Prince Puma won Aztec Warfare last year. Puma brings Cuerno back into the ring, hooks him by the neck, and sends him to the outside.
Number 8 is introduced, none other than Jack Evans. While Evans is coming down the ramp Rey Mysterio locks in an armbar submission on Cuerno and Cuerno taps. As everyone beats down Mundo, Evans springboards off the rope into the ring and misses everybody. Mysterio, Puma, and Fenix continue to beat him down. Johnny Mundo wants to join in on the fun and gets in a couple stomps in, before all three men decide to turn around and chop him to the outside. Rey Mysterio on the top turnbuckle, stands on Fenix’s shoulders, as they walk across the ring, Rey hits a diving splash onto Evans, pin attempt, but Mundo pulls Evans out of the ring to safety. Mundo turns to Evans as if to say wait, let’s see who’s coming next and here comes number 9, female wrestler Taya. She gets a huge pop from the fans, as well as Mundo and Evans.
The sides are evened up now, 3 rudos (heels), 3 technicos (faces), plus Joey Ryan who is still handcuffed to the rail. All six competitors brawl, Evans pulls down the top rope, and Puma goes to the outside, holding his knee in pain after he lands. Mundo throws Mysterio into the corner and bounces off the ropes for a kick. Taya and Evans stretch Mysterio out as Mundo stands over him and slaps him in the face. Number 10 comes out and it’s the power house Cage. Mundo gets hip blocked, Taya gets taken out, Evans goes for a dropkick that has no effect and then meets a clothesline from Cage. Cage picks up Evans throws him across the ring and we go to commercial.
After commercial, Cage goes to the outside catches Mundo goes for powerbomb but Taya jumps off, Cage catches her and then slams her to the floor. Mundo hits a superkick on Cage, Mundo jumps up on the ring apron and hits a spinning kick on Cage, then picks him up and throws him through the office window.
Number 11 is midget luchador Mascarita Sagrada. Sagrada comes in with some fast spinning twirling offense on Fenix, suicide dive to the outside, but Mundo catches him, then superkicks him. In the meantime, Cage has returned from the office window, spinning lariat nails Mundo, then delivers Weapon X face first to the floor. Cage throws Mundo back in the ring, Mundo gets caught with a running flip from Prince Puma and pinned, Mundo is eliminated. Jack Evans back in the ring with a corkscrew kick, Cage slams Laya into the ring apron.
Marty “The Moth” Martinez is out next. Marty gets in the ring, clotheslines Fenix, then Evans, then a running boot to Prince Puma. Cage gets up on the apron, but Martinez elbows him off. Sagrada goes after Martinez, slaps, kicks, hits the ropes, but meets a boot. Evans is up now, hits a spinning kick to the back of Martinez head, but Martinez stays on his feet and laughs it off. Evans hits the ropes, gets caught in a body scissors reversal, and Martinez slams him face first to the mat. Martinez grabs Evans by the mouth and stretches his mouth wide open, laughing maniacally. Evans bites his fingers, then throws him to the floor. Number 13 is Drago, the blue and white dragon, and we go to commercial.
Back from break and Drago is running down the steps. Jack Evans meets him with a cartwheel flip over the top rope, misses, lands on his feet, Drago delivers a kick. Drago goes to spray the green mist in Evans face, but Evans ducks and Joey Ryan gets sprayed instead. Drago throws Evans into the crowd. Rey Mysterio is in the ring working over Martinez, Sagrada joins in and Rey hits a diving splash and covers him while Sagrada flips over Rey and holds onto Martinez’s legs for the combined pin, Martinez is eliminated. Back on the outside, Jack Evans gets thrown from the first level of crowd seats onto the floor. Cage and Puma brawl on the outside.
Next number 14 is The Mack. Mack comes down kicks and delivers a stunner to Martinez on the floor. There are bodies everywhere. Mac enters the ring and stands toe-to-toe with Cage, they exchanged blows, Mac hits a flying knee strike on Cage, then stunner. Joey Ryan is still handcuffed. Prince Puma slaps him and then Fenix throws Sagrada into him.
Chavo Guerrero Jr. comes out as number 15. Taya beats down Sagrada, Drago delivers a powerbomb to Evans on the bleachers. Back in the ring, Sagrada goes for a crossbody but Chavo catches him, and slams him repeatedly into the turnbuckle, then tosses him to the mat. Cage delivers a backdrop on Rey. Chavo locks in the Camel Clutch on Sagrada, Vampiro says “That’s not called the Camel Clutch. That’s la de a caballo, invented by Gory Guerrero. Look, let’s not call it a horse or a camel, right now it’s more like a pony clutch!” and Sagrada taps. Cage sets up Rey for a powerbomb, but Rey sends his head to the middle rope. Rey sets up for the 619, but Taya holds the rope and Rey goes to the outside. With Cage still stationed on the ropes, Mundo brings out a cinder block and smashes it over Cage’s head. Taya crawls in the ring and covers him for the pin, Cage is eliminated. Prince Puma comes up behind and delivers a German suplex into a bridge pin and Taya is eliminated.
Out next number 16 is “The Darewolf” PJ Black. PJ delivers a standing suplex to Drago on the bleachers. Evans joins in, Drago fights out, delivers a backdrop to Evans and sends Black into the ring post. Jack Evans’ back is bleeding. Joey Ryan hanging by, still handcuffed to the railing.
Number 17 is Aero Star, who looks a lot like The Flash. The fans chant “Aero Star!” Evans and Drago go at it in the ring, pin attempt, but Black breaks it up. Aero Star on Black, Irish whip reversal, Aero Star gets caught by Jack’s elbow. Drago goes for hurricanrana, spins around Black, Black catches him and delivers a brain buster, while Aero Star drops Evans off the top rope onto his head. Simultaneous pins on Evans and Drago, 1-2-3, both men are eliminated.
Number 18 is out, it’s Dragon Azteca, Jr. Azteca jr. takes out Aero Star, spins Black around, then strike strike kick, enziguri sends Black to the floor. Head scissors dumps Mack to the floor, then swanton over the ring post to the outside on Mac. Azteca is flying everywhere. Texano is out next and we go to commercial.
Texano in the ring, hits the ropes, and flips over the top rope to the outside landing on all four men. Black brings a recovering Texano into the ring, delivers stomps to his back, pin attempt, Texano fights out and delivers a sitting powerbomb to Black, covers him, and Black is eliminated. Rey Mysterio back in the ring with Texano. Texano send Rey to the corner, forearm then walks away and goes outside to attack Chavo (apparently having lost interest in Mysterio).
And finally number 20 is Mil Muertes with Catrina, but coming through the crowd is Pentagon Jr! Pentagon Jr. comes up from behind nails Muertes with a chair to the spine, then chair shots repeatedly to the chest and shoulder. The fans pop huge for Pentagon Jr. Pentagon throws Muertes into the ring, Rey immediately hits a diving splash off the top rope, Puma helps with the pin and Muertes is eliminated.
Catrina is angry, Muertes is angry. Muertes heads off to the back after Pentagon Jr., while Catrina screams at the Vampiro to get up from the announce table. She yells at him to get out of here, slaps him, before Dario Cueto appears on the steps. “My name is Dario Cueto and this is my temple. Which means that I am in charge now. I’m the boss. So now, I announce there is one more entrance in Aztec Warfare, my brother, “The Monster” Matanza Cueto at number 21.” Matanza is massive. Matanza walks slowly, steadily towards the ring, wearing a black workman’s jumpsuit wearing and a black alien-looking mask. All 7 men circle him and try to attack, but he throws them off.
Fenix comes in, gets slammed to the mat, and pinned, 1-2-3. We are now guaranteed to have a new champion. Next Mack is in, gives him the double middle finger and stunner to no effect. The Monster hits a German suplex into a pin, The Mack is eliminated. Aero Star tries his luck, hits the ropes, meets a clubbing forearm to the back of the head, German suplex, pin 1-2-3, Aero Star is eliminated. Texano sneak attack from behind on Matanza, chokes him with the bull rope, but Matanza flips him over his back and Texano runs into an atomic bomb 1-2-3.
Matanza notices Joey Ryan on the outside of the ring (while Chavo hides out of sight). Matanza grabs Joey and rips apart the steel railing, setting Joey free. Matanza throws Joey into the ring, handcuffs still attached to his wrists, 3 rolling suplexes, pin, the ref rolls Joey out of the ring.
There are four men left on the outside, Mysterio, Puma, Chavo, and Azteca. They are all staring at The Monster, until Chavo turns and attacks everybody. Azteca Jr. gets thrown in the ring, ready to try Matanza now, delivers kicks forearms, but Matanza sends him to corner. Matanza goes for splash but misses and gets middle rope drop kicked by Azteca. Azteca comes off the ropes electric chair on the shoulder, tries for Sunset flip but Matanza catch him, can’t knock the big man off his feet. Azteca tries to go off the ropes again, but Matanza is too strong and catches him in chokeslam, 1-2-3. Azteca Jr. is eliminated.
The monster is dominating everyone. Chavo tries to strike a deal with Dario, enters the ring and tries to convince Matanza to team up, but Matanza hits him with a lariat, then a slam, and pins Chavo.
Puma and Mysterio climb into the ring together and they attack Matanza at the same time. They duck a double clothesline, get in some kicks, then forearms, then kicks, then double standing dropkick. Puma with a splash, Rey goes for a splash but gets caught and Matanza sends him to the outside. Puma goes for a kick, he gets caught, and meets a side suplex. The Monster suplexes him again and then German suplex bridge, 1-2-3, Puma is eliminated, and now Rey is the only one left against Matanza.
The fans chant cheer Rey on. Rey climbs into the ring slowly and Striker delivers the call, “We’re down to the last two men, here we go!” Each competitor sizing each other up, Rey runs in, but Matanza throws him back. Rey hits the ropes, Matanza nails a clothesline. Fans sing “Cueto” (similar to Pittsburgh Pirates fans mockingly singing “Cueto” at Cincinnati Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto in the 2013 National League Wild Card Game). Rey hits the ropes, slides underneath, and from his back delivers two kicks to Matanza’s head. The Monster catches his leg, but Rey connects with an enziguri to the back of head. Matanza is draped over the ropes, Rey goes for the 619, Matanza blocks it, picks him up on his shoulders, Rey slips out, drop toe hold onto the ropes, goes for a second 619 and connects as Striker yells “Booyaya booyaya booyaya!” Matanza stumbles to his feet, Rey goes for the driving hurricanrana, gets caught, Matanza throws him up in the air, and then a spinning power slam, 1-2-3. Monster wins.
Winner and NEW Lucha Underground Champion: “The Monster” Matanza Cueto
Dario grabs the belt and the mic and enters the ring. He hands the belt to Matanza and says, “There is the new Lucha underground Champion, my brother, ‘The Monster’ Matanza Cueto!” as the credits roll.
Order of participants:
1. Fenix
2. Rey Mysterio
3. King Cuerno
4. Argenis
5. Johnny Mundo
6. Joey Ryan
7. Prince Puma
8. Jack Evans
9. Taya
10. Cage
11. Mascarita Sagrada
12. Marty “The Moth” Martinez
13. Drago
14. The Mack
15. Chavo Guerrero Jr.
16. PJ Black
17. Aero Star
18. Dragon Azteca Jr.
19. Texano
20. Mil Muertes
21. Matanza Cueto
Order of elimination (eliminated by):
1. Argenis (Mysterio)
2. Cuerno (Mysterio via submission)
3. Mundo (Puma)
4. Martinez (Mysterio and Sagrada)
5. Sagrada (Chavo via submission)
6. Cage (Taya)
7. Taya (Puma)
8. Jack Evans (Aero Star – tie)
8. Drago (PJ Black – tie)
10. PJ Black (Texano)
11. Mil Muertes (Mysterio and Puma)
12. Fenix (Matanza)
13. The Mack (Matanza)
14. Aero Star (Matanza)
15. Texano (Matanza)
16. Joey Ryan (Matanza)
17. Azteca Jr. (Matanza)
18. Chavo Guerrero Jr. (Matanza)
19. Prince Puma (Matanza)
20. Rey Mysterio (Matanza)
Regarding PJ Black (Justin Gabriel) losing the Global Force Wrestling NEX*GEN Title to Sonjay Dutt last week, prior to the airing of the first ever GFW Amped episode, the decision was made out of necessity as Black has signed with Lucha Underground.
Upon finding out about the signing, GFW officials decided to immediately take the title off of Black and put it on someone else, with Dutt being the talent that the office settled on.
Dutt defeated Black to become the second-ever GFW NEX*GEN Champion at the WrestleCade “Showcase of Champions” event in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on November 7th.
The first-ever Global Force Wrestling title change took place at the WrestleCade Showcase of Champions event in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on Friday.
Sonjay Dutt defeated previous champion PJ Black (Justin Gabriel) to become the new NEX*GEN Champion.
Dutt is scheduled to defend the title against John Hennigan (John Morrison) at the WrestleCade event tonight in Winston.
Below are photos of the former and new NEX*GEN Champion.
The following report comes courtesy of F4WOnline.com:
Dark match:
Jeff Cobb defeated El Mariachi Loco
Wednesday, February 24th:
Jack Evans defeated PJ Black
Jack cut a heel promo on the crowd before the match started where he called himself “The Dragon Slayer”. Midway through, Drago appeared on one of the corner platforms wearing a dragon skull and taunting Jack with nunchucks. Finish saw Drago come down and try to spit mist at Jack, but ended up hitting PJ which led to a rollup.
King Cuerno defeated Killshot
They messed up a move on the apron but it didn’t take much away from the match. Cuerno kept beating on Killshot afterwards until Fenix came out for the save
Chavo Guerrero, Mr Cisco, & Cortez Castro defeated El Texano Jr in a gauntlet match
Cisco is eliminated within 10 seconds after a kick to the face, Castro put up more of a fight in that it took just 2 minutes to beat him. Most of the match was Chavo/Texano with Cortez using Texano’s rope to trip him and hold his feet down for the cover
Johnny Mundo defeated Cage
A woman came out to distract Cage but I could not identify her (Blonde hair, similar attire to Asuka). After the match, both of them beat down and taunted Cage. Good match
Wednesday, March 2nd:
Cobra ??? (Last name sounded like Moon) defeated Sexy Star via submission
Cobra made her debut and looked to be Cheerleader Melissa under a blue snakeskin bodysuit (If it helps, she had a tiki tattoo on the back of her neck). The Mack came out to cheer Sexy on and Marty the Moth was in the stands near the end to distract Sexy. Cobra won with a rear naked choke and did some hissing towards Marty, clearly some type of relationship between them.
Prince Puma vs Pentagon Jr went to a no contest
Nice back & forth matchup until Mil Muertes ran 5 minutes into the match and beat both of them out. Mil left both laying with a double flatliner
Fenix defeated King Cuerno in a ladder match to regain the Gift of the Gods title
Awesome ladder match which saw them fight in the stands and in the floor seats. Match ended with Fenix giving Cuerno a top-rope hurricanrana through a table, then grabbing the title. The tapings ended with a staredown between Mil Muertes from his throne and Fenix on the ladder.
Jeff Jarrett’s Global Force Wrestling crowned the following champions at their GFW Amped television taping on Friday night at The Orleans in Las Vegas, Nevada.
GFW Global Champion: Nick Aldis
GFW Women’s Champion: Christina Von Eerie
GFW Tag-Team Champions: The Bollywood Boyz
GFW NEX*GEN Champion: PJ Black
Below are some photos of the aforementioned talents winning their respective titles at Friday’s taping.
– There were two title changes on last night’s episode of Impact Wrestling. Global force Wrestling stars Trevor Lee and Brian Myers defeated The Wolves to become the new TNA Tag Team Champions. The Wolves will get their title rematch next week.
Bobby Roode also defeated GFW’s PJ Black to become the new TNA King of the Mountain Champion.
– TNA announcer Josh Mathews and TNA Knockout Madison Rayne were married in Nashville last week.
Following the GFW “Amped” television tapings in Las Vegas, Nevada last Friday, Global Force Wrestling will be heading to Reno, Nevada for another set of television tapings.
The “GFW Grand Slam Tour” continues at Ace’s Ballpark in Reno, Nevada on Saturday, August 22nd.
Below is the advertised lineup for the show:
– Sonjay Dutt vs. Ryan McQueen
– Reno SCUM vs. The Bullet Club
– Christina Von Eerie vs. Amber O’Neal
– Chris Mordetzky (formerly Chris Masters) vs. Nick Aldis (formerly Magnus)
– Virgil Flynn vs. PJ Black (formerly Justin Gabriel)
– JR Kratos vs. Paul Isadora
There will be a VIP meet and greet before the show with GFW co-founder Jeff Jarrett starting at 5:30pm. $41.00 tickets include VIP meet and greet.
You can purchase tickets for the GFW event this weekend at TicketReturn.com.
As reported on Tuesday evening, Brian Myers (Curt Hawkins) and Trevor Lee, representing Team GFW, defeated The Wolves to become the new TNA Tag-Team Champions at the TNA Impact Wrestling television tapings in Orlando, Florida. However, that wasn’t the only title change that took place last night.
In addition to the tag-titles, Bobby Roode, representing TNA, defeated PJ Black (Justin Gabriel) to become the new King Of The Mountain Champion.
Another big GFW vs. TNA spoiler from last night’s tapings saw Dixie Carter and Jeff Jarrett cut “shoot promos” on each other. This led to Carter announcing a “Winner Takes All” Lethal Lockdown match for Wednesday’s Impact Wrestling tapings with the winner taking all of TNA’s shares and controlling the company.
The match will be Team GFW vs. Team TNA’s Bobby Lashley, Drew Galloway and The Wolves.
– PJ Black (aka Justin Gabriel) is the guest on the latest edition of Chris Jericho’s “Talk Is Jericho” podcast, which is available for download right now.
On the latest edition of Jim Ross’ “Ross Report” podcast, former WWE Diva Melina Perez is the special guest.
And finally, WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley is the special guest on the latest edition of Roddy Piper’s “Piper’s Pit” podcast.
You can download all three of these new shows by going to PodcastOne.com.
– On the latest edition of WWE’s “5 Things” web series, which you can check out below, WWE looks at five “phenomenal Undertaker facts.”