Booking AJ Styles’ Final Year in the Ring
In the world of professional wrestling, so, here’s the thing: AJ Styles has made it clear that his in-ring career is winding down. As reported by multiple repor...
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Scarlett Bordeaux Opens the Door to Independent Bookings
You’ve seen her fire, you’ve heard her roar and now Scarlett Bordeaux is officially stepping off the WWE stage and into the wider world. In a heartfelt message,...
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Casting Conflicts: Multiple Wrestlers Upset With Not Appearing On ROH TV Despite Being Present
Can you blame them? There are all kinds of wrestling promotions around the world today and some of them have quite the audience. This is often the result of a television, or at least streaming, presence, with fans being able to see the show around the country or even the world. Appearing on such a show can mean a lot for a wrestler’s career, which is why some issues have arisen. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Rough Landing: AEW Star Out Of Action Due To Injuries Suffered In Nasty Wrestling Crash This week, Ring Of Honor TV returned after a year plus hiatus, with the first episode under Tony Khan’s ownership. The show featured ten matches with another ten having been taped for the second episode. However, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, several more wrestlers were brought in for the tapings and not used. Many of these wrestlers canceled independent bookings and while they were paid better for being at the Ring Of Honor show, they were upset about not being used. One such wres..
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Reserved For Him: Here’s How WWE Treated John Cena Very Differently During His Return
He has earned it. There have been a lot of wrestlers over the years and many of them do not stand out for the most part. It takes someone special to receive additionally positive treatment but in most cases, they have earned the status. That was the case last week when an all time great made a return, and now we know just how differently he was treated upon return. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Even Them? How WWE Is Going Incredibly Far To Protect Uncle Howdy’s Secret The main event of last week’s SmackDown saw John Cena return for his first match of the year, teaming with Kevin Owens to defeat Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE’s booking of Cena was “very carefully done” This included keeping Cena out of the ring for most of the match, as he had not wrestled in over a year, and making sure that he looked strong and hit the Attitude Adjustment. There is no word on when Cena is expected back in the ring, but WWE has been working on WrestleMania pl..
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And Done: Former WWE Champion Reportedly Now Free Agent, Can Wrestle Elsewhere
It’s official. 2022 was one of the busiest wrestling years in recent history, with all kinds of changes taking place over the course of the year. That made for some very interesting moments as fans tried to figure out what was going on and where things were heading next. Now we have a major step forward, as well as what what seems to be the conclusion, of one of the stories. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Back In A Bit: Another AEW Star Confirms Injury, Promises To Return Soon Back in May 2022, Sasha Banks and Naomi both walked out on WWE, vacating the Women’s Tag Teak Titles at the same time. While there were negotiations for both to return to WWE, neither ever appeared again. According to Sean Ross Sapp, Banks is now available for wrestling bookings, meaning she is officially a free agent. Neither Banks nor Naomi have wrestled or appeared on a wrestling show since walking out on WWE, though Banks is expected to be at New Japan’s Wrestle Kingdom event later this week. Good morning. Mercede..
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Opinion: AEW’s Future Should NOT Involve ex-WWE Talent
Last week on Dynamite, MJF and Ricky Starks had a match that tore the house down. The storytelling was fantastic, the action was great, and the build up leading into the match made me very emotionally interested to see what was going to happen. This was Starks’ breakout match, and I hope it leads to him being a main event player in AEW for a long time. However, as I was watching the show the last week, I realized something very, very important. And it’s something that could be the foundation for how AEW operates in the future. In my opinion, the future of AEW does not involve ex-WWE talent, but rather the stars it is creating on its own. I’ve said for a long time that Tony Khan has relied too much on talent from other promotions that were either released, or decided to leave, because they thought the grass would be greener on the other side. As we’ve seen with AEW’s booking, as well as how the superstars have been used, nothing could be further from the truth. We don’t know what we ..
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VIDEO: Edge Confirms Retirement Rumors; Potential Timeline Revealed
Last August, Edge openly admitted that his wrestling days were numbered after he made his return to WWE back in 2020. A part-time schedule and smart booking has allowed the WWE Hall of Famer to continue wrestling for the past three years in select feuds, but even he would be the first tell you that he’s wrestling on borrowed time. During a recent podcast episode of the Leafs Morning Take, Edge discussed a number of topics, including the Toronto Maple Leafs, the fact that the Montreal Screwjob was his first WWE PPV he attended as a talent and an update on the “clock ticking” on The Rated R Superstar’s wrestling career. Here’s the full appearance from Edge. Around the 8:50 mark is when he begins addressing the “closing window.” Edge announced his retirement plans back in August. Edge mentioned that he would be interested to officially end his career in Toronto next August. He’s talked about getting to choose his ending this time, but he’s an older man now. Recovery time is likely a l..
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RUMOR: Tony Khan May Strip Women’s Championship From AEW Star; Thunder Rosa Reacts
When Thunder Rosa relinquished the AEW Women’s Championship back in August, the rumor mill went wild on her “injury status” and a bunch of other fabricated information. The title has been an Interim World Championship until her return on AEW television. Toni Storm claimed the belt and became the AEW Interim Women’s Champion at All Out in September. Everything has been going alright since then, but there’s a little bet of a booking issue. Storm is having a good reign, but it’s been a bit overshadowed by the return of Saraya and Britt Baker stealing the show. Related: MJF Talks WWE With Tony Khan After AEW Dynamite A lot of the issue is that the AEW fanbase doesn’t love the concept of “Interim Champions.” There’s a valid argument that it makes the company’s championships a little less valuable. The long term play always seemed to be Toni Storm vs. Thunder Rosa down the line. However, a new report shared AEW President Tony Khan’s thoughts on the potential decision to strip Thunder Rosa..
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WWE Has An Interesting Plan For Its Women’s Division
They have a goal in mind. There are a lot of very talented women in WWE and they have done a great job in bringing the women’s division up to a level that few believed possible. It has been quite the ride to see what has happened over the years and it has been very positive. At some point you need some fresh talent though and WWE seems to be looking into acquiring it. According to Fightful Select, WWE is looking to restock its women’s division with experienced stars. This includes the re-signing of Emma, along with interest in bringing back Tegan Nox and Chelsea Green. However, Green told Fightful that she has not been contacted about a return and has independent bookings set through March 2023. There is no word on other women potentially returning. Opinion: This is one of those ideas that makes a lot of sense, as signing a bunch of new stars to use as filler can damage their future potential. People like Emma, Nox and Green are names that have been around for a bit, either in WWE or..
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WATCH: AEW Star Announces Severe Injury, Needs Surgery
That’s a rough one. Injuries can happen to anyone at anytime in wrestling and that is never good to see. You can see someone get hurt and put on the shelf for any length of time as some of them are more serious than others. Unfortunately someone can be hurt out of nowhere, just off of a fluke situation and that seems to be the case again with a current AEW star. AEW’s Ruby Soho has released a video announcing that due to a broken nose suffered at All Out, she will be forced to undergo surgery. As a result, she will be missing her booking at 1PW in England. There is no word on how long Soho will be out of action due to her injury. Soho was injured during a match on the All Out Zero Hour show where she teamed with Ortiz in a losing effort against Tay Melo/Sammy Guevara. You don’t want to hear something like this. Check out Soho’s announcement: [This post contains video, click to play] Opinion: This is one of those things you never want to hear and hopefully Soho is back in the ring s..
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Important Detail On WWE Booking Roman Reigns vs. Logan Paul For Crown Jewel
It does make sense. Over the last few years, WWE has developed a business relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The deal has been very lucrative for WWE as the company receives millions of dollars in exchange for two shows a year in the Kingdom. WWE is returning in November with a bit of a weird main event, but now we know the reasoning behind it. WWE has announced that the main event of November 5’s Crown Jewel event will see Logan Paul challenging Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Title. According to Dave Meltzer on the Sunday Night’s Main Event podcast, Saudi Arabia wanted Paul in the spot because he has more mainstream appeal than a regular WWE star like Kevin Owens or Seth Rollins. This will be Paul’s third WWE match to date. Opinion: I don’t think this is much of a surprise and that is not the worst thing. Paul does seem to be someone who has a lot of natural talent and the ability to get fans’ attention when he is in front of a camera. While I can’t imagin..
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Former WWE Star Announces That His In-Ring Career Is Over, Moving Towards Broadcasting
His boots are hung up. Wrestlers have one of the strangest career paths in any industry as it can be rather difficult to get out of the industry. Since wrestlers can find work in a variety of places around the country, it can be easy to keep going for a bit longer than they should. You do see some wrestlers who are able to find a way out of the ring though and another one has done just that. Former WWE star Matthew Rehwoldt, better known as Aiden English, has announced that he will not be taking anymore in-ring bookings. Rehwoldt said that he does not feel like he belongs in the ring anymore and would rather focus on other areas. Instead of wrestling, Rehwoldt will be focusing on broadcasting and other industries, including voiceovers, gaming and esports. Rehwoldt has been doing broadcast work for Impact Wrestling and last wrestled on May 14. So here you go: I will no longer be taking bookings to wrestle going forward. I've always been most at home with a mic in front of me ..
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He’ll Be Around: What Santana’s Injury Means For His Partner Ortiz Going Forward
He’ll be around. Injuries can be one of the worst things to happen to a wrestler as you never know how long someone is going to be out of action for upon getting hurt. While that alone is bad enough, it can also be bad for the people associated with the injured wrestler. That is a problem that seemed to come about recently, but things might not be as bad as they seem. Last month, Santana injured his knee during AEW’s Blood & Guts match, which will leave him out of action for several months to come. According to Fightful Select, AEW has no plans to leave Ortiz, Santana’s partner, on the sidelines during Santana’s recovery. Ortiz will continue to regularly appear on AEW TV, as he did this week on Dynamite. This comes as Santana and Ortiz have reportedly not been getting along backstage, to the point where Ortiz has been taking independent bookings on the independent circuit. Opinion: That’s a good thing to hear and I’m sure Ortiz is happy as well. Santana being injured doesn’t mean tha..
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Fare Thee Well? Another AEW Star May Be On His Way Out
Him too? AEW has not been around for very long but they have managed to put together a heck of a talented roster. The company has mixed things up enough with one kind of wrestler after another and it has made things all the more interesting. At some point though, some of those wrestlers have to go and that seems to be the case again with another somewhat cult favorite. AEW star Fuego del Sol has removed all references to the company from his Twitter bio, while putting up an email address for booking inquiries. Del Sol has also sent out a tweet saying “change is coming”. While not confirmed, this could mean that he is on his way out of the company. Del Sol has been a regular on AEW programming, mainly wrestling on Dark and Dark: Elevation. Change is going to come. — Fuego Del Sol (@FuegoDelSol) July 16, 2022 Opinion: This is the kind of thing that has to happen in wrestling from time to time as promotions need to mix things up. Del Sol has been a regular, but he has never been the b..
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Someone Isn’t Happy: NXT Star Reportedly “Beaten Down” By Booking, Wants Out
Can you blame him? NXT is a pretty unique wrestling show, as it is designed to be both WWE’s developmental territory as well as its own promotion. That can make for some odd moments, as you will see wrestlers who have no business being in a minor league on the show for a very long time. It seems that one wrestler who has been in NXT for a long time is trying to get out but can’t make it work. According to Wrestling Observer Radio, NXT’s Roderick Strong is “pretty beaten down” by the way he is booked on television and has attempted to get out of the promotion. Strong has not been allowed out though, leaving him in a situation where he does not want to be there but is stuck doing so for the time being. There is no word on when Strong’s NXT deal expires. Opinion: Can you blame him for wanting out? Strong has been in NXT for more than a few years now and there is nothing to indicate that he is going to be moving up the card. I would assume that WWE thinks he is too small to be treated as..
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Take Your Time: You Might Not Be Seeing Sasha Banks In The Ring For A Long Time
It could be a little while. One of the biggest wrestling stories of the year has been Sasha Banks and Naomi walking out on WWE. The pair vacated the Women’s Tag Team Titles in the process and neither has been seen in a wrestling capacity since. That left quite the hole in WWE, but it also opened up some doors for other promotions that could land them. Now though, it seems that it could be a ways off. According to Fightful Select, Banks is not accepting wrestling bookings until 2023 at the earliest. She is willing to take non-wrestling bookings, such as the upcoming C2E2 convention in Chicago. It is not confirmed that Banks has been released, but a promoter who asked about booking Banks said they cannot imagine that she is not gone from the company so far. Opinion: This is the kind of thing that is sort of a wait and see situation. There is little reason to believe that banks is going to be wrestling anytime soon, as she has yet to officially be released from WWE so far. I’m curious t..
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No More? Top AEW Tag Team May Be Going Their Separate Ways
There could be a problem. AEW has been around for over three years now and the company’s tag team division continues to be one of its greatest strengths. The company has all kinds of great tag teams and the division has grown even stronger over time. That is the kind of thing that few promotions are able to do, but now one of the teams might not have much longer together. According to the Fightful review of AEW’s Blood & Guts, there has been some kind of a falling out between AEW’s Santa and Ortiz. The team has only wrestled two regular tag team matches in AEW this year, with their most recent taking place in March. They also no longer stand next to each other during segments and Santana has been taking solo independent bookings. There is no word on if the team will split or what caused any possible issue in the first place. Opinion: This is a situation where the two people involved know what is going on and that is what matters. As a fan, I would be sad to see the team split as they..
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Worth The Wait: Update On Cesaro’s Wrestling Status
It might be a bit. Even though WWE and AEW get most of the attention, there are a lot of wrestling promotions throughout the world. Just because a wrestler is not appearing for one of those promotions does not mean that they have no value, as there are several wrestlers who can work for multiple promotions at once. That is the case with one prominent name, but at the moment he does not seem interested in appearing anywhere. Fightful Select has more information about former WWE star Cesaro’s status. According to the report, Cesaro has been contacted by several promotions about coming in he has not accepted any bookings. Cesaro’s asking price is said to be higher than most promotions can afford, which may be by design, as he may be waiting for the right offer to come along. Cesaro is currently a free agent and allowed to appear anywhere he wants at any time. Opinion: If Cesaro is happy and able to stay at home without a need to work, good for him. There is no requirement for him to get..
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RUMOR: Here’s Why AEW Pulled Stars From Upcoming Independent Shows
It takes priority. The rise of AEW has changed the way the wrestling world works in a lot of ways. One of the biggest has been allowing wrestlers to get a better chance to showcase themselves on a major stage. That is going to let those wrestlers land several bookings on smaller shows, but now that is not going to be the case with some wrestlers on an upcoming show. According to PW Torch, AEW has pulled a group of wrestlers from some upcoming independent events as they have changed a Dark taping from April 30 to May 1. As a result, Lee Moriarty and Skye Blue have been pulled from a Black Label Pro event and JD Drake, Top Flight and Wheeler Yuta have been pulled from a Pro Wrestling Guerrilla event. Both promotions have promised replacements. Unfortunately Lee Moriarty, Skye Blue and Jake Something will not be appearing at Fancy Wrestling next week. Updated matches and championship repercussions will be announced very soon. — Black Label Pro (@BLabelPro) April 22, 2022 Unfortunate..
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Another AEW Original Set To Leave The Company
Next one down? There has been a lot of turnover on the AEW roster in recent months as the company has brought in several new starts to take the places of some of the company’s originals. This has not included many wrestlers being outright released, but it has included some contracts expiring and not being renewed, meaning that the two sides can go their separate ways. That seems likely to be the case again in the next few weeks. According to Fightful Select, Marko Stunt’s AEW contract expires in May and there is nothing to suggest that the two sides will continue working together. Stunt has not appeared in an AEW match since September and he has not been backstage at Dynamite in months. Stunt did begin taking independent bookings again in January and has been appearing on the independent circuit since. Opinion: I don’t think this is much of a surprise as Stunt has not been around for a long time in AEW. He certainly has a fan following, but right now that does not seem to matter in t..