Monday, February 25, 2019
FATU Makes His AAW Debut And Destroys Everyone - AAW Pro Wrestling
FATU made his AAW debut this past Saturday at the Art of War. Check out this exclusive video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erZJfS47ctU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erZJfS47ctU
Mance Warner Comments On Jimmy Jacobs - AAW Pro Wrestling
Mance Warner comments on his match with Jimmy Jacobs this past Saturday night and Jimmy post match attack with the spike. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pTW6MTLXWE
ALOT of Indy Wrestling Dates, Results.
- USA Championship Wrestling is doing an Eddie Gilbert Tribute show on 3/9 in Jackson, TN at the Oman Arena headlined by Jerry Lawler & Doug Gilbert vs. Tommy Rich & Matt Riviera in a fall count anywhere in Madison County match, plus Jimmy Valiant and Tom Prichard will wrestle on the show and Phil Hickerson will make an appearance. The show is being taped for Pivotshare.
- AAW from Saturday night in Chicago before a sellout 575 fans: Ace Perry b Sheldon Jean, Savannah Stone b Judy Threat, Gringo Loco won four-way over Jake Landers, Logan James and Aaron Orion. The first three bouts were preshow matches for their You Tube channel. Main card for Art of War: Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz & Trey Miguel b Ace Romero & Paco & Rich Swann, Sammy Guevara b Darby Allin (Guevara before the match vowed to win with a side headlock takedown, and got the pin after a low blow and a side headlock takedown), Mance Warner b Jimmy Jacobs, DJZ b Australian Suicide in a heritage title match, David Starr & Eddie Kingston & Jake Something & Curt Stallion b Mat Fitchett & Sami Callihan & Jessicka Havok, MJF b Kimber Lee, Jacob Fatu b Stephen Wolf (Fatu's debut), Kylie Rae b Su Yung to keep women's title, LAX won three-way elimination match over Penta 0M & Rey Fenix and champions AR Fox & Myron Reed to win the tag titles in 13:54. Fox & Reed were eliminated first. This was where the Young Bucks interfered and took out the Lucha Bros that allowed LAX to win and take the title. Next show is 3/16 in Chicago at the Logan Square Arena with Psicosis and Juventud Guerrera.
- ICW from Sunday in Glasgow, Scotland before 1,000 fans: Kings of Catch b Rampage Brown & Ashton Smith to keep the tag titles, Kay Lee Ray NC Toni Storm in a women's title match, Joe Coffey b Ilja Dragunov to keep the Zero G title, Lionheart b Angelico to keep the ICW title, Lightning won Square Go (a rumble match where the winner earns a title shot on a day they choose for up to one year throwing out Joe Hendry. Jeff Jarrett was in the Rumble. (thanks to Jordan Clark)
- Progress from Sunday in London before a sellout 700 fans: Mark Haskins b Trivet & Chuck Mambo-DQ in a handicap match, Millie McKenzie b Bea Priestley, Nina Samuels b Jinny (both earn shots in a four-way later for the women's title), Jordan Devlin b Travis Banks-DQ, Will Ospreay & Paul Robinson b Aussie Open to keep the tag titles, Trent Seven b Timothy Thatcher to keep the Atlas title, Walter b Chris Ridgeway to retain the Progress title. Seven challenged Walter to a title vs. title match in May. Next Electric Ballroom show is 3/31 with Ospreay & Robinson vs. Aussie Open in a TLC Match for the titles plus LAX vs. Jonathan Gresham & Chris Brookes. (thanks to Paul Sosnowski)
- Northeast Wrestling from Saturday night in Bethany CT: Keith Youngblood & Zane Bernardo & RJ Rude b Cam Zagami & Tommy Grayson & PJ Grayson, Chuck O'Neil (the MMA fighter) b Hammer Tunia, Brian Anthony b Chris Battle, Wrecking Ball Legursky b Brian Milonas, Anthony Battle & Daniel Evans b Mike Gamble & Dexter Loux, JT Dunn b Josh Briggs, Jake Manning b Christian Casanova, Brad Hollister b Bandido to keep the heavyweight title (thanks Nick Mahmood)
- Femme Fatales from Friday night in Ottawa before 350 fans: Alexia Nicole & Willow Nightingale b Veda Scott & KC Spinelli, Samantha Heights b Neveah, Jessicka Havok b Penelope Ford, Mary Lee Rose b Angie Skye, Nicole Savoy b Nicole Matthews, Kris Statlander won three-way over Mercedes Martinez and Allysin Kay. Next shows are 5/4 in Quebec City and 8/10 in Toronto, the day before SummerSlam.
- Pro Wrestling Phoenix on Thursday in Omaha at the Waiting Room Lounge.
Onita Underwent Surgery
- Atsushi Onita underwent surgery for three hours on 2/21 to replace both knees. He will still be coming to the US on 4/5, but only for pictures and autographs. He’s been announced for Joey Janela’s Spring Break events WrestleMania weekend.
Carpe Diem | NWA Ten Pounds of Gold 49 (2019)
NWA Ten Pounds of Gold (Episode 49) explores the first part of the Crockett Cup segment that took place at Ring of Honor Wrestling's Lakeland event between Marty Scurll and Nick Aldis which lead to Nick Aldis vs. Marty Scurll being made for the 2019 Crockett Cup. Watch full segment here -
In that segment, the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis spoke about spending the day with former NWA Worlds Champion Dory Funk, Jr. Nick and the cameras of #TenPoundsOfGold visited the Funking Conservatory in Ocala, Florida. In that day, Nick and Dory discussed various subjects in the business from training, to legacy of the Ten Pounds of Gold and what is truly the most important thing as NWA Champion.
UUUHHH OOHH, UUUHHH OOHHH- AEW Faces Initial Refusal On Several Key Trademarks
As of February 19, 2019, each of All Elite Wrestling's trademark applications have faced initial refusal from the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The trademarks at issue include the AEW applications made on November 5, 2018 (the AEW design and wordmark, All Elite Wrestling, AEW Double Or Nothing, AEW All Out, Tuesday Night Dynamite, and Fight For The Fallen) as well as Change The Universe, which AEW applied for on January 17, 2019.
The trademark applications for AEW and Change The Universe were initially refused on identical grounds: the misclassification of certain goods and services on the applications and insufficient payment of fees. As a matter of fact, these reasons for rejecting AEW's trademark filings are present in all of the letters of initial refusal from the USPTO.
Notably, amendments to the international classification and identification of goods are required as AEW misclassified a few goods involving leather accessories, video games, and party favors on each of its original trademark applications. Other issues include, for example, the misspelling 'bandanas' and 'yoyos' and the term 'thongs' being too broad. Moreover, the applications each identified goods and/or services that are classified in at least 13 different classes, but AEW submitted fees sufficient to cover only 9 classes.
In addition to the above issues, the trademark application for All Elite Wrestling requires that AEW "must disclaim the word 'WRESTLING' [in the phrase All Elite Wrestling] because it is not inherently distinctive" to the extent that "the word 'WRESTLING' merely describes a feature or characteristic of [AEW]'s goods and services, specifically the subject matter."
Similarly, the trademarks for Tuesday Night Dynamite and Fight For The Fallen contain wording that must be disclaimed by AEW. In the case of Tuesday Night Dynamite, the USPTO aptly observed that the wording 'TUESDAY NIGHT' is "not inherently distinctive" and "'TUESDAY NIGHT' refers to an evening on a particular day of the week."
With respect to Fight For The Fallen, a disclaimer for all of the words in the trademark is required because "the term 'FIGHT FOR THE FALLEN' is commonly used as a promotional phrase to indicate that a fighting event will occur for fundraising purposes to support fallen heroes." The USPTO reasoned that the term is used so often that consumers would view it as informational rather than being distinct to AEW's product.
"Because consumers are accustomed to seeing this term commonly used by many businesses to impart information to consumers, they will perceive this slogan only as informational matter rather than as a trademark or service mark that identifies the source of applicant's goods and/or services."
On the subject of the AEW Double Or Nothing trademark, this application has been initially refused by the USPTO partly because of the likelihood of confusion. The USPTO pointed to 75 existing trademarks, such as Double Or Nothing Enterprises, LLC in the music industry, to suggest that the AEW Double Or Nothing trademark may be too confusing to the consumer. Even though AEW Double Or Nothing and Double Or Nothing Enterprises contain differing wording, "marks must be compared in their entireties, the word portion is often considered the dominant feature and is accorded greater weight in determining whether marks are confusingly similar." Given that the USPTO determined that AEW Double Or Nothing is "confusingly similar" to Double Or NothingEnterprises in wording, it is a logical consequence that it would also determine that AEW's mention of "music" and "ringtones" in its application would make AEW's goods and/or services relating to music too "closely related" to Double Or Nothing Enterprises.
As for AEW All Out, this application was initially refused because two other pending applications use the phrase 'ALL OUT' and AEW will likely not be able to trademark AEW All Out if one of the other filings is successfully completed first.
AEW will have six months from the date of USPTO's letter of initial refusal to respond.
Get A Load Of This Bullshit-- IMPACT WRESTLING ADMITS IT HAS DELETED GFW MASTER TAPES, Update On Jarrett Lawsuit.
Got some of this from PWInsider, Other parts from other places on Twitter and someone sent me part of this.
WWE and Impact Wrestling Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett and his company Global Force Entertainment filed a second amended lawsuit against Impact Wrestling and its parents company Anthem on 22, an amended lawsuit brought on by Impact's admission that they have deleted the master tapes of the 16-hours of Global Force Wrestling Amped!, the Jarrett TV series that he independently produced before returning to Impact after Anthem seized control of the company from Dixie Carter in early 2017.
The 33-page amended lawsuit alleges Anthem has Prevented Jarrett and GFE from filing copyrights on the GFW Amped! TV footage with the amended lawsuit noting, "The last remaining step in the registration process is submission of deposit copies, which GFE cannot provide to the Copyright Office due to Defendants’ unlawful possession and/or deletion of the only master recordings of the 16 one-hour GFW Amped videos. Defendants admit that the master recordings were deleted while in their custody and no longer exist. "
Attached to the amended lawsuit was a 11/30/18 response from Anthem, answering requests from Jarrett and GWE to produce certain documents and information. In response to the request to provide the GFW masters, it was stated, "The sixteen one-hour Episodes of Global Force Wrestling Amped content sought in this question no longer exist. It was deleted in the normal course of business, long prior to the onset of this litigation, in order to free up storage space on Anthem Wrestling's systems."
The amended lawsuit GWE & Jarrett have valued each of the 16 hours of TV footage at $300,000 per episode, meaning they allege losses worth $4.8 million connected to the loss of the masters.
As in the previous lawsuits, Jarrett is also alleging Impact and Anthem have violated state and federal trademark infringements in relation to GFE, violated Jeff Jarrett’s exclusive property rights to his own name, photograph, and other likeness, that Anthem has used “a reproduction, counterfeit, copy, or colorable imitation of the GLOBAL FORCE WRESTLING and GFW trademarks” in commerce, therefore they are in violation of the Lanham Act, which prohibits trademark infringement, trademark dilution, and false advertising. The lawsuit also claims violation of the Lanham Act through alleged “acts of unfair competition” that were done “with the intent to deceive the public into believing that goods and services offered or sold by Defendants are made by, approved by, sponsored by, or affiliated with GFE.”
The lawsuit also alleges that Anthem has "caused products and/or services to enter interstate commerce designated with variations" of the Global Force Wrestling and GFW trademarks. The filing claimed, "Defendants’ use of said designation and other representations constitute a false designation of origin which is likely to cause confusion, to cause mistake, and to deceive as to the affiliation, connection, or association of Defendants with GFE and as to the origin, sponsorship, or approval of such goods and services by GFE." This allegation would be an alleged violation of the Lanham Act.
It also alleges that Anthem was involved in “Unfair Competition in Violation of Tennessee Common Law”, alleging, “GFE and Defendants compete for a common pool of customers. As alleged herein, Defendants have engaged in unfair, deceptive, or fraudulent conduct, which is likely to cause, if it has not already, customer confusion in violation of Tennessee common law.” The lawsuit also claims that Anthem has unjustly enriched themselves through their actions and violated the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act, claiming, “Defendants have violated and, upon information and belief, continue to violate GFE’s exclusive rights in the GFW Amped content and the 16 associated copyrights, including, but not limited to, the right to reproduce, right to prepare and sell derivative works, and right to vend by copying, publishing, distributing, and publicly displaying in the marketplace in this District, and in all marketplaces reached by the Internet, videos that were copied or otherwise derived from the GFW Amped content.”
Defendants Anthem Sports & Entertainment Corp and Anthem Wrestling Exhibitions, LLC requested the lawsuit be dismissed for several reasons on 11/1 with a series of filings. The first motion argues that Jarrett and GWE are claiming there is a copyright infringement on their Global Force Wrestling Amped! content that Impact aired as PPVs, but "failed to state an adequate claim of copyright infringement " as there were no actual copyrights filed on the material in question before the lawsuit was filing. That would explain why GWE and Jarrett were requesting that the court order Impact to hand over the masters, so Jarrett could go forward with filing copyrights on the 16 hours of GFW Amped!, but with the admission that Anthem/Impact deleted the masters, it's impossible to state where the court will fall over that request, especially since the filing of the amended lawsuit puts all sides back to square one, resetting the case.
Impact had previously argued that Jarrett's allegations that the defendants "violated Jeff Jarrett’s exclusive property rights to his own name, photograph, and other likeness", the defendants are claiming this cannot be correct as "Jeff Jarrett has previously authorized the use of his name and likeness as a trademark and Defendants own that trademark." Anthem responded that they own a trademark on the name "Jeff Jarrett" as Jarrett had consented to agree to allow TNA Entertainment, LLC those rights in 2004 with Anthem taking over that trademark when they acquired TNA/Impact Wrestling from Dixie Carter's company Impact Ventures, LLC. They backed their claim by submitting to the court a copy of a statement signed by Jeff Jarrett, dated 1/19/06, stating that he was giving that consent to TNA Entertainment, LLC and submitted a copy of trademark transfers for several copyrights held by Impact Wrestling when Anthem took over the company, assigning the ownership of those trademarks to Anthem Wrestling Exhibitions LLC, effective 1/1/17 with an execution date of 1/11/18. The Jarrett copyright is included in a collection of the trademarks that were transferred.
In the new Amended lawsuit, Jarrett notes Anthem has no "intent" in hiring him again (which would be impossible since he now works for WWE as a Producer), that Anthem "is not currently providing any entertainment services, namely wrestling exhibits and performances by a professional wrestler and entertainer, under Mr. Jarrett’s name" and that "Anthem Wrestling is not providing wrestling news and information via a global computer network under Mr. Jarrett’s name." The lawsuit also notes that Anthem is no currently using Jarrett's name for action figures or toys and has "and has no intent to resume such use. "
A previous motion filed by Anthem noted that Global Force Wrestling LLC's own trademark filing for the GFW initials, dated 3/9/18 and signed by Jeff Jarrett, featured photo usage of the GFW initials, meant to provide a publicly available usage of the letters to support the ownership of the trademark, that was actually the cover art for the Impact Wrestling DVD release of GFW Amped! "to substantiate his claim that Global Force Wrestling was entitled to the registration for use on DVD.” So, Anthem had previously arguing that Jarrett himself has already provided proof that Impact had permission to utilize the logo and name, because he himself was using that usage to support trademarking the GFW initials.
Anthem then filed a second motion explaining that the court lacked jurisdiction over the myriad of companies related to Impact Wrestling.
Anthem Sports has also previously noted that when Jeff Jarrett signed a non-disclosure agreement with the company during the time period he was coming in to work for them as the Chief Creative Officer, Anthem insisted upon and received a clause that any issues that arose legally would fall under New York law, noting, " Even if one believes Plaintiffs’ allegation that their claims do not relate to arise from this NDA as one is required to do at this juncture of the proceedings, these allegations actually establish that Anthem Sports deliberately did not avail itself of doing business in the forum. Obviously, if Anthem Sports initiated merger discussions pursuant to this NDA as Plaintiffs allege, it did not anticipate being hauled into court here. In fact, it expressly bargained for and obtained a contractual provision that it could not be sued in Tennessee. In light of the fact that the Complaint expressly establishes that the parties agreed that Anthem Sports could not be sued in Tennessee, these allegations cannot establish that Anthem Sports has purposely availed itself of the privilege of doing business in Tennessee for purposes of the specific jurisdiction analysis. Further, Anthem Sports asserts that this bargained-for provision that was reached as a pre-requisite for its merger discussions with Plaintiff--the facts that give rise to Plaintiffs’ purported claims--should be dispositive of the “purposeful an ailment” issue. Anthem Sports expressly bargained for and obtained the right not to be hauled into court in Tennessee."
So, they are claiming that Jarrett cannot technically sue them in the State of Tennessee to begin with based on the language of the agreement that he signed with the company - an agreement that as of this writing, remains sealed by the court. The new amended lawsuit may require Anthem to re-file these claims as opposed to the court ruling on them.
In another previous filing, Anthem Sports and Anthem Wrestling jointly stated, "This action is the aftermath of a failed merger between two wrestling entertainment companies" and for the first time on record, gave their side of the story, stating Jarrett was actually the one in charge of the release of the GFW content and that material did not even turn a profit for the company, claiming, "Jarrett entered into discussions wherein Jarrett’s company would merge into Anthem Wrestling in exchange for an officer-level position with a large salary, a job for Jarrett’s wife, and an equity interest in Anthem Wrestling. The plan was to use Jarrett and his extensive experience in the wrestling business to help grow and differentiate the IMPACT! Wrestling brand that Anthem had recently acquired. Jarrett would bring to the deal his GLOBAL FORCE WRESTLING and GFW brands and 16 episodes of wrestling content (the “Amped Content”) that he had produced some two years earlier but thus far had been unable to monetize. The parties planned to complete and finalize the Amped Content, add voiceover, and perform the other necessary post-production work in order to get it in shape to broadcast and sell. In order to carry out these plans, Jeff Jarrett was made Chief Creative Officer of Anthem Wrestling effective April of 2017 and given complete authority over its wrestling operations and the content that the company would create, market, and sell. Under Mr. Jarrett’s watch as Chief Creative Officer, the Amped Content was packaged as five different PPV broadcasts and was marketed with both the GFW and IMPACT! trademarks. The Amped Content was also packaged as DVDs and sold on-line. Also during Mr. Jarrett’s tenure as Anthem Wrestling’s Chief Creative Officer, the company decided to use the phrase “Global Wrestling Network” as a descriptor for an Over-the-Top (“OTT”) application developed by Anthem Wrestling upon which wrestling content would be marketed. As often happens, the parties’ merger plans did not work out as expected. Mr. Jarrett was terminated near the end of October 2017. The sale and marketing of the Amped Content was not successful and did not turn a profit. "
Anthem has also previously noted that All of Jarrett's allegations and claims against them "arise out of the same conduct--Anthem Wrestling’s broadcast and sale of the Amped Content using both parties’ trademarks pursuant to the failed merger. Remarkably, Mr. Jarrett is suing over the very conduct that he oversaw and conducted as an officer of Anthem Wrestling."
In the joint filing, Anthem noted they began speaking to Jarrett in October 2016, which is before they officially took the company over from Dixie Carter's Impact Ventures LLC. Regarding his employment in the company, Jarrett and Anthem Wrestling signed a term sheet in May 2017. Anthem's joint filing notes, "The term sheet provided that as Chief Creative Officer, Jeff Jarrett was responsible for all wrestling operations of the Company and would have “overall responsibility and full authority” for “ensuring timely and efficient production of programming to meet the Company’s obligations under its distribution agreements to produce content for television broadcast and PPV airings, content for the Company’s digital distribution channels, [and] performance of live events. In other words, Mr. Jarrett was to be the Anthem Wrestling employee in charge of the content it would sell."
The only reference to Jarrett's release from Impact Wrestling comes in the joint filing, reading, "It became clear the merger was not going to work for various reasons and Mr. Jarrett was terminated as Anthem Wrestling’s Chief Creative Officer at the end of October 2017." Anthem noted that all the GFW PPVs aired during Jarrett's time as Chief Creative Officer of the company, with the exception of one, which aired in December 2017 - and that any trademark violations alleged over the usage of GFW Amped materials should be tossed out because Anthem had an implied license to use the material from Jarrett and GWE via his employment as an officer for the company.
In the joint motion, Anthem notes, "Under these circumstances, there can be no doubt that Jarrett provided the content at the request of Defendant Anthem Wrestling and that he intended that Anthem Wrestling use and distribute the content, using Plaintiffs’ trademarks. Moreover, because Plaintiff Jarrett granted this license in exchange for his salary and the promise of the anticipated merger, it is supported by consideration and is irrevocable."
Anthem also uses the aforementioned GFW trademark filing that utilized photo proof of the GFW DVD sold by Impact Wrestling, noting, "This is the very same content and very same airing (on August 11, 2017) of it that Mr. Jarrett claims in this action is copyright and trademark infringement committed by Defendants. Yet, under penalty of perjury, he swore that this very same use was use that inured to his benefit--in other words--use by a licensee. This SOU is a sworn admission that Defendant Anthem Wrestling’s alleged use of the Amped Content and GFW trademarks was as a valid licensee."
The joint filing stated that Jarrett and GWE's claims should have be dismissed under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure when "it fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted." Anthem claims in the filing that Jarrett has incorrect information about the relationship between Anthem Sports and Anthem Wrestling Exhibitions and due to those errors, there is no actual claim that can be made against Anthem Sports. All the previous Anthem motions refer to a declaration filed by Ed Nordholm, the Executive Vice President of Anthem Sports & Entertainment Corp. In the declaration, Nordholm explains that Anthem Sports has "no business operations of its own" and is a holding company for "various operating companies and brands that are part of the Anthem portfolio", listing Fight Network, The Pursuit Channel, FNTSY Sports Network and the Edge Sport channel. The declaration notes that Anthem Sports owns a subsidiary, Anthem Sports & Entertainment. While Sports is a Canadian-based company, Anthem S&E is a United States holding company for "certain Anthem operating entities in the United States" - but like Anthem Sports, it is not registered to do business in Tennessee, has no employees and is a "passive holding company." Under Anthem Sports & Entertainment is Fight Media, the operating company of The Fight Network, which Nordholm declared, is also not registered to do business in Tennessee and is Canadian-based with all its employees in Canada.
In the declaration, Nordholm publicly revealed for the first time how Anthem was able to take ownership of Impact Wrestling, explaining the creation of Anthem Wrestling Exhibitions, LLC, which somewhere in the pyramid of holding companies under the Anthem Sports banner, is the parent company of Impact. Nordholm noted in his declaration: "Anthem Wrestling was formed in order to acquire the assets of an entity called TNA Entertainment LLC, when Fight Media foreclosed on certain loans to that entity."
So, in the middle of the Jarrett vs. Anthem lawsuit, it has been revealed that after musician (and now NWA President) Billy Corgan stopped funding Impact in October 2016, the "working capital loan to fund the operations of TNA Impact Wrestling" by Anthem Sports & Entertainment Corp (later described as a “credit relationship” by Anthem) ended up being a loan that Impact Wrestling, headed at the time by Dixie Carter, was unable to repay, which led to Anthem foreclosing on the loan, acquiring control and ownership of the company, in the process.
Given the timeline of when they began speaking with Jarrett (according to legal filings by both Jarrett and Anthem in this case), it would appear Anthem's plan all along was to use the loans to acquire control of the company from Carter, who had been having financial difficulties in the wake of losing her TV deal with SpikeTV and with Panda Energy, Impact's original backer and parent company, divesting itself of ownership and financial support, placing Impact in the hands of Carter's Impact Ventures LLC.
Nordholm's declaration also noted that Anthem Wrestling has 15 employees and 50 contractors that carry out its day-to-day operations and that "Anthem Sports does not control or dictate the operations of Anthem Wrestling."
A June 2020 court date had been previously set for the lawsuit. Whether that timeline is pushed back due to what is now the third version of this lawsuit being filed remains to be seen.
GWE and Jarrett are seeking damages and are now also seeking a ruling that Impact Wrestling's trademark on his name be canceled and returned to him, which would obviously make it much easier for WWE to license and utilize Jarrett's likeness in future action figure, video games, etc.
Indie Wrestler On Finding Out He's HIV-Positive, Never Submitting A Blood Test On The Indies
Adam Bueller, who has spent recent years competing in brutal deathmatches for promotions like Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South and Resistance Pro Wrestling, took the time to speak with Wiggy Wigowski about the moment he discovered he was HIV-positive. Bueller also went into detail about how he has personally handled his diagnosis as he looks toward the future.
What originally started out as a growth in his armpit quickly unraveled in to a collection of serious health issues for Bueller. Upon getting the growth examined, Bueller was told by doctors that he was suffering from a cancer of the immune system called Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. He immediately began radiation chemotherapy to combat the cancer cells, however, unusually low numbers of white blood cells prompted concern from doctors.
"I noticed a very large growth in my armpit that got to be probably about the size of a baseball," Bueller began. "It wasn't going away on it's own. Went and got it checked out, they told me that I had Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, which is cancer essentially in the immune system. So, I had to pretty much immediately undergo treatment for that. That, for obvious reasons, kept me out of wrestling for a long time. Right as things were starting to look good, I got through chemo and now I was moving on to radiation, my white blood cell count wasn't getting to where it was supposed to."
As Bueller's health depleted, he was moved to a new hospital for further tests. There, they told Bueller that the state he was in could be attributed to a case of pneumonia that had also developed in his time battling cancer. One final series of tests revealed that he was actually HIV-positive. For Bueller, the most devastating part of this information was realizing that his career in wrestling was coming to an end.
"So, they couldn't continue radiation because my body couldn't handle it, and then I started getting short of breath almost to the point where I couldn't breathe," Bueller continued. "I could barely move around and it just got worse, and worse, and worse...they tested me for a lung infection at first, and then they found out through the testing that, 'Hey, you have pneumonia.' I mean, that explains some of it, but then they said, 'Just so you know, the type of pneumonia that you have is commonly associated with this other thing that we're going to test you for now.
"The next day, they came up and they told me officially that I was - in addition to having pneumonia, in addition to having cancer - that I am also HIV-positive," Bueller revealed. "So, that was in the mid-December...you would think I'd be bummed out about that but that's my favorite thing about being HIV-positive, is getting to do that [South Park] joke. So, when I found out, my first thought was, 'Thank God this isn't the 90's anymore,' first of all. And second of all, 'Oh my God, I can't wrestle now. That's it, I'm done now.'"
Although it may very well be the case in other independent wrestling promotions, Bueller revealed that he never once was required to submit a blood test to the companies he has worked for. Furthermore, Bueller stated that the proposition of providing a blood test to compete was never even brought up to him during his time competing in the squared circle.
"I have never given anyone a record of a blood test. Ever, at all, ever - no promoter has ever gotten blood test results from me," Bueller emphasized. "And I know that there are places where it's like, 'Oh, we make sure that we blood test everyone. We make sure that they don't wrestle in that type of environment if we can't prove their blood is clean.' I've never even so much have been asked to submit a blood test. Like, it wasn't one of those, 'Hey, we need a blood test from you. Oh, shoot, there's not enough time? Oh, I'm sure you're fine. Anyway, nevermind.' No one ever even asked me for [my blood test]. But then again, people who may not know me personally, ironically enough, I'm just as at risk for having something in me as you would think that I would, which is very minimal. I'm about as nerdy as they get, I'm not social, I don't do drugs, so really, what could I have? So maybe it wasn't a concern."
Bueller thinks that the state he is billed from, Indiana, has a lot to do with this reckless booking of stars. He notes how the State and Athletic Commission of Indiana has absolutely no rules or guidelines for the sport of professional wrestling.
"I think, for a long time, Indiana didn't have a State Athletic Commission," Bueller explained. "They have one now but I know Indiana, they don't govern pro wrestling at all. So a lot of places, the State and Athletic Commission has no involvement in the pro wrestling side of things. That's another thing, is not having any kind of guidelines on that short of either set by the company itself or people just kind of policing themselves. It's very possible that things like that could exist in that world."
At the end of the day, Bueller remains uncertain about where the roots to his HIV-positive diagnosis lead. He is under the impression that it wasn't contracted in any situations involving pro wrestling.
"I still don't really no for sure where this really came from," Bueller said. "It could have come from wrestling, it could have come from me being involved with someone that I shouldn't have and I'm kind of leaning more towards that. From what the doctors said, there's a possibility - now, this might be terrifying for a lot of people, which is something that I said in the video - that the doctor said that they found my blood counts, that I may have had this for years before they found it. It may have just been dormant. I didn't get in to deathmatches until 2015, so, it was just the last three years of my career. So, I never really gave it much thought because of that...I don't think I got it from someone in wrestling. But then again, I'll also never know."
Because of his experience with local promotions, Bueller admits that he still had some hope that maybe he could be booked on some non-deathmatch, local wrestling shows following his diagnosis. He even established a plan to go to a quick finish if something like a busted nose or cut lip were to occur.
"I actually considered, when cancer was fully treated and everything, to continue to wrestle, at least non-deathmatches of course, but locally," Bueller explained. "And the reason I decided to stay local is entirely of the stigma, because doctors told me flat out, 'There's nothing your HIV would prevent you from being able to wrestle without the blood involved'...Of course, promoters would have to be comfortable with booking me. Wrestlers would have to be comfortable working with me. And part of the reason that I wanted to remain local and continue to do this is, for one, I have built up a rapport with people in this area. I am a trustworthy guy and they would know that I'm not doing anything for selfish reasons, like continuing to still wrestle, that will put them in jeopardy whatsoever. I wouldn't even consider it if there was a possibility of something happening."
To Bueller, traveling outside of local promotions doesn't seem worth the potential risk of tarnishing any company's name. Even with advances in medicine and a greater knowledge of the virus, there still remains a stigma around HIV that Bueller fully recognizes.
"If something happens where, ya know, busted nose, busted lip, or something? Well that's an easy, okay, we just take it home immediately," Bueller continued. "Like, roll-up right then and there regardless of what's going on. And then clean up the mat and business as usual, nobody's at risk. Pretty much everybody that I've talked to, which isn't many people, but everybody is, like, 'Yeah, I wouldn't see anything wrong with that.' A number of people I have asked said that they would still be comfortable with working with me. Even people after I did the video reached out to me and said, 'Man, you just name the time and place, I'll get in there with ya.' Which I thought was very cool, and all of the local promoters that I've worked with out here, they were comfortable with working with me or continuing to book me. I wouldn't necessarily do traveling shows because, again, the stigma. All it takes is for me to go out and work for VOW again or work for GCW, or something in a non-deathmatch. Somebody gets wind of, 'Oh, hey, this place is booking guys that are HIV-positive.' Next thing you know, their reputation is completely ruined because of what people misunderstand about HIV."
Chicago Blast from Past 22 (Featuring a match from Bob Luce days)
Here we travel back to the the Bob Luce days as he was promoting wrestling in the Chicago area.
In this match we get to see the legendary Bobo Brazil take on the Mighty Abdulla in a bull rope type of match.
Along with Bob Luce talking with WWA Champion Stormy Granzig
Also another "Lost OTM Gem" , as we get to visit with Joey Eastman.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RK36EcZ8d3g
In this match we get to see the legendary Bobo Brazil take on the Mighty Abdulla in a bull rope type of match.
Along with Bob Luce talking with WWA Champion Stormy Granzig
Also another "Lost OTM Gem" , as we get to visit with Joey Eastman.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RK36EcZ8d3g
WWA (Kentucky)- Hysteria 81 - Lawless 2018
As they post the shows I'll keep plugging them. :)
-The fallout for One Last Round is felt, as Drake Jaxon promises to explain his actions against "Superstar" Ray Waddell. -After weeks of back and forth attacks, Alexander Knight defends the WWA Championship against Dakota France in the main event. -There will be no rest for the WWA Tag Team Champions, as Ballin with Finesse defend their new titles against Jake Bravado and Lizzy Sixx of the Regime. -For the first time ever, WWA Champion "Superior" Tony Evans goes one on one with Vanderpool in a non-title contest. -The Regime stay busy. Jake Bravado goes one on one with Tyler Hawkins, while Cortland Moore faces WWA Hardcore Champion Jordan Whittaker. All of this plus Josiah, Stonewall, Jay Rage, Krutch, Andrew Hunter, Zebediah, and more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bp59cV7nP4Q
-The fallout for One Last Round is felt, as Drake Jaxon promises to explain his actions against "Superstar" Ray Waddell. -After weeks of back and forth attacks, Alexander Knight defends the WWA Championship against Dakota France in the main event. -There will be no rest for the WWA Tag Team Champions, as Ballin with Finesse defend their new titles against Jake Bravado and Lizzy Sixx of the Regime. -For the first time ever, WWA Champion "Superior" Tony Evans goes one on one with Vanderpool in a non-title contest. -The Regime stay busy. Jake Bravado goes one on one with Tyler Hawkins, while Cortland Moore faces WWA Hardcore Champion Jordan Whittaker. All of this plus Josiah, Stonewall, Jay Rage, Krutch, Andrew Hunter, Zebediah, and more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bp59cV7nP4Q
Cody on criticism of pro wrestlers running All Elite Wrestling, Arn Anderson no longer working for WWE, needing bigger venues for future AEW shows, the look of the AEW television show
Credit for this goes to..
Pro Wrestling Sheet interview with Cody
Cody on possibly needing bigger venues for future AEW events: I’m always the pessimist in the group and it’s funny because on-screen occasionally I’m the least pessimistic, but in reality I wasn’t sure. Vegas is a tough market … you’re relying on a lot of people to travel in. And one of the things that’s kinda out there in the news that I don’t mind talking about that’s real exciting is that there was 40 something thousand people who signed up for the pre-sale, and most wrestling fans don’t just buy a single ticket, that really put some confidence in me. Made my heart swell up in terms of folks putting their trust in us. We want to take that and reward them. I know it shifted, we pivoted plans on a few things because of just the number itself. Perhaps in the steps we take next, maybe a bigger venue.
Cody on The Elite being aware of criticism towards wrestlers running their own promotion:We’re aware at that criticism and I think we think of it as a complete positive. We love our industry. This is our life’s work. We put such an interest in the creative in providing the sports-centric program. But getting back down to the idea of the startup and the day-to-day, one thing we’re really really fortunate for is Tony’s (Khan) team of business contacts he’s accrued over the years and his team — we share some folks with the Jacksonville Jaguars — we’ve been able to, in startup mode, share some of their resources and my gosh … not only are these great people, but they’re the top in their field. They’ve been incredibly helpful for us.
On whether the weekly AEW TV show might look similar to Being the Elite or the “Road To” series: When I look at “Road to Double or Nothing” or I look at BTE, those are the mediums we’re heading into Double or Nothing with. And if they’re working, then we should continue something in that vein. So if we get to the situation you’re talking about, weekly TV, we want to stick with what works and we want to appeal to the fans who have put their trust in us. And a lot of fans have. That to me is really important. So to answer your question, I could see those being a big part of AEW.
Cody on Arn Anderson’s departure from WWE: I’m just shocked because the entire current top talent at WWE — Seth Rollins, John Cena, Brock (even), Charlotte — I mean everybody in the “golden circle,” is an Arn guy or girl. I feel like that just blows my mind. I’ll see where the story goes … Arn Anderson is a gift to this industry. He’s not corporate, he’s a wrestler, but you cannot take wrestlers out of the wrestling business. Especially because he was so instrumental too … my mind is blown.
Marty Jannetty On Why WWE Fired Him After 1993 Royal Rumble Match With Shawn Michaels
After a very up-and-down career with WWE, former WWE Tag Team Champion and WWE Intercontinental Champion Marty Jannetty spoke to The Hannibal TV regarding his match against Shawn Michaels at the 1993 WWE Royal Rumble, as well as his firing shortly after.
On an evening in Sacramento that saw Bret Hart defeat Razor Ramon to defend his WWE Championship and Yokozuna winning the Royal Rumble Match, Jannetty outlined how he and Michaels prepared for the matchup.
"We went around for three days ahead of the Rumble getting the match down," Jannetty said. "We really, when they first started doing that, weren't comfortable with it because these people in Denver just saw us do that match, Salt Lake City, 12-15,000 people saw us do that match."
After having three days to prepare for the match come the Rumble, Jannetty felt very confident that it would possibly steal the show that night at the ARCO Arena.
"We went and got that match down so good with three days ahead," Jannetty said. "That night in Denver, which was Shawn and I's town, we had that match down so good... we never slowed down and we went for 20 minutes."
One agent at the time, Blackjack Lanza, reported the match to Vince McMahon with nothing but high praise. Jannetty recalls hearing his conversation with McMahon, claiming the match should be a main event.
"I hear Blackjack Lanza going to Vince 'I'm telling you, put this match on the main event'," Jannetty said. "It's the best match we're ever gonna see."
Following the match, universal acclaim was given to the two superstars from fans and critics alike, but McMahon was not so keen on the final product. Shortly after the match, rumors would swirl that Jannetty had been under the influence during the match, preventing it from being even better than it was. Jannetty would then be released from the WWE shortly after.
"Vince, the next day at TV, called me into his office and said 'I heard you had been drinking and just wasn't there for that match'," Jannetty said. "'I have to let you go' and boy that broke my heart."
Jannetty was under the impression that the quality of the match led to his release and defended the match, believing that it was better than some of the other matches on the card that night.
Two months later, "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig was able to get him back with the company, and a match against Michaels on RAW for the Intercontinental Championship, which he was victorious.
"I hate to say I won the IC title because of punishment to Shawn, but Vince had me come back and beat him," Jannetty said.
Jannetty would make a few more appearances in the WWE, most recently on Oct. 19, 2009 in a losing effort to The Miz on Monday Night RAW.
Jay Lethal On Beating Samoa Joe's ROH World Title Record, Why He Prefers Working With ROH
Jay Lethal recently spoke with Sporting News about beating Samoa Joe's Ring of Honor record of 645 combined days as ROH World Champion. Lethal also discussed his love for Ring of Honor as a promotion, the company's need to rebuild after losing big stars like Cody Rhodes and the Young Bucks, and the G1 Supercard at Madison Square Garden on April 6.
Beating Samoa Joe's record for the most combined days as ROH World Champion:
"When I was pulled aside and they said, 'You know, you're about to beat Joe's record of holding the belt for a certain amount of time.' I said, 'No way! That's insane!' I remember being in Ring of Honor when Joe was champion and I was his protege, and I would come to the ring holding his towel. I didn't think anyone would ever beat his record."
Why he loves Ring of Honor:
"Here's the thing that made me fall in love with them. Even when I was just that kid that didn't feel like I belonged, my skill level was nowhere near a CM Punk or Austin Aries or Alex Shelley at the time, but yet I was still wrestling with those guys. Even then, this company has always gone above and beyond for me. This company has always taken great care of me. I've never had a reason to even dream about wanting to go somewhere else. I love this place."
ROH always rebuilding and the winning formula for the company:
"I feel that Ring of Honor has always been in the rebuilding phase. Ring of Honor in all the time I've known it, it's never been fully settled. It's always in this rebuilding phase because other rosters out there constantly pluck from the Ring of Honor roster to make their roster better. Look at all of the companies out there and their champions. Most of them came through and from Ring of Honor.
"I think the winning formula is: you don't try and replace those guys. How do you replace The Young Bucks? How do you replace a Cody Rhodes or an AJ Styles? That hole in your tapestry is going to be there, but you have to have sense enough to know that hole leaves some character. That hole has done some great work and you don't try to cover that up. It just adds character."
Walking in and out of Madison Square Garden as the Champ at G1 Supercard:
"To me, it's all about walking in as the champion. If I don't leave as the champion, that wouldn't be too heartbreaking for me. But going in as the champion, they could never take anything away from me after that. If I can hold onto this belt — we do have one more pay-per-view in March, I have to get through that first. If I can walk into Madison Square Garden as the champion, that's what I would really like. Winning the big one in Madison Square Garden, that would be cool, but to me, being the first Ring of Honor champion walking into Madison Square Garden and defending the belt, that's the coolest part to me."
WWE HALL OF FAMER TAMMY SYTCH ARRESTED
WWE Hall of Famer Tammy "Sunny" Sytch was arrested yesterday in New Jersey and is currently incarcerated in Monmouth County Corrections in Freehold, New Jersey.
At the time same, It was announced that a bench warrant was issued for Sytch in the State of Pennsylvania on 2/15. That same day, the Carbon County Probation Department filed a motion to revoke Sytch's October 2018 parole. Court records indicate that Sytch made payments of $120 in the months of October and November 2018 as part of a payment plan to reimburse the State of Pennsylvania for their costs in her legal cases but has not made any additional payments since that time.
Sytch was extradited back to Carbon County in March 2018 from the same Monmouth County Correctional Facility she is currently jailed in. Sytch had been arrested in New Jersey last year for failing to appear in court for two DUI arrests.
While Sytch was being processed for multiple charges of Contempt - Disobedience/resistance in New Jersey, authorities learned that she was technically a fugitive from justice because a motion had been filed in August 2017 in PA requesting her February 2017 parole from the Carbon County in Pennsylvania be revoked. A bench warrant for Sytch's arrest was issued to bring her in for a hearing over the issue, but since Sytch was not living in PA at the time, she could not be located to be served or taken into custody. New Jersey authorities held her until PA authorities were able to come and extradite her. It was never clear whether Sytch's legal issues in New Jersey have been resolved.
Sytch's original Pennsylvania DUI charges in 2015 were a result of three separate incidents over that summer.
After her parole last year, Sytch announced she would be embarking on a farewell tour on the independent wrestling scene, writing, "I'm pleased to announced that I am taking bookings for my "Comeback/Farewell Tour 2018-19"...I am taking bookings for personal appearances, autograph signings, wrestling shows and party appearances for what will by my FINAL 9-12 months of appearances before I call it a wrap! I am returning to school and leading life after next year as a 'normal' member of society with a private personal life. 28 years in this crazy business has been long enough!"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)