Thursday, May 2, 2019
The Work Horsemen Promo- (Freelance Wrestling)
The Work Horsemen: @RealJDDrake and @Antnyhenry have proven their dominance over and over again. So who is next for the most dominant tag team on the planet? Answer: IT DOESN'T MATTER.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1124133414473539590
https://twitter.com/i/status/1124133414473539590
The Best of AWA Classic Wrestling: Turkey Day Turmoil
The Best of (AWA) Classic Wrestling
Turkey Day Turmoil
Hosted by "Mean" Gene Okerlund
Superstar Billy Graham vs. Wilbur Snyder (10/31/82)
"The Incredible" Hulk Hogan vs. Jesse "The Body" Ventura (12/25/82)
AWA World Tag Team Champions The Road Warriors (w/Paul Ellering) vs. The High Flyers (2/7/85)
AWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Bockwinkel (w/Bobby Heenan) vs. Verne Gagne (7/18/80)
Battle Royal (10/22/82) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzjVUQNGTUo&t=173s
WWE Pulls Another Bitch Move By Pulling Kurt Angle From Another Convention Due To AEW
WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle has been pulled from his scheduled appearance at the WrestleCade 2019 convention in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, according to promoter Tracy Myers and Yes! Weekly.
WWE pulled Angle from the event, which takes place in late November, and offered no replacement. WrestleCade Weekend co-owner Brian Hawks was told that Angle could not appear because they are associated with All Elite Wrestling. WrestleCade says it is not officially connected to any other wrestling promotion, including AEW.
The deposit for Angle's appearance was returned immediately but WWE did not offer a replacement for Angle, according to John Pollock on Twitter.
As I and others have noted, WWE also pulled Angle and The Undertaker from the upcoming Starrcast II convention after they had already signed deals to appear, due to the relationship with AEW. Both Angle and Taker recently signed new WWE contracts and the company has the power to withhold them from any events that are deemed not in the best interests of WWE.
As I and others have noted, WWE also pulled Angle and The Undertaker from the upcoming Starrcast II convention after they had already signed deals to appear, due to the relationship with AEW. Both Angle and Taker recently signed new WWE contracts and the company has the power to withhold them from any events that are deemed not in the best interests of WWE.
As noted, Angle revealed that he has signed a new five-year deal Angle said he plans on doing some part-time work for the company under the new deal, and he will work as a Producer.
10 Times Wrestling Fans Attacked WWE Wrestlers But Wrestlers Fought BACK and Gave Them A Beatdown!
As fans are constantly reminded, the hazards in the ring are real as Superstars have accidentally injured opponents before. However, wrestlers sometimes face hazards from fans who jump into the ring or attack them out of the ring. Join us now as Wrestlelamia looks at different times fans attacked WWE wrestlers and Wrestlers fought back! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2yRu1KYYa0
Dr Jerry Graham Jr on Training Scott Steiner & More! (Hannibal TV)
Dr Jerry Graham Jr on Training Scott Steiner & More!
Kayfabe brother of the original Dr. Jerry Graham talks about his experiences training future World Champion Scott Steiner as well as why he thinks The Hannibal TV lead reporter Hannibal "The Death Dealer" should be working in a top promotion.
House Of Bricks Pro Wrestling- HoB Turnbuckle TV Season 4 Episode 7
HoB Turnbuckle TV
Season 4
Episode 7
On this week's episode of House Of Bricks Pro Wrestling #TurnbuckleTV, NOW on the #HoB YouTube Channel, Youtube.com/HoBProWrestling, #HouseOfBricks once again brings you action from #OrleansSlamFest2. First, it's a handicap match as the team of The Mighty Bosch and Ragnarok, The Knights Of Destruction, take on "The Double Fisted Polish Powerhouse" Alfonso Polelick, B.C Kid, and Zega. And in this week's #TurnbuckleTV main event, it is FALLS COUNT ANYWHERE as Evan Siks squares off against former HoB Heavyweight Champion, "The Brick" David Baker. Make sure to LIKE, SHARE, AND SUBSCRIBE to never miss an episode of #TurnbuckleTV!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgfMpkkVLfc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgfMpkkVLfc
DEFY Wrestling- THROWBACK: The Best of Shane SWERVE Strickland
DEFY Throwback Thursday: DEFY, The House that SWERVE Built - The Best of Shane Strickland.
Featuring: Shane SWERVE Strickland Vs. Matt Riddle (DEFY 8: Kings Among Men), Vs. Brody King (DEFY 9: Yo! DEFY Graps!), Vs. MVP (DEFY Requiem), Vs. Austin Aries (DEFY PDX II: SWERVE vs ARIES II).
Defy Wrestling will return to Seattle Washington on Friday May 10th 2019 with "INTO THE FIRE" .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSUIvIYMyQM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSUIvIYMyQM
Insane Championship Wrestling (UK)- Rampage attacks Lionheart!
Lionheart defeats Ashton Smith to retain his championship, only to be attacked by Rampage Brown! The two will meet ICW: King of Hawners - Night 2! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozt4Nc5-4kM
Lio Rush Reportedly Turns Down New WWE Offer But Says He's "Broke"
Lio Rush continued to respond this week to some of the reports on his backstage heat and issues with WWE.
Rush said in an interview with Fightful that his issues are not with Bobby Lashley or working with him, but with not being paid for merchandise that uses his catchphrase, and not being paid what he feels he's worth.
"My issue has never been with Bobby Lashley. Being with Bobby has helped the both of us out tremendously," Rush said. "It's given me speaking confidence I didn't know i had. I never was a promo guy on the indies. But being with Bobby made me a promo guy. My issue isn't with my on screen role. My issue is the fact that I haven't been on meet and greets with Bobby, haven't been getting paid for merchandise for us that has my catchphrases on them. (I) have been sent to live shows and TVs and forced to pay for my own rental for 5 days as well as hotel while not making enough money to do so. Walking around broke in the biggest sports entertainment industry that there is while having two kids and a wife to support."
Rush also said he believes someone in WWE is leaking false information to get him released.
WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry appeared on Busted Open Radio earlier today and spoke on the Rush situation. Henry noted that he started with WWE in 1996 and helping WWE Hall of Famer Yokozuna was one of his responsibilities.
"It's not a race issue, it's an ego issue," Henry said. "Who are you? Nobody is exempt from being respectful to the business and paying homage to the guys drawing money. We all have done it. Steve Austin did it, The Rock did it. You're better than The Rock? Get the hell out of here."
Henry also said he recently approached Rush to ask him about some of the issues. He said, "I pulled him aside the last time I saw him and told him, 'I'm hearing stuff in the locker room, what's wrong?' He said nothing's wrong, but it was a blatant lie to my face. I let him know that if he has a question, right now is the time to do that."
Regarding Rush's issues on pay, Henry said he needs to change the way he spends. Henry said, "If you can't pay for a rental car and you can't pay for a hotel with the money that you're making every week, you need to change the way you're spending. You can't blame that on the office. If you spent everything before you got it, that's your problem."
Henry is said to be a huge supporter of Rush behind-the-scenes, it's also been reported by other sites about these issues, noting that there has been a lot of talk about Rush's future within WWE, and there were rumors of Rush being moved back to WWE NXT in the near future.
Rush has been a polarizing figure backstage for some time among the other wrestlers, going back to the November 2018 tour where he blew off what has been considered standard backstage etiquette for junior members of the roster on overseas tours, including being at the Gorilla position backstage to provide water to talents as they returned after their matches, and carrying coolers and drinks into the hotels where talents were staying, to set up a common area where everyone could privately socialize together. These tasks are often done to show respect to the locker room and the business as a whole. Several veterans reportedly tried to explain to Rush that he was making a mistake then, but he blew off the advice and complained to WWE officials, which didn't do him any favors. Things with Rush have calmed down in recent months, but there have been other issues. Rush allegedly has brought his friends and relatives backstage without the proper credentials, and there have been other moments where he has blown off counsel from senior members of the RAW roster.
As we've noted, Rush has been off WWE TV for a few weeks now due to the heat he has. Rush previously addressed the reports on Twitter after it was reported that he has heat due to how he makes it very clear that he should be the top guy on the RAW brand, and he's not shy about sharing these thoughts.
n an update, that there were multiple complaints made about Rush bringing his wife backstage and allowing her to change clothes in the women's locker room, dating back to the 2018 European tour. There was another incident where Rush brought a group of people backstage at a 2018 TV taping. The group allegedly were stopped for not all having proper credentials and they loudly began yelling at a female member of WWE's security crew, which obviously didn't sit well with others backstage. A veteran talent, not Balor, reportedly tried to talk to Rush about the issues but he was told by Rush that he "works for Vince, not you." WWE officials later approached that veteran talent as Rush complained about getting spoke to by the talent, because he was not an executive in the company and was "Rush's equal, not his boss." Word of this made the rounds and that led to Rush being removed from the locker room for a period of time after the tour and that's when his issues became less of a regular occurrence backstage. That has changed in recent weeks.
Despite the problems, Rush was reportedly recently offered a new five-year contract, said to be in the range of $300,000. Rush reportedly turned that offer down and asked for double the pay. His current contract expires in 2020 some time. Regarding the rumors of sending Rush back to NXT, the idea would be to build him a new character and present him as something more than just a mouthpiece. Rush reportedly suggested, at least once, that WWE should release him so he can "show them" what he can accomplish outside of the company. There's no word yet on when Rush will return to WWE TV, but he has reportedly been pulled from the upcoming European tour, a decision made a week ago. Rush has been backstage for RAW, but obviously not used.
CODY SAYS WE WILL FIND OUT HOW TO WATCH DOUBLE OR NOTHING IN THE NEAR FUTURE
Cody tweeted the following:
What's 'real soon'? Tomorrow? Next Week? Not the ebst way to get people to try and buy/watch the show, Dumb ass.
And oh yeah, How about that TV Deal you guys keep dangling then backing off on mentioning?
AEW seems more like GFW every week.
And oh yeah, How about that TV Deal you guys keep dangling then backing off on mentioning?
AEW seems more like GFW every week.
JEFF JARRETT VS. ANTHEM LAWSUIT UPDATE
Credit to PWInsider for originally posting this story.
Anthem Sports & Entertainment and its subsidiary, Anthem Wrestling, filed motions on 4/23 with the United States District Court of The Middle District of Tennessee, explaining their argument as to why the most recently filed version of Jeff Jarrett and Global Wrestling Entertainment (the parent company of Global Force Wrestling) should be dismissed from court.
Anthem Sports & Entertainment and its subsidiary, Anthem Wrestling, filed motions on 4/23 with the United States District Court of The Middle District of Tennessee, explaining their argument as to why the most recently filed version of Jeff Jarrett and Global Wrestling Entertainment (the parent company of Global Force Wrestling) should be dismissed from court.
In the first motion, Anthem noted that Jarrett and GWE “have now filed three complaints in this case and still have failed to properly allege a basis for diversity jurisdiction against Anthem Wrestling. Moreover, Plaintiffs have served at least three sets of written discovery and Defendants have produced in excess of 12,000 pages of documents in this case”, yet they have not been able to prove that Anthem falls under the proper jurisdiction of the court.
Anthem is also arguing that since GWE and Jarrett failed to copyright and trademark their GFW Amped! TV tapes and since Jarrett provided a license for Anthem to use the tapes, there can be no trademark infringement. Anthem is arguing that by law, Jarrett & GWE should have filed their copyrights or have been refused registration in order to claim copyright infringement in court. Since neither has happened – as Jarrett does not have physical possession of the GFW master tapes, which Impact has already admitted they deleted – Anthem is arguing that claim can not go forward in court.
Anthem argue that if there is any issue for the court to hear, it is a potential breach of contract claim.
On Jeff Jarrett’s argument that Anthem are using his name and image illegally and that they need to relinquish the trademark on the “Jeff Jarrett” name, which they acquired as part of the assets of Impact Wrestling when they seized control of the company from Dixie Carter, Anthem noted, “Plaintiffs attempt to make the convoluted argument that Jeff Jarret is a “real person” and not just a “character” like Hulk Hogan or the “Rock.” This is immaterial. Jeff Jarrett authorized the use of his name and likeness because he was the Chief Content Officer and the Anthem Wrestling employee in charge of deciding what content would be used. He selected and pushed for the use of his own image and likeness. This alone is authorization and forecloses him from arguing that Defendants’ use was without permission.”
So, Anthem is saying that Jarrett cannot hold them accountable for decisions he himself made while working for their company. They again argued that they legally hold the Jarrett trademark and noted, “Accordingly, Defendant’s use of Jeff Jarrett’s image and likeness was authorized, regardless of whether the permission was obtained by trademark assignment or because Jarrett himself provided permission for use of his image and likeness as the employee in charge of making such decisions.”
Jarrett’s former role in Impact Wrestling as the Chief Creative Officer was also part of the latest attempt to have the lawsuit dismissed. On claimed that Anthem has infringed on his name and rights, Anthem responded, “Plaintiff Jeff Jarrett was the Chief Content Officer for Anthem Wrestling, which means he was the employee in charge of deciding what content to use in its programming. He made the decision to use the content, his own image and likeness, and the trademarks about which he is now suing. There can be no serious question that his decision to exploit this intellectual property as an officer of Anthem Wrestling amounts to an implied license for Anthem Wrestling to use it and all his claims to the contrary should be dismissed. Moreover, Plaintiff Jeff Jarrett filed a statement of use with the USPTO acknowledging that the use of which he now complains was a licensed use. All the infringement-related claims must be dismissed.”
The statement Anthem refers to was an attempt to copyright GFW using an image of a Impact-released GFW DVD cover to show the name and logo was in use in business. 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, 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 has been 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 – something the court has yet to rule on.
Anthem also shot down Jarrett’s previous claim that they have abandoned the “Jeff Jarrett” trademark and have no plans for its uses, responding, “Moreover, the JEFF JARRETT trademark was originally obtained when Jeff Jarrett wrestled for TNA Entertainment. Jeff Jarrett explicitly consented, in writing, to TNA obtaining a trademark for the mark JEFF JARRETT. TNA Entertainment was acquired by Anthem Wrestling and TNA validly assigned all of its marks to Anthem at that time, including the JEFF JARRETT mark. Accordingly, Anthem Wrestling holds a valid and existing trademark in the name JEFF JARRETT and Plaintiffs’ claims of third-party use and the like are irrelevant and without merit. If the WWE claims superior rights to Defendants’ assignors (which Defendants obviously deny), that is the WWE’s claim to raise. They have not done so. Plaintiff simply cannot escape the fact that Jeff Jarrett consented to use of his name as a trademark and Defendants are the valid assignees of that right. This fact abrogates his image and likeness claims and Plaintiffs have cited no law to the contrary.”
In regard to a claim by Jarrett and GWE that Anthem has illegally attached evidence to previous court motions and documents, Anthem argued that everything they have brought forth can be publicly researched and discovered, therefore nothing was brought into the court that would be out of bounds.
The most recent motion comes after attempted settlement talks between the two sides failed to resolve the issues on 4/12.
As previously covered by PWInsider.com, Jarrett and GWE’s latest 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."
On 11/30/18, Anthem, in responded to a Jarrett request to produce certain documents and information 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."
GWE and 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 noted above, 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.”
In the latest Amended lawsuit, Jarrett noted Anthem has no "intent" in hiring him again (which would be technically impossible anyway since Jarrett now works for WWE on the Creative Team and as a Producer and performer), 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." Anthem responded to those claims in the most recent motion, as noted above.
Anthem Sports has also previously claimed 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 argued and continue to argue 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.
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. "
A June 2020 court date had been previously set for the lawsuit.
Acouple NWA Notes
Colt Cabana will make his first National title defense on 5/12 in Chicago, IL against James Storm.
The NWA announced details on Allysin Kay's first NWA Women's Championship defense will be released shortly.
NWA Champion Nick Aldis and VP Dave Lagana are in Las Vegas for the Cauliflower Alley Club:
Nick Aldis inducts Dory Funk Jr. into the CAC Hall of fame. Video link below.
Nick Aldis inducts Dory Funk Jr. into the CAC Hall of fame. Video link below.
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