Let's go into the IGNITE Wrestling vault for those iconic matches that made IGNITE Wrestling.
Thursday, February 25, 2021
World League Wrestling Thursday Night Showdown! Episode #123
Welcome to a very special edition of World League Wrestling Thursday Night Showdown! We are back with brand new content for our fans, and we’re excited to get things kicked off! On tonight’s episode, our commentary is live and we’re ready to host the fans that keep us alive with us. You’ll see the following matches take place: Stephan Newton vs. Kyle Roberts Rahim De La Suede vs. Sean Patrick You’ll also hear from all 3 members of The Empire - Jon Webb, Camaro Jackson, and Derek Stone.
HAVE SEX WITH AN UNDERAGE GIRL, GET A JOB IN JAPAN AS A REWARD - MARTY SCURLL PART OF RECENT NEW JAPAN STRONG TAPINGS
On Wednesday's Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer confirmed that Marty Scurll worked at the recent New Japan Strong tapings in California.
He didn't verify the story that Scurrl was involved in an post-match angle with Rocky Romero as was reported by Fanbyte's Emily Pratt. Due to non-disclosure agreements, information has been hard to verify. Fightful first reported his involvement with Pratt reporting he was at the January 22nd day of taping. It's unknown how many shows he will appear on as part of the tapings and when they will air.
"The source said that while everyone working on NJPW Strong signs an NDA about the content of the tapings, there was no extra secrecy about Scurll’s involvement: “They weren’t trying to hide him.” The source says they were surprised by Scurll’s involvement, saying “I thought we were going to be the company that wasn’t booking these guys to get some buzz. They’re going to get buzz alright, but probably not the kind they’re looking for. And it just reeks of letting things slide because these people are all friends or whatever.” They added that “I really just think fans should know his involvement beforehand, so they can choose to tune in or not.”
Scurrl has worked for New Japan extensively in the past, last competing in the 2019 Best of the Super Juniors tournament. A presence in Ring of Honor since 2016, he re-upped with the company in January 2020 in a wrestling/booking role.
During last summer's #SpeakingOut movement, he was accused of a 2015 sexual assault by a woman who was 16 at the time. He admitted to the encounter but said it was consensual, and legal due to the age of consent in the UK. He later released a second statement that was more contrite, saying that while he didn't "become aware of her age until after the encounter, the reality of the age disparity is not lost on me."
In June 2020, ROH announced an investigation into accusations made against their contracted talent. While never making the findings of those investigations public, several wrestlers were quietly removed from their roster page including Scurll. In January, they announced a mutual parting of the ways.
The 32-year-old's last match was in February 2020 at Gateway to Honor in a six-man tag.
Radio personality Craig Carton Gets Punked By Paul Heyman
Radio personality Craig Carton posted a clip from his radio show claiming that in the 90's, he was offered a job by a "group in Philly" to be an announcer that would be named Joey Styles, but he turned it down.
Paul Heyman responded with this tweet, putting Carton in his place.
EC3 SIGNS WITH ROH
EC3 SIGNS WITH ROH
Ring of Honor is pleased to announce that EC3 has signed with the company.
EC3, who had been pro wrestling’s hottest free agent since he hit the open market last summer, made a few appearances with ROH in the fall. He made his unannounced return on last weekend’s episode of “Ring of Honor Wrestling” to confront Jay Briscoe.
EC3 and Briscoe had been scheduled to face each other at Final Battle in December, but the match was called off after EC3 tested positive for COVID-19.
Recognized as a two-time former world champion, EC3 boasts one of the most chiseled physiques in the sport and stellar speaking skills.
EC3 seized control of his narrative during his time as a free agent. A darker, more intense and more dangerous EC3 showed up in ROH declaring that he was on a quest to see if honor is real.
Now that EC3 is making ROH his home, he’ll have ample time to find out.
NWA STAR JOSEPH HUDSON AKA JOCEPHUS & THE QUESTION MARK PASSES AWAY
Joseph Hudson, best known to professional wrestling fans as Josephus in the Billy Corgan era of The National Wrestling Alliance, passed away yesterday following a medical episode. Dutch Mantel tweeted that it was believed Hudson passed after either a stroke or an aneurysm.
NWA President Billy Corgan paid tribute to Hudson tonight, writing the following on his Instagram account - “It’s with a heavy heart that I share that my friend and brother in wrestling, Joseph Hudson, has passed away suddenly from an as-yet undiagnosed medical issue. NWA fans would know him as Jocephus as well as The Question Mark; where thanks to the great fans at GPB Studios in Atlanta, Joseph was able to receive the kind of support in the ring he’d always dreamt of. He is survived by a young son whom he loved dearly, and if anything would pain him about leaving this Earth it would be not being able to be there for his boy. RIP Joseph, love to you and Godspeed”
Hudson initially debuted in 2009 as Jocephus Brody, obviously a tribute to the late Bruiser Brody, and worked a number of the independent promotions that ran his hometown of Nashville, TN on a regular basis, including the USWO, SAW and beyond working with legends like Mantel, Tony Falk and Wolfie D.
In 2011, he held the USWO title for a time, defeating Raven for the championship. During the same time period, he began working for Resistance Pro in Chicago, where he likely first crossed paths with Corgan.
In 2016, Hudson worked a number of events promoted by Jeff Jarrett’s Global Force Wrestling promotion, working with Jarrett, Crimson and others, even appearing against Chris Sabin on a 2016 One Night Only Victory Road PPV.
After Corgan acquired the National Wrestling Alliance, Hudson dropped the Brody surname and was a regular for the promotion as Jocephus, an evil cult leader who initially feuded with then-NWA Champion Tim Storm. That feud that spilled over into Championship Wrestling from Hollywood and culminated with an empty arena match taped at Universal Studios Orlando before an Impact TV Taping.
Jocephus later had a short NWA storyline with David Arquette culminating in Joseph having his head shaved in Nashville, clips of which popped up in the You Cannot Kill David Arquette documentary.
Behind the scenes of the promotion, Joseph assisted in editing of video segments that aired on NWA Power episodes, the weekly YouTube series designed to showcase the old territory era studio wrestling show for a 21st century audience with a hint of levity with some of the undercard characters and commercial vignettes. The intimate nature of the tapings in Atlanta were infectious to watch with Josephus appearing initially under his usual wrestling name before disappearing and being replaced by the masked Question Mark.
For whatever reason, the character became a cult hit on the series thanks to the audience reaction and was quickly married to Aron Stevens, who was playing an obnoxious Hollywood star who had mastered the rare (fictional) martial art of Mongrovian Karate under his mysterious masked senses The Question Mark.
The pair had some fun comedy timing and were pretty entertaining on the series as a team. For Joseph, it became the first time that he was part of an act that clicked and truly became part of the DNA of a promotional consistently beyond a local level. He and Stevens had a short feud with Trevor Murdoch that helped build the NWA TV Title tournament and had the COVID pandemic not forced the NWA to pause, certainly the duo would have been an important part of the roster for a planned house show tour in major markets.
It is believed Joseph’s final match was the January 2020 NWA taping in Atlanta, where he and Stevens teamed in a loss to The Rock N’ Roll Express. To the best of my knowledge, he had not wrestled since the COVID-19 pandemic had taken hold.
Joseph also portrayed Bruiser Brody on the debut episode of ViceTV's Dark Side of the Ring, taking part in reenactments of Brody’s life.
Inspire Pro Forever [2016] - Sammy Guevara vs. Lince Dorado vs. Matt Cross
Sammy Guevara takes on Lince Dorado and Matt Cross in a showdown of epic proportions.
Inspire Pro Fade to Black 2 [2016] - Ricky Starks vs. Keith Lee
Witness one of the most epic matches in Inspire history. Ricky Starks takes on Keith Lee in a match to determine the true top championship in Inspire.
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