RING OF HONOR NEWS AND NOTES

Last night's Manhattan Mayhem stream was said to have been excellent for Ring of Honor's Honorclub.   The show is already available for VOD.


ROH did announce at the beginning of their broadcast that Socal Uncensored would not be appearing on the show due to flight issues.  They did not, to the best of my knowledge, announce it to the live crowd.  ROH obviously scrambled the show a bit to reconigure plans.   The Kingdom did an excellent job in stepping in and one thing that really stood out to me last night was how much Matt Taven has grown as a personality and promo since the group was built around him. 
Another thing that is readily evident is that as a character and personality, Cody Rhodes is doing the best work of his career.  He had the crowd reacting to everything he did, every tease and every comment, in a way that only top stars get.  He's really tapped into something and if you haven't seen his work since he departed WWE, you'd be shocked at how much he's grown.

The CMLL stars missed the pre-show meet and greet as Ultimo Guerrero got caught up in customs for a lengthy period of time when they arrived in New York City.  Despite all that, he still helped tear the house down in his tag match with Jay Lethal vs. Dalton Castle and Volador Jr.   The talents showed up at the Hammerstein Ballroom about five minutes before Soberano Jr. went to the ring to face Punishment Martinez, which was likely a factor in why that match didn't click.

I don't know that this was by design, but Adam Page's balcony moonsault was about a foot to the left of where Super Crazy did his at the ECW One Night Stand PPV back in 2005.

During intermission, ROH Honorclub streamed a great Bryan Danielson vs. Samoa Joe match from the archives.  Great way to keep the audience at home entertained while you are selling merchandise and giving the live fans a breather.

Jonathan Gresham said last night he is cleared to return to the ring.  His work has been great of late.

ROH officials are thrilled with the advance ticket sales for the Supercard of Honor event in New Orleans, which will easily break the promotion's attendance record.

As noted last night, ring announcer Bobby Cruise has signed a new two-year deal with the company.

ROH had a new logo shirt as well as new shirts for Dalton Castle, Tenille Dashwood and The Young Bucks on sale last night.

ROH returns to PPV this Friday 3/9 for their Anniversary PPV in Las Vegas:

*Jay Lethal challenging Dalton Castle for the ROH World Championship

*The Briscoes challenging The Motor City Machine Guns for the ROH Tag Team Championship

*Matt Taven vs. Cody Rhodes.

*Flip Gordon vs. Hiromu Takahashi.

*Punishment Martinez vs. Marty Scurll.

*The Hung Bucks (The Young Bucks & Hangman Page) defend the ROH Six Man Tag Team Championship against SoCal Uncensored (Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky) in a Vegas Street Fight.

You can get information on the event by clicking here.
 

POSSIBLE REY MYSTERIO INJURY

Rey Mysterio is believed to have suffered a torn bicep during the main event of Northeast Wrestling's Wrestlefest in Waterbury, CT this past Friday, PWInsider has learned.  In that bout, Mysterio teamed with Flip Gordon against Joey Mercury and Caleb Konley.

Some sources reports on the match: "I wouldn’t call this the smoothest encounter I’ve ever seen, but as far as building heat to a hot tag, then building heat to an even hotter tag that lead to an explosion after the finish, this was effective.  Rey is a superstar for a reason, and Flip is building his way to eventually becoming one.  Flip benefited greatly from being in there with him.  The finish saw Rey hit a double 619, followed by a top rope splash on Konley for the win."

It should be noted that as of this writing, the injury has not been confirmed as Mysterio was going to have it examined upon his return home to California.  Mysterio's arm was a little swollen after the bout, but he was not holding the arm backstage after in a way that was obvious there was a major injury.  We are told Mysterio pretty much rushed to leave the building after the match.

The potential injury is believed to have occurred in the final minutes of the bout, so it should be interesting to see what the tape of the match reveals when it is released online by Northeast Wrestling.

The sad timing of the potential injury is that, according to WWE sources, Mysterio was originally slated to meet with Triple H at WWE HQ in Stamford, CT prior to the NEW event to try and lock down terms of a new contract with the company.  The meeting was postponed after HHH was needed to go to Saudi Arabia to finalize a new contract there that would see WWE locked in to produce live events in that country over the next decade.

Mysterio had been on WWE's radar since his surprise return at the Royal Rumble in January, which easily received the biggest reaction of anything on the show up until that point.  That opened WWE up to signing a new deal with Mysterio, where before, previous talks had stalemated over Mysterio wanting a part-time deal and WWE management insisting on a full-time return. 

Mysterio is also slated to wrestle Jushin Liger at the 3/25 New Japan Pro Wrestling "Strong Style Evolved" event in Long Beach, CA.

Now, all of that is up in the air until Mysterio gets this potential injury diagnosed.

TAMMY SYTCH UPDATE

Tammy Sytch remains incarcerated in Monmouth County Correctional Facility in New Jersey.

An official at the facility has stated that Sytch will be held until authorities in Pennsylvania arrive to extradite her back to Carbon County, PA, where she is a wanted fugitive for violating the terms of her February 2017 parole. 

Once that situation has been resolved, Sytch will also need to be returned to New Jersey to face new charges that she has racked up in 2018, including two new DUI arrests.

Our Saturday Night Wrassling feature is, Appalachian Mountain Wrestling March 3 2018

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_THscDSt83o

Published on Mar 3, 2018

On this week's episode Shawn Cruz vs Stan Lee, The Tag Tournament Continues as Beau James and The Mega Destroyer battle Kyle Maggard and Eddie Browning, Plus news on upcoming events, and Scott Diamond has

Nick Aldis vs. David Starr | NWA Worlds Championship (2018)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wvSGIkcgWs

Published on Mar 3, 2018

Nick Aldis started The Aldis Crusade with Ten Pounds of Gold vs. James Ellsworth at Championship Wrestling From Hollywood. It continued in the United Kingdom with challenger #5 - David Starr for the NWA Worlds Championship happening on 2/11/2018 at IPW UK.




NWA Ten Pounds Of Gold is documenting The Aldis Crusade and each match brings a unique challenge for the champion. Nick Aldis launched this crusade as a way to change the perception on not only himself but the NWA Worlds Title.

David Starr talks about how important this journey is during his entrance for this NWA World Title Match. Fans packed IPW UK's Milton Keynes venue to see this clash for the Ten Pounds of Gold.

PODCAST RECAP AND REVIEW: The Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast with David Bixenspan on if wrestling journalism exists, the difficulty of getting interviews with WWE talent, State of Wrestling on what’s going on with Brock Lesnar, Ronda Rousey’s first appearances (Ep. 175)

https://www.pwpodcasts.com/2018/03/03/podcast-recap-review-sam-roberts-wrestling-podcast-david-bixenspan-wrestling-journalism-exists-difficulty-getting-interviews-wwe-talent-state-wrestling-whats-g/

More On Former WWE Star Tammy Sytch Arrested For Two DUIs.

Tammy Sytch, also known as former WWE star Sunny, is once again behind bars, with cops saying she was a "fugitive from justice." According TMZ Sports, jail records showed that Sytch is currently locked up in New Jersey on contempt of court and fugitive from justice charges.

 

In a new TMZ Sports report, just before Sytch was sent to jail she was cited for two DUIs in two weeks. The first was on January 23 in New Jersey and the second (again, in New Jersey) was on February 2, which also involved a car accident that police say she fled from. Sytch was later found, cited another DUI and leaving the scene of the accident.

REY MYSTERIO, YOUNG BUCKS, FLIP GORDON, EMMA, LANNY POFFO, JOEY MERCURY, MATT RIDDLE & MORE: NORTHEAST WRESTLING WRESTLEFEST 2018 LIVE REPORT FROM WATERBURY, CT

Northeast Wrestling
Wrestlefest XII
March 2, 2018
Waterbury, Connecticut

The show started with The Young Bucks & Marty Scurll and they taped a segment for Being The Elite.  They asked the crowd to play along and the crowd was super hot for it.  The Bucks then cut a promo saying the last time they were here they wrestled The Hardys and sat across from Roddy Piper as he signed autographs and put over what an honor it was.  Marty then started saying that things are messed up in the Bullet Club when The Kingdom came out and cut them off.

Taven came out and said the Bullet Club is stealing everyone’s money by coming here and not wrestling.  Nick then said they can’t wrestle because of their contracts, but they can get in the ring and get their asses kicked.  The Kingdom hit the ring and ran right into superkicks.  That sent The Kingdom packing and they were stopped by local police before they could get in the ring again.  The Young Bucks thanked the crowd.  That was a crowd-pleasing way to start the show to say the least.

MATCH ONE: NEW Tag Team Titles – Adrenaline Rush (Evans & Youngblood) (c) v. Cam Zagami & Robbie E

Adrenaline Rush is listed from the DANGER ZONE.

This was as basic of a tag match as it gets and I say that with the highest regard possible.  The crowd ate it up, it told an easy story and it was entertaining.  Zagami was out when Robbie E put his foot on the rope.  After that, Evans was going for a big finish when Robbie E pushed him and Cam rolled him up with a handful of tights for the win.  Simple, yet very well done and the crowd reacted huge.  That’s all you can ask for.  New champions.

WINNERS: Cam Zagami & Robbie E

Lanny Poffo out for an interview segment.  He put over NEW as the best indy promotion and thanked the fans for everything.  He also thanked all the fans at the meet and greet earlier who said nice things about his brother Randy Savage.  That got a very cool “Macho” chant.  He read one of his classic poems about the Macho King back in the day, which included an Elizabeth mention.  This was a good little segment that the fans appreciated.  He then threw Frisbees into the crowd because…why not?

MATCH TWO: Triple Threat Match - “Red Lion” Chris Battle v. Christian Casanova v. “Sexy Beast” Bull Dread

Another very simple, yet effective match.  Casanova was playing the smaller cowardly heel who took a bunch of big bumps for the bigger Battle and Dread.  The finish saw Casanova move and Dread speared Battle.  Casanova dumped Dread out of the ring and pinned Battle.  Everyone played their role well, the crowd was hot for it, and Casanova shined as the heel.

WINNER: Christian Casanova

Out comes King Brian Anthony and his Royal Court, which consists of The Amazing Graysons and a man dressed as the Mad Hatter.  This is straight out of 1993 WWF.  Before Anthony could cut a promo, he was cut off by his opponent and his entrance.

MATCH THREE: “The King” Brian Anthony v. “Man Scout” Jake Manning

Manning does a Boy Scout gimmick.

This ended up being a great match.  Again, another simple yet effective story.  Manning was running wild and the Graysons kept getting involved.  The crowd bit HUGE for a false finish that saw Manning do a straightjacket fall from the top rope to the floor while he read his Boy Scout manual.  Then when he got Anthony in the ring the crowd exploded at the near finish.  Anthony got the win after one of the Graysons got involved and cut Manning off on the top rope.  Anthony hit a top rope Jackhammer for the win.

WINNER: Brian Anthony

MATCH FOUR: “American Sumo” Mike Gamble v. Ron Zombie

I guess the fairest way to describe this match is that it was okay.  It didn’t go all that long.  Zombie sold a lot for Gamble, and eventually, Zombie fought him off and hit a leaping DDT for the win.  Zombie is a local favorite with the promotion, so it was nice for him to get a quick win here.

WINNER: Ron Zombie

MATCH FIVE: Deonna Purrazzo v. Tenille Dashwood

I can’t say enough good things about this match.  The only thing I would question is Dashwood playing heel since everyone was there to see her, however, she was fantastic in the role.  As always, Purrazzo showed why she is probably the best female wrestler on the independents today.  Both showed great poise, told a good story and didn’t have to kill themselves to get a reaction.  Dashwood got a win with a running dropkick to the head.

WINNER: Tenille Dashwood

MATCH SIX: Matt Riddle v. “Big Bacon” Brad Hollister

To no one’s surprise, Matt Riddle was involved in another really great match.  Hollister has a ton of natural charisma, but he’s just a tad bit off in timing and selling.  Other than that, this was really terrific to watch.  They traded nearfalls until Hollister got to win with a flurry of moves followed by a sit out powerbomb.  The crowd was surprised, but they were into their local guy getting the big win.

WINNER: “Big Bacon” Brad Hollister

MATCH SEVEN: Josh Briggs v. Wrecking Ball Legursky

This match was starting to gain some steam and become somewhat of an interesting story when Wrecking Ball’s manager Jared (doing a trust fund gimmick) came in the ring and jumped on Briggs’ back for the DQ.

The match struggled early.  There seemed to be some timing and footwork issues on the part of Legursky.  Then Briggs took a suplex on the wood gym floor and I had to question his sanity.  He nailed a huge Undertaker/Wrestlemania dive to the floor that landed perfect and got an enormous reaction.  Other than that, it was slow to build but was eventually working itself out.

After the bell, Mick Foley came out to the ring and used Mr. Socko on Jared and dragged him to the back.  He then came back to the ring and stood tall with Briggs as Legursky walked out.  After the match, Mick cut a promo putting over NEW and all of the people for coming out in terrible weather.  He then said how sad he was that there were so many Bullet Club shirts and no Cactus Jack shirts.  He then saw two fans with Foley shirts and brought them in the ring.  He then told Nick and Matt Jackson to take that because he’s over.

WINNER: Josh Briggs

MAIN EVENT: Flip Gordon & Rey Mysterio, Jr. v. Kaleb Conley & Joey Mercury

I wouldn’t call this the smoothest encounter I’ve ever seen, but as far as building heat to a hot tag, then building heat to an even hotter tag that lead to an explosion after the finish, this was effective.  Rey is a superstar for a reason, and Flip is building his way to eventually becoming one.  Flip benefited greatly from being in there with him.

The finish saw Rey hit a double 619, followed by a top rope splash on Conley for the win.

WINNERS: Flip Gordon & Rey Mysterio, Jr.

WWA Hysteria 58 - Relapse 2018

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NepbxJxgB3k

 

Published on Mar 1, 2018

After a long absence due to weather, Hysteria is back!

-Alexander Knight has a chance to win the WWA Championship when he faces Jordan Whittaker.
-Four matches determine who will be in the Ultimate X match for the National Title on the next Hysteria. Tony Evans defends the National Title against Tyler Hawkins, Josiah, and Jeremy Gray in a Fatal Four Way. Plus qualifying matches feature Teddy King vs Dakota France, Andrew Hunter vs Nick Willis, and CCW vs "Superstar" Ray Waddell.

All of this plus Stonewall, Vanderpool, the Ring Leader, Drake Jaxon, Krutch, and more!

Friday Night At The Fights? ok, here you go. Defiant Wrestling #11: Austin Aries vs Martin Kirby! Full Show

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w56SFpoXncE

 

Streamed live 4 hours ago

Martin Kirby finally gets another shot at the Defiant World Championship when he takes on Austin Aries.

Plus, qualifiers for the Magnificent Seven match continue as Primate takes on Rampage, and Joe Hendry & El Ligero vs Coffey & Gunn with both members of the winning tag team proceeding.

Kay Lee Ray takes on Sammii Jayne to determine the number one contender to Millie McKenzie’s Defiant Women’s Championship.

Shane Taylor on how he got started with ROH, working with War Machine

Pancakes and Powerslams Podcast with Shane Taylor
Host: Chris Featherstone
Interview available at SoundCloud.com

On how he got the opportunity to work for Ring of Honor: “I was trained in Cleveland, Ohio by a guy named Raymond Rowe. Raymond Rowe, obviously a former two-time ROH World Tag Team Champion, and a former IWGP Tag Team Champion with Hanson, ‘War Machine.’ The whole time I was up there riding up with them. They were taking me as many places as they could, showing me as much as they could. Then after a few years of that, Raymond moved to Texas so I was on my own and doing my own thing. I felt that I had sort of peaked to where I was at. I was one of the best guys there in the area, and really wasn’t getting the opportunity to be in the ring with people that were better than me. That is the only way that you get better at doing this, is to be around people that are better than you. I don’t say that trying to be cocky or anything, but I felt that I was in the same level as everyone else, but I wasn’t getting any better. Raymond Rowe convinced me to move to Texas, and the few years that I have moved down here to Texas I have made tremendous strides.

“Also, with Wildcat Sports in Louisiana and different places like VIP in Dallas, WrestleCircus in Austin, and really just getting a chance to re-start. When I went to Ring of Honor I was riding with Ray Rowe; went to a few shows there just trying to get my face seen and talk with folks to network, eventually being around the guys and talking to them and getting to know them. They found out I was a pretty good dude and I was pretty okay at this wrestling thing. They gave me a shot; they liked what they saw. They gave me some critiques to work on, and each point that I came back I improved in each areas that they asked me to work on I improved in and that goes a long way so eventually they saw me keep it together and that was their chance that they saw that they could do something with me.”

On how it was working with Raymond Rowe and War Machine in general: “We just really played off of our real history. He is one of my best friends in the world. He is the Godfather of my daughter. We have been tight since I was 20 years old. When you are in there with one of your best friends, you are in their with someone that you consider family and blood, you up your game. Not only do you want to make him proud, but you want to prove to the world that he wasn’t lying when—I wanted to prove personally that I wanted to make him look like Nostradamus when he would tell people that my guy is great here and then we go out and do it and show them. To me, there is nothing better than that. When I am able to tell you that I am going to do something and then watch you watch me do it, that to me is very fulfilling. We definitely wanted to go out there that not only are we two of the best tag teams in the world, but if you give us the platform and the time to do it then we are going to make it special, so that was really cool.”

On how he chose to have that kind of wrestling style: “I have always been attracted to that style. I have always been deceptively athletic, as I like to say. A lot of people see me and think that he is this, but I have been boxing since I was 5 years old. I have been playing Football, Wrestling and Track & Field my entire life, since Middle School. I am a very athletic person. Now that I am changing my body up more to reflect that reality it doesn’t catch as many folks off-guard. For me, I have always been able to do these things, and when you look at guys like Vader and Stan Hansen, guys of that sorts, they were always big guys, but they had some special things that they did athletically that made them stand out, so I wanted to mold myself in that image, to not knock anyone’s teeth out, but to be able to run around and do things that I want to do. If you have a well-rounded attack that makes you that much tougher of an opponent.”

On African-American athletes in professional wrestling: “One thing that I feel like black people as a whole need to do is stop dividing ourselves with things. We should be able to look at people’s accomplishments and take them as a win for our culture, as opposed to looking who is in what, or who is classified where, because nobody else does that. No other group does that. We happen to be the only group that does, and it is to our detriment. We should be applauding the fact that Mark Henry was World Heavyweight Champion. We should be applauding that Booker T was a multi-time World Heavyweight Champion. Whatever the case may be as to the circumstance is irrelevant because that is still a representation of our culture. Even with The Rock; I don’t care what he promotes, I don’t care when he does it, or what he does. The fact is that he is who he is and we should see that and accept that and count that as a win like any other group that because it’s not just one way or the other. That is something we look at and we should take pride in. He has done it in a way that nobody else has been able to do it. He can arguably be the best of all-time and that should inspire us to go forward and use that as a platform and as an example to only work harder. When you are talking about the business aspect of it, this is the thing.

“In Professional Wrestling, you have a sport with a majority of the fanbase being one group of people. In this business it is about money, selling tickets, and something people can identify with so it is a tough task to identify with someone who doesn’t look like them. The catch-22 is that you can say, well, you can showcase people in a way that would make them more relatable and put somebody in that spot to be able to see if they can carry that ball; fair enough, but nobody likes to lose money, so the unknown is a problem when you get to making those kind of choices, because while it could be wildly successful, it also could not, you know? Then what do you do? You will always have the opinion of some that they didn’t get a chance, so it is tough. As a Professional Wrestler, who also happens to be black, you have to be able to go out there and prove yourself first. There are so many people that have to go out there and make themselves stars rather than the company going out there making them stars because they have to see that the equity is there. They have to be able to see that if they decide to move forward with you it is a good business decision with them. Speaking about ROH specifically.

“Before I got there, there was a stigma of sorts that it is hard to be successful there if you happen to be a black wrestler. And, at the time I am looking and taking all this stuff in, I am looking, and the World Champion is Jay Lethal. He’s also the Television Champion, so he is breaking new grounds and creating these unprecedented feats and defending two titles on one pay per view, and I’m like, okay, it is possible. Is it going to be easy? Absolutely not. But it’s possible. While there have been many that have come and gone who have a legitimate gripe, it is one of those things that, if I want to change this culture, or change this perception, I can’t do it outside of the company. I have to be there. You can’t change anything in this world sitting on the sidelines. You have to be able to get in there, get your hands dirty, and help. Be the change that you want to see. I think when you look at the history of ROH there’s only two champions who have been black; one being Jay Lethal and the other being Kenny King. When you look at 15 years of a company and the plethora of guys that have come in there, you wonder holy hell, how has that has been possible? You run down the gamut who have gone on to other companies and won championships and gone on to be wildly successful overseas and whoever they work for, you stop and think that perhaps there is some truth to it, but again, there is different circumstances for everybody.

“Again, it is something that is going to be a constant battle. It’s something that will be a constant struggle. But it is also something that is able to be in control if we continue to take strides in being excellent. Will it be a harder road? Absolutely. But at the end of the day nobody can say that anything was given to us, and nobody can say that we didn’t earn it. If you are put in that spot you have no choice, you have to earn it. That would be my answer; to accept the wins that come our way as a culture and build upon those. Try not to quantify and classify who is what or this and that because I am sure they had the person there that made them money like The Rock, [Steve] Austin, [John] Cena, or [Randy] Orton did that they would be able to put someone in that spot. We just have to see who that is.”

MCMAHON’S IMPACT WRESTLING REPORT (3/1): Eddie Edwards vs. Sami Callahan, Kongo Kong vs. Joseph Park

https://www.pwtorch.com/site/2018/03/01/mcmahons-impact-wrestling-report-3-1/

Somehow I Missed This Yesterday. TAMMY SYTCH ARRESTED, BEING HELD AS A 'FUGITIVE OF JUSTICE'

Tammy "Sunny" Sytch was arrested in Aberdeen Township, New Jersey on Tuesday 2/27.  According to Monmouth County Sheriffs' Office, Sytch is facing six charges of Contempt - Disobedience/resistance.  The charges are related to Sytch not appearing before the court in two different jurisdictions.  As of this writing, there is no word on the circumstances of the situation that led to Sytch's New Jersey arrest.

Sytch's bond is listed at $6,000, but she remains incarcerated in Monmouth County, New Jersey as she is also being held as a "fugitive of justice" in Pennsylvania.

In February 2017, Sytch was paroled from Carbon County Correctional Facility in Pennsylvania after agreeing to attend a WWE-sponsored rehab.  When Sytch was released, the court ordered her to directly report to that in-patient drug rehab in Hanover, PA, successfully complete the in-patient program, successfully complete any aftercare recommendations and report to the Carbon County Probation Office upon completion of the program.

The release also ordered Sytch to perform 75 hours of community service and ordered that she would have a "zero tolerance" threshold for the possession, control and consumption of alcoholic beverages and non-prescribed medication and would also have "zero tolerance" for any missed urine screens without a legitimate excuse.

It was noted in Sytch's February 2017 release orders that her failure to adhere to the Judge's order would result in a petition to revoke parole."   As it turned out, the court's petition to revoke Sytch's parole was filed just a little over six months later, on 8/22/17.   A bench warrant for Sytch's arrest was issued the following day, but remained under the radar publicly.   What led to the court revoking Sytch's parole is, at this point, unknown.

Sytch was arrested four times between 2015 and 2016 in Pennsylvania.  She plead guilty to a trio of DUIs after completing an initial rehabilitation program.  Judge Joseph T. Matika sentenced the WWE Hall of Famer to 97 days in prison, only to then give her credit for 95 days in rehab and 2 days in jail.  Sytch was released without spending a day in prison.  At the time, Sytch was warned by Judge Matika that if she got into trouble at any point during her probation, there would be consequences.

However, just 18 days into her probation, Sytch was again arrested, this time in Northampton County, PA.  In that case, Sytch plead guilty to driving without a license, driving an unregistered vehicle, operating a vehicle without required financial responsibility (no insurance), displaying plate card in improper vehicle (license plates placed on a car to which they didn't belong), operating a vehicle without valid inspection, and driving without Evidence of an Emission Inspection, which is required in State of PA). 

In that case, Sytch was also fined $1,496.45 as part of an agreement made with Prosecutors that saw them drop the most severe charge, receiving stolen property.  Prosecutors also dropped a charge of fraudulent use or removal of registered licensed plates.

Pennsylvania court records show that Sytch's probation revocation was officially delivered on 2/28, the same day she was arrested in New Jersey.  What likely happened is that when Sytch was arrested in New Jersey, the bench warrant was found electronically when she was being processed.  Until that point, her case had been listed as inactive as she could not be found to be arrested, since she was no longer living in Pennsylvania.

Based on court records, Sytch could again be facing up to five years imprisonment (based on the original verdict against her, which the court could choose to impose) plus additional penalties.

Sytch had been making independent bookings and signing appearances in recent months, including a signing in Philadelphia this past January.

IMPACT TALENT CONTRACT UPDATES, ONE NIGHT ONLY PPV LINEUP FOR TOMORROW'S TAPING AND MORE

Regarding contracts Alberto el Patron’s deal with Impact Wrestling expires in April.  The two sides are currently negotiating a new deal.  Patron is easily the biggest "name" star the company has at the moment.

The Impact Wrestling will tape the latest One Night Only PPV in conjunction with Scott D'Amore's Border City Wrestling this Saturday 3/3 in Windsor, Ontario with:

*Trevor Lee vs. Petey Williams vs. Matt Sydal.

*Eli Drake vs. Cody Deaner.

*All Japan Triple Crown champion Joe Doering vs. Moose.

*Allie and A1 vs. Braxton Sutter and KC Spinelli

*Idris Abraham vs. El Reverso.

*Also advertised are Alberto el Patron, Moose

This Sunday 3/4 Impact will run an event in conjunction with Destiny Wrestling, titled "Last Chancery", which will be filmed for Twitch and will debut on that platform on 3/9.  That show will be headlined by Impact champion Austin Aries vs. Kongo Kong vs. Matt Sydal.  Also scheduled for that show is Alberto el Patron vs. Moose, Trevor Lee vs. Josh Alexander and Allie vs. KC Spinelli.  Santino Marella is connected to Destiny, so it's always possible he will make a cameo as well.

HHMM, funny how when jeff Jarrett was in Impact he did this same thing, hijack other promotions to tag on GFW. The faces change in booking but the same bullshit stays the same.

 

STEAMBOAT & GUERRERO SIGNING TOMORROW AT PROWRESTLINGTEES.COM STORE IN CHICAGO

Meet Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat
Saturday April 14th, 12pm-2pm
Pre-sale tickets only $40
Ticket includes
Autograph and Photo w/ own camera
Additional autographs may be purchased

Save money with pre-sale tickets!
Pre-sale starts this Friday at noon CST
Ticket price will increases day of signing.

Meet Vickie Guerrero Saturday April 21st, 12pm-2pm Pre-sale tickets only $30 Ticket includes Autograph and Photo w/ own camera Additional autographs may be purchased Save money with pre-sale tickets! Pre-sale starts this Friday at noon CST Ticket price will increases day of signing

Pro Wrestling Tees 2348 North Damen Ave. Chicago, IL 60647 Directions

SCW/WUW indy show in Washington state.

So next friday night , ANY two wrestlers that walk in the building can walk out the Scw Tag Team Champions in first ever Scw all company open Gauntlet Tag Turmoil , but we have a huge announcement , the Scw Tag Belts are now UNIFIED with the World Underground Wrestling United States Tag Team Championships . The oldest active tag belts in the region have more value than ever . Tyson Stewart and Ja...xson Bourne ( filling in for the retired Ian Bear ) are the Top Seeds and current Scw Tag champs going in per the WUW office in France . The belts fronts will be redone and new design incorporating the WUW logo will be added ! Who will be the WUW U.S. Champs after friday night ? Can Stewart and Borne retain ? The Contract Kilters , Gregor Petrov and Craiggis Williams the Human Tornado , Ryan DeSean Wright / Sean Angel and Globyn Anderson , Doug Marten aka SQUATCH and Mateo Tuson ( Sexy Party ) , Paul Cerberus and Paul Preston ( Sexy Party , former Tag Team Champions ) , Sam Simms and Widows Maker ( Shinjuku Serial Squad ) , Max Burnside and Robert Von Ludwig , and Austin Reynolds Plague and Shinjuku Madness Ron Von Hess ( Shinjuku Serial Squad ) Bremerton Hillbillies Randy Payne and Mickey Payne , and Super Team Lucha Polaris Junior and a mystery partner are all in the hunt in the biggest Guantlet Match we have ever had ! Pus two other TITLE MATCHES AND MORE ! DONT MISS IT ! See More

Here's another show of, House Of Bricks Pro Wrestling. HoB Turnbuckle TV Season 3 Episode 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsiob1QiBq0

 

Published on Feb 22, 2018

HoB Turnbuckle TV
Season 3
Episode 2

This week on House Of Bricks Pro Wrestling #TurnbuckleTV, #HouseOfBricks starts with a Triple Threat Match as Hotshot Deshawn Diego enters the squared circle along with "The One Second Son" Crispin Coles and one half of The Monster Mack Show and The Mack-Cast, Monster Mack. #TurnbuckleTV correspondent Loren Petisce speaks with the winner after the match. And in this week's #MainEvent, the HoB Southern New England Championship is on the line as Champion, Jammin Jack Conner takes on El Poncho Ayala with Kenny B Dunne and Athena in his corner. All this and much more, THIS WEEK on #TurnbuckleTV!

The return of.. House Of Bricks Pro Wrestling HoB Turnbuckle TV Season 3 Episode 1 Season Premiere

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJBPMRl9PQE

 

Published on Feb 15, 2018

HoB Turnbuckle TV
Season 3
Episode 1
Season Premiere

On the SEASON THREE Premiere of House of Bricks Pro Wrestling, #TurnbuckleTV, #HouseofBricks brings you action from the first event of the #HoB2018 season, #OpenFightNight. First, two rivals who started in 2017, continue their feud into 2018 as "Entitled" AJ Phoenix takes on Justin "Coco" Sylvia in a "rubber match" of sorts that ends in a SHOCKING fashion. And in this week's #TurnbuckleTV #MainEvent, the HoB Womens Championship is on the line as the #AlphaFemale of HoB, "Suplex Sweetheart" Isana defends against Stellina Cardinale. The brand new #TurnbuckleTV Backstage Correspondent, Ms. Loren Petisce catches up with some of the members of the #HoB roster, "Greatness Himself" Mr. Chad Epik and "Journalism" Joe Rebelo call all the action and Mr. Tim Weisberg bring the combatants to the squared circle. All this and MUCH MORE on the #SeasonPremiere of #TurnbuckleTV!

Why have PWInsider's Elite service when I can post this for free. Tyrus Full Impact Wrestling Media Interview 2/27/18

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rfRcs2fjJU

 

Published on Feb 27, 2018

Tyrus Full Impact Wrestling Media Interview 2/27/18

Former WWE superstar, actor, media personality and current Impact Wrestling star Tyrus does an extended media teleconference for Impact Wrestling discussing a number of current topics related to Impact and his other endeavors.

Since PWInsider and Torch felt this wasn't news worthy, I'll post it. THE CRUSADE HOME | NWA TEN POUNDS OF GOLD (2018)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgBLSaHUkaE

Published on Mar 1, 2018

Since December 9th, 2017, "The National Treasure" Nick Aldis has been the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion and the man who carries the famous Ten Pounds of Gold. On February 11th, 2018, Nick began the Aldis Crusade with Ten Pounds of Gold. A unique crusade that sees the reigning and defending NWA Worlds Champion facing over twenty plus opponents on four continents in sixty plus days. This past week in the United Kingdom, Nick Aldis faced seven challengers in nine days defeating each with the King’s Lynn Cloverleaf.

In this episode of Ten Pounds of Gold, we follow the champion as he returns to his hometown of King’s Lynn and the village of Docking where he grew up. From the shores of Exmouth, Nick Aldis explains why he decided to bring the Ten Pounds of Gold back to these venues in the United Kingdom. The story of Nick Aldis is often told from one perspective and now you’ll hear it from the champion himself.

Ten Pounds of Gold is a documentary series from Lightning One and documents the ongoing legacy and history of the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship. This famous championship’s lineage stretches back to 1948 with names like Lou Thesz, Jack Brisco, Dory Funk Jr, Harley Race, Terry Funk, Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat, Sting, The Great Muta, AJ Styles, Jeff Jarrett, Adam Pearce, Colt Cabana, Tim Storm and more.

See the critically acclaimed NWA Ten Pounds of Gold Series from the beginning.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...

Rosemary On Scripting Her Own Promos, Impact's New Management, Laurel Van Ness Leaving The Company

Rosemary spoke with Sportskeeda on doing her own promos, Laurel Van Ness leaving Impact, and Impact's new management. Here are some of the highlights:

 

Impact's latest change in management:

"To anyone who's concerned about it, these past tapings that we just did in January, were possibly the most positive feeling in the sense that it felt very fresh and it felt like we had a direction, which I can honestly say was the first time in a year. This new direction under Scott D'Amore and Don Callis ... I know that Impact and TNA have constantly, through the years, asked fans to give them a chance. As a personal feeling, I honestly believe that if you were going to give Impact another chance, now's the time. I felt the difference backstage in one taping block. And I think there's really something there, going forward. And I'm excited about it. So, I hope other people can feel excited about it as well."

Laurel Van Ness exiting the company:

"Laurel's an amazing character and an incredible friend of mine. I know that she simply wants to go and expand and grow. She's still very, very young in the business, she has so much more to offer and she's already this good at doing a character, which is amazing. And I love her so much. She's so talented. Wrestling is fluid. It never stops moving and it's circular. There's never an end. There's no reason that down the road Laurel might not return to the Impact Zone. It's that right now her part of the story is over and she might show up at a chapter down the road. It's wrestling. Never say never. It's definitely a loss not to have her as such a strong character in the division. But there are strong characters waiting to debut and waiting to come up as well. And we will fill the void as we always have with every departure. Same as we did with Maria's departure. And we'll keep doing so."

Her character and how much of the promos are her own words:
"I really love the amount of trust Creative has in me, to bring this character to life since they don't really tell me what to say. They tell me what point needs to come across in the promo. They tell me to say it like I would. They don't give me any lines. And that kind of trust is huge in that they know that I know my character best and how it will come across organically. If you try to force the way Rosemary talks, it's going to come across as very fake. ... I would say 95% [of the lines are from me]. I definitely ask for advice and ask for help, if there's something maybe I can't figure out how to say. I never feel like I can't approach somebody in Creative for a suggestion. That's the openness of communication. You can ask for advice but they trust you to do it the way you would."

Rosemary also discussed her goals and Taya Valkyrie. You can check out the full interview by clicking here.
 

Taz On Why WWE Debut Against Kurt Angle Was The Greatest And Worst Moment Of His Career

Taz debuted in the WWE at Royal Rumble 2000 as a surprise opponent for Kurt Angle. A native of Brooklyn, New York, he received a huge pop from the Madison Square Garden crowd. He defeated the previously unbeaten Angle, rendering him unconscious with his Tazmission choke-hold. On the Talk Is Jericho podcast, Taz explained to Chris Jericho why with was the best and worst moment of his career.

 

"It was the greatest moment in my career and my worst. I will explain why it was the worst. When I came out, when I was in Gorilla position, Bruce Prichard was in Gorilla. When Kurt Angle was out there cutting his promo I said to Bruce that I hope they know who I am," Taz said. "I was afraid, because I was from ECW, the 'small, little bush leagues.' When they heard the heartbeat of my entrance, the crowd exploded and Bruce Prichard said to me that he thinks they know who I am. When I walked through the curtain and walking slow with a towel on my head, I had an epiphany that I was doomed, because the pop was not built by this place. It hit me walking down the aisle. I am not a spiritual guy, but it just hit me. I'm like, wow. I was still focused on the match."

Taz said he was unaware that his finisher was going to be labeled an illegal choke. He believes Vince McMahon misled him about the direction of his character. He also said Angle's lack of experience threw off the timing of the match.

"Kurt Angle wasn't super polished then. We worked physical, but when I hooked him in the choke and he got choked out, I didn't notice it until afterwards until I heard the commentary back. Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler were saying that I put him in an illegal choke, but that wasn't part of the shtick. I got swerved. There was no words told to me or by anybody that it was going to be an illegal choke. Those words never came to my ears until I heard the commentary. When I came through the curtain after that it was like a ghost town. Vince McMahon wasn't in Gorilla. It was a live Royal Rumble at the Garden, I thought that I had heat. If you go back and watch it, there was a German Suplex that I did to Kurt and he landed on his belly. What happened was when I grabbed Kurt, he popped up and I took him back down. I would always say to guys to let me control them. Kurt Angle, we didn't know each other that well in the ring. Kurt is aggressive, and I knew the timing was way off. I knew that if I went through that throw he was going to get hurt, I just knew it. I put him back down and then did the throw on my pacing. From what I feel and heard that freaked out the boss and those that were close to him.

"Everyone knows my rep," he continued. "When I first met with Vince McMahon we had this great meeting in a conference room at a hotel on a Wednesday afternoon because it was a secret since I was the top guy in ECW. It was, me, Vince McMahon and Vince Russo. We talked about money, the deal, that took literally around 10 minutes and then we talked about an hour and a half about everything else. He knew me, and the character. He saw the FTW on my wrist, but he said that he doesn't know we can do FTW, but that was the only thing. My concern was whether or not I can be me. I don't want to say Vince McMahon lied to me, but he had a different vision for me once I was there."

PWG EXITS RESEDA, CA FOR NEXT EVENT, MOVES TO LARGER VENUE IN LOS ANGELES

California's Pro Wrestling Guerrilla has moved their 3/23 event Time is A Flat Circle from the promotion's usual home in Reseda, CA at the American Legion Hall after publicly stating an error with ticket sales led to too many tickets being sold for both front row ringside and general admission tickets when the event went on sale today.

Instead the promotion will hold the show at the Globe Theatre in Los Angeles, which, depending on the configuration PWG is using, could hold well over 1,000 fans.  While PWG has run outside of Reseda in the past, it has long resisted calls to move to a larger venue, feeling that a big part of the allure of the promotion it the atmosphere and intimacy of the room it plays.

The promotion advised, in an announcement via Twitter, "If you bought a front row or general admission ticket that came through after the set limit in PayPal, you will be receiving an email soon with some options regarding your tickets. Please check the email that is attached to your PayPal account."

Time is A Flat Circle is timed for the same weekend New Japan Pro Wrestling will be running Long Beach, CA.

The show will feature:

*PWG champion Chuck Taylor vs. Keith Lee.

*Matt Riddle vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

*Will Ospreay vs. Adam Brooks.

*Rey Horus vs. Joey Janela.

*Desmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz vs. Flamita & Bandido.

*Jeff Cobb vs. Jonah Rock.

*Brody King vs. Jake Atlas vs. Eli Everfly vs. Douglas James.

Tickets for the event are on sale now at www.ProWrestlingGuerrilla.com.

PWG DVDs can be ordered at www.Highspots.com.

About time they get around to doing this. 'ALL IN' VENUE IN CHICAGO TO BE REVEALED THIS WEEK

The official Twitter account for the 9/1 "All In" event being promoted in Chicago, IL, headed by Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks, announced that the location of the event, a 10,000 seat venue in that market that Ring of Honor has never run, will be announced on the next edition of their YouTube series Being the Elite:

The next #BeingTheElite will feature the location for the event!

— All In (@ALL_IN_2018) March 1, 2018

 

DID FOX SPORTS 1 HOSTS HINT AT WWE-FOX RELATIONSHIP?

Banter during the final moments of the 2/28 FOX Sports 1's Speak For Yourself series may have hinted at a future relationship between World Wrestling Entertainment and FOX.

In the last few minutes of the episode, hosts Jason Whitlock and Colin Cowherd discussed Cowherd attending Tuesday night's Smackdown Live taping at the Staples Center in Los Angeles with Cowherd, who has knocked pro wrestling and its fan base in the past (despite growing up watching Don Owens' Pacific Northwest promotion) praised the experience, comparing the show's atmosphere favorably to a rock concert.

Cowherd noted that he met Stephanie McMahon at the event and commented that WWE was a "professionally run organization," describing, "It was fun.  I had a blast....we laughed for two hours." 

Whitlock noted that he watched pro wrestling as a kid and interestingly stated he was, "looking forward to perhaps getting more involved, watching pro wrestling in the future."

Cowherd responded, "You should.  A very good sport.  Coming to a network near you..." leading to the hosts laughing as their show went off the air.

As initially reported by Sports Illustrated writer Richard Deitsch yesterday, a number of FOX Sports executives, including FOX Sports President Eric Shanks, FOX Sports Producer Jacob Ullman and Cowherd were all at the taping.

WWE is in the process of negotiating a deal for its television rights.  Whether the banter was specifically meant to hint at FOX potentially landing those rights or not still remains to be seen, but the comments have certainly raised a few eyebrows

IMPACT WRESTLING VS. LUCHA UNDERGROUND SET FOR WRESTLEMANIA WEEKEND, WILL STREAM LIVE ON TWITCH

Impact Wrestling announced today that their 4/6 live event at Wrestlecon will feature the promotion's stars facing off against the stars of Lucha Underground.  The event will stream live on Impact's Twitch channel.  The two promotions share a number of talents including John Hennigan, Hijo del Fantastico (who works as King Cuerno in LU) and Brian Cage.

The announcement was a smart idea that should greatly assist the Impact live event's ticket sales and garner attention for their Twitch channel.  The event is being held opposite the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony.

The official press release reads as follows:

IMPACT Wrestling vs. Lucha Underground Set for WrestleCon Weekend, Streams Live on Twitch

TORONTO | LOS ANGELES – IMPACT Wrestling announced today a historic co-promotion with Lucha Underground has been set for WrestleCon weekend scheduled for April 5 to April 8, 2018 in New Orleans, La.

The stars of IMPACT Wrestling will face off against the stars of Lucha Underground on Friday, April 6, starting at 9:00 p.m. CT at The Sugar Mill (1021 Convention Center Blvd.) during what will be the biggest weekend of the year in professional wrestling.

IMPACT Wrestling vs. Lucha Underground will stream live exclusively on IMPACT Wrestling’s Twitch channel (www.twitch.tv/impactwrestling). The channel will feature over 10 hours of original daily content for three days during WrestleCon weekend, including exclusive podcasts and behind-the-scenes footage.

“We are excited and honored to expand our partnership with AAA and Twitch for this groundbreaking co-promotion with Lucha Underground,” said Ed Nordholm, president of IMPACT Wrestling. “Extensive coverage from WrestleCon will stream live all weekend on IMPACT Wrestling’s official Twitch channel as fans will have the opportunity to interact with their favorite stars.”

“We are very excited to partner with IMPACT Wrestling for this very special and unique event,” said Dorian Roldán, General Manager of Lucha Underground. “We are also very excited to bring Lucha Underground to fans at WrestleCon for the first time. We think this is a great opportunity for both IMPACT Wrestling and Lucha Underground to put on a great show for all the wrestling fans who will be in New Orleans.”

A subsidiary of Anthem Wrestling Exhibitions LLC, IMPACT Wrestling will send its biggest stars to compete on April 6, including reigning IMPACT World Champion Austin Aries, Alberto El Patron, Eli Drake, Moose, Eddie Edwards, LAX, oVe and Sami Callihan, Trevor Lee and “The Machine” Brian Cage, plus the Knockouts will be represented by Allie, Rosemary and Taya Valkyrie. “Big Poppa Pump” Scott Steiner will also be in the house, live and uncensored.

Lucha Underground stars include Pentagon, Fenix, King Cuerno, Drago, Aerostar, Killshot, Matanza, The Mack, Jack Evans and many other Lucha Libre sensations.

Matches for the show will be announced in the coming weeks.

IMPACT Wrestling is no stranger to the world of Lucha Libre, having announced a working partnership with Mexico-based Lucha Libre AAA in March 2017. AAA stars El Hijo del Fantasma, El Texano Jr. and Drago have participated in major IMPACT Wrestling pay-per-view events and the weekly flagship IMPACT! show Thursday nights on Pop. IMPACT Wrestling has also sent stars to compete on AAA shows in Mexico City, including TripleMania XXV last August.

“Lucha Underground” is El Rey Network’s addictive, Lucha Libre wrestling series from Emmy Award®-winning producer Mark Burnett, Robert Rodriguez, MGM, and FactoryMade.  The first season premiered in October 2014 and is currently in production for its fourth season.  The series also airs in Canada, Japan, France and Pan-Asia.

IMPACT Wrestling and Lucha Underground will host a WrestleCon VIP Meet & Greet on Friday, April 6, starting at 8:00 p.m. CT. Fans who purchase first-row and second-row tickets to the show will gain access to meet the stars, get free autographs, take photos, ask questions and more.

Tickets for IMPACT Wrestling vs. Lucha Underground on April 6 are available at www.wrestlecon.com.

For more information, visit www.impactwrestling.com.

Old commercial from one of my fave heels Eric Right.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTVTdjNGynA

Appalachian Mountain Wrestling AMW-TV 2/24/18 Hometown 24 edition

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eT_6gXYW5nM

AWA Supreme Last Word S02/E09: Logan's Heroes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6XpQ561JU8

Published on Feb 28, 2018

On this edition of AWA Supreme Last Word, we hear from your favorite AWA Supreme stars as well as look at 2 spotlight matches, both title matches!

QUICK QUOTES: Jake Roberts discusses how his psychological interview style inadvertently came to be

https://www.pwpodcasts.com/2018/02/28/quick-quotes-jake-roberts-discusses-psychological-interview-style-inadvertently-came/

D-Von Dudley On Why The Dudleyz Left WWE In 2016 And How He Feels About Their Last Run

The Dudley Boyz made a surprise return to the WWE in August 2015. After playing the role of the veteran tag team that puts over younger teams, they retired from the company a year later in August 2016. On Chasing Glory with Lilian Garcia, D-Von Dudley revealed why him and Bubba-Ray Dudley stepped away.

 

The Dudley Boyz worked with the likes of The New Day, The Usos, Enzo & Cass, and Gallows and Anderson during their return to the WWE. D-Von explained that their tenure with the company ended when Bubba-Ray decided to pursue other ventures, a decision D-Von respected. He said that he wasn't particularly ready to step away and he can compete again today if needed.

"Number one, Bubba Ray Dudley wanted to go and explore other avenues, which is what he is doing now, and it was one of those things where I still wanted to be part of the company. I still had the urge but he wanted to explore other avenues, which is what ended up happening. I cannot knock him for wanting to do other things; life is too short so you have to do what you want to do," Dudley said. "Life is too short to do what others want you to do, and I give him a lot of credit. Let it be known that I didn't retire because I was hurt, or that I couldn't do it. D-Von can still go; I can still jump on the top turnbuckle and jump on the table, so if WWE ever wants me to get back in the ring I can do it."

Dudley said he enjoyed his last run with the WWE because he felt they had some unfinished business. He feels more satisfied with how the last run ended. The Dudley Boyz are set to be inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame this year.

"I loved my last run. My personal life was a little shaken up my bit, but as far as me coming back, I don't think, even if I would have passed on before that would have happened, I don't think I would have been able to rest easy because I needed to come back," he said. "The first time we left I don't believe we left the way we should have left and there was a lot of unanswered questions and things that needed to be done, so with that said we still had things to be proven. I wouldn't have been comfortable leaving this earth without coming back and prove that the WWE is the home for the Dudley Boyz, so I was very happy we were able to do that."

The Dudley Boyz challenged for the tag team titles a couple times during their last run but fell short. D-Von said he didn't mind that they weren't able to have a 10th title reign. He said he was more than happy to put younger teams over.

"It really didn't matter to me because I was having so much fun. It would have been nice to do it, but the thing was we had already made so much history, so my thing was to mainly pass the torch. You can't deny that we didn't help the New Day or Usos advance," he said. "We made it fun; we brought back what was missing and we were happy to do that. In that aspect, I was just happy and content with just doing that. I knew coming back, it wasn't to relive the Attitude Era that some fans thought we should have done, it wasn't to relive but help the younger generation advance."

Who In The FUCK Thought THIS Was A Great Idea?

Ellsworth vs. Gillberg will take place on March 17th in Elizabeth, PA,

NWA FILES NEW TRADEMARK

Billy Corgan's Lightning One, Inc. company, which is the production company attached to the National Wrestling Alliance, applied to trademark 'The Dumont Network' for wrestling purposes. 

The Dumont Network was the name of the first television network that broadcast professional wrestling, operating from 1946 through 1956, a rival at the time to CBS and ABC.

Last month, they had applied to trademark 'The Dupont Network," which appears to have been an error.

FOX SPORTS EXECS AT LAST NIGHT'S SMACKDOWN

Sports Illustrated writer Richard Deitsch reported today that a number of FOX Sports executives, including FOX Sports President Eric Shanks, FOX Sports Producer Jacob Ullman and even broadcast personality Colin Cowherd, who has always knocked professional wrestling fans (but also admits he grew up watching Don Owens' Pacific Northwest promotion) were all at last night's Smackdown Live taping at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Obviously, as WWE continues to map out future plans and work on securing its next major partnership with a broadcaster, FOX has been speculated as one of those in the race for WWE's rights. 

FOX is still attempting to negotiate a new deal with UFC, but should the MMA company move on, FOX will be in a position to need a replacement franchise, as UFC makes up a good portion of its programming on FOX Sports 1.  Obviously, WWE would certainly fill the loss of the MMA flagship if it comes to that. 

It should also be noted that UFC owner IMG-WME also represents WWE, so it's not out of the question that they could offer a package deal for both entities to FOX or another broadcaster.  There is a great history of the two genres pairing up well from their time on SpikeTV.

FOX Sports did air TNA's Impact Wrestling series when it was initially a one hour broadcast in the early 2000s, but that was believed to have been a "pay for play" deal at the time.  Obviously, any relationship between WWE and FOX would be a far more lucrative and top-flight deal, especially as the FOX is poised to sell much of its television and film assets to Disney.  That move that will leave FOX flush with lots of money to potentially spend on sports properties, something it has been said FOX has been eyeing greatly forward.

REY MYSTERIO-WWE UPDATE

Former WWE and World champion Rey Mysterio is coming closer to returning to World Wrestling Entertainment, a few wrestling sites have confirmed.  Mysterio and WWE are involved in ongoing discussions for his return to the company after his surprise appearance at the Royal Rumble received such a massive reaction from fans in Philadelphia last month.   Triple H is said to be the point person involved in the Mysterio negotiations.

There have been rumors over the last several days that Mysterio would be facing John Cena at WrestleMania 34.  While some news sites have indeed heard those rumors over the last 48 hours, sources cannot confirm that match is correct and are only mentioning it due to the amount of emails we have received overnight.

There is also a story making the rounds, attributed to Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated that Mysterio was at last night's Smackdown Live taping in Los Angeles to negotiate a new WWE deal.  While Mysterio and WWE are indeed gearing up their talks, sources have been told by several sources that Mysterio was not actually in LA last night.

As I and other news sites reported in January, Rey's Rumble appearance was a one-night deal that was put together the week of the PPV.  WWE and Mysterio have had discussions since Mysterio departed the company in 2015, but the major sticking point was that the star (who has undergone countless knee surgeries) did not want to work a full-time schedule, while WWE had been pushing for Mysterio to do so if he returned.

Mysterio, 43, ended a 13 year run with WWE in the beginning 2015, working for Lucha Underground and AAA while also signing a deal with the El Rey Network in advance of producing additional content for the cable network.  No projects came from the deal and Mysterio’s runs with AAA and LU have ended.  He’s since worked for CRASH in Mexico and has worked independent and international dates for certain promotions, including Northeast Wrestling and Great Britain’s Five Star Wrestling.

Mysterio is slated to wrestle Jushin Liger on the 3/25 New Japan Pro Wrestling “Strong Style Evolved” event in Long Beach, California, but obviously, signing a WWE deal would preclude him from making additional appearances

STATEMENT FROM FLOSPORTS, WWN ON END OF LEGAL ISSUES

The following statement was issued to PWInsider.com this morning:

FloSports and WWN have jointly announced that they have agreed to resolve their dispute. The terms of the agreement are to remain confidential.

FloSports General Counsel, Paul Hurdlow said "We're pleased to have this behind us and wish WWN well in the future."

WWN CEO Sal Hamaoui stated “WWN is pleased that this unfortunate situation has been mutually rectified. We wish FloSports the best in their future endeavors.”

***

Based on the verbiage in the statement, it seems obvious to me that the two sides came to a financial settlement.

FLOSPORTS LAWSUIT AGAINST WWNLIVE DISMISSED THIS MORNING

The lawsuit brought against WWNLive, Inc. by Flosports in September 2017 before the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, Austin Division was officially dismissed this morning by Judge Lee Yeakel, one day after FloSports filed a voluntary motion requesting the case be dismissed.

The lawsuit, which sought $1 million in damages, revolved around allegations that WWN, run by Sal Hamaoui and Gabe Sapolsky, had "robbed Flosports" by provided false information that led to the streaming provider paying inflated prices for WWN content.   Today's dismissal was made with prejudice, meaning that the court ruled that Flosports could not re-file a similar claim against WWNLive in the future.

Flosports' requests to dismiss the case yesterday came as all parties were scheduled to have a status conference on the lawsuit before Judge Yeakel.  WWN had been arguing that the court lacked the jurisdiction over their company, which the court had not ruled on one way or other.  With the dismissal of the case, that point is now moot.

The contract between Flosports and WWNLive was revealed in the 11/27 filings, noting that it called for WWN to be paid $75,000 in 2016, $500,000 in 2017, $550,000 in 2018, $605,000 in 2019, $670,000 in 2020 and $740,000 in 2021.

It is also interesting to note the following language in the contract: "FloSports has the right to terminate this Agreement by providing notice during the month of January each year, starting in 2018. If FloSports exercises this option, the agreement will continue for 12 months after the date of notification before terminating."

Flosports terminated their deal with WWN in September of 2017 (well before January 2018) shortly after filing their now-dismissed lawsuit, so, by the letter of the contract, a court might have considered the argument from WWNLive that Flosports actually breached their own deal.

WWN sources had claimed last year they intended to file a counter-suit against Flosports, but today's dismissal stipulates that each side will be dropping their claims about the other.

Each side will be responsible for their own legal and court costs, Judge Yeakel ruled.

Flosports had claimed in the lawsuit, that WWNLive had misled their company, alleging WWN had, "induced FloSports to enter this Exclusive Media Agreement (“the Agreement”) by misrepresenting the number of fans purchasing viewership access to their events, and that representation and warranty was expressly incorporated into the parties’ written contract. In fact, WWN contractually promised that “all data [it] provided . . . regarding financial performance of events [it] put on . . . was accurate, reliable and truthful.” FloSports paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to WWN in reliance on this promise. But WWN’s data was false. When pressed for the data that backed up WWN’s representations, WWN originally claimed the data was lost or deleted. Ultimately, WWN sent records listing subscribers more than once and including customers who had not purchased broadcast services. Even accounting for that artificial inflation of its viewership, WWN’s numbers proved far less than originally represented."

The Flosports contract with WWNLive required Flosports to promote the WWNLive events promising they would  "provide $250,000 of advertising value per year on FloSports (i.e. custom digital display, email newsletters, social media, editorial previews/coverage/recaps, etc.)."   How that amount of advertising value may have been tallied is not directly explained in any of the court documents, but Flosports' amended lawsuit claimed, "FloSports performed on the Agreement and spent hundreds of thousands of dollars pursuant to its terms, including on its advertising spend for WWN and in the fees paid directly to WWN—all in reliance on WWN’s breached warranty and misrepresentations."

Back in September 2017, after news of the lawsuit broke, PWInsider.com reported we had been "told that in actuality, in 2016, WWN (on average) was doing in the area of 1,300 iPPV buys for EVOLVE, 600-700 for SHINE and less than 200 buys for FIP events while selling those events. The year before, which they also provided to FloSports, those numbers were lower and the EVOLVE numbers were said to have been way up from the year before because WWE was promoting that brand."

Numbers released in lawsuit filings matched up with what WWNLive sources claimed to PWInsider.com, making it appear Flosports had simply overpaid for the content based on the records provided to them.

Flosports claimed in their lawsuit that "During the first year of the Agreement’s term, FloSports became suspicious that WWN’s data was inaccurate. Over the course of several months, FloSports repeatedly asked WWN to send FloSports more detailed data to support the original spreadsheet. WWN failed to comply, alleging that the information was lost or deleted.    On August 18, 2017, WWN finally emailed the detailed viewership records, which contained additional misrepresentations: the records listed customers more than once and added purchasers of DVDs to the records, rather than limiting its numbers to the broadcast subscribers as it had promised were reflected in the original spreadsheet. Even with this fraudulent inflation of its data, the records showed viewership numbers far less than those reflected in the October 2016 spreadsheet, proving that WWN’s original representations were false."

WWNLive responded, claiming, "That data was pulled from and compiled by a now-defunct third-party company named Fineline Hosting that was based in Florida."

Based on the two page agreement between the companies that was filed with the cout as part of the lawsuit, WWN was to produce events, handling the management of the video production (at no cost to Flosports) including Planning, Logistics and Production Teams, required video equipment including a two camera shoot, an Encoder to deliver the live stream to Flosports, personnel to "manage and run the video production for all events", Internet with a minimum upload speed of 5 mbps for all events, delivery of a fully produced live stream via RTMP feed to Flosports and that WWNLive would produce and deliver five live events per month (with the exception of December, where they were only required to produce three events).  The agreement noted, "The quality of the events should be reasonably similar or better than the same events in 2015 and 2016 through the Term of the Contract."

While Flosports' lawsuit had alleged that "In fact, WWN contractually promised that “all data [it] provided . . . regarding financial performance of events [it] put on . . . was accurate, reliable and truthful.” - the legalese in the two page agreement between the two sides that was filed with the court on 11/27 does not appear to cover any other sort of termination of the deal, including whether the deal could be halted or terminated if the records provided by WWNLive Inc. actually turned out to be incorrect.

The FloSlam streaming service officially launched in October 2016.   At that point, FloSlam was hoping to make deals with WWN, Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling.  In the end, WWN signed with FloSports first and the other companies passed.  The majority of the content on the streaming service came from WWNLive until their relationship was severed in September 2017.  Since then, Flosports has shuttered the entire service, laying off the staff that had been hired to operate it.