Hello everyone, what a week it’s been! All that news, the first episode of AEW Rampage airing on Friday.
This list was written on Friday afternoon before that episode came out so let me just cover all my bases by saying “I loved it when THIS happened”, “cor I do wish THIS hadn’t happened though” and “wow I can’t believe Daniel Bryan showed up a few weeks early and killed that guy in the crowd, with a gun”.
There, all eventualities: nailed. I’m adam from WrestleTalk and here 9 Stories From the Week you Might have missed.
9. Ric Flair Coming Out Of Retirement
Ric Flair was released by WWE on August 2 after reported disagreements over his daughter Charlotte’s booking. Flair apparently gave Vince McMahon an ultimatum: give Charlotte better storylines, or I’m quitting. Woo. Vince evidently chose the latter.
Ric feels like he broke up with Vince. Vince feels like he broke up with Ric. And here I am, stuck in the middle with you
Despite telling People magazine he left to pursue other business ventures – including his own line of wine, comic books and his own network – he’s now teased a return to the profession he’s best known for: professional wrestling, tweeting out a promo from 2007 during his career always on the line arc, where he said: “I will never retire! WOOOO!”
Ric Flair was retired the following year by Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 24, which lasted all of 20 months before Flair wrestled Hulk Hogan in Australia, and then moving on to TNA, where we did at least get that Jay Lethal promo.
The heavy speculation is that Ric will join AEW soon, as he’s good friends with its President Tony Khan, but nobody knows how long his WWE non-compete clause is.
8. Chelsea Green Fights Over Her Real Name
Showing how generous and benevolent they are, WWE not only let Ric go to pursue his dream of a Flair Country Wine TV Network; they also gave Chelsea Green the rights back to her own name.
Green was released from WWE on April 15. Problem was, they hadn’t also released the holding the rights to her real name, which she had signed over to them on November 2020 – leading Chelsea to tweet:
“I never thought I’d be in a legal battle for my BIRTH GIVEN name… “
Thankfully Fightful Select then revealed WWE gave her back the rights shortly after her tweet, and she can use her birth name without any issues for her appearances on Ring of Honor and IMPACT Wrestling.
Slightly surprising, as WWE would copyright your DNA if they thought they could get away with it.
7. Johnny Gargano & Candice LeRae Expecting
Congratulations to Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae, who have announced the upcoming debut of Baby Wrestling for February 2022, tweeting that their first child is on #TheWay, which is just delightful wordplay.
This will be the couple’s first child after getting married in 2016. If you don’t count Indi Hartwell.
6. Jim Cornette Thanks Tony Khan
In more feel-good wrestling news, one of the hottest feuds in all of wrestling slightly thawed when professional Abe Simpson Jim Cornette had nice things to say about professional Milhouse Tony Khan and AEW.
Beautiful Bobby Eaton, one of the most talented in-ring workers and, by all accounts, nicest human beings to ever wrestle, sadly passed away last week.
Cornette had managed Eaton in the Midnight Express, and he released an emotional, heartfelt episode of his podcast remembering the man – in which he thanked Khan and AEW for their Bobby tributes:
“I want to say this also, a lot of people tweeted including the folks at AEW tweeted a nice graphic and a respectful message about Bobby. I know that some of the AEW personnel at various positions listen to the show. That’s not a side comment either. If anybody with access to Tony Khan can get to him, tell him that I heard everything that he said about Bobby and how respectful it was and how nice it was and I thank you Tony. Tony Khan is not a horrible human being. We may see way far apart on wrestling in a variety of issues but that was a cool thing to do Tony. I hope somebody will deliver that message to him.”
5. NWA Tag Title Match
Also following Bobby Eaton’s passing, FTR’s Dax Harwood uploaded an episode of NWA Pro Wrestling from March 26, 1988, from Dax’s private collection – which includes Tony Schiavone looking like this in the intro, he just wants to talk to you about your checking account!
But also shows off Bobby in a Midnight Express match against The Fantastics.
This got one fan fantasy booking FTR in the NWA’s Crockett Cup tag team tournament, which didn’t end up taking place last year. Dax actually replied:
“That is incredibly important to us; especially now. The lineage of the @nwa is deep & historic. We’d love the opportunity to fight for the belts too.”
To which the NWA tweeted:
“Sounds like NWA owner Billy Corgan & AEW President Tony Khan should have a talk.”
Given that AEW are currently promoting the NWA Women’s title match between champion Kamille and AEW’s Leyla Hirsch, this could nudge the Forbidden Door even wider.
4. CMLL In Trouble
One promotion yet to join the anti-WWE axis of awesome, however, is the oldest wrestling promotion still in existence, Mexico’s CMLL. Well, that’s because CMLL is a little busy with internal struggles right now.
CMLL announced on Tuesday that all three members of the faction La Nueva Generacion Dinamita – San-son, El Cuatrero and Forastero, have left the company, vacating both the CMLL World Trios and World Middleweight titles.
The statement says the departure was “by mutual agreement” despite all three men were scheduled for Friday’s Arena Mexico show
The trio have since uploaded a video explaining they want to work for new promotions while they’re young, and to recruit more wrestlers to their faction.
These are just the latest top stars to leave CMLL, with Diamante Azul, Rush, Dragon Lee, Bandido and Puma King all departing in recent years. This follows the death of the longtime owner of the company, Paco Alonso, in 2019. Soberano Jr, who currently wrestles for CMLL, has pointed blame at the promotion’s booker:
“Ultimo Guerrero is the one who is ending the CMLL and I do not speak it to speak I say it because I am within the company I realize things and it hurts to see how one person is killing everything”. oof.
3. Joey Janela Turns Heel
On this week’s AEW Dark: Elevation, Joey Janela turned heel, superkicking his tag team partner Sonny Kiss while making their entrance for their match. Janela then beat up their opponents Baron Black and DMC, before hitting a piledriver onto the stage on Kiss.
Janela then declared the “Bad Boy summer has BEGUN” on Twitter, before revealing his motivation as ‘you people’:
“I did what I did not because Sonny, it’s because most mainstream wrestling ‘fans’ are absolute losers, mutant scum!”
He’s right of course.
2. ROH Moves Death Before Dishonor
Ring of Honor has arguably been one of the most responsible wrestling promotions during the pandemic.
Not just by shutting down entirely during the Pandemic’s first few months, or delaying fans’ access to shows until just recently, but also by continuing to pay wrestlers who weren’t even under contract for shows they were booked for that couldn’t go ahead. Good for you, Ring of Honor.
And this week they’ve taken another precaution, tweeting:
“Due to the recent COVID surge in Florida, ROH is moving the site of the Death by Dishonor Pay Per View event. Your safety, health and well-being remain our top priorities. Thank you for your continued patronage.”
They have now moved the show, airing Sunday September 12 to the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, formerly known as the ECW Arena.
This raises question marks over SummerSlam in Las Vegas, and AEW’s upcoming shows in Chicago and New York, with reports both companies are planning for a return to no-fans events.
1. Riddle & Goldberg Heat No More?
But let’s end this on a bro-sitive. Matt Riddle and Bill Goldberg have been feuding in real life for years.
Probably because Riddle said he could beat Goldberg in a real fight in two minutes, Goldberg blocked him on Twitter, and then Matt publicly called Goldberg a bad, “unsafe and dangerous wrestler, and a liability to everyone else.” after the Undertaker match in Saudi Arabia. Which is about as legitimate a beef as you’re likely to see.
They then had a very uncomfortable interaction backstage later that year caught on camera for a Chronicle episode following Goldberg around, where he ran into Riddle, and they passive-aggressively spoke about who is and isn’t each other’s bro.
But now Riddle has told Sony Sports India that Bro-gones might really be Bro-gones:
“I saw Bill the other day before he challenged Bobby Lashley and he was walking to the Gorilla Position and I was standing there and I was with Damian Priest at the time and he says hi to everybody and then Goldberg comes up to me gives me a look. He was making a face and then he goes, ‘Hey, congratulations kid….’ and I was like, ‘Oh man, Goldberg is kind of nice’, so I gave him a little handshake and he went out and challenged Bobby and then he was coming out, through Gorilla again and I was like, ‘Hey Goldberg, good stuff’ and as he gave me a fist bump he says, ‘I only need two moves’ so I was like, ‘Oh man, the guy’s still got it’.”
Which is adorable, although judging by the actions of Riddle’s other best friend, Goldberg will still end up killing him.
To make sure you stay updated with all the latest wrestling news, add WrestleTalk.com to your Google Discover feed and follow us on Twitter!
Comments.
Loading comments…