On her latest podcast Saraya f/k/a Paige said she’s no longer with AEW: “‘m here to tell you that me and AEW’s relationship has come to an end. I had an amazing time there. There’s no bad blood between us. I had such a magical time. I got to thinking – what is there left for me to do in wrestling right now? Right now, there’s really no storylines where I would fit in. It’s just me thinking that I just don’t fit in right now. I feel like I might be taking someone else’s spot, someone who could be doing something really special. That’s not to say I will never come back to AEW – I absolutely love it. But I’m taking a little step back and focusing on myself for a bit, and putting my energy into the podcast with all the crew here. What a wonderful crew I have here.”
Via social media Swerve Strickland indicated he only has five years left in wrestling: “Y’all got these next 5 years with me then I’m peace. Enjoy the show.”
Mick Foley reminisces on his famous Hell in a Cell with Undertaker: “All these years here and it packs an emotional punch in a way that the clips don’t convey. In its entirety, it’s still really powerful and it’s still very different than any other match that’s ever taken place. I can’t tell you that it was painful because I was unconscious the moment I hit the mat. I was out for 42 seconds. (Without the match my career) wouldn’t be the same. It really put an exclamation point on my career. I’m really fortunate to go around and do these Comic-Cons and I can do a one-man show on my own and have really enjoyable good years. I don’t know if I could do that. I think that match elevated me to a spot that otherwise I would not have had. I was definitely a respected and valuable property, but I was kinda of just a really hardworking journeyman up until that match. I don’t know if I would’ve had the victory over The Rock for the WWE Title had it not been for that match.”
In one of the stranger wrestling news items I’ve ever had to report on, Brody King vs. Kyle Fletcher on AEW Dynamite tonight is being sponsored by The Minecraft Movie. I can’t imagine two things that have LESS to do with each other but it is what it is.
Sol Ruca advanced in the tournament on WWE Speed with the eventual winner getting a title shot at Candice LeRae.
From MLW: “Major League Wrestling (MLW) today announced Ultimo Guerrero will participate in the 40-wrestler Battle RIOT match at MLW Battle RIOT VII on Saturday, April 5 at Thunder Studios Arena in greater Los Angeles, CA and presented live on YouTube.”
In this interview producer Evan Husney admits he doesn’t know what metric VICE uses for deciding to renew Dark Side of the Ring: “To be honest, I don’t know their specific metric for success, like what they need to hit in order to do it. I think with the television audiences declining on cable, I think that that scale is always sliding because of where things are at. But like you said, this show, it isn’t always about the overnight live ratings. There’s a lot of competition out on cable and we do have a loyal fan base we’ve built up over six seasons that have selected Dark Side on their DVRs and they’re going to hit it when they hit it and stuff like that, which is great. Obviously, I’m sure the network would prefer everybody watching it live for obvious reasons. We have built that up and then, of course, it gets on Hulu and then, of course, it’s sold and distributed in other places as well. So yeah, I think for them, whatever their metrics for are for success, it thankfully – knock on wood – keeps hitting that. For us, it’s more paying attention to how it’s perceived. We want people to like the shows. We’ve done 60 of them now. It’s kind of crazy to think that that many stories could withstand what this, I guess, what you classify as a Dark Side of episode, and that’s why we’ve kind of opened it up a little bit, too. John Tenta is not an episode everyone would have thought would be a thematic fit for our show, right?”
The three words being used by people still at TNA to describe their reaction to Gail Kim’s firing are “shock,” “disbelief” and “anger.” Tommy Dreamer has had to step in to fill her role following her exit. (FF)
Cope talks about which AEW wrestlers he still wants to work with: “I know I want to work the Swerve Stricklands, Hangman Pages, Jay Whites and the Kyle Fletchers and the Will Ospreays, Kenny Omegas and the Samoa Joes. I haven’t worked with any of those people and would really like to do that before I hang them up.”
Speaking of those people here’s the card for Dynamite tonight. (AEW)
- Kenny Omega vs. Blake Christian
- Toni Storm & Thunder Rosa vs. Megan Bayne & Penelope Ford
- Brody King vs. Kyle Fletcher
- Mark Briscoe vs. Konosuke Takeshita
- Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Mark Davis
- Swerve Strickland calls out Jon Moxley
- MJF gives his answer to MVP
- Rated FTR sit-down interview with Tony Schiavone
Mina Shirakawa has CONFIRMED she is leaving STARDOM for AEW.
