In this interview Tetsuya Naito seeks to clarify that he didn’t leave NJPW over money: “Let me be clear: in the five contract renewals I’ve had, I never once brought up money. Ever since they made me the initial offer in the first negotiation, I never touched the subject again. It’s extremely frustrating to have people think I’m quitting because of money, and honestly, I think it’s Tokyo Sports’ fault. But if Tokyo Sports writes about it, it somehow sounds even more like a lie, so what the heck am I supposed to do? I never made any unreasonable demands. I never said, ‘Since I’m wrestling more, pay me more,’ or ‘That guy wrestles less, pay him less.’ I just wanted them to properly value what a wrestler’s match is worth. I’ve been saying that for years. I get that the number of wrestlers has increased, and there are unavoidable circumstances, but still.”
Speaking of New Japan here are Road to Wrestling Dontaku night 6 results. (FF)
- Masatora Yasuda & Ryusuke Taguchi def. Daiki Nagai & Katsuya Murashima
- Francesco Akira & Great-O-Khan def. El Phantasmo & Jado
- Taichi, TAKA Michinoku, Yuya Uemura, Shota Umino & Tomohiro Ishii def. BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito & Yota Tsuji
- Clark Connors, Drilla Moloney, Gabe Kidd & Taiji Ishimori def. Ren Narita, SANADA, SHO & Yoshinobu Kanemaru via DQ
- EVIL, Ren Narita, SANADA, SHO, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Yujiro Takahashi def. Clark Connors, David Finlay, Drilla Moloney, Gabe Kidd, Gedo & Taiji Ishimori
- Hiroshi Tanahashi, Toru Yano, Master Wato, Oleg Boltin & YOH def. Hartley Jackson, Kosei Fujita, Robbie Eagles, Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr.
- Bishamon & El Desperado def. Callum Newman, Jakob Austin Young & Templario
Joe Hendry talks about facing Randy Orton at WrestleMania: “You do not get hand-selected to wrestle Randy Orton at his 20th WrestleMania unless you know what you’re doing. Joe Hendry does not need to pivot. This is full-steam ahead! We’re going to do phenomenal business for TNA Wrestling. That’s all we’ve got to worry about. No pivot required. Full-steam ahead.”
Indi Hartwell has signed with TNA and made her debut at Rebellion. Considering the current relationship between WWE & TNA we could see back on NXT at almost any time.
At the same pay per view Mike Santana beat Mustafa Ali in a Falls Count Anywhere match.
Steve Maclin retained his TNA International Title over Eric Young but caught a multi-person beatdown for his troubles afterward. Coincidentally here are two pre-Rebellion interviews.
He wasn’t the only successful champion as Moose retained his X-Division Title last night.
NXT’s Fatal Influence won their match on the Countdown to Rebellion pre-show.
Austrian pro wrestler Thekla Kaischauri, known simply as Thekla in STARDOM, appears to be done with the promotion and moving to the United States. (FF)
Konnan talks about WWE buying AAA in the podcast below.
In this interview Seth Rollins talks about his relationship with Paul Heyman: “This is a business relationship and that’s the beauty of it. I don’t want to get too deep into it, but you have the two greatest minds in the history of our industry coming together to create and push forward for the future of our industry. Roman Reigns ain’t around enough. CM Punk is not reliable enough. I am both of those things.”
The reported air date for TNA Bound For Glory this year is Sunday, October 12th. (PWI)
Toni Storm has issued an open challenge for Dynamite: “This is Timeless Toni Storm, coming to you from the TCM Film Festival. Now I could be here threatening Michelle Pfeiffer or on my knees begging for an Emmy, but no! I am the AEW Women’s World Champion, and there’s plenty of work to be done. Now there are many bitches with the itches and I love to scratch, so I’ll be having another championship eliminator performance. So if there’s any slop tarts willing to step up to the plate, then tape up your tits and let’s tango!”
