Before I start this update I want to give a special thank you to Arya Witner for covering wrestling news this weekend while I went on vacation to Milwaukee. It turned out to be an unexpectedly BUSY one news wise with almost two dozen WWE cuts in one day, and there’s no way I could have kept up with the fallout and had fun on my trip at the same time. Please feel free to pre-order her second wrestling book, and to pick up the first one if you haven’t already!
In a move he probably thought would quiet things down but will undoubtedly have the opposite effect, Nick Khan defended how Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque booked WrestleMania 42, saying that the people who are unhappy with the product are “a vocal minority.” Yeah. Not sure I would have even said anything either way about it, but that line is only going to make that “minority” so much louder now.
Following his WWE release, NXT wrestler Luca Crusifino has decided he’s retiring from wrestling: “After much reflection, I’ve decided it’s time to close this chapter of my life. Being a part of the WWE has been a dream ever since I was a child. Getting the chance to live out my dream in front of the world is something I’ll never take for granted. To the fans… thank you for every cheer, every boo, every moment of support. You made this journey unforgettable. I am forever grateful for the friendships that I made along the way.”
Speaking of NXT, Bryan Alvarez says that the full list of releases from that brand “is larger than has come out” and that it’s likely we’ll learn more names this week. (WO)
Also speaking of NXT, here are house show results from Citrus Springs. (WBS)
- Tate Wilder beat Viktor Zanov
- Wendy Choo beat Meghan Walker
- OTM (Bronco Nima & Lucien Price) defeated Braxton Cole & Tristan Angels.
- Kam Hendrix defeated Kai Kavari
- WWE Women’s Speed Championship Match: Wren Sinclair (c) beat Layla Diggs to retain the title
- DarkState (Cutler James, Dion Lennox, Osiris Griffin & Saquon Shugars) defeated Drake Morreaux, EK Prosper, Harlem Lewis & Shiloh Hill
- Kendal Grey beat Karmen Petrovic
- Noam Dar & Romeo Moreno were victorious over Brooks Jensen & Harley Riggins
- NXT Women’s North American Championship Match: Tatum Paxley (c) beat Nikkita Lyons to retain the title
- NXT Championship Match: Tony D’Angelo (c) beat Jasper Troy to retain the title
Kairi Sane has already returned to Japan following her unexpected and sudden WWE release. (PWI)
Approximately 3,000 of the 5,000 available seats for this year’s AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door in San Jose have already been taken via the online pre-sale. (WO)
For what it’s worth multiple sources with claims to know the inner workings of AEW say they are NOT interested in bringing Aleister Black following his WWE release for another run as Malakai Black. (WO)
Ahead of her appearance on the third season premier of WWE LFG, Carlee Bright announced she would no longer be with the company, presumably adding her to the list of the released. It sure sounds that way from reading her post. “Wrestling has such a funny way of saying, ‘I love you.’ If there’s one thing I know about myself, it’s this: mom & dad didn’t raise a quitter. This chapter may be closing, but my story is far from finished. xoxo”
Here are the full cards for night one and two of Wrestling Dontaku. (NJPW)
Night One:
- IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship Match: Yota Tsuji vs. Andrade El Idolo
- NEVER Openweight Championship Match: Ren Narita vs. Boltin Oleg
- Aaron Wolf vs. Don Fale
- Shingo Takagi, Drilla Moloney, Taiji Ishimori, Robbie X & Daiki Nagai vs. Callum Newman, Jake Lee, Jakob Austin Young, Francesco Akira & Zane Jay
- Konosuke Takeshita & Shota Umino vs. Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi
- Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Tatsuya Matsumoto vs. Will Ospreay, HENARE & Great-O-Khan
- El Desperado, Taichi, Mistico & Yuya Uemura vs. Robbie Eagles, Kosei Fujita, Ryohei Oiwa & Hartley Jackson
- Tomoaki Honma & Masatora Yasuda vs. Knockout Bros
- Toru Yano, YOH & Master Wato vs. Tiger Mask, Ryusuke Taguchi & Taisei Nakahara
Night Two:
- IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match: Callum Newman vs. Shingo Takagi
- NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag Team Championship Match: Boltin Oleg, Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Will Ospreay, HENARE & Great-O-Khan
- NJPW World TV Championship Match: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Chase Owens
- Yota Tsuji, Drilla Moloney, Taiji Ishimori & Robbie X vs. Jake Lee, Francesco Akira, Jakob Austin Young & Zane Jay
- Yuya Uemura & Taichi vs. Ryohei Oiwa & Hartley Jackson
- Kosei Fujita & Robbie Eagles vs. Mistico & El Desperado
- Aaron Wolf, Toru Yano, Tiger Mask, YOH & Master Wato vs. Ren Narita, SHO, DOUKI, Don Fale & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
- Shota Umino & Tomoaki Honma vs. Knockout Bros
- Ryusuke Taguchi & Tatsuya Matsumoto vs. Gedo & Daiki Nagai
SmackDown will be going back to two hours long in a few weeks. (BSN)
