Via social media Gable Steveson decided to address the rape allegations: “This statement is for my family, my friends, my fans, and the people who truly know me and know the kind of man I am. I know there are people who will never support me, no matter what I say or do. That’s their choice. But I’m speaking to the people who know me not just as an athlete, but as a husband and a father to a young daughter. Prior to and during fight week, an incident from my college years was brought up by my opponent. I believe it was raised to get in my head, but it also reopened something that had been addressed years ago. I want to be clear: I did not do anything alleged. I was never charged with a crime, and the matter was ultimately dropped by the District Attorney. The allegations were not ignored nor brushed aside. They were thoroughly and heavily reviewed as I fully cooperated with law enforcement, including a separate Title IX review. There were no criminal charges, no conviction, and no finding of responsibility against me. The matter was closed, and there is no pending legal issue involving me. My own attorney did their own investigation and stated on the record that even if the law was changed, I would have the same outcome, which now speaks for itself. I understand how serious allegations like this are, and I understand that people may have questions when they hear only part of a story. Moving forward, I am going to keep focusing on my wife, my daughter, my family, and the work in front of me. To the people who support me, thank you. I know who I am. My family knows who I am. The people who have walked with me through life know who I am. That’s what matters to me, and that’s where I’m going to keep my focus. As for my opponent, congratulations, you caught me. A mistake on my end was made. It was your night. Just like my wrestling days after my loss, I came back with an undeniable will to win and focus that led me to the top of my sport. The result of Saturday night, I believe, will catapult me to do the same. I will be great, and no one can deny me.”
As of the latest ticket sale update, AEW WrestleDream has sold 4,035 tickets total, Money in the Bank has sold 9,176 and Worlds Collide has sold 12,400.
A lawsuit against WWE and 2K Games has been dismissed with prejudice, meaning there is no leave to refile it, because the judge found the claim that an entrance from WCWA was copied in the WWE 2K games for The Bloodline was substantively untrue.
Here are the latest Road to Destruction results. (NJPW)
- United Empire (Jakob Austin Young & Jake Lee) def. Tatsuya Matsumoto & Togi Makabe
- HOUSE OF TORTURE (Dick Togo & Shun Skywalker) def. Masatora Yasuda & Shota Umino
- Unbound Co. (Drilla Moloney & Shingo Takagi) def. YOSHI-HASHI & Oleg Boltin
- Unbound Co. (Daiki Nagai, Jeff Cobb, OSKAR & Yuto-Ice) def. United Empire (Zane Jay, Callum Newman, Great-O-Khan & HENARE)
- T.M.D.K (Ryohei Oiwa, Kosei Fujita & Hartley Jackson) def. Taisei Nakahara, Yuya Uemura & Aaron Wolf
- Unbound Co. (Robbie X & Yota Tsuji) def. Master Wato & Hirooki Goto
- IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match: Mistico & El Desperado (c) def. HOUSE OF TORTURE (SHO & DOUKI)
- IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match: YOH (c) def. Taiji Ishimori. After the match, Robbie X came out to issue a challenge to YOH for his title, and the champion duly accepted it. NJPW has yet to reveal the date of the title match
Here are some dark match results from NXT this week. (PWI)
- Reina Volcan defeated Andi Summers via a Rack Bomb
- Ulka Sasaki defeated Brooks Jensen with a schoolboy into a bridging pin
Vince Russo says he and JCW have amicably parted ways.
Persephone retained her TBS title over Hyan on Dynamite last night. (AEW)
The last SmackDown did a 0.29 and 1.264 million viewers. (Wrestlenomics)
Speaking of SmackDown here’s the updated card for Friday. (WWE)
- WWE United States Championship Steel Cage Match: Trick Williams (c) vs. Baron Corbin
- Men’s Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Finn Balor vs. CM Punk vs. Gunther
- Women’s Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Giulia vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Lash Legend
Gia Miller is missing this week’s Impact tapings due to a medical issue. Best wishes to her!
Speedball Mike Bailey joined Will Ospreay’s United Empire on Dynamite last night. (AEW)
Swerve Strickland and The New Level retained the Trios Titles last night. (AEW)
Duke ‘The Dumpster’ Droese has a trial date of March 18th, 2027 on his SEM charges. (PWI)
