Here’s a brief summary of the “heat” that Jade Cargill had in WWE. First and foremost some people in the company were suspicious when she asked for time off late last year and was told that she was needed because the holiday season is an important time for the company, then she got injured and needed time off anyway, so people thought she was either faking it or staged it even though they eventually realized that she wasn’t. Additionally there was miscommunication while working a tag team match where Jade and Bianca Belair were facing Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark. Cargill was upset about botched spots in the match and confronted Baszler backstage, Baszler (not a surprise to me) didn’t back down, and the two were separated before it got physical. Nothing “of significance” came from their dispute after the fact. In summary some people may have thought she had an attitude when it was merely their perception of the situation. (WO)
Ethan Page says that when he was in Impact he pitched a return to TNA branding that didn’t happen until after he left for AEW (and of course now he’s in WWE): “When I was in Impact, I was petitioning to change it to TNA and everyone was like, ‘We’re never doing that. TNA has too much stink on it. We’re never doing that.’ Now look. Everybody can kiss my ass, they’re doing great. TNA is back, baby. I’m very happy about that, as a fan. Total Nonstop Action, loved it. To see the partnership is amazing. To think it would have been possible, hell no. I got in trouble for saying TNA while I was in Impact. I never thought TNA would come back, never mind TNA teaming up with WWE. That is bonkers.”
Speaking of TNA the Sacrifice PPV in El Paso tonight is 100% sold out. (PWI)
- Steel Cage Match: Joe Hendry, Matt Hardy, Elijah, Nic Nemeth & Leon Slater vs. JDC, Brian Myers, Eddie Edwards & The Colons
- TNA X Division Championship Ladder Match: Moose vs. Jeff Hardy
- TNA Knockouts Championship Match: Masha Slamovich vs. Cora Jade
- Street Fight: Sami Callihan vs. Mance Warner
- TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship Match: Spitfire vs. Ash by Elegance, Heather by Elegance, and The Personal Concierge
- Tessa Blanchard vs. Lei Ying Lee
- Tyson Dupont, Tyriek Igwe, and Wes Lee vs. Ace Austin and The Rascalz
- Frankie Kazarian vs. Steve Maclin
- Mike Santana vs. Mustafa Ali
- Countdown To Sacrifice: Laredo Kid and Octagón Jr. vs. First Class
From MLW: “Major League Wrestling (MLW) today announced Filthy Tom Lawlor will participate in the 40-wrestler Battle RIOT match at MLW Battle RIOT VII on Saturday, April 5 at Commerce Casino & Hotel in Los Angeles, CA and presented live on YouTube.”
Via his LinkedIn page WWE writer Ryan Callahan announced he left the company last year: “Hope everyone is having a lovely new year. For those who are unaware, my time with WWE came to an end last year. I am grateful for my time there, the friends I made, and the stories we told. I’ve been working on some freelance projects, and some long-on-the-back-burner personal projects, which has been incredibly fulfilling. If anyone in the greater NYC area needs any writing / directing / producing/ development / sarcastic quips / blu-ray recommendations, I am available.”
Joe Hendry is teasing that he’ll be in a video game soon.
NXT faction OTM member Lucien Price is on the shelf due to an injury. (PWI)
WWE filed a trademark for “Grande Americano” on March 13th. (FF)
Night five results from the New Japan Cup are here. (Post)
- Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima, Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano def. Hirooki Goto, Hiroshi Tanahashi, YOSHI-HASHI & Katsuya Murashima
- Shota Umino, El Phantasmo & Jado def. United Empire (Great-O-Khan, Callum Newman & Jakob Austin Young)
- Gabe Kidd, SANADA, Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens def. House of Torture (Ren Narita, Yujiro Takahashi, SHO & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) via disqualification
- House of Torture (EVIL, Dick Togo, Ren Narita, Yujiro Takahashi, SHO & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) def. David Finlay, Gedo, Gabe Kidd, SANADA, Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens
- TMDK. (Zack Sabre Jr., Ryohei Oiwa & Hartley Jackson) def. Taichi, Yuya Uemura & TAKA Michinoku
- New Japan Cup 2nd Round Match: Drilla Moloney def. TJP
- New Japan Cup 2nd Round Match: Shingo Takagi def. Oleg Boltin
- New Japan Cup 2nd Round Match: Jeff Cobb def. Tetsuya Naito. After the match, Cobb said that he had a lot more left in the tank for NJPW, and noted that because of the rumors, people thought he’d lose to Naito.
Here’s the announced card for today’s SmackDown episode. (WWE)
- WWE Tag Team Championship: DIY (c) vs. The Street Profits
- Randy Orton vs. Carmelo Hayes
- Charlotte Flair vs. B-Fab
- Cody Rhodes appears on MizTV
