In this interview Konosuke Takeshita talks about his decision to move to the U.S. and join AEW: “At the time, we were in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. And although the number of spectators was slowly returning, there was still no cheering, only applause. It was a time when my way of thinking about pro wrestling was really refined and polished. I wanted to get the crowd excited. But more than that, I felt that we had to show what we wanted to create in the ring. America was the first place entertainment returned. When I saw the excitement, I thought to myself, ‘I don’t know how many years I’ll be doing pro wrestling, but if I’m going to go, now might be the time.’ From then on, I started thinking about how I could go. So I contacted Kenny Omega, who is in a sense my professional wrestling mentor, for the first time in years and asked if I could wrestle in AEW, even if it was just a dark match. Kenny said, ‘I’ll give it a go,’ and encouraged me, saying, ‘I can’t do a TV match right away, but if it’s okay to wrestle in a dark match, why not give it a go?’ So I decided to go to America.”
The four most recent WWE NIL recruits are Meghan Walker (track and field athlete from the University of Nebraska), TJ Bullard (son of Titus O’Neil and college FB player for UCF), Jessica Bogdanov (Russian pole dancer and rhythmic gymnast), and Cyrus Habibi-Likio from Boise State. (PWI)
JDC (known in another lifetime as Fandango) will appear for Outlaw Wrestling in Brooklyn today, one of his final indie dates before he retires at TNA Genesis 2026.
MLW are moving their headquarters to Charleston, SC.
Last week’s Collision did 219,000 viewers and a 0.03 18-49 demo. (Wrestlenomics)
Last week’s SmackDown did 1.158 million viewers and a 0.27 18-49. (PI)
WWE is launching a new YouTube channel for Undertaker that will host Six Feet Under.
The Continental Classic tournament returns on Dynamite next week. The AEW Unified Champion at this time is Kazuchika Okada, who holds the combined Continental and International Titles, which he obtained sole ownership of by beating Kenny Omega at All In: Texas. If he doesn’t lose before the Classic ends he’ll face the winner of the tournament. (AEW)
Mercedes Mone beat Red Velvet on Dynamite to unify the interim and regular ROH TV Titles. (AEW)
On their way to Saudi Arabia for the Royal Rumble next year WWE has added a stop in Brussels.
In yet another example of AI being gross AJ Lee has requested a video be taken down that was altered to show her kissing a fan.
Here’s the announced card for Impact tonight. (TNA)
- TNA Knockout Championship #1 Contenders Qualifier: Xia Brookside vs. Victoria Crawford vs. Killer Kelly vs. Jody Threat
- TNA Knockout Championship #1 Contenders Qualifier: Dani Luna vs. Indi Hartwell vs. Rosemary vs. Myla Grace
- Matt Cardona vs. Mance Warner
- Myron Reed vs. Jon Skyler
- Mike Santana appears
Here’s the updated card for Alianzas on Saturday. (AAA)
- AAA Mixed Tag Team Championship Match: Chelsea Green & Ethan Page vs. Lola Vice. & Mr. Iguana
- Octagon Jr. vs. Axiom vs. Je’Von Evans
- Dragon Lee & El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Dominik Mysterio & El Grande Americano
- Natalya & Faby Apache vs. Flammer & La Hiedra
Full Gear 2025 also takes place Saturday. (AEW)
- AEW World Championship Steel Cage Match: Hangman Page vs. Samoa Joe
- AEW Women’s World Championship Match: Kris Statlander vs. Mercedes Mone
- AEW National Championship Casino Gauntlet Match: Bobby Lashley vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. Ricochet vs. Kevin Knight vs. Speedball Mike Bailey vs. More TBA
- AEW World Tag Team Championship Match: Brodido vs. FTR
- AEW TNT Championship No DQ Match: Kyle Fletcher vs. Mark Briscoe
If Briscoe loses, he must join the Don Callis Family - $1,000,000 Match: The Young Bucks & Josh Alexander vs. Kenny Omega & Jurassic Express
- No Holds Barred Match: Jon Moxley vs. Kyle O’Reilly
- Darby Allin vs. Pac
- Babes of Wrath vs. Sisters of Sin vs. Timeless Love Bombs vs. Marina Shafir & Megan Bayne – winners choose the stipulation for AEW Women’s World Tag Team Championship Tournament semifinals
- Tailgate Brawl: CMLL World Trios Championship Match: El Sky Team vs. Kazuchika Okada, Konosuke Takeshita & Hechicero
- Tailgate Brawl: $200,000 Match – Max Caster & Anthony Bowens vs. Austin Gunn & Juice Robinson vs. Big Bill & Bryan Keith vs. The Outrunners
- Tailgate Brawl: Big Boom AJ & QT Marshall vs. Rocky Romero and Trent Beretta
