Hello everyone, what a week it’s been!
All that news, the first episode of AEW Rampage airing on Friday.
This list was written on Friday afternoon before that episode came out so let me just
cover all my bases by saying “I loved it when THIS happened”, “cor I do wish THIS
hadn’t happened though” and “wow I can’t believe Daniel Bryan showed up a few weeks
early and killed that guy in the crowd, with a gun”.
There, all eventualities:nailed.
I’m adam from wrestletalk and here 9 Stories From the Week you Might have missed
What do you think is the most shocking news of the week, let us know in the comments,
we’d love to hear from you, and while you’re at it make sure you’re subscribed to wrestletalk.
As ever, here’s a joke, if you smile you must subscribe, those are the rules.
What did the woman say to her husband to justify travelling hundreds of miles to visit rudolph
the communist just for a weather report, because rudolph the red knows rain, dear
Ric Flair Coming Out Of Retirement Ric Flair was released by WWE on the 2nd August
after reported disagreements over his daughter Charlotte’s booking.
Ric apparently gave Vince McMahon an ultimatum: give Charlotte better storylines, or I’m
quitting.
Woo.
Vince evidently chose the latter.
Ric feels like he broke up with Vince.
Vince feels like he broke up with Ric.
And here I am, stuck in the middle with you Despite telling People magazine he left to
pursue other business ventures - including his own line of wine, comic books and his
own network - he’s now teased a return to the profession he’s best known for: professional
wrestling, tweeting out a promo from 2007 during his career always on the line arc,
where he said: “I will never retire!
WOOOO!”
Ric Flair was retired the following year by Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 24, which lasted
all of 20 months before Flair wrestled Hulk Hogan in Australia, and then moving on to
TNA, where we did at least get that Jay Lethal promo.
The heavy speculation is that Ric will join AEW soon, as he’s good friends with its
President Tony Khan, but nobody knows how long his WWE non-compete clause is.
Chelsea Green Fights Over Her Real Name Showing how generous and benevolent they are,
WWE not only let Ric go to pursue his dream of a Flair Country Wine TV Network; they also
gave Chelsea Green the rights back to her own name.
Green was released from WWE on the 15th April.
Problem was, they hadn’t also released the holding the rights to her real name, which
she had signed over to them on November 2020 - leading Chelsea to tweet:
“I never thought I’d be in a legal battle for my BIRTH GIVEN name…
🙄 “ Thankfully Fightful Select then revealed WWE
gave her back the rights shortly after her tweet, and she can use her birth name without
any issues for her appearances on Ring of Honor and IMPACT Wrestling.
Slightly surprising, as WWE would copyright your DNA if they thought they could get away
with it Johnny Gargano & Candice LeRae Expecting
Congratulations to Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae, who have announced the upcoming debut
of Baby Wrestling for February 2022, tweeting that their first child is on #TheWay, which
is just delightful wordplay.
This will be the couple’s first child after getting married in 2016.
If you don’t count Indi Hartwell.
Jim Cornette Thanks Tony Khan In more feelgood wrestling news, one of the
hottest feuds in all of wrestling slightly thawed when professional Abe Simpson Jim Cornette
had nice things to say about professional Milhouse Tony Khan and AEW.
Beautiful Bobby Eaton, one of the most talented in-ring workers and, by all accounts, nicest
human beings to ever wrestle, sadly passed away last week.
Cornette had managed Eaton in the Midnight Express, and he released an emotional, heartfelt
episode of his podcast remembering the man - in which he thanked Khan and AEW for their
Bobby tributes: AUDIO EXCERPT FOR BELOW QUOTE, I CAN’T FIND
IT IN THE PODCAST!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sYQcagzK_Y&t=6s “I want to say this also, a lot of people
tweeted including the folks at AEW tweeted a nice graphic and a respectful message about
Bobby.
I know that some of the AEW personnel at various positions listen to the show.
That’s not a side comment either.
If anybody with access to Tony Khan can get to him, tell him that I heard everything that
he said about Bobby and how respectful it was and how nice it was and I thank you Tony.
Tony Khan is not a horrible human being.
We may see way far apart on wrestling in a variety of issues but that was a cool thing
to do Tony.
I hope somebody will deliver that message to him.”
NWA Tag Title Match Also following Bobby Eaton’s passing, FTR’s
Dax Harwood uploaded an episode of NWA Pro Wrestling from March 26th 1988 from Dax’s
private collection - which includes Tony Schiavone looking like this in the intro, he just wants
to talk to you about your checking account ! but also shows off Bobby in a Midnight Express
match against the Fantastics.
This got one fan fantasy booking FTR in the NWA’s Crockett Cup tag team tournament,
which didn’t end up taking place last year.
Dax actually replied: “That is incredibly important to us; especially
now.
The lineage of the @nwa is deep & historic.
We’d love the opportunity to fight for the belts too.”
To which the NWA tweeted: “Sounds like NWA owner Billy Corgan & AEW
President Tony Khan should have a talk.”
Given that AEW are currently promoting the NWA Women’s title match between champion
Kamille and AEW’s Leyla Hirsch, this could nudge the Forbidden Door even wider.
CMLL In Trouble One promotion yet to join the anti-WWE axis
of awesome, however, is the oldest wrestling promotion still in existence, Mexico’s CMLL.
Well that’s because CMLL is a little busy with internal struggles right now.
CMLL announced on Tuesday that all three members of the faction La Nueva Generacion Dinamita
- (deenameeta) San-son, El Cuatrero and Forastero, have left the company, vacating both the CMLL
World Trios and World Middleweight titles.
The statement says the departure was “by mutual agreement” despite all three men
were scheduled for Friday’s Arena Mexico show
The trio have since uploaded a video explaining they want to work for new promotions while
they’re young, and to recruit more wrestlers to their faction.
These are just the latest top stars to leave CMLL, with Diamante Azul, Rush, Dragon Lee,
Bandido and Puma King all departing in recent years.
This follows the death of the longtime owner of the company, Paco Alonso, in 2019.
Soberano Jr, who currently wrestles for CMLL, has pointed blame at the promotion’s booker:
“Ultimo Guerrero is the one who is ending the CMLL and I do not speak it to speak I
say it because I am within the company I realize things and it hurts to see how one person
is killing everything”.
oof.
Joey Janela Turns Heel On this week’s AEW Dark: Elevation, Joey
Janela turned heel, superkicking his tag team partner Sonny Kiss while making their entrance
for their match.
Janela then beat up their opponents Baron Black and DMC, before hitting a piledriver
onto the stage on Kiss.
Janela then declared the “Bad Boy summer has BEGUN” on Twitter, before revealing
his motivation as ‘you people’: “I did what I did not because Sonny, it’s
because most mainstream wrestling “fans” are absolute losers, mutant scum!
“ He’s right of course.
ROH Moves Death Before Dishonor Ring of Honor has arguably been one of the
most responsible wrestling promotions during the pandemic.
Not just by shutting down entirely during the Pandemic’s first few months, or delaying
fans' access to shows until just recently, but also by continuing to pay wrestlers who
weren’t even under contract for shows they were booked for that couldn’t go ahead.
Good for you, Ring of Honor.
And this week they’ve taken another precaution, tweeting:
“Due to the recent COVID surge in Florida, ROH is moving the site of the Death by Dishonor
Pay Per View event.
Your safety, health and well-being remain our top priorities.
Thank you for your continued patronage.”
They have now moved the show, airing Sunday 12th September to the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia,
formerly known as the ECW arena.
This raises question marks over SummerSlam in Las Vegas, and AEW’s upcoming shows in
Chicago and New York, with reports both companies are planning for a return to no-fans events.
Riddle & Goldberg Heat No More?
But let’s end this on a bro-sitive.
Matt Riddle and Bill Goldberg have been feuding in real life for years.
Probably because Riddle said he could beat Goldberg in a real fight in two minutes, Goldberg
blocked him on Twitter, and then Matt publicly called Goldberg a bad, “unsafe and dangerous
wrestler, and a liability to everyone else.”
[TWEET] after the Undertaker match in Saudi Arabia.
Which is about as legitimate a beef as you’re likely to see.
They then had a very uncomfortable interaction backstage later that year caught on camera
for a Chronicle episode following Goldberg around, where he ran into Riddle, and they
passive aggressively spoke about who is and isn’t each other’s bro.
But now Riddle has told Sony Sports India that Bro-gones might really be Bro-gones:
“I saw Bill the other day before he challenged Bobby Lashley and he was walking to the Gorilla
Position and I was standing there and I was with Damian Priest at the time and he says
hi to everybody and then Goldberg comes up to me gives me a look.
He was making a face and then he goes, ‘Hey, congratulations kid....’ and I was like,
‘Oh man, Goldberg is kind of nice’, so I gave him a little handshake and he went
out and challenged Bobby and then he was coming out, through Gorilla again and I was like,
‘Hey Goldberg, good stuff’ and as he gave me a fist bump he says, ‘I only need two
moves’ so I was like, ‘Oh man, the guy’s still got it’.”
Which is adorable, although judging by the actions of Riddle’s other best friend, Goldberg
will still end up killing him.
That’s our list