Hello and welcome to the WrestleTalk News!
I’m Oli Davis.
Happy Independence Day Happy Independence Day, US viewers!
Congratulations from myself and Luke at WrestleTalk for finally defeating the alien invasion.
A particular shout out to Captain Steven Hiller, who’s a big fan of the show...what a hero.
TNA/GFW Returns But the last several days have marked another
historical landmark: Impact Wrestling’s independence from the initials TNA, with the
promotion officially rebranding itself as Global Force Wrestling.
Yes, I do know the title and thumbnail of this video still read ‘TNA’.
It’s because a lot of people have yet to hear about the name change….and because
I’m worried it’ll be called something else by this afternoon.
GFW had their first set of post-Slammiversary Impact tapings last night, and there’s a
few spoilers coming out of the show.
Firstly, former TNA/Impact/Whatever wrestler Grado made his return to the promotion in
an 8-man tag that should air on this Thursday’s episode.
Also returning was six-time Knockouts Champion, the first ever female inductee into the TNA
Hall of Fame and former WWE wrestler Gail Kim.
She had to vacate the Knockouts title back in October because of a back injury and hasn’t
wrestled since, tweeting back in March that she was no longer under contract with the
promotion, but planned to return once medically cleared.
Sadly, perhaps because of that injury, Kim announced at last night’s tapings that she’ll
be retiring at the end of the year.
Paige Shows Up At TNA/GFW?
The most curious TNA/GFW story, however, comes out of Sunday night’s Slammiversary pay-per-view,
during the main event where Alberto El Patron (the former Alberto Del Rio in WWE) beat Bobby
Lashley to become the new Impact Wrestling and GFW Heavyweight champion.
Alberto’s real-life fiancee and currently contracted WWE wrestler Paige was apparently
sitting at ringside for the match.
A fan has tweeted a picture of a woman eagerly watching the main event wearing a Dos Caras
wrestling mask.
Dos Caras is, of course, the name of Alberto’s father, who was in El Patron’s corner for
the match.
Additionally to this - as ‘pale-skinned woman wearing Dos Caras mask for Del Rio match’
isn’t the most convincing of arguments - other fans have noted she was holding a visitor’s
pass that read “Saray Bevis”, which is suspiciously close to Paige’s real name
“Saraya-Jade Bevis”.
As Dave Meltzer points out on Wrestling Observer Radio, there is no rule against WWE contracted
talents going to external wrestling shows, but it is strongly discouraged, and can garner
you considerable heat backstage.
If it were anyone else, the company may have fired them, but Paige currently has a get
out of jail free card, because Rock ‘The Dwayne’ Johnson and WWE Studios are producing
a movie based on her life.
Which is possibly why WWE haven’t released her despite a string of controversies and
clashes with the company.
But it ain’t a proper Paige and Alberto story until Del Rio shoots on WWE.
Alberto Del Rio Shoots On WWE PWInsider are reporting that after Slammiversary
went off the air, Alberto cut a promo for the live crowd only - which involved the usual
stuff of putting over the opponent he just beat, his wrestling career building to this
moment, and that WWE are “that f******company full of losers”.
He differentiated the GFW roster from WWE’s, explaining the Impact crew are fighters, while
WWE are “f****** sports entertainers”.
I just wish he would say what he really thinks for once.
Did Samoa Joe just become a babyface against Brock Lesnar?
And have a Smackdown tag team requested their release from WWE?
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I’ve been Oli Davis, and that was wrestling.