In this WrestleTalk News, wrestlers leaving both WWE and AEW, WWE going to court, an update
on Big E and more. Subscribe and enable notifications to always
on for daily wrestling news videos. Because every subscribe to WrestleTalk is also a happy
birthday wish to my best friend MJF. Happy birthday for yesterday, MJF, where he
turned 26 years old. Meaning he’s already one of the best all round professional wrestlers
in the world at the same age I lost my job and was unemployed for about 9 months.
He’s better than me, and I know it. I was so scared.
But not everyone recognises Max’s brilliance, as his own mother has tweeted:
“Happy Birthday to this once….SWEET, ADORABLE, LOVING, ANGELIC, INNOCENT BABY BOY! I don’t
know what the FU#% happened to you or where you went but today i will choose to remember
this child and pray he will be back some day soon!”
No stranger to complex family dynamics with her former NXT faction The Way, Candice LaRae
could reportedly become a free agent in a matter of months.
Fightful Select is reporting LaRae’s “WWE contract is set to expire “‘this Spring.’”
LaRae has been off NXT TV since late last year with pregnancy. Usually, when a wrestler
misses time on their deal because of an injury - like Rey Mysterio or Brodie Lee - WWE freezes
their contract and just adds the recovery period at the end of the term. But those pesky
US employment laws for some reason protect women who have just given birth to children,
and it’s believed in the company that WWE won’t be able to freeze her contract while
she’s out on maternity leave. According to Fightful, those in NXT don’t expect LaRae
to make her return by the time the deal runs out, and a new contract or extension of her
existing one hasn’t been discussed either. A lot has changed since LaRae last appeared
in NXT. Not only has the company undergone a midlife crisis, getting a paint job, firing
William Regal, effectively removing Triple H from power and rebranding it as the very
sport-entertainment focused NXT 2.0. But Candice’s life has changed dramatically too: with her
husband Johnny Gargano choosing not to renew his WWE contract after it expired in December,
and LaRae giving birth to the couple’s debut child - who is awesomely named Quill Gargano,
getting a Guardians of the Galaxy gimmick right out the womb.
But despite huge fan demand, and Gargano teasing himself on his livestreams, he hasn’t turned
up in AEW. Apparently both Johnny and Candice are on “good terms with WWE, and the company
would like to have them back if at all possible.” The choice between AEW and WWE was said to
not be as straightforward as someone like Adam Cole, who was set for a doomed manager
spot if called up to the main roster. According to Dave Meltzer, Gargano was offered a trainer/wrestler
role in NXT 2.0, which would be a more stable job for the new family.
Well, as stable as a job in WWE can be. Do you think Candice will join Johnny and
leave NXT? Let me know in the comments. But she’s not the only wrestler leaving
a major North American promotion… Before we get on with the rest of the episode,
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Jam that Jam, and protect your data. Just a few months ago, everything seemed like
one way traffic to Tony Khan’s house. But ever since Kevin Owens decided to re-sign
with WWE in December, we’ve seen a number of wrestlers re-commit to Vince - including
Sami Zayn, AJ Styles and, possibly, AEW founder Cody Rhodes.
And now it’s not just wrestlers leaving AEW to go to WWE. Some are just leaving AEW
because they’re not getting the opportunities they once were.
Joey Janela was one of the main midcarders of AEW when it first launched, being amongst
its initial month of signings in January 2019. He was one of the hottest indie talents, being
so popular he could run his own gimmick wrestling shows like Joey Janela’s Spring Break.
His hardcore style made him a fixture on the early pay-per-views, wrestling an unsanctioned
match against Jon Moxley at Fyter Fest, and an awesome three way against Jimmy Havoc and
Darby Allin at All Out. He would wrestle occasionally on Dynamite, including a rematch against Moxley,
and competed in Double or Nothing 2020’s Casino Ladder Match, but since then, he’s
mostly appeared on Dark. AEW had evolved from its indie beginnings,
and had also brought in a number of bigger name signings that pushed Janela down the
card. His three year deal is set to expire this May, and he’s now told Denise Salcedo
he won’t be seeking to re-sign. You can watch the full interview on Denise’s
channel when it premieres today. While Janela had previously said he hoped
to stay with the company, he’s seemingly become frustrated with his situation behind-the-scenes
- telling Barstool Sports: “You tell me, I don’t know. I don’t
even talk to them. Yeah, I get a check, but I don’t know what’s going on… Some rumor
says my contract is up on April 30, so I don’t know what the f*** is going on. I think it
will [continue]. If it doesn’t, I look like a f***ing idiot right now.”
There’s been rumours that others in Janela’s position in AEW, like Peter Avalon, could
also be on their way out when their contracts expire.
Thankfully, Joey already has his indie work to get stuck into, running a new Spring Break
show with GCW, where he’ll not only face X-Pac… but Maven’s on the card too!
Maven, but I thought he’s still in the 2002 Royal Rumble!
And that’s not the only promotion Janela could work with, as he tweeted:
“I think I have to control my narrative…” Before following that up with a gif that said
‘I’m just kidding!’ Because Janela’s other favourite thing to
do other than wrestling is trolling the Control Your Narrative promotion.
And they’re not the only wrestling company Janela likes to dunk on. He used to wrestle
for MLW, but publicly accused them of “taking advantage of young talent” back in January.
MLW replied via their COO telling WrestlingInc: “I think Joey Janela, who is a corporate
sell-out, who has massive heat in AEW because he’s unprofessional. He desperately wants
to go to WWE, so he’s kissing the ass of billionaires. He doesn’t care how many wrestlers
get screwed over, have opportunities taken away.”
Because MLW currently have a lawsuit against WWE, and WWE just bitch slapped them with
their reply… MLW filed a lawsuit against WWE back in January,
alleging that WWE had pressured companies like VICE TV, where they briefly had a weekly
show, and Tubi, which was apparently set to have a “major streaming deal”, to cancel
their contracts and relationships with MLW. The lawsuit claims a WWE executive had specifically
named Vince McMahon as not being happy with VICE working with another wrestling company,
and accused the WWE of illegal, antitrust tactics.
MLW CEO Court Bauer declared in the original press release:
“WWE has been wrongfully depriving its competitors of critical opportunities for many years,
but its latest conduct has been even more unconscionable. I think we speak for the rest
of the professional wrestling world when we say that this anti-competitive behavior has
to stop.” WWE had until yesterday 15th March to reply.
And reply they did, cutting the legal equivalent of a wrestling promo.
The too long, didn’t read version is that WWE argue MLW can’t justify any of their
accusations, calling the claims “unsupported by factual allegations” and “entirely
implausible.” They then go one further, not just denying
WWE interfered in MLW’s relationships, but said MLW isn’t good enough to get any streaming
deals anyway. WWE’s response points out that MLW have
tried to sell their broadcast rights since 2017, but they haven’t been able to make
it work. There’s “Hundreds if not thousands of other potential buyers of broadcast rights”
they could’ve gone to, or maybe they should stop being so lazy and “start its own streaming
service and reach consumers directly” - which practically every other wrestling promotion
has done. They also point towards AEW securing a $43.8
million per year deal with WarnerMedia to broadcast Dynamite. If WWE was so anti-competitive,
wouldn’t it stop them? In the killer promo line, WWE then say “MLW
has given up competing in the ring and chosen instead to compete in the courtroom” - arguing
the lawsuit should be dismissed. The court then ordered a hearing for the 29th
September to hear WWE’s arguments on the motion to dismiss the claim.
MLW CEO Court Bauer, meanwhile, issued a statement on WWE’s response to PWInsider - and unintentionally
used his own name as a threatening catchphrase: “Of course WWE is scrambling to dismiss.
They don’t want this thing to go to court. I look forward to that opportunity.”
I’m Court Bauer, and I’ll see you in court. To finish on some hopefully good news, Big
E has tweeted an update on his status: “I’m actually home now but Birmingham
took good care of me.” Big E suffered a broken neck on last Friday’s
SmackDown after a bad landing from a Ridge Holland suplex on the outside. In a fortunate
coincidence, the show was taking place in Birmingham, Alabama - which is also where
WWE’s medical experts are based. He was diagnosed with a non-displacement fracture
of his C1 and C6 vertebrae, which one doctor posted on Reddit could be a career ending
injury. Hopefully Big E’s early release from hospital is a good sign that it’s not
as serious as that. Remember that time when Randy Orton’s finisher
was a dropkick? Me neither, so watch 10 finishers you forgot famous wrestlers had over on PFK…