Hello and welcome to the WrestleTalk News - I’m Oli Davis.
Press the thumbs up, buy a WrestleTalk t-shirt by clicking the ‘i’ above my head - hey,
Samoa Joe, what do you think of this Ooh Wendy t-shirt? SAMOA JOE APPROVED! and leave a comment
down below because I’ll be replying to people FROM OUTTA NOWHERE.
You know what else is Samoa Joe approved? Former Cruiserweight Champion Neville - who
now goes by the name Pac on the independent scene - winning his first championship since
leaving WWE! Neville disappeared from wrestling last October
when he reportedly walked out on an episode of Raw due to creative frustrations with the
company. He was forced to sit out for the better part of a year, and WWE finally released
him in August. Two months later, and almost a year after he originally walked out of Raw,
Neville returned to the Japanese promotion where he made his PAC name, Dragon Gate, in
October - aligning himself with the heel faction R.E.D.
And at last night’s Fantastic Gate 2018 show in Korakuen Hall, he won their objectively
terribly named top title, the Open the Dream Gate championship. Which sounds like an inspirational
book Oprah would recommend. PAC celebrated the news on Twitter, observing
of himself: WHAT AN EXCEPTIONAL BASTARD. Here’s to you, Neville PAC…*Oli sips*
and that’s not the only non-WWE wrestling achievement we’re drinking to...
As Revolution Pro Wrestling’s High Stakes event on the 15th February headlined by PAC
and Will Ospreay has sold out. 15th February, that’s Luke’s Valentine’s
present sorted! Erm...it’s just a friends thing. We get each other gifts because we’re
such good bro-IT’S TOTALLY FINE. And High Stakes didn’t just sell out - it
did so in record time with the promotion tweeting of their top venue:
“Officially fastest York Hall sell out ever.”
It’s a welcome piece of business that comes at an uneasy time for the UK wrestling scene,
which will reportedly have many of its top indy stars like Pete Dunne, Tyler Bate and
more soon unable to work for smaller promotions because of restrictions in their new NXT UK
deals - a foreboding situation Ospreay himself tweeted about:
“If I have learnt anything from @RevProUK booking what is being titled a “genuine
dream match” is that this is a symbol to show even though some guys in the UK are being
locked down in where they can compete, our country can thrive without being part of the
system.” And Ospreay isn’t the only one taking a
stand against WWE, as WOS Wrestling champion Justin Sysum has now issued this statement:
“An open letter to British wrestling from Justin Sysum. These words are entirely my
own and do not represent any promotion or individual other than myself…
I understand completely why my friends in this business would take these contracts…
fortunately for me, my dreams are different. I hereby pledge to follow in the footsteps
of the great British wrestlers that have come before me, to continue to build the UK scene
into something to be reckoned with and one that deserves to stand alone. Despite WWE’s
best effort, unintentional or otherwise, to halt all the incredible progress, I will not
pander to anything that restricts our thriving scene. I will not tip toe around it, I do
not want a job with them... I’d sooner die on my sword in defeat than
watch what makes our industry so free, diverse and inclusive for both wrestlers and fans
alike, get eroded away as part of a ‘corporate strategy’ to get a bigger share price and
global market position. Thank you, Your #Superhuman, Justin Sysum.”
One half of Raw’s Fashion Police tag team Fandango underwent surgery back in July to
repair a left labrum tear in his shoulder - here he is shortly following the procedure
with an also injured Goldust - putting him out of action for an estimated six months.
Now we’re five months into his recovery time, PWInsider is reporting Fandango has
been spotted at the WWE Performance Center over the last several days working on returning
to the ring. With a month left on his recovery time, it’s
likely he won’t be back until at least January - where the Royal Rumble match is the perfect
time for wrestler returns. Want to relive 10 times WWE used bodily functions
in storylines? Of course you do! So click the WrestleTalk.com link onscreen now! And
which WWE stars might want to LEAVE the company! Click the video in the top left to find out.
I’ve been Oli Davis, and that was wrestling.