Various: Ethan Page Impact Contract Status, Tetsuya Naito on Upcoming Match with Ibushi, Indies

Ethan Page Departs from Impact Wrestling & Current Status of His Ring Name

Ethan Page’s contract with Impact Wrestling officially expired on January 1, 2021 and has become a free agent following his decision to not sign a new deal with the company.

Page recently announced on Twitter that all of his “Ethan Page” merchandise has been pulled from sale from his official online store as a result of his departure from Impact Wrestling. PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that Page likely will be performing under a new ring name, possibly “The Karate Man”, going forward in the indies.

Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that when a talent pulls all of their merchandise, it usually is a sign that they have signed a deal with WWE although it has not been confirmed if that is the case with Page.

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Tetsuya Naito Comments on Upcoming Match Against Kota Ibushi at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 15

New Japan Pro Wrestling’s official English language website held a recent interview with Tetsuya Naito. One of the topics discussed included his thoughts on his upcoming match against Kota Ibushi at NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 15 event.

“Look, when we get right down to it, what we’re here to do as pro-wrestlers is simple. We want everyone buying a ticket, watching on TV, watching online, in Japan and around the world, to enjoy themselves. So if the wrestlers aren’t enjoying themselves, it doesn’t seem reasonable that the fans would. Ibushi is the ideal opponent for me in that case, and we’re doing it in the biggest match of the year. With more people watching than any other time, we’re going to blow all of them away.

For all I’ve said before though, fun and dangerous are not one and the same. there’s a lot of different angles to look at wrestling, a lot of different ways of enjoying it, and Ibushi is the best for bringing that fun out.”

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Misc. Wrestling News & Notes

As noted before, the Japanese government recently issued a new limit on attendance for pubic events in Tokyo that will last until early January. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that NJPW was originally given an exemption for their upcoming Wrestle Kingdom 15 but the company decided to follow the government’s order anyways and halted ticket sales for their two-day event.

NJPW recently announced that they have secured the broadcast rights to El Phantasmo’s “HDBNG Club VIP” theme and will be debuting this new entrance theme for his match on January 4th at Night One of NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 15.

Game Changer Wrestling recently announced that they will be holding a 24-hour telethon event called Fight Forever on January 29th and 30th at the GCW Performance Center. It was announced that all proceeds generated from this event will go directly towards the wrestlers to help financially support them during the coronavirus pandemic.

GCW also announced that Tony Deppen was pulled from the card of their 56 Nights event on January 1st as a precautionary reason due to their COVID-19 protocols. Deppen stated on Twitter that his removal was not due to him testing positive for the coronavirus.

Major League Wrestling officials reportedly are currently keeping an eye on the Broadway industry in regards to potential signs when it will be safe to run events with fans in attendance, according to PWInsider. Mike Johnson reported that Broadway unions currently are not allowing theatrical shows to be held with crowds due to the current situation with the coronavirus pandemic. MLW officials are waiting for those unions to give their approval before feeling it will be safe to do the same for wrestling events.