Weekend Roundup: AEW Dark Talent at WWE Tryout, Triple H, Daga & Tessa Blanchard, NJPW COVID Outbreak, EC3, Indies

WWE

• WWE filed a trademark for “Blair Davenport” on May 5th for wrestling and entertainment-related purposes to the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
• WWE also filed a trademark for “Bash at the Beach” on May 4th for wrestling and entertainment-related purposes to the USPTO. This is the name of the classic series of pay-per-view events in WCW during the 1990s.
• PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that WWE officials have not issued any edict forbidding their talent and employees from mentioning Daniel Bryan’s name on WWE programming following the recent expiration of his contract.
• Mike Johnson also reported that this past Friday’s episode of SmackDown was originally planned to feature a new Aleister Black vignette but it was pulled at the last minute due to several early segments had run longer than scheduled.
• A new television series project based on Vince McMahon reportedly is currently in very early production, according to entertainment website Backstage.com.
• Fightful Select reported that several AEW Dark talent were among those invited by WWE for a recent tryout at their Performance Center. Specifically, Alex Gracia and Tesha Price were among those seen at the tryouts.
• The Godfather recently revealed on Instagram that he was involved in the tapings for a future episode of the Broken Skull Sessions series.
• WWE reportedly recently signed a deal with Australian-based telecoms company MATE to provide exclusive digital content for the Australian market, according to SportsProMedia.com.
• Ringside News reported that both Triple H and NXT lead writer Dave Kapoor were involved with the production of this past Friday’s episode of SmackDown due to both Bruce Prichard and lead SmackDown writer Ed Koskey being absent backstage. It was also reported that Triple H’s backstage influence on the SmackDown brand has been growing in recent weeks.

AEW

• As noted before, AEW owner Tony Khan stated in an interview last month with Busted Open Radio that future AEW pay-per-view events might feature an intermission break. Khan provided an update on a recent episode of the Busted Open Radio show stating that “I don’t know if I’m going to do the intermission. I’ve gotten really mixed (reviews)…I might do long (video) packages in the show and maybe give a timer to when we’re back, but I don’t think it’s going to be a big break in the show. The packages are a big part of the show.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the official television pay-per-view buys for this past March’s AEW Revolution 2021 event will not be known until later this month. Meltzer reported that his sources within the company stated that the current expectation is that the number for TV buys will not be in the 71,000 range.
• Dave Meltzer also reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that recent rumors of Daga and Tessa Blanchard being very close to signing with AEW are not true. Meltzer reported that neither Daga nor Blanchard have been given any offer by the company as of press time.
• During a recent interview with Steel Chair Magazine, MJF gave his thoughts on the future of his wrestling career once his current contract with AEW expires. MJF stated “I’d say I’d be near the end of my contract. I would be the AEW World Champion, I would still be a part of the greatest faction in professional wrestling known as The Pinnacle, all of my brothers in arms would also have gold and then, at that point, the highest bidder, baby. Me and my boys were willing to go wherever the money’s at, it’s that simple. Don’t get me wrong, AEW runs deep in me, I don’t want to leave, but I am a businessman at the end of the day, and I can’t help myself if somebody’s got an offer for me, I’m going to listen to it.”

Other Wrestling

• New Japan Pro Wrestling announced that an additional seven talents have recently tested positive for COVID-19. This puts the current total of talent who have tested positive for COVID-19 in the company during this past week at nine.
• NJPW reportedly drew a paid attendance of 2,211 for their Wrestling Dontaku 2021 Night 1 event on May 3rd and 2,367 for their Wrestling Dontaku 2021 Night 2 event on May 4th in Fukuoka, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Kevin Kelly is currently under quarantine in Japan due to him recently traveling to the country for NJPW’s now cancelled Stadium events. Prior to NJPW’s recent schedule changes, Kelly reportedly was originally scheduled to stay in the country from May 15th to June 6th to provide live English commentary for NJPW’s upcoming events.
• NJPW officials reportedly are currently planning on holding both of their Stadium events later this year and only when the current situation with the coronavirus pandemic in Japan improves, according to the Wrestling Observer.
• During a recent interview with Post Wrestling, MLW owner Court Bauer stated that the company is currently not looking at a fixed number for the maximum capacity for their upcoming events in Philadelphia, Dallas, and Chicago. Instead the attendance will be determined by the amount allowed in those cities under their current coronavirus pandemic restrictions.
• PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that former Lucha Underground personality Dario Cueto will be going under the ring name of Cesar Duran in MLW.
• Salina de la Reinta recently confirmed on Twitter that her contract with MLW has expired.
• As noted before, EC3 recently underwent hospitalization due to him suffering from an infection. EC3 recently provided an update on his official blog about his current health status and detailed his battle with a severe infection in his arm and other body parts.
• Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Mexico City officials recently downgraded their COVID-19 status to yellow meaning that events in the city will now be allowed to have some fans in attendance.
• Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre announced that they will be holding an event with fans allowed in attendance on May 21st at the Aztec Mexico in Mexico City, Mexico. This will be the first time CMLL will be holding an event with fans since March of 2020.
• This past Thursday’s episode of Wipeout with co-host John Cena drew 688,000 viewers on TBS.
• Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Lucha Libre AAA officials had plans for Kenny Omega to defend his AAA Mega Championship against Andrade ever since Andrade’s release from WWE.
• Ring of Honor announced that The Foundation’s Tracy Williams & Rhett Titus will be defending their ROH World Tag Team Championship against The OGK (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) on the May 22nd episode of ROH TV.