Weekend Roundup: Sasha Banks & Naomi Update, Harland, Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi & NJPW Update, Will Ospreay Illness, Indies

WWE

• As noted before, Sasha Banks and Naomi were involved in a backstage incident prior to the start of this past Monday’s RAW show in Norfolk, Virginia. Banks and Naomi walked out of the show due to backstage creative issues resulting in WWE suspending and stripping them of their Women’s Tag Team Championship. Besides having their merchandise pulled as part of their punishment, PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that Banks and Naomi were also recently removed from WWE’s signature opening videos for their SmackDown and NXT Level Up series. In a separate report, Johnson reported that WWE also recently pulled down the official Facebook pages for both Banks and Naomi as well.
• During a recent interview with WrestleZone, former WWE creative writer and NXT coach Brian “Road Dogg” James gave his thoughts on WWE’s recent decision to change their talents ring names due to trademark-related issues. James stated “It’s just like when you think back, they changed Fergal McDevitt, or whatever his name was, to Finn Balor. [People were like] ‘Oh my god, the world is gonna end.’ Now it’s just like ‘Finn Balor, yay!’ Do you know what I mean? It hurts for a minute when they change something you were used to. So you go ‘Oh, that sucks,’ and in six months you forgot about that and you have a t-shirt with the new name on it. We as a fanbase, and I say we because I’m a huge wrestling fan, we want what we want and we want it right now.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• WWE reportedly generated an attendance of 6,485 (5,800 paid) for their May 13th SmackDown show in Wilkes-Barre, PA, 3,686 for their May 14th house show event in Florence, SC, 3,873 for their May 15th house show event in Roanoke, VA, and 7,734 (7,000 paid) for their May 16th RAW show in Norfolk, Virginia, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• WWE reportedly has sold around 30,000 tickets for the pre-sale of their Clash at the Castle event on September 3rd at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer reported that while the number of tickets sold for the pre-sale was a very high amount, it was well short of the instant sell-out WWE officials had been expecting due to the massive tickets registration waiting list of around 85,000 for the event. Meltzer reported that the main reason for the lack of an instant sellout was due to the very high price tag for tickets by WWE and tickets surcharge fee for the event. Meltzer also reported that many people who had signed up for the waiting list revealed online that they were not given their pre-sale code when it came time to purchase their tickets. Meltzer also reported that another key reason for WWE’s lack of an instant sellout for the event was due to the current bad economic situation in the United Kingdom, which is currently dealing with inflation at a 40 year high level.
• WWE also reportedly has sold around 10,895 tickets for their June 5th Hell in a Cell 2022 event at the Allstate Arena in Chicago, IL as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that WWE officials are currently planning for the main event of their upcoming Clash at the Castle event in Cardiff to be Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. Meltzer speculated that should Tyson Fury be available for the event, WWE likely would change the main event to a singles match between Fury and McIntyre instead.
• As noted before, the May 13th episode of Friday Night SmackDown drew 1,893,000 viewers and a 0.40 key demographic rating. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that SmackDown’s overall viewership was the lowest since their July 21, 2021 show and their key demographic rating was the second lowest ever in SmackDown history, only ahead of the April 29th show which drew a 0.38 rating.
• WWE’s WrestleMania Backlash 2022 event earlier this month featured a video ad promo by Cody Rhodes mentioning that the winner of this year’s Money in the Bank Ladder match will earn a title shot at next year’s WrestleMania 39 event. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that WWE officials still do not have any plans for the winner of this year’s Money in the Bank match to cash in their briefcase for a guaranteed title match at next year’s WrestleMania event. Those same sources stated that the source of the confusion was Vince McMahon, who had added in the line about the winner cashing in at WrestleMania for Rhodes’ promo during his final approval for the planned video ad. Meltzer reported that those spoken stated that it is still not known why McMahon decided to insert the line despite him having no plans to follow through with it.
• As noted before, NXT talent Harland (real name Parker Boudreaux) was released by WWE this past April as part of a larger batch of roster cuts to their NXT brand. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that prior to Harland’s release, Edge had pitched the idea for Harland to be a member of his new heel stable. Edge reportedly had planned for Harland’s debut in his group to be kept as a major secret with only a few people within the company being aware of his plans. Harland reportedly had not been informed of this potential plan for his main roster call-up. WWE officials reportedly had found something out about Harland which led to their decision to drop him from Edge’s plans and release him from the company instead. Another reason for his release reportedly was due to WWE officials feeling that his developmental progress was no longer improving and he had quickly developed the backstage reputation of someone who gets hurt too often.
• This past Friday’s episode of SmackDown featured WWE revealing that the group of Sheamus, Ridge Holland, and Butch will be known as “Brawling Brutes” going forward.
• PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that WWE recently hired Ignace Lahoud to a Director level position in the company based on a recent SEC filing. Prior to her hiring, Lahoud had worked for the Walt Disney Company and was the CEO of Majid Al Futtaim – Leisure, Entertainment and Services.

AEW & ROH

• This past Saturday’s Absolute Intense Wrestling’s Gauntlet for the Gold 15 event in Akron, Ohio featured AEW talent Britt Baker making a surprise appearance for the company. Baker was revealed to be the mystery tag team partner for Josh Bishop, Wes Barkley, & Dominic Garrini for their 8-Person Tag Team match against Philly Collins, Marino Tenglia, Matt Cardona, & Chelsea Green. This match was won by Baker’s team.
• During a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, Rick Starks gave his thoughts about his current goals for his career in AEW. Starks stated “I had this conversation with Cody. He asked me, ‘What are your goals?’ I’d always had broad goals, but Cody wanted me to focus on specific goals. My first goal is to become TNT champion, and I want to raise the level of the title. I want to represent as a biracial kid, showing people who look like me that they can reach their goals, too. I want to main event a pay-per-view, I want to be AEW champion. Similar to Britt Baker or MJF, I want to be that one at the top. That’s my ultimate goal.“
• AEW reportedly generated an attendance of 5,000 (4,800 paid) for their May 18th Dynamite show in Houston, TX, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• AEW reportedly has sold around 4,579 tickets for their May 25th Dynamite show in Las Vegas, 4,604 tickets for their May 27th Rampage show in Las Vegas, and 13,237 tickets for their May 29th Double or Nothing 2022 event in Las Vegas, NV as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• This past Thursday’s Wrestling Open event for Beyond Wrestling in Worcester, Massachusetts featured AEW talent Max Caster defeating indie talent BRG in a $10,000 Challenge match. This event was notable for ending earlier than scheduled due to a fire scare incident involving a burnt air conditioning belt in the venue. Following the show’s abandonment, Beyond Wrestling issued an official statement on Twitter stating that everyone was able to evacuate the building safely.
• During a recent interview with Fightful, Jonathan Gresham gave his thoughts about his current belief that Ring of Honor “can one again change the mold of wrestling” under AEW CEO Tony Khan’s ownership. Gresham stated “Maybe I’m jaded in a certain way. I think everyone during their time growing up says this, ‘Wrestling isn’t the same as when I was growing up.’ I really feel the way that the Ring of Honor Championship, the company, the combatants in the ring we viewed was a lot different when I was coming up in 2005 to about 2007/08/09. I just want that aura of the Championship to be there again. I feel the only way to do that is to go out there and wrestle people who view wrestling the way that I do. That’s individuals that uphold honor at all costs. I believe they have to believe in the Code of Honor. This isn’t just a gimmick. These are people that have to really believe that the Ring of Honor brand is the way that professional wrestling is supposed to be presented. I really feel that way. I feel like I’m not just ‘Ring of Honor’s the only way professional wrestling should be,’ but I feel like it is the standard. If you look at every top performer in every company, in the United States at least, they’ve had some kind of presence in Ring of Honor. When you talk about Samoa Joe, when you talk about the Briscoes, when you talk about Seth Rollins, the NXT brand for the longest time was top Ring of Honor guys. I believe there’s a reason for that. The essence of what Ring of Honor was, a lot of people tried to use it, and then they couldn’t. But the guys who somehow came to Ring of Honor, made it to Ring of Honor, made it to the top of the card, they carry on a piece of Ring of Honor and the essence of it in all of what they do and take it to other companies. They transformed the WWE style into what Ring of Honor once was. The company has just influenced the entire platform, the entire wrestling industry for the last fifteen / twenty years. I just want to be a part of something like that again. The way I view wrestling and a lot of guys coming up now, they view wrestling differently. Like Danielson did and like Joe did, and I think we can do that again, we can change the mold again with the new Ring of Honor.”
• During a recent interview with Gaw TV, Frankie Kazarian gave his thoughts about what he feels sets AEW apart from the other companies he has worked for throughout his career. Kazarian stated “One of the main things I think that sets AEW apart from any company I’ve been a part of is the fact that the Khan’s and the management team come from the NFL, and they’re dealing with high dollar athletes. So we are treated very much like athletes. We are not just cogs in the wheel. They realized that the athletes are the lifeblood. So the way they take care of us medically, the way they take care of us in terms of travel, the way they take care of us in terms of checking in our mental health is. All these things that are kind of foreign to me as a guy that came up on the indies. You’ve all been there, where we had to fight and scratch and claw to even get an ice pack after a match or something. Those are all things that AEW has done very well and things that I think are going to help continue to help AEW set themselves apart from everything else going on right now.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• A recent episode of the Wrestling with Freddie podcast had Jeff Hardy as the guest. One of the topics discussed included Hardy’s thoughts on being interested in having a face-off moment with CM Punk in AEW in the future. Hardy stated “[Winning the World Championship] was like a little boy’s dream come true, man. God, and then to do it over and over again. One of my favorite things, as far as being the World Champion, was working with CM Punk. It’s so crazy that we’re in the same company now and there’s a huge moment between me and Punk. It’s going to come, I’m sure.I think there’s a huge moment, just in the hallway, like me and Matt beat The Young Bucks or whatever at whatever pay-per-view is coming up, or whatever happens, but then we run into him, and me and punk just have a face-off.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• During a recent interview with NBC’s Ten Count podcast, Evil Uno gave his thoughts about his current career goals in AEW. Uno stated “I wanna win a championship. When I made that goal, I thought the [AEW] Tag Team Championships were the most likely because myself and Stu Grayson had been teaming for 15 years at that time. But now I don’t know, now I don’t know and there’s a big part of me that would really love to be TNT Champion, because that championship holds a very special meaning for Dark Order. It was Mr. Brodie Lee’s championship and it would also be proof that the work that I’ve put in over the last 20 years would be worth it. It’s a goal that I want for this year but it’s also a goal I want for — not ‘cap off’ because I’m not stopping but, it would definitely add a feather to my cap for the 20 years that I’ve been doing it.” (Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com)
• In a separate recent interview with NBC Sports Boston, Evil Uno gave his thoughts about Stu Grayson’s recent departure from AEW and if he has stayed in contact with Grayson since his departure. Uno stated “It’s a little weird. I won’t lie and say that…he’s my friend, so I have an understanding of what he’s going through. It’s not like it took me by surprise. It was a mutual decision. He wanted something out of his contract and they did not have that for him. He wasn’t going to continue if it wasn’t for that. He was fine walking away and wasn’t upset in any way. I still see him. We run a wrestling school back in Canada and still see each other once or twice a week. We’re still great friends. It is very weird because I navigated most of my wrestling career with him by my side and now I’m kind of doing it on my own again. There was a short period of time were I did it in the 2010s, where we weren’t a team anymore, so it’s going back to that, but now it’s on national television, which is a lot harder. It’s a lot easier to have an anchor point and someone who you know how to work with, who understands your rhythm in wrestling and your personality, who you are as a person, to help you navigate backstage. I’m pretty confident I’ll do okay and I’m sure Stu, wherever he does land, will do fantastic as well. he’s, truthfully, one of the best wrestlers in the world, and people are unaware of it.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• As noted before, Kenny Omega has been out of action for AEW since this past November due to him having surgery and rehabbing from multiple injuries. PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that his sources stated that Omega returned to the company a few weeks ago and resumed his backstage work for the company. Johnson reported that Omega has helped produce some of AEW’s Women’s division matches since his return. In regards to a potential in-ring return, Johnson reported that AEW officials currently do not have any timetable set for his return to in-ring action from injury.

Indies & Misc. Wrestling

• As noted before, Ric Flair announced last week that he will be wrestling for the last time in his career at an event called “Ric Flair’s Last Match” on July 31st in Nashville, Tennessee. TMZ held a recent interview with Flair and one of the topics discussed included Flair revealing that 39 out of 40 doctors he recently spoken to had advised against him wrestling again due to his past health and heart-related issues. Flair stated “I don’t have any aches or pains. I know I’ve had the health issues, but I asked 40 different doctors, and I decided I’m only gonna listen to one. Not necessarily the one that was gonna give me the right answer, but that I felt the most comfortable with.“
• Wrestling merchandise retailer Pro Wrestling Tees recently announced that they have partnered with Kyoko Kimura for the sale of a limited edition Hana Kimura Micro Brawler figurine to honor the late Kimura and raise money for the Remember Hana suicide prevention organization. It was announced that pre-orders for this figurine will go on sale starting on May 23rd and ends on May 30th.
• Game Changer Wrestling recently announced that Matt Cardona will be making an appearance for the company at their C.O.S. event on June 5th in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
• Revolution Pro Wrestling announced that they had pulled Will Ospreay off of the card of their Epic Encounter 2022 event earlier today in London, England due to Ospreay recently suffering a kidney infection.
• New Japan Pro Wrestling reportedly generated an attendance of 2,900 (2,641 paid) for their May 14th Capital Collision event in Washington DC, around 1,000 for their May 15th NJPW Strong Collision 2022 event in Philadelphia, PA, 1,541 for their May 15th Best of the Super Juniors 2022 event in Aichi, 629 for their May 17th Best of the Super Juniors 2022 event in Yamagata, 936 for their May 18th Best of the Super Juniors 2022 event in Miyagi, and 857 for their May 19th Best of the Super Juniors 2022 event in Aomori, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• As noted before, New Japan Pro Wrestling talent Kota Ibushi recently accused NJPW’s management of “power harassment” against him within the past year. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that there has been no new major updates regarding Ibushi’s situation within the company. Those same sources also stated that there is a current belief within NJPW that Ibushi’s recent accusations of the company being involved with the Yakuza has hurt the stock value of NJPW’s parent company Bushiroad. NJPW officials reportedly now feel that Ibushi’s dispute has grown to become a serious issue within their own company and Bushiroad as a result. In regards to Ibushi, Meltzer reported that Ibushi has told others that he is not interested in returning to DDT Pro Wrestling should he be fired from NJPW. In regards to backstage reactions, Meltzer reported that the current feeling is that NJPW’s locker room cares a lot about the well-being of each other, as well as NJPW’s doctors and some in management like Gedo towards NJPW’s talent but others in NJPW’s management do not care and treats NJPW’s talent as “pieces of meat.”
• During a recent interview with the WRESTHINGS podcast, Will Ospreay stated that he currently has no aspirations of wanting to work for WWE in the future. Ospreay stated “I have no aspirations of going to WWE, at all. It’s not because of the product or anything, I’m not a fan of it, I will happily say, but my lifestyle, I never wanted to be the big star pro wrestler. Japan allows me to do a tour and come home and live my family life. If anybody has ever spent more than a couple of days with me, family to me is everything. I love my mom, I love my dad, no shame in saying it. Love my nan and granddad and will bend over backward and fold myself in half for those guys. If you are part of that friend circle that I consider family, I’ll do the exact same thing. It’s important for me to have those breaks away from wrestling to be able to live that life because one day I wish to be like my dad or granddad or even my mom because they are the people that made me. I want to do that one day. New Japan, for me, is the enhancement and the focus is professional wrestling. I’m not doing storylines where I have this guy slept with my girlfriend or whatever or we have a wedding angle or kidnapped by ninjas. I know, from the outside, I’m a guy that does a lot of flips and whatever, but I’m a wrestler and I like professional wrestling. I don’t mind the odd love triangle angle, but there is nothing better than when the bell rings and there are two guys wrestling and telling wonderful effing stories. The moment the bell rings, you have one of two feelings; that was amazing, can’t wait for the next match. Throughout my time in New Japan, I love the company, inside and outside, that place has done incredible things for me emotionally, mentally, and physically. It’s broken down my body because the matches are extremely difficult, but the boys have looked after me. For that, I have nothing but love for that company.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• Fightful Select reported that their sources stated that there currently is a “logjam” of wrestlers in the United States who are interested in working for New Japan Pro Wrestling within the near future due Japan loosening up their restrictions for travel into the country. It was reported that several of those interested include AEW talents who have never worked for NJPW before. It was also reported that NJPW officials had informed wrestlers that wanted to work for the company to “hang tight” during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the company being unable to bring them over due to Japan’s travel restrictions until very recently.
• During a recent interview with Tokyo Sports, Bushiroad President Takaaki Kidani gave his thoughts on when fans might be able to resume verbal cheering at NJPW events following the loosening of COVID restrictions in Japan. Kidani stated “I don’t know whether we will open up the entire venue or just an area [for verbal crowd noise], but if it is possible, I think New Japan could do it at the upcoming Nippon Budokan show (June 3). If it is possible, I would consider introducing it as soon as possible.” (English translation via PostWrestling.com)
• Wrestling Revolver recently announced a new match for the card of their Cage of Horrors event on July 9th in Clive, Iowa. This will be a tag team match of The Swtichblades (Jon Moxley & Sami Callihan) vs. The Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards)
• Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that MLW owner Court Bauer held a meeting with MLW talent this past week discussing the company’s attempts at trying to get a new television deal and WWE’s interference causing a nearly year long setback for them. Meltzer also reported that MLW officials are currently planning for Alex Hammerstone to defend his MLW World Heavyweight Championship in Europe for upcoming events for One Pro Wrestling and other United Kingdom-based indies promotions. MLW officials also reportedly currently have similar plans for Taya Valkyrie and her MLW Featherweight Championship.
• Lucha Libre AAA head booker Konnan reportedly is currently interested in the idea of bringing RUSH into the company but only if it does not include his wife, his father Le Bestia del Ring, and Vangellys due to him not being fond of the trio, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• During a recent interview with Fightful Select, Jonathan Gresham revealed that his contract with Impact Wrestling recently expired. Gresham also stated that while he is currently winding down his work in the indies to prepare for Ring of Honor’s upcoming resumption of regular operations, he is open to the idea of working again for Impact in the future.
• Pro Wrestling NOAH announced that Keiji Mutoh will be making an appearance at their upcoming co-promoted CyberFight Festival 2022 event on June 12th in Saitama, Japan. It was also announced that Mutoh will be making a special important announcement at this event.
• Pro Wrestling NOAH talent NOSAWA Rongai announced that he recently signed a new contract with the company.
• Terminus announced that their next Modern Age Grappling event, called Modern Age Grappling 2, will be taking place on June 30th in Hampton, Georgia. It was also announced that a singles match of Brian Johnson vs. Colt Cabana will be taking place at this upcoming event.