Weekend Roundup: John Cena, WWE & AEW Ratings, Dralistico, Stardom, Minoru Suzuki, Madds Krugger MLW Release, Indies

Indie / Misc

Steve C.

Jan 1, 2023

WWE

This past Friday’s WWE Friday Night SmackDown drew a preliminary viewership of 2,440,000 viewers on FOX, according to Wrestlenomics.
As noted before, Dragon Lee announced this past week that he recently signed an official contract with WWE. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that many young wrestlers in Mexico are currently looking at the recent signings of Lee by WWE and Bandido by AEW as potential indicators of what would be the best for their careers in the United States.
This past Friday’s WWE SmackDown show in Tampa, Florida featured the main event tag team match between Kevin Owens & John Cena and The Bloodline’s Roman Reigns & Sami Zayn, which was won by Owens & Cena. Following the show, Cena reflected on Twitter about his return and recent match in WWE. Cena stated “Thank you @WWEUniverse for investing your time and energy with me. I never overlook how lucky I am to have 2 decades of moments filled with your voice and passion. To everyone behind the scenes, in the ring, live and around the world @WWE #ThankYou. #Smackdown“
Fightful’s Jeremy Lambert reported that John Cena’s tag team win at this past Friday’s SmackDown show was Cena’s first victory on WWE television since the January 7, 2019 episode of WWE RAW.
WWE reportedly generated an attendance of 10,409 (8,900 paid) for their Dec. 26th house show event at Madison Square Garden in New York City, NY, 6,459 for their Dec. 26th house show event in Columbus, OH, 7,821 for their Dec. 27th house show event in Atlanta, GA, 7,069 for their Dec. 28th house show event in Greensboro, NC, and 5,636 for their Dec. 28th house show event in Cleveland, OH, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
WWE reportedly has sold around 7,937 for their Jan. 2nd RAW show in Nashville, TN, 5,739 tickets for their Jan. 6th SmackDown show in Memphis, TN, 1,970 tickets for their Jan. 7th house show event in Jackson, MS, 2,436 tickets for their Jan. 8th house show event in Huntsville, AL, 5,753 tickets for their Jan. 9th RAW show in Birmingham, AL, 4,651 tickets for their Jan. 13th SmackDown show in Green Bay, WI, 2,701 tickets for their Jan. 14th house show event in Roanoke, VA, 1,829 tickets for their Jan. 15th house show event in Corbin, KY, 5,495 tickets for their Jan. 16th RAW show in Cincinnati, OH, 6,842 tickets for their Jan. 20th SmackDown show in Detroit, MI, 2,125 tickets for their Jan. 21st house show event in Erie, PA, 3,436 tickets for their Jan. 22nd house show event in Binghamton, NY, 12,685 for their Jan. 23rd RAW 30th Anniversary show in Philadelphia, PA, 3,463 tickets for their Jan. 27th SmackDown show in Laredo, TX, 33,766 tickets for their Jan. 28th Royal Rumble 2023 event in San Antonio, TX, 4,451 tickets for their Jan. 30th RAW show in Tulsa, OK, 3,702 tickets for their Feb. 3rd SmackDown show in Greenville, SC, 2,953 for their NXT Vengeance Day 2023 event in Charlotte, NC, -2,448 tickets for their Feb. 4th house show event in Columbus, GA, 1,649 tickets for their Feb. 5th house show event in Pensacola, FL, 5,323 tickets for their Feb. 6th RAW show in Orlando, FL, 3,558 tickets for their Feb. 10th SmackDown show in Uncasville, CT, 6,398 tickets for their Feb. 13th RAW show in Brooklyn, NY, 12,376 for their Feb/ 17th SmackDown show in Montreal, 12,654 tickets for their Feb. 18th Elimination Chamber 2023 event in Montreal, Canada, 5,053 for their Feb. 20th RAW show in Ottawa, Canada, 3,859 tickets for their Feb. 24th SmackDown show in Evansville, IN, 1,984 tickets for their Feb. 26th house show event in Rockford, IL, 4,252 tickets for their Feb. 27th RAW show in Grand Rapids, MI, 2,962 tickets for their March 3rd SmackDown show in Washington, DC, 2,009 tickets for their March 4th house show event in Syracuse, NY, 3,159 tickets for their March 5th house show event in Trenton, NJ, 3,691 tickets for their March 6th RAW show in Boston, MA, 3,626 tickets for their March 10th SmackDown show in Pittsburgh, PA, 2,293 tickets for their March 11th house show event in Youngstown, OH, and 5,325 tickets for their March 27th RAW show in Phoenix, AZ as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
WWE RAW reportedly averaged 1,758,000 overall viewers and a 0.47 key demographic rating per show for 2022, according to Wrestlenomics. Brandon Thurston reported that RAW’s overall viewership average for 2022 was up compared to their average of 1,756,000 overall viewers per show for 2021 but their key demographic rating was down compared to their average of a 0.50 rating per show for 2021. In regards to USA Network, Thurston reported that it saw a decline of around 6% in home coverage compared to 2021 and is currently in 74, 636,000 homes. The television industry average reportedly was down 4.7% for the year compared to 2021.
As noted before, the December 26th WWE RAW “The Absolute Best of 2022” show drew 1,075,000 viewers and a 0.27 key demographic rating. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that RAW’s show managed to set new all-time records for lowest ever overall viewership, key demographic rating, first hour viewership, second hour viewership, and third hour viewership for a RAW show in RAW series history. Meltzer reported that RAW’s 18-34 key demographic rating of 0.21 was one of the lowest ever for a RAW show in RAW series history.
Shinsuke Nakamura revealed on Twitter that he recently reunited with violinist Lee England Jr., who is notable in wrestling history for being the performer of Nakamura’s live entrance at WWE’s NXT Takeover: Brooklyn II event in August of 2016.
During this past Friday’s WWE SmackDown show in Tampa, Florida, WWE announced a new match for the card of their Royal Rumble 2023 on January 28th in San Antonio, Texas. This is a Pitched Black match of LA Knight vs. Bray Wyatt.
Deadline.com reported that WWE’s stocks were the biggest winner of Wall Street’s stock trading for 2022. It was reported that WWE’s stocks ended the year with a 38% gain compared to 2021. It was also reported that WWE’s stocks more than doubled the gains of the runner-up Nextstar, which saw a gain of 18% for the year. It was also reported that this past year was the worst year for stock trading in terms of overall decline since 2008 with media and tech sectors taking the brunt of the declines for the year.
As noted before, Tommaso Ciampa has been out of action for WWE since this past October due to his surgery to repair a hip injury. Fightful Select reported that their sources stated that Ciampa had been dealing with the hip injury for almost a year prior to his surgery. It was also reported that WWE officials currently do not have a timetable for Ciampa’s potential return from injury.
A recent episode of WWE The Bump show featured the show’s hosts revealing their official list of their Top 10 WWE matches for 2022. Taking the top spot was the Hell in a Cell match between Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins at this past June’s Hell in a Cell 2022 event.
WWE filed trademarks for “All Heart All In”, “Inspire the Impossible”, “From Dreams to Destiny”, “Desire. Determination. Destiny.”, and “Where the Stars Align” for wrestling, cryptocurrency, and merchandise-related purposes on December 23rd to the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
During a recent episode of the Oh You Didn’t Know podcast, co-host Brian “Road Dogg” James gave his thoughts on why he considers The Bloodline to be the best thing currently in wrestling and why those who don’t feel the same are nothing more than just haters. James stated “It’s the greatest in a distant history, that’s for sure. It’s the hottest thing in sports entertainment, in professional wrestling. The Bloodline storyline, as a whole, and the intricacies in the relationship and the characters, it’s the best thing in wrestling right now. There’s not even a close second. That’s just how it is. I don’t say that because they hired me back. I say that because it’s a fact. If you disagree with it, it’s because you’re a hater and you’re not looking at the big picture, you’re playing small ball. Roman Reigns and his reign have been epic and history making for the WWE as an entertainment conglomerate. It’s good for business. It’s best for business. We ain’t even close to over.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
Montez Ford recently announced on Instagram that he will be releasing a new music album this March. Ford also announced that the title of this upcoming album is SYAD.

AEW & ROH

AEW Dynamite reportedly averaged 960,000 overall viewers and a 0.34 key demographic rating per show for 2022, according to Wrestlenomics. Brandon Thurston reported that AEW’s overall viewership for 2022 was up compared to their average of 942,000 overall viewers per show in 2021 but their key demographic rating was down compared to their average of a 0.35 rating per show for 2021. In regards to TBS, Thurston reported that it saw a decline of around 8% in home coverage compared to 2021 and is currently in 73,739,000 homes. The television industry average reportedly was down 4.7% for this past year compared to 2021.
As noted before, WWE recently signed Dragon Lee to an official contract with the company. In regards to Lee’s real life brother and tag team partner Dralistico, TheCubsFan reported that his sources stated that WWE was only interested in Lee and did not give a tryout offer to Dralistico. It was reported that following his departure from CMLL, Dralistico wanted to go in a new direction for his career focusing on working as a tag team wrestler with his brother. It was also reported that this was the reason why Dralistico had informed Lucha Libre AAA officials to drop him from their recent singles tournament. In regards to AEW, it was reported that RUSH was the person who convinced AEW to give Dralistico a tryout and have him work at their shows as Lee’s replacement. It was also reported that Dralistico is currently believed to have recently signed an official contract with AEW.
Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that the reason why Jim Ross was absent from this past Friday’s AEW Rampage show was due to AEW CEO Tony Khan gave him the week off. Khan reportedly gave Ross the week off so that he could attend this past Thursday’s Cheez-It Bowl 2022 game in Orlando between Florida State and his alma mater University of Oklahoma.
Several high-level Warner Bros Discovery officials are currently expected to be in attendance at AEW’s upcoming Dynamite show on January 11th in Los Angeles, California, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer reported that many key WBD officials currently live in the area and this was one of the reasons why AEW CEO Tony Khan wanted to loaded up their upcoming show in order to impress WBD officials.
As noted before, AEW recently signed a new international streaming deal with DAZN to air their weekly shows mostly in European markets that currently do not have a TV deal with the company. In regards to Brazil, Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that AEW is currently in talks with a different television service provider for a new deal in the country following their recent departure from Space TV.
AEW reportedly generated an attendance of 4,200 (4,000 paid) for their Dec. 28th AEW Dynamite New Year’s Smash 2022 show in Broomfield, CO, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
AEW reportedly has sold around 8,097 tickets for their Jan. 4th Dynamite show in Seattle, WA, 4,398 tickets for their Jan. 6th Rampage show in Portland, OR, 6,862 tickets for their Jan. 11th Dynamite show in Los Angeles, CA, 4,137 tickets for their Jan. 18th Dynamite show in Fresno, CA, 3,905 tickets for their Jan. 25th Dynamite show in Lexington, KY, 1,243 tickets for their Feb. 1st Dynamite show in Dayton, OH, 2,644 tickets for their Feb. 8th Dynamite show in El Paso, TX, 1,459 tickets for their Feb. 15th Dynamite show in Laredo, TX, 5,185 tickets for their Feb. 22nd Dynamite show in Phoenix, AZ, 2,593 tickets for their March 1st Dynamite show in San Francisco, and 5867 tickets for their March 5th Revolution 2023 event in San Francisco, CA, 2,660 tickets for their March 8th Dynamite show in Sacramento, CA, 5,994 tickets for their March 14th Dynamite show in Winnipeg, Canada, 1,291 tickets for their March 22nd Dynamite show in Independce, MO, and 3,073 tickets for their April 5th Dynamite show in Long Island, NY as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that while ticket sales for recent AEW Dynamite and Rampage shows have been lower than what AEW had been averaging earlier in the year, AEW officials are currently hopeful that the recent streak of having very hot crowds for their shows on television could translate to higher ticket sales for future shows. The idea being that those watching at home would be more interested in wanting to attend an AEW show in order to be part of a very lively and entertained crowd.
During a recent interview with Fightful’s Grapsody podcast, AEW CEO Tony Khan gave his thoughts on AEW and New Japan Pro Wrestling’s co-promoted Forbidden Door event this past June. Khan stated “The show was so awesome, I wouldn’t change a thing. It was so great, I do wish we would have been able to do some of the stuff we hadn’t done, but the show ended up perfect and what a great event for AEW. It’s the most successful debut of any AEW franchise in every conceivable way.” Khan also gave his thoughts on dealing with all of the challenges from AEW’s end prior to the event. Khan stated “All the changes going into Forbidden Door, it was challenging, but keeping cool and really making sure we had a great card and working with New Japan, I don’t think they’ve had the same experience in terms of producing American pay-per-views, and what you have to do in terms of getting people on the show. I made no secret that there was a point of, ‘We need to get the guys over here and get them on TV and start building the matches.’ It’s challenging because I can’t imagine how hard it would be for me to build a pay-per-view in another country while I’m trying to run my promotion here. For them, it was really hard, but they were great about it. When we got Tanahashi and Will Ospreay over, they did great things for us on the show and great numbers. That shows the kind of star power they have, and I think their top stars really are needle movers, and they’ve been great for us.” Khan also gave his thoughts on how CM Punk’s foot injury at the time affected both his plans for Punk at the event and future plans with FTR. Khan stated “That was a challenge coming out of it, realizing CM Punk had broken his foot because we had plans for CM Punk and FTR as a trio and plans going into Forbidden Door, there was a lot of stuff there. A lot of the build around Tanahashi and build around FTR with United Empire and Aussie Open and the involvement of Will Ospreay and how that led to Orange Cassidy and Best Friends. The whole map was drawn out differently and it was really cool, it just didn’t happen the way I thought it could’ve if people hadn’t gotten hurt. There’s nothing you can do about that.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
During this past Friday’s AEW Rampage show, AEW officially announced a new match for their Battle of the Belts V event on January 6th in Portland, Oregon. This is an AEW All-Atlantic Championship match of Kip Sabian vs. Orange Cassidy (c).
This past Friday’s AEW Rampage show also featured a backstage interview segment with Preston “10” Vance. During the segment, Vance stated that he will be now known under the new ring name of Perro Peligroso going forward.
During a recent episode of the ARN podcast, co-host Arn Anderson gave his thoughts on who he would included for a new version of legendary wrestling group The Four Horsemen. Anderson stated “Well, obviously at some point and some time, I would sure love to see one more successful run by the Four Horsemen renamed. I do own the trademark, which you know, was not easy to acquire and pretty expensive. But our buddy Mike Dawkins made that possible, so not only do Brock and I own our names, we own the Horsemen deal. Brian [Pillman Jr] has a lot of potential. I’m still trying to figure Brian out. That was talked about after the successful outing they had at Starrcast, they had a good match. I think that there’s a possibility that something like that could happen. I think Tessa Blanchard, from what I’ve seen in the past, has a lot of talent. That’s for sure. [She] has a great look, not sure what’s going on with her inner business these days or what her goals are. I don’t know Tessa like that, it’s been a casual crossing of paths maybe three or four times. It’s something to think about definitely.” Anderson also gave his thoughts on the huge pressure that this potential group would face in order to live up to the legacy of the Four Horsemen name. Anderson stated “To put that moniker on some of the versions, I’m not gonna say all of them because let’s just face it, there were a few versions [of the group] that weren’t so good. There were some that flopped, some that failed, but some live in infamy and they’re still talking about them today. That’s a lot of pressure to put on them kids, if they understand what it means. I know Brock would. I think Tessa would, just from what I’ve heard as far as her business sense. I don’t know about Brian, I don’t know Brian that well. I’m trying to get to know him. That’s a lot of pressure to call yourself a Four Horsemen in a new group. When I’m gone, Brock will inherit that trademark and be able to do with it. I know he’ll do with it what I would like, but more so make it their own and make it better. The keyword would be better.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
The recent debut episode of the FTR with Dax Harwood podcast featured co-host Harwood revealing that he was not fond of Colt Cabana when FTR arrived in AEW due to Cabana had made fun of his accent. Harwood stated “I don’t know Colt very well. The very first day we were in the company, I could be wrong, I felt Colt didn’t like us. There are some people who didn’t like us. I remember that he made fun of my accent the very first day, and I wasn’t very happy with that. I take offense to that, and maybe I shouldn’t, but if people knew my backstory and how hard I worked to get the education that I got — I was in college, my mom and dad both lost their jobs within a month of each other, I had nobody to help me with rent or books or food or anything. I had to work three jobs, plus wrestling on the weekends, just so I could pay for college, and I paid for my own college. I got a degree at UNCW [University of North Carolina Wilmington], a bachelor’s in English and a bachelor’s in business communication. It was all through my efforts. If people saw the sleepless nights that I had, the nights that I cried because I was worried that I wouldn’t get this or the nights that I had negative dollars in my bank account because I was paying for books and putting things on credit cards, I think maybe they could understand it then, but for him to make fun of my accent, because the connotation is, if you’re a southerner, you’re stupid, that bothers me. Maybe I shouldn’t let it bother me. That was the very first run in I had with Colt. Other than that, I never really had a conversation with him, never talked to him, nothing like that.” Harwood also stated that he never head any talks backstage over the rumors that CM Punk was the reason why Cabana stopped appearing on AEW shows shortly after Punk’s AEW debut. Harwood stated “Absolutely not. No one said anything to me. I heard nothing. When he first got there, no one said anything. To be honest, I really had no idea there was any kind of problem between the two. I knew there were issues with the lawsuit with the doctor, but I had no idea the extent of the problems they may have had, and I never cared to ask because it’s none of my business. That kind of stuff, I don’t worry about. No one ever said anything to me, and I say no one, Punk included, Colt included. They never mentioned any kind of ill feelings towards one another.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
Ring of Honor’s Final Battle 2022 this past December featured a Double Dog Collar match for the ROH World Tag Team Championship between The Briscoes and champions FTR, which was won by The Briscoes. Fightful Select reported that their sources stated that FTR’s Dax Harwood has been working through an injury he had suffered during his match at the event.

Indies & Misc. Wrestling

Magnum Pro Wrestling owner and indie wrestler Jayson Strife, real name Nathan Blogett, passed away this past Friday at the age of 37. Blogett’s passing was first announced by his brother Jason on Facebook. Prior to his passing Blogett has been battling cancer for the past several months. Blogett’s career in wrestling spanned from 2003 to 2022 and worked primarily in the indies in the U.S. Midwest region. During his career, Blogett made several televised appearances for WWE and AEW working in an enhancement talent type role. Besides his work as an active in-ring wrestler, Blogett also worked as the booker of Magnum Pro Wrestling, which he launched in 2010.
Stardom reportedly generated a paid attendance of 1,140 for their Dec. 24th Dream Queendom 2022 event in Tokyo, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Stardom reportedly is currently working on big plans and have also been in talks with multiple promotions and free agent talents regarding their upcoming event on April 23, 2023 in Yokohama, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer reported that Stardom currently has plans for this upcoming event to be their biggest ever event in company history. Meltzer reported that this is the event that Sasha Banks has committed to working for the company. Stardom booker Rossy Ogawa reportedly recently made a deal with Meiko Satomura for Sendai talent to work in Stardom as part of these plans.
During a recent interview with Tokyo Sports, Giulia gave her thoughts about her current goal to help improve and grow Stardom into a bigger company. Giulia stated “STARDOM has a lot of big matches. Watching from the ring, I see a lot of empty seats. In terms of numbers, it might be a good number, like over a thousand people. But I don’t think that level is good enough for a big venue. What do we have to do to achieve that? I think there are many things to think about and to do. I don’t think it is good enough to just work hard and show good performances in my own matches. I would like to speak out to the company as well. When I won the 5 STAR [Grand Prix], I said, ‘I want to show you guys the best view.’ Because I want a lot of customers to see it. For that reason, I have to say things that are difficult to say. I intend to do that even if the customers don’t see it. If we are content with the environment we have now and continue to eat away at it, I think we will reach our limits in the not-too-distant future. If we really want to move up from here, I think there are things we need to reform.” (English translation via PostWrestling.com)
Dragon Gate reportedly generated a paid attendance of 2,589 for their Dec. 25th The Final Gate 2022 event in Fukuoka, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
As noted before, Lucha Libre AAA announced this past October that they has signed a deal with Marvel for the production of a new series featuring AAA talents that would debut on December 21st on Disney+. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the status of this new television series is currently not known following it missing its scheduled debut date. Meltzer also reported that there has been no talks regarding this series since AAA’s announcement.
All Japan Pro Wrestling reportedly generated a paid attendance of 1,296 for their Dec. 25th XMas Maniax 2022 event in Tokyo, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
New Japan Pro Wrestling and freelancer talent Minoru Suzuki reportedly will be working in AJPW for the company’s tour of events this month, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer speculated that this might have been the reason why Suzuki decided to disband his Suzuki-Gun stable since Suzuki appears to be working as a regular for AJPW going forward. In regards to NJPW, Meltzer reported that it is currently not known what the exact reason is that caused Suzuki’s working relationship with NJPW to sour beyond NJPW officials had been phasing him out of their shows and having him be the job guy for his and Lance Archer’s team during their recent World Tag League 2022 tournament.
During a recent interview with SPICE, Great-O-Khan gave his thoughts on how NJPW could improve the production of their shows in regards to the presentation of their Young Lions talent. Khan stated “I want the matches to be left to us. But other than that, I think New Japan Pro-Wrestling is completely lacking in other areas. They play music for the entrance, there are images around the venue, and if it is a big venue, they can put out flames or fog, but I don’t think they are adapting to the people (athletes) in this way. The entrance also differs from person to person. On the other hand, there are Young Lions who run, but sometimes the direction doesn’t match at all. So I think we can raise the satisfaction level of the audience just by being aware of this point, but I don’t know if they don’t or can’t do it, but they don’t do it! If they work on that, I feel that New Japan Pro-Wrestling can go to a higher stage again.” Khan also stated that he is currently working on plans for him to get potential new entrance music in the future with musician Koji Saito helping him produce it. Khan stated “Also, I am now thinking of new entrance music, and I thought it would be interesting to have Koji Saito help me with it.” (English translation via PostWrestling.com)
As noted before, Sasha Banks, real name Mercedes Varnado, is currently expected to make an appearance at NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 17 event this Wednesday. In a recent interview with Yahoo Sports, Bushiroad CEO Takaaki Kidani gave his thoughts on the recent reports and rumors of Banks making an appearance for NJPW’s event this week. Kidani stated “There is a possibility that she will come to the Dome.” Throughout the interview, Kidani avoided making any specific mentions of Banks’ name when asked questions related to her rumored upcoming involvement in NJPW and Stardom. (English translation via Fightful.com)
Sasha Banks filed a trademark for “Mone’ Banks” for wrestling and merchandise-related purposes on January 27th to the USPTO.
Ganryujima reportedly generated an attendance of around 2,000 for their Dec. 28th INOKI BOM-BA-YE x Ganryujima event in Tokyo, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Pro Wrestling NOAH reportedly generated a paid attendance of 320 for their N Innovation event in Tokyo, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Sunday’s The New Year 2023 for NOAH in Tokyo, Japan featured former AJPW Jake Lee making his official return to the company. Following Jack Morris victory over Timothy Thatcher in a singles match at the event, Lee made a surprise appearance confronting Morris and teasing a potential future match between the two.
NOAH’s The New Year 2023 event also featured WWE’s Shinsuke Nakamura defeating The Great Muta in the main event of the show. This was billed as Keiji Mutoh’s final match portraying his Great Muta’s character in NOAH.
Game Changer Wrestling recently announced a new match for the card of their February 18th Middle of the Night event in Los Angeles, California. This will be a singles match of Lio Rush vs. Komander.
During a recent interview with the Retro Chat podcast, Taya Valkyrie gave her thoughts on her belief that women’s tag team wrestling needs more attention and focus in the indies in order for it to reach higher levels. Valkyrie stated “I’m just thrilled that IMPACT is building a strong female, women’s Knockouts tag team division. I feel there needs to be more attention to that on the Indies. I definitely don’t see really established tag teams or as much tag teams as the guys. If we allow those women opportunities, if we allow more women’s tag team matches to happen, I feel that will continue to grow. You look at established women like The Hex (Allysin Kay & Marti Belle), some of the tag teams in the NWA that have been doing work there and stuff like that. We need to keep pushing, it’s obviously working, people are invested, and I’m excited to be representing women’s Knockouts tag team gold.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
Pandemonium Pro Wrestling recently announced a new match for the card of their Best Dam Thing event on March 29th in Burbank, California. This is a .TV Championship match of Masha Slamovich vs. Johnny Hollywood (also known as John Morrison/Hennigan) (c).
In a recent interview with Metro, National Wrestling Alliance owner Billy Corgan gave his thoughts about juggling his duties running the NWA and performing with his Smashing Pumpkins band. Corgan stated “I’m literally snatching 30 minutes here, 45 minutes here It’s very difficult. I really wish, in a perfect world, that I had nothing to do but focus on the NWA because it means a lot to me, and I know it means a lot to a lot of people. My life is just not in that particular situation.”
Nick Aldis’ contract with the NWA reportedly officially expired today and he is currently a free agent, according to PWInsider.
Major League Wrestling talent Madds Krugger reportedly was recently released by the company, according to PWInsider. Mike Johnson reported that his sources stated that terms for Krugger’s release had been negotiated several months ago but had only went into effect today. Johnson reported that the exact reason for Krugger’s release is currently not known. Prior to his release, Krugger had been with MLW since October of 2018.