Sat. Roundup: Women’s Tag Titles Match Added to MitB, Anthony Bowens, BJ Whitmer Arrest Update, Hornswoggle, Indies

WWE

• Friday’s WWE Friday Night SmackDown drew a preliminary viewership of 2,250,000 viewers on FOX, according to The TV Ratings Guide.
• WWE announced a new match for the card of their upcoming Money in the Bank 2023 event on July 1st in London, England. This is a WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship match of Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez vs. Shayna Baszler & Ronda Rousey (c).
• Roman Reigns surpassed Pedro Morales for the 5th longest ever World Championship reign in WWE history at 1,028 days and counting as of Saturday. In regards to the next milestone for Reigns, he is currently 209 days away from tying and 210 days away from surpassing Bruno Sammartino’s 2nd title reign for 4th longest ever World title reign in WWE history. While Reigns is only at 447+ days as WWE Champion, his current title reign also included his current reign as Universal Champion as a single title reign for 1,028 days.
• Bianca Belair announced on Instagram that she and her husband Montez Ford recently renewed their wedding vows in Las Vegas, Nevada in celebration of the 5th anniversary of their marriage.
• As noted before, Carlito recently signed an official contract with WWE. PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that his sources stated that WWE officials currently have scheduled for Carlito to make his official return under his new contract at their July 7th SmackDown show at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.
• In a recent interview with The Ringer’s Cheat Heat podcast, LA Knight gave his thoughts about him being compared to Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock. Knight stated “If you want to make that comparison, cool. My aim is to be bigger and better than either of them. I bring a very different package to the table than they do. At the same time, are there similarities? Sure there are you. There is Kobe (Bryan) to (Michael) Jordan, those kind of comparisons. If you want to make me the Kobe to their Jordan, I’ll take it.” Knight also gave his thoughts on who would be the Jordan. Knight stated “There is a four-way tie. (Hulk) Hogan started it all for me. Even Hollywood and the NWO, good stuff. Him, (Ric) Flair, Austin, Rock, I could not pick a top.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• Friday’s WWE SmackDown show in Lafayette, Louisiana featured Liv Morgan making her surprise return from injury. In a recent interview with WWE, Morgan gave her thoughts about her return to the company and the current status of her shoulder injury recovery. Morgan stated “It feels like I’m home. I don’t know what to say. I worked so hard to come back as soon as I can so that we can back our championships that we never lost. My shoulder’s doing great, by the way.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• Fightful Select reported that their sources stated that Chelsea Green is currently not scheduled to travel to London for next week’s WWE shows in the city due to her currently still working on getting a new green card.
• Fightful Select reported that their sources confirmed the report from PWInsider’s Mike Johnson about IYO SKY currently being viewed within WWE as the frontrunner to win this year’s Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder match. It was reported that WWE officials are currently not expected to make any official decision on the winner for the match until the day of their Money in the Bank 2023 event next Saturday.
• Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that WWE officials currently are planning to hold PLE shows during Memorial and Labor Day weekends going forward. Those same sources reportedly also stated that these events are currently planned to take place on Saturdays as part of WWE CEO Nick Khan’s plans for holiday PLE shows. Meltzer reported that the decision to run events on Memorial and Labor Day weekend is also to counter AEW’s own events on those weekends in a attempt to hurt interest and PPV buys.
• In a recent episode of The Hall of Fame with Booker T and Brad Gilmore podcast, co-host Booker T revealed that he recently worked as a guest coach at WWE’s Performance Center. Booker T stated “I’m in Orlando right now. I stuck around here for a minute and got a little extra work in with some of the guys here down at the Performance Center. It’s cool. This is my passion, being able to be a part of this business this many years later, and then to work with the young guys that’s gonna be the next generation, for me is so freaking awesome. I’m living my best life right now, I really am. Never in a million years did I think I would still be in this business, but now being a part of NXT and now being a part of the next generation [of] superstars’ lives… I don’t like patting myself on the back or anything like that, but it’s cool to have these young guys who have looked at me and looked up to me for so many years, and now they get a chance to work with me, and they see I’m kind of a really cool dude. It’s really, really awesome. I’m down here, I’m spent yesterday and today working with a few of the guys here at NXT … Yeah. I mean, I call it private sessions.” Booker T also gave his thoughts on what he looks for when he evaluates talent. Booker T stated “Really at this stage, I don’t look for stuff like that. I’m more so in my coaching mode to where I’m trying to teach these guys psychology and trying to give them knowledge. More so, what I need is these guys to ask questions. I need them to want to know what makes this work or why that doesn’t work today, opposed to it working back then, that kind of stuff, so we can really dive into the nuts and bolts of the artistry of what this thing is really, really all about, because that’s what I always loved about the wrestling business, is the artistry of it, the Shakespearean nature of it, the Romeo and Juliet side of it where it’s gonna be an encore, it’s gonna be a ‘bravo,’ it’s gonna be a curtain call at the end of the night. For me, that’s what I’m thinking about as far as trying to bring my actors up to speed. Denzel Washington didn’t start by being the guy that you saw in Training Day. He was just a guy that was just standing there, doing nothing, saying nothing, but he was studying, waiting and preparing. Preparation is the only luck, so that’s what we’re thinking about right now, prep. Prep work.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• In a recent interview with the Ten Count podcast, Gunther gave his thoughts about not being interested in the idea of WWE redesigning their Intercontinental Championship like they have done with other championship belts in the company. Gunther stated “I’m fine with the one I got. I personally always liked the old design, with the white strap. Things have to develop, and things have to move forward. I think it’s just personal taste. I’m very pleased with how it looks right now.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• In a recent interview with the Under The Ring podcast, Bron Breakker gave his thoughts about his decision to use some of his father Rick and uncle Scott Steiner’s iconic moves for his own moves repertoire. Breakker stated “I had an idea of a few things that I thought was cool, that I would like to do. Another thing, I think it’s just like legacy, there’s things that I want to keep alive that they’ve built, you know, they laid the groundwork for me, they built their brand. It’s just a tip of the cap type of thing. The Frankensteiner, the SteinerLine. I do the Frankensteiner kind of my own way, the move’s the same. I do that with my own flavor. It’s a little bit different something than the way Scotty used to do it. I make it mean something, and I make it impactful, and that’s how it should be. If I’m gonna use some of their moves or do some of the things that they used to do back in the day, then I better do them right. I think that I’ve done that. I think I’ve put my own spin on a few things that they used to do and kind of make it Bron Breakker’s own.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)

AEW & ROH

• Friday’s AEW Rampage show featured a promo segment between Harley Cameron, The Acclaimed, and Billy Gunn. During the segment, Cameron tried to flirt with Anthony Bowens as part of her efforts to persuade The Acclaimed to join QTV. Bowens rejected her advances and stated that he was not interested in her due to him being gay, which resulted in the crowd cheering their support for Bowens’ announcement. Bowens reflected on Twitter about the positive support he received from the crowd on Rampage. Bowens stated “If ya told me years ago, I’d have an arena chanting HE’S GAY at me in the most POSITIVE of ways, I’d say you’re crazy. It’s pretty cool to see how far we’ve come. Still more work to do. Happy Pride #AEWRampage“
• As noted before, John Hennigan is currently believed to have recently signed an official contract with AEW. Hennigan made his return to the company during Friday’s Rampage show, which was taped this past Wednesday in Chicago, Illinois and was revealed to have a new ring name of Johnny TV. Fightful Select reported that their sources confirmed that Hennigan had recently signed a contract with the company. Those same sources reportedly also stated that AEW officials had originally considered having Hennigan make his return at this past Wednesday’s Dynamite show but decided to have it take place on Friday’s Rampage show instead to give his surprise return more time.
• As noted before, AEW recently fired producer BJ Whitmer following his arrest over a domestic violence incident earlier this month. In a recent interview with Fox 19 Cincinnati, the alleged victim gave her thoughts about fighting for her life during Whitmer’s alleged attack. The alleged victim stated “I was literally fighting for my life. I came into my house, and he was standing at the top of my steps waiting for me. And he squeezed tighter and said, ‘I’m going to f****** kill you. Do you hear me? I’m going to kill you!. And once we got to the point of where we stopped moving, and then he continued choking me, I absolutely knew. Instead of coughing, I lied and said, ‘I already called the cops,’ and the second I said that he let go.“
• PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that his sources stated that AEW recently booked a late September date for this year’s Grand Slam event at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City, New York.
• Chris Jericho filed a trademark for “Ducktrillions” for wrestling and merchandise-related purposes on June 19th to the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
• AEW recently released a new trailer for their upcoming AEW Fight Forever video game focusing on the game’s Casino Battle Royale mode.
• In a recent interview with Inside The Ropes, Konnan gave his thoughts about his efforts to help get Santana and Ortiz back on the same page and repair their working relationship. Konnan stated “I don’t know because you know, for a while here, Ortiz and Santana haven’t been seeing eye to eye. I’ve been talking to both of them to see if they will reunite. I think that you know, the problem was that LAX originally — the first time I ever talked to Tony [Khan], he told me about LAX. And then the next thing I knew when I inquired about it, you know, he wanted me to come in and manage it.” Konnan also gave his thoughts about his issues with AEW’s usage of Santana and Ortiz during their time in Chris Jericho’s Inner Circle group. Konnan stated “And then when I inquired about it — or it might have been Cody — but then when I inquired about it Tony was like, ‘Oh Jericho’s is going to use them.’ And I was like, ‘That’s a weird fit. But f*ck it.’ Then when I saw that, and I love Jericho, he’s one of my best friends, but bro, he did nothing with them. I mean, absolutely nothing with them. And so these guys died a slow death and Santana was p*ssed off, and he has every reason to be, the guy’s f*cking uber-talented and you’re not doing sh*t with him.“
• In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, Hiroshi Tanahashi gave his thoughts about his upcoming match against MJF for the AEW World Championship at this Sunday’s Forbidden Door II event. Tanahashi stated “I feel very honored to challenge for the AEW title. Just imagining myself becoming the AEW world heavyweight champion is pretty exciting.” Tanahashi also gave his thoughts about who from AEW he would be the most interested in having matches with should he become the new AEW World Champion. Tanahashi stated “Castagnoli is a great wrestler. I know that he used to team with Shinsuke Nakamura, and that was an emotional link for me. I’d love to have a single match against him. I want to wrestle CM Punk since I couldn’t do it last year. I have wrestled Bryan Danielson once before when I was younger. But with him being one of the top wrestlers in the U.S. and the world right now, I’d love for us to go again.” Tanahashi also stated that he would also be interested in the idea of facing off against CM Punk and FTR for potential matches.
• In a recent interview with WrestleZone, Jungle Boy Jack Perry gave his thoughts about the recent comments made by SANADA over him feeling that Perry was not worthy of facing him for his IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. Perry stated “I’m gonna be completely honest. I was a little bit relieved when I saw that because I’ve been feeling a little guilty, kind of secretly. I’ve never seen a SANADA match in my life, and I was feeling a little bit guilty about that, like, ‘Oh my god, that’s kind of rude, whatever.’ But then he said [that], and I was like, ‘Okay. That’s great.’ I haven’t watched anything, other than Kenny and Will Ospreay, in New Japan since Cody and Kenny and the Young Bucks left and started AEW, so I have not seen any of that. I don’t really keep up with that. I thought Okada was the champion last time I was caught up with things, but it is what it is. I don’t think he has any particular reason to know too much about me, but I think it’s gonna be fun because we’re gonna learn pretty much everything there is to know when we’re kicking each other in the face on pay-per-view.” Perry also gave his thoughts about his upcoming match in general with SANADA at this Sunday’s Forbidden Door II event. Perry stated “I’m excited. I feel like there’s momentum on my side. I knew there was gonna be an open challenge, and to be completely honest, I didn’t even know who the champion was, but I knew I was gonna take it. Because for me, it’s not… I’m looking forward to the match and getting in there with him and experiencing what this is gonna be like against a top Japanese talent, but for me, my goal that I said at the very beginning of the year is that I’m going to become a world champion. It doesn’t really matter to me who ends up across the ring from me. It’s about the championship that he has. That’s what the deal is for me. I’m gonna do it, I’m gonna take the championship, bring it back to AEW, and it’s gonna be a good night. (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• As noted before, AEW Collision’s debut show drew 816,000 viewers, a 0.33 key demographic rating, and a #3 key demographic ranking on TNT. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Collision’s debut show drew a median viewership age of 45 years old which was both the youngest for a wrestling show for this year so far and several years younger than what AEW’s Dynamite and WWE’s RAW, SmackDown, and NXT shows have been averaging. Meltzer reported that Dynamite’s average has been around 50 years old, RAW and SmackDown’s averages have ranged between 52 to 55 years old, and NXT’s average has been around 58 years old.
• In regards to ratings comparisons, Meltzer reported that TNT had been averaging between a 0.11 to 0.14 for their key demogrphic rating for shows in the Saturday night primetime slot prior to Collision’s debut. Meltzer reported that while Collision’s debut rating was a 0.33, it will likely hover more around a 0.24 rating as its average for shows after its initial period. Meltzer reported that a 0.21 to 0.23 rating for shows during the NFL season would be something considered as a good number for Collision. Meltzer also reported that Collision unlikely would beat any high profile sports competition on Saturdays but it would still be considered as a big success if it is able to hold steady against everything besides top tier sports for rankings and ratings.
• As noted before, AEW recently hired Kevin Kelly for their AEW Collision commentary team. Besides his upcoming G1 Climax 2023 commitments for NJPW, Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Kelly is currently expected to also be absent from Collision’s commentary team for NJPW’s King of Pro Wrestling 2023 event this October in Japan. Meltzer reported that Kelly will be working remotely from his home for several of NJPW’s other events later this year. Meltzer reported that it is currently not known if Kelly will continue to work for NJPW in 2024.
• In a recent interview with the Busted Open Radio podcast, Athena gave her thoughts about her recent Chicago Street Fight match and feud with Kiera Hoagn in Ring of Honor. Athena stated “Kiera Hogan, I had my first match in AEW with her. Like my very first match, my very first week on the job was with Kiera Hogan and you know, she’s someone that was a minion of Jade (Cargill), for a while in The Baddies club. She broke free of that and she was looking to make a name for herself and honestly, when I went to the ring that time with her versus Vert (Vixen), I wasn’t even looking at Kiera, I was looking at Vert. She just happened to win the match and was in the way and then said some words that I didn’t appreciate. That’s how it all started and you know, I will say, Kiera Hogan, she has a lot of fire and she is hungry and that’s something I look for when I’m picking my opponents, when I’m selectively looking at the matches. It’s like, who’s next? Who has that fire? Who wants to succeed? And Kiera Hogan had all those elements and hell, I’ll say it, I don’t wanna say it, she got the better of me a lot of that time and I haven’t had anyone to step up and get in my face. I didn’t appreciate it first and foremost. But, she for sure showed me that she wasn’t gonna lie down and take anything and I showed her that I was gonna pummel her into oblivion. (On ROH TV), we had a Street Fight, Chicago Street Fight. It was fun, it was painful, it was vicious, it was violent and you know, I’m so thankful that I got to share the ring with her and make that art and show the world that she’s still not on my level. It’s one of those moments you can’t help but to be like, oh my gosh, yes, look at what we created. But fun fact is-is that crowd was going crazy but they said a lot of no-no words that cannot air on TV in the middle of the match so, it sucks and at the same time it’s like, it was really awesome to be able to share that in Chicago, one of my old stomping grounds from SHIMMER and just show the world what we can really do on that platform and I know the representation of two — not only two Black women but it being Pride month as well. I know that meant so much to Kiera. In the locker room, when I would walk by, she’d be like, ‘I got my flag! I got my hair!’ And it made me swell with pride a little bit on the inside to just know that she was gonna get that platform to show who she was as a person.” (Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com)

Impact, NJPW, Indies, & Misc. Wrestling

• Women of Wrestling recently announced that they are currently selling tickets for television tapings for their upcoming second season of WOW TV that is currently scheduled to take place this August. In a video released by the company, it was revealed that Santana Garrett will be making her return to the company for their upcoming new season.
• In a recent post on Instagram, Women of Wrestling Executive Producer AJ Mendez, former AJ Lee in WWE, stated that she is still retired from active wrestling. Mendez stated “retired athlete. photographer: @fmurphy hmu: @jordanfoxbeauty”
• Pro Wrestling NOAH recently announced that the reason why they had pulled Takashi Sugiura from their June 22nd and June 24th Star Navigation 2023 event was due to him recently suffering a lens subluxatio injury. It was also announced that Sugiura is currently expected to be out of action for the company “for a while.” (English translation via PostWrestling.com)
• Saturday’s Star Navigation 2023 event for NOAH featured Kenoh officially announcing that he has officially disbanded his KONGO faction. Prior to his announcement, KONGA has been active as a faction in NOAH since 2019.
• In a recent interview with Mirashiru by Dai-ichi Life, New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Hiroshi Tanahashi gave his thoughts on his mentality when it comes to dealing with injuries he has suffered throughout his wrestling career. Tanahashi stated “I think it (consulting a doctor) depends on whether the ligament is torn or not. If the ligament is just stretched, then I tape it myself. That’s how I deal with it.” (English translation via PostWrestling.com)
• House of Glory recently announced that Hiroshi Tanahashi and Eddie Kingston will be making an appearance for the company at their High Intensity X event on August 18th in Queens, New York.
• In a recent interview with the Busted Open Radio podcast, former Major League Wrestling talent Richard Holliday gave his thoughts about the future of his wrestling career following his successive battle with cancer. Holliday stated “I’m certainly cognizant of what I represent now when I get in the ring. I want that to be an indirect inspiration. I don’t want this to be something where, every time I come through the curtain, people are reminded of it and thinking about it. I’m a big baseball fan. Anthony Rizzo had the same exact disease that I did. I don’t know Anthony, he doesn’t know me, but I was super inspired by him. Every time he takes the field and goes to first base, he doesn’t wave his hands and go, ‘Hey guys, I went through this.’ He just goes out there and plays baseball, and it’s inspiring because of that. That’s how I want it for me. I come through the curtain, whether you love me or hate me, and I have felt both, just view that for my wrestling. Everything that happened to me backstage was backstage. Know what I’m doing in the ring and that’s ultimately my goal for that. In terms of what I want to do for the future, I feel the future is wide open. I’m feeling fantastic and great. I’m in such a great mindset and the business is a great spot. I feel I can contribute at a high level to the business. Wherever that does take me, I’m excited for it.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• Fightful Select reported that their sources stated that the recent rumors of Josh Alexander currently working as a backstage producer for Impact Wrestling are not true. This rumor originated from a recent interview Impact talent Jody Threat had with Fightful’s In The Weeds podcast where she had stated that Alexander has been helping her backstage as she gets acclimated to working in the company.
• As noted before, Dragon Gate released SB Kento and Takuma Fujiwara following lingering unknown issues with the two in the company. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the current belief is that Kento and Fujiwara’s releases were due to pot-related issues. Meltzer reported that Japan still has a very archaic reaction when it comes to marijuana usage in the country and is viewed as a career killer in the eyes of the Japanese public.
• In a recent interview with Inside The Ropes, former WWE talent Hornswoggle stated that even though he would be interested in working for AEW in the future, his in-ring career is likely over due to failed back surgeries. Hornswoggle stated “I mean, I would love to, but in-ring, probably is behind me, if I’m being honest with myself after my second failed back surgery. It ain’t in the cards, I don’t believe in-ring for a major company. But I truly believe the coaching stuff. And I’m finally like, grasping that whether I have more to give inside the ring compared to outside, and teaching and helping and that I’m okay with that. I can sign my fake name for the rest of my life. And I’m fully okay with that.” Hornswoggle also stated that he still remains on good terms with WWE since his release from the company in 2016. Hornswoggle stated “My, my real father said, ‘Hey, there’s gonna be interviews you do. There’s gonna be people out there, you know, with your release, asking you questions.’ Now he goes, he gave me the best advice, he said ‘Dylan. There’s no reason to burn a bridge. No reason. Because they gave you 10 years, of living your absolute dream. There’s no reason to talk badly about that.’ He goes, ‘There are people out there that would be begging for the longevity that you had. That shouldn’t have happened in reality.’ And so that’s always been my thing. It’s like, I have no reason to burn a bridge, I have no reason to talk poorly of a company that gave me 10 years of living my dream, providing for my son, giving me an awesome life and making me a star that now I can sign that fake name, still seven years later, like, I can’t be mad at that. I can’t. So there’s no reason to be negative towards it whatsoever.” (Transcript h/t: WrestlingNews.co)
• United Wrestling Network recently announced that they will be holding this year’s Golden Opportunity event on July 3rd in Irvine, California.
• As noted before, VICE TV’s parent company Vice Media officially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this past May and is currently in the process of being purchased by a group of VICE’s leading lenders. PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that Dave Smith, a creditor to Vice Media, recently informed him that a meeting for VICE’s creditors is currently scheduled to take place on July 12th in New York City, New York.