Sat. Roundup: More WWE Talent Released, Saraya, Eddie Kingston Taking Break from Indies, PCO to Leave Impact, Impact Ratings Indies

WWE

• Friday’s WWE Friday Night SmackDown drew a preliminary viewership of 2,115,000 viewers on FOX, according to Jed I. Goodman.
• NXT developmental talent Melanie Brzezinski announced on Instagram earlier today that she was among the talent released by WWE since this past Thursday. Brzezinski stated “Good morning everybody. I’m sure a lot of you have heard the news, and yes, it’s true. My time with WWE, aka ‘TKO’ is now over. It was an amazing experience that I will forever be grateful for. I am taking this as a stepping stone to another dream of mine. Thank you all for the support and kind words throughout this amazing experience with the company. It’s time for me to go after what was truly meant for me.” Prior to her release, Brzezinski had been signed with WWE since December of 2022.
• NXT developmental talent Abule Abadi-Fitzgerald announced on Linkedin that he also was among the talent released by WWE this past Thursday. Abadi-Fitzgerald stated “Hi everyone – I am looking for a new role and would appreciate your support. Thank you in advance for any connections, advice, or opportunities you can offer,” he wrote. “I worked with the WWE NXT for over a year as a Talent.” Prior to his release, Abadi-Fitzgerald had been signed with WWE since August of 2022.
• As noted before, Dolph Ziggler was among the talent released this past Thursday by WWE. The Miz recently reflected on Instagram about his match at WWE No Mercy 2016 being his favorite match that he had with Ziggler. The Miz stated “I consider one of the best matches of my career the Career vs Title match at No Mercy against @heelziggler. Everything leading up to that match was great. Dolph always brought the best out of me every time we worked together. I don’t know if I’ve faced any one person more than him in my career. I’ll miss those times but excited to see what comes next for him.“
• Emma, also known as Tenille Dashwood in the indies, was also among the large batch of talent released by WWE this past Thursday. Emma recently reflected on Instagram about her release from WWE and thanking her fans for their support towards her. Emma stated “Thank you for all the lovely messages and comments, I see you all and your support never goes unnoticed! While I wasn’t expecting a call yesterday, it’s also fair to say that I wasn’t shocked. When I returned to WWE I was so excited, I was ready to work my a** of and do all the things I didn’t get to do first time around. But it became apparent pretty quickly that this wasn’t my time. And that’s ok!Would I have loved to wrestle a stadium show in my home country, you bet. But now many doorways and opportunities have opened up and that’s exciting. I feel very fortunate today. I met my soon to be husband in WWE I’m so grateful for that and the beautiful life we have been building. I get to spend more time with family and friends and can really focus on the important things in my life. And you bet I’m going to be traveling as much as possible. I can’t wait to see more of the world, and take you all on more adventures with us soon-In more ways than one! Stay tuned.“
• In regards to other talents who were released this past Thursday, Fightful Select reported that their sources stated that the reason for Aliyah’s release was due to WWE officials not having any creative plans for her over the past year. Shanky’s release reportedly was due to a combination of WWE officials not having any creative plans for him since Paul “Triple H” Levesque took over creative last year and them feeling he had not progressed enough with his ring work. Quincy Elliott’s release reportedly was due to a combination of WWE officials feeling he was not improving from his training in the ring and also him dealing with backstage heat over several online controversies he had been involved in over the past year.
• In a recent interview with the In The Kliq podcast, Dominik Mysterio gave his thoughts about WWE’s recent talent cuts and the effect Mustafa Ali’s release will have on his currently scheduled NXT North American Championship match at NXT No Mercy next weekend. Mysterio stated “Yeah, it’s a very unfortunate situation that very talented people have to go through situations like this. But at the end of the day, it’s out of our control. We just do whatever we can to put our best foot forward. But as far as No Mercy goes, I’m just going to have to wait and see who my opponent will be.” (Transcript h/t: F4WOnline.com)
• WWE held one dark match prior to the start of Friday’s SmackDown show in Glendale, Arizona. This was a single match of Ashante “Thee” Adonis” vs. Cameron Grimes, which was won by Grimes. Following the show, WWE held two post-show dark matches which were John Cena defeating Montez Ford in a singles match and Becky Lynch defeating Zoey Stark in a singles match as well.
• Friday’s NXT LVL Up show featured Axiom defeating Charlie Dempsey in a NXT Global Heritage Invitational Tournament Group A match. While Group A’s winner had already been decided upon following this past Tuesday’s NXT show, the final standings for the group are Butch at #1 with 5 points (2-0-1), Tyler Bate at #2 with 4 points (2-1-0), Axiom at #3 with 3 points (1-1-1), and Charlie Dempsey at #4 with 0 points (0-3-0)
• As noted before, WWE announced this past Thursday that their SmackDown series will be leaving FOX and returning to USA Network in 2024. Following WWE’s announcement, TKO Group’s stock suffered a large drop going from $100.87 per share to $88.49 per share following the close of that day’s trading on the Wall Street stock market. TKO’s stocks did not improve during Friday’s trading hours and closed that day’s trading at $83.79 per share.
• WWE filed three new trademarks for the terms “Jaida Parker”, “Out the Mud”, and “OTM” for wrestling and entertainment-related purposes to the United States Patent and Trademark Office. In regards to the trademark for “Jaida Parker”, it had been rumored that this could be the new WWE ring name for former AEW talent Jade Cargill until it was debunked by others who stated that this is likely the new ring name for NXT developmental talent Tiana Caffey who has yet to officially debut on NXT television. Caffey had used this name at recent NXT house show events.
• Becky Lynch recently revealed on Instagram her upcoming schedule of events for both WWE’s main roster and NXT brand shows.
• Zelina Vega and Dakota Kai recently released the debut episode of their new YouTube series called “ZELVX and CHARLIE GIRL.”
• WWE recently released a new official poster for next month’s Fastlane 2023 event featuring John Cena.
• As noted before, WWE held a new set of tryouts earlier this week at their Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources gave conflicting reports regarding if Ohio Valley Wrestling talent Hollyhood Haley J was actually among those who had been brought in for tryouts.
• As noted before, Bianca Belair stated in a recent interview with Metro that the reason for her current absence from WWE since this past August is due to her being on a break for some rest and to work on a new children’s book. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Belair is currently expected to return to WWE by late December based on her currently being advertised to make an appearance for a SmackDown show that month.

AEW & ROH

• Saraya announced on Twitter that all of her wrestling gear recently went missing and is currently asking fans for any help possible for the recovery of her gear. Saraya stated “Heads up to the public. All my wrestling gear has recently gone missing, including some items that I owned for ten years and had sentimental value. Jackets, my return gear, Wembley gear, Outcast gear, the whole lot. Luckily, I have two jackets left, but I would love for you guys to keep an eye out on the internet and auction sites because someone may wind up selling stuff eventually.  If you hear anything, please contact Hello@allelitewrestling.com with a subject line of “Saraya Gear.”  AEW Tickets and an autograph to anyone that leads to the recovery of these items. Thank you.“
• Eddie Kingston announced on Instagram that he is stepping away from the indies for the foreseeable future due to his current work responsibilities as both the NJPW Strong Openweight and ROH World Champions. Kingston also stated that he wanted to scale back on his work dates due to him also currently dealing with a lower back injury. Kingston stated “Due to being NJPW Strong Openweight And ROH Champion I have to come to the hard decision that I will have to stop doing Independents. Dealing with a lower back injury right now that I need to get fixed (and will) so I can be ready for all NJPW strong shows and all three AEW shows. When my responsibilities as NJPW and ROH champion is over I will hopefully be able to do Independents again. I apologize to all but I just need to focus and my body needs to be ready for those shows.“
• In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, Eddie Kingston gave his thoughts about his match against Claudio Castagnoli at this past Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite Grand Slam 2023 show and the support he has received from AEW fans during his time in the company. Kingston stated “You know me, I’m always hard on myself. I think I always could have done better. But the crowd was the best part. I’m biased, but New Yorkers, they’re the best. They don’t just cheer for you, they fight for you. I saw it all the time at Yankee Stadium. It’s how we are. The match was fine, but the crowd made it feel bigger. They took it from a four to a ten. It feels great when the crowd cheers, but it makes me nervous. I’m not used to this kind of love. It makes me ask myself, ‘Why do they love me?’ Then I start doubting myself. It’s all part of my curse. But as long as people are fans of pro wrestling, that’s good enough for me. Me, I’m the guy who grew up in Yonkers–I’m still that guy. So when people cheer for me, or want to take a picture with me, I get a little bashful. I don’t see the big deal. I’m just me. But I am blessed and lucky enough to do the dream job I’ve wanted since I was nine. I don’t see myself as a big deal. I’m still the kid from Yonkers.” Kingston also dedicated his ROH World Championship victory in memory of the late Xavier. Kingston stated “I know a lot of people miss him. I miss him. His family misses him. We celebrate a lot of the past, and we should celebrate him, too. He’s the second champion ever. Let’s put some respect on him.” Xavier was the second-ever ROH World Champion in ROH history and had passed away in March of 2020.
• As noted before, Warner Bros Discovery recently announced that they will be launching a new live sports tier subscription package for their MAX streaming service this October. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources did not provide any new information regarding if AEW will eventually be included in that live sports tier for MAX. Meltzer reported that while WBD had originally categorized AEW as being among their sports properties during its first few years, they currently consider it to be among their entertainment properties instead.
• MJF recently reflected on Twitter about his AEW World Championship match against Samoa Joe at this past Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite Grand Slam 2023 show. MJF stated “Respect isn’t given. It’s earned. Took me 8 years. But that made it all the more worth it. Thanks you gigantic Samoan Sicko.“
• This past Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite Grand Slam 2023 show at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York also featured a post-show segment to the live crowd involving AEW CEO Tony Khan joining Daniel Garcia and performing Garcia’s hip swivel style dancing.
• This past Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite Grand Slam 2023 show also featured a vignette involving MJF and a child. PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that his sources stated that the child was WrestlePro wrestler Craig Steele’s son Austin. Johnson reported that this segment was also a direct parody of WWF’s vignette involving Bret Hart and a child from the early 1990s which itself was inspired by an old Coca-Cola commercial featuring NFL player “Mean” Joe Green.
• PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that his sources stated that AEW officials currently have early plans in place to return to the Arthur Ashe Stadium for a potential pay-per-view stadium event next year.
• PWInsider’s Mike Johnson also reported that AEW’s walkup ticket sales for their Dynamite and Rampage Grand Slam 2023 shows this past Wednesday was the highest ever “day of event” ticket sales for an AEW event in AEW history.
• In a recent interview with the Superstar Crossover podcast, Chris Jericho gave his thoughts on the late Bray Wyatt, real name Windham Rotunda, and praised him for being unique in wrestling when it came to his creativity for ideas. Jericho stated “Bray was like a faucet of creativity. He had so many ideas that were just pouring out of him at all times. He was very unique, and that’s why he did so good was so successful because no one really thought about wrestling the way that he did with the characters that he created and the things that he committed to that no one else could really make work. Like, obviously, Bray Wyatt might have been the best of them. When that started getting a little bit stale, then he goes to The Fiend [with the Firefly Funhouse]. If you pitch that to me, it’d be like, ‘What are you talking about?’ Like, how is this gonna work? But then once you see him do it, it’s like, ‘This is so great. It’s so wrestling.’ It’s like Dinner Debonair, that MJF and I had, you couldn’t get away with that unless you committed to it, 1,000% because wrestling is that, wrestling is the Firefly Funhouse. To be able to think about that, and create it and make it a thing, and there’s all these different characters, and it’s like Mr. Rogers on crack, but it’s cool. That, to me, was the best of Bray Wyatt. It’s hard to translate that into a match. But like I said earlier, matches are almost secondary. It’s characters and connecting with people and making them want to see you perform. That’s what Bray Wyatt could do better than almost anybody in the modern era. That’s another reason why it’s such a shame that he’s gone because I’m sure he had so many other ideas. Some good, some bad, a faucet of creativity.”The third thing for me is like, you don’t see guys when you know when you leave companies or when they leave or you leave. But then you think back like, man, I spent a lot of time with him. I think we worked at least two dozen times all over the world, probably more than that. You work somebody 10 nights in a row, and you’re in Belgium tonight, in Portugal tomorrow, and then we’re back to England, and we’re over to Germany. It’s like you don’t even know where you are, and you have great matches during the during the evening, and you’re drinking at night, and you wake up, and you don’t what the fuck is going on. It makes you friends for life, you know?” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• In a recent episode of The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast, co-host Matt Hardy gave his thoughts about him feeling excited for the new era of AEW starting with this past week’s Grand Slam 2023 shows. Hardy stated “It’s a new era for AEW, and I think it’s a good era where we’re not really gonna be necessarily having the split rosters and split shows, but I think they’re going to kind of work more in unity. There’s going to be a unison between these two shows, and people are gonna tell stories between them, and I think that’s a good thing to keep all options open. So I’m excited about this new era. Morale is really, really high. Everybody’s happy. It’s a great team effort. Everybody’s working together. There’s no one there that is unhappy. So it’s a good time to be a part of AEW, and I’m very excited for what the future holds.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• In a recent episode of the Grillin JR podcast, co-host Jim Ross gave his thoughts about why he currently prefers a quarterly type schedule for pay-per-view events over a monthly type schedule. Ross stated “I liked the old format because it gave companies, whoever they were, opportunities to build and to build the anticipation for that pay-per-view and that investment that the fans need to make to enjoy it, you gotta buy it. I think the economy dictates a lot of that. You got to have a great attraction. Attractions sell pay-per-views, Conrad. It’s that simple. It’s not the second match on the card, third match, it’s what’s on the poster so to speak. I like the fact that at one time, we were able to build stories and strengthen them so that there is more of a desire to buy and to watch. You got to change with the times, I get that, and I have no problem with that either. I just think the storytelling realm of pro wrestling, we’re better off with the opportunity to build. It looks like you’re right, the trend is going to be that of monthlies. If you’re creative enough to build a good story for monthlies, more power to you because it creates more paydays. I’m a big fan of building the story, or building the anticipation for the story type situation.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• In a recent interview with the HOT 97 with DJ Drewski radio show, Swerve Strickland and Prince Nana gave their thoughts about the growing popularity of Nana’s dance and their bond in wrestling through music. Strickland stated “A lot of the fan base and some of the podcasters out there didn’t understand the real connection between me and Nana, the purpose of us being together, and I believe we were still trying to figure that out. We were trying to find that as we continued on this journey, we call pro wrestling. We always had the music connection. He’s known me for years. It just made sense to really bond in that moment of joining the Mogul Affiliates at the time with The Embassy and really bridging that gap and bringing us together because he’s still in the music industry. He’s been involved in and out of the music industry for years, and he messes with the song heavy. [Nana] just made it a thing to swerve while he drives, and then it became a thing. A lot of the fans started picking up on it, and the camera, the people started shooting in the audience every week, and we’re seeing more and more people dancing, and then they started making their own things and tagging us on IG, all social media, and Twitter and all that stuff, TikTok. So now, the numbers of it and the beautiful thing about AEW didn’t make the song. It is my actual song, featuring Flash Garments, produced by Prophet, beats by Khalid Brooks, and that is our actual song, so our numbers are shooting up every week every time they TikTok or stream us. Keep streaming that thing, ‘Big Pressure’ by Sw3rve The Realest.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• In a recent interview with the New York Post, Samoa Joe gave his thoughts about CM Punk’s backstage incident at this past August’s All In event at Wembley Stadium that led to AEW terminating his contract afterwards. Joe stated “For the most part, I haven’t read what’s been portrayed. There’s been so much said. I’m not the one to go out there and try to debunk everything. I know we had the initial incident. Everybody rallied. Everybody got together. Got their heads together and lined up and got ready to do the show and we went out there and we did the show. That really was the focus at that point in time. We got a massive show to do and we got fans out there rabid to see that happen. So it’s important that we step up and do it and it’s important that we did and I was proud to be a part of that.” Joe also gave his thoughts about if the backstage incident was as intense as had been reported. Joe stated “That’s up to whoever perceived it. I’m used to that environment. Those things don’t seem very intense to me, but it could be something crazy intense to someone else. I wasn’t really affected by the moment. I was more focused on getting the show back on track and getting us going because it was bell time.” Joe also gave his thoughts about his longtime friendship with Punk. Joe stated “I’d imagine there are tons of things that are misunderstood or portrayed about him. Now, what those things are it’s who’s representing in what way. I can’t really give you a blanket statement as far as what those things are. For the most part, our relationship has been very, especially for these years, has been very non-wrestling related. It’s just been extraneous stuff outside of the world of wrestling and talking about life stuff.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that the Alex Abrahantes vs. “Smart” Mark Sterling match that was taped during this past Saturday’s ROH TV tapings for Ring of Honor in State College, Pennsylvania was meant to be more of a favor given to Abrahantes due to him being an alumni from Penn State. Meltzer reported that this match was not taped and was just held as a special treat for the remaining people in attendance following that night’s AEW Collision and ROH TV tapings.

Impact, NJPW, Indies, & Misc. Wrestling

• Impact Wrestling drew 106,000 viewers and a 0.01 key demographic rating for their September 21st episode on AXS TV. This was down compared to last week’s 107,000 viewers but equal to last week’s key demo rating. This week’s episode was notable for being the Impact 1000 Week 2 show. (Source: SportsTV)
• Pat Laprade reported that his sources stated that PCO recently given Impact official his notice informing them of his intent to departure once his contract expires. Laprade reported that PCO’s contract with Impact is currently set to expire on October 30th. PCO has been working for Impact since January of 2022.
• PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that KENTA will be making an appearance for Impact at their Bound For Glory 2023 event on October 21st in Cicero, Illinois based on Impact’s newest set of television tapings on Friday in Memphis, Tennessee.
• PWInsider’s Mike Johnson also reported that Trinity will be defending her Impact Knockouts World Championship against Mickie James at Bound For Glory 2023 based on the same television tapings on Friday in Memphis.
• As noted before, Gail Kim suffered a head-related injury at Impact’s Impact 1000 tapings earlier this month in White Plains, New York. Kim recently provided a health update on Instagram revealing that she had suffered a concussion injury at the show. Kim stated “After #IMPACT1000 someone posted a video clip from the match where I hit my head. I think it’s so important to show that what we do is high risk and also important to show the importance of following up with any injuries or trauma that occurs.I didn’t want to initially show the clip but I thought in the end, it’s important to show everything. I want to stress here though:I WILL NOT CONDONE ANY ATTACKING BEHAVIOR OR BULLYING TOWARDS VELVET OR ANYONE ELSE FOR THIS CLIP.Professional Wrestling is a career we all enter knowing the risks we take when we perform for the fans. Shit happens. It’s not my first concussion and perhaps not my last.This video is for information and educational purposes so that you may be able to take a step in the right direction if you experience something similar.Thank you to @dr.rheetommy and @physicalchiropractic for always having my back (LITERALLY!) keeping my one body and mind in the best condition I can. I can’t stress enough the level of excellence your whole team puts out everyday.“
• Former United States Wrestling Association wrestler Bart Sawyer, real name Steve Stewart, passed away this past Thursday at the age of 57. Stewart’s passing was first announced by the family of the late Rowdy Roddy Piper on Twitter. Stewart’s career in wrestling spanned from 1988 until his retirement in 2004 due to a stroke incident. Stewart was most known for his stints in USWA and for being Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s first tag team championship partner. Besides the USWA, Stewart also had notable stints in WCW, WWE, Championship Wrestling USA, Pacific Northwest Wrestling, and the National Wrestling Alliance.
• Former WWE and WCW wrestler Bryan Clark filed trademark for “Adam Bomb” and “Dark Cowboy” for wrestling and entertainment-related purposes on September 19th to the USPTO.
• As noted before, Sukeban held their debut event this past Thursday in New York City, New York. PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that his sources stated that around 60 people had flown in from Japan for Sukeban’s debut event. Johnson also reported that “Speedball” Mike Bailey worked as one of the backstage producers for the show and AEW talent Emi Sakurai was among those in attendance. In regards to the decision to run their debut event at the Capitale, Johnson reported that Sukeban officials had originally planned to hold their debut event at a larger venue but decided to hold it at the Capitale instead due to the smaller venue being an easier setup for their production crew.
• In regards to Sukeban’s next event, Sukeban talent Unagi “Ichigo” Sayaka had recently mentioned to others that the next show would take place this December in Miami. PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that his sources stated that this date and location has been something discussed by Sukeban officials but nothing has been set in stone as of yet for their next event. Johnson reported that Sukeban officials are also currently considering Los Angeles and Chicago as potential locations for their next event.
• Pro Wrestling NOAH recently announced that they will be holding a new set of talent tryouts on November 3rd in Tokyo, Japan. It was also announced that this upcoming tryouts will air on NOAH talent Kenoh’s YouTube channel.
• DEFY Wrestling recently announced that SANADA will be making an appearance for the company at their Genesis event on October 27th in Seattle, Washington.
• Writer Brian Solomon recently announced on Twitter that WWE Hall of Famer Bret “The Hitman” Hart will be writing the foreword for his upcoming biographical book based on wrestling legend and WWE Hall of Famer Gorilla Monsoon. Solomon also stated that this upcoming book is titled Irresistible Force.
• As noted before, New Japan Pro Wrestling recently hired Walker Stewart to be their new English lead commentator following Kevin Kelly’s upcoming departure from the company. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that NJPW officials had been interested in potentially signing Pro Wrestling NOAH commentator Stewart Fulton to a deal to be their new English commentator but he turned down their offer since he wanted to stay in NOAH instead. Meltzer reported that Stewart’s first date for NJPW is currently scheduled for their NJPW Strong Fighting Spirit Unleashed 2023 event on October 28th in Las Vegas, Nevada.
• NJPW recently announced that they will be holding a joint press conference with Stardom on October 10th in Japan. It was also announced that this upcoming press conference will air live on both NJPW and Stardom’s YouTube channels.
• Ichiban announced on Twitter that he recently signed a multi-year contract with Major League Wrestling.