Various: Impact Releases Tribute Video for Mike Tenay & Don West, Tammy Sytch DUI Arrest Update, Indies

Oct 17, 2023

Impact Releases Tribute Video to Mike Tenay & Don West

Ahead of this weekend’s Bound For Glory 2023 event and 2023 Impact Hall of Fame Ceremony, Impact Wrestling recently released a tribute video for Impact Hall of Fame 2023 inductees Mike Tenay and the late Don West featuring some of the most iconic calls by the duo in TNA/Impact history.

Tammy Sytch DUI Arrest Update – Sytch Filed Motion for Downward Departure

As noted before, former wrestler Tammy Sytch was arrested this past May in Florida following a police investigation into a fatal car accident involving Sytch in March of 2022.

PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that Sytch filed a motion on October 13th to The Seventh Judicial Curcuit Court for Volusia County, Florida requesting to be granted a downward departure for the upcoming sentencing against her based on recent court records.

Official filing:

MOTION FOR DOWNWARD DEPARTURE
COMES NOW the Defendant, Tamara Lynn Sytch, by and through her undersigned Assistant Public Defender and moves this Honorable Court to grant this motion for the following reasons:
The Defendant in this case is charged with One Count of DUI Manslaughter, One Count of Driving While License Suspended with Death, Four Counts of DUI with Damage to a Person and Two Counts of DUI with Damage to Property.
The Defendant entered a split plea with an open plea on the counts of DUI Manslaughter and Driving While License Suspended with Death and a negotiated plea on the
misdemeanor DUI counts whereby they will be disposed of with a time served sentence to run concurrent to each other and to the felony counts.
The Defense submits that Ms. Sytch meets the criteria for a downward departure.
Under Florida’s sentencing statutes, “[a] downward departure from the lowest permissible sentence … is prohibited unless there are circumstances or factors that reasonably justify the downward departure.” 921.0026(1), Fla. Stat. (2022). Subsection 921.0026(1) continues by indicating that subsection 921.0026(2) provides a non-exclusive list of mitigating factors.
A trial court’s decision whether to depart from the guidelines is a two-part process. First, the court must determine whether it can depart, i.e., whether there is a valid legal ground and adequate factual support for that ground in the case pending before it (step I). Legal grounds are set f01th in case law and statute, and facts supporting the ground must be proven by “a preponderance of the evidence.’ This aspect of the court’s decision to depart is a mixed question of law and fact and will be sustained on review if the court applied the right rule of law and if competent substantial evidence supports its ruling.
Second, where the step I requirements are met, the trial court further must determine whether it should depart, i.e., whether departure is indeed the best sentencing option for the defendant in the pending case. In making this determination (step 2), the court must weigh the totality of the circumstances in the case, including aggravating and mitigating factors. This second aspect of the decision to depart is a judgment call within the sound discretion of the court and will be sustained on review absent an abuse of discretion. Discretion is only abused where no reasonable person would agree with the trial court’s decision. Banks v. State 732 So.2d 1065 (Fla. 1999)
MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCE FOR DOWNWARD DEPARTURE
The defense intends to present evidence that Ms. Sytch meets the criteria for a downward departure under the following grounds.
921 0026(2)(d) The defendant requires specialized treatment for a mental disorder that is unrelated to substance abuse or addiction or for a physical disability, and the defendant is amenable to treatment.
WHEREFORE, Defendant prays this Honorable Court grant this Motion.

Misc. Wrestling News & Notes

As noted before, the Grizzled Young Veterans, former The Dyad in NXT, contracts with WWE expired this past Sunday. The Grizzled Young Veterans made a surprise appearance at Deadlock Pro Wrestling’s DPW Live 3 event this past Sunday in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey. GYV competed in a tag team match against The WorkHorsemen in a Proving Ground Open Challenge match for the DPW Tag Team Championship.

As noted before, Davey Boy Smith Jr. underwent emergency surgery for appendicitis and appendix removal this past Wednesday. Fightful Select reported that Smith Jr. was recently discharged from the hospital and is currently recovering at his home.

Fightful Select also reported that their sources denied a report from PWInsider about Major League Wrestling owner Court Bauer was not in attendance backstage at MLW’s Slaughterhouse event this past Saturday in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was reported that Bauer was seen running the show in the Gorilla Position backstage.

All Japan Pro Wrestling announced that Jonathan Gresham will be making his official debut for the company soon. While no dates were given, it was announced that Gresham will be working at their upcoming Giant Series 2023 events.

As noted before, PCO’s contract with Impact Wrestling is currently set to expire at the end of this month. PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that PCO’s final scheduled appearances for Impact is current expected to take place this weekend.

Impact announced two matches for the card of their Turning Point 2023 event on October 27th in Newcastle, England:

Will Ospreay vs. Eddie Edwards
Subculture (Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews) vs. Josh Alexander & Eric Young

As noted before, this past Sunday’s 30th Anniversary Part 2 event for Michinoku Pro Wrestling in Yahaba, Japan featured YOH announcing MPW talent MUSASHI to be his official tag team partner for New Japan Pro Wrestling’s upcoming Super Junior Tag League 2023 tournament. NJPW recently officially confirmed that MUSASHI will be the official replacement for Lio Rush for YOH’s tag team for their upcoming tournament.

NJPW also recently announced one new match for the card of their NJPW Strong Fighting Spirit Unleashed 2023 event on October 28th in Las Vegas, Nevada: