Various: Update on Matt Cardona’s TNA Return at Friday’s TV Tapings, El Hijo del Vikingo’s AAA Contract Update, Indies

Mar 23, 2024

Update on Matt Cardona’s TNA Status Following Return at Friday’s TV Tapings

Friday’s Impact! television tapings for TNA Wrestling in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania featured former TNA talent Matt Cardona making his surprise return to the company.

Fightful Select reported that their sources stated that Cardona is currently working under a per date type deal with TNA. It was reported that there has been significant discussions within TNA regarding the company’s recent shift and attitude towards only offering per-date type deals for contracts to talents. It was also reported that this situation is something that actually aligns with Cardona’s preferences for his career.

It was also reported that they had reached out to Cardona and he confirmed that he is under a per-date type deal and is still a free agent. Cardona stated “Alwayz. Then. Now. Forever. Quote me on that.”

Konnan Comments on El Hijo del Vikingo’s Contract Status with AAA & Denies Rumors of Vikingo Signing with AEW

A recent episode of the K/100 with Konnan & Disco podcast featured Lucha Libre AAA head booker and co-host Konnan providing an update on El Hijo del Vikingo’s current contract status with AAA and denying rumors of Vikingo signing with AEW.

“He’s not signed by Tony Khan. He’s signed to us, and he’s one of the very few talents, very good talents that we have, that Tony hasn’t signed. But what’s really fucked us up, when this finally happens, we’ll have a more normal playing field, so we were supposed to get a TV deal like two years ago or something like that, and then the pandemic, a lot of changes were done in the industry. So we’re on our road to that now. Until we get our TV deal and we can get people the proper compensation like Tony does, we’re gonna lose them to him. But once we get a TV deal, a lot of people that aren’t being used right over there or anywhere, they’ll come back home because they know they’ll be used right by us.”

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com

Misc. Wrestling News & Notes

As noted before, WWE Hall of Famer Afa The Wild Samoan, real name Afa Anoa’i, recently suffered a fractured back injury following a fall incident and is currently hospitalized. PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that Anoa’i underwent successful surgery to repair his back on Friday.

Over The Top Wrestling recently announced that Nic Nemeth will be making an appearance for the company at their ScrapperMania 8 event on August 9th in Dublin, Ireland.

West Coast Pro recently announced that Powerhouse Hobbs will be making an appearance for the company at their For The Coast event on May 18th in San Francisco, California.

WrestleCon recently announced that Diamond Dallas Page, Mustafa Ali, Little Guido, and NC Navarro will be making an appearance for the company at their WrestleCon 2024 on April 4-7, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The Cauliflower Alley Club recently announced that Sting will be the recipient of their top honor the Iron Mike Mazurki Award for this year’s Cauliflower Alley Club Awards.

As noted before, Stardom talents Utami Hayashishita, MIRAI, Yuzuki, and Mai Sakurai will be leaving the company once their current contracts expire at the end of this month. Tokyo Sports reported that Hayashishita had informed them that she is currently not interested in working for an overseas promotion but still wants to spread wrestling from Japan for her international bookings.

House of Glory recently announced that Mustafa Ali will be making an appearance for the company at their May 26th event in Lowell, Massachusetts.

TNA Wrestling reportedly drew an attendance of around 500 for their Impact! tapings on Friday in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, according to PWInsider.

Anthem Entertainment owner Len Asper reportedly was in attendance at Friday’s TNA Impact tapings in Philadelphia, according to PWInsider. Mike Johnson reported that Asper was the only Anthem executive who had attended that night’s tapings.

Former TNA talent and current AEW talent Deonna Purrazzo reportedly was in attendance backstage at Friday’s TNA Impact tapings in Philadelphia, according to PWInsider. Johnson reported that the reason for Purrazzo’s visit was due to her husband and TNA talent Steve Maclin working at the tapings.

As noted before, Giulia will be leaving Stardom once her current contract expires at the end of this March and her final date for the company will be on April 12th. Giulia recently reflected on Twitter about her nearing the end of her career in Stardom. Giulia stated “Finally, it is officially released. I’m sorry for getting ahead of myself and confusing everyone. My remaining time in Stardom is almost over, but Pro Wrestler Julia is still going on! Please stay tuned!“

Major League Wrestling recently announced one new match for the card of their War Chamber 2024 event on March 29th in St. Petersburg, Florida: