Weekend Roundup: Bobby Lashley WWE Contract Expires Soon, Skye Blue Ankle Injury Update, Jay White Injury Update, Jordynne Grace on Lack of Surprises at TNA Slammiversary, Kota Ibushi Makes In-Ring Return, MCMG Update, Indies

Indie / Misc

Steve C.

Jul 21, 2024

WWE

Bobby Lashley’s contract with WWE reportedly is currently set to expire soon, according to Fightful Select. It was reported that their sources stated that Lashley’s contract is expected to expire within the next month and as soon as the next few weeks. It was also reported that Lashley’s name was recently removed from WWE’s internal roster list and WWE officials have not had any creative plans for him since this past Spring. Those spoken to reportedly stated that Lashley is planning to continue his wrestling career should a new deal not be reached with WWE. It was reported that those close to Lashley stated that Lashley is currently open to the idea of potentially resuming his MMA career if he were to leave WWE.
Pro Wrestling NOAH recently announced that Naomichi Marufuji will be making a special guest commentary appearance for the ABEMA broadcast of WWE’s SummerSlam 2024 event on August 3rd in Cleveland, Ohio. In a follow-up tweet, Marufuji clarified on Twitter that he will not be making a physical appearance at WWE’s event.
WWE recently released a new video on their WWE Vault Youtube channel featuring a tag team match of Bo (Bo Dallas) & Duke Rotundo (Bray Wyatt) vs. The Usos from Florida Championship Wrestling.
Fightful Select reported that their sources denied the recent rumors of WWE had signed PROGRESS and British indies talent Rhio to a contract. It was reported that despite Rhio had been recently invited to WWE’s Performance Center, she was not given a contract offer by the company during her visit. It was also reported that WWE officials have shown interest towards Australian indies talent Delta Brady following her tryout for the company in Australia prior to this past February’s Elimination Chamber 2024 event.
WWE recently advertised several new matches for the cards of their upcoming tour of Germany this August. One of the new matches announced was Imperium (Gunther & Ludwig Kaiser) vs. Sami Zayn & Ilja Dragunov for the August 30th WWE SmackDown show in Berlin, Germany.
In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, WWE SVP of NXT & Talent Relations and NXT head booker Shawn Michaels gave his thoughts about NXT talent Trick Williams being ready to be called up to the main roster. Michaels stated “I read on social media that he’s already main-roster ready. I don’t think that’s the goal for Trick. He doesn’t want to just go and exist on the main roster–he wants to go there and thrive as a main player. I appreciate his maturity and wisdom. He’s a joy to come work with, and I’m excited to see what he does next.” Michaels also gave his thoughts about how Williams’ work reminds him of the late Scott Hall. Michaels stated ” It’s interesting–Scott was a big guy who never worked big. Just last week I said, ‘Trick, you’re just so deceptively big and tall. I can’t imagine what it would be like to have to slam you.’ It’s like having to slam a 10-foot ladder. He’s like 245 and well over 6’3”. So the Scott analogy, it’s something we’ll talk about. That’s the first time I’ve heard that, a connection between the two. Thinking about it, that’s what was so awesome about working with Scott. He’d have no problem shooting off and taking a tackle from me. Trick’s the same way. You forget how big he is. It’s funny, I never put Scott in the same category of big man as Kevin Nash because of the way Scott wrestled. And Kevin wrestled an innovative style, too. Scott could have wrestled like a big guy and he could have gotten away with it, but he never did. That’s what made him so special.“
In a recent interview with the Busted Open Radio podcast, NXT talent and current NXT Women’s North American Champion Kelani Jordan gave her thoughts about her promo work and public speaking being what she wants to work on improving the most in NXT. Jordan stated “It would be promos and to live in the moment and acknowledge the crowd, whether it’s wresting or when I’m talking. That’s the biggest thing I want to work on. Listening.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
In a recent interview with the Talk Is Jericho podcast, TNA Wrestling talent Joe Hendry gave his thoughts about the process that led to billboards with his face on it appearing in Glasgow, Scotland ahead of this past June’s Clash at the Castle 2024 event being the best $1000 he has ever spent. Hendry stated “I decided that I wanted to get a billboard, with no context, with just my face. I’m calling up the advertising company and they’re going, ‘You just want your face?’ ‘Just my face.’ ‘We can put a QR code.’ ‘No QR code. Just the face.’ WWE were in town at the Hydro, and that’s when I made the decision to hire the two billboards attached to the Hydro with just my face, so when people are walking into SmackDown, they have to walk past my face. I had a long conversation with one my best friends in the business, RD Evans. He’s very much a mentor. I talked about it for weeks in advance, months in advance, and he was one of the people I asked about it and I said, ‘What do you think?’ He said, ‘I can’t tell you how it will be taken in the industry, but I can tell you that the respect you’ll get for having the balls to do it will outweigh any short-term heat you’ll get.” Hendry also stated that he did not get any heat from WWE or anyone else over the billboards stunt. Hendry stated “TNA loved it. WWE loved it. Everybody responded really well and they thought it was funny. Both companies loved it.” Hendry also stated that his billboards stunt cost him $1000 but it was the best $1000 he has ever spent. Hendry stated “It costs about $1000. It’s probably the best $1000 I ever spent.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
In a recent interview with the Good Karma Wrestling podcast, Sami Zayn gave his thoughts about how his Last Man Standing match against Kevin Owens at Ring of Honor’s Showdown in the Sun event in 2012 put him on WWE’s radar for his future career in the company. Zayn stated “There’s one that we (Zayn & Kevin Owens) did in Ring of Honor, WrestleMania weekend. Actually, it’s what put me on WWE’s radar. There was a scout there called Canyon Ceman and it was his first weekend on the job and he saw me in that match and that’s kind of the match that put me on the radar and got me hired in a weird way. It was in (2012) in Florida, WrestleMania weekend. It was a Last Man Standing match.” (Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com)
In a recent interview with Adrian Hernandez, Big E gave his thoughts about his Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder match victory in 2021 and how that ended up catapulting his singles career in WWE. Big E stated “I always think ladder matches are the scariest matches. They are the most high-stakes matches. I mentioned it on the [Money in the Bank] Countdown, but I think it of Joey Mercury and his nose exploding. Those are things, they’re real dangers in ladder matches, and we’re all trying to put on these memorable performances. So it’s one of those matches, I love the Money in the Bank match because it really can take someone who might be kind of middling in their career or someone who’s on the rise, and you kind of skip the line. You get to go tight to the top, and it changed so much for me. I spent so much of my career in the midcard, in tag teams, and I’m so proud of what we did as a tag team with the New Day. But winning the Money in the Bank really just changed things for me. It really catapulted my singles run. I got to be a world champion-because of it. What really makes our business so special is the moments that fans create, and when I got to the top of that ladder and looked out and saw that love that reaction, I’m getting chills again thinking about it because for me, stats are one thing, length of title reigns and all those things, those are important, but it’s about the moments. It’s about the moments with fans and how the fans take to you, and that’s what I’m always so appreciative of. I think so often of that moment. It’s crystallized in my mind, of being on top of that ladder. The first thing, when I got up there, I always think of Jack Swagger when he was up there, and Swagger was fumbling with that carabiner, and that was the last thing you want. You don’t want to be up there fumbling with it. So I was like, ‘Just make sure you get it cleanly.’ I was able to get it fairly smoothly. I’m not great with heights, either, so I’m also trying to make sure. That’s the last thing you want, god forbid that thing teeters on you and I’m falling off, and you climb back up. No, the moment is ruined. So I’m so thankful that I was able to unhook the carabiners fairly smoothly. But being up there on that ladder, filled with adrenaline and looking out, man, that is special. I always tell people I wish I could bottle that moment, what it feels like, and give it to everybody because it is special, and that’s what that match means, man. It has meant so much to my career.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
In a recent interview with Sportskeeda’s WrestleBinge podcast, the Hardys gave their thoughts about being interested in competing for the NXT Tag Team Championship. Matt Hardy stated “In wrestling, never say never and I will say that the NXT Tag Team Titles are not on our list of titles that we’ve won so we are interested in that and I think this crossover between NXT and TNA is great, it’s exciting, it’s unpredictable and I think that’s a positive for the business and the industry.” Jeff Hardy responded stating “Yeah, I’m a fan of first-time evers and us in NXT, just the vision of that, it’s very exciting to me but when Matt first showed up in TNA, my wife called me in the bathroom and said, ‘Did you know Matt was going to TNA!?’ I said, ‘No! I had no idea’ and then I watched the footage, ‘Oh my God’ and to myself, I speak with my soul, there’s no way we’re going back to TNA. But then I just let that dwell and I thought about it and then I was like, oh my God, wait a minute, I had a lot of cool moments in TNA. I created a lot of great memories in TNA and then it was last notice that we had the conversation and I agreed to go back and for some reason, it just feels right. Like it was supposed to be this way so, especially with the Joe Hendry deal, NXT, Jordynne (Grace) showing up. All that stuff is so exciting so I think it kind of happened for a reason.” (Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com)
As noted before, Natalya recently signed a new contract with WWE. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Natalya staying with WWE guarantees that her current record of being the longest tenured female wrestler will be extended, which is currently at 17 and a half years. Meltzer reported that only The Miz and Randy Orton have that long of an uninterrupted longevity on WWE’s current roster.
Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that TKO and WWE’s recent cut backs on the amount of house show events for their main roster has not spilled over to their NXT brand. Meltzer reported that instead of cutting back on the number of house show events, WWE recently added five new house show events in Florida to NXT’s events schedule for this summer and September.
WWE reportedly drew an attendance of 9,344 for their July 12th SmackDown show in Worcester, MA, around 15,000 for their July 13th house show event in Mexico City, Mexico, 10,500 for their July 14th house show event in Monterrey, Mexico, and 8,609 for their July 15th RAW show in Dayton, OH, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
WWE reportedly has sold around 5,369 tickets for their July 22nd RAW show in Green Bay, WI, 10,678 tickets for their July 29th RAW show in St. Paul, MN, 47,476 tickets for their Aug. 3rd SummerSlam 2024 event at the Cleveland Browns Stadium in Cleveland, OH, 8,014 tickets for their Aug. 5th RAW show in Baltimore, MD, 7,493 tickets for their Aug. 9th SmackDown show in Tulsa, OK, 11,092 tickets for their Aug. 12th RAW show in Austin, TX, 8,570 tickets for their Aug. 16th SmackDown show in Orlando, FL, 2,665 tickets for their Aug. 17th house show event in Lakeland, FL, 3,081 tickets for their Aug. 18th house show event in Estero, FL, 9,029 tickets for their Aug. 23rd SmackDown show in Washington, DC, 6,107 tickets for their Aug. 26th RAW show in Providence, RI, 11,909 tickets for their Aug. 30th SmackDown show in Berlin, 12,037 tickets for their Aug. 31st Bash in Berlin event in Berlin, Germany, 9,112 tickets for their Sept. 6th SmackDown show in Edmonton, Canada, 6,576 tickets for their Sept. 9th RAW show in Calgary, Canada, 10,411 tickets for their Sept. 13th SmackDown show in Seattle, WA, 7,980 tickets for their Sept. 16th RAW show in Portland, OR, 11,337 tickets for their Sept. 20th SmackDown show in Sacramento, CA, 8,361 tickets for their Sept. 23rd RAW show in Ontario, CA, and 5,262 tickets for their Sept. 27th SmackDown show in Oklahoma City, OK as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

AEW & ROH

As noted before, Saturday’s AEW Collsion show in Arlington, Texas featured a new intro song for Collision replacing Elton John’s “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting” song that had been used since the series’ debut. AEW music composer Mikey Rukus recently responded on Twitter about the negative online reaction over the intro song being changed for Collision. Rukus stated “Hey guys. Its ok. I knew it would be universally hated. Theres no such thing as an upgrade from Elton. Change is inevitable. We tried something different with the college/gogo cadence. I knew many would t get it. Again, it’s ok. I’m happy with it, my team is happy with it. It’s not changing.“
As noted before, Skye Blue suffered an ankle injury at Saturday’s AEW Collision show that resulted in her match with Hikaru Shida being called off due to Skye being unable to continue. Blue’s real life boyfriend Kyle Fletcher provided an update earlier today on Twitter stating that Blue is back at home and recovering from her injury. Fletcher also posted a photo of Blue wearing a wrap around her ankle and foot.
Saturday’s AEW Collision show also featured Hologram making his official in-ring debut for AEW. Fightful Select reported that their sources stated that AEW officials currently have plans in place to introduce more of their “technological ambitious” elements for Hologram’s presentation going forward.
Saturday’s AEW Collision show also featured The Von Erichs (Ross, Marshall, & Kevin Von Erich) making a surprise appearance in a backstage segment with Dustin Rhodes. This was the Von Erichs first appearance in AEW since this past February.
Jay White has been absent from AEW since the July 6th AEW Collision show due to a storyline injury at the hands of Christian Cage. Fightful Select reported that their sources stated that White’s injury is actually legitimate and not just a storyline one. It was reported that AEW officials currently have more plans in place for the Bullet Club Gold storyline revolving around White’s injury that will continue to unfold in upcoming weeks.
AEW recently announced two new segments for this week’s Dynamite Blood & Guts 2024 show at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. The first new segment announced was the debut of “The Glamour” Mariah May and the second new segment announced was a promo segment featuring MJF.
As noted before, Slim J was released by AEW and ROH this past April as part of a large batch of releases. In a recent interview with the Jaddltion’s Talking Indys podcast, Slim J gave his thoughts about his time in AEW and ROH and his release from both this past April. Slim J stated ” I was per appearance through AEW so, I already had my insurance through my job, luckily. But if I wasn’t and trying to live off of it — I mean, majority of people when they get signed, regardless of the contract, they’re like, ‘I’m a wrestler now. Yeah! I made it, this is how I do it. This is all I do.’ No. You better keep grinding, you better keep working. This business isn’t a money driven kind of thing. It’s few and far. It’s kind of like NFL or anything to make it there. There are so many people that have not made it or even got the opportunity to make it for a shot in front of these same people that I’ve gotten numerous opportunities and I finally got the contracts. Did I get used well? Did I get used to my potential? No. But, that’s the name of the game. Am I disappointed in that? Yeah. But is that gonna break me down and break me? Hell no. I’m telling you, I’ve got so many sh*t sandwich(es) that I could tell you where I just choked ‘em right down… And just kept going through; that are way darker than getting a phone call from Tony Schiavone telling me that they’re letting me go… I did get a lot of positive feedback (from my post-AEW statement) and I was in my feelings when I did post that but, it wasn’t anything negative that I said and I didn’t sh*t on anybody, I didn’t curse anybody’s name, nothing like that. I was extremely grateful for my opportunity at AEW. I just displayed what I think the fans never got from me is the truth about my character and everything that I do. I give 100 percent plus 10 more every single time that I’m out there. My work’s not it. It’s the other and I know that. I’m not oblivious.” (Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com)
As noted before, this past Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite 250 show featured Mercedes Mone defeating Nyla Rose to retain her TBS Championship. This match was notable for Mone’s post-match confrontation with a fan in the crowd who was wearing a Sting mask and led to this fan shoving Mone and unmasking herself revealing herself to be Britt Baker. Sting recently responded on Twitter to Baker paying tribute to him stating “It’s Showtime for D.M.D. 🦂👊🏼 @RealBrittBaker“
Paul Wight has been absent from AEW since November of 2023. Wight recently provided an update on Instagram posting a workout photo and stated that he is feeling no pain since his double knees and hip surgery. Wight stated “Today was a great day! Grateful. ❤️😎💪. Both knees both hips replaced. No pain! Well other than the hard work to get back into shape. That’s not egg shaped. lol. #rebuild #gym #fun“
Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that there still has been no real new movement in tickets sales for AEW’s upcoming All In 2024 event on August 25th at Wembley Stadium in London, England. Meltzer reported that WrestleTix’s update as of this past Thursday was around 40,964 tickets sold and distributed while those within AEW still claim that they have moved 45,000 tickets for the event as of this week. In regards to historical rankings, Meltzer reported that this year’s All In event is already the fourth largest crowd ever for a wrestling event in the United Kingdom. Meltzer reported that should AEW’s event reach 58,000 paid tickets, that would make it the highest paid attendance event for a wrestling event this year.
As noted before, Megan Bayne’s contract with AEW is currently believed to have expired this past June. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that Bayne had agreed to a verbal deal with Marigold following her departure from Stardom this past January but issues with AEW have caused her status for Marigold to be in doubt. Marigold officials reportedly had expected for Bayne to debut for their company for their current tour in Japan but Bayne had recently informed the company that she was in a contract dispute with AEW. Bayne reportedly ghosted Marigold afterwards when it came to providing an update on her contract and free agency status after emails were sent asking for clarification. Meltzer reported that Marigold officials are currently under the assumption that Bayne is still with AEW and her nor Rebecca Scott, who Bayne wanted to bring with her to the company, will be coming to them.
As noted before, the NBA is currently expected to officially announce their new media rights deals soon and Warner Bros Discovery is expected to lose out on their NBA TV deal but are seeking legal options that would allow them to match Amazon’s deal in order to keep the NBA on TNT. Puck’s John Ourand reported that Warner Bros Discovery will be matching the the $1.8 billion per year C package for the NBA, which is currently held by Amazon. It was reported that the NBA still wants Amazon over WBD for this package despite WBD having the rights to match any deal per terms of their current contract with the NBA. It was reported that in order for the NBA to reject WBD’s offer, they would have to show that for distribution reasons, matching the money isn’t a match meaning that this would likely be heading to the courts for an official decision. It was reported that WBD is currently arguing that they have a streaming component of MAX for their NBA games while the NBA is expected to argue that MAX is not equivalent in matching Amazon. In regards to the impact on AEW, Meltzer reported that this basically means that a potential new media rights deal from WBD for AEW would likely be delayed until this legal issue is settled or clears up. Meltzer also reported that the monetary amount that AEW could get from WBD for a new media rights deal is also currently uncertain due WBD’s budget status with the NBA talks and also their plans to lay off around 1,000 employees from the company soon. Another potential factor is WBD is currently considering splitting their MAX business from their television business to create a brand new company and as a way to alliterative the high debt off of their streaming business.
Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Will Ospreay is currently interested in making an appearance for
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre to work in the Arena Mexico. Ospreay reportedly became more interested in the idea following him responding to a post on social media about last week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that mentioned Bryan Danielson will be joining a very exclusive group of wrestlers who have worked at Wembley Stadium, Madison Square Garden, Tokyo Dome, and Arena Mexico in their careers.
AEW reportedly drew an attendance of 3,051 for their July 17th Dynamite 250 show in Little Rock, AR, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
AEW reportedly has sold around 3,506 tickets for their July 24th Dynamite Blood & Guts 2024 show in Nashville, TN, 865 for their July 27th Collision show in Arlington, TX, 1,568 tickets for their July 31st Dynamite show in Greenville, SC, 363 tickets for their Aug. 1st Collision show in Arlington, TX, 1,519 tickets for their Aug. 7th Dynamite show in Winston-Salem, NC, 512 tickets for their Aug. 10th Collision show in Arlington, TX, 1,528 tickets for their Aug, 14th Dynamite show in Norfolk, VA, 536 tickets for their Aug. 17th Collision show in Arlington, TX, 3,256 tickets for their Aug. 21st Dynamite show in Cardiff, Wales, 726 tickets for their Aug. 28th Dynamite show in Champaign, IL, 1,121 tickets for their Aug. 31st Collision show in Sioux Falls, SD, 1,299 tickets for their Sept. 4th Dynamite show in Milwaukee, WI, and 5,825 tickets for their Sept. 7th All Out 2024 event in Hoffman Estates, IL as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Ring of Honor reportedly has sold around 808 tickets for their July 26th Death Before Dishonor 2024 event at the Esports Stadium Arlington in Arlington, TX as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

TNA, NJPW, Indies, & Misc. Wrestling

Saturday’s Peter Pan 2024 event for DDT Pro Wrestling featured Kota Ibushi making a surprise appearance. During the Weapons Rumble match between Danshoku Dino and Sanshiro Takagi for the Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship, Ibushi made a surprise appearance as one of the “weapons” for Dino. Besides his surprise appearance, Ibushi also wrestled in the match helping Dino secure the victory to retain his title. Following the match, Ibushi gave a speech asking DDT founder Takagi if he can come back again in the ring for DDT, which Takagi accepted.
As noted before, Jordynne Grace had teased this past week that TNA’s Slammiversary 2024 event would feature several big surprises that would be even bigger than what most people realize and claimed that TNA and WWE do surprises better than any other promotion. Following the event, Grace responded on Twitter to the negative online backlash over her comments after the only big surprise appearance at the event was former referee Earl Hebner. Grace stated “Never said this, but do apologize for the lack of surprise – could have never predicted a global tech outage cancelling thousands of flights. Several wrestlers, including my husband, could not make it. I regret trying to hype the show with that statement, sorry guys! 🫠😬” In a follow-up tweet, Grace stated “Management worked so hard to make sure as many people made it as possible! So much time and expense. A dozen wrestlers drove 12+ hours overnight. Nightmare travel situation before such a big event.” This weekend saw a global tech outage caused by an issue with Microsoft-run software from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike this past Friday that resulted in a lot of flights being grounded, health services being disrupted, many payment systems crashing and becoming unacceptable, and other IT related services being blocked. Besides TNA, several indies including GCW and DEFY Wrestling were also affected by travel-related issues caused by the global outage resulting in advertised talents not being able to make their scheduled appearances.
WrestleTix confirmed that TNA Wrestling had sold and distributed over 4,000 tickets for Saturday’s Slammiversary 2024 event at the Verdun Auditorium in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that TNA’s live gate for Slammiversary 2024 was less than what they drew for this past January’s Hard to Kill 2024 event in Las Vegas, Nevada. Meltzer reported that the main reason was due to most of the tickets sold were to PCO who then distributed it to others and many of the tickets sold were for $13 or less in Canadian dollars.
PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that his sources denied the rumors of WWE SVP of NXT & Talent Relations Shawn Michaels being in attendance backstage at Saturday’s TNA Slammiversary 2024 event.
Josh Barnett recently announced two new matches for the card of Game Changer Wrestling’s Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport XI event on July 28th in Brooklyn, New York. The first new match announced was Charlie Dempsey vs. Royce Issacs. The second new match announced was Brutus Creed vs. “Filthy” Tom Lawlor.
This past Friday’s GCW So High event in Sauget, Illinois featured Raj Dhesi, former Jinder Mahal in WWE, making his surprise debut appearance for the company. During the show, a mystery masked person ran out and attacked EFFY in the ring. This mystery person hit the Khallas on EFFY and proceeded to unmask revealing himself to be Dhesi.
GCW announced one new match for the card of their Now And Forever 2024 event on August 2nd in Cleveland, Ohio. This new match announced was a singles match of Raj Dhesi vs. EFFY.
As noted before, Matt Hardy will be making his official debut appearance for GCW at their Now And Forever 2024 event on August 2nd in Cleveland, Ohio. In a recent episode of The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast, co-host Hardy gave his thoughts about the process leading to his GCW booking and revealed that he signed a multi-dates deal with GCW. Hardy stated “An opportunity came up. It’s funny, the promoter from GCW actually reached out to me the day before I was going to debut at [TNA] Rebellion. He said, ‘Hey, are you interested in coming to LA tomorrow?’ There’s a couple guys that has talked to me about doing some stuff there, and there’d been some interest. I’d spoken with Brett Lauderdale a couple times. I said, ‘No, I’m booked already tomorrow.’ That’s kind of where I left the conversation at. He said, ‘I’ll be in touch if some other stuff comes up.’ Then a couple ideas started happening, and they are churning. This is more than just one appearance for me in GCW, so we’re gonna do a multi-show deal, and it’s gonna be exciting. I think it’s really exciting that they announced it, that Matt Hardy’s gonna be there, and I think once you find out who I’m wrestling, people are gonna go even more nuts, and it’s gonna lead to some other stuff. I think it’s gonna be really cool, I’m very much looking forward to it. I was pretty pumped about now positive the feedback was. Seems like it’s gonna be win-win so far.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
As noted before, The Motor City Machine Guns’ Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin’s contracts with TNA Wrestling expired at the end of this past March and are currently expected to be joining WWE following Shelley’s “farewell” to the indies speech at an indie event earlier this month. During Saturday’s Untouchable co-promoted event for West Coast Pro Wrestling in San Fransisco, California, Shelley provided an update in a speech to the crowd. Shelley stated “Spoiler alert. I might not come back here.” Following his speech, rumors of the MCMG signing with WWE grew due to the belief that Shelley would not have given this speech had they signed with AEW due to AEW’s policy of allowing their talents to continue working in the indies.
Raj Dhesi, former Jinder Mahal in WWE, recently announced on Twitter his current schedule of indies bookings he is promoting as the “Unhinged Tour.”
The National Wrestling Alliance recently announced that they have recently signed Kenzie Page to an exclusive contract with the company.
A GoFundMe fundraiser was recently launched for former WWE wrestler “The Berzerker” John Nord to help financially assist his medical costs due to him currently suffering from a life-threatening infection illness in his knee. It was announced “John Nord – “Nord the Barbarian” “The Berzerker” – is in a fight to save his leg. John’s had almost 8 months of surgeries to replace his knee is now in a fight against life-threatening infections in both his knee and his blood. Help John in this fight.”
New Japan Pro Wrestling reportedly drew a paid attendance of 906 for their July 13th NJPW x CMLL Fantasicamania USA 2024 event in San Jose, California, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
CMLL reportedly drew an attendance of around 10,000 for their Leyenda de Plata 2024 event in Mexico City, Mexico, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Pro Wrestling NOAH reportedly drew a paid attendance of 4,196 for their July 13th Destination 2024 event in Tokyo, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. This event was notable for featuring WWE’s AJ Styles, who competed in a match against Naomichi Marufuji.
Marigold reportedly drew a paid attendance of 3,058 for their July 13th Summer Destiny 2024 event in Tokyo, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. This event was notable for featuring WWE’s IYO SKY, who competed in a match against Utami Hayashishita.
Stardom reportedly drew a paid attendance of 335 for their July 12th event in Osaka, 351 for their July 13th event in Osaka, and 405 for their July 14th event in Shiga, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Maple Leaf Wrestling filed trademarks for “Maximum Pro Wrestling” and “MaxPro” for wrestling and merchandise-related purposes on July 18th to the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Maple Leaf Wrestling is currently owned by former TNA President Scott D’Amore.
WOS Wrestling announced that Alex Windsor will be making an appearance for the company at their WOS taping on September 14th in London, England.

Wrestling TV Ratings for Week of July 12 to July 18, 2024

WWE Friday Night SmackDown – 2,355,000 viewers, 0.70 rating (prior week – 2,256,000 viewers, 0.66 rating)
WWE RAW – 1,669,000 viewers, 0.56 rating (prior week – 1,750,000 viewers, 0.59 rating)
WWE NXT – 610,000 viewers, 0.20 rating (prior week – 656,000 viewers, 0.24 rating)
AEW Rampage – 339,000 viewers, 0.12 rating (prior week – 309,000 viewers, 0.10 rating)
AEW Collision – 362,000 viewers, 0.14 rating (prior week – 308,000 viewers, 0.08 rating)
AEW Dynamite – 795,000 viewers, 0.27 rating (prior week – 691,000 viewers, 0.23 rating)
TNA Wrestling Impact! – N/A (prior week – N/A)
Various – Biography: WWE Legends (A&E) – 160,000 viewers, 0.04 rating (prior week – N/A)
Various – WWE Most Wanted Treasures – 158,000 viewers, 0.06 rating (prior week – N/A)

Total wrestling television viewership for the week: 6,448,000 viewers, up 478,000 viewers from the prior week’s 5,970,000 viewers.

The viewership and ratings numbers for the July 11th and July 18th TNA Impact! shows are currently not known.

A&E did not air a new episode of Biography: WWE Legends on July 7th due to WWE holding their NXT Heatwave 2024 that night.

The July 14th episode of WWE Most Wanted Treasures was the mid-season return for the current third season.