Various: Davey Boy Smith Jr. Underwent Emergency Surgery, NWA Announces Return of Territory System, Indies

Oct 13, 2023

Davey Boy Smith Jr. Underwent Emergency Appendix & Colon Surgery, Pulled from MLW Slaughterhouse Event

Major League Wrestling recently announced that they had pulled Davey Boy Smith Jr. from their upcoming Slaughterhouse event and placed him on their injured reserve list. It was also announced that “Filthy” Tom Lawlor will be officially replacing Smith Jr. for his scheduled match against Alex Kayne for the MLW World Championship at the event.

Smith Jr. provided a medical update on Instagram stating that he recently underwent emergency surgery for appendicitis and appendix removal that also led to doctors discovering that he also was suffering from diverticulitis and had part of his colon removed as well.

I wanted to inform everyone officially I needed to have Emergency surgery 🏥 👨‍⚕️ ❤️‍🩹 late last night for appendicitis + appendix removal, to find out it was diverticulitis as well. 😬I have had part of colon removed with some of my appendix as well for the procedure 😷🤕🤒. Folks this was one of the most painful experiences of my life, but I’m glad I got it done. A burst appendix can lead to serious complications too. I’m sad to announce my withdrawal from the @majorleaguewrestling World Title Match vs. Alex Kane this weekend in Philadelphia as well😔. Hopefully I can get this same opportunity in the future when I’m back healthy, and so sorry to my fans, these things happen and was not something I ever want to endure again! Trust me! The was a 12/10 in the pain scale. Arigatou. I’m in stable condition now, but I am still in immense pain 😷😫🤒I’ll keep everyone posted with updates.
Thanks for everyone reaching out to me also.
-Harry

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NWA Announces Return of Territory System & Exodus Pro Midwest as First New Affiliated NWA Territory

The National Wrestling Alliance recently announced that they will be reviving the former NWA territory system starting this month.

It was also announced that indie promotion Exodus Pro Midwest will become the first official affiliated NWA territory under this new revived system.

Official press release:

NATIONAL WRESTLING ALLIANCE EMBARKS ON HISTORIC TERRITORY SYSTEM REVIVAL UNDER LEADERSHIP OF PRESIDENT WILLIAM PATRICK CORGAN
* The first affiliate territory for the Lightning One era is NWA Exodus Pro Midwest
* Territory is lead by NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion EC3
* More territories are being explored domestically and internationally
CLEVELAND, OH – In a move marking a pivotal moment in the history of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), President William Patrick Corgan has announced the revival of the promotion’s territorial system, a cherished tradition for the NWA, which harkens back to the roots of professional wrestling and the alliance’s formation 75 years ago. The move is aimed at fostering collaboration, unity and the development of future wrestling stars. The inaugural affiliate territory to join this initiative is NWA Exodus Pro Midwest, under the stewardship of none other than the NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion, EC3.
In a statement reflecting the essence of this moment, Billy Corgan remarked, “We are returning to the collaboration that defined the NWA, embracing a model that not only honors our rich history but also propels us into a future of young stars. This initial undertaking with NWA Exodus Pro, as well as all our affiliate promotions to come, will play a pivotal role in who appears on NWA television in the future, as well as affording those affiliate promotions consistent access to all the top NWA champions and superstars.”
NWA Exodus Pro Midwest, led by the illustrious NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion EC3, will see its Men’s Heavyweight Championship officially recognized by the NWA—a testament to the gravity of this new chapter in NWA history. This collaboration not only signifies a mutual partnership but also symbolizes a shared commitment to the growth and evolution of professional wrestling.
EC3 expressed his excitement, stating, “I am honored to lead NWA Exodus Pro Midwest into this new chapter. I’ve long sought a way to create a platform of opportunity for up and coming talent to “tell their story.” With the WPC and the NWA, I have the right partner and wrestling’s most important legacy. To have the NWA’s brand, create shows, and cultivate talent, especially in the Midwest region, is something I’m incredibly passionate about. Together, we will pave the way for a future that respects the traditions of the past while pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. Dare I say, we can “control the narrative.”
The inaugural celebration of this historic affiliation will be marked by “NWA Presents: Samhain” on October 28, 2023, hosted at TempleLive in Cleveland. Fans can secure their tickets and pay-per-view access by visiting NWATix.com and Fite.TV.
“NWA Presents: Samhain” promises to be the most intense and physical pay-per-view of the modern era, and will have the Sinister Minister Father James Mitchell as host and master of ceremonies.

Misc. Wrestling News & Notes

In a recent episode of the Kliq This podcast, co-host Kevin Nash revealed that he recently underwent a medical procedure to remove skin cancer. Nash stated “I’m fine. I’m not bloated, I don’t have a fucking headache. I have a fucking cut on my face, which will heal, just like the thirty three other ones I’ve had on my body. I’m going to be fine. I go into this place and they tell me about the procedure. They say that they’re going to make a hole and they’re going to make sure they cut around and get all the cancer on the first take. I’m laying on this table, in comes this crew that says Augusta ground crew and they’ve got that round thing where they change the holes on the green. They stick that motherfucker on my face. He pulls it away, I can smell that they’re cauterizing my fucking skin, I can smell my skin burning. They pulled back and they show me this wound, and then he takes a pen and makes this crucifix in my face. He was determining on the flexibility of my skin, either they’re going to go east west or north south. They cut north south on me, so they fucking sew me up and everything. Everybody in the waiting room, everybody has already got some patch on them that’s already been in for round one and they didn’t get it all, so they’re waiting to go back in to get more shit cut out. If I would have had more shit than that, I don’t know if I would have a fucking face. I’m 64 years old, and all of this damage is when we were kids, all of this skin damage is when we were kids. I know exactly why I have these problems, I’ve had several things cut off of me, was the 25 plus years of laying in tanning beds in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and everywhere else that had no sun because we had Monday Night Raw, and there wasn’t an alternative. It wasn’t like spray tans or anything that were effective. When tanning beds first came out, they were saying how they took the burning rays out of it, it was safer than the sun.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)

Stardom announced that Tam Nakano recently suffered a knee injury and will be out of action for the company for at least this weekend’s events.

Stardom also recently announced that they have pulled AZM from their upcoming events this weekend due to precautionary reasons related to her recently showing signs of a potential injury.

The official debut trailer for the upcoming wrestling-based film The Iron Claw based on the legendary Von Erich Family was recently released by A24. Marshall Von Erich recently commented on Twitter about the upcoming film based on his family stating “I knew it wouldn’t be 100% accurate because my Dad wasn’t Involved but those of you that know our family know that God played a major role in our story. Still excited about it and think it can help a lot of people that are suffering from loss. They nailed the wardrobe tho 😂“

Thursday’s Impact Wrestling’s Impact! show featured Oleg Prudius, former Vladimir Kozlov in WWE, making his surprise return to the company. Prudius made his surprise appearance during the Five-way match to determine who would get the #20 spot for the Call You Shot Gauntlet match at Bound For Glory 2023. Prudius came out and helped Dirty Dango secure the pinfall victory over Jake Something in the match. This was Prudius’ first appearance in Impact since this past March.

Impact announced that tickets for their October 28th UK Invasion Tour event in Coventry, England recently reached sold out status.

Impact also recently announced one updated match for the card of their Bound For Glory 2023 event on

Impact World Tag Team Championship – ABC (Ace Austin & Chris Bey) vs. The Rascalz (Zachary Wentz & Trey Miguel) (c)

New Japan Pro Wrestling recently announced one new match for the card of their Lonestar Shootout 2023 event on November 10th in Dallas, Texas:

IWGP Women’s Championhsip – TBA vs. Mayu Iwatani (c)

NJPW also recently announced three new matches for the card of their Power Struggle 2023 event on November 4th in Osaka, Japan:

Just Five Guys (Yuya Uemura & SANADA) vs. Yota Tsuji & Tetsuya Naito
NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship – TMDK (Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls, & Zack Sabre Jr.) vs. Tomohiro Ishii, Hiroshi Tanahashi, & Kazuchika Okada (c)
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship – Taiji Ishimorii vs. Hiromu Takahashi (c)

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

SANADA & Yuya Uemura vs. Tetsuya Naito & Hiromu Takahashi
NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Team Championship – Murder Sauce (Alex Zayne & Lance Archer) vs. ELP & Hikuleo (c)
NJPW Strong Openweight #1 Contender Four-way match – Statoshi Kojima vs. Fred Rosser vs. Alex Coughlin vs. Jeff Cobb
“Filthy” Tom Lawlor vs. Gabe Kidd

The National Wrestling Alliance recently announced one updated match and one new match for the card of their NWA Samhain event on October 28th in Cleveland, Ohio:

Submission match – Jax Dane vs. Blake Troop
Southern 6 (Alex Taylor & Kerry Morton) vs. The Headbangers (Mosh & Thrasher)