Various: Thanksgiving Turkey Bowl & TNA Knockouts World Title Matches Set for TNA Turning Point 2024, Kenny Omega on Backstage “Altercation” with Gabe Kidd in NJPW, Indies

Nov 14, 2024

Thanksgiving Turkey Bowl Match & TNA Knockouts World Title Match Announced for TNA Turning Point 2024

TNA Wrestling announced two new matches for the card of their Turning Point 2024 event, which takes place on November 29th at the Benton Convention Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

The first new match announced was a Thanksgiving Turkey Bowl match of Joe Hendry vs. Eric Young vs. Hammerstone vs. PCO vs. Brian Myers vs. John Skyler.

BREAKING: The Thanksgiving Turkey Bowl Match returns at #TNATurningPoint on November 29 LIVE on TNA+ from @WrestleCade in Winston-Salem, NC! @joehendry @TheEricYoung @alexhammerstone @PCOisNotHuman @Myers_Wrestling @TheJohnSkyler

Get tickets: https://t.co/x7QQ2f18JN pic.twitter.com/XRiuafkY75
— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) November 15, 2024

The second new match announced was a TNA Knockouts World Championship match of Jordynne Grace vs. Winner of Alisha Edwards/Masha Slamovich (c).

BREAKING: @mashaslamovich will face @MrsAIPAlisha NEXT WEEK on #TNAiMPACT and the winner will face @JordynneGrace for the Knockouts World Championship at #TNATurningPoint on November 29 LIVE on TNA+ from @WrestleCade in Winston-Salem, NC.

Get tickets: https://t.co/x7QQ2f18JN pic.twitter.com/tbhKMv1K44
— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) November 15, 2024

Current card for TNA Turning Point 2024:

TNA World Championship – Eddie Edwards vs. Nic Nemeth (c)
TNA Knockouts World Championship match – Jordynne Grace vs. Winner of Alisha Edwards/Masha Slamovich (c)
Thanksgiving Turkey Bowl match – Joe Hendry vs. Eric Young vs. Hammerstone vs. PCO vs. Brian Myers vs. John Skyler

Kenny Omega Comments on Recent Backstage Altercation with Gabe Kidd in NJPW & Potential of Kidd Being His Wrestle Dynasty Opponent

As noted before, New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Power Struggle 2024 event earlier this month in Osaka, Japan featured Kenny Omega making an appearance and announced his upcoming in-ring return from diverticulitis. Omega’s appearance was also notable for him being involved in a storyline backstage altercation with Gabe Kidd.

Fightful held a recent interview with Omega. One of the topics discussed included Omega’s thoughts about his recent backstage altercation with Gabe Kidd in NJPW.

“I’ve said it before, many times, there are certain things in the locker room that shouldn’t be shared to the general public. This is one of the locker room spats. It didn’t need to be shown to the world. It could have been handled so much differently. It’s so silly.
Here’s the thing with that. I’m not sure if the video played. I had taken so many videos that day at the New Japan office and they kept asking me, ‘What are the names of the young talents that you have an interest in?’ I am always a proponent of helping prop up the younger talent. I’m always a proponent of doing what I can for the next generation to rise up. Having to turn that switch off and on between Japanese to English, I got flustered, and I had said, ‘Greg Kidd,’ in the heat of the moment. Seeing there was a camera on and that it was being recorded, I immediately said, as soon as I was corrected, ‘Don’t use that.’ I wouldn’t say it was unprofessional, but I wouldn’t want that to be aired as though I don’t understand or (don’t) know of someone’s name in New Japan. It’s not that I didn’t know it. As soon as they said Gabe, I said, ‘Yes.’
The truth is, I know more Gregs in wrestling than I do Gabes. I know many Gregs that are wrestlers and I think the only Gabe that I know of in wrestling is a booker, matchmaker, promoter guy [Gabe Sapolsky]. It was more of a natural response when I’m banging off names that Greg slips out instead of Gabe. After I said that, someone had yelled out, it may have been Chris Charlton, he said, ‘Oh no, Gabe.’ Everyone is chuckling. It’s just us in the office, so I’m laughing too. ‘Oh geez, that’s going to look terrible. Let’s cut that.’ I guess it made it in or someone had told Gabe, ‘He fucked up your name.’ I feel bad about it …
As soon as I come back and do the backstage interview. Around the corner, here we have Gabe, with Robbie X, another person I had never met until that day. Robbie, consummate professional, shakes my hand. No big deal. Gabe. Here is my first chance to shake this guy’s hand, hopefully smooth things over, make the wrong right. He goes into this huge speil right away about me not knowing his name. If you really think about it, why would you get so mad about a tiny little slip-up?”

Omega also gave his thoughts about the potential of Kidd being his opponent for his in-ring return match at Wrestle Dynasty.

“Gabe needs a reality check. We’re not equals anymore. I look at you as an equal. We’re human beings. You’ve done me no harm and no wrong. I’m going to respond in kind and treat you as an equal. Gabe comes out, swinging for the fences. Comes out feeling like he’s been disrespected and insulted. In turn, he not only insults me in the process, but he leaves a gigantic poop stain on the image of New Japan. It doesn’t look good for the company. It doesn’t look good for this business relationship that we’re trying to nurture and foster. Does it suck that the video was released? Absolutely. I can’t help but think that it was done with some purposeful intent because as soon as it happened, here I am in the back hoping no one saw it. I didn’t think there was a need for people to freak out about it. Someone had mentioned it as soon as it happened live on air, as if it was part as some kind of wrestling storyline. Now it’s a thing of, ‘This is a storyline. Kenny Omega was assaulted backstage by Gabe Kidd. That’s his opponent.’ I can tell you right now, that was never…I tossed out a bunch of names as possibilities …
When I mentioned Gabe’s name specifically, that was amongst a list of ten other people. There is no specific curiosity or interest in Gabe. I think he saw an opportunity for himself, which is commonplace now. We use social media as a tool to promote ourselves. I think Gabe saw an opportunity and could make a name for himself by doing something, that he was hoping would be reported on. If this was the first time this has happened in my career, I’d be pretty embarrassed. How am I always ending up in this situations? Maybe I’m the problem. I don’t know what it is. Now I have to get to a situation where I need to put that behind me and I need to start looking towards my return to the ring. This Gabe Kidd thing, it is what it is. You can analyze it until the cows come home and it’s not going to do you any good. For me, it’s water under the bridge. I don’t like to hold grudges. Do I think he’s a suitable opponent for my return? No, absolutely not. I’m coming back from a life-threatening injury and professional wrestling and fighting are similar, but they’re a little different. If this were a thing where Gabe really wanted to fight, I feel like that challenge would have been tossed my way already, and maybe we would have found a nook and cranny in some locker room, or we would have gone to the dojo. I don’t know. Maybe not.”

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com

Misc. Wrestling News & Notes

Former All Japan Pro Wrestling and National Wrestling Alliance wrestler Sandy Parker passed away at the age of 77 in June of 2022. Parker’s passing was first announced by Slam! Wrestling who reported that the reason for the long delay was due to this was something that was only recently discovered this week. It was reported that following Parker being hospitalized in 2022, everyone had lost contact with her. Parker’s wrestling career spanned from 1969 to 1986 and was historic for her becoming the first ever African American female wrestler to win a World Championship. Parker achieved the historic achievement following her defeating Miyoko Hoshino to become the AJPW’s WWWA World Champion in a match in May of 1973.

Warner Bros Discovery recently released their new docuseries, titled Call Me Ted, based on media mogul and former WCW owner Ted Turner on their MAX streaming service. Turner recently reflected on Twitter about WBD’s docuseries based on his life and legacy. Turner stated “Warner Bros. Discovery certainly knocked it out of the ballpark with this intimate and revealing biopic about my life. I’m grateful, honored and humbled by all the contributors who took time to share stories and observations. #callmeted“

In a recent interview with the Something To Wrestle with Bruce Prichard podcast, WWE Hall of Famer John Bradshaw Layfield gave his thoughts about his recent appearances in TNA, Lucha Libre AAA, and the indies and the endgame for it. JBL stated “I’ll tell you this, we’re talking about Bruce [Prichard], Bruce gave me the whole game plan. I won’t give you everything Bruce told me, but I told him I was bored, and I wanted to do something. Bruce laid out the entire gameplan of what he did, about what guys have done to create interest, to create something that’s worthwhile and something that is worth seeing. He gave me this whole game plan. I have not really confided in him since because he’s so busy. I have confided in you [Conrad Thompson], and I have confided in Gerald Brisco. You’re probably the only two guys that know the stuff I’m doing. You made some phone calls that instantly got me into a lot of different places, which I greatly appreciate. But Bruce is the one who gave me the game plan for all this. All this stuff that I’m doing on the independents, the stuff that I’m doing on social media, I’ve got some stuff coming up that I think is pretty cool. We’re gonna have a lot more things. There is an endgame to this. But it all came from Bruce. Bruce gave me this game plan a while back. He doesn’t know what I’m doing now, he doesn’t ask. But a lot of it came directly from Bruce. I’m having the most fun I’ve ever had in my life. I love this business so much, and I have missed being in the business. It’s so fun just to be around the guys, and it’s so fun just to be arenas, be around wrestling rings, be around fans. I love this business, and I’m not ready to go off into the sunset yet. So [I’m] having a lot of fun, but a lot of this came from Bruce.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)

In a recent interview with FOX News, Eric Bischoff stated that he will be donating his pay from his upcoming appearance at Major League Wrestling’s One Shot 2024 event on December 5th in New York City to the Tunnels to Towers charity. Bischoff stated “One of the things I told (MLW founder Court Bauer) right away was this isn’t about the money. He started to negotiate my fee and I really wasn’t interested in negotiating it, I just said whatever it is, I’m going to donate it to Tunnel to Towers. So, it doesn’t matter, and I don’t want to negotiate it. I just want whatever it is to be donated because I’m not doing this for the money. I’m doing it for the fun.“

MLW talent Salina De La Renta and her significant other Jovan Fresco recently announced on Instagram the birth of their first child on Thursday.

MLW recently announced that CMLL talent Atlantis will be making an appearance for the company at their Kings of Colosseum 2025 event on January 11, 2025 in North Richland Hills, Texas.

MLW also announced one new match for the card of their MLW Fusion taping on December 5th in New York City, New York:

MLW World Heavyweight Championship – Ultimo Guerrero vs. Satoshi Kojima (c)

Brian Myers filed a new trademark for “The System” on November 11th for wrestling and merchandise-related purposes to the United States Patent and Trademark Office. This is the name of the heel stable in TNA Wrestling led by Moose and features Myers, JDC, and Alisha & Eddie Edwards as its members.

As noted before, Steve Maclin signed a new contract with TNA this past April to remain in the company for the foreseeable future. In a recent interview with The A2theK Wrestling Show podcast, Maclin gave his thoughts about his new contract with TNA. Maclin stated “I’ll be here for a little bit of the future. We don’t need to put a timeframe on it, but I’ll be with TNA for a while.” (Transcript h/t: F4WOnline.com)

TNA announced four new matches for the card of next week’s Impact! show on November 21st on AXS TV:

TNA Knockouts World Championship match of Alisha Edwards vs. Masha Slamovich (c)
Trent Seven, Hammerstone, & Jake Something vs. The Hardys (Matt & Jeff Hardy) & Ace Austin
Ash By Elegance vs. Jody Threat
Frankie Kazarian vs. Rhino

Ring of Honor announced one new match for the card of next week’s ROH TV show on November 21st on HonorClub: