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Big update on Cesaro leaving WWE

Cesaro has left WWE. 

Just one year after reports emerged that Cesaro was signing a new deal with WWE, he's gone from the company. Fightful Select confirmed PWInsider's report with WWE and fellow talent on the roster.

The immediate reaction from those within the company was disappointment and dismay, as Cesaro has been one of the most universally liked talent on the roster. We're told this was not a case of WWE not wanting him there. In fact, he was offered a new contract, in...

AEW talent says their contract option has been picked up

It looks like Brian Cage will be sticking around in All Elite Wrestling, at least if he's to be believed.

Word made it around backstage at Wednesday's All Elite Wrestling Dynamite show that Brian Cage had told those close to him that AEW picked up his option year on his contract. Cage was said to have been surprised by this, as he and virtually everyone on the All Elite Wrestling roster thought his deal would simply expire.

Cage continues to work the independent scene for the li...

Sean Waltman interview notes: GCW, Return, WWF, WCW, More

Fightful spoke to Sean Waltman about his return to the ring, and he said that he's primarily planning to work tag team matches, but will see how things go. Speaking of, he's going to see how he feels after Friday's GCW Welcome to Heartbreak. He says he'll do it as long as he feels good and wants to put on special matches. He's particularly happy about making his comeback against Matt Cardona in GCW, and says he didn't want to end his career on the kinds of matches he had.

We spoke to hi...

Another top free agent signing with AEW

Please do not read this if you'd like to avoid potential Spoilers.

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All Elite Wrestling is set to land another big free agent.

After weeks of rumors, Fightful has learned that All Elite Wrestling is signing Shane "Swerve" Strickland. Wrestling Observer noted last week,that Swerve was expected to come to AEW, but later noted it wasn't made clear if Strickland is AEW bound, and...

Top Free Agent Name At AEW Dynamite Today

NOTE that there are potential spoilers below. Please do not open this if you wish to avoid them. 

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Fightful has learned that an interesting free agent name is in Bridgeport, Connecticut at the site of this week's AEW Dynamite. AEW sources have indicated that Original ROH World Champion Jonathan Gresham is slated to be at the show tonight. We're not told if he'll appear on screen or is planned to do any work with AEW in any capacity. Gresham has been...

Madcap Moss update

In an update on Madcap Moss, we were told some good news, in that while Madcap feels fine, his tests revealed no damage.

Moss took a scary bump on an inverted AlabamaSlam from Drew McIntyre at WWE Elimination Chamber, where he landed on the top of his head instead of flat. Moss assured everyone in the ring that he was okay and finished the match. We were told that Moss apologized to Vince McMahon, Drew McIntyre and agents after the match, and everyone went over the spot to assure it wou...

Confirmation of AJ Styles re-signing with WWE

Fightful has gained confirmation of a major WWE re-signing.

Last month on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer mentioned that he'd heard AJ Styles re-signed with WWE. Fightful Select was able to confirm with numerous WWE sources this week that deal was made, and some of the details that went into it.

We weren't given a time length, besides the fact that it was a multi-year deal. His original contract ...

Alex's SOUR GRAPS: Raw 2/21 -- Forsaking All Others

!!! STARTING RIGHT AFTER SRS's POST-SHOW !!!

After Elimination Sands of Chamber Time, WWE has put all of their eggs in a Roman vs Brock-shaped basket, and they did it while lying to all of us. Just as a bonus.

Bianca vs Becky is happening, which is good, but it has no heat, which is bad.

Damian Priest finally has something to do at last; Exorcising the Demon

Rollins & KO might be taking the Tag Belts into Mania, or they each might have something very different to...

Confirmation on released wrestler working for WWE Creative

Drake Maverick is back with WWE, and has been for some time.

PWInsider reported on Monday night that the former Rockstar Spud, Drake Maverick has been with WWE for the last several weeks working for the WWE Raw creative team. Fightful Select has since confirmed this news.

Maverick was released by WWE last year, last wrestling on the November 8 episode of WWE Raw. We're told he actually started on the WWE creative team even before his non-compete clause was up from his release. Mav...

WWE Raw Plans for tonight: Top names on the show, interesting tag team

The following was planned for Raw as of 7 PM EST. Although the rundown and literally everything is subject to change.

- Brock Lesnar was set to kick off. 

- Tommaso Ciampa and Finn Balor vs. Dirty Dawgs

- Becky Lynch and Bianca Belair in an in ring segment

- Rhea Ripley vs. Nikki ASH

- Edge was planned for an in ring segment. 

- Plans called for Logan Paul to be revealed as Miz's tag team partner.

- Damian Priest vs. Shelton Benjamin

-...

EC3 Weekly 2-21-22

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/nM9UJyGQENc

EC3 will be joining us here on Fightful Select weekly to check in on the process of booking Control Your Narrative. This week he discusses

- How the shows came about

- The broadcast deal

- Concerns about Free the Narrative being political or sociopolitical

- How the shows will operate

- Orlando, then Dallas

- Carlos Baerga!

- Future date

Killer Kross on Triple H/NXT, His main roster run, MLW

Fightful spoke with Killer Kross at length for a major interview, and he was very transparent about his WWE run.

It's important to note that we prompted him to discuss his WWE run, which he doesn't seem to hold any ill feelings for, but is realistic in that it wasn't good. He wasn't a fan of the gear, he realized losing out of the gate wasn't a good idea out of the gate, but tried to remain optimistic. He got offered a new, main roster contract on the day that he lost to Jeff Hardy, so ...

SRS Backstage Report Podcast (2/21)

- Cody Rhodes

- Chris Jericho contract

- Rachael Ellering gone from IMPACT

- Elimination Chamber news

- Killer Kross talks NXT, Triple H

- New AEW name

- Injuries, contracts

Canyon Ceman lands new job

Former Senior Vice President of Talent Development in WWE Canyon Ceman has a new job.

Ceman was hired by Obsesh earlier this month as Chief Athlete Officer, where he'll help advocate and aid athletes monetize their skills, personality and brands. When we reached out to someone near the company, we were told that Ceman's experience with WWE's developmental NXT brand, and his NCAA experience were major points of attraction to landing him the spot. 

Ceman had spent a decade work...

Backstage reaction to Madcap Moss' bump at Elimination Chamber

Saturday's Elimination Chamber event had some memorable moments, and a scary one as well.

During the Drew McIntyre vs. Madcap Moss match, there was a scary incident where Madcap Moss landed on the top of his head during an inverted Alabamaslam. He would continue the match. The spot occurred when Moss tucked his chin on a spot that he was supposed to take flat. There was no heat on either wrestler.  Those we spoke to said that Drew McIntyre is well regarded for being a safe worker, ...

AEW Dark Tapings schedule note

AEW Dark will be returning to filming again soon.

Fightful has learned that some talent has been contacted for another upcoming series of AEW Dark Tapings for March. We're told that it will take place at Universal Studios in Orlando, which has become the show's semi-permanent home. Former X-Division Champion Rohit Raju confirmed during our interview that he's slated to appear at the upcoming set of tapings.

Fightful Weekender (2/20): GCW, JCW, MLW, NXT LEVEL UP, NXT UK, NWA, BTE, IWTV

STEPHEN JENSEN is back with a new edition of the WEEKENDER!

Topics:

- Show to watch on IWTV - BLACK LABEL PRO: "Professional Wrestling (Mikey's Version)"

- GCW: "Believe Me" results

- JCW: "Gladiator Days" results

- MLW: "Fusion" (2/17) results

- NXT Level Up (2/18) results

- NXT UK (2/17) results

- NWA: "Powerrr" (2/15) results

- BTE: "Hand Pay" recap

WWE Producer Notes And Backstage News: Raw, SD, Cody Talk, More

Fightful has learned the following producers for the go home Raw for Elimination Chamber:

- Jamie Noble & Michael Hayes produced the interrupting promo with Brock Lesnar and the Elimination Chamber participants.

- Street Profits vs. Dirty Dawgs: Shane Helms

- AJ Styles vs. Damian Priest: Petey Williams

- Omos vs. Hurt Business: Adam Pearce

- 2022-02-20 20:21:15 +0000 UTC View Post

The Worst Interview SRS Ever Did: Virgil

For our 5,000th subscriber, I said I'd release the worst interview I ever did. So here you go, and sorry. 

Update on Viking Raiders vs. Usos match

The Viking Raiders-Usos non-match turned some heads at WWE Elimination Chamber.

The two teams were flown to Saudi Arabia for a planned match, but it didn't end up happening as instead there was an attack angle that took the Raiders out. Those we heard from claimed this was the plan and it wasn't cut for time. The show had a hard out of three hours, but there were plenty of transitional videos that also could have been cut for time if needed.

The working plan is to do the match on ...

News on Miz's partner, Cody Rhodes, WrestleMania

After today's match with Rey Mysterio, The Miz noted that he's looking for a partner to help him even the odds against the Mysterios.

We were flooded with questions as to whether or not it was Cody Rhodes or even John Morrison. Upon asking, we're told that neither man was considered for that spot or even discussed, and instead it was planned to be a celebrity integration for the show. PWInsider has reported that Logan Paul has been discussed, which we can confirm was a pitch made. ...

WWE Elimination Chamber Producers

Producers for today's Elimination Chamber PPV

- Goldberg vs. Roman Reigns : Michael Hayes

- Women's Elimination Chamber: Shane Helms and Adam Pearce. They have six refs involved with each Chamber match

- Rousey & Naomi vs. Sonya Deville & Charlotte: Shawn Daivari

- Drew McIntyre vs. Madcap Moss: Abyss

- Lita vs. Becky Lynch: Shawn Daivari

- Viking Raiders vs. Usos: Jason Jordan

- Men's Elimination Chamber: Jamie Noble & Abyss

SOUR GRAPS Post-SANDS OF TIME Show: Kate Watched, But Alex Didn't!

Alex doesn't watch the Bloodmoney shows, so he took the afternoon off. He maintained a total media blackout for 9 hours. No Twitter, no nothing. Somehow he survived the withdrawals.

But Kate DID watch SAAAAAAAAAAAANDS of Time, and now she's going to give Alex a detailed description of the terrible booking choices and horrible Goldberg botches that went on in beautiful, progressive, sarcastic, Saudi Arabia.

During her rundown of the results, Kate can tell Alex 3 Lies.

And Ale...

Backstage Notes, Current Match Order For WWE Elimination Chamber

As of the end of rehearsals, the planned order of matches was as follows. Please note, this can change, and often do.

- Miz vs. Rey Mysterio on the kickoff

- Goldberg vs. Roman Reigns to kick off the show

- Women's Elimination Chamber Match

- Ronda Rousey & Naomi  vs. Sonya Deville & Charlotte Flair

- Drew McIntyre vs. Madcap Moss Falls Count Anywhere

- Lita vs. Becky Lynch

- Usos vs. Viking Raiders

- Men's Elimination Chamber

Alex's SOUR GRAPS: SmackDown 2/18--Edited For Your Protection

!!! STREAM STARTING RIGHT AFTER SRS & KATE !!!

A pre-taped go-home SmackDown for SAAAAAAAAAANDS of Time.

Sami won the IC Title just so he can drop it to Johnny Knoxville at Mania. Ricochet faced Sheamus again, for no reason ... again. They edited out Charlotte sandbagging and no-selling Ronda during the contract signing. No women's matches.

A pointless main event promo segment. And a whole bunch of nothing filler.

What a great show.

Everythi...

EARLY: Scotty 2 Hotty Recalls Working With Taz In The Early 90s, Explains How He Got His First WWE Deal

Scotty 2 Hotty was used by WWE early in his career to help them assess other talents.

In 1992, Scotty 2 Hotty (Scott Garland) began wrestling enhancement matches for the WWE under the name Scott Taylor. He would do this for a period of six years, during which time he clearly made a strong impression on the company.

Speaking with Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp, Garland said that he knew he was WWE's go-to guy when they started defaulting to him to have matches against other hopefuls suc...

IMPACT Wrestling Talent Leaves The Company

Another name is done with IMPACT Wrestling in Rachael Ellering.

Ellering has effectively finished up with IMPACT after coming to work there in April of 2021. However, we're told that this has been the case for well over a month and that it became clear by the first week of January that she'd likely not be back at the upcoming tapings.

Ellering was replaced by Alisha Edwards in the Hard to Kill Ultimate X match and was not at that series of tapings. We've also confirmed that since ...

Figure Haul: WCW Giant, Rey Mysterio, Goldberg, Booker, More!

SRS pulls out some more great WCW Toy Biz!!

News on upcoming IMPACT PPV coming to Cincinnati area

IMPACT Wrestling is back on a much more regular filming schedule, and has several upcoming dates set. Among those include New Orleans this weekend, Louisville for Sacrifice, Philadelphia in March, Dallas in April, and Poughkeepsie in April.

Fightful has learned that the company is planning to run the Cincinnati area in May, specifically for May 7 and 8. IMPACT plans on running Saturday to air the live Under Siege PPV show, and then television tapings the following day. Based on what we'...

SRS Q&A Podcast: Over 65 Minutes! Cody Talk!

- Cody Rhodes (starts at 42:00)

- Control Your Narrative

- Performance Center

- AEW Debuts

- Keith Lee

- NJPW Jr. Heavyweights

- WWE 2K22

NOTE: To correct an error, Takeover is in the Dallas area, not the CWC. My apologies!