We've heard from several ROH stars who are happy about the changes in production, and notably those who are doing the camera work. LSG noted to us that the shows carry a different intensity without a crowd and with a lot of the adjustments made. ROH has made a huge effort to change production and take input specifically from wrestlers over the last year, as highlighted by the talent meeting they flew everyone in for last year.
2020-12-13 20:32:20 +0000 UTC View Post
STEPHEN JENSEN is back with another edition of the WEEKENDER!
Topics:
- Show to watch on IWTV - NEW SOUTH: "Action Clash Episode 13"
- IMPACT: "Final Resolution" results
- AAA: "TripleMania XXVIII" results
- 205 LIVE (12/11) results
- NXT UK (12/10) results
- MLW: "Fusion" (12/9) results
- ROH (12/7) results
- BTE: "Heel Turn" recap
2020-12-13 18:39:56 +0000 UTC View Post
SmackDown continues to be the second-worst major wrestling show on television, though the margin between them and Raw was much slimmer this week.
The Roman and KO stuff remains solid gold, but everything else is luke warm diarrhea at best.
Big E's push continues to be non-existent, Chad Gable's new gimmick is "delusional loser", and the Tag Titles are held hostage is a program with RoodeSteady and BeBolph. At least the Solo Cups are blue now.
But o...
2020-12-13 03:10:58 +0000 UTC View PostLee Moriarty is one of the top wrestling free agents in the world, but multiple companies have had interest in him. Ring of Honor planned to bring in Moriarty twice this year, but both were prevented. Earlier in the year, Moriarty was set for a Future of Honor appearance before COVID sidelined things and put that on hold. Then, Moriarty was set for a block of tapings that were prevented this past fall. Based on those we've spoken to in ROH, they still hope to be able to bring him in the futur...
2020-12-12 17:00:00 +0000 UTC View PostMarty Scurll has been out of the fold for ROH for quite some time from a public perspective after the Speaking Out movement this Summer. Fightful learned that although Ring of Honor is filming Final Battle today, Scurll at least wasn't at the Friday tapings as he was in Florida. We hope to learn more about this situation and will update you accordingly.
2020-12-11 22:49:59 +0000 UTC View PostFightful learned more about the edict to send several big men to take classes at the Performance Center under Drew Gulak and Adam Pearce.
Those that we spoke to say that many wrestlers were told to keep this quiet for obvious reasons, but word inevitably leaked.
Otis, Omos, Dabba Kato, Dio Maddin (Mace) and Keith Lee were among the names mentioned, but we're told there's supposed to be more. We're told this isn't in relation to heat on any specific wrestler.
Understandably, ...
2020-12-11 20:10:14 +0000 UTC View PostIt was revealed today that EC3 was pulled from ROH Final Battle because of COVID protocol. We mentioned that EC3 was having multiple discussions about his future, but he confirmed that he fully intends on returning to ROH in order to fulfill his story with Jay Briscoe because he wanted to see things through creatively.
2020-12-11 18:40:37 +0000 UTC View PostThere have been a lot of questions about Tessa Blanchard's status after she was announced for a December signing and was listed as "a part of AAA." Based on what we'd heard, Blanchard is not nailed down to an AAA contract, and has been taking time away from the ring.
2020-12-11 18:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostIn speaking with EC3, we learned that he and Moose had actually filmed their cinematic match on their own, but IMPACT wanted to make sure that it was filmed a certain way, so there's another match that was left on the cutting room floor. About halfway through the angle, IMPACT decided to switch plans from a standard match to a more cinematic one.
2020-12-10 22:00:00 +0000 UTC View PostJimmy Rave announced he'd be retiring early after an unfortunate infection recently, but he left his mark on the industry.
When Fightful interviewed wrestling prodigy Jordan Oliver, we asked him who taught him the most in wrestling. The answer wasn't a tough one.
"Jimmy Rave. Jimmy Rave for sure. He’s my biggest mentor in the industry. In life, even. This guy, he’s so helpful. It’s a shame, everything that’s going on with him right now. He was a top heel, maybe, in the...
2020-12-10 18:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostYou may have noticed that PAC didn't appear on the last few episodes of AEW Dynamite, including in a match where Archer teamed with Pentagon and Fenix. We were told that PAC wasn't at the tapings, and talent speculated that he went home for the holidays, and would need to quarantine before getting over there, though we've not confirmed that. PAC did stay for the entire set of two week tapings prior, however.
Since publishing this, I've been made aware of a similar report at Bodyslam.ne...
- Tessa Blanchard, Ethan Page, Inner Circle, lots more
- IMPACT/AEW
- ROH Tapings
- MVP of 2020
- Fightful Championship
- Wrestling media
- Belt collector Kenny Omega
- CM Punk/AEW matches
- Over 150 questions answered!
2020-12-10 17:42:10 +0000 UTC View PostIn reference to his concussion issues, before the one he sustained that sidelined him for Q4 2019, EC3 actually suffered one earlier in the summer as well. He said that he didn't know at the time that he was dealing with a concussion, but his appearance started to change and was told to get tested.
When I spoke with him about the Jon Moxley comments that happened around that time, he said that the comments made him feel somewhat validated, though he doesn't like to complain on soc...
2020-12-10 15:51:57 +0000 UTC View PostBig E debuted his new theme on Smackdown to positive reaction, but it wasn't him who pushed for the new theme, it was the WWE office. Fightful learned that Big E did want Wale to do the theme specifically, however, which lends more credibility to the word we've been given that WWE has been receptive to input when changing themes for wrestlers over the last several months.
We also got word that the theme was supposed to debut months ago, around the time of the Big E vs. Sheamus feud happ...
2020-12-10 00:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
- Big E
- TLC
- Cody Hall
- Karrion Kross
- Rumble Johnson
- Tropicana Thunderdome
- Tessa Blanchard
- Davey Boy Smith Jr.
Audio will be up this evening.
2020-12-09 21:47:32 +0000 UTC View PostIf you're upset over NXT's handling of Charlotte Flair earlier this year, you're definitely not alone, but it might not necessarily be their fault. Fightful was told that often times when the NXT team would come up with creative or plans for Charlotte Flair when she appeared on their brand, it would often need to go through Raw, but would get shot down. Originally, Rhea Ripley was planned to wi...
2020-12-09 19:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostEC3 indicated to Fightful that he would be "freed up" again when 2021 hits, and indicated that he was on good terms with IMPACT Wrestling. He said that the two sides had talks and they seemed interested in a long-term deal, but he wasn't sure that he actually wanted to be nailed down long term.
2020-12-09 17:41:55 +0000 UTC View PostQ&A day! Ask away
- Limit to three per subscriber
- No top 5, "book this," are you a fan of questions!
2020-12-09 16:35:38 +0000 UTC View Post
Raw continues to be bad, in spite of the best efforts of people like Bray Wyatt and Cedric Alexander and ... well, that's it, really.
Everyone else is either bad at their job or has bad creative or both.
And this is where we're at. The Royal Rumble is seven weeks away and Raw is a tire fire.
Everything sucks. Let's talk about it.
VIDEO: https://youtu.be/O_ptQieHJRA
2020-12-09 03:29:00 +0000 UTC View PostROH Final Battle and the subsequent tapings don't air until next week, but talent is being brought in this week to film the shows. Fightful has learned that Final Battle is taping this Friday, a week ahead of the scheduled release.
2020-12-08 21:14:13 +0000 UTC View PostThere were a lot of surprised people in Orlando at the Thunderdome, as Jaxson Ryker appeared at the tapings with Elias. We're being told this was a dry run on Main Event to see if the pairing worked, in an effort to pitch the duo to Vince McMahon. Just last week, several on the Smackdown side had noted that "Ryker was not worth the risk of being on television," and when contacted about Ryker's appearance, said that WWE is likely gauging reception to the spot.
For months, Ryker was...
2020-12-08 00:56:27 +0000 UTC View PostThe Challenge launch special will air tonight, featuring WWE veteran Lio Rush on the show. We're told that the show will feature Game Changer Wrestling footage of Lio Rush taking on Blake Christian from their November match in Atlantic City on the broadcast. You can check it out at 8 PM EST on MTV.
2020-12-07 23:23:53 +0000 UTC View PostFightful has learned that a couple of names emerged from NXT Takeover injured or banged up.
Oney Lorcan suffered lacerations to his face in the night's main event, as highlighted towards the end of the show. What the cameras didn't show was that trainers immediately tended to Lorcan after the show ended.
Candice LeRae sustained an arm injury in the opening bout of the night. It was originally feared to be a broken arm or wrist, though we can't confirm the severity of the inj...
2020-12-07 03:22:02 +0000 UTC View Post- Women's WarGames steals the show
- Injury at show
- Men's WarGames
- New Champion
- Karrion Kross
- Ciampa vs. Thatcher
- Strap Match
2020-12-07 03:10:04 +0000 UTC View Post
- AEW and IMPACT!
- STIIIIING!
- Chelsea Green & Mickie James
- Allie Kat, Jordan Oliver
- Liv Morgan documentary
- Owens & Reigns
- COVID news
- Tessa Blanchard
- Jaxson Ryker news
- Vince McMahon
- Contracts, Injuries
2020-12-07 00:07:49 +0000 UTC View PostWARGAMES
Team LeRae defeated Team Shotzi
8.75/10
Shotzi has a new tank, and Ember Moon & Dakota Kai start out. The rare WarGames with a babyface advantage.Raquel using Jeff Cobb's Tour of the Islands. I have that one in the can for an upcoming Making a Finisher feature on Fightful. Heck yeah. Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai should be women's tag team champions right n...
2020-12-06 23:58:41 +0000 UTC View Post
STEPHEN JENSEN is back with a new edition of the Weekender!
Topics:
- FREE show on YouTube - GCW: "Slime Season"
- IMPACT (12/1) results
- IMPACT vs. AEW thoughts
- 205 LIVE (12/4) results
- NXT UK (12/3) results
- MLW: "Fusion" (12/2) results
- ROH (11/30) results
- UWN: "Primetime Live" (12/1) results
- BTE: "$1,000 Shot" recap
Once again, everything that Roman Reigns was involved in last night was gold. Everything else was, at best, gold plated poop.
They have no idea how to book their women's division, the tag division is stagnant, Murphy's sole defining trait is his subscription to Barely Legal magazine, Big E's split from the New Day just keeps finding new ways to hurt more, and the evidently universally beloved Pat Patterson died.
Speaking of dead: me when I saw Dominik's turtleneck.
Most o...
We've had a lot of inquiries about Tessa Blanchard of late, but as of now, it appears there have been no serious inquiries yet, though there have been some feelers. Daga and Tessa Blanchard are actually in the Northeast for a signing at the moment, not in Mexico as rumored.
2020-12-05 23:10:16 +0000 UTC View PostThere were several frustrated names we heard from out of the IMPACT Wrestling tapings this go around. The first wave had to do with several wrestlers mentioning that the tapings seemed more unprepared and fly-by-the-seat-of-their-pants than any this year.
COVID protocols were a major concern, especially considering there was a positive test to emerge from those tapings. Several IMPACT wrestlers that we've spoken to have never been given a COVID-19 test by the company across multiple set...
2020-12-05 18:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post