Author: Ethan Renner

An F4WOnline Editor since 2019, Ethan has been covering wrestling and MMA since 2011. He has hosted The Wrestling Life Podcast since 2014, and is a former Baltimore Sun TV/Tribune Media contributor. He is also a Baltimore Ravens and Baltimore Orioles fan.

Andrade vs. Carmelo Hayes best-of-seven series to conclude on next WWE SmackDown

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Andrade and Carmelo Hayes will wrap up their best-of-seven series on next week’s WWE SmackDown.

It was revealed during Friday’s episode that the Andrade-Hayes series will climaz next week with a tie-breaking seventh bout. Additionally, United States Champion LA Knight will be the special guest referee for the bout.

The winner of the Hayes-Andrade series is the logical next challenger for Knight’s US title.

A number one contender’s match for the WWE Tag Team titles is also set for next week. After debuting on this week’s show with a victory, Motor City Machine Guns will battle DIY for the right to challenge for the WWE Tag Team Championship.

In addition to the two matches official for next week, another face-to-face between Crown Jewel opponents Cody Rhodes and Gunther will take place.

The announced card for the Friday, October 25 WWE SmackDown:

  • Best-of-seven series finale: Andrade vs. Carmelo Hayes w/LA Knight as special guest referee
  • Number one contender’s match: Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) vs. DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa)
  • Cody Rhodes & Gunther face-to-face

Seth Rollins & Bronson Reed face-to-face added to WWE Raw

Posted on by Ethan Renner

A confrontation between two feuding superstars has been added to Monday’s WWE Raw lineup.

WWE revealed Friday that a face-to-face segment featuring Seth Rollins and Bronson Reed has been added to the Monday, October 21 WWE Raw.

Rollins was attacked by Reed in August on Raw and written out of storylines. He returned on the September 30 Raw to attack Reed, costing him his Last Monster Standing match against Braun Strowman on Raw.

Three matches are already announced for Monday’s Raw.

Jey Uso defends the Intercontinental Championship against Bron Breakker in a rematch on Monday’s show, plus two matches in the top contender’s tournament for the World Tag Team Championship are also set. It will be The New Day vs. Authors of Pain in one bout, and Rey Mysterio & Dragon Lee vs. The Creed Brothers in the other.

The announced lineup for the Monday, October 21 WWE Raw:

  • WWE Intercontinental Champion Jey Uso defends against Bron Breakker
  • Seth Rollins & Bronson Reed face-to-face
  • World Tag Team Championship contenders tournament: Rey Mysterio & Dragon Lee vs. Brutus Creed & Julius Creed
  • World Tag Team Championship contenders tournament: Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods vs. Akam & Rezar

Bound for Glory contract signings, three matches set for next TNA Impact

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Bound for Glory contract signings, pus three matches are on tap for next week’s TNA Impact pay-per-view go-home show.

On the final Impact before Bound for Glory, a dual contract signing segment will be held for the participants in the TNA World and TNA Knockouts World title matches at Bound for Glory, featuring TNA Champion Nic Nemeth and his challenger Joe Hendry, and Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace and her challenger Masha Slamovich.

Three matches are also set for the show.

Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, and ABC’s Ace Austin and Chris Bey will square off with The System’s Eddie Edwards, Brian Myers, Moose, and JDC in an eight-man tag on next week’s Impact.

WWE NXT’s Wendy Choo will go one-on-one with Jody Threat on the Bound for Glory go-home show.

Also announced, Josh Alexander gets a Bound for Glory tune-up against Jonathan Gresham.

A VIP makeover segment featuring Ash by Elegance is also set for the program.

The announced lineup for the Thursday, October 24 TNA Impact:

  • Bound for Glory World Championship and Knockouts World Championship contract signings
  • Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, Ace Austin & Chris Bey vs. Brian Myers, Eddie Edwards, Moose & JDC
  • Wendy Choo vs. Jody Threat
  • Josh Alexander vs. Jonathan Gresham
  • Ash by Elegance VIP makeover segment

Mike Bailey vs. El Hijo del Vikingo, three more matches added to TNA Bound for Glory

Posted on by Ethan Renner

An X-Division Championship match is one of four new bouts set for TNA Bound for Glory on October 26.

Mike Bailey will defend the X-Division title against El Hijo del Vikingo in one of the new matches set for TNA’s biggest pay-per-view of the year on Saturday, October 26.

Three more matches were also added to the lineup during Thursday’s TNA Impact.

Knockouts Tag Team Champions Spitfire (Jody Threat & Dani Luna) will defend their titles against Rosemary and WWE NXT’s Wendy Choo at Bound for Glory in another of the new bouts added.

The Call Your Shot gauntlet match will also return at Bound for Glory, though participants for the match are not yet set.

A Josh Alexander vs. Steve Maclin match rounds out the new matches added to the pay-per-view lineup.

Also newly added, Frankie Kazarian will serve as the guest referee for the main event World title match between Nic Nemeth and Joe Hendry.

The updated TNA Bound for Glory card:

  • TNA World Champion Nic Nemeth defends against Joe Hendry w/Frankie Kazarian as special guest referee
  • TNA Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace defends against Masha Slamovich
  • Full Metal Mayhem for the TNA Tag Team Championship: ABC vs. The Hardys vs. The System
  • Monster’s Ball match for the TNA Digital Media and International Wrestling Championships: PCO defends against Matt Cardona
  • TNA X-Division Champion Mike Bailey defends against El Hijo del Vikingo
  • TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champion Spitfire defend against Wendy Choo & Rosemary
  • Call Your Shot gauntlet match
  • Moose vs. Mike Santana
  • Josh Alexander vs. Steve Maclin

Special referee set for TNA Bound for Glory World title match

Posted on by Ethan Renner

The World title match at TNA Bound for Glory will have a special guest referee.

TNA revealed during Thursday’s Impact that Frankie Kazarian will serve as special guest referee for the Nic Nemeth vs. Joe Hendry World title match set for the Bound for Glory pay-per-view on Saturday, October 26.

Kazarian was part of the number one contender’s match that Hendry won to earn his title shot at TNA’s biggest show of the year, losing to Hendry and giving him a reason to look for revenge as guest ref.

Four new matches were also added to the pay-per-view lineup during Thursday’s Impact. The current lineup for the Bound for Glory pay-per-view:

  • TNA World Champion Nic Nemeth defends against Joe Hendry w/Frankie Kazarian as special guest referee
  • TNA Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace defends against Masha Slamovich
  • Full Metal Mayhem for the TNA Tag Team Championship: ABC vs. The Hardys vs. The System
  • Monster’s Ball match for the TNA Digital Media and International Wrestling Championships: PCO defends against Matt Cardona
  • TNA X-Division Champion Mike Bailey defends against El Hijo del Vikingo
  • TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champion Spitfire defend against Wendy Choo & Rosemary
  • Call Your Shot gauntlet match
  • Moose vs. Mike Santana

WWE & Netflix to produce behind-the-scenes documentary series

Posted on by Ethan Renner

WWE and Netflix’s partnership is set to include a behind-the-scenes documentary series.

WWE president Nick Khan announced Thursday at the Next Level Sports conference at USC in California that in addition to WWE moving its flagship Raw show to Netflix in January, that the companies will also team up to produce a behind-the-scenes documentary series similar to the acclaimed Formula 1: Drive to Survive series produced by the streaming giant.

Bloomberg was first to report on the new series.

The announcement comes just weeks after the Bill Simmons and Netflix-produced Mr. McMahon documentary debuted on the streaming service.

WWE and Netflix agreed to a 5-year deal in January 2024 with options that could extend the agreement for as long as 20 years to air Raw beginning in January 2025. WWE will rake in an average of $500 million annually from the Netflix deal.

Additionally, as WWE international TV deals expire, Netflix is expected to carry WWE programming in those markets.

New matches announced for NJPW Fighting Spirit Unleashed

Posted on by Ethan Renner

New matches are set for the Friday, November 8 NJPW Fighting Spirit Unleashed pay-per-view in Lowell, Massachusetts.

NJPW Strong Openweight Champion Gabe Kidd will put his title on the line against Kosei Fujita in a match that’s now been officially confirmed for Fighting Spirit Unleashed. It was set up earlier this week when Fujita answered an open challenge that Kidd had issued.

KENTA will also be in action in Lowell, going one-on-one with Ryohei Oiwa.

Current IWGP Global Champion David Finlay is scheduled for singes competition as well at Fighting Spirit Unleashed against Kevin Knight in what is currently billed as a non-title affair.

Capping the first match announcements, a pair of the world’s elite junior heavyweights will square off as Mustafa Ali takes on Lio Rush.

Fighting Spirit Unleashed streams on NJPW World as a pay-per-view on Friday, November 8. The announced lineup to this point:

  • NJPW Strong Openweight Champion Gabe Kidd defends against Kosei Fujita
  • Four-way number one contender’s match: Anna Jay vs. TBD vs. TBD vs. TBD (winner gets next shot at NJPW Strong Women’s Champion Mercedes Mone)
  • KENTA vs. Ryohei Oiwa
  • David Finlay vs. Kevin Knight
  • Mustafa Ali vs. Lio Rush

Full lineup for this week’s AEW Rampage

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Four matches are set for the Friday, October 18 AEW Rampage taped Wednesday night in San Jose, California.

As revealed during Wednesday’s Dynamite, MxM Collection and Private Party will square off in a tag team bout on Friday’s episode as Private Party move on from their feud with The Elite, and MxM Collection move on from The Acclaimed.

Prior to her Women’s World title eliminator bout against Mariah May at Battle of the Belts XII airing Saturday, Anna Jay will get a tune-up against The Infantry’s Trish Adora on Rampage.

The Conglomeration’s Kyle O’Reilly will be in action on Rampage against former AEW mainstay Aaron Solo.

Rounding out Friday’s card, The Conglomeration’s Mark Briscoe takes on The Butcher in singles competition.

Spoilers for Friday’s AEW Rampage are available here.

The full card for the Friday, October 18 AEW Rampage:

  • Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen) vs. MxM Collection (Mason Madden & Mansoor)
  • Anna Jay vs. Trish Adora
  • Kyle O’Reilly vs. Aaron Solo
  • Mark Briscoe vs. The Butcher

Women’s World title eliminator booked for AEW Battle of the Belts XII

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Women’s World Champion Mariah May will face a potential future title challenger at AEW Battle of the Belts XII.

As announced Wednesday night, May will take on Anna Jay in a Women’s World title eliminator bout at AEW Battle of the Belts XII airing Saturday night, October 19 on TNT following Collision. The match was set up with a backstage altercation between the two during Wednesday’s Dynamite that saw Jay strike authority figure Christopher Daniels by mistake as he attempted to separate the pair.

Jay is 2-0 in AEW since returning from an excursion to Japan where she competed in Stardom’s 5 Star Grand Prix.

May has defended her title three times since defeating Toni Storm for the bet at All In in August, scoring victories over Nyla Rose, Yuka Sakazaki, and Willow Nightingale.

Saturday’s Battle of the Belts XII special is being taped Thursday night, October 17 alongside Saturday’s Collision episode.

The lineup to this point for Battle of the Belts XII:

  • Women’s World title eliminator: Mariah May vs. Anna Jay

AEW officially announces Shelton Benjamin signing

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Shelton Benjamin is All Elite.

On the night the 20-plus year veteran made his in-ring AEW debut, Tony Khan announced in a social media post that Benjamin has officially signed with the promotion:

Benjamin was victorious over Lio Rush in his Dynamite debut on Wednesday alongside MVP, who made his debut as a manager at Dynamite Grand Slam last month. Benjamin was introduced as an associate of MVP on the October 2 Dynamite in his official debut for the company.

Since their introduction, MVP and Benjamin have passed out business cards and are attempting to recruit talent, including former AEW Champion Swerve Strickland who turned MVP down at WrestleDream to stay loyal to his manager Prince Nana.

In WWE, Benjamin was a three-time Tag Team Champion, three-time Intercontinental Champion, and United States Champion on one occasion over a pair of runs on the main roster with the promotion between 2002 and 2022.

MVP, Benjamin, and Bobby Lashley are expected to reunite their Hurt Business faction under a different name in AEW following Lashley and MVP’s WWE departures.

Giulia & Stephanie Vaquer to team on next week’s WWE NXT

Posted on by Ethan Renner

WWE NXT’s newest free agent signings in the women’s division will team up on next week’s NXT episode.

As revealed on this week’s show, Giulia and Stephanie Vaquer will team up on next week’s WWE NXT episode against two members of Fatal Influence, the trio comprised of Fallon Henley, Jacy Jayne, and Jazmyn Nyx.

The bout is a tune-up for Giulia and Vaquer as a team, as it was also revealed on Tuesday’s show that the duo will square off against Roxanne Perez & Cora Jade in tag team action at Halloween Havoc on October 27.

Three more matches are also set for next week’s episode.

Damage CTRL’s IYO SKY and Kairi Sane from the main roster will wrestle on next week’s show against Meta-Four’s Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson.

Before he challenges Tony D’Angelo for the North American title at Halloween Havoc, Oba Femi will face D’Angelo’s protege Luca Crusifino on next week’s show.

Jaida Parker vs. Tatum Paxley in a women’s division contest is also set for the October 22 episode.

In addition, an appearance by 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series Champion Cole Custer is on tap for next week.

The announced lineup for the Tuesday, October 22 WWE NXT:

  • Giulia & Stephanie Vaquer vs. two members of Fatal Influence
  • IYO SKY & Kairi Sane vs. Lash Legend & Jakara Jackson
  • Oba Femi vs. Luca Crusifino
  • Jaida Parker vs. Tatum Paxley
  • Appearance by 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series Champion Cole Custer

First three matches announced for WWE NXT Halloween Havoc

Posted on by Ethan Renner

The first three matches are official for WWE NXT Halloween Havoc set for October 27.

NXT Champion Trick Williams will defend his title against new number one contender Ethan Page in a Devil’s Playground match at Halloween Havoc following his victory in a triple threat bout over Wes Lee and Je’Von Evans on Tuesday’s WWE NXT show.

After Page’s victory, the stipulation wheel was spun and landed on Devil’s Playground match for the Page vs. Williams title bout.

Another title match is also official for the Halloween Havoc event. New North American Champion Tony D’Angelo will defend against former champ Oba Femi in a Tables, Ladders, and Scares match at the PLE. Their stipulation was also decided by the wheel:

A tag team contest is also official for the October 27 PLE, as new signees Giulia and Stephanie Vaquer will team against Cora Jade and Roxanne Perez on the show as revealed during Tuesday’s WWE NXT episode.

The lineup for WWE NXT Halloween Havoc set for Sunday, October 27 on Peacock:

  • Devil’s Playground match: NXT Champion Trick Williams defends against Ethan Page
  • Tables, Ladders, and Scares match: NXT North American Champion Tony D’Angelo defends against Oba Femi
  • Giulia & Stephanie Vaquer vs. Roxanne Perez & Cora Jade

Intercontinental Championship rematch booked for next WWE Raw

Posted on by Ethan Renner

An Intercontinental Championship rematch is one of three matches set for next week’s WWE Raw.

As revealed during this Monday’s taped episode, Jey Uso will defend the Intercontinental title on the Monday, October 21 WWE Raw against former champion Bron Breakker. Uso defeated Breakker on the September 23 Raw to capture the title, his first singles championship in WWE.

Two matches in the World Tag Team Championship contenders tournament are also official for the October 21 Raw.

In one tournament bout, the makeshift team of Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee will face American Made’s The Creed Brothers, Julius Creed & Brutus Creed.

In the other tournament contest, The New Day’s Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods will face The Final Testament’s Authors of Pain, Akam & Rezar.

The announced card for the Monday, October 21 WWE Raw:

  • WWE Intercontinental Champion Jey Uso defends against Bron Breakker
  • World Tag Team Championship contenders tournament: Rey Mysterio & Dragon Lee vs. Brutus Creed & Julius Creed
  • World Tag Team Championship contenders tournament: Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods vs. Akam & Rezar

New match added to AEW WrestleDream Zero Hour

Posted on by Ethan Renner

A new bout is set for Saturday’s AEW WrestleDream Zero Hour pre-show.

In a women’s division contest, Harley Cameron will go one-on-one with Anna Jay on Saturday’s Zero Hour. Cameron called out Jay in a promo on Friday’s Rampage episode, with Jay responding in kind with her own backstage promo. The match was officially announced for Saturday later in Friday’s episode.

The Zero Hour pre-show will stream on AEW’s digital media channels, including in the embedded YouTube video below.

The final WrestleDream card:

AEW WrestleDream, Saturday, October 12, 6:30 p.m. Eastern time —

  • AEW World Champion Bryan Danielson defends against Jon Moxley
  • Swerve Strickland returns
  • AEW Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks (Matthew & Nicholas Jackson) defend against Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen)
  • Three-way: AEW International Champion Will Ospreay defends against Konosuke Takeshita & Ricochet
  • AEW Women’s World Champion Mariah May defends against Willow Nightingale
  • TNT Champion Jack Perry defends against Katsuyori Shibata
  • ROH World Champion Mark Briscoe defends against Chris Jericho
  • Darby Allin vs. Brody King
  • Hangman Page vs. Jay White
  • Two out of three falls: Hologram vs. The Beast Mortos
  • Zero Hour: ROH Television Champion Atlantis Jr. defends against Brian Cage
  • Zero Hour: MxM Collection (Mason Madden & Mansoor) vs. The Acclaimed (Max Caster & Anthony Bowens)
  • Zero Hour: Anna Jay vs. Harley Cameron

‘Pick Your Poison’ matches set for next TNA Impact

Posted on by Ethan Renner

A pair of “Pick Your Poison” bouts, plus an X-Division title match are set for the October 17 TNA Impact.

After an edict allowing Bound for Glory opponents PCO and Matt Cardona allowed each to pick the other’s opponent for next week’s Impact, TNA World Champion Nic Nemeth will face Cardona on next week’s episode. PCO selected the World Champion to face Cardona in a non-title affair. For his part, Cardona selected Rhino as PCO’s opponent for next week’s episode.

Cardona and PCO will face each other at Bound for Glory on October 26 in a Monster’s Ball match with PCO’s Digital Media and International Heavyweight titles on the line.

X-Division Champion Mike Bailey will put his title on the line on next week’s Impact as well in another new bout announced during this week’s show. Bailey will defend against Leon Slater on the October 17 show.

The announced card for the Thursday, October 17 TNA Impact:

  • Pick Your Poison: Nic Nemeth vs. Matt Cardona
  • Pick Your Poison: PCO vs. Rhino
  • TNA X-Division Champion Mike Bailey defends against Leon Slater