Ian Carey is a writer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, whose work has been featured in NOW Magazine, The Huffington Post, and more. A lifelong wrestling aficionado born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, he has covered the industry for a decade and a half. He joined the f4wonline.com team in 2019.
A music festival headlined by Billy Corgan’s Smashing Pumpkins is set to feature pro-wrestling next year.
On Wednesday, The World is a Vampire Festival was announced for March 4, 2023 from Mexico City. A translation of a poster for the event advertises, “A never-seen-before clash between” the NWA and AAA, with logos for both promotions featured.
“HUGE announcement!!!! It’s the @nwa vs.@luchalibreaaa in #MexicoCity in March — WITH @smashingpumpkins and many more!! Pre-sale starts Nov 28 at 2pm CT and general on sale is Nov 29 at 2pm CT,” wrote the NWA on Twitter.
The festival shares its name with a lyric from The Smashing Pumpkins single, “Bullets with Butterfly Wings” from Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness released in 1995.
Presale tickets go on-sale November 28 with general sale beginning the following day.
Musical acts Interpol, Turnstile, Peter Hook & The Light, Deafhaven, The Warning, Ekkstacy, Chelsea Wolfe, Margaritas Podridas, In The Valley Below, El Shirota, and Acid Waves are also advertised for the festival.
KENTA & Naomichi Marufuji are set to challenge for the GHC Tag Team Championships.
On Wednesday’s Pro Wrestling NOAH show from Tokyo, Marufuji issued a challenge to champions Takashi Sugiura & Satoshi Kojima. The match was then made official for NOAH The New Year 2023 on Sunday, January 1 from the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan.
It will be the first time Marufuji & KENTA have teamed together since May 2014. The pair are former GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions and were voted Tag Team of the Year in The Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards in 2003 and 2004. The two have also faced each other in singles competition on 13 occassions including Marufuji’s 20th Anniversary show in 2018.
Three matches have been announced for NOAH The New Year 2023. The lineup thus far is as follows:
GHC Tag Team Champions Takashi Sugiura & Satoshi Kojima defend against KENTA & Naomichi Marufuji
GHC Heavyweight Champion Kaito Kiyomiya defends against Kenoh
Kenny Omega wants fans to know that the situation in AEW isn’t “Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks against CM Punk.”
Ahead of AEW Dynamite from Punk’s hometown of Chicago, Omega spoke with SI.com and noted that he is unable to address speculation stemming from the backstage altercation at All Out 2022. He also encouraged fans to “move away from it because there is no information to be released.”
“There are things no one can talk about, so I’d encourage people to let it go,” says Omega. “It doesn’t change that we want a team effort in AEW. I don’t even mean implicitly myself and my opponent. It also means the referee, the fans, the people who set up the ring, everyone–even a technical error can ruin the memory of a match. I can refer back to the exploding barbed wire death match. So I encourage people to move away from it because there is no information to be released. Though I cannot talk about it, I do want the fans to know I still want the best for pro wrestling.”
“This isn’t Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks against CM Punk,” Omega continued. “It is people trying to show off their craft. You can boo Kenny Omega, or the Young Bucks, or CM Punk, but I hope people don’t forget we’re human beings struggling to show our art.”
Omega also spoke about returning to NJPW to face Will Ospreay at Wrestle Kingdom 17.
“I’m returning to New Japan as an ambassador of AEW,” says Omega. “I’m returning to New Japan as an ambassador of pro wrestling. I’m also returning home. I left to start this new, exciting opportunity, but it’s still home. Now the things Will can do are things I cannot. He’s an athletic phenom. But as finely tuned as he is physically, he still hasn’t doesn’t have the knowledge or experience. I pushed my own physical boundaries in All Japan and DDT, but that’s not what I’m known for. My mind is my greatest asset, not my athleticism. That’s what’s allowed [Hiroshi] Tanahashi to have such a long and flavorful career.
“I needed someone to take my place in New Japan, I wanted someone to take my place–and it was Will, Jay [White], and [Kota] Ibushi. Will is the only one to have a problem with that.”
The NEVER Openweight Championship will be defended on the final night of the World Tag and Super Junior Tag League tournaments.
Champion Karl Anderson posted to social media on Tuesday that he will defend his title on the December 14 show from Sendai Sunplaza Hall in Miyagi, Japan. NJPW then confirmed on Wednesday that Anderson’s challenger will be Hikuleo.
Anderson vs. Hikuleo had originally been scheduled for November 5 in Osaka but The Good Brothers claim NJPW did not confirm the date with them before advertising it. Anderson and Doc Gallows were also booked for WWE Crown Jewel that day and stated on social media that they would be performing on that show rather than on New Japan’s.
In storyline, Anderson was not stripped of the title at the request of Hikuleo.
“As the match had been made through the proper channels and advertised, NJPW moved to strip Anderson of the NEVER Openweight Championship, but Hikuleo refused to let the move happen, demanding that he fight Anderson for the title in an NJPW ring. On November 23 Japan time, Anderson posted a message on social media indicating that he and Gallows would be in Sendai on December 14, and the match has now been made official,” reads NJPW1972.com
The finals of the World Tag and Super Junior Tag League are also scheduled for the December 14 show in Sendai.
The NJPW Super Junior Tag League continues with night three on Friday from Gunma. The second night of the World Tag League will take place on Saturday from Kanagawa.
Roman Reigns has commented on his run in WWE from 2014 to 2018.
Following the breakup of the Shield in 2014, Reigns became the top-pushed babyface in the company. He often received a mixed response from fans, however. Reigns recently opened up about this period of his career during an interview with The Ringer.
“I’ve had to go through the process of winning them over and earning respect for years at a time,” Reigns says. “From 2014 to maybe 2018, every single night it seemed like I had to earn their respect. Some nights they would be booing me and I would earn their respect and they’d be all cheering me and standing up by the 1, 2, 3. And then there were some nights where it was working and the crowd was with it. It was just a straight good-guy response. But because it was always different, I always had to stay on my toes, and it was good practice in real time in front of a real audience. I was in the fire, in the deep end learning and jotting all this down mentally. Like I needed to absorb all this, learn from it, and then make it my own. Take what works, make it my own, take a weakness, work on it, make it a strength, and that’s what I’ve done.”
Reigns returned to WWE after a six-month absence at SummerSlam 2020. He defeated The Fiend and Braun Strowman in a triple-threat match that night to win the Universal Championship. He would soon align with Paul Heyman and begin his run as The Tribal Chief.
“Together we made the decision [that] we’re only going to do this if we have the opportunity to be uninhibited in our approach to be the greatest act of all time,” Heyman said. “And we stuck to that and we were uncompromising in our approach.”
Reigns continued to say that one day they will be able to give out more details about what has gone on backstage in recent years.
“Just wait, man. We’ve done this in turbulent times, through a pandemic, through the biggest change of all time in this business,” Reigns said. “And we’ve done it seamlessly. We’ve done it without falter. Down the road, 20 years from now when we start giving out all these crazy details of the inside, inside, there’s just going to be even deeper respect for the performances that we’ve been putting on. Man, it’s been a hell of a journey. But it’s only begun. It’s going to get bigger.”
WWE says the 2023 Royal Rumble has already broken records.
The company sent out a press release on Monday stating that next year’s event has broken the largest gate record in Royal Rumble history.
WWE Royal Rumble 2023 – slated for Saturday, January 28 – has broken the company’s record for largest gate in the event’s 36-year history.
Over the weekend, Royal Rumble surpassed the $5M mark and previous record holder from 2017 – the last time the event was held at San Antonio’s AlamoDome.
This carries a 2022 trend into 2023 where WWE set gate records for many of its events, including WrestleMania, Extreme Rules and Crown Jewel.
On the WWE Investors call earlier this month, Nick Khan noted that the 2023 Royal Rumble had grossed more than $4.6 million at the time.
As of November 18, WrestleTix is reporting that 30,361 tickets have been distributed to the event. 4,186 of those are available on the secondary market. If WWE has surpassed the $5 million mark for the event, that puts the average ticket cost in the area of $164 depending on how many tickets were sold over the weekend.
Currently on Ticketmaster, the cheapest ticket available (The get-in price) is under $50. The most expensive tickets available are in the $3300 range. The most expensive ticket currently available through Ticketmaster’s verified resale program is over $5000.
The first episode of BTE in months started with a musical montage featuring footage of the Bucks arriving and greeting talent backstage.
We then cut to the Bucks changing into their gear in the backseat of a van with Matt noting it’s the first time they’ve worn gear in two months.
The Young Bucks go shoe shopping —
Matt & Nick Jackson go shoe shopping. Matt’s wife received an alert about the credit card spending and told her husband they did not have room for any more shoes at home. Matt was unphased by this, however.
Nick Jackson then went to get his ears pierced.
Backstage at Full Gear 2022 —
The Bucks and Kenny Omega are shown practicing their entrance for the pay-per-view.
The Dark Order has been filming scenes for BTE this whole time —
Alex Reynolds and Evil Uno were shown backstage. They were discussing scenes they filmed for BTE over the last few weeks, which included a kayaking trip with Mike Tyson.
Brandon Cutler then informed them that the show has been on hiatus. They found this disappointing.
John Silver then arrived and told them about his recent run-in with Rush. Silver brought up how Preston “Ten” Vance walked away from him during the segment.
They tried calling Ten but only got his voicemail.
Leva Bates and Peter Avalon don’t have any ideas for bits —
Bates and Avalon discussed not having any ideas for the show. Trent Beretta said they could discuss his mom’s book.
Ryan Nemeth then joined in as they all expressed how they had no idea what to do for BTE this week.
Dark Order keeps trying to call Ten —
Silver is shown leaving a voicemail for Ten about the backstage segment they had with Rush recently.
Silver said if Ten doesn’t come back he’s going to spank him.
Reynolds then left a message for Ten as well.
Uno then seemed to be upset that he matched with Ten on Tinder and Ten did not match with him back.
Silver then said he was having a pizza party and Ten was not invited.
The Dark Order continued leaving voicemails for Ten.
Ryan Nemeth reads Sue’s book —
Nemeth is shown reading from Trent’s mom’s book as The Dark Order can be heard recording voicemails for Ten in the background.
Full Gear 2022 footage —
Footage of the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega from Full Gear 2022 is shown.
Footage and audio of the crowd chanting “F–k CM Punk” is featured in this section of the episode.
Backstage at Full Gear —
Omega and the Bucks are shown backstage following their match against Death Triangle. They were upset about having lost.
The Young Bucks back in California —
The Young Bucks closed the video by talking about their return.
Both expressed that they were anxious about returning to the ring. Matt noted he has been having trouble sleeping lately and the last two months have been very stressful for them.
They are grateful for the response they received on Saturday, however.
Bryan Danielson says what brings him joy in wrestling these days is giving back to the business and helping younger talent.
During an appearance on One Fall with Ron Funches, Danielson says if AEW wanted him to be champion, he’d do it but that’s not what inspires him at this point in his career.
“What I feel like my job is in wrestling at this point is service, and that’s actually what brings me the most joy,” Danielson said. “Me being champion or anything like that, if they really wanted me to be a champion, if AEW really wanted me to be a champion or whatever it is, I’d do it if they thought it was good for business or whatever it is but that’s not what inspires me or what brings me joy. Being able to get in the ring with the younger talent and being able to give back, all that kind of stuff, that’s the stuff that brings value to my life now especially as an older wrestler, as someone who is 41. I don’t need the spotlight, nor do I even want the spotlight.”
“AEW does AEW Dark and AEW Dark: Elevation on YouTube and I love those platforms, and I would love just being on those shows, right? I would love to do that but I think Tony Khan pays me too much money to do that. He wants me to be on their TV show and all that kind of stuff but I would be just as happy if probably not more happy.”
“I love to wrestle still, I love being out there in front of the crowd but being able to wrestle and then also helping people achieve their dreams in wrestling as well. Those are the things that really inspire me and light up my brain.”
Brandi Rhodes is not currently looking at getting back in the ring.
The 39-year-old spoke to Steve Fall of the Ten Count podcast and said she has no plans to resume her wrestling career at the moment.
“I’m not going to say absolutes but I will say right now, it’s not in my plan. I kind of did myself a good service, I think, in taking a beat. My number one priority when everything happened and we left AEW, my number one priority in all of that was making sure that my husband’s dream was realized because, hey, it’s been a dream that’s been in the making for him since he was four years old, so I think it’s a good thing that you press forward and we’ve got to see this through.”
“I was kind of always on the back burner in that sense and working on other things. I’ve got Shot of Brandi out there in the ether, I started doing this podcast, and I do have some other things that are cooking in the non-wrestling world. So, in that period of time I got to spend a lot of time with my daughter, I got to watch her develop in these unexpected ways and find these different things that she’s really thriving at and really liking and I wanted to really be a part of it.”
“I won’t say, ‘no, it’s not going to happen,’ but I will say that right now, it’s not front of mind for me.”
Rhodes reportedly took part in a match at the WWE Performance Center in August. Her last official match took place on the January 6 episode of AEW Dark: Elevation. She defeated KiLynn King on the show.
Jamie Noble has announced what could be his final match in WWE.
The 45-year-old posted to Instagram on Sunday announcing that he will perform on the December 11 WWE house show from his home state of West Virginia. The event takes place in Charleston, WV which is an under a two-hour drive from Noble’s hometown of Hanover, WV.
Noble officially announced his active in-ring retirement in 2009 due to neck, shoulder, and back injuries. He returned for a few house shows in 2012 and 2013 before an on-screen role as a member of J&J Security in late 2014 and 2015. His final match took place on the June 8, 2015, edition of WWE Raw. Noble and Mercury defeated Seth Rollins in a handicap match that night.
“It’s Official!! On December 11 at the Charleston Civic Center, Charleston, WV. I will compete for possibly my last time in wrestling under the greatest company of all time WWE. It’s been roughly 11 years since I was forced out of the ring. Now I’m going to have one more opportunity in front of my people my state my family! I promise you I will walk out a winner or I will go out on my shield giving the best performance I can give. all the support I can get will be so greatly appreciated to show that I can still go! Thank you all!! God bless you and God bless WV!!” Noble posted to Instagram.
Noble is a former WWE Cruiserweight Champion. He defeated The Hurricane for the belt at King of the Ring 2002. He would later drop the title to Billy Kidman at Survivor Series that year.
He is also a former ROH Champion, having defeated CM Punk for the title in a four-way on August 12, 2005. Samoa Joe and Christopher Daniels were the other two involved in the match. Noble would drop the belt a month later to Bryan Danielson.
The front-runner to host Summerslam next year has reportedly been revealed.
According to a report from Fightful Select, WWE is looking to bring the event to Detroit, Michigan in 2023. A deal has not been finalized, however.
Summerslam was also held in Detroit in 1993. Lex Luger defeated Yokozuna via count-out in the main event that night. Other notable matches on the show included Undertaker defeating Giant Gonzalez, Jerry Lawler defeating Bret Hart via DQ, and Shawn Michaels defeating Mr. Perfect via count-out.
Other notable WWE events held in the city include WrestleMania 23, Survivor Series 91, Survivor Series 99, Royal Rumble 2009, and Hell in a Cell 2017.
WrestleMania III took place in nearby Pontiac, Michigan on March 29, 1987. The main event saw Hulk Hogan defeat Andre the Giant to retain the WWF Championship. Other matches on the show included Ricky Steamboat defeating Randy Savage to win the Intercontinental Championship, and Roddy Piper defeating Adrian Adonis.
Tony Khan has addressed the AEW interim Women’s World Championship situation.
The AEW President appeared on Barstool Rasslin and spoke about possibly removing the interim tag from Toni Storm’s title reign.
“The champion, Thunder Rosa, has been out injured so we’ll see. I’ve wanted to give Thunder Rosa every opportunity to come back and defend the championship,” Khan said. “She’s been out a while, so we’ll have to see. It’s a difficult choice but I do think the interim champion’s been out there and the interim champion is Toni Storm, who is one of the biggest free agent signings we’ve ever had.”
“Toni Storm comes in and she’s gone out every week and had great matches almost every week on TV,” Khan continued.
Khan would also talk about the match between Storm and Jamie Hayter at AEW Full Gear on Saturday.
“You have this huge free agent, this big star Toni Storm, who came in with a great reputation and a lot of TV experience and millions of people knew who she was when she arrived vs. Jamie Hayter, who’s really risen to worldwide prominence on AEW television.”
“They’ve both become really key figures in AEW and it’s going to be great to have this match, the interim Women’s World Championship but certainly whoever wins it will truly be a world champion.”
Rosa addressed her injury status last month during an appearance on Busted Open Radio. She noted that she is hoping to return in January.
“I am still hurt. They haven’t given me a time yet when I’m coming back. I’m saying it’s January and I hope it is January. And again, if Toni Storm disagrees with what was decided in the back, that is not my problem,” she said. “When I get better, I will still be the champion if my boss lets me be the champion. If he doesn’t, I will be okay with that decision too, because I don’t make the rules and that needs to be said.”
During an interview with The Ringer released on Thursday, Storm addressed her thoughts on the title situation.
“Personally, I think she should just come to work and defend her championship like she’s supposed to, like a champion should,” Storm said. “But if the injury lingers too long, I believe she should probably be stripped. And then I should be the AEW undisputed Women’s World Champion like I was supposed to be at All Out. That’s verbatim. I think she should defend her title. I think all champions should defend that championship. That doesn’t just go for Thunder Rosa. That goes for everybody.”
Colt Cabana’s return has “only made things worse” regarding the relationship between CM Punk and AEW.
Cabana wrestled Chris Jericho on the November 2 Dynamite in his first appearance for AEW (not including ROH shows or Fight Forever promotions) since early March. His return furthered speculation that his absence was due to Punk’s influence within the company.
Our own Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Cabana’s return has driven a further wedge between Punk and AEW.
“Colt Cabana wrestling Chris Jericho only made things worse as far as issues with the two sides. Punk remains adamant he had nothing to do with Cabana being gone,” Meltzer wrote. “A lot of talent in AEW believes and insists differently and it’s openly talk about.”
It was also noted that Cabana’s return was a Tony Khan decision and not a suggestion from someone else.
Punk is currently rehabbing the torn triceps he suffered at AEW All Out. Meltzer reported that his recovery is going “really well.” Regarding his contractual status, he is still under contract to AEW and his merchandise has been sold at recent live events. It was reported last month that the two sides were negotiating a buyout of his deal but there are no updates regarding the status of those discussions.
Meltzer also addressed the possibility of Punk signing with WWE should he no longer be under contract to AEW.
“We’ve asked about the potential for Punk here, and it appears from a creative team standpoint it’s not positive because most of them follow what happened in AEW,” Meltzer wrote. “However, they also recognize this is going to be a Levesque/McMahon/Nick Khan call and even with some negative things said and interactions, if you are just talking business, it is something bigger than anything else they could create.”
MLW has announced a world championship match for Blood & Thunder.
Alex Hammerstone is set to defend his title on the show against Dragon Gate’s YAMATO.
“‘The Almighty’ YAMATO, a perennial DRAGONGATE main eventer, is an elite class of fighter. Decorated in gold, having won the Open The Dream Gate Championship, Open the Triangle Gate Championship, and Open the Twin Gate Championship, YAMATO’s all-around skills and experience make him the most dangerous challenger to Hammerstone’s year-plus reign as champion,” reads an MLW press release for the match.
MLW first announced a working relationship with Dragon Gate in February 2020. Former Open The Dream Gate Champion Shun Skywalker won MLW’s middleweight championship earlier this year.
MLW Blood & Thunder takes place Saturday, January 7, 2023, from Philadelphia’s 2300 Arena. The show will be filmed for future episodes of MLW Fusion airing on BeIN Sports and Pro Wrestling TV.
The following are advertised to appear:
Jacob Fatu
Alex Kane and the Bomaye Fight Club
Real1
Davey Boy Smith Jr. & The Billington Bulldogs
World Tag Team Champions Hustle & Power (EJ Nduka & Calvin Tankman)
Lince Dorado
Women’s World Featherweight Champion Taya Valkyrie
