Author: Ian Carey

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.

Booker T responds to Batista’s comments about 2006 altercation

Posted on by Ian Carey

Booker T has responded to comments made by Batista about a backstage fight between the two of them nearly 20 years ago.

The two were involved in an altercation at a WWE promotional shoot on May 15, 2006, after an argument turned physical. A clip of Batista discussing the incident recently went viral on the WWE subreddit, in which he takes issue with Booker starting a fight with him while he was injured.

Booker responded to Batista’s comments on an episode of his Hall of Fame podcast, saying:

“There’s a story going around, as far as the kerfuffle that Batista and I got into back in the day at the SummerSlam shoot out there in LA.“

“I saw a video of him and he said that it’s sad that the guy chose to pick a fight with him when he was injured. And I go, ‘Wow, man. That’s just not fair.‘”

At the time of the incident, Batista was rehabbing from a surgically repaired triceps and a torn lat muscle. He had been forced to vacate the World Heavyweight Championship in January 2006 due to the injury. He returned to action that June.

Booker continued:

“First of all, I didn’t pick a fight with anybody. And I definitely didn’t know anybody was injured or anything like that. This is the first time I heard about anything like that.“

“I just don’t want people to ever think that I was a bully or that I would be going around picking fights with people. I did not pick a fight with anybody. But I did finish the fight with Batista.“

“Nothing but love for Batista. And guys, quit pulling up these old stories where I’ve got to comment on them. I’m never going to get deep off into what really happened with him and me because it’s one of those locker room stories and I always thought those stories are kind of sacred.“

Dave Meltzer detailed an eyewitness account of the backstage altercation in the May 29, 2006, edition of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, available in our archives for subscribers.

“There was a general feeling coming from several different sources that Batista deserved what he got. Even people you would expect to back Batista were taking Booker’s side in this,” Meltzer wrote.

Booker’s comments begin around the 19-minute mark of the podcast. The below video is cued.

AAA announces Mega title No. 1 contender match for FOX debut

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A new challenger for Dominik Mysterio’s AAA Mega Championship will be determined this weekend.

AAA has announced that El Grande Americano will wrestle El Hijo del Vikingo on Saturday’s show in Mexico City, with the winner earning the right to challenge Dominik for the title.

WWE wrote:

“Will @Americano_WWE or @vikingo_aaa be next to challenge @DomMysterio35 for the AAA Mega Championship? 🤔
Don’t miss this No. 1 Contender’s Match when Lucha Libre AAA streams LIVE this Saturday at 9e/6p on FOX in Latin America and YouTube + Facebook everywhere else.“

Saturday’s show will mark the start of AAA’s new broadcast deal with FOX. In Mexico and Central America, the event will stream live on Fox Tubi and Fox One at 8 p.m. local time, with a delayed airing on FOX from 9 to 10 p.m. In South America, the show will stream live on FOX’s YouTube channel. In the rest of the world, the event will air live on YouTube and Facebook via the WWE, WWE Español, and AAA channels at 6 p.m. PT / 9 p.m. ET. The event will take place at the Gimnasio Olímpico Juan de la Barrera in Mexico City.

Vikingo vs. Americano is the first match announced for the show.

Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez discussed the event earlier this week on Wrestling Observer Radio.

Meltzer said:

“The show is sold out and we know zero matches. The station hasn’t promoted it. It’s on from 9 to 10, so they are not showing the whole card. There’s no indication if these shows are going to be weekly. It looks like they will not be weekly. So this new TV deal, it feels right now it’s not nearly what it was cracked up to be. But they are sold out.”

Sam Adonis says being Corey Graves’ brother has hurt his career

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Sam Adonis says that being “Corey’s brother” has negatively impacted his career.

The 36-year-old Adonis is the younger brother of WWE commentator Corey Graves. On Tuesday, he posted a statement to social media saying that being known as Graves’ brother has negatively impacted his career.

Adonis wrote:

“NOTHING has negatively affected my career more than being ‘Corey’s Brother’ Few wrestlers have accumulated the diverse knowledge and experience I have worldwide aside from drawing actual money Still, to so many I’ve been reduced to nothing more than ‘Corey’s brother in Mexico’”

Adonis continues to wrestle for AAA at various shows but has not appeared on its programming since WWE announced it had purchased the company. In November, he responded to a fan on social media about the possibility of him being added to a Gringos Locos 2.0 faction with Dominik Mysterio. Adonis said there had been plans for him and QT Marshall to be the new version of the group.

Adonis’ statement is below:

TNA announces re-signing of former Knockouts tag champion

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TNA Wrestling has re-signed Jody Threat.

The former two-time Knockouts World Tag Team Champion first debuted with the promotion in March 2023. On Wednesday, Threat revealed during an interview with PWInsider that she had re-signed with the company. No details on the terms or length of the deal were disclosed.

Threat said:

“This year is really my opportunity to show everyone who Jody Threat is. So, I am excited to let you know that I have re-signed with TNA Wrestling to give myself the ability to move forward and prove what the Wild Child Jody Threat can do as a solo competitor.”

“I am so thankful that this was the place that I signed with, for my first TV contract, a big deal for someone like me as a female Canadian. It’s been such a learning opportunity and I just feel so blessed.”

TNA wrote of Threat’s re-signing:

“A two-time TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Champion, the Toronto native has been a cornerstone of the TNA Knockouts division since 2023. She is now embarking on a singles career after splitting with her Spitfire tag team partner Dani Luna.”

Threat and Dani Luna previously teamed as Spitfire in TNA. They won the Knockouts World Tag Team titles for the first time at TNA Sacrifice on March 8, 2024, then dropped the belts to Masha Slamovich and Alisha Edwards two months later at Under Siege. They won the titles back in September 2024 at Victory Road, then lost them in March 2025 to The Elegance Brand at Sacrifice. They were later forced to disband in May due to a stipulation stemming from their loss at Under Siege.

In addition to her work in TNA, Threat dropped the Winnipeg Pro Wrestling Women’s title to Mercedes Moné in October at Rumble in the Bert. She is also the current Smash Wrestling Women’s Champion.

Ricochet files to trademark potential new nickname

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Ricochet has filed to trademark a potential new nickname.

On January 12, the AEW National Champion filed to trademark the name “The Trendsetter” with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The trademark was filed by attorney Michael E. Dockins under Ricochet’s real name, Trevor Mann.

The purposes of the trademark are listed as:

“Providing wrestling news and information via a global computer network; entertainment services, namely, wrestling exhibits and performances by a professional wrestler and entertainer; providing online interviews featuring a professional wrestler and sports entertainer in the field of professional wrestling and sports entertainment for entertainment purposes; entertainment services, namely, televised appearances by a professional wrestler and sports entertainer; entertainment services, namely, personal appearances by a professional wrestler and sports entertainer; entertainment services, namely, live appearances by a professional wrestler and sports entertainer.”

Recent trademark filings by AEW include “Exile on Pain Street,” which the company filed to trademark on January 8. AEW also filed to trademark “C2” and “Continental Classic” on January 2, 2026. On November 14, AEW filed to trademark the name “Spring BreakThru.”

While Ricochet is not scheduled to wrestle on Wednesday’s Maximum Carnage episode of AEW Dynamite, his two stablemates in The Demand will wrestle in a four-way match to determine the next challengers to FTR’s World Tag Team titles.

Bruce Prichard details scandal involving cemetery used for Undertaker vignettes

Posted on by Ian Carey

One of the cemeteries WWE used for The Undertaker’s early vignettes harbors a dark secret.

Bruce Prichard appeared on The Undertaker’s Six Feet Under podcast recently and discussed filming vignettes early in Undertaker’s career, including at a Stamford-based cemetery. Prichard said that either after a shoot, or shortly thereafter, his assistant showed him the front page of a Stamford newspaper detailing crimes connected to the cemetery.

Prichard said:

“That cemetery, either after that shoot, shortly thereafter, my assistant came in and showed me the front page of the Stamford newspaper. That cemetery had been accused of stacking bodies. And they found them. And this guy would dig holes for us, he would let us go on mausoleums, everything.“

“They would just stack. And then once they knew the family was gone, they’d get rid of that headstone and sell it to another family. Sure, we got room! Don’t worry about it!”

“We got plenty of room, we got plenty of dirt,” Taker added.

While Prichard never named the cemetery directly, the timing lines up with the Fairfield Memorial Park scandal of the early 1990s, which led to several lawsuits against the cemetery. Testimony from cemetery workers stated that management did not know which bodies were in which graves, that bodies were sometimes buried away from where headstones had been placed, and that plots were sold more than once.

Prichard and Undertaker also discussed filming the vignettes, with Prichard saying he enjoyed them more than Undertaker did.

“They were fun!” Prichard said.

“They were anything but fun,” Taker replied.

Prichard and Taker’s comments about the cemetery scandal begins around the 40-minute mark of the interview.

Former NXT wrestler pulls out of show in Israel

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Priscilla Kelly, formerly Gigi Dolin in NXT, has pulled out of a wrestling event scheduled to take place in Israel.

Kelly had been announced for IPWA’s Passover Bash on April 6. However, shortly after the announcement was made, Kelly posted to social media that she would no longer be participating in the show.

Kelly wrote:

“I have made the decision to not travel to Israel for the show that was announced earlier. My intention was never to make a political statement, but to entertain those who were not tied to horrific humanitarian crisis, I do not want to be a part of this any further or give the idea that I condone the actions of the government in any way. I apologize for any harm this may have caused.”

Kelly was part of WWE roster cuts revealed on May 2, 2025. She had been with the company since early 2021. Kelly has wrestled on several GCW shows since her departure. She also made her MLW return in November in a match against Shotzi Blackheart. During her time in NXT, Kelly was a two-time NXT Women’s Tag Team Champion along with Jacy Jayne as part of the Toxic Attraction stable with Mandy Rose.

Kelly’s statement is below:

Three more wrestlers confirmed for upcoming WWE tryouts

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Three more names have been confirmed for WWE’s upcoming tryouts.

WWE is holding tryouts in Orlando this week. Previously reported as attending are MMA fighter Regina Tarin, basketball player James Karnik, and strongman competitor Joshua Hillen.

Nor “Phoenix” Diana confirmed on social media that she has been invited to the tryouts. The 26-year-old from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia dropped the APAC Women’s title to Mercedes Moné at a House of Glory show in November and also attended Bayley’s Lodestone training camp last month.

Diana wrote:

“I’m grateful for the people who helped shape this journey, especially my coach @TheShaukat @apacwrestling, and the experience I gained at #LodestoneWrestling. I trust the work I’ve put in and the process that got me here.
Ready to give everything and earn my place. @wwerecruit“

Bayley responded to Diana’s post, “We believe in you!”

Natalya did as well, writing, “I hope it goes amazing for you”

Bhupinder Gujjar, formerly of TNA Wrestling and currently with Maple Leaf Pro, also confirmed on social media that he has been invited to the tryouts.

“New Year, New opportunity,” Gujjar wrote on X.

MLP founder Scott D’Amore wrote of Gujjar:

“I met Bhupinder within days of him moving to Canada. He is a class act and a quality person who contributed in @bcwonline, @ThisIsTNA, @MapleLeafPW, and every locker room he’s been in. If @WWE gives him a chance, he will be a valuable member of @WWENXT, @WWNEVOLVE, or wherever he lands.”

In 2022, Gujjar was voted TNA’s “One to Watch in 2023.” His contract expired at the end of 2024 and he did not return to the company after. He finished up at the tapings in Detroit on October 27, 2024. He teamed with Jack Price in a loss to Jake Something and Alex Hammerstone in his final match.

Independent wrestler Starboy Charlie also confirmed on his social media that he’s been invited to the tryouts.

Charlie has wrestled for promotions such as GCW, DEFY and Pro Wrestling NOAH. Along with Jack Banning and Titus Alexander, he lost to The Opps at the March 5, 2025 AEW Collision tapings in Sacramento.

Report: Update on LA Knight’s return to WWE programming

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LA Knight’s return to WWE programming appears imminent.

Knight has not been on WWE programming since losing a singles match to Logan Paul on the December 8 episode of Raw, after which he was attacked by The Vision. The segment ended with Bronson Reed delivering a Tsunami to Knight on top of a car. WWE later stated Knight had suffered a cracked sternum among other injuries.

According to Fightful, Knight is scheduled to travel to Germany this week. WWE Raw is scheduled for Düsseldorf, Germany on Monday.

Prior to his storyline injury, Knight reached the finals of the Last Time Is Now tournament to determine John Cena’s final opponent. He defeated Matt Cardona (as Zack Ryder), The Miz, and Jey Uso before being eliminated by Gunther.

Monday’s Raw will take place at the PSD Bank Dome in Düsseldorf.

WWE Raw lineup for January 12, 2026:

  • Penta & Dragon Lee w/Rey Mysterio vs. Austin Theory & Bronson Reed w/Paul Heyman
  • WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions IYO Sky & Rhea Ripley kick off the show
  • We will hear from World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk
  • Gunther vs. AJ Styles
  • We will hear from Raquel Rodriguez

Absent WWE NXT wrestler reportedly expected to return soon

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An absent NXT wrestler is expected back shortly.

Jaida Parker hasn’t wrestled on NXT programming since a battle royal on the October 7, 2025 episode of NXT. According to a report from BodySlam.net, Parker is expected to return in the near future.

It’s not clear why Parker has been absent from NXT television. She has continued working NXT live events during that time, however. Her most recent match took place at the December 20 NXT house show in Dade City, Florida, where she defeated Tyra Mae Steele.

The NXT women’s division has seen several recent departures. Jordynne Grace was officially called up to the SmackDown roster after spending a little under a year in NXT. Lash Legend has also moved to SmackDown, where she is now teaming with Nia Jax. There have additionally been discussions regarding potential main roster call-ups for Blake Monroe and Jacy Jayne, although a recent Fightful report stated that neither is expected to be called up imminently.

New match, multiple segments added to WWE Raw lineup

Posted on by Ian Carey

WWE Raw General Manager Adam Pearce has made some additions to the lineup for Monday’s show.

In a video posted to social media on Sunday, Pearce announced that the new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Rhea Ripley and IYO Sky will kick off the show.

Pearce also revealed that “we will hear from” World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk following his successful title defense against Bron Breakker last week.

Raquel Rodriguez will also be on the show following her attack on Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer last week.

One new match was added to the lineup for Raw. Dragon Lee and Penta will wrestle Bronson Reed & Austin Theory in tag team action. Rey Mysterio will be in Lee and Penta’s corner while Paul Heyman will be in Theory and Reed’s.

The January 12, 2026 edition of WWE Raw is scheduled to take place at the PSD Bank Dome Düsseldorf in Düsseldorf, Germany, and will air live on Netflix at 2 p.m. Eastern time. The updated lineup is below:

WWE Raw lineup for January 12, 2026:

  • WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions IYO Sky & Rhea Ripley kick off the show
  • We will hear from World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk
  • Gunther vs. AJ Styles
  • We will hear from Raquel Rodriguez
  • Penta & Dragon Lee w/Rey Mysterio vs. Austin Theory & Bronson Reed w/Paul Heyman

Darby Allin: Brody King ‘should have been in AEW from year one’

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Darby Allin praised Brody King during a recent interview.

The Orlando Sentinel spoke with Allin as part of a feature it ran last week on King. Allin and King met when they were both working for MLW in 2017/18, and were also attending hardcore music events at the time. Speaking with Orlando Sentinel reporter Jay Reddick, Allin said he believes King should have been part of AEW from the promotion’s start in 2019.

“He’s a guy who I thought should have been in AEW from year one,” Allin said. “He understands that there’s no phoning it in, no taking it easy. Every night he goes out there, he performs literally to his limit, and it’s cool to see that he’s finally taking off.”

At the time AEW launched, King was working with Ring of Honor and the NWA. He was part of Villain Enterprises in ROH alongside Marty Scurll and PCO. King made his AEW debut on the January 12, 2022 edition of Dynamite, aligning with Malakai Black.

On AEW programming recently, commentary has mentioned that should Bandido win the AEW World Championship from MJF at Maximum Carnage, King would likely be granted a title shot by his Brodido tag partner.

The full article from the Orlando Sentinel is available here.

Jade Cargill, Jordynne Grace trade shots online after WWE SmackDown segment

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WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill and the newest member of the SmackDown roster Jordynne Grace appear to be headed for a match.

Grace defeated Alba Fyre in her first official match as a member of the main roster on Friday in Berlin. As she was walking to the back after her win, she was confronted by Jade Cargill, who told Grace that she was now on “her show.”

Grace posted a photo of her SmackDown confrontation with Cargill to social media, leading to several messages being exchanged between the two:

Cargill: “You left your glutes at home though.”

Grace: “Since a bitch is a female dog, it does make sense that you’re barking a lot.”

Cargill: “Okay little one…Calm down before I step on you.”
“Say it again. Maybe you’ll grow 💅🏾🥱 Correction : I’m THAT bitch”

When someone asked Grace about frequently having storylines regarding her physical appearance, Grace responded: “I don’t love playing into them. But they can’t say anything else about me. So let them have it.”

Cargill responded: “LAME. Girl you were talking about your arms being ‘bigger’ . Don’t play victim. And stop skipping your glutes.”

Grace: “I work out legs twice a week and don’t appreciate you making fun of my genetically concave ass”

Cargill: “Oh lord. She’s a victim. 🥱🥱. It’s been a murder.”

The exchange between Cargill and Grace is available below: