Category: Other Wrestling

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Gisele Shaw vs. Miyu Yamashita set for Maple Leaf Pro debut show

Posted on by Ian Carey

A new match with potential title implications has been announced for Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling’s debut show.

Gisele Shaw vs. Miyu Yamashita is scheduled for night one of Forged in Excellence, the promotion revealed on Saturday.

Shaw is also set to challenge Athena for the ROH Women’s World Title on night two. However, if Yamashita beats Shaw on night one, she will be added to the title match on night two, turning it into a three-way.

Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling Forged In Excellence takes place Saturday, October 19, and Sunday, October 20, 2024, at St. Clair College in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Both nights will air live on Triller TV as pay-per-views.

Night one (Saturday, October 19):

  • Konosuke Takeshita vs. “Speedball” Mike Bailey
  • Rohan Raja vs. Jake Something for the inaugural PWA Champion’s Grail Championship
  • Bhupinder Gujjar vs. QT Marshall (w/ Harley Cameron)
  • Tables match: Bully Ray vs. Raj Dhesi (former WWE wrestler Jinder Mahal)
  • Laynie Luck vs. Taylor Rising vs. Kylie Rae vs. Aurora Teves
  • Josh Alexander, Stu Grayson & El Phantasmo vs. Trevor Lee (the former Cameron Grimes), Rocky Romero & Alex Zayne
  • Gisele Shaw vs. Miyu Yamashita (If Yamashita wins, she’ll be added to the ROH title match on night two)

Night two (Sunday, October 20):

  • Josh Alexander vs. Konosuke Takeshita
  • ROH Women’s World Champion Athena defends against Gisele Shaw

Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling reveals opening match for debut event

Posted on by Joseph Currier

A six-man tag match will kick off the debut event for Scott D’Amore’s Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling.

Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling announced today that the Canadian team of Josh Alexander, Stu Grayson & El Phantasmo will take on Trevor Lee, Rocky Romero & Alex Zayne in the opening match of Forged in Excellence weekend. The promotion is launching with two events taking place from St. Clair College in Windsor, Ontario, Canada on Saturday, October 19 and Sunday, October 20. Both shows will air as live pay-per-views on Triller TV.

Alexander’s match for night two has already been confirmed with him set to face Konosuke Takeshita.

This promotion is a revival of the Maple Leaf Wrestling brand that existed from the 1930s to the 1980s. It’s a new project for D’Amore after being fired from TNA Wrestling earlier this year.

Mauro Ranallo and Don Callis will be the commentary team for Forged in Excellence. Here are the updated cards:

Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling Forged in Excellence —

Night one (Saturday, October 19):

  • Konosuke Takeshita vs. “Speedball” Mike Bailey
  • Rohan Raja vs. Jake Something for the inaugural PWA Champion’s Grail Championship
  • Bhupinder Gujjar vs. QT Marshall (w/ Harley Cameron)
  • Tables match: Bully Ray vs. Raj Dhesi (former WWE wrestler Jinder Mahal)
  • Laynie Luck vs. Taylor Rising vs. Kylie Rae vs. Aurora Teves
  • Josh Alexander, Stu Grayson & El Phantasmo vs. Trevor Lee (the former Cameron Grimes), Rocky Romero & Alex Zayne

Night two (Sunday, October 20):

  • Josh Alexander vs. Konosuke Takeshita
  • ROH Women’s World Champion Athena defends against Gisele Shaw

Alberto El Patron to defend AAA Mega title vs. El Hijo del Vikingo

Posted on by Ethan Renner

El Hijo del Vikingo is set to challenge the former Alberto Del Rio for the AAA Mega Championship next month.

AAA has revealed most of the lineup for their Guerra de Titanes event scheduled for November 10, with Alberto El Patron defending the Mega title against Vikingo atop the card. Dorian Roldan will be in El Patron’s corner, while Latin Lover will second the challenger.

Vikingo was forced to vacate the Mega title earlier this year after suffering a ruptured knee ligament and torn meniscus. Nic Nemeth defeated El Patron to win the vacant championship in April at a Triplemania XXXII event, then El Patron defeated Nemeth for the title at a Triplemania XXXII event in August.

Vikingo made his return to the ring for AAA on September 29 after missing seven months of action due to his injury. Currently the acclaimed high-flyer is touring Japan for GLEAT.

The announced lineup for the Sunday, November 10 AAA Guerra de Titanes show:

  • AAA Mega Champion Aberto El Patron defends against El Hijo del Vikingo
  • AAA Latin American Champion Octagon Jr. defends against El Mesias
  • Laredo Kid, Drago & Dinamico vs. Nobu San, Kento & Takuma
  • Lights out match: Vampiro, Mecha Wolf & Pagano vs. Abismo Negro, Psicosis & Taurus
  • Reina Dorada & El Fiscal vs. Havok & Crazzy Steve
  • Two matches TBA

April 30, 2007 Observer Newsletter: WWE Italy tour disappoints, UFC 70 recap

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

Napoleon had his Waterloo. Hitler had the Russian winter. And WCW had its Tacoma (the night on Raw where everything WCW related was booed so heavily that Vince McMahon canceled all his plans about keeping WCW as a separate group and giving it the Monday Night Raw time slot).

And WWE’s idea of expanding to five brands and running three or more different overseas territories (see 3/5 issue) this past week may have had a Russian winter of its own. Or an Italian spring.

After several years of doing monster business overseas, particularly in Europe, the current 22-show tour that started on 4/14 has been a box office disappointment due to the performance of the shows in Italy, and a lesser extent, Germany. The U.K. has continued sellout business, but when it comes to establishing a full-time European territory, which was a goal talked about for 2008, it’s a very bad sign.

Subscribers can read this issue here.

Artem Chigvintsev granted restraining order against Nikki Garcia

Posted on by Josh Nason

The conflict between former WWE star Nikki Garcia (Bella) and estranged husband Artem Chigvintsev continues to escalate.

A day after news broke that Bella gained a restraining order against Chigvintsev earlier in the week, the former “Dancing With The Stars” dancer gained a restraining order against her as well, filed Thursday in Napa Valley, California.

The dueling orders come after an alleged domestic violence incident between the couple on August 29th where Chigvintesv was arrested with the charges eventually dropped by the district attorney on September 24th due to a lack of evidence.

Garcia filed for divorce on September 11th. The couple share a four-year-old son and will be due in court on October 21st.

Chigvintesv’s statement was contract to Garcia’s that painted him as the aggressor. His statement included an alleged comment by Garcia that his 911 call that day ruined her career. While she said he blamed her for making their son into a picky eater, he claims she was questioning how he was packing their son’s lunchbox and not being an equal partner in parental responsibilities. He claims he tried to de-escalate the situation, but his “calm responses” drove Garcia to “completely” lose it and start screaming at him.

He denies tackling her, but said there was a mutual struggle in which both parents ended up on the ground. He shared pictures with his statement showing various cuts and marks.

Nikki Garcia gets restraining order against husband Artem Chigvintsev

Posted on by Josh Nason

Former WWE star Nikki Garcia has secured a restraining order against her husband, Artem Chigvintsev, following an alleged domestic violence incident at their home this past August.

TMZ reported that the request was put in this past Monday and was approved by a judge following a sworn statement by Garcia giving detail about how her husband allegedly assaulted her.

He will not face charges from the arrest as the Napa Valley (CA) district attorney stated, among other things, “we have an ethical obligation to only file charges when supported by the evidence.”

He is prohibited from coming within 100 yards of she, their son or their home unless it’s during visitation or exchange of child-ordered court visits. The judge did deny a request for her to leave the country with her son to work on a project. A full hearing is set for October 21st.

The two were married in 2022. Garcia filed for divorce in mid-September.

**********

TMZ included several details from the aforementioned statement including how Garcia (the former Nikki Bella) alleges Chigvintsev tackled her multiple times and pinned her to the ground while their child was present. She is also claiming he got increasingly angry and snapped at her, allegedly due to her not toasting an English muffin for their four-year-old son and blaming her for making him a picky eater.

After throwing her son’s shoes at her husband, she alleges he grabbed and ran with their son upstairs. When she tried to get into a room where they were in, she said he tackled her and held her there briefly. Another physical altercation allegedly took later place where he had his hands on her chest and she said she felt like she was suffocating.

She also claimed he has been both physically violent and verbally abusive in the past, providing details.

Chigvintsev was not invited to return on “Dancing With The Stars” shortly after his August arrest.

Indie promotion Black Label Pro cancels events, going on hiatus

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Indie promotion Black Label Pro has canceled all of its upcoming events and is going on hiatus.

Black Label Pro issued a statement on Tuesday informing fans of the news, noting that the hiatus is “for the time being.” All tickets that have been purchased are in the process of being refunded.

“Unfortunately we have decided to cancel Fancy Wrestling and the rest of the events upcoming,” the promotion announced. “We are going on a hiatus for the time being. All tickets have already been submitted for refunds. Thank you for all the support.”

“Mentally exhausted,” Black Label promoter Mikey Blanton tweeted. “Just need time to breathe.”

Fancy Wrestling was scheduled to take place in Crown Point, Indiana on Saturday, October 12 and was going to feature Black Label Pro Champion Raj Dhesi (the former Jinder Mahal) defending his title against Calvin Tankman.

Based out of the Midwest, Black Label Pro has existed since 2017. Their last show before going on hiatus was September’s Crowning Glory event from Chicago.

NWA Power to air on X for next five weeks

Posted on by Joseph Currier

For the next five weeks, the NWA will be airing its content on X/Twitter.

The promotion announced today that, starting this Tuesday and running weekly through October 29, episodes of NWA Power will air on the NWA’s X account at 6:05 p.m. Eastern time. The five episodes will feature matches from NWA 76, the promotion’s yearly anniversary show that was taped in Philadelphia at the end of August.

“We wanted to reward all of our loyal fans domestically and around the globe by allowing them to see our spectacular anniversary show,” the NWA’s Joe Galli said. “Especially to those fans who may have been missing out on NWA Power over the past few months.”

This Tuesday, NWA Power will be headlined by EC3 defending his NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship against Thom Latimer. There will also be a Tag Team title match with Alex Taylor & Kerry Morton challenging Mike Knox & Trevor Murdoch.

The move comes as NWA content is leaving The CW app today. Episodes of NWA Power have been airing weekly on The CW app since February.

WWE NXT premieres on The CW Network this Tuesday with The CW set to be NXT’s television home for the next five years.

El Hijo del Vikingo returns from injury at AAA TV tapings

Posted on by Ian Carey

El Hijo del Vikingo wrestled his first match in over seven months this weekend.

The 27-year-old took part in AAA’s TV tapings on Sunday in Monterrey. He teamed with Laredo Kid & Octogon Jr. in a win over Belcegor, Taurus & Emperador Azteca.

Vikingo had been out of action since having surgery in February for a torn meniscus and ruptured ligament. He suffered the injury in a match for AULL (Alianza Universal De Lucha Libre) on February 17.

The former AAA Mega Champion is also booked on an upcoming GLEAT show in Japan. He is scheduled to team with Soma Watanabe against Ricochet & CIMA on Sunday, October 5 in Osaka.

House of Glory has also announced that Vikingo will wrestle Nic Nemeth on its show on October 18.

Following his injury, Vikingo vacated the AAA Mega Championship after holding it for 833 days and defending it successfully 23 times. In April, Nic Nemeth beat Alberto El Patron to win the vacated title at Triplemania XXXII: Monterrey. However, he lost it to El Patron at Triplemania XXXII: Mexico City on August 17.

April 23, 2007 Observer Newsletter: WWE stops Lawler/Hogan Memphis match, TNA Lockdown recap

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

The two biggest players in the modern U.S. wrestling world, Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon, and their love/hate relationship caught the Memphis Wrestling promotion in the crossfire this past week.

The promotion was planning the biggest non-Hispanic independent wrestling show in recent memory, a rematch some 26 years in the making between Hogan and local legend Jerry Lawler at the Fed Ex Forum on 4/27. The match had been talked about for months, but only in recent weeks did it seem like anything more than a local publicity stunt. Hogan somewhat surprisingly agreed to do it after VH-1 agreed to do a one-hour documentary on Hogan where his return to wrestling would be a focal point, plus he’s interested in making a farewell tour and currently he’s on the major outs with WWE.

But on 4/9, when Lawler was at Raw in Bridgeport, CT, he was told by WWE officials that they suggested he not appear on the show. Lawler’s actual contract with WWE is as an announcer and not as a wrestler, and he is free contractually to do any independent dates as long as he doesn’t work for TNA, which the company considers as direct competition.

Subscribers can read this newsletter here.

Nikki Garcia’s husband Artem Chigvintsev won’t face charges over domestic violence arrest

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Nikki Garcia’s husband will not face charges over his domestic violence arrest.

The Napa County District Attorney’s Office issued a press release on Tuesday that Artem Chigvintsev will not face charges relating to his arrest for domestic violence on August 29.

The statement reads:

Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley announced today that her office has declined to

file criminal charges against Artem Chigvintsev, age 42, in connection with his arrest on suspicion of felony domestic violence. The decision to not file charges against Mr. Chigvintsev was made after a thorough review of the criminal investigation and careful evaluation of the evidence presented to the DA’s Office.

While we take every arrest seriously and stand firmly against domestic violence, we have an ethical obligation to only file charges when supported by the evidence. We are required to prove any and every criminal charge ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ which is the highest standard in the American criminal justice system. If the available evidence doesn’t rise to this level of proof, then we cannot ethically file charges.

Domestic violence can either be filed as a felony or a misdemeanor and has a statute of limitations of three years or one year, respectively. At any time within the statute of limitations, the Napa County District Attorney’s Office may revisit the case if it learns of other incidents, or otherwise learns of facts or evidence not previously known.

Chigvintsev was originally arrested on charges of felony corporal injury to a spouse or cohabitant. Two weeks after Chigvintesev was arrested, Nikki Garcia filed for divorce. It had been previously reported that Garcia had already been contacting attorneys and was looking to start divorce proceedings following Chigvintsev’s arrest.

The two had been together since 2018, were married in 2022, and have a four-year-old son together.

Former WWE NXT broadcaster McKenzie Mitchell set for Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling role

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Former WWE NXT broadcast team member McKenzie Mitchell is returning to pro wrestling next month for a role with Scott D’Amore’s new promotion.

Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling announced today that Mitchell will serve as the backstage correspondent for the promotion’s debut events on Saturday, October 19 and Sunday, October 20. The shows are named Forged in Excellence and are taking place from St. Clair College in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.

“Hi wrestling friends,” Mitchell tweeted. “Excited to step back onto a backstage set.”

Mitchell was released by WWE in December 2023 after working for NXT as a backstage interviewer and on-air personality. Before her time in WWE, she had a similar role in Impact Wrestling.

Both nights of Forged in Excellence will air as live pay-per-views on Triller TV. Mauro Ranallo and Don Callis will be the commentary team, while former TNA broadcaster Sam Leterna will be the ring announcer.

Josh Alexander, Konosuke Takeshita, Athena, Gisele Shaw, Mike Bailey, El Phantasmo, Raj Dhesi (Jinder Mahal), KUSHIDA, Alex Zayne, Kevin Knight, Jake Something, Kylie Rae, Trevor Lee, QT Marshall, Miyu Yamashita, Stu Grayson, Sheldon Jean, Aiden Prince, Brent Banks, and Laynie Luck have been announced for the shows.

Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling is a revival of the Maple Leaf Wrestling brand that originally existed from the 1930s to the 1980s. It’s a new project for D’Amore after he was fired by TNA Wrestling earlier this year.

Ric Flair says he and Wendy Barlow have decided to ‘part ways respectfully’

Posted on by Ian Carey

Ric Flair announced that he and Wendy Barlow have decided to go their separate ways.

The pair met in 1993 while working together in WCW. Barlow portrayed the character of a French maid named Fifi in the “Flair for the Gold” segments the company was producing at the time. They announced their engagement in 2016 and held a wedding ceremony in 2018.

Flair revealed on Monday that after 13 years, they have decided to “part ways respectfully”

“Wendy And I Enjoyed 13 Great Years. As With Every Couple, We Have Experienced Our Ups And Downs. I Think It’s Important For Everyone To Know Right Now That We Have Decided To Part Ways Respectfully. I’ll Never Ever Be Able To Thank Her Enough For Standing By My Side Through My Terrible Health Crisis In 2017. She Never Left My Side! And For That I Will Always Be Grateful! We Both Are Working On Different Projects At The Current Time & It Becomes Difficult With My Schedule & Her Schedule To Make This Work. I Wish Her The Best Of Luck With Her Projects, And I Know That She Supports Mine!”

This is the second time in recent years Flair has announced that he and Barlow are splitting. Flair also did so in January 2022.

“After Taking Some Time Apart, Wendy And I Have Decided To Go Our Separate Ways. Please Respect Our Privacy & Our Families During This Time! I Will Love & Cherish All Of Our Memories Together Forever, And I Will Forever Be Thankful For All She Has Done To Make My Life Better!”

Flair finished up with AEW in July as the Wooooo! Energy AEW sponsorship appeared to end earlier this summer. He first appeared in AEW in October 2023 and the company issued a press release that he had signed a multi-year deal with the company.

Dustin Rhodes to launch Rhodes Wrestling Association in November

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Dustin Rhodes is starting his own wrestling promotion.

Rhodes announced on X that the Rhodes Wrestling Association will hold its first show in November called Texas Fall Fury.

“FINALLY!!! @RhodesWrestling is LAUNCHING!!.” he wrote. “Stay tuned in the coming weeks for all info. November 21st Thursday at 6pm central #RWA’s Bullpen in Leander Texas. Lets make the first one special! I will be doing a VIP Meet and greet at 5pm central.”

The Rhodes Wrestling Academy training facility has held showcase events in Texas, with their most recent show on July 15. Wayne and Wyatt Rhodes, who have trained at the Rhodes Wrestling Academy and are the nephews of Dustin and Cody Rhodes, made their AEW debut in August, taking on Jon Cruz and Aaron Solo.

Rhodes has seen much success in 2024 on AEW television. After winning the ROH Six-Man Tag titles with Ross & Marshall Von Erich, he followed that up by winning the ROH Tag Team titles with Sammy Guevara. They successfully defended the titles on Saturday’s AEW Collision, defeating The Kingdom in a Bunkhouse Brawl.

April 16, 2007 Observer Newsletter: History of Pride & MMA in Japan, UFC 69 review

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

On October 11, 1997, an event was held at the Tokyo Dome that would lead to major changes in both the pro wrestling and MMA industries. At the time, it was barely known in the U.S., although it was a big deal in Japan as far as a one-time even. Still, it was hardly believed to be the start of one of the great promotional dynasties that would change both sports forever in Japan. In reality, on that date, there was only one sport–pro wrestling.

Mixed martial arts was a term used by Antonio Inoki for his pro wrestling matches against stars from other sports. Pancrase, which by that time was running all real matches, and RINGS, which was running some, were considered by all as pro wrestling. UFC existed, and was even planning a show in Japan at that time, but it was just some American show coming to Japan.

At that time, U.S. pro wrestling was just days removed from the death of Brian Pillman. A few weeks later would be the infamous Survivor Series in Montreal.

Subscribers can read this issue here.