Category: Other Wrestling

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MLW returning to Atlanta for Fightland 2024

Posted on by Joseph Currier

After holding Battle Riot VI in the city, MLW has announced a return date for Atlanta.

MLW will be back at Center Stage on Saturday, September 14 for Fightland 2024. The event will feature both a live streaming special and matches taped for MLW television. Tickets are going on sale this Wednesday (June 5) at 10 a.m. Eastern time.

Center Stage also hosted Battle Riot VI this past Saturday. At the event, Matt Riddle won the 40-man Battle Riot match to earn a future MLW World Heavyweight Championship shot. Satoshi Kojima, the current champion, retained his title against Tom Lawlor. MLW hasn’t announced when Riddle will be getting his title shot.

Battle Riot was MLW’s Atlanta debut.

Going forward, MLW’s special events (including Fightland) will air live on YouTube for those who subscribe as a paid member to the MLW YouTube channel. The events previously aired on TrillerTV+.

Riddle, Kojima, Lawlor, Alex Kane, Mistico, AKIRA, Sami Callihan, Jake Crist, Delmi Exo, Cesar Duran, Salina de la Renta, and Contra Unit (Mads Krugger, Minoru Suzuki, Janai Kai & Ikuro Kwon) are advertised for Fightland.

Here’s a look at MLW’s upcoming event schedule:

  • Blood & Thunder: Friday, July 12 at The Coliseum in St. Petersburg, Florida
  • Summer of the Beasts: Thursday, August 29 at the Melrose Ballroom in New York City
  • Fightland: Saturday, September 14 at Center Stage in Atlanta
  • Lucha Apocalypto: Saturday, November 9 at Cicero Stadium in Cicero, Illinois

Mance Warner wins GCW title at Cage of Survival 3

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Mance Warner is the new GCW Champion.

Warner won the title shortly after Joey Janela won the Gauntlet of Survival match to become champion. Warner then came in and cashed in his Do or Die title match, pinning Janela with an implant DDT to become the new champion. The show ended with GCW General Manager Matt Cardona, Steph de Lander, Jimmy Lloyd, and Warner celebrating with the championship.

The title was stripped from Blake Christian while he was competing in NJPW’s Best of the Super Juniors tournament by Matt Cardona, who is recovering from a torn pectoral muscle. An angle took place on social media earlier in the afternoon where masked men attacked Joey Janela in his hotel room prior to the card.

Other matches on the show, which took place in Atlantic City, saw Effy defeat Warner in a Cage of Survival match, Megan Bayne defeating Mike Bailey, Cole Radrick & Alec Price defeating Yuki Ishikawa and Hideyoshi Kamitani, and Matt Tremont defeating Big F’n Joe in a deathmatch.

January 27, 2007 Observer Newsletter: Bam Bam Bigelow, Yoshihiro Akiyama

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

Bam Bam Bigelow, who was the most agile near 400-pounder to ever come into pro wrestling when he debuted in 1986, passed away on 1/19 at his girlfriend’s home in Hudson, FL at the age of 45.

Bigelow was an international headliner for most of the next 15 years, with several stints in promotions like WWF, WCW, UWA in Mexico and New Japan Pro Wrestling.

Born Scott Charles Bigelow on September 1, 1961, he was a great natural athlete, with near sprinter speed and incredible agility while carrying 325 pounds in high school, which nobody in the 80s had. But he fell in with the wrong people and out of sports. He wound up as a bounty hunter, and then ended up as the most famous student of Larry Weil (Pretty Boy Larry Sharpe), who, largely through Bigelow’s success, his Monster Factory became the most famous pro wrestling school in the country.

But in recent years, the fall from stardom was hard. He went through a messy divorce. For a long period of time, he disappeared after a sandwich shop in Pennsylvania went bankrupt. He lost contact with his three children and ended up on terrible terms with his wife, and hadn’t paid child support in years.s

Subscribers can read this issue here.

Drew Gulak announced for first post-WWE indie appearance

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Following his departure from WWE, Drew Gulak is returning to the indies.

Beyond Wrestling has announced Gulak for its Americanrana ’24 event that’s taking place in Worcester, Massachusetts on Thursday, July 4. It’s the first appearance Gulak has been confirmed for since WWE chose not to renew his contract.

It was initially reported last month that Gulak was released by WWE in a round of NXT roster cuts. When asked about Gulak’s status at a press conference in France after WWE Backlash, Paul “Triple H” Levesque confirmed that Gulak was gone from the company but said that Gulak was not released — his contract “was just not renewed.”

Levesque didn’t address if Gulak’s departure had anything to do with the allegation that had been made against him by Ronda Rousey. During an April appearance on NewsNation, Rousey discussed a backstage incident that occurred in 2022 where Gulak pulled on the string of her sweatpants. Gulak then issued a statement responding to Rousey. He claimed that the incident was a “complete accident” where he went to shake Rousey’s hand and accidentally touched her drawstring.

Gulak had been with WWE since 2016. Before signing with WWE, Beyond Wrestling was among the indie promotions that he regularly appeared for.

Beyond Wrestling has yet to announced Gulak’s opponent for Americanrana. The show will stream live on IndependentWrestling.TV.

Renee Paquette announced as part of Sukeban Los Angeles commentary team

Posted on by Ian Carey

American Joshi promotion Sukeban is bringing in Renee Paquette.

Paquette was announced as part of the commentary team for tonight’s show along with former WWE writer Kazeem Famuyide, and wrestling/baseball reporter Saya.

Tonight’s show takes place at The Trinity in Los Angeles and will stream live on TikTok.

Tonight’s event will be the third in the promotion’s history. They also ran shows in New York and Miami last year.

Here’s how the promotion describes itself:

Sukeban blends fashion, anime, and music, and breaks down the walls between the worlds of art and wrestling. Named for the girl gangs which emerged in the 1960s and 70s and helped bring feminism to the cultural forefront in Japan, Sukeban’s roster features some of the most talented wrestlers in the world.

Sareee (FKA as Sarray in NXT) will be featured on tonight’s show. She performs as Sareee Bomb in the promotion and is scheduled to wrestle Maya Mamushi.

Sukeban’s announced lineup for May 30, 2024 —

  • Sukeban World Champion Commander Nakajima defends against Crush Yuu
  • Rina Yamashita vs. Lady Antoinette vs. Atomic Banshee
  • Saki Bimi & Babyface vs. Konami & Queen of Hearts
  • Sareee Bomb (former NXT wrestler Sarray) vs. Maya Mamushi
  • Supersonic & Stray Cat vs. Midnight Player & Otaku-chan

Giulia undergoes successful surgery on broken wrist

Posted on by Ian Carey

Giulia is on the mend and hopeful to be cleared in time for Marigold Summer Destiny.

The 30-year-old suffered a broken wrist just five minutes into the main event of Marigold Fields Forever on May 20. She’d later tell Tokyo Sports that doctors said surgery was the quickest route back for her if she hopes to wrestle Sareee on July 13 show at Sumo Hall.

Marigold announced on Tuesday that Giulia’s surgery has been deemed a success and she will be on hand for the promotion’s show on Saturday.

“Giulia, who has been absent due to a distal radius fracture, underwent surgery this morning in Tokyo and we are pleased to report that surgery was a success! She’ll be discharged on Thursday and will accompany us to our regional shows starting on June 1st.”

Giulia’s injury was addressed by our own Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez on Wrestling Observer Radio, with Meltzer saying WWE wanted Giulia to have the surgery.

“WWE wanted her to undergo the surgery. So, she’s doing that,” Meltzer said.

“I know that before the surgery she was still talking about doing the July 13 date at Sumo Hall against Sareee in the singles match, that would probably be a great match, she really wanted to do that match.”

Meltzer continued to say that Giulia has been working hard to help Rossy Ogawa’s new promotion, despite being expected to land in WWE eventually.

“She’s been very hands-on with Marigold as far as really working with the younger wrestlers, trying to help the company. You know, she’s got a lame duck deal, she’s leaving and everyone knows it but she’s really working hard on building the company, to the point of leading the training classes.”

Giulia to undergo surgery for broken wrist

Posted on by Ian Carey

Giulia has elected to have surgery on her broken wrist.

The 30-year-old suffered the injury five minutes into the main event of Marigold Fields Forever in Korakuen Hall on Monday. She recently revealed to Tokyo Sports that she’s been told surgery is the quickest route back for her.

Giulia was admitted to the hospital on Monday and her surgery is scheduled for Tuesday.

“That day, my arm bent in the opposite direction, and as a result, I broke a bone. I was told that surgery would be the fastest recovery,” a translation of Giulia’s comments read.

It was noted in the Tokyo Sports article that this is Giulia’s first time being hospitalized and the first surgery she’s ever had.

“I’ll spend my time watching movies and watching various professional wrestling videos for the first time in a long time,” a translation of her comments reads.

Sareee and Bozilla defeated Giulia and Utami Hayashishita on Monday. After the match, Giulia challenged Sareee to a singles match at Sumo Hall at Summer Destiny.

Giulia was on hand for Marigold’s afternoon and evening shows on Sunday in Tokyo. She greeted the fans and apologized for being unable to perform on the show.

January 22, 2007 Observer Newsletter: 2006 Observer Awards issue

Posted on by Bryan Rose

This year’s race promised to be historical. And in the end, it was. Mistico was not only the first Luchador to win the award, but the first non-heavyweight in a year where eight of the top 12 finishers weren’t heavyweights.

What this year shows is a major trend change for the business, which started in boxing, when the lighter weights began carrying a sport where, historically, the heavyweights were the top draws. For pro wrestling, Mexico was the only major wrestling culture where that had been the case because of the early success of people like El Santo. But by the 70s and 80s, it had changed to where most of your bigger draws were the heavier guys there. Ultimately this trend in MMA started with Royce Gracie, as if a muscular or large wrestler or heavyweight kickboxer had dominated the early UFC’s, things would have been different. In fact, it may have never gotten past the first few shows. In U.S. pro wrestling, the real trend-setter was Rey Mysterio, because when he got over at his size in 1996, the size barrier was out the window for entrance into the profession.

Click here to read this week’s retro issue.

Former WWE wrestler Cameron Grimes announced for wXw show

Posted on by Ian Carey

Trevor Lee, FKA Cameron Grimes, is headed to Germany this summer.

wXw has announced Lee will return to the promotion for the first time since 2016 at Shortcut to the Top on August 10. The show is scheduled for the Turbinenhalle in Oberhausen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

Lee was released from WWE in April after having been with the company since 2019. Shortly after, he’d tell Busted Open Radio that “a pretty high executive” in WWE told him he didn’t need to worry about losing his job.

Lee will also return to Elevation Pro Wrestling in Lexington, Kentucky this summer. He’s been announced for their show on July 26.

wXw has not announced a lineup for Shortcut to the Top as of yet. Lee is the first talent confirmed for the show. It will be his first time working for the promotion since entering the 16-carat Gold tournament in March 2016. He was eliminated by Angelico in the first round. Zack Sabre Jr. won the tournament that year, defeating Ludwig Kaiser in the finals. Other participants in the single-elimination tournament in 2016 included Will Ospreay, Gunther, Drew McIntyre, Sami Callihan, Timothy Thatcher, Ilja Dragunov, Mike Bailey, and Swerve Strickland. Lee wrestled two more dates on the tour after being eliminated. He dropped a four-way match and then teamed with Marty Scurll to beat Ospreay and Bailey to close out the tour.

Brandi Rhodes recovering following surgery for stage four endometriosis

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Brandi Rhodes is on the road to recovery.

On Tuesday, she posted on social media that she was recovering from surgery after she was diagnosed with stage four endometriosis. She wrote that she was inspired by Maryse Mizanin’s recent battle with getting a diagnosis for what ended up being pre-cancerous tumors in her body that required a total hysterectomy.

Brandi wrote:

3 years of pain with no answers. @MaryseMizanin’s story encouraged me to press on. Many appts later, we found the answer. Stage 4 endometriosis. Successful surgery today. Ladies, listen to your bodies. We don’t have to live with pain. Advocate for yourself. Finally on the road to recovery, we have to talk more about women’s health. Love you @CodyRhodes. I am so blessed with your love.

Cody Rhodes responded on X, writing “I just wrote my book. It only has 2 lines: ‘I love Brandi Rhodes  -The End.’”

Brandi Rhodes has stayed out of the wrestling spotlight since leaving AEW in 2022 along with her husband. She appeared at WrestleMania 40 last month to accompany Cody to the ring, then celebrated with him after his Undisputed WWE Championship win.

World Heavyweight title match added to MLW Battle Riot VI

Posted on by Joseph Currier

“Filthy” Tom Lawlor is getting a chance to dethrone Satoshi Kojima for the MLW World Heavyweight Championship.

MLW has announced that Kojima will defend his World title against Lawlor at Battle Riot VI on Saturday, June 1. The show is being held at Center Stage in Atlanta and will air live on YouTube for free.

Kojima is a double champion in MLW, currently holding the World Heavyweight Championship and Tag Team titles. There was a storyline last month where Lawlor & Davey Boy Smith Jr. vacated the MLW Tag Team titles after Lawlor was taken out in an attack by Contra Unit. Kojima & Okumura then won the vacant belts.

There have been two singles matches between Kojima and Lawlor before. Kojima defeated Lawlor at an MLW event in December 2023. In 2021, Lawlor beat Kojima at a show for NJPW.

Kojima has been MLW World Heavyweight Champion since February. Lawlor previously held the title for five months in 2019.

The Battle Riot event is being headlined by MLW’s Battle Riot match, which is a 40-man battle royal where the winner receives a future World title shot. Matt Riddle, Sami Callihan, Mistico, Timothy Thatcher, Ernest “The Cat” Miller, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Bobby Fish, and actor Paul Walter Hauser are among the entrants that have been confirmed.

MLW Battle Riot VI (Saturday, June 1) —

  • 40-man Battle Riot match
  • MLW World Heavyweight Champion Satoshi Kojima defends against Tom Lawlor
  • Ritual Combat match: Alex Kane vs. AJ Francis

Giulia suffered wrist fracture at Marigold’s debut show

Posted on by Ian Carey

Giulia is injured.

The 30-year-old headlined Marigold’s debut event, Marigold Fields Forever, on Monday in Korakuen Hall. She teamed with Utami Hayashishita in a loss to Sareee and Bozilla. On Tuesday, Marigold announced that Giulia suffered a fractured wrist in the match. She will miss the upcoming Hana Kimura Memorial Show scheduled for Thursday.

Marigold wrote:

“Giulia’s right wrist was injured in yesterday’s inaugural match. Today, her doctor examined her and diagnosed her with a fracture. Unfortunately she will miss the Hana Kimura show on the 23rd, and upcoming shows for the time being. We apologize and thank you for understanding.”

After the main event on Monday, Giulia challenged Sareee to a future singles match, possibly at Summer Destiny, which has been announced for July 13 at the Ryogoku Kokugikan. At a media event on Tuesday, Giulia reportedly said she’ll be ready for the show.

Giulia’s match on Monday was just her second since departing Stardom earlier this year. She also wrestled at NOAH Wrestle Magic 2024 on May 4. Giulia teamed with Hayashishita, Mai Sakurai, and MIRAI in a win over Great Sakuya, Miyuki Takase, Nagisa Nozaki, and Takumi Iroha on the show.

GCW announces Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport XI for July

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Bloodsport is returning this summer.

GCW announced on social media Monday that Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport XI will take place on July 28 at the Roulette Intermedium in Brooklyn, NY. Tickets for the event will go on sale this Friday at noon. The show will be broadcast live on Triller TV.

Bloodsport shows take place inside a no-ropes ring where matches end only by knockout, submission, or referee stoppage. GCW has held the event each year since 2018.

The news comes as Bloodsport is set to hold their first-ever event in Japan on June 22 at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo. Matches announced include Josh Barnett vs. AEW’s Jon Moxley, Masakatsu Funaki vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr., Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson vs. Hideki Sekine, and Minoru Suzuki vs. Timothy Thatcher.

The tenth Bloodsport event took place over WrestleMania 40 weekend. That show had Josh Barnett defeating Johnny Bloodsport, WWE’s Shayna Baszler defeating Masha Slamovich, NXT’s Charlie Dempsey defeating Matt Makowski, and Nic Nemeth defeating Speedball Mike Bailey.

Former wXw champion John ‘Bad Bones’ Klinger passes away at 40

Posted on by Ian Carey

“Bad Bones” John Klinger has passed away.

The former 3-time wXw World Champion was 40 years old. His passing was announced by WXW on Monday.

A translation of wXw’s post on X reads:

“We say goodbye to “Bad Bones” John Klinger. John Klinger was one of the defining wrestlers at wXw for over a decade. He won all of the major titles at wXw and won both 16 Carat Gold and Shortcut to the Top. In his almost 450 matches in the wXw ring, he always worked hard and did his best to excite his fans. At just 40 years old, John died far too early, shortly before his planned retirement. We wish his family and friends strength in this difficult time.”

Will Ospreay commented on Klinger’s passing as well, writing, “RIP “Bad Bones” John Klinger Always a pleasure.”

Subculture’s Flash Morgan Webster wrote:

A cause of death has not been revealed.

Klinger debuted in wXw in 2005 and went on to become one of the German promotion’s top stars. His three title reigns with the wXw World belt is tied for the most all-time with Gunther and Jurn Simmons.

Wrestling under the name Bad Bones, Klinger wrestled at TNA TV tapings in 2009, 2014, 2016, and 2017 as well. He lost to Josh Barnett in his last match for the promotion taped at Universal Studios in January 2017. Klinger once challenged Nick Aldis for the Global Force Wrestling Amped taping in London in 2016 as well.

The Von Erichs say signing with major wrestling company ‘is coming soon’

Posted on by Ian Carey

Ross and Marshall Von Erich could be headed to a major wrestling company soon.

On the debut edition of The Von Erichs podcast, Marshall mentioned that the brothers signing with a major promotion is “in the cards” but said he’s not able to talk much about it. He also said that he and Ross have had conversations with “both companies.”

Marshall said:

“Ross and I, in the beginning, we had an opportunity to go to WWE to do a tryout. We both didn’t feel like it was time because once you go, you’re showing this is the best of what we have to offer and we didn’t feel like we were at our best yet.”

Marshall continued to say that he now feels they are ready to perform for a major organization. He also said he feels confident that could happen sometime soon.

“Right now we feel like we’re polished and ready and could go wrestle anywhere. I feel like it’s coming, it’s coming soon and so this is like the calm before the storm. We’ve been in conversations with both companies and stuff, so we’re just seeing where it goes but it feels like the calm before a storm because I’ve got a feeling it’s coming soon. It’s coming soon. I’d love to talk on it more but there’s some stuff I can’t really talk about yet.”

The Von Erichs wrestled full-time with Pro Wrestling NOAH from the summer of 2012 to late 2013. They signed with MLW in 2019 and wrestled there for three years, winning the promotion’s tag titles once and feuding with The Dynasty, The New Era Hart Foundation, and other teams. They debuted in AEW at Winter is Coming 2023 and wrestled on several ROH tapings in Texas that month as well. The Von Erichs also teamed with Dustin Rhodes on the February 16 episode of Rampage earlier this year in Cedar Park.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faL61VcpnDM&t=1791s