FTR are now three-time AEW Tag Team Champions, defeating Brodido at Saturday’s Full Gear event. In a wild back and forth match, Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler managed to isolate Bandido after hitting Brody King with a piledriver on the apron. Bandido attempted to fight back, but eventually found himself outnumbered and accepted his fate as he took the shatter machine, giving FTR the win and tying with the Young Bucks for most AEW Tag Team title reigns.
In the weeks leading to Full Gear, FTR and Stokely Hathaway had focused on Bandido and his family, insulting his grandmother and Bandido’s brother Gravity during shows. At one point, FTR attacked Gravity while the champions were stuck in a locked room, with Stokely guarding. Eventually Brody King burst through the door and managed to escape.
Brodido had held the titles for 90 days, originally winning them from The Hurt Syndicate in a three-way match at Forbidden Door that also involved FTR. During their time as champions, they defended against the likes of Kazuchika Okada & Konosuke Takeshita and also defended the titles in CMLL. Bandido remains the ROH World Champion.
Helping train wrestlers is something that interests FTR, especially in the future when they have more time.
A report emerged from Fightful last month saying that an AEW-affiliated training center in Asheville, North Carolina had been considered by Tony Khan. Adam Copeland, Beth Copeland (Beth Phoenix), and FTR — who all live in Asheville — would have been the trainers. The original report said there were rumors that AEW decided not to move forward with the idea due to the costs involved, but Khan later clarified that he’s still interested in the possibility.
FTR were asked about the possible training center during a new interview on the Battleground podcast.
“Training is something that I’m very, very, very interested in — something that I love doing,” Dax Harwood said. “We did have a few guys and girls come to Asheville from AEW. They were doing very well. We were working with Sting’s son as well. You know, it is something that is an itch that training will scratch for me. And I hope to one day be able to do that. If it’s with AEW, that would be even better. So we’ll see.”
Cash Wheeler added that, with FTR’s schedule in AEW being so busy, there are weeks where they aren’t home in Asheville for too long before heading back out on the road again.
“Right now, honestly, especially for us, most weeks we do Dynamite and Collision. That’s four days on the road or so given at that point. And then you count pay-per-views or international tours,” Wheeler said. “Like, we got Newark this week for Full Gear and then we got Cardiff and everything coming up in December. So there’s no set schedule for us ever, and it’s a lot of weeks where it’s up in the air where you’re just not home enough at all. So it might be easier for us once we’re a little more part-time also.”
Though FTR are good friends with the Copelands off-screen, they’re rivals with Adam Copeland in AEW at the moment. Harwood and Wheeler laid out Beth with a piledriver back in September at All Out. Adam has been away from TV since shortly after that as part of the angle.
Saturday’s Full Gear pay-per-view card in Newark includes an AEW Tag Team title match with FTR challenging Bandido & Brody King.
The life of Vince McMahon and the Netflix documentary. This is a lengthy story talking about the documentary, my reactions, more details on the various stories talked about, comments from Vince McMahon, Bill Simmons, Ann Callis, things we did learn, what wasn’t accurate and what wasn’t and reviews.
More on what the latest settlement in the Cung Le lawsuit against UFC entails, how much more fighters will be getting if the judge approves this, and if the judge doesn’t, what happens next.
A note about Bad Blood and Wrestle Dream, interest levels of both and card update.
How the audiences for WWE & AEW have changed over the past year, as far as income, viewing together and age of viewers. What show viewerships have grown in income the most over the past year.
The most detailed look at the ratings of the past week, placings for the night and week, competition, segment by segment numbers and more.
The upcoming women’s World Grand Prix show.
Wrestling star accused of kidnapping his son
Toni Storm returns to Japan.
The 48th World Tag League from All Jaan
Thoughts on Queen of Villains
El Hijo del Santo retirement tour
Tony Khan talks more business
Fenix and Penta update
International TV ratings and streaming number s
Ricochet talks this past week
Ticket advances for upcoming WWE & AEW shows
More notes on the UFC show at The Sphere
Changes to WWE television in 2025
This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter Back Issue
Ethan Page spoke to TVInsider ahead of tonight’s premiere of NXT on The CW, where he will face Trick Williams in the main event: “It’s huge. To be the featured match on such a history-making episode, which is more than an episode. It’s a transition. It’s also the growth of NXT. There are going to be so many more homes that have access to our TV show on a weekly basis now. To be given the opportunity to carry the weight of how big this show and match is, it’s massive. I don’t want to think about the pressure and have those thoughts now, but it’s very big. I welcome it. This is a position I knew I was born to have. To carry the company and be the face of the brand and main event. The marquee player. I’ve been dying to do this my whole career and can’t be happier to do this now on October 1.”
The former Jinder Mahal wrote on X: “There is only one South Asian currently in WWE (@SunnyDhinsa). With over 2 Billion population, 1/4 people in the world are South Asian. Not a single talent in NXT/Performance Center. This is an issue.”
Damian Priest vs. Johnny Gargano for the NXT North American title from TakeOver 31 has been added to WWE’s YouTube channel.
WWE Vault uploaded footage of WCW stars such as Kevin Nash, Sting, and Eric Bischoff appearing at the opening of the short-lived WCW Nitro Grill in Las Vegas in 1999.
AEW & Other Wrestling
Cash Wheeler has started a Hurricane Helene relief GoFundMe for western North Carolina that has already grossed over $50,000. Tony Khan, Nicholas Jackson, and Chris Jericho have all donated.
MJF on X commented on AEW’s graphic for the upcoming Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada match: Guys, I had to stop what I was doing to read this graphic. After reading it repeatedly for a full 8 hours I’ve come to the conclusion No human being can possibly comprehend this stipulation. It’s impossible. @NASA @AlbertEinstein @TheTweetOfGod Plz help!
For the first time, FTR member Cash Wheeler has spoken publicly about his July 2023 arrest in Florida for aggravated assault with a firearm, the measures he went through to prove his innocence, and how he nearly called it quits after it happened.
Speaking alongside Dax Harwood to Renee Paquette for AEW Close Up, Wheeler said he had a very rough patch in his life from the period in which he learned out about the arrest warrant through this past May when it was dismissed “as it should have been” according to Wheeler.
He said he couldn’t think about life after May because everything hinged on what was to come, but he refused to take any plea deal or even a reduced charge as he felt he wasn’t guilty — all while knowing if a jury found him guilty, that would mean up to a maximum of five years in prison if the judge felt that was fit.
Wheeler was alleged to have flashed a handgun at another person during a road rage incident on July 27, 2023, A warrant for his arrest was filed the following day. According to county records, he pled not guilty through a lawyer on August 3 and turned himself in on August 5 to Orlando police. The case was dismissed on May 13 of this year.
Wheeler also said that if he pled to a reduced charge, his AEW career would have gone away, he would likely be unable to leave the country, and “everything I ever worked for over something that never happened” would be gone. He went into every match they had in that aforementioned time frame thinking that it could be their last.
Wheeler said he didn’t learn of the arrest warrant until a week or so after it was issued as he was never arrested, nor did anyone come to his home and search it. He said there was no witnesses, no pictures and no video — just a single person’s statement. He told Hardwood and AEW’s HR team, but did not tell anyone in his family early on.
He said the person in charge of the warrant disappeared for weeks, he was unable to get answers from anyone, and couldn’t pursue the case despite the fact a warrant was out for his arrest. Once he made the connection, they worked things out for when he would be taken in and he then told his immediate family members on the way to the arrest.
He was fully processed and handcuffed and while taken en route to the courthouse, Wheeler said the officers in the car wanted to talk wrestling, but he wasn’t interested at that time in chatting about Ricky Steamboat’s career.
Harwood said Wheeler came to him with the news and revealed his partner even considered retiring and living in his “little cabin in the woods” so Harwood could move on with his career. Harwood said he had to talk him out of it, later joking when Wheeler first approached him, he thought he was about to be told he drank too much.
Harwood went onto say that he was both afraid for his friend and their team, but after they worked against the Young Bucks at August 2023’s All In, he knew things would be ok due to the fan reaction.
Wheeler said it was hard to come into work and that he is sure there were things his co-workers might have whispered about the situation as it was progressing, but he tried not to waste too much time on it as he knew he was innocent.
He said he paid thousands of dollars for a lie detector test in Tampa, Florida, that he passed, equating the setup to a “Meet The Parents” situation from the famous comedy movie. Even though he couldn’t use the results in a trial, he did it just to further prove his innocence.
Wheeler and Harwood will be in action on this Saturday’s AEW Collision.
PWInsider first reported that the state of Florida has entered a nolle prosequi (decline to pursue) notice regarding Wheeler’s aggravated assault with a firearm charge on Monday, officially closing the case, which was due to proceed to a pre-trial hearing on Tuesday afternoon. The trial date had been set for May 20.
The legal proceedings stem from an incident that took place in Orange County, Florida on July 27 of last year in which Cash Wheeler allegedly was in a “road rage incident” where he allegedly flashed a gun. Wheeler pleaded not guilty on all charges and was arraigned in August after a warrant for his arrest was filed.
In the time since his initial arrest, Wheeler has continued to be featured as a part of the FTR tag team along with Dax Harwood on AEW television. The two are scheduled to team with Eddie Kingston and Bryan Danielson as they will take on The Elite in an Anarchy at the Arena match at AEW Double or Nothing on Memorial Day weekend.
Orange County, Florida, prosecutors decided last week to pursue charges against AEW wrestler Cash Wheeler from his July 2023 arrest for aggravated assault with a firearm.
Wheeler (real name Daniel Wheeler) was arrested on July 27th, 2023, following what was described as a road rage incident in which he allegedly flashed a gun at another party. A warrant was filed for his arrest the next day and he pleaded not guilty on August 3rd, presenting himself for arrest on August 18th.
At that time, he was released on $2500 bond, ordered to turn in any weapons he owned, and to have no contact with the alleged victim(s).
Prosecutors decided to move forward on Thursday, February 1st with a hearing to take place on Tuesday, February 20th.
Florida law calls for a maximum penalty of five years in prison or five years probation, plus a $5000 fine — all applicable for first-time offenders.
Outside the initial arraignment, Wheeler has yet to speak publicly on the matter.
At the time of the arrest, there was some concern about whether he would be able to travel to London, England, for last August’s All In, but he appeared on the show with FTR teammate Dax Harwood against the Young Bucks as scheduled.
Dax Harwood announced via social media on Thursday that he and Cash Wheeler will attend the event to celebrate the anniversary of their Dog Collar match against The Briscoes at Final Battle 2022.
Harwood wrote:
Tops Guys. Dem Boys. Myself & Cash will be at Final Battle to celebrate the 2 Year Anniversary of the first ever face-to-face meeting of FTR & the Briscoes, AND the 1 Year Anniversary of our greatest match ever, the Dog Collar match with Mark & Jay. It was the last match in our epic Trilogy w/ the Briscoes & the last time Cash & I saw Jay. Come celebrate this emotional night with us in Garland, TX on 12/15.
Final Battle 2022: The Briscoes defeated FTR in a Dog Collar match to win the ROH World Tag Team Championships (*****1/2)
Death Before Dishonor 2022: FTR defeated The Briscoes in a Best two-of-three falls match to retain the ROH World Tag Team Championships (*****)
Supercard of Honor 2022: FTR defeated The Briscoes to win the ROH World Tag Team Championships (*****)
Ring of Honor Final Battle 2023 is scheduled for Friday, December 15 at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas. The show will air exclusively for subscribers of HonorClub.
ROH Final Battle 2023 lineup:
ROH Women’s Champion Athena defends against Billie Starkz
Survival of the Fittest finals for the ROH Television Championship: Dalton Castle vs. Komander vs. TBA
A new trios team featuring Adam Copeland, Dax Harwood, and Cash Wheeler could be forming in AEW.
Copeland and FTR filed to trademark the name “Rated FTR” for wrestling purposes on Wednesday, October 18.
The filings were done through attorney Michael E. Dockins on behalf of Wheeler, Harwood, and through the Wet Yeti Inc. company that filed to trademark several potential nicknames for Copeland earlier this month.
FTR and Copeland appeared together in the final moments of Collision on Saturday. All three wrestlers came out to save Bryan Danielson, who was being attacked by Nick Wayne, Luchasaurus, Ricky Starks, and Big Bill at the time.
During an interview with ESPN shortly after his AEW debut at WrestleDream, Copeland listed FTR as people in the company he wants to work with.
“I’ve never wrestled at Tokyo Dome. How about a match against Kazuchika Okada?” Copeland said. “That would be pretty cool. I’m pretty excited by that. How about Jon Moxley? Hell yeah. A singles match in AEW against Bryan Danielson? Miro? Claudio Castagnoli? Kenny Omega? Will Ospreay? Adam Page? Chris Jericho? Malakai Black? FTR in a tag? Teaming with Darby against the Young Bucks? Facing Darby? Facing Sting? A promo battle with Eddie Kingston? The possibilities, they’re keeping me awake at night.”
Wheeler and Dax Harwood dropped the AEW Tag Team Championships to Ricky Starks and Big Bill to open up Saturday’s episode of Collision. The match went under five minutes.
Wheeler was taken out of the match early when Bill chokeslammed him through the announce table. Bill then gave Harwood several chokeslams before Starks delivered a spear and got the pin.
Wheeler’s status was addressed by our own Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio.
“Cash is injured,” Alvarez said.
“That’s what it sure appeared to be,” Meltzer said.
“Well, he is injured, that’s the story,” Alvarez continued. “The story they told on television was it was at the pay-per-view when Aussie Open ran them together, they sold it like he’d injured his rib there.”
FTR cut a promo in the opening moments of Collision about how they were beaten up and hurt going into the match. Wheeler sold his rib in the early going as well.
“(I) don’t know how long FTR is going to be out of action,” Alvarez added.
FTR dropping the tag titles comes after a fourth match against The Young Bucks had seemingly been set up. The Young Bucks won a four-way match at WrestleDream to earn a shot at the belts.
Alvarez also noted that he heard Luchasaurus may have suffered a broken finger on Saturday’s show as well.
AEW head Tony Khan spoke to the media for nearly an hour Tuesday about the difficulties with the All In card, what he knows or doesn’t know about the Cash Wheeler legal situation, and the potential for more in the UK.
The full audio from the call is available at the bottom of this post.
As recapped here, Khan said to expect changes to Sunday’s card due to reasons that don’t have anything to do with the world of pro wrestling. He said some were planned while others are being done on the fly.
Cash Wheeler
When asked about what he knew and when he knew it regarding Cash Wheeler’s recent arrest, Khan didn’t give a specific date but said that he hasn’t known for long. As of now, the FTR vs. Young Bucks Tag Team title match is still happening, but that he is keeping an eye on what he called an “inconclusive situation” and that it was different than other situations they have had to deal with in that they don’t have all the facts right now. He is taking it seriously.
No commitment to ticket audit
Khan would not commit to a ticket audit after the show to answer the anticipated controversy about attendance. He retorted with a question as to what WWE would do if asked that question, later saying he is looking forward to announcing an “accurate number.”
EVP roles
When asked about roles of Kenny Omega and the Jacksons as executive vice presidents vs. those of Chris Jericho & CM Punk who don’t have titles but have influence backstage, Khan said the EVPs have a variety of responsibilities but didn’t directly answer the question or discuss the differences.
Khan also didn’t answer how many years The Elite members signed for on their new deals, saying the start dates and end dates are different due to factors like injury time.
Here’s some other notes:
Khan said the current gate for All In sits at around $10 million and 80,000 tickets.
Khan hinted heavily that the company will have a bigger presence in the UK, but that before All In wasn’t the right time to make those announcements known.
He feels MJF and Adam Cole has been one of the best, if not the best, story they have ever told on TV.
Khan said it will be up to Sting on when he wants his career to end, adding “I don’t want it to end and I won’t be the one to pull the plug on (his career).”
Khan said WBD head David Zaslav recently told his father, Shad Khan, upon meeting him that “Your son is f’n killing it!”
Despite his recent arrest, it’s expected that FTR’s Cash Wheeler will be wrestling at AEW All In this Sunday.
SI FanNation reported today that Wheeler is expected to be in London for Sunday’s pay-per-view at Wembley Stadium. FTR are scheduled to defend their AEW Tag Team titles against The Young Bucks at the event.
It was revealed on August 18 that Wheeler was facing a charge of aggravated assault with a firearm. The charge, which is a third-degree felony, stems from a July 27 incident where Wheeler is alleged to have pointed a handgun at another motorist while driving. At an arraignment last Friday after Wheeler turned himself in, the matter was referred to as a “road rage-type incident.”
Wheeler has no prior history with the alleged victim.
“There is no certainty on whether Wheeler informed AEW CEO Tony Khan ahead of time about the arrest,” SI FanNation wrote. “Khan is conducting a media briefing session this afternoon, and the topic of FTR, and specifically Wheeler, is bound to arise. Considering the magnitude of Sunday’s show, it is likely in AEW’s best interests to have Wheeler perform at All In and then deal with consequences after the show.”
A video package still promoting the FTR vs. Young Bucks match aired on AEW Collision this past Saturday.
All In at Wembley Stadium is the biggest event in AEW’s four-year history. The pre-show starts at noon Eastern time on Sunday (August 27). The main card then begins at 1 p.m. Eastern.
Dave Meltzer and I are back with Wrestling Observer Radio going over all the latest news in pro wrestling and MMA.
Ryan Frederick joined the show to talk about UFC 292 which featured Sean O’Malley winning the UFC bantamweight championship. You can check out Ryan’s weekly MMA podcast, In The Clinch.
Dave and I then discussed the following:
FTR being advertised for AEW Collision, but not being there live
Dave Meltzer and I are back with Wrestling Observer Radio. We opened up the show talking the latest news in wrestling as well as in today’s issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter including the following:
The latest on Cash Wheeler’s situation
Dave’s story on the CM Punk, Ryan Nemeth, and Adam Page situation
The WrestleMania 40 gate
Shows he’ll be seeing in the UK
Then, Mike Tenay joined the show to talk about the passing of someone who influenced both he and Dave greatly, Koichi Yoshizawa.
Behind the scenes of the last month of AEW. why stories were kept quiet, why people were not allowed to attend Collision, why this has gone on for 18 months
All of the recent incidents talked about from multiple sides
The promo by C.M. Punk and what happened at the Greensboro show which led to all of his getting out
Different reactions to the promo
The apology that did happen
All In and attendance records plus the updated card with new matches that have not yet been announced
Full coverage of the end of G-1 and the big fall shows for New Japan
Business notes on G-1
Naito has two of the best matches of the year
Koichi Yoshizawa and his role in Japanese wrestling coverage in the U.S.
Saturday’s UFC coverage and where the top stars go from here as well as the business notes
Coverage of the final TripleMania show of the year and storylines behind it
Tammy Sytch update
The most detailed look at ratings for all the wrestling and MMA shows, gains and losses with what groups and why, what segments did the best and worst
Another women’s champion out of action due to surgery
RevPro and CMLL working relationship notes
World Grand Prix notes
Stardom PPV coverage and upcoming tag team tournament
N-1 coverage
New Japan and Stardom business notes
Hiromu Takahashi talks junior heavyweight goals
New Japan PPV shows this weekend
One of the biggest women stars has major surgery and a look back at her career
How the television industry continues to change
Full PWG coverage of the first show since January including some of AEW’s top stars
Update on new promotion opening next month and what well known announcer is in talks to appear
RevPro anniversary show update
WWE & AEW upcoming ticket sales
WWE & AEW streaming numbers
WWE and AEW international ratings
Conor McGregor talks future
Former UFC legend officially retires
Update on Bellator sale
Update on PPV numbers for Diaz-Paul and SummerSlam
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Friday Update
Garrett Gonzales and I did a show with Mike Tenay today talking about newsletters in the 70s and Koichi Yoshizawa, as well as updating some of the news in the current Observer. Garrett & I will be back tomorrow night covering Collision, UFC, Smackdown and the other weekend news as well as do our usual week in review stuff. Bryan and I will be back up on Monday.
The new issue of the Observer is up and we’ve gotten a lot of compliments regarding it as one of the best issues of the year, both the lead story on AEW and the story on Koichi Yoshizawa.
There is still no update regarding the status of the FTR vs. Young Bucks match at All In. Daniel Wheeler is legally allowed to go to England. Tony Khan hasn’t said anything regarding the arrest of Wheeler that broke earlier today although it actually was from a few weeks ago. There is no word on when Khan first round out but talent that we know found out the same time everyone else did. I would expect if there is a change that it would be addressed on Collision tomorrow night. The idea that I’ve seen brought up by fans, ironically, is the same idea I had, which is basically hold up the titles if the decision is made not to use Wheeler at this time, and have Dax team with Mark Briscoe and go for the vacated titles against the Young Bucks. Now Briscoe was injured so that also may not be possible. But at this moment Young Bucks vs. FTR is still the match on the schedule.
All In was at 80,848 tickets out as of earlier today. The largest legit crowd ever at a pro wrestling event that the majority paid to attend was 80,709 at WrestleMania 32. So in a sense, that record appears to have been broken. It is possible that some people with tickets won’t attend, but it is unlikely that number would be higher than the number of tickets that will be sold over the next eight days. So this show probably sets the all-time record but that’s not official until the day of the show.
WWE released that WrestleMania for next year has sold 90,000 tickets for Philadelphia which is a combined number of two days or 45,000 each day. Pretty much all the tickets that were put on sale today were sold, and most tickets were already sold in the presale earlier in the week. Obviously more tickets will be released as the event approaches. For a WrestleMania set up, the show could put 62,000 in and obviously they are announcing a number larger than that.
WWE is claiming a gate record for Philadelphia. But that would be by adding the gate of two shows together. The claim is more than the record of $21.5 million set last year. However, the audited two date combined number from Los Angeles was really $19,749,071. To me, nobody combines two shows for gate records. New Japan doesn’t claim the two gates for Wrestle Kingdom beat the Inoki vs. Don Frye record. WWE had claimed $17.3 million for WrestleMania 2016 and neither show this year or next year will hit that mark, but of course adding up the two shows and comparing it to one would be a higher number. This isn’t to say the number isn’t impressive as it is. But it would be like baseball adding up the seven games of the World Series together and claiming they drew more than a single NFL game.
With Edge’s possible retirement match tonight, it was noted that the series Percy Jackson and the Olympians, which features Adam Copeland in a recurring role, will premiere on 12/20 on Disney+.
Rampage tonight at 10 p.m. on TNT has:
Rey Fenix vs. Komander – people who saw this live were raving about it
Ethan Page & Brother Zay vs. Aussie Open
Sammy Guevara vs. Jon Cruz
Hikaru Shida & Skye Blue vs. Toni Storm & Ruby Soho
We are looking for reports on these weekend shows:
Smackdown tonight in Toronto (dark matches only)
NXT tonight in Citrus Springs, FL
WWE house show tomorrow night in Ottawa, ONT
NXT tomorrow night in Tampa*WWE Sunday in Laval, Quebec
We’re looking for results, finishes and highlights to [email protected]
UFC 292 is tomorrow from the TD Garden in Boston:
ESPN+ at 6:30 p.m. Eastern
Karine Silva (125) vs. Maryna Moroz (125)
Andrea Lee (125) vs. Natalia Silva (125)
Andre Petroski (186) vs. Gerald Meerschaert (185)
ESPN 2 at 8 p.m. Eastern
Brad Katona (135) vs. Cody Gibson (135)
Austin Hubbard (155) vs. Kurt Holobaugh (155.5)
Gregory Rodrigues (186) vs. Denis Tiuliulin (185)
Chris Weidman (186) vs. Brad Tavares (185)
PPV at 10 p.m.
Marlon Vera (135) vs. Pedro Munhoz (135)
Da’Mon Blackshear (135.5) vs. Mario Bautista (136)
Ian Machado Garry (170.5) vs. Neil Magny (170.5)
Zhang Weili (115) vs. Amanda Lemos (114) for the strawweight title
Aljamain Sterling (135) vs. Sean O’Malley 135) for the bantamweight title
Chris Weidman was very upset about his return fight after a gruesome broken leg not being on the PPV. I don’t really understand that decision either, especially with the show on ESPN 2 rather than ESPN.
PFL on ESPN tonight at 9 p.m. from the Theater in Madison Square Garden:
Renan Ferreira vs. Maurice Greene in a heavyweight tournament semifinal
Larissa Pacheco vs. Olena Kolesnyk in a women’s featherweight tournament
Denis Goltsov vs. Jordan Heiderman in a heavyweight semifinal
Marina Makhnatkina vs. Amber Leibrook in a women’s featherweight semifinal
The semifinal winners go to a championship match later this year where the tournament winners get a $1 million bonus.
Pro Wrestling NOAH’s N-1 tournament has shows in Sapporo on Saturday and Sunday.
New Japan has two PPV shows this weekend,the All-Star Junior Festival on Saturday and the joint show with Impact on Sunday, both from the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia. Added to the Sunday show is TJP & Franesco Akira, one of the top tag teams in the world, facing Robbie Eagles & Kosei Fujita.
Gunther, Grayson Waller and Trck Williams were at Lincoln Financial Field last night promoting the WrestleMania on sale. Williams did a hype promo. Waller talked about Jordan Mallata of the Eagles, who is from Australia and Gunther was there with his belt. Eagles announcer Dave Spadaro called Gunther’s belt “the championship” and Gunther corrected him, but Spadaro was told that Gunther is about to break the Honky Tonk Man’s record. This led to a scripted moment where Gunther shoved him down hard. (thanks to Ken Raining)
The former HBO hit show “Ballers” that Dwayne Johnsonh was behind and starred in is now on Netflix.
The Pat McAfee show will debut on ESPN on 9/7. The show will air from Noon to 2 p.m. eastern on ESPN and ESPN+ with a third hour daily only on ESPN+
Combate Global runs tomorrow night on Univision and Paramount Plus with a lightweight main event of Ivan Castillo (22-17) vs. Santiago Guzman (7-3).
MLW tickets for 12/7 in New York at the Melrose Ballroom go on sale 8/25. It will be a PPV show plus a TV taping.
Kurt Angle will be signing autographs before the 10/7 Border City Wrestling show in Windsor, ONT that also features a match with Kaito Kiyomiya. The show will be at St. Clair College’s Sportsplex.
The Chicago Cubs will host WWE Night on 8/28 at Wrigley Field in a game against the Milwaukee Brewers.
This is actually happening this weekend, a boxing match featuring Jeff Monson against former UFC legend Oleg Taktarov.
Further details are available regarding the incident that led to Cash Wheeler being charged with aggravated assault with a firearm.
The Orange County Clerk has posted the Affidavit to To Issue Warrant that was filed on July 28, one day after Wheeler is alleged to have brandished a weapon during a “road rage” incident in Florida. The affidavit includes a report from the responding police officer.
Officer M. Bowhay of the Orlando Police Department wrote in his report that the alleged victim says Wheeler pointed a black semi-automatic handgun at him and was driving his Jeep Gladiator in and out of traffic recklessly.
Some names and addresses have been redacted from Officer Bowhay’s report below.
On July 27, 2023, at 0959 I, Officer M. Bowhay #19932, responded to (address redacted) in reference to an aggravated assault with a firearm call. Upon my arrival I spoke to the victim, (name redacted), who provided me with a sworn written/verbal statement that said the following: (The victim) stated he was driving west on Interstate 4 north of Exit 83. He noticed a Jeep Gladiator weaving in and out of traffic honking its horn, so he moved over to the far-right lane to let the Jeep pass.
(The victim) said the Jeep took the right shoulder to drive around him on the passenger side of his vehicle. (The victim) looked over and noticed a white male with a beard pointing a black semi-automatic handgun out of the driver’s window at him with a strong stare.
(The victim) said he feared for his life at this time. (The victim) stated he slowed down to get out of the way of the firearm and ended up behind the suspect vehicle at this time. At this time both were committed to exit 83 (Ivanhoe Blvd). (The victim) took pictures of the Jeep as it turned right onto College Park Drive and began to drive reckless. (The victim) said the Jeep beared Florida tag EFRC72. After taking the picture, (The victim) said he called 911 and gave the vehicle information to dispatch the details of what occurred. He explained he could not be late for work and asked an officer to meet him at his work (name of business and address redacted).
I created a photo line-up using ELVIS (a database used by law enforcement for investigative purposes). Elvis selected five random photos based on the suspect’s Florida driver’s license picture and put them in a randomized order with the suspect being the sixth picture. Officer Blinn #34211 met with (The victim) and presented him with the photo lineup instructions and the photo lineup. (The victim) quickly selected the correct picture, photo #2, of the suspect, later identified as, Daniel M. Wheeler, W/M D.O.B 5/17/1987 with 100% certainty. (See Officer Blinn’s supplement for more details.) Based on (The victim’s) sworn statement and the positive photo lineup identification, probable cause exist to charge Wheeler with, aggravated assault with a firearm violation of F.S.S. 784.021(1)(A)-1.
AEW World Champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman also issued a comment regarding the matter. In a statement posted to Twitter, MJF says The Young Bucks and FTR will wrestle in London’s Wembley Stadium later this month.
MJF wrote:
Kinda disappointed how many dorks there are on this app that jump to conclusions so quick. A ton of peoples privilege is showing. We’re all human. We’re all flawed. We all make mistakes. Take it from a guy who’s made more mistakes than most. I’ve had my ups and downs with FTR but Cash wheeler is a great dude and a bad ass. You’re getting FTR Vs Young Bucks in front of 80k plus on august 27th. Talk about that ya dweebs.
Kinda disappointed how many dorks there are on this app that jump to conclusions so quick. A ton of peoples privilege is showing.
We’re all human. We’re all flawed. We all make mistakes. Take it from a guy who’s made more mistakes than most.
