In a bit of a career shift, the former Lars Sullivan in WWE is training in boxing with the hope of catching on with a bare knuckle fighting organization.
In this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that the 32-year-old Dylan Miley knows age is not on his side but is planning on competing at some point. At well over 300 pounds, any competition would be in a super heavyweight class unless he was drop a lot of weight.
News broke earlier this month that Sullivan was released in January after telling WWE he was done with the company due to dealing with “crippling anxiety” to the point of not eating during TV taping days. He had not been on TV since the October 23rd SmackDown.
He told Fightful following the release that he was likely done with pro wrestling.
Sullivan has been in the WWE system since October 2014. He worked in NXT through 2018 and made his main roster debut on the post-WrestleMania Raw in April 2019. Soon thereafter in June, he severely injured his knee and didn’t return until last October on SmackDown.
Borne and Aliyah had mirrors and kept checking themselves out throughout the match. Borne hit a side slam that she set up with a cartwheel to win.
– Riddick Moss did an in-ring promo where he thanked “The Riddick Regiment” for his speedy recovery and kept repeating it over and over until Jeet Rama’s music played.
– Jeet Rama defeated Riddick Moss
Rama won with a roll-up, but he was destroyed by Moss after the match.
– Jaxson Ryker (w/ Steve Cutler and Wesley Blake) defeated Stacey Ervin Jr.
Ryker hit a sit-out chokeslam to get the victory.
– Raul Mendoza & Humberto Carrillo defeated Cezar Bononi & Adrian Jaoude
They had a good back-and-forth match, with Mendoza hitting a 450 to win.
– Punishment Martinez defeated Kona Reeves
Martinez connected with a big lariat and then used the Hell’s Gate submission for the win. After the match, Martinez hit his chokeslam on Reeves for the crowd.
– Candice LeRae defeated Deonna Purrazzo
Very good action here — would love to see this on a bigger stage someday. LeRae hit the Unprettier to end it.
– NXT North American Champion Ricochet, Keith Lee & Matt Riddle defeated Shane Thorne, Johnny Gargano & Kassius Ohno
Lee has new self-sung theme music that debuted here — and he followed it up with an encore of the loudest chop of the night to Thorne.
The crowd was in awe of this match throughout since every combination was interesting. Ohno and Gargano tried to keep Riddle grounded by taking out his leg. Ricochet ran wild to clear the ring towards the end and put Thorne down with the Cradle Shock.
I don’t know about you, but as much as I enjoyed Kazuchika Okada vs. Katsuyori Shibata from Sakura Genesis, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed that Okada retained the title. As great as Okada’s matches and title defenses have been, I’m ready for a new champion, and Shibata is just as deserving as anyone else. He’s been so good for so long, but hasn’t had too many shots at New Japan’s top title.
Unfortunately, that may have been his last one. The post-match buzz I get after watching something great in the ring soon turned to concern when I read that Shibata was hospitalized after the match due to an injury which he received from a sickening, and unnecessary, headbutt spot. But that concern quickly turned to relief with a dash of mild annoyance when reports came in that it was simply a work to get over the physicality of the match.
I don’t mind when wrestling blurs the line between a work and reality. In fact, it usually makes for good television. But hearing news that a wrestler has suffered a subdural hematoma only for it to turn out to be false, well, I guess that’s where I draw the line.
But as this rollercoaster ride of a story continues, word is that Shibata’s injury and hospitalization wasn’t a work after all, and it’s actually worse than first expected. Shibata reportedly suffered from dehydration as well as the head injury, and had some paralysis to his right side. The crushing blow is that it’s believed Shibata won’t be cleared to wrestle again.
I know I just complained about using a performer’s health for a work, but I’d happily accept that if it meant this news wasn’t true. First Tomoaki Honma, now Shibata. The careers of two of pro wrestling’s modern greats are now in serious jeopardy.
I don’t know if Shibata’s headbutt was solely responsible for the damage, or know for sure if the injury was real, though at this stage it unfortunately appears to be. Either way, New Japan has got to put an end to those unprotected, skull-on-skull headbutts. Simply put, they’re not worth it.
Atlantis
By Chris Aiken
My favorite this week is a luchador that is indeed an actual living legend. Atlantis first debuted in the early 1980s. His lengthy career continues to this day where he headlines the Friday night card at Arena Mexico challenging Ultimo Guerrero for the NWA World Historic Middleweight Championship.
Atlantis finds himself in a familiar position as part of a title match. He recently tweeted a photo of himself holding the first title he captured back in 1984.
In one of his many main event matches at Arena Mexico, Atlantis defeated Guerrero to take his mask at the annual CMLL anniversary show in 2014. They renewed their rivalry ahead of Atlantis issuing a verbal challenge last Friday, wanting a title match with Guerrero. Title matches are still relatively protected in Mexico, and such attractions take place much more sparingly as compared to pro wrestling in the United States.
Moreover, Atlantis is far from a nostalgia act as the challenger. While the nostalgic factor does play a large part in his enduring popularity, Atlantis still performs at a top level.
Nonetheless, this could be the last challenge by Atlantis for a singles title in the main event at Arena Mexico as he inches closer to the end of a career he began decades ago. The storied career of Atlantis has already spanned three decades. At some point every luchador or wrestler eventually does the job for father time.
The Undertaker most recently left his gloves and gear in the ring to signify the end of his career. Yet Atlantis debuted several years before Undertaker, and Atlantis is seemingly still going strong. He could even main event another anniversary show in Arena Mexico before he retires.
Dylan Miley
By Jeremy Peeples
It’s been a big couple of weeks for NXT, and yet despite things like new championships being unveiled at TakeOver and Shinsuke Nakamura getting a fantastic sendoff, my big takeaway from NXT this week was that WWE has something in Dylan Miley.
On the surface, he looks like a big bald dude — but he’s got tremendous facial expressions and a giant beard and gives off an intimidating aura. He worked against DIY, which I’m sure didn’t hurt him, but he looked like an absolute beast tossing them around before finally beating up his partner.
He used basic stuff, but done in a different way. He used a backbreaker, but made sure his knee brace hit the ribs to add a bit more damage before also hitting a rewind powerslam off of it.
He came out of nowhere for me and made a fantastic first impression. I don’t see “top of the brand” heel in him, but as a constant thorn in the side of a babyface NXT Champion, he has real potential to shine if put in the right spot on the card.
David Starr
By Mike DellaCamera
I haven’t seen a ton of wrestling this week, due to “real life” getting in the way, so I’ll use this space to talk about someone that I’ve been enjoying for quite a while now, David Starr.
The Cream in Your Coffee, Your Favorite Wrestler’s Favorite Wrestler, The Jewish Cannon, The Physical Embodiment of Charisma, The Most Entertaining Man in Pro Wrestling, Mr. Americanrana, Davey Wrestling, The 104 Minute Man, The Main Event, The King of Taunts is deserving of all these nicknames — and probably more.
The former wXw Shotgun Champion is one of the more versatile and impressive wrestlers on the independent scene. The ability to work any style of match, and do it well, is typically a sign of someone who has an enormously bright future. Recently, his champion vs. champion match with Matt Riddle in CZW was a great, short sprint, and his anything goes match with Joey Janela at Beyond Wrestling back in January was out of control and fantastic — I was there for that match and can’t recommend it enough.
Wrestling acumen aside, Starr is fairly outspoken about equality not just in wrestling, but in every aspect of life. He has spoken about the anti-Semitic things that have been said/done to him over his years as a performer. The use of his platform as a public figure to speak out against inequality is something that deserves praise and more attention than it gets.
Zack Sabre Jr., someone who feels like a fixture in this column, said after winning the EVOLVE title, “Pro wrestling is for everyone. We welcome everyone. We do not discriminate. The Earth is for everyone and professional wrestling is for everyone.” Here’s hoping more wrestlers do what ZSJ and David Starr are doing.
