Rusev and WWE veteran Gangrel have now officially launched their own wrestling school.
Previously vocal about launching his own pro-wrestling school, WWE star Rusev has now officially fulfilled that goal. Collaborating with his former trainer, Gangrel, the duo has now launched the pro-wrestling school, KECH Pro Wrestling, in Nashville, Tennessee.
“The mats are down. The ring is up. The doors are open. Thank you to everyone who showed up, trained, watched, asked questions, and believed in what we’re building. This is only the beginning. KECH Pro Wrestling Academy is officially underway. Train like a pro. Trained by a pro,” the promotion’s social media upload read.
Rusev on his partnership with Gangrel for KECH Pro Wrestling
A few months ago, during his appearance on Chris Van Vliet’s Insight, Rusev opened up about his partnership with Gangrel for KECH Pro Wrestling.
“We have Gangrel who’s going to be the other trainer as well,” Rusev said. “He is [moving to Nashville], yes. He’s a Florida guy, but he’s been screwed so many times by all these people who promise him things. And he’s helped me so much. He helped this other Bulgarian kid who came from Bulgaria to wrestle, Metal. He trained him as well. So it was time for me and him to do something that he’ll be able to finally be like, ‘Hey, this is it.’ He’s great, man. His training is great. It’s very old-school training. And maybe some people don’t want to hear that, but he’s real. He’s going to keep it real. He’s going to teach you real. He’s not going to be like, ‘Hey, let’s do a little bit of this, a little bit of that.’ No. He’s really big on basics, and that’s what people lack a lot of the times.”
Florida independent wrestler Nicolth Hernandez-Lucero’s husband is speaking out after the 24-year-old was taken into ICE custody earlier this month.
Lucero was trained by Gangrel and has wrestled in Florida alongside her sister Tiffany as The Lucero Twins.
Lucero’s husband, Noah Lazega, told NBC Miami that she was taken into custody following a traffic stop by federal immigration agents in Fort Lauderdale on February 11 and has remained in detention since. Lazega said Lucero is originally from Colombia and moved to the United States at age 15. She also works as a surgical technician at a local hospital.
Gangrel later shared a GoFundMe to support the family during her detention, writing:
“Please help if you can, great people in a terrible situation.”
Lazega hopes that Lucero’s situation helps raise awareness for others going through similar issues.
“She’s a kind, compassionate person, selfless,” Lazega told NBC Miami. “She helps people, saves people. She has a whole community behind her right now rooting for her.”
“I hope we can get her out, get her help, raise awareness to other people that are going through this right now. They don’t deserve this. Nobody deserves this,” he continued.
Lucero’s attorney, Justin Gould, said she entered the country legally as a dependent through her parents and has no criminal record.
“This is a person, once again, who entered legally, who filed a case legally as a dependent through her parents and has been in this country with no criminal record,” Gould said.
“So now it is basically everybody’s illegal unless otherwise noted, and it’s just not OK,” Gould continued. “This is not what the president promised.”
NBC Miami reported that Lucero is being held at a detention facility in Pompano Beach, Florida.
Rusev is partnering with one of his own trainers to launch a new pro wrestling school.
The school, named KECH Pro Wrestling Academy, is slated to open in Nashville next month. On Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Rusev gave an update on plans for the project and revealed that former WWE wrestler Gangrel (David Heath) will be working there as a trainer. Gangrel already has experience in this type of role and is currently the head trainer at Coastal Championship Wrestling in Florida.
“We have Gangrel who’s going to be the other trainer as well,” Rusev said. “He is [moving to Nashville], yes. He’s a Florida guy, but he’s been screwed so many times by all these people who promise him things. And he’s helped me so much. He helped this other Bulgarian kid who came from Bulgaria to wrestle, Metal. He trained him as well. So it was time for me and him to do something that he’ll be able to finally be like, ‘Hey, this is it.’ He’s great, man. His training is great. It’s very old-school training. And maybe some people don’t want to hear that, but he’s real. He’s going to keep it real. He’s going to teach you real. He’s not going to be like, ‘Hey, let’s do a little bit of this, a little bit of that.’ No. He’s really big on basics, and that’s what people lack a lot of the times.”
Rusev said the school is slated for a mid-March opening. They’re catering to a wide net of students, ranging from already experienced wrestlers to kids as young as eight who can learn wrestling as an activity.
“The ring is ordered. The building is being, I already got the building,” Rusev said. “So officially should be probably mid-March, should be the grand opening. I’m really, really stoked, really excited for it.”
Rusev, who returned to WWE in 2025, is set to join Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes among the list of current WWE stars who own their own wrestling schools. Natalya and her husband TJ Wilson also operate their own invite-only training facility for established wrestlers.
Just when TNT Champion Adam Copeland appeared to be down and out at Double or Nothing, former Brood-mate Gangrel made his AEW return Sunday to play a role in Copeland leaving Las Vegas with his title.
Malakai Black’s House of Black teammates Brody King and Buddy Matthews came out during Copeland and Black’s barbed wire cage match to help Black. As the three men had wrapped Copeland in barbed wire and were ready to finish him off, the lights went out and began to flicker red.
King went over to a spot in the ring and was sprayed by something which turned out to be Gangrel. He then emerged through the mat and sprayed Matthews in the face as well. He punched Black and then delivered Impaler DDTs to both Matthews and King to take them out, leaving a window open for Copeland to spear Black.
Gangrel has made two appearances in AEW before, once in Matt Hardy’s Elite Deletion match at 2020’s Full Gear and again on a May 2022 Rampage, accompanying the Young Bucks to the ring when they were in a feud with the Hardys.
Copeland came out to Slayer’s “South of Heaven” with a modified entrance, complete with a Brood graphic.
The match itself was a violent spectacle that involved chairs and tables in addition to the barbed wire. At one point, Copeland wrapped Black in barbed wire on a table and then went to the top of the cage, leaping off with an elbow drop. However, Copeland’s legs went straight down into the mat. While he was able to work the rest of the match, he was noticeably favoring his left leg walking out with Gangrel at the match’s end.
The finish of the match came when Copeland had a crossface on Black while his head was wrapped with barbed wire, causing the bloodied Black to pass out.
Copeland’s reign started in March with Sunday’s win as the sixth of his second run with the title.
WWF Attitude Era star Gangrel made a surprise appearance during this week’s AEW Rampage.
Gangrel accompanied The Young Bucks to the ring for a match against Taylor Rust and Jon Cruz on Rampage, as Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson cosplayed as Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy, with Brandon Cutler dressing himself as Lita. Gangrel was aligned with The Hardys as The New Brood for a time during his 1998-2001 WWF run.
The Bucks turned on Gangrel on Rampage following their match, with The Hardys making the save. The Hardys then hit Cutler with their finishing maneuver. The Hardys face The Young Bucks at Sunday’s Double or Nothing pay-per-view.
Gangrel had made one previous appearance for AEW, taking part in Matt Hardy’s Elite Deletion match against Sammy Guevara at the November 2020 Full Gear pay-per-view, a cinematic match filmed at Hardy’s North Carolina home. Hardy would defeat Guevara in that contest.
Joe Dombrowski and Rich Bocchini welcomed us to Charlotte, North Carolina, and ran down tonight’s card: a Stairway To Hell match between Jacob Fatu and Mads Krugger, the return of Gangrel and Killer Kross, and the announcement from Cesar Duran on whether or not he is stripping Alex Hammerstone of the MLW Heavyweight title.
Killer Kross defeated Budd Heavy
Kross made light work of cult favorite Heavy by dropping him on his head with a Saito suplex, hitting a running forearm to the back of the head and causing a referee stoppage by hammering the back of Heavy’s head and neck with repeated forearms.
Kross gave Heavy two free shots at the start of the match before dropping him with a big boot while Heavy revved up for a third shot.
Hopefully, Kross stays around for a while as he will give the main event scene a nice shake-up with some fresh matches. The last time we saw Kross was a one-off appearance in the middle of the Von Erichs vs. Team Filthy feud before he signed with WWE for his run in NXT.
– We were then going to hear a joint announcement from Duran and Richard Holliday regarding Hammerstone’s World title but as Holliday was entering through the curtain, Hammerstone jumped him and they brawled to the back.
– To make up for the lost time, we cut to Los Parks for their latest culinary infomercial from their family restaurant. An unhappy customer questioned them on their chili sandwich and Los Parks beat him down before asking us to give them a good review on Yelp.
Gangrel defeated Gnarls Garvin
Garvin got on the mic, asked for an opponent, and got one in the returning Gangrel.
Gangrel was walking gingerly on his left leg but put in a good amount of time and can still do what he needs to have a decent match. There was no fire entrance, goblet, “red viscous liquid” or his fantastic Brood theme, but he still had the mannerisms and the fangs of the old 1999 Gangrel.
This started as a walk and brawl in and out of the ring, but the interest cranked up when Gangrel started using his circular sickle knife to cut away at Garvin’s forehead. We then got the announcement that is was no disqualification — thank goodness or Gangrel would have felt like a fool.
That was the beginning of the end for Garvin as after some more punishment to his busted open forehead by Gangrel’s fangs, he missed a top rope splash and was hit with Gangrel’s Impaler DDT to give the returning star the win.
– TJP walked in on Duran while he was on his phone talking about an investigation into his actions. He wanted to carry some gold instead of these “indie darlings,” so Duran granted him a Middleweight title shot. This angered EJ Nduka who was listening in to the conversation. Nduka demanded a shot at 5150 after they attacked him and spray-painted him, so Duran granted that match, too.
Duran then had to quickly leave as he got word Hammerstone was chasing Holliday around the building. The camera cut to the chase as Holliday was trying to call Alicia Atout for a way out, but Hammerstone ripped his shirt off and continued the chase.
– Savio Vega was then shown sneaking into Duran’s unattended office, pocketing some cash and releasing Micro Man from a suitcase.
Mads Krugger defeated Jacob Fatu in a Stairway to Hell match
A Baklei War Club and Maliliu Cane (Singapore cane wrapped in razor wire) hung high above the ring.
This started at 100 mph as the near seven-foot Krugger dove through the ropes and took out Fatu who was holding a ladder on the outside. Fatu came back and hit a big Samoan drop before hitting his impressive handspring moonsault while a ladder laid on top of Krugger.
Krugger beat down Fatu for a while, but Fatu reversed a whip and sent Krugger upside down and headfirst into a ladder in the corner. Give him credit: Krugger had his crazy bumping boots on tonight.
Fatu headbutted Krugger off the top of the ladder and brought his cane into action. A few shots to the back and the head had Krugger busted open.
After a commercial break, Fatu hit a chair-assisted coast to coast onto Krugger as the stunts and bumps continued to the delight of the crowd.
Fatu set up a table in the center of the ring but as wrestling law goes, he who sets up a table goes through said table. Both climbed a ladder in the corner and Krugger superplexed Fatu through his own table.
Fatu fought back and looked to have the match firmly in his control after a superkick and a uranage. But former CONTRA teammate Ikuro Kwon passed Krugger his club to use and Fatu was knocked out. He was then on the receiving end of a reverse tree slam to give the win to Krugger.
After the match, Krugger said CONTRA was reborn and he will build it in his image. As he finished talking, Fatu took him out with a chair shot before officials and referees pulled them apart, so look for this feud to continue.
– Backstage, Hammerstone was still chasing Holliday. The champion caught him and ripped his pants off this time. Holliday somehow escaped Hammerstone’s clutches and ran from the building in his underwear into a waiting limousine with Atout.
Next week:
MLW Tag Team Champions 5150 defend against EJ Nduka & a mystery partner
Former WWE star Gangrel will make his return to MLW at the company’s SuperFight event in Charlotte, North Carolina, next Saturday.
He will face Gnarls Garvin at the Grady Cole Center as part of the February 26th TV taping for future episodes of Fusion.
This will be his first MLW appearance since September 2018 when he lost to Simon Gotch by DQ at the original War Games event.
Gangrel, who works regularly on the indies, was supposed to make his AEW debut last August but the appearance was scrapped after WWE and Edge coincidentally brought back The Brood entrance and “Brood Bath” during the build for Edge’s SummerSlam match against Seth Rollins at the same time.
The SuperFight event will be co-headlined by MLW Champion Alexander Hammerstone vs. Davey Richards and Jacob Fatu vs. Mads Krugger in a Stairway to Hell match in addition to the return of Killer Kross, Ricky & Kerry Morton against The Von Erichs, and more.
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Next Wednesday’s episode of MLW Fusion will be headlined by a singles match between the aforementioned Fatu and Krugger that will set up the Stairway to Hell match.
The show will also see Middleweight Champion Tajiri take on Myron Reed and a mystery man in a three-way for the title, the spoilers of which have been out for a month.
In trios action, Gino Medina, Mini Abismo Negro and Arez will Aramis, El Dragon and Jared St. Laurent’s highly-touted mystery signing.
In two weeks on Fusion, National Openweight Champion Alex Kane will take on Calvin Tankman with the title on the line in a grudge match that has built for months.
On his Fangin N’ Bangin podcast, former WWE wrestler Gangrel said he was scheduled to appear on AEW Dynamite in Milwaukee, but it was canceled Monday after Edge’s homage to The Brood last weekend.
He said AEW reached out last week for the Milwaukee show and were even in the process of putting his entrance together with music and pyro with fire. He was preparing to fly out to Milwaukee on Tuesday, but got the call Monday that they were going in a different direction due to “WWE media stuff.”
In a surprise on last Friday’s SmackDown, Edge gave Rollins a “Brood bath” (black liquid designed to imitate blood) ahead of their clash at Saturday’s SummerSlam where he even did part of the Brood entrance for that match.
Gangrel said he was both worried about the opportunity falling through and happy for Edge at the same time. He knew once he saw the “tremendously done” entrance Saturday and that “I knew it was the final nail in the coffin.” He opined that AEW didn’t want to come off as copying WWE so close to the Edge homage.
He didn’t say what AEW was bringing him in for, but it’s assumed it would have been part of the Christian Cage/Kenny Omega angle given his Brood relationship to Cage.
Gangrel said he called Edge to talk about SmackDown and eventually reluctantly revealed what had happened after Edge was excited that Gangrel might get more bookings out of the angle.
Once Edge found out, he felt bad about the situation and was apologetic as he had no idea. He had been working on it for nearly three months and said it was hard to get WWE to approve it because of their PG rating. He wanted red “blood” but was told if it wasn’t black, it wasn’t going to happen.
He said he had no ill will toward Edge and was thrilled to see the entrance pulled off. He simply chalked it up to bad timing and hopes to be booked by AEW again in the future.
