WWE NXT has changed the names of several performers, according to a report.
The former Karen Q, most recently known as Mei Ying, will now be called Wendy Choo, according to PWInsider. Choo made her WWE debut during the 2018 Mae Young Classic. Her signing was officially announced in February 2019. She was repackaged as part of the Tian Sha group with Xia Li and Boa in late 2020, with the group making their debut as a trio in January 2021. Li has since been called up to WWE’s main roster.
PWInsider also reports that the former Kellie Morga has been renamed Mila Malani. Malani, 24, was signed following WWE’s Las Vegas tryouts during SummerSlam week in August 2021. She has previously worked for the I Believe in Wrestling promotion in Florida.
Three NXT referees have also reportedly been given new on-screen names. Aja Smith has been renamed Daphne Lashaunn, DA Brewer will be called Dallas Irvin, plus Tom Castor will now be known as Derek Sanders.
A look at the current WrestleMania card, as well as what big name is being talked with, what big name is not on the card, as well as the Royal Rumble decision making is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
We also have complete Rumble coverage including a table with each participant, how long they were in, eliminations, number of entry and exit and more. We look at Vince McMahon’s change in the winners in the last week, the stories told in the Rumble, why the winners were changed, the return of Edge, his new contract, how he got such a big deal, the WWE injuries, the Andrade drug test failure, those who were not in the Rumble and why, business notes on the way and what are expected to be the biggest wrestling crowds of the year. We also look at viewer interest in the show, the interest as compared to the UFC 246 show, plus match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
The new issue also covers:
The sale of Pro Wrestling NOAH to CyberAgent, more on big companies buying wrestling franchises, plans for NOAH under the new ownership and the relationship with DDT as it stands right now.
UFC 246, with show notes, business notes and match-by-match coverage.
Worlds Collide with match-by-match coverage, star ratings, business notes and what did and didn’t work on the show.
Changes in the WWE house show business and why. We look at both the positive and negative of it. We also look at the behavior of Vince McMahon at the Rocky Johnson funeral, the incident with Brock Lesnar and Matt Riddle, new contracts signed, wrestler asking for her release, WWE Canadian numbers, Charlotte Flair talks Kairi Sane concussion, new WWE signees, the most-watched shows on the WWE Network and house show coverage.
New Year’s Dash from New Japan, the Jushin Liger retirement ceremony, match-by-match coverage with star ratings and the angles coming out of the show.
A bio on Hercules Ayala, one of the biggest stars of the glory days of Puerto Rican wrestling, covering how he started there, his work outside Puerto Rico, how he first got into Stampede Wrestling, his biggest matches on major stadium events including major bouts with Ric Flair and Randy Savage, his heel turn with Carlos Colon, the aftermath of the death of Bruiser Brody and how he was used to try and get the business back.
NWA Hard Times PPV show.
A bio on Carlos Rocha, the Portuguese star who was one of the biggest drawing cards in North America in 1971 and 1972 with his bloodbaths against The Sheik and Abdullah the Butcher. We look at those feuds as well as look back at The Sheik in Toronto during the period when he was one of the biggest single city draws in pro wrestling history, and how his undefeated streak put limits on the Rocha feud. We look at how Sheik vs. Rocha was the biggest drawing Toronto feud of the era, and why he outdrew Andre, Bruno, Bobo Brazil and all the other major Sheik foes in Toronto. We also look at his return to North America and his retirement run in the WWWF.
Regarding the Wednesday numbers, we’ve got full details, demos that each side won, how every segment did and what match ended up as the difference maker.
Full coverage of all the WWE and AEW television shows from the past week.
In-depth looks at the ratings of all the major shows, the key demos and quarters for AEW and WWE, what happened head-to-head and what can be learned from them.
Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
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WEDNESDAY NEWS UPDATE
WWE
Ahead of tomorrow’s fourth quarter and full-year 2019 earnings report, WWE stock closed today at $49 per share. That was up 3.29 percent from yesterday, though the stock is down 1.49 percent in after hours trading.
WWE Backstage averaged 97,000 total viewers on FS1 last night and did a 0.05 rating in the 18-49 demo. Viewership was even with last week’s show, while the rating in the demo was slightly up from last week’s 0.04.
WWE posted video of an angle where Killian Dain confronted Dominik Dijakovic at the Performance Center and wanted to know why Dijakovic thinks he’s next in line for a North American title shot.
Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair have been announced as the guests for Corey Graves’ After the Bell podcast this week.
Karen Q announced that the surgery she underwent today was successful: “Surgery was successful! And I got some souvenirs!! Thanks for all the well wishes and support! #karenqcomeback” She suffered a broken leg last July but noted yesterday that she would be having another surgery today.
Essence interviewed Naomi, Bianca Belair and Ember Moon on their stories as black women in professional wrestling.
In an interview with Talksport, Buddy Murphy spoke about working with Paul Heyman: “Paul has been awesome to work with. He has a lot of belief in me and I don’t want to let him down. The Aleister Black performances and what not, I want the ball and I want to run with it. I believe — and Paul believes — I can be a mega star for this company. Once that bells rings, I’ve got that down pat, now I just need a story to sink my teeth into and maybe being Seth’s disciple is it. Paul has been a great influence and he’s been pointing me in the direction and as long as I can keep Paul and Vince [McMahon happy], then I’m happy.”
In their earnings report, Fox Corp. cited the launch of SmackDown on Fox as one of the reasons why their earnings took a hit.
WWE has abandoned their trademark for the term EC3 after failure to respond to the initial notice of refusal. EC3 himself had already registered the trademark.
AEW tweeted after the angle where Mel and Dr. Luther turned against Awesome Kong on AEW Dark last night: “Awesome Kong Medical Update: on this week’s episode of #AEWDark Kong suffered serious injuries at the hands of Mel & Luther. We do not know when or if she will return to action.”
In their earnings report, ESPN parent company Disney announced that the Conor McGregor vs. Donald Cerrone pay-per-view event that headlined UFC 246 became the first event in history to hit one million streaming buys. The previous streaming record was 814,000 for a Logan Paul/KSI boxing match.
Karen Q was hurt during the match and the referee threw up the X. They went home early it seemed, with Belair getting the pin. Karen was carried out by a ref and two other personnel.
Karen wrote that her leg is broken but vowed that she’ll be back: “Unfortunately, I won’t be able to finish the #NXTRoadTrip. I’m so proud of the matches I had this weekend and I’m grateful to have the best family, friends and coworkers! My leg is broken, but I’ll be back! Thanks to all who have reached out and showed me love! #HoldMyDrinkIllBeBack”
– Tyler Breeze defeated Cameron Grimes
Grimes got on the mic before the match started and tried to get the crowd to say he was gorgeous and Breeze was ugly, but of course the crowd chanted the opposite.
After the match, Breeze talked about how he liked being back in NXT, that Grimes’ ugliness bugs him, and that we’re all NXT.
– Damian Priest defeated Pete Dunne
Great back-and-forth match. Priest put his legs on the ropes — outside of the ref’s sight — for the pin.
-NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler defeated Mia Yim to retain her title
Yim worked over Baszler’s right arm, with Baszler favoring it for the rest of the match. Baszler attempted to choke Yim out, but Yim bit her fingers to get free. Baszler wrapped Yim up again and tapped her out.
– NXT North American Champion Velveteen Dream & Matt Riddle defeated Roderick Strong & NXT Champion Adam Cole
Simple but effective match. It had lots of heat, hope spots, hot tags, etc. Dream pinned Strong with a flying elbow.
Mendoza used a roll-up to get the win. The crowd was all over Menzies.
– Chelsea Green defeated Jessie Elaban
The Unprettier got the win for Green.
– Shadia Bseiso made her way to the ring to tell us that she’s a promoter now and her first fighter is Mansoor Al-Shehail. The crowd wouldn’t let her speak — there was very loud booing.
The reaction was the same for Mansoor. He told everyone to stand up and show respect.
– Brennan Williams defeated Mansoor Al-Shehail
Williams used a huge chokeslam, spear, and heel kick to obliterate Mansoor. The crowd loved this one.
– There was an in-ring interview with 7’3” trainee Tomu.
– Kona Reeves defeated Eric Bugenhagen
– Montez Ford defeated Marcel Barthel (w/ Fabian Aichner)
Karen Q made her NXT debut here after reporting to the Performance Center as part of the February class. She was also a participant in last year’s Mae Young Classic.
Aliyah and Borne hit a double-team neckbreaker on Lane to get the win. After the match, Karen Q laid out Lane for losing.
– Matt Riddle defeated Riddick Moss
The crowd wasn’t into Moss, who worked holds throughout. Riddle survived and locked in the Bromission to win.
The latest group of WWE signees have officially reported to the Performance Center.
WWE announced this month’s Performance Center class via Twitter today, which features wrestlers Trevor Lee, ACH, Rachael Ellering, Karen Q, Samuel Shaw, Jonah Rock, Elliot Sexton, Team 3.0 (Scott Parker & Shane Matthews), and Nick Comoroto.
Former college football players Omari Palmer and Ricardo Miller, who had WWE tryouts last summer, are the two other members of the new Performance Center class.
Lee officially confirmed last month that he had signed with WWE. He finished up with Impact Wrestling in November and had farewells for PWG and AAW this January but still holds the CWF Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship. ACH also said farewell to AAW last month.
As “Rachel Evers,” Ellering took part in the 2017 and 2018 Mae Young Classic tournaments. Karen Q was an entrant in last year’s Mae Young Classic as well.
Shaw formerly wrestled for Impact and was involved with the NWA before signing with WWE. Rock and Sexton are both from Australia, and Rock had been a regular for PWG.
3.0 are a tag team from Canada who have also made appearances as enhancement wrestlers for WWE. Comoroto is a graduate of the Monster Factory wrestling school.
With four more participants being announced today, 19 of the 32 wrestlers for this summer’s Mae Young Classic have now been confirmed.
Zeuxis, Isla Dawn, Lacey Lane, and Karen Q were added to the lineup for the Mae Young Classic during the most recent round of announcements. The tournament will be taped at Full Sail University on August 8 and 9, with the finals taking place at WWE’s Evolution pay-per-view at the Nassau Coliseum in Long Island, New York on October 28.
Zeuxis is from Puerto Rico and recently left CMLL. She defeated Princesa Sugehit, who made it to the second round of the inaugural Mae Young Classic, in a mask vs. mask match at last year’s CMLL anniversary show.
Dawn is Scottish and is part of WWE’s United Kingdom division. She wrestled on the first night of last month’s WWE UK shows at Royal Albert Hall, losing a triple threat match that saw Toni Storm win and go on to unsuccessfully challenge for Shayna Baszler’s NXT Women’s Championship the next night.
Lane was introduced as part of the newest group of WWE Performance Center signees earlier this month. She played division two basketball while in college, was trained at The Dudley Boyz’s Team 3D Academy, and is a former Women’s Champion for The Crash Lucha Libre.
Karen Q currently wrestles on the indies and is part of ROH’s Women of Honor division. She took part in a WWE tryout at the Performance Center last October.
Here’s the updated list of participants for the 2018 Mae Young Classic:
Kaitlyn
Rhea Ripley
Io Shirai
Nicole Matthews
Jinny
Kacy Catanzaro
Deonna Purrazzo
Tegan Nox (formerly known as Nixon Newell)
Jessie Elaban
Reina Gonzalez
Taynara Conti (won a qualifying match at NXT TV tapings)
