New Year’s Eve was an extra special night for wrestling couple Diamante and Kiera Hogan.
The two announced their engagement on December 31 with Diamante (Priscilla Zuniga) showing off her new ring on social media. She and Hogan have been dating since 2019. They were formerly co-workers in both TNA and AEW. Diamante is still under contract with AEW and competes on the ROH brand, while Hogan departed the company in 2025.
TNA wrestler KC Navarro wrote that he was blessed to be there for the proposal.
“So blessed to be apart of this moment for my sister @diamantelax and @hoganknowsbest18,” Navarro posted to his Instagram stories.
AEW’s Swerve Strickland, Willow Nightingale, Kris Statlander, Thunder Rosa, Aubrey Edwards, Kevin Knight, and Skye Blue were among those to congratulate the couple on the news.
It was a busy night for Diamante with her engagement, but she still took a moment to send out a tweet celebrating Nightingale’s TBS Championship victory. Nightingale won the title from Mercedes Mone on the New Year’s Smash edition of AEW Dynamite.
I just got engaged but also Willow Nightingale TBS CHAMP!!!!! LFGGG
Hogan was featured on the reality show Joseline’s Cabaret: California that aired on the Zeus Network last year. Some controversy was generated clip where she called wrestling a “stepping stone,” but Hogan clarified that wrestling has always been her first love. She just has other ambitions as well.
The AEW women’s roster has apparently lost a member as Kiera Hogan is no longer listed as of Thursday.
It’s unknown if her contract expired or if she requested a release, but she had been under contract since September 2021, making an expiration a more likely situation.
Last month, Hogan was announced as part of a reality show on Zeus Network called Joseline’s Cabaret California that will include a touring component. She hasn’t wrestled anywhere since April 2024.
During her intro on the show, she said that wrestling was a “stepping stone” for her which caught her some heat on social media. She acknowledged the comment and said wrestling was her first love, “but I’m multi-talented and unapologetically ambitious. I knew from the jump that wrestling would open doors for me in fashion, TV, and beyond. Just like it has for so many others before me.”
The 31-year-old hadn’t been on AEW TV since February 2024 and Ring of Honor since April 2024. She wraps up her run with 41 AEW matches and 22 ROH bouts. She suffered a shoulder injury during what would be her final ROH appearance in April 2024 and never returned.
A longtime TNA wrestler at one point, Hogan is a former two-time TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champion with Tasha Steelz.
Kiera Hogan’s introduction in Joseline's Cabaret California on Zeus Network!
Hours before the show was set to begin on Saturday, Tony Khan announced on X that Hogan was removed from the show due to illness. Lady Frost will replace her in a singles match against Serena Deeb.
“With Kiera Hogan not cleared to compete tonight due to illness, the exciting Lady Frost will step up and collide vs The Professor Serena Deeb on @TNTdrama TONIGHT!,” he wrote.
Deeb has been featured prominently since making her in-ring return on the January 27 edition of Collision, defeating Robyn Renegade. She had been out of action for over a year after suffering a series of unprovoked seizures.
Collision will air live on Saturday at the GSB Arena in Springfield, Missouri. Here is the updated lineup:
Bryan Danielson vs. Jun Akiyama
No DQ: Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Sammy Guevara (Don Callis Family & Chris Jericho banned from the building)
FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) vs. Shane Taylor & Lee Moriarty
Malakai Black vs. Bryan Keith
Serena Deeb vs. Lady Frost
Thunder Rosa in action
The Bang Bang Scissor Gang’s Jay White, Billy Gunn & Austin Gunn in trios action
On the road to Revolution, Deonna Purrazzo will be in action on AEW Collision this week.
Tony Khan has announced that Purrazzo vs. Kiera Hogan will take place on Collision this Saturday night (February 10). Purrazzo is undefeated since signing with AEW, winning matches against Red Velvet, Anna Jay, and Taya Valkyrie.
Purrazzo is currently the top-ranked contender in the AEW women’s division. She’s challenging Toni Storm for the AEW Women’s World Championship at AEW’s Revolution pay-per-view next month.
Storm also has a match booked for this Saturday’s Collision episode. Storm is facing Queen Aminata in a non-title bout.
Purrazzo has been looking to challenge Storm since arriving in AEW this January. The storyline is that Purrazzo wants to face the real Storm, not the “Timeless” character she’s been portraying.
Collision is taking place live from The Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nevada this Saturday. Here’s everything that’s been announced for the episode:
AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy defends against Tomohiro Ishii
Non-title match: AEW Women’s World Champion Toni Storm vs. Queen Aminata
Deonna Purrazzo vs. Kiera Hogan
Jon Moxley & Claudio Castagnoli vs. Star Jr. & Esfinge
In the main event of Thursday’s Ring of Honor on HonorClub, ROH Women’s Champion Athena will look to go into Forbidden Door weekend as champion as she defends against Kiera Hogan in a Chicago street fight.
ROH Tag Team Champions The Lucha Brothers will team with AAA Mega Champion El Hijo del Vikingo & Komander against The Butcher & The Blade, Kip Sabian and Serpentico.
Daniel Garcia will take on Rocky Romero in a Pure rules match ahead of Garcia’s AEW International title opportunity at Sunday’s Forbidden Door.
ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions The Embassy (Brian Cage, Toa Liona & Bishop Kaun) will face Trenton Storm, AJZ & Luke Kurtis in a non-title match.
After they were unsuccessful on Dynamite, AR Fox, Action Andretti & Darius Martin return to action against The WorkHorsemen (JD Drake & Anthony Henry) and Shane Taylor.
The 13-match lineup also will feature Gringo Loco vs. Willie Mack; Lee Moriarty & Big Bill vs. Blake Christian & Matt Sydal, and more.
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This week began Ring of Honor’s traveling tenure with AEW Collision, as this week’s show was taped last Saturday from the United Center in Chicago, IL. I can’t say I’m a fan of the change, as the half-empty crowds do put a damper on my excitement for the show. However, the Universal Studios tapings weren’t much more than Dark tapings with a big match here and there. This is more of a complaint about the show’s format than it is about the show’s weekly setting.
The show began with the ROH Board of Directors – Tony Khan, Stokely Hathaway, & Jerry Lynn – standing with Samoa Joe on the Collision set last Saturday. They want to celebrate Samoa Joe reaching one year as ROH World Television Champion, so they present him with a brand-new title belt. Joe says he can’t think of a better way to celebrate than by breaking CM Punk’s face. We then cut to a video recap of the Collision main event, highlighting Joe and Punk’s faceoff.
Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman are on the call as we head to the first match.
El Hijo del Vikingo, Komander & The Lucha Brothers (Penta El Zero Miedo & Rey Fenix) (w/ Alex Abrahantes) defeated Kip Sabian, Serpentico & The Butcher & The Blade (w/Penelope Ford & Angelico)
Vikingo and Serpentico started off. Serpentico got the better of Vikingo with a powerbomb, but Vikingo hit a hurricane kick and tagged out to Komander. The Butcher tagged in on the other side and took control after Kip Sabian cut Komander off with a knee to the back. The Sabian side rushed Komander with offense, ending with a Butcher lariat for a nearfall.
The Sabian side ran an offensive flurry in the corner on Komander, ending with a Sabian fisherman’s suplex for a nearfall. Komander fought his way out of a double team and tagged out to Penta, who ran wild on both the Blade and Sabian. Fenix tagged in and ran wild on the Blade and Serpentico. Quadruple superkicks on all four opponents gave Fenix a nearfall on Sabian.
The Lucha Brothers’ tag team Package Piledriver got broken up, leading to a triple team on Fenix for a nearfall. The match broke down into a Pier Eight brawl before the luchadors caught the Sabian team in a rowboat in the middle of the ring. Penta hit a Canadian Destroyer on Serpentico in the middle of it all. Vikingo and Fenix hit dives to the floor, leaving Penta to hit the Package Piledriver on Serpentico to score the win.
Gringo Loco defeated Willie Mack
These two went to a stalemate early on, cartwheeling out of each other’s headscissors attempt. Mack caught Loco with a DDT out of the corner. Mack hit a pair of running strikes before landing a cannonball in the corner for a nearfall. Loco fought back before running into a Samoan Drop from Mack. Mack hit a standing moonsault for a nearfall.
Mack took Loco to the top rope, but Loco knocked him down and hit a double jump moonsault. Mack rolled to the floor, but Loco followed him with a plancha. Loco went for a corkscrew moonsault, but Mack moved and hit a main event spinebuster for a nearfall. They traded strikes before Mack hit a Shining Wizard to put both men down. Loco cut Mack off as he went to the top rope and hit a double jump Spanish Fly for the hometown win.
Trish Adora defeated Allysin Kay
Adora caught Kay in an Octopus hold, but Kay dumped her on the ropes to escape. Kay laid in some strikes before landing a neckbreaker for a nearfall. Kay laid in the strikes to Adora before Adora caught her with a German suplex from her knees. Adora fired up, sending Kay into the corner shoulder first. Adora hit a bridging suplex for a nearfall. Kay avoided the Lariat Tubman and hit a boot for a nearfall. Adora rolled out of a powerbomb position and hit the Lariat Tubman for the win.
Kyle Fletcher defeated Silas Young
After trading shoulder blocks, Fletcher sent Young to the floor with a boot. Fletcher hit a crossbody over the top rope. On commentary, Riccaboni noted that a win here would give Fletcher three straight wins over three former ROH TV champions. Young cut Fletcher off with a hotshot across the top rope before sending Fletcher into the turnbuckles hard with an Irish Whip.
Fletcher muscled Young up into a suplex. Fletcher fired up, hitting a running forearm and a back suplex for a nearfall. Young cut Fletcher off with a back elbow, but Fletcher hit a half-and-half suplex before following it with a running kick in the corner. Fletcher followed it with a brainbuster for a nearfall. Young fought out of the twisting Tombstone, but Young sent Fletcher to the apron and hit a springboard lariat. Young hit the backbreaker/lariat combo but missed the headstand moonsault. Fletcher scored the win with a hammerlock reverse DDT, a move Riccaboni noted was a new finisher for Fletcher.
The Mogul Embassy (Bishop Kaun, Brian Cage & Toa Liona) (w/Prince Nana) defeated AJZ, Luke Kurtis & Trenton Storm
Liona charged Kurtis while Kurtis still had his entrance robe on. Kurtis caught Liona with a DDT, but Liona got right back up and hit a belly-to-belly for a nearfall. Cage tagged in and dropped Storm with a lariat. Storm went for a headscissors, but Cage shrugged him off and hit a German suplex. AJZ tagged in and got a bit of offense in on Kaun, but Kaun hit a Stun Gun over the top rope before hitting a running back elbow on the floor.
The Embassy went into their finishing sequence, taking out all three men before hitting three separate power moves to win. Liona got the pin on AJZ. I think Cage was the legal man, so if the other team wanted to file a complaint with the Board of Directors, they may have a case.
Both men have amateur wrestling experience, so they started this match with some impressive grappling. They got tied up in the ropes, where Woods yanked Castle’s head and neck into the top rope. Castle fired up the crowd before getting back in the ring and dropping Woods with a DDT. Castle hooked Woods on the top rope before kneeing him down. The other Varsity Athletes got distracted Castle, allowing Woods to send Castle into the barricade twice.
Woods tied Castle in the ropes before hitting a German suplex for a nearfall. Castle hit a clothesline before firing up with suplex variants. Castle caught a charging Woods with a German suplex for a nearfall. Woods escaped the Bangarang – with the help of Sterling – and hit a gutwrench suplex and a charging knee for a nearfall. Castle fought off all of the Athletes before using the Boys to take out Nese on the floor. Castle caught Woods on a leapfrog and hit the Bangarang for the win.
– We got a pair of video packages setting up our next match. The Kingdom went up to Stokely Hathaway and accused the Infantry of talking trash about him. The Infantry accused the Kingdom of lying about that and made a challenge for a match.
The Infantry (Carlie Bravo & Shawn Dean) defeated The Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) (w/Maria Kanellis-Bennett)
A genuine upset here, as the newer team scored the win and a third against the former ROH World Tag Team Champions.
After trading double team moves, Bravo hit a cutter over the ropes on Taven for a nearfall. Bennett dropped Bravo with strikes before landing a brainbuster for a nearfall. Bennett hit a main event spinebuster before Taven hit a springboard moonsault for a nearfall. Taven hit a DDT on Bravo for a nearfall as the Kingdom isolated Bravo. Bravo fought his way to his corner to make the tag to Dean, who ran wild on both men.
Dean hit a top rope crossbody as a fan could be heard cursing out MJF for some reason. Dean hit a Tiger Driver on Bennett for a nearfall. The Infantry hit a tag team uranage for a nearfall. Taven cut off Bravo with a knee and a Kick of the King. The Kingdom hit a neckbreaker/powerbomb combination for a nearfall. Bravo fought out of the corner, hitting a scissors kick to Bennett. Dean hit a big splash for a nearfall.
The match broke down into a Pier Four brawl before Bennett and Dean took each other down with clotheslines. As Maria distracted the referee, Bennett cut Dean off with a chair. As the Kingdom set up the Hail Mary, Trish Adora came out to remove Maria from proceedings. Dean rolled up Bennett to score the upset win.
Big Bill & Lee Moriarty defeated Blake Christian & Matt Sydal
Big Bill has rounded into a very good wrestler. He and Moriarty have become a solid team.
Moriarty and Sydal began with mat work. Sydal hit a headscissors and a corkscrew senton for a nearfall before tagging in Christian. Christian hit a big dropkick before landing a bottom-rope 619. Christian hit a handspring kick before tagging in Sydal to hit some double-team offense, ending with a running knee from Sydal. Bill tagged in and poked Sydal in his third eye before hitting a kitchen sink knee. Bill cut off a headscissors, allowing Moriarty to boot him in the head.
Moriarty tagged in and clubbered on Sydal to the point where Bill had to tell him to calm down. Moriarty hit a bridging suplex for a nearfall before tagging Bill back in. Sydal avoided two corner charges from Moriarty and Sydal. Christian backflipped off the apron when Moriarty went to cut him off, allowing Sydal to hit a spin kick and tag out to Christian. Christian fired up, hitting a suicide dive to Bill and a Fosbury Flop to Moriarty. Christian hit a springboard 450 for a nearfall that was broken up by Bill.
Sydal and Christian hit a double dropkick on Moriarty, but Bill tagged in and took them both out with clotheslines. Christian cut off a chokeslam with a knee but ran right into a Bossman Slam for a nearfall that Sydal broke up. Sydal took Bill to the floor with a headscissors, but Bill avoided a big dive and chokeslammed Christian on the apron. Bill hit the East River Crossing – Hirooki Goto’s Shouten Kai – for the win.
– Backstage, Lexy was with The Kingdom. They were upset at their loss, blaming Stokely Hathaway for setting it up. Maria said that she gave Trish Adora her first opportunity in ROH and would make sure it would be her last chance as well.
The Dark Order (Alex Reynolds & John Silver) (w/Negative One) defeated August Matthews & Davey Bang
Silver started with Bang and quickly caught him in a double team. Riccaboni noted on commentary that Matthews and Bang had a naughty tag team name on the independent scene. Reynolds hammered Matthews before Silver powerbombed Matthews into the knees of Reynolds. Reynolds and Silver hit their strike combination finisher to score the quick victory.
After the match, The Righteous and Stu Grayson came up on the screen. Grayson asked if the Dark Order would ever bleed for him, turning Evil Uno’s question against him. Vincent asked the Dark Order if they would bring the same aggression next week. In response, Reynolds and Silver dropped Bang with more offense.
– Backstage, Lexy was with Diamante. Smart Mark Sterling came in and offered Diamante half of the winner’s purse to forfeit. Well, 49% of the winner’s purse. Surprisingly, Diamante rejected the offer.
Leila Grey (w/Mark Sterling) defeated Diamante
Diamante seemed to change her mind and laid down for Grey but caught her with a kick when she went for the cover. Diamante hit a baseball slide, but Grey caught a boot and dropped Diamante on the apron. Grey hit a boot for a nearfall. Grey clubbered on Diamante, hitting a bulldog for a nearfall.
Grey missed a senton, allowing Diamante to fire up and hit a German suplex. Diamante hit the hesitation dropkick in the corner for a nearfall. Sterling distracted Diamante for a moment. Diamante stomped on his hand, but Grey caught Diamante with a roll-up to score the win.
Action Andretti, AR Fox & Darius Martin defeated Shane Taylor & The WorkHorsemen (Anthony Henry & JD Drake)
Good trios match here with two new, solid teams. Taylor and the WorkHorsemen are gelling together well.
Henry and Drake sent their opponents out of the ring while Taylor had Fox’s hand in the Code of Honor. Martin tried to fire up, but Drake cut him off on the floor. That allowed Taylor’s team to blitz Martin with offense. Fox caught Drake with a moonsault off the apron. Andretti tagged in and fired up, landing big offense on Henry and Taylor. Drake tried to fight Andretti, but Andretti was able to take them out with the help of Martin.
Taylor was the last man standing, fighting off all three of his opponents until Drake was able to get back in. Drake slingshot Fox into a Marcus Garvey Driver that Henry hit a double stomp to assist with. The cover got broken up, and the match broke down into a Pier Six brawl. Henry and Fox were left in the ring, and Fox caught Henry with a rollup out of a nip-up to steal the win.
– Backstage, Lexy was with Leila Grey and Smart Mark Sterling. They gloated about their win until Diamante came in demanding a rematch. Grey dismissively agreed to a rematch down the line. I was fine with the one match.
Pure Rules Match: Daniel Garcia defeated Rocky Romero
The judges for this Pure Match were Pat Buck, Stokely Hathaway, and Jerry Lynn.
Garcia forced Romero into the ropes to burn one of Romero’s rope breaks. Romero then caught Garcia in the Diablo Armbar to get Garcia to use his first rope break. Romero hit a dive to Garcia who escaped to the floor before hitting a running Sliced Bread back in the ring for a nearfall. Garcia cut off the Forever clotheslines and hit a butterfly suplex into the ropes. The crowd began chanting You’re A Wrestler to Garcia, who responded with a dance and a suplex for a nearfall.
Romero caught Garcia with an Octopus Stretch to burn Garcia’s second rope break. Garcia cut off a headscissors and locked on an STF. Romero dragged Garcia to the ropes and grabbed the ropes to use his second rope break. Garcia taunted the crowd while he had Romero down, allowing Romero to drill him with a jumping knee. Garcia cut off Romero on the top rope, but Romero caught him with a hurricanrana off the top. Romero tied up Garcia in the ropes and hit the Strong Zero for a nearfall, which Garcia used the ropes to break. Garcia used his final rope break.
Garcia caught Romero with the Walls of Jericho, forcing Romero to use his last rope break to escape. The crowd informed the wrestlers that they were both out of rope breaks. Garcia tried to send a message to Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata by finishing Romero with a Penalty Kick, but Romero caught it and fired up. Romero went on the offensive and caught Garcia in the Diablo Armbar. Garcia got to the ropes and rolled over top to transition the armbar into the Dragon Tamer. Romero tried to escape out of the ring, but Garcia held on through the ropes and got the submission win.
After the match, Garcia feigned a Code of Honor handshake before trying to hook on the Walls of Jericho again. Orange Cassidy made his way out to a big pop to save his best friend’s friend and run off Garcia.
ROH Women’s World Title Chicago Street Fight: Athena defeated Kiera Hogan to retain
These two went all out in this one, giving their bodies up for this main event. But there was a lot of dead time in this one with the setting up of weapons taking up most of it. It would have benefitted greatly from either a tighter time frame or more urgency with the set-up. But the spots they set up did work in getting great reactions from the crowd, so it worked out in the end.
Hogan took the fight to Athena to start, but Athena caught Hogan with a Bossman Slam to cut her off. Athena went for a ladder, but Hogan dropkicked it into her chest. Hogan hit a headscissors into a standing ladder on the floor. Athena shoved Hogan into the ladder before sending her into the barricade. Hogan cut Athena off and tossed weapons into the ring, but Athena grabbed a garbage can lid and hit Hogan with it.
Athena sent Hogan into the open end of a trash can and hammered it with a kendo stick for a one count. Athena went for a handspring, but Hogan threw the trash can into Athena’s face before throwing her can in Athena’s face with a hip attack. Hogan hit a baseball slide to the trash can, then followed it with a neckbreaker for a nearfall. Hogan set Athena up on a ladder bridge and went for a splash, but Athena moved, leaving nothing but ladder for Hogan.
Athena set up a table on the floor, as well as a chair contraption at ringside. After some time, Athena went back to Hogan, but Hogan sent Athena through another table at ringside. Hogan hammered Athena with the kendo stick, but Athena got one of her own. They traded kendo stick shots before Athena won the battle. Hogan dropped Athena across a table and hit a splash thro…onto the table. Another splash broke the leg of the table, so it kind of counted.
Hogan set up a table in the ring, but Athena cut her off and went to the top rope. Hogan cut her off and went for a headscissors, but Athena stuffed it and powerbombed Hogan through the table for a nearfall. Athena grabbed a black bag from under the ring and emptied it, revealing thumbtacks all over the ring. Hogan fought out of a Razor’s Edge and sent Athena into a trash can before hitting a side suplex into the tacks for a nearfall.
Hogan choked Athena with her braids, but Athena clawed at Hogan’s eyes to escape. Athena rolled to the apron and superplexed Hogan through the chair contraption at ringside. Athena rolled Hogan into the ring and got the pin to win and retain the title. This was Athena’s 11th successful defense of the title.
– Backstage, Lexy was with Athena. Athena complained about the lack of a celebration before telling the rest of the roster to step up or step out.
Athena will defend the ROH Women’s World Championship in a street fight on the June 22 edition of Ring of Honor TV.
As announced during this week’s ROH TV episode by ROH board of directors members Tony Khan and Stokely Hathaway, a Chicago Street Fight for the Women’s World title is set for next week’s episode, with Athena defending her title against Kiera Hogan.
— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) June 16, 2023
Following Athena’s win over Trish Adora in a Proving Ground match on this week’s episode, Hogan made the save as Athena continued to attack Adora after the match. Hogan hit Athena with a trash can lid, then Athena speared Hogan through a table. Later in the episode, Khan and Hathaway announced the Chicago Street Fight for next week.
The bout will be the fourth career singles meeting between Athena and Hogan in AEW and ROH, with Athena holding a 3-0 career singles mark against Hogan. They wrestled most recently on the June 1 Ring of Honor TV show, where Athena defeated Hogan to retain the ROH Women’s title.
The two met twice in singles matches in AEW in 2022, once on Dark: Elevation and once on Rampage.
A Women’s World title match has been added to the Thursday, June 1 episode of Ring of Honor TV.
In a bout set up with an angle on this week’s show, Athena will defend the ROH Women’s World Championship against Kiera Hogan on next week’s episode.
After Athena defeated Promise Braxton in a Proving Ground match on this week’s ROH TV show, Athena continued to attack Braxton. Hogan then ran in to make the save, dispatching Athena and posing with the Women’s World title belt.
Later in the show during a backstage promo, Athena stated that Hogan would get a title match on next week’s episode.
Already announced for next week, Katsuyori Shibata will defend the ROH Pure Championship against his NJPW LA Dojo pupil Alex Coughlin.
The lineup for the Thursday, June 1 episode of Ring of Honor TV on HonorClub:
ROH Women’s World Championship: Athena defends against Kiera Hogan
ROH Pure Championship: Katsuyori Shibata defends against Alex Coughlin
AEW has announced six matches for Dark: Elevation.
The show was filmed on Wednesday, August 3 from the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio.
Athena will be in action on the show. She will take on Queen Aminata in singles competition. Ruby Soho will also team up with Skye Blue to take on Megan Myers & Nikki Victory.
Kiera Hogan will team with the “interim baddie” Leila Grey in a tag team contest against Freya States & Alice Crowley.
The Lucha Bros will also be on Dark: Elevation this week. They will take on the Wingmen’s Peter Avalon & Ryan Nemeth.
AEW Dark: Elevation airs Monday at 7 p.m Eastern Time on YouTube. The announced lineup for the show is as follows:
Athena vs. Queen Aminata
John Silver & Alex Reynolds vs. T.U.G Cooper & Lord Crewe
Kiera Hogan & Leila Grey vs. Freya States & Alice Crowley
Ruby Soho & Skye Blue vs. Megan Myers & Nikki Victory
Parker Boudreaux w/ Ari Daivari vs. Casey Carrington
The Lucha Bros (Penta Oscuro & Rey Fenix) w/ Alex Abrahantes vs. The Wingmen (Peter Avalon & Ryan Nemeth)
A six-woman tag match is set to take place on this week’s AEW Dynamite.
AEW has announced that TBS Champion Jade Cargill, Kiera Hogan & Leila Grey will take on Athena, Kris Statlander & Willow Nightingale on Dynamite this Wednesday. It’s the Fyter Fest week two edition of the show.
“[Athena] & [Statlander] have been at war with TBS Champ #JadeCargill & The Baddies; now they have a trios partner up for the fight,” AEW tweeted. “[Nightingale] teams with Stat + Athena vs. Jade/Kiera Hogan/Leila Grey LIVE on #AEWDynamite #FyterFest! TOMORROW 8pm ET/7pm CT on TBS!”
Wednesday’s Dynamite is being held at Gas South Arena in Duluth, Georgia. Here’s the updated lineup for the episode:
Barbed wire death match: Eddie Kingston vs. Chris Jericho (the Jericho Appreciation Society will be suspended above the ring in a shark cage)
Luchasaurus & Christian Cage vs. The Varsity Blonds
NWA World Champion Trevor Murdoch and Mike Knox opened the show at the podium, cutting promos on each other. Knox said he “accidentally” jumped Murdoch which was a funny line. Knox said that to get beat twice by Murdoch, the champion was going to need a lot more than what it took the first time. Knox wasn’t very good here, but it was fine. Murdoch was excellent.
The Dirty Sexy Boys (Dango & JTG) defeated The Ill Begotten (Captain Yuma, Rush Freeman & Alex Taylor)
Freeman (with his mullet) started the match and didn’t want to be in the ring with Dango, so he tagged in Yuma. Poor Yuma was on the receiving end of a few double team moves. Yuma protested Freeman’s cheating tactics to get the advantage on JTG. Taylor and Freeman got the heat for a little bit before Dango was tagged in and ran wild, hitting a guillotine leg drop on Yuma for the pinfall.
This was a perfectly fine opening match that was designed to show Freeman and Taylor not getting along with Yuma, leaving him to take the pinfall. DSB got their win back from two weeks ago and move up the tag team ranks.
— Kiera Hogan was with May Valentine and talked about how Mickie James inspired her and that she wanted to be the same type of inspiration to others. Hogan commented that she still wants to beat James eventually as her two losses to her have rocked her. Valentine and Hogan playing an excellent babyface were great here.
— Christopher Silvio, Esq. was with Valentine and talked about his client Jax Dane and the restraining order against Anthony Mayweather. He said Dane was done with Mayweather.
Cyon defeated Sal Rinauro (w/ Judias & The Sinister Minister) in a no DQ Match
The major story of this match was Austin Idol coming out to help Cyon. It was recently dropped that Cyon had a father who was a legend in the NWA and they have been heavily implying it could be Idol. This was the first real explicit evidence for it and is actually quite compelling.
Rinauro immediately started throwing chairs into the ring, but ate a big boot when Cyon came in. Cyon hit a back suplex on the podium on Rinauro. He slammed Cyon’s head into the announce table and hit an elbow drop with a chair. Rinauro slammed Cyon into a table and then back into the ring while screaming for approval from The Sinister Minister.
Cyon cut Rinauro off and locked on a surfboard stretch. Cyon set up a chair in the corner, but Rinauro reversed the Irish whip and drove Cyon into the chair. Cyon crashed to the floor and Idol came out to help him up and told him to get back into the ring. Cyon fired up, hit a death valley driver, and locked on a crossface with a hammer for the submission.
— Several wrestlers cut promos about the Team Wars tournament coming up where the winner gets $30,000. They never really clarified what the tournament is or who is in it, but the promos weren’t bad. I can’t call it effective, though, as I have no idea how the tournament works.
— Natalia Markova, Jennacide, Paola Blaze and Tarryn Terrell were at the podium. Blaze talked about being attacked by Markova, and threatened to break her face. Jennacide accepted Markova’s challenge for a later date.
— Another video aired for the Team Wars tournament, but it had the same issue as the last video. However, we did learn it would be a six-man tournament.
NWA World Champion Trevor Murdoch defeated Mike Knox to retain the title
Murdoch tackled Knox and hit some crossface blows on the mat. Murdoch leg dropped Knox on the apron and then hit a flying crossbody on Knox for a two count. Matt Cardona made his way out to distract Murdoch. Knox drove Murdoch into the ring post twice and they ended up on the outside of the ring.
Knox had an extended heat segment here but Murdoch managed to hit a DDT at the end of it to drop Knox and start his comeback. Knox missed a corner charge and Murdoch rolled him up for a near fall.
But, the ref botched the count as Knox’s shoulder accidentally went up so Murdoch just cradled him and pinned him to retain the title in their rematch.
Murdoch went after Cardona after the match, but Knox cut him off and hit a forearm. Cardona and Knox beat down Murdoch after the match and Cardona hit Murdoch with the title belt. Cardona mocked Murdoch with the title before dropping it back on him.
This was a short match that really had no chance to get going, but that might be for the best given Knox’s ability in the ring. The angle at the end was quite good as Matt Cardona is getting good heat. Velvet Sky’s calm commentary while claiming to be angry really didn’t help much. She has improved lately, but she was not good here.
Final Thoughts:
NWA Power was a very easy watch this week with nothing on the show that was particularly bad, but also nothing that was outstanding either. The best thing was easily the Kiera Hogan promo segment.
The Impact Wrestling Knockouts Championship will be on the line at the NWA’s Hard Times 2 pay-per-view.
Mickie James will put her Knockouts title on the line against Kiera Hogan at Hard Times 2 this Saturday. The PPV is being held at GPB Studios in Atlanta and will be available via Fite TV.
“Saturday, Dec 4th at #HardTimes2, @IMPACTWRESTLING Knockouts Champion @MickieJames will be defending her title against @AEW ‘s @HoganKnowsBest3,” the NWA announced. “This makes EIGHT multi-company title matches in one night!”
James won the Knockouts Championship from Deonna Purrazzo at Bound for Glory last month. A rematch between James and Purrazzo for the title has been announced for Impact’s Hard to Kill PPV, which is taking place in January.
The updated card for Hard Times 2 is listed below:
NWA World Champion Trevor Murdoch defends against Mike Knox
NWA Women’s Champion Kamille defends against Melina
There will be an in-ring tribute to Jazz following her announcement that she’s retiring from in-ring competition
No time limit and no DQ match: NWA Television Champion Tyrus defends against Cyon (Da Pope will be the special guest referee)
Nick Aldis vs. Thom Latimer (no seconds at ringside, Aldis and Latimer will both be suspended from the NWA for eight weeks if there’s a disqualification)
Impact Wrestling Knockouts Champion Mickie James defends against Kiera Hogan
NWA National Champion Chris Adonis defends against Judais
NWA Tag Team Champions La Rebelion (Bestia 666 & Mecha Wolf) defend against The End (Odinson & Parrow)
NWA Women’s Tag Team Champions The Hex (Allysin Kay & Marti Belle) defend against Kylie Rae & Tootie Lynn and Lady Frost & Natalia Markova
Colby Corino vs. Doug Williams
NWA Junior Heavyweight Championship qualifying match: Austin Aries vs. Rhett Titus
Mick Foley will make a special appearance
ROH Tag Team Champions The OGK (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) defend against Aron Stevens & JR Kratos
NWA Junior Heavyweight Championship qualifying gauntlet (Homicide, Darius Lockhart, Ariya Daivari, CW Anderson, Sal Rinauro, Kerry Morton, Luke Hawx, PJ Hawx, Jamie Stanley, Victor Benjamin, Jeremiah Plunkett, and Alex Taylor)
While the specifics are unknown, Kiera Hogan has signed a deal with AEW.
The news was revealed on Tuesday’s AEW Dark when, on commentary, Excalibur said that Hogan was “All Elite” which is the phrase the company uses on social media when new talents sign contracts.
However, they have yet to do so with Hogan as of this writing. Hogan herself has not yet said anything about being under any type of deal, even one like other AEW wrestlers have where they can work on the indies and other non-WWE organizations.
Hogan made her AEW debut in August, losing to Hikaru Shida on Dark. Losses to Kris Statlander and Jade Cargill followed, but she is now on a two-match win streak. She was also in the women’s Casino Battle Royale at All Out.
The 26-year-old wrapped up with Impact in July and was written off TV as part of a breakup angle with longtime partner Tasha Steelz. The pair won the Knockouts Tag Team titles twice.
“This just in from #AEW GM @TonyKhan: @HoganKnowsBest3 is the latest addition to the Casino Battle Royale on the #AEWAllOut Buy-In LIVE Sept 5 on #AEW’s official YouTube channel before #AEWAllOut on PPV,” AEW’s tweet said. “More entrants will be announced on tomorrow’s 100th #AEWDynamite live on TNT!”
Since leaving Impact, Hogan has appeared on AEW television, including the second episode of AEW Rampage, where she lost to Jade Cargill.
Other participants for the battle royale include Cargill, Hikaru Shida, Emi Sakura, Thunder Rosa, Tay Conti, Julia Hart, Big Swole, The Bunny, Red Velvet, Penelope Ford, Nyla Rose, and Diamante.
Here is the current lineup for All Out pay-per-view, which takes place on September 5 in Hoffman Estates, Illinois:
AEW World Champion Kenny Omega vs. Christian Cage title match
AEW Women’s Champion Britt Baker vs. Kris Statlander title match
AEW Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks vs. Jurassic Express or Lucha Bros in a steel cage title match
AEW TNT Champion Miro vs. Eddie Kingston
CM Punk vs. Darby Allin
Chris Jericho vs. MJF with Jericho’s career on the line
Former Impact Knockouts Tag Team Champion Kiera Hogan made her AEW debut Wednesday, working against former Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida for this Monday’s Dark: Elevation show that was taped before Dynamite.
This was Hogan’s first in-ring appearance since finishing up with Impact Wrestling last month which she announced on her OnlyFans during the company’s TV tapings. It’s unknown if she has signed a deal.
She is technically still on Impact as her Fire N’ Flava team appeared to split up last week as a debuting Savannah Evans ran out and beat down Hogan following a loss to Jordynne Grace and Rachael Ellering as Steelz just watched. Their future as a team and Hogan’s future will be resolved on this Thursday’s Impact.
The split came after the pair lost their Knockouts Tag Team Titles to Rosemary and Jessica Havok at July’s Slammiversary. After the two lost a rematch for the titles on the following Impact, tensions rose between Hogan and Steelz.
The 26-year-old hasn’t worked for a major promotion other than Impact but has worked for SHINE, SHIMMER, and Women Of Wrestling in her career.
Kiera Hogan and Tasha Steelz’s challenge of Knockouts Tag Team Champions Rosemary & Havok on Thursday’s Impact Wrestling will be their last as Hogan announced on her OnlyFans account that she is done with the company.
Wrestling Inc. first reported the news.
Hogan worked Monday’s TV tapings in Nashville following Slammiversary, saying “you guys will be the first to know that this is my last IMPACT tapings and I’m going to see what else is out there for me. I’m so excited and scared but I know whatever I choose to do I’m gonna be the best and that’s on period.”
The 26-year-old has been involved with Impact (then Global Force Wrestling) since 2017. While she never held singles gold, she and Steelz were two-time Knockouts Tag Team Champions, losing the belts to Rosemary and Havok at last Saturday’s Slammiversary. She had signed a multi-year deal in 2019.
