Nikki Bella pulled back the curtain on a creative pitch she made for WWE Clash in Italy that ultimately was not approved.
On the latest episode of The Nikki & Brie Show, Nikki revealed a pitch for a themed segment at Clash in Italy. The concept would have featured WWE stars like Gunther, Oba Femi, Penta, The Judgment Day, and the Women’s Tag Team Champions, in a series of lighthearted vignettes inspired by Emily in Paris aesthetics and the Italian phrase ‘Ciao Bella’ embracing the culture and atmosphere surrounding the event.
“I pitched this incredible idea called Ciao Bella! ‘Hey, you guys, I would love to do this, whether it’s pre-show or doing a fun commercial thing for a PLE or just make it social.’ It would be where I have these different moments with WWE superstars, so there would be a moment where I’m on the scooter with Danhausen and his scarf is flying in my face. I’d have a moment with Brie and Paige and have a spritz with the tag team champions, and then I’d be on a gondola ride with Gunther, and he’s just staring straight being Gunther, and I’m looking around like Emily in Paris. This is what gave me the idea, being like Emily in Rome, me touring with WWE superstars. The gondolier is another WWE superstar giving me the look, or he’s someone who hates Gunther. I have this other moment where Oba and I are getting gelato and trying a selfie with him, but the height difference. Judgment Day comes and slaps the gelato out of our hands.”
“I had all these fun segment ideas with superstars that were very Italian and fun, that gave Emily in Paris vibes. I have a romantic spaghetti dinner with Penta. They showed interest. I was going back with the team, and they really liked the idea. My ending segment was me walking down the street, and they are going, ‘Ciao Bella, Ciao Bella.’ I take a pause and go, ‘Oh my God, I’m so famous here.’ Obviously, because they call everyone Bella, but I think it’s because I’m Nikki Bella. It was cute and they all loved it, but it fell through.”
Neither The Bellas nor Paige were a part of the Clash in Italy match card. Nikki suffered an ankle injury in March that has kept her sidelined. Last month, she indicated a hopeful return at Night of Champions on June 27 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Nikki Bella had nothing but praise for Ronda Rousey’s physique going into her bout against Gina Carano on May 16. She admitted that Rousey’s MMA appearance left her wanting to see more from her former WWE rival.
In an interview with USA Today Sports, Bella praised Rousey’s MMA return and performance. She marveled at Rousey’s sharp and impressive physique. The Hall of Famer noted that she looks forward to more from Rousey.
“I think, you know, my initial response was like, wait, it’s done. But the one thing I will say is it left me wanting a lot more from Ronda. She looked incredible. I mean, she looked so amazing that I want to see her now on more fights. You know, I’m all about nostalgia. So no matter what it was, I love that those two women got into that octagon and did what they did. But I will say the shape that Ronda Rousey’s in, I mean, she’s a year postpartum. That’s incredible. I want to see more from her. I know, you know, as now she’s saying she’s going to have more babies and that was it. But she, even in those 17 seconds, Ronda looked like she didn’t miss a beat.”
Bella remarked on Logan Paul’s WWE efforts as well, especially after his back and forth with Tom Brady ahead of WrestleMania 42.
“I know everyone else got whatever by it, but I like Logan Paul a lot, and I think what he does for our industry is great, and so when I see stuff like that, I’m like, this is great. This is amazing. Like, you know, and it made me laugh because, you know, I am a diehard Eagles fan.”
Bella is currently out of in-ring action due to an ankle injury in March. Paige replaced her in the Women’s Tag Team Title match at WrestleMania. She is hopeful to make a return in June and possibly participate at Night of Champions.
STILL FEARLESS: new vlog out now on the Nikki + Brie YouTube channel. I’ll be taking you all along on my road to recovery… and everything else that happens inside and outside of that therapy/training/tasting room lol. Make sure to subscribe and join me on this ride.… pic.twitter.com/0NkbBC8jdQ
Injuries are so funny. I always try to ask that (asking the medical team for updates). (They’re like) ‘not until I see what your ankle looks like in June,’ and I’m like, ‘But if you were to just guess,’ and they’re like, ‘Don’t know, not until June,’
I’m hoping, for me in my head, end of June would be incredible, but I also don’t want to go back too early, because you know the big part about when people get reinjured is because their strength isn’t matching, so I need to make sure the calves, the quads, glutes, I need to make sure they’re all built up.
WWE uploaded the full Tatum Paxley vs. Lizzy Rain NXT Women’s North American Championship match from last night.
Bianca Belair shared photos (part one, part two) of her baby shower, which was attended by many WWE colleagues including Liv Morgan, Nattie, Angelo Dawkins, Alexa Bliss, Ivy Nile, Nia Jax, Lash Legend, Maxxine Dupri, Michin, Solo Sikoa, LA Knight, Omos, IYO SKY, and Jey Uso
Netflix released the official trailer for the upcoming John Cena-Eric Andre comedy “Little Brother.” The movie debuts on June 26:
Rudd (John Cena) has the perfect life – great job, loving family, and a thriving career as a real estate agent… until his little brother, Marcus (Eric Andre), crashes back into his world as a full-blown agent of chaos, stress-testing every part of Rudd’s carefully controlled existence.
To mark yesterday being the 30th anniversary of the “Curtain Call,” WWE Vault uploaded the 2015 documentary “The Kliq Rules.”
Will having kids of my own change me and make me tone it down? No, I don’t believe so. And I’ll tell you why. Because the moment I have a kid, I want to keep showing them that there’s no age limit that says you must calm down. You have to be that much more inspiring to them, because, who am I if I’m playing it safe with my 5-year-old? That’s not Darby Allin. But if I’m strapping the 5-year-old to a Can-Am and going on some jumps? That’s who I am. I want my kids to have the confidence I never had growing up.
The Allin story is the first AEW-focused piece to appear on ESPN’s website in quite some time. It was written by Andreas Hale, who was declined a credential for WWE WrestleMania 42 after covering the Janel Grant/Vince McMahon story for ESPN.
If there’s one thing I’ll always bet on, it’s myself.
Huge thank you to Ring of Honor and Tony Khan for bringing me in for interviews at this round of ROH TV tapings. It was so wonderful seeing old friends, meeting new ones, and getting to work in such a fun environment!
Claressa Shields, a top women’s boxing star, showed up for Sukeban in New York City last night and got physically involved by delivering a punch and even earning a pinfall victory during the surprise appearance.
Fabian Aichner has filed a trademark for the nickname “Il Gladiatore,” which translates to “The Gladiator.”
Former Nexus member Michael Tarver is retiring from the ring with his final shows happening this Saturday and Sunday:
This is emotional week
This is my official goodbye to the pro wrestling Biz (in ring)
I finish my now 22 year journey with the 2 brothers who took me in 22 years ago in Barberton in a little dive bar called the Shamrock night club Josh E Robinson , Lamont Williams my brothers for life. I will be sharing some of my favorite moments of my career over the next week. Drew Jeffrey Andrew Taylor, from my start in UWC, CAPW, AIW, PWU, NWA to WWE / NXT and NJPW
From Akron Ohio to Japan to London to India to Puerto Rico to South Africa
From signing a @wwe contract homeless to being a part of a WrestleMania main event and main eventing SummerSlam
AJ Lee, Paige and The Bella Twins have officially been moved to the free agents on the WWE website.
They join Danhausen, Oba Femi and Omos in the free agents section on the WWE roster
Lee returned to WWE in September 2025 after nearly a decade away. She feuded with Becky Lynch and won the Intercontinental Championship at Elimination Chamber this year. The title reign was short-lived when Lynch won back the title at WrestleMania. Following which, Lee cited she was taking time away from WWE but would be back soon.
Nikki Bella made her comeback last year, while Brie officially signed a new deal with the company this year. Nikki’s foot injury omitted her from the fatal four way Women’s Tag Team title match at WrestleMania, which led to Paige stepping up as her replacement.
It also marked Paige’s first WWE match since 2017 after the neck injury that forced her into early retirement. At AEW Full Gear 2023, she competed in the ring for the first time after being medically cleared and stepped back in the ring as a full-time competitor.
Paige is now listed in the Free Agents section of the WWE roster page, and AJ Lee & the Bella Twins have been moved from Raw to Free Agents pic.twitter.com/U7BaHxxJ1A
Nikki Bella shared an update on when she hopes to make a full-time comeback as an in-ring competitor.
Nikki was the only one on the podcast for the latest episode of The Nikki and Brie Show, as Brie was traveling for SmackDown. She addressed her injury status, setting the timeline for a comeback in June and she is hopeful to participate in Night of Champions on June 27.
“Hopefully I will get to see you all in June… they just announced Night of Champions is going to be happening in June, so fingers crossed that still goes (forward). But obviously, I’d love to see you all there!”
During the podcast, Nikki responded to a fan about which championship The Bellas would like to pursue apart from the WWE Tag Team Titles. She stated unfinished business with Liv Morgan and plans to target the Women’s World Championship. Nikki also expressed interest in becoming a General Manager for Raw in the long run.
“I always love to think and dream big. So for me, it would for sure be the Women’s World Championship. And all these, all this time I have right now to lay on my back and ice and elevate my ankle and be in therapy. You know me, I’m always just the wheels start turning and knowing that Liv just won it and there’s a lot of unfinished business there. And then I was like, ‘oh, wait Liv has Judgement Day and I technically have Paige and Brie. We can call Team Bella. And I’m like, wait, this sounds all amazing and perfect.’ So I would go after that. I would go after Liv’s championship.”
“I would love one day before I,call it, goodbye for good, I would love to be a Women’s World Champion. Also, what I would love to be and what I love about this one is I can do this not being in the ring, but there was a lot of talk about it today on X about when should they change up the General Managers. And I would love to be General Manager at Raw at one point, so Liv’s championship, Women’s World Championship. And then after in ring stuff, I would love at some point to be a General Manager for Raw.”
On the March 27 edition of SmackDown, Nikki fractured and sprained her left ankle that forced her to be out of in-ring action and miss WrestleMania 42. However, Paige returned and took her spot alongside Brie to win the Women’s Tag Team Titles.
WWE Hall of Famer Nikki Bella has stated that she was not injured by Nia Jax.
Bella suffered an ankle injury on the March 27, 2026, episode of WWE SmackDown when she and Brie Bella competed against Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair in a tag-team match. Moments into the match, Bella suffered the injury but worked throughout the rest of the bout. She was also later involved in a post-match segment with Nia Jax and Lash Legend.
Shortly after her injury, fans online started speculating that Jax tossing Bella out of the ring caused her injury. However, denying the rumors, Bella recently opened up on the latest episode of the Nikki & Brie Show and defended Jax.
“What I want to clear up, because at first, Nia had gotten a lot of heat online and she actually helped me is when it came to the end of the match and the girls had to take us out, I knew at that point like I couldn’t even put weight on my foot at that point and I was in so much pain where I knew I was like, “Oh gosh, this is really bad,” and I knew what was about to happen, so when she came to take me out, I looked at her and I go, “Please no, my foot hurts so bad,” and she goes, “Wait, what?” And I’m like, “I can’t get thrown out. I need to step out,” so she helped me step out, but people made it like she injured me and I was like, “No, Nia actually really helped me in that moment,” because I don’t know what, I would have belly flopped on the ground if I got thrown because I knew I couldn’t put my feet down.”
She further opened up with more details on her injury as well as her MRI results. “The next morning before Brie and I go do media and then fly out, I go get an MRI, Brie and I do our media, and then we’re sitting, we get an aperol spritz, a nice little lunch before we have to catch our flight, and then I get the call,” Bella added.
“Which sometimes calls aren’t that quick after an MRI, so when I saw one of our doctors calling, I was like, “Oh gosh,” so I answer and they’re like, “Don’t know how you managed to do all of it,” and then just broke it down to me that I tore, sprained and fractured my ankle and they’re like, “You’re just gonna have to go straight to Birmingham, you can’t go home, and we’re gonna get you in surgery ASAP.”
Not looking forward to rushing her comeback, Bella now wants to focus on her recovery and longevity. Despite acknowledging her age, Bella now looks forward to competing in possibly her last WrestleMania in Saudi Arabia next year.
Missing out on WrestleMania 42 was “extremely hard” for Nikki Bella, especially given that it might have been her last chance to have a real WrestleMania moment.
Nikki and her twin sister Brie were supposed to challenge for the Women’s Tag Team titles this past Saturday. But Nikki suffered an ankle injury prior to WrestleMania that prevented her from wrestling at the show. The event instead saw Brie team with the returning Paige to become the new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. Nikki did end up factoring into the match, interfering and using a crutch to help Brie & Paige get the win.
On a new episode of The Nikki & Brie Show, Nikki reflected on not being able to compete at Mania. She and Brie are expecting to retire when their WWE contracts come up in early 2028. With next year’s event being held in Saudi Arabia, that means Nikki probably won’t get to compete on another WrestleMania in the United States.
“I don’t think a WrestleMania moment for me is going to come around. I get that I’ll probably have my last WrestleMania next year in Saudi maybe, but other than that, that will be it for me,” Nikki said. “So this would have been my last WrestleMania moment to share with family members and share with people here and, you know, really feel something.
“And I’ve worked really hard the past year and a half and I haven’t complained. I’ve done what I’ve been told. You know, I’ve helped put people over — even though I don’t care about that. But I’ve really, as far as my character and the impact that I can have, I’ve been very okay taking a step back and helping out and not bitching about it.
“So this was my moment that I worked really hard for this past year and a half. And for that to all go away is extremely hard.”
Nikki is currently expecting to miss 6-8 weeks after tearing, spraining, and fracturing her ankle. But if it takes longer than that, she’s okay with it. Her primary focus right now is on longevity and making sure she doesn’t negatively impact her quality of life going forward.
Pulling out of WrestleMania 42 is something Brie Bella considered after Nikki’s injury. But opportunities like this are rare, and teaming with Paige in her return was especially appealing because the Bellas consider Paige to be family.
After missing out on competing at Saturday’s first night of WWE WrestleMania 42, Nikki Bella has given a timeline for her hopeful return to the ring.
Responding to a tweet asking for when she hopes to return, Bella replied “6-8 weeks hopefully.”
Bella revealed on Instagram Saturday that she “fractured, tore and sprained my ankle. It’s been a painful two weeks,” noting she will finally fill fans in soon on what’s been going on, assumed to be on her and sister Brie’s podcast. She later confirmed she had surgery for the injury.
The 42-year-old Bella was seen in a walking boot following a late-March SmackDown match, initially saying she would be back in a week’s time which was not the case.
She was replaced by the returning Paige in the four-way for the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles which Brie Bella and Page won. Dave Meltzer reported Sunday that The Bellas were slated to win the titles.
The questions about whether Nikki Bella would be able to compete at Saturday’s first night of WWE WrestleMania 42 action were answered early as she was unable to wrestle.
Now, we know why.
Bella revealed on Instagram Saturday that she “fractured, tore and sprained my ankle. It’s been a painful two weeks,” noting she will finally fill fans in soon on what’s been going on, assumed to be on her and sister Brie’s podcast.
Bella was replaced in the match by the returning Paige who won the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles with Brie. On the post-show, she said he had surgery in Birmingham, Alabama, and happened to see Paige there at the same time.
At WrestleMania 42 night one, Paige returned to WWE and worked her first match for the company in nearly a decade, teaming with Brie Bella to win the Women’s Tag Team titles. It was scheduled to be Nikki & Brie Bella teaming together in the match, but Nikki was unable to be cleared in time after suffering an ankle injury on SmackDown three weeks ago.
Nikki walked out with a crutch as The Bella Twins made their entrance tonight. Announcing that she would not be able to compete, Nikki said an “old friend” would be taking her place — bringing out Paige for her return.
That crutch ended up playing a big role in the fatal four-way match. Interfering during the finish, Nikki used the crutch as a weapon and struck Charlotte Flair with it. Paige then got her knees up when Alexa Bliss went for Twisted Bliss. She followed up with RamPaige on Bliss for the victory.
Nia Jax & Lash Legend were Women’s Tag Team Champions heading into tonight. The four-way bout featured Jax & Legend, Brie Bella & Paige, Charlotte & Bliss, and Bayley & Lyra Valkyria.
On commentary, Michael Cole brought up that Paige won the Divas Championship on her first night on the main roster back in 2014 and had now won gold again her first night back.
Paige was once medically disqualified from WWE due to neck issues, last wrestling for the company in December 2017. She remained with WWE in a non-wrestling role until departing the promotion in 2022. She then joined AEW, returning to the ring there and holding the AEW Women’s World Championship one time.
In March 2025, Paige (Saraya) and AEW mutually parted ways. She took the past year off from pro wrestling but had been training for her return recently.
Nikki Bella says she’s still in the four-way Women’s Tag Team title match at WrestleMania 42 despite being in a walking boot on Friday.
The Bellas were interviewed by Big E on the red carpet special ahead of the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony on Friday. Big E specifically asked if she was still in the four-way match at WrestleMania and Nikki responded that she is.
“I’m feeling great, just getting that extra rest in so I can be ready for tomorrow. Ready to win those tag titles.” Nikki answered when Big E asked how she was feeling.
Big E pointed out the walking boot Nikki was wearing and asked if she was still in the match at WrestleMania.
“Oh yeah. I’m there. I’m here, I would never leave Brie’s side ever. I’m still in it, I’m still there tomorrow and we’re going to win those tag titles.”
Brie added, “The Bella Twins are unstoppable, we are used to obstacles, and we overcome everything.”
PWInsider reported Friday that Bella will not be cleared in time for WrestleMania. The outlet also reported that Saraya, formerly Paige in WWE, has signed to return to the company and will be Nikki’s replacement in the bout.
The full red carpet special is available below. The video is queued to Big E speaking with the Bellas.
It’s being reported that the returning Paige could factor into WWE’s plans for the Women’s Tag Team title match with Nikki Bella unable to compete.
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The card for WWE WrestleMania 42 looks to have taken a hit with Nikki Bella unable to wrestle at the show.
PWInsider reports that Bella will not be cleared to compete at WrestleMania 42, where she and her twin sister Brie were scheduled to be part of a fatal four-way match for the Women’s Tag Team titles. The report does not say if WWE plans on adding a different team to the match or if it will proceed as a triple threat.
The match is scheduled for night one of WrestleMania this Saturday and was supposed to be Women’s Tag Team Champions Nia Jax & Lash Legend defending against The Bellas, Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss, and Bayley & Lyra Valkyria.
Bella suffered an ankle injury on the March 27 episode of SmackDown. Though she was initially optimistic about making it back in time for Mania, Dave Meltzer noted in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter this week that her status was still in question.
The Bellas — who are already WWE Hall of Famers — have never held the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles before. Winning the belts is one of their biggest goals before retirement, with Nikki & Brie planning to finish their in-ring careers when their current WWE contracts expire in 2027.
The status for Nikki Bella for next weekend’s WWE WrestleMania 42 is still up in the air, according to our Dave Meltzer.
Regarding whether Bella can compete in the four-way WWE Women’s Tag Team match, Meltzer stated that he was told earlier today that “it’s too close to call.”
The 42-year-old Bella was seen in a walking boot following a late-March SmackDown match, later saying she would be back in a week’s time. Several weeks later, that hasn’t been the case.
She and sister Brie are set to be in the four-way that also features Women’s Tag Team Champions Nia Jax & Lash Legend, Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss, and Bayley & Lyra Valkyria.
The delay is also the reason the IYO SKY vs. Asuka match has yet to be announced as our Bryan Alvarez reported that if Bella can’t go, Asuka and Kairi Sane will take their place, leaving SKY without an obvious match at the moment.
WWE WrestleMania 42 night one lineup | This Saturday
Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes defends against Randy Orton (w/ Pat McAfee)
Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer defends against Liv Morgan
Seth Rollins vs. Gunther
Women’s Intercontinental Champion AJ Lee defends against Becky Lynch
Women’s Tag Team Champions Nia Jax & Lash Legend defend against Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss, The Bella Twins, and Bayley & Lyra Valkyria
Unsanctioned match: Drew McIntyre vs. Jacob Fatu (ESPN2)
Logan Paul, Austin Theory & IShowSpeed vs. The Usos & LA Knight (ESPN2)
WWE WrestleMania 42 night two lineup | Next Sunday
World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk defends against Roman Reigns
WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill defends against Rhea Ripley
Finn Balor vs. Dominik Mysterio
United States Champion Sami Zayn defends against Trick Williams
Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi (ESPN)
Ladder match: Intercontinental Champion Penta defends against Je’Von Evans, Dragon Lee, Rusev, JD McDonagh, and Rey Mysterio (ESPN)
The most detailed look at how the Pat McAfee angle developed, its goal, why so many in the company are unhappy with it, where it is leading, addressing the biggest WrestleMania questions, what CM Punk aid, where Paul Levesque and Ari Emanuel fit in, as well as an update on WrestleMania tickets compared to last year, discount offers cutting price back and more
Preview to AEW Dynasty, matches and business notes as well as updates on Double or Nothing direction and business, as well as All In at Wembley Stadium.
Favorites for WrestleMania and Dynasty
Lots of business notes on WrestleMania
Callum Newman wins IWGP title and review of Sakura Genesis, what we learned, business, Best of the Super Juniors and Dontaku notes
NXT Stand & Deliver. Match rundowns and stories as well as business notes on the show
Texts from Paul Levesque to Nick Khan released in discovery regarding Vince McMahon’s involvement in booking when talent was told McMahon was out and Levesques frustration at the time
A detailed look at TNA pulling talent from advertised indie events that they had previously approved and a better way of handling it
A look at the career of 60s and 70s star Flying Fred Curry, one of the major stars of The Sheik’s heyday running Michigan and Ohio, son of Bull Curry and nine-time world tag team champion.
The arrest of Alberto el Patron, lots more details and his history, shows he’s been pulled from, an ironic aspect of this story n a reality show in Mexico late last year
The most detailed look at the ratings for all the television shows of the past week, with comparisons with last week, last year, demos and other stats, male vs. female percentage
More stats regarding the audience at Arena Mexico shows as well as a look back on a major week last week.
Saya Kamtani has major goal for Stardom’s big show later this month
Japanese television in 1985 and who were the draws
Ric Flair upset over WWE costing him a major merchandise deal
— Garrett Gonzales and I will be doing the show tonight since Bryan Alvarez will be at AEW Dynasty in Vancouver. We’ll also talk about Smackdown which we both attended but haven’t talked about to each other yet, Collision, the WWE angles, and the rest of today’s news. Bryan and I did a show last night covering UFC, Smackdown, the TNA PPV show and other pro wrestling and MMA news.
— AEW Dynasty tonight in Vancouver, BC:
4 p.m. Zero Hour
Marina Shafir vs. Alex Windsor
Megan Bayne & Lena Kross defend the women’s tag titles against Maya World & Hyan
Jack Perry defends the National title against Mark Davis
5 p.m.
David Finlay & Clark Connors & Gabe Kidd defend the trios titles against Orange Cassidy & Roderick Strong & ? (rumors to be Kyle O’Reilly who is from Vancouver)
Young Bucks vs. Konosuke Takeshita & Kazuchika Okada
Casino Gauntlet for the vacant TNT title. The first two entrants are Tommaso Ciampa and Rush. Nobody else is announced
Darby Allin vs. Andrade El Idolo for the title shot on Double or Nothing
Thekla defends the AEW women’s title against Jamie Hayter
Jon Moxley defends the Continental title against Will Ospreay
FTR defends the tag team titles against Adam Copeland & Christian Cage
MJF defends the AEW title against Kenny Omega
On paper, it looks strong. Maybe not Revolution level strong, but the key matches have had strong builds and most matches on paper look great. They had 8,699 tickets out as of last word. So it probably won’t hit 9,500 but it is the largest for a Dynasty show to date.
— We’re looking for your thoughts on both the AEW Dynasty show tonight as well as the TNA Rebellion show last night for our weekend polls. You can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match for each show to [email protected]
— Regarding WrestleMania ticket sales since Pat McAfee announced the ticket discount for Saturday and not Sunday, since Friday morning, the Saturday show has moved 1,265 tickets to 40,610 and the Sunday show, with no discount, has moved 1,452, to 42,769.
— Regarding Nikki Bella and participating in the match at WrestleMania, I was just told a few minutes ago, “it’s too close to call.”
— The WWE Hall of Fame ceremony will air on ESPN Unlimited at midnight this coming Friday night.
— The new main event for the Mark Hitchcock Memorial show is Ricochet & Gates of Agony vs. Michael Oku, Kevin Knight and Mike Bailey on 4/16. Tony Khan had a strong P.R. week essentially adding the Gates of Agony, Bailey and Knight after TNA pulled Leon Slater out of the prior main event with Ricochet. The general rule in booking AEW talent is that they don’t like doing major AEW vs. AEW matches with the idea they want those exclusively for AEW television, but Khan allowed them to do that because of how the situation went. Other AEW talent on that show are Bandido, Lee Johnson, Blake Christian and Mark Davis.
— CMLL has added Persephone vs. Tessa Blanchard for the CMLL women’s title to its Thursday 3 p.m. show at the Palms in Las Vegas.
— For Google searches, there was actually a decent amount of traction over the weekend. UFC was the biggest. In fact last night’s UFC show was No. 3 among everything for the weekend with 1,115,000 searches. There were six UFC topics in the top 55 for the weekend, including Jiri Prochazka, Cub Swanson, Aaron Pico, Paulo Costa, Curtis Blaydes, Josh Hokit and several others. The Tyson Fury fight did 100,000. Conor Benn’s fight did 20,000. Gable Steveson did 10,000. Anthony Joshua did 20,000. WrestleMania did 10,000. The highest pro wrestling number was for La Catalina believe it or not. Others that trended with 2,000 were Rhea Ripley, Royce Keys and Danhausen. Pat McAfee did not.
— A couple of items at last night’s AAA show. Catalina did arrive and was presented as a big star, unlike in CMLL where none of the women really are and Persephone is the biggest star. She immediately was put in a feud with Flammer for the Reina de Reinas title. Penta retained the IC title over El Hijo del Vikingo. They were pushing hard the Grande Americano vs. Grande Americano feud with the last word we heard the mask vs. mask match will headline the 5/30 show at Arena Monterrey.
— There was controversy regarding the show last night. In the match with Grande Americano Chad Gable against Octagon Jr., Gable unmasked Octagon Jr. right in front of the referee. Octagon Jr. hid his face and Gable pinned him. Mexican wrestling rules dating back at least 60 years call for unmasking in front of the ref to be a DQ. This is actually one of the most foundational rules there are. WWE has decided to change that rule. The reality is that AAA fans today are mostly WWE fans and not as much AAA fans, as seen by the biggest reaction coming for WWE wrestlers. It’s not going to hurt business or anything, and we knew going in that WWE was going to change matches to American style, but this was a change a lot of people were very surprised and unhappy about. I mean, I’m sad to see the change but I also expect every Lucha Libre rule that isn’t the same as WWE to eventually change.
— Both AAA and CMLL sold out last night with 5,500 and 6,000 in Mexico City, respectively last night. This was the 15th sellout in the last 16 weeks for CMLL at Arena Coliseo (the only miss was a Saturday night where the Mexican national soccer team played in Mexico City before 83,000 fans, and even that show was almost sold out). I believe that is the best run in history for the 83-year-old arena.
— Friday night sold out Arena Mexico with 16,000 fans, as Hechicero beat Angel de Oro as the last two. Angel de Oro had pinned Mistico when they were the last three, clean, to knock him out of the tournament and the crowd was very surprised and unhappy about that. The main event was an elimination match with all the CMLL title holders except Mascara Dorada, who had already qualified last week. Besides Mistico, Hechicero and Angel de Oro, it had Templario, Neon, Niebla Roja and Stigma. On 4/24, Mascara Dorada and Hechicero will be joined by the winner of the match on 4/17 with all the Mexican national champions for a three-way Universal title tournament final.
— Last night’s UFC match with Josh Hokit vs. Curtis Blaydes is the leading candidate so far for fight of the year. It was an amazing slugfest, super exciting and the advantage went back-and-forth for three rounds with the most punches thrown in a heavyweight three-rounder in UFC history. Both were hospitalized, but Hokit was booked for a fight in nine weeks against Derrick Lewis. President Trump was at the show. According to Dana White, Trump specifically asked for Lewis to be on the White House show. So they immediately called Lewis, who agreed to it. They booked Hokit based on beating Blaydes, but with the beating he took, nine weeks is a tough turnaround. Of course getting on the White House show for many, if not most (and absolutely not all) fighters, is a big deal.
— Other bouts that have been highly recommended this weekend were the Arena Mexico main event and the Champion Carnival main event from today with Go Shiozaki vs. Yuma Anzai from All Japan. Young Bucks vs. Hechicero & El Clon from Collision was also great.
— Regarding Gable Steveson, while he clearly has the athletic talent, this is very quick to be signed by UFC. They probably had to because I think there was a really good chance he got an offer from MVP for the Rousey vs. Carano fight, and UFC, which has been interested in him, sped up the process. Rushing guys into UFC is a major risk.
— Dirty White Boy Tony Anthony turned 65 today. Cibernetico turned 51. El Terrible turned 50. Jackie Redmond, the WWE TV announcer, turned 39. Mighty Inoue was born on this day in 1949. Promoter George Culkin was born on this day in 1926. Joe Louis, the legendary boxer, who was involved in pro wrestling, died 45 years ago today at 66. Mike Von Erich died 39 years ago today at 23. Mary Jane Mull died 27 years ago today at 70. Great Goliath of Gordman & Goliath fame died 22 years today at 69. Balls Mahoney died ten years ago today at 44. Joe Pedicino died six years ago today at 70 (thanks to Tony Richards).
— Santino Marella was suspended by TNA as a cover due to undergoing sleep apnea related surgery.
— For Create-a-Pro on 5/11 in Melville, NY, the MJF vs. Nic Nemeth match that TNA cancelled is now Nemeth vs. Bear Bronson and Kris Statlander, Max Caster and Smart Mark Sterling will be on the show. MJF will headline in an open challenge for the AEW title if he’s champion.
— KC Navarro and EC3 will return to TNA for Thursday’s Impact. Impact and Collision will be going head-to-head because TNT is airing NHL playoffs on Saturday night.
— Neon & Xelhua headlined Arena Mexico tonight against Hechicero & Volador Jr. plus Star Jr. vs. Soberano Jr. Mistico & Neon vs. Hechicero & Volador Jr. headlines Puebla on Monday.
Bella was recently put out of action after suffering an ankle injury. With her spot for WrestleMania 42 still not confirmed, Bella recently opened up about it. Awaiting the results of her MRI, Bella explained feeling “bummed” about it. (H/T Fightful)
“No, not at all,” Bella said while appearing on Angie Martinez’s YouTube channel. “I’ve been super bummed out about it, so, as of now, it’s a sprained ankle. We don’t know if it’s a high sprain or something else, so I got an MRI I’m waiting for the results.”
She further reflected on the exact spot where the injury happened. “In our match on Friday, so, it was our second tag match back together, and it happened right in the beginning of the match, and I finished the match. I can’t believe I finished the match, and I stressed out my poor sister.”
The Bella Twins (Nikki Bella & Brie Bella) wrestled on the March 27 edition of Friday Night SmackDown, where they faced the duo of Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair. During the match, Nikki Bella rolled her ankle and limped throughout the remainder of the match.
On the same appearance on Angie Martinez’s show, Brie Bella also added her thoughts on her sister’s injury.
“It’s my second match back in eight years. Like, so much anxiety in her first tag. So she tags me, and as I’m about to come in, she goes, ‘Oh, I think I broke my ankle,’ and we’re on live television. I was like, ‘Huh?’ I was like, ‘Do we need to call the match?’”
“I thought it possibly could be (broken), because I’ve had a break before and the rush that was going through my calf, and I couldn’t put weight on it, I was like, oh, I think I just broke my ankle and just how it felt, I just knew something was wrong but, I knew this was starting the story to WrestleMania. So in my head, I knew there were girls in the back waiting to run in. I knew there was just a lot of women a part of this match and I didn’t wanna let anyone down. But I still (had) like 10-12 minutes to go, and I was like, ‘My goodness…’ So every time I would tag in, I was like, ‘No, it’s really broken, Brie. It’s broken’ and the girl who we’re beating up is like, ‘Uh, put me in a hold?’ She’s like, ‘Wait, is her ankle broken?’” Nikki Bella added.
Despite Bella nursing her injury, she, alongside her sister, is currently advertised for the fatal-four-way women’s tag title match at WWE WrestleMania 42.
