The promotion announced on Tuesday that NXT’s Charlie Dempsey will be wrestling Timothy Thatcher at their Battle For The Belts event on December 15 in Clearwater, Florida. It will be Thatcher’s first WWN match in 5 years.
WWN is a governing body of companies best known for having Evolve as one of their brands until the promotion was sold to WWE in 2020. The body currently consists of American Combat Wrestling, Full Impact Pro, Grindhouse, Shine Wrestling, and Viva La Lucha.
WWE has been sending NXT talent to independent events, as well as TNA, in order to get more ring time. NXT talent Myles Borne, Demepsey, and Karmen Petrovic have been announced for the next Bloodsport event that takes place on November 24. Dempsey has wrestled for a variety of promotions during his WWE run, including squaring off against Katsuhiko Nakajima for the AJPW Triple Crown title on January 1 of this year.
Starting with this Sunday’s EVOLVE 114 event, every match from WWN’s promotions (which includes EVOLVE, SHINE, FIP, and more) will air live on Club WWN. That would include matches at EVOLVE shows featuring WWE/NXT wrestlers, which were previously dark matches that weren’t streamed live or part of the on-demand version of the event. WWN noted that “in the past, there were restrictions on certain matches. Those restrictions are now over.”
Mustafa Ali will be facing DJZ at EVOLVE 115 in Livonia, Michigan on November 9 and wrestling Darby Allin at EVOLVE 116 in Oak Lawn, Illinois on November 10. Kassius Ohno will be wrestling at EVOLVE 117 in Queens, New York on December 15 and EVOLVE 118 in Deer Park, New York on December 16.
At this Sunday’s show in Ybor City, Florida, it’s being teased that NXT’s Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford) will answer EVOLVE Tag Team Champions Chris Dickinson & Jaka’s open challenge.
WWN’s annual Supershow took place as part of WrestleMania week tonight, with Matt Riddle defending his newly-won EVOLVE Championship against Will Ospreay in the main event: Here are full results from the show:
DJZ, Trey Miguel & AR Fox defeated Austin Theory, Zachary Wentz & Travis Banks
This was a Dragon Gate-style rules match where tags weren’t required. Fox did a crazy inverted 450 splash to the outside. There was a big spot where everyone lined up for a draping DDT, with Miguel finishing with a neckbreaker that sent everyone reeling.
It was a fast, frenetic opener with a lot of cool dives and spots. DJZ picked up the win for his team with a 450 splash on Wentz.
DJZ and Theory exchanged words after the bout. That seems to be the next WWN title program.
Jason Kincaid came out for his match, but Jarek 1:20 jumped him. The attack stemmed from an angle from earlier in the afternoon at EVOLVE 103. Jarek also laid out a referee. He took a pair of handcuffs and cuffed Kincaid to a guardrail, wrapped a chair around him, and gave him a big boot. Referees finally came in and broke it up.
Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Munenori Sawa
Sawa and Sabre lit each other up with hard slaps. A few minutes in, Sawa’s neck was blotchy due to all the hard strikes. Sawa was in control until they met on the apron. Sabre wrenched his arm, then tied him up on the ropes.
Sabre started targeting an arm, but Sawa came back with an octopus stretch. Sabre looked for a cross armbreaker, but Sawa countered and tried for one of his own. Sabre locked in his Orienteering with Napalm Death submission and Sawa quickly submitted in what was a fun, hard-hitting technical match.
Anthony Henry & James Drake defeated Dominic Garrini & Tracy Williams and The End in a New Orleans street fight
Garrini started things off with a big dive to the floor.There were lots of ladder and weapons shots. They built to a spot where Parrow was powerbombed into a table, but the table did not break. Henry wrapped a ladder on Garrini’s foot and both Drake and Henry hit the leg with steel chair shots.
Odinson and Parrow hit the Super Collider and brought tables back into the ring. Odinson speared Garrini into a table that was set up in the corner. Drake hit a moonsault on Parrow, but Henry broke it up and told him to end it — I thought he was just about to?
They destroyed both members of The End with chair shots, then pinned Odinson after Henry did a double foot stomp through a table, which again didn’t break. Fun brawl.
SHINE Champion LuFisto defeated Holidead to retain her title
LuFisto pinned Holidead with a Burning Hammer after Holidead missed a leg drop off the top rope. Short back-and-forth match that was solid overall.
LuFisto said she is the women’s revolution and everything else is a marketing gimmick for Barbie dolls. At SHINE 50, she doesn’t care who they bring, she will take them down. She will have the SHINE title until she retires. Kimber Lee came out and had a staredown with LuFisto, indicating she may be next.
Daisuke Sekimoto defeated Keith Lee
They started off slow, testing one another. It turned into a chopping battle, with Lee getting the better of it initially. Sekimoto powerslammed Lee and tackled him to the corner, applying an abdominal stretch. Lee escaped and went to suplex Sekimoto, but Sekimoto countered by suplexing him.
Favoring his back, Lee was in control. He hit a Spirit Bomb. Sekimoto fought back and hit a straightjacket German suplex for the win.
Nick Gage made his way out after the match and laid out Lee. Security ran in, but Gage laid them all out as well. He cut a promo on Lee and the upcoming Style Battle event tomorrow. Lee got to his feet after the match and cut a promo of his own.
EVOLVE Tag Team Champions Catch Point (Chris Dickinson & Jaka) defeated Ringkampf (WALTER & Timothy Thatcher) to retain their titles
Ringkampf worked on Jaka and kept him grounded. Dickinson got the hot tag, kept Thatcher grounded with an armbar, and continued to tag in Jaka — who isolated Thatcher from WALTER. WALTER eventually did get tagged in and started chopping everyone.
Dickinson and WALTER started booting and kicking the tar out of one another as Jaka and Thatcher came in. WALTER took Jaka to the corner and Dickinson tried to break it up, but WALTER caught him in a sleeper. Jaka then splashed WALTER. Thatcher went for the butterfly suplex on Jaka, but Dickinson came in from behind and Catch Point were able to plant Thatcher with the Death Trap for the win. Really good tag match, some good mat wrestling early.
Tracy Williams grabbed the mic and said that is what Catch Point is all about. He said they need to address the elephant in the room. He turned his attention to Stokely Hathaway, saying his services are no longer needed. Hathaway said he owns Catch Point and he can’t be fired, but he can fire Williams.
Garrini low blowed Williams from behind. Dickinson ripped off Williams’ shirt and left him laying.
EVOLVE Champion Matt Riddle defeated Will Ospreay to retain his title
Things started off hot quickly with both of them taking it to the apron, where Riddle laid out Ospreay with a German suplex. There was some good back and forth from here. Ospreay hit a standing Shooting Star Press and a side slam for some near falls. Riddle responded with a powerbomb and a knee strike.
Riddle went for a rear naked choke, but Ospreay climbed to the top rope and looked to slam him. Riddle reversed it and sent him crashing to the ground. Referees came in and pretended like Ospreay was badly hurt. Riddle was taken to the corner as Ospreay slowly got up, then Riddle smashed him with a knee and removed the tape on his neck, following that up with a senton.
Riddle went for a cradle piledriver, but Ospreay sunk in a triangle. Riddle escaped and started to fight back. Ospreay went for the OsCutter, but Riddle caught him in the Bromission and Ospreay had no other option but to tap.
Great match, probably one of the top matches of the weekend thus far, though I didn’t like the injury spot. This match didn’t need it. Regardless, both men complimented each other well and they had a great bout.
Ospreay will be on the April 5th EVOLVE show and the April 6th WWN Supershow. Gabe Sapolsky told Sports Illustrated that on the latter show, he’s 90 percent sure that he’s putting Ospreay against Matt Riddle. Ospreay and Riddle had their first singles match against each other for PROGRESS Wrestling last year.
Ospreay, voted Best Flyer in the 2016 Observer awards, has worked for EVOLVE in the past and both ROH and EVOLVE attempted to sign him at the end of last year. He signed a one-year deal exclusive for the United States market with ROH which has just expired.
He’s a former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion and is in a key match at NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 12 show on January 4th, a four-way for the title with Marty Scurll, Hiromu Takahashi, and KUSHIDA.
WWN is bringing in an outside name for a few of their WrestleMania week shows.
After Gabe Sapolsky hyped him up as someone he’s been trying to book for years, it was announced today that Daisuke Sekimoto will be wrestling at EVOLVE shows on April 5th and 6th and the WWN Supershow on the 6th in Louisiana. Sekimoto will be in action exclusively at those events, which will take place at the Pontchartrain Center.
Sekimoto, who received votes for Most Outstanding Wrestler in the 2016 Observer awards and in years past, wrestles for Big Japan Pro Wrestling, as well as AJPW and other promotions. His matches for WWN will be the first time he’s appeared stateside in several years. No opponents for him have been announced yet.
EVOLVE will be going against a Revolution Pro Wrestling show on April 6th, with Hiroshi Tanahashi previously confirmed for RevPro. Tanahashi (along with Kenny Omega) is also scheduled for ROH’s Supercard of Honor XII on April 7th in New Orleans.
The relationship between FloSports and WWN, Inc. took another turn for the worse this afternoon.
Despite the ongoing legal situation, EVOLVE’s shows in Livonia, Michigan tonight and Summit, Illinois tomorrow had been scheduled to stream live on FloSlam — but that now won’t be happening. WWN’s Gabe Sapolsky announced on Twitter today that FloSlam won’t be airing tonight’s show.
“FloSlam is refusing to broadcast tonight’s EVOLVE event,” Sapolsky wrote. “We apologize, but this is their decision. Please contact them for customer issues.”
Sapolsky added that WWN is doing their best to get tonight’s show on their own website as soon as possible, which is how they used to offer events before their deal with FloSports began last year.
No WWN events are currently listed on the FloSlam schedule. IPW:UK’s Supershow 12, which will air on November 19th, is the only upcoming event currently listed.
News broke yesterday that FloSports had filed a lawsuit against WWN on September 15th in U.S. District Court in Travis County, Texas that asked for more than $1 million in damages. It alleged that WWN provided them with “just plain false” data on how many people were ordering events, causing FloSports to make a deal based on those numbers.
FloSports and WWN announced a five-year agreement in October of 2016, with shows from WWN promotions (EVOLVE, FIP, SHINE, and Style Battle) anchoring the streaming service’s content lineup since.
WWN attorney Samuel Heller released a statement earlier today claiming that FloSports was using the press to spread false statements about WWN. Heller also wrote that FloSports had failed to live up to their contractual obligations and that FloSlam is a mismanaged and failing platform.
UPDATE: FloSports confirmed that WWN events will no longer be available on FloSlam going forward: “Planned coverage of WWN events will no longer be available on FloSlam. This includes EVOLVE, SHINE, FIP, Style Battle, and ACW events. We know fans are excited about these events and we’re disappointed to share that we will no longer provide the coverage you deserve and expect. If you’d like a refund, please email [email protected] with the subject line ‘FloSlam Refund Request,’ and our team will assist you.”
Tonight’s EVOLVE show will be available on WWN’s website and they’re offering a $5 refund to FloSlam subscribers who purchase it if they send proof of their subscription.
What looks to be an ugly split between WWN, Inc. (the parent company of EVOLVE, FIP, and Shine) and FloSports, which has been airing their events on its FloSlam platform, continued today with WWN’s attorney making a statement alleging FloSports had failed to live up to their contracted obligations and called FloSlam a failing subscription streaming platform.
FloSports filed a lawsuit for more than $1 million on September 15th in U.S. District Court in Travis County, Texas, alleging that WWN misled them by providing inflated numbers for how many people were ordering the EVOLVE events on Internet PPV, which caused FloSports to make a deal based on those numbers.
Joshua Gavin, who worked for WWN, in a Fightful article backed up claims in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit was clearly an attempt to get out of the terms of the current contract.
WWN attorney Samuel Heller released a statement earlier today regarding the lawsuit saying:
“While we prefer not to litigate cases in the media, it is clear that FloSports is attempting to use the press to create leverage in this dispute by spreading false, defamatory and misleading statements about WWN. In reality, FloSports has wholly failed to honor its contractual obligation to promote WWN’s events, and has been unable to successfully integrate WWN into its mismanaged and failing subscription streaming platform. At no time has WWN provided incorrect, false or misleading information and this lawsuit is nothing more than a transparent effort to FloSports to avoid its responsibility to WWN, its talent and its fans. We are confident that the litigation will result favorably to WWN.”
It should be noted that FloSports did not go to the media, nor have they at this point commented to the media, but only filed suit.
Both sides were promoting the EVOLVE shows tonight in Livonia, Michigan and tomorrow night in Summit, Illinois, on the service.
The World Wrestling Network has announced next year’s schedule for their annual WrestleMania weekend events, and the 2017 edition in Orlando, FL looks to be the biggest weekend in company history.
Britain’s PROGRESS Wrestling will promote its first stateside events for WWN as part of the weekend, with a standalone show on March 31st and a co-branded EVOLVE vs. PROGRESS edition of WWN’s annual Mercury Rising Supershow on April 1st.
Though they didn’t run a show, PROGRESS was part of the WrestleMania 32 festivities in Dallas earlier this year with a title match between Marty Scurll and Will Ospreay on the WrestleCon Supershow.
EVOLVE will promote two standalone events with shows on March 30th and 31st.
Beyond Wrestling and CHIKARA will also join WWN’s weekend events for the first time. And SHIMMER and Kaiju Big Battel will return with shows.
One of the most exciting things about WrestleMania weekend (particularly this year!) is the buffet of non-WWE offerings taking place all weekend long. Here on the Dr. Keith Presents show, we certainly love our indy wrestling and Alan is joined this week by two indy wrestling experts in Mike Falcone and a returning guest from our early years: Travis McNeill (T-MACK to some!!!).
In a show that flies by, the lads run the gamete of everything going down in Dallas during Wrestlemania week from Lio Rush’s big title match opportunity in ROH to the Ryder Cup-esque goings on in EVOLVE at EDDIE DEEN’S RANCH, and of course, the amazing hodge podge card at WrestleCon.
The collection of talent on display over the three days is off the charts, the best in the world are converging on Dallas! All the big matches, all the storyline possibilities, it’s all covered this week on a MASSIVE 2-hour DKP!!! CHECK IT!!!!
Gabe Sapolsky announcd Tuesday that Kota Ibushi will be part of the three WWN-related “supershows” over WrestleMania weekend in Dallas, TX.
Ibushi, a former DDT and New Japan star, will return after a neck injury in two weeks. The current free agent has talked about starting his own group in Japan, and there has been rumors he would appear on the WrestleMania weekend shows for the past week.
On Twitter, Sapolsky announced he would be at all three shows: Evolve on 4/1 and 4/2, and the WWN Super Show on 4/2.
Ibushi has already made it clear he’s interested in appearing in WWE’s summer cruiserweight tournament. Evolve, WWN, and WWE has a relationship with WWE talent doing autograph signings on Evolve shows and William Regal has already been announced as being part of two upcoming March New York shows doing interaction with talent.
Ibushi is one of the world’s most spectacular performers and had the 2015 match of the year award winner at the Tokyo Dome on 1/4 against Shinsuke Nakamura.
On Monday, the relationship between WWE, WWN, and Evolve Wrestling continued to develop as WWN announced that NXT General Manager William Regal will appear at Evolve’s next two shows in New York.
He will be available for pictures and autographs at both the March 19th event in Queens, NY, and the following night in Brooklyn. Regal will have an undisclosed role at both shows as well.
Regal first made an appearance at the Evolve 54 show in Orlando, held the same weekend as the Royal Rumble, where he helped set up the Evolve title match between Timothy Thatcher and former UFC fighter Matt Riddle, who WWE is said to be interested in. It’s fair to assume that Regal would be looking at talent for the Global Cruiserweight series scheduled to take place on the WWE Network this summer.
