Former WWE star Lacey Lane, who wrestled under the name of Kayden Carter, answered Mercedes Mone’s TBS title open challenge yesterday.
Mone said she would wrestle anyone who is local to Florida considering they were in the state for their Title Tuesday homecoming.
The former WWE and NXT Women’s Tag Team champion said that she crossed paths with Mone earlier in her career, but there’s no record of that ever happening. But that did not change anything as Mone successfully defended her title, now crossing 500 days as champion.
Lane made her Ring of Honor debut two weeks ago, losing a match against Mina Shirakawa for the Interim ROH Women’s TV title.
Smackdown’s ratings continued to plummet with the new Nielsen methodology, with the show drawing just 1,030,000 viewers, down 208,000 viewers from the prior week. The show faced stiff sports competition in the form of the WNBA Playoffs game one and college football. The show had a 0.23 rating in 18-49, down 0.12 from last week and ranked #3 on the top 50 cable chart for the night and #4 overall in all of television. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)
Killer Kross and Scarlett sat down with Chris Van Vliet at West Coast Creative Studio in Hollywood, California to discuss their time in WWE coming to an end, the conversations regarding contracts possibly being renewed, the viral promo after WrestleMania and the reaction to it, being added to WrestleMania at the last minute, what’s next for them in wrestling, possibly returning to WWE or signing with AEW, and more!
On the day the contract expired:
Scarlett: “I’d say we knew for months what was happening, what was going to happen. I hope it’s okay for me to say this, but I’m kind of his Game of Thrones Red Woman. I have been for a long time when it comes to astrology and looking things up, and a lot of the stuff I do on the paranormal show is a bit real with the tarot cards. So I did see that we were going to have some sort of contract dispute, but it was going to take a while. And I did feel in my gut like we’re going to step away since like, February.”
Karrion Kross: “I mean, we’ve told very few people about that, but yeah.”
Were you trying to make things work then?
Kross: “Always trying to make things work, always trying to make the best of anything and everything, right?”
Scarlett: “You approached Hunter back in January, actually letting him know that you want to stay.”
Kross: “And you. I said we would both like to stay.”
On Scarlett’s contract negotiations:
Scarlett: “So after you talked to the representative of talent relations about your contract. One of the last questions before the 24-hour notice was given, Kevin asked where I stood in all these contract negotiations. And they said, ‘We’ll get to her once we’re done with you,’ which I took as them using me as leverage against him. I do feel like if he agreed within the 24 hours that they would have offered me something, would it have been the same amount as it was before? Would it have been less? I don’t know. But all in all, it felt like a massive, massive red flag, and I did feel like it did come off a bit misogynistic, because originally I was hired before you, and the idea that I have no value without him, and it’s only determined by whether or not he signs, that came off as very misogynistic to me.”
Kross: “I told you this a long time ago, but didn’t really ever publicly talk about this. When I signed to go from NXT to Raw, somebody said the exact same thing to me over the phone. I asked her, I said, ‘What do you think?’ At that time we had no reason to ever think it would be strange or go sideways, so I signed it, being told we’ll get to her after we get to you. I go up to Raw, then we go into like Mad Max and the ThunderDome, and she’s at home. So I was like, well, I’m not gonna do that again. We already saw exactly what happened with that.”
Scarlett: “I was clear to manage, but not wrestle. So at any point, I could have come up and done exactly what we did on NXT, but they said they wanted to separate us and wanted me to wrestle once I was clear after the breast augmentation that popped during that dark match. But then I was cleared, and it was a few days later that they actually fired both of us.”
Kross: “She was at TakeOver when I wrestled Joe to drop the belt, she was ready to manage, and they told her, ‘Don’t go out.’ We’re just like, what’s going on here? I was like, can we address this publicly? And they were like, ‘No, don’t talk about it.’ I was like, This is bizarre.”
On his viral promo after WrestleMania:
Kross: “So we do that. Everybody loved it. We leave. The next day was weird at Raw. So aside from everything that I’ve talked about, so we don’t talk about it again, I get a phone call from somebody in talent relations, and he says, ‘Creative is not happy. There’s heat. They’re pissed.’ I was like, Well, I apologize about that. Let me go take care of that right now. I have a great relationship with them. They’re right across the hall. He’s like uh, I said, ‘No, no, dude, this is my fault. Let me take care of it. No problem.’ I go across the hall. I speak to some of the writers, explain everything. They’re like, ‘We have no idea what you’re talking about. We haven’t talked to that guy in two weeks.’ Some of them didn’t even see it. So I was like, What’s going on here? So walk around the building and just looking at everything, everyone’s saying, Hello, everything feels fine. I call him back, no answer. The next day, no answer. I think it was like the third day he finally picked up. He’s like, ‘Yeah, I shouldn’t have said it that way. I apologize, it was actually Hunter.’ And I was like, man. ‘So since we spoke, have you talked to Hunter and explained everything to him that I explained to you?’ He’s like, ‘No.’ And I was like, so you’re letting our boss just sit there and fume for how many days now? You could have just told me this on Monday. He was down the hall. Could go talk to him and just explain all this. This is like a misunderstanding. So I eventually did speak with Hunter and cleared the air with him, you know, it’s a massive company with a lot of different departments, and not all of them are in lockstep with communication. He was super cool about it once we spoke to him, he understood where I was coming from and what I was trying to do. It wasn’t like a live thing. It was on YouTube. But just weird.”
On what’s next for them:
Kross: “To be honest, everything we’ve been doing has been really enjoyable. I’ll speak for me personally, having the freedom to assess the audience, where we’re at on the show, where we’re out on the card, who I’m working with, what everyone else is going to be doing on the show, and how to diversify what we’re going to do on the tail end of it, and be able to bring that to life and hear the reactions and feel that. I mean, I love being in WWE, but being able to actually perform my artistry in the way that I know people want to see it, and being able to hear that and feel that back, nothing beats that. Nothing beats that. I want to do more of that. I want to go back to the places that I was performing. I’m interested in going to new places. I’m very content with the schedule that we’ve been building and what we’re doing, going to the conventions, being able to meet fans, aligning that with the book tour, man, it’s been awesome. Being able to meet people, especially the New England area, people coming from Providence, that’s where things really took off with the ‘We want Kross’ stuff. There’s people driving from all over the northeast to meet us in these different places, in these cities, and they all have their story about where they were when that took off. Being able to hear that people getting tattoos of our characters on them.”
Scarlett: “People naming their babies after us. I know that sounds insane, but people have come up saying, Hey, this is ‘Scarlett Karrion.’ And there’s been another Scarlett.”
Kross: “Just being able to show up anywhere, at any time and do anything, and creating an air of unpredictability at these shows, I think also serves something very interesting to fans as well.”
The TNA Knockouts will be involved in a battle royal on NXT next week.
At the conclusion of Showdown, NXT GM Ava informed TNA Director of Authority Santino Marella that there will be a battle royal to crown the number one contender for the NXT Women’s title at Halloween Havoc and wanted to extend the invitation to the TNA Knockouts.
Marella immediately accepted the invitation, confirming that some of TNA’s women will be in the match.
Halloween Havoc is scheduled for Saturday, October 25 at the Findlay Toyota Center in Prescott Valley, Arizona.
NXT and TNA shared the spoils last night at Showdown, with each brand winning two matches.
The Hardys kicked off the party first by winning the NXT Tag Team titles from DarkState, giving TNA a 1-0 advantage.
That was followed by the women’s elimination tag team match which saw Team NXT, thanks to Jacy Jayne and Sol Ruca being the sole survivors, giving the win to NXT to make things even at 1-1.
Ethan Page then successfully defended the NXT North American title against Mustafa Ali after Ali had his foot tangled in the microphone cable, preventing him from moving freely. That tipped the numbers in NXT’s favor and moved to 2-1.
But the TNA men’s team had the last laugh and stood tall in the middle of the ring as the broadcast was coming to a close, with Mike Santana and Moose last eliminating NXT champion Ricky Saints in the men’s elimination match, bringing the night to a close with 2-2.
Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics is reporting that this year’s AEW All In which was held at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas drew much less attendance than initially reported.
AEW President Tony Khan said that the figure was close to 29,000 during the post-show press conference but Thurston said that official documentation by the City of Arlington show that there were 21,973 fans in attendance and a total number of 23,759 which includes employees, vendors etc.
As for suites, 678 tickets were sold but only 274 showed up for the show.
Since AEW had applied for around $1 million in state and local funds to cover the show based on initial projections of a higher turnout, the City of Arlington said that AEW’s reimbursement will be proportionally less since it fell short of expectations.
The 21,973 attendance would still be classified as AEW’s largest attendance in the United States, but falls way short of previous All In shows at Wembley Stadium, with this year’s show drawing 50% less than last year’s.
Three matches were added to the WrestleDream card last night on Dynamite Title Tuesday, two of which are for titles.
Kazuchika Okada and Konosuke Takeshita earned an AEW Tag Team title match after they defeated champions Brodido in a double jeopardy match and this was confirmed to be taking place on the pay-per-view.
The other title match involves TNT champion Kyle Fletcher defending his belt against Mark Briscoe. Fletcher retained he title last night against Kyle O’Reilly.
Also Jurassic Express will take on The Young Bucks in a tag team match where $500,000 will be up for grabs. Putting dollar amount in matches has been a new trend for AEW lately.
WrestleDream takes place on Sunday, October 18 live from the Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, Missouri.
Matt Cardona will have his first match under the WWE banner next week for the first time since March 2020.
Cardona was part of a backstage segment with NXT General Manager Ava last night and complained about not being part of Team TNA. Josh Briggs was also involved in the segment and was mad about Cardona due to what happened the previous week. Ava then made the match official for next week’s NXT.
Cardona last wrestled for WWE on the March 9, 2020 episode of Raw, losing to Bobby Lashley in just 1 minute and 20 seconds. He was released from the company the following month due to budget cuts from the COVID-19 pandemic, ending his 15-year run with WWE.
Since then, Cardona reinvented himself on the indie scene and is one of the most popular indie wrestlers today, keeping himself very busy wrestling with AEW, ROH, Impact, GCW, NWA, and many other promotions.
The September 29 episode of Raw on Netflix drew 2,300,000 viewers globally, the same number of the prior week and ties for the least-watched episode of the show so far.
The show was #8 on the Netflix top 10 global chart and registered 4,500,000 viewing hours based on a running time of one hour and 53 minutes.
The show was only in the top 10 in six different countries with Bolivia, Canada, Ecuador, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom, and United States the ones registering.
In Oklahoma, which has very strict DUI laws, at the local level in Tulsa, a conviction may have very serious personal and legal issues for the defendant, which may include large fines, loss of license, time in jail, and a permanent mark on that person’s record. Also, for many charged with DUI, it goes far beyond the legal issue at hand; the importance of a good lawyer in this type of case and understanding the laws that apply to them also play a large role in what the outcome will be and in what the driver’s future holds.
The Basics of DUI Charges in Tulsa
Oklahoma’s DUI policies are very clear, and what is found is that a driver will be charged if they are caught having a BAC at or over .08%. That said, even if the BAC is below .08, there is still a chance that a person may be charged, which is if alcohol, drugs, or other psychoactive substances have affected their ability to safely operate a vehicle.
Tulsa police are trained at recognizing signs of impaired drivers, which include but are not limited to speeding, swerving, and running red lights. Once a driver is pulled over, they may be asked to take field sobriety tests or submit to a breathalyzer. In the case of refusal to take a breath or blood test, drivers may have their license suspended immediately under Oklahoma’s implied consent law.
The Legal Consequences of a DUI
In Tulsa, DUI penalties can also include several variables, such as past offenses, blood alcohol content, and if there was an accident or not, which also may determine the sentence.
For first-time DUI convictions, which include:
Up to one year in jail
Fines of up to $1,000
License suspension for 180 days
Required to take part in an alcohol or drug treatment program.
Repeat offenses, which are a third time or more into the judicial system, present stiffer penalties, which include longer terms of jail, greater fines, and license revocation for multi-year periods. Also, in some states the court may order what is known as an Ignition Interlock Device (IID), which will not allow a vehicle to start if it detects alcohol on the driver’s breath.
Beyond that which is legal, a DUI conviction may also produce long-term results. These may be in the form of higher auto insurance rates, difficulty getting into certain jobs, and a damaged personal as well as professional reputation.
The Role of a Tulsa DUI Lawyer
When it comes to a DUI charge, defendants are put into a very complex legal system that includes many procedures, deadlines, and high-stake issues. That is when the value in having experienced legal representation becomes clear. In Tulsa a DUI lawyer may look at the facts of the case, evaluate the legitimacy of the traffic stop, and determine if the evidence used, such as from a breathalyzer, was obtained properly.
A defense attorney does not step in to support drunk driving but to see that each client is treated fairly by the law. In some cases this may include negotiating a plea agreement, bringing forward unreliability in evidence, or working for lower charges, which may include reckless driving.
For instance, individuals looking for information on local options for DUI defense can check out Tulsa DUI lawyer to contribute to the understanding of the issues related to DUI in the region.
Common Defenses in DUI Cases
Not all DUI charges go to conviction. What good lawyers do is identify flaws in the prosecution’s case, which:
Faulty breathalyzer calibration: Breath testing equipment should be properly maintained and tuned. Issues in this area may result in incorrect readings.
Unlawful traffic stops: Police at a stop must have reason to. If the stop was illegal any collected evidence will be inadmissible.
Improper field sobriety testing: In some cases health issues, environmental variables, or poor road quality may impact field sobriety results.
Violation of Miranda rights: If police do not advise a suspect of their rights upon arrest, any statements made post-arrest may be left out of court.
These defenses don’t always lead to an acquittal, but they do show the value of having someone with knowledge of DUI laws and procedures review each issue in a case.
The Importance of Understanding Defendant Rights
Many individuals that find themselves charged with DUI are overcome with shame or guilt, which in turn may cause them to act out of character, like pleading guilty without fully understanding what it means. It is important to note that a charge is not a conviction. Also to bear in mind is that defendants have the right to:
A fair trial
Legal representation
Protection from unlawful searches and seizures
Access to evidence used against them
Exerting those rights may greatly affect the result of a DUI case.
Reducing the Occurrence of DUIs
While action in court is important after a DUI arrest, prevention is still the best approach. Advocates for road safety encourage responsible decision-making which includes the use of designated drivers, ride-share services, or public transport when alcohol consumption is expected. Additionally, education is seen as a key element that increases knowledge of how various substances affect the body and brain, which in turn may encourage better choices before getting in a car.
Conclusion
DUI laws in Tulsa are put in place for public safety, which also brings to light the responsibility that goes along with operating a vehicle. For those that find themselves charged, it is of great benefit to know the legal process and have access to professional representation. This may include an understanding of BAC levels, protecting individual rights, or going through court processes—but being informed is the first step toward resolution.
Anyone interested in learning more about DUI defense and Oklahoma’s legal standards can check out resources, which include Tulsa DUI Lawyer for local information and guidance on how DUI cases are run. Informing oneself is a step that helps drivers protect their rights as well as make the roads safer.
The Hardys won the NXT Tag Team titles last night at Showdown, defeating DarkState in the opening match of the night.
Dressed in all white and with The Dudley Boyz and TNA President Carlos Silva watching from front row, Matt and Jeff finished the DarkSate with a Twist of Fate and a Swanton Bomb.
The WWE Performance Center was obviously all pro-Hardys despite they were representing TNA and the crowd exploded once the referee hit the three-count.
This is The Hardys’ first run with the NXT Tag Team titles and they end DarkState’s 44-day run which started at Heatwave after they beat Hank and Tank.
The TNA Tag Team titles were also on the line in this winners-take-all match.
The much-hyped NXT/TNA Showdown will be taking place tonight live from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. Originally called Invasion, the name was eventually changed to Showdown out of respect for the victims of the October 7, 2023 invasion of Hamas in Israel.
Four matches are on the card for tonight, including two title matches and two Survivor Series-style elimination matches.
In the men’s elimination match, Team NXT will consist of NXT champion Ricky Saints, TNA champion Trick Williams, Je’Von Evans, and Myles Borne as they take on Team TNA with #1 contender for the TNA title Mike Santana, Frankie Kazarian, Moose, and TNA X Division champion Leon Slater. Joe Hendry will be the referee for the match.
In the women’s elimination match, Team NXT has NXT Women’s champion Jacy Jayne, NXT Women’s North American champion Sol Ruca, Jaida Parker, and Lola Vice against Team TNA with TNA Knockouts champion Kelani Jordan, TNA Knockouts Tag Team champions The IInspiration, and Mara Sade.
Plus, The Hardys take on DarkState in a winners-take-all match for both the NXT and TNA Tag Team titles and Ethan Page defends the NXT North American title against Mustafa Ali.
NXT/TNA Showdown airs tonight live on The CW at 8PM ET and on Netflix everywhere else.
AEW will be having a special edition of Dynamite tonight on TBS, titled Title Tuesday, as the show is moved from its regular Wednesday night time slot due to the MLB. It will also run for two and a half hours instead of the usual two hours.
Title Tuesday will be coming to you live from a familiar place, a place which AEW calls home in Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida.
Despite the name of the show, only two title matches will be on the card, with Kyle Flethcher defending the TNT title against Kyle O’Reilly and Mercedes Mone defending the TBS title in an open challenge against someone local from Florida.
Plus, there’s Pac vs Orange Cassidy, Tomohori Ishii vs Jon Moxley, The Hurt Syndicate vs The Demand in a trios street fight, and Brodido vs Kazuchika Okada and Konosuke Takeshita in a double jeopardy elimination match where if Okada and Takeshita win they earn a shot at the AEW Tag Team titles.
And, Jurassic Express return to tag team action for the first time in three years and “Hangman” Adam Page and Samoa Joe come face-to-face ahead of their AEW title match at WrestleDream.
Dynamite airs on TBS and HBO Max starting at 8PM ET.
The Los Angeles Times is reporting that Raja Jackson, the son of MMA fighter Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, will be facing two charges for his role in the beatdown of Syko Stu at the KnokX Pro Wrestling event this past August.
The 25-year-old will be charged with one count of felony battery with serious bodily injury and one count of misdemeanor battery.
Raja made headlines for all the wrong reasons when he assaulted KnokX Pro wrestler Syko Stu with 22 blows to the head and face in what was supposed to be just a run-in angle to play off an earlier incident between the two where Stu smashed a beer bottle on Raja’s head.
He was arrested last month and held on a $50,000 bond, which was posted later in the night.
The LA Times adds that prosecutors will seek a sentencing enhancement because of the great bodily injury he inflicted on Stu, real name Stuart Smith.
A criminal complaint is expected to be filed Tuesday, according to the district attorney’s office.
KnokX Pro Wrestling, owned by WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi, lost its WWE ID status as part of the whole incident.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson issued a statement on social media after box office numbers of The Smashing Machine were a huge disappointment, doing just $6 million in the opening weekend and marking his worst opening in his movie career so far.
Deadline.com also added that Johnson was only paid $4 million for the movie, which he considered a personal project, way below his $20 million-plus typical pay for other movies. Johnson actually walked away with less than $4 million as the publication says that he gave a portion of his paycheck to his co-star Emily Blunt and Mark Kerr.
“From deep in my grateful bones, thank you to everyone who has watched ‘The Smashing Machine’. In our storytelling world, you can’t control box office results — but what I realized you can control is your performance, and your commitment to completely disappear and go elsewhere,” Johnson wrote in a post on social media.
“And I will always run to that opportunity. It was my honor to transform in this role for my director Benny Safdie. Thank you brother for believing in me. Truth is this film has changed my life. With deep gratitude, respect and radical empathy, dj,” he concluded.
Tommy Dreamer will be the one inducing Angelina Love and Velvet Sky of The Beautiful People into the TNA Hall of Fame this weekend.
Speaking to Gabby LaSpisa, Dreamer said it was a big honor for him when they asked, so of course he accepted.
The ceremony for the TNA Hall of Fame class of 2025 will take place this Sunday at Bound For Glory. Apart from The Beautiful People, Mickie James is also being inducting, with Lisa Marie Varon doing the honors for her.
LaSpisa, who hosts the Gabby AF Podcast, will be hosting the Hall of Fame ceremony.
The fifth and final match for the Crown Jewel: Perth card was revealed yesterday and it will be a Clash in Paris rematch with Romain Reigns taking on Bronson Reed.
The match will have a stipulation and it will be an Australian street fight, a gimmick match which hardly got any reaction from the crowd last night when it was suggested by Paul Heyman.
Reigns was stretchered out at Clash in Paris following an attack by both Reed and his tag partner Bron Breakker. That allowed him to be written off television to film Street Fighter, also in Australia.
This will be Reigns’ sixth match of 2025, matching the tally of 2024. He is expected to wrestle at Survivor Series as well.
The WWE Crown Jewel Superstore will open on Thursday in Perth, Australia for fans to get their hands on WWE merchandise. A large collection of WWE memorabilia, title belts, event-specific merchandise, and other WWE apparel will be available for purchase.
The store will be located at 166 Murray Street, down the road from the RAC Arena where Crown Jewel will take place. The store will open from Thursday, October 9 to Monday, October 13.
In addition, photo opportunities with several WWE Superstars will also be available during those days.
Scheduled to appear at different days and times are Aleister Black, Bayley, Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed, Chelsea Green, Damian Priest, Dominik Mysterio, Dragon Lee, Drew McIntyre, El Grande Americano, Giulia, Grayson Waller, Iyo Sky, Jacob Fatu, Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso, Kabuki Warriors, LA Knight, Lyra Valkyria, Maxxine Dupri, Rhea Ripley, Roxanne Perez & Raquel Rodriguez, Sami Zayn, Shinsuke Nakamura, Stephanie Vaquer, Street Profits, The Miz, The New Day, Tiffany Stratton, and Zelina Vega.
