NXT’s Charlie Dempsey is the fifth WWE star to be participating in the Bloodsport XIII event in Las Vegas during WrestleMania weekend.
Dempsey is certainly no stranger to Bloodsport as this will be his fourth time wrestling for the brand.
“A modern wrestler who seems like a someone who has stepped out of the past with his Catch-as-Catch-can skills and approach. Lighting suplexes, limb wrenching submissions, and the ability to scramble in and out of position like the best of them,” Josh Barnett wrote in a post on X. “Is it any wonder that he’s making his 4th return to Bloodsport? Not in the least. Charlie Dempsey – Josh Barnett’s: Bloodsport XIII.”
He joins Natalya, Karrion Kross, Pete Dunne, and fellow NXT star Karmen Petrovic for the show which will take place from The Pearl at The Palms. It will air as a pay-per-view on Triller TV on Thursday, April 17.
Mina Shirakawa has announced during a press conference that she is leaving Stardom and will be joining AEW full time.
Shirakawa’s contract will finish by the end of this month but will continue wrestling for Stardom throughout April, fulfilling any obligations left. Her last dates will be at the Stardom American Dream event in Las Vegas during WrestleMania week.
The 37-year-old Japanese star has made multiple appearances for AEW since last year and was involved in the Toni Storm/Mariah May angle as well. Her last match in AEW was at the Dynamite Winter Is Coming episode in December of last year, losing to Mariah May in an AEW Women’s title match.
The Orlando Business Journal is reporting that the Greater Orlando Sports Commission is looking to get a couple of WWE and UFC events by giving an $18 million grant.
The proposal includes either Survivor Series or Saturday Night’s Main Event in November or December in 2026, a UFC pay-per-view in August or September 2027, the Royal Rumble in February 2028, and a two-night WrestleMania in April 2031.
The two WWE premium live events would be held at the Camping World Stadium while the other shows at the Kia Center.
The Tourist Development Tax Sports Incentive Committee greenly the grant and now has to go for further approval within the local government.
The Commission wrote that all events would bring approximately 300,000 visitors in total and more than $225 million in economic impact.
Wresting is a unique and fantastic sport. If you observe closely, you will find this game to be similar to several other sports. However, there are some notable and clear differences between wresting and other sports. Most often, wrestlers are regarded as the finest athletes. When wrestlers involve in wrestling, they end up increasing their chances of being successful. Wresting also build some character traits in players like accountability, pride, responsibility, and hard work.
Why do the finest athletes wrestle?
When players observe multiple-sport athletes, they find that the unmatched lacrosse players, soccer players, and football players to be wrestlers only. Wresting is a popular sport that forms the entire athlete squad. It compels athletes to utilize all the muscles present in their body. Additionally, it teaches strength, balance, and agility in players. Wrestlers are regarded as the finest physically conditioned athletes. When wrestlers wrestle they do not get either the space or time to take a much-awaited break. Wrestling needs a wrestler to use constant movement, agility, focus, and thought.
The opportunity to become successful
Though youth wresting is acknowledged as a team sport, every youth wrestler is challenged by competing against single opponents who are comparatively in the same skill level, weight, and age group. Hence, parents do not bother whether their child is competing against someone who is remarkably older, more competent, or bigger.
The journey of victory
When players play any sport other than getting involved in wrestling they rely on other teammates present on the court or field to be supporting their efforts. On other occasions or other sports, a few athletes don’t go 100 percent, and at times, take “plays off” too but become victorious. Players find it thrilling to win a wrestling match. Hence, it is an individual accomplishment that earns 100 percent of the victory using one’s own practice and effort. So, this level of enjoyment and thrill can be compared to playing any game at a reliable site like online casino Malaysia.
The undesired feeling of getting defeated
If you see the other side of wrestling, you will find that you will be held 100 percent responsible as well as accountable for the loss you have suffered. Hence, it will be similar to the loss that you feel in your real world. When minors learn wrestling, they gain real world experiences. On the other hand, when athletes learn wrestling, they develop several habits. They become more accountable, responsible, and in the way, learn many lessons no matter whether they opt to apply them or not apply them in their real lives.
Have fun but the tough way
If you look at the face of the wrestlers, you will find that they have learned a novice move of beating their opponents. The notable thing is it isn’t present in other kinds of sports. When wrestlers beat their opponents, they get sheer enjoyment. They understand that their hard work has been paid off and it is justified in every possible. This, in turn, inspires wrestlers to work even harder.
Ricky Saints will get his first shot at NXT gold next week as he challenges fellow former AEW star and current North American champion Shawn Spears.
The match will take place on the April 1 episode of NXT on CW.
Spears told Saints that if he can’t make it here, cannot go back to the other place as he burned all his bridges, referring to AEW. The two were involved in a sit-down segment which aired on last night’s episode.
Former AEW Women’s champion Saraya announced that she has departed All Elite Wrestling, months before her contract was set to expire in September.
In a post on social media, Saraya said that it was mutual but she loved her time in AEW and had a blast with all the women in the locker room.
“It’ll hold a special place in my heart. Tony was a great, AEW was great,” she wrote. “I feel so lucky to be apart of this family for a couple years. Here’s to 2025! Wtf am I gonna get myself into now.”
Entertainment Weekly, which revealed the news in an exclusive story, got to listen to the first episode of Saraya’s new podcast which debuts tomorrow.
“I’m here to tell you that me and AEW’s relationship has come to an end. I had an amazing time there. There’s no bad blood between us. I had such a magical time,” she says in the podcast.
She added that she felt like there’s no spot for her in AEW at the moment and there’s nothing much for her to do in wrestling right now, but left the door open for maybe one day returning to the promotion.
She last wrestled in October 2024. She joined the company in 2022 and signed an additional year extension in the Summer of last year.
Stephanie McMahon’s newest series, Stephanie’s Places, will premiere today on ESPN+.
Produced by ESPN, Omaha Productions, WWE, the show will feature McMahon travel around the country for a sit down interview with some of the WWE’s biggest names.
Episodes will air weekly every Wednesday and will run through May 28.
The premiere episode will feature an interview with CM Punk which was conducted during SummerSlam last year. Other episodes will have Cody Rhodes, Rhea Ripley, Steve Austin, Charlotte Flair, The Bloodline, Pat McAfee, The Undertaker, Triple H, and John Cena.
Today’s episode preview reads, “Stephanie McMahon visits her husband and WWE Chief Content Officer, Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque, at the new WWE Headquarters before she heads to Cleveland for SummerSlam, where she meets up with CM Punk who reflects on his shocking return to the WWE after nearly a decade away from the ring.”
An ESPN+ subscription is required to watch the series.
Stephanie Vaquer will make history tonight on NXT on CW by becoming the first NXT star to defend two different titles in two different matches in the same night.
Vaquer, who is now the NXT Women’s North American champion and the NXT Women’s champion, will pull double duty, first defending the North American title against Fallon Henley and then later in the night she defends the NXT Women’s title against Jaida Parker.
The Chilean star won the NXT Women’s title from Giulia two weeks ago at NXT Roadblock from The Theater at Madison Square Garden.
The only other match announced for tonight’s show is Je’Von Evans vs Lexis King for the NXT Heritage Cup.
NXT kicks off at 8PM ET on The CW in the United States and live on Netflix everywhere else.
Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful is reporting that TNA Wrestling sent an e-mail to its staff announcing that four of the high-ranking officials are leaving the company.
“To be clear, these are firings,” Sapp wrote in a follow-up post on X.
Perhaps the biggest surprise is the removal of Gail Kim, who has been working for the company as a producer and also in the talent relations department following a long career with them.
Also getting the axe are Ariel Shnerner, Senior Vice President at TNA Wrestling, Rob Kligman, Chief Revenue Officer, and Michael Shewchenko Vice President of Digital Operations at Anthem Sports & Entertainment.
It remains unclear what caused the firing of these four officials.
WWE announced the WrestleMania After Dark parties with four separate events set to take place during the night from Thursday to Sunday all at the LIV Nightclub at Fontainebleau Hotel and Casino.
On Thursday, April 17, Valentino Khan will be kicking things off, DJing at the WrestleMania 41 Welcome Dinner and Launch Party. It starts at 8PM and goes on until 4AM with appearances from Charlotte Flair, Rey Mysterio, and Bianca Belair.
On Friday, April 18, Metro Boomin and DJ Irie will be taking the stage starting at 10:30PM until 4AM. Bron Breakker and Liv Morgan will be in attendance.
Machine Gun Kelly and DJ Irie will then host the Saturday, April 19 after dark party also at 10:30PM until 4AM. WWE Superstars Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso will be appearing.
The last party will be on Sunday, April 20 hosted by Gronk and featuring musical performances by Flo Rida, Valentino Khan & DJ Irie. Tiffany Stratton and Damian Priest will be in attendance for this one with the party starting at 10:30PM until 4AM.
Jey Uso appeared on the Raw Recap podcast to answer a variety of questions regarding his road to WrestleMania, his recent slips, teaming with Jimmy on Raw yesterday and other topics.
Co-host Megan Morant did put Jey on the spot though when she asked him if he has anything in mind for a special WrestleMania entrance, maybe one involving another celebrity considering how well his entrance with Travis Scott was on the Raw Netflix premiere.
“Yeah, for sure! I want a female though, female rapper!” Jey told Morant and Sam Roberts.
Uso mentioned big WWE fans Cardi B and Sexyy Red as potential celebrities who he wants to yeet with.
Red is no stranger to WWE as she has appeared several times on NXT and would definitely be up for a little yeeting at WrestleMania!
Helped by big lead-ins from the NCAA March Madness tournament, Slam Dunk Collision on Saturday and Sunday drew the best numbers of the year so far for the AEW weekend show, with the Saturday broadcast doing 554,000 viewers and the Sunday broadcast doing 584,000 viewers. That is up from the 408,000 the show did the previous week. In 18-49, Collision on Saturday had a 0.20 and on Sunday a 0.22, the highest since July 29, 2023. That was up from the 0.10 the show did the previous week. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)
Season six of Dark Side of the Ring will kick off tonight on Vice in its regular 10PM ET time slot, with a new episode airing every Tuesday.
10 episodes were commissioned for this season, which kicks off with Mick Foley’s famous Hell In A Cell match at King of the Ring 1998. The April 1 episode is about Vader, the April 8 episode is on Tony Atlas, the April 15 episode is on Ludvig Borga, the April 22 episode on Billy Jack Haynes, the April 29 episode on Eddie Gilbert, the May 6 episode on “Superstar” Billy Graham, the May 13 episode on Daffney, the May 20 episode on The Original Sheik, and the May 27 episode will focus on Muhammad Hassan.
The series is produced by Evan Husney and Jason Eisener and the latest season was green-lit late last year.
Episodes of the series can also be watched online via the Vice website.
Appearing on The Hall of Fame podcast, co-hosted by Booker T and Brad Gilmore, AEW star Saraya said that she would definitely go to WWE if there was something fun to do.
Saraya said that she loves WWE as they raised her and saved her many times.
“If there was something that they needed from me which was exciting, I would definitely go there,” she said. “Yeah, absolutely, it would be silly not to. If there’s an opportunity to do something fun…hell yeah, I’ll jump on board!”
Meanwhile, in a separate interview with The Wrestling Classic, the former AEW Women’s champion teased something big is happening and she’s going to reveal all when she launches her own podcast, Rule Breaking, very soon.
“I’m going to be making a big announcement on the first one so I’m excited for people to find that out,” she said, adding that she might need to write a second book now as the ending of the first one has now changed drastically.
Saraya recently said that while she wants to return to work, AEW does not need her right now and there’s no spot for her with the current women’s roster.
During an interview on The Rich Eisen Show yesterday, Seth Rollins put over Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson for being a great boss and a generous person overall.
Rollins said that when there was the Moana 2 premiere in Hawaii, Johnson invited him, his wife Becky Lynch, and daughter Roux to watch it and even though their daughter is too young to remember it, the experience was a great one for the whole family. Cody Rhodes and his family were also present at the premiere on a personal invitation from Johnson.
“He’s been a great boss, I will say,” Rollins said. “In the ring…you know, we’ve had our ups and downs. People say a lot of things about him, he’s a really kind and generous man.”
Rollins is on day two of three hosting Good Morning Football on NFL Network which is why he was not present at Raw yesterday.
Smackdown took a hit in the ratings last week as it went against heavy competition from multiple NCAA games. The show drew 1,459,000 viewers, down 112,000 viewers from the prior week, the lowest since January 14. In 18-49, Smackdown did a 0.39, down a whopping 0.13 and the lowest since November 15. It was #5 on the top 50 cable chart for the night with NCAA coverage taking all the top spots. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)
John Cena has vowed to ruin wrestling for everyone, take the WWE title from Cody Rhodes, retire with it, and leave the rest to fight over a “brand new toy belt” when he takes the real one with him home.
Kicking off Raw with a long monologue just like the prior week, Cena continued to rip on the fans, with the Glasgow crowd chanting “F*ck you Cena” and “Shut the f*ck up.” The Netflix censors eventually gave up on muting the F word at one point.
After telling everyone he’s going to win his 17th world title at WrestleMania, Cena said, “And I finally force you to forget the name of the fun machine, jet-flying, wooooo, Ric Flair. You will forever say the name John Cena!”
Cena was given the “what” treatment as well at one point by the crowd and then was even booed more when he backed off when Cody Rhodes came out and offered to fight.
“The champ is no longer standing there,” Rhodes said, pointing at Cena who was in the aisle. “The champ is standing in the center of this ring.”
Rhodes vowed that just like Cena walked away empty-handed on Raw, he will also make him walk away from WrestleMania and WWE empty-handed as well.
The segment ran a few minutes less than last week but still topped at 20 minutes.
The April 16 episode of Dynamite in Boston is now being marketed as AEW Spring BreakThru and it is the episode which will surpass Nitro with 289 episodes.
“We’ll celebrate AEW Wednesday Night Dynamite becoming the longest running prime time weekly pro wrestling program in Turner Sports history,” Khan wrote on X.
WCW Nitro ran from September 4, 1995 until March 26, 2001, with a total of 288 shows produced on TNT.
Dynamite #288, matching Nitro, will be from the Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena in Baltimore, Maryland on April 9.
The number will undoubtedly be touted by AEW and especially Khan considering the break in relationship with former WCW President Eric Bischoff and how Bischoff constantly keeps bashing the company to this day.
Dynamite #289 is taking place from the MGM Music Hall at Fenway and tickets are available at Ticketmaster.com. Collision will also be taped from the same location the following day.
Pat McAfee has traveled to Glasgow, Scotland and will return to the commentary table for today’s Raw with Michael Cole.
McAfee did not travel to Brussels, Belgium last week and was replaced by Corey Graves, his first main roster show of the year after he was moved back to NXT. Graves has also been removed from premium live events with Wade Barrett taking his place.
McAfee hosted today’s episode of The Pat McAfee Show remotely from the OVO Hydro in Glasgow, the site of tonight’s Raw. He said this was his first time in Scotland and went around the city after he arrived in the morning, eating breakfast, meeting the Scottish people, and even getting a haircut in between.
Mercedes Mone celebrated her one-year anniversary with AEW in her latest Mone Mag edition.
Mone, who currently holds a total of four titles across three different promotions, said that it was one of the most transformative years of her career.
“AEW has reignited my fire, passion, and deep-seated love for this sport. It has been a beacon of hope for me, and I am endlessly grateful to AEW and Tony Khan for this opportunity,” Mone wrote.
She said she feels privileged to share the ring with the best women who continue to push her and elevate her game every single day. She also put over the men in the locker room, whose relentless drive keep inspiring her to strive for greatness.
“To my loyal fans who have been with me on this ride, thank you for your unwavering support! And to those new fans ready to jump on the Moné train, welcome aboard! Wrestling is everything to me, and I am honored to be part of such an extraordinary team like AEW,” she continued.
Mone wrapped up the entry by saying that her journey is far from over and she will leave an indelible mark in wrestling history.
“The train won’t stop here, and I promise you, the best is yet to come,” she concluded.
Mone made her AEW debut on March 13, 2024 during the AEW Big Business episode of Dynamite from the TD Garden in Boston.
