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Kevin Kelly talks about getting fired from AEW and fallout with Ian Riccaboni

By
Colin Vassallo
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Appearing at a virtual signing for K & S WrestleFest, former AEW commentator Kevin Kelly explained his side of his story after he was fired from the company a few months ago.

Kelly and his broadcast colleague Ian Riccaboni had a falling out in AEW, with the ROH announcer making several accusations against Kelly online, including being a QAnon conspiracy theorist among others.

Kelly said that he and Riccaboni were supposed to be friends and this whole thing could have been ironed out if he just called him and talked about it. Eventually, the two spoke and Riccaboni accused Kelly of doing things to him over the years which angered him, things which were never explained because Kelly said he doesn’t know what they are.

He noted that he went to AEW’s management to discuss the issues and complained that HR refused to tell him what the outcome of the disciplinary committee was when he reported Riccaboni’s libelous comments.

Kelly said that he had several mental health issues during his time in AEW which also affected his marriage and was set to visit an AEW-appointed psychiatrist before he was fired the day before the appointment.

“I was not a fit for AEW,” Kelly said. “I just felt like it was a very different kind of place and very stressful. So many people, there was so much chaos, and it just really stressed me out a lot.”

Kelly joined AEW in June 2023 where he was part of the Collision commentary team but was removed from his position in March of this year.

Wheeler Yuta cleared to return, to wrestle on Dynamite tonight

By
Colin Vassallo
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AEW’s Wheeler Yuta has been medically cleared to return to the ring after five months.

The announcement was made by AEW President Tony Khan on X who said that Yuta will return tonight on Dynamite to join his fellow Blackpool Combat Club members against CMLL’s Volador Jr., Magnus, Rugido, and Esfinge in an eight-man tag team match.

Yuta had an undisclosed injury which has kept him out of the ring since the January 10 episode of Rampage, with his last match coming against Eddie Kingston.

WWE on A&E block (2024) ratings for week 14

By
Colin Vassallo
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This week’s block of WWE programming on A&E TV also featured just one episode, a Biography: WWE Legends show featuring WWE Hall of Famer and former WWE champion Eddie Guerrero.

This episode drew 288,000 viewers, up 70,000 viewers from the last episode of Mark Henry. It had a 0.08 rating in the 18-49 demo, up 0.03 from the prior week and placed #40 on the top 50 cable chart for the night. (Ratings credit: SpoilerTV)

Tiffany Stratton signs with talent agency Paradigm

By
Colin Vassallo
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The Hollywood Reporter has an exclusive story where it reveals that WWE Superstar Tiffany Stratton has signed with talent agency Paradigm for representation in all areas.

The story says that Paradigm is banking on Stratton’s stock to rise in WWE due to bigger exposure thanks to the WWE deal with Netflix and hopes to guide her to a career similar to that of John Cena, Dave Bautista, and The Rock in Hollywood.

“Paradigm will work to build Stratton’s business across books, graphic novels, acting, brand partnerships, speaking engagements, and more,” THR says.

The 25-year-old, real name Jessica Woynilko, has been working for WWE since 2021 and this year she was called up to the main roster.

Nikki Garcia cast in the third season of reality TV show The Traitors

By
Colin Vassallo
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Former WWE Superstar Nikki Garcia is returning on television as part of the cast of season three of the reality TV show The Traitors.

Hosted by Alan Cumming and filmed in the Scottish Highlands, The Traitors features several cast members who hope to win a large cash prize that is built up through missions. The host chooses a group of contestants who are referred to as the Traitors who must eliminate the rest of the contestants, known as Faithfuls, to win the money. The premise says that if a Faithful wins after eliminating all the Traitors, they will share the prize money but if the Traitors win, they steal the money.

The series, which airs on Peacock, does not have a premiere date yet. Previous cast members from Survivor, Big Brother, The Real Housewives, The Biggest Loser, Vanderpump Rules, and others are also part of the 21-member cast.

Nikki is referred to as a professional wrestler in the video introducing the contestants.

Raw rating for 06/03/2024

By
Colin Vassallo
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Raw

This week’s episode of Monday Night Raw drew 1,679,000 viewers, down 11,000 viewers from last week’s broadcast and somewhat of a disappointment considering there was no NBA or NHL Playoffs against it.

The show started with 1,742,000 viewers and then increased slightly to 1,754,000 before ending the night with a drop to 1,541,000, with the third hour dragging down the average.

Raw was #1, #2, and #3 in the top 50 cable chart for the night in the 18-49 demo with 0.55, 0.54, and 0.50 ratings respectively for an average of 0.53, down 0.02 from last week. It was overall the #1 show on all of television for the night. (Ratings credit: SpoilerTV)

Williams vs Page for NXT title set for Battleground

By
Colin Vassallo
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The main event for this Sunday’s NXT Battleground premium live event was decided yesterday on NXT on USA Network.

NXT champion Trick Williams will be defending his gold against newcomer and former AEW star Ethan Page in what will be Page’s first match on the brand.

The match came after some back-and-forth between Williams, Page, and NXT General Manager Ava, where Page wanted an immediate title match if he signed with NXT. Ava did not want to sign the deal, refusing Page’s demands.

But the champion wanted Ava to sign the deal and give whatever Page demanded so he can whoop his ass as a revenge for what he did the prior week.

Ava insisted on the negative and said that there’s one particular stipulation she can’t sign off on. Page and Williams continued their war of words and then Ava signed the contract, making their match official for Sunday.

Collision rating for 06/01/2024

By
Colin Vassallo
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Last Saturday’s episode of Collision, which was pre-taped on Thursday, drew just 378,000 viewers, down 37,000 viewers from the prior week. It was the second least-watched episode of 2024 so far. The show had a 0.11 rating in 18-49, down 0.04 from last week and was #12 on the chart. (Ratings credit: SpoilerTV)

TNA Knockouts champion Jordynne Grace makes NXT in-ring debut tonight

By
Colin Vassallo
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The final stop before Battleground takes place tonight on NXT on USA Network with three matches announced so far.

The biggest news is that TNA Knockouts champion Jordynne Grace will be making her NXT in-ring debut tonight against Stevie Turner ahead of her NXT Women’s title match against Roxanne Perez this Sunday.

Also announced for tonight are Tony D’Angelo vs Damon Kemp, Thea Hail vs Jazmyn Nyx, a look at the Shayna Baszler vs Lola Vice match, and a summit featuring the six participants of the NXT Women’s North American Ladder match summit featuring Sol Ruca, Lash Legend, Fallon Henley, Jaida Parker, Michin and Kelani Jordan.

Adam Copeland undergoes successful surgery for broken tibia

By
Colin Vassallo
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Former TNT champion Adam Copeland underwent successful surgery on his broken tibia, an injury he suffered at the Double or Nothing pay-per-view when he leaped off the top of the cage.

Posting a video on his Instagram just 12 hours after surgery, Copeland was on two crutches and went through the door in his gym which had a sign reading Forbidden Door.

“So right now I’m about to walk through the Forbidden Door,” he said. “Since I can’t walk through the Forbidden Door of the pay-per-view and face someone from New Japan Pro-Wrestling, I can walk through the Forbidden Door of the gym.”

Copeland said he wanted to see what he can pull off so early after surgery and showed that he could do single-leg planks.

Rampage rating for 05/31/2024

By
Colin Vassallo
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Rampage

Rampage on Friday drew 255,000 viewers, up 33,000 viewers from last week’s all-time low. The show aired at 6:30PM ET instead of the usual 10PM ET time slot. Rampage was #25 on the top 50 cable chart among the 18-49 demo with a 0.09 rating, up 0.01 from the prior week. (Ratings credit: SpoilerTV)

AEW: Fight Forever video game available on PlayStation Plus

By
Colin Vassallo
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The AEW: Fight Forever video game is now available on PlayStation Plus through June 2024.

PlayStation Plus is a subscription-based service where hundreds of PS5, PS4, and classic PS games are available to be played without buying the game as part of the monthly subscription.

The game, developed by Yuke’s and published by THQ Nordic, cost AEW over a million dollars to develop and was met with several delays and problems with the developer. It was eventually released in June of last year to a mixed reaction from players.

Missy Hyatt said she contacted Janel Grant’s lawyer to tell all on Vince McMahon

By
Colin Vassallo
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Appearing in an interview with Wrestling Shoot Interviews on YouTube, Missy Hyatt revealed that she had contacted the lawyers of Janel Grant to explain what Vince McMahon did to her several years ago.

Hyatt explained that when she was doing the Missy’s Manor segments, she once had to push McMahon out of her hotel room because he “tried to stick his tongue in my mouth” and was later punished for not complying.

“I didn’t trust them, so I left and had to go beg Jim Crockett and Dusty for a job,” she said.

Hyatt also recounted a story when they were in Las Vegas doing television tapings and she went to a large dinner with other WWE employees and McMahon took her back to her hotel.

She said that she had to push him out because he kept trying to get in her room and admitted that if she were not engaged at the time, maybe it could have happened, although she criticized McMahon for having bad teeth.

“It’s like you’re a millionaire times over and you can’t get your teeth fixed? He’s got like rotten teeth,” she said. “It’s really gross.”

Janel Grant, who sued Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis, and WWE over sex trafficking, has recently paused her civil suit on the request of the United States Justice Department who are also investigating the former WWE and TKO Chairman.

Missy Hyatt recently said that she had a relationship with Jim Ross after his wife passed away, admitting that he “rocked her world.”

Smackdown rating for 05/31/2024

By
Colin Vassallo
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The post-King and Queen of the Ring episode of Smackdown drew 2,310,000 viewers, up 163,000 viewers from the prior week which was a taped episode from Jeddah. This was Smackdown’s best number since April 19. In the 18-49 demo, Smackdown drew a 0.65, up 0.09 from the prior week and doubled its next competitor on network television and beat the NHL Playoffs conference finals on cable to claim the #1 spot overall in all of TV. (Ratings credit: SpoilerTV)

WWE trio in Cancun, Mexico for stem cell treatment

By
Colin Vassallo
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The Rejuvstem Clinic in Mexico posted on Instagram this week that it has been treating WWE Superstars Big E, Shotzi, and MVP at their brand new clinic in Cancun.

Big E and MVP posed in front of a welcome banner at the clinic which had their photo along with Shotzi, with the clinic writing, “These incredible athletes are here to experience the power of cellular regeneration, boosting their performance and enhancing their overall health with millions of rejuvenating cells.”

The renowned clinic is known for their innovative cellular treatments, providing patients with their highest-quality stem cells.

MVP wrote that with this treatment he hopes to get better for one last run in the ring.

Intercontinental title match added to Clash at the Castle: Scotland

By
Colin Vassallo
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An Intercontinental title match has been added to the upcoming Clash at the Castle: Scotland premium live event which takes place next week.

Champion Sami Zayn is putting his gold on the line against Alpha Academy leader Chad Gable on the basis that this match will end their feud once and for all.

Gable took out Zayn on Raw last night after the two agreed to the match but after Zayn accidentally bumped Maxxine Dupri and Akira Tozawa, Otis jumped to his team mates’ defense and flattened out Zayn. Gable then posed with the Intercontinental title over Zayn.

This is the third match officially announced for the show following Priest vs McIntyre and Bayley vs Niven.

Priest vs Mysterio headlines tonight’s Raw from Pennsylvania

By
Colin Vassallo
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Raw

Monday Night Raw rolls into Hershey, Pennsylvania tonight as the road towards Clash at the Castle: Scotland continues.

Scheduled to take place tonight are Damian Priest vs Rey Mysterio in a non-title match, Sheamus battles Ludwig Kaiser, and The New Day take on AOP.

Plus, new Women’s World champion Liv Morgan will be in the house with some explaining to do after that kiss to Dominik Mysterio last week following her win against Becky Lynch.

Chad Gable’s WWE contract expiring on June 7

By
Colin Vassallo
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Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Wrestling is reporting through his Select service that Chad Gable’s WWE contract is up this Friday, June 7.

While Gable has become an integral part of WWE television over the last several months as the leader of Alpha Academy and his quest for the Intercontinental title, the two sides have not reached a deal yet on a new contract and as things stand, Gable will be a free agent come this weekend.

Tonight’s Monday Night Raw could provide a hint of what his future will be if he’s used on the show. If it’s business as usual, things are probably looking good for Gable to stay put but if he eventually gets buried, then an exit is a likely scenario.

The 38-year-old Minnesota native has been part of WWE since 2013 and is one of the several stars whose contract is about to wrap up.

CM Punk retro design merchandise re-released

By
Colin Vassallo
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WWE has re-released several of CM Punk’s retro designs including the yellow GTS t-shirt, the CM Punk fists t-shirt, the In Punk We Trust t-shirt, the Best In The World ringer t-shirt, and more.

These are currently selling for $32.99 along with other new CM Punk merchandise.

WWE Shop is also running a promotion of 25% off site-wide or else 30% off for orders over $49 using the code PINFALL.

You can start shopping at WWEShop.com.

TNA returning to Tampa for the first time in 11 years

By
Colin Vassallo
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TNA logo

TNA issued a press release announcing that it will be making two stops in Tampa, Florida, on Friday, August 2 and Saturday, August 3 for two nights of television tapings.

The tapings will be held at the Florida State Fairgrounds. Tickets for both Tampa shows will go on-sale at 10AM ET on Saturday, June 8, at TNAWrestling.com.

Those expected to appear are Matt Hardy, Nic Nemeth, Joe Hendry, Mustafa Ali, Jordynne Grace, Eric Young, Ash By Elegance, Moose and many others.

The upcoming shows mark the first TNA shows in Tampa in 11 years.

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