During her latest vlog on YouTube, former NWA Women’s champion and AEW star Thunder Rosa revealed that she has been out of action because she recently suffered a concussion.
Rosa last wrestled on the October 19 episode of Dark, where she teamed up with Kris Statlander and Red Velvet to take on Nyla Rose, Diamante, and Emi Sakura. That match was taped a few days before on October 16.
She said that she was not cleared for 10 days to let the effects of the concussion pass and she made her first appearance this weekend for an indie promotion.
AEW’s first TNT special, one of four planned every year, is rumored for January according to Mat Men Podcast’s Andrew Zarian.
Zarian adds that the date of Saturday, January 8 is being discussed with the title of the show being Battle of the Belts. AEW applied to trademark that name with the United States Patent and Trademark Office two months ago.
The event would be similar to the Clash of the Champions NWA/WCW shows but WWE owns that trademark and AEW cannot use it. The Battle of the Belts name was used as an event by the NWA and Championship Wrestling From Florida.
AEW will be producing four new quarterly specials which will air on TNT starting in 2022 as part of their new deal with WarnerMedia.
A story on Sportico revealed the work done behind the scenes for Panini to get the WWE trading cards license from Topps.
After NFLPA, NBA, and NBPA left Panini for the new kid on the block, Fanatics, Panini wanted another solid brand to work with and that’s when WWE came into the picture.
“Panini was never aware of any previous license costs; we pitched for the WWE rights based on what we know we are capable of doing within the market, with our go-to-market strategy and our best-in-class brands. We viewed the value of the WWE rights on their own merit and what we can deliver from a global perspective,” said Panini America CEO Mark Warsop, who also added his company was never given the opportunity to bid on the licenses they lost to Fanatics.
WWE, on their part, saw that Panini was better-placed than Topps and Panini aggressively bid on the WWE license.
“We’re fortunate that the value of the WWE brand and our fan base allowed us to find the global partner that will help us grow in the category,” said Scott Zanghellini, SVP of revenue strategy and development at WWE.
It is believed that Panini is paying way, way, way more than Topps did for their WWE card business, with WWE scoring a major win in fees.
“Hacksaw” Jim Duggan underwent successful cancer surgery this week and is now recuperating at home.
In a post on Instagram, his wife Debra wrote, “Jim’s surgery went as planned. He is resting comfortably now. Thank you for your prayers, good vibes and well wishes. Please continue them as he continues to heal.”
She then posted another update saying that they were given the choice of either staying one more night in hospital or go home and continue recovering there. “Home definitely wins,” Debra wrote, also adding that her husband is thankful for the doctors and his fans.
“Please continue to pray for us,” she concluded.
Duggan was diagnosed with prostate cancer earlier. He is already a cancer survivor having dealt with it in the late 90s as well.
WWE had one former star return as a producer and another Impact Wrestling star attending a tryout for the same job yesterday during Smackdown.
Jimmy Wang Yang, who also wrestled for WCW, started his new job this week and the 40-year-old from California returned to the company after an 11-year absence.
Meanwhile, Impact’s Petey Williams also had a tryout for a producer position according to PWInsider.com. Williams, who last appeared in a wrestling ring a few weeks ago, is looking to moving on from in-ring to behind-the-scenes. The 40-year-old is a former two-time X Division champion and had multiple stints with Impact Wrestling.
After getting rid of most of producers during the pandemic either through furlough or dismissal, WWE hired back most of them and is adding more to the list as more live events get added to the schedule. The company already has 10 producers working for the two brands, all former wrestlers.
Raquel Gonzalez was brought up to the Smackdown brand last night and participated in a dark match against Toni Storm before the show started.
Gonzalez, who lost the NXT Women’s title to Mandy Rose on Tuesday, will probably be called up to the main roster soon as her reign in NXT slowly ends, probably after her feud with Dakota Kai.
The 30-year-old has been part of the WWE system since 2016 and pretty much her whole wrestling career has been with WWE. She has won it all in NXT, with the NXT Women’s title, the NXT Women’s Tag Team titles, and winner of the Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic with Dakota Kai.
On a related note, The Creed Brothers of the Diamond Mine also wrestled a dark match on Smackdown last night, a match they lost to The Viking Raiders.
WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg discussed his match against Bobby Lashley from Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia and feels that his latest match has shut up those who doubted him for the past several years.
Goldberg admitted that his track record in Saudi Arabia sucks, managing to knock himself out and dropping The Undertaker on his head among other botches.
“I needed to redeem myself,” Goldberg said on his podcast, titled CarCast. He said he wasn’t happy with his performance, but, “I’m satisfied with it to a point where I think it has shut all these f*ckers up, finally!”
Goldberg won his match against Lashley, which was a no holds barred and falls count anywhere match. The visual of the ending was pretty sweet too, with Goldberg spearing Lashley off the ramp and crashing on the floor where several tables were placed to cushion the landing.
The former Universal champion also praised Bobby Lashley, calling him a great individual and someone who he trusted enough to lay a finger on his son. “I would let anyone on this planet touch him (his son) if I didn’t love and trust them,” Goldberg said.
He said that he was honored that Lashley allowed him to dance with him and he had a lot of fun and winning the match was just icing on the cake.
Bryan Danielson has reached the finals of the AEW World Title tournament after he beat Eddie Kingston last night on Rampage.
Danielson will now meet the winner of Jon Moxley vs Orange Cassidy which will take place on Wednesday on Dynamite.
In the photo of Tony Khan published by the Associated Press a few weeks ago, one of the matches he had scribbled down on paper for Full Gear was indeed Danielson vs Moxley in the final.
Full Gear will be headlined by Omega vs Page and the winner of the tournament will get a future title shot, possibly during a December episode of Dynamite.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer is reporting that the Labor Day weekend WWE pay-per-view next year is looking like it will be held in the United Kingdom.
In its published 2022 PPV calendar, WWE lists either a Saturday, September 3 or a Sunday, September 4 pay-per-view from a location to be determined.
That weekend is usually associated with AEW’s All Out pay-per-view in Chicago. This year, AEW held their show on a Sunday but in 2020, the show was held on a Saturday. Holding two wrestling pay-per-views on the same day might not be a smart idea for both companies although WWE’s show would air earlier in the day due to the time zone difference.
London’s Wembley Stadium and Cardiff’s Principality Stadium are still in the running to hold the proposed show, with Cardiff’s stadium preferred simply because it has a roof and weather in London is very unpredictable to hold an open-air event.
UK fans were hoping to get the SummerSlam pay-per-view in 2022 to commemorate the 30th anniversary from SummerSlam 1992 in London but next year’s SummerSlam went to the Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.
Walter has got his opponent for the upcoming WWE UK tour in the form of the Swiss Superman, Cesaro!
Walter will not be joining the Raw branded tour and instead will hop on the Smackdown tour and will take on Cesaro in Liverpool, Leeds, Nottingham, and Manchester. The Smackdown brand already has NXT champion Tommaso Ciampa and Bronn Breaker as part of its line-up.
The Raw tour will be headlined by Big E vs Bobby Lashley in street fights for the WWE championship while the Smackdown tours will be headlined by Charlotte Flair vs Sasha Banks for the Smackdown Women’s title.
Roman Reigns will not be part of the tour due to his health issues. Reigns said in the past that he’s only doing Saudi overseas shows for now as they can get him in a private jet on his own, do the show, and leave in a private jet back right after the show to minimize any potential health risks.
Friday Night Smackdown will be airing on FS1 tonight rather than FOX due to another MLB pre-emption.
Unlike two weeks ago where WWE went hard with the promotion of the show and adding another 30 minutes to the broadcast including an appearance by Brock Lesnar, nothing has been announced so far.
Perhaps the most interesting thing to look out for tonight is the fallout from the Charlotte Flair issues that took place last Friday. Flair is being used along with Sasha Banks, Drew McIntyre and Roman Reigns to promote tonight’s FS1 show.
A live episode of Talking Smack, which was supposed to air at 10PM immediately following the conclusion of Smackdown, has been scrapped and now FS1 will air a replay of Smackdown at 10PM ET instead.
It’s intimidating to step inside a casino for the first time. You’re immediately hit with a wave of sensory deprivation.
The sound of slot machine bells and bright flashing lights fills the room. To enjoy the excitement, players congregate around a swath of tables. It’s as if the casino floor is crawling with baitfish schools.
Beginners may find it challenging to keep up with everything. So what’s the best place for a new casino player to start? Exycasinos experts are here to give the answer!
These are the finest games for newcomers to play at a casino.
Slots:
Slot machines are the most well-known and well-understood kind of gambling. The complexity varies from person to person, but how difficult can it be to press a start button? The casino will soon have a wide selection of slot machines, including everything from basic slot machines and three-reel slot machines to video slots and progressive prize machines. While each game’s theme and symbols are unique, many of the game mechanics and features are the same, including tumbling reels, expanding reels, and free spins.
Blackjack:
You’re probably familiar with the fundamentals of roulette if you’ve played it. First, you must reach a total of 21 without becoming bankrupt (an ace is valued at one or 11).
Regardless of how much money you win or lose, you must always stake the same amount of money. The last thing you want to do is start looking for lost gains. 1-2 percent of your bankroll is a good wager amount to use to stay in the game as long as feasible.
Roulette:
Roulette is a game of pure luck as well. A roulette wheel has numbered red, black, and green slots on it, and you wager on where the ball will rest there.
Start with outside bets until you feel more comfortable with the game. Because players are playing on more machines, the payouts are lower, but the odds of winning are larger. You have no control over whether you win or lose at roulette, how much money you put on a bet, and how fast the wheel spun.
Online roulette generally has a minimum stake of $0.10, $1, or $0.50. Thus, French roulette is a good place for newcomers to start. As a result, your bankroll will go further since it has the lowest house edge of any roulette variation.
Baccarat:
Baccarat is a casino classic for novices because it is played at a table, and there are only three possible bets. To play, you place a wager on whether your hand of cards is better than the bankers’ or not.
Tie bets are not recommended because the odds are so low that they do not justify placing the wager. As a result, your only two alternatives are to wager on who will have the highest hand, you or the banker.
Baccarat is an excellent game for beginners because of this simple decision. Keep in mind that casinos may charge a fee on banker bets if they win frequently. Baccarat bets start at just $1, which is a very low minimum.
Conclusion:
If you’re a first-time gambler, pick one of these games to try. Your gaming bankroll may last much longer if you notice this. Maybe you’ll stay up until the wee hours of the morning before discovering that you haven’t had this much fun at a casino in years.
Dynamite this week back in its Wednesday time slot did a total of 941,000 viewers, up 366,000 viewers from Saturday’s episode. It was down 112,000 viewers from the October 6 episode which was the last time it aired on Wednesday. The show was #4 in the top 50 cable chart among the 18-49 demo with a 0.40 rating, up 0.03 from the last Wednesday airing. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
AEW commentator Jim Ross is teaming up with his daughter, her husband, and a lawyer to open a cannabis farm in Oklahoma.
During his podcast Grilling JR, Ross explained how he recently bought a plot of land in Oklahoma where the new business, currently named Black Hat Farms, will be located.
Ross already has a good BBQ sauce business so adding this cannabis business as well will leave his kids in good standing once his time is up. JR also said that he has a ton of wrestling memorabilia that needs to be sorted in an inventory in the future.
The WWE Hall of Famer was recently diagnosed with skin cancer and is waiting on how to tackle this latest setback.
WWE Hall of Famer “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan today announced in a video on Instagram that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Duggan said that he will be undergoing cancer surgery tomorrow after already undergoing an emergency surgery last week.
“Actually, it has been going on for a couple of months now and Debra and I have been living with it and getting ready. But reality is here and I’m going down to Charleston tomorrow to have my cancer surgery,” Duggan said in a video posted on his social media.
Duggan said that his wife Debra will keep everyone up to date on what is going on but he would be stepping away from the platform to take a break.
The 67-year-old already had kidney cancer decades ago and had a string of other health issues along the years.
The WWE UK Twitter announced that NXT champion Tommaso Ciampa, Bron Breakker, and former WWE UK champion Walter will be appearing at the upcoming UK tour next month.
Ciampa and Breakker will wrestle in Liverpool, Leeds, Nottingham, and Manchester, with all matches being triple threats for the NXT title also including Sami Zayn. All these shows are performed by the Smackdown brand.
It was not announced who will Walter wrestle or which cities he will be a part of but Smackdown getting Ciampa and Breakker, it’s safe to assume that Walter will be hopping on the Raw tour which includes Brighton, Sheffield, Birmingham, and London.
The UK tour starts on November 3 and will run through November 10. No television tapings will be held during the tour as Raw will do the first four shows starting Wednesday and Smackdown will do the other four shows starting Sunday.
Ring of Honor’s press release yesterday sent shockwaves throughout the wrestling industry as many people will be losing their jobs, although ROH will continue to pay its talent till the end of this year.
But come January 2022, everyone will be released and none of the contracts will be picked up again according to the Wrestling Observer. The idea is that when – or if – ROH starts again in the first quarter of 2022, the company will be using talent which are are free to appear anywhere and will not be locking anyone to contracts, essentially relegating itself to a proper indie promotion.
ROH will present its final show of the year on December 11, a pay-per-view which is appropriately named Final Battle. According to its press release, their targeted return is in April during WrestleMania week with Supercard of Honor.
Ring of Honor was formed in 2002 by Rob Feinstein and was acquired by Sinclair Broadcast Group in 2011.
Jon Moxley and Hikaru Shida advanced in their respective title tournaments last night on Dynamite.
Moxley overcame Preston “10” Vance in the AEW World Title Eliminator tournament and will now meet Orange Cassidy in the semi final. Cassidy had to go through Powerhouse Hobbs to advance to the semi.
Meanwhile over at the TBS Women’s title tournament, Shida picked up her 50th AEW win over Serena Deeb and advanced to the quarter final where she will be taking on Nyla Rose. Rose got a bye in the first round.
The AEW World Title Eliminator tournament continues tomorrow on Rampage while the TBS Women’s title tournament continues on Dynamite next week.
The Halloween Havoc episode of NXT on USA Network drew 746,000 viewers this week, up 140,000 viewers from last week’s broadcast. This was the most-watched episode since the September 21 broadcast. The show did 0.18 in the 18-49 demo and placed #11 in the top 50 cable chart for the day. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Ring of Honor today announced that they will be pausing its operations following the December Final Battle PPV show and will take the first few months of 2022 to “reimagine” the company.
Everyone under an ROH contract will be released at the end of 2021 but those who will find work elsewhere before will be allowed to do so effective immediately.
In a press release, ROH said they expect to return fresh with their first show in April, tentatively during the WrestleMania weekend.
The full press release is as follows:
“Throughout the pandemic, our top priority was to keep everyone healthy and safe, and despite not producing any live events over 18 months, we were able to keep everyone fully contracted.
We now find ourselves at a time where we need to make changes to our new business operations and are planning a pivot for Ring of Honor, with a new mission and strategy.
The year will culminate with a Final Battle in December, and we will be taking the first quarter of 2022 to work internally to reimagine ROH. ROH has the most dedicated fans in the industry, and we appreciate their loyalty and patience as we reconceptualize ROH.
We anticipate returning to live events in April for the Super Card of Honor with a new fan-focused product and provide a unique experience for wrestling fans.”
