Io Shirai Appears At WWE Event In Tokyo

WWE’s newest signee, Io Shirai, was on hand at the WWE live event in Tokyo this morning. She was officially unveiled as the newest addition to the roster. Shirai will be assigned to the NXT brand.

Shirai is a former 2x Wonder of Stardom champion. She has been voted as Tokyo Sports’ Joshi Puroresu Grand Prize winner (the equivalent of woman’s wrestler of the year award) the last 3 years in a row.

Shirai was rumored to be heading to WWE last year but failed medical evaluations prevented this from happening. It was reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that neck and heart problems caused WWE to back away from signing her. She continued to compete for Stardom the following year after not signing with WWE.

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ranked Shirai #6 in their female top-50 rankings in 2017.

Shirai confirmed her departure from Stardom back in late May with many speculating she would be headed to WWE.

Parts of Shirai’s blog in late May revealing her departure from Stardom were run through Google Translate.

“I’m going to leave Stardom with me aiming for a further leap of pro-wrestling life in the future.

The Korakuen Hall show on June 17 will be the last for Stardom.”

World of Stardom also Tweeted out the following facts about Shirai’s time with the promotion:

“Io Shirai’s done it all in Stardom.

World of Stardom champion twice, 1014 days.

Wonder of Stardom champion twice, 375 days.

Tag champion 407 days.

High Speed champion.

Artist of Stardom champion 6 times.

SWA champion.

5 Star Grand Prix champion.

Now she will show it to the world.”

Matt Cappotelli

Former Tough Enough winner, Matt Cappotelli, has lost his battle with brain cancer. He was 38.

Matt’s wife, Lindsay, has been keeping fans up-to-date on his well-being through her blogs and Facebook posts. Yesterday, she shared the news with the world.

“Hey Team Capp…I’ve been struggling with what to say and how to say this, and I’ll probably end up rambling, but here goes,” she wrote. “Today my love-my strong, sweet, beautiful love-took his last breath at 3:30 a.m. and went Home to be with Jesus…exactly one year after his brain surgery,” she continued. “You think you can be prepared for this when you know it’s coming, but you just can’t. The only person whose comfort I want right now is the one who can’t give it to me.”

Earlier this year, Lindsay outlined the timeline of Matt’s latest battle with brain cancer.

“Dr. Yao, the brain surgeon, came to our room to discuss things more with us and give us our options,” Lindsey wrote. “He explained that the tumor was of significant size and that he was shocked at how fast it had grown in the 4 months since Matt’s February MRI.”

Cappotelli had been working as a trainer at Ohio Valley Wrestling since 2013. He had previously won the promotion’s heavyweight championship before being diagnosed with a brain tumor for the first time in 2006. He announced last summer that he’d been diagnosed with a grade IV glioblastoma multiforme cancer. This form of cancer is the most aggressive of its kind.

“Throughout all of this, Matt and I really never discussed death,” Lindsey wrote. “A part of me wishes that we had, but I just never wanted to make him think that I didn’t think he would make it. Because I still had hope, and I didn’t want him to give up hope.”

Twin Sons of Hall Of Famer Receive WWE Tryouts

There are several brother tag-teams performing at a high-level in wrestling today. Last night, the Briscoe Brothers faced Matt and Nick Jackson for Ring of Honor. Jimmy and Jey Uso are one the best teams in the world. The Hardy Boyz have done fairly well for themselves as well throughout their lengthy careers.

While the Dudley Boyz don’t count as a real-life family combination, the 23-year-old twin sons of D-Von Dudley do. They both received tryouts at the WWE Performance Center recently.

The pair has wrestled both under their real names of Terrence and Terrell Hughes, as well as with the surname Dudley.

The Hughes brothers were among the 40 WWE hopefuls at the Performance Center this week. Former Impact Wrestling stars, Robbie E and Chelsea Green were also in attendance.

WWE.com had this to say regarding the brothers:

“Terrell & Terrence Hughes, the 23-year-old twin sons of WWE Hall of Famer D-Von Dudley. Both men played football in high school, and Terrell qualified for regional and state competition in wrestling. Their sports-entertainment training began in 2012 at the Dudleys’ Team 3D Academy, and the Hughes brothers have held tag team titles on the independent circuit under the name TNT.”

The brothers have wrestled 36 professional matches on the independent circuit. They have also won several tag team championships already in their short careers.

Their father, D-Von Dudley, retired from in-ring action in 2016. He continues to work with WWE in a producer role, usually for tag-team matches. D-Von and Bubba Ray have been inducted into both the Impact Wrestling and WWE Hall of Fames. D-Von also has two younger sons as well, born 6 and 13 years after Terrell and Terrence.

NXT Head Trainer, Matt Bloom, and Mark Henry presided over the tryouts.

Enzo Amore Opens Up About WWE Release, Final Days With Company

Former WWE Cruiserweight Champion and current rapper, Enzo Amore, has opened up further about his final days with WWE. Now going by the name @Real1, Enzo was a guest on the most recent episode of Steve Austin’s podcast.

One of the most controversial parts of Enzo’s WWE exit regards whether or not he informed WWE he was being investigated for a crime. Enzo is still claiming he did not know he was being investigated but did relay a story of his friend receiving an odd email from someone claiming to be an investigator.

“I got a buddy of mine who hit me up and said ‘hey man, my girlfriend got an email from a guy saying he was an investigator,” Enzo said. “Saying he was investigating a claim against a wrestler, never mentioned my name.”

Enzo then continued to say he called his lawyer who got in contact with the police department. The police told Enzo’s lawyer he was not being investigated or charged for anything. He then said the next he heard about it was when his accuser began posting on social media. Neither Enzo nor his friend’s girlfriend replied to the investigator’s email.

January 22nd, 2018 was the day the story began to leak. It was also the day of the Raw 25th Anniversary Special. Enzo was sent home that day and fired the next. He admitted he was wearing a t-shirt that said “Today is the Best Day of My Life, I Can’t Wait for Tomorrow” at the time. He also admitted that is kind of funny.

Enzo continued to say that when he left the Barclays Center that day he drove for 5 hours and recorded himself talking the whole time. He plans to release the footage someday.

Enzo said that when Vince McMahon told him to go home and wait to be called, he told Vince “I don’t deserve this, I’m a good person.”

When he was called the next day by WWE lawyers and told he was being fired, Enzo says he told them “It’s your loss, not mine.”

Enzo also spoke about his relationship with Liv Morgan. He said the pair remain friends despite having broken up a year and a half ago. Liv is even still roommates with Enzo’s friend. Previously, the three of them lived together in Orlando.

Evidently, Liv is not a great driver. Enzo relayed a story of how she damaged a car he gave her.

“I was leasing a Dodge Dart so I was broke bro, I didn’t have no damn money,” Enzo said. “So the Dodge Dart I called the Gionna Mobile because I gave it to my ex Liv Morgan, Gionna. She put dents, she didn’t know how to drive so she learned how to drive in that Dodge Dart. So we called it the Gionna Mobile, just chalked it up as an L bro.”

Damien Sandow Reveals New Look

Aaron Steven Haddad, better known to WWE fans as Damien Sandow, has revealed a new look. The former “Intellectual Savior Of The Masses” is now sporting a clean-shaven appearance these days.

In April of 2017, Sandow announced he was leaving Impact Wrestling and taking a sabbatical from sports entertainment. He has specifically stated he is not retired, however, only wishing to take a break from the wrestling industry.

“Ending on this note is not a bad thing,” he said. “I’m not saying that I’m never going to get in the ring again, but this is pretty cool and I’d much rather have people remember me for all the good stuff.”

He took to Twitter shortly after the comments and reaffirmed he was not retiring, however.

“I never said retirement,” Sandow Tweeted. “I’m just doing some other stuff for a while. One thing I will never do is lie to you guys.”

One promotion which has shown interest in bringing Sandow back to pro wrestling is Billy Corgan’s National Wrestling Alliance. Corgan and Sandow worked together briefly in Impact from 2016-17.

“I am not retired,” Sandow reiterated again on Twitter after leaving Impact. “@lmpactWrestIing was some of the most fun I have had in my career, great company. Just exploring other opportunities.”

One of those opportunities appears to be writing. Sandow is due to publish a book on his life after wrestling soon.

Alberto Del Rio Says He’s Proud Of CM Punk, Comments On Leaving Wrestling

Alberto Del Rio says he only takes 2-3 wrestling bookings a month these days and the rest of the time is for his children and other projects. He recently talked about his current schedule,  his transition to other forms of entertainment, and his relationship with WWE in an interview with Chris Van Vliet.

One of the most interesting topics Del Rio addressed, however, was CM Punk’s UFC career. Del Rio himself has a background in MMA. He has a 9-5 pro record in the sport. Del Rio is currently involved with the Combate Americas promotion as well.

“I just hate to hear people talk crap about someone like Phil,” Del Rio said about Punk. “Someone’s who’s got the balls to go and try something different.”

In regards to his current wrestling schedule, Del Rio mentioned he’s keeping his wrestling bookings to a minimum these days.

“A lot of people know I only take 2 or 3 wrestling shows or indy booking or whatever wrestling shows out there per month,” Del Rio said. “my time is for my kids, my time is for the other stuff I’m doing.”

“I’m in the middle of the transition from being a pro-wrestler to being an entertainer,” he continued. “I still love wrestling, I still have a lot of passion for wrestling but I think it’s time for me to start moving on to other stuff.”

Big Cass Update: Reporter Alleges False Accusations Have Been Made

There has been no shortage of theories as to why exactly Big Cass was fired from WWE recently. A report from Sports Illustrated indicated Cass’ drinking on the most recent European tour was to blame but there’s been speculation this was not the only reason.

A report from Wrestlingnews.co claims to have insider information regarding the situation.

“We were told that he went up to her and, according to a well-placed source, caused a scene while asking her to forgive him, apparently in hopes for a reconciliation,” the website states in their report. “Carmella tried to walk off but he grabbed her arm and wrestlers in the area stepped in. We’re told that The Usos and Erick Rowan were the ones to get Cass to back away.”

Robbie Fox from BarStool Sports is claiming these are false accusations, however:

“I’ve been pretty silent about Big Cass’ release from the WWE because he’s a good friend of mine and it’s just an unfortunate situation all around that I’ve felt really bad about, but this report that it’s because of an “altercation with Carmella” is complete and utter bullshit.”

“There never was an altercation with Carmella, or Vic Joseph, or the Usos, or ANYONE, and it fucking sucks to see Cass getting dragged through the mud because of a report from one of the most notoriously inaccurate “journalists” in modern pro wrestling history.”

“It’s disappointing that none of the names involved in the report have come forward to dispel the rumor like I figured they would, but hey, I guess if it doesn’t make THEM look good it’s not worth it, right?”

Sting Comforted Vader In His Final Days

The wrestling world lost Leon White earlier this week. The wrestler better known as Big Van Vader touched a lot of people in his 63 years. Wrestling legends and personalities, such as Mick Foley and Jim Ross, have paid tribute to Vader in the days since his death. His memory was honored at the NJPW shows this weekend as well.

TMZ has published an interview with Vader’s son, former NXT wrestler Jesse White. White wrestled under the name Jake Carter in WWE developmental from 2011 to 2013. According to Jesse, Sting was a big help to the family in Vader’s final days.

“Dallas Diamond Page, [Stone Cold Steve] Austin, Mick Foley,” White mentioned as having helped but one of Vader’s old friends made an extra special impression. “I do have to send a big thank-you out to Sting, Steve Borden.”

“Sting has been a huge blessing,” White said, also noting they had grown closer since Vader’s health began to decline.  “My father was a God-fearing man and so was Sting, and they would sit down and read the bible together. Go over the Bible, just talk about life and good time stories and, yeah, Stings been a huge blessing throughout this process.”

Sting and Vader were rivals in the ring. Vader won his first WCW World Championship from Sting in 1992, simultaneously ending Sting’s first run with the belt. Vader would lose the belt to Ron Simmons but gain it back just 5 months later. In 1993, Sting defeated Vader to win his 2nd WCW World Championship. He would drop the title back to Vader just 6 days later, however. All throughout 1992 and 1993, Sting and Vader would wrestle each other on WCW house shows as well.

More Details on WWE Blocking ROH From Running MSG

Last week, it was reported that the Ring of Honor was looking at booking Madison Square Garden for WrestleMania 35 weekend next April. A report from Pro Wrestling Insider then stated WWE had blocked them from booking the famous arena.

Chief Operating Officer for Ring of Honor, Joe Koff, spoke to PWI’s Mike Johnson.

“You know, I’m going to tell you Mike because you are asking. I’m not going to discuss beyond this statement because I am not going to litigate this in the press. We had a deal with (the) Garden and they then told us they were backing out after communications from the WWE. We are not able to get any other dates in any kind of discussion. I’m expecting that our lawyers will be contacting all the parties involved and the best we can hope for is that we can find resolution, and we can bring the kind of energy and excitement that ROH and our partner New Japan brings to a bigger audience and to bigger arenas to the fans of New York City.”

A recent report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter is now stating WWE was able to block ROH booking the building with just one phone call.

According to the Observer, ROH officials are furious about what happened and are looking at legal options:

"We were told last week by sources close to the situation that it could and probably would turn into an ugly legal fight." Dave Meltzer said.

Ring of Honor officials had been of the belief a deal had been struck, although the terms were agreed to orally and not in writing. MSG canceled the deal reportedly after one phone call from a high-ranking WWE employee (not Vince McMahon).

Sinclair believes a court would not uphold MSG’s cancellation of their agreement. This is the case despite the agreement never having been signed. There is also speculation that Madison Square Garden officials were looking for other wrestling promotions as WWE only runs house shows in the arena a few times a year. WWE does not generally broadcast television shows or PPVs from the arena due to the increased cost the venue charges for such rights. Some are saying MSG was upset the company will not be running WrestleMania from the arena despite being in the surrounding area.

AAA Lucha Libre has also expressed interesting in running MSG later this year.

WWE & Pro Wrestling NOAH Reach Deal To Share Hideo Itami

WWE has reportedly reached an agreement with Japanese promotion, Pro Wrestling NOAH, on a talent sharing deal. The agreement will see Hideo Itami return to the company he first made his name for.

According to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE and NOAH reached a talent-sharing agreement at least as it concerns Itami. The wrestler formerly known as KENTA, will return to NOAH for a show in August.

Kenta Kobayashi, better known to WWE fans as Hideo Itami, has struggled to become relevant in WWE. He spent 13 years in Pro Wrestling NOAH previously, winning their Junior Heavyweight Championship on 3 occasions. Near the end of his career with NOAH, Itami would enter the heavyweight division and win the GHC Heavyweight Championship as well.  Itami signed with WWE in 2014 but injury woes caused him to lose momentum on the NXT roster.

The wrestlers Itami shared the roster with in NXT have all been on the main roster for some time now. Finn Balor, Shinsuke Nakamura, Tyler Breeze, and even the Ascension were some of the top names in NXT at the time.

Itami dropped his KENTA name when he debuted for NXT. Before his first match, he announced he would be going by the name Hideo Itami. The name translates to “Hero of Pain”.

Eventually, Itami’s lack of success led to a heel turn. In 2017, he was moved to the cruiserweight division on 205 Live. On Tuesday night, Itami moved closer to his first shot at the Cruiserweight Championship by defeating Buddy Murphy and Mustafa Ali in a 3-way match. The win likely moves Itami into a position to be the next to challenge Cedric Alexander for the title.

WWE will run two shows from Tokyo on June 29th and 30th next week. Shinsuke Nakamura will challenge for the WWE Championship each night.

More Details On Big Cass’ Release From WWE

Yesterday, WWE announced they had parted ways with Smackdown talent, Big Cass. The announcement was made just hours before Smackdown went to air from Toledo, OH last night.

Also of note regarding Cass’ release is that it did not come with the normal wishing well in his future endeavors statement. WWE also chose not to wish Enzo Amore well on his future endeavors when he was released either. All other recently released WWE Superstars, including Austin Aries, Rich Swann, Darren Young, Emma, and Summer Rae were wished well by the company.

Sports Illustrated is reporting that multiple sources have told them that Cass’ drinking on the most recent European tour was an issue. Evidently, Cass was intoxicated often and in public during the tour. His attitude while drinking was also said to be an issue. According to SI’s Justin Barrasso, company officials were happy with Cass’ match at Money in the Bank and were surprised at his release, his attitude problems notwithstanding.

Cass was no stranger to heat while he was with WWE. There had been reports not long after he was brought up to the main roster with Enzo that Cass could be obnoxious in his political views, namely those regarding Donald Trump. Last month, Cass also upset officials when he reportedly went off-script during a segment. Cass’ character was involved in a scene with a little person dressed up as Daniel Bryan. Even though he was told not to go overboard with his beating of the little person, Cass did exactly that.

William Morrissey was signed to WWE in 2011 after being trained by Hall of Famer, Johnny Rodz. Prior to his signing, Cass played basketball for New York University. Despite being with the company for 7 years, Cass never won a title in either NXT or the main roster.

Big Van Vader

 

The legendary wrestler, Big Van Vader passed away today from complications from pneumonia.

Vader was considered one of the greatest super-heavyweight wrestlers of all times.  It was amazing to watch him use his size and weight to make his moves look more painful than when performed by someone half his size.

I first saw Vader at WCW's Great American Bash in 1990.  He came out to the ring wearing the mastodon mask that spouted smoke once he took it off.  I was scared of him.  He wasn't like the big, lovable El Gigante.  Vader was a massive man that scared the crap out of me.

Watching Vader in the ring, I was amazed at what he could do.  His speed was that of a man half of his weight.  Watching him do a moonsault off the top rope, my jaw dropped.  I never thought a man of his size could be able to do a move like that.

I was never lucky enough to watch Vader in New Japan, except for the WCW/New Japan Supershow cards.  So I missed out on his matches with Antonio Inoki and Riki Choshu.  I also missed out on the legendary match with Stan Hansen, when Vader's eye popped out of it's socket after Hansen accidentally poked his thumb in Vader's eye.

However, I was lucky enough to see Vader have amazing matches in WCW with Sting and Ric Flair.  But it was his matches with Cactus Jack (Mick Foley) that I remember the most.  Those matches were so physical and makes me cringe just thinking about them.  Especially the match in Germany, where Cactus Jack lost his ear when he got tangled up in the ropes.

Most fans will remember him for his run in WWF, but I try to forget it.  When he came to WWF, he was paired up with Jim Cornette, and to me it never worked.  WCW paired him up with Harley Race and it worked.  Harley had that rough voice and was known for being a tough man himself.  Cornette had the high pitched voice and looked like he was he was AWOL from an accounting firm.

I don't remember Vader having any memorable matches in his WWF run.  While he did have matches against people like Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, Goldust and Kane, it made me sick at my stomach to see Vince McMahon turn the man I once feared, into a glorified jobber.

I will always remember Big Van Vader as the power house monster that made a kid want to cry as he squashed his heroes.

My thoughts and prayers go out to his family.  He was 63 years old.

David Arquette Returns To The Ring For CFWH

David Arquette announced last month he plans to return to pro-wrestling. Few took his comments, or previous run in wrestling, seriously. Yesterday, Championship Wrestling from Hollywood posted a clip of the former WCW World Champion in action.

“I’d like to announce my return to professional wrestling!” Arquette proclaimed on the Wendy Williams show last month. He would later explain his motivation for returning as wanting to clear his name.  “I was promoting a movie I did called Ready to Rumble and it just so happened that I won the championship,” Arquette said. “(Fans) blamed me for ruining WCW, it’s no longer around and maybe I did have something to do with it.”

“For 18 years, I’ve been trolled on the internet,” he continued. “And I just want to bring some respect back to my name!”

According to the German wrestling statistic site, Cagematch, Arquette has officially wrestled in 5 pro-wrestling matches. Not only is he a former WCW World Champion, he actually successfully defended the title once against Tank Abbott.

April 24th, 2000 (Nitro)

David Arquette defeated Eric Bischoff

April 25th, 2000 (Thunder)

WCW World Championship

DDP (c) and David Arquette defeated Eric Bischoff and Jeff Jarrett (Arquette wins title due to getting the pin)

May 1st, 2000 (Nitro)

WCW World Heavyweight Championship

David Arquette (c) defeated Tank Abbott

May 7th, 2000 (Slamboree)

WCW World Heavyweight Championship

Triple Threat, Triple Cage

Jeff Jarrett defeated David Arquette and DDP

December 13th, 2010 (Monday Night Raw)

2-on-1 Handicap Match

Randy Orton defeated Alex Riley and David Arquette

When asked if working for WWE is in his future, Arquette had this to say:

“I love WWE, I’ve always been a fan of the McMahons and Vince and everything they’ve been doing over there,” Arquette said. “It’s always been a weird relationship between me and wrestling. I’m just trying to clear my name.”

Enzo Amore Opens Up About Problems With WWE

Former WWE Cruiserweight Champion, Enzo Amore, recently appeared on the “Store Horsemen” podcast. The podcast features comedians from “the Comedy Store” in Los Angeles talking about pro-wrestling.

During the podcast, Amore noted that he got into a disagreement with WWE management shortly after his heel turn. According to Enzo, the company never officially told him he was turning heel.

“I was backstage, I wrote the most tremendous promo of my life, which would have saved me as a babyface if I would have gotten the microphone,” Amore said. “So I was in the midst of turning heel but they didn’t want to tell me that, per say, per say. For the first time they come to me and say ‘no, you can’t say anything. You have to read this verbatim.’ And I’m backstage losing my shit, and Hunter comes up to me and was like ‘you say what’s on that script if you wanna keep your job.’ And they didn’t tell me I was turning heel so I get it, but at the time and in the moment, I was like fuck this man I’m quitting.”

As talk turned to the allegations which have been plaguing his career as of late, Enzo had this to say:

“You know how scarred I am, bro? I haven’t even talked to a woman in five-six months. I’m out here hitting the repeat list, dawg.”

It also appears Enzo did not get along well with the creative team in WWE. During the podcast, Enzo also spent some time explaining why he and the WWE writers often came into conflict.

“As a writer, you gotta understand why people were maybe were mad to work with me or say I was difficult to work with. If a writer has a job to work with you and you get to work on Monday I re-write the whole fucking promo,” Enzo said. “So they would give me my bullet points and I would rewrite my whole promos you know what I’m saying, and sometimes I could and could not, for instance ‘zero dimes’ you remember that thing? Like, Vince didn’t get it. So I used in NXT a bunch when I got to the main roster, Vince was like ‘…what’s that mean?’ So he doesn’t get but we’re making money off merchandise with it.”

Hangman Page Comments On Possibly Having Murdered Joey Ryan

While Hangman Page’s career seems to be skyrocketing, recent events could lead to his downfall. As has been alluded to recently on Being the Elite, there are concerns that Hangman Page is responsible for the disappearance of famous dick-wrestler, Joey Ryan.

He recently sat down with Impact Wrestling and AMBY’s Alicia Atout and spoke about the current allegations against him.

“If (Joey Ryan) is missing forever, I’m kind of fine with that,” Page explained. “But you know, it wasn’t me.”

Atout brought up that Joey Ryan’s wife has been raising concerns about Ryan’s whereabouts. She insinuated some are of the belief Page is responsible for Ryan’s disappearance. She asked Page why he dislikes Ryan so much.

“He was a penis pretender,” Page said. “I’m going to talk about him in the past tense maybe; he’s missing.”

“For years and years he built his whole career off a lie,” Page said regarding Ryan’s emphasis on his genitals. “As if he had a more impressive nether region than I did and it just wasn’t true.”

If Joey Ryan is ever to return, he might want to face Hangman Page on a big show. All-In on September 1st from Chicago seems like a possible time and location for such a match.

Atout also asked Page about the dissension in Bullet Club.

“At this point, it’s just down to Kenny and Cody; Two alpha males who they can’t help but want to call themselves the leader,” Page said. “We’re grown men, I don’t think we need a leader.”

Hangman Page will be in Texas tonight and tomorrow for Ring of Honor’s “State of the Art” tour. His most recent match was at Dominion this weekend. Page teamed with Cody and Marty Scurll to defeat the team of Rey Mysterio Jr, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Jushin “Thunder” Liger. He’ll team with the Young Bucks and Marty Scurll to go up against the Briscoes and KES tonight in San Antonio and then part of an ROH TV title 6-way Proving Ground match in Dallas on Saturday.

Meiko Satomura Likely Added To Mae Young Classic

Tokyo Sports is reporting that longtime Joshi veteran, Meiko Satomura, will be taking part in the second Mae Young Classic. The 38-year-old is a former World of Stardom champion and 1/3 of the Chikara Trios champions.

In 2005, Satomura co-founded the all-woman promotion, Sendai Girls. She also worked with WCW in the mid-90s on their short-lived women’s division which was to feature the likes of Bull Nakano and Madusa.

She helped create Sendai Girls after a previous female promotion, Gaea Japan, went out of business. Satomura wrestled in the final match ever held by the promotion before founding a new company the next year. She is the current Fight Club Pro champion. Satomura is also the last person to win the Joshi Puroresu Grand Prize award before Io Shirai began her sweep of the award. Satomura was given the award in 2013 and Shirai has swept every year since. That will change in 2018, however, as Shirai has spent the year with NXT.

Satomura defeated Kairi Hojo (Kairi Sane) for the World of Stardom Championship on July 26th, 2015. She held the title for 150 days before losing it to Io Shirai, who would then hold the title for 546 consecutive days. The most recent title change in the promotion saw Toni Storm drop the belt to Kagetsu on June 9th in Nagoya. Storm is recently believed to have signed a WWE UK deal and could likely end up in the second Mae Young Classic as well.

Last year, the tournament taped over a couple of days in July. They then aired the finale live in September. This year, it is believed they are looking at filming the tournament in August. This has not been confirmed, however. Full Sail University is expected to host the tournament again this year.

Impact Wrestling Hires Alicia Atout As Backstage Interviewer

Impact Wrestling has hired Alicia Atout as the company’s new backstage interviewer. Atout runs the award-winning blog and interview site, AMBY. The site posts interviews with wrestlers and musicians.

Atout was brought in by the company for the latest set of TV Tapings in Windsor. She recently posted to her social media account that she is now with the company in a more permanent role.

Impact’s previous host, McKenzie Mitchell, recently posted about moving on to new adventures. This should lead some to believe she is no longer going to be working with the promotion.

The company likely chose to bring in Atout over McKenzie at the most recent set of tapings due to geographical convenience. McKenzie is based out of Nashville and it had been easy to bring her in for the Orlando shows. As the tapings earlier this month took place in Windsor, ON, Canada it would have been cheaper for the company to bring in Atout, who is from Toronto.

Atout has also interviewed wrestlers for promotions such as Smash Wrestling, RISE, Shimmer, and appears frequently on the Fight Network in Canada.

Chris Jericho Says He Turned Down All In, New Japan’s US Shows

Chris Jericho recently reiterated that he will never work for another wrestling company in the United States other than WWE. It’s a statement Jericho has been making ever since taking a sabbatical from wrestling in 2006.

The new IWGP Intercontinental Champion was a guest on a recent episode of “Inside the Ropes.” He went into further detail regarding his current situation with both NJPW and WWE.

“I got asked to do Long Beach, I said no, I got asked to do Cow Palace, I said no, I got asked to do All In, I said no,” Jericho explained. “I don’t want to do that.”

“(This) is the most I’ve made for the least amount of matches I’ve had in my career,” Jericho said regarding his current situation with New Japan Pro Wrestling. He then stressed he would not be entertaining offers from promotions other than WWE to wrestle in the United States unless they were willing to offer a significant payday.

“I’m not going to work anywhere else unless you wanna pay six f***ing  figures,” he said. “This is Mayweather-McGregor type s**t for me.”

During the interview, Jericho talked about the commitment he made to Vince McMahon and WWE.

“The unwritten rule is I don’t want to go into the States,” Jericho said. “I feel like that would be a real slap in the face to Vince.”

While Jericho seems committed to living up to his promise, one has to wonder how long he can avoid being booked on NJPW’s United States shows. As the company looks to expand internationally, Jericho is a star the company likely wants to promote outside of Japan.

As for Jericho’s relationship with WWE, the last time he appeared on WWE programming was at the Greatest Royal Rumble from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Enzo Amore’s Return To Pro-Wrestling Announced

Enzo Amore is returning to professional wrestling. The promotion responsible for this is House of Glory, run by wrestler Amazing Red. The promotion has been running shows out of New York for the last 6 years. Their most recent event featured members of the Latin American Xchange and Juventud Guerrera.

The event will take place August 17th, 2018 from Jamaica, New York. There will be a pre-show Meet and Greet scheduled at NYC Arena as well. Amore now appears to be going under the name “Real1”, which has been his social media handle for some time now.

It is not yet clear if Enzo will be wrestling on the show or just making an appearance.

Amore’s last professional wrestling match was on January 21st, 2018. The match took place on a 205 Live house show. Amore successfully defended his Cruiserweight Championship against Cedric Alexander in a match which also featured Nia Jax as the special referee.

Ric Flair Says Ronda Rousey Only Signed A 1-Year Contract

According to the 16x World Champion, Ric Flair, WWE’s hottest mainstream celebrity is only signed on through next year’s WrestleMania. Flair’s understanding of the situation is that Rousey is only on a short-term commitment deal as she plans on starting a family.

Flair made the comments during an interview with Chris Van Vliet.

During the interview, the topic turned to Charlotte Flair possibly facing Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania 35 next year. It’s possible Charlotte and Ronda will be the first women to headline a WrestleMania.

Flair seemed to suggest Charlotte vs Ronda will need to happen next year as Ronda is only signed to a 1-year deal with the company.

“If they are ever going to put the women where they belong, this is the year because Ronda – I think Ronda only signed a 1-year deal and then she’s out of there,” Flair said. “She wants to have kids and all that.”

Flair and Hogan have been making promotional appearances together for several months. Since his health scare last year, Flair has been one of Hogan’s biggest proponents, stating the Hulkster has been there for him during some very tough periods in his life. Flair has been advocating for a return to WWE for Hogan as well.

The interviewer then turned his attention to Hogan. He asked the Hulkster how things were going in terms of an eventual return to WWE.

“Things are moving in that direction quite quickly,” Hogan said. “It’s all about execution and timing.”

Can Don Callis Bring Kenny Omega To Impact Wrestling?

Impact Wrestling recently held a press conference in Toronto to promote their upcoming Slammiversary pay-per-view.

During the conference, Callis was asked about Canadian wrestling prospects he might be interested in signing. His answer surprised me. “There’s a young Canadian kid I like, we’d love to sign him, his name is Kenny Omega,” Callis said. “Another is Chris Jericho.”

Chris Jericho likely isn’t working for an English language-based company other than WWE anytime soon. The potential for Kenny Omega ending up in Impact Wrestling somewhere down the line, however, is far greater.

Impact recently announced Taiji Ishimori will be returning to the company. Following Ishimori’s debut in NJPW, it was believed he was done with Impact. Ishimori was recently announced as competing at Slammiversary, however, indicating a deal has been reached for him to work for both companies.

Ishimori working for NJPW and Impact Wrestling is an interesting development. NJPW has talent-sharing agreements with CMLL and ROH. Impact Wrestling, in TNA form, previously had such an agreement as well.  After Kazuchika Okada’s excursion to the company went poorly, however, there was said to be a falling out between the two companies.

While one bridge between Impact and NJPW had been burnt, NJPW’s color commentator being hired as Impact Wrestling’s new co-Vice President built another. The Ishimori signing indicates Impact has at least cracked the door open for a talent-sharing arrangement with the talent-rich promotion. If that door opens fully, Kenny Omega will be the first one Callis brings in.

While it’s unknown if ROH and NJPW’s talent-sharing agreement is exclusive in the United States and Canada, it has worked out that way ever since TNA and NJPW had a falling out. ROH and Impact Wrestling don’t seem to mind sharing talent, however. They have already done so with Austin Aries.

To make things even more interesting, Chris Jericho recently announced Impact Wrestling will be apart of his cruise later this fall.

Brian Christopher Arrested In Memphis

Former WWE tag-team champion, Brian Christopher, has been arrested. Christopher and the owner/chairman of the Glory Championship Wrestling Alliance, Terry Teague, were arrested for failing to pay for a hotel bill totaling over $800.

It’s been an unfortunate few months for the son of Jerry Lawler. In March, it was reported that Christopher was beaten so badly he required surgery. Indie wrestler, Chase Stevens, was arrested shortly after the incident.

Fox Memphis was the first to report on Christopher’s arrest. According to their report, Lawler and Teague had used a company credit card to pay for their stay. When the hotel attempted to bill the wrestlers there was not enough money remaining on the card they used. The hotel then notified the police after being informed by Christopher and Teague that they were unable to pay their bill through other methods. The pair were staying at the Hampton Inn on Peabody Place in Memphis.

Christopher has been charged with Theft of Services under $1000 or less. The crime is deemed a misdemeanor offense in Tennessee.

Tennessee law lists the following possible penalties for Christopher’s offense:

“Tennessee law specifies that penalties for a Misdemeanor Theft conviction apply if the value of lost property or services was $1,000 or less.  Misdemeanor Theft is a Class A Misdemeanor and may result in some or all of the following penalties:

1. A sentence of up to 11 months, 29 days in prison;

2. A probationary period;

3. A fine of up to $2,500;

4. Court costs.”

The 46-year old has yet to wrestle a match in 2018. He’s been dealing with the facial injuries he suffered since March.

Christopher has been wrestling only sporadically in recent years. He wrestled 4 matches in 2017 and only 5 in 2016. Often, he will wrestle under his former Grandmasta Sexay gimmick as well. On occasion, he has been joined by Scotty 2 Hotty on the indie scene as well. In 2015, Too Cool wrested several matches together. Scotty 2 Hotty now works at the WWE Performance Center in Florida, however.

David Arquette Clarifies Return To Wrestling, Wants To Silence Haters

David Arquette announced yesterday he plans to return to professional wrestling. He made the announcement during an appearance on the Wendy Williams Show. He has since clarified his statements and motivation for returning.

Arquette explained his desire to return to wrestling has to do with wanting to silence the critics of his WCW World Championship run.

“I was promoting a movie I did called Ready to Rumble and it just so happened that I won the championship,” Arquette said yesterday on the Wendy Williams show. “(Fans) blamed me for ruining WCW. It’s no longer around and maybe I did have something to do with it.”

“For 18 years, I’ve been trolled on the internet,” he continued. “And I just want to bring some respect back to my name!”

After his announcement yesterday, Arquette spoke with TMZ Sports to clarify why he is returning to wrestling.

Arquette told TMZ he has been training to get in shape for his return. He’s been practicing jiu-jitsu and boxing as well.

He was asked if his return was a publicity stunt for a sequel to Ready 2 Rumble.

“Ready 2 Rumble 2 I don’t think will happen,” Arquette said before mentioning his co-star in the movie, Diamond Dallas Page. “I am going to be doing some DDP Yoga that’s for sure.”

When asked if Arquette plans to go for a championship or end up in WWE, here is what he had to say:

“I love WWE, I’ve always been a fan of the McMahons and Vince and everything they’ve been doing over there,” Arquette said. “It’s always been a weird relationship between me and wrestling. I’m just trying to clear my name.”

WWE wasted little time in promoting Arquette’s return to wrestling themselves. They Tweeted out the following not long after Arquette appeared on the Wendy Williams show.

So far, it’s not clear what promotion Arquette is looking to get booked with. The Hollywood actor is located in Los Angeles and seemingly could appear for promotions such as Joey Ryan’s the Bar Wrestling, though that is only speculation.