WWE

The Pay Cut Ultimatum

By Trish Speirs

After a series of releases the week after “WrestleMania 42”, WWE went a step further on May 2nd when news broke that over half a dozen of main roster talent had been asked to take a significant pay cut for the rest of their current contracts.

The practice being enacted came to the surface after The New Day team of Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston announced that they would be leaving the promotion. Their departures caused a major shock across the pro wrestling world, as both were considered as close to lifers for WWE as anyone on the roster could be, and the pair had signed large, seven figure deals in 2025 that spanned multiple years in duration. Kingston joined WWE in 2006 and is a former WWE World Champion, whilst Woods entered the ecosystem in 2010 and had played a key role in the expansion of gaming content alongside his work in the ring during the course of his time with the company. The New Day trio (consisting of Woods, Kingston and Big E) were huge merchandise movers in the later half of the 2010s but have found key television roles harder to come by over the past twelve months, with a heel turn for the active members just over a year ago having created a great moment before next to no follow up.

Kingston and Woods’s exit was presented as a mutual agreement between the wrestlers and the promotion at first, but it soon became clear that it was nothing of the sort once Bryan Alvarez of The Wrestling Observer reported that the pair “were asked to restructure to TKO deals, they didn’t like the deals, so they were then granted their release.” This reveals a scenario where the talent were effectively put into a situation where they either choose to reduce said contracts or accept the prospect of being cut from the roster and the wage bill in the near future. Woods and Kingston chose the cut (but under nicer phrasing).

The decision will have been made somewhat easier for the tag team in that the longevity of their careers in WWE will likely see them more financially secure than others potentially are; but more importantly, they also have a landing spot pretty much wrapped up for them in All Elite Wrestling, which will benefit short term from such an arrival in such circumstances, and have had interest in both wrestlers for a number of years. AEW sources tell us that Tony Khan insists that he will not contact the pair around contracts or creative until their ninety day no compete period expires, but everyone in the company is working under the expectation that both Woods and Kingston will be part of the active AEW roster by the time “All In” rolls around in late August.

On May 4th, PWInsider broke the subsequent story that further individuals had been asked to take pay cuts, with one individual agreeing to a 50% cut. This story was later confirmed by Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, who described the wrestler as someone who could be paid well in AEW should they choose to jump but opted to stay. The person was also described as someone who WWE didn’t “creatively take advantage of what they had” and that led to them being perceived as now holding less value than they did when they signed their current deal.

The extension of a performance-based culture to wrestler contracts is not new, even if this feels more extreme than it has in the past. What it represents, though, is the creation of an even bigger gap between the main event talent (whose pay is rising) and the lower tier talent (including arrivals from NXT), with the higher earning midcard being targeted within the wage structure instead. For those names, if they are not considered to be adding value to the product in order to match the amount in their contract then they will be at risk of being asked to have their deal restructured or be on the chopping block.

WWE provided further reasoning behind their approach to said deals, as Bryan Alvarez explained on Wrestling Observer Live on May 6th, where he listed their further justifications as being that the schedule has shrunk dramatically over the past few years due to the eradication of house shows, which also reduced the travel costs inflicted on talent from such a schedule and the “Smackdown” TV show returning to two hours over the summer after being a three hour show in the months previous. It is perhaps ironic that in the weeks after using these lines that WWE has begun to reinstate house show tours after realising a lack of reps is harming the development of wrestlers arriving from NXT from being able to rise to the very top spots in the company.

The more realistic explanation behind what is happening though is that this, like the house show eradication, is about reducing costs in a way that they feel will not affect the draw of their live shows and content overall, at a time where they do not feel that the individuals that they are targeting would mean a great deal to their competition if they were to choose the cut option over staying. WWE have seemingly been building to this over recent years, with the development of five match PLEs being another factor which reduced the need for an expensive upper midcard and they seemingly do not feel that drawing additions to the main event pool will now come from this group.

Perhaps the biggest questions raised after the news broke have not been of the system and company which is pursuing it, but rather, of the wrestlers who have chosen to stay with the company under such circumstances. Some commentators have labelled it as a “capitulation” that hurts the industry as a whole, putting all their anger over the situation onto the talent who have made the decision to accept such deals, rather than on WWE/TKO for putting the wrestlers in the situation where they are essentially being faced with a deal restructure or cut ultimatum. They wish to understand as to why anyone would consider doing this in the first place.

And whilst it is easy to want wrestlers to take a stand for the health of the entire industry, it does not match the reality of where a lot of wrestlers find themselves. Every wrestler within the category being asked to take said cuts will have discussed the restructures with their agents before coming to a decision and will be considering a number of factors, including their age, injury history, how being cut could potentially affect their own visa or those of family they are sponsoring, the level of their current push and whether that could be replicated elsewhere, whether AEW would have interest in them and whether they could command a similar wage there that they would even at the reduced rate in WWE.

We note AEW as the only potential landing place because of the numbers that the original deals were worth for said talent. There is no other promotion globally who could come close to paying a similar amount to what the two American giants are paying, with New Japan paying their top overseas wrestler of current around a tenth per year to what Santos Escobar had re-signed for last October with WWE. CMLL also does not have the ability to compete in wages in that way and TNA only has a handful of full time contracts at current, with acts such as The Hardys ones of the very few worth that sort of investment by the promotion because of the impact they have on their business.

The timing of this, just after dozens of releases, also increases the company’s leverage over the performers, who will likely find alternative work more difficult to secure when competing with a whole list of names. This isn’t a new tactic WWE are employing here either, with the likes of Brodie Lee and Mustafa Ali having being refused releases at times which would have helped them have a higher value upon leaving, only to be cut later on amongst a string of others.

And this is something else that has gone under the radar in recent weeks, in that these actions are not new at all, with most having seemingly been learnt by Paul Levesque and Nick Khan from Vince McMahon, alongside being adapted from those used by Endeavour after their takeover of UFC in July 2016. WWE has always released large numbers of main roster talent in bulk, and often included high earners, some of which saw their onscreen roles diminish in the months leading up to it, and some who were active in more profile spots on TV when it happened; the only difference these days is the labelling of it in a more minimalist way.

This is still the company who released a whole host of talent at the height of a global pandemic despite guaranteeing TV revenue at the full rate for the duration of the shutdown; it is also still the same company who renegotiated Bret Hart’s contract in 1997 which led to him ultimately leaving for WCW, and it remains the same company that used skits on its TV to muddy the waters on SEO searches around the Janel Grant lawsuit that is now doing the same around this issue through its Logan Paul/Joe Hendry program.

What makes it feel more difficult to stomach, though, is down to the sheer amount of revenue that WWE is now generating under the TKO umbrella. WWE has never generated more revenue and more profit during the course of its history than it does right now, and that makes the viewer think that they can afford to maintain a larger roster than in previous years as well as increasing wages to go alongside the increase in profits, similar to how the percentage of profit taken by players has increased in the US over recent decades in the major sports leagues. That is not something that sits within the aims and ambitions of TKO, though, who wish to reduce labour costs to as little as necessary whilst they serve their shareholders increased profits and keep the massive amount of inherited debt controlled.

And that leads to the question: is there anything wrestlers can do to fight back in WWE right now and as an industry?

What would be required is an industry wide approach (essentially a union approach) for this to happen, and everything within wrestling’s current structure is aimed at deferring that from ever taking place. The designation of wrestlers as independent contractors means that the type of collective bargaining that is seen in other sports is not as attractive to wrestlers as it should be. It leads to the focus being on the ‘self’ rather than the ‘group’ as a whole through necessity; after all, standing out from the pack is not advisable in this sense as it is WWE that controls a number of the factors that dictate your value – from one’s screen time, level of push, live mic time, outside opportunities and media. There is also not a whole league of other organisations to join if it does not work out in Stamford.

The company has also managed to successfully mark off those who would have the greatest impact if they were to take a stand, with main event talent not being approached to reduce their earnings and instead receiving raises over recent years. By expanding the gap to the top, they ensure that their top draws feel adequately compensated and therefore have less interest in what is happening just underneath them or the raising of wages compared to WWE profit as a whole. When you are earning more money than you ever have before, it is often hard to see that you could, and should, be earning even more money if such action was collectively taken.

The increased separation of the top tier, and their wages increasing, can be justified by TKO and WWE with the eradication of the upper midcard, but it is also important to the company in terms of encouraging those coming through their development system to push harder, knowing that they have a limited time to escape the middle tier. There is an acknowledgement within WWE top brass that their main event roster is aging and that there will need to be younger additions to it in order to move it forward. Those coming up from NXT will now have a limited window to get there, whilst also dealing with a main event pool who know that their guaranteed value only remains for as long as they can stay within that top group. All of this is only more likely to create further resentment for those in the middle towards those coming from NXT, and from everyone else towards the main event talents. It is not something that will be good for morale in the long term, and it is already having some significant impact within the roster as it stands right now.

It is this environment which prevents any sort of collective fightback and ensures that, if anyone was to refuse to take a cut in the circumstances that were originally listed, they would be simply viewed by remaining talent as someone vacating a spot which they now have the potential opportunity to fill than they would someone standing up for the wrestlers as a whole.

And it is this that limits any sort of fightback over the increased use of such practices purely to the individual level. WWE knew that by asking wrestlers stuck in the upper midcard to either take a pay cut or leave that they were not in a position to counter or fight it at that point. The perception of AEW as having much less structure than WWE, Tony Khan’s labelling as an outsider and a weak leader, and well known communication issues in the company, on top of WWE brass enthusing doubt over the security of AEW in regards to potential upcoming negotiations with Paramount, have caused those who are not guaranteed a top AEW spot from using the second American company for leverage in the way they should.

It is important to use AEW as a tool in that way for leverage, as it is in contract negotiations now where the fightback will have to begin. Wrestlers and their agents will now be required to push for higher money at the start of their contracts, when their value may be highest, or guaranteed amounts that must be paid before a cut can take place. Main eventers need to be pushing for no-cut clauses, which can then be used in replication tactics by others, whilst also placing emphasis on that with WWE paying a wrestler an overall amount, their per-date usage should not be a determining factor as to whether their contract can be increased or decreased – especially in an era where media content rights and sponsorship is responsible for far more revenue than the live gate. Wrestlers need to be placing more value on WWE having the exclusive rights to their likeness and usage of their individual brands in the current environment rather than how many “RAW” dates they work or other terms of that ilk.

It would also not be massively surprising if changes to terms of WWE contracts came from attempts to acquire top AEW talent in the near future, in the same way offers to the Elite in 2018 carried terms previously unseen in WWE contracts, and the arrival of AEW as a whole has been the key reason as to why pay across US TV has increased since 2019. The prevention from WWE holding a monopoly over the industry in the US may have prevented the company from enduring lawsuits over pay like in UFC, but it has also led to them paying out far higher costs than they would have otherwise. And therefore, any way they feel they can weaken AEW has been, and will continue to be, explored. One way, as previously noted back in 2021 by Vince McMahon, is to put a large number of upper midcard talent on the market which will be attractive to AEW, talent which would be given substantial TV time and significant pushes in order to justify said investment. With the top two or three individuals pretty much already determined for the foreseeable future within the main divisions, those in or around the top but not an overall priority are the ones who will either be required to put over the new arrivals or will see their time and opportunities reduced in order to accommodate.

“New arrivals are part of the business, but I can see how that too can add to those same feelings as well to people trying to rank up here. It’s tough enough to rank up here, to climb up here,” said one top AEW name. And it is this that WWE will be eyeing carefully, as with an already static top and a likely increased reliance of stability in 2027 with TV contracts on the line, it will leave some top level or potential top level talent on the outside and therefore looking to see if making a breakthrough to the top in WWE is a possibility. With a number of high profile AEW talents having become pretty much financially secure through their current deals, this environment will aid them if they potentially wish to make the move, with their body of work up to this point meaning even if they are unable to secure a top spot in WWE that they would likely be able to return to AEW and a similar spot. Recent moves, that are yet to play out publicly, also indicate that WWE and TKO now recognise that, to secure such top talent, they can no longer rely on “WrestleMania moments” to be the centerpiece of their offering.

Those sorts of opportunities, though, will only exist for the few and not the many (to a butcher an old UK political slogan), leaving those with no ambition to join WWE worried that the promotion’s current moves could lead to AEW becoming less inclined to offer top wages outside of a select few due to the perception of instability in WWE and several illustrations (in just this month alone) of not seeing through deals for their original duration or for the amount they were signed for. These actions have the possibility to reduce everyone’s leverage as a totality, especially once AEW’s next media deal is resolved. For those whose deals are up in 2027 and 2028, the network may still assist them in achieving a higher amount to what they currently earn if they are at a certain level, but there is a real fear that the bubble may have burst when it comes to significant raises to the pay structure in US wrestling as a whole.

Uncertainty seemingly is the weapon of choice for WWE and TKO right now, and it will need some different thinking or a band of togetherness pretty much never seen before if the wrestlers are to find ways to counter what their promotion is currently enforcing upon them.

WWE News Round-up

By Trish Speirs

WWE released Aleister Black, Zelina Vega, Kairi Sane, Uncle Howdy (Bo Dallas), Nikki Cross, Santos Escobar, The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin), Dexter Lumis, Apollo Crews, Erick Rowan, Joe Gacy, Andre Chase, Zoey Stark, Alba Fyre, Tyra Mae Steele, Sirena Linton, Tyson, Tyriek, Chris Island, Malik Blade, Trill London and Luca Crusifino on a weekend of widespread wage bill slashing just a week after “WrestleMania 42”. The releases came just days after massive salary raises for Mark Shapiro and Nick Khan for 2025 in TKO filings.

WWE blamed roster maintenance for the main roster releases as a number of talents were called up from NXT, meaning currently unused lower to midcard talent were deemed as no longer required. Others, such as Kairi Sane, were part of programs on TV when they were cut. Wade Keller, of PW Torch, reported that WWE creative were made aware of Sane’s outgoing status prior to “WrestleMania” and chose not to close off the program before her release for no known reason.

Others like Santos Escobar and Zoey Stark were either currently out with injury or just about to return from one. Escobar, who was injured whilst working AAA in March, had re-signed with WWE last October in a seven figure deal that came with various promises attached in order to prevent him from going to AEW. Those promises went unfulfilled, and his new deal ended up lasting six months.

All main roster talent will be subject to a 90-day no compete clause, whilst developmental talent will see a mixture of 30 days and 45 days in restrictions.

Joining the WWE main roster since “WrestleMania” from NXT have been Sol Ruca, Joe Hendry, Ethan Page, Fatal Influence, Ricky Starks and Blake Monroe. Ruca and Page will wrestle in featured matches on this weekend’s “Saturday Night’s Main Event” card, as Ruca takes on Becky Lynch (in what they finally decided is a non-title match) and Page wrestles Penta for the WWE Intercontinental Title. “SNME”, now solely broadcast on Peacock, also has Street Prophets vs The Vision for the WWE World Tag Team Titles, Brie Bella and Paige defending the WWE Women’s Tag Titles against Nia Jax and Lash Legend and a six-woman tag, where Rhea Ripley will team with Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair against Michin, B-Fab and Jade Cargill. The show, being broadcast from Fort Wayne, Indiana, as part of the state’s ongoing live event deal with WWE, has 10,300 tickets out, per Wrestletix. Which is honestly more than that card deserves.

WWE’s top stars will instead wrestle at “Clash in Italy” at the Analpi Arena in Turin on May 31st. Roman Reigns and Jacob Fatu will rematch from “Backlash” for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, whilst Cody Rhodes is set to face Gunther for the WWE Title. Gunther had originally been expected to face Roman Reigns this summer and Cody to continue his program with Randy Orton post-“Mania”, but a series of creative changes have ensued since their flagship shows. One man missing in action is CM Punk, whose current absence is being blamed on “scheduling changes” by WWE officials. Brock Lesnar returned to “RAW” on May 18th to retcon his faux retirement at “WrestleMania 42” to continue his program with Oba Femi with no even attempt at a proper explanation for the change.

Post Italy, the next PLE is still currently set to take place in Saudi Arabia on June 28th. Nick Khan, on the TKO Q1 earnings call, reiterated that they are currently still committed to the show in Riyadh despite the ongoing conflict between the US and Iran leading to several other Gulf states being hit by drone strikes.

Speaking of Nick Khan: the WWE President has signed a new contract with the company in order to take his term up to 2030. The new deal sees a 50% increase in his base salary from $2 million to $3 million as well as performance-based bonuses and a stock equity award worth $11 million for signing.

Khan also recently announced the re-signing of WWE Chief Content Officer Paul Levesque on a multi-year deal at a virtual town hall for WWE employees. PWInsider are reporting that the deal could be around three years in duration and was agreed to prior to their week of shows in Las Vegas.

Another deal signed is for NXT PLE’s to air on the CW Network in the US, which already hosts weekly TV for WWE’s developmental arm. There were no details in the deal press release, or announced after, as to whether there was any value added to the CW weekly TV deal or if this is an adjacent deal. The only known part of the agreement is that it is for twenty shows.

NXT have debuted a number of new faces in order to make up for the main roster call ups, with the most notable being former New Japan wrestler EVIL, now renamed Naraku, who has opted for an NXT stint in order to help him adjust to life in the US and the challenges of US television. EVIL, real name Takaaki Watanabe, announced his marriage to fellow wrestler IYO SKY publicly for the first time this past week.

Will Kroos, who is the Progress talent we noted was heading to WWE in our February issue, has adopted the name Mason Rook. Kroos had informed numerous members of the Pro Wrestling NOAH locker room that he was heading to Orlando during his tour where he dropped the Progress Atlas Title.

Backlash 2026

Date: 9 May 2026
Location: Benchmark International Arena, Florida, USA
Announced Attendance: 14,746
Watch On: ESPN (USA), Netflix (Rest of the World)

Review By David Hayter

WWE has emerged from “WrestleMania” less confidently striding and more schizophrenically staggering towards “Backlash”, an event that has itself historically suffered from split personality disorder. Originally designed as a PPV to cash in on the success of “WrestleMania” with a raft of reruns (hence the name), the show now tries to awkwardly bridge the gap between past and future programmes by tentatively introducing the new direction without actually giving away any of the big matches or key finishes that will play out at “SummerSlam”.

The 2026 edition feels like both an overflow event and a make-do for key “Mania” programmes that were granted short shrift on the “Grandest Stage of Them All”. Sami Zayn and Trick Williams had carefully crafted a story of a bitter old veteran facing off against a young flash in the pan, where Sami was determined to drag Trick into the deep water of a long wrestling match where the showman would surely sink. Come “WrestleMania”, the pair were afforded seven short minutes and had to scrap the intended story in favour of a decisive coronation. Speaking of being scrapped, Iyo Sky and Asuka’s year-long storyline of friendship, family and betrayal was left on the cutting room floor. In fact, WWE waited so long to pull the trigger on this match that Kairi Sane, the emotional crux and central pivot point of the entire storyline, has now been released.

Seth Rollins and Bron Breakker is stranger still. They were locked in for “WrestleMania” when Bron suffered a freak injury lifting the announcers’ table. The young Steiner was fit and ready to return at “Mania”, but WWE opted to go with a really rather excellent Rollins-Gunther affair instead, with Bron making his “shock” return to cost Rollins the match. Without the injury, the feud may well have been blown off at “WrestleMania”, but it appears to be just kicking into gear at “Backlash”, perfectly representing the PLE’s confused hybrid of past and future direction.

It’s ironic, of course, that the one match on the card that is new and speaking definitively to the promotion’s new destination of travel is steeped in nostalgia for the past. Roman Reigns vs Jacob Fatu sees the Bloodline storyline return with a vengeance and, to their credit, it has been tremendously effective. Roman is playing at being the old, wiser, kinder Tribal Chief. He is notionally treating the Usos as respected equals while simultaneously trying to quash an uprising from his untameable cousin Jacob Fatu. The storyline instantly revealed how much better written and more focused WWE’s storytelling is when the Bloodline are involved, as both Jacob and Roman explored genuine shades of grey within their characters. Jacob as the hungry and relatable underdog driven to an unacceptable level of violence and desperation by his quest for economic security, and Roman as the threatened leader, letting his nice-guy mask slip to reveal the tyrannical Head of the Table who remains unrepentant and utterly egotistical.
Taken as a whole, “Backlash” is a tonally uneven show, but a rewarding watch: a refreshing change of pace from a “WrestleMania” card consumed by commercialisation where wrestling felt entirely secondary. On this night in Tampa, there were dignity-destroying cash-ins galore, but they were ultimately shorter and less intrusive as each wrestling match was given plenty of time to breathe, allowing the wrestlers to tell compelling stories in the ring through their physicality. Far fewer people will have witnessed Iyo vs Asuka or Rollins vs Breakker because they missed the cut for “Mania”, but those who did tune in were treated to richer, more thoughtful and ultimately more satisfying matches as a result. In many ways, “Backlash” is a triumphant make-good from WWE that may well prove too little too late in the court of public opinion.

The Tears Of A Clown: Asuka Passes The Torch To Iyo And Bids Farewell (For Now)

It’s a testament to both how beloved Asuka has become in the Western world and her own irrepressible eccentricity that fans not only believed, but were moved to tears by the idea that she might simply retire on a whim. In truth, it would have been a perfect gesture for one of wrestling’s most mercurial and wilfully obstinate figures to forgo the trite glad-handing of a retirement tour and simply sashay off into the sunset (literally avoiding Iyo Sky’s attempt at a final embrace). Whether she was burning bridges and scorching the earth in the Joshi world with her legendary Shupro “manifesto” or simply launching into a bi-monthly Twitter tirade about the futility of star ratings and the redundancy of music critics, Asuka has always marched to the beat of her own drum.

In many ways, it’s hard to even reflect on and review the match itself when what happened after the final bell proved so unexpectedly beautiful. Having secured the pin with the Over The Moonsault, Iyo Sky rolled over, selling complete exhaustion, into a subtle full-body bow to her fallen mentor. Asuka, still selling, made it to her feet, struggling mightily to hold back a torrent of tears. It was a forlorn effort; despite her stubbornness, the tears began to flow and, in a wonderfully endearing moment, Asuka managed to compose herself just long enough to flash a final demented joker smile before fully embracing Iyo.

The hug proved charmingly clumsy. Completely devoid of artifice and not remotely performative in nature, Asuka began planting a barrage of kisses on Iyo’s forehead as the younger wrestler tried (and failed) to lift her mentor into the air. The spontaneity and shock of the moment made it all the more endearing – and, just as the fans began to understand the enormity of the moment, Asuka was already waving goodbye. She sauntered off into the sunset so fast that poor Iyo was left reaching out with open arms like an abandoned child as her mother walked away.

At the time of writing, it appears that Asuka has not retired formally, nor has she been cut; instead, she will be returning to Japan for some extended time away, with Dave Meltzer describing her status as “semi-retired”.

The post-match completely reframes the work that preceded it. The mentor-vs-student themes of this pleasingly long and technical (by WWE standards) battle are recast as a definitive passing of the torch. Japan’s greatest female export yielding to a younger, more popular, more dynamic, but not necessarily superior protégé. The psychology was perfect for the occasion: Iyo was presented as faster and more athletically gifted than her older rival, as she flipped and kipped out of a variety of exchanges. Whereas Asuka was positioned as more wily and technically adept; she had a counter for all of Iyo’s offence and, when it came down to it, was more violent and vicious than her younger opponent.

The result was some brilliant sequences, with Asuka out-grappling Iyo on the mat by trapping her in both the cross arm-breaker and the Asuka Lock. Iyo fared no better when it came to high-impact moves; Asuka would get the upper hand in two absolutely sumptuous sequences, first by not only kicking out at two from Iyo’s bridging German suplex, but rolling as she raised her shoulder straight into a Kimura. Then later, when Iyo finally appeared to be gaining momentum, Asuka would keep her body tight to Iyo’s during a top-rope Frankensteiner, allowing Asuka to roll straight through with a sunset flip for a great near-fall, which unsurprisingly drew “this is awesome” chants.

Asuka wasn’t just winning the technical battle, she was overwhelmingly winning the war. Beyond just throwing stiff forearms, at one stage early in the match Asuka started throwing MMA-style elbows directly to Iyo’s jaw and later she would cave in Iyo’s chest with a series of hard kicks.

It didn’t all go according to plan, however. Early in the match, Asuka countered Iyo’s high-speed offence by tripping her in the ropes, but when she tried to swing Iyo head-first into the ring post, Iyo’s head and arms visibly missed (that is the trouble with being 5’1”). Similarly, Asuka was out of position on a Triangle Choke counter to the Over The Moonsault and Iyo had to quickly scoot into her grasp and, more generally, there were a few moments in the suplex exchanges where the women weren’t quite where they needed to be to ensure maximum fluidity. Iyo had a few issues of her own; she didn’t miss moves per se, but she does have something of a striking issue. She has been taking MMA classes and has incorporated a spinning back elbow and thrust kick into her offence which, along with her Shoteis, are performed way too safely and softly. Since coming to WWE, Iyo’s strikes have become pillowy and gentle; she’s more than established enough at this point to take a page out of Asuka’s book and start laying it in once more.

The point, of course, is not to pick holes in a really rather excellent and distinctly non-WWE-style match that told a slow-build psychological story through the exchanges of wrestling holds on a card that prioritised high-intensity action, run-ins and comedy. Instead, it’s to reflect on the tragedy that we may not get to see Iyo and Asuka face off again. In the build, Asuka dropped hints that this would be a one-and-done, and that appears to be the case. This is a shame, because there is an even better version of this match that the pair could deliver. We’ve now seen them tell an epic story and, in past tag matches, we’ve seen them violently rip it up at 100mph, but frankly it would be fantastic if we could see those two styles melded together for one epic final encounter.

Still, there’s no point dwelling on what could have been when what was delivered was so undeniably compelling. When Asuka and Iyo clicked, they produced a wonderful blend of meaty violence and graceful elegance, particularly as they rolled, transitioned and traded Asuka Locks – a move which, with its double leg hooks, single chicken wing and chin crank, is not easily entered into. Asuka was presented as the dominant star of the match, but a large portion of the credit belongs to Iyo, who put on a masterclass in hard bumping and sympathetic babyface selling. Iyo is that remarkably rare commodity: a babyface in peril who can be vulnerable and endearing without feeling weak, pathetic or uncool.

The match built and built until finally Iyo managed to outwit the old master. With both women on the announce table, Asuka went for the poison mist and Iyo blocked it using Wade Barrett’s laptop before sweeping Asuka’s legs and sending her crashing face-first onto the table. From there on in, it was academic. Iyo would hit an Asai Moonsault (after prompting Asuka to get in position), before an exchange of German suplexes, a Bullet Train attack and the Over The Moonsault would see her decisively pick up the win. It climaxed the storyline perfectly with the roles reversed and Asuka unable to recover her composure. The finish itself felt like a lovely throwback to Japanese wrestling of the 1990s, before endless kick-outs became the norm.

There are some elephants in the room to address, or more specifically, one elephant left frustratingly outside the room. The entire year-long story of Asuka and Iyo Sky has been built around Kairi Sane. It was Asuka’s jealousy at Iyo’s friendship with Rhea Ripley and her cruel treatment of Kairi that drove the wedge between Iyo and Asuka in the first place. Kairi was the sympathetic heart of the storyline, torn between the two people she loved most in the world and brutally bullied into Stockholm Syndrome-like submission by an Asuka who feared losing another loyal student. WWE would cut or not renew Kairi just three weeks before this match took place, which naturally resulted in the fans chanting “We Want Kairi” during a key in-ring segment on “RAW” and repeatedly during the first five minutes of this match. In fact, on two occasions when fans tried to start “Let’s Go Iyo” chants, they were quickly overwhelmed by cries of “We Want Kairi”.

Ultimately, it didn’t hurt the match as a whole, as after 10 minutes of compelling action and carefully working their way through the gears, Iyo and Asuka had the once-rebellious crowd in the palm of their hands. Nevertheless, there’s no denying that final teary hug was sorely missing Kairi. This is a point that Asuka and Iyo clearly wanted to make themselves, as the image Iyo posted after the match saw Iyo and Asuka embracing with Kairi’s Kitsune mask sandwiched between them.

Jacob Fatu Lives Up To His ‘All Gas, No Brakes’ Moniker By Forcing Roman To Sweat In An Excellent Main Event

After a disastrous United States title feud with Solo Sikoa threatened to take the edge off the Samoan Werewolf in 2025, Jacob Fatu has come roaring back to his unkempt and untameable best when facing the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Roman Reigns. Wrestled in front of a white-hot crowd, Jacob and Roman’s characters combined perfectly to deliver a relentless world title clash that tore up not only the standard WWE blueprint, but Roman’s own signature “talk-and-brawl” layout. The story was simple: Jacob is a man of his word. He’s violent, he’s aggressive, he wrestles without respect or deference for his opponent and he is “all gas, no brakes”.

Far from a catchphrase, Jacob wrestled with a smothering aggression that robbed Roman Reigns of his usual composure and command. Roman simply could not settle into a rhythm, as every time he took control with a Superman Punch or a Spear, Jacob would no-sell, kick out and get right back up in Roman’s face. Even when Reigns had control he never felt assured; his every movement was panicked and rushed, like he was fighting not so much for survival, but merely for room to breathe. Jacob, however, just kept coming with suicide dives, superkicks, powerbombs, moonsaults and hip attacks. Roman’s statuesque physique was soon drenched in sweat as he was chased around the ring, forced into desperate cut-off tactics and clever Superman Punch counters in the brief moments when he wasn’t being blasted with strikes or driven through tables.

The momentum was so undeniable with Jacob Fatu (who was being raucously cheered) that the crowd found themselves biting on almost every near-fall. Jacob was sweeping everyone up in a wave of violence to the point where the crowd genuinely gasped when Roman kicked out of the first Mighty Moonsault. Roman soon realised he was fighting for his life as none of his finishers came close to securing victory and Jacob kept jabbing his fingers into Roman’s throat to apply the Tongan Death Grip at every opportunity. Roman would eventually manage to find the winning edge through sheer desperation. Despite being the nominal underdog hero in this babyface-vs-babyface match, it was Roman who would have to claw at Jacob’s eyes to scrape a semblance of respite. Then, when it came time for the finish, Roman would cravenly yank off the turnbuckle pad in pure desperation before ramming Jacob’s skull into the exposed steel and hitting a quick Spear to secure the flash pinfall.

In a brilliant touch, Jacob would pop straight up to his feet as Roman lay spent and defeated even in victory. Jacob was shocked, incensed and utterly contemptuous of the way Roman had eked out a victory. Despite winning, Roman had managed to prove that he was not, in fact, the better man. He looked weak and pathetic next to the psychotic and desperate Fatu, who snapped and proceeded to beat and choke Reigns to near death in the post-match. Officials, including “RAW” General Manager Adam Pearce, would be laid to waste by the unhinged Fatu. This was not only an excellent match and a richly satisfying narrative, but a star-making performance from Fatu.

Bron Bests Rollins In Blistering Opener, But Rollins Repeatedly Flubs His Lines In Futile Attempt To Upstage Will Ospreay

Bron Breakker was incredibly physically impressive in his long-awaited showdown with his former Vision leader Seth Rollins, but one moment above all others demonstrated that the young Steiner is wise beyond his years. In the middle of the match, as Seth Rollins was just starting to make his comeback, the veteran found himself in a spot of bother. Seth, it seems, was intent on proving that anything Will Ospreay could do he could…well, he couldn’t do it at all, in fact. Seth’s first misadventure came when he sought to counter a Steinerline into a Liger Bomb using the flying counter that Dragon Lee popularised, but is most famously executed by one Will Ospreay. Seth flipped, got stuck upside down, veered off to the side and appeared to bonk his head on landing. Not skipping a beat, Bron Breakker rolled Seth onto his back and immediately hit a gorgeous standing moonsault and, before the crowd could even finish groaning, they were gasping and roaring their approval.

Breakker’s quick thinking didn’t stop there. Not only had he smoothly concealed a botch, maintained the crowd’s frenzied atmosphere and saved Seth some considerable embarrassment, but he found a way to get the match back on track. Shrewdly, Bron then marched Rollins to the corner and began a ten-punch. This allowed Seth a few moments to regain his composure, pick Bron up out of the corner and hit the Liger Bomb as if nothing had happened. Unfortunately, the second time Seth stumbled, Bron would have no choice but to repeat a spot. Yes, that’s right, despite falling on his head, Seth still wanted to play Will Ospreay some more. Later in the match, Bron would take Seth to the top rope, hit a Frankensteiner and… Seth’s feet would get tangled on the top rope and thankfully he would tumble and land on his back. Bron, again thinking quickly, would march Seth across the ring, playing like he wanted to cruelly hit the move again to double the impact, but this time Seth would flip through the air for an extra rotation and land perfectly… on his arse, and kind of on his feet, if it counts as being on your feet when both your backside and hands also connect with the mat.

Yes, Seth attempted to front-flip out of a Frankensteiner, land on his feet and do the dramatic stare into camera as Bron realised his move had failed. It’s a spot Ospreay, Ricochet, every decent luchador and Kelani Jordan have all pulled off with ease, but Seth cocked it up twice. The goal here is not to mock Seth, who is a tremendously talented wrestler, but instead to get the obvious criticism out of the way early. This match between Bron and Rollins was excellent, heated, intense and dynamic, but Seth nearly derailed it by trying to engage in an athletic pissing contest with someone who isn’t even on the WWE roster. Seth is supposed to be the veteran leading Bron through his biggest main-roster match to date and, instead, it seemed like Bron was the only one actually focused on delivering a fitting payoff to their year-long storyline. The lesson is simple: don’t be a dick, just ignore the online discourse. When Ricochet cruelly and chauvinistically demeaned Iyo Sky’s in-ring ability on Twitter, you didn’t see Iyo trying to do 630 splashes the next week; she just got on with her life like an actual adult. Seth should take heed; he really shouldn’t be so easily rattled at this stage of his life.

Mercifully, on either side of Seth’s fumbles, the match was a superbly constructed showdown between two stablemates who knew each other’s offence inside and out. Seth would start the match by evading Bron’s Spear and from there on in the counters wouldn’t stop coming as the two wildly brawled around the ring. Both men had the other’s signature spots scouted. Seth would use a superkick to kill Bron’s momentum during his crowd-pleasing run-around-the-ring Spear, while, not to be outdone, Bron would brilliantly flip the script on Seth’s Superplex-Falcon Arrow combo. Just as Seth thought he was safe having hit the superplex portion, Bron would, without remotely telegraphing the moment, hurl Seth up into the air for a brilliant Falcon Arrow of his own.

So much of the match was designed to showcase Breakker’s explosiveness with an excellent quick-quick-slow pacing that kept fans guessing as to when Bron’s next spasm of offence would occur. Bron appears to have been afforded a wonderful freedom to break from the WWE main-event pattern: during an early sequence when Seth appeared in control, Bron just shot the most sudden and violent double-leg takedown at ringside and began pummelling Rollins in a refreshingly ugly and urgent sequence. Not to be outdone, Seth did deliver some creative and violent moments of his own. The most notable of which came when Bron avoided the Curb Stomp by pulling his head up into a kneeling position (the rare sensible counter that breaks wrestling’s unwritten rules), only for Seth to adapt and absolutely cream Breakker with a pump knee.

The match concluded in thrilling fashion with both Breakker and Rollins getting near-falls using conventional WWE match finishes. Seth smartly rolled to the outside the second Paul Heyman got up on the apron and, anticipating a Vision run-in, picked up a chair to destroy Logan Paul and Austin Theory as they attempted a sneak attack. It was a nice plot point as it played into the story of each man knowing the other’s tricks while giving Seth an excuse for losing (a momentary distraction) without having the Vision actually physically assault him. Bron was still positioned as a dominant victor after he kicked out of the Curb Stomp and survived multiple Pedigree counters, before eventually catching Rollins coming off the second rope with a brutal Spear to end Rollins’ resistance once and for all.

Sami Comes Apart At The Seams Allowing Trick Williams To Retain The US Title

The life and death of the Gingerbread Man has caused much consternation online, but truth be told, while the storyline is silly, it has mostly been harmless fun and nowhere near as abhorrent as the Pat McAfee fiasco that nearly ruined “WrestleMania”. The idea is simple: Trick Williams is having fun with fans at Zayn’s expense and Sami, as the only adult in the room, is being driven to distraction by the fact that not only is he being ridiculed, but the entirety of WWE is playing along with Trick’s foolishness – to the point of giving a Gingerbread Man a live television funeral on “SmackDown”. Sami is a serious, hard-working wrestler and he can’t stomach the fact that all his endeavour and good-intentioned heroism has not only failed to deliver him a world title, but has seen him be passed over in the eyes of the fans for what he views as a charismatic flash in the pan.

Ever committed to the bit, Sami arrived for tonight’s match with the greasiest and most strung-out hair of his entire career, giving the impression that he’s so apprehensive and gotten to that he’s no longer taking care of himself. The perfect contrast to Trick’s gleaming presentation and million-dollar looks. Sami also wrestled with an aggressive desperation and, whenever he had to make a key decision, rather than focusing on securing the victory, he’d choose revenge and punishment: battering Trick’s manager, the rapper Lil Yachty, repeatedly, at first with his fists and then later with a Helluva Kick.

The match itself was nothing special, but nevertheless represented a marked improvement on their “Mania” clash. Trick isn’t particularly fluid, but he has focused in on picking a series of strong signature spots largely cribbed from Booker T that he can nail perfectly time after time (high kicks, scissors kicks, the Book End, etc.). Trick also showed a flair for adaptation, varying the pace of his corner stomps to elicit and bolster nascent “Whoop That Trick” chants. Sami, for his part, was professional and surprisingly aggressive (at one point he nearly decapitated Trick with a kendo stick shot that landed directly on Trick’s neck). However, Sami wasn’t trying to wrestle his best match; he was instead focused on accelerating his heel turn, faking a knee injury to lure Trick into a near-fall and cheap-shotting Lil Yachty. None of his antics would prove successful, however, as the match would inoffensively end with Trick catching Sami with the Trick Shot to retain his title.

Danhausen Survives A Lame-Duck Reveal To Deliver A Long, But Largely Likeable Comedy Match

Triple H’s decision to put the Kit Wilson & The Miz vs Danhausen and a mystery partner tag match on a PLE inevitably led to runaway fan speculation. Surely, the only way a match this inconsequential would be featured on a show this important was if Danhausen’s partner was a big name. His partner had to be CM Punk-hausen or Oba Femi-hausen – it was the only logical explanation! Well, actually, it turned out that Danhausen’s mystery partner was his own failed clone: a Mini-hausen played by the current Máscara Sagrada. The fans were not thrilled, to say the least.

Despite this initial disappointment, the frustration never grew beyond a few jeers and groans in the early going. Thankfully, Máscara Sagrada is a phenomenon and, despite a few botches because Kit and The Miz had no idea how to base for lucha, let alone lucha from a mini, the crowd were soon eating out of the palm of his hand. There were satellite headscissors and hurricanranas galore, with Kit Wilson in particular making it his life’s mission to take gargantuan bumps for his pint-sized opponent. The comedy was largely successful, from the big swings (Kit throwing Mini-hausen into the cloning machine leading to the creation of an army of Mini-hausens) to some subtle sight gags (Miz lifting Mini-hausen high into the air for the Skull Crushing Finale, but still choosing to sweep the non-existent legs). The biggest single pop came when Mini-hausen tried to curse Kit, but Wilson smartly (I guess) reversed the curse by holding up a mirror (the classic Clash of the Titans finish). However, by this point the match had dragged on for an insanely long 12 minutes and had substantially overstayed its welcome. When Danhausen finally picked up the victory with an ugly-looking kick, it felt like a relief.

WWE Is Treading Water Business-Wise

By H Katch

“WrestleMania” is World Wrestling Entertainment’s (WWE) annual marquee event of their calendar year. The hype starts in February and builds through March, with the two night extravaganza in April providing hype, spectacle, and closure for multiple story lines. The events’ branding has earned multi-million dollar site fees from prospective states, free media in the form of senators requesting access in publicly available hearings, and historically, the large gates and attendance positively impact TKO holdings for its shareholders.

This years’ “WrestleMania” took place as a two night event on April 18-19, 2026. The first night was widely panned, and the second night was viewed as serviceable. For more in-depth on the event itself, I highly recommend reviewing the SOSU coverage on nights one and two. In the aftermath of the event, WWE put out a self-congratulatory press release related to the event. The company noted that the event had the highest-ever gate, and “attendance reached 106,072 with tickets purchased from all 50 states and more than 69 countries.” In other outlets, WWE leadership boasted that they had sold over $2500 USD worth of tickets to the Make-A-Wish foundation.

Given all of this, one would be tempted to think that “WrestleMania” illustrated a thriving growing business for TKO with nary a concern in their world. While TKO and its subsidiary company are in no danger, things are also not as rosy as they would like the picture to look.

Approximately 50,000 tickets were sold for each night of this year’s event, a reduction of 10,000 paid attendees per night from the previous year. Last year’s event, in the same location, had a cumulative 118,000 in attendance with about 60,000 people watching in person each night.

The 52-week high for the TKO stock price occurred on March 2, 2026, in the immediate aftermath of WWE “Elimination Chamber” PLE making it to $223 per share. The stocks fortunes have trended downwards from there to crater at 183.10 USD per share, on Tuesday April 21, 2026. The aforementioned press release was issued the following day, on Wednesday April 22, 2026. As noted by Trish, during the April 28th, 2026 episode of the Trish and Sarah Wrestling Podcast, ESPN did not also issue an accompanying press release on the success of the show. The press release, however, did have the desired business impact that day as the stock gained $3 USD per share. The stock has not regained any other momentum.

In an effort to further move the needle in advance of the quarterly stock meeting, WWE shed dozens of mid and lower card talent along with 2-3 higher level talent who chose not to restructure recently signed deals. Based on the data provided at the shareholder meeting, the only places WWE grew were in initial tv rights deals completed in Q1. Every other metric lost money, including site fees and paid attendance. This information, to date, has not further benefitted TKO stocks this year.

Were these trends affiliated with AEW, every doomsayer across the internet would be (wrongly) writing obituaries for AEWs “inevitable” demise. TKO will not have anyone writing these stories during their cold cycles. On the whole, TKO stock has grown 20% year over year, perhaps providing cover from a potential market panic or perceived business weakness. The brand itself has grown and is not showing overall signs of wear on their face. Despite that longer term strength, the short term signals outlined above serve as a warning that bravado and self congratulations can only assist so far.

The underlying trends found in the last few months, including the inability, despite cutting contract costs, to show growth in any categories outside of media rights, illustrate cracks in WWEs inevitability and propaganda. Perhaps WWE isn’t on a precipice towards financial irrelevance, but if it continues to ignore the warning signs, next “WrestleMania” may have us all looking back on when the winds shifted. Even with the TKO stock silver lining, the inability to expand market share during one’s biggest month of the year may be its own indictment.

AEW

“Double or Nothing” Preview Notes

By Trish Speirs

(Editor Note: These were written before the show and remained here to give you a glimpse into our thoughts heading into the show.)

AEW will celebrate the completion of their seventh full year as a promotion with their first PPV in New York City. “Double Or Nothing” will air from a sold out Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, with over 14,000 in attendance and a gate of $1.5 million, which is the second highest gate in the US, for a non WWE show, outside of last year’s “All In: Texas”. It is the second highest gate for a non “All In” event in AEW company history, behind last year’s “Forbidden Door” show in London ($2.7-2.8 million) and the fifth highest overall. AEW have had a larger crowd in the same complex, with 2021’s “Grand Slam” event at neighbouring Arthur Ashe Stadium having announced 20,177 for the promotion’s first appearance in the New York market, but the slightly smaller Armstrong venue, combined with being able to use more in demand PPV pricing, has lead to a much higher gate.

The show sold out a week in advance, and will have a secondary market price similar to “All Out 2021”, meaning it will likely end up either first or second for final day get in prices for PPV, with the only TV competition on the list being the “Dynamite” from the much smaller Aragon Ballroom in Chicago last July, which featured a world title match and created a get-in price of over $200 on the final day. The high demand for “Double or Nothing”, which saw the show cross 12,000 before the top matches for the card were announced, should make New York City a favourite for a larger stadium show in 2027, especially with notable speculation within the industry that AEW will attempt multiple stadium shows in North America next year.

The “Double or Nothing” main event will see Darby Allin defend the AEW Men’s World Championship against MJF, where MJF’s hair is on the line, in a rematch from the “Dynamite” in Everett, Washington. Hair stipulations have not been treated in a serious way in the US traditionally, and the last one in AEW- Wheeler Yuta’s shaving at “Grand Slam Australia” in February was a mid card event that mainly was played for comedy. Whilst there have absolutely been evidence of comedy in this build, the play up of the stipulation has been well executed and comes just two months after the Hangman Page stipulation match, where the stipulation of Page being ineligible to challenge for the AEW Men’s World Title again, was activated with MJF’s victory. It will be the level of fan investment in the stipulation that will likely determine whether the buy rate challenges the “Revolution” number from earlier in the year — estimated to be north of 170,000 buys — with the PPV also having a very deep card on paper, and also could gain additional interest by the potential attraction of emanating from a sold out stadium in the New York market.

MJF starts as a very heavy favourite in the main event, ending a quick fire Darby Allin run that has focused fully on his strengths in the ring, replicating his TNT runs from 2021 and early 2023 in putting on a series of great matches in a short period of time. The pair will be building from their excellent opener at “Full Gear 2021” in delivering on PPV, after what is expected to be a very long card in Queens.

The other notable title matches on the show see FTR defend their Tag Team Titles against Adam Copeland and Christian Cage for the second time in two months, once again in a stipulation match, after FTR’s clean victory at “Dynasty” last month. The Canadian duo have put their ability to ever team again on the line in an “I Quit” match, which they should triumph in. Copeland has spoken publicly this week around the prospect of retirement and where he is in regards to time remaining on his AEW deal. The 52 year old has thrown out several ideas as to where that day could be, but Louis Armstrong should see his last major triumph in AEW before he looks ahead to wherever the sun could possibly set for his in ring career.

The AEW Women’s Title will be defended in the customary four way, with Thekla taking on Jamie Hayter, Kris Statlander and Hikaru Shida in a match where the dynamic between the secret heel Shida and Statlander has been the centre of the build and the presumed interest point in this match. Thekla has struggled to find programs and notable TV spots since winning the title, and this feels very much like a filler defense until they are able to set something else up.

That something else could have potentially come from the women’s “Owen Hart Cup”, which will also begin at “Double or Nothing”, but one major name in the tournament and potential favourite, Willow Nightingale, has now had to withdraw with a shoulder injury. Nightingale had been scheduled to wrestle Alex Windsor on the PPV in the first round, but her absence means that Windsor will now face a wild card on TV whilst the first round bout between Mina Shirakawa and Athena has now been moved to the card instead. The 32 year old Nightingale will also relinquish the TBS Title due to the injury.

Two other “Owen Hart Cup” matches will take place on the card, with Will Ospreay taking on Samoa Joe and Bandido facing Swerve Strickland. Strickland and Ospreay go into their contests as heavy favourites, and are the betting choice for the tournament final at next month’s “Forbidden Door” in San Jose, California, which is expected to headline the show. Ospreay’s storyline of being rebuilt in four weeks through alliance with the Death Riders has led to some mixed reviews from fans, wrestlers and critics, but the path should be more smooth sailing from this point onwards on his very much expected journey to the main event at Wembley Stadium in August. Swerve Strickland was off TV following his loss to Kenny Omega in late March, and had originally been set to face Omega in a third match on this show before creative changes led Omega in a different direction and Swerve into a short program with Bandido, which has seen more drama over shoot-turned-work social media comments then it has build on TV. It is still an attractive match up of both styles and wrestlers on paper though, and its lack of build should be rectified by the presence of a hot New York crowd.

And Omega? The frontrunner to carry the title into Wembley this year will join the Young Bucks, Jericho and the Hurt Syndicate in a Stadium Stampede match against Ricochet, The Demand, The Don Callis Family and The Dogs in a fourteen man affair which came together just days before it was announced. The former AEW Men’s World Champion should take the pin here as he begins his road to the soon to be announced PPV in July in Montreal.

The show will be available on PPV on HBO MAX, MyAEW outside the US and on Amazon and DAZN in other territories. It will not be aired on Triller, whose relationship with AEW is now completely at an end with the closing of AEW Plus on May 20th as a result of Triller TV owing the promotion $5 million from TV content subscription and PPV buys. That money was instead syphoned off by parent company Triller Group Inc into investments in failed social media ventures. The German promotion wXw stated publicly on Instagram that they have also not been paid by the content distributor since October 2025.

Mick Foley, having recently finished up his latest Legend’s deal with WWE, will join Renee Paquette to host the pre show, in a role which is expected to become permanent with the promotion and could lead to further on screen presence for the 60 year old.

AEW “Dynasty”

April 12th, 2026
Roger’s Arena, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Attendance: 9,081
Watch On: HBOMax/MyAEW (and other providers depending on region)

Review by Micah

Flames and pyro and shots of a packed crowd greeted us. Familiar electric guitar riffs summoned the first contest.

The Young Bucks vs Konosuke Takeshita & Kazuchika Okada

Matt and Nick were solidly back in Beloved Icons mode. Takeshita was out next, with Okada out separately. Okada offered a hand to Takeshita, who refused.

Hard tags and dirty looks between them gave way to a truce as Okada and Takeshita took the advantage. The Bucks lost the one on ones early but used tag maneuvers and the numbers game to gain short-lived advantages. Still, Okada knew their moves inside and out, and repeatedly got the counter to shut them down.

This was the story of the match: Okada is a brilliant wrestler who knows their secrets, and only when they pull out new innovations can they best him. Takeshita is stronger, faster, and unkillable; only when they overwhelm him two-on-one can they bring him down. Okada mocked them, did their poses, put on their gear (in classic BTE style), and even prompted the tag in their corner only to shoot a middle finger their way.

The Bucks gutted their way through comeback after comeback, failure after failure, using a flurry of incredible tag offense to even the odds. Yet, the second they went to the classics, Okada was there to intercept. Sequence after flashy sequence finally led to a series of miscommunications between Takeshita and Okada. Takeshita fought through and looked toward victory, but Okada snatched it and went for his Rainmaker, missing and taking out Takeshita.

This led to the final moments, when The Bucks were setting up for the TK Driver. Takeshita grabbed Nick’s boot to stop him, only to think better of it and let go. The Bucks gained the win. After the pinfall, Takeshita shoved a middle finger into Okada’s lifeless downed face. Looks like we’re finally getting that match.

Worth watching if you haven’t. This one was rad.

Chris Jericho vs Ricochet

A promo about Jericho’s return aired to set up the match. Jericho came out to Judas and a sizable singalong. A lionsault early on got the crowd on their feet.

The match was never slow. It was one of Jericho’s best in a long while, well-paced to keep the crowd from drifting. Ricochet’s character work was stellar, his athleticism was unreal, and if you haven’t already seen the clip of the Shooting-Star-Into-A-Codebreaker, you should find it.

A distraction interference got Ricochet the win, though he hit two finishers followed by Jericho’s Lionsault (now the Ricosault) before he claimed it. More fun than you’d expect.

Andrade El Idolo vs Darby Allin

Pre-match promo again. Andrade was out first in a wild sort of leather fur coat/bath robe sort of thing. The amount of presence he has now versus a year ago is nuts. Darby Allin came out in a fluffy hoodie that looked like it lost a fight with a laundry machine.

If one sequence could describe the match? It was early on when Andrade countered Darby and used his advantage to do his Tranquilo pose in the ropes. Darby answered this by recklessly and violently throwing his body through Andrade, through the ropes, tumbling them both to the outside.

They brawled outside. They brawled inside. They had great chemistry. Darby felt less angsty school-shooter, more visceral and loose against Andrade. Andrade’s smooth wrestling style gained a tint of ‘car crash’ that really added something. Wouldn’t have guessed, but it worked.

The finish came when Darby hit a vicious Scorpion Death Drop, a Coffin Drop, and still only got a two count. Andrade replied with his butter-slick back elbow but only got two. In the confusion, Darby tied him up with the Last Supper for a snap win.

Darby officially got a title shot at the winner of the main event. A frustrated Andrade, still in the process of turning face, offered a hand and acknowledged the better man. 3 for 3 on the main card so far.

FTR (c) vs Christian Cage & Adam Copeland
AEW World Tag Team Championships

More video packages. I think they’re good, but the rhythm got a little predictable. Promo, related match, promo, related match. Hypnotic, though not in a fun way.

I try to be impartial here, but FTR, once a favorite to watch, has been dull (to me) for this entire run (and for some time before it). The nostalgia act of C&C is cute, if often lifeless (Christian often saves the segments). These are personal opinions, only mine, etc. But let’s be clear, on this night I was wrong, because this crowd was on fire from the opening bell.

The story was C&C came in better with a full head of steam, but FTR was full of classic underhanded tag team tricks to keep that steam low. The headlocks brought down the crowd. The tags brought the crowd back. Classic old-school wrestling. (A side note: I do like the subplot that, most times when FTR left their feet or to go for a dive to the corner, it went badly for them. It was a neat touch.)

Christian Cage was the shining beacon for me here. In every moment he was a perfect asshole, vicious and angry and cheating and bitter. He’s a menace to the heroes of the roster, but he’s decided he likes his only friend after all, and he only likes his friend. He’s gonna fight his friend’s enemies, but he is also gonna be a right callous dick to everyone. It’s a great bit.

FTR worked the arm awhile. They built sympathy on Christian (the asshole), working toward the Edge house of fire. FTR hit a belt shot to Edge behind the ref’s back to bring out the blood. A ridiculous pin break up using Stokely was awkward but the crowd ate it up.

In the end, Christian got his injured arm driven into a chair, which is driven into a ringpost, before he was then tossed into the timekeeper penalty box. Edge fought back 1-on-2, but eventually fell to the Shatter Machine. The crowd, for the first time all match, was deflated.

Segment: Willow

Earlier, Willow was being interviewed when a surprise Kamille wiped her out. Back live, Willow challenged Kamille with the TBS championship on the line for “Dynamite”. Weirdly fast build to the match, but both sold it well enough.

Casino Gauntlet Match for the TNT Championship (vacant)

Ciampa’s entrance is a good one, so he was out first. Rush was out second. They took turns hitting each other hard. Could be a fun feud sometime. Next out was Bandido, who had some good spots, but it still felt too early for anyone to get the win. Speedball was fourth doing Speedball things.

El Clon came out next and I want to pause here to say that El Clon is the most ridiculous character idea. It’s silly and the Hologram-verse has been so cursed and yet…I do love it. He did some tricky AJ Styles-Matrix stuff to fight his opponents on the ramp and then ripped off his visor? Like I said, ridiculous.

Pac was next and the speed of the entrances quickened. Daniel Garcia after that, which eventually led to the two-on-one shenanigans you’d expect from the Death Riders. Anthony Bowens came out as they stood triumphant, and he surprisingly cleaned house. Bowens with the spotlight tore through several people, trying to impress The Opps. (Can you imagine, in storyline, wanting to impress them?)

Kevin Knight was out next, and now it was the good guys’ turn to do double teams. JetSpeed faced off with the Death Riders. Chaos ensued, finishers everywhere, Bandido somehow hit the 21-Plex on Ciampa while he was flat on the ground, and then Wheeler Yuta entered the match. A pile was built and Clon and Bandido did some sort of dive/Spanish fly onto the stack.

The finish came when the three Death Riders bought Daniel Garcia space to get the Dragonslayer locked in on Speedball. He locked it in, leaned back, but then Kevin Knight squished ‘em both with the UFO. Knight gets the gold.

More thrown together and midcard-feeling than most Casino Gauntlets, but the right guy won.

Jamie Hayter vs Thekla (c)
AEW Women’s World Championship

The Brawling Birds had a makeshift Pub backstage, harkening to the days of the APA’s office. Alex Windsor informed Jaime it’s her turn, mate. Jaime chugged her beer and tossed the glass.

Thekla and Hayter have been destined for this match since Thekla debuted and put Hayter on the shelf. Hayter started with furious punches and kept the pressure until Thekla hit an early spear. The crowd seemed into the match, but you could feel fatigue setting in.

It was all about Hayter’s power versus Thekla’s wily nature. A DDT on the rampway gave Thekla the advantage. The announcers billed Thekla as having a lot of burst speed leading to high impact strikes. Thekla landed big hits and torturous submissions, and with each Hayter seemed to fade more and more. Hayter finally fought back, at which point it became a back-and-forth contest. Hayter had Thekla up, but Thekla slipped behind, hit a bridging pin, and grabbed the ropes for the three count.

Thekla rolled out and looked surprised. Windsor ran in and looked angry. Fun match with a semi-clean ending, elevated by the competitors involved. If they aren’t planning to build to Thekla versus Toni Storm sometime in 2027, they should be.

Will Ospreay v. Jon Moxley (c)
AEW Continental Title

A match hype promo played and then Ospreay was out. The story of the match was that Ospreay had double neck surgery, Mox was the reason why, and Ospreay was out for revenge. Death Riders did their AO3-bait-slap-each-other-in-a-red-lit-hallway thing, and then Mox came out through the crowd.

The match had the best start of the night, as Ospreay dashed out of the corner and hit the Hidden Blade, laying out Moxley. Electric moment, out of nowhere, and it immediately lit the crowd up. Mox staggered struggling to get up while Ospreay stood over him gloating. Then he hit a second one and Mox was sent flying from the ring. Ospreay took his time before hitting a neckbreaker on the apron, rolling Mox in, and then delivering a flying forearm to the back of Mox’s neck.

The story of the match was the vicious Ospreay, overeager and overconfident, against a veteran Moxley weathering the storm until he found an opening. The opening came with a missed stomp on the stairs, leading to a Paradigm Shift on the floor. Moxley targeted Will’s neck, meticulous and controlled, a contrast to Ospreay’s rage.

Both compelling but also a bit long. Both wrestlers have great stories in their matches, and the storytelling was spot on, but it never hit that top gear. They told the story of Ospreay falling prey to his injuries and his passions. In the end, Will’s rage and superior ability couldn’t overcome Moxley’s superior gameplan and mental fortitude.

A piledriver on the stairs on the outside left Ospreay hanging by a thread. Mox hit a curb stomp when Will dove into the ring, followed by two paradigm shifts, which almost ended him.
After the kick out, a delighted Moxley then hit a Death Rider to finish him. The camera focused on Ospreay reaching out fruitlessly from the arms of the ringside doctor at Moxley celebrating with his belt. Ospreay headed to the back in tears.

Segment: Darby Allin

Renee interviewed Darby backstage. She asked about the title shot he just won. He said that “Dynamite” is in Everett, Washington, and he started his career at the Buddy Wayne Academy in Everett, Washington. He then alerted Kenny and MJF that this Wednesday, “It’s showtime.”

The Conglomeration vs The Dogs (c)
AEW Trios Championships

The Dogs very recently beat Mistico & JetSpeed to win the trios championships, presumably because Kevin Knight was moving on to his singles title. Mistico & JetSpeed had won it from the Don Callis Family at the last pay-per-view, who won it from Hangman & JetSpeed not long before that, who won it from The Opps when Hobbs left. Needless to say, the trios titles have not been booked prestigiously nor coherently.
We started with the Conglomeration doing a sitcom entrance. It was cringe, it was clever, it was stupid, it was classic sports entertainment. Kyle O’Reilly is back. He was being a goof. Next out were The Dogs. They beat the stage door with a shillelagh; Clark Connors humped his belt on the couch. Gabe Kidd pretended (I hope pretended) to piss on the couch. Then they flipped it.

I’ve used up all the space describing the entrances, but that’s fine. The Dogs are great. This match was superfluous. The trios belts are meaningless. It was a likeable match too deep in a pay-per-view already too long. Good to see Kyle back. This was a “Collision” main event that got lost on its way to the show. The wrong team won (Conglomeration), but it doesn’t matter.

The word is that Gabe Kidd got hurt during the match. I hope he makes a full recovery.

MJF vs Kenny Omega (c)
AEW Men’s World Championship

One last promo. Kenny was out first with a “Godly” entrance closer to what we’d seen from him in New Japan, one wing out, Final Fantasy font and all. MJF came out with devil flames, riding his throne up the Cody-vator straight from Hell. His gear had groupings of three 6s and upside crosses, presumably not in reference to Saint Peter.

It started off fast until MJF bailed to the outside. MJF is younger, faster, and more durable, but Omega is a dangerous vet who has answers for everything. Omega was often in control, but as the match wore on, he was slower to capitalize, less aggressive with his pins, and just a step behind. MJF took a world-class beating, the sort that has defined Omega main events for decades, but he stayed in the fight.

Eventually, the moonsaults and knees to the stomach caught up with Kenny, and MJF jumped on the weakness. This is where we get the standard modern Kenny Omega match, where the heel beats on his stomach and Kenny makes sad faces on the mat. Eventually Kenny gets back in control and hits a One Winged Angel off the turnbuckle, but he’s too slow to get the cover and, when he does, MJF escapes to the outside again.

We came to a point where MJF hit a second wind while Omega faltered under the assault. MJF began to slap, shove, and punch Omega. MJF had taken everything in Omega’s legendary arsenal and was still standing, defiant. Just when it looked like Omega might actually have found his limit, he found new fire and began a brawling series of strikes that show something new. Full of life and vigor and violence Omega was not done yet, and he showed he had more yet to give. And importantly, Kenny Omega was still the superior wrestler.

Unfortunately, Kenny Omega was not the superior cheater. Though in the weeks before, Kenny said he was prepared for all of MJF’s tricks, he fell victim to a common combination of a ref bump, a diamond ring punch to the gut, and a piledriver to the outside through a table. The Heatseeker ended the match properly.

For the second pay-per-view in a row, MJF ended the night with the Dub and with a killer closing shot. Last pay-per-view was the bloody camera and the stretcher job. This pay-per-view was the throne, the belt, and the crown, as he descended back into hell.

In back-to-back performances, MJF has beaten the Heart and the Spirit of AEW (to steal an old t-shirt line). And he did it by himself, relatively clean for modern wrestling. You’d have to imagine that, if you’re gonna put that much heat into a person, you’re building them for a big moment.

The Aftermath

To the contrary, MJF immediately lost the title in a shocking defeat at the very next show. Unlike Hangman and Omega, who sought to beat MJF on merit, Darby Allin was willing to beat Max at his own game. When MJF tried to win with a low-blow, Darby did it right back and claimed the World Championship. Over the next few weeks, Allin proceeded to have a series of bangers each and every week.

MJF seems destined to win the belt back, but his path there gets bumpier each night. A loss to Kevin Knight, who continues to be a star on the rise, added insult to injury. Now Darby has challenged him to put up his hair in exchange for a rematch.

Perhaps most interestingly, Ospreay and Mox’s death feud is now a backstage promo series where Mox acts as wizened mentor to Ospreay and teaches him the ways of the Death Riders. Ospreay’s path to Wembley seems to be through this transformation, though his opponent (potentially MJF, Kenny, or Mox) still is in doubt.

AEW is in a weird place, where they have moments of excellence and stellar pay-per-views, but never seem to be able to deliver on long term flow. The trios title is the obvious one, but everything feels like it’s building toward things that never come. We get close, we swerve in a different direction, and we never see it through.

Still, the journey is full of bangers, incredible promos, and fun moments. But it’d be nice to see the momentum build.

© TNA

TNA

News Round-Up

By Trish Speirs

TNA’s next major show will be “Slammiversary” from the Agganis Arena in Boston, Massachusetts, on June 28th. The PPV will begin at 3pm EST in order to avoid going head-to-head with AEW’s “Forbidden Door” show on the same day. TNA announced their event prior to AEW’s show; however, the AEW event has traditionally been held during the last weekend of June (outside of last year’s move to accommodate a July “All In”) and was delayed from an announcement by WWE’s presence in the SAP Center in April. No one has confirmed up until this point as to whether TNA were aware of the show or not before beginning to promote “Slammiversary”.

Carlos Silva appeared on Busted Open Radio on April 29th, where he alleged that AEW has blocked TNA from a number of venues and arenas, citing this as an additional reason as to why TNA had pulled its talent from independent show matches with AEW talent. Silva did not clarify whether this was outright blocking due to deals with arenas, contacting arenas to have dates cancelled, or the most likely scenario — that AEW have windows around their shows for when other dates can go on sale. Silva has provided no further comments as to his claims since the appearance was made.

The event currently has 1,134 tickets out, per Wrestletix estimate, which is a weak start. The biggest factor in this has been ticket prices, where the lowest priced ticket for the onsale was at $60. The decision to run Boston came after TNA officials claimed that the UBS Arena (home of last year’s event) would not be suitable with increased tourist traffic in the New York area, thanks to the men’s football World Cup putting pressure on local transportation. Boston is expected to be a significant base for European fans during the tournament, with Scotland, England and France all playing games at nearby Foxborough during the tournament group stage. The home of the New England Patriots will host games on June 26th and June 29th, surrounding the TNA date.

One to watch for this show will be if Mike Santana comes through the show still holding the TNA World Title. Santana, who recently trademarked his ring name, is out of contract with TNA this summer. He has a rematch with Steve Maclin (after their injury-ended match on the “Sacrifice” PPV) and a challenge from Eric Young to navigate before making his way to the PPV. Young won a battle royale for a title shot on the May 14th episode of “iMPACT”, a week after defeating the recently returned EC3 in singles competition.

Young’s victory was not the big talking point coming out of that episode of TV, though, due to Leon Slater’s loss of the TNA X Division Championship in a two out of three falls match with Cedric Alexander. Slater would have broken the record for the longest holder of the X Division title with victory in the match. Alexander’s victory came a week after Lei Ying Lee had captured the TNA Knockouts Title from Ariana Grace.

The new TNA X Division Champion was confronted by Fabian Aichner, who wrestled under the name Giovanni Vinci during his recent WWE run, to close out the show. Aichner’s arrival comes just as several other regulars have had to step away from TV. Ash by Elegance underwent surgery at the end of April to help treat ongoing health issues, whilst Trey Miguel has been sidelined for a month with a broken kneecap that thankfully will not require surgery. Santino Marella’s suspension was to cover for the authority figure having surgery for sleep apnea.

© MLW

MLW

News Round-Up

By Trish Speirs

MLW began to re-tease the launch of TV product “Fusion” after five months of running dark on video content over the past week. The promotion told Fightful that the announcement of where the weekly show would be aired is “imminent” before playing it up across several social media posts. The company has months of content in the can at this point, and has three tapings in June where they will add to it. In the end, “Fusion” will air exactly where it did before, on Youtube, with a start time of 18:05 EST each Saturday.

The Melrose Ballroom in Queens, New York, will host MLW on June 11th before shows at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia on the 12th and 13th. Star attractions for these shows will be Stardom’s Saya Kamitani and RINA, who will be making their first appearances for the promotion as part of MLW’s new “strategic alliance” with STARDOM, which was announced this past week.

The promotion ran in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on May 9th, which saw The Good Brothers defeat Donovan Dijak and Bishop Dyer for the MLW Tag Team Championships, just as speculation that Dyer may be set to rejoin WWE has continued to grow. There was also a debut for new signing Brick Savage, who arrived from the independents, and looks to be starting out with a program with Trevor Lee. Killer Kross and Templario both made successful defenses of the MLW Heavyweight and MLW Middleweight Titles respectively. Templario had picked up the Middleweight belt during the joint MLW/ CMLL show in Arena Mexico at the beginning of the month, unseating Kushida from his run with the title.

Big Damo also wrestled his first match with the company after signing on, defeating Andrew Everett. Mr. Thomas was not part of the show, and has now been confirmed to have departed the promotion.

© getty images

US Independents

The son of UFC legend ‘Rampage’ Jackson received a plea deal in his ongoing case. Raja Jackson pled No Contest to battery charges following the incident in which he attacked Syko Stu at a Knox Pro event in Los Angeles last August. Jackson is expected to serve 90 days in jail, which will be determined at a sentence hearing in June. Jackson will also be placed on two years probation and will pay approximately $81,000 in restitution to Stu. (Restitution is mandatory in such cases in California and the figure being provided likely means it was negotiated in advance, presumably as part of the plea bargain.)

West Coast Pro Wrestling News

The “Doggystyle” event planned for June 12th at the Dirt Dog Compound in Commerce, CA (WCP’s foothold in the LA market), was cancelled due to a scheduling issue on the venue’s side. The proposed reschedule date then had issues with wrestlers having other bookings, hence the show was cancelled. WCP will return to The Compound later in the year.

WCP launched a Substack page, offering fans an additional option to keep up-to-date with the company outside of social media pages. The first post provides a primer for the company, and the current state of ‘the black and blue.’ The second is a very interesting interview between promoter Scott Brigante and Starboy Charlie, on the day it was announced that WWE ID wrestlers would have to use their WWE names for all bookings going forward. Charlie will henceforth be known as Chazz “Starboy” Hall.

“Cruel Summer” will emanate from the United Irish Cultural Center in San Francisco on June 20th. The UICC is the home of the biggest WCP shows, and this card will feature Vinnie Massaro defending the WCP Championship against Adam Priest and a four way for Andrew Cass’s Golden Gate Championship. Also announced at press time are New Fever vs Cajun Catch Revival, Alpha Zo vs Tim Bosby and Miko Alana vs Zara Zakher. Johnnie Robbie and Starboy Charlie will have matches against yet-to-be announced opponents.

In Oakland on July 25th, WCP and PrideStyle will collaborate on “Rooted” at the Fluid510 venue.

The “Iron Sharpens Iron” shows (essentially dojo shows for trainees at the West Coast Pro Academy) continue through the summer.

Game Changer Wrestling News

The eleventh edition of annual “Tournament of Survival” weekend is scheduled for June 6th and 7th, featuring the“Tournament of Survival” event, the Cage of Survival event and the 2026 “Deathmatch Hall of Fame” ceremony.

The “TOS” entrants announced at press time are: Vipress, Dr. Redacted, Mr. Danger, Masashi Takeda, Lil Sicko, Anakin Murphy, Jonathan Gresham and Niño Extremo.

The Cage of Survival match will be an “open gauntlet” for Matt Tremont’s UltraViolent championship.

The HoF entrants are Masashi Takeda, Dysfunction and Iceman.

GCW has two Europe shows in late May (France on May 23rd, Italy on the 24th) before taking a weekend off at the end of May. They return in June with five shows: the “Tournament of Survival” at the Showboat in Atlantic City on the 6th and 7th, Wildwood, NJ, on the 18th, Indianapolis on the 20th (originally this was supposed to be at the Berwyn Eagles Club before that venue cancelled wrestling bookings), and Los Angeles on the 27th.

Jersey Championship Wrestling News

Produce Wrestling, an offshoot of JCW/GCW and Orange Crush magazine holds its first event, “Volume 1”, on June 29th in Brooklyn. These events are being “produced” by different wrestlers. For “Volume 1” that is Jonathan Gresham, hence the show name also being “The Octopus.” Gresham will wrestle Fuminori Abe, in a rematch from “WrestleMania” Week.

JCW has a “Saturday Nite” event on June 13th in Ridgefield Park, NJ. Announced for the show are Marcus Mathers, Gabby Forza, Leo Sparrow, Cheeseburger, Alec Price and Jordan Oliver, and a JCW Title match with Charles Mason against Terry Yaki.

House of Glory News

HoG ran in Los Angeles on May 1st, with Charles Mason defeating Jonathan Gresham to retain the HoG Heavyweight Title in a 27 minute (!) main event. Zilla Fatu defeated Lance Anoa’i in a HoG Crown Jewel title match featuring members of the “Bloodline” family and Mike Bailey defeaed Amazing Red.

House of Glory ran its home base of New York on May 22nd, with the key matches of The Hardys taking on Evil Uno and Stu Grayson (in their pre-AEW gimmick of the Super Smash Brothers) and Amazing Red taking on Kevin Knight, which was said to be a great match. They will also run Chicago on June 19th.

New Texas Pro Wrestling News

New Texas runs its homebase of Austin on May 24th, with “Bat City 2” featuring New Texas Pro champion Danny Orion taking on Kenny King; a three-way number one contenders match for that title featuring Izzy James, Vert Vixen and Shimbashi; and the final of the “TX8 2026” tournament of Jesse Funaki vs Erick Stevens, with Funaki’s LoneStar Title on the line.

PrideStyle Pro Wrestling News

PrideStyle returns to its home in Las Vegas, the Bizarre Bar, for “Love is Blind 4” (a mystery vortex style show) on May 31st, with many of its regular performers announced, plus a returning Trish Adora.

St. Louis Anarchy Wrestling News

WWE ID Women’s Champion Laynie Luck had to withdraw from the upcoming May 29th date and will be replaced by Billie Starkz. Starkz will take Lane’s place teaming with Shazza McKenzie against Nick King and Davey Vega.

SLA returns to their home of Alton, Illinois, on May 29th for “Fighting Spirit Lead Me”. The show will feature Gary Jay and Mad Dog Connelly in a Knock Outs Only match, Mike Outlaw defending the Destination Title against Camaro Jackson and a Gateway Heritage Title match with Mat Fitchett defending against Aaron Williams.

Beyond Wrestling News

Beyond’s next show “Break The Walls Down” will emanate from Cranston, RI, on June 5th and will feature an AEW star on the card. With that event name I assumed Chris Jericho, but in fact it is MJF, who will take on Bobby Orlando. AEW roster members Megan Bayne and Max Caster, and recent AEW signee Alec Price, are also scheduled to appear on the show. As of press time, Beyond noted on Twitter that only four seats remained on sale (however, two tiers of standing tickets are still available).

Limitless Wrestling News

Limitless’s next show is June 20th at Madrid’s in their home of Portland, ME.* The show will feature Bear Bronson taking on Donovan Dijak for the Limitless World Championship. Nic Nemeth will also appear, making his debut for the company.

*(Editor’s Note: This is the better of the two coastal Portlands in the US.)

Wrestling REVOLVER News

Wrestling Revolver announced the return of Jon Moxley for their event in Nashville in July.

Revolver returns for only its third show of the year with “No Country For Ole Mancer” in Dayton, OH, on June 12th. As one might intuit from the name, Mance Warner will defend the Revolver World Title on the show, against Alex Colon. Also booked for the show are Steve Maclin, Rich Swann, Gringo Loco, Killy Kelly, Myron Reed and Billie Starkz.

Absolute Intense Wrestling (AIW) News

AIW’s next event, “Weekend At Pally’s”, is June 19th in Lakewood, OH. So far, only Tommy Dreamer has been announced for the show.

AAW Pro News

AAW announced on May 22nd, approximately 4 hours before show time, that Mance Warner would not be appearing on their “Homecoming 2026” event, “per AEW’s request.” Warner was originally scheduled to wrestle Richard Holliday on the show. Tony Khan responded hours later clarifying the situation saying that it was the first time he or the AEW office had heard about it. It is possible that Warner thought an opportunity was coming and pulled out of the date early just in case, given he was on ROH recently. Warner explained that he wanted to avoid any chance of travel issues ruining a “big opportunity”.

© CMLL

CMLL

Round-up by David Hayter

Zandokan Jr’s Return Should Breathe Fresh Life Into CMLL During Its Mid-Year Malaise

CMLL are having a fantastic year by any measure. Attendances are through the roof, to the point where anything other than a sell-out on Friday nights feels like a disappointment, and, in terms of in-ring action, the promotion continues to deliver the highest volume of top-quality wrestling of any promotion in the world. So what’s the problem? Well, put simply, CMLL has settled into a good-but-not-great rhythm from both a creative and artistic perspective. The promotion has been delivering tremendously entertaining cards without offering up any truly “must-see” matches that force the rest of the wrestling world to sit up and take notice. Moreover, the vibrant clashes of larger-than-life personalities (Místico–Soberano, Zandokan–Dorada, even Esfinge–Valiente) that fueled the fire of 2025 have seemingly disappeared from the promotion.

Part of the issue has been the reliance on outside talent. The influx of AEW and, more recently, MLW workers does bring fresh eyeballs to the product and, crucially, lines the promotion’s coffers with American dollars (very handy indeed), even if the non-Mexican AEW talent show little sign of actually drawing south of the border. The real problem, however, lies in the fact that the long period in early 2026 where AEW midcarders got to live out their dreams in lucha libre fantasy camp came at the expense of hot characters like the Calaveras and Villanos. The pipeline that allowed upstart talent to gain exposure on the biggest cards against CMLL’s top técnicos was clogged. As a result, the promotion has settled into a pattern of alternating between generic feel-good Friday nights with the regulars and entire weekends dominated by outside attractions. 2024/25’s great production line of rising talents, shock upsets, and vicious internal feuds had, seemingly, ground to a halt.

Well, fear not: Zandokan Jr. is back, and CMLL’s premier shit-stirrer has already embroiled himself in a feud without wrestling a single match in 2026. Villano III Jr. and Zandokan are engaged in a war of words stemming from their own historic grudges, further spiced up by Villano seemingly taking Zandokan’s traditional spot by teaming alongside Galeón Fantasma in the 9 May Arena Coliseo main event. Speculation was rife: was Villano jumping ship to the Galeón, or was Zandokan getting the hook?

In a rare occurrence not only of perfect timing, but also of CMLL actually striking while the iron is hot by following up on their own talent’s creative impulses, Zandokan Jr.’s big in-ring return was officially announced. He will attempt to retain the Copa Jr., and his first match back will be the tournament semi-final Cibernético on 22nd May, where he will face off with ten other top stars, including Villano III Jr. This is fantastic news for CMLL diehards who have been crying out for acts like the Villanos to actually be given opportunities on Friday nights.

Zandokan, ever the provocateur, said the quiet part out loud: he has been on the shelf with an injury, so effectively he’d given the entire CMLL roster seven months to step up, catch up, and ultimately replace or overtake him. His judgement was damning: no one had. He’s right, of course, but that’s because CMLL’s uncharacteristically conservative booking in 2026 hasn’t afforded anyone the opportunity to grab the brass ring. Instead, that time and opportunity have been given to Bishop Dyer and the Gates of Agony (joy).

© CMLL

Místico Has Been Working Hurt in a Worrying Echo of 2025

In the past month, Místico has been surrounded by a steady drumbeat of speculation. Fans and critics alike have noticed that he is struggling to rotate on his signature tijeras (often landing on one knee, even against the best bases), that he was taking an extra second balancing on the top rope, and that, in general, he seemed lethargic. Most assumed that his insane schedule and hard-working style had finally caught up with him and that he was beginning to slow down physically. Well, that turned out not to be the case. Místico is worn down; but that’s because he’s working hurt. He has suffered an injury to his right leg (we cannot be more specific than that at this stage), and he is choosing to work through the pain.

On one level this is incredibly impressive. Místico might be slower than usual, but he’s still delivering excellent, ultra-heated main events every Friday while working a jam-packed schedule during the week. On the other hand, CMLL must be concerned. For the second straight year, Místico has found himself suffering from an early-year leg injury and awkwardly working through the pain. This time last year he took a couple of weeks off before returning for big inter-promotional clashes with Komander and Bandido, and was visibly struggling. Místico has shown incredible toughness and resilience, but at some point the wheels may fall off. If CMLL ride Místico into the ground, he might find himself in the position of a hobbling Volador Jr – a shell of his former self. The promotion has potential successors in place (notably Máscara Dorada), but none of the heirs apparent are marquee stars on Místico’s level. Nevertheless, a second straight year of injury woes should give the promotion pause to consider succession planning more seriously.

The Feeling Is Back: Bandido & Volador Steal the Show as Zandokan and Soberano Jr. Inject Some Much-Needed Flavour (22 May 26)

The ungodly impressive hybrid of graceful athleticism and thick-thighed physical power that was the young Volador Jr. may never return, but on the grandest of stages this hobbling 45-year-old can still hang with the best wrestlers in the world. Facing off with Bandido for the ROH World Championship, Volador was determined to blow his already excellent preview match performance (see below) out of the water. He didn’t so much pick his spots as pick his absolute craziest spots to ensure that he was not shown up by the younger star.

The tone was set early when Volador flew from the apron with a tijeras that sent Bandido crashing into the barricade. Determined to prove that he was just as insane as Bandido, Volador repeated the spot, but this time Bandido caught him and swung the veteran head-and-shoulders-first into the barricade with a vicious swinging powerbomb.

From then on, the narrative was in place. The two were determined to cut one another off constantly in a brilliant back-and-forth pissing contest: if Volador devastatingly dropkicked Bandido out of mid-air, then Bandido would counter Volador’s Mexican Destroyer with a sickeningly swift alley-oop. If Volador wasn’t playing ball with the stalling suplex, then Bandido would ruin Volador’s handspring cutter by catching him in mid-air with a meaty pump-handle backdrop. They were not only pulling out all the stops, they were actively breaking the rules. Volador took a full flipping bump over the barricade into the crowd and Bandido followed with a rampaging tope con hilo into the fans — so much for a ban on crowd brawling.

When the pair returned to the ring, it was time for a parade of near falls and double downs as they continued to go move for move. The action was, of course, magnificent as Bandido powered up and slammed down his heavy-legged opponent repeatedly, but the secret star of the match was Aubrey Edwards. She’s taken to Mexico like a duck to water and worked hard throughout to rally the crowd during both the near falls and a brilliant double ten-count tease.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing. Volador’s first Mexican Destroyer was as ugly as Bandido’s Shooting Star Plex was sumptuous, but by this point it hardly mattered; the crowd were biting on each and every near fall. Volador would go on to survive the 21 Plex and, in turn, Bandido would kick out of a Mexican Destroyer (this one was hit to perfection).

The finish to this magnificent match came in a wonderfully hubristic moment. After being so focused for so long, Volador finally distracted himself, spending too long winding up the crowd as he climbed to the top rope. After a tremendous battle for position, where they teased a myriad of terrifying moves, Bandido eventually landed an inverted flipping fallaway slam and a devastating 21 Plex from the prone position to secure victory. This was an instant classic.

The Copa Jr. semi-final was, in theory, a chance for CMLL’s rising stars to steal the show in a wild 30-minute Cibernético, but in truth it was a backdrop for Soberano Jr. and Zandokan Jr. to give the promotion its swagger back. Zandokan did look noticeably slower and less sharp during his return, but he wasn’t there to trade flying headscissors – he had one solitary mission: to light a fire under his opponents by bringing the hidden charisma out of his more understated peers. The second he stepped foot in the ring he was obsessed with whipping the Arena México crowd into a frenzy and punking out his opponents.

Soberano Jr. was not to be outdone. He doesn’t rely on roughhouse tactics; instead he was an onslaught of sleazy sexuality, blending the impeccable confidence that his pretty privilege imbues with his typically out-of-control working style. And it was Soberano Jr. who drew first blood. Soundtracked by a shrieking chorus of cheers, Soberano hung Stuka Jr. in the middle rope and hit a beautiful, crunching Lionsault to secure the first elimination.

Then the moment Arena México had been waiting for finally occurred: Villano III Jr. and Zandokan Jr. came face to face. The crowd rose to their feet and Villano did not back down when the pirate king tried to little-brother him. Unfortunately for Villano, Zandokan would get the upper hand, eventually draping the skull and crossbones over Villano’s head before killing him with a running dropkick.

From there on in, the match entered a wild blitzkrieg of dives, ranas, and drivers, resulting in the swift eliminations of Star Jr., Brillante Jr., El Cobarde, and Espanto Jr. Soberano Jr. would then quickly scoop up Ángel de Oro and send him packing with a sit-out Tombstone piledriver — we had our final four: Villano III Jr., Atlantis Jr., Soberano Jr., and Zandokan Jr.

In keeping with the bold and forward-looking booking that has helped rejuvenate CMLL in the post-pandemic world, the ungodly popular rudo pairing of Zandokan and Soberano Jr. would be used to elevate their peers.

Villano III Jr. is one of the stars that CMLL’s hardcore fans have been crying out for. They not only want him on Friday nights, they want to see him winning meaningful matches and, after two years of teasing, they may finally have got their wish. Bullied and mocked by Zandokan, tricked into a false alliance by Soberano, it was all mere foreshadowing for Villano to finally get his moment in the sun.

After Atlantis Jr. saw off Soberano and secured his place in the final, it was mano a mano: Zandokan vs Villano.

The upstart rudo is noticeably rough around the edges and is perpetually on the verge of losing control and dropping his opponents, but the people love him. This was his moment and Zandokan did everything in his power to put him over. He was on the back foot for two straight minutes and was pinned clean at the first time of asking when Villano hit his gorgeous headstand Arabian moonsault.

Then, with the crowd already at fever pitch, they ran a hot angle. Atlantis jumped Villano from behind, hit a tope suicida, and the pair embarked on a wild brawl, clawing at each other’s masks to the point where the referee had to jump on top of them to tear the pair apart.

In excellent, must-watch undercard action, the Don Callis Family (represented by El Clon, Hechicero & Rocky Romero) would defeat the odd-couple team of Bárbaro Cavernario & El Sky Team (Máscara Dorada & Neón).

Volador Jr. Books A Date With Bandido for ROH Championship, While Atlantis Jr. & Neón Set Their Sights on Tag Gold (17 May 26)

The big news coming out of the 17th May 2026 show at Arena México was Volador Jr’s victory over Bandido in a really rather good main event to secure an ROH World Title shot on “Viernes Espectacular” on 22nd May. Volador has been working hard this year and continues to put in performances that defy his extreme physical limitations. However, it is hard to watch him trading spots with a worker of Bandido’s calibre without imagining how much faster, crisper, and more precise the action would have been if Volador were just five years younger.

Volador has now adapted to the reality of his broken down body, but, whenever he busts out any of his flashy técnico sequences of yesteryear, it is immediately apparent that, while he can still impress, he can no longer truly dazzle. Nevertheless, expect his rematch with Bandido on the 22nd to be an absolute banger with main-event-level heat – by hook or by crook he’ll find a way to rise to the occasion.

Volador isn’t the only one on course for a title shot. The team of Atlantis Jr. and Neón decisively defeated the reigning tag team champions Los Hermanos Chávez in a match-of-the-night performance on the 12th. The pair had tremendous chemistry and could yet combine for a far superior match on a Friday night card (where Chávez will likely ditch the stalling tactics they employed here to generate heat). Neón and Atlantis are a strong combination, offering a satisfying contrast of power and finesse as they picked up the victory, with Neón hitting a twisting springboard moonsault onto Oro while Atlantis submitted Niebla with the Argentine backbreaker. In any normal universe, a victory this decisive would guarantee the challengers a future title match, but as of writing (in typical fashion) CMLL are yet to announce a rematch.

© CMLL

Yutani’s Incredible Month Culminates With a Nightmarish Injury Scare (12th May 26)

CMLL’s undercover in-ring MVP might just be the Japanese starlet Yutani. The versatile rudo has been absolutely tearing it up throughout April and May as he delivered show-stealing performances against Valiente Jr. and alongside Black Tiger and Kushida. Not only is Yutani basing brilliantly and matching the top técnicos on offence with an excellent blend of hard striking and crisp flying, but he’s actually got himself incredibly over. Yutani is slowly graduating away from the upstart punk territory towards the role of cool heel – the type that can main event in Mexico. He’s not a draw or star on the level of Soberano or Zandokan Jr., but Yutani has helped fill the pirate’s shoes during his lengthy absence through injury.

Unfortunately, Yutani’s hot run came crashing to a halt against Templario on the 12th. The pair were in the midst of delivering an excellent back-and-forth battle in front of a rabid crowd when disaster struck. Yutani countered a second-rope gutwrench powerbomb with a wicked mid-air Frankensteiner. Unfortunately, he not only landed directly on his head and neck, but whipped his head into the mat at incredible speed. It was a genuinely sickening moment. Yutani tried to soldier on without missing a beat, but it was clear from his movements that he was struggling. Thankfully, the match didn’t go much longer. After surviving a frogsplash, Templario sprang back up to his feet via a spinaroonie to cut Yutani off with a GTS and a powerbomb-style backstabber.
Due to the injury, Difunto would have to step in to replace Yutani on the 15th May 2026 Arena México card.

BTS and Místico Join Forces at Arena México and J Balvin Backs Esfinge at Arena Coliseo

WWE might obnoxiously shove their celebrity fans in our faces at every available opportunity, but when it comes to attracting genuine A-listers to actually watch and experience live wrestling, no one can rival CMLL. Following in the footsteps of Bad Bunny, reggaetón superstar J Balvin attended Arena Coliseo on 16th March under a Spider-Man mask. Esfinge gave the game away shortly before the main event when he came out to present Balvin with a mask earlier in the night. Oddly, despite the endorsement, Esfinge & Neón would lose to the Don Callis Family pairing of Rocky Romero and Volador Jr. in the main event, when Rocky removed Esfinge’s mask behind the referee’s back for the cheap roll-up victory. Balvin (now unmasked) joined the técnicos in the ring for the post-match celebrations and happily got in Romero’s face.

K-pop superstars BTS are back in the limelight, releasing a distinctly iffy new album following the completion of their military service back in their native South Korea. Having embarked on a gigantic world tour, the boyband stopped over in Mexico City and it was a genuine shock when members of the band appeared in the front row of Arena México on 11th May. Far from an incognito appearance, the band seemed genuinely interested and invested in the product, with Místico wearing a custom BTS ring jacket — the same one Jin would then wear during the band’s Saturday night gig in Mexico City. The boy band witnessed a fun and heated clash with Místico & Titán besting Ángel de Oro & Bárbaro Cavernario. CMLL even loosened their prohibition on crowd-brawling to allow Bárbaro to spill onto the boy band’s laps mid-match.

© CMLL

MLW vs CMLL: The Home Team Triumphs, But Heel Kushida Is the Unexpected Star of the Weekend (1st May 26)

Major League Wrestling must have unrivalled networking abilities. How else are we to explain the fact that a promotion with such a small fandom has managed to achieve such an oversized footprint when it comes to international interpromotional deals? Despite drawing one of the weakest Friday night attendances of 2026 to date, MLW have secured themselves an entire weekend of CMLL vs MLW shows, a lucrative talent-trading agreement, and now the services of STARDOM superstars Saya Kamitani & Rina. I can’t even pretend to understand what the American minnow has to offer their more successful Japanese and Mexican peers; I can only congratulate them on their good fortune.

The CMLL vs MLW card on 4th May was one-way traffic, with the CMLL talent walking away with a comprehensive 5-2 victory. Olympia and the Calaveras picked up strong and decisive victories in largely unremarkable opening matches against Lady Frost and Ikuro Kwon & Okumura, respectively. Lady Frost, to her credit, did manage to impress the crowd with her handspring cannonball and springboard tornillo. Garra Negra appears to be successfully establishing herself on Friday nights, and she was chosen to face off with Shotzi for the MLW Women’s Championship. The match itself was too short to be offensive and the crowd seemed to genuinely bite on the near falls. The response to Shotzi was interesting: she was treated as a star, with the crowd really coming alive for her senton finisher. Unlike most foreign talent, she was not instinctively booed by the crowd. The match itself was nothing special, but Garra in particular seemed to benefit from working a more simplified American style.

The most heated match of the card saw the ex-WWE pair of Bishop Dyer & Donovan Dijak successfully defend the MLW Tag Team Titles against Averno & Euforia. The match was slow and perhaps a little long at 14:37, but Arena México always comes to life whenever they are given permission to rally behind the veteran rudo Averno. To be fair to Dyer & Dijak, they worked legitimately hard and were bathed in sweat by the time Euforia was catching Dijak in mid-air to powerbomb him from the top rope. Not to be outdone, Averno had the entire arena screaming when he brilliantly countered Dyer’s chokeslam into a flying cross armbreaker. The Americans would survive these scares, however, and Dijak would pick up the victory with a lovely moonsault.

The biggest disappointment of the night was the seven-minute sprint between Diego Hill and Neón. Hill is one of MLW’s few explosive young talents and, while he and Neón did manage to offer a glimpse of their flying ability, the match never really had the opportunity to get going. Just as they were starting to wow the crowd, Neón hit an overhead belly-to-belly into the corner and followed up with an inverted swanton bomb to put Hill away.

Soberano Jr. & Ángel de Oro would vanquish Austin Aries & Trevor Lee in a semi-main event that really overstayed its welcome, with the Americans getting the heat in an uninspired fashion. When the Mexicans made their comeback it was glorious, the crowd were screaming along with Soberano’s every offensive manoeuvre, but ultimately this was a painfully forgettable match highlighted by a few stunning spots – most notably Trevor Lee’s top-rope release German suplex.

Thankfully, they saved the best for last as Templario and Kushida delivered a strong main event for the MLW World Middleweight Title. Kushida has been an absolute revelation in his new dark rudo persona. In MLW he has transformed himself into a ruthless technical wizard, ripping away at masks while adorned in Jinsei Shinzaki-style kanji script which covers his face and body. Kushida has even taken to adopting Shinzaki’s zen demon poses. Despite the trappings of inner peace, Kushida is now ruthless, picking apart limbs and (finally!) working the crowd after years of ignoring them as a babyface in the west.

Arena México came unglued for Templario’s comebacks and the match had plenty of satisfying twists and false dawns. Just as it seemed Templario had turned the tables, Kushida cut him off with a handspring Pelé kick and a tope con hilo over the ring post. A masterclass in tease and denial, Kushida kept cutting Templario’s comebacks off until there was a veritable earthquake in the stands. No matter how creative Templario’s offence became (countering a handspring into a wheelbarrow suplex, for example), Kushida always had a counter…until he didn’t. Templario would miraculously survive a low blow and a small package driver before brilliantly countering a diving tijeras into the GTS and the powerbomb backstabber to send the crowd home happy.

Not satisfied with delivering one banger, Kushida would also form a superb tag team with Yutani to defeat Star Jr. & Xelhua on 27th April ahead of a fantastic singles encounter with Xelhua on 4th May. The singles match ended with the Mexican picking up the win via DQ when Kushida unmasked him for the heat.

© CMLL

Dorada Defeats Black Tiger and Hechicero to Claim Second Universal Title (24th April 26)

Triple threat matches never quite manage to live up to the hype in CMLL. For whatever reason, the magic that exists in trios or singles action tends to dissipate during a three-way dance. Máscara Dorada certainly did everything in his power to steal the show with a display of seamless rope-walking and air-bending offence, but despite his best efforts the match stubbornly refused to develop any sense of rhythm or flow.

Much of the problem lay at the feet of Hechicero and Black Tiger (aka Magnus), whose sequences felt cold and oddly uninspired. Both men fared far better basing for Dorada than they did exchanging strikes with one another.

The jury is still out on Magnus as the new Black Tiger. He took some incredible bumps in this match, most notably for Dorada’s over-the-top-rope apron tijeras, but he continues to struggle to connect with the crowd. The Arena México faithful themselves were a major factor in the sense of aimless drift that came to define this battle. The crowd were biting on the near falls, but the incredible heat that Místico and Último Guerrero orchestrated in the semi-main event failed to materialise here, and the awkward murmur of fans engaged in small talk soundtracked the clash.

Nevertheless, the offence was incredible. Dorada uncorked an electric chair drop into a flipping neckbreaker only for Hechicero to respond with a high-angle powerbomb, but there was this nagging sense that the trio were “just hitting moves” without an underlying narrative or sense of direction.

Still, while it may not have been perfect, it was an at times spectacular final with an incredible finish that saw Dorada rope-walk from one side of the ring to the other to hit an inverted corkscrew splash onto Magnus on the floor, before quickly following up with a shooting star press to Hechicero (who had conveniently rolled into position) to pick up the pinfall victory in the ring.

Team CMLL Triumphs Over the Don Callis Family to Claim the Copa Aniversario (24th April 26)

It’s a testament not only to the strength of Mexican nationalism, but also to the versatility of CMLL’s top talents, that the strange-bedfellows team of Místico, Neón, Último Guerrero, and Ángel de Oro fused together so brilliantly to see off the Don Callis Family.

Místico was noticeably struggling with what was, at the time, a secret leg injury. His performance becomes all the more dazzling with the knowledge that he was gutting through the pain to pull off every twist, dive, and rana in his now legendary comeback. He might have been awkwardly landing on one knee and taking his time on the ropes, but in hindsight his commitment to giving the fans the full Místico experience is commendable.

Thankfully, where Místico limped, Neón soared, delivering a brilliant sequence of springboard dives with effortless grace as he continues to prove he’s more than a one-trick pony. Último Guerrero is no less of a marvel, delivering meaty dives that felt satisfyingly heavy as he crushed El Clon and Volador Jr. down into the blue mats. Ángel de Oro, meanwhile, proved the perfect glue guy, capable of working just as easily with Mark Davis as Rocky Romero.

The match, of course, ended with Rocky Romero submitting to La Mística.

AAA

News Round-Up

By Trish Speirs

AAA looked to have their card set for “Noche de Los Grandes” on May 30th in Monterrey, with their scheduled mask vs mask main event between El Grande Americano and The Original El Grande Americano set to be the major attraction for this show. However, doubt has been cast over whether the main event will still take place after the arrest of Marcel Barthel, who plays El Grande Americano in AAA and wrestled under Ludwig Kaiser previously in WWE.

Barthel turned himself in to the authorities in Orange County, Florida, on May 20th after an incident on April 24th had led to a warrant being put out for his arrest. Barthel is accused of battery after allegedly attacking the victim for commenting “please have some manners” after witnessing an “uncontrollably intimate” encounter between the wrestler and his girlfriend whilst all three were travelling in a lift in the apartment complex where he lives. The police officer who attended the complaint witnessed a “large, fresh scratch” on the victim’s head and also recovered CCTV of the incident, which showed a male punching the victim. Barthel has been released on a $1,000 bond and has entered a written plea of ‘not guilty’. He has filed a motion aimed at allowing him to be able to travel domestically and internationally, citing his lack of previous criminal history and his intention to attend every part of the proceedings, as well as the inability to travel having damaging effects to his occupation.

The arrest has already led to the cancellation of a “special serenade” at a Kings League event in Mexico City on May 21st. Neither WWE or Barthel have made public comment over the incident at this time, but it absolutely could not have come at a worse time for either party, with El Grande Americano essentially the top babyface in AAA right now and the American promotion chasing a US TV deal for the promotion they partly acquired last September. Nevertheless, El Grande Americano appeared on “AAA on FOX #19” on 23rd May continuing to build towards the Mask vs. Mask match. Despite signing a no-contact contract with Original El Grande Americano, the two brawled in front of an incredibly hot crowd to end the episode.

The rest of the card, as it stands, sees a new signing from CMLL, La Catalina, teaming with Bayley and Lola Vice against Las Tóxicas, El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. defending the AAA Latin American Championship against El Hijo del Vikingo and a rematch for the AAA World Tag Team Titles between The War Raiders and Pagano/Psycho Clown.

The War Raiders picking up those titles would not be a surprise to anyone, as AAA have been building to a Psycho Clown/Pagano split for some time and that would be an adequate match for one of the upcoming “Triplemanía” shows, which were announced on WWE’s “Backlash” PLE rather than on AAA programming. This year will see two shows under the “Triplemanía” name, with the first to be held on September 11th at a currently unknown location (but widely believed to be in the US), before a second at Arena Ciudad in Mexico City on September 13th. WWE holding one of these shows in the US feels like either another play for a US TV deal or it is being booked in the hope that they can launch such a deal with this show.

Rey Mysterio was announced as the General Manager of AAA on the 23rd May episode of “AAA on FOX #19”.

© AAA

“AAA On Fox” – Episode 13

April 11th, 2026
Gimnasio Olímpico Juan de la Barrera, Mexico City, Mexico

Review By Trish Speirs

This episode of AAA TV set the stall out for the main event of “Noche de Los Grandes” on May 30th, thanks to one of the best brawls anywhere in recent years between El Grande Americano and The Original El Grande Americano. The Original wrestled Octagón (no longer Octagón Jr.) in the middle of this show in a match where he got good heat and recovered several slip ups from Octagón at the same time. It ended with a clue of what was to follow, with Octagón tapping to the ankle lock after having his mask removed, choosing to protect his identity over winning the match. Original El Grande Americano would continue his attack after the bell was rung, carrying around Octagón’s mask in his mouth whilst keeping up the beating.

It was from here, though, where things really picked up, as the Kaiser Americano came flying in from completely out of shot, taking down Gable unexpectedly. It made Bron Breakker’s attack on Seth Rollins at “WrestleMania” look amateur by comparison. This brawl went all around the outside of the ring, and the crowd were electric for it. It felt realistic in the way most of these things don’t and used various changes of pace to reignite the crowd on multiple occasions. It was perfect, messy chaos that eventually spilled backstage before returning during the in-ring main event and then at the close of the show in order to make the mask vs mask challenge for Monterrey. This program, when in Mexico, is the hottest thing in any of the WWE spheres right now.

The announcement of the apuestas match for May 30th was not the only news to come out of this show, though, as La Catalina, most notably of CMLL until the Wednesday before this taping, interrupted Flammer’s celebration for becoming the longest holder of the AAA Reina de Reinas Championship. La Catalina’s appearance was set up by Flammer stating that she had defeated every Mexican woman luchador in the company before the arena lights were cut and a video of someone driving a classic car began. The crowd popped as soon as they saw the eye and a dash of pink hair, and again when the license plate was shown with her name.

La Catalina made her way down to the ring as the crowd chanted her name once they cut back to the live arena. And then, she had a pretty typical WWE start, with a back and forth promo followed by a brawl with the heel champion, which ended up with Flammer going into a cake and the portraits of herself that had been placed in the ring. The move to AAA means that La Catalina returns to the WWE environment for the first time since 2021, whilst also becoming the first CMLL to AAA jump since TKO’s announcement of their takeover of the Mexican promotion last April.

© AAA

The main event saw Penta defend the WWE Intercontinental Championship against El Hijo del Vikingo. The announcers made emphasis during Penta’s entrance that this would be the first time a WWE title had been defended in AAA, as well as the fact that Penta is the first Mexican-born IC champion. The crowd received Penta very much as a WWE star, and matched it with sustained boos for their own Vikingo.

Vikingo took control early after launching himself over the top towards Penta on the announce table, before tying the champion to the bottom rope through the back strands of his mask. He spent the control period stomping on Penta before the mask eventually untied itself from the ring rope. The momentum eventually changed with a slingblade (where Vikingo took the most ridiculous spike bump) before things moved more fluidly between the pair.

This was a clunky match at times, with a far too long of a set up for Vikingo’s double stomp and another long build to a poisonrana at the apron. A cameo from the brawling Americanos led to the closing match sequence, where Dorian Roldan was thrown out for stopping a count just after his first real involvement in the match and Penta shut things off with a Penta Driver after two previous unsuccessful attempts. This is now quite the losing streak in big matches that Vikingo is on.

© the crash

Mexican Independents

Mexican Independents News

By Trish Speirs

It is perhaps ironic that with AAA chasing a US TV deal that a promotion completely unknown to most has managed to achieve what they are yet to, but that is exactly what happened in the last fortnight as LM52 secured a slot on Discovery en Español on Sundays at 9pm EST. LM52 is a brand new promotion that held its first show on the outskirts of Mexico City on May 7th, with Dr. Wagner Jr. the most recognisable name on the show that also featured Texano, Big Mami, Noisy Boy, Spider Fly, Demonio, Jack Morris and various other talent which frequent IWRG and other promotions on the Mexican independent scene. Morris, most known for being part of the roster for Pro Wrestling NOAH, ended Hellboy’s three year reign with the IWRG Mexico Championship this past Tuesday night.

LM52 had been set to place Alberto El Patrón as their central star after his release from AAA, but they pulled out of using the former WWE wrestler after his latest arrest for domestic violence. El Patrón, 48, was released from custody on April 10th after his wife (and victim of the assault), Mary Carmen, agreed to press no further charges after the wrestler agreed to pay 1,130,000 pesos in damages as well as for any medical costs relating to the injuries sustained and to stay away from Carmen. The case will be returned to court if he violates any of the conditions of it being dropped over the next six months,

Rogelio Reyes, who wrestled under the moniker “Cuatrero” received a sentence of 2 years and eight months on May 12th on charges of domestic violence and attempted femicide in actions against former partner Stephanie Vaquer. Reyes, 30, has already served two years in prison whilst awaiting judgement and this will count towards his sentence. The wrestler may not be returning to jail, though, with prosecutors’ statements post-sentencing indicating that the individual will be allowed to remain free, but under supervision, having to report into authorities every three weeks. Reyes is also banned from being part of any event Vaquer is part of and also is instructed to pay all costs as well as damages to the victim. Reyes and his legal team have announced they will look to appeal the verdict.

The Crash News

The Crash return on 19th June with some interesting matches. In the main event, Santino Marella, Mamba and D’Luxe against Texano Jr, Super Nova and Demonio Infernal, while in the semi-main event, Hijo de Máscara Sagrada faces Hijo de Fishman in a Mask vs. Mask match. Off the back of his big win in the 15th May main event, Hijo de Rey Misterio* teams with Xtreme Tiger against Rey Horus and Trauma II.

*(Editor’s Note: I had to double check to make sure that Dom Mysterio didn’t change his name/gimmick when he wrestles for AAA or something. This is a different guy. Oh, he’s Dom’s uncle.)

International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG) News

On May 17th, Jack Morris – formerly of NOAH – won the IWRG Mexico Championship in a three-way match against former champ Hell Boy and Flamita. It is presumed that the 32 year old Scottish journeyman is trying to work his way into AAA, based on his previous attendance at WWE Tryouts during his time in NOAH.

IWRG has a show at Arena Naucalpan on May 24th, headlined by Chessman, Hijo de Silver King and Silver King Jr vs Hell Boy, Hijo de Dos Caras and Caballero de Plata.

RIOT Lucha Libre News

RIOT’s next event is “Lo Mismo pero sin cambios (creo)” (“Same as before, but no changes (I think))” on May 29th from the Foro Urbano venue in Monterrey, Nuevo León. Bandido, the current RIOT Champion is scheduled to appear. TJP will wrestle Rene Rocks. Also scheduled to appear are Gringo Loco, Mirvan, Iron Kid and Vengador.

© MLP

Canada

Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling (MLP) News

As reported in our last issue, MLP announced that it had secured a TV deal in Canada with a new weekly programme titled “MLP Mayhem” set to debut on TSN in July 2026. TSN has been the home of AEW in Canada since 2019. The first tapings will take place at St. Clair College in Windsor on 12th and 13th June, with further tapings on 7th and 8th August. Since that announcement, MLP has provided further details revealing that it will be a 12-episode series, all one hour each. In addition to MLP’s champions, Capitán Suicida, Máscara Dorada, Johnny TV and Jonathan Gresham have been announced for the tapings.

Winnipeg Pro Wrestling (WPG) News

In the main event of “Sup, Bud?” on 22nd May, Jody Threat defended her WPW Women’s Title against Dani Leo, while Brax defended his WPW 92.1 Citi Title against Bobby Schink. The show was hosted at the usual West End Cultural Centre and, also as usual, was sold out.

C*4 Wrestling News

C*4 held “A BETTER TOMORROW” on 22nd May, which featured the return of Jonathan Gresham in a first ever match against Macrae Martin. Also on the show was Junior Benito facing Aero Boy, Gabriel Fuerza, and Marcus Mathers in a Four Corner match; and Violence is Forever (Dominic Garrini & Kevin Ku) fought Northern Thunder (London Lightning & Storm Ryder). Coming off the back of The Rogues (Casey Ferreira & Elliot Tyler) defending their C*4 Tag Team Title against Violence Is Forever (Dominic Garrini & Kevin Ku) and Northern Thunder (London Lightning & Storm Ryder), the challengers turned their focus against each other in a tag match, while the champions defend against Project 8100 (Dexter Doom & HADDY).

C*4’s season finale “Final Destination” takes place on 19th June at Preston Event Centre.

Mystery Wrestling News

Mystery Wrestling celebrated their three year anniversary at “#25”, with London Lightning defending the Mystery Wrestling Title against Jonathan Gresham. Mystery Wrestling will next host a joint show with C*4 Wrestling on 22nd June which will support the Canadian Cancer Society.

Mystery Wrestling announced a trio of shows: 25th July in Montréal, 29th August in London, UK, during “All In” Weekend and 13th September in Toronto.

Alpha-1 Wrestling News

A1 announced Gangrel for “Watch The Throne” on 7th June in Hamilton where he will face Jessie V and the soccer superstar some people say is better than Lionel Messi, Alessandro del Bruno. The winner will become the #1 Contender for the A1 Zero Gravity Title. Channing Thomas will defend his Alpha Male Title against Xavier Walker in a Lumberjack match.

Smash Wrestling News

Psycho Mike defended the Smash Wrestling Title against Jax Williams on 26th April at “Forest City Rampage” held at London Music Hall.

Smash will return on 6th June in Toronto Rec Room where Emi Sakura, Blade (formerly of AEW), Jody Threat, Psycho Mike, and Tabarnak de Team (Mathieu St-Jacques and Thomas Dubois) have been confirmed for appearances. TDT are returning to Smash after a year, with their last appearance in a tag team title three-way against Sinner & Saint (Judas Icarus & Travis Williams) and Locked & Loaded (Jessie V & Mark Wheeler). Sinner & Saint have held the titles since 14th January 2024 and defended 14 times, so TDT may be coming back for another shot at the kings of the division. Jody Threat will defend her Smash Wrestling Women’s Title against Emi Sakura.

Interspecies Wrestling News

ISDub returned for the first time in 2026 for the King of Crazy Deathmatch Tournament II in Valleyfield, Quebec, which was won by Thomas Leduc. The show was a collaboration with New Outlaws Wrestling. TNA rising star Ricky Sosa failed to capture the NOW Undisputed Title from Mononc St-Jacques. ISDub’s next show is on 7th June in Kahnawake, Québec.

Rest of the Americas

Xplosion Lucha Libre News

Xplosion held their biggest show of the year on 3rd May at Teatro Municipal de San Miguel in San Miguel, a suburb of Santiago. A veteran of the South American scene, Gastón Mateo defended his Undisputed World Title against Joel by knocking him out. The bout was billed as “experience against youth”, meaning ultimately, experience won out. The standout star of the promotion, Javistar, lost her National Women’s Title after 364 days to Casey in a No Escape match which had changing stipulations throughout. La Onda Expansiva (Anthony El Marques & Vasko) did the impossible and held onto their tag team title in a ladder match against Ritmo Suicida, La Fábrica del Dolor and Los Hijos de Odín. Finally, Bajo Cero won the Sud Americano Title, dethroning Bruno Lopez. The result meant that Bajo Cero was 3-0 at Xplosion’s biggest event of the year. Let’s see if he can make it to 22-0.

The season opener, “Somos Xplosion” takes place on 7th June in the same venue.

Brazilian Wrestling Federation (BWF) News

Here is your bi-monthly reminder that BWF airs “Telecatch” weekly on Band (Rede Bandeirantes), which is a free-to-air channel in Brasil, meaning anyone in Brasil with a basic TV antenna can watch it with no subscription. It airs at 1am each Saturday night heading into Sunday morning.

Guerra de Titanes News

Former ROH wrestler Aleah James will appear at “Supervivencia 2026” on 14th June in Santiago at Estadio Municipal de San Joaquin. After attacking Demian and delaying a title match, Alexios Myth will finally put his Campeonato Máximo de Legión Lucha Libre Title on the line against Demian as well as the #1 contender, Gran Oscar. Former WWE wrestler Carlito reunites with Chris Masters as they go for the Campeonatos en Parejas held by Los Supersónicos (Speedy Pablo & Franko Explosivo).