6/29/2025

© CMLL

CMLL

Fantastica Mania Mexico 2025

20/06/25
Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
Watch on: Youtube

Bandido rounded out one of the biggest week’s of his career so far by pinning Mistico in the main event of “Fantastica Mania” to set up a singles match between the two this weekend, back in Arena Mexico. The match had to be adapted in the week before the show, with an injury to Komander meaning the scheduled 6 man of Bandido, Hologram and Komander against the Sky Team was cancelled, with Bandido and Hologram facing Mistico and Mascara Dorada at the end of the show, whilst Neon was moved to a lightning match with Kevin Knight earlier on in the card. That led to a 9 match card on a show which had a limited time period in which to operate, with matches moving to 1 fall affairs in order to accommodate them all. The show was sold out hours before the first match hit the ring, with an estimated 16,000 fans in Arena Mexico to watch the action.

Bandido came into the match on the back of a memorable win over Mascara Dorada on the Tuesday night show in the runup to this, which many have proclaimed to be the best match in Arena Mexico so far this year, and followed it up by delivering a shock result on top of the strongest match of the night on his second CMLL outing of the week. This match started out fast, with Mistico and Dorada coming out strong with a tornillo dive and a Fosbury flop, followed by a string of planchas, moonsaults and a spanish flys before Dorada was taken out by Hologram after a failed shooting star press with a portal bomb, leading to Mistico taking out Hologram with a springboard senton. That left Bandido alone in the ring with Mistico, much to the excitement of the crowd. Mistico appeared to take control, hitting a crucifix bomb for a near fall and stopping Hologram from getting back involved with a Canadian Destroyer. Bandido looked as though he would be another victim of La Mistica for just a moment, but the RoH World Champion was able to turn it into a cradle in order to get a shock pin on the CMLL star, and set up the rematch for this Friday night.

Whilst the 6 man main event originally scheduled at the top of the card had to be changed, there was another 6 man on the card with some significance, as LIJ wrestled together in Arena Mexico as a faction for the final time. Titan, Shingo Takagi and Hiromu Takahashi took on another somewhat wayward New Japan faction in the United Empire in a match full of dives from Titan and Akira early on, with Hiromu eventually getting into the high flying action. Shingo used his strength to superplex Akira from the top before Titan hit him with a splash for a 2 count. Templario and TJP attempted somewhat of a fight back but all 3 United Empire members soon found themselves in trouble, as they were the individual victims of a Time Bomb II, a springboard double stomp and a Made In Japan for a triple pin win for LIJ (even if Shingo messed up the timing a little bit at the end).

© CMLL

The win gave the opportunity for LIJ to make one final roll call in Arena Mexico, with Titán adopting the Naito role in leading the call. Our local correspondent, Daniel Aleman, noted that neither BUSHI or Naito were mentioned in the final celebrations of the long standing faction during its final nights. The trio earned another couple of victories over the following weekend, in Arena Coliseo on Saturday against Galeon Fantasma, and back in Arena Mexico Sunday against Hechicero and Los Hermanos Chavez to set up for a final 6 man against El Sky Team in Puebla on Monday night.

Mercedes Mone defended her newly won CMLL World Women’s Title against Catalina In another late addition to the card. Mercedes working CMLL dates will be a major plus for the promotion, as Rev Pro has been able to illustrate that her presence will lead to new viewers/ subscribers for these shows that booking other American names have not had the same impact on. How many will be put off by the $35 a month price tag required to watch the big Friday shows live is a big question, but if they were to adjust their subscription/ broadcast model to be more American friendly, then multiple bookings for Mercedes would be of great advantage to them.

Mercedes put Catalina away with a statement maker after surviving a one winged angel to be victorious in this one. The wrestler and the match were both well received by the crowd.
CMLL also revealed after the show that Moné donated her AEW “Grand Slam” gear to the promotion as a gift between AEW and CMLL.

© CMLL

Lio Rush had been dogged all week to that point by chants of “Kalimba” by the Mexican audience due to his resemblance to the singer. CMLL would turn the chants back on the crowd by bringing out Kalimba at the close of the 8 man tag Rush was part of that saw Zandokan Jr. pin Rocky Romero. Kalimba wore a shirt that said “Not Lio Rush” as he emerged onto the stage, and shook hands with the AEW wrestler before raising hands with Cru, Romero and Robbie X in the ring.

On the rest of the card, Red Velvet defeated Kira in a match where the two wrestlers worked hard but felt like they were on different planets in regards to their thinking from each other, Ultimo Guerrero escaped a match with Yota [Tsuji] thanks to a low blow after what had been a crowd energising match up to that point and Ricochet had a good showing against Volador Jr. in what was a somewhat time pressed match.

Full Results

Red Velvet defeats Kira (7:06)

La Jarochita defeats Thunder Rosa (9:07)

Los Depredadores (Magnus & Rugido) & Galeon Fantasma (Difunto & Zandokan Jr.) defeat CRU (Action Andretti & Lio Rush), Robbie X & Rocky Romero (15:51)

CMLL World Women’s Title:
Mercedes Mone (c) defeats La Catalina (12:48)

Yota defeats Ultimo Guerrero by DQ (14:36)

Los Ingobernables de Japon (Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi & Titan) defeat United Empire (Francesco Akira, Templario & TJP) (15:31)

Lightning Match:
Neon defeats Kevin Knight (9:33)

Ricochet defeats Volador Jr. (9:52)

Bandido & Hologram defeat El Sky Team (Mascara Dorada & Mistico) (15:58)

CMLL News

This year’s “Aniversario” show has been confirmed for September 19th, 2025. The 92nd running of the event was announced 92 days ahead of the run date on an edition of “CMLL Informa”. The events at MLW:s “Summer of the Beasts” appears to suggest MJF vs Mistico for the show’s main event, although that feels complicated by AEW having a PPV in Toronto the following night.

Bandido cut a promo after his victory over Mascara Dorada on the “CMLL vs AEW/RoH” show where he stated he wanted to see Dorada in AEW, which did not receive a positive reaction by the crowd. He changed it thereafter to wanting to see him work more in AEW whilst remaining in CMLL, but it was an interesting test of how such moves would be perceived and how fans can buy into a partnership but do not want to see wrestlers leave their home promotions. Dorada, who is considered to be a succession plan for Mistico, is one of a number of luchadors whose value will have increased from working with AEW that could be potential targets for WWE, as this global cold war becomes more centered on the Mexican scene as a whole following the announcement of the purchase of AAA by WWE back in April.

© AAA

AAA

TripleMania Regia 2025

June 15th, 2025
Arena Monterrey, Monterrey, Mexico
Watch On: MAX/Youtube

“Triplemania Regia”, the hastily arranged event in response to AEW’s excursion to Mexico City, had a great crowd in Monterrey which were loud throughout the night. One of the big stories of the evening came from those reactions, as those who had been in WWE, especially local favourites Los Garzas, were by far the most over in the building, whilst the AAA babyfaces appear to be suffering from the Mega Tile change in Mexico City last month.

There can be no doubt that the biggest casualty right now is El Hijo del Vikingo, who was heavily booed from the moment he entered the building (in the new WWE style arrival shots) to the very end of the show. Whether it is feeling he is undeserving of the position he is in, or it is pushback against the disruption of the direction of the Mega title as it was previous, or the way the result was revealed that is driving it, it is notable how different his reaction is to the wrestlers who have been on WWE programming through either WWE or NXT in this arena. Things might be better if AAA were working to help Vikingo as a babyface (or hadn’t rubbed it in everyone’s faces by going straight back to Alberto El Patrón as an opponent), but there isn’t anything so far to suggest they want to do anything to protect their top champion; and worse, the negative reactions are spreading to a number of the other babyfaces.

The cage match main event saw AAA try all their normal interference tricks in the cage match, but like the title match last month, the match layout was a disaster if the aim was to get the crowd to cheer for Vikingo. It was clear to everyone they were up against it from the start, with Alberto El Patrón welcomed with cheers despite being accompanied by El Mesias and JBL, and these only got louder after he climbed to the top of the cage and motioned to the crowd. El Hijo del Vikingo was accompanied once more by his father as he entered to a chorus of heavy boos. This was only destined to continue when it became clear that Vikingo was destined to spend most of the match climbing to escape the cage rather than taking down or taking on his opponent.

It felt like Vikingo was obsessed with climbing and that only led to him feeling like a cowardly heel trying to escape with the championship. Alberto catching him and bringing him back to the fight just felt counter productive on multiple occasions; they had gotten the dynamics in this one completely wrong from the start. The climbing then felt completely redundant when El Mesias opened the door to slide a kendo stick in for Alberto, so now the babyface was dumb as well as cowardly – good job. El Patrón whipped Vikingo with the kendo stick to knock him from the top of the cage once more, following up with an enziguri onto the smaller man whilst he was sat on the top rope.

© AAA

Mesias got further involved at this point, attempting to pull Alberto out the door, only for Vikingo to be able to pull him back in. Vikingo’s reward was to be hit in the head with the cage door. This began the weapon and heavy interference part of the match, with a table thrown into the ring followed by a cut to the back to see a sports car pulling up and one-armed man to get out (face not revealed). The mystery man was of course Latin Lover, whose appearance near the ring momentarily distracted Alberto, allowing Vikingo to get the upper hand for a short time. Then came Mesias trying to introduce a tiny fire extinguisher, only for Octagon Jr. to stop him and then pretty much fail at working the tiny little thing before he was attacked by El Hijo de Dos Caras and thrown into the crowd. Dos Caras climbed to the top of the cage so he could kick Vikingo to the floor and then drop into the cage himself from the roof – just as everyone else chose to use the door. There was a comedic element to all this which was a lot funnier than the description in this recap, although I am not sure it made any of this any better, either.

Caras tried to carry Alberto out the door but could not match the strength of Vikingo Sr. in being able to open the cage door, so he instead started climbing the cage with the challenger on his shoulders, only to be stopped by Laredo Kid. Laredo then had the biggest high spot of the match, jumping from the top of the cage – with a plancha – onto Caras and El Patrón. Next in was Niño Hamburguesa, who greeted the audience with a spin, took off his shirt and then hit a cannonball onto Alberto. This whole sequence of run-ins, props and babyfaces getting mixed-to-poor responses ended temporarily when the referee asked all the extra additions to the match to leave in a very nice way, and both the heels and babyfaces appeared to follow the order.

The focus returned to the actual men in the match, with Alberto chasing Vikingo up the cage whilst the crowd cheered him, only to be headscissored back to the floor; Patrón managed to lock in an armbar in the aftermath but the champion managed to escape. That was to be the end of the non-interference part, though, as we got to the comedy ending to this match that pretty much summed up everything that had happened beforehand. Latin Lover, with one arm after having surgery this past week, managed to get a handcuff on Alberto and the rope, just as Vikingo begins another trip up and over the cage. Before the champion could climb down on the outside, the handcuff snapped, with the camera shot making it very clear that Alberto could now just walk out. It felt like no one had any idea what to do and that someone had told Alberto to play dead on the edge of the ring just as Vikingo dropped to the floor.

© AAA

It is hard to see what they can do to fix this at this point, or if they will even bother, but El Hijo del Vikingo is not in a good place in the big spot, and facing Santos Escobar or having another El Patrón match at “Triplemania” in Mexico City will likely do very little to change that trajectory.

The show was once again split in regards of broadcast, with the final 3 matches shown live on Space in Mexico and available on MAX, with the lower card to go out a week later. The later half of the show appeared on Youtube at midnight on Sunday, which suggests that MAX may have restrictions on it running on the rival platform on the same day. There had been suspicion that this show would be put out globally against the AEW show in Mexico, similar to how the TNA+ show had been deployed the previous week, but AAA also had to contend with CMLL making their Sunday show available for free on Sunday evening.

There were some notable changes in regards to the presentation of the show which did reflect changes in influence, with the biggest being the change in the hard camera location to face the crowd, rather than towards the stage and the bright yellow advertisement screen behind. It almost felt strange to watch the matches and to not be distracted by giant advertisements for Gerald Pique’s football venture or car motor oil, but it was undoubtedly a positive change. The show did much better with timing than usual as well, with all the entrances to the building at the start before the opening promo, which started this time with the entrances of Dorian Roldan, JBL and El Mesias, rather than halfway through when the broadcast kicked in like at “Rey de Reyes”.

© AAA

The other live televised matches were much more passable than the main event but cannot be placed much above there when discussing their quality. The first match after JBL’s 2003 routine was over was the 4-way for the TNA X Division Title that Moose presently holds, as he defended against El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr, Joe Hendry and El Mesias. If there was any doubt of those who have been part of WWE events being popular here, the reaction to Joe Hendry washed it away, as this audience treated him as a fully fledged star. Hendry had switched up his theme intro into Spanish and that only helped to make things louder, as the crowd clapped along, waved and sang in all the right places as the theme progressed. It was easily one of the top reactions of anyone on the night and much stronger by far than anyone else in this match, with it continuing throughout the duration.

It was pretty much a standard 4-way from there, with the issues between El Mesias and El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. opening and closing proceedings, in between everyone being given time to shine. The crowd went crazy every time Hendry had offense and popped greatly for the triple suplex spot, where Mesias dropped the other 3 men from the cornerpost to the mat. The AAA heel then played the key role in the finish, breaking up a pin attempt by Wagner Jr. before giving him a low blow (which the crowd cheered). Moose threw Mesias out and speared Wagner to get the win, but it was a side note to El Mesias causing the loss, with a scrap between the 2 luchadors breaking out after and dominating the post match. Security were sent in to separate them as the brawl moved up the ramp and then backstage. The pair will head to “Triplemania” in Mexico City to finish off their feud.

The semi main event was also a 4 way, but this time with the AAA Tag Team Championships up for grabs, as Los Garzas, TNA Tag Champions the Nemeth Bros and Psycho Clown and Pagano challenged Nueva Generación Dinamita for the belts they won a couple of months back at “Rey de Reyes”. This match was thankfully not the complete disaster of that one, with no one seemingly hurt in the process, and ended in popular fashion for the crowd. Angel and Berto have been left off WWE events in the area previously but were clear favorites from the moment they came down to the ring and even more so by the end, with a blind tag (which felt like a first in AAA) meaning they could take advantage of Pagano and Psycho Clown diving out of the ring onto the Nemeths, just when Pagano had the match won if he had stayed in the ring. They quickly got Forastero up for their finisher (which I am not sure anybody has the name of) and made a popular pin. It was their first time acquiring any sort of gold since making the WWE main roster.

© AAA / SPACE / MAX

The moment was made by the decision of Pagano to not go for a pin after slamming Forastero, who had just gone through a table thanks to a Psycho Clown Spanish fly. Psycho had gone for the pin himself but had seen the referee pulled out by the Nemeths before Pagano came in, leading to the costly decision to dive at them on the outside instead. The Nemeths, who wore the stereotypical heel USA themed gear, were cheered over the AAA face team, who can be added to the list of babyfaces who the crowd are making pay for the topline changes in the promotion over the past month.

It is perhaps ironic that these crowd responses do not hurt Mr. Iguana, who was given a hero’s return by the audience after his recent WWE adventures. Iguana got the pin in a six man match alongside El Fiscal and Niño Hamburguesa against the Tokyo Bad Boys in the recorded part of the show, where Flammer also retained the Reina de Reinas Title against Dalys and Ladi Shanni, with the help of Las Toxicas.

Full Results

Dark Match:
Charro Negro, Emperador Azteca & Tigre Universitario Jr. defeat Dark Zorro, El Lider & Oro Negro

AAA Reina de Reinas Title:
Flammer (c) defeats Dalys and Lady Shani

La Parka, Laredo Kid & Octagon Jr. defeat Los Vipers (Abismo Negro Jr., Histeria & Taurus)

El Fiscal, Mr. Iguana & Niño Hamburguesa defeat Tokyo Bad Boys (Kento, Nobu San & Takuma)

TNA X-Division Title:
Moose (c) defeats El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. and El Mesias and Joe Hendry (11:41)

AAA World Tag Team Titles:
Los Garzas (Angel & Berto) defeat Nueva Generacion Dinamita (Forastero & Sanson) (c) and Pagano & Psycho Clown and The Nemeths (Nic Nemeth & Ryan Nemeth) (16:49)

AAA Mega Title Steel Cage:
El Hijo del Vikingo (c) defeats Alberto El Patrón (26:04)

AAA News

Luchablog is reporting that AAA have indicated that their next set of TV tapings will be on July 11th in Aguascalientes, before a Mexico City taping on July 19th, as they head towards “Triplemania” in Mexico City on August 16th. AAA also held a press conference at the Domo Care venue in Monterrey to announce a show on July 9th. Domo Care is a change of venue from the normal Showcenter venue they run in the city.

Psycho Clown is not taking US independent bookings after the summer, according to Bodyslam. He has previously taken a number of GCW dates on top of bookings with American lucha promotions in the past, but he has also dramatically reduced his bookings in the US since the WWE takeover of AAA was announced during Wrestlemania weekend.

One booking that has remained on his calendar so far is “Lucha Libre MartinezMania”, which will run as part of AEW’s “All In” weekend in Arlington, Texas. Laredo Kid, Aerostar, Epidemius Jr, Mascarita Sagrada, as well as a field of independent luchadors are also booked for the Sunday evening show.

Alberto El Patron will be wrestling for GLEAT in Japan on July 1st, teaming with CIMA against Chris Vice and Kawakami Shamen Ryuichi.

© Daniel Berehulak

Mexico Independents

The Crash

20/06/25
Auditorio de Tijuana, Tijuana, Mexico.
Watch On: Youtube (sort of)

The latest stop on the retirement tour of El Hijo del Santo came in Tijuana this past weekend, for the Crash promotion which runs regularly in the city. The Auditorio de Tijuana was full to see off the luchador, with an estimated crowd of 5,500, meaning that partnering with the promotion was much more successful than the self-run events which were being promoted elsewhere and have ended up being cancelled, outside of the Mexico City show (which was heavily papered).

LA Park was not on the show, but sat in the front row in full gimmick to witness the 6-man main event that saw El Hijo del Santo team with Hijo de Rey Mysterio and Santo Jr. against Dr. Wagner Jr., D’Luxe and El Hijo del Fishman.

“La niñez de muchos, el héroe de todos ¡Gracias!” (“The childhood of many, the hero of all. Thank you!”) was inscribed on the ring apron for the night, with Santo gaining a decent ovation from the crowd, blowing kisses to the audience whilst on the rampway in return. The Crash announcer also chose to join in, leading the crowd in “ole, ole ,ole, ole Santo” chants.

Santo Jr. started off the match opposite El Hijo del Fishman, with elder Santo being brought into the action only once Dr. Wagner Jr. had gotten into the ring. The two quickly spilled outside and…Well, that was that in regards to the Crash Youtube stream, which went kaput mid-main event after broadcasting the entire rest of the show. If you want to watch Santo and his babyface tag partners pick up the win, then it is back to the trusty fan cam footage in order to do so.

In the part of the show that was broadcast in full, Atomick Star ended Gallo Extreme’s run with the Crash Junior Title on the 5th defense, in a messy opener which goes in and out of the ring for much of the duration. This one was an independent match you could see anywhere in the world just about now, with all the current favourite moves as well as a Canadian destroyer to boot.

© The Crash

Star manages to reverse the pin after a piledriver from the top to get the win and claim the title, however, Gallo Extreme is far from happy and things get even more heated after the match has ended. A mix between brawl and promo ends in a challenge and an acceptance of a mask vs hair match on July 11th. Until then, Gallo will go home with his chicken and no belt under his other arm. Blue Demon Jr. has also been announced for that date.

Crash Femenil Title holder Keyra made a successful first defense in a 3 way against Duice Tormenta and La Hija de Gatubela in a match that was quick to involve weapons and ended in quite spectacular fashion, with Keyra auplexing one of her opponents through a table across one corner of the ring, before driving the other through another table in the opposite corner. The tables disintegrated into sawdust in the middle, leaving a heavy cleanup job for their ring crew in the aftermath.

The trios match that followed, involving exóticos Las Shotas started out with mostly comedic fare but became pretty uncomfortable for me, as a viewer, during the later parts of the match. I always try to be mindful of cultural differences but this one is tough to watch.

The follow up was a much more straightforward affair between Crash Cruiserweight Champion Tonalli against Super Nova. This one featured plenty of topes and dives to the outside, as well as Nova getting close to victory after putting the champion in an ankle lock. Tonalli was able to reach the ropes though and, after a few more dives, was able to hit a powerbomb for the win.

The defeat was a disappointment for Nova, and played into him having a direct impact on the result of the semi main event, as his distraction of Bestia 666 placed victory in the hands of Texano Jr. and Los Traumas, with both Traumas pinning Bestia to end the match. Super Nova would end any confusion as to why he was out there in the post match, when he aligned and celebrated with the heel group. The four will be known as New Misioneres del Muerte going forward.

Crash also announced the new variation of La Parka, Pagano and Mr. Iguana for their July 4th show.

Full Results

The Crash Junior Title:
Atomik Star defeats Gallo Extreme (c) (9:52)

The Crash Femenil Title:
Keyra (c) defeats Dulce Tormenta and La Hija de Gatubela (9:20)

Las Shotas (La Diva Salvaje & Mamba) & Valentino defeat Hell Boy, Herodes Jr. & Tony Casanova (12:56)

The Crash Cruiserweight Title:
Tonalli (c) defeats Super Nova (8:42)

El Texano Jr. & Los Traumas (Trauma I & Trauma II) defeat Bestia 666, Halloween Jr. & Rey Horus (17:17)

El Hijo del Santo, Hijo de Rey Misterio & Santo Jr. defeat D’Luxe, Dr. Wagner Jr. & El Hijo del Fishman (24:18)

Other Mexico News

Riot Lucha will headline their July 5th show in Monterrey with Bandido vs Erick Ortiz for the Riot Title that Ortiz currently holds. Also announced for the show is Bomba Villa and Willy Banderas against Spider Fly and Noisy Boy, and Toxin and Latigo facing Iron Kid and Aramis in Aramis’ return date after having to pull out of the previous show due to a minor injury. Hyan will make a quick return to the promotion, after her debut back in May, wrestling Jessy Jackson in one of two women’s matchups on the show, with the other being Mirvan vs Zuzu. Vengador vs The Beast Mortos is the latest eye-catching addition to the card for “Ganer Es Raro”.

© WWE

WWE

TV News

This weekend’s “Night of Champions” PLE in Saudi Arabia is centered around John Cena vs CM Punk for the WWE Championship, with Punk very much the focus of attention over the past couple weeks, particularly with the story placing one of WWE’s top babyfaces as a hypocrite, and giving him no real opportunity to dispute it. The program with Cena has cast Saudi Arabia as a character in proceedings, and it felt like that transcended into reality after the WWE travelled to the country this week, as a video of Punk lightly pushing away a child seeking a photo at a “WWE Experience” event in Riyadh on Thursday, aided with his comments on the country in the past, led to him being booed when entering the “WWE Kickoff” event on Friday afternoon.

Punk is seen talking to a man in the crowd before addressing the larger audience

This led to a change in response to Punk, in what felt like a very calculated PR move, especially when the child who was involved in the video the day before was played to by the wrestler after his stage time had finished and the apology he had seemingly offered in the spur of the moment was shown later on that night at the “Smackdown” event in Riyadh. The categorising of his tweet as a “mean tweet”, as though something that could be in a comedy segment on a Jimmy Kimmel show, was swiftly challenged by multiple other occasions Punk has commented on Saudi Arabia in the past being brought up on social media. It is clear, at this point, that he was going to be required to apologise in Saudi after agreeing to go there months before the Cena program began on screen, but it is quite something else to witness it in practice.

The program and the exposition of a character whose original buy-in was on morality and standing up to authority (even if it has only ever been a guise) has not been kind to Punk in regards to the opinion of his previous fanbase. It also feels detrimental to his current babyface character, with his “rap” answer on Friday night to Cena’s remake of the pipebomb promo being more under the expectations of what you would expect from the Miz then the CM Punk persona. It does, however, point to where he is in his career now as well as the hold WWE has over his direction after Punk broke his leverage of being important to the only competing alternative.

The focus is on him this week, because of the trading on morality that both the character and the public persona have continuously done over the previous decade, has somewhat taken away from focusing on the fact that these shows continue to be part of Saudi Arabia’s very effective sports washing efforts; that have curtailed talk of human rights abuses in the country and mean that actions such as the execution of a journalist who alleged corruption amongst the Saudi Arabian royal family only 2 weeks ago are glossed over.

The week started off with serious doubts over whether the security of the show and the safety of wrestlers, staff and fans could be guaranteed after escalation in the Iran- Israel conflict that brought the USA into the war, striking 3 nuclear sites in Iran without provocation. Iran had promised retribution, and had sent missiles towards a military base in Qatar, in what was a somewhat orchestrated return of fire. The situation appeared to calm from there, rather than escalating into a much wider global conflict, but much of the surrounding peninsula is still seeing warfare or the unease of warfare occurring within the region, with instability likely to be a consistent issue for the foreseeable future across multiple countries. The threat is not just from medium to short term missiles from Iran, but also from supporting offshoot groups in other countries, with large events having experienced disruption previously, such as the 2002 Formula 1 Grand Prix where Yemeni Houthi rebels attacked an oil facility near the track with a missile, leading to serious discussion over whether the race should go ahead or not. On that occasion, and very much in this one, the likelihood of cancellation was low, with the money paid for these events outweighing concerns for safety.

© WWE

There were 2 significant injuries to WWE talent over the past fortnight, with both Liv Morgan and Chad Gable expected to miss a significant amount of time. Morgan, who was involved in multiple stories at the time of her injury and was heading to some variation of a match with Nikki Bella at the “Evolution” event on July 13th in Atlanta, dislocated her shoulder during a match with Kairi Sane on June 16th and has now undergone surgery.

Chad Gable was written off on last Monday’s edition of “Raw”, however, his alter ego, El Grande Americano, is also the current holder of the WWE Speed title. He is expected to undergo shoulder surgery over the next week, with Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer stating that he believes he will have at least a 6 month recovery period before he can return to the ring.

Hikuleo debuted on “Main Event” at the Smackdown tapings in Lexington, Kentucky on June 13th, but the match was not aired. He has had further dark matches at WWE events since that date and is expected to be involved with the main roster at “Night of Champions”. His addition comes at an interesting time, with the end of a year of inactivity seeming to follow pushback on comments made publicly by Nick Khan that WWE does not bench talent.

Smackdown is moving back to a 2 hour format on July 4th and is listed for the same length on July 11th, having been at a 3 hour runtime since the 3rd of January. The elongated runtime has been strong for USA from a ratings perspective, but it has been clear that there is not enough content on these shows to make them a fulfilling watch on a weekly basis. There has been no claims that WWE received any further revenue for the 26 additional hours of programming, which means the value of this year of their 5 year deal with the USA Network is much less per hour of content then what was previously claimed.

WWE announced a deal worth $1.4 billion with the network for “Smackdown” to move from Fox to the USA Network last fall, determining that it was a 1.4x rate of increase on their previous deal, which was worth $205 million a year, with each hour of programming worth $1.97 million. This year, USA will have received 130 hours of programming for their $280 million, a rate of $2.15 million per hour, meaning a 1.1x rate of increase, much less than was advertised when the deal was completed. The deals are structured to escalate annually, with the middle year being the one which sits at $280 million, and the ones before valued at slightly less, whilst the ones after bring in slightly more. It is therefore likely that the last year of the Fox deal and the first year of this one are not too far different in regards to overall figure, whilst we can also be pretty certain that WWE is being paid less per hour of Smackdown this year on USA than they were last year on Fox.

Next week’s “Smackdown” will be taped on Monday night ahead of its July 4th holiday airing, with “Raw” airing at an experimental 6pm start time on Monday on Netflix, having now had multiple shows air out of traditional US primetime on the streamer and show little difference to the weekend figure that is released a week later. It will allow for the dual tapings to be completed at a reasonable time.

Goldberg’s World Heavyweight Championship match with Gunther at “Saturday Night’s Main Event” in Atlanta, Georgia on July 12th is now being fully marketed as his last match, across both social media and on TV. The 58 year old will end his career in his home market, and returned to WWE television in Green Bay last week in order to promote the matchup.

Netflix project “Unreal”, which will focus on the creative process in WWE in the run up to this year’s “Wrestlemania”, will launch on the streaming service on July 29th. The series will air in 5 parts and is being produced by Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions, NFL Films and Skydance Sports alongside WWE.

Noam Dar was stripped of the Heritage Cup Championship on “NXT” after suffering an injury. There was no details on the nature of Dar’s injury that ended his current 2 month reign with the title. Stacks defeated Tony D’Angelo 2-1 on the June 24th NXT to capture the vacated belt.

WWE News

The defendants in the ring boys lawsuit- TKO, WWE, Vince McMahon and Linda McMahon, all filed for the case to be dismissed last week, citing a lack of jurisdiction by the court in Maryland as the primary reason behind the motions. The main arguments are that none of the defendants reside or have resided in Maryland for a long period of time, and the WWE is headquartered in Connecticut whilst being registered in Delaware. They also argue that none of the plaintiffs are from Maryland and that no decisions were taken by Vince and Linda McMahon in the state that caused abuse to happen, and holding wrestling events there was not enough for these events to be litigated in the state.

A number of the arguments are the same as what was included in previous motions in regards of jurisdiction, with attorneys for WWE also remaining steadfast that the complaint does not show that the current company under TKO has any responsibility for what happened within the former company back in the 1980s. WWE also dispute that Phillips was an “employee”, which suggests he was likely a contractor, whilst all parties have suggested that they had no legal duty of care over the plaintiffs as they were not employees or paid by the company. Attorneys for the plaintiffs contend that claim, stating that the ring boys were paid in cash, merchandise and accommodation for their part in setting up the rings. However, the defendants also argue that there is no liability for the company over Phillips’ actions, as they did not take place during the course of time where Phillips was carrying out duties related to his position with the WWF.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs have until July 28th to respond to the arguments made in the motions to dismiss, with the defendants following with a period to reply ending on August 27th. All three defendants have requested to have their arguments heard in court.

Attorneys for Janel Grant were allowed to file a motion with the court which requests evidence relating to the signing of the NDA, which is central to the upcoming ruling over whether her lawsuit against WWE and Vince McMahon should go to arbitration or not. Grant’s team are requesting over 20 categories of documents in relation to the NDA and WWE/ Vince McMahon’s communication around it, including contact with Linda McMahon and Dr. Carlon Colker. They are requesting access to materials in relation to the Board, documents which have been viewed by the recent federal investigation and drafts of NDAs made by McMahon, the company and his attorneys.

The motion also claims that Grant’s NDA was signed under duress and that it was drafted and signed whilst McMahon was “engaged in the furtherance of crimes”. Opposition to the motion is due to be filed by June 30th, with Judge Sarah F. Russell ultimately being required to make the decision over whether the case goes to arbitration or not.

© NOAH

In a somewhat surprising move, Omos has revealed that he has re-signed with WWE. The news comes after 5 months of inactivity after having been pulled from a run in Pro Wrestling NOAH, where he had gotten over to a significant degree with the crowds in Japan.

Carlito confirmed on social media that he is now no longer under WWE contract and available for outside bookings. The 46 year old had been informed in the weeks upcoming to the end date of his contract that the agreement would not be renewed.

Kyle Fredericks, who wrestled in “NXT” under the name Eddy Thorpe, stated that his recent release from the company was something he had asked for so he could “do something meaningful with my life.”

WWE has announced 2 Mexican show dates in late July, in Mexico City and Monterrey, on the 26th and 27th respectively. The shows went on sale the Thursday after AEW’s “Grand Slam” event in Mexico City, after being officially announced on AAA’s show in Monterrey the Sunday previous. Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins, Penta, Rey Fenix, Stephanie Vacquer and Rey Mysterio are amongst the talent displayed in the current advertisements. At current, no AAA talent are being promoted within the lineup, but you would expect them to appear considering the proximity to “Triplemania” in Mexico City just 3 weeks later. The decision to run a large scale house show just 3 weeks before AAA’s biggest show of the year is a bullish one, suggesting that WWE do not feel it harms the draw of that show, and/or that their primary goal with the purchase of AAA is to increase WWE hold and fan spend on the product in the Mexican market and that supersedes any potential impact on ticket sales for the AAA show.

Tony Hinchcliffe is being brought back for a follow up to “The Roast of Wrestlemania”, to host “WWE Late Night” on August 2nd at the Bergen Performing Arts Center in Englewood, New Jersey. The show will follow the first night of the promotion’s “Summerslam” event and is set to announce comics and WWE talent as part of the lineup. This show, like the one back in Las Vegas back in April, will not be broadcast, however, it is likely to still escape containment just like the Vegas one did, which led to talents such as Charlotte Flair having to acknowledge some of the more targeted content.
Roman Reigns has been confirmed for the role of Akuma in the upcoming film adaption of the “Street Fighter” video game. Fightful had previously reported that this was the role he was being considered for before it was confirmed this week. The film cast is headlined by Jason Momoa, and also includes Noah Centineo, Orville Peck, Callina Lang and 50 Cent.

© AEW

All Elite Wrestling

TV News

AEW’s “Grand Slam” in Mexico City was by far their most successful TV show so far this year, drawing a tv rating of 0.21 and 736,000 viewers, the most viewers for an edition of “Dynamite” since “Blood and Guts” in July 2024. The number could have been even higher as well, with the 38 minute overrun suffering from DVR issues, meaning that it brought down the main show overall, however, the level it did hold at continues to build the case for a longer show on Wednesday night, in regards to value to the network. Attendance estimates by those in attendance suggest that there were around 12,000 in the building and that there could have been more if AEW had not staggered the release of tickets during the onsale, leading to some fans believing tickets were not available and not going back for a second glance. I believe it probably will not be a mistake they make on their next visit, now that they are more aware of the difference in ticket buying patterns between Mexico and their regular US Ticket buyers.

The crowd created an incredible atmosphere that made many of AEW’s top stars feel bigger for being in front of them. The loudest and most passionate moment of the night though, was not for an AEW star, but for the entrance of Mistico. It was only enhanced by AEW using “Me Muero” as his theme, to the absolute joy of the local crowd. The song is widely associated with Mistico’s height of popularity during the 2000s, with the wrestler having also been at the centre of the accompanying music video.

Perhaps the moment which was the most unforeseen was the opening of the show, as Hangman Adam Page delivered the company introductory promo entirely in Spanish. He used his story of working together with workers from Mexico on his family farm to tie into themes around the current political climate as well as the pro wrestling landscape, on top of his ongoing kayfabe story with the Death Riders that leads him to the main event in 2 weeks time.

The speech came only a few weeks after Rey Mysterio had delivered the opening for the joint NXT/AAA “When Worlds Collide” show that had discussed how WWE were legitimising lucha libre. Page’s speech was quite different, emphasizing how AEW were being welcomed into CMLL’s house on that night and the value of the promotions working together. It showed a different level of respect in comparison to the WWE speech, with even WWE sources indicating their recognition of how strong it was in its messaging and reception. CMLL were also impressed, making it clear on the night that they wish to book Page as soon as practically possible, according to Bryan Alvarez. If he returns to Arena Mexico with the AEW Men’s World Championship after July 12th and defends in that building, he will be the first man to defend a notable world title from a foreign promotion in Arena Mexico since Harley Race.

There has been some suggestion that Page’s speech was a deliberate response to the WWE show, or that it was given to him in order to illustrate the differences in political alignment between WWE and AEW, but this is not the case. The entire promo was Page’s idea and worked on for weeks. Within all the debate about the political messaging and the ongoing Cold War wrestling finds itself in, it should not be underestimated what this says about the confidence Page has right now and his ability to be a leader going forward for AEW.

Page was not the only political statement on the show, with Brody King offering a far more direct one by wearing an “Abolish ICE” shirt for his entrance to the 14 man tag, which received press coverage from a number of major US news outlets. The ability for AEW talent to be able to express their feelings on current events is something that clearly resonates with a number of staff and talent there, and this was summed up by commentator Ian Riccaboni, who posted on X,

© AEW

There was one title change on the show, as Mercedes Moné extended her belt collection with the CMLL World Women’s Championship, after defeating Zeuxis. Mone will face Mina Shirakawa on “Dynamite 300” this coming week in the continued build to her match with Toni Storm for The AEW Women’s World Title at “All In.”

Both a men’s and women’s Casino Gauntlet have been added to the ballpark show on July 12th, with Kris Statlander and Mark Briscoe having claimed the number 1 spots in their respective matches on “Dynamite” this past Wednesday night. A further qualifier for the men’s Gauntlet match is set to take place on “Dynamite 300” in Ontario, California this coming week. Also on the milestone show will be Kota Ibushi vs Kazuchika Okada, after Ibushi returned to the ring this past week against Trent. It was his first action so far this year, with the wrestler looking much better than the last time he was seen in a singles match back in January 2024. Ibushi’s involvement is in part to set up Kenny Omega’s return to TV after the angle that took him out of the Arena Mexico show (in what was the one major promotional mistake for AEW’s visit to Mexico City).

The night before “All In” Arlington will host Ring of Honor’s “Supercard of Honor” from the E-Sports Arena. There has been a rush of announcements for the show, with Athena defending the RoH Women’s Championship against Thunder Rosa and Konosuke Takeshita challenging Bandido for the RoH World Title now confirmed for the card. Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara will face either Shawn Dean and Carlie Bravo or Top Flight for the RoH Tag Titles, whilst Lee Moriarty and Blue Panther will rematch from Arena Mexico for the RoH Pure Title.

© AEW

News

Christopher Dispensa filed a lawsuit against AEW and Jon Moxley on May 30th, alleging civil assault and battery against Moxley and general negligence towards AEW. The suit was filed in the Wayne County Circuit Court as the event listed in the complaint occurred during a “Dynamite” taping on May 10th, 2023 at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, where Moxley faced Kenny Omega in a steel cage match in the main event.

Dispensa, who was working the event as part of the AEW production team as an independent contractor, states that he was instructed to hand a screwdriver to Moxley during the match but that Moxley “unexpectedly deviated from the planned script by placing his hands on plaintiff’s face and shoulders and violently shoving plaintiff to the ground.” He claims that the incident led to him suffering extensive injuries that has led to him having to have cervical spine surgery and shoulder surgery on top of other medical treatments. He is seeking a jury trial for damages that are over $25,000 in total.

The complaint alleges negligence on AEW’s part by claiming that Moxley has a “documented history of unpredictability” in the company and a number of prior disciplinary issues, although no examples are listed. Neither AEW or Jon Moxley have responded to the lawsuit publicly as of yet and Dispensa’s son continues to work without issue for the company, with Fightful reporting that he was seen on screen this past week during the Hurt Syndicate segment.

Jim Ross has announced that he is cancer free. On his podcast, “Grilling JR”, the veteran commentator said that his colon cancer is gone after having surgery in an attempt to deal with the illness. The 73 year old is now recovering at home, but is also targeting being part of “All In” as well as the supporting “Starrcast” events in mid July. If Ross is able to take part in commentary duties, you would have to think that Jon Moxley and Adam Page in particular, would want him to be part of their main event World Title match.

Harley Cameron underwent nose surgery this week, according to the Wrestling Observer. Her write off, at the hands of Megan Bayne and Penelope Ford, gives her an easy storyline to return to once her recovery is completed.

AEW continued their promotional efforts for their flagship “All In” show on July 12th, with local advertising beginning to appear in Arlington, including show graphics displaying the show’s triple main event on the entry to Globe Life Field. The ballpark will hold “AEW Night” on Tuesday, July 1st, with an AEW/ Texas Rangers gift part of the promotional offering. MJF threw out the first pitch at a Rangers game back in April, providing a boost to ticket sales at that time. This is likely to be the biggest possible crowd available to market to at the ballpark, with Rangers ace Jacob deGrom the probable starting pitcher for the game with the Baltimore Orioles and $1 hot dog day likely ensuring a big crowd on Tuesday night. The tickets distributed for the stadium show crossed 18,500 this past week after their best week of sales post “Double or Nothing”. They are now 1,500 tickets away from breaking the US company record for attendance set at “Grand Slam” in New York back in September 2021.

Swerve Strickland has announced a concert for July 11th at the RBC in Dallas. The former AEW Men’s World Champion will be driving the pace car at this Saturday’s Quaker State 400 Nascar race in Atlanta. The race is the first to be broadcast on TNT as part of the new deal between the network and the racing series.

Starrcast have added Kazuchika Okada, Christian Cage, Daniel Garcia, Tay Melo, Nick Wayne, Mother Wayne, Dustin Rhodes, Konosuke Takeshita, Nigel McGuiness, Blake Christian, Yuka Sakazaki, Anna Jay, Serpentico, Mickie James, Kevin Von Erich and Hangman Adam Page to their convention lineup on July 11th and 12th. This is Page’s first convention appearance since spring 2023.

© TNA Wrestling 

TNA

TNA’s next major show, “Slammiversary” on July 20th, has begun to announce the very top of the card over the past 2 weeks, with the headline match currently listed as a rematch between TNA World Champion Trick Williams and the previous Champion Joe Hendry, but the TV has made it clear that this will be adapted to a 3 way in the upcoming weeks, with the addition to the match being Mike Santana. Santana lost to Williams in a TNA World Title match back on the June 3rd edition of “NXT” due to the interference of AJ Francis, his feuding partner for most of the spring. He ended that chapter on this week’s edition of “IMPACT!”, defeating Francis comprehensively in a street fight in order to leave his path towards another shot at the World Title without further obstacles.

A match for the PPV, which has been announced in full this week, is a 4 way ladder match for the TNA Tag Team Championships. The Nemeths will defend against the Rascalz, First Class and The Hardys in the gimmick match, which is being set up as one of the top attractions on the card.

The Hardys are being deployed (wisely) across New York events in order to drum up interest in the show, which is being held in the UBS arena in Long Island, New York. The arena has a capacity of 17,250, with the latest Wrestletix estimate for sales for this event sitting at 3,122, which is around 500 tickets higher than before their promotional campaign began.

Matt and Jeff threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the New York Mets-Atlanta Braves game at Citi Field on June 25th in a more traditional style of appearance, but they have also popped in places such as “Subway Mania” (a group that regularly goes viral holding mock shows on the New York subway) in order to promote the show to those who may not be reached by the more standard types of advertisement.

TNA continues to experiment with their TNA+ model, having decided this past week to add a free tier to the subscription service that will air classic footage and eventually host a 24/7 stream, similar to the “Impact!” channel currently available globally on Pluto TV. The June 26th episode of “IMPACT!” also received a free broadcast on the service alongside the same episode also being broadcast globally (with the exception of Canada) on Youtube in its regular time slot.

The June 26th airing is the first time TNA have simulcast their “IMPACT!” broadcast across AXS and Youtube, and it may point to a belief that opening up their live content to Youtube is assisting with increasing interest in the product, although it is more difficult to say what difference it is making to once lauded TNA+ subscription numbers, with a significant attraction of the platform now being undermined on a regular basis. It does have a secondary aim, though, tied into the promotion’s partnership with WWE, as the airing was head to head with AEW’s “Collision” broadcast on TNT and MAX in the same timeslot.

© TNA Wrestling 

Elijah, who unsuccessfully challenged Trick Williams for the TNA World Title on the last TNA+ Special “Against All Odds”, suffered a serious injury during tapings for WWE’s “NXT” brand on June 17th. A double knees attempt from the top rope during a 6 man against Williams, Wes Lee and AJ Francis ended with Elijah suffering a triceps tear, that Fightful Select has reported has already resulted in surgery.

It is a significant blow for the former WWE wrestler who debuted in TNA earlier in the year, but also brings up the question of who will take care of his recovery from a financial and practical aspect, being that the injury occured on WWE television.

Jada Stone and Mila Moore were both publicly offered contracts at last weekend’s “IMPACT!” tapings in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The two competed in a match against each other for the secondary program “Xplosion!” before the presentation. The contracts were presented by Head of Talent Relations Tommy Dreamer, Jazz (who is a producer for the promotion at current) and TNA President Carlos Silva.

21 year old Jada Stone has been a regular across the US independents over the past couple of years, as well as picking up bookings with TJPW, AAA and New Japan Strong. Mila Moore was part of WWE’s developmental system previously, not long after making her debut in 2020. She is the current IWC Women’s Champion.

Another new edition to the roster also appeared on these tapings, with Cedric Alexander debuting in the promotion and immediately being launched into the Mustafa Ali/Order Four story. Commentary played up the history between the pair back in WWE, when they were part of “205 Live!” and promising babyfaces. Alexander was released by WWE back in February.

Jason Hotch, currently part of Mustafa Ali’s Order Four faction, has announced that he has re-signed with the company whilst speaking with PWInsider. Hotch, who has teamed regularly with John Skyler under the moniker Great Hands in TNA, joined the company in 2022. His recent match with Mustafa Ali on TNA+ special “Against All Odds” was the strongest match on the show that night.

FIghtful Select reported this past week that current TNA International Title holder Steve Maclin is in the last year of his TNA contract, with his current deal expiring in December of this year. Maclin joins a number of other high profile names, such as Joe Hendry, who could potentially become available/are up for negotiations by the end of the year in TNA.

TNA has continued to fill out its summer live event calendar, with announcements of 3 weekends of shows across August and September in the US and Canada. TNA+ special “Emergence” will be hosted by the Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena in Baltimore, Maryland, on August 16th, with a set of TV tapings being recorded at the same arena the night after. The Minneapolis Armory will hold further tapings on September 5th as well as a TNA house show the night before, with the newly announced dates being rounded off by another TNA+ special, “Victory Road” emanating from Edmonton, Alberta, on September 26th. Another round of TV tapings will be held in the same venue on September 27th.

© MLW

MLW

Summer Of The Beasts 2025

June 26th, 2025
Melrose Ballroom, New York, USA
Watch On: Youtube

The biggest headline coming out of MLW’s “Summer of the Beasts” was not from a match, but instead from a mid show segment that saw Mistico enter the ring to update the crowd on his condition, having vacated the MLW Middleweight Title due to injury back in the spring. Contra Unit, who had vowed to unmask Mistico in front of the world during a vignette show open, appeared to attack Mistico in the ring under masks. The luchador managed to fend off several attackers before being struck from behind by another masked man. The man took off his mask to reveal a Mistico mask of his own, the one removed at AEW’s “Grand Slam” show in Arena Mexico last week. He took a moment before removing the second mask to reveal it was, indeed, MJF.

The crowd was stunned, MJF hadn’t been seen in MLW since his “Loser Leaves MLW” empty arena match loss that was broadcast in April 2020, and relations between AEW and MLW over the past few years have not been particularly warm. The fans’ shock soon turned into “Holy Shit!” chants as Friedman grabbed a microphone to address Mistico after he had been tossed out of the ring. Max stated that he is not done with Mistico and that they will wrestle again. The promo seemed to lean towards CMLL, who are partners with both MLW and AEW, and have their “92 Aniversario” show on September 19th. It would feel like a likely place for the matchup if it is not to occur at AEW’s “All In” show in 2 weeks time, but it also sits on the night before the promotion’s “All Out” show in Toronto, Canada, in what is a bit of a complication.

In the actual show action, proceedings opened up with MLW Tag Champions Los Depredadores (Magnus and Rugido) discovering that their mystery opponents would be Bishop Dyer and Donovan Dijak, who are now known as the Skyscrapers. It was a bit of a sideways move for Dijak, who seemed very much focused on the MLW World Title on their “War Chamber” show broadcast earlier in the month.

© MLW

Saint Laurent’s charges took control early, using their strength and size advantage to almost bully Rugido and Magnus. The luchadors managed to get a little bit of a comeback, before a finish that was half a copy of what we saw at “Triplemania Regia” a couple of weeks ago. Dijak got a blind tag on Dyer which Magnus didn’t see. He put all his efforts into going after Dyer, only to be caught by a Dijak moonsault and pinned. The crowd cheered the title change and were behind the heels for large parts of this match. Dijak and Dyer attempted to get a little heat back in the post match, striking Rugido and Magnus with their newly won title belts, after the losers had chosen to raise their arms aloft but the crowd continued to be mainly on their side.

With the end of the Rogue Horsemen following the events in the War Chamber last time out, Brock Anderson was all alone for the second match of the show, where he took on Anthony Greene. Commentary went heavily on Anderson potentially participating in this year’s “Opera Cup” during large parts of the match, and it seemed like they were setting him up for it when he took the victory over Greene with an Anderson DDT after Greene missed a moonsault.

It was somewhat comical, therefore, when later on in the show the brackets for the cup were announced and it was Anthony Greene who was part of the field, with Anderson nowhere to be seen. The first round matches see Mistico take on belt stealer Ikuro Kwon, Austin Aries comes out from behind the commentary desk to take on KUSHIDA, Paul London vs Okumura and Volador Jr. going up against Titán. In the right side of the bracket, Satoshi Kojima faces Bobby Fish; it is Zandokan Jr. vs Blue Panther Jr, Anthony Greene vs Bishop Dyer and Ultimo Guerrero facing Esfinge. Two of the first round matches were taped for the “Blood and Thunder” broadcast on August 9th during this taping, with MLW proclaiming that the tournament will take place across 5 different cities to determine who will succeed last year’s winner Mistico as the holder of the Opera Cup.

© MLW

Next up was an all TJPW affair, as Yuki Kamifuku met Wakana Uehara. MLW ran a good intro package for the pair and they received a decent reaction from the live crowd. The commentary also did well in explaining the back story between the two and correctly called each wrestler’s signature moves.

Kamifuku was in control of the match early on, with her reach advantage allowing her to strike her opponent with big boots and dropkicks without reply. Uehara, working from underneath, had to adapt her strategy, managing to hit Yuki with a dropkick of her own before locking in her Banana Pillow submission, only for Kamifuku to make it to the ropes. The power and reach differentiation would ultimately prove too much for Uehara, as Kamifuku hit her with a huge dropkick into the corner, which was followed by a pretty vicious looking leg lariat for the win. The pair were presented with flowers and embraced in the post match before Uehara made her way to the back, leaving Kamifuku alone in the ring.

Before Kamifuku could speak, Shotzi’s music played and she came onto the ramp. Shotzi has an arm injury that means she is working with a full cast but will continue to wrestle whilst it heals. Shotzi congratulated Yuki Kamifuku, with the two both expressing interest in a match against each other for some point in the future. Kamifuku then departed, only swiftly to be replaced by Ava Everett, who derided Shotzi until the former WWE wrestler challenged her to a match. VP of Talent Relations, Salina de la Renta, made it official for “Blood and Thunder”.

KUSHIDA warmed up for the Opera Cup by facing debuting Diego Hill. Commentary claimed that Hill was a currently unsigned wrestler which MLW had brought in as part of their open door policy for this match. The match was a battle of age and experience, with Hill putting together some lightning sequences before ultimately falling to the crafty veteran. The crowd showed their appreciation to Hill after the match and that was seemingly enough for Cesar Duran, who offered Diego Hill an MLW contract on the spot.

© MLW

The semi main event was set originally to be lineal Champion Alexander Hammerstone challenging current National Openweight Title holder Ultimo Guerrero for the belt he never lost – but before it could start, Matthew Justice made his way onto the ramp. Justice, who had lost the belt to Guerrero in Arena Mexico, demanded he be given his rematch. Cesar Duran, who was still at ringside from the contract award after the last match, asked the crowd if they wanted Justice to join the match; the response could be described as mixed at best, but Duran pretended it wasn’t and added him anyway.

From there, it was a pretty standard 3 way, be it somewhat more plodding than most, before Guerrero caught Justice on the top rope and delivered a Guerrero Special for the victory, with Hammerstone not quick enough in returning to the ring to break it up. Hammerstone was incensed by the result and began cutting a bit of a strange promo as to why the “boys in the back” should have never let him leave last time, before eventually landing in a slow moving brawl with Justice that moved up the ramp, eventually, after changing his focus away from the National Openweight Title to Matt Riddle’s MLW World Title.

Talking of the MLW World Champion, Riddle rounded off the card with a win over last year’s Opera Cup Final runner up, KENTA. The crowd ran with dueling chants from the start, in what began as a grappling session but became more counter based and hard hitting as the match progressed. KENTA put a target on Riddle’s legs, setting them up for submissions but also reducing the risk from Riddle’s kicks. His accompanying taunting and piss taking were much to the amusement of the New York crowd.

© MLW

The two worked hard here, with the end story of the match being Riddle escaping two attempts at the GTS from KENTA before hitting the NOAH wrestler with a cutter and then the Brostone in order to retain his title. The show closed with Riddle celebrating in the ring and being joined by the injured Tom Lawlor (who spent the evening on commentary) to do much more of the same.

Full Results

MLW World Tag Team Titles:
The Skyscrapers (Bishop Dyer & Donovan Dijak) defeat Los Depredadores (Magnus & Rugido) (c) (9:02)

Brock Anderson defeats Anthony Greene (7:52)

Yuki Kamifuku defeats Wakana Uehara (7:24)

KUSHIDA defeats Diego Hill (9:03)

MLW National Openweight Title:
Ultimo Guerrero (c) defeats Alex Hammerstone and Matthew Justice (8:25)

MLW World Heavyweight Title:
Matt Riddle (c) defeats KENTA (17:16)

© Alliance For All Wrestling

US Independents

Alliance For All Wrestling “Ugh As If”

June 22nd, 2025
Don Quixote, Los Angeles, California, USA
Review by Ariel Diaz

“Ugh As If” was Alliance For All Wrestling’s sixth show since being created by SoCal wrestler Barbie Boi in February 2024. The promotion focuses on being an inclusive space for everyone, especially members of the LGBTQ+ community, making “Ugh As If” a perfect celebration of pride month. In a promo at the top of the show, Barbie Boi proudly noted AFA’s record of featuring LGBTQ+ wrestlers throughout the card and including at least one woman in every main event to date.

The show was filled with multi-person matches, starting off with the Rollin’ With The Homies Gauntlet. This was a fast paced series of matches with the overall winner, G Sharpe, becoming the #1 contender for the AFA Championship. Following this was a tag match between The Cartel and Full Send for #1 contendership for the AFA Tag Team Championship. The referee for this match was the winner of the pre-show dark Battle Royale, who won the “prize” of becoming a referee. The Cartel took full advantage of his inexperience and cheated their way to victory.

The next match was a School’s Out Scramble. Participants included the WrestleDrag Pride champion Ocean Avery, New Japan Strong Survivor CJ Tino, JKM, Alice Blair, Zyra, and Moxxi Strokes. Ocean Avery, who only recently won the Pride Championship, put the belt on the line here. Right from the start, Avery established himself as the heel of the match, with the other wrestlers working together to try to take him out. Ultimately, though, he came out on top to retain his title.

© Ariel Diaz

From here we had our first AFA Championship match: the current tag champions Krusty Krew vs Bryn Thorne and Tyler Bateman. Thorne and Bateman put in a great effort, cutting their opponents off from each other and focusing their attacks on one member of the Krusty Krew at a time. In the end, the champs were able to rally and retain their titles. The next match was a 4-way for the AFA Icon Championship, where current champion Hunter Gallagher also retained his title, following a fun spot where all three challengers were locked into submission moves and Gallagher jumped from the top rope to get the pin.

Next up was a triple threat match between DARK Sheik, Kidd Bandit, and Ray Rosas. After the bell rang, DARK Sheik stopped her opponents and challenged them to a dance battle, which ended abruptly after Rosas took advantage of their linked arms to smash Sheik and Bandit into each other. This match was full of antagonism, including Sheik butting heads with the ref. At one point, one of Sheik’s kicks was redirected and knocked out the ref, which she showed no remorse for. This led to her downfall, as once the ref was back up, she gave Sheik a receipt opening up an opportunity for Bandit to get the pin.

The second to last match featured Barbie Boi going to battle against former friend Mylo after she attacked him from behind at the previous AFA show. Barbie Boi recruited Nina and Brooke Havok (arriving together riding a pink jeep and dressed as characters from the movie “Clueless”, the inspiration for the show’s name), while Mylo had her new crew the Wrestle Buddiez. The match was even more antagonistic than the last, with Mylo’s team taking every chance to distract the referee and fight dirty. Unfortunately for Barbie Boi, Mylo was able to get in a low blow during one of these distractions, leading to a pin. Although he didn’t win, Barbie Boi managed to call out Mylo for a Last Bitch Standing match at the next AFA show.

© Sami Drasin

The main event was for the AFA Championship, with pop diva B3cca challenging the champion and Queen of Aerobic Style, Delilah Doom. During her entrance, B3cca took the time to perform and film a music video for her new song, “B3cca Is The Champion of AFA”. Once her performance made its way into the ring, Doom trapped her in a full nelson hold and got the match going. Both competitors were hard hitting, with Doom sporting some blood, presumably from a split lip. B3cca was ultimately unsuccessful, and Doom retained her championship.

Overall, AFA’s “Ugh As If” was a show full of bright, colorful wrestlers excelling at their job of entertaining the crowd. Although AFA doesn’t stream their shows, they have uploaded some past matches to their YouTube channel. If you’re in the Los Angeles area, come out to the next show and support a promotion celebrating really good, really fun wrestling done by people with a diverse array of identities. This was my first AFA show, but it won’t be my last.

DPW “Victory Lap”

15/06/2025
Durham Armory, North Carolina, USA
Watch On: DPW On Demand

DPW returned to Durham Armory with a loaded card full of title matches. The show was great from top to bottom with no bad matches. In the main event, Adam Priest successfully defended the DPW World Championship against Calvin Tankman.

The size difference between these two was a key part of the story. Priest had to try and find new ways to get his offence in, often being rebutted with powerful offences like Tankman’s pounce. Priest is one of the best heels in the scene; everyone enjoys him getting his comeuppance. Even a little kid helped hold Priest so that Tankman could chop him. Priest eventually found an effective way to take Tankman down, attacking Tankman’s vulnerable left knee and regularly raking his eyes. Trevor Lee tried to interfere but was given a stiff elbow for even trying. Priest dodged out of the Tankman Driver and applied the single leg Boston crab to the injured leg to tap Tankman out.

LaBron Kozone retained his DPW National Championship, fending off Trevor Lee. Once again, Kozone was the highlight of the show. It is absolutely crazy that someone of his calibre has such a small national profile. Lee was a good foil for Kozone and played a great cowardly heel, even luring a ringside attendant to be hit with Kozone’s “Ball Game” lariat. Lee then suplexed Kozone onto the back of his neck on the metal guard rail. This allowed Lee to finally get some offence in after being dominated for the first portion of the fight. It wasn’t until landing a Michinoku Driver that Kozone was able to even things out. It was just a matter of time for “Ball Game” to land, but Lee delayed as much as he could. While Lee was running the ropes at max speed, Kozone clobbered Lee with “Ball Game” for the win.

© DPW

Nicole Matthews beat Dani Luna to win the DPW Women’s Championship for the first time. This was a rematch after Luna beat Matthews at the UNIT3D show on 1st June. This match was just as brutal as the previous one, as Matthews started the fight during Luna’s entrance by giving Luna a spider suplex off the top rope. Matthews repeatedly and obsessively targeted Luna’s neck and arm. Luna mustered her strength to blast Matthews with a lariat to give her some breathing space. Luna fired up and powered Matthews up with the German suplex over the top rope that led to the finish in the previous match, but it was not enough this time. After Luna kicked out of another Vancouver Manoeuvre, Matthews smashed a bottle over Luna’s head behind the referee’s back and locked in the omoplata for the win as Luna passed out.

Elsewhere, Mad Dog Connelly and Matt Tremont went to war in a bloody street fight. Tremont started bleeding within a minute of the bell ringing after taking 2 chair shots to the head. Tremont had a massive lump on his forehead following those shots. Connelly chained himself and Tremont to a dog collar before Tremont speared him through a table. Tremont went for a Death Valley Driver but Connelly yanked on the dog collar, and choked Tremont until he passed out. A street fight needs some grit and horror to it, and these two hit that brief.

Cedric Alexander earned a shot at Kozone’s DPW National Championship by beating BK Westbrook in an eliminator match.

Colby Corino and Jake Something took on Kevin Blackwood and Thomas Shire. It’s Jake’s second match back from injury. The best parts of the match were Jake and Shire brawling. Jake announced he was coming after the DPW World Championship. Blackwood later said backstage that if he can’t win in DPW then he can’t stay there, before walking off.

Bojack destroyed Manny Lo & Jackson Drake in the opener, teaming with Morgan Dash. He sometimes used Dash as a weapon, repeating the spot where he throws Dash from a gorilla press in the ring to the outside. Dash picked up the win by getting launched like a rocket by Bojack to pin Lo. At one point Drake hit a great brutal German suplex on Dash, who was almost dropped on his head, but he seemingly landed safely on his arms first.

Full Results

Bojack & Morgan Dash defeat Jackson Drake & Manny Lo (8:37)

Cedric Alexander defeats BK Westbrook (12:57)

Colby Corino & Jake Something defeat Kevin Blackwood & Thomas Shire (15:24)

Street Fight:
Mad Dog Connelly defeats Matt Tremont (13:54)

DPW Women’s World Title:
Nicole Matthews defeats Dani Luna (c) (13:51)

DPW National Title:
LaBron Kozone (c) defeats Trevor Lee (16:46)

DPW World Title:
Adam Priest (c) defeats Calvin Tankman (18:48)

© Shore Shots

US Independent News

Miyu Yamashita was unable to compete on GCW’s “Take A Picture” show on June 22nd in Kansas City, Missouri, after the Missouri Athletic Commission refused to allow her to wrestle because she does not have a social security number. Yamashita has a fully valid working visa from the US and has wrestled in the state multiple times previously (which was cleared by the same commission).

GCW owner Brett Lauderdale voiced his frustrations around the decision on X, citing that nearly a dozen wrestlers were able to wrestle without a social security number for a set of TV tapings in the area just over a month ago. Lauderdale branded the decision “xenophobic” (and rightly so) during his explanatory post.

The situation with Yamashita is the latest example of both states and the overall government in the US making it increasingly difficult for foreign nationals to obtain working visas for the country and then adding additional barriers whilst they are in the country, despite having all required paperwork in order to compete.

Bull Nakano has been pulled this week from the Starrcast events during “All In” weekend, whilst Tetsuya Naito noted to Tokyo Sports that his decision to make his first appearance post New Japan in the UK was in part driven by delays in acquiring a US visa. TKO has also recently addressed the implementation of a US travel ban in an internal memo that will suspend travel from multiple countries for anyone currently without a visa.

It should be noted that whilst some of the additional issues are a result of the current political direction in the country, there are also heavy delays when it comes to administration in a number of government agencies due to the stripping of staff that a number have undergone in recent months.

DPW’s next show is “Tag Festival” on July 13th at Durham Convention Center. “Tag Festival” is a one night tag team tournament with the winners getting a shot at the DPW World Tag Team Championship, held by Grizzled Young Vets (James Drake & Zack Gibson).

DPW also has an upcoming joint show “Cruel Summer” with West Coast Pro Wrestling and Prestige Wrestling on July 26th. Some matches for that show have already been announced, including Mad Dog Connelly versus Vinnie Massaro and Cedric Alexander taking on Kevin Blackwood in a 2 out of 3 falls match after calling him out on the “UNIT3D” show on June 1st.

© Spark Joshi Puroresu

Spark Joshi Pro Puroresu are holding their next show on June 29th in Houston, Texas, with Vert Vixen defending the Pacific Title against Miyu Yamashita and Airica Demia before Hazuki will defend the Spark Joshi World Championship. Saki, Yuka Sakazaki and Koguma will all be part of the show as well.

Hyan will challenge House of Glory Women’s Champion for her title in House of Glory’s Texas debut on July 11th in Haltom City.

Limitless Wrestling are moving venues for this Saturday’s show in Portland, Maine. “Beerly Legal” will now be held at Yarmouth Amvets due to the threat of inclement weather ruling out running in their previous outdoor venue. WWE ID talents Swipe Right team with Jose Zamora against Scotty 2 Hotty, Keagan Garland and Ace Romero on the show which will be headlined by Gabby Forza challenging for the Limitless World Title for the first time, as she takes on Channing Thomas.

The promotion has also announced the return of John Walters for July 20th, to face Ichiban at “Crunch Time 25” as part of “Generation Grap II”. Donovan Dijak is also booked to face Dezman Cole on the show in Hermon, Maine. The Hardys and Tony Atlas are also booked for the August 9th show in Lewiston.

Bril Combination Wrestling will continue the indie summer of tournaments, with “Queen of the North 6” from Ridgefield, New Jersey on July 31st. Ivy Malibu, Hannah Taylor and Sammi Chaos have all been confirmed to compete in the one night tournament.

Masked Republic will once again have a booth at this year’s San Diego Comic Con, which will run between the 24th and 27th July.

The Dudley Boys and Jushin “Thunder” Liger have been announced as part of the “Wrestlecon: Newark” lineup for August 1st and 2nd.

SiriusXM announced that beginning July 1, channel 156 will become “Pro Wrestling Nation 24/7” – a 24-hour channel dedicated to pro wrestling programming. Bully Ray’s “Busted Open Radio” has also been confirmed as part of its offerings.

© C4 Wrestling

Canada News

C4 Wrestling will run 2 steel cage matches on Friday night in Ottawa at “Deliver Us From Evil”. Vaughn Vertigo and Dreya Mitchell will battle Gabriel Fuerza and Alexia Nicole in a tornado tag in the steel structure before C4 Champion Evil Uno defends against Junior Benito.
wXw Unified World Champion 1 Called Manders will defend his title in a 4 way against Bear Bronson, Dom Garrini and Sheldon Jean, while Kacey Diamond will face TNA’s Jody Threat.
TNA superstar Jody Threat will be in action as she faces Kacey Diamond. C4 Tag Champions James Stone and Brent Banks will defend in an open gauntlet, and Marcus Mathers puts up his IWTV Independent World Championship against Mark Wheeler. The card is rounded out by a first time matchup between Krystal Moon and Gabby Forza, as well as a street fight between Ben Tull and Myung Jae Lee for the Underground Title.

Top Talent Wrestling celebrate their 3rd Anniversary in Edmonton on Friday night, with Ultimo Guerrero debuting in Canada against Scotsman KRIEGER, Raydon vs Sammy Peppers, Weston King vs Scorpious, an anniversary ladder match and Rylie Rose taking on Elayna Black (the former Cora Jade).

Interspecies Wrestling will present “Cannonbrawl”, a show in honour of wrestler Jeff Cannonball, from Knights of Columbus in Kahnawake, Quebec, on October 18th. The venue is the same location as Cannonball’s debut with the promotion in 2018, and the show will be used to raise funds for the wrestler and his family after a recent amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) diagnosis.

The promotion have also announced their 20th Anniversary show for August 30th in Valleyfield, Quebec.

Alpha-1 added a 3 way match to “The Purge” on July 20th in Hamilton, Ontario. Sam Holloway will battle TJ Crawford and Tyler Thomas in a 3 way for a place in September’s “King of Hearts” Tournament.

Maple Leaf Pro appears to have the majority of the card announced for their “Resurrection” show on July 5th in Quebec, with MLP Canadian Champion Josh Alexander defending against Ace Austin, MLP Women’s Champion Giselle Shaw facing Shotzi Blackheart, whilst local favourite PCO takes on Dan Maff in a grudge match.

There are a number of outside championships being defended on the show, including Thom Latimer’s NWA World Title against Matt Cardona and Rohan Raja’s PWA Champion’s Grail, with Alex Hammerstone the challenger. There will also be old vs new Bullet Club tag action, as the Good Brothers take on War Dogs David Finlay and Drilla Maloney.

Rest of the Americas

All Caribbean Wrestling are holding “Baha Bash 2” on June 28th in Baha Mar, with a 9 match card and a visit from WWE Evolve head Gabe Sapolsky, who is holding a seminar and scouting tryout before the show. ACW is the home of WWE ID prospect Gal Barkley, who will face former WWE wrestler JTG on the show. Also announced are Chandler Hopkins vs Rios De la Sangre, Leroy Jones vs Iziah Zane for Zane’s Digital Media Title and Red Velvet vs Kaylia Capri. In a more controversial booking decision, Marty Scurll is booked to wrestle Kenny King on a show with a strong WWE presence as well as an AEW talent.

Mark Henry is holding a strength and conditioning camp for children in nearby Nassau the evening before the show.

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