Originally published at https://www.postwrestling.com/2022/09/22/post-news-update-clark-connors-provides-update-on-herniated-disc-injury/
If any of the quotes from the following podcasts or video interviews are used, please credit those sources and provide an H/T and link back to POST Wrestling for the transcriptions.
** Back in July, New Japan Pro-Wrestling announced that Clark Connors was sidelined due to a herniated disc in his back. Connors appeared on The Shining Wizards podcast and said his rehab is coming along great but there is no timetable for his return to the ring.
The rehab’s coming along great. We don’t necessarily have a window yet for when I’m coming back. But hopefully it’s gonna be sooner than later and yeah, the goal is to be back as soon as possible so I’m just fixing up this whole deal, doing P.T. every day so, I’ll be back soon.
As a result of Tomohiro Ishii getting injured, Connors replaced him at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door in the four-way to crown the first AEW All-Atlantic Champion. Connors found out 20 minutes before the formal replacement announcement was made. He was not nervous about the match and felt like he was playing with house money because people did not know what to expect from him.
After that , I didn’t hear anything and then I got a call. They’re like, ‘Yeah, Ishii’s hurt so you gotta get on this plane’ and I’m like, ‘Yes, okay, sign me up.’ So I found out I think maybe 20 minutes before they announced it.
Yeah, yeah, I think so . I’ve had a lot of cool opportunities I think, but I think just to be on that big stage in front of that many people and it’s a four-way so there’s a lot of really big names in it. So I was like, once again, just like with Ishii, I had to pick my spots of trying to make an impression with people but, it was kind of cool because I was playing with house money a little bit because I was like, you know what? If they weren’t expecting me to come out anyways, most people don’t know who I am who are watching this so I’m just gonna go out there and just have fun and so yeah, it turned out well I think and I mean, I didn’t win, that sucks but, other than that, I think it turned out well and it was definitely the biggest match of my career but, in terms of nervousness or anything, I never really get nervous before matches and this one was the same where I wasn’t even thinking about the — I wasn’t worried about the match at all. I was just worried about making sure I got there in time. I get on a plane and just hustle through a bunch of stuff but I hope my baggage got through TSA. I didn’t really have time to process it until afterwards. I was like, okay, that was pretty cool. That was a big match so I’m glad I performed in it.
** While being interviewed on ‘The Unibet Lowdown’, Jake Paul was asked about the idea of him and Logan Paul doing something in a wrestling ring with Tyson and Tommy Fury. Paul feels anything can happen and added that he thinks his brother will become WWE Champion one day.
Maybe . Nothing is out of the realm of possibilities in this world and I can definitely see that happening. It’d be funny man.
I mean, Logan’s a beast bro. I think he could be the WWE Champ one day. I think he will be the WWE Champ one day and just his elusiveness, the way he flies in the air, Tyson Fury can’t fly like that in the air. So I would say the Paul Brothers would win.
** Lou D’Angeli, Vice President of Marketing for Anthem Sports & Entertainment and IMPACT Wrestling was a guest on the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling Podcast. D’Angeli expressed his opinion that AEW is hitting the Chicago market too often.
With live events for us a big one, right? And so you wanna hit the major markets and you wanna hit ‘em on a schedule that doesn’t overload it. I’m surprised, as much as like a lot of the guys in AEW, they’re playing Chicago so much. Eventually, it’s gonna run out and then you don’t wanna do that. You wanna have one or two shows in a market, in a big market every year, maybe three.
After the end of the original ECW, D’Angeli, formerly known as ‘Sign Guy Dudley’ was brought into WWE in 2006 to work in their marketing department. He shared that along with Tommy Dreamer, Shane McMahon loved the idea of him joining WWE and played a role in that becoming a reality.
That was Tommy I think, whatever it was in Florida. They bought a building, set a ring up, they have everything there. Now the Performance Center’s obviously eclipsed all that but that was a lot of the discussion and it was pretty awesome. End of the day, it didn’t work but I was there for another three-and-a-half years on the marketing side, the brand marketing side so at the end of the day, it worked fine. I just felt bad for a lot of the talent, who, they were promised a lot of things that never happened.
** IMPACT Wrestling Digital Media Champion Brian Myers joined Cultaholic’s Desert Island Graps podcast. Myers co-runs the Create A Pro Wrestling Academy in New York with Pat Buck. Myers was asked how Buck is doing as it had been reported that Buck was one of the names suspended from AEW coming out of the altercation centered around CM Punk, The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson), Kenny Omega and Ace Steel.
I mean, all I’ll say is as a friend, I asked him if he was okay and that’s it and we had a couple texts like that but, obviously he’s not allowed to really speak on what’s happening so…
** On the latest episode of The Undisputed Podcast with Bobby Fish, Rocky Romero joined the show. Rocky recounted when AJ Styles, Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson informed Gedo that they were leaving NJPW in 2016. Rocky along with The Young Bucks were present. He stated that Gedo scanned the room and locked eyes with Kenny Omega and with how things played out for Omega shortly after, he feels that moment was when Gedo decided Omega was next up.
Romero: So we were all back there, we were making the match, right? This is like a day before the Tokyo Dome and I knew what was gonna happen because obviously, Karl left and then it was literally like the next night after the Tokyo Dome was the big angle where Omega lifts up AJ and drops him on his head and then now, Kenny takes over the BULLET CLUB and then you see the rise of Omega’s BULLET CLUB or whatever so, yeah, just pretty crazy. Crazy time.
Later in the show, Bobby Fish remembered prepping for a Wrestle Kingdom and having the thought that he could leave if he wanted to. Fish said he is not a nervous person, but could’ve ended all the pressure he was feeling by just leaving.
Fish: I can remember vividly being so nervous going into one of those Tokyo Dome shows where I remember I saw the ‘exit’ sign and I just remember the thought to myself because I had heard Brendan Schaub talk about his UFC career and it was like, ‘I don’t have to go out there. I can leave. I can just leave. Nobody is holding a gun to my head. My career will for all intents and purposes be over but I can alleviate all of this pressure I’m putting on myself by just not going out there.’
No . Obviously I didn’t, but you know, we’ll see. Next time I will.
** Going into AEW Grand Slam, Tony Khan made the media rounds and one of the outlets he spoke to was ‘In The Kliq’. Khan touched on how important newly crowned AEW World Champion Jon Moxley is to the company.
Jon Moxley’s such a huge part of AEW and when we launched this company, I, at first, never imagined Jon Moxley would come free. But you know, he was a part of our very first pay-per-view, running out at the very end as a surprise on the original Double or Nothing over three years ago and has been a constant presence in AEW any time he’s been able. It’s really, really such a special run Jon Moxley’s had in AEW and this year in particular, I think it’s been his best year yet. Not just in AEW but in professional wrestling. He’s had so many great matches, both singles matches and teaming up with the Blackpool Combat Club in great matches including the Anarchy in the Arena at Double or Nothing and the Blood & Guts match on Dynamite.
** Prior to AEW Grand Slam, Jade Cargill spoke to The New York Daily News and expressed that she wants to be the female Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. She believes she has the aura to pull it off. Cargill added that her husband, former MLB player Brandon Phillips, would want them to enjoy his retirement together but she loves working.
I aspire to be like a female Rock. I really do. I think I have the look, I think I have the aura. My spouse, if he was here right now, he would tell you, ‘Hey, I want her to sail off the coast of Italy with me and enjoy this retirement.’ But I love working. I love pushing the needle and doing things that people tell me I can’t do. I love a challenge. So that’s something I would love to embark on next in my journey, but right now it’s wrestling. I want to be great at this before I move on to the next obstacle.
** Ahead of challenging Jay White for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship on 10/10, Tama Tonga was interviewed by NJPW1972.com. Earlier this year, Tama and Tanga Loa were kicked out of BULLET CLUB. To Tama, it now feels like he’s been on a ten-year excursion. He said being kicked out of the group was his graduation.
You know, that makes me think, in a weird way, it’s almost like I’ve been on a decade long excursion (laughs). I mean, I did a couple of stints out in Mexico back in the day, but I was never really gone and out of the public eye like the Young Lions usually are. So I feel this whole heel run, this whole BULLET CLUB thing we started, I was there from the beginning to now. Now I got kicked out, it was almost like that was my graduation. It was a whole learning experience.
** At NJPW Royal Quest II, FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) will be putting the IWGP Tag Team Titles on the line against Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis). Harwood and Wheeler appeared on The Ringer Wrestling Show and dove into the upcoming match along with their aspirations and hopes as it relates to collaborating with New Japan.
Wheeler: Man, this is exactly how I would hope our careers had gone, especially after our careers when we kind of took our own bet with ourselves and go do our own thing. New Japan was very high on that list. The possibility of AEW was there always, but we never really knew for sure and we didn’t really know if Japan was gonna be an option and we are so excited. We got out of those contracts and we were about to take over everything then the pandemic hit and kind of slowed it all down where we couldn’t do any of the New Japan stuff we had wanted. So for us, it’s been a career-long dream to do some New Japan stuff, be IWGP Champions as well, my God. So now, slowly we’re getting to do that. We still haven’t gotten to Japan for New Japan yet but you know, we’ve done New Japan STRONG in Nashville, now we’re gonna go do New Japan in London for like you said, the Royal Quest, huge two-night event where night one, we get Aussie Open which I’m sure we’ll talk about that a little bit later but man, I can’t wait for that and then eventually, we wanna get to Japan for New Japan and finally perform there in front of all those fans because just the history, the legacy, the respect of what that sport is there, yeah man. That’s one of the things I think hopefully will help our legacy. You ask what we could do for ourselves? I think how we do in Japan and what we do with New Japan will be a part of that.
Harwood: Going over there, going back to London after three years man, that’s gonna be awesome. Performing for New Japan is gonna be awesome for us as well. But to be able to be their champions, their tag team champions and like you said, they’re putting that expansion, part of that expansion, not all of it. I don’t wanna pat myself on the back too much but they’re putting that on our shoulders, you know what I mean? And when they — okay, so I am gonna pat ourselves on the back , tickets started flying crazy and then when they announced the match with Aussie Open, it almost completely sold out so like, being able to be the New Japan Tag Team Champions and take part of that experience and put it on our backs and say follow us, let’s go, let’s f*cking go, that’s a cool thing and that New Japan belt, that’s our seventh — well our ninth world title with seven different championships so that’s, you know, way cool for us.
After Harwood, Wheeler and Wardlow scored a victory at All Out, Dax’s daughter came to the ring and got a ‘pin’ on Sonjay Dutt. Dax looked back on that moment and said he was hesitant about bringing his daughter on-screen because he wanted her to make that decision for herself when she got older.
Harwood: She’s perfect for 10,000 people to cheer for her because of stuff she’s overcame and yeah man, she’s the best.
On the 9/9 episode of Rampage, Dax challenged Claudio Castagnoli for the ROH World Championship. He informed Claudio that he wanted to fight from underneath the entire match until the crowd got fully behind him.
Harwood: That match with Claudio that I just had and I keep harking back to that because it’s the most recent one but, I told him, I said, ‘I want to fight from underneath the whole time.’ I said, ‘If you’re here, I wanna keep coming to here but keep dropping down until I finally get here and the people are f*cking ready to go’ and that whole match, they were chanting for me over this huge superstar who’s been on television for over a decade. They were chanting for me because they felt for me and that’s a thing the fans and the wrestlers, they don’t understand is it honest to God, it is not about the moves. It’s about the emotion.
** MuscleManMalcolm ran his interview with Miro. He looked back on the four-way at Forbidden Door for the AEW All-Atlantic Championship. Miro credited Clark Connors for “showing heart and fire” and added that he feels it was one of the best matches of the night.
I thought it was a great match shows up with his mist situation and costs my match. But I thought overall, the match was absolutely one of the best of the night.
** As 2 Cold Scorpio was doing a virtual signing with Golden Ring Collectibles, he listed some of his favorite opponents from his career and named the likes of Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi and Shane Douglas.
There’s so many guys Kobashi. You know, just being able to get in the ring with him night after night was hard itself, you know what I mean? Just knowing you were gonna take 100 chops. A minimum of 100 chops.
** Near the conclusion of NJPW’s 2022 Best of the Super Juniors tour, Francesco Akira went one-on-one with Ace Austin. While on the All Real Wrestling Podcast, both Akira and TJP touched on that match and TJP shared that it was a sellout at the monitor for it.
Akira: I was talking a lot of sh*t in Italian and everything was real. So, it was, unfortunately, not a match that counted for the tournament but, it was still a big win for me.
TJP: It was a sellout at the monitor that day. All the boys left their respective locker room corners to watch that one. Akira was fired up. He was ready to make a statement that day.
** Guinness World Records posted about John Cena’s record-breaking number of Make-a-Wish grants.
New record: Most wishes granted through the Make-A-Wish Foundation – 650 by @JohnCena
The @WWE superstar turned actor has over double the amount of wishes granted than anybody else!https://t.co/M2DkCj0IYe
— Guinness World Records (@GWR) September 21, 2022
** Due to Ruby Soho being out of action with a broken nose, she is not able to compete at 1PW’s show in the U.K. on October 1st. She is being replaced by Jamie Hayter who’ll be taking on Session Moth Martina.
** A three-day tour that Ice Ribbon and CMLL were going to do has been postponed due to the typhoon that hit landfall over the weekend. A special joint-event is taking place on September 25th at the Ice Ribbon dojo.
** Before Mission Pro Wrestling’s ‘Welcome To The Jungle’ show began, Thunder Rosa gave a speech in front of the audience in attendance.
** Under Zeus’ regime, Osaka Pro Wrestling is bringing back the ‘Tenno-zan’ which is a 16-person tournament. The winner is going to challenge Zeus for the Osaka Pro-Wrestling Championship.
** There’s an interview on the Wrestling-Infos.de site with Chris Brookes.
** STARDOM announced that Mitsuyoshi Amasaki is off the 9/24 show due to “various reasons”.
** Taz appeared on ESPN Radio to chat with Keyshawn, JWill and Max.
** ‘Rock Sound’ has a story about Rhea Ripley’s new theme song ‘Demon In Your Dreams’ featuring ‘Motionless In White’.
** Drew Parker versus Alex Colon versus Toru Sugiura has been added to GCW ‘Planet Death’ on 9/26 in Japan.
** Prior to AEW Grand Slam, Tony Khan guest appeared on ‘Huber In The Morning’.
** ‘Metro’ pushed out the written version of their conversation with Damian Priest.
** Episode #18 of Xavier Woods and Tyler Breeze’s Battle of the Brands series:
** Part one of Master Wato’s chat with NJPW is up on the company’s website.
** Johnny Knoxville was interviewed by Darren Paltrowitz.
** September 22nd birthdays: Absolute Andy, Lana Austin.
If any of the quotes from the following podcasts or video interviews are used, please credit those sources and provide an H/T and link back to POST Wrestling for the transcriptions.