Originally published at POST NEWS UPDATE: Awesome Kong reflects on her run in AEW
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.
** DS Shin of Ring The Belle put out a compilation of his interviews that were recorded with the talents of NWA EmPowerrr. He caught up with Kia Stevens (Awesome Kong) and asked her about her run in AEW. She described it as a great experience and said the company works hard to entertain their viewers.
Stevens: It was a great experience. Everyone there has the great intentions of making sure wrestling is propelled forward. They want all their friends ā friendsā¦ fans are friends, you know? Especially when you need a tissue or a ride to the airport. But, they want all their fans to be satisfied with their product and they work really hard and use their imaginations to make sure that you guys feel fulfilled after you watch each show.
If AEW were to contact Stevens about returning to be an agent, she said sheād be up for it. She added that although her body is not for hire anymore, her brain is.
Stevens: Well, I would always love to contribute in any way in wrestling period. If AEW would like to utilize my brain again then that is up to them. My brain is for hire right now. Not my body, not anymore. I donāt do that anymore.
Kiera Hogan was interviewed as well and she discussed departing IMPACT Wrestling and her pairing with Tasha Steelz. She said she pitched for Tasha to come into IMPACT and they made a success story out of being thrown together during the pandemic.
Hogan: Honestly, we started from nothing, we got thrown together. I always wanted Tasha to come into IMPACT and team with me. That was something that I pitched to IMPACT. I was like, āHey, bring her in. I think we would be an awesome tag teamā and when the pandemic hit, they kind of threw us together and we were like, āOh, weāre not readyā but we started from the bottom up and became tag team champions so, I say thatās a success story.
Bianca Carelli, daughter of Anthony Carelli (Santino Marella), shared that she recently moved to the U.S. to train with D-Von Dudley. Bianca is also going to be under the tutelage of Serena Deeb who sheāll be living with in the States.
Carelli: So right now, I actually just moved down to the U.S., so Iām going to go to Florida. Iām gonna go train at D-Von Dudleyās school and Iām gonna be living with another one of my role models I really look up to, sheās like a big sister, Serena Deeb. So Iām very excited. So Iām hoping, you know, to learn anything I can, anything and everything from her because sheās amazing. Sheās like the best womenās wrestler ever so Iām really excited about that and Iām just gonna learn and grow and develop and see how things go.
The IMPACT Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo isnāt sure what the next big thing is for her in IMPACT Wrestling. She said a goal of hers is to have a āblood feudā that is lengthy.
Purrazzo: I donāt really know whatās next. I think on my goal list is to have such a feud in IMPACT because I ā Iāve had storylines but thereās nothing really that has been like drawn out and like a blood feud and I really, really like that and then with that comes the possibility of maybe being the main event of whether itās an actual pay-per-view or we do our monthly specials on IMPACT Plus so one of those. I think that is what I would wanna check off the bucket list at some point next.
** At Florida Supercon, John Cena was the focus of a Q&A session (footage courtesy of Jorge Soler). Cena recalled winning the WWE Title at WrestleMania 21 but before his entrance, he questioned why JBL had such a grand entrance and why his was not on par. Cena was reminded by John Laurinaitis that he was winning the match and that left an impression on him.
Every chance for a connection or every opportunity to have was there as well and I said, āMy God, look at him. Heās got the the limo, itās raining money. What do I get?ā And deadpan, John turned over to me and he said, āYouāre winning tonightā and that sunk in and I learned that here I am, looking at all the things he had, wanting what he had and not looking at whatās right in front of me which is an opportunity to be world champion for the first time, something that I dreamt of as a kid. I made my own paper championships so he was ā John was always great about keeping you grounded and he did a lot for me and Iām forever thankful to him. Thatās the one thing I remember from that day, him turning to me deadpan and saying, āYou are winning!ā And almost like, āGet over yourself man.ā Iām trying to build myself up as the biggest obstacle you can overcome which is why itās raining money and youāre going to win so thatās going to be enough for this evening so just take that and youāre going to be good and I really thank him for not only that lesson but he gave me a bunch of lessons through my career.
Cena stated that his match on SmackDown with Kurt Angle and that moment backstage with The Undertaker were not supposed to happen. He says opportunities have often popped up like that, much like James Gunn initially considering Dave Bautista for Peacemaker.
Itās surreal and it all happened so fast . It was crazy.
He touched on the idea that WWE has just now started to consistently change the name of talents and their entire personas. Cena said this is something that has been happening for years and it happened to him as well.
I know thereās a lot of news headlines about, āOh, theyāre changing performers names and forcing them to have a new personality.ā I can assure you guys that this has been this way since the dawn of time and it happened to me. I went from having a personality and having an identity and having a following to getting my haircut, changing my look and throwing me out there with my real name and I was just told to be a good guy and I had no idea what that meant and it almost led to me getting fired and if it wasnāt for me taking the chance and socializing with my peers and then management seeing that and taking that chance on me, I certainly wouldnāt be sitting here right now so, I absolutely jumped at the opportunity and went all in. Dressed crazy, talked crazy, really immersed myself in Hip-Hop culture and try to craft a character off of that because the one I did before of looking like everyone else and not nearly wrestling as good didnāt work so I knew I had to change stuff and thatās kind of the origin of that.
** Shakiel Mahjouri conducted an interview with American Top Teamās Dan Lambert. He shared that he and AEW President Tony Khan discuss his promos beforehand and Tony simply approves or disapproves. He added that Tony is going to jump in if he is going to say something thatās over the line.
The first time I walked in, I texted Tony said, āOkay cool, but can you add this?ā āYeah sure. Cool.ā So thatās pretty much been what itās been like, and heās obviously gonna have some creative control if Iām gonna do something thatās gonna be stupid or get somebody in trouble, although it might be fun to get cancelled. But, I donāt wanna cause him any headaches, but at some point that might happen.
He detailed how his consistent AEW appearances have come about. Things started off with a phone call from Jorge Masvidalās manager who called Lambert to come have dinner with he and Tony Khan.
As far as how it came together, I just struck up a friendship with Tony Khan a couple years ago when he was down in Miami meeting with just kind of worked like that.
Lambert summed up his AEW run thus far as it being āfun as sh*tā. He said heās had 45 years of practicing being a heel in his bathroom mirror.
Itās fun as sh*t, you know? What am I gonna say? Itās a blast. You got 45 years of practicing in front of your bathroom mirror as a wrestling fan, yelling at everybody. I was always playing heel my whole life, I always liked the bad guys so, when you get a chance to do it and it reflects some of your own real feelings anyway, itās even better.
** The Adamās Apple YouTube channel has an interview with Kenny Omega. He talked about some the newest additions to All Elite Wrestling and being able to reunite with the likes of CM Punk, Adam Cole and Bryan Danielson.
For a lot of fans theyāre known as WWE guys perhaps, but for me theyāre my friends that Iāve seen and grew up with and done indies with, toured with so itās like a high school reunion of sorts and itās great to work with these guys after four, five, ten years, maybe even more in some cases. Itās just great to be back with old friends and making some new magic because weāve all changed, weāve all grown, weāve all evolved.
** Gerald Brisco was a guest on the most recent Talkān Shop podcast. Brisco, a former talent scout for WWE, played a role in putting WWE in contact with their newest signee Gable Steveson. Brisco spoke about the first time he met Steveson while Steveson was in high school and throwing the idea out there of the now-Olympic gold medalist and WWE one day collaborating.
We all do it. Youāve been around the business all your life. Youāve been in dressing rooms and you hear these guys coming in and I did a lot of studying of Lou Thesz, Danny Hodge, Sputnik Monroe, The Assassins and a lot of the great stars of the past and I watch how they come into a locker room, I watch how they conduct , he was a no-brainer. He grew up in Minnesota. He went to University of Minnesota and I actually knew Gable before he got to University of Minnesota the year before he arrived at the scene. You know how all these kids, they announce where theyāre going to college and everything, so weāre ā I believe it was St. Louis, Missouri at the NCAA Wrestling tournament and so Gable was going to announce what school he was going to and it came down between two schools brother.
It down between University of Minnesota Gophers and my school, Oklahoma State University so of course Iām waiting for ā I want him to announce Oklahoma State University and I could see the kid was a worker right away because the way he was going for the hats, you know? And finally he comes out with that maroon and gold Gopher hat. Surely after that, just gave him a little grief and I said, āMan, you know, somewhere down the line, maybe we can help youā and he said, āIāve always been a WWE fan.ā He said, āThatās the reason Iāve come to Minnesota because of Brock Lesnarā and I said, āHoly sh*t. He aināt gonna be a hard recruit. The kidās already there, mindset and everything.ā
** While speaking to Lucha Libre Online, Sean āX-Pacā Waltman said that while he is grateful for his WWE Hall Of Fame inductions, one would have been fine. He doesnāt get how Christian Cage wasnāt inducted and added that if he had been, maybe Christian would have stayed with WWE.
Honestly, just one . Like what the hell? Dude, come on man. Iām not saying I donāt deserve this or whatever but come on man, if I got two of these and Christian donāt even have one, f*ck is up with that? Itās hard for me to go, āOh yeah, looking forward to my third induction.ā Eh, not really. I donāt even like talking in public really. Those type of speeches, prepared speeches, Iām terrible at that. I might be the worst person in the industry when it comes to that.
** PWInsider pushed out their interview with Ruby Soho. Ruby told the site that when the crowd at AEW All Out began to chant her name during the clock countdown, Tony Khan jumped out of his seat and yelled āletās goā.
I thought I knew what nervous was. I thought with my past experiences that I knew what nervous was. I had no idea. I could feel my heart beating in my throat. My hands were shaking. My legs were shaking. And like you said, it was a 100%, it was a culmination to my entire wrestling career. Everything that I had done up until that point had led to that moment, is their response going to be happy? Are people going to be excited to see me? Are people are going to be behind me? It was so many questions that I wasnāt sure if I knew the answer to. And Iāll never forget, just standing at the bottom of those stairs, my whole body shaking. I have friends of mine that are encouraging me and cheering me on, but Iām just so lost in this moment, tunnel vision of just, āOh gosh, I hope this goes well. I hope it goes well.ā And then when the fans started to chant Ruby Soho before the countdown actually happened, Iāll never forget this in my whole life, Tony , from behind his screen, just jumps up and goes, āLetās go!ā I was so pumped and that energy just channeled them to me where I was, āYes, yes, this is it. This is the moment.ā And then stepping out on that stage, the emotion that you saw on my face was true and was so real in that moment of just, I just didnāt want to leave that moment because I was just, āWow, this is what every professional wrestler dreams of is this moment, as this time is being appreciated for the work that youāve put in the past, having people be excited for the work that youāre going to put in the future.ā It was just the best moment of my wrestling career, honestly.
Ruby has found a sense of freedom in AEW when it comes to her work. She feels that everywhere else she has been, she has tried to appease everyone else but now she can do what feels natural.
I said this in an interview right after All Out. When I spoke to Tony, one of the first times that I talked to him, I just asked him a million questions and one of them was, what do you want, what do you need from me coming in and working for you? What do you need? And his answer was just so simple, āI just want you to be you. And I want you to come work for me.ā And it was so simple, but it was so bizarre that I hadnāt really heard that before. was just, just be you. I just want you to be you. And Iāve never had that freedom before of just being able to go out there and show the fans the most authentic version of myself and that is everything to me. Thatās the reason I entered this industry to begin with. Because I felt like everywhere else, I was somebody I wasnāt. I was trying to appease friends or family or co-workers or anything like that. I felt I just was trying so hard to be something I wasnāt. And I entered the wrestling industry for the freedom to be who I wanted to be, to be myself, to explore myself, to celebrate myself. And AEW has given me that, and that I think is why that fire is there. That is why Iām so excited about everyday coming to work and learning new things about the other women, about myself. Learning and thatās honestly what this journey is. Itās just learning things about myself, learning what Iām capable of and Tony has given me the freedom to do that. Iām very, very grateful.
** The latest guest on Cultaholicās Desert Island Graps show is Nicole Matthews. A conversation came up about how women in wrestling are critiqued. Nicole feels that people arenāt as critical of womenās matches because of the idea that theyāll be perceived as unsupportive of women in wrestling or sexist.
I think thereās a thing unfortunately with womenās wrestling sometimes in some areas where thereās that kind of lowered expectation thing and itās like, I think people ā people arenāt as critical of womenās wrestling maybe womenās wrestlers as they could be because maybe ā and probably for very good reasons. They wanna seem supportive or they wanna support womenās wrestling but I think sometimes when we donāt hold womenās matches to the same standard as menās matches, it kind of gets people to be complacent and not as good as they could be and I donāt see that, in the U.K. scene I donāt see that and I donāt see that in the Australian scene and thereās like pockets I donāt see it in the North American scene as well but I wish everyone ā I wish all the scenes were held to the same standard as those scenes when it comes to womenās wrestling.
Nicoleās first match in wrestling was with current SmackDown Womenās Champion Becky Lynch. Nicole said that had Lynch not been in that match, things would have gone off the rails.
There was a kind of switch over in trainers about like six months I think into me training and I was wrestling at that point because I was a woman and they just rushed us in. Theyāre like, āOh, you know how to bump? Have a match.ā Itās like, āOh dude, dear God. How am I gonna do this?ā
And luckily for me, me and Veronika so like she carried our asses so good. Like we would have been f*cked if it wasnāt for her so we got lucky with our first match for sure.
** Sami Callihan joined Matt Rehwoldt for a live recording of the āStraight Shootingā podcast. Callihan asked Rehwoldt to share the reactions of those who were in NXT when they found out Sami was joining the roster. Rehwoldt said the roster thought it was cool, but then-head coach Bill DeMott was not too fond of the acquisition.
So, being bluntly honest, the boys, the locker room, like I said, a lot of them ā and this was when NXT was starting to pick up steam and they were starting to embrace a little bit of that kind of like, āHey, we like guys from the indies. We like guys with this world traveled reputationā kind of thing. So in the locker room, the boys were like, āOh, f*cking cool. Sami Callihanās coming. Thatās pretty badass.ā But, and you know this, it wasnāt really well hidden. People like our head coach at the time, not into it, you know what I mean? And Iām not even gonna ā Bill DeMott at the time was very much just like, had that, you know and it wasnāt just you. It was a couple, it was several people. It was like, āWeāre gonna show em how we do itā and thereās almost like this chip of like, āWeāre gonna stick it to you a little bit.ā
Callihan went on to add that TNA/IMPACT Wrestling was always a goal of his. He wanted to join TNA before he signed with WWE. He and Tommaso Ciampa worked with TNA and were told they would hear from the company soon but never got the call back.
Dude, my dream was TNA. I almost signed to TNA right before I came to WWE and I wanted to sign with TNA. I did one of those gut check challenges, they loved me and Tommaso Ciampa and Jeff Jarrett straight pulled us out, they were like, āYouāre the only two good guys here. Weāre gonna sign you guys, youāll hear from us in a weekā and we never heard anything. So I was kind of like, āYou know what? F*ck it. Iāll try to go all in on going to WWEā because it was either go to WWE or TNA. But, that was always my dream. I was a huge TNA fan.
** AccuWeather.com spoke to Al Snow about him recently saving a child from a rip current.
** Comicbook.com interviewed Evan Husney and Jason Eisener. They were asked about the idea of CM Punkās WWE departure being a topic for a future Dark Side of the episode.
Husney: Man, I donāt know. It is an interesting story. Itās one that comes up a lot in terms of when youāre talking about fan suggestions. I mean, fans love CM Punk and that was absolutely evident over this past month. And so, that suggestion does come up a lot in terms of what our fanbase wants to hear and see. I mean, I think it would be fascinating. I would love, in some capacity, to get CM Punk in front of our cameras. I think heās an incredible interview. Heās an unbelievable talker. And itās like him coming back into the industry and coming back into wrestling over this past month, Iāve been feeling that fire of being a wrestling fan again.
And even though my day job is all about wrestling, sometimes you donāt always look at it through the lens of being a fan still just because you deal with it so much in your daily life, but thereās been that inertia. Iām getting caught up in it and itās been really exciting to see what heās been doing and that match he had on Sunday (against Darby Allin at All Out) was absolutely fantastic. It felt like wrestling again. So, yeah. If heās down, Iām down and anything, anything he wants to do at this point.
Eisener: Oh, Iām the same. I feel thereās hopefully still many more years for his career to come, but I think itād be awesome. Iām not sure what the subject would be yet, but to have him on the show would be great. Heās amazing. And seeing him putting over Aunt Linda on AEW last night, it was so cool. And yeah. Him putting our show over, it was cool.
** Ahead of IMPACT āKnockouts Knockdownā being taped this weekend, Gail Kim made the media rounds and spoke to PWInsider. The headlining bout for Knockouts Knockdown is a Monsterās Ball match which is going to be a tribute to the late Shannon āDaffneyā Spruill. Gail shared some of her memories with Daffney.
She was the very first person to want to do those custom matches and she was the first person with one of our current wouldāve loved this?ā And they all agreed that she would be watching them, that they think she would be very happy and mostly all the girls just wanted to come together. And honestly, I feel like the whole show was dedicated to Daffney, because thatās all the girls have been talking about and coming together for in the last week and a half. Once they found out about the show too itās been nonstop Daffney talk. I think we know where everyoneās hearts and minds are right now and I think itās going to be beautiful because of that.
Gail was asked to list off some names who she would deem underrated. She named Jordynne Grace, Tasha Steelz and Mercedes Martinez, who has been announced for Knockouts Knockdown.
Iāll pick a couple. Iām going to pick three probably. Off the top of my head. Tasha Steelz just had Kiera Hogan leave her and they were on top of the world with the tag division. So Iāve always said, Iām very curious to see what Tasha does in the singles division, because I think sheās got a lot of talent and we havenāt seen that side of her yet. I think weāve just tip of the iceberg with Jordynne Grace as well. Sheās been a great tag team with Rachael Ellering right now and I love that, but I feel like I want to see a little bit more of Jordynne. And I do think she has the capability to go up a few notches as well and I want to see it. And then I would say on the other side for maybe one of the girls I announced was Mercedes Martinez. Sheās been a veteran of womenās wrestling for so long. Sheās very well respected. Iāve never seen her have a bad match in person live. Iām curious to see her match up with some of our girls. I think there are so many possibilities for match ups. I get goosebumps just thinking about some of the matchups that I want to see that we havenāt seen yet, or even just, like I said, seeing Deonna and Tasha or Tasha and Jordynne, things we havenāt seen yet. Thatās what I want to see.
** The Adamās Apple YouTube channel has an interview with Paul Wight. Although Wight knows that WWEās Drew McIntyre and Cesaro have found success in the company, he feels that-that success should have happened a long time ago.
Thereās so many of those guys that Iāve looked in my mind and , āWhy isnāt this guy one of the legends that people are talking about all the time?ā And those are guys that are still doing well and still building themselves and establishing themselves. I mean you look at ā I was a fan of Drew McIntyre for a long time. Drew has all the skills. Heās got the looks, heās got the height, heās got the size, the athletic ability, the in-ring knowledge, the mic skills. You know, heās a good freaking dude. Cesaro was always another one for a long time. I think now that the business is changing, I think a lot of those guys that ā I mean Drewās had some success and Cesaro had some success but, these are guys that are dependable guys that shouldāve had their success a long time ago.
He dove into the differences between AEW and WWE from his perspective. Wight admitted that he enjoys both products but narrowed it down to AEW having an authentic wrestling product and allowing talents to be free.
I think both products are amazing. I think theyāre just different products. I think WWE is always gonna be the entertainment sports spectacle, that global brand that they worked so hard to be and AEW is more of just an authentic wrestling product. Thereās not 15 to 20 writers backstage at AEW. If you have a promo, you have a promo. If you have a match, you have a match. Thereās not as muchā¦ upper level handling on what they want done in a match and what theyāre trying to present for the intellectual property that they own. I mean even for me, Iām doing Paul Wight now but Iāve never had as much freedom as I do now at AEW doing the things before, when I was WWE Big Show, it was a committee to get anything done and thatās fine. Thatās their brand and thatās the way they built it and I was compensated well for it but, I think at this stage in the game, itās just a lot more fun environment to be in. Iām just grateful.
** Drew McIntyre is going to be a part of WWEās upcoming tour of the UK. This tour was initially announced as a SmackDown-brand tour and McIntyre is a part of Raw. McIntyre told The Scotsman that even before WWE had the chance to ask him, he requested to be on the tour so he can get some extra time with his family when WWE comes to Scotland.
I couldnāt believe we had a European tour as soon as things started getting back towards looking like normal and especially with a Glasgow show on there. Then, I couldnāt believe it, to top it all off it was a SmackDown tour. I instantly told them I was going to go. It didnāt matter if they put me on the show or not ā Iād fly myself over. I could go and be annoying in the crowd and distract the show. I would fly over and sign autographs sitting in the crowd if they didnāt! I joked around at the beginning and thankfully we figured something out where I am able to be on the full UK tour now ā but I will miss a Raw TV show to ensure I can be there. I will get to go across the UK ā Newcastle, London and Cardiff and then finish off at home in Glasgow and hopefully get an extra day to hang out with the family. Iāll make time for that for sure. Weāll try for the day of the show but realistically Iām trying to get extra days because itās been so long. Itās been 18 months but it feels like three years or something.
** While speaking to Ryan Satin on the āOut of Characterā show, Damian Priest discussed how he has been presented on WWE TV over the past several months. He isnāt sure about the term ārocket strappedā but he is receiving cool opportunities.
Itās incredible. I donāt know about a rocket strap but Iām definitely getting cool opportunities and Iām just grateful that Iām delivering on those and Iām literally having a blast every day that I get to work in my dream job.
At SummerSlam, Priest defeated Sheamus for the United States Title. Priest said that throughout his near-20-year career in wrestling, he has never been hit by anybody like Sheamus has hit him in the ring.
Yeah, hard-hitting match to say the least. Iāll say this ā what is this like my 17th, 18th year in this business? Never in this business have I ever been hit harder than Iāve been hit by Sheamus. Itās ridiculous and especially you know, SummerSlam, heās amped up, Iām amped up and Iām not saying that I donāt hit hard either but, wow. So yeah, I was definitely lumped up after that match. I was feeling it but man, that moment was too cool for me to just worry about a little bit of pain. I was having the time of my life.
** D-Von Dudley welcomed Rhea Ripley onto his Table Talk podcast. When asked what she sees for herself in the immediate future in WWE, Ripley said she isnāt quite sure. She hopes to win the WWE Womenās Tag Titles with Nikki A.S.H. and added that she wants to make history in wrestling.
I donāt know something that I do wanna focus on, I will focus on that but I just wanna make history in this business and I feel like Iāve done a lot already but I wanna make more.
Both Rhea and D-Von commented on Big Eās WWE Championship win. They expressed how happy they are for him.
Ripley: I love it. I love it so much. I was watching it in the back and I was so excited for him . Iām so, so excited and he deserves every second of this spotlight.
D-Von: Yes he is. Heās such a great guy, heās great to be around. Fun, funny. We had him on the show here and I mean, Bubba and I, when we first came back, we were with The New Day. We were married to them for a little bit and had good times in the ring and I would always tease him. Iād be like, āMan, yāall hit me too hard. Thatās why I retired.ā Itās like good God, but no, I was very happy. The thing about it was when he won the match, I kind of went out there on the side, waiting for him to come to the back and the brother, he was soaking up the moment which I thought was great and I mean he went around the ring and then went right back around the ring with the fans and took pictures. I go, āI gotta go, Iām getting tired. I got a flight in the morning. Iāll call him and tell him congratulationsā and Iāll see him Monday, give him a hug and tell him good job. I mean it was great. It was so cool to see him do that. Somebody like Big E who has worked so hard in this business to achieve the goal that he achieved on Monday, it was worth it. Everything that he went through, everything he put his body through, just everything, thatās what we work for. Thatās what we work towards. Myself was the tag team titles and for Big E and Rhea, the world title. I mean thatās something you work for. Once you reach that, itās like youāre on top of the world at the moment. Now the hardest part is staying on top once you get there. Thatās the hard part.
** Jim Varsallone of the Miami Herald caught up with Caleb Konley for an interview. Caleb shared his thoughts about the growth of women in wrestling in just the last several years or so. He mentioned that in IMPACT Wrestling, Gail Kim is constantly going to bat for the womenās division and making sure they are getting TV time.
SHIMMER is kind of the OG of this. They saw this 15 years ago that women can hold their own and have their own show and people would wanna watch it and itās taken ātill now really. I mean I guess the womenās revolution been a couple years old but like now with the EmPowerrr and IMPACTās had a couple all-women shows and WWE had a womenās show like last year, the year before and itās awesome to see and it takes people like Gail Kim who is in a management role. She sticks up for all the girls there. She fights and makes sure everyone gets their just due and gets their time on TV and everything and it takes a woman in leadership it seems to make ā it shouldnāt be that way but it takes a woman in leadership to really push for these girls. Theyāre killing it, theyāre killing it so itās awesome to see that too.
On IMPACT TV, Caleb is known as āKaleb with a Kā alongside Tenille Dashwood. He spoke highly of Dashwood and her professionalism.
Tenille is awesome. She is a presence in and out of the ring. She is a complete professional, she knows how to make money like nobodyās business.
** Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated ran the written version of his conversation with Edge. Edge said that when he comes back to TV, he wants to work with Sami Zayn and also gave his thoughts about the evolution of Zaynās on-screen character over the years.
I would love to share the ring with Sami Zayn, and I would love to do it in Toronto. Weād keep it real simple. He can come out in his Habs jersey, Iāll come out in my Leafs jersey, and weāll go from there.
Thereās a key to Samiās success. There is an element of truth to all his promos. As a heel, you have to have that nugget of truth. If you have it, you can push everything else forward. So his promos feel much more real. Heās doing incredible work.
The crowd just knows to boo this guy. Thatās to his credit. His promos, his character workāSami is incredible. Heās gone from El Generico, then this plucky babyface with checkered tights and Mighty Mighty Bosstonesātype music. Now he looks like some kind of dictator. I really dig it. Thinking about it, I canāt wait for it to happen.
** During the āSmackDown after 9/11ā edition of the Grilling JR podcast, Jim Ross said he doesnāt think Jerry Lawler received any flack from WWE for appearing at the Ad Free Shows event during AEW All Out week.
Yeah it was . You know, I havenāt heard of him getting any fallout. He hasnāt contacted me and said thereās any fallout from WWE about that because it wasnāt a WWE event. It was a Conrad Thompson event so, Iām sure he wonāt have any issues with it. Theyāre only using him for those pay-per-view pre-shows, post-shows, things of that nature so, you know. It is what it is.
** Dark Side of the Ring co-creators Evan Husney and Jason Eisener spoke to WrestleZone. Jason told the site that while they were doing voiceover work with Chris Jericho for the Nick Gage episode of their show, judging by the way Jericho continuously asked about Gage, he and Evan had a feeling Nick Gage might end up in AEW programming in the future.
Eisener: It was crazy. When we did the voice recording with Chris Jericho for the Nick Gage episode, he hadnāt really heard of Nick Gage before then. Like he was coming in and asking us questions about it. And I remember looking to Evan at some point while we were editing the episode saying, āI have a feeling Nick Gage is gonna wind up in AEW after this episode comes out,ā and it did and itās surreal to see. Itās pretty cool.
** STARDOM 5STAR Grand Prix Results (9/16/21) Korakuen Hall
ā Hanan def. Lady C
ā Starlight Kid def. Waka Tsukiyama
ā Himeka def. Mai Sakurai
ā 5STAR Grand Prix 2021 Block B: Natsupoi
ā 5STAR Grand Prix 2021 Block B: Momo Watanabe
ā 5STAR Grand Prix 2021 Block A: Saya Kamitani
ā 5STAR Grand Prix 2021 Block A: Takumi Iroha
ā 5STAR Grand Prix 2021 Block B: Mayu Iwatani
ā 5STAR Grand Prix 2021 Block A: Konami
ā 5STAR Grand Prix 2021 Block A: Syuri
** Joey Janela vs. Minoru Suzuki is official for GCW āAftermathā on October 10th.
** Rok-C is defending the ROH Womenās World Championship against Killer Kelly at New Texas Pro Wrestlingās āOlajuwonā show. The match was originally supposed to be for Rok-Cās New Texas Pro Womenās Title.
** Bianca Belair did media with WBIR-TV to promote Friday Night SmackDown in Knoxville, Tennessee.
** Jushin Thunder Liger picked SANADA and Tetsuya Naito as his favorites to win the 2021 NJPW G1 Climax tournament.
** The latest episode of Battle of the Brands:
** The Washington Newsday were part of a media conference that Riddle was the focus of.
** Sportskeeda conducted an interview with Rich Swann.
** Tokyo Sports spoke to Great-O-Khan about the 2021 G1 Climax.
** Colt Cabana vs. Adam Pearce from ROH āGood Times, Great Memoriesā is up on Ring of Honorās YouTube channel.
** WrestleZone has an interview with Matt Rehwoldt.
** Jim Varsalloneās chat with Savannah Evans is at this link.
** Big Japan Pro Wrestling Results (9/16/21) Abashiri Kita Community Center
ā Kota Sekifuda def. Kosuke Sato
ā Kazuki Hashimoto & Takuya Nomura def. Hiroyuki Suzuki & Takuho Kato
ā Brahman Brothers (Brahman Kei & Brahman Shu) & Yuichi Taniguchi def. Kazumasa Yoshida, Yuji Okabayashi & Yuya Aoki
ā Daichi Hashimoto & Hideyoshi Kamitani def. Daisuke Sekimoto & Yasufumi Nakanoue
ā Abdullah Kobayashi & Jaki Numazawa def. Kankuro Hoshino & Yuko Miyamoto
ā Deathmatch: Ryuji Ito & Yuki Ishikawa def. Akira Hyodo & Drew Parker
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.