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Speculation On Rush’s Post-ROH Options

Original Los Ingobernables member, Rush, has been tearing through the ranks in Ring Of Honor (ROH) since his debut for the company. Most recently, he defeated former ROH World Champion Dalton Castle in 16 seconds at G1 Supercard.

His burgeoning popularity has sparked some discussion over where Rush could go once his initial ROH contract expires.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE officials have been interested in signing Rush for a while.

The only thing that could complicate their plans is Rush’s contract with Mexico’s CMLL. This contract doesn’t expire until early 2021.
 

AAA Star In High Demand With AEW & Impact Wrestling

There are plenty of very talented stars all around the world, but only a few of them can actually work in the United States. Since visas are getting harder to come by, that is keeping some talent out of the USA, however, that is about to change for one top AAA star.

AAA is about to run a Madison Square Garden show on September 15th. Provided that they don’t cancel the event due to poor ticket sales, they will be getting visas for all stars who will be appearing on the show.

It was noted in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that since El Hijo del Vikingo will have a visa that AEW, MLW, and Impact Wrestling have interest in locking him down with dates.

El Hijo del Vikingo is now in demand from every U.S. promotion it seems, since he’ll have a visa soon enough and Impact, AEW and MLW all want dates with him
 

Report: New Japan World Is At 100,000 Subscribers, NJPW Made $46 Million For Bushiroad In 2018


A look at NJPW revenue, subscriber, and attendance numbers.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer reports that Bushiroad, the parent company of New Japan Pro Wrestling, is filing for an Initial Public Offering (IPO).

Meltzer has the following notes from the filing:

- New Japan World subscribers came in at 100,000. This is the same number Harold Meij reported in July 2018.

- The 2018 attendance was listed as 400,000 in 160 shows, which comes to an average of 2,500 paid per show.

- Bushiroad as a company had $270 million in revenue. $46 million of that came from NJPW.

- NJPW President Harold Meij's salary is listed as $691,000 per year, though it is unclear if that comes from his role as NJPW President or Director of Bushiroad. He also has 452,000 shares of Bushiroad stock, meaning he’s a 3.01 percent owner of the parent company. The shares are currently worth $5 million.

- Meij's contract will reportedly expire mid-to-late 2020.
 

Impact Wrestling Reportedly In Talks To Move Weekly Show To AXS TV

Impact Wrestling is reportedly in talks with AXS TV to move networks.

According to Voices of Wrestling, Impact has had conversations with the Mark Cuban-backed network about making the switch. So far, we’ve been unable to verify the report.

The move is reportedly likely to take place after the Slammiversary pay-per-view in July, but there have apparently been hold ups during negotiations so nothing is official.

Impact currently airs on Pursuit Channel and Twitch.

For those unaware, AXS TV is also the home of NJPW programming and WOW – Women of Wrestling. Both of these shows are moving to Saturday nights this summer.

We reached out AXS TV and Impact officials for comment.


According to a new report from Voices of Wrestling, IMPACT Wrestling appears to have found its new home, following a holding pattern stint on one of parent company Anthem Entertainment‘s other US networks, Pursuit. According to the report, the new home for IMPACT Wrestling is slated to be AXS-TV, the current home for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) in the US, as well as Women of Wrestling (WOW).

IMPACT has been without a permanent home since it departed PopTV last year, landing in a temporary spot on Pursuit Channel, a smaller cable network that Anthem has ownership stakes in. But while it seemed a backward move, the location of Pursuit was never considered a long term or final destination for IMPACT.

The deal is still in final negotiations, but they appear to be now in the stages of finalizing which day of the week. According to the report, Wednesday was the originally suggested day of the week, although plans have changed due to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) looking to launch their own show, AEW Wednesday Night Dynamite, on the same day of the week.

At one point, it appeared that IMPACT was set to debut on AXS-TV by the end of the summer. The July TV tapings in Windsor, Ontario were set to be the debut tapings for IMPACT on AXS-TV, but due to some final negotiations that are still being worked out, it’s currently been postponed. “This isn’t simply IMPACT moving over to AXS, it’s a little more complicated than that,” Joe Lanza of VOW mentioned in the Patreon report. “There’s a bigger picture business deal being negotiated that has to go down before any of this can potentially happen, and that’s the current snag.”

“The original plan was for after Slammiversary, for IMPACT to air filler programming on Pursuit for a couple of weeks to buy themselves some time,” Lanza continued. “And then at the Windsor TV tapings on the 19th and 20th of July to tape the first TV for AXS. So this would have happened before the end of the summer. That’s out the window. None of this is finalized yet. It’s not dead, it’s still likely to happen, but there’s bigger dominos to fall before IMPACT can be moved to AXS.”

Due to the later debut now, IMPACT has had to add a new round of TV tapings on July 14 to fill the “filler programming” dates and link to the July Windsor tapings. Some people noticed that IMPACT was missing a TV taping between Slammiversary and Windsor, and this was the reason why. July 14 was originally slated to be a One Night Only with Destiny World Wrestling in Mississauga (near Toronto) called Fallout, but it now seems that will become IMPACT TV tapings instead.
 

Regarding the Impact to AXS story that Voices of Wrestling broke, neither side has commented on it. What we do know is that these talks have been going on for months and we don't know exactly where they stand past it doesn't appear a deal is final at this point. Those at Impact have talked about upgrading their television situation, which they have to do, at some point this year, but nothing was said past that.
 

Major League Wrestling Holding Its First Pay-Per-View Event
Major League Wrestling is coming to pay per view.

Sports Illustrated has learned from MLW CEO Court Bauer that the promotion’s debut pay per view will take place on Saturday, November 2 with the “Saturday Night SuperFight” card.

The show will take place near Chicago at Cicero Stadium, and Bauer revealed that all of MLW’s world titles will be on the line.

“This is a chance for MLW to make a statement,” said Bauer. “We want to give value to our fans. That’s why we’re charging only $19.95.”

Available on all cable and dish carriers in the United States and Canada, Bauer is also in ongoing conversations for a deal to stream worldwide.

Filled with a dynamic roster of emerging stars in “Filthy” Tom Lawlor, MJF, Brian Pillman Jr., Alex Hammerstone, and the Von Erichs, MLW differs from a number of other promotions through a combination of talent and presentation. Those seeking an alternative from sports entertainment have found a haven in the physical, sport-based MLW.

Bauer first began promoting shows under the MLW banner in 2002 but took a 13-year lay-off before reigniting the company in 2017. A former WWE writer, Bauer has assembled a talented team to lead MLW in the vastly competitive world of pro wrestling, and has even brought in sponsors and landed a television deal with beIN Sports, where MLW: FUSION airs every Saturday.

“This year has been about expanding into live programming,” said Bauer. “The evolution of a promotion is to produce more live content, and another milestone for us is pay-per-view. And now, we’re going to get there with Saturday Night SuperFight on November 2.”

No matches have been announced for the pay per view, but Bauer promised that the card will develop organically throughout the next two months.

“Watch carefully this summer,” said Bauer. “This card isn’t going to be thrown together in late October. All the seeds will be planted. And all of the championships will be on the line.”

MLW also tours, with its “Kings of Colosseum” show this Saturday in Chicago. In addition to its younger talent, MLW’s roster also includes Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Teddy Hart, as well as brings in stars from all over the world.

Timothy Thatcher, who is a former EVOLVE champion and one of the most technically-sound wrestlers in the world, will make his MLW debut at the July 25 show in New York. That show will also include famed luchador LA Park, as well as Savio Vega, who was a legitimate draw for WWE in the mid-90s with memorable feuds against Steve Austin and Goldust.

“I have a lot of goals for MLW. After hitting live television, we are moving to another goal in pay-per-view,” said Bauer. “And now the onus is on us to deliver something that feels different, especially in such a competitive environment. So we’re going to bring a legitimate superfight to pay-per-view with Saturday Night SuperFight.”
 
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