willhustle
OG
Surprised. Anyone listened though.
Eyerone
(i·ro·ny)
I listened
I’m glad folks are coming around to what I’ve been saying about the rock for over a decade now.
Fuck the god damn rock
If you couldn’t tell, Mercedes Mone is headed to All Elite Wrestling. Fightful Select and Andrew Zarian of Mat Men Radio have learned more.
The company announced a TD Garden episode of Dynamite, specially titled Big Business which is to feature Mercedes, who has been on the company’s payroll since at least early January.
On December 29, Fightful reported that WWE stated that while they had talks with Mercedes, those talks had fallen through and the two sides couldn’t come to terms, similar to what happened prior with AEW. However, talks continued with AEW and we’re told that an agreement was in place around that time, which is likely why WWE was open to admitting that their talks had ceased.
There was consideration to announcing or debuting Mercedes, but instead the decision to pass on that for the TD Garden was set. We’ve heard there were several possibilities discussed, but that the February 7 show announcement and the March 13 show date have been set for several weeks.
When Fightful reached out about rumors that Mercedes could be highlighted as far back as New York’s Grand Slam show, we were told Mercedes was nowhere near being ready in the ring at that point. This was also confirmed by NJPW sources, when reports emerged that they were hoping to book Giulia vs. Mercedes. New Japan sources indicated that Mercedes was not cleared and had not actually resumed training, and had instead posted older footage. A pretty big piece of news relayed to Fightful from New Japan sources is that they do expect to have the ability to continue to work with Mercedes, and told Fightful it’s been discussed.
The company announced a TD Garden episode of Dynamite, specially titled Big Business which is to feature Mercedes, who has been on the company’s payroll since at least early January.
On December 29, Fightful reported that WWE stated that while they had talks with Mercedes, those talks had fallen through and the two sides couldn’t come to terms, similar to what happened prior with AEW. However, talks continued with AEW and we’re told that an agreement was in place around that time, which is likely why WWE was open to admitting that their talks had ceased.
There was consideration to announcing or debuting Mercedes, but instead the decision to pass on that for the TD Garden was set. We’ve heard there were several possibilities discussed, but that the February 7 show announcement and the March 13 show date have been set for several weeks.
When Fightful reached out about rumors that Mercedes could be highlighted as far back as New York’s Grand Slam show, we were told Mercedes was nowhere near being ready in the ring at that point. This was also confirmed by NJPW sources, when reports emerged that they were hoping to book Giulia vs. Mercedes. New Japan sources indicated that Mercedes was not cleared and had not actually resumed training, and had instead posted older footage. A pretty big piece of news relayed to Fightful from New Japan sources is that they do expect to have the ability to continue to work with Mercedes, and told Fightful it’s been discussed.
TonyDubbz
Legion of Trill | Keep god in ya life, fuck nigga
I dont even remember that shit
Camron Branae aka WWE NXT star Amari Miller announced on her social media that she has parted ways with WWE:
Picking up my Crown and going into my next chapter
So today, WWE and I have parted ways, neither one of us decided to resign another contrac so my 3 years are up. I am beyond grateful of what they hav given me and taught me but my journey there has com to an end, when a door closes one door opens!
Will I keep wrestling who knows, will I lace up my boots again in the future possibly.
I got to experience a lifestyles that most peope dream of and I will never take it back!!
On to the nxt chapter of my life!
Thank you Coaches, WWE and the fans who actually supported me and not the fans who were Bullsh***ers wishing me bad during my career lol
Much Love!
Camron Clay
fka Amari Miller
Picking up my Crown and going into my next chapter
So today, WWE and I have parted ways, neither one of us decided to resign another contrac so my 3 years are up. I am beyond grateful of what they hav given me and taught me but my journey there has com to an end, when a door closes one door opens!
Will I keep wrestling who knows, will I lace up my boots again in the future possibly.
I got to experience a lifestyles that most peope dream of and I will never take it back!!
On to the nxt chapter of my life!
Thank you Coaches, WWE and the fans who actually supported me and not the fans who were Bullsh***ers wishing me bad during my career lol
Much Love!
Camron Clay
fka Amari Miller
In nobody cares news
TonyDubbz
Legion of Trill | Keep god in ya life, fuck nigga
The lil black chick she was around for a little while on nxt but then got hurt and tried to commit that while she was off tv. She just came back like 3 weeks ago but hadn't made it to NXT yet just lvl up.
IP360
Doctorate & Ph.D in Bootyology
Da fucc??
You serious, why wasn't this a bigger deal
Eyerone
(i·ro·ny)
2 back to back Roman losses on back to back Wrestlemania nights would bury everything they’ve been building for the last 3 years….
The matches at Wrestlemania is going to be Cody vs Seth night 1 and Rock vs god damn Roman night 2.
just wait til this goofy fuckin press conference man.
Eyerone
(i·ro·ny)
They’ve made a bigger deal about Roman’s title reign than they’ve ever made about Cody’s story. Cody’s story is secondary to Roman.
I cannot wait until the inevitable happens after Cody’s fuck ass story is finished. He’ll be finished too…super cena 3.0 incoming.
Sting is now an AEW Tag Team Champion, but he likely wouldn't have been if he had his way.
Sting and Dary Allin emerged victorious on the February 7 Dynamite, just under one month away from Sting's retirement match at AEW Revolution 2024. In beating Ricky Starks and Big Bill, the duo became AEW Tag Team Champions.
We're told that not only was Sting adamantly and long against winning the AEW Tag Team Titles, for a long time he was against even competing for them. However, some in AEW said that from their standpoint, Sting and Darby were undefeated as a tag team, and should have had a title shot well before within the context of the television show. We're told the decision was made well in advance for Sting and Allin to win the tag team titles, and Sting went along with it. Those we spoke to said he was all smiles after the match backstage.
Sting was also a major part of the decision to face the Young Bucks at AEW Revolution. The planned Revolution location was also changed from the midwest to Greensboro to be more fitting of Sting's history.
Sting and Dary Allin emerged victorious on the February 7 Dynamite, just under one month away from Sting's retirement match at AEW Revolution 2024. In beating Ricky Starks and Big Bill, the duo became AEW Tag Team Champions.
We're told that not only was Sting adamantly and long against winning the AEW Tag Team Titles, for a long time he was against even competing for them. However, some in AEW said that from their standpoint, Sting and Darby were undefeated as a tag team, and should have had a title shot well before within the context of the television show. We're told the decision was made well in advance for Sting and Allin to win the tag team titles, and Sting went along with it. Those we spoke to said he was all smiles after the match backstage.
Sting was also a major part of the decision to face the Young Bucks at AEW Revolution. The planned Revolution location was also changed from the midwest to Greensboro to be more fitting of Sting's history.
As the dust settles on the Scott D’Amore firing, here are some updates based on what PWInsider.com has been able to ascertain:
TNA is not going away. One question we received from a few readers is whether this was just the beginning of Anthem doing away with TNA. That is not the case, we are told. Anthem is fully prepared to keep moving forward with the promotion. Remember, the company was prepared to make big offers to Will Ospreay (who told PWInsider.com that it almost made him reconsider going to AEW) and CM Punk. That means Anthem was and is ready to move forward and spend money on the right talent or event.
Why was D’Amore fired? There were a lot of people assuming something salacious happened to lead to D’Amore’s exit but we are told by sources close to Anthem that wasn’t the case. While no one is clear as to why this decision was made, over the last day, the belief seems to settle on the idea that Len Asper, the head of Anthem, and D’Amore came to a cross-road where they disagreed on how TNA should be operated and only one person was going to win that butting of the heads - Asper.
The word making the rounds over the last day or so is that at some point in recent weeks, D’Amore approached Anthem with an offer to buy TNA outright from Anthem, said to have been backed by a letter with a major banking institution, but it was rebuffed. We have heard from some on the Anthem side that it was seen as a legitimate offer that was worthy of consideration, but the decision was made not to accept.
If you are making an offer to buy the asset and walk away with it, that means D’Amore knew the clock was ticking on the job. We are told D’Amore was aware at least a week to ten days ago the change was coming, so this wasn’t a shock firing out of nowhere, even if it was announced yesterday. That means it wasn’t some knee-jerk reaction that something evil that “had happened”, but that hasn’t stopped some from assuming that because Vince McMahon was exposed, that something surely happened with D’Amore - even if that’s not rooted in reality.
Who is Anthony Cicone? In asking around in the entertainment industry about Cicone, we are told that he has the reputation for being a stand-person and a really smart executive who will listen to feedback as opposed to “just bulldozing the room”, as one person told me. He was a top exec at The Score in Canada when WWE moved there, so he has some working knowledge of what pro wrestling offers to its partners and we are told he has been overseeing some internal changes coming to AXS TV in the weeks ahead. We have been given nothing but positive comments about him from those who have had past experience working with Cicone. Although he has never run a pro wrestling company before, the expectation is he will lean in on the expertise of others and consider their thoughts.
What does an integration with Anthem look like? PWInsider.com is told that there's already talk of cross-pollinating TNA stars on AXS TV programming and possibly even in future films distributed by Anthem's Gravitas Ventures. Anthem believes that folding TNA under the entertainment banner will bring them more opportunities for the brand to maximize money for each side.
Who’s running creative? The current belief among TNA talents is that the remainder of Scott D’Amore’s creative team and support staff remain in place. Gail Kim and Tommy Dreamer ran the initial Zoom meeting yesterday informing the talent of D’Amore’s exit. Those are two veterans who command respect with talents. There were no exits yesterday or today, which means RD Evans remains with creative, Lou D’Angeli remains in marketing and working on logistics, etc.
Was anyone offered a release? I don’t know where this started but in talking to sources in Anthem and the TNA locker room, we are told that was never brought up in conversation in either company meeting yesterday. It’s possible a talent, while frustrated, blurted out they wanted a release, but we are told that no rep for the company issued an offer for anyone who was signed to be released from their current deal. Could someone request and receive one? It’s always possible, just like any other company would handle talent on a one on one basis, but in terms of a blanket release, that’s not happening.
Is TNA Moving to Canada? Is the Nashville office closing? These were questions we were asked a lot over the course of yesterday. TNA sources insist the Nashville office isn’t going anywhere and there’s always a possibility they could tape at Skyway Studios again, as they have in the past. Anthem is a Canadian company and they obviously get good tax breaks locally for utilizing Canadian staff and talent, but if there’s a plan to pull up stakes and only run Canada, that would pretty much be throwing in the towel for building TNA even further and while there is always a possibility, I don’t get the sense that’s where Anthem’s head is in the game right now.
What next? TNA has the No Surrender PPV and a TV taping in New Orleans at the end of this month. They are running Windsor, Ontario (which may lead to some awkwardness with the live crowd to be sure) and Philadelphia in March. We are told that the company was working on their game plan for April and beyond this week. There was a hope among some they could pivot to live TV on AXS TV eventually. Whether that happens or not, the remaining team will push forward to create content and, if all works out, continue to maintain the consistency TNA has brought to fans the last few years. Everyone moves forward and continues to do their jobs and eventually, becomes used to the new normal, just as all of us would if and when there are changes at our places of business.
TNA is not going away. One question we received from a few readers is whether this was just the beginning of Anthem doing away with TNA. That is not the case, we are told. Anthem is fully prepared to keep moving forward with the promotion. Remember, the company was prepared to make big offers to Will Ospreay (who told PWInsider.com that it almost made him reconsider going to AEW) and CM Punk. That means Anthem was and is ready to move forward and spend money on the right talent or event.
Why was D’Amore fired? There were a lot of people assuming something salacious happened to lead to D’Amore’s exit but we are told by sources close to Anthem that wasn’t the case. While no one is clear as to why this decision was made, over the last day, the belief seems to settle on the idea that Len Asper, the head of Anthem, and D’Amore came to a cross-road where they disagreed on how TNA should be operated and only one person was going to win that butting of the heads - Asper.
The word making the rounds over the last day or so is that at some point in recent weeks, D’Amore approached Anthem with an offer to buy TNA outright from Anthem, said to have been backed by a letter with a major banking institution, but it was rebuffed. We have heard from some on the Anthem side that it was seen as a legitimate offer that was worthy of consideration, but the decision was made not to accept.
If you are making an offer to buy the asset and walk away with it, that means D’Amore knew the clock was ticking on the job. We are told D’Amore was aware at least a week to ten days ago the change was coming, so this wasn’t a shock firing out of nowhere, even if it was announced yesterday. That means it wasn’t some knee-jerk reaction that something evil that “had happened”, but that hasn’t stopped some from assuming that because Vince McMahon was exposed, that something surely happened with D’Amore - even if that’s not rooted in reality.
Who is Anthony Cicone? In asking around in the entertainment industry about Cicone, we are told that he has the reputation for being a stand-person and a really smart executive who will listen to feedback as opposed to “just bulldozing the room”, as one person told me. He was a top exec at The Score in Canada when WWE moved there, so he has some working knowledge of what pro wrestling offers to its partners and we are told he has been overseeing some internal changes coming to AXS TV in the weeks ahead. We have been given nothing but positive comments about him from those who have had past experience working with Cicone. Although he has never run a pro wrestling company before, the expectation is he will lean in on the expertise of others and consider their thoughts.
What does an integration with Anthem look like? PWInsider.com is told that there's already talk of cross-pollinating TNA stars on AXS TV programming and possibly even in future films distributed by Anthem's Gravitas Ventures. Anthem believes that folding TNA under the entertainment banner will bring them more opportunities for the brand to maximize money for each side.
Who’s running creative? The current belief among TNA talents is that the remainder of Scott D’Amore’s creative team and support staff remain in place. Gail Kim and Tommy Dreamer ran the initial Zoom meeting yesterday informing the talent of D’Amore’s exit. Those are two veterans who command respect with talents. There were no exits yesterday or today, which means RD Evans remains with creative, Lou D’Angeli remains in marketing and working on logistics, etc.
Was anyone offered a release? I don’t know where this started but in talking to sources in Anthem and the TNA locker room, we are told that was never brought up in conversation in either company meeting yesterday. It’s possible a talent, while frustrated, blurted out they wanted a release, but we are told that no rep for the company issued an offer for anyone who was signed to be released from their current deal. Could someone request and receive one? It’s always possible, just like any other company would handle talent on a one on one basis, but in terms of a blanket release, that’s not happening.
Is TNA Moving to Canada? Is the Nashville office closing? These were questions we were asked a lot over the course of yesterday. TNA sources insist the Nashville office isn’t going anywhere and there’s always a possibility they could tape at Skyway Studios again, as they have in the past. Anthem is a Canadian company and they obviously get good tax breaks locally for utilizing Canadian staff and talent, but if there’s a plan to pull up stakes and only run Canada, that would pretty much be throwing in the towel for building TNA even further and while there is always a possibility, I don’t get the sense that’s where Anthem’s head is in the game right now.
What next? TNA has the No Surrender PPV and a TV taping in New Orleans at the end of this month. They are running Windsor, Ontario (which may lead to some awkwardness with the live crowd to be sure) and Philadelphia in March. We are told that the company was working on their game plan for April and beyond this week. There was a hope among some they could pivot to live TV on AXS TV eventually. Whether that happens or not, the remaining team will push forward to create content and, if all works out, continue to maintain the consistency TNA has brought to fans the last few years. Everyone moves forward and continues to do their jobs and eventually, becomes used to the new normal, just as all of us would if and when there are changes at our places of business.