Select Portions: Thekla, AEW, Euro News, More

• While AEW was in Bridgeport this week for Dynamite, they actually stayed in Stamford, within view of the WWE HQ building

• The internal name for this week’s episode of NXT was ‘Start The Clock,' per Corey Brennan

• AEW announced their GalaxyCon Show at the Columbus Convention Center. You can see our photo gallery from the 2015 NXT Experience at that

Major European Independent Wrestling Name Dealing With Injury

A major name on the European independent scene is dealing with an injury.

Aigle Blanc competed at OTT’s Tenth Anniversary event on October 26th, and then their Halloween Slam event days later. Coming out of these two events, Fightful Select’s Corey Brennan has learned that Blanc has suffered an injury, and has canceled several future bookings over the course of the next month.

Blanc was originally scheduled to face off with Leon Slater on Friday for BZW in France, but was replaced by Zak Patterson. On Saturday, he was scheduled to face off with Joe Hendry but was replaced by Kuro. It is not known at this time an exact timeframe for how long Blanc will be out of action for, nor what type of injury he is dealing with at this time.

All at Fightful wish Aigle Blanc the best in his recovery from injury.

THEKLA

Phil Lindsey and Righteous Reg of Fightful’s Grapsody caught up with Stardom’s Thekla. The Austrian native spoke with the two Grapsody hosts for over 30 minutes.

The interview begins with Phil Lindsey mentioning Thekla’s upcoming mixed tag match in the Historic X-Over II event. She will team with Bullet Club War Dogs member Clark Connors and face Taichi and Natsupoi. Thekla shares her excitement about facing her former stablemate, Natsupoi, again, citing their history and rivalry as motivation. Thekla and Natsupoi were part of the stable, “Donna del Mondo.”

Thekla would discuss her rivalry with Natsupoi more. She explains that she relishes any opportunity to fight Natsupoi, as they’ve had an ongoing battle. She told Grapsody that she is excited to continue the intense rivalry, seeing it as a “war.” 

She mentioned that the rivalry is continuing to get more heated over time.

Thekla discussed her recent World Stardom Championship match against Natsupoi at Stardom Nagoya Golden Fight 2024. She described the match as physical and intense and mentioned that Clark Connors interfered at one point.

She mentioned taking time away from the ring for a month due to a fractured wrist, which she says helped fuel her desire to get revenge on Natsupoi. Thekla views this as a new phase in their rivalry.

Thekla discussed her recent Tag League matches, mentioned using her cast to knock out Natsupoi, and plans to use it again.

She praised her tag partner, Momo Watanabe. Thekla mentioned Momo’s skills and teamwork, emphasizing their ruthless approach to beating opponents. Thekla acknowledges the physical toll, noting her busy schedule with numerous matches in November alone. She discusses how wrestlers often compete while injured.

Thekla explained how she met Clark Connors and Gabe Kidd. She said they met at the original Historic Crossover event. She recalls bonding over drinks, which fostered a friendship with the “War Dogs” group. Since then, she’s grown close to them, and the idea of teaming up in a mixed tag match with Connors evolved naturally. 

She suggested further collaborating with Connors and the War Dogs if their upcoming match goes well. She feels she already belongs in their faction due to their shared attitude and style and hopes for a long-term partnership.

Thekla told Phil and Reg about the Historic Crossover Event, which brings together Stardom and New Japan talent. She highlighted the unique appeal of intergender matches in Japan, where they are still relatively uncommon. She views the event as an exciting opportunity to introduce new, dynamic matches while respecting the tastes of Japanese wrestling fans.

She hopes to use the event to further engage fans by showcasing her rivalry with Natsupoi and the strength of her alliance with Connors.

Reg asked Thekla if she was interested in wrestling in the United States, to which she responded, “Hell yeah, of course. I have no idea why I'm not already over there or why I haven't been over there before; it's crazy.” 

She would detail her desire to wrestle in the United States, saying, “I've spent most of my career in Japan. Of course, COVID plays into that. I haven't even had a single match in the States, and I've been to the States plenty of times. I used to live in the States when I was a teenager. So it's a no-brainer that I would do stuff there, right?” 

Thekla said there are plenty of people she would love to wrestle with throughout all companies. She would not go into much detail afterward but noted, “So just wait a little longer. I think we got something coming up. I don't wanna say anymore.”

When asked about potential title challenges in American-affiliated Japanese promotions, she acknowledges the possibilities, hinting that she has her eyes on certain titles but doesn’t provide specifics. 

She spoke about her character, "Idol Killer," which critiques Japanese idol culture. Thekla explains the culture too and says it often involves young women portraying childlike personas for male fans. She expressed how she doesn’t like that particular image. Her character, the "Idol Killer," is a reaction to these portrayals. 

She shared her admiration for Maki Itoh, whom she respects as someone who can play with idol stereotypes without reinforcing them. She humorously acknowledges that while she might still need to defeat Itoh in the ring, she appreciates Itoh’s approach to the idol persona. 

In closing, Thekla discussed her creative outlets usually serve as a mental balance to her physically demanding schedule. She said her latest focus is painting, and she shared that she is preparing an exhibition in Tokyo, timed to coincide with WrestleKingdom events in early January.

You can follow Thekla on X or Instagram at @toxic_thekla.

Here is the link to the full interview: https://youtu.be/ukxFghgOdx8

You can catch Grapsody every Saturday at noon Eastern on Fightful.com or Fightful’s YouTube page.

Simon Hill Interview Notes

Fightful’s Corey Brennan recently sat down with Simon Hill for an interview. You can check out notes from the interview below. (https://youtu.be/plSB3hvH6iI)

Simon began by talking about how he got into wrestling announcing, noting that he was a childhood fan who migrated to the industry following opportunities in other industries. On his inspirations for his announcing, Simon pointed to Michael Buffer and Jim Ross as his main influences. He also told a story about receiving Michael Buffer’s approval for his announcement at Walsall Football Club.

On Samantha Irvin and Kayla Braxton’s recent comments about not enjoying ring announcing, Simon stated his belief that for the two women, they wanted more, and can understand why they would have negative feelings towards the role. Simon did note he didn’t think he could play a heel commentator.

Simon spoke at length about OTT’s Tenth Anniversary, and gave heavy praise to his announcing partner Aonghus McAnally. Hill also talked at length about Finn Balor and JD McDonagh’s homecoming at the event, and how the experience fueled him with adrenaline in the announcing booth. Simon also spoke about the importance of passion in announcing. 

Simon also noted that sometimes his research for an event will take up to a week, as he looks to pull the less heard points from wrestlers’ careers. Simon noted his hope that in 2025 he will be able to announce for TNA, WWE or AEW.

Kid Lykos Interview Notes

Fightful’s Corey Brennan sat down for a recent interview with Kid Lykos ahead of this weekend’s Burning Heart event in Wolverhampton. (https://youtu.be/GyPC9JhdTGk)

Before getting to the topic of Burning Heart, Corey asked Lykos about his recent tour of the United States. Lykos noted that he felt like the US style of wrestling is far different to the UK style he is used to. Lykos also remarked that he found out a lot about himself as a wrestler while in the States. 

Lykos noted he was looking forward to competing in singles competition at this weekend’s Burning Heart show where he will face off with Trent Seven. Lykos reacted to the belief it’s athleticism vs experience in the bout, as he has been wrestling since 2007. He also noted that he feels like Burning Heart is a promotion by the wrestlers and for the wrestlers and put over The Grizzled Young Veterans as owners. 

Lykos also noted that after his match with Seven in Wolverhampton, his attention will turn back to the Burning Heart tag team scene and the championships currently held by Robbie X and Zachary Wentz. Lykos also expressed that he doesn’t feel added pressure with the talent from major companies that feature on Burning Heart events. 

Amongst the stacked roster of Burning Heat, Lykos expressed a desire to face Leon Slater in a singles match, as well as possibly facing off with Drew Parker in a hardcore match of some kind.

As the interview drew to a close, Corey brought up Lykos coming out mid show to assist with an issue with the ring at PROGRESS: Wrestling Never Sleeps back in August. Lykos said he was worried about the ring possibly malfunctioning during his main event match, but also that his presence added extra pressure to get the job done with the ring crew.

See the full interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyPC9JhdTGk