fightful

Little Hercules in 3D | THIS. IS. CINEMA? (A Sour Graps Podcast)

Richard Sandrak experienced a small level of celebrity about 25 years ago, known colloquially as The World's Youngest Bodybuilder.

But you probably know him as Little Hercules.

A few years after the height of his fame, some producers decided to capitalize on his declining Q rating by building a movie around his nickname.

Also starring Hulk Hogan as Zeus and Big Show as Zeus's nemesis the Babylonian God Marduk, if there was an award for Worst Green Screen, this movie would wi...

Possible SPOILER on incoming AEW talent

The following article contains potential spoilers.

Please be cognizant of those who wish to avoid spoilers (looking at you, engagement accounts).

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Ricochet is AEW bound, and he very well could be All In.

Fightful Select’s Sean Ross Sapp reported in recent months that Ricochet’s WWE contract had expired, and he was leaving the company to join All Elite Wrestling. Since then, things have been very quiet on that front, outside of the word that he was...

Ask Grapsody! Thursday, August 22nd at 5 PM EST

Get your questions in! Ask Grapsody begins at 5 PM EST.

Youtube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAGe_NSUPJM

Select Portions: UK News, AEW, More

Corey Brennan of Fightful Select learned the following:

- Kid Lykos II and Nina Samuels teamed to face Kris Statlander and Stokely Hathaway on Collision.

- AEW will have another media day Friday. Expect numerous interviews.

- Man Like DeReiss, Roy Johnson, Fabio and several RevPro trainees did extra work as security guards during the Wednesday tapings.

- Michael Oku wrestled Serpentico in a dark match, with Amira in his corner. Fightful Select has 2024-08-22 16:09:08 +0000 UTC View Post

FREE POST: North Wrestling All Caps All Day Title Match

On August 21st, it was announced by North Wrestling that Rampage Brown would be unable to compete in his NORTH Title match with Leon Slater at this weekend’s All Caps All Day event in London.

Fightful Select’s Corey Brennan has now learned that a new opponent has been found. Drilla Moloney will step in to challenge for the NORTH Championship at the event.

The two men have faced off once before in RevPro, while also facing off in tag team action in NJPW

Big Name Told People They're Heading To London

A major wrestling legend could be headed to the UK. 

This past weekend, Fightful Select detailed that Sting had been backstage at recent AEW Collision episodes, as Darby Allin had spoken about in a recent interview. We’d also noted that Sting hadn’t appeared in any other roles since his retirement, but that could be changing soon.

Fightful Select’s Sean Ross Sapp has learned that the legendary Sting told numerous people close to him that he was slated to make the trip t...

Speedball Mike Bailey Speaks With Fightful

Fightful Select had the opportunity to talk with “Speedball” Mike Bailey ahead of his upcoming Ultimate X Match at TNA Emergence.

Fightful.com’s Rob Wilkins spoke with TNA’s X-Division Champion and discussed numerous topics.

When asked how Bailey prepares for an Ultimate X match, Bailey said his first was in 2022, and he tried hard to prepare for it. He spent hours watching Ultimate X matches on his Twitch channel. Bailey added that he ultimately found out you cannot prepa...

NXT Scoops Thread!

Corey Brennan of Fightful Select has learned the following from tonight's NXT double tapings. We'll update this throughout the night.

NXT Double Taping Scoops Thread

- Chase U’s Tag Team Title celebration will open taping one.

- Pete Dunne vs Joe Hendry vs Wes Lee is set to main event taping one.

- For those hoping for a Giulia or Stephanie Vaquer debut, no surprise appearances are currently listed for the show. 

- K...

Update On WBD-AEW Deal And Offers

Things continue to move well on the AEW-WBD front.

Fightful Select’s Sean Ross Sapp  has spoken with a number of sources within AEW and WBD about the possibility of an impending announcement. WBD sources confirmed there was still some red tape to get through, but that another offer for a long-term television deal was made recently to All Elite Wrestling from the company that they’re very confident in. Figthful reported earlier this summer that Tony Khan was set to meet with WBD...

Names Backstage In WWE, Raw Producers, AEW Notes

• Jose The Assistant was backstage at WWE Smackdown in Orlando with Andrade. He lives in the area, but was there for the duration of the show. He was seen arriving and leaving with Andrade. He was also at a recent set of TNA tapings.

• As highlighted before their debut, there are not supernatural elements planned for the Wyatt Sicks. We're told that is still the case.

• Much of the talent is already in the UK ahead of All In, as they have their Cardiff Dynami...

  2024-08-20 16:25:03 +0000 UTC View Post

Alex & Kate's SOUR GRAPS: Raw 8/19 | Leather (Grand)Daddy

Tonight's episode of Raw was not a very good one, in my opinion.

The good matches were booked to have the wrong winners, they continue to bury Gable's new faction under a mound of spookiness, and their top new babyface act got dominated like a couple of stupid babies. Oh, and CM Punk needs to change his name to CM Pander if he's going to keep this up.

At least they didn't break up the New Day... Yet.

Everything sucks. Let's talk about it.

Watch here: 2024-08-20 02:49:59 +0000 UTC View Post

Saraya's AEW Contract Status

A former world champion could see their contract expire next month

Saraya, formerly known as Paige, has held world titles in All Elite Wrestling, WWE and NXT. However, within a few months, she could end up on the free agent market, sources tell Fightful. We’ve learned that the “Fighting With My Family” inspiration’s deal with AEW extends until at least September, where there were option years, but instead something else is likely on the table.

The nature of the option year...

WWE Raw SCOOPS THREAD (updated)

Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select has learned the following plans for tonight's WWE Raw, subject to change.

Please be cognizant of those who wish to avoid spoilers.

Note: We will be updating this with more info throughout the night

• Randy Orton speaks

• Sheamus vs. Pete Dunne

• Maxxine Dupri vs. Ivy Nile

• CM Punk speaks

• Final Testament vs. New Day & Odyssey Jones

• SPOILER MATCH 1

• S...

  2024-08-19 21:36:10 +0000 UTC View Post

News On WWE Talent Appearing At ScrapperMania

At OTT ScrapperMania VIII on Saturday evening, the promotion announced that JD McDonagh and Finn Balor would be appearing for the promotion for their Tenth Anniversary show in October.

In asking around with sources in OTT, Fightful Select’s Corey Brennan has learned that none of the talent competing on Saturday’s show were aware of the announcement, and were just as surprised as fans to see the vignette that played during the show. It also remains unclear if McDonagh and Balor will ...

SRS Q&A + Backstage Report Podcast for August 19!

0:45- Adam Cole, Jay White, Sting updates

2:20- Randy Orton, Bobby Lashley, Bryan Danielson, Janai Kai contracts

6:30- More AEW contract rumors

7:30- Additional news

12:00- Q&A Portion

Topics: Free agents, Vince McMahon health, AEW vs. WWE Orlando, Dustin Rhodes, AEW WBD deal, AEW-AAA, promos today, Bash In Berlin, CM Punk footage, AEW All In, WWE-Mexico, More

Fightful Weekender (8/18): GCW, DDT, WEST COAST PRO/PWR, FSW vs. HOG, ACTION, AAA, NJPW

STEPHEN JENSEN is back with a new edition of the WEEKENDER!

- DDT x GCW: "Never Ending Noisy Summer" results

- GCW: "The Sky Is The Limit" + "You Only Die Once" + "No Signal In The Hills 4" + "Save Me" results

- WEST COAST PRO x PWR: "Queen Of The Indies 2024" results

- FSW vs. HOG: "Winner Takes All" results

- ACTION: "Welcome Home" results

- AAA: "TripleMania XXXII: Mexico City" results

- NJPW: "G1 Climax Finals" results

Changes to Smackdown post-show dark matches and why they happened

Friday's WWE Smackdown saw some heavy changes to the originally planned dark matches on the show.

Originally, there were two scheduled post-show dark matches on following the event in Orlando, but there ended up technically being three. The original plan was Sami Zayn vs. Ludwig Kaiser, then a World Heavyweight Title main event between Gunther, Jey Uso and Damian Priest. However there were some significant adjustments.

All the performers ended up working, but Santos Escobar was ad...

Select Portions: WWE Smackdown Producers, NXT, Fanatics Fest, AEW, More

• Nick Khan and Triple H were both at Fanatics Fest this weekend.

• NXT is planning a double taping in the next couple of weeks.

• As highlighted by Corey Brennan after WWE Summerslam, Jacob Fatu was said to be okay and was planned to sell his leg. He returned on Friday.

• Bron Breakker was visiting friends and around a recent TNA show. We weren’t told if he was backstage.

• Angel & Berto were listed as "Los Garza" instead of "Le...

  2024-08-18 21:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post

Bryan Danielson contract update

Bryan Danielson is headed to AEW All in but still isn't under contract to AEW.

Danielson noted that his contract with AEW expired on August 1, and when speaking with Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful, said that he has not extended it, and has no contract of any kind right now with AEW. He said he doesn't look at his phone very much, but he'll always answer for Tony Khan if he does, and they'll explore options when the time comes. Danielson said that his priority after ending his in-ring run wi...

Alex & Kate's SOUR GRAPS: AEW Collision 8/17 | Texas Two-Step

New champions crowned tonight!

(Don't get too excited, it was an ROH title match, so.)

But we got a pair of certified bangers in Lio Rush vs Claudio and Hologram vs Angelico, so that's good.

Also, Eddie Kingston Addresses His Enemies, and that's always a fun time.

And if The Acclaimed loses and breaks up tonight, it'll be one of the greatest nights of wrestling television in recent memory.

But since that won't happen, Everything sucks. Let's talk about it.

...

Update on "Switchblade" Jay White

Another former world champion is on his way back to AEW TV.

Former IWGP Heavyweight Champion “Switchblade” Jay White has been out of action for over a month with a reported foot injury that forced the Bang Bang Gang to vacate the trios championships. Fightful Select’s Sean Ross Sapp has learned that White is healthy, and that there are plans for him to return to AEW TV soon.

White last wrestled on July 6 in a losing effort to Hangman Page in the Owen Hart Foundation tourname...

Bobby Lashley update

Bobby Lashley’s most recent tenure with WWE has come to an end.

Fightful Select can confirm that Bobby Lashley’s WWE contract has officially expired, and he has departed the company. Lashley’s profile was removed from WWE’s official website earlier this week, and Fighful Select had reported that his contract was set to expire in August. 

Sources within WWE said that the door was open for eventual appearances. Lashley has interest from top companies both domestically a...

More on Sting being at recent AEW shows

Sting has retired, but he isn’t completely disconnected from wrestling.

About a month ago, a reader of Fightful Select asked if Sting had been around backstage in All Elite Wrestling since his AEW Revolution retirement. At the time, he hadn’t been, and although he kept in touch with Darby Allin, he was largely off the radar outside of the convention scene. However, that’s changed.

Darby Allin noted that Sting has been backstage at some recent AEW shows, and Sting mentioned t...

Alex's SOUR GRAPS: SmackDown & Rampage 8/16 | If At First You Don't Succeed ...

So Carmelo Hayes vs Andrade and Blair Davenport vs Naomi are like 92% the exact same feud, and either creative doesn't think we'll notice, or they haven't noticed themselves.

There's a great Tag Team #1 Contender's match going on right now, so that's something.

And either Roman Reigns is going to acknowledge Solo, or he's not, and then we'll probably do this exact same thing again next week.

Rampage has a fun card, so let's watch that while we talk about SmackDown.

Eve...

WWE Smackdown SCOOPS THREAD

Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select has learned the following plans for tonight's WWE Smackdown, subject to change.

Please be cognizant of those who wish to avoid spoilers.

• Nia Jax Championship celebration, featuring Tiffany Stratton

• SPOILER MATCH

• Naomi vs. Blair Davenport

• Grayson Waller vs. Kevin Owens

• Top Contender Match: Street Profits vs. DIY

• Bloodline segment

Backstage News...

Free Post: Details On OTT World Title Picture

At OTT Aftermath on Sunday, OTT World Champion B Cool was forced to relinquish his newly won championship due to injury.

Fightful Select’s Corey Brennan has learned that B Cool suffered a torn rotator cuff during the eight man tag team match between his team and The Draw at ScrapperMania VIII. We are told that B Cool continued on, wrestling the remainder of the tag match along with his title match with Trent Seven with the injury. B Cool previously suffered a torn rotator cuff, and it...

Positive News Towards Adam Cole Return

There are positive signs towards the potential return of a top star in All Elite Wrestling.

Fightful Select’s Sean Ross Sapp has learned that Adam Cole was backstage at the August 14 episode of AEW Dynamite. While it isn’t out of the ordinary for injured talent to be at AEW tapings, Cole had been taken off the road a number of months ago as traveling seemed to be slowing down his progression towards an in-ring return. Cole had been factored into the Undisputed Kingdom faction.

More details on AEW All In Texas

AEW All In will not be in London next year, instead they’re bound for the Dallas area next July

While the first two All Elite Wrestling branded All In shows have been based in London, England, a decision was made to move  Fightful Select has learned that there was major consideration to having the event outside of London, dating months back. On Thursday, it was announced that All In 2025 will take place in Dallas at Globe Life Field.

One of the reasons we were given for th...

MLW signs one of their top women's talent

MLW has signed a reigning champion to a contract.

Fightful Select has learned that MLW Women's World Featherweight Champion Janai Kai has signed with MLW. Kai has had a successful run in MLW up to this point; she debuted at MLW Slaughterhouse 2023, where she beat Delmi Exo to win the title. Kai has been the face of the women's division ever since, as she has defended the title against Exo, Unagi Sayaka, and other competitors. Kai is also a member of Contra Unit.

There is no word o...

Select Portions: AEW News And Notes

• We can confirm PWInsider's report that AEW has been exceptionally happy with their Dallas partnership.

• AEW is interested in possibly running a show in Australia, as the Sporting News Australiia has reported this week.

• As reported, Tony Khan and WBD's David Zaslav met in Paris for the Olympics. Based on what we've heard, conversations were productive and went well.

• Regarding big "AEW announcements," were told that at least one could come as ...

  2024-08-14 23:39:01 +0000 UTC View Post