Despite being advertised to perform on shows, former WWE wrestler Kalisto has yet to compete since departing WWE. However, it has now been confirmed by AEW’s Tony Khan that Kalisto, who now goes by the name of Samuray del Sol, will be debuting for the promotion. Khan would reveal this during Wrestling Observer Live when announcing that FTR will be defending their AAA Tag Team Championship against him and Aerostar.

a

Kalisto had a relatively successful run with WWE between 2013 and 2021, where he would hold the NXT Tag Team Championships with Sin Cara, Cruiserweight Championship, and the United States Championship twice. However, it always felt like WWE was hoping he would become the next Rey Mysterio which was always going to be unachievable.

He would finally be partnered with fellow luchadors Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado as The Lucha House Party, and while being very talented, they came across as something targeted at kids as a group. Unfortunately, Kalisto would be released by WWE in April 2021, while the other members of the Lucha House Party would survive the budget cuts but still remain underutilized within WWE.

On Tuesday evening, it was announced by Tony Khan on Twitter that Jon Moxley is participating in a residential alcohol treatment program. While this is a courageous and proactive move for Moxley, it will undoubtedly be hard on his wife Renee Paquette, who has now made her first public comment since the acknowledgment. In this, she thanked fans for their support and stated she is proud of her husband and loves him.

Paquette and Moxley began dating in 2013 after meeting while working for WWE and married in an impromptu ceremony at their home in 2017. Since then, both have departed WWE, with Moxley signing with AEW and New Japan, while Paquette juggles podcasting and motherhood, having given birth earlier this year to the couple’s daughter, Nora. While it isn’t known how long the AEW star will be in rehab, hopefully, his stay will be successful so he can return home happy and well to his awaiting family.

Jon Moxley has bravely accepted his need to seek help for his alcohol addiction, and with AEW’s support, he is now entering a residential alcohol treatment program. While Moxley’s health and wellbeing are everyone at AEW’s top priority, losing one of their top stars has left them in a booking predicament with Full Gear rapidly approaching.

It was strongly rumored that the finals of their World Title Eliminator Tournament set for the pay-per-view would see Bryan Danielson facing off against Moxley once he presumably defeated Orange Cassidy. Now though, Cassidy doesn’t have an opponent, and Full Gear is missing one of its marquee matches. However, if CM Punk’s latest tweet is to be taken at face value, it appears it will be him stepping in.

Over the years, Punk has been known to have fun on his social media, especially when it comes to speculation. Nevertheless, it seems unlikely he would tease wrestling Cassidy given the circumstances unless it was happening. Subsequently, this could mean Punk could face Bryan at Full Gear, which would be the first time the pair have fought since a 2012 house show in Melbourne, Australia for WWE.

Danielson and Punk have a long history going back to 2004 when they wrestled each other in ROH. Their most famous matches, though, would take place in WWE in 2012 on pay-per-view. Of their singles matches that year, most fans prefer their Over The Link fight to their Money in the Bank bout simply because MITB was storyline-driven with AJ Lee as a special guest referee. Although if the potential Full Gear match is even close to the quality of either of these contests, it will be a contender for the match of the night.

On Tuesday evening AEW President and CEO Tony Khan made the announcement on Twitter that Jon Moxley is entering a residential alcohol treatment program. Khan would go on to say he was standing by him as a beloved member of the AEW family and requested Moxley is given privacy. While not addressed yet by Khan, this means Moxley’s World Title Eliminator match against Orange Cassidy scheduled for Dynamite is now off. However, a wrestler’s health and well-being are always far more important than any storyline or match.

The news has come as a total surprise as Moxley has been wrestling regularly without a noticeable decline in his performances. How long the AEW star will be in rehab isn’t known, as the length of stay is typically based on progress in meeting clinical milestones. Hopefully, though, his stay is a success so he can return home happy and recovered to his wife Renee Paquette and newborn daughter Nora.

This past Sunday, much-loved cult favorite indie wrestler Danhausen would suffer an injury when one of his opponents landed awkwardly on his leg during a tag match. He would be helped to the back and taken to the hospital before later revealing to his followers on social media that his tibia and fibula had been broken. Sadly, he has now followed up on this by confirming that surgery is required and scheduled for this Friday.

The timing couldn’t be worse for Danhausen, as just last week, he would find out that he was being released from his Ring of Honor contract due to the promotion going on hiatus. However, it was speculated that AEW could be interested in signing him due to how well he has gotten himself over via social media, and the fact he was part of Chris Jericho’s recent cruise would only work in his favor. Now though, that could be in question, as recovering from this type of injury can take anywhere from a few months up to a year. Hopefully, though, surgery is a complete success for Danhausen, and he can make a speedy recovery to the ring and begin the next chapter of his career. In the meantime, fans can help support his recovery and the paying of his medical bills by picking up his “Very Injured, Very Evil” t-shirt.

Two months ago, Kevin Owens began teasing leaving WWE. Initially, he tweeted and then deleted the coordinates for Mount Rushmore. This was relevant because, in 2013, he was part of a PWG faction called “The Mount Rushmore of Wrestling,” along with the Young Bucks and Adam Cole. He would then update his Twitter to read “Almost there,” while the Young Bucks had theirs as “There.”

Obviously, this doesn’t mean he is definitely headed to AEW, but with it reported, his contract expires in January 2022, it is certainly a possibility. Now adding to the speculation, during a promo at the start of the second hour of Raw, he would mention the possibility of only having three months left in the promotion.

Owens would go on to lose his match against Big E in Raw’s main event despite interference from Seth Rollins, who Owens will now face next week. If Owens is departing WWE, it would certainly make sense for WWE to have him out over other talents on television before leaving, so Owens may need to get used to losing over the coming months.

That said, fans are intelligent enough to recognize this type of booking, and it’s highly doubtful it would impact any future AEW debut. This was shown to be true when WWE tried to bury Jon Moxley on his way out of the company by having him lose to EC3, Elias, and Drew McIntyre repeatedly, yet immediately debuted as a star for AEW.

Impact Wrestling recently held their biggest pay-per-view of the year Bound For Glory, and it was believed multiple former WWE talents would be appearing. While Braun Strowman was the name most discussed, Bronson Reed was also rumored, but neither would debut. While it still isn’t known why Strowman didn’t appear, Reed has now opened up about the circumstances of his booking being canceled in an interview, confirming it was work visa related.

The Australian wrestler, who will be wrestling as Jonah Rock in the future, was anticipated to be WWE main roster star at this time, having wrestled a dark match before a SmackDown back in June. However, seemingly WWE management wasn’t impressed with what they saw, and as a result, he was released on August 6. Since then, he has been looking to resolve his immigration status and obtain new employment.

It’s known the former NXT North American Champion spoke to Ring Of Honor before they decided to go on hiatus, as well as New Japan, but so far, nothing has been able to get signed. Hopefully, for both Reed and his fans, Impact Wrestling will still be interested when his lawyers manage to get his paperwork approved. Aged just 33-yeas of age, he is still in his prime and will be an asset for whichever promotion eventually obtains his signature.

Dark Side of the Ring often covers controversial topics, but none caused as much outrage and backlash as the episode detailing the infamous Plane Ride From Hell in 2002. Within hours of the show airing, fans were calling for Ric Flair and Tommy Dreamer to be canceled based on accusations made against Flair and comments made by Dreamer. Now Jim Ross, who was heavily featured in the episode due to being WWE’s Head of Talent Relations at the time, has spoken about the episode during his Grilling JR podcast. He would specifically apologize to anyone offended and said it was too negative.

Following the episode airing, Flair would find himself dropped by sponsors and a rumored deal with AEW never materialized, and Impact Wrestling and Busted Open Radio would suspend Dreamer. How the episode will affect their long-term careers remains to be seen, but it is certainly understandable why Jim Ross feels regretful even being involved. Hopefully, the controversies arising from this episode don’t prevent wrestlers from appearing and sharing their experiences in the future, as the docuseries is one of the most interesting and informative shows covering the pro wrestling industry.

It wasn’t a good week for Danhausen, as just days after finding himself out of work with Ring of Honor, he has now suffered an injury in the ring. Danhausen was wrestling on Next Generation Wrestling’s show in Knoxville, Tennessee, teaming with Warhorse against Jason Kincaid and Facade, and unfortunately, one of his opponents landed on his leg. Danhausen would be taken to a local hospital and later confirm the break on social media, though, still appears to be in good spirits as he shared a video in character along with his tag partner.

For those not aware, Danhausen is best known for his comedy wrestling and created the much loved demon-possed character to stand out. The gimmick achieved his goal, and he has since become a cult favorite on the indie scene. This resulted in him getting to work for ROH, much to the chagrin of their old-school wrestling fanbase, although that run is set to end with the company going on hiatus. However, it is believed both AEW and Impact Wrestling could be future destinations for him, so hopefully, he can make a speedy recovery and take advantage of some of the fresh possibilities now open to him.

Bray Wyatt was shockingly released by WWE three months ago, and while waiting to find out his next career moves, fans have been speculating on the reason. The official reason given was budgetary cuts, but some people in the know have alleged the cause was more likely related to creative issues. Now Ringside News has reported that a WWE source has informed them that “between his backstage antics and the way he handled himself when making millions and millions while medically flagged, he really deserved to be released.“

This report and quote would soon catch the attention of Wyatt, who recently updated his Twitter handle to @Windham6, and he would reply, “Now that we have Johnny and Bruce’s opinion, I would like to share mine soon. #KultofWindham.” While note expressly saying so, it is assumed that the Johnny and Bruce that Wyatt refers to are General Manage of Talent John Laurinaitis and Executive Director of Creative Bruce Prichard.

With Wyatt now being a free agent as his 90-day non-compete has expired, it is seemingly only a matter of time before he goes into detail about his time with WWE and recent release. Whichever outlet he shares the story with will undoubtedly do huge numbers; however, the fact he used the hashtag #KultofWindham may mean he intends to tell all on his rumored podcast of the same name.

Hulk Hogan retired from the ring in January 2012 following two six-man tag matches in the UK while touring with TNA. To say it was an anti-climactic end to one of the most extraordinary wrestling careers would be an understatement. Due to that, fans had hoped to see him return to the ring one last time to get a proper send-off. Sadly though, years of slamming giants and leg drops left his back, knees, and hips in a bad way, and there have been reports of him struggling to get around.

Now though, his daughter Brooke has provided an update on his current condition in an interview with the Hollywood Raw Podcast, revealing his latest surgery has left him feeling great. Additionally, she stated he is now back working out daily in the gym, apparently keeping his famous 24-inch pythons in prime condition.

Hulk Hogan is 68 now, so it isn’t realistic to think he could compete again. However, even in a non-wrestling role, he has shown he can still draw for WWE, as he, along with Ric Flair, helped deliver 2.13 million viewers and a 0.68 in the 18-49 demo back for Raw Legends Night in January. Nostalgia is a big thing in wrestling, and Hogan’s one or two WWE appearances a year are now likely the best fans can hope for. Although considering how many surgeries he has had, just knowing he can live a relatively pain-free life should be enough for his Hulkamanics.

It’s common knowledge that working for Vince McMahon isn’t the most straightforward of jobs, and what could be a dream opportunity can become a nightmare. This fact is no more prevalent than on commentary, where McMahon will have a make challenging job even more so by feeding lines to his announcers and freely telling them when he feels they are failing him.

It’s actually been claimed the only person not to get chewed out over the years is Jerry Lawler, as McMahon knows he would rather quit than be spoken in that manner. Unfortunately, many announcers are not in the position of Lawler, and recently Renee Paquette, who worked for McMahon for eight years, shared one of her own horror stories on The Ariel Helwani Show.

Paquette would go on to say that she wanted to just get in her car and drive home after feeling totally demoralized. While she didn’t do that at the time, she would depart WWE ten months later. However, she has never claimed working with McMahon caused this, instead saying she felt she had accomplished all she could in the company with the cancelation of WWE Backstage.

Nowadays, in addition to looking after her and Jon Moxley’s daughter Nora, she started her own podcast and just last month began hosting a show on Sirius XM with MMA fighter Miesha Tate. It seems inevitable that at some point, she will end working with AEW due to her popularity among wrestling fans and her husband working for the promotion. Still, with their daughter only being four months old, it may not be for some time.