Last month WWE sent a memo to NXT threatening fines for using the technique, and there are signs backstage at the Thunderdome and the Gorilla Position saying, “Do Not Slap Leg When Kicking.” According to Dave Meltzer, the ban came directly from Vince McMahon after someone on SmackDown made the slap look very obvious. Now, WWE trainer Shawn Michaels, who brought the leg slap to the masses when hitting his Sweet Chin Music finisher, has shared his opinion with the New York Post. Thigh slaps in wrestling have been a controversial subject over the last few years due to being used excessively. Current AEW announcer Jim Ross has said he finds its use passe and embarrassing on his Grilling JR podcast. Similarly, Randy Orton has mocked NXT wrestlers for overusing the technique on Twitter, despite doing it himself when he punts someone.

AEW star Jon Moxley competed as Dean Ambrose for WWE between 2011 to 2019 and became one of their biggest stars. Despite an offer of a new contract, he opted to let his current deal expire due to his unhappiness with WWE’s creative, explicitly calling out Vince McMahon for giving him what he considered to be low-quality promo material. As the name Dean Amrose was WWE’s intellectual property, he could no longer go by that name and instead reverted to using what he was known by on the independents.

Despite initially opting to let their trademark on “Dean Ambrose” expire on August 28, 2020, WWE reconsidered and filed for it again on October 8, 2020 application under “entertainment services, namely, wrestling exhibitions and performances by a professional wrestler.” Now though, it’s been revealed that WWE is having issues getting the trademark application approved due to not having the written consent of Moxley. WWE currently has six months to get his written content, or their trademark application will be abandoned.

It isn’t known why WWE has filed this new application, but it’s potentially to ensure Moxley doesn’t register it himself. Alternatively, it could be to ensure they protect The Shield’s legacy. Trademarks have been a fundamental part of the wrestling industry for some time but have become even more important since AEW launched. It was only recently that Cody Rhodes got his name back after seemingly agreeing to give up former WCW names he registered in exchange. Also, Ryback is currently in dispute with WWE after they renewed what he considers to be his name years after he departed the company.

As soon as it was announced that WrestleMania 36 was being moved to the Performance Center, people began asking what the plan was for the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony. It was rumored to be taking place at SummerSlam, but that event came and went with no announcement. However, it has now been confirmed the ceremony will take place on Tuesday, April 6, airing on Peacock in the US and on the WWE Network throughout the rest of the world. Scheduled to be inducted as the class of 2020 are the nWo (Hogan, Nash, Hall, and Waltman), Batista, The British Bulldog, JBL, The Bella Twins, and Jushin “Thunder” Liger.

Additionally, its also been confirmed there will be a Class of 2021, and the first inductee revealed is Molly Holly. While her career was not long, with her semi-retiring in 2005 after only eight years in the business, she was a memorable character that was twice WWE Women’s Champion and held the WWF Hardcore Championship for an hour at WrestleMania X8. She now trains wrestlers at Ken Anderson and Shawn Daivari’s The Academy: School of Professional Wrestling in Minnesota.

New Jack is a very polarizing figure in wrestling. Some fans consider him an outspoken charismatic entertainer, while others think he is an unsafe worker who has performed despicable actions on those who trusted him with their bodies. Despite that, he brings attention wherever he goes, and if it were up to him, his next stop would be Jacksonville, Florida, to work for AEW. The former ECW star has taken to Twitter, where he has claimed to be medically cleared to return to the ring, and let it known he is up for joining Tony Khan’s company.

While initially, it seems a preposterous proposition, Khan is a huge ECW fan and attended shows with his father in the 90s. In fact, Khan has previously stated on Twitter that he met the hardcore wrestler when he was a teenager and that his father was a fan. However, when you consider that New Jack has sustained brain damage, sufferers daily headaches, and is permanently blind in his right eye, it seems unlikely he’d get medically cleared to compete for AEW. Plus, while the reaction New Jack would likely get if he appeared would be big, it would likely be a bad business decision for AEW due to the risk of lawsuits, bad publicity, and the possibility of someone getting seriously hurt.

John Laurinaitis, who competed as Johnny Ace in both WCW and All Japan Pro Wrestling, joined WWE in 2001, having worked in a backstage role for Ted Turner’s promotion. Initially, he’d work as a road agent but would impress Vince McMahon enough to replace Jim Ross as Vice President of Talent Relations. Further promotions followed, and he’d also become an on-screen authority figure in 2011 and 2012.

Once his character was written off WWE television, Laurinaitis went back to his initial role as a road agent. Now though, it’s been reported by F4Wonline that he has now reprised his former Talent Relation’s position. This vital role puts him back in charge of WWE’s talent acquisition strategy and arranging appearances, movies, and other third-party bookings.

This news has prompted some fans on social media to bring up the amusing story where Laurinaitis who at the time was working for Jim Ross was told to sign one-legged wrestler Zach Gowen. The rookie wrestler had a lot of online buzz around him and was working for TNA without a contact. However, Laurinaitis did not know who Gowen was and instead contacted Steve Chamberland, a different one-legged wrestler, and offered him a contract.

Away from his career, his personal life is heavily linked to the world of wrestling as he is married to Kathy Colace, the Bella Twins mother, and the mother-in-law of Daniel Bryan. He is also brother to Marcus Laurinaitis, who wrestled as The Terminator, and the late Joseph Laurinaitis known worldwide as Road Warrior Animal.

The third season of Dark Side of the Ring is coming later this year, narrated by our own Chris Jericho. More episodes than ever are planned, but so far, only three subjects have been officially revealed or at least heavily implied. They will be about Brian Pillman, the Collision In Korea event, and Nick Gage. However, based on interviews giving away details, it’s known that they’ll be episodes on Chris Kanyon, Grizzly Smith and his family, Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling, Xtreme Pro Wrestling, Bruiser Bedlam, and The Dynamite Kid.

Now during a recent episode of his Grilling JR podcast, Jim Ross, who has appeared on Dark Side of the Ring previously as an interviewee, has revealed another topic. The current AEW commentator would tell his listeners that he’d spoken in detail about the infamous “plane ride from hell” which took place in 2002.

The story is legendary within wrestling and occurred when a 747 full of WWE talent returning from the UK-exclusive pay-per-view Insurrection got very unruly. Vince McMahon had the whole crew on board and in an act of generously provided talent with an open bar for the seven-hour flight back to the US.

This led to an amateur wrestling match between Curt Hennig and Brock Lesnar, Ric Flair undressing, Dustin Rhodes singing on the PA system, and Scott Hall making crude remarks to the flight crew. However, Michael Hayes, the most infamous passenger, almost urinated on Linda McMahon, got physical with JBL, and received an unplanned haircut thanks to Sean Waltman. The aftermath saw two flight attendants file a lawsuit, Hennig and Hall were released, and Hayes’ ponytail ended up pinned to the wall at the next TV taping.

No air dates for any upcoming episodes have yet been confirmed, and the series is still being filmed. Although it is known season 3 will premiere with the Brian Pillman episode and includes an interview with Steve Austin. This was quite a coup by the show’s producers as talents affiliated with WWE do not usually participate.

Five weeks after he shocked wrestling fans by appearing at #24 during the men’s Royal Rumble match, Christian Cage debuted for AEW at this past Sunday’s Revolution pay-per-view. Now speaking on to Renée Paquette on her podcast, he has revealed how a conversation with her husband Jon Moxley led to him opening negotiations with Tony Khan and a deal quickly being agreed upon.

The two-time former WWE World Heavyweight Champion also revealed that he didn’t initially know that he would be the subject of so much hype. In fact, when Big Show teased his signing on last week’s Dynamite, he actually hadn’t even signed with AEW.

Before his Royal Rumble appearance, Christian’s previous proper wrestling match was seven years prior, where held won an Intercontinental Title #1 contendership match. He never did get to challenge Randy Orton for the championship as WWE forced him to retire due to concussion issues. However, as we’ve seen with Daniel Bryan and Edge, medical advice can change with time and improving knowledge.

Joey Ryan’s wrestling career and reputation lie in tatters due to multiple allegations made against him as part of the #SpeakingOut movement. Significantly Impact Wrestling released him from his contract, and the venue for his Bar Wrestling promotion ended their relationship. Ryan would go on to try and clear his name by denying the allegations in a since-removed YouTube video and taking legal against multiple accusers and Impact for wrongful dismissal.

Then last week, a charity wrestling event was announced that was being run through Joey Ryan’s Bar Wrestling promotion. He and multiple other well-known names, including AEW talents Brian Cage and Sonny Kiss were set to compete, and to say that there was an adverse reaction would be an understatement. Not long afterward, the event was canceled.

Ryan has now issued a very lengthy statement to SoCalUncensored.com where he says he wasn’t attempting to come back to wrestling and was just looking to wrestle a good friend and gain closure. Crucially he’d announce that he has decided to drop his filed lawsuits except for his case against Impact Wrestling. Noting he wants to hold them accountable for their side of the contract. He’d go on to add for the last eight months, he has followed a 12-step program and attends weekly meetings to address his addictions due to wanting to become the best person he can be.

News of the withdrawn lawsuits will come to great relief to many of his accusers. Still, it’s unlikely he’ll ever be welcomed back to wrestling by fans. However, he will remain in the wrestling news for some time to come due to his ongoing lawsuit against Impact Wrestling, which some legal experts believe he has a chance of winning.

Paul Wight, formally known as The Big Show in WWE, is officially signed with All Elite Wrestling to be both a wrestler and commentator. To say the news was unexpected would be an understatement, as Wight had just appeared on WWE television the prior month and was thought to be a WWE lifer. Obviously, that won’t be the case now, and speaking to the wrestling media following AEW’s Revolution pay-per-view, he revealed he was called by Vince McMahon on the day his AEW signing was announced. WWE’s head-honcho would wish Wight luck and thanked him for all the years he’d previously worked for him.

While WWE did offer Wight a new contract, but both parties could not agree on terms. This opened the door for the former seven-time world champion to join AEW and end a twenty-plus-year association with McMahon’s company that was only interrupted due to Wight briefly pursuing a boxing career in 2007. While not the same in-ring performer as in his prime, Wight was synonymous with WWE and one of their most recognizable names and has already brought extra publicity to AEW.

During the go-home episode of Dynamite, Paul Wight, formally The Big Show in WWE, announced that at Revolution, another wrestler, who he referred to as Hall of Fame-worthy, would be signing with AEW. Since then, fans have been speculating on who the mystery wrestler would be, with names including CM Punk, Brock Lesnar, Mark Henry, Kurt Angle, and even John Cena suggested.

Partway through the show, Wight would further tease the signing by giving a clue that he didn’t think anyone could outwork them. Then following the Face of the Revolution ladder match, the mystery man was revealed to be Christian Cage. He entered to what sounded like his old TNA entrance music and picked up a clipboard with his contract before walking to the ring. Once in the ring, he signed his contract, officially becoming an AEW wrestler, and revealed a shirt saying “OUT.WORK.EVERYONE.” He’d then promptly leave without speaking.

It was only five weeks ago when, during the men’s Royal Rumble match, Christian shocked wrestling fans by appearing at number 24. It was so unexpected because Christian hadn’t wrestled a proper match during the previous seven years due to concussion issues meaning he previously couldn’t get medically cleared to compete. Following the pay-per-view, Christian was interviewed backstage by the WWE Network and said that wrestling was what he was born to do. However, he was non-committal regarding any further matches saying, “All I was ever promised was one more match. That could be it.” Since then, it’s understood WWE and Christian were unable to agree on a deal, and Tony Khan has clearly wasted no time making the former two-time former WWE World Heavyweight Champion an offer he couldn’t refuse.

It is a bold move by Christian, as WWE would have been the safe option as that is where he built his name, and he’d be with his longtime friend Edge. However, Christian has previously shown he is not afraid to switch promotions. In 2005, he rejected a contract offer from WWE to join TNA, debuting at their Genesis pay-per-view in 2005. During his time with the promotion, he wrestled over 150 times and won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship twice before returning to WWE in 2009 to wrestle on their ECW brand.

Previously we reported on a memo being sent to NXT talents banning the use of leg/thigh slaps going forward to make the impact of a move sound louder. Since then its also became known that the ban is for all talents as there are signs backstage at the ThunderDone and the Gorilla Position saying, “Do Not Slap Leg When Kicking.” Dave Meltzer has now revealed more information on the ban on his Wrestling Observer Radio show, saying, “At some point on a SmackDown show, somebody did a leg slapping deal, and Vince got mad because it was so obvious.”

Thigh slaps in wrestling have been a controversial subject over the last few years due to excessive use. Current AEW announcer Jim Ross previously stated that he finds them passe and embarrassing on his Grilling JR podcast. Similarly, Randy Orton has mocked NXT wrestlers for overusing the technique on Twitter, despite doing it himself when punting someone.

Joey Mercury quit Ring of Honor in October 2019, where he worked as a producer, trainer, and on the creative team. At the time, he was very outspoken on social media about the promotion’s lack of concussion protocol and how Kelly Klein had to wrestle while injured. It’s believed Mercury encouraged wrestlers to leave ROH with him, and he would look to use his connections to get them to work elsewhere, but that didn’t work as the talents were loyal to ROH.

It’s now been confirmed that Mercury has filed a lawsuit in Maryland against Sinclair Broadcast Group and ROH. Documents show he is claiming he was misclassified as an independent contractor and was forced to resign due to ROH’s lack of concern about talent safety, plus he was underpaid when compared to his others in similar positions. Last month Klein also filed a lawsuit against Sinclair Broadcasting and ROH. She alleges she was denied a $4,000 pay rise, misclassified as an independent contractor, suffered injuries in multiple matches but was not checked upon, and complained about Jay Lethal harassing her, but ROH didn’t investigate. She is seeking $75,000 in damages.

Mercury is best known to wrestling for his time in WWE, where he was part of the MNM team along with John Morrison and Melina. Sadly drug issues ended that run in 2007, but he returned three years later as part of CM Punk’s Straight Edge Society faction. Following an injury, he would become a trainer and producer for WWE and returned to television in 2014 as part of J&J Security with Jamie Noble. They were aligned with The Authority and mainly Seth Rollins before being released again in January 2017.