UK NEWS
- Michael Oku announced over the weekend that he was dealing with an injury and that he would have to withdraw from his matches in Germany and UK respectively. We are told this is a minor injury, and Oku is not expected to miss much time.
- Coming out of All In weekend, Kid Lykos was also forced to withdraw from some dates this past week due to a lower leg injury. In the same vein as Oku, Kid Lykos isn’t expected to miss much time.
- Pro Wrestling Ceasefire’s next event will take place on November 7th from Chandler Hall and will be titled “Justice Will Shine On.”
- Progress, RevPro and other UK promotions have expressed interest in bringing Gisele Shaw back in for appearances following her TNA release.
- We reached out to several French promotions for clarification on their joint statement regarding Tristan Archer and Amale, but haven’t heard back.
L.A Taylor Interview Notes
Fightful’s Corey Brennan recently sat down with L.A Taylor to discuss multiple topics, including her upcoming appearance for WOS and her time in Japan. Here are some early notes from the interview.
While speaking about her time in Japan, L.A noted that while she agreed with other wrestlers that it’s a different world to the UK, she also stated that it was all in good ways and noted that the Japanese are lovely people. On the in ring aspect of her stint in TJPW, Taylor reflected on the professionalism and how ‘fantastic’ everyone was to work with. L.A also said that she’s hoping to return to Japan in the future.
On The Experience’s match with Lana Austin and Rob Drake, L.A noted that it was a great feeling to be in the ring with an electric atmosphere at Progress, and thanked all those who made the match happen.
On Progress: Wrestling Never Sleeps, L.A noted that she was really happy with how the match turned out, and was delighted to see Kanji get a fun “Ultimate Warrior” moment due to the bottom rope breaking during the match. L.A also spoke about a potential singles match with Lena Kross, noting that she’s had her eye on that matchup for quite some time. L.A also stated she’d like to wrestle Progress Women’s World Champion Rhio again.
While speaking about her upcoming appearance for WOS, L.A spoke about the tradition of WOS and getting the opportunity to put her name in the same conversation as some of the greats of the industry, and how she is used to competing in a family friendly environment. Taylor also explained that there’s a misconception that those types of bookings are easier for wrestlers, and there is no room for relaxation during these appearances.
When propositioned with the idea of a match with LA Knight for the right to call themselves LA, Taylor explained that she already wins because it’s her legal name.
Riot Cabaret Interview Notes
Fightful’s Corey Brennan sat down with Riot Cabaret co-founders James Lawerence and Sean Thorne for a recent interview. Here are some early notes from said interview.
At the beginning of Riot Cabaret, both James and Sean noted that there were hiccups in their debut related to the pandemic. However, this allowed them to fine tune their product, providing a blend of big characters and great wrestling while also being a variety show.
When the conversation came to the cameos of popular UK TV personality Mr Blobby, James reflected on worrying if people thought it was a wrestler in the suit. James and Sean both joked that the idea came to them while in the pub, and they couldn’t have been happier with Blobby’s appearance, joking about watching Blobby learn how to do a Stunner.
Both men spoke incredibly highly of Session Moth Martina, Charles Crowley and Sunshine Machine as standouts in Riot Cabaret, with James echoing Sunshine Machine’s thoughts on connecting with the Riot crowd.
On possibly cross promoting with other wrestling companies in the UK, both men lamented that there are no plans right now, and it would be difficult to make happen with how little time they have to get their stories out there as is. However, both men remain open to the idea in the future.
On Thunder Rosa’s upcoming match with Nina Samuels, James explained that with Rosa in attendance at last year’s All In weekend show, it allowed them to open doors of communication for this year’s appearance. While they did not work directly with AEW, James noted their gratitude for them allowing it to happen. James also noted he made his way to ringside to take in Thunder’s entrance, which is a rarity.
Both men also spoke about the difficulties related to Amira and Cassius’ two hour plus long match, including the fact that Simon Miller did not know how to skateboard prior to filming part of the match at a skatepark. The pair pointed to similar matches in the likes of DDT in Japan as inspiration.
On their goals for the remainder of 2024 and 2025, the pair kept it simple as they want to expand their following and crowd sizes moving forward.
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