At Graveyard Shift 130, every title race was finalized. Only left to work out is, will STO continue to stand up against ESN?
There are currently rumors that the original Great Lakes Champion, and now Hall of Famer, Sub-Beast has been in talks with company officials about making a return with WMW.
There has been a lot of speculation on who will officially be inducted into the Hall of Fame. In years past, only one superstar was inducted. Last year, however, both Scott Vyper and Umbrage were inducted. This year, rumors are circulating that Wrestling Midwest is considering inducting up to 4 fighters into the group. But, which 4? The votes have been cast. Fans, media and the fighters themself have voted. Come Friday night, we will find out.
It’s being rumored that current Heartlands Champion Gras-Dawg has refused to sign a long-term deal with the company and has dropped to a per-appearance deal.
All though neither side would comment on the situation, many feel that Gras-Dawg will be taking time off soon to go back to New Orleans to assist in the efforts to clean up and restore the Gulf Coast area.
Company officials are working to convince him to stay, but only time will tell.
It’s being rumored that company officials are working with a few regional networks in the hopes of finding a network to broadcast it’s Fuel program. As of late, Fuel was made exclusively available through the website, as well as on YouTube. Making Fuel a weekly show is the goal in this conversation, but no one is sure if there is enough interest to broadcast Fuel on television on a weekly basis.
There are reports that Outlaw Biker met with company officials this week and has sent in his retirement paperwork. It is likely he’ll make it official at GS119.
It’s being reported that WMW management has requested a meeting with WWA officials this week to resolve the problems that the two sides have been having over the last 30 days. This will be the 4th official request put out by WMW.
WWA’s Champion, and DEF member, Cobra will be defending the title against Hecate this week at GS115. MVW has already declared they would be sending representatives to the show as well. So, with a majority of feds in representation, it would be a perfect opportunity for a mediation between the WWA, DEF and WMW.
It is being rumored, however, that if the two sides can not come to an agreement, it is likely that Wrestling Midwest would be let out of it’s WWA contract. Neither side has officially commented on the meeting, but it is expected that an official statement will be released by WMW officials on Friday.
There were reports that AW’s Curtis Penn was in Cleveland last night, meeting with WMW Owner Brad Johnson and the WMW Roster.
No word yet if Penn was looking to sign with the company or if was representing AW in hopes of booking a match at next week’s Graveyard Shift 115.
Penn was last seen on AW’s March 26th event, which saw him defeat The Hunters in a handicap match.
There are reports that WMW and STO representatives are in talks to move WMW programming to air live. STO is rumoed to be reluctant of the move, but nothing has been officially announced as of yet.
It is being reported by local news sources that Scotty Kames, better known as former Midwest and Hardcore Champion Matrix, is in Cleveland today to meet with WMW officials on a potential return. Nothing official has been announced.
WMW officials are reporting that The King of Freaks Adam Pyre is upset about not being booked on Groundhog’s Slay after his incredible performance at Blizzard in the Frostbite Brawl.
When questioned about it, Pyre had this to say:
“So the pay per view is called Groundhog’s Slay, and yet one of the driving forces behind the slayings in WMW, Me, is not on the card. I love it. I bust my ass and nearly kill myself last pay per view, and I don’t get so much as a ‘hey thanks Adam, that was pretty wicked sick and crazygonuts. Nope,’ I just get the chance to maybe sort of win a title shot which everyone already writes me off for at this point. Well the King of Freaks isn’t taking this lying down my friends. Loyal freaky subjects, there is no way in hell that I’m being left off a card with the words “Ground”, “Slay”, or even “Hog” in it if I got any say about it. I’m laying down a challenge to the one force that I know is holding me and my freak nation down. Oh that’s right, I can see you quaking in your boots already just at the thought of me coming for you, bucko! I’m challenging WMW’s resident Groundhog to a match! Book it!”
Needless to say, WMW officials are baffled by Pyre’s statements. Sources say that the sanctioning of this match is in question, as is the actual legality of such a match, as no one is sure if the groundhog is considered an endangered species. Stay tuned to WMW for more details.
It is being reported that another former WTF competitor is looking into joining the roster. This afternoon, “Storm Rider” landed in Cleveland and is currently in a meeting with WMW officials.
All though former DCW star Josh Briskout has not appeared since 2009, he is not seen as in danger of being released. He only signed to a per appearance contract, meaning, the company has no obligation to use him on a weekly schedule.
It is being reported that former WTF competitor Jordan Keyser is in Cleveland to negotiate on a 2-month contract.
There are rumors that SHANK is currently in negotiations to bring back the SHANK Show.
It is being reported that WMW Owner Brad Johnson and STO Representative Sault St. Marie have landed in St. Louis for a secret meeting. All though no one is sure why, there are rumors that St. Louis-based WfWA has interest in bringing WMW into it’s organization.
When was the last time you saw anything big coming out of the AWA in the last 3 months? Apparently, not many people have, including Wrestling Midwest management. Sault St. Marie, one of the biggest proponents of the AWA wonders how much longer the group will even survive.
“WMW Burn, in September, was the last time we saw any real life in the AWA, said WMW General Manager Sault St. Marie. “We respect what [JC Barr and] the AWA [have] done since we first entered into the contract with them but, we can’t keep sitting around and hoping that things will straighten up. We’ve got to do something about it.”
St. Marie said that he sees a lot of the groups that invested into the AWA pulling out or just waiting until thier contracts expire.
On whether or not WMW is doing that, he said, “We probably could be doing more, ourselves. But that’s a generic statement that could be applied to everyone. Everyone could be doing more, but the people who should be doing something, haven’t been. And that’s why we’re in the situation we are now.”
All though St. Marie would talk about specifics, he did say that their contract with the AWA goes up in December, and that when that happens, they’ll keep all of their options in consideration.
One silver lining is a potential supercard, featuring an AWA Championship match. Current proposed ideas include all remaining groups holding tournaments to select their 1 representative, and the supercard being a 4-corners match to crown the very first AWA Champion. Nothing official has been announced.
There are reports coming in that WMW veteran and former Great Lakes Champion Dess is considering retirement.
Both company officials and Dess would not comment on the situation. In Dess’s last promotional interview going into GS100, he basically laid out the stipulation that a loss will force him to leave.
“Graveyard Shift 100 is MY test,” he said. “If I pass, I know I can do it. I can still compete at the highest level. Of course, by passing I must win this match. I must defeat Jade, put her away with an exclamation point! If I lose the match, I fail the test… I’m done.”
This is a shocking turn of events as it was reported earlier this week that company officials were looking to work with Dess on a long term deal in hopes to keep him in Cleveland for this year’s Annual Awards Ceremony, where it was expected he would finally be inducted into the WMW Hall of Fame.
Earlier this month, Sam Hershey made the same statement, and after his loss against Mo’ Bad, he retired from the ring. WMW Officials weren’t able to change his mind. We here at WrestlingMidwest.com hope they can change Dess’ before another veteran leaves.
There are a lot of rumors floating around downtown Cleveland tonight concerning the future of Sam Hershey. Company officials have made it clear that they’ve been trying to work out a new, long-term deal with Hershey, but sources close to the situation suggest that Hershey will be retiring, possibly as soon as tonight. Stay tuned to WrestlingMidwest.com for more on the story as it unfolds.
As anyone who watched Graveyard Shift 95 saw, Jade took quite a beating from an enraged Kronin. WMW News spoke with WMW official Luna Pier who confirmed that the final two moves of the match were enough to knock Jade out cold, making not only the second loss in singles competition to Kronin, but also the second time she was rendered unconscious by the submission specialist.
After the match, Jade was brought into the WMW Medical facility to ensure she was not seriously injured. Rumor has it the exams were called for when Jade came to and showed symptoms of a concussion and complained of neck pain. WMW News has heard no official confirmation as of yet, but the rumor mill is alight with reports that Jade was injured in the match and may need to take time off as a result. Stay Tuned to WMW News for more information.
There are rumors floating about that newly crowned Ace Superior Champion Ryven will be held off of tonight’s show because of injuries sustained at Burn.
(June 25th - August 4th) Briskout was voted this month's Fighter of the Month, earning 11points in the leaderboard.
(August 29th) The Inquisition were voted this week's Fighters of the Week.
(As of August 30th, 2010)
Father Nathan (GLC) (8)
Gras-Dawg (8)
Arick Wills (6)
Angel of Death (6)
Jade (SC) (6)