News

WWE Rumors: Speculation On New Deals Being Offered, Ilja Dragunov To NXT UK?

Published

5 years ago

January 17, 2019

Some WWE rumors on contracts being offered and more!

All Elite Wrestling has certainly already shaken up the wrestling world already, specifically with regards to how other companies approach signing talent as everyone from Ring Of Honor, to MLW and WWE are in what could be described as a “free agent frenzy”.

There have also seemingly been more rumors regarding WWE, current Superstars and possible new ones than in recent memory with there being lots of speculation lately regarding The Revival (read about that here), Dolph Ziggler, Goldust, Mike and Maria Kanellis (find those here). This afternoon, there is more talk surrounding contracts and possible incoming talent.

According to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE has been telling “certain talents” that they will beat any offer made to them by another company and reportedly will even double it should said talent provide proof of the offer and will sign immediately. While it wasn’t indicated what “certain talents” could be getting this treatment, it’s being said that Bandido’s decision to sign with Ring Of Honor instead of WWE is a big reason for the change.

Additionally, there’s speculation today that NXT UK will soon be getting another new face as The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that Ilja Dragunov has begin pulling out of upcoming dates, including one recently for Defiant Wrestling. Some outlets are reporting that he has already signed a deal, but nothing has been confirmed at this time. Dragunov took part in WWE’s recent Germany tryouts and it’s expected he will be coming in to be one of NXT UK’s top Superstars. The 5’9″, 187-pounder has made a name for himself in Germany’s wXw and began catching the eye of American fans after his appearances for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.

EA’s Take: I’m pretty sure Dragunov is on his way to NXT UK. As for WWE saying they will beat any offers, I think the key part there is to “certain talents”. Which means they likely are only doing it for some of the bigger fish. Kenny Omega would be what I consider to be a “bigger fish” and I’d probably throw Shane Strickland in there as well. We’re talking guys outside of the company that you’ve likely actually heard of. Something tells me Jungle Boy or Jacob Fatu probably wouldn’t have gotten an offer from WWE that was doubled.

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

AEW Coverage

Mitchell’s AEW Continental Classic Update! (11/27/23)

What a start to the tournament!

Published

5 months ago

November 27, 2023

Steven Mitchell

Did your picks win points?

The AEW Continental Classic is underway, with almost everyone competing. Check in here if you haven’t seen the winners and losers of week 1!

Here are your Gold League standings!

Jon Moxley: 1-0, 3 points
Swerve Strickland: 1-0, 3 points
Jay White: 1-0, 3 points
Rush: 0-1, 0 points
Mark Briscoe: 0-1, 0 points.
Jay Lethal: 0-1, 0 points

Here are your Blue League standings!

Brody King: 1-0, 3 points
Claudio Castagnoli: 1-0, 3 points
Daniel Garcia: 0-1, 0 points
Eddie Kingston: 0-1, 0 points
Bryan Danielson: Yet to Compete
Andrade El Idolo: Yet to Compete

My Thoughts:

Nothing too crazy, nothing too wild, this tournament only just got started. The only disappointing point is that they could not get Bryan “cleared to compete” Saturday night. Not sure how much of that is shoot given the bad eye, but this was kinda the problem of wanting him in the tournament over tons of other choices. Bryan wants to face Okada for WrestleKingdom 18, how is Bryan supposed to do that at his best if he’s also gonna be in a round robin, doing five top level matches in about as many weeks? And it takes away from Andrade being able to do something. Also a little surprised we didn’t even hear from Andrade on Saturday.

Now as we heard on Saturday, round two’s matches are set. Gold League will see Mark Briscoe VS Rush, White VS Swerve, and of course, Moxley VS Lethal. Nice variety there, a couple 0-1 guys facing off, as well as two 1-0 guys, and then 1-0 VS 0-1. No offense to Lethal, but he feels like an 0-2 going up against Moxley. Hard to call the other ones but that’s the fun of it. Meanwhile, Blue League sees Brody VS Claudio in a showdown to be 2-0, then Bryan and Andrade finally jump in, Bryan against Eddie and Andrade against Garcia. Sadly, feels like Eddie and Garcia are going 0-2, no way Tony Khan is booking Bryan and Andrade to lose their first shots.

In fact, that could be half the reason they did wait on those two, that’s almost too good for just a first round opener. But I still would’ve done it, same as NJPW does stuff like that for round robins, which this is all modeled after anyway.

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

AEW Coverage

AEW announces Continental Classic entrants

The C2 is set!

Published

5 months ago

November 22, 2023

Steven Mitchell

Tony Khan Reveals the Blue and Gold “Leagues!”

Originally livestreamed, Tony Khan and Tony Schiavone officially announced the twelve total entrants and divided them into the two round robin blocks known as the “Blue League” and “Gold League.” If you don’t feel like sifting through the almost 30 minute video, the groups are:

Blue League

Bryan Danielson
Andrade El Idolo
Brody King
Claudio Castagnoli
Daniel Garcia
Eddie Kingston

Gold League

Jon Moxley
Swerve Strickland
Rush
Mark Briscoe
Jay Lethal
Jay White

Tony Khan also explains the rules for the Continental Classic:

Every match has a 20 minute time limit
The winner of each match earns 3 points, losers earn 0, 1 point for a draw
EVERYONE ELSE is banned from ringside for true 1v1 action

Eddie Kingston also joined the selection special as his “life’s work” is on the line in this tournament, both the ROH World Championship and NJPW Strong Openweight Championship on the line as part of the modern day North American Triple Crown Eddie, Tony Khan, AEW, ROH and NJPW are looking to create together. Gold League competes tonight on Dynamite while Blue League will have their start this Saturday on Collision. Look for more articles like this one to keep up with the Continental Classic standings over the next six weeks of tournament action!

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!