The Delco Elbow Drop


Thursday, July 31, 2014

Indy Minute - Weekly independent wrestling new round up


  Welcome back to the Delco Elbow Drop for another round of the extended Indy Minute – your favorite segment of the best wrestling radio show on the internet Ring Rust Radio. Let’s get right into it!
 
  On Monday, WWE.com officially announced the signing of Fergal Devitt, known to most as Prince Devitt. The Irish-born wrestler is a three-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight champion, a six-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight tag team champion and two-time winner of the New Japan Best of the Super Juniors tournament. In addition to his work in Japan, Devitt has also worked in the United Kingdom and Mexico and will soon report to NXT in Florida. I did a short piece about the signing, which you can check out here.


   
  Sami Zayn responded to a Prince Devitt tweet about the hard work and sacrifice it takes to be a pro wrestler, with Zayn saying "Amen brother, now let's take over." If Devitt and Zayn were to team up in NXT, I think the internet might literally implode.



  On NXT TV, Charlotte retained the NXT Women’s Championship, defeating Summer Rae. The team of Kalisto and Sin Cara picked up a win against The Vaudevillains and Tyler Breeze interfered in a match between NXT Champion Adrian Neville and Rusev, giving Neville the victory but allowing Rusev to put the champ in the Accolade.

  Ring of Honor’s ‘Field of Honor’ event  at Brooklyn’s MCU Park on August 15 now has a huge main event. ROH World Champion Michael Elgin will defend his title against Jay Briscoe, Adam Cole and AJ Styles. Also, TV Champion Jay Lethal will defend his title against Matt Taven in a steel cage match.

  ROH is teaming up with Preston City Wrestling in England for a 2-day, 3-show event on November 28, 29 entitled “UK Supershow of Honor.” Hit this link for more info.

  Seems like the House of Truth and The Kingdom are merging. Jay Lethal has been helping Adam Cole and other Kingdom members against the Briscoes. Though it could just be temporary while Bennett is out.

  Kevin Steen wrestled his final match in Pro Wrestling Guerilla at the company’s eleventh anniversary show on Saturday against newcomer Trevor Lee. In his farewell speech, Steen talked about how El Generico left PWG over a year ago to run an orphanage in Mexico but now it’s a mess and Steen needs to go help him. Though nothing is official yet, it’s widely believed that Steen will soon be headed to NXT.

  Adam Cole tweeted that "Rushmore's not gone, we're just expanding our territory." With Steen leaving, they have a new spot in the group. But "expanding" is an odd word choice. Cole is headed to NJPW for the final days of G1 Climax. The Bucks and Cole are members of Rushmore and the Bucks are also members of Bullet Club. Could Cole have been teasing a merger?

  Several wrestlers will not be able to compete in PWG’s annual Battle of Los Angeles tournament at the end of August. AR Fox needed surgery to repair an injured wrist and will most likely miss the tournament while Trent? posted on Twitter that he will need knee surgery as his patellar tendon is no longer attached to his knee cap. The original tweet is gone but there’s a more recent one saying his surgery went well. Brian Cage missed PWG’s Eleven on Saturday but is anticipating being able to compete in the Battle of Los Angeles. 

  Speaking of Brian Cage, he’ll be on the Destination X edition of TNA Impact this week, which airs tonight on Spike TV at 9 p.m.
 
   FWE in Brooklyn, New York will be hosting events on October 3 and 4. Announced for Night 1 is Young Bucks vs Bad Influence and Drew Galloway vs Trent? and Night 2 will see Tommy Dreamer vs Drew Galloway.
  
  Rumors that a former UFC star has been training at the WWE Performance Center. Speculation is that it's Rashad Evans, though the former light heavyweight champ has stated he wouldn't consider wrasslin’ until after he's done fighting, which he's put at another 4-5 years.
  To me, the most likely person is Chael Sonnen. Word is the person is "older than a usual WWE potential developmental wrestler" but has all the attributes of a WWE wrestler. Chael has proven to be a master on the mic and with that and his athletic prowess, he would easily be able to make the transition to WWE.

  Apparently IWA-Mid South is promoting shows again. According to the IWA-Mid South Facebook page, they will be hosting the Ted Petty Invitational tournament on September 13 and 14 in New Albany, Indiana.
  The line up so far includes Michael Elgin, Chris Hero, Tomasso Ciampa, BJ Whitmer and two names I don’t recognize – Hy Zaya and Shane Mercer. Keep an eye on their Facebook page for more participants.

  Take this news with a grain of salt as there hasn’t been a TPI hosted by IWA-MS since 2008. Tournaments were announced for 2009 and 2010 but cancelled at the last minute. The TPI Wikipedia page lists a tournament for 2013 though I don’t recall ever actually hearing about it. I’d play the waiting game on this one and maybe plan on buying tickets at the door if you’re actually planning on attending.

      
  Rumors on the internet that Scott Hall's son Cody has been offered a WWE contract but turned it down in favor of gaining more experience on the indies. Anyone turning down a contract with WWE would be pretty dumb but since he's Scott Hall's son he could pretty much have a job whenever he wants.

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

TNA and former WWE star Jeff Hardy talks about reuniting the Hardy Boys for Destination X

The crew from Ring Rust Radio is back with another big interview, this time with TNA and former WWE star Jeff Hardy as he talks about reuniting The Hardy Boys tag team with his brother Matt to challenge The Wolves for the TNA tag team championships this Thursday at Destination X.

You can listen to the interview at Ring Rust Radio or just click the YouTube video below!


Donald Wood: You and your brother Matt, The Hardy Boys, are reuniting for Thursday’s Destination X edition of Impact Wrestling and will be squaring off against The Wolves in a Tag Team Championship match. What are your feelings about teaming up with your brother and challenging for the titles heading into the marquee match?
Jeff Hardy: This week on Impact is beyond great. When you talk about tag team wrestling, this is the top of the mountain, man. The Wolves are one of the best tag teams in the world, and my brother and I, the Hardy Boys, are back in TNA and we’re going for the titles one more time and you do not want to miss this match this week on TNA Impact Wrestling,. It’s a show-stealer.

Mike Chiari: With yourself and Matt wrestling a couple matches as a team in New York, is the Hardy Boys reunion in TNA just a short-term deal or do you anticipate and expect to be teaming together for the foreseeable future and getting back into the tag team scene on a more permanent basis?
Jeff Hardy: It’s kind of the unknown. I mean, I don’t know what Matt’s going to do or what he wants to do as far as a long term deal. I’d like it to be long term, but right now it feels short term, but I can’t speak for Matt. So, we’ll see what happens.

Brandon Galvin: Jeff, you and Matt have always been among the most innovative tag teams in the business. Now that you have a bit more freedom in the ring when working together, how often do you two discuss new maneuvers and has there ever been something you've wanted to try in the ring but haven't had the opportunity to do so?
Jeff Hardy: I’ve had some recent new ideas that I’ve talked to Matt about but we haven’t debuted them yet, but are pretty possible. It’s like riding a bicycle. Matt and I teamed for a long time and we did an Omega show at the high school that Matt and I graduated from and wrestled the Briscoe Brothers and the whole show from beginning to end was so good and the Briscoes vs. the Hardys was a killer main event. I also did a few other Indy shots with Matt and we were just as good as we’ve ever been. And now, to be wrestling the Wolves and they’re an amazing tag team and we tear it up. There’s so much to do that hasn’t been done, it’s just about following through and trying to conquer it.

Donald Wood: The Hardy Boys teamed up in TNA in 2011, but the run was short lived. With both of you being in a much different place in your lives, do you appreciate the ability to work together again more now that you have overcome adversity?
Jeff Hardy: Oh, now more than ever. We both went through the dark periods and on the other side of those dark periods, we came out on the better side and to be performing the way we are, whether he’s on an Indy show or Ring of Honor and I’m doing my thing, we’re still rocking. To reunite and to be just as good as we’ve ever been pays off for us and the fans. It’s a good feeling. I’m 36 years old and to get back together and still rock the house is a good feeling.

Mike Chiari: There's no question that the Hardy Boys are one of if not the greatest tag teams in the history of professional wrestling. As someone who has seen and done it all in the tag team ranks, who do you consider to be the greatest tag team of all time aside from yourself and Matt?
Jeff Hardy: I don’t think there’s such a thing as the greatest of all time or the greatest in the world. If I had to choose, I mean, the Legion of Doom, I loved those guys as a kid but then the Rockers, the Rock N’ Roll Express, back in those days. I don’t think there’s one best in the world or best of all time, but I’m going to go out on a limb and speak with confidence and say Matt and myself are in that category.

Donald Wood: If you had to pick one, Legion of Doom or Demolition, who ya got?
Jeff Hardy: I’ve been doing interviews all day and I think this is the perfect answer: In my opinion, for me in the NWA it was Sting, WWF back in the day it was the Ultimate Warrior; myself combined I was both of those guys. In the tag team world, I mean, LOD NWA and WWF Demolition, I was those as well combined, that’s my style, that’s my vibe. The other worldly vision of these painted faces and huge men that are just incredibly talented and going to war. If I had to choose, I’d go with LOD, but I don’t have to choose.

Brandon Galvin: Jeff, I often feel the Hardy Boys vs. Dudley Boys' first-ever tag team table match in WWE is overlooked when discussing the Hardy Boys' top defining moments. Do you too feel that match is overlooked when discussing the history of the Hardy Boys and how do you feel about having the opportunity to wrestle the Dudleyz again now that both teams are in TNA?
Jeff Hardy: It’s almost surreal. If you had asked me what I would be doing 10 years from now when I was 26, I would’ve never said ‘oh, we’ll be wrestling Team 3D in TNA’, but that’s how everything just falls into place in the universe. The stuff we did back in the day, with Edge and Christian as well, those few matches and in TNA today as well with myself, Matt, Devon and Bubba, it’s incredible that we’re still able to do what we do from what we put our bodies through and to be as good as we are.

Donald Wood: Impact Wrestling is returning to New York City and the Manhattan Center on August 5, 6 and 7. What was it like to return to a wrestling-centric city like NYC for the last set of tapings and do you expect more of the same from the raucous crowds when you return next week?
Jeff Hardy: I think so, yeah. I had done one live event there in that building previously and there’s been so many killer shows that took place at that venue and naturally the fans are harder and you’re going to hear some graphic chants. It’s intimidating to many people and leading up to the New York tapings last time it was intimidating to me, but the overwhelming response I got and the matches I had I mean, I hope we remain there as long as we can.

Mike Chiari: You showed your range as a performer over the past few months with the Willow character. Having always worked as yourself in TNA and WWE, what type of satisfaction did you gain from switching things up from a creative perspective and going in a totally different direction with Willow?
Jeff Hardy: One thing that none of my fans truly know is that Willow is Jeff Hardy. In the days of Omega, I was Jeff Hardy, with the painted face, the babyface, and then I was Willow later in the show, wrestling my brother later in the show as the bad guy, the demon from down under and I was completely different back in the day, but that was before I got tattooed up and now it’s very hard to cover my tattoos and it’s just not reasonable. The thing about Willow and Jeff Hardy is that Willow is the idea I had and a figment of my imagination that has inspired so many of Jeff Hardy’s moves and Jeff Hardy’s style and the cut up sleeves on my arm that originally came from Marilyn Manson, I thought that all would be great for Willow and I would be rocking that back in Omega where it originated and it became one of the top merchandise items of all time. The coolest thing about TNA letting me do Willow is that they were unafraid to let Jeff Hardy express himself, like an extended version of himself, and they weren’t afraid to put a mask on me, which WWE probably would’ve never done, but I truly believe, and you’ll see in the future, that it’s going to work. Jeff Hardy, with his Imag-i-nation and the figment of it that is Willow, you’ll be able to see a cool visual of what actually goes on in my mind and you might see Willow every now and then, but for the most part it will be a glimpse into my mind.

Donald Wood: You are one of the top singles competitors in the sport today. While joining forces with your brother is something the fans are going to enjoy, do you still have the taste for the World Heavyweight Championship and is that something you’d like to achieve in TNA again?
Jeff Hardy: Oh, for sure. That’s that feeling that never gets old and when you talk about holding onto something as long as you can. Whether I retire a year from now or not I would like to hold that title one more time and keep it until that point that breaks me, whatever it may be. I would love to end my career as World Champion. I can’t be Jeff Hardy without taking chances, if I feel like I do now, I’m going to keep going out there like I did against Bobby Lashley a few weeks ago. I’m going to go all out and go hard and go for it to win that title.

Donald Wood: Would you go through your brother Matt to win the world title?
Jeff Hardy: Oh my god, I would love it. I think it could be done so tasteful it would be insane in TNA. I would love that more than anything. I’d love to work Matt, especially for the world title, it would be so good.

Mike Chiari: TNA has obviously done a good job of locking up a lot of its talent to long-term contracts in recent months. Have you given any thought to your contract situation? Would you be interested in a long-term deal to remain a focal point of TNA?
Jeff Hardy: Possibly, yeah, I mean I’m locked in pretty much for two more years because I re-signed, and it’s up to TNA to keep me around. I’ll make that decision as we get closer to the time, but right now I pretty much have a dream job. I have a three year old daughter and I’m fortunate enough to be able to have this dream job and so much time at home each day with her and I take advantage of it. As long as I keep going now with this schedule, it’s perfect for me. As far as 5, 10 years down the road, I can’t say.

Brandon Galvin: If you had the opportunity to book your last match, would you guys prefer to wrestle against Matt or as a tag team with him?
Jeff Hardy: Oh, that’s a good question, ultimately it would be killer to wrestle Matt because we dove into this journey wrestling each other and we’ve done it so many times. Yeah, that would be the perfect last match, to wrestle Matt.

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Tuesday, July 29, 2014

WWE officially announces signing of Fergal ‘Prince’ Devitt



WWE, in a story on WWE.com, officially announced Monday morning the signing of Fergal Devitt, known to most as Prince Devitt. One of the most sought after free agents in the world of professional wrestling, the Irish-born grappler is now under contract with the biggest wrestling company in North America. Devitt will first report to the NXT developmental program in Florida, though it’s unknown when he will make his debut.

Prince Devitt's Real RockNRolla jacket puts Jericho's light up jacket to shame


Devitt brings a wealth of experience to WWE. Trained in England, Devitt has worked in the UK and Mexico but is most well-known for his time spent in New Japan Pro Wrestling. While in NJPW, Devitt earned massive popularity as well as numerous championships and titles. Devitt is a former three-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight champion and a six-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight tag team champion. Additionally, he is a two-time winner of the annual Best of Super Juniors tournament, an event which showcases the best junior heavyweight wrestlers in the world. Only a handful of wrestlers have ever won the BOSJ multiple times and he is one of only four non-Japanese wrestlers to win the tournament – the others being Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, and Ricochet.

Devitt is also the former leader of the notorious NJPW stable Bullet Club – a villainous group comprised of non-Japanese wrestlers which includes Karl “Machine Gun” Anderson, Doc Gallows, Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson), and more recently AJ Styles (the current IWGP Heavyweight Champion) and Yujiro Takahashi, the group’s first Japanese member.

Devitt is well versed in many styles of wrestling, being able to work the fast-paced junior heavyweight style as well as demonstrating that he can be a heel during his time in the Bullet Club. He’s also well-known for colorful bodypaint, often picturing comic book characters and other famous characters.

Devitt's colorful body paint has become a highlight of his matches.
From left are Spawn, the Joker, Carnage, The Punisher and Venom.

With the addition of Devitt, the NXT brand is adding another huge name to its already impressive roster. Joining Devitt will also being Japanese wrestler superstar KENTA, whose signing was made known during a recent WWE tour of Japan. It’s also rumored that independent wrestling stars Kevin Steen and Willie Mack will soon join NXT as well. With all these huge names on the horizon, the future of WWE and NXT is looking brighter than ever.

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An avid gamer and long-time pro wrestling fan, stay tuned to Grizzly Gaming and the Delco Elbow Drop for game reviews and pro wrestling news.

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