Author: Bill Potts

Oriental Wrestling Entertainment is making its first foray into North America, presenting two shows in Toronto, Canada for OWE Toronto. Both shows will take place at the Mid Town Entertainment Theatre, and present a great opportunity for fans both local and those traveling from out of town in the days before WWE’s SummerSlam to come out and see this exciting new promotion. The second show will take place on the afternoon of Saturday, August 10th. And much like night one, which is taking place at the same venue on August 7th, the event will feature several mainstays from the OWE…

Regular watchers of WWE’s flagship Raw program have likely noted that in recent weeks the promotion has made a renewed effort to showcase the Viking Raiders tag team. They were brought up to the main roster shortly after Wrestlemania. As part of this effort, each week the Raiders have beaten opposing teams of ‘local competitors’ in dominating fashion. Basically “squash matches”. If the matches have gone more than a minute that is only because the Raiders have delayed going for a pin in order to inflict more punishment. On the August 5th edition of Raw, which took place from Pittsburgh,…

It is the biggest event on the Smash Wrestling Calendar every year with Super Showdown VII. A show where grudges are settled, where titles change hands and where fans are brought out of their seats. Every year it ends up being an outstanding event that tops any similarly-named wrestling card that other promotions may put together. On August 9, 2019, Smash will present the seventh annual edition of Super Showdown. This year it is taking place at a new venue, the Mid Town Event Theatre, though still in the company’s home base of Toronto. For this year’s card, you can…

On Wednesday, August 7th, Oriental Wrestling Entertainment (OWE) makes its North American debut in Toronto, Canada. A handful of OWE roster members have performed on All Elite Wrestling shows in the last few months, and some have represented the promotion on Wrestle-1 and DDT shows in Japan. But this show, the first of two taking place in Toronto in the week leading up to WWE’s SummerSlam, represents the first event that this still-new promotion has presented outside of China. It is an exciting moment for the company, which also has shown taking place in the UK in September. They are…

The Chinese wrestling promotion Oriental Wrestling Entertainment, or OWE, though still fairly new, is quickly beginning to expand its global reach including Flying Prince. Wrestling fans are well aware of their partnership with All Elite Wrestling, which has led to members of its roster appearing on all of AEW’s events so far, beginning with ‘Double or Nothing.’ However, from the beginning, the promotion has sought opportunities for its talented performers to be seen outside of its home country. This has led to members of its ‘Strong Hearts’ faction appearing on several occasions in Japan, for Dragon Gate, DDT Pro, and…

There was an interesting tidbit in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter: From August 7 to 9, in the lead up to SummerSlam weekend, WWE will be holding tryouts for Canadian wrestlers in Mississauga, a suburb just west of Toronto. SummerSlam and all the associated WWE events, encompassing NXT: Takeover Toronto II, Raw, and Smackdown Live are taking place in Toronto from August 10 to13, so all the major WWE decision-makers, trainers and scouts will be in town. The tryouts will take place at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre, an arena in Mississauga with a capacity of 7,000. WWE has previously…

The relationship between WWE and World Wrestling Network’s EVOLVE continues to be strong. Over the last few years, that relationship has resulted in WWE sending a number of talents from its NXT brand to EVOLVE events and promoting those events on WWE’s digital platforms. As well, EVOLVE vice-president Gabe Sapolsky has been working as a consultant for NXT. The relationship has been beneficial for WWE, as EVOLVE has served as a developmental territory for the company since WWE has signed many performers after they have risen to the top of the independent promotion. This annoucement involves EVOLVE, NXT and 205…

Smash Wrestling presents The Northern this coming weekend. Tournaments are always an exciting wrestling event, and when fans get to witness one at an independent show it is a great opportunity. Promotions in different countries all over the world have annual tournaments that feature top talent from the indy circuit.  Canada’s own Smash Wrestling has also presented tournaments at their events, such as the Gold tournament they held in years past. Last year they launched The Northern, and the weekend of June 1st and 2nd they present the second one. Unlike last year, this time The Northern will take place…

Just under a month after his contract with WWE expired, the former Dean Ambrose, who has resumed using the name Jon Moxley, opened up about his WWE departure on the May 29th episode of the ‘Talk is Jericho’ podcast and signing with the AEW. The discussion between Moxley and Chris Jericho was actually recorded a week or two prior at Moxley’s home in Las Vegas, coincidentally the city that hosted AEW’s recent ‘Double or Nothing’ event. It was very clear from the outset of the podcast that Moxley had a lot to get off his chest as he almost immediately…

On Sunday, May 26th, Smash Wrestling returns to the London Music Hall in, naturally, London, Ontario. This represents Smash’s return to the venue after two months, and once again they will be taping for their weekly show on the Fight Network. Since it is a taping, it’s a given that Smash will present a compelling card, and that some significant events should transpire. The most prominent element of this show, and what appears at the top of the marquee, is that it represents the Smash debut of longtime ring veteran and former WWE Cruiserweight Champion TJP. Here is our preview:…