SquaredCircle

WWE issues an update on AJ Styles.

AJ Styles returned to the ring on Friday's WWE SmackDown, taking on Carmelo Hayes in singles competition.

Unfortunately for AJ, the bout was stopped early as he suffered a foot injury. AJ was shown leaving the arena on crutches.

Jackie Redmond announced that AJ suffered a "mid foot ligament sprain" and will have a MRI later in the week.

Coming out of Smackdown last night, I can confirm that AJ Styles suffered a “mid foot ligament sprain” also known as a Lisfranc injury.

AJ will have an MRI later this week to determine the severity of the injury. — Jackie Redmond (@Jackie_Redmond)
October 5, 2024

...and why does (CT)EC3 have lethal blutt-plugs floating around his head?

He still has a booking tomorrow which has not been pulled, so it seems after next week we may see an AEW return window.

October 12th is WrestleDream. We may have a Golden time coming soon. Might Love it.

Didn't get a clip but on the preshow there was a 5 woman battle royal:

Hina vs Koguma vs Momo Kohgo vs Yuna Mizumori vs Ranna Yagami

Future of Stardom Championship Match
Rina vs Miyu Amasaki

Finish

Singles Match
Sayaka Kurara vs Saya Kamitani

Finish

6 vs 6 Match
E neXus V vs h.a.t.e & Zap/Dump Matsumoto

Finish

Announcement of first match for Historic X-Over II

Singles Match
Hazuki vs Starlight Kid

Finish

Aftermath

4 vs 4 Match
AZM/Mei Seira/Saori Anou/Aya Sakura vs Shuri/Saya Ida/Hanan/Lady C

Finish

Wonder of Stardom Title Match
Natsupoi vs Thekla

Finish

IWGP Women's Title Match
Mayu Iwatani vs Timeless Toni Storm

Finish

World of Stardom Title Match
Tam Nakano vs Suzu Suzuki

Finish

"A coming soon vignette on Friday Night Smackdown aired, featuring footage that appeared to be from Detroit.

We are told that the vignette would be for The Motor City Machine Guns.

Originally, there was a plan for the team to debut in WWE NXT for a short run there before moving on, but they were not in Chicago as originally expected earlier this week.

Instead, it appears they are Smackdown bound."

Coincidentally, the Brazilian (I believe) announce team on SmackDown fucked up and spoiled who it was live during the broadcast.

Defendants in the class action complaint filed by Kevin Kelly and Brandon & Brent Tate are seeking to move the case to federal court, citing multiple factors and outlining AEW’s payment to talent and wrestlers, according to new federal court filings.

In late August, Kevin Kelly (Kevin Foote), and the Tates filed a class action complaint in the Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia against All Elite Wrestling, Tony Khan, and Ian Riccaboni.

The plaintiffs argue that AEW has misclassified its wrestlers and talent as independent contractors while also alleging wrongful termination for the Tate brothers, and defamation committed against Foote over a comment made by Riccaboni on a Discord channel regarding Foote’s promotion of The Sound of Freedom film.

The plaintiffs filed the complaint on September 6 and the defendants responded on Friday with a request to move the case to the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

The plaintiffs plan to respond by requesting the case be returned to the Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia.

“We plan to move to remand,” the plaintiffs’ attorney Stephen New told POST Wrestling and Wrestlenomics when reached for comment on Friday.

Attorneys for AEW, Khan, and Riccaboni argue that the case meets multiple thresholds under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA), which applies “to any class action before or after the entry of a class certification order by the court with respect to that action.”

Factors to qualify under CAFA include federal jurisdiction for class actions where the amount in controversy exceeds $5 million in the aggregate for the entire class and putative class, containing at least 100 members, and that any member of the putative class is a citizen of a state different than that of the defendant(s).

The misclassification issue is divided into two classes: “all current and former Talent”, presumably covering non-wrestler talent, and secondly, “all current and former Wrestlers”, covering wrestlers. The classes would cover all talent and wrestlers who worked for AEW from September 1, 2022, to the present.

In a declaration from AEW’s Senior Vice President of Business Strategy, Chris Harrington writes that between the dates in question, 290 individuals provided services for AEW as wrestlers or non-wrestling talent under independent contractor agreements and paid those members “more than $60,000,000 in the aggregate,” providing rare insight into AEW’s talent compensation.

The figure would work out to roughly $207,000 paid to each wrestler and talent over the two-year period, although that’s an average, and there’s likely disparity in compensation across talent and wrestlers.

Disclosure: Brandon Thurston operates and solely owns Wrestlenomics LLC. Chris Harrington originally started using the Wrestlenomics name in 2013 and he and Thurston co-hosted the Wrestlenomics Radio podcast together from 2017 to 2018. Harrington has no ownership or role in Wrestlenomics today.

Harrington adds that ten members of the class hold residency in the state of Pennsylvania, which equals 3.4% of the class. Defendants Brandon & Brent Tate are residents of Tennessee. Ian Riccaboni is a resident of Pennsylvania. Adding to the diversity in jurisdiction issue, AEW is a registered corporation in both Delaware & Florida.

If AEW were to reclassify those members as employees, Harrington writes in the declaration, the company would incur a tax liability of “at least 9.95% of the pay rendered to Putative Class Members, meaning more than $5,970,000 in the aggregate.”

As well, AEW would “incur costs in connection with employee benefits of approximately $18,125 annually per employee, meaning $5,256,250 per year in the aggregate.”

Along with an estimated 30% allocated for attorney fees, AEW lists an estimate of $14,594,125 in expenses associated and greatly exceeding CAFA’s minimum threshold of $5 million.

POST Wrestling and Wrestlenomics reached out to AEW’s attorneys and public relations representatives for comment and will update this report if they respond.

Could this be a hindrance for things such as the midcard, more cinematic type things (such as the Wyatt Sick6), or non-title scenarios such as Braun and Bronson?

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https://x.com/AEWonTV/status/1842233296677437516

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Finally, Meal and a Match is coming back!

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For those who need consoling because of this news, Psycho Mike was also announced so we got that going for us which is nice.

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(WWC was the promotion owned and founded in Puerto Rico by Carlito's father, WWE Hall of Famer Carlos Colón.)

Tonight, AEW Rampage comes to us from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania!

The card for tonight's show will be:

Singles Match
Queen Aminata vs. Harley Cameron

Tag Team Match
The Learning Tree (Big Bill & Bryan Keith) vs. The Conglomeration (Kyle O'Reilly & Orange Cassidy)

Singles Match
Zoey Lynn vs. Kamille (w/Mercedes Mone)

Six Man Tag Team Match
Katsuyori Shibata & Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen) vs. The Elite (Jack Perry, Matthew Jackson & Nicholas Jackson)

And more!

Please check your local listings and AllEliteWrestling.com for more information on how to watch. Card subject to change, enjoy your show!

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Guess the answer to that question has been answered.

According to her filing, Garcia stated that Chigvintsev “tackled me multiple times and pinned me to the ground while our child was present.”

TMZ reported that the altercation escalated after Chigvintsev, who had been increasingly angry since being cut from Dancing with the Stars, became upset over how their son’s English muffin was toasted. Garcia recounted the incident, saying, “Artem went off on Nikki over how their 4-year-old son’s English muffin should be toasted, screaming that she made their son a ‘picky eater.’”

Nikki added that after throwing a pair of toddler shoes at Chigvintsev, he took their son upstairs, where he later tackled her outside their son’s room, held her down, and pushed her into their bedroom. Garcia stated, “He had his hands on her chest near her sternum, pressing down—I felt like I was suffocating.”

In her filing, Garcia also alleged that Chigvintsev had been violent before, claiming he had “violently grabbed” her in mid-2023 to keep her away from their son.

She cited numerous instances of verbal abuse and expressed concern for her son’s well-being, stating she doesn’t want him to grow up in a tumultuous environment.

Chigvintsev is prohibited from coming within 100 yards of Garcia, their son, or their home, except for visitation under court-ordered arrangements. Garcia also filed for divorce following Chigvintsev’s August 29 arrest for domestic battery, although the Napa County District Attorney later declined to prosecute the case.

A representative for Nikki stated, “Although Nikki requested that the Napa District Attorney not file charges against Artem as she did not want him to go to jail, he must still be held accountable for his actions, and Nikki and her son must be protected.”

Garcia remains focused on her son’s well-being and has requested privacy during this difficult time. A hearing regarding her request to take their son to the UK for a project is scheduled for October 21.

Tonight, WWE SmackDown comes to us from Nashville, Tennessee!

The card for tonight's show will be:

Singles Match
Naomi vs. Tiffany Stratton

Dumpster Match
Michin vs. Chelsea Green

WWE Tag Team Title Triple Threat Ladder Match
The Bloodline (Tama Tonga & Tonga Loa) (c) vs. #DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa) vs. The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford)

And more!

Please check your local listings and WWE.com for more information on how to watch. Card subject to change, enjoy your show!

https://x.com/stokelyhathaway/status/1841889270128378248

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