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Gail Kim Reveals Shockingly Low TNA Offer That Forced Her To Leave The Company

Gail Kim recalls the time she was offered shockingly low pay by TNA Wrestling, which led to her leaving the company.

During a recent appearance on the HUGE POP! podcast, the former multi-time Knockouts World Champion revealed that TNA offered her just $36,000, despite her feud with Awesome Kong consistently drawing top ratings during the Spike TV deal.

“I actually had this conversation with Vince Russo, probably two weeks ago,†Gail Kim said. “I think now, ‘cause he was the head of creative when I left TNA. Right after the success of me and (Awesome) Kong, and I didnâ€t wanna leave TNA, but they offered me $36,000.â€

“We were pulling in the highest ratings, and that was the Spike TV days… And not saying Iâ€m a Kurt Angle, Iâ€m not saying I was Dudley Boyz. But we were the highest-rated segments consistently. All I wanted was a fair payday, and I was offered $36,000. I was like, ‘I owe more money than that, Vince,†you know? And he didnâ€t know the number at the time…†[H/T: Fightful]

Elsewhere in the interview, Gail Kim revealed that promoters tried to lowball her and, at times, outright refused to pay her simply because they thought her husband was rich.

“Iâ€ve had promoters literally admit to me that they didnâ€t wanna pay me because they thought my husband was rich,†Kim said. “When I met my husband, he wasnâ€t rich, okay? He worked his ass off to get where he is in his successes, to this day, and Iâ€ll say, I used to resent it so much.

“Now, Iâ€m so grateful, and Iâ€m like, you know what though? Because he is successful now, Iâ€m not in a place where I can be pushed around or accept less than my value and all those things, so itâ€s kind of a double-edged sword in a sense, but, itâ€s just mind-blowing. Itâ€s either — I donâ€t know.â€

Fans can read the full comment here.

READ MORE: Gail Kim Reacts To TNA Presidentâ€s Comments About Her Release, ‘Reinvigorating†the Roster

What do you make of Gail Kimâ€s comments? Share your thoughts with us by sounding off in the comments section below!

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Longtime Pro Wrestling NOAH star leaving company

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A longtime Pro Wrestling NOAH star is departing the company.

NOAH announced Tuesday morning that Go Shiozaki, who aside from a few years spent most of his career with the company, will be leaving as of September 30.

“Following discussions initiated by Go Shiozaki, it has been decided that his contract with PRO WRESTLING NOAH will not be renewed. As of today, the contract has officially expired,†the company wrote on social media.

Shiozakiâ€s last match was during the N-1 Victory tour on September 23, where he teamed with Atsushi Kotoge, Kazuyuki Fujita, and Mohammed Yone to defeat Harutoki, Kaito Kiyomiya, Naomichi Marufuji, and Shuhei Taniguchi.

Graduating from the Pro Wrestling NOAH dojo in 2003, Shiozaki has spent most of his career in the company, where he held the GHC Heavyweight title on five different occasions and won the N-1 Victory tournament in 2023. He briefly left the company in 2013 to join All Japan Pro Wrestling, where he held the Triple Crown title once before returning to NOAH in 2015, where he remained up until Tuesday.

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WWE

Former WWE, Current AEW Star Comments On Possibility Of Karrion Kross Joining Company

Karrion Kross at

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When Karrion Kross’ WWE contract expired this past August, many fans believed that AEW would be interested in signing him following his growth in popularity over the summer. Although there’s been no indication that AEW is pursuing Kross just yet, a former WWE star who is currently signed with the Jacksonville-based promotion recently shared his thoughts on the idea of the 40-year-old being “All Elite.”

Speaking on “The Ariel Helwani Show,” Ricochet touched on Kross becoming a member of AEW’s roster by listing opponents he could step in the ring with while complimenting the uniqueness of his character.

“Yeah, he’s great. I think again, you think Karrion versus Ospreay is a great match, versus Takeshita would be a great match, versus Fletcher, versus Swerve,” Ricochet said. “I feel like there would be a lot of great matches that he could have. He’s a great character. He would be great at any company because I think he brings something that the fans want to see. They were obviously showing that they want to see it … Him and Scarlet both, they got a great package.”

Since leaving WWE, Kross has easily become one of the hottest free agents in the industry and has main evented shows in promotion’s such as DEFY Wrestling and WrestlePro. On Friday, October 10, Kross is set to enter battle with Matt Cardona at House Of Glory’s With Glory Comes Pride event after the former NXT Champion attacked “The Indy God” at GCW Homecoming.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “The Ariel Helwani Show” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

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President Of Another Company Takes Blood Money Shot At WWE

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WWE is just 13 days away from its seventh Crown Jewel PLE. The company is headed to Australia for the first-ever Crown Jewel held outside of Saudi Arabia in a continuation of the lucrative 10-year deal between the Kingdom and the Stamford-based promotion. This comes ahead of the first-ever Royal Rumble and WrestleMania events in the Arab nation, which continue to draw heat from fans and others in the industry.

Court Bauer worked with WWE’s Creative Writing Team from 1999-2002. He launched Major League Wrestling later that year as an alternative to WWE and the original ECW. The promotion quit running events in 2004, then Bauer returned to work for WWE from 2005-2007. He kept the name alive via the MLW Podcast Network, and brought the brand back in 2017 as a wrestling company.

MLW has had working relationship with several promotions over the years, and there had been WWE Network-related rumors on Bauer’s promotion and former employer but nothing ever came of the talk. MLW fired an anti-trust lawsuit against WWE on January 11, 2022, accusing the largest wrestling company in the world of poaching talent, and interfering in TV/streaming deals or negotiations between the NY-based promotion and certain networks. The suit was dismissed in February 2023 due to insufficient facts to support the allegations, but at the last minute, MLW filed an amended lawsuit to accuse WWE of interfering in its deal with Reelz, which reached an agreement with Peacock that February, which forced a black-out of MLW programming on the Reelz live feed due to the network’s pre-existing exclusivity agreement with WWE.

The WWE vs. MLW legal battle came to an end on December 11, 2023 when a settlement was reached, not long after deciding to restructure the company and overhaul its offices. MLW’s anti-trust lawsuit against WWE was then dismissed with prejudice on December 26, and two months later a TKO 10-K filing revealed that the case was settled for $20 million.

WWE-Saudi Relationship Knocked At MLW Event

WWE’s Red Hat Guy aka Rick Achberger was ringside at the NYTEX Sports Centre in North Richland Hills, Texas earlier this month for MLW’s seventh Fightland event, which included their sixth Fury Road show. MLW aired Fury Road VII this past Saturday as a YouTube special, and on BeIN Sports USA as a TV special.

Danny McBride is a lifelong wrestling fan, and owner of the Don Gato tequila brand launched last year with his wife. The Eastbound & Down star recently announced a unique sponsorship deal with MLW, which led to the storyline arrival of a Don Gato character, as well as advertisements with McBride and actor Steve Little, who portrayed Stevie Janowski in Eastbound & Down, the sidekick to McBride’s Kenny Powers character.

Major League Wrestling will debut in Charleston, SC on Thursday, November 20 from the historic Charleston Music Hall with a special event titled, MLW x Don Gato: Lucha de los Muertos. Touted as a “first-of-its-kind live broadcast lucha libre event,” the event will air live via the MLW YouTube channel and beIN Sports. The Don Gato character has had a limited role until now when he made a big impact during Fury Road VI on Saturday night.

Cesar Duran is a sinister but now beloved face of the MLW storylines, portrayed by actor Luis Fernandez-Gil. Duran opened Saturday’s taped Fury Road special with Vice President of Wrestling Operations Salina de la Renta, after an introduction by Jesus Rodriguez, the former Ricardo Rodriguez of WWE.

Duran welcomed the crowd with a few words in Spanish, and mentioned how they helped sell the venue out. He continued and seemingly took a shot at WWE for the alliance with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, despite not naming the competition.

“You have sold us out. You have once again did it! You love your Major League Wrestling, and Major League Wrestling loves you. We have a legacy in the making tonight, and when some other company packed up their big show and shipped it off to Saudi Arabia, to take up blood money [fans boo], we… we come here with the real deal, right here in Texas. [fans cheer] And tonight, we owe a special thanks to a man that has brought the finest, the coolest, tequila in the world, and he brought it here to this arena. So, let’s raise our voices for Don Gato! ‘Don Gato! Don Gato!’ It’s tequila that once you taste it, you will not like any other one. Trust me. Now… are you guys ready for lucha tonight?,” Cesar Duran said in the video below.

Salina de la Renta then reminded everyone: MLW doesn’t play soft or safe, they choose violence. Duran led the crowd in a MLW chant to wrap the intro.

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Velveteen Dream Addresses Joining a Major Wrestling Company After WWE Exit

Velveteen Dream has largely competed in the independent circuit all over the world following his WWE release back in 2021. However, some fans wonder if weâ€ll see the Dream in a major wrestling company again and now he has addressed possibly joining a big promotion.

While speaking on Instagram, Velveteen Dream was asked whether he would ever join a major pro wrestling company again, with WWE, AEW and TNA Wrestling being named as potential destinations.

Dream shut down the idea, stating that he has no contact with WWE, TNA, or AEW and no plans to join a major wrestling promotion. He said he is living a quiet, comfortable life on his family farm.

Dream thanked fans for their support and for hoping to see him back in a big promotion again, but explained that life doesnâ€t always go as planned. Dream asked fans to remember and take comfort in the matches and memories he already gave them during his career.

“No, I donâ€t have any contact with TNA. I donâ€t have any contact with WWE or AEW. I have no contact with any major promotion and I simply live on a family farm, people. Thatâ€s all there is. Not joining anyone.

I know there is hope and desire and I appreciate that, and I worked very hard for a long time so that you may feel that way. But unfortunately, life happens and things donâ€t always go the way you want them to, and this is one of those things.

Unfortunately for you, Iâ€m living comfortably. So I ask you all to find comfort in what I was able to give you.â€

This comes after Velveteen Dream went after his critics and even claimed he is better than WWE stars despite his 5-year absence. Regardless, itâ€s clear fans shouldnâ€t expect to see Dream on a major television promotion anytime soon and perhaps thatâ€s for the best.

Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.

Do you want to see Velveteen Dream make a major pro wrestling comeback? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comment section below.

September 28, 2025 7:18 am

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Title For Title Match Ends In Chaotic Multiple Company Brawl During 9/23 WWE NXT

This was a huge way to close out NXT.

The September 23 episode of WWE NXT brought a lot to the CW. The main event was a historic confrontation, where Trick Williams and Oba Femi battled title for title.

Oba Femi walked into the NXT Arena as NXT Champion, but he put everything on the line against Trick Williams, who was also putting his TNA World Title up in this match. This match also received a big fight feel thanks to Mike Romeâ€s ring introductions.

During this match, several TNA wrestlers were spotted around the ring. Then Mike Santana jumped the barricade and put a headset on. He explained on commentary that the TNA roster showed up because NXT felt the need to book this match without giving the company any notice.

Matt Cardona, Cassie Lee, Zachary Wentz, Frankie Kazarian, Steve Maclin, and more were in the crowd as Trick Williams and Oba Femi went at each other in stiff fashion. This was a hard-hitting match with several near falls. Fans in the NXT Arena also appreciated everything they were seeing, and they loved being surrounded by TNA stars in the crowd with them.

After the two rocked each other with one power move after another, and they each kicked out of each otherâ€s finishers, Trick got in Santanaâ€s face on the outside of the ring. Then Santana hit Trick Williams and the referee called for the bell.

After that, the NXT locker room flooded the ring as the TNA Wrestling stars invaded the ring. This was a crazy ending to the night, but through it all, Ricky Saints walked down to put his hands on the NXT Title, one that he will battle Oba Femi for at No Mercy.

The TNA locker room was paying attention to this match in a big way, and itâ€s easy to see why. Only time will tell what is next, but this match was certainly interesting.

Whatâ€s your take on how this title for title match ended? Did you predict the outcome going into NXT this week? Let us know what you think in the comments section!

September 23, 2025 10:03 pm

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