Major League Wrestling (MLW®) today announced that the league has signed Josef Samael to a new multi-year agreement. “Josef’s achievements in the sport are only eclipsed by his tyrannical nature,” said Court Bauer, MLW CEO and founder. “I would describe this deal as one done under protest but we have to find ways to accomplish business with CONTRA, so this deal was unfortunately necessary.”

“My masters have taught me to never interrupt my enemies when they are making a mistake,” said Josef Samael. “Now I am the master and the destruction caused by Contra is a source of extreme satisfaction. I don’t care if you respect me. As long as you fear me.” Joining the league in February, Josef Samael is one of the core members of CONTRA Unit, an international organization cloaked in mystery but driven to gain power, disrupt leagues such as MLW and conquer all in their path by any means necessary. Trained in various forms of combat, when Josef Samael steps into the ring for a fight, it is best described as pure chaos.

A very polished and successful entrepreneur out of the ring known for wearing nice suits and always smoking a cigar, Josef Samael is a ruthless and shadowy figure. While this mysterious combatant may look dress in the finest suits and smoke the best cigars, when it comes to wrestling, he channels a barbaric and violent style to ensure victory. Josef Samael has conquered all in Japan, Puerto Rico, Australia and now he looks to defeat all in his path in Major League Wrestling.

A decorated 20-year veteran, Josef Samael has dominated every continent he’s competed on, including winning the NWA World’s Heavyweight Championship and the Zero-1 title in Japan. Remembered for his international feuds with the likes of Terry Funk, this brawler is a wicked force. Now, this megalomaniac is on a conquest to disrupt and destroy all in the name of CONTRA unit.

Samael vows to unleash violence at MLW’s next event, the 2019 Opera Cup in New York City on December 5 at the Melrose Ballroom.

MLW today announced CONTRA Unit (Jacob Fatu, Ikuro Kwon & Simon Gotch) vs. #STRONGHEARTS (CIMA, El Lindaman and Shigehiro Irie) for the 2019 Opera Cup at the Melrose Ballroom in New York City on December 5. With reports of an altercation overseas involving CONTRA UNIT, #STRONGHEARTS have requested a match with the global dealers in violence for December 5 in New York City… and CONTRA has accepted!

Thrilling fans from Japan to China and now in America, the #STRONGHEARTS movement has taken the world by storm. CIMA’s extraordinary group of wrestlers are a brilliant collection of talented grapplers that know no boundaries, crisscrossing promotions all over the world. Graduating from the first class of Ultimo Dragon’s Toryumon Dojo, CIMA has become one of the biggest stars in Japan. An elite grappler and trainer, CIMA is leading the charge for the Chinese based upstart promotion Oriental Wrestling Entertainment.

Known for his electric green spiked hair Shigehiro Irie is a popular wrestler and former mixed martial artist often referred to as the Japanese Beast… or the Wrestling Teddy Bear. Employing moves such as the Beast Bomber, Irie has won titles in All Japan Pro Wrestling, Big Japan Pro Wrestling and DDT. Rounding out this #STRONGHEARTS trio is the explosive 5’3″ El Lindaman. Selecting the name El Lindaman after the song “Linda, Linda” by the band The Blue Hearts, this bleached blonde wrestler is a spark plug with a dangerous arsenal of attacks. Known for his Locotion Tiger Suplex as well as using a version of the Kumagoroshi, El Lindaman is the wild card in the #STRONGHEARTS team.

Matches signed thus far for the 2019 Opera Cup:

  • CONTRA Unit (Jacob Fatu, Ikuro Kwon & Simon Gotch) vs. Strong Hearts (CIMA, El Lindaman & Shigehiro Irie)
  • OPENING ROUND OPERA CUP: Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Shinjiro Otani
  • OPENING ROUND OPERA CUP: MJF vs. Alex Hammerstone
  • OPENING ROUND OPERA CUP: TJP vs. Brian Pillman Jr.

Adam Cole will defend the NXT Championship this weekend. The bad blood between Pete Dunne, Killian Dain and Damian Priest will boil over when they square off in a Triple Threat Match at NXT TakeOver: WarGames. This match was set to happen on Wednesday’s NXT weekly episode.

There’s also an incentive added to this battle: the winner will challenge Adam Cole for the NXT Championship just one night later at Survivor Series. Unlike his Undisputed Era fellow members, WWE NXT Champion Adam Cole will not be involved in any of the RAW vs. NXT vs. SmackDown matches at Sunday’s WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view.

Kenny Omega will defend the AAA Mega Championship against Jack Evans on next week’s episode of AEW Dark. Their scheduled match will be taped tomorrow night in Indianapolis, Indiana after AEW Dynamite.

Omega won the AAA Mega Championship back in October against Rey Fénix at Héroes Inmortales XIII. He stated after his win that he was going to take this title to great heights, by defending it both in AAA and AEW. This will be his first title defence.

The match will be available on AEW Dark next Tuesday at 7 PM EST (midnight GMT) on AEW’s official YouTube channel.

NWA Vice President David Lagana announced on social media that they had to temporarily pull tonight’s episode of NWA Powerrr over comments made by Jim Cornette. Jim Cornette’s comment that offended fans was, “Trevor Murdoch is the only person who can strap a bucket of fried chicken to his back and ride a motor scooter across Ethiopia. Trevor Murdoch can take care of himself!”

On last week’s NWA Powerrr, NWA President Billy Corgan teased an announcement that would open the envelope for talents to be a part of the National Wrestling Alliance. Today, the National Wrestling Alliance and Lightning One announce a new series that will join NWA Powerrr and Ten Pounds Of Gold… The new show is called The Circle Squared.

This series will allow new talents an opportunity to put their money where their mouth is to get a chance to earn an NWA Talent contract. This competition show allows talents selected to step up to the circle of the podium to exhibit their talents on the microphone before stepping into the square of the ring to show their physical abilities in a wrestling match.

The key to making the NWA roster, and eventually NWA Powerrr, will be in these talents ability to connect with the live audience in Atlanta and the audience watching all over the world. The ultimate winner of The Circle Squared will earn a National Wrestling Alliance contract.

To apply to be on The Circle Squared and find out the appliance instructions, click here. The first episodes of NWA’s The Circle Squared will be recorded over the weekend of December 14th-16th in Atlanta, GA at GPB Studios. Videos of potential contestants will be featured on upcoming episodes of NWA Powerrr every Tuesday at 6:05 pm ET (11.05 pm GMT) on NWA YouTube channel.

 [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_RKnzXY47o]

All pics and videos courtesy of WWE, NWA, MLW and AEW

By Steph Franchomme

News, Reviews, Social Media Editor, Impact Wrestling Reviewer, Interviewer Well, call me The Boss... And French...

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