REVIVAL 23 NEWS AND NOTES

• • Kenny Freeman is still in a broom closet in the Amway Center in Orlando.

That’s it, that’s the news.

(Okay, maybe something about “oh, don’t worry, Houston being close to Mexico means I should be able to find Randall in time for ReVival 24″…but still.)

 

• • Following the incident where Adam Ellis’s wife Ginny Van Lear mistook a sponsor’s floating inflatable for a Chinese spy balloon during a backstage interview with Matt Mills, a contrite Ginny duly apologized to the sponsor after the show for shooting down the floating inflatable with a Pedersoli Magnum Double Barrel 12 Gauge shotgun.

Ginny also apologized to Matt Mills and received an undisclosed fine as well as a polite, but firm, admonishment from PRIME officials who made clear that the use of firearms of any type inside an arena during a PRIME show was strictly prohibited.

 

• • While his efforts at the last ReVival had failed to provoke Ned Reform, Abe was seen backstage trying on a white glove, removing it from his hand, and smacking a plastic mannequin across the face with it. Abe assured us that the next time he saw Ned, there’d be no way he would turn down a good old fashioned duel.

 

• • Following his decisive victory at ReVival 23, Rocky de Leon announced that he took no credit for the win, but deferred all kudos to the great wrestlers that came before him whose techniques he studied, modeled, and modified into his own.

In honor of their memory, de Leon has started a charitable foundation focused on improving the lives of senior citizens. The Rocktogenerians Fund will be accepting tax deductible donations shortly, as soon as its 501c3 status is formally granted. Until then, if you want to help… well, in the words of Rocky, “Go and spend time with your elders. You’ll be amazed at the ways their words can touch you.”

 

• • PRIME management braced itself for another prickly situation when, shortly after ReVival 23 went off the air, local law enforcement contacted reps from the front office. The reason: A large black bus carrying an oversized Russian and his entourage was pulled over for a faulty turn signal. The local Louisiana police let the Russians off with a warning, after a man who called himself “Alexander Russell” shared with them a plush alligator that he received from the Thaddee Arsenault’s Swamp Strip and Gator Museum.

 

• • It’s been reported that the labor strike against Ivan Stanislav is in the process of being lifted. Stanislav has not been granted access to his entrance music, lighting, or pyro since ReVival 19 when he went on an expensive tirade against Nick Stuart, destroyed the PRIME announce table and equipment, and injured several backstage workers. Stanislav was ordered to apologize for his outburst, but doubled down with a “heartfelt” apology in Russian, which was anything but that. To add insult to injury, he then demolished a podium and threatened the technicians once again.

The fallout was swift: The labor union went on strike against him, and Lindsay Troy denied Stanislav his paycheck ever since the event and has donated it to charitable causes, many which have helped displaced people due to the Russian war in Ukraine.

Stanislav reached out to Troy and together they had a meeting over steak during the winter break. Though details are sketchy as to what precisely happened, we have since learned that Stanislav penned an apology on a napkin prior to leaving the establishment and gave it to Troy to offer to the relevant parties involved.

When asked about the meeting, Stanislav had this to say:

“As locker room leader in PRIME, it is important that I have the necessary pyrotechnics, audio, and visual dressings suitable for one of my station. As you know, I represented PRIME at PWA-1 and defeated HOW World Champion Christopher America…”

Stanislav began boasting for the next ten minutes and repeatedly reminded us that Hayes Hanlon did not represent PRIME at PWA-1. He never did fully answer any of our questions. But no one was about to tell him otherwise.

 

• • In other Stanislav news, The Russian Bear announced that he would not be at ReVival 24. Said Stanislav: “In the wake of my multiple victories, I will be spending time at Dream Island, which is like American Disneyland, but far better and in Moscow, Russia. I will take the time to rest and relax, as well as mingle with the young people who frequent the park. I always have the pulse of young people in my country. Nevertheless, Alexei will be at ReVival 24, after there were reports that the audience might riot should they not have a representative of The Red Army present.”

Stanislav was then asked which area of the park he was most excited for: Hello Kitty, The Smurfs, or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, he had this to say:

“I feel as if I walk amongst Smurfs all the time in PRIME. Everyone is so small. So that will feel like being back at work. I do not know about Hello Kitty, but maybe Ninja Turtles? I do not know, I have never heard of those before. It sounds a bit strange.”

Keyed into young people indeed!

 

• • It was a night for Kohime Mori. Not long after their match, Mori sought out Violet Samuelsson backstage. She not only praised her opponent, but asked for advice on mistakes made during their match. While we’re not sure of what Samuelsson’s response was, it’s a good bet the veteran was happy to help her younger coworker.

On top of that, Kohime was apparently still in the arena when Tony Gamble forced Mortimer Knightingale to hand over the tie Mori purchased for him. She was said to have left the arena in tears afterwards… but not before leaving a fist-sized hole in some drywall. Mori has willing paid to have the hole patched, along with a little extra for the trouble caused.

 

• • Coral Avalon uncharacteristically did not speak to reporters following his match with Eddie Cross, and left the building not long after the match concluded. Additionally, there were multiple reports that Avalon was spotted at the airport taking a flight out of New Orleans that same night.

Avalon has not returned any of our calls, and it’s believed that he’s only communicating with Lindsay Troy and Killean Sirrajin among PRIME staff at this time. Sirrajin had this to say on the subject, “He’ll talk. Eventually.”

 

• • Joe Fontaine and Sid Phillips eventually escaped the nefarious laboratory (read: basement) of Dr. Zeke D. Badguy, Esq., though with significantly more duck-related injuries than the average person. Said injuries should play no role in their ability to face the Masters of the Multiverse B-Team at ReVival 24, or their tag title match at Culture Shock.

One thing is for certain.. ducks *do not* like to be powerbombed.

 

• • Sage Pontiff suffered what was described as “multiple rib contusions” during his Intense Title match against Paxton Ray. That, coupled with his repeatedly aggravated self-inflicted forehead wound, lead to him spending a night under medical care. He has received eight stitches and has checked himself out against the advice of the attending physician.

 

• • Despite a solid showing at ReVival 23, Eddie Cross was not able to get the job done against Coral Avalon. This has led some people in the gaming community to question if he has lost his edge.

Eddie has been back hard at work at Troy Combat Systems but even with Vivica J. Valentine keeping his mind occupied, the chatter is sure to find its way in.

 

• • Details on the physical condition of the Universal Champion Rezin following his fall from the upper mezzanine of the Smoothie King Center could not be verified after ReVival 23 went off the air.

According to PRIME Medical Director Dr. Astrid Fihlguud, “The patient refused treatment and left the building.” Despite #rezinsighting trending in the NOLA area through the remainder of the night into the early morning, the Escape Artist remains perpetually off the grid.

 

• • According to search engine analytics and music streaming outlets, there was a significant spike in plays for “Bite It, You Scum” by GG Allin. This is more than likely attributed to Universal Champion Rezin’s acoustic cover performed at the start of ReVival 23, which was likely a first exposure to the infamous late punk rock “legend.”

Searches for GG Allin subsequently took a nosedive after the mainstream public became more familiar with who the individual actually was.

 

• • With PRIME visiting New Orleans last Friday, wrestling superfans Deb Warenstein, Craig Hamburgers, and “Cool” Chris Chickentenders were spotted in the front row of the event.

The latter, clad in his favorite eGG Bandits t-shirt, was seen taking extensive notes through out the event. Speculation is running rampant that the young sports journalist/private investigator may be bringing his popular “Beef With a Side of Tenders” column to the blue and white brand.

The following post on Jabber (which has since been deleted) has offered Chickentenders’ only known opinion on the current state of PRIME: @tendin2thechicks69: needs more annie daniel butt in it

 

• • In case you missed our not-so-subtle product placement, representatives at InBev Brewing Company, the parent company of Grupo Modelo, paid The Anglo Luchador’s record fine. Well, not directly. They paid the former Intense Champion the bond in form of an endorsement check.

Spokesperson Anna Leuwen-van Dijk said, “it’s the least we could do. He’s one of our best celebrity sponsors, and we haven’t even paid him a cent until now!”

Neither the Luchador’s camp nor PRIME offices had comment.

 

• • Foster Nackedy has been fined an undisclosed amount for his actions at ReVival 23, sources have learned. On a night where wrestlers were tossed off stage and multiple pints of blood were spilled, what was Foster’s offense? Putting hands on Lindsay Troy. When asked about the fine, Foster said, “Half a million dollars? How am I going to afford my gym?”

 

• • Per an anonymous tip, this reporter can confirm that PRIME quietly worked behind the scenes to shut down all social media accounts attached to a certain Jordan S., according to internal leaks from services partnered with the Jabber network. While the followers of these social media accounts weren’t many, selfies have been dug up from account archives showing a man we presume to be Jordan S. alongside a certain French phenomenon, FLAMBERGE.

We have also heard, but have been unable to confirm, that the reason for this shutdown was due to recent incendiary and outrageous text exchanges involving one or both men and external parties, and #PRIME was attached to the posts.

More to follow as we learn more.

 

• • In the wake of Lindsay Troy’s announcement about the state of the PRIME Tag Team division, we reached out to the team of Justine Calvin and Jared Sykes (Eminence), the current Tag Team Champions. Unfortunately, we were unable to receive a comment from either member ahead of publication time.

With their win over the Dangerous Mix, Eminence is scheduled for a final defense at Culture Shock against the Winds of Change in a rematch from UltraViolence last September. Regardless of the outcome, the night will cap a championship reign that will have stood for 280 days and marked at least 5 successful defenses, both of which are all-time records in PRIME.

 

• • With a tough loss against the reigning PRIME tag team champions at ReVival 23 and the announcement that PRIME would decommission the titles, David Fox of the Dangerous Mix was reported as leaving his New Orleans home and going to a personal retreat in the shore town of Grand Isle.

A career tag team specialist, David Fox is known to be considering retirement from the wrestling business, and was mistakenly believed to have left PRIME completely. When asked, however, PRIME officials stated that at present, Fox still remains under contract and the Dangerous Mix is still intact for the time being. That said, their fate after Culture Shock and the end of the tag team division remains in question.

 

• • An update to our earlier bulletin: we have confirmed that the amount of Foster Nackedy’s fine was not, in fact, 500,000 dollars.

 

• • Everyone’s talking about the blockbuster main event for ReVival 24, which pits Jared Sykes and Brandon Youngblood against Rezin and Nate Colton. But no matter how much excitement it has generated, not everyone is excited about it.

Nate Colton voiced his displeasure in a recent interview with Tanner Quest of RingDispatch.com. “I’d rather be defending my title, to be honest,” he said, referring to the Five Star Championship that he won at Colossus last year. “I want to add as much as I can to the legacy of that belt, but I can’t do that without putting it on the line. I find it hard to believe they couldn’t find a challenger for me.”

When asked if part of his problem stemmed from his assigned tag team partner, he replied, “Last time I saw him, he tried to brain me with a fire extinguisher. So yeah, that part ain’t high on my Christmas list either.” This was in reference to an incident backstage at ReVival 22, where Rezin threatened to attack Colton, only to be stopped when Hayes Hanlon stepped in. “I don’t know what his beef is, but we’ll have to figure it out quick if we want to stand a chance in Houston.”

He seemed to relent a bit in his displeasure toward the booking by the end of the interview, stating: “Whether I like it or not, it’s happening. All I can do now is bring everything I’ve got to that ring. That’s what I came here to do, and it’s what everyone deserves–my partner, my opponents, and the fans watching at home.”

 

• • With their win over the Dangerous Mix in the main event of ReVival 23, the team of Eminence (formerly the “Kings of Popsicles”) earned their fifth defense of the PRIME Tag Team Championships, further bolstering a record-setting run for the team of Calvin and Sykes. We asked Sykes for his thoughts on what David Fox had to say going into the match and what significance the match held for him.

“It caught me a little off-guard, to be honest. I’ve never thought of myself as someone that might tick that box for someone, you know? I mean look at the names around this place, right? How many members of this roster are in the Hall of Fame here? How many other people are on the fast-track to a spot there? It’s a lot. So for someone to say that they’ve wanted to get in the ring with me, well, it’s probably going to take me a while to process that one. Because that’s big. That’s a big deal.”

There have been whispers that this may be the end of Fox’s run here in PRIME, to which Sykes said, “I know that things didn’t always go their way, him and Mushi. But they punched their ticket at Colossus and no one can take that away. They wrestled their asses off tonight. Hell, Fox caught me with my old finish. Twenty-some-odd years later, and he’s the first guy to do it. So if what people have been saying turns out to be true, then the dude left his mark.”

At ReVival 24, Sykes will team with Hall of Famer and the inaugural Universal Champion of the ReVival era in Brandon Youngblood against the team of Five-Star Champion Nate Colton and current Universal Champion Rezin. When asked about his thoughts ahead of this match, Sykes offered the following:

“It’s like I said. On the one side there’s the Hall of Fame, and on the other there’s a couple of guys destined for it. And also I’m here. So, yeah, like I said… a lot to process.”