Rob Van Dam On Why He Can't Wrestle For WWE, Austin Aries Signs With Defiant Wrestling, Luke Gallows
- Austin Aries appeared as the surprise new signing of Defiant Wrestling General Manager Stu Bennett, f.k.a. Wade Barrett, on Monday. In front of a sold out crowd at the Newcastle O2 Academy, Aries confronted Defiant Wrestling champion Marty Scurll and said that he signed a six-month contract with the promotion. After the main event, Aries joined Mark Haskins and Chris Ridgeway to attack Martin Kirby and Scurll.
- Luke Gallow's school, Good Brothers Dojo in Jenkinsburg, GA, has a promotion this month for new members where you can get 50% off the normal enrollment down payment. With the promotion, the down payment is $250 this month instead of the usual $500. After that, it is $200 / month. The current instructors along with Gallows are head trainer Tyson Dean, Fry Daddy and Scotty Beach.
- The Blast has a story here regarding documents that Rob Van Dam filed in his divorce with his ex-wife Sonya. Rob Van Dam is arguing that he should pay less than what Sonya is demanding because he can no longer make a good income in the business. RVD claims to have suffered a concussion in November of 2016 that "caused visual impairment" and has "disqualified me from working for the WWE" which has substantially reduced his income.
RVD noted that WWE is also not renewing his merchandising contract, which expired this past July. He said that because of his injuries and not being able to work for WWE again, he has "aged out" of the business, while Sonya is capable of earning her own income.
Charles Barrios, Chris Thompson and @KOllomani contributed to this article.