PWI Weekly for May 22, 2023
PWI Weekly for May 22, 2023
Special PWI Poll Note, Manager of the Week, Spotlight Card, Hijo Del Vikingo
LAST YEAR, WE once again opened up our annual Readers’ Poll to all readers of our magazine. In 2023, we’ve decided to try something a bit different. Next week, we will be sending out a special link to PWI Weekly subscribers, inviting each of you to respond to this year’s PWI Poll.
This is a special opportunity that we are giving only to select industry figures and analysts, along with subscribers to this newsletter. So, keep an eye out and, when the time comes, make sure your opinions are heard!
MANAGER OF THE WEEK
Generally speaking, it takes someone special to make us shift focus and highlight a non-wrestler here on the PWI Weekly. Alas, we felt that Don Callis deserved a tip of the proverbial black hat for the downright dastardly betrayal of his former charge, friend, and protege, Kenny Omega. For fans watching the May 10 episode of AEW Dynamite, the shocking sight of Callis turning on his fellow Manitoban will live long in the mind’s eye. It wasn’t even just the act of betrayal, but the viciousness of it that was so jarring, as Omega—right at the end of a grueling cagematch against Jon Moxley—was stabbed in the head by a screwdriver-wielding Callis.
Make no mistake about it: The extensively educated Callis is no dummy, nor is he a stranger to controversy or cruelty. Just look at his managerial career in the WWE and ECW in the late-’90s. Yet, this seems like a new low.
True, Kenny Omega does owe a lot of his success to Callis. But the same could also be said for Callis, who found new on-screen relevance as Omega’s right-hand man. With the recent announcement of two additional hours of AEW programming, by way of the weekly Saturday Night Collision show, what might Callis and any of his remaining allies have in store for Omega and the rest of the roster?
SPOTLIGHT CARD
JAPAN
NAGOYA—Dragongate Gate Dead or Alive 2023 at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium: Kagetora & Kaito Nagano defeated Jacky Funky Kamei & U-T … Masaaki Mochizuki, Mochizuki Jr., Susumu Mochizuki, & Yasushi Kanda beat Don Fujii, Minorita, Mondai Ryu, & Takashi Yoshida … Open the Brave Gate champion Jason Lee defeated Dragon Dia to retain … Naruki Doi & Ultimo Dragon beat Diamante & H.Y.O. … Open the Triangle Gate champions Ben-K, BxB Hulk, & Kota Minoura defeated BIG BOSS Shimizu, Kzy, & Strong Machine J to retain … Dragon Kid & Naomichi Marufuji beat YAMATO & Yuki Yoshioka … Naomichi Marufuji defeated Kono Mama Ichikawa … Open the Twin Gate champions Kenoh & Shuji Kondo beat ISHIN & KAI to retain … Madoka Kikuta defeated Open the Dream Gate champion Shun Skywalker to win the title.
(05-05-23)
A QUICK WORD ABOUT …
We here at PWI have been on the El Hijo Del Vikingo bandwagon for a while now. As such, we are delighted to see an increasing number of fans climb aboard. For those in the know, Vikingo has been a star in Mexico for quite some time. His success in AAA, where he is the reigning Mega champion, bagged him the #8 spot in last year’s #PWI500. In recent months, he has raised his profile in the U.S. with thrilling outings at AEW, ROH, Game Changer Wrestling, and several regional promotions of note.
There is one Vikingo match, however, that fans both north and south of the border have awaited with bated breath. And that is his twice-delayed Mega championship bout with Kenny Omega.
Previously postponed due to injuries and scheduling issues, some lucha fans were beginning to wonder whether this tantalizing contest would ever happen at all. Thankfully, things appear to be set to for AAA’s Triplemania 31: Tijuana on July 15. Can Vikingo put himself amongst the elite (if you’ll pardon the pun) by defeating the vaunted Omega? We sure wouldn’t wager against him.
FROM THE VAULT
Dusty Rhodes nails NWA World heavyweight champion Harley Race with a piledriver during the main event of Last Tangle in Tampa—the August 1980 supercard presented by the National Wrestling Alliance and Eddie Graham’s Championship Wrestling from Florida. A crowd of more than 17,000 supporters cheered Rhodes on for a full 60 minutes, as “The American Dream” pursued the “Ten Pounds Of Gold” in a best-of-three-falls bout. You can read more about this iconic match—and equally notable supershow—in Brian R. Solomon’s column in the June 2021 issue of PWI.
