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THE DEBUT OF NUTS & BOLTS: AMERICAN STARS WORK MAJOR AAA EVENT, FIGHT NETWORK U.S. EXPANSION, JERRY LYNN, STEVE CORINO, TRENT ACID RETURNS TO CZW & MORE

Welcome to the first edition of Nuts & Bolts, which will collect notes and news from around the wrestling world, giving news outside of WWE, TNA and Ring of Honor a proper, regular home here on PWInsider.com.  Whether it's the international or independent scene, stars who may have moved out of the national spotlight that you've been wondering about or anything else that may fall outside of the auspices of the major American wrestling companies we routinely cover here on the site, it's fair game here.  All of the aforementioned help make up the "nuts and bolts" of the professional wrestling world.  So, here we go:

AAA held their biggest show of the year, Triplemania, on Friday 6/14 in Mexico City.  Former ECW champion Bobby Lashley, ROH star Bryan Danielson, Jack Evans, Teddy Hart, and Sean Waltman all appeared on the show.  Waltman, Evans and Hart have been working regularly here.  There's interest in using Danielson more.  Lashley was put into a position to look strong, getting a lot of offense in and getting over with the crowd.  Konnan and Vampiro also appeared on the show.  You can read Kris Zellner's full report on www.pwinsiderxtra.com in his column "The Lucha Report".

The Canada-based Fight Network announced renewed intentions to expand their clearances into the United States last week, noting that TwoBlueRhino has been named the network's U.S. Affiliate Sales and Marketing agent. Nory LeBrun (TBR’s President/Founder) will act as The Fight Network’s Executive Vice-President of U.S. Affiliate Sales and Marketing.  LeBrun has a long history of building and rebranding domestic cable networks, including HSN and The Food Network, among other entities.  The company is hoping to clear 40 million homes in the United States over the next several years.  Fight Network features Ring of Honor, Pro Wrestling NOAH, Memphis, TNA and FMW footage, as well as MMA and boxing programming.  The network is already cleared in Canada and Great Britain.

WWE developmental trainer Tom Prichard will be hosting a three day seminar event for New Jersey's Independent Wrestling Federation in West Paterson, NJ.  The IWF has hosted previous seminars in the past utilizing such names as JBL, Tito Santana and the Honkytonk Man, among others.  Prichard heads up the Florida Championship Wrestling training in Tampa, FL.

Where Are They Now: Former ECW Original and WWE developmental talent William "Chilly Willy" Jones now manages a MMA gym in Goldsboro, NC titled ABI's. (www.abismma.com) and still wrestling on the Carolinas independent scene as one-half of the "American Gangstas" tag team - no relation to the New Jack/Mustafa tandem.  Jones was awarded the Purple Heart while serving in the Middle East in the Army.

In a move that was something of a minor surprise, Trent Acid returned to Combat Zone Wrestling at their New Jersey event over the weekend.  It was Acid's first match for the company in several years, losing to Nick Gage in what was said to have been a very good match.  Acid and longtime friend and tag team partner Johnny Kashmere had a falling out with CZW owner John Zandig several years back, leading to the formation of Pro Wrestling Unplugged.  With Tod Gordon's exit as PWU owner and backer due to family issues, that company will not be running again until July, which had to be a factor in Acid working the CZW date.  At one point, Acid was arguably the most important performer in Combat Zone Wrestling, including memorable feuds with Teddy Hart, Jimmy Rave, Gage and Ruckus, among others.  In other Combat Zone Wrestling news, their Tournament of Death 7 has been released on DVD via www.smartmarkvideo.com.

Northeastern independent wrestler Ricky Landell was awarded the "Future Legend" award by the Cauliflower Alley Club during their annual convention in Las Vegas, NV last week.  Landell, who was trained by former ECW champion Steve Corino, has been wrestling since 2003.  For more on the Cauliflower Alley Club, visit www.CauliflowerAlleyClub.org.

Speaking of Corino, his latest independent promotion entity, 3KWrestling, ran the parking lot of the Gold's Gym in Limerick, PA on 6/13.  The event was a last minute move after the company lost their previous venue.  Landell defeated Kirby Mack in the main event to retain the Zero One United States title while Corino and Kid America retained their Premier Tag Team championships over The Inner Circle.   Others on the show included long-time Northeast Independent stalwart King Kahlua and Ricky Reyes.  The promotion is holding a Shinya Hashimoto Memorial event on 7/11.  Corino was close with Hashimoto, who brought him over to Japan as a regular during the post-ECW period of his career where he was close to retiring - the first time.  Names advertised for upcoming events by the promotion include King Kong Bundy, Al Snow, CW Anderson and Jerry Lynn.  Axl Rotten's apparent debut was also teased over the weekend during an in-ring promo.   

www.ringtalkradio.com features an interview with Jason Hart, the son of the late Gary Hart discussing his father and his booking prowess, as well as the latest Kayfabe Commentaries "Guest Booker" DVD, which Hart filmed literally days before passing away.

Sid Vicious, Sylvan Grenier, Abdullah the Butcher and Pierre Oulett (the former Quebecer and heel "Pirate" from mid 1990s WWF) are scheduled for Canadian events in Hawkesbury and Pembroke, Ottawa under the "Wrestling Supershow" banner this coming weekend.

Nora "Molly Holly" Greenwald will be making a signing appearance on 7/19 for Second City Wrestling's Midlothian, IL event at the Don Preston Rec Center.  Email secondcitywrestling@gmail.com for further details. Has it really been three years since Greenwald stepped inside a WWE ring?  

Former ECW champion Jerry Lynn is slated to headline the 6/21 AAW event in Berwyn, IL at the Eagles Club, facing Eric Priest.  The show will also feature a Stairway to Hell match between Tyler Black and Marek Brave, plus Danny Daniels, Jimmy Jacobs, Zach Gowen, Keith Walker and more   For ticket information, visit www.AAWrestling.com.

The Somerset County Gazette in Great Britain featured an article on local star James Baker at this link over the weekend. 

That's all the Nuts & Bolts for now.  Come across something interesting?  Mike Johnson can be reached at Mike@PWInsider.com.

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