DEBUNKATHON and Loaded News Update (Patreon)

Welcome to the Fightful DEBUNKATHON news update! Today's update includes

Bronson Reed

Alpha-1 Wrestling

Xavier Woods

Eddie Kingston

AJ Styles

Penelope Ford

Cody Rhodes

Tommaso Ciampa

Billie Starkz

Gabby Forza

Logan Paul card

We're told Alpha-1 Wrestling had their AEW talent pulled from upcoming shows due to getting a tv deal in Canada.

Bronson Reed was supposed to win the Elimination Chamber qualifier on WWE Raw, as Wrestlevotes mentioned.

Bronson Reed is slated for surgery soon and is expected to be sidelined through WrestleMania.

Known stooge STEVE (@notDrDeath on twitter) noted that when arriving at 7am for a 5 pm meet and greet with Cody Rhodes in Louisville, there were already about 75 people in line.

It is believed that Penelope Ford's injury ended up being an ankle sprain. We'll work to get more details.

The word within WWE was that AJ Styles legitimately did not know the Undertaker would be announcing him for the WWE Hall of Fame. Styles had been adamant that he not go into the WWE Hall of Fame until he was done as an active competitor.

We’re told that all things considered, weather didn’t end up affecting too many creative plans this week.

Xavier Woods was in a sling on WWE Raw, but wasn’t at the 2K Creator Fest the week prior. He’s going to do physical therapy to heal the injury.

AJ Styles’ original WCW partner Air Paris was backstage at WWE Raw this week, and joined him in the ring for a hug.

In addition to Eddie Kingston not being at AEW this week and pulling from some tapings, he’s not been around in the last couple of weeks as well.

Deonna Purrazzo was pulled from the Black Label Pro/Squared Circle Expo match with Shazza McKenzie due to the ROH/Maple Leaf Pro show.

It was claimed to us directly that Tommaso Ciampa could not have debuted any sooner than he did in AEW, as his contract was up with WWE a couple of days prior. We apologize for any confusion

Debunkathon

Wrestling News Now is among the most garbage, lying, AI pages online. The sooner it gets booted from facebook, the better.

There was a headline from PWMania that Nikki Blackheart was expected to get a WWE deal. Yeah, expected by me, and relayed as an opinion!!

When you see rage bait posts that start with "NAH MAN" or "NAH DUDE" it's almost always Sportskeeda clickbait drivel.

Sports Fanz Forever is also Sportskeeda clickbait trash

First off, Sports Bash is completely made up garbage. Anyone aggregating it is garbage. Vince McMahon and the Saudis are not buying WWE. The Saudis wouldn't need or want Vince.

Vince McMahon didn't tweet this shit, either.

Roman Reigns isn't retiring.

David Flair wrestled over 60 times after leaving OVW. There was a post that speculated his last

This is some of the weirdest AI shit I've ever seen.

Ricochet clarified he never walked back his WWE comments.

BILLIE STARKZ Interview with Joel Pearl

- Was excited for her match against Dreya Mitchell at C4 Wrestling's Bring It On event, saying it was a first time ever for them.

- Travelling in to Ottawa and seeing snow was cool for her, especially considering she now lives in Florida

- On her Girl Fight event, Billie says she couldn't be happier with how it turned out, including the generosity of the women, and the opportunity to showcase women who she thinks don't get the be showcased on other shows.

- Starkz discusses her experience working backstage on shows and how it prepared her for executing her own card

- While the feedback from the wrestlers was positive, Billie says she had never run around at a show as much as she did that day.

- On Athena replacing Jamie Hayter at Girl Fight, Billie first promises that Hayter will be back in the future for a Girl Fight event, but Starkz says she got a text from Hayter about going to Australia (for AEW), and then Billie texted Athena asking if she wanted to leave her house that weekend.

- Billie Starkz is Athena's favourite minion, according to Billie Starkz.

- Pineapple on pizza is not a hot take, but it's disgusting, and Billie enjoys pepperoni and mushroom on pizzas.

- Billie will call out people who snore when they room or share a car together

- On the licensing of Blink-182's Aliens Exist, which Billie still uses on the indies to this day, Starkz crosses her fingers and hopes for the day it gets picked up for her in AEW.

GABBY FORZA

- Joel begins by addressing Gabby telling him in their last interview that she would never do a deathmatch, only to then DO A DEATHMATCH!

- Gabby says she was influenced by Bear Bronson to do the match

- Last year, Gabby wrestled in the main event of C4's first ever all women's show, and she is very proud of that, along with her involvement in matches to crown a C4 Women's Champion at this year's event.

- On getting the call to wrestle Willow Nightingale at Beyond Wrestling, she was blown away as it was one she wanted since before her first-ever match.

- Gabby gives some advice about her journey and growth on Social Media, including how she handles rude comments

- On Lodestone, Bayley's training camp for women in independent wrestling, Gabby tells the story of how she almost didn't apply for the camp until Brian Myers told her to apply.

- Gabby found out about she was accepted to the camp three days AFTER receiving the email.

- She goes on to tell stories about the meeting the participants, their first hours together, and the surprises of Rhea Ripley, John Cena and Charlotte Flair joining the camp.

- Gabby and Nor Diana had a singles match at the camp in front of John Cena, who gave them both great advice, which Forza continues to use to this day in her wrestling career.

- John Cena did not get a Gnome hat. Bayley did, though.

- "Shoot. Your. Shot." is her advice to anybody applying for Lodestone in the future.

- On car drive inspiration, Gabby shares how much Richard Holliday's journey impacted and influenced her life.

Logan Paul Card

We spoke to Jeff Mullen of the Authority about Logan Paul's Pikachu card sale.

What does this huge auction number mean over all for the trading card industry? OR is this a one off stunt/fluke? Does Logan Paul's WWE stardom, and the fact that he wore the card in the ring, add to its value?

There’s a perfect storm happening here, extreme rarity plus cultural relevance. That Pikachu Illustrator card is one of the rarest Pokémon cards ever made, and Logan didn’t just buy it…  he turned it into a narrative. He wore it on a diamond chain at WrestleMania, blasted it across social platforms, and basically made it symbolic. That kind of storytelling inflates demand beyond the traditional collectibles market…. it becomes pop-culture lore.  In collectibles, authenticity and story usually drive value, but celebrity drives attention, and attention turns into bids and broadens the buyer pool. A.J. Scaramucci, founder of Solari Capital and son of Anthony Scaramucci,  didn’t just buy the card – the bought the provenance of the card and its publicly.  A collectible is typically worth more if it can be tied to a famous owner.  When Loan Paul put the card – and the included custom Wrestlemania Poke Ball chain – over A.J Scaramucci’s neck, A.J. also received valuable awareness and relevancy for his new business venture that involves the illustrator card. 

Pokemon and trading cards have been increasing in popularity since they were introduced.  Today, collectibles can touch even more people and be transacted in more trusted ways.  First, nostalgia…millennials and Gen Z grew up with these cards and now have spending power. Second, authentication systems have matured, which gives buyers confidence to invest. Third, access to trading and sales platforms  have turned what were quiet collector markets into spectator events. And finally, cards like this setting records..  they prove there’s demand at these levels.

Is this good or bad for regular investors and collectors overall? Do any changes effect sports cards as well as Pokemon cards?

Collectibles are a mainstream asset class and continue to set records.  A few months ago, a Jordan/Kobe card sold for $13 million.  Today, a Pokémon card sold for $16 million.  Records are not just being set in trading cards.  They are being set in many collectible categories.  An Action Comics #1 sold last month for a record $15M.  Over the last few years we’ve seen the most expensive car, watch, coin, movie prop – you name it – sell at auction.   Art prices have increased for hundreds of years.  Top-tier collectibles are no different.  These are tangible assets that are, in and upon themselves forms of pop-culture art.

Do you think more star athletes will get involved in these kinds of things with trading cards?

Almost every professional athlete today and many minor league athletes have trading cards.  Many athletes grew up collecting trading cards and still collect today in the locker room and in their home.

What's new in wrestling trading cards — would love to hear about what's hot, how values are doing, what's are a few "grail" like cards everyone wishes they could get?

Wrestling cards are growing materially with the introduction of the All Elite Wrestling (AEW).  Collectors can now collect wrestling cards from both AEW and WWE.

What's the most valuable card in wrestling?

The current benchmark sale that gets referenced most often is the 1982 Wrestling All-Stars Hulk Hogan, which has sold for $132,000 in a PSA 9 and is widely cited as the record for a wrestling card sale.

Does this Logan Paul moment change anything for the Authority specifically?

Anytime a record is set, collectors want to identify, authenticate, and grade their collectibles.  The Authority is the only platform that provides authentication, grading, vaulting, and marketplace services for comics, figurines, trading cards, and trading card games all in one place.