LNC Wrestling Mid-Afternoon News Roundup June 22nd, 2026

Welcome back to the LNC Wrestling Mid-Afternoon News Roundup.

Today’s edition of the LNC Wrestling Mid-Afternoon News Roundup comes on a loaded Monday as WWE Monday Night RAW airs at a special 2 PM ET start time from London, England.

So while RAW gets ready to go live across the pond, we figured this was the perfect time to drop a new roundup for everyone following along before, during, or after the show. And for anyone reading this in London, enjoy it with your afternoon tea, biscuits, work break, or whatever people in the UK are doing at this time while pretending they are not checking wrestling news on the clock.

Either way, there is a lot to get into today.

This is one of those weird wrestling news days where the biggest stories do not all live in the same lane, but they do connect through one common theme.

Plans change.

AEW had a women’s tournament direction that reportedly had to keep shifting because names were unavailable. WWE may be adding another international women’s wrestler through the growing WWE/AAA pipeline. AAA is suddenly building around Los Perros del Mal again. Damian Priest appears to be circling AAA gold. Private Party’s latest absence is tied to one of the strangest injury coincidences you will ever hear. Masyn Holiday walked away from WWE because the dream was not her dream anymore. Chase U’s ending sounds even more frustrating now that Andre Chase has pulled the curtain back. And the Tommy Dreamer situation keeps getting more complicated because the conversation is no longer just about TNA moving on from him.

It is about how wrestling treats people, how wrestling explains decisions, and how often the business expects everyone to just accept “this is the direction we’re going” as if that answers anything.

So let’s get into it.

Willow Nightingale’s Injury Reportedly Changed AEW’s Owen Hart Tournament Plans

The AEW women’s side of the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament already felt unusual because the final at Forbidden Door ended up being Mercedes Moné vs. Maya World, two wrestlers who were both replacements in the bracket.

Now the reported backstage timeline makes that even more interesting.

According to the report, AEW’s original All In women’s title direction was Toni Storm challenging Thekla for the AEW Women’s World Championship after winning the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament. That plan changed when Toni was written off television after Revolution, with the expectation being that she would miss the rest of 2026 for a non-injury reason.

From there, AEW reportedly shifted toward Thekla vs. Willow Nightingale at All In.

That would have made a lot of sense.

Willow is one of AEW’s most naturally likable babyfaces, a former Owen winner, and someone who can get sympathy without feeling manufactured. Thekla, meanwhile, has been positioned with edge, confidence, and enough danger to make a major title match feel different from the usual AEW women’s title formula. Willow chasing Thekla at All In would have been simple, clean, and emotionally easy for the crowd to understand.

Then Willow got hurt.

That injury did not just take her out of the tournament. It took her out of the TBS Championship picture too, forcing her to vacate the title and step away at a time when she should have been one of AEW’s most important women heading into the summer.

That is the part AEW cannot just shrug off.

This company has had a problem for years where women’s stories can feel like they are built around one or two fixed ideas at a time. When the plan works, it can be strong. When one person gets hurt, disappears, or becomes unavailable, the whole structure starts looking fragile. That is what happened here.

Mercedes Moné vs. Maya World can still be a good match. Nobody should pretend otherwise. Mercedes brings star power, polish, and big-match experience. Maya brings freshness and unpredictability. But the road there feels like AEW solving problems rather than AEW building toward the best possible answer.

That does not mean the final is bad.

It means the final feels like a survival bracket.

And that matters because All In is not just another show. It is supposed to be one of AEW’s biggest stages of the year. The women’s world title direction should feel inevitable by now. Instead, it feels like AEW has been patching the road as it drives down it.

Willow being the planned winner would have been a strong call. Her injury robbed AEW of a clean babyface chase, and it also exposed how badly AEW needs more layered women’s stories underneath the obvious top names.

Depth only matters if the depth is ready when the plan breaks.

Masyn Holiday Leaving WWE Is Not A WWE Bad Story, It Is A Wrestling Is Not For Everybody Story

Darci Khan, formerly known in WWE as Masyn Holiday, explaining why she quit the company is one of those stories that needs to be handled with some maturity.

This is not someone going scorched earth. This is not someone saying WWE ruined her. This is not someone trying to get attention by trashing the system after leaving it.

This is someone saying she was unhappy, she was struggling, and she finally admitted pro wrestling was not what she wanted her life to be.

That is different.

Khan came into WWE through the NIL program, made her in-ring debut as Masyn Holiday, appeared around EVOLVE and LFG, and was part of ROAR Records with Nikkita Lyons and Layla Diggs. On paper, that is exactly the kind of developmental path WWE is trying to create. Find athletes. Teach them WWE’s system. Build new stars from the ground up. Give the Performance Center more raw material.

But the part that gets overlooked is that not every athlete who looks good on paper is going to love pro wrestling.

Wrestling is not just athletics. It is pain, travel, character work, rejection, performance, politics, repetition, patience, and putting your body through things that only make sense if you truly want this. You can be talented and still not be built for the life. You can be grateful for the opportunity and still know it is not your calling.

That is what makes Khan’s explanation feel real.

She did not frame it as WWE failing her. She framed it as her realizing the job did not align with her purpose. That is a brave thing to say in a business where people are often taught to be grateful no matter what, push through anything, and treat quitting like weakness.

It is not weakness.

Sometimes leaving is the smartest decision a person can make.

For WWE, this is also a reminder that the NIL pipeline is not automatic. You can recruit athletes. You can give them great coaching. You can give them television opportunities. But you cannot manufacture love for the business. The people who survive in wrestling usually have some level of obsession with it. They do not just like the idea of being a star. They love the grind, the weirdness, the punishment, and the constant uncertainty.

Khan found out that was not her.

Good for her for realizing it before the business took more from her than it gave back.

Private Party’s Injury Situation Is Almost Too Unlucky To Believe

Private Party’s AEW run has been one long test of patience, timing, and bad luck.

Now we can add one of the strangest injury notes in recent memory.

Marq Quen and Isiah Kassidy reportedly suffered the same injury in the same match, which was their March 28 AEW Collision loss to Jon Moxley and Daniel Garcia of the Death Riders. Quen had already been known to be out, while Kassidy disappearing from television raised questions. Now the reported answer is that both members of the team were knocked out of action from the same match with the same injury.

That is wild.

It is also brutal for a team that already needed momentum.

Private Party are AEW originals. They have been around since the early days. They had one of AEW’s first real “who are these guys?” moments when they upset The Young Bucks in 2019. They eventually became AEW World Tag Team Champions. But their career has never fully stabilized the way it should have.

Every time it feels like they might get a lane again, something interrupts it.

Injuries. Stop-start booking. Long absences. A tag division that can go from hot to crowded to invisible depending on the month. Private Party has talent, chemistry, personality, and a presentation that can stand out, but AEW has rarely felt fully committed to making them a consistent weekly priority.

The timing here hurts because AEW’s tag division could use teams that feel like actual teams again.

That sounds obvious, but it matters. AEW has a deep roster, yet the tag division has not always felt as creatively important as it did in the company’s earlier years. Private Party coming back and getting real TV time could have helped refresh that scene. Instead, they are back on the shelf, and the worst part is there is no clear return timeline.

This is where AEW has to be careful when they do return.

Do not just bring them back for a random pop and then disappear them again.

Private Party needs a defined story. They need a reason to exist beyond nostalgia for early AEW. They need a real chase, a real feud, and a real reminder that they are not just the team that had potential five years ago.

They are still young enough and talented enough for the story to continue.

But AEW has to stop treating time like it is unlimited.

Damian Priest Appearing In AAA Is A Bigger Deal Than Just A Surprise Cameo

Damian Priest being revealed at AAA’s Merida tapings as the former WWE World Champion Rey Mysterio teased is another sign that this WWE/AAA relationship is not being treated like a cute side project.

This is becoming a real creative lane.

Priest showing up in AAA works on multiple levels. He has name value from WWE. He has world champion credibility. He has the look and presence to feel important immediately in a different environment. He can talk like a star, carry himself like a star, and walk into AAA without needing a long explanation.

The reported tease that he wants AAA gold is the important part.

That makes this more than an appearance.

AAA already has Dominik Mysterio holding the AAA Mega Championship, El Grande Americano tied into the mix, Rey Mysterio acting as a bridge between companies, and now Damian Priest stepping into the picture. That is not random. That is WWE using AAA as an extension of its storytelling ecosystem while still giving AAA television something that feels bigger than a normal episode.

This could be great for AAA if handled correctly.

It gives the promotion recognizable names for U.S. viewers. It gives AAA more international conversation. It gives WWE wrestlers another place to add texture to their characters. It also creates the possibility of stories that do not have to live entirely inside RAW, SmackDown, or NXT.

The risk is obvious too.

AAA cannot become just a WWE side quest.

That is the line they have to walk. Damian Priest chasing AAA gold is exciting because it feels like a big star entering a different world. But if every major AAA story starts revolving around WWE names, then AAA’s own roster becomes scenery. That would be the wrong move.

The best version of this partnership is not WWE taking over AAA.

It is WWE bringing attention while AAA’s own identity gets louder.

Priest can help do that if the story is built around conflict, culture, and championship stakes instead of just “look, a WWE guy showed up.”

Los Perros del Mal Being Revived Gives AAA A Real Heel Centerpiece Again

The revival of Los Perros del Mal is one of the most interesting things happening in AAA right now because it gives the promotion something every wrestling company needs.

A dangerous center of gravity.

The reported group consists of Angel Garza, Berto, Daga, Bronco Nima, and Karmen Petrovic. That is a fascinating mix. You have WWE-adjacent names, AAA credibility, muscle, attitude, and a woman in Karmen who can stand out immediately if she is booked as more than just someone standing next to the men.

The name is the real story.

Los Perros del Mal is not just a random faction name. It carries history. It carries heat. It carries memories of Perro Aguayo Jr., CMLL, AAA, the original Perros movement, and a style of rebellion that became part of lucha culture. Bringing that name back is not something you do casually, which is why the reported blessing from Perro Aguayo Jr.’s family matters.

If AAA and WWE are going to use that name, they have to make it feel worthy of being used.

The good news is the presentation already feels like it has direction. Attacking El Grande Americano gives the group a clear first statement. Getting involved with El Fiscal and Abismo Negro keeps them active. Having Daga involved gives the group a connection to AAA’s past and present. Angel and Berto give it a mainstream hook. Bronco Nima gives it power. Karmen gives it a wild card.

This could be AAA’s top heel faction heading into Verano de Escándalo and Triplemanía season.

It should be.

AAA needs a group that can make the show feel like it has danger every week. Not just matches. Not just title defenses. A real threat. A faction that can crash segments, ruin plans, and make babyfaces feel like they are walking into a fight instead of waiting for their turn on the card.

Los Perros del Mal can be that.

But the booking has to be ruthless.

Do not bring back a legendary faction name just to have them trade wins and losses like everyone else. Do not make them cool heels with no bite. Do not let the shirts and nostalgia do all the work. If AAA is reviving this name, the group has to feel like a problem.

A real problem.

Xena Potentially Joining WWE/AAA Continues The International Women’s Division Arms Race

Xena leaving STARDOM after her final match on July 8 already made people ask what was next.

Now the reported expectation from some within WWE/AAA is that she could be joining that system once she finishes up in Japan.

That is a strong move if it happens.

Xena brings size, presence, international experience, and a different background than the typical WWE developmental signing. She has worked STARDOM, she has held Artist of STARDOM gold, and she has developed in a system that demands pace, toughness, and adaptability. That matters because WWE’s women’s division has become more international, more physical, and more competitive over the last few years.

This is not the old developmental model where WWE just wanted athletes who looked the part and could learn from scratch.

They are clearly interested in wrestlers who already have global seasoning.

IYO SKY, Giulia, Stephanie Vaquer, Zaria, and others have helped prove that international women’s wrestling can translate inside WWE’s system when the company commits to presenting those wrestlers correctly. Xena would not come in with the same level of name recognition as some of those names, but she would bring upside and a style WWE can shape.

The AAA part is interesting too.

If WWE and AAA are working this closely, someone like Xena could be valuable in both places. She could be a WWE developmental project, an NXT name, an AAA attraction, or someone who moves between spaces depending on what the company wants. That kind of flexibility is exactly why this partnership could become important for the women’s side too, not just the men.

The key is not rushing it.

WWE has a lot of women. NXT has a lot of women. AAA has its own women who need protection. Adding talent is only useful if there is a plan for that talent. Xena has tools. She has experience. She has a different presence.

Now the question is whether WWE/AAA would have a real lane for her, or whether she would just become another name in a crowded system.

The signing would be exciting.

The booking would decide whether it matters.

Andre Chase Saying NXT Had No Real Explanation For Ending Chase U Makes The Breakup Sound Even Worse

Andre Chase talking with Duke Hudson on Between Two Jobs makes the end of Chase U sound even more frustrating than it already looked on television.

The big takeaway is not just that Chase U ended.

The big takeaway is that, according to Chase, when he pushed back from a business perspective, he still could not get a real answer.

That is the part that sticks.

Chase said he brought up merchandise. He brought up ratings. He brought up crowd reactions. He brought up the fact that Chase U was being placed in multiple segments and still getting results. He even compared their merch success to top NXT names like Trick Williams and Roxanne Perez.

And the response was basically that this was the direction they were going.

That is such a WWE sentence.

Sometimes it is true. Sometimes a creative team has a direction and talent has to accept it. Not every decision has to be voted on. Not every wrestler gets to control their story. But when an act is working, selling merchandise, getting reactions, and giving the show personality, the company should at least have a better answer than “we’re moving on.”

Chase U was not just a comedy act.

That is where some people got it wrong.

Yes, it had comedy. Yes, it had goofy moments. Yes, the whole university presentation could have fallen apart if the wrong people were doing it. But Andre Chase made it work because he committed to it completely. Duke Hudson made it work because he evolved inside it. Thea Hail gave it emotion. Riley Osborne, Jacy Jayne, and the different versions of the group gave NXT something that felt specific to NXT.

That matters.

NXT needs acts like that because NXT is supposed to be where characters can breathe before they become fully packaged main roster products. Chase U felt like an NXT creation in the best way. It was weird, it was over, and it gave the show a different flavor.

Ending it without a stronger reason feels like WWE getting bored with its own success.

That does not mean Chase U needed to last forever. Every act has a shelf life. But there is a difference between ending something at the right time and ending something because creative simply wants a new toy.

Andre Chase’s comments make the breakup feel like the second one.

And that is a shame because Chase U earned better.

The Tommy Dreamer Situation Is Bigger Than One Exit From TNA

The Tommy Dreamer story has moved far beyond “TNA and Tommy Dreamer parted ways.”

That was already a big story because Dreamer had become one of the familiar backstage voices associated with modern TNA. But now the conversation has shifted because multiple people have publicly shared negative experiences involving him, while others have come forward to defend him.

That makes this complicated.

It also makes it important to be careful.

Dan Perch accused Dreamer of threatening to hurt his chances in the wrestling business after an interaction backstage at a TNA-related event. Kennedi Copeland alleged that Dreamer introduced a spanking spot into a match when she was young and new to wrestling. Dani Jordyn alleged that Dreamer pushed for a crotch-grab spot that made her uncomfortable. Carlie Bravo also made a since-deleted claim involving comments he said Dreamer made about marketing him.

Those are not small accusations.

They speak to power. They speak to experience gaps. They speak to what younger wrestlers feel pressured to accept around veterans. They speak to wrestling’s old problem of people being told to “go along with it” because saying no might cost them opportunities.

Then there are the defenses.

Missy Hyatt defended Dreamer based on her experience with him and pointed to ways she says he helped people in wrestling. Brett Lauderdale also defended him in a more complicated way, essentially arguing that Dreamer came from a different era and did not evolve with the times, while also saying he did not know Perch to be a liar.

That last part is important because it shows why this cannot just be treated like two clean sides.

A person can have helped people and still hurt people.

A person can have good intentions and still create bad situations.

A person can come from a different era and still be responsible for adapting to the current one.

That is the real issue here.

Wrestling has always had a bad habit of using “different era” as an explanation when it should be using it as a warning. Yes, ECW was different. Yes, the 90s were different. Yes, wrestling locker rooms used to normalize things that should never have been normal. But that cannot be the excuse forever.

If the business is going to evolve, then veterans have to evolve too.

TNA moving on from Dreamer was already part of a larger company reset. Sami Callihan is gone. Delirious is gone. Road Dogg has been discussed. The company is heading toward Slammiversary with AMC expectations and a changing backstage structure. That alone would have made TNA’s week messy.

These allegations make it heavier.

TNA now has to prove that its next era is not just about new names or a cleaner creative system. It has to prove the company understands what kind of environment it wants to be. Fans will care about wins, losses, titles, and TV deals. But the locker room matters too. The people behind the scenes matter too.

This is not just about whether Tommy Dreamer is liked by some people or criticized by others.

It is about whether wrestling is finally serious about listening when younger or less powerful people say something did not feel right.

Final Thoughts

This Monday edition of the LNC Wrestling Mid-Afternoon News Roundup is really about broken plans and exposed systems.

AEW reportedly had to keep adjusting its women’s tournament path because Toni Storm and Willow Nightingale became unavailable. That does not make Mercedes Moné vs. Maya World bad, but it does make the route there feel patched together.

WWE’s developmental system took another reminder that recruiting athletes is not the same as creating wrestlers. Masyn Holiday leaving WWE is not a scandal. It is a human being realizing that the business was not for her, and there should be space in wrestling for people to admit that without being mocked for it.

Private Party’s injury situation is almost cartoonishly unlucky, but the bigger issue is that AEW has to stop letting talented teams lose time without clear direction. When they come back, they need more than a return pop.

AAA suddenly feels like one of the most important side rooms in WWE’s current universe. Damian Priest showing up, Los Perros del Mal returning, El Grande Americano being targeted, Dominik Mysterio holding AAA gold, and Xena potentially entering the WWE/AAA orbit all point to a partnership that is getting bigger by the week.

That is exciting.

It is also risky.

AAA needs the attention without losing itself.

WWE needs to use the partnership without turning the entire thing into another brand extension.

And then there is Chase U and Tommy Dreamer, two very different stories that still connect through the same uncomfortable truth: wrestling does not always explain itself well.

Andre Chase asked why a successful act was ending and basically got told the decision was already made. Multiple people shared troubling experiences involving Tommy Dreamer, while others defended him by pointing to the good they saw in him.

That is wrestling in one sentence.

The business can be brilliant, emotional, creative, generous, weird, cruel, stubborn, and completely allergic to accountability all at the same time.

So enjoy RAW from London today.

Enjoy the special start time.

Enjoy the afternoon tea.

Just know that while WWE is overseas trying to give us a major go-home show, the rest of wrestling is still doing what it always does in the background.

Changing plans.

Creating chaos.

And somehow giving us more to talk about before most people have even had dinner.

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