Various: Crowbar To Be Inducted Into Indie Wrestling Hall of Fame for 2026 Class, Backstage Update on TNA’s Current Contracts For Younger Talents Signed, Indies/Misc.

Crowbar To Be Inducted Into Indie Wrestling Hall of Fame for 2026 Class

Thursday’s 20 Years Of Bad Boy event for Game Changer Wrestling in Asbury Park, New Jersey featured the official announcement of former WCW wrestler Crowbar being inducted into the Indie Wrestling Hall of Fame for this year’s class.

During the show, Joey Janela came out to the ring and informed Crowbar of his induction into the Indie Wrestling Hall of Fame and presented him with a plaque honoring him.

Joey Janela announces that Crowbar is being inducted into the Indie Wrestling Hall of Fame #badboy20 pic.twitter.com/d9N088kWmd

— False Finish (@FalseFinishHQ) August 7, 2026

Crowbar has been wrestling since 1992 and has worked for several notable promotions including WCW, ECW, WWE, TNA Wrestling, National Wrestling Alliance, and Game Changer Wrestling. Crowbar also has made several appearances for Ring of Honor and AEW.

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Backstage Update on TNA’s Current Contracts For Younger Talents Signed

PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported in a recent Q&A article that his sources stated that TNA Wrestling has been signing younger talents to per-date type contracts that he believes are absolutely cheaper monetarily than what they had been paying for talents before.

Johnson speculated that TNA’s new television deal with AMC likely has not resulted in the company making a “massive windfall” for the reason why they are not offering more money for new deals but this is something he has yet to confirm.

Johnson also speculated that it could be possible that TNA’s deal with AMC is more of a barter type or ad-split type deal than a regular television rights type deal but this is something he has yet to confirm and likely would not be known unless either TNA or AMC were to ever disclose it in the future.

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Misc. Wrestling News & Notes

In response to a question from a person on Twitter, Programming Insider’s Marc Berman stated that he currently no longer has access to Nielsen ratings data for the reason for the lack of ratings reports on the website over this past week.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that New Orleans Saints WR Brock Rechsteiner, son of WWE Hall of Famer Scott Steiner, has been suspended for the first six games of the 2026 NFL season for an undisclosed reason. Schefter reported that Rechsteiner will be allowed to participate in all pre-season actives, including games, and his suspension will go into effect once teams officially reduce their rosters to 53 players for the upcoming season.

As noted before, NWA and All Japan Pro Wrestling legend Dory Funk Jr., full name Dorrance Earnest Funk, passed away this past Tuesday at the age of 85. All Japan Pro Wrestling recently announced that they will be holding a memorial service for Funk Jr. at their Fierce Fighting! Summer Action Wars 2026 event on Saturday, August 8 in Tokyo, Japan.

Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling announced that their upcoming Northern Rising 2026 event on October 3 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada recently reached sold out status. This upcoming show features Adam Copeland making his official in-person appearance for the company.

PROGRESS Wrestling recently announced that Paul Walter Hauser will be making an appearance for the company at their When September Ends event on September 27 in London, England. It was also announced that Hauser will be defending his PROGRESS Proteus Championship at the event.

Pro Wrestling REVOLVER recently announced that this year’s Jerry Lynn Invitational tournament event will be taking place on October 24 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Gabby Forza reflected on Twitter about her recently signing with TNA Wrestling. Forza stated “BIG NEWS!! 🍄✍️🥹 The Gnomie has found a new home in TNA & I’m ready to TAKEOVER!💪🩵💥 Thank you for all the amazing messages, & kind words today! I am so overwhelmed in the best of ways. Gnomie was meant to be a TNA KNOCKOUT… now I AM HERE TO STAY! LETS FREAKINN GNOME 🍄💥🤩“

AEW and ROH talent Jordan Oliver announced on Twitter that he was pulled from Thursday’s 20 Years Of Bad Boy event for Game Changer Wrestling in Asbury Park, New Jersey due to an undisclosed medical issue. Oliver stated “Hey everyone, I’m sorry to disappoint but I’m unable to preform today due to some medical issue . The doctor urged that I shouldn’t but I really wanted to unfortunately i feel so sick and wouldn’t be able to give what I should, this was really hard for me to pull off.“

Former WWE wrestler Marc Mero recently announced on Twitter that he will likely need shoulder replacement surgery in the future after an examination by his doctor revealed both of his shoulders “are pretty much bone on bone.” Mero also stated that he was given two cortisone shots to help relieve the pain. Mero also stated that his shoulder issue was the result of wear and tear of years of him playing hockey, football, boxing, and a career in professional wrestling. Mero stated “Yesterday I had my shoulders examined by Dr. Brian Makhuli at Resurgens Orthopaedics. After looking at the X-rays, he confirmed what I’ve been feeling for quite some time… both shoulders are pretty much bone on bone. Years of playing hockey, football, boxing, and then a career in professional wrestling have definitely taken their toll on my body. Shoulder replacement surgery is likely in my future, but for now he gave me two cortisone shots to help relieve the pain. If you look closely at one of the X-rays, you’ll also notice the metal wires holding my chest together from my open-heart surgery. Every one of those wires reminds me of another battle God brought me through and how blessed I am to still be here. Whenever I receive news like this, I walk out of the doctor’s office, look up to the sky, and simply thank God for another day of life. It’s easy to focus on our aches, pains, and setbacks. But then I remember there are people today fighting for their lives, praying for one more day, one more hug, one more chance with the people they love. So instead of dwelling on what hurts, I choose to focus on what I’ve been blessed with. Count your blessings. Tell the people you love that you love them. Don’t let life’s challenges steal your joy. Every day is a gift, and I’m thankful God gave me another one. 🙏❤️“

ACTION Wrestling recently announced one new match for the card of their Back In Black event on August 14 in Tyrone, Georgia:

• Tim Bosby vs. mystery opponent