WWE’s Sami Zayn gets personal and more pro wrestling news and notes

The thought of going to an independent pro wrestling show usually brings up images of empty bingo halls and wrestlers hoping to make it to the big time.

Awesome Championship Wrestling (ACW) on Saturday night in Poughkeepsie, New York, couldn’t have been further from those preconceived notions. ACW Reckoning took place in front of a packed MJN Center and was broadcast on Triller. There were numerous matches that featured fireworks, TV quality productions, multiple champions and even a steel cage match to end the night.

The event had a controversial and chaotic end.

Vik Dalishus and Hale Collins, the tag team duo known as The Now, defended the ACW Tag Team Championship against Sent 2 Slaughter – Shawn Donovan and Danny Maff. It was supposed to be the end of a long feud that included Donovan and Maff crashing the Dalishus’ wedding and Collins’ wrestling school ceremony. The four men were locked in a cage.

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Collins and Maff were each on the verge of winning the belts with the cage door open. Whoever escaped first would be declared the winner. But both Collins and Maff hit the floor at the same time. The referees argued over which wrestler struck first, but the match was apparently declared a draw. That made Sent 2 Slaughter burst out in anger.

The duo took out their frustrations on ACW officials and the referees. Sent 2 Slaughter’s manager then entered the ring with Maff and locked the cage. Collins was knocked down on the outside. Vincent and Dutch, known as The Righteous, came out of the back. But instead of helping, Collins was tied to the cage and they stole the tag belts. Collins was forced to watch as Sent 2 Slaughter beat up Dalishus, hitting him with multiple chair shots and hitting a spear driver.

Awesome Championship Wrestling star Richard Holliday faces Andrade El Idolo at Reckoning on Saturday, May 16, 2026. (Pakinomist Digital)

Awesome Championship Wrestling star Richard Holliday was in action at Reckoning on Saturday, May 16, 2026. (Pakinomist Digital)

Dalishus’ wife came forward and began pounding on the cage as the officials rushed to get it opened. Finally, they opened the side of the cage and she fell on top of Dalishus in an attempt to prevent further damage. Sent 2 Slaughter was sent off and when they reached the ramp, fans started throwing water bottles at them. Fans were shocked to see how the event ended.

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Dalishus revealed the extent of his injuries in a post on Instagram.

“Last night’s cage match ended with me being taken from the arena on a stretcher after suffering multiple injuries. Right now I’m still being evaluated while we gather more information on the extent of the injury,” he captioned the post with photos showing the extent of his injuries.

“I want to thank everyone who has reached out with concern, support and prayers. It really means a lot to me and my family at this time. Please continue to keep me in your thoughts as we move forward and learn more in the coming days.”

Here’s how the rest of the map turned out.

Awesome Championship Wrestling National Champion Zack Clayton was in action at Reckoning on Saturday, May 16, 2026. (Pakinomist Digital)

• Leo Sparrow (c) def. GKM and Liamo to retain the ACW Cruiserweight Championship.
• Vincent and Dutch def. Wrecking Ball Lagursky and Yoscifer.
• Flip Gordon def. Matt Taven, Mance Warner, Brian Cage and Hammerstone become #1 contenders for the ACW National Championship.
• Vicious Vicki and Lady Frost def. Steph De Lander and Indi Hartwell thanks to J Rod’s interference.
• Koben def. Vargas in a Poughkeepsie Street Fight.
• Zack Clayton (c) def. Dante Casanova to retain the ACW National Championship.
• Ben Bishop def. Foxx Vines.
• Andrade El Idolo (c) def. Richard Holliday to retain the Wrestling Knockout Chile Championship.

The night also featured Randy Savage and Mike Bell being inducted into the MJN Center Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame, and Killer Kross and Shotzi promising to appear at ACW’s next event, Indypendence Day on July 18.

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Sami Zayn gets introspective

Sami Zayn wrestles Trick Williams during WWE Backlash at the Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Fla., on May 9, 2026. (Kevin Sabitus/WWE)

Life hasn’t been fair to Sami Zayn. He lost the United States Championship to Trick Williams at WrestleMania 42, lost his rematch at Backlash and was told he had to prove himself to come back to challenge for the title.

But over the past few weeks, Zayn has complained about the state of pro wrestling. He took issue with the Gingerbread Man at the Gingerbread Man’s funeral. He has been unsure why the fans have turned the other cheek to him when he has done nothing wrong.

Again, with a catatonic Johnny Gargano lying by his side, Zayn went off again.

“Things are changing around here. This place ain’t what it used to be. You know who feels it the most? Guys like us,” Zayn said. “I mean, remember wrestling? Remember when wrestling was a thing? When you were just good at it and gave it your all, your passion, your heart, and as long as you did it well, the fans would always be on your side and you were guaranteed to rise because the cream always rises. Do you remember when that mattered?”

Zayn’s trauma dump seemed to trigger something in Gargano as “Johnny Wrestling’s” eyes followed Zayn as he walked away as the episode ended.

Pro wrestling fans have been trying to contend with Zayn seemingly being pushed out of the title picture. But there is some food for thought to go along with what Zayn has said.

Shockingly, it’s been more than 15 years since he debuted on WWE NXT. The veteran has seen it all in WWE. He has been an NXT Champion, an Intercontinental and United States Champion, and a Tag Team Champion. He’s seen John Cena and AJ Styles retire within weeks of each other, and his best friend, Kevin Owens, was sidelined with a serious injury.

Zayn is the perfect example of anyone dealing with the ebb and flow of a business. He’s obviously still highly regarded in WWE, but everyone else is clamoring for the up-and-coming rookies doing things he used to be able to do. Anyone sitting in the arena to watch him or sitting on their couch watching “Friday Night SmackDown” at home can absolutely relate to how Zayn feels when put into the context of the WWE Universe.

Hell, Gargano is as much a veteran as Zayn is, and he hasn’t been able to speak in weeks.

The fact is, Zayn’s character development is getting more relatable every week. How he deals with time starting to pass him by will be interesting to see. SmackDown has had a few call-ups over the past month, with Ricky Saints joining Williams on the roster and Carmelo Hayes returning to action on Friday.

Try not to get goosebumps as Natalia Jiménez sings ‘Me Muero’ as Místico walks out on Super Viernes:

Supercard of Honor results

Athena enters the ring during the women’s pro wrestling event Stardom at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo on January 13, 2025. (Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)

Ring of Honor held the Supercard of Honor on Friday night.

Athena continued her long reign as Ring of Honor Women’s Champion when she outlasted Billie Starkz, Maya World, Trish Adora, Yuka Sakazaki and Zayda Steel in a Survival of the Fittest six-way match.

Here were the other results on the map.

• Sammy Guevara def. Action Andretti.
• Rush def. LSG.
• Mina Shirakawa and Queen Aminata def. Janai Kai and Lacey Lane.
• Dezmond Xaver and Myron Reed def. Ariya Daivari and Tony Nese.
• Nigel McGuinness def. Josh Woods.
• Red Velvet def. Viva Van to retain the Ring of Honor Women’s World TV Championship.
• AR Fox def. Lio Rush to retain the Ring of Honor World TV Championship.
• Deonna Purrazzo def. Diamante to retain the Ring of Honor Women’s Pure Championship.
• Lee Moriarty def. Ace Austin to retain the Ring of Honor Pure Championship.
• Dalton Castle, Truth Magnum, Turbo Floyd def. Carlie Bravo, Shane Taylor and Shawn Dean win the Ring of Honor Six Man Tag Team Championship.
• Mark Davis def. Xelhua to retain the AEW National Championship.
• Bandido def. Blake Christian retains the Ring of Honor World Heavyweight Championship.

Blake Monroe is coming to SmackDown:

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More notes from a week in professional wrestling

Cody Rhodes faces Gunther during SmackDown at the Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, SC on May 15, 2026. (Rich Wade/WWE)

• Dominik Mysterio def. Original El Grande Americano to retain the AAA Mega Championship on “Monday Night Raw.”
• Gunther earned a shot at the Undisputed WWE Championship with a victory over Royce Keys. He will face Cody Rhodes for the title at Clash in Italy.
• Chelsea Green appeared on “Friday Night SmackDown” after an injury and heart procedure sidelined her.
• Darby Allin defended his AEW World Championship twice in one week, defeating Konosuke Takeshita and Sammy Guevara. “Speedball’ Mike Bailey is up next before his hair-against title fight against Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF) at Double or Nothing.
• Cedric Alexander became the new Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) X Division Champion, defeating Leon Slater at “Impact”.
• Fabian Aichner appeared on “Impact” after Alexander defeated Slater.
• Piper Niven shared an injury update from a hospital bed.
• AEW star Chris Jericho appeared on the Minnesota Vikings broadcast.
• TNA announced the return of the Ultimate X match for Slammiversary on June 28.
• Major League Wrestling announced a strategic alliance with Stardom. The company said in a post on X: “The partnership will focus on talent exchange and creative collaboration, allowing athletes from both globally recognized promotions to compete on new stages and in front of new audiences.”
• Killer Kross became the new World Series Wrestling champion in Australia.
• Myla Grace became the new World Series Wrestling Women’s Champion.
• Tiffany Nieves cashed in on her opportunity and became the National Wrestling Alliance World Women’s Champion.