FACT CHECK: RUMORS going into Wednesday night’s GoldRush:

With Ultimate Championship Wrestling’s biggest PPV event of the year, GoldRush, coming up in just two days, people are wondering how UCW is going to step up and outperform the competition. A lot of rumors have been flying around, lately, and we’re here to clear up the ridiculous with a little fact check!

Rumors:
Nails Turner will show up at GoldRush to get revenge on Damion Darkside. A lot of people are saying that Nails Turner is out for a long time after the assault from Damion Darkside’s team on Mind Games. Some reports list him as being out indefinitely, while others put out numbers like six months. We all know that Nails is a trooper, but I don’t see this being true for two reasons: one is the aforementioned injury. The other reason is simply that I don’t see Joey Johnson and crew letting the main event to their biggest PPV of the year being interrupted by a bitter, injured wrestler.
Believability: 4/10

Joey Johnson will show up announce that he is sick, and will hand off the reigns of UCW to Mike Heffron. // Johnson will announce that he is sick, but will remain in control of UCW. // Johnson will announce that he is sick, and that he’s brought in somebody new to replace him. // Johnson is not sick, and all the internet rumors are just speculation.
Obviously, I just combined all the rumors about Joey Johnson into this one part so we can run the gambit really quickly. For one thing, I think it can be stated with relative certainty that SOMETHING is going on with Joey Johnson. A lot of reports are saying that he’s sick, some are saying he’s overwhelmed with the workload, and some are just saying he’s burned out on wrestling as a whole. Why he’s not here isn’t important; what is important is that in his career, Joey rarely ever is absent from his own company. He is generally hands on, in the public eye and the first person to be seen when questions are raised about his organization. The fact that we haven’t seen anything out of Joey in weeks suggests that something is going on. IF he is sick, or in some way unable to continue at full capacity, I don’t see him giving up UCW to anybody he doesn’t trust completely, and hasn’t thoroughly vetted. A lot of people are saying that Heffron has already been plucked for the job, as he’s recently redone his contract and had meetings with the production crew, but this could just be him getting an elevated role outside of his normal commentary duties.
Believability: 8/10. Something’s up, whether he’s sick or not, and I’m calling it right now. Mike Heffron will take center stage for UCW at GoldRush, and he will lead this company to a bright recovery after their recent hiatus.

Joey Johnson is gearing up to return to wrestling in UCW.
I highly doubt this. Johnson has nothing to prove as a wrestler, and if it were true, he’s smart enough to know how much hype he could build from a return appearance.
Believability: 2/10

The BROs are looking to revive the tag team title scene.
This is one of those rumors that always pops up when Dr. Ian and Greg Venom team up. It’s easy to buy into, and it’s a dream story for anybody who has followed the careers of these genuine legends. I’ve spoken to a source close to the BROs who says they are “intensely anticipating” the opportunity to work as a team again… so it would make sense that they up the stakes by playing politics for tag straps. At the same time, isn’t this a step backward for both men?
Believability: A cautious 6.5 out of ten. While it would be amazing, and I could see it working in their favor, I just wonder how this benefits these franchise players, or their organization.

Backstage animosity is building between King Nothing and Damion Darkside.
This is somewhat of a strange rumor that has come up because King Nothing was the only person to speak to Darkside after Damion’s return at the most recent Mind Games. The content of their brief conversation was not known, and, in fact, it’s not known whether they even knew each other’s identity. Of course, speculation always comes from confusion, so while it’s reported that they spoke, and they’re very combustible personalities, I’d wait this one out.
Believability: 4/10. I just don’t buy it… yet.

Daniel Foster plans on making a big revelation as he announces (blank) as his new partner in crime.
Look, all week that has been hell. I’ve heard 20 people mentioned as being “Odysseus,” as Foster has supposedly named his ally. I’ve heard names ranging from Ian Garner to Declan O’Connell to Josh Stevens, and while I do believe he will bring in somebody big, I don’t think it’s going to be somebody that can outshine the calculating new superstar.
Believability: N/A. We know something’s going to happen. The question is, who with? My money is on Myke Adams. He’s perfectly talented, and not so over that he would take away from Foster’s exposure.

As a tie in to the last question, will we see any returns as the GoldRush Pay-Per-View from former UCW superstars?
I’ve heard from sources inside UCW that a few people will make their returns at GoldRush, and I’ve heard that a few people may debut as well. Some names that have been confirmed by inside sources are Drake Phoenix and Lindsey Calloway, who may or may not appear at the PPV (they may just wait until Mind Games). As well, as of this issue’s release, we CANNOT CONFIRM the earlier rumors that Damien Kahn is on his way back to UCW. Some recent reports stated that Kahn had been in contact with some members of the UCW front office, but, again, they have yet to be confirmed.

Other names for return/debut are: Vince Perfidious, Miles Marion, David Wilson (not related to Dave Wilson), Montgomery Wisenfakename, Leon Desfait, Sammuel Hessingstock, Josh Stevens, Callisto, Declan O’Connell and Split Second.
Believability: Nobody has seen or heard from Vince Perfidious since AWA’s Full Circle PPV over a year ago, so that’s just speculation (3/10).

Miles Marion is currently running Marion Industries, so he’s all tied up (2/10).

David Wilson is reportedly looking to get back into the sport, but is nowhere near physical condition to do so (4/10).

Wisenfakename has had a long and distinguished career in his own federation, SPACE FILLER WRESTLING, and it makes no sense that he would leave his spot as Invent-a-belt champion and CEO of the organization just to pursue a career in UCW (1/10).

Leon Desfait is a hard one to peg. We confirmed that he recently had a match in Wrestling Asylum two weeks ago, where he won the Suicidal Title in his first match since leaving UCW, but then he left abruptly. Whether he merely decided he wasn’t ready to unretire or if he was gearing up for bigger things is left to be seen… but after how he left UCW, it would amaze me to see him back. (2/10).

Sammuel Hessingstock isn’t going to happen. Apparently a UCW administrator reached out to Hessingstock and facilitated a somewhat peaceful recovery from what seemed to be a hostile relationship, but both parties admit that they are still far from considering each other anywhere near “working terms.” (0.5/10).

Josh Stevens has had his name thrown around a lot lately, but reports indicate that Quentin LeBeau, former staff member of the Athletic Wrestling Alliance, has actively worked to blacklist Stevens after Josh reportedly had a “horrific … unprofessional attitude.” Stranger things have happened, though. (3/10)

Callisto is not going to show her face anywhere where she doesn’t know the owner… or in UCW’s case, it won’t happen since she knows the Joey Johnson, and he’s not desperate and single. (0/10)

Declan O’Connell has been neither seen nor heard from since he retired from UCW (and wrestling as a whole) after his defeat of Dr. Ian and Greg Venom at Mind Games. His name is a popular among European enthusiasts, but it’s just wishful thinking at this point. (2/10).

Split Second has been “finding himself” according to his agent. An attempt to contact Split was cut off by weak cellular connection, and further calls went unreturned. The only thing Split said before being cut off was “Hey, how are you?” (2/10)

The following are a list of rumors that are entirely unsupported, but have been thrown around the internet. Put NO TRUST IN THESE --

Patrick McCarthy left UCW to pursue a career in the male stripping business.
This is a stupid rumor, and I’m not even sure how it got started. Everybody that knows McCarthy knows that he would never participate in the stripping business… unless he was paying.

Jeff Mouland actually left the UCW tour because he is filming a scene for the upcoming remake of COBRA, which starred Connor MacManus years ago.
The actual rights to remake COBRA are tied up between 47 different production members, so that’s not going to happen for years, if ever. Also, Mouland has already been confirmed to be back at home focusing on relocation, as nearby fires threaten his home, and he’s had to move.

Daniel Foster is undergoing treatment for schizophrenia: his alter-ego is “Odysseus.”
If this is true, I will shut down this website for a month. I swear on my life and my unborn children.

Well, that’s it for this month’s PPV RUMOR UPDATE! If anything new comes up, check here for a little FACT CHECK!

-Isaac Sternenbottem