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PWTorch editor Wade Keller presents a special Thursday Flagship edition of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast featuring a WrestleMania 36 Preview with ex-WWE Creative Team member and professional stand-up comedian Matt McCarthy.

(Search “wade keller” to subscribe in podcast app or CLICK HERE to subscribe in Apple Podcasts.)

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A number of stars, as well as a match have been announced for ROH’s upcoming Best in the World tour.

Stardom’s Kagetsu and Hazuki were announced for the show on Ring of Honor’s Twitter account today. KUSHIDA has also been signed to compete.

In addition to the talent announcements, ROH also announced a tag team championship match with champions The Briscoes defending the titles against The Young Bucks. The two teams have been feuding in recent months, and faced off against one another on a recent episode of Ring of Honor television where the match ended in a disqualification. The Briscoes left the Bucks lying after the match.

A triple threat match for the Ring of Honor title was previously announced back at the last set of television tapings. Dalton Castle will defend the title against Marty Scurll and Cody in a three way bout. Nick Aldis, who is currently the NWA champion, has said that he will only defend the NWA title if Cody not only wins the ROH title, but puts it on the line at All In.

Best in the World will take place on June 29 at the UMBC Event Center in Baltimore, Maryland. There will be a TV taping the following day in Fairfax, Virigina.

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PWTorch editor Wade Keller presents a special Thursday Flagship edition of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast featuring a WrestleMania 36 Preview with ex-WWE Creative Team member and professional stand-up comedian Matt McCarthy.

(Search “wade keller” to subscribe in podcast app or CLICK HERE to subscribe in Apple Podcasts.)

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Perhaps capitalizing on the buzz from his IWGP Heavyweight Championship win, WWE has uploaded a Kenny Omega match to the Network’s hidden gems section.

The match is against Cru Jones and took place in Deep South Wrestling, which was part of WWE’s developmental system, on September 3rd, 2006. Including a pre-match promo from Omega, the video is just under six minutes long and ends with Omega winning with Sliced Bread Number Two.

Omega joined Deep South Wrestling in 2005 before leaving in 2006.

Xavier Woods vs. Michael Tarver (FCW, 2011), Brad Armstrong & Bob Armstrong vs. Lex Luger & Tully Blanchard (NWA, 1987), Curt Hennig & Larry “The Axe” Hennig vs. The Road Warriors (AWA, 1985), and Bob Orton Sr. & Bob Orton Jr. vs. Steve Keirn & Mike Graham (CWF, 1976) were this week’s other additions to the hidden gems category.

WWE.com has also been pushing Omega & The Young Bucks’ Street Fighter V video game matchup against The New Day at E3, which is taking place today.

The US has reportedly decided to halt its airstrikes against the Islamic State (Isil) in Syria after it withdraws its troops, a move that would effectively bring an end to the entire Western air campaign against the jihadists. 

US officials said that Donald Trump’s decision to pull US forces out of Syria would also mean an end to American airstrikes against Isil fighters in the country, according to Reuters. 

The Pentagon did not deny the report and refused to say if US airstrikes would continue after American forces withdraw in March next year.     

“As long as there are US troops on the ground we will conduct air and artillery strikes in support of our forces. We will not speculate on future operations,” a Pentagon spokeswoman told The Telegraph. 

The US provides the overwhelming majority of the firepower for the Western air campaign against Isil and is responsible for around 95 per cent of the air strikes in Syria, according to Airwars, a monitoring group. 

Britain and France have both signalled that they intend to continue striking Isil even after the US withdraws its ground troops but Airwars said that might not be possible if America withdraws from the air campaign. 

“Even if the UK and France wished to continue strikes against Isil in Syria, their campaigns are so intertwined with key US assets – intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, refuelling, targeting – that it may not be possible,” the group said. 

The UK warned earlier in the day that the West “must not lose sight of the threat” Isil poses, even if all its territory is lost. France said it planned to keep around 1,000 troops in northern Syria.

The most immediate concern for the SDF is that Turkey will take the US pull out as a green light to launch a major offensive against the Kurds in northern Syria. Turkey considers the Kurdish armed groups in Syria to be terrorists. 

Hulusi Akar, the Turkish defence minister, said Kurdish fighters “will be buried in their ditches” when Turkish troops advance against their positions east of the Euphrates River. 

The Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), the SDF’s largest constituent force, has already begun moving fighters from the frontline against Isil in eastern Deir Ezzor province to towns along Syria’s northern border with Turkey. 

One YPG fighter said: “All Kurds expected this to happen at some point, but not like this, not in a tweet with no real explanation, just after Turkey threatens the Kurds with a massacre.”

SDF commanders have discussed releasing some of the thousands of Islamic State suspects they are holding in response to the US decision, sources said. 

Does the USA want to be the Policeman of the Middle East, getting NOTHING but spending precious lives and trillions of dollars protecting others who, in almost all cases, do not appreciate what we are doing? Do we want to be there forever? Time for others to finally fight…..

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 20, 2018

The SDF is currently holding 2,000 Isil suspects from more than 44 different countries, including six British men, four British women and some eight of their children. Among those are the so-called Beatles torturers Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee ElSheikh from London.

Their home countries have so far refused their return and the SDF had previously warned they would neither try them in Syria nor hold them forever. Another possibility is the SDF could turn them over to the Syrian regime. 

In the face of widespread confusion and frustration by American allies, Mr Trump took to Twitter to defend his decision, saying the US had borne too much of the burden of fighting against the jihadists.   

“Russia, Iran, Syria & others are the local enemy of ISIS. We were doing there work,” he wrote.

“Does the USA want to be the Policeman of the Middle East, getting NOTHING but spending precious lives and trillions of dollars protecting others who, in almost all cases, do not appreciate what we are doing?” 

Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, said he agreed with Mr Trump that Isil had been defeated and he said “illegitimate” US forces should leave Syria. 

“In this Donald is right, I agree with him,” Mr Putin said at his annual press conference. “As for US troops in Syria, I don’t think they’re needed, let’s not forget that presence of your troops there is illegitimate.” 

Turkish state media reported that a convoy of US military vehicles began leaving eastern Syria on Wednesday night and crossed over the border into Iraq. 

Appearing to take advantage of Mr Trump’s announcement, Isil launched a major counterattack on Wednesday on the town of Hajin, which had been captured by the SDF last week. 

US diplomats began evacuating Syria immediately after Mr Trump’s withdrawal announcement on Wednesday. The White House would not say how quickly US troops would be withdrawn but US officials told Reuters they would all be out by the end of March. 

Mr Trump’s own tweets seemed to show a level of confusion about Isil’s capabilities. After declaring that the jihadists were defeated on Wednesday, Mr Trump said Thursday they “are doomed” if they attack the US.

“Russia, Iran, Syria & many others are not happy about the U.S. leaving, despite what the Fake News says, because now they will have to fight ISIS and others, who they hate, without us,” Mr Trump said. 

Both US and Israeli officials have warned that the US withdrawal will allow Iran to entrench itself more deeply in Syria. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, avoided criticising Mr Trump but said Israel would “increase” its efforts against Iran in Syria. 

Moshe Kahlon, Israel’s finance minister, was more blunt. “The American decision is not good,” he said. 

Many described a feeling of Kurdish betrayal at the decision.

"The Kurds are getting the short end of the stick yet again, and only proves that they cannot really trust Americans," Diliman Abdulkader, director of the Kurdish Project at the Endowment for Middle East Truth, told the Telegraph.

"After doing the dirty fighting, the Kurds will be left alone to face Erdogan or allow Assad’s regime back by Iran and Russia to move into their territory," he said. "The US president must reverse this decision or all progress made against ISIS will be lost, this will be his legacy for years to come."

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PWTorch editor Wade Keller presents a special Thursday Flagship edition of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast featuring a WrestleMania 36 Preview with ex-WWE Creative Team member and professional stand-up comedian Matt McCarthy.

(Search “wade keller” to subscribe in podcast app or CLICK HERE to subscribe in Apple Podcasts.)

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A former UN human rights chief has been  accused of ‘reciting from Dubai’s script’ after she described a princess who fled the UAE as “troubled” following an unusual meeting at the home where she is allegedly being held captive. 

Mary Robinson, the former president of Ireland, met with Sheikha Latifa earlier this month in Dubai and UAE authorities released photographs in response to rumours that the princess had been killed.

The pictures were the first time Latifa, the daughter of Dubai’s ruler, had been seen since she was allegedly captured in the Indian Ocean while trying to flee the UAE by boat. 

She said in a video at the time she was trying to escape her family. 

Mrs Robinson said Thursday that Latifa’s family had asked her “to help with a family dilemma” and appeared to downplay the escape attempt as the actions of a “clearly troubled” person. 

"The dilemma was that Latifa is vulnerable, she’s troubled. She made a video that she now regrets and she planned an escape, or what was part of a plan of escape," she said on the BBC’s Today Programme.

"I had lunch with her. She’s a very likeable young woman but clearly troubled, clearly needs the medical care that she is receiving," Mrs Robinson said. She added that her family "don’t want her to endure any more publicity”.

Human rights groups said they were stunned by Mrs Robinson’s explanation and said it appeared almost identical to the UAE authorities accused of kidnapping her. 

"Anyone familiar with Princess Latifa’s story who listened to the BBC Radio interview today with Mary Robinson will be astonished at the extent to which Ms Robinson appeared to be reciting almost verbatim from Dubai’s script," said Radha Stirling, the head of Detained in Dubai, a rights group.  

"What we heard today was Mary Robinson essentially reciting for BBC Radio listeners the content of the statement issued by the Dubai Ruler’s Court."

Mary Robinson says UAE Princess Latifa is "troubled," suggesting a pre-existing condition though I'd be troubled too if I tried to escape a gilded prison and was kidnapped back. Would Robinson know the difference? Of course family doesn't want "publicity." https://t.co/hiPK3xOJqw pic.twitter.com/jkpzEGgTW2

— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) December 27, 2018

“Mary Robinson says UAE Princess Latifa is ‘troubled,’ suggesting a pre-existing condition. Though I’d be troubled too if I tried to escape a gilded prison and was kidnapped back. Would Robinson know the difference?” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. 

Latifa allegedly tried to flee in March 2018 but was intercepted at sea by commandos in the Indian Ocean. She pre-recorded a video to be released in the event her escape attempt failed where she warned that if she was caught she would be in “a very, very, very bad situation”.

Two former Impact stars are at the latest set of tryouts that are taking place this week at the WWE Performance Center.

Chelsea Green (Laurel Van Ness) and Robert Strauss (Robbie E) have been seen doing drills at the Performance Center and were included in videos and photos WWE has posted from the tryouts.

Green left Impact back in January after dropping the Knockouts title to Allie. She was also a contestant on the 2015 revival of Tough Enough, where she finished fourth. Since leaving Impact, she has worked on the independent scene and for Lucha Underground.

Strauss worked as Robbie E for a number of years, joining Impact in 2010 and winning the Television, X Division and World Cup titles along the way. He left the promotion in September of 2017 and has since done projects outside of wrestling as well as working the independent scene.

Green and Strauss are the only two tryout names thus far that have surfaced this week.

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PWTorch editor Wade Keller presents a special Thursday Flagship edition of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast featuring a WrestleMania 36 Preview with ex-WWE Creative Team member and professional stand-up comedian Matt McCarthy.

(Search “wade keller” to subscribe in podcast app or CLICK HERE to subscribe in Apple Podcasts.)

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