Kai continued by sharing how she was informed about her release, but was adamant about her gratitude towards the company, explaining that she didn’t think her dream of becoming a WWE star was possible.

“A phone call. Yeah, they usually do it like that and then not long after it will be online and things like that. So I had to like take a step back from social media just cause it is a lot. Losing a job in any sense is rough, but I never ever thought I would make it to WWE anyway. I think for me the whole experience was just like a pleasant surprise and even then coming back in 2022 … I was just very grateful to be there cause I never saw myself in that position at all ever.”

Kai also didn’t rule out the possibility of returning to WWE, saying that she’s not interested in burning bridges with the company but wants to prioritize what is best for her career first. This past March, Kai returned to professional wrestling under the name Charlie, where she’s had matches with Kris Statlander and Shotzi Blackheart on the indie scene.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “Insight” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

Given the wording of Cena’s initial statement on the matter, I must agree with “Busted Open Radio’s” Dave LaGreca: Club WWE is coming, with Backlash 2026 marking its official launch. Whether we’ll actually like it, however, depends on the price tag attached to the yearly membership fee.

Per the company, a membership to Club WWE will unlock a number of benefits, including 24-hour ticket presale access to all events, select Superstar meet and greet opportunities, bonus WWE content, and access to exclusive WWE Shop collections. Members-only community forums and a rewards system have also been also highlighted. Even more is expected to be revealed, and considering Cena’s status as the commercial face of Club WWE, it seems fitting that he’d make the break down its full details at a premium live event like Backlash.

With that being said, I wouldn’t describe the kick-off of Club WWE as “history-making” or something that would “shock the very foundation of WWE.” Yes, it could be a cool “experience” for both WWE stars and fans, but could it really shake the landscape that much? I don’t think so.

That’s why I hope we’re wrong and Cena’s announcement is something entirely different. A physical Hall of Fame isn’t a bad idea. That’s an attraction that many would legitimately pay to see and immerse themselves in. Club WWE, on the other hand, would be an underwhelming result from such big hype.

Welcome to Wrestling Inc.’s live coverage for “TNA Thursday Night iMPACT” on May 7, 2026, coming to you from the Upstate Medical University Arena at the Oncenter War Memorial in Syracuse, New York!

Eric Young and EC3 will be squaring off against one another in a No Disqualification Match tonight. While Young and EC3 met one another in a match on the April 16 episode of “Thursday Night iMPACT”, it ultimately ended in a no contest when EC3 accidentally clotheslined the referee out of the ring while aiming for Young.

Arianna Grace will be putting the TNA Knockouts World Championship on the line for the first time since TNA Rebellion on April 11 as she defends against longtime rival Léi Yǐng Lee. Not only did Grace previously dethrone Lee as TNA Knockouts World Champion at TNA No Surrender on February 13, but Lee was also unsuccessful in winning back the title at Rebellion.

TNA Director of Authority Santino Marella announced via video during last Thursday’s edition of “Thursday Night iMPACT” that The System’s Brian Myers and Bear Bronson would be defending their TNA World Tag Team Championship against Nic Nemeth and KC Navarro in what will mark their forest defense since dethroning The Hardys as titleholders at TNA Rebellion. He also announced that Myers and Bronson’s stablemates would be taking part in a match of their own that would pit them against their archrivals Moose and X-Division Champion Leon Slater. Tonight, both of those matches will be taking place.

Additionally, TNA World Champion Mike Santana will be making an appearance on tonight’s show after the aforementioned Nic put him on notice backstage last Thursday. Elayna Black will also be making an appearance of her own with something on her mind to share.

We are live! The show kicks off with a video recapping the recent ongoings between Leon Slater and Cedric Alexander over the X-Division Championship, as well as the Walk With Elijah Match from last Thursday.

Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt then greet audiences at home as Eric Young makes his way to the ring. EC3 follows.

The bell rings and the two men waste no time going straight after one another. EC3 sets up a table on the outside of the ring, but Young catches him with a right hand. EC3 responds by whipping Young into the ring steps shoulder first and dumps a garbage can into the ring, then grabs a chair from under the ring and slides it inside as well. Young grabs hold of the chair and looks to hit EC3 with it, but EC3 ducks out of the way and cracks the chair across Young’s spine.

Back from the break, Young fires off stomps on EC3’s midsection and grabs the garbage can. He cracks it across EC3’s spine twice and grabs a chain, then whips it across EC3’s spine and uses it to choke EC3.

EC3 catches Young with a twisting neckbreaker, then uses the chain to choke out Young and delivers an F5 style neckbreaker to Young. He sets up the chair in the ring and places it around Young’s neck, but Young low blows EC3. EC3 trips Young with the chair still around Young’s neck, then lands a snapmare driver on him.

EC3 and Young end up on the apron, but Young delivers a piledriver to EC3 to send him crashing through the table that had been previously set up on the outside. He lands a second piledriver on EC3 in the ring for the win.

Winner: Eric Young

Back from the break, Elayna Black makes her way down to the ring.

Black says she’s the number one Knockout and the only one who matters in the division, then says she’s coming for the Knockouts World Championship no matter who holds it and says it’ll be hers. She says she gets more money and attention than any other Knockout, then says the difference between her and all the other Knockouts is that she’s a business.

Mr. Elegance cuts off Black and says Ash By Elegance is the number one Knockout. Ash appears and says The Elegance Brand swims in money, then says if Black is a business, she’s an empire. She says she’s a millionaire with a mansion, a yacht, and a G-Wagon.

Indi Hartwell’s music hits and she makes her way out. She says Black and Ash are arguing about which one of them makes more money when where’s a TNA Knockouts World Championship match that they should be focus on. Ash and Black mock Hartwell for being poor, then goes back to arguing with Black.

Hartwell says Black and Ash can’t focus long enough to win an argument, let alone a title. Black leaves the ring, but Ash tells Hartwell to let the real Knockouts talk about it. Hartwell says nothing about Ash is real from head to toe, prompting the pair to brawl and Hartwell to send Ash crashing out of the ring.

We then head backstage, and see Daria Rae tell someone that she’ll talk to them later.

Back from the break, Nic Nemeth and KC Navarro make their way out. The System follows.

Navarro and Myers begin the action. The bell rings and Myers mocks Navarro by shocking him. He whips him into the corner, but Navarro responds with a hurricanrana and a dropkick to Myers. Myers then whips Navarro into the mat. Bronson tags in and sets up for a double suplex on Navarro with Myers. Nemeth comes to Navarro’s aid before Nemeth and Navarro level The System with a double dropkick.

Bronson catches Nemeth with a clothesline and rains down right hands on him. He lands a sit-out on him and goes for a pin, but Nemeth kicks out. Alisha Edwards pulls on Nemeth’s hair from the outside, opening the door for Myers to wear down Nemeth with a submission hold. Nemeth manages to take out Myers, but Bronson and Navarro tag in.

Navarro rocks Bronson with a dropkick and follows it up with a Tornado DDT. Nemeth then looks to send Myers crashing off the ring apron, but Eddie Edwards and Cedric Alexander catch him. Nemeth flies to take out all three men, but Bronson catches Navarro with a spinning piledriver for the win.

Winners (and still): The System

After the match, Eddie suggests it’s time for his and Alexander’s tag team match against Moose and Leon Slater. The latter two men then make their way to the ring.

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For the second straight premium live event, WWE fans will see John Cena, this time with the 17-time world champion promising to deliver massive news at Backlash on May 9. According to Cena, the development will not only change the WWE experience for viewers, but talent as well.

“WWE Universe, hey, John Cena here, standing in Thunder Alley outside of Benchmark International Arena in Tampa Bay,” Cena said in a video hyping his upcoming appearance. “In just a few days, I have a major announcement inside this building that is going to shock the very foundation of WWE, from its fans to its superstars, from its champions down to its rookies. I’m so grateful Tampa is allowing me the place to make this announcement. Thank you, WWE. See it live on ESPN in the States and Netflix around the world, but don’t miss Backlash. I’m so excited, and I’ll see you there.”

Only a couple of days until #WWEBacklash!!! pic.twitter.com/FN7GhbcrSU

— John Cena (@JohnCena) May 7, 2026

Two days out from Backlash, the exact contents of Cena’s announcement are unclear, though based on his teases, it seems likely to have widespread effects in WWE. At WrestleMania 42, Cena shared other news: the attendance numbers for night one and night two of the PLE. Amidst the surprise return of former WWE Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair, he also shared a heartfelt moment when she revealed her pregnancy. Last December, Cena retired from in-ring competition by tapping out to GUNTHER at Saturday Night’s Main Event.

As it stands, Backlash boasts a five-match card, one of which will pit Bron Breakker against his former Vision leader Seth Rollins. Elsewhere, Roman Reigns will defend his newly-won WWE World Heavyweight Championship against his cousin Jacob Fatu.

Adam Copeland is one of the best examples of a wrestler who suffered a neck injury, was forced to retire, made a seemingly miraculous recovery, and returned to pro wrestling. Because of this, Will Ospreay claimed he specifically spoke to Copeland a lot, especially because Copeland had undergone three of the same surgeries Ospreay had.

“He gave me the whole backstory of when he found out about his surgery and what was going to happen,” he claimed. “He gave me his number to keep in contact because he knows it can get really depressing at times.”

Copeland was not the only person Ospreay claims he reached out to, as he added that he’d speak to Kyle O’Reilly, Roderick Strong, and Bryan Danielson — all of whom had suffered severe neck injuries across their careers.

“Everybody’s just been super cool because it really is such a good group of people backstage,” he said. “I feel like news got around very quickly, and it was one of those things where it was really lovely having the support of my peers and everybody wishing for me to come back.”

While he’s back in the ring today, Ospreay added that doing something as simple as hitting the ropes gave him a sense of anxiety.

“There was a part of me that was like, ‘Have I been running the ropes wrong my entire career, or is this just because my neck muscles haven’t built up enough strength yet?'” he admitted, explaining that neck strength is crucial when running the ropes. “But it was weird things too, like doing forward rolls or back rolls, where I had such great flexibility and range of movement before the surgery.”