FREE POST: GCW/AEW, Cameron Grimes, Euro News, Upcoming Interviews

• We’ve posted this update free for all subscribers, if you like what we do here, you can subscribe for $5 a month or $54 a year.

• Fightful Select released a new, exclusive interview with Steve Maclin as he’ll be the Special Ambassador for TNA’s Toy and Food Drive for their Atlanta shows next week.

• Bobby Lashley will be doing local media in Dallas next week to promote AEW All In 2025.

• Fightful did an interview with GCW World Champion Mance Warner today ahead of their Hammerstein Ballroom show next month. It will be up for tier 2 members early, as are all interviews.

• Fightful also did interviews at WrestleCade with Richard Holliday, Shane Taylor, Emily Jaye, Missa Kate, Luke Hawx, Joey Janela, Swoggle, Luke Kurtis, AJ Francis, among others

• Fightful Award nominations will be visible to all subscribers (free+paid), but voting will open up for paid subscribers on December 15. You can still add nominations here. https://www.patreon.com/posts/early-fightful-115637376

• Andrew Baydala will be joining Fightful for the Saturday Night’s Main Event post-show this month.

• Fightful Select’s paid tier will have several injury updates across a number of companies this week.

• We reached out to Brett Lauderdale about GCW star Matt Cardona working ROH Final Battle, he said “I’m Excited for Matt and excited for the fans. It will be a fun atmosphere at The Hammerstein Ballroom for AEW and I think things may have just gotten a little more interesting for GCW’s return to The Hammerstein Ballroom on January 19th…” For those asking, no, this was not an elaborate work.

• The ability to gift Fightful Select subscriptions is finally here. You can do so at this link. We personally recommend gifting over a seven hundred of them. https://www.patreon.com/fightful/gift

Trevor Lee

Fightful Select caught up with MLW’s Trevor Lee for an interview. Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp discussed multiple topics with the ring veteran, who just entered his 17th year as a Pro Wrestler.

Sean started the interview by mentioning Eric Bischoff’s involvement with MLW, which is coming up. Lee mentioned he had never met Eric Bischoff. Lee would say, “Eric is a polarizing character.” 

Lee told Sean that Eric is bringing a lot of eyes to MLW’s free YouTube event. Lee expressed excitement about the opportunity that he brings.

The Cameron, North Carolina native recalled his recent experience working at Maple Leaf Pro. He praised Scott D’Amore’s and Scott’s ability to build a compelling product, comparing it to his earlier days working with TNA. Lee told Sean, “It felt like a reunion.”

Trevor talked about his Maple Leaf Pro experience. It showed him a diverse and vibrant wrestling ecosystem, and he expressed hope for its growth, saying, “It’s always good to have more options out there.”

Lee was initially scheduled to fight Donovan Dijak at MLW One-Shot, but the match was postponed. While initially disappointed, he appreciated the chance to debut against Místico for the World Middleweight Championship. He told Sean he was okay with the match not happening because he was getting a shot at the World Middleweight Championship. Trevor says that they show respect for me as a talent. He added that that’s all he’s wanted to do in the past few years.

During a trip to Mexico City, Lee said he attended an CMLL event at Arena Mexico, and Místico wrestled in the main event. Trevor told Sean, “I’ve always tried to absorb every wrestling style.”

Trevor spoke about his decision to hire an agent, a move that has become increasingly common in the wrestling industry. He credited his agent with managing logistics, handling travel issues, and reducing stress, allowing him to focus on his craft. He added, “It’s already hard being a professional wrestler; having someone to help just makes everything better.”

The former WWE NXT North American Champion discussed how he got into stocks. He said that growing up, he lived in a paycheck-to-paycheck household. Lee said he learned to manage money while working for WWE, which provided constant paychecks. He told Sean, “I got into stocks right before COVID, and when the market crashed, I saw it as an opportunity.”

Sean mentions WWE Producer Shane Helms, who once managed Lee. Sean tells Trevor that Helms and himself co-hosted a show at Fightful. Sean said he was not surprised by Trevor’s popularity by how Helms talked about him.

Trevor said learning from Helms has done so much for his career. He told Sean that Helms would get a free hotel room and let him stay with him. Trevor said he would just listen to his stories. 

He told Sean that one of the last things he got to do before he left the WWE was work with Shane Helms on producing for Logan Paul. He said he got to be part of the learning process, including producing and watching Shane call Logan Paul’s match with Kevin Owens and Randy Orton. Trevor said it was cool sitting in gorilla hearing spots that I got to help with and get the reactions that we got. 

Trevor said it was a big high, but then two weeks later, he got the call that they were releasing him.

Sean mentioned Trevor getting a haircut soon after leaving the WWE. Trevor said he got a haircut after he left the WWE because everything had to be approved by them, and he no longer had anyone telling him what he couldn’t do.

Trevor spoke about his days in the Indies and how they shaped his career. Trevor said he worked with CWF Mid-Atlantic in North Carolina. They have an environment that allows experimentation and storytelling matches lasting over an hour or longer. Wrestling without an audience during training sessions helped build the endurance and mental fortitude required for these grueling bouts. Exposure to international talent, such as Zack Sabre Jr., expanded their skill set.

Trevor spoke about collaborating with people in NXT. Sean mentioned his history with 

Swerve Strickland, Steve Maclin, and Kushida. Lee mentioned getting to wrestle one of his role models, Finn Balor.

They spoke about some of his hour or more matches, and Sean mentioned the fitness aspect. Sean noted his interest in the NXT Combine. He mentioned being Inspired by Claudio Castagnoli and John Morrison. Trevor said they were constantly pushed to their limits by having challenging workouts. Lee noted that physical excellence extended to NXT combines, where metrics like 40-yard dash times and vertical jumps revealed the athleticism behind the personas.

Trevor told Sean that making a career in professional wrestling is challenging enough, but competing alongside the athletic Montez Ford, Bron Breakker, and Trick Williams feels like stepping into an entirely different league. Trevor added that the experience was humbling and inspiring. 

Sean and Trevor talked about the iconic Million Dollar Championship belt. Trevor said he never imagined he’d someday carry on the Million Dollar Belt’s legacy. Trevor said, “When I was told we’d bring the Million Dollar Belt back and continue its lineage with me, I was in awe. It’s a piece of wrestling history.”

The creative evolution of his Cameron Grimes persona went from “Carolina Caveman” to a wealthy, Scrooge-type figure. Trevor recalled WWE’s creative team running with the idea: “We had the luxury of using WWE’s incredible resources to produce these crazy vignettes. Before long, the Million Dollar Belt was back.”

Trevor said the storyline resonated deeply with LA Knight, who grew up watching the belt’s prominence. “Seeing him fanboy over it made the whole thing even more fun.”

In closing, Sean and Trevor discussed his journey from North Carolina to Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG). Trevor said, “PWG was a pivotal chapter in his career. Wrestling alongside fellow North Carolinians Cedric Alexander, Adam Page, and Andrew Everett.

In closing, Trevor shared his journey from North Carolina to Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG). He recounted how Kevin Steen (Kevin Owens) recognized his potential after a match with Cedric Alexander in Charlotte. A year later, Lee received a call to wrestle in PWG. “I had to double-check it wasn’t a local North Carolina promotion,” he joked. 

Trevor debuted his PWG in a triple-threat match alongside Alexander and Andrew Everett. Despite initial skepticism from the PWG crowd, Lee won them over. During that match, an earthquake struck, but the crowd’s energy overshadowed it. “That first PWG match changed my life,” Lee said. He remembered showing his boss the highlight video at his frozen yogurt job and realizing he was done with regular jobs.

Trevor’s PWG tenure included memorable matches, such as facing the Young Bucks and participating in Kevin Steen’s farewell match before his WWE debut. “That match solidified me as a PWG talent,” Lee said. He considers himself a “homegrown PWG guy,” despite hailing from North Carolina. His journey is a testament to his dedication and love for wrestling.

You can follow Trevor on X or Instagram at @TrevorLeePro.

Watch the interview in full on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tY2SigZQEyM. 

Leon Cage

Fightful’s Corey Brennan sat down with one of the UK’s hottest prospects in Leon Cage for an interview, you can check out the early notes from the interview below.

At the beginning of the interview, Corey asked Leon about going viral earlier this year with a new move he had debuted on the scene. Leon told Corey that it was a ‘crazy’ sequence of events, noting that he had completed the move in training repeatedly before debuting it in a match. Leon noted that he didn’t think much of it after the show, but was bombarded with requests to upload the clip by other talent, such as Mark Andrews. Cage also noted that he definitely felt some pressure following the clip blowing up, but has been taking things as they go, but has also began focusing on getting into better shape with more attention being on him.

Moving on to Leon’s recent 229 on December debut for RevPro, Cage explained that it felt like a dream for him, not only on this occasion, but another previous match he had with Michael Oku back in October. Leon admitted he was nervous prior to the rematch, but said the match couldn’t have gone better in his mind. 

When asked why he believes more teenagers like Billie Starkz and Nick Wayne are getting more attention than in years prior, Cage noted his belief that the new generation’s passion for the sport is a primary reason for him. On working with Connor Mills, Leon reflected on his matches with Mills fondly, sharing that he actually found out last minute about their first match together, with Mills getting stuck in traffic prior to arriving at the venue.

Leon also reflected on The Young Bucks’ putting their own spin on his viral move, admitting that he’s been a fan of the Bucks’ since he was a child, as well as Will Ospreay who also acknowledged his viral clip. When asked what his goals were for 2025, Leon stated that he hopes to be a consistent face on RevPro shows in the future.

European Wrestling Round Up

Fightful Select’s Corey Brennan has learned the following details from around the European Wrestling World.

– Prior to PROGRESS Chapter 173 on November 17th, the promotion went through stringent measures to make sure Session Moth Martina was ready to go following her concussion at OTT’s Tenth Anniversary. 

– There’s been a significant buzz within the Spanish Wrestling scene for Michael Oku vs Iker Navarro’s rematch in RCW Spain. The match was originally planned prior to the pair’s match together in RevPro.

– As announced last month, TNT Wrestling will be airing on Triller TV in 2025. While PROGRESS also has a deal for several shows in the future, we are told TNT Wrestling will no longer be airing on PROGRESS On Demand in 2025.

– Over The Top Wrestling will be returning to Wolverhampton in 2025.

– Aigle Blanc is back in the ring training following his recent injury, and is expected back soon.

– Those we spoke to in OTT were said to be ‘delighted’ with the main event of their Tenth Anniversary show, with talent expressing how positive the atmosphere was in the National Stadium on October 26th.