On a recent episode of AEW Dynamite, Penelope Ford suffered a defeat against Willow Nightingale. The match concluded with a controversial incident where Ford assaulted Nightingale with a chair post-match.
Ford faced a wave of criticism from some fans who perceived her chair shot as being too feeble.
In a recent segment of the “Busted Open Radio” podcast, wrestling veteran Tommy Dreamer stood up for Ford. He asserted that unexpected incidents are inevitable in wrestling.
Dreamer applauded both Ford and Nightingale, acknowledging that weapon attacks can sometimes go awry. He quote, “Look, not many people have experience swinging a chair. When you’re actually about to hit, it can get a bit erratic. What I’m trying to emphasize is: don’t discredit an individual’s effort because a mishap occurs. Of course, you’d want a chair shot to land, unless someone’s injured. … It’s a protective shot to the back while having the guts to swing that darn chair”.
In a separate conversation with Josh Martinez, the reigning TNA World Champion Joe Hendry reflected on his progress over the last year.
Hendry credited himself as one of the most improved wrestlers and shared how he has adjusted his wrestling methods. He stated,
“A few years back, I shifted my focus from claiming victory or wanting to work here and there, to being dedicated regardless of the circumstances. Whether it’s just an audience of 200, I promised myself that I’d give my best and strive for maintenance with each show. I aimed for consistent improvement and have upheld that till date. In fact, in my view, I feel that I’ve witnessed the most growth as a wrestler in the world over the past year. If you consider where I was and my progress until now, I genuinely feel that I’ve become highly improved.”
He further added, “With the aim of growing the most, titles and opportunities will come along. If you’re wrestling with someone of Nic Nemeth’s caliber, you’re bound to get better, aren’t you? It’s a process that happened very naturally and I was glad it did. There’s a lot that is beyond our control in this business, but here we are. I had thought that 2025 couldn’t possibly surpass 2024, but we’ve already achieved that by February 1.”