{"id":71438,"date":"2020-06-28T18:45:35","date_gmt":"2020-06-28T22:45:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/?p=71438"},"modified":"2020-06-29T19:58:38","modified_gmt":"2020-06-29T23:58:38","slug":"aces-eights-is-the-band-getting-back-together","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2020\/06\/28\/aces-eights-is-the-band-getting-back-together\/","title":{"rendered":"Aces &#038; Eights: Is The Band Getting Back Together?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Ever since <strong>IMPACT Wrestling<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2020\/06\/16\/impact-new-slammiversary\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">teased the potential appearance of several &#8220;free agents&#8221;<\/a>, both from WWE and beyond, one name has slowly emerged as a potential faction that could make its return to the company. While <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2020\/05\/15\/team-canada-reboot-impact-wrestling\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Team Canada<\/strong> was one past stable that entered the rumor mill<\/a>, in recent weeks the notion that <strong>Aces &amp; Eights<\/strong>, the biker gang stable that terrorized TNA from 2012 to 2013, could be reforming with a new roster. Following last week&#8217;s episode of IMPACT Wrestling, IMPACT producer <strong>D&#8217;Lo Brown<\/strong> &#8211; a former high ranking member of Aces &amp; Eights &#8211; was filmed on a video call with someone, hinting at a return for the stable. \u201cYeah, I understand perception is reality, but I don\u2019t like being called a \u2018corporate stooge\u2019 or being company in any way,\u201d he told his mysterious friend. \u201cYou know, I\u2019d really like to get the band back together. We\u2019ll talk tomorrow.\u201d After shutting down his laptop, Brown got up to reveal his\u00a0<strong>Aces &amp; Eights<\/strong> jacket on the chair.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Could Aces and 8s be returning? <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/IMPACTonAXSTV?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#IMPACTonAXSTV<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/gaIDFaAwSC\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/gaIDFaAwSC<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ThisIsTNA\/status\/1277738617968918528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 29, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3><strong>The History of Aces &amp; Eights<\/strong><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_71439\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-71439\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-71439\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2020\/06\/TNA_crop_north-e1593380670849.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"399\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-71439\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: IMPACT<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Aces &amp; Eights officially made their debut on June 14, 2012, when three masked men attacked <strong>Sting<\/strong> while being inducted into the TNA\/IMPACT Hall of Fame. Several weeks later, TNA General Manager <strong>Hulk Hogan<\/strong> would receive a note featuring the aces &amp; eights cards (commonly known as the Dead Man&#8217;s Hand) and featuring a warning to Hogan that they were coming. The group returned on July 12 in larger numbers, attacking Sting and Hogan, and then going on to attack multiple members of the IMPACT roster, both heels and faces alike. They seemed to be targeting the whole company.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Bully Ray REVEALED as Aces &amp; Eights President! (Lockdown 2013) | Classic IMPACT Wrestling Moments\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8f4Bj-htcS0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Over the course of the next year and throughout 2013, the group was unmasked and revealed to be led by <strong>Bully Ray<\/strong> and featuring <strong>Devon Dudley<\/strong>, D&#8217;Lo Brown, <strong>Luke &#8220;Doc&#8221; Gallows, Mr. Anderson, Taz, Wes Brisco, Garrett Bischoff, Knux<\/strong> (former WWE Superstar Mike Knox), <strong>Brooke Tessmacher, Ivelisse, Leva Bates<\/strong>, and former UFC fighter <strong>Tito Ortiz<\/strong>. During their run, Aces &amp; Eights held the TNA World Heavyweight Championship twice (both by Bully Ray) as well as the TNA Television Championship (Devon). The group disbanded in November of 2013. This past April, at the <em><strong>TNA There&#8217;s No Place Like Home<\/strong><\/em> special from IMPACT Wrestling, D&#8217;Lo Brown was scheduled to reunite with Mr. Anderson under the Aces &amp; Eights colors, but the COVID pandemic ended up putting a halt to the event, originally planned to occur in Tampa as part of WrestleMania Week.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Aces and Eights annihilate the TNA Wrestling Roster\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/OuBE_eeH3Wo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Who Could Be In A New Aces &amp; Eights?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3><strong>Bully Ray<\/strong><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_71447\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-71447\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-71447\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2020\/06\/maxresdefault-2-e1593383790715.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-71447\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: IMPACT<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Earlier this year, <a href=\"https:\/\/heelbynature.com\/wrestling-news\/ring-of-honor\/report-bully-ray-replaced-as-head-of-roh-women-of-honor-division\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bully Ray was replaced by <strong>Jonathan Gresham<\/strong><\/a> as the head of the <strong>Ring of Honor<\/strong> women&#8217;s division and Bully Ray himself has mentioned on his podcast that the former 2x IMPACT World Champion is a free agent. Bully Ray is one of the faces that has been shown in various teases for\u00a0<em>Slammiversary\u00a0<\/em>and should the former multi-time tag team champion make a return to IMPACT since his departure in 2015, assuming the Presidency of Aces &amp; Eights could instantly propel him back into the title picture.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>D&#8217;Lo Brown<\/strong><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_71448\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-71448\" style=\"width: 242px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-71448\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2020\/06\/s-l300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"242\" height=\"300\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-71448\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: IMPACT<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>D&#8217;Lo Brown was Vice President of Aces &amp; Eights and seems to be the most interested (at least on camera) of resurrecting the &#8220;band&#8221; once again in IMPACT Wrestling. With a lot of young talent on the roster to choose from, D&#8217;Lo Brown&#8217;s position as an IMPACT producer the past few years could give him invaluable insight into attracting new &#8220;prospects&#8221; into the unit.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Mr. Anderson<\/strong><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_71445\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-71445\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-71445\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2020\/06\/Ken-Anderson-e1593383820760.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"319\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-71445\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: IMPACT<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Mr. Anderson &#8211; formerly <strong>Mr. Kennedy<\/strong> in the WWE Universe &#8211; was another Vice President of the stable and was originally set to return to IMPACT under the Aces &amp; Eights colors this past April during WrestleMania week. While Mr. Anderson has been a part of the rebooted <strong>National Wrestling Alliance (NWA)<\/strong>, following <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2020\/06\/19\/nwa-vice-president-dave-lagana-steps-down-over-allegations\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the departure of Vice President <strong>Dave Lagana<\/strong><\/a> during the #SpeakingOut movement, <a href=\"https:\/\/boxden.com\/showthread.php?t=2889660\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NWA talents have been reported &#8220;temporarily&#8221; released<\/a> until January of 2021 when the company hopes to resume following a massive structural shake-up.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Luke Gallows &amp; Karl Anderson<\/strong><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_71446\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-71446\" style=\"width: 403px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-71446\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2020\/06\/LzkM3kw.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"403\" height=\"403\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2020\/06\/LzkM3kw.jpg 403w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2020\/06\/LzkM3kw-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2020\/06\/LzkM3kw-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 403px) 100vw, 403px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-71446\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: IMPACT<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Luke Gallows<\/strong> joined IMPACT in 2012 following his five year run with WWE from 2005 through 2010, most notably as <strong>Festus<\/strong> then Luke Gallows in <strong>CM Punk<\/strong>&#8216;s <strong>Straight Edge Society<\/strong>. He joined as <strong>DOC Gallows<\/strong> (with DOC standing for Director of Chaos), a nickname that evolved into &#8220;Doc&#8221; Gallows while in <strong>New Japan Pro Wrestling<\/strong> as part of <strong>Bullet Club<\/strong>. During his time with Bullet Club, he partnered with Karl Anderson to become 3x IWGP Tag Team Champions between 2013 and 2016 before the duo jumped to WWE in 2016 where they&#8217;ve spent the past four years, capturing the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship on two occasions and winning the WWE Tag Team World Cup in Saudi Arabia in 2019. The two were released this past April and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2020\/06\/27\/impact-wrestling-pursuing-luke-gallows-karl-anderson\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">have been heavily rumored in joining IMPACT Wrestling<\/a> in recent months. The return of Gallows, with his longtime partner Karl Anderson, would give Aces &amp; Eights their World Tag Team title tandem out of the gate.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_71449\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-71449\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-71449\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2020\/06\/gallows-anderson-696x392-1-e1593383878622.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-71449\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: WWE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3><strong>Brooke Tessmacher<\/strong><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_71599\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-71599\" style=\"width: 340px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-71599\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2020\/06\/Impact_08.22.13_01.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"340\" height=\"510\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2020\/06\/Impact_08.22.13_01.jpg 340w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2020\/06\/Impact_08.22.13_01-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2020\/06\/Impact_08.22.13_01-280x420.jpg 280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 340px) 100vw, 340px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-71599\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: IMPACT<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Brooke Tessmacher<\/strong> had a brief stint in WWE as part of <strong>The Extreme Expose<\/strong> in the ECW reboot alongside <strong>Kelly Kelly<\/strong> and <strong>Layla<\/strong>, but she barely lasted a year in forgettable storylines. But once she arrived in TNA in 2010, initially as the General Manager for the Knockouts division, she took flight, capturing the TNA\/IMPACT Knockouts Championship three times. In 2013, she turned heel and became Bully Ray&#8217;s First Lady of Aces &amp; Eights, one of the group&#8217;s power players. While Brooke hasn&#8217;t wrestled since departing TNA in 2017, never say never in the world of pro wrestling.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Deonna Purrazzo<\/strong><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_71600\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-71600\" style=\"width: 380px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-71600\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2020\/06\/IMG_5119-380x570-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"380\" height=\"570\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2020\/06\/IMG_5119-380x570-1.jpeg 380w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2020\/06\/IMG_5119-380x570-1-200x300.jpeg 200w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2020\/06\/IMG_5119-380x570-1-280x420.jpeg 280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 380px) 100vw, 380px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-71600\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: WWE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>While &#8220;The Virtuosa&#8221; is new to the landscape of IMPACT Wrestling, the former NXT Superstar has made quite an impression <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2020\/06\/24\/impact-building-deonna-purrazzo-greatness\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">since her recent arrival<\/a>, getting a shot at the IMPACT Knockouts title at\u00a0<em>Slammiversary<\/em><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>against current champion\u00a0<strong>Jordynne Grace<\/strong>. And while the thought of Purrazzo aligning herself with Aces &amp; Eights may seem preposterous, Purrazzo herself seems very open to the idea&#8230;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">If so, the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Virtuosa?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Virtuosa<\/a> wants in! I\u2019m here for alllllllll the SOA vibes \ud83d\ude0d\ud83d\udd25 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/fADVVWhgEQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/fADVVWhgEQ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; The Virtuosa (@DeonnaPurrazzo) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DeonnaPurrazzo\/status\/1277750040308723713?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 29, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Aces &amp; Eights Prospects<\/strong><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_71450\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-71450\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-71450\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2020\/06\/Tasha-Steelz-e1593384289875.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"290\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-71450\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: IMPACT<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>While led by former WWE Superstars like Bully Ray, Devon Dudley, Mr. Anderson, D&#8217;Lo Brown, Luke Gallows, and Mike Knox, Aces &amp; Eights also featured multiple young stars, or &#8220;prospects&#8221;, including Wes Brisco, Garrett Bischoff, and others. Aces &amp; Eights has also shown that they will take in female members, as both Ivelisse and Leva Bates have appeared to help the unit as prospects. With a group of young talent currently on the IMPACT roster, it&#8217;s ripe for several to pledge allegiance to the Aces &amp; Eights colors, with the group helping <strong>Chris Bey<\/strong> to win the X-Division title at\u00a0<em>Slammiversary<\/em>, give a <strong>Desi Hit Squad<\/strong>-less <strong>Rohit Raju<\/strong> proper guidance, or channeling the fire of <strong>Kiera Hogan &amp; Tasha Steelz<\/strong> into a more dominating unit.<\/p>\n<p><em>Stay tuned to the<a href=\"http:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u00a0Last Word on Pro Wrestling<\/a>\u00a0for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world.\u00a0 We provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can watch IMPACT every Tuesday on AXS-TV at 8pm EST and see past episodes of IMPACT Wrestling on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/impactplus.tv\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">IMPACT+<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ever since IMPACT Wrestling teased the potential appearance of several &#8220;free agents&#8221;, both from WWE and beyond, one name has slowly emerged as a potential faction that could make its return to the company. While Team Canada was one past stable that entered the rumor mill, in recent weeks the notion that Aces &amp; Eights, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":649,"featured_media":71440,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,6],"tags":[6575,716,3233,477,478,5741],"class_list":["post-71438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-impact","category-north-america","tag-aces-eights","tag-bully-ray","tag-dlo-brown","tag-karl-anderson","tag-luke-gallows","tag-mr-anderson"],"modified_by":"Jamie Greer","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71438","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/649"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71438"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71438\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71438"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71438"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}