Richard Holliday Leads 4-Man 'Curtain Call' at New Jersey's War on the Shore 3

Q: With conflicting reports on his WWE future, what's the real story behind Richard Holliday's grand 'Curtain Call' tribute?

The “Curtain Call” looks more like a deliberate tease than proof that Richard Holliday is WWE-bound. At Fight Factory Wrestling’s “War on the Shore 3,” Holliday did not make the classic retirement-style exit. Instead, after Ben Bishop retained the Premier Championship, Holliday joined Bishop, Jack Vaughn and Tommy Invincible in a staged homage to the 1996 WWE “Curtain Call,” breaking character and embracing in the ring. He then undercut the sentiment by hitting one last “Signature Move” on Invincible before leaving, which strongly suggests performance and symbolism rather than a definitive goodbye. That matters because the reporting on his WWE future is mixed. Fightful Select has said Holliday “could be signed soon if he isn’t already,” citing WWE interest and prior tryouts. But Dave Meltzer has reported the opposite tone: that nothing is confirmed and that he was told to treat the talk as rumor. At this point, there is no official WWE announcement and no verified confirmation of an NXT deal. The broader context supports the idea that Holliday is intentionally fueling intrigue. He has recently been linked to transition signals, including reports that he left his boots in the ring at another event, and he has publicly hinted that “hard work pays off, but nobody knows when.” Taken together, the Fight Factory tribute appears to be a savvy, in-character wink at fans about a possible next chapter, not hard evidence that the move has already happened.

2 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 15

Four wrestlers — Richard Holliday, Ben Bishop, Jack Vaughn and Tommy Invincible — closed Fight Factory Wrestling's War on the Shore 3 with a postmatch "Curtain Call" before hundreds of fans in Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey.
Ben Bishop set up that moment by retaining the Fight Factory Premier Championship in the co-main event, pinning Vaughn after Invincible's surprise entrance disrupted Holliday during the three-way title match.
Holliday remained the focal point because WWE rumors intensified after he left his boots in the ring at a GCW show over the weekend, though he instead joined the in-ring embrace and then hit Invincible with his "Signature Move."
The show's other co-main event saw Lady Frost retain the Premier Women's Championship over Steph De Lander and Allie Katch after a moonsault off a purple SUV and a sequence that sent De Lander into the Atlantic Ocean.
The beachside card at Martell's Tiki Bar also featured title defenses by Sent 2 Slaughter and Steve Gibiki, plus wins for Jay Lethal, Ken Dixon and TJ Marconi.