WWE is looking to oppose several trademark applications that were filed by the former WWE stars Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson collectively known as The Revival.
The duo was already preparing for their release in recent months and they had filled for a number of trademarks as their WWE contracts were nearing its end.
Now the company has filed an opposition against terms such as “No Flips, Just Fists,” “#FTRKO” and “Say Yeah” which the Revival was looking to register for merchandising and other purposes.
WWE filed the application two days after the trademark filings became eligible for the opposition. The company has been granted the standard 90-day extension to prepare their opposition and they now have until Wednesday, August 26 to submit their application.
The terms include their original NXT names “The Mechanics” and the phrase “No Flips Just Fists” which is the same as The Revival’s filings, just without the commas.
Now it would be interesting to see how The Revival reacts to this move from the company and who ends up winning this trademark war.
This week’s episode of NXT saw the return of Mauro Ranallo and Beth Phoenix on commentary and now latest report on the matter has revealed how it was made possible.
According to reports from Pro Wrestling Sheet, both the commentators recorded their portion of the show from their homes as an additional precautionary measure during the coronavirus outbreak.
The production team put together a way for the duo to record the show from home in an effort to keep them on commentary while also limiting the amount of travel they need to do for the time being.
The company was able to make this change because the NXT announcers are not placed on the ringside and they appear on screen less than the Raw and SmackDown commentators.
For those who don’t know both Beth Phoenix and Nigel McGuinness took time off from their schedules because they have young children and they didn’t want to quarantine for two weeks after working WWE shows.
On the other hand, Ranallo had decided not fly from his home in Southern California to the Performance Center in Florida for the shows.
Both Tom Phillips and Byron Saxton have been calling the shows in their absence in recent weeks and it was reported recently that the company was looking for a way to bring the original commentary team back in the mix.
Posted April 30th, 2020 in News, NXT. Tagged: NXT.
Viewership data is in for this week’s battle in the WWE NXT vs. AEW Dynamite Wednesday Night War. AEW won the night in total viewers and in the key 18-49 demo, but both shows were down.
Here is the breakdown of the live and same-night DVR viewership, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:
WWE NXT Viewership
NXT on the USA Network averaged 637,000 viewers, down from last week’s 665,000 In the 18-49 demo, they drew a 0.16 rating, down from 0.18 last week.
The episode featured NXT Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair vs. Mia Yim in a non-title match, North American Champion Keith Lee defending his title against Damian Priest, a Newly Bro Show segment with Matt Riddle & Timothy Thatcher, Candice LeRae in a squash match, two Cruiserweight Title Group matches
AEW Dynamite on TNT was watched by 693,000 viewers, down from the 731,000 viewers last week. In the 18-49 demo, Dynamite pulled in a 0.27 rating, up from the 0.25 rating that the show did last week.
AEW Dynamite featured bouts such as Shawn Spears in a squash match, Brodie Lee vs. Marko Stunt, Best Friends vs. Jimmy Havoc and Kip Sabian in a No DQ Match, and two TNT Title Tournament Semi-Final matches – Cody Rhodes vs. Darby Allin and Dustin Rhodes vs. Lance Archer.
Curtis Axel is the latest WWE talent to be released from the company. WWE has been making a ton of cuts in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and the detrimental effect its had on the economy.
Today, WWE announced on their official website that Axel, the son of WWE Hall Of Famer Mr. Perfect, has officially been released. Axel had spent 13 years with WWE. During that time, he had an Intercontinental Championship run and won the WWE Raw Tag Team Titles twice. Once with David Otunga, and another with Bo Dallas. Now, Axel, real name Joseph Hennig, is gone from WWE for the first time since 2007.
Prior to his release, Axel hadn’t wrestled on WWE TV since the February 28 episode of SmackDown Live. He suffered a loss to Daniel Bryan inside the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. Axel joins a long list of talents who have already been let go from WWE amidst the COVID-19 outbreak. A list of other notable talents who were let go can be found below.
Deonna Purrazzo was released from WWE on April 15th, 2020. She signed with the company in the spring of 2018. Aside from making it to the quarter-finals of the 2018 Mae Young Classic, the 25-year-old never won a match on WWE programming. She rarely won on house shows or live events either.
During a recent interview with Fightful, Purrazzo spoke about the backstage culture in NXT. She said it was one where everyone is expected to just be happy to be there.
“I just feel like NXT is a culture of you’re grateful for what you get and you don’t ask for more, and I wasn’t grateful for what I got,” Deonna said during the interview. “Because I feel like I worked my ass off to get to NXT. I worked my ass off to prove I belonged there when I got there.”
Purrazzo would continue to mention that she pitched ideas for her, Chelsea Green, and Rachel Evers to form a stable.
“[I] thought out character ideas, vignettes for me as a tag team, for vignettes of me, Chelsea (Green), and Rachel (Evers) as a trio, for myself,” she continued. “I just invested a lot of me in different ways that they could use me and use my potential and it did fall on deaf ears. Because when I got opportunities they were given to other people because ‘I wasn’t ready,’ and I didn’t let it slide.”
Purrazzo’s last match for the company was on the April 6th, 2020 edition of RAW. She lost to a returning Nia Jax that night. Before signing with WWE in 2018, she had wrestled with Impact, ROH, and Stardom.
Darby Allin has faced Cody 3 times in AEW. The first time they wrestled was at Fyter Fest and the match went to a 20-minute time-limit draw. They met again on the New Year’s Day/AEW Homecoming episode of Dynamite. This time Cody would pull out the victory in just under 18-minutes. Last night on Dynamite, they met again, this time in the semi-finals of the TNT title tournament. Cody reversed Darby’s Coffin Drop into a pinning combination and scored the win, booking his trip to the tournament finals.
Darby reacted to the loss backstage in an AEW social media exclusive but refused to answer any questions. His reaction can be seen in the Tweet below:
SOCIAL EXCLUSIVE: Darby Allin doesn't advance to the finals
With last night’s loss, Darby Allin’s record in 2020 drops to 5-6. He is 5-3 in single’s matches this year, however. Darby has defeated Brandon Cutler, Sammy Guevara twice, Preston Vance, and Kip Sabian this year in single’s matches. He’s lost to Cody twice and PAC once.
He is 0-3 in tag matches this year. Darby lost to Jericho, Santana, and Ortiz along with Private Party on the January 29th show. He lost what was essentially a 2-on-1 handicap match against Jericho and Guevara on March 4th when Moxley was attacked pre-match. On the April 1st show, he teamed with Cody and lost to Shawn Spears and Sammy Guevara.
Shawn Spears defeated a wrestler named Baron Black last night on Dynamite. After delivering the C4 (a running Death Valley Driver) Spears locked in a Sharpshooter and got the submission victory.
After the show, Spears posted on Twitter that he texted Bret Hart and asked him if he could use the move. According to Spears, Hart gave him his blessing to use the move.
For those commenting:
A while back, I sent a text to @BretHart asking a question.
He told me: “Go for it, it works”
Tonight as @IAmJericho mentioned, I paid tribute to a Canadian ICON by winning via the #Sharpshooter
It just makes sense. Mine now.#LoveYouBret @AEWrestling
Before the global pandemic hit, Shawn Spears and Tully Blanchard were on the search for a tag-team partner for Spears. They hadn’t had much luck in finding one, however. Following the pandemic, Spears has wrestled several times on AEW programming.
Spears is 4-1 in single’s bouts dating back to the start of the empty arena shows. He’s defeated Shawn Dean, Billy Gunn, Justin Law, and Baron Black in that time. His loss was to Cody in the 1st round of the TNT title tournament. The week before, Spears teamed with the Inner Circle’s Sammy Guevara and earned a victory over Cody and Darby Allin.
In total, Spears is 5-7 in 2020 and has a 9-12 career record with AEW.
John Cena has achieved a lot in the wrestling business. However, his victories in the wrestling world are not the only impressive accomplishments of his career and one of the most impressive achievements of the 16 Time World Champion is the 600+ wishes he has granted with Make A Wish foundation.
The organization recently celebrated its 40th anniversary and the Cenation Leader posted a video from his Twitter commemorating the moment. In the video as seen below, Cena revealed which is the most memorable wish for him, explaining that the first wish he granted was the most memorable of his whole record:
“A question I am most often asked is what is some of my most memorable wishes. Each wish is unique and beautiful. The one that comes to mind is my first one. So in my first experience of Make-A-Wish, I didn’t know what it was and I was asked to go into a room and say hi to a bunch of people which I willingly did.
When I left, the live event representative was very thankful and said, ‘Hey that was great, thank you very much for doing that. That was for Make-A-Wish,’ which led me to my next question, ‘Well, what’s Make-A-Wish?’” recalled John Cena. “And so started a wonderful two-decade relationship with an organization that’s become very important in my life. So that first one’s always the most memorable to me.”
I’ve had the honor of granting more than 650 Wishes and counting. Today is a day to celebrate @MakeAWish and their incredible milestone of 40 years of granting wishes. #WorldWishDaypic.twitter.com/jGVweqBOAu
John Cena was last seen on WWE programming during WrestleMania 36 where he competed in a Firefly Fun House match with Bray Wyatt. There is no word yet on if the company has any plans for his return so it’s hard to say if we will see him on WWE TV again anytime soon.
Former WWE Superstar Ryback has claimed that WWE’s Human Resources department is “non-existent.”
Ryback made his statements during a recent episode of his podcast, Conversation with the Big Guy Ryback, following comments from an anonymous WWE employee named ‘John.’
‘John’ stated he was afraid to work during the coronavirus pandemic but was worried about speaking out to WWE’s higher-ups as he needed the job. He claimed that “Despite sanitary precautions, we cannot maintain social distancing and have to touch other people. I request the government to shut down these tapings and enforce so my colleagues and I may follow social distancing rules without fear or repercussions of losing our jobs.”
In response to this, Ryback stressed how he had never even heard of WWE HR. He asked listeners what they think would realistically happen if anybody did go forward to voice their concerns. “They [WWE] know, but nobody under contract is going to go do that. If you go to HR? It is career suicide. That’s the reality of the situation.”
Ryback argued how WWE suggests Superstars had a choice whether to work or not. He added how the majority of the talent wouldn’t contradict what WWE’s official statement is as they don’t want to risk their livelihoods.
WWE has refuted the comments made by John. They explained that the accusations weren’t true and that employees can confidentially go to Human Resources if needed. WWE stressed that no one would be fired if they were uncomfortable to work amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
NXT Superstar Keith Lee has previously reflected on being rejected by WWE following unsuccessful tryouts. In a recent interview with Yahoo Sports before last night’s episode of NXT, Lee shared which WWE Legends helped inspire him after being told he wouldn’t be needed. He also addressed his recent feuds with Damien Priest and Dominik Dijakovic and the meaning of being “Limitless.”
After being rejected by WWE, Lee pointed to NXT General Manager William Regal and WWE Hall of Famers Jim Ross and Dusty Rhodes in helping to keep him motivated with his dream of signing with WWE.
He utilized the time after his tryouts to continue to hone his craft on the independent circuit, making a name for himself in the process. During this time, NXT began to change into something that could make use of him. Lee noted how he’s always been a confident person and that all he’s “ever really required is an opportunity.”
Keith Lee Is Limitless
Keith Lee’s nickname “Limitless” ties into this concept. He explained how his character represents his life growing up, but also his experiences in entertainment as a whole.
“Being told no so many times, being denied, turned down, shut down, talked down and never giving up. That’s kind of the premise that ‘Limitless’ was.”
Lee explained how being “Limitless” is more than just his in-ring skills. It’s a lifestyle and mentality to help get through tough times.
Recent NXT Feuds
Turning his attention to his recent highlight feuds on NXT, Lee acknowledged how many people may not expect the athleticism NXT’s big men are capable of. “When you get gents like us in the ring, it’s oftentimes [jaw-dropping] but also mesmerizing for someone who is seeing it for the first time.
To them, it’s an unexpected surprise. For the Superstars, however, their performance is an “expression of who we are.”
Lee shared how their drive to be the greatest and experience the highest level of competition creates a magical experience.
Keith Lee successfully retained his NXT North American Championship against Damien Priest during last night’s episode of NXT.
Former WWE Superstar Aiden English recently joined Inside The Ropes for an interview. During the course of their conversation, English talked about his partnership with Rusev and how the two cultivated their connection with the WWE Universe.
Prior to Rusev Day, Aiden pointed out how Rusev had long been positioned as a dominant “big foreign bad guy.”
For the longest time, it worked as a character and clicked with the crowd. He then shared how, out of the ring, Rusev was “such a fun-loving, goofy, funny dude.” Aiden English explained how when he finally saw the chance to let him himself, he went for it.
According to English, the two of them would ignore pretty much everything that WWE Creative gave them. Instead, they both approached it as an opportunity to be more lighthearted and say “goofy stuff,” which English loved.
“Even though I’m still doing the singing entrances, with promos and backstages, I was being me as a performer,” English explained. People saw these two characters who for a long time were kinda in these boxes. All of a sudden, we get a chance to play and experiment and be themselves. People saw that and I think that’s what resonated.”
Aiden English and Rusev were both recently released by WWE alongside several other Superstars and backstage personnel. It was a decision made in response to the impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on business.
Posted April 30th, 2020 in News, WWE. Tagged: Rusev.
WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry has shared what he believes RAW Superstar Apollo Crews needs to do to break through to the next level. Speaking on Busted Open Radio, Henry expressed his belief that, from a talent perspective, Crews is able to capitalize on an opportunity if presented with one. He noted this sheer talent is why he sought him out and brought him into WWE in the first place.
Henry added how he’d love to see Apollo Crews with more “bells and whistles.” He believes he could succeed with the help of a manager and a “dominant” storyline.
The Hall of Famer would love to see him involved in a narrative that sees Crews have “something over somebody’s head.”
Apollo Crews Is Not Yet A Jedi Knight
Mark Henry stressed he means no disrespect when discussing Crews or his position. He pointed out how he has a strong knowledge of the Force. According to him, Crews “is not yet at the level of a full-fledge Jedi knight.”
Henry added how Apollo Crews isn’t at a Padawan level either but still has plenty of room for improvement.
Apollo Crews suffered an unfortunate injury during this week’s episode of Monday Night RAW. It occurred during his matchup against WWE United States Champion Andrade. WWE has since pulled Crews from the Money in the Bank ladder match, stating he is not medically cleared to compete.
AEW Commentator and WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross recently discussed the Backlash 2000 PPV on the Grilling JR podcast. This episode is available to listen to at AdFreeShows.com, you can find more information about the subscription service at the bottom of this article.
During the podcast, JR would allude to then WWF Superstar Triple H ‘killing’ the career of ECW performer Taz. The ‘Human Suplex Machine’ joined WWE/F in January of 2000, appearing at the Royal Rumble PPV as a surprise opponent for Kurt Angle. Following the event, Tazz would then be pushed down the card into the Hardcore division, soon diminishing into obscurity on the roster.
Tazz vs Triple H
One of the (seemingly) brighter moments for Tazz in his run in 2000 was when he faced then WWF Champion Triple H on SmackDown, just 10 days before ‘The Game’ was due to defend his title against The Rock at Backlash 2000.
This match pitted the reigning ECW Champion against the reigning WWF Champion for the very first time ever. Tazz had won the belt by defeating Mike Awesome, a WCW contracted wrestler, in a controversial match set up by Paul Heyman to get the title off of Awesome. Mike Awesome had signed for WCW whilst still ECW Champion, and this caused a major issue for the Extreme brand.
Unprecedented
With the unprecedented match between Tazz and Triple H taking place on SmackDown, it looked like the ECW Champion might be getting a bigger push in the company than the preceding month had indicated. However, as stated by Vince McMahon in the ‘Rise and Fall of ECW’ documentary, it was pretty poor form from WWE; who many believe ‘killed’ the ECW brand that night by having Triple H beat Tazz in the fashion he did.
Did It Kill ECW?
“It didn’t do ECW any favours, but ‘kill’ might be a strong word” Jim Ross refuted on Grilling Jr. “It didn’t help anybody in that regard, except Hunter got a nice win in Philadelphia.”
JR would elaborate further, saying “Tazz was so under-utilized when we hired him for WWE. For whatever reason, he was never in political favour. You know Hunter/Triple H may have had an issue. Hunter was 6’4, Tazz what? 5’8, 5’10 or 5’9? I don’t know, but he’s under six foot.” There have been reports in the past of Triple H allegedly destroying pushes for talent that he deemed where not ‘big enough,’ another example being the alleged attempt to hold down Kurt Angle in the same era.
Human Suplex Machine
Jim Ross would elaborate further, saying “the perception was, even though Tazz could snuff out 99% of the guys on the roster? That he’s not ‘convincing.’ Well if you watch any of the ECW stuff? Tazz got over. And people believed he WAS the ‘Human Suplex Machine.’ So that was a big get for me [as head of talent relations], I was a big mark for his work in ECW. [Paul] Heyman knew how to book him.”
Ross would finish by making some scathing remarks, again seemingly aimed towards ‘The Game’ Triple H. “So, there again you get these egos involved. ‘Okay, He’s too short’ says who? The f*ck are you now Lou Thesz!? And then the other thing is, guys that haven’t been in too many real fights? Have never had their ass beat by somebody shorter than them.”
Do you think that the match hurt Tazz’s WWE career back in 2000? Check it out below and let us know your thoughts in the comments
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The last few weeks of AEW Dynamite have received praise for its well-written script and latest reports reveal that the credit for it goes to the president of the company Tony Khan.
According to report from PWinsider, the word making round is that the AEW officials realized that they were going to have a very small crew to work with because of the restrictions that have been put in place around the country.
After understanding the situation, Khan sat down and wrote the script for the last 4 weeks of Dynamite himself and completed the work in a ‘matter of minutes’.
He built the shows around the TNT Championship tournament and the available local talents. The situation was described as a “trial by fire” moment for the boss and his crew.
Cody was instrumental in putting the things together as Tony’s right hand. He was very hands-on with his own program and he helped others with their programs as well.
Chris Jericho has gotten praise for his commentary work on the shows because the former World Champion was given less than 24 hours of notice to work the role while he also put together the inner circle vignettes.
Orange Cassidy and The Best Friends are some more names who were applauded internally in the promotion as they wrestled four times over the course of 24 hours of the tapings.
This hard work seems to have paid off for Tony Khan and the talents as the last few weeks of Dynamite programming has been liked by the fans.
The company will return to live programming next week with the return of many top names including the AEW World Heavyweight Champion Jon Moxley.
Dustin Rhodes was one of the first stars to leave WWE to join AEW and he paved the path for a number of stars to leave the company and reignite their passion for pro wrestling.
The former WWE star recently appeared on the AEW Unrestricted podcast, where he talked about things like his responsibilities in AEW, training young stars and more.
Talking about his final days with WWE, Dustin said that
sitting at home and doing nothing made him lose his passion for wrestling for
the first time in 31 years:
“When you’re sitting at home for a couple of months with another company who doesn’t value you at all, and you’re sitting there knowing you have so much more to offer. You kind of lose your passion, and for the first time in my 31 years, I lost my passion for the wrestling business,”
Explaining his decision to quit the company, the former Goldust said that he had enough. So for the first time, he stood up for himself in a big way and asked for his release:
“They just will not give me the time of day, and I had enough.” said Rhodes,” I said enough was enough, and for the first time, I kind of stood up for myself in a big way and said, ‘I am quitting. I am asking you for my release. I am done. I’m not happy here anymore,'”
However, the company didn’t grant his request right away and they stalled the former Champion for a while before finally approving his release in March 2019.
A month later in April, it was announced that Dustin Rhodes will be facing his brother Cody Rhodes in a match at Double or Nothing. Since then he has signed a contract with the company to work with them as a performer as well as a coach.
There were rumors before WrestleMania 36 that WWE could be planning a mask vs. title match between Rey Mysterio and The US Champion Andrade for the show.
While this match obviously did not take place, it appears that the Master Of 619 is not shying away from the concept and he is open to putting his mask on the line in WWE.
The former World Champion recently appeared on The Bump and talking about the possibility of putting his mask on the line, Mysterio said he would jump to it in a heartbeat if the opportunity came about:
“If the opportunity came about, I would jump in a
heartbeat [on putting his mask on the line again], I think that’s what makes
Lucha Libre exciting and in this case to bring Lucha Libre to the WWE, and show
the WWE Universe the excitement behind the mask vs. hair match, or the mask vs.
title match.
You know you put your heart out there in those matches.” said Rey Mysterio. “I would actually love to jump in the ring one of these days before I retire and put my mask on the line against something that is well worth it.”
The former World Champion had previously put his mask on the
line when he teamed up with Konnan and lost to Kevin Nash and Scott Hall in a
hair vs. mask match at WCW SuperBrawl IX in 1999.
His unmasking caused quite the stir and Rey Mysterio had to
seek permission from the Lucha Libre Commission to wear his mask again because
of its significance in the lucha libre world.
It appears that the recently released WWE star Zack Ryder is looking to bring back an old idea he used to get himself over with the fans while he was in WWE.
It was recently revealed that the former IC Champion has filed an application to trademark the term Internet Champion for his own personal use.
After this, Ryder took on his Twitter and posted the following teaser of his title, while also tagging the popular pro wrestling belt maker Wildcat Belts:
Zack Ryder started a YouTube show called Z! True Long Island Story back in February 2011 and proclaimed himself as the Internet Champion of the company.
The fans liked the concept, and it became a hit. The former WWE star then had a custom belt made for his title and he even defended the championship in a few WWE shows before the idea died.
Now the latest tweet suggests that Zack Ryder is looking to
revive the old concept and bring back the Internet Championship and possibly a
variation of his Z! True Long Island Story YouTube show as well.
Ryder was one of the guys released by WWE as part of their budget cuts. There is no word yet on what he is planning for his future but we should get a better idea after July 15, when his non compete clause with the company expires.
The April 29, 2020 episode of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from the Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University.
The show was headlined by NXT North American Champion Keith Lee defending the title against Damian Priest.
WWE NXT Results (4/29)
Isaiah “Swerve” Scott def. El Hijo del Fantasma – Interim NXT Cruiserweight Title Group B Match.
Candice LeRae def. Kacy Catanzaro.
Charlotte Flair def. Mia Yim
Dexter Lumis def. Shane Thorne
Drake Maverick def. Tony Nese – Interim NXT Cruiserweight Title Group A Match.
NXT North American Champion Keith Lee def. Damian Priest
Here are the 5 takeaways from this week’s show:
Isaiah “Swerve” Scott vs. El Hijo del Fantasma
To open the show, WWE booked Isaiah “Swerve” Scott vs. El Hijo del Fantasma in an Interim NXT Cruiserweight Title Tournament Group B Match.
A solid match with both guys working hard. Fantasma appeared to work a more stiff style in this contest while Scott let his athleticism shine.
In the end, it was Scott winning, which marks his first win in the tournament, with a quick roll up. Post-match, he cut a promo about the challenges of facing Fantasma. He stated that he needed the win more and how he’s the guy when the game is on the line to make the winning shot.
This was an interesting match choice to open the show considering that both guys aren’t proven as big stars. In fact, Fantasma only made his debut recently.
That will be something interesting to see in regards to the ratings as NXT continues to slip in the ratings war with AEW despite having a two-win streak going on for this month.
Thankfully we made some popcorn before this match. ??#WWENXT
Candice LeRae had her first match as a heel on WWE NXT television by taking on Kacy Catanzaro in a singles match.
LeRae got a new entrance and was joined by her husband, Johnny Gargano, who was doing the ring introductions for her.
He praised her for all of her good qualities, how much she means to him, and her foot being a great birth control (this was a reference to her kicking Tommaso Ciampa in the groin during their match a few weeks ago).
The match did get some time but it was all LeRae for the most part. LeRae was the one to go over. It appears that with the married couple now being heels and quite entertaining, LeRae will be getting more of a push going forward.
Why does Cinderella always have all the fun? Well, tonight belongs to the WICKED STEPSISTER. @CandiceLeRae defeats @KacyCatanzaro in ??????? fashion! ?#WWENXTpic.twitter.com/vbkLmzSy3k
NXT Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair faced Mia Yim in a non-title match on this show.
It was a fun back and forth affair. One of the best matches on the whole show. As expected, Flair went over in the contest with her finisher.
WWE set up this match last week after Yim picked up a win in a squash match. Following the contest, Flair came out and gave her a backhanded compliment.
The company is still holding off on Flair giving a rematch to former champion Rhea Ripley, which is still expected. However, there’s still no word yet on when the contest will take place.
After the match, Io Shirai came out and gave a heated promo where she stated that next week, Flair was hers. Mauro Ranallo confirmed on commentary that this title match would take place next week.
NXT North American Champion Keith Lee made his latest title defense against Damian Priest in the biggest match on the show.
WWE saved the match for last and rightfully so. WWE had been building up this contest for quite some time as they have previously wrestled each other.
With that said, it was a stiff match that saw Lee hit two back-to-back powerbombs to pick up the victory and successfully retain the title.
The latest angle done was last week when The Velveteen Dream & Dexter Lumis (replacing Lee) defeated Adam Cole & Roderick Strong in a tag team match. Lee was supposed to be the Dream’s partner but Lee was taken out when Priest hit him in the throat with a club.
It appears that WWE will be moving on from this feud.
WWE booked a wacky yet entertaining segment named “The Newly Bro Show” with Bryon Saxton serving as the host and Matt Riddle and Timothy Thatcher being the contestants.
It was like a dating or matchmaking show where Saxton would ask Thatcher a question and Riddle would write down what he thought Thatcher would say. It was all comedy and quite funny.
This led to Marcel Barthel and Fabian Aichner coming out that led to a brawl with the UK stars standing tall with the titles in hand. Thus, it appears this is the next feud for the NXT Tag Team Titles.
Of course, Thatcher is serving as the replacement for Riddle’s normal tag team partner, Pete Dunne, as Dunne is stuck over in the UK and can’t work NXT TV shows.
Fans now know who will be in the finals of the tournament that will determine the inaugural AEW TNT Champion as those competitors have been revealed.
The semi-finals of the tournament took place on Wednesday’s episode of AEW Dynamite on TNT at the Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida. The pair of the matches saw Cody Rhodes vs. Darby Allin and Dustin Rhodes against Lance Archer.
As seen on the show, Cody went over Allin in the opening match while Archer beat Rhodes in the main event.
The finals between Cody and Archer will see to find out who will be the first-ever TNT Champion.
The finals of the tournament will take place at AEW’s next pay-per-view event, Double or Nothing.
All Elite Wrestling was planning to hold this show from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 23rd but plans changed due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.
It’s been reported by Dave Meltzer of F4Wonline.com that the current plans call for the show to take place from Jacksonville, Florida. The belief is that the show will air from Daily’s Place.
As of this writing, no other matches for the show have been announced thus far.
WWE is loading up the first episode of May on WWE NXT television.
Not only are there two titles on the line but there will also be two appearances on the show. First up is Finn Balor making his return after being attacked last week before he could wrestle The Velveteen Dream.
Also, Karrion Kross, the former Killer Kross, is slated to appear on the show with his girlfriend, Scarlett Bordeaux. WWE didn’t clarify whether he’ll be wrestling on the show or doing another segment. This comes after he made his debut by attacking Tommaso Ciampa.
The first of two title matches will see Charlotte Flair put the NXT Women’s Title on the line when she defends it against the #1 contender in Io Shirai.
In the likely main event, The Velveteen Dream is set to challenge Adam Cole for the NXT Title. The match was ordered by NXT General Manager William Regal. This comes after the recent feud between the two competitors.
This comes at a time where there had been some speculation on WWE possibly taking Dream out of the main event scene due to recent accusations. He has stated on social media that he denies the allegations and he’s having a third party looking into the matter.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis continues to talk about the importance of the relationship between the state and WWE.
WWE managed to be deemed an essential business in the state of Florida because of DeSantis.News of this broke earlier this month.
Now, WWE is free and clear to hold TV events at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.
DeSantis brought up WWE during a press conference on Wednesday where he talked about the importance of keeping a relationship with WWE.
“I helped recruit, I wanted the wrestling to be filmed in Orlando. I’d like them to do WrestleMania. They were going to do WrestleMania in April. That was hundreds of millions of dollars. I want to keep that good relationship. I want them to invest in Florida.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who classified #WWE, #AEW, #UFC and others among essential businesses, said he'd like to keep a good relationship with WWE and mentioned the $100 million+ that WrestleMania brings in. Also said they got UFC to come to Jacksonville. pic.twitter.com/xOlq4jjRqz
DeSantis also spoke about bringing UFC to Jacksonville with UFC 249 on May 9th and two fight night events on May 13th and May 16th in addition to a golf event that will be taking place in his state.
This is when he discussed fans eventually returning to live sporting events. While he doesn’t think they’re ready to have fans now, he believes that could change soon.
“I do think if the trends are good as you get into June-July. I think there is a window to have some fans. You’re not going to have everyone packed in.”
He continued by noting that in 90-degree weather in the state of Florida, people are going to want to go out and go watch a ballgame if other people are ten feet away from you. He thinks people may be able to do that.
The semifinals of the TNT Championship Tournament came to an end tonight as Cody faced Darby Allin and Lance Archer battled Dustin Rhodes. The final two wrestlers will compete to crown the first TNT Champion at Double or Nothing on May 23rd.
AEW Dynamite Results (4/29)
Cody def. Darby Allin to advance to the finals of the TNT Championship Tournament
Wardlow def. Musa
Best Friends def. Kip Sabian & Jimmy Havoc
Shawn Spears def. Baron Black
Brodie Lee def. Marko Stunt
Lance Archer def. Dustin Rhodes to advance to the finals of the TNT Championship Tournament
Here are 4 takeaways from this week’s Dynamite:
Cody Advanced To The Finals Of The TNT Championship Tournament
Darby Allin battled Cody in the semifinals of the TNT Championship Tournament in the first match of the evening.
Match Recap: Allin and Cody locked up in the middle of the ring to start the match off. Darby went after Cody’s knee but he battled back and sent Allin into the barricade. Darby charged at Cody but he got out of the way and Allin leveled Brandi Rhodes by accident as Dynamite went to a break.
When Dynamite returned, the action was back in the ring and Cody was in control. Cody locked in a Half Crab but Darby was able to reach the bottom rope to break the hold. Allin locked in a submission but Cody was able to get to the ropes to break it up.
Allin tied up Cody in the Tree of Woe and leaped onto his knee. Cody stumbled out of the ring and Britt Baker hit him with a shoe. Back in the ring, Allin hit Cody with a chop block and then started headbutting his knee.
Back from another break, both Cody and Allin hit a Clothesline that sent them to the canvas. Cody hit the Disaster Kick before taking off his belt. Cody handed the belt to Aubrey and rolled up Darby for a near fall. Darby planted Cody with the Cross Rhodes but Cody was able to kick out at two.
Darby applied the Figure Four in the middle of the ring. Brandi hobbled back to the ringside area with a bottle of water as Cody broke free. She handed Cody the water and he took a sip before leveled Allin with a Clothesline. Allin hit Cody with a Stunner and went for a Moonsault but Cody caught him.
Cody connected with the Cross Rhodes and went for the cover but Darby somehow was able to kick out. Cody then went for the Coffin Drop but Allin got his knees up. Darby hit the Coffin Drop but Cody rolled him up for the pinfall victory.
Opinion: I really enjoyed this match but I wasn’t a fan of the finish. Cody didn’t even use arms to roll up Allin, he simply slouched over and Darby essentially pinned himself. I just thought it looked cheap and could have been done better. The Coffin Drop should be an unstoppable move but I can’t view it that way if you can just roll on your side and defeat Darby after he hits it.
Cody absolutely stole one from Darby to advance to the finals of the TNT Championship Tournament. Congrats to @CodyRhodes, but something tells me @DarbyAllin won't take this one lying down.#AEWDynamite#AEWonTNT
MJF provided an update on his hangnail. MJF stated that his doctor claimed that he has never seen someone heal so fast and that he now has the strongest nail in the world.
He pretended to get choked up and said that he cut his neck while shaving. MJF revealed a gigantic neck brace and vowed to be back sometime in the future. He said he is the candle that is lit in a dark room and is the only hope AEW has left. Wardlow then faced Musa and absolutely dominated him.
Best Friends faced Kip Sabian and Jimmy Havoc in a No DQ match tonight. Penelope Ford and Orange Cassidy were ringside for the match.
Match Recap: Jimmy Havoc launched a chair at Orange Cassidy’s face to start things off. Chuck tried to Suplex Jimmy but Havoc countered and hit a Suplex of his own on top of several chairs.
Jimmy threw another chair into Chuck’s face as Kip launched Trent into the turnbuckle. Havoc and Sabian brought a ladder in the ring and sent Trent to the corner. Jimmy threw the ladder onto Trent and then catapulted him into it. Havoc went for the cover but Trent kicked out at two.
Kip set up Trent on a chair and went for a Splash but Trent got out of the way. Chuck got back in the ring and hit Jimmy with a Dropkick. Best Friends launched two chairs onto Jimmy before sharing a hug. Trent planted Kip with a Snap Suplex for a two count.
Sabian sent Chuck head-first into the chair and then turned around into a Tornado DDT from Trent. Trent hit Havoc with the chair and placed Kip on the ladder between the ropes in the corner of the ring. Trent climbed to the top rope but Jimmy broke it up. Havoc stood on top of the ladder and went for a Superplex but Trent blocked it.
Havoc tripped Trent up and sent him crashing on top of the ladder. Havoc set up some more chairs in the ring and slammed Trent on top of them. Sabian climbed up to the top rope and hit a Double Stomp but Chuck was able to break up the cover.
Chuck slammed Havoc onto the chair and delivered a Piledriver to Sabian on top of the chair. Chuck went for the cover but Penelope broke it up. Chuck Taylor bit Jimmy’s face and charged at him. Havoc countered into a Back Body Drop on top of the ladder. Orange Cassidy hit Havoc with a chair to the face and Penelope went for a kick but Orange ducked. Penelope accidentally booted Kip in the face as Cassidy made his way to the top rope.
Orange Cassidy then hit Penelope and Kip with a Splash off the top rope. Chuck planted Havoc with the Awful Waffle on top of the pile of chairs for the pinfall victory.
Opinion: This match was pure chaos and I loved every second of it. Jericho flipping out on commentary throughout the match was awesome.
Lance Archer Will Face Cody In The Finals Of The TNT Championship Tournament
Lance Archer (Photo: AEW)
Lance Archer battled Dustin Rhodes in the semifinals of the TNT Championship Tournament. It was this week’s main event.
Match Recap: Archer dominated early and booted a chair into Dustin’s face. Dustin was busted open and Lance beat him down in the corner of the ring as Dynamite went to a commercial break.
The action spilled out of the ring when Dynamite returned and Archer was still dominating. Dustin battled back with a couple chops but Archer knocked him to the floor with a forearm to the face. Back in the ring, Lance planted Rhodes with a massive Suplex as the blood continued to pour out of Dustin’s face.
Dustin set up Archer in the corner and hit with Shattered Dreams. Archer didn’t stay down for long and slammed Dustin to the canvas. Back from another break, Archer had Dustin in a Headlock in the middle of the ring.
Rhodes broke free and sent Archer to the corner. Dustin hit Code Red but couldn’t capitalize with a cover. Rhodes and Archer traded punches in the middle of the ring. Dustin connected with a Clothesline and followed it up with a Powerslam. Dustin hit Archer with a Cross Rhodes but Lance kicked out at one.
Dustin made his way to the top rope and leaped but Archer caught him. Lance planted Dustin with a Chokeslam but Dustin kicked out at the last moment. Archer walked across the top rope and hit an awesome Moonsault for a near fall. Archer hit Dustin with another Chokeslam and went for the cover. Rhodes countered into a roll-up but Archer kicked out at the last moment.
Lance hit a big boot and then took off the turnbuckle pad. Archer bounced Dustin’s face off the exposed turnbuckle three times and Rhodes fell to the canvas. QT Marshall came down to the ring with a towel and tried to throw it in but Cody stopped him. Archer dragged Dustin back into the ring and bounced his head off the mat several times for the victory. Lance Archer will battle Cody in the finals of the TNT Championship Tournament at Double or Nothing on May 23rd.
Opinion: Cody not allowing QT to throw in the towel, only for Archer to brutally bash Dustin’s head off the canvas was great. While it was pretty obvious that Archer and Cody would wind up being the final two, I’m still looking forward to the title match at Double or Nothing. I like that they have a few more weeks to build it up even more as well. Overall, I thought Dynamite was a good show this week. Jericho & Guevara versus Matt Hardy & Kenny Omega was announced for next week and that should be great.
AEW World Heavyweight Champion Jon Moxley recently did an interview with The New York Post where he spoke about a wide range of topics.
During the interview, he shared his reaction to WWE having Vince McMahon’s famous, “This is such good s–t, pal!” line be part of an interesting match at WrestleMania.
WWE surprised many people with various things in the FireFly Funhouse Match between John Cena and Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 36 – Night 2 in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center on the WWE Network.
Wyatt went over in the contest but this line was one of the highlights of it. It turns out that Moxley even mentioned the fact that he brought up that line during an interview when he first left WWE. He did so by reflecting about how McMahon would pitch different creative ideas to him.
“I kind of popped for it, honestly. I thought it was pretty funny,” Moxley said. “But it’s like, I think I might have popularized that or made it into a pop culture thing, but everybody knows that’s what he says. He’s been saying that for decades. People who were probably doing Vince McMahon impressions have been saying ‘that’s good s–t’ before I even got into wrestling.”
Moxley departed from WWE last year and signed with its rival promotion, AEW (All Elite Wrestling) where he has become a top star for the company.
Chris Jericho recently did an interview with Newsweek where he discussed AEW going back to holding shows again.
This comes after AEW held a string of TV tapings that lasted them for the majority of April. Now, the promotion plans to resume live TV events and also hold TV tapings for future episodes.
The plan right now is for AEW to go back starting on May 6th by holding the shows from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida. These episodes will build to AEW’s next pay-per-view event, Double or Nothing, on May 23
According to Jericho, he thinks it’s time to get back to holding shows again despite the coronavirus outbreak all over the world.
“We’re trying to start slowly and integrate back into life and I think it’s perfect. Obviously, we’ll take precautions and all that sort of stuff but it’s time to get back on track and I’m looking forward to it.”
Jericho also talked about the passion of the AEW roster despite having no fans in attendance.
According to the former AEW World Heavyweight Champion, he thinks the most important thing is to put on an entertaining show.
He also thinks that the wrestlers having great matches in front of nobody just shows the amount of dedication they have.
Pete Dunne knows better than most people how the travel restrictions due to the coronavirus have impacted WWE being able to use stars.
The WWE NXT Tag Team Champion spoke with Alex McCarthy of TalkSport.com about his hiatus from WWE television. This is due to the outbreak of the coronavirus as most countries in the world have locked down their borders.
This means it’s difficult if not impossible for wrestlers traveling internationally for work. In the case of Dunne, he’s in the UK and not able to make it to the United States to work weekly NXT TV shows.
According to Dunne, he sees this as a much-needed break in some type of way.
“I think for years and years we talked about maybe, is there a way that wrestling could have a kind-of off-season. I think this is a good trial for that for some of us.”
Dunne continued by noting that being home with his family and able to train is different from how he would if he was on the road and wrestling all the time. He added that he’s just trying to put a positive spin on something that’s hugely negative.
“But if I was going to [have an off-season], then spending time with the family, training hard, recouping and then coming back better.”
The topic of an off-season in WWE has been a topic among fans and wrestlers alike for years due to WWE’s tough touring schedule. However, the case of having it has been dismissed.
Whether that’s due to revenue that WWE would lose from not holding shows or impacting their large TV deals. With this virus, it has proven the point that WWE can survive without holding events in front of fans.
