WWE superstar Paige has been vocal about wanting to make a wrestling return in the future. She recently provided some positive updates in the direction.
The former diva’s champion took on her Twitter to reveal that she is slowly getting stronger. She is now able to squat 185lbs once again:
“You guys I’m getting stronger, squatting 185lbs again.” wrote Paige, “I know it’s not a ton but it’s a big accomplishment for me who was worried to do any gym stuff because of my neck. But my neck is feeling so awesome. I’m so proud of myself”
The former champion suffered a neck injury while competing at a WWE house show back in December 2017. She officially announced her retirement from active competition in April the next year.
Paige has been providing positive updates on her health for a while. The last update she provided was in April earlier this year. In an interview with Renee Paquette she had said that she hadn’t had any issues with her neck in a while:
“I haven’t had any issues with my neck right now. Sometimes I’ll wake up, and it’s funny, you know, it feels weird, but it’ll go away, I’m going to get my neck checked very soon to see the progress of it.
Hopefully, it looks good. I’m not saying in any way, shape, or form they’re going to let me come back; it’s literally just a checkup. But I am intrigued to see how my neck has progressed, for sure.”
While a timetable for her potential return is not known yet, the latest positive updates on her health are still encouraging for fans. Many hope that she will be able to return to the ring sooner rather than later.
Jon Moxley recently joined Cincy 3:60 to promote an upcoming episode of AEW Dynamite scheduled for September 8 in his hometown of Cincinnati.
The former AEW champion talked about a number of things during his appearance and commented on their recent controversy with Domino’s.
The pizza chain threatened to pull their ads from AEW programming over a spot on last week’s Dynamite. Talking about it, Mox said that the company needs to child out:
“Domino’s Pizza needs to chill out. They need to chill man.”
“It was a coincidence. You know what? Jump on the bandwagon man. You don’t think Nick Gage can sell some pizzas for you? Come on. You know that the Noid is played out at this point and you’re bringing back the Noid? Come on.”
For those who don’t know, the Fight For The Fallen special of Dynamite featured a No DQ match between Chris Jericho and Nick Gage. A spot in the bout saw Gage busting Jericho open with a pizza cutter.
A Domino’s ad appeared on the screen right after this. Many speculated that the pizza chain may have partnered with AEW for the spot but they released a statement, denying any involvement in it.
Amidst the various rumors about the future of Daniel Bryan, a current NJPW champion Robbie Eagles has expressed interest in facing the former world champion.
The IWGP Junior Heavyweight champion recently made a tweet. In the tweet as seen below, he expressed interest in facing the former WWE star, claiming that facing Bryan is a dream match for him:
For those who don’t know, Bryan’s contract with WWE expired in May. It was initially believed that he will re-sign with the company, but things have changed since then.
Latest reports suggest that the former champion has agreed to a contract with AEW. It’s said that he wants to compete for NJPW. AEW’s partnership with the Japanese promotion was the deciding factor in his decision.
Robbie Eagles has been with NJPW since 2018. The company has slowly been building him as a star in recent times. He has been feuding with people such as the former IWGP heavyweight champion Will Ospreay and more.
He won his first title in the company during the Wrestle Grand Slam event last week. Eagles defeated El Desperado to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight championship.
There is no word yet on if this tweet is part of any plans for Bryan. It will be interesting to see if it comes into play somewhere down the line and if we see a match between these two in future.
AEW has announced a free-to-attend premiere party for Rampage in Chicago taking place on August 13 from the Replay Lincoln Park bar.
The party hosted by Warrior Wrestling’s Nick Hausman will feature many festivities including AEW swag giveaways, AEW trivia, WWF WrestleMania arcade and pinball competition, and more:
Y’all, this is seriously going to kick ass. Warner/AEW is sending us a bunch of promotional stuff. FREE to attend and there’s a chance you’ll leave with FREE @AEW stuff.
The party will start a couple of hours before the premiere of AEW’s second TV show Rampage that will be taking place from the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, PA.
This is an interesting announcement from AEW, especially since the second episode of their new TV show will also be taking place in Chicago from the United Center just a week later on August 20.
Though that won’t be all as the promotion is set to hold 4 more shows in the Chicago area after the mentioned Rampage episode which includes the All Out PPV event from Now Arena on September 5th.
Whether or not this turns out to be the case will be seen in the future but it’s clear that fans will be in for another fun wrestling night during the upcoming premiere party.
Matt Cardona picked up one of the biggest wins of his wrestling career when he defeated Nick Gage to become the new GCW world champion at Homecoming night 1.
The former WWE star recently had an interview with Sports Illustrated where he opened up about his big win and discussed what it means to him.
Cardona first commented on the wild crowd reaction to his victory. He explained that hearing the boos made him realize that they had something special, before claiming himself as the new deathmatch king:
“Tasting my own blood and hearing those boos, I knew we had something special, but it was all worth it. I’m the new deathmatch king.”
The GCW championship is the first world title of Cardona’s career. Discussing how the title win is a big deal for him, Matt Cardona said that people are crazy if they don’t think he is going to treat it as the biggest thing:
“This title is a big deal. I was fortunate in WWE to win the tag team title twice, the intercontinental title, and the United States title,
But the GCW title is my first world title. So people are absolutely crazy if they don’t think I’m going to treat this as the biggest thing in the world. I took the title to Disneyland and posed in front of the castle.”
Matt Cardona also discussed the negative crowd reaction at the Homecoming special that stemmed from his victory. He claimed that he is not trying to be a heel.
According to the former US champion, he was just being himself. He had fans in the arena too but it just happened to be that the vocal fan base there were the ones who didn’t want him to win.
AEW has made some significant additions to its roster in recent times. The company has also been gaining in viewership but according to Vince McMahon, he doesn’t see them as competition. The WWE chairman took part in the Q2 2021 earnings call where he was asked about their rival promotion
Vince was asked whether he feels the need to counter AEW’s investments to their roster considering that the two companies could be competing for media rights in future or if it’s “rising tides lift all boats” kind of situation similar to how it was with WCW back in the day. Replying to it, the boss explained why the situation with WCW was different:
“Well, it certainly is not a situation where ‘rising tides’ because that was when Ted Turner was coming after us with all of Time Warner’s assets as well, that was a different situation. AEW is where they are. I don’t really know what their plans are; all I know is what our plans are. I don’t consider them competition in the way that I would consider WCW back in the day, not anywhere near close to that.
And I’m not so sure what their investments are as far as their talent is concerned, but perhaps we can give them some more.” said Vince McMahon.
New WWE President Nick Khan then made some additional comments and claimed that they look at these situations like a horse race. Khan explained that similar to how horses have blinders on during a race, they are looking straight ahead at their lane. The promotion’s focus is on making sure that they stay in the front of the pack:
“At the same time, everything is our competition. Someone had a line a couple of weeks ago, that we all chuckled at and agreed with – sleep is our competition. Right?
If it was up to us, people could be up 24 hours a day, watching content from different content providers, hopefully including ours. So, we don’t look at any organization particularly as competition, yet we see everything as competitive with what we’re trying to do, in terms of eyeballs.”
Reports of Daniel Bryan and CM Punk being close to joining the AEW roster have created a lot of buzz in recent weeks. It has got a lot of people talking and Sean Waltman recently joined the list.
The former WWE star talked about these rumors on the latest episode of his Pro Wrestling 4 Life podcast and claimed that the news is exciting.
Waltman explained that while these signings will not hurt WWE, it will definitely help AEW. The former champion claimed that it’s gonna be ‘a f**king game changer’:
“It’s exciting. It’s just good for everyone, It doesn’t hurt WWE, I don’t think. It definitely helps AEW. They already have some really good momentum as far as I’m concerned. It’s gonna be a f**king game changer.
The difference is one is just a publicly-traded company that’s just f**king monstrous.” said Sean Waltman, “It’s huge, and I don’t think it’s going anywhere. That’s why I don’t think this necessarily hurts them. It just helps AEW, and it f**king helps the industry.”
The former DX member also discussed if it would have been better if these signings were kept a secret. The Attitude Era star compared them to the time when The Outsiders’ moved to WCW.
Waltman explained that even though people were aware of the duo jumping ships, it made their arrival even more impactful because of the anticipation it built.
Former WWE star Maven recently had an interview with Chris Van Vliet. He talked about many different things and discussed his time with the company in detail. Probably the most successful run of his career was his reign with the Hardcore championship. He held the title heading into WrestleMania 18.
Recalling that time of his career and his experience at the Show of Shows, Maven revealed that he was very nervous about going out in front of 70 thousand people. He recalled how the Rock helped him in this situation:
“So it’s WrestleMania 18 in Toronto, I went in the Hardcore Champion and left the Hardcore Champion. I’m backstage and I am scared to death, there’s 70 something thousand people out there. The Rock sees this and he says ‘Mave, come here.’ So I go up to him and I think I’m going to get words of advice from the best.
He goes ‘hey, no one is really expecting much out of you. So just do the best you can.’ He turns around and walks away I’m like ‘what the f**k was that?’ He then turns and winks at me.” said Maven, “That calmed me down. That one little joke, then it was like ‘f**k it, lets have some fun.”
Apart from this, the former champion also discussed another important moment from his career, the time when he eliminated The Undertaker from the 2002 Royal Rumble. Maven revealed that it was Shane McMahon who told him about the spot and even The Undertaker was surprised by these plans. You can check out his interview below:
Posted July 30th, 2021 in WWE, News. Tagged: Maven.
Chris Jericho and Nick Gage put on a brutal but impressive match on this week’s episode of Dynamite. Though it appears that the pizza cutter spot in the bout didn’t go over very well with Domino’s.
The company released a statement to Front Office Sports regarding the spot. In the statement as seen below, spokeswoman Jenny Fouracre-Petko said that they are assessing their advertising presence on the show:
“We share the concerns expressed about this incident and the content of this TV-14 rated program, and are assessing our advertising presence on it going forward,”
For those who don’t know, the Fight For The Fallen special of Dynamite saw former AEW champion Chris Jericho taking on hardcore wrestler Nick Gage in a No Disqualifications match.
There was one point in the bout where Gage used a pizza cutter on his opponent. Right after he cut open Jericho’s head, the broadcast went into split-screen mode.
The second screen featured a Domino’s commercial with an image of a pizza being sliced. This got a lot of attention on social media.
Many people wondered if the two companies worked together for the spot. Though this report makes it clear that the pizza delivery chain was not involved and it appears that they didn’t have any prior knowledge of it either.
Carmella has almost exclusively been a SmackDown star since the return of WWE brand extension back in 2016, though she is open to a move to the Raw roster in the upcoming drafts.
The former SmackDown women’s champion recently had an interview with Sportskeeda Wrestling where she talked about things such as why she wants to face Toni Storm and more.
Discussing a potential move to Monday nights in the upcoming drafts, Carmella admitted that she sometimes feels as if she has done everything she could do on the SmackDown roster:
“Sometimes I feel like I kind of have done everything I could do on SmackDown, That’s why I do get excited when new girls come up because it’s like okay, opportunity for fresh matchups and fresh stories.
Because I don’t ever want to ever get to a point where it’s like, okay we’ve seen this a million times, I don’t wanna do this anymore.”
Though according to the SmackDown star, the blue brand will forever have a special place in her heart whether she gets drafted to Raw or not:
“So if it happens, if this is the year, cool. If not, then maybe I’ll just bleed blue forever. I have no idea. But no matter what, SmackDown will have such a place in my heart because this is Carmella. Carmella is SmackDown.”
Latest reports suggest that WWE has moved the planned dates for the drafts a bit further. It’s currently expected to take place sometime in early October.
Stephen Amell and Alexander Ludwig recently appeared on Busted Open Radio. The duo talked about a number of things and also discussed the recent rumors surrounding their Heels co-star CM Punk.
The former WWE champion has been heavily rumored for a wrestling return in near future. Many signs point towards him being AEW bound already.
Discussing his reaction to these rumors, Amell revealed that he actually texted Punk to ask about the reports and the former WWE star simply sent him a picture of a cat:
“And I actually texted him when all this stuff broke, I’m like, ‘You coming back?’ And he sent me back a photo of a cat shrugging.
But I mean look, anything, I think as a general rule, anything in the world of pro wrestling that is gonna piss Vince McMahon off and get his competitive juices flowing is probably good for business.”
Stephen Amell then talked about CM Punk’s involvement in their drama series. He revealed that Punk wasn’t originally going to be part of the show:
“We had originally another actor, not a wrestler, really good guy, set for the role of Ricky Rabies. And then scheduling-wise, it ended up not working out. And then all of a sudden, it’s like; we got CM Punk on the show? Really?
And I get to train with him a little bit, and I mean Phil was so great in and out of the ring that we ended up bringing him back for the finale.”
Heels is an upcoming wrestling drama series featuring Stephen Amell and Alexander Ludwig among others which is set to premiere on Starz on August 15.
AEW star Cash Wheeler suffered a nasty injury during FTR’s tag team match against Santana & Ortis during Wednesday’s episode of Dynamite.
The AEW star was seen bleeding heavily from one of his arms. It made fans wonder about him after the show. PWinsider has provided some updates on his status.
The site notes that Wheeler suffered what was described as a ‘really bad cut’ to his arm when he was shoved off the ropes during a spot in the match.
The incident occurred when FTR were attempting a superplex/splash combo. Santana broke the spot and sent the injured star off the top to the floor.
His arm connected with the metal piece between the ring post and turnbuckles, causing the cut. The heavyweight star was immediately treated by the medical staff at the ringside. He was said to be ok in the back afterward.
The officials decided to cut to the finish of the match after Cash Wheeler’s injury. His partner Dax Harwood picked up the victory for his team using a brainbuster.
There is no word yet on if the injury will cause the former WWE star to miss any ring time. We will keep you posted about any updates on his health.
Former TNT champion Cody Rhodes recently had an interview with the Inside The Ropes magazine for its latest issue where he discussed many different topics.
AEW has signed a number of wrestling veterans in past year. Legendary names that have joined their roster includes people such as Paul Wight, Christian, and more.
However, if there is one star Rhodes is interested in facing more than all others, it’s Sting. During the interview, Cody said that while the idea hasn’t been discussed creatively, he still hopes to have a match with the Icon in future:
“I absolutely was adamant about wanting to do a match with him and it’s not something that’s been discussed or contracted or anything like that but, while he’s here, I still would hope that it happens,
He’s such a huge part of who I am and he was such a d*ck to me on the second week when he showed up,” said Cody Rhodes, “and I love that. And I love his love for my dad as well.”
The former WWE star said that Sting is a big part of the company. He explained having people like Sting and Jack Evans signed to the promotion at the same time is an example of how diverse AEW’s roster is.
Apart from this, Cody Rhodes gave AEW president Tony Khan the credit for signing Sting to the company. He also discussed things such as the process of getting the former WCW star cleared for his in-ring return and more.
While AEW’s audience is on a steady increase since the end of Wednesday night wars, NXT doesn’t seem to be attracting a lot of new viewers. This week’s episode of it has recorded the lowest audience since the show’s premiere.
This Tuesday’s edition of the Black and Yellow brand on SyFy drew a total of 520,000 viewers according to Nielsen which is the lowest TV viewership in the show’s history.
Last week’s episode of NXT drew 709,000 viewers. The numbers this week saw a big 20.5% decline compared to last week’s average audience.
The episode drew a 0.12 rating in the much talked 18-49 demographic which is a 40% decline from last week’s 0.20 ratings in the same demo.
USA Network was airing the Olympics this week due to which NXT was moved to SyFy. This change and the competition from the Olympics seem to have been important factors in the big rating drop.
The show will air on SyFy next week as well so the ratings aren’t expected to improve much. NXT will return to USA Network for the August 10 episode and we will have to see how the viewership rebounds for that episode.
Posted July 29th, 2021 in NXT, News. Tagged: SyFy.
We have seen a number of big WWE returns in the past couple of months including names such as John Cena and Edge. Though reports suggest that there is an even bigger return being planned for later this year in form of The Rock.
The Great One hasn’t been seen on WWE TV since the SmackDown 20th anniversary show back in October 2019. His last proper wrestling match was his bout with John Cena during WrestleMania 29 in 2013.
The Rock had a chat with Entertainment Tonight alongside his Jungle Cruise co-star, Emily Blunt on the premiere of their new movie. When asked if he can tease anything about his rumored WWE return, he said “there’s nothing.”
Emily Blunt then chimed in to joke that she is going to be forming a tag team with The People’s Champion: “[It’s] gonna be me and him, and there’s gonna be a big fight.”
WWE is reportedly working on a match between Roman Reigns and The Rock for WrestleMania 38. The Hollywood star is expected to make his return to the company later this year to set up this bout.
While not confirmed, latest reports suggest that the plan is for the former champion to make an appearance at this year’s Survivor Series PPV in November. It will mark the 25th anniversary of his official in-ring debut for the company.
Being part of the Lucha Dragons with Sin Cara was one of the highlights of Kalisto’s WWE career. The duo even won the NXT tag team titles during their time together.
The star now known as Samuray Del Sol recently spoke to Lucha Libre Online. He talked about many things and also revealed the original name for their tag team.
According to Kalisto, the Lucha Dragons were originally going to be called The Lucha Lions. However, he didn’t like the name very much so he suggested a change:
“Initially, The Lucha Dragons were going to be the Lucha Lions. I didn’t like it so much. I love the Japanese culture. So why not a dragon? Let’s try Lucha Dragons. Sounds better.”
Sin Cara returned to NXT after a main roster run and formed the Lucha Dragons tag team with Kalisto in May 2014. The duo went on to defeat The Ascension for the NXT tag team championships in September the same year.
They held the title for a few months before losing it to Blake and Murphy in January 2015. The Lucha Dragons made their main roster debut in March 2015. They remained a team until they decided to go their separate ways before the 2016 draft.
Malakai Black didn’t spend a lot of time on deciding which company he wanted to sign with after his WWE release. As it turns out, an old conversation with late Jon Huber aka Brodie Lee helped him in this decision.
The former WWE star recently appeared on The Wrestling Perspective podcast. He talked about things such as his desire to work with NJPW and more.
Discussing his decision to sign with AEW after his release, Black revealed that the name of the promotion popped into his head on the same day because of a conversation he had with Huber:
“I’ll be completely honest with you, the day I got released, AEW popped into my head. I had so many friends there. One of the last conversations I had with Jon Huber, rest in peace, he told me, ‘You’d love it here. You’d have so much fun here.’
That kind of always stuck with me because him and me,”said Black, “Every once in a while, would talk and there have definitely been moments where I was very frustrated.”
The former NXT champion was released from his WWE contract back in early June. He made his AEW debut during the July 7 episode of Dynamite.
Later reports revealed that WWE had forgotten to update Black’s contract when he was moved to the main roster. He was able to sign with AEW because his non compete clause with WWE lasted only 30 days, which is a standard for NXT talents.
Former WWE star Mojo Rawley recently spoke to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful where he opened up about his release from the company among other things.
WWE is known for putting a lot of restrictions on the stars contracted to the promotion. Rules they have to follow not only dictate their real-life but the officials have control over their lives on social media as well.
During the interview, Rawley discussed how he feels now that he is free from such restrictions. He explained that he is once again learning what freedom smells like, now that he can do anything he wants without asking for permission:
“Now, it’s like, I’m re-learning what freedom smells and tastes like and I can do anything I want,” he said. “I don’t have to ask permission. I can start a Twitch account.
I can go to a restaurant for a nice meal and tag the restaurant on my personal social media. So, there’s a lot, man. I’m hustling. I’m busier now than I’ve ever been, which has been nuts. It just shows it was time. It’s a win-win.”
Mojo Rawley On Potential WWE Return
On the topic of whether or not a WWE comeback is possible somewhere down the line, Mojo Rawley revealed that he was told that the door was open for his return in future when he was let go by the officials:
“More or less. There was a lot that went into that. Maybe we’ll touch on that later. But, yeah, more or less it was like, ‘Hey, man. Door’s open. Good luck,”
After a nine-year-long career in WWE, Mojo Rawley was released from the organization back in April this year. His non-compete clause has expired but the former 24/7 champion has not revealed his future plans just yet.
Jeff Hardy, unfortunately, tested positive for COVID-19 earlier yesterday. The news was revealed by a music venue called recordBar in Kansas City. The former world champion was scheduled for a meet and greet event there on Monday.
Though it appears that this wasn’t the only plan that had to be halted due to his positive test. According to PWInsider, the former champion was scheduled to compete in a match on this Monday’s episode of Raw.
Per the site, Hardy was scheduled to compete against Karrion Kross in a rematch from last week’s episode of the show. Though this match has been canceled now.
For those who don’t know, the high-flying star faced the debuting NXT champion in a one-on-one match during last Monday’s episode of the Red Branded Show.
To the surprise of many, Jeff Hardy picked up a victory over Kross in this match. He pinned the NXT star with some help from the ropes after a powerbomb.
It’s said that this surprising result was part of a long-term plan for the current champion. It’s yet to be seen how the company will handle things now that Hardy has to be taken off-screen for at least a couple of weeks.
Last week was probably the biggest week of her WWE career for Nikki A.S.H. Not only did she manage to win the Money In The Bank briefcase at the namesake PPV on Sunday, but she successfully cashed in the contract on Monday at Raw to win her first singles’ women’s title in the company.
The new champion spoke to Sunday Post after her championship victory. Discussing how she is feeling after her big win, the female star said that it all feels like a dream:
“It hasn’t sunk in yet. It’s a dream and it feels like I don’t want anyone to wake me up.’ said Nikki, “I was just staring at it when I got back to my hotel room, thinking of all the memories, all the people that helped, encouraged and inspired me on the journey.”
Now that she is on the top of the mountain, the former Sanity member has many potential opponents looking to dethrone her and take the title for themselves.
One such potential opponent is Becky Lynch who has been rumored for a WWE return for a while now. When asked about potentially defending her title against The Man, Nikki said that she is ready for the challenge:
“I’m ready for the challenge from Becky and I truly hope it does happen, Becky and Drew [McIntyre] have been amazing role models, inspiring me and creating that blueprint.”
Apart from this, Nikki A.S.H. discussed becoming the second Scottish star to win a singles championship in WWE after Drew McIntyre and more. You can check out her full interview at this link.
AEW vice president Kenny Omega recently made an appearance on Wrestling Observer Radio where he talked about a wide variety of topics.
All Elite Wrestling opened ‘The Forbidden Door’ last year. They have developed partnerships with many companies since then. The AEW champion himself has made appearances for a number of brands such as Impact Wrestling and AAA.
Though the big question is still about WWE and fans wonder if we will ever see these two rivals working together. When asked about it, Kenny said that he wouldn’t hold his breath but at the same time, he wouldn’t say it’s impossible:
“The one huge crossover, will you ever see WWE team up with anybody? Who knows? I feel as the world evolves and changes and time goes by, people become more open-minded to everything,” said the cleaner, “Whether it be the wrestlers themselves, people in the office, the fans.
“I wouldn’t hold my breath but at the same time I would never say it’s impossible.”
– Kenny Omega
Kenny Omega also talked about their partnership with other wrestling organizations such as Impact wrestling and NJPW. He said that he wanted to open the floodgates and according to him, it’s a situation where only the fans win.
Apart from this, the wrestling veteran opened up about things such as the recent rumors about Daniel Bryan and CM Punk joining AEW in the future. You can check out his thoughts on the topic at this link.
WWE superstar Jeff Hardy was supposed to take part in a meet and greet after Raw this Monday night at recordBar in Kansas City but the event has been cancelled because of Hardy testing positive for coronavirus.
The music venue released a statement from their Facebook page revealing that the former world champion will not be taking part in any live events for at least two weeks:
“Jeff Hardy just tested positive for covid this morning, and will have to quarantine for the next two weeks, and will not be participating in any live events for the next two weeks.”
As with other positive cases, WWE has not commented on his status. Hardy himself has been quiet so far as well. Though if the report is true then the high-flying star will miss upcoming WWE shows for at least two weeks.
Jeff Hardy wrestled on this past Monday’s episode of Raw where he picked up a surprising victory over the NXT champion Karrion Kross. This was Kross’ official debut match for the red brand.
There is no word yet on how Hardy’s expected absence might affect the plans for the NXT star. We will have to see if Kross makes an appearance on this Monday’s episode of Raw or if he is kept off TV as well.
A number of wrestling personalities have paid their tribute to the late WWE Hall Of Famer “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff since his passing earlier this month. Eric Bischoff recently joined this list.
The former WCW president dedicated the latest episode of his 83 Weeks podcast to the wrestling veteran and long-time friend. He talked about the various stages of Orndorff’s career during the episode.
Bischoff also recalled the time Mr Wonderful teamed with Paul Roma in WCW. He revealed which current tag team compares to the duo who were then known as Pretty Wonderful:
“Roma was a little more flamboyant and Orndorff was a little more dangerous,” Bischoff said. “I like that, I like how contrasts work. Randy Orton and the skateboard burn out guy, Matt Riddle.
I love that team because that’s just an interesting contrast of characters. It’s like a good buddy cop movie, you generally have contrasting characters that compliment each other and I think that’s the way Paul Roma and Paul Orndorff were.”
Randy Orton formed a tag team with Matt Riddle after a match between the two in April this year. Since then, the two have become a fan favorite.
Apart from this, Eric Bischoff also talked about being relieved from his management position in WCW in 1999. He claimed that he felt betrayed by the decision but didn’t go into detail for the reason behind it.
Ryan Nemeth made his AEW debut during a Dynamite episode back in January this year. Though this wasn’t really his first match for the promotion.
The brother of WWE superstar Dolph Ziggler recently appeared on the Talk Is Jericho podcast. He was asked how he ended up in AEW and he revealed that he actually used to help babysit Brodie Lee Jr.
Nemeth showed up at an AEW event where they were celebrating the birthday of Lee Jr. He was then offered a 6 men tag team match at AEW Dark but Tony Khan ended up deciding not to air the bout:
“We did a six-man Dark, and then Tony [Khan], as we were going back through a tunnel; he came halfway through the tunnel and said, ‘We’re not going to air this. I want you to figure something else out.’ I was like, alright.”
While Ryan Nemeth thought that he had somehow blown up his opportunity, Tony Khan had something else in mind. He was then called up for a match with Hangman Page on national television:
“I interpreted that as, aw, I really blew it. I must have sucked, something went wrong, and the next morning, Jess Palombo was talking on the phone but looking at you [Chris Jericho]. She goes, ‘Hey, it’s you and Hangman tonight,’
And she walked off and I was like, ‘What? Why? I mean, great. Okay, cool.’ I don’t know [what Tony saw], but I’m happy about it.”
Ryan Nemeth made his official AEW debut during the 27 January episode of Dynamite. The former WWE star faced Hangman Page in a losing effort.
Former WWE star Matt Cardona shocked everyone and became the new GCW world heavyweight champion by defeating Nick Gage during tonight’s GCW: Homecoming night 1.
The main event of the show saw Gage defending his title against the former Zack Ryder in a brutal match that left both the competitors bloodied.
Nick Gage was in control for the majority of the match. He used multiple light tubes and a pizza cutter among other things on Cardona during the bout.
Chris Jericho’s Judas theme played at one point in the match. While the hooded figure that showed up, ended up not being Jericho, the distractions continued even after that.
The 44OH! faction came out and attacked Gage not long after this. Former GCW champion RSP came out in Gage’s aid and the two managed to fight off the attackers.
Though this alliance was short-lived as RSP ended up low-blowing Nick Gage. This allowed Matt Cardona to hit a Rough Ryder on his opponent and win the match.
Fans started throwing trash in the ring immediately after the bout ended. Cardona ran off the arena to save himself, leaving Cage in disbelief.
— Lucha Outsiders Show (@luchaoutsiders) July 25, 2021
Matt Cardona beats Nick Gage, becomes GCW World Champion, gets absolutely peppered with beer, soda and water bottles then exits the arena with the belt.
This ends Nick Gage’s 100+ days long championship reign with the title. Now it would be interesting to see what the promotion has planned for Cardona’s title reign.