Several AEW stars were contacted by WWE or those working with WWE about potential returns to the company.
When these reports came out, former WWE stars were contacted by WWE talent relations, referred the contact to their attorney, and informed AEW management of the contact.
The Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer previously reported that WWE contacted Malakai Black. Fightful Select reports that they heard from WWE sources that Black indicated to contacts in the company that he wished he was still there.
For now, Black is effectively done with AEW, but with the inability to compete for WWE for an extended period. Several in AEW management initially had the impression that he wanted to go back to WWE, and there were higher-ups in AEW who were of the “if they want to go, let them” mentality.
Malakai Black Wasn’t The Only One Contacted
(JayLee Photography)
The report noted that a source within WWE stated they heard that feelers were sent out to Cash Wheeler, Dax Harwood of FTR, and Swerve Strickland.
FTR has a while to go until their AEW contracts run out. They had spent years in the WWE system working with Triple H. Before they left WWE, the company made numerous efforts to re-sign them.
An AEW source added that “WWE had reached out in August to an AEW name who had been with the company since the start, but that even we’d be surprised to learn they reached out to.”
Bobby Fish tried to get his former stablemates – Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly to leave AEW to return to WWE, according to a report by the Wrestling Observer’s Ryan Frederick.
Frederick noted on the message board of the website that Fish was trying to get them to ask for their AEW releases, but they told him.
The Report
(via AEW)
“I posted it in the Bobby Fish thread but I know Fish was trying to get them to Cole and Kyle to ask for their releases to go back to VVWE and they both told him no. It’s possible Cole may have clued Tony [Khan] in. If he did, I doubt he was the only one. I’m sure Swerve was one of them who did so.”
Fish left the promotion last month when his contract expired, and it was not renewed, while Cole and O’Reilly have several years left on their contracts. Both stars are currently sidelined with injuries as Cole has been out of in-ring action since Forbidden Door in late June, when he reportedly suffered a concussion.
Kyle is out of action after undergoing neck surgery, with his last match taking place on the June 8th Dynamite show.
Cole, O’Reilly, and Fish had a successful run as The Undisputed Era in WWE NXT before they had a stint as The Undisputed Elite together in AEW.
Posted September 23rd, 2022 in AEW. Tagged: Bobby Fish.
AEW wrestlers and management have teased going to the UK for a big show. That plan is still in place.
The show’s location has always been set in stone. AEW President Tony Khan’s family also owns Premier League football (soccer) team Fulham FC, where they play at Craven Cottage stadium in London. The stadium can hold around 25,000 people.
Date for AEW’s UK Debut Show
Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the plan is still for AEW to visit the UK and to do a show at Fulham’s Craven Cottage stadium.
Meltzer wrote: “Right now, it still looks like next summer at the earliest for a U.K. debut at Craven Cottage, the home of Fulham.”
The promotion has yet to run shows outside of North America. With WWE’s recent Clash at the Castle show and the event’s success, AEW wants to run the market.
All Elite Wrestling recently held its second Grand Slam event in New York City at Arthur Ashe Stadium that did a $1 million gate. The promotion will venture outside of the United States when they hold Dynamite and Rampage events from the Coca-Cola Coliseum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in October.
Jacy Jayne and Gigi Dolin appear to be on the cusp of being called up to the WWE main roster.
The two WWE NXT superstars and Mandy Rose, the NXT Women’s Champion, are allies in the Toxic Attraction faction.
Dolin and Jayne have recently been briefly put on the main roster. They made their SmackDown debuts on August 19, when they defeated Natalya and Sonya Deville to win a WWE Women’s Tag Team Tournament match. They replaced Nikkita Lyons and Zoey Stark in the competition.
Dolin and Jayne Headed to the Main Roster?
According to Dave Meltzer’s report in the most recent Wrestling Observer Newsletter, there has been talk about Dolin and Jayne joining the main roster for a while.
It’s unclear when they would make their official main roster debuts, which brand they would be on – Raw or SmackDown – and if Rose would join them.
The former NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions most recently wrestled on this week’s episode of NXT by defeating Ivy Nile & Tatum Paxley.
Many fans believe that Dolin and Jayne have done everything there is to do in NXT so now is a good time to move them to the main roster and be in contention for the Women’s Tag Team Titles.
Boxing star Tyson Fury defeated Braun Strowman by count-out at WWE Crown Jewel 2019 to make his pro-wrestling debut. He hasn’t wrestled since, but Triple H has shared some insight into Fury’s future.
When Theory attempted to cash in his Money in the Bank contract during the main event of the Clash at the Castle event in the UK, he was punched by Fury and Following Drew McIntyre’s loss to Roman Reigns, Fury also spoke with Reigns and sang with McIntyre in the ring.
Triple H is Waiting on Tyson Fury’s Decision
(via WWE)
In an interview with The Sporting News, Triple H spoke about the possibility of celebrities like Fury and Dwight Howard wrestling for the WWE.
“I think Tyson Fury is chomping at the bit to get in the ring. The question is, which ring will he get into? Is it going to be the boxing ring? Is it going to be the WWE ring? We were just together in Cardiff. We had a long talk about it. He’s as enamored as ever in wanting to do this with us. I think he knows he’s got a few big fights left in him in the boxing world. I think he’s going to capitalize on those fights as you are hearing. You know, talks about [Oleksandr] Usyk, talks about Anthony Joshua. Selfishly I want him to come work with us, also, selfishly, I want to see those fights. So I hope he knocks those out and I hope he stays interested because I do think with the dedication and the drive that he had to do what we do I think he could do something special with us as well.”
Toni Storm believes the AEW Women’s Division is primed to ‘change the entire game.’
Although Storm is only the Interim AEW Women’s World Champion, she is invested in the permanent history of the AEW women’s division and wants to see it grow.
Toni Storm’s Vision
While speaking with TV Insider, Storm talked about the future of the division:
“It’s a story as old as time. Women’s wrestling struggles to get the same amount of time as the guys. We are put in a different position, but I really do believe we are headed in the right direction. We’ve got a locker room full of really hardworking and talented women that I believe are the future. It’s going to change the entire game. I think we’re going to overcome and get more time and see more emphasis on ourselves. But we’re doing the hard work. I’m very confident in this entire division.”
Storm stated that she’s proud to be at the top and will do whatever it takes to push it to where it needs to go.
“I’m proud of everyone back there. “I’m choosing to be positive. I think, little by little, there will be more emphasis on us in AEW. We just need to keep breaking down that door. I also think consistency is what will get us there.”
Storm successfully retained the Interim AEW Women’s World Championship on Wednesday night at the Dynamite: Grand Slam event in a fatal 4-way match against Athena, Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D., and Serena Deeb.
John Cena has set a new record for the most wishes granted through the Make-A-Wish Foundation with 650. The Make-A-Wish Foundation announced the news today and the milestone has been recognized by Guiness World Records.
Since becoming a top star in WWE after his rise in 2005, he was portrayed as a babyface who was a hero for fans and the face of WWE’s “Be a Star” anti-bullying campaign.
Cena made his first wish come true in 2002 and granted Make-A-Wish’s 1000th wish to a fan named Cardon in 2012.
John Cena’s Inspiring Work
John Cena
The non-profit organization helps fulfill the wishes of children who have been diagnosed with a critical illness. Children between the age of 2 and 18 can choose to meet a celebrity, go to an event, or even give a gift to someone else.
When children meet the former WWE Champion, they can take photos with him and hang out.
He told Reuters: “If you ever need me for this ever, I don’t care what I’m doing, I will drop what I’m doing and be involved because I think that’s the coolest thing.”
“I just drop everything,” Cena said when he was honored for granting 500 wishes. “If I can offer a fantastic experience, I’ll be first in line to do my part.”
Cena is the most requested celebrity, and nobody else has ever granted more than 200 wishes in the 42-year existence of the foundation.
The next challenger for the AEW World Heavyweight Title, currently held by Jon Moxley, has been revealed.
Moxley’s first title defense will come in his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio, on a special live Tuesday edition of Dynamite set for October 18th.
AEW President announced to the live crowd at Grand Slam on Wednesday that the Golden Ticket battle royale winner taped for Friday’s Rampage will get their title opportunity on this upcoming Dynamite episode.
Hangman Page is Next
(via AEW)
Hangman Page won the match that included Rush, The Butcher, The Blade, Dark Order, Private Party, Danhausen, Dante Martin, Penta El 0 M, Brian Cage, Ari Daivari, Lance Archer, Daniel Garcia, Cole Carter, Best Friends, Jake Hager, Dalton Castle, Lee Moriarty, Matt Hardy, and Jay Lethal. Page last eliminated Rush to pick up the win.
Moxley regained the title on Wednesday night with his win over Bryan Danielson in the finals of the Tournament of Champions after CM Punk was stripped of the title.
With Page getting the opportunity ahead of MJF, who also holds a title shot due to his Casino ladder match win at All Out, the belief is MJF will cash in that chip at the Full Gear pay-per-view in Newark, New Jersey, in November.
Saraya (Paige) is All Elite as the former WWE star made AEW debut on Wednesday’s episode of Dynamite following the fatal 4-way match that saw Interim Women’s Champion Toni Storm retain her title over Britt Bake, Serena Deeb, and Athena.
Following the match, Baker was going to attack Storm. Jamie Hayter came out to join in on the beatdown along with Deeb on Storm and Athena. This is when Saraya made the save by walking out, and the heels got out of the ring. She got an insane pop and told the crowd this was her house.
Tony Khan officially welcomed Saraya to AEW with the official All Elite graphic.
The wrestling world had a lot to say about Saraya’s AEW debut. Renee Paquette, Mickie James, Bayley and Sonya Deville are just some of the WWE and AEW stars who reacted to the historic moment.
Saraya wrote the following on Twitter about her AEW debut and thanked her boyfriend Ronnie Radke for letting her use his song Zombified a her AEW entrance music.
She also posted a photo of herself backstage at Grand Slam before her big appearance.
Fucking WOW! Absolutely blown away by the pop in the stadium and the reception outside of it. Been a long journey. Couldn’t be happier to be in @AEW thank you to everyone! ?? and thank you to my babe @RonnieRadke for letting me use his song Zombified! LFG!! ???? pic.twitter.com/9czsEWUcot
Paige has not wrestled since December 2017 due to her having spinal stenosis. Her in-ring career ended after she took a bad bump on the back of her neck during a six-woman tag team match. She officially retired from wrestling in April 2018 due to a neck injury.
This past July, Paige announced that the decision to not renew her WWE contract was made by WWE and she wanted to stay with the company.
Jon Moxley vs. Bryan Danielson headlined the 2022 AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam event on Wednesday night from New York City at Arthur Ashe Stadium with the Vacant AEW World Championship on the line.
The match got plenty of time, with MJF watching from the grandstands and laughing as the match ended when Moxley choked out Danielson with a rear-naked choke.
On last Wednesday’s Dynamite, Moxley and Danielson won the AEW Grand Slam Tournament of Champions semifinal matches. With their victories, they advance to the finals.
In the opening match of the show last week, Moxley defeated Sammy Guevara. Following Jericho’s crossface submission, Danielson defeated Jericho in the main event. Moxley entered the ring after the contest, and they exchanged looks. Danielson then offered his hand, and Moxley shook it as the show came to a close.
Following CM Punk’s suspension from the organization for a backstage brawl between himself & Ace Steel and Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks that occurred after AEW All Out, the AEW World Championship was declared vacant. Punk was also recently sidelined after undergoing surgery for a torn tricep.
Swerve In Our Glory (Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland) made their latest defense of the AEW Tag Team Championships against The Acclaimed (Max Caster & Anthony Bowens) at the Dynamite: Grand Slam event on Wednesday night from New York City.
The match was the second bout on the card. There was a moment where Strickland hit Lee by accident, and it looked like The Acclaimed was going to win, but it was a near fall. Billy Gunn hit Strickland with the fameasser on the floor when the referee wasn’t looking and Caster and Bowens hit their finisher to him in the ring for the win.
This was a rematch from All Out, which saw Swerve In Our Glory retain the titles, a surprising finish as many fans expected to see a title change.
Lee and Strickland became the champions on the July 13th edition of Dynamite when they beat then-champions The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) and Team Taz (Powerhouse Hobbs and Ricky Starks) in a triple threat match.
What are your thoughts on Max Caster & Anthony Bowens winning the AEW Tag Team Titles? Was this the right call by AEW officials? Sound off in the comment section.
Chris Jericho was able to knock off Claudio Castagnoli to capture the Ring Of Honor World Championship in the opening contest of the AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam event on Wednesday night.
The finish saw Jericho beat Castagnoli by nailing him with a kick to the nuts when referee Aubrey Edwards was distracted and followed that up with a Judas Effect.
This marks the first time that Jericho has held the title as he has never competed in the Ring Of Honor before. Now, he’s the face of the brand that is still without a weekly television deal.
It also means the end of Castagnoli’s reign with the belt that started back on July 23 when he defeated Jonathan Gresham at Death Before Dishonor to win the belt.
The betting odds for the matches that will take place at the AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam event has been released.
The card for the show that takes place tonight is finalized, with five championship matches confirmed. AEW will also tape Friday’s two-hour version of Rampage after Dynamite.
Bryan Danielson is favored to win the AEW World Heavyweight Title over Jon Moxley. Oddsmakers also expected to see The Acclaimed (Max Caster & Anthony Bowens) dethrone Swerve In Our Glory (Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland) as the Tag Team Champions.
Punk won the AEW World Heavyweight Title from Moxley in the main event of All Out but was stripped of the title because of his involvement in the All Out fight with Ace Steel, Kenny Omega, and The Young Bucks.
AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam Betting Odds
(Photo: SEScoops)
Here are the betting odds, courtesy of Bet Online:
The September 20, 2022 episode of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center.
WWE NXT Results
Nathan Frazer def. Axiom.
Toxic Attraction def. Ivy Nile and Tatum Paxley
Schism def. Edris Enofe and Malik Blade
Cora Jade def. Wendy Choo
Andre Chase and Bodhi Hayward def. Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams
Von Wagner def. Sanga
Oro Mensah def. Grayson WallerJD McDonagh def. Tyler Bate
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Opener
Shawn Michaels said Solo Sikoa has to hand over the NXT North American Championship because he was not supposed to be in that match last week where he beat Carmelo Hayes for the title.
Michaels shook Solo’s hand and wished him the best on the main roster. It will be Hayes and four others in a ladder match at Halloween Havoc to crown a new champ.
Nathan Frazer defeated Axiom to tie their Best of 3 Series. The match opened the show. Frazer does a twisting neck breaker and a superplex. He wins with a Phoenix Splash off the top rope.
Axiom won the first match of the series on the September 6 episode.
Joe Gacy, Rip Fowler, and Jagger Reid come to the ring for a promo. Gacy said he has tried compassion to convince Cameron Grimes to join them, but Grimes had made a life changing decision to not join them.
A masked woman with a hoodie is seen watching from the back of the crowd. Edris Enofe and Malik Blade interrupted and challenged The Dyad to a match. The Dyad defeated Enofe and Blade.
Andre Chase and Bodhi Hayward defeated Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams. Post-match, Chase, and Bodhi joined Thea Hail for a big celebration in the crowd with the Chase University student section.
Oro Mensah (fka Oliver Carter) made his debut with a win over Grayson Waller, thanks to an assist from Apollo Crews. He has advanced to the ladder match at Halloween Havoc for the North American Title.
In 2019, Mensah made his NXT UK debut. In a three-way match on the June 2 episode of NXT UK, he and Ashton Smith defeated former tag team champions Trent Seven & Tyler Bate and Teoman & Rohan Raja to win the championships. However, the team was forced to relinquish the titles later that month after Smith injured his knee. When it was announced on August 18 that the NXT UK brand was closing down in favor of the opening of NXT Europe, which will take place sometime in 2023, Smith was one of the names released by WWE.
JD McDonagh defeated Tyler Bate to determine the number one contender to Bron Breakker’s NXT Championship when JD hit his finisher.
Post-match, Breakker had a face-off with JD. Ilja Dragunov interrupted. The three faced off in the ring to end the episode.
In a unification match earlier this month at Worlds Collide, Bate lost the NXT UK Championship to Breakker, and McDonagh lost a title match to Breakker on the August Heatwave broadcast of NXT.
WWE will crown a new NXT North American Champion at Halloween Havoc as Solo Sikoa is no longer the champion.
In the opening segment of this week’s NXT episode on the USA Network, Carmelo Hayes, Sikoa, and Shawn Michaels were seen in a room. Sikoa was notified by Michaels that his last week’s match with Carmelo was not one in which he was authorized to participate.
Solo Sikoa is No Longer The Champ
Due to a fan vote, Wes Lee was to face Hayes in the championship defense. However, after Hayes and Trick Williams ambushed Lee, Solo stepped in and won the match.
He told Sikoa that his title victory was inadmissible and wished him luck in his main roster career with The Bloodline (Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns and Tag Team Champions The Usos) on SmackDown.
When Michaels told Hayes that they would be competing for the title in a ladder match at Halloween Havoc, Hayes thought he would be getting the belt back.
On the SmackDown edition of September 16 versus Madcap Moss, Sikoa successfully defended the title one time.
Ricky Starks does not mind the comparisons to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
While speaking with The Ringer’s Cameron Hawkins, he was asked about fans comparing him to the former WWE Champion.
Starks said some fans have even suggested he is The Great One himself but thinks the comparisons are a huge compliment. He also noted that he was a big fan of The Undertaker growing up.
Ricky Starks on The Rock
“I really don’t [hate the comparison]. In fact, it’s a huge compliment to have,” Starks said. “I think there’s a misconception that I hate the comparison; I actually don’t. What I hate about the comparison sometimes is people say, ‘You steal the Rock. You try to be just like …’ And it’s like, I actually don’t.”
He continued, “The Rock was never … the Rock was no. 3 on my list of favorite wrestlers; Undertaker was no. 1. So when people try to discredit my talents because they think I’m trying to be someone else, that’s when I have an issue with it. Yesterday, I went to this event and people are like, ‘You remind me of …’ They always have to put an era of Rock on it for some reason, like ‘the Nation of Domination Rock’ or something like that. But then I get people who say, ‘You just remind me of a young Rock.’ And I go, ‘That’s really nice. That’s really cool,’ because at least that’s a connection that you have.”
Starks will face his former tag team partner Powerhouse Hobbs on Friday’s Grand Slam edition of AEW Rampage.
Ric Flair has given his take on Ricky Steamboat’s return to wrestling.
It was announced last week that the pro wrestling legend would be stepping back into the ring on November 27 for Big Time Wrestling, although his opponent has yet to be confirmed.
Steamboat turned down the offer to compete in Ric Flair’s final match at Starrcast V in July. Flair teamed with son-in-law Andrade instead against Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal.
“He’s going to be in a match soon. I’m happy for him. It’s great. Steve Perkins is a great promoter. I wish them all well, whoever is involved. I don’t know the situation, but it’s great. It’s one of those deals where nobody is ever going to be Ricky Steamboat so they might as well watch them while they can and enjoy the opportunity. There will never be another Ricky Steamboat. At any level, he’s better than 50% of the guys in the business today. He wouldn’t get in the ring if he wasn’t. He holds himself to a very high standard. I imagine he’ll probably look better than the guys he is in the ring with. He’s always in great shape,” he said.
The last time Steamboat competed in professional wrestling was in a tag team bout in 2010 against Caylen Croft and Trent Barreta of The Dudebusters.
At WrestleMania 25 in 2009, Steamboat made his first appearance in the ring in 15 years. He competed against Chris Jericho in a three-on-one handicap elimination match with Roddy Piper and Jimmy Snuka. Later that month, he also worked a singles bout against Jericho at the Backlash pay-per-view. Due to a back problem, Steamboat had already retired in 1994.
It looks like fans will soon see a different side of the Alexa Bliss character on WWE television.
During Monday Night Raw, Bayley did a promo segment where she ripped Bliss for being a shell of herself before defeating Bliss during the main event. In the match, the announcers were pointing out that Bliss was not putting everything she had into the match with the idea that she had lost a step into the ring. The lights went out briefly during the main event.
A Change Coming for Alexa Bliss?
Bliss dropped the supernatural aspects of her gimmick earlier this year after portraying a similar gimmick to Bray Wyatt’s character. WWE has been doing a storyline with Bliss where she has been floundering on Raw.
Bliss said in the promo segment that Bayley was acting “like you’re 10 Feet Tall.” In the White Rabbit song, there is a lytic that states, “Go ask Alice, When she’s ten feet tall.”
I didn't even catch that @AlexaBliss_WWE referenced White Rabbit during the segment. #WWERaw
As previously noted, WWE showed a QR code during a backstage segment with Austin Theory. The company did another White Rabbit tease during a Raw commercial break, dimming the lights in the arena.
Many fans believe the song could be used for Karrion Kross or Bray Wyatt because Wyatt recently had talks with WWE about a possible return, and Kross was known as The White Rabbit when he was in Lucha Underground.
Some fans take that Bliss line as an indication that Wyatt is returning and aligning himself with Bliss.
Impact Wrestling officials are entering an interesting time for the promotion as several talent contracts are slated to expire.
Fightful Select reports Mia Yim’s contract is due in October, while Maria Kanellis confirmed that she is signed with the promotion through Bound For Glory.
Maria has stated that she has had talks with WWE, AEW, and Women of Wrestling (WOW). Her contract isn’t the only wrestler whose contract may be up as Matt Taven and Mike Bennett’s current deals expire soon.
These two stars are the current Impact Tag Team Champions. Sabin is under contract with Impact Wrestling through this year.
The Good Brothers also dropped their titles when their deals went up with Impact Wrestling after helping multiple tag teams become better.
NJPW Strong Tag Team Champions Aussie Open will take on the Motor City Machine Guns on this Thursday’s Impact Wrestling, with the winner earning an Impact Tag Team Title shot at October’s Bound For Glory.
This will be the go-home edition of Impact for Friday’s Victory Road special. Digital Media Champion Brian Myers defending against Bhupinder Gujjar in a ladder match and Jordynne Grace vs. Zicky Dice are the other bouts confirmed for this show.
Posted September 19th, 2022 in News, TNA. Tagged: Mia Yim.
Former WWE star Velveteen Dream, real name Patrick Clark, is no longer facing a case regarding battery charges and trespassing on a property filed against him.
After being arrested on August 20th, he was supposed to have a hearing on September 28th. However, court records show the case has been closed, and the scheduled hearing is canceled, according to PWinsider.com.
The court records indicate that prosecutors believed they did not have enough to go forward with a case against Clark and get a conviction, so it was deemed “not suitable for prosecution.”
Velveteen Dream’s Legal Problems
It was previously reported that Clark and an employee of a fitness gym in Orlando got into an altercation when the former WWE star was asked to exit an area of the gym that was about to be cleaned. It was alleged that Clark became “irate and argumentative” towards the employee and was ordered to leave the facility.
Clark threatened to kill the employee, which sparked a physical fight, which saw Clark allegedly bite the man. Authorities found teeth marks on the men’s “left chest near the left armpit.” Clark pleaded not guilty and was released on a $1,200 bond.
This arrest led to a violation of an existing Clark probation stemming from a November 2021 arrest when he was charged with possession of cocaine, use or possession of drug paraphernalia, destroying/altering/concealing physical evidence, and having no lamps/illuminating devices in his vehicle.
Clark was arrested for that violation and was jailed for 25 days in Seminole County, Florida, before being released on September 13th.
AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam is looking to be a big success for the second straight year.
AEW President Tony Khan noted on Twitter that the gate for this year’s event at Arthur Ashe Stadium surpassed last year’s gate. He also noted it will be AEW’s first $1 million gate for a non-pay-per-view. AEW has reached $1 million gates for Double or Nothing, Forbidden Door, and All Out this year.
Surpassed 2021 @AEW Grand Slam gate; now SO close to the FIRST $1 million @AEWonTV gate, after 3 straight PPVs hitting $1 million for the 1st time
I promise you won’t want to miss Grand Slam, super card + maybe something up my sleeve LIVE on TBS + tickets https://t.co/YDS5ifNqnB
Last year’s event drew a reported 21,277, with 18,300 paying just over $960,000. The show sold fewer tickets this year, although ticket prices are higher this year.
According to WrestleTix, tickets distributed are just over 11,400 as of one week ago.
The Cards
Grand Slam: Dynamite
AEW Championship (Vacant): Bryan Danielson vs. Jon Moxley
AEW Tag Team Championship: Swerve in Our Glory (champions) vs. The Acclaimed
ROH Championship: Claudio Castagnoli (champion) vs. Chris Jericho
Interim AEW Women’s Championship: Toni Storm (interim champion) vs. Dr. Britt Baker vs. Serena Deeb vs. Athena
AEW All-Atlantic Championship: PAC (champion) vs. Orange Cassidy
Grand Slam: Rampage
No Disqualification: Sting & Darby Allin vs. Brody King & Buddy Matthews
TBS Championship: Jade Cargill (champion) vs. Diamante
Eddie Kingston vs. Sammy Guevara
Wardlow & Samoa Joe vs. Josh Woods & Tony Nese
Hook & Action Bronson vs. Matt Menard & Angelo Parker
Malakai Black is an interesting star to follow now that he has confirmed that fans haven’t seen the last of him competing inside of the squared circle.
As previously reported, Black received a conditional release from AEW despite having years left on his deal, which indicates that he has no plans to work for AEW President Tony khan again.
Malakai Black Returning to WWE?
Malakai Black
During today’s Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer discussed Black’s situation and how he wanted to return to WWE now that Triple H is in charge of creative.
“He wrestled last night, which is interesting,” Meltzer said. “Then he put out a statement today and he wanted out from AEW. I guess we’ll see what happened. Obviously, he wanted to go back to WWE and he had a lot of time left on his deal. I think 4 and a half years left on the deal. It’s an interesting thing because it’s really difficult to keep someone who is unhappy under contract for that length of time. He did sign for that length of time. The reason you sign people to contracts is so that they can’t it they get unhappy or somebody makes an offer somewhere else, they can’t just go the next day. The whole reason he was signed to a 5-year big money contract was so if something happened in WWE and they wanted him back and they changed his mind, that they had him and they could book him for all those years. So it becomes an interesting situation and the same goes in the other direction too.”
It has yet to be confirmed that Black was offered a deal to return to WWE, but there have been multiple reports noting WWE has allegedly reached out to contracted AEW talent about coming back or joining the promotion.
Meltzer brought up how Black wasn’t used much by AEW because he has been dealing with an injury.
“I guess we have to wait for it to play out and see what the situation is. Basically, it’s what type of a deal he and Tony Khan came up with. Tony Khan wouldn’t talk about it. He talked a lot but didn’t say any specifics as to what the deal is. The story going around was that it was a conditional release and what that meant, I don’t really know. The assumption of a conditional release is that it’s probably something where he can’t just go right to WWE. Maybe there’s a timeframe or something like that. I don’t think he would agree to it if the timeframe was four and a half years.”
The WWE Board of Directors has a couple of new members, as the company announced today through a press release.
Michelle McKenna and JoEllen Lyons Dillon have been named to the company’s Board of Directors, which now consists of 12 members.
Welcome to the Board
McKenna has experience working for Disney, Universal Studios, and the NFL while she currently serves on the Board of Directors for Ring Central. Dillion has worked for 30 years in the global business, M&A, and legal. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Viatris.
Following Vince McMahon’s resignation from WWE in July, Stephanie McMahon was named WWE’s chairwoman.
Before Vince’s departure, the Board of Directors was investigating Vince’s sexual misconduct scandal. In July, former ESPN executive Connor Schell also resigned from the WWE Board of Directors.
Here is the list of current members on the WWE Board of Directors:
Stephanie McMahon
Nick Khan
Paul “Triple H” Levesque
Steve Koonin (Chief Executive Officer, Atlanta Hawks & State Farm Arena)
Ignace Lahoud (Chief Executive Officer of Majid Al Futtaim – Leisure, Entertainment & Cinemas)
WWE is reportedly planning to book Roman Reigns vs. Logan Paul for its Crown Jewel event.
On Friday, Dave Meltzer of F4Wonlinline.com reported that WWE is holding a press conference in Las Vegas this Saturday to announce the main event for its November 5 event with this planned match. It’s unclear whether Reigns will be defending his Undisputed WWE Universal Title against Paul or if it will be a non-title bout.
This report comes shortly after Paul was hyping on Twitter that he will make a massive announcement on tonight’s episode of SmackDown.
Paul’s appearance on tonight’s SmackDown was set up by an exchange that happened after Reigns appeared on Paul’s Impaulsive podcast and noted on Twitter that Paul was talking trash about him as Paul said Reigns is the person in WWE who he wants to face.
“You put me against Roman Reigns right now, I think I would win,” Paul said. “Me vs. Roman Reigns one-on-one, that’s my match.”
Reigns told Paul Heyman to handle it, and then Triple H invited Paul to appear on SmackDown tonight. This led to speculation about a WWE building towards a potential match between Reigns and Paul, and that is the case.
This will be Paul’s first appearance on WWE programming since he defeated The Miz at SummerSlam.
Bray Wyatt (Windham Rotunda) remains one of the top names on pro wrestling’s free agent market. Wrestling fans have wondered about his return since his shocking release from the company in July 2021.
WWE has brought back several former Superstars over the past several months. Ever since Triple H took over as head of talent relations and creative, we’ve seen the company re-sign performers including Braun Strowman, Johnny Gargano, Dakota Kai, Iyo Sky, Karrion Kross and Hit Row.
Wyatt is a former World Champion, so it should come as no surprise that WWE has had talks with the Eater of Worlds about coming back into the fold. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, those talks stalled out, but the door is still open for the two sides to work together again.
“Regarding talk of Wyatt returning, there were talks in that direction. At one point, the talks stalled, but it was said it was not a dead issue. Talks with him outside WWE had also stalled in the past, as his asking price was well above what other companies were willing to pay.”
– Wrestling Observer Newsletter ( dated 9.19.22)
Bray Wyatt was one of the top earners during his time with WWE. Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns make more money than anybody, but Wyatt was one of the highest paid full-time acts.
Since leaving WWE, he’s had talks with a few other wrestling promotions. Ultimately, we’ve heard he’s got a very high asking price that has prevented people like Tony Khan pulling the trigger on acquiring his services.
Wyatt has hinted on social media that his love for pro wrestling is alive and well. It’s probably only a matter of time before he’s back inside the squared circle.
