Cody Rhodes loved his time in AEW and views his old boss a little differently than CM Punk.

Ariel Helwani played host to CM Punk earlier in the week where Punk mentioned to him that he thinks Tony Khan is a nice guy, but not a boss. Rhodes happened to be Helwani’s guest on Wednesday’s edition of the MMA Hour and asked ‘The American Nightmare’ if he felt the same way.

“That’s his assessment. It is not my assessment. It is always important for me to remind people that I am so proud of what me Matt, Nick, Kenny, Tony, Bernie [Cahill], Brandi, and Dana, and Chris [Harrington], and I name all these people, because I was in those meetings. As much as the Internet will try to spin a narrative one way, if one of those people had not been at that start-up level, the company would not have happened. And I am so proud of what was created. I am so insanely proud of what it does for the industry overall.”

Rhodes says he has an unbelievable love for so many people there. Rhodes reiterated that it was a start-up company and he wishes AEW nothing but the best as it goes forward. 

Cody Rhodes Believes The Tension In AEW Was A Misunderstanding

Helwani then followed up by asking if Cody Rhodes can envision Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks getting abrasive with an outsider and established star like CM Punk.

“I just think what happened there was a ton of misunderstanding, a ton of miscommunication, you will see on indies and wrestlers that aren’t properly trained and I’m not talking about bullying etiquette or anything like that, but you do need to have a little ‘old school’ in you to know the collaborativeness of what this is, and I just think they were ships in the night. I know I was Switzerland the last time you asked me, I love Matt, Nick and Kenny and I love CM Punk. I don’t know how, but I do. I’m just happy for everyone involved.”

Several times since leaving AEW, Rhodes has tipped the cap to his former AEW EVPs and they’ve done the same in exchange.

Steve Austin still holds one of his WrestleMania matches in the highest regard, and it didn’t happen to have the WWE Title at stake. During an interview with Justin Barrasso, Stone Cold named his classic match against Bret Hart from WrestleMania 13 as an all-time favorite.

“If it wasn’t for Bret Hart, I don’t know that I would be having this interview right now,” said Austin. “My feud with Bret changed everything.”

Two years ago, Hart claimed that him and Austin clashing at WrestleMania 13 were like “two asteroids hitting at the right time.”

“The match with Steve, that’s the greatest song I ever sang. When I watch it back, I wouldn’t change a thing. I still love seeing that spot where I’m punching the daylights out of Steve in the corner and he kicks me in the groin. It was a beautiful, violent piece of art. Working with Steve was easy, it was fun, and it was memorable.”

Austin talked about how he and Hart delivered on arguably the greatest double-turn ever executed in pro wrestling and that was due in great part to what both men did in the ring that evening.

Stone Cold & The Hitman

After 19 years, Austin finally returned to in-ring action at WrestleMania 38 in Los Angeles. He faced Kevin Owens and came out victorious. Steve has some fond memories of that, but it still won’t shake off his number one with Bret.

‘I have a lot of fond memories of WrestleMania, but whenever I have to pick one, it’s always going to WrestleMania 13 with Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart.”

One fan will have a lifetime story to tell with The Rock and he’ll have the ink to prove it.

Last week,’The Final Boss’ was in Target promoting his new skin care brand and a fan by the name of Ruben Rodriguez made an offer to him if Rocky would autograph his arm, he’d get the signature and the original “brahma bull” tattooed underneath it. Sure enough, the fan did just that. Not only that, but Ruben shot his shot at one more potential opportunity.

“Saw The Rock at Target last Friday! Childhood hero of mine! I’ll cherish this moment for the rest of my life & I got to experience it w/my daughter. I told Rock that if he signed my arm, I would get it tatted & I’m a man of my word. Hook us up w/Wrestlemania Tickets.”

Saw @TheRock at Target last Friday! Childhood hero of mine! I’ll cherish this moment for the rest of my life & I got to experience it w/my daughter. I told Rock that if he signed my arm, I would get it tatted & I’m a man of my word. Hook us up w/Wrestlemania Tickets ? #IfYaSmell pic.twitter.com/5FW8rkLQqh

— Ruben Rodriguez (@RubenRod24) March 31, 2024

The Rock Is A Man Of His Word

Amazingly, The Rock caught wind of Rodriguez’s post and applauded him for delivering on his promise. In turn, The Rock has big plans this weekend for Rodriguez and his daughter.

“Dude holy s*** you did it!! That’s the authentic real deal signature & bull right there!  Looks amazing! You’re a man of your word, and so is the Final Boss… Pack your bags – because you and your daughter are coming to WWE WrestleMania. Your tickets, flight, hotel, transportation and food – are all on me! My team will be reaching out. See you in Philly brother. – Final Boss”

The Rock must have felt bad for making the young Cody Rhodes fan cry so ‘The Final Boss’ sure paid it forward with this move.

Along with Roman Reigns, Paul Heyman is getting comparisions to the legendary pairing of Nick Bockwinkel and Bobby Heenan, but ‘The Wiseman’ doesn’t want to hear any of that.

Speaking with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, Heyman was asked what he thought about being in that echelon of superstar and manager. Instead of comparing Heyman stated that he’d like to “set the standard” with Reigns so others will be looking at them as the measuring stick.

Heyman went on to talk about his admiration for Bockwinkel, noting that he left WCW just before Nick arrived. However, Paul did recall when their paths briefly crossed all the way back in Verne Gagne’s AWA.

Nick Bockwinkel was on commentary for the broadcast on ESPN and Heyman decided to take the initiative.

“I walked over to the commentary position and said, ‘I know why Greg Gagne gets to commentate on ESPN, but exactly who are you related to?’ It was an off-script, impromptu line.”

After the show, Heyman was approached by Bockwinkel, who told the young mananger what he thought of that move.

“Nick came up to me and said, ‘Young man, it took a lot of balls to challenge my position that way.’ I thought he was really pissed. I said, ‘Yes, sir. Seizing the moment, sir.’ And Nick looked at me and said, ‘I admire the gumption it took to do it.’ And then he walked away. I figured if he walked away without slapping me, it was a victory.”

Bockwinkel never made it to the WWE, but he was inducted into the Hall of Fame back in 2007 as his star really shined in the AWA as a heel champion, feuding with Hulk Hogan and Verne Gagne.

Peter Rosenberg will be involved with WrestleMania once again this year, but the tenured NYC radio host should have some additional duties on tap for Philadelphia.

Last year at WrestleMania 39 in Los Angeles Rosenberg had the opportunity to give fans an in-depth point-of-view tour of how the backstage area and the stage was laid out for LA’s SoFi Stadium. Rosenberg also was apart of the pre-show but he hinted to SEScoops that he may be apart of some additional duties this year as well.

However, it’s been an interesting road for Rosenberg to find his way into WrestleMania and WWE. He first was given full access backstage to WrestleMania 32 in 2016 by Jonathan Coachman, where basically shadowed the former ESPN personality. That is where he met Chris Chambers, former WWE VP of Television Strategy.

“He has a really illustrious career. He just recently retired and is just a tremendous guy and he was the first person who sort of heard me talk, heard my passion, heard the other places that I was working… 

“It was kind of like, you know, to kind of see ‘how you could be useful here,’ you know? And he was like, ‘Do me a favor, reach out to me, you know, when you get back.”

At first, Peter didn’t hear back, but followed up and the gears got into motion. Soon enough he was with Sam Roberts hosting a new show, Bring It To The Table that also featured Corey Graves and JBL.

Now being involved with the company for nearly a decade, Rosenberg still doesn’t look at it as work.

“‘Work’ is probably not the right way to put it. It’s a reprieve for me. It’s something I truly look forward to doing.”

Peter Rosenberg Thinks Seth Rollins Is A-Okay In How He’s Positioned For WrestleMania

Peter Rosenberg will not be the only one pulling double duty at WrestleMania. Seth Rollins, like Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns, will be in two matches over the weekend. 

Rosenberg was asked about his thoughts on the incorporation of The Rock as “The Final Boss” a persona he was initially adverse to, but got more invested when realizing he was being heeled by the moniker. 

He believes The Rock is such a big name that his brand takes up a lot of space. Ds The Rock, Roman and Cody give Seth Rollins an “odd man out” vibe? An argument could be made for Seth, but Rosenberg feels that the WWE World Heavyweight Champion is still in a very good position.

“It’s okay. Like, okay – Seth is playing second fiddle slightly to Cody Rhodes, who’s having the hottest moment of his career, [and] in my opinion, is the most over babyface in maybe 20 years. The Rock was one of the greatest of all time and is back in a real way for the first time in forever and Roman Reigns, who’s on a historic Hogan like title run. Like let’s not act as if being the fourth player in that story is some horrible thing. I mean, not everyone can be ‘1’ and ‘1A’ 

“Seth is still I think is still in an incredible spot for Seth, and I think he’s doing great and guess what? I think the story is going to end up being told for him too.”

Before WrestleMania 40 officially fires off on Saturday and Sunday, Rosenberg will host “The Michael Kay Show” live at WrestleMania World on Thursday, April 4 from 3 to 6:30 PM ET. Then, later on that evening he will do a live show of his wrestling podcast, “Cheap Heat” at the Fringe Arts also in Philadelphia. You can tune into our full interview with Rosenberg below.

Please credit SESCoops for the interview and transcription.

CM Punk’s new interview with Ariel Helwani is certainly chock full of newsworthy topics as ‘The Best In The World’ addressed quite a bit in the conversation, including Hangman Page.

Punk was discussing his non-relationship with his former close friend, Colt Cabana, and mentioned that they only very briefly had an interaction while in AEW before Punk told him to go through his lawyer if he ever wants to speak to him again. That prompted Punk to mention how he believes Cabana was the crux for all that unfolded in AEW, including Page “going into business” for himself on AEW Dynamite. 

Page and Punk were building to their match for AEW Double Or Nothing and Hangman made inside reference to Punk alienating himself from people backstage. Punk told Helwani he sympathized with Page’s thoughts, but not in front of a packed arena.

“I applaud and I said this to Hangman, I was like, ‘Man, I get taking up for your friends, I get it. That’s commendable .I do that all the time right or wrong, I’ll stand up for my f***ing friends, but to f***ing go on national television and jeopardize a million dollar house that you ain’t ever drawn before. Now you’re disrespecting me and you’re disrespecting the business. This is my house. I drew that, not you,’ you know? And that’s egos. It is what it is.”

Punk covered plenty of ground in this revealing interview on WrestleMania week including his brief interaction with Vince McMahon, his thoughts on Tony Khan and much more.

Please credit MMA Hour and h/t to SEScoops for the transcription.

Hulk Hogan vs. Ric Flair never went down at WWE WrestleMania VIII, and the Hulkster knows the reasons why.

It was always an obvious omission as to why Hogan never fought Flair, but speaking with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, Hogan said that their were several wheels turning as to why ‘The Immortal’ never faced ‘The Nature Boy.’

“Me and Flair had magic in the old WWF,” said Hogan. “But there was more than one agenda there. It wasn’t just that Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan were going to be the guys driving the WWF train. I think Vince was thinking in multiples. We weren’t the only game in town. He got what he needed, then spread us apart.”

Although they wrestled one another at several house shows, the marquee match didn’t happen on the “grandest stage of them all.” From a visual perspective, Sports Illustrated notes that part of that reason was because Flair didn’t fit the bill of Hogan’s typical type of foe. Vince McMahon was lining up monsters for him to slay and Flair was of a different type of feather. Hogan, however, noted that he was always up for challengers of different wrestling styles.

“I always loved wrestling, and I liked the challenge of working with different guys. I loved wrestling The Rock. If you’re going to create magic, there is a formula, a feel, a timing, and a placement. That’s the ‘It Factor’–you need to be able to see it and feel it.”

Something else that was on the table was that WrestleMania VIII was going to be Hogan’s last with WWE. Instead, Hogan took on Sid Vicious and Flair battled Randy Savage.

Matt Cardona made waves on Saturday night when he was the one to answer the “Cope Open,: and ‘The Deathmatch King’ couldn’t have been happier.

AEW Collision kicked off with Adam Copeland opening the canvas to whomever wanted to step up against him and challenge for the TNT Championship. That man was Matt Cardona. Ever since being released by WWE, Cardona has made his hay without any long-term pro wrestling contract and has fully embraced the identity of ‘The Indy God.’ He’s competed everywhere and anywhere not named WWE and that included AEW back in 2020.

Cardona, who first got his big break in WWE as an ‘Edgehead,’ may have came up short in his singles match against Copeland but was extremely grateful for the opportunity to lock up with his former menter. He expressed his gratitude on X, thanking both Copeland and Tony Khan for the opportunity.

Adam Copeland vs. Matt Cardona…my dream match…finally happened last night at #AEWCollision.

When I was in high school, Edge was one of my favorite wrestlers. I’d have matches with him (an invisible version) in my bedroom or trampoline. 

Him reinventing himself into the Rated R Superstar made me an even bigger fan of his.

A couple of years later, Brian Myers and I made it to WWE but were drowning as The Major Brothers. We were about be fired. We had an idea to be Adam’s entourage…his Edgeheads. He didn’t need us but we certainly needed him. He took a chance on us, saved our careers, and changed our lives.

We went from sitting in catering about to be fired to wrestling guys like Undertaker, Batista, Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, etc. We learned so much from working so close to Adam. Our first time at WrestleMania was being involved in the main event! I thought the next year at WrestleMania it’d be Edge vs. Hawkins vs. Ryder. That didn’t happen. LOL. 

16 years (holy shit!) flew by so fast. Adam had to retire due to a neck injury in 2011. My dream match would never happen. Adam returns to WWE in 2020. I get fired from WWE in 2020. My dream match would never happen.

I’ve been busting my ass these past 4 years to reinvent myself. Adam is the Rated R Superstar and I’m the Self Made Superstar. I’ve been everywhere. I’ve wrestled everyone. When Adam joined AEW in 2023, I knew my dream match was back on the table. 

Last night in Canada, Adam had the Cope Open…an open challenge for his TNT Championship. I accepted. The fans didn’t forget the history. There was a HOLY SHIT chant on my god damn entrance. I may have lost but I learned even more from Adam from that match. It was a night that I’ll never forget. I finally wrestled my dream match.

Thank you Adam. Thank you Tony Khan for the opportunity.

.@RatedRCope vs. Matt Cardona…my dream match…finally happened last night at #AEWCollision.

When I was in high school, Edge was one of my favorite wrestlers. I’d have matches with him (an invisible version) in my bedroom or trampoline.

Him reinventing himself into the Rated R… pic.twitter.com/6Apy59XWzM

— Matt Cardona (@TheMattCardona) March 31, 2024

What’s Next For Matt Cardona?

The ‘Self-Made Superstar’ Matt Cardona has reportedly not signed a deal with AEW and remains a free agent. From Cardona’s post on X, that looks even more evident. Cardona had to readjust his schedule when this match was booked as he was actually scheduled to wrestle at the Squared Circle Expo on Saturday night, but was replaced by Nic Nemeth who wrestled Ultimo Dragon.

Ricky Starks appeared to have legitimately gotten hurt on AEW Collision and it led to a change in the outcome of the AEW Tag Team Title tournament match.

According to Fightful Select, Ricky Starks and Big Bill were the planned team to advance in the tournament as they faced Top Flight in the opening round. 

Towards the end of the match, Starks was supposed to kick out of a pinfall attempt but he missed. The referee stopped the count despite Starks’ shoulder being on the mat which led to booing from the crowd. 

Ricky Starks then got up and took a DDT from Darius Martin before finally being pinned. Trainers were seen checking on the AEW star after the bell rang.

Even on the television broadcast, one could tell that Tony Schiavone was preparing to call for a kickout by Starks but sadly that didn’t happen. Big Bill and Starks were penciled in to face FTR in the next round of the tournament, but now it is Top Flight advancing. 

Starks and Big Bill had a credible run as AEW World Tag Team Champions before they dropped the titles to Sting and Darby Allin not long before Sting retired at AEW Revolution. 

So far the teams who have advanced in the tournament apart from Top Flight are The Young Bucks who defeated Private Party, The Best Friends who beat Undisputed Kingdom, and FTR who defeated The Infantry earlier in the evening.

Ricky Starks has since provided an update on his status and noted that he is doing fine. It’s possible that he may be kept away from ring for a while just to be sure. 

The show also featured a surprise appearance from a former IC Champion who answered Adam Copeland’s open challenge. You can check out full details of the segment here. 

Matt Cardona sure is “Alwayz Ready” as ‘The Indy God’ just showed up on AEW Collision to face a man he’ll forever have a connection with.

Cardona was the competitor to answer the call of “The Cope Open” in order to challenge for Adam Copeland’s TNT Championship on Saturday night. The former ‘Edgehead’ was ready to take it to his once-mentor many years ago in the WWE

This is Cardona’s first appearance in AEW since he last competed in the company for a short run in 2020. He was an ally to Cody Rhodes.

Copeland and Cardona battled it out, but it was Adam who came out on top retaining his title. Still the fans certainly got an unexpected treat from the former NWA World Champion who has redefined what it means to be an independent wrestler.

What Is Matt Cardona’s Status With AEW?

With Cardona unexpectedly showing up on AEW Collision, it’s logical to speculate if he may have something more in relation with the company.

Fightful Select is reporting that despite the appearance, Cardona is still very much a free agent and hasn’t signed anything with AEW. Plans for Matt making his way to Collision actually unfolded earlier this week. 

Cardona was originally scheduled to defend his Squared Circle Expo Championship on Friday against Ultimo Dragon. To make the Collision appearance happen, he dropped his SCE Title to Nic Nemeth on Friday instead. 

Cardona recently told Fightful that there had been very little communication between him and AEW since that last 2020 run.

You can check out Matt Cardona’s match with Adam Copeland below:

What if R-Truth tried joining The Final Testament? Karrion Kross says he’d bring out a different type of person than the one The Judgment Day is currently dealing with.

A fan proposed the hypothetical to Karrion Kross on X of R-Truth trying to hang with him, AOP, Scarlett and Paul Ellering and the former NXT Champion made it known he’d conjure up a R-Truth that WWE has yet to see.

“What would we do? I remind & show the world about Ron “The Truth” Killings. And you would run for your life. Because Ron doesn’t joke or laugh until he puts you in the hospital. I like Ron. A lot. The world is lucky they’re getting the nice guy right now.”

What would we do?

I remind & show the world about
Ron “The Truth” Killings.

And you would run for your life.

Because Ron doesn’t joke or laugh until he puts you in the hospital.

I like Ron. @RonKillings

A lot.

The world is lucky they’re getting the nice guy right now. https://t.co/79yH3tP5I8

— Karrion Kross ? (@realKILLERkross) March 30, 2024

R-Truth like what he heard out of Kross because he reposted Karrion’s comments.

Before he donned the R-Truth moniker, Ron Killings went by his real name in TNA and became the first African-American NWA Worlds Champion while there.

At the moment, R-Truth is looking to become the new Undisputed Tag Team Champions with The Miz. The two have punched their ticket to WrestleMania 40 to be apart of the six-pack ladder match. Truth and Miz have a score to settle with Judgment Day and they’ll be battling Damian Priest and Finn Balor in the bout, along with four other tag teams.

Funny enough, the first iteration of Awesome Truth did happen to feature a heel version of R-Truth and the two happened to take on The Rock and John Cena in tag action.

Could we see a new alliance made between Dustin Rhodes and The Butcher?

Dustin Rhodes took on The Butcher in singles action during AEW Rampage after the latter stepped up to the former during an interview segment on AEW Dynamite. Dustin accepted The Butcher’s challenge and ‘The Natural’ came out on top in the battle. Following the fight, The Butcher took to X to tip his cap to Rhodes and offered him a lending hand in the future.

“I thought i had that match last night. I had him in my grips. I was doubting his legendary status. Everyone should know that Dustin Rhodes is every bit of a legend and he humbled me. From this day forward, I’ve got your back, Natural. If you ever need me, I’m here for you.”

Rhodes took note of The Butcher’s offer (which also offered three heart emojis) and replied, “Love you dude.”

Love you dude https://t.co/FCo4MSqW6P

— Dustin Rhodes (@dustinrhodes) March 30, 2024

The Past “Unlikely Alliances” For Dustin Rhodes

Rhodes is certainly no stranger to “strange bedfellows” as there’s been several occassions where he’s teamed up with someone of a different ilk. Probably the most memorable unlikely alliance took place back in WWE when he as Goldust joined up with Booker T. However, you can even go back further when Dustin was originally ‘The Natural’ in WCW when he teamed with Arn Anderson until ‘The Enforcer’ stabbed him in the back.

However, there has also been names whom Rhodes has had history with and has gotten to tag together. Obviously, him and his brother Cody had found success as a tag team, notoriously beating The Shield at WWE Battleground 2013. He also just recently teamed up with Marshall and Ross Von Erich on a previous episode of AEW Rampage.

Bryan Danielson will continue to check items off his bucket list WrestleMania weekend, but it won’t be anywhere near Philadelphia.

CMLL announced that Danielson will indeed take on the legendary Blue Panther on April 5, 2024 in Arena México for their Wrestling Spectacular. It was just this last Friday where Danielson stood across the ring from Blue Panther as he teamed with Jon Moxley, Claudio Castignoli and Matt Sydal to battle the legend, Volador Jr., Ultimo Guerrero, and MLW World Middleweight Champion Mistico. After the battle, Danielson challenged Blue Dragon to a singles match.

Danielson shared in his excitement for the four-man tag on 3/28 and taking a moment to note that Blue Panther holds a special place in his pro wrestling hiearchy.

“The BCC will be standing across the ring from 4 incredible wrestlers, one of whom, Blue Panther, is my FAVORITE LUCHADOR OF ALL TIME!!! What a life!”

https://twitter.com/bryandanielson/status/1773429497074978941

Who Is Blue Panther?

Blue Panther actually started his wrestling career in the late 1970s and is an absolute legend in Mexico. He has won a bevvy of championships under the CMLL banner and really established himself with in a memorable feud with Art Barr in the early 1990s. 

Pro Wrestling Illustrated listed him as #58 in the 1998 edition of the PWI 500 and Panther was just inducted into the Wrestling Observer Hall Of Fame in 2023.

Maybe #AEW 's Bryan Danielson was able to connect his "Front knee" to Blue Panther but he wasn't expecting the speed from the master at #CMLL #2LeyendasCMLLhttps://t.co/Nu6FCNcrcU

— ERD Wrestling (@ERD_Wrestling) March 30, 2024

Putting Blue Panther on Danielson’s list of opponents is giving ‘The American Dragon’ a heck of a resume for 2024. He’s faced Shibata weeks ago on AEW Collision and then will tie up with Will Ospreay on April 21 for AEW Dynasty.

This recap was originally written by SEScoops’ staff writer Dominic DeAngelo on MLW.com

Watch the replay of MLW War Chamber HERE.

Major League Wrestling is in St. Petersburg, FL and there’s not one, but two rings hoping to contain all the entrants in tonight’s War Chamber as Team MLW will take on the World Titan Federation. The St. Pete Coliseum is packed and they’re ready for action. We’re sure going to get that with a World Featherweight Title fight!

MATCH 1
World Featherweight Championship
Unagi Sayaka vs. Janai Kai (c) (presented by Salina de la Renta)

Janai Kai has had a trend of knocking out her opponents in the first several seconds, but not this tie. Sayaka is just about as even as a fighter you can get to combat the ‘Kick Demon’ and there were some still boots by both women! However, that all changed when Janai caught Sayaka in the corner with a bad roundhouse, stacked her up and got the 1-2-3!

WINNER and STILL MLW World Featherweight Champion: Janai Kai

? @Janai_Kai #MLW pic.twitter.com/Wl3ngzB9cH

— MLW (@MLW) March 30, 2024

MATCH 2
AJ Francis vs. Alex Kane

Francis comes out with MSL who joins commentary but AJ also has words in the ring, running down both Alex Kane and Mr. Thomas and disrespecting the BOMAYE Fight Club. Francis keeps running his mouth which finally prompts Kane to cut the BS.

Alex Kane wastes zero time at exacting revenge on Francis, sending the big man to the outside before diving on him! Kane quickly follows up with his patented body splash on the apron! Kane soon splashes Francis into the ring post, but AJ forces him off into the BOMAYE Fight Club who sends their leader back into action. However, Francis pops him up for a massive apron powerbomb!

Francis continues to exude his strength in the ring, and Kane is game to match that, launching Francis up for a big vertical suplex! He then hits a belly-to-back! MSL gets concerned and leaves the booth. When Francis is caught on the ropes, MSL grabs hold of his client and it allows AJ the opportunity to regain momentum and chokeslam Kane! He covers and the ref makes an extremely fast three count!

WINNER: AJ Francis

Post-fight, the BOMAYE Fight Club sans Mr. Thomas is standing in the ring to confront Francis, but instead of attacking they align! Fists are raised and Francis has been backed by BOMAYE! Kane and Thomas are not pleased but definitely have retribution on their minds!

Say what?? @ajfrancis410 with the #BOMAYE Fight Club?? #MLW pic.twitter.com/YxUkV4ZPQo

— MLW (@MLW) March 30, 2024

We see AKIRA entering the Coliseum and the first person he sees is Sami Callihan. However, he’s ambushed from behind by RSP and The Calling. This was clearly an orchestrated attack as RSP wraps barbed wire around AKIRA’s face to put him in a crossface! They want to make sure he doesn’t make it to his War Chamber match!

The next match is supposed to involve Devin Diaz, but former bounty hunter Brian Brock attacks him from behind and grabs the mic. He issues an open challenge, but he may have got more than he bargained for in Mads Krule Krugger!

MATCH 3
Bryan Brock vs. Mads Krule Krugger

Krugger doesn’t take long to send Brock to the outside and the brawl begins. Members of the Sentai Death Squad help Krugger in his cause both The Black Hand rules with an iron fist. Kendo sticks, and doors are introduced. Kruger comes charging as Brock but Brock moves and Krugger goes through the door. Brock hits his signature lariat and has to fight off more soldiers. He cracks Krugger with both halves of the door, but it doesn’t phase Mads!

He catches Brock with a chokeslam then his full nelson faceplant for the 1-2-3!

WINNER: Mads Krule Krugger

What kind of monster is Mads Krule Krugger?? #MLW pic.twitter.com/0yLLYbW62G

— MLW (@MLW) March 30, 2024

Post-fight, it appears that CONTRA aims to zip up Brock in a body bag, but for some reason, Kruger decides against it and instead carries Brock out of the St. Pete Coliseum!

MATCH 4
Richard Adonis vs. Bad Dude Tito (presented by Salina de la Renta)

Adonis is making his Major League debut but this one might be a match he puts in the archives. Bad Dude Tito makes quick work of him, nailing Adonis with a Steiner Screwdriver and getting the pinfall.

WINNER: Bad Dude Tito

Tito gets on the mic and makes his reasons known why his signed with MLW: gold. He doesn’t care if it’s Kojima or Rickey Shane Page, he wants to secure a title. Ringside, you can tell Salina de la Renta couldn’t be happier.

Bad Dude TITO makes clear his intentions in #MLW = ? pic.twitter.com/s5cWrU8WZw

— MLW (@MLW) March 30, 2024

MATCH 5
NJPW World TV Championship:
Kosei Fujita vs. Matt Riddle (c)

Both these fighters are ready to go and you can tell that by their similar gameplans. Mat work starts it all off for these two and several impressive “stalemates” occur. Fujita hits a beautiful hurricanrana that sends Riddle to the outside, but these two want to settle it in the ring.

Fujita eventually catches Riddle in a front face scissors hold that is looking to do Riddle in, but Riddle fights. He tries to break it in the corner but can’t and finds himself back in the center of the ring. Amazingly, Riddle suplexes himself out of it with a fisherman’s buster. He almost gets a pinfall out of it but doesn’t! He calls an audible and picks Fujita back up for a gutbuster GTS and turns it into a German suplex!

Speaking of German suplexes, Fujita nails Riddle with an avalanche German and nearly gets a pinfall but Riddle just grabs hold of the ropes at the witching hour!

Riddle ends up getting the hard-earned W after hitting a Gotch-style piledriver! Still the champ!

WINNER and STILL NJPW World Television Champion: Matt Riddle

Post-fight Joe Dombrowski catches up with Riddle who makes note that it’s been 6 yeaers since he last challenged for the MLW World Heavyweight Championship and he now wants to change that!

After six years since last challenging for it, Matt Riddle wants that MLW World Heavyweight Title! #MLW @SuperKingOfBros pic.twitter.com/da0WJkmF3B

— MLW (@MLW) March 30, 2024

As the War Chamber gets set up we get a special look of Mistico successfully defending his MLW World Middleweight gold in CMLL!

We also get words from Cesar Duran as he makes his massive offer to Salina de la Renta. At Azteca Lucha on May 11 in Chicago, she brings her luchadores and he’ll bring his. Whoever gets the most wins, gets the coveted “key” that Duran now holds in his hands. Will she accept?

It’s main event time.

MAIN EVENT
War Chamber Match
Team MLW vs. Team WTF

The first entrant in the match is Josh Bishop with a decked out MSL in war fatigues. This means that WTF will start off with a man-advantage, but Team MLW picked the right man for the job in Matthew Justice as their first entrant. He’s not alone as Bill Alfonso accompanies him to the ring!

The fight begins and you better believe it doesn’t take long for weapons to get introduced. Bishop and Justice exchange chair shots and kendo stick swings as they try to survive one another’s attack for the first five minutes.

The next man out is Tom Lawlor and Justice takes it to him right away! He knows the deck is stacked against him, but he doesn’t let that slow him down as he fends both fighters off until 1 Called Manders enters the fold. The SGC utlize their tag expertise to maximize their minutes before Davey Boy Smith Jr. is the next fighter to roll out. SGC fight on, but a war helmet gets introduced and the World Tag Team Champions in DBS and Lawlor use it to their advantage.

Next out is Okumura who
is a literal one-man wrecking crew as he takes everybody out before wrapping Tom Lawlor in a figure four!

The fight spreads across the two rings before the final entrant for WTF is in: Richard Holliday. Holliday targets Okumura before we get the Bread Winner himself, MLW World Heavyweight Champion Satoshi Kojima!

The match officially begins and it’s absolute chaos as Matthew Justice makes a major momentum change when he leaps off the top of the cage onto everybody!

Doors are busted, bodies are broken and Team MLW looks to make it all in their favor when Manders and Justice put Holliday onto two tables. Lawlor saves him, delivering chair shots in the corner to Justice who is aiming to climb the cage. However, Manders puts Lawlor in an electric chair and Justice comes leaping off with a tornado DDT, sending Lawlor through the table! MSL sees the writing on the wall and hands Holliday a white powder. Holliday tries to utilize it but gets caught by a Lariato! He gets the 1-2-3 and Team MLW wins!

WINNERS: Team MLW

BUY THE ??, TAKE THE ?!! @ThrashJustice #MLW pic.twitter.com/EUlOdcWzVd

— MLW (@MLW) March 30, 2024

The celebration is set to begin but who interrupts: CONTRA Unit. Soldiers by the dozens come out and fill the ring as Mads Krugger leads the attack. There’s a familiar face in that mix: IKURO KWON! The death pit fighter returns and mists Matthew Justice in the face! It’s an absolute takeover by CONTRA as they drape the flag over the cage, indicating that a takeover is possibly on the horizon!

?????? #HAILCONTRA ?????? #MLW pic.twitter.com/HsPYTGdjxH

— MLW (@MLW) March 30, 2024

Seth Rollins has made clear he isn’t a fan of CM Punk, but people change and time can heal all wounds.

CM Punk returned to WWE at Survivor Series in Chicago and an angle was worked where Rollins and Drew McIntyre in particular were “irate” at Punk showing up. All that certainly makes sense in today’s WrestleMania 40 landscape considering that the reported plan was for CM Punk to face Rollins, but Punk’s triceps injury clearly tabled that and Drew McIntyre has seamlessly fit into the role of a true “raw” antagonist who will challenge Rollins in Philadelphia.

Punk made his return to the All State Arena in Chi-town this past Monday on RAW and eventually found himself in the crosshairs of Rollins and McIntyre. Rollins happened to take on a heelish persona as he ran down Punk, making note that he doesn’t even think about him and told him flat-out that would find it appropriate if Punk was on commentary to announce that he retained his World Heavyweight Championship against Drew.

The Reported Dynamic Between CM Punk & Seth Rollins Backstage

Last year, way before CM Punk came back to WWE, Rollins unbashedly called CM Punk a “cancer” when asked of his thoughts regarding ‘The Best In The World,’ making it quite clear he wasn’t exactly fond of Punk.

To substantiate that, earlier this week, Wade Keller of the Pro Wrestling Torch wrote “by all accounts” there was no love loss between Punk and Rollins, but then reports how that dynamic has changed since Punk has been back in the fold.

“While Seth harbored legitimate gripes with Punk, the two are getting along backstage when planning their segments. Punk continues to get all positive reviews from many sources regarding how he is carrying himself amongst colleagues and management.”

CM Punk will indeed be guest commentator during the WrestleMania match between Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre.

Mike Santana could be back on pro wrestling television again soon.

The former member of Proud ‘n’ Powerful was released by AEW earlier this month and has since made his hay on the independent wrestling scene. However, there has been expectation that the talented star could be landing with another wrestling promotion soon enough.

Fightful Select is reporting that TNA is planning to bring in Santana, which happened to be a former home for the LAX member. Santana currently is the House Of Glory Champion.

Before heading to AEW in 2019, Santana and Ortiz were undoubtedly the top tag team in TNA (then known as IMPACT Wrestling) and the two certainly showed plenty of promise when becoming All Elite. The duo aligned themselves as members. of Chris Jericho’s Inner Circle and the two’s star power grew even further as time went on. 

However, it was Konnan who first revealed that legitimate tension rose between Ortiz and Santana. As time went on, it confirmed by both men that they grew apart. In a new interview with Chris Van Vliet, Santana made mention that he and Ortiz began to have different philosophies about tag team wrestling, indicating that he has a super driven mindset and was more willing to fight for himself and the team.

Not too long before Santana was released from AEW, he revealed that he was a full year sober on social media and made clear to Chris Van Vliet that he holds no ill will to his former partner, stating that he was a different person back then.

Chris Jericho ended up making his offer to HOOK and the proposal could be a learning experience for both fighters.

During the 3/27 episode of AEW Dynamite, a backstage segment featured both HOOK and Jericho being interviewed by Renee Paquette. There Jericho reiterated how impressed he was with HOOK’s work in the ring as he and Renee both said that HOOK defeating Jericho last week on Dynamite was the biggest of his career.

Jericho then mentioned in his 33 years of pro wrestling he never managed anybody in his life, but he was so impressed with HOOK’s work in the ring that he’d be willing to give Taz’s son any advice at reaching that next level of super stardom. Jericho even said that he sees a future AEW World Champion in HOOK.

HOOK appreciated Jericho’s offer, but did say he knows who Jericho is, meaning he’s aware of his track record. All that considered, he’d love to take advice from Jericho because he is Chris Jericho. Jericho agreed and the two fist-bumped.

Will the FTW Champion HOOK take Chris Jericho up on his offer?

Watch #AEWDynamite LIVE on TBS!@730hook | @IAmJericho pic.twitter.com/FyLGLmv2Ex

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) March 28, 2024

The FTW Champion did put on quite a showing against Jericho as he basically took ‘Lionheart’ to suplex city before he ultimately secured the win via pinfall, which happened to be HOOK’s first pinfall win in AEW.

Jericho won’t be the first wrestling legend to take HOOK under his wing. Obviously being the son of Taz, HOOK had an early tutelage when it comes to the squared circle, but he also received the experience of teaming with Rob Van Dam in AEW.

Paul Heyman won’t be the only ECW alumni to be honored WrestleMania weekend in Philadelphia as GCW is making sure another gets a Hall of Fame nod.

On Wednesday evening, GCW announced that former ECW World Heavyweight Champion Steve Corino will be inducted into the Indie Wrestling Hall Of Fame on Sunday, April 7 at WrestleCon. Corino will join a class that includes Trent Acid, Kevin Hogan and The Briscoes. It was also announced that ‘The King Of Old School’ will be inducted by his son, Colby Corino. Serendipitously enough, Corino’s sister Allison Danger is set to be honored later this year at the Cauliflower Alley Club.

Cornio commented on his own induction posting the following on X:

“Honored to be a part of the Indie Hall of Fame.”

Honored to be a part of the Indie Hall of Fame. https://t.co/zmVjNG6mFr

— Steve Corino (@KINGCorino) March 28, 2024

Who Else Is In The GCW Indie Wrestling Hall Of Fame?

Steve Corino joins several other ECW names in the GCW Indie Wrestling Hall Of Fame, but there are also others that have been bestowed the honor. The inaugural Hall Of Fame class occured in 2022 and included Jerry Lynn, Tracy Smothers, Dave Prazak, Homicide, Ruckus and Lufisto. The class of 2023 had Paul London, Cheerleader Melissa, Christopher Daniels, Excalibur, Jimmy Jacobs and Michael Modest.

Corino currently works for WWE as a coach and a producer for WWE NXT. This induction will be the second crossover WWE will have with GCW on WrestleMania weekend as Shayna Bazsler is set to compete in Bloodsport X as she’s going to square off against Masha Slamovich.

The feud between Tony Khan and Eric Bischoff continues and it doesn’t appear to be going away despite one of Bischoff’s podcasts coming to an end.

Eric Bischoff didn’t have one, but two podcasts on AdFreeShows and co-host Jon Alba last night announced that “Strictly Business” would be coming to an end after a successful two-year run. 

AEW President Tony Khan has had a contentious relationship with Bischoff ever since Khan made remarks about former WCW Founder, Ted Turner. Bischoff took exception to that, but also remained outspoken about the on-air AEW product. The two’s relationship has been fractured ever since despite Bischoff making several appearances on AEW television early on.

Once Alba made the announcement, Tony Khan replied, stating:

“Sunsetting this fraud of a business podcast before the next AEW media deal is a wise choice.”

Sunsetting this fraud of a business podcast before the next AEW media deal is a wise choice.#AEWDynamite

— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) March 28, 2024

Eric Bischoff Fires Back At Tony Khan

“Strictly Business” may be ending, but as Jon Alba stated, Eric Bischoff has a lot on his plate when it comes to further work, including his original podcast with Conrad Thompson, “83 Weeks.” Thompson took to social media to provide clarity that “Strictly Business” is going away, but not “83 Weeks.”

“Don’t get it twisted: ’83 Weeks’ with Eric Bischoff is not “sunsetting.” See y’all Monday. After waking up to Twitter this morning, I wonder, as a friend of mine might say, ‘what do you guys wanna talk about?'”

?
Don’t get it twisted: @83Weeks with @EBischoff is not “sunsetting.”

See y’all Monday.

After waking up to Twitter this morning, I wonder, as a friend of mine might say, “what do you guys wanna talk about?”

? ? pic.twitter.com/hNYPIdbRAL

— Conrad the Mortgage Guy (@HeyHeyItsConrad) March 28, 2024

Bischoff also had some words for Tony Khan, also including a video of a tarped off Videotron Centre in Quebec City during ROH tapings ahead of AEW Dynamite.

“A money mark with no talent other than spending daddy’s money, going all the way to Canada to draw less than 4k in one of the hottest pro wrestling markets in North America, talking about ‘wise choices’? Strap in. It’s going to be a fun day!”

A money mark with no talent other than spending daddy’s money, going all the way to Canada to draw less than 4k in one of the hottest pro wrestling markets in North America, talking about “wise choices”? Strap in. It’s going to be a fun day! https://t.co/Wr9EWwi01d pic.twitter.com/L1tX2Smszc

— Eric Bischoff (@EBischoff) March 28, 2024

Don’t you dare “fuggedabout” The Full-Blooded Italians as Little Guido Maritato and two new members found a shiny new residence in TNA.

TNA was in Philadelphia this past weekend and being the home of ECW, Maritato brought the FBI back during the tapings at the 2300, the original ECW Arena on the corner of Swanson and Ritner.

Kevin McElvany, the editor for Pro Wrestling Illustrated, was on hand to document the tapings and he happened to capture the moment where Maritato introduced TNA to the new FBI which consisted of himself, Ray Jaz and former AEW star Zack Clayton.

PWI ON LOCATION: James “Little Guido” Maritato introduces the latest incarnation of the Full Blooded Italians during this weekend’s TNA TV tapings at the old ECW Arena in South Philly ?

?: @wackelvaney pic.twitter.com/ppJnUeHBG0

— PWI (Pro Wrestling Illustrated) (@OfficialPWI) March 24, 2024

Guido and Ray Jaz have previously teamed several times as The FBI in Major League Wrestling, but Clayton is a brand new member. Now he joins the legendary ranks of Tommy Rich, Tracy Smothers, JT Smith, Big Sal and Tony Mamaluke.

Introducing Ray Jaz & Zack Clayton, The New FBI Members

Zack Clayton was a member of the AEW roster, originally signing with the company back in October of 2022 but originally appeared on the program starting in 2020 as an extra. Clayton, whose real name is Zack Carpinello (very Italian), recieved a great deal of noteriety as JWoww’s fiance. He’s appeared on Jersey Shore: Family Vacation.

As for Ray Jaz, he is originally from South Plainfield, NJ and became an NCAA All-American while at NYU. He’s already shown his great athleticism in the MLW squared circle. Jaz and Little Guido have teamed up for over a year and their move to TNA is a new step for the faction.

Santana and Ortiz were one of AEW’s most popular tag teams, but the two’s friendship became very fractured and their professional relationship ended.

When there were reports of tension between the two, many speculated that it could have been storyline-based, but that wasn’t the case. 

In a new interview with Chris Van Vliet, Santana talked about how him and Ortiz grew apart over time.

“We were together for 10 years, I think. When you’re together with someone that long, it’s like a married couple. There’s good, there’s bad, and I think, honestly, for the most part, it was like, I think we just grew apart over time.”

Santana says that the two’s philosophy on tag team wrestling became different and implied that he and Ortiz had different drives when it came to moving forward in the pro wrestling world.

“I’m a go-getter. I like to create opportunities for myself. I’m more than willing to fight for our spot, but also, I’m not going to be the only one.”

When asked if he and Ortiz still had heat with one another, Santana said that he holds no ill will to his former tag team partner and is in a different place in his life than he was during that time.

Santana & Ortiz really first caught fire during their run in TNA and it prompted Tony Khan and AEW to pick the duo up. They soon became a primary aspect to Chris Jericho’s first All Elite faction, The Inner Circle. Despite their popularity, they never did capture the AEW World Tag Titles and actually did turn their real life tension into an on-air storyline. Santana was released by AEW earlier this month.

Credit to Chris Van Vliet and h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.

Drew McIntyre came to a sobering realization when he was home in Scotland for a friend’s wedding.

Speaking with SHAK Wrestling of CBS Sports, the number one contender for Seth Rollins’ WWE World Heavyweight Championship opened up about how he recently got to see a great deal of his friends in Scotland, some of which he hasn’t seen in over a decade because his longtime friend Blair was getting married.

“I had seen people who were friends who I had not seen in 20 years. I’ve been gone for legitimately 17 years from Scotland to growing up in America. I was part of WWE. It hit me. ‘Wow, I’ve missed a lot. I feel kind of guilty about it.'”

McIntyre said that he was constantly of the mindset that he was the one making the sacrifice leaving home, traveling to shows and putting in the work to become a pro wrestler, but that recent visit made him think that it has been his family and friends, not himself, making the sacrifice.

“They gave up their son, their nephew, their brother, and their uncle who has missed so many important events because he’s chasing his dream and they encourage me to chase my dream. I really started wising up to that and I felt very guilty.”

Drew McIntyre Plans To Pay His Family’s Sacrifice Off At WrestleMania 40

Two targets Drew McIntyre hasn’t shown any ounce of guilt for his his handling of Seth Rollins or CM Punk. In pursuit for a WrestleMania main event, McIntyre has found a new heel self on WWE television and on the 3/25 episode of WWE Raw, McIntyre greatly took aim at the injuried CM Punk. 

However, he’ll have to face Rollins in Philly while Punk will be behind the commentary table, but McIntyre did make note how rewarding it will be if he gets to hand the gold over to someone special back in Scotland.

“I want to give my family that title. I want to give my dad that title,” McIntyre said. “I want to put that title in his hands and say, ‘Here it is. This is what it was all about since I was five years old and you would constantly be telling my brother and I to stop wrestling around the bedroom. … I finally have it and I can finally give it to you and I can finally say, ‘Hey, I did it. I’m the champion of the world.'”

AEW will have a new PPV host moving forward in 2024 and it will start with their upcoming Dynasty event on April 21 in St. Louis, MO.

Since its inception, Bleacher Report was the PPV home to All Elite Wrestling, but starting with Dynasty, AEW PPVs will now be airing on TrillerTV+. TrillerTV (formerly known as Fite TV) has played host to countless wrestling events including shows from GCW, Major League Wrestling and Starrcast.

Dynasty airing on Triller (FITE) in the US is great news. Bleacher Report can piss off. pic.twitter.com/jJP5NxrHzs

— Jason Solomon ?? (@solomonster) March 26, 2024

It’s been a struggle with AEW on Bleacher Report as some users had experienced technical difficulties and even trouble purchasing the events themselves.

More AEW PPVs In 2024

With AEW Dynasty, Tony Khan has indicated that the PPV will signify a new era for All Elite Wrestling and speaking with the media ahead of AEW Revolution. Khan was asked if he had plans for more PPVs in 2024. In 2023, AEW presented a total of eight PPVs, but now he aims to have around nine or ten.

AEW Dynasty will certainly have some fresh elements once it goes down on April 21. Since Revolution took place, both Kazuchika Okada and Mercedes Monet made their official debut for the company. Dynasty already has a major match signed for the event as Will Ospreay will square off against Bryan Danielson in one of the headline fights. While not confirmed, it appears that the company is angling to have Samoa Joe defend his AEW World Championship against Swerve Strickland, but before Swerve has a chance at getting a shot, he must face Konosuke Takeshita this week on AEW Dynamite.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced his running mate for American Vice President on March 26 and it will not be Jesse Ventura.

The pro wrestling legend along with New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers were reportedly on RFK Jr.’s short list to tag up with the Independent candidate in his 2024 Presidential campaign for the White House, but it actually ended up being neither celebrity.

During a rally today in Oakland, CA Kennedy announced that his running mate would be attorney and entreprenur Nicole Shanahan. Shanahan, along with Kennedy, will be the youngest person running for the Vice Presidential office at the age of 38.

Jesse Ventura Broke New Ground As Governor Of Minnesota

Jesse Ventura made history when he became the governor of Minnesota in 1998 as he defeated both Democrats and Republicans to win the office. Serendipitously enough, Ventura put politics in a headlock at the same time pro wrestling did with pop culture.

Although not his running mate, Ventura has shown his past support for RFK Jr. in his Presidential candidacy. Ventura has always been a big proponent for a major third political party and has shown his appreciation for RFK’s independent run during a previous rally in Arizona.

“I always say Jack Kennedy was the greatest president of all in my lifetime,” he said. “And the reason I say that is because they let him serve the least amount. He didn’t even get one term. That’s why he’s the best, because they couldn’t let him go past, not even one term. Well, maybe it’s time to elect another Kennedy.”

Chicago was simmering for CM Punk on WWE Raw and ‘The Second City Saint’ didn’t let his hometown down. Punk made his long-awaited return to The Windy City and dropped the WrestleMania 40 bombshell that he’d be on commentary for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match between Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre.

After the show ended, Cathy Kelley caught up with Punk backstage for a WWE Digital Exclusive interview and asked him what it felt like to be in front of a packed house in Chicago.

“I feel such a responsibility to want to give them a show that I can’t right now because I paid the price of being a professional wrestler since I was 15, but I felt I gave them a little bit of that guy.”

Kelley mentioned that The Rock name-dropped Punk tonight after being relatively quiet when it comes to him. That didn’t go unnoticed by CM Punk.

“I’m glad Rock’s back and it’s good to see that he knows his role and he’s kept his mouth shut. Anything goes here in this new era of WWE with me being back I’m gonna cross paths with everybody sooner or later.”

EXCLUSIVE: What does @CMPunk have to say about tonight's events on #WWERaw? ? pic.twitter.com/DNbwOQaMsG

— WWE (@WWE) March 26, 2024

Finally, when it came to Punk being on commentary for Rollins vs. McIntyre, Punk said he thought being behind the broadcast booth may be the best spot for him that evening.

“Let’s face it, who’s the five-tool player in the WWE right now? It’s this guy. I’d like to maybe try my hand out as a referee, but honestly, I would not be able to be impartial with those two idiots so maybe commentary is the best thing to do.”