Kenny Omega knows his role in AEW and it’s something that he believes separates him from Will Ospreay and Kazuchika Okada, but will The Cleaner make a return to the ring?
While on his Twitch stream, Omega happened to give an update on his recovery after his diverticulitis diagnosis, something that had him very close to death’s door.
“I would love to say, ‘Hey guys, I’m on track to coming back next week, next month, a half of year.’ I don’t have that confidence this time. When they’re explaining to me that I was 24 hours away from a terrible blood infection and possibly dying, this is like news to me. I’ve never heard of anything like that. ‘I wasn’t close to dying, are you kidding me? No way.’ The doctors are there to ensure my safety and educate me as to how important this is. I don’t want to talk out of my ass too much and say I’m going to for sure be back, and I’ll be back at a certain date or time because I don’t know. I will say, after watching Dynamite, and getting a feel of the lay of the land. If I can come back, I feel like I have to.”
With the official AEW debuts of Kazuchika Okada and Will Ospreay, the athletic bar has been raised in AEW and Kenny hopes that he’ll still be able to show who runs the show in All Elite Wrestling.
“I used to be that guy. I used to have that confidence, and now instead of being the guy that’s got a chip on his shoulder, it’s my job as the old guard to be the gatekeeper. You want to call yourself the best? F***ing prove it, b****. That’s what I’m here for.”
From a storyline perspective, Kenny Omega isn’t quite “running the show” as fellow EVPs Matthew and Nicholas Jackson have “fired” Kenny from his position this past Wednesday on Dynamite. Kenny caught wind of it and simply used a photo of himself to express his surprise.
Omega has been advertised for AEW’s upcoming residence in Canada, but there is no word as to what he may be doing.
Legendary luchador Damian 666 has sadly suffered a heart attack, but thankfully is being treated at the hospital in the Tijuana area. His son, Beastia 666 took to social media to provide everyone with an update on the status following the health scare.
“Good afternoon everyone, I want to inform family, friends and fans that my father, Damian 666 had a heart attack and it was necessary to undergo a “Hemodynamia” operation. At this moment he is stable and recovered. Tomorrow me and my sibilings will get the report and see how it progresses. We have a lot of faith that everything will be well with the favor of God to release as soon as possible.”
Our hearts and thoughts are with the legendary @damianfdt666 and his family. We are hoping for successful surgery and a speedy recovery. 🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/k21f0T5uK5
Sam Adonis, who works regularly in Mexico, also asked fans for prayers for Damian 666. Adonis also spoke to the positivity of sharing a locker room with the legend.
“Keep Damien 666 in your prayers right now while he’s in the hospital after surviving a heart attack.
“Anyone who’s shared a locker room with him knows that he’s a joy to be around and deserves all the well wishes he can get!”
Keep Damien 666 in your prayers right now while he’s in the hospital after surviving a heart attack.
Anyone who’s shared a locker room with him knows that he’s a joy to be around and deserves all the well wishes he can get! pic.twitter.com/DwzsWiVfCX
American fans may be most familiar with Damian 666’s work back in the heyday of WCW as he was an original member of the first LWO alongside Eddie Guerrero. He also worked in ECW as well. Beastia 666 has worked several matches under the MLW banner in recent years.
We at SEScoops would like to wish Damian 666 a speedy recovery as prayers and well wishes are sent his way.
AEW is hoping for some big attendence numbers for Big Business next week, but how are sales going in Boston?
WrestleTix on X notoriously keeps tabs on what WWE and AEW are doing at live events and AEW has a whopper of an event next week in place of Dynamite with Big Business.
According to the account, the TD Garden, which is home to the Boston Bruins and Boston Celtcis, is set to hold 7,800 and the tickets currently distributed are 7,004, meaning there are 796 tickets still available.
AEW Dynamite: Big Bu$iness Wed • Mar 13 • 7:30 PM TD Garden, Boston, MA
Available Tickets: 796 Current Setup: 7,800 Tickets Distributed: 7,004
?+108 since the last update (3 days ago) ?Days until show: 6 ?7/19/2023 Dynamite: Blood & Guts 8,956 ?Sections 14 & 145… pic.twitter.com/12HMT9fY9p
For reference, the last time the TD Garden hosted AEW was for Blood & Guts back in July and that set-up was made for a bigger crowd, with 8,956 attending.
With less than a week remaining, it remains to be seen if AEW will reach it’s goal of sales, but if one were to go by the sales over the past three days, AEW may only sell just over 200 more tickets.
What’s On Tap For AEW Big Business
Whether AEW reaches it’s goal or not for Big Business, the card is becoming quite stacked for the show. Darby Allin will square off against Jay White in singles competition and not only that, but a World Title match is set to go down. Wardlow is cashing in his scramble victory from AEW Revolution to challenge Samoa Joe.
Those may be the only matches announced for the moment, but Tony Khan is basically telegraphing the much-anticipated debut of Mercedes Mone. It’s also likely that we’ll have one or two World Tag Team Title tournament matches.
NXT General Manager Ava is defending WWE Superstar Bianca Belair from racist comments levied at her by a wrestling fan on social media.
Belair, a 3-time Women’s Champion, is one of the cover stars of the new WWE 2K24 video game. She and Rhea Ripley are on the cover of WWE 2K24: Deluxe Edition, while the ‘American Nightmare’ Cody Rhodes is on the cover of the Standard Edition. The ‘WWE Games’ Instagram account posted photos from a recent shoot involving the three cover stars.
One Instagram user replied and said Belair “doesn’t belong” and was only included because of her race.
Ava, who is unfortunately no stranger to online harassment, came to the defense of ‘The EST.’ She offered love and support, sharing in the frustration that this type of behavior is all too common these days.
“Disappointed but not surprised… we [love] you, B.”
Ava is the daughter of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, one of the most famous people in the world. The children of famous parents experience a host of unique challenges, especially when they themselves pursue a career in public life.
Ava’s most recent brush with online trolls came when it was looking like her father would be usurping Cody Rhodes to wrestle Roman Reigns at WrestleMania. Of course, this has absolutely nothing to do with Ava, and she had no involvement in WWE’s WrestleMania booking. However that didn’t stop some fans from literally threatening her life online.
Forget Trolls & Celebrate Greatness
No matter what some fans may think, Ava and Bianca Belair are talented young women pursuing and achieving their dreams.
Belair has established herself as a trailblazer and indeed cover-star worthy as she and Mercedes Mone became the first two African-Americans to main event a match at WrestleMania 37. She nearly won the 2024 Elimination Chamber to meet her 2K24 cover co-star at WrestleMania, but it ended up being Becky Lynch who came out on top.
Belair’s in-ring plans for Philadelphia currently remains unknown as we’re a month away from pro wrestling’s premier event.
Drew McIntyre continues to twist the knife in two of his most recent rivals in CM Punk and Seth Rollins
McIntyre continues to show the manipulative new side of himself with a recent social media post. The Scotsman pulled an old chestnut out of CM Punk’s pocket when stealing a quote from his notorious airing of grievances on Hangman Page during AEW All Out 2022.
During the now-famous press conference, Punk laid out his laments on Hangman for going into business for himself in a promo from AEW Dynamite earlier in the year, however, it is McIntyre who repurposed Punk’s words so he to disparage Rollins for not minding his own business on WWE Raw this Monday.
'What did I ever do in this world to deserve an empty-headed, ******* dumb **** like Seth Rollins to go out on national TV and go into business for himself' pic.twitter.com/4Tecdq4zNf
McIntyre headlined WWE Raw this past Monday against Jey Uso. McIntyre took advantage of a distraction by Jimmy Uso to defeat Jey and get another win to follow up his big WWE Elimination Chamber victory.
Post-match, The Bloodline beat down Jey when Seth Rollins ran past McIntyre to make the save.
Ever the opportunist, McIntyre made the most of Rollins’ run-in to save Jey Uso by catching the WWE World Heavyweight Champion with a Claymore Kick.
Drew is set to challenge Rollins at WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia, but the road still has over a month to go.
Darby Allin walked into the AEW Revolution press conference not knowing that he already had a match lined up at Big Business in Boston on March 13.
Before Allin and Sting made an unexpected appearance at the Revolution media scrum, Tony Khan revealed that he already had plans in place for the daredevil Darby.
First, Khan made it known that the AEW World Tag Team Championships would now be vacated after Sting and Darby defeated The Young Bucks to retain the gold and that a tournament would be held to determine the new champions.
Secondly, Tony Khan then made it known that Darby Allin would be a big match at Big Business as he’ll take on Switchblade Jay White in singles action.
Much to Tony Khan’s surprise, it was almost immediately after when Sting and Darby Allin showed up at the scrum. Tony told Darby that he just revealed his upcoming match, but Darby Allin had no clue who his opponent was. Sting and Allin addressed the media for about 15 minutes until Khan dropped the news to Allin that he’d be facing White. Despite having a stitched-up bloody back due to the insane ladder and glass spot, Allin was still eager to go one-on-one with Jay White.
Allin mentioned how he purposefully showed up to the scrum to show everyone that he was okay and doing fine after the insane bump he took. Sting jokingly noted that took his fair share of table crashes in his last match too, but showed appreciation to The Young Bucks and Darby Allin for the effort everyone gave.
Sting indeed had a great send-off at AEW Revolution and his final match came off with a victory. This means he and Darby Allin are still the AEW World Tag Team Champions. Now Tony Khan has revealed what the future holds for those titles after Sting’s retirement.
Speaking with the media during the AEW Revolution press conference, Khan noted that after Allin and Sting retained, the Tag Team Titles will be vacated.
Not only that, but Khan noted that a tournament will be held to determine the new champions. The AEW President said that it would all unfold in the month of March, coinciding with NCAA March Madness.
“We are going to vacate the AEW World Tag Team championship. So going forward, there will be a tournament — I’ll talk more about that, there will be more to reveal, a lot of exciting tournaments, there will be more than one bracket to fill out in March”
Sting & Darby Allin vs. The Young Bucks rightfully closed out the evening in the main event spot in Greensboro, NC, but the fans were also treated with another tag bout earlier on that had a lot of ties to the location.
FTR, two talents from North Carolina, took on Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli, who happened to pay homage to the legendary Road Warriors by coming out in spiked shoulder pads. Moxley and Castagnoli will likely receive a top seed in the tournament considering they got the victory over Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler.
As for Sting and Allin, their tornado tag battle with The Young Bucks created a lot of buzz, not just because of the significance of the match but because of how brutal the fight itself was.
All men in the bout took some significant bumps. The most notable of it came from Allin who leapt from a massive ladder only to come crashing down on a pane of glass. The spot brutally cut up his back, requiring him to receive several stitches. Though despite this spot, Darby has confirmed that he will be taking a break from AEW for a significant undertaking later this month.
Tony Khan has made clear that Ricky Starks is still “All Elite.”
Starks has not been seen on television since losing the AEW World Tag Team Titles to Sting and Darby Allin.This weekend rumors surfaced that Starks contract with AEW was set to expire, and that he could be headed to WWE soon.
During the post AEW Revolution press conference, Tony Khan confirmed that the wrestling star was not a free agent just yet. Khan said he was completely unaware of the reports but did note that Starks was absolutely still with the company:
“No, Ricky’s definitely still under contract in AEW so I haven’t seen that but obviously we were doing Revolution today so it came out very good.
“Ricky was a big part of Sting’s run. He was Sting’s first match in AEW teaming with Brian Cage against Darby and Sting at Revolution three years ago and then to come back here three years later, of course Ricky and Big Bill, I’m very grateful.”
Khan said Starks and Big Bill were great tag team champions and mentioned how thankful he was for what Starks has done for Sting.
“I’m very excited about having him here. He’s definitely a part of AEW.”
While TK confirmed that Starks has not left AEW yet, there is no shortage of speculations about his future when the former champion’s contract finally comes up.
There is a very good possibility that Ricky Starks can make the leap to WWE considering he is close friends with Cody Rhodes and it was actually “The American Nightmare” who recruited Ricky to AEW after his time with the NWA.
You can check out the full Revolution media scrum below:
Darby Allin has learned a lot from Sting and part of it may be going to the beat of your own drum.
Allin was interviewed by SHAK Wrestling and was asked how much say Sting exactly had in determining all the happenings in his final match this Sunday at AEW Revolution.
“Everything. With the Bucks, everything, and that’s…It’s really awesome, if you really, really think about it, that the fact that this company is letting this man go out on his own terms, in his way, with his vision.
“Because there’s a lot of places that will straight up be like, ‘Alright, you’re retiring, but we’re gonna make sure that you wrestle this guy, and it could be a guy you have no interest in wrestling in,’ and then the fact that you have to tuck your tail between your legs and be a nice, little good boy and get a paycheck and wrestle somebody that you have no desire to wrestle, we’re talking about your career, your life’s work. It’s baffling to me that people are such little bitches. But yeah, anyways, Sting, he’s doing it his way. He’s doing it his way, and it’s amazing, and it’s awesome that AEW’s giving him that.”
Darby will tag up with Sting at Revolution to face Matthew & Nicholas Jackson at Revolution and The Young Bucks got a little sample of that early on the go-home show of AEW Dynamite. Sting came down from the rafters and took out the brothers after they attacked Darby Allin and Ric Flair.
The wrestling world lost Virgil earlier this week as the once-bodyguard of Ted DiBiase passed away after being diagnosed with dementia in 2022 and later suffering several strokes, two of which occured in February.
Virgil, real name Michael Jones, was reported to pass away peacefully with family around him but another unfortunate aspect to this loss is that Jones didn’t have life insurance and funeral expenses are beholden to he family.
Mark Charles III, a close friend of Jones, was with Virgil during his passing and happened to set up a GoFundMe to help out the family during a difficult time.
“On February 28, 2024, the world lost our favorite WWE bodyguard, Virgil, after a long and difficult health struggle. Unfortunately, Virgil passed without being covered by life insurance, and the Jones family is asking for financial help to put him to his final rest. The bill is due on March 11, 2024, so if you’d like to donate, Virgil’s family will be forever grateful.
“Whether you were an 80s WWF kid at heart or you’re nWo 4 LIFE, whether you loved him best as Virgil, Vincent, or even Soul Train Jones, let’s send him off with the hero’s farewell he deserves.”
“This fundraiser is organized by Mark Charles III on behalf of Michael Jones’ sister, Toni Jones, and her family.”
Virgil, a Pittsburgh native, was initially reported to have passed away at the age of 61 but conflicting reports out of Pittsburgh have him actually aged at 72.
Speaking with PWInsider, Alexander wanted to make it known that despite reports, his extension was not signed under contentious terms and “The Walking Weapon” completely understood the situation. However, he did reveal that he didn’t know that his two-year deal was set to expire in mid-February. It actually expired on Valentine’s Day and Alexander decided to to sign the deal to stick around an extra year.
“I see all the tweets and stuff like that of people saying I’ve held hostage and stuff and just to dispel that narrative, like I signed that contract two years ago. I knew there was a third year option. Sure, it would have been better for me if they didn’t pick it up. I’m sure, so I could renegotiate something new and probably, for more money and for a longer term or I could go out and free agency and see what I could get elsewhere.
“But yeah, at the end of the day of all things in this business, I want to remain and be a professional up first and foremost, and that’s very important to me and, I signed that contract and I’m not being held hostage. I’m here, for at least another year unless something, is negotiated before then for me to stay for a longer term and stuff like that, which is, Anthem Management has said that is an option and stuff that we’re going to discuss in the future, but for right now, it’s business as usual.”
Alexander does have a new rival in the mix as Alex Hammerstone, who he fought with at TNA Hard To Kill, will be his opponent once again at TNA Sacrifice.
The Melrose Ballroom in New York City was SOLD OUT and for good reason as Intimidation Games packed a punch with three promotions coming together under Major League Wrestling! Not one, not two, not three, but four titles were on the line in The Big Apple and the PLE starts off in a big way with World Middleweight gold!
MATCH 1
MLW World Middleweight Championship
Mistico (with Cesar Duran) vs. Rocky Romero (c) (with Salina de la Renta)
Rocky had a gameplan in place for this match, but it was saturated in disrespect as the champion attempted to get Mistico off his game by nearly tearing the challenger’s mask off his face.
The whole fight, which was full of many close calls, was teetering back and forth between both luchadors and even though Rocky tried to get Mistico off his game by literally ripping his mask, it didn’t deter the challenger from achieving his goal. He stayed true to his high-flying strategy and caught Rocky off-guard with his unbelievable headscissors to fujiwa armbar, causing the champ to immediately tap out!
WINNER and NEW MLW World Middleweight Champion: Mistico
Post-fight, Duran wanted Rocky to put his hair on the line in a hair vs. mask fight, but Rocky was not obliging.
MATCH 2
NYC Street Fight
The Calling vs. AKIRA & Jake Crist
AKIRA and Crist waste zero time in attacking Rickey Shane Page and Sami Callihan as they take The Calling out and then dive on top of them to the outside.
The battle lives up to the stipulation as weapons are certainly used with Sami resorting to paper cuts and RSP making the most of his brute strength. RSP was cagey throughout this entire fight as he used size and speed against his former tag partner in AKIRA. However, both AKIRA and Crist did have an unexpected ace up their sleeve.
It was reported that Raven was lurking in the Melrose Ballroom somewhere, but when Cannonball went to get the tables from underneath the ring, they got the Blue Meanie instead!
Boards were broken, but spirits weren’t as AKIRA almost relished in the challenge at fighting RSP and Sami. He nearly was about to get the win with The Death Penalty, but was fought off and Crist got tangled with RSP. Sami took the opportunity to low blow Crist and RSP got him in a backslide and 1-2-3!
AKIRA immediately goes on the attack to RSP and chaos ensues as the numbers games gets the advantage for The Calling. However, help is on the way as Jimmy Lloyd comes running down to help ward The Calling off! Sami wanted the trio to fight more, but sure enough, Raven appears on the big screen.
Raven asks that that Sami and RSP want to steal the name The Calling? Call his new faction The Response – “quote the Raven, nevermore.”
We see Tom Lawlor, MSL and Davey Boy Smith Jr are in the men’s bathroom and they feel it’s a good time to stake their claim for the World Tag Team gold. The Bulldog is relieving himself and doesn’t wash his hands as he makes clear it’s either “tap or snap” for Second Gear Crew.
MATCH 3
Bobby Fish vs. Alex Kane (with Mr. Thomas & Faye Jackson)
Alex Kane is clearly focused and needs to be tonight against a game Bobby Fish. Fish is very much feeling confident and shows it in his offense.However, both men are quick to lock up and they work the ground game. Kane starts off on the offensive, and even locks in the Fade To Black early. Fish may have got a cheap shot in and then focuses on the left knee. It becomes a target for Bobby.
He has Kane on the defensive quite a bit in the bout, but Fish a little too cocky and he gets taken to Suplex Island. Sure enough, Kane finds the right opportunity and chokes Fish out in the Fade To Black!
WINNER: Alex Kane
Kane gets on the mic to acknowledge the fans in NYC, but AJ Francis stops the celebration. He says that many fans don’t even realize BOMAYE came from Muhammad Ali, but ended up dropping a bombshell on the group. “Some people in your ranks, may not be as loyal as you think they are.” The crowd “ooo’s” at that one as both Mr. Thomas and Faye dismiss that notion.
WTF (Tom Lawlor & Davey Boy Smith Jr. w/ MSL) vs. Second Gear Crew (c)
WTF make it a point to try to take Manders out of the equation as DBS goes back to his hoss fight ways by delivering stiff elbows to the Corn Belt Cowboy. Matthew Justice rises to the occasion and splashes the sports entertainment out of DBS and Lawlor. However, once Manders gets back in, WTF take control. They go for the Hart Attack on Manders but Justice puls Lawlor out. SGC focus on DBS and hit him with a harsh spear and lariat combo. That’s curtains but Lawlor pulls referee Frank Gastineau out!
A table get presented and Lawlor is the one to fall victim to it. He gets Tornado DDT’ed by Justice through it in an amazing double team. Lawlor is twitching in pain as Manders covers: 1-2-no! MSL, who came in wearing a helmet to the ring, gets slugged by Manders. However, out comes Brett Ryan Gosselin and it allows DBS to grab the helmet and hits Manders with it. He gets covered by Tom Lawlor: 1-2-3. New champs!
WINNERS and NEW MLW World Tag Team Champions: WTF
The feed soon cuts and we see Mads Krule Krugger. He’s ready for one last war and he’s going to unleash his “new blood” into the league. “HAIL CONTRA!”
MATCH 5
NJPW World Television Championship
Bad Dude Tito vs. Matt Riddle (c)
Both Riddle and Tito are game for this fight as each competitor shows speed, athleticism and strength is shown. Suplexes are readily exchanged before kicks and strikes are exchanged. Tito gets the better of the exchange with a massive lariat.
Tito says he’s gonna rip Riddle’s head off. However, Riddle hits a fisherman’s buster and then follows up with a Broton Bomb for two near falls. “BRO” chants echo throughout the Melrose Ballroom.
Tito spinebusters Riddle down and hits a frog splash for his own near fall. More strikes are exchanged. Riddle goes on a flurry but Tito slows him down when he gets his knees up. Tito knows how to grapple and it’s evident in this match.
Hard forearms are traded between the two and then so are strikes and suplexes. Tito hits a blue thunder bomb and it’s a near fall. Only 15 minutes in this fight. Riddle manages to hit a package tombstone and it’s good for the pinfall win.
WINNER
and STILL NJPW World Television Champion: Matt Riddle
Salina de la Renta walks out with a bag of cash and issues the challenge to anybody in the back. Out comes a game Zoey Cannon from Boston. A quick boot to the corner then a massive roundhouse knocks Zoey out cold quickly. The ref calls for the bell.
WINNER: Janai Kai
We cut to Cesar Duran who is smiling proudly in his office with the Middleweight Title sitting in front of him. He issues a new challenge to Salina. He wants her best luchador in the War Chamber. Who will she chose?
It’s main event time.
MAIN EVENT
MLW World Heavyweight Championship
Minoru Suzuki vs. Satoshi Kojima (c)
It should be noted that Kojima hasn’t competed in MLW or NJPW since his last Major League match. However, these two men know one another way too well and Suzuki is sadistic in his gameplan, greatly torquing the leg of Kojima.
Strong style and fighting spirit is greatly shown in this fight, but sportsmanship is out the window as Minoru makes plenty of moments to taunt his longtime rival. Kojima does hit Suzuki with a Kojima cutter and a lariato, but doesn’t get all of the latter. However, the two-time champ perseveres and nails a crisp one on the undefeated fighter in MLW and gets the emphatic 1-2-3!
WINNER and STILL MLW World Heavyweight Champion: Satoshi Kojima
Some sad news coming out of Pittsburgh this morning as the pro wrestling veteran known as Virgil, real name Mike Jones, passed away at the age of 61.
Close family friend Mark Charles III was the first to break the tragic news as he was the family during his passing which occured Wednesday morning.
“My dear friends, it is with great sorrow that I bring news from the Jones family of the passing of our beloved Michael Jones, whom we know and loved as Virgil, Vincent, Soul Train Jones and more. Virgil passed peacefully at the hospital this morning and I ask that you pray for him and for his family. May his memory be eternal!”
Jones has been diagnosed with dementia in 2022 and also suffered two minor strokes that year as well.
According to SLAM Wrestling, Charles was making an effort to move Jones into an ICU after just suffering another bout of minor strokes. According to Jones’ sister, Virgil never had cancer as it’s been previously reported by some outlets.
WWE Honors Virgil
WWE acknowledged the passing of Michael “Virgil” Jones.
WWE is saddened to learn that Michael Jones, known to WWE fans as Virgil, has passed away.
Mike Jones first got his start in CWA as “Soul Train” Jones, a moniker he later brought back in a cameo for AEW, and feuded with Ray Traylor and Chick Donovan.
Following that he was signed to the WWF and notoriously became the butler to “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase. After a babyface turn, Virgil eventually found his way to WCW as Vincent, a member of the NWO.
We at SEScoops would like to extend our condolences, thoughts and prayers to Mike Jones, his family, friends and fans at this time.
Posted February 28th, 2024 in WWE. Tagged: Virgil.
WWE Superstars are certainly in a tough position when it comes to addressing the Vince McMahon allegations. Not only are they talking about something that came out of left field regarding their former employer, but it was about someone whom many had a personal relationship with and in turn, changed their lives.
However, it goes without saying that the allegations levied against Vincent Kennedy McMahon are heinous and jaw-dropping. Any person with common sense would hope that the truth of it all comes out. In this case, time is a friend to no one and questions get asked, meaning WWE talent have to wade tough waters on a subject that’s not only personal, but uncomfortable and a cobweb of legalities. At this juncture, many top names in WWE have had to address it and each have come with their varying levels of praise and criticism for how they’ve handled it.
Triple H, Bruce Prichard & Shawn Michaels
Triple H, Bruce Prichard and Shawn Michaels clearly have had a strong working relationship with Vince McMahon, but Paul Levesque has even another layer to his relationship being Vince’s son-in-law. The Game was one of the first names asked about McMahon during the Royal Rumble press conference and chose to not address the Janel Grant allegations, but rather currently look at the positive things WWE was doing that week. When asked specifically if he had read the legal document from Grant’s lawyers, Levesque said he hadn’t at the moment.
Another name asked not long after Hunter was his close friend HBK during the NXT Vengeance Day press conference. Michaels, who leads NXT, mostly focused on the safety and well-being of the talent, and made sure to say that he hopes to continue to cultivate a positive enviroment down in the black and gold.
Bruce Prichard was a third figure in power who addressed it personally on his Something To Wrestle With podcast. Prichard told co-host Conrad Thompson that he’s not at liberty to talk about the matter considering it is a legal situation.
Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens & Becky Lynch
Surprisingly enough, the first major star or WWE figure asked about the Vince McMahon allegations was Cody Rhodes, right after winning the 2024 Royal Rumble nonetheless. Rhodes happened to step up and lay the groundwork as to how a top talent should handle such a polarizing subject by mentioning how it was a “dark cloud” and credited the people behind-the-scenes as to how the situation was handled.
“This crew is very team-based, and perhaps that’s the ingredient. Everyone looking out for everyone. Being accountable.”
Moving forward, WWE has seemingly allowed their Superstars to address the matter as they see fit and Seth Rollins was another name who stepped up, stating it was a “crap situation,” and went on to mention how if the allegations are indeed true, he hopes the appropriate parties get what’s coming to them.
Seth Rollins’ wife, “The Man” Becky Lynch was recently asked about the allegations while in Perth for Elimination Chamber and provided a feminine perspective to the matter, noting that the allegations are hard to reconcile.
Overall, the modern stars of WWE managed to walk that line of being professional, but also understanding the gravity of the allegations.
Randy Orton & John Cena
Randy Orton is fully an active member of the WWE roster, but he, like John Cena, have had a longer relationship with Vince McMahon than anyone aside from Michaels, Triple H and Bruce Prichard.
When asked about McMahon, Orton credited all that Vince McMahon has done and given to him, but in the same breath mentioned how heinous the accusations were.
“As far as commenting on that, it f*cking hurts my heart. It hurts my heart.”
While Orton did directly reference the allegations outright, John Cena noted that the situation was super unfortunate and it deals with an entity and a man he loves.. While on Howard Stern, Cena spoke about accountability, but to the public eye, Cena was heavily criticized for his comments. Former WWE head writer Vince Russo even predicted that the star would get killed for his stance and believes his comments missed the mark.
With WrestleMania season picking up, one would have to suspect that several WWE names will still get asked about McMahon, even with the potential of more allegations surfacing against the former WWE Chairman. Many are still waiting to hear from current WWE CEO Nick Khan or even what The Rock may have to say about his one-time boss. One could hope they are handled as well as what many have already done and that justice will be served where warranted.
AEW appears to be fully embracing a new beginning for the company in light of Sting’s retirement.
The company is set to send Sting off in a big way as “The Icon” will be competiting in his final match at AEW Revolution on March 3 in a city he’s very familiar with in Greensboro, NC. However, although Tony Khan and AEW are losing a bonafide legend in the business with Sting’s exit, the company aims to ride that moment right out of Revolution.
Notorious AEW fan Drainmaker on X noted that on Sammy Guevara’s latest video blog that the company is set to reveal a new logo and set for Wednesday night’s AEW Dynamite.
The logo AEW Dynamite logo has been spotted in the wild for the first time in this ad for an upcoming Dynamite from Winnipeg. Andrew Zarian of the Mat Men Podcastsays he’s seen a “different color logo” so there may be variations to this logo when it premieres on TV.
Those changes won’t take place until after Revolution, but Guevara, along with Matt Sydal did note that they saw the new logo ahead of time. Sydal commented on the new logo in time during Sammy’s video.
“It looks good. A good color scheme. It’s kind of Neo.”
New Look AEW Dynamite
This Wednesday will mark the final week for the current look of AEW as they hail out of Huntsville, AL.
My This new look will only be a week away from when AEW presents Big Business from Boston where all signs point to Mercedes Mone making her very long-awaited debut with the company.
As AEW has built towards Revolution, they have been making some significant changes not just externally, but internally. QT Marshall is back in a behind-the-scenes role with the company, but an even more notable move is the hiring of Jennifer Pepperman, former senior writer at WWE and daytime Emmy winner. Pepperman happened to leave her position at WWE not even a week before it was announced she inked a deal with Tony Khan.
Darby Allin is grateful for his three years with Sting and got the opportunity to express as much in the written word.
One of the pillars of AEW was given a platform to speak his mind on “The Player’s Tribune” and starts it off by when he first got paired with “The Man They Call Sting” and how it didn’t click with him at first.
“When I got paired with Sting, I didn’t know what to expect. It’s funny — for weeks they had me up in the rafters, and I wasn’t sure why. You’d think I would’ve put two and two together, but I didn’t. I was just like, ‘Sit in the rafters? OK cool.’ But then at some point someone said, ‘Yo….. you know why we’re doing this, right? Sting’s coming.’ And I just remember thinking how crazy that sounded. Like, I couldn’t process it. STING? And in his first show back…. he’s going to have a staredown with ME? Haha what the f***.”
Allin notes that it was Cody Rhodes who implored Darby to be introduced to Sting before they had a moment in the ring together. He recalled when “The American Nightmare” took him to meet the WWE Hall of Famer.
“He was like, ‘Alright. Sting’s here. I want you to meet him before you go out there.’ Then he walked me over to Sting’s trailer. It happened so fast, I barely had time to remember how nervous I was. But there was nothing to be nervous about. We started talking through the segment, and it was actually wild: there was no ego from him, no big-timing, no This is how it’s gonna happen, kid. None of that. If anything, it was the other way around. He was asking me how it’s gonna happen, and if I was OK with this, this and this, and if everything was cool.
“We’re talking about a guy who’s headlined some of the biggest shows ever, made shitloads of money, been on top longer than I’ve been alive. He’s showing up for this massive return. And his main concern is that I’m feeling comfortable. A 27-year-old nobody who he’s probably thinking jacked half his look. I was just like, WHAT IS HAPPENING. THIS IS INSANE. HOW IS STING SO NICE.”
Sting is not only genuinely a nice person, but he’s been notoriously nice for AEW as a major star. Sting, along with Darby, are set to square off against The Young Bucks in what is more than likely the main event of AEW Revolution on March 3 in Greensboro, NC.
As strong argument can be made that Drew McIntyre is the top heel in WWE heading into WrestleMania 40, but is the Scotsman finally signed to a deal?
According to Alex McCarthy of the Daily Mail, McIntyre has yet to put his name down on the dotted line for WWE despite being in the World Title match against champion Seth Rollins. And although McIntyre is by all accounts having the characer run of his career, it’s being reported that the two parties are still far away from an agreement.
McIntyre shined in Australia as he along with LA Knight were the first two to start the men’s Elimination Chamber match, with the story being that Drew capitalized on every opportunity to get a pinfall in the match. This all culminated in a clash with Randy Orton as the final two men as Drew got added assistance thanks to Logan Paul who slugged Orton with a pair of brass knuckles, soldifying Drew’s path to WrestleMania in Philadelphia.
Despite a busted ear drum, Drew continued to carpe diem his star power as he along with Seth Rollins had a compelling confrontation in the middle of the show (with McIntyre continuing to take digs at CM Punk). Later on, a match was set up next week between McIntyre and Jey Uso.
Considering the massive push he is getting, it’s hard to fathom that there may not be at least a verbal handshake agreement between McIntyre and Triple H as they head towards WrestleMania, but whether signed or not, McIntyre is proving his worth as a top star in wrestling.
Becky Lynch has Philadelphia on her mind. The WWE Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley didn’t have a whole lot of time to soak in the moment defeating Nia Jax in her backyard as Lynch was watching her celebrate from afar. The Man had a camera with her and stated her intent when the two officially clash at WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia.
“Enjoy your fireworks now Rhea, because they’re going to be going off for me at WrestleMania. It’s official: Mami vs. The Man.”
As Ripley retained, Lynch led off the PLE in the Women’s Elimination Chamber match. She along with Naomi were the two starting competitors in the fight before Tiffany Stratton joined the fold as the third entrant. Lynch managed to outlast everyone with the final three being herself, Bianca Belair and Liv Morgan. Morgan managed to roll up Belair for the 1-2-3, but Becky swiftly took advantage by nailing Liv with a Man Handle Slam and picking up the victory.
Lynch not only won the chamber match but did it in style paying homage to a late great WWE Hall Of Famer. “The Man” channelled “The Bad Guy” with her duds as her attire had Scott Hall’s signature blood drips stitched onto her gear.
If Lynch continues to get inspiration from Scott Hall leading into WrestleMania, it could mean good things to come for Becky.
Back in 1993, Hall as Razor Ramon as well as Rick Martel outlasted 18 other men to win a battle royal and earn the right to face one another for the vacant Intercontinental Championship. Hall notoriously won that fight and went down in history as one of the greatest Intercontinental Champions of all time.
R-Truth planned to be at WWE Elimination Chamber in Perth, but there was just a bit of a misunderstanding that at least Gunther would appreciate.
Truth was gung ho about being apart of the Australian experience for Saturday’s big PLE in Perth and shared his enthusiam and eventual despondency that he couldn’t find any of his fellow WWE Superstars – in Austria.
“Welp, I’m here in Austria. Where’s everybody at? I don’t see nobody. Been to the hotel, the arena’s empty. Should I just go back home? Hey good mate, back to the area port!”
Truth may not make it in time for Elimination Chamber, but he was a primary player this past week on WWE Raw, particularly when it comes to Judgment Day.
R-Truth took part in a multi-man tag to take on Damian Priest, Finn Balor, Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonafh on Monday, teaming with Team DIY (who he believes to be DX) and The Miz. R-Truth’s team came up short, with Truth evening taking the definitive pinfall against Damian.
However, Priest is likely more than pleased that Truth is not in Perth as he and Balor will have to set their focus on the New Catch Republic on Saturday. The Judgment Day duo will have to defend their WWE Tag Team Title gold against Tyler Bate and Pete Dunne.
R-Truth has had his share of troubles with Judgment Day. Not only did he have a match, but he also had a strong interview segment where he discussed his heartbreak over his issues with the group.
AJ Francis is making the most of his free agency, but he did happen to reconnect with former WWE co-worker Pat McAfee. After being released from WWE the former Hit Row member made mention on the “Oh … You Didn’t Know” podcast that he was going to be everywhere and Francis wasn’t lying.
Speaking with SEScoops, AJ Francis talked about his busy week at the Super Bowl in Las Vegas. Francis was all over Sin City and was doing what he could to promote TNA, including Sacrfice that takes place Friday evening. It so happened that Francis was at Media Row and unexpectedly got invited by Pat McAfee onto the Pat McAfee Show.
“I didn’t go there to get on the show. Like I went there to say ‘what’s up’ to Pat cause Pat’s my homie. I’ve known Pat since we were in the NFL. We were in the NFL at the same time so I’ve known Pat for years. I went there to just say, ‘What’s up?’ And they were like, ‘Nah, nah, nah. We gonna get you on.’ I’m like, ‘Oh, alright, cool.'”
“And then for him to be like, ‘Yo, I see you putting people through tables.’ It’s like, ‘Oh, like he’s putting me over,’ you know what I’m saying? Like, he don’t got to do that. He doesn’t have to do that, but he does cause he’s a real one. And that’s why, like, I use that opportunity to talk about No Surrender, to talk about our shows coming up in Canada and talk about Philly and talk about going back to the Palms for Rebellion on 4/20 So it’s like, these are the things that I’m setting up for people. You know what I’m saying?”
Francis will be apart of the No Surrender meet-and-greet, but has recently been feuding with Joe Hendry in TNA. He also just showed up this past weekend in MLW, appearing to start a feud with former MLW World Heavyweight Champion Alex Kane.
Please credit and h/t to SEScoops for the transcription.
The Rock lightly teased that he’d fly down to Australia to lay the smackdown on Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes and Triple H wanted to make Dwayne Johnson’s status perfectly clear for the fans down under.
Speaking on the Xav & Michelle Show, Triple H let the people know that “The People’s Champ” would in fact not be in attendance for Elimination Chamber.
“You are not (going to see The Rock at Elimination Chamber). I’m not gonna spin that because I don’t want people expecting that and not see that. This show will be spectacular and nobody will miss The Rock. As this all came to be, his schedule is quite tight as you can imagine. So we have him for a lot of events, unfortunately, this was not one of them.”
The Rock may not be in Perth but the star power is powerful for Elimination Chamber. In addition to Triple H, it appears that Australia will get a special appearance from The Undertaker at some point during the PLE. Plus, major names like Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins are lined up for a Grayson Waller Effect segment. Additionally, Becky Lynch, Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair, LA Knight and Randy Orton are all on hand to compete on the card.
Rhea Ripley will more than likely get a “Rock” like reaction as the Women’s World Champion is returning to her home country to defend gold against Nia Jax.
The absense of The Rock will be somewhat bittersweet considering his recent return to his 1998 aura. This past Friday on WWE SmackDown The Rock took some specific verbal jabs at Salt Lake City, so one could only imagine that he would have some gems in store for the people in Perth.
Several WWE Superstars are applying the term “when in Rome” to their stay in Perth, Australia ahead of WWE Elimination Chamber.
Footage has surfaced of an array of names holding a koala before they have to step in between the ring ropes this weekend and it’s pretty heartwarming for animal lovers.
LA Knight, Bianca Belair, Pete Dunne, Montez Ford, Indi Hartwell and Candice LeRae all got to hold one of Australia’s most notable mammals. Hartwell was the only one coming back home, but the rest of the gang may have experienced something new holding a marsupial.
Holding a koala may tug at the heart-strings, but WWE will get down to business for Elimination Chamber. The men’s match will feature Drew McIntyre vs. LA Knight vs. Kevin Owens vs. Logan Paul vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Randy Orton while the women’s match will have Becky Lynch vs. Tiffany Stratton vs. Bianca Belair vs. Naomi vs. Liv Morgan vs. Raquel Rodriguez.
Also on tap for the PLE is the hometown heroine Rhea Ripley defending her WWE World Women’s Championship against Nia Jax. The WWE Tag Team Championships will also be on the line as Damian Priest and Finn Balor defend the titles against Tyler Bate and Pete Dunne.
Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins will also have a featured segment together on the “Grayson Waller Effect.” Not only that, but The Undertaker was seen arriving in Perth for the show as well. For the American viewers on the east coast, Elimination Chamber starts at 5 AM ET.
Pepperman was the longest-tenured female member of the creative team with WWE, being with the company since 2017 as she earned the role of Senior Writer. However, Pepperman’s recent exit was voluntary and not an internal choice. Now she will be announced as AEW’s new Vice President of Content Development.
The latest AEW hire also has “outside wrestling” creative cred, as she’s a three-time Emmy winner.
Tony Khan issued a statement, expressing his excitement for adding Pepperman into the mix.
“Adding Jennifer Pepperman’s brilliant mind to the AEW team opens the door for exciting new ideas and will help us build upon the incredible stories currently developing on the road to AEW Revolution across our three weekly shows on TBS and TNT, and the effects of Jennifer’s arrival in AEW will be felt for many years in the future. We’re thrilled to welcome her today, and I look forward to her creativity and collaboration with our team across the board in what will be AEW’s biggest year yet, and beyond.”
In the past, Khan has mentioned that he’s had a lot of talents involved in the creative process of developing the shows, but the addition of Pepperman marks the first official hire for a creative role with AEW.
SEScoops‘ own Aaron Varble reported on Feb 15th that the general belief within WWE was that Jennifer Pepperman already had a job lined up for her. We will have more updates as they are made available.
I was told that Jennifer Pepperman's departure from WWE was "totally unexpected" to those backstage. She will be missed too.
There is a belief that she already has a job lined up elsewhere.
Tony Khan says AEW has weathered several storms this week and claims it hasn’t been this wild since the pandemic era.
Khan had some thoughts before Wednesday night’s episode of AEW Dynamite took place and only had two primary matches listed ahead of of the show with two other matches featuring Toni Storm and Deonna Purrazzo not having respective opponents.
That may have been an early indicator of Khan’s laments about the week who posted the following on X before Dynamite blew up on Wednesday.
“Tonight’s #AEWDynamite, NEXT on TBS, will be presented with up to 5 minutes overrun! This has been one of the most hectic weeks for injuries + unexpected unavailability that I can recall in AEW, especially since the pandemic era. Tonight will be a wild night on TBS Network!”
Tonight's #AEWDynamite, NEXT on TBS, will be presented with up to 5 minutes overrun!
This has been one of the most hectic weeks for injuries + unexpected unavailability that I can recall in @AEW, especially since the pandemic era.
Dynamite this week takes place in Tulsa, OK, but there is no word as to who Khan is referring to regarding injuries and unavailability.
The two main matches listed for the program ahead of time was the headline trios match between Samoa Joe, Swerve Strickland and Brian Cage going against Hangman Page, HOOK and Rob Van Dam. The other match listed was Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli going up against FTR which opened up the show.
Toni Khan and Deonna Purrazzo were listed on the Dynamite graphic for singles matches, but were both listed as “in action” rather than an actual opponent.
Khan and AEW are no strangers to injuries affecting their match cards. Names like Bryan Danielson, Adam Cole and CM Punk getting hurt have drastically changed major matches in the past.
Posted February 21st, 2024 in AEW. Tagged: Tony Khan.
It’s been almost a decade-and-a-half since Rob Van Dam first grappled up with Samoa Joe in TNA and now the roles are somewhat reversed this Wednesday on AEW Dynamite.
RVD first wrestled Samoa Joe on the July 8, 2010 episode of TNA Impact. Back then, Van Dam was the World Heavyweight Champion of the promotion and he took on Samoa Joe in a non-title match main event.
RVD came out victorious after he pulled a “Bret Hart to Roddy Piper at WrestleMania VIII” 1-2-3 when Joe had him in the Kokina Clutch, but Van Dam used the turnbuckle to flip over and pin the then “Samoan Suplex Machine.”
“Samoa Joe is awesome by the way, you know, and it doesn’t seem like that long ago to me having that match. So when you put the year in like that it makes sense, then it’s like, ‘Wow, okay.’ So I guess 14 years ago, that’s a pretty big chunk of time. You only get so many 14 [year] blocks of time in your life.”
Now this Wednesday RVD will tag up once again with HOOK and the wild card, Hangman Page as they take on Joe, Swerve Strickland and Brian Cage. However, this time, it’s Joe who’s the World Champion in this full-circle situation.
Does Van Dam Have His Eyes On AEW Gold?
RVD later makes note that he isn’t one to shy away from making firsts in pro wrestling and getting hold of the AEW “Big Platinum” isn’t something he’s ruling out of the cards forthcoming.
“So if I go after the AEW Championship, say I collect that f***ing gold and add that and become the only wrestler to have held the WWE, TNA, ECW and AEW Championship. I mean, I do s*** like that. I’m always finding new ways to stand out and be one of a kind. Imagine if that happened, how inspired people would be in general to think they grew up watching me decades ago. And then here at 53, they’re seeing me, perspectively, maybe having the best matches or the best year of my career.”