Tessa Blanchard and husband Daga are in talks to sign with All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The negotiations have been ongoing for over a month. One source close to the situation tells us that it’s “all but a formality” until they are signed.
Blanchard is a former Impact World Champion. She is widely considered one of the most talented female competitors on the open market.
She’s weathered her share of controversies, including claims that she is difficult to work with and allegations of racism, which she adamantly denied. AEW officials have discussed the idea of acknowledging Tessa Blanchard’s prior ‘issues’ on television and presenting her with a redemption storyline of sorts.
Daga has been wrestling for Mexico’s Lucha Libre AAA promotion. He was the AAA Latin American Champion up until this past week, when he vacated the belt.
The NBA Playoffs get going on May 22nd, 2021 and several of the games will air on TNT. The episode of AEW Dynamite originally scheduled for May 26th, 2021 will not air in the promotion’s usual time slot due to the basketball schedule.
According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the show scheduled for the 26th will now take place on Friday, May 28th. Additionally, the show will air at 10 PM est rather than at 8 PM est. AEW’s next PPV is scheduled to be Double or Nothing on May 30th, 2021. This means the delayed show on the 28th will be the go-home show for the event.
AEW was also forced to move several shows last summer to make way for the NBA Playoffs. The NBA was forced into a bubble for the end of the season and playoffs last year, months after the season would have normally already ended.
Tony Khan On AEW’s Deal With Turner For Wednesday Nights
Turner Sports also recently signed a deal with the NHL. The deal is not expected to impact AEW programming much, however. Tony Khan recently spoke about AEW’s deal with Turner for Wednesday nights during an appearance on Busted Open Radio.
“I know Wednesday night is our slot and our home,” he said. “I’m thrilled with our partnership with TNT. It’s the lifeblood of our company and our primary revenue source and t’s the way most fans get exposed to AEW and see our show. And tonight and every night that we do Dynamite, for a lot of wrestling fans, it’s a really important night of the week.”
“We have a contract with over two and a half years left for Wednesday nights in this slot. And if there was ever an opportunity to move or if there was a deal to be had, I would consider it. If we did something, it would have to be a really good deal for AEW and it would have to make sense for us. As it stands right now, that is the spot we’re in. If we move, I would certainly consider a deal if there was something in it for AEW.”
AEW Dynamite viewership took a major hit this week after a strong start running unopposed on Wednesday nights.
The April 28th edition of AEW Dynamite on TNT averaged 889,000 viewers. The show did a 0.33 rating in the Adults 18-49 demographic to finish #10 on cable. The data comes courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily.
Dynamite viewership was down significantly after drawing viewership above 1.1 million the past two weeks. The show went up against US President Joe Biden’s first State of the Union address to Congress and the subsequent coverage.
Digging into the demographics, AEW’s numbers were down across the board. The demographic that was hit the hardest was Adults 50+, which was down 23%.
AEW has Blood and Guts scheduled for next week, which should spike a big number and bring things comfortably back above the 1 million mark.
Wednesday’s show featured FTW Champion Brian Cage getting a surprise win over Hangman Page, Penta El Zero M getting a win over Orange Cassidy, an appearance from AEW/Impact World Champion Kenny Omega, a face-to-face showdown between the Inner Circle and the Pinnacle, Darby Allin retaining the TNT Championship over Dark Order member 10 and much more.
Konosuke Takeshita was impressive during his recent visit to AEW. The Japanese talent was an unknown entity to everybody. However, he is a superstar of some repute back in his homeland. He has held close to every title in the DDT promotion including their Openweight belt.
Talking in a recent press conference, Takeshita spoke about making his debut for the company and wrestling with a roster and a crowd who had little to no idea who he was.
“To be appreciated at that time was what gave me the most confidence. That kind of environment is what I think was different. But I really drew motivation from it. I felt the hunger to perform the most.”
Konosuke Takeshita only had three matches with AEW, one on each of their Dark shows, following a debut at their first-ever house show. Fighting alongside AEW Champion Kenny Omega, he held his own and left wrestling fans eager to see more.
Takeshita went on to mention that he was eager to return to AEW and has already signalled out two potentially huge matches that he would like to have upon his return.
While he featured as one of Kenny Omega’s boys during his first run, the current AEW and IMPACT champion was the first name on his list of potential opponents. This was closely followed by another wrestling legend in Chris Jericho.
“As for who I want to face, the one who has really had the most influence on me the last few years is Kenny Omega. Also, I had a little conversation with Chris Jericho.”
A match against either opponent would be a great chance for Konosuke Takeshita to demonstrate his true potential and win over the hearts of an entirely new continent of fans.
As announced last night, IWGP United States Champion Jon Moxley will defend his title on the May 12th edition of AEW Dynamite. His opponent will be Yuji Nagata.
This will be the second time Moxley has defended the title in the United States. He defeated KENTA on an episode of New Japan Strong from the company’s Los Angeles dojo recently as well.
Moxley is one of only six wrestlers who have won the title since its inception in 2017. Kenny Omega became the inaugural champion that year after defeating Tomohiro Ishii in the finals of a tournament. Omega then dropped it to Jay White after a 210 day reign and 4 title defenses.
Moxley’s current title reign sits at 476 days as champion and 3 title defenses. His previous reign lasted 130 days but he was forced to vacate the belt due to injury before making any title defenses. Should he defeat Nagata on May 12th, Moxley will tie Omega for the most combined title defenses as well as the most title defenses in a single reign with 4. Juice Robinson and Jay White each had 3 successful title defenses during their respective reigns with the belt as well.
The 7-year deal will see WarnerMedia-owned cable networks airing 72 regular-season games per year, as well as several games from the Stanley Cup finals.
With Dynamite airing on Wednesday nights on TNT, there’s been some speculation about whether or not AEW could face frequent preemptions or get moved to a different night entirely.
Tony Khan appeared on Busted Open Radio on Wednesday and addressed this very topic.
“I know Wednesday night is our slot and our home,” he began. “We’re in a great situation. I’m thrilled with our partnership with TNT. It’s the lifeblood of our company. It’s the primary revenue source and it’s the way most fans get exposed to AEW.”
“It Would Have To Be A Really Good Deal For AEW”
He said that Wednesday night is an important night for a lot of wrestling fans and he said he does not want people to worry about these kind of major changes. They have a contract with WarnerMedia that runs for another two and a half years plus.
“If there was ever an opportunity to move, or if there was a deal to be had, I would consider it. If we did something, it would have to be a really good deal for AEW.”
Based on these comments, it seems that AEW Dynamite is staying on Wednesday nights for the foreseeable future, but “money talks” and Tony Khan would be flexible if it was worth their while.
Check out Tony Khan’s comments on Busted Open in the tweet embedded below:
"If we did something, it would have to be a really good deal for @AEW."
Sadie Gibbs announced on her official Instagram account that she has retired from wrestling.
Gibbs participated on a tour with Stardom in Japan before she joined AEW in 2019. She made her in-ring promotional debut at the Double or Nothing pay-per-view event where she worked the Women’s Casino Battle Royale and ended being one of three women to eliminate Awesome Kong. Gibbs was released from AEW last August.
Gibbs posted a lengthy statement on Instagram, which you can read an excerpt here:
“It’s been a really confusing year and half for me, but I’ve always been good at following my instinct and letting go AND HAVING NOTHING BUT GRACE IN THE PATH AHEAD OF ME.
I’ve decided in order for me to excel in my new endeavours, coaching speaking teaching BEING THE LEADER which I’ve always been.
I have to let go! And set my intentions on what it is I want from my life and where I see long term sustainable fulfilment.
And those doors are opening and it’s about time I conserved all my energy and focus on this new chapter.I will forever be THE AMAZING GRACE! I will forever be the GIRL WHO DID A CORKSCREW SASUKE SPECIAL ! I WILL FOREVER BE #UNDEFINABLE.”
Gibbs had a tryout with WWE in 2017 but wasn’t signed at the time. In addition to her wrestling career, she has a CrossFit, gymnastics, and MMA background.
The National Hockey League has signed a 7-year agreement with Turner Sports, which owns TBS and TNT. The news has drawn reactions from several people in wrestling. Chris Jericho, Britt Baker, Renee Paquette, and CM Punk all reacted to the new NHL TV deal online.
Chris Jericho, whose father is former NHL player Ted Irvine, reacted to the news:
— Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. (@RealBrittBaker) April 27, 2021
Renee Paquette was formerly a host on TheScore in Canada. Sports coverage in Canada has a heavy emphasis on hockey. She’s offering her hosting services to TNT.
Hello TNT and the @NHL, I’ll be available for all hosting, backyard or otherwise, by the upcoming season. #gameonhttps://t.co/QQFswzVYyV
72 regular season games will air on either TNT or TBS throughout the year. Turner can bounce the games between TNT and TBS to avoid having to move Dynamite. Turner will air 3 of 7 Stanley Cup Finals series as part of the deal as well.
The NHL’s deal with Turner was addressed recently by Dave Meltzer.
“AEW will stay in its timeslot, and NHL will probably end up on TBS or a different night,” said Dave Meltzer.
AEW star and TNT Champion Darby Allin recently discussed the taping of the AEW Revolution match. Allin teamed with Sting at the PPV in a cinematic match against Ricky Starks and Brian Cage.
Darby Allin was reportedly extremely involved in the creation of the match; as Allin has an extensive history in filmmaking and independent releases.
“I was writing storyboards for months before the PPV” Darby Allin began, speaking on Drinks with Johnny. “When I saw the location where we were filming, I took all these photos and was plotting everything in my brain.”
“[I was] sitting in the boiler room, just coming up with all the shots” Allin noted. “We had an awesome crew and Steve Yu, who helped direct it. When we’re shooting it, I was running around and doing everything possible. ‘I wanna shoot it like this.’”
Darby Allin on Sting
“When we got done with the cut, I’d run through a pane of glass, and go, ‘alright, get the next shot.’ I was doing everything and I felt on autopilot” Allin stated. “I had an adrenaline rush and felt we could go all night and was on fire with it.”
“The only thing that stopped me was when I had to throw the bat to Sting” Darby Allin said. “I was like, ‘Alright, I’m going to throw this down.’ Tony [Khan] put it best, ‘You know how the laws of physics work, right? That bat is going to come down and we don’t know if it’s going to break Sting’s face.’”
Darby Allin finished by revealing that Sting was able to do the shot in the very first take. “First time in the whole shoot I started thinking like, ‘what if I do break Sting’s face and he can’t finish the match?’ He’s the one who was like, ‘I’m catching that bat.’ Perfect catch, first try, beat the f*ck out of everyone. I was on cloud nine.”
AEW Tag Team Champions Matt & Nick Jackson, the Young Bucks, were guests recently on Talk N Shop. During the conversation, the brothers revealed that WWE offered them $500,000 to sign with them in 2018.
“I knew [Good Brothers] money. Everyone else was getting [$150,000] to start. He’s already offering us $500,000 each guaranteed. I’m going, ‘what!’ Right then, we knew our street value. That was the first offer. Basically, he said, ‘by the end of your trip, I would love an answer.’ The whole trip, I’m [stressed]. I kept dragging it out,” said Matt (transcriptions via Fightful).
The Bucks also spoke about negotiations they had with Ring of Honor to stay with them. According to comments by Nick Jackson, they knew ROH would be unable to afford what they were looking for.
“They couldn’t afford it. We told them, ‘we know we can make a million and that’s our goal, to make seven digits this year.’ They knew they couldn’t come close to that,” Nick Jackson said.
During an interview with Chris Van Vliet in 2019, Matt Jackson opened up about how close they were to signing with WWE.
“We talked to [WWE] endlessly. At one point, I remember me, Nick, and Kenny were in a room because all of our deals were up at the same time. We got off the phone one day and we looked at each other, and we said, ‘I think we’re all going to WWE.’ It was that close.”
Former Lucha Underground Champion, Marty “The Moth” Martinez, could possibly be appearing in an AEW ring shortly. Martinez was the 3rd last holder of the LU title. He won it from Pentagon Dark after cashing in the Gift of the Gods title but would drop it back to Pentagon shortly after.
Martinez took to Instagram last month to mention that he’s training for a comeback at QT Marshall’s gym in Atlanta.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CL99Y9QF80Q/
He also posted a photo to Instagram recently and mentioned that he’d had a “fun week of shooting some wrestling” and tagged the post with several AEW hashtags including #AEWDark #AEW and #NightmareFactory.
In his post from March, he explained his absence from wrestling in recent years.
“In Feb 2019, I herniated my L4 & L5 in my spine while doing a workout stream. (twitch.tv/martythemothcasaus). Not lifting, I herniated them while hugging my pup on stream. Yes, I got injured hugging my adorable dog. Docs said I needed surgery. I opted for stem cells instead. I’ve spent the last 2 years relearning how to walk without pain from sciatica & muscle tension. I had to relearn how to run on the treadmill. Spent more time on rehab than heavy weights. My stream watched the struggle. I learned that progress is just as important as results. I had already beat sleep apnea, learned to manage my lyme disease, & I spent way to much time fighting to be healthy that there was not a chance in hell I wasn’t chasing my dream with it.”
Rap Icon Snoop Dogg recently appeared on Hot 97’s Ebro in the Morning podcast. The star behind hits such as ‘Gin N Juice’ and ‘Nuttin But a G Thang” discussed a number of topics during the podcast, including how WWE were not happy that he appeared in AEW.
Snoop got physical on the January 6th “New Year’s Smash” edition of AEW Dynamite. He hit a ‘frog splash’ (if you can call it that) during the show as part of promo for the Go-Big Show on TBS.
“Let me tell you this, Snoop Dogg ain’t no wrestler. He’s bigger than that” Snoop Dogg began, speaking on the podcast. “You gotta understand that. This is the dynamics of what happened: I had a show on TBS called Go-Big Show.
“So, Cody Rhodes was one of the judges on the show, and he’s one of the top dogs at AEW” Snoop noted. “So, as a promotional vehicle for the gig, I went on AEW.”
Snoop Dogg’s AEW Appearance
Snoop reveals that WWE disciplined him for his appearance on AEW Dynamite by putting their working relationship on hold.
Recounting WWE’s communication to him, Snoop said, “‘Hey, you running with them? We got to push pause on your ass for a minute. So, I stayed cool. They pushed pause for about two weeks, and then they go, ‘Hey man, we got this video game and we need you.’”
Watch Snoop Dogg’s comments this situation here:
Snoop says WWE “felt some type of way” when he showed up on AEW Dynamite, got word from them they wanted to “push pause” on their relationship, that lasted about 2 weeks before they asked Snoop to be a part of their new video game. pic.twitter.com/QRbWTdY2y6
Snoop’s appearance on AEW Dynamite got a lot of attention for his less-than-graceful dive off the top rope. His cousin, WWE Superstar Sasha Banks, teased him on social media that his moves need a little work.
All Elite Wrestling will present the first Blood and Guts match in company history on the May 5th edition of AEW Dynamite on TNT. Blood and Guts is AEW’s version of War Games, the double steel cage match created by the late Dusty Rhodes.
Chris Jericho’s Inner Circle will square off MJF’s Pinnacle faction in what’s sure to be a violent affiar that lives up to the Blood and Guts name.
On a recent episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer revealed some details about what fans can expect from this special episode of Dynamite.
“I think it’s going to be a one match show,” said Meltzer. He clarified that AEW might pre-record some other matches and video packages, but he expects that entire show to be built around B&G and for it to be the only live match that takes place that night.
AEW Blood and Guts: May 5th
AEW Dynamite is a 2-hour show, so Blood and Guts will be a long match. The 10-man elimination match will feature ‘old school’ rules – with no pinfalls.
The Blood and Guts double steel cage will feature a roof, which stays true to Dusty Rhodes’ original concept. WWE’s version of the match, War Games, did not feature a roof.
AEW is just the latest promotion to present their own version of the mythical War Games match. Aside from the original War Games match presented by the National Wrestling Alliance in 1987, other companies that put their own spin on the “match beyond” include ECW, Smoky Mountain, Ring of Honor, Impact Wrestling, Major League Wrestling and WWE/NXT.
TV viewership data is in for Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite on TNT, the second week of the ‘unopposed’ era.
The April 22nd episode of AEW Dynamite averaged 1.104 million viewers. The show did a 0.37 rating in the Adults 18-49 demographic and finished #2 on cable for the day. The numbers come courtesy of ShowBuzzDaily.
For comparison, Monday’s WWE Raw averaged 1.907 million viewers and did a 0.61 rating. Dynamite’s viewership is up since NXT moved to Tuesday’s, but AEW still has a ways to go before they catch WWE’s flagship show.
This was the 4th most-watched episode of AEW Dynamite. MTV’s The Challenge season finale was the highest-rated show of the night, but AEW has a chance to claim that mantle next week.
Overall, this is a strong showing for AEW. The next big test for AEW comes in two weeks, when the company presents Blood and Guts on the May 5th episode.
Check out our results and takeaway’s from this week’s AEW Dynamite:
Christian recently signed with All Elite Wrestling and has vowed to, “Out. Work. Everyone.” During this discussion with Tony Schiavone and Aubrey Edwards, Captain Charisma spoke about his AEW debut, what he loves about AEW and much more.
Christian made his AEW at the recent Revolution pay-per-view. He was the ‘big signing’ teased by Paul Wight. Even though he’s been a household name for decades, Christian reveals that he wasn’t sure how fans would react to him in AEW.
“I get there, and straight onto a bus, and it’s nerve-wracking you know, because you’d be like, ‘Will anybody even care that I’m here?’” he said. “You know, you have those kind of thoughts that go through your head a little bit.”
Christian in AEW
Christian’s first match for AEW was against fellow veteran Frankie Kazarian. It was Christian’s first singles match in seven years. He felt Kazarian was the right guy to work with for his debut.
“I wanted to raise his stock no matter what happened in that match, and I know he felt the same way,” said Christian. “When you have two guys committed to that purpose, I think you’re gonna go out there and do something really special.”
Christian was with WWE since the Attitude Era in the late 1990’s. He knows that system inside and out. There are several ways that AEW differs from WWE. Christian says that one thing in particular that he enjoys is the amount of time that AEW gives talent to do their thing. “That’s the thing, too, that I love about AEW. There’s so much time in these matches to tell these stories.”
Other topics discussed include Jon Moxley’s role in Christian joining AEW, his appreciation for AEW’s tag team division, who he’s excited to work with and more.
Listen to Christian on AEW Unrestricted in the link embedded below.
We cover his surprise signing, his 1st match in 7 YEARS with Kaz + the exchange he had with TK after the match, getting medically cleared, his routine to get shredded + more!
Jim Ross recently discussed IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay on the Grilling Jr podcast. JR discussed that while Ospreay is a ‘very good hand’ he still has a long way to go before he can be classed as one of the best in wrestling history.
“He’s now the greatest champion in the history of wrestling and nobody’s been better, are you sh*tting me?” Ross began on Grilling Jr. “Come on. He’s a very good hand. I called some of his matches back in the day, he’s very good and very unique, he creates his own style with a lot of British stuff.”
Jim Ross then discussed the former top Champions of New Japan, questioning whether Will Ospreay even ranks up to them at present.
“I think Will Ospreay is a great talent, but all of a sudden, because he did have a fantastic NJPW experience, is he the greatest ever?” Ross asked. “Is he even the greatest NJPW champion? It’s hard to say he’s better than [Hiroshi] Tanahashi, it’s hard to say he’s better than [Kazuchika] Okada or the list of all luminaries that held that title. I do think he’s very good, it might be a little early a week after his win to consider him the greatest ever.”
Jim Ross on Will Ospreay
JR finished by saying that he wants to see Ospreay appear for AEW at some point in the future. “I wish he wrestled in AEW, he’d do great here,” Ross noted. “He’s not from here you know, I don’t know if that means a lot to him or not. I know he could probably make more money than he’s making where he is, that’s my guess.”
“We know he’d have more creative freedom if he wrestled for Tony Khan than if he wrestled for Vince McMahon” Jim Ross added. “I think that’s one of the attractive things about our company that’s ever growing, you get to have a bigger influence on your creative. I know guys here in AEW that outline their whole program, I think that’s cool as hell. It gives them some creative release and wrestlers are creative by nature.”
Would you like to see Will Ospreay appear in AEW? Let us know in the comments
Japanese wrestling star Konosuke Takeshita is headed back to Japan after a successful (short) stint working for AEW.
The 25-year-old primarily works for Japan’s DDT promotion. He spent a few weeks in the United States and wrestled at three AEW events. He worked the ‘House Always Wins’ non-televised event during WWE WrestleMania weekend. He also competed on two episodes of AEW Dark: Elevation.
Earlier this week, Takeshita posted on Twitter that he’s returning home, but hopes to return to AEW in the future as DDT Champion. He stated that his next goal is to appear on All Elite Wrestling’s flagship show, AEW Dynamite. He let American wrestling fans know, this is only goodbye ‘for now.’
My @AEW match is the last one that was broadcast earlier. I must go back to Japan.
But I'd like to come back here as @ddtpro Champion. My next goal is to fight in Dynamite.
Konosuke Takeshita teamed up with AEW World Champion Kenny Omega and Michael Nakazawa this past week on Dark: Elevation. They defeated Danny Limelight, Matt and Mike Sydal’s in the main event.
Omega took notice of Takeshita’s message. He replied with condescension. “We sent him home packing but he was a good hand. He fought the good fight for the brothers in the Elite. Maybe we’ll bring him back?”
Takeshita took Omega’s ‘good hand’ jab in stride. He thanked the champion for his support and hinted that they might cross paths again in the future.
Thank you for your support.
I know many fans want to watch us fight each other in the belief that one day it will come true. https://t.co/MrkvJXTE7j
All Elite Wrestling is gearing up to hit the road once again this summer.
AEW has been filming shows from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, FL since last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to AEW broadcaster Jim Ross, the company is getting ready resume a ‘pretty aggressive’ touring schedule starting in July.
“We’re getting our schedule together,” said Ross on the Grilling JR Podcast. “It looks like we’re going back on the road pretty aggressively, beginning in July. Getting back in front of a live audience is a blessing. I can’t wait.”
JR said that performing in front of live crowds across the United States will help everyone’s work. “You can’t help but feed off of the adrenaline of the people and the audience surrounding you,” he added.
The Events section of the AEW website lists the following dates for AEW Dynamite tapings outside Jacksonville:
6/23: St. Louis, MO
8/18: Houston, TX
8/25: Milwaukee, WI
9/8: Boston, MA
9/15: Newark, NJ
9/29: Rochester, NY
10/6: Philadelphia, PA
AEW has done a commendable job running television and pay-per-view events during these challenging times. Smaller crowds have been permitted at Daily’s Place for several months, but it’s been nearly a year since AEW talent performed in front of a full house.
The recent WWE WrestleMania pay-per-view featured the largest live crowds since the start of the pandemic. According to Wrestlenomics, WWE had over 20,000 fans in attendance for each night at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, FL.
We will provide an update when AEW announces more information about this big push to resume touring with fans in attendance.
AEW’s Big Swole lives with Crohn’s disease, an illness characterized by inflammation of the digestive tract. In an Instagram post on 4/20, Swole mentioned how medical cannabis has helped her manager her condition.
“I’ve been getting a lot of questions about how I managed my Crohn’s Disease while wrestling,” Swole wrote. “My Crohn’s is very aggressive so I was referred by my physician to try medical cannabis.”
“For me, this decision was best for my recovery. I honestly believe I wouldn’t have been able to get through this past year w/o it. My pain has nearly subsided, my appetite is revived and my overall happiness has increased. It may not be for you but it’s worth a look!”
Big Swole On Crohn’s Disease and the COVID-19 Pandemic
Swole released a statement last month about how the pandemic has impacted her Crohn’s treatment.
“After my bout with pneumonia early last year, I was informed that resuming medicine for Crohn’s would result in death given the COVID-19 circumstances. Seeing as how the biologic I was on shuts down my immune system and acts as such, resuming my medicine was not an option.”
Last night on AEW Dark: Elevation, Paul Wight spoke with both members of the Acclaimed in a sit-down interview. During the interview, Bowens spoke about his fear that coming out would impact his professional wrestling dream.
“I represent the LGBQT community, I’m an openly gay professional wrestler so I had a lot of years living in fear of whether or not I’d be able to do this or not. So, to even be here is an incredible opportunity and I’m extremely grateful for it,” Bowens said during the interview.
Bowens is currently out of action with a knee injury but is expected to return shortly.
5 years ago I was still closeted & living in constant fear about how coming out would affect my dream of wrestling. Last night, we got to sit down with @PaulWight & talk about it with the wrestling world. ? Thank you @AEW for letting me be me. ? #CriticallyAcclaimed#MicDroppic.twitter.com/YwTKOy9wvP
During an interview with SI.com in 2019, Bowens spoke in-depth regarding representation of gay athletes in wrestling.
“It means something when a person can see someone that looks like them, gets them, and understands what they’re going through,” said Bowens. “I’m representing the LGBT community and athletes that are LGBT, but even more than that, too, I’m representing the small-town kid who was told he’d never make it, and I’m here for the shy kid that is ready to burst out of his shell and be that social butterfly.”
“I’m trying to represent all of these people in the most positive way I can. I get messages from people that make me cry. To know that I’m having a positive impact on people is a blessing, and makes me feel that I made the right decision to come out.”
Chris Jericho remains at the forefront of AEW storylines. His Inner Circle faction is embroiled in a heated feud with MJF’s new group, Pinnacle. The two factions will soon clash at Blood and Guts, AEW’s version of the War Games double-catch “match beyond.”
Le Champion recently spoke with Hollywood Life and discussed celebrity involvement in professional wrestling. Jericho has worked closely with Mike Tyson in AEW and says celebrities are doing better with wrestling than in previous years.
“You now have guys that have a large amount of respect for pro wrestling,” Jericho began. “You can throw Jay Leno’s name in there and I will raise you a Karl Malone, a Dennis Rodman or a Lawrence Taylor way back in the day.”
He continued, “There are athletes and guys like Bad Bunny who have been lifelong fans of wrestling and really respect what we do and want to be involved. Those are the ones that always work the best. If you take a guy who doesn’t want to do the training and do the things to put on a good match, you will not get one. Then it becomes more of just a stunt casting.”
Chris Jericho on Shaq and Bad Bunny
Over the past several months, mainstream celebrities Shaquille O’Neal, “Iron” Mike Tyson and Bad Bunny have all gotten involved with professional wrestling.
Jericho praised Shaq in particular for his match on AEW Dynamite against Cody Rhodes and Red Velvet, alongside Jade Cargill.
“Shaq took it very seriously” Jericho stated. “He worked very hard to put on the match he did. The same thing with Bad Bunny. You can tell the training was there because what he did was very much like the match we had with Shaq.”
Head over to Hollywood Life to read their full interview with Chris Jericho.
Controversial wrestling star Ivelisse has broken her silence about her recent release from All Elite Wrestling (AEW).
The veteran performer from Puerto Rico says she was blindsided when AEW let her go. Despite her in-ring talent, Ivelisse has a reputation for being difficult to work with behind the scenes.
“I was in shock, definitely, but not as much because I had already recalled everything that went on in the past, so I had an idea,” Ivelisse told Hugo Savinovich for Lucha Libre Online. “I noticed too late just how much damage was made to my name, and I only realized after analyzing the chain of events from everything that went on and it made a lot more sense, because this and this happened because of this and whether it was fair or not.”
As she reflects on what transpired in AEW, she understands how everything transpired. After AEW stopped booking her for matches, people reached out to ask about her role with the company. She decided to focus on her mental and physical health.
Ivelisse on AEW Release
Ivelisse has wresteld for WWE, NXT, Shine, TNA, Lucha Underground. She was hopeful about her AEW run, but it seems that run met a similar fate.
“I did not expect it to turn into a positive reaction, so when they gave me the notice, I was still in shock,” she admitted. “Again, I understand wrestling and it’s politics, but the fact that someone was brought in as strongly, that is what shocked me the most, especially during a pandemic.”
Ivelisse then mentioned how she came to AEW during the pandemic to try and elevate herself and her wrestling career in the United States.
“I came from Puerto Rico on my own” Ivelisse stated. “With my clothes on my back in a suitcase, and I came here to kill myself from ground zero with many against me; so when I lost everything on the fire, literally the little that I achieve because, as you mentioned, if I was a man, I would have had a lot more wealth and success than I would as a woman in my career, I lost it.”
“I had my hopes very elevated, but I lost everything,” Ivelisse concluded. “Everything that happened there, plus everything else on top of it, and I still did everything I was asked to do. I gave it my all to my work, and I lost a lot of weight due to the stress of what was going on and personal issues that I was going through, I was suffering. So I lost the person that was with me when everything would go South, everything was gone, so that’s why I put everything in my work. I will be super honest, I was in that wave of depression trying to hold on, specially.”
Watch Ivelisse’s interview with Lucha Libre Online:
AEW Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks have been working hard on their recent heel turn on All Elite programming. The duo have been utilizing their social media, specifically Twitter, to advance their NJPW Bullet Club-esque characters over the past few weeks.
One way that Matt and Nick Jackson have used Twitter is by posting ‘New bio!!’ every few days to get fans to click on their profile and check out the latest musings from AEW’s top tag team.
In the latest update, The Young Bucks have said that they plan to ‘retire’ from professional wrestling at the age of 40.
The Young Bucks on Retirement
“Wrestling’s sweethearts. Needle movers. Goalpost chasers” The Young Bucks write. “Polarizing, self-made millionaires. Could’ve retired years ago so this is all extra credit. Done by 40.”
It’s worth noting that Matt Jackson is 36, and his brother Nick will be turning 32 in July.
It’s not uncommon for professional wrestlers to still be performing well into their 40s or even 50s. Arguably the biggest mainstream name in AEW is Chris Jericho, and he turned 50 last year.
ROH star and former WWE Superstar Mike Bennett recently spoke to The Shining Wizards Podcast. The former WWE 24/7 Champion discussed a number of topics during the interview, including his release from WWE and subsequent lack of contact from All Elite Wrestling.
“You know, they didn’t reach out to me,” Bennett began, talking about AEW. “Wrestling is very like ‘brother, brother.’ You talk to some people, you put out feelers. Everything was always put out there, but nothing was ever like attacked.”
“I think always in my head, with Taven, it was always Ring of Honor” Bennett continued. ” I never really wanted to go anywhere else. You obviously, if you’re a businessman, and a smart businessman, you put everything out to everybody because you never want to put all your eggs in one basket.”
“But you know, when I got fired, one of the first people to reach out to me was Delirious” Bennett added. “He just sent me a winky emoji on Twitter. It was just one of those ‘Hey I got ya,” you know?’ That always meant a lot to me because Delirious took over the book when I first started in ROH.”
“We have always had a very good relationship, and it’s always meant a lot to me” the former WWE Superstar noted. “So when I got that, it was just kind of like ‘I got you pal.’ It was one of these things where I was going to put out these feelers, but I know where I’m going and I know where I want to go. So it wasn’t really like attacking anything head on.”
Do you think that AEW will be contacting any of the talent released this week? Let us know in the comments
WWE RAW Superstar Rhea Ripley won the red brand’s top Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 37 by defeating Asuka. Both Ripley and Asuka are two women who are aguably synonymous with NXT, with both having sat atop the roster in Full Sail University.
NXT’s run as one of the hottest brands in the world was put to the test when AEW started running on Wednesday nights. With both shows going head-to-head, fans dubbed the new competition as the ‘Wednesday Night Wars.’
The Gold brand of WWE moved to Tuesday this past week and gained viewers in the 800,000 range, with the show no longer having direct pro wrestling competition. AEW in comparison did 1.2 million in the ratings, signalling that the move of NXT and the end of the Wednesday Night Wars was best for both shows.
Rhea Ripley on Wednesday Night War
Speaking to talkSPORT, Rhea Ripley would discuss what it was like being ‘in the trenches’ during the Wednesday night shows.
“I think the internet definitely blew it up a lot more than we thought,” Ripley said. “We didn’t really think about it, at least I didn’t really think about it too much when we were on NXT. I just went there, did my job. I totally forgot there was a ‘war’ going on.”
“I just wanted to do the best that I could do and I think everyone was in the same boat as that” Ripley continued. “I think everyone in NXT just loves what they do so much and we just wanted to do the best that we could. And if that meant we were in a ‘war’ with someone, I guess we’re going to fight. But I think the internet blew that up a lot more than it was.”
