SEScoops

Category: AEW

  • Kenny Omega Says AEW & WWE Working Agreement “Could Be A Reality”

    Kenny Omega Says AEW & WWE Working Agreement “Could Be A Reality”

    AEW World Champion Kenny Omega believes it is possible that WWE and AEW could work together one day.

    Back in December, Triple H had said that WWE is “open for business” when asked about possibly working with other promotions. Omega says he believes Triple H, and that WWE and AEW could work together someday. He detailed his thoughts on the matter in a recent interview with Talk Sport.

    “I think Triple H is still being one of the boys for the better part of his career. I’m sure a big part of how he runs his business and how he looks at WWE, NXT and all those things he has a finger in, I really do think he does it for the sake of fans as well.”

    “So when he does say things like he’s open for business, I do think if there is a situation which could maybe eliminate some of the worries and fears from the other people that have a say in making these things happen, I do see it being a reality.”

    Omega continued to say, however, that it took a pandemic for AEW/Impact/NJPW to come together, so he’s not sure what it would take to add WWE to the mix. He hopes that WWE knows that at least one EVP in AEW would fight “tooth and nail” to make it happen, however.

    “But, for us with IMPACT, New Japan, it took a global pandemic for this to actually happen [laughs]. So who knows what it would take for it to happen on their end, but as long as they know at least on the AEW side they’ve got more than one EVP looking to make this a better and brighter place for every wrestling fan young or old and possibly the disenfranchised fan, the fan that used to be a fan but isn’t a fan anymore.”

    “We want to make this a fun thing for everyone and if that includes working with literally everyone, which I think would make everyone happy, then I’m all for it and I would lobby very hard for it, fight tooth and nail to make it happen.”

    The full interview with Omega can be read here.

  • Jon Moxley Says He Wanted To Form A Tag-Team With Brodie Lee

    Jon Moxley Says He Wanted To Form A Tag-Team With Brodie Lee

    Former AEW World Champion Jon Moxley recently stated that he thought he and Brodie Lee would have formed a great tag-team. Moxley was interviewed by Metro UK and said he felt he and Lee could have had a full run as tag-team together.

    “I had an idea to eventually one day – I like tag team wrestling, you know? And there’s so many great tag teams here that I wanna get to work with. ‘But it’s like, OK, I’m gonna need a suitable partner, not just any random guy. I want a full, actual good tag team run with a good partner, make a real run at having a run in this tag division.”

    “The guy I was thinking about doing it with was Brodie Lee. He was a good friend, and I wrestled him so many millions of times, our styles would have complemented each other very well.”

    Moxley and Brodie Lee wrestled each other countless times in WWE, especially during the Shield and Wyatt Family runs from 2014-2017. Outside of WWE, they met in 3 singles matches. The first was on an EVOLVE show in 2010 that went to a no-contest. Then on January 7th, 2011, Jon Moxley successfully defended the CZW Championship against Lee. Their last match against each other was on the Double or Nothing 2020 PPV last May when Moxley successfully defended the AEW World Championship against Lee.

    The full interview with Metro UK can be read here.

  • Matt Cardona On Why He’s Not With AEW Anymore

    Matt Cardona On Why He’s Not With AEW Anymore

    Following his release from WWE last spring, Matt Cardona wrestled two matches in AEW. He teamed with Cody and defeated John Silver & Alex Reynolds on the August 5th edition of Dynamite and then teamed with the Natural Nightmares and Scorpio Sky at All Out 2020 and defeated 4 members of the Dark Order.

    Cardona is now with Impact Wrestling and appears to be building a feud with his former longtime tag partner and friend, Brian Myers. He spoke to Chris Van Vliet recently about why he is no longer in All Elite Wrestling.

    “After the release day, I was in contact with so many people and promotions. The AEW thing worked out first, and that was only for a couple of dates,” Cardona said.

    “AEW was awesome, it was fun, it was great but I was in such a long-term relationship, I didn’t want to jump into another relationship with anybody, really. To be honest, I was enjoying the free time at home, building the podcast, and time just kind of flew by.”

    “Before I knew it, I got a text, it was the Friday before Hard to Kill, saying ‘hey, do you want to come to work tomorrow?’ I was like ‘you know what?’”

    “I like to be able to bounce around and do whatever I want to do right now,” he continued.

    Cardona’s comments can be heard in the player below:

  • Jon Moxley On What He Said To Tony Khan About The Exploding Barbed-Wire Death Match

    Jon Moxley On What He Said To Tony Khan About The Exploding Barbed-Wire Death Match

    Jon Moxley will face Kenny Omega in an exploding barbed-wire deathmatch at AEW Revolution on March 7th. He recently appeared on Wrestling Observer Radio and spoke about the upcoming match.

    Moxley talked about how he’d always been a fan of such matches but never thought he’d get to do one in AEW. He wouldn’t say whose idea having the match in AEW was, but did note that it was something that was brought to him rather than something he pitched to management.

    “When this was brought to me, quite some time ago actually, I’m not going to turn that down,” Moxley said on the show.

    “One thing that I absolutely cannot stand is the thought of promising something and not delivering it to fans. So if I tell you some wild stuff is going to go down, I’m going to deliver on it.”

    Later in the show, Moxley said he had the following to say to Tony Khan about the match.

    “So now, I made it very clear to Tony, don’t put me in these situations unless you want me to go full-on, full tilt. Be careful of what you wish for because I’m not in the business of under-delivering on promises these days to people. And they know that so in a situation like this, the gloves are off.”

    Jon Moxley On Pitching Ideas In WWE

    Moxley then continued to talk about other times in his career when he has pitched ideas and had them turned down.

    “There were many, many times over the years where I’d say these things like ‘I’m going to put you through Hell in a Cell!’ and whatever they had me say but in my mind I’m like ‘No, I’m not, I’m not going to do any of this stuff. This is stupid, we know exactly what’s going to happen, it’s the same stupid Hell in a Cell.’”

    “I felt like I was always over-promising what I was allowed to actually deliver and I pitched so much stuff over the years,” Moxley continued.

    Moxley also spoke about pitching an idea for a Hell in a Cell match and getting rejected by WWE management.

    “Something simple like tearing the canvas off and exposing the boards,” Moxley mentioned he pitched for a Hell in a Cell match once.

    “They looked at me like I’m f***ing stupid,” he said of Vince, Hunter, and Stephanie’s reaction. “They didn’t get it at all. Vince was like ‘I don’t think people are going to get it’. They looked at me like I’m an idiot. Hunter’s rolling his eyes.”

  • Terry Funk Says That AEW Title Match is a “Kick In The Ass” To Vince McMahon

    Terry Funk Says That AEW Title Match is a “Kick In The Ass” To Vince McMahon

    Pro wrestling legend Terry Funk recently reacted to the AEW Revolution main event news. Although it is unfair to just label Funk as a ‘hardcore’ wrestling legend, he was part of some of the most brutal matches over his illustrious career.

    One of the bouts that Terry Funk took part in was the Exploding Barbed Wire DeathMatch; much like the one that will main event AEW Revolution between AEW Champion Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley.

    Terry Funk on DeathMatch

    Terry Funk was made aware of the Revolution main event and the person running his Twitter account notified followers of his reply. “Just talked to Mr. Funk & he’s doing okay. He just wanted to wish Jon Moxley & Kenny Omega the best of luck in their exploding barbed wire match” Funk reportedly began.

    It was also noted that Funk made a playful jab at WWE. “He says the match is a good way for AEW to wake up Vince with a good kick in his ass. He wants you to know he’s pulling for you!”

    AEW Revolution takes place on March 7th from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida. Here’s the current card for the event:

    • AEW Championship Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch – Kenny Omega (c) vs Jon Moxley
    • AEW Tag Team Championships – The Young Bucks (c) vs Chris Jericho and MJF
    • Streetfight – Team Taz vs Sting And Darby Allin
    • Hikaru Shida vs The Winner Of The AEW Women’s Championship Eliminator Tournament
    • Face Of The Revolution Ladder Match – Winner gets a shot at the TNT Championship
    • Big Money Match – Hangman Page Vs. Matt Hardy
  • Update On Sammy Guevera’s Creative Differences With Impact Wrestling

    Update On Sammy Guevera’s Creative Differences With Impact Wrestling

    Sammy Guevara was reported to have been sent home from a recent set of Impact Wrestling tapings held in Nashville. According to a report from Slam Wrestling, Chris Jericho had come up with the idea of Sammy going to his friend Don Callis’ wrestling promotion following his leaving the Inner Circle in AEW. Guevara evidently disagreed with the creative direction his character would take in the promotion and once the dust cleared, he went home and did not take part in the tapings.

    The incident was addressed recently in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The report states that Sammy came in for the tapings held from 2/9 to 2/11.

    “We don’t know the details of the creative past he was going to win three matches at the tapings that just took place,” wrote Dave Meltzer. Sammy then is said to have suggested to Impact that he win the X-Division title and never lose it before returning to AEW, which Impact rejected.

    Sammy Guevara Makes An Impact

    It seems as though everyone involved in the situation has smoothed things over with each other. Still, Jericho and Callis were the ones who came up with the idea and likely weren’t thrilled with how everything went down.

    “Chris Jericho was the one who put the angle together with Don Callis. It made Jericho look bad to Impact because he and Callis came up with the idea and then Guevara didn’t want to do it,” Meltzer continued.

    Jericho then made a comment on AEW this week that Sammy had been making a lot of bad choices as of late, and some have taken that as an inside jab at the situation.

    Meltzer continued to say there were those in Impact quite upset with Sammy.

    “Scott D’Amore told Guevara that they didn’t need him when he arrived in Nashville if he doesn’t follow the plans that had already been agreed to. Impact was really mad about AEW sending talent over, them putting plans in place and then the talent wouldn’t do what was planned.”

    While the creative had seemingly been agreed on, a source within Impact said that the creative was bad and Sammy was not wrong to disagree with it.

    Sammy Guevara tweeted the following on Friday morning, apparently in response to this report circulating about his brush with Impact Wrestling:

    https://twitter.com/sammyguevara/status/1362792912505946115
  • Update on Tessa Blanchard Potentially Going To AEW

    Update on Tessa Blanchard Potentially Going To AEW

    Tessa Blanchard has been a free agent since leaving IMPACT Wrestling on June 25th 2020. There were reports of Blanchard being racially abuse to talent in her past, and Tessa addressed these in an Instagram post back in September.

    “I’ve been away for a while” Tessa Blanchard wrote last year. “The main reason for that is to focus on my wedding & honeymoon. The past few months I’ve gotten back to the basics & been focusing on the relationships I have with family, friends & myself.”

    “Racist? That’s not me” Blanchard continued. “That’s never been me, I don’t have a history of being that way, I don’t have a history of using that language & that’s the end of it, it’s just not who I am. & I’m tired of being called & my family seeing me be called something so hateful.”

    Tessa Blanchard To AEW?

    It has been rumored since Blanchard left IMPACT that she may be going to either AEW or WWE/NXT. On the AEW side, commentator Tony Schiavone indicated that there’s no talks in place currently.

    Speaking on the AEW Dynamite post-show, Schiavone said “I don’t think that’s happening.” That was specifically when Schiavone was asked if he had any knowledge of AEW wanting to sign Tessa Blanchard. “At least not anytime soon. I would have heard that [if she’s coming over].”

    With Tessa’s past it may be more likely that WWE would be interested in signing her. WWE have shown through prior dealings that they are more inclined to take on talented individuals with potentially problematic pasts.

  • Exploding Barbwire Death Match Announced For AEW Revolution

    Exploding Barbwire Death Match Announced For AEW Revolution

    AEW has announced that Kenny Omega will be defending his AEW World Championship against Jon Moxley in an Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch at the upcoming Revolution PPV.

    The main event of this week’s episode of Dynamite saw the former AEW Champion teaming up with Rey Fenix, and Lance Archer to defeat the trio of Eddie Kingston, The Butcher, and The Blade.

    Mox however, got attacked by the Good Brothers after the match. Kenny Omega then came out with a mic while Gallows and Anderson were holding Jon.

    The current champion showed some papers to his rival and revealed that the former WWE star slipped a rematch clause into their title match agreement.

    Omega said that Moxley will get his rematch but he will choose the stipulation for it and he chose an Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch.

    Updated Revolution Match Card

    The world title match is the sixth bout that has been announced for the Revolution PPV taking place on March 7. After the latest announcement, below is the updated match card for the show:

    • AEW Championship Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch: Kenny Omega (c) vs. Jon Moxley
    • AEW Women’s Championship: Hikaru Shida (c) vs. Winner Of AEW Title Eliminator Tournament
    • AEW Tag Team Championships: The Young Bucks (c) vs. Chris Jericho and MJF
    • Street Fight: Sting and AEW TNT Champion Darby Allin vs. FTW Champion Brian Cage and Ricky Starks with Taz
    • Face of Revolution Ladder Match: Cody Rhodes vs. Penta El Zero M vs. Scorpio Sky vs. 3 Contestants TBA
    • Singles Match With Winner Getting His Opponents 2021 Quarter One Earnings: Matt Hardy vs. Hangman Page

    AEW Dynamite Results (2/17): Death Match Set For Revolution, Brian Cage Attacks Sting

  • AEW Rankings Report 2/17: Jurassic Express Moves Ahead Of FTR

    AEW Rankings Report 2/17: Jurassic Express Moves Ahead Of FTR

    AEW has released new top-5 rankings for its men’s, women’s, and tag-team divisions. 

    AEW Men’s Singles Rankings

    AEW World Champion: Kenny Omega (1-0) 
    TNT Champion: Darby Allin (2-0)

    1. Jon Moxley (2-0) 
    2. PAC (3-0) (+1)
    3. Cody Rhodes (2-0) (-1)
    4. Rey Fenix (3-1)
    5. Miro (2-0) (-1)

    The only movement in the men’s singles rankings this week saw #2 PAC move up one spot over #3 Cody Rhodes. PAC defeated Ryan Nemeth last week while Rhodes injured his shoulder in a tag-team win with Lee Johnson over Cezar Bononi and Peter Avalon.

    We still don’t have a World Title match announced for Revolution on March 7th. One would expect #1 Jon Moxley to receive a rematch against Omega but that has yet to be announced. TNT Champion Darby Allin is not scheduled to defend his belt on the show. He’ll be teaming with Sting against Team Taz in a street fight.

    AEW Women’s Singles Rankings

    AEW Women’s Champion: Hikaru Shida (1-0) 

    1. Red Velvet (4-0)
    2. Britt Baker (3-0)
    3. Tay Conti (5-1) (+1)
    4. Serena Deeb (2-0) (-1)
    5. Thunder Rosa (3-1)

    The only movement in the women’s division this week sees #3 Tay Conti move up past #4 Serena Deeb.

    Everything in this division is about the women’s title-eliminator tournament at the moment. The tournament kicked off on Dynamite last week with #5 Thunder Rosa defeating the unranked Leyla Hirsch. The tournament will continue tonight when #4 Serena Deeb takes on former AEW Women’s Champion, Riho.

    AEW Tag Team Rankings

    AEW Tag Team Champions: The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) (0-0)

    1. Chris Jericho & Maxwell Jacob Friedman (3-0)
    2. Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus) (3-0) (+1)
    3. FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) (1-0) (-1)
    4. Santana & Ortiz (3-1) (+1)
    5. The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens & Max Caster) (3-1) (-1) 

    #3 FTR is not going to like the fact that #2 Jurassic Express has now moved ahead of them in the rankings. The only other movement in the rankings this week sees #4 Santana & Ortiz move ahead of #5 the Acclaimed.

    Last week on Dynamite, #1 MJF and Chris Jericho defeated #5 The Acclaimed. On tonight’s show, #4 Santana and Ortiz will face The Young Bucks for the AEW World Tag Team Championships. Whoever leaves that match as champions will then face MJF and Jericho at Revolution.

  • Cody Rhodes Talks Possible Cinematic Match with Sting

    Cody Rhodes Talks Possible Cinematic Match with Sting

    AEW Executive Vice President Cody Rhodes recently spoke to New York Post. The former TNT Champion discussed a number of topics during the interview, including a potential ‘cinematic’ match against Sting.

    ‘The Icon’ Sting signed for AEW and debuted back on December 2nd at the ‘Winter Is Coming’ episode of AEW Dynamite. With Sting’s advanced age (for pro wrestling) and history of spinal issues? At 61 years old, he will be somewhat limited as to what he can do in the ring.

    Cody Rhodes on Cinematic Matches

    Cody Rhodes discussed this and the possibility that he may be able to face the former WCW legend in a match.

    “To me, the cinematic matches, they really don’t have a current definition” Cody began. “I’ve seen the Stadium Stampede and I’ve seen the [WWE] Boneyard [match]. I’ve seen various different ways to present cinematic. And really cinematic just means with different camera cuts.”

    “It can mean a lot of things” Cody Rhodes continued. “But ask me that question again in a few months; because I want the opportunity to stand across from the Stinger and I think he knows that. It’s almost kind of itching at me under my skin that if there is somebody I wanted to beat? It’s the face of TNT’s hottest period and run.”

    Sting will be teaming with Darby Allin to take on Team Taz at AEW Revolution in March.

  • Tony Khan To WWE: “Come to Jacksonville, I’m Begging You”

    Tony Khan To WWE: “Come to Jacksonville, I’m Begging You”

    Tony Khan is open to the possibility of AEW working with WWE.

    Khan appeared on the WrestleFetish podcast this week and discussed AEW’s “open borders” policy. All Elite Wrestling currently has partnerships with Impact Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling. We are just scratching the surface of what these alliance will yield, but fans are wondering what other companies could get involved.

    The elephant in the room is WWE, the world’s largest and most profitable wrestling promotion. Tony Khan was asked if AEW would be receptive to working with WWE or NXT. He was very receptive.

    “They are more than welcome,” Khan said about working with WWE. “As I have said, the forbidden door is open anytime. Just come and knock. If they were to knock on the door, then I would certainly be willing to let them in.”

    Tony Khan Open To Working With WWE

    The hosts were surprised by Khan’s answer. They referenced WWE’s ‘invasion’ of WCW Monday Nitro at the height of the Monday Night Wars. Eric Bischoff did not permit WWE Superstars to appear on Nitro that fateful night, but things would be different if WWE or NXT talent showed up at an AEW event.

    “Come in, please!” Khan continued. “I would love that. I would love that. Come to Jacksonville, I’m begging you. I would love it.”

    WWE’s Position

    WWE knows AEW is making waves by partnering with Impact and New Japan. Triple H recently stated that people have ‘misperceptions’ about WWE’s willingness to work with other promotions.

    “Are we open to the right business opportunities? Yeah, at any given time we’re open to things,” he said during the NXT Takeover: WarGames post-show media event. “It just depends on what they are and if they’re beneficial to us in the long-term.”

    Triple H referenced the “best for business” attitude, stating that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon is “open to anything” if it makes business sense.

    “Open for business, I think Vince says that a lot and I’ve been around him long enough that if it’s the right thing and meaningful to business, he’s open to anything.”

  • Private Party Ask For Shot Against ROH Tag Champs, Jay Lethal Responds

    Private Party Ask For Shot Against ROH Tag Champs, Jay Lethal Responds

    Doors between wrestling promotions are swinging open all over the place these days, it seems. Now, an AEW tag-team who recently challenged for the Impact tag-team titles is calling out the tag champs from ROH.

    This started when Marq Quen and Isiah Kassidy sent a message to Matt Hardy on Twitter after failing to win the Impact titles at No Surrender.

    Matt Hardy then asked the team what they plan on doing to make up for the loss.

    Private Party then asked for another chance. They asked to take on the ROH tag champs, the Foundation’s Jay Lethal and Jonathan Gresham.

    “It would be a start. Bring me the ROH Tag Titles & find out who Jay Lethal’s there to see,” Hardy responded.

    Jay Lethal then responded to both Hardy and Private Party.

    More problems appear to be brewing between Private Party and Matt Hardy. This may stem from Hardy’s new interest in working with Hangman Adam Page.

    Jay Lethal & Jonathan Gresham

    The Foundation’s Jay Lethal and Jonathan Gresham are just 7 days shy of tying Cesaro and Chris Hero for the 3rd most days spent with the ROH tag titles. The 426 days they have spent with the titles is the longest single-reign in the titles’ lineage. Granted, the promotion was shut down for 6 months during their reign.

  • News On If Sammy Guevara Has Heat For Turning Down Impact Spot

    News On If Sammy Guevara Has Heat For Turning Down Impact Spot

    The reports of Sammy Guevara turning down a spot at the latest Impact tapings and being sent back home made a lot of headlines yesterday.

    Many believed that the behaviour might have landed the young star in hot waters with both the companies but that’s not the case, at least with AEW, according to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Radio.

    Meltzer claimed that one person from impact told them that the spot Sammy turned down was something he ‘should’ve turned down.’

    He also revealed that there is no heat on the Cuban star from AEW’s side. The two companies also has no heat due to the incident, though Impact officials are not happy with Guevara.

    For those who don’t know, Sammy Guevara was apparently booked for a spot at the latest Impact tapings, with the storyline playing off of him quitting the Inner Circle on last week’s Dynamite.

    However, the AEW star didn’t like the ideas Impact officials had in store for him when he got to the tapings and he wanted the creative plans to be changed.

    This led to Guevara taking his complains to AEW officials and the Impact officials did the same. Sammy Guevara eventually went back home and Impact used Black Taurus in the spot they had planned for him.

    There is no word yet on what were the exact creative plans that led to the whole situation but we should get a better idea after this week’s episode of Impact.

  • Cody Rhodes Says An AEW-WWE Crossover Could Happen

    Cody Rhodes Says An AEW-WWE Crossover Could Happen

    Cody Rhodes has made it known that it’s entirely possible for AEW and WWE to work together, even though the chances of that happening are slim. 

    All Elite Wrestling has established a working relationship with not only Impact Wrestling, but also NJPW. 

    This is something the AEW Executive talked about while doing an interview with The New York Post. He made the comments on a potential AEW – WWE crossover when asked about having wrestlers from the likes of NWA, NJPW, and Impact on Dynamite. 

    He thinks the All In show showed that the business can let go of various old rules. All In was an independent wrestling show with production help from ROH that was started off a bet that he couldn’t hold a show with 10,000 fans in attendance. He noted that there is no reason why AEW couldn’t work with NJPW and thus the same with WWE. 

    “There’s no reason that there couldn’t be a potential WWE crossover one day,” Rhodes said. “And I don’t mean that’s a thing that’s been discussed or happening, but none of those rules that exist for other places exist for us. Wrestling is really this universal industry. The territory reference that you made, that’s fairly accurate, but the part of it that’s most accurate was there was a genuine trust.”

    He brought up how Eddie Graham and Vince McMahon Sr. traded talent all of the time. The reason for this was to keep wrestlers fresh. 

    “Wednesday Night War or not the main thing we have to do for fans for the rest of this run – and I want this company to be around forever — is keep it fresh. It can’t ever get stale. Our doors are open if the business is right, if the moment is right, if the time is right. Our bridges are down. I’ll be the one curmudgeon AEW guy to make sure it’s all good.”

    WWE moved NXT to the USA Network in the same time slot as Dynamite when AEW reached a television deal with TNT. Since that time, AEW has won the majority of the ratings war in both total viewership and nearly all demos except for +50.

  • Sammy Guevara Reportedly Rejected Planned Storyline In Impact Wrestling

    Sammy Guevara Reportedly Rejected Planned Storyline In Impact Wrestling

    Sammy Guevara was reportedly sent home from the recent Impact tapings in Nashville. According to a report from Slam Wrestling, Guevara rejected a storyline that would have seen the 27-year-old debut in the promotion.

    Chris Jericho is said to have come up with an idea for Guevara to appear in Impact Wrestling. This would take place after he quit the Inner Circle on Dynamite. Guevara, however, is said to have contacted Impact directly with complaints about the creative direction. Impact then contacted Jericho and Tony Khan about Guevara’s comments. It’s not known what Guevara’s complaints were or what he said to Impact.

    It doesn’t appear as though Jericho was happy about whatever Guevara said to Impact, however. Jericho is then said to have reached out to his longtime friend, Don Callis, about “banning Guevara” from the premises. Jericho is then believed to have sent Guevara a text instructing him to head home and not attend the tapings in Nashville.

    *Update*

    The issue was covered recently on an episode of Wrestling Observer Radio.

    “AEW and Impact are still working together. From an AEW standpoint, there’s not any heat on Sammy for what he did. From the Impact side, I’m sure there is. That’s just what the deal is,” said Dave Meltzer.

    There had been speculation amongst fans online that Guevara could turn up in Impact Wrestling. Evidently, there were plans for this to happen at one point.

    At the conclusion of last night’s No Surrender broadcast, Impact announced that NJPW Juice Robinson and David Finlay are coming to the promotion. Private Party and Matt Hardy have been in Impact for the last month. Kenny Omega frequently appeared on the show throughout December and January.

  • Huge Name Joining NJPW/IMPACT/AEW Partnership

    Huge Name Joining NJPW/IMPACT/AEW Partnership

    It was revealed during last night’s IMPACT No Surrender event that Juice Robinson and David Finlay would be heading to the promotion this week. Alongside KENTA, that makes three mainstay NJPW stars that have appeared on both AEW/IMPACT programming over the past few weeks.

    It’s now common knowledge that All Elite and IMPACT have a working relationship; this began on-screen at the December 2nd ‘Winter Is Coming’ episode of AEW Dynamite. Kenny Omega and Don Callis aligned at the end of that show and Omega began appearing on IMPACT television.

    It does appear however that there’s even more to come. Dave Meltzer confirmed on the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio that NJPW star Kazuchika Okada will be part of the ongoing partnerships between NJPW, AEW and IMPACT. Meltzer also noted that he does not know where Okada will be appearing first; but he stated that he is coming to either AEW or IMPACT.

    Kazuchika Okada in TNA

    This is another interesting wrinkle in the ‘Forbidden Door’ storyline that seems to be engulfing the major promotions outside of WWE. When Okada was originally in the TNA promotion back in 2010-2011. Whilst there Okada was used as a lower card performer, with a ‘Kato’ gimmick from The Green Hornet.

    The way that Kazuchika Okada was used by TNA was so appalling that NJPW cut all ties with the promotion shortly after, vowing never to work with Total Nonstop Action again. Reportedly in 2017, representatives of the now IMPACT Wrestling spoke to New Japan officials. Members of the IMPACT team actually apologised for the way Okada was used earlier in the decade. It’s likely that the people who apologised weren’t even involved in his booking at that time.

    If Kazuchika Okada were to make an appearance at an AEW or IMPACT show? It could be a huge power move for all involved. Okada is classed as one of the greatest IWGP Heavyweight Champions in history; there’s plenty of dream match scenarios that could occur if the ‘Rainmaker’ comes to the United States.

  • Japan Bracket For AEW Women’s Title-Eliminator Tournament Revealed

    Japan Bracket For AEW Women’s Title-Eliminator Tournament Revealed

    AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida took to Twitter recently to announce the Japan side of AEW’s women’s title-eliminator tournament brackets. Shida will call the action for the tournament matches hosted in Japan as well.

    Women’s Title Eliminator Tournament Japan Bracket:

    1. Yuka Sakazaki vs Mei Surunga (February 15th, 2021 Show on YouTube)
    2. Veny vs Emi Sakura (February 15th, 2021 Show on YouTube)
    3. Maki Itoh vs Ryo Mizunami (February 15th, 2021 Show on YouTube)
    4. Aja Kong vs Rin Kadokura (February 15th, 2021 Show on YouTube)
    5. Quarter-Final: Winner #1 vs Winner #2 (Date TBD)
    6. Quarter-Final: Winner #3 vs Winner #4 (Date TBD)
    7. Semi-Final: Winner #5 vs Winner #6
    8. The winner will then face the winner of the American side of the bracket in the tournament finals.

    In a series of Tweets, Shida introduced some of the competitors that will take part in the Japanese half of the tournament:

    https://twitter.com/kaelanramos/status/1360316819949707264?s=12
    https://twitter.com/KaelanRamos/status/1359921196440178691
    https://twitter.com/KaelanRamos/status/1359936542609985546

    The American side of the bracket is as follows:

    1. Thunder Rosa defeated Leyla Hirsch (2/10/21)
    2. Serena Deeb vs Riho
    3. Tay Conti vs Nyla Rose
    4. Britt Baker vs Anna Jay
    5. Quarter-Final: Winner #1 vs Winner #2
    6. Quarter-Final: Winner #3 vs Winner #4
    7. Semi-Final Winner #5 vs Winner #6
    8. The winner will then face the winner of the Japanese side of the bracket in the tournament finals.
  • CM Punk Names 5 AEW Stars That Stand Out & Have Potential

    CM Punk Names 5 AEW Stars That Stand Out & Have Potential

    Former WWE Superstar CM Punk has his eye on a few of All Elite Wrestling’s top young stars.

    On Friday afternoon, Punk held an #AskPunk Q&A session on Twitter. Unsurprisingly, he was asked about AEW. User @HEELPags wrote, “What current wrestler in AEW would he most like to work with IF he ever came back?”

    CM Punk named five AEW wrestlers that he sees having potential. Whether this means ‘potential’ to work with, or ‘potential’ to have successful careers, is open to interpretation. He named:

    • Powerhouse Hobbs of Team Taz
    • AEW TNT Champion Darby Allin
    • Brian Pillman, Jr. of the Varsity Blonds
    • Ricky Starks of Team Taz
    • Jungle Boy

    These are great picks, as all 5 men are extraordinarily talented with bright futures.

    CM Punk recently celebrated 7-Years since leaving WWE. He will soon appear in the pro wrestling series Heels, starring Stephen Amell, on the Starz premium cable network.

    Related News:

  • AEW Files To Trademark “Forbidden Door” and “Forbidden Portal”

    AEW Files To Trademark “Forbidden Door” and “Forbidden Portal”

    All Elite Wrestling has filed two new trademarks possibly related to a working agreement between AEW and NJPW as well as other promotions. The US Patent and Trademark Office website show filings by AEW on February 8th, 2021 for the terms “Forbidden Portal” and “Forbidden Door.” Tony Khan has been using both terms as of late to describe talent from AEW, NJPW, and Impact appearing on each other’s programs.

    Both filings are listed as being for: “Entertainment services, namely, an ongoing multimedia program featuring wrestling distributed via various platforms across multiple forms of transmission media; Entertainment services, namely, an ongoing series featuring wrestling provided through a global computer network.”

    The Forbidden Door

    AEW President Tony Khan referred to himself as the “Forbidden Door” in his latest paid ad on Tuesday’s episode of Impact Wrestling on AXS TV.

    “I just had to open myself, and that comes from being here with you IMPACT Wrestling! Doing these paid ads, I’ve learned so much about myself. I’ve opened myself up to new experiences, and look at all the great things that have happened. We did a great rating for Dynamite this week with IMPACT people there. We had people from New Japan, who knows who is going to be there next week?”

    The opening of the “forbidden door” has led to NJPW’s KENTA being on Dynamite for the last two weeks. Impact’s Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows are also regularly on Dynamite now. Jon Moxley will face KENTA on New Japan Strong later this month. Additionally, Matt Hardy and Private Party are now regularly appearing on Impact Wrestling as well.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxBvL88SkR4
  • AEW Dynamite & NXT Both Down Against Impeachment Coverage

    AEW Dynamite & NXT Both Down Against Impeachment Coverage

    TV ratings are in for for the February 10th editions of AEW Dynamite and NXT. Both shows were “in the mud” this week due to extensive news coverage of former US President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial. 19 of the top 20 shows on cable were cable news on CNN, MSNBC and Fox News.

    Here’s the Wednesday Night War breakdown for February 10th, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:

    • AEW: 741,000 viewers, 0.29 rating, 21st in demo
    • NXT: 558,000 viewers, 0.12 rating, 62nd in demo

    AEW was down 12.2% in viewership and 9.4% in the A18-49 demo. NXT was down 8.52% in viewership and 20% in the demo.

    If there is a silver lining to be found, AEW Dynamite was the #2 non-news program on cable, behind only Challenge on MTV. They outdrew the NBA’s Lakers vs. Thunder game, which was competitive and went into overtime (Lakers won 114-113).

    You can check out our Results and Takeaways from both shows here:

  • Tama Tonga Says AEW-NJPW “Forbidden Door” Is Not Wide Open

    Tama Tonga Says AEW-NJPW “Forbidden Door” Is Not Wide Open

    Tama Tonga recently addressed Kenny Omega and the Bullet Club reunion angle in AEW and Impact. Tonga was on his “Tama’s Island” podcast and addressed the angle as well as KENTA showing up on Dynamite last week.

    “I was so surprised, I didn’t no nothing, I didn’t know anything,” Tonga said about KENTA showing up on Dynamite.

    “KENTA is there for one reason and one reason only, Moxley,” Tonga continued.

    “That US title belt belongs to KENTA. That’s the only reason that he’s there.”

    Tonga then continued to say he doesn’t believe reports about a working agreement between AEW and NJPW having been reached.

    “That sounds like a lot of horses**t to me, man,” Tonga said about a “forbidden door” being opened.

    “Is the door wide open? Hell no, the door is not wide open. Is it cracked open? Maybe, maybe this can be something but is it open? Hell, no.”

    Tama would continue to say that the situation with Moxley and travel restrictions due to the pandemic are what led to the current situation with AEW and NJPW. He would say the situation could lead to the two organizations working together in the future, however.

    “Can this lead to the door opening more? Yes, it’s like building trust.”

    https://twitter.com/TamasIsland/status/1359500730114138117
  • Don Callis Addresses Complaints From NJPW Bullet Club Members

    Don Callis Addresses Complaints From NJPW Bullet Club Members

    Following the main event of last night’s AEW Dynamite, Kenny Omega, Don Callis and the Good Brothers spoke about recent comments made by NJPW Bullet Club members, Jay White and Tama Tonga.

    “I actually feel bad because they’re our brothers over there,” Callis said.

    “The bottom line is when the 3 brothers here left the Bullet Club, it was actually a good thing because it created opportunity for some mid-card guys to move up the chain and fly the flag.”

    Callis then compared it to a baseball fantasy camp.

    “I think we’ve done something really good here, this is a nice thing that we’ve done. We’ve created opportunity here. Those guys are good guys but you don’t replace Michael Jordan.”

    Callis then pretended not to know who the NJPW Bullet Club members are.

    “I think the Bullet Club guys in Japan are great, I’m not familiar with what the names are just yet but they are flying the flag so I’d like to put a stop to all these bad feelings.”

    Callis then encouraged fans to purchase Bullet Club merchandise to help the faction out.

    “I’d like to encourage all the fans out there, please buy the merch. Let’s get them back in the top-40 on Pro Wrestling Tees.”

    The full segment can be viewed below:

  • Cody Rhodes Injured On AEW Dynamite, Arn Anderson Praises Lee Johnson

    Cody Rhodes Injured On AEW Dynamite, Arn Anderson Praises Lee Johnson

    Cody Rhodes may have suffered a shoulder injury on Dynamite last night. Rhodes was favoring his shoulder during his tag match with Lee Johnson against Peter Avalon and Cezar Bononi.

    The injury could be just storyline-driven, however, and the reason for Johnson appearing to step-up and get the win for his team. Nightmare Family coach Arn Anderson discussed the interview on “Coach’s Corner” after AEW Dynamite.

    “Cody dinged his shoulder up pretty early on,” Anderson said. It looked like the injury occurred as Rhodes landed after a suplex from Bononi. “It handicapped him for the last half of the match,” he continued. “He did fight through it and Lee Johnson now is going to take the flag and stick it right in the middle of the ring.”

    Arn Anderson on Lee Johnson

    Arn Anderson then continued to talk about Johnson, who picked up his first win on Dynamite.

    “Back when this pandemic started and a lot of the talent couldn’t be here, and they couldn’t travel, that kid was the first one here just asking for a chance. Then you started to see this kid’s got talent,” Anderson said.

    “I’m going to spend some time with Lee Johnson. I’m going to devout some time and some knowledge to Lee Johnson. Remember that name, because you are going to be hearing it again and again.”

    You can watch Arn Anderson’s Coaches Corner segment below:

  • Eric Bischoff Says AEW Has Flatlined

    Eric Bischoff Says AEW Has Flatlined

    Former WCW President Eric Bischoff returned for his 83 weeks podcast and during the latest episode of the show, he made some interesting comments about the current state of AEW.

    The former SmackDown Executive Director was talking about Chris Jericho’s comments about TNA in 2011 where Y2J had called the company out for not believing in themselves and wasting their resources.

    Bischoff said that these comments could come back to haunt the former AEW Champion in future because his company has flatlined in the past year:

    “I think it’s going to come back to bite him in the ass is what I think, AEW last week they did about 800,000 viewers, they opened the door with 1.5 million viewers and haven’t been able to crack 1 million since or if they have it’s been only on 1 or 2 occasions. They’ve essentially flatlined at 7 or 800,000 viewers on average for the last year and a half.

    “That’s an observation that could, unless something turns around in the next 18 months, come back to haunt someone like Chris.” said Eric Bischoff, “Quite frankly, AEW has flatlined and it’s been that way essentially for a year.”

    The former WCW official continued to say that it’s easy to talk about a business you are not in. He mentioned how Chris Jericho had never run a business when he made the statement and he was making them from a position of a talent.

    What do you think about Eric Bischoff’s comments about the current state of AEW? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.

  • AEW Announces Signing Of Nightmare Family Member Lee Johnson

    AEW Announces Signing Of Nightmare Family Member Lee Johnson

    AEW has officially announced the signing of indie star Lee Johnson after the high flying star picked up his first victory in the company during this week’s episode of Dynamite.

    The announcement was made by President Tony Khan himself, who mentioned how Cody Rhodes was the one who first recommended his name in April and how the indie star has worked hard since then:

    Lee Johnson has wrestled a number of matches for AEW in the past year and the former indie star has competed against talents such as Rey Fenix, Colt Cabana, Eddie Kingston and more in recent months.

    This week’s episode of Dynamite then saw the Nightmare Family member teaming with his mentor Cody Rhodes to take on the team of “Pretty” Peter Avalon and Cezar Bononi.

    Johnson actually picked up the victory for his team in this bout. Lee got the hot tag during the match and he hit a cutter on Avalon as soon as he got in the ring.

    His pin attempt was broken up by Cezar Bononi but Bononi got taken out by Cody Rhodes. Johnson then avoided a double knee from Avalon and rolled him up for the win. This was Lee Johnson’s first victory in AEW.