Matt Sydal is All Elite. AEW recently announced they have officially signed the 37-year-old. Sydal debuted for the promotion back in September. He was the “Joker” in the 21-person Casino Battle Royale match.
Sydal has since performed in 8 matches for the promotion. He currently holds on 0-3 record on Dynamite, having dropped matches to Eddie Kingston, Brian Cage, and Shawn Spears. Sydal has a 5-0 record on AEW Dark. He’s defeated Christopher Daniels, Michael Nakazawa, Sonny Kiss, Shawn Dean, and Lee Johnson on that show.
Sydal is a former WWE tag-team champion under the name Evan Bourne. He teamed with Kofi Kingston as Air Boom in 2011. Along with Ricochet, Sydal is a 2x IWGP Junior Heavyweight tag-team champion and they won the Super Junior Tag League in 2015. He is also a former NEVER Openweight 6-man tag-team champion in NJPW with Ricochet and Satoshi Kojima.
Sydal is also a former X-Division Champion in Impact Wrestling and won the Grand Championship in the promotion once as well.
Sydal botched a shooting star press during his AEW debut at All Out. He took to Twitter to comment on what happened.
“Slipping was BONKERS! That was a first and hopefully a last. Thank you all for kind the messages and check in’s. I’m beyond honored to be a part of @AEWrestling’s All Out,” Sydal Tweeted.
Tonight’s AEW Dynamite will see the national television debut of Top Flight, the popular independent tag team comprised of Darius Martin (Air Wolf) and Duante Martin (Angel Dorado). They’ll face AEW World Tag team champions The Young Bucks in a match pitting brothers vs. brothers.
Known as the the Coldest Team in the Game, Top Flight hails from Minneapolis, MN. They trained Ken Anderson’s Academy School of Professional Wrestling and have wrestled for Game Changer Wrestling, Black Label Pro and AAW.
Top Flight appeared on AEW Dark two weeks ago in a match against Evil Uno & Stu Gracon of the Dark Order. They came up short, but impressed AEW officials and secured this high-profile match against AEW’s top team.
Top Flight
Top Flight is All Elite
This is a huge opportunity for Top Flight. A win over The Young Bucks could propel them into AEW’s tag team rankings
During a recent virtual meet-an-greet, “The Best Man” Miro mentioned a young, athletic tag team from Minnesota that has signed with AEW. He did not mention Top Flight by name, but it sounds like he’s talking about the Martin brothers. Miro touted their athletic ability and said he believes they are the future of tag team wrestling.
“One of these kids had like an 80-inch vertical and they’re like 19-years old and they’re moving fluidly and once they find each other, they’re gonna be the future of the tag team division and those are just two guys and we have probably another 15 ready to go.”
Top Flight sent out a tweet in September expressing their desire to wrestle the Young Bucks. The tweet referenced a similar message from FTR, which ultimately did lead to a match between those teams. Tonight, wrestling fans will rejoice once again.
AEW star and new TNT Champion Darby Allin recently appeared on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio. The former EVOLVE and Independent star discussed a number of topics during his time on the programme. These would include winning the TNT title from Cody Rhodes.
Darby Allin defeated Rhodes at the Full Gear PPV to become the new TNT Champion and the ‘Face of TNT.’ Allin has previously discussed his turbulent life in past interviews and why he chose to live a Straight Edge lifestyle. Beyond that, Darby Allin had to struggle as a ‘starving artist’ type to get ahead in his pursuit of a pro wrestling career. From the interview it’s clear that it is something he never intends on forgetting.
Darby Allin on his Roots
The skate, hardcore punk and sXe ethos is underpinned by a ‘don’t forget your roots’ mentality. Darby Allin lives by this mantra. “Leading up to the pay per view? I purposely slept in my car. [That was] instead of sleeping in the hotel that they got for us” Darby would reveal on Busted Open Radio.
“I wanted to remind myself of just how sh*tty things were. So I slept in there and the weather in Jacksonville is still so much more muggy than other places. It was just a reminder to myself. You don’t need to forget where you came from just because this week’s huge. To keep it? It makes you want to fight more. So now I’m grateful to have this house with 13 acres and a wrestling ring downstairs. [Also] skate ramps and a bunch of crazy sh*t.”
Inner Circle member Jake Hager has described the past year in All Elite Wrestling as the “greatest year in my career.”
Hager shared his feelings on his AEW tenure while appearing on Chris Jericho’s podcast, Talk is Jericho. From a pro wrestling perspective, he believes signing with AEW has allowed him to experience some memorable moments over the past year.
“I look back at this year with AEW as the greatest year in my career pro wrestling wise. Moments like that were really cool,” Hager said. “14,000 people, the debut episode – I was nervous as s–t and I had the easiest thing to do. All I had to do was run out to the ring without tripping and then slide in the ring and do a couple things. You look back at some of the uncut footage that they have formatted, it’s so cool, and the crowd was going so crazy.”
Hager reflected on how he immediately knew something special was happening as soon as he debuted. He recalled how the crowd was chanting, “We The People.” Hager noted how “[…] the second night is when you completely cut it off, and they haven’t said it since.”
He then stressed how it was essential to separate themselves from previous gimmicks. Hager expressed how “[…] we are different characters with AEW, so let’s be different.”
Jericho agreed with Jake Hager’s point. He explained how, although he appreciates fans still changing “Y2J,” it irks him as the character is 20 years old. Jericho also added how chanting for old WWE gimmicks and catchphrases is “demeaning” to AEW and that fans should embrace the fact they are new people with new characters.
Brodie Lee hasn’t wrestled since October 7th, 2020. That was the night he lost the TNT Championship to Cody Rhodes in a dog-collar match on Dynamite. According to Wrestling Observer Radio, Lee is out of action with an injury.
While not confirmed, it is believed he’s dealing with an ankle injury. There are no details currently available regarding how long he’ll be out of action or the severity of the injury.
Lee’s loss to Rhodes last month was just his second loss in a singles match since arriving in AEW. He holds an 8-2 record in singles matches in the promotion. His only other loss came to Jon Moxley in an AEW World Championship match at Double or Nothing back in May.
Brodie Lee in AEW
Below is Brodie Lee’s record in singles matches since joining AEW:
3/25/20: defeated QT Marshall
4/8/20: defeated Lee Johnson
4/22/20: defeated Justin Law
4/29/20: defeated Marko Stunt
5/13/20: defeated Christopher Daniels
5/23/20: Jon Moxley defeated Brodie Lee
8/13/20: defeated Cody Rhodes (won the TNT Championship)
WWE Hall of Famer and co-host of Sirius XM’s Busted Open Radio Bully Ray recently discussed the official AEW ‘debut’ of Jade Cargill.
Cargill appeared on Dynamite this week during an in-ring promo by former TNT Champion Cody Rhodes. The reasoning for Cargill leaving the ringside area and entering the ring? It was so that she could belittle Rhodes and forewarn of Shaq coming to take on the ‘Prince of Pro Wrestling.’
Bully Ray would question how Jade Cargill made her in-ring debut on AEW programming. Ray would mention how he saw Cargill over the past few weeks ringside; as she played one of the front row ‘performers’ that give the show extra atmosphere during this pandemic ‘era.’
Bully Ray on Jade Cargill Debut
“Am I to believe that anybody who’s hanging out in the front row can just get in the ring and get a microphone? While Cody Rhodes is in the middle of the ring?” Bully Ray began on the show. “When I saw her I’m like, ‘what, what is this!?’ The only reason I knew who that woman was? A couple of weeks ago I made a phone call to a friend of mine in AEW; I said, ‘who is the tall blonde black girl in the front row?’ They told me who it was and I said ‘she has a presence, she has a look.’”
“I’m glad they took advantage of her presence and her look” Bully Ray would continue, before again questioning how she debuted. “What the hell was she doing in the ring with Cody!? There’s much better way to plan out that segment, especially if Cody would have been saying whatever he had to say in his promo; and that woman would have been yelling and screaming at the top of her lungs in the front row, which is where I’m used to seeing her.”
Do you agree with Bully Ray? Do you think that AEW could’ve found a better way to debut Jade Cargill? Check out the segment in the video below and let us know
AEW has a large number of wrestlers under contract these days ranging from various notable top stars such as Chris Jericho and Jon Moxley to lower-tiered stars who work on the undercard.
As expected, All Elite Wrestling has different contracts in place depending on the level of activity of wrestlers. Dave Meltzer broke down these different contracts in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer.
For wrestlers who work Dark tapings, they are signed to per date deals. An exception to this rule was Benjamin Carter, who is now under contract with WWE. It was noted that the majority of wrestlers who appear on AEW television has “one deal or another.”
Wrestlers who AEW publicly announces to signing with the promotion are given weekly guarantees. On Thursday, AEW announced that Jade Cargill had signed a multi-year deal and she would be included in this category.
‘Newcomers’ in AEW are making more than WWE NXT contracts as that’s the general rule, but if these same stars were on WWE main roster they would be making more in the sports entertainment company.
During his recent appearance on the AEW Unrestricted podcast, Cody Rhodes discussed AEW having different tiers of talent contracts and joked that the the top tier is the ‘Jericho level.’
There is renewed interest regarding a potential working relationship between All Elite Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Harold Meij stepped down as President of NJPW on October 23rd. AEW President Tony Khan spoke to Dave Meltzer last month about the departure. When asked if he thinks Meij’s departure could improve relations between the promotions, Khan said he was not sure yet, but “my initial gut feeling is it could be good.”
Since then, Hiroshi Tanahashi made a cameo appearance on AEW Dynamite at the Chris Jericho 30th anniversary special, Tama Tonga saying he wants to work with FTR and the Lucha Bros and more comments from Tony Khan about the situation.
Earlier this week, Tony Khan told TSN that a talent exchange has been been somewhat one-sided so far. “We’ve sent people there and I haven’t really had people from New Japan show up on my TV yet. I’d like to see more of a two-sided relationship there because I’m honestly one of the easiest people to work with in wrestling. We’ve worked with NWA, we’ve worked with AAA and we’ve sent people to New Japan. I think with Harold being gone, I don’t know if it’s going to be easier, but I have a feeling it might be.”
Dave Meltzer noted in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter that NJPW talent is interested in working with AEW. However, management still has bad feelings about AEW taking so many of their top stars like Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks.
As of this writing, there are no AEW wrestlers scheduled to compete at Wrestle Kingdom in January. Things could change over the next month, but a full-blown partnership remains elusive. Both companies stand to benefit from working together, so hopefully whatever differences exist can be put aside in order to deliver some historic moments for wrestling fans in 2021.
Former WWE, TNA, WCW and NWA personality Jim Cornette recently discussed the AEW Full Gear PPV. Cornette is outspoken in his hatred for the majority of AEW’s programming, however he is a big proponent of the FTR tag team.
Full Gear of course featured the much anticipated dream match between FTR and The Young Bucks for the AEW Tag Team Championships. Although lauded by the majority of AEW fans, Cornette would discuss how it was a mistake to have the first match in the programme be ‘worked’ in the way it did.
Jim Cornette on FTR vs The Young Bucks
“It’s a programme, that’s the point, this was the very first meeting” Jim Cornette began on the Drive Thru podcast. “They rushed it, they could have had it in front of people. But they could STILL have the big one in front of people. Because this? This was the first one you lunatics! How can you not think about this!?”
Cornette would elaborate further, saying why the blowaway match between the two teams was ‘too much’ for a first encounter. “This wasn’t supposed to be the classic match. This was supposed to be what hooked people, what made them wonder, ‘what if?’ Establish that. That’s despite the fact that they botched the whole build up, everybody’s positioning, everything.”
Jim Cornette would then say how the psychology of the match (in his mind) was completely wrong. The build on social media between the two teams for years has been ‘who has the best in-ring style?’ With FTR championing the ‘no flips, just fists’ mantra and The Young Bucks being the high-flying duo.
“Instead of FTR immediately working [the Bucks’ style]…there’s been these supposedly bad feelings and bad blood and jealousy over ‘whose style is better?’ The Young Bucks with the flying, the backyard type stuff. Or FTR with no flips just fists, they’re legitimate wrestlers.”
Cornette would finish by saying how the finish of the match, which saw Cash Wheeler attempt a 450 splash completely went against how the start of a feud should be built. “Don’t just have a f*cking match like you do with everybody else! Do it smart! Instead of working with them right away, and especially instead of doing the Buck’s sh*t right away. FTR shouldn’t cooperate!”
Do you agree with Jim Cornette? Do you think that it was one of the best tag team matches of all time? Let us know in the comments
Recently in AEW, Kenny Omega has been given long introductions before making his way to the ring. These ring intros include a listing of his many accomplishments and nicknames but also some strange references to the state of North Carolina.
According to Omega himself, the references to North Carolina are an homage to the starting lineup introductions for the Michael Jordan-era Chicago Bulls. Fans would always cheer loudly when the PA announcer would say “From North Carolina, at guard, 6ft 6, Michael Jordan!”
Jordan played college ball in North Carolina and spent much of his childhood in Wilmington, NC.
Lance Storm asked about the references to North Carolina recently on Twitter and Omega responded.
Hate to share industry secrets but it’s a tribute to the Chicago Bulls and how they treated Michael Jordan making his entrance.
Kenny Omega Inducted Into Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame
Additionally, Kenny Omega was recently selected for induction in the Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame. Omega also responded to this news on Twitter recently.
“I’m not even sure what to say. To be amongst those that have done so much for our sport is incredibly humbling. With however many years I have left as an active performer, I’ll keep trying my best to contribute something positive to the world of Pro Wrestling,” Omega Tweeted.
AEW presented Full Gear from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida last weekend. The show was the 4th and final PPV event for the company in 2020. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the show’s buyrate was consistent with what the company has done for previous shows.
“It looks to have done about the same as All Out in September and Revolution in February,” wrote Dave Meltzer. Those events both hovered around 100,000 buys.
Most AEW PPVs hover around 100,000 buys, with the only exception being May’s Double or Nothing 2020 event. That show featured the Stadium Stampede match pitting the Elite and Matt Hardy against the Inner Circle. It is estimated to have done 115,00 to 120,000 buys on PPV. This was just two months into the pandemic and at the time, PPV numbers were up for the UFC as well.
AEW’s Full Gear 2020 is projected to be around the same or slightly above what Full Gear 2019 is said to have done. That event is believed to have gotten around 100,000 buys or slightly lower.
AEW PPV Buyrate estimates:
Double or Nothing 2019 – approximately 100,000 buys.
All Out 2019 – approximately 100,000 buys.
Full Gear 2019 – approximately 100,000 buys or slightly lower.
Revolution 2020 – approximately 100,000 buys.
Double or Nothing 2020 – approximately 115,000 – 120,000 buys.
AEW President Tony Khan says wrestling fans have some big surprises in store in the weeks ahead
Khan teased that Wednesday’s edition of Dynamite would see the balance of power in wrestling shift. The show saw the debut of Jade Cargill, a a tease that Shaq is headed to AEW and the return of PAC, who has been out of action for several months during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some fans questioned if the “balance of power” shift was excessive hype. However, Tony Khan assured fans that there are some incredible moments still to come before the end of the year. He then noted that he has some “aces up the sleeve” that fans are sure to enjoy.
Thank you everyone who watched #AEWDynamite last night! A shift in wrestling’s balance of power has begun & the winners will be the wrestling fans. PAC’s returned after 8 months & I have aces up the sleeve in the weeks ahead. You won’t get them all at once but you’ll get them all
Following the end of this week’s AEW Dynamite, Khan took to Twitter to thank fans who tuned in and reflect on PAC’s return. He noted how the episode “opened a new chapter” for the promotion. Khan then promised how “indelible moments” are still ahead for Dynamite in the coming months.
Before PAC’s hiatus, forced due to travel limitations because of the coronavirus pandemic, he had debuted a stable with Penta El Zero Miedo and Rey Fenix, known as Death Triangle.
Following his time away from the promotion, however, the Lucha Bros eventually aligned themselves with Eddie Kingston and his ‘Family.’
AEW Dynamite scored another win over NXT this week in overnight viewership and the Adults 18-49 demographic. Here is the breakdown, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:
AEW: 764,000 viewers, 0.30 rating (17th on cable for the night)
NXT: 632,000 viewers, 0.16 rating (56th on cable for the night)
Both shows were up slightly from last week, when AEW had 717,000 viewers with a 0.30 rating (even) and NXT did 610,000 viewers and a 0.14 in the key demo. The Top 20 shows on cable were dominated by news shows once again, with only two episodes of ‘Real Housewives’ drawing better than AEW.
For comparison, Monday’s WWE Raw averaged 1.690 million viewers with a 0.54 rating.
You can find full results and our takeaways from both shows below:
It happened. FTR wrestled the Young Bucks and now, many wrestling fans are rejoicing. The match that was years in the making took place at AEW Full Gear. The Young Bucks defeated FTR and won the AEW World Tag Team Championships for the first time.
Dax Harwood released a statement regarding the match. He posted the following to Twitter:
“The emotions of Saturday night have finally settled down. Thank you to everyone for the praise & admiration of this match. The texts and calls I’ve received from guys and girls who are considered the best in this business will never be forgotten. We poured every bit of passion, intensity, & fire we could muster up from the bottom of our soul to find out who was the best.”
“I had many sleepless nights because of this one match. The moment in time that our hands would be raised and we’d be called the greatest tag team of this generation actually scared me. What if we didn’t deliver on our behalf?! What if this one match completely tainted our legacy?! Money’s cool. Fame is cool. A legacy lasts forever.”
“Will it go down as one of the greatest tag matches in US wrestling history? I don’t know. My only hope is that we made you FEEL. I don’t care about the stars or the ratings. For 36 years, professional wrestling has made me FEEL. I still FEEL! With everything I have, I LOVE this sport. I’m happy this match could for you what many others did for me.”
“Young Bucks, I hope there’s a round 2. Top Guys, out.”
Cody Rhodes is the latest guest on the AEW Unrestricted podcast for the show’s season two premiere. The American Nightmare sat down with Aubrey Edwards and Tony Schiavone to discuss recently securing the right to use the Rhodes name, Dynamite’s first year TNT, his future and more.
Here are some highlights of what Cody Rhodes said abbout:
What fans can expect from AEW Dynamite in the coming year:
“In year 2, we’re going to make some big moves to expand the audience that are not so much moves that you would think we would make, but I’m excited about them.”
His future in pro wrestling:
“For the next 5 years, I want to wrestle at the absolute highest level I can wrestle, be part of the building of new stars, but I’m not going to apologize if my run continues at its rate. I’m going to ride the lightning bolt until I can’t anymore.”
The infamous Shawn Spears chair shot at Fyter Fest 2019:
“I told him [Shawn Spears] to swing from the side, and the last words I told him were, ‘swing for the fences,’ and when I landed, I don’t know if you can make out in the camera shot, but when I landed, my head is so stiff from the shot that I land the awkward landing when you have two falls, I muttered, ‘swing for the fences.’”
Cody also spoke his time driving John Cena around while at WWE and why he firmly believes that “nobody is a nobody” in pro wrestling. You can listen to the full episode in the player embedded below or at Omny.fm.
Wrestling won’t have to wait until February’s AEW Revolution pay-per-view to see Kenny Omega do battle with Jon Moxley.
Kenny Omega won the recent World Title Eliminator Tournament to earn a shot at AEW World Champion Jon Moxley. Some fans expected this match would headline Revolution, but AEW has announced this match will take place next month on Dynamite instead.
Jon Moxley will defend the AEW World Championship against Kenny Omega on the December 2nd edition of Dynamite. It is not hyperbole to say this will be the biggest main event in the history of AEW Dynamite. This match could easily headline a PPV.
Moxley and Omega have squared off once before in AEW. Last November at Full Gear, Moxley got the win in an unsanctioned Lights Out match that drew a lot of controversy due to the excessive violence.
ABSOLUTE VIOLENCE from both Omega & Moxley. Was this your match of the night at Full Gear? pic.twitter.com/K5SPCxcDDr
Kenny Omega will be Jon Moxley’s toughest title defense to date. Since parting ways with former tag team partner “Hangman” Page, Omega has been hell bent on proving to fans that he is still the “Best In The World” and capable of the type of matches we saw during his run in New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Several matches and segments have been announced for next week’s Dynamite broadcast. They include:
PAC vs. The Blade
Orange Cassidy vs. Kip Sabian
The Young Bucks vs. Top Flight (Non-Title Match)
Darby Allin & Cody Rhodes vs. Brian Cage & Ricky Starks
Plus, the MJF takes the Inner Circle to Las Vegas. As seen in the backstage photo from this week’s Dynamite, there are a lot of dynamics at play within this new incarnation of Chris Jericho’s faction.
Former WWE Superstar Ryback recently invited David Benoit onto The Ryback Show podcast. During the show The Big Guy would discuss with Benoit the differences in backstage atmospheres between AEW and WWE.
When Benoit stated that AEW seemed “a lot happier” backstage, Ryback would agree. “That’s the vibe from what I’ve been told. That starts from the top down” Ryback would begin.
Ryback Talks AEW vs WWE
“Wrestling is…I feel like it’s more of a ‘team atmosphere’ right now? Everyone realizes that they all need each other to do what they’re going to do” The Big Guy would continue, before making a huge claim about All Elite Wrestling. “I think they’re (AEW) going to be the number one promotion moving forward, sooner rather than later.”
Ryback would elaborate on the point, saying how WWE’s schedule is not conjunctive to a happy working environment. “With what they’re (AEW) doing? Even with the work schedule and how they’re treating the talent? I think it’s gonna force, it already has in a way WWE, to alter things a little bit.”
The Big Guy would finish by re-iterating that WWE’s schedule needs to change. With the COVID-19 pandemic stopping extensive travel it has somewhat calmed the talent’s constant movement; but there’s no guarantee that house shows will not be back in some form in 2021. “I’m a big believer that the work schedule [in WWE] needs to change. Because it’s just not conducive to a healthy lifestyle in any way shape or form.”
Ryback has in the past made these claims about AEW overtaking WWE as the top brand in wrestling. In the last few months he has ramped up his opinions on the ‘battle’ between arguably the two biggest promotions worldwide.
Do you agree with Ryback? Do you think that AEW can truly compete and actually beat WWE at some point down the road? Let us know in the comments
AEW Dynamite aired from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville. It was the first episode of Dynamite following Full Gear.
Dynamite Results 11/11
Brian Cage def. Matt Sydal
Natural Nightmares def. Butcher & Blade in a Bunkhouse match
Shawn Spears def. Scorpio Sky
Tay Conti def. Red Velvet
Pentagon def. Fenix
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Brian Cage Picked Up A Win
Brian Cage (Photo: AEW)
Team Taz kicked off the show. Taz said he was distracted by the brand new face of the network Darby Allin in the stands. Taz told Darby Allin to stay away from the ring tonight or he is getting his ass kicked. He said that if Cody shows up tonight he is getting his ass kicked as well. Brian Cage then battled Matt Sydal as Taz joined commentary.
Match Recap: Sydal sent Cage to the corner and hit him with a Dropkick. Cage connected with a Suplex and followed it up with a Backbreaker. Brian connected with a massive Clothesline that knocked Sydal to the canvas. Sydal sent Cage to the entrance ramp and hit him with a Meteora off the top rope.
Back in the ring, Cage battled back and hit another massive Clothesline. Cage went for the Drill Claw but Sydal reversed into a Hurricanrana for a near fall. Cage then connected with the Drill Claw for the pinfall victory. After the match, Ricky Starks said that they are going after Darby Allin’s TNT Championship.
Cody Rhodes came down to the ring to a great reaction from the crowd. Cody congratulated Darby Allin on winning the TNT Championship and claimed that he will not be seeking a rematch at this time. Cody stated that he is considering a rematch with MJF.
Jade Cargill interrupted and said she was the total package. Jade told Cody that he is not a giant and there is nothing giant about him. Jade mentioned Shaq and Brandi interrupted. Brandi told Jade to never talk to her man like that again and told Jade to get her “ratchet” ass off the stage. Rhodes called her a bitch and told Jade to get off the stage. Brian Cage and Ricky Starks then attacked Cody until Darby Allin made the save.
Opinion: This was an awful segment. I felt bad for Jade Cargill as she was rambling on and on. Brandi saved the segment from being a complete disaster. Cargill may be a nice addition to the roster but this was a brutal debut. Shaq in a wrestling ring is a publicity stunt that doesn’t interest me. This was one of the most WWE segments AEW has ever produced and went against everything they stated their product would be.
Moxley Will Defend The Title Against Omega On December 2nd
AEW Champion Jon Moxley
AEW Champion Jon Moxley was interviewed by Alex Marvez backstage. Moxley said that he realized at Full Gear that this championship represents everyone that cannot pay their bills right now and all the kids that get made fun of for being wrestling fans.
Jon said that it takes someone special to beat Kenny Omega twice and referred to himself as the greatest wrestler on the planet right now. Moxley wished Omega luck in his upcoming AEW Championship on the December 2nd edition of Dynamite.
Later on Dynamite, Kenny Omega was interviewed and he noted that Moxley has never defeated him in a traditional match.
Dustin Rhodes and QT Marshall battled Butcher and Blade in a Bunkhouse match.
Match Recap: Dustin hit Butcher with the Final Reckoning on a steel chair outside the ring. Rhodes hit Blade with a cowbell and turned around into a Crossbody from Butcher. Blade hit QT Marshall with a guitar and it busted him open. Bunny handcuffed Dustin to the turnbuckle as Dynamite went to a break.
When Dynamite returned, Butcher and Blade were still in control. Dustin had escaped and hit Butcher & Blade with a Clothesline. Butcher and Blade battled up a staircase and QT Marshall sprayed Butcher with a fire extinguisher. Dustin hit Butcher with a Bulldog through some hay and plywood.
Blade and QT traded punches in the middle of the ring. QT hit Blade with a trash can lid and then set up a ladder. QT climbed to the top of the ladder and connected with an Elbow Drop but somehow Blade was able to kick out at two. Dustin hit Butcher with Code Red for a near fall. Butcher and Blade slammed Rhodes on top of a couple chairs and went for the cover but QT broke it up. QT hit Blade and he fell back and knocked Bunny off the apron and through a table. QT hit Blade with the cowbell and then a Diamond Cutter for the pinfall victory.
AEW booked an interesting segment during this week’s episode of Dynamite. Cody Rhodes made his way out to the ring to cut a promo about how he wants another match with MJF and congratulated AEW TNT Champion Darby Allin on his win.
This led to Jade Cargill coming out, which marked her debut, to cut a promo about how Rhodes is a so-called, “giant killer.”
She’s been at ringside for several weeks and has been not only watching her competition but Cody as well. She noted she knows a giant of her own and revealed it was Shaquille O’Neal, or “Shaq.”
This led to Brandi Rhodes coming out and trading words with Jade. For those who may not know, O’Neal was backstage at this past weekend’s Full Gear. Shaq has previously teased wanting to wrestle Rhodes.
Jon Moxley did an interview with Fight Game Media and during it, he revealed that Eddie Kingston was not originally planned to be his most recent title contender.
Moxley successfully retained the AEW World Heavyweight Title against Kingston at the Full Gear PPV.
“I had a whole other set of plans for everything I was going to do with Lance (Archer), I had a whole different thing. I won’t reveal it in case I go back to it and do something similar. The thing with Eddie (Kingston), it was just a bridge for the night, like we have this big advertised main event but it’s 2020.”
Moxley continued by noting that the fans are sympathetic to the shows being changed at the last minute due to one of the wrestlers being in contact with someone who has COVID. Thus, his original match with Lance Archer was nixed and a new match with Kingston on Dynamite was made.
He knew as soon as the match was over after he had choked out Kingston that they had something as Kingston was saying he never tapped out and it was so obvious.
“So then, I Quit Match – four weeks of promos, easy money. I haven’t handpicked any opponent – whatever they’ve put in front of me for this whole title reign, whatever opponent, whatever style I just try to take on that new challenge every single time but this one I kind of gave a nod, it just makes all the sense in the world because we hadn’t finalized the plans yet for the pay-per-view.”
Moxley stated that Kingston said he never tapped and he instantly saw the whole story in his head. Moxley also noted that Tony Khan knew this as well so he gave them the confidence of doing the match at Full Gear.
#AEW champ Jon Moxley recorded another podcast with us. It will be up in a couple of hours.
If it was up to The Young Bucks, they wouldn’t be the AEW Tag Team Champions right now.
Nick and Matt Jackson recently spoke with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated to discuss their title win over FTR at last Saturday’s Full Gear pay-per-view event.
In this interview, Nick revealed that they wanted to wait until 2021 to win the straps because they didn’t think it would hurt them to not be the champions. However, AEW President & CEO Tony Khan wanted them to win the titles now so the title change was made.
“If we’d won them right away, there wouldn’t have been a struggle for our characters,” Nick said. “We actually wanted to hold back for another year, so winning now was a Tony [Khan] call, but I’m glad it happened at the pay-per-view. It felt special, and winning it from FTR in this rivalry, in a match we never thought would happen, took it over the top.”
Matt noted that they wanted their story to be painful by losing and when fans thought they would start winning again, they’d lose more matches. He noted that they know the feeling of when that pain turns to celebration. However, they believe the right time for them was now after talking with Khan.
Matt thinks they worked in arguably the biggest tag-team match of the last five years and did so by coming out with the titles in the company we helped start.
New Japan Pro Wrestling and Bullet Club star Tama Tonga recently discussed his ‘dream’ tag team matches on the Tama’s Island podcast.
“I don’t want to name just one team, I’m gonna name three” Tonga began on the podcast. “From WWE? Probably The Usos. Then the other two would be FTR and Lucha Bros.”
Tama Tonga on Dream Matches
Tonga would go on to say why he chose those specific teams. “That would be the three just because of their unique styles. They all represent a style. I feel that my brother (Tonga Loa) and I can mesh with each one of those styles. We’ve been to Mexico, we’ve done the Lucha style. We do the ground and pound and we kind of have like an old school style mixed in our in our repertoire, that I feel like FTR would be into that style.”
Tama Tonga would then hype a potential match with FTR even further. There has recently been rumors of a potential AEW and NJPW partnership, so these could be some very telling comments. “Just even the promos battle with them” Tonga stated. “Because I just feel…like even on social media? The things that we would do? I watched their social media and I think they’re very good at trash talking.”
Tonga would finish by saying “we would try to match them, not only in the ring? But all the outside shenanigans you know? The social media crap.”
Would you like to see GOD vs FTR in AEW or New Japan? Are there any other AEW vs NJPW matches you want to see? Let us know in the comments
Tony Khan did an interview with TSN to talk about a wide range of topics involving AEW. During the discussion, AEW’s President provided an update on the status of a third AEW show, which will be the second series to air on TNT.
It’s been well documented that Dynamite isn’t getting a third hour, but rather aside from Dynamite and Dark, which airs on YouTube, AEW will be having a new program arrive on TNT.
For the longest time, the belief was that the new show would air in 2020. However, Khan noted that the show is set to arrive on TNT in the coming months.
“It’s going to launch in 2021,” Khan said of the new show. “We’ve worked it out with TNT. It’s 100 per cent going to launch in 2021. I don’t have the exact date yet, but I would look out for it soon and it’s right around the corner.”
Khan continued by noting that he hopes to see growth for the promotion 2021 after a successful 2019 and 2020.
If the pay-per-views come in higher in 2021 than in 2020, that would be incredible and I’d like to see us hit new highs for Dynamite.”
Hoping to build upon the momentum AEW has built in 2020, Khan is confident that the company will continue to grow next year. Once again, he teased that AEW has some aces up their sleeve to help achieve this goal.
“I think we’ve got some big matches and some big surprises ahead where it’s going to be really possible to do that,” Khan said.
Other topics discussed include Le Dinner Debonair, the possibility of working with NJPW and wanting AEW to serve as a “hub” for other promotions. Check out the full interview here.
AEW President Tony Khan says this week’s episode of Dynamite will be an eventful one. (Dynamite Preview)
Saturday’s Full Gear pay-per-view brought multiple title changes, including Darby Allin capturing the TNT Championship from Cody Rhodes and the Young Bucks dethroning FTR for the AEW tag titles. We also saw MJF defeat Chris Jericho to earn a spot for himself and Wardlow in the Inner Circle.
In a tweet sent out Wednesday morning, Khan went above and beyond with his hype for the broadcast. In addition to a great lineup of matches, AEW fans were told to expect “massive surprises” ahead. He then said, “Please join us on TNT tonight, the balance of power in wrestling will shift tonight.”
Tonight we have a great lineup for #AEWDynamite Live on TNT at 8pm ET/7pm CT! For the rest of 2020, #AEW will keep delivering great matches on Wednesday Nights + there are massive surprises ahead! Please join us on TNT tonight, the balance of power in wrestling will shift tonight
The “balance of power in wrestling” shifting is a bold claim that would seem to describe an event more significant than MJF and Wardlow joining the Inner Circle. Even a scenario like the Inner Circle turning on Chris Jericho would fall short of Khan’s statement.
Perhaps we will see a new act debut or the return of PAC. AEW has a strong track record with post-PPV shows. The Dynamite after last year’s full gear featured the debut of Wardlow. After Revolution, we had the formation of Death Triangle (PAC, Penta El Zero M & Rey Fenix). FTR made their first AEW appearance after Double or Nothin and Miro made his debut after All Out.
The good news is that we will only have to wait a few more hours to find out what Tony Khan is talking about.
Discussion: What do you think Tony Khan is alluding to?
