It’s been well documented that WWE and AEW compete against each other in the Wednesday Night War, but now they might be competing for the services of a rising independent wrestler.
Ben Carter has drawn the interest of multiple companies including WWE and AEW. Per the report, there was at least contact with NXT, but there’s no word yet on how serious those discussions were or how far the conversations got.
AEW may have a slight advantage in signing him to a full-time deal as he’s worked for the promotion in the past.
He made his AEW debut when he worked a match against Ricky Starks on Dark. Two of his matches aired last month that saw him lose to Scorpio Sky on Late Night Dynamite, but scored a win over Lee Johnson on Dark.
Carter was trained at Seth Rollins and Marek Brave’s wrestling school before breaking into the pro wrestling business.
AEW tag team champions appeared on The Push Podcast the week and spoke about their experience being mentored by Dusty Rhodes.
Prior to joining All Elite Wrestling, Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood competed in WWE and NXT as The Revival. It was Dusty Rhodes who paired them up and they learned a lot from the late American Dream.
“For us, he wanted us to be a team.” said Harwood. I think he enjoyed that we were two Carolina boys. I think he enjoyed the fact that we both had Southern accents, and we had our style of work. And I also think he liked the fact that we weren’t the biggest guys in the room.”
Rhodes urged them to always have each others backs, which created a bond between them that has lasted to this day. Harwood continued, “He told us never to leave each other’s side, whether we were in promo class, at the shows together, or in the Performance Center, ‘Never leave each other’s side. Be seen together all the time, so that people can see what I sees, just on the surface.’”
Harwood added that Dusty Rhodes taught them to use a ‘conversational’ style when doing their promos. He taught them the value of connecting with the audience and their peers by speaking to them in a believable way.
Cash Wheeler also spoke fondly of Dusty Rhodes’ teaching style.
“Yeah, the craziest thing about learning from Dusty is, half the time you didn’t even realize you were learning until after he already taught you,” said Wheeler. “He would like, Mr. Miyagi you. You don’t understand why he’s asking you certain things, and why you’re doing certain things until after, finally you just have this realization of like, ‘Oh wow, that’s why he wanted me to do it.’”
MJF is interested in wrestling one of the top stars on WWE’s NXT brand.
The 24-year-old AEW star held a Twitter Q&A session with fans Friday afternoon. Taking time out of his busy schedule, MJF answered 5 questions from fans who used the hashtag, #imabigdumbmark.
One fan asked if he could if he could have a jacket too, a reference to MJF giving members of the Inner Circle jackets this past week on Dynamite. MJF “forgot” to give a jacket to Sammy Guevara and referenced his snub of the Spanish God during the Q&A. He wrote, “I’m still trying to find Sammy’s [Jacket]. Poor little guy is probably somewhere freezing cold right now.”
MJF was asked who he wants to wrestle that is not currently on the AEW roster. He replied, “#Betterthanyou vs. #BayBay.” The tweet has since been deleted.
Of course, this is a reference to former NXT Champion Adam Cole, husband of AEW star Britt Baker. Aside from his wife, Cole has history with many of AEW’s core performers. The Undisputed Era leader would be a huge addition to the AEW roster if he ever decided to jump ship.
AEW and NXT both saw viewership increases this week, despite stiff competition from Game 1 of the NBA finals, MLB playoff games and a South Park ‘pandemic special’ that topped the night in the Adults 18-49 demographic.
AEW: 866,000 viewers, 0.33 rating (12th on cable for the night)
NXT: 732,000 viewers, 0.19 rating (50th on cable for the night)
For comparison, Monday’s WWE Raw averaged 1.82 million viewers with a 0.54 rating in the key demo.
Dynamite viewership was up 31,000 from last week, while NXT saw an increase in 36,000 viewers. You can find full results and our takeaways from both shows below:
Miro was the special guest on this week’s AEW Unrestricted podcast. The following is a recap of Miro’s discussion with Tony Schiavone and Aubrey Edwards:
Many people at AEW were unaware Miro was coming in. Tony & Aubrey said they weren’t even aware he was in the building the night of his AEW debut.
Miro says he has always been a big person. He weighed a staggering 15 pounds at birth and was 300 pounds at 20 years old.
He enjoyed negotiating with Tony Khan and appreciates that he’s able to do outside projects such as his Twitch channel.
Chris Jericho gave him input on his debut promo. Jericho suggested he reference the “brass ring” because it’s something wrestling fans are familiar with.
Miro spoke about the abysmal “Rusev is a sex addict” storyline that WWE ran last November. This was during the Lana and Bobby Lashley romance angle. WWE writers actually scripted a plot point that Rusev suffered from erectile dysfunction. He went to Vince McMahon directly and told him his character would never be able to recover if they went through with the erectile dysfunction angle. He told listeners that if you suffer from ED, you should see a doctor immediately and consider using Blue Chew.
Miro worked many odd jobs when he was youngr, including being a taxi cab driver, a painter, a cleaner and even worked at Wendy’s.
When asked which AEW wrestler he wants to work with, he said Kenny Omega.
WWE Superstar Xavier Woods got him into Twitch streaming.
Two big heavyweights will collide next week on Dynamite with the FTW title on the line. Brian Cage will look to defend his championship against Will Hobbs. The two big men brawled at ringside during the Darby Allin vs Ricky Starks match this week and AEW officials scheduled them to go one-on-one next week.
This bout between two of the largest athletes in AEW has fans discussing potential ways the FTW title can be used in the promotion. Many fans have been commenting on the title possibly being used as a “Hoss” championship competed for by top heavyweights.
— “The MONSTAR” Will Hobbs (@TrueWillieHobbs) October 1, 2020
FTW Title History
Although the title is not officially recognized by AEW, this will be Brian Cage’s second title defence in the promotion. He defeated Brian Pillman Jr. with the belt on the line on an episode of Dark in July.
Cage is one of only three men to ever hold the title. Taz introduced the belt in 1998 and briefly lost it to Sabu in 1999. The title was abandoned after Taz defeated Sabu in a title vs title match at Living Dangerously 1999.
All Elite Wrestling Executive Vice President Kenny Omega has provided an update on the promotion’s highly-anticipated video game.
Speaking with Gamespot, Omega shared that the video game is “currently in development.”
He noted that he couldn’t say much more but admitted he is “working very closely creatively with a team.”
According to Kenny Omega, the game’s development team provides AEW with “exciting’ updates every few weeks. He believes they are on the right track, highlighting how they have a “good team backing us.”
Omega added how those involved with the AEW video game are very “capable.” He stated that when he can share more, he won’t hesitate to do so as he’s “[…] really excited to show the first little bit of footage that we have.
Kenny Omega then confessed the game is still “a little ways away” at this time. He then joked how it won’t be competing with WWE’s recently released Battlegrounds video game.
He stressed that “[…] when the game is ready, and when it will release, I think it has a very good chance of standing alone is probably the best wrestling product as a video game that you could probably find on the market. That’s the hope anyway.”
AEW Dynamite aired from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida. An 8-man tournament was announced with the winner receiving a shot at the AEW Championship. The finals of the tournament will take place at Full Gear in November.
BREAKING NEWS It's a huge 8-man tournament, single-elimination, the finals will be at Full Gear where the winner will receive a shot at the #AEW World Championship. 1?? @boy_myth_legend 2?? @ReyFenixMx 3?? @KennyOmegamanX
FTR def. SCU to retain the AEW Tag Team Championships
Chris Jericho def. Isiah Kassidy
Orange Cassidy def. #10
Britt Baker def. Red Velvet
Jon Moxley def. The Butcher to retain the AEW World Championship
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Darby Allin Picked Up A Win
Darby Allin
Ricky Starks faced Darby Allin in the first match of the night.
Match Recap: Starks went for a Spear but Allin countered and applied an Armbar in the middle of the ring. Ricky worked his way across the ring and grabbed the bottom rope to break the hold. Darby Suplexed Starks on the apron and Ricky fell to the floor outside the ring.
Allin connected with a Suicide Dive as Brian Cage made his way to the ring. Will Hobbs attacked Cage and the two traded punches all the way backstage. Back in the ring, Starks capitalized on the distraction and beat Darby down in the corner. Allin battled back and applied another submission hold but Starks was able to get to the bottom rope.
Allin connected with a Stunner and leaped off the middle rope but Ricky caught him with a Spear for a near fall. Darby and Starks battled on the top turnbuckle. Allin booted Starks in the face and Ricky fell to the canvas. Darby connected with the Coffin Drop for the pinfall victory.
Brodie Lee Will Defend The TNT Title Against Cody Next Week In A Dog Collar Match
Former TNT Champion Cody cane down to the ring to a great reaction from the crowd. Dasha Fuentes interviewed Cody asked how he is feeling. Cody stated Al Snow trained him and always told him to wrestle hurt but never injured. He said that pre-pandemic wrestlers always shook hands because they need each other because the marquee has two names on it.
Cody stated that he felt shame losing the TNT Championship in three minutes and took a Hollywood job to be on another show. Cody added that he was listening while away and heard people claiming to be the ace of AEW. Cody said that can only be three people, Hikaru Shida, Jon Moxley, or Brodie Lee. Dasha asked if Cody accepted Brodie’s challenge for a Dog Collar match.
Cody said that his answer was no and got out of the ring. Cody got back in the ring and stated “no as in no regrets” and accepted the challenge for next week. Brodie Lee rushed the ring and attacked Cody before security broke it up. Brandi Rhodes hit Dark Order with a Senton off the top rope. Anna Jay and Brandi then traded punches before they were separated.
FTR was interviewed by Tony Schiavone backstage tonight during Dynamite. Dax and Cash boasted about their victory over Best Friends and claimed that they weren’t ready for a title shot. Tony asked about the Young Bucks and said that Dave Meltzer giving them five star ratings doesn’t mean they deserve a title shot. Matt Jackson came out of nowhere and hit Tony with a Superkick as FTR wondered why he didn’t attack them. FTR then defended their AEW Tag Team Championships against SCU. Christopher Daniels and Tully Blanchard were ringside for the match. Hangman Page joined commentary with a glass of whiskey in hand.
Match Recap: Frankie Kazarian and Dax Harwood started the action off. Hangman Page stated that he still wants to be a part of the tag team division despite Kenny Omega saying he was focusing on his singles career last week. Scorpio tagged in and leveled Harwood with a Dropkick for a one count.
Dax brought Scorpio Sky to the corner and Cash Wheeler tagged in. Scorpio connected with a shoulder tackle and then Wheeler made it seem like Christopher Daniels tripped him up. The referee then ejected Daniels from ringside and Wheeler capitalized on the distraction by beating down Scorpio in the corner.
Frankie tagged in and Clotheslined Harwood out of the ring. Scorpio Sky then flipped onto FTR outside the ring. Back in the ring, Scorpio went for the cover but Wheeler kicked out at two. Wheeler leveled Scorpio Sky with a Clothesline as Dynamite went to a break.
When Dynamite returned, Dax had Scorpio Sky trapped in the corner. Scorpio rolled up Harwood but Wheeler distracted the referee. Cash tagged in Scorpio Sky hit him with a Russian Leg Sweep. Frankie tagged in and hit Dax with a couple Clotheslines and then knocked Cash off the apron.
Frankie connected with a Northern Lights Suplex and followed it up with a Fisherman’s Suplex for a near fall. Dax rolled up Frankie for another two count. SCU planted FTR with a pair of Cutters but Harwood was able to kick out at the last moment.
Dax hit Frankie with a Powerbomb and Wheeler followed it up with a Dragon Suplex for another two count. Frankie connected with a Powerslam on Dax for a near fall. Scorpio and Wheeler tagged in and traded roll-ups before battling to the apron. Scorpio brought Cash back into the ring with a Suplex. Tully then tripped up Scorpio and held his legs down as Wheeler pinned him. FTR are still the AEW World Tag Team Champions.
AEW has announced plans to hold a tournament and some early details have been shared heading into Full Gear.
The news was made in a segment on Wednesday’s episode of Dynamite on TNT. There will be an eight-man tournament taking place over the next few weeks with the finals taking place at AEW Full Gear.
The purpose of this tournament is to crown a new number 1 contender for the AEW World Championship. Jungle Boy, Rey Fenix, and Kenny Omega were the first names announced for the tournament.
AEW had Adam Page, who was on commentary, choke on his beer when he heard the news. More details on the tournament will be announced soon including the rest of the competitors in the tournament.
BREAKING NEWS It's a huge 8-man tournament, single-elimination, the finals will be at Full Gear where the winner will receive a shot at the #AEW World Championship. 1?? @boy_myth_legend 2?? @ReyFenixMx 3?? @KennyOmegamanX
The AEW All Out pay-per-view event will take place on Saturday, November 7th, 2020 in Jacksonville, Florida at Daily’s Place. This will be the final PPV event of the year for AEW.
The show will air on B/R Live, which is Bleacher Report’s streaming service, traditional PPV outlets, and FITE TV in international markets.
All Elite Wrestling will be announcing more matches in the coming weeks including who will challenge AEW World Heavyweight Champion Jon Moxley for the title.
Last year’s show was right in line with other AEW pay-per-view events as it did around 100,000 buys.
AEW World Champion Jon Moxley says he doesn’t want to be the next John Cena or the Rock. He has no aspirations to conquer Hollywood but if he was offered a role in a movie franchise he enjoys, he’d jump at the opportunity, provided he wouldn’t have to take time away from wrestling.
“‘I don’t have any aspirations to take over Hollywood or be the next Rock or John Cena,” Moxley said in a recent interview with the Bleacher Report. “That being said, if Marvel called and said ‘Do you want to be in the next Avengers or be Batman,’ I would be like ‘Hell yeah, sign me up.’ It’s fun, it’s a challenge and it’s a different craft. Unless it was some huge once–in–a–lifetime opportunity, if you offer me a role that requires me to take nine months off where I can’t wrestle, I am not going to do it.’”
Moxley continued to talk about how he was trained to always play to the person in the last row. He noted that with the fans in Daily’s Place so far away and spread out, that training has come in handy recently.
“‘I was trained in the Thatcher way,’” said Moxley. “It was old school. You over exaggerate and play to the last fan in the cheap seats. Now, everybody is in the cheap seats, so that training paid off. I am more worried about the people in the cheap seats than I am about the camera because they bought tickets and came with their family. It’s important to me that they have a good show.’”
Moxley Loves Wrestling For The Adrenaline Rush
Moxley also spoke about how he doesn’t wrestle for the fame or the money, he loves the rush from the crowd and the feeling he gets after a great match.
“I’m blessed to be able to make a living, but I don’t do this for money. My goal is not to get more famous. I’ve had a taste of fame and I could take it or leave it. I do this for that feeling at the end of the night when I am all bloody and sweaty thinking, “That was awesome.” That adrenaline rush of being on live TV, telling a story and feeling the fans going on a ride with you is why I do it.’”
Matt Cardona says he is no longer under contract with All Elite Wrestling. The wrestler best known as Zack Ryder appeared on the Pro Wrestling Junkies show this week to discuss his brief run with company.
Cardona was released from WWE back in April. He debuted for AEW on the July 29th episode of Dynamite. This came after the expiry of his 90-day non-compete clause. Cardona was working under a limited-appearance deal. He fulfilled the agreement after AEW’s All Out pay-per-view and is now a free agent once again.
Cardona told Pro Wresting Junkies that he is open to working with AEW again.
“That’s the place to be right now,” he said of AEW. “To be there even for a month, and do a couple of matches, was a lot of fun. It was great to just be out there and be myself again. Hopefully, we’ll do it again soon.”
Cardona says he’s love to wrestle for New Japan Pro Wrestling or work some independent dates. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has seriously limited the amount of shows being held. He is looking ahead to when things settle down and he can get back to entertaining wrestling fans.
“It’s a weird situation and weird time in the world. I’d love to go to New Japan, or even go back and main event a few indie shows at my home promotions in New York. When the world opens up, it’ll be the best time in wrestling. Fans and wrestlers will both be so excited and we’re gonna have some kickass shows.”
Matt Cardona hosts the Major Figures Wrestling Podcast along with childhood friend Brian Myers. WWE fans know Myers as Curt Hawkins. He currently wrestles for Impact, which could be an option for Cardona if things don’t work out with AEW.
You can listen to the full interview with Matt Cardona in the player embedded below:
“The Best Man” Miro spoke to Chris Van Vliet this week in a wide-ranging interview that spanned nearly 40 minutes. The Bulgarian strongman discussed his “dreadful” experience working for WWE, the directionless romance storyline involving his wife Lana and Bobby Lashley and much more.
Miro was let go by WWE back in April when the company released and furloughed over 30 people. Even though he grew a little concerned when WWE announced the first wave of firings, Miro reveals he was surprised to find out they were cutting him as well.
“I’m waiting outside the veterinarian to get my dogs like shots or something,” he said. “So I was thinking of something completely else when they called me. But who cares, man. Life takes curveballs but that’s not a curveball – that’s actually a straight home run. That’s no curveball that’s a home run for me.”
Upon hearing that his services were no longer needed by Vince McMahon, Miro gave himself five minutes to let off some anger. That anger quickly changed to excitement, since the coast was now clear for him to join All Elite Wrestling.
“I knew right away where I was gonna go,” said Miro. “And I had no doubts that I was gonna get to AEW because I always admired AEW ever since it came out. And people may not want to admit it but we all watched AEW we all wanted to see what it’s all about.”
There’s much more to the discussion, which you can check out in the video player embedded below:
AEW’s Miro made his in-ring debut on Dynamite last week. He’s been aligned with fellow Twitch streamer, Kip Sabian, so far in the promotion. Miro sat down recently with Chris Van Vliet and discussed a variety of subjects including his learning English through 2Pac songs.
The Bulgarian spoke about how he knew from an early age that he was going to travel to the United States and would need to know how to speak English.
“Because I knew I’m going to go to America, in 3rd grade I started learning English,” Miro said during the conversation.
“Video games was English. I loved video games so I had to learn English to see what they were saying. At the same time, I wanted to learn English because I’m going to America and watching all these old movies, they prepared me.”
He also spoke about how learning 2Pac’s lyrics also helped him learn English.
“Again, movies, English, I had to open the dictionary sometimes and look for a word or listen to 2Pac songs, ‘ah, what does that word mean?’ I have to find a big dictionary, it’s not the internet. It’s like the big dictionary where you open and you read this word and that’s how you learn. And on top of that, you go to school and you learn more and more.”
“Of course, of course, 2Pac’s my favourite rapper of all time,” Miro concluded on the subject.
Eddie Kingston recently responded to comments made by Disco Inferno and others on an episode of Konnan’s “Keepin’ it 100” podcast. The hosts and guests of the show were critical of Kingston for perceived similarities between his angle with his new stable on Dynamite and Bret Hart’s Hart Foundation angle in 1997.
During the conversation, it was brought up that Kingston winked at the camera while hugging his stablemates, much like Bret Hart did when he helped Owen Hart and British Bulldog reconcile after weeks of teasing that they would break up in 1997. Evidently, some on the Keepin it 100 podcast felt this was akin to stealing from the angle.
“He was quite clearly a ripoff of Bret forming the Hart Foundation in 1997 even to the hug and the wink at the camera. He stole the entire thing,” said a guest named Billy on the show.
Former WCW commentator Mark Madden offered up his opinions as well.
“There was a reason he was on the indies for so long. There’s a reason he was barely on TV for so long, there’s a reason he never made it for so long,” Madden said about Kingston. “And none of the reasons are good reflecting on him.”
Konnan then chimed in.
“He can cut good promos cause he cut good promos with me in Impact,” Konnan said. “But what Billy is bringing up is true because I saw people on Twitter bringing up that thing about Bret Hart.”
Kingston then posted comments made by Cody about Disco Inferno in 2018 in response.
AEW Dynamite has secured another decisive win over WWE NXT in the Wednesday night war. Dynamite topped NXT in total viewers and the coveted Adults 18-49 demographic, but the gap in viewership narrowed from 197,000 viewers last week to just 139,000 this week. Here’s the breakdown, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:
AEW: 835,000 viewers, 0.32 rating (9th on cable for the night)
NXT: 696,000 viewers, 0.18 rating (30th on cable for the night)
For comparison, Monday’s edition of WWE Raw averaged 1.667 million viewers with a 0.49 in the 18-49 demo.
AEW viewership was down 5.6% from 886,000 for last Wednesday. Dynamite saw Jon Moxley defend the AEW World Championship against Eddie Kingston, the surprise return of Cody, Hangman Page in singles action, Miro’s in-ring debut, the AEW & NWA Womens’ champions team up and Brodie Lee defend the TNT Championship against Orange Cassidy. (AEW Results & Takeaways)
NXT viewership was up 1% from last week, which averaged 689,000 viewers. This week’s NXT saw Candice LaRae win a #1 contender’s battle royal, Tommaso Ciampa in action, Ridge Holland pick up another win and Kyle O’Reily win the Gauntlet Eliminator to earn a shot at NXT Champion Finn Balor at the next Takeover special. (NXT Results & Takeaways)
Last night just before AEW Dynamite, it was revealed that the #1 ranked Lance Archer has tested positive for COVID-19. Brian Cage also posted to social media that he was not feeling well and was also not on last night’s broadcast. According to Tweets from Florida-based reporter, Jon Alba, AEW is dealing with multiple positive COVID-19 cases at the moment.
Alba is jointly reporting the news along with Fightful:
“Sean Ross Sapp and I are jointly reporting, via multiple sources, several individuals who present at AEW tapings earlier this month have since tested positive for COVID-19, including talent seen on AEW Dark,” Alba Tweeted.
Over the last few months, #AEW has by far had the most extensive COVID-19 protocols among any wrestling companies that chose to run during the pandemic. The conditions of how or where the virus was transmitted is not entirely clear at this time. Hoping everyone affected is OK.
“It’s entirely plausible talent were kept off this week’s show for precautionary reasons, and didn’t necessarily test positive,” Alba continued to Tweet. “But we can report there were multiple positive cases in the past couple of weeks involving talent who were present at tapings earlier this month.”
Lance Archer’s COVID-19 Status
Just before Dynamite, Archer revealed that he has tested positive for COVID-19.
“While at home, now I’ve also gotten sick tested positive,” Archer wrote. “I feel ok, expect to see me in 2 wks.”
Recently, Brian Cage posted to Twitter, “Not feeling very well, but still looking GOOD! Best body guy even while sick and out of then gym [flexed biceps emoji] #machine #swolverine #redcon1 #bodyguy #luchaundergroundunderwear.”
AEW Dynamite aired live from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville. Jon Moxley put the AEW Championship on the line against Eddie Kingston. Brodie Lee defended the TNT Championship against Orange Cassidy tonight as well. In addition to the takeaways below, Chris Jericho and MJF had a hilarious backstage segment tonight.
Match Recap: Sonny sent Kip to the corner and slapped him in the face. Miro tagged in but Kip tagged himself in before Miro did anything. Janela and Kiss took turns beating Kip down in the corner of the ring. Miro tagged in and hit Joey with a ridiculous slam. Miro planted Sonny with two slams and an uppercut for a near fall. Sabian tagged in and hit Sonny with a Senton and a kick to the face for a two count. Janela tagged in but referee Aubrey Edwards didn’t see it. Miro and Sabian continued to beat Sonny down in the corner.
Janela finally got the tag and sent Miro out of the ring. Joey went for a Crossbody but Miro caught him. Sonny connected with a Dropkick and the action returned to the ring. Joey hit Sabian with a Superkick for a near fall. Miro tagged back as Sabian planted Joey with a German Suplex on the apron. Miro leveled Sonny with a massive kick and then locked in the Game Over (the Accolade) for the submission victory.
Opinion: Joey Janela and Sonny Kiss just aren’t very good in my opinion. This match went on way too long and was a botchfest. Miro should have tagged in, dominated, and won the match in a couple minutes.
Eddie Kingston ran down to the ring and said he was never eliminated from the Casino Battle Royal and his 18-year career says he deserves a title shot. Kingston stated Moxley sold out and went to the land of sports entertainers. Eddie boasted about never selling his soul to the devil and staying with the fighters. Kingston shouted that he wanted to look the sports entertainer in the eyes and Jon rushed the ring. Kingston and Moxley had a staredown before referees broke it.
Hangman Page faced Evil Uno tonight. Dark Order was on the entrance ramp and Kenny Omega joined commentary. Omega said he was done wrestling in the tag team division.
Match Recap: Hangman dominated the match early and planted Evil Uno with a Suplex for a near fall. Page connected with a Fallaway Slam for another two count. Evil Uno battled back and stomped Hangman down in the corner. Page sent Uno to the outside and hit him with a Crossbody off the apron.
Back in the ring, Evil Uno hid behind the referee and used the distraction to hit Hangman with a Neckbreaker. When Dynamite returned from a break, Hangman hit Evil Uno with a Spinebuster on the apron and followed it up with a Standing Moonsault for a two count. Hangman then was able to connected with the Buckshot Lariat for the pinfall victory.
Brodie Lee defended the TNT Championship against Orange Cassidy tonight.
Match Recap: Cassidy hit his lazy kicks and Brodie responded with a punch that knocked Orange Cassidy on his ass. Orange Cassidy went for a Suicide Dive but Dark Order caught him. Brodie then leveled everyone with a Suicide Dive and then delivered a chop to Cassidy’s chest. The fans in Daily’s Place chanted “Brodie sucks!” as the TNT Champion connected with a Senton for a near fall. Cassidy rolled up Brodie for a near fall and then launched him into the turnbuckle. Cassidy sent Brodie out of the ring and hit with two Suicide Dives.
Back in the ring, Orange Cassidy hit Brodie with the Stunner and followed it up with a DDT off the top rope. Cassidy connected with an Air Raid Crash and went for the cover but Brodie was able to kick out at two. Cassidy went for the Orange Punch but Brodie caught him with a Powerbomb. Brodie followed it up with a massive Clothesline for the pinfall victory. Brodie Lee is still the TNT Champion.
After the match, Cody returned with black hair and suite on. Cody launched Silver off the entrance ramp and beat down #5. Cody hit a Cutter and slammed 5’s knee into the ring post. Cody locked in a Figure Four as Brodie and Dark Order retreated.
Brodie Lee boasted about what he did to Dustin and mocked Brandi Rhodes for posting thirst traps on Instagram. Brodie vowed to cut Cody down and wrap a dog collar around Cody’s neck. Brodie added that Cody has one week to answer if he is a man or a coward.
Opinion: I thought that this was a fun match and it was great to see Cody back on Dynamite. Brodie’s promo after the match was absolutely awesome.
Cody Rhodes has made his return to AEW television. He did so during Wednesday’s episode of AEW Dynamite on TNT.
It happened from Jacksonville, Florida at Daily’s Place after Brodie Lee had successfully retained the TNT Title over Orange Cassidy.
Rhodes changed his hair color from blonde to black. He attacked members of The Dark Order while Lee retreated and ended the segment by stating tall.
The AEW executive has been off television since the August 22nd episode of Dynamite when he dropped the TNT Title to Lee. It was a one-sided dominant performance by Lee. After the match, Rhodes was stretchered out of the arena due to the damage that he suffered only to be attacked by members of the Dark Order.
Brody Lee cut a fiery promo on Cody and challenged him to a dog collar match.
Cody was kept off television for five weeks to sell the injuries he and the rest of the Nightmare Family suffered at the hands of the Dark Order. The hiatus came at an interesting time as it may have something to do with STARZ Heels series going into production in Georgia. Stephen Amell, who stars in the series, specifically asked Cody to take part in the project when casting was announced last year.
Brian Cage mentioned on social media that he’s not feeling well just hours after AEW announced the cancelation of the main event for Wednesday’s Dynamite episode.
Originally, Cage, Lance Archer, and Ricky Starks vs. AEW World Champion Jon Moxley, Darby Allin, and Will Hobbs in a six-man tag team match was booked for this show, but it got nixed after Archer tested positive for COVID-19. He announced the news in a post on social media.
Now, Cage is saying that he’s not feeling well, but is staying in good spirits. In the same post, he issued his first comments about the match being nixed.
Cage posted on both Twitter and Instagram after the Dynamite changes. It should be noted that just because Cage said he’s sick doesn’t mean that he has COVID-19. He has since deleted the post.
Cage wrote, “Not feeling very well, but still looking GOOD! Best body guy even while sick and out of then gym [flexed biceps emoji] #machine #swolverine #redcon1 #bodyguy #luchaundergroundunderwear.”
The change to the main event caused AEW to book a World Heavyweight Title Match with Moxley putting it on the line in singles action against Eddie Kingston.
AEW aired its one-hour Late Night Dynamite special and pulled in impressive viewership numbers.
The show, which aired after midnight on the east coast Tuesday night on TNT after game three of the NBA Western Conference Finals, averaged 585,000 viewers.
It also cracked the top 10 of the top 150 shows on cable for the night as it ranked ninth and did a 0.26 rating in the 18-49 demo. On the flip side, the NBA game, Los Angeles Lakers vs. Denver Nuggets, did 4.828 million viewers, topping all of cable and finishing third overall for the night.
The post-game show also did 1.743 million viewers on TNT as Dynamite started nearly an hour after the game ended. The men 18-49 was AEW’s strongest demo for the show as it did a 0.35 rating and was tied for seventh overall on cable.
These numbers for the AEW special do match the rating that WWE NXT did back on September 1st. That NXT episode didn’t go up against competition with AEW on a Tuesday night that was in prime time. The AEW special also beat the 0.22 rating that NXT did the following Tuesday.
Obviously, NXT didn’t have a lead-in from an NBA game that AEW had.
All Elite Wrestling star Lance Archer has tested positive for COVID-19.
The Murderhawk Monster posted a message on social media Wednesday afternoon announcing the diagnosis.
Archer says that after he returned home from AEW’s most recent TV taping, he returned home and learned that a family member was ill. He found out later a friend who had been around that family member had contracted the virus.
“While at home, now I’ve also gotten sick tested positive,” Archer revealed. “I feel ok, expect to see me in 2 wks.”
It remains to be seen if he will be healthy enough to be back in the ring in just two weeks time. The status of Lance Archer’s AEW title match against Jon Moxley at the Dynamite Anniversary show on October 14th is now in question..
Lance Archer will be unable to wrestle on this week’s AEW Dynamite. He was scheduled to team up with Ricky Starks and Brian Cage against AEW World Champion Jon Moxley, Darby Allin and Will Hobbs.
We wish Lance Archer a full and speedy recovery.
Jon Moxley vs. Eddie Kingston
Jon Moxley wasted no time in posting his own reaction on social media. Molxey tweeted that he’ll be defending the gold tonight on Dynamite.
Change of plans. I'm putting up the title tonight. Live TV babe. #AEWDynamite
Eddie Kingston took notice of Moxley’s declaration. Kingston has been angling for a title shot, claiming that he was never eliminated from the Casino Battle Royal match at All Out. Lance Archer won that bout to earn the shot at Moxley.
AEW President Tony Khan has since announced that Eddie Kingston will in fact get his shot at Jon Moxley tonight on Dynamite.
Tonight on #AEWDynamite Live on TNT at 8pm ET/7 CT, JonMoxley v. Eddie Kingston for the AEW Championship! There were questions about if Eddie’s Battle Royale elimination was valid (Lance + Eddie were the final 2, Lance threw him off the top but not over), now Eddie gets his shot! https://t.co/mySZDyzjmPpic.twitter.com/bXLdmccBuO
Former WWE Superstar Ryback recently discussed his ongoing stem cell treatment and potential return to the ring. The Big Guy addressed his timetable for a in-ring training return on the Shooting Blanks Wrestling Report this week.
Ryback on Treatment
“A lot of my shoulder stuff is still scar tissue related” Ryback began on the podcast. “I see a massage therapist now for three and a half hours [a session], it’s probably going to get moved to four for the next couple weeks. Just breaking up more and more scar tissue that had built up from all that cortisone that was that was pumped into me.”
“My back is great” Ryback continued. “I’m training now, like weight training and conditioning to get ready for wrestling. I’m not going to be taking any time off, like like I did when I got it [stem cells] before. [That was] where I took like two or three months off.”
Escalating Training
Ryback would then reveal that his latest set of stem cell treatment is actually just for good measure; confirming that he is indeed not too far away from a potential return to the ring. “These are just for good measure. Get these and then the training is going to escalate further. I’d say I’ll probably give myself three to four weeks and then hopefully from there be able to get back in a ring and start doing some training low key. Just get myself in there to see how I feel.”
“I don’t, I honestly don’t think I’ll miss a beat. I’ve been out before” Ryback stated. “When I had the ankle injury [in WWE] I didn’t wrestle for a year and a half. Then I got thrown on the road, and came right back after not wrestling for a year and a half. I did dark matches and live events there for like five months but like I went back to live events, working 8, 10, 12, 15 minute matches. [That was] after not practising, nothing. People were saying ‘oh my god you got so much better!’ And I hadn’t even even been practising in-ring.”
Ryback has in the past mentioned his want to join All Elite Wrestling. The Big Guy has stated that he likes the schedule in AEW, he also has close ties to Cody Rhodes, with both having worked in WWE and travelled together for a time.
Do you think that we’ll eventually see Ryback in AEW, IMPACT, NWA or New Japan? Let us know in the comments
All Elite Wrestling returns tonight with an all new episode of AEW Dynamite on TNT. The following matches are confirmed for tonight’s live broadcast from Jacksonville, FL at Daily’s Place Amphitheater:
AEW World Champion Jon Moxley teams with Darby Allin and newcomer Will Hobbs against Lance Archer and Team Taz members Brian Cage and Ricky Starks.
AEW TNT Champion and Dark Order leader Brodie Lee puts the gold on the line against Orange Cassidy.
“The Best Man” Miro makes his AEW in-ring debut.
AEW Women’s World Champion Hikaru Shida and NWA Women’s World Champion Thunder Rosa team up against Women’s Tag Team Cup tournament winners Ivelisse and Diamente.
The next special edition of AEW Dynamite will take place Wednesday, October 14th. This ‘first anniversary’ show will see Jon Moxley defend the AEW World title against Lance Archer.
AEW’s next pay-per-view, Full Gear, takes place Saturday, November 4th.
AEW has released new top-5 rankings and the big news this week is that former AEW Tag Team Champions Kenny Omega and Hangman Page are no longer ranked.
AEW Men’s Singles Division
AEW World Champion: Jon Moxley (17-0) TNT Champion: Brodie Lee (7-1)
Lance Archer (13-1)
Brian Cage (8-1)
MJF (9-1)
Cody (18-2)
Scorpio Sky (8-2)
There was no movement in the men’s singles rankings this week. A big match in the division takes place tonight on Dynamite, however.
#1 Lance Archer will team with #2 Brian Cage and Ricky Starks in trios action against AEW World Champion Jon Moxley, Darby Allin, and the recently signed Will Hobbs.
Also tonight, Brodie Lee will defend the TNT title against Orange Cassidy.
AEW Women’s Division
AEW Women’s Champion: Hikaru Shida (17-1)
Nyla Rose (9-2)
Big Swole (8-3)
Abadon (5-1)
Penelope Ford (8-5)
Dr. Britt Baker (4-6)
There was no movement in the women’s division this week either. A big match will take place on tonight’s card, however. AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida will team with NWA Women’s Champion Thunder Rosa to take on the winners of the AEW Tag Team Cup, Diamante and Ivelisse.
AEW Tag Team Division
AEW Tag Team Champions: FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) (9-0)
Best Friends (16-6) (+1)
Young Bucks (7-3) (+1)
The Natural Nightmares (7-2) (+1)
Butcher and the Blade (9-5) (previously unranked)
Santana & Ortiz (8-4)
The big news this week is that former champions Kenny Omega and Hangman Page have been removed from the tag-team rankings. It should be interesting to see what both have to say about this. Omega noted last week while on commentary that he is looking to go back to the singles division but Page has expressed he would like their team to continue.
#1 The Best Friends move into the top contender position after defeating Santana and Ortiz in an epic Parking Lot match last week.
