AEW star Colt Cabana recently released a new episode of the Art of Wrestling podcast. AOW is considered the ‘first’ wrestling podcast that really made an impact on the medium, leading to the litany of different shows that are now available to listen to almost daily.
Art of Wrestling was put on hiatus after Cabana spent years releasing episodes; however special ‘seasons’ are now being released sporadically. Colt Cabana revealed on this first new episode that he is concerned about the effects of concussions on professional wrestlers.
Colt Cabana on Concussions
This episode of AOW featured Matt Hardy, who of course recently suffered a horrific head injury at AEW’s All Out PPV. Cabana stated that the podcast episode was recorded before the incident, however it brought up the issue of concussions in pro wrestling once again to the forefront.
“While I was with the NWA? Chris Nowinski came in to talk to us” Colt Cabana began on the podcast. Chris Nowinski is a former WWE Superstar who retired due to concussion related issues. Since his retirement in 2003, Nowinski has been part of research into concussions and their effects on sports stars, even beyond professional wrestling.
“He basically said ‘we’ll never know what’s going on with any of your brains, until you die and we dissect it’” Cabana continued. “I was like ‘wait, you can’t do studies!? How do I know that my brain isn’t the most hurt right now!? I mean, I’m not in the safest job and he’s just like ‘don’t get two concussions in a row. If your head hurts don’t wrestle.’”
“I feel I need more concrete information, and we don’t have that. It’s not like AEW [just] doesn’t have that, or WWE, or IMPACT. Nobody does, and I thought listening to Chris Nowinski’s speech would make me feel safer and happier? It like did the complete opposite and made me so worried in general, for everyone. So of course when this stuff happens with Matt Hardy? That’s all I could think of.”
Gerald Brisco could be the next wrestling legend taking his wealth of knowledge to All Elite Wrestling.
Brisco was recently released from WWE after being furloughed back in April. He had been with the company since 1984, before the first WrestleMania took place.
The 74-year-old WWE Hall of Famer from Oklahoma City has teased that we haven’t seen the last of him. He released a video on social media this week teasing that he’s got a “big announcement” to make this Wednesday night.
Brisco says he “khan’t wait” to share his big news with everybody. The typo appears to be a reference to AEW President Tony Khan. There is no doubt that Brisco would be an asset behind the scenes in AEW, along with other producers/coaches such as Arn Anderson, Dean Malenko, Jerry Lynn and B.J. Whitmer.
Over the past two weeks, the company has announced the signings of Miro, Will Hobbs, Tay Conti and Serena Deeb.
Oh gosh! We had some technical difficulties! I truly Khan't wait to tell you my big news! Stay tuned WEDNESDAY NIGHT for my BIG ANNOUNCEMENT! What do you think it's gonna be? ?????#BriscosBigAnnouncementhttps://t.co/UZcmJeG5Wu
Adam “Hangman” Page recently talked about having participated in a tryout for WWE early in his career. Page said he tried out for a spot in the company about 10 years ago but never heard back. According to the former AEW tag champion, he questioned whether there was a place for him in the business after.
“I mean, I guess like when you’re 18-19, you start doing that kind of stuff. You feel so close to the only thing you think matters at the time,” Page said on the WINCLY podcast.
“You think getting that job is the only thing matters and you feel so close, so your so enthused, but then nothing ever happens after you go. And then you get pretty damn depressed about it, and you sort of consider if this is the only avenue to make it in wrestling, and you show up and nothing happens, you start to wonder like, ‘can I even keep doing this? What’s the point?’”
Not long after this, Page debuted for Ring of Honor in 2011. He would wrestle part-time while working as a teacher for the next 5 years. In 2016, Page was added to the Bullet Club roster, began wrestling in NJPW in addition to ROH, and left his teaching job to pursue wrestling full-time. He signed with AEW in 2019.
Cody Rhodes has again been denied a trademark for the nickname made famous by his father, Dusty Rhodes. This was his 3rd attempt at trademarking “The American Dream” and the 3rd time it has been rejected.
The US Patent and Trademark Office shows Cody attempted to trademark the term on June 25th, 2019.
According to documents obtained by HeelByNature, Cody filed for a reconsideration of the rejected trademark application recently. The filing was again rejected by the US Patent and Trademark Office.
The following statement was attached to the document and given as reason why the filing was rejected:
“The mark is a stage name for a living individual whose consent is of record and also provides an acceptable specimen including a flyer promoting the services. The current specimens fail to show the mark used in commerce in connection with the applied-for services. In addition, it fails to function as a service mark as it appears to be the stage name of a deceased wrestler.”
Cody also filed to trademark several WCW PPV names in March of 2019. Earlier this year, he also filed to trademark the name “Cody Rhodes.”
Best Friends’ Chuck Taylor has labeled the Wednesday Night Wars between AEW and NXT a “fake, bulls**t rivalry.”
Taylor shared his thoughts during a recent interview with Tony Schiavone and Aubrey Edwards for AEW’s official podcast, AEW Unrestricted. He stressed how there is no animosity between the rosters, pointing to how most of the NXT roster are his friend.
“People talk about this fake, bulls**t rivalry between AEW and NXT. But they [members of the NXT roster] are all my friends. Like, common, I was actually a groomsman in Johnny Gargano’s wedding,” Taylor said. “I want them to succeed, too. Obviously, not at our expense, I hope they lose and die forever, but those are all my friends. Pretty much everyone on NXT TV I know pretty well.”
His words come in the wake of former AEW World Champion Chris Jericho imploring NXT to switch to Tuesday nights. According to the Jericho, if WWE aired on a different night, they would be able to attain extra viewers. He stressed how the current Wednesday Night War is “kind of embarrassing for NXT at this point.”
AEW’s Santana & Ortiz recently appeared on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio. The former LAX discussed a number of topics on the show, including this week’s Parking Lot Fight match that took place against Best Friends on AEW Dynamite.
“All thanks to Jerry Lynn, he agented the match” Ortiz began on the show. “I mean Jerry Lynn has all the experience in the world when it comes to these type of matches. And yeah, he definitely gave us the guidance because we came with a bunch of crazy ideas, as you could imagine.”
Ortiz on Lynn’s Influence
“We were just like, ‘oh, let’s do this, this, this, this and this. Jerry harped on that he doesn’t want the match to be like ‘building furniture’” Ortiz continued. “You know what I mean? Where the guys are trying to build all these crazy extravagant things to put people through or whatever the case is.”
Ortiz would then discuss how Jerry Lynn wanted the match to be laid out. “So, Jerry kept harping on that he wants the bout to flow, which I think we accomplished in the match. And, I mean, we were pretty much all on the same page. We all wanted to, for lack of a better term, murder each other.”
“We were down for whatever and Santana also had that talk where it was just like ‘hey guys, listen. We’re going out there and this is a fight to us.’ At the end of the day? We’ll be fine. But let’s go out there with that mentality, because if we don’t have that mindset? Like this is a real fight? It’s not gonna come across on the screen.”
Did you enjoy the Parking Lot Fight on this week’s episode of Dynamite? Let us know in the comments
WWE Smackdown Superstar John Morrison recently appeared on the Chris Van Vliet podcast. The ‘Shaman of Sexy’ discussed a number of topics during his time on the show; including talks that he had with AEW before eventually re-signing with WWE back in 2019.
Morrison originally left WWE back in November 2011. Since that time John Morrison would appear in a number of high profile promotions, including Lucha Underground and IMPACT Wrestling. Morrison was also heavily involved in the worldwide independent scene for the likes of 5 Star Wrestling (UK), PWG and Dragon Gate USA.
John Morrison on Leaving Lucha Underground
The former AAA Mega Champion revealed on the podcast that Lucha Underground ‘folding’ was a major reason he would explore a return to WWE. “So when season four of Lucha Underground ended? They have some stuff on their contracts where there’s a tail” John Morrison began on the podcast.
“The tail doesn’t start until the episodes stop airing, so I’d signed with IMPACT.” Morrison didn’t confirm if there was a clause in the Lucha Underground contract that would’ve prohibited him from joining WWE at that time. Although, it is likely that he could not sign for another television based promotion, which is intriguing as he would end up signing for IMPACT Wrestling.
“When everything was free and clear? I decided ‘I’m a free agent again, completely free like no ties anywhere. I’m going to figure out where I want to go.’” John Morrison continued. “So I talked to WWE, and I talked to AEW.”
Morrison then revealed that he would end up signing with WWE following a conversation with Vince McMahon. “I had a really good conversation with Vince and they made me a really nice offer. And, I ended up taking it.”
Do you think that John Morrison was right to go back to WWE or should he have picked AEW? Let us know in the comments
AEW confirmed earlier this week that Will Hobbs had signed with the promotion.
This came after the indie wrestler recently impressed company President & CEO Tony Khan.
Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his signing and ultimate push began at All Out in the Casino Battle Royale. This was after Khan was impressed by him after he originally worked for the promotion as an enhancement wrestler on AEW Dark.
In fact, Khan was hands-on in helping put together Hobbs’ match against Darby Allin on Saturday Night Dynamite last month. Khan had an idea behind the match to show that Allin could beat a physically impressive wrestler and Khan thought Hobbs performed great in that role.
The prospect first started working for the promotion back in July during a Dark TV taping and has worked several matches on the weekly show since then.
He picked up his first win when he defeated Sean Legacy on the September 8 edition of Dark. This came just days after Hobbs participated in the Casino Battle Royale at All Out. Hobbs then defeated Jessy Sorensen on this past Tuesday’s Dark episode.
Former WWE Superstar and newly signed AEW performer Miro recently appeared on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio. The ‘Bulgarian Brute’ discussed a number of topics during his time on the show; including the promotion of his outside projects within AEW’s programming.
Miro on AEW Promoting His Content
“Being with the company that actually promotes my stuff? They promote my YouTube channel, they promote Twitch, my social media. They wanted to do that because this is the way of the future. There are all these other dinosaurs [that won’t allow that]. We don’t need that, we don’t need that.”
Miro was of course referring to WWE and the recent policy that was put in place regarding third party sites. Twitch, Cameo and YouTube were particuarly being looked at by WWE as ‘harming potential’ for revenue.
WWE’s recent crackdown on third party streaming platforms has been gaining a lot of traction, even in the mainstream. WWE has always been quick to refer to their ‘independent contractor’ status of their Superstars; however this recent move to choke Superstar’s earning potential on external services has called this into question once again.
Andrew Yang
Former Presidential candidate Andrew Yang recently discussed why he called out WWE for their practices in light of the third party ‘ban.’
“I actually got a message from someone who is part of the WWE, pointing out to me the story about how WWE was saying, ‘Hey, don’t go on Cameo or Twitch.’” Yang would stated. “And it infuriated me because I know that the WWE has been trying to play it both ways for years, where they’re saying on one hand, ‘Can’t do anything without our say so. We own you, but you’re an independent contractor and we have nothing to do with your health, retirement, any of the benefits you’d get that would accrue to an employee.’ (h/t to 411mania.com for this transcription).
It was recently reported that WWE had made certain changes to the policy. These were mainly focused on Superstars not using their trademarked WWE character name for their third party use. This becomes a bit more murky when you factor in the amount of performers who use their real name when streaming or on Cameo.
Chris Jericho says he wrote the controversial line in Miro’s promo
Miro has revealed his All Elite Wrestling contract permits him to compete for different wrestling promotions. He shared the information during a recent Twitch stream. Furthermore, the former WWE Superstar teased that this clause may lead him to debut in Japan sooner rather than later.
“Despite signing a contract, I am not restricted to AEW alone,” Miro explained. “While I am not going to name any promotions, I’ll just say I’m allowed to work in different countries. Maybe a country where the sun rises? You’ll just have to wait and see.”
Miro shared how competing in Japan has been a lifelong dream of his as a pro wrestler. He added, “Sometimes when God says, Miro you’re going to live all your dreams, you just got to keep the faith.”
When he was released from WWE, Miro had “zero doubt” he would work in AEW and different places. He stressed how everything is unfolding how he hoped they would.
Reflecting on his release, Miro stated how “things happen for a reason” and that by being able to let go, you can, in turn, accept more.
For him, if you can perform, trust and believe, then “things will align themselves.” All that’s required is patience, which he embraced in preparation for his AEW debut.
The Wednesday Night War resumed this week after a one month hiatus due to preemptions. AEW Dynamite once again scored a big victory over NXT in average overnight viewers and the Adults 18-49 demographic. Courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:
AEW: 886,000 viewers, 0.34 rating (3rd cable for the night)
NXT: 689,000 viewers, 0.18 rating (31st on cable for the night)
For comparison, Monday’s edition of WWE Raw averaged 1.689 million viewers with a 0.50 demo. Naturally, AEW and NXT were down a bit from last week’s unopposed shows, but 3rd for the night is the best AEW has done since the first episode of Dynamite last October.
AEW viewership was down 12.6% from 1,014,000 for last Wednesday. Dynamite featured a wild parking lot brawl between Santana & Ortiz and Best Friends, Hangman Page returning to singles action (with snarky commentary from Kenny Omega), FTR picking up a non-title victory over Jurassic Express and much more. (Results & Takeaways)
NXT viewership was down 17.8% from last week’s Super Tuesday II episode, which averaged 838,000 viewers. This week’s NXT saw several of the brand’s champions in action, including Damien Priest retaining the North American Championship over Timothy Thatcher, Breezango fending off Imperium and Io Shirai besting Shotzi Blackhart. NXT General Manager William Regal also made some big announcements about the next Takeover special. (Results & Takeaways)
Last night’s edition of AEW Dynamite concluded with a Parking Lot Brawl between the Best Friends and Santana and Ortiz. Many wrestling personalities, wrestlers, and fans have been commenting about the match online.
Tony Khan noted that the whole match was shot in just one take. Other than muting a swear word, no editing of the match took place.
It was all shot at once in one take. No edits other than dropping the audio on the F word. One amazing take.
Foley offered further thoughts on the match in a video clip he posted:
“Hey everyone, it’s Mick Foley with just a few follow-up thoughts on that outstanding parking lot brawl,” Foley said. “That’s one thing I always wanted to do, I always wanted to have a big match in a parking lot, maybe on a PPV. I remember pitching the idea for me and Vader, in particular, at the Omni because the Omni had this really cool underground parking structure that I thought would lend itself to an incredible match.”
Foley continued to praise both the Best Friends and Santana & Ortiz.
“I have to be honest, I’d be hard-pressed to tell you what I could have done any better than those guys did,” Foley continued. “That was just an outstanding match.”
Foley’s full comments can be heard in the below Tweet:
NWA Women’s World Champion Thunder Rosa has talked about her future in All Elite Wrestling during an interview with SportsKeeda.
Thunder Rosa spoke candidly about her experience in AEW to date despite being under contract with the National Wrestling Alliance. She revealed how she began working for AEW after AEW President Tony Khan agreed with NWA owner Billy Corgan. This deal allowed Thunder Rosa to appear on AEW Dynamite in a winning effort against Serena Deeb on the 9/2 episode of Dynamite. She would also face off against AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida at the promotion’s recent pay-per-view, All Out.
“The working relationship is there, I’m returning, I wasn’t expecting to return so quickly. Yes, I think Billy [Corgan] and Tony [Khan] have been talking. They are very happy with my performance so far,” Rosa said. “I hope, knock on wood, it continues. It’s going well for me. We are putting NWA name on a broader platform, which is the goal at the end of the day.”
Thunder Rosa competed on last night’s episode of AEW Dynamite on TNT. She defeated Ivelisse. The fallout of the match saw Shida assisting Rosa as she was assaulted by both Ivelisse and Diamante. The segment ended with Shida holding the NWA Women’s Championship before handing it back to Thunder Rosa.
All Elite Wrestling commentator Tony Schiavone has opened up about WWE approaching him prior to signing with AEW. Schiavone shared his story during an “Ask Tony Anything” segment on his show, What Happened When with Tony Schiavone and Conrad Thompson.
When asked why he ultimately signed with AEW over WWE, Schiavone explained how WWE was “very sketchy” about the position he would have within the promotion.
“They said we just want you to come to work here. We need more people here who have a strong wrestling background to help out. Well, what would I do? Well, you would just work with us.”
He shared how he spoke to Bruch Prichard about the role, and believes that Prichard was “shooting” with him when he confessed he didn’t know what position he would have. Looking back on it, Schiavone added how it’s “pretty apparent” what WWE was trying to do and that he doesn’t blame Prichard for his part in it.
“[…] they wanted to get me so AEW wouldn’t get me and they would have run me out the door right after Eric Bischoff or before. I’m not blaming Bruce but I get it. I know what Vince (McMahon) was thinking.”
Chris Jericho has claimed it is “embarrassing” for WWE to continue to air its black-and-gold brand NXT against AEW Dynamite every Wednesday night. Jericho made his proclamation during a recent interview with Inside the Ropes.
The Inner Circle leader explained how WWE decided to air on Wednesday nights opposite Dynamite, “just to mess with us.” Jericho argued how WWE should switch nights to broadcast NXT, suggesting that WWE should look to Tuesday nights instead.
“Don’t worry about our company. We’re not worried about you. We don’t have a screen up that shows what’s going on every moment on NXT, like they do watching Dynamite,” Jericho stated.
Jericho stressed how his recent Demo God character “is not a gimmick” before reiterating how WWE should switch NXT to another night away from Wednesdays. He highlighted how WWE could “[…] go to any other day you want, but don’t exist just to mess with us because we’re beating you every week. It’s kind of embarrassing for NXT at this point.”
Chris Jericho continued to recommend Tuesday nights for WWE’s black-and-gold brand, explaining that by committing to a schedule change, WWE would be able to “make more money” and “get more viewers.”
“I think you should throw the red flag, retreat, go to Tuesday, make Tuesday your night, make more money, get more viewers, get more guys over and don’t worry about what we’re doing because we’re going to continue on either way, and we’re winning every week anyways, so just go your own way. That’s the best way to do it.”
You can listen to Chris Jericho’s full rant about NXT in the player embedded below:
AEW Dynamite aired from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida. In addition to the takeaways below, Matt Hatt was attacked backstage during tonight’s show. It was also announced that Brodie Lee will defend the TNT Championship against Orange Cassidy next week.
Thunder Rosa def. Ivelisse to retain the NWA World Women’s Championship
Best Friends def. Santana & Ortiz in the Parking Lot Fight
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
FTR Remains Undefeated
FTR & Tully Blanchard
AEW Tag Team Champions FTR faced Jurassic Express in a non-title match. Before the match, the Young Bucks came down to the ring and hit a referee with a Superkick. They went backstage and threw money at Tony Khan for the upcoming fine for their actions. They trash talked with FTR before leaving.
What was the meaning of this attack by the @youngbucks?!
Match Recap: FTR dominated early and isolated Luchasaurus in the corner of the ring. Jungle Boy tagged in and connected with a Hurricanrana on both members of FTR. Cash Wheeler hit Jungle Boy with a Powerslam and went for the cover but Jungle Boy was able to kick out at the last moment.
Wheeler locked in the Bow & Arrow Stretch on Jungle Boy in the middle of the ring. Jungle Boy escaped with an Arm Drag and went for the tag but Wheeler prevented it. Dax tagged in and hit a Suplex for another near fall.
Wheeler tagged in and went for a Dropkick but Jungle Boy got out of the way. Harwood tagged in and walked into a massive Clothesline from Jungle Boy. Luchasaurus tagged in and unloaded several chops before leveling FTR with a Clothesline.
Luchasaurus planted Wheeler with a Chokeslam and followed it up with a Standing Moonsault for a near fall. Jungle Boy tagged back in after Luchasaurus hit FTR with a series of kicks. Jungle Boy hit Harwood with a Shining Wizard for a two count. Wheeler went for a Powerslam but Jungle Boy countered into a roll-up for a near fall.
Jungle Boy rolled up Harwood for a two count and then made his way to the top rope. Jungle Boy went for a Crossbody but Harwood countered into a roll-up for a two count. Luchasaurus went for a Splash outside the ring but Cash got out of the way and Luchasaurus went into the crowd. Harwood rolled up Jungle Boy for the win asWheeler grabbed Dax’s arm for leverage.
Hangman Page squared off against Frankie Kazarian tonight on Dynamite. Kenny Omega joined commentary for the match.
Match Recap: Frankie controlled the action early but Hangman battled back and planted Kazarian with a Body Slam. Hangman brought Frankie to the corner and unloaded several chops to his chest. Page connected with a Suplex and Frankie rolled to the corner of the ring.
Frankie hopped to his feet and hit some punches and chops of his own. Hangman knocked Frankie out of the ring and hit him with an awesome Crossbody as Dynamite went to a commercial break.
When Dynamite returned, Kazarian and Hangman traded forearms to the face. Both men went for a Clothesline at the same time and wouldn’t go down. Frankie went for a German Suplex but Hangman landed on his feet and connected with a Clothesline.
Frankie went for a Crossbody but Hangman caught him with a Fallaway Slam and both wrestlers fell to the canvas. Hangman followed it up with a Standing Moonsault for a near fall. Kazarian planted Hangman with a DDT for another two count. Hangman hit Kazarian with a Death Valley Driver and went for the cover but Kazarian kicked out again. Frankie connected with a Cutter for another near fall. Hangman battled back with a Powerbomb as the crowd chanted “this is awesome!”.
Page hit Frankie with a Clothesline outside the ring and rolled him back inside. Hangman followed it up with a Buckshot Lariat for the pinfall victory. Kenny Omega left the announce table and didn’t go to the ring to congratulate Page. Hangman looked around for Omega before downing a beer in the ring.
MJF faced Shawn Dean tonight on Dynamite. MJF immediately poked Dean in the eye and locked in the Salt of the Earth Arm Bar for the quick submission victory.
After the match, MJF said that he is an honest man as the crowd chanted “no you’re not!”. MJF bitched about Moxley using the banned Paradigm Shift at All Out and claimed that he should still be undefeated.
MJF added that he should be the AEW Champion as a “you’re a loser!” chant broke out. MJF demanded that everyone refer to him as the undefeated, undisputed and uncrowned world champion of All Elite Wrestling. He told Justin Roberts to announce him with his new title and Justin obliged.
MJF claimed that in order to get a fair shake around here you need to be in a group or stable. MJF said that he has always been a lone wolf but maybe it is about time to join a wolf pack.
Will Hobbs is All Elite. AEW announced the signing Wednesday afternoon.
Hobbs has been competing on AEW Dark over the past few weeks and picked up his first victory two weeks ago. He racked up another win this week, bringing his record to 2-5 for the year.
The big man tweeted, “Been through hell and back. Dreams do come true. BELIEVE IN #”
The news of Will Hobbs joining AEW was well-received by several members of the AEW roster. Jim Ross, Jungle Boy, Sammy Guevara, Isiah Kassidy and Peter Avalon are among the wrestlers who tweeted their approval.
Congratulations to Will Hobbs. You can follow him on Twitter at @TrueWillieHobbs.
Check out Hobbs’ latest match rom this week’s AEW Dark:
AEW has released new top-5 rankings ahead of tonight’s episode of Dynamite.
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 (8-1)
Cody (18-2)
Scorpio Sky
There was no movement in the men’s singles division this week in AEW. The rankings are the same from last week.
In the division last week, Brodie Lee successfully defended the TNT Championship against the former champion’s brother, Dustin Rhodes.
#1 ranked Lance Archer maintained his top ranking this week. He’ll face Jon Moxley for the title on the 1-year anniversary of Dynamite show next month.
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 month either.
Last week in the division, #1 ranked Nyla Rose defeated the newly signed Tay Conti in singles competition.
A big match in the women’s division is scheduled for tonight, however. Ivelisse will challenge Thunder Rosa for the NWA Women’s Championship.
AEW Tag Team Division
AEW Tag Team Champions: FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) (8-0)
Kenny Omega & “Hangman” Page (12-1)
Best Friends (15-6)
Young Bucks (7-3)
The Natural Nightmares (7-2)
Santana & Ortiz (8-4)
There was no movement in the tag-team division rankings either this week, marking the first week of AEW rankings to see no changes whatsoever.
Last week in the division, the unranked Jurassic Express defeated the Lucha Bros and tonight they will take on the tag champs, FTR, in non-title action.
Also tonight, #2 The Best Friends will continue their rivalry with #5 Santana and Ortiz.
Chris Jericho and Jake Hager were victorious over Joey Janela and Sonny Kiss last week. They will take on Private Party this week on Dynamite.
AEW has filed for two trademarks possibly related to a potential new video game. According to documents publicly available on the US Patent and Trademark Office website, AEW has filed for terms potentially related to a GM mode in a new game.
The filings are for two terms: “Elite GM” and “All Elite Wrestling General Manager.”
The purposes of the trademarks are listed as:
“Downloadable game software, Downloadable computer game software for use on mobile and cellular phones, Downloadable electronic game software for use on handheld computers and mobile gaming devices; Downloadable video game programs; Recorded video game software.”
The applications were filed on September 10th.
ALL ELITE WRESTLING: ELITE GENERAL MANAGER "Downloadable game software; Downloadable computer game software for use on mobile and cellular phones; Downloadable electronic game software for use on handheld computers and mobile gaming devices…"https://t.co/1otg0zkzWVpic.twitter.com/M4iZl8xfTG
AEW Co-Executive Vice President Kenny Omega spoke about a possible AEW video game recently in an interview with Venn.
“Yes, we are in production of a video game. We have a lot of creative minds at work at the new video game right now. I think people are going to like it. And I think that what the fans are hoping for is, in fact, going to come to fruition.”
“I’m hoping that it really is sort of a brand new take on something that’s like the No Mercy game of old. So, if you liked WrestleMania 2000, No Mercy, VPW – we are very much hoping to recreate the same feel, the same fun-factor, the same pick-up-and-play ability of those games in the past. So, look forward to that. We are working diligently to give you guys something in the near future.”
All Elite Wrestling’s newest signing, Miro, has explained why he believes the company is the best wrestling promotion during an interview with Busted Open Radio.
During the conversation, Miro—formerly known as WWE’s Rusev—highlighted the range of different in-ring styles in AEW. He admitted how he’s been “fascinated” by AEW ever since its inception. Miro acknowledged how he had spent ten years performing in a “bubble” while conforming to the “same style” each time. Coming to AEW, however, has led him to a pro wrestling epiphany.
“I was just into this bubble and at the same style for ten years, and everything outside was like, ‘Well, that makes no sense.’ You’re just pointing fingers, but now, I’m on the outside looking and I finally understand why AEW is the best,” Miro said. “AEW gives you every single style around the world, and when they invite you to come to AEW, they don’t invite you and tell you, ‘Hey, come and change your style to what we want’. No, you come and show your style, doing whatever you’re coming from.”
He explained how “the old bubble” was like boxing. According to Miro, AEW can be likened to MMA. He highlighted how AEW provides “all styles combining into one and in one show.”
Miro added how this diversity of in-ring styles is what he loves about AEW and why he can’t wait to begin competing.
Thunder Rosa has commented on the current state of All Elite Wrestling’s Women’s Division. The current NWA Women’s World Champion shared her thoughts with SportsKeeda, explaining how she believes AEW is on the “right track.”
She acknowledged how AEW is filled with a lot of young female talent. Rosa indicated how, due to their youth, they “don’t have experience of working TV shows.” She believes this is one of the main issues AEW’s Women’s Division faces.
“It will take time to build something strong. We shouldn’t be discrediting the effort the female wrestlers are putting in. Being a female performer, I can tell you from my own experience, it is hard. You are constantly competing with very talented men.”
Thunder Rosa highlighted certain women in AEW, including Red Velvet, Abadon, and Anna Jay. She noted how they are doing a great job at being “positive and supportive.” According to her, they are on the “right track to build up a strong women’s division.”
The NWA Women’s World Champion has appeared on AEW programming in recent weeks. She defeated Serena Deeb on the 9/2 episode of AEW Dynamite. Thunder Rosa would face off against AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida at the promotion’s recent All Out event. Despite her best efforts, Thunder Rosa lost to Shida in their Champion versus Champion clash.
Former WWE on-air talent, Renee Young, has opened up on her relationship with AEW’s Jon Moxley. She addressed whether their relationship had ever affected her WWE career.
Young divulged the information on a recent episode of the Sunday Night’s Main Event podcast. She explained how Moxley’s departure from WWE to AEW wasn’t as weird as she thought it would be.
“I actually thought it was gonna be weirder than it was, but maybe I just had my head buried in the sand about it. When Jon and I were at WWE together, it wasn’t like we were this couple that was rammed down people’s throats. When we walked through the door, we went in, and did our separate jobs, and then we’d meet each other in the car after and make our way to the next town.”
Because of this approach, Young doesn’t believe there were any “real effects” after Moxley debuted in AEW. She attributed this to her being valued by WWE separate from Moxley’s contributions. However, Young couldn’t deny that there were some initial concerns:
“[…] once he left, it was, ‘Are people gonna treat me different? Are people gonna start being weird towards me?’ I really didn’t feel that way, and I don’t know if it was more like a slow burn of feeling that happen. It wasn’t an overnight thing, and it might have been nothing.”
SmackDown Superstar AJ Styles has confirmed that he had discussions with All Elite Wrestling last year when his WWE contract was set to expire. Styles revealed the news during a recent Twitch stream.
During the stream, Styles conversed with fans online. He revealed that “there were talks” before pointing out how “it’s a business.” Styles then highlighted how his contract with WWE was going to expire, opening up a conversation with AEW.
AJ Styles explained how he’s good friends with Matt and Nick Jackson. He added that, although discussions had been had with The Young Bucks, they never reached a point to actively discuss money. He then reiterated how, ultimately, “it’s all business.”
Styles would ultimately re-sign with WWE. According to Matt Jackson, had Styles signed with AEW, they would have had a Bullet Club reunion at Madison Square Garden. This proposed storyline would have seen Styles reunited with Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson.
AJ Styles recently shared which WWE Superstars he would want in a WWE Bullet Club. Styles immediately pointed to Bullet Club founder Finn Balor. He also included Undisputed Era—and former Bullet Club member—Adam Cole. However, he admitted that without Gallows and Anderson, it made the idea a harder sell for him.
AEW has given the first taste of limelight to a number of independent stars and Chris Jericho recently revealed his top picks for the stars which are rising to stardom in the company.
The inaugural AEW World Champion talked about a number of things on the latest episode of his Saturday Night Special stream including his match with Sonny Kiss and more.
During the show, Jericho was asked about which talents he thinks are the rising stars of AEW and he took the names of people like Darby Allin and Jungle Boy:
“I’ll go with Darby Allin, Jungle Boy, Orange Cassidy, Sammy Guevara, and Thunder Rosa. I’ll also throw in Penelope Ford there.”
Chris also provided an update on the AEW video game and the former WWE star said that they are spending a lot of time in its development to ensure that it’s done right:
“Kenny [Omega] and Aubrey [Edwards] have a lot to do with the direction of the game. They are spending a lot of time on its development, putting in a lot of time. We want to ensure that the video game is done right and it is not a half-assed effort”
During the same stream, Chris Jericho talked about Miro’s AEW debut as well and he revealed that he wrote the controversial line about WWE in his promo. You can check out Y2J’s comments on the matter at this link.
AEW star Eddie Kingston appeared on this week’s episode of AEW Unrestricted. The newly signed independent king discussed a number of topics during the podcast; including Santana & Ortiz, singles run aspirations and the concept of a Hardcore division in All Elite Wrestling.
Eddie Kingston on AEW Championship
“I want to be the World Champ” Eddie Kingston began on the podcast. “Here’s the thing, isn’t that the point? You’re in the sport to be the best right? You don’t hear UFC fighters saying, ‘oh yeah I just want to be on the prelims. Oh yeah, I just want to be on the main card.’ No, you want to be champion.”
Kingston elaborated further, saying “that’s what every pro wrestler should want to be, you know? The money is great [in AEW], that’s awesome. But being the World Champion? It’s much, much better. You could say I’m ‘working’ right now, but I’m shooting. I don’t care who it is. I don’t care if it’s Cody, Moxley, or MJF, I don’t care who’s champion.”
Eddie Kingston would also discuss the concept of a Hardcore division in AEW. Kingston is a self confessed massive fan of the style, specifically ECW. “No, hardcore matches should be [saved for] when it’s serious” Kingston stated.
“I mean when you do something too much? It just takes away from it being special. It’s like if we have a cage match every Dynamite show. Sooner or later it’s like ‘okay, it’s just another one.’ The hardcore matches, the lights out matches and all that stuff? It should be saved.”
Do you agree with Eddie Kingston on an AEW Hardcore division? Let us know in the comments
