WWE and Chris Jericho have reportedly reached an agreement on various trademarks. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the two sides have reached a deal allowing Jericho to use his name but WWE will keep the rights to various other trademarks, including the term “Y2J”.
“WWE agreed to give Jericho the rights to use the name in exchange for Jericho giving WWE the rights to own the intellectual property of anything created by either of them,” wrote Dave Meltzer. He continued to speculate this would mean Jericho is not able to use the Money in the Bank match concept. Jericho is said to have come up with the match idea while in WWE.
“Jericho wouldn’t be able to use the term Y2J or any of the trademarks of his other characters in WWE,” Meltzer continued.
The report continues to state that Jericho would have been able to use the name “Chris Jericho” regardless, however. This is due to his past use of the name outside of WWE. The agreement struck involves WWE acknowledging that Jericho can use the name, however.
Jericho faces Chris Jericho in a “Mimosa Mayhem Match” at All Out on September 5th, 2020. Thus far, no trademark has been granted to anyone for the term “Mimosa Mayhem”.
Tony Khan spoke with the socially-distanced crowd inside Daily’s Place before Dynamite began last night in Jacksonville, Florida. Khan spoke to the crowd about the importance of wearing masks, keeping distanced, and not chanting things which may incur a fine for the promotion.
“You guys gotta promise me a few things, okay?” Khan said to the crowd. “Please, promise me you guys will wear masks. We can’t shoot the crowd if you’re not wearing masks. You guys have done a great job spacing out, please, stay in your groups, try not to leave your groups.”
“And then we’re on live TV. It’s been a long time since we’ve had live fans. If you guys could please avoid a couple of things: Please do not, the F-word, please do not chant holy blank, even though it happens at wrestling shows. Please don’t do it. The other thing, can you guys just be hot? Because you guys represent this entire place, you can be the hottest wrestling crowd in the world.”
AEW Dynamite aired live from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville. Matt Hardy battled Sammy Guevara in a Tables Match tonight. Groups of fans were allowed into Daily’s Place for the show and Chris Jericho joined commentary.
Dynamite Results (8/27)
FTR won the Tag Team Gauntlet Match and earned a title shot at All Out
Big Swole def. Britt Baker Rebel & Penelope Ford to earn a match against Britt Baker (Swole picks stipulation)
Sammy Guevara def. Matt Hardy in a Tables Match
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Hangman Page Was Kicked Out Of The Elite & FTR Earned A Title Shot At All Out
FTR (Photo credit: AEW)
QT Marshall and Dustin Rhodes faced Young Bucks in the first round of the Gauntlet Match. The winners of the Gauntlet Match will go on to face Kenny Omega & Hangman Page for the AEW Tag Team Championships at All Out.
Match Recap: Matt and Nick dominated early and isolated QT int he ring. Rhodes tagged in and hit Matt and Nick with a couple Powerslams. Marshall tagged in and connected with a Dropkick to Matt’s face for a two count. Young Bucks battled back and knocked QT out of the ring. Matt and Nick hit Dustin with a Bulldog/Dropkick combo for a two count.
QT and Nick tagged in and Marshall hit a Clothesline that knocked Nick to the canvas. Young Bucks leveled Marshall with a couple Superkicks but QT battled back with a big punch to Matt’s face. Young Bucks hit QT with the BTE Trigger for the pinfall.
Young Bucks then faced Best Friends in the next round of the Gauntlet Match. Trent and Chuck isolated Nick in the corner and beat him down. Nick battled back and tried to Moonsault onto Trent outside the ring. Trent got out of the way and leveled Nick with a Spear.
Back in the ring, Trent hit Nick with a Dropkick in the corner and went for the cover but Jackson kicked out at two. Chuck tagged in and connected with a Suplex for another near fall. Nick hit Trent with a Superkick to the face and followed it up with a German Suplex on the ring apron.
Matt finally tagged in and hit Best Friends with a series of chops to the chest. Matt hit Chuck with a DDT and sent Trent to the corner. Matt went for a Tombstone Pilediver but Trent escaped. Matt planted Trent with three Northern Lights Suplexes in a row and went for a fourth but Trent countered into a DDT.
Best Friends shared a hug in the ring and Nick rolled up Trent for a two count. Matt held Trent up and Nick connected with a Swanton outside the ring. Young Bucks followed it up with a 450 Splash on Trent and went for the cover but somehow Trent kicked out at two.
Hangman Page came out of nowhere and held up Nick Jackson on the ring apron to prevent the Young Bucks from hitting the Best Meltzer Driver. Trent rolled up Matt for the victory to advance. Hangman Page wouldn’t look Young Bucks in the eye and walked away after the match. FTR battled Best Friends in the final round of the Gauntlet Match. Tully Blanchard accompanied Dax Harwood and Dash Wheeler to the ring.
FTR dominated early and isolated Chuck in the ring. Chuck booted Dax to the corner and Harwood knocked Wheeler off the apron by accident. Wheeler went around the ring and planted Trent with a Suplex outside the ring. Dax hit Chuck with a chop block and tagged Wheeler in. Cash stomped on Chuck’s knee before Harwood tagged in and locked in a Knee Bar on Chuck for the submission victory. FTR will face Hangman and Omega for the AEW Tag Team Championships at All Out.
Later on the show, the Young Bucks confronted Hangman Page at the bar. Matt and Nick said Hangman was nothing but a drunk and launched his drink in his face. Young Bucks then kicked Hangman Page out of The Elite. Young Bucks broke a mirror on the door as they slammed it shut. Hangman Page looked at his reflection in the broken mirror to end the promo.
Opinion: I enjoyed this match and am interested in why Hangman Page screwed over the Young Bucks. I did not enjoy commentary just talking over the finish after FTR had been targeting Chuck’s knee the entire match.
All Elite Wrestling returns tonight for a special Thursday episode of AEW Dynamite. Next week’s show will also take place on Thursday before Dynamite returns to its usual Wednesday night timeslot September 9th.
We are less than two weeks away from the All Out pay-per-view. The card is starting to take shape and Dynamite will bring the All Out card further into focus.
Scheduled for tonight’s stacked AEW Dynamite live on TNT:
– All Out Contract Signing between AEW World Champion Jon Moxley and MJF. MJF has demanded that Moxley be barred from using his Paradigm Shift finisher be banned from their match. We will find out tonight if Moxley agrees to the stipulation.
– Brodie Lee’s TNT Championship victory celebration continues. The Dark Order leader destroyed Cody Rhodes last week to capture the gold. Cody is expected to be out of action for an extended period of time due to injuries he sustained during and after their match.
– Sammy Guevara and Matt Hardy will square off in the first-ever Tables match in AEW history.
– A Tag Gauntlet match between the young Bucks, The Natural Nightmares, Best Friends and FTR. The winners of the gauntlet earn the right to face Kenny Omega and “Hangman” Page for the AEW Tag Team Championships at All Out.
– Big Swole will face Britt Baker, Penelope Ford and Reba in a 3-on-1 handicap match.
– The Lucha Bros., The Butcher & The Blade (with Eddie Kingston) vs. Joey Janela, Sonny Kiss, Brian Pillman Jr. and Griff Garrison
AEW has released new top-5 rankings for the week of August 26th, 2020. The big change in the rankings this week comes as a result of Brodie Lee’s TNT Championship victory over Cody on Saturday. With the loss, Cody drops to the #3 position.
AEW Men’s Singles Division
AEW World Champion: Jon Moxley (15-0) TNT Champion: Brodie Lee (6-1)
MJF (8-0)
Lance Archer (12-1)
Cody (18-2) (previous TNT Champion)
Brian Cage (6-1) (-1)
Scorpio Sky (7-2)
Brodie Lee is the new TNT Champion. He squashed Cody in the main event of Saturday’s edition of Dynamite. The former champ had to be stretchered out of the arena and could possibly be out of action for awhile. Cody drops to the #3 position in the rankings with the loss.
Everything else in the men’s singles division stayed pretty much the same. Before winning the title, Lee was ranked #4. Brian Cage drops one position due to Cody being ranked at #3 this week.
AEW Women’s Division
AEW Women’s Champion: Hikaru Shida (16-1)
Nyla Rose (8-2)
Big Swole (6-3)
Penelope Ford (7-4)
Abadon (4-1)
Dr. Britt Baker (4-4)
There was no movement in the women’s singles division this week, though there were some big developments. NWA Women’s Champion Thunder Rosa was featured in a vignette on Saturday challenging Shida to a title match. That match has been made official for All Out.
Also last week, Diamante and Ivelisse made history by becoming the 1st ever AEW Women’s Tag Team Cup winners. Rumors are AEW is working behind the scenes to sign them both.
#5 Britt Baker returns to action tonight (kind of). She’ll team with Penelope Ford and Rebel/Reba in a handicap match against #2 Big Swole.
AEW Tag Team Division
AEW Tag Team Champions: Kenny Omega & “Hangman” Page (12-0)
FTR (6-0)
Best Friends (14-4)
Young Bucks (6-2)
The Natural Nightmares (6-1)
Dark Order (8-2)
There was no movement in the men’s tag team division this week but a highly significant match has been scheduled for Thursday’s Dynamite. A gauntlet match will determine which team takes on Omega and Page for the belts at All Out. The order of the gauntlet match will be based on ranking. #4 The Natural Nightmares will start the match against #3 the Young Bucks. Whoever wins that match will move on to face #2 the Best Friends. Then the winner of that match will take on #1 FTR and whoever wins that fall will face the champs at the PPV.
Cody Rhodes will be off television for an extended period of time.
“The American Nightmare” lost the TNT Championship to Brodie Lee last week on Dynamite. Cody got absolutely steamrolled by the Lee, the leader of AEW’s Dark Order.
Cody was placed on a stretcher, but the attack continued. Other members of the Nightmare Family were brought out, beaten up and left for dead. It was a disturbing sight to say the least.
AEW has promised an update on Cody’s condition this Thursday on Dynamite. Unfortunately, wrestling fans should not expect to see Cody back in action any time soon.
According to PWInsider, the expectation is that Cody will be off television for an extended period to ‘sell’ the beating he took at the hands of Brodie Lee. Cody will not work the upcoming All Out pay-per-view on Saturday, September 5th.
One possible reason for Cody being written off television is the start of production for Stephen Amell’s new wrestling-themed series on Starz, Heels. The show is being produced in Georgia, where Cody lives, and he is already announced as having a role in the series.
Tully Blanchard was recently revealed as the new manager for FTR in AEW. Arn Anderson has also been involved with the team, having served as their tag-team advisor during negotiations with the company. Recently, on an episode of the Arn Show, someone asked how Arn feels a match between FTR and him and Tully Blanchard would go.
“Well we could start off as the heels but I’m sure pretty quickly they would be,” Anderson said about who would be heels and who would be the faces in the match.
“I wouldn’t even consider it now because what would have to happen if we had the match now is I literally would have to stand in the middle of the ring and they would have to bounce off me. I’m totally immobile.”
During the discussion, Anderson also revealed how he began working with AEW.
“Cody got a hold of me,” Anderson said. “I was just going to wander off into person appearances and comic-cons and have Tony Hunter book me around the world for however long I felt like doing anything.”
“(Cody) says we have some exciting things going on here, I’d love for you to be apart of it,” Anderson continued about his conversation with Cody. Anderson then talked about how Cody pitched the idea of him coming on as Cody’s head coach.
“I decided I’d love to do this for awhile yet, as long as I’m able to contribute and earn my way then I’d love to give it a try,” Anderson continued. “I’m proud to say I’ll be with them for a while yet to come.”
Former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho had announced his association with AEW long before the promotion took off but Jon Moxley was the first real big star to jump ships from WWE to the upstart promotion.
The former Shield member recently had an interview with Wrestling Observer Radio where he talked about things like his time in WWE and more.
During the interview, he revealed how his deal with AEW came to be. Mox recalled that Tony Khan and Cody Rhodes came to his house for a meeting and explained their plans in details:
“Tony and Cody came to my house and we talked about wrestling, and what we thought it should be, and what we wanted it to be, and then they’re telling me about TNT and all this stuff, and it’s real and this is actually going to happen.
This isn’t just a bunch of false promises. I’m like, ‘Okay, well if that stuff is true, then alright, I’m in.’” recalled Moxley, “I gave my word on that day, like, ‘I’m in’ and there we go.”
During the interview, he also revealed that despite being the current IWGP US Champion, he does not have an active contract with NJPW at the moment.
Jon Moxley had signed a contract with the company for his initial run up until Wrestle Kingdom 14 but after that, they have been working with only a verbal agreement.
The new ThunderDome concept WWE introduced last week has generally been praised by the fans and it appears that the former AEW Champion Chris Jericho is liking the concept as well.
The former World Champion returned for his Saturday Night Live stream yesterday where he talked about things like his WWE theme song and more.
Talking about the Thunderdome concept, Jericho praised the idea saying that he thinks it’s great that the company has decided to get out of the Performance Center because it was killing their vibe:
“I loved it; I loved the presentation of it. It looked great, I think it’s great that WWE got out of the Performance Center;
I think it was really killing their vibe because it’s just a warehouse, do you know what I mean? It has nothing to do with – at least dress it up, or dark it up, or whatever it was, but the ThunderDome looked cool.”
Chris went on to say that the only thing that was confusing him were that the fans in the background were not making a lot of noise but the former WWE star said that it looked very cool.
Apart from this, Chris Jericho also talked about the stiff workers he has faced in his career and more. You can check out the latest episode of his Saturday Night Special below:
Cody Rhodes is no longer the AEW TNT Champion as he was dethroned by Brodie Lee.
The title change occurred during Wednesday’s episode of AEW Dynamite on TNT. Lee beat Rhodes in dominating fashion, some people think it was a total squash to establish the new champion.
Lee went over in the main event. Post-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.
The special edition of the weekly TV show from All Elite Wrestling aired on Saturday night due to TNT’s coverage of the NBA Playoffs.
Rhodes’ title reign as the AEW TNT Champion started at the AEW Double or Nothing pay-per-view event in Jacksonville, Florida at Daily’s Place, All Elite Wrestling booked a championship match between Rhodes and Lance Archer that served as the tournament finals.
Since that time, Rhodes had held weekly open challenges against all comers including Ricky Starks and Warhorse along with members of the AEW roster.
All Elite Wrestling’s Sammy Guevara has shared the pitch he made for Double or Nothing’s Stadium Stampede matchup. The bout saw Guevara’s Inner Circle stable compete against The Elite and Matt Hardy.
Guevara recently joined Tony Schiavone and Aubrey Edwards on AEW’s official podcast, Unrestricted. During their conversation, Sammy Guevara explained how he repeatedly text AEW President Tony Khan expressing his interest in jumping off the stadium.
“The stadium is like 200 feet or something like that. I think he thought I was joking so I texted him again and said I was serious. They got this stunt coordinator. We were only approved for 40 feet, so the stadium was out of the question.”
Sammy Guevara explained how he wanted to do a “cool flip or dive” at first. The idea slowly evolved into him receiving a Canadian Destroyer before finally settling on Kenny Omega’s One-Winged Angel.
He detailed how it was raining during the entire filming process. They would finally start preparing for his spot at about 5 A.M.
“Kenny and I were standing up there and I was thinking, this is the way I go. This is it for me. It’s the last thing of the match,” Guevara explained. “We’ve been up forever and of course, it’s raining and wet. I remember being up there and looking down and thinking if this is it, I had a good run. It was a scary moment.”
Despite their best efforts, The Inner Circle would lose the matchup to Matt Hardy and The Elite after Guevara took the One-Winged Angel from Omega.
AEW has announced the return of live events with fans in attendance.
Starting with the August 27th edition of Dynamite, AEW live events will be open to limited, physically distanced fans in compliance with state and local regulations, as well as CDC guidelines.
Tickets will be sold for shows at Daily’s Place Amphitheater and will accommodate 10-15% capacity. For the first ticketed show on Thursday, August 27, a maximum crowd of 10 percent capacity will be permitted. From there, as long as things go smoothly and safety guidelines are followed, they will increase the weekly capacity to 15%.
This special Thursday edition of AEW Dynamite is part of a revised schedule this month. Several episodes of Dynamite on TNT have been preempted due to the NBA playoffs.
Details on AEW Dynamite Preempted by NBA Playoffs This Month
AEW Taking Precautions
“Guests will be required to wear face coverings that cover the nose and mouth, and to physically distance from any person who is not a member of their pod. Guests will also be asked not to attend the day of the show if they have COVID-19, symptoms of COVID-19 or have had close contact exposure to someone who they know has COVID-19 or symptoms. In addition, all guests will have their temperature scanned prior to entry.
An increased number of hand sanitizing stations will be available, and floor markings will also be used to assist with physical distancing. Industrial fans were also added this past year to further improve air circulation at the open-air venue.”
AEW President and CEO Tony Khan commented on this development:
“We’ve missed the incredible energy of our fans at shows, and from what we’ve heard from them, they’ve missed being with us. With our enhanced safety measures and outdoor venue, we look forward to welcoming our fans back to become part of the action in-person.”
“Please be assured, we are mindful and respectful of the situation,” Khan added. “The health and safety of our AEW family and our fans remains our highest priority. Our leadership team and medical staff have adjusted our operations for limited, physically distanced fans in an outdoor, open-air setting in compliance with the most current state and local regulations and CDC guidelines. We can’t wait for the August 27 DYNAMITE, as the road to ALL OUT will represent the beginning of a new chapter in AEW history.”
The following is a look at the seating chart AEW will be using for these limited capacity shows at Daily’s Place:
AEW has released new rankings for 8/19. There was a fair amount of movement in the tag team division but the men’s and women’s divisions saw no changes.
AEW Men’s Singles Division
AEW World Champion: Jon Moxley (15-0) TNT Champion: Cody (18-1)
MJF (8-0)
Lance Archer (11-1)
Brian Cage (6-1)
Brodie Lee (5-1)
Scorpio Sky (7-2)
There was no movement in the men’s singles rankings this week. #5 Scorpio Sky was defeated by TNT Champion Cody on the last episode of Dynamite. Cody will look to defend his title on Saturday against #4 Brodie Lee.
AEW Women’s Division
AEW Women’s Champion: Hikaru Shida (16-1)
Nyla Rose (7-2)
Big Swole (6-3)
Penelope Ford (6-4)
Abadon (3-1)
Dr. Britt Baker (4-4)
There was no movement in the women’s singles division this week either. Champion Hikaru Shida picked up a victory in a non-title match over Heather Monroe last week on Dynamite.
On Saturday’s Dynamite, there is one women’s match scheduled. The finals of the Women’s Tag Team Cup will take place. The finals pits Ivelisse & Diamante against the Nightmare Sisters Allie and Brandi Rhodes.
AEW Tag Team Division
AEW Tag Team Champions: Kenny Omega & “Hangman” Page (12-0)
FTR (5-0)
Best Friends (13-4)
Young Bucks (6-2) (+1)
The Natural Nightmares (6-1) (previously unranked)
Dark Order (8-2) (-2)
Champions Kenny Omega & Hangman Page successfully defended their titles against the Jurassic Express on Dynamite last week. The loss booted Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy out of the #5 ranked spot.
#3 The Young Bucks moved up one spot in the rankings after defeating #5 The Dark Order on Dynamite. The match result sees the Dark Order drop two spots but remain in the rankings.
#4 The Natural Nightmares are back in the rankings. The team had been out of action for a while as QT Marshall was out with COVID-19.
On Dynamite this week, #4 The Natural Nightmares will team with Jurassic Express and take on the Lucha Bros and Butcher and the Blade in 8-man tag action. #1 FTR will also clash with Private Party on the show. #3 The Young Bucks will team with Kenny Omega to take on Alex Reynolds, Five & John Silver from the Dark Order.
We have heard rumours of AEW’s interest in Goldberg a number of times. It has been said that AEW President Tony Khan is interested in bringing the WCW veteran to the company but Vice President Cody Rhodes is denying these claims.
One such claim was recently made by Jim Cornette who said on his podcast that Khan wanted the former Universal Champion to re-enact his legendary undefeated streak in AEW.
However, the current TNT champion responded to these claims from the wrestling veteran on Twitter and he claimed that his company has had no contact with Goldberg:
Even if AEW had interest in bringing the WCW veteran to the company, it wouldn’t be possible to sign him right now because Goldberg himself recently revealed that he is still under WWE contract.
The former World Champion revealed that he signed a three year deal with the company to stay with the promotion till 2022 and wrestle two matches each year.
Goldberg has already wrestled a couple of matches for the company this year so it’s not very likely that we will see him on WWE programming anytime soon but he should return to WWE TV down the line.
However, AEW also recently let go not one but three stars and these releases made many wonder what the former AEW Champion thinks about this decision from the company.
Jericho talked about the recent firings on his Saturday Night Special stream. Y2J said that he hates to see anyone lose their job but he also gave credit to Tony Khan for keeping many people from Europe on their roster;
“I mean, I give Tony Khan credit for continuing to keep as many people on the roster from Europe as he did. There’s a lot of people from Europe that he’s still paying, and unfortunately, Bea and Sadie were let go.”
Chris Jericho continued to explain how it’s hard for the company to keep paying the wrestlers who they can’t use for shows and he hoped that both Bea Priestley and Sadie Gibbs will be back in AEW when things go back to normal:
“You’re paying someone for 6 months who goes from making $100 a year, and you’re paying them $100 and you can’t even use them if you wanted to. I love them both. They’re both great people and hopefully, they will be back in AEW soon.”
For those who don’t know, AEW quietly released three stars from their roster last week and the names included Jimmy Havoc, Bea Priestley and Sadie Gibbs.
Out of the three, Jimmy Havoc was released after his name came up in the #SpeakingOut movement earlier this year while both Priestley and Gibbs were primarily released because they couldn’t travel to US for AEW shows.
WWE has released a number of long term employees in recent months due to the coronavirus pandemic and it appears Chris Jericho is not a fan of one such recent firing.
The former AEW Champion talked about a number of things on the latest episode of his Saturday Night Special stream including things like his ongoing feud with Orange Cassidy and more.
Talking about the recent WWE release of long time referee Mike Chioda, Jericho blasted the company asking them what Chioda is supposed to do now.
“I mean, come on, seriously? 35 years the dude has been at your company and you’re going to fire him? Besides the fact that the dude is a great guy and such a talented performer, and can run the whole backstage, but after 35 years, what’s he supposed to do? Go get a job at freaking 7 Eleven?
Like, shame on you WWE.” said Chris Jericho “They did it to Mark Eaton, a famous ringside guy that they still haven’t been able to replace him yet. When I was looking for time cues, Mark was always the guy.”
Mike Chioda showed up at last week’s episode of AEW Dynamite to officiate a couple of matches which included the TNT title match and the match between Y2J and Orange Cassidy.
During the episode, Chris Jericho also revealed that it was him who gave the idea of bringing the WWE veteran for the show and he and Cody convinced Tony Khan that it was the right move.
Shaul Guerrero was the special guest on this week’s episode of her mother’s podcast, Excuse Me. During their conversation, Shaul spoke about the pressures she has felt breaking into pro wrestling as the daughter of late WWE legend, Eddie Guerrero.
When asked by Vickie if she believed her father would be proud of her breaking into the business, Shaul replied, “I want to say he would be proud.”
She explained how her time in FCW was fuelled by pressure to be as good as Vickie and Eddie Gurrero. Shaul stressed there was a lot of pressure to “earn” her name and, at one point, felt as though she wasn’t “Latina enough for them.”
“I understood where they were coming from that they don’t want to call you by your name because if you suck we don’t want you to be a disappointment. That happened to me about two months in. I was like holy sh*t.”
Shaul Guerrero On Pressures To Be The “Ideal Diva”
Shaul noted how she never felt pressure from Vickie Guerrero. She added how she believes her family never meant to put pressure on her. Regardless, she was made to feel there were issues with her body. According to Shaul, she “needed to look more feminine” and become the “ideal Diva.”
“I was having such a hard time and the pressure was so much. I don’t know if they meant to put that pressure on me. Every rehearsal was like, ‘well your Dad did it like this.’”
She explained how she loved being compared to Eddie Guerrero as she looked up to him so much. If she drew comparisons to him because of how she moved, it was a comparison she enjoyed.
However, Shaul stated how she now wants to do things her way and do it for her. She added how she will be putting Eddie Guerrero’s legacy “to the side a little bit” as she continues her pro wrestling journey.
All Elite Wrestling’s Chris Jericho has broken down the similarities he sees between himself and WWE Superstar Bray Wyatt.
Speaking on a recent episode of his YouTube show, Saturday Night Special, Jericho praised Wyatt and his refusal to become stagnant.
“Love The Fiend, love Windham Rotunda. It’s kind of a mouthful of a name, but, such a great guy, and super smart, creative. I think this is why he reminds me a little bit of me,” Jericho said. “He will never be the same guy twice. Because that’s the secret of having longevity in show business, you can’t be the same guy. Look at David Bowie or any great actor.”
Chris Jericho has embraced several gimmick changes to his character over his lengthy career. He has never been afraid to try something new or tweak characteristics to refresh his character, allowing him the succesful in-ring longevity he refers to.
Most recently, Jericho has been embroiled in a feud with Best Friends’ Orange Cassidy. The two faced off in a matchup this past Wednesday night on Dynamite.
Despite Inner Circle’s best efforts to secure Jericho’s victory, Cassidy would emerge the winner after Jericho hit a low blow but missed connecting with the Judas Effect. Cassidy would wrap Jericho up in a pinning combination and managed to pin him for the three count.
Former WCW President Eric Bischoff made a surprise appearance at AEW Dynamite recently. However, the news of his cameo had leaked online beforehand and Chris Jericho is blaming an ‘NXT-reject’ for it.
The former AEW World Champion talked about the incident on his Saturday Night Special stream. Jericho was explaining how the amount of people who are on social media is very small compared to the people who watch their show and he gave the example of Bischoff’s appearance:
“For example, when we had the debate and Eric Bischoff was announced on Reddit and we know the spy is, by the way. Oh, we know. He’ll never f—ing be back in AEW. NXT reject was a spy, so print that.”
Chris continued by explaining how they had two choices after the news leaked. They chose not to announce the appearance and it still surprised a lot of people:
“I was like, listen, we can announce this or we can just not announce it and don’t worry about it and see, you know, the people that know will know and maybe they’ll watch if they weren’t going to,
The people that don’t know, will still be surprised. That’s exactly what happened.” said Chris Jericho “People were super surprised that Bischoff was there and it worked out great.”
Eric Bischoff appeared as a special guest moderator for the debate between Y2J and Orange Cassidy during the August 5th episode of Dynamite and it was Bischoff’s first appearance on TNT since 2000 when WCW folded.
Matt Cardona finally made his AEW debut after months of rumors during the July 29 episode of AEW Dynamite and he has since made his in ring debut for the company as well.
However, reports that have come out since then have revealed that the former WWE star has not signed a long term contract with the company and his current deal is only for five appearances.
Cardona talked about his status with AEW during his recent appearance on the Not About Wrestling show and when asked about his future plans, the former IC Champion said that he didn’t get into AEW just to get a new t-shirt:
“Yeah, so I only have a couple of dates signed, but I didn’t go there just to get a new t-shirt, you know? I’m there for the long haul. That’s the goal. That’s the plan. To show the world what I can do. To win some championships, have some fun and it’s a great environment there.”
Cardona continued by saying that the past couple of weeks at AEW were great and even though some people didn’t like his performance, he can’t wait to do more work with the company.
Cardona formerly known as Zack Ryder was one of the stars who were released by WWE as part of their budget cuts in April earlier this year, ending his 15-year long stint with the promotion.
Impact Wrestling star Ethan Page will become a free agent soon and will have some leverage thanks to AEW.
Wrestletalk reports that his contract with Impact is set to expire on Thursday, December 31. As of this writing, there’s no word on whether he is negotiating a new contract. What is known is that it was noted he has interest from other promotions.
AEW just so happens to be one of those promotions, but there’s also no word on whether the two sides have started talking just yet.
AEW Executive Vice President Cody Rhodes has stated in a past Q&A that he’d be interested in bringing “All Ego” to AEW.
Page first appeared in Impact back in November 2017. He has also worked for promotions such as ROH and EVOLVE among others. He is currently in a tag team with Josh Alexander, known as The North.
Their historic Impact Tag Team Titles reign recently came to an end after holding them for 380-days.
It happened when they lost the straps to the returning Motor City Machine Guns on the post-Slammiversary edition of Impact Wrestling on AXS TV.
All Elite Wrestling is reportedly still heavily invested in Jurassic Express member Jungle Boy.
According to Dave Meltzer via Wrestling Observer Radio, the promotion is still committed to their long-term build of Jungle boy. This news comes following his recent loss on AEW Dynamite.
It’s reported that AEW wants to hold off on the push until its fanbase can once again attend live events. It is speculated that when this happens, AEW will be giving him some major momentum.
This week’s episode of AEW Dynamite saw Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus team up for an AEW Tag Team Championship opportunity. Despite their best efforts, the defending champions Kenny Omega and Hangman Page were able to retain their tag belts. Jungle Boy would be the one to take the pinfall at the conclusion of the bout.
Before the coronavirus pandemic forced changes to AEW’s plans, the Jurassic Express member had been involved in several notable singles matches. He faced off against some of AEW’s top talent, including Cody Rhodes, MJF, and Inner Circle leader Chris Jericho.
Jericho has previously stated that, had it not been for the pandemic, he and Jungle Boy would probably have continued working together following their short rivalry.
While the company hasn’t made an official announcement regarding the same, latest reports suggest that AEW has released three wrestlers from their roster.
According to reports from Wrestling Observer, the promotion has parted ways with three wrestlers including Jimmy Havoc, Bea Priestley, and Sadie Gibbs.
Havoc was last seen on the AEW TV back in May before he was accused of sexual assault as part of the #SpeakingOut movement in June.
The company had responded to these allegations by announcing that the British star will be undergoing treatment for mental health and substance abuse issues. The officials had promised to evaluate Jimmy’s position with the promotion upon the completion of his rehabilitation
Priestley who turned down a WWE contract to sign with AEW was last seen in the promotion in March. It was reported that the female star had trouble getting into the country due to the restrictions put in place after coronavirus outbreak.
Sadie Gibbs, on the other hand, hasn’t been seen on AEW programming this year. Her last match for the company was a tag team bout during AEW Dark.
The company has been removing the names of the released stars from their website one by one and it’s possible that more names will be added to this list in coming times. We’ll keep you posted on any further updates on the matter.
AEW Dynamite has extended its winning streak over WWE NXT. Viewership was down for both shows this week, but AEW outdrew NXT by 173,000 viewers and doubled NXT on the Adults 18-49 demographic.
Here is this week’s breakdown, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:
AEW: 792,000 viewers, 0.32 rating (9th on cable for the night)
NXT: 619,000 viewers, 0.16 rating (65th on cable for the night)
For comparison, Monday’s edition of WWE Raw averaged 1.72 million viewers with a 0.47 demo. Once again, AEW and NXT (combined) topped Raw in the key demo.
AEW viewership dropped 12% from 901,000 last week. Dynamite saw Cody retaining the TNT Championship against Scorpio Sky, Orange Cassidy defeating Chris Jericho in the main event, special appearances from The Rock ‘n Roll Express, Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard for Tag Team Appreciation night and much more. (Results & Takeaways)
NXT viewership was down nearly 18% from last week’s 753,000. Top matches included Karrion Kross vs. Danny Burch, Bronson Reed vs. Damian Priest and Cameron Grimes vs. Kushida and the returning Velveteen Dream in the main event. (Results & Takeaways)
Former WCW President and WWE Executive Director of SmackDown Eric Bischoff recently appeared on AEW Dynamite. ‘Easy E’ appeared in a segment with Orange Cassidy and former AEW ‘Le Champion’ Chris Jericho.
One of the more interesting aspects of this week’s 83 Weeks podcast was Bischoff’s take on the ‘non-scripted’ elements of AEW programming. Eric Bischoff discussed on the podcast about how the concept is ‘progressive’ in an era of heavily scripted to a minutia WWE programming.
Eric Bischoff on AEW Promos
“It’s like ‘wow this is a really progressive way to go about this’” Bischoff began, discussing the promo styling of AEW. “Let’s not have writers. Because we’ve all been, conditioned now over the last how many years to talk about creative and writers from the perspective of almost a traditional television show. Or a traditional scripted television show.”
Bischoff would elaborate further, discussing how WWE have completely changed the production and scripting style of a ‘pro wrestling’ show. In the past, WWE would have a minimal amount of talent writing the show (McMahon, Patterson, Prichard, Russo et al). Whereas over the past decade they’ve introduced a slew of writers to the television format.
“We’ve got producers, we’ve got writers, we’ve got directors now. Not that they didn’t exist before, but in wrestling we call them different things. But the process for professional wrestling has evolved/changed. Evolved or devolved, depending on your perspective, to the point where everything has become so scripted that we expect that’s the way it’s going to be. But now AEW is approaching it differently.”
‘Conceptualizing’ The Show
Bischoff would also discuss how AEW ‘conceptualizes’ the product, giving their talent freedom structure promos and interviews in their ‘own’ way. “They’re spending the week writing the show or conceptualizing the show. I don’t even want to say writing it because they’re probably putting it together differently than obviously a WWE would; in terms of reducing everything to paper and approving every little comment period and quotation mark. All those other silly things that people waste time on…in some places.”
“But here you know it’s a collaboration” Bischoff continued. “And they probably, I’m guessing, I didn’t talk to Cody about this, so I have no insight at all. But I’m guessing? They’ve got a pretty good outline and blueprint of what they want to do for the show, because you have to plan, you have to ‘time’ your show.”
Do you feel that the promo styling in AEW is greater than WWE’s currently? Let us know in the comments
