Fans now know who will be in the finals of the tournament that will determine the inaugural AEW TNT Champion as those competitors have been revealed.
The semi-finals of the tournament took place on Wednesday’s episode of AEW Dynamite on TNT at the Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida. The pair of the matches saw Cody Rhodes vs. Darby Allin and Dustin Rhodes against Lance Archer.
As seen on the show, Cody went over Allin in the opening match while Archer beat Rhodes in the main event.
The finals between Cody and Archer will see to find out who will be the first-ever TNT Champion.
The finals of the tournament will take place at AEW’s next pay-per-view event, Double or Nothing.
All Elite Wrestling was planning to hold this show from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 23rd but plans changed due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.
It’s been reported by Dave Meltzer of F4Wonline.com that the current plans call for the show to take place from Jacksonville, Florida. The belief is that the show will air from Daily’s Place.
As of this writing, no other matches for the show have been announced thus far.
The semifinals of the TNT Championship Tournament came to an end tonight as Cody faced Darby Allin and Lance Archer battled Dustin Rhodes. The final two wrestlers will compete to crown the first TNT Champion at Double or Nothing on May 23rd.
AEW Dynamite Results (4/29)
Cody def. Darby Allin to advance to the finals of the TNT Championship Tournament
Wardlow def. Musa
Best Friends def. Kip Sabian & Jimmy Havoc
Shawn Spears def. Baron Black
Brodie Lee def. Marko Stunt
Lance Archer def. Dustin Rhodes to advance to the finals of the TNT Championship Tournament
Here are 4 takeaways from this week’s Dynamite:
Cody Advanced To The Finals Of The TNT Championship Tournament
Darby Allin battled Cody in the semifinals of the TNT Championship Tournament in the first match of the evening.
Match Recap: Allin and Cody locked up in the middle of the ring to start the match off. Darby went after Cody’s knee but he battled back and sent Allin into the barricade. Darby charged at Cody but he got out of the way and Allin leveled Brandi Rhodes by accident as Dynamite went to a break.
When Dynamite returned, the action was back in the ring and Cody was in control. Cody locked in a Half Crab but Darby was able to reach the bottom rope to break the hold. Allin locked in a submission but Cody was able to get to the ropes to break it up.
Allin tied up Cody in the Tree of Woe and leaped onto his knee. Cody stumbled out of the ring and Britt Baker hit him with a shoe. Back in the ring, Allin hit Cody with a chop block and then started headbutting his knee.
Back from another break, both Cody and Allin hit a Clothesline that sent them to the canvas. Cody hit the Disaster Kick before taking off his belt. Cody handed the belt to Aubrey and rolled up Darby for a near fall. Darby planted Cody with the Cross Rhodes but Cody was able to kick out at two.
Darby applied the Figure Four in the middle of the ring. Brandi hobbled back to the ringside area with a bottle of water as Cody broke free. She handed Cody the water and he took a sip before leveled Allin with a Clothesline. Allin hit Cody with a Stunner and went for a Moonsault but Cody caught him.
Cody connected with the Cross Rhodes and went for the cover but Darby somehow was able to kick out. Cody then went for the Coffin Drop but Allin got his knees up. Darby hit the Coffin Drop but Cody rolled him up for the pinfall victory.
Opinion: I really enjoyed this match but I wasn’t a fan of the finish. Cody didn’t even use arms to roll up Allin, he simply slouched over and Darby essentially pinned himself. I just thought it looked cheap and could have been done better. The Coffin Drop should be an unstoppable move but I can’t view it that way if you can just roll on your side and defeat Darby after he hits it.
Cody absolutely stole one from Darby to advance to the finals of the TNT Championship Tournament. Congrats to @CodyRhodes, but something tells me @DarbyAllin won't take this one lying down.#AEWDynamite#AEWonTNT
MJF provided an update on his hangnail. MJF stated that his doctor claimed that he has never seen someone heal so fast and that he now has the strongest nail in the world.
He pretended to get choked up and said that he cut his neck while shaving. MJF revealed a gigantic neck brace and vowed to be back sometime in the future. He said he is the candle that is lit in a dark room and is the only hope AEW has left. Wardlow then faced Musa and absolutely dominated him.
Best Friends faced Kip Sabian and Jimmy Havoc in a No DQ match tonight. Penelope Ford and Orange Cassidy were ringside for the match.
Match Recap: Jimmy Havoc launched a chair at Orange Cassidy’s face to start things off. Chuck tried to Suplex Jimmy but Havoc countered and hit a Suplex of his own on top of several chairs.
Jimmy threw another chair into Chuck’s face as Kip launched Trent into the turnbuckle. Havoc and Sabian brought a ladder in the ring and sent Trent to the corner. Jimmy threw the ladder onto Trent and then catapulted him into it. Havoc went for the cover but Trent kicked out at two.
Kip set up Trent on a chair and went for a Splash but Trent got out of the way. Chuck got back in the ring and hit Jimmy with a Dropkick. Best Friends launched two chairs onto Jimmy before sharing a hug. Trent planted Kip with a Snap Suplex for a two count.
Sabian sent Chuck head-first into the chair and then turned around into a Tornado DDT from Trent. Trent hit Havoc with the chair and placed Kip on the ladder between the ropes in the corner of the ring. Trent climbed to the top rope but Jimmy broke it up. Havoc stood on top of the ladder and went for a Superplex but Trent blocked it.
Havoc tripped Trent up and sent him crashing on top of the ladder. Havoc set up some more chairs in the ring and slammed Trent on top of them. Sabian climbed up to the top rope and hit a Double Stomp but Chuck was able to break up the cover.
Chuck slammed Havoc onto the chair and delivered a Piledriver to Sabian on top of the chair. Chuck went for the cover but Penelope broke it up. Chuck Taylor bit Jimmy’s face and charged at him. Havoc countered into a Back Body Drop on top of the ladder. Orange Cassidy hit Havoc with a chair to the face and Penelope went for a kick but Orange ducked. Penelope accidentally booted Kip in the face as Cassidy made his way to the top rope.
Orange Cassidy then hit Penelope and Kip with a Splash off the top rope. Chuck planted Havoc with the Awful Waffle on top of the pile of chairs for the pinfall victory.
Opinion: This match was pure chaos and I loved every second of it. Jericho flipping out on commentary throughout the match was awesome.
Lance Archer Will Face Cody In The Finals Of The TNT Championship Tournament
Lance Archer (Photo: AEW)
Lance Archer battled Dustin Rhodes in the semifinals of the TNT Championship Tournament. It was this week’s main event.
Match Recap: Archer dominated early and booted a chair into Dustin’s face. Dustin was busted open and Lance beat him down in the corner of the ring as Dynamite went to a commercial break.
The action spilled out of the ring when Dynamite returned and Archer was still dominating. Dustin battled back with a couple chops but Archer knocked him to the floor with a forearm to the face. Back in the ring, Lance planted Rhodes with a massive Suplex as the blood continued to pour out of Dustin’s face.
Dustin set up Archer in the corner and hit with Shattered Dreams. Archer didn’t stay down for long and slammed Dustin to the canvas. Back from another break, Archer had Dustin in a Headlock in the middle of the ring.
Rhodes broke free and sent Archer to the corner. Dustin hit Code Red but couldn’t capitalize with a cover. Rhodes and Archer traded punches in the middle of the ring. Dustin connected with a Clothesline and followed it up with a Powerslam. Dustin hit Archer with a Cross Rhodes but Lance kicked out at one.
Dustin made his way to the top rope and leaped but Archer caught him. Lance planted Dustin with a Chokeslam but Dustin kicked out at the last moment. Archer walked across the top rope and hit an awesome Moonsault for a near fall. Archer hit Dustin with another Chokeslam and went for the cover. Rhodes countered into a roll-up but Archer kicked out at the last moment.
Lance hit a big boot and then took off the turnbuckle pad. Archer bounced Dustin’s face off the exposed turnbuckle three times and Rhodes fell to the canvas. QT Marshall came down to the ring with a towel and tried to throw it in but Cody stopped him. Archer dragged Dustin back into the ring and bounced his head off the mat several times for the victory. Lance Archer will battle Cody in the finals of the TNT Championship Tournament at Double or Nothing on May 23rd.
Opinion: Cody not allowing QT to throw in the towel, only for Archer to brutally bash Dustin’s head off the canvas was great. While it was pretty obvious that Archer and Cody would wind up being the final two, I’m still looking forward to the title match at Double or Nothing. I like that they have a few more weeks to build it up even more as well. Overall, I thought Dynamite was a good show this week. Jericho & Guevara versus Matt Hardy & Kenny Omega was announced for next week and that should be great.
Chris Jericho recently did an interview with Newsweek where he discussed AEW going back to holding shows again.
This comes after AEW held a string of TV tapings that lasted them for the majority of April. Now, the promotion plans to resume live TV events and also hold TV tapings for future episodes.
The plan right now is for AEW to go back starting on May 6th by holding the shows from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida. These episodes will build to AEW’s next pay-per-view event, Double or Nothing, on May 23
According to Jericho, he thinks it’s time to get back to holding shows again despite the coronavirus outbreak all over the world.
“We’re trying to start slowly and integrate back into life and I think it’s perfect. Obviously, we’ll take precautions and all that sort of stuff but it’s time to get back on track and I’m looking forward to it.”
Jericho also talked about the passion of the AEW roster despite having no fans in attendance.
According to the former AEW World Heavyweight Champion, he thinks the most important thing is to put on an entertaining show.
He also thinks that the wrestlers having great matches in front of nobody just shows the amount of dedication they have.
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) star Chris Jericho has offered his thoughts on WWE’s recent roster cuts amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. WWE recently laid off a huge list of in-ring talents, and also furloughed a lot of its employees as well.
During a recent interview with TV Insider, Jericho has offered his thoughts on WWE’s talent cuts. In regards to how AEW will respond to the influx of free agents that are now on the market, “Y2J” says he has no clue.
“It’s an interesting time right now, because a lot of guys got released. By proxy, you went from a business that was very profitable in many different levels to everything grinding to a halt. Hopefully, many of them will get picked up by the different companies.
“Some guys may have to go overseas. I don’t know what AEW has planned. That’s not really my wheelhouse. But I’m sure everybody is going to land where they should land. It’s just how it goes.”
Jericho has taken a bit of a break from in-ring competition in 2020. He has only competed in one singles match this year, that being his title loss to Jon Moxley at Revolution.
Jericho has been doing a lot of commentary work as of late on Dynamite, and recently fell out of the weekly AEW Rankings.
Last week’s edition of Dynamite was headlined by Dustin Rhodes vs Kip Sabian in the 1st round of the TNT title tournament. Rhodes put his career on the line in the match as well. Rhodes defeated Sabian and will now face Jake Roberts’ client Lance Archer in the semi-finals.
AEW published a promo from Roberts recently where the legend talks about the upcoming match between Archer and Rhodes.
“Let me think about this, Dustin,” Roberts begins the promo. “Last week, you were talking about retiring if you couldn’t beat Kip Sabian. Christ, you squeaked by that. My friend, it’s not a good thing because now you’re set to go against Lance Archer.”
Dustin Rhodes is also shown in the video. Rhodes noted that he now understands he has the support of the AEW fan base.
“Lance Archer doesn’t need the fans, he feeds off his own anger,” Jake Roberts continued. “He wants to hurt somebody and you happen to be a Rhodes, that makes it even better.”
“I’m laying it out there plain and simple, Lance will F you up!”
“It’s better to acknowledge the fear and the truth and walk away,” Roberts continued. “If you don’t walk away from this, you’ll be carried away from this. Goodbye, old friend.”
On the debut episode of AEW Dynamite, Chris Jericho aligned himself with Sammy Guevara, Jake Hager, and Santana & Ortiz. Shortly after, the faction would be named “the Inner Circle.”
During a recent interview with Sportskeeda, Jericho commented on the possibility of adding new members to the group. According to Le Champion, he’s not opposed to the idea but it would have to make sense in storyline.
“It depends on what happens in the storylines,” Jericho said about adding more members to the faction. “To me, everything is based on the story, the story that we’re telling, what fits, what doesn’t fit. I think one of the downfalls of the original nWo was when they started having Virgil and guys like that in there. It kind of takes some of the exclusiveness and cool factor.”
“I’m not opposed to it, but I’m not actively searching for new members,” Jericho continued.
Jericho has been on commentary during recent episodes of Dynamite. He was also dropped from the top-5 rankings that were released on Friday. Jericho has only wrestled one single’s match in 2020, dropping the AEW World Championship to Jon Moxley at Revolution.
AEW commentator Taz is also hosting a Q&A session this week. The Taz Q&A streams live on Facebook and YouTube this Thursday night at at 8pm (Eastern). Use the hashtag #AskTaz on social media to submit your questions.
Here is your chance to ask @OfficialTAZ your burning questions as he will be doing a live Q&A on our Official YouTube & Facebook pages on Thursday, April 30th at 8 pm EST.
Here is AEW’s latest Road to the TNT Championship Tournament update. This week’s installment hypes the two tournament Semifinal matches taking place this week on Dynamite:
The 201st episode of Being the Elite was released on YouTube today. At the start of the episode, Matt and Nick loosely address rumors that BTE was finishing soon.
“When are we going to end it, who knows?” Nick asked.
Nick then said he had some bad news he had to deliver. Last week, the show ended with a tease that the brothers “had something else to do” and as it turns out, Nick went back to the hospital to get checked out. He went straight to the hospital and doctors told him his health is only at 15%. Far from what he’ll need to be to return to the ring.
Matt then said he also went to the hospital and doctors told him his back is hurt for another 2 years. He lamented that fans might get tired of him selling the injury for that long.
As they were sitting around talking, they noticed a message in the sky. At the conclusion of the episode, the message in the sky was revealed and displayed, “FTR.”
The episode also features an update on Luchasaurus searching for his tail. This week he turned to “Dr.” PJ Black for help. He ended up going on quite the psychedelic journey as a result. Brandon Cutler is starting the “kick out challenge” in an attempt to improve his losing AEW record. Colt Cabana also gets himself on the show again. Private Party is also trying to solve the mystery of who threw an exploding bear at them.
The full episode can be viewed in the player below:
All Elite Wrestling’s Dustin Rhodes recently participated in an online Q&A session via Twitter. Some of the questions he answered regarded his interest in being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. He was also asked whether he missed portraying Goldust at all.
Although his father, Dusty Rhodes, was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame back in 2007, an induction isn’t something that Dustin is overtly concerned about.
Despite this confession, he remains open-minded to the idea. He shared that “If it comes, it comes.” Until then, however, he remains focused on AEW and helping to grow and develop their “talented kids.”
That is not what I concern myself with. If it comes, it comes. I am focused on @AEWrestling and growing our talented kids.
Having first portrayed WWE’s Goldust back in 1995, Dustin has an undeniably long history with the character. When asked if he missed Goldust at all, he admitted that he didn’t.
That being said, he remains thankful for the years he was able to bring Goldust to life through his various iterations.
Dustin Rhodes recently defeated Kip Sabian to advance in the AEW TNT Championship Tournament. He is scheduled to face off against Lance Archer on this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite in the semi-finals. If successful, Dustin would advance to vie for the championship against either Darby Allin or his brother Cody Rhodes.
All Elite Wrestling announcer Jim Ross has addressed the recent ratings drop Dynamite has experienced for the past few weeks. Dynamite competes head-to-head on Wednesday nights against WWE’s black-and-gold brand NXT. Speaking with Wrestling Epicenter, Ross shared how there has been “no knee-jerk reaction” to NXT winning two of the last three weeks.
Jim Ross stated that he isn’t worried about the recent numbers. “You said the numbers are going down – True statement. In certain demographics… This is far from a disaster.”
He explained how Dynamite is “sandwiched” between WWE shows on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, which he believes means their “audience is still finding us.”
Jim Ross On AEW’s Audience
Jim Ross acknowledged how the coronavirus pandemic has forced AEW to put on empty arena shows. It’s a situation that “affects everybody.” Ross pointed out how the fans are a big part of the show and that an AEW crowd is “very young, defiant, and make a lot of noise. All of us really miss that!”
Ross juxtaposed the current ratings war with WWE and WCW’s Monday Night Wars during the ‘90s. He stressed how they “didn’t have time to worry about the ratings” as, by the time you got them, you were busy doing it again.
He shared how that didn’t leave a lot of time to moan or celebrating the numbers either way. With that in mind, Jim Ross reiterated how he isn’t worried about AEW’s current ratings as “we’re doing just fine and we know where we’re going.”
All Elite Wrestling World Champion Jon Moxley has addressed competing in front of zero fans. Speaking with Uproxx.com, Moxley stressed how the audience is a “critical element” of pro wrestling. He noted how, without them, there is a noticeably missing energy that makes performing challenging.
“Everybody’s kind of finding different ways to work around that, whether that’s the way you shoot it on camera, or lot of people are doing different cinematic style matches and stuff. It’s definitely tough.”
Jon Moxley On Being More Physical
According to Jon Moxley, when a crowd is going crazy it can be “like a mask and stuff.” Their energy helps to feed the energy of the performers so, without them, he believes talent has to up their physicality. Without that mask in place, Moxley noted how important it is for wrestlers to “keep everything tighter.”
Jon Moxley was proud of his recent matchup against Inner Circle member Jake Hager. The two competed in a No Holds Barred Empty Arena match. He pointed to how their clash was “real physical” and “realistic” because of how they beat each other up for real.
He acknowledged how it’s not ideal for anyone to wrestle in empty arenas. Jon Moxley then stressed that “as long as everybody’s safe and so forth” and it helps entertain fans during the coronavirus pandemic, then it’s worth it.
Maxwell Jacob Friedman is currently on the shelf with a hangnail. He updated fans on his condition during the latest episode of AEW Dynamite. Recently, MJF took a shot at both EC3 and Drake Maverick on Facebook. Friedman said that EC3’s new gimmick appears to be a Jon Moxley rip-off and he told him and Maverick to sign with Impact Wrestling since they are the only promotion who would take them.
“Hey Essential Character III (EC3) or whatever name you call yourself these days, why don’t you take your loser gimmick back to Impact Wrestling, the only company that will take your new Jon Moxley rip off character and take that irritating little weasel Drake Maverick/Rockstar Spud with you!” MJF wrote on Facebook. “Extended an olive branch to you and what did you do with it, spat in the face of someone who is better than you and you know it!”
EC3 had mentioned MJF in a recent video he posted.
“The Top 1% is a character that could garner a reaction, to entertain you, and its a character I could do better than anybody else, MJF,” EC3 says in the video. “It was a reality, though, that I simply imitated.”
ec3 character synopsis?? ?? Created by a perfect storm of frustration, angst, restraint, solitude and the sense of losing everything, the character of ec3 forced himself to consider the inconceivable.?? ?? That he was defeated.?? pic.twitter.com/63vA5avDgg
AEW updated its rankings on Friday, April 24th, 2020. The promotion normally releases its new rankings every Wednesday. The rankings were briefly available on AEW’s website on the 22nd but that edition has since been removed.
The updated rankings involve Chris Jericho dropping out of the top-5 altogether. The tag-team and women’s rankings are unchanged from the ones posted on April 22nd.
Darby Allin also goes from unranked to #3 after defeating Sammy Guevara in the TNT title tournament this week. Jake Hager had been ranked #4 and Lance Archer #5 but they switched places between the April 22nd and 24th rankings despite neither of them competing on Dynamite this week.
The image of the rankings posted on April 22nd is below:
The updated rankings as of April 24th are below:
It is possible that Chris Jericho’s 0-1 single’s record in 2020 is why he was removed from the top-5. His only single’s match this year was when he dropped the AEW World Championship to Jon Moxley at Revolution.
AEW Women’s and Tag Team Rankings
Both the women’s and tag-team divisional rankings stayed the same between the Wednesday and Friday editions of the rankings. They are below:
While original plans for AEW’s next pay-per-view event, Double or Nothing, didn’t go accordingly, the promotion is moving forward with the show.
All Elite Wrestling was planning to hold this show from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 23rd. However, the impact of the coronavirus on the world including the United States has changed that.
With Las Vegas being shut down like many other cities and states, the promotion will have to hold the show at a different location.
According to a report by Dave Meltzer of F4Wonline.com, current plans call for the show to take place from Jacksonville, Florida. The belief is that the show will air from Daily’s Place, which is the same venue as the Dynamite and Dark TV tapings that will start on May 6th.
AEW Double or Double or Nothing will be available for purchase via BR Live, iN DEMAND cable operators, DirecTV, DISH. AEW fans outside the United States can order via the FITE streaming service.
No matches for the show have been announced thus far. We do know the finals of the AEW TNT Title Tournament will be held at the show.
Dustin Rhodes vs. Lance Archer and Cody Rhodes vs. Darby Allin has been confirmed for next week’s episode of Dynamite. The winners of these contests will then square off in the finals to determine the inaugural champion.
Jon Moxley plays the role of Randy Stone in the upcoming film “Cagefighter: Worlds Collide.” The film also stars Chuck Liddell, Christian, Luke Rockhold, Gina Gershon, and more. Moxley’s character is a former pro-wrestler transitioning into MMA. Footage of Moxley from AEW is shown in the film’s trailer.
Moxley spoke with “With Spandex” recently about how Christian got him involved in the film.
“I got a call from Jay Reso, who wrestling fans know as Christian. He was working as an executive producer on the movie,” Moxley said during the interview. “It was very shortly after I had left the previous place, WWE, and was a free agent, and he said they were looking for somebody who was a recognizable pro wrestler who’s available and I had just happened to become available.”
Several big names from the MMA world appear in the film in addition to Rockhold and Liddell. Matt Hardy, Bully Ray, Tommy dreamer, Drad Pickett and Rigan Machado,
“From being friends with Christian I knew that he wouldn’t be involved in some real crappy movie, so I just said, ‘Let’s go’ and pretty much jumped in right away,” Moxley continued.
The film will be released on May 16th digital on-demand at FITE.TV for those outside of the United States. Details about a wide release in the United States are coming soon.
AEW is reportedly going to tape more content beginning on May 6th, 2020 from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida. The most recent episodes have been from tapings held at the Monster Factory gym in Georgia. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, unless circumstances change, AEW is planning to return to taping content in the first week of May.
“The plan right now is for AEW to go back either weekly or more often starting on 5/6 from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville,” wrote Dave Meltzer.
AEW did not use people who would be traveling from areas highly-impacted by the ongoing pandemic at their last set of tapings. As a result, wrestlers from California and the New York area were not used. Several of these wrestlers are expected to take part in upcoming tapings, however. It is being reported that the company believes they will have twice as many wrestlers available for the next tapings. Wrestlers traveling from areas highly-impacted by the coronavirus will quarantine at least two weeks before being brought in.
Wrestlers from outside the United States will still be unable to travel in. This includes any roster members currently in the U.K, Mexico, or Canada.
The last set of tapings focussed on the TNT championship tournament. The next set is expected to focus on the build to Double or Nothing on May 23rd, 2020, however.
Former Executive Director of WWE’s SmackDown brand Eric Bischoff recently discussed AEW and what he feels they need to improve. Whilst Bischoff was very clear in that the company have a lot of positives, he believes that more “storylines” and removing the “sameness” of some of the roster could help them exponentially going forward as a brand.
Eric Bischoff on AEW Overall
“I think they’re doing a lot of things well” Bischoff began on this week’s episode of After 83 Weeks w/ Christy Olson. “I know it’s gonna sound like a criticism I guess. I’m gonna try to make sure it doesn’t. When I look at my Twitter feed? When I read it, it’s like, people think I’m anti AEW!? I’m not at all. I mean I have a lot of friends there. And, people who I have a lot of respect for, who I may not be friends with them because I don’t really know them. But I know OF them and have a tonne of respect for them, so I’m pulling for them.”
Leveraging Social Media
Eric Bischoff would then go on to praise how the company has leveraged social media, from Being The Elite all the way to getting a slot on the TNT Network. “They’ve certainly captured the imagination. They’ve certainly figured out a way to build their brand and [have] brought/build awareness on social media. To YouTube in particular. [They have] converted that to a live event phenomenon, that they were able to convert to a television opportunity. By the way, that’s a lot to be proud of. And that’s a lot of doing sh*t right right there.”
Making Improvements
Bischoff would then move into how the company could improve, discussing the aforementioned ‘storylines’. “In terms of what I think they could do perhaps differently? Again I’m gonna qualify this because this is what I like. What I’m about to suggest, this is what appeals to me as a 65 year old guy who’s been in the business for over 30 years. Which is not the same thing that necessarily appeals to a 25 to 49 year old, or 18 to 34 year old, or 18 to 39 year old audience. So just because it appeals to me? Doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s the right way to go.”
Emphasis on Story – Eric Bischoff
‘Easy E’ elaborated further, saying “I really do believe that they need more emphasis on story. I know they have stories, I’m not suggesting that they don’t. Please don’t misunderstand me, that’s not what I mean. But what I do mean is, I think the storytelling? Could be vastly improved. I think the character development could really be improved. Not AS much as the storytelling, because they’ve got some great characters. But I do believe that the characters could be developed to be a little bit more unique. To be a little more different from each other. There’s a ‘sameness’ to the characters. It’s just the way I see things, in the way I interpret things.”
WWE Also Being “Guilty of This”
Eric Bischoff would finish by pointing out that it isn’t just AEW who could improve on their storytelling. “For the most part? This is across the board, not just AEW. WWE is probably more guilty than AEW. I think the story, the emphasis on storytelling, has been abandoned for the most part. There’s a story there, yes technically, and I know that they try hard to try to create story. But in my opinion? The storytelling in WWE is no better.”
Do you think that AEW need to improve the way that they tell stories on television? Let us know in the comments
Viewership data is in for this week’s battle in the WWE NXT vs. AEW Dynamite Wednesday Night War. AEW won the night in total viewers and the key 18-49 demo. NXT did crack the top 150 shows on cable after recently not making the list.
Here is the breakdown of the live and same-night DVR viewership, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:
WWE NXT Viewership
NXT on the USA Network averaged 665,000 viewers, down from last week’s 692,000 In the 18-49 demo, they drew a 0.18 rating, up from 0.17 last week.
The episode featured The Velveteen Dream & Keith Lee vs. Adam Cole & Roderick Strong, Tegan Nox and Shotzi Blackheart vs. Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez, and three Interim Cruiserweight Championship Tournament matches – Kushida vs. Tony Nese, Drake Maverick vs. Jake Atlas, and El Hijo del Fantasma vs. Jack Gallagher.
AEW Dynamite on TNT was watched by 731,000 viewers, up from the 683,000 viewers last week. In the 18-49 demo, Dynamite pulled in a 0.25 rating, the same from the 0.25 rating that the show did last week.
AEW Dynamite featured such as Dustin Rhodes vs. Kip Sabian and Sammy Guevara vs. Darby Allin in AEW TNT Championship Title Tournament matches, Jimmy Havoc vs. Orange Cassidy, Kenny Omega, Brodie Lee, and Wardlow in action.
Britt Baker was shown on camera during NXT TakeOver: War Games last year. During the main event, Baker was shown looking on in concern with her hands covering her mouth. Mauro Ranallo noted that Baker was Adam Cole’s partner while she was shown on camera. According to WWE, the production crew wasn’t aware of who Baker is and believed they were just shooting a fan in the crowd.
Baker was recently a guest on Talk is Jericho and spoke about what Triple H and Stephanie McMahon said to her backstage about it.
“Triple H came up to me right away. He’s like, ‘Ah, I’m so sorry. We didn’t mean for that to happen.’ I’m kinda like, ‘Wait, what?’ And he’s like, ‘Yeah, we got you on camera with your reaction to the bump. I’m so sorry. The head [of] production didn’t know who you were,’” Baker said.
“Do I believe that? I don’t know, but he was very apologetic to me, super-nice, him and Stephanie both were so sorry about that. ‘I hope you don’t get in trouble,’ which Tony didn’t care at all because after that night, I was the top Google search of that entire show — of the entire NXT show was Britt Baker, just because of that one little blip they showed me on TV.”
The Britt Baker Challenge
Baker being shown on camera during an NXT event then led to a spoof on AEW Dynamite. This time, Baker was shown reacting to Nyla Rose going on a rampage in much the same way she was shown reacting to the NXT show.
Cody has named a move after Gail Kim. He used the move on AEW Dark this week to defeat Joe Alonzo. Cody noted that the move is named the “Gail Lock” as he took the move from a clip of Gail Kim.
The Gail Lock helped Cody improve his record to 7-1 on the year. In the latest AEW rankings, Cody moved up to the #1 spot. Jake Hager was previously in the top-contender spot but dropped 3 places after losing his title match with Jon Moxley. Cody is unable to challenge for the AEW World title, however, due to losing his title shot against Chris Jericho at AEW Full Gear.
On Impact Wrestling as of late, Kim has been vocal about the potential she sees in the newly signed Kylie Rae. At Rebellion, Kylie Rae defeated Kiera Hogan with an STF.
Kim also recently commented on the return of Crazzy Steve to the promotion. The former Decay member was Tommy Dreamer and Rhino’s surprise teammate at Rebellion.
All Elite Wrestling’s Darby Allin recently opened up about how it “ate him alive” to be in the crowd at last November’s pay-per-view, Full Gear.
Speaking with Sports Illustrated, Allin reflected on his experience. He confessed how not being a part of the show prompted him to make a promise to himself: “I said to myself, ‘I’m going to put in as much work as I ever have, whether it’s video or matches, to be on the next pay-per-view.”
Darby Allin Wants To Prove People Wrong
Darby Allin talked about how there were people who expected him to be off January’s pay-per-view, Revolution. He explained how he wanted to prove them wrong. Allin stressed how he isn’t AEW “to make friends and treat this as a clubhouse.” He acknowledged how the people in AEW are supportive, something he appreciates, but reiterated how “this isn’t friendship hour.”
As far as Darby Allin is concerned, it’s all about proving people wrong about him as he helps put the company on the map.
“Proving people wrong, that’s what drives me,” Allin admitted. “I’ve always believed I belonged in this spot. Others may have not—[due to my] size, [or lack of] years. This is my fifth year in wrestling, and a lot of people say, ‘Your time will come, your time will come.’ No mother——, my time’s now. I feel it and I know it.”
Darby Allin defeated Inner Circle member Sammy Guevara last night on TNT Dynamite. This victory sees Allin advance in the TNT Championship Tournament. He will face Cody Rhodes in the semi-finals on the April 29 episode of Dynamite.
The first round of the TNT Championship Tournament wrapped up during tonight’s Dynamite. Sammy Guevara squared off against Darby Allin in the first match of the night. Dustin Rhodes faced Kip Sabian in the main event. Dustin vowed to retire if he could not defeat Sabian tonight.
AEW Dynamite Results (4/22)
Darby Allin def. Sammy Guevara to advance in the TNT Championship Tournament
Kenny Omega def. Alan Angels
Orange Cassidy def. Jimmy Havoc
Wardlow def. Lee Johnson
Brodie Lee def. Justin Law
Dustin Rhodes def. Kip Sabian to advance in the TNT Championship Tournament
Here are 5 takeaways from this week’s Dynamite:
Darby Allin Advanced In The TNT Championship Tournament
Darby Allin (Photo: Scott Lesh)
Darby Allin battled Sammy Guevara in a Quarter Final match of the TNT Championship Tournament.
Match Recap: Sammy flipped onto Darby during his entrance and followed it up by throwing him into the ring apron. Guevara launched Darby into the barricade and grabbed a ladder from under the ring.
Guevara set up a ladder from the barricade to the apron and put Allin on top of it. Sammy climbed to the top rope and hit Allin with a Splash that sent both wrestlers to the floor outside the ring.
The match officially started in the ring and Sammy beat down Allin in the corner. Sammy perched Allin up on the top rope but Darby battled back and tied up Sammy in the ropes.
Darby pulled off Sammy’s boot and started twisting his ankle. Guevara collapsed to the mat and Darby continued to target his ankle. Sammy planted Darby with a Cutter and went for the cover but Allin kicked out at two.
Sammy dropped Darby with a spinning back-fist and followed it up with a knee to the face for a near fall. When Dynamite returned, Darby went for a Suicide Dive but Sammy got out of the way and Allin crashed into the barricade.
Back in the ring, Sammy hit a Splash for a two count. Sammy went for a knee strike but Allin countered into the Last Supper for the pinfall victory. Darby will face Cody in the Semifinals in the TNT Championship Tournament.
Matt Hardy Challenged Sammy Guevara To Come To His Compound
Broken Matt Hardy
Matt Hardy appeared on tonight’s show from his compound. Hardy stated that Jericho was trembling in fear during last week’s episode of the Bubbly Bunch. Matt pointed out that Sammy Geuvara was the only one that had the testicles to mention his name.
Hardy challenged Sammy to come to the compound if he wants to take Jericho’s place. Matt suggested that Jericho speak to the mortal vessel version of himself. Regular Matt Hardy then showed up and said that Jericho was so angry when he had the back of the Elite.
Matt claimed that Jericho was so mad because if he is able to knock out all the pillars in AEW, it creates an opportunity for Chris to sit at the top. Hardy stated that AEW is not a platform for Jericho, it is a platform for the future. Matt vowed to kick Sammy’s ass and every ass in Inner Circle until he gets to Jericho.
Orange Cassidy faced Jimmy Havoc tonight on Dynamite. Trent and Chuck were ringside for the bout.
Match Recap: Jimmy controlled the match early and ripped off Cassidy’s jacked. Havoc choked Orange with it before throwing it out of the ring. Havoc then ripped off Orange’s shirt and hit him with a chop to the chest.
Jimmy threw Orange Cassidy out of the ring and then threw him to the barricade. Jericho joked that Jimmy is beating Orange Cassidy to a pulp as Havoc connected with another chop.
Havoc planted Cassidy with a Suplex before bringing back in the ring. Orange tried to fight but Havoc leveled him with a Clothesline for a two count. Cassidy finally battled back and hit a Dropkick. He followed it up with a Crossbody and then a Tornado DDT for a near fall.
Orange Cassidy hit a lazy Splash off the top rope for a two count. Cassidy hit a Superman Punch and got fired up. Penelope Ford hopped on the ring apron but Chuck tripped her up. Penelope did a split and Kip Sabian came out of nowhere and hit a flip. Orange Cassidy then rolled up Jimmy for the win. After the match, Jimmy Havoc planted Orange Cassidy with a Cradle DDT. Kip got in a couple of stomps before Best Friends made the save.
Wardlow Dominated & MJF Revealed Why He Hasn’t Been On Dynamite
MJF spoke from outside his “rat’s” house in Cape Cod about not being on Dynamite recently. He pretended to get choked up and claimed that he suffered a very serious injury while gambling during his last appearance on Dynamite. MJF stated that he suffered a hangnail that became life threatening. MJF vowed to return to Dynamite soon. MJF’s arm was in a sling and his finger was wrapped in a scarf.
Wardlow then battled Lee Johnson on Dynamite. Wardlow showed off his power and hit a ridiculous Powerslam before launching Johnson across the ring with a release Suplex. Wardlow planted Lee with an Airplane Spin for the quick victory.
Opinion: Wardlow has been very impressive in the couple of matches he has had so far on Dynamite. As for MJF’s promo tonight, it was great as always. His splint wrapped in a scarf was a great touch.
Dustin Rhodes Advanced In The TNT Championship Tournament
Dustin Rhodes faced Kip Sabian in the final match of the first round of the TNT Championship Tournament. Rhodes said he will retire if he cannot defeat Sabian tonight. Brandi Rhodes and Penelope Ford were ringside for the match.
Match Recap: Dustin tried to shake Kip’s hand before the match but Sabian declined. Rhodes controlled the action early and locked in an Arm Bar in the middle of the ring. Sabian broke free and booted Rhodes in the face for a two count as Dynamite went to a break.
When Dynamite returned, Sabian was still in control and was targeting Dustin’s knee. Kip stomped away on Dustin’s knee on the corner before hitting a Dropkick for a near fall.
Rhodes battled back with a punch for the face and went for a Slam but his knee gave out. Sabian fell on top of him for a two count before applying an Arm Bar. Sabian missed with a Dropkick but caught Rhodes with a Lariat for another two count.
Kip applied a Headlock in the middle of the ring but Dustin was able to battle to his feet. Rhodes unloaded some punches but Kip sent Dustin back to the canvas with a boot to the head.
Dustin hit a Spinebuster and followed it up with a Clothesline. Rhodes connected with an Atomic Drop and then a Bulldog. Rhodes planted Kip with a Powerslam and went for the cover but Sabian kicked out at the last moment.
Kip connected with a DDT for a two count. Sabian taunted Rhodes before unloading several punches to his face. Referee Aubrey Edwards broke it up as Brandi and Penelope battled in the ring. Brandi hit a Spear and rolled Penelope out of the ring. Rhodes capitalized on the distraction and hit the Code Red (Destroyer) for the pinfall victory. Dustin Rhodes advanced to the semifinals and will face Lance Archer next.
Opinion: This week’s episode of Dynamite was another solid show. The wrestlers acting as the crowd continues to make a difference and the TNT Championship Tournament provides a reason to tune in every week. As of now, it seems likely that Lance Archer and Cody will meet in the finals of the tournament. In order for that to happen, Cody will have to defeat Darby Allin and Archer will have to defeat Dustin Rhodes.
If Archer beats the hell out of Dustin, it would make his rivalry with Cody even more personal. Darby Allin is a fan favorite and he showed his frustration recently by slapping Cody after suffering a loss in a tag team match. There are several layers to the TNT Championship Tournament and I think it has been very well done so far.
Cody Rhodes took part in an “AMA” (Ask Me Anything) on Wednesday with Bleacher Report where he addressed the status of the fabled AEW video game.
Cody gave a candid update on the project. He let fans know this is a big project and they are taking it seriously. AEW does a great job with their “Road To” hype videos for pay-per-views and big events. They plan to take a similar approach with this game.
“I’ll give the honest update: the AEW video game will be something all fans know about as we begin the process and as we move forward. If we were to make a very good game, which is our intention, it’s going to take time.”
He continued, “Game development is arduous, it’s a very creative space, and we want to do it right. We will keep people updated, it won’t come as a surprise, we want them to take the journey with us. Be extra patient so we can deliver.”
The discussion of a possible video game for All Elite Wrestling started back in July 2019 when Matt Jackson confirmed there had been talks of a potential game for the promotion but didn’t disclose any other details.
Fast forward, Kenny Omega, who is a big video game fan, has also stated that he’s made it his personal mission to bring back the classic AKI game engine used for famous wrestling games.
Games such as No Mercy and WrestleMania 2000. Back in March, Cody also talked about the game at C2E2. This is where he noted that there is a very specific type of game that people want.
He also pointed out that there is a very specific engine that people want and Omega would make an announcement about it soon. Thus, it appears we’ll just have to wait for it.
The Young Bucks (Nick and Matt Jackson) did an interview with Sports Illustrated to talk about a wide range of topics.
During the interview, the AEW executives gave high praise to the inaugural AEW World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho.
Nick Jackson stated, “I always call [Jericho] our Hulk Hogan. He’s done it all, and there is something about that. Even though he has been in the business for 30 years or so, he still wants to give back and get characters over. You never see that.”
Matt Jackson chimed in by noting how most wrestlers want to be over, and they don’t care about anybody else. He thinks that is the prevailing attitude in pro wrestling. He thinks the mentality is that wrestlers want others to do good but not as good as them.
“Jericho wants everyone to be elevated. We made the right call.”
Matt praised Jericho for helping establish guys like Darby Allin, Jungle Boy, and Scorpio Sky. He stated that Jericho watches their matches as well and people don’t realize he’s the guy that pulls us aside.
Matt added that Jericho will tell them what they did well and what they could do better. He also stated, “We don’t have enough of those guys in the business.”
The Elite (Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, Adam Page, and Matt Hardy) are currently feuding with The Inner Circle that is led by Jericho on AEW Dynamite.
AEW has released its weekly rankings for April 22nd, 2020. The promotion releases new top-5 rankings every Wednesday for its men’s, women’s and tag team divisions.
AEW Men’s Division
World Champion: Jon Moxley (9-0)
Cody Rhodes (7-1) (+1)
Chris Jericho (0-1) (+1)
Kenny Omega (3-0) (+1)
Jake Hager (4-1) (-3)
Lance Archer (3-0)(previously unranked)
After Jon Moxley’s successful title defense last week, title-challenger Jake Hager drops from the #1 spot all the way to #4. As a result, Omega, Cody, and Jericho all move up one spot. Lance Archer defeated Colt Cabana on Dynamite last week. The win moves him into the rankings and into the TNT title tournament semi-finals. He bumps Darby Allin out of the rankings this week as well.
Cody picked up his 7th win of the year on Dark this week, defeating Joe Alonzo. Both Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega had the week off from competition.
AEW Women’s Division
Champion: Nyla Rose (4-1)
Hikaru Shida (7-1)
Kris Statlander (2-3)
Yuka Sakazaki (1-1)
Britt Baker (3-3) (+1)
Riho (3-3) (+1) (-1)
Britt Baker moves up one spot this week after defeating Cassandra Golden in single’s competition. Penelope Ford is likely just outside the top-5 as well after picking up a win over Anna Jay on Dark. Those were the only two matches in the division on the most recent episodes of Dark or Dynamite.
AEW Tag Team Division
Champions: Kenny Omega & Hangman Page (6-0)
The Dark Order (5-0)
The Young Bucks (2-2)
Best Friends (4-3)
SCU (2-3)
Lucha Bros (1-2)
There was no movement in the tag team rankings this week. It does not appear as though the matches on BTE are counting toward official AEW records. There were no tag-team matches this week. Dynamite consisted of 6 single’s matches and Dark had 2 single’s matches. Chuck Taylor of the Best Friends lost to Kip Sabian in single’s competition, however. No other ranked tag competitors competed on Dynamite or Dark.
