All Elite Wrestling has provided an update on its upcoming AEW Double or Nothing pay-per-view.
There has been some uncertainty surrounding the event due to the Coronavirus pandemic. According to AEW, the show will still take place on Saturday, May 23rd. However, it will no longer take place from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. A new location has yet to be announced, but there will be no fans in attendance.
The new location will be revealed in the weeks ahead, with the specifics to be determined using the latest guidance of national and global health authorities.
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.
Refunds are being issued for people who purchased tickets to Double or Nothing and the AEW Dynamite taping scheduled for the following Wednesday.
A statement issued by AEW reads:
“As illustrated in our mission statement, the safety and well-being of our fans and talent is always our top priority. AEW is grateful to MGM Grand Hotel and Resorts and everyone close to and within the AEW family – including fans – for their patience and understanding, and sends thanks around the world to healthcare and other frontline workers who are answering the call to protect and serve their communities.”
The MGM Grand website lists AEW Double or Nothing as being postponed to May 29, 2021.
Double or Nothing Impacted
As of this writing, the only match announced for AEW Double or Nothing is the finals of the AEW TNT Championship tournament.
AEW has not revealed the next challengers to its top champions. As of this writing, Jake Hager (4-0 this year) is the #1 contender to Jon Moxley’s AEW World Championship. Hikaru Shida (7-1) is the top ranked female, while The Dark Order (5-0) are the top-seeded tag team.
Many of AEW’s storylines have been up-ended due to the Coronavirus situation. The Blood and Guts double cage match scheduled for last month was postponed indefinitely. The consequences of that battle between The Elite and The Inner Circle would have certainly impacted AEW storylines in the build to Double or Nothing.
AEW recently held Dynamite TV tapings from Georgia. The company has many more weeks of shows ready to air, however, they worked with a skeleton crew. This also certainly impacted what was originally planned for the pay-per-view.
It’s widely known that AEW taped matches in Jacksonville and QT Marshall’s gym in Norcross, GA last month that will air on future Dynamite episodes.
It’s been reported that the promotion has enough content taped to last them through mid-May.
A new report by Wrestling Inc notes that MJF, The Young Bucks, “Hangman” Adam Page, Nyla Rose, PAC, The Lucha Bros, SCU and Big Swole did not work the most recent TV tapings in Georgia.
Thus, fans shouldn’t expect to see them on future episodes of Dynamite. For now, Georgia is currently under a “shelter in place” order that will last the remainder of this month.
AEW does have the option of returning to Florida but they won’t be able to run Daily’s Place in Jacksonville.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has deemed pro sports leagues as “essential services” as long as they have essential people working, no fans in attendance, and production with a national audience.
This covers MMA and pro wrestling. Just like with WWE, AEW would be allowed to run TV tapings in the state.
AEW President Tony Khan has told talent and staff that if they don’t feel comfortable with working the tapings then they won’t face punishment over it.
Talent from states like New York and California were also not used at the TV tapings.
Arn Anderson sounds excited at the prospect of former WWE tag team The Revival joining All Elite Wrestling (AEW).
The latest episode of the Arn Show podcast featured AA fielding questions from his readers. Co-host Conrad Thompson asked Arn about his reaction to Dax Hardwood (Scott Dawson) and Cash Wheeler (Dash Wilder) becoming free agents. Arn replied, “What do you think?” This triggered a laugh from Conrad. Arn said he also reacted with laughter when he heard about WWE releasing The Revival.
“The laugh you just had is exactly what I did,” Arn began. “As a matter of fact, I got a message from Dawson the night before. He said, ‘About 9am, there will be some good news show up.’ And that’s all he said.”
Arn Anderson continued, “Well, 9am, it hit. It surprised me a little bit, that they would let ’em go scot-free. That’s the way it should be.”
Conrad said that WWE’s decision to grant The Revival their release is an ‘interesting story’ and not the way the company typically does business. He said that’s The Revival’s story to tell and he’ll leave it at that.
He added that The Revival becoming free agents is a remarkable situation. It seems logical that they will eventually wind up in AEW. They have been teasing a feud with The Young Bucks for years on social media. Arn Anderson is a natural fit to work with them. It will be tremendous to see them in AEW, However Conrad thinks we need to see them in an NWA ring at least once.
Arn feels The Revival are now the hottest commodity in the business. Companies all over the world will be vying for their services. Whoever signs them will be much better off.
Arn continued praising The Revival. He called them the most unselfish, giving guys he’s seen come along in a long time. They have the same mentality that he, Tully and the original Four Horsemen had. Every night, they go out steal the show and make everybody in the arena go nuts. They have the talent, the ability and whoever gets them will be very lucky.
Head over to WestwoodOnePodcasts.com to listen to the full episode.
Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson recently answered a series of questions from fans on Instagram. During the conversation, the Great One was asked if he watches AEW.
The Rock confirmed he does watch AEW programming and is happy for the success the company has achieved thus far.
“Yeah I watch AEW, of course I do,” Rock said. “I’m very happy for the success of that company cause it’s always a good thing and it creates a hunger, which is good.”
All Elite Wrestling announcer Jim Ross has reflected on “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s heel turn at WrestleMania X-Seven. He also shared details on his current relationship with Vince McMahon.
Ross shared how he doesn’t believe Austin’s heel turn would have worked at any point during that time because of his popularity with the fans. He likened it to Western director John Ford casting John Wayne to play a Nazi. Ross contextualized how the turn took place in Austin’s home state at a WrestleMania. This created a situation where Austin “could do no wrong.”
“[…] if you go back and watch that on the WWE Network or wherever, you’ll see that the ovation Austin got coming out was nothing short of extraordinary,” Jim Ross told Top Rope Nation Podcast. “So I just don’t think it ever would have worked because he was that great of a babyface. ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin was a folk hero, he was a hero to many working, blue-collar people. I just never saw it working very well.”
Jim Ross & Vince McMahon
Having become a part of WWE’s competition, Jim Ross shared that he still casually talks with Vince McMahon. He divulged that they speak during the holidays, acknowledging how Vince is an incredibly busy man. This makes a sit-down, casual catchup pretty unrealistic. That being said, they do text one another, with Ross noting he had messaged him over WrestleMania 36’s success given the coronavirus pandemic.
“I’d say our relationship is casually friendly at best, at worst, I mean. If I needed something, I know that I could call Vince and the request discussed, it’d be, I think, accommodated. And he knows I’m the same way.”
Jim Ross stressed that this doesn’t mean he’s going to work with him again. He stated how he’s got a great job in AEW and has just started the second year of a three year contract. As far as he’s concerned, he made the right move for himself by signing with AEW.
Chris Jericho is regarded as one of the greatest mic workers in all of wrestling and a lot of people believe that he should obtain a role on the commendatory desk when he decides to hang his boots and retire from active competition.
Fans got a little preview of what it would be like to have Y2J on the commentary booth full time when he joined the announcers’ desk on last week’s episode of AEW Dynamite.
Jericho discussed his experience on his Saturday night special Facebook stream and the former AEW World Champion admitted that it was a fun experience:
“It was pretty fun, I’ve never commentated on a whole show before. The reason why I wanted to do it was just to have a presence on the show. As we kind of put a hold on so many things including “Blood & Guts,”
So I wanted to be on the show and provide a little energy, just in case.” said Jericho. “You know we are working in front of eight people, 10 people all strategically spaced apart of course.”
A fan then asked the former WWE star if he would do commentary after retiring from active competition and he said: “Absolutely, I always loved doing commentary, to do it for a whole hour or two hours is not easy to do.”
It has been confirmed that Chris Jericho will be returning to the commentary booth with Tony Schiavone for this Wednesday’s episode of AEW Dynamite.
AEW announcer Jim Ross did an interview on this week’s edition of the Top Rope Nation Wrestling Podcast where he spoke about The Revival.
Now that Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder are no longer under contract with WWE, the belief is that they will be signing with WWE. When asked whether the former WWE stars could be headed to AEW, Ross noted how it’s a big IF it happens because he doesn’t know their goals.
“I think they would fit into our team very, very well. You know, we’re trying to be a little bit more athletic, athletically oriented, more fundamentally sound in our storytelling, and The Revival team certainly fits that bill. They are one of the best tag teams in the world, period, no matter where it is.
So I think they would do great in our company, whether that happens or not remains to be seen. There’ll be gross speculation that it’s a done deal, all that good stuff.”
Ross noted how he doesn’t know why Tony Khan, who handles their talent relations, wouldn’t be interested in signing The Revival. Thus, he thinks there’s a possibility they come to work for AEW.
Ross noted that he likes the style of the team and that he would love to call their matches. He likes them because they’re a throwback team and fundamentally sound. He praised them for being old school-oriented in the process of telling a story.
Ross later added that based on what he’s read online, he isn’t sure whether they have a non-compete deal. It should be noted that it’s been reported that they do not have that clause and thus are available to sign with anyone right now.
Ross stated that he hopes The Revival will consider AEW. He stated that they were not sports entertainment type wrestlers and that was never a great fit for them.
The legendary pro wrestler added that The Revival is wrestling guys and they need to be in a wrestling company. Thus, for Ross’ money, that spot would be AEW.
WWE made a big announcement on Friday, which was that The Revival’s Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder have been released from the company.
Now, the belief is that the former tag team champions are headed to WWE’s rival promotion, AEW. This move could happen earlier than originally expected.
Of course, this all comes down to whether they can reach a deal with All Elite Wrestling. On Friday afternoon, WWE Backstage reporter and Pro Wrestling Sheet owner Ryan Satin noted on Twitter that The Revival is not under a non-compete clause with WWE.
Thus, they are now free to work for any promotion they want including AEW. It comes down to WWE mentioning in the announcement of the Revival’s departure that they have been granted their “immediate release” from the company.
The Revival potentially going to AEW when their deals with WWE are up has been speculated about for over a year now.
On a related note, the tag team formerly known as The Revival has changed their names at least on Twitter. This is an indication as to what they’ll now be going by.
Scott Dawson has changed his name to @DaxHarwood Dash Wilder has changed his name to @CashWheeler. Dax Harwood’s real name is David Harwood and Cash Wheeler’s real name is Daniel Wheeler.
Cody Rhodes has detailed All Elite Wrestling’s safety measures relating to coronavirus concerns. Joining SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio, Cody explained how the promotion has been handling coronavirus precautions whilst taping episodes of their TNT show, Dynamite.
Cody explained how AEW doesn’t have a central office. Instead, their core management is “all over the place” with key personnel in LA, Canada, Atlanta, and Jacksonville. He noted how complying with varying state regulations regarding the coronavirus has been easy as they all work from home anyway.
He spoke about how he’s been so impressed with all of AEW’s wrestlers and staff for stepping up during this time. Cody noted how he’s glad Brandi Rhodes lobbied for a medical team when AEW first started, and that the promotion has “all the perks of a high end wrestling company.”
As far as he’s concerned, you have to have these things for your athletes to support them.
Cody Rhodes Shares AEW’s Safety Precautions
Cody Rhodes then revealed how Brandi picked Dr. Sampson to work with AEW. Dr. Sampson famously assisted Jerry Lawler after he suffered a heart attack during a live episode of Monday Night RAW. Cody explained how Dr. Sampson is not a ‘yes’ Doctor. When it came to protecting AEW talent from the coronavirus, “[…] he put in a really rigorous amount of guidelines. And everyone was able to follow them and that was something I was very proud of.”
He then shared his experiences self-quarantining in a Jacksonville hotel, calling it something he would never forget. This was done so AEW could keep numbers under 10 at the arena for Dynamite tapings.
When at the tapings, “You’re in your own room and then the ropes themselves are being sanitised you’re getting your temperature checked. Getting quarantine questions, a page long, all of those things that were put in place that were the right thing to do.”
Cody Rhodes defeated Shawn Spears on this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite. This victory sees him advance in AEW’s TNT Championship Tournament.
All Elite Wrestling President Tony Khan has revealed that veteran announcer Jim Ross will be returning to Dynamite next week.
Taking to Twitter, Khan praised the commentary work of Chris Jericho and Tony Schiavone. The two worked together on this week’s episode of the TNT show. He noted how their debut together has been great and that the company has plans for the two to continue providing vocal duties on Dynamite. He then stated that Jim Ross would be returning to call Jon Moxley’s matchup against Inner Circle member Jake Hager.
“We have much more @IAmJericho & @tonyschiavone24 commentary to look forward to on tonight’s show on TNT now + in the coming weeks. Also @JRsBBQ will return next week to call the @JonMoxley v. @RealJakeHager No Holds Barred Empty Arena #AEW World Title match next week on Dynamite!”
We have much more @IAmJericho & @tonyschiavone24 commentary to look forward to on tonight’s show on TNT now + in the coming weeks. Also @JRsBBQ will return next week to call the @JonMoxley v. @RealJakeHager No Holds Barred Empty Arena #AEW World Title match next week on Dynamite!
Jim Ross has been staying safe in self-quarantine due to coronavirus concerns. He recently opened up about the decision, sharing it came after a lengthy decision between himself and Tony Khan. There is no further indication that Ross will be announcing other matches that night.
Like WWE has been doing in the run-up to WrestleMania 36, AEW has been pre-recording episodes Dynamite. This decision was made so they can still air episodes of Dynamite amidst the coronavirus pandemic. This has allowed for minimal exposure to their wrestlers and staff.
Jon Moxley attempts to defend his AEW World Championship against Jake Hager next Wednesday night on Dynamite. The two will clash in a No Holds Barred Empty Arena matchup.
Viewership data is in for this week’s battle in the WWE NXT vs. AEW Dynamite Wednesday Night War. NXT didn’t make the top 50 shows on cable for the night but did win in total viewers.
Here is the breakdown of the live and same-night DVR viewership, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:
WWE NXT Viewership
NXT on the USA Network averaged 693,000 viewers, which is up from 590,000 last week. In the 18-49 demo, they drew a 0.19 rating, from the 0.15 rating that the show did last week.
The episode featured a Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano in a singles match that served as the headliner, Chelsea Green vs. Mia Yim vs. Tegan Nox vs. Io Shirai vs. Candice LeRae vs. Dakota Kai in a Women’s Ladder Match to figure out #1 contender to WWE NXT Women’s Title, and Indus Sher (Rinku & Saurav) (w/Malcolm Bivens) vs. Ever-Rise (Chase Parker & Matt Martel).
AEW Dynamite on TNT was watched by 692,000 viewers, up from the 685,000 viewers last week. In the 18-49 demo, Dynamite pulled in a 0.26 rating, up from the 0.25 rating that the show did last week.
AEW Dynamite featured such as Shawn Spears vs. Cody in an AEW TNT Championship Tournament Match, Hikaru Shida vs. Britt Baker, Best Friends vs. Kenny Omega & Michael Nakazawa, and Brodie Lee and Lance Archer in squash matches.
Executive Vice President of AEW Cody Rhodes recently appeared on Busted Open Radio. The former WWE Superstar would discuss a plethora of topics regarding AEW’s ongoing taping schedule and the way that they are dealing with the COVID-19 coronavirus situation.
One of the topics brought up was that of Brodie Lee’s Exalted One character. Over the past few weeks there have been vignettes with Lee that show him to have characteristics akin to WWE CEO Vince McMahon. Cody was asked about this on Busted Open, and he denied that the character is an ‘outright parody’ of McMahon.
Cody Rhodes on the Exalted One
“I could never tell you the original plan. And I don’t even know if there ever even was an original plan” Cody began. “I will say it’s very unlikely on AEW you’ll ever hear the name Vince McMahon said.”
Cody Rhodes would then go on to talk about his respect for McMahon and his time in WWE. “If you do hear me say it [Vince’s name] in interviews? In general I always speak very, very highly of him. Because A) he’s Vince McMahon and B) I was a WWE guy to start. I didn’t come from anywhere else, I came up through their feeder system. They were the house that built me.”
Parallels Between WWE CEO & Brodie Lee
Cody Rhodes would finish by stating that there are definitely parallels between the Exalted One and Vince McMahon. However Cody seems to indicate that these are purely coincidental, and that it’s all down to Brodie Lee’s “style of leadership” for the Dark Order.
“I don’t want to be vague or coy with your question,” Cody said. “When it comes to the parallels between Brody’s style of leadership? There are a lot of unique parallels but I don’t think it’s particularly a spoof on Vince McMahon. We’ll see how develops in the next few weeks, I think Brodie just has a very…’power’ boss, very animal kingdom, kind of social Darwinism type approach to the Dark Order. And I think that falls in line with perhaps some of Vince’s quirks. But it is not an outright spoof on the legendary Mr. McMahon…not outright.”
Check out the video below if you have not already seen the Exalted One on AEW television. Let us know in the comments if you think that it is a spoof on the WWE CEO, is Cody Rhodes playing around with us?
WWE Hall of Famer Jake Roberts is currently quarantined alone in a hotel room.
The legendary pro wrestler confirmed the news while doing an interview with The WrestlingInc Daily’s Nick Hausman. This is where he stated that he thinks everyone needs to stay home amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
Other sports leagues have shut down but wrestling promotions such as AEW and WWE continue to run shows by holding TV tapings.
Roberts stated that we all have to buckle down. As much as he hates the idea, he thinks it’s the smart thing to do. He stated that everyone needs to pull together until the virus is gone. It upsets him to see people not follow the recommendations.
“It shows you how selfish some people can be,” Roberts said.
Roberts stated that people who don’t go along with the recommendations cause this thing to last longer than it should. He thinks people like that should be arrested and put in jail.
Roberts revealed that he’s currently quarantined in an Atlanta hotel room. This will last a few weeks. He recently made an appearance on AEW Dynamite that had a makeshift crowd of talent.
The reason for him being in quartine is due to him living with Diamond Dallas Page. Before he left to go to the AEW Dynamite TV tapings, DDP told him if Roberts left then he can’t come back.
“Well, AEW wanted me to come out, so … what did I do? I went and did it but then I couldn’t go back to Dallas’ house,” stated Roberts.
There is a baby at DDP’s house and nobody wants to get sick especially around a baby, according to Roberts. Thus, DDP took the hard-line. Roberts added that he had to do it for AEW because he wants to help the promotion by being on TV to manage Lance Archer.
However, now admittedly, he’s paying for it. AEW has reportedly filmed content to last the next few weeks.
AEW Dynamite aired from an empty arena on TNT tonight. The TNT Championship tournament began and Chris Jericho joined commentary for the entire show.
AEW Dynamite Results (4/8)
Lance Archer def. Alan Angels
Hikaru Shida def. Britt Baker
Best Friends def. Kenny Omega & Michael Nakazawa
Brodie Lee def. Lee Johnson
Cody Rhodes def. Shawn Spears to advance to the semifinals of the TNT Championship tournament
Here are 5 takeaways from this week’s show:
Lance Archer Dominated
Lance Archer
Chris Jericho joined Tony Schiavone on commentary for tonight’s show. Lance Archer battled Alan Angels in the first match of the night.
Match Recap: Archer went for a big boot but Alan Angels ducked and hit a couple of kicks. Archer shrugged them off and quickly hit the Blackout for the pinfall victory.
Before the match, Jake Roberts said Cody is done if he steps in the ring with Lance Archer. Roberts joked about Marko Stunt facing Lance Archer last week and called him an idiot. Jake added that he will not be surprised if Cody loses to Shawn Spears tonight in an effort to not face them.
Hikaru Shida Defeated Britt Baker In A Great Match
Hikaru Shida battled Britt Baker tonight on Dynamite.
Match Recap: Baker booted Shida in the knee and then retreated to the apron. Baker bounced Hikaru’s face off the turnbuckle several times. Britt kicked Shida in the knee but Shida battled back and shoved Baker to the corner.
Britt unloaded several right hands to Shida’s face and followed it up with a running kick for near fall. Baker sat on the apron, smiled and started taunting Shida. Britt asked Tony to tell everyone that this her division and Shida got back up.
Hikaru hung Baker up on the barricade and hit her with a knee to the face as Dynamite went to a commercial break. Back from the break, Shida hit Baker with a Suplex for a near fall.
Shida locked in an Arm Bar but Baker was able to make it to the ropes. Baker battled back and hit a Slingblade and followed it up with a Suplex for a two count. Baker went for the Lockjaw but Shida escaped.
Britt and Hikaru traded punches to the face and Shida connected with an Enziguri. Baker hit a Superkick and both wrestlers fell to the canvas. Baker was bleeding from her nose and took Shida down to the canvas. Britt applied the Lockjaw but Hikaru broke free and booted Baker in the face. Hikaru dumped Baker to the ring apron as Britt was laughing with blood pouring out of her nose.
Shida and Baker battled on the top rope. Hikiru slammed Britt across the top turnbuckle and followed it up with a running knee strike for the pinfall victory.
Opinion: This match was great and probably the match Britt Baker has had in AEW. Shida has now won 8 of her last 9 matches and remains the #1 contender.
Match Recap: Omega and Chuck Taylor started the match off. Chuck hit a couple Arm Drags and brought Kenny to the corner. Trent and Nakazawa as Spears shouted that he is watching Michael because he is still looking for a tag partner. Nakazawa and Trent traded chops before Michael rubbed baby oil on his chest. Trent went for a chop but his hand slid right off Nakazawa’s chest.
Omega tagged in and beat Trent down in the corner. When Dynamite returned from the break, Nakazawa crotched Trent on the top rope. Kenny Omega tagged in and hit an Elbow Drop for a one count. Chuck tagged in and tripped up Nakazawa and he fell onto Omega.
Orange Cassidy rolled into the ring and gave a thumbs up. Omega and Nakazwa tried to hug him but Cassidy got out of the way. Nakazawa sprayed oil in Cassidy’s face but Orange had another pair of sunglasses in his pocket. Trent hit Nakazawa with a DDT for a near fall.
Kenny tagged back in and hit Trent with a Backstabber. Omega followed it up with a Snap Dragon Suplex but Trent battled back with a big boot. Chuck hit a Powerbomb and went for the cover but Nakazawa broke it up. Kenny hit Trent with a Buckle Bomb and Nakazawa followed it up with a Fallaway Slam off the top turnbuckle.
Nakazawa hit the Ultimate Venom Arm but Chuck broke it up. Michael accidentally caught Omega with the Ultimate Venom Arm and Kenny rolled out of the ring. Trent plant Nakazawa with a Piledriver. Best Friends finally hit their finisher on Nakazawa for the pinfall victory.
Matt Hardy Challenged Chris Jericho To Come To His Compound
Broken Matt Hardy
Matt Hardy responded to Chris Jericho in a vignette tonight. Hardy claimed Sammy Guevara is a false god and probably cannot even speak Spanish. Hardy said Jake Hager is very smart and well spoken but Jericho has him brainwashed.
Hardy said he cannot allow Inner Circle to take over All Elite Wrestling. Vanguard 1 arrived with a Matt Hardy shirt. Hardy stated that he was asking for the Inner Circle shirt and Vanguard 1 said that it was in a dumpster fire.
Matt then challenged Jericho to come to the Hardy compound and to battle in the Elite Deletion.
Match Recap: Cody controlled the match early and applied a Headlock. Spears escaped and hit Cody in the chest with a couple chops. Shawn rolled out of the ring and shoved Billy Gunn. Spears threw a steel chair in the ring but Cody hit him with a Cutter for a near fall.
Cody climbed to the top rope and went for a Moonsault but Spears got out of the way. Spears planted Cody with a Piledriver and went for the cover but Cody kicked out at two.
Spears launched Cody into the turnbuckle and followed it up with a kick to the face as the action spilled out of the ring. Shawn set up a guard rail against the ring and Suplexed Cody on top of it.
The action returned to the ring and Cody battled back with a Powerslam for a two count. Spears connected with a Powerbomb as Dynamite went to a break. When Dynamite returned, Spears brought a table out from under the ring but Cody took him out with a Suicide Dive.
Spears hit Cody with a Superplex and then tried to take the padding off the top rope. Brandi hopped on the apron for a distraction and Cody went for the Cross Rhodes. Spears blocked it and sent Cody crashing through the table with the C4. Cody got into the ring at nine and Spears threw a tantrum.
Spears went for C4 but Cody escaped and hit two Cross Rhodes but Spears kicked out at two. Cody then applied the Figure Four and Spears shoulders were on the mat for a three count.
Opinion: I really enjoyed this match and I thought that the finish was great. Overall, Dynamite was solid this week and I’m looking forward to the AEW Championship match next week between Hager and Moxley. Chris Jericho was gold on commentary tonight as well.
AEW has released its weekly rankings for April 8th, 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 (8-0)
Jake Hager (4-0) (+1)
Chris Jericho (0-1) (-1)
Cody Rhodes (5-1)
Kenny Omega (3-0)
Darby Allin (4-2)
The only movement in the men’s single’s rankings this week saw Jake Hager climb over his Inner Circle stablemate Chris Jericho for the #1 contender spot. Hager has a shot at Jon Moxley’s AEW World Championship in 2 weeks on Dynamite.
Cody and Darby Allin teamed up this week in the main event, dropping a match to Shawn Spears & Sammy Guevara. Omega defeated Trent to stay undefeated in 2020 single’s matches. Jericho wore long pants in a hot tub this week but it is unclear if this affected his spot in the rankings.
AEW Women’s Division
Champion: Nyla Rose (4-1)
Hikaru Shida (6-1)
Kris Statlander (2-3)
Yuka Sakazaki (1-1)
Britt Baker (2-2)
Riho (3-3)
Hikaru Shida once again retained her #1 ranking in the division this week. She defeated the newly signed Anna Jay in single’s competition on Dynamite. There was no movement in the women’s division rankings this week. A big match is scheduled for tonight in this division, however, as the #1 ranked Shida faces former title-challenger and the #4 ranked Britt Baker.
AEW Tag Team Division
Champions: Kenny Omega & Hangman Page (6-0)
The Dark Order (5-0)
The Young Bucks (2-2)
SCU (2-3)
Lucha Bros (1-2)
Best Friends (3-3)
There was no movement in the tag team rankings this week. The Natural Nightmares team of QT Marshall & Dustin Rhodes might be vying for a spot in the top-5 soon, however. They defeated Dark Order members #8 and #9 this week on Dynamite. There were also a couple of tag matches on BTE this week but it does not appear those are counting toward AEW win/loss records. The Young Bucks took on a local team named High Risk and SCU defeated Peter Avalon and Brandon Cutler. SCU has challenged High Risk to a “squash match” for next week.
Trent from the Best Friends put in a good-showing in single’s competition against Kenny Omega this week on Dynamite. Other than that match, no other ranked tag teams had a match this week.
All Elite Wrestling returns to TNT tonight with an all-new episode of AEW Dynamite. Th following is a preview for the show:
TNT Championship Tournament Begins
Dynamite will feature the first match in the tournament to crown the first-ever AEW TNT Champion. First round matches include Cody vs. Shawn Spears, Sammy Guevara vs. Darby Allin, Kip Sabian vs. Dustin Rhdodes and Lance Archer vs. Colt Cabana.
Tonight, the quarterfinals begin with Cody vs. Shawn Spears.
Women’s Match
Two of AEW’s top ranked female stars will be in action when Hikaru Shida faces Britt Baker. Both of them are in the hunt to become the next challenger to AEW Women’s Champion Nyla Rose.
Tag Team Match
Kenny Omega, one half of the AEW World Tag Team Champions with Adam “Handwash” Page, teams up with longtime friend Michael Nakazowa vs. against Best Friends. Orange Cassidy will be in their corner.
It’s Wednesday.. You Know What That Means
Brodie Lee, the Exalted One of the Dark Order, will be in action.
Chris Jericho & Tony Schiavone on Commentary
As announced by AEW President Tony Khan earlier this week, Dynamite will feature a special announce team of Tony Schiavone and Le Champion, Chris Jericho. Khan tweeted that the duo has “amazing charisma” and the makings of one of the best commentary teams he’s heard in his 30 years as a wrestling fan.
Join us here later tonight for our AEW Dynamite live discussion and post-show results and Takeaways.
AEW has added a new wrestler to its women’s division. Anna Jay has been signed to the promotion. She took a loss to Hikaru Shida on last week’s edition of Dynamite.
“The Star of the Show” was announced as having signed with the promotion through AEW’s social media channels:
They noted on commentary during her match on Dynamite that Jay was trained at the Monster Factory by QT Marshall and Glacier. She is also said to be coming off of shoulder surgery that kept her out of action for six months.
Cody commented on Anna Jay’s signing shortly after it was announced.
“Anna Jay showed up and stepped up. Hung in there with an absolute killer like Shida! Congratulations,” Cody Tweeted.
Video of Anna Jay’s match against the top-ranked Hikaru Shida can be viewed in the player below:
Upcoming AEW Matches
All Elite Wrestling also announced several matches for this week’s editions of Dark and Dynamite.
Matches scheduled for AEW Dark this week:
Kip Sabian vs Tony Donati
QT Marshall vs Lee Johnson
Wardlow vs TBD
Matches scheduled for AEW Dynamite this week:
TNT Championship Tournament (1st Round) Cody vs Shawn Spears’
Kenny Omega & Michael Nakazawa vs. the Best Friends (Trent & Chuck Taylor)
The WWE Network released the WWE 24: Edge – The Second Mountain episode on Sunday that looked at the journey of Edge returning to in-ring action.
During the documentary, Edge looked back on his road to competition after retiring from a career-ending neck injury. This is where he confirmed that another promotion had reached out and showed interest in signing him.
If you recall, last October, it was reported that Edge used AEW as leverage while negotiating with WWE for a new deal, which was reached. Edge talked about after he hit a spear to Elias at SummerSlam, it prompted “another company” to offer him a contract.
“Summerslam happens, and then from there another company within the industry contacted me,” Edge said. “They said they were interested and wanted to know if I could wrestle and at this point, I didn’t know if I could. So before I did anything, I decided I needed to go find out.”
Edge would discuss how he had discussions with WWE after this segment but he wanted to talk with Vince McMahon about the deal in person because Vince McMahon did right by him in his career. He praised McMahon for giving him his chance and trusted him to pull things off and be a pillar for his shows.
Edge talked about the ongoing discussions he had with McMahon and why he wanted to come back with WWE rather than any other company.
“So, I went and sat down with him and I told him everything. It wasn’t like trying to get a bidding war going or anything, WWE didn’t even know whether this was possible, I didn’t know if it was possible. He said ‘Well, it needs to happen here. Let’s get you out to our doctors, you can take your impact testing and go through all of the testing.”
Edge is slated to take on Randy Orton in a Last Man Standing Match at WrestleMania 36.
As more restrictions are taking place across the United States due to the ongoing global pandemic, many wrestling fans are wondering how much longer AEW will be able to air new content on Wednesday nights. According to a report from PWTorch, AEW has weeks, if not months, of content already filmed.
The promotion is reported to have been filming content at QT Marshall’s gym in Norcross, GA up until the midnight deadline last night when all non-essential businesses in the state were ordered to close. They are said to have filmed enough “storyline-advancing” matches for several episodes of Dynamite.
The next few episodes will intersperse matches filmed from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville and those filmed from the Georgia location.
Some of the matches filmed recently might end up airing on episodes of Dark if restrictions are lessened in the coming weeks. If, however, restrictions are not lessons those matches could be used on Dynamite.
It is also being reported that a Georgia state official attended the tapings to ensure AEW was adhering to regulations. AEW did have the proper paperwork filed and had notified local officials before filming commenced.
The majority of wrestlers used for the tapings either live nearby and were able to drive to the shows or they have been staying nearby even if they don’t live there. One or two wrestlers not from areas hard hit by the virus did fly in for the shows.
All wrestlers are being asked to go into isolation for 2 weeks. They are then hoping to be able to tape again later this month or in May if it is possible to do so.
AEW TNT Championship Tournament Has Been Filmed
The TNT Championship tournament is said to have been filmed up to the finals, which will take place at the Double or Nothing PPV.
The TNT Championship tournament will begin airing next week and an AEW World Championship match between champion Jon Moxley and challenger Jake Hager will air in 2 weeks time.
All Elite Wrestling’s Chief Brand Officer Brandi Rhodes recently joined Tony Schiavone and Aubrey Edwards on AEW’s official podcast, Unrestricted. During their conversation, Brandi addressed her detractors and what it’s like to personally anticipate a negative backlash.
Acknowledging that there are those who are critical of her because her husband is AEW’s Executive Vice President Cody, Brandi said:
“I mean the the only hesitation that I ever had was the hesitation that a lot of women are made to have positions like this” Brandi began. “Which is that people would say, ‘well, the only reason you’re doing this job is because of who you’re married to.’”
She continued, “Sure, it is tough being married to your business partner? You know, more so in the creative element than in the business sense. We’re very like minded, we both are very organised. We annoy people because we show up dressed up!”
Brandi Rhodes On Backlash
Brandi Rhodes confessed that she has seen negative comments regarding her position within AEW and her relationship with Cody. She admitted that it’s difficult to want something for yourself knowing there may be a backlash for pursuing or accepting an opportunity.
She also spoke about she is enjoying her current on-screen role. Having left the Nightmare Collective behind, Brandi Rhodes has since been managing the Natural Nightmares, Dustin Rhodes and QT Marshall.
It appears that AEW ran into some trouble while taping the latest set of their TV programs which included this week’s episode of Dynamite as well.
The latest set of TV tapings took place from QT Marshall’s Gym in Norcross, GA after the previous venues were closed. However, the city officials tried to intervene and attempted to shut down their operations.
Though the company had proper paperwork in place to allow
the shooting to go forward and after being shown the documents, the officials
stuck around to ensure that proper codes were followed throughout the tapings.
The original location for empty arena shows of AEW was the Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida but they had to relocate because the city officials had started using a parking lot near the venue as a major coronavirus testing center.
This development forced AEW to move its tapings to the Nightmare Factory in Norcross, Georgia, though it was also shut down temporarily due to a shelter-in-place order that was recently signed by Governor Brian Kemp.
Material they have taped will be used for shows until mid-May, although it’s unclear whether they have taped full shows or they will be mixing fresh content with older segments to fill out episodes like WWE.
It seems that WWE will also be affected by a new stay at home order issued by the Florida government and they might not be able to produce shows post-WrestleMania. You can check out a report on the matter here.
Viewership data is in for this week’s battle in the WWE NXT vs. AEW Dynamite Wednesday Night War. AEW won in total viewers. Both shows were down from last week.
Here is the breakdown of the live and same-night DVR viewership, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:
WWE NXT Viewership
NXT on the USA Network averaged 590,000 viewers, which is down from 669,000 last week. In the 18-49 demo, they drew a 0.15 rating, down from the 0.20 rating that the show did last week.
The episode featured a Second Chance Gauntlet Match to qualify for #1 contender Ladder Match, Dexter Lumis vs. Jake Atlas, Kushida vs. Joaquin Wilde, The Velveteen Dream vs. Bobby Fish, and NXT North American Champion Keith Lee vs. Damian Priest vs. Dominik Dijakovic.
AEW Dynamite on TNT was watched by 685,000 viewers, down from the 819,000 viewers last week. In the 18-49 demo, Dynamite pulled in a 0.25 rating, down from the 0.34 rating that the show did last week.
AEW Dynamite featured such as Kenny Omega vs. Trent, Lance Archer’s in-ring debut, Cody and Darby Allin vs. Sammy Guevara and Shawn Spears. There was also a segment with Chris Jericho at his home where he tried to get Vanguard 1 to join the Innercircle by offering him a t-shirt.
Chris Jericho debuted for WWE in 1999. He wouldn’t work for another company for nearly two decades before working an angle with Kenny Omega in NJPW. Now, Jericho is one of the top-stars of AEW. Jericho recently took part in an interview with the Tampa Bay Times and commented on the possibility of one day going into the WWE Hall of Fame. According to Jericho, he’s not sure if that door will be open to him in the future.
“If I continue to work for the Khan family for the rest of my life, I’ll never go into the WWE Hall of Fame,” Jericho said. “Does that bother me? No. I mean, the Sex Pistols didn’t show up for theirs. I always kind of liked that.”
Jericho continued to say he’s a Hall of Famer in the minds of fans and in his own opinion.
“I’m a hall of famer in the minds of the people who want me to be in the hall of fame,” he adds. “I’m a hall of famer in my mind. That’s all that matters.”
Jericho also added that he has more creative freedom now in AEW than he did in WWE.
“After 30 years, I actually know what I’m doing,” he said. “In WWE I had that freedom, but there’s a process you have to go through there. There’s a lot of approvals and different heads of state that you have to go through before the idea is approved.”
The full interview with the Tampa Bay Times can be read here.
All Elite Wrestling’s Jim Ross has been missing from the promotion’s announce team in recent weeks. The decision to minimize his travel was made to protect him from potential unnecessary exposure to the coronavirus. During an interview with WrestlingInc.com, Ross explained how he and AEW President Tony Khan had a long conversation before coming to the decision.
“Tony Khan and I had a very long and thoughtful talk that he initiated. I’m an asset for that company in his view, and mine too, and he said I’ve got to protect you because he knows I won’t protect myself,” Ross explained.
“So, the decision was to stay home for a couple of days and I’m not gonna be on Dynamite this week or next until we see where this thing is headed. If it gets worse, I’m 68 and in a high-risk group. I don’t wanna die. I don’t wanna get the flu because my ego says I’ve gotta be on TV. ‘Oh I can’t lose my spot, because then I won’t get my push!’ Stop. Please.”
Jim Ross On Maintaining Growth
Jim Ross stressed how pro wrestling isn’t the same as the NFL, NBA, or MLB. He noted how what they do is a “theatrical presentation and a TV show.” He added how it’s not about selling tickets right now.
Instead, delivering Dynamite is a means to give their fanbase a break from the “insanity” the world is dealing with. “It’s an entertainment show and I applaud all of those guys that are braving the elements and challenges of the coronavirus to put on an entertaining show on Wednesday nights.”
He talked about the importance of maintaining continuity before commenting on how it’s an “interesting time in our lives.” Ross then stressed how he believes pro wrestling isn’t in danger, but the industry needs to maintain its continual growth under the circumstances. “We’ve got to be smart and take into consideration what this virus is. We can never lose sight of what we’re facing right now.”
Although not present for Dynamite shows, Jim Ross has been providing a post-show breakdown. These are uploaded to AEW’s official YouTube channel. Ross has been doing these alongside fellow commentary members Taz and Excalibur.
AEW Dynamite aired live tonight from an undisclosed location. The remaining four wrestlers in the TNT Championship tournament revealed tonight.Kip Sabian, Dustin Rhodes, Colt Cabana, and Lance Archer completed the bracket and the tournament will begin next week.
Kenny Omega squared off against Trent in the first match of the night. Chuck Taylor and Orange Cassidy accompanied Trent to the ring. AEW wrestlers were once again back in the crowd for tonight’s episode.
Match Recap: Omega took Trent down to start things off and applied a Headlock. Trent broke free and caught him with a knee to the face. Kenny sent Trent to the corner and shoved his boot in his face. Omega unloaded a chop to Trent’s chest but Trent battled back with a Double Stomp that sent Kenny rolling out of the ring.
Trent connected with a Moonsault and shared a hug with Orange Cassidy and Chuck. Omega sprinted across the ring and flipped onto everyone on the outside. Back in the ring, Omega slammed Trent to the canvas and went for a cover but Trent kicked out at two.
Kenny connected with a Backbreaker and followed it up with two more of them for a near fall. Trent went to work on Kenny’s injured hand for the next few minutes of the match. Kenny battled back and Powerbombed Trent in a steel beam in the arena. The action returned to the ring and Kenny hit a Neckbreaker over his knee for a two count.
Trent connected with a Tornado DDT and followed it up with a Splash in the corner. Trent hung up Kenny in the ropes and planted him with a Baseball Slide German Suplex as Dynamite went to a break. When Dynamite returned, Kenny and Trent were trading chops with five minutes remaining.
Omega hit a knee to the face but Trent shrugged it off and hit a Piledriver for a near fall. Trent went for another Tornado DDT but Omega escaped and connected with a beautiful Snap Dragon Suplex. Kenny followed it up with a V-Trigger with two minutes remaining. Trent hit a Belly to Back Suplex off the top rope and Omega landed awkwardly. Omega then hit the One Winged Angel for the pinfall victory.
Opinion: Kenny Omega and Trent had a great match to start this week’s Dynamite. I really like how many minutes are left in the time limit throughout the match. It adds tension and made the last part of the match that much more intense. Hopefully Omega is alright after it appeared he landed on his neck. Trent has had several great singles matches in AEW already. He had a very good match with Jon Moxley and an awesome one with Omega tonight.
Lance Archer made his in-ring AEW debut tonight. Before the match, Jake Roberts claimed that Cody is afraid of Archer and Brandi Rhodes must wear the pants in the relationship. Archer then faced Marko Stunt.
Match Recap: Archer took out a worker on the way to the ring. Archer then leveled Stunt with a Clothesline and beat him down in the corner. Marko tried to fight back but Lance Archer sent him flying across the ring with a Release Suplex. Marko ran away and then hit Lance with a few Dropkicks in the corner.
Archer leveled Stunt with a shoulder tackle and sent him flying out of the ring. Lance then hit a massive Chokeslam and followed it up with the Blackout for the pinfall victory. After the match, Archer Chokeslammed Marko onto Billy and Austin Gunn.
Another vignette for the Exalted One aired this week. Brodie Lee stood in front of a TV with static and demanded that members of Dark Order refer to him as “Mr. Brodie”.
One of the members of Dark Order yawned and Brodie scolded him. Brodie said he looked weak and he cannot have that in Dark Order. Lee asked that he never yawn in his presence again and asked him to leave the room.
8 & 9 of Dark Order then faced Natural Nightmares (Dustin Rhodes & QT Marshall).
Match Recap: QT Marshall threw the mask that Brodie presented him last week in the air as a distraction to start things off. QT hit a couple of punches before Dustin tagged in. Rhodes hit an Arm Drag as a couple wrestlers chanted “you still got it!”.
Marshall tagged in and 8 & 9 took turns beating him down in the corner. QT battled back with a Suplex and tagged Dustin back in. Rhodes hit an Atomic Drop and followed it up with a Bulldog. Dustin planted #9 with a Powerslam and followed it up with a Cannonball off the apron. Back in the ring, Natural Nightmares hit a Flapjack for the pinfall victory.
After the match, Brodie Lee came down to the ring and Powerbombed the member of Dark Order that took the pinfall. Lee then stared at the other member of Dark Order before he left the ring.
Jericho cut a promo from in his hot tub and went on a rant about everyone in The Elite being morons. Vanguard 1 showed up behind Jericho as Chris turned his attention towards Matt Hardy.
Chris got up and said “Vanguard 1, I knew you’d come”. Jericho couldn’t bring himself to say the word “sorry” and once again tried to recruit Vanguard 1 to Inner Circle. Jericho presented Vanguard 1 with a tiny Inner Circle shirt.
Vanguard took off once again and Jericho whipped a bottle of bubbly at him. Jericho then shouted “release the hounds!” and his dogs then chased Vanguard 1 away to end the segment.
Opinion: This entire segment was hilarious but I think the most underrated part is that Jericho was apparently in the hot tub with pants and a belt on.
Sammy Guevara and Shawn Spears faced Cody and Darby Allin in the main event of this week’s Dynamite.
Match Recap: Spears started off the match in control and hit Cody with a shoulder tackle. Cody battled back with a boot to the face and tagged in Darby. Spears hit him with a punch to the face and tagged in Sammy. Guevara wanted to vlog instead and approached Brandi by the barricade. Sammy asked for a kiss and Brandi took his phone again. Darby leveled Sammy with a shoulder tackle and sent him flying into the barricade. Cody and Darby connected with dueling Suicide Dives as Dynamite went to a break.
When Dynamite returned, Sammy hit Darby with a knee to the face and knocked him out of the ring. Back in the ring, Guevara hit Allin with a Double Stomp and tagged Spears back in. Spears hit Darby with a chop to the chest. Sammy bet Shawn that he couldn’t hold up Darby in a stalling Suplex. Spears accepted the challenge, hung Darby up for ten seconds and won the money.
Spears then bet Sammy that he couldn’t do it for 15 seconds. Sammy accepted the bet and won. Shawn then went all in and tried to do it for 20 seconds but Darby rolled him up for a two count. Allin then planted Spears with a Suplex of his own as Cody pleaded for a tag in the corner.
Sammy missed with a Shooting Star Press and Cody tagged in. Cody hit Spears with an Enziguri and then delivered a Powerslam to Sammy for a near fall. Cody followed that up with a Cutter for another two count. Cody locked in the Sharpshooter but Spears broke it up. Cody then trapped Spears in a Figure Four but Sammy broke it up with a Shooting Star Press.
Guevara went for a Cutter but Cody countered into a Cross Rhodes. Spears dragged Spears out of the ring and threw him over the barricade. The heels in the crowd started beating Cody down as Dynamite went to a commercial.
Back from the break, Spears and Sammy had Cody trapped in the corner. Cody connected with a Moonsault and tagged in Darby. Allin took out Sammy and Spears with a Dropkick and followed it up a springboard Coffin Drop. Allin leveled Sammy with a Suicide Dive and went for one on Spears but he caught him.
Spears launched Darby into the barricade and placed him on top of it. Guevara hit Allin with a Dropkick and then turned around into a Splash from Cody. Back in the ring, Spears hit C4 and rolled Cody back to the outside. Allin climbed up the steel beam and hit a Coffin Drop onto Spears and Guevara.
Darby and Sammy then battled on the top turnbuckle. Sammy threw Darby into the barricade once again. Cody hit Sammy with a Reverse Suplex but Spears immediately hit Cody with a Frog Splash. Guevara slid a chair into the ring and Darby ripped it away. As Allin tossed the chair out of the ring, Spears capitalized on the distraction and rolled up Allin for the victory. After the match, Cody tried to help Allin up but Darby leveled him with a right hand. Allin then got pissed off and walked backstage to close the show.
— AUTHORS OF WRESTLING (@authofwrestling) April 2, 2020
Opinion: I loved that Darby Allin leveled Cody after the match because both men are in the upcoming tournament to crown the first TNT Championship. I do not think it was Darby turning heel, I believe it was supposed to signify that he was sick of losing and was frustrated.The tag match tonight was also solid and I enjoyed the mid-match gambling by Sammy and Spears.
Overall, this week’s episode of Dynamite was a very entertaining show with a couple of great matches. It was also announced that Moxley will defend his AEW Championship against Jake Hager in two weeks in an No Holds Barred Empty Arena match. You can check out a video package that aired to hype the match below.
