Cody Rhodes thinks former WWE Superstar Luke Harper would be a great fit in All Elite Wrestling (AEW).
The AEW Executive VP recently spoke with Talk Sport. Alex McCarthy released a teaser quote of his chat with Cody, who feels Luke Harper is a “vey special” talent.
Cody Rhodes on Luke Harper
“He would be great as part of AEW. He’s a name that when you hear they’ve asked for their release, you definitely think about that and the next steps, for sure. I think he’s going to flourish with what he does next, he’s very special.”
AEW executives have been open about their efforts to avoid the stumbles of other promotions. For example, TNA Wrestling became notorious for signing any former WWE Superstar that became available.
AEW does have several former WWE Superstars on its roster. Cody Rhodes is one of them. However, men like Cody, Jon Moxley and even Chris Jericho are doing the best work of their careers.
Luke Harper requested his release from WWE back in April. He remained under contract until December, when WWE finally granted the request. It is believed that Harper has a 90-day no-compete clause with WWE. This would prevent him from appearing on AEW television until late March 2020.
AEW Executive Vice President Cody Rhodes has commented on Marty Scurll’s future.
Rhodes recently spoke with Alex McCarthy for the Talk Sport website. When asked about the future of free agent Marty Scurll, Rhodes was coy with his response.
“Marty is going to do what Marty is going to do,” he said. “We all love Marty. Anything he does in the next few weeks or months, I wouldn’t look at as permanent for him. He’s very much testing the waters here and there and that’s pretty much all I can say on Marty.”
Marty Scurll’s Future
Marty Scurll’s future is currently up in the air. He is wrapping up with Ring of Honor and made a surprise appearance at last weekend’s NWA Into the Fire pay-per-view. Scurll had a staredown with NWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis at the end of the show, setting up a possible match between the two.
Scurll’s contract with Ring of Honor recently expired, but he wrestled at their Final Battle PPV event. He also worked the ROH TV tapings on Sunday.
Many fans expect Marty Scurll to wind up in All Elite Wrestling after a short run with the NWA.
All Elite Wrestling has announced the host venues for the two episodes of AEW Dynamite leading up to the AEW Revolution pay-per-view.
The promotion announced on Monday that AEW Dynamite is heading to Atlanta, Georgia on February 19th and Kansas City, Missouri on the 26th. Tickets for both shows go on sale this Friday at AEWTix.com.
AEW Dynamite coming to Atlanta has deep significance for the company. In the video below, AEW Executive Vice President Cody Rhodes talks passionately about what it means for Atlanta to host AEW.
Cody named some of the wrestling legends who hailed from Georgia, including The Armstrongs, Arn Anderson, Ron Simmons and Ray Traylor. He talked about the history of Jim Crocket promotions and later WCW being based out of Atlanta. He boasted, “If you’re gonna do it, do it big,” he boasted, before revealing AEW Dynamite is headed to the State Farm Arena. The venue plays host to the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks and can accommodate over 21,000 fans. Cody admits it won’t be easy to fill the arena, but knows pro wrestling fans will show up to support AEW on February 19th.
AEW announced on Monday that the company has sold over 100,000 tickets since their their first show back in May, Double or Nothing.
In just eight months, AEW has produced 16 live events resulting in 91,222 tickets sold with an average of 5,701 tickets sold per show. Another 14,081 tickets have been sold for the upcoming shows currently on sale.
AEW’s grand total ticket sales for the year is a reported 105,303.
“To think one year ago, we hadn’t yet announced the launch of AEW and our first show wouldn’t occur until late May, and today we are celebrating more than 100,000 live event tickets sold – it’s been an incredible run and a credit to our talent, our partners at TNT and our great wrestling fans for making it happen,” said Tony Khan, President and CEO of AEW. “The best part is, this is just the beginning.”
AEW Dynamite Schedule
The following is an updated look at the AEW Dynamite touring schedule through the end of February 2020. Note that AEW will not have a live show on Christmas Day, December 25th.
All Elite Wrestling has announced the latest set of AEW Rankings for the week ending Friday, December 13th, 2019.
These rankings are for the following divisions – men’s, women’s, and tag team.
The updated standings come after the results of Wednesday’s Dynamite episode. The way it works is the talent will be listed in rankings by their match records but doesn’t include the champions.
The most notable moves included in the women’s standings as Britt Baker is now #1 followed by Kris Statlander at #2. The tag team division saw Private Party drop out of the top 5 while Dark Order moved up. The Young Bucks surpassed Santana & Ortiz for the #1 spot.
AEW Rankings
The rankings will be updated each week. You can see the rankings here:
All Elite Wrestling has reportedly added another tag team to their roster. John Silver and Alex Reynolds, who are known collectively as The Beaver Boys, have been signed to the promotion. This comes from a report by Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
The Beaver Boys have worked two matches as enhancement talent, where they lost to Proud N’ Powerful, and Best Friends on AEW Dynamite.
Alex Reynolds was featured in a vignette on AEW Dynamite, where he was approached by The Dark Order. He was offered to join if he wanted to stop losing, with Evil Uno making an appearance in the vignette.
This was after Reynolds lost in a squash match to Jon Moxley in under 14 seconds.
The Beaver Boys have been a mainstay in the indies and worked for promotions like Beyond Wrestling, Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), New York Wrestling Connection (NYCW), Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG), where they have captured the tag team championships.
They have even made an appearance in the WWE where they wrestled a match with Heavy Machinery, albeit with a different ring name. John Silver used the name Johhny Silver, and Alex Reynolds wrestled under Alex Keaton.
It will be interesting to see what The Beaver Boys do in AEW and what plans the company has for them going forward.
Darby Allin came out to help Cody Rhodes this week on Dynamite. Cody and Allin wrestled each other to a time-limit draw at Fyter Fest this summer and according to Allin, he wants to team with Cody to take on the Butcher and the Blade. Should they be victorious, Allin wants Cody to give him a rematch.
“On June 29th 2019 I made my debut for @AEWrestling. Me and Cody had a time limit draw. I never forgot that. You need a partner for butcher and blade? I’ll join you and if we win you give me that REMATCH,” Allin Tweeted.
On June 29th 2019 I made my debut for @AEWrestling
QT Marshall teamed with Cody this week on Dynamite in losing fashion to the Butcher and the Blade. Cody had allowed the newly debuting tag team to pick his partner for him but does he stand a better chance with Darby Allin as his partner?
22-year-old Darby Allin challenged for the AEW World title on the 3rd episode of Dynamite, losing to Chris Jericho. He holds a 4-3-1 single’s record and is 0-1 in trios matches.
Cody also unsuccessfully challenged Jericho for the title at Full Gear. He holds a 4-1-1 record in single’s matches and is 0-2 in tag matches.
Viewership data is in for this week’s battle in the WWE NXT vs. AEW Dynamite Wednesday Night War.
This week, both shows tied in total viewers, which is a first for the battle. It was close in every demographic group except Adults 50+, where NXT had a significant edge as they usually do.
Here is the breakdown of the live and same-night DVR viewership, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:
WWE NXT Viewership
NXT on the USA Network averaged 778,000 viewers, which is down from 845,000 last week. In the 18-49 demo, they drew a 0.24, down from 0.29 the previous week.
The episode featured Angel Garza vs. Lio Rush for the NXT Cruiserweight Title, Dakota Kai vs. Mia Yim, Bianca Belair vs. Kayden Carter, and Finn Balor vs. Keith Lee vs. Tommaso Ciampa in an NXT Title #1 Contendership Triple Threat Match.
AEW Dynamite on TNT was watched by 778,000 viewers, down from 851,000 the previous week. In the 18-49 demo, Dynamite pulled in a 0.28, down from 0.32.
Dynamite saw The Butcher And The Blade (Andy Williams & Pepper Parks) vs. Cody & QT Marshall, Adam Page & Kenny Omega vs. Kip Sabian & Shawn Spears, Luchasaurus vs. Sammy Guevara, and The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) vs. Proud-N-Powerful (Ortiz & Santana)
There were also two promo segments featuring AEW World Champion Chris Jericho as well as MJF.
AEW Dynamite aired live from Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas. In addition to the takeaways below, AEW Revolution PPV was announced for Chicago on February 29th.
Our next PPV is around the corner! AEW Revolution! Saturday, Feb 29th Chicago, IL Wintrust Arena
Here are 7 takeaways from this week’s episode of Dynamite:
Chris Jericho Tried To Recruit Moxley To Inner Circle
Jon Moxley dominated and picked up a win via the Paradigm Shift. After the match, AEW Champion Crhis Jericho came down to the entrance ramp with Inner Circle.
Inner Circle paced around the ring until finally Chris Jericho hopped on the apron. The crowd chanted “f*ck him up, Moxley!” but Jericho shouted at them to watch their language.
Jericho stated that they would have jumped Moxley already if they were going to attack him. Chris claimed that Inner Circle was impressed with Moxley. Jericho claimed that Moxley asked for his advice a decade ago and then they became enemies and beat the living shit out of each other.
Chris added that he taught Jon how to become a main event superstar and a champion. Jericho said that he navigated Moxley to AEW and that Jon has only just begun to realize his importance in AEW.
Jericho suggested that Jon Moxley join Inner Circle and said that he will give him some time to think it over. Chris placed an Inner Circle shirt on Moxley’s shoulder and Jon smirked into the camera as the crowd chanted “no!”.
Cody & QT Marshall battled The Butcher & The Blade tonight on Dynamite. The Bunny was ringside for the match. Cody started off the match in control and planted Blade with a Powerslam.
Butcher tagged in and QT pleaded for a tag. Marshall tagged in and locked up with Butcher in the middle of the ring. The Butcher leveled QT with a shoulder tackle and The Bunny then distracted Marshall. Blade tagged in and flipped onto QT as Dynamite went to a break.
When Dynamite returned, Butcher and Blade were still in control as QT Marshall was trapped in the ring. QT hit Blade with an Enziguri and tried to tag in Cody but Butcher dragged him off the apron.
Butcher tagged in and connected with a Back Body Drop for a two count. Blade tagged in and went for a Splash but QT got out of the way. Cody finally tagged in and the crowd erupted. Cody hit Blade with an uppercut and knocked Butcher off the apron with a Disaster Kick.
Cody connected with a Crossbody off the top rope and went for the cover but Blade kicked out at two. Cody followed that up with a Cutter for another near fall. The Bunny raked Cody’s eyes and QT tagged himself in. Marshall hit a Cannonball onto Butcher and Blade outside the ring.
Back in the ring, QT hit Blade with Cross Rhodes as Cody hit Butcher with a Suicide Dive. QT climbed to the top rope and hit a Senton for a near fall. Butcher hit Cody with a cheap shot as Blade hit QT with a Stunner. Butcher and Blade then hit a Suplex/Backbreaker combo for the pinfall victory. After the match, Darby Allin came down to the ring and extended his hand to Cody.
MJF and Wardlow marched down to the ring following Cody’s loss. MJF demanded that a member of the production team get in the ring as the crowd chanted “asshole!”.
MJF claimed that he saw him laughing last week when Cody poked fun at his Cross Rhodes last week. Maxwell demanded that he kiss the ring and the camera grip obliged. MJF hit him with the Cross Rhodes anyway and called the crowd a bunch of hicks.
MJF boasted about all the money he has and he doesn’t need any from Cody. He said he needs Cody to suffer and brought up Cody referring to him as a knockoff Chris Jericho.
The crowd chanted “fake” as MJF bragged about his scarf. MJF called Cody fake and said it looks a cat pissed on his head and that he has Gary Busey’s teeth. MJF then laughed at Cody’s lisp and even dropped a “suffering succotash”.
MJF dared Cody to fire him and then asked the crowd if they wanted to see a match between him and Cody. MJF stated that he has a couple of stipulations but he is not going to tell them here in “honkeyville” Texas. MJF added that he will reveal the stipulations on January 1st in Jacksonville.
AEW is doing a great job on giving viewers something to look forward to on upcoming shows. Dynamite has been awesome so far this week and there hasn’t been a single audio issue all night. MJF’s segment tonight was pretty much a flawless heel promo.
Big Swole faced Emi Sakura tonight on Dynamite. Sakura grabbed Big Swole’s hair and pissed her off. Swole slapped Emi in the face but Sakura tripped her up. Emi knocked Big Swole to the canvas as Dynamite went to a commercial break.
Back from the break, Big Swole hit a headbutt and then an uppercut in the corner of the ring. Swole followed it up with a Dropkick and another uppercut for a two count. Sakura battled back with a Crossbody and then a Backbreaker.
Sakura brought her mic stand in the ring but the referee ripped it away. Big Swole grabbed the mic stand and danced around before hitting a massive Clothesline. Sakura connected with a knee to the head and then a Vader Bomb for a two count.
Emi climbed to the top rope and went for a Moonsault but Big Swole got out of the way. Big Swole exploded with a big boot to the face and went for the cover but somehow Sakura was able to kick out at two. Big Swole leveled Emi Sakura with Dirty Dancing for the pinfall victory.
Kip Sabian & Shawn Spears faced Kenny Omega & Hangman Page tonight. Sabian and Page started off the match. Penelope Ford distracted Hangman and Sabian capitalized with a series of punches in the corner of the ring.
Hangman batted back with a boot to the face and then knocked Spears to the floor outside the ring. Kenny Omega tagged in and lit up Kip with some chops. Omega connected with a Backbreaker for a near fall before tagging Page back in.
Page went for a Splash but Sabian got out of the way. Hangman battled with a Dropkick as Dynamite went to a break. When Dynamite returned, Omega and Sabian tagged in. Omega knocked Spears and Sabian to the outside and fired up the crowd.
Penelope hopped on the apron and Spears capitalized on the distraction with a Backstabber. Sabian hit Omega with a Dropkick and went for the cover but Kenny kicked out at two. Penelope Ford took out Hangman with a Hurricanrana as Sabian planted Kenny with a DDT for a near fall.
Spears distracted the referee as Ford hit Omega with a Splash. Sabian planted Omega with a Fisherman’s Suplex for a two count. Omega hit Kip with the V-Trigger and both men fell to the canvas. The lights in the arena went out and Tully Blanchard was shown tied up on the top of the ramp. Joey Janela then laughed behind him and Spears rushed up the ramp. Janela and Spears then battled backstage as Sabian was left alone in the ring.
Omega connected with the Snap Dragon Suplex and followed it up with another V-Trigger. Hangman Page tagged himself in and hit the Buckshot Lariat for the pinfall victory.
Jungle Boy Sent Jericho A Message Heading Into Their Match Next Week
Chris Jericho and Jake Hager demanded that Tony Schiavone and Excalibur leave the announce desk. Hager and Jericho joined commentary for the Guevara and Luchasaurus. Jungle Boy and Marko Stunt accompanied Luchasaurus to the ring.
The crowd loudly chanted “Luchasaurus!” at Sammy responded by slapping the big man in the face. Guevara sent Luchasaurus to the corner and went for a Hurricanrana but Luchasaurus blocked it.
Sammy climbed to the top rope but Luchasaurus booted him to the outside. Guevara planted Luchasaurus with a DDT and both wrestlers fell to the mat. Sammy went for a Shooting Star Press but Luchasaurus blocked it. Luchasaurus slammed Sammy to the mat for the pinfall victory.
Hager and Jericho rushed the ring and a brawl broke out. Jungle Boy and Jericho traded punches and Jungle Boy hit a Hurricanrana. Jungle Boy then pinned Jericho and Marko Stunt made the count. Jericho threw another tantrum as Jurassic Express posed on the entrance ramp. Jungle Boy and Jericho will battle next week in a non-title match.
The Young Bucks battled Santana & Ortiz in a Texas Street Fight to close this week’s show. Inner Circle attacked the Young Bucks during their entrance. Santana and Ortiz Powerbombed Brandon Cutler through a table and continued to beat the hell out of Matt and Nick Jackson.
Young Bucks battled back and Nick hit Ortiz with a Swanton Bomb through a table from on top of the stage for a two count. AEW Tag Team Champions SCU were shown watching the match ringside and started trash talking with both teams. Santana and Ortiz placed a trash can on top of Nick’s head and beat the hell out of him.
Matt Jackson put on a Dallas Cowboys helmet and connected with a Spear. Santana grabbed the helmet and spit on it as the crowd booed. Matt planted Santana with a few Northern Lights Suplexes and then sent him flying through a table. Ortiz launched Matt through a table and then hit Nick with a Cannonball through a table as AEW went to a break.
When Dynamite returned, Nick hit Ortiz with a 450 Splash and went for the cover but Jake Hager broke it up. Nick tried to kick Hager but Jake ducked and Nick hit the referee. Dustin Rhodes rushed the ring and battled with Hager to the entrance ramp. Matt and Nick hit Ortiz with a Powerbomb/Enziguri combo and then bashed Santana with a trash lid.
Matt connected with a Moonsault but the referee was laid out beside the ring. Referee Aubrey Edwards ran to the ring but Ortiz kicked out at two. Santana Dropkicked Nick off the apron and fell through another table. Santana hit Matt with a kick to the groin and set up a trash can in the corner. Santana and Ortiz hit the Street Sweeper and went for the cover but Nick dragged Aubrey out of the ring.
Santana grabbed a couple chairs and brought them into the ring and set up a table on the outside. Ortiz set up the chairs in the corner and lifted Nick up. Santana climbed to the top rope but Matt pushed him through the table. Nick hit Ortiz with a Bulldog on the chairs and the Young Bucks followed it up with a couple Superkicks.
Matt then held up the chair and Nick hit another Superkick on Ortiz. Young Bucks connected with the Meltzer Driver on the chairs for the pinfall victory. The Young Bucks will battle SCU next week for the AEW Tag Team Championships.
AEW delivered a hell of an episode of Dynamite this week and built up next week’s show in the process. The main event was great tonight and the title match should be even better next week.
AEW Revolution has been announced as the next pay-per-view event from All Elite Wrestling. A promo aired on this week’s episode of Dynamite revealing that AEW Revolution will take place Saturday, February 29, 2020 from Chicago, IL.
Unlike other AEW shows which have taken place from the Sears Center, Revolution will be presented from the Wintrust Arena in downtown Chicago. The event is being promoted in conjunction with the popular C2E2 (Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo) convention.
This will mark the fourth AEW PPV event and the final piece of their their quarterly calendar.
AEW Revolution
AEW President Tony Khan commented on the news of AEW Revolution in a press release sent in to SEScoops.com.
“REVOLUTION will be a huge pay-per-view event for AEW, featuring the biggest wrestling card we’ve ever presented, at the heart of a three-day destination event in partnership with C2E2,” said Khan. “The experience in the South Loop of Chicago will be unlike anything we’ve seen in wrestling, and it will be all day, all night and all weekend.”
AEW World Champion Chris Jericho, AEW World Tag Team Champions SCU, AEW Women’s World Champion Riho, Jon Moxley, Cody, The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, Nyla Rose and Britt Baker are all scheduled to appear.
AEW Revolution will air at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, and is available for purchase via iN DEMAND cable operators, DirecTV, DISH Network and B/R Live. International fans can purchase the event at FITE.TV.
Fans can purchase tickets for REVOLUTION on Friday, Dec. 20, at noon ET (11am CT/9am PT) at www.AEWTIX.com, www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets start at $20 and range up to $150 face value.
Dustin Rhodes was recently interviewed by Sportskeeda. The 50-year-old veteran spoke about a wide range of topics, including his decision to leave WWE earlier this year.
“It had been such a long, storied career with the Goldust character and, you know, I really thought that I was going to retire,” Rhodes admitted. “And then I got pulled in and my passion got reignited when I wrestled my brother, and we had the match of the last decade, probably, if not the last two decades.”
Rhodes talked about how it was such a story and a great match. He brought up how AEW’s travel schedule is different and takes some getting used to.
Dustin Rhodes On Why He Left WWE
Rhodes noted that with WWE, talent is on the road constantly with no time at home with family. On the flip side, AEW allows for a much more forgiving schedule. He leaves on Tuesday for a production meeting, does TV Wednesday nights and is back home on Thursday.
As a result, Rhodes has the freedom to do whatever he wants outside of wrestling. He added, “They made it very, very difficult and that’s one of the reasons why I left.”
Rhodes decided to depart from WWE in April in order to join AEW. He made his in-ring debut against brother Cody at Double or Nothing in May.
Head over to Sportskeeda to read their full interview with Dustin Rhodes.
In a fun surprise for fans in attendance, Vickie Guerrero has made her AEW (All Elite Wrestling) debut.
Guerrero was a guest commentator for AEW Dark matches that were taped before Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite live show on TNT from Garland, TX at the Curtis Culwell Center.
Fans in attendance noted that Guerrero got a monster reaction. Guerrero, who is the wife of the late, great, WWE Hall of Famer Eddie Guerrero, doesn’t make many wrestling appearances these days.
Vickie started working for WWE in 2005 where she was put in different positions including General Manager of Smackdown from 2007 to 2011 and of Raw from 2011 to 2013.
She departed from the company in 2014. She later revealed her plans to start a new career in medical administration.
Her last appearance on WWE television came on the 1000th episode of SmackDown. Her last match was in 2018 by working the Women’s Royal Rumble Match.
AEW Dark typically features three matches and a series of promos recapping what happened on the previous episode of Dynamite as well as looking ahead to the new episode.
Vickie currently hosts the Excuse Me Podcast where she interviews various people including WWE stars. The podcast is available on Itunes and Spotify among other podcast platforms.
AEW on-air correspondent Chris Van Vliet recently released an interview with AEW tag team Santana & Ortiz. During the interview the team had some interesting comments regarding their signing with the company, and how they ‘nearly signed’ with WWE.
Earlier this year the team left IMPACT wrestling and questions were being asked by fans as to where the team would end up next. Rumors at the time indicated that Santana & Ortiz would end up in either NXT, AEW or Ring of Honor.
“Stars Aligned Perfectly”
“I feel like the stars aligned perfectly, with our contracts coming, how All Out was lining up” Ortiz started. “The Jericho Cruise was basically our job interview. We got on with The Bucks and we got to wrestle Hangman and Cody in a match that will never see the light of day!”
“Our careers go hand in hand with each other” – Santana & Ortiz
“So when we came here we had a long conversation, a long sit down of course” Ortiz continued. “Our careers go hand in hand with each other. We were in Puerto Rico riding together and we were about to turn down WWE. So we sat down and we didn’t want to burn a bridge. We never want to burn a bridge, that’s not how we do business. And we get cut off, they say ‘really think about the decision.’ They made it really hard for us to turn them down.”
“Write your own ticket” – Santana & Ortiz
Santana then stated that “they were pretty much ‘write your own ticket’” with regards to the NXT deal that they were offered. “So it was NXT to eventually go up to the main roster” Ortiz then added. “So, we were just like, dang, honestly the ultimate decision was ‘do we want to be a part of something established?’ or ‘do we want to be a part of something new and make history?’ Because, no matter what happens with AEW we will always be part of the first main event of the first ever episode of AEW. Best case scenario [in WWE] we would be small fish in an ocean. There’s so many people there, it would be an uphill battle. Not saying we couldn’t do it, but now we’re a part of change. No matter what happens with this company [AEW] wrestling has changed for the better.”
Ortiz finished by saying “we didn’t want to get into a bidding war, but it eventually went down to ‘what do toy want?”
You can check out the full interview with Santana & Ortiz below:
AEW Dynamite returns tonight with a live episode from from Garland, Texas at the Curtis Culwell Center.
The main event will see The Elite clash with the Inner Circle once again, as the Young Bucks square off against Santana & Ortiz in a Texas Street Fight. Santana and Ortiz are the top-ranked tag team in AEW with a record of 3-1. The Bucks are ranked just below them (4-3) and could bump them from the top spot with a victory.
After signing with AEW over the past week, Big Swole makes her AEW Dynamite debut against #3 ranked competitor Emi Sakura (1-1).
Maxwell Jacob Friedman will have a live mic to address Cody Rhodes. Cody wants revenge against his former best friend, however a recent social media post by MJF indicates that won’t be so easy.
AEW has also announced:
Luchasaurus vs. Sammu Guevara with Chris Jericho on commentary
Kenny Omega & Hangman Page vs. Shawn Spears and Kip Sabian
Finally, expect some hype for Jungle Boy’s non-title match against AEW World Champion Chris Jericho, scheduled for next week.
Join us here later tonight for our weekly AEW Dynamite Takeaways recap.
All Elite Wrestling World Champion Chris Jericho has defended his former WCW colleague Disco Inferno after a fan lashed out with an online outburst. The two frequently worked together during the ‘90s when both were a part of WCW—a time that Jericho clearly looks back fondly on.
When a fan insulted Inferno via social media, claiming that nobody has ever paid to see him wrestle before calling him a joke and an embarrassment to wrestling, “Le Champion” refused to stay silent. He replied to the disparaging remarks, commenting “Totally not true jerkoff. @TheRealDisco was great at what he did and I LOVED working with him. So shut your ass and eff off.”
Totally not true jerkoff. @TheRealDisco was great at what he did and I LOVED working with him. So shut your ass and eff off. https://t.co/x9T6nc5FCD
The fan also incorrectly argued that Inferno had never held a title for any promotion. In WCW alone, Inferno held the company’s Cruiserweight, Television and Tag Team Championships.
The critical comments were initially made after Inferno shared a GIF of a missed spot between Bea Priestley and Mayu Iwatani. Inferno has been outspoken in the past over his personal views on women’s wrestling, something that Impact Wrestling decided to turn into an on-screen storyline—one that has seen him competing against numerous female talent in several intergender matches.
Last week’s episode of AEW: Dynamite on TNT suffered from audio issues during the beginning of the show. There were frequent audio problems that made the crowd sound muted during the opening match featuring The Young Bucks and Dustin Rhodes competing against Inner Circle members Sammy Guevara, Santana and Ortiz.
On the recently released episode of Being The Elite, The Young Bucks openly addressed these audio issues. They shared their disappointment in finding out, noting that the crowd in attendance we “one of the hottest crowds” they had ever performed in front of.
“This is one of the hottest crowds we’ve ever performed in front of,” Nick Jackson said. “I’ll address the issue right now cause I found out. Satellites in Atlanta actually were out and they had a big problem with the whole TNT network.”
His brother, Matt, added how they immediately received complaints from people as soon as they stepped behind the curtain. He shared how he was receiving texts informing him of the audio problems, and that the entire situation was a “downer” for him as he felt they had a great match to kickstart Dynamite.
“It just sucks because it’s something we can’t control,” Matt stated. “We can’t control it while we’re out there in the ring, we just have to have our best match.
The Young Bucks and their partner, Dustin Rhodes, would eventually win their matchup defeating the Inner Circle members after a double team Meltzer driver/senton combination.
AEW has announced two new additions to their Women’s division with the signing of Big Swole and Kris Statlander. The company revealed the news via a couple of posts from their Twitter account. Both these stars have previously made appearances for the company.
Big Swole is All Elite
Big Swole first made her AEW debut during the All Out event back in August. She competed in the Casino Battle Royal during the show and has made several AEW Dark appearances recently.
Swole has also made several appearances for WWE in the past. The female star who is married to WWE’s Cedric Alexander competed as an enhancement talent in a match against Nia Jax during a Raw episode in 2016.
She competed in the second Mae Young Classic tournament in 2018 as well, where she battled against Zeuxis in the first round of the tournament in a losing effort.
Statlander, on the other hand, made her first AEW appearance during the November 13th taping of AEW Dark and she has made a couple of Dynamite appearances since then.
The new AEW star made her pro wrestling debut in 2017 and she has been working in the independent circuit ever since.
She also made a SmackDown appearance earlier this year where she competed in a tag team match and got squashed by the then-WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions The IIconics.
The locations for the 18th and 19th weeks of AEW Dynamite have been announced.
AEW (All Elite Wrestling) announced on Monday via Twitter that the promotion would be holding a TV event on TNT in Huntsville, AL at the Von Braun Center on February 5. They also will hold a show on February 12 in Austin, TX at the H.E.B Center at Cedar Park.
For fans who plan on attending, tickets for the shows will go on sale on Friday, December 13 at 11 am CST / Noon Eastern at AEWTix.com.
The announcement by AEW for the first show read like, “Huntsville, AL #AEWDynamite is coming! Wednesday, February 5th Von Braun Center Tickets go on sale Friday, Dec 13th & start at $20! Check http://AEWTIX.com for full ticket and pricing details AEW tickets make great holiday gifts.”
AUSTIN, TX #AEWDynamite is coming! Wednesday, February 12th H.E.B Center at Cedar Park
Jurassic Express’ Jungle Boy is set to face off against All Elite Wrestling World Champion Chris Jericho on an upcoming episode of AEW: Dynamite. For some, his sudden push into the main event scene is somewhat perplexing, given his current record within the company.
According to Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline.com, Jungle Boy was one of those on AEW’s roster that had been earmarked for long-term development. He has apparently been given a “no rush” focus in how the company is wanting to help develop and evolve him. This extends to his growth as a character and in-ring talent. Meltzer pointed to how Jungle Boy did well as a featured talent during AEW’s first Battle Royal as an example of their approach.
When a fan asked about why Jungle Boy gets to wrestle Jericho despite his current record, “Le Champion” answered. Jericho stressed that Jungle Boy gets this chance “Cause it’s my decision. I wrestle who I want because I’m #LeChampion ….and you are a dumb moron.”
Jericho isn’t the only AEW talent to respond to the question. AEW EVP Cody Rhodes also happened to see the post. He explained that Jungle Boy’s clash with Jericho isn’t a title shot but is “Gonna’ be a great match.”
Jungle Boy faces off against AEW World Champion Chris Jericho on the December 18th episode of AEW: Dynamite on TNT.
In an interview with Sportskeeda, All Elite Wrestling’s Dustin Rhodes named who he believes will be the next major star in pro wrestling. For him, it’s somebody on the AEW roster. He confessed that, as a coach, he likes everybody in the AEW locker room, however one name stood out to him: Maxwell Jacob Friedman.
“Oh, man, a new up-and-comer, who not a lot of people know and they are starting to get to know now is MJF. He is really something special on the mic, and we haven’t seen too much of his ring ability yet but he’s good. He’s really good. I like his style.”
He continued, “Unfortunately he stabbed my brother in the back so I take that kind of personal when you’re messing with family – but as far as him being something special and big in this business, I think he’s going to be.”
Rhodes isn’t the only veteran to name MJF as a future star. Diamond Dallas Page recently answered that question with the same answer, noting how talented MJF is. Like Rhodes, DDP highlighted MJF’s ability to connect with the audience comparing his charisma and mic ability to talents like Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes, Steve Austin and even Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. His ability to make fans react is what has helped him stand out.
MJF is currently feuding with his former best friend, Cody Rhodes. He recently took credit for the assault Rhodes suffered at the hands of the Butcher, the Blade and the Bunny during a previous episode of AEW: Dynamite.
Cody Rhodes recently had an interview with DallasNews.com where he talked about things like why AEW is not holding Live Events. He also explained his decision to move away from the AEW World Title picture and revealed the reason behind it.
Rhodes first discussed his brother Dustin Rhodes joining him in AEW and mentioned how Dustin has dived right into the coach side of things since joining the promotion.
Talking about his decision to move away from the World title
picture, Cody claimed that it was solely his decision and he chose to do so
because he didn’t want to face the same criticism as his father:
“It was solely my decision. Tony was not a fan of it, but he understood why I wanted to do it. And I heard both sides of the argument. I don’t want to face any of the criticisms or any of the asterisks that my dad [Dusty Rhodes] faced because they weren’t fair to his legacy.”
Explaining his reasoning behind the move, the American Nightmare said that his father received criticism for being the top star during his time in the Jim Crockett Promotions while also being a booker and he wanted to take a different path:
“When he was with [Jim Crockett Promotions], he made
everybody at Crockett rich. Him and Ric Flair were the top stars. When you’re
the top stars, they’re what the people wanted to see. But they all received
that criticism later on, the political aspect of it. I figured I would just
take a different path.”
Cody Rhodes challenged Chris Jericho for the AEW World
Championship at the Full Gear PPV and he had announced that he won’t challenge for
the title again if he lost the bout.
During the PPV, MJF throwed the towel on behalf of Cody to end the match. However, he then proceeded to attack Rhodes, effectively ending his alliance with the former ROH Champion.
One of All Elite Wrestling’s Executive Vice Presidents, Cody Rhodes, has discussed why the promotion hasn’t been running any house shows. Speaking with DallasNews.com, Rhodes explained that the schedule their roster has allows them to be free for independent shows.
Cody explained that by taking bookings with other conpanies, they “get their reps in” without exhausting themselves with numerous house show dates. He also noted how more experienced talent is already TV-ready, pointing to his brother Dustin as an example.
“One of the benefits of working for All Elite Wrestling – if you’re a competitor – you’re really only working one day a week. The really die-hard, committed, kind of golden circle of our company is always working, and that includes wrestlers – not just management. Their minds always going. But it’s new to wrestling that Tony’s offered this schedule.”
He continued, “Some people are free to do independent [shows] on the weekends where they can keep getting their reps in. Some other people don’t need the reps – like my brother [Dustin Rhodes], he’s had 20 years of reps. He’s TV-ready always, as kind of proven by this last week in there with The Young Bucks and Santana and Ortiz. I think it’s the way it should be.”
Cody Rhodes is currently involved in a feud with former best friend, Maxwell Jacob Friedman. On a recent episode of AEW: Dynamite, Rhodes was doing all he could to entice MJF into accepting his challenge. He offered his car, his watch and even his shoes in his attempts to secure a grudge match.
All Elite Wrestling has announced the third week of AEW Rankings for the week ending Friday, December 6th, 2019.
The most notable moves include Kenny Omega jumping from #3 to #2 in the men’s rankings as he surpassed PAC, who dropped one spot.
In the women’s standings, Kris Statlander broke into the top 5 while Bea Priestley dropped out of the standings. Also, Nyla Rose is now ranked #2. There were no changes to the tag team standings.
These rankings are for the following divisions – men’s, women’s, and tag team. The way it works is the talent will be listed in rankings by their match records but doesn’t include the champions.
Former WWE Superstar Ryback was declared that All Elite Wrestling’s “excitement period” is officially over.
Speaking on a recent episode of his podcast, Conversation with the Big Guy, Ryback explained why he thinks people are over the initially boon of interest in AEW’s alternative product.
“The excitement period is over for the new company, essentially. That was going to happen and there was nothing they can do,” he stated. “I think though, as time goes on, and I think as more names become freed up in pro wrestling and other opportunities arise; say, Rusev’s contract is up and the following week he shows up on AEW or whenever he can, that would be a big deal and that would spark some interest because Rusev has a fanbase. That would kick them up a little notch and you would have more angles that you can do with Rusev, or whoever it is, a Luke Harper shows up. That’s another guy now where you just start slowly building that roster up who has name value.”
Several WWE Superstars have openly vented their frustrations with the company in recent months. Ryback noted how WWE has been ensuring talent can’t simply jump over to AEW, doing all they can to entice Superstars in staying.
“[…] the problem is that WWE is really f—g smart. They locked down so many of those guys it’s like, AEW what are you going to do? Because they know how it is to get guys over, you can’t get independent guys over as a group. It is a tough sell so I think as time goes on, I think that AEW is going to continue to try. They have to stay afloat and I think eventually guys will start getting freed up and by then it’s going to create some opportunities for them to be pushing the numbers.”
You can see the latest viewership figures from this past Wednesday’s NXT and AEW shows here.
Viewership data is in for this week’s battle in the NXT vs. AEW Wednesday Night War.
This week AEW scored a victory in total viewers It was close in every demographic group except Adults 50+, where NXT had a significant edge as they usually do.
Here is the breakdown of the live and same-night DVR viewership, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:
WWE NXT Viewership
NXT on the USA Network averaged 845,000 viewers, which is up from 810,000 last week. In the 18-49 demo, they drew a 0.29, up from 0.24 the previous week.
The episode featured Killian Dain defeats Pete Dunne, Matt Riddle vs. Kassius Ohno, Kushida vs. Cameron Grimes, and Dominik Dijakovic, Keith Lee & Tommaso Ciampa vs. The Undisputed ERA (Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong) in the main event.
AEW Dynamite on TNT was watched by 851,000 viewers, up from 663,000 the previous week. In the 18-49 demo, Dynamite pulled in a 0.32, up from 0.26.
Dynamite saw Dustin Rhodes & The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) vs. The Inner Circle (Ortiz, Sammy Guevara & Santana), Rey Fenix vs. Trent, Pentagon Jr. vs. Christopher Daniels, Jon Moxley vs. Joey Janela in the main event.
There were also two promo segments featuring Cody Rhodes and AEW World Champion Chris Jericho.
All Elite Wrestling’s Chief Branding Officer Brandi Rhodes has opened up about her character evolution on Dynamite. Speaking with Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Snowden, Rhodes shared the motivations she had for developed this new character. She credited Awesome Kong for approaching her with a different idea—one Rhodes was eager to run with.
“I have to give a lot of credit to Awesome Kong because she came to me wanting something specific for herself and that’s always a great thing, a great sign from a talent when they come in and say, ‘Hey, this is my vision, this is what I see. Can you help me create this?’” Rhodes explained. “Because nobody’s going to be able to create their own vision better than they do themselves.
She continued, “It’s always great when somebody has something in mind for themselves because they believe in it and they feel it. And that’s going to come across on the screen. Cody’s a big fan of always saying, ‘we like to let people play their music how they like to play it.’ And this is the perfect example of doing that. She came to me with the sprinklings of this idea, and I worked together with her to make it what it is now and we continue to work on it week after week. I don’t think either of us knew exactly what it was becoming the first time we talked about it, but now we’re really happy with where it’s going.”
Since Kong and Rhode’s on-screen return, the two women have been making an impact on the AEW women’s roster. Kong has been frequently assaulting female talent, subsequently collecting their hair as a trophy.
