William Regal is bidding farewell to the Blackpool Combat Club once and for all. Regal appeared on this week’s AEW Dynamite in a backstage segment that will serve as his final appearance for All Elite Wrestling.
With BCC members Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta standing in the ring, Regal said it’s time for him to move on. He gave the group one final ‘lesson’ on his way out.
He urged Moxley, Castagnoli, Yuta and Bryan Danielson to “always stay one step ahead and make sure you have eyes in the back of your head.”
To the members of the BCC. My favourite song by my favourite band who somehow knew when I was a child to write the story that is my life. It’s been a pleasure fellas. We’ll meet again…..
– William Regal
He included a link to the song “Far Far Away” by the band Slade:
The confusion over William Regal’s status with AEW and future in the wrestling world has been the trending topic among fans. AEW star Saraya claims that his decision to leave the promotion is about how he feels.
The former Diva’s Champion recently had an interview with Metro. Among other things, she also commented on the situation with the former NXT GM.
Saraya mentioned how everyone seems to have an opinion on Regal’s decision to leave AEW. According to her, it’s doesn’t have to do with anything that happened backstage:
“Everyone has an opinion on that. The reality is, it doesn’t have anything to do with anything backstage, it’s to do with how he feels. Us behind the scenes know why, and we’re happy for him!”
It’s expected that William Regal would return to WWE once he is free of his AEW contract. While Saraya didn’t confirm these reports, she mentioned that Regal should be able to do whatever he wants:
“Whether he’s going there or whatever, it doesn’t matter. We’re just happy with whatever he wants to do with his life.
He’s at the age where he can do whatever he wants to without the internet deep diving into it, or everyone saying this, that and the other about him. Who cares? Let him be happy!”
How do you feel about William Regal potentially returning to WWE in near future? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
All Elite Wrestling’s Saraya will be back in the ring next month as part of a tag-team match.
Saraya joined AEW in September of this year, months after her contract with WWE expired.
At AEW Full Gear, Saraya competed in her first match since December 2017, defeating Britt Baker.
Second Match
On this week’s AEW Dynamite Baker congratulated Saraya on her victory at last month’s Pay-Per-View, and promised that she would not beat her again.
It was later announced that Baker and AEW Women’s World Champion Jamie Hayter will team with Saraya, a mystery partner, in the English star’s second AEW match.
Britt offered Saraya tickets to the January 11 episode of AEW Dynamite at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, where the match will take place.
The show is also set to feature the final match in the best-of-seven series between the Elite and Death Triangle, should it be necessary.
Mystery Partner
There’s no word yet on who Saraya’s partner could be, but there are plenty of options available.
Toni Storm seems a likely candidate, given that she lost her AEW Women’s World Championship to Hayter at Full Gear.
On social media, some fans speculated on her partner being Thunder Rosa, who has feuded with Baker and Hayter in the past and reportedly had heat earlier this year with both women.
Others suggested that it could be Sasha Banks, who recently trademarked her real name Mercedes Varnado for entertainment purposes.
Note: This article contains SPOILERS for this week’s AEW Rampage! If you want to go in completely blind, we suggest clicking on one of our other articles.
A former WWE NXT Tag Team Champion is set to make their debut this week for AEW as part of Rampage.
After this week’s AEW Dynamite went off the air, the promotion filmed its Rampage tapings, which saw the debut of Trent Seven.
Seven made his AEW debut by challenging AEW All-Atlantic Champion Orange Cassidy, and was hand-picked by Kip Sabian.
Unfortunately for Seven, he was unsuccessful in dethroning Freshly Squeezed, and there has been no word on whether there are plans for future appearances.
This match marked Cassidy’s seventh title defense since becoming champion on the October 12, 2022 episode of AEW Dynamite.
Trent Seven in WWE
After establishing himself on the independents, Seven signed with WWE in 2016, and was considered a favorite of many to win the tournament to crown the inaugural WWE United Kingdom Champion.
Seven was eliminated in the quarter-finals, but would often find himself challenging for the title, but never won.
In June 2018, Seven and Tyler Bate won the NXT Tag Team Championships from the Undisputed Era, but lost the titles back to the faction days later.
In December of last year, the two would capture the NXT UK Tag Titles and would hold the gold until June 2022, losing to Ashton Smith and Oliver Carter.
Seven would turn heel on Bate not long after, but would be released on August 18, 2022.
FTR finally got their shot at the AEW Tag Team Championships tonight in the main event of AEW Dynamite.
Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler gave it everything they had but it was not meant to be. The Acclaimed retained after it appeared that Cash had the match in control.
Wheeler delivered a Powerbomb and was about to go for a cover but Max Caster countered into an inside cradle for the pinfall victory.
After the match, The Acclaimed and FTR showed each other respect and “scissored” in the ring. Gunn Club showed up on the jumbotron and most assumed they were going to challenge FTR to a match for the ROH Tag Team Championships.
Gunn Club did issue a challenge but on behalf of The Briscoes. FTR will have to shake off their loss to The Acclaimed tonight quickly as they will be defending the ROH Tag Team Championships against The Briscoes this Saturday at Final Battle in a Dog Collar match.
6-Man Tag Team Match added to ROH Final Battle 2022
The ROH Tag Title Dog Collar match wasn’t the only title match added to the Final Battle card during this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite.
Dalton Castle & The Boys are set to defend the ROH 6-Man Tag Team Championships against Gates of Agony and Brian Cage. During tonight’s Dynamite Diamond Battle Royale, The Machine Brian Cage eliminated Dalton Castle by hurling him over the top rope and onto The Boys below. Cage was eliminated by Jungle Boy moments later.
Miro has not appeared on AEW TV since teaming up with Sting and Darby Allin on September 4th.
They defeated the House of Black in a Trios Match at the PPV. House of Black went on to disappear from television as well but for different reasons.
Wrestling fans have been wondering where The Redeemer has been and some have grown concerned that he is dealing with an unknown injury. As it turns out, Miro is not injured, he is just not being booked.
According to a new report from Fightful Select, Miro hasn’t been featured on television because creative “simply hasn’t been presented to him.” There were also plans in place for creative discussions to be held but, those haven’t taken place as of this writing.
The Redeemer has competed in just four matches in 2022, despite signing an extension with the promotion earlier this year. Miro’s current contract with All Elite Wrestling has him locked up until 2026.
Orange Cassidy Set to Defend the All-Atlantic Championship this Friday on Rampage
During this week’s edition of Dynamite, All-Atlantic Champion Orange Cassidy and Kip Sabian had a backstage segment. Sabian had competed in the Dynamite Diamond Ring Battle Royale to begin the show but was eliminated early.
Cassidy told Sabian that he can have a title match if he wants it but Kip claimed he was hurt. The champ suggested that he should find someone else and Kip seemed to have someone in line to accept the challenge.
Miro debuted in All Elite Wrestling as Kip Sabian’s “Best Man”. The gimmick fizzled out but perhaps he will be Kip’s selection as an opponent for Cassidy this Friday night on AEW Rampage.
Several weeks ago at Full Gear, William Regal slid MJF his brass knucks to cost Jon Moxley the AEW World Championship. The following Wednesday, Mox had to be stopped from beating up Regal.
Last week on Dynamite, MJF turned on Regal with his own brass knucks. We still didn’t have answers from Regal to answer the question, “Why Regal Why?”
Regal Teaches One Final Lesson
(AEW)
Tonight, Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta had a match and were accompanied by Moxley. Danielson was nowhere to be found (and Moxley didn’t mention him in his promo). While celebrating their win, Tony Schiavone told them he had a video from their former leader.
Regal said if they were seeing the video, something bad has happened to him. He helped MJF win so he’d have a target on his back and to teach the Blackpool Combat Club on final lesson. A few months ago, he came to the conclusion that the veterans of BCC didn’t him anymore.
“I knew they wouldn’t let me go, but I needed to show them why they don’t need me. And I needed to show them what they could teach Wheeler to be the best professional wrestler in the world because they’ve all got that capability. But, you have to lead by example. Hopefully — and I know he will because Jon Moxley’s a very calculated man; he’ll understand this — the reason I did what I did and to lead by example was to teach you the final thing that I could ever teach you, always stay one step ahead and make sure you have eyes in the back of your head. I’m Blackpool Combat Club until the day I die.”
On the media call today, Tony Khan explained that Regal wanted to return to WWE to be with his son, NXT Superstar Charlie Dempsey. Regal will be with AEW through the holidays and then will be released.
William Regal will finish his time with All Elite Wrestling this month, company President Tony Khan has confirmed.
For the past week, it has been reported that Regal’s time with AEW was up and that he planned on returning to WWE when he had the chance.
Regal himself has kept quiet throughout this period of time, but previously stated that he signed a three-year deal with AEW when he joined after Revolution in March of this year.
Leaving
This weekend will mark ROH Final Battle, the third event for the promotion since Khan acquired the company earlier this year.
Speaking on a media conference call ahead of the show, Khan publicly confirmed that Regal is set to leave AEW this month.
Khan explained that Regal contacted him and explained that he would live to spend more time with his son Bailey, who competes in WWE NXT as Charlie Dempsey.
The two had a “long, good talk” and Khan said he realized that Regal was honest with his reasons to return to WWE.
The AEW President said that after granting Regal’s request to depart AEW, there was a need for a complete overhaul of plans for the World Championship scene which featured him aligned with MJF.
Khan concluded his talk about the former King of the Ring by saying that Regal will remain with AEW through to the end of the year and that he is sad to see him go.
Medical Issues
During his talk about Regal, Khan addressed the recent health issues his mother has faced.
The AEW President explained that prior to AEW: Grand Slam in September, his mother suffered a stroke, and would suffer a second stroke weeks after being released from the hospital.
Calling his sister an ‘unsung hero’ for being by their mother’s side, Khan stayed with her at night, and doctors found a spot on his mother’s heart.
The discovery coincided with Regal’s request, and Khan said he didn’t want to prevent any parent and son from being together.
The surgery on Mrs. Khan was a complete success and Tony said that she is recovering well.
AEW commentator Jim Ross has become the latest name to suggest that William Regal’s time with the promotion has come to an end.
Regal was cut from WWE in January of this year from his role with NXT, after over 20 years with the promotion.
A former WWE Intercontinental, European, and Tag Team Champion, the 2008 King of the Ring would debut for AEW at the Revolution Pay-Per-View in March 2022.
Jim Ross
William Regal was written off AEW TV last week with an attack by MJF and it has been reported that the British legend is set to leave the company and return to WWE.
On the latest episode of Grilling JR, Ross praised what Regal has brought to All Elite Wrestling.
“He’s been a very valuable resource, you can’t replace guys with that kind of experience and in Regal’s case, the patience to help these young guys. He was in the ring every day at [AEW] TV, he always had time for the talent, young green guys.”
Jim Ross
Neither Tony Khan nor Regal have confirmed reports of his departure, and the British veteran had previously stated that his three-year contract would expire in early 2025.
The Future
Regal’s apparent exit comes not long after he betrayed the Blackpool Combat Club and aided MJF in winning the AEW World Championship at Full Gear.
On his podcast, Jim Ross spoke about the Salt of the Earth, and said he isn’t sure what’s next for William Regal.
“I mentioned to MJF, I said ‘The more you can sit under that learning tree of William Regal and talk about the psychology of being a wrestling villain, you should because he’s got great psychology.’ A very valuable asset wherever he may be, I don’t know what the future holds for him.”
“I don’t know what the future holds for him.”
Jim Ross on William Regal.
MJF (sans Regal) is expected to appear on tonight’s episode of AEW Dynamite.
AEW World Tag Team Champion was concerned that coming out as gay would negatively affect or possibly end his career in the ring.
In November 2020, Bowens, alongside Acclaimed teammate, Max Caster, signed a five-year deal with AEW and are in their first reign as World Tag Team Champions.
After coming out as bisexual in 2017, Bowens shared a video in 2019 with his partner, stating he now solely identifies as homosexual.
Career-Ending
Bowens is proud of who he is, but for years he feared he would never have the chance to come out due to his career.
“I would sit in my room, in my car, and just cry thinking if I came out, you know, my career is over, fans would hate me, wrestlers would hate me, a national TV company wouldn’t take a chance on me.”
Anthony Bowens.
Bowens added that he feels proud for coming out, and hopes to be an example to others that there is nothing wrong with being LGBTQ+.
“To be able to be somebody that people can watch on television, hopefully connect to and relate to, to give them that sense of hope that, I made it through, they can make it through.”
Anthony Bowens.
LGBTQ+ Wrestling
While there was once a stigma around LGBTQ+ in wrestling, that isn’t the case (as much) anymore.
In addition to Bowens, AEW’s first openly gay champion, AEW is also home to Nyla Rose, a transwoman, and both Toni Storm and referee Aubrey Edwards identify as bisexual.
In WWE, Sonya Deville is the promotion’s first openly lesbian Superstar, while Doudrop, Kayla Braxton, and the recently returned Tegan Nox have also come out as bisexual.
Athena has had a major character shift in All Elite Wrestling as of late and completely dominated Dani Mo on this past Friday’s episode of Rampage.
Athena was known as Ember Moon in WWE. She spent six years with the promotion before being released on November 4th, 2021. Athena debuted in All Elite Wrestling at Double or Nothing 2022 following Jade Cargill’s match.
The Fallen Goddess recently got very aggressive in a match against Jody Threat on AEW Dark: Elevation and some fans thought she went too far. She has used the negative reaction to the match to inject a new attitude into her character and it has paid off on screen.
Athena will challenge Mercedes Martinez for the ROH Women’s Championship at Final Battle this Saturday at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas.
Athena appeared on Busted Open Radio and explained her character change. The 34-year-old revealed that she worked her entire indie career as a “bad guy” and was fearful of getting lost in the shuffle in All Elite Wrestling.
Cause I feel like it. Sometimes, nice guys finish last.
Sometimes, you just get frustrated and it’s really hard because you’re trying to find an opportunity to not get lost in the shuffle because at AEW, there are so many talented women just across the board and it’s like, ‘What can you do to stand out?’
You’re asking your questions like, ‘Why am I stuck in this position? Why is this happening to me? Am I not good?’ Finally, you have to just say ‘eff it.
ROH Final Battle 2022 is this Saturday night at 4 PM EST at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas.
There are currently only four matches on the card but presumably more will be added on Dynamite and Rampage. Chris Jericho will defend the ROH Championship against Claudio Castagnoli in the main event. Jericho defeated Claudio at Dynamite: Grand Slam to win the ROH Championship.
Speaking on the Battleground Podcast, AEW President Tony Khan hyped up the PPV this Saturday.
Tony was asked how Final Battle will stand out from previous ROH shows this year and here was his response:
Well, the ROH PPVs have been excellent for in-ring wrestling. I think so far we’ve seen at Supercard of Honor, at Death Before Dishonor, this new iteration of Ring of Honor you are going to see some of the best wrestlers in the world having some of the best matches in the world on these PPVs. Trying to build a consistent rhythm of great shows, and we are two for two so far. [09:21 – 09:46]
Tony then hyped up this Saturday’s main event for the ROH Championship between Chris Jericho and Claudio Castagnoli.
Now at Final Battle, it is the final major wrestling PPV of this year, and a lot of the big scores are going to be settled. Of course, it doesn’t get any bigger in Ring of Honor than the World Championship match. Chris Jericho versus Claudio Castagnoli.
Two great World Champions, and really we are seeing two men on top of their profession, two guys with completely different approaches and opposite philosophies to pro wrestling. But frankly, the issue has gotten very personal.
Not only are their approaches very different, but if Chris Jericho wins this match, Claudio Castagnoli has to join the Jericho Appreciation Society and go back to applying his trade as a sports entertainer.
He (Claudio) has been in a tag team with Jake Hager in the past. I see Jake has got a second bucket hat with Claudio’s name on it. That is what is in Claudio’s future if he cannot beat Chris Jericho this weekend. [09:47 – 10:47]
Tony praised Chris Jericho’s run as ROH Champion and noted that he’s going for “The Ocho”, his 8th straight victory over a former Ring of Honor Champion at Final Battle.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit The Battleground Podcast with a H/T to SEScoops for the transcription.
AEW President Tony Khan was a guest on the BattleGround podcast to promote ROH Final Battle this Saturday night. The PPV will air live at 4 PM EST at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas.
Speaking on the Battleground Podcast, Tony hyped up this Wednesday’s edition of Dynamite featuring AEW World Champion MJF, Samoa Joe versus Darby Allin for the TNT Championship, and The Acclaimed versus FTR for the AEW Tag Team Championships.
Tony was asked if Billy Gunn managing The Acclaimed was the turning point for the AEW Tag Team Champions and Khan noted that they have only been a team for a short amount of time. He praised Billy Gunn for guiding The Acclaimed to the top of the sport and credited Caster and Bowens for their hard work.
The Acclaimed have only been a tag team for a couple of years. So with a few years under their belt, I think they have done an incredible job. Because just over two years ago in Jacksonville, The Acclaimed teamed up together for the first time ever on AEW Dark.
They worked their way up from Dark onto wrestling matches on TV pretty regularly. They didn’t win every single match but they made a big impression. I think they have quickly earned a place at the top of tag team wrestling.
I might not have put them at the top of the list at the very beginning, but I do think really very quickly, with the guidance of Billy Gunn, he has helped guide them to the top of the sport. Billy is a great mentor for them. He is also very popular.
I think their popularity was skyrocketing really quickly and Billy Gunn was clearly the right person at the right time for The Acclaimed.
And it has all just come together quickly. It was the perfect combination of things. And most of all, it was the hard work of Max Caster and Anthony Bowens to become the AEW World Tag Team Champions. [From 06:17 – 07:29]
Tony Khan on what Billy Gunn has brought to The Acclaimed
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit the Battleground Podcast and give a H/T to SEScoops for the transcription.
Naomi has been off WWE television since ‘walking out’ of a Raw taping back on May 16 due to creative differences with company company.
Cargill is scheduled to compete on Wednesday’s edition of AEW Dynamite. She’ll team up Baddies Red Velvet and Leila Grey against Madison Rayne, Skye Blue and former Baddie Kiera Hogan.
Maxwell Jacob Friedman is a humble young man, perhaps best known for his selflessness, kindness and compassion. Who are we kidding? He is a raging, egomaniacal narcissist who would probably marry himself if he could.
MJF now has the hardware to back up his grandiose feelings of self-satisfaction. As the reigning AEW World Heavyweight Champion, he’s more emboldened than ever. We’re just weeks into his MJF’s Reign of Terror and he’s already getting started reshaping the role of world champion in his own image.
Last week on Dynamite, we got a first glimpse at MJF’s custom AEW World championship belt. He also announced that he does not plan on defending the title as frequently as past champions, a stance some would call wise and others would call cowardly.
The Nickname
MJF appears will bre running with a new moniker, Mystic Max. On Tuesday, he posted a thread on Twitter showing off some of his biggest moments during his time in AEW. He included a caption containing a recent quote by who else but himself.
“Just call me Mystic Max because I have a feeling your happiness will soon turn into resentment, because you people are Fickle”
“Just call me Mystic Max because I have a feeling your happiness will soon turn into resentment, because you people are Fickle”- MJF pic.twitter.com/IyJSu1Vah1
Mystic is defined as, ‘inspiring a sense of spiritual mystery, awe, and fascination.’
Sounds just like our pal Max.
MJF’s next World title challenger is Ricky Starks, who won an eliminator tournament to earn a championship opportunity at Winter is Coming. MJF name dropped Eddie Kingston during his first promo since winning the world title, so a match between these two is likely in the works for early 2023.
House of Black made their long-awaited return to AEW on Thanksgiving Eve. They took out Best Friends, Orange Cassidy, and The Factory. On the latest episode of The Sessions with Renee Paquette, Brody King delves into his band, working in Hollywood, and wrestling for AEW.
King didn’t want to be off television when Malakai Black and Buddy Matthews were away from AEW. “I didn’t want to do it. I didn’t want to take a break because I feel like I had a lot of momentum at the time. Not just that, I just felt like I was really getting in my groove in AEW and like showing who Brody King, the professional wrestler was.”
“I got to wrestle Darby twice. I got to wrestle Jon and I feel like those three matches really put me on the map where people were just like ‘oh, he’s just Malakai’s side kick’ to ‘oh, shit. He’s like a threat.’ And those were the moments I was waiting for. It was never me questioning if I could do it, it was like when I can do it.”
“And I feel like it all came at the right time and I was worried about it taking the momentum away. We made this return and it was awesome and the whole crowd was standing on their feet. And I feel like it was almost like we didn’t miss a step. I feel like that’s really rare in wrestling because fans are so — I don’t want to say fickle — but they forget about you quickly. For them to give us that reception was awesome.”
The return of House of Black
(AEW)
When asked about the faction, King declared its “us versus everyone. Kind of how we live our lives outside in the world. Like me and Malakai both come from hardcore music. He kind of dips more into black metal and stuff like that. Whereas I stay kind of in my lane, more hardcore punk, like death metal adjacent. (…) We have the same thought process when it comes to the world. Then, like how we conduct ourselves. We’re very much on the same page when it comes to that. So it makes it easy when we’re coming up with concepts of how we want to look, how we want to present ourselves.”
“I feel like when it comes to AEW, we are delivering a product that they don’t have. And I feel like in wrestling, we’re delivering a product that nobody has. There’s people that have the ‘spooky’ gimmick or whatever you want to call it. But it’s like, this is authentic to us. This isn’t us putting on a costume and pretending to like the music that we like. We have deep knowledge on all things that we’re doing, you know? Malakai reads all these weird, old books on witchcraft and black magic and stuff. I’m constantly reading comic books and playing Magic: The Gathering and listening to alternative music, so it’s like we never want to present something we’re not actually involved in.”
Brody King Talks About Adding Julia Hart
Photo Credit: Scott Lesh
King says they are not currently looking to expand House of Black. “I’d say right now, we are very much kind of a hive mind. We all kind of want the same thing and know the trajectory that we want to go in. Bringing in Julia was interesting because obviously on the outside –19 year-old cheerleader makes no sense to be with us — but then she joins the group and it’s like she fits in perfectly.”
“Even when it came down to making her music, my best friend, Colin — he plays drums and writes all the music in God’s Hate — him and his brothers have like, a million bands, but they’re known and very respected in the hardcore scene. Their band, Dead Body, actually wrote the new House of Black theme, he wrote Julia Hart’s theme, he wrote the theme that Evil Danhausen came out to. He’s like a massive wrestling fan too. He didn’t make it to be a wrestler, but to have his influence in wrestling now is really cool for him.”
Hart had input on what she wanted her music to sound like. She told them she likes Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson. When she told them that, King said “it was like, there’s more here than we think. Before All Out me and my wife took her to the mall to find something for her entrance gear. We’ve become like her wrestling parents. She found this black dress and then just picked up the hat and we’re like, ‘yeah, that’s it.’ Now people are calling her ‘Tiny ‘Taker’ and she has like this Stevie Nicks vibe. She was like this bubbly, sweet teenager and now’s she’s like the most Resting Bitch Face on Earth.”
House of Black Will Be Trios Champions
King believe it’s a matter of time before they have the Trios Titles. “We’re waiting for our time. It’s wrapped up in this best-of-seven series, but I feel like with time, you will see House of Black go after those titles and take those titles at some point.”
He also believes that he and Allin are destined to keep wrestling each other since they’ve been opponents in Evolve and PWG. His dream opponent is Samoa Joe. “Not to sound like a fanboy, but he’s probably my favorite wrestler of all time. (…) I think he is the perfect wrestler and I would love to test myself against him.” Outside of AEW wrestlers, he’d love to wrestle Shingo Takagi and Kazuchika Okada.
AEW Dark is coming back to Orlando after spending the past few months on the road, Fightful Select has learned.
It is reported that the “working plan” is for Dark tapings to return to Orlando’s Universal Studios on December 17, marking the first taping at the center since August.
From September 2021 to August of this year, AEW was at Universal Studios every four to six weeks to tape content for Dark.
Since August, has been taping Dark on the road in front of live audiences, allowing wrestlers more experience traveling and working in front of different crowds.
Several AEW Dark regulars who spoke to Fightful said they are hoping to pop back up on the tapings when they returned to the Orlando area.
Fightful said they have not been told whether tapings for Dark will stay in Orlando, or go back on the road in the new year.
When AEW films Dark on the road, it allows the promotion to get a better look at local wrestlers wherever they are at.
AEW Dark
Launching in October 2019, AEW Dark marks the second weekly show for All Elite Wrestling, after AEW Dynamite.
The show airs each week on AEW’s official YouTube channel, with 173 episodes having aired to date.
Justin Roberts and Dasha Gonzalez (both former WWE talent) share roles as ring announcers, while Excalibur and Taz call the action on commentary.
In March 2021, Dark got its own sister show AEW Dark: Elevation, which showcases the younger talent that may not quite be ready for Dark, Dynamite or AEW Rampage.
Matt Hardy has big plans for his final-ever match, including facing a WWE Hall of Famer.
Hardy’s wrestling career began in 1992 and has seen Matt hold gold in WWE, TNA/Impact Wrestling, and Ring of Honor.
In April 2020, Hardy made his debut for All Elite Wrestling where he competes to this day.
Retirement
With 30 years in the wrestling business, Matt is fully aware that his days as an active competitor are coming to an end.
Speaking on his ‘Extreme Life’ podcast, Hardy revealed that he wants The Hardy Boyz’ final match to be against Edge & Christian.
“Our rivalry is just so iconic. I feel like that would be a pretty amazing way to end it, having one last match with those guys.”
Matt Hardy.
No Mercy 1999
The Hardys and Edge & Christian faced off countless times in WWE, but perhaps their best-known match took place at No Mercy 1999.
In the finals of the Terri Invitation Tournament (or T.I.T as Jerry Lawler reminded fans on commentary), the two teams faced off in the first tag-team ladder match in WWE history.
With their win, the Hardyz (then known as the New Brood) won $100,000 and the managerial services of Terri Runnels.
In their memoirs, ‘Exist 2 Inspire’ the Hardyz wrote that the four celebrated the match backstage with beers, the first time either Matt or Jeff drank alcohol.
The death-defying spots would cement both teams as ‘legitimate’ in the eyes of fans, with John Powell of SLAM! Wrestling writing at the time that the match overshadowed the Triple H Vs. Steve Austin WWF Title main event.
Jon Moxley lost the AEW World Championship to Maxwell Jacob Friedman, aka MJF, in the main event of AEW Full Gear.
Moxley had put the company on his back following the disastrous media scrum after All Out in September. Jon lost the title to CM Punk in the main event but wound up getting it back at Dynamite: Grand Slam by winning the Tournament of Champions.
William Regal was the lead of the Blackpool Combat Club for a few months but is now on his way back to WWE. Jon entered into a rivalry with Hangman Page after he returned from injury last week.
This week on Wednesday Night #AEWDynamite, we'll hear from the 3-time #AEW World Champ @JonMoxley for the 1st time since the return of former AEW World Champion #HangmanPage, who has Mox in his sights!#AEWDynamite will be LIVE from Austin, TX this Wednesday @ 8pmET/7pmCT on TBS pic.twitter.com/yjAK9A0n6p
Jim Cornette on What is Next for Jon Moxley, Hangman Page as World Champion
Jim Cornette recently discussed former AEW World Champion Jon Moxley on episode 460 of the Jim Cornette Experience.
He wondered what AEW should do with Jon Moxley after he’s lost his championship and Wiliam Regal is no longer with the company. Cornette said that Jon should be facing off against a young heel that wanted to rub in his loss at the PPV.
Now’s the time to get a guy that’s on the ascent, a young heel, to go in there and have a program. And Moxley can probably win some or most of those, as long as you keep the young heel credible.
But it make that guy a step up the ladder working with the ex-World Champion. And as a matter of fact, Moxley should go back after MJF, and that heel that I was just speaking of that doesn’t exist, because it’s Hangnail (Hangman Adam Page).
He should be the one to f*** Moxley out of a rematch or in his rematch. But the time to plan all that was before the guy dropped the title.
Cornette claimed that Hangman Page has added nothing to his presentation since his AEW World Championship run. Jim claimed that Hangman Page has been the most disappointing champion so far.
If this is what they figured out for it to be, bleh. They are rewarding Page again for pretty much starting this whole goddamn fiasco.
He’s worthless as an attraction to begin with because the only people that want to see that bland, boring-ass imitation cowboy face are the same people that want to see the EVPs, which is shrinking by the week.
It’s the whole clown club. Page was the biggest disappointment that they’ve had as a World Champion and he’s added nothing to make himself any more interesting.
You can’t even turn Page heel because he’s so bland and disinteresting.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit the Jim Cornette Experience and give a H/T to SEScoops for the transcription.
William Regal has reportedly exited All Elite Wrestling after just 9 months with the company.
He arrived at AEW Revolution and convinced Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley to work together in the Blackpool Combat Club. The group had such promise, but frittered into nothing over time.
Claudio Castagnoli and Bryan Danielson are involved in an interminable rivalry with Jericho Appreciation Society while Jon Moxley was AEW World Champion. William Regal betrayed Jon Moxley at AEW Full Gear by bashing him over the head with brass knuckles to gift MJF the title. MJF then betrayed William Regal on last week’s Dynamite and hit him with the brass knuckles. Regal was stretchered out of the arena as his send off.
Jim Cornette on the Rumors Surrounding William Regal’s Exit from AEW
ECIII claimed that Regal immediately regretted signing with AEW because of “maturity issues” within management. Cornette noted that William Regal is not the only legend the younger wrestlers apparently aren’t listening to as Rampage sets a new record-low rating this week.
Speaking on episode 460 of the Jim Cornette Experience, the legendary manager discussed the rumored comments by the former NXT GM.
Let’s see now, JR (Jim Ross) gave advice and was publicly ridiculed on Twitter and on social media by the young folks over there for trying to give advice.
Punk, said well you know nobody wants to listen to anybody’s advice. Ol’ Hangnail (Hangman Page) actually came out and said ‘no, I don’t look forward or listen to much advice’.
Do you think there might be something to this? A maturity issue within management. Almost like the people at the actual top of the company have never done any of this before.
But yet won’t take advice from people who have. It’s almost like that but that can’t be right because that is what we have been saying for quite some f***ing time now, is it not?
Jim Cornette noted that he wasn’t just talking about the talent being inexperienced.
Tony’s never done any of the sh** he’s trying to do before in his life except as we know now from his public comments, with his two other e-fed friends where they would book their e-federation for each other. And it was amazing that even though the fans in the arenas weren’t real they could get the feel of what was getting over.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit the Jim Cornette Experience and give a H/T to SEScoops.
William Regal is expected to return to WWE in the near future, but this is something that the NXT roster has been waiting on.
Regal was released in January of this year from his role with the gold brand, as part of sweeping cuts to the backstage crew in NXT.
The former WWE Intercontinental, European, and Tag Team Champion would debut for AEW at the Revolution Pay-Per-View in March 2023.
Discussion
After being written off AEW TV last week with an attack by MJF, it has been reported that Regal will be finishing up with the promotion this month.
One popular theory among fans is that Tony Khan had an agreement with Regal, stating that if Triple H took control of the company, then he’d be allowed to return.
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Live, Bryan Alvarez said that this idea has been discussed for months among the NXT roster.
“This is a story that goes back in NXT months, and months ago. They believed that story whenever it first happened. Some don’t believe it, but it’s a story that’s been going around NXT for MONTHS.”
Bryan Alverez.
Neither WWE, Khan, nor Regal have publicly confirmed reports that he is set to leave All Elite Wrestling and return to WWE.
Departure
Regal’s departure from AEW has come as a shock to fans, as the British legend has been featured prominently since arriving as part of the Blackpool Combat Club.
Speaking to Sportskeeda last week, EC3 claimed that what he was told is that Regal “immediately” regretted joining the promotion earlier this year.
It is claimed that Regal took issue with the “maturity issue” with management, though sources have labeled the rumor of AEW’s roster not listening to Regal as ‘completely inaccurate.’
Last week, she made a deal with a former WWE Superstar who happens to be a big Kansas City Chiefs fan. Since the two teams were facing off yesterday, the two made a fun bet.
Mojo Rawley’s wager was that if the Chiefs won, Paquette would have to dress up as him and act like him on her podcast. If the Bengals won, Rawley would have to wear a hot dog costume on her show.
Bet Wager Between Renee Paquette and Mojo Rawley
Mojo Rawley (Photo: WWE)
The Brodough app sponsored their bet. With the app, you can create bets with others while raising money for charity. Fans could get involved with this bet by using donation links and whomever raised the most money wins the challenge and the proceeds go to the winner’s charity. Rawley’s charity of choice was Mental Health America, while Paquette chose the SPCA of Cincinnati.
In the end, the Bengals held on in a thrilling victory with a final of 27-24. Paquette quickly took to Instagram to celebrate via her Instastory. She also posted a reel highlighting her day.
No date has been set for when Rawley has to pay up.
All Elite Wrestling and its roster’s attitude toward coaching has been a hotly debated subject since the All Out “Press Conference From Hell,” when CM Punk vented frustrations – among a number of subjects – at Hangman Adam Page for not being open to coaching from the former AEW, WWE, and ROH champ.
The latest controversy was from Ethan Carter III, who said William Regal was frustrated with talent not taking up offers to coach them prior to AEW shows and said management had maturity issues.
Several AEW sources said the story wasn’t true and blasted Carter for floating it. One source with the company described it as, “completely inaccurate.” One source noted Carter and James being frustrated themselves at not landing jobs in AEW and neither them or Russo have ever been with the company.
“There was no formal coaching session, where it was something that was scheduled or anything like that. Usually he would go down to the ring to help someone, and word would spread, like, “Hey, Regal is down in the ring.” The source said Dustin Rhodes trains younger women’s wrestlers on the roster. He also said Danielson has worked with people regularly and sessions included talent that appeared regularly on Dynamite or Rampage.
“I can’t believe this is a story,” another source said. “It’s complete bullshit. There was never some schedule you had to be down at the ring and people blew it off, and (Regal) was never going to flat tell someone they had to come to the ring so he could coach them. Regal would work with someone, people would go down and show up, a lot of people took advantage of it. Other vets do it all the time. It’s always the younger women and men. Sometimes someone would work with someone one on one, other times there could be quite a few people down. It was totally informal.”
“Regal would even sit in the stands with guys to talk about the fans point of view, or the point of view of watching on TV,” another source said. “He would tell you about making sure to know how you are looking to fans as you come to the ring or how you would look on TV. He said to make sure you’re always really nice to the camera guys, they’re the ones who make you look good (laughing).”
Regal was the on-screen manager of the Blackpool Combat Club since debuting with AEW in March. Several wrestling news sites have reported Regal will be leaving AEW for a return to WWE and would begin work there in 2023. Regal was released by WWE nearly a year ago.
Since then, his friend Paul Levesque has been named head of creative after Vince McMahon was investigated for multiple sex scandals and subsequent payoffs within the company. His son, Charlie Dempsey – who had wrestled as Bailey Matthews was brought to NXT from NXT UK in August. Dempsey scored his first win in the company early last month. Regal’s contract status is unknown, but it’s been speculated he will exercise an out clause. Regal’s relationship with Levesque goes back to the early 1990s in WCW, when Regal mentored him when the two were tag team partners. The two have been close friends for 20 years. Levesque was instrumental in bringing Regal to WWE in the early 2000s and making him a mainstay in WWE’s developmental system after he retired from wrestling.
AEW has been criticized for running the same markets every few months, but that will be changing next year. The reason for AEW having this past strategy was to save money on production cost for its weekly shows.
Except for the Dynamite show on January 11 from The Forum in Los Angeles, CA, AEW has announced new market dates for its 2023 touring schedule thus far.
For their remaining 2022 shows, the markets they are heading to haven’t had shows there since earlier this year. The last time they went to Cedar Park and San Antonio was in March while they last ran Garland in April 2022. They haven’t held a show in Broomfield since March 2020.
Here’s an updated look at AEW’s touring schedule through March 2023. Head over to AEWTix.com if you’re located in any of these markets and interested in attending
AEW Dynamite and Rampage: December 7 – H-E-B Center in Cedar Park, TX
AEW Dynamite and Rampage (Winter is Coming): December 14 – Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas
AEW Dynamite and Rampage (Holiday Bash): December 21 – Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, Texas
AEW Dynamite and Rampage: December 28 – 1STBANK Arena in Broomfield, CO
AEW Dynamite: January 4 – Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, WA
AEW Rampage and Battle of the Belts: January 6 – Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland, OR
AEW Dynamite and Rampage: January 11 – The Forum in Los Angeles, CA
AEW Dynamite and Rampage: January 18 – Save Mart Center in Fresno, CA
AEW Dynamite and Rampage: January 25 – Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY
AEW Dynamite and Rampage: February 1 – Nutter Center in Dayton, OH
AEW Dynamite and Rampage: February 8 – El Paso County Coliseum in El Paso, TX
AEW Dynamite and Rampage: February 15 – TBA
AEW Dynamite and Rampage: February 22 – Footprint Center in Phoenix, AZ
AEW Dynamite: March 1 – Cow Palace in San Francisco, CA
AEW Rampage: March 3 – Cow Palace in San Francisco, CA
AEW Revolution: March 5 – Chase Center in San Francisco, CA
Thunder Rosa says her injury rehabilitation is going “really well,” but don’t expect her back in All Elite Wrestling any time soon. She’s jogging, is finally able to lift weights again, but still has done any in-ring training.
Rosa has been on the sidelines since August 2022 when an undisclosed injury put her on the shelf. A lot has transpired since then, when she was the reigning AEW Women’s World Champion.
A tournament was held to crown an interim champion during her absence. Toni Storm won the tournament at All Out, but lost the interim title to Jamie Hayter at Full Gear. AEW has since stripped Rosa of her championship, retired the interim title and declared Hayter the official Women’s World Champion.
Several AEW stars have been critical of Rosa during her hiatus, including former champions Storm and Dr. Britt Baker.
Rosa has provided an update on her recovery. She’s back in the gym doing squats with 2-pound dumbbells, which she considers a huge win after so many months without lifting.
“The recovery is going really well,” Rosa said. “This week I was just able to do squats with a two-pound dumbbell. I haven’t done any lifting for the last four or five months so this is huge.”
She also participated in a 5k race two weeks ago. Doctors are not allowing her to do any running, but she jogged half of it and walked the rest. Despite these recovery milestones, she still has a ways to go.
I have not been able to be in the ring yet so we’re working on that.
– Thunder Rosa Injury Update
Rosa is as tough as they come. Her injury and long road back to AEW are further reminders that pro wrestlers put their bodies and health on the line every time they step through the ropes.
