The Elite returned at AEW Full Gear at the Prudential Center to a great reaction. They came to the ring to “Carry on Wayward Son” by Kansas and battled Death Triangle in a Trios match.
Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks came up short in their return match but it was later announced that they would get another shot at the titles, six of them in fact. Death Triangle are currently in a Best of 7 Series for the Trios Championships.
PAC and the Lucha Brothers are up 2-0, with both matches being one by Death Triangle striking The Elite with a hammer. AEW Dynamite aired from the Wintrust Arena in Chicago last week.
The crowd was all over the place during the match, with some fans chanting “f*** CM Punk!” and “f*** The Elite!”. All Elite Wrestling EVPs Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks took the opportunity to mock CM Punk two and a half months after All Out. Matt Jackson mocked CM Punk for missing the Buckshot Lariat, Kenny Omega did the GTS and bit his opponent.
Booker T discussed Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks mocking CM Punk months after AEW All Out on his Hall of Fame podcast.
The two-time WWE Hall of Famer said he doesn’t see the benefit of rehashing the CM Punk issue again if he’s not coming back and noted that it does nothing for the company.
I’m perplexed on that situation right there just because I don’t think [there] was anything tasteful about it
They’re gonna be heels, they’re going to get booed anyway so leaning into it, it’s just rehashing what happened at the scrum. It does nothing for that company.
Booker T went on to say that it was childish and he’s had beef with wrestlers in the past before but they were able to move passed it. He added that today’s generation of wrestlers doesn’t fear consequences and lacks locker-room etiquette.
I just think it’s childish stuff. I’ve had beef with guys in the business before. We handle it, we squash it, we move on and normally, that’s the way it used to be, but now it’s different.
And now it’s different because now nobody is getting their asses whooped.
No real consequences, no real repercussions, no real men running around. That’s got a lot to do with it. There’s no locker room etiquette, you know what I mean?
FTR has considered leaving AEW once the time comes for their contracts to expire as they went to keep their options open.
The AEW tag team has been vocal in recent months about not being completely happy with their booking in AEW and denied a shot at the company’s top Tag Team Championship despite being the number one ranked tag team in the company.
According to an interview with Fightful Select‘s Sean Ross Sapp, Dax Harwood said that he is under the belief that his current AEW contract ends at the end of April. He added that he and Cash Wheeler had had a lot of conversations about their future for when their AEW deal is up.
Options
While the two may be discussing leaving AEW, that does not necessarily mean they will return to WWE, although they may receive offers from the promotion purely based on their skill and success.
The tag team has discussed taking a year off from wrestling for major wrestling promotions, opting instead to work for smaller companies and do things that they personally find fun. He also said that having the opportunity to work more indies and various companies has led them to find out how much they love that landscape.
Harwood is set for a match with Bryan Danielson on this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite.
FTR is the current ROH World Tag Team Champions and the former AEW World Tag Team Champions. They will defend the ROH gold at the Final Battle pay-per-view event on December 10th against Austin & Colten Gunn.
Stokely Hathaway got into the wrestling business to “prove that pro wrestling is an art form” for his grad school thesis. Since his professors thought he’d fail, they “allowed me to go on this journey.”
On the latest episode of “The Sessions with Renee Paquette”, Hathaway used a Jill Scott lyric to explain why he is a manager; ‘everything isn’t for everybody.’ I wanted to be a wrestler and I’m 5’8″ on a good day and I didn’t have the athletic ability to pull it off. And so everyone thought that I was a good talker, so I just transitioned into that.”
To work on his thesis, he moved to Philadelphia. “Claudio Castagnoli was originally one of my trainers; Cassidy and Chuck Taylor. Claudio probably wouldn’t claim me on the athletic front. Managerial duties, maybe.” Although he never managed Castagnoli, they did try.
When asked how the thesis did, Hathaway replied that “I graduated, so it went well.” He has his Masters in Performing Arts. Hathaway discussed how the program teaches students that not everyone will be a famous actor, so they teach things like lighting, production, and directing to “make you a well-rounded entertainer.”
Hathaway appeared in his friend’s thesis films and was doing “the marketing thing professionally.” Wrestling was a hobby, but it soon took off. Hathaway watches a lot of comedy and is influenced by Robin Harris and Bernie Mac because he looks at being a manager as a character. He looks to Wayne Brady for improv. “You’re like the dressing on the salad and the salad is whoever you are managing, so that’s how I look at it.”
Stokely Hathaway On Working with MJF
AEW Dynamite Albany, NY 2022-09-14
Although Hathaway and MJF worked together on the indies, they hadn’t seen each other since 2018 before crossing paths in AEW. They had kept in touch over the years. “Fuck MJF” is what he says about him now.
Hathaway also reveals that the original plan for The Firm was to work with CM Punk. In fact, he was handpicked by Punk to work with him. “That was one thing I was looking forward to because I was hand-chosen for that role. I’m just going to say it. I don’t know the specifics about people choosing sides. I just know that CM Punk said ‘hey. I want to work with this guy.’ That means a lot, regardless of what has happened.”
Due to the situation with Punk, The Firm is having to figure out where to go next. “Everyone in the group is trying to do their best. The purpose isn’t the purpose anymore. With Ethan Page, I think he’s doing great. The Gunns are doing great. Lee is going to go into this feud with HOOK. And so things are slowly, no pun intended, gearing up.”
“It’s just going to take a few weeks. I think the way wrestling is nowadays, I get that first impressions are everything, but it’s a little bit difficult to change people’s minds. Obviously, I get it. People do not want to see Picasso work on his painting. They just want to see the shit when it’s done, right? I think that’s the phase that we’re in. We are working on it, but people don’t want to see anyone working on it. They want to see the finished product. Which I completely understand, but at the same time, we’re all human. Like, I wish this was Harry Potter and I had a wand and could move time.”
Hathaway was offered a contract extension, but declined the offer. He did a comedy show alluding to why he left, but he says “the wrong message got sent.” On the latest episode of The Sessions with Renee Paquette, he revealed what actually happened.
“I need to be completely honest. I woke up one day in February and just felt miserable. I just felt, I guess the right way is, I just felt crazy. Like I didn’t know where I was, I didn’t know what was going on.” The feeling would go away, but came back to the point where it was “debilitating.”
Stokely Hathaway Discuss Mental Health Journey
“I voluntarily committed myself. I think this was on a Friday. I got out on Sunday. It was a very interesting experience, mainly because I would say in like Florida, it’s like prison for the mentally ill. So when I went in, I had no idea what I was in for. I was kinda like in a cell. No real sheets, it was like a metal frame that you’d laid on. The sink was one of those that was like rigged to be motion detected. They gave you a little thing of soap and a little thing of toothpaste. You couldn’t really go into your room until like 8, 9 P.M. and you had to wake up at 6 A.M. You just like walked the floors and that’s like it. Walk back and forth to fill up the time. That was like three days of that. And then afterwards I was like, ‘maybe I’m not as crazy as I thought.’ (laughs)
When discussing how he got to that point, Hathaway says “it was just trying to manage everything. I regret leaning into the “being funny” thing because I think it’s hard for people to take you seriously. So who am I going to say ‘I feel this way’, like I don’t think there was anyone to really like listen or that I could vent or to talk to. And especially with social media nowadays. One, it’s hard to take people seriously. Two, I don’t want to say it’s like a thing to use mental health as a crutch, but I just felt like no one would believe me if I said, ‘hey, I feel this way or I feel that way.’ So, I just felt like that was the right thing for me to do.”
At the time where he felt like he needed to go get help, he didn’t tell anyone. “They take your phone away, so like I had minor communication.” He was able to check in with his dog sitter, so he was able to get his phone for a few minutes. Afterwards, I told people close to me that I could trust and honestly it worked because it didn’t get out.”
Hathaway says his time at the facility wasn’t beneficial other than he never wants to go through it again.
Why He’s is Coming Forward Now
AEW Dynamite Albany, NY 2022-09-14
When discussing pressures from work at the time, Hathaway says he feels a lot of pressure “as a Black talent because I feel like I get judged more harshly than other people. Like I feel like everything I do is analyzed, like overanalyzed. Everyone gets a critique, but I feel like mine is like a different level. I’m also incredibly hard on myself. So it was like one of those things where hard on myself, I had to realize it’s wrestling. It’s wrestling, it’s not like a live or die situation. So for me, it was dealing with that and it was also again, I regret leaning into the funny thing because I’m very introverted and closed off. You know what? I have this very small circle of people I trust.”
To help him cope, he “prays every day. Even if you’re an atheist, it helps. At the end of the day, even if there isn’t God or Allah or whatever, I think just being able to focus and having a peace of mind that has helped me, I’d rather be safe than sorry. Y’know, I do not want to go to hell if there is one. But, that has been pretty important to me.”
He also revealed that he agrees with some ideologies in the Islamic faith. He clarified that he is not in the Nation of Islam. Revealing this information on the podcast is also the first time his family will learn this about him.
Once he left the facility, he had to go back to work with WWE and he was miserable. There was pre-tape and he had to “just jump back into it and get my shit together.” He decided to come forward with what he’s been dealing with so that his current co-workers can understand him and to talk about mental health more openly. “I’m sure there a many Black males who have felt the way that I do, so this is a ‘hey, it’s not the end of the world.’”
For his AEW co-workers, he said he wants to share all of this because he thinks there was this expectation that “I was going to do cartwheels and it’s just like no, I want to come in and do my job and leave. Everywhere I’ve worked outside of wrestling, it can be taken the wrong way, especially as a Black male. It can turn into ‘oh, this dude has an attitude.’ Or this person doesn’t want to be bothered. When the harsh reality is — the nice way to say it is — stay out of shit. I have my own segments to deal with. I don’t want to know about it unless it pertains to me.”
Japanese star Konosuke Takeshita looks to be in line for a notable push in AEW.
Takeshita built up his reputation at DDT-Pro and began regularly competing for AEW earlier this year, where he won over the hearts of the AEW fans with his in-ring performances. He shared the ring with the likes of Adam Page, Jon Moxley, and Eddie Kingston and nearly won the ROH championship from Claudio Castagnoli in their match at Battle of the Belts III.
He picked up a series of wins on AEW’s weekly Youtube shows (Dark: Elevation, Dark), as well as a victory over Ryan Nemeth on an episode of Rampage. Takeshita’s run with the company ended over the summer as he had to return to Japan, but now he’s back.
Takeshita held onto Daivari’s tights and picked him up for a Blue Thunder Bomb that made Callis smile. Takeshita went for a springboard, but Takeshita saw Callis and got distracted, which led to Daivari rolling out of the way. In the end, Takeshita got the win with a rolling German Suplex into a bridge and got the pinfall.
Don Callis scouting Konosuke Takeshita on Elevation. ?
AEW star Danhausen announced on social media that he was recently the victim of a hit-and-run car accident.
On November 2, 2019, Danhausen made his debut for Ring of Honor at ROH Wrestling, where he lost his match against Shane Taylor for the ROH World Television Championship. He continued to work for the company.
Danhausen participated in a four-way match at ROH 19th Anniversary Show on March 26, 2021, but lost. That December, the company went on a break until AEW President Tony Khan bought the promotion.
The Incident
In a post on Twitter, AEW shared that he was a victim of a hit-and-run incident:
“Today Danhausen’s car was hit and runned apparently, airport had no parking, second flight was delayed by 3 hours so had to buy and entirely new flight and get checked bag transferred over to new airline that will hopefully make it.”
On January 26, 2022, on a special Beach Break episode of Dynamite, Danhausen made his AEW debut by appearing in the Lights Out match between Orange Cassidy and Adam Cole. Danhausen joined the company according to an announcement made by AEW President Tony Khan hours later after the appearance.
Danhausen’s most recent AEW match was on the Full Gear: Zero Hour pre-show, where he came up short in a ten-man tag team match.
It was initially reported that Regal had months left on his AEW deal, but in an update, it was said he has years and will remain under contract until 2025.
At AEW Full Gear 2022, Regal turned on Jon Moxley and aided MJF in winning the AEW World Championship.
Regal’s Return
Regal may still have plenty of time left on his AEW deal, but that hasn’t stopped WWE hoping for a return.
While speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer went into detail regarding the former King of the Ring’s contract.
“William Regal when he signed, which was only in April or May, said that he signed for three years. Now, something is going on… I’ve been told a lot of stuff but most of it was off the record.
“I do know that it is something that has been talked about [by WWE.]”
Dave Meltzer.
Meltzer added that Tony Khan has yet to let anyone out of a contract early, but that doesn’t mean Regal won’t be the exception.
“It’s something that’s in play. But he said his contract is three years, so in theory, that would tell you that he couldn’t do anything until April 2025.”
Run
On last week’s AEW Dynamite, Jon Moxley confronted Regal, and would have attacked him if not for Bryan Danielson.
Instead of attacking Regal, the former World Champion told Regal to run from AEW and never return.
Speaking about the segment, which some have seen as AEW’s way of writing Regal off TV, Meltzer said this isn’t the case.
“The thing on Wednesday’s show was just an angle, but there had been talk of that from very early on.”
Dave Meltzer.
After missing last week’s Dynamite, AEW World Champion MJF will be on tonight’s show, but it is unclear if Regal will join him.
CM Punk has parted ways with All Elite Wrestling according to recent comments made by Stokely Hathaway.
Punk, who debuted for AEW in August 2021, has been suspended since All Out for his role in the backstage fight.
With the third-party investigation into the fight now finished, it has been reported that Punk is seeking a buyout of his contract.
Out of the Company
Following All Out, Tony Khan kept silent on any CM Punk matters, due to the investigation.
The now-infamous September Pay-Per-View went off the air with MJF, who had won the Casino Ladder match earlier in the night, staring down Punk.
Speaking on the latest episode of The Sessions, Stokely Hathaway spoke about his run in AEW so far, and his work with The Firm.
Hathaway noted that plans for the group to feud with CM Punk have fallen through.
“Everything that was supposed to happen with The Firm did not happen. Back at All out, what happened immediately after the Pay-Per-View, that was a huge part of it.
“[The person] We were supposed to directly feud with is no longer in the company. “
Stokely Hathaway.
Tony Khan has not confirmed CM Punk’s AEW status or whether he has been released by All Elite Wrestling at this time.
Wanting to work with CM Punk
Like Punk, Hathaway is able to more than hold his own on the mic, and a war of words between them would have been epic to see.
On the podcast, Hathaway said that he regrets not getting to chance to work with the former AEW World Champion.
“That was one thing I was looking forward to because I was hand-chosen for that role. I’m just going to say it. I don’t know the specifics about people choosing sides. I just know that CM Punk said ‘hey. I want to work with this guy.’ That means a lot, regardless of what has happened.”
At AEW Full Gear, MJF captured the AEW World Championship from Jon Moxley thanks to a heel turn by William Regal.
MJF, aka Maxwell Jacob Friedman, became the biggest star in All Elite Wresting simply by walking away.
He returned from his hiatus following his pipebomb rant at the now infamous All Out PPV. MJF confronted former AEW World Champion CM Punk to set up the third match in the rivalry but it never came to fruition.
MJF went on to battle Jon Moxley in the main event at AEW Full Gear after William Regal made a shocking decision. The former Blackpool Combat Club leader slid MJF the brass knuckles and Maxwell clobbered Moxley over the head with them to become the new AEW World Champion.
A young wrestling fan sent a video to the AEW World Champion and said that he was going to be at Dynamite this Wednesday night. The kid poked fun at MJF needing outside interference to win matches.
I hope you don’t ever win any more matches and that somebody else has a shot at the AEW Championship without actually cheating.
Nolie’s going to @AEW Dynamite on Wednesday in Indianapolis, and he wanted to warn @The_MJF about all the mean stuff he’s gonna yell from the crowd. pic.twitter.com/qVtmHp486F
MJF will make his first appearance since winning the AEW World Champion this Wednesday on Dynamite. It will be interesting to see if the young fan gets to mock MJF back to his face.
This is not an isolated incident. The Salt of the Earth doesn’t take crap from anyone, including children.
William Regal’s future with All Elite Wrestling has been speculated about over the past several weeks. Recent actions from AEW and WWE led to fans wondering if he’d be working for Triple H again in the near future, but that won’t be the case.
WWE released Regal in January 2022 as part of “the continued evolution of NXT 2.0.” Regal served as WWE’s Director of Talent Development and Head of Global Recruiting. A talent of his caliber does not stay on the sidelines for long.
Just two months later, Regal shocked the wrestling world when with a surprise debut at AEW’s Revolution pay-per-view. The longtime figurehead of WWE’s NXT brand stormed the ring after Jon Moxley’s match against Bryan Danielson.
Within a matter of weeks, they’d all be on the same page as part of the Blackpool Combat Club faction. The group later added Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta.
Regal turned on Jon Moxley earlier this month at AEW Full Gear and allowed MJF to capture the AEW World Championship. This past week on Dynamite, Moxley told Regal to run far away from him or else he will deliver on his violent intentions for revenge. It seemed like Regal was being written off television.
Triple H later invoked Regal ahead of Saturday’s WWE Survivor Series premium live event with a video of Regal shouting WarGames. He noted the show wouldn’t be the same without him.
Dave Meltzer stated on Wrestling Observer Radio that Regal still has “several months left” on his AEW deal. Early Monday morning, Meltzer clarified that his initial report about Regal signing a 1-year deal was incorrect. Regal actually signed a 3-year deal with AEW in early 2022, based on comments he made shortly after his debut.
Regal’s Role in AEW
William Regal is one of the brightest minds in pro wrestling and offers decades of experience that he’ll use to train the next generation of AEW talent.
AEW President Tony Khan spoke about Regal’s role with the company at the media scrum that took place after Revolution, the night of Regal’s AEW debut. Khan said he couldn’t believe that Regal became a free agent and has the utmost respect for his contributions to the business.
“Behind the scenes, I’m really excited to have him here,” said Khan. “I think Lord Regal can teach all of us here a lot. It’s gonna be great having him here and I’m very excited like I said, onscreen and offscreen. It came together very recently and I think it fits very well with what we’re doing here in AEW all around.”
The average age of your standard AEW Rampage viewer has increased dramatically over the last year according to the latest data.
Rampage, AEW’s second televised show, launched in August 2021 and provides matches and the continuation of storylines from AEW Dynamite.
Getting On in Years
AEW has always prided itself on being an alternative to WWE, but recent data suggests the two companies aren’t too far apart.
In data from Wrestlenomics, it has revealed that the average age of an AEW Rampage viewer is in their early 50s, a sharp increase from the average age from October 2021 (mid-late 40s.)
The average age of a Monday Night Raw viewer is also in their early to mid-50s, and it seems just a year or two separates WWE’s three-hour show and AEW Rampage.
AEW Dynamite has also seen an increase in the age of the average viewer, but nowhere close to how dramatic the rise has been for Rampage.
Both WWE Raw and WWE SmackDown have been able to win over younger fans this year and lower their average audience tuning in each week.
After an increase in late 2021 following the launch of NXT 2.0, WWE’s gold brand has seen the average age of their viewer also drop.
AEW's live+same-day TV audience has aged up in recent months.
Rampage has moved from being the youngest audience in wrestling to closing in on Raw's median age.
CM Punk reportedly wants to be bought out of his AEW contract. He arrived in All Elite Wrestling at the 2nd-ever episode of Rampage on August 20th last year.
Bryan Alvarez of the Wrestling Observer noted during a recent live chat that CM Punk is the one that wants the contract buyout and AEW would have just released him if they wanted him gone.
Punk wants the buyout. Why would AEW want a buyout? Fire him. If you troll him, what’s gonna happen, he’s going to say he doesn’t want a buyout anymore?
Maybe they will fire him, but they’re not gonna do when he’s injured.
— Andrew Ravens l WrestlingNews.co (@Andrew_Ravens) November 26, 2022
AEW Brawl Out
All Elite Wrestling held its All Out PPV at the NOW Arena on September 4th. CM Punk defeated Jon Moxley in the main event to win the AEW Championship for the 2nd time. MJF was revealed to be the masked man that won the Casino Ladder match to begin the show and confronted the new AEW World Champion as the PPV went off the air.
Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks (The Elite) defeated Death Triangle to become the inaugural Trios Champions on the PPV as well. After the show, new AEW World Champion CM Punk sat next to Tony Khan and went on a rant about The Elite, Colt Cabana, and Hangman Page. The Elite confronted CM Punk backstage and a brawl broke out. CM Punk and The Elite were suspended indefinitely and stripped of their titles.
The Elite Return
Two and half months after the brawl at the All Out media scrum, The Elite returned to AEW at Full Gear.
They lost to Death Triangle in a Trios Championship after Pac bashed Kenny Omega with a hammer. It was the first match of a best-of-7 series, and The Elite battled Death Triangle once again in the Wintrust Arena in Chicago this past Wednesday on Dynamite.
CM Punk’s hometown was wild during the Trios Championship match as The Elite took shots at the former AEW World Champion during the match. Omega and the Young Bucks once again came up short after Rey Fenix bashed Nick Jackson over the head with a hammer. The Elite currently trails 0-2 in the series with the next match scheduled for December 7th edition of Dynamite in Indianapolis.
Saraya says there is a clear distinction between the woman she is today and Paige, the persona she portrayed in WWE from 2011 until June 2022.
The former WWE Divas and NXT Women’s Champion shocked the wrestling world when she debut at AEW Grand Slam in September. She returned to in-ring action at AEW Full Gear last weekend, her first match since December 2017.
She went through hell to get to where she is today. After battling being forced into an early retirement and battling addiction and other personal issues, Saraya is ready to write the next chapter of her career.
Saraya recently spoke with Chris Van Vliet about a wide variety of topics, including The Rock making a movie about her life, dealing with negativity on social media, her relationship with Sasha Banks and so much more.
Saraya vs. Paige
As she embarks on a new journey in AEW, Saraya about leaving ‘Paige’ behind for good. She has matured in so many ways, she’s simply not that person anymore.
“Saraya is more mature, that’s definitely a big thing.. and sober,” she said. “The thing is, with Paige, she was.. she was this little emo girl teenager, kind of like the anti-teenager phase, and going into Saraya; I can’t imagine myself being that character anymore.”
(WWE)
Saraya is an industry veteran at only 30 years old. She was a teenager when she joined WWE, which is an important factor to consider when thinking about everything she’s dealt with over the years.
Looking back at how her current character compares to Paige, she considers Saraya to be “elevated” and “more grown-up.”
“Paige just didn’t give an F about anybody, not even herself,” she said. “She just cared about.. outside of wrestling, partying, and stuff like that. Where me, as Saraya, I focus on elevating myself, remaining healthy, mentally being happier.”
Saraya sounds like she’s in a great place and ready to lead the AEW women’s division into a new era.
Bryan Danielson took a leap of faith when he left WWE and joined All Elite Wrestling. The American Dragon admits that it was a “scary” decision to step outside of his comfort zone and wrestle a more physical style in AEW.
During a recent appearance on Ron Funches’ One Fall podcast, Danielson spoke about WWE always wanting to portray him as an underdog and his drive to continue testing his body at this stage in his career.
You can listen to the full episode here, with highlights below:
Playing the Underdog
Danielson was one of the top stars in WWE over the past decade. He did it all there, including five world title reigns and countless other accomplishments.
He understands the company wanted to portray him as an underdog early in his run. It made sense for him to be the underdog against monsters like Brock Lesnar. But he eventually grew tired of that role and think fans did too.
“It was hard for the fans a little bit too, I think to connect with somebody who is an underdog, who, at this point, had won the title multiple times … Married also this beautiful woman who’s got a reality TV show. I’m really not an underdog in life anymore, right?”
Joining AEW
He ultimately made the decision to leave WWE and join AEW. Danielson admits the change came with some fears and uncertainty.
“The scary part of it was stepping outside of this comfort zone that I had in WWE,” he said. “In AEW, you see them doing some pretty risky things. I was like, I don’t know if physically I can do that anymore. Over the last year-plus, I’ve proven to myself that I can.”
Danielson remains driven to continue testing himself physically. Some people, including his wife Brie, question why he feels the need to push himself to the limits at 41 years old.
Colt Cabana’s return to AEW Dynamite was a heartwarming moment but nearly turned tragic after the bout.
Cabana returned to Dynamite on the November 2, episode to challenge Ring of Honor World Champion Chris Jericho in a losing effort.
The match marked Colt’s first televised AEW match in close to a year, as fans (and many in AEW) suspects that CM Punk pressured Tony Khan to remove Cabana from TV.
Compression Socks
With this being such an important match in his career, Cabana wanted to be at his best for the match, but problems arose before the match got started.
On his Art of Wrestling podcast, Colt explained how his usual wrestling socks went missing, and in a rush, he brought compression socks to wear for the match.
“I put on my compression socks, my kneepads, and my boots. And what I don’t realize is that I have essentially made a tourniquet in the bottom half of my body. Essentially what I did was restrict everything. I remember vividly thinking, ‘I can’t feel my legs. I guess it’s just the nerves.’”
Cabana added that with the compression socks, wrestling boots, and kneepads cutting off flow to his legs, he was dealing with high blood pressure and low oxygen for most of the match.
Backstage
Cabana would be unsuccessful in dethroning Jericho but was grateful that the match did not go any longer than it needed.
Speaking on the podcast, Cabana said that after the match, he felt his body go rigid and that at first, nobody knew what was going on.
“I could not move. And as I made my way back to the trainer’s room asking for electrolytes and the trainer being like, ‘We’re not sure what’s going on.’ And me just saying, ‘I gotta get this stuff off of me, I feel so compacted.’ And I ripped my singlet off and it still didn’t feel like enough. And I couldn’t breathe, I felt lightheaded, and I had a headache and my head was pounding.”
“I couldn’t breathe, I felt lightheaded, and I had a headache and my head was pounding.”
Colt Cabana.
Fixing Things
Nobody knew what exactly was going on with Cabana, and unable to move, Colt had to ask the trainers to remove his ring attire.
The ROH star admitted he felt like a “schmuck” for asking for help being undressed, and it was only thanks to a passing reference to the socks that AEW’s medical team learned what was wrong.
“I say, ‘You know, I bought these compression socks last night.’ And then the eyes of the trainers are just like, ‘What?’ As I was asked to lay back for the next two hours while ice was put all over my body, I was educated as to why you should not professionally wrestle in front of 10,000 people and almost a million people at home in compression socks.”
Cabana’s return on AEW Dynamite was meant to be a ‘morale booster’ to the locker room but has reportedly made things worse between Khan and CM Punk.
Dark Order battled The Butcher, The Blade, and Rush in the main event of the Black Friday edition of AEW Rampage tonight.
John Silver and Alex Reynolds were interviewed by Mark Henry before the match and 10 was noticeably absent. Silver and Reynolds then made their way to the ring but 10 still had not shown up for the match yet.
The Butcher, The Blade, and Rush controlled the match early but the camera cut to the entrance ramp. Evil Uno and Brodie Lee Jr. were waving 10 down the ramp. 10 rushed to the ring but made a shocking decision once he arrived in the squared circle.
10 (Preston Vance) leveled John Silver with a Clothesline and Rush capitalized with a Dropkick for the pinfall victory.
After the match, 10 ripped away at Evil Uno’s mask before throwing his own mask down in front of Brodie Lee Jr. on the entrance ramp. An unmasked 10 then posed with La Faccion at the end of AEW Rampage.
Former TNT Champion Brodie Lee handpicked 10 to be in the Dark Order faction. Amanda said that he made the wrong choice, 10 disagreed and said it was time for him to step out on his own.
I know what I’ve done. I didn’t sell my soul. I decided for once to look out for myself. Now it’s time to be great and unleash the true potential he always saw in me. #StillHandpicked
I know what I’ve done.
I didn’t sell my soul. I decided for once to look out for myself.
Every Thanksgiving weekend, WrestleCade is held in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It brings together wrestlers and fans convention-style with a wrestling show to boot. A new match has been added to the card in a co-main event: Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Jarrett.
On last week’s episode of The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy, Hardy alluded to his relationship with Jarrett (Jarrett brought it up on his on podcast, My World, a few days prior because workers gonna work). It’s professional, but they don’t care for each other. On this week’s episode, Hardy opened up more about their relationship.
Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Jarrett Could be ‘Controversial’
Of their match this weekend, Hardy predicts that someone will get hurt. “I’ve got a feeling when it’s all said and done, either this match is going to turn out really bad and controversial — which people would probably like if that happened, especially if our wives are around. They’re both going to be there, which is scary in itself — or maybe there’s some way we come out of this with some new found respect. I don’t know what direction it’s going to go. The biggest thing I can say is this match is going to be a wild card. This incident happened seven years ago, but its been four or five years of not associating with each other at all.”
Alba asked Hardy if this could go from a match to a fight because of the underlying animosity. “It weighs heavy on my mind. I just honestly don’t know what’s going to happen when we get into that ring.”
History at WrestleCade
Hardy and Jarrett’s history at WrestleCade goes back to 2015. Hardy put the WrestleCade championship on the line and Double J had some help from EC3. A guitar shot split Hardy’s forehead open. Hardy talked about how it was supposed to be just a basic, straight up match. “It was really shocking that I ended up dropping the WrestleCade title to him. Maybe that could’ve been a case of him being a better politician than I was at that time.”
“The guitar shot ended up filleting my head, leaving me in the hospital late at night. Left my wife there as well. That was the real big issue that kind of drove a wedge between us. It really kickstarted the issues we have. That was the start of it. There wasn’t a lot of ‘I’m sorrys’ or apologies. We did business and he just fucked off. And then I ended up going to the hospital to get my head stitched up. WrestleCade helped out and took care of me a little bit.”
“The fact that he split me open on this errant guitar shot, y’know it kind of ruins my night. Ruins my wife’s night as well. And there was very little remorse. There was no real sorrow over it. No apology. It’s like he didn’t give a shit. ‘I just split this guy’s head open. Fuck ’em. I hope I ended his career’ as he said on his podcast. And I almost felt like that was his mentality when that was going down.”
AEW star Dante Martin is said to be “doing fine” after an injury scare at Wednesday’s AEW Rampage tapings. The 21-year-old high-flying phenom wrestles a high-risk style, but that comes at a steep price.
During a backstage segment on Dynamite, Top Flight challenged Ring of Honor tag team champions FTR to a match on this week’s Rampage, which was taped after Dynamite went off the air.
As seen below, fans on social media became concerned when fans in attendance noted that Martin was hurt during the contest.
Aww dammit ?. At Rampage taping and the match is over but it's looking like Dante Martin might be hurt as the Doc is out here. Here's hoping it's not too bad. Top Flight can't catch a break. pic.twitter.com/qBpmA63Vf3
Top Flight has dealt with a slew of injuries since arriving in All Elite Wrestling. They’re looking to re-establish themselves as contenders for the AEW World tag team championships, so another injury is the last thing they need.
Speaking of the AEW tag titles, Anthony Bowens of The Acclaimed has provided an update on Martin’s status. On Thanksgiving, Bowens posted a photo of The Acclaimed and Top Flight with the caption, “Happy Thanksgiving from the House of Half Black.”
Twitter user @FrozennAngell replied to the photo and asked Bowens about Martin’s health. Thankfully, he had good news to share.
Catch Top Flight vs. FTR on this week’s AEW Rampage, which airs at a special start time of 4pm EST on Friday afternoon. “Uncle” Dax Harwood of FTR is excited for fans to see this first meeting of the two teams.
How long can a champion be a champion if they don’t defend their championship?
This year has seen AEW plagued with several prominent injuries, including to two of the promotion’s champions.
In June, then-AEW World Champion CM Punk announced his injury, and an Interim AEW World Championship was later won by Jon Moxley.
In September, then-AEW Women’s World Champion Thunder Rosa announced her injury, and the Interim AEW Women’s World title was won by Toni Storm.
Time Limit
During last night’s AEW Dynamite, it was announced that Thunder Rosa had agreed to relinquish her AEW Women’s World Championship.
This makes Jamie Hayter (who dethroned Storm at Ful Gear) the Undisputed AEW Women’s World Champion, despite Punk never vacating his title.
On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer explained the unofficial time frame to determine when a title will be vacated, or when an interim champion will be crowned.
“I think that’s kind of unofficially the mentality that if it’s a few months we’ll do the interim title, if it’s like six months, it’s too long.”
Dave Meltzer.
Storm’s Official Reign
It was at All Out that Toni Storm captured the Interim AEW Women’s World Champion, but the records have now been changed.
During Dynamite, it was confirmed by commentary that with Rosa vacating the title, that has retroactively altered Storm’s reign.
Now, Toni Storm is recognized as an official AEW Women’s World Champion and not an interim holder of the title.
With Storm’s official reign beginning at All Out, it is unclear if the September event is recognized as when Rosa’s reign ended, or if it officially ended this week.
AEW’s Saraya went to drastic measures to ensure her debut for the promotion would not be leaked online.
The British wrestler made her debut for AEW at the Grand Slam: Dynamite in September of this year, mere months after her contract with WWE expired.
At Full Gear, Saraya, now medically cleared, had her first match in five years, defeating Britt Baker.
Hiding
Saraya’s debut came as a shock to fans, as there had been no leaks or even reports that she was considering joining the promotion.
Speaking on the latest AEW Unrestricted, the former Paige recalled making sure that nobody would find out, saying she had to hide in a tech closet to avoid being seen.
“There was no toilet in there. There was no AC in there. There’s no mirrors. I was just like sweating, but I was like, ‘This is gonna be so worth it!’”
Saraya.
It has since been reported that WWE’s new regime did make an attempt to bring her back, even offering her the chance to wrestle again.
Working with Renee
Part of Saraya’s decision to join AEW stemmed from being able to work with her former colleagues again, as AEW is home to several ex-WWE talent.
During her tenure on WWE Backstage, the former Divas Champion worked with Renee Paquette, who joined AEW last month.
Speaking about the Canadian broadcaster, Saraya expressed her excitement to work with Paquette again.
“We’re all like bouncing ideas off each other, and she comes up with such good lines for my promo and for backstages. It’s like a whole unit.”
Saraya.
Like Saraya, WWE made an attempt to rehire Paquette under the new regime, the broadcaster has confirmed.
CM Punk didn’t appear on this week’s AEW Dynamite, but his presence was certainly felt on Tony Khan’s latest episode on TBS.
Punk has been missing from AEW programming since All Out, due to the backstage fight that took place after the September Pay-Per-View.
With the third-party investigation into the matter concluded, the Elite have been brought back to TV, but it is believed that Punk’s days with AEW are coming to an end.
Dynamite
This week’s AEW Dynamite saw the Elite face AEW Trios Champions Death Triangle in the second match of their best-of-seven series.
Throughout the match, the Elite made reference to Punk and what happened at All Out.
At one point, Kenny Omega bit Pac’s arm, referencing Punk’s trainer Ace Steel biting his arm during the All Out brawl.
Later in the match, Omega would also use the GTS, while Matt Jackson would deliberately fail to hit a Buckshot Lariat, a move Punk messed up during his All Out bout with Jon Moxley.
The Death Triangle would win on Dynamite, going 2-0 in the best-of-seven series.
The Response
The Elite made plenty of references to Punk, despite Kenny Omega’s recent comments that people should move on from All Out.
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer said these digs did not go unnoticed by Punk’s camp.
“Man, I know that there are people close to cm punk. Boy were they not happy with that six-man tag.”
Dave Meltzer.
Punk has not publicly commented on this week’s AEW Dynamite at this time.
It has been reported that many in AEW have refused to work with the former World Champion again if he is brought back.
AEW TBS Champion Jade Cargill is a wrestler unlike any other in the industry today, according to ex-WWE writer Freddie Prinze Jr.
Cargill, who previously tried out for WWE, joined AEW in November 2020 and had her debut match in March 2021.
Teaming with Shaquille O’Neal to defeat Cody Rhodes and Red Velvet in her debut, Cargill remains unpinned and unsubmitted in AEW.
The Loss
In January of this year, Cargill added another impressive accolade to her young career, capturing the AEW TBS Championship.
At Full Gear, Cargill retained against Nyla Rose, and regained the championship title that Rose had stolen weeks earlier.
Speaking about Cargill on the latest episode of Wrestling with Freddie, the actor/wrestling pundit spoke about when Cargill’s first loss should happen.
“I really hope they give her a meaningful storyline, and I guess maybe, you save it until she loses [the AEW TBS Title.] And then it’s sort of her story of redemption. Maybe that’s what they’re waiting on.”
The Unicorn
Prinze is a big fan of Cargill but is not a big fan of the booking she has received in AEW.
Recently, the ex-WWE writer called her angle with Rose AEW’s “most ridiculous storyline” and is glad it has ended.
Speaking about the booking of the AEW TBS Champion, Prinze argued that Jade needs to be treated differently given how she is different from others on the roster.
Maybe some of y’all have enjoyed the storylines for her. But I just think when you have a unicorn you have to treat that beast differently than any other.
“Lions and tigers and bears are cool, but a Unicorn, a Minotaur, a Cerberus. They’re magic, and they’re treated that way in the stories I read as a kid. And that’s what Jade is, she’s a Unicorn.”
“When you have a unicorn you have to treat that beast differently than any other.”
Freddie Prinze Jr. on Jade Cargill.
Cargill and the Baddies have recently been at odds with rapper Bow Wow, with some expecting a match between the two down the line.
This week’s AEW Dynamite may have been in CM Punk’s hometown of Chicago, Illinois, but not everyone in the Windy City is a fan of the former World Champion.
Punk hasn’t appeared for AEW since All Out, and was suspended after the show for his role in the backstage fight.
With the investigation into the matter concluded, it is believed that Punk’s time with the company is finished, with reports that AEW are seeking to buy out his contract.
Dynamite Chants
Even before this week’s Dynamite began, the Elite were expecting a feisty crowd, as the Young Bucks’ Twitter profile reflected.
Sure enough, the crowd was full of chants during the Elite’s match with AEW Trios Champions Death Triangles, as chants of “F*** The Elite!” were heard when Omega and the Bucks were on offense.
Jamie Hayter defeated Toni Storm at AEW Full Gear to become the new AEW Interim Women’s Champion.
Tonight on Dynamite, Renee Paquette interviewed Jamie Hayter before a Triple Threat Tag Team match. Renee announced that the Interim label is now more and Jamie is officially now the AEW Women’s Champion.
“AEW and Thunder Rosa have reached a mutual agreement, AEW management has been forced to ask Thunder Rosa to relinquish the AEW Women’s Championship. Thunder Rosa was a fighting champion for AEW, she’s willing to step aside and forfeit the title for the benefit of AEW. But more specifically for the benefit of all of the women in AEW.”
Former AEW Women’s Champion Thunder Rosa was scheduled to defend the title against Toni Storm at the now infamous All Out PPV but pulled out of the match due to injury.
She made the announcement on the Dynamite before All Out in a very brief backstage segment. After it was announced that she will be relinquishing the title, Thunder Rosa took to Twitter to comment on the matter.
Thank you #ThunderArmy for all the support and @aew for being there for me. Dream-like moments happened in this run, and this is not how I wanted to lose the championship, but you deserve a present champion; on to the next chapter.
Thank you #ThunderArmy for all the support and @aew for being there for me. Dream-like moments happened in this run, and this is not how I wanted to lose the championship, but you deserve a present champion; on to the next chapter.
Several AEW stars have commented on Thunder Rosa not being on television lately while recovering from a back injury. Thunder Rosa recently said on Busted Open Radio that Toni Storm, Britt Baker, and others can complain to those in charge backstage and she should be back in January.
They haven’t given me a time yet when I’m coming back. I’m saying it’s January, and I hope it is January.
Again, if Toni Storm disagrees with what’s decided in the back, that’s not my problem. That is not my problem, Toni.
If you have something to ask, you can go on my YouTube and watch my YouTube videos I have posted every time I’m in a doctor’s office, showing you and explaining what’s going on with me
MJF’s first title defense is set for AEW Dynamite: Winter is coming next month.
Ricky Starks and Ethan Page battled tonight on Dynamite in the finals of the World Title Eliminator Tournament.
The finals were originally supposed to take place at Full Gear but the match was pushed back due to an injury to Ricky Starks. Ricky defeated Brian Cage in the semifinals of the tournament during the Zero Hour kickoff show at AEW Full Gear.
Starks entered the match against Ethan Page tonight with his ribs heavily taped but still wanted to compete. Stokely Hathaway was ringside for the match but the referee kicked him out after he pulled Ethan out of the way of a dive through the ropes from Starks.
Ricky connected with three Spears during the match and the third one kept Ethan Page down for a three count. Starks has now earned a shot at the AEW World Championship at Dynamite: Winter is Coming on December 14th.
William Regal betrayed Jon Moxley in the main event of AEW Full Gear 2022. Regal slid the brass knuckles to MJF and he bashed Jon in the head with them to capture the AEW World Championship. Regal announced that MJF will not be at tonight’s Dynamite because he’s filming a movie.
Jon Moxley interrupted and was about to attack Regal but Danielson stopped him. Moxley told Regal to run away and never come back. William exited the ring as Jon was irate to end the segment.
