All Elite Wrestling’s Jay Lethal is going to be sticking with the company for the long haul according to recent comments by Lethal himself.
Lethal debuted for AEW one year ago at the Full Gear 2021 Pay-Per-View and has aligned himself with Sonjay Dutt and Satnam Singh.
Before arriving in AEW, Lethal competed for Ring of Honor and holds the record for the most combined days as Ring of Honor World Champion.
Staying in AEW
Lethal is a well-traveled wrestler, having competed in AEW, ROH, and Impact Wrestling, among other smaller promotions.
Now that he’s with AEW though, Lethal is ready to settle down, as he told Kurt Angle on the Olympian’s podcast.
“I’ll be at AEW until the company closes, they let me go, or they fire me, because, to me, in wrestling, if I’m going to put my body, my life, and my career on the line for you, I’ve got to appreciate and love you. There is some bond between us and I’m going to try my hardest to not ever break that bond.”
Lethal has certainly been booked prominently since arriving in AEW, and will compete at this weekend’s Full Gear event.
The man once called Black Machismo will team with Jeff Jarrett to face Darby Allin and Sting in Double-J’s AEW in-ring debut.
What Could Have Been…
Lethal is happy with his role in AEW, but is aware that things could have been much different.
Speaking about his sense of loyalty, Lethal believes he would not have tried to leave either Ring of Honor or Impact had things been different.
“My dad and I have always talked about being loyal and wrestling and not just going to the highest bidder.”
“I would have been in IMPACT Wrestling, I believe, to this day if they didn’t let me go. Ring of Honor, if they didn’t close down, I would still be wrestling for them to this day.”
Jay Lethal.
In late 2021, Ring of Honor temporarily ceased operations due to costs, and resurfaced in March 2022, now owned by AEW President Tony Khan.
The crowd in Dubai may not be interested in seeing Guevara competing in pro boxing, but that is the reported plan.
After Guevara was announced for the Global Titans event, Dave Meltzer reported that the show’s promoters are hopeful that Guevara will compete at a future show.
The former AEW TNT Champion does not have any professional fighting experience.
Guevara in AEW
Joining AEW in February 2019, Guevara is a record-tying three-time AEW TNT Champion, an accolade he shares with Cody Rhodes.
Once part of the Inner Circle, Guevara is now part of the Jericho Appreciation Society.
The Spanish God’s actions out of the ring have also been noteworthy, as he engaged in an altercation with Eddie Kingston earlier this year, and was more recently attacked by Andrade El Idolo.
Guevara’s most recent match came on last week’s AEW Dynamite, where he lost to Bryan Danielson in a two out of three falls match.
Former TNT Champion Miro hasn’t been featured on AEW television lately and there hasn’t been any reason provided for his absence.
He was randomly thrown in a 6-man tag team match at the now infamous All Out PPV on September 4th. Miro teamed up with Darby Allin and Sting to defeat the House of Black at the PPV.
Buddy Matthews bashed Miro with Sting’s baseball bat to take him out of the match. Sting spit mist in Malakai Black’s eyes and Darby capitalized for the pinfall victory. Darby Allin and Sting have been booked for a match at AEW Full Gear on November 19th. The duo will battle Jay Lethal and the recently signed Jeff Jarrett in a tag team match.
Miro is not currently booked for a match for the PPV at the Prudential Center this Saturday. All Elite Wrestling is holding another World Title Eliminator tournament with the finals taking place at the PPV. Miro was a part of the tournament last year but lost to Bryan Danielson in the finals via submission at Full Gear 2021. The former TNT Champion was a replacement for Jon Moxley when he stepped away last year. He was not included in the tournament this year.
A fan on Twitter put together some highlights of The Redeemer in All Elite Wrestling and Miro responded. The 37-year-old responded with “remember that guy?”, a nod to his mysterious lack of television time on Dynamite or Rampage.
Former WWE Superstar CJ Perry (Lana) and Miro’s better half joined Busted Open Radio recently and was asked about her husband’s bizarre booking in All Elite Wrestling. She noted that AEW President Tony Khan has his favorites that he is going to push.
Tony Khan has his favorites and he’s going to push the favorites just like Vince [McMahon] would push his favorites, just like Hunter is going to push his people. It’s show business.
AEW holding a show in the UK has been years in the making. In fact, Ogogo’s former rival Cody Rhodes was talking about bringing ‘elite’ wrestling to the country since 2019.
The former Olympic boxer recently spoke withDesert Island Graps and used a hockey analogy to explain how hard he’s working to get back in an AEW ring.
“When I do get the chance, I will score a hat trick and I won’t give up,” he said.
When asked if AEW’s UK debut was the place for him to score this hat trick, Ogogo couldn’t contain his excitement.
“Mate, I’ve got a f**king stiffy.”
The Guv’nor’s AEW career has been hampered with injuries. Last summer, he revealed his in-ring career was on hold due to him undergoing his 10th eye surgery since suffering a broken eye socket during a 2016 boxing fight.
His biggest AEW feud as was against Cody Rhodes, a feud both men reget. He hasn’t wrestled in 2022.
All Elite Wrestling presents Full Gear this Saturday night, live from Trenton, New Jersey. The PPV event begins at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, and there will be a one hour pre-show
It’s the fourth installment of Full Gear, which originated in 2019 with a show from Baltimore. Last year’s event took place in Minneapolis, Minnesota and featured “Hangman” Adam Page capturing the AEW World Championship.
It’s been a long road to Full Gear following the real-life backstage brawl that occurred after the All Out PPV in Chicago. However, AEW has started to get back on course in recent weeks. The Elite (Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks) look to be scheduled to return on the PPV, and MJF gets a world title opportunity against Jon Moxley in what could be the young star’s crowning moment.
The lineup will be finalized after Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite. We will update the card here as needed.
Stay tuned for our AEW Full Gear predictions coming later this week.
AEW World Tag Team Champions The Acclaimed vs. Swerve In Our Glory
AEW World Championship Eliminator Tournament Finals (TBD)
AEW Women’s World Interim Champion Toni Storm vs. Jamie Hayter
ROH World Champion Chris Jericho vs. Bryan Danielson vs. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Sammy Guevara
AEW TBS Champion Jade Cargill vs. Nyla Rose
Britt Baker vs. Saraya
Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal vs. Sting and Darby Allin
Luchasaurus vs. “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry
The card listed here will be updated as it changes.
When is AEW Full Gear 2022
Full Gear takes place this Saturday, November 19th, from Trenton, New Jersey at the Prudential Center.
The event starts at 8:00 p.m. Eastern / 5:00 p.m. Pacific. There is a one-hour pre-show that begins one hour before the main card. Matches for the pre-show will be finalized this week.
How to Watch AEW Full Gear 2022
AEW Full Gear 2022 streams live on Bleacher Report in the United States and on FITE.tv internationally.
Cody Rhodes recently responded to a tweet from a fan about Cody’s reason for leaving AEW, a shocking move at the time as he was one of the key people to help launch the promotion in addition to Tony Khan, Kenny Omega, and The Young Bucks.
A story that had made the rounds over the last few months claimed that Cody had a rift with The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega, and they are the reason why he left AEW. There was another story regarding how Rhodes had issues with CM Punk. There have also been stories about money and the way he was booked.
Cody Rhodes on his AEW Run
Rhodes took to Twitter to debunk those rumors. In a recent response, Rhodes responded to a fan who wrote, “Was the personal issue being booed? Because I still have no clue why people booed you out of nowhere.”
Rhodes dismissed and noted that he was a true heel despite being portrayed as a babyface.
Ha no – I was a heel, the fans were amazing. It ain’t ever on the fans.
After returning to WrestleMania 38 in April, Rhodes had solid matches with Seth Rollins before being sidelined with a torn pectoral muscle. His last match happened at Hell in a Cell before he underwent surgery.
Although it’s been reported that Rhodes is little ahead of schedule in healing, there is no firm date for his return.
Although The Elite (The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega) have yet to make their return to AEW television, they have been backstage at recent AEW Dynamite events.
As previously reported, Warner Bros. Discovery is filming a behind-the-scenes reality TV show with AEW, although at the time, the talent involved in the show was unknown.
Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that filming is underway, and it’s believed The Elite will be featured on the show. This may explain why the trio has been backstage at recent events before returning to TV following their suspension.
Latest Development
(via AEW)
Meltzer wrote, “They are now filming the AEW reality show each week, starting with the 11/2 show in Baltimore. I believe the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega are part of the show, which may be why they have been in despite not appearing on the television show. At least when the show was conceived, they were a part of it.”
The Elite hasn’t been seen on AEW programming since capturing the Trios Championships at the All Out PPV on September 4th. They were suspended and stripped of the titles due to their involvement in the ‘Brawl Out’ situation with Ace Steel and CM Punk.
In recent weeks, vignettes have aired teasing the trio’s return, leading many fans to believe that The Elite will finally be returning at the Full Gear PPV on November 19th.
Bandido’s decision to sign with AEW over WWE was thanks in part due to the wrestler not wishing to relocate to Flordia.
Bandido made his AEW debut during the September 28, 2022, episode of AEW Dynamite, challenging Ring of Honor World Champion Chris Jericho in a losing effort.
In the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it is reported that Bandido’s decision was influenced by having a family in Mexico, who would not want to move to Florida.
The belief is that had he signed, Bandido would have gone to WWE’s Performance Center first and later competed in NXT, both of which are based in Florida.
It was also noted that if/when he was called up to the main roster, Bandido would have far fewer opportunities to spend time with his family than by signing with AEW.
Bandido’s Contract
Now officially part of the AEW roster, Bandido’s deal is reported to be the standard three years, typical for now AEW signings.
The Observer adds that Bandido has a “maximum number of dates,” which is more matches than most AEW wrestlers work in a year.
It was also noted that the maximum number of matches an AEW star can do a year could change if the promotion introduces house shows.
Anthony Ogogo is an established fighter, but that hasn’t translated into TV time on AEW Dynamite or Rampage.
Ogogo joined AEW in 2019 and comes from a boxing background, having won Silver at the 2010 New Dehli Commonwealth Games and Bronze at the London 2012 Summer Olympics.
A 2017 fight resulted in one of Ogogo’s eye sockets being fractured and he would be forced to retire from professional boxing years later.
I Just Want to Wrestle
In March 2021, Ogogo would make his AEW TV debut and would immediately enter a program with Cody Rhodes.
Despite the prominent feud, that saw Rhodes win at Double or Nothing 2021, Ogogo has all but vanished from AEW TV.
Speaking to Fightful, the Olympic Bronze medalist reflected on how little he’s been featured over the past 18 months.
“I just want to wrestle. I want to get good and have time. I just want to be on TV and show people how hard I’m working and how good I can be.”
Anthony Ogogo.
Ogogo added that he’s being “patient” and continues to make appearances for indie promotions and PROGRESS Wrestling.
Everything has Changed
Ogogo was away in the UK from June 2021 to December 2021 dealing with his passport and visa issues, after both items were stolen during his time in the States.
Speaking about his return to AEW, the British star explained how nothing is quite the same as it once was.
“When I came back, everything had changed. They signed Bryan Danielson, the best wrestler who has probably ever lived, they signed (CM) Punk and this, that, and the other person.
“The whole landscape changed. Cody left, me coming back and doing something with him, that was gone because he’s not there. Everything just changed and with me, I think I’m such a unique talent that it’s hard to know what to do with me.”
Ogogo’s most recent match for the promotion saw him defeat Luke Kurtis via knockout on the August 21, 2022 taping of AEW Dark.
Chris Jericho is The Ocho (an 8-time World Champion), a wizard, and the leader singing of the popular rock band Fozzy. He recently appeared on The Masked Singer and fans were quick to point out that that is the voice of Le Champion.
The Masked Singer is a show where celebrities dress up in mascot costumes and then sing a tune. A panel of judges and the audience guess which celebrity is under the costume.
On a recent episode of the show, a giant pink dinosaur in a wedding dress, labeled “The Bride”, sang Walk the Moon’s “Shut Up and Dance” hit from 2014. The Wizard also performed Smash Mouth’s “All Star” on the show.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phIEp7oGD0s&t=18s
AEW Fans Sing Chris Jericho’s Theme
Chris Jericho has been with All Elite Wrestling since its inception and has become one of the leaders of the promotion. After the brawl between CM Punk and The Elite after All Out, it was reported that Moxley, Danielson, and Chris Jericho all took more of a leadership role in the company backstage.
The inaugural AEW World Champion had one of the cooler moments in the promotion’s short history thus far. Dynamite aired live from the Jericho Cruise Ship and fans sang Fozzy’s Judas as Jericho made his way to the ring with Jake Hager behind him. AEW fans have been singing his theme ever since as he comes to the ring.
Chris Jericho is scheduled to defend the ROH World Championship on November 19th at Full Gear. He will put the title on the line in a 4-Way match against Bryan Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli, and Sammy Guevara.
No, Ethan Page does not think women belong in the kitchen or that gay people are fatherless. He may or may not believe that Christ is King, but he certainly isn’t posting about it on social media.
Indeed, Ethan Page’s Twitter has been hacked and the person who did it is saying some super weird, offensive stuff.
We’re not going to link to the Tweets, because they’re probably going to get deleted, but here are some screenshots that show just how creepy some people can be.
Don’t Fall For It
And so on. It’s very clearly not ‘All Ego,’ but there are inevitably some fans who could think this was some sort of awkward “heel turn.” It’s not. He was hacked. Page even took to Instagram to let his followers know he was hacked, as well as what he was having for lunch.
It’s important to note that while it may seem like a good idea to report the account, in today’s crazy Twitter climate, his account may get banned if it’s reported. So it’s best to just ignore what the poster is saying and move on. Don’t respond, don’t engage and, most importantly, DO NOT click on any links that he may post.
After going through x-rays, CT scans, and an MRI, Saraya was officially cleared on Halloween. She said she called her parents and was “crying my eyes out.” She sent the picture from her doctor to Paquette. Saraya is clear on what she can and can’t do. She said “I’m not going to get kicked in the back of the head again — which was my fault, you guys. Again, that was my fault.”
Saraya is referring to a house show from December 2017. She was in a six-woman tag match in Long Island. Sasha Banks kicked her really hard and it resulted in a stinger and losing the feeling in her extremities. At the time, the injury was believed to be career-ending.
Saraya Tells Sasha Banks
(via WWE)
One of the first people she texted after being cleared was Banks. “All of that stuff can mentally fuck someone up to like, end someone’s career. All her fans were attacking me and all my fans were attacking her — well not all of them, a small percentage — but they were all attacking each other. (…) They still send me tweets like, ‘I’m so glad Sasha broke your neck’ and people tweeting her like, ‘how dare you end someone’s career?’ She’s not unsafe, it’s just an accident. It happens in wrestling, that’s what we sign up for.”
Saraya read the text that she sent Banks. “I just said ‘Hey sis, I just want to let you know this because I know that this stuff was really tough on you mentally. But my doctor just cleared me and told me my neck is 100 percent ready to go. I haven’t told anyone else, but I know this will make you feel good: I’m back. Haha’”
Saraya says Sasha was over the moon. Saraya said she told her that she doesn’t want her to feel bad anymore. Having the time away was for the best in the long run because she could focus on herself and get healthy and sober. “I just feel like it was meant to be and I healed in record time. It’s been five years and I’m officially back. It’s pretty fucking inspiring.”
Saraya came to AEW in part because for her friendship with Paquette. When she signed with the company, she told Paquette she didn’t 100 percent know what she was going be doing. “I know I’m going there to support the division in some way on TV or behind the scenes. You know, I’m just there to try and help as much as possible. The division’s doing really well, it can always be elevated.” She said that’s why Madison Rayne is there too.
“When I came in, I didn’t really know what the deal was. I knew I was going to be a part of something and I was going to be part of something special. Then, when I got there — the great reaction when I walked out — oh my God! You cannot throw a wrestler out there and tell them they can’t do anything. (laughs) I came to terms with not being able to wrestle anymore and that’s fine.”
“A couple years ago, I did do some x-rays and they were looking great. I didn’t do the full MRI, but I did do the x-rays a couple of years ago. There’s not like the perfect read on your neck. X-rays of the bones, but you can see everything like all the inner workings of your neck; like the important part. You know they can see exactly how much fluid is around there. It’s really crazy how an x-ray works. And a CT. I just did the x-rays, so I was a little nervous about doing the MRI.”
Stone Cold Inspired Her To Wrestle Again
via WWE.com
She thought things looked good, but didn’t want to rush anything. The return of Edge and Stone Cold Steve Austin having a good match without any bumps was really inspiring. After seeing Stone Cold versus Kevin Owens, she thought “I could do a Stone Cold match.” She told Tony Khan her idea. He told her that they did tag matches with Sting and suggested doing that for her, but she wanted a singles match if she came back.
Saraya clarifies that Dr. Sampson didn’t “clear me for anything.” She said when she first went out there with Baker, she didn’t ask for clearance. He advised her not to take a bump. If she wanted to wrestle, she would have to have x-rays, MRIs, and CTs. Saraya agreed, but didn’t want to see a doctor associated with wrestling because “there’s a little bit of bias there. I don’t want to make the same mistake where I came back and I was like, wrestling every single day and just doing all these crazy things. I really want to be aware and careful of my neck this time. I want to get to the nitty gritty of what my neck looks like and if I’m even going to be paralyzed because that would be the biggest scare that if I did wrestle, I could potentially get paralyzed.”
Saraya Gets Medically Cleared with No Restrictions
(AEW)
On Halloween, Saraya went to a doctor in California. He has seen patients that compete in the NFL, NBA, and actors and actresses that are action stars. She thought he was perfect because he’d tell her no if he didn’t think she should wrestle and also his job would be on the line if he cleared her when he shouldn’t have.
Although her x-rays looked good, he said “we still have to triple check.” She went downstairs for the MRI and across the street for CT scan and then brought them back in the same hour. Upon hearing the news that she was cleared, she burst into tears. She said she started asking questions like, ‘what about the fluid in my neck?’ The doctor told her the fluid was back and her “fusions look perfect. There’s no fractures above and below, there’s no issues.”
He also told her that paralysis is rare. “If you get kicked there, you have some cushion now.” He advised her to take time if she isn’t feeling well. When she asked how many matches she can have, he told her “let’s take it easy. Like, one match a month and then gradually start building up.”
Full Gear is live from the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ on Saturday, November 19.
All Elite Wrestling has additional content plans in the works.
A new report from Fightful Select touches on excitement within Warner Bros. Discovery over the new AEW docuseries that is currently filming. There had been speculation about AEW’s future with WBD after the recent merger, but things are looking more positive as a WBD source stated AEW will likely be offered a renewal with a significant increase on their rights fee deals when the time comes.
Positive News
The two sides have been collaborative and open to input from one another. The WBD source noted this year has been a huge rebound year for interest in pro wrestling across the board and that it came at the perfect time for AEW and WWE.
As previously reported, AEW began filming their new docuseries at the recent Dynamite event in Baltimore that will focus on the behind-the-scenes aspect of the promotion and through the experiences of several wrestlers, which is the point of the series.
Although not confirmed, the belief is the project will air on TBS in early 2023. All Elite Wrestling did give wrestlers the option to not be involved in the project, but there’s no word yet on which wrestlers the series will focus on.
Filming is set to go on for six weeks, through the Dynamite event on December 14 at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, TX. AEW President Tony Khan will serve as Executive Producer, while Shed Media Executive Producer Sam Berns will assist with the new series. Production is a collaboration between WBD and Shed Media.
Who is winning the war between WWE and All Elite Wrestling? Well in the UK, it’s hard to tell.
In May 2019, months after launching, AEW announced a partnership deal with ITV for their weekly programming and Pay-Per-Views to be aired.
After ITV Box Office ceased operations in January 2020, the promotion’s Pay-Per-Views were no longer streamed by the broadcaster.
The Ratings
During this week’s AEW Dynamite, it was announced that the promotion will host its first UK event next year.
The UK is known for its wildly passionate fanbase, as the success of WWE Clash at the Castle can attest.
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer explained that AEW is consistently improving in the ratings thanks to a new timeslot.
“Because the ratings have been good, ITV 4 [AEW’s host channel] decided to move it to 9 pm every Friday night. That is a regular time slot. It won’t be revolving around. What happened the first couple of weeks is the new timeslot, the numbers were way down. Not way up, because people didn’t know about the timeslot change. But every week the ratings have gone up and up and up.
“Last week, they set their all-time record rating, not just for that time slot but since Dynamite has been on the air.”
Popularity
Typically, ratings can tell you what is the more popular show, and this metric can often shape future deals for companies.
As Meltzer explained, this isn’t the case with the UK, as WWE remains the more popular show despite what the numbers say.
“Ratings and popularity are not the exact same thing. Because they are on a station that is stronger in England than WWE is, as far as exposure, their ratings dwarf WWE in England. WWE just ran in Cardiff and did 53,999 paid attendance and an $8 million house, and AEW is not going to do that. AEW’s ratings dwarf WWE but WWE is more popular in England, and by a significant margin.
“In this case, the ratings do not tell you which is the more popular promotion, even though more people by far watch Dynamite than any other show. More people watch Rampage than watch Raw or SmackDown in England.”
It is unclear when exactly in 2023 AEW will make their UK debut, while WWE’s next events in the UK will be in April next year.
Sammy Guevara was in no mood for sportsmanship after this week’s AEW Dynamite wrapped up filming.
This week’s Dynamite took place from the Aggannis Arena in Boston, Massachusetts, and saw the promotion continue on the road to Full Gear.
Guevara and Danielson
In the main event of this week’s AEW Dynamite, Sammy Guevara faced off against Bryan Danielson in a two-out-of-three falls match.
The first fall saw Danielson get a DQ victory after being hit in the face with a steel chair by Guevara.
A rising knee strike to a bloodied Danielson quickly tied the score, with one victory each.
The tiebreaker fall saw Danielson win the match via submission, locking in the former three-time AEW TNT Champion into a double arm-bar submission.
After the show, Danielson offered his hand in a sign of respect, but Guevara did not shake back.
Instead, the Spanish God flipped off Danielson and stormed off to bring the show to an end.
Facing off Again
Guevara didn’t get the win this week, but will get another shot at Danielson at next week’s AEW Full Gear 2022 Pay-Per-View.
The pair will be joined by Claudio Castagnoli and Ring of Honor World Champion Chris Jericho in a four-way match for the Wizard’s title.
This week’s Dynamite also saw Saraya confirm that she is medically cleared and will also compete at Full Gear where she’ll face Britt Baker DDS.
AEW Full Gear will be headlined by AEW World Champion Jon Moxley defending against MJF, who earned a title match by winning the Casino Ladder Match at All Out.
“I still have a year under contract, a little less than a year, and I’m gonna try to do the best I can and entertain as much as I can because I still love it and am pretty passionate about it.”
Dustin Rhodes.
In addition to being an on-screen performer, Rhodes also works as a trainer and coach for the company and has been praised for his efforts.
Retirement?
The former WWE Superstar had a lot of people believing his time was up with his post last month.
Addressing his health issues and possible retirement, Rhodes said he is doing much better now but realizes his time in the ring will be over soon.
“Knee is great. I’m feeling good. I’m ready to go back. I’ll be back very very soon, probably two weeks. Right now, I feel good.
“I am getting older and that kind of weighs on my mind a little bit… I’m getting older, they’re getting younger and faster. I know my time is short.”
If you weren’t listening carefully, you might’ve missed Tony Schiavone casually announcing that AEW is finally headed to the UK in 2023.
Tony Khan hinted earlier on Wednesday that the announcement was on the way. After promising a very “exciting newsworthy show”, he threw in UK ITV4 viewership news, including that the October 28th episode of Dynamite was the most watched episode ever.
I promise an exciting newsworthy show on Wednesday Night #AEWDynamite on @TBSNetwork TONIGHT
Before Dynamite tonight, some UK @ITV4 viewership data per @JohnWilliams004
September 2022: +14% vs 9/21 October 2022: +12% vs 10/21
October 28 episode most watched ever: 201k average!
On nearly every single media call, someone has asked when AEW is coming to the UK. Khan has long said he wants to hold a show at Craven Cottage. That venue is the home of Fulham FC, the Premier League football (soccer) owned by the Khan family.
Back when AEW was in the early stages, Khan flew the Young Bucks to the UK. While showing them around, Khan told them he wanted to hold a show there. The promotion had hoped to get there sooner, but the pandemic changed everything and made it impossible for AEW to go to the UK.
The inaugural Trios Champions appear to be on their way back to All Elite Wrestling at the Full Gear PPV on November 19th.
During tonight’s edition of Dynamite, AEW aired another video package featuring The Elite. Kenny Omega and Young Bucks can be seen with Cody Rhodes, Finn Balor, Kevin Owens, and other wrestlers in the video.
The video features graphics from Full Gear and that appears to be the date Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks will return.
Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks defeated Death Triangle at AEW All Out on September 4th to become the first Trios Champions in company history. Their title reign lasted a few days before they were suspended for their part in a backstage brawl following the PPV.
Jon Moxley and CM Punk had a rivalry leading into the PPV. Moxley had won the AEW World Championship from Punk on an episode of Dynamite two weeks before All Out. The legendary Ace Steel talked Punk into accepting Moxley’s Open Challenge for the AEW World Championship at the PPV. CM Punk wound up accepting the challenge and defeated Moxley to become the AEW World Champion for the 2nd time (without a single title defense).
After CM Punk won the title in front of his hometown crowd, he was confronted by MJF to set up the third match in their rivalry. However, that likely will never happen as the former AEW World Champion went on a tirade after the PPV that had very little to do with winning the title ten minutes prior. CM Punk had also torn his triceps during the match, which would likely have resulted in having to forfeit the title.
The rant led to AEW EVPs Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks confronting the champion in his locker room. According to various reports, the door either was kicked open by The Elite and hit Larry the Dog in the face, or The Elite politely knocked. The truth is likely somewhere in between.
What has been confirmed is that a brawl broke out, CM Punk reportedly threw the first punch, Ace Steel hurled a chair at Nick Jackson, bit Kenny Omega, and was fired. The Elite now appear to be on their way back while there has been no word on the status of CM Punk. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer has stated that AEW has been negotiating with Punk for a buyout but nothing has come to fruition yet.
Satin mentions that in the post-WrestleMania scrum, Rhodes told Nick Hausman that he wasn’t mature enough for an EVP role. Rhodes clarified that while he said he wasn’t mature enough, what he thinks he meant was that “in that role, I did well.”
“I was very active and I did start a department, a community department. Brandi did bring Kulture City into the wrestling and sports entertainment space. So, we were very active in terms of all the facets and assets of that gig. But, I think that job was meant for — we wanted a wrestling company brought you by wrestlers. For sure, that’s a huge part of the mission — but maybe it would’ve been better served for me at age 45 then it did at age 33 or whatever it was.”
Cody Rhodes Can’t Be A Wrestler and a Boss Simultaneously
“I am just now entering the prime of my career. So the make political decisions like boxing myself out of winning a world championship, those decisions in hindsight were not the correct decisions and what I should’ve been doing.”
Rhodes declares that he’s the best wrestler. He said it isn’t being “braggadocios” because he lives and breathes wrestling. He says he treats wrestling like “an athlete would treat an NFL game.” Rhodes said, “I needed to go and be that. And I wanted to both and that was just too difficult and that’s where I didn’t have the maturity to balance it.”
Being on the backstage side of things, he feels he can “no longer be one of the boys.” If he had been in an EVP role later in his life, Rhodes feels like it would’ve served him better. “If I can’t be the best wrestler in the world on television because I’m afraid I’m going to offend colleagues because I am also their boss, that was the situation we were in and I just played it in the middle. There was only so much of playing in the middle that I could do and now I’m not in charge of nothing other than me and being a pro wrestler.”
Rhodes is currently rehabbing a torn pectoral muscle that he suffered earlier this year.
He attacked Darby Allin in his debut and bashed a guitar over his head. Double J cut a promo and vowed to be a prominent figure in AEW on and off the screen. Jarrett sent out a warning to AEW fans as well during the promo.
“By the time I’m done with this place, there will be full of body bags. So AEW fans, you can choke on that, Slapnuts!”
AEW President Tony Khan tweeted out that Jeff will be serving as the Director of Business Development for the company.
Welcome to #AEWDynamite to the new AEW Director of Business Development@RealJeffJarrett. I look forward to expanding the@AEW live events calendar in 2023 + in future years with JJ,@rmorfnyc,@mookieghana and our entire great AEW team. Jeff Jarrett is All Elite!
Jeff Jarrett Takes a Shot At Braun Strowman on Dynamite
On this week’s episode of Dynamite, Jeff Jarrett appeared following Jay Lethal’s win over Trent. He hyped up Jey as a wrestler that has wins over Sting and Ric Flair. Double J added that Sonjay Dutt has an IQ of 180 and they’ve taken over promotions all across the world.
Jarrett then brought up Satnam Singh and said he’s a real giant. He added that he’s not a “make believe monster in red skinny jeans produced by the banana nose factory”.
Jeff Jarrett: “this ain’t no make believe monster who wears red skinny jeans who is produced by the banana nosed circus”
Jeff Jarrett appeared at WWE SummerSlam as the special guest referee for the Undisputed Tag Team Championship match between The Usos and The Street Profits. After Triple H gained power, he let Jarrett go and replaced him with Road Dogg as the SVP of Live Events.
Ever since debuting in AEW, everyone has wondered if Saraya is cleared to wrestle. She has gotten physical a few times since being in an AEW ring. It was reported that she was clear, but Saraya would not confirm it.
On last week’s Dynamite, Saraya had a sit-down interview with Renee Paquette. They were supposed to be joined by Britt Baker, but she didn’t show. When Paquette asked her for her status, Saraya answered that she was saving it for next week because “there’s one more doctor I’ve got to see.”
Saraya Has Her First Match in AEW
During tonight’s Dynamite, Tony Schiavone led a segment with Saraya and Baker. It quickly devolved into a back and forth with plenty of WWE references.
Saraya announced that she was cleared right off the bat. She had MRIs, x-rays, and CT scans. “And unfortunately…for Britt, I’m a 100-percent cleared!”
After detailing her journey in the wrestling business, Saraya focused on how Baker was handed everything by Tony Khan. “Here’s another opportunity handed to you on a silver platter. This is going to be my comeback story and this is going to be the biggest match of your career. It’s going to be you versus me at Full Gear!”
Chris Jericho wants to bring his Painmaker character to the big screen. Jericho believes his serial killer-inspired alter ego can hugely successful outside of pro wrestling.
AEW’s Inaugural World Champion recently appeared on Howie Mandel Does Stuff. During a discussion about super heroes, Jericho said The Painmaker has a comic book in the works and has a rich backstory that could put it on the level of super heroes like Batman, Superman and Spider-Man.
“The idea is to make it into a movie at some point. That’s my overall goal. We’re just writing and illustrating the graphic novel now.”
– Chris Jericho
The Painmaker Lore
“So the idea is The Painmaker is an intergalactic former serial killer. He’s changed his life, and he’s not a serial killer anymore, but now he travels the galaxy hunting down other serial killers in different galaxies, different planets.”
Jericho further explained what makes the character tick, and likened it to the character Dexter Morgan from the Showtime series Dexter. He’s already brainstorming ideas for a big love interest storyline.
“What if The Painmaker falls in love and can’t help himself, and he has to kill the one he loves?!” Jericho questioned. “Who knows? The possibilities are endless.”
The Painmaker first appeared in New Japan Pro Wrestling during Jericho’s feud with The Rainmaker Kazuchika Okada. He’s since appeared in AEW on several occasions.
AEW Women’s Champion Thunder Rosa has been off of television since the Dynamite before AEW All Out on September 4th. The disastrous media scrum that followed took all the attention away from the current odd situation regarding the champion of the women’s division.
Thunder Rosa announced that she was stepping away with injury before the PPV. Toni Storm won the AEW Interim Women’s Championship at All Out and has since taken a couple of shots at Thunder Rosa. Britt Baker has as well and the AEW Women’s Champion recently responded on Busted Open Radio. She claimed that she will be back in January and that Toni should go talk to the booker if she has an issue.
Ivelesse battled Thunder Rosa at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville on a September 2020 edition of Dynamite. The NWA Women’s Championship was on the line during the match. It was a debacle with real punches being thrown and professional wrestlers no-selling each other. Ivelisse took to Twitter to remind the fans of when the current AEW Women’s Champion threw a shoot punch at her during Dynamite.
“Never forget the moment this b decided to be a coward piece of sh and shoot punch me when she was supposed to block my shot + something else, and also the balls to pull my hair this way. She lucky I’m a pro and didn’t proceed to break her jaw.”
Never forget , the moment this b decided to be a coward piece of sh and shoot punch me when she was supposed to block my shot + something else, and also the balls to pull my hair this way, she lucky im a pro and didn't proceed to break her jaw pic.twitter.com/Ms57FZlNQ0
Former AEW Women’s Champion Britt Baker also recently took a shot at Thunder Rosa during the SwerveCity podcast with Swerve Strickland. You can check that out in the link below.
Chris Jericho has emerged as a locker room leader in AEW alongside Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley following All Out, where there was an altercation between CM Punk, Ace Steel, Matt & Nick Jackson, and Kenny Omega
Everyone involved was suspended while Steel was fired. CM Punk and AEW are reportedly in talks about the promotion buying out his contract.
“There was a locker room fight that happened a couple months ago between a couple of guys. When these things happen, you have to deal with them. Sometimes, the way to deal with it is guys just have to not be there anymore.”
As previously reported, Jericho approached Punk the night of All Out after the fight and was unhappy about it. He reportedly told Punk that he was a “cancer to the locker room and a detriment to the company.”
The discussion about the incident in this interview began with Jericho being asked about locker room altercations in general and how things are dealt with.
“It happens, sure it does. If you’re cast in a movie and you hate your co-star, either you make it work, do your job, put on a great performance and never talk to each other again or you leave the project. It’s that simple. If there are people you have a problem with, which I’ve had over the years, not a lot but this guy can rub me the wrong way, ‘he’s a fucking asshole,’ whatever, you still have to put on a good show. Sometimes you have fight in the locker room and that sort of thing. It’s a big team. Sometimes guys get into fights, sometimes guys just have the wrong attitude for how to make the team work. That’s how you have to look at it. Sometimes, guys just have to leave.”
