Warner Bros. Discovery continues to be happy with the television ratings of AEW.
Since the merger in April, there has been a lot of synergy between AEW and WBD with multiple events having WBD branding and the company sending out press releases touting AEW ratings.
Currently, AEW Dynamite airs every Wednesday night on TBS, while AEW Rampage airs every Friday night on TNT. Four Battle of the Belts specials also air throughout the year.
Warner Bros. Discovery Happy With AEW
While speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Kathleen Finch, Warner Bros. Discovery US Networks Group chair and chief content officer, discussed how TNT and TBS can maintain a male audience over time.
“We really play in the sports space. One of the things that we’re doing around sports is creating shoulder programming to hold onto those fans. AEW [All Elite Wrestling] pulls huge numbers, so we are working with the wrestling team to figure out what new kind of content can we build that’s not in a wrestling ring,” she said.
TNT previously aired “Rhodes To The Top,” a reality show starring Cody & Brandi Rhodes before the married couple left All Elite Wrestling earlier this year.
For months, AEW has faced reports of talent being frustrated, with meetings being held to address these issues.
After last month’s All Out Pay Per View, a fight backstage resulted in CM Punk, Kenny Omega, and the Young Bucks all being removed from programming.
Last week, Andrade El Idolo picked a fight with Sammy Guevara that resulted in the former NXT Champion being sent home.
Smiling Faces
Flair doesn’t work for AEW, but the 16-time World Champion has seen the reports of talent wanting out.
Speaking on his ‘To Be The Man’ podcast, Flair claimed that things aren’t as bad as some people believe.
“It can’t always be perfect. Tony’s got his hands full. I don’t know the thought prospect behind his decisions. But they have enjoyed a lot of success lately.
“a lot of smiling faces.”
Ric Flair on AEW behind the scenes.
“Sofiya of course, my stepdaughter, works for them. She’s having a great time. She does a lot of their social media so she’s pretty much on top of what’s going on there. She sees a lot of smiling faces. Hopefully, everything works out.”
Flair and AEW
Flair left WWE in 2021, reportedly frustrated with the booking for both himself and his daughter Charlotte Flair.
The reported plan was for Flair to join AEW and manage his son-in-law Andrade El Idolo.
El Idolo had at the time, split with his then-manager Chavo Guerrero, who had replaced Vickie Guerrero.
Any plans for Flair in AEW ended after VICE’s Dark Side of the Ring covered the Plane Ride from Hell, where Flair is alleged to have forced flight attendants to touch his genitals.
William Regal may be impressed by what MJF does in AEW, but that doesn’t make the Salt of the Earth a true villain of wrestling.
MJF returned to AEW at the All Out Pay-Per-View, following a three-month hiatus, stemming from scathing comments made against AEW and Tony Khan.
At the event, MJF won the Casino Ladder match as the Joker entrant, earning an AEW World Championship match.
Fake Bad Guy
With his win at All Out, MJF has a championship title match, presumably with current AEW World Champion Jon Moxley.
Part of what has made MJF such a successful performer is his heel persona, which William Regal doesn’t buy as he explained on the Gentleman Villain podcast.
“I’ve always seen the potential in him. Not sure I like the way he goes about doing stuff. If you want to be a real bad guy, there are things that you can do and things that you can’t. I used this term on AEW the other week and it’s only a few people know this term. O-D-V, which is an ordinary decent villain.”
Regal explained that to be an ODV means knowing that those non-wrestlers are off limits, a lesson that MJF hasn’t learned.
“Anybody who signs up to be a pro wrestler, you’re fair game for anything my wicked mind wants to do to you. But if they don’t, you leave them alone.”
Roddy Piper
With his heel work, many (including WWE Hall of Famer Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts) have called MJF this generation’s Roddy Piper.
Addressing the comparison, Regal said that MJF couldn’t hang with the legendary talker.
“Roddy Piper would have seen straight through him. He would have gone ‘this is a lad who’s not grown up the same as us.’ He’s not got the same mentality.”
“Roddy Piper would have seen straight through him.”
William Regal.
“You might think you’re a bad guy, you might want to act like a bad guy. But there’s a difference there’s a big difference and very few people know that. A lot of people who got through this job by just acting like a bad guy.”
Tough Enough
Years before arriving in AEW, MJF tried out for the 2015 season of Tough Enough.
Speaking about MJF’s formative years, Regal discussed why the Salt of the Earth never made it in WWE NXT while Regal was in charge.
“He was young. Far too young to get hired [by WWE.] And there was only so many places in NXT. If you’ve got a full roster and somebody young [comes along] you go ‘right now what you need to do is go out and do your thing.’ Make people notice you, which he did.
MJF wouldn’t make it on the show, but his audition tape (suspiciously) remains on WWE’s YouTube channel.
Even though he is only 26 years old, MJF is already one of the top stars of the pro wrestling world. The Salt of The Earth is one of the smartest pro wrestlers of today’s generation so he hardly ever needs to look to anyone else for advice. When he does need a second opinion on something, he turns to none other than Cody Rhodes.
When asked about his current relationship with Cody Rhodes, MJF claimed that they’re ‘best friends.’ Per the 26-year-old, he calls Rhodes every once in a while, when he needs a second opinion on something:
“I’ll still call him when I honestly need… rarely do I need advice – I mean, look at me. But I’ll call him because I respect the shit out of him. I’ll call him to get a second masterful opinion.”
– MJF
MJF and Cody Rhodes had been working together since the very beginning of AEW. The latter took the young star under his wing and they had a long partnership. This partnership ended when the Wrestling Devil caused Rhodes to lose a match against Chris Jericho at Full Gear 2019 and turned on the now WWE star afterward.
Jim Ross isn’t opposed to calling the action of a Football game, but not if it takes away from his responsibilities with AEW.
Ross joined Tony Khan’s promotion in January 2019 and has been a staple of AEW for the company ever since.
Commentary
Ross is considered one of the greatest wrestling commentators to don a headset, but isn’t just interested in the sport.
It’s no secret that JR is an avid football fan, calling a season for the Atlanta Falcons in 1992, and would call another season for the team in 1994.
When asked during the latest Grilling JR whether he wants to return to football commentary, Ross said it would depend.
“If it meant leaving AEW, the answer would be emphatically no. I like what I’m doing. But would it be fun to be in a booth for a game? Sure. I’m a football fan and I’m a broadcaster, so I think it all goes hand in hand. But the bottom line is I have my perfect job right now.”
Rampage
In June this year, JR was moved from being a full-time commentator for AEW Dynamite, to a full-time commentator for AEW Rampage.
While many have seen this as a demotion for the WWE Hall of Famer, Ross doesn’t share this viewpoint.
“I’m excited. I appreciate the things people have been saying about Rampage. We’re trying to build that brand. Friday nights are a daunting night for any TV programming. But we’ve got work, and I thought our last two or three shows on Rampage have been solid as hell.”
MJF returned to All Elite Wrestling at All Out but the wrestling world was talking about the brawl between CM Punk and The Elite following the PPV.
The brawl resulted in AEW President Tony Khan stripping CM Punk of the AEW World Championship and Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks of the Trios Championships. Death Triangle captured the Trios Championships on the Dynamite following All Out and Jon Moxley defeated Bryan Danielson in the finals of the Tournament of Champions at Dynamite: Grand Slam to become the new champion.
MJF is in line for a title shot and Moxley will put the title on the line against Hangman Page on a special Tuesday night edition of Dynamite on October 18th.
MJF Comments On The Brawl Between CM Punk & The Elite
MJF was recently a guest on Sam Roberts’ Notsam Wrestling show. Sam brought up the backstage incident following AEW All Out and noted how Jon Moxley & MJF seized their opportunity a few days later on Dynamite.
Roberts said that both MJF and Jon were able to get fans to forget about the drama from a moment. MJF quoted CM Punk’s pipebomb promo where he said he’s just a spoke on the wheel and the wheel is going to keep spinning no matter who is in the locker room.
I think it has honestly become less interesting as time has gone on and isn’t that telling, right? Because that is what professional wrestling is.
I’ll use a phrase from a guy that was involved in it (CM Punk), it’s a wheel. And it is going to keep on turning.
I’ve said it before and I will say it again, everyone that was involved in this thing is crazy talented. Crazy talented. And whatever happens, whichever way this goes, I wish everyone involved the best of luck.
But like we just discussed, AEW is insane right now and that is not hyperbole. Ratings have been going up, the key demographic has been going up.
Even with this crazy bulls*** nut job hurricane, where you know that the news media is going to be fear-mongering, and like ‘you’re all gonna die!’, we still hit a great demo.
That is the end of the story and I think that it is why it has become a bit of a moot point. It was much more interesting when it went down.
The new deal will see Moxley compete almost exclusively for AEW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, as the two promotions enjoy a working relationship.
Stabilizing
Moxley’s re-signing is some much-needed good news for Khan, whose company has recently faced a series of scandals.
Injuries, fight backstage and reports of an unhappy roster have been just some of the problems AEW has had to deal with recently.
Speaking on the Grilling JR podcast, Ross spoke of the ‘stabilizing’ effect Moxley’s re-signing will have.
“I think it’s very stabilizing for our roster. He’s our top guy, he’s the champ. So he’s emotionally invested. To sign a five-year deal, at his age, you’re invested. I’m really happy to see that happen.”
Jim Ross.
There’s no word yet on how much Moxley will make per year on his new deal for the company.
Exclusivity
Moxley’s new deal is good news for AEW, but bad news for Game Changer Wrestling.
AEW star Maxwell Jacob Friedman sat down with Sam Roberts for an interview on Notsam Wrestling and admitted that he was not ready to be cheered by the fans.
Maxwell returned at AEW All Out in September after a hiatus that lasted several months. Stokely Hathaway’s The Firm faction helped a man in a devil mask win the Casino Ladder match.
The man was later revealed to be MJF when he showed up following CM Punk’s victory over Jon Moxley to become AEW World Champion. CM Punk’s title reign would be incredibly short-lived, as he was injured in the match and was also suspended following a brawl with The Elite after his rant at the media scrum.
All of these factors led to MJF receiving a hero’s welcome from the crowd on the following Dynamite. Maxwell has since referred to his fans as his “devil worshippers”.
MJF On Not Being Prepared To Be Cheered
During the interview on Notsam Wrestling, Roberts asked if he was amused by fans who cheer Max because they believe they are in on it. MJF revealed that he was initially not prepared for the fans to start cheering him.
I’m going to be completely transparent, I was not prepared for the devil worshippers. Now I’m all for it. Grab your pitchforks daddy let’s go. I’m all for it.
When I came out I had what used to be called a LoD (Legion of Doom) pop, it is now an MJF pop.
My ears were bleeding and we were in Chicago of all places. When I got to the back, it was that moment I went ‘oh, this is new, okay’.
And the way I look at it now is this, I’m a megastar. When my music hits, I’m going to get a guttural reaction from the fans.
Because there’s nothing like me in professional wrestling. If you want to cheer me, cheer me. If you want to boo me, boo me.
It also seems to be dependent on where we are at. For example, we were just in Philadelphia and I saw people trying to get over the guardrail to get at me.
MJF is in line for a title opportunity at a time in place of his choosing. Jon Moxley will defend the AEW World Championship against Hangman Page. on Dynamite on a special Tuesday night episode on October 18th.
MJF was a guest on Notsam Wrestling today with Sam Roberts and discussed several topics.
The 26-year-old is line for a shot at the AEW World Championship at a time and place of his choosing. Jon Moxley captured the title at AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam by defeating Bryan Danielson in the finals of the Tournament of Champions. Jon will defend the title on a special Tuesday night edition of Dynamite on October 18th.
Speaking on Notsam Wrestling, MJF revealed that he negotiates his own contracts and claimed that it what makes him super rich.
My wrestling deals I have handled my entire career entirely by myself. Which is why I make a stupid amount of money right now at 26 years old.
If I’m being completely honest and transparent, I think it’s definitely fair to say that no one at my age is making the money that I’m making right now in the history of the business.
Like if you back at 26-year-olds, they were not making the amount of money that I’m making right now. Ever, in the history of the business.
Sam Roberts asked if making money was always the most important thing to MJF or if there was a time he just wanted to get better. Maxwell laughed in Sam’s face before giving the following response:
How do you get better when you are already the best? It’s always been about money. It’s not a friend business, right? It’s show business. It’s business. It’s the pro wrestling business. It’s also a sport, don’t get me wrong, but within that sport there is a business.
My goal has always been to make the most amount of money, to then use that to transcend, and enter into the Hollywood sphere.
And then literally leave all my fans in the dust and pretend I never knew they existed in the first place. I don’t even like wrestling.
Here’s the thing, I studied it. I had to in order to be the best. I think through studying it, I grew an appreciation towards profession wrestling.
But once I am done wrestling, you will never see me again. Ever. I am using this sport like a succubus. I am sucking the life out of it, the blood, the money. And then I will be gone.
Maxwell went on to claim that he’s already booked a huge movie that he’s not allowed to announce what it is.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit Notsam Wrestling and give a H/T to SEScoops for the transcription.
Maxwell Jacob Friedman is one of AEW’s most popular stars today and the devil worshipper’s have gotten behind him since his return at All Out.
The 26-year-old is in line for a shot at the AEW World Championship at a time and place of his choosing. Stokely Hathaway’s The Firm stable helped Maxwell win the Casino Ladder Match at All Out. MJF went on to confront former AEW World Champion CM Punk at the conclusion of the PPV.
My Devil worshippers were out in full force tonight with their pitch forks in hand.
MJF joined Sam Roberts on the Notsam Wrestling show today. Sam asked MJF when he realized that he was actually good. Maxwell claimed that AEW VP of Talent Development Pat Buck became “unnerved” at how good he was while training at Create A Pro Wrestling.
I think Pat Buck was unnerved by how good I was on day one. I think it made him uncomfortable. I really do, because I look back on it now and I think about being run through the drills at Create A Pro Wrestling at 18-years old.
You know, doing all of the moves, learning it day one, and just nailing everything. I’m not saying that to be funny, this isn’t hyperbolic, I literally did everything perfectly. I remember Pat just had a look on his face, it was half disdain, and half shock and awe.
MJF left the building immediately after being stretchered out of the arena and did not remain for the rest of the Double Or Nothing show.
He was seen exiting the venue with AEW Producer Pat Buck.
Sam asked if Pat Buck is a mentor for MJF in AEW now that he’s a producer in the company. The 26-year-old said that Pat was one of the handful of people he respected, along with Brian Myers, FKA WWE star Curt Hawkins. MJF noted that Create A Pro has created the most stars outside of the PC.
Here’s the deal, there is only a handful of people on the planet that I respect, genuinely respect. He’s one of them, as is Brian Myers, AKA Curt Hawkins.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit Notsam Wrestling with a H/T to SEScoops for the transcription.
Renee Paquette – a popular and critically acclaimed interviewer and commentator with World Wrestling Entertainment for nearly a decade – is expected to sign with All-Elite Wrestling, according to several sources.
Paquette, who worked as Renee Young for WWE from 2012 to 2020 and was the first woman to announce an entire episode of WWE Raw, “could possibly debut … this week,” according to one source. Dynamite is in Toronto, Paquette’s home town.
AEW has been working to find women to fill some of its TV announcing roles since the company started in 2019. Paquette – who worked with The Score in Canada prior to joining WWE – is a veteran broadcaster with experience conducting interviews, commentating, and hosting pre and post-shows. She would be the company’s biggest announcing signing since Jim Ross and Tony Schiavone. AEW recently signed Saraya Jade Bevis, who is expected to bolster AEW’s women’s division and fill in on announcing duties.
Paquette left WWE in 2020. She began hosting her own podcast, The Sessions, in 2021 and video interviews on her own YouTube channel.
She interviewed several players for the Cincinnati Bengals YouTube channel and website prior to the start of the NFL season. The Bengals announced on Oct. 6 she would begin hosting her own show, Renee All-Dey for the team.
She released a cookbook in May 2021. She co-hosts Throwing Down with Renee and Miesha on Sirius XM with former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Miehsa Tate.
Paquette is married to Jon Moxley, AEW World Champion and company mainstay. AEW announced over the weekend it had signed Moxley to a 5-year contract which would include a role as a mentor/coach with the company. Moxley and AEW president Tony Khan were working on a handshake deal prior to the signing. Moxley and Paquette had their first child in June 2021. They live in the Cincinnati area.
Frustrated wrestlers, tired of not receiving adaqueate TV time and prominent booking, shouldn’t bother turning to Eric Bischoff for a shoulder to cry on.
In recent months, there have been reports of talent being unhappy in AEW, with meetings beind held backstage to address concerns.
Last year, Brian Cage’s wife Melissa commented publicly about her husband’s lack of booking in AEW, and her criticism of the company drew him significant heat backstage.
Be Ready
With limited hours, it is impossible for everyone to be featured on AEW programming each week.
Tony Khan has amassed an impressively large roster, which he divides among Dynamite, Rampage, Dark and Dark: Elevation.
Speaking on his 83 Weeks Podcast, Bischoff advised those in AEW to be ready, even when they’re not being used.
“Be ready for your opportunity. Because let’s face it, injuries are a thing. Contract issues are a thing. HR issues are a thing. Just because you’re at the bottom of the card or you’re not getting as much Television time as you think you deserve, keep your nose to the grindstone.
“If you’re getting paid and you’re healthy and you get to spend time with your family, and you have more time to work out, maybe you have some time [to improve.] God forbid, take some classes. Take some improv classes. Learn how to be better as a character on Television. You’re getting paid good money and you’re not on the road 300 days a year.”
Be Grateful
While many wrestlers do try and improve, there is no shortage of talent who have been unhappy with the lack of focus they receive.
AEW’s Miro has liked tweets suggesting he would do better in WWE, while Andrade El Idolo retweeted a recent fan post, complaining that Andrade wasn’t used more when multiple talent missed Dynamite due to Hurricane Ian.
Speaking about those who insist on being negative online, Bischoff had two simple words of advice: be grateful.
“Focus on yourself. I don’t have sympathy for talent who are frustrated. First of all, you made the decision. You made the choice to go work there. And because things aren’t going exactly the way you want them to go, exactly when you want them to go, I don’t think it gives you the right [to complain.] It certainly is not a good look to make as much noise and be as negative an influence as some people are. Man, be grateful! God almighty be grateful.
“I don’t have sympathy for talent who are frustrated.”
Eric Bischoff
“How many people in the world, or this country, would do anything to change places with you? And guess what? They wouldn’t be b*tching about how much TV time they’re not getting. Come on man, be grateful.”
Bischoff added that several wrestlers fall into the trap of an echo-chamber on social media, reading comments from their fans that they should receive better booking.
For use of these quotes please give a h/t to SEScoops.
Saraya has hit back at claims that AEW is acting “unethically” by clearing her for in-ring competition.
The former WWE Divas Champion was recently cleared to wrestle nearly five years after her last match. On last week’s AEW Dynamite, Saraya got physical for the first time in years, confronting Dr. Britt Baker. Some ‘medical experts’ on social media have accused AEW of negligence and acting without Saraya’s best interests in mind.
On Twitter, one user claimed that Saraya was not cleared by 15 doctors during her time with WWE. They added that Dr. Sampson, AEW’s resident physician, has been accused of “numerous unethical decisions.
The Twitter user, who calls themselves a “reality check” for wrestling, provided no names of doctors nor any of these alleged unethical decisions.
In response, Saraya said that the claim of 15 doctors is “straight up lying for clicks.”
She added that Dr. Sampson says lives, and shared a tweet from Jerry Lawler. It was Dr. Sampson who saved the WWE Hall of Famer’s life in 2012 after he suffered a cardiac event during an episode of WWE Monday Night Raw.
I’ll bite on this because… Bro. You just straight up lying for clicks. Tf. 15 drs?!?! I learn something new about myself everyday on here. Insane. Hahahaha also you’re getting your Drs mixed up because Dr Sampson saves lives. https://t.co/ZiTTo3hHGgpic.twitter.com/8vwhokdJQp
Saraya’s last match took place at the December 26, 2017, WWE Live event inside Madison Square Garden.
During a six-woman tag-team match, Paige took a stiff kick from Sasha Banks which resulted in the match being stopped, the latest in a long list of injuries the former Divas Champion had been dealing with.
On the WWE Raw after WrestleMania 34 in April 2018, Saraya (then Paige) announced her retirement and became the General Manager of SmackDown later that week.
Eric Bischoff is also no stranger to seeing backstage antics in a wrestling company.
He was up close and personal to a lot of politics and drama when he was senior president of WCW from 1994 to September of 1999. On the most recent episode of Bischoff’s 83 Weeks podcast, he was asked if there were any parallels to the backstage drama between AEW and WCW when he was running the company?
“In some ways, of course. You’ve got talent who can be emotional at times. That’s across the board. Some of the biggest names in the industry have been difficult to work with from time to time.”
“Sometimes the emotions can be heightened to the point where they become problematic. It’s happened in WWE, we saw Stone Cold Steve Austin walk out over creative differences. It certainly happened in WCW, I had my own issues with that.”
AEW Backstage
The physical confrontation after AEW All Out that led to the suspensions of CM Punk, The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega, has upstaged the in-ring product in recent weeks. It brings into question, what’s going on management wise behind the scenes in AEW?
AEW owner and president Tony Khan wears many, if not all the hats in the company. He books the shows on top of making the major executive decisions. Something that former WWE CEO Vince McMahon was often criticized for.
Trying to police a locker room that seemingly has unrest is becoming a larger issue for Khan. When Bischoff was asked if he had any advice for Khan, he said the following.
“Tony has really dug himself in as the end all, be all (of AEW). He’s the CEO, head of creative, whatever six titles he has. I don’t think he has delegated well. I think it would have served Tony much better early on, to set the stage and create the culture.”
“If Tony not only would have surrounded himself but delegated and trusted some of the more senior people around him early on, I think he would’ve quite possibly avoided some of this drama.”
Maxwell Jacob Friedman is firing back at anti-Semitic comments made by Kanye West.
West made headlines around the world overnight with his late night diatribe aimed at Jewish people. He wrote on social media, “I’m a bit sleepy tonight when I wake up I’m going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE The funny thing is I actually can’t be Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jew also You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda.”
Days before this Tweet, Jewish groups accused West of propagating anti-Semitic stereotypes during an interview with Fox News.
West has received blowback from various racially sensitive comments over the years, and Jews have not been his only target. In 2018, he floated the idea that African Americans “chose” to be slaves. He told TMZ, “When you hear about slavery for 400 years … For 400 years? That sounds like a choice.”
MJF Responds to Kanye West
On Sunday, MJF addressed the controversy on Twitter. He wrote:
“Kanye calling Jewish people horrifying doesn’t shock me.
What shocks me is how little we as a society talk about antisemitism.
To put things into perspective. Slavery was very recent and the plight of POC is still rampant.
End of slavery-1865
End of Holocaust-1945
People tweeting “this is out of character”
I don’t play a character. Never have. I’m a Jew. I’m angry, And you should be angry too.”
The tweets got a lot of replies, as you can imagine. He followed up by writing, “And for the people out there who will try to attack me for bringing up the abolition of slavery in the US. I am not taking your very real pain away. Nor am I trying to play a game of ‘who’s had it worse.’ If you think that was the point of this tweet you’re dumb as bricks.”
MJF has been outspoken about the anti-Semitism he’s faced while growing up. Back in February, he cut an impassioned promo on AEW Dynamite explaining how he dealt with a high school classmate who bullied him for being Jewish.
Former WWE personality and commentator Renee Paquette (Renee Young) is expected to sign with All Elite Wrestling.
According to a new report from Fightful Select, their sources within WWE are expecting Renee to sign with AEW. Give Me Sport’s Louis Dangoor had heard that WWE reached out to Renee about a possible return to the company but Fightful could not confirm if that was the case. Fightful also reached out to both AEW and Renee Paquette but didn’t receive confirmation that she’s signed with the company.
— FightfulSelect.com! Exclusive Pro Wrestling News (@FightfulSelect) October 8, 2022
Renee Young exited WWE after SummerSlam 2020. She was a backstage interviewer, a commentator, and a host during her WWE career. Renee also joined the cast of Total Divas for season six and hosted WWE Backstage on Fox.
After leaving WWE, the 37-year-old launched The Sessions podcast on Fox sports broadcaster Colin Cowherd’s The Volume Network. The Cincinnati Bengals recently announced that they will be partnering with Paquette for a new series called Renée All Day. The series will feature Renee interviewing players from the team. She recently filmed footage for WWE at the Performance Center.
Renee’s husband, AEW World Champion Jon Moxley, just signed a 5-year extension with All Elite Wrestling. His new contract will keep him with All Elite Wrestling until 2027 and has expanded his role in the company to include coaching.
Moxley will be defending the AEW World Championship against Hangman Page in Cincinnati on a special Tuesday night edition of Dynamite on October 18th.
The promotion most recently added Saraya (formerly known as Paige) to their talented roster, one that already includes Britt Baker, Athena, Jade Cargill, Serena Deeb, Madison Rayne, Riho, Nyla Rose, Kris Statlander, Penelope Ford, Anna Jay, and a ton of rising stars like Willow Nightingale, Red Velvet, Leyla Hirsch, Jamie Hayter, and Skye Blue.
When looking at the top merchandise sellers for AEW the most common names, like CM Punk, Kenny Omega, Adam Page, MJF, and Orange Cassidy sit at the top, with some hotter acts like Danhausen and The Acclaimed working their way up. However, the top selling female star is not who you may think it is.
Former AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida Is The Best Female Merch Seller For AEW
According to the ShopAEW numbers (thanks to a report by WrestleNomics), Hikaru Shida currently sits among the top sellers for AEW, and is even outselling Saraya, who debuted a few weeks ago, and Britt Baker, arguably the company’s most featured star. Shida’s appearances in AEW have been scattered since she lost the title to Baker at Double or Nothing 2021, but she is set to compete this Wednesday in tag team action, which will be AEW’s debut show in Canada.
Shida defeated Nyla Rose at Double or Nothing 2020 to become the third-ever AEW women’s champion. Unfortunately, the entirety of her title reign was in front of a few fans due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Despite her scattered use Shida continues to remain one of AEW’s most popular stars.
AEW World Champion Jon Moxley had been without a contract for quite some time prior to re-signing with the company this week.
In a statement, AEW confirmed that Moxley is now under a new five-year contract with the company, and will also serve as a mentor and coach in addition to his on-screen role.
AEW President Tony Khan praised Moxley in the statement, for being “on the best run of his already legendary career.”
Not Under Contract
Moxley’s new five-year deal will keep him in AEW for a long time yet, but he had been a free agent recently.
Sources who spoke to Fightful Select within AEW claimed that Moxley had been working without a contract, but did not specify for how long.
When Fightful asked about Moxley’s status prior to re-signing, they were told it was “quite a situation.”
Tony Khan had made it clear that re-signing Moxley was a priority, given the amount of time and money the promotion has invested in him.
Exclusivity?
In the statement, it was noted that Moxley will wrestle exclusively for AEW, but will be able to compete for New Japan Pro Wrestling, who AEW has a working relationship with.
The statement did not specify Moxley’s status for other promotions, including DEFY Wrestling or Game Changer Wrestling.
Fightful’s report notes that AEW wouldn’t comment on what his new deal means for his status with any of those companies.
Moxley, the reigning GCW World Champion will face Nick Gage in a title vs. career match later today.
AEW World Champion Jon Moxley is set to remain in with the promotion for a long time.
All Elite Wrestling has announced Moxley has signed a five-year extension. The new agreement expands his responsibilities to include mentoring and coaching talent. The champion will work exclusively for AEW and its international partners.
By 2027, Moxley will have been with AEW for 8 years, longer than his run with WWE.
The champion is set to defend the title on against #1 contender Hangman Adam Page on a special Tuesday Night Dynamite on October 18th from his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio.
Press Release
Here’s the official press release sent in by AEW, including quotes from Tony Khan and Moxley:
All Elite Wrestling and President Tony Khan released the following statement about Moxley signing an extension:
October 7, 2022 – AEW CEO, GM and Head of Creative Tony Khan announced that AEW World Champion Jon Moxley has signed a five-year contract extension. This ensures that one of professional wrestling’s top stars will remain in All Elite Wrestling through 2027, while expanding his responsibilities to include mentoring and coaching talent. Moving forward, Moxley will work exclusively for AEW and its international partners, including New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he is a two-time IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion.
Moxley has had an incredible run in 2022, most recently recapturing the AEW World Championship at “AEW: Dynamite GRAND SLAM” against Bryan Danielson, pitting the Blackpool Combat Club’s top stars against one another for the grandest prize in professional wrestling. He defends the AEW World Championship next against Hangman Adam Page in his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio, on Oct. 18 on a special Tuesday edition of “AEW: Dynamite,” live on TBS at 8 p.m. ET. Moxley will kick off the action on tonight’s live episode of “AEW: Rampage,” the first night of year four of AEW on TNT at 10 p.m. ET / 9 p.m. CT.
“Jon Moxley is on the best run of his already legendary career, and this five-year extension ensures that he was not only here for AEW’s meteoric rise, but also remains a key part of the sustained success we’re witnessing, just days after the three-year anniversary show for ‘AEW: Dynamite,’” said Tony Khan.
“Jon is a great world champion for us in his third reign. His wrestling mind is invaluable, and our roster is lucky to have the opportunity to utilize him as a mentor and a coach as we continue to build the stars of today and tomorrow.”
“I love AEW and the spirit of both the company and its fans,” said Jon Moxley. “I cherish our shared passion for the sport of professional wrestling, and I’m going to dedicate everything I have in mind, body, and spirit to helping AEW be the best it can be going forward.”
Saraya, formerly known as WWE Superstar Paige, is going to be All Elite for quite some time. She made her promotional debut at the Dynamite: Grand Slam from Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, NY.
Due to spinal stenosis, Saraya hasn’t wrestled since 2017. WWE didn’t sign her to a new deal a few months ago, and she went on the free agent market in early July. AEW made contact with her shortly after she was a free agent, according to Fightful.
Saraya has reportedly agreed to a three-year contract with AEW. Interestingly, AEW’s level of ‘financial commitment to the 30-year-old star “largely implies that she’ll be wrestling in some capacity.”
We’re still unclear whether or not Saraya has been medically cleared to compete. She’s scheduled to speak on tonight’s edition of AEW Dynamite tonight. AEW talent did go to bat for her and put in a good word, although one AEW source said: “she didn’t need it, since there was interest when she became available.”
The roster seemed excited about her joining the company and rightfully so. She brings a mega dose of star power to the AEW women’s division. If she does get cleared to wrestle, there are a number of marquee matches lined up with the likes of Britt Baker, Toni Storm, Jade Cargill, Thunder Rosa and others.
Ever since Saraya arrived in AEW, the big question is whether or not she’s cleared to wrestle. Dave Meltzer reported that she was not medically cleared in the days leading up to her debut, which prompted a tweet by Saraya telling fans not to believe everything you read.
In the October 10th Observer, Meltzer followed up with a note that AEW’s Dr. Michael Sampson has finally cleared Saraya to wrestle. She got physical on this week’s AEW Dynamite and the company is setting her up to feud with Britt Baker.
This week’s episode of the show celebrating the third anniversary of the weekly series, averaged 1.038 million viewers on TBS.
AEW President Tony Khan didn’t miss the opportunity to comment on the show’s viewership and he thanked everyone who watched the Dynamite episode:
“Thank you every one of you over 1 million live viewers who watched the #AEWDynamite 3 Year Anniversary Show last night! 18 out of 19 weeks (hurricane coverage the lone exception) in Wednesday’s Top 2 Shows on Cable 18-49!”
Thank you every one of you over 1 million live viewers who watched the #AEWDynamite 3 Year Anniversary Show last night! 18 out of 19 weeks (hurricane coverage the lone exception) in Wednesday's Top 2 Shows on Cable 18-49!@AEWonTV is back TOMORROW 2 hours LIVE Friday on @TNTdrama
This week’s episode of the show featuring a tag team match between Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara vs. Bryan Danielson & Daniel Garcia did a 0.33 rating in the key demo.
In comparison, last week’s episode of the show featuring the Chris Jericho vs Bandido match in the main event drew 990,000 viewers with an 0.34 rating.
AEW will also be presenting a live episode of Rampage this week to celebrate the 2-year anniversary of Brodie Lee’s last match in the company.
While the match between Andrade and Dark Order’s 10 has been removed from the show after the backstage altercation, the event will still feature a number of interesting bouts including one for the AEW World Trios Championship.
It was reported this week that Bandido was signed by All Elite Wrestling but it seems that is not the case.
Chris Jericho defended the ROH Championship against Bandido in the main event of last week’s episode of AEW Dynamite. Jericho retained the title in a match that received rave reviews from critics and fans.
The 27-year-old was immediately offered a contract following his match with Chris Jericho. Fightful reported on Wednesday that he had agreed to terms on a new deal with All Elite Wrestling.
However, Bandido himself has stated that he has not signed a contract with All Elite Wrestling. He noted that he will likely wind up in AEW, but hasn’t signed yet and has received an offer from WWE as well.
In an interview with Más Lucha, Bandido said that after his match with Jericho on Dynamite eight days ago, Tony Khan and Chris pulled him aside after the match. Bandido claimed that Tony said “I need you in AEW” during the conversation.
In the Mas Lucha interview, Bandido said Khan and Jericho pulled him aside right after the match to convince him to sign, Khan saying "I don't want you in AEW, I *need* you in AEW." https://t.co/pjz6Pgfy6q
Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp noted that their report stated that Bandido had agreed to terms and they could not specify whether he signed a contract.
We said that he'd agreed to terms, even specified we couldn't confirm he'd signed anything
— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) October 6, 2022
Andrade El Idolo was also recently interviewed by Más Lucha and had some interesting comments regarding former TNT Champion Sammy Guevara. Those comments led to the to two exchanging words on Twitter.
The Twitter beef then spilled over into Dynamite where Andrade and Sammy reportedly had a physical altercation. Andrade was scheduled to face Dark Order’s 10 in a Career vs. Mask match on this week’s Rampage but the match has been canceled.
A fan-favorite is expected to be returning to AEW very soon.
Japanese star Konosuke Takeshita, who had been building up his reputation at DDT-Pro, began regularly competing for AEW earlier this year and quickly won over the hearts of the AEW Universe with his in-ring performances. The 27-year old had marquee matchups against Adam Page, Jon Moxley, Eddie Kingston, and nearly won the ROH championship from Claudio Castagnoli at their encounter at Battle of the Belts III.
While Takeshita came up short in all of the aforementioned matchups his stock grew heavily within the company. He picked up a series of wins on their weekly Youtube shows (Dark: Elevation, Dark), as well as a victory over Ryan Nemeth on an edition of their TNT program, Rampage. Takeshita’s run with the company ended over the summer as he had to return to Japan.
A New Report Says Takeshita Will Be Back In AEW In Two Weeks
According to Dave Meltzer from the Wrestling Observer, AEW is hoping to have Takeshita return in the next couple of weeks. While this is exciting Meltzer does note that there don’t seem to be any plans for Takeshita at the moment, but that could obviously change very quickly due to the nature of booking these shows.
The return couldn’t come at a better time for AEW, who have a number of top stars currently on the sideline either due to injury, suspension, or a mixture of both. This includes CM Punk, Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, Adam Cole, Malakai Black, and now…Andrade El Idolo.
Another wrestling couple is slated to get married – Julia Hart and Lee Johnson.
During an appearance on this week’s episode of AEW Unrestricted with hosts Aubrey Edwards and Alex Abrahantes, Hart spoke about a wide range of topics, including her relationship with the fellow AEW talent.
Julia Hart on the Engagement
Photo Credit: Scott Lesh
Hart revealed that they are engaged. It was stated on the podcast that they’d been engaged for months, but it was something they wanted to keep to themselves and within the circle of people who knew.
Hart stated they have a good separation between work-life and real life, and she couldn’t ask for anyone better to be her man.
House of Black’s Malakai Black is off AEW television because he is tending to personal matters. He has stated that he’ll be back ‘pretty soon’. Buddy Matthews also recently came out and stated that he is taking time away from wrestling.
Johnson began working with AEW in April 2020. His first Dynamite appearance happened that same month as he took on the late Brodie Lee.
Johnson competed on Dark and Dynamite in the months following before signing with them in February 2021. Johnson last wrestled in a sanctioned match for AEW in early May.
It appears fans won’t see Jeff Hardy back on AEW TV in the near future due to his legal issues.
Hardy has been suspended by AEW indefinitely and without pay following his DUI arrest in June. After the arrest, he checked himself into rehab.
Hardy has been charged with Driving While License Canceled/Suspended/Revoked, Violation of Restrictions Placed on Drivers License, and DUI Alcohol/Drugs Third Offense within 10 Years. Hardy has entered a “not guilty” plea to the charge.
Latest on Jeff Hardy’s Status
Pwinsider.com reported today that Hardy has a pre-trial hearing for his DUI scheduled for Wednesday, October 19, after Hardy’s attorneys previously waived his right to a speedy trial. The hearing was supposed to happen in July, but was pushed back due to the request of his attorneys and is now scheduled for this month.
The report added that Hardy is still officially with the company but will not be brought back until his legal issues are cleared up. All Elite Wrestling also wants Hardy to show that he can maintain his sobriety as he has been in treatment “for some time.’
Jeff’s brother and fellow AEW star, Matt Hardy, recently stated that fans will see a new Jeff when he eventually returns.
