The October 7 episode of Rampage will mark the two-year anniversary of Brodie Lee’s last match. AEW has announced a very interesting match between Andrade and Dark Order’s 10 for this show.
The stipulation for the match is that 10 will have to give up his mask if he loses the battle while the former La Sombra will ‘leave AEW forever’ if he loses the bout.
With reports of Andrade being unhappy with his spot in AEW, this stipulation is making many wonder if this will be his last appearance for the company.
10 Takes Aim At Andrade
The war of words between the two AEW stars has also picked up before the upcoming match. Preston “10” Vance recently made a very interesting tweet, telling people who are unhappy with the company to ‘get the fuck out’:
“This isn’t just for me. This is for Dark Order. This is for Brodie. This is to show the world why I’m still handpicked. See ya bitch. Next week we show the world what Friends In Dark Places is all about. If you don’t wanna be here get the fuck out. Now that’s cowboy shit.”
AEW’s very own Jade Cargill brought her presence to a recent event for the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship promotion.
The inaugural, and reigning AEW TBS Champion, Cargill appeared at last night’s event ‘BKFC 30’, and participated in the walk-out entrance for Bare Knuckle Fighting Champion Lorenzo Hunt.
Cargill brought her championship title with her for the show and was addressed by commentary as you can hear in the video below.
The fight saw Hunt face Quentin Henry for the vacant BKFC Cruiserweight championship, with Hunt would win.
There was controversy in the fight, as at one point, Hunt punched Quentin in the head, and the latter was not moving.
As Henry’s corner tried to rouse him, Hunt argued that what would have been an illegal punch from him missed, and that Henry was seeking a disqualification win to capture the title.
After several minutes, referee Dan Miragliotta agreed with Hunt’s assessment and Hunt would win the fight and title in the third round.
AEW’s Crossover Star?
Cargill’s appearance at BKFC was notable, but the reigning AEW TBS Champion has bigger plans in the future.
Speaking last month to The New York Daily News, Cargill expressed a desire to be as big a star as The Rock, now a leading man in Hollywood.
“I aspire to be like a female Rock. I really do. I think I have the look, I think I have the aura.”
AEW TBS Champion Jade Cargill.
Cargill remains undefeated in AEW, though there’s no word on if any possible acting roles have caught her eye so far.
In a tweet, Cargill also expressed a desire to try fighting for Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.
AEW confirmed via an announcement on Friday night that their shows will no longer be airing through broadcaster Space in several countries.
The company sent out a press release on Twitter, confirming that fans in Mexico, South America, Central America, and the Caribbean will no longer have access to AEW programming through space:
“To our fans in Mexico, South America, Central America, and the Caribbean… we want to thank you for watching AEW on Space. However, we have an update to share. As of September 30, AEW content will no longer be available on Space, with the exception of Brazil.”
A partir del 30 de septiembre, ya no transmitiremos #AEW en Space ni en nuestro canal de YouTube. ¡Gracias por habernos acompañado! A partir del 1 de octubre, podrás ver la programación de #AEW en "AEW Plus". pic.twitter.com/wHGBoL0Jeu
The press release noted that fans will still be able to watch all their weekly shows on AEW Plus through a subscription.
Update: Dave Meltzer noted on Twitter that the call was made by AEW. The company believes that it will make more money by leaving the Space Network:
Regarding the Space deal and AEW, the decision was made by AEW on the belief it will generate more money for the company from those markets in the new form. It is less exposure in those markets.
The timing of this change is very curious. There has been a lot of discussion surrounding the recent Warner Bros Discovery merger. People have been debating how it may affect AEW’s relationship with the network.
The timing of the announcement also suggests that it’s something that the company doesn’t want the fans to pay much attention to.
So AEW abruptly ending its relationship with a Warner-owned network in several countries is something that’s garnering people’s attention.
There is now curiosity over the promotion’s next move in these regions and where the AEW programming can end up. We will keep you posted on any updates.
ROH Tag Team Champions FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) have been booked sparingly as of late by AEW President Tony Khan, despite being fan-favorites.
Dax Harwood in particular has a career year in 2022 in AEW. In addition to competing alongside his tag team partner, Harwood wrestled in several singles matches this year that received rave reviews from fans.
However, FTR hasn’t wrestled as a tag team in a 2 vs. 2 match in AEW since May 25th and fans are wondering what is going on. FTR competed against The Briscoes at ROH Death Before Dishonor in July and teamed with Wardlow to defeat Jay Lethal and the Motor City Machine Guns at AEW All Out on September 4th in a Trios match.
An unbiased reflection of 2022.
If you’ll just give me the ball, I promise to run as hard as my broke ass can, every time. pic.twitter.com/QA9Yw2HfmA
FTR battled Aussie Open tonight at NJPW Royal Quest II. After the match, Dax Harwood grabbed the microphone and sent a message to Tony Khan.
Harwood said he wants the AEW President to book FTR more and Tony got some boos from the crowd at Royal Quest II. Harwood sent praise Aussie Open’s way and suggested that they may be the best tag team in professional wrestling today.
This is the first time we have been overseas since 2019 and we thank you. Two things, first things first. Tony Khan we still work for you, book us, brother.
The second thing and most importantly, and seriously. I’ve said it on Twitter, these guys (Aussie Open) are the future of tag team wrestling. All egotism to the side, all self-preservation to the side, they may be the best tag team today. I might step out of the way for them.
Chris Jericho comes from a time when kayfabe was protected by wrestlers and the general public wasn’t aware that wrestlers were playing characters. This led to some fascinating situations while also giving birth to many funny stories. Jericho recently told one such story from his childhood about Sika Anoa’i, the father of Roman Reigns.
Y2J was joined by Evan Husney & Jason Eisener, the producers of Dark Side of The Ring on the latest episode of Talk Is Jericho. The duo were promoting their new series called Tales From The Territories. During the episode the trio shared various stories from the territory era of wrestling.
Speaking about how people believed in kayfabe back in the day, Chris Jericho recalled his childhood. He remembered how he believed the stories about Sika being a wild Samoan. Jericho was left surprised when he heard him talking in English:
“It was like that when I was a kid. I remember I used to go hang out at the Polo Park Inn in Winnipeg and just watch pro wrestlers. That’s where they all used to stay. Sika who’s actually Roman Reigns’ dad, came in. He was from Samoa. They actually would do vignettes of Mr. Fuji having him eat raw fish and he couldn’t speak English.
I walked up with a with a pen and a paper and I was like, ‘Please….sign. Sign name. You…sign name with the pen. He looked at me. He goes ‘Fuck off, kid,’ and I didn’t care that he told me to F off, all I cared was like ‘He speaks English! Did anybody else hear that?’”
Seth Rollins sat down with Ariel Helwani of BT Sport for an interview and discussed several topics.
He revealed that he felt inferior to Roman Reigns on the biggest night of his career, his thoughts on going winless against Cody Rhodes and their infamous Hell in a Cell match. Rollins also spoke about the disastrous Hell in a Cell match against The Fiend in 2019. Seth was also asked about a former member of The Shield Dean Ambrose, now known as AEW World Champion Jon Moxley.
Moxley was the Interim AEW Champion while CM Punk was out with an injury. He then defeated Punk on an episode of Dynamite to become the AEW Champion, only to lose it back to him at AEW All Out. CM Punk got injured again during that match and also brawled with The Elite following the media scrum.
AEW President Tony Khan vacated the AEW and Trios Championships on the following episode of Dynamite. Jon would go on to defeat fellow Blackpool Combat Club member Bryan Danielson in the finals of the Tournament of Champions at Dynamite: Grand Slam to become AEW World Champion once again.
Seth Rollins On His Relationship With Jon Moxley
During the interview, Ariel asked The Visionary about Jon Moxley and whether or not he still keeps in contact with the former Shield member. Seth revealed that Moxley is not much of a phone guy but they keep in touch. The 36-year-old added that Jon is “at the top of his game doing his thing” in AEW and that he’s never had any animosity towards him.
I don’t talk to him as much obviously. We have opposite schedules and different stuff, but our baby girls are close to the same age. And he’s not much of a texter like he’s an in-person cat. He’s not much of a texter or a phone guy, he’s an in-person dude.
So if there’s ever a chance, when we were in Cincinnati last time I was there I popped in the house to say ‘hi’ and all that, checked in on him.
I do that periodically just to see how he’s doing and stuff. But I’m close with Renee (Paquette), so we are always exchanging baby pictures and what is new with the kids.
But yeah, never any animosity. He’s great, he’s at the top of his game doing his thing over in AEW. So nothing but the best.
I’ve never, between the three of us (Reigns, Rollins, Moxley) and I can’t speak for any of them, but they were closer than I was with either of those guys as friends off camera.
So I assume that they are still chill. I’ve never heard anything to the contrary, but yeah I’ve always had a great relationship with those guys.
Please credit BT Sport with a H/T to SEScoops if you use any quotes from this article.
Andrade El Idolo has been using the hashtag #FreeElIdolo on social media and it was announced during tonight’s episode of Rampage that his AEW career will be on the line in an upcoming match.
During a backstage segment on this week’s edition of Rampage, Andrade El Idolo and Jose The Assistant interrupted an interview with Hangman Adam Page and the Dark Order. Hangman Page is scheduled to battle Jon Moxley for the AEW World Championship on a special Tuesday night edition of Dynamite on October 18th.
El Idolo rolled a clip of Hangman eliminating “10” Preston Vance from Dark Order during the Golden Ticket Battle Royal at Rampage: Grand Slam last week. Andrade and Vance got face-to-face and started trading words.
Andrade challenged Vance to a match and said that he will have to remove his mask if he loses. Vance increased the stakes and stated that Andrade will have to leave All Elite Wrestling if he loses the match. AEW President Tony Khan took to Twitter to make the match official. The bout will take place on the two year anniversary of Brodie Lee’s final match in AEW. Brodie was the leader of the Dark Order when he sadly passed away in December of last year.
Andrade El Idolo debuted in All Elite Wrestling in June 2021. He formed the Andrade-Hardy Family Office with Matt Hardy, Butcher, Blade, Jora Johl, and Jose The Assistant. The faction booted Matt Hardy and has since rebranded as “La Faccion Ingobernable” and added Rush to the group.
It was announced earlier today by Tony Khan that Rush has signed a contract to join All Elite Wrestling’s roster. Andrade El Idolo was ringside for Rush’s victory over John Silver in the main event of this week’s Rampage.
When the news of Cody Rhodes leaving AEW came out earlier this year, it stunned fans as he was preparing to make a return to WWE once he couldn’t reach an agreement for a new deal with Tony Khan.
Fightful Select reported today that in speaking with Warner Bros Discovery sources, there were several efforts made within the company to retain Rhodes in AEW.
Rhodes created a solid relationship with WarnerMedia through working on AEW, Rhodes to the Top, and Go Big Show programming. The report stated that the Rhodes WWE deal wasn’t official until a few weeks before WrestleMania, even though WWE considered it a foregone conclusion.
Warner Bros. Discovery Wanted Rhodes to Stay
(via AEW)
The report noted that after the merger of Warner Bros. Discovery, “there were inquiries in the company completely separate from AEW to gauge Rhodes’ interest in staying.”
Some sources told Fightful that an effort was made to reach out to Rhodes through Sam Linskey, who serves as Associate General Manager and Senior Vice President of Scripted Original programming for TNT, TBS, and TruTv.
There wasn’t any ill will between either side, and Rhodes had told those who asked that it was “time to leave the territory.” He made similar comments in various interviews.
Due to the Rhodes’ connections across multiple Warner Bros. Discovery shows, they were also contacted to possibly participate in the UpFronts.
WBD sources said they would have loved it if Rhodes had stayed, but it wasn’t a dealbreaker. Sources within the company said they’ve been happy with AEW, particularly with their numbers in September.
Bandido is a man who is in demand right now, as both WWE and AEW are reportedly interested in signing him.
Despite losing the match, he had a great outing against Ring of Honor Champion Chris Jericho on Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite. AEW immediately offered Bandido a full-time contract.
Dave Meltzer reported the news in Friday’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter. There is no confirmation whether he has signed his deal. This marked his promotional debut.
Bandido Has Options
While speaking on today’s Wrestling Observer Live, Bryan Alvarez noted that he heard WWE is also interested in Bandido.
“I don’t know…it just says here he was offered a deal. Hopefully, he’s signed because WWE was asking for his number like before that match was even over. The man is in demand. It begs the question, why wasn’t he in demand before Wednesday? I don’t think we needed Wednesday to find out that Bandido was great.”
Bandido made his debuts for both Impact Wrestling and MLW this year while also regularly working on the indies and AAA events in Mexico.
He had a multi-year run in ROH from 2019 through 2021 that saw him win the World title from Rush at Best in the World in July 2021. He couldn’t work Final Battle in December 2021 due to COVID-19 and then lost the title in a unification bout of sorts to Jonathan Gresham at this year’s Supercard of Honor.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit F4Wonline.com with an h/t toSEScoops for the transcription.
Rush is now under a full-time deal with All Elite Wrestling
AEW President Tony Khan officially announced that Rush has signed a full-time AEW contract today on Twitter after Rush had been on a per-appearance deal since making his AEW debut at Double or Nothing this May, where he was introduced in a pre-tape segment as Andrade El Idolo’s business partner.
Rush is All Elite
AEW
Khan wrote: “It’s official: @rushtoroblanco is All Elite! What a week for Rush! Yesterday was his birthday, today he’s All Elite, and it’s Rush vs. [John Silver] TONIGHT on Friday Night #AEWRampage! Don’t miss Friday Night #AEWRampage on @TNTdrama @ 10pm ET/9pm CT TONIGHT!”
His first match for AEW then took place in June. La Faccion Ingobernable (Rush, his brother Dragon Lee & Andrade El Idolo) took part in AEW’s Trios title tournament this summer and ended up losing to The Elite (Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks) in the first round.
rush is a former CMLL World Light Heavyweight Champion, CMLL World Tag Team Champion, CMLL World Trios Champion, and Mexican National Trios Champion. He’s also a former two-time ROH World Heavyweight Champion.
Next week will mark three years since AEW began airing on TNT. To celebrate, Tony Khan announced that Dynamite will be extended 15 minutes on Wednesday.
Following the live Rampage, Battle of the Belts IV will air live. AEW will have an additional hour and 15 minutes of programming next week.
To celebrate 3 years of @AEWonTV, the #AEWDynamite anniversary show this Wednesday has 15 minutes extra runtime, 2:15 total! +#BattleOfTheBeltsIV LIVE next Friday after a live Rampage!
Thank you @WBD for the special anniversary next week!
Next week’s Dynamite will feature MJF vs. Wheeler Yuta, Bryan Danielson & Daniel Garcia vs. Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara (aka Le Sex Gods), and Darby Allin vs. Jay Lethal. Luchasaurus will be in action to squash someone. Its also National Scissoring Day with The Acclaimed.
Chris Jericho is eyeballing a marquee matchup in AEW with one of the company’s biggest legends.
The Demo God and current Ring of Honor world champion was the latest guest to join the AEW Unrestricted podcast, where he spoke about his desire to face off against the Icon Sting, a star that he’s never stood across from inside the squared circle. Sting has been one of the most dominant talents on the AEW roster, but has only competed alongside Darby Allin (and others) in tag team action.
Jericho Is Willing To Bring Out The Painmaker For Sting
When the topic came up in the interview Jericho wasn’t shy of calling out the Stinger as a dream opponent.
“Whenever there’s a Sting-Jericho match which there has to be because Sting and I have never been in the ring together ever, except for when Keith Mitchell retired and we had that after-ceremony. Never been in the same ring ever. Ever, ever, ever. “
That’s not all…Jericho is already drumming up ideas about a potential scenario with Sting. He’s even willing to resurrect his Painmaker gimmick, an act that Jericho created during his NJPW run between 2019-2020.
“There has to be a Sting and Jericho match in whatever way we decide it and that would be a great time for ‘Painmaker.’”
Jericho recently defeated Bandido on Dynamite, his first successful defense of the ROH title since winning it from Claudio Castagnoli. He has since challenged Bryan Danielson to a showdown at the AEW debut in Canada, where the ROH title will once again be on the line.
AEW’s roster is reportedly set to grow after Bandido was offered a contract following this week’s episode on Dynamite.
During the show, Bandido took on Ring of Honor World Champion Chris Jericho in a losing effort.
Jericho has vowed to defeat every former ROH World Champion, and has his offer accepted by former Champion Davey Richards.
The Offer
Bandido may have come up short against Jericho during Dynamite, but he impressed the right people behind the scenes.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that Bandido, a former ROH World Champion in his own right, was offered a contract “immediately” after his performance on this week’s show.
It is reported that this is a full-time contract with the company, though the lengthy of the deal is unknown at this time.
It was also not confirmed whether Bandido has accepted the offer yet.
Bandido
Debuting in wrestling in 2011, it wouldn’t be until 2016 that Bandido (real name unknown) would adopt the Bandido name.
In 2018, Bandido would join Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and would capture the PWG World Championship in December 2019 from Jeff Cobb.
Bandido would hold the title for 863 days, a record-breaking reign, before losing the title to Daniel Garcia in May this year.
In July 2021, Bandido defeated Rush to win the ROH World Champion, before losing to Jonathan Gresham at this year’s ROH Supercard of Honor XV.
Bandido has also competed for CMLL and AAA, and participated in New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Best of the Super Junious 27 tournament in 2019.
In the latest episode of The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy, Hardy discusses his relationship with Private Party. He says that he looks at Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen as “my disciples, as my students” while look to him as a mentor.
“I’m really happy to give back to them. We really share a bond and connection on a personal level as well.” The three recently reunited this week on AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam after weeks of teases on Being the Elite. Hardy was glad the reunion happened in New York since the tag team is from there.
“The fact that the crowd reacted to it was amazing because it wasn’t an angle that was pushed hard on TV. We had done bits and pieces to make it work and it really got over big and everyone was so happy with it. I know the AEW office thought it was a great piece of business and was super happy about it. I’m very excited to see what the future hold for the three of us now.”
Could Hardy Party challenge for AEW Trios gold?
Matt Hardy & Private Party
Hardy is someone that has been popular with wrestling fans for three decades and it’s not always easy to boo him. Private Party started off as babyfaces, but turned heel when Hardy brought the “Big Money Matt” character to AEW. Although it was hard for fans to boo them, Hardy believes that turning Private Party heel “made them better workers.”
With Hardy Party reuniting, could a Trios run be in their future? Hardy hopes so. “I would love to do a run with Private Party as a Trios team and fight and challenge for the Trios Title. That would be fun.”
Hardy has never held Trios gold, so this would be a first for him. “That would be a cool notch to add to my belt, actually to be Trios champion.”
Chris Jericho: I Was the Only Big Star When AEW Began
If you use any quotes from the article, please creditSEScoops with an H/t for transcription
Former AEW World Champion CM Punk is currently under suspension for his role in the altercation with The Elite following the All Out media scrum.
CM Punk defeated Jon Moxley in the main event of AEW All Out to become AEW World Champion. It was his 2nd reign with the title without ever making a title defense. MJF returned after the title match to have a stare-down with CM Punk.
Jon Moxley has since captured the title once again by defeating Bryan Danielson in the finals of the Tournament of Champions at Dynamite: Grand Slam. CM Punk reportedly suffered a torn triceps during the title match at All Out and was spotted wearing a brace in a recent photo.
Rob Van Dam on CM Punk’s Comments at the All Out Media Scrum
ECW legend and former WWE Superstar Rob Van Dam joined Rene Dupree and Paul London on a recent episode of the Cafe de Rene podcast. Rob discussed Punk’s comments and said that he wants to see what happens next.
I’m into it. I’m interested to see the full circle, like what happens from this energy. Being the zen master that I am, let me point out because a lot of people might not notice, but pro wrestling is full of the most, by population probably, the most amount of ridiculously extreme egos that you will ever see jammed together.
Rob Van Dam then claimed that there is a good chance that CM Punk has as big of an ego as anybody else he’s ever interacted with in the wrestling business.
I think there is a good chance that CM Punk, just from feeling his energy, probably has as big of an ego as anybody that I’ve interacted with in the business. Those are the guys that get ahead, the guys that really believe in themselves. But then at the same time, it is really hard for me as another guy in the locker room, I think they believe in themselves too much. Some of it can be like natural heat, like The Miz. It’s just so easy to hate him.
When someone comes back through the curtain after their character could have given the most believable speech that got all the heat in the world, if they can come back through the curtain and be humble, and realize that they are one amongst many, that is a really good place to be in.
Malakai Black reportedly asked for his release from All Elite Wrestling but it was denied.
He cut a promo at an independent wrestling event and followed it up with a statement. Malakai confirmed that he requested his release and stated that he needed some time away to “recalibrate” the past two decades of his life.
Buddy Matthews cut a similar promo at an indie show this past weekend and both stars were rumored to be on their way out of the company. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer has reported that AEW President Tony Khan has opted not to release them from their contracts.
Malakai recently went on Instagram Live and debunked the rumors of his release. The 37-year-old stated that there is no conspiracy to this and he will be back in AEW “soon”.
On a recent edition of Jim Cornette’s Drive-Thru, the wrestling legend discussed the confusing events surrounding Malakai Black and All Elite Wrestling. Cornette said it is a little odd that Malakai Black and Buddy Matthews are both cutting similar promos about taking time away in the midst of all the recent rumors.
I don’t know what this f***ing guy is doing and apparently he doesn’t either. And who knows whether anybody in AEW does. If all of this stuff has been misreported, misdiagnosed, and we got the story all wrong, then what is his tag team partner doing the same exact thing for?
He goes and makes an independent show, Buddy, and says the same thing ‘I need to recalibrate, I’m stepping away for a little while, you’ll see me again soon’, he’s doing the exact same thing.
So what is going on here? It’s awful, I can understand one person having this particular issue come up and want to take some time off, but two people? In the same tag team? In the same company? At the same time? Sounds a little odd doesn’t it? That is all I’m saying. I don’t know what is going on but it sounds a little odd.
Cornette wondered why Malakai didn’t just come out and say “here’s the length of my contract and I’m going to honor it” if there was nothing to the story.
Please credit Jim Cornette’s Drive-Thru with a H/T to SEScoops if you use any quotes from this article.
Ring of Honor World Champion Chris Jericho believes AEW would have not hit the ground running in the way they did without his involvement.
Following the success of ALL IN, AEW was announced in January 2019, with Jericho, being one of the first names announced.
Later that year, Jericho became the first AEW World Champion and has been a fixture of the promotion ever since.
The Jericho Effect
Jericho joined AEW less than a year after his last WWE match, and after a Hall of Fame-worthy career with the promotion.
Speaking during the latest AEW Unrestricted, Jericho discussed his own influence in the company’s early days.
“I wouldn’t say it [AEW] was built around me but at the risk of sounding egotistical if there was no Chris Jericho, I don’t know if the company would have gotten off the ground as quickly as it did.
“At the time, I was the only national superstar name that was involved. I mean besides Jim Ross but Jim Ross isn’t an on-air talent, he’s a commentator.”
The only Big Star?
Jericho wasn’t the only wrestler confirmed during the January 2019 press conference, as AEW EVPs Kenny Omega, the Young Bucks and then-EVP Cody Rhodes all made appearances.
On the podcast, Jericho explained how while the group are all stars in their own right, they didn’t have the same presence as he did that attracted networks.
“Keep in mind, no-one really knew Cody at that point. He’d been gone for years, and the last time we’d seen him, he was Stardust when he left [WWE.] And as much buzz as Kenny [Omega] and Matt and Nick Jackson had, they were still mostly just regional guys. They were worldwide stars, but when it comes to national TV in the States, they didn’t have any experience with that.
“They were worldwide stars, but when it comes to national TV in the States, they didn’t have any experience with that.”
Chris Jericho on The Elite not bringing the same appeal to networks.
“So there really wasn’t anybody else and I think if Chris Jericho wasn’t involved, it would have been a lot harder to sell to TBS or TNT or those types of people that were involved.
“We needed that big TV [deal] to get off the ground. We needed money, which we had, passion, which we had, television which is very hard to get and a roster of stars that no-one had really seen before, that were ready to go to the next level. But you needed a guy that kinda could open the door.”
AEW Without Chris Jericho?
It’s hard to imagine AEW without Chris Jericho, and for all his claims, the former World Champion believes that the company would have succeeded, with or without him.
“If I’m the bridge to get here, check me out, and then look at all these other guys that we have… Would the company have happened if I wasn’t there? Probably. But I don’t think it would have grown as quickly as it did, or maybe gotten off to such a huge start.
“Would the company have happened if I wasn’t there? Probably. But I don’t think it would have grown as quickly as it did.”
Chris Jericho.
“Everything worked out the way it should, but it happened very quickly, and once again, I think when the company started, it was on my back.”
All Elite Wrestling will present a regular episode of its weekly Rampage series this Friday night on TNT after last week’s special 2-hour “Grand Slam” edition
These matches were taped Wednesday night after Dynamite from the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, PA, courtesy of Pwinsider.com:
AEW Rampage Spoilers
AEW World Tag Team Champions The Acclaimed defeated The Butcher and The Blade and Private Party.
Jamie Hayter (with Britt Baker and Rebel) def. Willow Nightingale.
Lee Moriarty (with Stokely Hathaway and W. Morrissey) def. Fuego Del Sol.
Ryan Nemeth insulted Philadelphia and ECW until FTW Champion HOOK interrupted. HOOK choked him out. The Trustbusters came out and left an envelope for Hook on the stage. HOOK picked up the envelope on his way to the back.
RUSH defeated John Silver. After the match, Andrade El Idolo attacked Alex Reynolds and Silver. The Dark Order got involved, as did The Butcher and The Blade. Hangman Page ultimately made the save.
AEW is about to kick off several weeks of holding live episodes of Rampage starting next week, including a live Battle of the Belts special next Friday night.
Saraya had a subtle dig at WWE during her first promo for AEW during last night’s edition of Dynamite.
The two-time former WWE Divas Champion debuted for AEW during last week’s Grand Slam edition of Dynamite, after parting ways from WWE in July.
Saraya left WWE on July 7, when her contract expired and was not renewed by the company, and she has since made it clear it was not her decision to leave.
The Promo
Appearing on this week’s AEW Dynamite, Saraya spoke about the promotion being “my house” and was joined in the ring by AEW’s female babyfaces, led by Interim Women’s World Champion Toni Storm.
When Britt Baker interrupted the segment, entering alongside Jamie Hayter, Rebel, and Penelope Ford, Saraya announced a lumberjack match between Storm and Serena Deeb.
Saraya also took aim at WWE’s former CEO Vince McMahon, saying:
“I talked to Tony [Khan] backstage… It’s so good to have a boss that finally listens to me!“
Saraya.
Storm would retain the Interim AEW Women’s World Championship against Deeb later in the show.
Will She Wrestle?
Saraya has not competed so far in AEW, but there is a belief that she will wrestle for the promotion.
AEW Dynamite was live from Philadelphia, but was impacted by Hurricane Ian in Florida, as several wrestlers didn’t make it to the show.
According to Fightful Select, Swerve Strickland was scheduled to appear. This is why Keith Lee was by himself in a backstage segment with AEW Tag Team Champions, The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn. Lee said that his partner wasn’t there because he was “exceptionally disgruntled”, particularly with Gunn cheating to help The Acclaimed win.
ROH Television champion, Samoa Joe, was also scheduled to be on Dynamite. With the show being in Philadelphia and having a focus on Ring of Honor, they had plans for him.
Tony Khan advises AEW talent to stay home due to hurricane
On Monday, Tony Khan sent out both an e-mail and a tweet stating that talent and staff could voluntarily stay home from TV if they were “worried about Hurricane Ian affecting your travel or home or your family life.”
For everyone in @AEW, in case you missed our email, anyone worried about Hurricane Ian affecting your travel or home or your family life, it’s voluntary to come to tv this week. Anyone affected by the hurricane can take care of business at home, & we hope to see you all next week
Although his name wasn’t mentioned in the Select report, Jake Hager was absent from the Jericho Appreciation Society’s celebration of Chris Jericho’s “The Ocho” title win.
Rampage was filmed after Dynamite, so it’s possible that it was also affected by wrestlers who didn’t travel to Philadelphia.
Maxwell Jacob Friedman has taken the professional wrestling world by storm and is in line for a shot at the AEW World Championship.
MJF appeared on this week’s edition of Dynamite for another promo segment with Wheeler Yuta. Maxwell interrupted Wheeler last week, called him mid, and referred to his group as the Blackpool Cuckold Club.
On this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite, Wheeler responded and challenged MJF to a match. Maxwell interrupted and said he will face Wheeler next week. Yuta wanted a fight but Colten and Austin Gunn from The Firm stable came to MJF’s rescue.
MJF sat in the crowd to watch Jon Moxley’s match for the 2nd week in a row. After Jon defeated NJPW star Juice Robinson in a World Title Eliminator match, MJF was shown smirking in his luxury box in the arena. Wheeler Yuta showed up from behind and attacked before AEW security broke it up. Yuta and MJF will face off next week on Dynamite in Washington D.C.
MJF Sings To The Philadelphia Crowd Before Dynamite
Before Dynamite went on the air, Maxwell sang a song for the Philadelphia crowd in the Liacouras Center. Unfortunately, it was not a song that they wanted to hear as MJF sang the “fight song” for the New York Mets baseball team. The Philadelphia Phillies and the Mets have a longstanding rivalry.
After he was done singing, MJF added that the New York Mets are so much better than the Phillies. He also claimed that The Khan’s Jacksonville Jaguars are going to hand the Philadelphia Eagles their first loss of the season this Sunday. You can check out Maxwell’s rendition of the Mets’ fight song in the video below.
Miro hasn’t been seen on AEW television in some time and addressed the matter on social media today.
The Bulgarian Brute was last seen in All Elite Wrestling in a six-man tag team match at AEW All Out on September 4th. He teamed with Darby Allin & Sting to face House of Black (Malakai Black, Brody King, Buddy Matthews).
Miro didn’t play a part in the finish of the match, as Sting spat green mist in Malakai’s eyes and Darby followed it up with a Coffin Drop for the pinfall victory. After the match, Malakai Black bowed to the crowd and many speculated that his time in the company was done.
He released a statement confirming that he requested his release, and then followed it up with a video stating that he will be returning to AEW after some time away. Buddy Matthews announced that he will be taking some off as well to “recalibrate” at an independent wrestling event over the weekend.
When it comes to appearing on weekly television, Miro has been rarely featured since Forbidden Door in June. A Twitter user pointed out that Miro has not appeared on an episode of Dynamite in three months.
The 36-year-old responded to the fan and sent a message to the AEW locker room. Miro suggested that he hasn’t been featured on television because “nobody has the balls” to face him.
Miro (Rusev) was released by WWE in April 2020. He made his in-ring debut for All Elite Wrestling several months later on September 9th. Miro debuted in the promotion with blonde hair as “The Best Man” aligned with Kip Sabian and Penelope Ford, but that gimmick was abandoned shortly after.
He is a one-time TNT Champion in AEW and held the title for 140 days in 2021 before dropping it to Sammy Guevara. Miro signed a four-year extension with AEW to keep him with the promotion until 2026. His name started popping up in rumors after he liked a post that hinted that he might be better off in WWE following Jon Moxley’s Word Title Eliminator against Mance Warner.
The main event of this week’s episode of Dynamite saw Chris Jericho defending his newly won ROH world title against Bandido in a singles match.
The masked star offered a handshake to the wrestling veteran before the bout. However, Y2J rejected this code of honor and he flipped the bird instead. The two went on to have a good match which has been praised by fans.
The ending of the bout saw Jericho poking Bandido in the eye. He then pulled Bandido’s mask over his eyes. The high-flying star still almost caught Chris with a roll-up but the former WWE star ultimately retained the title using a Liontamer.
After the match, Chris Jericho claimed that the Ring of Jericho era has begun. He said that he will beat every great champion that has ever held the ROH title.
What Happened With Bandido After Dynamite
Once the cameras stopped rolling, Tony Khan came out. The AEW president raised the hand of Bandido who was on his way back to the locker room.
The former ROH world champion received a huge applause from the crowd. He ended up hugging the AEW owner before finally heading to the back:
Many fans are demanding Khan to sign Bandido to an AEW contract after his performance on Dynamite. The post-show moment between the two suggests that Bandido may actually get an official offer very soon.
After several months of absence, MJF is back on AEW programming. He is also making media appearances once again and claiming that he is getting paid a lot more money than he did before.
We have an update on the AEW star’s absence and how he spent his time away from the promotion, courtesy of Fightful Select.
MJF himself has been claiming that he didn’t leave his house for three months. According to the site, it’s actually mostly true. The 26-year-old did not have any contact with most people in AEW, including many friends, throughout his hiatus following Double or Nothing.
The AEW talent did shoot some stuff with the crew of Impractical Jokers. He was seen at Disney in the Summer once too, but he stayed away from social media and refrained from going out in public much.
There hasn’t been a confirmation of MJF’s claims about not signing a contract extension. Though he is now in a much more favorable situation financially.
Regardless of his contractual situation, the Devil’s return has had a positive impact on AEW’s TV ratings. He has been involved in some of the highest-rated segments since his comeback.
People within Warner Bros Discovery are said to be happy about MJF’s comeback and they have pointed to him being a rating success for the AEW shows.
Malakai Black was back in the tattoo studio this week getting worked on by Orlando-based artist Eddie Saraiva. The House of Black leader posted a video on Instagram showing off his latest piece, a (still in-progress) dragon adorning the left side of his head.
Malakai Black’s Status
Malakai Black is currently on hiatus from pro wrestling. His most recent match for AEW took place at All Out earlier this month. Shortly after that event, there was a slew of information regarding his health and future with AEW.
Amid the chaotic fallout of the All Out post-show media scrum, it was reported that Black was seeking time off due to personal reasons. He was pulled from appearances due to “health issues” and later confirmed that he requested his release from AEW.
Shortly thereafter, Malakai Black “debunked the rumor” that he is leaving AEW. During a live stream on Instagram, he stated, “I will see you guys in a couple of weeks, maybe a couple of months. Like I said, I’m only taking some time off. That’s it. I’m just taking some time off.”
He reiterated that there is no “conspiracy” to his situation, he’s simply taking time off.
“I am fine,” he said.” “I am going to be fine. Everything is fine. You will see me right back with AEW pretty soon. I’m just going to take some time. That is it.”
