AEW star Andrade El Idolo has plenty of moves at his disposal, but don’t expect him to bust out a spinning elbow in the ring.

After years of working in WWE, where he became NXT Champion and United States Champion, Andrade was released last year, after having his initial request to be let go denied.

When a fan tweeted a clip of El Idolo using the spinning elbow on Johnny Gargano, the former NXT Champion said he is not allowed to use the move anymore.

While Andrade didn’t give a reason, it’s likely that the move has been banned for him, due to the spinning elbow bearing a striking resemblance to Chris Jericho’s Judas Effect finisher.

Andrade’s most recent match for AEW came at All Out, where he lost in the Casino Ladder Match to the Joker, later revealed to be MJF.

His most recent non-Pay Per View match was a month ago on the August 17, 2022 Dynamite, where he, Dragon Lee and Rush lost to the Elite.

Leaving AEW?

Andrade has been with AEW for over a year now, but his tenure with the company could be coming to an end.

In August, fans were critical of his booking in the company, with one tweet claiming that both he and Miro have been booked worse than when they were in WWE.

This tweet was liked by El Idolo, which came at a time where reports of talent being unhappy were becoming more common in the company.

This culminated in a talent-wide meeting prior to August 24, episode of AEW Dynamite, where Tony Khan addressed communications issues within the promotion.

Tony Khan is not a fan of breaking the fourth wall with the AEW production, according to former world champion Paul Wight.

Wight recently had an interview with WNYT. The wrestling veteran discussed the various differences between WWE and AEW during his appearance.

Speaking about how Tony Khan’s production values differ from Vince McMahon and WWE, Wight explained that the AEW President doesn’t like breaking the fourth wall:

“The fourth wall, so to speak, Tony Khan doesn’t like that fourth wall. He doesn’t like that, ‘why is there a camera there catching this conversation and both participants ignore that there is a camera crew there while they are talking top secret information.’

It’s one of those things that throws you off.” explained Paul Wight, “If there is a camera there, it’s set up in a way that makes sense for a camera to be backstage, but it’s more focused on the talent in the ring,”

• Paul Wight Talks About Leaving the Big Show Character Behind

The former Big Show also commented on the different production philosophies between the two companies. He noted how WWE does an amazing job of producing a big entertainment spectacle.

 AEW on the other hand gets to the grassroots. According to Paul Wight, it’s not so much backstage drama and backstage vignettes.

Quotes via Fightful

Sammy Guevara has been a part of the AEW roster since the very beginning and he is tired of being overlooked by the management and the fans.

The former TNT champion is set to face Jon Moxley in the semi-finals of the Tournament of Champions to determine the new AEW champion on Dynamite this week.

Before the big bout, Guevara vented his frustrations on the latest episode of his vlog. He first noted that he has been part of the promotion since the very beginning:

“I’ve been here since day 1 and I don’t get the respect I deserve. Not from anybody back there in the back. Not anyone in the locker room, nowhere. Not from these fans, these ungrateful fans. So let’s screw it. I don’t need anyone.”

Sammy Guevara claimed that he is going to beat Moxley in the match this Wednesday night. It will earn him the recognization he deserves:

“I’m gonna get what I always should have got. The recognition. I should have got everything I deserve. I’m not here because I got fired from somewhere else. I am here because I wanna be. I’m not asking for my release. I wanna be here.”

Apart from Guevara vs Moxley, the episode this Wednesday night will feature matches such as Chris Jericho vs. Bryan Danielson and Toni Storm & Hikaru Shida vs. Dr. Britt Baker & Serena Deeb.

CM Punk, Kenny Omega, and The Young Bucks were all crowned champions at AEW All Out and were stripped of their championships three days later on Dynamite.

After the PPV went off the air, CM Punk went on an expletive-filled rant about the AEW EVPs, Colt Cabana, and Hangman Adam Page. AEW EVPs and newly crowned Trios Champions The Elite (Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks) confronted the AEW Champion after his comments and it led to a brawl.

CM Punk reportedly threw the first punch and AEW producer Ace Steel reportedly bit Kenny Omega and hurled a chair at Nick Jackson’s face.

AEW President Tony Khan has since suspended CM Punk, Ace Steel, Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, Christopher Daniels, Pat Buck, Michael Nakazawa, and presumably everyone else that was in the vicinity of the brawl as the company conducts an independent investigation into the matter.

Update On The Suspensions Given To The AEW Talent

Fightful Select has provided an update on the suspensions levied on AEW talent, coaches and production crew members. The update states that as of now, those that are suspended still do not know how long their suspensions are for. Fightful added that those backstage in AEW believe that will remain the case until the investigation is complete and any potential legal situations are sorted out.

CM Punk and Ace Steel’s future with the company remains uncertain. CM Punk and The Elite were recently removed from the AEW Full Gear poster as well. AEW’s Full Gear PPV will take place over two months from now on November 19th.

According to Fightful, Kenny Omega, Michael Nakazawa, and Christopher Daniels were already scheduled to have this week off from AEW television to visit Japan. The former AEW Champion was spotted visiting the SEGA office in Japan while serving his suspension. All Elite Wrestling’s first video game entitled ‘Fight Forever’ is slated for release later this year.

Wardlow continues to adap.

The AEW superstar and current TNT champion has been one of the promotion’s greatest success stories since they launched back in 2019, with his rise to the top being a years-long storyline that has paid off big for Mr. Mayhem in 2022.

This was the topic of conversation during Wardlow’s recent phone interview with the Daily Gazette. He even remembers one of the first instances that the loyal AEW fanbase finally started to chant his name, which began his ascension towards being one of their top babyfaces.

“It was in Austin, Texas. That’ll be burned in my memory forever,” he said. “I just had one of my normal squash matches that I had been having, and for the first time, I heard a decent portion of the crowd chanting ‘Wardlow.’ I’ll never forget that.”

Wardlow’s not done adapting just yet

The champ has been the muscle for the company’s top heel, MJF, since he debuted back in 2019. However, he slowly morphed away from that persona and into one that is now seen on weekly programming. However, Wardlow promises that there are still more changes for his on-screen persona to come.

“I’m just entering a new era in my life. I’m evolving, things are changing. I’ve just become a hungrier, more intense version of myself, and I’m ready to display that and I’m ready to let the rest of the world feel that.”

Wardlow successfully defended the TNT title one week ago against Tony Nese. He has not been pinned or submitted since the beginning of the year. He cut an impassioned promo after the match and told the live crowd that he’s a threat to take seriously.

Ex-WWE referee Jimmy Korderas believes that All Elite Wrestling (AEW) should stop mentioning WWE in their promos.

Korderas took to Twitter to release his latest “ReffinRant” in which he discussed MJF’s promo on AEW last week. In the promo, MJF made several references to WWE and the likes of Triple H.

In fact, MJF seemingly painted WWE as being far superior to AEW, which came off a bit odd given they were on AEW TV. He also teased signing with WWE in 2024 when his AEW contract is up.

Korderas, having seen WCW meet its downfall making similar choices, advices AEW stop mentioning WWE.

“I know I’ve talked about this in the past, but you don’t want to repeat the mistakes that others made previously going forward into the future trying to grow your business…

“Look, a big debate about the promo from MJF on Wednesday night: yes he was fantastic on the mic, and he hit home, but all those references to the other company, and The Game and all that sort of stuff.

“It draws big time attention to the other company. Especially coming from one of your biggest stars, who that audience knows all the inside ‘behind-the-curtain’ goings on about him, and possibly reaching out to the other side or them reaching out to him, and all this sort of stuff.

“Look, ignore the other team, because that was the biggest downfall for this company right here [WCW] when they were in competition with the WWE, they didn’t ignore them, they kept referencing them. Ignore them, stick to your business, and grow your audience that way.”

MJF isn’t the only star who has mentioned WWE in promos. There have been several other stars, such as CM Punk, who have made references to the rival promotion and its stars. It will be interesting to see if AEW heeds Korderas’ advice moving forward.

Claudio Castagnoli was part of many great as well as embarrassing moments during his WWE run. One such moment people don’t remember very fondly is when Castagnoli and Sheamus known as The Bar lost the Raw Tag Team Championships to Braun Strowman and 10-year-old Nicholas at WrestleMania 34.

Castagnoli opened up about this loss during his recent appearance on Insight. However, while a lot of people hated WWE for putting the tag team in the situation, the former WWE star explained why he thought the moment to be cool:

“I thought it was really cool. [It’s] what I love about wrestling, right? All the kinds of different matches. The roller coaster ride it takes you on. That WrestleMania needed a match like that where it’s just fun. Every show needs fun matches. WrestleMania, everybody is nervous, everybody’s hyped. It’s WrestleMania.”

‘That Was Very Cool’: Claudio Castagnoli

Claudio Castagnoli claimed that the match was fun for them too. It’s something that people remember till this date:

“Once everything was figured out, that match was so much fun. We were just able to go out there and enjoy it. We had the float, it’s called the thing, right? With all the guys with the big head coming out with us. So it was a crazy, awesome entrance. The match was just fun. Like I said earlier, it’s all about moments. If you’re a kid, and you’re watching WrestleMania, that could be you, right?

So that was very cool to be in that match for that matter and the fact that people still talk about it to that day. Because there was some bangers on that card. A lot of people always ask like, ‘So Nicholas?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, I know right?’ So I’m very proud to be part of that match.”

More Originals From SEScoops:

• Bully Ray On How The Elite Should Have Reacted To CM Punk’s Rant
• Mark Henry On How They Handled Backstage Fights The ‘Old School’ Way
• Bianca Belair Comments On Importance Of Representation
• Claudio Castagnoli Reveals When He Wants To Retire
• Bobby Fish Believes Undisputed Era Were Split Up Prematurely

If you use any quotes from the article, please credit SEScoops with an H/t for transcription

Kenny Omega won’t be appearing on AEW programming anytime soon, but the former World Champion can be found in Japan.

Omega is currently off AEW TV serving a suspension for his involvement with the All Out media scrum post-show fight.

Tokyo

Prior to his suspension, Omega had been announced as one of the names set to appear at the Tokyo Games Show.

Omega may be barred from AEW programming, but it appears that the Cleaner is still set to appear at the event.

In a tweet from HAOMING, a Japanese wrestling apparel company, Omega can be seen having fun at their offices.

Yuka Sakazaki, the AEW/Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling star who was recruited to the promotion by Omega when AEW was formed in 2019, was happy to see the Canadian wrestler, tweeting “Yeah yeah yeah yeah!?”

The Tokyo Game Show convention is scheduled to begin this Thursday and will feature a presentation on AEW: Fight Forever.

AEW: Fight Forever

AEW: Fight Forever will be the promotion’s first console video game, following the release of AEW: Elite GM and AEW Casino: Double or Nothing for mobile devices.

The game was recently featured at the Gamescon in Cologne, Germany, where it won an award for being the Best Sports/Racing game featured at the event.

With AEW investing an eight-figure amount in their gaming department (at least $10 million) a lot is riding on the new game, which may explain why they’re allowing the suspended Omega to appear in Tokyo.

Omega’s appearance also implies that his punishment will not be severe, especially compared to CM Punk, who’s future with AEW remains uncertain.

Claudio Castagnoli did a lot of amazing things in WWE, including saving the job of Tyler Breeze with an uppercut.

The AEW star recently appeared on the Insight podcast. During the Q&A session of the show, Tyler Breeze sent a video message. He asked Castagnoli to tell the story of how an uppercut saved his job. Revealing the story behind it, the former US champion recalled how his first match in FCW was against Breeze:

“Oh, I think what he’s talking about, he makes this joke. He was there in FCW when I just got there. I wrestled my first match against him ever on FCW TV. It was just kind of supposed to be a get over match. Because I don’t think they were very high on him at that time, which I didn’t know.

The uppercut he was talking about is when I popped the guy up and uppercut him on the way down. He just took it like a madman and went super high in the sky. I took his head off.”

‘Showed Everybody How Good He Actually Was’: Claudio Castagnoli

Claudio Castagnoli explained that after the match, people asked him how Tyler Breeze was to work with. The praise Castagnoli gave him helped change the perspective about Breeze and saved his job:

“But after that match, everybody was like, ‘How’s it to work with him.’ I’m like, ‘He’s great’, They all [are] like ‘Hey, he’s really good. he’s really good.’ Then fast forward three months and he was FCW champ or something.

What that’s alluding to is [that] I uppercutted his head off, but saved his job in the process. Because they were not high on him before and then afterwards, they were rightfully so very high on him after. So I don’t think I did anything. I think he did everything. He just showed everybody how good he actually was.”

More Originals From SEScoops:

• Bully Ray On How The Elite Should Have Reacted To CM Punk’s Rant
• Mark Henry On How They Handled Backstage Fights The ‘Old School’ Way
• Bianca Belair Comments On Importance Of Representation
• Claudio Castagnoli Reveals When He Wants To Retire
• Bobby Fish Believes Undisputed Era Were Split Up Prematurely

If you use any quotes from the article, please credit SEScoops with an H/t for transcription

Malakai Black may be gone from AEW, but the influence of the former NXT Champion isn’t going with him.

The Dutch wrestler parted ways with AEW earlier this month, after being granted a conditional release from the promotion.

The Trademark

On September 8, AEW filed a new trademark for the term ‘House of Black.’

The group that Black led until his AEW departure now consists of Brody King, Buddy Matthews, and Julia Hart.

There have been no words on what AEW has planned for the faction, other than this trademark filing.

The filing allows AEW the use of the term for merchandise for “beanies; Hats; Shirts; T-shirts.”

Black’s final match came at AEW All Out 2022, where he, King and Matthews lost to Darby Allin, Sting, and Miro.

Black’s Departure

Malakai Black joined AEW last year, but his tenure with the company has been short-lived.

Black requested his release earlier this year, which was reportedly denied by Tony Khan.

Despite talks between the two going well, Khan has agreed to the release, though with conditions that are believed to be similar to WWE’s non-compete clause.

It has been reported that a personal issue has been having a toll on Black’s mental health, and that he has been considering a lengthy, possibly permanent break from wrestling.

Black is the latest prominent name to leave AEW, after Cody Rhodes departed in February and Bobby Fish decided recently not to renew his contract.

Fans of AEW won’t be seeing the likes of Kenny Omega or the Young Bucks in the ring, and they won’t be seeing the trio on the popular Being the Elite YouTube series either.

The hit series follows the Elite, among other wrestlers in their lives outside of the ring, which often includes skits related to the world of pro wrestling.

The YouTube channel boasts over half a million subscribers and close to 100 million views.

The Hiatus

Being the Elite has proven to be a hit with fans for years, but now the show is on an indefinite break.

In a tweet from the official Being the Elite Twitter account, it was confirmed that there will be no new episode this week, and that the show is on a hiatus until further notice.

The Suspension

While no reason was given as to why the show is on an indefinite break, it is believed to be related to the ongoing suspension the Elite are dealing with.

The Young Bucks and Omega have been suspended due to their involvement in the All Out media scrum fight, which came after explosive comments by then-World Champion CM Punk.

While the Bucks and Omega have been suspended, it is unclear what Punk’s status is with AEW, with rumors that he could be fired, or possibly has already been fired, along with his trainer Ace Steel.

The Elite have been stripped of the AEW Trios Tag Titles won at All Out, with the Death Triangle winning the vacant championships on last week’s Dynamite.

Jon Moxley delivered a passionate promo on last week’s Dynamite about what it means to be AEW Champion.

The AEW Championship, along with the newly introduced Trios Championship, had to be vacated by Tony Khan following an embarrassing brawl between CM Punk, The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, and Ace Steel at the media scrum for All Out.

Tony kicked off Dynamite by announcing that the titles were vacated and there will be a tournament to crown a new AEW Champion. The finals will take place at Dynamite: Grand Slam at Arthur Asche Stadium on September 21st. Death Triangle defeated Best Friends & Orange Cassidy to capture the Trios Championships on last week’s Dynamite.

MJF cut a babyface promo only to reveal that he still has WWE on his mind and the bidding war of 2024 is right around the corner. Jon Moxley interrupted and stormed to the ring after losing the AEW Championship to CM Punk at All Out. He demanded that MJF exit the ring and let him know that his theme music sucks on his way out.

Moxley then spoke about what it means to him to be AEW Champion and the passion in his voice was undeniable. After saying that he was embarrassed and pissed off about what happened,Jon reminded everyone that winners take the last shot and he wants the ball. Moxley is set to battle former TNT Champion Sammy Guevara in the semifinals of the Tournament of Champions this week. You can check out Jon’s entire promo below.

Jim Cornette Praises Jon Moxley For His Promo On AEW Dynamite

Jim Cornette has offered many criticisms of Jon Moxley in the past but offered nothing but praise on his podcast following the passionate promo. Cornette suggested that Moxley has peaked and will not be able to top the promo the rest of his career. Co-host Brian asked Cornette if he liked the promo and he gave the following response:

I cannot believe that I am gonna say this, but this promo was brilliant. This promo was not only the best, I mean in one way Moxley ought to quit now. He ain’t gonna top this. This was not only the best Jon Moxley promo I’ve ever heard, this was actually one of the best promos in wrestling, period, that I’ve ever heard for a particular situation.

For the sticky wicket that they have found themselves in and he was speaking to the smart fans. And the people that are aware of everything going on, it was good regardless. But this was exactly what that fanbase needed to hear and wanted to hear. It was great material, and again I can’t believe I’m saying this, brilliantly delivered.

Not only as a babyface, he took responsibility for losing. He put the tournament and the guys in it over, he made himself the underdog, and then vowed to take the shot, and bring home the gold. You can tell he really wants to be the champion. He wants to be the guy in that company.

What did you think of Jon Moxley’s promo on AEW Dynamite? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit The Jim Cornette Experience and give a H/T to SEScoops for the transcription.

The wrestling world has spent the last week debating whether CM Punk’s actions at the All Out media scrum were right and if the AEW EVPs should have responded to it the way they did. Bully Ray is of the belief that the Executives should have used their corporate power instead of trying to confront Punk physically.

The WWE Hall of Famer talked about the whole situation on Busted Open Radio. Speaking about The Elite’s reaction to CM Punk’s comments, Ray said that the trio of Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks should have flexed their corporate muscle:

“Once Punk says the shit that he does, it’s up to the EVPs also to actually flex their corporate muscle. Who’s higher up on the food chain, an Executive Vice President or your World Heavyweight Champion? [The Executive] because that’s a real job within AEW. That’s a real job within the WWE.

So at that moment, the EVPs should have gotten together and said ‘Punk, Phil, we’d like to talk to you. Sit down’ When he turns around and goes ‘Screw you. I don’t have to talk to you’ [You go] ‘No, we’re the Executive Vice Presidents of company. You’re going to sit down. We want to talk to you.'”

‘You Can Shut Them Down’: Bully Ray

Bully Ray also discussed how Tony Khan handled the media scrum rant of the then AEW champion. Ray explained that once Punk shut Tony down, the AEW President should have turned around and said that it was enough:

“I went as far as to say that I quote unquote, felt bad for Tony Khan in that moment, because it seemed like he could not control what Punk was saying or what he was about to say. But in that moment, once Punk shut Tony down. That’s where Tony had to turn around and go ‘Timeout. Enough. This is where it ends. Next question please.’

You are the billion-dollar owner of the company. You have all the control in the world. If you want to shut them down. You can shut them down.”

More Originals From SEScoops:

• Mark Henry On How They Handled Backstage Fights The ‘Old School’ Way
• Bianca Belair Comments On Importance Of Representation
• Claudio Castagnoli Reveals When He Wants To Retire
• Bobby Fish Believes Undisputed Era Were Split Up Prematurely
• Dolph Ziggler Reveals His Current Goal In Wrestling

If you use any quotes from the article, please credit SEScoops with an H/t for transcription

Wrestlers from both WWE and All Elite Wrestling were able to put their differences aside last weekend to strut their stuff as part of a fashion runway.

During a celebrity fashion show in Pittsburgh, PA, stars from both companies walked the runway, wearing outfits from David Alan Clothing.

AEW TNT Champion Wardlow was on hand to show off the clothes and removed them on the runway.

Shawn Spears gave fans a little dance during his performance, while AEW’s lawyer and manager ‘Smart’ Mark Sterling had someone play an electric violin for his walk.

Sterling also handed out business cards to those in the audience.

As for WWE, Braun Strowman walked the runway and was also billed under his real name Adam Scherr.

The event also featured former WWE Superstar Mojo Rawley.

Strutting their Stuff

It’s not just male wrestlers who have been walking the runway in the name of fashion recently.

Last week, Sasha Banks and Naomi participated in a fashion runway as part of New York Fashion Week.

This is the latest public appearance by the former WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions, who haven’t been seen since walking out of Monday Night Raw during the May 16, 2022, episode.

Despite belief that the pair were set to leave WWE, there has been reports that Banks and Naomi have agreed to return under the company’s new regime.

Reports have suggested that Banks and Naomi could return to WWE TV within a matter of weeks.

Wardlow Says “So Much Ruined” with MJF match at AEW Double or Nothing 2022.

Different people have different opinions on CM Punk’s post All Out media scrum rant. There are many who believe that Punk was in the wrong. There are some others like Ric Flair who seem to support the former WWE star.

The 16-time world champion talked about the whole debacle on his To Be The Man podcast. He first mentioned how Punk is giving a lot of entertainment to fans.

Ric Flair then commented on the Straight Edge Star telling people to come and find him in his locker room. The wrestling veteran explained that it’s the old-school way of doing things and he loves it:

“He’s creating excitement now, and if he’s not afraid to say it…. I like the way he said I’ll walk down the hall and be ready.

That’s Harley Race talking right there. I don’t if he’s that tough but [laughs] I love it.” said Ric Flair, “That’s old-time stuff right there, it is. You got a problem with me, you can find me, right there in the building,”

The 2-time WWE Hall of Famer noted how he doesn’t know The Elite all that well and they have seemed easy to get along with in the limited encounter they have had.

However, Flair reiterated that what Punk did was showing courage. If he feels so strongly about someone then Ric doesn’t blame him for calling them out.

Quotes via Fightful

One week ago AEW held their annual ALL OUT pay-per-view from the NOW Arena in Chicago, which saw CM Punk recapture the world championship from Jon Moxley in the main event, and the monumental return of MJF.

However, the post-show media scrum and eventual backstage altercation between Punk and The Elite have dominated the headlines as the incidents have put a dark cloud over the promotion’s successes. Former AEW star Bobby Fish has not been shy of giving his thoughts on the situation, where had some major criticisms of Punk and even called him a not so kind word. You can read about Fish’s dislike of the Second City Saint here.

When Fish and Punk’s relationship took a turn

Fish and Punk actually wrestled each other an an October episode of AEW Dynamite back in 2021. The bout was a competitive back and forth that Punk ended up winning via his GTS finisher, but for some reason Fish kicked out at 3.1 seconds. The ending was clearly not the original plan as the live crowd, and Punk, were visibly confused as to why the kickout had occurred.

According to Fightful, this was the reason Punk and Fish’s relationship soured as Punk was indeed upset at the kick-out happening. The report states that communication between the two pretty much stopped aftewards.

Fish is now a free agent as his AEW contract expired after being absent from television due for several weeks. Fish was getting married at the time, but injuries to Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly kept him off television longer than anticipated.

Claudio Castagnoli dared to leave his well-earned position in WWE and try something new with AEW. According to the former US champion, his motivation was keeping himself sharp and making sure that he still got it.

The former WWE star recently appeared on The Kurt Angle Show. He was first asked about his WWE departure and Castagnoli explained that it was time for him to try something new:

“I kind of felt that it was time to try something new. To look for a new challenge. Towards the end [of my run] my mind was made up. I’m always happy and grateful. I was happy and grateful [in WWE]. But I also knew where I was thought of, you know what I mean?

So I was just looking for something different at this point, and to me when I look at AEW, there’s so many guys that I want to be in the ring with that I have not necessarily been in the ring with.”

‘I Want To See If I Still Got It’: Claudio Castagnoli

Claudio Castagnoli then explained the philosophy he learned from John Cena. He mentioned that he wants to surround himself with people who can push him to do better and he wants to retire while he can still wrestle competently:

“There’s so many young people there that I was like, ‘This is amazing. I wanna be part of that.’ I really want to because again you’re only as good as your last match. You need to surround yourself with people, and I always have, that push you and are better than you. To me it was like I looked at it and I was [like] ‘Okay, I wanna go to AEW, and I want to wrestle of all those young guys. I want to see if I still got it.’

Because when people ask me like ‘When you think it’s time for you to retire? Certain age, this or that’ it’s whenever I get in that ring and I feel like I [have] lost two steps. I never want people to think, ‘Oh man I wish he would have [retired]’ I’m like ‘No, I wanna go out when I still can do what I can.'”

You can watch Claudio Castagnoli’s full interview below:

More Originals From SEScoops:

• Bobby Fish Believes Undisputed Era Were Split Up Prematurely
• Dolph Ziggler Reveals His Current Goal In Wrestling
• Johnny Gargano Reveals Promo That Inspired His Wrestling Return
• Alan Angles Explains Why He Left AEW
• Alan Angles Remembers His Worst Independent Booking

If you use any quotes from the article, please credit SEScoops with an H/t for transcription

Claudio Castagnoli got to wrestle some of the biggest names in the wrestling world during his time with WWE. One of them was John Cena, who the former WWE star got the chance of sharing the ring with during Cena’s US open challenge run.

Castagnoli recently joined The Kurt Angle show. When asked about his experience with John, the AEW star claimed that he has nothing but good things to say about the Cenation Leader. He also revealed the philosophy he has learned from the 16-time world champion:

“I’ve nothing but good things to say about John. John is an awesome person. He has a very high standard for himself. He’s one of those people that doesn’t just say how you should do it or say how it should be done. He shows you.” said Claudio Castagnoli, “He does it every day. He lives it. You know what I mean?

If he tells you to watch all the matches, he’s sitting there at the monitor watching all the matches. If he tells you, ‘You should work out.’ He is there working out early in the morning. [He’s] somebody I deeply respect. That’s kind of how I tried to do my career. Whatever I would say, I just do it. If people wanna take notice that’s good. If not, I feel like I don’t want to park it all around.”

‘Absolutely Amazing’: Claudio Castagnoli

Speaking about their matches as part of the US open challenge, Claudio Castagnoli mentioned how Cena was already a legend at that point. However, he still worked hard and tried to prove himself with every match:

“Being in the ring with him for that open challenge was awesome. Because he was a legend at that point, and still every match he wants to go out there and prove it. He’s the one that said it. I probably had it always kind of in my brain but he’s the one that said that ‘You’re only as good as your last match.’

That kind of stuck with me because every time you go through that curtain, you want to prove yourself to everybody. So with him to have that open challenge and him working so hard and having such a fun match with me was absolutely amazing.”

You can watch Claudio Castagnoli’s full interview below:

More Originals From SEScoops:

• Bobby Fish Believes Undisputed Era Were Split Up Prematurely
• Dolph Ziggler Reveals His Current Goal In Wrestling
• Johnny Gargano Reveals Promo That Inspired His Wrestling Return
• Alan Angles Explains Why He Left AEW
• Alan Angles Remembers His Worst Independent Booking

If you use any quotes from the article, please credit SEScoops with an H/t for transcription

If AEW has made any mistakes, it certainly hasn’t been many, at least according to Chris Jericho.

Jericho has been with AEW since the beginning, joining the promotion during a press conference in January 2019.

That same year, Jericho would become the first AEW World Champion, and has been prominently featured in AEW for years.

One or Two Things

Like many in AEW, Jericho is intensely passionate about the company.

Sitting down with Inside the Ropes, Jericho spoke about the company, and what he perceives as a lack of mistakes (via Wrestling Inc.)

“We’ve been doing this for three years now and continuing to grow, and this is a big-time corporate business. We are run and paid for by a giant television corporation.”

“We’ve done nine things right and maybe one thing wrong or two things wrong.”

Chris Jericho on AEW

“So, there’s always gonna be growing pains when you start a company. I think we’ve done nine things right and maybe one thing wrong or two things wrong. So we learn from that and we continue to build our brand and continue to improve.”

Fans

AEW has a deeply loyal fan base, but its programming still falls behind WWE in terms of viewers.

Speaking about his former employer, Jericho said that AEW is in this for the long game.

“WWE has a lot of [fans], but they’ve also been around for 50 years. Give us another 47 years to see where we’re at. I guarantee we’ll still be here.”

The Next World Champion?

Following CM Punk’s actions at AEW All Out, the Chicago Made wrestler has been stripped of the AEW World Championship.

Jericho is part of the tournament to crown the next AEW World Champion, with the new champion to be crowned at the Grand Slam Dynamite on September 21.

Jericho will face Bryan Danielson on next week’s AEW Dynamite, with the winner advancing to the finals.

“I Don’t Need a Title to Help AEW… I’m Chris Jericho, That Trumps All of That”

Kenny Omega has been suspended from All Elite Wrestling, meaning fans won’t be seeing him on TV, and they won’t be hearing from him either.

Omega had been scheduled to be on Swerve Strickland’s Swerve City podcast, but that isn’t going ahead at this time.

Strickland, one-half of the reigning AEW World Tag Team Champions, took to Twitter to say that the interview has been postponed due to what’s being described as “unfortunate circumstances.”

Omega’s appearance on the show was announced last month, and Strickland said that a replacement guest will be confirmed tomorrow.

Strickland also promised that the former AEW World Champion and former World Trios Tag Champion will appear when the time is right.

The Suspension

Strickland didn’t confirm what the ‘unfortunate circumstances’ are that led to Omega being postponed, but it is believed to be as a result of his ongoing suspension.

Omega, along with the Young Bucks, has been suspended from AEW due to their actions during the All Out 2022 post-show fight.

This decision also led to Tony Khan stripping the Elite of the AEW Trios Tag Titles, and the Death Triangle won the gold on this week’s Dynamite.

While the Bucks and Omega have been suspended, there’s been no talks of them being fired by AEW, unlike CM Punk and Ace Steel.

Punk is reported to have instigated the fight backstage after last week’s Pay Per View, while Steel is reported to have bit Omega and pulled his hair.

Punk has been stripped of the AEW World Championship, but it is unclear at this time whether he’s been suspended or fired by the company.

AEW Personality Expected to Lose Job Over All Out Media Scrum Fight

Eddie Kingston has unfortunately caught COVID-19.

The Mad King announced his diagnosis on Twitter earlier today, revealing that because of the virus he will be unable to compete at this weekend’s NJPW STRONG tapings. Kingston adds that the situation sucks, and that there is a chance he might miss this week’s AEW Dynamite from Albany, New York.

He writes, “So here we go, got covid won’t be able to make Strong this weekend. It fucking sucks going to test again to see if I can make tv this week.”

Kingston is coming off a huge victory over top NJPW talent Tomohiro Ishii at the Zero Hour pre-show of ALL OUT. The match was a brutal and hard-hitting contest that Kingston won by using Ishii’s brainbuster finisher, evening their score at 1-1. He was originally set to face Sammy Guevara at ALL OUT, but due to a backstage incident the match was called off, and Kingston served a temporary suspension.

We will keep you updated on Kingston’s condition ahead of next week’s AEW Dynamite.

All Elite Wrestling star Darby Allin decided to get extreme as he competed for Nitro Circus.

Allin appeared during Nitro Circus’s tour Nitro Circus: Good Bad and Rad on Sep. 9. The event took place at Maimonides Park in Brooklyn, New York.

His participation at Nitro Circus: Good Bad and Rad shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. Both he and AEW has promoted that he would the former TNT Champion has promoted his involvement earlier this week on social media. AEW also shared a special code offer that would’ve given fans that wanted to attend 30 percent off.

Allin has participated in Nitro Circus in the past, as he unsuccessfully attempted to do a backflip down a long ramp while on a tricycle. However, yesterday the AEW star redeemed himself and successfully performed the stunt.

Here is the video from AEW’s Twitter Account.

Darby Allin Out of AEW Grand Slam Tournaments of Champions

Allin was unsuccessful in his recent quest to challenge for the AEW World Championship when he faced Sammy Guevara at AEW Rampage yesterday. The loss happened after multiple distractions from Anna Jay, and Tay Melo led to Guevara defeating Allin.

The loss to Guevara puts Allin in an interesting position in his AEW career. The company’s Aug. 31 men’s contender’s rankings have him ranked fifth.

His loss to Guevara removes him from contending for the AEW World Championship, at least for a little while. Now that he is no longer in the title picture, for the time being, it should be interesting to see what the company has planned for Allin.

Allin and Sting seemingly ended their feud with the House of Black at AEW All Out on Sep. 4. As AEW builds towards AEW Grand Slam, it’s unclear if Allin will be involved at the event. Hopefully, the company will soon give Allin another notable feud.

As founding members of AEW, it’s hard to imagine that the Young Bucks would be willing to join any other promotion, especially WWE. On the F4W Message Board, a fan claimed that Matt and Nick Jackson have signed new deals with AEW, but that isn’t the case.

The Wrestling Observer’s Ryan Frederick corrected the fan, saying that their current deals were renewed. “They didn’t sign new deals. Their options were picked up. They did reach out to a talent to send feelers that they would be interested in talking about coming in when their deals are up.”

When Cody Rhodes returned to WWE in April 2022, fans speculated on who could be next to join him. Since returning, the three-time AEW TNT Champion has been treated very well, and is expected by many to hold the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion when he’s back from injury. WWE has also got their eye on certain AEW talent, with reports of reigning AEW TNT Champion Wardlow and MJF being on their radar.

Young Bucks to WWE?

With a budding tag-team division in WWE, including teams like The Usos, the Street Profits, and RK-Bro, there’s no shortage of fans who hope to see the Young Bucks join the company.

Frederick explained that while the Bucks may not have spoken to WWE directly, they did try and gauge what it’s like to work there.

“I can’t say they talked to anyone direct at WWE, but that would fall under tampering and this came at the same time the legal letters were being sent about tampering.

“They talked to other WWE talent about coming in.”

Ryan Fredrick on the Young Bucks joining WWE.

“Can’t confirm they actually talked to WWE people themselves, but they talked to other WWE talent about coming in, which they can do (much like WWE talent can send feelers thru AEW talent, which has happened and happens on both sides often).”

The Bucks are currently serving a suspension for their role in the All Out post-show fight.

This week’s AEW Dynamite came hot off the heels of All Out 2022, and the explosive media scrum and backstage fight that has overshadowed the Pay Per View.

During the scrum, CM Punk had harsh words for the Elite, Colt Cabana and ‘Hangman’ Adam Page, and fought with the Elite backstage, in a brawl that included Punk’s trainer Ace Steel.

The Elite have since been suspended from AEW, and there are talks that Punk and Steel could be fired, if not already.

The Meeting

Mere weeks after hosting a talent-wide meeting to discuss reports of conflict in AEW, another meeting was held prior to this week’s Dynamite.

Instead of Tony Khan, this was led by Bryan Danielson, Chris Jericho and Jon Moxley.

Fightful reports that talents were complimentary of the meeting, noting that Danielson, Moxley, and Jericho were the right people to lead.

What was said?

Talent were told to “keep their personal issues personal” and solve their problems backstage instead of leaking news.

The issue of stories of problems getting out to the media was also a topic of discussion during the previous meeting in August.

Wrestlers were encouraged to leave AEW All Out 2022 in the past and move on.

One source noted that it was the “best backstage meeting” the talent have had

CM Punk

A large topic of discussion during the meeting was CM Punk, who’s future with AEW is unclear at this time.

The meeting was said to be not “anti-Punk,” and that wrestlers left in a better mood than the day before.

Danielson was commended as a “calming” presence during the meeting, while Jericho has been praised for his professionalism throughout his time in AEW and especially during this recent period.

Moxley was said to be “adored” during the meeting, with wrestlers agreeing with his promo about being “the answer” to AEW’s problems.

AEW will crown a new World Heavyweight Champion on the September 21st edition of Dynamite: Grand Slam from Arthur Ashe Stadium. 

Punk became the World Champion when beating Jon Moxley in the main event of All Out, but was stripped of the title following a backstage fight involving Punk, The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, and Ace Steel.

Tony Khan confirmed during Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite that Punk has been stripped of the AEW World Heavyweight Title and a Gran Slam Tournament of Champions began on this same show. 

In first-round matches Bryan Danielson beat Hangman Page and is slated to take on Chris Jericho in a second-round matchup next week as Jericho received a first-round bye. Jon Moxley will face Sammy Guevara next as well, after the Spanish God bested Darby Allin on Rampage.

AEW World Championship Tournament Winner

Fans who actually bet on wrestling have selected Bryan Danielson as their favorite to walk away with the AEW World Championship on September 21st.

Here are the current betting odds for the four remaining participants in the tournament, courtesy of BetOnline.ag:

• Bryan Danielson: -130.
• Chris Jericho: +150
• Jon Moxley: +450
• Sammy Guevara: +650

BetOnline is also gauging whether or not fans think Maxwell Jacob Friedman will hold the AEW World Championship before the end of 2022. As of this writing, things are looking good for MJF.

• Yes: -300
• No: +200