AEW’s Big Swole lives with Crohn’s disease, an illness characterized by inflammation of the digestive tract. In an Instagram post on 4/20, Swole mentioned how medical cannabis has helped her manager her condition.
“I’ve been getting a lot of questions about how I managed my Crohn’s Disease while wrestling,” Swole wrote. “My Crohn’s is very aggressive so I was referred by my physician to try medical cannabis.”
“For me, this decision was best for my recovery. I honestly believe I wouldn’t have been able to get through this past year w/o it. My pain has nearly subsided, my appetite is revived and my overall happiness has increased. It may not be for you but it’s worth a look!”
Big Swole On Crohn’s Disease and the COVID-19 Pandemic
Swole released a statement last month about how the pandemic has impacted her Crohn’s treatment.
“After my bout with pneumonia early last year, I was informed that resuming medicine for Crohn’s would result in death given the COVID-19 circumstances. Seeing as how the biologic I was on shuts down my immune system and acts as such, resuming my medicine was not an option.”
Last night on AEW Dark: Elevation, Paul Wight spoke with both members of the Acclaimed in a sit-down interview. During the interview, Bowens spoke about his fear that coming out would impact his professional wrestling dream.
“I represent the LGBQT community, I’m an openly gay professional wrestler so I had a lot of years living in fear of whether or not I’d be able to do this or not. So, to even be here is an incredible opportunity and I’m extremely grateful for it,” Bowens said during the interview.
Bowens is currently out of action with a knee injury but is expected to return shortly.
5 years ago I was still closeted & living in constant fear about how coming out would affect my dream of wrestling. Last night, we got to sit down with @PaulWight & talk about it with the wrestling world. ? Thank you @AEW for letting me be me. ? #CriticallyAcclaimed#MicDroppic.twitter.com/YwTKOy9wvP
During an interview with SI.com in 2019, Bowens spoke in-depth regarding representation of gay athletes in wrestling.
“It means something when a person can see someone that looks like them, gets them, and understands what they’re going through,” said Bowens. “I’m representing the LGBT community and athletes that are LGBT, but even more than that, too, I’m representing the small-town kid who was told he’d never make it, and I’m here for the shy kid that is ready to burst out of his shell and be that social butterfly.”
“I’m trying to represent all of these people in the most positive way I can. I get messages from people that make me cry. To know that I’m having a positive impact on people is a blessing, and makes me feel that I made the right decision to come out.”
Chris Jericho remains at the forefront of AEW storylines. His Inner Circle faction is embroiled in a heated feud with MJF’s new group, Pinnacle. The two factions will soon clash at Blood and Guts, AEW’s version of the War Games double-catch “match beyond.”
Le Champion recently spoke with Hollywood Life and discussed celebrity involvement in professional wrestling. Jericho has worked closely with Mike Tyson in AEW and says celebrities are doing better with wrestling than in previous years.
“You now have guys that have a large amount of respect for pro wrestling,” Jericho began. “You can throw Jay Leno’s name in there and I will raise you a Karl Malone, a Dennis Rodman or a Lawrence Taylor way back in the day.”
He continued, “There are athletes and guys like Bad Bunny who have been lifelong fans of wrestling and really respect what we do and want to be involved. Those are the ones that always work the best. If you take a guy who doesn’t want to do the training and do the things to put on a good match, you will not get one. Then it becomes more of just a stunt casting.”
Chris Jericho on Shaq and Bad Bunny
Over the past several months, mainstream celebrities Shaquille O’Neal, “Iron” Mike Tyson and Bad Bunny have all gotten involved with professional wrestling.
Jericho praised Shaq in particular for his match on AEW Dynamite against Cody Rhodes and Red Velvet, alongside Jade Cargill.
“Shaq took it very seriously” Jericho stated. “He worked very hard to put on the match he did. The same thing with Bad Bunny. You can tell the training was there because what he did was very much like the match we had with Shaq.”
Head over to Hollywood Life to read their full interview with Chris Jericho.
Controversial wrestling star Ivelisse has broken her silence about her recent release from All Elite Wrestling (AEW).
The veteran performer from Puerto Rico says she was blindsided when AEW let her go. Despite her in-ring talent, Ivelisse has a reputation for being difficult to work with behind the scenes.
“I was in shock, definitely, but not as much because I had already recalled everything that went on in the past, so I had an idea,” Ivelisse told Hugo Savinovich for Lucha Libre Online. “I noticed too late just how much damage was made to my name, and I only realized after analyzing the chain of events from everything that went on and it made a lot more sense, because this and this happened because of this and whether it was fair or not.”
As she reflects on what transpired in AEW, she understands how everything transpired. After AEW stopped booking her for matches, people reached out to ask about her role with the company. She decided to focus on her mental and physical health.
Ivelisse on AEW Release
Ivelisse has wresteld for WWE, NXT, Shine, TNA, Lucha Underground. She was hopeful about her AEW run, but it seems that run met a similar fate.
“I did not expect it to turn into a positive reaction, so when they gave me the notice, I was still in shock,” she admitted. “Again, I understand wrestling and it’s politics, but the fact that someone was brought in as strongly, that is what shocked me the most, especially during a pandemic.”
Ivelisse then mentioned how she came to AEW during the pandemic to try and elevate herself and her wrestling career in the United States.
“I came from Puerto Rico on my own” Ivelisse stated. “With my clothes on my back in a suitcase, and I came here to kill myself from ground zero with many against me; so when I lost everything on the fire, literally the little that I achieve because, as you mentioned, if I was a man, I would have had a lot more wealth and success than I would as a woman in my career, I lost it.”
“I had my hopes very elevated, but I lost everything,” Ivelisse concluded. “Everything that happened there, plus everything else on top of it, and I still did everything I was asked to do. I gave it my all to my work, and I lost a lot of weight due to the stress of what was going on and personal issues that I was going through, I was suffering. So I lost the person that was with me when everything would go South, everything was gone, so that’s why I put everything in my work. I will be super honest, I was in that wave of depression trying to hold on, specially.”
Watch Ivelisse’s interview with Lucha Libre Online:
AEW Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks have been working hard on their recent heel turn on All Elite programming. The duo have been utilizing their social media, specifically Twitter, to advance their NJPW Bullet Club-esque characters over the past few weeks.
One way that Matt and Nick Jackson have used Twitter is by posting ‘New bio!!’ every few days to get fans to click on their profile and check out the latest musings from AEW’s top tag team.
In the latest update, The Young Bucks have said that they plan to ‘retire’ from professional wrestling at the age of 40.
The Young Bucks on Retirement
“Wrestling’s sweethearts. Needle movers. Goalpost chasers” The Young Bucks write. “Polarizing, self-made millionaires. Could’ve retired years ago so this is all extra credit. Done by 40.”
It’s worth noting that Matt Jackson is 36, and his brother Nick will be turning 32 in July.
It’s not uncommon for professional wrestlers to still be performing well into their 40s or even 50s. Arguably the biggest mainstream name in AEW is Chris Jericho, and he turned 50 last year.
ROH star and former WWE Superstar Mike Bennett recently spoke to The Shining Wizards Podcast. The former WWE 24/7 Champion discussed a number of topics during the interview, including his release from WWE and subsequent lack of contact from All Elite Wrestling.
“You know, they didn’t reach out to me,” Bennett began, talking about AEW. “Wrestling is very like ‘brother, brother.’ You talk to some people, you put out feelers. Everything was always put out there, but nothing was ever like attacked.”
“I think always in my head, with Taven, it was always Ring of Honor” Bennett continued. ” I never really wanted to go anywhere else. You obviously, if you’re a businessman, and a smart businessman, you put everything out to everybody because you never want to put all your eggs in one basket.”
“But you know, when I got fired, one of the first people to reach out to me was Delirious” Bennett added. “He just sent me a winky emoji on Twitter. It was just one of those ‘Hey I got ya,” you know?’ That always meant a lot to me because Delirious took over the book when I first started in ROH.”
“We have always had a very good relationship, and it’s always meant a lot to me” the former WWE Superstar noted. “So when I got that, it was just kind of like ‘I got you pal.’ It was one of these things where I was going to put out these feelers, but I know where I’m going and I know where I want to go. So it wasn’t really like attacking anything head on.”
Do you think that AEW will be contacting any of the talent released this week? Let us know in the comments
WWE RAW Superstar Rhea Ripley won the red brand’s top Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 37 by defeating Asuka. Both Ripley and Asuka are two women who are aguably synonymous with NXT, with both having sat atop the roster in Full Sail University.
NXT’s run as one of the hottest brands in the world was put to the test when AEW started running on Wednesday nights. With both shows going head-to-head, fans dubbed the new competition as the ‘Wednesday Night Wars.’
The Gold brand of WWE moved to Tuesday this past week and gained viewers in the 800,000 range, with the show no longer having direct pro wrestling competition. AEW in comparison did 1.2 million in the ratings, signalling that the move of NXT and the end of the Wednesday Night Wars was best for both shows.
Rhea Ripley on Wednesday Night War
Speaking to talkSPORT, Rhea Ripley would discuss what it was like being ‘in the trenches’ during the Wednesday night shows.
“I think the internet definitely blew it up a lot more than we thought,” Ripley said. “We didn’t really think about it, at least I didn’t really think about it too much when we were on NXT. I just went there, did my job. I totally forgot there was a ‘war’ going on.”
“I just wanted to do the best that I could do and I think everyone was in the same boat as that” Ripley continued. “I think everyone in NXT just loves what they do so much and we just wanted to do the best that we could. And if that meant we were in a ‘war’ with someone, I guess we’re going to fight. But I think the internet blew that up a lot more than it was.”
In the aftermath of AEW Dynamite pulling in 1.2 million views this past week, TNT Champion took to social media to call out his boss, Tony Khan.
Allin told Khan to pick a Top 5 contender to be the next challenger. That list includes a who’s who of AEW’s deep roster: Hangman Page, former AEW World Champion Jon Moxley, Jungle Boy, former TNT Champion Cody Rhodes and Powerhouse Hobbs of Team Taz.
AEW has since announced that TK selected Jungle Boy the #1 contender to the TNT Championship. The undefeated member of Jurassic Express will get his chance to make history next week. This will be an exciting contest between two of the top young babyfaces in All Elite Wrestling.
Jungle Boy commented on the news of his upcoming opportunity. The 23-year-old is grateful for the chance to win his first championship gold on the big stage.
Darby Allin is one of the most exciting figures on AEW right now. His bond with Sting has been entertaining and fitting given his character. The best part about it was that it wasn’t necessary. It wasn’t done to push him into main even status, it was done because they were a good fit, and that always makes more compelling television.
His run to the TNT title was the reward for a job well done. Putting aside the tragedy of Brodie Lee, Darby earned his title shot and took the chance he was given.
Since then, he has never backed down from a challenge putting on some memorable matches along the way. His recent match with John Silver – who has a big future with the company – being just one example.
Titles shouldn’t change hands every few weeks. A champion should be the best man in the company at that time. Their reign should reflect the reward for their work. With only two singles titles in the organization, it doesn’t make sense to dilute either of them with short runs. The odd surprise here and there makes for entertaining viewing, but on the whole, strong champions make for strong titles. As it stands, it doesn’t look as if Darby will be dropping the belt any time soon.
Yes, he is closing in on a six-month reign, but with Omega being the true heel, and following the more traditional route of only defending his championship at specific, grand occasions, it makes sense to keep the TNT belt active and around the waist of a wrestler who gives his all every single match and can take a beating like nobody else on the roster.
Welcome to Daily’s Place, home of the Jags … and AEW Dynamite. Ever since the pandemic struck, AEW has been running their promotion from Daily’s Place. The stadium is home to the Jacksonville Jaguars, the NFL team owned by the Khan family. This has proven to be a reliable and stable home for AEW, who tape three shows there each week.
For the past few months AEW have slowly reintroduced crowds into the stadium, and news of a sold out Machine Gun Kelly concert being held there on April 23rd can surely be a sign that AEW could soon see the return of capacity crowds to its wrestling events too, perhaps even for the upcoming Blood and Guts match on May 5th. Interesting that they don’t even mention limited places.
The only way to get your Wed, May 5 #BloodAndGuts match tix before they go on sale to the general public, is by purchasing the 2 event (4/21 & 5/5) #AEW Customer Pass. Combo tix are available by emailing ticketing@boldeventsjax.com, or calling 904-633-2000 (during business hours) pic.twitter.com/tyXlu66Wzj
It starts a double hit of positive news for AEW fans, with speculation also rife that the promotion will look to move away from Daily’s Place and take AEW Dynamite back onto the road. With previously planned shows for both Houston and Milwaukee still on the cards, albeit for dates in August as opposed to the original June and July dates.
Could We See AEW Dynamite Back on the Road?
The fact that they were rescheduled rather than postponed indefinitely shows that while it may not necessarily be imminent, the future is looking positive for AEW Dynamite to get back out on the open road. Dave Meltzer is even speculating that All Out could be held in Chicago later this year. Of course, that is dependent on all things pandemic related going according to plan.
If that’s the case it won’t be long before it’s not only Sammy carrying signs around the arena
https://www.instagram.com/p/CNawdd9pXVq/
It will be interesting to see how this will impact the AEW Dynamite and its two Dark counterparts. Throw in the possibility of house shows too, and it is easy to see how AEW can take the great momentum they have and really ramp up the pressure on their rivals.
The first Wednesday night without the competition of NXT saw AEW ratings soared to an incredible rating high of 1.2 million. They also scored a 0.44 rating in the key 18-49 demographic. This was the highest viewing figures to date for AEW and a jump of around 43% from the previous week.
AEW ranked #2 on cable in P18-49 with a rating of 0.44, the program's highest since December 9, 2020.
Likewise, however, NXT saw a growth in numbers following their move to Tuesday nights. Figures were 4.82% up on the recent Take Over: Stand and Deliver. Granted they only had a 0.22 rating and were almost 400,000 viewers behind AEW with 805,000 viewers.
However, the fact that both companies saw a number increase gives some food for thought. Many people will call AEW the winners for the recent Wednesday Night War, but what if both sides were actually losers?
AEW & NXT: Better Apart
With both companies drawing increased viewers, you have to argue that fans who previously had to choose one or the other indulged their passion this week and watched both shows without problem. When taking this approach to things, does competition for a timeslot really benefit anybody or does it work to hold back both shows from really reaching their full potential.
Wrestling fans are quite quick to call their preferred show the best by watching it live, when really, each company, and even each brand within a company is different. They are run with differing styles and mentalities and they are all ok. Some may be more appealing to certain fans but that also works both ways.
Whether you are an AEW fan, a WWE: NXT fan or just a supporter of professional wrestling, increased numbers are always a good thing. What many initially saw as an act of retreat by WWE could turn out to be a strategic win for both promotions.
Depending on when you grew up and which wrestling promotion you watched the most, your opinion on the presence of factions in wrestling will differ. The Young Bucks, who cut their teeth in NJPW took time to respond to fan criticism that AEW has too many factions.
The Young Bucks, who were part of two factions while working in Japan – Bullet Club and the splinter group The Elite – responded to their critics in an interview with TV Insider.
There have been several new factions form in AEW over the past couple of weeks. Including the ‘Super Elite’ which has seen the Bucks once more side with Kenny Omega. Alongside them are the Good Brothers Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson, and the group manager, Don Callis.
This particular group is interesting not because of its members but because it crossed two different promotions without any form of brand/network segregation.
Factions Form as the AEW Brand Takes Shape
We have also seen the rise of The Factory, The Pinnacle, Matt Hardy Office, and the post-pandemic reunion of Death Triangle. Surely it is also only a matter of time before Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston form their own group.
Either way, the Bucks are convinced that factions are good for wrestling. With the success AEW has had to date, who could question their logic.
New Japan Pro Wrestling has been booking factions for more than 40 years, and they’re still around. I see the argument, but I think North American fans have never seen this many at one time. They are used to one, two, or three stables in a company. It’s easier to book angles. It’s easy to get more people involved with different groups. If you’re not aligned in a stable, you’re alone, and that’s hard to book sometimes. That’s why we have a lot of factions. It has clearly worked. Nick said in response to the question.
While Matt went on to discuss the realistic possibility of a trios championship. This is another belt that gains much more credibility when you have clear cut groups to work with.
On April 15th, 2020, WWE cut more than 20 wrestlers from its roster shortly after a worldwide pandemic had shut down multiple wrestling companies and the entire independent wrestling scene. The company decided to do something very similar today.
Some of the names released last year have posted online about what impact being released by WWE during a pandemic has had on them.
“April 15th, 2020, I finally got my release. I would say it was a really big, unexpected moment. I felt lost, I felt hurt, I felt it was the end of my world,” Conti said. “Silly me. And then I allowed myself to feel all the feelings. I was sad, I was mad, I was frustrated, I was scared and the list goes on.”
“April 15th, 2021, this morning I woke up, I looked at myself in the mirror and I said ‘hey girl, I’m proud of you.” And I really am because in less than a year, I proved myself, I finally found myself, I worked my way to the top.”
Conti is now the #1 contender for the AEW Women’s Championship and will challenge Hikaru Shida next week on Dynamite.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CNsQ33uhKn4/
WWE Pandemic Cuts – Where Are They Now?
Drake Maverick (NXT)
Luke Gallows (Impact)
Karl Anderson (Impact)
EC3 (ROH)
Curt Hawkins (Impact)
Lio Rush (MLW & other places)
Heath Slater (Impact – currently injured)
Eric Young (Impact)
Kurt Angle (Conrad Thompson podcast)
Aiden English (Twitch and YouTube channels)
Erik Rowan (done some GCW shows)
Sarah Logan (gave birth to little Viking)
Mike Chioda (has appeared on AEW programming)
Primo Colon (likely waiting to return to WWC)
Epico Colon (likely waiting to return to WWC)
Mike Kanellis (Bennett) (ROH)
Maria Kanellis (ROH)
Zack Ryder (Impact)
No Way Jose (Wrestled once for Lariato Pro – Doc Gallows’ promotion)
Deonna Purrazzo (Knockouts Champion in Impact Wrestling)
On Sunday, April 25th, 2021, Rich Swann and Kenny Omega will go one-on-one with both the Impact and AEW title belts at stake. AEW’s Tony Khan recently revealed on Busted Open Radio that he plans on attending the PPV. Khan also said he plans on bringing AEW referee Aubrey Edwards along with him.
“I’m going to be coming up to Nashville to maintain order next weekend at [IMPACT Rebellion], that you moved at my suggestion [Laughs]. I’m going to go to UFC with my good friend Dana and then I’ll come to [Rebellion] and make sure that no funny business goes on in this title match. I’m going to bring my own referee, Aubrey (Edwards),” Khan said on Busted Open Radio (transcriptions via Fightful).
The following has been confirmed for tonight’s episode of Impact on AXS TV:
The Young Bucks kicked off Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite by cutting a promo about their decision to align with Kenny Omega and company last week. The Bucks are now working as heels and introduced new ring gear to signify their new attitudes.
Nick and Matt Jackson sported Jordan 1 Retro High Dior sneakers this week. The shoes sell for upwards of $10,000 on the secondary sneaker market.
— Matthew & Nicholas Jackson (@youngbucks) April 15, 2021
Some eagle-eyed fans on social media were quick to point out that the Young Bucks’ Jordan 1 Retro High Diors might not be authentic. Sneaker aficionado @Richiedge is convinced the Jackson brothers were rocking fakes.
For those doubting. The swoosh placement being so close to the midsole is literally one of the main things to look for when spotting fakes of these which are all over now. The swoosh also looks really bad. The worst part is I’m sure they spent close to 5 figures on them pic.twitter.com/RQBYW6q5TI
It’s interesting that this ‘controversy’ occurred just as the Bucks were solidifying their heel turn. Was this fashion faux pas an oversight, or was it really a very clever move that shows the depths to which some wrestlers are willing to go in order to play their characters?
Designing the Perfect Heel
Spending $10,000 on sneakers could be perceived as a heel move. However, if the shoes are in fact fraudulent, there could be other forces at work.
Could Excalibur’s insistence that Don Callis is literally human garbage could point to the fakes being a planned spot? After all, great professional wrestling is about great storytelling just as much as it is the action in the ring.
Could it be that the Bucks’ new designer shoes were a gift from Callis? A device to further highlight his slimy and underhanded nature? He is, after all, a bold-as-brass coward, and an even bigger snake than Jake has ever met. Kitting out his guys in fake designer gear would be a perfect fit.
Whether true or not, you could easily see the story being spun that way now, and fair play for it. Creativity is important to AEW and well, let’s face it, you’ve got to give the people what they want.
Great heels were becoming a thing of the past, and the universal loathing for Kenny Omega and the new Super Elite is a throwback to the days when a heel was booed and loathed to the very core of a wrestling fans heart.
Nothing seems to polarize wrestling fans more than the concept of a ratings war. The recent Wednesday Night Wars is no different. It’s easy to understand why this concept gained such traction, with all of the similarities to the famous Monday Night Wars. AEW the young upstart, with lots of talent vocalizing their frustration at being caught in the WWE doldrums.
Yet, an argument could be made that there never was such a war, as wrestling is a singular affair, and regardless of company is there for everybody to enjoy. Which side is right? In many ways, both and none are correct. That’s why it is so much fun to be a wrestling fan at this point in time.
It goes without saying therefor that the recent announcement that NXT was moving from Wednesday to Tuesday was greeted by many as a surrender of sorts, with WWE conceding to AEW, for that timeslot at least. The numbers don’t lie, and AEW were pulling in the dominant ratings each week.
The GOAT Declares Victory
One man who was quick and clear when it came to voicing his opinion on the matter was wrestling legend and certain hall of famer Chris Jericho. The G.O.A.T, who was big part of the Monday Night Wars also, wasted no words when talking to Forbes.com claiming that AEW sent NXT screaming and yelling to the safety of a Tuesday night.
“Yes, we wanted to beat NXT,” Jericho declared. “Yes, we wanted to drive them screaming and yelling away from Wednesdays and we did that.”
It’s interesting to think that Chris Jericho wrestled for both WCW and WWE during the Monday Night War period, and now, despite being a WWE star appeared on the WWE network recently with an appearance on the Broken Skull Ranch podcast.
Either way, his words speak volumes about the drive AEW’s stars have to make their company stand tall and proud.
Matt & Nick Jackson, the Young Bucks, are now “bad guys” in AEW. They have aligned with Don Callis, changed their in-ring style, changed their gear, and have made what some might call a “full heel turn.”
The Young Bucks were recently interviewed by TSN, AEW’s Canadian broadcast partner. During the interview, Matt Jackson spoke about what wrestling fans are used to as it concerns “babyfaces & heels” in wrestling.
“I always want to be involved in weird, nuanced, multi-layered stories and maybe sometimes the subtleties that I like to have in my storylines won’t translate with a pro wrestling audience,” Matt Jackson said to TSN. “Pro wrestling audiences are so conditioned to [the idea] that it’s good or it’s bad. It’s babyface or it’s heel, and that’s the way it’s been historically forever and how dare you change that or try something differently because it’s like you’re breaking the laws of wrestling. It’s one of those things where you have to try to find a balance, where you want to tell compelling stories, but at the same time, you don’t want people to miss the things you’re trying to do.”
— Matthew & Nicholas Jackson (@youngbucks) April 15, 2021
The Young Bucks on AEW’s PPV Schedule
Nick Jackson also spoke about AEW’s schedule of running 4 PPVs a year.
“We enjoy taking the three months to build a proper program and things like that because I feel like the payoff – which is the pay-per-view – makes it seem like a bigger thing,” said Nick Jackson. “I feel like that’s why we’ve kept getting 100,000-plus buys every three months because we make it feel special.”
The Young Bucks On Why It Was Time To Turn Heel
As for why it was time for the Young Bucks to turn heel, Matt Jackson offered up the following explanation:
“Especially with us, because we’re executives at this company – we’re executive vice-presidents of AEW – and we told everybody that we helped put together the tag-team division, so it’s really hard for people to look at us as those same punk-rock Young Bucks that we were years ago, the ones that spat in the face of tradition – the ones that broke all the rules. It’s hard to break the rules when you’re the ones making the rules now.”
Former WWE star Sin Cara has been talking about his interest in working with AEW. Talking in an interview the Mexican star said that while he had not been contacted just yet, he is open to talks and ready to make the move to the Florida based promotion should opportunity come calling.
I’m excited for the future and if they ever contact me, I’m here. He knows my number, Cody knows my number. Lot of the boys there know my number.
Sin Cara’s interest is not a surprising move given the exposure AEW is getting and their willingness to let stars wrestle for other promotions also. Since his departure from WWE the luchador has changed his gimmick to Cinta de Oro a character that has been represented by several wrestlers over the years.
With AEW already boasting a wealth of Latin talent and ties to AAA there is clear potential for the star to talk his way into a match or two. His recent twitter post hinted at something maybe being in the works.
Could a Troubled History with Jericho Hinder an AEW Run?
The only thing that might make AEW hesitant to offer the star a shot is his history as being a bit of a hothead behind the scenes. He was famously instructed to undergo anger management therapy during his WWE run, after altercations with Simon Gotch and more worryingly, Chris Jericho.
With wrestling being a business where who you know is very important, the sin (Cara) of the past may return to hamper his future.
Time will tell if there will be a debut in his future, but with such a wealth of talent already filling out the different AEW shows, you have to wonder if they need a man who was never anything more than a low mid-tier talent.
While Diamante went to war with Thunder Rosa in one of the co-main events of AEW Dark Elevation on Monday night, there was one figure who was decidedly absent. Diamante’s tag-team partner Ivelisse was no where to be seen.
The wrestling star has since confirmed that she has been released from the promotion. This is not the first time the Puerto Rican wrestler has been released by a company. Similarly, it is not the first time she has seemingly done so with bad blood.
The 33-year-old was last seen on AEW on March 2nd in a losing effort. Her disappearance was noticed, with reports circulating that it was due to a conflict with some of the AEW coaches. The star did send out a tweet, which was later deleted, that hinted at a problematic relationship with her employers.
This is the third time Ivelisse has had a rocky departure from a major wrestling organization. After her termination with WWE, which she claimed came after she attempted to report Bill DeMott. She then joined Lucha Underground, from whom she split after five years. She and several other wrestlers filed a class action lawsuit against the company.
Ivelisse in AEW: A New Start
Ivelisse’s stint with AEW began back in 2018 and allowed her to carry on working for other promotions. AEW confirmed she was working on an appearance basis rather then on a fixed contract.
For AEW, claims such as this are something they will face as they continue to grow as an organization.
While for Ivelisse, people could easily cast her as the troublemaker, yet with Bill DeMott since resigning over multiple other allegations, and Lucha Undergrounds problems being well publicised, a case could be made that she has simply been dealt a rough hand in her career.
Whatever the reason for her departure, she is keeping busy in various promotions as shown on her Instagram page. She’s a solid worker in the ring and is the current SHINE champion, having held the belt for almost five hundred days.
Paul Wight recently took part in an interview with Miro for the latter’s YouTube channel. During the discussion, Wight spoke about his character from Adam Sandler’s Waterboy, Captain Insano. According to Wight, we could see the character in AEW at some point.
The film was released in 1998 and according to Wight’s comments, Tony Khan is friends with one of the creators.
“You know, Captain Insano might be coming around again,” Wight said when asked about the character by Miro. “Tony Khan is really good friends with one of the writers or creators of Waterboy. The whole Captain Insano character, I think Tony’s trying real hard to get the rights to that and do something with it.”
Wight also mentioned that he told Khan he would be excited to portray the character in AEW.
“I told Tony if you get Captain Insano, I’ll rock the ever loving tits out of it,” Wight continued. “I’ll get the red boots, the whole 9 yards, Captain Insano shows no mercy, brother!”
AEW filed to trademark “Captain Insano” last month. The purposes of the trademark were listed as ““Entertainment services, namely, wrestling exhibits and performances by a professional wrestler and entertainer.”
The episode of Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions with Chris Jericho is currently streaming on the WWE Network. Early on during the conversation, Jericho explained to Austin his decision to sign with AEW in 2019.
“I never thought that I would really work anywhere outside of WWE in the states, for example, after being there for 19 years or so,” Jericho said on the show.
“When AEW was about to start and Tony Khan had this idea,” Jericho continued. “Now, you’ve been around longer than I have but you hear this all the time, ‘oh, there’s going to be a new promotion, there’s a guy whose got money,” whatever, you hear it all the time. So, when I started talking to him, I started realizing that there was something different here about this opportunity to start a new company.”
Jericho then started talking about AEW and Tony Khan having the things needed to be successful with a new wrestling promotion.
“What you need for that, is you need 3 things: finances and passion, that’s one. You need a television contract, and you need talent. You need about 4-6 guys you can build a territory around. Talking to Tony, he had the finances, he had the passion. Then when we started sniffing around, we realized there was a group of guys whose contracts were all coming up at the same time.”
“Cody Rhodes, Kenny Omega, Young Bucks, Chris Jericho, Hangman Page, guess what? There’s your six guys right there, you can start a company on that. 6 legit guys you can build around and Jericho’s got the name value. These other guys, Cody to an extent, but nobody had really heard of the Young Bucks in the mainstream, or Kenny, or Hangman. So, when you see these guys, you’re like ‘where have these guys been?”
“All 3 of those factors all came together in a perfect storm to where we’re like we have a chance to really do something here. The contract with TNT was big because I think at first we were thinking maybe Showtime, or HBO, or Netflix, all these different ideas. But you have to have network TV to get off the ground and TNT provided that.”
The full episode is streaming on the WWE Network now.
AEW Dynamite next week will be unopposed. Tony Khan recently spoke to PW Insider about how he feels NXT moving nights will help create more wrestling fans.
“I think there are a lot of wrestling fans who like AEW, and I think among the world of wrestling fans, we have a chance to continue building an audience and getting fans to check out the show now because we won’t be opposed by another wrestling show next week,” he said. “I think we’ll have some new fans coming in then I really hope, checking us out, and I hope to make some new wrestling fans in general, fans of AEW and then they can check out other companies and find what they like in wrestling, and find the wrestlers and the moves and the stories they like, and I just want to make new fans of wrestling.”
Khan also spent some time during the interview talking about tomorrow’s house show. AEW will present “The House Always Wins” tomorrow from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville.
“This is an experiment,” Khan said regarding tomorrow’s show. “It felt like a great week for us to do it where we have the whole crew available to us and we got a really good house for Dynamite this week, we have a great crowd, and with the recent sales of Dynamite, tickets have trended really well, Revolution did very well, the weather’s been great, the fans have been great, we wanted to do something special for our fans here in Jacksonville.”
Thank you everyone watching #AEWDynamite! We have a great card of matches tonight, I promise some awesome wrestling matches + segments tonight, we have a huge main event, the TNT Title is on the line, @MikeTyson is here + there are some awesome moments ahead Live on TNT tonight!
As advertised, Mike Tyson made an appearance on Wednesday’s episode of AEW Dynamite on TNT, which marked his first appearance in AEW with a live crowd.
On the show, the boxing legend showed up in the second hour when The Pinnacle was attacking Chris Jericho in the ring. The rest of the Inner Circle was locked in a room backstage and was making their way out to the ring. After Tyson and Inner Circle stood tall in the ring, Jericho and Tyson hugged in peace, a reference to their past.
Tyson made an appearance at the Double or Nothing pay-per-view event last year where he presented the TNT Championship to the winner of Cody Rhodes vs. Lance Archer, which served as the tournament finals to crown the inaugural TNT Champion.
AEW followed up with another Tyson appearance on the May 27, 2020 edition of Dynamite where he was involved in a brawl alongside some of his friends with Jericho and the Inner Circle. This episode did 827,000 live viewers and a 0.32 in the important 18-49 demographic.
After this angle was shot, there had been some speculation about a match between the boxing great and Jericho happening. Jericho previously confirmed there were plans to do a match with Tyson at the AEW All Out PPV event on September 5th, but due to Tyson’s fight with Roy Jones jr. happening on September 12th, they had to postpone it.
All Elite Wrestling is finally booking the Blood and Guts match. The COVID-19 pandemic previously prevented fans from seeing it in AEW.
The original plan was for the match to take place in Newark, New Jersey in front of AEW’s largest paid crowd to date last year. The Inner Circle (Chris Jericho, Jake Hager, Sammy Guevara, Santana, and Ortiz) were supposed to face The Elite (Kenny Omega, Cody, Hangman Page, and The Young Bucks) in the contest.
On Wednesday’s episode of Dynamite, Jericho came out with the rest of the Inner Circle members for a promo to address their feud with The Pinnacle (MJF, FTR, Wardlow, and Shawn Spears). This marked The Inner Circle’s first arena appearance since they were attacked by MJF and The Pinnacle a few weeks ago.
Jericho blamed his “jerk off” friend MJF for some of the recent bad decisions they’ve made and apologized. He noted that he’s smart about pro wrestling and that’s why he brought MJF into the Inner Circle, but MJF outsmarted them.
He mocked MJF for being a mark for himself because he would run around backstage to see what people were saying about him after his matches.
The former AEW World Heavyweight Champion then announced there will be a Blood and Guts match between The Inner Circle and The Pinnacle on the May 5th edition of Dynamite from Jacksonville, Florida at Daily’s Place on TNT.
AEW President and CEO Tony Khan commented on Chris Jericho appearing on Sunday’s episode of Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions show on Peacock.
Khan was on Busted Open with Dave LaGreca and Tommy Dreamer where he talked about why he approved of Jericho’s appearance on the show.
Khan started out by stating that he never even considered this was going to be a possibility and when he first heard about it, he had to think about it for a minute. He brought how Jericho and Austin had talked about it beforehand.
“When Chris brought it up to me, at first I was taken aback because Chris doing something on Peacock on WWE’s channel is obviously going to give me pause. But when he said it was Steve hosting the show, I didn’t have to think very hard about it.”
Khan continued by stating that he looked at this appearance as him or anyone else from AEW going on the Busted Open Radio show as he trusts Jericho to go on this show and feels the same way with him appearing on a WWE show. He also trusts Austin to do a great job with the interview.
“They’re both friends of mine, and I feel like it’s probably going to be a very good show,” Khan said. “I haven’t watched it yet, but Chris told me I’m really going to like it, and it’s a great chance for us to go out and promote AEW to a different set of fans. I was all for it, and definitely, Steve being the host had a lot to do with that.”
This will be the first time that an AEW star will appear on WWE programming.
All Elite Wrestling returns tonight with an all-new episode of AEW Dynamite on TNT. This is the final battle of the Wednesday Night War, as NXT moves to Tuesday nights next week.
NXT will have Night 1 of Takeover: Stand & Deliver, so AEW has some stiff competition. That said, AEW has a big lineup announced, including the return of boxing legend “Iron” Mike Tyson:
