AEW star Dax Harwood recently appeared on a special AdFreeShows watchalong as part of the ARN podcast. Harwood joined AEW on-screen coach and former WWE agent Arn Anderson to discuss The Revival vs American Alpha from NXT Takeover Dallas in 2016.

The match is heralded as one of the greatest tag team bouts in WWE history; with the team now known as FTR losing the belts to Chad Gable and Jason Jordan.

During the special ‘Top Guy’ AdFreeShows watchalong, Dax Harwood stated how all four men became best friends during their run of NXT house shows working the tag team match. Harwood also stated that Jason Jordan is probably one of the hardest working performers he has ever been in the ring with. Dax clarified also that Jordan is right up there in talent with the aforementioned Chad Gable.

“That’s what separates you. That’s what separates the wrestlers from guys who are playing wrestler” Dax Harwood stated during the stream; discussing the nuance and intricacy of the match. “Theres guys who can go in there and do some athletic, crazy stuff. And I wish I could, but if you believe in your heart that you’re the best? If you believe that you’re the biggest badass in the world? Nobody can beat you, you’re gonna look legit.”

Dax Harwood on Chad Gable

Dax Harwood then finished by saying that All Elite should look at getting Chad Gable brought into the company. “I think we should get Gable into AEW, but that’s just my thought.”

Whilst Chad Gable’s WWE contract status is not clear? The phrasing from Harwood seemed to indicate that this could be a possibility, although there’s no way to truly determine if that’s the case without speaking to Gable. The former NXT Tag Team Champion Chad Gable has been used on SmackDown more over the past few weeks; running his Alpha Academy with Otis and also helping Daniel Bryan.

There’s clearly a huge upside to be had with Chad Gable as a legitimate singles star. Back in his NXT days there was a lot of comparisons made to another former amateur wrestler with charisma, Kurt Angle.

A fan on Twitter stated that they agree with Dax Harwood’s opinion about Chad Gable. Harwood said that most people don’t even know how good Gable really is.

Do you agree with Dax Harwood? Do you think that Chad Gable should head to AEW? Let us know in the comments

Ryan Nemeth, aka Hot Young Briley, is scheduled to make his AEW debut next week on Dynamite. AEW announced on its social media feeds that Dolph Ziggler’s brother will be facing Hangman Page Wednesday night.

Nemeth’s older brother, Nic Nemeth (aka Dolph Ziggler), reacted to the news that his younger brother will be making his AEW debut next week:

Ryan Nemeth is an 11-year pro out of the Cleveland area. The 35-year-old is 5 years younger than his older brother. He was trained by Rip Rogers and has performed for promotions such as Tommy Dreamer’s House of Hardcore, Nuclear Heat Wrestling, and Millennium Pro Wrestling. He also wrestled regularly for Bar Wrestling but would later express ethical concerns regarding the owner of the promotion.

From 2012 to 2013, Nemeth was under contract with WWE. He performed in OVW, FCW, and eventually NXT under the ring name Briley Pierce. He was released in May of 2013.

Shortly after Brodie Lee’s passing, Nemeth posted the below story to his Twitter account:

In addition to Hangman Page vs Ryan Nemeth, the following matches are also booked for next week’s Dynamite:

• Britt Baker vs Shanna
• Jungle Boy vs Dax Harwood
• Chris Jericho & MJF vs the Varsity Blondes
• The Young Bucks & The Good Brothers vs The Dark Order
• Eddie Kingston vs Lance Archer

All Elite Wrestling is reportedly looking at pushing back the planned date for the 2021 Revolution PPV. The originally planned date for the event had been February 27th, 2021 but according to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the date is being pushed back. No official date has been announced for the event as of yet, however.

“We’ve heard possible dates of either 3/6 or 3/7 at Daily’s Place. The original date of 2/27 has been talked about as possibly a Jake Paul PPV,” wrote Dave Meltzer. The report would continue to say that the potential Jake Paul boxing fight is not official and may not happen, however.

It was also noted in the report that AEW’s lowest-drawing PPV, 2019’s Full Gear, went head-to-head with a Jake Paul fight on PPV.

“The lowest AEW PPV, Full Gear on November 9, 2019, even with a Jon Moxley vs. Kenny Omega unsanctioned match on top, went head-to-head with the second Logan Paul vs. KSI fight.”

The first match confirmed for the event was announced yesterday. Following weeks of feuding between Sting, Darby Allin, and Team Taz, a street fight has been scheduled. It will be Darby Allin and Sting teaming up against Ricky Starks and Brian Cage. The match was announced officially yesterday after having been teased this week on Dynamite.

Former AEW Women’s Champion, Riho, has not wrestled in the United States since March. She’s been keeping an active schedule with the World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion in Japan, however. According to a recent report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, AEW is hoping to have Riho back on its shows soon.

“The company is right now working on bringing Riho back. People have been asking about her since Stardom stopped using her a few weeks ago. She could be back as early as February,” wrote Dave Meltzer. Riho’s last match with Stardom was on December 26th, 2020.

News that AEW is hoping to have Riho back shortly comes on the heels of the announcement of the Women’s Championship Eliminator tournament. AEW announced the tournament on Dynamite this week and graphics for it show an American side and a Japanese side.

Another Joshi star who has worked with AEW in the past, Emi Sakura, posted the following in regards to the upcoming tournament:

Riho won the AEW Women’s Championship on the first-ever edition of Dynamite. She defeated Nyla Rose in the finals of a tournament to crown the first champion. Riho held the title for 19 weeks and 4 defences before dropping it to Rose on the 19th edition of Dynamite on February 12th, 2020.

AEW Star Anna Jay hasn’t been wrestling for very long but the young star has impressed everyone with the improvement in her in-ring performance since her debut in September 2019.

The Dark Order member recently appeared on the Talk Is Jericho podcast where she talked about things like the story behind her AEW debut and more.

During the interview, the female star discussed being a WWE fan from a young age and she revealed the Bella Twins as her favorite WWE stars growing up:

“I love The Bella Twins, always say that, of course, people are like, ‘Oh, of course you do,’ but that is what got me into it because I see them and think, if they can do it, I can do it. They were good at branding themselves, and you could see that. And I feel like it started a whole different era.”

• Drew McIntyre Reacts To News Of Having Fans At WrestleMania

Anna Jay also recalled attending a WWE Live event in Jacksonville during her freshman year of high school where she got to see Nikki Bella.

Apart from this, the 22-year-old star discussed how her debut match for All Elite Wrestling was only her fifth or sixth bout and how she got offered a contract after only her second match with the company.

All Elite Wrestling has announced the first match for AEW Revolution and it’s a biggie. Sting will make his debut alongside AEW TNT Champion Darby Allin. They will face Brian Cage and Ricky Starks in a Street Fight.

Darby Allin commented on the news that he will be Sting’s tag team partner at AEW Revolution. He posted the black and white match graphic on Instagram with the caption, “Legendary”

Sting & Darby Allin

Sting and Darby have been at Odds with Team Taz in recent weeks. On Wednesday’s Dynamite, Sting and Darby talked about “taking it to the streets” against Taz’s henchmen. You can see video of that exchange in the player embedded below.

Darby Allin will be Sting’s first tag team partner in AEW, but he recently commented on the possibility of wrestling against him. “I don’t know what his health’s like, I don’t know what he wants to do,” Allin told Sportskeeda. “If he wants to get in the ring with me, good luck, that’s what I would say, I’m ready. If he’s ready, I’m ready. I have no clue if he’s actually going to be ready. Everything’s up in the air.

Darby has also addressed comparisons to the WCW legend:

• Darby Allin Comments On Comparisons To Sting

AEW Revolution takes place Saturday, February 27th from Jacksonville, FL.

Order AEW Revolution at BR Live (US)

The matches and the storylines booked for the female wrestlers of AEW have attracted their fair share of praises as well as criticisms. However, the role of Kenny Omega in the changing scenario of AEW’s women’s division cannot be denied.

In a recent interview with Scott Fishman of TVInsider, the AEW World Champion discussed working the creative side of the business behind the scenes, including charting the course for the AEW women’s division.

“I think we are taking baby steps,” Kenny Omega said. “We have hungry performers who are passionate about getting a chance to do their best. Passion speaks to me more than the performance of a maneuver, and right now, our women are really chomping at the bit to get these TV spots.”

Kenny Omega Praises the Women of AEW

Kenny Omega did not miss out on heaping praise on the women of AEW, and he is confident that the company will soon reach the place where the female roster gets as much screen time and opportunities as their male counterpart.

“They’re all training hard. Our roster keeps getting better. [No one has] lost their passion. They are still striving for that big goal, which is for the women’s division to get more time. I’ll have the biggest smile on my face the day we get it. I know we will.”

For a long time the AEW women’s division has been subject to criticism due to poor booking and minuscule screen time. However, wrestlers like Britt Baker, Serena Deeb, Thunder Rosa, Hikaru Shida, and others have proven time and again that they are more than capable of putting on entertaining matches and storylines if given the opportunity.

Kenny Omega also talked about his experience of working with IMPACT Wrestling and how exciting it is to have ‘blown open the doors’ between pro wrestling competitors.

• AEW Announces Women’s World Championship Eliminator Tournament

You can read the full Kenny Omega interview at TVInsider.

Will Hobbs debuted for AEW this summer. He turned heel and aligned with Team Taz this November. He was the guest this week on the AEW Unrestricted podcast. Hobbs spoke about trying out for WWE earlier in his career as well as earning a full-time contract with AEW.

“The tryout was good. That’s a long story but I’ll give you the short story,” Hobbs said about trying out for WWE. “They said we didn’t have anything for you right now.”

Hobbs continued to say that WWE contacted him again after he had appeared on AEW television.

“Years later, (I was) getting the carrot dangled in front of me, then I pretty much told them F-you.”

“The way I was raised, I don’t have time for that s**t. I’m not ‘Boo Boo the Fool’ as my grandmother used to say,” he continued.

Aubrey Edwards then noted others in Team Taz have similar stories.

“Yeah I think Ricky (Starks) had the same thing happen. Both the Team Taz guys. It was like (they) appear on AEW, ‘hey, remember us, we would like to talk you.'”

“I’d rather you tell me ‘100% no’ than try and BS me,” Hobbs continued.

Will Hobbs On Getting A Full-Time AEW Contract

Hobbs also spoke about signing a full-time deal with AEW in September.

“I started off as a Tier 0,” Hobbs said about his first deal with AEW. “And then I believe I got that offer, I want to say right after my Darby match on the Saturday Night Dynamite.”

“Then I believe the PPV was maybe 3 weeks after that. Right after I did my whole thing with Mox, saving him, I got to the back and had another contract waiting for me. I got on the phone, I called a few people back home. When I got back to the hotel, I’m not a real emotional person, but I had to shed a few tears.”

The AEW Women’s World Championship Eliminator Tournament is coming soon to All Elite Wrestling. The announcement was made on Wednesday’s episode of AEW Dynamite. A 16-woman single-elimination competition will determine the #1 contender to Hikaru Shida’s AEW Women’s World Championship.

Notably, the tournament brackets feature an American flag on one side and a Japanese flag on the other. This implies half of the tournament will take place in the United States and the other half will be held in Japan. This could be due to some notable names in AEW’s women’s division being impacted by travel restrictions due to the global pandemic.

AEW advertises the tournament as “Coming Soon” with no start date announced as of this writing.

In terms of what wrestlers could be competing in the Japanese side of the bracket, there are a few options. Former AEW Women’s Champion, Riho, could likely take part, as is Yuka Sakazaki.

Emi Sakura seems likely to be in the tournament. She sent out the below Tweet in response:

There is also a possibility we will see women from the Impact Wrestling Knockouts Division in the tournmanet.

AEW’s Top Female Competitors

The current Top 5 rankings in AEW’s Women’s Division are as follows:

1. Serena Deeb (2-0) (7-2) (+1)
2. Big Swole (1-0) (18-9) (-1)
3. Nyla Rose (1-0) (22-7)
4. Penelope Ford (0-0) (14-9)
5. Anna Jay (0-0) (9-5) (Previously unranked)

Britt Baker and Abadon are outside the top-5 now but they’ve been ranked previously.

WWE Superstar and Intercontinental Champion Big E recently appeared on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio. The New Day member discussed a number of topics during the show, including how the wrestling world has been affected by the passing of Jon Huber/Brodie Lee/Luke Harper.

Brodie Lee of course passed away late last year. AEW and WWE have been paying tribute to Lee over the past few weeks, with his son Brodie Lee Jr being well looked after by All Elite, especially during this extremely difficult time in his family’s life.

Big E Talks Outpouring of Love for Brodie Lee

“It’s a very, very strange time for me” Big E began on Busted Open. “For all of us actually. I think the hardest thing is…I’ve really been touched by the outpouring of love for Brodie, for John Huber. He was a very, very good, dear friend of mine. I’m still kind of, you know, dealing with him not being here and his passing.”

“He was a regular part of my life” Big E continued. “He lived like 15 to 20 minutes from me, and I got to see him all the time. And you know he’s, he’s someone…I’ve never, it’s my first time losing someone who meant so much to me, and was really close to. So, the one thing that’s been really rewarding is man, you know, a lot of times I think we talked about wrestling being a family, that can be cliche, but there is a real brotherhood.”

• Clarification On WWE Superstars Declaring Entry Into The Royal Rumble

Big E then finished by saying how the ‘brotherhood’ of wrestling came together to mourn the loss of their dear friend. “I feel a real Brotherhood. In that I have so many guys that I’ve worked with, who hit me up, who cried with me, who reached out to me, and that’s beautiful. It really made me think ‘man, we have something special in our industry.'”

Our thoughts go out to Jon Huber’s family and all that have been affected by his passing

AEW star Kenny Omega surprised everyone when he associated himself with Impact Wrestling’s Don Callis few weeks back and since then, this relationship has extended into a full blown partnership between the two promotions.

During a recent interview with TVInsider, the current AEW Champion talked about things like their struggles with the COVID-19 pandemic and more.

When asked how it has been working with Impact Wrestling, Omega claimed that it’s exciting that they have blown the doors opens for many new potential opponents:

“I went to Impact, AAA and back to AEW, so I have been able to see three different rosters—all incredibly talented, regardless of what fans say is the best. As a performer, I’d love to work with each and every one of them.

It’s exciting that we’ve blown the doors wide open and there are all these potential opponents.” said Kenny Omega, “I just hope as we present these new matches, the fans enjoy watching them as [much as] we enjoy performing them.”

The former IWGP World Champion also talked about his partnership with Callis and said that for a long time he thought Don was one of the most psychologically gifted professional wrestlers.

According to Omega, for him joining forces with the Impact official meant that they weren’t going to take failure as an answer.

You can check out his full interview at TV Insider.

It’s Wednesday. You know what that means. All Elite Wrestling returns to Jacksonville, FL tonight with an all-new episode of AEW Dynamite.

This week’s broadcast will feature the in-ring return of Jon Moxley, some ‘friendly competition’ within the Inner Circle, Hangman Page teaming up with the Dark Order and much more.

The following items are confirmed for AEW Dynamite:

• Inner Circle Tag Team Triple Threat: Chris Jericho and MJF vs. Santana and Ortiz vs. Sammy Guevara and Jake Hager

• Former AEW Jon Moxley returns to action

• “Hangman” Adam Page and The Dark Order’s (Colt Cabana, Alex Reynolds & John Silver) vs. TH2 (Angelico & Jack Evans) and the Chaos Project (Luther & Serpentico)

• Matt Hardy and Private Party vs. Matt Sydal and Top Flight

• Cody Rhodes vs. “Pretty” Peter Avalon

• Penelope Ford vs. “Legit” Layla Hirsch

Plus, Sting will be on hand and we’ll get an update from Miro and his new well-dressed butler, Charles Taylor.

For more on tonight’s AEW Dynamite, check out the official preview at the AEW website.

Check back later tonight for our AEW Dynamite results and takeaways.

All Elite Wrestling has released new rankings ahead of tonight’s episode of Dynamite.

AEW Men’s Singles Rankings

AEW World Champion: Kenny Omega (1-0) (37-10)
TNT Champion: Darby Allin (1-0) (22-13-1)

1. Jon Moxley (0-0) (27-3-1)
2. Maxwell Jacob Friedman (0-0) (19-4)
3. Cody Rhodes (1-0) (33-9-2)
4. Ricky Starks (1-0) (19-5) (+1)
5. PAC (1-0) (12-7-1) (previously unranked)

Brian Cage drops out of the rankings this week after losing his TNT title shot against Darby Allin on last week’s Dynamite. As a result, Ricky Starks moves up one spot and Pac is back in the rankings.

#5 Pac defeated Eddie Kingston last week, helping him move into the top-5.

#1 Jon Moxley will be in action on Dynamite tonight. His opponent has yet to be announced.

#2 MJF will be in the triple threat tag match to determine the Inner Circle’s official team tonight.

#3 Cody Rhodes will face Peter Avalon tonight.

AEW Women’s Singles Rankings

AEW Women’s Champion: Hikaru Shida (1-0) (30-7)

1. Serena Deeb (2-0) (7-2) (+1)
2. Big Swole (1-0) (18-9) (-1)
3. Nyla Rose (1-0) (22-7)
4. Penelope Ford (0-0) (14-9)
5. Anna Jay (0-0) (9-5) (Previously unranked)

Abadon drops out of the rankings this week after losing to Hikaru Shida 2 weeks ago. #5 Anna Jay moves into the top-5 as a result.

#1 Serena Deeb moves into the top-ranked spot after defeating Tay Conti in an NWA title defence last week.

#4 Penelope Ford will take on Leyla Hirsch on tonight’s show.

AEW Tag Team Rankings

AEW Tag Team Champions: The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) (0-0)

1. FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) (1-0)
2. Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus) (1-0)
3. The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens & Max Caster) (2-0) (+1)
4. The Dark Order (Evil Uno & Stu Grayson) (0-0) (-1)
5. Santana & Ortiz (1-0)

#1 FTR maintained their top ranking after defeating #2 Jurassic Express last week on Dynamite.

#3 the Acclaimed and #4 the Dark Order switched spots. The Acclaimed have been active on Dark while Uno and Grayson have yet to wrestle a 2-on-2 tag match in 2021.

Kenny Omega didn’t appear live on Impact Wrestling this week, but it didn’t stop other AEW stars from invading the show and the episode saw the return of Matt Hardy to the Impact Zone for the first time since 2017, alongside appearances from several other stars from his current company.

A segment during the show saw The Good Brothers bragging about their victory at Saturday’s Hard To Kill main event but they were interrupted by Chris Sabin who wanted a rematch for the Impact tag titles. Gallows and Anderson pointed out how Sabin did not have his partner Alex Shelley on his side again but Chris said he has another guy and introduced the returning James Storm.

The two then tried to get into the ring but they were interrupted by AEW stars Matt Hardy and Private Party. Hardy praised the AEW tag team and said that they should be the ones getting a shot at the tag titles. Hardy also claimed that he saved the company from collapsing in 2016 and the Hardy Boyz technically never lost the Impact tag team titles before they left the promotion.

The segment resulted in a #1 contenders match for the tag titles being announced between the teams of Storm & Sabin and Private Party for the main event of the show. The episode interestingly also featured another paid advertisement from Tony Khan and Tony Schiavone but AEW producer Jerry Lynn was at Khan’s side this time.

The AEW president alongside Lynn showed up at the Impact Zone for the main event match to get a closer look at the action. Matt Hardy was already on the ringside to support Private Party. The match saw Private Party winning the bout and becoming the new #1 contenders for the Impact tag team championships thanks to interference from Jerry Lynn.

The Good Brothers came out to face off with Private Party after the bout but they were attacked by Sabin and Storm. The show went off air as a big brawl broke out among all the stars. There is no word yet on when Private Party will get their title shot and after the brawl, it would be interesting to see if Chris Sabin and James Storm are also added to the match.

Don Callis has boldly compared himself to the one and only Advocate of pro wrestling, Paul Heyman. In fact, the Invisible Hand is so confident that he proclaims to be working at “a much higher level” than “characters” like Heyman. With all due respect.

Callis is the mastermind behind Kenny Omega, the reigning World champion of All Elite Wrestling. During a recent discussion with Chris Van Vliet, he was asked about people who have influenced his career. Among the names were [Kenny Omega’s uncle] The Golden Sheik, former WWE Superstar Bad News Allen and the esteemed Paul Heyman.

There are certain similarities between Callis and Heyman. Aside from guiding the careers of men at the very top of the sport, they both seem to play 4D chess while others are playing checkers. Callis didn’t just cite Paul Heyman as an influence, though. He thinks his current work with Kenny Omega is on a whole different level.

“I’ve been happy for Paul that he’s had the success that he’s had, because he’s a very talented and hard-working guy,” said Callis. “He did a lot for me. There have been people now that have been comparing us, and I think it’s an unfair comparison for Paul because Paul is a tremendous wrestling performer, a character on a television show. He does a wonderful job of that. I’m not a character. I am the essence of who I am and what I do is done at a much higher level than what characters like Paul, with all due respect, can do.”

• Don Callis Wants To Run The Wrestling Business

You can watch Don Callis’ full interview with Chris Van Vliet below:

Don Callis & Kenny Omega

Don Callis and Kenny Omega will return to AEW Dynamite. The return follows Saturday’s Impact Hard to Kill pay-per-view, which saw Omega pin Impact Champion Rich Swann in the main event.

AEW is advertising that Omega will “reflect on his dominance.”

Jon Moxley has a story to tell and fans will soon be able to read all about his wild journey. The former AEW World Champion is currently writing a book.

AEW President Tony Khan broke the news during an appearance on Renee Paquette’s Oral Sessions podcast. Khan says he’s read portions of the book and loved what he saw.

Jon Moxley’s wife Renee added some additional details about the process. She said Moxley is using her laptop to pen his story and she’s also had a sneak preview of what he’s working on.

“I’ve read it all and I had no doubt,” said Renee. “I’ve been up his ass forever like, ‘Dude, you need to write a book!’ He can be a very eloquent speaker and his memory is so amazing… The fact that he’s doing it now and writing it himself, I think it’s gonna be such a badass product.”

Moxley is not the only person in his marriage with a book coming out. Renee Paquette will soon be a published author, as well. Her cookbook, Messy In The Kitchen: My Guide to Eating Deliciously, Hosting Fabulously and Sipping Copiously, is scheduled for release on May 18th. You can pre-order now at Amazon.

Jon Moxley and Renee Paquette are expecting their first child together later this year.

Moxley has been out of action since dropping the AEW Championship to Kenny Omega at Winter is Coming. He recently returned to AEW TV and is scheduled to compete Wednesday on Dynamite.

AEW President Tony Khan recently spoke with Renee Paquette for the Oral Sessions podcast.

The following are some highlights from the discussion, including Khan’s views on competition in wrestling, whether or not he watches WWE/NXT, how AEW’s relationship with Impact Wrestling came about and not wanting to be an on-screen authority figure in AEW.

Competition in Wrestling

Competition is great for wrestling and he can only imagine how frustrated wrestling fans would be if AEW was not around for the past year. Tony Khan feels that Dynamite is the the best wrestling show on television. He admits he is biased. He’s not saying Dynamite is the only good wrestling show out there, but he thinks it’s consistently the bet show. He believes competition is a good thing for AEW and it’s good for the fans.

Khan keeps up with a little WWE programming, because he wants to make sure they are not doing the same exact thing creatively as fans can see elsewhere. He just likes watching wrestling, including New Japan Pro Wrestling, some of the big AAA shows and others. He enjoyed Wrestle Kingdom 15.

Overall, he thinks all wrestling promotions have worked hard to keep fans entertained during the pandemic. He is proud that AEW has not only kept their full staff but also hired new people over the past year.

AEW’s Relationship with Impact

AEW’s relationship with Impact Wrestling was Kenny Omega’s idea. A lot of wrestlers pitch him ideas and he’s trying to get better about picking the right ones. Sometimes there are good ideas that don’t work, for one reason or another. Omega put a lot of time and thought into the Impact storyline that is currently unfolding.

Kenny Omega was a strong proponent of bringing in Don Callis as his heel manager. Sometimes, wrestlers are turned heel, but fans aren’t ready to boo them. Khan named Steve Austin in 2001 as an example. When Omega turned, fans were ready. Omega has put a lot of effort into reinventing himself for this new character. Tony Khan touted Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley as the two best pro wrestlers in the world.

Tony Khan as an On-Screen TV Character

Finally, Renee asked Tony Khan if we are seeing the start of him as an on-screen character. Khan said definitely not. He made a big exception for the Brodie Lee special. The “paid ads” on Impact Wrestling exist in a bubble, outside of the AEW ‘universe.’ We are not going to see him as a ‘Mr. McMahon’ type figure.

General Managers do not have to be on television. He owns professional sports teams and he’s never on television in that capacity. In the case of AEW, the GM will sometimes make matches. He doesn’t need to be on television for that. The announcers can say, “Tony Khan made this match” and that’s enough, as a storytelling vehicle.

Tony Khan also revealed that his father was not pleased when he was pitching the idea of starting a wrestling league. They had some loud, uncomfortable conversations about it. Shad Khan knew nothing about wrestling before AEW. Now, he enjoys the product and he’s able to impart some of his business advice.

You can listen to the full episode in the player embedded below:

Tony Khan is the latest guest on Renee Paquette’s Oral Sessions podcast. The discussion lasted about an hour and covered a wide range of topics. The following are the highlights:

Brodie Lee Tribute

Renee congratulated Tony for the Brodie Lee tribute shown on AEW Dynamite a few weeks ago. Tony said he’s so proud of everybody in the company for how they handled a very difficult situation. The entire AEW crew was told about Brodie Lee’s deteriorating condition several weeks before he passed away. TK was pleasantly surprised that there were no leaks about the situation and Brodie Lee’s family was able to be there for him without the world knowing he was sick. It was Shawn Spears’ idea to bring in Eric “Rowan” Redbeard for the tribute.

AEW’s Early Success

Tony Khan is proud, but not surprised, of AEW’s early success. He has learned a lot and is expecting a big year ahead. AEW hopes to have fans back in full capacity “sometime soon.” He feels that AEW has come up with a great solution for having a limited number of fans attending their shows. They’ve they’ve had great experiences with fans, who have said they feel safe at their “pods” at Daily’s Place. The concept behind their current seating configuration was inspired by drive-in movies. They can currently accommodate 1,080 fans if they open up the top balcony. If they don’t open the top area of Daily’s Place, they have 750 fans.

Additional TV, PPV Format

Tony Khan is very excited to add a third hour of television. That is the most important thing on the horizon for them. They are looking forward to having the ability to showcase the entire roster. This will NOT be a third hour of Dynamite. He is aware of the dangers of overexposure. The ‘third hour’ of weekly television will be on a Warner Media property, but will not air Wednesday nights. He loves their current format of four pay-per-view events per year, with special editions of AEW Dynamite airing throughout the year. He just spoke to TNT executives on the phone this week and they told him AEW is doing great.

Biggest Lesson Learned In 2020

2019 was a good year for AEW, but 2020 was even better. The biggest lesson Tony Khan learned last year was accountability. He is getting comfortable filtering out bad ideas. In 2019, there were a few ideas he didn’t love and had low expectations for, but still gave them the green light. Those wound up being poorly received by fans.

He has learned to trust his instincts and is not afraid to exercise his power to ‘veto’ ideas. AEW is now more organized and more logical, which has made for better programming.

AEW Talent

Tony Khan says Jon Moxley is his favorite person to collaborate with. He revealed that Moxley is currently writing a book. He’s read some early drafts and loves it.

Looking ahead over the next several years, he is looking at guys like Jon Moxley and MJF to be among the top stars in AEW. So many of the company’s main event wrestlers are early-to-mid 30’s and in their prime with a lot left in the tank. He believes AEW’s top guys will be on top for many years to come. He is excited about younger stars of AEW, such as MJF, Jungle Boy, Darby Allin, Sammy Guevara, Ricky Stars, Private Party and Top Flight. In the women’s division, Khan touted Anna Jay, Tay Conti and Britt Baker. Thunder Rosa is awesome, although she is not full-time with AEW.

You can listen to the full episode in the player embedded below:

Kenny Omega, the Good Brothers, and The Young Bucks are all involved in a program in AEW at the moment that references their past as members of Bullet Club. According to information publicly available on the US Patent and Trademark Office website, AEW filed to trademark the Bullet Club-related term “Too Sweet” on January 14th, 2021.

“Too Sweet” was a common phrase used by members of the New World Order in WCW. It then became part of the Bullet Club angle in NJPW beginning in 2013. The Young Bucks were reportedly sent a cease and desist letter in 2017 preventing them from using the “Too Sweet” hand signal. This occurred after the Young Bucks, Cody, and other members of Bullet Club “invaded” a WWE event. WWE writer, Jimmy Jacobs, was released after posing for a selfie with the “invading” members of Bullet Club.

Tama Tonga recently expressed skepticism that WWE did actually send the Bucks a cease and desist letter, however.

Shortly after Tonga Tweeted his doubts, the Young Bucks posted the following:

On Dynamite last week, the Good Brothers teamed with Kenny Omega. The Young Bucks had thought they would be teaming with him. Don Callis swerved the Bucks and the fans when he introduced the Good Brothers, however.

Danny Limelight has wrestled for companies such as NJPW, AEW, Championship Wrestling From Hollywood and GCW in the past year and gained a lot of reorganization from his appearances for these promotions.

Though his participation in events of both AEW and NJPW have raised questions among fans and many people have been wondering about his status with both the companies.

During his recent interview with WrestlingInc, Limelight revealed his contractual status with both the promotions and he confirmed that he remains a free agent:

“I’m not signed anywhere. I haven’t signed any contracts. When an opportunity presents itself, I’m gonna make sure it’s a company that I can add value to, that I feel like I would be an asset to,

A company I feel that’s gonna care about me and care about how my career is gonna go.” said Danny, “It needs to be what I feel is best for the company and what’s best for me and my daughter.”

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Talking about the year he has had, the indie star said that he is very fortunate that the last year took him in the right direction and the hard work and consistency paid off.

Apart from this, Danny Limelight also talked about things like a potential partnership between AEW and NJPW and more. You can check out his full interview at this link.

AEW Women’s division star Dr Britt Baker recently appeared on the Sunday Night’s Main Event podcast. The pro wrestler/dentist talked a number of topics whilst on the show, including her Waiting Room segments.

The Waiting Room was originally only used as a segment on AEW Dark, but this past week was the first time it was brought to AEW Dynamite. The segment featured Cody Rhodes and Jade Cargill, furthering the storyline involving the aforementioned pair, Shaq and Brandi Rhodes.

Baker would discuss how Cody Rhodes was influential in bringing the concept to life, and how he’s now ‘hands off’ with it.

Britt Baker on The Waiting Room

“When we first started, I obviously met with Cody [Rhodes] and Tony [Khan] to make sure we had the the vision down, that we’re on the same page with what we wanted to do” Baker began on the Sunday Night’s Main Event show.

Britt Baker then described how the segment is used to help get ‘other storylines over.’ The Waiting Room has a Barber Shop or Piper’s Pit vibe, with a full set created to backdrop the action. “Essentially, it’s just a great platform to get other storylines over, to get people who maybe don’t get to talk as much.”

• Nyla Rose Off Dynamite This Week Due to COVID-19 Protocols

“[It was for] people who don’t get to talk as much on Dynamite or Dark” Baker continued. “Give them the mic let’s, you know, see what they can do.” Baker then finished by saying how as the segment has progressed Cody Rhodes has had less and less involvement in it. “Cody, as of now? Has very little to no involvement in it. Because once Cody Rhodes gets involved, it turns into Cody Rhodes project! And I’m sick of that (laughs)! So, now? It’s my baby.”

Nyla Rose was scheduled to face Leyla Hirsch on the upcoming episode of AEW Dynamite. She’s been forced off the show after an immediate family member tested positive for COVID-19, however.

Rose released a statement on Twitter explaining her situation:

“I’ve found out that an immediate family members has tested positive for COVID-19 and as a result, I’ve been directly exposed,” wrote Rose.

“As per safety protocol I will be isolating/self quarantine for the next 14 days. Why do I mention this? Because of the seriousness of the situation and the timeline for quarantine, this will affect this weekend’s Virtual Meet & Greet with Damage 365 promotions and prevent me from competing against Leyla Hirsch this coming Wednesday on Dynamite.”

“I’m very sorry to anyone that was looking forward to these events but keeping everyone as safe as possible must be priority at this time. Thank you for understanding. Stay Safe everyone. Please social distance and Mask up.”

Nyla Rose finished 2020 with a 14-2 record in AEW singles matches. Her only losses were both to Hikaru Shida. She lost to Shida at Double or Nothing to drop the AEW Women’s Championship. Shida then successfully defended the title against Rose at Full Gear in November. Rose has only wrestled on Dark since dropping the match to Shida at Full Gear.

IMPACT Wrestling X Division star Chris Bey recently spoke to Fightful. The former X Division Champion discussed a number of topics during the show, including how AEW was previously interested in signing him.

“So, with everybody that’s been talking to me over the last year like, ‘Man, AEW was interested in you. Why didn’t you go there?’” Chris Bey begin the interview. “Now it’s looking like I don’t even have to have made that decision to still make it happen, you know?”

Chris Bey then discussed how he could potentially work for AEW, but under the IMPACT banner as part of the ongoing ‘invasion’ storyline with Kenny Omega.

“For me, it’d be even better if I can do it wearing the IMPACT! banner and holding the IMPACT! flag while I do it, you know? I think it’s just going to set up some dream match scenarios. If this keeps going in the direction it’s going in we can provide history for the fans that we possibly look back to for the foreseeable future of our business and be like, ‘Man, that’s when things really changed in this industry.’ This could be the start of something.”

Chris Bey appeared at IMPACT’s Hard To Kill PPV this weekend. He was part of the triple threat match for the X Division title, where Manik/TJP would take the win after rolling up Rohit Raju.

WWE Hall of Famer and co-host of Busted Open Radio Bully Ray recently discussed the ongoing ‘Wednesday Night War’ between AEW and NXT. For many months AEW has been beating NXT in the rating; with this past week seeing a gulf in difference, particularly in the 18-49 demographic.

Bully Ray pointed out that whilst AEW is the better drawing show? Ray believes that NXT has the better in-ring action and it is a ‘crisper’ and more ‘polished’ style of pro wrestling.

“It’s hard for me to come on the show, and I don’t want to do this, first and foremost, I don’t look to come on the show and point out holes in the game or the negatives” Bully Ray began on Busted Open.

“Honestly, I just want to come on talk positive about pro wrestling, and tell everybody what a great job everybody did. When I watch NXT? I don’t see glaring issues, like I see maybe with AEW. But the work in the ring is solid, it’s tight [in NXT]. Nine times out of 10? It makes psychological sense. The physicality is there.”

Shifting his focus to AEW, Bully Ray sees some ‘glaring’ issues that might be holding the company back.

“A lot of times? You watch AEW and you know, guys and gals are missing stuff. It can get a little indie-rific at times, whereas the NXT product is a lot more polished and the work rate is extremely tight.”

However you feel about Bully Ray’s comments about AEW’s in-ring product, there’s no question that what they’re doing is working. AEW regularly draws higher viewership and greater fan interest than NXT.

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Do you agree with Bully Ray? Do you believe that NXT’s in-ring product is superior to that of AEW? Let us know in the comments

AEW has been broadcasting its shows from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville for several months now. At the outset of the pandemic, they also filmed some shows from QT Marshall’s gym in Georgia. There had been rumors that AEW was seeking to leave the venue, with Miami being a possible new location. It had been reported that the cold climate in the outdoor venue was a motivating factor for the company to look for a new home.

According to an update from by Cassidy Haynes of BodySlam.net, an email went out to AEW employees yesterday stating that the plan is to stay in Jacksonville at Daily’s Place “indefinitely.”

AEW World Champion, Kenny Omega, spoke about the difficulty of wrestling in Daily’s Place last November in an interview with Wrestling Observer Radio.

“These performances are killing me. It’s dangerous out there, man. I can’t stress that enough. People know what we’re capable of. They’ve seen us have great performances in front of a packed house of 10,000 fans or more, and now, we’re thrust into this outdoor location.”

“But all of us are pushing ourselves and wrestling as if we’re in normal conditions. And now, as of this week, it’s the reverse because we’re walking out there and now its super cold. If you’re not prepared for it, you get these goosebumps due to the chilly wind. It’s very strange and a brand new experience that I’m not used to, and I’m not sure anyone is. It’s a challenge.”