All Elite Wrestling’s Darby Allin has commented on the possibility of a matchup between himself and “The Icon” Sting. The current TNT Champion recently broached the subject during an interview with Sportskeeda.

Allin admitted he doesn’t know what the future looks like. However, he did issue a warning to “The Icon,” who recently made his AEW debut, claiming that he’s “ready.”

“I don’t know what his health’s like, I don’t know what he wants to do,” Allin said. “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.

Following his debut, Sting appeared on last week’s episode of AEW Dynamite. During a segment that featured Cody Rhodes, “The Icon” indicated that he wasn’t in AEW for Cody, instead hinting that he was interested in Allin.

“I don’t know what his intentions are, I don’t know if you want to manage me, I don’t know if I’m manageable,” Allin said. “Everything is week-by-week, anything can change. I’ve never had a full-blown conversation with him. Who knows, he might be the complete opposite.”

When asked if he would be interested in a cinematic matchup with Sting, Darby Allin shared he’s “up for the challenge.” Although he has never done a cinematic matchup before, Allin is confident he would deliver “the most craziest cinematic match of all-time.”

• Booker T On A Potential Sting Vs. Chris Jericho Match In AEW

All Elite Wrestling has announced 14 matches for this week’s episode of AEW Dark. The show premieres at 7pm (Eastern) on the AEW Youtube Channel.

AEW Dark Matches (12/15/20):

• The Acclaimed vs. Louie Valle & Mike Magnum

• Anna Jay vs. Dani Jordyn

• Baron Black vs. Brandon Cutler

• Brian Cage vs. VSK

• Chaos Project vs. Best Friends

• Ricky Starks vs. Sotheara Chhun

• Stu Grayson & Evil Uno vs. Bear Country

• Shawn Dean & Fuego Del Sol vs. Jurassic Expres

• Sonny Kiss & Joey Janela vs. RYZIN & Sean Maluta

• Kaci Lennox vs. Ivelisse

• Danny Limelight vs. Matt Sydal

• AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida vs. Kilynn King

• Leva Bates vs. Skyler Moore

• Tay Conti vs. Freya States

Jim Ross recently criticized a spot popular with many AEW wrestlers on his podcast and Darby Allin agrees with his sentiment.

JR was critical of the spot in multi-person matches where everyone stands outside the ring and catches another wrestler as they do a plancha, suicide dive, or some type of diving move.

“I told a kid the other day at AEW that everybody does the same f***ing spot,” Ross said on his podcast. “All you guys go outside. You cluster up like coils. You stand there in a huddle, friends, and foes together, side-by-side so you can catch some leaping idiot going over the top who never wins with this move.”

During a recent interview with Sportskeeda, Darby Allin agreed with Ross’ comments.

“I love Jim Ross, and I agree with him,” was Allin’s response.

JR’s comments were also referenced in a Tweet from AEW’s Brandon Cutler promoting the 7-on-7 match on Dynamite tomorrow night.

“Imagine not listening to criticism from the men & women who’ve shaped our profession, and paved a road that allows you to make a living today; all because they hurt your feelings,” Dax Harwood Tweeted.

AEW Wrestlers Upset With JR’s Comments?

An anonymous statement made by one AEW wrestler to WrestlingNews.co was critical of JR’s comments.

“Look I know there is a lot that JR can teach us but burying us on the show or on his podcast is only going to make some of us ignore what he says. I grew up watching JR and he is the best and we love it that he calls our matches. But maybe find a different way to criticize the wrestlers in the ring. Everyone is doing what they have been taught.”

The full interview with Allin can be viewed in the player below:

“The Ultimate Finesser” Chris Bey challenged Rich Swann for the Impact World Championship Saturday night at Final Resolution. He was seemingly in two places at the same time as he also competed in New Japan’s Super J-Cup tournament that night as well.

Bey recently took part in an interview with Wrestling Headlines. During the discussion, Bey was asked about the Impact and AEW partnership and mentioned some potential dream match-ups he’d like to see.

“I’ve seen a lot of people post stuff like they wanted to see me versus Kenny, then they wanted to see me versus Darby Allin, or they think because of the charisma through the roof they wanna see me and Ricky Starks,” Bey said before revealing the dream match he wants.

“There’s one in particular that stands out to me that I need to check off my bucket list personally because it all started a little over a year ago, but I need…for the sake of my story…I need Dashing Chris Bey versus Dashing Cody Rhodes. That’s the one that I need.”

Earlier this year, Bey was mentioned by Rhodes as someone AEW may have their eyes on.

“I’ve been doing a deep-dive on YouTube, on a guy named Chris Bey,” Cody said on a media call back in February. “He’s a prime example of somebody who could potentially be good for our singles division. We haven’t spoken to him or anything of that nature, but I’m sure this call will have some sort of… he’ll hear about it in some capacity.”

Chris Bey On Wrestling On Both Final Resolution & in The Super J-Cup

Bey also spoke about wrestling on both Impact Wrestling’s Final Resolution and NJPW’s Super J-Cup on Saturday.

“A night of history man. A night of history indeed,” Bey said about this Saturday. “It’s a weird world we live in. It’s a great time in professional wrestling where people are able to show up on multiple platforms in one night. It creates more buzz…it gets the fans more interested and it makes the realm of possibilities just endless.”

“So for me it was great to represent IMPACT Wrestling in the Super J-Cup because not only does the tournament have so much history behind it but also I feel like I’m that guy whose gonna be able to now crack the door open a little bit more for anyone else who wants to work between these two companies.”

The full interview with Chris Bey can be read here.

All Elite Wrestling’s Evil Uno has detailed the travel schedule he and fellow Dark Order member Stu Grayson currently have to undertake due to the coronavirus pandemic. Speaking with OttawaSun.com, Evil Uno broke down their journey Florida each week. He also revealed how they were worried the promotion would cut them due to travel restrictions imposed by COVID-19.

“We travel every two weeks (to Florida) and quarantine in between. We don’t leave our houses; that’s a stress,” Evil Uno said. “There was a time where it was very uncertain for both of us because we couldn’t make it to work for several months, so we were at risk of being cut. We didn’t know the scope of what COVID would be like.”

Evil Uno continued, “We also didn’t know what kind of financial hit AEW was going to take. It was stressful at first, but now it feels like the norm. We have deep roots in this area, we helped build up this whole wrestling scene over the past 15 years. We’re still within the decision phase.”

Evil Uno offered Dustin Rhodes the chance to join the Dark Order during last week’s episode of AEW Dynamite. He suggested Rhodes join them and take on the name ‘Seven,’ referencing Rhodes’s ill-fated WCW gimmick of the same name.

The Dark Order Make Front Page Of Ottawa Newspaper

Former WCW President Eric Bischoff believes All Elite Wrestling should hire Bully Ray. Bischoff shared his thoughts during a recent episode of his podcast 83 Weeks.

Bischoff argued how Bully Ray is not only an experienced veteran but is a talented wrestler who understands the “art of creating emotion.”

“I don’t know why Bully’s not there in AEW because he’s valuable. There’s some really talented people there, and obviously, Chris Jericho is maybe one of the most creative people right now,” Bischoff said. “But wouldn’t you like to have 2, or 3, or 4 people that have Chris Jericho’s kind of experience and feel, but maybe come at it from a couple different perspectives so you have options? I would think somebody like AEW would really benefit from Bully’s experience.”

Alongside the aforementioned Chris Jericho, AEW has a wealth of additional veteran talent to pull from. Dustin Rhodes, Tully Blanchard, Arn Anderson are all part of the promotion, to name just a few. Eric Bischoff, himself, has also featured on multiple episode of AEW Dynamite.

Former WCW Champion Sting recently made his on-screen debut for AEW. He has since expressed an interest in current AEW TNT Champion Darby Allin. It is speculated that Sting will compete in the ring in AEW, with some veterans and fans already speculating about potential matches he may have down the line.

Former WWE Superstar Ryback recently discussed Kenny Omega’s storyline between AEW, IMPACT and AAA. The Big Guy would discuss how Omega and the other EVPs in AEW had to ‘make’ other talent before giving themselves the top titles in the company.

Kenny Omega is of course the AEW Champion and The Young Bucks are the AEW Tag Team Champions. Whilst Cody was previously the TNT Champion? This is the first time in the company’s short history that the Executive Vice Presidents are holding arguably the two main titles in the company.

Ryback on Kenny Omega

“I’m very intrigued, Kenny Omega has got a whole lot more interesting really quickly” Ryback would begin on the Shooting Blanks Wrestling podcast. “Everything they’re [AEW] doing is working in terms of long term. The Young Bucks, Kenny, Cody, how they they were booked early on? People kind of thought didn’t understand it. I can look at it and see that they needed to kind of help ‘make’ other people first.”

“They’re still doing it” The Big Guy Ryback would continue. “It’s the coolest thing to watch, as everyone’s getting elevated in the TV game and becoming bigger bigger stars. But Kenny now can really turn it up, and I think he’s more comfortable? Just from what I’ve seen on AEW.”

• Jim Cornette Slams Tony Khan For Not Signing CM Punk

Ryback would finish by saying how he feels Omega is far better in the heel role on AEW programming. “I’m more interested in the heel Kenny Omega, I wasn’t into the babyface Kenny Omega, just from as a viewer watching that product solely. I feel like he’s more comfortable being heel.”

Do you agree with Ryback? Do you think that Kenny Omega is working better as a heel in AEW? Let us know in the comments

Jim Cornette can’t understand why AEW President Tony Khan has not made a strong play to sign CM Punk.

CM Punk spoke to Renee Paquette last week on the Oral Sessions podcast. Punk discussed what would take to bring him back to wrestling. These elements would essentially boil down to: a lot of money and an intriguing storyline. Punk emphasized that it was less about the money and more about wanting an exciting storyline to be involved with.

Cornette asks how on earth AEW has not scooped up the former WWE Champion. He said Punk is at the perfect level of stardom: he hasn’t been buried on television and he’s not a dinosaur from 25 years ago.

Jim Cornette on CM Punk

“It wasn’t a revelatory statement” Jim Cornette began on The Experience, discussing what CM Punk said on the podcast. “Nor a big shocking occurrence. He said he would basically, boiling it down, he would take a sh*tload of money and something new that he was interested in doing as well.”

Jim Cornette would then lambast AEW owner Tony Khan for not getting CM Punk under contract. “The son of a billionaire with a national cable television show just got in the wrestling business. He made a bunch of indie guys that never had it and never will as happy as school girls with shiny new vibrators. But he can’t get CM Punk!? He can’t make CM Punk happy!? Nobody can think of an idea that CM Punk would be interested in, that would intrigue him enough to get involved in this!?”

Credentials

Cornette would finish by stating Punk’s credentials and why he believes he is the biggest free agent right now. “If there’s a fish out there that has the Goldilocks and the Three Bears combination; not too hot, not too cold, just right in-between? [as in] They’ve been on TV recently and not been beaten into powder or been portrayed in a negative light that we are now trying to take the guy and make him into a top star?

• “Kenny Omega Is The Top Wrestler on The Planet, Number 2 Is Not Even Close” – Don Callis

“Or is he the icon from 30 years ago that they bring back and make all the current guys look bad? Because even though the icon can’t get in the ring and can’t go anymore he’s still more over as a bigger star than the rest of their roster? CM Punk doesn’t fit any of them. He’s the right combination. He was a huge star in the biggest company in the world just several years ago, not 30.”

Do you agree with Jim Cornette? Do you think that CM Punk could make a huge impact in AEW? Let us know in the comments

It appears that The Dark Order has infiltrated the media. If you picked up a copy of the Ottawa Sun in the capital of Canada yesterday, you would have seen Evil Uno & Stu Grayson from the Dark Order on the cover. The tag-team is from the nearby town of Gatineau, Quebec, and the article covered their success in AEW.

In the article, the team spoke about enjoying their time in AEW thus far. Evil Uno shed some light on AEW’s creative process and touted that the company does not employ writers.

“What’s great about AEW is we have a sense of freedom for what we want to do,” Uno said. “There is no writer in AEW. It all goes through [the EVP’s] and Tony Khan. They have final say.”

Evil Uno added that it took some time to establish the Dark Order’s purpose in AEW.

“When we initially started, they had no TV show to explain our characters. We had masked men with us, but we had no way of properly explaining what that was. So we pitched that we explain it on TV, that we were a Scientology-like cult. From there, it blossomed.”

Stu Grayson added that it “feels really good” to be in AEW. “The more responsibility they give us, the better we feel. We want to have a busy schedule, we want big matches, we want big segments, we want to do promos.”

The full article can be read here.

Priscilla Kelly is the latest guest on Vickie Guerrero’s Excuse Me podcast. They spoke about the effort for women’s wrestling to be treated equally to men’s.

Kelly worked for AEW briefly this year, but was not signed to a long-term deal. She revealed to Vickie Guerrero that AEW discussed bringing her in as the wife of reigning TNT Champion Darby Allin. They were in fact married at the time, but divorced over the summer.

“The thought was thrown around for me to be put with Darby in AEW,” Kelly began. “Maybe like, ‘You come in, and you’ll be the wife and then like you get kicked in the face, and he then gets mad or something.’ There was a lot of ideas thrown around.”

She explained that being portrayed as “Darby Allin’s wife” would define her down and strip away her individuality. She explained to people in AEW that she could come in, do a “wife spot” and that could eventually lead to her wrestling matches. However, she had a problem with that.

“If I come in and I’m introduced as Darby’s wife, I’m forever by the fans gonna be known as just as his wife. And then from there on out, everything I do in the ring or on a promo is gonna be heavily, heavily compared to him.”

She did not want to be become “the Robin to Darby Allin’s Batman” and thus decided against the opportunity.

Priscilla Kelly is currently wrestling for Major League Wrestling (MLW), but is working on a per-appearance basis and considers herself a “free agent.”

• Priscilla Kelly Comments On Darby Allin’s TNT Title Win

Jim Ross recently caused a bit of a stir online when he criticized a popular move used by many wrestlers on the AEW roster.

“I told a kid the other day at AEW that everybody does the same f***ing spot,” Ross said on his podcast recently. “All you guys go outside. You cluster up like coils. You stand there in a huddle, friends, and foes together, side-by-side so you can catch some leaping idiot going over the top who never wins with this move.”

AEW’s Brandon Cutler then put out a Tweet promoting the 7-on-7 match this Wednesday on Dynamite. In the Tweet, Cutler took a jab at JR’s comments.

Dax Harwood sent out the below Tweet which may be in response to JR and Cutler’s comments:

“Imagine not listening to criticism from the men & women who’ve shaped our profession, and paved a road that allows you to make a living today; all because they hurt your feelings,” he Tweeted.

Some wrestlers were reportedly upset with JR’s comments. According to a report from WrestlingNews.co, one anonymous AEW wrestler made the following statement to them:

“Look I know there is a lot that JR can teach us but burying us on the show or on his podcast is only going to make some of us ignore what he says. I grew up watching JR and he is the best and we love it that he calls our matches but maybe find a different way to criticize the wrestlers in the ring. Everyone is doing what they have been taught. I agree that sometimes things need to be slowed down but that won’t happen when the guy who is supposed to help put us over is going out there and publicly burying us.”

Saturday night on Impact Wrestling’s Final Resolution, Karl Anderson reunited with his former Bullet Club stablemate, Kenny Omega. Callis, Omega, and Anderson spent some time on the luxury bus that was parked outside the venue before Anderson had to wrestle Ethan Page that night.

Anderson took to Twitter to comment on his reunion with Omega on the show.

Anderson and Omega talked about their history as members of Bullet Club on Saturday night. Callis and Omega told Anderson they wanted to see the old “Machine Gun” that night against Ethan Page, the version of Anderson that went to the G1 finals in 2012.

Anderson would go on to defeat Ethan Page, though not as quickly as Callis and Omega had suggested he could. Following the match, Josh Alexander and Ethan Page showed some dissension. Page then spent several moments in the ring after trying to explain to anyone that would listen that everything is going to be fine.

Omega is scheduled to be back on Impact this week. He also has a match scheduled against Joey Janela on Dynamite. The full lineup for that show is below:

• No Disqualification, World Title-Eliminator
  Kenny Omega vs Joey Janela
• Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent), The Varsity Blondes (Brian Pillman Jr. & Griff Garrison), Top Flight(Darius Martin & Daunte Martin) & Brandon Cutler vs. The Inner Circle (Chris Jericho, Jake Hager, MJF, Ortiz, Sammy Guevara, Santana & Wardlow)
• Diamante & Ivelisse vs. Big Swole & Serena Deeb
• Cody Rhodes (w/Arn Anderson) vs. Angelico (w/Jack Evans)
• The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens & Max Caster) vs. SCU (Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian)
• Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen) & Matt Hardy vs. The Dark Order (Alex Reynolds & John Silver) & Adam Page

Kenny Omega defeated Laredo Kid at Saturday night’s TripleMania XXVIII event to retain the AAA Mega Championship.

Omega briefly spoke to the media backstage after the show. When asked who will be the next victim of The Cleaner, he named Vikingo. Omega said Vikingo is very good, he’s earned his respect, but is he good enough to be a champion? Maybe he’d like to find out. He teased, “I’ll be waiting.”

You can watch Kenny Omega’s challenge to Vikingo below:

In addition to holding AAA’s Mega Championship, Kenny Omega is also the reigning AEW World Champion. He’s been at the forefront of AEW’s new working relationship with Impact Wrestling.

Omega will appear on Tuesday’s Impact along with Don Callis. It looks like Omega is being positioned as a “belt collector” of sorts, so it’s probably only a matter of time before he crosses paths with Impact World Champion Rich Swan.

Kenny Omega battles Joey Janela this Wednesday on AEW Dynamite.

• “Kenny Omega Is The Top Wrestler on The Planet, Number 2 Is Not Even Close”

MJF has been one of AEW’s breakout performers since the promotion’s launch last year. The 24-year-old prodigy from Long Island, NY holds his own in the ring, but it’s his work on the microphone that has pundits comparing him to some of the best talkers in wrestling history.

MJF recently appeared on MMA Fighting’s What the Heck podcast. He displayed his trademark confidence when asked about comparisons to two of the UFC’s best trash talkers, Conor McGregor and Colby Covington.

“I think it’s cute in comparison to me,” he began. “It’s laughable, but I think they’re great in the world of MMA. If either of those two guys came into the world of AEW, they would be in a lot of trouble. They’d get absolutely verbally bent over, if you know what I mean.”

MJF acknowledged that McGregor and Covington are entertaining, but things would get ugly if they ever tested him on the mic.

“For what they do, I really enjoy what Conor McGregor did in the UFC. Colby Covington is somebody who understands how to get a reaction out of a crowd, whether positive or negative. And yeah, I enjoy what both of them did. But could they spar with me? No, absolutely not. That would not be good. I don’t think that would be good for anybody, honestly. It would be uncomfortable.”

What Got MJF Into Wrestling?

MJF revealed the match that got him ‘instantly hooked’ on pro wrestling was The Undertaker and Mankind’s Hell in a Cell match from WWE King of the Ring (1998).

Years later, he attended WWE Survivor Series 2002 from Madison Square Garden. When he saw Shawn Michaels win the first-ever Elimination Chamber match, he knew he wanted to be a pro wrestler.

“I remember Shawn Michaels won the match, and he was a bloody mess with his weird haircut. He hit the pose, and I just looked to my left and looked to my right and everybody was standing and screaming and yelling and crying. I just remember tugging my dad on the arm and saying, ‘Yeah I can do that.’ So, that’s where we’re at now, and I was right.”

MJF also spoke in-depth about AEW, why he believes we are currently in a “golden era” of wrestling and his love of being a heel.

“I love, love, love making people lay down in bed at night, put their head on their pillow, and go, ‘God, I hate that guy. I better tune in next week.’ And that’s that… You’re not being held back in AEW. Nobody is handing me a script in AEW because they know if they did, I’d chew it up and spit it in their face. That’s what All Elite Wrestling is – we’re all going out there and doing our thing, and we’re doing what we think the sport of professional wrestling is supposed to be.”

• MJF Reveals The Length Of His AEW Contract

You can listen to the full appearance in the YouTube player embedded below:

IMPACT Wrestling EVP and the ‘Invisible Hand’ behind the AEW Champion Don Callis recently appeared on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio. Callis discussed a number of topics during his time on the show, these included the buzz he and Kenny Omega have created and how his ‘family’ member is the best professional wrestler on the planet.

Callis would begin by discussing how the situation now is different for Omega, compared to when he was the ‘top guy’ in New Japan Pro Wrestling. “If you think about it? I don’t want to speak for Kenny, we haven’t spoken about this…but being the top guy in Japan? It is a very different proposition than coming in and being the face of a brand new wrestling promotion that everybody’s talking about.”

Throughout Omega’s initial run in AEW he has been portrayed as a babyface character. Don Callis would say that the rejuvenated ‘Cleaner’ esque style we’re now seeing is Omega being ‘comfortable’ in AEW.

Don Callis on Kenny Omega

“I think Kenny, just for the last year, didn’t feel totally comfortable and totally like he could be himself. One of the nice things about family? We feel comfortable, we feel we can be ourselves. And I think because of the bond that Kenny and I have that goes back two and a half decades? I think Kenny feels that he can be himself when I’m there.”

• Kenny Omega Challenges Joey Janella, No DQ Match Set For AEW Dynamite

Callis would also discuss the dynamic that he and Omega have on screen. “I think that we feed off each other. Dave Meltzer has described it over and over again as a Heenan/Bockwinkel type of dynamic; where both parties feed off the other one and it’s made to be a superior tandem. And I think that’s what we’ve seen, Kenny’s just comfortable and he’s comfortable being himself. I think Kenny would probably tell you that he’s just so much better at this than everybody else, and he really is. I mean, Kenny is the top wrestler on the planet, and number two is not close.”

Do you agree with Don Callis? Do you think that Kenny Omega is the best wrestler on the planet? Let us know in the comments

Mauro Ranallo departed from WWE for a second time a few months ago, which was a decision that he made. 

Ranallo is still busy by being a commentator in the combat sports world including calling boxing for Showtime. During an interview with POST Wrestling, he left the door open about possibly going to another wrestling promotion. With such a question, AEW is going to be brought up. 

“I’m not interested in going back to that kind of rigorous schedule [with WWE]. I would love to call professional wrestling still, and I’m glad that there are many promotions. 

I mean, AEW has been a win-win-win for them. Like the Monday Night Wars, I believe competition in every sense of the word should bring out the best in anyone. I’m just grateful there are that many more paying opportunities for the workers. So, never say never, John.”

Ranallo noted that he also wants to explore other options and gigs. He’s also enjoyed branching out as a performer and broadcaster in addition to being an advocate for mental health. 

He noted that he loves calling combat sports and wants to continue to do historic and monumental things. 

• Mauro Ranallo Addresses His Decision To Leave WWE

IMPACT Wrestling EVP and the ‘Invisible Hand’ behind the AEW Champion Don Callis recently appeared on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio. Callis discussed a number of topics during his time on the show, these included the buzz he and Kenny Omega have created and how his ‘family’ member is the best professional wrestler on the planet.

“I’ve said it on IMPACT” Don Callis would begin on Busted Open. “I didn’t get back in this business [just] to do the Killing The Town podcast. I certainly didn’t get back in it to be a commentator, there was always a plan. And it was? It was playing the long game.”

With Don Callis and Kenny Omega transitioning between both IMPACT and AEW over the past week, it has created some massive intrigue across the wrestling landscape. Callis would discuss how he and Omega have created a ‘buzz’ in wrestling, something that has been somewhat lacking over the past year or so with the pandemic.

Don Callis on ‘Buzz’

“One of the side benefits of that has been buzz” Callis would continue. “Buzz is one of the things that I think is difficult to create. If everyone could create it? Then everyone would have it, and everyone doesn’t have it. I don’t set out to try to make buzz or those sorts of things? But I do set out with a grand plan. I’ve always been big plan motivated.”

“I care about what happens in history, and they say the winners get to write the history” Callis stated. “Kenny Omega and I right now are in a position where we are writing the history. Two guys from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, are the talk of the wrestling business. We have not once, but twice, changed the entire wrestling business.”

• Update On When Kenny Omega Is Expected Back In Impact Wrestling

Listen to Don Callis on Busted Open Radio:

Are you excited about the ongoing Kenny Omega and Don Callis storyline? Who do you want to see Kenny Omega face in IMPACT and elsewhere? Let us know in the comments

A new match has been announced for Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite that will see Kenny Omega take on Joey Janela. It will be a No DQ Match. 

AEW ran an angle whereby Omega issued a challenge to Janela to a match after he heard fans complain that he beat defeated late replacement Sonny Kiss rather than Janela during the world eliminator tournament. Omega went on to win the tournament and then captured the AEW World title from Jon Moxley at Revolution.

AEW touted the match announcement by writing, “Omega won the Eliminator Tournament to become #1 contender to the #AEW World Title. His scheduled quarterfinals opponent Joey Janela couldn’t participate due to safety protocols. Now Janela can earn a title shot with a win on Wednesday in his preferred element No DQ Anything Goes.”

AEW Dynamite Card

• Kenny Omega vs. Joey Janella – No DQ Anything Goes Match (if Janella wins, he gets a World Title shot)
• Cody Rhodes with Arn Anderson vs. Angelico with Jack Evans
• Hangman Page, John Silver, and Alex Reynolds vs. Matt Hardy and Private Party
• The Acclaimed vs. SCU
• NWA Women’s World Champion Serena Deeb and Big Swole vs. Ivelisse and Diamante
• Inner Circle (Chris Jericho, MJF, Sammy Guevara, Santana, Ortiz, Jake Hager, and Wardlow) vs. Top Flight, Brandon Cutler, Varsity Blondes, and Best Friends.

Kenny Omega Set To Appear On Tuesday’s Impact Wrestling

Kenny Omega and Hangman Page held the AEW tag team titles for 228 days after defeating SCU on the Jericho Cruise. There was a lot of dissension teased throughout their run, however. They eventually dropped the belts to FTR at All Out and then faced each other in the finals of a tournament at Full Gear.

According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Hangman Page was expected to fully turn heel as part of this angle. The plans for this changed based on the fan response to Page, however.

Don Callis is believed to have pitched the idea of him and Omega in an angle together shortly after Page and Omega were put together as a team.

“The actual idea was suggested by Callis when Omega and Adam Page started their team and while Page was to come out as the heel at one point, that changed based on the early reaction to Page,” wrote Dave Meltzer.

He would continue to say that Page and Omega getting over as a team and the pandemic played a role in the angle being changed.

Page has wrestled just twice since the loss to Omega at Full Gear. He defeated John Silver on 11/19. He also competed in the Dynamite Diamond Battle Royal at Winter is Coming.

Miro closed out this week’s episode of Dynamite by attacking Orange Cassidy and allowing MJF to pick up the win in the main event and retain the Dynamite Diamond ring. The Bulgarian took to social media recently to post a video explaining his actions.

“Maybe that’s what I need to do to get everybody’s attention,” Miro said in the video, referring to his attack on Cassidy. “But I told you things are coming. I told you things are coming, I told you things are happening.”

“I screwed Orange? Orange screwed Orange, let’s not forget about that” he continued.

Miro continued to say that he’s all about the numbers now. This includes likes, subscribers, and overall clout. That’s what gives him control over his own career.

“I came from a situation where I didn’t have the clout or influence to steer my own career. That will never happen to me again. I’m all about the numbers now, and there’s not a single thing anyone in AEW could do about it. I am in control,” Miro said in the video. “Not Orange Cassidy, not the MJF, not anyone in All Elite Wrestling. Miro is in control now.”

Watch Miro’s video in the YouTube player embedded below:

It was a big week for AEW World Champion Kenny Omega and Impact Wrestling Vice President, Don Callis. They appeared on both Impact and AEW Dynamite this week. Omega teased on Impact that he had become something of a collector and alluded to perhaps wanting to win some of Impact’s championships.

According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Omega is expected back on Impact next week. He’s also expected to headline some PPVs for the promotion. Dave Meltzer wrote:

“We do know that Omega will make appearances on Impact television, including back on 12/15, and headline at least some Impact PPV shows.”

Impact teased a program between its world champion, Rich Swann, and Omega last week. Swann was seen being denied access to Omega and Callis’ luxury bus because he “wasn’t on the list.”

Swann is scheduled to defend the Impact World Championship against Chris Bey this Saturday at Final Resolution. The show will air on Impact’s streaming service, Impact Plus. Moose has also been angling for a shot at Swann’s title.

Original Plan For Kenny Omega & Hangman Page’s AEW Tag Team

Impact Final Resolution

The lineup for Impact’s Final Resolution event on Saturday is below:

• Impact World Championship
  Rich Swann (c) vs Chris Bey
• Karl Anderson vs Ethan Page
• Knockouts Championship
  Deonna Purrazzo vs Rosemary
• Tenille Dashwood & Kaleb vs Eddie Edwards & Alisha Edwards
• Old School Rules
  (If Larry D loses he’s charged with attempted murder, if he wins, he’s not)
  Larry D vs Tommy Dreamer
• Eric Young vs Rhino
• X-Division Championship
  Open Challenge (Defeat Rohit Challenge)
  Rohit Raju (c) vs TBA
• Hernandez vs Fallah Bah
• The Sea Stars vs Havok & Nevaeh

AEW Dynamite scored its highest unopposed viewership of 2020 this week, while NXT’s viewership was flat coming out of Sunday’s Takeover: WarGames event. Courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:

AEW Dynamite averaged 995,000 viewers and did a 0.45 rating in the P18-49 demographic. It was the 2nd most watched show on cable for the night in the key demo and the most watched show on cable amongst men 18-49.

This is up from last week, which did 913,000 viewers and a 0.42 rating (P18-49).

NXT had 659,000 viewers and did a 0.17 rating (P18-49) to finish 37th on cable for the night. The numbers were essentially the same last week (658,000 / 0.16), so there was no Takeover ‘bounce’ to speak of.

AEW is riding high on the momentum of Sting’s debut, the fallout of Kenny Omega winning the AEW championship and the AEW-Impact storyline.

WWE RAW on 12/7 averaged 1.736 million viewers with a 0.52 rating. Impact Wrestling on AXS on 12/8 averaged 221,000 viewers a 0.08 rating.

Last night on Dynamite, Penta El Zero M was scheduled to team with his brother Fenix and Lance Archer to go up against Eddie Kingston and the Butcher & The Blade. Early into the match, however, he was put through a table by the Butcher and taken to the back. According to a report from BodySlam, this was done because Penta is currently dealing with an injury. Penta reportedly suffered a leg injury while training a couple of weeks ago. The spot was done to explain his absense.

The Lucha Bros recently reunited with PAC as the Death Triangle. They are now in an angle with their former stable of Kingston and the Butcher and the Blade.

Also on Dynamite last night, Santana was absent from the Inner Circle’s ultimatum segment. Chris Jericho explained that he wasn’t there because of all the internal fighting that has been going on in the faction as of late. We’ve noted that Santana is dealing with a personal issue. He has since posted an emotional message on Instagram noting that his step-father recently passed away.

SEScoops sends our deep condolences to Santana and his family.

Wrestling Observer Radio posted early Thursday morning notes that he is expected back at Dynamite next week.

WWE Hall of Famer Booker T has discussed the idea of a Sting versus Chris Jericho match taking place in AEW. He broached the hypothetical bout during an episode of his Hall of Fame podcast after Jericho shared a fanmade image teasing interest in a match with “The Icon.”

Booker T argued that the image, which features Jericho in his NJPW Painmaker gear and makeup, managed to convince him. 

Referencing the Painmaker look, Booker T admitted, “You know what? I never thought about this. The blackjack with the spikes on. That was actually really cool. Nah man. It works.”

“Not that Sting can’t touch the career of Darby Allin and some of those other guys. I really think there’s a place there for him as a character. That’s one thing about wrestling is that no matter how old you are, you can still be a character.”

Booker T noted that, although Sting is 61-years-old, he can “still go out there and go.” He believes Sting can still deliver in the ring, even if it’s only “a little something.” As far as he’s concerned, a matchup between Sting and Jericho would deliver because it will “tell a story.”

“I think it really wouldn’t matter for him and a guy like Jericho. I really think they can go out there, pretty much, with smoke-and-mirrors, and tell a story. With no disrespect to anyone, I think there is enough knowledge in their head to do smoke-and-mirrors and tell the story, even at the age Sting is right now. Even still at the age of Chris Jericho right now, I think, no disrespect.”

Booker T On Why Jericho Is The Right Opponent For Sting

Booker T then likened a potential bout between the two to Shawn Michaels versus The Undertaker. He argued how “At that time, it was about 100 years [combined] because both them were about 50 at the time. And they went out and had the best match on the card by far that night. They told the best story by far that night on the card.”

He believes that Chris Jericho is the perfect opponent for Sting to not only deliver a good matchup but also protect him, ensuring “The Icon” can also walk out of the ring afterward. 

Booker T then speculated on a potential feud between the two. He imagined they could have as many as three matches together:

“So, my thing is yeah, who’s the right guy? […] Chris Jericho, take nothing away from the guy. Over the years, he has learned what the game is truly all about. He’s like a walking encyclopedia as far as the wrestling game goes. So yeah, I could see that happening, and surely the fans of AEW would tune in to check that out. Without a doubt.”

Sting appeared during last night’s episode of AEW Dynamite. He teased his intentions in the promotion during a segment with Cody and Darby Allin.

All Elite Wrestling’s Chris Jericho has reflected on how the late Pat Patterson helped his career. Jericho paid tribute to Patterson during a recent episode of his Talk is Jericho podcast.

The Inner Circle leader revealed how Patterson was the Yoda to his Luke Skywalker. He confessed how this wasn’t just true for him and that Patterson helped to influence and inspire “so many guys of my generation.”

“I was in the business nine years before I met him. I didn’t really understand what psychology was. I might have thought that I did, but I really didn’t until I met Pat,” Jericho explained. “Pat taught me 90% of what I know of how to put together a wrestling match. The mindset comes directly from Pat Patterson.”

Jericho then pointed to “modern era main-eventers,” naming Superstars like Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, The Rock, and Kurt Angle alongside himself. According to him, “Whoever is in there, Pat was our guy.”

He explained how Patterson was usually the agent assigned to their matchups. “[…] that’s just the way it was because you were working on top and Pat was always with the top guys.”

Chris Jericho On What Made Pat Patterson A Great Agent

Chris Jericho noted how working with Patterson on these high-level matchups was akin to collaborating with a co-writer on a song. Jericho may come up with an initial idea, and together, they would help change and evolve it into something better.

“Lower level agents would get insulted if you said you didn’t like the idea and they would get mad. Pat never said that. He would always say, here is what I’m visualizing. Then, ok, let’s try this. He would never get mad if you didn’t like it.”

Jericho admitted that Patterson wasn’t afraid to challenge an idea. Despite this, he maintained a humility that never saw him declare, ‘I’m Pat Patterson, so my idea is the best so listen to me.’ He wasn’t that type of an agent […].” Jericho explained that this collaborative approach is what made working with Patterson so fun.