AEW booked an interesting segment during this week’s episode of Dynamite. Cody Rhodes made his way out to the ring to cut a promo about how he wants another match with MJF and congratulated AEW TNT Champion Darby Allin on his win.
This led to Jade Cargill coming out, which marked her debut, to cut a promo about how Rhodes is a so-called, “giant killer.”
She’s been at ringside for several weeks and has been not only watching her competition but Cody as well. She noted she knows a giant of her own and revealed it was Shaquille O’Neal, or “Shaq.”
This led to Brandi Rhodes coming out and trading words with Jade. For those who may not know, O’Neal was backstage at this past weekend’s Full Gear. Shaq has previously teased wanting to wrestle Rhodes.
Jon Moxley did an interview with Fight Game Media and during it, he revealed that Eddie Kingston was not originally planned to be his most recent title contender.
Moxley successfully retained the AEW World Heavyweight Title against Kingston at the Full Gear PPV.
“I had a whole other set of plans for everything I was going to do with Lance (Archer), I had a whole different thing. I won’t reveal it in case I go back to it and do something similar. The thing with Eddie (Kingston), it was just a bridge for the night, like we have this big advertised main event but it’s 2020.”
Moxley continued by noting that the fans are sympathetic to the shows being changed at the last minute due to one of the wrestlers being in contact with someone who has COVID. Thus, his original match with Lance Archer was nixed and a new match with Kingston on Dynamite was made.
He knew as soon as the match was over after he had choked out Kingston that they had something as Kingston was saying he never tapped out and it was so obvious.
“So then, I Quit Match – four weeks of promos, easy money. I haven’t handpicked any opponent – whatever they’ve put in front of me for this whole title reign, whatever opponent, whatever style I just try to take on that new challenge every single time but this one I kind of gave a nod, it just makes all the sense in the world because we hadn’t finalized the plans yet for the pay-per-view.”
Moxley stated that Kingston said he never tapped and he instantly saw the whole story in his head. Moxley also noted that Tony Khan knew this as well so he gave them the confidence of doing the match at Full Gear.
#AEW champ Jon Moxley recorded another podcast with us. It will be up in a couple of hours.
If it was up to The Young Bucks, they wouldn’t be the AEW Tag Team Champions right now.
Nick and Matt Jackson recently spoke with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated to discuss their title win over FTR at last Saturday’s Full Gear pay-per-view event.
In this interview, Nick revealed that they wanted to wait until 2021 to win the straps because they didn’t think it would hurt them to not be the champions. However, AEW President & CEO Tony Khan wanted them to win the titles now so the title change was made.
“If we’d won them right away, there wouldn’t have been a struggle for our characters,” Nick said. “We actually wanted to hold back for another year, so winning now was a Tony [Khan] call, but I’m glad it happened at the pay-per-view. It felt special, and winning it from FTR in this rivalry, in a match we never thought would happen, took it over the top.”
Matt noted that they wanted their story to be painful by losing and when fans thought they would start winning again, they’d lose more matches. He noted that they know the feeling of when that pain turns to celebration. However, they believe the right time for them was now after talking with Khan.
Matt thinks they worked in arguably the biggest tag-team match of the last five years and did so by coming out with the titles in the company we helped start.
New Japan Pro Wrestling and Bullet Club star Tama Tonga recently discussed his ‘dream’ tag team matches on the Tama’s Island podcast.
“I don’t want to name just one team, I’m gonna name three” Tonga began on the podcast. “From WWE? Probably The Usos. Then the other two would be FTR and Lucha Bros.”
Tama Tonga on Dream Matches
Tonga would go on to say why he chose those specific teams. “That would be the three just because of their unique styles. They all represent a style. I feel that my brother (Tonga Loa) and I can mesh with each one of those styles. We’ve been to Mexico, we’ve done the Lucha style. We do the ground and pound and we kind of have like an old school style mixed in our in our repertoire, that I feel like FTR would be into that style.”
Tama Tonga would then hype a potential match with FTR even further. There has recently been rumors of a potential AEW and NJPW partnership, so these could be some very telling comments. “Just even the promos battle with them” Tonga stated. “Because I just feel…like even on social media? The things that we would do? I watched their social media and I think they’re very good at trash talking.”
Tonga would finish by saying “we would try to match them, not only in the ring? But all the outside shenanigans you know? The social media crap.”
Would you like to see GOD vs FTR in AEW or New Japan? Are there any other AEW vs NJPW matches you want to see? Let us know in the comments
Tony Khan did an interview with TSN to talk about a wide range of topics involving AEW. During the discussion, AEW’s President provided an update on the status of a third AEW show, which will be the second series to air on TNT.
It’s been well documented that Dynamite isn’t getting a third hour, but rather aside from Dynamite and Dark, which airs on YouTube, AEW will be having a new program arrive on TNT.
For the longest time, the belief was that the new show would air in 2020. However, Khan noted that the show is set to arrive on TNT in the coming months.
“It’s going to launch in 2021,” Khan said of the new show. “We’ve worked it out with TNT. It’s 100 per cent going to launch in 2021. I don’t have the exact date yet, but I would look out for it soon and it’s right around the corner.”
Khan continued by noting that he hopes to see growth for the promotion 2021 after a successful 2019 and 2020.
If the pay-per-views come in higher in 2021 than in 2020, that would be incredible and I’d like to see us hit new highs for Dynamite.”
Hoping to build upon the momentum AEW has built in 2020, Khan is confident that the company will continue to grow next year. Once again, he teased that AEW has some aces up their sleeve to help achieve this goal.
“I think we’ve got some big matches and some big surprises ahead where it’s going to be really possible to do that,” Khan said.
Other topics discussed include Le Dinner Debonair, the possibility of working with NJPW and wanting AEW to serve as a “hub” for other promotions. Check out the full interview here.
AEW President Tony Khan says this week’s episode of Dynamite will be an eventful one. (Dynamite Preview)
Saturday’s Full Gear pay-per-view brought multiple title changes, including Darby Allin capturing the TNT Championship from Cody Rhodes and the Young Bucks dethroning FTR for the AEW tag titles. We also saw MJF defeat Chris Jericho to earn a spot for himself and Wardlow in the Inner Circle.
In a tweet sent out Wednesday morning, Khan went above and beyond with his hype for the broadcast. In addition to a great lineup of matches, AEW fans were told to expect “massive surprises” ahead. He then said, “Please join us on TNT tonight, the balance of power in wrestling will shift tonight.”
Tonight we have a great lineup for #AEWDynamite Live on TNT at 8pm ET/7pm CT! For the rest of 2020, #AEW will keep delivering great matches on Wednesday Nights + there are massive surprises ahead! Please join us on TNT tonight, the balance of power in wrestling will shift tonight
The “balance of power in wrestling” shifting is a bold claim that would seem to describe an event more significant than MJF and Wardlow joining the Inner Circle. Even a scenario like the Inner Circle turning on Chris Jericho would fall short of Khan’s statement.
Perhaps we will see a new act debut or the return of PAC. AEW has a strong track record with post-PPV shows. The Dynamite after last year’s full gear featured the debut of Wardlow. After Revolution, we had the formation of Death Triangle (PAC, Penta El Zero M & Rey Fenix). FTR made their first AEW appearance after Double or Nothin and Miro made his debut after All Out.
The good news is that we will only have to wait a few more hours to find out what Tony Khan is talking about.
Discussion: What do you think Tony Khan is alluding to?
Matt Hardy and Sammy Guevara recently met in an Elite Deletion matchup at AEW Full Gear. Their clash was reportedly filmed about a week before the pay-per-view, according to Fightful Select.
Per the report, several wrestlers were involved in the creation of the match. Those involved in the Elite Deletion match were said to have had a lot of creative input. The overall backstage feedback for the bout was said to be positive.
Furthermore, Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline shared how fans in attendance for AEW Full Gear were “feeling tired” during the Elite Deletion confrontation.
The match is thought to have been purposefully scheduled after the AEW Tag Team Championship match between The Young Bucks and FTR. This was done to allow fans an opportunity to rest while enjoying something different.
The Elite Deletion featured cameos from AEW stars Private Party, Santana, and Ortiz. The match also saw former WWE Superstars Gangrel and The Hurricane make appearances.
Despite Guevara’s best efforts, Matt Hardy would eventually emerge victorious from their Elite Deletion clash.
Both Matt Hardy and Sammy Guevara have released behind-the-scene videos and additional footage of the match and its filming process. You can watch both videos below.
AEW Full Gear took place this past Saturday on November 7, from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida.
All Elite Wrestling’s Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF) believes his championship match against Jon Moxley gave the current AEW Champion the “best match of his title reign.”
Joining The Wrestling Inc. Daily podcast, MJF looked back on his championship opportunity against Moxley at All Out:
“I wish I could say enjoyed it, but he cheated. He cheated. He used an illegal maneuver in order to beat me because that’s the only way ‘Dictator Jon’ could beat me,” MJF stated. “Let’s face the facts, I gave him the best match of his title reign. If you don’t believe me, just watch it back. It was bar none the best Jon Moxley match he’s ever had in All Elite Wrestling, and it’s all thanks to me.”
MJF added how Moxley’s actions were “unfortunate.”
He stressed how Moxley had resorted to using “such a disturbingly, debilitating maneuver that was outlawed in that match-up.”
MJF added how, as he is an “honest human being,” cheating was something he would never do. He then shared how looking back on the match is a “bittersweet” experience.
Despite the loss, however, MJF acknowledged his personal pride in competing in the main event of a pay-per-view at only 24 years old. He then proclaied that it’s only a matter of time before he holds the AEW World Championship.
AEW has released new top-5 rankings ahead of tonight’s episode of Dynamite. Kenny Omega is now the top-ranked contender in the men’s singles division and Big Swole has moved up to the top spot in the women’s rankings.
AEW Men’s Singles Division
AEW World Champion: Jon Moxley (21-0) TNT Champion: Darby Allin (14-5)
Kenny Omega (7-0) (previously unranked)
MJF (10-1)
Cody Rhodes (20-3-1) (previously TNT Champion)
Brian Cage (10-1) (-3)
Ricky Starks (12-2) (previously unranked)
The men’s singles rankings were almost completely overhauled based on the results of AEW Full Gear. TNT Champion Darby Allin’s victory at Full Gear bumps Cody Rhodes to the #3 spot.
#1 Kenny Omega shoots to the top-ranked position after winning the title-eliminator tournament.
#2 MJF maintains his rankings this week after defeating the unranked Chris Jericho at AEW Full Gear.
#4 Brian Cage drops several spots after not competing at Full Gear. His “Team Taz” teammate Rick Starks sits just underneath him at #5. Both Starks and Cage might be interested in challenging for Darby Allin’s TNT title soon.
AEW Women’s Division
AEW Women’s Champion: Hikaru Shida (20-1)
Big Swole (11-4) (+3)
Nyla Rose (12-3) (-1)
Penelope Ford (9-5) (-1)
Serena Deeb (3-2) (Previously Unranked)
Dr. Britt Baker (6-6)
Champion Hikaru Shida defeated top-contender Nyla Rose at Full Gear. The loss for Rose drops her to the #2 spot in the rankings.
#1 Big Swole jumped several spots in the rankings this week. She picked up a win on Dark but also benefits from losses by Rose and inactivity from others in the division.
NWA Women’s Champion Serena Deeb debuts in the rankings. She defeated free agent Allysin Kay at Full Gear. It seems Thunder Rosa may want to run things back with Deeb again sometime soon, however.
#3 Penelope Ford drops one spot, mainly due to inactivity.
#5 Britt Baker stays put in the rankings.
AEW Tag Team Division
AEW Tag Team Champions: Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) (10-3)
The Young Bucks are the new AEW Tag Team Champions. The loss for FTR drops them to the #1 ranked spot in the division.
The only other movement in the rankings this week saw Jurassic Express and the Butcher and the Blade switch spots. Jurassic Express has picked up 3 straight wins on Dark.
This week’s live edition of AEW Dynamite will feature plenty of fallout from Saturday’s Full Gear pay-per-view. The following is an updated preview for Wednesday’s broadcast:
Penta El Zero M vs. Rey Fenix. This is a rematch from their recent battle in the opening round of the AEW World title eliminator tournament.
MJF and Wardlow will be officially inducted into Chris Jericho’s Inner Circle.
The Natural Nightmares vs. The Butcher & The Blade in a Bunkhouse Match
Scorpio Sky vs. Shawn Spears. This match was originally scheduled for last week’s Dynamite, but was postponed after Scorpio Sky exposed to someone with COVID-19.
Tay Conti vs. Red Velvet
FTW Champion Brian Cage vs. Matt Sydal
Plus, we will hear from new AEW World Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks and Cody Rhodes, who lost the TNT Championship to Darby Allin at Full Gear.
It’s worth noting that Tony Khan put out this cryptic tweet promoting Dynamite. The AEW President is teasing “massive surprises” – so massive that “the balance of power in wrestling will shift tonight.”
Tonight we have a great lineup for #AEWDynamite Live on TNT at 8pm ET/7pm CT! For the rest of 2020, #AEW will keep delivering great matches on Wednesday Nights + there are massive surprises ahead! Please join us on TNT tonight, the balance of power in wrestling will shift tonight
All Elite Wrestling’s Eddie Kingston believes that no one in the promotion is better than he is. Speaking with Busted Open Radio, Kingston shared his opinion on the matter. He explained that to survive in pro wrestling, it’s an ego-centric opinion he has to fully invest in.
“It feels good, but the ego in me goes, ‘Yeah, I know I’ve been the best’. When people hear that, they think I’m an egomaniac,” Kingston said. “You need a little bit of an ego to be in this business. I’m not going to sit here and tell you Jon [Moxley], Kenny [Omega], Hangman [Adam Page] are better than me. No one is better than me – that’s the attitude I have to have. If I’m going to survive and survive as long as I have in wrestling, I have to believe I’m the best.”
Kingston stressed how he has to believe he is the best promo guy and best in-ring worker. He explained how the day he wakes up and doesn’t think he can beat someone up is the “day I don’t get up.”
It’s an attitude and approach he attributes to his father. Kingston shared how “Every man bleeds, every man can get beat up. So if I wake up one day and I say to myself, ‘Well I can’t kick nobody’s a–‘, then I’m just not going to get up on my bed.”
Tuesday’s AEW Games 1.0 Special Event saw Kenny Omega officially announce three AEW video games. At the conclusion of the keynote presentation, Omega shared “one more thing” with fans: Hideyuki “Geta” Iwashita is officially on board to help develop games with AEW.
Iwashita was the director of the beloved Nintendo 64 game, WWF No Mercy, which was released back in 2000.
In an AEW press release following the event, the promotion discussed Iwashita’s involvement in the team:
“The event also featured the introduction of wrestling gaming mastermind and the newest AEW GAMES team member, Hideyuki ‘Geta’ Iwashita, best known for his work on the critically-acclaimed No Mercy for fifth-generation consoles.”
Hideyuki ‘Geta’ Iwashita
AEW Games
In the statement, Kenny Omega reflected how every so often, a “revolutionary company” comes along and changes everything.
He claimed that this is precisely what AEW is doing. Omega noted the ambition was as valid for pro wrestling as much as it was for AEW’s video games:
“When I first signed with AEW, I asked Tony Khan to let me help assemble the best gaming team on the planet, to make the best wrestling games ever. With masterminds like Geta and the incredible team at YUKE’S, we are well on the path to deliver a fresh, vastly superior gaming experience that our fans deserve.”
During AEW Games 1.0 Special Event, Omega was joined by Aubrey Edwards, Dr. Britt Baker, and Cody. Over the course of the event, they announced they had partnered with former WWE video game developer Yuke’s Co. Ltd. for its console games.
The highly-anticipated console games will be available on both current and next-generation hardware. They also announced mobiles games, AEW Elite General Manager, and the upcoming AEW Casino: Double or Nothing.
All Elite Wrestling has announced not one, but three new AEW video games. AEW Games has provided the first official details regarding an AEW console game, an ‘Elite General Manager’ game as well as AEW Casino: Double or Nothing.
The big news is that the AEW console game being developed by Yuke’s Co. Ltd, the company that developed WWE’s video games for nearly twenty years. The AEW console game will be available on current and next generation consoles.
Yukes is the studio behind the classic SmackDown! games and the ‘WWE 2K’ series up until WWE 2K19. WWE and Yukes parted ways in 2019 due to creative differences. WWE went on to partner with Visual Concepts for the release of WWE 2K20, a game riddled with bugs that flopped so hard that this year’s 2K21 installment was scrapped entirely.
Yukes also developed games for New Japan Pro Wrestling (2005, 2007) and UFC (2019-2012). In May 2019, the company announced plans to produce a wrestling-related video game to compete with WWE’s 2K franchise. (More on the split).
For more on the ‘Elite General Manager’ and ‘Casino: Double or Nothing’ games, visit AEWGames.com.
Lance Archer is currently the #3 ranked wrestler in AEW’s men’s singles division. So far, his only losses in the promotion have been to Cody Rhodes and Jon Moxley. He spoke with Chris Van Vliet recently and talked about his “Everybody Dies” gimmick as well as what led to him signing with AEW.
“There’s kind of that underlying meaning to the phrase ‘Everybody Dies’ that’s like everybody’s career ends at some point. I’ve been lucky and blessed over 20 years now and still going strong and at a top level with a top company in the business of professional wrestling but at some point, it will come to an end. I don’t know when and I don’t plan on it being any time soon,” Archer said on the show.
Lance Archer On Signing With AEW
The Murderhawk was also asked about what led to his signing with AEW last year.
“It was December of 2019 when I had just finished up the New Japan Tag League tour literally two days prior and AEW came to town to Dallas, Texas so I went there just to see some friends and whatnot because there’s a lot of people that I’ve been around the business with and become really good friends with. That was kind of where the seed was planted because people were asking what my situation was. And at that time, my situation with New Japan was that I did not have a full-time contract.”
Archer continued to say that his deal with NJPW was tour by tour and that he had done that for over 8 years. He also expressed he feels quite fortunate with all the places he’s gotten to wrestle throughout his career.
“I’ve worked in a lot of different places from TNA to WWE for a short cup of coffee, I showed up in Ring of Honor a few times, I worked down in Mexico with AAA and different places like that. So I’ve bounced around and been a journeyman to say the least.”
Priscilla Kelly and Darby Allin were married in November of 2018. In August, Kelly announced on Twitter that the couple was going through a divorce. Kelly noted at the time that they were not on bad terms and wished the best for each other. She appears to be happy for Darby’s recent success at AEW Full Gear, where he defeated Cody Rhodes for the TNT Championship.
She took to Twitter to congratulate Allin on the win:
It’s crazy watching someone start from barely having money to eat to taking over the world. No one deserves it more, and I’m super proud to have been there to watch him grow over the years into who he is as a performer today.
“The last few months have been extremely difficult, and there’s been a lot of questions. Not only due to Covid and the loss of work for myself, but also due to the fact that Darby and I have been going through a divorce.”
“There’s been a lot of ups and downs, but we have come to the conclusion that we are just not compatible together as people. We are on great terms, and wish only the best for each other. There are no hard feelings, as we both understand this is what is best. I know a lot of you have supported us for a long time as a duo, and we appreciate it so much, but this decision is what’s best for both of us and our wellbeing. I hope to see him continue his rise in the entertainment industry and take the world by storm as he already is. As for me, it’s time to begin a new chapter.”
AEW has released the first promo video hyping Revolution, the company’s next pay-per-view event scheduled for Saturday, February 27th. The main event will likely be AEW World Champion Jon Moxley defending against World Title Eliminator Tournament winner Kenny Omega.
Since AEW pay-per-views take quarterly, AEW typically presents special editions of Dynamite midway through the 3-month breaks. Previous events have included FyterFest and Bash at the Beach. AEW president Tony Khan noted that ‘Beach Bash’ will take place some time in January.
The AEW: Countdown to Full Gear special that aired on TNT this past Friday night at 11pm (Eastern) averaged 245,000 viewers and did a 0.09 in the Adults 18-49 demographic. This viewership is down from September’s Countdown to AEW All Out special, which did 357,000 viewers and 0.14 in the demo. However, it’s not an apples-to-apples comparison. The All Out countdown show aired Saturday at 5:30PM (EST) just hours before the PPV.
Eddie Kingston is still processing his loss to AEW World Champion Jon Moxley at Saturday’s Full Gear pay-per-view. After losing the hard-fought “I Quit” match, it looks like Kingston broke his phone out of frustration.
Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows signed with Impact Wrestling earlier this summer. There are also rumors that the pair will head back to Japan for NJPW when the world opens back up. They are 3x IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions in the promotion.
Recently, NJPW announced that Impact’s Chris Bey will be part of the J-Cup tournament. Historically, the tournament has always involved lighter weight champions from other promotions but Rocky Romero believes Bey’s involvement will help rebuild a better relationship between the two companies.
“I think it’s just him being involved is obviously important to rebuilding a relationship with IMPACT! and New Japan. I’ve gotta say, like you said with the Full Keg special being a part of it was a big deal. Even IMPACT! being so cool with shouting out New Japan Strong and New Japan World on the special as well. I think it’s just little steps here and there. I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future obviously, but I think it’s definitely moving in the right direction. They’re definitely are more friendly than they have been for a very long time. That’s for certain. I think it’s a testament to the Good Brothers and their relationship with both companies and how they’re so important for both companies and the respect is deep there. I think they have a lot to do with it as well,” Romero said to Fightful.
Karl Anderson On Impact & NJPW Relationship
Karl Anderson also spoke about repairing the relationship between Impact and NJPW during the interview. In particular, Anderson noted that he believes the two companies will be working with each other by the summer.
“I think all that’s going to be repaired as well. Because there’s a whole new regime at IMPACT! right now. I think us moonwalking into IMPACT! and being so close with the higher-ups there and then with Rock working with us and us being close with the higher-ups in New Japan as well. We’re all working really hard to repair everything. I think by the summer 2021, there’s going to be a lot of big shit that’s happened by then. Especially once we can get the world opened back up. It’s a game-changer,” Anderson said.
Anderson will team with Doc Gallows tonight on Impact to challenge the North for the promotion’s tag-team championships.
Cody Rhodes says he plans to retire from in-ring action in 5 years when he’ll be 40-years-old. In a recent interview with the Bleacher Report, Rhodes stated that he has political aspirations which could include running for the Senate in his home state of Georgia.
“I have a ton of desire to do more acting so long as it doesn’t conflict with my job here,” Rhodes said. “I’m 35, and I said I only wanted to wrestle for five more years. I have political aspirations. I would love to run for the Senate in the great state of Georgia. I want to help with the sphere of influence I have created. I always say if you do the work, it will pay off. That is why I love Brandi. She is so incredibly hardworking, and we have to remind each other to be present often, but when we are it’s very special.”
Rhodes recently lost the TNT Championship at AEW Full Gear to Darby Allin. He recently regained the ability to use the in-ring last name of “Rhodes” after a trademark battle with WWE. The 35-year-old had been wrestling as just Cody since leaving Vince McMahon’s company in 2016.
Gangrel and The Hurricane both appeared in the Elite Deletion match at AEW Full Gear. During the post-event media scrum, Tony Khan was asked about their involvement and what could be next for them in the promotion.
“I’m not sure, you know, you never know. To be honest, I don’t have either of them booked on anything in the next loop or in the immediate future but I’m also really open to both of them coming back.”
“I was at the compound for the Deletion producing the match and I spent time with both guys. I’ve known Shane for awhile and I had never met Gangrel before and I really enjoyed spending time with both guys and I’d love to see both of them come back at some point, I think that’d be a lot of fun.”
Impact Wrestling EVP Don Callis was also on the show. He provided commentary during the Kenny Omega vs Hangman Page match. Callis and Omega go way back and are both from Winnipeg. Khan addressed Callis’ role at Full Gear as well during the post-event media scrum.
“It was definitely something I did for Kenny and I put it together with Impact and agreed for Don to come, he’s an executive there. I’d love to have Don back in the future and I’m open to working with people. I think we’ve demonstrated multiple times that AEW is probably the most friendly major company, definitely right now.”
WWE recently abandoned its request to renew its trademark of the name “Cody Rhodes”. Cody recently dropped his attempt to trademark several WCW PPV names as well, including “Slamboree”.
According to information publicly available on the US Patent and Trademark Office website, WWE filed to trademark several WCW PPV names recently including those Cody had been attempting to obtain.
WWE filed to trademark the following terms on November 3rd:
Slamboree
The Match Beyond
Bunkhouse Stampede
BattleBowl
Superbrawl
Bash at the Beach
WWE and Cody File To Trademark Similar Terms
WWE filed to trademark the term “Slamboree” just one day after abandoning its request to trademark “Cody Rhodes” on November 2nd. Cody had also recently abandoned his trademark filing for “The Match Beyond”. WWE then filed to trademark that same term on November 3rd.
WWE filed for “Bunkhouse Stampede” on November 3rd as well. There is no record of Cody having attempted to trademark that term.
WWE filed to trademark the term “BattleBowl” on November 3rd. Cody had attempted to trademark this term all the way back in March 2019.
Cody abandoned his attempt to trademark the “Superbrawl” name on October 30th. WWE then filed to trademark the name on November 3rd.
WWE filed on November 3rd to trademark the term “Bash at the Beach”. Cody had filed to trademark the term last year. AEW did hold some events last year under the Bash at the Beach moniker.
Based on the timing of these filings, it appears some deal between WWE and Cody Rhodes has been worked out.
AEW President Tony Khan discussed the highly-anticipated AEW video game during the Full Gear virtual media scrum following Saturday’s pay-per-view.
Khan confessed he can’t say too much about what AEW has lined up. He noted, however, that multiple games are in the works.
“We’re making multiple games. We’re working on more than one game in AEW games and we’re going to cater to multiple platforms. We’re going to cater to different kinds of games and different interests,” Khan said. “I think we’ll put a title out, a console game that’s best in class for a console game. We’re really excited about it.”
He also shared how future AEW shows could “impact our video game plans.” Tony Khan then noted how the promotion intends to release something for fans that “[…] love putting wrestling cards up together and love to be in the position that I am which is the general manager of AEW.”
AEW recently announced it will be hosting an AEW Games Special Event. It is speculated that news about a planned console release will be made alongside a suspected mobile game that will allow fans to assume the role of a General Manager.
The promotion recently filed trademarks for the terms “All Elite Wrestling: General Manager” and “Elite GM.” Coupled with Tony Khan’s statement, it seems the announcement of an AEW General Manager game is only a matter of time.
AEW Games Special Event takes place on Tuesday, November 10th at 6/5C. Fans can tune in on AEWGames’ YouTube channel and follow updates via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
All Elite Wrestling President Tony Khan has addressed fan criticism regarding AEW’s women’s division. During AEW’s Full Gear virtual media scrum, he explained how he understood the feedback he’s been seeing. He also acknowledged the confusion revolving around the dynamic between Nyla Rose and Vickie Guerrero.
“I understand what people are saying about the division. I should have probably done better to put some of Nyla’s story when she said she wasn’t going to wrestle again hand Vickie said she was going to wrestle again until they got the title shot,” Khan explained.
Khan noted that he should have further developed the Rose/Guerrero story on Dynamite to reach AEW’s wider audience. He confessed he forgets that only about “half the audience” tunes in for Dark each week.
“I should have used that on Dynamite more. I watch Dark very closely and work on Dark very closely and book Dark, so I’m obviously watching Dark, but I forget sometimes that there’s about half the audience watches Dark for us, typically.”
Tony Khan explained how Vickie Guerrero’s schedule had several conflicting dates in it. This meant she wasn’t available at all times, making it challenging to book her and Rose to further their story as Khan would have liked.
“[…] the time in the real world, Vickie was not able to come those weeks, not because she was sick, but because it was a conflict that she always had,” Khan said. “So I gave her that time off and I probably should have made it clear… There’s a lot to putting the shows together.”
Nyla Rose recently competed for the AEW Women’s Championship at Full Gear. She lost to Hikaru Shida.
AEW Full Gear aired tonight from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville. In addition to the takeaways below, Thunder Rosa confronted Serena Deeb after she succesfully defended the NWA Women’s Championship during the Buy In.
Match Recap: Hangman refused to shake Omega’s hand and the two locked up in the middle of the ring. Page connected with a couple shoulder tackles and followed it up with a chop to the throat. Kenny sent Page out of the ring with a Hurricanrana. Hangman hopped back in and leveled Omega with a boot to the face. Page followed it up with a Fallaway Slam and Kenny rolled to the ring apron to regroup.
Page hit Omega with a Suplex off the second rope for a near fall. The action spilled outside the ring and Page sent Omega into the barricade. Page tried to do it again but Omega hopped on top of the barricade and connected with a Moonsault. Back in the ring, Omega connected with a slam for a near fall.
Kenny followed it up with another Moonsault off the middle rope for a two count. Hangman battled back and hit Omega with a Clothesline that knocked him to the floor outside the ring. Hangman went for a Crossbody but Omega dodged it and connected with a Dropkick.
Omega flipped onto Hangman outside the ring. Back in the ring, Omega climbed to the top rope and connected with a Dropkick for a two count. Page booted Omega in the face and set up for the Buckshot Lariat. Kenny was ready and countered with a V-Trigger that sent Hangman tumbling to the entrance ramp.
Kenny followed Page out there and Hangman connected with a massive Powerbomb. Hangman hit another Powerbomb and went for the cover but Omega was able to kick out at the last moment. Omega connected with a Snap German Suplex but Hangman popped up and hit a Clothesline for a near fall.
Hangman went for the Buckshot Lariat but Omega ducked under it. Page rolled up Omega but Kenny was able to kick out at the last moment. Kenny hit a Dragon Screw and followed it up with a knee to the face. Omega dodged another Buckshot Lariat and hit Page with a V-Trigger. Omega then planted Hangman with the One Winged Angel. Kenny Omega is the #1 contender for the AEW Championship.
Opinion: I thought this match was awesome and a great way to begin Full Gear. The only complaint I have about this match is that it didn’t go on for another ten minutes.
Orange Cassidy battled John Silver tonight at Full Gear.
Match Recap: Cassidy put his hands in his pockets to start off the match. Silver went for a punch but Orange countered into an Arm Drag. Orange put his hands back in his pockets and hit a few lazy kicks. Cassidy leveled Silver with a Dropkick and posed for the crowd.
Silver planted Cassidy with a Body Slam and then ripped the pockets out of Orange’s pants. Cassidy went for a DDT but Silver countered into a Suplex for a two count. Silver went for a Superplex but Cassidy blocked it. Cassidy connected with a Michinoku Driver for a two count.
John Silver hit Cassidy with a few kicks and rolled up Orange for a near fall. Cassidy connected with the Stundog Millionaire but turned around into the Spin Doctor from Silver for a two count. Cassidy hit the Orange Punch and then the Beach Break for the pinfall victory.
Match Recap: Cody controlled the action early and shoved Allin to the corner of the ring. Rhodes flexed and the two wrestlers locked up in the middle of the ring. Cody tripped Allin up and then mockingly offered him a hand. Allin hopped up and slapped Rhodes in the back of the head.
Rhodes rolled out of the ring and had a conversation with Arn Anderson. Allin connected with a Suicide Dive and then made his way to the top rope. Cody brought him down and then launched Darby onto the entrance ramp outside the ring.
Cody hit Allin with an Arm Drag and locked in an Armbar. Darby battled through the pain and got his toe on the ropes to break up the hold. Cody started doing pushups and Arn Anderson flipped out and told Rhodes to focus. Cody went for a Moonsault but Allin was able to get out of the way.
Allin planted Rhodes with a Destroyer for a near fall. Cody and Darby then battled on the turnbuckle. Cody connected with a Cross Rhodes off the top rope and went for the cover but Darby’s arm was under the ropes. Rhodes started climbing up the turnbuckle but Darby locked in a Sleeper Hold.
Cody carried Darby all the way to the top rope and broke the hold with a Back Drop. Allin rolled out of the ring to regroup as Arn Anderson shouted at Darby to stay down. Rhodes hit Allin with a Body Slam for another two count. Cody went for the Disaster Kick but Allin countered into a cover for a near fall.
Allin hit Cody with a Stunner and made his way to the top rope. Darby connected with Coffin Drop and went for the cover but the TNT Champion was able to kick out at two. Cody and Darby traded roll-ups and Allin covered Rhodes to become the new TNT Champion. After the match, Cody presented Darby Allin with the TNT Championship as the crowd chanted “you deserve it!”.
Taz interrupted and said he needs a plastic bag because he is going to vomit. Taz told Darby and Cody to take their “bitch asses” to the back. Brian Cage and Ricky Starks then attacked Rhodes and Allin from behind. Starks leveled Arn Anderson and followed it up with a Spear to Allin. Cage and Starks had a tug of war over the TNT Championship before leaving the ring. Brian Cage slammed on top of a car and was about to slam the car door on his arm but Will Hobbs broke it up.
Jon Moxley vs. Eddie Kingston proved to not just be all talk, but had some pretty good action.
Kingston challenged Moxley for the AEW World Heavyweight Title in the main event of the Full Gear pay-per-view event in Jacksonville, Florida.
The I Quit match went violent very quickly. They were bleeding within minutes. There were various weapons used such as barbed wire, chairs, thumbtacks, and more. Moxley went through thumbtacks and Eddie poured rubbing alcohol on Moxley’s back before punching him with tacks. Moxley put in the bulldog choke with barbed wire for the finish.
The two stars had previously worked a match before. Moxley retained the AEW World Championship over Kingston back on the September 23rd episode of Dynamite.
The finish of that match saw Moxley make Kingston pass out. Thus, while Kingston did drop a loss, he never tapped out. Fast forward to the October 14th edition of Dynamite. Moxley had beaten Lance Archer in yet another title defense.
After the match, Kingston did a promo about Moxley and pointed out that he never tapped out. Kingston then attacked the champion. The following week AEW added the I Quit stipulation to the bout.
What are your thoughts on Jon Moxley retaining the AEW World Heavyweight Title? Was this the right call by AEW officials? Sound off in the comment section.
The unlikely match between Chris Jericho and MJF took place at the AEW Full Gear pay-per-view event in Jacksonville, Florida at Daily’s Place.
The match featured a stipulation, which was if MJF won then he could join up with the group. Jericho was a babyface with the fans and MJF a total heel. That was the dynamic of this contest. Near the end, they did some near falls with Jericho connecting with the likes of Walls and codebreaker.
The finish saw Wardlow distracting the referee and Jericho was going to hit MJF with a bat, but MJF did the famous Eddie Guerrero fake sell to roll him up. MJF is now in the group.
After a few weeks of slow build up to this match, AEW had some interesting segments in the final three weeks of Dynamite. On the October 21st show, AEW did a “La Dinner Demonair” segment.
The segment started off with both men ordering dinner while going back and forth Tension increased as they tried to one-up each other until they started signing.
Fast forward to the October 28th episode, Inner Circle held a Town Hall Meeting to determine if MJF could join up with the group. Obviously, a decision wasn’t made, but it turned out to be an entertaining segment as Eric Bischoff got to ask a question about how they would know the other wouldn’t attack them once in the group. The end of the segment saw Jericho toss out the challenge to a match at Full Gear.
