Jon Moxley has been the AEW World Champion throughout the pandemic and he has been the unofficial face of the company through the ordeal.
The former WWE star has found himself in a similar position to his former college and best friend Roman Reigns and during a recent interview, the AEW Champion revealed if he ever compares himself to the Big Dog.
Mox had an interview with Sports Illustrated ahead of the anniversary episode of Dynamite and when asked if he ever compares his work to Roman, the former Dean Ambrose claimed that he doesn’t pay much attention to it:
“I don’t pay much attention or compare myself to anybody else, for me, it’s all about visualizing what I want in my head and then actualizing it in the ring. I just want to create my own vision, so I’m not comparing that with anyone else.”
Jon Moxley also talked about being the guy who is carrying the torch during a pandemic and he revealed that he didn’t picture himself in a good-guy, protagonist role when he first joined the promotion.
Apart from this, the former WWE Champion talked about things like his match with Lance Archer, how coronavirus has forced them to change a lot of plans and more. You can check out his full interview at this link.
AEW Dynamite aired live from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville. It was the one year anniversary show and all titles were defended tonight. Private Party, Silver & Reynolds (Dark Order), Butcher & Blade, and the Young Bucks will compete next week. The winners will face FTR at Full Gear for the AEW Tag Team Championships.
FTR def. Best Friends to retain the AEW Tag Team Championships
Miro & Kip Sabian def. Lee Johnson & Sean Maluta
Cody retained the TNT Championship in a time limit draw
Hikaru Shida def. Big Swole to retain the AEW Women’s Championship
Jon Moxley def. Lance Archer to retain the AEW Championship
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
FTR Retained The AEW Tag Team Championships
FTR defended the AEW Tag Team Championships against Best Friends (Trent & Chuck Taylor) in the first match of the night. Tully Blanchard was ringside.
Match Recap: Wheeler leveled Chuck with a shoulder tackle to start the match off. Wheeler and Chuck locked up int he middle of the ring and Cash brought him to the corner. Dax Harwood tagged in and walked into a couple of shoulder tackles from Chuck Taylor.
Trent tagged in and traded chops with Harwood in the middle of the ring. Cash tagged in and slammed Trent into the ropes. Harwood followed it up with a Back Suplex and Wheeler went for the cover but Trent was able to kick out at two. Dax tagged back in and hit Trent with an elbow to the face for a two count.
FTR dominated the next couple of minutes and took turns beating down Trent. The crowd started up a “Best Friends!” chant as Trent attempted to battle back. Harwood prevented Trent from tagging out and brought him back to the corner of the ring. Wheeler tagged back in and applied a Headlock to Trent.
Trent escaped with an Arm Drag and followed it up with a few punches to Wheeler’s face. Trent connected with a massive Clothesline and both wrestlers fell to the canvas. Harwood tagged in and knocked Chuck off the apron so Trent couldn’t make the tag.
Harwood hit a Back Drop off the top turnbuckle and Cash tagged back in. Wheeler went for the cover but Trent kicked out at two. Chuck finally tagged in and leveled Wheeler and Harwood with a series of Clotheslines. Chuck flipped onto FTR outside the ring and smiled to the camera.
Back in the ring, Chuck hit Harwood with a Falcon Arrow but Dax was able to kick out at two. Tully tripped up Trent and Harwood capitalized with a Splash for a two count. Trent tagged in and leveled Wheeler with a running knee to the face for another near fall.
Wheeler battled back with a Clothesline and tagged in Harwood. Dax planted Trent with a Powerbomb and went for the cover but Trent was able to kick out. Harwood followed it up with another Back Drop for a two count. Trent made his way to the top rope but Harwood tripped him up. Harwood went for another Back Drop off the top rope but Trent countered into a Crossbody for a two count.
Trent planted Wheeler with a DDT and then hit another one on Dax for a two count. Best Friends hit Strong Zero and went for the cover but Wheeler broke it up at the last moment. Cash planted Chuck with a Brainbuster outside the ring but got sent over the barricade by Trent.
Trent went for a Spear but Cash got out of the way and Trent crashed into the arcade cabinet that Kip Sabian was playing on. Kip told Penelope Ford to go get something and she sprinted backstage. Back in the ring, Trent hit Dax with a DDT and Chuck Taylor tagged in.
Chuck lit up Harwood’s chest with a few chops but Cash hit Chuck with the title. Harwood then pinned Chuck Taylor for the victory. FTR are still the AEW Tag Team Champions. Miro then rushed the ring and attacked Best Friends. Miro hit Chuck with a Suplex and Sabian hit Trent with a kick to the face.
Opinion: I loved this match up until the last couple minutes. I didn’t enjoy the arcade cabinet getting destroyed and don’t really want to see a feud revolving around video games.
Miro and Kip Sabian faced Sean Maluta and Lee Johnson tonight on Dynamite.
Match Recap: Miro beat the hell out of Maluta and then knocked Lee Johnson off the ring apron. Miro sent Johnson into the barricade and then leveled Maluta with a Clothesline. Kip Sabian tagged in and hit Maluta with a Splash. Miro tagged right back in applied the Game Over (Accolade). After the match, Kip Sabian said that Best Friends has gone too far by breaking his arcade game. Miro added “Good Friends, you break my shit it is game over”.
MJF came to the ring with Wardlow for a “major announcement”. MJF claimed that the reason the crowd was booing him was because they were jealous. He added that he has accomplished more in one year in Dynamite than everyone in the crowd will accomplish in their lives. MJF then asked Chris Jericho to come down to the ring.
Inner Circle came down to the ring in the jackets that MJF gifted them. Sammy Guevara was just wearing a Inner Circle shirt and refused to put on the jacket that MJF gave him. Jericho demanded that Sammy put it on and the jacket was several sizes too big.
MJF complimented Jericho on his body and his hair. MJF asked if he could touch Jericho’s hair and Le Champion let him. Jericho then told Max to cut the shit and asked him what his announcement was. MJF stated that he was sensing some hostility and he didn’t want that.
MJF said that he and Jericho are the two biggest draws in AEW and referred to himself as the “Ratings Ruler”. MJF stated that they have mutual respect for each other because they are both predators. He noted that they have been great on their own but what if they worked together. MJF said that he “kind of, sort of, might” want to join the Inner Circle.
Ortiz told MJF that they don’t want him in the Inner Circle and asked Jericho if they could leave. Jericho said that they need some time to think about it and asked MJF if he wanted to have a steak dinner next week. MJF shouted “you’re on!” and the two shook hands.
Jon Moxley successfully made his latest defense of the AEW World Heavyweight Championship.
The title match took place on Wednesday’s special episode of AEW Dynamite on TNT as it served as the anniversary show.
It was booked in the main event from Jacksonville, Florida at Daily’s Place. Archer challenged Moxley for the strap but fell short in his attempt.
The match featured various brawling and weapons being used. They even went through doubles tables. The finish of the match saw Moxley roll up Archer for the win. After the match, Eddie Kingston, Pentagon, and Fenix came out to the ring. Kingston cut a promo about how he never actually lost to Moxley then attacked Moxley to close the show.
Archer earned this title opportunity last month at the AEW All Out pay-per-view event. Archer took part in the 21-man Casino Battle Royale, which he won by last eliminating Eddie Kingston.
The AEW All Out pay-per-view event will take place on Saturday, November 7th, 2020 in Jacksonville, Florida at Daily’s Place. This will be the final PPV event of the year for AEW.
Moxley has yet to receive an opponent at this show, but with it quickly approaching, that should be changing soon.
AEW has announced the full bracket for the World Title Eliminator tournament.
There will be 8 competitors in the tournament. Penta El Zero M, Rey Fenix, Kenny Omega, Joey Janela, Colt Cabana, Hangman Page, Wardlow, and Jungle Boy have been confirmed. The purpose of this tournament is to crown a new number 1 contender for the AEW World Championship.
AEW has released the brackets for the tournament, which you can see here:
Penta El Zero M vs. Rey Fenix
Kenny Omega vs. Joey Janela
Colt Cabana vs. Hangman Page
Wardlow vs. Jungle Boy
Based on these brackets, it does set up the possible finals match of omega vs. Page, which would be an interesting match since they split as a tag team.
The AEW All Out pay-per-view event will take place on Saturday, November 7th, 2020 in Jacksonville, Florida at Daily’s Place. This will be the final PPV event of the year for AEW.
The four quarterfinal matches will take place on the October 21st episode of Dynamite and the two semifinal matches set for the October 28th Dynamite.
Jon Moxley says he plans to wrestle for at least another decade and expects to retire in All Elite Wrestling.
AEW’s reigning World Champion spoke with Jim Alexander of ReelTalker.com this week to promote the AEW Dynamite Anniversary special. Moxley spoke about his time in AEW thus far, his new movie Cagefighter and more.
When asked if he has any plans to wrestle for WWE before retiring, Moxley made it clear – he will “definitely” finish his career in AEW.
“I’ve become great friends with Tony Kahn, who is a great dude and the most successful promoter outside of Vince in many years,” he said. “We’ve been able to create something as a team and to get through the challenge of this pandemic, and well, stay alive [as a promotion]. I’m incredibly proud of everybody.”
Moxley is the face of AEW, but also competes for New Japan Pro Wrestling and other companies, such as Bloodsport this past weekend. His AEW contract allows him the flexibility to work elsewhere, but the Jacksonville-based promotion will “definitely always” be his home.
“It’s just done so much for me, and I’ve done everything I could to help build the brand and solidify it as a legit alternative,” he said of AEW. “It’s vital to the wrestling industry that AEW be successful. I don’t see that changing ever. I have loyalty to the people who treat me well and they have treated me extremely well.”
As for how long he plans to continue wrestling, the 34-year-old Moxley says he’d like to wrestle into his 50’s.
“I’d like to wrestle till I’m in my 50’s, hopefully,” Moxley said. “Whatever that means? I don’t know.”
Visit ReelTalker.com to check out their full interview with AEW Champion Jon Moxley.
All Elite Wrestling marks the one year of Dynamite tonight with a special 1-Year Anniversary of their flagship show.
To mark the occasion, AEW has booked a stack card. For the first time ever, all [sanctioned] championship belts will be up for grabs.
There are five matches signed for this week’s live AEW Dynamite:
AEW World Champion Jon Moxley defends against “The Murderhawk Monster” Lance Archer. Archer earned the title shot by winning the Casino Battle Royal at All Out.
Best Friends will challenge FTR for the AEW World Tag Team Championships. This bout will carry the “Brush With Greatness” stipulation with a 20-minute time limit.
AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida will face Big Swole.
“The Best Man” Miro & Kip Sabian will be in action.
In addition to these matches, MJF (with Wardlow) is scheduled to make a huge announcement.
AEW has released new rankings ahead of tonight’s special Anniversary episode of Dynamite. All championships will be on the line tonight.
AEW Men’s Singles Division
AEW World Champion: Jon Moxley (19-0) TNT Champion: Cody (19-2)
Lance Archer (13-1)
Brian Cage (9-1)
MJF (9-1)
Brodie Lee (8-2) (TNT champion last week)
Scorpio Sky (8-2)
The only movement in the men’s singles division this week sees Cody reclaim his spot as the TNT Champion. After losing the title in a dog-collar match, Brodie Lee drops to #4, the exact spot Cody was ranked at last week.
Two big title matches take place in the division this week. Cody will defend against unranked Orange Cassidy. Jon Moxley will also look to defend the AEW World Championship against #1 ranked Lance Archer.
AEW Women’s Division
AEW Women’s Champion: Hikaru Shida (17-1)
Nyla Rose (11-2)
Big Swole (10-3)
Penelope Ford (9-5)
Abadon (5-1)
Dr. Britt Baker (5-6)
There was no movement in the women’s singles division this week. #1 ranked Nyla Rose sent a message on Dark, however. Vickie Guerrero said that Rose won’t wrestle on Dark anymore until she gets another shot at champion Hikaru Shida.
#2 Big Swole will get a title shot tonight on the Anniversary show as well.
AEW Tag Team Division
AEW Tag Team Champions: FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) (11-0)
Best Friends (17-6)
Young Bucks (7-3)
The Natural Nightmares (8-2)
Butcher and the Blade (9-5)
Santana & Ortiz (8-5)
There was no movement in the men’s tag-team division this week. Last week on Dynamite, FTR successfully defended their belts against the unranked TH2.
Tonight on Dynamite, the titles will again be on the line as FTR look to defend against the #1 ranked Best Friends.
All Elite Wrestling star Dr. Britt Baker has acknowledged the criticism leveled at the promotion’s women’s division. However, Baker stressed how it’s not just on AEW. According to her, “we need help from the fans at home too!”
Baker shared her thoughts during an interview with Uproxx.com. She explained how “[…] it’s something the company is working on” before highlighting the impact COVID-19 had on the promotion.
“You know, and we got hit hard—our women’s division, because of the COVID outbreak. Half our roster is international talent, so we immediately didn’t have access to any of those women. Then Kris Statlander got hurt, and I got hurt. And there’s only so much time on AEW Dynamite to start with.”
Baker explained how AEW has plans in place to help grow the women’s division. However, “[…] at the same time we need help from the fans at home too! We can’t have the women’s segments being the lowest rated or the lowest views each week. Because at the end of the day it’s a business, and AEW needs ratings.”
Britt Baker stressed how the Wednesday Night Wars between AEW and NXT aren’t a secret. She stressed that in order to get more time dedicated to AEW’s women, “we need the ratings up” during their segments.
“So for the fans that are so encouraging and saying ‘We want more women, we want more women!’ that’s great, but please don’t turn the channel when the women are on TV then!” Baker stressed. “We want everybody to be watching the segments and cheering us on from home.”
AEW Executive Vice President Cody Rhodes has addressed the feedback and criticism the promotion has received from its fans.
He confessed to TVInsider how he has always been open to feedback and has actively sought it out in the past:
“I wanted to hear what they liked, what they didn’t, what worked and what they thought didn’t work and why. I still very much stand by that.”
Cody explained how a “background noise” exists on certain social media platforms before admitting to a personal managerial mistake he’s working on remedying.
“One of the mistakes I made in management early on is I talked a lot. I talked a lot in terms of the product will be this. This is how the product will be presented. I was basically trying to frame up what our goals were for the company. But when you talk so much, the show almost draws the ire of many fans.”
Cody On AEW’s Social Media Reports
According to Cody, AEW has a full data report of social mentions provided after every show. He claimed how this report helps them to discover “credible thoughts” shared by fans worldwide.
However, this report also allows them to “[…] see the hurt WWE fan that is pretty much going to say what they want to try and draw attention. A lot of times we have given them attention. We’re learning slowly and surely that Twitter is really aging out in terms of its value and what it can offer. That’s what I learned in year one. Talk less as a member of management and show more.”
Cody Rhodes is set to defend his AEW TNT Championship against Best Friends’ Orange Cassidy on tonight’s Dynamite Anniversary Show.
Cody shared his thoughts whilst appearing on The Rich Eisen Show. He joined the show ahead of his TNT Championship defense on tonight’s Dynamite Anniversary Show.
He noted how “When I get around marketing guys or new wrestling fans, who want to know what makes us different, authenticity is always the No. 1 thing I say.”
Cody pointed to the past to strengthen his argument. He highlighted names like his father, Dusty Rhodes, Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair. Cody stated that the connection between these wrestlers and their fans helped them stand out and succeed.
“Back in the 70s and 80s, when wrestling fans were rabid for the sport, everyone thinks it is because they thought it was real. However, I disagree with that notion. Dusty, Hogan, and Flair succeeded because of the connection fans made to their characters.”
Cody explained how the only way to achieve this genuine connection is by being truly “[…] authentic in your interview, your ring work, and everything else.” He is confident that this commitment to authenticity is what helps AEW separate itself from its competition.
Cody Rhodes is set to defend his AEW TNT Championship against Best Friends’ Orange Cassidy on tonight’s Dynamite Anniversary Show.
This Wednesday night, All Elite Wrestling celebrates the 1-year anniversary of AEW Dynamite. TNT Champion Cody spoke with USA Today to discuss his biggest regret from the first year, AEW dealing with the the COVID-19 pandemic, how he’s approaching the next 12 months and much more.
AEW has spent the past year establishing their identity and building a core audience. During that time, we’ve also seen some crossovers with other promotions.
AEW World Champion also holds the IWGP United States Champion for New Japan Pro-Wrestling. AEW Executive VP Kenny Omega is the reigning AAA Mega Champion. NWA Women’s Champion Thunder Rosa has been a regular on recent AEW programming. Last week’s Dynamite even saw a cameo from the legendary Hiroshi Tanahashi.
Tanahashi vs Jericho not one, not two, but ten more times?!
Hiroshi Tanahashi appeared last night to wish @IAmJericho a happy 30th anniversary in the professional wrestling industry. pic.twitter.com/78KursQO1f
Fans are naturally interested in the prospect of AEW collaborating with other promotions. Cody says he doubts we’ll ever see a big pay-per-view event co-promoted by AEW and another company. However, we could see relationships established which could result in talent exchanges.
“I think you’ll never see a full-scale, joint-promoted show,” Cody said. “We have too much pride in our individual brand. But in terms of the relationships, we’re never closing the doors and we’re never going to pull up the bridges.
Visit USA Today to read their full interview with Cody.
AEW Dynamite is 1-year old. One thing Cody Rhodes promises will be different about the 2nd year of Dynamite is that he’s going to talk less. He spoke to USA Today recently about this and other topics.
“As an executive, in the first year I spoke way too much,” Cody said. He would contiue to say that he tried to give AEW an identity in the media.
“I wanted to really promote the brand, I wanted to pound the pavement, but in speaking I kind of confined our product. I tried to give an identity to a product (when the) identity is evolving, its identity is growing,” Cody continued.
Cody Rhodes On AEW’s Identity Evolving
He would continue to say that AEW will have a different identity over the next year.
“AEW is going to have a different identity in Year One than it has in Year Two, and we want that identity and that flavor profile to improve. But to say it’s one thing would be incorrect because wrestling is something that there’s no one specific way to do it right. There’s many different ways to do it right.”
Cody then talked about some of what he said being taken out of context. These comments then seemed to drive tension between AEW and WWE fans.
“I spoke too much as an executive in my efforts to promote the brand and a lot of this kind of click-bait journalism (followed) in areas where what I said was taken out of context and might have rubbed people the wrong way or might have created more tension between an NXT fan and an AEW fan. A little less talk from me, a little more action, is one of my goals (going forward).”
Matt Hardy has launched a new web series. The first episode of “The Multiverse of Matt Hardy” released on his official YouTube channel yesterday.
“In his brand new web series, Matt Hardy attempts to learn how to balance his normal, everyday life with all of the multiple identities inside of him,” reads a description of the show.
Hardy released a teaser for the web series on Twitter recently.
FINALLY, TOMORROW AT NOON – The first episode of my brand new web series, "The #MULTIVERSE of Matt Hardy" debuts. Get ready to see all of me and meet The New ME! Here's a teaser for tomorrow's 12pm est premiere at https://t.co/diOoGWufsYpic.twitter.com/7isvKKjdtc
The 6-minute video focusses on Hardy’s life at the Hardy Family Compound in North Carolina. He wrestles his kids and even teaches them some promo skills as well. Hardy goes through several of his personas throughout the video.
Injuries From Sammy Guevara Feud
Hardy has yet to wrestle since his match against Sammy Guevara at All Out 2020. That match was briefly stopped shortly after Hardy appeared to be knocked out after falling off a lift through a table.
Hardy was also injured via chairshot from Guevara leading up to the PPV match.
“I was really lucky I wasn’t concussed badly,” Hardy admitted about the chairshot. “I was able to hit the chair a little bit and slowed it down. If I wasn’t able to slow it down, I’m sure it would have knocked me completely unconscious. But even knocking it down and slowing it down, it still split me open.”
Chris Jericho recently spoke with Chris Van Vliet about his faction, The Inner Circle.
The Inner Circle is one of the most dominant forces in All Elite Wrestling. During his discussion with CVV, the Demo God spoke about how the group was formed, who else was considered to be an original member and more.
In the lead-up to the first AEW Dynamite one year ago, Tony Khan approached Chris Jericho and said he wanted him to be part of a faction. Jericho was a bit reluctant at first, but grew to like the idea.
Jericho said he wanted the members of his new group to include a tag team, an up-and-comer and a heater/enforcer. For the tag team, he first looked at the Lucha Bros. before going with Santana and Ortiz. MJF was a great fit for the up-and-comer spot, but Cody had a longterm program in mind for MJF, so Jericho hand picked Sammy Guevara. Boxer Anthony Ogogo was suggested as the enforcer, but Jericho had Jake Hager in mind since he had so much untapped potential from his WWE days.
Before going with the name Inner Circle, Jericho thought about calling the group The First. During a cameo appearance on Being The Elite, Jericho casually mentioned his ‘inner circle’ and the Young Bucks loved the name. It stuck and the rest is history.
The Inner Circle officially formed at the conclusion of the premiere episode of AEW Dynamite. They did a photo shoot backstage after the show. Jericho says they looked like early Guns ‘n Roses, since they were 5 guys that don’t look like they belong together, but “it just works.”
Jericho is proud that the Inner Circle is still going strong one year later. He thinks WWE does not have the patience for longterm storytelling and would have broken them up after 3 months. He loves working with the group and says they’ve become really good friends thus far.
He finished by saying that he would “absolutely” consider adding new members to the Inner Circle.
You can check out Chris Van Vliet’s full chat with Chris Jericho in the video player embedded below:
Brodie Lee has had a successful stint in AEW so far which includes leading his own group filled with many talented stars in the Dark Order and a run with the TNT title as well.
However, during a recent interview with AEW Unrestricted podcast, the former WWE star talked about his title run and revealed that he wasn’t originally going to win the belt.
The Dark Order leader claimed that the original plans did not call for him to have a run with the belt and Brodie Lee explained why he tries not to know too much about the plans for his future:
“I believe that the original plan was for me to not become TNT Champion, I’m kind of not privy to the ins and outs, the nuts and bolts of it all, probably because I don’t want to be.
Because if I get a thought in my head, I become quickly married to it, and then if something changes, I go insane. So, I try not to know too much about what’s supposed to happen and kind of just live in the moment.”
While the former WWE star did not reveal the reason for the change in plans, it was likely influenced by the fact that Cody had to take time off to film the STARZ Heels series with Stephen Amell.
Apart from this, Brodie Lee also talked about the original plans for his debut being altered due to the coronavirus pandemic, leading the Dark Order and more.
WarnerMedia, parent company of AEW television partner Turner Sports, is preparing a large-scale round of layoffs.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s negative impact on WarnerMedia’s bottom line, the company is planning to reduce costs by as much as 20%. This will result in thousands of people laid off, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Properties under the WarnerMedia umbrella include TNT, home of AEW Dynamite, as well as HBO, CNN, TBS, TruTV and many more.
TNT and TBS “dodged disaster” this summer when professional baseball and basketball returned, along with the viewers and ad dollars that come with them. Unfortunately, the television ad market has yet to fully recover.
WarnerMedia’s plan to aggressively cut costs has been seen across the entire entertainment industry. Disney and ViacomCBS have laid off thousands of people, while NBCUniversal, home of WWE Raw, is expected to follow suit.
It remains to be seen if these layoffs, which will likely hit TNT, will impact AEW. Fortunately, AEW is at the start of a multi-year deal with WarnerMedia. Television executives are said to be very happy with
With that being said, AEW is unlikely to be affected as their current deal is set to last for several more years and the network is very happy with their steady ratings.
AEW programming costs them a fraction of what USA Network and FOX pay for WWE programming. As seen in the chart below by Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics, AEW programming is a great value that delivers a far superior return on investment (cost per share in the key demo) than WWE.
Viewership data is in for the October 7th editions of AEW on TNT and NXT on the USA Network.
Both shows were down this week due to the Vice Presidential debate between Vice President Mike Pence and candidate Kamala Harris. The debate drew over 50 million viewers across various network and cable channels.
We could be getting a little closer to a partnership between All Elite Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Harold Meij recently announced that he is stepping down as the President of New Japan Pro Wrestling. The news has led to some AEW fans believing that Meij’s departure could perhaps open the door for some type of relationship between the two promotions.
Tony Khan recently spoke to Dave Meltzer for the Wrestling Observer Newsletter and said he thinks Meij’s departure could be a positive development towards a working relationship between the two organizations.
“I’m not sure yet,” was Tony Khan’s reaction to the Wrestling Observer. “But my initial gut feeling is it could be good.”
There were several references to NJPW made on last night’s edition of AEW Dynamite. The “Ace of New Japan” Hiroshi Tanahashi sent in a video congratulating Chris Jericho on his 30-years in wrestling. There were also references to NJPW matches involving Lance Archer and Jon Moxley on Dynamite.
Moxley and Archer will meet for the AEW World title on next week’s “1-Year Anniversary” edition of Dynamite. They faced each other at this year’s Wrestle Kingdom as well.
The references to NJPW on this week’s Dynamite led to much speculation from fans but Dave Meltzer noted they likely have nothing to do with a potential relationship between the two promotions.
Not necessarily, that was Jericho's doing. He loves Tanahashi. Ultimo Dragon was on as well. https://t.co/SDgsNULf2r
AEW’s Hangman Page has released an official statement. The rather official-looking document is printed on branded letterhead as well. It addresses his entry into the AEW World Champion #1 Contender tournament.
“After deep contemplation, about half a bottle of Scratch Bourbon Whiskey, and chucking a dozen watermelons at a red oak out of the back of a pickup, ‘Hangman” Adam Page has decided to enter the single-elimination tournament to decide a number one contender to the All Elite Wrestling World Championship,” his statement reads.
Page then listed off a few of his reasons for entering the tournament including:
“The tournament could provide ‘Hangman’ Adam Page with his first opportunity to challenge for the AEW World Championship since his catastrophic and embarrassing loss to Chris Jericho at All Out 2019.”
It appears Page dictated the statement to someone and this person was unable to make out some of his comments.
“As a child, ‘Hangman’ Adam Page (unintelligible – the voicemail devolved into a slurred monologue with the occasional yell, followed by two minutes of silence).”
Page then listed what he will be doing to prepare for the tournament. These included the following:
“‘Hangman’ Adam Page will continue to wear a mask while in public, wash his hands, and social distance to avoid contracting COVID-19 to preserve the integrity of his lungs and his character.”
Ever since AEW came into existence and even before they had produced their first show as a company, people have been talking about a potential relationship between them and NJPW.
However, so far there has been no indication of the same and while officials have maintained the never say never attitude, there hasn’t really been any solid development that could suggest a future partnership between the two.
The rumours picked up once again after the Japanese promotion was referenced a number of times during this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite including a cameo from Hiroshi Tanahashi.
However, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer killed the rumours recently and replying to a tweet about the references, he revealed that the Tanahashi appearance was Chris Jericho’s doing:
Not necessarily, that was Jericho's doing. He loves Tanahashi. Ultimo Dragon was on as well. https://t.co/SDgsNULf2r
This week’s Dynamite saw Chris Jericho celebrating the 30-year anniversary of his pro wrestling debut. The episode included multiple video messages from various wrestlers congratulating Y2J, including one from the NJPW star.
Though this wasn’t the only NJPW reference on the show. A video package hyping the match between Jon Moxley and Lance Archer featured footage from their previous encounter at the Japanese promotion and Excalibur name-dropped the company on commentary as well.
While the two companies do not have a working relationship at the moment, the recent departure of NJPW CEO Harold Meij has given a new life to the rumours and it would be interesting to see if this change turns out to be a positive development for a future relationship between the two promotions.
AEW Dynamite aired from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville. Chris Jericho celebrated 30 years in the wrestling business and Brodie Lee defended the TNT Championship against Cody in a Dog Collar match.
Brian Cage def. Will Hobbs to retain the FTW Championship
FTR def. TH2 to retain the AEW Tag Team Championships
Cody def. Brodie Lee to become the new TNT Champion
Big Swole def. Serena Deeb
Chris Jericho & Jake Hager def. Serpentico & Luther
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Brian Cage Retained The FTW Championship In A Great Match With Will Hobbs
FTW Champion Brian Cage & Taz
Brian Cage defended the FTW Championship against Will Hobbs in the first match of the night.
Match Recap: Hobbs and Cage sprinted at each other to start the action off. Cage and Hobbs exchanged shoulder tackles until Cage sent Hobbs to the canvas with an elbow to the face. Hobbs hopped right up and leveled Cage with a Clothesline.
Will Hobbs followed it up with a Crossbody for a two count. Cage connected with a Superkick and slammed Hobbs to the canvas for a near fall. Cage followed it up with a Standing Moonsault for a two count.
Hobbs battled back and planted Cage with a Back Drop. Will hit Cage with a couple Clotheslines and then a massive shoulder tackle. Hobbs connected with a Powerslam and went for the cover but Cage kicked out at two. Will hit a giant Spinebuster for another near fall.
Cage slammed Hobbs face-first to the mat and then the F10 for a two count. Cage hit Hobbs with a German Suplex but Hobbs popped right up. Hobbs and Cage then connected with a Clothesline at the same time and both men fell to the canvas. Hobbs hit another Spinebuster for a two count.
Will climbed to the top rope and went for a Frog Splash but Cage got out of the way. Cage then hit the Drill Claw for the pinfall victory. Brian Cage is still FTW World Champion. After the match, Taz got on the microphone and said that Will Hobbs is impressive and he fought his ass off. Taz wanted Hobbs to join Team Taz and said Cage and Starks will kick his ass if he declines. Darby Allin made his way to the ring but Starks and Cage retreated. Taz shouted that one day Darby will learn not to stick his nose in their business.
FTR Retained & Will Defend Against Best Friends Next Week
FTR & Tully Blanchard
FTR defended their AEW Tag Team Championships against TH2 tonight. The Young Bucks were shown watching the monitors from a ridiculous angle as FTR made their entrance.
Match Recap: TH2 controlled the action early but the momentum changed when Tully Blanchard hopped on the ring apron for a distraction. Harwood slammed Evans’ knee on the barricade and then against the ring post.
When Dynamite returned from a commercial break, Cash Wheeler was in control but Evans battled back and sent Cash into the turnbuckle. Dax tagged in and Evans took him down with a Clothesline. Harwood connected with a Dragon Screw and followed it up with a German Suplex.
Evans connected with a few elbows to Harwood’s face and went for a move off the top rope but it was botched. Jack then hit a Moonsault off the middle rope for a near fall. Wheeler slammed Angelico’s face off the apron as Evans rolled up Harwood for a near fall. Dax leveled Jack with a Clothesline and followed it up with a Tiger Driver for a two count. Harwood connected with a Superplex and Wheeler followed it up with a Splash for the pinfall victory. FTR are still the AEW Tag Team Champions. Young Bucks Superkicked a camera man after the match.
Best Friends came to the entrance ramp with FTR dressed as hot dogs on their shirts. The crowd chanted “wieners!” at FTR as Trent and Chuck Taylor made their way to the ring. Best Friends stated that they are the #1 contenders and that their title match is live on the Anniversary show next week.
Cody Rhodes is once again the AEW TNT Champion. Just two weeks after he made his return to AEW television, he took on Brodie Lee for the title.
The Dog Collar Match took place in the second hour of Wednesday’s Dynamite episode. AEW brought in Greg “The Hammer” Valentine to sit at ringside as he had a legendary Dog Collar Match with Roddy Piper.
Rhodes won the match with Cross Rhodes. After the match, he was joined by Dustin, Brandi, and Arn Anderson to do a promo with Tony Schiavone.
Cody thanked the fans and said that there is no feeling in the world to compete in front of a live crowd. He said that he has spent the time since he was 15-years-old to this moment to try to reach and feel the love from fans. He said that he’s sticking with the fans until the bitter end.
He said that it’s his life’s worth to be a pro wrestler and wants to defend the title. He was asked who he’d defend the title against and Orange Cassidy walked out to give a thumb’s up. Rhodes responded with the same gesture and the match was official for next week.
Cody Rhodes gave some kind words to Chris Jericho on social media.
It’s been over one year since AEW launched and the biggest signing thus far has been Jericho.
Rhodes took to his Instagram account to comment on the importance of Jericho to AEW. Wednesday’s episode of Dynamite marked a celebration of Jericho’s 30th anniversary in the pro wrestling business. Rhodes wrote the following:
“Chris Jericho celebrates 30 years in our game! Congratulations Chris. He undoubtedly is a crucial piece of the great puzzle that makes up AEW. There’s no denying that. AEW simply doesn’t happen without him. His ability on the microphone, his abilities in the ring, and his attitude have helped countless wrestlers and entertained millions. We may not be the best of friends…or even friends at all…but he’s challenged me to be a better competitor and a better executive. “Thank you for challenging me” is one of the last texts I have from him; let’s continue to challenge eachother and help build this culture and better our wrestling world. Happy 30 Chris! #aew @allelitewrestling @aewontnt @chrisjerichofozzy.”
Jericho took a big chance when he decided to sign with AEW. He did so in early 2019 before AEW had signed a television deal with WarnerMedia that wouldn’t come until the debut episode of Dynamite in October 2019.
Since that time, Jericho has been AEW’s biggest star and inaugural World Heavyweight Champion.
AEW World Champion: Jon Moxley (19-0) TNT Champion: Brodie Lee (8-1)
Lance Archer (13-1)
Brian Cage (8-1)
MJF (9-1)
Cody (18-2)
Scorpio Sky (8-2)
There has been no movement in the men’s singles rankings for a few weeks now. 2 big matches in the division will take place tonight, however. #2 Brian Cage will defend his FTW title against newly signed Will Hobbs. A win for the newcomer certainly would catapult him up the division.
#4 Cody will challenge for the TNT Championship against Brodie Lee tonight in a Dog Collar Match.
AEW Women’s Division
AEW Women’s Champion: Hikaru Shida (17-1)
Nyla Rose (10-2)
Big Swole (9-3)
Penelope Ford (9-5)
Abadon (5-1)
Dr. Britt Baker (5-6)
There was no movement in the women’s singles division either this week. Previously, #3 Penelope Ford moved up one spot in the rankings over Abadon. Last week, #5 Britt Baker returned to singles action and picked up a win over Red Velvet.
#2 Big Swole is in action tonight against the unranked and newly signed Serena Deeb.
AEW Tag Team Division
AEW Tag Team Champions: FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) (10-0)
Best Friends (17-6)
Young Bucks (7-3)
The Natural Nightmares (8-2)
Butcher and the Blade (9-5)
Santana & Ortiz (8-5)
The tag-team rankings also stayed steady this week, with no team moving up or down.
Champions FTR will look to defend their titles this week against The Hybrid 2 team of Angelico and Jack Evans. TH2 has yet to crack the top-5 but have a heck of an opportunity tonight.
Chris Jericho has previously said that he and Jake Hager would like a crack at the tag titles. They are scheduled to face Luther and Serpentico tonight as Jericho celebrates his 30 years in pro-wrestling.
Chris Jericho’s 30th Anniversary Celebration highlights tonight’s special edition of AEW Dynamite. The following matches are advertised for tonight’s show:
Dog Collar Match: Cody seeks revenge on TNT Champion Brodie Lee
Brian Cage defends the FTW Championship against Will Hobbs
Chris Jericho & Jake Hager (Inner Circle) vs. Chaos Project (Luther & Serpentico)
AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR vs. TH2 (Jack Evans & Angelico) in a ‘Brush With Greatness’ match with a 20-minute time limit.
Big Swole vs. Serena Deeb
MJF has been teasing that he can’t wait for tonight’s Jericho celebration, so he is probably up to something. In recent weeks, MJF has been cozying up to the Inner Circle while repeatedly snubbing Sammy Guevara.
Check out AEW’s latest “Road To” preview video hyping the Jericho 30th Anniversary special.
