Matt Hardy has teamed with Kenny Omega for the last two weeks on AEW Dynamite. This week the team defeated Santana and Ortiz but the week before, they lost to Le Sex Gods (Sammy Guevara & Chris Jericho) in a street fight.
The Inner Circle has since challenged the Elite (and likely Hardy as well) to a Stadium Stampede match at Double or Nothing. Hardy is also scheduled to take on Sammy Guevara on next week’s episode of Dynamite.
Hardy took to his official YouTube page recently to cut a promo on his upcoming opponent.
“You would think after you poked the bear as many times as you’ve poked the bear you would have learned your lesson,” Hardy said to Guevara in the video.
Hardy would continue to talk about Sammy’s involvement in the destruction of Vanguard-1.
“Then you pushed him way too far because you Sammy were involved in the destruction of Vanguard-1 and that incident, regardless of what you felt about it, it made everyone feel something.”
Hardy’s promo is in his classic Matt Hardy persona. He refers to his Broken persona as a separate person.
“You know what Damascus felt? He felt fury and rage and anger because regardless of what anyone thought about it, Damascus the Broken One, he loved Vanguard-1 like a man loves a dog that he’s had his entire life.”
“This Wednesday you have accepted Damascus’ offer to step in the ring and go one-on-one Sammy? He’s coming for blood, he’s coming to break you into little pieces the same way you broke Vanguard-1 into pieces, Sammy.”
Santana and Ortiz debuted with AEW last year after having had a lengthy run with Impact Wrestling as LAX. Now known as Proud & Powerful they are members of Chris Jericho’s Inner Circle faction. Recently on Konnan’s “Keepin it 100” podcast, Santana and Ortiz commented on what things are like behind the scenes with the Inner Circle and how the “Bubbly Bunch” segments come together.
“We’re just all in a group text and Jericho and all of us shot ideas and we figured it out,” Ortiz said about how the Bubbly Bunch segments were created. “Jericho literally sent us ‘alright, this is what you’re doing this week.’ He pretty much sent out a script for us. I’d have to do so many scenes, Santana would shoot so many scenes.”
They would continue to say that group texting is helping them come together as a team.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” Santana said. “We all put these ideas together and everybody’s been into it and it’s been fun and it’s been getting good feedback.”
“And its been helping our relationship with all of us,” Ortiz added. “Because we’re on the group chat adding ridiculousness.”
Disco Inferno then pointed out that when the NWO started in WCW, they were a clique backstage. Disco asked Santana and Ortiz if the same thing was happening in AEW with the Inner Circle.
“Everybody chills together,” Ortiz answered, noting it’s not very cliquish backstage in AEW.
The Montreal Screwjob is one of the most infamous incidents in the history of wrestling and now Earl Hebner, who was the referee for the match is making some interesting claims about the whole thing.
The former WWE employee recently appeared on the VOC Nation podcast where he talked about the incident in detail among other things.
At first, he said that at the time he didn’t think that the screwjob was a work. However, the current AEW official then claimed that after thinking things over, he now believes that both Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels knew what was going to happen beforehand:
“At that time, I really didn’t think it was a work; today, I think it was, somebody had to be the gopher, somebody had to ring the bell, and to make it look official, it was me.
It’s bothered me for a long time. Now that I’ve been with Bret, talked to Bret, been on some indie shows with him, we’re great friends now, believe me.” said Earl Hebner. “I’m pretty sure that both of them knew it was a work … the only one that didn’t know at the time was me … I know I (got screwed), but I don’t know if they did.”
Viewership data is in for this week’s battle in the WWE NXT vs. AEW Dynamite Wednesday Night War.
AEW won the night in total viewers and in the key 18-49 demo, but both shows were down. Here is the breakdown of the live and same-night DVR viewership, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:
WWE NXT Viewership
NXT on the USA Network averaged 604,000 viewers, down from last week’s 663,000 In the 18-49 demo, they drew a 0.15 rating, down from 0.18 last week.
The episode featured Finn Balor vs. Cameron Grimes, Imperium’s Marcel Barthel and Fabian Aichner vs. NXT Tag Team Champions Matt Riddle and his temporary partner Timothy Thatcher, and more.
AEW Dynamite on TNT was watched by 654,000 viewers, down from the 732,000 viewers last week. In the 18-49 demo, Dynamite pulled in a 0.23 rating, down from the 0.28 rating that the show did last week.
AEW Dynamite featured bouts such as Matt Hardy and Kenny Omega vs. Santana and Ortiz, Chris Jericho, and MJF in action, Hikaru Shida vs. Penelope Ford vs. Britt Baker vs. Kris Statlander, Brodie Lee vs. Christopher Daniels, and Jurassic Express vs. Best Friends.
Mick Foley believes that Britt Baker is the greatest wrestling dentist ever. While that in and of itself might not be particularly high praise, Foley put out a video which details how impressed he is with Baker’s performance in AEW as of late.
Foley evidently feels that not only is Britt Baker the greatest wrestling dentist of all-time, she is the “Bret Hart” of wrestling dentists.
“Hello, this is Mick Foley with an important declaration to make. It is after great thought and mental tribulation that I have come to the conclusion and would like to share my opinion that Dr. Britt Baker is the greatest wrestling dentist of all time. I say this with all due respect to Isaac Yankem and the entire town of Decatur, Illinois.”
Foley continued and explained why he believes Baker has achieved such a status.
“But given her moveset, her persona and her use of the mandible claw, I believe that Britt Baker is not only the greatest wrestling dentist of all time but she is, in fact, the Bret Hart of wrestling dentists. She is the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be. And I hope that Dr. Baker will take that declaration into consideration when at a certain date and time, she perfects the Foley smile. Have a nice day!”
Sugar Dunkerton received a career highlight on this past week’s episode of Dynamite on TNT. This week, he competed in a losing effort against former AEW Champion Chris Jericho. He has been featured on several AEW shows during the coronavirus pandemic. Speaking on a recent episode of the We The Independent podcast, Suge D opened up about his feelings on receiving these career opportunities during the coronavirus pandemic.
Suge D—who Jericho has been referring to as Pineapple Pete—admitted it’s strange to be enjoying career opportunities during such a difficult time. He confessed he can’t help but “feel a little sadness in terms of everybody not being able to enjoy my accomplishments the way I’d like them to be enjoyed because let’s be honest, what is there to be really really really be excited about? There’s lot going on.”
Suge D On Wrestling During A Pandemic
Suge D acknowledged how people have been congratulating him and telling him he deserves the chance to be on TV for AEW. He admitted that it was “definitely a new challenge and a new mountain to climb.”
He noted how he isn’t sure where this journey will take him. There is one thing he is certain of, however: he wishes this could be happening under different circumstances.
“Would I have wanted a crowd there to really will me on and cheer me on just to see if they’re really feeling me? Absolutely, but I know two things to be true. The first one being that you are very rarely asked to be great during convenient circumstances, so it was a matter of taking a choice to whether you take that chance and you go forward or you stand back and you let it past you by.”
Suge D shared that the second thing is the uncertainty as to when a live crowd will be allowed to attend shows. He confessed this causes an “empty feeling” as going out to perform to nobody, and being unable to feed off their energy, is an undeniably different experience.
That being said, he added: “When you’re hungry, do you complain about any kind of scraps you possibly can get, or do you just go without?” Regardless, Suge D remains grateful to get the opportunity to wrestle despite the current difficulties.
The May 13th episode of Dynamite aired from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida. In addition to the takeaways below, it was announced that Mike Tyson will present the TNT Championship to the winner of Cody versus Lance Archer at Double or Nothing.
Lance Archer came down to the ring to begin this week’s show. Archer beat the hell out of a backstage worker as Jake Roberts stood behind him. Roberts got in the ring and said that he was asked to give an apology for his antics last week.
Roberts stated that he will give an apology after Brandi kisses his ass. Jake essentially said that women belong at home before Cody burst into Daily’s Place in a truck. Cody beat Lance Archer down before staring at Jake Roberts. Cody started walking towards Jake and Archer capitalized by attacking Cody from behind.
Archer slammed Cody on the ring apron before Rhodes used Lance’s own hair to choke him. Cody launched a chair at Archer’s face and went for a Cutter but Lance blocked it. Jake then grabbed Archer and the two retreated up the entrance ramp.
Opinion: I’m sure this promo will piss people off and all that means is Jake Roberts is doing his job. The brawl between Cody and Archer was pretty sloppy but this was still a good segment.
Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus battled Best Friends (Trent & Chuck Taylor). Orange Cassidy and Marko Stunt were ringside for the match.
Match Recap: Jurassic Express controlled the action early and isolated Trent in the ring. Trent planted Jungle Boy with a Belly to Back Suplex and then perched him up on the top rope. Jungle Boy hit Trent with a Dropkick and then delivered a Jawbreaker to Chuck. Trent went for a Suicide Dive but Luchasaurus caught him. Best Friends planted Luchasaurus with a Suplex outside the ring. Jungle Boy flipped onto Best Friends as Dynamite went to a commercial break.
When Dynamite returned, Trent leveled Luchasaurus with a Spear in the ring. Jungle Boy hit a Clothesline on Chuck and turned around into a knee to the face from Trent. Trent connected with a beautiful Tornado DDT. Fenix came out of nowhere and booted Orange Cassidy in the head. MJF hopped over the barricade and attacked Jungle Boy. Chuck then planted Jungle Boy with the Awful Waffle for the pinfall victory. After the match, Wardlow hurled Marko Stunt into the barricade.
Hikaru Shida Will Face Nyla Rose For The Title At Double Or Nothing
Penelope Ford, Kris Statlander, Britt Baker, and Hikaru Shida battled tonight on Dynamite.
Match Recap: Baker grabbed Shida’s hair and slammed her face into the canvas. Shida and Statlander teamed up and planted Baker with a Backbreaker. Britt knocked Kris out of the ring and planted Shida with a Slingblade. Baker went for Lockjaw but Statlander broke it up. Britt connected with a DDT and Penelope went for the cover but Baker broke it up.
Britt slammed Statlander into the middle turnbuckle but turned around into a Clothesline from Shida as Dynamite went to a break. When Dynamite returned, Statlander and Shida were trading punches in the middle of the ring. Baker hit a Superkick and followed it up with a Destroyer on Kris.
Penelope hit Baker with a Cutter for a near fall. Penelope ducked under a Clothesline and hit Shida with a Stunner. Statlander hit Baker with a Falcon Arrow for a near fall. Shida went Baker and Kris out of the ring. Penelope hit a Dropkick off the top rope for a two count. Kip Sabian hopped up on the apron and shared a kiss with Penelope.
Shida booted Kip in the face as Statlander got back in the ring. Penelope hit Statlander with a Hurricanrana and then Britt applied the Lockjaw on Kris outside the ring. Hikaru Shida hit Penelope with a knee to the face for the pinfall victory.
Santana & Ortiz squared off against Matt Hardy and Kenny Omega tonight.
Match Recap: Santana and Ortiz attacked Kenny Omega during his entrance and beat him down. Matt Hardy finally showed up and took a bite out of Santana. The match officially started with Omega and Ortiz trading shots in the corner. Santana launched Matt Hardy into the barricade as Ortiz raked Kenny’s back.
Omega hit Santana and Ortiz with a Bulldog and tagged Matt in. Omega and Matt hit Poetry in Motion and then delivered a Suplex to Ortiz. Matt hit Santana with a Leg Drop for a near fall. When Dynamite returned from a break, Santana and Ortiz had Kenny isolated in the ring.
Matt Hardy eventually tagged in and sent Ortiz out of the ring. Hardy planted Santana with the Side Effect for a two count. Ortiz sent Matt out of the ring and Santana followed it up with a Suicide Dive. Hardy hit Ortiz with a Neckbreaker as Kenny took out Santana outside the ring. Back in the ring, Matt hit Santana with a Twist of Fate and went for the cover but Ortiz broke it up at two.
Hardy slammed Santana on the entrance ramp and tagged in. Matt locke din a submission as Sammy Guevara limped down to the ring wearing a neck brace. Matt hit Sammy with a Twist of Fate as Kenny connected with a V-Trigger to Ortiz’s face. Matt then slammed Ortiz to the canvas for the pinfall victory.
Inner Circle Challenged The Elite & Destroyed Vanguard 1
Pineapple Pete faced Le Champion Chris Jericho tonight on Dynamite. Inner Circle accompanied Jericho to the ring.
Match Recap: Jericho slapped Pete and Pineapple battled back and beat Jericho down in the corner. Jericho quickly hit the Judas Effect out of nowhere for the victory.
After the match, Jericho claimed that the threat of Pineapple Pete has been vanquished. Jericho said Inner Circle are fair and honorable men. Chris told The Elite to get their shit together and said they have created a Stadium Stampede match. It will be in an empty football stadium.
Vanguard 1 flew ringside with the Inner Circle shirt. Jericho ripped down the shirt and asked Vanguard if Elite accepted the challenge. They did and Jericho hit Vanguard 1 with a metal bat. Inner Circle took turns beating the hell out Vanguard 1 until it was completely shattered.
Opinion: Inner Circle versus The Elite sounds awesome for Double or Nothing. There are several matches that I’m looking forward to at the PPV and that just leaped to the top of the list.
Match Recap: Brodie controlled the action early but Daniels battled back with a Moonsault. Daniels went for the cover but Brodie kicked out before a one count. Lee leveled Daniels with a boot to the face before beating him down in the corner. Brodie connected with a Sidewalk Slam for a near fall.
Lee followed it up with a big boot for a two count. Daniels hit a DDT and then a Hurricanrana off the middle rope. 10 hopped on the ring apron for a distraction but Scorpio Sky and Kazarian beat him down. Daniels hit Brodie in the head with a chair and locked in a submission. Colt Cabana, Sky and Frankie battled with Dark Order outside the ring as Daniels hit Angels Wings for a one count.
Daniels hit a Moonsault off the second rope for a two count. Brodie planted Daniels with a Powerbomb and followed it up with a Discus Lariat for the pinfall victory.
After the match, Brodie Lee was surrounded by a few members of Dark Order. They handed him the AEW Championship as Jon Moxley came in through the crowd. Brodie shoved one of his followers into the ring and Moxley hit him with the Paradigm Shift. Brodie left with the AEW Championship as Moxley grabbed a microphone. Jon stated Brodie Lee has made a foolish decision and he is going to pay for it. Moxley added that there is going to be a hailstorm of violence and Brodie’s AEW career will be over before it’s started.
Opinion: I thought Dynamite was another solid show this week and I’m excited for Double or Nothing on the 23rd. Mike Tyson being a part of the PPV is huge and will definitely create some more buzz surrounding the event. Hardy & Omega versus Santana & Ortiz was the match of the night and the 4-way women’s match was solid as well.
AEW made three announcements regarding its Double or Nothing pay-per-view event including a special appearance by the one and only Mike Tyson.
“Iron” Mike has made headlines in recent weeks by posting videos of him training for a return to boxing. The 53-year-old Tyson has been teasing the possibility of fighting some exhibition bouts for charity, but his return to pay-per-view will happen under the All Elite Wrestling banner.
The boxing legend is slated to present the AEW TNT Title to the winner of Cody Rhodes vs. Lance Archer.
Right after the announcement was made, Rhodes took to his official Twitter account to comment on the news by writing the following:
“It’s been a privilege to compete in this tournament. It’ll be an honor to finish it. The King of PPV, The Baddest Man On The Planet, Iron Mike Tyson to present the @tntdrama CHAMPIONSHIP.”
Stadium Stampede
Also, a new match was made official. After Chris Jericho beat Suge D on Wednesday’s episode of Dynamite, he issued a match challenge. The Inner circle vs. The Elite in a Stadium Stampede contest.
Finally, Best Friends vs. Private Party to determine the number one contenders for Kenny Omega and Hangman Page’s AEW World Tag Team Titles has been revealed as the pre-show match.
The threat of #PineapplePete has been vanquished! Now onto more significant tasks – Enter the first-ever STADIUM STAMPEDE at Double or Nothing on Saturday, May 23rd. pic.twitter.com/w8GSWmm08o
AEW Double or Nothing takes place on Saturday, May 23rd in Jacksonville, Florida at Daily’s Place. The following matches are now confirmed for the pay-per-view:
AEW World Heavyweight Champion Jon Moxley vs. Brodie Lee
Cody Rhodes vs. Lance Archer – AEW TNT Title Tournament Finals With Mike Tyson Presenting The Title
Jungle Boy vs. MJF
Darby Allin vs. Colt Cabana vs. Orange Cassidy vs. Fenix vs. TBA – Casino Ladder Match for future AEW World Championship shot
AEW Women’s Champion Nyla Rose vs. Hikaru Shida
The Inner Circle vs. The Elite – Stadium Stampede Match
Best Friends vs. Private Party – #1 Contenders Match (Pre-Show)
There is a new #1 contender to the AEW World Title held by Nyla Rose and that’s Hikaru Shida.
During Wednesday’s episode of AEW Dynamite on TNT, All Elite Wrestling held a #1 Contender’s Match that saw Shida vs. Penelope Ford vs. Britt Baker vs. Kris Statlander battle it out in a Fatal 4-Way contest.
As seen on the show, Shida ended up winning it. As a result, Shida has earned the right to challenge Jericho for the AEW Women’s Title at the Double or Nothing PPV event.
The AEW Double or Nothing pay-per-view event will take place on Saturday, May 23, 2020 in Jacksonville, Florida at Daily’s Place and will be held in front of no fans on a closed set. Here is the updated card:
AEW World Heavyweight Champion Jon Moxley vs. Brodie Lee
Cody Rhodes vs. Lance Archer – AEW TNT Title Tournament Finals
Jungle Boy vs. MJF
Darby Allin vs. Colt Cabana vs. Orange Cassidy vs. Fenix vs. TBA – Casino Ladder Match for future AEW World Championship shot
AEW Women’s Champion Nyla Rose vs. Hikaru Shida
What are your thoughts on this match being added to the card? Sound off in the comment section.
Ahead of tonight’s episode of Dynamite, AEW has released new rankings for May 13th, 2020.
AEW Men’s Single’s Rankings
Champion: Jon Moxley (10-0)
Cody (9-1)
Lance Archer (5-0)
Kenny Omega (4-0)
Brodie Lee (4-0)
Darby Allin (5-3)
There was no movement in the men’s single’s rankings this week.
Champion Jon Moxley defeated Frankie Kazarian in a non-title match on Dynamite last week. #4 Brodie Lee had the week off but he’ll challenge Moxley for the title at Double or Nothing. Lee will also take on Christopher Daniels tonight.
#1 Cody defeated Joey Janela and #2 Lance Archer picked up a win over QT Marshall. Archer and Cody are gearing up for the finals of the TNT title tournament which will take place May 23rd at Double or Nothing.
#5 Darby Allin didn’t wrestle last week either. Allin is coming off of losing to Cody in the semi-finals of the TNT tournament.
#3 Kenny Omega teamed with Matt Hardy in a losing effort to Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara in the night’s main event. Omega and Hardy will team up again tonight to take on Santan and Ortiz.
AEW Women’s Division
Champion: Nyla Rose (5-1)
Hikaru Shida (7-1)
Kris Statlander (3-3)
Britt Baker (4-3) (+1)
Yuka Sakazaki (1-1) (-1)
Riho (3-3)
#3 Britt Baker moved up one spot this week causing Yuka Sakazaki to drop to the #4 spot. Baker defeated Skyler Moore on Dark last night to bring her 2020 record up to 4-3. Sakazaki holds a victory over Baker but hasn’t competed for AEW since February.
#2 Kris Statlander picked up a win over Dani Jordyn last night on Dark. She improves her record to 3-3 in 2020.
The women’s division has a big match scheduled for tonight that could throw the division on hits head, however. A 4-way match will pit #1 Hikaru Shida vs. Penelope Ford vs. #3 Britt Baker vs. #2 Kris Statlander on tonight’s show. The winner of the match is likely in line to face champion, Nyla Rose, next.
AEW Tag Team Division
Champions: Kenny Omega & Hangman Page (6-0)
The Dark Order (5-0)
Best Friends (6-3)
The Young Bucks (2-2)
Jurassic Express (2-0) (previously unranked)
Private Party (3-1) (previously unranked)
Former AEW tag team champions SCU have dropped out of the top-5 for the first time. They have had some matches at the BTE Compound as of late but have been involved in single’s matches in AEW. Kazarian dropped a match to Jon Moxley last week and Christopher Daniels is facing Brodie Lee tonight. Meanwhile, we’ve seen vignettes featuring Scorpio Sky on Dynamite recently.
The Lucha Bros dropped out of the rankings as well. Pentagon is unable to travel to the shows as he is in Mexico while Fenix is in the United States and was just announced for the Casino Ladder Match.
#5 Private Party picked up a win over Lee Johnson and Musa on Dark to improve to 3-1 on the year. #4 Jurassic Express defeated Mike Reed & Ryan Rembrandt to improve to 2-0 on the year and grab the #4 ranking.
Tonight on Dynamite, #2 the Best Friends will take on #4 Jurassic Express.
All Elite Wrestling is back tonight with an all-new episode of AEW Dynamite on TNT.
AEW’s next pay-per-view, Double or Nothing, takes place in less than two weeks on Saturday, May 23rd. This week’s Dynamite is set to advance company storylines leading in to the event.
You can order Double or Nothing now at B/R Live & FITE.TV (Outside the US)
The following items are advertised for AEW Dynamite:
Kenny Omega & “Broken Matt Hardy” vs. Santana and Ortiz
Chris Jericho vs. “Pineapple Pete” Suge D
The Exalted One Brodie Lee vs. Christopher Daniels
Hikaru Shida vs. Penelope Ford vs. Britt Baker vs. Kris Statlander. AEW has teased this match has ‘Championship Implications,’ so the winner will probably face Nyla Rose for the AEW Women’s title at Double or Nothing.
Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus) w/Marko Stunt vs. Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent) w/Orange Cassidy.
MJF returns to action after recovering from multiple serious injuries.
Jon Moxley looks to reclaim possession of the AEW World Championship from Brodie Lee, who stole it last week.
Lance Archer and Jake Roberts will speak. Archer faces Cody at Double or Nothing in the tournament finals to crown the first AEW TNT Champion.
AEW will also unveil the rules of the Casino Ladder Match at Double or Nothing. The winner of this match earns a shot at the AEW World Championship.
Former WWE Superstar Heath Slater has responded to All Elite Wrestling’s Cody Rhodes recent comments. Having been released from WWE, Cody was asked during a Q&A Session if the promotion had any interest in hiring Slater. His response was to the point: “No to Heath.” It’s a response that Slater believes is a “bad business decision.”
Speaking with Chris Van Vliet, Heath Slater recalled how he discovered Cody’s comments two days after the Q&A. One of his friends sent it to him bringing it to his attention.
“Me and Cody have never had harsh words or nothing you know? We never disliked each other, but I know how Cody is. When he said it I was like ‘he’s either serious,’ which he very well could be who even knows? Or ‘he wants me to react.’”
Heath Slater shared how Cody knows he isn’t one to keep quiet. Instead, he’ll be open about how he feels about any given situation. He referred to Cody’s words as a head scratcher: “[…] it’s one of those things where I’m like ‘you didn’t even scratch your head and think about it?’”
Heath Slater stressed how the reality of his experience is that he is a 14 year veteran in pro wrestling. He added how he has “wrestled everyone underneath the sun.” His argument indicated that his wealth of experience would be something AEW could benefit from.
Now that Heath Slater is no longer associated with WWE, he is excited to be able to show “what I want, and do what I want. Bad business decision [by Cody]? Hell yes.”
Former WWE Superstar Heath Slater recently appeared on the Chris Van Vliet podcast. The ‘One Man Band’ would discuss a number of topics from his time with the company and what he plans on doing now that he has hit the independent circuit.
Two names that Heath said he wants to face in the ring are NJPW and Japanese Wrestling legend Hiroshi Tanahashi and AEW’s Kenny Omega.
Heath Slater on Meeting Tanahashi
Heath would tell a story of when Tanahashi visited the FCW developmental territory while he was there. “I remember Hiroshi Tanahashi came to FCW, and this was a decade or so ago? No longer than that. This was when FCW finally got into the warehouse” Heath Slater began.
“He [Tanahashi] came down I want to say he was with Yoshi [Tatsu]? He came down for a visit and just talking and shaking hands and stuff but then left. And then, he was huge in Japan! But I remember him just talking and stuff.”
Heath elaborated further, saying “I remember seeing these clips and everything and then people reminded me ‘that was him, that was him!’ I was like ‘oh crap!’ And then he became the mega star over there in Japan to where I would like to go and work him over there.”
Kenny Omega
Slater would then discuss his time in WWE’s Deep South developmental territory, where he worked alongside another extremely notable talent, Kenny Omega.
“Kenny Omega. You know, I worked him back in the developmental days of Deep South” Heath Slater would reveal. “That’s the only match we ever had, and we were babies, you know? I would like to work him again. I feel like we can kill it.”
Who would you like to see Heath Slater mix it up with on the independents or otherwise? Let us know in the comments.
WrestleMania 36 was the first time in close to a decade the event occurred without Jon Moxley on WWE’s talent roster. Moxley signed with the promotion in April of 2011. He recently took part in an interview with Fightful where he noted that not only did he watch both nights of WrestleMania 36 but he also enjoyed the show.
“I watched the whole thing,” Moxley said. “Both nights. I enjoyed it. I thought it flowed nicely and a lot of people really worked their ass off and put on great performances.”
Moxley specifically mentioned the Boneyard match between the Undertaker and AJ Styles as a match he enjoyed.
“I enjoyed the Boneyard Match, I thought that was cool. I thought that was really cool, too, because the Undertaker is a really beloved character. He’s like a comic book character. He’s a beloved character from our childhood. Same as John Wayne or John McClane or any action movie star you can think of, so it was really cool. I think everybody really enjoyed that.”
Moxley also recently took part in an exclusive interview with SEScoops. The current AEW World Champion spoke about the difficulty of performing in front of no fans.
“Everybody’s kind of finding different ways to work around that, whether that’s the way you shoot it on camera, or lot of people are doing different cinematic style matches and stuff. It’s definitely tough.”
The interview can be viewed below or found on our official YouTube page here.
Former WWE Superstar Christian has reflected on his jump to TNA back in 2005, comparing his move to Jon Moxley’s recent signing with All Elite Wrestling. Speaking with Wrestling Inc. Daily, Christian noted how every person’s story is different but stressed that Moxley has been doing a “tremendous job.”
Christian shared how when he left WWE, he was physically and mentally burned out from WWE’s arduous schedule. He was also frustrated. Christian believed that he could “perform at a higher level” than he was able to showcase.
He admitted that when he left, he knew he was going to go back to WWE at some point. Until then, however, he knew he needed to take a chance on himself and get better. He felt the only way to do that was to “take some risks and go somewhere.”
This decision to sign with TNA gave Christian the confidence boost he needed. He knew that when we returned to WWE, he would be “better equipped” than before. This need to leave in order to grow and get better is something he believes Moxley is experiencing during his successful run in AEW.
Speaking on Moxley’s time in AEW, Christian said “Obviously he’s the champion and there was great noise about him and what he was gonna do next. Anytime you can surprise the fan base – which is hard to do these days and he did that – and that gave him a lot of momentum as well.”
Christian and Jon Moxley recently worked together on a new film, Cagefighter: Worlds Collide. Christian produced and starred in the film, which also features Moxley and UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell.
You can read an exclusive SEScoops interview with Jon Moxley regarding his work on Cagefighter: Worlds Collide here.
Sting could be the next wrestling legend to appear for All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Or not.
As of this writing, the topic of Sting in an AEW ring should be considered speculation. That said, let’s take a look at some of the clues that have some people thinking this is more than just rumor and innuendo.
The prevailing rumor is that Sting will appear at AEW Double or Nothing later this month for presentation of AEW’s new TNT Championship title. Cody and Lance Archer square off at the pay-per-view to crown the first champion. Sting’s role would be similar to that of Bret Hart at last year’s Double or Nothing. The Hitman was on hand last May to present the AEW World Championship at the company’s inaugural pay-per-view. The title was won by Chris Jericho that night and is currently held by Jon Moxley.
During a recent episode of AEW’s Road to Double Or Nothing YouTube series, we got a look inside the boardroom of AEW offices. As we’ve seen in previous Road To episodes, a series of pending tasks were displayed on a conference room whiteboard. Some of the items are innocuous inside jokes, but you can clearly see below that AEW is teasing that somebody notable will be on hand to present the new championship title.
Who presents the TNT title?
Sting has been active on social media lately. He still follows pro wrestling and often tweets about WWE shows. Last week, he commented that it’s good to see Jake Roberts looking healthy and back on national television in a prominent role. The two worked together in WCW during the early 1990’s.
Over the weekend, a fan on Twitter asked Lance Archer which wrestler, past or present, he’d want to step in the ring with. Archer named (and tagged) Sting. Coincidentally, Archer is in that TNT tournament final match against Cody at Double or Nothing.
Sting responded that he’s glad to see Archer getting a ‘much deserved shot’ in All Elite Wrestling. Cody took notice.
WWE and Mattel are set to release a new line of action figures, Legends Series 7. The latest line of figures was set to include Sting, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, Greg Valentine and Razor Ramon. They will be available at Target stores and are scheduled to ship July 26th.
Sting’s figure has been pulled from Legends Series 7. According to the Major Wrestling Figure Podcast (hosted by Matt Cardona and Brian Myers), Mattel put out the following statement about Sting’s figure being pulled:
“Due to circumstances beyond our control Sting needed to be removed from Legends Series 7. We’ll look to include this figure in a future wave if he becomes available to us again.”
Target was taking pre-orders on the Sting figure over the weekend, so the timing is certainly last-minute. Check out Cody’s reply to the news.
There was a time in Chris Jericho’s career when he didn’t look or dress like a rock star. He wore a suit and proclaimed to everyone that he was “the best in the world at what he does.”
According to comments Jericho over the weekend, he currently believes that for the first time since 2010, he is once again the best in the world. He tweeted on Saturday:
“Not being egotistical or arrogant, but right here and right now, for the first time since 2010, I honestly feel that I AM the best in the world in the pro wrestling biz. Not gonna discuss or debate. It’s just the way I feel…”
Pro-wrestling is entertainment which means being “the best” is always a matter of opinion. With that being said, there are many fans who agree with Jericho’s opinion on the matter.
Jericho will face “Pineapple Pete” Suge D on Dynamite this week. He teamed with Sammy Guevara in the main event of last week’s episode, defeating Matt Hardy and Kenny Omega in an epic street fight.
All Elite Wrestling’s Darby Allin has stressed how he isn’t happy to just be a part of wrestling and AEW. Extrapolating his point, he explained how if he’s going to wrestle for a living, “I’m just going to give it my all.”
Speaking with WrestleZone, Darby Allin highlighted how he doesn’t want to be a guy who goes around saying he’s just happy to be backstage with pro wrestling legends in the locker room. “That was never the case for me. I never wanted to be just a guy who was just happy to be there.”
He also shared his belief that young talent needs to stop sucking up to more experienced veterans. Darby Allin stressed how “There comes a time where you have to fu–ing not be an ass-kisser and do business and have those people you look up to end up being peers that if you don’t ever take that step you’re going to end up being a little b–ch in a way.”
Darby Allin recently competed in the TNT Championship Tournament on Dynamite. He was able to advance to the semi-finals after beating Sammy Guevara. Allin would subsequently lose to Cody Rhodes, who now goes on to meet Lance Archer in the finals.
Their match to determine the first-ever TNT Champion takes place at AEW’s next pay-per-view, Double or Nothing, on May 23.
All Elite Wrestling World Champion Jon Moxley was recently asked about what AEW’s locker room atmosphere is like compared to WWE. According to Moxley, the culture that AEW has cultivated has been great, and has allowed talent to come together and feel like a family.
Moxley told the WINC Daily Podcast how everyone is having fun despite things being different due to the coronavirus pandemic. He confessed there are different challenges that they each face, especially as a new company. Jon Moxley shared how he’s not a business expert. Despite this confession, he is aware from conversations with people that their “situation is not ideal to say the least.”
That being said, he stressed how they are still doing all they can to not only entertain but keep their talent safe.
Jon Moxley On AEW’s Backstage Atmosphere
Moxley highlighted how AEW is comprised of an “amazing group of creative, young, energetic people.”
He believes that the main thing that AEW is providing them is the opportunity to be themselves. This has helped breed organic positivity backstage. He explained how everybody is getting to express themselves creatively without overt censorship.
Jon Moxley then compared AEW’s locker room with an indie locker room. He noted how “Everyone is there on purpose as if they weren’t in AEW, then they would be somewhere else in pro wrestling. It’s the type of people who would do pro wrestling for free.”
Jon Moxley is set to defend his AEW World Championship at the company’s next pay-per-view, Double or Nothing. He will compete against The Dark Order’s Exalted One, Brodie Lee. The match was made after Moxely was assaulted and challenged by Lee and his group this past Wednesday night on Dynamite.
Viewership data is in for this week’s battle in the WWE NXT vs. AEW Dynamite Wednesday Night War. AEW won the night in total viewers and in the key 18-49 demo, but both shows were up. Here is the breakdown of the live and same-night DVR viewership, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:
WWE NXT Viewership
NXT on the USA Network averaged 663,000 viewers, up from last week’s 637,000 In the 18-49 demo, they drew a 0.18 rating, up from 0.16 last week.
The episode featured the in-ring debut of Karrion Kross, NXT Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair vs. Io Shirai, The Velveteen Dream vs. NXT Champion Adam Cole, Johnny Gargano vs. Dominik Dijakovic, and the return of Finn Balor.
AEW Dynamite on TNT was watched by 732,000 viewers, up from the 693,000 viewers last week. In the 18-49 demo, Dynamite pulled in a 0.28 rating, up from the 0.27 rating that the show did last week.
AEW Dynamite featured bouts such as AEW World Heavyweight Champion Jon Moxley vs. Frankie Kazarian in a non-title match, Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara vs. Kenny Omega and Matt Hardy, Cody vs. Joey Janela, and QT Marshall vs. Lance Archer.
Dr. Britt Baker DMD faced Hikaru Shida on the April 8th, 2020 edition of AEW Dynamite. During the match, Baker’s nose got busted open and poured blood for the remainder of the bout. Shida would go on to claim the victory and maintain her #1 ranking in the division. The image of Baker’s face covered in blood was later turned into a top-selling t-shirt.
Baker recently took part in an interview with the Asbury Park Press and discussed the match and nose injury. She was asked about the iconic imagery now associated with her blood-covered face.
“I didn’t know it (was iconic) at the time because my nose was just pouring blood,” Baker said. “I mean, my nose did not stop bleeding for hours. It was an all-day affair with me and Doc (Michael) Sampson (AEW physician) sticking cotton rolls up my nose because it literally would not stop bleeding.”
Baker continued to say that people approached her backstage about the match and imagery of her face. They told her it was a career-defining moment for her.
“(They) came by like, ‘Britt, oh my God. Wait until you see this, this is career-making for you,’ ” Baker said. “It’s hard to envision that until you actually see it because you want to get excited but you’re also like, ‘Oh, I don’t want to get my hopes up.’”
Britt Baker On Her Busted Open Nose From Match With Hikaru Shida
Baker also described what it was like to watch the match after. She noted it was enjoyable to hear Chris Jericho and her “good friend” Tony Schiavone on commentary calling the bout.
“When I actually got to watch the show back and hear Chris Jericho doing commentary along with my good friend Tony Schiavone, it kind of gave me goosebumps. I was like, ‘This is cool. This is one of my favorite wrestlers talking about me.’ “
On Dynamite this week, Baker was announced for a fatal 4-way to take place next week. She’ll face Hikaru Shida, Kris Statlander, and Penelope Ford in the match. Baker also got involved during the Lance Archer vs QT Marshall last night. She jumped the rail and attacked Brandi Rhodes leading to the post-match antics from Jake Roberts and Lance Archer.
Lance Archer ended his eight-year-long relationship with NJPW when he chose to leave the promotion and sign with AEW from the many opportunities he had at the time. During a recent interview with TalkSport, the former IWGP US Champion talked about his decision to join the upstart promotion and revealed the reason behind it.
Archer admitted that there was lots of stuff on his table and claimed that his decision was not a quick one. He explained that it was a long thinking process for him and according to the former NJPW star; it ultimately came down to the fact that the people in AEW were much more attentive:
“It ultimately came down to the people in AEW were much more attentive to having me apart of AEW. The numbers were adding up in the right way. As I said, the prayers I was doing were leading me towards AEW and just everything was leading me towards it.
The opportunity to be a part of something that is growing, help that and help AEW become even greater than it already is, that challenge was just too enticing.” said Lance Archer. “Nothing was quick about the process. It took it’s time and I made some tough decisions, but ultimately the right decision in my opinion. That’s what led me to AEW and now we’re here, I’m ready to kick some ass.”
The former TNA star signed a deal with AEW in February earlier this year and he made his debut for the promotion in March when Jake “The Snake” Roberts introduced him as his new client. Archer has been given a push in AEW and he is currently scheduled to face Cody Rhodes in the finals of the TNT Championship Tournament at the upcoming Double Or Nothing PPV on May 23.
When AEW started last year, many assumed Kenny Omega would be a staple in the main event picture. Then he lost a single’s match to Chris Jericho at last year’s Double or Nothing. Jericho moved on to defeat Hangman Page and won the inaugural AEW World Championship and Omega moved into storylines with the Young Bucks. He hasn’t been near the world title picture since.
Omega recently discussed his last year in AEW during an interview with SI.com. During the discussion, he mentioned that he currently prefers to help create new stars.
“To me, I would rather take more unknown names, guys that don’t have that big reputation yet, and show there is something special about them,” Omega said. “I want to be a force to help introduce new stars to the world and magnify the work of those around me.”
Omega also mentioned that many AEW fans might not be familiar with his work in Japan. He continued to say that he wants to become an all-round performer. This involves having matches in different styles with different opponents and teammates.
“I want to be a true, all-around, real ‘best in the world’ performer,” Omega continued. “That means singles matches, tag matches, mixed tags, battle royals, you have to be able to do it all. With AEW, I’ve been allowed the creative freedom to develop myself as more of an all-around performer.”
Kenny Omega Still Best In The World?
Fans hoping that Omega will eventually return to the world title picture should not lose hope, however. Omega continued to say that the time is nearing for him to remind everyone that he is the best in the world.
“When it’s time, which is sooner than people think, I’ll remind people why I’m the best in the world,” said Omega. “And it’s coming. It’s not a matter of if it’s going to happen, it’s just a matter of when.”
Omega is currently 1/2 of the AEW World Tag Team Champions along with Adam “Hangman” Page. The team won the titles aboard the Jericho cruise. They have since defended the belts successfully against SCU, the Lucha Bros, and the Young Bucks.
The full interview with Kenny Omega can be read here.
The coronavirus pandemic has affected all businesses and even though wrestling companies have found a way to continue their programming, the promotions are losing money on cancelled events and live audiences. During his recent appearance on AEW Unrestricted podcast, president Tony Khan talked about this loss in revenue and discussed the possibility of releasing talents due to it.
Khan first discussed how they were on schedule to do shows with some of the largest audience in the company’s history between Revolution and Double or Nothing. He then admitted that they have lost millions of dollars in live event revenue and there might come a day when they have to let some people go, but he claimed that now is not the time:
“We’ve lost millions and millions of dollars in live events. I don’t take it lightly, but I can’t take it out on the people that work here because it’s not their fault.” said Tony Khan. “We’ve really not let anybody go here as a company, and look, I’m gonna be honest, there’s gonna come a day where somebody, we’re gonna have to, but now is not the time.
This is a hard time for everybody. It’s a hard time for us, but I have to look at the bigger picture. In the big picture, we’re in such good shape. We’re the second healthiest wrestling company in the world, and that’s a really great place to be. And we haven’t let a single person go to do it.”
Tony went on to explain how eventually they are going to have the audience back at the shows but the revenue they have lost in between will not be coming back. Apart from this, he also talked about putting together the recent AEW tapings, being excited for the upcoming Double Or Nothing PPV, and more.
In advance of next week’s episode of AEW Dynamite, the promotion has announced several matches.
In addition to these matches, All Elite Wrestling has confirmed an interview segment with Jake Roberts and Lance Archer.
This will be done to further hype the upcoming contest between Archer and Cody Rhodes for the AEW TNT Title as part of the finals of the tournament at the AEW Double or Nothing pay-per-view event will take place on Saturday, May 23, 2020.
Chris Jericho will be in action against an unknown opponent while MJF returns after being out of action next Wednesday.
It’s been reported that AEW will tape this episode of Dynamite on TNT from Jacksonville, Florida at Daily’s Place on Thursday.
AEW will return on May 20th with a live show, which will be the go-home show of Double or Nothing. Here is the updated card for next week’s show:
Chris Jericho in action against an unknown opponent
MJF returns in action against an unknown opponent
Brodie Lee vs. Christopher Daniels
Interview segment with Jake Roberts and Lance Archer
Hikaru Shida vs. Penelope Ford vs. Britt Baker vs. Kris Statlander
Jurassic Express (with Marko Stunt) vs. Best Friends (with Orange Cassidy)
