Chris Jericho made his first title defense as the AEW World Heavyweight Champion. 

He did so when he beat Darby Allin in a street fight on Wednesday’s episode of AEW Dynamite on TNT at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, PA. This served as the main event of the show. 

This contest was set up during last week’s show in Boston, MA at the Agganis Arena when Allin took on Jimmy Havoc in a #1 Contender’s Match. Allin was victorious and earned the right to challenge Le Champion this week.

• 5 Takeaways From AEW Dynamite (10/16)

It will be interesting to see where Allin goes from here as many fans are high on him. On the flip side, Jericho already has his next feud lined up. 

Jericho makes his next title defense on PPV when he wrestles Cody Rhodes at the upcoming Full Gear pay-per-view event.

AEW presents Full Gear on Saturday, November 9th from Baltimore’s Royal Farms Arena. The show will air on B/R Live, which is Bleacher Report’s streaming service, traditional PPV outlets, and FITE TV in international markets. 

Highlights from Jericho vs. Allin

What were your thoughts on Allin being put in a match against Jericho?

Another great night of wrestling is on tap for next week’s episode of AEW Dynamite. 

All Elite Wrestling has announced a total of five matches for this show and it’s a stacked card. 

Jon Moxley vs. PAC in a singles match appears to be the main event of the show. AEW set up this contest on Wednesday’s episode of Dynamite when Hangman Adam Page and Kenny Omega beat Jon Moxley and PAC in a tag team match that served as the co-main event.

The finish saw Moxley turn on PAC that allowed Omega and Page to hit their finishers on PAC to win the contest. 

Also, The Young Bucks and Britt Baker will be in action. These matches were announced on this week’s show as well. 

AEW Dynamite Preview (10/23)

Next week’s episode of AEW Dynamite takes place in Pittsburgh, PA at the Petersen Events Center and will mark the fourth episode. More matches and segments are expected to be added. Here is the updated card: 

• Jon Moxley vs. PAC
• The Dark Order vs. SoCal Uncensored – Semi-Final Tag Team Title Tournament Match
• Private Party vs. Lucha Bros – Semi-Final Tag Team Title Tournament Match
• The Young Bucks in action against an unknown team
• Britt Baker returns to Pittsburgh

AEW Dark Week 2 Results & Full Episode (Video)

The teams competing in the semi-finals of the tournament that will determine who will be crowned the inaugural AEW tag team champions have been revealed. 

A pair of first-round matches were held on Wednesday’s episode of AEW Dynamite on TNT at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, PA. Those matches were SoCal Uncensored vs. Best Friends and Lucha Bros vs. Jurassic Express. 

As seen on the show, SoCal Uncensored and Lucha Bros won their respective matches. As a result, the semi-finals have been determined.

The semi-finals will see The Dark Order face SoCal Uncensored while Private Party will take on Lucha Bros. 

The Dark Order defeated The Best Friends to earn the first-round bye in the tournament at the AEW All Out pay-per-view event that aired live on Bleacher Report’s streaming service, B/R Live.

The semi-finals of the tournament will take place on the fourth AEW on TNT episode in Pittsburgh.

The first-ever AEW World Tag Team Champions will be crowned with the finals on the fifth AEW TNT episode on October 30 in Charleston, WV.

Previously announced for this show was the fact that Jon Moxley will be in action and likely further his program against Kenny Omega. More matches will be announced shortly. 

Due to hamstring injury, Luchasaurus will be unable to compete on tonight’s episode of AEW Dynamite. He was scheduled to team with Jungle Boy against the Lucha Bros. (Pentagon & Fenix) in a first round match of the AEW Tag Team Championship tournament.

Earlier today, the decision was made to pull him from the match as a precaution. Marko Stunt will fill in for the big man. Stunt is an exciting performer, but this has to be seen as a big setback for the Jurassic Express in their quest to make history in AEW.

Check back later tonight for our Takeaways article covering the big happenings from AEW Dynamite.

AEW Dynamite Preview

The following is an updated preview for tonight’s AEW Dynamite from Philadelphia, PA:

– AEW Champion Chris Jericho vs. Darby Allin in a Street Fight

– Jon Moxley & PAC vs. Adam Page & Kenny Omega

– AEW Women’s Champion Riho vs. Dr. Britt Baker

– SCU vs. Best Friends (AEW Tag Tournament First Round Match)

– Jungle Boy & Marko Stunt vs. Lucha Bros (AEW Tag Tournament First Round Match)

Santana and Ortiz joined Chris Jericho’s Inner Circle faction shortly upon debuting in AEW. Recently on the “Keepin it 100” podcast, Konnan was asked about potentially joining the other members of LAX in All Elite Wrestling. According to Konnan, it had originally been discussed that he would come in with Santana and Ortiz but ultimately the decision was made to put them in Chris Jericho’s new faction.

“I was originally supposed to do something with them and then they went with Jericho,” Konnan said. “We’re still talking about some stuff.”

Konnan continued to talk about the success of the LAX gimmick.

“As for LAX, both versions have been great. I’d have to find the right people to do it again. I was very fortunate that the first time we had great chemistry with Hernandez and Homicide, and then the second time with Santana and Ortiz and for a little while, Diamante. I’m going to be doing like a new character which will be kind of based on the LAX character in Impact.”

Disco Inferno then suggested that he and Juventud Guerrera join Konnan in the new LAX but Konnan did not respond positively to this.

The full conversation can be heard in the player below:

The latest episode of AEW Dark is now online. This week’s installment was taped at last week’s AEW Dynamite show from Boston, MA.

AEW Dark Week 2 features a PPV-caliber, non-sanctioned ‘Lights Out’ match between Kenny Omega and Joey Janela, referee Aubrey Edwards speaking with Cody Rhodes on “Undesirable To Undeniable” and two more matches.

• Chris Jericho Comments On AEW’s Ratings Success (Video)

AEW Dark Week 2 Results

Opener

Backstage we see Tony Schiavone with The Young Bucks when Kenny Omega enters. After the quick backstage segment, the intro for the sophomore edition of AEW Dark airs as we launch into this week’s show.

Match Number One – Kip Sabian vs. Peter Avalon vs. Sonny Kiss

The first match of the evening saw Sabian pick up the victory over Avalon in the Triple-Threat opener.

Avalon came out first cutting a promo as he made his way to the ring. Sabian and Kiss made their entrances and the action is underway in Boston.

The finish sees Sabian score the pin fall victory over Avalon after the Deathly Hallows.

Winner: Kip Sabian

Match Number Two – SCU & CIMA vs. The Dark Order & The Hybird 2

In the second match of the evening, we see SoCal Uncensored team up with CIMA to take on The Dark Order and The Hybrid 2.

This match is given some time and develops well, concluding when Evans scores the pin fall victory for his team over Scorpio Sky with a rolling crab.

Winners: The Dark Order & The Hybrid 2

Undesirable To Undeniable: Aubrey Edwards

In a video segment dubbed “Undesirable to Undeniable,” AEW EVP Cody Rhodes sits down with AEW referee Aubrey Edwards.

They have a short interview segment where Edwards talks about her career, which included a stint as an official for WWE.

AEW Full Gear 2019

Some promotion and discussion about the upcoming AEW Full Gear pay-per-view at Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore, Maryland on November 9th airs as we prepare for our main event of the evening.

Match Number Three – (Lights Out Match) – Kenny Omega vs. Joey Janela

In an excellent main event, we see Kenny Omega going one-on-one against Joey Janela in their advertised “Lights Out Match.”

This one is given well over a half an hour to develop, which the crowd being into the action throughout.

A lot of “foreign objects” made appearances in this one as well, as Omega and Janela beat each other from pillar-to-post with virtually anything that wasn’t nailed down inside the arena in Boston.

Finally, the match gets to a finish, which sees Omega score the pin fall victory over Janela after a running One Winged Angel on a steel chair.

Winner: Kenny Omega

Week three of AEW’s weekly television show, Dynamite, is upon us. 

The company has stacked the card yet again and with bell time just hours away, it’s time to look ahead to tonight’s episode of AEW Dynamite on TNT.

The show is expected to start with one of the AEW World Tag Team Titles Tournament First Round matches. 

Although not confirmed, the belief is that Darby Allin vs. AEW World Champion Chris Jericho in a Philadelphia Street Fight will serve as the headliner. 

Chris Jericho & Darby Allin Hype Their Title Fight On AEW Dynamite

AEW holds this show in on TNT at 8 p.m. ET. AEW is advertising the following items for tonight’s broadcast:

• Darby Allin vs. AEW World Champion Chris Jericho – Philadelphia Street Fight Main Event
• Britt Baker vs. AEW Women’s Champion Riho
• SoCal Uncensored vs. Best Friends – AEW World Tag Team Titles Tournament First Round Match
• Lucha Bros vs. Jurassic Express – AEW World Tag Team Titles Tournament First Round Match
• Jon Moxley and PAC vs. Kenny Omega and “Hangman” Adam Page

AEW will also be creating new programs and building on the hype for existing feuds on the show. 

Join us here later tonight for our post-show AEW Dynamite Takeaways feature.

The second-ever edition of AEW Dark will air tonight at 7 p.m. est on YouTube. The show will be hosted by Tony Schiavone and will feature matches that were taped last Wednesday in Boston’s Agganis arena but did not air live on Dynamite.

The lineup for tonight’s show is as follows:

• Sonny Kiss vs Kip Sabian vs Peter Avalon with Leva Bates
• CIMA & SCU (Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky) vs. TheHybrid2 (Angelico & Jack Evans) & The Dark Order (Evil Uno & Stu Grayson)
• Unsanctioned Lights Out Match: Joey Janela vs Kenny Omega

AEW Dynamite #3

With AEW Dark airing on Tuesday nights, it gives the promotion a chance to hype up the next episode of Dynamite to air the following night. This week, AEW will travel to Philadelphia and have several big matches booked for the show.

The lineup for tomorrow’s episode of Dynamite is as follows:

• AEW World Championship Match
  Philadelphia Street Fight
  Chris Jericho (c) vs Darby Allin
• AEW Women’s World Championship Match
  Riho (c) vs Britt Baker
• AEW Tag Team Championship Tournament (1st Round)
  SCU vs the Best Friends
• AEW Tag Team Championship Tournament (1st Round)
  The Lucha Bros vs A Boy & His Dinosaur
• Hangman Page & Kenny Omega vs PAC & Jon Moxley

Britt Baker was the first woman to be signed to All Elite Wrestling and became one of the top names in the division. Baker says she wants to be remembered more than just being the first woman to be signed to the company, and she’ll achieve that by capturing the AEW Women’s Championship.

Baker will be challenging All Elite Wrestling Women’s Champion Riho for the title this Wednesday, October 16 at AEW Dynamite.

Baker believes that now that the Women’s Championship has been established in AEW, one has to capture it to be considered the best.

“I always like to keep the mentality that the next big thing is steps ahead of you, because if not it’s really easy to get discouraged and stay down on yourself. But I definitely did not see [2019] being quite so explosive in my world, per se,” Baker told Sportskeeda in a recent interview. “I was the first woman signed to AEW so I was catapulted right away to the top just for that basic fact… But now there’s a Women’s Championship introduced, so now to be the best you have to be the champion. So I don’t want to just be the first woman signed anymore, I want to be the World Champion and that’s exactly what I’m gonna do.”

Baker is relatively new to wrestling and only made her debut back in August 2015. Baker was studying to become a healthcare professional.

Baker has studied behavioral medicine with a minor in human development and family studies at Pennsylvania State University. She graduated from Penn State in 2014 but decided to pursue a degree in dental medicine, enrolling in the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Dental Medicine. She is currently employed at a private practice in Winter Park, Florida.

AEW Dynamite Preview (10/16)

The AEW Dynamite episode on Wednesday will also feature a World Championship Match on the card. Here’s a look at the card for the show from Philadelphia’s Liacouras Center.

• “The Painmaker” Chris Jericho Darby Allin – Philadelphia Street Fight for the AEW World Heavyweight Championship
• Jon Moxley and PAC vs. Kenny Omega and “Hangman” Adam Page
• SoCal Uncensored vs. Best Friends (AEW Tag Title Tournament, First Round)
• Lucha Bros vs. Jurassic Express (AEW Tag Title Tournament, First Round)
• AEW Women’s Champion Riho vs. Britt Baker

The All Elite Wrestling World Champion Chris Jericho has announced that he’s bringing his alter ego The Painmaker to the company’s weekly show Dynamite this Wednesday.

Jericho is set to defend his title against challenger Darbie Allen on Dynamite this week. He warned Allen on Instagram that he’s going to bring back The Painmaker for him. “So beware […] hell is coming for you,” wrote Jericho.

When Jericho started working in NJPW, he debuted a new persona when he faced Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. In this character, Jericho paints his face and shows a more violent side.

Chris Jericho debuted the Painmaker persona first when he got in a feud with Tetsuya Naito after Wrestle Kingdom 12. The character’s attire involved wearing face paint, a hat, a scarf, a jacket, and leather pants.
At Dominion 6.9 in Osaka-jo Hall, in June 2018, Jericho defeated Naito to win the IWGP Championship. This side of Jericho was shown to being more violent and would often attack his opponents backstage or after they’re down. Seeing this side of Jericho in AEW will be interesting as the character was well received in NJPW. The addition of Painmaker would only enhance Jericho’s presence on the show.

Last week, Darby Allin defeated Jimmy Havoc in a #1 contender’s match. The show concluded with a wild brawl that saw Darby Allin roll to ringside on a skateboard and attack Le Champion.

This will also be Jericho’s first title defense as the AEW World Champion.

AEW Dynamite Preview (10/16)

Here is a look at the card for Wednesday night’s show from Philadelphia’s Liacouras Center.

• “The Painmaker” Chris Jericho Darby Allin – Philadelphia Street Fight for the AEW World Heavyweight Championship
• Jon Moxley and PAC vs. Kenny Omega and “Hangman” Adam Page
• SoCal Uncensored vs. Best Friends (AEW Tag Title Tournament, First Round)
• Lucha Bros vs. Jurassic Express (AEW Tag Title Tournament, First Round)
• AEW Women’s Champion Riho vs. Britt Baker

Wednesday’s edition of AEW Dynamite on TNT from Philadelphia, PA features a stacked card headlined by AEW World Champion Chris Jericho’s first title defense.

Last week, Darby Allin defeated Jimmy Havoc in a #1 contender’s match. The show concluded with a wild brawl that saw Darby Allin roll to ringside on a skateboard and attack Le Champion.

• 6 Takeaways From AEW Dynamite (10/9)

Jericho was enraged by Allin’s tactics, calling him a street thug. In the process, he announced the match will be a Philadelphia Street Fight. He also promised to show up as The Painmaker, the dark alter ego we first saw during his run in New Japan Pro Wrestling.

“You want to treat me like a street thug?,” Jericho asked. “I’m going to treat you like the little b***h that you are Darby Allin because next week for the AEW Championship Darby Allin vs Chris Jericho in a Philadelphia Street Fight.”

Since then, Darby Allin has issued a response of his own. As seen below, the 26-year-old grappler cuts a brooding promo on his opponent. Allin explains his personal mission in the pro wrestling business, which is to leave as the same man he was when he entered. He also tells Chris Jericho needs to be humbled and it will be a sweet moment when he’s humbled by a man whom he looks down upon.

AEW Dynamite Preview (10/16)

Here is an updated look at the card for Wednesday night’s show from Philadelphia’s Liacouras Center.

• “The Painmaker” Chris Jericho Darby Allin – Philadelphia Street Fight for the AEW World Heavyweight Championship
• Jon Moxley and PAC vs. Kenny Omega and “Hangman” Adam Page
• SoCal Uncensored vs. Best Friends (AEW Tag Title Tournament, First Round)
• Lucha Bros vs. Jurassic Express (AEW Tag Title Tournament, First Round)
• AEW Women’s Champion Riho vs. Britt Baker

The location for the twelfth week of AEW Dynamite has been announced. 

AEW (All Elite Wrestling) announced on Monday via Twitter that the promotion would be holding a TV event on TNT at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas.

The arena has a max capacity of approximately 10,000 people, which is in line with the other arenas that AEW is airing their television show from.

This week’s show takes place Philadelphia, PA at the Liacouras Center and will be headlined by AEW World Champion Chris Jericho vs. Darby Allin. 

For fans who plan on attending, tickets for that show will go on sale this Friday at 11 am CST / Noon Eastern at AEWTix.com.

“Corpus Christi, Texas get ready, #AEWDynamite is coming to the @AmericanBankCtr, Wednesday, Dec 18th for a LIVE broadcast on @tntdrama. Tickets start at $20 and go on sale this Friday, Oct 18th at 11am CST / Noon ET – http://AEWTix.com,”

AEW’s Double Or Nothing And All Out To Be Yearly PPV Events

AEW has announced several locations for upcoming TV events. Here is an updated look at the AEW TV schedule:

• Week 3 (10/16): Philadelphia, PA
• Week 4 (10/23): Pittsburgh, PA
• Week 5 (10/30): Charleston, WV
• Week 6 (11/6): Charlotte, NC
• Week 7 (11/13): Nashville, TN
• Week 8 (11/20): Indianapolis, IN
• Week 9 (11/27): Charlotte, NC
• Week 10 (12/4): Champaign, IL
• Week 11 (12/11): Garland, TX
• Week 12 (12/18): Corpus Christi, TX

The “Human Suplex Machine” Taz will be working the commentary booth this Wednesday in Philadelphia. Cody Rhodes announced on Twitter recently that Taz will be given a guest commentary spot on Wednesday for the matches taped for AEW Dark. Those matches will air on the October 22nd edition of the show.

Taz To Work Guest Commentary Spot On AEW Dark

Last month, Taz noted on Twitter that he’d had recent talks with promotions about a return to the commentary booth.

• Taz Shares Having Recent Talks With Wrestling Promotions

 “I actually miss it (doing commentary in general) very much! Btw… they’re all other places to apply that craft besides WWE,” Taz wrote. He continued, “As far as commentary, truth be told…over the past several months I have had healthy in-depth conversations with a few Pro Wrestling companies.. just not the right fit for me (and my goals) with those individual organizations at the moment….”

Taz also recently shared his thoughts on 2 and 3-person commentary booths during an interview with the WINCLY podcast:

“I’ve worked in both but I’ve always preferred a two-person booth. Everyone needs to know their role when it’s a three-person booth. There has to be a lead and you can’t step on each other or it will be a horrible listen.”

Leva Bates, who plays the librarian gimmick in All Elite Wrestling, was ecstatic when she heard that the company was going to sign her.

AEW’s President Tony Khan wanted a librarian character for the company and it was decided that a wrestler would be chosen through an audition. Many wrestlers sent in their audition tapes, but Bates was ultimately chosen to play the part.

Speaking to Comicbook.com, Leva discussed why she decided to submit the audition tape for the role and revealed how she reacted when she was chosen.

“I was just kind of doing it for the fun of it. So yeah that was really just one of those, ‘Oh my god it really worked [situations]!’ I mean obviously I did have intentions on wanting to be with AEW. Out of all of the companies that was my number one spot I really wanted to be at. It fits me and my personality and I feel like this company is where I belong so I took a chance. But yeah, no, there was no talk of me being within the company at all. It was one of those like, ‘Okay, I’ll just try it.’ And then I literally thought it was going to be like, ‘Oh, cool yeah a little bit of PR. I’m moving forward,’ and then when it actually panned through I was beyond shocked and over-ecstatic. It was definitely a moment where I didn’t expect when I got that call,” Bates said.

Bates was actually not the only one selected for AEW’s librarian role. The company had announced that they had also selected Peter Avalon for the role, and now there would be two librarians. She made her singles debut at Fyter Fest but quickly booed by fans. Bates said that fans were initially not very welcoming to the idea of a librarian duo, but she believes that they both can work well together and fans just need to give the pair a chance.

“It actually went through a roller coaster. People were super excited, especially at Double or Nothing [in a backstage segment] they were super happy about it. But then in the flesh they weren’t sure what to think of it because if you look at it I’m a super good guy and Peter is not. So it’s a very interesting dichotomy and I don’t think people gave, at the second, a chance to really let it build and grow. Because I felt like Peter and I are a wonderful, odd couple team. We gel really well with each other but we both have different personality traits. So I don’t think people knew how to handle it since everyone, especially at Daytona, everyone knows me as the super gamer girl, super nerd cosplayer so I’m coming out not necessarily in that form,” Bates said.

Chris Jericho’s Rock ‘N’ Wrestling Rager at Sea is a series of cruise ship experiences held by Chris Jericho, which features various wrestling events, concerts, and stand-up comedy acts.

Rock’ N’ Wrestling Rager at Sea, held in late October 2018, hosted Ring of Honor’s Sea of Honor Tournament, which saw sixteen different matches taking place. Bullet Club, The Young Bucks, Flip Gordon, Adam Page, Dalton Castle were some of the names that took part in the event.

Jericho will be holding a second cruise named Chris Jericho’s Rock ‘N’ Wrestling Rager at Sea Part Deux: The Second Wave. It will occur from January 20 to January 24, 2020. It will be partnering with AEW and feature wrestlers like The Young Bucks, Britt Baker, and Adam Page.

The face of AEW recently talked about his cruise in an interview where he was asked if he would be able to continue hosting the cruise while working weekly at AEW. Not only was he positive that he could do it, but he also touched on the possibility of holding an AEW Dynamite sea edition on the cruise.

Speaking to Fansided, Jericho said, “Yeah, January 20th is sold out already, so we’re gonna talk soon about Jericho Cruise No. 3. So, it’s exciting! You remember WCW had Road Wild and Bash at the Beach, where you’re taking wrestling out of the arena. If you saw the event we did last year on a cruise ship, it looked so beautiful. The middle of the night in the middle of the ocean, the stars shining down, the lights. I’d like that to be an annual thing, and as I’m with AEW, there’s no reason to take a day out of a wrestling company. So, if we can make it the annual rock and wrestling rager at sea edition of [AEW] Dynamite, that’s great! Just adds another element to our very cool show.”

It will be interesting to see a sea edition of AEW Dynamite come to fruition. It doesn’t seem very far-fetched, as some AEW wrestlers are already going to appear on the cruise next year.

Another match has been added to the card for next week’s episode of AEW Dynamite. 

The promotion announced today that Jon Moxley will team with PAC to take on Kenny Omega and “Hangman” Adam Page in a tag team match. 

This comes after Moxley beat Shawn Spears in a singles match last week on Dynamite while Page lost alongside Dustin Rhodes to Sammy Guevara and AEW World Champion Chris Jericho in a tag team contest that ended up serving as the main event. 

On this same episode as All Elite Wrestling previously announced, Jericho puts his title on the line when he meets Darby Allin in a Philadelphia Street Fight that will serve as the main event. 

Shad Khan Says AEW Isn’t Competing With WWE

This Dynamite episode will air live on TNT from the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, PA. Here is the updated card:

• Darby Allin vs. AEW World Champion Chris Jericho – Philadelphia Street Fight Main Event
• Britt Baker vs. AEW Women’s Champion Riho
• SoCal Uncensored vs. Best Friends – AEW World Tag Team Titles Tournament First Round Match
• Lucha Bros vs. Jurassic Express – AEW World Tag Team Titles Tournament First Round Match
• Jon Moxley and PAC vs. Kenny Omega and “Hangman” Adam Page

Jacksonville Jaguars owner and Tony Khan’s father, Shad Khan, has opened up on the intent of AEW (All Elite Wrestling). 

He did so by doing an interview with Yahoo Finance where he spoke about how AEW isn’t trying to compete with WWE. Khan is a lead investor in the company. 

“WWE is a great company, but we are not here competing with them. In the golden age of wrestling during the late ‘90s, there were 10 million fans. Now It’s down to 2 million. So we’re tapping into fans who were not engaged and quite frankly the younger fan who never got quite into it. Competition is good for everybody, but it’s very important for AEW to do our own thing.”

Shad & Tony Khan Release Statements On All Elite Wrestling

Khan’s comments are backed up by the product that All Elite Wrestling presents with their weekly television show, Dynamite, that airs every Wednesday night on TNT. 

The launch of this promotion and them inking a television deal with TNT has caused WWE to make significant changes to their business model. 

This includes offering longer and more money deals to their talent as well as moving NXT from their streaming service, WWE Network, to prime time for two hours in the same time slot as AEW on the USA Network.

Brandi Rhodes says it’s part of her job to remind everyone that there still aren’t enough women in wrestling. The AEW executive recently took part in an interview with SI.com and spoke about her role in the company and efforts she has been spearheading to make AEW events inclusive of everyone.

“There are plenty of smart women that are interested to work in wrestling,” Rhodes said during the interview. “It’s part of my job to remind people that there still aren’t enough women in wrestling.”

Rhodes also clarified her role as it concerns AEW’s Women’s division.

“I don’t book the women’s division, but I provide a voice from the women to the men to get their voices out there,” she said. “I’m sure it’s annoying after you’ve been involved in wrestling for all these years, and you’ve had all this success, to have a woman come in and say, ‘Hey, that’s not how we like to do things.’ But you’re not a woman. And women hate being told by men how they’re going to think, how they should be, and what they’re going to feel.”

Brandi Rhodes on Working With KultureCity

Brandi also spoke about her work with KultureCity to make AEW events inclusive shows.

“We’re trying to make it easier for people all across the board,” said Rhodes. “Parents to engage with their kids, or adults with sensory issues, PTSD, extreme anxiety, autism,” said Rhodes. “We’re educating venues about KultureCity, too, and it’s really great that people are saying how great the experiences are.”

The full interview with Brandi Rhodes can be read here.

Rhodes continued to talk about AEW remaining open to new ideas and concepts.

“We need to remain open-minded,” she continued. “Sometimes wrestling tends to be in this bubble, where nothing else exists but wrestling. We need to reach other areas of entertainment, like when we worked with Stephen Amell or the crossover with DC Comics. We need to remember we’re not too big, or a bully to anyone else in entertainment.”

Chris Jericho will defend his AEW World Championship next week against Darby Allin on AEW Dynamite. This week on Dynamite, Allin rode his skateboard down the ramp during the closing segment in order to attack Jericho. In response, Jericho cut the following promo announcing his match against Allin next week will now be a “Philadelphia Street Fight”:

Chris Jericho Sends Message To Darby Allin

“You all saw what happened tonight. In 29 years in the wrestling business, I’ve seen and done it all,” Jericho began the video. “But what I’ve never seen is a self-righteous son of a bitch skateboard down a ram-way and attack me.”

Allin qualified for a title match next week by defeating Jimmy Havoc this week on Dynamite.

“It’s the biggest match of his career but he had to take it too far, he had to come and attack me from behind like some kind of a dog, like some kind of a street thug.”

“You want to treat me like some kind of street thug? Sounds good to me,” Jericho continued. “Because next week we’re in Philadelphia, that’s the place where my father Ted Irvine used to beat the crap out of the Philadelphia Flyers each and every night when he played with the New York Rangers. So, you want to come to Philly? You want to treat me like a street thug? I’m going to treat you like the little b***h that you are Darby Allin because next week for the AEW Championship Darby Allin vs Chris Jericho in a Philadelphia Street Fight.”

Jericho would then end the video by saying he would come as “the Painmaker” for the match.

All Elite Wrestling’s Joey Janela has opened up about his recent altercation with Big Cass at a WrestlePro event. He shared his story during a recent episode of Wrestlers On The Road Ordering Room Service on the Being the Elite YouTube channel. 

‘The Bad Boy’ explained how he went outside for a smoke only to have Big Cass corner him and strike him in the head.

“I went outside for a smoke and I had said ‘Hello’ to the dude earlier and he was like, ‘Hey, what’s up?’ I go out for a smoke and he corners me and then smacks me in the head,” Janela said of Cass. “It wasn’t like a hard smack but it just caught me off guard. I’m like, ‘What the f*ck is going on here?’ Then he starts chasing me, ‘Joey, I’m’ coming to kill you!'”

He recalls how he ran through the locker room in an attempt to get away, comparing their chase to an episode of Tom & Jerry, as Cass allegedly threatened to shoot and kill him. 

“It Was Like A Horror Movie”

Promoters of the show eventually put Janela into a separate locker room, locking the doors in an attempt to protect him. Janela remembers being terrified saying, “It was like a horror movie,” as Cass attempted to open every door in his attempt to find him.

When Janela prepared for his match at WrestlePro’s equivalent to the Gorilla Position, Cass would try to attack him once again. He ended up being tackled to the ground by other wrestlers.

Despite this scary exchange, however, Janela doesn’t hold it against Big Cass. He explained how he had lost a friend because of substance abuse problems, and because of this he empathizes with Cass’ struggles. 

Despite Big Cass’ repeated attempts to get at him, Janela refused to press charges, explaining that “He just didn’t know what he was doing and I felt bad…. Get him to a hospital because you know he’s dealing with something crazy.”

Big Cass’ tag team partner, Enzo Amore, recently thanked both WWE and Diamond Dallas Page for helping his friend during this difficult time. 

H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription. 

All Elite Wrestling (AEW) talent, and star of hit Netflix show GLOW, Awesome Kong was a recent guest on Women’s Wrestling Weekly. During her appearance, Kong opened up about how she came to be a part of AEW. She discussed her surprise debut at Double or Nothing as well as how she got back into ring shape.

She credited her agent in helping her become a part of AEW, explaining that he was the first one to tell her about it as she hadn’t been immersed in the world of pro wrestling for some time. 

“I didn’t know anything about it because I hadn’t been immersed in it, the wrestling world, so I was doing StarrCast/Starrcade… and they said everyone is going to the show [All In] and I was thinking that it was just some random indie show…I get there and they are at the Sears Center and the production value is out of this world,” Kong said. “I’m like, ‘Wait… I need to be a part of this next time, someone needs to ask me next time’ …and they did, I’m glad they did, backstage the harmony is there, people are working, people are getting paid, people are getting medical… People are happy and people want to come in and work hard.”

Double Or Nothing

Kong noted that only three people knew about her surprise appearance at Double or Nothing. She recounted how she had to be snuck into the airport wearing sunglasses to try and disguise herself.

“We got in, we did the deal. I was nervous and I hadn’t put on the Kong gear in for eons…I hadn’t summoned her.. She’s a real person, Kong is real, hadn’t summoned her in a while. I was in the bathroom… it was a whole process.”

Coming back to in-ring action required her to train in order to channel Awesome Kong once again. She explained how she “hyped up” her cardio and avoided training in a ring. Kong believed people would easily figure out she was preparing for a wrestling return if she had. 

H/T to WrestlingNews.co for the quotes.

The second week of the WWE NXT vs. AEW Dynamite war is in the books. 

Wednesday’s edition of WWE NXT averaged 790,000 viewers, which is down from the 891,000 viewers that the show drew last week on the USA Network, according to ShowbuzzDaily. 

AEW Dynamite that aired during the same time slot on TNT pulled in 1.018 million, which is down from the premiere episode that did 1.409.

Due to MLB airing on both TNT and TBS that could have impacted AEW, the call was made to simulcast Dynamite, which drew 122,000 additional viewers on True TV. This adds up to 1.140 million in total viewers for AEW. 

Thus, AEW won the night. The key number is the 18-49 demos that saw AEW draw 0.46 while NXT drew 0.22.

6 Takeaways From AEW Dynamite (10/9)

To compare, this week’s RAW drew 2.334 million viewers (down from last week’s 2.570 million viewers), which was the post-Hell in a Cell show. 

In case you missed the WWE NXT show, you can check out the 4 takeaways from it here.

WWE and AEW will attempt to increase viewership with next week’s episodes, which should be interesting to see what number it pulls in.

The shows had to go up against that Basketball Wives did 1.342 million viewers, Tucker Carlson Tonight with 3.244, and Anderson Cooper 1.206. The biggest competition was an MLB playoff Game on TBS that drew 5.856 million. 

Matches that took place on the NXT show included Lio Rush defeating Drew Gulak to win the Cruiserweight Title, Roderick Strong defeats Isaiah Scott, and WALTER defeating Kushida. 

Top matches on AEW included a World Tag Team Title Tournament First Round Match that saw Private Party defeat The Young Bucks, Darby Allin defeated Jimmy Havoc in a World Title #1 Contendership Match, and Jon Moxley defeated Shawn Spears. 

Chris Jericho and Jon Moxley were part of the All Elite Wrestling panel at the New York Comic-Con last weekend. At the panel, various topics were discussed, and among them, the topic of WWE came up.

Jericho and Moxley talked about why they left the company and decided to join AEW. Moxley revealed that all of it was just because of crazy timing.

In a video published by Nerd News Today, Moxley detailed his journey to the new alternative wrestling promotion at the NYCC panel. He revealed that the first person that knew about his plan to exit WWE was Chris Jericho.

“I had been planning on leaving where I was before for a few months, and I actually had been talking to – I think the first guy besides my wife that even knew because I didn’t tell anybody — the only other guy that knew was Chris [Jericho],” revealed Moxley.

Which proved to be great timing for Moxley as Jericho got him in touch with Cody Rhodes who offered Moxley to join their promotion.

“It was on the phone. This was before any of this other stuff started happening and I said, ‘Dude, I’m out of here. I’m done.’ And he’s like, ‘Dude, you need to come work with us.’ And I’m like, ‘What?’ Not five minutes later probably, I get a call from Cody Rhodes, and he started explaining to me all this top-secret stuff they had. And I’m like, ‘Whoa.’ And here we are.”

As for Jericho, he revealed that the reason he left was because of the scripts. Jericho was tired of being handed a script and being told what to do.

“But now, as we mentioned with no scripts and all that, it gives us the chance to be the artists that we are and use the instincts that we’ve honed after doing this for years, and years, and years, and years to know how to put on a show, to know how to put on a match,” Jericho explained.

Jericho also stated that giving the wrestlers control over their character is the best practice as it would look more natural than a script written by someone else.

“Most importantly, how do you get your character across? There’s nobody in the world that knows how to play Chris Jericho better than I do, so don’t give me a f***ing script and say, ‘This is what Jericho’s going to say.”

H/T to 411mania.com for the transcription.

The Chief Brand Officer of All Elite Wrestling, Brandy Rhodes talked about the state of the women’s wrestling scene in the promotion and also touched on the topic of a possible women’s tag team division in a recent interview.

Rhodes said that AEW President Tony Khan is also on board with the women’s tag team division. “You never want to rush into things because you put unnecessary pressure on competitors that don’t need to be there. Each championship is unfolding as we go,” Rhodes told Newsweek. “Pretty confident that [AEW President] Tony Khan is on record saying he would want a women’s tag division. I want a women’s tag division.”

Brandi has also talked about AEW’s women’s division before. Recently she revealed that the company has around 16 women signed, which would include some surprising names. The roster page at AEW’s official website lists 11 female competitors for now.

Rhodes has said before that the first few weeks of AEW TV will primarily feature names that we are already familiar with. Some names that aren’t familiar will be used and the company has them signed for quite some time and have been planning to use them since.

For now the only title women can compete for is the AEW Women’s World Championship. It was first announced on June 18, 2019. Riho became the inaugural champion by defeating Nyla Rose on the premiere episode of Dynamite.

All Elite Wrestling (AEW) World Champion Chris Jericho made a recent appearance on KTLA 5 Morning News show in Los Angeles. During his interview, Jericho spoke about what made AEW special compared to WWE. When asked about whether there are similarities or differences between the two promotions, Jericho explained they are “completely different.”

“It’s [AEW] a brand new company, backed by the owners of the Jacksonville Jaguars, and we just debuted on Wednesday, last Wednesday, on the TNT Network, to what was the highest-debuted show in 5 years for the network. A huge hit. It’s something different. People are excited because for the first time in 20 years there’s an alternative to the WWE, and it’s new, and it’s exciting, and it’s fresh, it’s fun.”

He added how he acts as a bridge for wrestling fans who may not be familiar with AEW but are fans of Chris Jericho:

“So, when they come and watch me on the show, then they see all these other great performers that they’ve never watched. So, for me it’s a chance to do something, build something up from scratch, which has never happened in our lifetime for the wrestling business,” Jericho said. “It’s a really cool time for the business. We have created a whole buzz for wrestling now, to where it’s becoming cool again, and more specifically, AEW is cool.”

During last night’s episode of AEW: Dynamite on TNT, Jericho took a shot at WWE’s creative team during a promo.