AEW has a few people who are out of action for one reason or another. Right now, Rebel is on the verge of breaking a huge streak in her career, because she hasn’t been seen on television in a very long time.

Rebel hasn’t been on AEW television in quite some time, but she’s still been under contract with the company. Now, we have a bit of an update about her current status. 

Sean Ross Sapp reported on Fightful Select that Rebel hasn’t been backstage much during her absence from AEW television. She is open to make a television return, and there are currently some internal talks to make that happen. 

When asking around, we’re told that Rebel hasn’t been backstage much during her absence from All Elite Wrestling, but has been open to returning to TV if asked. When we followed up on that, we were told there were some internal talks about her possibly being back on television, but specifics or a likelihood of that happening wasn’t revealed. We were told there weren’t working plans for her to wrestle. She has publicly expressed her desire to wrestle on the indies next year.

Rebel has been on television every year since 2014 as part of some pro wrestling company. This might change this year if she doesn’t wrestle, because she hasn’t been seen in 2023. 

Rebel used to appear on a regular basis, as she worked alongside Britt Baker. However, she hasn’t been on television since Britt Baker turned babyface. It was also noted that Rebel also quit her job in the makeup department at AEW.

We will have to see if Rebel makes a return to television any time soon. Right now, there are a lot more questions than answers about her current absence.

What’s your take on Rebel’s absence from AEW television? Do you miss seeing her around? Let us know what you think by engaging with us on social media! 

AEW star Jon Moxley is a proud father and recently stated that fatherhood changed his outlook on his life.

Renee Paquette and Jon Moxley are the proud parents of baby girl, Nora. Among the most beloved couples in pro wrestling are Mox and Paquette. Back in the day, Jon worked as a wrestler in WWE, while Renee was a host, interviewer, and commentator for the promotion. 

This is how the two initially got together and on April 9, 2017, the pair finally tied the knot in a private ceremony held at their residence. It was said to be an unplanned wedding. 

Paquette and Moxley would welcome their first child, Nora on June 15, 2021.

It is needless to mention that a person’s life might drastically alter for good after having a baby. After becoming parents, they would want to set an example for their kids and that’s how being a father, Jon Moxley’s outlook towards life changed. 

Jon Moxley talks about fatherhood

Speaking with
Bleacher Report, Moxley said that having a daughter with Renee Paquette gave him a greater appreciation for both life and pro wrestling. The former AEW World Champion is trying to set an example for her daughter in everything that he’s currently doing. Mox said:

“By the time I had a kid, I was already a veteran of this. I was already paying the price physically for a lot of the s–t I did in my younger years. I was already at the stage where I was telling younger kids ‘You might not have to do that move every single night because you’re going to pay for it in 10 years.’ I already became the kind of guy who was aware of my own mortality by the time I had a child, so it really didn’t change anything. If anything, it made me appreciate it more and want to do a better job.

“Now everything I’m doing, I’m setting an example. I have a lot of young people that I coach and people that I work with, and I got young kids in Cincinnati I teach wrestling to. I’ve got a lot of people that are looking at me, so if I go out there and don’t work hard or take anything for granted or don’t take the kind of advice I would give to my daughter, if whatever I would tell her doesn’t match up with what I did, there would be a problem there.

“If anything [fatherhood] just made me appreciate life more and made me want to do this for as long as I can. I don’t know if she will ever get to watch me do it live and in person. She’s two and a half. When I look at some of my main rivals like Chris Jericho and Minoru Suzuki, they’re still going hard and still at the top of their game, so I think I’ve got a lot of years left. I don’t plan on ever retiring. At some point, I will just get too old to do it.”

Jon Moxley is currently competing in the AEW Continental Classic where he has bagged 9 points and is aiming to win the tournament. You can check out below what he thinks of the brand-new tournament:

AEW star Andrade El Idolo heading back to CMLL for the first time in years. 

Idolo is currently signed to AEW but as it seems, he’s decided to head back to CMLL. The Mexican superstar has not made an appearance in CMLL since 2015. Back in the day, he performed under the name La Sombra. 

Ahead of signing with WWE, he endured a defeat in a Mask vs. Mask match against Atlantis at CMLL’s 82nd Anniversary show. He is a former IWGP Intercontinental Champion which he won during his run with the company as part of an agreement between CMLL and New Japan Pro Wrestling back in the day.

Andrade is returning to CMLL

On CMLL’s show at Arena Mexico on Friday, a vignette aired that featured Andrade El Idolo. He announced that he is coming home to CMLL, and will make his comeback next Friday night, December 15.

Notably, it was only last week that CMLL teased a star would be returning soon and this led to tons of speculation that Idolo might be making a return. Now we know he is indeed returning. 

? ¡Andrade El Ídolo “La Sombra” regresa a la Arena México!

?? Viernes 15 de diciembre '23
? 8:30 p.m.

?? Boletos en taquillas y en Ticketmaster:
Phttps://www.ticketmaster.com.mx/event/14005E5602892C07#ViernesEspectacularCMLL#CMLL pic.twitter.com/zJH6nnVqvG

— Lucha Libre CMLL (@CMLL_OFICIAL) December 9, 2023

Andrade himself sent out a Tweet and confirmed his appearance. Check it out below:

I almost returned to the place where I started “ANRADE EL
IDOLO "Lasombra" @CMLL_OFICIAL 12/15/23

Casi regreso a el lugar donde inicie y siempre fue una casa por muchos años.Donde nació LA SOMBRA Y SE CONVIRTIÓ EN “ANDRADE EL ÍDOLO”
15 de diciembre Arena mexico @CMLL_OFICIAL https://t.co/Lu22J3FFRW

— “EL IDOLO” ANDRADE (@AndradeElIdolo) December 9, 2023

Andrade El Idolo is currently embroiled in a storyline with CJ Perry and Miro on AEW Collision. The development in the relationship of Perry and Miro has grabbed the attention of the fans. It would be quite interesting to see how it pans out with Andrade being in the mix.

Andrade is also participating in the Continental Classic tournament, where he has acquired 3 points. As the speculation of his departure from AEW fuels, Andrade is set to face Bryan Danielson on AEW Collision this Saturday.

AEW World Champion MJF has continued to make his name outside of the ring by providing the intro for Smoke DZA’s ‘Beyond Spiritual’.

In the intro, MJF puts over Smoke for having better flows, rhymes, clothes, and weed than you. MJF also makes it clear that Smoke’s joints are better than a certain part of your mother’s body. 

Wise words from the champ @The_MJF ??? Thx, ScumBag. #BeyondSpritual pic.twitter.com/u3JWxPKUIJ

— Smoke DZA (@smokedza) December 8, 2023

MJF Outside of the Ring

MJF’s role with this track isn’t the first time that the AEW World Champion has stretched his entertainment muscles outside of the ring. MJF is set to appear as Lance Von Erich in the upcoming The Iron Claw biopic, detailing the lives, careers, and tragedies of the famed family of wrestlers. While MJF is in the new film, fans may struggle to see him, as Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer explained this week. 

“From what we understand, the way the “Iron Claw” movie was edited, the MJF role of playing Lance Von Erich based on people who have seen the latest version was pretty much dropped. The latest version has maybe 10 seconds and they never go into the Lance story and he has no speaking lines and unless you were looking for him, you’d never know he was in it.”

MJF (or at least) his voice, has a much bigger role in the animated film Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen Part Two.  MJF voices Killer Croc/Waylon Jones in the film based on the popular characters of Rooster Teeth’s RWBY meeting the iconic team from DC Comics. 

The ongoing AEW Continental Classic will allow Bryan Danielson the chance to face some of the promotion’s top stars, but not Kenny Omega. 

Danielson is part of the Blue League in the round-robin tournament, meaning everyone from each league faces everyone in their league. Danielson has already faced Eddie Kingston, Andrade El Idolo, and Daniel Garcia and has accumulated six points so far. He has yet to face Brody King and his Blackpool Combat Club ally Claudio Castagnoli. 

Danielson Wanted Omega in the Continental Classic

A dozen of AEW’s most exciting Superstars are part of the AEW Continental Classic, but Kenny Omega isn’t among them. Speaking with Mail Sport’s Alex McCarthy, Danielson spoke about wanting to face the Cleaner. 

‘I really wanted Kenya Omega in it and I don’t know. People think I do a lot more than I do. I don’t know what happened or why he’s not in the tournament.”

Danielson added that the idea of being in the tournament was presented to Omega, and gave a reason for why the former AEW World Champion isn’t competing. 

“I know it was at least brought up to him and I don’t know if he didn’t want to do it or I know that he and Chris Jericho are the number one contenders for the Tag team championship. So maybe that’s why, you know.”

Danielson is one of three wrestlers in the Blue League to be on six points, with Brody King and Andrade El Idolo sharing the same score. Claudio Castagnoli and Eddie Kingston have three points, while Daniel Garcia has been eliminated without scoring a single point. 

Bryan Danielson had an injury scare during his match with Andrade which will air tonight. Click here to find out the latest update. 

AEW has a lot of things going on, and Tony Khan has delegated responsibility to people he trusts to execute the job. It appears that Bryan Danielson has a huge role backstage in AEW, one that really matters for those who want to ruffle feathers.

We previously reported that Mike Santana dropped a snarky post on X about getting fined. This happened right after he posted and deleted something about his absence from AEW television. It seems that Bryan Danielson was behind that fine.

Sean Ross Sapp reported on Fightful Select that Bryan Danielson has taken on the role in AEW of monitoring talent’s social media activity. He is now responsible for handing out fines as well.

If someone poisons the social media water hole, Bryan Danielson is one of those responsible for laying down the law. Fightful Select reported last week that Danielson was effectively the face of the disciplinary committee in AEW, and that it extended to laying out fines when necessary.

Bryan Danielson is known for his limited presence on social media, but it is reported that he has played a role in imposing fines for social media behavior recently. The focus of these fines is on maintaining AEW’s professional image, which can include actions like retweets and likes. There is no information suggesting that fines are frequent.

The report also noted that Bryan Danielson has taken charge of various meetings, including discussions about CM Punk’s termination after AEW All In this year, addressing interview conduct earlier this year, and a talent meeting last year following the Brawl Out incident.

AEW officials are also reportedly enthusiastic about the Bryan Danielson vs. Daniel Garcia match. We will have to see how Bryan Danielson continues in the Continental Classic, as he continues wearing multiple hats for AEW.

https://twitter.com/bryandanielson/status/1733234323556639142

What’s your take on AEW putting Bryan Danielson in a position where he can issue fines to talent? Let us know what you think by engaging with us on social media!

AEW is apparently going through some changes, and that called for a big firing this week, one that left many in shock. Kevin Sullivan was fired from his position with Tony Khan’s company, and some are critical of this decision.

We previously reported that Kevin Sullivan was fired from AEW. Not to be confused with the wrestler Kevin Sullivan, AEW’s Sullivan joined AEW in October 2019, making him one of the organization’s most seasoned backstage figures. Prior to his time at AEW, he had an extensive background in the wrestling industry, having served as Vice President of Production and an executive producer during his tenure with IMPACT Wrestling.

Kevin Sullivan Departs AEW

In the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer noted that Kevin Sullivan, who has been with AEW since they started the company, was fired in a surprising fashion. Nobody saw it coming, as Michael Mansury simply told Sullivan that they’re going in a new direction for 2024. Meltzer wrote:

“The story going around was Mansury told Sullivan that morning that they were moving in another direction in 2024.

Sullivan had no idea it was coming and was given no real explanation as to why, just that it was a Mansury decision.
People in the division didn’t even know that Mansury was Sullivan’s boss, noting that among those who worked in production that was never made clear.

The story in production is that nobody else was expected to be cut, but it was a team created by Sullivan so they are his guys.”

Tony Khan reportedly faced criticism within AEW due to a recent firing that surprised many in the company. Kevin Sullivan held the position of Vice President of Post Production, and his termination left people within AEW feeling shocked by the decision. Some wondered why Tony Khan didn’t step in and stop this from happening as well.

Kevin Sullivan had been with AEW since its early days, earning respect behind the scenes. He also had played a pivotal role in building the post-production team, primarily based in Nashville.

It appears that AEW is going to go in a different direction production-wise in 2024. They no longer needed Kevin Sullivan around to fulfill his duties. At this time, Sullivan’s firing is the only one that is expected, but he did leave a team of his curated guys behind in AEW.

What’s your take on AEW going in a different direction with production in 2024? How will that change things for fans watching at home? Let us know what you think by engaging on social media! 

There’s no secret as to how Billy Gunn can compete at the level he currently displays, according to the AEW Trios Champion.

At 60 years old, Gunn is the oldest champion in AEW, and likely the oldest star on the roster. Despite this, the tag team specialist continues to wow fans with a performance you’d expect to see from talent decades younger than the former King of the Ring. Speaking to the A2TheK Wrestling show, Gunn was asked what his secret is. 

“I wish I had one, I wish I had a secret I can tell. It’s just, the last [year] I just focus more on me staying healthy. I’ve never, luckily for me, I’ve nd Dr done any sort of crazy stunts. Other than bumping a lot which, yeah it has it’s wear and tear, but I just really focus a lot on my training and my food and all that. I have great people around me so it’s just as long as I’m going to do this, I want to make sure I can perform at the level that makes me happy. Because if I don’t, then I just want to walk away. Though my kids and wife will say different, I’m walking away.”

When asked if he has a retirement date in mind, Gunn made it clear he doesn’t intend to plan that far in advance.

“I don’t really look at things like that. It’ll just be when it’s right. When it’s done, it’s done. There’s no time schedule, I can’t go ‘Hey, All In in London next year will be [my last match]. My brain doesn’t function like that. My brain and me tell my body I can wrestle until I want to. Which I know is not really a thing… But me not doing something doesn’t really enter my mind.”

Gunn’s most recent match took place on the November 4, episode of AEW Collision and saw the Acclaimed retain the AEW Trios Championships against Dalton Castle and his boys.

For the use of quotes, please give an H/T to SE Scoops.

Ethan Page is forever grateful to Matt Hardy for everything he has done.

The AEW star grew up watching The Hardy Boys do all sorts of crazy stunts. It was a dream come true for him when he got to work with the duo during his run with The Firm in late 2022 and early 2023.

The Canadian star recently appeared on Chris Van Vliet’s Insight podcast. Ethan Page first discussed how his outlook on The Hardy Boyz has changed over the years:

“Back to my convo with Matt last night. He recently put up this clip of…it’s like Broken Matt in his bed and he’s reacting to old things that happened to him in his career. It was all these wild falls and bumps and crashes and just insane things that he put his body through. I’m watching this at 34, almost 20 years into my wrestling career and the thoughts going through my mind compared to when I was a kid watching.

When I’m a kid watching I’m thinking, ‘This is amazing. I want to do that. This looks so fun. Do you see he jumped off the ladder?’ and all this stuff. Now I’m 34, all these years in and I’m like, ‘How is this man alive? How is he walking?'”

Ethan Page On Working With Matt Hardy

Ethan Page then talked about working with Matt Hardy on AEW Dark: Elevation among other shows. He mentioned that Matt always made sure that he benefited from those matches, and explained that both of these veterans deserve their flowers:

“The things that Matt and Jeff have put their bodies through physically. I’ll never comprehend just because of how I feel now and how I have done nothing as close to them and I never will. I promise you. I never will. Both of those guys deserve their flowers forever just for what they’ve done and the fact that they’re still willing to give.

I was just giving Matt praise to somebody in the car yesterday because I feel like there are people in wrestling that, they might be nice and they’re very friendly and cordial. But when it comes down to the business part of things most people are very selfish. Whereas I feel like with Matt, he cares more about delivering a good story, instead of benefiting himself.

I got to work with him for over a year. [We were] very heavily featured on Elevation which gave us a lot of creative freedom, which I’m obviously going to defer to the legend in professional wrestling and he would always look out for me. He would always make sure that I benefited in anything that we did. That’s kind of rare in wrestling. So I will appreciate that from Matt for the remainder of my career and I’ll love that dude forever.”

You can check out Ethan Page’s full interview below:

More originals from SEScoops:

• Randy Orton Reflects On Being A ‘D**K’ Early In His Career
  Xavier Woods says AI Will 100% Kill All Humans
• MJF Believes Hardcore Fans Are ‘Overly Consumed’ By Bell To Bell Action
• Wrestling Veterans Support Jon Moxley’s Idea Of New Concussion Protocol
• John Cena Shuts Down Criticism of WWE Return

If you use any quotes from the article please credit Insight With Chris Van Vliet with an H/t to SEScoops for transcription

Jade Cargill’s reign as AEW TBS Champion could be in grave jeopardy if she steps into the ring with one of women’s wrestling’s most decorated champions.

This week, AEW Dynamite will make its debut in Winnipeg, Canada, and Tony Khan wants to make a great first impression in the city.

It has been announced that Cargill will put her title and her undefeated streak on the line against a Canadian wrestler.

Cargill Vs. Taya?

One name being thrown around as a possible contender for Cargill is Taya Valkyrie, who recently finished up her time with Impact Wrestling.

Many have seen this as a sign that the former Franky Monet is AEW-bound, and this isn’t the only clue.

During Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer provided another clue that Valkyrie may be the Canadian set to face Cargill.

“She [Valkyrie] was scheduled to be on a World Series Wrestling tour of Australia that’s taking place right now, and she’s not there. That leads me to believe… I actually thought that she’s the mystery Canadian that Jade Cargill is going to wrestle on Wednesday, and the fact that she has a tour scheduled, and she’s not there, she did give notice.

“She’s done with Impact, and she’s leaving MLW, and she isn’t on this tour. We know she’s either going to WWE or AEW, but the point is, they talked about a mystery Canadian, and she’s Canadian and it’s starting to add up that it could be. So, unless she’s debuting on Raw, SmackDown, or NXT this Tuesday, she didn’t have to leave that tour.”

Dave Meltzer.

Valkyrie is no stranger to championship matches, being a former Reina de Reinas Champion, Knockouts Tag Champion, and the longest-reigning Impact Knockouts World Champion.

AEW is Winnipeg

Whether Valkyrie is Cargill’s mystery opponent or not, this week’s Dynamite debut in Winnipeg will be one to remember.

The stacked card includes new AEW Trios Champions the House of Black defending their gold against The Elite and Jericho Appreciation Society.

The Blackpool Combat Club will face the Dark Order (including the returning Stu Grayson.)

AEW All-Atlantic Champion Orange Cassidy will take on Jeff Jarrett to determine the first AEW International Champion.

h/t – Wrestling News

All Elite Wrestling may have some impressive viewing figures (albeit figures not as high as this time last year) but two wrestling legends aren’t tuning in.

It’s no secret that AEW’s ratings have fallen dramatically in recent months, with many attributing that to the absence of CM Punk.

There has been some good news recently for AEW, with last Friday’s AEW Rampage drawing the show’s highest ratings since January.

The Pact

AEW has a passionate fanbase of people both in and out of the wrestling industry but two names not watching (for now) are Kevin Nash and Steve Austin.

During the latest episode of Kliq This, Big Daddy Cool explained why he and the Rattlesnake are changing channels whenever AEW is on their TVs.

“I just want to go on record today, I have not watched AEW in months. It goes back to Steve Austin and I got a pact that he’s not watching it therefore I’m not watching it and what I can tell by Twitter is [Undertaker] is now not watching it.”

“Steve Austin and I got a pact that he’s not watching it therefore I’m not watching it.”

Kevin Nash.

“It’s nothing against any of the talent over there, anybody that does anything over there. It’s just something that we decided. It’s like lent, you have to give things up so we did that. It doesn’t change the fact that Kenny Omega is my favorite wrestler. Doesn’t change that at all.”

Nash’s comments about The Undertaker stem from a Twitter exchange, in which Nash joked that Bret Hart doesn’t watch AEW.

In response, the Phenom said that Nash’s comments got a “huge pop” from him.

Big Daddy Cool’s comment about Kenny Omega being his favorite wrestler come after Nash made the claim during Omega’s feud with Will Ospreay.

h/t – Wrestling Inc

Veteran star CM Punk has been on the shelf with injury and he was allegedly suspended. He has not been featured in the AEW programming for the past several months. There is a possibility that we might see him back inside the squared circle soon.

Punk had captured the AEW World Championship against Jon Moxley at All Out last year. However, it was reported that he tore a muscle in his arm during the contest and was also suspended following the controversial media scrum rant.

During the post-AEW All Out media scrum, CM Punk bashed Colt Cabana, Hangman Page, and The Young Bucks, which received in a ton of backlash. The comments reportedly led to a backstage brawl which grabbed the headlines.

CM Punk rose to prominence at his first promotion which was Ring of Honor (ROH). With the promotion’s Supercard of Honor pay-per-view scheduled to take place on March 31, the ROH Hall of Famer could be making his return to the promotion at the event.

CM Punk: Honor Never Dies

The former AEW World Champion recently shared a photo on his Instagram story of him working out. While he was pumping iron, Hatebreed’s ‘Honor Never Dies’ was playing in the background, hinting at a return to Ring of Honor.

Check it out below:

It should also be noted that AEW President Tony Khan owns ROH alongside All Elite Wrestling (AEW), and Punk could return at either of the promotions. We will now have to wait and see what the future holds for CM Punk.

The Bloodline may be one of WWE’s most popular acts in years, but they apparently cannot hold a candle to The Elite.

Following Roman Reigns’ heel turn in 2020, his cousins The Usos would fall in line behind their Tribal Chief, who has been advised by his special counsel Paul Heyman.

Last September, Solo Sikoa was added to the faction by helping Reigns retain the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at Clash at the Castle.

Without a Doubt

The Bloodline storyline, especially the chapter with Sami Zayn, has been heralded as one of the best thing wrestling fans have seen in years, but they are not the only faction around.

Last November, the Elite made their AEW return at Full Gear, after being suspended for their roles in the backstage fight following All Out.

Speaking on the Cafe de Rene podcast, Jake Roberts was asked which group he thinks is better.

“Kenny. Kenny and The Bucks without a doubt. I think Kenny Omega is f***ing unbelievable. He is f***ing on spot. I don’t like a lot of stuff The Young Bucks do but brother they’re doing it and getting away with it.”

At AEW Revolution 2023, the Elite lost the AEW Trios Championships to the House of Black.

The Elite Vs. The Bloodline?

At this time, the idea of a six-man-tag match between the two factions is purely hypothetical, but that is something WWE hopes to change.

In February, it was reported that WWE was expected to pursue multiple top-level AEW talent, including Omega.

The belief is that if they can sign Omega (who has previously been under a WWE developmental deal) then it may encourage the Bucks to jump ship to WWE.

h/t – Sportskeeda

Powerhouse Hobbs defeated Wardlow to capture the AEW TNT Championship on the latest edition of AEW Dynamite. This marks Hobbs’ first championship in the promotion.

Hobbs defeated Wardlow in a Falls Count Anywhere match on the March 8 episode of AEW Dynamite to win the AEW TNT Championship. QT Marshall made his return and interfered in the match. He assisted Powerhouse Hobbs to get the title win. You can also check out what happened after the show went off air.

As it turns out, AEW had plans to put the TNT Championship on Hobbs several months ago.

Powerhouse Hobbs Creative Plans

According to Fightful Select, Hobbs’ push from last fall always had the championship win in the plans.

Powerhouse Hobbs faced the now-former TNT Champion as a result of winning the Face of the Revolution Ladder Match on the March 1 episode of AEW Dynamite. QT Marshall had previously shared a text message exchange that he had with Hobbs before his AEW debut in 2020. Hobbs had recently expressed the desire to be featured on AEW television more often and being the champ, it increases the possibility.

Meanwhile, Wardlow recently revealed that the TNT Championship was among the possessions stolen from his rental car in a recent break-in.

We will now have to see what the future holds for the newly crowned champ.

Earlier today, Arn Anderson shared the devastating news that his son, Barrett, has passed away at the age of 37.

Anderson tweeted “last night my family suffered a loss that should never be felt by any parent. Our older son Barrett passed away. I am struggling to write this. Tell those you love that you love them.”

Brock Anderson reacts

Anderson’s youngest son, Brock, reacted to his brother’s death on Twitter with a heartbreaking note. He tweeted with with the caption, “Love you Wimpster.”

In the note, Brock notes that “since the moment I found out, I have been in shock. It’s not clicking in my brain and idk if it ever will.” He said that seeing his parents get the phone call about Barrett was “the most excruciating and cruel thing I have ever witnessed.”

Brock shared a story about his older brother from when he was 7 along with a couple of photos of them.

We at SEScoops send our deepest condolences to the Andersons (Lundes) in this difficult time.

Last Sunday was AEW’s first pay-per-view of the year, Revolution. The card offered a variety of matches including The Final Burial, a 60-minute Iron Man Match, and a Texas Deathmatch.

The latter match had a lot of discourse around the amount of blood involved (sound familiar?) Hangman Page has been involved in three Texas Deathmatches in AEW, two of them when he was champion. Each match involved a lot of blood. Jon Moxley bleeds regularly, to the point that fans says it’s not a Mox match until he bleeds.

Matt Hardy’s Take

As he does every week, Matt Hardy weighs in on current topics in the wrestling world before moving on to that week’s topic on his Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast. Since he was at Revolution, he gave his opinions on several matches.

On the Texas Deathmatch, Hardy said that from a “story aspect and from a psychology standpoint, I thought it was great. I loved the story they told. I’m cool with the violence. There was a lot of blood in it. For some people, it was too bloody. It was maybe too violent. And I do get it, it’s not everybody’s cup of tea, but there’s some people who really, really enjoy that. I don’t mind that being offered on a variety show, so to say.”

“There’s some people who hate cinematic matches. I think cinematic matches every so often are okay if they fit in a variety show. So as far as that goes, I give huge props. They also they like were fucking badass, courageous warriors to go out and do that to one another. I take my hat off to both Jon Moxley and “Hangman” Adam Page.”

“And probably my favorite part of the whole match is Jon Moxley has been built as the heart and soul of AEW in the last couple of years. He’s the guy that’s really been the nucleus, kind of like the main — you have guys like Jericho, the established veteran, who’s more like the established guy who isn’t like the main worker of the show — but Jon Moxley is the nucleus. He is the main worker, kick-ass warrior of the whole show. And the finish of that match with him being beat by Hangman Page clean via tap out in a Texas Deathmatch. I think that was a great move and a truly elevating match for Adam Page.”

• Taya Valkyrie Addresses Speculation About Her Future (Exclusive)

What did you think of the Texas Deathmatch and do you agree with Matt Hardy?

AEW announced a new reality television show recently, but it looks like they’re not done adding content for Warner Bros. Discovery.

This time, AEW and Warner are looking to add another one hour of weekly wrestling content to the television schedule. This would be the third weekly AEW wrestling show on Warner properties and give the company four hours of weekly wrestling content on cable. AEW Dynamite (two hours) currently airs on TBS, and AEW Rampage airs on TNT (one hour).

Per a report from Andrew Zarian of the Mat Men Pro Wrestling Podcast, AEW and Warner have been working on an agreement for this prospective third AEW television show and are close to finalizing it. As mentioned, the show would be one hour in length.

While there is no confirmation yet on a day, network, or time for the show, there are strong indications that the show could air on TBS on Saturday evenings at 6:05 p.m. Eastern. Obviously for long time wrestling fans, this harkens back to WCW Saturday Night.

Zarian hinted at this story less than a week ago on Twitter.

There is no official timeline for an announcement of the new show, nor any indication yet on what it will be titled. However, Zarian reports that the announcement of the new show could come in about one month.

We will keep our readers updated on this situation as it develops. Are you looking forward to another hour of wrestling content from AEW? Let us know in the comments section below!

Check out the Top Rope Nation wrestling podcast for your weekly dose of pro wrestling talk featuring interviews, analysis and exclusive news. Apple – Spotify – YouTube. 

Fight Forever, the much-anticipated console video game has yet to hit shelves, and Game Changer Wrestling may have played a role in this.

AEW: Fight Forever was first announced in late 2020 and will mark the promotion’s first foray into the world of console gaming.

Tony Khan’s promotion has two other games, AEW Elite: GM, and AEW Casino: Double or Nothing, both of which are available on mobile devices.

Fight Forever Dispute

During last weekend’s post-AEW Revolution media scrum, Tony Khan indicated that the game was finished, but stopped short of giving a release date.

Now, close to one week later, we still have no word on when the game will launch and GCW may have played a role in the holdup.

Paperwork filed with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office reveals that GCW is formally opposing AEW’s registration of its “Fight Forever” trademark.

The two sides are said to be in settlement talks, with Michael Dockins, who has aided wrestlers in both companies with trademarks, representing GCW.

GCW did host their own Fight Forever event in January 2021, which was a 24-hour event with zero fans due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The show’s purpose was to highlight indie wrestling during the pandemic, and GCW filed a trademark on the Fight Forever term last year.

AEW: Fight Forever

With an eight-digit investment into their gaming department (at least $10 million), a lot is riding on the success of Fight Forever.

For many wrestlers in the All-Elite promotion, the game will mark their first time being a playable character in a game, as opposed to a CAW.

The game will feature wrestling game staples, including singles matches, tag matches, ladder matches, and battle royales, as well as more unique match types including the Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch and Intergender wrestling.

At this time, there is still no word on when the game will be released.

A former Impact Knockouts Champion has left Impact Wrestling and may be competing with another promotion soon.

Wrestling free agency is becoming an interesting topic for fans. Talent that has signed with promotion fans are familiar with is exploring free agency to find a new home. One of the free agents expected to sign with a different wrestling promotion is former New Japan Pro Wrestling star, Jay White. Another potential free agent from All Elite Wrestling is reportedly looking at the free agency market soon.

A new report from PWInsider claims that a former Impact Knockouts Champion has wrapped up with the company and is now a free agent.

Spoiler on Former Knockouts Champion

The report shared that former Impact Knockouts Champion Taya Valkyrie has left Impact Wrestling and will be with a new promotion.

“Taya Valkyrie has finished up with Impact Wrestling as of their TV tapings in Las Vegas. As we noted at the time, Taya was not signed to Impact, and the word is that she is believed to be signing elsewhere,” said the report.

She is also the current MLW Women’s Featherweight Champion, and she teased a feud with Billie Starkz in a recent episode. If Valkyrie is to sign with a new promotion, she could drop the title soon.

Where Is She Expected To Go?

On the March 8 episode of AEW Dynamite, TBS Champion Jade Cargill issued an open challenge to a Canadian opponent for next week’s episode. It’s worth acknowledging that Valkyrie is Canadian, which makes sense for her to accept the challenge. AEW hasn’t revealed if she is signed with the company. However, based on her history with WWE, AEW seems to be where she could sign, especially if it happens soon.

Where do you think Valkyrie will sign, and are you excited about her becoming a free agent?

AEW Revolution marked the first pay-per-view event of the new year for All Elite Wrestling. 

The show was headlined by a 60-minute Iron Man match pitting AEW World Champion MJF defending against Bryan Danielson.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer reports the show did between 120,000 to 129,000 buys, though Meltzer notes, “that number will probably grow to just under or a little over 130,000 with late buys.”

To compare, last year’s show drew between 165,000 and 173,000 buys. It was headlined by Hangman Page defending the AEW World Title against Adam Cole, but the biggest match featured on the card was CM Punk vs. MJF in a dog collar match.

The previous PPV event held by AEW was Full Gear in November, which drew 140,000 buys. The show was headlined by MJF, challenging Jon Moxley for the AEW World Title.

Other Metrics

The ratings for both Dynamite and Rampage dropped heading into the show. Streaming and international numbers are also down right now for the promotion, although those two metrics can be hit-and-miss. 

Regarding the Google searches, they were “big twice last year, after Double or Nothing and All Out with the brawl aftermath.” Revolution did 50,000 searches and was No. 12 in the United States for the day.

A former name from All Elite Wrestling will make his return to the promotion next week, Tony Khan has confirmed.

2022 saw several names depart the All-Elite promotion, the majority of which having signed three-year deals with the company upon its launch in 2019.

Of course, the biggest loss for AEW last year was Cody Rhodes, who has since become WWE’s top babyface and possibly the next World Champion.

Stu Grayson

In May of last year, it was announced that Stu Grayson had left AEW, after he and the promotion failed to come to terms over a new deal.

In later reports, it was reported that a difference over money had been a stumbling block in negotiations and that a lack of consistent TV time was also a factor.

While Grayson is no longer under contract, the Dark order alum will make his return to AEW next week as part of a six-man tag-team match.

Grayson will team with Evil Uno and ‘Hangman’ Adam Page to face the Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley, Wheeler Yuta, and ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli.

AEW President announced Grayson’s return on Twitter.

It shouldn’t be too surprising that Grayson is back, as at the time of his release, it was reported that the door had not shut on his return.

Next Week’s Dynamite

The return of Stu Grayson will be just part of a stacked AEW Dynamite, which will be the promotion’s first Dynamite in Winnipeg.

AEW All-Atlantic Champion Orange Cassidy will face Jeff Jarrett to determine the first AEW International Champion.

New AEW Trios Champions the House of Black will face The Elite and the Jericho Appreciation Society in title action.

AEW TBS Champion Jade Cargill will put her title and her strike on the line against a yet-to-be-named opponent, while AEW World Champion MJF will have his ‘re-Bar Mitzvah.’

AEW’s decision to change the name of the All-Atlantic Championship has been a long time in the making.

During this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite, Tony Khan announced that the All-Atlantic title will be renamed the AEW International Championship next week.

On next week’s Dynamite, Orange Cassidy, the current AEW All-Atlantic Champion, will face Jeff Jarrett to determine the AEW International Champion.

The Decision

The decision to rebrand the AEW All-Atlantic Championship was made months ago, according to Fightful Select.

In their report, it is noted that Warner Bros asked for something big in order to cross-promote Shazam: Fury of the Gods, which releases March 17.

Tony Khan was the one who had the idea of doing a “level up” of the championship to the International Championship.

A new championship title was created months ago to prepare specifically for this week and next week in order to promote the new film.

Shazam: Fury of the Gods is the sequel to 2019’s Shazam, which tells the story of Billy Batson and his adoptive siblings, who an ancient wizard gives god-like superpowers.

Cross-Promotion

Next week’s reveal of the AEW International Championship to promote Shazam: Fury of the Gods is hardly the first time AEW has dabbled in cross-promotion.

AEW hosted a dragon-themed edition of AEW Dynamite in August last year, to cross-promote the Game of Thrones spinoff series House of the Dragon.

Fightful reports that AEW “is always excited to do the cross-promotional work” and attempts to have newsworthy items in association with them.

AEW also wanted to put something newsworthy on the Winnipeg show and increase the prestige of a title they put on television often in prime positions.

Brian Cage’s time with All Elite Wrestling will seemingly be coming to an end soon enough, despite the promotion’s best efforts.

In January, a report from Fightful Select noted that Cage’s AEW contract is set to expire in a matter of weeks, but that there was the possibility it could be extended.

Cage originally signed his AEW contract in 2020 with a two-year deal, but his option year was picked up by the promotion.

Running Out of Time

In its update, Fightful Select reports that AEW was hoping to extend Cage’s current deal due to the time he was injured, which would have made his deal last until the end of June.

Some of the time that was supposed added to Cage’s contract is actually because Cage was signed while injured after leaving Impact Wrestling.

Cage, a former Impact Wrestling World Champion, “pushed back” on that idea, and said he was “interested in exploring free agency.”

Fightful was told that Cage has had some “heavy hitters” within AEW in his corner of late, and that Chris Jericho has been putting over his work.

The head of the Jericho Appreciation Society has spoken publicly about his desire that Cage re-signs with AEW.

In 2021, Cage reportedly had heat backstage in AEW after his wife Melissa bashed the promotion on social media and said her husband should be used more.

WWE Interest

In January, it was reported that “feelers” from WWE had tried to gauge if Cage would have any interest in signing with the promotion.

Fightful Select has been told that WWE has maintained an interest in Cage in the event he becomes a free agent, and is open to having conversations.

AEW and Cage have agreed to work together through the end of March, specifically the ROH Supercard of Honor Pay-Per-View.

Ric Flair may have spent much of his wrestling career as a dastardly heel, but even he knows when a line has been crossed.

At AEW Revolution 2023, MJF retained his AEW World Championship against Bryan Danielson, winning the first Iron Man match in AEW history.

During the match, MJF took a beverage (believed to be Tequila) from a fan and threw it on a child sitting in the crowd.

Many have called this a step too far for MJF who has earned praise in the past for his dedication to his heel-wrestling persona.

Totally Against

Ric Flair may be no angel (as fans learned from VICE’s Dark Side of the Ring) but he believes that MJF’s actions at Revolution were not warranted.

On his To Be The Man podcast, co-host Conrad Thompson asked Flair for his thoughts on MJF’s actions.

“It’s cheap heat. You want to do something to get heat and get the people excited that won’t hurt anybody? You cut yourself so deep that when you swing your hair, you throw blood all over them. I used to do it all the time when I had long hair. Then they feel like they’re part of the action.”

Ric Flair.

While Flair did seem to say that last part in jest, he made his stance perfectly clear.

“I’m totally against throwing anything on a kid.”

Ric Flair.

The two-time WWE Hall of Famer said that this sort of behavior would not fly in WWE, the promotion MJF has teased joining next year.

AEW’s Response

What happened at Revolution was not an intended part of the show, and both the young fan and their guardian were incredibly upset.

The fan, Titus, was given AEW merchandise, tickets to this week’s Dynamite, and was able to go backstage at Revolution to meet the wrestlers.

At the Revolution post-show press conference, AEW President Tony Khan said that he and MJF had a serious talk about the champion’s actions.

h/t – Wrestling Inc

New AEW TNT Champion Powerhouse Hobbs had some choice words for the fans after this week’s episode of Dynamite went off the air.

In the main event of the show, Hobbs dethroned Wardlow to capture the TNT title, marking Hobbs’ first championship as part of AEW.

The Powerhouse had earned an opportunity at the gold the previous week by winning the Face of the Revolution Ladder match.

After Dynamite

Hobbs defeated Wardlow in a Falls Count Anywhere match, albeit thanks to the assist of QT Marshall.

Marshall attacked Wardlow with a steel chair and a low blow, and he and Hobbs would double power-bomb the former champion to end the match.

After the show, Marshall told the Sacramento crowd that he and Hobbs were going to go celebrate in a real city, before handing the mic to the Champion.

Hobbs shared the sentiment, saying that he was going to get out of Sacramento and head back to Oakland.

The new AEW TNT Champion called his win new chapter of the Book of Hobbs and told the crowd to kiss his “black a**” before leaving.

TNT Championship

This may be Hobbs’ first reign as TNT Champion, but the title belt he won wasn’t the one Wardlow had been holding.

Prior to his title loss, Wardlow informed fans that his rental car had been broken into and the TNT Championship had been one of the items stolen.

Wardlow also had his ring gear stolen, which is why the now-former champion was wearing a makeshift attire for his title defense against Hobbs.