This recap was originally written on MLW.com by SEScoops’ Dominic DeAngelo.

Major League Wrestling is back in the notorious Coliseum in St. Petersburg, FL and its a stacked card and a main event with high stakes between Matt Riddle and Sami Callihan. We kick it off with a unique clash that features the opening round of The Opera Cup.

MATCH 1
Opera Cup Round 1
Atlantis Jr. vs. Shigeo Okumura

It’s a youngster vs. a veteran in this first round fight and Okumura was ready to unleash some tough love on Atlantis Jr. Okumura slowed the pace down to keep Atlantis underwater. However, the innovative generational talent got Okumura off-his-game with an airplane blue thunder bomb. Although Okumura kicked out Atlantis quickly followed up with a frog splash for the 1-2-3.

WINNER & ADVANCING: Atlantis Jr.

Post-match, both fighters paid one another respect. Can Atlantis go the distance and become the first CMLL star to capture The Opera Cup?

Alex Kane nor does Mr. Thomas plan for that not to happen, but they actually have to go through one another in their own opening round match. If you thought their match between could cause a rift with each other, think again. Both Kane and Thomas know it’s called the BOMAYE “FIGHT” Club!

MATCH 2
Opera Cup Round 1
Tom Lawlor vs. Jake Crist

Lawlor is a former Opera Cup winner and Crist was well-aware of that. The Ohio-born boy wasted no time in taking it to Filthy Tom, not even letting him get to the ring before starting the fight. The two used all elements of the ring in attempt to keep one another down, but it actually took Lawlor a superplex turned to Kimura Lock to cause Crist to pass out.

WINNER & ADVANCING: Tom Lawlor

Post-fight, Lawlor got on the mic to talk trash to Tampa, but up on the screen popped Paul Walter Hauser who issued a major challenge to Lawlor – an MMA cage fight! MSL banned from the building! Lawlor accepted!

RELATED: Paul Walter Hauser ‘Excited’ After Being Added To MLW Roster

MATCH 3
AKIRA (with Kota) vs. Minoru Suzuki

It’s Suzuki’s first match as a CONTRA soldier and joining the ranks may have even furthered his sadism. AKIRA, however, was game for the battle. Some intense shots were traded as AKIRA found it hard to shake Suzuki, but the Death Fighter kept bringing it. However, a Gotch Piledriver was good enough for Suzuki to ultimately get the 1-2-3.

WINNER: Minoru Suzuki

Post-fight, there was no respect shown as Minoru and Ikuro Kwon went on to further attack AKIRA devastatingly laying him out with more diabolical ideas in mind. Minoru was going for another Gotch when MLW World Champ Satoshi Kojima ran down to clear the evil out!

A concerned Cesar Duran saunters down to the ring to demand to see who Salina de la Renta’s baby daddy is after she revealed she has a bun in the oven. Well Salina showed up, but she was not without her mind games to her estranged daddy. Before making the reveal, she teased that the father was Bad Dude Tito and EVEN MSL but it was a surprise that made Duran literally sick: one of his own AZTECA henchman. The mysterious man pulled off the mask, revealing a Rudolph Valentino face with an even stronger libido as he and Salina started making out! Duran couldn’t take the discuss and fainted in the ring!

MATCH 4
Three Stages Of Destruction (First Blood + Street Fight + Medical Evacuation)
Mads Krule Krugger vs. Matthew Justice (Bill Alfonso)

Matthew Justice was not only ready to roll for this intense battle, but so was Fonzie who certainly has had his issues with CONTRA. Do both bring it to Krugger in the First Blood round of the fight as plenty of plunder is used. Justice gets Krugger off his feet with the indirect help of his own CONTRA soldier as he leapt off the back of a downed man to spear Krugger! Fonzie then tossed Justice a chair with barbed wire as he cracked Krugger HARD with it. Then Justice had some Mr. PPV plans as Fonzie held the chair for Justice to leap all the way across the ring for a Van TERMINATOR!! A few more cracks with the chair had the ref call for the bell noting that Krugger has poured enough crimson!

WINNER of STAGE 1: Matthew Justice

Next stage was a street fight and Justice continued to keep at his business of violence. He even showed his strength by hoisting the monster Mads up for a Death Valley Driver onto a chair! A massive ladder gets set up and Justice has to fight off a CONTRA soldier, allowing Mads to climb up and superplex Matt through a table! Krugger does drape an arm over Matt for the 1-2-3!

WINNER of STAGE 2: Mads Krugger

Someone will now be leaving in an ambulance. The two begin to brawl on the entryway as another ladder is presented. Justice gets Krugger on a table for his own plans of retribution, but the table collapses under the weight of Krugger. That doesn’t stop Justice who still decides to splash on top of Mads! Justice has a gameplan in mind as he gets a dolly. Both he and Fonzie get Krugger on it and push the massive man to the back! Fonzie hydrates Matt as they get Krugger to the ambulance, but when he opens the door to the back Ikuro Kwon is there to spray mist into Matt’s eyes! The fix was in! Kwon and Krugger gang up on Matt, set up a table, light it aflame and powerbomb Justice through it! Krugger tosses Matt in the ambulance and the match is over.

WINNER: Mads Krule Krugger

MATCH 5
MLW World Featherweight Championship
Gigi Ray vs. Janai Kai (c)

The Kick Demon Kai aimed to keep the momentum moving for CONTRA against Gigi Ray who definitely showed up ready for battle. Ray received plenty of kicks in this fight, but she had her own share of offense in this fight. However, Kai caught Ray with a roundhouse thrust in the corner and it was good to keep Ray down for the pinfall.

WINNER and STILL MLW World Featherweight Champion: Janai Kai

MATCH 6
Opera Cup Round 1
Bobby Fish vs. KENTA

Fish is ready to unleash “beautiful violence” onto KENTA who is making his Major League debut tonight. KENTA had an off-the-beaten path gameplan against Bobby as he was very disrespectful to the squared circle veteran, basically treating him like a young boy in the ring. Both men delivered in this battle though and Fish got his fair share of strikes in, but KENTA did take the mouthpiece out of Bobby with a GTS and it was good enough to advance in the Opera Cup.

WINNER & ADVANCING: KENTA

MAIN EVENT
No Ropes, No Hold Barred
Sami Callihan vs. Matt Riddle

The stakes are high in this brutal battle as if Riddle loses, he forgoes his future World Title shot to Callihan, the right he won at Battle Riot VI.

Tampa was all behind The Super King Of Bros and Callihan was less than pleased, getting on the mic to say he’s going to beat Riddle in less than five second. That didn’t happen as Riddle rocked him with a foot to the face. Despite that, Callihan had some nasty plans in mind.

Sami pulled out all types of violent ideas including paper cuts, lemon zest and staple gun tags. He got Riddle right in the foot with one but before that, wrapped Matt’s hair around a barbed wire bat! A broken beer bottle was introduced and its remaining chards became a factor.

The ring was ripped up, boards were broken and literal nuts and bolts became a bed of brutalitiy. Despite all that, Riddle persevered and caused Callihan to submit when he crossfaced Sami with loose ring ropes!

WINNER and STILL #1 Contender: Matt Riddle

RELATED: MLW Appoints David Marquez As The Head Of Production

This recap was originally written by SEScoops’ staff writer Dominic DeAngelo on MLW.com. Catch the full replay of the PLE here at TrillerTV+

The Melrose Ballroom in New York City was SOLD OUT and for good reason as Intimidation Games packed a punch with three promotions coming together under Major League Wrestling! Not one, not two, not three, but four titles were on the line in The Big Apple and the PLE starts off in a big way with World Middleweight gold!

MATCH 1

MLW World Middleweight Championship

Mistico (with Cesar Duran) vs. Rocky Romero (c) (with Salina de la Renta)

Rocky had a gameplan in place for this match, but it was saturated in disrespect as the champion attempted to get Mistico off his game by nearly tearing the challenger’s mask off his face.

The whole fight, which was full of many close calls, was teetering back and forth between both luchadors and even though Rocky tried to get Mistico off his game by literally ripping his mask, it didn’t deter the challenger from achieving his goal. He stayed true to his high-flying strategy and caught Rocky off-guard with his unbelievable headscissors to fujiwa armbar, causing the champ to immediately tap out!

WINNER and NEW MLW World Middleweight Champion: Mistico

Post-fight, Duran wanted Rocky to put his hair on the line in a hair vs. mask fight, but Rocky was not obliging.

MATCH 2

NYC Street Fight

The Calling vs. AKIRA & Jake Crist

AKIRA and Crist waste zero time in attacking Rickey Shane Page and Sami Callihan as they take The Calling out and then dive on top of them to the outside.

The battle lives up to the stipulation as weapons are certainly used with Sami resorting to paper cuts and RSP making the most of his brute strength. RSP was cagey throughout this entire fight as he used size and speed against his former tag partner in AKIRA. However, both AKIRA and Crist did have an unexpected ace up their sleeve.

It was reported that Raven was lurking in the Melrose Ballroom somewhere, but when Cannonball went to get the tables from underneath the ring, they got the Blue Meanie instead!

Boards were broken, but spirits weren’t as AKIRA almost relished in the challenge at fighting RSP and Sami. He nearly was about to get the win with The Death Penalty, but was fought off and Crist got tangled with RSP. Sami took the opportunity to low blow Crist and RSP got him in a backslide and 1-2-3!

WINNERS: The Calling

Tag team synergy. #MLW pic.twitter.com/ocbFHsKWiA

— MLW (@MLW) March 1, 2024

AKIRA immediately goes on the attack to RSP and chaos ensues as the numbers games gets the advantage for The Calling. However, help is on the way as Jimmy Lloyd comes running down to help ward The Calling off! Sami wanted the trio to fight more, but sure enough, Raven appears on the big screen.

Raven asks that that Sami and RSP want to steal the name The Calling? Call his new faction The Response – “quote the Raven, nevermore.”

We see Tom Lawlor, MSL and Davey Boy Smith Jr are in the men’s bathroom and they feel it’s a good time to stake their claim for the World Tag Team gold. The Bulldog is relieving himself and doesn’t wash his hands as he makes clear it’s either “tap or snap” for Second Gear Crew.

MATCH 3

Bobby Fish vs. Alex Kane (with Mr. Thomas & Faye Jackson)

Alex Kane is clearly focused and needs to be tonight against a game Bobby Fish. Fish is very much feeling confident and shows it in his offense.However, both men are quick to lock up and they work the ground game. Kane starts off on the offensive, and even locks in the Fade To Black early. Fish may have got a cheap shot in and then focuses on the left knee. It becomes a target for Bobby.

He has Kane on the defensive quite a bit in the bout, but Fish a little too cocky and he gets taken to Suplex Island. Sure enough, Kane finds the right opportunity and chokes Fish out in the Fade To Black!

WINNER: Alex Kane

Kane gets on the mic to acknowledge the fans in NYC, but AJ Francis stops the celebration. He says that many fans don’t even realize BOMAYE came from Muhammad Ali, but ended up dropping a bombshell on the group. “Some people in your ranks, may not be as loyal as you think they are.” The crowd “ooo’s” at that one as both Mr. Thomas and Faye dismiss that notion.

NYC – @ajfrancis410 is here and has some harrowing words for @Alex_kane11 and #BOMAYE! #MLW @betonline_ag pic.twitter.com/cZXzgtOGgS

— MLW (@MLW) March 1, 2024

MATCH 4

MLW World Tag Team Championship

WTF (Tom Lawlor & Davey Boy Smith Jr. w/ MSL) vs. Second Gear Crew (c)

WTF make it a point to try to take Manders out of the equation as DBS goes back to his hoss fight ways by delivering stiff elbows to the Corn Belt Cowboy. Matthew Justice rises to the occasion and splashes the sports entertainment out of DBS and Lawlor. However, once Manders gets back in, WTF take control. They go for the Hart Attack on Manders but Justice puls Lawlor out. SGC focus on DBS and hit him with a harsh spear and lariat combo. That’s curtains but Lawlor pulls referee Frank Gastineau out!

A table get presented and Lawlor is the one to fall victim to it. He gets Tornado DDT’ed by Justice through it in an amazing double team. Lawlor is twitching in pain as Manders covers: 1-2-no! MSL, who came in wearing a helmet to the ring, gets slugged by Manders. However, out comes Brett Ryan Gosselin and it allows DBS to grab the helmet and hits Manders with it. He gets covered by Tom Lawlor: 1-2-3. New champs!

WINNERS and NEW MLW World Tag Team Champions: WTF

The feed soon cuts and we see Mads Krule Krugger. He’s ready for one last war and he’s going to unleash his “new blood” into the league. “HAIL CONTRA!”

MATCH 5

NJPW World Television Championship

Bad Dude Tito vs. Matt Riddle (c)

Both Riddle and Tito are game for this fight as each competitor shows speed, athleticism and strength is shown. Suplexes are readily exchanged before kicks and strikes are exchanged. Tito gets the better of the exchange with a massive lariat.

Tito says he’s gonna rip Riddle’s head off. However, Riddle hits a fisherman’s buster and then follows up with a Broton Bomb for two near falls. “BRO” chants echo throughout the Melrose Ballroom.

Tito spinebusters Riddle down and hits a frog splash for his own near fall. More strikes are exchanged. Riddle goes on a flurry but Tito slows him down when he gets his knees up. Tito knows how to grapple and it’s evident in this match.

Hard forearms are traded between the two and then so are strikes and suplexes. Tito hits a blue thunder bomb and it’s a near fall. Only 15 minutes in this fight. Riddle manages to hit a package tombstone and it’s good for the pinfall win.

WINNER
and STILL NJPW World Television Champion: Matt Riddle

https://twitter.com/njpwglobal/status/1763519561880506867

MATCH 6

$5,000 Five-Minute Challenge

Janai Kai vs. ???

Salina de la Renta walks out with a bag of cash and issues the challenge to anybody in the back. Out comes a game Zoey Cannon from Boston. A quick boot to the corner then a massive roundhouse knocks Zoey out cold quickly. The ref calls for the bell.

WINNER: Janai Kai

We cut to Cesar Duran who is smiling proudly in his office with the Middleweight Title sitting in front of him. He issues a new challenge to Salina. He wants her best luchador in the War Chamber. Who will she chose?

It’s main event time.

MAIN EVENT

MLW World Heavyweight Championship

Minoru Suzuki vs. Satoshi Kojima (c)

It should be noted that Kojima hasn’t competed in MLW or NJPW since his last Major League match. However, these two men know one another way too well and Suzuki is sadistic in his gameplan, greatly torquing the leg of Kojima.

Strong style and fighting spirit is greatly shown in this fight, but sportsmanship is out the window as Minoru makes plenty of moments to taunt his longtime rival. Kojima does hit Suzuki with a Kojima cutter and a lariato, but doesn’t get all of the latter. However, the two-time champ perseveres and nails a crisp one on the undefeated fighter in MLW and gets the emphatic 1-2-3!

WINNER and STILL MLW World Heavyweight Champion: Satoshi Kojima

Former WWE and AEW star Bobby Fish has spoken about the lack of “direction” in the latter promotion.

Fish worked for years as part of NXT and the Undisputed Era before his release from the gold brand in August 2021.

In October of last year, Fish joined AEW where he reunited with Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly, but chose not to re-sign with the company when his deal expired in August of this year.

Direction

Fish made a big splash when he arrived in AEW, which made his abrupt departure from the promotion this year all the more surprising.

Speaking with The Wrestling Perspective’s Podcast this week, Fish was asked about his AEW run, and said he “would have liked a little more direction.”

Fish was quick to say that AEW, like any other promotion, will never get everything right and that thinking they would is an unfair assumption.

NXT

Before coming to AEW, Fish spent four years of his career in WWE NXT, where he is a former NXT Tag Team Champion.

Speaking about his time in the Undisputed Era, Fish said he and the group worked closely with Triple H and NXT Head Writer Joe Belcastro.

Fish is especially proud of his work in WarGames, saying he was a huge fan of the iconic structure during his youth and it was an honor to compete inside.

It was also said that the UE were given bullet points rather than a script to follow, and the group’s success in promos earned them the nickname ‘one-take UE’ amongst the production team.

Fish added that the WWE can be criticized for being overproduced and micromanaged, but it was nothing they dealt with much.

Chris Jericho is the Ring of Honor Champion and has made it his mission to destroy the legacy of the promotion. Jericho challenged any former Ring of Honor to face him tonight on Dynamite and his Open Challenge was answered by Colt Cabana.

Colt got a big pop from the crowd in Baltimore and put up a good fight against The Wizard. In the end, Jericho connected with a Codebreaker to retain the title.

After the match, Jericho tried to attack ROH announcer Ian Riccaboni but Claudio Castagnoli broke it up. Jericho Appreciation Society and Blackpool Combat Club battled on the stage until security broke it up.

Bobby Fish Reacts to Colt Cabana’s Return

Bobby Fish had a bizarre run in All Elite Wrestling that came to an end earlier this year. The Undisputed Era wasn’t meant to be in AEW but Bobby has since found a new home in Impact Wrestling. Fish took to Twitter to post Colt Cabana’s entrance said it was great to see Chicago’s own Colt Cabana.

Former two-time AEW World Champion and Chicago’s own CM Punk and Bobby Fish had a match on Dynamite in October last year. Speaking with Steve Fall on NBC Ten Count following his exit from All Elite Wrestling, Fish had some strong words for CM Punk.

“Phil is not a bad pro-wrestling, but what Phil is not is a martial artist,” said Fish. “I’ve been doing martial arts since I was eight years old so I take a lot of pride in it… You are insulting the audience’s intelligence. It’s honestly insulting for you as one of my co-workers. As a martial artist you’re asking me to go out and sell, put over your bunk-ass martial arts. It’s insulting to the audience. It’s insulting to me. At the same time, I’m working for AEW. They’re the ones paying my check. You asked me to go out and put my shoulders down for Phil Brooks. I go out and I do it.”

Bobby Fish may not have reunited the Undisputed Era as he planned, but the former AEW star is back with WWE.

After being released from WWE NXT in 2021, Fish joined AEW in October, but left the company in August this year.

At the time, it was reported that Fish tried to get Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly to leave with him, but they declined.

Back in WWE

Fish hasn’t returned to WWE TV, but he has been operating behind the scenes.

Fightful Select reports that Fish recently attended the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, where he worked as a guest coach.

It is unclear if WWE plans on using him further in a coaching role.

In addition to working as a coach, Fish has also been spotted backstage at multiple WWE NXT Live events.

WWE has not publicly confirmed Fish’s status with the promotion at this time.

Going to War

Both WWE’s Creative team and Talent Relations department are now being overseen by Triple H, who was appointed to both roles in July.

Fish knows about working with the Game, having done so during his NXT tenure, and wouldn’t oppose being led by the former WWE World Champion.

Speaking in an interview with the “Rewind Recap Relive” podcast, Fish praised Triple H.

“I just can’t see anything in the wrestling business that he has a hand in that’s not going to be successful. And I’m obviously biased and partial to the man, but I would go to war for him seven days a week.”

Since being appointed Head of Talent, Triple H has brought several prominent stars back, including Johnny Gargano, Karrion Kross, Braun Strowman and Bray Wyatt.

Bobby Fish is set to get back in the ring next month, but as a boxer and not a professional wrestler.

Fish, a former WWE NXT Tag Team Champion, was released from the company in August 2021 as part of changes made to the brand ahead of the launch of NXT 2.0.

In October that same year, Fish signed with AEW where he reunited with Kyle O’Reilly & Adam Cole, but parted ways in August this year.

Boxing

Fish may be best known as a wrestler, but he is set to make his boxing debut in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Fightful were the first to report that Fish will be participating in the Global Titans Fight Series, which was later confirmed on Twitter.

In a tweet, the promotion announced that Fish will face Ghanain fighter Boating Prempeh in a match at the Coca-Cola Arena on November 13.

Fighting Background

Fish may be a wrestler, but like many wrestler, he comes from a background in Mixed Martial Arts.

The former NXT Tag Champion was trained by Jerrick Jones at Albany Boxing, and made his kickboxing professional debut in January 2010.

In his first fight, Fish competed for the Cage Wars organization in Albany, New York and defeated Justin Pierpoint by TKO.

Fish won in the third round after Pierpoint suffered a broken nose at the end of the second.

More recently, Fish offered to fight CM Punk (who briefly competed in the UFC) after Punk said during the All Out media scrum “you have a f*g problem with me, take it up with me.”

There has been a great amount of discussion over the last two months about WWE reportedly making overtures to AEW talent who are still under contract, and a new report sheds some light on exactly who these names are.

According to Fightful Select, there were indeed some AEW stars who did receive word that WWE would be interested in bringing them back. The first name that jumps off the page is former AEW Tag Team Champion Swerve Strickland. According to the report, he told the WWE party to contact his attorney. Strickland apparently had no interest in returning to WWE, and the pitch was reportedly for him to return as part of Hit Row.

For what it’s worth, Strickland’s partner Keith Lee has apparently not been contacted by WWE.

On the tag team front, it was previously reported that word was given to FTR that WWE would be interested in bringing them back.

Any Truth to Those Bobby Fish, Adam Cole, and Kyle O’Reilly Rumors?

There has been some chatter that Bobby Fish, prior to exiting AEW, was trying to get Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly to ask for their AEW releases so that the trio could return to WWE. According to Fightful Select, there’s no truth to this rumor. Several AEW sources indicated the rumor was false, and WWE sources stated that they have not been in contact with Fish about a return to the company.

Miro has not asked for his AEW release despite there being some chatter about WWE reaching out to him. These rumors were not substantiated or refuted, with no reporting either way on the matter.

Lastly, at least one AEW official stated they are expecting both Buddy Matthews and Aleister Black to be back with AEW within a couple of months. Black had asked for his AEW release and reportedly told at least one person at WWE that he wished he was back with the company, however AEW never had any intention of releasing him so that he could return to WWE. AEW officials believed that the situation had been “smoothed over” prior to All Out.

Furthermore, Black did an IG Live on Monday night where he noted he has not been released from AEW. He stated that he has been given some time off to deal with some personal things. He said he would be back with AEW soon.

• Candice LeRae Returns to WWE on Raw

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. 

Bobby Fish has arrived in the Impact Zone.

The former WWE and AEW star made a surprise appearance at this evening’s Victory Road special from Skyway Studios where he immediately made his presence known to the Impact locker room.

Fish cut a promo about how controversial he’s been since his AEW departure, where he was most likely referring to the shoot comments he made against CM Punk following Punk’s blow up at the post-ALL OUT media scrum. He made it known that he was a guy who always did his job well, and that he has not joined Impact for the bull***t.

WHAT!!!!@theBobbyFish is in THE IMPACT ZONE!?#VictoryRoad pic.twitter.com/lhqkj2qDu4

— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) September 24, 2022

Fish made sure to state that he doesn’t officially work for the company, so Impact cannot fire him for any reason, and that he was in search of good competition. This brought out Raj Singh and Mahabali Shera, who confronted the former multi-time NXT tag champion thinking they would get one over on him due to the two-on-one advantage. Unfortunately for the heels, Fish would nail Shera with a kick and trap Singh in a heel hook before they eventually retreated.

.@theBobbyFish wants a FIGHT and @TrueRajSingh & @MahabaliShera are here to bring it to him!#VictoryRoad pic.twitter.com/x4uMQrD9uW

— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) September 24, 2022

As a reminder Fish left AEW near the end of August after the company decided to not renew his contract. At this time it is not known whether Fish is under contract with Impact or on a per-appearance deal.

Continue to follow Sescoops for more updates on Bobby Fish.

Bobby Fish tried to get his former stablemates – Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly to leave AEW to return to WWE, according to a report by the Wrestling Observer’s Ryan Frederick. 

Frederick noted on the message board of the website that  Fish was trying to get them to ask for their AEW releases, but they told him. 

The Report

“I posted it in the Bobby Fish thread but I know Fish was trying to get them to Cole and Kyle to ask for their releases to go back to VVWE and they both told him no. It’s possible Cole may have clued Tony [Khan] in. If he did, I doubt he was the only one. I’m sure Swerve was one of them who did so.”

Fish left the promotion last month when his contract expired, and it was not renewed, while Cole and O’Reilly have several years left on their contracts. Both stars are currently sidelined with injuries as Cole has been out of in-ring action since Forbidden Door in late June, when he reportedly suffered a concussion. 

Kyle is out of action after undergoing neck surgery, with his last match taking place on the June 8th Dynamite show. 

Cole, O’Reilly, and Fish had a successful run as The Undisputed Era in WWE NXT before they had a stint as The Undisputed Elite together in AEW.

One week ago AEW held their annual ALL OUT pay-per-view from the NOW Arena in Chicago, which saw CM Punk recapture the world championship from Jon Moxley in the main event, and the monumental return of MJF.

However, the post-show media scrum and eventual backstage altercation between Punk and The Elite have dominated the headlines as the incidents have put a dark cloud over the promotion’s successes. Former AEW star Bobby Fish has not been shy of giving his thoughts on the situation, where had some major criticisms of Punk and even called him a not so kind word. You can read about Fish’s dislike of the Second City Saint here.

When Fish and Punk’s relationship took a turn

Fish and Punk actually wrestled each other an an October episode of AEW Dynamite back in 2021. The bout was a competitive back and forth that Punk ended up winning via his GTS finisher, but for some reason Fish kicked out at 3.1 seconds. The ending was clearly not the original plan as the live crowd, and Punk, were visibly confused as to why the kickout had occurred.

According to Fightful, this was the reason Punk and Fish’s relationship soured as Punk was indeed upset at the kick-out happening. The report states that communication between the two pretty much stopped aftewards.

Fish is now a free agent as his AEW contract expired after being absent from television due for several weeks. Fish was getting married at the time, but injuries to Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly kept him off television longer than anticipated.

Add KENTA to the list of CM Punk’s enemies.

The NJPW star took to Twitter to respond to the recent interview comments made by former AEW talent Bobby Fish, who unleashed his true thoughts on Punk following the disastrous events from last Sunday’s ALL OUT media scrum and the backstage brawl that occurred afterwards. Fish’s full comments can be found here.

At one point in the interview Fish stated that Punk was in the wrong for stealing KENTA’s finishing maneuver, the GTS, and not even having the decency to give him any credit over the years. The former Undisputed Era’s exact quotes were, “Phil, you took a man’s finishing maneuver. Anyone who knows pro-wrestling knows that’s f***ed up. You weren’t even decent enough to change the name.”

KENTA Agrees With Fish

So how did KENTA feel about what Fish said? He tweeted out the quotes on his persona account and writes, “Hey Bobby. You Are 100% right.”

This isn’t the first time KENTA has made his feelings about Punk known. Ahead of Forbidden Door (prior to Punk breaking his foot) he wrote “It looks like the forbidden door won’t open for me But I’m totally fine as long as he pays royalty.”

That’s not all. Sometimes KENTA just goes off on Punk whenever he feels like it.

The Undisputed Era were one of the hottest commodities of the Black and Gold era of NXT. Though many people believe that the group was disbanded prematurely. Bobby Fish admits that the end of the stable when it happened was a mistake.

The former WWE star recently spoke to Steve Fall of NBC Sports Boston. Speaking about the break-up of The Undisputed Era, Fish explained that they evolved a little bit too quickly, leading to a premature break up:

“I just think things changed and everything needs to evolve. I think we had evolved quite a bit in a very short time. Maybe we moved a little bit quicker than we needed to as far as the timing of when to pull the trigger on stuff and when not to.

The people that made decisions at this time would probably agree that we split apart premature. I think there was more left for us to do as a unit. I think that was the plan and then it wasn’t the plan and then it was the plan and then it wasn’t.” said Bobby Fish, “Then they just weren’t sure what to do. So we pulled the trigger. You learn from your mistakes.”

Undisputed Era made their debut during NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III in 2017. The four members of the group held all four male titles of the development brand at one point in 2019. They were disbanded in 2021 when Adam Cole attacked Kyle O’Reilly during NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day.

You can check out Fish’s full interview below:

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If you use any quotes from the article, please credit SEScoops with an H/t for transcription

Bobby Fish unexpectedly left AEW last month after his contract with the company expired and both sides failed to negotiate a new agreement.

Fightful Select provided some news on his exit, noting that there was interest from both sides in continuing their relationship. They had entered the discussion about possibly renewing his deal.

However, the two sides couldn’t come to terms financially and decided to part ways. AEW officials thought the split was amicable, until Fish’s comments about CM Punk.

The creative didn’t have much for him after Kyle O’Reilly’s injury either, though it’s said that he remains friendly with many people in the promotion.

There has been no news of WWE reaching out to Bobby Fish and the creative haven’t been told anything about a potential return so far.

• Ex-AEW Star Challenges CM Punk To Shoot Fight

The issues between Fish and CM Punk have been highlighted since he left AEW. The former AEW star had told many that he didn’t appreciate Punk’s attitude after their match in October 2021. Though it didn’t have any effect on his contract negotiations.

Bobby Fish has been announced for an indie appearance later this month. There is no word on how long the 45-year-old plans to continue wrestling after his AEW departure.

Bobby Fish is making his first appearance following his departure from AEW.

The Undisputed Elite member will be competing at Black Label Pro’s Turbo Graps event from Crown Point Indiana on September 24th, where he will taking on the super talented Kevin Blackwood. Black Label is holding a tournament at that same show but Fish’s match will be unrelated to that.

🚨TURBO GRAPS 24🚨

Non-Tournament Action!

Kevin Blackwood takes on the debuting Bobby Fish!

September 24, 2022
7:30 PM
RDS Gym
Crown Point, IN.

Tickets: https://t.co/VOehgyG4Ap pic.twitter.com/Up1AHlOQe1

— Black Label Pro (@BLabelPro) August 31, 2022

Fish’s AEW contract quietly expired on Wednesday August 31st. His final television appearance was the August 3rd Dynamite, where he, Kyle O’Reilly, and Adam Cole turned on the Young Bucks. Prior to that Fish was sidelined with an injury.

During his time with the promotion Fish had marquee matchups with CM Punk and Bryan Danielson, challenged unsuccessfully for the TNT championship, as well as unsuccessfully challenging for the AEW tag team championships with Kyle O’Reilly. He is currently still a free agent in the competitive wrestling market.

The Undisputed era in All Elite Wrestling is over before it really even got started.

Bobby Fish’s AEW contract expired Wednesday, August 31st and is now officially a free agent. Fish made his AEW debut on October 6, 2021. The 45-year-old was released by WWE in August of last year. Fish has not been seen on AEW television since the August 3rd episode of Dynamite. On that episode, Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, and Kyle O’Reilly attacked The Young Bucks to split the Undisputed Elite faction.

He told the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast that he was supposed to be a part of the Trios Tournament with Adam Cole and Bobby O’Reilly but plans were changed due to injury. Bobby added during the episode that he would run through a wall for Triple H and now he may be afforded that chance.

Bobby Fish debuted in a loss against Sammy Guevara for the TNT Championship. He battled top stars like CM Punk and Bryan Danielson in singles matches before teaming up with Adam Cole and The Young Bucks. Kyle O’Reilly joined their group on the Holiday Bash edition of Dynamite.

Fish has been used sparingly in recent months due to injuries suffered by Kyle O’Reilly and Adam Cole. His last match was during a taping for AEW Dark: Elevation in July. Bobby has recently been taking independent bookings and started the “Undisputed” podcast.

In the three years since AEW was founded, the promotion has built a stacked roster, featuring some of the most talented stars in wrestling.

Many AEW stars previously worked with WWE, but were laid off as part of the company’s dreaded ‘budget cuts.’

Some never even got a chance to make it to WWE’s main roster, instead being cut during their time as part of NXT.

Go to War

Bobby Fish is one of the former Superstars who was cut from WWE while still part of NXT.

Fish, a former NXT Tag Team Champion, was released by WWE in August 2021, and would make his debut for AEW less than two months later.

As part of NXT, Fish worked closely with Triple H, who was the head of the brand during the former’s tenure with WWE.

During a recent appearance on the “Rewind Recap Relive” podcast, Fish addressed ‘The Game’ now being Head of WWE’s Creative and Talent Relations, and is optimistic (via 411Mania.)

“I can’t really speak firsthand, but to know that there is a chance now with Hunter back doing his thing there that things could return or maybe become something entirely new and different but under him. I just can’t see anything in the wrestling business that he has a hand in that’s not going to be successful. And I’m obviously biased and partial to the man, but I would go to war for him seven days a week.”

“I would go to war for him seven days a week.”

Bobby Fish on his relationship with Triple H.

Under Triple H’s watch, WWE has seen several Superstars return after being released last year.

Karrion Kross, Scarlett Bordeaux, Dexter Lumis and Dakota Kai have all returned to WWE since Triple H gained power.

Finally, some good news for AEW in the midst of an injury wave.

AEW has been hammered with injuries over the past few months. The company is currently without its world champion CM Punk.

There are some other key injuries as well to the likes of Bryan Danielson, Adam Cole, Jungle Boy, Kyle O’Reilly, and more.

It doesn’t help that one of AEW’s biggest stars, Kenny Omega, has been out of action since Nov. 2021 to heal from multiple injuries.

There is some good news for the company to cling onto, however.

Bobby Fish Returns

Taken off the mega-list of AEW injuries is now Bobby Fish. He returned to action at the tapings for the July 18 episode of AEW Dark: Elevation.

Fish defeated Blake Lee in his return to the ring. It’ll be interesting to see how AEW plays this one out as Cole and O’Reilly aren’t ready to perform yet.

The company had been running a storyline where Fish and O’Reilly weren’t on the same page with The Young Bucks but things had been getting better between the two teams.

Time will tell if Fish stays aligned with The Young Bucks or if he’ll be kept away until the rest of Undisputed Elite returns.

Regardless, this serves as a sliver of hope that things are looking up for AEW on the injury front.

We’ve updated our Wrestling Injuries Tracker to reflect Bobby Fish returning to action.

Kyle O’Reilly has joined the AEW roster and drama has already reared its ugly head.

On the Holiday Bash episode of AEW Dynamite, Adam Cole went one-on-one with Orange Cassidy. Cole got a major assist from the debuting Kyle O’Reilly, which allowed Cole to hit The Boom for the three-count.

After the match, The Young Bucks made their way down the ramp and they did not look too pleased. Cole promised a surprise for his fellow Elite members but this isn’t what The Bucks were hoping for.

Bobby Fish was also at ringside and he posed with O’Reilly. Cole looked conflicted as he noticed that The Young Bucks were not happy with what had transpired.

Cole, O’Reilly, and Fish were all members of the Undisputed Era on NXT. The group eventually added Roderick Strong to the group.

O’Reilly had been with WWE under the NXT brand since 2017. Once his contract came to an end, O’Reilly decided to leave the company. Many expected the move given that NXT has changed direction.

Could Bobby Fish and Adam Cole be on a collision course at some point in AEW?

Fish and Cole were a part of the Undisputed Era faction in NXT. The two started the group along with Kyle O’Reilly. Eventually, Roderick Strong joined them. All four members of Undisputed Era made a name for themselves in Ring of Honor and dabbled into wrestling in Japan with NJPW prior to joining NXT.

Bobby Fish & Adam Cole No Longer Chummy?

Fish and Cole may have been tight as members of the Undisputed Era but things appear different now. Fish was released from his WWE deal back in August, while Cole decided not to re-sign with the promotion.

Both men now compete under the AEW banner but Bobby Fish claims he and Cole have yet to communicate. Here’s what he had to say on the AEW Unrestricted podcast.

“He didn’t say anything to me. We haven’t talked yet.”

When host Aubrey Edwards pointed out that a lot of people in AEW are busy backstage, Fish had his own theory.

“Yeah, Adam acts like he doesn’t know me.”

Fish went on to say that he still speaks with Kyle O’Reilly, whose WWE deal is reportedly expiring soon.

“Kyle and I still talk. We are definitely still close. Like we said at the top of this conversation, pro wrestling is strange in that way where you see some of the same people daily or weekly for X number of years and then things shift, and you don’t see that person anymore for a little while, but you never know when you’re going to cross paths again and what that frequency is going to be. And we’ll see. I feel like Kyle, Adam, Roddy, myself, however many years we’ve all had in the wrestling industry, we’ve all found a way to cross paths repeatedly.”

Given Adam Cole’s reputation for being one of the nicest people in the business, it’s likely that Fish’s comments are kayfabe. Many feel that Fish and Cole will inevitably cross paths on AEW TV. Whether they realign or go to war remains to be seen.

H/T to Wrestling Inc for the transcribed quotes

CM Punk takes on Bobby Fish tonight on AEW Dynamite. Ahead of their match, Punk tells DAZN that he’s not too familiar with Fish’s work. He didn’t watch NXT, or much wrestling at all, during his 7-year hiatus from the ring.

“I wasn’t paying attention to NXT or wrestling whilst I was gone,” Punk said. “I knew who he was and the group he was in but I can’t say I’ve watched him too extensively.”

“Looking at him now, he’s definitely an impressive person. I was there and to see him mix it up with Danielson a couple of weeks ago and it got the gears grinding here. He’s somebody I can’t wait to share the ring with.” 

Punk also commented on not being included in the AEW World Title Eliminator tournament that is currently ongoing. He noted that while he was disappointed not to have the opportunity, he knows his chances will come in time.

“Looking at the field and seeing the names that that that were in it, I definitely think I could have fit in there. It’ll come. You know, it’s not my time but it’ll come at a later date.”

CM Punk vs Bobby Fish

Bobby Fish will come into this match with a 4-2 record in AEW. He dropped his first match in the promotion to Sammy Guevara with the TNT title on the line. Fish would get his first AEW victory against Lee Moriarty the following week on Rampage. The next night on another edition of Saturday Night Dynamite he was defeated by Bryan Danielson. Since then, he’s rattled off 3 straight wins on episodes of Dark.

As for CM Punk, he’s 4-0 since debuting in AEW. He’s rattled off wins over Darby Allin, Will Hobbs, Daniel Garcia, and Matt Sydal.

Other matches scheduled for tonight’s show from Boston’s Agganis Arena include:

• TBS Championship Tournament (1st Round)
  Hikaru Shida vs Serena Deeb
• AEW World Title Eliminator Tournament First Round Match
  Jon Moxley vs #10 (Dark Order)
• The Elite (Adam Cole, Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) (w/Don Callis) vs. The Dark Order (Colt Cabana, Evil Uno, John Silver & Stu Grayson)
• CM Punk vs Bobby Fish
• TNT Championship
  Sammy Guevara (c) vs Ethan Page

Veteran wrestler Bobby Fish is All Elite. Fish has wrestled around the world for many top promotions. Prior to joining AEW, he had a successful run with WWE & NXT.

Fish made his NXT debut in 2017 during the TakeOver: Brooklyn III event alongside Kyle O’Reilly. The two joined forces with Adam Cole later that night in what was one of the most impactful wrestling debuts in recent times.

The former WWE star recently had an interview with Chris Van Vliet. He discussed things such as his AEW debut, joining the MLW roster, and more.

Talking about the debut of their group which later became the Undisputed Era, Fish admitted that it was one of the highlights of his career. He discussed the big crowd reaction they got on their arrival.

Bobby Fish on Undisputed Era’s Debut

“Debuting in the Barclays Center, standing next to 2 of my best friends, and getting that reaction that is now somewhat estranged to us because of the lack of crowds recently, There’s all that, and as a whole,

I think when we found out that it was going to be Adam [Cole], Kyle and I.” recalled Bobby Fish, “That was NXT’s idea. It felt like we were just waiting for someone to come into the room and go ‘Ah! We were just screwing with you.’”

Sanity defeated Authors Of Pain to win the NXT tag team championships at the Takeover: Brooklyn III event. The AEW star alongside O’Reilly made his debut right after this match, attacking the new champions.

The duo then helped Adam Cole in taking out the newly crowned NXT champion Drew McIntyre after the main event, marking the beginning of a brand new era.

• Adam Cole Reacts To Bobby Fish Signing With AEW

Adam Cole has given his reaction to Bobby Fish signing with AEW.

Fish appeared on the second-anniversary edition of AEW Dynamite. He challenged Sammy Guevara for the TNT Championship. Guevara ended up getting the victory and many assumed this was a one-off for Bobby Fish.

As it turns out, Fish is actually All Elite. Now that he will be on the AEW roster going forward, it’s led many to wonder if Fish will reunite with Cole. After all, the two were members of the Undisputed Era during their time on NXT.

You may have to hold your horses on that thought a little bit. During an appearance at the 2021 New York Comic-Con convention, Adam Cole addressed Fish’s AEW signing and the possibility of bringing him into The Elite (h/t Fightful).

“The last time I was around Bobby Fish, things with my former group didn’t end so well. I’m not sure we’re on the best terms. However, I am very happy that he’s in AEW, I hope everybody else too. We’ll see if it gets to the point where we invite him into The Elite. I don’t know if I’m emotionally ready for that yet.”

It was reported by Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter that AEW EVPs, The Young Bucks, were crucial in getting Bobby Fish signed to the promotion.

Fish had been released by WWE as part of a wave of NXT roster cuts. Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong are the only former Undisputed Era members left in WWE.

There are some reported details on what led to the AEW signing of Bobby Fish.

Fish made his debut for AEW on the Oct. 1 edition of Rampage. He challenged Sammy Guevera for the TNT Championship. Fish lost the match, and many assumed that this would be a one-off.

As it turns out, Bobby Fish is indeed All Elite. Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio reports that The Young Bucks can be credited with bringing Fish on board. The tag team and EVPs of AEW were said to be very high on Fish.

Fish has already been teasing meeting Guevera again down the line. In the meantime, it’ll be interesting to see who Fish mixes it up against. Fish is once again under the same roof as his ex-Undisputed Era partner Adam Cole. Whether or not the two will eventually become chummy on AEW TV remains to be seen.

Fish had competed on WWE’s NXT brand since 2017. Along the way, he captured the NXT Tag Team Championships twice. Before Cole left WWE, many felt Fish would be the odd man out after the Undisputed Era disbanded. This was proven to be correct as WWE released Fish along with a slew of other NXT talent.

The relationship between Bobby Fish and AEW isn’t one-and-done after all.

Fish appeared on the Oct. 6 episode of Dynamite. This was the special two-year anniversary of the show. Fish challenged Sammy Guevara for the TNT Championship inside the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, PA. Fish fell short in the match as Sammy scored the pinfall.

As it turns out, Bobby Fish is actually sticking with AEW. The promotion announced he is All Elite.

There had been a report by Fightful that Fish told friends during an MLW taping that he hadn’t signed with AEW. While it’s possible that he was offered a deal after the taping, he may have just been trying to keep things under wraps.

Before announcing the Fish signing, AEW posted a video of the former tag team title holder for WWE and NJPW vowing to meet Sammy Guevara again for the TNT gold down the road.

Fish had been with WWE on the NXT brand since 2017. He had success on the show as a part of the Undisputed Era. He held the NXT Tag Team Championship twice. Fish was released from his WWE contract along with a slew of other NXT talent as a result of budget cuts.

There is a reported update on Bobby Fish and his status with AEW.

Fish is scheduled to challenge Sammy Guevara for the TNT Championship on tonight’s (Oct. 6) episode of Dynamite. Many assumed that this would be a one-off but some have observed something interesting about Fish’s shirt in the official poster for his match with Guevara. In the poster, Fish is wearing a shirt with an AEW logo.

Fightful Select has reported that Fish told friends during a recent MLW taping that he hadn’t signed with AEW. Whether or not Bobby Fish was telling the truth or is keeping things under wraps remains to be seen.

Fish had been on WWE’s NXT brand since 2017. He was a part of the Undisputed Era. Along the way, he captured the NXT Tag Team Championships twice. Earlier this year, Fish was one of many NXT talents who was released by WWE due to budget cuts.

Guevara vs. Fish will mark “The Spanish God’s” first TNT Championship defense. Guevara captured the gold by defeating Miro on the Oct. 1 edition of Rampage. This is Guevara’s first title reign in AEW. It’ll also be Fish’s first match under the AEW banner.

Stick with SEScoops tonight for coverage of AEW Dynamite.