Cody Rhodes and QT Marshall’s Nightmare Factory wrestling school sent in the following press release Thursday evening:
Nightmare Factory, the premium training facility owned and operated by AEW’s Cody Rhodes and QT Marshall, today announced its new development camp to propel the next generation of professional wrestling talent.
Starting on Monday, Sept. 21, the inaugural class of 25 aspiring male and female wrestlers will experience the unparalleled three-month curriculum at the world-class Nightmare Factory facility in Norcross, Ga. The premium Nightmare Factory facility, which encompasses 43,000 square feet, includes four wrestling rings and a complete Olympic style weight room. AEW filmed several closed-set DYNAMITE shows at the Nightmare Factory earlier this year.
Designed by head trainers Cody Rhodes and QT Marshall, the rolling curriculum incorporates programming never before presented in a wrestling school. In addition to customized workouts and fitness regimes, students will engage with prominent nutrition counselor Carolyn Fazio to develop meal plans, and participate in exclusive seminars on topics such as HD makeup, the history of American wrestling and “Wrestlenomics,” an in-depth look at the past and present of the wrestling economy.
Aspiring wrestlers can apply for the first Nightmare Factory camp at www.NightmareFactoryGa.com. Camps are limited to 25 athletes and open to men and women of any level of wrestling experience. New camp sessions will begin every three months. The opening camp commences on Sept. 21, followed by the second session in early January 2021.
“I’ve had the best trainers throughout my career, and now I feel a responsibility to pass on the fundamentals and traditions of our sport and entertainment medium to aspiring wrestlers,” said Cody Rhodes, co-head trainer of Nightmare Factory and EVP of AEW. “What I love the most about the Nightmare Factory is its push towards the future and innovation, as well as its focus on the history of wrestling and how it has shaped our current business climate.”
To ensure the safety of all athletes and staff, temperature screenings and COVID-19 tests are required to enter the facility. Refer to www.NightmareFactoryGA.com for policies and information.
About Nightmare Factory
Nightmare Factory is a premium training facility owned and operated by Cody Rhodes and QT Marshall. Located in the Atlanta suburb of Norcross, Ga., the 43,000 square feet facility includes four wrestling rings and a comprehensive Olympic-style weight room. Its new three-month development camp launches on Sept. 21, 2020. For more info, check out @NF_Training (Twitter) and www.NightmareFactoryGa.com.
AEW Dynamite scored another decisive win over WWE NXT this week in total viewers and the key Adults 18-49 demographic. Courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:
AEW: 773,000 viewers, 0.30 rating (6th on cable for the night)
NXT: 707,000 viewers, 0.18 rating (28th on cable for the night)
NXT narrowed the gap in viewership this week, but Dynamite nearly doubled the WWE brand in the key demo.
By comparison, Monday’s edition of WWE Raw averaged 1.62 million viewers with a 0.47 demo. Bryan Alvarez of F4WOnline points out that AEW & NXT combined did more viewers than the third hour of Raw, which sunk to an all-time low of 1.46 million viewers.
AEW and NXT combined beat the third hour of RAW in viewers this week.
AEW viewership slipped 8.5% from 845,000 last week. Dynamite saw Jon Moxley & Darby Allin defeat Brian Cage and Ricky Starks, MJF deliver his State of the Industry address, a successful title defense by Kenny Omega & Hangman Page, Cody’s lstest TNT Championship defense against Warhorse, the debut of Matt Cardona and much more. (Results & Takeaways)
NXT viewership was up a nice 15% from last week’s 615,000. Top matches included Dexter Lumis defeating Finn Balor & Timmothy Thatcher in a North American title qualifying match, Johnny Gargano defeating Roderick Strong, Imperium in action and Isaiah Scott beating Jake Atlas. (Results & Takeaways)
In what’s becoming a running joke, AEW executive VP Cody referenced that Dynamite outdrew celebrity chef Guy Fieri’s show Guy’s Grocery Games in the key demo.
Last week on Smackdown, Kofi Kingston revealed he’ll be out of action for 6 weeks. Kingston told Big E it’s time for him to show the world what he can do as a singles wrestler. Booker T recently addressed Big E as a singles wrestler on his ESPN Hall of Fame radio show and YouTube channel.
Booker T On Big E As A Singles Wrestler
“I think Big E is going to have to shed a few things in order for people to look at him like the world champion,” Booker said on the show.
“Big E still trying to be the New Day is not going to work for him as far as him working at the top of the card. I’m talking about being the main attraction. I’m talking about being the guy that the company has put in position to be the guy.”
“You can’t rehash something that you’ve been doing for so long and think that’s what’s going to take you to the next level,” Booker continued.
Booker and Brad Gilmore then spoke about wrestlers evolving their characters throughout their careers.
“I talked to Big E maybe a year and a half ago and I could tell he wasn’t in the best place,” Booker continued. “I think it was right after Kofi won the title actually and I said ‘trust me bro, your time is coming. Your run is going to actually happen.’ And he looked at me and I could see he was almost like ‘Nah, it ain’t going to happen.’ I said ‘trust me, it’s going to happen for you cause you’re talented, just keep doing what you’re doing.'”
Former WWE Superstar EC3 recently appeared on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio. During the interview with the show, EC3 discussed his leaving WWE and being able to fully to his character and “control the narrative” on Ethan Carter III.
Co-host of the show Bully Ray asked EC3 what he felt was the biggest issue with the company right now.
EC3 on ‘The Top’ of WWE
“Like with anything? It starts at the top” EC3 began, discussing his former place of work. “And I think the top? The very very top? Is micromanaging to an extremely dangerous level, where there’s no trust in the lieutenants, the majors and the generals to do anything.”
“Everything goes through the top” EC3 continued, clearly alluding to WWE CEO Vince McMahon. “And when the tops inundated with so much business? A lot gets lost. You just mentioned it’s a broken system, and it seems like it.”
EC3 then admitted that he hasn’t been following WWE recently (understandably) but he feels that they could be doing a lot more with their stacked roster of talent. “I’m not following the product, but they have the most talented roster in the world. And the product becomes unwatchable and insufferable sometimes. But, if I’m a leader? Which I’ve been in some cases, not to that level, but as a leader? instead of passing blame to people and firing them, sometimes it comes down on me. And so, leadership starts at the top.”
This comments echo those made by Eric Young recently, another talent released by WWE.
Do you agree with EC3? Let us know in the comments
AEW’s commentary booth was without Excalibur this week. The masked former luchador’s absence was addressed on Wrestling Observer Radio. According to comments from Dave Meltzer, it’s possible Excalibur missed the show due to a controversial wrestling angle he participated in a long time ago. The angle involved using the N-word in reference to a Black wrestler.
Before addressing Excalibur’s absence, Dave Meltzer noted he had not heard any concrete reasons as to why the announcer missed the show. He did offer speculation as to a possible reason, however.
“There was an angle, I’m not sure if it was in 2003 or 2005. It was a long, long time ago,” Meltzer said.
“In that angle, Human Tornado, who was kind of being pushed as a top babyface and he would often ask for guys to do heavily-racial promos on him and he asked them to use the word. From what I was told, Kevin Steen was very reluctant and Human Tornado convinced Kevin Steen.”
“I don’t know if Excalibur and Disco Machine were reluctant or not. The person who was there said he doesn’t know what they were. But they all knew after they did it, and this is again like 15-17 years ago, they all knew after they did it that they f***ed up big time.”
“I have no idea what the story is as far as is he gone? Is he off for a couple of weeks? I know he took the trip to Florida for the show and was not used. And that’s all I really know.”
Randy Orton will challenge Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam. The Legend Killer has had an eventful year in the promotion. He has been involved in a feud with Edge that spanned 2 PPVs. He’s also punt-kicked legends like Christian and the Big Show and is arguably the biggest heel in the company right now.
Orton recently spoke to SI.com and said that having been bullied as a kid is one of the things he feels taught him to be an effective heel.
“When I was younger, I was bullied, I was picked on,” Orton said. “I know how that feels, so it’s just reversing that and being the bully, knowing what to do or say to get under somebody’s skin. Growing up, my younger sister just hated my guts. I took out being bullied at school on her. As far as where I get that motivation, I’m not sure there is just one explanation. I feel comfortable being the heel.”
Arn Anderson recently said that he feels Orton is the best heel in the business.
“When he’s a heel and allowed to get heat, he’s the best heel in the business and I believe that,” Anderson said on the Arn Show. “Randy works old-school, Randy doesn’t do a one-and-a-half off the top. He doesn’t dive out on the floor, he doesn’t do any of those things.”
Randy Orton On Less Being More In Wrestling
Orton also spent some time during the interview talking about modern in-ring styles. According to Orton, wrestlers need to slow down and sell more.
“If two guys are going 100 miles an hour, and they never slow down and they never sell, it’s a big fireworks show and I’m not getting any drama,” said Orton. “I’m not getting invested, and I’m not wanting to see more. When it’s over, it’s over, and onto the next train wreck. It’s too much. Less is more, sometimes. Sometimes you do need to slow it down.
A lot of things involving people aligned with Arn Anderson took place last night on Dynamite. Double-A was called into FTR’s contract-signing on the show as the team’s tag-team advisor. It appears Anderson will likely be aligned with the new signees moving forward.
Anderson also manages Cody Rhodes and the Nightmare Family. This week on Dynamite, Cody was rescued from a Dark Order attack by the debuting Matt Cardona (FKA Zack Ryder). Next week on Dynamite, Cardona, and Cody will team up to take on John Silver & Alex Reynolds. The rest of the Dark Order will then take on FTR, the Young Bucks, and Kenny Omega & Hangman Page.
Anderson spoke about the upcoming matches his guys have against the Dark Order on this week’s Coach’s Corner segment. He said he knows they can trust the debuting Cordona, as he and Cody go way back.
“They’ve got the numbers. What do they got, 20-30 guys in that Dark Order?” Anderson asked. “Sides have been chosen. Now, Matt and Cody go along way back, I know we can count on him. I’m going to have to move some chess pieces around to make this thing fly because I’m going to expect the unexpected, I’m going to expect it to be at its worse.”
Anderson then issued a message to the Dark Order.
“Boys, you jumped on Cody at a time when he should have been shaking Warhorse’s hand who gave him a hell of a fight,” Anderson continued. “But now the focus has changed and it’s changed totally. Now, we’re on the attack and you’re going to be in the crosshairs.”
CM Punk and the Miz traded jabs regarding WWE Backstage back in January. After appearing on the show one week, Miz used the line “Sorry I didn’t change the culture” in reference to a comment CM Punk made when he was first announced as a regular on the show. Punk responded to a Tweet from the WWE on Fox Twitter account regarding the comment:
The Miz was recently interviewed by 411 Mania and addressed the situation. He said he still considers him and Punk friends.
“I have no idea to be honest with you. Like, I still to this day have no idea,” Miz said. “To be honest, I thought we were friends. And it’s just like one of those things where you’re like, ‘God, man.’ I don’t know. I just don’t know, like I really don’t. I wish I could answer any of the questions that you would have about that, but I honestly, I don’t know. I don’t get it. I don’t get him.”
Miz also spent some time during the interview talking about those who are critical of him main eventing WrestleMania 27.
“People were still talking like I didn’t deserve to be in that spot, ‘I should’ve been in that spot!’ ‘Blah blah blah!’ Let’s put it this way: There was no one that generated more heat, more bad guy like oriented couldn’t stand you heat if you will than me at that moment.”
AEW Dynamite aired live from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida. Kenny Omega & Hangman Page defended the AEW Tag Team Championships against Evil Uno & Stu Grayson of Dark Order. Cody put the TNT Championship on the line against Warhorse tonight as well. FTR signed their contracts and will be hosting Tag Team Appreciation Night on the August 12th edition of Dynamite.
The official contract signing of FTR with a few unique stipulations and a familiar guest joined the party.
Best Friends, Luchasaurus, Jungle Boy, Orange Cassidy def. Inner Circle
Cody def. Warhorse to retain the TNT Championship
Hangman Page & Kenny Omega def. Dark Order to retain the AEW Tag Team Championships
Hikaru Shida def. Diamante
Jon Moxley & Darby Allin def. Brian Cage & Ricky Starks
Here are takeaways from this week’s show:
Matt Hardy Cost Inner Circle The Match
Inner Circle battled Best Friends, Jungle Boy, Luchasaurus, and Orange Cassidy in a 10-man tag team match to begin the show.
Match Recap: Jericho tagged in Hager right away and Orange Cassidy greeted him with a couple lazy kicks. Jake lifted Cassidy in the air but Orange escaped and Dropkicked Hager. A brawl then broke out and Jericho booted Cassidy to the outside. Chuck flipped onto Inner Circle outside the ring and Trent followed it up with a Moonsault. Jungle Boy hit Santana with a Hurricanrana and then Luchasaurus hit a Splash onto Inner Circle.
Back in the ring, Trent went for a Splash on Sammy but Hager broke it up with a forearm to the face. Jericho tagged in and planted Trent with a Suplex. Ortiz hit Trent with a DDT outside the ring. Trent hit Jericho with a Dropkick and tried for a tag but Ortiz stopped it. Hager tagged in and applied a Headlock to Trent in the middle of the ring.
Luchasaurus tagged in and beat down Hager in the corner. Jake hit a massive Clotheslien and then turned around into a Superman Punch from Orange Cassidy. Ortiz hit Cassidy with a Powerbomb and then turned around into a boot to the face from Trent. Jericho hit Trent with a Codebreaker. Sammy hit Jungle Boy with a GTS and then got leveled by a kick to the face from Luchasaurus.
Jericho grabbed the baseball bat but Orange Cassidy threw him over the barricade. Guevara made his way to the top rope but Matt Hardy’s theme hit. Hardy shoved Sammy off the turnbuckle and Luchasaurus hit Sammy with a kick to the face for the pinfall victory.
Later on Dynamite, Jericho challenged Orange Cassidy to a debate next week and announced that they will have a rematch on the August 12th episode.
Opinion: Matt Hardy and Sammy Guevara have unfinished business that got put on hold due to Sammy’s suspension. I’m sure that will be a fun match whenever it goes down. However, I absolutely hated this entire match. I thought it was a total mess, had no flow, and there was hardly any noise from the wrestlers playing the role of the crowd.
Match Recap: Warhorse chopped Cody across the chest in the corner of the ring to start the action off. Warhorse rolled up Cody for a two count and then hit Cody with an Arm Drag. Warhorse followed it up with a Clothesline that turned Cody inside out for a near fall.
The TNT Champion rolled out of the ring to try and regroup as Dynamite went to a commercial break. When Dynamite returned, Cody had Warhorse in a Half Crab in the middle of the ring.
Warhorse reached the ropes to break the hold. Cody went for a Figure Four but Warhorse quickly reversed it. Cody broke free but Warhorse sent him to the corner with a Dropkick. Warhorse hit the champ with a couple of Clotheslines in the corner and then another one in the middle of the ring.
Warhorse made his way to the top rope as Cody rolled out of the ring. Warhorse hopped down to the apron and hit Cody with a Double Stomp to the back. Back in the ring, Warhorse made his way to the top rope and hit Cody with an Elbow Drop for a two count.
Cody went for the Figure Four again but Warhorse countered into a roll-up for a two count. Cody hit Warhorse with a Dropkick to the knee and then went for the Figure Four again. Warhorse blocked it for a moment but Cody was able to lock it in the for the submission victory.
After the match, Dark Order rushed the ring and attacked Cody. Arn Anderson got in the ring before Matt Cardona (formerly Zack Ryder in wWE) made the save. Cardona shared a hug with Cody and posed witht he champion to end the segment.
Opinion: Warhorse is freaking awesome and I hope he winds up a part of AEW’s roster. Cardona looks jacked out of his mind and I can’t wait to see what AEW has in store for him.
Kenny Omega & Hangman Page defended their AEW Tag Team Championships against Stu Grayson and Evil Uno of Dark Order tonight. Colt Cabana joined commentary for the match.
Match Recap: Evil Uno sent Omega to the corner and hit him with a chop to the chest. Grayson tagged in and booted Omega in the face. Kenny knocked Uno off the apron and hit Stu with a Backbreaker. Hangman tagged in and hit Grayon with a Moonsault for a near fall.
Hangman leveled Evil Uno with a big boot and followed it up with a Fallaway Slam. Page hit Stu with a Crossbody but Evil Uno sent him flying into the ring post. Uno launched Omega into the barricade as Brodie Lee looked on from next to the commentary table.
When Dynamite returned from a break, Omega hit Grayson with a Moonsault for a near fall. Omega sent Stu flying out of the ring but turned around into a big boot from Evil Uno. Evil Uno hit Omega with a Senton off the top rope for a near fall. Grayson hit Omega with a 450 Splash and went for the cover but Kenny kicked out at two.
Hangman leveled Grayson with a Clothesline and then planted Uno with a Powerbomb. Omega hit Uno with a V-trigger for a near fall. Hangman and Omega then hit Evil Uno with the V-Trigger and Buckshot Lariat combo for the pinfall victory. Omega and Page are still the AEW Tag Team Champions.
Brodie Lee demanded that Colt Cabana and Anna Jay leave. Brodie flipped out on Stu Grayson and Evil Uno before grabbing a microphone. Young Bucks came to the ring as Brodie Lee said that the Dark Order is everywhere. Brodie told Hangman Page that he pissed him off for the last time and now it is time he pays. Several members of Dark Order surrounded the ring before FTR made the save. A massive brawl broke out with FTR and The Elite standing tall.
Opinion: This was a great match and the Dark Order has really grown on me as of late. Omega and Hangman still have friction and it seems like Page is gravitating towards FTR. AEW’s tag team division is ridiculous and it is only a matter of time before Page and Omega drop the belts.
AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida faced Diamante tonight in a non-title match.
Match Recap: Shida went right after Diamante to start off the match and beat her down against the ropes. Diamante leveled Shida with a chop and unloaded several punches to the AEW Women’s Champion. Diamante knocked Shida out of the ring and went after her. Hikaru hung up Diamante on the barricade and connected with a running knee to the face.
Back in the ring, Shida climbed to the top rope and hit Diamante with a Dropkick for a two count. Shida followed it up with another knee to the face that sent Diamante to the apron. Diamante hit Shida with a series of chops in the corner that knocked Hikaru to the mat. Diamante hit Shida with a Stunner and went for the cover but the champ kicked out at two. Hikaru connected with a Falcon Arrow and went for the cover but Diamante kicked out at two. Shida followed it up with a running knee to the face for the pinfall victory.
MJF Challenged Jon Moxley To A Title Match At All Out
MJF made a presentation on the state of industy tonight on Dynamite. MJF stated that he has been given a ton of time to force feed the everyone information. MJF asked the fans to use the #MJF2020 and #notmychampion as the crowd chanted “you suck!”.
He referred to the wrestlers in the audience as “bench warmers” and bitched about not being spotlighted two weeks in a row on Dynamite. MJF said it is time for a change of leadership and that one man in particular called for a “paradigm shift”.
MJF claimed AEW has went from an a revolution to a dictatorship and that is why Moxley isn’t his champion. He complained about how everyone just perform gymnastics instead of actually wrestling on the show. MJF mocked Moxley as trying to cosplay Stone Cold and then brought up ratings.
MJF said that he draws better ratings than “Dictator Jon” and that AEW is meant to be the land of opportunity and Moxley has squandered that. MJF vowed to carry AEW on his back because his talent outweighs Moxley’s talent and he is the guy that is going to be leading this company for the next 25 years. He then challenged Moxley to a title match at All Out.
.@The_MJF will address the state of the industry next on Dynamite!
Opinion: MJF cut an awesome promo tonight as usual and I’m looking forward to his feud with Moxley. The ridiculous entrance was great and the Stone Cold line was epic. It is incredible how talented he is already and I would have zero issue with them putting the belt on him at All Out.
Jon Moxley Will Defend AEW Championship Against Darby Allin Next Week
Jon Moxley and Darby Allin faced Brian Cage and Ricky Starks in a Tornado Tag Team match in the main event. Darby Allin hit Starks and Cage with a Coffin Drop before the match started.
Match Recap: Starks hit Darby with a Clothesline as Moxley hit Cage with some chops to the chest outside the ring. Cage leveled Jon with a kick to the face and then caught Allin as he went for a Crossbody. Moxley hit Cage with a Suicide Dive and grabbed a trash can from under the ring as Dynamite went to a break.
When Dynamite returned, Cage hit Allin with a German Suplex for a near fall. Moxley launched a chair into Starks face and then hit Brian with a knee to the midsection. Starks hit Allin with a Spear but Moxley dropped hit him with a Cutter.
Jon hit Cage with a Belly to Back Suplex and then followed it up with a Piledriver for a near fall. Starts hit Moxley with a Dropkick to the face for a two count. Starks and Cage hit Moxley with an Alabama Slam on top of a trash can and went for the cover but Darby broke it up at two.
Allin sent Starks into the ring post and then made his way to the top rope. Moxley and Allin hit a Paradigm Shift/ Coffin Drop combo on Cage for a near fall. Darby grabbed his skateboard that had tacks on it. Allin leaped onto Starks as Moxley had Cage in an Arm Bar. Allin pinned Starks for the victory as blood poured down Ricky’s back. It was announced after the match that Moxley will defend the AEW Championship against Darby Allin next week.
Opinion: Aside from the opening match, this week’s Dynamite was wildly entertaining. I thought MJF’s promo and the TNT Championship match were the highlights of the show.
Imperium (Fabian Aichner & Marcel Barthel) def. Ever-Rise (Chase Parker & Matt Martel).
Isaiah “Swerve” Scott def. Jake Atlas.
Dexter Lumis def. Timothy Thatcher and Finn Balor in a WWE NXT North American Championship Qualifying Match.
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Tag Opener
Io Shirai and Tegan Nox vs. Candice LeRae and Dakota Kai in a tag team match opened the show and did so in style.
Things got wild towards the end of this solid match. The finish saw Io hit a moonsault off the top rope, but her knees landed on the head of LeRae. Kai didn’t wait around for her partner after the match as she stood on the stage.
The four stars have some history. Of course, we have the never-ending feud between Nox and Kai while Shirai retained her NXT Women’s Championship against Nox two weeks ago on NXT. Following the match, Kai laid out the current champion with a kick to the face.
Fast forward to last week, there was a video promo done by Kai, who stated that it felt good to kick Io in the face. She added that once Shirai returned that she would be waiting on her and to bring the title.
Clearly, WWE is building up Io defending the championship against Kai heading into the NXT TakeOver: 30 event. This was a nice way to continue that program while also featuring Nox and LeRae, who could be headed into their own feud.
In a match that actually made sense in booking, Roderick Strong vs. Johnny Gargano took place in a singles match.
This was the best match on the show and had to be considering the quality of wrestlers in the bout. Gargano went over in the contest when he hit the springboard DDT.
Of course, both guys lost in the triple threat match that saw Bronson Reed win last week in order to move onto the Ladder Match at NXT TakeOver: 30 to crown a new North American Champion.
Reed won after flattening Strong with a top-rope splash after Gargano spiked Strong with a One Final Beat DDT.
Following the match, WWE had them exchange some words that lead to this match.
A triple threat match that featured Finn Balor, Dexter Lumis, and Timothy Thatcher doing battle for the second Ladder Match spot at NXT TakeOver: 30 to crown a new North American Champion.
Balor had his left knee taken out when Thatcher had him in a submission hold. Lumis managed to lock in his submission finisher on Thatcher, who passed out as a result and Lumis won the contest. After the match, Lumis was staring at the title.
It was a fun match with a better ending although some will be surprised with Lumis going over. They protected Balor with the finish though.
As a result, Lumis now joins Bronson Reed as the other competitor in the match. More stars will be added to the bout in the coming weeks.
Shotzi Blackheart vs. Mercedes Martinez in a singles match was booked with it continuing to feud two sides. The match was fine with Martinez going over.
Of course, Blackheart went over Aaliyah last week on NXT as she is a client of Robert Stone, who has been embarrassed by Blackheart over the last few weeks. Following the loss, WWE reintroduced Martinez on television and aligned her with the group.
Two things are pretty clear coming out of this match. One, NXT officials clearly see something in Blackheart and continue to build her up as a likable babyfaces.
The other is that Martinez can be a future title contender as Io Shirai is currently a babyface champion.
Keith Lee responded to Karrion Kross’ actions from last week.
Of course, in the headliner of that show, Kross beat Dominik Dijakovic, who is the good friend yet better enemy of the NXT Champion. Kross beat the former title contender in a violent way when Kross put the head of his opponent between the ring and steps and kicked the steel.
Lee came out to the ring and pleaded for his friend to quit the match, but he took the strikes before being choked out.
On this show, Lee cut a promo about how he can talk all day about how his friend wanted the beatdown and that he is a grown man who will be just fine. Lee stated that Kross has made it a point that he wants his attention and the title. He said that Kross has done extra BS and it means nothing to him.
He said that Kross doesn’t have the balls to face him. Thus, Lee is calling out Kross. Cameron Grimes came out to the ring, but he was taken out by Lee. This led to Scarlett standing on the rampway before Kross appeared on the big screen. Kross questioned Lee for watching his friend get beaten down. He said that Lee has two choices which are to give him his shot at the NXT Title or the hard way that would let everyone suffer.
Lee said that Kross can pick the time and place and he would whoop that a**.
They did a segment on Wednesday’s episode of Dynamite where FTR was with two legal counsel members and Tony Schiavone. FTR brought in Arn Anderson, who will be their adviser.
Arn looked over the contract and brought up how they got their signing bonus, a 10-second rule for double-teaming, and a tag rope.
It was also revealed that there will be a tag team appreciation night on August 12th that they’ll be hosting. Adam Page came into the meeting with some whiskey and poured shots. Anderson poured his shot into another glass. Page had poured himself an entire glass and joked that he might’ve poured himself a little too much.
FTR signs with AEW, with guidance from Arn Anderson
AEW President Tony Khan sent out a tweet following the segment by writing the following:
“Welcome to #AEW officially, #FTR @CashWheelerFTR and @DaxHarwood. Thank you for signing your multiyear contracts tonight on #AEWDynamite!”
This comes hours after FTR had an exchange with Khan on Twitter about not being included in the tag team rankings. Khan told them to sign their deals.
FTR made their promotional debut back on the May 27th episode of Dynamite and has been working matches since then.
Zack Ryder (well, Matt Cardona) is all elite. The former WWE wrestler made his AEW debut on this week’s episode of Dynamite in Jacksonville, Florida at Daily’s Place on TNT.
Cody Rhodes successfully retained the TNT Championship over Warhorse. After the match, two members of The Dark Order ran out and attacked Rhodes and Warhorse. Arn Anderson got into the ring and was ready to throw down.
This is when Ryder walked out to the ring, looking jacked, and made the save. He hit his finisher to both guys to clear the ring. He hugged it out with Rhodes to end the segment.
Cody and Matt Cardona (AEW Dynamite, 7/29/20)
Fans won’t have to wait long to see Matt Cardona’s in-ring debut. It was announced that next week on Dynamite, Cody and Cardona will team up against the Dark Order in tag team action.
You can see footage of Matt Cardona’ AEW Dynamite debut here:
Zack Ryder’s Road to AEW
Ryder, real name Matt Cardona, was released by WWE due to budget cuts related to the coronavirus back in April. Just like all of the other wrestlers who were released by the company, he had to wait until July 15th until he could sign with another promotion. Ryder was a longtime wrestler for the company.
Leading up this debut, there had been speculation that he might be headed to AEW due to his friendship with Rhodes. That answer has been made. Now, it will be interesting to see where this leads him.
It appears that Rusev is done with the pro wrestling business.
Since his departure from WWE, there has been a lot of speculation about which promotion he will sign with. The majority of fans speculated that he could land in All Elite Wrestling or New Japan Pro Wrestling.
However, the former WWE star may have other ideas. Over the last few months, Rusev, real name Miroslav Barnyashev, has been producing content that he puts on Twitch and YouTube.
In a recent Q&A stream on Twitch, he stated that he has moved on from the business and won’t be wrestling inside of the squared circle anymore.
“I’m done. I’m done, man. I’m just enjoying my Twitch. I’m a professional Twitcher, YouTuber, content creator,” Miro said. “I’m not a wrestler anymore. Can I be your favorite streamer?”
He did note that he texted Vince McMahon and it was a nice conversation.
WWE decided to release several wrestlers and staff back in April due to budget cuts. Before the departure, he hadn’t been used much on television following his storyline with Lana and Bobby Lashley.
Rusev had been reportedly in talks with WWE about a new deal prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, which WWE publicly blamed on for the budget cuts.
Cody Rhodes addressed whether AEW has any interest in signing new talent to join their loaded roster.
Following the mass talent firings done by WWE back in April, there are several notable wrestlers on the free-agent market right now. While some talent such as EC3, Eric Young, Luke Gallows, and Karl Anderson have joined Impact Wrestling, there are other wrestlers who are still not under contract with any promotion.
That includes Rusev and Zack Ryder. These two stars have been spoken highly about by Rhodes. The AEW TNT Champion did an interview with ESPN where he discussed whether the promotion has any interest in signing them.
“I think there are two free agents that are on a lot of people’s radar, that being Miro — formerly Rusev — and Matt Cardona, who was Zack Ryder. Obviously, those free agents should be on any radar. They have literally drawn money. They have TV experience. They have high-profile experience. They have locker room experience. The pros heavily outweigh the cons.
Those are two great free agents. I’m not going to go as far to say that if I had to sign anybody, those would be the two that I would sign. But I think they’re great free agents. I think if they have the passion for pro wrestling, they’re going to continue to succeed.”
Rhodes continued by talking about how AEW only has a few hours of programming each week with a lot of their roster that hasn’t been fully seen by its fanbase. Thus, he wants to make sure that he honors their existing roster while considering bringing in other wrestlers.
Another talent who is on the free-agent market right now is Tessa Blanchard, a former Impact World Champion who recently departed from the company.
Rhodes stated that he doesn’t know about the current situation between Blanchard and Impact. He noted that this would be a decision left to be made by Kenny Omega, Brandi Rhodes, and Tony Khan, who oversee the women’s division.
“She was part of All In for us. And anyone who was part of All In has a place in my heart. On a personal level, I always want all the second- and third-generation wrestlers to have the best experience.”
He added that she’s talented and he is sure that is something that the three other executives have talked about.
Rhodes did acknowledge his respect for Rey Mysterio but knows that Mysterio is currently in talks with WWE for a new deal. Thus, he didn’t give much of a comment about him.
Conspicuously absent from the tag team rankings are FTR, Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler. The omission was not lost on Wheeler, questioned, “Hello? Anyone there?”
This prompted a response from AEW President Tony Khan, who revealed that Harwood and Wheeler have yet to sign their AEW contracts.
As I’ve told your attorney, you each need to sign your contracts before we can rank you in the top 5.
Dax Harwood then noted he and Cash will make a decision on the matter today.
“Mr. Kahn dropping personal information on twitter. We’ll make our decision today,” Harwood Tweeted in response.
AEW Tag Team Rankings
FTR are 4-1 thus far in AEW. They have defeated Butcher and the Blade, SCU, The Lucha Bros, and Peter Avalon & Brandon Cutler. Their only loss came at Fyter Fest when they teamed with the Young Bucks and dropped an 8-wrestler match to the Lucha Bros and Butcher and the Blade.
Kairi Sane finished up with WWE at the last set of tapings. She defeated Bayley in single’s action last week on RAW but then was beaten up backstage by her this week. After the segment aired, Sane sent out a Tweet thanking WWE for her time with the company. According to comments made by Bully Ray on Busted Open Radio, she should not have sent out the Tweet when she did.
“Sending out that tweet 3 minutes after the segment ended was atrocious,” Bully said on the show. “Anything that WWE and those women tried to build up for that moment is now completely thrown out the window.”
Sane Tweeted out the following after the segment aired:
I was able to accomplish so much in the last three years, but it wasn’t because of my ability or my strength. It was because of all of the constant, warm support from the fans. I am so thankful I could meet you all. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Kairi Sane???? pic.twitter.com/BaH2UBi9wn
Bully continued to talk about why Kairi’s Tweet bothered him. According to Bully, the thanking of wrestlers on social media hurts the angle that has been built between Asuka and Banks.
“Wrestlers thanking each other on social media, and what we saw from Kairi Sane last night, in my opinion, has absolutely no business in there. Now, who knows Kairi Sane might be done with wrestling and she might not care anymore. You’d think that she did give a d**n about all those women.”
Bayley’s attack on Kairi Sane on RAW this week also helped Sasha Banks capture the RAW Women’s Championship. The stipulation to the match was that if Asuka, who was technically champion heading into the match, was DQ’ed or counted-out she’d lose the title. Asuka then left the match to go help Sane leading to Banks winning the title.
Cody faced Eddie Kingston for the TNT title last week on Dynamite. He is scheduled to face Warhorse on tonight’s card. Cody has said he plans on defending the title frequently and against competition not necessarily signed to AEW. During a recent interview with ESPN, Cody named two non-AEW wrestlers who he’d like to face for the belt.
Cody mentioned both Ethan Page from Impact Wrestling and Nick Aldis from the NWA as potential title-challengers.
Here is what Cody had to say about potentially facing Ethan Page.
“There’s maybe two guys that I hear a lot about. One is my good friend Ethan Page [of Impact Wrestling]. I’ve kind of watched his glow-up continue,” Cody said. “He maybe doesn’t have the God-given talent, but just absolutely will outwork you and will continue to grow up, glow up and mature, which is the key if you’re going to make wrestling your life’s work.”
Cody has performed for Page’s Alpha-1 promotion in Hamilton, ON, Canada on numerous occasions.
The TNT Champion once traded the NWA World Heavyweight title with Nick Aldis. Cody won the title at All In in 2018 but then dropped it back to Aldis at the NWA 70th Anniversary show. According to Cody, Aldis would make an excellent challenger for the TNT title.
“That guy and I, we couldn’t be any farther from friends, but there’s this natural bit of respect between us because we did do the two NWA matches and they did have a really warm following. The match at All In, that was one of my favorite moments of my life as a wrestler. And we never finished this. We were 1-1.”
Cody also noted that he’s surprised MJF hasn’t answered his open challenge. Additionally, he made a point to note that he is 1-1 against Kenny Omega as well.
The former Heath Slater (Heath Miller) will make his in-ring debut for Impact Wrestling next Tuesday night on AXS TV.
Impact has announced that the four-time WWE Tag Team Champion, who is now going by just the “Heath” name, will challenge TNA World Heavyweight Champion Moose on next week’s Impact Wrestling episode.
Heath first debuted for Impact on July 18th at the Slammiversary pay-per-view. He then declared himself to be a free agent, but was interrupted by Rohit Raju. Heath fought Raju off, and then had a brief backstage segment with his former WWE partner, Rhino. Heath was told to leave the arena by Impact executive Scott D’Amore, because he wasn’t an employee. This week’s Impact episode saw Heath interrupt a Moose interview. Moose invited Slater to come back next week for a match, and D’Amore agreed.
Heath was released from his WWE contract back on April 15th due to the cuts brought on by the negative impact of COVID-19. He had been with WWE since first signing a developmental deal in 2004.
Below is the current line-up for next Tuesday’s Impact episode:
* Rich Swann will make an announcement
* Tag Team Champions The Motor City Machine Guns will give an interview
* X Division Champion Chris Bey and Rohit Raju vs. Fallah Bahh and TJP
* World Heavyweight Champion Eddie Edwards will put the title on the line in an Open Challenge
* TNA World Heavyweight Champion Moose defends against Heath
Eric Young was one of the many names released from WWE back in April. He has since resurfaced in Impact Wrestling where he attacked Rich Swann at Slammiversary.
Young was interviewed recently by Chris Van Vliet and said that Vince McMahon failed as a leader while he was in WWE.
“I’m not bitter in any way. One person made a massive mistake and I’m not the first person he’s made a mistake on, I will not be the last and that’s it,” Young said during the interview.
He continued to talk about how the first love in his life was pro-wrestling. Despite that, over the last 3 years with WWE, he stopped watching the shows.
“I avoided it as much as possible. That’s a weird place to be in,” Young continued.
Eric Young On His Time In WWE
Young continued to talk about the frustrations he experienced while in WWE.
“It’s impossible to be creative, it’s impossible to get ahead, it’s impossible to feel like you have a foothold in your career at all,” Young said.
“The whole time you’re there you are just trying to fix other people’s mistakes, that’s what it feels like.”
He then issued a comment directly at Vince McMahon.
“If you have a 3-hour television show, pro-wrestling television show, and you can’t find something for me to do then you are failing as a leader,” Young said. “Plain and simple. You failed your company. You failed the shareholders, you failed the fans and you failed yourself.”
All Elite Wrestling has released the latest AEW Rankings for the week of Wednesday, July 29th, 2020.
We are now less than six weeks out from the All Out pay-per-view scheduled for Saturday, September 5th. With Fyter Fest and Fight for the Fallen in the rear view mirror, expect these rankings to have big implications on the championship matches we’ll see at the PPV.
The following are this week’s rankings for AEW’s three divisions. Win/loss records displayed are for this year.
Men’s Singles Division
AEW World Champion: Jon Moxley (14-0)
TNT Champion: Cody (16-1)
MJF held on to the top spot this week. He will be holding a State of the Industry Address tonight on Dynamite and is the frontrunner to be Jon Moxley’s opponent at All Out. This week’s Top 5 rankings are unchanged from last week.
Top 5 Rankings:
MJF (8-0)
Lance Archer (10-1)
Brian Cage (6-1)
Brodie Lee (5-1)
Darby Allin (7-4)
Women’s Singles Division
AEW Women’s Champion: Hikaru Shida
Abadon enters the Top 5 women’s rankings this week. She bumps out Kris Statlander, who is out of action and will soon undergo surgery to repair an ACL tear.
Top 5 Rankings:
Nyla Rose (7-2)
Big Swole (5-3)
Penelope Ford (5-4)
Dr. Britt Baker (4-4)
Abadon (2-1)
Tag Team Division:
AEW Tag Team Champions: Kenny Omega & “Hangman” Page (10-0)
This week’s tag team rankings are very similar to last week’s. The Young Bucks swapped places with the Jurassic Express after their victory over Butcher & Blade last week on Dynamite. The Dark Order challenges for the AEW tag team championships tonight on Dynamite.
Impact Wrestling 7/28 was the second show since the company began its new era at Slammiversary. The show kicked off with Eddie Edwards making his first title defense against Trey and would conclude with the Good Brothers making their in-ring debut.
Impact Results (7/28)
Impact World Championship Eddie Edwards (c) defeated Trey
Wrestle House Match Acey Romero defeated Crazzy Steve
Deonna Purrazzo defeated Kimber Lee
Wrestle House Match Cousin Jake defeated Cody Deaner
The Good Brothers defeated Reno Scum
Here are 8 takeaways from Impact Wrestling 7/28:
The Good Brothers, Ace Austin & Madman Fulton Brawl To End The Show
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zB7Y0oqnIm8
After being attacked by Reno Scum last week, The Good Brothers made their in-ring Impact debut against the punk-rock team from Nevada this week. Ace Austin would come out and sit on the stage to watch the match.
The Good Brothers picked up the win with a Magic Killer. After the match, however, both Ace Austin and Madman Fulton attacked. The brawl spilled to the back and then to the very parking lot where Reno Scum attacked Anderson and Gallows last week. The show concluded with Gallows booting Fulton into the camera.
A video featuring EC3 was shown this week on Impact. In the video, the former TNA World Champion says he’s not coming back home, he’s coming to destroy his past.
“The things I had to do to become who I am are the things I have to re-evaluate. I have to face them head-on. I don’t fear my past anymore. My past is my biggest foe and I am here for the destruction of my past,” he said on the show.
Eric Young Stares Down Eddie Edwards
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFPUzKcgpcs
Impact Wrestling kicked off this week with a world title match between new champion Eddie Edwards and Trey from the Rascalz. Trey picked up a near-fall by countering a tiger driver but this seemed to only motivate the new champ. Edwards landed a lariat, tiger driver, and Boston Knee Party in succession to pick up the win.
After the match, a new returnee to the promotion Eric Young walked down the ramp and stared down Edwards. Young faked like he was going to get in the ring but then backed away. As he left, Young said that he’d take on Edwards when he decides.
Jordynne Grace Attacks Deonna Purrazzo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qpmp6-1iyWI
Deonna Purrazzo faced Kimber Lee in a non-title clash this week. Much like she did at Slammiversary, the Virtuoso used her submission skills to gain the victory.
After the match, former champion Jordynne Grace marched to the ring with her arm in a sling. As she faced down Purrazzo, however, she took off the sling and delivered a takedown to the champion. Purrazzo eventually escaped Grace’s attack and hightailed it out of the ring.
Sami Callihan Ruins Katie Forbes’ New Website
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szHKkF9fJyk
Backstage this week, Katie Forbes confused Sami Callihan with a fan who walked backstage and attempted to have him kicked out of the building. Later in the show, Katie Forbes came out to debut a series of new photos for her website. Callihan managed to hack into the photos, however, and cropped his head onto all her pictures. This infuriated Forbes and RVD. It also will likely lead to a feud between Callihan and the legend from ECW.
Wrestle House Debuts!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_iK-DzTqOI
Wrestle House debuted this week and even led to two matches. It was revealed that the house is an investment property of Tommy Dreamer’s and he seems to be serving as host to some degree.
Taya attempted to leave the house but when she opened the door there were flames, fire, and Abyss holding a bag of thumbtacks. Some jokes were made regarding where Abyss is nowadays.
The Deaners and Team XXXL seem to have declared a truce with each other at the urging of Susie while in the house.
It was revealed that there are only 6 bedrooms in the house which led to a match between Acey Romero and Crazzy Steve with Kylie Rae as the ref. The two wrestlers both wanted to sleep in the ring but only the winner of the match would be granted the right to do so. Romero picked up the win and the right to sleep in the ring.
Later in the show, Cousin Jake defeated Cody Deaner in a match meant to solve the mystery of who was snoring throughout the night.
Heath Can Earn An Impact Contract By Defeating Moose
Moose was shown backstage this week with his TNA World Championship belt. He was confronted by Heath, who in storyline is still not signed to the promotion. Scott D’Amore informed Heath that if he can defeat Moose next week, he’ll be signed to a contract.
The Motor City Machine Guns Want To Prove They Are The Best, The North Want Their Titles Back
A video featuring the Motor City Machine Guns was shown this week. They said they want to prove they are the best tag-team out there. Meanwhile, the team they beat for the titles, The North, cut a promo saying they plan on regaining the titles after cashing in their rematch clause.
This week on RAW, Nia Jax came out to cut a promo but was interrupted by Shayna Baszler. The two brawled and were eventually scheduled for a match later in the night. The two continued to brawl during the match and were both counted-out by the referee.
After the match, the two had to be separated by security. During the melee, Nia gave a WWE official a Samoan Drop leading to the company taking disciplinary measures.
“Nia Jax has been fined an undisclosed amount for inappropriate contact with multiple WWE officials in the aftermath of her match against Shayna Bazler on Monday’s Raw, WWE.com has learned,” a WWE.com update reads.
Nia Jax vs Shayna Baszler
Since returning to the ring after WrestleMania this year, Nia Jax has wrestled in WWE 9 times. She is sporting a 5-2-2 record in those matches. Nia lost a RAW Women’s Championship match to Asuka last month. She also didn’t win the Money in the Bank ladder match back in May. Nia went to a double count-out with Asuka at Backlash and again with Baszler on RAW this week. Her victories since returning have been over Kairi Sane (3x), Natalya and Charlotte Flair in a triple threat match, and Deonna Purrazzo.
As for Baszler, she is 5-1-1 since WrestleMania. Her only loss was when she didn’t win the MITB ladder match. Baszler’s draw came against Nia Jax this week. Her victories since WrestleMania have been over Indie Hartwell, Natalya (2x), Sarah Logan, and Jessi Kamea.
Following having his eyeball extracted in storyline at Extreme Rules, WWE has offered an update on Rey Mysterio’s condition. According to the latest report from WWE.com, Mysterio’s eye has been re-attached, he is regaining his vision, and a return to the ring is expected.
“WWE Digital has learned that Rey Mysterio’s vision is improving slowly each day, and that his optic nerve is intact, completely secured and back in its socket. A timeline for Mysterio’s return to the ring is unknown at this time,” reads the latest update from WWE.com.
Rey Mysterio’s Free Agency Status
Rey Mysterio’s storyline medical condition may reflect how contract renewal negotiations are going between him and WWE. Mysterio has reportedly been working without a contract after a deal he signed in 2018 expired. Current speculation holds that Rey Mysterio will eventually re-sign with WWE. No new deal between the sides has reportedly been reached as of yet, however.
Mysterio is reportedly asking for a raise but Vince McMahon is saying those aren’t being given out at the moment.
“Essentially where things stand is that Mysterio had asked for a raise and been told that no raises were being offered, and that they had just let a number of wrestlers go,” wrote Dave Meltzer in a recent Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Tonight on Dynamite, independent wrestling standout Warhorse will challenge Cody for the TNT Championship. Cody has been defending the belt against wrestlers from outside AEW as of late, including last week’s tilt against Eddie Kingston.
Warhorse spoke to SI.com about the upcoming match.
“I’ll be head banging like nobody’s business on TNT,” Warhorse said to SI.com. “People are going to see independent wrestling is alive and well. That’s the most important part of this match to me. Indie wrestling is going to rise to the occasion.”
Warhorse would also say during the interview that he treats his career like wrestlers did during the territory days. Instead of using television as his platform, however, he uses the internet. Warhorse continued to say he’ll be looking to get on the mic as soon as possible on Dynamite, something Kingston did as well.
“I’ll be looking for a mic as soon as I walk in the building,” said Warhorse. “My personality, that is how I have a connection with the fans. And I’ve got a lot to say.”
As for how the match itself will go, Warhorse says he’s got a plan.
“My plan is to get in the ring and move faster than a bullet, with twice the firepower, and beat the ever-living s— out of Cody Rhodes.”
WWE Superstar Ember Moon shared her critical thoughts on this week’s match between Asuka and Sasha Banks. The two faced off in a Raw Women’s Championship match on Monday Night RAW. Sasha Banks would claim the championship after Asuka was counted out by the referee.
Speaking on a Twitch live stream, Moon asked why WWE needs two double champions. She wondered if SummerSlam would see the show into a “low-key Evolution” with Bayley and Banks defending their singles titles and their tag team gold in separate matches. She argued that there are too many Superstars sitting at home to “tie up all the titles with two people.”
Ember Moon Felt Ripped Off As A Fan
Moon confessed she was upset by the finish of the matchup. Asuka was drawn away from the ring after Bayley was revealed to be assaulting the departing Kairi Sane. Reflecting on the situation, Moon didn’t feel that this should have been Sane’s last WWE appearance. She reasoned that WWE should have made Sane’s beat-down a more significant threat to grab Asuka’s attention.
“I think you have Bayley beat-up Kairi and then have her with a forklift about to drop some cinder blocks. [Asuka] had [Sasha] in the Asuka Lock, all she had to do was sit back. It makes more sense if Kairi is in more of a life or death situation versus her getting thrown into stuff and stomped.”
Ember Moon explained how fans were meant to be left feeling angry at the result and how it came about. She gave props to WWE for getting that response. However, “As a fan, I feel like I got ripped because once again, I don’t get Bayley vs. Sasha.”
She speculated on how WWE may be waiting for a bigger live audience to finally give fans a Bayley versus Banks matchup. She also pointed to how both Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch are not currently active in-ring Superstars. Moon stressed that WWE is drawing out the match between the two. In doing so, she believes it is “sacrificing all of your other superstars for two people.”
