One year ago, All Elite Wrestling announced a strategic partnership with Mexico’s AAA promotion. Since that time, AEW talent has appeared on AAA shows. Last summer’s AEW TripleMania show saw Cody Rhodes, Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks and the Lucha Bros. in action. AEW tag team champion Kenny Omega is the reigning AAA Mega Champion. However, we never saw an influx of AAA stars on the AEW roster.
On the latest episode of his Keepin It 100 podcast, Mexican wrestling legend Konnan shed some light on the situation. According to Konnan, he believes AEW put the AAA partnership on hold when they realized the grind of doing weekly television.
“When (AEW) first started they were very high on El Hijo del Vikingo, they were very high on Laredo Kid,” Konnan said.
Disco Inferno then interjected that Vampiro has been high on Vikingo as well.
“Well he actually discovered him, Vamp’s the one that discovered him. When I got to AAA, Vamp hadn’t used him. I was like ‘how come you’re never on TV? How long has it been since you’ve been on TV? He said ‘like 5 months’ I was ‘bro, you need to be on TV every week.’ So, he was just one of the guys I started to push.”
Konnan on AEW Using AAA Talent
Konnan then continued to talk about how AEW wanted to sign Laredo Kid.
“They wanted El Hijo del Vikingo, they talked to Laredo Kid and then just as Laredo Kid was about to sign, he got on this humungous reality show in Mexico and he was there for like 3 or 4 months, so they’ve been interested.”
Konnan then continued to talk about his feeling that AEW discovered the weekly grind of TV and that changed their approach to dealing with AAA temporarily.
“This is what I think, I think that once they got in there and they saw the grind of what weekly TV is and everything that it entails, they’ve got bigger things to do than right now bring in AAA wrestlers but I’m sure they’re going to bring in some people in the future and we’re going to keep bringing in people from AEW.”
You can listen to Konnan’s thoughts on the AEW-AAA relationship below:
Game Changer Wrestling’s Joey Janela’s Spring Break 4 is scheduled for Friday, April 3rd, 2020 but will not feature the Great Muta as originally announced. The promotion is stating publicly that Muta being pulled from the show has to do with shady negotiating tactics by Muta’s self-described agent, Sonny Onoo.
GCW posted the following message to their social media accounts:
An update regarding The Great Muta appearing at Joey Janela's Spring Break 4… pic.twitter.com/Jlr9V7GPuq
— GameChangerWrestling (@GCWrestling_) March 2, 2020
The message states they reached a deal for Muta to come in for Spring Break 4 back in November. GCW was then contacted by Sonny Onoo, who works as an agent for many Japanese wrestlers, in December and said he would be taking over as Muta’s representative even though the deal was already finalized. Onoo informed GCW he would be looking for other events WrestleMania weekend for Muta as well. GCW said that was fine so long as the other promoters shared in Muta’s lodging and travel expenses. This is how wrestling promoters often work together to reduce costs for bringing in top-talent for a weekend. GCW says Onoo was shocked by this part of the deal.
GCW then pieced together that Onoo himself was the vendor for Muta’s other booking. They concluded the message by saying they are still open to working with Muta on a deal for Spring Break 4.
GCW then posted the following regarding Sonny Onoo’s demands for WrestleMania weekend:
As an aside, here were some of the extras that Sonny Onoo tried to tack on while holding us up… pic.twitter.com/RlQbZpsQj9
— GameChangerWrestling (@GCWrestling_) March 2, 2020
They also posted the following Tweet alleging a possible fake account that has popped up on Twitter:
Also, this account has started popping up with some tweets in the last couple days suggesting GCW failed to meet our deal with Muta.
WWE RAW aired live from the Barclay’s Center in New York tonight. It was the final episode of RAW before WWE Elimination Chamber this Sunday.
WWE RAW Results (3/2)
Street Profits def. Rollins & Murphy to become the new RAW Tag Team Championships
Riddick Moss def. Ricochet
AJ Styles def. Aleister Black
Liv Morgan def. Ruby Riott
Shayna Baszler def. Kairi Sane
Rey Mysterio & Humberto Carillo def. Andrade & Angel Garza
Here are 6 takeaways from this week’s show:
Drew McIntyre Beat Brock LesnarDown
WWE Champion Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman made their way to the ring to begin this week’s RAW. Heyman stated that the main event of WrestleMania is a sham because Drew McIntyre is a hyped up fraud.
Heyman said that Lesnar was only vulnerable in the Royal Rumble match because Ricochet hit him with a low blow. Paul claimed that McIntyre eliminating Lesnar at Royal Rumble doesn’t mean that he has the ability to defeat him at WrestleMania.
Paul claimed that McIntyre is nothing but a “stupid big bitch that is going to get squashed at WrestleMania”. Drew interrupted and confidently marched to the ring. Lesnar and McIntyre had a stare down for a bit before Brock backed away.
Brock went to try and attacked Brock but McIntyre absolutely leveled him with the Claymore Kick. The crowd then chanted “you deserve it!” as Lesnar stumbled to his feet. Drew then hit Lesnar with another Claymore Kick on the entrance ramp and raised the WWE Championship. McIntyre hit another Claymore Kick as the crowd chanted “holy sh*t!”.
Opinion: The crowd is behind Drew McIntyre and this segment was pretty much perfect. I hope that this match winds up being the main event but it seems more likely that WWE will force Goldberg versus Reigns in that spot.
Kevin Owens Helped Street Profits Capture The RAW Tag Team Championships
Seth Rollins and Murphy defended their RAW Tag Team Championships against Street Profits tonight on RAW.
Match Recap: Montez Ford tried to flip onto Murphy and Rollins by they caught him and Powerbombed him onto the barricade. Murphy and Rollins then isolated Angelo Dawkins in the ring and took turns beating him down. Ford hit Seth and Murphy with a Crossbody and followed it up with a DDT to Rollins. Montez connected with a Standing Moonsault and went for the cover but Seth kicked out at two. Rollins battled back and planted Montez with a Slingblade. Rollins Powerbombed Ford onto the turnbuckle as Murphy tagged in.
Murphy and Seth sent Dawkins into the ring post and Rollins tagged back in. Seth went to Powerbomb Ford into the turnbuckle once again but Montez countered into a Hurricanrana and Murphy accidentally booted Rollins in the face. Rollins distracted the referee and as AOP marched down the entrance ramp. The referee turned around and threw out AOP from ringside. Akam and Rezar wouldn’t leave and Kevin Owens slid into the ring and hit Rollins with a Stunner. Montez Ford followed it up with a Splash for the pinfall victory. Street Profits are your new RAW Tag Team Champions.
After the match, Rollins and Murphy demanded a rematch at Elimination Chamber. Rollins added that once he gets his hands on Owens he will be crucified.
AJ Styles cut a promo on The Undertaker Chokeslamming him at Super ShowDown. Styles rolled footage from Mark Wahlberg saying AJ Styles needs to walk away from The Undertaker during a press junket. Styles said he was on a collision course with The Undertaker and vowed to defeat Aleister Black tonight. Before the match started, Styles said that Black must not have read the contract because he has to go through Karl Anderson first.
Match Recap: Aleister Black defeated Karl Anderson with the Black Mass. AJ Styles then announced that Black had to defeat Luke Gallows to get a match with him. Luke Gallows was disqualified after The OC beat Aleister down in the corner. Gallows and Anderson hit Aleister with the Magic Killer and AJ said he will take it from here. AJ Styles then dominated Aleister Black and picked up the win after hitting the Phenomenal Forearm. AJ mocked The Undertaker during the cover.
Opinion: Styles versus The Undertaker should be a fine match at WrestleMania. However, can a week go by without Anderson and Gallows looking like idiots? There seems to be a match that serves as a time filler every episode of RAW and that is what this was. Aleister Black having to go through Anderson and Gallows was nothing more than convenient way for WWE to work in commercial breaks.
Ruby Riott battled Liv Morgan tonight on RAW. Sarah Logan was the special referee for the match.
Match Recap: Ruby Riott dominated the match early and beat Morgan down in the corner of the ring. Sarah Logan separated them and Riott hit Morgan with a Clothesline for a near fall. Ruby started arguing with Sarah Logan and demanded that she count faster. Liv Morgan then rolled up Ruby Riott and Sarah did the count fast to ensure Liv got the win. After the match, Sarah shoved Ruby to the canvas and Liv followed it up with a Dropkick. Sarah Logan then leveled Liv Morgan with a boot to the face. Liv, Ruby, and Sarah Logan will be in the women’s Elimination Chamber match.
Match Recap: Sane got in some offense early and taunted Shayna. Sane went for a sliding forearm but Shayna blocked it. Baszler planted Kairi with a Spinebuster and then knocked her out of the ring. Sane walked into a big boot from Shayna for another near fall. RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch interrupted with a ridiculous coat on and joined commentary as the show went to a break.
Becky then added Jerry’s crown to the Elton John outfit and called the match as Kairi Sane battled back and hit a Spear. Sane climbed to the top rope and went for the Insane Elbow but Shayna got her knees up. Shayna then locked in the Kirifuda Clutch for the submission victory. Shayna held onto the hold for a bit after the match before exiting the ring.
Opinion: Shayna and Kairi had some good matches in NXT but this one did not work at all. It probably wasn’t the best idea to have Shayna’s main roster debut match against another heel.
Beth Phoenix made her way to the ring to give a medical update on her husband, Edge. Randy Orton interrupted and tried to shake Beth’s hand but she declined and called him a son of a bitch for what he did to her husband.
Phoenix said that is here as a wife and that their children deserve their father. Orton ripped the microphone away from Beth and claimed that it was a certainty that Edge will never wrestle again.
Orton stated that there was a live event in 1999 in St. Louis and his father Cowboy Bob Orton took him backstage. Randy added that Edge came up to his father to show him respect and that Edge said that he was one of the reason’s he became a wrestler.
Edge then shook Randy’s hand and wished him luck. Orton claimed that motivated him and he became confident in that moment. Randy added that years later he stole shows with Edge but made some poor life choices and Edge saved his life.
Orton claimed that he returned the favor and saved his life by attacking him. Randy said that he wanted Beth to husband and their daughters deserve to have their father. Randy blamed Beth Phoenix for everything and called her an enabler for not stopping him from getting back in the ring.
Randy added that he loves Edge’s daughters more than they ever could and Beth responded with a slap to the face. The crowd chanted “RKO!” as Orton stared at Beth. Orton called her a bitch and Beth booted him in the midsection. Randy planted Beth with an RKO.
Opinion: Randy Orton continues to be excellent as a heel and this storyline is awesome. I really enjoyed the opening segment and the final segment of this week’s RAW. There was a lot of terrible segments throughout the show. For example, Riddick Moss defeating Ricochet and Rowan revealing that it was just a giant fake spider in the cage were both awful. However, the Lesnar vs. McIntyre match and the Edge vs. Orton match are being built up very well as we head towards WrestleMania.
WWE presents the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view event on Sunday, March 8, 2020 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that will air on the WWE Network. WWE will be announcing more matches for this show in the coming days.
Updated WWE Elimination Chamber Card
Women’s Elimination Chamber Match (winner challenges Becky Lynch at WrestleMania): WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Asuka vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Ruby Riott vs. Sarah Logan vs. Liv Morgan, vs. Natalya.
Intercontinental Champion Braun Strowman vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Sami Zayn & Cesaro – Handicap Match
SmackDown Tag Team Champions John Morrison & The Miz vs. New Day vs. Usos vs. Robert Roode & Dolph Ziggler, vs. Heavy Machinery vs. Lucha House Party – Elimination Chamber Match
RAW Tag Team Champions The Street Profits vs. Seth Rollins & Murphy
AJ Styles vs. Aleister Black – No DQ Match
What are your thoughts on this match being added to the card? Sound off in the comment section.
John Cena has broken his silence on not only his WWE return but also his next match.
The former WWE Champion made an appearance on last Friday’s episode of SmackDown on FOX in Boston, MA at the TD Garden in the final segment.
The lights went out then back on with The Fiend standing behind him and pointing at the WrestleMania sign. Cena tipped his hat and The Fiend disappeared to close the show. Now, he’ll take on Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 36.
Cena took to his official Twitter account on Monday evening where he issued his first public comments. Cena wrote the following:
“Want to thank @WWEonFOX and more importantly @WWEUniverse for such an emotional experience on #Smackdown,” Cena wrote. “I went to Boston to say ‘goodbye’ but realized that no matter where life takes me, @WWE is always home. Now, onto #WrestleMania!”
As of this writing, there’s no word yet on when Cena will return to SmackDown.
Although not confirmed, the belief is that he should make at least a few more appearances to build to the big match in the coming weeks.
WWE presents the WrestleMania 36 pay-per-view event on Sunday, April 5, 2020 in Tampa, Florida at the Raymond James Stadium that will air on the WWE Network.
After a few different tries, The Street Profits have fulfilled their dream of becoming the WWE RAW Tag Team Champions.
Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins did so when they dethroned Seth Rollins and Murphy to win the titles on Monday’s episode of RAW in Brooklyn, NY at the Barclays Center on the USA Network.
The finish saw Kevin Owens take out Rollins that led to the AOP chasing after him and Dawkins hitting a frog splash off the top rope to Rollins for the victory. This marks the first time that they have held the titles together.
This was a rematch that saw Rollins and Murphy retain the titles over The Street Profits at the WWE Super ShowDown pay-per-view event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at the Mohammed Abdou Arena on the WWE Network last week.
Rollins and Murphy beat Ivar and Erik to win the WWE RAW Tag Team Titles on January 20th episode of RAW in Wichita, KS at the Intrust Bank Arena.
WWE presents the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view event on Sunday, March 8, 2020 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that will air on the WWE Network.
Although not officially announced, with the event being just days away, it’s possible that a rematch will be booked between these two teams at the show.
It should be noted that WWE hyped this as a “now or never” match for The Street Profits.
After months of speculation as to what Matt Hardy will do when his contract with WWE expires, he made his decision and now there’s a new AEW teaser.
Early Monday morning, the longtime pro wrestler announced via YouTube that he would indeed not re-sign with WWE. Instead, he would hit the free-agent market.
While there have been rumblings that he could return to WWE should a new deal get reached, there’s also been speculation that he could be headed to All Elite Wrestling.
Matt Hardy Teaser
This is something that was teased during the latest episode of Being The Elite. Near the end of the episode, Matt Jackson got a call from a 910 area code. This is the code for North Carolina, which is where Hardy lives.
The person on the phone asked him to go somewhere and Matt agreed to do so before hanging up. Matt told his brother, Nick, it looks like they aren’t going home quite yet, they gotta make a quick stop.
WWE also issued a statement on Hardy’s departure from the company:
Matt Hardy’s contract with WWE has expired.
A trailblazer throughout his 19-year WWE career, Matt and his brother Jeff pioneered the first tag team Ladder and TLC Matches in WWE, stealing the show at WrestleMania on several occasions. Matt, who competed in his first WWE match in 1994, captured nine tag team titles with Jeff, in addition to two other reigns with MVP and Bray Wyatt.
He is also a former ECW, United States, European, Cruiserweight and Hardcore champion, and he won the Fifth Annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 34.
But Matt is perhaps most revered for the uncanny connection he has cultivated with the WWE Universe over the years, even as his character has transformed. From a gravity-defying daredevil willing to take any and all risks to becoming one of the most eccentric personas ever seen as “Woken” Matt Hardy, all incarnations had one thing in common — the adoration of WWE fans.
WWE thanks Matt Hardy for his contributions to sports-entertainment and the WWE Universe and wishes him the best in his future endeavors
Hardy took to his official Twitter account where he gave his response to their statement:
I’m very grateful for all of the love & support I’ve received today.
Whatever it may be, let’s make the next chapter of this story absolutely EXHILARATING.
Matt Hardy has been announced for this weekend’s The Big Event wrestling convention from Queens, New York. This marks Hardy’s first appearance since his WWE contract expired over the weekend. Other top stars set to appear include The Undertaker, Bret Hart and Braun Strowman. For more information, visit BigEventNY.com.
Two NXT stars have been spotted in New York City in advance of Monday’s WWE RAW from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. According to PWInsider, both Matt Riddle and Bianca Belair are in town and could be used as part of the build to WrestleMania.
Erik of The Viking Raiders missed two WWE live events over the weekend. After competing at the Saudi Arabia show last week, Erik was sent home to recover from an unknown illness. We wish him a speedy recovery.
WWE Survivor Series 2020 is rumored to be taking place from Dallas, Texas on Sunday, November 22nd. The news comes courtesy of insider Twitter account @Wrestlevotes.
Finally, Fox News Tampa Bay reports that two people in the area have tested “presumptive positive” for the deadly coronavirus. Tampa Bay, FL hosts WrestleMania 36 weekend in just a matter of weeks, so you can be sure WWE executives and local officials are monitoring the situation closely. According to the Department of Health, the overall threat to the public health from the virus is still “low.”
Host of WWE’s Backstage show on FOX and former RAW commentator Renee Young appeared on Lillian Garcia’s ‘Chasing Glory‘ podcast this week. Young discussed a number of topics with Garcia, including how WWE officials reacted to her following her husband Jon Moxley joining All Elite Wrestling.
Renee “bracing for impact”
“I was sort of like bracing for that impact” Renee began, “I was expecting…I mean at that time I’m doing commentary, I’m sitting in production meetings and all the news breaks about him [Moxley] going to AEW. And [I’m] like, what’s gonna happen?”
Renee Young would then confirm that, to her surprise, nothing day to day changed for her in WWE. “Nothing changed for me. No one treated me differently. No, not really. I mean other than the ‘boys,’ wanting to know how he was doing and what not, but other than that I was never pulled aside and was like ‘oh my god Jon’s doing his thing, and you’re doing this and we got to keep things separate’ like that conversation never happened.”
Travel Schedule
Young would elaborate further, talking about how her travel schedule changed without Moxley/Dean Ambrose on the road with her. “It sucked for me not having him on the road with me, my biggest issue was like ‘damn we don’t get to travel together? Like you’re not in the hotel room when we finish the show?’ You know I miss having those moments.”
Moxley in Japan
Renee finished by saying just how unhappy Moxley was before his WWE depature. “So he wants to go off and go do something else. I mean I’m not gonna dig in and ‘oh my god you’re not on the road with me now!? You’ve busted your ass since you were a kid to achieve this, like gigantic dream. Don’t sit around and meet me in catering after the show. You go do the thing that you need to do like go knock on those doors go to Japan.’ I mean when the hardest part was when he went to go to the G1 [Climax] in Japan, he was gone for four or five weeks. I was like, Oh my God. But I was in Toronto, I was like with my friends and family and stuff so it was, it’s fine. But yeah it really wasn’t that because when he came to me and said that he wanted to leave I was like, sure. Yeah, I mean, when you know you know.”
You can check out Chasing Glory every week via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and Player FM
Colt Cabana has commented on signing with All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Taking to Twitter, Cabana shared his thoughts following his AEW appearance this past weekend at Revolution.
“As @TonyKhan said last night, I’ve signed with @AEWrestling & @AEWonTNT. I’ve had different goals & ideas throughout my career in Wrestling. Right now, to be involved on a national TV show & product with my Friends and Equals… it’s all I can ask for! This will be fun! Thankssss”
As @TonyKhan said last night, I've signed with @AEWrestling & @AEWonTNT. I've had different goals & ideas throughout my career in Wrestling. Right now, to be involved on a national TV show & product with my Friends and Equals…it's all I can ask for! This will be fun! Thankssss
Colt Cabana ran out during Revolution’s pre-show. After his music hit, he came out to make the save as he aligned himself with SCU against the forces of the Dark Order. Despite their best efforts, however, the Dark Order was able to get the advantage.
That is until the arrival of Christopher Daniels, dressed in a black robe as he pretended to be the long-awaited Exalted One. Daniels then joined the fray, teaming with his SCU teammates and Cabana to fight off the Dark Order members.
Following the conclusion of the pay-per-view, AEW President Tony Khan confirmed that Cabana had signed a deal with the promotion. Their agreement reportedly allows Cabana to wrestle for promotions outside of AEW, but only with Khan’s approval.
Colt Cabana has previously appeared on AEW, only not in a physical role. He provided guest commentator duties during an episode of AEW’s YouTube show, Dark, last December.
Kurt Angle has speculated how he thinks his storyline with on-screen son Jason Jordan would have played out had Jordon not suffered an injury. The WWE Hall of Famer discussed the storyline on the Table Talk with D’Von and Mo Podcast.
According to Angle, the storyline would have led to a one-off matchup between himself and Jordon. He noted how he wouldn’t have been wrestling constantly and how WWE wanted to protect him as much as possible. Angle stressed how he understood WWE’s mindset and reiterated how he was just happy to come back to WWE. He shared how retiring in WWE was “all I wanted to do.”
Kurt Angle’s Assistant GM
Kurt Angle explained how Jordan would have probably been put into an Assistant GM role on screen. Over time, the two of them would begin butting heads over decisions being made. This would have ultimately led to a matchup. He shared how, if the injury hadn’t occurred, the two would have faced off at WrestleMania 35. Baron Corbin would eventually face Angle in his Farewell match.
“What I believe is that Jason was probably going to continue on being my son, he was going to start being a pain in the ass to me, I probably would’ve hired him on as my assistant GM, he would’ve started making decisions for me and it would’ve caused a lot of animosity and then him and I would’ve wrestled at WrestleMania instead of Baron Corbin,” Angle explained.
“Obviously they picked Baron. No matter what you think about him, he’s a great in ring worker, his promo skills have gotten a lot better, he’s a big kid great athlete and what I believe, he replaced Jason.”
It has been reported that Jason Jordan has been working backstage as a WWE Producer since he underwent neck surgery. Following his surgery, Jordan was cleared to travel on the road. He has allegedly not yet been cleared for any in-ring activity.
Mark Henry has shared his thoughts regarding John Cena’s return to SmackDown last Friday night. The WWE Hall of Famer spoke about Cena’s comeback during an episode of Busted Open Radio.
Henry reflected on how he’s so used to hearing the WWE Universe chanting ‘Cena Sucks’ at the Superstar. He noted how it was “unfathomable” to him that Cena would be so embraced upon his return.
“I could not believe the reaction from the crowd last night,” he confessed. “I just, like, I guess absence does make the heart grow fonder. Because he got more love that first minute and a half…he couldn’t even talk. The crowd was like constant. It was a constant roar. And every time he got ready to say something, they amped up.”
Mark Henry noted how Cena may have been taken aback by the reaction, given how crowds have been so mixed in previous years.
John Cena Vs. ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt
John Cena’s appearance helped to set up a WrestleMania 36 matchup between himself and ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt. Ironically, Cena was highlighting how this year’s ‘Mania should be focused on new talent and modern Superstars. Despite these statements, he now finds himself in a major matchup on ‘The Grandest Stage of Them All.’
WWE Hall of Famer Booker T has praised SmackDown Superstar John Morrison. During an episode of his podcast, Hall of Fame, Booker T shared how he feels Morrison has an undeniable “IT factor.”
Booker T On John Morrison
Booker T revealed his thoughts off the back of a fan question. He was asked whether he would prefer for The Miz and Morrison to defend their newly won SmackDown Tag Team Championships against The New Day or The Usos at WrestleMania 36. For Booker T, he’d prefer the champions to go up against the New Day. He noted how Morrison has been a star since day one.
“[WWE] Made him the tag team champion, put him right back in the mix, and that’s what you need to do with someone like Morrison,” he explained. “Because, honestly, John Morrison, he’s not a sideline player. He’s not a guy you want to bring in off the bench. He’s the guy you want to keep in rotation, keep him in the game, you know. Keep him warm, keep him hot.”
Booker T continued, “This guy, you look at him, you know from from day one. He’s always had that, that one thing man he always had stop star potential. He always had that, what would that ‘je ne sais quoi.’ The ‘IT’ factor you know what I mean? But yeah, man. He always had ‘it.’”
John Morrison teamed with The Miz to win the tag team championships during WWE’s recent Super ShowDown event in Saudi Arabia.
Cody Rhodes has made many bold decisions in recent years. Leaving WWE, starting a new company, announcing a stipulation that he can never challenge for the AEW World title again, and now he’s tattooed the Nightmare Family logo on his neck. He tends to go “All In” on things.
The former NWA and ROH World Champion took to social media to better explain his most recent decision.
“I’m humbled by the run I’ve been on and the love of the fans. Incredibly lucky man.”
Cody commented on his tattoo with the following statement in the post:
“It was very simple, I wear a lot of brands…I wanted to make sure mine was one of them. And I wasn’t hiding it. More details on tomorrow’s “Road To Denver”… – thank you @inkanddaggertattoo@craigbrocktattoo for taking the design and making it a reality!”
Brandi Rhodes commented on Cody’s new tattoo during the AEW Revolution post-event media scrum.
“I’m the one person that doesn’t like the neck tattoo, I don’t like it,” Brandi said. “I’ve said it, there it is.”
“I know a lot of wives like to be really hands-on,” Brandi continued. “My husband makes his own decisions. He’s allowed to make his own decisions. So, if I decided to do something crazy, he can just let me make my own decisions.”
Brian Pillman Jr. offered up perhaps the best reasoning as to why Cody got the tattoo where he did.
Simple. He's wearing it on his neck so it's always visible, can't be covered up easily. It's symbolic of him going "all-in" on his brand and his company and not having a backup plan. It means he's literally got his neck on the line for AEW and his family. SKIN IN THE GAME!!! https://t.co/7MpqXPbDtw
Tony Khan also commented on Cody’s new ink. Khan said the tattoo looks great if Cody just wants to be a “badass wrestler” but might make it difficult for him to get some acting roles.
Major League Wrestling presented its first episode of Fusion from its recent Fightland tapings in Philadelphia’s 2300 Arena. The main event of the show featured the return to the promotion of LA Park as Los Parks took on Josef Samael & Simon Gotch from Contra Unit.
MLW Fusion 2/29/20 Quick Results:
Richard Holliday, Gino Medina, & Alex Hammerstone (the Dynasty) defeated Logan Creed, Savio Vega, and Mance Warner
Kotto Brazil & Jordan Oliver (Injustice) defeated Zenshi & Laredo Kid
Lumberjack Match LA Park & El Hijo de LA Park (Los Parks) defeated Josef Samael & Simon Gotch (Contra Unit)
The full episode of Fusion can be viewed in the player below:
Los Parks Get Measure Of Revenge Against Contra Unit
The last time we saw LA Park in MLW, he was defeated by Jacob Fatu in the main event of the Super Fight PPV in November. He returned to the territory this week along with his son El Hijo de LA Park and they faced two members of Contra Unit in Simon Gotch and Josef Samael in a lumberjack match.
Contra Unit attempted to get an early advantage by attacking the father-son team during their ring entrance. The crowd was vocally behind Los Parks, however as they mounted a comeback throughout the match. Park would finally pick up the win for his team with a twisting senton onto Samael. Contra Unit doesn’t take to losses well so we will have to see how they respond to taking the L against the legendary luchador and his son here.
Richard Holliday, Gino Medina, and Alexander Hammerstone came out to kick things off on Fusion this week. Holliday is still wearing the Caribbean Championship belt he stole from Savio Vega as well. The trio were interrupted by Konnan who was then backed up by 3 wrestlers who have all had their problems with the Dynasty in the past: Logan Creed, Savio Vega, and Mance Warner. An impromptu 6-man tag would begin.
The Dynasty would pick up the win after Holliday hit Vega with the belt. After the match, however, Konnan picked up a measure of revenge on Gino Medina with a flapjack and the babyfaces retook the ring to end the segment.
After the previous segment, Konnan found himself alone in the ring. The members of Injustice then came out and continued their ongoing rivalry with the legend. Brian Pillman Jr. who has had his own problems with Injustice stemming from their attack on him before the Opera Cup, came out to back up Konnan and serve on commentary for Inustice’s match against Zenshi and Laredo Kid.
Injustice would pick up the win after Laredo Kid was distracted by middleweight champion Myron Reed on the outside. Oliver and Kotto hit Zenshi with a crucifix stunner combo for the win.
After the match, Laredo Kid went after Myron Reed on the outside as Injustice was confronting Pillman at the commentary booth. Laredo Kid then hit Reed with White Noise in the ring and allowed the live crowd to count the 3-count on him while the luchador held up the middleweight title. It looks like a title match between these two is in the works and Pillman looks to have that title in his sights as well, though he might be a little heavy for it.
Brian Pillman Losing Weight To Go After Myron Reed’s Middleweight Title
In a backstage segment later in the show, Injustice poked fun at Pillman Jr for being north of the 205lbs middleweight limit. Pillman has since announced plans to go on the Keto diet to get down to 205 and take on Myron Reed.
Next week will be the 100th episode of MLW Fusion. The special episode will feature an MLW World Heavyweight Championship match pitting title-holder Jacob Fatu of Contra Unit against CIMA.
Rush has regained the ROH World Championship. He defeated former champion PCO and Mark Haskins in a triple threat match over the weekend at ROH’s Gateway to Honor event from St. Charles, Missouri. PCO had defeated Rush in single’s competition to win the title at the Final Battle PPV from Baltimore on December 13th, 2019.
With the win, Rush becomes just the 5th person to win the ROH World Title for a second time. Jay Lethal, Jay Briscoe, Adam Cole, and Austin Aries are the other 4 wrestlers. Adam Cole is the only wrestler to ever win the title a 3rd time.
PCO’s title reign finishes at 78 days and included successful title defenses against both Rush and Dragon Lee.
Nick Aldis played a role in the title change from Saturday. The NWA World Heavyweight Champion’s “Strictly Business” faction has been in an inter-promotional rivalry with Villain Enterprises as of late. Aldis is also scheduled to face PCO at Supercard of Honor. He hit PCO in the head with the NWA title, allowing Rush to capitalize for the win.
Unlike previous weeks of WWE Monday Night RAW, the company has announced several things in advance to get more interest from fans.
With the Super ShowDown pay-per-view event in the rearview mirror, it’s time to look ahead starting with tonight’s episode of RAW.
WWE Champion Brock Lesnar is fresh off his latest title defense over Ricochet at Super Showdown. The company has confirmed that he will appear on RAW to further build his program with Drew McIntyre ahead of their title match at WrestleMania 36.
Also, Seth Rollins and Murphy will defend the RAW Tag Team Titles against The Street Profits. This is a rematch from WWE Super ShowDown that saw the champions go over.
WWE holds this show in Brooklyn, NY at the Bell Barclays Center. WWE is advertising the following items for tonight’s broadcast:
WWE Champion Brock Lesnar will appear live
Beth Phoenix to discuss the condition of her husband and fellow WWE Hall of Famer Edge after being attacked by Randy Orton.
Shayna Baszler will take on Asuka in a singles match.
RAW Tag Team Champions Seth Rollins and Murphy will defend the titles against The Street Profits.
WWE 24/7 Champion Riddick Moss will defend his title against an unknown opponent
Join us here later tonight for our post-show RAW Takeaways feature.
Matt Hardy is now a free agent and has allowed his WWE contract to expire. Hardy had been with the company since returning in 2017 with his brother Jeff. He announced his free agency on a live stream from his YouTube channel at midnight.
“Right now it’s just a little past midnight, we have just entered Monday and that is March 2nd, 2020 and my WWE contract was set to expire at midnight on March 1st,” Hardy confirmed regarding his WWE contract. “This is what’s happened. As of this current time, I have decided to let my contract with WWE expire. I am going to become a free agent and that’s not saying I’m not going to return to WWE.”
“I did not want to leave WWE, I love WWE, WWE is my home. WWE has treated me great as an employee for the last 3 years. They’ve been good to me, they’ve been good to my family, they’ve been great to my kids. I have nothing but great things to say about WWE and all the people that work there.”
Hardy continued to thank Vince McMahon for what he’s done for him. He also thanked Michael Hayes, Triple H, Stephanie McMahon and more.
Hardy would then say that creatively he and WWE are not on the same page right now and that has played a large role in his decision to leave.
“I just think myself and WWE are on different pages,” Hardy explained.
“I want to enter a creative renaissance and I want to have non-stop input on my creative process and I think that’s where WWE and I are on different pages.”
Hardy would then say he does plan on being back in WWE at some point in some way.
“I definitely think there is a Hall of Fame ring waiting on myself and my brother,” he continued.
Hardy’s comments can be heard in the player below:
WWE Hall of Famer and co-host of Busted Open Radio Mark Henry had some intriguing comments regarding the Universal Championship match at WrestleMania. Roman Reigns will be challenging new Champion Goldberg at the event; following a face-to-face with the former WCW star on SmackDown this past Friday. The live crowd in Boston not only booed Goldberg, who had defeated The Fiend just the night before, but also were not exactly receptive to Reigns, chanting “you both suck.”
Roman Reigns Main Eventing Again?
This will be the fifth time that Roman Reigns has main evented WrestleMania, if this match goes on last. The previous four bouts came at the height of fans completely rejecting Reigns in the main event position, however Mark Henry believes that this time will be different.
“This is a time where you’re not shoving Roman Reigns down somebody’s throat” Henry began. “And the people actually wanted…they were cheering for Roman, they were like, ‘kick his ass, take the title.’ They [the fans] want to see Roman Reigns have success again, that’s where we’ve evolved to, and I’m looking forward to it.”
Henry elaborated further, saying “I think that this is Romans time. People believe in him, people get behind him. They want to see him. Do they want to see him be [WWE] champion? I’m not sure, we’ll find out. But do they want to see him be champion more than Goldberg? Yes.”
Henry then made the point that Goldberg should be clearly positioned as the antagonist in the feud with Reigns. “He’s [Goldberg] gonna have to be arrogant. ‘I told you that I will be champion again, everybody was on my back about what happened the last time I was in Saudi but look at me now.’ I would paint the picture of him being the biggest assh*le that has ever been in pro wrestling.”
You can listen to Busted Open Radio every day via SiriusXM or the Podcast version via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or Player FM.
Do you think that Roman Reigns and Goldberg will main event WrestleMania this year? Let us know in the comments
Dustin Rhodes lost to Jake Hager last night at AEW Revolution. Following the match, Rhodes spoke to the media backstage at Chicago’s Wintrust Arena. During the post-event media scrum, Rhodes announced that he is moving to the tag team division. He also announced QT Marshall as his new partner.
“I’m a little bit upset right now, not going to lie about,” Dustin said backstage.
“I think it may be time for me to reach out and take a partner, for a little while,” Rhodes continued. “QT Marshall has been there with the Nightmare Family for quite some time and I want to give him a chance.”
“You are going to be seeing a lot of us together. It’s going to help my body tremendously.”
Dustin then said they have a secret weapon and that weapon is Brandi Rhodes.
“Brandi will also be there as our manager and help us on our path,” Dustin continued.
“The Natural Nightmares maybe,” Dustin said regarding a possible team name.
Rhodes and Marshall teamed up recently on AEW Dark and defeated the team of Peter Avalon and Shawn Spears.
Dustin’s post-event media scrum can be viewed below:
Tony Khan addressed his wrestlers appearing for New Japan Pro Wrestling during last night’s post-event media scrum.
“We all definitely watch a lot of New Japan in this room. I think they are a great company and a lot of my people have worked shows there and I have no problem with guys – as long as its not interfering on a regular basis with what we do on Wednesdays and with our PPVs, guys working there. That’s some of the flexibility we have. Can’t have it all the time but I think it’s been fine for me, it doesn’t really bother me.”
Khan continued to talk more about NJPW.
“Hasn’t really been a 2-way street,” Khan continued. “Haven’t seen a lot of their guys here. Don’t hear from them often but if you guys are watching this you’re welcome for all the great stuff I’ve done for you and if you’d ever like to send somebody here to do work, I would treat them respectfully like you’ve treated my guys because generally when my people worked there you’ve done right by them. You being New Japan.”
Khan’s post-event media scrum can be viewed in its entirety in the player below:
Jon Moxley is the new AEW World Champion. He defeated Chris Jericho for the title at AEW Revolution last night from Chicago’s Wintrust Arena. Moxley spoke to reporters following last night’s event and spoke about what the win means to him.
“I’m feeling pretty f***ing about it, to be honest with you,” Moxley said when asked about his decision to come to AEW to kick off the scrum.
“That feeling of satisfaction of piece of work, that artistic satisfaction. 8 weeks of beginning to end, a piece of work. It’s like popping f***ing bubble wrap, it’s so satisfying. It’s why we do this and to be standing there in an arena full of thousands of of people and they’re so happy. They’ve been on the ride, they’ve been on the journey. It’s like a painting I can hang on my wall and always look at.”
Moxley also spoke about conversations he had a year ago discussing what the goal of AEW was to be.
“Pro-wrestling, I’m telling you it works. It’s like Mac and Cheese, it always works, it’s always good and we’ve brought that back to the people.”
Moxley also suggested during the interview that he might not want Cody to adhere to the stipulation that he can never challenge for the world title again.
“I’m not playing that game, I’m not going to live in a world where ‘oh you beat everybody except for Cody because he had the thing with MJF.’ If he feels he can beat me, he better damn sure expect to get in the ring with me and we’re going to wave the little rule.”
“If he thinks he can beat me, I insist that he give it a try.”
Moxley’s full media scrum can be viewed in the player below:
Tony Khan spoke to members of the media last night following AEW Revolution from Chicago. Khan spoke on a number of issues including his role
Khan noted that while there have been reports that his role on the creative team has increased in recent weeks, he’s always been the final say. He is the filter because there are so many ideas from wrestlers that you can’t do them all.
The word “War Games” will not be used in relation to the 2-ring event on March 25th, 2020. The term they are using is “Blood and Guts Match.”
Had mixed feelings toward Cody’s neck tattoo. It could be a hindrance if he wants certain acting roles, however, but said it works great if Cody just wants to be a “badass wrestler.”
Khan would like to keep All Out in Chicago, says the market has been great for them.
They are trying to hit different markets for Dynamite but moving it internationally could be tough because of time zones and wanting to keep the show live.
Colt Cabana has signed. He is coming in as a wrestler, announcer, and coach. He also has the ability to work other places as well.
No update on negotiations with Jeff Cobb but talks are ongoing.
Awesome Kong helps to produce the women’s matches but is currently filming the final season of Netflix’s GLOW.
He checks in with TNT from time to time when there are ideas that are little “out there” but they have been very supportive.
Khan described the Dark Order has a “huge evil corporation” and said it is really developing into something he thinks fans will like. He would not speculate or comment on Matt Hardy, however.
He said everyone at AEW watches a lot of NJPW and he has no problem with his guys working there. He noted that it hasn’t been a 2-way street with them, however.
Cody Rhodes debuted a new neck tattoo before yesterday’s AEW Revolution PPV. The tattoo has drawn strong reactions, both positive and negative, from fans.
AEW posted the following closer look at Cody’s new ink:
Brandi Rhodes was asked about the tattoo during the post-event media scrum last night. The former leader of the Nightmare Collective is not a fan of Cody’s new ink.
“I’m the one person that doesn’t like the neck tattoo, I don’t like it,” Brandi said. “I’ve said it, there it is.”
“I know a lot of wives like to be really hands-on,” Brandi said. “My husband makes his own decisions. He’s allowed to make his own decisions. So, if I decided to do something crazy, he can just let me make my own decisions.”
Brian Pillman Jr. offered up an interesting reason as to why Cody put the tattoo in a hard-to-cover place.
Simple. He's wearing it on his neck so it's always visible, can't be covered up easily. It's symbolic of him going "all-in" on his brand and his company and not having a backup plan. It means he's literally got his neck on the line for AEW and his family. SKIN IN THE GAME!!! https://t.co/7MpqXPbDtw
Some feel so strongly about Cody’s tattoo that they have started a GoFundMe to have it removed.
“Cody just unveiled a horrible tattoo on AEW Revolution. The tattoo clearly was a major factor in him losing his match against MJF, and it’s just really really ugly. I’m sure Cody is embarrassed and probably regrets it. Let’s raise some money so Cody can afford to get it removed,” a description of the GoFundMe readds.
The Young Bucks decided to reduce their social media presence last year. They have since left Twitter and according to the brothers, this move has helped spark creativity in them.
The duo recently had an interview with Sporting News where
they talked about things like the early success of AEW, their tag match at
Revolution and more.
Talking about their decision to leave social media, the Bucks claimed that they had been discussing it for a while and Nick Jackson then revealed a particular moment which helped solidify his decision:
“There’s one particular moment where it hit me where I was
reading stuff about the show, and my kids were playing, and they were like,
‘Daddy come play with me.’ And I wasn’t listening to them. They had to shake me
and said, ‘Daddy, come play with me.’
And then I looked at my phone and was like, ‘What am I doing? I’m wasting time on this fake thing that doesn’t matter. It doesn’t affect my life, I’m taking time doing this instead of playing with my children at home. How selfish of a human being am I to do this?’”
Speaking of the difference this move has made, Matt Jackson said that the shows have been a lot better for them.
The Young Bucks explained how negative comments on social media affect them saying that they stay in the back of your head even if you don’t believe them.
Apart from this, The Young Bucks talked about not making any money in wrestling during their initial days, adjusting into the executive roles and more. You can check out their full interview at this link.
