AEW’s tribute to the Rougeau family went off cleanly on camera. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports the scene backstage was not so smooth.
Per the newsletter, AEW threatened to remove Jacques Rougeau from the building at Redemption after what the Observer describes as a tantrum ahead of the segment. The trigger was AEW’s decision not to air a tribute video Rougeau had put together himself.
Rougeau allegedly told AEW he would handle the video, but the finished piece ran too long, contained footage and music AEW did not have the rights to, and used AI. AEW did not see it until the day of the show and had no time to build a replacement.
None of it surfaced on the broadcast. The segment aired on the Redemption Buy In from the Bell Centre in Montreal, marking 80 years and four generations of the family. Montreal native Matt Menard hosted in an Expos jacket and worked the crowd in French. Raymond Rougeau, now the mayor of a local municipality, called it an 80-year love story and thanked Tony Khan.
Jacques leaned into his old heel persona, telling the fans booing him to kiss his —-, then flattened Rocky Romero when the Don Callis Family interrupted.
Rougeau had discussed the plans publicly weeks earlier, telling Bill Apter that QT Marshall approached him and Raymond about honoring four generations and that AEW would have some kind of video ready.
Rougeau has not publicly addressed the report as of this writing.
