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.”
WWE may have temporarily written Aleister Black out of the storylines this week.
Monday’s RAW featured an angle where Murphy put Black’s eye into the corner of the ring steps, as Seth Rollins did with Rey Mysterio weeks before. Black came into this week’s RAW wearing a cast on his arm from the Monday before, which saw Rollins deliver a Stomp to the arm on the outside of the ring.
The original creative plans were for Rollins and Murphy to take Black out of action with an injury angle, according to Wrestling Observer Radio.
It was not clear if this was the angle to put Black on the shelf, or how long they plan for him to be away. It’s interesting that they would put another wrestler out of action given the lack of depth on the roster right now.
The RAW ringside angle with Black, Rollins and Murphy also featured Dominik Mysterio. Mysterio had taken a double team beatdown when Black came to make the save. The angle ended with Dominik snapping with a kendo stick, attacking Rollins and Murphy until they retreated to the back.
Rollins took to Twitter after the show and revealed the welts on his back from the kendo stick. He gave props to some of his fellow RAW Superstars for a “helluva show,” but added that the one bad part was “that stubborn Mysterio kid.”
“Randy at his best. Sasha-Asuka title fight. Drew/Zigman pulling out all the stops. Lashley/Ali. Murphy with the W. #WWERaw with a helluva show. The only hiccup was that stubborn Mysterio kid. #thegreatergood,” Rollins wrote.
NWA World Champion Nick Aldis has revealed how, after refusing to take a check for the first six months with NWA, he is now on a six-figure contract. Speaking with Busted Open Radio, Aldis shared his pride in working for NWA and how he considers himself “blessed” to be in his current position.
“I’m very blessed in the NWA. I make six figures. That’s not the case for everyone and I had to earn that. The first six months I worked for this company, I didn’t take a check. I said, I’ll get whatever I get from independent bookings and I’ll prove my value and I made plenty of money from the independents. I defended the title in 7 different countries on 4 different continents. I was doing just fine. I’ve been all in on this, no pun intended.”
Aldis explained how, after six months, he finally accepted NWA’s contract offer. This was because a clear goal was set for the promotion, and Aldis had shown he could “do business.” Not only that, he could do “big business.” At that point, he felt ready to receive a salary from the promotion as he committed to helping them grow.
Nick Aldis On Impacting NWA
Nick Aldis stressed that he’s been fortunate, but reiterated how it came through hard work. Aldis noted how wrestling companies don’t start and just hand out six-figure contracts to its talent.
Aldis acknowledged how there have been “a few guys who have had a few sideways things to say about the NWA in that regard but ultimately I generate that revenue for the company. This company, even at this point, is still generating like over 5 figures in monthly revenue. That’s largely due to me.”
He added how his comments weren’t about putting himself over. Aldis pointed out how NWA has a wealth of incredible talent who have worked hard to make NWA successful.
That being said, he argued how “[…] deep down, if you are really truthful with yourself, is there really anybody else at this point for whom if they were to leave this brand that this company is in serious trouble. You know the answer. It’s no.”
Nick Aldis recently penned an open letter to NWA fans regarding recapturing momentum post-coronavirus pandemic.
Former WWE Superstar EC3 has opened up about his frustrations during his WWE tenure in a recent interview with Busted Open Radio.
When asked if he felt he had anybody supporting him backstage, EC3 shared how “I think I had people in my corner but nobody that would openly step up because everyone is job scared and apprehensive.”
He continued, explaining how “no one wants to rock the boat.” EC3 would be frequently told how they found it difficult to understand how he wasn’t being given promo time. However, when these same people were in production meetings where they could say something, nobody seemingly pushed for him.
EC3’s Pitch Meetings With Vince McMahon
EC3 then revealed how he had been in several “one on one” meetings with Vince McMahon. According to EC3, Vince saw him for what he was:
“I look good, work good, but I’m not the workhorse. He doesn’t make money off those guys. He makes money off guys with charisma which I have. I have natural ability,” EC3 argued. “Whatever promo he saw of me, he saw one promo and thought it was over the top. Well, that was one, and you know I can always scale it back.”
He conceded how, although how WWE used him was “killing” him on the inside, the production was ultimately Vince McMahon’s show. He would leave those meetings feeling good but was continually disappointed when nothing ever came from them.
“I pitched him a bunch of different things. There’s a video I shot with Drake Maverick and we think this will be great. Ha, I love it! That’s great and then it never happens,” EC3 said. “After a while, you become desensitized and I will take accountability that I stopped caring because nothing mattered. So, I’m totally to blame for nothing towards the end from happening besides the fact I was out with a concussion, but, it all worked out, I guess, how it should.”
Responding to a fan via social media, Cody shared that the championship design will be completed on August 12. He also added how he has seen a video of the plates, describing them as being “very elegant.” He accompanied his comment with a diamond emoji.
The TNT Championship was first presented to Cody Rhodes following his Double of Nothing victory. He beat Lance Archer in the finals of the TNT Championship tournament that night to claim the belt. It would then be presented to him by boxing legend “Iron “Mike Tyson.
Debuting to a mixed reaction from fans, AEW commentators explained that the championship was, in fact, “incomplete” at that time. It was revealed how the production of the belt had unfortunately been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Created by belt maker RED Leather for AEW, the company previously addressed the ‘in progress’ status of the championship:
“Unfortunately due to Covid-19 the platers I used are working on skeleton crews and can only work on respirators / emergency equipment. Once regular business resumes this belt will get some much needed highlights in nickel and gold as well as a relief TNT logo.”
Cody Rhodes is set to defend his TNT Championship this week on AEW Dynamite. He faces off against Warhorse.
All Elite Wrestling World Champion Jon Moxley has explained how he dealt with the “pressure” of delivering scripted promos at the behest of a “74-year-old madman.”
Speaking with Busted Open Radio, Moxley opened up about how AEW gives him creative freedom on the mic. According to Moxley, the promotion simply doesn’t give him a script to work off of. Moxley then juxtaposed this experience with his time in WWE.
He shared how, “If I had to boil it down to one thing that drove me crazier than anything was the fact that I got handed a script and told what to say.”
He recalled how the first time it happened was when he was in The Shield with Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins. Moxley revealed they had never been handed a script before, even in developmental. Hearing the term “scripted promos” blew his mind the first time he heard it.
Jon Moxley’s Script Pressure
When first going over the script, he was surprised at how detailed and specific he needed to be. At first, Moxley had assumed the writing was more of a “suggestion.”
After approaching the writer with some ideas to add, he quickly found out how he was expected to recite the lines verbatim.
“I remember having this feeling in the pit of my stomach, like oh my God, I made a terrible mistake…I’ll tell you what pressure is. Pressure is having a two-page script written by a 74-year-old madman that makes no sense to you that’s going to make you look stupid and your on worldwide TV live and you have to memorize every single line and somehow try to pull it off and not look like a total jackass. That’s pressure.”
Jon Moxley added how he felt he managed to pull it off most of the time. He did acknowledge there were plenty of times where he wasn’t able to. With AEW, however, Moxley will “never have to be in that situation again.”
WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry featured in several segments during this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw. During the night, he shared the screen with WWE Champion Drew McIntyre. In another segment, he was speaking with both Bianca Belair and Ruby Riott.
According to Dave Meltzer via Wrestling Observer Radio, Mark Henry’s appearance was meant to connect to Ron Simmons’ recent appearance. Simmons appeared on last week’s episode.
Both Simmons and Henry were allegedly brought in to kickstart plans for a rebooted version of the Nation of Domination. These plans, however, have reportedly been nixed.
Plans were speculated to have the new version of the NOD be led by MVP, who recently declared himself the new WWE United States Champion. He made the claim during The Horror Show at Extreme Rules. The group would also have included Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin.
“The deal with Mark Henry was – Mark Henry and Ron Simmons were brought in for these tapings for the Nation of Domination angle that they scrapped,” Meltzer said. “So I guess they just figured since Mark Henry is there, they just put him on TV for no reason.”
In recent weeks, the pairing of MVP and Lashley were referred to as The Hurt Business. Assuming the Nation of Domination reboot has been permanently shelved, this may become the permanent name of MVP’s stable going forward.
Monday’s edition of WWE Raw averaged 1.620 million viewers with a 0.47 rating in the key 18-49 demographic. This was virtually even with last week, which did 1.628 million viewers and a 0.46 demo rating.
The positive is that WWE is staying steady compared to the number that the show did two weeks ago, which was the least-watched episode in the 27-year history of the show.
The bad news is that just one year ago, Raw averaged 2.321 million viewers and the third hour for the show plunged.
Third hour of RAW, which was actually great in terms of in-ring wrestling, hits a brand new all-time low, 1.463 million.
Here’s the hourly viewership breakdown for Raw, courtesy of Showbuzzdaily.com:
Hour 1: 1.699 million, 0.52 in the 18-49 Demo
Hour 2: 1.688 million, 0.50 in the 18-49 Demo
Hour 3: 1.463 million, 0.41 in the 18-49 Demo
This week’s RAW featured two extreme Rules rematches such as Drew McIntyre vs. Dolph Ziggler in a non-title match and RAW Women’s Champion Asuka vs. Sasha Banks. WWE also kicked off the build to SummerSlam by making two title matches official.
SmackDown Viewership
Friday’s SmackDown averaged 1.924 million viewers on FOX. This is up from the 1.912 million viewers that the show did for the previous week.
SmackDown averaged 1.971 million viewers in the fast nationals, which was up from the 1.893 million viewers a week ago. This number measured the top metered markets.
The first hour drew 1.985 million viewers while the second hour did 1.956 million viewers. For comparison, the first show of last week’s show did 1.919 million viewers while the second hour did 1.867million viewers.
SmackDown pulled in a 0.50 rating in the 18-49 demos, the same from the 0.50 rating as last week’s show.
Major League Wrestling is partnering with WAVE.tv, a sports media company specializing in the distribution of sports content tailored for social media across its portfolio of brands.
The agreement will involve the social media distribution of MLW content with an emphasis on WAVE.tv’s combat sports media brand “HAYMAKERS.” WAVE.tv will take highlights from MLW programming and blast it out to its audience of Gen Z and Millennial sports fans.
MLW CEO and Founder Court Bauer touted the partnership in a press release sent out on Tuesday.
“Wrestling has the most active social media fan base in combat sports, so being able to expand and connect with fans in a deeper sense to share our immersive rivalries, fights and athletes with WAVE.tv is a great next step for us. MLW embraces emerging trends and tech and WAVE.tv is a perfect match for the league.”
one week after @WaveTV announced that it secured $32m in series a funding, it has since partnered with @MLW to increase the league's coverage across the sports media brand's 18+ digital portfolios.https://t.co/hlHutFw0w7
WAVE.tv network of brands reaches over 60 million people. Daniel Maas, WAVE’s VP of Partnerships, touts MLW’s rapid growth and the league being a perfect fit for the HAYMAKERS brand.
“MLW is a welcome addition to our fast-growing Combat Sports vertical — powered by the HAYMAKERS media brand — where we’ve added over 10 new rights partners in 2020, covering boxing, MMA, wrestling and much more.”
Former WWE, WCW & TNA head writer Vince Russo recently discussed the WWE Extreme Rules PPV. Russo was critical of the event, much like other notable industry names such as Jim Cornette. One of the matches that Russo was quick to jump on was the Eye For an Eye Match featuring Rey Mysterio and Seth Rollins.
Notably, Vince Russo did not like the fact that Mysterio actually lost the match; “Rocky didn’t lose to Apollo in Rocky 2 okay? Rocky didn’t lose his second fight to Clubber Lang” Russo began on The Brand podcast.
Vince Russo on Mysterio vs Rollins
“You always have to payoff…you gotta send the audience home happy” Russo would continue. “So with that being said, I’m reading some of the results [from Extreme Rules], first of all the babyface Rey Mysterio challenges Seth Rollins to an eye for an eye match. The babyface LOSES and gets his eye ripped out of his head. I’ve never heard of that. Not in my life!”
Russo would elaborate further, saying “especially a guy like Rey Mysterio that’s been around forever. But the babyface challenges, and the baby face loses. So now bro? They do something where they show a fake eyeball for like one quarter of a second. And bro, on top of that? The heel is puking ringside realising what he did.”
Vince Russo would then discuss the stipulation of the match, saying how if he had come up with the concept it would’ve been lambasted by fans and critics alike. “I’m like bro, if I would have wrote this sh*t? Forget about it.”
Russo continued, “I’m looking at this sh*t and I’m like ‘oh my god bro, the stuff that I get criticized for!? If my name was on this? That’s all you would have been in reading about. And again bro, keep in mind this is the great Vince McMahon! This is the great ‘filter.'”
Do you think that the Eye For an Eye Match was as bad as some of Russo’s worst? Let us know in the comments.
Eric Bischoff was recently asked on an episode of 83 Weeks if he feels WWE goes out of its way to bury or kill-off old WCW ideas or gimmicks. Bischoff feels WWE does not do this, however, and actually does a good job at cashing-in off of some of WCW’s bigger successes such as the NWO.
“No, I don’t think that,” Bischoff said when asked if he felt Vince McMahon buries WCW ideas or gimmicks. “I understand why people might think that but I don’t think that’s the case. I honestly believe Vince will take advantage of, exploit, use anything that he possibly can to make his business healthier, and generate revenue including anything that was WCW.”
“But I also do believe that there is a certain culture, a corporate culture, whereby WWE, the brand and all the things that are created as original intellectual property will always be positioned as a priority. I’m not so sure that that’s not a great idea.”
Eric Bischoff on How WWE Markets The NWO Still To This Day
Bischoff used the example of the NWO to showcase how WWE still uses and earns money off WCW creative.
“The NWO to this day is still to this day one of the most successful products in the WWE catalog in terms of merchandise,” Bischoff continued.
“The fact that WWE is promoting the NWO as much as they have and are and the fact that they are still selling their merchandise kind of contradicts the statement that they are trying to kill it. I think they are trying to make money off it. But, I also at the same time think that the NWO will always take a backseat or anything that was WCW original including Sting’s return and his positioning at WrestleMania against Triple H, it will always be positioned as secondary to anything that’s WWE. But that’s not the same as killing it.”
