A massive Will Ospreay match is currently not in the backstage plans for All In, according to some latest AEW rumors.
Fightful Select confirmed as part of their AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2024 scoops thread that Ospreay vs Ricochet was not currently on the docket for the Wembley Stadium event in August.
“We’re told that AEW has had a general outline of the top matches they want at AEW All In for quite some time. As of early this month, Ricochet/Will Ospreay wasn’t one of them” the site reported.
AEW Rumors: Could Ricochet appear at Forbidden Door?
Whilst a number of fans are hoping that we could see Ricochet appearing tonight on the show to set up a massive rematch with Ospreay, it very likely will not be happening anytime soon.
Fightful also confirmed that “Ricochet and Natalya are still technically under contract to WWE,” so unless they were both let out of their deals early we won’t be seeing them pop up tonight.
Ospreay is set to challenge Swerve Strickland tonight for the AEW Championship, and he is the underdog heading into the bout (at least according to the latest odds). With the “Aerial Assassin” getting a pretty baffling title shot a month or so before Wembley Stadium, there will probably be something huge tonight that costs him the match and sets up the rematch in England.
Morgan throws first pitch at Fenway Park ahead of her upcoming title defense.
WWE superstar Liv Morgan is enjoying the lifestyle of being the WWE Women’s World Champion. She won the title by defeating Becky Lynch due to interference by her current love interest, Dominik Mysterio, at King & Queen Of The Ring on May 25. Since then, Morgan hasn’t seen much competition and defended her championship once. On the July 1 episode of Monday Night Raw, she’ll finally put her gold on the line against Zelina Vega.
The event will occur at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. Morgan initiated the feud by interfering in Mysterio’s tag team match alongside Carlito and JD McDonagh against World Wrestling Entertainment Braun Strowman & LWO (Dragon Lee & Rey Mysterio) on the June 10 episode of Raw. Vega would get into an altercation with the champion, and their issue would continue for the next two weeks. Their match on the upcoming episode will allow them to settle their difference.
While preparing for her title defense, Morgan made a special appearance today at Fenway Park during the Boston Red Sox and San Diego Padres game to throw the first pitch. The champion did a good job throwing without issue, showing off her arm strength compared to other celebrities. MLB captured the moment on X and decided to tag Mysterio to tease him.
WWE Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan threw out the 1st pitch today at Fenway Park!
Morgan also spoke with NESN and was asked by Adam Pellerin about what it means to perform in Boston. She spoke highly of the city and the energy the fans bring to WWE events when the company is in town.
Preview of Liv Morgan vs. Zelina Vega
The champion may need the energy when she faces her challenger on the July 1 episode. Since Morgan has been out of action on TV, she could deal with some issues in her title defense. Vega will seemingly have the speed advantage over her opponent and will be motivated to showcase her skills in a rare title match.
That said, Morgan is seemingly favored to retain her championship and continue to torment her rival, Rhea Ripley. ‘Mami’ is currently out with an injury due to Morgan’s attack on the April 8 episode of Raw. It’s unclear when Ripley will return to action. However, it’s possible WWE may have Morgan remain champion until she can defend it against the Australian superstar.
Regardless, the upcoming episode of Raw should be a fun show, and the crowd in Boston will be in for a treat to witness Morgan’s second title defense.
AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2024 is set to take place tonight, but what are the rumors heading into the big show?
Always take these rumors with a grain of salt, because although some of these sensationalized headlines can seem more exciting than the usual news cycle, they are just that right now…rumors.
Here are the rumors that are doing the rounds this week ahead of the PPV event and everything you need to know to keep up with the latest updates.
One of the biggest stories right now surrounds former WWE Superstar Dijak, as he appears to be teasing a debut with All Elite tonight.
Dijak took to social media to cut a promo walking out of his house, claiming that it was time for a “Dijak Hijack”
“Today is such a beautiful day, it’s early in the morning right now, why don’t we go for a nice little drive, huh? Maybe a four-and-half hour drive? Maybe that’s exactly what today calls for.”
Long Island fits the bill for a four and a half hour drive for Dijak which is where Forbidden Door takes place, so there’s a very good chance that he appears tonight.
AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2024 is set to take place tonight on PPV, but what is the card for the massive show?
There are a bunch of title matches confirmed for the show, including the main event that sees Will Ospreay challenging for the AEW Championship against Swerve Strickland for the very first time.
NJPW Strong Women’s Champion Stephanie Vaquer will also be facing TBS Champion Mercedes Mone in a Champion vs Champion match, with Mone looking to take back the title that she was earmarked to win before her injury against Willow Nightingale.
To add even further to the stakes, there will be a ladder match for the vacant TNT Championship with Konosuke Takeshita, Mark Briscoe, Jack Perry, Dante Martin, Lio Rush and El Phantasmo all vying for the belt that Adam Copeland had to vacate due to injury.
There are a number of massive matches set to take place from the UBS Arena in the Long Island hamlet of Elmont, New York, and they are as follows:
AEW World Heavyweight Title Match: Swerve Strickland (c) vs. Will Ospreay
AEW Women’s World Championship Match: Toni Storm (c) vs. Mina Shirakawa
Winners Takes All Title For Title Match: AEW TBS Champion Mercedes Mone vs. NJPW Strong Women’s Champion Stephanie Vaquer
Ladder Match for the Vacant TNT Championship: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Mark Briscoe vs. Jack Perry vs. Dante Martin vs. Lio Rush vs. El Phantasmo
IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match: Jon Moxley (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito
Owen Hart Foundation Men’s Tournament Quarterfinal: Bryan Danielson vs. Shingo Takagi
Trios Match: The Elite (Kazuchika Okada & The Young Bucks) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & The Acclaimed
Trios Match: Samoa Joe, Hook, and Katsuyori Shibata vs. Jeff Cobb, Chris Jericho and Big Bill
Zack Sabre Jr vs. Orange Cassidy
MJF vs. Hechicero
ZERO-HOUR PRE-SHOW
Kris Statlander & Momo Watanabe vs. Willow Nightingale & Tam Nakano
Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament Quarterfinal: Saraya vs. Mariah May
Mistico & The Lucha Bros vs. Yota Tsuji, Titan & Hiromu Takahashi
Fatal 4-WayMatch: House of Black (Malakai Black & Brody King) vs. Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen) vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Kyle O’Reilly vs. Gabe Kidd & Roderick Strong
We’ll be covering all of the events from tonight’s PPV event, so make sure that you keep checking back to SEScoops for the latest!
AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2024 is set to take place tonight, but what is the latest in terms of ticket sales?
According to a recent report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the show is doing well in terms of number of seats sold.
As of writing from that report, the show at the UBS Arena on Long Island has around 9,738 tickets out.
During the recent press call for the PPV, Tony Khan made a prediction that the show would get around 10,000 tickets sold, getting setting a live gate of $1 million.
If the show is able to get over that 10,000 tickets sold mark and the $1 million gate, then it will be the third straight Forbidden Door show to do so.
FB 2024 would also be the biggest show of the year if it breaks the $1 million gate, surpassing AEW Revolution which reportedly got around $1,025,000 on the gate.
Forbidden Door Matches taking place tonight
There are a number of massive matches set to take place from the UBS Arena in the Long Island hamlet of Elmont, New York, and they are as follows:
AEW World Heavyweight Title Match: Swerve Strickland (c) vs. Will Ospreay
AEW Women’s World Championship Match: Toni Storm (c) vs. Mina Shirakawa
Winners Takes All Title For Title Match: AEW TBS Champion Mercedes Mone vs. NJPW Strong Women’s Champion Stephanie Vaquer
Ladder Match for the Vacant TNT Championship: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Mark Briscoe vs. Jack Perry vs. Dante Martin vs. Lio Rush vs. El Phantasmo
IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match: Jon Moxley (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito
Owen Hart Foundation Men’s Tournament Quarterfinal: Bryan Danielson vs. Shingo Takagi
Trios Match: The Elite (Kazuchika Okada & The Young Bucks) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & The Acclaimed
Trios Match: Samoa Joe, Hook, and Katsuyori Shibata vs. Jeff Cobb, Chris Jericho and Big Bill
Zack Sabre Jr vs. Orange Cassidy
MJF vs. Hechicero
ZERO-HOUR PRE-SHOW
Kris Statlander & Momo Watanabe vs. Willow Nightingale & Tam Nakano
Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament Quarterfinal: Saraya vs. Mariah May
Mistico & The Lucha Bros vs. Yota Tsuji, Titan & Hiromu Takahashi
Fatal 4-WayMatch: House of Black (Malakai Black & Brody King) vs. Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen) vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Kyle O’Reilly vs. Gabe Kidd & Roderick Strong
We’ll be covering all of the events from tonight’s PPV event, so make sure that you keep checking back to SEScoops for the latest!
AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2024 takes place tonight, and the latest odds for the card seem extremely one-sided.
Writing on the Daily Update for F4WOnline.com, Dave Meltzer revealed that some of the key matchups for the show are tilting heavily towards who you would think were getting the W before the first bell even rings.
“Almost all the key matches are very one-sided when it comes to the odds. On the main card, the Jericho match had no odds last we saw as it was a late addition, but MJF, Storm, Mone, Danielson, Naito, Jack Perry, Sabre Jr., and Strickland were all very heavy favorites” Meltzer noted.
“Naito was the smallest at -300. Strickland was -800. Mone was -2000 and Storm was -1500. MJF was -6000. Even Sabre was -400 and that match I could see going either way” he added.
There are a number of massive matches set to take place from the UBS Arena in the Long Island hamlet of Elmont, New York, and they are as follows:
AEW World Heavyweight Title Match: Swerve Strickland (c) vs. Will Ospreay
AEW Women’s World Championship Match: Toni Storm (c) vs. Mina Shirakawa
Winners Takes All Title For Title Match: AEW TBS Champion Mercedes Mone vs. NJPW Strong Women’s Champion Stephanie Vaquer
Ladder Match for the Vacant TNT Championship: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Mark Briscoe vs. Jack Perry vs. Dante Martin vs. Lio Rush vs. El Phantasmo
IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match: Jon Moxley (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito
Owen Hart Foundation Men’s Tournament Quarterfinal: Bryan Danielson vs. Shingo Takagi
Trios Match: The Elite (Kazuchika Okada & The Young Bucks) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & The Acclaimed
Trios Match: Samoa Joe, Hook, and Katsuyori Shibata vs. Jeff Cobb, Chris Jericho and Big Bill
Zack Sabre Jr vs. Orange Cassidy
MJF vs. Hechicero
ZERO-HOUR PRE-SHOW
Kris Statlander & Momo Watanabe vs. Willow Nightingale & Tam Nakano
Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament Quarterfinal: Saraya vs. Mariah May
Mistico & The Lucha Bros vs. Yota Tsuji, Titan & Hiromu Takahashi
Fatal 4-WayMatch: House of Black (Malakai Black & Brody King) vs. Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen) vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Kyle O’Reilly vs. Gabe Kidd & Roderick Strong
We’ll be covering all of the events from tonight’s PPV event, so make sure that you keep checking back to SEScoops for the latest!
AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2024 is set to take place tonight, but how can fans watch the event via live stream?
Watching this major PPV event all depends on where you are based in the world, and we’ll be covering everything you need to do to see the stars of All Elite Wrestling take on opponents from CMLL, NJPW and beyond.
Fans watching in the United States have a few different ways that they can watch live tonight.
Forbidden Door can be streamed on both Bleacher Report and TrillerTV (formerly known as FITE TV) for $50 USD.
You can find both of these apps on Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, mobile devices, and directly via their respective websites.
How to watch AEW Forbidden Door in the UK
If you’re looking to watch the PPV event live in the United Kingdom, then you will also be able to do so via Triller TV.
AEW Plus subscribers on the Triller TV service can purchase the card for around $19.99, around $30 cheaper than the US stream due to the anti-social timing of the event for European fans.
Who is wrestling at Forbidden Door?
There are a number of massive matches set to take place from the UBS Arena in the Long Island hamlet of Elmont, New York, and they are as follows:
AEW World Heavyweight Title Match: Swerve Strickland (c) vs. Will Ospreay
AEW Women’s World Championship Match: Toni Storm (c) vs. Mina Shirakawa
Winners Takes All Title For Title Match: AEW TBS Champion Mercedes Mone vs. NJPW Strong Women’s Champion Stephanie Vaquer
Ladder Match for the Vacant TNT Championship: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Mark Briscoe vs. Jack Perry vs. Dante Martin vs. Lio Rush vs. El Phantasmo
IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match: Jon Moxley (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito
Owen Hart Foundation Men’s Tournament Quarterfinal: Bryan Danielson vs. Shingo Takagi
Trios Match: The Elite (Kazuchika Okada & The Young Bucks) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & The Acclaimed
Trios Match: Samoa Joe, Hook, and Katsuyori Shibata vs. Jeff Cobb, Chris Jericho and Big Bill
Zack Sabre Jr vs. Orange Cassidy
MJF vs. Hechicero
ZERO-HOUR PRE-SHOW
Kris Statlander & Momo Watanabe vs. Willow Nightingale & Tam Nakano
Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament Quarterfinal: Saraya vs. Mariah May
Mistico & The Lucha Bros vs. Yota Tsuji, Titan & Hiromu Takahashi
Fatal 4-WayMatch: House of Black (Malakai Black & Brody King) vs. Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen) vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Kyle O’Reilly vs. Gabe Kidd & Roderick Strong
We’ll be covering all of the events from tonight’s PPV event, so make sure that you keep checking back to SEScoops for the latest!
AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2024 is set to take place tonight, but what is the UK start time of the event?
As is usually the case, fans in the United Kingdom and Europe will be in for an extremely late night, with the live stream starting in the early hours of Monday morning.
AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2024 UK Time
The Zero Hour pre-show event will be starting around 90 minutes before the main card at around 11:30 PM BST on Sunday, June 30th 2024.
The main card of Forbidden Door 2024 is set to start at around 1 am BST on Monday, July 1st 2024 in the United Kingdom.
Who is wrestling at Forbidden Door?
There are a number of massive matches set to take place from the UBS Arena in the Long Island hamlet of Elmont, New York, and they are as follows:
AEW World Heavyweight Title Match: Swerve Strickland (c) vs. Will Ospreay
AEW Women’s World Championship Match: Toni Storm (c) vs. Mina Shirakawa
Winners Takes All Title For Title Match: AEW TBS Champion Mercedes Mone vs. NJPW Strong Women’s Champion Stephanie Vaquer
Ladder Match for the Vacant TNT Championship: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Mark Briscoe vs. Jack Perry vs. Dante Martin vs. Lio Rush vs. El Phantasmo
IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match: Jon Moxley (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito
Owen Hart Foundation Men’s Tournament Quarterfinal: Bryan Danielson vs. Shingo Takagi
Trios Match: The Elite (Kazuchika Okada & The Young Bucks) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & The Acclaimed
Trios Match: Samoa Joe, Hook, and Katsuyori Shibata vs. Jeff Cobb, Chris Jericho and Big Bill
Zack Sabre Jr vs. Orange Cassidy
MJF vs. Hechicero
ZERO-HOUR PRE-SHOW
Kris Statlander & Momo Watanabe vs. Willow Nightingale & Tam Nakano
Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament Quarterfinal: Saraya vs. Mariah May
Mistico & The Lucha Bros vs. Yota Tsuji, Titan & Hiromu Takahashi
Fatal 4-WayMatch: House of Black (Malakai Black & Brody King) vs. Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen) vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Kyle O’Reilly vs. Gabe Kidd & Roderick Strong
We’ll be covering all of the events from tonight’s PPV event, so make sure that you keep checking back to SEScoops for the latest!
All Elite Wrestling & New Japan Pro Wrestling will team up tonight to present Forbidden Door 2024 from the UBS Arena in Elmont, New York.
The show will be the third annual Forbidden Door event and will see more promotions than those listed in the title. In addition to AEW and New Japan, the latter’s sister promotion STARDOM will be involved, as will Mexico’s CMLL.
Match Card
A total of 14 matches have been announced for tonight’s pay-per-view. They are:
PRE-SHOW: Los Ingobernables de Japon (Yota Tsuji, Titan, and Hiromu Takahashi) vs. The Lucha Brothers (Penta El Zero Miedo and Rey Fénix) and Místico (with Alex Abrahantes)
PRE-SHOW: Kris Statlander and Momo Watanabe (with Stokely Hathaway) vs. Willow Nightingale and Tam Nakano
PRE-SHOW: Mariah May (with Toni Storm, Luther and Mina Shirakawa) vs. Saraya (with Harley Cameron) (Women’s Owen Hart Cup Tournament first-round match)
PRE-SHOW: House of Black (Malakai Black and Brody King) vs. Tomohiro Ishii and Kyle O’Reilly vs. Roderick Strong and Gabriel Kidd vs. Private Party (Zay and Quen)
Konosuke Takeshita vs. Mark Briscoe vs. Jack Perry vs. Dante Martin vs. Lio Rush vs. El Phantasmo (Ladder Match for the AEW TNT Championship)
The Learning Tree (Chris Jericho and Big Bill) and Jeff Cobb (with Bryan Keith) vs. Samoa Joe, Hook, and Katsuyori Shibata
“Timeless” Toni Storm (c) (with Luther) vs. Mina Shirakawa (AEW Women’s World Championship, Mariah May at ringside)
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Orange Cassidy
MJF vs. Hechicero
Jon Moxley (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito (IWGP World Heavyweight Championship)
The Elite (Matthew Jackson, Nicholas Jackson, and Kazuchika Okada) vs. Scissor Ace (Anthony Bowens, Max Caster, and Hiroshi Tanahashi) (with “Daddy Ass” Billy Gunn)
Mercedes Moné (AEW) vs. Stephanie Vaquer (NJPW) (Winner Takes All match for the AEW TBS Championship and NJPW Strong Women’s Championship)
Bryan Danielson vs. Shingo Takagi (Men’s Owen Hart Cup Tournament first-round match)
Swerve Strickland (c) (with Prince Nana) vs. Will Ospreay (AEW World Championship)
How to Watch
The Zero Hour pre-show for AEWxNJPW: Forbidden Door 2024 will be streaming live from 6:30 pm Eastern and fans around the globe can catch it for free on AEW’s official YouTube channel and Bleacher Report.
The AEWxNJPW: Forbidden Door 2024 pay-per-view starts at 8 pm ET live from Paradise, Nevada. The event can be purchased and streamed on Bleacher Report and traditional PPV means in the US. For international audiences, the show will be made available through Triller TV.
Tony Khan has a lot of optimism when it comes to AEW’s future, both in television and in ever-changing streaming world.
Speaking to Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez of The Wrestling Observer, the AEW President shared his enthusiasm in the possibility of AEW PPVs finding itself under the umbrella of the new Venu Sports venture. Venu Sports is the forthcoming sports streaming service that will showcase Fox, Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery possibily teaming up for a super channel. Khan called it a “really exciting opportunity.”
“I think (Venu Sports) could be something we could be part of and it’s a really interesting conversation. That’s a whole new conversation and that’s a new world.”
Right now, Khan and AEW have found a PPV home on Triller TV with Forbidden Door airing on the service Sunday evening. Triller also is hosting the older PPVs of AEW, something that has been in great demand for fans.
While Tony Khan states he’s excited for the future with AEW and WBD, he reaffirms the relationship he has with WBD CEO David Zaslav. Khan even goes as far as to say Zaslav shows as much support for pro wrestling as Ted Turner once did with WCW.
“I don’t think that Warner Bros has had such a hands-on boss who has overseen a studio like this since Ted Turner was here at TNT and TBS like we have with David (Zaslav). There is a supreme commander at the top of Warner Bros Discovery and he loves AEW and I have a great relationship with him and I think it’s going to go a long way towards really keeping something that is very important to me alive, which is wrestling on TBS, TNT.”
Before the summer, there was an initial report that the first offered deal between WBD and AEW left Khan disappointed, but the aforementioned Observer gave its own report refuting that.
Tony Khan is confident in the television future of AEW, whatever that future may be, and he hopes it continues with Warner Bros. Discovery.
Khan sat down for an interview with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer and went into detail regarding his thoughts on that future. The AEW President said that the company is going to get a great deal and there are still discussion matters still on the table between the two parties. Despite the record-low number AEW accrued two Wednesdays ago on AEW Dynamite, Khan remains confident in the statistics AEW has done over the course of their deal with Turner.
“We need to keep doing what we’re doing because the numbers we have are numbers people in TV would kill to have. And I really need to focus on doing good shows for AEW and not about what the competition is doing, I think in this case our competition going out ahead of us and getting good media rights deals was a positive for us and actually good for us because we have very good historical comps, and these comps are very favorable for us. So that’s one thing I’ve done, a ton of market research and retain top analysts and data scientists and looking at this stuff.”
Thankfully, AEW rebounded with their numbers for the go-home episode of Dynamite ahead of Forbidden Door, getting an audience of 680,000, but it was still Dynamite‘s third-worst numbers so far in 2024.
The key demographic for Dynamite was also boosted up 37.5% from the previous week’s record-low getting a 0.22 P18-49 rating.
The fallout from AEW Forbidden Door will be featured at AEW Beach Break 3, showcasing a match between Will Ospreay and Daniel Garcia. The card will also have Jeff Jarrett competing in the Owen Hart Cup against a Wild Card entrant.
It didn’t take Dijak long at all to show up in a wrestling ring after his WWE exit and he may have bigger plans involving AEW.
The former T-Bar revealed before the weekend that he was not offered a new contract by WWE, sharing out a typed out letter explaining his exit in detail. Donovan Dijak stated that he was told at the “eleventh hour” that WWE would not be re-signing him and that they never even attempted to negotiate a new deal. Dijak stated that two months ago he was apart of one of the greatest matches in NXT history during WrestleMania weekend before being called up to RAW where he was never used.
Dijak didn’t let his exit cook for long as on Saturday, he made a return in his own backyard at Blitzkreig Luau in Conneticut. The “punk rock pro wrestling party” promotion stated that Dijak is a “free man.”
That notion may be all the more concrete as Dijak took to social media to cut a promo walking out of his house, claiming that it was time for a “Dijak Hijack”
“Today is such a beautiful day, it’s early in the morning right now, why don’t we go for a nice little drive, huh? Maybe a four-and-half hour drive? Maybe that’s exactly what today calls for.”
When considering the distance, Long Island fits the bill for a four and a half hour drive for Dijak which is where Forbidden Door takes place. In his letter, Dijak stated that he’d be taking bookings starting June 28 so him appearing at Forbidden Door is plausible to happen.
Jim Ross will be at Forbidden Door this Sunday after dealing with a recent bout of health issues. The WWE Hall of Famer has been admitted to the emergency room on two different occassions due to shortness of breath, but it looks like the legendary commentary will at least be in attendance for the PPV.
The last major fight Ross called on commentary was the AEW World Title match between Swerve Strickland and Samoa Joe. Strickland captured the World gold for the first time at AEW Dynasty and Ross was one of the voices to put him over. Now, JR will be on sight to see Strickland defend his championship against Will Ospreay in addition to seven other matches, plus a stacked pre-show set for Long Island. Ross has mentioned that Tony Khan has mostly appointed him for broadcast duties during the PPV so one would have to imagine he’ll be on the horn for one or two matches.
Ross has been with AEW since 2019 and not long ago, signed an extension with the company that was said to be very lucrative for the Boomer Sooner, calling it the “quickest and easiest negotiation I have ever done in my career of 50 years.” Despite not being on TV, Ross did release his third book earlier this year, recounting some of the greatest matches he was on call for.
Minoru Suzuki will fight anyone, anytime and that includes mixing it up with the governor of Tokyo.
A wrestling social media sensation over the weekend came courtesy of DDT Pro as the promotion featured a streetcar match between Suzuki and Sanshiro Takagi. The audience paid to be on the train for the 55-minute long match as they moved at the frantic pace of eight miles an hour. They got to see Suzuki pick up the win after delivering a Gotch-Style Piledriver, but the battle was not without its share of cameos.
Not only did the legendary Jushin Thunder Liger appear, but so did the Governor of Tokyo. Yuriko Koike got a little physical when she delivered a chop to Suzuki. Suzuki raised the stakes even higher when he brandished a firearm at some point during the battle. After the fight, Suzuki issued his own comments on the experience, stating that he’d be up for fighting anywhere, even if its out of this atmosphere.
“Next time, I’ll do it on a deserted island like he said, or on an airplane, rocket, or even inside a space station! Everyone was smiling. I realized once again that pro wrestling is engraved in the DNA of the Japanese people.”
Suzuki may have been fighting in Tokyo, but he’s got a busy schedule in the United States. He actually just issued a challenge to Chris Jericho in a singles match this past week on AEW Dynamite and is now one of the featured members of the revamped CONTRA Unit in Major League Wrestling. Suzuki will be going up against AKIRA on July 12 when MLW makes its way to St. Petersburg for Blood & Thunder.
Aron Stevens, better known to WWE fans as Damien Sandow was one of the most over-stars for a while in the company previously owned by Vince McMahon. However, despite his popularity, the promotion never pulled the plug on him and he was released without ever holding a singles title in his six-year run with the company.
The wrestling star who currently works as a manager as well as an agent for NWA, recently had an interview with Victoire. He compared the creative freedom offered to talents in NWA as opposed to the restrictions he had to face during his time in WWE.
This prompted the question why his WWE run didn’t turn out as fans were expecting and if Stevens was ‘too good’ for WWE creatively. Answering the question, Aron Stevens explained that someone ‘in the office’ wasn’t a fan of his:
“Look somewhere in the office someone didn’t like what was going on. I did an autograph signing six months ago, and one of the people at the signing was like ‘Hey, I just want you to know something. I had a friend who worked in the office. And when they would get house show reports on you, like they needed to list like the top five reactions, you were always in the top three, usually the top two.
After a while, the boss, you know who that is, said, Do not put Sandow’s name on there anywhere.’ That tells me everything I need to know.
So to answer your question was I too good for WWE? I say I’m just right for NWA.”
Aron Stevens signed with WWE back in July 2010, after having a development run with the company previously. He made his main roster debut as Damien Sandow in May 2012. A few months later, Sandow formed a tag team with Cody Rhodes known as Rhodes Scholars.
Damian would later also win the Money In The Bank briefcase which he cashed in on John Cena. Despite having assaulted Cena before the bout, Sandow failed to win the World Title from him.
His hugely popular tag team with The Miz was one of Sandow’s career highlights. The two even won the tag team titles at the 2014 Survivor Series event. This was Sandow’s only championship in WWE. He started being used less and less after the tag team broke up and Damian Sandow was finally released from his contract in May 2016.
Tyler Mane, an actor who previously wrestled for WCW, has been featured in the latest trailer for the much-anticipated Deadpool Vs. Wolverine.
In the newest trailer, Mane can be seen reprising his role as Victor Creed aka Sabretooth. The character is one of Wolverine’s most fierce adversaries in Marvel Comics and the trailer teases a face-off between the two mutants.
While best known for his work as an actor, including appearing as Sabretooth in the 2000s, Mane competed in a handful of matches throughout his wrestling career. Mane’s biggest showcase in the ring came at WCW Fall Brawl 1993 when Mane (known as Big Sky) lost to Charlie Norris. During his WCW run, Mane also competed against Davey Boy Smith and Ric Flair. He also competed for CMLL, EMLL, and AJPW.
The third film in the series that focuses on the ‘Merc with a Mouth,’ Deadpool Vs. Wolverine follows the two titular characters (Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman respectively) in a post-apocalyptic future on a mission that threatens to change the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film sees Jackman return to the Wolverine role after the character was previously killed in 2017’s Logan.
Deadpool Vs. Wolverine will hit cinemas on July 24.
Cody Rhodes’ days with AEW may be long over, but the reigning Undisputed WWE Champion was a part of the most recent episode of Collision.
On the June 29, 2024, episode of AEW’s Saturday show, a vignette aired teasing the long-awaited return of ‘Hangman’ Adam Page. Prior to this episode, the former AEW World Champion had not appeared on AEW programming since Revolution 2024 in March, where he challenged for the World title.
While Page’s vignette focused on the Cowboy, many fans were surprised to see Cody Rhodes make an unlikely AEW appearance. Around 23 seconds into the video, a photo of Rhodes, alongside Page, and the Young Bucks can be seen.
Rhodes left AEW in February 2022, just over three years after he and others founded the company in January 2019. The American Nightmare would return to WWE weeks later and has been one of the company’s top stars ever since. Despite now being part of AEW’s main competition, Rhodes has routinely praised the company and the efforts of those still in AEW in interviews.
What’s Next?
It’s unclear when Page will make his physical return to AEW, though some have speculated it could be at AEWxNJPW: Forbidden Door. If not, then the Cowboy could make an impactful return at AEW All In inside Wembley Stadium this August.
As for Rhodes, he will continue his war with The Bloodline, now led by Solo Sikoa. Rhodes will team with Randy Orton and Kevin Owens to face the faction at WWE Money in the Bank on July 6. The show will prove especially testing for Rhodes, as should his match happen after the Men’s Money in the Bank ladder match, could be the victim of a swift briefcase cash-in.
In May 2001, Triple H suffered one of the most devastating injuries that a professional athlete could experience: a complete tear of his left quadriceps muscle. The damage occurred half through a World Tag Team Championship match, with The Game continuing the match despite excruciating pain. After an over 8-month hiatus to have surgery and rehab, Triple H would return to WWE inside The World’s Most Famous Arena, Madison Square Garden.
The King of King’s triumphant return to MSG has etched its place in history as one of the greatest returns in professional wrestling history, as the WWE Universe welcomed Triple H back like a conquering hero. The moment has been referenced, reflected, and spoken about in countless mediums, with AEW’s MJF even referencing it in his return to All Elite Wrestling this past May.
This past Friday’s edition of WWE SmackDown saw Triple H return to Madison Square Garden again, this time in a much different capacity, as the company’s Chief Content Officer. Despite the turn taking place over 20 years ago, the moment’s significance still sticks with The Game, as he spoke about in a recent post on X.
In the short clip, WWE’s CCO recalled his grueling road to recovery, his anxiety about the fans’ reaction to him, and some wise words he received from WWE Hall of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.
“I remember being two segments out, from me coming out, and [Steve] Austin came up to me…’I know what this is like. You’re thinking no one is going to give a sh*t right?’ and I said ‘that has crossed my mind’ and he said ‘yeah man, I went through the same thing. You know, when I broke my neck…what if your music hits and it’s crickets’. He talked to me about it.”
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin suffered a significant injury during SummerSlam 1997 when Austin took on Owen Hart for the Intercontinental Championship when a miscalculated piledriver caused Austin to become temporarily paralyzed. Austin would be plagued with neck issues for the entirety of his full-time WWE run, eventually leading him to retire at 38 years old from in-ring competition.
Triple H would later describe how it felt to hear the crowd’s reaction when his music hit. Stating how that moment was “10x more than anything I could have ever dreamed of. If all of it had been for that one moment, it would have been worth it.”
Every time @WWE comes to @TheGarden, all the memories come back… and this one will always be at the top of the list. Moments like these are what our business is all about. pic.twitter.com/saC0A5NPb0
WWE SmackDoxwn (6/28) Saw The BloodlineKick Out Paul Heyman
In a shocking turn of events, The Bloodline’s Acknowledgment ceremony turned into a vicious beatdown, as Solo Sikoa ordered the rest of the group to attack The Wise Man Paul Heyman. The New York native found himself being smashed through an announce table as the show closed out.
Heyman refused to acknowledge Solo Sikoa as the true Tribal Chief, sparking a brutal assault on The Godfather of Extreme. Later, Paul Heyman was taken out of MSG in an ambulance, leaving the WWE Universe wondering what comes next for the self-proclaimed tribal chief and the rest of The Bloodline.
A new round of wrestling legends and one major pop superstar have been added to WWE 2K24. The popular video game released their latest downloadable content, Post Malone & Friends, on June 26 for $9.99. Along with Malone, the update features Honky Tonk Man, Sensational Sherri, and The Headbangers (Mosh & Thrasher) as playable characters, and Jimmy Hart is included as a manager.
Fans will already notice that the game marks the WWE 2K debut of the Grammy-nominated artist. However, it also marks the return of the featured wrestling legends in the video game series. Honky Tonk Man and Sherri haven’t made an appearance in a WWE game since WWE 2K16, where the former WWF Intercontinental Champion was the only superstar playable. For The Headbangers, they haven’t been playable in a WWE game since WWF Attitude, which came out in 1999.
It’s been long since these legends were made available to WWE 2K fans, but was it worth the wait? I’ve played with each character to give my review on the Post Malone & Friends and will rate it between 1-10. I also won’t count Malone, as comparing a special guest character to people who have wrestled wouldn’t be fair.
WWE 2K24: Sensational Sherri Collage
All Character Models Look Amazing
In my review of the ECW Punk Pack DLC, I was blown away by the job the developers did to make each character model look realistic to their counterparts. I believe the Post Malone & Friends takes the look of each of the characters to another level. Honky Tonk Man, Sherri, and The Headbangers look absolutely incredible and show how much the developers cared about representing each legend.
The standout among the new stars of WWE 2K24 was Sherri. She looks fantastic and almost accurate to her look during her wrestling career. Her attire seems nearly identical to that of when she faced Rockin Robin for the WWE Women’s Championship on December 26, 1987.
There are notable differences like her hair used to be brown. WWE 2K24 gave Sherri black hair, which would resemble her look when she was a manager. It’s small details of these legends that younger fans may not notice, but people who have watched Sherri during her wrestling career may criticize. That said, all of the character models are very close to where their real counterparts were during their wrestling careers, which the majority of fans should love.
One of my complaints from the ECW Punk Pack was that the developers could have done better at having more of the iconic moveset for characters. One example was how The Dudley Boyz(Bubba Ray Dudley & D-Von Dudley) didn’t have one of their signature moves, which I believed should’ve been included. In this latest DLC, the developers did a perfect job getting each legend’s move set to make them unique. Fans will notice how Honky Tank Man and Sherri both have a style that resembles more of the wrestling they did in their careers. Their move set is simplistic but effective.
For example, Sherri has moves in which she utilizes her opponent’s hair to either slam or throw them down. Another example was how well the tag team moves for The Headbangers were in the DLC. I noticed every signature move they did and couldn’t think of a tag move the developers missed. Compared to the move set from The Dudley Boyz, The Headbangers seems flawless and makes it more fun to play with them.
Conclusion
ThePost Malone & Friends DLC sets a high bar for what will come. I thought the ECW Punk Pack was great, but the developers took it to another level with the latest DLC.
The character models are near perfect, and the attention to detail in making each legend use a move set that is natural to them is incredible. When looking at the following slate of new content from WWE 2K24, I believe the Post Malone & Friends is the new standard.
One of the cardinal rules of wrestling is to not blend it in with politics, but with a genre that was birthed out of the carnival grounds, it’s hard to avoid comparisons.
The U.S. Presidential Debate took place on Thursday night with former President Donald Trump going up against current President Joe Biden. This is the earliest debate to ever happen during an election year and it will go down as the most controversial.
For starters, there was no live audience or media in attendance with the expection of the moderators. Secondly, Trump and Biden were not allowed to have notes in front of them and whenever it was not their turn to talk their mics were muted. From both sides of the podium, the performances of Biden and Trump were resoundingly underhwhelming. However, Biden’s performance has been greatly panned, causing voters and pundits alike to question the future of the 2024 election.
RELATED: Donald Trump Reportedly Suggests Separate Divisions In The UFC For Americans & Illegal Immigrants
Despite the debate not being as captivating as the current Bloodline saga, the location of the occurance does have its ties to wrestling history. Donald Trump’s WWE Hall of Fame status notwithstanding, the venue in which the debate was hosted originally played host to classic wrestling. Former WCW announcer David Penzer provided some insight on X.
“Did you know… that the studio that the POTUS Debate is tomorrow is the same studio where Georgia Championship Wrestling and later World Championship Wrestling were taped in the 70’s & 80’s???”
Did you know…
that the studio that the POTUS Debate is tomorrow is the same studio where Georgia Championship Wrestling and later World Championship Wrestling were taped in the 70's & 80's??? pic.twitter.com/ny4OAQwakp
With Trump aiming to secure his second term as President, much of the speculation as to how he patterned his political presence off of Zeb Colter, aka Dutch Mantell during his “For The People” era. It was around that same time when Trump was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame.
September 3, 2022. A bevy of wrestlers, both independent and of the TNA ilk filter in and out of a conference room at The Hyatt Regency in Schaumburg, IL. A live stream of WWE Clash At The Castle plays on a projector. Conrad Thompson is there. As is David Crockett. As is Jeff Jarrett. As is Road Dogg. As is Jacob Fatu.
It’s main event time. Drew McIntyre looks to make music against Roman Reigns and Glasgow is the Scotsman’s soundtrack. Everyone, mark and mat expert alike are glued to the action, but an explosion of emotion comes from the right side of the room when Solo Sikoa debuts, infamously costing Drew his shot at WWE gold and adding another inning to The Bloodline story. That energy burst came from Fatu, elated for his cousin. His Uce.
Now that kinship is full circle. Jacob Fatu is in WWE and it’s been a long time coming. The son of The Tonga Kid is getting that chance to shine under Paul Levesque’s watch and we are all in store for something special.
The Samoan Dynasty Epitomized In Jacob Fatu
‘The Samoan Werewolf’ made a debut that would make Lon Chaney Jr. blush as he tore top babyfaces apart protecting Solo Sikoa on SmackDown. This further adds to the chaotic and violent element that Wiseman Paul Heyman has been so fearful of, but behind the scenes Roman’s main counsel has to be grinning like a butcher’s dog at Fatu’s limitless ceiling. Fatu carries the pure presence of Umaga, the cool factor of a “Main Event” Jey Uso, and the pro wrestling acumen of Afa and Sika. He’s got the x-factor to the extreme and will elevate anyone who works with him.
Fatu had the opportunity to show his versatility against an array of talent in Major League Wrestling, most notably feuding with Alex Hammerstone over that World Title gold. He was really put in that top position starting off as the head soldier in CONTRA Unit, dominant as Brock Lesnar was during that same time with no one taking the title off him until he clashed with Hammerstone. Anyone that fell to his wrath were lucky if they literally weren’t body-bagged by his Sentai Death Squad insurgents, but it was a great way to position a monster of many talents.
Fatu’s menace made his eventual babyface all the more meaningful. After his loss to Hammerstone, fans got to see the human side of the San Fran Samoan. Instead of shying away from it, Fatu and MLW embraced Jacob’s troubled past, diving in deep to what made the monster tick. The peeling back of the page put Fatu in an even better spot of connecting with fans. Aside from Cody Rhodes, there may not be one person better at it.
Connection With Legacy & With Fans
Jacob Fatu is as real as a real one comes. Back in 2022, Fatu was in the aforementioned Shaumburg (a suburban purgatory outside of Chicago) for Josh Shernoff’s Premier Wrestling Showcase, a tournament highlighting a who’s who of indie names. Fatu didn’t win, but the fans sure did. The event was paired in tandem with Conrad Thompson’s AdFreeShows’ Top Guy Weekend while also being the same weekend of the infamous All Out 2022. Fatu went out of his way to make himself apart of the festivities in the surrounding area. Instead of partying with the boys, Fatu partied with the fans. He invited them to do whatever he was doing, made them feel included and apart of something special.
Fatu didn’t just respect the fans that weekend, but the legacy of the business as well. In addition to Jeff Jarrett being in the building, so was his father, the late Jerry Jarrett. Fatu had me track down Jerry to make sure he got his photo taken with the Memphis legend. Jerry was grateful and Jacob was beaming. There was no cooler moment to witness seeing two names in the business, separated by several generations make that unique connection – one that will never happen again.
Schaumburg, IL, September 2002. Jacob Fatu stands with the late great Jerry Jarrett. (Photo Credit: Dominic DeAngelo)
From a locker room perspective, Fatu is one to lead by example. He never rah-rahed the troops, but he didn’t need to. Everything he did seemed effortless yet always full of passion and energy. His sense of humor kept the busy environment light-hearted and fun to be around. He should fit right in with what WWE is aiming to cultivate.
Something that will always stand out too is Fatu’s instinct within the ropes. During a match in Philadelphia, Fatu appeared to legitimately hurt his leg doing a move, but worked the whole bout nonetheless. It wasn’t until after the fact where everyone discovered he just did that to sell the match even further. It’s in his blood.
When it’s all said and done, that “Head Of The Table” designation in WWE could very well go to Jacob Fatu. And he’s earned it.
MJF has claimed that he was able to speak with the late Brodie Lee via a medium, after the former AEW TNT Champion’s sudden passing.
Lee, real name Jon Huber, passed away in December 2020 at the age of 41. Lee’s final match would take place in October of that year, where he lost the TNT title to Cody Rhodes. Lee’s cause of death was ruled as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis; a rare illness that thickens and stiffens tissue in the lungs.
Over three years after his passing, Lee’s legacy stands strong in AEW and he is remembered fondly by fans and talent alike. Speaking about Lee this week, MJF shared that he initially visited a medium to speak to his grandfather who had passed close to when Lee died.
“Before I left, they said… ‘Whoa, there’s this big individual that has just walked into the room, he’s got a big scraggly beard, and he said he needs you to send a message to his wife.’ and I’m like, who the hell is this? The medium looks at me and goes, ‘his wife’s name is Amanda. Amanda Huber.'”
MJF was “freaked out” by the medium’s comments, and this feeling continued as the medium spoke in the manner and cadence MJF associated with Lee. The conversation ended with Lee sharing a message to MJF to pass on to his widow Amanda.
“I walk up to Amanda at TV the next week, and I tell her this insane story. Her eyes start welling up because she was searching for this message. She had got her answer that day. So even in the afterlife, Brody really loved and cared about his wife and kids.”
Brodie Lee evidently had a profound effect on those who knew him and MJF is just one of many to have been impacted by Lee and the legacy of the late wrestler. To this day, Lee’s influence carries on, with AEW & Reebok teaming up to create new footwear based on the star.
Rey Mysterio is one of the most beloved babyfaces in the history of wrestling business. A story from Natalya only further proves that he is as good of a guy behind the scenes as he is on screen.
The Hart Dynasty member recently had an interview with McKenzie Mitchell. They talked about the different aspects of the WWE star’s ring gears including her iconic jackets and more.
When the topic of wrestling boots came up, Natalya recalled the time Rey Mysterio gifted her a custom made pair of wrestling boots:
“It’s funny. Rey Mysterio. He is somebody that inspired me with wrestling boots. I saw a pair of boots that he was wearing and I said ‘Rey, I love those boots.’ The next week, he showed up with a pair of boots for me.
Actually, he gave me a pair of his own boots. Then he had a special pair custom made for me, which are the silver ones that are on the floor over there. That’s the kind of guy that Rey Mysterio is. He’ll literally take the shoes off of his feet and give them to you.”
One of My Most Special Treasures: Natalya
Natalya mentioned how she has worn the boots on many occasions. This includes WrestleMania 38 when she teamed up with Shayna Baszler to challenge for the Women’s Tag Team Championships:
“I wore these at WrestleMania when I tag teamed with Shayna. They’re so light that you almost don’t even feel [them], they’re just light as a feather. They’re so beautiful. I love them so much. The boots that Rey Mysterio gave me are like, one of my most special treasures.”
Natalya also talked about her early career and named Beth Phoenix as someone who inspired her when she first joined WWE. You can check out what Natalya had to say about her tag team with Phoenix here.
More has come to light regarding Penta El Zero Miedo as his current deal with All Elite Wrestling continues to tick away.
It was recently reported that Penta’s contract with AEW will expire between August and September of this year. Penta joined the All-Elite promotion in February 2019. He is a former AEW World Tag Team Champion with Rey Fenix and the pair are also former AEW World Trios Champions alongside Pac.
Latest On Penta El Zerio Miedo In AEW
Penta is open to leaving AEW and going where the best financial offer is, Dave Meltzer reports. It’s noted that Penta believes that his next contract will be “probably his last big money deal” as the masked wrestler is currently 39 years old. Penta is also said to have “a lot of people counting on him” which has left the talented wrestler with a very difficult decision to make.
Penta On WWE Interest
Should Penta leave AEW for a better financial offer, it’s likely that nowhere else would offer him more than WWE. Speaking on COMIENDO CARNITAS, Penta was coy when asked about whether WWE has its eyes on him.
“I prefer to focus on my present and my present is currently with AEW. If any company like WWE wanted to offer me something, I would need to evaluate because there is a lot of interests on the way.”
Ultimately, Penta El Zero Miedo will do what he feels is best for himself and those who rely on him. Time will tell whether we one day call him a WWE Superstar, but for now, the masked star is focused on his work with AEW.
WWE World Heavyweight Champion Damian Priest missed last night’s SmackDown due to a flight delay.
Last night’s Smackdown emanated from the iconic Madison Square Garden in New York City. However, he was forced to miss his scheduled appearance due to some travel issues. Though he is part of the Raw roster, ‘The Archer of Infamy’ was slated to put his title on the line against Jey Uso in a dark match after SmackDown.
However, he informed his fans that there were some flight issues and that he was “trying my best to make it.” Damian Priest couldn’t reach the venue in time for the show as his flight got delayed. Ahead of the show, he took to his X account, he revealed that his flight didn’t take off and was stuck on the runway. He apologized to his fans as he wrote:
“Unfortunately the honor of main eventing The Garden is not possible tonight. Still haven’t taken off. Stuck on a plane in a runway. Very disappointed and apologies to my people. This one hurts. Enjoy the show! #SmackDown I’m sure will be awesome”
Unfortunately the honor of main eventing The Garden is not possible tonight. Still haven't taken off. Stuck on a plane in a runway. Very disappointed and apologies to my people. This one hurts. Enjoy the show! #SmackDown I'm sure will be awesome https://t.co/YpVemY2wsZ
The dark match main event was then changed to a Street Fight between Jey Uso and Finn Balor. The former emerged victorious over The Judgment Day member. There was another dark match in which the former WWE World Tag Team Champions The Miz & R-Truth defeated The Pretty Deadly.
Damian Priest is set to put his World Heavyweight Title on the line against Seth Rollins at Money In The Bank Premium Live Event on Saturday, July 6. The winner of the match will defend the title against Gunther at SummerSlam in August.
On this week’s Raw, Priest and Rollins raised the stakes for their match. The pair agreed to a stipulation that states that should Priest retain, Rollins will be barred from challenging for the title as long as Priest is the Champion. However, if Priest loses, he will have to part ways with The Judgment Day.
