After going through x-rays, CT scans, and an MRI, Saraya was officially cleared on Halloween. She said she called her parents and was “crying my eyes out.” She sent the picture from her doctor to Paquette. Saraya is clear on what she can and can’t do. She said “I’m not going to get kicked in the back of the head again — which was my fault, you guys. Again, that was my fault.”
Saraya is referring to a house show from December 2017. She was in a six-woman tag match in Long Island. Sasha Banks kicked her really hard and it resulted in a stinger and losing the feeling in her extremities. At the time, the injury was believed to be career-ending.
Saraya Tells Sasha Banks
(via WWE)
One of the first people she texted after being cleared was Banks. “All of that stuff can mentally fuck someone up to like, end someone’s career. All her fans were attacking me and all my fans were attacking her — well not all of them, a small percentage — but they were all attacking each other. (…) They still send me tweets like, ‘I’m so glad Sasha broke your neck’ and people tweeting her like, ‘how dare you end someone’s career?’ She’s not unsafe, it’s just an accident. It happens in wrestling, that’s what we sign up for.”
Saraya read the text that she sent Banks. “I just said ‘Hey sis, I just want to let you know this because I know that this stuff was really tough on you mentally. But my doctor just cleared me and told me my neck is 100 percent ready to go. I haven’t told anyone else, but I know this will make you feel good: I’m back. Haha'”
Saraya says Sasha was over the moon. Saraya said she told her that she doesn’t want her to feel bad anymore. Having the time away was for the best in the long run because she could focus on herself and get healthy and sober. “I just feel like it was meant to be and I healed in record time. It’s been five years and I’m officially back. It’s pretty fucking inspiring.”
There are two stars that Bray Wyatt would like to see Paul Levesque (Triple H) bring back to the WWE that had been released during the COVID-19 pandemic alongside several other names because of what was blamed on “budget cuts.”
Wyatt was also let go by the company when Vince McMahon was still running things as he departed in July 2021, only to return last month at the Extreme Rules event after several weeks of teases that were dropped throughout WWE’s shows.
Since taking over talent relations and main roster creative, Triple H has brought back several names, including Wyatt, and it appears fans shouldn’t expect that trend to end any time soon.
The Names
While speaking with GiveMeSport, WrestleVotes stated that Wyatt wants to work with two specific names: his real-life brother Bo Dallas and former Wyatt Family member Erick Rowan.
“There’s people that Bray likes and people he wants to work with. Bo Dallas is one of them and so is Erick Rowan. If Erick wants to come back, I’m sure they’d allow that if Bray also wanted it.”
There have been rumors that Wyatt will lead a new faction called the ‘Wyatt 6.’ As of late, Wyatt’s promos have been interrupted by a dark character known as ‘Uncle Howdy,’ whose actual identity has yet to be revealed but is speculated to be Dallas or an alter-ego of Wyatt himself.
Bo Dallas and Eric Redbeard have both spoken about the possibility of returning to WWE. Back in April, Dallas announced that he’ll be returning to wrestling “really, really soon.” More recently, there have been reports that his WWE return is imminent.
Last month, Redbeard said the door is open for a WWE return. He told NBC Sports Boston, “There’s always [an] opportunity and my story within wrestling. That character of Erick Rowan or Erick Redbeard, it has so much left to tell and talk about. I think when I stepped aside when Covid happened and people were let go, I wasn’t ready for my story to stop.”
5 WWE Superstars who can Challenge Gunther for the IC Title
Bobby Lashley wants to fight Brock Lesnar for a third time after feuding with the fellow former WWE Champion throughout 2022.
Their first match took place at the Royal Rumble in January, where Lashley beat “The Beast” for the WWE Title. However, Lashley lost the title at the Elimination Chamber event in Saudi Arabia in February but was never pinned or submitted as WWE did an injury angle to get Lashley out of the match as he was dealing with a shoulder injury.
At Crown Jewel, Lesnar beat Lashley, although”The All Mighty” laid him out with a post-match attack. During an appearance on WWE’s The Bump this week.
Lashley made a comment about the defeat and stated he intends to finish the trilogy after emphasizing that he won the fight, not the match. Lashley said that he would be there to greet “The Beast Incarnate” when he decides to return.
Bobby Lashley’s Idea
Lashley proposed that their next match occurs outside the ring, where they could fight in a street brawl. If not, he suggested that their third encounter should be something unique to reflect the level that which Lesnar has raised their rivalry.
“He’s making it personal, and if it he makes it personal, okay, we fight at a different level. That’s why, at Crown Jewel, I didn’t care about winning the match. I wanted to kick his ass, and I wanted to let him know that I don’t appreciate what he’s been doing this entire time, that he’s been making it personal. If you make it personal, it’s a street fight. So the next time we fight, I don’t even think it should be in a ring. I think we should go fight outside. I think we should grab, YouTube, let somebody grab a camera, meet us out in the street, and let’s beat each other down and see who doesn’t get up afterwards. I mean, I don’t know. It has to be something else because if he wants to make it that way, then we gotta go and fight that way, and I’m okay with it. I’m okay with fighting any way,” Lashley said.
Before Crown Jewel, Lashley expressed his confidence that his rivalry with Lesnar would continue after the show, and it looks like that will be the case.
Saraya came to AEW in part because for her friendship with Paquette. When she signed with the company, she told Paquette she didn’t 100 percent know what she was going be doing. “I know I’m going there to support the division in some way on TV or behind the scenes. You know, I’m just there to try and help as much as possible. The division’s doing really well, it can always be elevated.” She said that’s why Madison Rayne is there too.
“When I came in, I didn’t really know what the deal was. I knew I was going to be a part of something and I was going to be part of something special. Then, when I got there — the great reaction when I walked out — oh my God! You cannot throw a wrestler out there and tell them they can’t do anything. (laughs) I came to terms with not being able to wrestle anymore and that’s fine.”
“A couple years ago, I did do some x-rays and they were looking great. I didn’t do the full MRI, but I did do the x-rays a couple of years ago. There’s not like the perfect read on your neck. X-rays of the bones, but you can see everything like all the inner workings of your neck; like the important part. You know they can see exactly how much fluid is around there. It’s really crazy how an x-ray works. And a CT. I just did the x-rays, so I was a little nervous about doing the MRI.”
Stone Cold Inspired Her To Wrestle Again
via WWE.com
She thought things looked good, but didn’t want to rush anything. The return of Edge and Stone Cold Steve Austin having a good match without any bumps was really inspiring. After seeing Stone Cold versus Kevin Owens, she thought “I could do a Stone Cold match.” She told Tony Khan her idea. He told her that they did tag matches with Sting and suggested doing that for her, but she wanted a singles match if she came back.
Saraya clarifies that Dr. Sampson didn’t “clear me for anything.” She said when she first went out there with Baker, she didn’t ask for clearance. He advised her not to take a bump. If she wanted to wrestle, she would have to have x-rays, MRIs, and CTs. Saraya agreed, but didn’t want to see a doctor associated with wrestling because “there’s a little bit of bias there. I don’t want to make the same mistake where I came back and I was like, wrestling every single day and just doing all these crazy things. I really want to be aware and careful of my neck this time. I want to get to the nitty gritty of what my neck looks like and if I’m even going to be paralyzed because that would be the biggest scare that if I did wrestle, I could potentially get paralyzed.”
Saraya Gets Medically Cleared with No Restrictions
(AEW)
On Halloween, Saraya went to a doctor in California. He has seen patients that compete in the NFL, NBA, and actors and actresses that are action stars. She thought he was perfect because he’d tell her no if he didn’t think she should wrestle and also his job would be on the line if he cleared her when he shouldn’t have.
Although her x-rays looked good, he said “we still have to triple check.” She went downstairs for the MRI and across the street for CT scan and then brought them back in the same hour. Upon hearing the news that she was cleared, she burst into tears. She said she started asking questions like, ‘what about the fluid in my neck?’ The doctor told her the fluid was back and her “fusions look perfect. There’s no fractures above and below, there’s no issues.”
He also told her that paralysis is rare. “If you get kicked there, you have some cushion now.” He advised her to take time if she isn’t feeling well. When she asked how many matches she can have, he told her “let’s take it easy. Like, one match a month and then gradually start building up.”
Full Gear is live from the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ on Saturday, November 19.
After going public with his announcement that he would be leaving the company once his contract expired on January 1, 2023, the NWA has suspended Nick Aldis.
The former World Heavyweight Champion has been the face of the promotion for the last five years as he was the top champion for over 1000 days during that time.
Matt Cardona, a former NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion himself and set to face Aldis at NWA Alwayz Ready before he suffered a bicep injury, has given his thoughts on Aldis leaving the promotion.
Matt Cardona on Nick Aldis
Matt Cardona as the NWA champion
“That’s unfortunate. Nick and I, we have some unfinished business, we were supposed to wrestle at Alwayz Ready, but obviously, I got injured. I feel he’s a great opponent of mine. I don’t think he liked when I came to NWA because it was his baby and he did such a great job representing the NWA, being the face of NWA, he’s got all the tools and I wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors,” he said while appearing on This Is Pro Wrestling.
At this Saturday’s NWA Hard Times 3 event, Cardona will challenge for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in a triple threat bout against Trevor Murdoch and Tyrus.
All Elite Wrestling has additional content plans in the works.
A new report from Fightful Select touches on excitement within Warner Bros. Discovery over the new AEW docuseries that is currently filming. There had been speculation about AEW’s future with WBD after the recent merger, but things are looking more positive as a WBD source stated AEW will likely be offered a renewal with a significant increase on their rights fee deals when the time comes.
Positive News
The two sides have been collaborative and open to input from one another. The WBD source noted this year has been a huge rebound year for interest in pro wrestling across the board and that it came at the perfect time for AEW and WWE.
As previously reported, AEW began filming their new docuseries at the recent Dynamite event in Baltimore that will focus on the behind-the-scenes aspect of the promotion and through the experiences of several wrestlers, which is the point of the series.
Although not confirmed, the belief is the project will air on TBS in early 2023. All Elite Wrestling did give wrestlers the option to not be involved in the project, but there’s no word yet on which wrestlers the series will focus on.
Filming is set to go on for six weeks, through the Dynamite event on December 14 at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, TX. AEW President Tony Khan will serve as Executive Producer, while Shed Media Executive Producer Sam Berns will assist with the new series. Production is a collaboration between WBD and Shed Media.
Cena’s thriving Hollywood career has kept him away from the ring, with his most recent televised match taking place all the way back at Summerslam 2021.
John Cena has faced some of wrestling’s biggest names at WrestleMania, including Bray Wyatt, The Rock, the Big Show, and Shawn Michaels, but who is next for Big Match John?
4 – Austin Theory
Is the long-rumored Cena-Theory match destined to happen at WrestleMania?
To many people, the most obvious choice for WWE, a match between Cena and Theory makes a lot of sense.
It was earlier this year that the two teased a feud, with both men throwing shade at one another on social media.
At the time, fans predicted that a match at Summerslam 2022 was bound to happen, likely for the U.S. Title Theory held earlier this year.
That of course didn’t happen, and while he’s confident the Cena match will come in time, Theory has been on a downward spiral since then, recently failing in his Money in the Bank cash-in attempt.
At just 25 years old, Theory is a star WWE could get a lot out of for years, possibly decades to come, but they need to have that big win.
A match with Cena would be a fantastic mix of generations, and if Theory was to get the win, would set the cocky heel back on track on his road to the main event.
3 – Logan Paul
Logan Paul wowed fans with his gutsy performance against Roman Reigns at WWE Crown Jewel 2022.
Fans may love him or hate him, but there’s no denying Logan Paul’s talent in the ring.
In just three matches, Paul has shown that he can hang with full-time WWE Superstars, and he could soon be sharing the ring with John Cena.
Cena’s thriving Hollywood career and Paul consistent YouTube fame would guarantee the match mainstream exposure, something WWE always wants, especially for WrestleMania.
The story would not need to be too complex, and while WWE could go with a heel Paul disrespecting the legend, the feud would also work as face vs. face.
It could be as simple as Paul saying that he wants to prove himself by facing the best, and boom! John Cena storyline, and Paul recently tweeted interest in the match.
The big question however is Paul’s recent injuries, which are expected to keep him out for the foreseeable future, and could force him to miss WrestleMania.
With that said, Cena himself became known for recovering from injuries at a near super-human rate, and if Paul can match that, then this unlikely dream match is a possibility.
2 – Intercontinental Champion GUNTHER
2022 has been the year of the Austrian powerhouse GUNTHER, who could have a war with John Cena.
As anyone who watches SmackDown will know, 2022 has been the year of GUNTHER.
Debuting on the blue brand earlier this year, the Austrian quickly captured the Intercontinental Championship and has held on to it with an iron grip.
Of course, GUNTHER’s rise to prominence has come during Cena’s hiatus from wrestling, but a match between the two would be a spectacle.
The clash of styles alone would make this a potential Match of the Night, and the story would play into Imperium’s quest for respect for wrestling.
This match is more than wishful thinking, however, as like Paul, GUNTHER has also addressed rumors of a match, and is all for facing Big Match John.
Should he hold the Intercontinental title that long, there would also be the possibility of John Cena finally winning the gold and becoming a Grand Slam Champion, one of a select few accolades not on his resume.
GUNTHER’s title reign has done wonders to bring prestige back to the Intercontinental Championship, and having the biggest star of the past two decades would certainly add to that.
1 – Randy Orton
It’s been over five years since the two veterans faced off. Will WrestleMania 39 mark the end of one of WWE’s biggest feuds?
All matches so far are never before seen bouts, but what if WWE wants an opponent Cena is VERY familiar with?
Holmes and Moriarty. Batman and The Joker. Some opponents are made for each other. Orton and Cena are such a pair.
Fans may groan at the idea of seeing YET ANOTHER Cena-Orton match, but bear in mind that it’s been five years since their last bout, and close to nine years since their last match at a Premium Live Event.
Cena and Orton are two of WWE’s biggest stars, and a rematch (especially one billed as their final collision) is worthy of WrestleMania.
But there’s another reason why this match makes sense for WrestleMania 39: Time.
As we’ve seen, Cena isn’t around as much these days, and it’s not impossible to think that WrestleMania 39 could be the last time he competes at WWE’s flag-ship show.
There’s also questions that need to be raised about Orton, who’s missed most of 2022 with an injury, and is expected to miss the rest of this year.
If WWE wants one final epic Cena-Orton match, then the window of opportunity is closing, and WrestleMania 39 could be a fitting send-off for one of the biggest feuds in wrestling.
Gunther has been pushed as a top star on WWE SmackDown since being called up to the main roster earlier this year and booked strongly as the Intercontinental Champion.
Over the last week, it’s been rumored that John Cena will make his return to WWE for another match at WrestleMania 39 next year in LA. There has been speculation about Cena wrestling Gunther at this show.
At this point in his career, Cena is considered a legend who will occasionally work a rare televised match.
Gunther was interviewed on Steve Fall’s Ten Count YouTube channel before this year’s WWE Survivor Series in Boston later this month. During it, Gunther talked about the rumored match.
Gunther on the Match
“Of course, we could see it. I don’t know what’s going to happen or if it’s going to happen. Obviously, that’s something I would love to do. John Cena is one of the legends. Because he’s not really active at the moment anymore, he just pops up, but when he does, if the chance is there for me, I’ll gladly take it. One of, if not the most popular babyface in this sport of all time. I think I would be a great counterpart to that. I would love to do it.”
Cena’s last match was in August 2021 when he teamed with The Mysterios (Dominik Mysterio & Rey Mysterio) to defeat The Bloodline (Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso & Roman Reigns) for a SmackDown dark match while his last televised match was a loss to Reigns in the main event of SummerSlam 2021.
Who is winning the war between WWE and All Elite Wrestling? Well in the UK, it’s hard to tell.
In May 2019, months after launching, AEW announced a partnership deal with ITV for their weekly programming and Pay-Per-Views to be aired.
After ITV Box Office ceased operations in January 2020, the promotion’s Pay-Per-Views were no longer streamed by the broadcaster.
The Ratings
During this week’s AEW Dynamite, it was announced that the promotion will host its first UK event next year.
The UK is known for its wildly passionate fanbase, as the success of WWE Clash at the Castle can attest.
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer explained that AEW is consistently improving in the ratings thanks to a new timeslot.
“Because the ratings have been good, ITV 4 [AEW’s host channel] decided to move it to 9 pm every Friday night. That is a regular time slot. It won’t be revolving around. What happened the first couple of weeks is the new timeslot, the numbers were way down. Not way up, because people didn’t know about the timeslot change. But every week the ratings have gone up and up and up.
“Last week, they set their all-time record rating, not just for that time slot but since Dynamite has been on the air.”
Popularity
Typically, ratings can tell you what is the more popular show, and this metric can often shape future deals for companies.
As Meltzer explained, this isn’t the case with the UK, as WWE remains the more popular show despite what the numbers say.
“Ratings and popularity are not the exact same thing. Because they are on a station that is stronger in England than WWE is, as far as exposure, their ratings dwarf WWE in England. WWE just ran in Cardiff and did 53,999 paid attendance and an $8 million house, and AEW is not going to do that. AEW’s ratings dwarf WWE but WWE is more popular in England, and by a significant margin.
“In this case, the ratings do not tell you which is the more popular promotion, even though more people by far watch Dynamite than any other show. More people watch Rampage than watch Raw or SmackDown in England.”
It is unclear when exactly in 2023 AEW will make their UK debut, while WWE’s next events in the UK will be in April next year.
Another NWA star is done with the promotion just days after Nick Aldis announced his intention to leave when his contract is up.
Aldis, arguably the NWA’s biggest star since its 2017 revamp, made his announcement last week and has been suspended from the promotion.
The two-time former NWA Worlds Champion has been openly critical of NWA President Billy Corgan who he claims disrespected Mickie James ahead of and after NWA Empowerrr.
Taryn Terrell
Aldis’ contract with the NWA will expire in January 2023, and Taryn Terrell is also set to leave the promotion.
Fightful Select reports that Terrell gave her notice last month, and has expressed concerns about the lack of direction in the show.
Terrell, who worked as Tiffany in WWE’s ECW, wrestled in ten matches during her time with the NWA.
Her most recent match saw Terrell and Natalia Markova lose to Max the Impaler in a handicap tag match on the August 31, NWA USA Taping.
When Fightful reached out to Terrell, they were unable to get a statement, and NWA did not confirm if she is leaving when asked.
Injury
Taryn is unhappy with the promotion’s direction moving forward, but that isn’t the only issue with the company.
Terrell is also said to be unhappy with how the company reacted when she suffered a head injury during a match.
It is unclear which match Terell suffered her head injury in or how the injury happened.
The 36-year-old had hoped to finish up her remaining dates with the company but is unable to.
What was Bret Hart told prior to his infamous Survivor Series 1997 WWF Championship match with Shawn Michaels?
The match, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this week, saw Hart lose via submission despite never tapping out to the Sharpshooter.
Hart had informed WWE higher-ups that he was leaving for WCW, but had creative control that meant he could refuse to lose to Shawn Michaels, his real-life rival at the time.
The Match
Clocking in at under 20 minutes, the match is one of the shorter bouts Hart and Michaels had especially compared to their WrestleMania 12 Iron-Man classic.
Speaking to Sports Illustrated this week, Hart explained how the match had only just gotten started when Vince McMahon called for the bell.
“We had another 25 minutes. The match was already good, and we hadn’t even hit our stride… Even when we didn’t get along, Shawn and I always had great chemistry together in the ring.
“That match was just starting. All the brawling was done just to set up the actual match. It was going to really get going after I reversed his sharpshooter. We pictured the crowd standing up and going crazy. That was going to be the moment when it took off.”
Bret would leave the WWE immediately after the show, but not before laying out McMahon with a black eye backstage.
After a 2006 WWE Hall of Fame induction, Hart would return to WWE fully in 2010 and has made appearances since.
Bret Today
Despite being deeply hurt for years over the Screwjob, Hart has said he is in a much better place these days.
Looking back at his career, the Hitman is proud of what he did despite the Screwjob.
“I’m proud that people still appreciate what I did. When I wrestled, I wanted to have the best match I could every night. I never believed in going to a certain city and taking it easy. I gave 100% every night.”
Hart is one of a select few to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame twice, first in 2006 and then in 2019 as part of the Hart Foundation.
Austin Theory’s attempt to cash in his Money in the Bank contract was frankly ‘bizarre’ according to Elias.
On Raw, Theory made history as the first man to cash in the contract not for a World Championship, as he challenged United States Champion Seth Rollins.
Thanks to an attack by Bobby Lashley, Theory was unsuccessful in cashing in on Rollins, who retained his title after a curb stomp.
Bizarre
WWE’s booking of Theory’s cash-in has received mixed reviews from fans, who have questioned why he’d not challenge for the Undisputed WWE Universal Title.
Speaking on The Bump, Elias gave his two cents on the matter, and found the events on Raw strange.
“I thought the whole thing was a little bit bizarre. First off, it’s an open challenge. So what are you doing in the first place? Secondly, then he wants to use it on a random Monday Night RAW.
“If I was Austin Theory and I had the Money in the Bank, I would have waited for a way bigger moment, and maybe somebody like Roman Reigns when they were vulnerable. So hey I get it. Seth, he’s resilient, he did it again, he came out on top. But as for Austin Theory, I think the whole thing’s bizarre all around.”
Responding to his loss on social media, Theory said he’ll “never stop” and remained optimistic despite the defeat this week.
Behind the Scenes
Many have questioned if Theory’s loss this week is down to WWE’s change of management backstage.
When Vince McMahon was running WWE, Theory seemed poised to be the company’s next big star.
Since Triple H was appointed Head of Creative and Talent, Theory has suffered a three-month-long losing streak, as well as his failed cash-in attempt.
Theory’s cash-in was produced by Jason Jordan, who produced all segments related to Seth Rollins on this week’s Raw.
Sammy Guevara was in no mood for sportsmanship after this week’s AEW Dynamite wrapped up filming.
This week’s Dynamite took place from the Aggannis Arena in Boston, Massachusetts, and saw the promotion continue on the road to Full Gear.
Guevara and Danielson
In the main event of this week’s AEW Dynamite, Sammy Guevara faced off against Bryan Danielson in a two-out-of-three falls match.
The first fall saw Danielson get a DQ victory after being hit in the face with a steel chair by Guevara.
A rising knee strike to a bloodied Danielson quickly tied the score, with one victory each.
The tiebreaker fall saw Danielson win the match via submission, locking in the former three-time AEW TNT Champion into a double arm-bar submission.
After the show, Danielson offered his hand in a sign of respect, but Guevara did not shake back.
Instead, the Spanish God flipped off Danielson and stormed off to bring the show to an end.
Facing off Again
Guevara didn’t get the win this week, but will get another shot at Danielson at next week’s AEW Full Gear 2022 Pay-Per-View.
The pair will be joined by Claudio Castagnoli and Ring of Honor World Champion Chris Jericho in a four-way match for the Wizard’s title.
This week’s Dynamite also saw Saraya confirm that she is medically cleared and will also compete at Full Gear where she’ll face Britt Baker DDS.
AEW Full Gear will be headlined by AEW World Champion Jon Moxley defending against MJF, who earned a title match by winning the Casino Ladder Match at All Out.
“I still have a year under contract, a little less than a year, and I’m gonna try to do the best I can and entertain as much as I can because I still love it and am pretty passionate about it.”
Dustin Rhodes.
In addition to being an on-screen performer, Rhodes also works as a trainer and coach for the company and has been praised for his efforts.
Retirement?
The former WWE Superstar had a lot of people believing his time was up with his post last month.
Addressing his health issues and possible retirement, Rhodes said he is doing much better now but realizes his time in the ring will be over soon.
“Knee is great. I’m feeling good. I’m ready to go back. I’ll be back very very soon, probably two weeks. Right now, I feel good.
“I am getting older and that kind of weighs on my mind a little bit… I’m getting older, they’re getting younger and faster. I know my time is short.”
If you weren’t listening carefully, you might’ve missed Tony Schiavone casually announcing that AEW is finally headed to the UK in 2023.
Tony Khan hinted earlier on Wednesday that the announcement was on the way. After promising a very “exciting newsworthy show”, he threw in UK ITV4 viewership news, including that the October 28th episode of Dynamite was the most watched episode ever.
I promise an exciting newsworthy show on Wednesday Night #AEWDynamite on @TBSNetwork TONIGHT
Before Dynamite tonight, some UK @ITV4 viewership data per @JohnWilliams004
September 2022: +14% vs 9/21 October 2022: +12% vs 10/21
October 28 episode most watched ever: 201k average!
On nearly every single media call, someone has asked when AEW is coming to the UK. Khan has long said he wants to hold a show at Craven Cottage. That venue is the home of Fulham FC, the Premier League football (soccer) owned by the Khan family.
Back when AEW was in the early stages, Khan flew the Young Bucks to the UK. While showing them around, Khan told them he wanted to hold a show there. The promotion had hoped to get there sooner, but the pandemic changed everything and made it impossible for AEW to go to the UK.
The inaugural Trios Champions appear to be on their way back to All Elite Wrestling at the Full Gear PPV on November 19th.
During tonight’s edition of Dynamite, AEW aired another video package featuring The Elite. Kenny Omega and Young Bucks can be seen with Cody Rhodes, Finn Balor, Kevin Owens, and other wrestlers in the video.
The video features graphics from Full Gear and that appears to be the date Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks will return.
Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks defeated Death Triangle at AEW All Out on September 4th to become the first Trios Champions in company history. Their title reign lasted a few days before they were suspended for their part in a backstage brawl following the PPV.
Jon Moxley and CM Punk had a rivalry leading into the PPV. Moxley had won the AEW World Championship from Punk on an episode of Dynamite two weeks before All Out. The legendary Ace Steel talked Punk into accepting Moxley’s Open Challenge for the AEW World Championship at the PPV. CM Punk wound up accepting the challenge and defeated Moxley to become the AEW World Champion for the 2nd time (without a single title defense).
After CM Punk won the title in front of his hometown crowd, he was confronted by MJF to set up the third match in their rivalry. However, that likely will never happen as the former AEW World Champion went on a tirade after the PPV that had very little to do with winning the title ten minutes prior. CM Punk had also torn his triceps during the match, which would likely have resulted in having to forfeit the title.
The rant led to AEW EVPs Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks confronting the champion in his locker room. According to various reports, the door either was kicked open by The Elite and hit Larry the Dog in the face, or The Elite politely knocked. The truth is likely somewhere in between.
What has been confirmed is that a brawl broke out, CM Punk reportedly threw the first punch, Ace Steel hurled a chair at Nick Jackson, bit Kenny Omega, and was fired. The Elite now appear to be on their way back while there has been no word on the status of CM Punk. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer has stated that AEW has been negotiating with Punk for a buyout but nothing has come to fruition yet.
Satin mentions that in the post-WrestleMania scrum, Rhodes told Nick Hausman that he wasn’t mature enough for an EVP role. Rhodes clarified that while he said he wasn’t mature enough, what he thinks he meant was that “in that role, I did well.”
“I was very active and I did start a department, a community department. Brandi did bring Kulture City into the wrestling and sports entertainment space. So, we were very active in terms of all the facets and assets of that gig. But, I think that job was meant for — we wanted a wrestling company brought you by wrestlers. For sure, that’s a huge part of the mission — but maybe it would’ve been better served for me at age 45 then it did at age 33 or whatever it was.”
Cody Rhodes Can’t Be A Wrestler and a Boss Simultaneously
“I am just now entering the prime of my career. So the make political decisions like boxing myself out of winning a world championship, those decisions in hindsight were not the correct decisions and what I should’ve been doing.”
Rhodes declares that he’s the best wrestler. He said it isn’t being “braggadocios” because he lives and breathes wrestling. He says he treats wrestling like “an athlete would treat an NFL game.” Rhodes said, “I needed to go and be that. And I wanted to both and that was just too difficult and that’s where I didn’t have the maturity to balance it.”
Being on the backstage side of things, he feels he can “no longer be one of the boys.” If he had been in an EVP role later in his life, Rhodes feels like it would’ve served him better. “If I can’t be the best wrestler in the world on television because I’m afraid I’m going to offend colleagues because I am also their boss, that was the situation we were in and I just played it in the middle. There was only so much of playing in the middle that I could do and now I’m not in charge of nothing other than me and being a pro wrestler.”
Rhodes is currently rehabbing a torn pectoral muscle that he suffered earlier this year.
Jeff Jarrett made his shocking debut in All Elite Wrestling last week on Dynamite and took a shot at a WWE Superstar during tonight’s show.
5 Reasons MJF Should Win The AEW Championship at Full Gear
He attacked Darby Allin in his debut and bashed a guitar over his head. Double J cut a promo and vowed to be a prominent figure in AEW on and off the screen. Jarrett sent out a warning to AEW fans as well during the promo.
“By the time I’m done with this place, there will be full of body bags. So AEW fans, you can choke on that, Slapnuts!”
AEW President Tony Khan tweeted out that Jeff will be serving as the Director of Business Development for the company.
Welcome to #AEWDynamite to the new AEW Director of Business Development@RealJeffJarrett. I look forward to expanding the@AEW live events calendar in 2023 + in future years with JJ,@rmorfnyc,@mookieghana and our entire great AEW team. Jeff Jarrett is All Elite!
Jeff Jarrett Takes a Shot At Braun Strowman on Dynamite
On this week’s episode of Dynamite, Jeff Jarrett appeared following Jay Lethal’s win over Trent. He hyped up Jey as a wrestler that has wins over Sting and Ric Flair. Double J added that Sonjay Dutt has an IQ of 180 and they’ve taken over promotions all across the world.
AEW Full Gear 2022 Preview
Jarrett then brought up Satnam Singh and said he’s a real giant. He added that he’s not a “make believe monster in red skinny jeans produced by the banana nose factory”.
Jeff Jarrett: “this ain’t no make believe monster who wears red skinny jeans who is produced by the banana nosed circus”
Jeff Jarrett appeared at WWE SummerSlam as the special guest referee for the Undisputed Tag Team Championship match between The Usos and The Street Profits. After Triple H gained power, he let Jarrett go and replaced him with Road Dogg as the SVP of Live Events.
Ever since debuting in AEW, everyone has wondered if Saraya is cleared to wrestle. She has gotten physical a few times since being in an AEW ring. It was reported that she was clear, but Saraya would not confirm it.
On last week’s Dynamite, Saraya had a sit-down interview with Renee Paquette. They were supposed to be joined by Britt Baker, but she didn’t show. When Paquette asked her for her status, Saraya answered that she was saving it for next week because “there’s one more doctor I’ve got to see.”
Saraya Has Her First Match in AEW
During tonight’s Dynamite, Tony Schiavone led a segment with Saraya and Baker. It quickly devolved into a back and forth with plenty of WWE references.
Saraya announced that she was cleared right off the bat. She had MRIs, x-rays, and CT scans. “And unfortunately…for Britt, I’m a 100-percent cleared!”
After detailing her journey in the wrestling business, Saraya focused on how Baker was handed everything by Tony Khan. “Here’s another opportunity handed to you on a silver platter. This is going to be my comeback story and this is going to be the biggest match of your career. It’s going to be you versus me at Full Gear!”
25 years ago, The Montreal Screwjob presented one of the infamous moments in pro wrestling history. Yes, it was a pair of iconic in-ring and real-life rivals, main eventing Survivor Series–a PPV where they had significant history with one another. All the more so, it became the ultimate collision point of storyline and reality as management swerved Bret Hart on his way out the door to WCW, causing him to relinquish the WWE Championship via a phantom submission to Shawn Michaels, the one man he had refused to put over.
This moment in wrestling history has been discussed at great length over the last two and half decades and there remains a degree of debate over who was right or wrong and to what degrees or for what reasons. One point is undeniable: the Montreal Screwjob changed wrestling history. There were a handful of talents who wound up benefiting from this unlikely turn events either quite directly, or more circuitously in the long term.
The Rock
When the Montreal Screwjob went down, The Rock was still finding himself. Yes, he’d made major strides with a heel turn and adopting the Rock moniker, but he was still very much a mid-card act, working his way up the ladder. Although he was on good terms with and still speaks reverentially about Bret Hart, Rock was one of the parties who enjoyed the greatest benefits coming out of The Hitman’s fall from grace and departure from WWE.
Hart leaving WWE, followed by Shawn Michaels sitting out most of the Attitude Era from in-ring performance due to back issues left a major void at the top of the card. Steve Austin was already on a course to the tip-top of the business, but Rock and Triple H alike were two clearest cut main eventers in waiting who got a big boost from these openings.
Moreover, The People’s Champion became the man to benefit most directly in storyline, as one year after the Montreal Screwjob, The Great One applied the Sharpshooter on Mick Foley for planned finish that clearly paid homage to what happened to The Hitman. Vince McMahon called for the bell from ringside, gifting Rock his first world championship as WWE refused to shy away from the biggest controversy in company history, instead embracing it for storyline purposes.
Vince McMahon
Vince McMahon was an on-screen character for WWE since before he even took the reins of the promotion from his father. However, there was little to no acknowledgment of McMahon’s real life power, as he was instead portrayed as more of a straight-laced broadcaster. The Montreal Screwjob changed things, as there was a very public acknowledgment of who he truly was when Bret Hart literally spat in his boss’s face.
Fast forward to Survivor Series 1998, and the Montreal Screwjob was the premise off which the Mr. McMahon character screwed Mick Foley. In a single stroke, McMahon cemented himself as a kingpin heel authority figure, embraced the heat from what he’d done to Bret Hart, and set the foundation for he, himself to become a wrestler—most often portraying a conniving heel whom fans were all too eager to watch get his comeuppance.
Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan may seem like an unlikely pick to have benefited from the Montreal Screwjob, given he was in WCW when it happened and wouldn’t return to the WWE fold until over four years later. However, Bret Hart first appeared for WCW shortly after WWE screwed him, and his real life circumstances wound up feeding pretty directly into WCW creative.
As a riff off what had happened at Survivor Series, Starrcade 1997 saw Hogan and company screw Sting out of the WCW Championship. The execution was horribly convoluted and messy, but the net result was that, rather than Hogan dropping the title cleanly to Sting, a Screwjob premise, and Hart demanding the match restart created mass confusion and kept Hogan in the world title picture for months to come.
From there, while booking a babyface Hart vs. a heel Sting may have felt like one of the most natural first time dream matches WCW could’ve booked, they never really got around to it in more than a cursory way. So, Hogan remaining world champion and the top star of WCW after Hart had signed in many ways only enhanced his standing in the business.
Mick Foley
Mick Foley famously took a very strong, principled stand coming out of the Montreal Screwjob, condemning the way WWE had treated Bret Hart and almost walking out of the company before he got talked down. Foley’s ethics, which he laid out clearly in his first book, came across very positively to fans in shoring up his spot as a beloved and well-respected star of his era.
Meanwhile, Foley also enjoyed similar benefits to The Rock, in taking part in the Montreal-inspired storyline at Survivor Series 1998, and enjoying an ascent to the main event picture himself that it’s harder to imagine him getting had Hart or Shawn Michaels still been active on the roster.
Moreover, Vince McMahon was notoriously a bit arbitrary and eccentric about what behaviors would earn his respect. While neither McMahon, nor Foley has spoken directly to this point, it stands to reason that The Hardcore Legend’s willingness to take a stand coming out of Montreal may have also contributed to winning over the boss, and helping convince him Foley should eventually be a world champion.
Shawn Michaels
Perhaps the most obvious beneficiary of the Montreal Screwjob was Shawn Michaels himself. In many ways, he had already won his real life rivalry with Bret Hart after Vince McMahon reneged on The Hitman’s contract and all but ushered him out the door to WCW. There had to have been a bit of extra pleasure, though—petty as it may have been—in winning the last match the two iconic rivals would ever have, and in Canada no less.
HBK would only remain active with WWE for a few more months after hurting his back at the Royal Rumble PPV, and soldiering through just long enough after that to put over Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania 14. Nonetheless, wrapping the first act of his career as world champion after beating Hart set up Michaels to return as a top guy, too, when his body and personal issues allowed for a comeback in 2002. That follow up run would end up adding a great deal to his legacy, shoring up his spot as one of the greatest WWE Superstars of all time.
In the end, the Montreal Screwjob is generally looked at as a dark moment in WWE history. With their backs against the wall, WWE made regrettable choices around one of their top stars and their top title, dishonoring the business and fracturing a relationship with Bret Hart for a decade to follow. Nonetheless, there were a number of acts in wrestling who benefited from how things went down in the long term, regardless of whether they ever intended to.
One burning question since RAW went off air has been answered: WWE’s 24/7 Championship has been officially retired.
After making quick work of Dana Brooke in the ring, Nikki Cross became the 24/7 Champion. In a move that hurt the former champion more than anything that just happened, Cross pulled a Madusa and threw the 24/7 Championship into the trash can. There was immediate speculation that the title was no more.
On Wednesday, WWE confirmed the news by updating the WWE Championships section of their website. Underneath the 24/7 Championship, it has the dates 2019-2022.
The Legacy of the 24/7 Championship
R Truth as the WWE 24/7 Champion
The 24/7 Championship was initially viewed as a negative by fans. Eventually R-Truth would change that perception. He made it fun while people chased him all over to try to win the title. Some Superstars would win it, only to immediately lose it to him. He held the title a total of fifty four times. Overall, Truth held the title for an astounding 425 combined days.
A number of non-wrestlers were 24/7 champions including Bad Bunny (who took it with him to Saturday Night Live), Rob Gronkowski, Doug Flutie, Enes Kanter, Kyle Busch, Corey Graves, and Byron Saxton.
No Way Jose claims that he came up with the idea of the championship. “I might have the year wrong, but in December of 2018, I wrote to my writer, and I, word for word said, ‘What if we do a 24/7 Championship?’ I’ll pull it up right now. What if we do a 24/7 title that gives everybody something to do.”
R.I.P. 24/7 Championship. You had a good run while it lasted.
Chris Jericho wants to bring his Painmaker character to the big screen. Jericho believes his serial killer-inspired alter ego can hugely successful outside of pro wrestling.
AEW’s Inaugural World Champion recently appeared on Howie Mandel Does Stuff. During a discussion about super heroes, Jericho said The Painmaker has a comic book in the works and has a rich backstory that could put it on the level of super heroes like Batman, Superman and Spider-Man.
“The idea is to make it into a movie at some point. That’s my overall goal. We’re just writing and illustrating the graphic novel now.”
– Chris Jericho
The Painmaker Lore
“So the idea is The Painmaker is an intergalactic former serial killer. He’s changed his life, and he’s not a serial killer anymore, but now he travels the galaxy hunting down other serial killers in different galaxies, different planets.”
Jericho further explained what makes the character tick, and likened it to the character Dexter Morgan from the Showtime series Dexter. He’s already brainstorming ideas for a big love interest storyline.
“What if The Painmaker falls in love and can’t help himself, and he has to kill the one he loves?!” Jericho questioned. “Who knows? The possibilities are endless.”
The Painmaker first appeared in New Japan Pro Wrestling during Jericho’s feud with The Rainmaker Kazuchika Okada. He’s since appeared in AEW on several occasions.
AJ Styles is currently involved in a bitter rivalry with the Judgment Day. Finn Balor spent a few weeks trying to recruit Styles to Judgment Day but the Phenomenal One declinded.
The Judgment Day then attacked Styles and it led to Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson returning to the company to reform The OC. The group didn’t have an answer for Rhea Ripley and Judgment Day defeated The OC at Crown Jewel in a 6-man tag.
Seth Rollins issued an Open Challenge this past Monday on RAW and Finn Balor was about to accept it. The OC interrupted and Mia Yim made her return to the company. Mia attacked Rhea outside the ring and aligned with The OC in their battle against Judgment Day.
WWE legend Kevin Nash spoke about the Phenomenal One on a recent edition of the Kliq This podcast. The Hall of Famer revealed the advice he gave AJ ahead of his WrestleMania 32 match against Chris Jericho in 2016.
“I remember AJ’s first WrestleMania. He was just like ‘F*** man, I just want to get through this,’ because they ran him ragged. I said no, I said that’s what they do, they rob you of these moments. I said cherish this because one day you’re going to be my age knowing that you’re never going to get out there again, and you’ll wish to God that you savored this moment that you have right now.”
AJ Styles responded by telling Nash to f*** off.
He said ‘Well go f*** yourself.’ I said okay, I was just trying to help.
AEW Women’s Champion Thunder Rosa has been off of television since the Dynamite before AEW All Out on September 4th. The disastrous media scrum that followed took all the attention away from the current odd situation regarding the champion of the women’s division.
Thunder Rosa announced that she was stepping away with injury before the PPV. Toni Storm won the AEW Interim Women’s Championship at All Out and has since taken a couple of shots at Thunder Rosa. Britt Baker has as well and the AEW Women’s Champion recently responded on Busted Open Radio. She claimed that she will be back in January and that Toni should go talk to the booker if she has an issue.
Ivelesse battled Thunder Rosa at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville on a September 2020 edition of Dynamite. The NWA Women’s Championship was on the line during the match. It was a debacle with real punches being thrown and professional wrestlers no-selling each other. Ivelisse took to Twitter to remind the fans of when the current AEW Women’s Champion threw a shoot punch at her during Dynamite.
“Never forget the moment this b decided to be a coward piece of sh and shoot punch me when she was supposed to block my shot + something else, and also the balls to pull my hair this way. She lucky I’m a pro and didn’t proceed to break her jaw.”
Never forget , the moment this b decided to be a coward piece of sh and shoot punch me when she was supposed to block my shot + something else, and also the balls to pull my hair this way, she lucky im a pro and didn't proceed to break her jaw pic.twitter.com/Ms57FZlNQ0
Former AEW Women’s Champion Britt Baker also recently took a shot at Thunder Rosa during the SwerveCity podcast with Swerve Strickland. You can check that out in the link below.
It’s looking more likely that WWE is bringing back the King of the Ring tournament as a standalone event.
Dave Meltzer originally reported last week that “there is talk of bringing back the King of the Ring tournament with a show that would be both King of the Ring and Queen of the Ring.”
What was unclear about this report is how WWE would do the tournament. Originally, the tournament was held on a single night, while in later years, WWE spread out the opening round matches on television and saved the semi-finals and finals for the night of the event.
King of the Ring is Back
On Wednesday, WrestleVotes reported that there is a good chance the event is coming back and it will use the original format.
“There’s a very good chance that King of the Ring is back, and likely back in the format that had happened in the late 80s. The idea is that every single match will happen that night. In the 90s, a lot of the matches happened on Superstars and Raw, with the semi finals and finals on pay-per-view. If it’s going to come back on pay-per-view, which I would say is probably going to happen, you’re going to have a full-on one-night tournament.”
With WWE using the original format, it’s unclear how WWE would also do a Queen of the Ring tournament in a single night as there would be a lot of matches that would have to take place.
WWE recently filed a trademark application on the term Queen of the Ring, which you can read more about below.
