AEW presented Full Gear from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida last weekend. The show was the 4th and final PPV event for the company in 2020. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the show’s buyrate was consistent with what the company has done for previous shows.
“It looks to have done about the same as All Out in September and Revolution in February,” wrote Dave Meltzer. Those events both hovered around 100,000 buys.
Most AEW PPVs hover around 100,000 buys, with the only exception being May’s Double or Nothing 2020 event. That show featured the Stadium Stampede match pitting the Elite and Matt Hardy against the Inner Circle. It is estimated to have done 115,00 to 120,000 buys on PPV. This was just two months into the pandemic and at the time, PPV numbers were up for the UFC as well.
AEW’s Full Gear 2020 is projected to be around the same or slightly above what Full Gear 2019 is said to have done. That event is believed to have gotten around 100,000 buys or slightly lower.
AEW PPV Buyrate estimates:
Double or Nothing 2019 – approximately 100,000 buys.
All Out 2019 – approximately 100,000 buys.
Full Gear 2019 – approximately 100,000 buys or slightly lower.
Revolution 2020 – approximately 100,000 buys.
Double or Nothing 2020 – approximately 115,000 – 120,000 buys.
Despite receiving positive feedback to his cinematic Boneyard Match against AJ Styles at WrestleMania 36, The Undertaker has revealed he has some problems with cinematic matches.
“It really doesn’t appeal to me because basically what it is, is working around my limitations,” The Undertaker informed NYPost. “It’s capitalizing on some of my ability and some of my creative ability to tell a story but basically it’s trying to mask some of the lack of my physical abilities at this point.”
He explained how he came to the realization that he had “takenevery physical gift, tool that I have and have used it up.”
Undertaker then used water and a sponge as an analogy for how he currently feels. He shared how he had “rung everything I could get out of that sponge.”
When asked if he’s still training, The Undertaker shared that he continues to do so. However, he stressed that he’s not training in preparation for a matchup. Instead, he’s training and working out in an effort to stay healthy.
Originally making his WWE debut at Survivor Series 1990, WWE has recently been promoting a ’30 Year Anniversary’ for The Undertaker alongside its ’30 Days of the Deadman’ specials on the WWE Network.
WWE Survivor Series takes place Sunday, November 22nd from the Thunderdome in Orlando, FL.
WWE Legend Rey Mysterio has revealed how his son, Dominik Mysterio, was not meant to debut in WWE until 2021. The two recently joined Lilian Garcia as guests for her podcast, Chasing Glory.
“We weren’t expecting this opportunity so quick,” Mysterio told Garcia. “We were still giving it about another year of training. We started to negotiate with WWE for him to potentially sign a developmental deal and we said ok.”
Rey Mysterio shared how he instructed Dominik to travel to the WWE Performance Center and get himself ready. He noted that Dominik needed to be “ready by 2021.”
However, an opportunity to wrestle Seth Rollins arose that forced them to reassess their plans.
“This opportunity presented itself. I told him I can’t say yes or no. It’s up to you. However you feel,” Mysterio said. ‘As a parent, the last thing I wanted him to do is fail on his first try. I said all eyes are on you. It isn’t an indie show with no TV. You are live worldwide, SummerSlam, one of the biggest PPVs in WWE. He took the opportunity. He had been training for almost three years by then.”
Dominik Mysterio explained how he felt confident he could make the most of the opportunity. He highlighted how his training had taken him from “Tempe, to Calgary and then to come home to San Diego.”
He noted how the people had been training with and the positive feedback he received made him feel he could do it. Ultimately, “I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity that was being presented so I jumped on it.”
Dominik Mysterio debuted at WWE’s SummerSlam pay-per-view. He competed in a losing effort against Seth Rollins in a Street Fight.
“She’s been having talks about coming back and doing something together with [her twin sister], Brie [Bella],” Chigvintsev revealed to USWeekly. “They both have kids, and I feel like they still have this unclosed chapter with wrestling. I would not be surprised.”
His words follow Brie Bella’s recent comments expressing an interest in the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles in an interview with Michael Lopez on Access.
“When we left, all of the sudden the WWE Women’s Tag Titles came, and we’re like, ‘Wait a sec, that’s for the Bella Twins.’ Like, we’ve been dying to have tag titles, and so her and I feel like we have one more run in us, and we really want to go for those tag titles,” Brie Bella revealed.
While the twins have never held tag-team gold, they are both former WWE Divas Champions. Brie held the title once while Nikki had two reigns with the belt. Nikki’s 307 combined days with the title is second only to AJ Lee’s 406 combined days with that particular championship.
This week’s episode of NXT saw Johnny Gargano suffer an upset loss to Leon Ruff. This loss cost Gargano the NXT North American Championship in the process. The belief is that Ruff’s win is being considered a joke at Gargano’s expense. It is intended to be used to reinforce the idea the Gargano is a “cursed” champion.
According to Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline, Ruff’s victory was not done in an effort to turn the young talent into a major star. He reflected on how a Superstar coming in and winning a championship in their first bout is rarely done.
It was noted, however, that the technique has been used in the past. When done, it was intended to help get a Superstar instantly over with the crowd. Past Superstars who have won singles gold in their debut matches include Paige, Carlito, and Santino Marella, to name a few.
Leon Ruff: NXT North American Champion
It didn’t take long for people to congratulate Leon Ruff following his surprising victory and for Gargano to take issue with the loss.
Triple H reached out to Ruff via Twitter to offer his congratulations. After winning the match, the North American Championship actually fell off Ruff after he raised his hands to celebrate. Triple H commented on the moment in his tweet, joking how “That’s why we don’t call it a belt.”
You can watch Ruff’s surprise championship victory over Gargano below:
AEW President Tony Khan says wrestling fans have some big surprises in store in the weeks ahead
Khan teased that Wednesday’s edition of Dynamite would see the balance of power in wrestling shift. The show saw the debut of Jade Cargill, a a tease that Shaq is headed to AEW and the return of PAC, who has been out of action for several months during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some fans questioned if the “balance of power” shift was excessive hype. However, Tony Khan assured fans that there are some incredible moments still to come before the end of the year. He then noted that he has some “aces up the sleeve” that fans are sure to enjoy.
Thank you everyone who watched #AEWDynamite last night! A shift in wrestling’s balance of power has begun & the winners will be the wrestling fans. PAC’s returned after 8 months & I have aces up the sleeve in the weeks ahead. You won’t get them all at once but you’ll get them all
Following the end of this week’s AEW Dynamite, Khan took to Twitter to thank fans who tuned in and reflect on PAC’s return. He noted how the episode “opened a new chapter” for the promotion. Khan then promised how “indelible moments” are still ahead for Dynamite in the coming months.
Before PAC’s hiatus, forced due to travel limitations because of the coronavirus pandemic, he had debuted a stable with Penta El Zero Miedo and Rey Fenix, known as Death Triangle.
Following his time away from the promotion, however, the Lucha Bros eventually aligned themselves with Eddie Kingston and his ‘Family.’
AEW has announced that Jade Cargill is All Elite. AEW sent in word that Cargill has signed a multi-year deal with the company and will be part of the women’s division.
“I joined AEW because here I have a voice,” said Jade. “I’m ready to shake up the women’s division, and I’m going to flip this promotion on its head.”
AEW President Tony Khan touted Jade’s credentials and stating that her signing demonstrates their commitment to signing world class athletes as they build the Women’s roster.
Khan said, “I’m confident that fans will enjoy getting to know Jade’s strong personality and watching her development as a wrestler after her surprising confrontation with Cody and Brandi Rhodes last night on Dynamite.”
Jade Cargill made her official debut on this week’s AEW Dynamite. She confronted Cody Rhodes in a segment and took issue with Cody’s reputation for being a ‘Giant Killer.’ She said that she knows a giant – none other than Shaquille O’Neil. Shaq has expressed interest in wrestling Cody, so this latest development indicates we may actually see them in the ring together in some capacity.
After talking trash to the American Nightmare, Cargill was interrupted by his wife, AEW Chief Brand Officer Brandi Rhodes.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CHgYCFNhFoQ/
According to her official website, Cargill is a business owner, trainer and active mother. She played basketball at Jacksonville University and has a masters in child psychology.
AEW Dynamite scored another win over NXT this week in overnight viewership and the Adults 18-49 demographic. Here is the breakdown, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:
AEW: 764,000 viewers, 0.30 rating (17th on cable for the night)
NXT: 632,000 viewers, 0.16 rating (56th on cable for the night)
Both shows were up slightly from last week, when AEW had 717,000 viewers with a 0.30 rating (even) and NXT did 610,000 viewers and a 0.14 in the key demo. The Top 20 shows on cable were dominated by news shows once again, with only two episodes of ‘Real Housewives’ drawing better than AEW.
For comparison, Monday’s WWE Raw averaged 1.690 million viewers with a 0.54 rating.
You can find full results and our takeaways from both shows below:
Nikki Bella says ex-fiancé John Cena reached out to her and sister Brie after they gave birth to baby boys one day apart earlier this year.
The former couple got engaged at WrestleMania 33, but it was not meant to be. They broke off the engagement the following year. Nikki tells US Weekly that Cena called to congratulate the twins.
“So with the baby, he reached out to Brie and I both,” said Nikki. “We haven’t had an individual conversation in gosh, I don’t know how long, but it was very short and sweet!”
Nikki Bella has started a family with Artem Chigvintsev and John Cena is now married to Shay Shariatzadeh. They have both moved on with their lives, but Nikki says she and John Cena will always be tied together.
“John and I will be tied forever,” she said. “I get that, like, we had a public relationship on a reality show for six years. All I’ve ever wanted was for him to be happy. So, it makes me happy when I see that and, like, him kicking butt in the movie world and all that stuff. I love that!”
Nikki hasn’t wrestled since 2018, but teased that she and Brie might return for one last run in hopes of winning the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles.
Levis Valenzuela Jr, better known to wrestling fans as No Way Jose, was signed to WWE in 2015. The following year, he began portraying the No Way Jose character in NXT. He’d take the act to the main roster in 2018 but failed to make a big impact on the RAW brand. He was released along with many others in April.
According to a report from Fightful, however, WWE has interest in re-signing the 32-year-old. It is not altogether clear if he would be coming back under his old gimmick.
WWE recently filed to trademark the name “The Way” as well, leading to some speculation it could be related to Valenzuela’s return.
Shortly after being released, No Way Jose began taking indy bookings under the name Levy Valenz.
He’s only wrestled one match on record since leaving WWE. That occurred in August when he appeared on a Lariato Pro show in Georgia. He teamed with Doc Gallows on the card and they defeated the team of Air Paris & Aleksandr Koloff. His last match in WWE was on April 13th when he dropped a match to Bobby Lashley on RAW.
It happened. FTR wrestled the Young Bucks and now, many wrestling fans are rejoicing. The match that was years in the making took place at AEW Full Gear. The Young Bucks defeated FTR and won the AEW World Tag Team Championships for the first time.
Dax Harwood released a statement regarding the match. He posted the following to Twitter:
“The emotions of Saturday night have finally settled down. Thank you to everyone for the praise & admiration of this match. The texts and calls I’ve received from guys and girls who are considered the best in this business will never be forgotten. We poured every bit of passion, intensity, & fire we could muster up from the bottom of our soul to find out who was the best.”
“I had many sleepless nights because of this one match. The moment in time that our hands would be raised and we’d be called the greatest tag team of this generation actually scared me. What if we didn’t deliver on our behalf?! What if this one match completely tainted our legacy?! Money’s cool. Fame is cool. A legacy lasts forever.”
“Will it go down as one of the greatest tag matches in US wrestling history? I don’t know. My only hope is that we made you FEEL. I don’t care about the stars or the ratings. For 36 years, professional wrestling has made me FEEL. I still FEEL! With everything I have, I LOVE this sport. I’m happy this match could for you what many others did for me.”
“Young Bucks, I hope there’s a round 2. Top Guys, out.”
Leon Ruff scored a shocking win over Johnny Gargano on Wednesday’s NXT to capture the brand’s North American Championship. Ruff noted on Twitter that the victory was one of the greatest moments of his life.
The match came about when Gargano spun a wheel with various NXT wrestlers’ names on it to determine who he would defend the title against. In what turned out to be a short match, Ruff scored the victory with a crucifix driver after Damian Priest came out and distracted Gargano.
You can see footage from the Ruff vs. Gargano match here, in case you missed it on television.
Triple H congratulated Leon Ruff on his big win. In a memorable moment after the match, the North American Championship fell off Leon Ruff when he raised his hands in victory. Triple H joked, “That’s why we don’t call it a belt.”
Johnny Gargano was livid after his short title reign came to a dramatic conclusion. WWE released the following video Gargano complaining to NXT General Manager William Regal.
Overall, this was a pretty hot angle for NXT and an effective way to catapult newcomer Leon Ruff into prominence.
Peyton Royce and Billie Kay lost a match this summer to the Riott Squad that carried the stipulation that the losing team had to disband. Just like that, the former WWE Women’s tag-team champions were split up.
On RAW lately, Peyton Royce has been teaming with Lacey Evans. When WWE sent out a Tweet asking fans to give the pair a name, however, Royce responded that they were not a team. She added in that she would only ever form a team with Billie Kay.
Here is what Royce said on Twitter:
We are not a team.
I will only be in a tag team if it’s with Billie Kay. That’s it. The end. I’m dead serious.
“We are not a team. I will only be in a tag team if it’s with Billie Kay. That’s it. The end. I’m dead serious.”
She continued to say that her and Billie Kay can re-form their team once they have accomplished enough as singles competitors.
“The IIconics can return in years after we have both challenged ourselves & made exponential growth as singles competitors,” Peyton followed up with.
The Iiconics won the WWE Women’s tag-team titles at WrestleMania 35. They won a 4-way match and won the titles away from Sasha Banks and Bayley. They held the belts for 120 days before dropping them to Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross.
Cody Rhodes is the latest guest on the AEW Unrestricted podcast for the show’s season two premiere. The American Nightmare sat down with Aubrey Edwards and Tony Schiavone to discuss recently securing the right to use the Rhodes name, Dynamite’s first year TNT, his future and more.
Here are some highlights of what Cody Rhodes said abbout:
What fans can expect from AEW Dynamite in the coming year:
“In year 2, we’re going to make some big moves to expand the audience that are not so much moves that you would think we would make, but I’m excited about them.”
His future in pro wrestling:
“For the next 5 years, I want to wrestle at the absolute highest level I can wrestle, be part of the building of new stars, but I’m not going to apologize if my run continues at its rate. I’m going to ride the lightning bolt until I can’t anymore.”
The infamous Shawn Spears chair shot at Fyter Fest 2019:
“I told him [Shawn Spears] to swing from the side, and the last words I told him were, ‘swing for the fences,’ and when I landed, I don’t know if you can make out in the camera shot, but when I landed, my head is so stiff from the shot that I land the awkward landing when you have two falls, I muttered, ‘swing for the fences.’”
Cody also spoke his time driving John Cena around while at WWE and why he firmly believes that “nobody is a nobody” in pro wrestling. You can listen to the full episode in the player embedded below or at Omny.fm.
Wrestling won’t have to wait until February’s AEW Revolution pay-per-view to see Kenny Omega do battle with Jon Moxley.
Kenny Omega won the recent World Title Eliminator Tournament to earn a shot at AEW World Champion Jon Moxley. Some fans expected this match would headline Revolution, but AEW has announced this match will take place next month on Dynamite instead.
Jon Moxley will defend the AEW World Championship against Kenny Omega on the December 2nd edition of Dynamite. It is not hyperbole to say this will be the biggest main event in the history of AEW Dynamite. This match could easily headline a PPV.
Moxley and Omega have squared off once before in AEW. Last November at Full Gear, Moxley got the win in an unsanctioned Lights Out match that drew a lot of controversy due to the excessive violence.
ABSOLUTE VIOLENCE from both Omega & Moxley. Was this your match of the night at Full Gear? pic.twitter.com/K5SPCxcDDr
Kenny Omega will be Jon Moxley’s toughest title defense to date. Since parting ways with former tag team partner “Hangman” Page, Omega has been hell bent on proving to fans that he is still the “Best In The World” and capable of the type of matches we saw during his run in New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Several matches and segments have been announced for next week’s Dynamite broadcast. They include:
PAC vs. The Blade
Orange Cassidy vs. Kip Sabian
The Young Bucks vs. Top Flight (Non-Title Match)
Darby Allin & Cody Rhodes vs. Brian Cage & Ricky Starks
Plus, the MJF takes the Inner Circle to Las Vegas. As seen in the backstage photo from this week’s Dynamite, there are a lot of dynamics at play within this new incarnation of Chris Jericho’s faction.
Former WWE Superstar Ryback recently invited David Benoit onto The Ryback Show podcast. During the show The Big Guy would discuss with Benoit the differences in backstage atmospheres between AEW and WWE.
When Benoit stated that AEW seemed “a lot happier” backstage, Ryback would agree. “That’s the vibe from what I’ve been told. That starts from the top down” Ryback would begin.
Ryback Talks AEW vs WWE
“Wrestling is…I feel like it’s more of a ‘team atmosphere’ right now? Everyone realizes that they all need each other to do what they’re going to do” The Big Guy would continue, before making a huge claim about All Elite Wrestling. “I think they’re (AEW) going to be the number one promotion moving forward, sooner rather than later.”
Ryback would elaborate on the point, saying how WWE’s schedule is not conjunctive to a happy working environment. “With what they’re (AEW) doing? Even with the work schedule and how they’re treating the talent? I think it’s gonna force, it already has in a way WWE, to alter things a little bit.”
The Big Guy would finish by re-iterating that WWE’s schedule needs to change. With the COVID-19 pandemic stopping extensive travel it has somewhat calmed the talent’s constant movement; but there’s no guarantee that house shows will not be back in some form in 2021. “I’m a big believer that the work schedule [in WWE] needs to change. Because it’s just not conducive to a healthy lifestyle in any way shape or form.”
Ryback has in the past made these claims about AEW overtaking WWE as the top brand in wrestling. In the last few months he has ramped up his opinions on the ‘battle’ between arguably the two biggest promotions worldwide.
Do you agree with Ryback? Do you think that AEW can truly compete and actually beat WWE at some point down the road? Let us know in the comments
AEW Dynamite aired from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville. It was the first episode of Dynamite following Full Gear.
Dynamite Results 11/11
Brian Cage def. Matt Sydal
Natural Nightmares def. Butcher & Blade in a Bunkhouse match
Shawn Spears def. Scorpio Sky
Tay Conti def. Red Velvet
Pentagon def. Fenix
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Brian Cage Picked Up A Win
Brian Cage (Photo: AEW)
Team Taz kicked off the show. Taz said he was distracted by the brand new face of the network Darby Allin in the stands. Taz told Darby Allin to stay away from the ring tonight or he is getting his ass kicked. He said that if Cody shows up tonight he is getting his ass kicked as well. Brian Cage then battled Matt Sydal as Taz joined commentary.
Match Recap: Sydal sent Cage to the corner and hit him with a Dropkick. Cage connected with a Suplex and followed it up with a Backbreaker. Brian connected with a massive Clothesline that knocked Sydal to the canvas. Sydal sent Cage to the entrance ramp and hit him with a Meteora off the top rope.
Back in the ring, Cage battled back and hit another massive Clothesline. Cage went for the Drill Claw but Sydal reversed into a Hurricanrana for a near fall. Cage then connected with the Drill Claw for the pinfall victory. After the match, Ricky Starks said that they are going after Darby Allin’s TNT Championship.
Cody Rhodes came down to the ring to a great reaction from the crowd. Cody congratulated Darby Allin on winning the TNT Championship and claimed that he will not be seeking a rematch at this time. Cody stated that he is considering a rematch with MJF.
Jade Cargill interrupted and said she was the total package. Jade told Cody that he is not a giant and there is nothing giant about him. Jade mentioned Shaq and Brandi interrupted. Brandi told Jade to never talk to her man like that again and told Jade to get her “ratchet” ass off the stage. Rhodes called her a bitch and told Jade to get off the stage. Brian Cage and Ricky Starks then attacked Cody until Darby Allin made the save.
Opinion: This was an awful segment. I felt bad for Jade Cargill as she was rambling on and on. Brandi saved the segment from being a complete disaster. Cargill may be a nice addition to the roster but this was a brutal debut. Shaq in a wrestling ring is a publicity stunt that doesn’t interest me. This was one of the most WWE segments AEW has ever produced and went against everything they stated their product would be.
Moxley Will Defend The Title Against Omega On December 2nd
AEW Champion Jon Moxley
AEW Champion Jon Moxley was interviewed by Alex Marvez backstage. Moxley said that he realized at Full Gear that this championship represents everyone that cannot pay their bills right now and all the kids that get made fun of for being wrestling fans.
Jon said that it takes someone special to beat Kenny Omega twice and referred to himself as the greatest wrestler on the planet right now. Moxley wished Omega luck in his upcoming AEW Championship on the December 2nd edition of Dynamite.
Later on Dynamite, Kenny Omega was interviewed and he noted that Moxley has never defeated him in a traditional match.
Dustin Rhodes and QT Marshall battled Butcher and Blade in a Bunkhouse match.
Match Recap: Dustin hit Butcher with the Final Reckoning on a steel chair outside the ring. Rhodes hit Blade with a cowbell and turned around into a Crossbody from Butcher. Blade hit QT Marshall with a guitar and it busted him open. Bunny handcuffed Dustin to the turnbuckle as Dynamite went to a break.
When Dynamite returned, Butcher and Blade were still in control. Dustin had escaped and hit Butcher & Blade with a Clothesline. Butcher and Blade battled up a staircase and QT Marshall sprayed Butcher with a fire extinguisher. Dustin hit Butcher with a Bulldog through some hay and plywood.
Blade and QT traded punches in the middle of the ring. QT hit Blade with a trash can lid and then set up a ladder. QT climbed to the top of the ladder and connected with an Elbow Drop but somehow Blade was able to kick out at two. Dustin hit Butcher with Code Red for a near fall. Butcher and Blade slammed Rhodes on top of a couple chairs and went for the cover but QT broke it up. QT hit Blade and he fell back and knocked Bunny off the apron and through a table. QT hit Blade with the cowbell and then a Diamond Cutter for the pinfall victory.
The November 11, 2020 episode of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center.
WWE NXT Results
Leon Ruff def. Johnny Gargano to win North American Title
Santos Escobar def. Jake Atlas to retain Cruiserweight Title
Candice LeRae def. Toni Storm
Timothy Thatcher def. Dexter Lumis
Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch def. Breezango to retain NXT Tag Team Titles
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Toni Storm vs. Candice LeRae
Photo Credit: WWE.com
Toni Storm vs. Candice LeRae in a singles match took place. LeRae ended up winning the match.
Post-match, the mystery person came out and attacked Storm only for Shotzi Blackheart to try to make the save but the numbers were too much. The mystery person was revealed as Indi Heartwell.
Just last week on NXT, LeRae got involved in Storm vs. Blackheart, but that didn’t stop Storm from getting the win against Blackheart due to Blackheart being distracted by LeRae appearing on the video screen. Post-match, LeRae ran over Blackheart’s tank and destroyed it.
Not only was the tank crushed, but the feelings of Blackheart. If you recall, Blackheart stopped LeRae from being able to cheat via outside interference in her TLC Match against NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai on Halloween Havoc.
Blackheart laid the person in the Scream costume out and Shirai retained her title. Since returning to television last month, Storm has gotten wins against Aliyah and Blackheart.
Johnny Gargano defended his NXT North American Title against a mystery opponent, which turned out to be Leon Ruff.
In what turned out to be a short match, Ruff actually won the title when Damian Priest came out and distracted Gargano. This led to Ruff rolling up Gargano with a crucifix driver for the pinfall win. The match only went about four minutes.
On last week’s show, WWE aired a segment where Gargano cut a promo about having short title reigns and losing his first title defenses are the only blemishes on his legacy. Thus, he wanted a worthy opponent.
WWE picked his opponent by having names of several stars listed on a wheel that was spun to determine who he’d be facing. Priest, Roderick Strong, Pete Dunne, Dexter Lumis, Bronson Reed, Cameron Grimes, Austin Theory, Tommaso Ciampa, NXT Cruiserweight Champion Santos Escobar, Adam Cole, The Velveteen Dream, Kyle O’Reilly, Kushida, and Timothy Thatcher were listed.
Gargano won the North American Championship by defeating Damian Priest in a Devil’s Playground match at Halloween Havoc thanks to getting help from an unidentified person wearing a Scream costume.
Pat McAfee Wants To Talk
Pat McAfee walked out to the ring with the NXT Tag Team Champions Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch along with Pete Dunne. They showed off footage of their attack on Killer Dain from last week.
McAfee started out by saying that Dunne has been on a tear since coming back. He recalled attacking Kyle O’Reilly two weeks ago with a chair then slamming a door onto the head of Dain. He said that this is the best four-man group in the history of pro wrestling.
McAfee said that his business is worth $150 million, he got text messages from Tom Brady, and he almost died getting to Orlando due to a tropical storm. He called the fans the dumbest community on the internet. He joined commentary for the main event.
Once again, McAfee is a perfect fit to be the manager of this group.
Breezango got their rematch against NXT Tag Team Champions Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch.
This was a wild back and forth match. Lorcan and Burch successfully retained the titles as expected. This was their best match to date.
Another match between these two teams with the titles yet again being on the line. This division needs some help and quickly. As expected and despite the lack of booking, it was a fun match.
We actually saw the title change just two weeks ago when Pat McAfee returned to NXT to help Lorcan & Burch win the NXT Tag Team titles from Breezango. This started a four-person group with the introduction of Pete Dunne, which is a way to feud with The Undisputed Era.
Raquel Gonzalez vs. Xia Li in a singles match was set up when William Regal agreed to give Li the match after she asked for it last week.
Raquel has been pushed more and more lately after just being an enforcer for Dakota Kai. She had been in a feud with Rhea Ripley that recently ended. On the flip side, Li has been left on the sidelines to the point where she had to demand a match from the NXT General Manager.
It turns out that the match never happened. Instead, Big Boa, Li’s manager, came out to the ring to inform Raquel that there wouldn’t be a match tonight. As a result, Raquel attacked Boa and threw him into the barricade.
After Raquel hit her finisher to Boa, a mystery older man came out and gave a letter to Boa. He marked the hand of Boa then the two of them bowed. That was the segment.
AEW booked an interesting segment during this week’s episode of Dynamite. Cody Rhodes made his way out to the ring to cut a promo about how he wants another match with MJF and congratulated AEW TNT Champion Darby Allin on his win.
This led to Jade Cargill coming out, which marked her debut, to cut a promo about how Rhodes is a so-called, “giant killer.”
She’s been at ringside for several weeks and has been not only watching her competition but Cody as well. She noted she knows a giant of her own and revealed it was Shaquille O’Neal, or “Shaq.”
This led to Brandi Rhodes coming out and trading words with Jade. For those who may not know, O’Neal was backstage at this past weekend’s Full Gear. Shaq has previously teased wanting to wrestle Rhodes.
Jon Moxley did an interview with Fight Game Media and during it, he revealed that Eddie Kingston was not originally planned to be his most recent title contender.
Moxley successfully retained the AEW World Heavyweight Title against Kingston at the Full Gear PPV.
“I had a whole other set of plans for everything I was going to do with Lance (Archer), I had a whole different thing. I won’t reveal it in case I go back to it and do something similar. The thing with Eddie (Kingston), it was just a bridge for the night, like we have this big advertised main event but it’s 2020.”
Moxley continued by noting that the fans are sympathetic to the shows being changed at the last minute due to one of the wrestlers being in contact with someone who has COVID. Thus, his original match with Lance Archer was nixed and a new match with Kingston on Dynamite was made.
He knew as soon as the match was over after he had choked out Kingston that they had something as Kingston was saying he never tapped out and it was so obvious.
“So then, I Quit Match – four weeks of promos, easy money. I haven’t handpicked any opponent – whatever they’ve put in front of me for this whole title reign, whatever opponent, whatever style I just try to take on that new challenge every single time but this one I kind of gave a nod, it just makes all the sense in the world because we hadn’t finalized the plans yet for the pay-per-view.”
Moxley stated that Kingston said he never tapped and he instantly saw the whole story in his head. Moxley also noted that Tony Khan knew this as well so he gave them the confidence of doing the match at Full Gear.
#AEW champ Jon Moxley recorded another podcast with us. It will be up in a couple of hours.
James Storm made his return to Impact Wrestling as a surprise entrant in the Call Your Shot Gauntlet Battle Royal at the Bound For Glory pay-per-view event.
Just because he made an appearance at the show doesn’t mean he’s back in the promotion full-time.
The former TNA World Heavyweight Champion recently responded to fans on Twitter to clarify that he is not fully back with the promotion. Instead, he felt that he just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to come in to help out.
No. I was asked to come in and help out and that’s what I did. It was fun as wrestling should be and they have a lot of upside for sure. https://t.co/TVFFUheM7I
For those who may not know, the “one more” Storm is referring to is this Saturday at Impact Turning Point special. This is where he’ll team up with Chris Sabin to take on XXXL (Larry D and Acey Romero).
In addition to working for Impact, he’s still working shows for the NWA via UWN Primetime Live. This past Tuesday on the show he teamed up with Eli Drake in an NWA Tag Team Title bout against Aron Stevens and JR Kratos.
A few months ago, Storm made headlines by revealing that WWE was planning to bring him in and work on the main roster. However, the COVID-19 pandemic nixed those plans.
Jake Hager reflected on winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship while talking with Chris Jericho.
Hager went by the name of Jack Swagger in WWE and in March 2010, he was the holder of the Money in the Bank briefcase. This allowed him to cash-in to challenge for the WWE Championship or the World Heavyweight Championship at any moment.
Ultimately, he won the World Heavyweight Title by beating Jericho. However, original plans called for him to win the WWE Title from John Cena.
During an appearance on Talk Is Jericho, Hager talked about how things change.
“I had a little inclination, but I had no idea what was going to happen. The night before, I teased it on Raw. I hit Cena with the briefcase, I snuck up on him when he had one of his brilliant promo segments. Later, come to find out, he refused to do the job for me for the [WWE] Championship. We won’t talk about that. Ugh. ‘The most unselfish top man in the business.”
Hager also recalled how his night to win the title came about as he was in Phoenix and got a call about coming to Vegas. He got to the arena early and he’s waiting around for a meeting to start. He saw John Laurinaitis go into an office room then Jericho and Edge. He entered the room to get more details.
Hager recalled Jericho telling him to not screw up this chance and was being dead serious and very sincere. This made him think of his wrestling coach and that was the start of him looking up to Jericho while knowing that he knew he could trust him.
The title change happened on an episode of SmackDown in less than a week after he won the Money in the Bank briefcase at WrestleMania XXVI.
If it was up to The Young Bucks, they wouldn’t be the AEW Tag Team Champions right now.
Nick and Matt Jackson recently spoke with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated to discuss their title win over FTR at last Saturday’s Full Gear pay-per-view event.
In this interview, Nick revealed that they wanted to wait until 2021 to win the straps because they didn’t think it would hurt them to not be the champions. However, AEW President & CEO Tony Khan wanted them to win the titles now so the title change was made.
“If we’d won them right away, there wouldn’t have been a struggle for our characters,” Nick said. “We actually wanted to hold back for another year, so winning now was a Tony [Khan] call, but I’m glad it happened at the pay-per-view. It felt special, and winning it from FTR in this rivalry, in a match we never thought would happen, took it over the top.”
Matt noted that they wanted their story to be painful by losing and when fans thought they would start winning again, they’d lose more matches. He noted that they know the feeling of when that pain turns to celebration. However, they believe the right time for them was now after talking with Khan.
Matt thinks they worked in arguably the biggest tag-team match of the last five years and did so by coming out with the titles in the company we helped start.
New Japan Pro Wrestling and Bullet Club star Tama Tonga recently discussed his ‘dream’ tag team matches on the Tama’s Island podcast.
“I don’t want to name just one team, I’m gonna name three” Tonga began on the podcast. “From WWE? Probably The Usos. Then the other two would be FTR and Lucha Bros.”
Tama Tonga on Dream Matches
Tonga would go on to say why he chose those specific teams. “That would be the three just because of their unique styles. They all represent a style. I feel that my brother (Tonga Loa) and I can mesh with each one of those styles. We’ve been to Mexico, we’ve done the Lucha style. We do the ground and pound and we kind of have like an old school style mixed in our in our repertoire, that I feel like FTR would be into that style.”
Tama Tonga would then hype a potential match with FTR even further. There has recently been rumors of a potential AEW and NJPW partnership, so these could be some very telling comments. “Just even the promos battle with them” Tonga stated. “Because I just feel…like even on social media? The things that we would do? I watched their social media and I think they’re very good at trash talking.”
Tonga would finish by saying “we would try to match them, not only in the ring? But all the outside shenanigans you know? The social media crap.”
Would you like to see GOD vs FTR in AEW or New Japan? Are there any other AEW vs NJPW matches you want to see? Let us know in the comments
