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Scorpio Sky Wins Ladder Match, Ethan Page Makes AEW Debut At Revolution

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All Elite Wrestling held its Face Of The Revolution Ladder Match, which had a mystery entrant that turned out to be Ethan Page. 

It happened at Sunday’s (March 7, 2021) AEW Revolution pay-per-view event. Other competitors in the contest included Cody Rhodes, Scorpio Sky, Penta El Zero M, Lance Archer, and Max Caster.

https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1368761010492997634

It had the stipulation of the winner receiving an AEW TNT Championship match on the March 10 episode of AEW Dynamite against Darby Allin. The match featured Penta hitting the Candian Destroyer to Cody on the ladder wedged between the apron and barricade. Cody was taken to the backstage area. Rhodes later came back out and attacked Page. There was a big bump by Sky through a ladder. The finish saw Sky shoved Cody off the ladder and got the ring. 

AEW President Tony Khan stated during this week’s AEW Unrestricted podcast that the title match would happen, but if Allin couldn’t make the defense then he would be stripped of the title. 

On this same pay-per-view event, Allin teamed up with Sting against Brian Cage and Ricky Starks in a Street Fight. 

There had been some speculation as to who this mystery entrant would be. In fact, there was some confusion between this and the Hall of Fame-worthy talent signing promised by Paul Wight. Khan later clarified as the two were separate from each other. 

The Young Bucks Retain AEW Tag Team Titles At Revolution

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MJF and Chris Jericho took advantage of their shot at AEW gold when they challenged The Young Bucks for the AEW Tag Team Titles. 

The championship match took place at the AEW Revolution pay-per-view event on Sunday night. The match was memorable as The Young Bucks started things off by getting some revenge on the heels before the heels took over. 

There were various near falls throughout. At one point, Jericho went for the lionsault and the Bucks hit him with superkicks. The Bucks hit the Meltzer Driver to Jericho for the win. 

The match was set up on the February 3rd edition of Dynamite when MJF and Chris Jericho won a tag team battle royal. Jericho was the last man standing in the bout when he ended up eliminating Darius Martin of Top Flight to win. The last three men in the ring were Jericho, Sammy Guevara, and Martin.

The Young Bucks were also in the match but were eliminated when The Good Brothers helped Nick Jackson eliminate Isiah Cassidy of Private Party. Jackson started to argue with his friends and MJF ended up eliminating him due to the distraction. 

What are your thoughts on The Young Bucks retaining the AEW Tag Team Titles? Was this the right call by AEW officials? Sound off in the comment section.

AEW Revolution Street Fight Taped In Advance: Here’s What We Know

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Tonight at AEW Revolution, fans will get to witness a street fight between Darby Allin & Sting vs Team Taz’s Ricky Starks and Brian Cage. The match will not take place in front of the live crowd, however, as the cinematic match has already been taped.

SI.com’s Justin Barrasso confirmed recently that the match has been filmed ahead of time. Not only that, it evidently exceeded expectations.

“AEW Revolution note: The Team Taz-Darby Allin/Sting street fight was filmed ahead of time and is said to be a massive success,” Barrasso Tweeted.

“The match highlights Sting while ensuring he worked in as safe of an environment as possible; allowed Ricky Starks and Brian Cage to have some star-making moments; and gave Darby Allin – who had a chance to apply his film school background – more chances to be a daredevil,” he added.

“In this case, there is no denying that WWE’s loss is AEW’s gain. The failure to use the legendary Sting in a similar role, especially after proving in 2014 and ‘15 that he was still a legitimate attraction, is a considerable blunder for Vince McMahon,” Barrasso concluded.

This will be Sting’s first match since Night of Champions 2015. He was defeated by Seth Rollins on that night.

Dark Side Of The Ring Season 3 To Cover The “Plane Ride From Hell”

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Jim Ross recently revealed on the Sports Media Podcast that he spent four hours speaking to the producers of Dark Side of the Ring about the “Plane Ride From Hell.”

Ross’s comments confirm it will be the focus of one episode of the upcoming 3rd season of the docu-series. The infamous story took place on May 5th, 2002 on a flight back from a European tour.

“Yesterday, I spent four hours with the Dark of the Ring guys here in my home in Florida and talked about the plane ride from hell. I told them in the beginning, I said, ‘I don’t like this topic, I don’t like remembering this bullshit’.”

wwe plane

Amongst the many stories from that day include Brock Lesnar and Curt Hennig having a mid-flight amateur wrestling contest. Dustin Rhodes singing to his ex-wife on the PA also took place. Sean Waltman is also said to have cut off the mullet of Michael Hayes during the trip. Hayes and Bradshaw had been in a physical confrontation as well.

“It was a bad day at the office, it was one of the more darker days during my tenure as head of talent relations,” JR continued. “But it’s going to make a hell of a special for Dark Side of the Ring that was spawned by what they heard Conrad and I talking about on this podcast (Grilling’ JR).”

Dark Side Of the Ring Season 3 Topics

The updated list of confirmed topics for Dark Side of the Ring Season 3 is below:

  • Brian Pillman (Season Premiere)
  • FMW (Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling)
  • XPW (Xtreme Pro Wrestling)
  • Nick Gage
  • WCW/NJPW Collision In Korea 1995
  • The Smith Family (Grizzly Smith, Sam Houston, Rockin’ Robin & Jake “The Snake” Roberts)
  • Ion Croitoru (a.k.a. Bruiser Bedlam, Johnny K-9)
  • Chris Kanyon
  • Dynamite Kid
  • The Plane Ride From Hell

AEW Files To Trademark Paul Wight’s ‘Captain Insano’ Name From The Waterboy

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All Elite Wrestling filed a very interesting trademark on March 3rd, 2021. The company filed to trademark the term “Captain Insano” which just so happens to be the name of the character Paul Wight played in the 1998 Adam Sandler comedy film, “The Waterboy.”

AEW has listed video games, clothing, toys, and “Entertainment services, namely, wrestling exhibits and performances by a professional wrestler and entertainer” as to the nature of the filing.

There is also a children’s author named Christopher Williamson who has the term trademarked for a series of kid’s books. Website HeelByNature was the first to report on these trademark filings with the US Patent and Trademark office.

The 49-year-old Wight has numerous IMDB credits to his name, including as Captain Insano. Before appearing in the Waterboy, Wight performed in 96’s Jingle All The Way. He also had a role in 2010’s MacGruber. He starred in 2010’s poorly-reviewed film, Knucklehead.

The first television role Wight ever had was in 1994’s “Thunder in Paradise” starring Hulk Hogan. His role went uncredited but it led to him signing with WCW the following year. His latest role was as the star of Netflix’s “Big Show Show.” The series ran for 6 episodes before ultimately being canceled.

Pat McAfee and Bully Ray Tease AEW Revolution Appearances

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AEW will be presenting their Revolution PPV tonight from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida. Several talents have been rumored for appearances on the show; with the ladder match spot and ‘hall of fame worthy’ talent still to be revealed by the company.

A few different performers in pro wrestling have continued to tease that they’re heading to All Elite Wrestling tonight. NXT and NFL star Pat McAfee and former WWE, ECW and TNA star Bully Ray are among these names.

Bully Ray recently posted an old Dudley Boys ECW promo where he references the phrase ‘revolution.’

“Tonight, from men to heroes” Bully said during the original promo. “From heroes to legends and from legends to gods. The gods become immortal and the revolution continues.”

Bully Ray and Pat McAfee

Pat McAfee also used Twitter to tease an appearance tonight. The one time NXT Superstar posted a video of him packing his wrestling gear, seemingly preparing for a match.

McAfee and AEW star Miro have been going back on forth on social media recently; so there’s potentially a chance that the former NFL kicker might appear in All Elite.

Do you think that Pat McAfee or Bully Ray might appear at AEW Revolution tonight? Let us know in the comments

Kurt Angle Seemingly Trolled Fans on AEW Signing

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WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle has seemingly trolled fans when it comes to the rumor of his AEW signing. The Olympic Gold Medallist posted a video yesterday to Twitter; showing the pro wrestling great tying up his boots and getting his gear ready for an in-ring return.

The video finished with the words ‘to be continued.’

This lead fans to believe that the former WWE and TNA Superstar was the rumored new AEW signee appearing tonight.

Kurt Angle posted a further video today. The video showed most of the same footage but ended with Angle appearing in a Kurt Angle Podcast t-shirt. It appears as though Angle was aware of the AEW rumors and decided to help promote his new AdFreeShows podcast.

There are however still rumblings of Kurt Angle being the rumored ‘hall of fame level’ talent that is going to be revealed tonight.

AEW President Tony Khan recently appeared on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio. Khan discussed a number of topics on the show ahead of tonight’s AEW Revolution PPV, including the aforementioned surprise talent that will be signing with AEW on Sunday.

“It’s one of my all-time favorite wrestlers” Tony Khan stated on the show. “I’m very excited about [it]. I’ll say one thing, it’s one of my all-time favorite wrestlers. I tipped this on Unrestricted, I tipped the gender — it’s a male. He’s coming.”

Do you think that Kurt Angle will appear on tonight’s AEW Revolution PPV? Let us know in the comments

Terry Funk Offers Advice To Kenny Omega & Jon Moxley

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Terry Funk is one of a small selection of wrestlers ever to compete in an exploding barbed-wire death match. Funk wrestled the match type’s pioneer, Atsushi Onita, in May of 1993 in such a match for FMW. He also faced Cactus Jack in a very similar No Rope, Barbed Wire, Explosive Barbed Wire Board, Time Bomb Death Match in 1995.

The 76-year-old recently spoke to SI.com and offered some advice for Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley who will take part in the match tonight. “It’s the roughest style match I’ve ever been in,” said Funk. “I put a lot into those matches. I put in 100%, and I came out with a lot of damage to my body.”

“If you want to make this match work, you need to give the people their money’s worth. That’s the bottom line, that’s the most important thing. You need to do whatever you can to accomplish that. Physically, that can sometimes be a rugged game to play.”

Funk says the two won’t be worried about storytelling during the match, however. The only story is that both guys will be trying to win the fight.

“You’re not trying to tell a story, you’re trying to win a g—— match,” said Funk. “That’s the whole point. Win the match, win the fight.”

Funk concluded by saying that if Moxley and Omega give the fans their money’s worth, the match will live on in history just like his match against Onita has.

“This is a tough match. It was for me at least, as tough as it could possibly be. It’s up to them how they treat it. This match, their job is to go ahead and give the people their money’s worth. If they do that, their match will live on for a long time. These two guys, I think they’ll do it to the best of their ability.”

Goldberg On The Friendship He and Vince McMahon Have Formed

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Goldberg returned to WWE after a 12-year absence in 2016. He defeated Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series 2016 in Toronto that year. He’d then win the Universal Championship at Fastlane in 2017 before dropping it to Lesnar at WrestleMania 33. On the newly released “Goldberg at 54” documentary on the WWE Network, Goldberg spoke about the friendship he has formed with Vince McMahon since returning to his company.

“I’ve learned a lot more about Vince this time around,” Goldberg said. “We’ve gotten much closer than we ever would have imagined we could have been back in the day.”

“My first run with Vince wasn’t the most amicable relationship by any stretch of the imagination but I would say that wasn’t Vince alone, that was me versus everybody,” Goldberg continued. “I came in the door with my back against it. It’s just been a weird trip. Then coming back, and then getting to be actual friends with Vince, it’s been a wonderful experience and I would have done it just for that alone.”

“It’s just a different feeling. It was like doing something for your Dad, in a very respectful way. I never imagined I’d have that feeling for him, whatsoever.”

Goldberg lost his last match in WWE at the Royal Rumble. Drew McIntyre defeated him to retain the WWE Championship.

Big E Talks About New Day’s Early Struggles

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New Day is one of the greatest acts in WWE history. The trio has consistently sold lots of merchandise and holds numerous tag-team title records in the company. It didn’t start off that successful, however. The initial reaction to the team was lukewarm at best. Big E recently spoke with Samoa Joe on WWE’s new Grit and Glory series about New Day’s rise over the years.

“Well, for anyone who ended up watching during our early years, you know it was not easy at all,” Big E said on the show. “It was a rough start, for sure. But we realized from an early period and our time together that we had a special chemistry and a special bond. A lot of that bond was really forged through the tough times and trying to get this group off the ground and trying to get it on TV.”

“We just had that mentality of we gotta sink or swim on our own merits. I viewed it as this could be my final run and last opportunity, so I gotta give it my all. I didn’t want my career to dissolve based on me passively accepting anything I was given if it didn’t feel right. So, I knew this was it. I knew this was something special.”

Big E also spoke about how originally fans weren’t chanting “New Day Rocks” but rather they chanted “New Day Sucks.”

“I remember we were in Philadelphia and we got met with loud ‘New Day sucks’ chants,” E continued. “We were supposed to be the good guys. We were supposed to be the guys that were cheered and beloved, but people weren’t having it.”

Big E says he is grateful for New Day’s early struggles, however.

“All those tough times, I’m so grateful for. That’s what brought us closer together. We didn’t quit, we didn’t say enough of this. We said we’re gonna get better, we’re gonna work harder, we’re gonna give you more of ourselves. If anything, it stoked our fire and got us more passionate about what we wanted to do and what we wanted to accomplish. I don’t know if we get this far without the tough times.”

transcriptions via 411 Mania

Bobby Lashley: Hurt Business Wants Specific Female Wrestler To Join Stable

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Bobby Lashley is the WWE Champion and his Hurt Business stablemates, Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin hold RAW tag-team gold. Lashley recently held the United States title and Benjamin has held the 24/7 title during the Hurt Business’ time together as well. The only gold they are missing is in the women’s division. Lashley says he’d like to see a female wrestler join the faction.

“We want dominance and a legacy,” Lashley said recently in an interview with Complex. “That’s what we want. Another thing that we talked about, we don’t even know if we want to go there, but I’ll throw this out: Is there a female that’s going to join the group?”

Lashley also revealed that some thought has already gone into who that person could be. He noted that the faction may not end up going through with the recruiting, however, and isn’t willing to announce the name just yet.

“We thought about that. We have some definite names. And if we did go that route, I think we’re all in agreeance of who we would love to have a part of us. Can’t really say right now, but that’s something that’s [on the way]. So we’re trying to play with it, so we’re coming at all different angles.”

Shaq Talks About His AEW Ring Gear: ‘I Showed Up For A Fight’

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NBA legend Shaquille O’Neil made his in-ring debut for All Elite Wrestling this past week on AEW Dynamite.

Shaq and Jade Cargill scored a win over Cody Rhodes and Red Velvet. Shaq’s involvement was considered a big success from virtually every angle. The match topped 1.3 million viewers, making it the most-watched AEW Dynamite match since 2019. He looked great in the ring and received rave reviews for his work ethic during training and his easygoing attitude behind the scenes.

During an appearance on Access, Shaq spoke with Mario Lopez and Kit Hoover about his AEW experience. His ‘ring gear’ was one of the topics they discussed.

Shaq’s AEW Ring Gear

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(Photo: AEW)

Shaq he wore street clothes and basketball sneakers for the match. Cody Rhodes challenged him to a fight and that’s what he showed up for.

“Look, Cody challenged me to a fight, I’m showing up in fight clothes,” he said. “Sweatpants and a tank top. I respect him, I respect his family, I respect all the wrestlers, The Rock, what they’ve done. I don’t want to come in with a gimmicky costume. This man challenged me to a fight, I’m showing up like it’s going to be a fight. I’m just going sweatpants and a tank top.”

All Elite Wrestling presents AEW Revolution tonight on pay-per-view.

AEW Revolution Final Card, Live Coverage

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The card for tonight’s (Sunday, March 21, 2021) AEW Revolution event has been finalized.

The company has officially announced the main event of this event that takes place in Jacksonville, Florida at Daily’s Place as the show will be headlined by AEW World Champion Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley. 

This show marks the first PPV of 2021 for the promotion, which features a stacked lineup. There are a total of nine matches booked for this show with three of them being championship matches.

As a reminder, we will be providing live play-by-play coverage of this special later tonight. Here’s the final card:

AEW Revolution: Card

AEW World Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega vs. Jon Moxley – Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch

Sting and Darby Allin vs. Brian Cage and Ricky Starks – Street Fight

AEW Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks vs. MJF and Chris Jericho 

Matt Hardy vs. Adam Page – the winner receives the loser’s first-quarter 2021 earnings

AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida vs. Title Eliminator Tournament winner Ryo Mizunami

Cody Rhodes vs. Scorpio Sky vs. Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Lance Archer vs. Max Caster vs. TBA – Face Of The Revolution Ladder Match (winner gets shot at Darby Allin’s TNT Title)

Casino Tag Team Royale for a future Tag Team Title Shot: Bear Country, Alex Reynolds/John Silver, Evil Uno/Stu Grayson, Santana/Ortiz, The Butcher/The Blade, Private Party, Top Flight, PAC/Rey Fenix, 5 and 10, The Pretty Picture, Matt & Mike Sydal, Jurassic Express, Varsity Blonds, Natural Nightmares, SCU, and Gunn Club

Miro & Kip Sabian vs. Orange Cassidy & Chuck Taylor

Paul Wight to reveal AEW’s big talent signing

Riho & Thunder Rosa vs. Britt Baker & Rebel – Pre-Show

PROGRESS Wrestling – Behind The Logo, There’s Human Beings

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The British Wrestling scene was rife with sexual, domestic and other forms of mental abuse. This is fact that cannot be argued against, especially with what was revealed during the #SpeakingOut movement during 2020. There were hundreds of stories recalling actions perpetrated by some of the most notable, and well loved, pro wrestling stars and officials across the globe.

The movement itself started with several UK performers telling their stories across social media, notably Twitter and Facebook. At first many of us took this news in complete shock; but quickly this changed to wanting to see positive change and an eradication of the toxic culture that had stained something that so many pro wrestling fans hold dear. Fans also wanted, quite rightly, answers as to how this could’ve happened.

I’ve been extremely lucky and privileged to have the opportunity to work in the UK wrestling scene as somewhat of a journalist. SEScoops provided me with the platform to try and help push the scene at a time, back in 2015/16, that the UK was becoming a hotbed for internationally renowned talent. I’ve been granted access to a number of shows, spoken to different talent and for the most part enjoyed the opportunity to experience a level of fandom beyond what I had previously.

The UK Scene

I’m not a massive journalistic name by any stretch. There’s some really great and talented people out there working for Inside The Ropes, talkSPORT et al that have done far more for the UK wrestling scene that deserve far more credit than I do. I just wanted to give you some context as to what I’m writing about here.

When #SpeakingOut had become global and more fans were able to see the true light of what they once felt they knew, attention turned to the promotions themselves. Many, myself included, wanted to know how such a culture could permutate independent pro wrestling in the United Kingdom. Professional wrestling is a unique medium, where performers are often expected to go ‘beyond the camera’ in their persona and display elements of their character outside of the ‘working’ environment.

The fact is, everything in pro wrestling is classed as a ‘work.’ I’m absolutely sure that the way I have engaged with certain performers has been all part of a façade, because some of the nicest people I’ve ever met at face value turned out to be abusive and dangerous individuals. However on the flip side of that, I know that there’s many people who I was lucky to work with and are wonderful human beings. I also know that there is a number of these people still working in the UK scene to try and eradicate the toxicity, and re-imagine what British wrestling means in a post #SpeakingOut world.

PROGRESS

I want to talk directly about PROGRESS Wrestling. No matter what I try and tell myself? There will always be a bias when it comes to writing about arguably the biggest promotion in England. PROGRESS changed how I perceived pro wrestling. PROGRESS felt like I was on the terraces watching football; except it was 3 hours and everyone in the crowd was (largely) on the same side. I have extremely fond memories of PROGRESS that have been tainted, the same way a lot of people feel.

I like to see myself as an ‘intelligent’ wrestling fan and human being all round. I’m not a nuclear scientist, but I like to think I know what is right, wrong and unjust. When #SpeakingOut happened I was angry. I was angry at myself because I didn’t see what was apparently right in front of me.

On one occasion a wrestler exposed himself in front of me. This was something that at the time seemed humorous. In retrospect was a sign of a predatorial individual that I just flat out missed.

The person I’m referring to was ‘outed’ as a predator during the start of #SpeakingOut. At the time he exposed himself in front of me backstage, he was joking around with a colleague. The person in question seemed to be doing this as a way to actually calm the situation; which again in retrospect is absurd, but I didn’t question it, because I felt I was lucky to be backstage at a show.

That’s something that haunts me now, what if I had said something? Could I have stopped other people from getting hurt?

For clarification, this incident was not at a PROGRESS show and occurred at a now defunct promotion.

Changing The Culture

The reason I’m mentioning PROGRESS is because of their recent return. The new Chapter event shows took place at the Theatre Peckham and are being streamed via WWE Network over the next few weeks at least. Many fans wanted to know why the company saw fit to return, with the COVID-19 pandemic and #SpeakingOut still looming large over the industry as a whole.

Personally, I do not question the motives of people that want to find out who and why certain people were at the tapings for these shows. I do not question why you would want transparency when choosing who to support emotionally and monetarily.

Behind every word written is a human being. You may disagree with the way they have acted, and PROGRESS themselves have apologised for the way in which their statements have appeared tonally. There are people out there who are far more well versed in safeguarding and DBS checking than I am; I’ve seen these people weigh in on this situation and it is more than welcomed in my eyes.

However, behind every word written is a human being. I will echo this sentiment until I’m dead, because the way I’ve seen PROGRESS’ social media (as well as other promotions) flooded with personal insults is not conducive to bringing an open conversation into how British wrestling can exist in a safer way. Saying ‘burn it to the ground’ and ‘f*ck off no one wants you here’ isn’t helping anyone.

Still Ask Questions of PROGRESS

I’m not saying ‘let’s get on with it,’ because that is not the mentality to have. Every single person questioning PROGRESS, ICW, OTT or any other promotion has the right to. But deciding that we want every answer via Twitter and 140-280 characters is not going to work. It just isn’t.

To any of the fans airing their displeasure that PROGRESS now don’t ‘monitor responses’ on Twitter: have you emailed them?

Are we engaging in the right way as a collective fanbase? Are we trying to, not move on from #SpeakingOut, but make sure it is basis of discussion to change the culture? I’m not saying I have answers, but there’s got to be a better way to do this surely?

I don’t want to speak for any professional wrestlers. But if you were to ask someone what their intentions were for #SpeakingOut? It would probably/most likely be because they want to have a safer environment to work in. Fundamentally people need somewhere to work; PROGRESS is the biggest promotion in the country and have an affiliation with WWE. WWE is the end goal for a lot of people, and PROGRESS is still a major platform that people want to work in safely.

So I urge people to ask the questions, but don’t attack social media when you just see a logo. Those people behind the scenes are human beings who have suffered through this entire situation. Those people have discovered things about the people they thought they knew the same way we did.

If you want to discuss anything you’ve seen written here please feel free to contact me via Twitter: @jakejeremypuro. Alternatively jakejeremyuk [at] gmail [dot] com.

Backstage News On Shaquille O’Neal’s Wrestling Training

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Shaquille O’Neal and Jade Cargill defeated Cody Rhodes and Red Velvet on Dynamite this week. During the match, Shaq body slammed several people, gave Cody Rhodes a power-bomb (with a Brodie Lee tribute), and eventually was put through two tables.

Shaq’s preparations for the match were recently addressed by Bryan Alvarez on Figure Four Daily.

“I talked to several people and what I’ve gathered is that Shaq has been training for awhile,” Alvarez said on the show. He’d continue to say he’s not sure exactly how long Shaq had been preparing, however.

“I know there were rumors that he had been secretly training since the summer, I don’t know if it’s been that long,” Alvarez continued.

Shaq is believed to have trained with QT Marshall at his gym. Alvarez would continue to say that everyone was really pleased with his attitude as well.

“I believe he was training with QT Marshall. I did hear from multiple people that it was everything that we heard about Pat McAfee. Despite what you may have seen on the videos, where he appeared to be very lazy and half-caring, this guy took it very seriously. He worked his ass off, he was nice to everybody, he was polite and humble, everything you heard about McAfee.”

Alvarez did say that one person told him that Shaq only showed up 2-hours before showtime, however.

“I was so impressed with Shaq,” Alvarez continued. “I don’t want him to be a regular but I wish he was signed and every 6-months he’d be Andre.”

Kenny Omega On Why AEW Doesn’t Shy Away From Hardcore Matches

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AEW has had “Lights Out” matches, Parking Lot Brawls, and various other forms of hardcore matches. This Sunday at Revolution, Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley will wrestle in arguably the most hardcore match type ever invented. The two will face off in an Exploding Barbed Wire Death Match.

In a recent interview with NY Post, Kenny Omega spoke about why AEW does not shy away from hardcore match types.

“I still very much look at pro wrestling as an art form. I still like to consider myself the utmost professional. People like to dumb down matches with a violent stipulation. They kind of like just defer to those as garbage wrestling or that maybe we lack a certain area of expertise or talent, which is why we’re going there,” Omega said. “For me, it’s the complete opposite. I want to be considered as one of the best well-around athletes in professional wrestling. And I want to test myself in all avenues this sport has to offer.”

Omega also said he needs to test himself in this style of match against another wrestler who has a knack for hardcore bouts.

“For me to do that and do that effectively, I have to have some kind of experience in these types of situations. I want to test myself with the type of wrestler who specializes in this type of stuff. And sure, I don’t think Moxley has had an exploding barbed wire deathmatch, but it’s not something out of his wheelhouse to do something very hardcore.”

“I do believe the stars will align and something special will emerge from this,” Omega continued.

The Exploding Barbed Wire Death Match was made famous by Atsushi Onita. He competed against names like Terry Funk and Mr. Pogo in the match type.

Omega also recently revealed the official rules for the match:

Hikaru Shida Says AEW Women’s Division Can “Carry The Show”

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The women’s division in AEW feels like it has taken a few significant strides as of late. The women’s title-eliminator tournament featured some great matches and both Jade Cargill and Red Velvet put on a stellar show in the night’s opening contest at AEW Dynamite: The Crossroads.

AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida was recently interviewed by SI.com. During the discussion, Shida said that she knows the women’s division in AEW has the power to “carry the show.”

“We’re proving our division has the power to carry the show,” Shida says. “That drives me. And I always had a dream to work internationally since I was a child, so, I am living my dream right now.”

When AEW first began, there was talk of the promotion really emphasizing Joshi-style wrestling in its women’s division. This was hampered by the onset of the pandemic, however, and the reduced ability to bring in talent from Japan. Shida helped organize the recent AEW Women’s Title-Eliminator tournament bracket in Japan and spoke about that experience with SI.com as well.

“I’ve always felt that Japanese joshi are the best in the world,” Shida continued. “So introducing them to everyone is very meaningful for me. It’s kind of a way to brag about my home. I also want Japanese wrestlers to know they can reach the top of the world if they work hard. It’s not a fantasy. This is one of the biggest things I have done as champion, and I’m proud of it.”

Shida continued to say that main event’ing a PPV or Dynamite are her goals.

“The main event for a pay-per-view and Dynamite are always my goals. I’ll continue working hard for it until it comes true,” she said.

Jey Uso Wants The Usos To Wrestle Edge & Christian

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Christian made his WWE return at the Royal Rumble this year. It was his first real match since 2014. He embraced with Edge during the Rumble which led to many fans speculating about a possible return of their popular tag-team.

Jey Uso was recently interviewed by Fox Sports. During the discussion, he spoke about wanting his team with his brother Jimmy to face Edge and Christian someday.

“We had the Hardy Boyz, and then we had the Dudley Boyz … that’s one more team I have to mark off,” Jey said.

“They’re the OGs of the tag division. That triple-threat ladder match at WrestleMania, bro, like, c’mon. Two out of the three teams, me and my brother got to be blessed to work with … that’s another bucket list. Straight up.”

Uso also spent some time during the interview discussing his latest singles run. Although he noted he misses wrestling alongside his brother, Jey says he always knew he could be on his own.

“I always knew I could hang with singles work because wrestling is wrestling, Uce. The only thing is, it felt weird not having Jimmy with me coming out,” he said of the change. “I’m always on the left. He’s always on the right. It was just a weird vibe.”

Ahmed Johnson On What Vince McMahon Told Him About The Hall of Fame

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Ahmed Johnson was with WWE from 1995 to 1998. During his run, it appeared the company was trying to turn him into a big star. He’d pop up in late-era WCW a couple of years later before retiring in 2003. Johnson recently spoke to Sportskeeda about what Vince McMahon said to him when he was leaving the company.

“Because me and Vince had a falling out right when I left, we had a falling out, and he told me then that I wouldn’t be in the Hall of Fame because of our falling out. He actually told me that.”

Johnson continued to say that it was mainly contractual differences that came between them.

“It was that (contractual differences) and other little things, but yeah, it was a lot of contractual differences.”

Johnson is a former Intercontinental Champion and was ranked #5 in the PWI top-500 in 1996. He also credited Al Snow with helping him develop as a wrestler during the interview.

“Let me see. Probably Al Snow. With Al, we just didn’t have a match. Al took me in and taught me a few things, you know. He was kind of an off-the-clock instructor.”

The interview with Ahmed Johnson can be viewed in the player below:

Eric Bischoff Compares Cody Rhodes To John Cena

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Former WCW President and co-host of the 83 Weeks podcast Eric Bischoff recently spoke to the It’s Our House Podcast. Easy E discussed a number of topics, including which current performers he sees that could possibly ‘transcend’ the pro wrestling business.

“You guys put me on the spot here, I’m gonna give you an answer” Eric Bischoff began. “But just know that there’s a lot of people that I hold in such high regard and have so much respect for and I think are so valuable as performers and human beings. I’m gonna offend those people, I apologise.”

“If I was in Las Vegas and I had one $100 bill, and I was forced to place a bet on one person – I put it on Cody Rhodes” Bischoff continued. “Okay. I think when you talk about somebody who has the potential to transcend the business, that means to become a bigger star, or at least a star outside of the wrestling business as inside of the wrestling business.”

Eric Bischoff finished by comparing the AEW EVP Cody Rhodes to one of WWE’s biggest ever talents, John Cena. “That’s how John Cena became a big star” Bischoff stated. “Everywhere you looked, including WWE, but outside of WWE, you would see John Cena. He became that. WWE was preaching outside of the choir. And they connected with people that they weren’t connected with just on the wrestling show by using John Cena because he had that potential and ability to transcend the business in that regard. I think Cody Rhodes has the same potential.”

Kurt Angle Teases In-Ring Return With New Video

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The last match of Kurt Angle’s professional wrestling career took place on April 7th, 2019. He lost to Baron Corbin at WrestleMania 35. In recent days, however, there have been rumors circulating that Angle could be the “Hall of Fame” worthy signing teased for AEW Revolution.

Angle recently Tweeted out a video that can be taken as a tease for his in-ring return. The video features him lacing up his boots and putting on his ring gear. It closes with the caption “To Be Continued.”

https://twitter.com/RealKurtAngle/status/1368207273831653382?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1368207273831653382%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.redditmedia.com%2Fmediaembed%2Flz2qlm%3Fresponsive%3Dtrue

Kurt Angle was released from his contract with WWE on April 15th, 2020 along with several other performers.

Is Kurt Angle The New AEW Signing?

Tony Khan recently dropped some more hints on who the new signing is.

“It’s one of my all-time favorite wrestlers” Tony Khan stated on Busted Open. “I’m very excited about [it]. I’ll say one thing, it’s one of my all-time favorite wrestlers. I tipped this on Unrestricted, I tipped the gender — it’s a male.”

“He’s going to do great things for us” Khan continued. “He’s committed, he’s going to sign a contract on Sunday at Revolution on PPV.”

Tony Khan: “Surprise Signing Is One of My All Time Favourite Wrestlers”

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AEW President Tony Khan recently appeared on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio. Khan discussed a number of topics on the show ahead of this Sunday’s AEW Revolution PPV, including the ‘surprise Hall of Fame worthy talent’ that will be signing with AEW on Sunday.

“It’s one of my all-time favorite wrestlers” Tony Khan stated on the show. “I’m very excited about [it]. I’ll say one thing, it’s one of my all-time favorite wrestlers. I tipped this on Unrestricted, I tipped the gender — it’s a male. He’s coming.”

“He’s going to do great things for us” Khan continued. “He’s committed, he’s going to sign a contract on Sunday at Revolution on PPV.”

There of course have been rumors flying from all corners online. Two names that have been mentioned on multiple occasions are Kurt Angle and CM Punk. The Straight Edge former WWE Superstar Punk confirmed recently via Twitter that he was not the star showing up on Sunday.

Another name that has been mentioned is Christian, as he is believed to have not signed with WWE following his appearance at the Royal Rumble back in January.

Who do you think is showing up on Sunday? Christian, CM Punk, Kurt Angle or someone else? Let us know in the comments

Shane McMahon and Braun Strowman Storyline Continuing on RAW

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It appears as though WWE may be heading for a Shane McMahon vs Braun Strowman match down the line. Tensions were risen between the two men on this week’s episode of Monday Night RAW.

Shane McMahon mandated that Braun Strowman would get a RAW Tag Team Championship match, with WWE official Adam Pearce as his partner. The team lost their match against The Hurt Business’ Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander when McMahon demanded that Pearce get the winning pinfall, after Strowman hit the running powerslam.

Benjamin rolled up Pearce and the match ended, with Braun Strowman then berating Shane McMahon.

WWE recently updated their RAW preview for Monday’s show, and it confirmed that Strowman will be confronting Shane McMahon once again:

Shane McMahon and Braun Strowman on RAW

Braun Strowman is one angry monster, and he wants answers.

The Monster Among Men feels like Shane McMahon has been out to get him in recent weeks. From excluding him from the Elimination Chamber Match, to not automatically giving him a WWE Championship opportunity, Strowman has some gripes. Matters were made worse last week when Shane may have inadvertently cost Strowman and Adam Pearce the Raw Tag Team Titles in their match against The Hurt Business, so now an apology just may be in order.

Will Shane McMahon grant Braun Strowman’s demand and issue an apology to The Monster Among Men?

Find out this Monday on Raw live at 8/7 C on USA Network!

Batista Says Pro Wrestling Retirements Have Zero Credibility

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Batista was asked on Twitter by a fan if he was the “Hall of Fame talent” that Paul Wight aka Big Show teased will get hired at AEW Revolution. The fan also highlighted the fact that Wight erroneously called the event “Evolution” and wondered if it really was just an error or a reference to the faction Batista was part of in WWE. He has stated that his decision to leave wrestling was permanent and that he has no intentions of coming back to wrestling. Batista quipped in response to the question how the word “retirement” has no meaning in pro wrestling as supposedly “retired” wrestlers come back for a match all the time.

Writing on Twitter, Batista said, “They’re going to have to come up with another word thats (sic) used specifically for professional wrestlers who actually mean it when they say they’re retired. Currently the word “retired” has zero credibility by professional wrestling standards.”

Names such as Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels and Mick Foley among other legends have all supposedly “retired” from in-ring action only to return later, with the exception of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, who has stayed true to his word. Batista was poking fun at the fact that even though he has made clear he’s retired for good, he still gets asked questions about his return. And therefore, according to him, a new term needs to be invented to let fans know that a wrestler really is retired this time.

Batista officially retired after his No Holds Barred Match against Triple H at WrestleMania 35. “Thank you for letting me entertain you,” Bautista said on his retirement. “I love this business and whether you cheered me or jeered me, I’m grateful for being a small part of your life.

“I am officially retired from sports entertainment and I am grateful for every second of my amazing journey.”

Shaq Match On AEW Dynamite Draws 1.3 Million Viewers

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Shaq appeared on AEW Dynamite this past Wednesday to finally have his first match teaming up with Jade Cargill against Cody Rhodes and Red Velvet, after several promos and hype. The tag team match showed the drawing power of the NBA legend as the match was able to bring in a massive amount of viewers with 1.3 million.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer revealed the numbers saying that the Shaq match rised to a viewership of 1.3 million viewers. He reported, “…the Shaq match peaked at 1.3 million viewers. Highest opposed number since 2019.”

Overall, the show drew in 934,000 viewers and achieved a 0.33 rating in the coveted 18-49 demographic. The number is down from last week, however. The match was hyped by Shaq on NBA before his in-ring debut. Also, the reason why the match took place on Dynamite and not on Revolution is because NBA is holding the All-Star Game on the same night as the PPV and Shaq will be covering the NBA game.

Read more: Shaq Wins AEW Debut Match, Goes Through Table

Shaq’s first appearance on Dynamite was back on the December 9, 2020 episode of Dynamite where he did an interview with Brandi Rhodes. The show did 995,000 viewers, with Shaq’s segment drawing 1.2 million viewers. The quarter featuring Shaq averaged 1,063,000 viewers and 618,000 viewers in 18-49 demographic.

Shaw has said in recent years that he wanted to wrestle Cody and he has achieved that. It is likely like we will see Shaw again to take revenge on Cody for sending him crashing through two tables during the match.

Cody Rhodes for now will be working AEW Revolution this weekend in a ladder match. You can check out the full card of the event below.

AEW Revolution Card

  • AEW World Champion Kenny Omega vs. Jon Moxley in an Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch
  • AEW Women’s World Champion Hikaru Shida vs. Ryo Mizunami
  • AEW World Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks vs. The Inner Circle (Chris Jericho and MJF)
  • Team Taz (Brian Cage and Ricky Starks) vs. Darby Allin and Sting in a Street Fight
  • Adam Page vs. Matt Hardy in a “Big Money Match”
  • Cody Rhodes vs. Scorpio Sky vs. Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Lance Archer vs. Max Caster vs. TBA in a Face of the Revolution Ladder Match for a future AEW TNT Championship match
  • Miro and Kip Sabian vs. Best Friends (Orange Cassidy and Chuck Taylor)
  • Bear Country vs. Silver & Reynolds vs. Evil Uno & Stu Grayson vs. Santana & Ortiz vs. The Butcher & The Blade vs. Private Party vs. Top Flight in a Casino Tag Team Royale for a AEW World Tag Team Championship match
  • Riho and Thunder Rosa vs. Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. and Rebel on the pre-show