Former NXT champion Tommaso Ciampa and former NXT UK champion Pete Dunne were both at this week\’s episode of SmackDown.
The two competed in a dark match before the show went on air. The match was won by Ciampa and Dunne apparently got his old entrance music back for his appearance:
Tonight’s #SmackDown dark match: Tommaso Ciampa beat Pete Dunne in a great match! AND DUNNE HAD HIS OLD ENTRANCE MUSIC BACK!!! pic.twitter.com/shFZkDuQlC
WWE officials have recently been evaluating talents for a main roster call up through dark matches before SmackDown and Raw.
People such as Austin Theory, Karrion Kross, Shotzi Blackheart, Xia Li among others have similarly competed in dark matches before being called up to the main roster.
Pete Dunne has wrestled only one televised match since the Team Black and Gold lost to Team 2.0 at the NXT Takeover: WarGames event last month.
Tommaso Ciampa similarly dropped the NXT title to Bron Breakker at New Year\’s Evil and teased his departure from the brand with his post-match tweet.
All signs seem to be pointing towards these two former champions heading to the main roster sooner rather than later.
With the Royal Rumble coming up later this month, the only question that remains is whether WWE will confirm their main roster call up before that or use them as surprise entrances.
It\’s a new year and we\’re now on the road to WWE\’s biggest premium live event of the year, WrestleMania.
Earlier this month, WWE presented the inaugural Day 1 event from Atlanta, GA. That show was thrown into disarray when it was announced that Roman Reigns contracted COVID-19 and would be unable to defend the Universal Championship against Brock Lesnar in the main event. Lesnar was added to the WWE Championship match and surprised everyone by ending Big E\’s reign and walking out as champion.
According to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the original plans for the WWE title match at Day 1 were for Seth Rollins to win the fatal four-way match and walk out as the champion. Dave Meltzer noted that the original plan was for the Architect to win the bout and defend the title at WrestleMania 38:
“The plan for that was originally Seth Rollins, likely against the winner of the Royal Rumble, with Big E the favorite, but Kevin Owens and Bobby Lashley were also possibilities.”
WrestleMania 38
WWE still seems to be building towards a Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns match for WrestleMania, but the belief is that it won\’t be a champion vs champion bout.
Meltzer added that the planned WWE championship match for the Show of Shows could still take place with the company taking a different direction to achieve that.
For those who don\’t know, Brock Lesnar was originally scheduled to challenge Roman Reigns for the Universal championship at Day 1. Big E was supposed to defend his WWE title in a fatal four-way.
Reigns ended up missing the event after testing positive for COVID. Lesnar was then added to the WWE championship match, and he walked out of the arena as the new champion.
The WWE contract of Kairi Sane has not expired yet and she is actually expected to become a free agent next month.
The Japanese star removed all references of the promotion from her social profile last month. Wrestling Observer had reported at the time that her contract with the company had expired already.
However, Dave Meltzer corrected this report in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter. He now reports that Sane\’s deal actually ends next month.
The female star was part of the WWE roster from 2016 to 2020. She left The US and returned to Japan to be with her husband back in July 2020. Though she has continued working for WWE as an ambassador.
WWE officials apparently want Kairi Sane to renew her contract and return to the US in a wrestling role but the former NXT star has refused the offer.
Kairi had teased an in-ring return recently. Reports suggest that Stardom is also interested in bringing the former Artist of Stardom champion back to the company. No word on if AEW has any interest in signing her
It\’s likely that Kairi Sane\’s contract forbids her to talk to other promotions. We should get a better idea about her future once her deal has officially expired.
Cody Rhodes has been pulled from his scheduled title defense against Sammy Guevara at the upcoming Battle Of The Belts event due to a medical issue.
AEW announced during this week\’s episode of Rampage that the current TNT champion has been pulled from the upcoming show because he is not medically cleared to compete.
The company confirmed that his brother Dustin Rhodes will be replacing Cody in the match against Guevara at Battle Of The Belts. The winner will be crowned the Interim TNT champion:
AEW did not provide any further detail on the matter. So it\’s hard to say what\’s the exact issue Cody is facing or how long he will be out of action.
This leaves the fate of the interim TNT champion in question as well. We will have to see when the winner of this match gets to face Cody Rhodes.
Dustin Rhodes has not wrestled a singles match since the October 23 episode of Dynamite. Bryan Danielson defeated him in the first round of the AEW title eliminator tournament during the show.
AEW Battle Of The Belts is the first of the four Saturday Night Specials the company will be producing this year. It will be taking place from the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina on January 8.
The Brock Lesnar vs Jinder Mahal match at the Survivor Series 2017 was apparently changed because the Beast refused to work with The Modern Day Maharaja.
Since the reintroduction of the brand split in 2016, Survivor Series has been the event where champions from both brands clash against each other.
The announced main event for the 2017 event was the Universal champion Brock Lesnar vs the WWE champion Jinder Mahal.
However, Mahal lost his title to AJ Styles during the November 7, 2017 episode of SmackDown. As a result, the Phenomenal one replaced Jinder in the match against the Beast Incarnate.
Dave Meltzer talked about this match on Wrestling Observer Radio. He revealed that Lesnar actually refused to work with the former NXT star, leading to the change.
While Styles helped put on a great match at the PPV, the loss for Jinder Mahal meant that he didn\’t get to carry the title during his India tour shortly afterward.
The loss ended Mahal\’s only world title reign at 170 days. AJ Styles would go on to hold the championship for 371 days, before losing it to Daniel Bryan during the November 13, 2018 episode of SmackDown.
Brock Lesnar on the other hand has had multiple reigns with the world title since then. His latest run started only a few days ago when he won the WWE championship in a fatal five way during Day 1.
Bruce Prichard missing a number of WWE tapings recently had made some headlines and it was said the wrestling veteran was dealing with some health issues.
The WWE Senior Vice President addressed these reports on the latest episode of his Something To Wrestle podcast and cleared the air on his absence.
Prichard was asked how he was doing and he said that he is doing great. The WWE executive then claimed that the rumors going around are complete \’horses**t\’:
\”I\’m fucking great, here\’s the funny thing, I had a great vacation in Cobo. I got a little bit of Montezuma\’s revenge. To address some of the rumor and innuendo, which is complete horseshit, out there in the wrestling media.\”
Bruce Prichard explained that he likes to save his vacations till the end of the year so he can pair them with a couple of extra days off in Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Since WWE gave the wrestlers some time off during Christmas and aired a taped show instead, it looked as if Prichard was absent from multiple tapings:
\”Then, I got the flu. I was running a fever and not feeling well. We have a great team and an incredible support system that was there. I missed three TVs.\”
Bruce Prichard has worked with WWE on and off for over three decades now. He first joined the promotion as a manager in 1987.
Corey Graves has been teasing an in-ring return in recent months. He even got physical on Raw in November when he briefly won the 24/7 championship. Now the retired star is suggesting that he might enter the Royal Rumble match.
A number of WWE superstars declared their entry into the upcoming Battle Royal during this past Monday\’s Raw including The Mysterio Family and The Street Profits.
WWE recently made a tweet asking which other superstar should declare their entry into the match, and Graves responded with a tweet of his own:
After a 3 year long NXT run, Corey Graves officially announced his retirement from active competition due to concussion issues in December 2014.
He then started working as a pre-show panellist and eventually settled down in his current role as a lead commentator for WWE shows.
Edge is the most recent example of someone who has come back from a career ending injury. He also made his return during the Royal Rumble PPV a couple of years ago in 2020.
Whether or not there are actual plans for Corey Graves to return during the upcoming show will only be revealed in coming times.
Though the multiple teases have certainly gotten fans excited about the potential of seeing the former NXT star back in the ring after almost 7 years.
Goldberg has been very open about having only one match left on his current contract. The former Universal champion also recently revealed that he has been holding off his shoulder surgery for after he has retired.
This has made many wonder if the former world champion is considering retirement after his current contract expires. Though it appears the monster-sized athlete still has things that might keep him going.
The 55-year-old was asked if his upcoming match could be his last during a recent interview with Sports Illustrated. Responding to it, Goldberg claimed that he is focused on what\’s next:
“I’m focused on what’s next, if they want to come back to me with something, we’ll talk. You never know what the future holds.”
– Goldberg
The WCW veteran admitted that it\’s not easy to continue the heavyweight style of wrestling at his age. Though Goldberg claimed that it\’s all worth it if he can open the door of more opportunities for his son Gage:
“As a power wrestler, it’s tough, it’s not easy to do this at my age. But I knew that, and I said the hell with it. For me, the prize is worth it, and that’s to open up opportunities for my son. If I can continue to do what I’m doing and continue to provide opportunities for him, then I’ll consider this a success.”
Gage was featured on WWE programming most recently during the Goldberg-Bobby Lashley program. While there is no word yet on if he has any plans to pursue a wrestling career, the exposure can help him in other walks of life as well.
The recent Big Swole controversy has landed Tony Khan in hot waters. Even members of the IWC who are usually very supportive of the AEW president, have distanced themselves from his comments. While the wrestling promoter since seems to have learned not to publicly call out his ex-employees, he is not refraining himself from promising a diverse representation in his company in 2022.
Khan recently had an interview with Barstool Wrestling. He talked about all the additions to the AEW roster in 2021 and what qualities he looks for while signing people. Tony claimed that professionalism is the number one thing on his list:
\”There\’s a number of things. There\’s in-ring ability. There\’s professionalism, [which] I think is very important. That\’s number one. The first word in professional wrestler is professional. I think there\’s also in-ring ability, charisma, promos. [It\’s] looking for a combination of these. If somebody has some more than others, you can work around it to some extent, but you need them all.\”
Tony Khan Says AEW Plans To Build A Diverse Representation In 2022
Tony Khan (Photo: Robbie Fox for Barstool)
Tony Khan was later asked about AEW\’s plans in 2022. The AEW owner first explained that it\’s going to be a huge year for them. He then mentioned how their two most recent signings are a step towards helping them achieve the goal of diversity:
\”It\’s gonna be a huge year for us. We\’ve expanded the roster so much. Like I said, it\’s a more competitive roster than it\’s ever been. And it\’s a more diverse roster than it\’s ever been. Just look at the signings [in] the last couple [of] weeks, the last two wrestlers we\’ve announced coming in. Mercedes Martinez and then of course just in the last 24 hours, Jake Atlas.\”
Khan recalled how Mercedes Martinez helped Jade Cargill in reaching the finals of the TBS tournament during her return to AEW programming. He also mentioned the debut of Jake Atlas before claiming that he has some huge plans for 2022 that have been in the making for a long time:
\”I have some huge plans for 2022 that have been a long time in the making. And then I have some huge plans for 2022 to build a stronger, more diverse representation across the board. Nobody knows what it is yet, but I have a couple [of] really exciting things that are gonna be coming up in the next month, six weeks.
It\’s gonna be really good. It\’s been stuff that\’s been a long time planned, and it\’s gonna be awesome. There\’s also some stuff that just kind of came up, to be honest with you that is gonna be pretty dope\”
If you use any quotes from the article please credit SEScoops with an H/t for transcription
Tony Khan signed a number of big names such as CM Punk, Bryan Danielson and Adam Cole to AEW in 2021, and it appears he plans to continue this trend in 2022.
The AEW president recently had an interview with Josh Martinez of New York\’s Z100 radio station. He was there to promote Dynamite\’s move to TBS and their other upcoming shows.
During the discussion, the host asked Khan if he has a \”dream signing\” that he\’d like to see in AEW. He narrowed it down to talent located in North America, which excludes most \’Forbidden Door\’ crossovers from New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Khan said there actually is a big name coming to AEW \”pretty soon\” that he\’s very excited about.
“There is [a dream signing]. They are in North America and they\’re coming. Pretty soon. It\’s going to be awesome. I\’m very excited,”
-Tony Khan
Khan did not reveal any further detail about this dream signing so it\’s hard to say when they will be coming or who it could be.
There are a number of big free agents in the market that fit the bill and it will be really interesting to see which one of them ends up being the promised signing.
Top free agents who are currently available, or will soon be available, to appear for AEW include Jeff Hardy, Windham Rotunda (Bray Wyatt), Johnny Gargano, Keith Lee, Karrion Kross, Danhausen, Buddy Murphy, ROH World Champion Jonathan Gresham, Adam Scherr, Shane \”Swerve\” Strickland, Teagan Nox and Toni Storm.
Apart from this, Tony Khan talked about things such as the upcoming final of the TBS title tournament, the signing of Jake Atlas, and more.
You can check out his full interview in the video below:
Bron Breakker defied all expectations when he beat Tommaso Ciampa to win the NXT championship during New Year\’s Evil, only a few months after his in-ring debut in September last year.
The 24-year-old destroyed the old NXT logo while he entered the arena for his main event match, signaling the start of a new era for the development brand.
Bron Breakker\’s father Rick Steiner was in attendance for this big match. Bron also paid tribute to his uncle Scott Steiner by using the Frankensteiner during the bout.
The new NXT champion finally won the match after nailing a big flying Bulldog. He then made Ciampa tap out using the Steiner Recliner submission.
The show went off air with Bron Breakker raising the NXT title in the air as Vic Joseph declared him the new face of NXT.
After the broadcast ended, Rick Steiner got into the ring to celebrate the big victory of his son. WWE posted a video of the moment on their social media as seen below:
Tommaso Ciampa also reacted to the loss in his own way. The now-former NXT champion posted a photo of himself and told thank you to the fans. You can check out the full NXT New Year\’s Evil results here.
NXT\’s first event in 2022 in New Year\’s Evil signalled the start of a new era for the development brand where Bron Breakker defeated Tommaso Ciampa to become the new NXT champion.
Breakker\’s father Rick Steiner was in attendance for this highly physical match between the two stars that main evented the show.
Both the stars got plenty of offense and at a time it looked like Ciampa was going to retain his title when he hit Breakker with a Fairy Tale Ending.
However, everyone was left surprised when the 24-year-old kicked out of the finishing maneuver. This got fans chanting \’NXT\’ in excitement.
The ending of the bout saw Bron Breakker delivering a big flying Bulldog to his opponent. He then applied the Steiner Recliner on Tommaso Ciampa to make him tap out and become the new champion.
The NXT veteran took on his Twitter after the show to react to the loss. He posted a photo of himself leaving the ring after the defeat and wrote \’Thank You\’:
There is no word yet on what WWE is planning for Ciampa after tonight\’s show. It will be interesting to see if he takes part in the upcoming Royal Rumble match.
Whether it be the reports of backstage rift with other AEW EVPs or the fan reaction to his bookings, in the past few months Cody Rhodes has found himself making headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Now the latest comments from the All Elite Wrestling executive about the egos in the company\’s locker room are only bound to attract some more negative reactions for the current TNT champion.
Rhodes discussed the growth of AEW in 2021 and what to expect in 2022 during a recent interview with Fite TV’s Fite in Focus. Talking about the backstage environment of the promotion, he claimed that it has its own egos and problems:
“I imagine it will be our biggest and most successful year yet. And I hope fans don’t take that as me being arrogant or anything of that nature. We continue to grow for three years and I don’t see us stopping, because we love it too much. We genuinely do.
If you come backstage at AEW, there is no place like it. It has its own egos and problems, people not liking each other.\” said Cody Rhodes, \”But for the most part, that’s the most team effort place that I have been part of in my life.”
Former WWE superstar Keith Lee has changed his look drastically since being released by WWE in November last year.
The former NXT champion shared a photo of himself in a Twitter post. He claimed that he is almost done with his Samuel L. Jackson look:
\”Back to work. In the Lab. I think I’m almost done with my Samuel L. Jackson meme look (right after I take a crazy looking photo with it lol). But it’s time to start considering what is next properly.\”
Back to work. In the Lab.
I think I'm almost done with my Samuel L. Jackson meme look (right after I take a crazy looking photo with it lol). But it's time to start considering what is next properly. pic.twitter.com/2m1nIVzbOL
Keith Lee should have about a month left on his 90-days non-compete clause. This means fans will have to wait a bit more before seeing him back in the ring.
Though this hasn\’t stopped the former WWE star from making headlines. Right after his release, Lee infamously got WWE to dispute some claims about paying his own medical bills while being employed by the company.
The former WWE star was trending as early as last week when he told people to stop watching WWE in hopes of his return, because the promotion has made \’enough money\’ off his name since his release.
There is no word yet on what Keith Lee is planning for his future after his non-compete expires. We should get a better idea about it in the coming days.
The New Day have taken a unique approach when it comes to splitting a team. As opposed to the usual practice of one guy turning on the rest of the team, each member of the trio has branched off towards singles career in his own way in the past couple of years. Yet they have remained friends. All three of the stars celebrate each other\’s success and support each other during their failure.
Angelo Dawkins of the Street Profits hopes that they will be able to follow a similar path when it\’s time for him and his partner Montez Ford to go their separate ways.
One half of the former Raw tag team champions was the most recent guest on Ryan Satin\’s Out Of Character podcast. He was asked about a potential singles run for him and whether he would like The Street Profits to follow the example of The New Day.
Dawkins replied positively. He praised his partner saying that Ford has the potential to become a world champion someday. Angelo Dawkins claimed that he would like to be on his partner\’s side when that happens:
\”Yeah, that\’d be cool. We haven\’t really honestly discussed that. But if it ever happens, that\’s what we would hope to happen. We still be boys while we watch each other flourish. I think Tez has the potential to be one of the best. He does have [The] Rock vibes. I agree with everybody that says that he has the potential to hold THE title.\”
The Street Profits
\”That\’s my brother for life\”
– Angelo Dawkins on his partner Montez Ford
Angelo Dawkins continued, \”So I hope I\’m there to support him, and I\’ll be right there with him. That\’s my brother for life. And he\’ll be there for me as well If the opportunity ever went that way. If it does happen, hopefully we kind of do what the New Day does and still be cool with each other. Still be a unit just in case somebody tries to be funny and try to jump up on one of us.\”
WWE almost broke up the Street Profits during last year\’s drafts before the officials decided against the idea. So while the company doesn\’t seem to have any immediate plans for the duo to split up, we can never be sure when it might end up happening. Apart from this, Angelo Dawkins also shared his dream WrestleMania 38 match which you can check out here.
If you use any quotes from the article please credit SEScoops with an H/t for transcription
A lot has changed in WWE since the Attitude Era. Everything that goes on TV is much more scripted. Different characters share a lot more traits than they did in the past. One example is that the heels are always looking for ways to win and they share the same tactics. Mick Foley believes the one thing that\’s missing from WWE today, is a heel that just wants to hurt his opponent.
The WWE Hall Of Famer recently sat down with AEW star Thunder Rosa. The two ate tacos and discussed all things pro wrestling. Foley was asked which wrestlers he would like to face if he was starting his wrestling career today. The hardcore legend unsurprisingly took the names of people such as Jon Moxley and Darby Allin:
\”Assuming I was near the top of the game, I would have loved to wrestle Moxley. Bray Wyatt, in whatever incarnation he comes back, but I also loved wrestling the smaller guys who did the flying. Because although I could not work every style, I could adapt to just about any style. I could incorporate aspects of what anyone else did and then put my own personal stamp on it.
So coming out of the gate when Ricochet came into WWE. You need a great opening feud. I thought if I was that guy, in my prime with someone who can do anything, but is also small enough for me to come across as a power wrestler. I think we really could have made an impression. And there\’ll be other guys like Darby Allin. If in my prime I could have got my hands on Darby Allin [that would have been so much fun].\”
Mick Foley continued by talking about the current state of WWE and the wrestling world in general. He gave the example of Abdullah The Butcher and said the one thing that\’s missing from wrestling today is heels that are not there to win matches but to hurt their opponents:
\”The one thing I say sometimes it\’s missing. This is I guess a knock on Mr. McMahon. He wants every heel to look like they\’re trying to win at every moment. That\’s great for some people. But Abdullah The Butcher didn\’t go for covers. He looked like he was there to end your life. So sometimes what\’s missing is that aspect that the babyface is not fighting for a win. He\’s literally fighting for his life.
I think that\’s one of the things that\’s missing there.\” said Foley, \”It\’s another one. You can\’t overdo it. You can\’t have five matches like that. But if you had one certifiable madman. I mean, I\’d like to think that in my prime if I had a guy like Darby Allen. I\’d be looking out and then there would be be tears falling as people feared for his life.\”
If you use any quotes from the article please credit SEScoops with an H/t for transcription
From winning the Royal Rumble to main eventing WrestleMania and defeating Brock Lesnar for the world title, Drew McIntyre has achieved a lot of things in the last couple of years which is a goal for many wrestlers.
The former WWE champion made his wrestling debut in 2003 and he has been a part of the industry for almost 2 decades. However, even after this, he has no plans of hanging his boots anytime soon.
McIntyre was asked how long he plans to continue wrestling during a recent interview with Fansided. Replying to it, he claimed that he will be here as long as he can:
“I ain’t going anywhere, I’ll be here as long as I possibly can. I’m 36 years old, everybody thinks I am in my mid-40’s because I debuted when I was so young. I still have at least 10 years in me. Don’t count me out yet.”
Drew McIntyre was also inquired about a potential encounter with the Universal champion Roman Reigns and he claimed that it\’s his eventual goal.
However, McIntyre mentioned how he lost a couple of big matches on Raw before moving to SmackDown. He explained that he wants to wait and build himself back up to the level where people start demanding the match.
December marks a full year since we lost Brodie Lee. The wrestling world came together to remember the late star on 1 year anniversary of his passing earlier this week. While the veteran competed for many promotions in his career, where he really got to shine was AEW. The promotion of Tony Khan put the spotlight on Lee from his very first appearance in the company and the wrestling star lived up to the hype.
Khan recently had an interview with Sports Illustrated. He was asked if he has a favorite memory of the late star. The AEW president claimed that he has a lot of memories of the former champion that he cherishes:
\”I have a lot of memories of Brodie Lee that I really cherish. At the beginning of the pandemic, the very first pandemic show was his debut in AEW. That was the first time Brodie appeared. He had no fans ringside when he had his first match at Daily’s Place, so it was a strange time. He became such a leader for us, and we really got to know each other when there weren’t many other people around.\”
Tony Khan then remembered the time when Brodie Lee unsuccessfully challenged the then AEW champion Jon Moxley at the Double Or Nothing PPV in May 2020. Lee went on to win the TNT championship a few months later in August. According to Khan, he will always remember this time where he got to know the former WWE star:
\”I ended up reaching out to Jon Moxley and saying it should be him and Brodie for the title at Double or Nothing. Mox loved the idea. We didn’t have a ton of time, only a few weeks, but we built to Mox and Brodie. We had a three-way call to talk ideas, and that was really a lot of fun. Then we made him TNT champion over the summer, and it was a great run. But I’ll really always remember that period during the pandemic when we really got to know each other.\”
Apart from this, Tony Khan also talked about recent AEW signings including Adam Cole, Bobby Fish and Kyle O\’Reilly. He claimed that O\’Reilly\’s debut helps build more interest in AEW programming. You can check out his comments at this link.
The WWE departure of Toni Storm has been a puzzling topic for fans, especially after it was reported that the former NXT UK star was the one who asked for her release.
There have been lots of theories going around as to why the former NXT UK women\’s champion made the decision to leave the promotion despite her program with SmackDown women\’s champion Charlotte Flair.
Dave Meltzer recently provided some updates on the situation. On the latest Wrestling Observer Radio, he said “As far as her reasons and why she left, the only thing I heard was burnout essentially.\”
Meltzer couldn\’t provide any further details on her release, so it\’s hard to say what provisions the officials put on her while granting the request.
Toni Storm joined WWE in 2017 and she had a good run in NXT. Though she had recently opened up about her frustrations with the lack of opportunity after being called up to the main roster in July.
She worked the recent Live Event from Washington, DC. Charlotte Flair successfully defended the SmackDown women\’s championship on the show in a triple threat match also involving Sasha Banks.
Storm flew herself home after the event and later asked for her release. Though reports suggest that her request had nothing to do with anything that happened at the event.
Chris Jericho competed in his first-ever death match earlier this year against Nick Gage during the July 28 episode of Dynamite. The match was part of the five labors of Jericho storyline leading to his match against MJF at All Out. The bout created some controversy but it was overall well received by fans. The match received a 4-star rating from Dave Meltzer but Y2J believes that it was deserving of 5 stars.
Jericho opened up about the evolution of his Painmaker character on the latest episode of his Talk Is Jericho podcast. Speaking of his fight with the hardcore star, the former AEW champion claimed that it was one of his favorite matches. He further explained that it deserved a 5-star rating:
\”We did the match with Nick Gage and came up with all the cool spots that you saw. one of my favorite matches. You talk about a five-star match. I don\’t know if there\’s such thing as a five-star deathmatch. Of course, there should be and of course there is. In my opinion, it was a four and a half, five-star match. If I were ever doing an addendum to my List of Jericho book. I [will] put it in there as four and a half stars [or] five stars. I never had a full-fledged deathmatch before. I\’ll never have a full-fledged deathmatch again. But that night, we had a great one,\”
How Chris Jericho Came Up With The Ending To The DeathMatch
Chris Jericho won this match against the former GCW champion in a unique manner. The wrestling veteran used the mist to overcome the viciousness of his opponent and score the victory. During the episode, Chris explained how he came up with the idea to introduce mist in AEW and how Tony Khan reacted to it:
\”I was thinking of something towards the end that can really turn the tide cause Nick was using the light tubes and all that other stuff. I thought well, \’What if I blow mist? Haven\’t seen any mist in years.\’ Obviously [we] talked about The Great Muta earlier. That is a Great Muta classic, vintage trait. Tajiri did it in WWE for a while.
I thought this will be really cool if I do some sort of a mist. So I told Tony about it and he goes, \’What color is it gonna be?\’ And I said \’It\’s gonna be black.\’ He\’s like \’Well that\’s great because Muta used the black mist once in 1987 [it] is even worse than the green.\’\”
If you use any quotes from the article please credit SEScoops with an H/t for transcription
Members of the Hit Row faction were part of the dozens of talents released by WWE this year. B-Fab was the first to be let go on November 4. The rest of the group was released 15 days later, only weeks after making their main roster debuts.
Though their release became a controversial topic when reports emerged of ‘Top Dolla’ A.J. Francis \’rubbing people the wrong way\’ leading to the departure of the group.
B-Fab responded to these talks during a recent K&S WrestleFest signing. She explained that people make up stories when they don\’t know the truth:
\”Here\’s the thing, people will always say anything to make sense of when things happen even if it\’s not true or they don\’t know the details. Things like that. AJ is an amazing guy and is so smart. A huge wrestling fan, knows his stuff, very dedicated to the whole group.
We had a lot of idea for the group. AJ is a professional and a huge fan.\” said B-Fab, \”People just say things because they want to make sense about what happened, especially something unfortunate as this.\”
Top Dolla has previously responded to the reports as well. He claimed that standing up for himself was considered wrong by WWE officials and that he had \’plenty of stories\’ about being disrespected himself.
Apart from this, B-Fab also confirmed that she had a 30-days non-compete clause while the rest of Hit Row has a 90-days non-compete clause after being upgraded to main roster contracts.
Bron Breakker has managed to impress a lot of people with his performance in a short amount of time. The powerhouse style of wrestling has helped the young star set himself apart from the older crop of NXT talents.
The 24-year-old recently had an interview with Yahoo Sports. He talked about things such as his experience of the NXT locker room and more.
When asked about his character, Breakker revealed that the idea for it came from his Football career. The former Fullback claimed that his character is based a lot on who he is in real life:
“The idea of Bron Breakker, the character, it’s a lot of who I am, there’s a lot of reality in it, the idea came from when I was playing football in college and a little bit in the pros, when I blocked people, I just wanted to break them in half.
That was my mentality. I was a hard-hitting guy who loved doing the dirty work. I thought that if I used to do it in football, I could build the character around it.”
Tony Khan has been on a signing spree the last few months. The AEW president has signed over 25 new stars to his company in 2021.
The sheer number of acquisitions however has also attracted some criticism from fans, with many worrying that the new signings have overshadowed the Day 1 AEW talents in many cases.
Khan was asked about his strategy for new stars heading into 2022 during a recent interview with TVInsider. Replying to it, Tony admitted that it\’s time to be discerning about talent acquisition:
\”I do think I have to be more discerning than ever in talent acquisition because we have such a strong roster. I was aggressively expanding with the launch of Rampage.\”
Tony Khan went on to list some of the major names that have joined their roster in recent times before discussing AEW\’s partnership with other companies:
\”We’ve also continued our partnerships with great international companies like New Japan Pro Wrestling and Lucha Libre AAA. We have a lot of great talent working, but it’s time for me to be more discerning than ever in terms of acquisitions.\”
Inspite of this claim, Khan promised that the list of talents will continue to expand. When asked if we will see more talents coming in next year, he said \”Absolutely, there will be more people coming into AEW.\”
What do you think about AEW\’s hiring strategy in 2021? Let us know your thoughts on all the signing of the year in the comment section below.
AEW star and WWE Hall of Famer Jake Roberts has revealed that he has tested positive for coronavirus.
The wrestling veteran revealed the news on Twitter. He wrote \”I’ve waited so long. Actually thought I was bulletproof. Yes I’ve gotten Covid-19!\”
The former WWE star followed this up with another tweet. He mentioned how he hasn\’t made an AEW appearance in nearly 3 months. Jake Roberts claimed that Tony Khan has gone above and beyond to keep everyone safe:
\”Yes after not going to do my AEW work for nearly 3 months. Tony Kahn knows I’m high risk and has gone above and beyond all expectations trying to keep everyone safe. Pretty sure I got it from family or when I was out shopping.\”
I’ve waited so long. Actually thought I was bulletproof. Yes I’ve gotten Covid-19!!!!!
Yes after not going to do my AEW work for nearly 3 months. Tony Kahn knows I’m high risk and has gone above and beyond all expectations trying to keep everyone safe. Pretty sure I got it from family or when I was out shopping.
Jake Roberts revealed in July earlier this year that he has signed a new 2-year contract with AEW. Though he had been off TV in recent months after undergoing a foot surgery where he had pins inserted in his toes.
A positive test for the wrestling legend is concerning news, especially because of his battle with COPD which makes it hard for Roberts to breathe. COVID-19 is known to attack the lungs of its patients.
SEScoops wishes a speedy recovery to Jake Roberts.
This week\’s episode of AEW Dynamite featured the second and last semi-final match of the TBS championship tournament. It saw Thunder Rosa and Jade Cargill going up against each other.
Towards the ending of the match that was mostly dominated by Cargill, Rosa got a figure four locked in. However, Cargill got to the ropes forcing the break.
Mark Sterling then created a distraction that led to a hooded figure attacking Thunder Rosa. This interference allowed Cargill to hit Jaded for the pinfall victory.
Thunder Rosa tried to attack Cargill after the match but the hooded figure returned. She put Rosa down once again and then revealed herself to be the former NXT star Mercedes Martinez:
![\"Tony](\"https://media.sescoops.com/uploads/2021/10/tony-khan-1.jpg\")
![\"The](\"https://media.sescoops.com/uploads/2022/01/street-profits-1.jpg\")
![\"Mick](\"https://media.sescoops.com/uploads/2021/12/Mick-Foley-1200x675.jpg\")
![\"Brodie](\"https://media.sescoops.com/uploads/2020/10/Brodie-Lee-tnt-championship.jpg\")