Author: Mike Reichlin

The AEW TNT Championship belt design is finally complete.

AEW crowned the first TNT Champion at Double or Nothing in May. Cody Rhodes defeated Lance Archer in the finals of the TNT Championship tournament.

Boxing legend \”Iron\” Mike Tyson was on hand to present Cody the belt. AEW announced at the time that thee belt was incomplete. Production on the prestigious award was halted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

After winning the TNT Championship, Cody announced a weekly open challenge competition for anybody to step up and see if they can take the prize from him. We have seen wrestlers from AEW and outside the company try their best. Cody has memorable battles with Jungle Boy, Sonny Kiss, Eddie Kingston and Warhorse.

As of this writing, he is still champion. Cody Rhodes defends the AEW TNT Championship against Scorpio Sky this week on Dynamite.

Discussion: What do you think of the AEW TNT Championship Final Design?

All Elite Wrestling has announced a new \”dynamic membership platform\” for female wrestling fans, AEW Heels. The new female-forward community led by Brandi Rhodes will hold its first event this Friday, August 7th. Rhodes also spoke with Sports Illustrated this week about the initiative.

AEW Heels began earlier this year with two online video conference events. AEW says the Heels program is \”designed to celebrate and inspire\” female wrestling fans around the world.

AEW sent in the following press release regarding the AEW Heels subscription platform:

August 5, 2020 – AEW Heels, the new female-focused wrestling community led by AEW Chief Brand Officer Brandi Rhodes and the stars of AEW’s women’s division, today announced the launch of its new fan membership platform. Powered by Wonderful Union’s secure digital platform, female wrestling fans can seamlessly access AEW Heels’ exclusive content and other special benefits — all in a safe environment for engaging in conversation and developing friendships worldwide.

With an annual paid subscription of $49, members receive access to a variety of features including virtual meet-and-greets, video conference discussions with industry experts, exclusive AEW talent Q&A sessions, customized merchandise, special promotions, themed parties and more. The secure space enables AEW Heels members to connect, learn and thrive together through shared passions for women’s wrestling.

Female fans can subscribe to AEW Heels at: AllEliteHeels.com

The first event for AEW Heels members is scheduled for Friday, August 7, which is included in the annual subscription. The virtual event will be curated on the platform and feature a Q&A session with Aubrey Edwards, a social media strategizing discussion with Brandi, and a special session on respect and empowerment in the workplace with Keisha-Ann Gray, partner at Proskauer.

“AEW Heels is a first-of-its-kind community designed to celebrate and inspire our female fans around the world,” said AEW Chief Brand Officer Brandi Rhodes. “With our new platform, we look forward to the next step in connecting the AEW Heels community and making this the best time ever to be a female wrestling fan.”

AEW Heels debuted earlier this year with two special video conference sessions designed for women. Session elements included a Q&A with former AEW Women’s World Champion Nyla Rose, a tutorial with renowned AEW makeup artist Stella Kae, and a mental health seminar with AEW Chief Legal Officer Megha Parekh, as well as a sweepstakes program and donation opportunities to support The George Floyd Memorial Fund and The Trevor Project.

About AEW Heels

AEW Heels is a new community for females who love wrestling. The female-forward movement, led by Brandi Rhodes and the stars of AEW’s women’s division, is designed to celebrate and inspire our female fans around the world. AEW Heels is dedicated to making this the best time ever to be a female wrestling fan. Be who you are and come as you are, because we\’re all going to come together as a community to change the world. For more info, check out @AEW_Heels (Twitter) and @AEW_Heels (Instagram).

The first round of the AEW Women\’s Tag Team Cup tournament begins tonight, Monday August 3rd.

The 8-team \’Deadly Draw\’ tournament will air exclusively on AEW\’s YouTube channel. New matches premiere Monday nights at 7pm (Eastern).

The first match of the tournament will see Nyla Rose and former WWE wrestler Ariane Andrew vs. Anna Jay of the Dark order and former NXT star Tay Conti.

As of this writing, two other teams are confirmed for the tournament:

• Ivelisse & Diamante
• Brandi Rhodes & Allie

The winners of the tournament will receive the AEW Women\’s Tag Team Cup trophy.

During a recent interview AEW Chief Brand Officer Brandi Rhodes spoke about the tournament. She noted that her hope is that it becomes an annual event.

It has not yet been confirmed when the finals will take place, but AEW\’s next pay-per-view, All Out, takes place on Saturday, September 5th, 2020.

Cody Rhodes and QT Marshall\’s Nightmare Factory wrestling school sent in the following press release Thursday evening:

Nightmare Factory, the premium training facility owned and operated by AEW’s Cody Rhodes and QT Marshall, today announced its new development camp to propel the next generation of professional wrestling talent.

Starting on Monday, Sept. 21, the inaugural class of 25 aspiring male and female wrestlers will experience the unparalleled three-month curriculum at the world-class Nightmare Factory facility in Norcross, Ga. The premium Nightmare Factory facility, which encompasses 43,000 square feet, includes four wrestling rings and a complete Olympic style weight room. AEW filmed several closed-set DYNAMITE shows at the Nightmare Factory earlier this year.

Designed by head trainers Cody Rhodes and QT Marshall, the rolling curriculum incorporates programming never before presented in a wrestling school. In addition to customized workouts and fitness regimes, students will engage with prominent nutrition counselor Carolyn Fazio to develop meal plans, and participate in exclusive seminars on topics such as HD makeup, the history of American wrestling and “Wrestlenomics,” an in-depth look at the past and present of the wrestling economy.

Aspiring wrestlers can apply for the first Nightmare Factory camp at www.NightmareFactoryGa.com. Camps are limited to 25 athletes and open to men and women of any level of wrestling experience. New camp sessions will begin every three months. The opening camp commences on Sept. 21, followed by the second session in early January 2021.

“I’ve had the best trainers throughout my career, and now I feel a responsibility to pass on the fundamentals and traditions of our sport and entertainment medium to aspiring wrestlers,” said Cody Rhodes, co-head trainer of Nightmare Factory and EVP of AEW. “What I love the most about the Nightmare Factory is its push towards the future and innovation, as well as its focus on the history of wrestling and how it has shaped our current business climate.”

To ensure the safety of all athletes and staff, temperature screenings and COVID-19 tests are required to enter the facility. Refer to www.NightmareFactoryGA.com for policies and information.

About Nightmare Factory

Nightmare Factory is a premium training facility owned and operated by Cody Rhodes and QT Marshall. Located in the Atlanta suburb of Norcross, Ga., the 43,000 square feet facility includes four wrestling rings and a comprehensive Olympic-style weight room. Its new three-month development camp launches on Sept. 21, 2020. For more info, check out @NF_Training (Twitter) and www.NightmareFactoryGa.com.

All Elite Wrestling has released the latest AEW Rankings for the week of Wednesday, July 29th, 2020.

We are now less than six weeks out from the All Out pay-per-view scheduled for Saturday, September 5th. With Fyter Fest and Fight for the Fallen in the rear view mirror, expect these rankings to have big implications on the championship matches we\’ll see at the PPV.

The following are this week\’s rankings for AEW\’s three divisions. Win/loss records displayed are for this year.

Men\’s Singles Division

• AEW World Champion: Jon Moxley (14-0)
• TNT Champion: Cody (16-1)

MJF held on to the top spot this week. He will be holding a State of the Industry Address tonight on Dynamite and is the frontrunner to be Jon Moxley\’s opponent at All Out. This week\’s Top 5 rankings are unchanged from last week.

Top 5 Rankings:

1. MJF (8-0)
2. Lance Archer (10-1)
3. Brian Cage (6-1)
4. Brodie Lee (5-1)
5. Darby Allin (7-4)

Women\’s Singles Division

• AEW Women\’s Champion: Hikaru Shida

Abadon enters the Top 5 women\’s rankings this week. She bumps out Kris Statlander, who is out of action and will soon undergo surgery to repair an ACL tear.

Top 5 Rankings:

1. Nyla Rose (7-2)
2. Big Swole (5-3)
3. Penelope Ford (5-4)
4. Dr. Britt Baker (4-4)
5. Abadon (2-1)

Tag Team Division:

• AEW Tag Team Champions: Kenny Omega & \”Hangman\” Page (10-0)

This week\’s tag team rankings are very similar to last week\’s. The Young Bucks swapped places with the Jurassic Express after their victory over Butcher & Blade last week on Dynamite. The Dark Order challenges for the AEW tag team championships tonight on Dynamite.

Top 5 Rankings:

1. Dark Order (8-0)
2. Best Friends (12-4)
3. Young Bucks (5-2)
4. Jurassic Express (5-2)
5. Private Party (5-4)

Brandi Rhodes has provided some new information about All Elite Wrestling\’s upcoming \’Deadly Draw\’ women\’s tag team tournament.

AEW\’s Chief Brand Officer spoke with Christy Olson this week for CHRISTYreports. Brandi discussed a wide variety of topics, including her role as an AEW executive, the #SpeakingOut movement addressing sexual misconduct in pro wrestling and much more.

Last week on Dynamite, AEW announced the Women\’s Tag Team Cup tournament is happening this summer. We know that 8 teams will be competing, but additional details have been hard to come by.

Brandi says that the full picture will become \”crystal clear\” this week on AEW Dynamite. She and Allie have been announced as the first two participants in the tournament, but Brandi reveals that they might not be teaming together as the Nightmare Sisters.

\”We’re going to explain how the teams come together and then you might see a team or two come together,\” said Brandi. \”There is the factor that [the Nightmare Sisters] could maybe not be together in the tournament, since that hasn’t been clear. So we will also see on Wednesday with the rules what that means for the Nightmare Sisters. I’m honestly hoping that we are together, because again, I feel like we’ve just gotten our footing so it would be kind of sad to tear us apart at this point.\”

As for whether or not this is a one-off tournament or not, Brandi is hopeful this will be the first of many.

\”I think that’s how you look at a lot of things. You try things, you see how they go. I, of course, am very hopeful that this tournament is something that can continue to happen as it’s going to bring great opportunities to a lot of women who don’t normally get to be seen on Dynamite or on AEW Dark as often as we’d like to.\”

\”There’s a limit to what I can handle of people sending me pictures of their genitalia. So I’m not open publicly to DMs anymore.\”

For more of Christy’s interview with Brandi Rhodes watch the full video here:

Sammy Guevara made a surprise return to All Elite Wrestling at the conclusion of this week\’s AEW Dynamite. It was his first appearance on AEW television in over a month. Guevara was suspended without pay on June 22nd when an inappropriate joke he made about Sasha Banks several years ago resurfaced.

AEW President Tony Khan spoke to Sports Illustrated this week about his decision to lift Guevara\’s suspension. The Spanish God underwent four weeks of extensive sensitivity training where he learned about tolerance, race relations and gender issues.

“Sammy was off television for a month and suspended without pay for 30 days. I think it was the right time for Sammy to come back because he’s shown that he’s very sorry and that he can change. He’s spent every day over the past month trying to prove that.”

In addition to undergoing vigorous sensitivity training, one month of Sammy Guevara’s salary was donated to the Women’s Center of Jacksonville.

Tony Khan feels Guevara did his best to turn around a bad situation by improve himself and making a positive impact in the Jacksonville community.

\”I think Sammy was very happy to have an opportunity to apologize, publicly and privately, and do something to turn a terrible comment he made into something positive.”

Next week on AEW Dynamite, the reunited Inner Circle will battle Orange Cassidy, Best Friends and the Jurassic Express in a 10-man tag team match.

Here are some more articles related to the Sammy Guevara suspension story:

• Sasha Banks Releases Statement On Sammy Guevara’s Comments
• Sammy Guevara Releases A Video Apology
• Cody Rhodes Comments On Sammy Guevara’s Suspension
• Tony Khan Updates AEW Suspensions of Sammy Guevara & Jimmy Havoc

The third incarnation of the Chris Jericho Rock \’n\’ Wrestling Rager cruise has been postponed due to COVID-19 concerns.

The Triple Whammy had been scheduled for February 1-5, 2021 from Miami. As with the first two events, the cruise sails from Miami to Grand Bahama Island.

The new dates are October 21-25. Triple Whammy will be held aboard the Norwegian Jewel, a slightly smaller vessel than the Norwegian Pearl, which hosted Part Deux earlier this year.

The Jericho cruise features live wrestling shows from All Elite Wrestling, autograph signings, live music and comedy and much more.

Click here to join the Waiting List for Triple Whammy.

Cruise organizers issued a statement on Wednesday announcing the postponement.

Brian Cage is reevaluating his alliance with Taz after suffering a tough loss to Jon Moxley this week at Fight for the Fallen.

Cage looked impressive during his first opportunity challenging for the AEW World Championship. He showcased his signature style of power moves mixed with remarkable agility for a man of his stature. Moxley strategically worked on Cage\’s surgically-repaired arm. Moxley put Cage in a crossface armbar submission but The Machine refused to quit. The finish came when Taz threw in the towel to save his client from another potential injury.

Taz tweeted the following on social media the following morning:

Brian Cage has had a few days to think about the situation. He released a following statement on Friday about whether or not continuing with Taz is the best thing for his career. He is adamant that he was not going to to submit to Jon Moxley before Taz ended the match on his beehalf. Cage wrote:

\”It\’s been a rough couple of days, and Taz and I have gone back and forth,\” Cage began. \”I\’ve considered relieving him of his duties, and wanted to immediately after the match. I\’ll wait and see how I feel after the weekend.

Regardless, I never tapped. I wasn\’t gonna tap. I only need one arm to drop mox on his head. I technically may no longer be undefeated, but I\’m still unbeaten. And more importantly, the answer to the question \”Who betta than Cage?\”, is still NOBODY!\”

AEW announcer Jim Ross had some interesting things to say about Brian Cage working with Taz. JR was critical of the FTW Championship storyline. He also feels Cage needs to show more personality on television. You can check out those comments below:

• Jim Ross Believes Brian Cage Needs To “Show More Personality”

Brian Cage was a major acquisition for All Elite Wrestling earlier this year. The 36-year-old grappler possesses a dangerous combination of power and agility rarely seen.

During a recent interview with TSN, \”The Machine\” explained why he signed with AEW instead of WWE. Cage cited better match-ups and a greater degree of creative freedom as the primary factors.

\”I think just overall, it was the cool, new thing that everybody wants to be a part of, obviously, but to be able to break through the reach I’d already done – the Ring of Honor crowd, the Impact crowd, and so on,\” he began. \”I felt like I needed to go to a bigger, national scene like an AEW. And another big thing was AEW had the most unique, cooler matches, if you will, and all of them would be first-time ever matches, whereas everywhere else would have been repeats and not as exciting.\”

Brian Cage knows the money and promotional machine that WWE offers. However, he knew that he would have far less input on his character and storylines if he had signed with Vince McMahon.

\”I were to go to WWE, I wouldn’t have as much creative control,\” Cage continued. \”That, artistically speaking, was a big reason why. I’m going to go to a place where I can showcase my abilities and have the most fun, intriguing matches and I had more personal desire to go to AEW than anywhere else.”

Cage is now aligned with ECW legend Taz as his \’coach\’ and mouthpiece. Cage knew Taz had developed into a top-tier broadcaster in recent years, but was amazed when Taz started cutting promos for him.

\”I knew he was a great commentator and he could cut promos, but I didn’t really think of him as a promo guy,\” Cage said of Taz. \”That’s not the first thing that jumps out at you. But dude, he can kill it on the promos!\”

Cage also mentioned that he prefers working as a babyface, which goes against the grain of what most wrestlers say. \”I think it’s more so because if you think of bigger heels, they often get painted in these big bully meathead roles. I just think that’s very one-dimensional and a little meh – a little vanilla to me. I’d much rather get over as a face and then turn heel.”

Head over to TSN for the full interview with Brian Cage.

AEW star Chris Jericho and rock legend Sebastian Bach got into a heated altercation on social media late Wednesday night.

It all began when Twitter user @TravisDrago pointed out that Chris Jericho is starting to look like the Skid Row frontman. Bach says he hears the Jericho comparison \”every single day.\” When another Twitter user says Jericho is the superior rocker, Bach called out Jericho for \”miming to a tape\” instead of performing live like he\’s been doing since the 1980\’s.

Bach doubled down on his dig at Chris Jericho, calling him \”Milli Vanilli\” for lip syncing at shows. This got the attention of Le Champion, who touted that his band Fozzy has had more success on the Billboard charts than Skid Row.

Jericho says that he considered Sebastian Bach a friend until this Twitter spat. He then challenged Bach to a sing-off. \”No effects, no tuning, no bullshit. He\’s a great singer, but I\’m better. You\’ve got my number dude. Call me.\”

Bach said he wasn\’t being derogatory by stating that Jericho lip syncs. He accepted Jericho\’s sing-off challenge:

\”I will sing in your f******* face anytime. Wrestling is not rock and roll. I will show you f****** rock and roll.\”

Jericho\’s bandmate, guitarist Rich Ward, says Chris is the first one to defend Sebastian Bach when other people talk trash about him.

Chris Jericho claims to be the better singer, but he might have Sebastian Bach to thank for that. In this 2011 video for Revolver, Jericho receives a singing lesson from none other than Bach himself.

AEW President Tony Khan is doing the media rounds to promote Wednesday\’s Fight for the Fallen edition of AEW Dynamite on TNT. The benefit show is raising money for Florida-based COVID-19 relief efforts.

During a discussion with the New York Post, Khan spoke about AEW suspending Sammy Guevara and Jimmy Havoc. He revealed that it was his decision to suspend both men, whose respective situations were different but both needed to be addressed.

Jimmy Havoc approached AEW management and informed them he needed help. Khan says Jimmy \’really needed\’ the treatment he is getting. \”If and when he were to wrestle again, the most important thing for himself and everybody here is that he sought treatment and counseling.\”

Regarding Sammy Guevara, Khan felt it was necessary to suspend him when an inappropriate joke he made about WWE wrestler Sasha Banks resurfaced. Khan says the recent controversy was the first time he heard the \”horrible\” comments.

\”The comments he made were horrible,\” said Khan. \”I can’t defend them. I can’t even comment on them because they’re unspeakably bad. He has also done a different kind of counseling and he’s in a different kind of counseling and it’s a different kind of coaching. Everybody here, male and female pretty much up and down the roster we talked to felt like Sammy had no history of this kind of behavior. Really people were shocked Sammy had said that.\”

Guevara is undergoing sensitivity training during his suspension. His AEW pay is being donated to a Jacksonville-based women\’s non-profit.

Head over to the NY Post to read the full interview with Tony Khan.

More on the Sammy Guevara – Sasha Banks Situation:

• Sammy Guevara Releases A Video Apology
• Sasha Banks Releases Statement On Sammy Guevara’s Comments
• Cody Rhodes Comments On Sammy Guevara’s Suspension
• Sasha Banks Opens Up Regarding Response To Sammy Guevara