Month: December 2020

Backstage Details On Brodie Lee’s Condition Before His Passing

Although Brodie Lee’s passing on Saturday was met with a lot of shock in the wrestling world, people in AEW were aware of the seriousness of his lung ailment, according to Dave Meltzer on The Wrestling Observer Radio.

Meltzer noted that Lee’s condition was “one of those things that the few people who knew kept it quiet” even though a lot of people began questioning why The Exalted One had been off AEW TV for months. Lee was written off TV after his Dog Collar Match against Cody Rhodes during the Oct. 7 episode of AEW Dynamite. While Lee made a few appearances after that match, he never wrestled again as he was injured in storyline.

The Observer also pointed to how Brodie Lee Jr. defeating Kenny Omega to win the AEW World Championship last week [in a dark segment after AEW Dynamite tapings] hinted that “something was wrong” which led to Meltzer and others asking about Lee’s prolonged absence from AEW. The 8-year-old son of Lee jumped on Omega’s back and made the AEW World Champion tap out. Justin Roberts actually announced Brodie Lee Jr. as the new champion.

Lee had been suffering from his lung ailment “for a long time” and the condition worsened over a period of time, added Meltzer.

As noted, Lee’s wife Amanda took to Instagram and said her husband passed “after a hard fought battle with a non Covid related lung issue.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Star Jon Huber Aka Brodie Lee Has Passed Away

All Elite Wrestling star Brodie Lee (real name Jon Huber) has passed away at the age 41.

Huber’s death was confirmed on social media by AEW.

According to his wife, Huber’s death was caused by a “non Covid related lung issue”.

https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1343006487988342786

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

AEW President & CEO Tony Khan released the following statement on social media about Lee’s passing.

I’m devastated by the loss of Jon Huber, known to fans as Mr. Brodie Lee, formerly Luke Harper. Jon was a great man. His family came first, his loving wife Amanda & their sons Brodie + Nolan. He loved wrestling & was great at it, he loved you fans. Please keep him in your hearts.

https://twitter.com/TonyKhan/status/1343020124895399936

WWE has released the following statement about Lee’s passing:

WWE is saddened to learn that Jon Huber, known to WWE fans as Luke Harper, passed away today at age 41.

Known as both Luke Harper and Brodie Lee in the ring, Huber found success in every stop of his sports-entertainment career, as his soft spoken yet imposing presence helped him create countless awe-inspiring moments in the ring. After a highly decorated run on the independent circuit, Harper debuted in NXT as a menacing enforcer for The Wyatt Family. Harper had a dominant tag team run with Rowan that would lay the groundwork for future championship success.

As a member of The Wyatt Family, he engaged in heated rivalries with the likes of Kane, Daniel Bryan, The Shield, John Cena and The Usos. After being set free from the family, Harper authored an impressive singles run that culminated with him defeating Dolph Ziggler for the Intercontinental Championship. Harper & Rowan later comprised The Bludgeon Brothers and embarked on a path of destruction that was highlighted by a SmackDown Tag Team Title victory in a Triple Threat Match at WrestleMania 34.

WWE extends its condolences to Huber’s family, friends and fans.

WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephaine McMahon also wrote a tribute to Brodie Lee on social media.

Impact Wrestling Preview 12/8/20

IMPACT! tonight at 8/7c on AXS TV and Twitch!

* Don Callis and new AEW World Champion Kenny Omega will discuss Omega’s Title win this past week on AEW Dynamite

* Eric Young vs. Cody Deaner

* Brain Myers vs. TJP

* Josh alexander vs. Chris Sabin

* Knockouts Tag Team Championship Tournament Match: Deonna Purrazzo and Kimber Lee vs. Taya Valkyrie and Rosemary

WWE SmackDown Preview 12/4/20

The Road to TLC will continue with tonight’s WWE SmackDown on FOX episode.

WWE has announced just one match for tonight’s show – King Baron Corbin vs. Murphy. This will be a rematch from last week’s show, which saw interference from The Mysterio Family, on Murphy’s behalf.

WWE has also announced that tonight’s show will see WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns deliver a message to Kevin Owens over last week’s brutal attack to Jey Uso. It’s believed that Owens vs. Reigns will be confirmed for TLC soon.

SmackDown should also see some of the midcard feuds continue for TLC, including Big E vs. WWE Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn.

Backstage News On Plans For Crossover AEW – Impact Wrestling Match, Don Callis’ Future

This past Wednesday night, AEW presented a special edition of Dynamite titled “Winter Is Coming”. On top of the surprise debut of Sting, the show ended with Kenny Omega defeating Jon Moxley for the AEW World Heavyweight Championship. Omega was assisted by current Impact executive Don Callis for the win. Following the bout, Callis announced that Omega would be headed to Impact this coming Tuesday to discuss the title win.

According to Wrestling Inc., the relationship between Impact and AEW is not currently scheduled to be that intertwined. From what we have heard, Omega’s appearance on Impact will be a one-off and was largely done as a favor from Omega for Don Callis, who is a good friend of Omega’s. Omega also requested that Don work as the commentator for his big title win over Moxley.

Tony Khan apparently liked the idea and signed off on it. Beyond Omega making a one-off appearance on Impact, it was also relayed to us that The Good Brothers will likely be coming to AEW for one match as well. Omega’s appearance on Impact this Tuesday will likely be used to setup the Brothers coming to AEW to take on a team that was not disclosed to us, however, the Young Bucks would seem likely.

Furthermore, we have heard that Don Callis’ contract with Impact Wrestling may be coming up next month. Once Callis is done with Impact, it sounds like he would move to AEW full-time to work as Omega’s on-screen manager.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW – Impact Wrestling Alliance Reportedly “In The Works For A While”

Impact Wrestling executive Don Callis helped Kenny Omega defeat Jon Moxley to capture the AEW World Championship during last night’s Winter is Coming edition of AEW Dynamite.

After the controversial finish, Callis announced that Omega would appear on next week’s episode of Impact Wrestling and explain his actions. With Omega set to appear on a different wrestling show, Impact and AEW stars have taken to social media and pondered the possibilities of inter-promotional rivalries.

According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, “the Callis thing has been in the works for a while” and he presumed that Callis was the person who pitched the idea to have Omega show up on Impact. In addition to appearing on Impact, Omega will also be doing an interview on next week’s episode of Dynamite.ADVERTISING

It is widely documented that Callis was the one who convinced Chris Jericho to wrestle Omega at NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 12, a match which reportedly led to AEW President Tony Khan conceiving the idea for AEW. AEW and Impact could possibly use that history in the storyline and Meltzer noted that the two promotions “are going to be working together to a degree” although full details of their partnership are unclear.

It was noted that Impact Wrestling showing a match between Young Bucks and Motor City Machine Guns during this week’s episode “was more than just a coincidence” even though Impact regularly airs old matches.

Omega will travel to Mexico soon to defend his AAA Mega Championship against Laredo Kid at Triplemania XXVIII on December 12. AEW already has a partnership with NWA which allows Thunder Rosa to wrestle for AEW and Serena Deeb to hold the NWA Women’s World Title. Similarly, Meltzer said it would not be surprising if Impact’s biggest stars show up on Dynamite soon.

Meltzer said that AEW President Tony Khan’s recent tweets about “a shift in wrestling’s balance of power” were meant to be about the events that transpired on Dynamite last night — from the debut of Sting to the alliance between AEW and Impact.

It was noted that it appears as if Callis will be Omega’s manager going forward and the angle could be similar to Bobby Heenan managing former AWA Heavyweight Champion Nick Bockwinkel in the 1970s. Bockwinkel was involved in the first-ever AWA versus WWWF World Title Unification match, wrestling WWWF Champion Bob Backlund, to a double count-out in March 1979. After dropping the title to Verne Gagne, Bockwinkel was handed back the AWA Championship when Gagne retired in 1981. This led to Bockwinkel becoming one of wrestling’s biggest heels. Callis even tweeted out a photo of Heenan and Bockwinkle on Thursday morning, as seen below:

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Kenny Omega Wins AEW World Championship, Headed To Impact With Don Callis

Kenny Omega is the new All Elite Wrestling World Champion after he defeated Jon Moxley in the main event of this week’s Dynamite … with a little help from Don Callis.

Callis was a special guest commentator for the match due to his association with Kenny Omega’s family (Kenny’s Uncle, The Golden Sheik, was Callis’ manager in Manitoba’s WFWA promotion).

But it seemed that Callis has no intention of staying at the commentary desk.

Omega was able to steal a win from Moxley after Callis distracted the ref with a mic … the same mic that Omega then used to bash the defending champ in the face with.

Omega covered Mox for the victory and was declared the new AEW World Champion. Callis then made a hasty exit from the building with the new champ in toe.

Before getting in a car, Callis said he would explain his actions on Tuesday night’s edition of Impact Wrestling, seemingly confirming a partnership between the two promotions.

Check out footage of Omega’s sneaky victory and subsequent escape below.

Sting Debuted On AEW, Signed Multi-Year Deal

After months of rumors, “The Icon” Sting has appeared on AEW TV for the first time with a thrilling debut on this week’s Dynamite.

Below is a recap of Sting’s appearance:

Post-match, Hobbs gets back in the ring and runs over Allin. Arn gets into the ring and swings away on Hobbs! He drops Starks with a punch. Starks then beats up Arn, but Dustin Rhodes runs out for the save. Bulldog on Hobbs, spinning powerslam on Starks. Brian Cage runs out and drops Dustin with an F-5. Cody takes an F-5, Hobbs has the FTW Championship now and Hobbs goes to hit him with it, but the lights go out.

Music plays and a video plays on the big screen. Sting walks out! He pulls out his trademark black bat. Team Taz bails out of the ring. Sting walks up to Arn Anderson and looks at him for a moment. He goes to Dustin, looks at him, then goes over to Cody in the corner. Sting gets up and makes his way to Darby Allin and gets right in his face for a longer period of time. Sting then walks to the ramp and gives a few “Woo!” chants to the crowd and walks to the back.

Following the segment, the Dynamite commentary team confirmed that Tony Khan had signed Sting to a multi-year contract.

Check out Sting’s AEW debut below.

According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, AEW plans to feature Sting as a regular character on TV and not just as a legend making sporadic appearances once in a while. Meltzer noted AEW wanted to bring in “a star from the old generation of TNT as a regular” since such a move could potentially help draw in fans from yesteryears.

It was noted that AEW will be careful with the 61-year-old Sting and that “he won’t be taking any bumps”, despite being used as a regular character on TV. In the event that Sting does anything physical, it would be done with utmost precaution, added Meltzer.

With AEW already releasing new Sting merchandise, Meltzer made a note of the timing behind Sting’s debut. “They timed this right before Christmas,” he said, while adding that Sting’s arrival gives the company a great boost going into the holiday season.

After Sting’s WWE legends contract expired in May, WWE pulled all of his merchandise in October. Typically, most WWE alumni re-sign their legends contracts. However, when Sting didn’t re-sign, the writing was on the wall for him to join AEW, according to Meltzer.

MLW Fusion Preview 12/2/20

2 Opera Cup opening round bouts! Big CONTRA debut and more!

•Opera Cup Opening Round: Low Ki vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.

•Opera Cup Opening Round: Laredo Kid vs. ACH

•CONTRA’s masked man vs. Ariel Dominguez

MLW returns TONIGHT at 7pm ET with the opening round of the Opera Cup on FUSION available on Fubo Sports, Pluto TV and YouTube.  Learn more about where to watch

“The Black Hand of CONTRA” looms as the 2020 Opera Cup opening round culminates on this edition of MLW Fusion, presented by newlawoffice.com.

In a highly talked about return bout of last year, Low Ki and Davey Boy Smith Jr find themselves standing in each other’s way in the Opera Cup opening round, as each man vies for a chance to move one step closer to making history. Can Low Ki continue to run through every fighter in his path as he looks to stop a focused, well-prepped Smith? Or will the third generation grappler go two-for-two against the King of Knockouts and use that as a stepping stone as he looks to make history with back-to-back Opera Cup wins?

In an interpromotional dream bout, AAA has sent Laredo Kid to rumble with the returning ACH. Laredo Kid looks to bring the 1915 cup back to Mexico, but can he get past a hungry and focused ACH?

The black flags of CONTRA will rise as CONTRA Unit’s mysterious mercenary makes his official MLW debut! Who is this massive figure? 

“Filthy” Tom Lawlor readies for the semi-finals by dishing on what’s next for Team Filthy. 

Salina de la Renta stormed out of MLW HQ yesterday… which begs the question where in the world is Salina de la Renta now? Tune in to find out!

Join Rich Bocchini and Jared St. Laurent along with backstage correspondent Alicia Atout for a night of top ranked tournament match-ups.

AEW Dynamite ‘Winter Is Coming’ Preview 12/2/20

Tonight’s AEW Dynamite: Winter is Coming episode airs on TNT from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida.

* Jon Moxley (c) vs. Kenny Omega (AEW World Championship)

* Dynamite Diamond Battle Royale (Private Party, John Silver, Alex Reynolds, Matt Hardy, Hangman Page, Sammy Guevara, Matt Sydal, Scorpio Sky, Shawn Spears, Orange Cassidy, Kip Sabian, Miro, and Wardlow)

* Chris Jericho vs. Frankie Kazarian

* AEW TNT Champion Darby Allin and Cody vs. Ricky Starks and Powerhouse Hobbs

* Britt Baker vs. Leyla Hirsch