Category: AEW

Chris Jericho Signs Three-Year Contract Extension With AEW

Chris Jericho will stay with AEW for the next three years as he has signed a contract extension with the company that would bring him through 2025. 

Variety reported the news today. AEW later confirmed it with the following press release:

October 18, 2022 –Tony Khan announced that Chris Jericho, the Ring of Honor World Champion and leader of the Jericho Appreciation Society, has signed a contract extension through December 2025, keeping sports entertainment alive and well in AEW for the foreseeable future. Jericho will also increase his responsibilities within AEW, serving as a producer and creative advisor in addition to continuing as a mentor to young talent.

Jericho, in his eighth world championship reign, continues to reinvent himself and evolve as his illustrious career enters its 32nd year. This year has been a career year for Jericho, who, on top of capturing the Ring of Honor World Championship recently at “AEW: Dynamite Grand Slam,” has undergone an incredible physical transformation over the past few months and is in peak wrestling form.

Tonight, Jericho defends the ROH World Championship against Dalton Castle on a special Tuesday edition of “AEW: Dynamite,” in Cincinnati, live on TBS at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT. Castle, who currently holds the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship alongside The Boys, was the 28th ROH World Champion, holding the championship across much of 2017 and 2018.

“Chris Jericho long ago cemented his legacy as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, and we’re fortunate to have his skills, charisma, knowledge and insights in AEW for years to come,” said Tony Khan, CEO, GM and Head of Creative of AEW. “Chris has discovered a fountain of youth this year, and he’s having some of the very best matches of his legendary career against some of the top names in wrestling. In expanding his responsibilities, he’ll continue to serve as a valuable leader with our roster having the opportunity to utilize one of most creative minds in the history of wrestling.”

“I’ve been with AEW since literally day one, and in the midst of enjoying what is being called a career year for me in 2022 – after 32 years in the pro wrestling business – I am excited and proud to announce the extension of my relationship with AEW and the Khan family,” said Chris Jericho. “Working closely with Tony Khan every day is a rewarding and stimulating experience from both a creative and a professional standpoint, which has reignited my love for pro wrestling. I don’t think I would still be wrestling at this level or be as passionate about the business if AEW didn’t exist.

“As a result, I feel a great responsibility to keep AEW the best it can be both inside and out of the ring. Over the next three years, I’m looking forward to not only continuing my work in the ring, but to also focus on my ever-increasing responsibilities outside the ring, including producing, advising and assisting Tony with creative ideas, and providing leadership, encouragement and guidance for our fantastic roster. AEW is a great team – a team that I’m proud to say I’ll be a part of for a very long time.”

https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1582403913709256705

AEW Dynamite Preview 10/18/2022

AEW has announced the lineup for tonight’s new special Tuesday night episode of Dynamite on TBS at 8/7C., which you can see below. Dynamite is airing on Tuesday due to MLB playoffs.

  • AEW World Championship: Jon Moxley (c) vs. Hangman Page
  • Interim AEW Women’s Championship: Toni Storm (c) vs. Hikaru Shida
  • AEW Trios Championship: Death Triangle (c) vs. Orange Cassidy & Best Friends
  • ROH Championship: Chris Jericho (c) vs. Dalton Castle
  • William Regal interview with Tony Schiavone

Stu Grayson Returns To AEW On Rampage

Stu Grayson returned to AEW on the October 14 episode of Rampage, which was taped in Toronto, Canada, and reunited with his Dark Order stablemates. The group huddled during a backstage segment, and an extra hand appeared. The camera panned back, showing that Grayson was the newcomer. Grayson’s return could be a boon for the stable, which has lost multiple members in recent months. Alan Angels left the company in June, and Anna Jay aligned with the Jericho Appreciation Society in July.

Grayson previously departed the company after his contract expired in April, and he started taking independent bookings in May.  Grayson hasn’t wrestled in AEW since the May 2 episode of AEW Dark: Elevation.

The Kingdom Makes AEW Debut On Rampage

At the end of the October 14 episode of AEW Rampage, The Kingdom (Matt Taven, Mike Bennett, and Maria Kanellis-Bennett) appeared on the show. They confronted FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler), the reigning ROH World Tag Team Champions.  Kanellis stated that The Kingdom wants both the ROH World Tag Team Championships and the IWGP Tag Team Championships, which are currently held by FTR. She told FTR that Taven and Bennett are the real top guys.

The trio came to the ring, and The Embassy attacked FTR from behind. The champions were outnumbered, but WardJoe (Wardlow and Samoa Joe) charged the ring and evened the odds.

In a digital exclusive, The Kingdom discussed their arrival in AEW. Matt Taven noted that they never got a rematch for the ROH titles, and they intend to win the gold.

Bennett, Taven, and Kanellis recently wrapped up with IMPACT Wrestling; they were featured there since January as members of Honor No More. Previously, the trio were prominent players in ROH, where they won the tag titles twice. The Briscoes beat them for the titles at ROH Final Battle 2021, and the duo later lost the championship to FTR at Supercard of Honor in April.

Source: WrestleZone

AEW Rampage Preview 10/14/2022

Tonight’s AEW “Rampage” was taped Thursday night from the Coca-Cola Coliseum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

  • Ethan Page vs. Isiah Kassidy with stipulations
  • Nyla Rose vs. Anna Jay-AS
  • Jon Moxley & Claudio Castagnoli vs. The Butcher & The Blade
  • FTR & Shawn Spears vs. The Embassy
  • Surprise Debuts

AEW Dynamite Preview 10/12/2022

AEW Dynamite will air live tonight on TBS at 8/7C, and emanate for the first time from the Coca-Cola Coliseum in Toronto, Canada.

-Billy Gunn vs. Swerve Strickland

-Jungle Boy vs. Luchasaurus

-Interim AEW Women’s Champion Toni Storm & Hikaru Shida vs. Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. & Jamie Hayter

-AEW All-Atlantic Championship Match: PAC (c) vs. Orange Cassidy

–ROH World Championship Match: Chris Jericho (c) vs. Bryan Danielson

Warner Bros. Discovery Working With AEW To Create More ‘Shoulder Programming’

There have been a lot of reports this year about cost-cutting across the various Warner Bros. Discovery networks, which has caused concern about the future of AEW as they approach negotiations for the next television deal. 

The Hollywood Reporter has an interview with Warner Bros. Discovery US Networks Group chair and chief content officer Kathleen Finch. 

In the interview, Finch seemed happy with the ratings that AEW has done. AEW usually ranks number 1 among all programs in the key demos on Wednesday nights, which has been touted in recent press releases sent out by Warner Bros. Discovery. 

Finch noted that they are looking at adding more wrestling content. 

“We really play in the sports space. One of the things that we’re doing around sports is creating shoulder programming to hold onto those fans. AEW [All Elite Wrestling] pulls huge numbers, so we are working with the wrestling team to figure out what new kind of content can we build that’s not in a wrestling ring.”

Source: EWrestlingNews

Renee Paquette Rumored To Be Signing With AEW

Renee Paquette might join her husband, AEW World Champion Jon Moxley in All Elite Wrestling, according to a new report from Fightful Select.

Fightful was reportedly told by several WWE sources that it’s believed that Paquette is headed to AEW. Fightful reached out to Paquette and AEW, but they have yet to confirm the move.

 It was also noted in the report that GiveMeSport’s Louis Dangoor heard that WWE had reached out to Paquette about returning to the company.

The former WWE “Raw” commentator and the backstage interviewer was with WWE for eight years before leaving in August 2020. Paquette was also the host of “WWE Backstage,” which aired on FS1.

Since leaving WWE, Paquette published the cookbook “Messy In The Kitchen: My Guide to Eating Deliciously, Hosting Fabulously and Sipping Copiously” and created her own podcast “The Sessions with Renee Paquette.”

She also worked with UFC and former Strikeforce star Miesha Tate for the show, “Throwing Down With Renee & Miesha.” It was available on Sirius XM Fight Nation. As noted earlier this week, Paquette has a new series with the Cincinnati Bengals. The series is called ” Renée All Dey.”

It was reported that Moxley signed a five-year extension with AEW. He is set to not only wrestle for the company but will be a coach and mentor. Paquette had commented on her husband’s new contract on Friday night via Twitter. 

“So proud of Jon! Just casually watching him carve out his own legacy in real time,” tweeted Paquette.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Details On Jon Moxley’s New AEW Contract

It was recently announced that three-time and current AEW World Champion Jon Moxley would remain All Elite for quite a while, as the news broke yesterday that Moxley has signed a five-year extension with AEW. It also was revealed that Moxley would not only be used as a wrestler, but also as “a coach and mentor.” Now more details on Moxley’s new deal have surfaced. 

According to Fightful, several sources told them that Moxley was actually working without a contract for some time. While unclear exactly how long it was, it was noted that throughout the summer Moxley’s contract was “quite a situation” and that AEW owner Tony Khan would do whatever it took to keep Moxley in the company for the rest of his career. What’s interesting is that Moxley won both the AEW World Championship and Interim World Championship during the summer without being under contract.

Fightful also revealed that Moxley is exclusive to AEW and its international partners, including NJPW, where Moxley is a former United States Heavyweight Champion. It is uncertain if Moxley will be able to continue working for companies such as GCW and REVOLVER, as AEW didn’t comment on the matter. GCW officials said today that they didn’t know about the press release regarding Moxley’s contract until it was made public. Moxley is still slated to put his GCW World Championship on the line against Nick Gage in a Title vs, Career Match later tonight.

Regarding the backstage role as a coach and mentor, Fightful said that Moxley-led talent meetings backstage are very well-received. One of these meetings notably happened after the All Out pay-per-view last month despite other events that transpired. The decision to move Moxley into the role stemmed from the weight his words carry, according to Fightful.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Rampage & Battle Of The Belts Preview 10/7/2022

Tonight’s AEW Rampage and Battle of the Belts live specials takes from the Entertainment & Sports Arena in Washington DC.

Battle of the Belts will air live on TNT, immediately following the special live episode of Rampage.

AEW Rampage (10:00 pm ET):

-Jon Moxley, Wheeler Yuta & Claudio Castagnoli vs. Rush & Private Party

-AEW Trios Championship Match: Death Triangle (c) vs. Dark Order

-Tony Nese & Josh Woods vs. Varsity Blondes

-Tay Melo & Anna Jay AS vs. Skye Blue & Madison Rayne

AEW Battle of the Belts IV (11:00 pm ET):

-AEW All-Atlantic Championship Match: PAC (c) vs. Trent Beretta

-ROH Tag Team Championship Match: FTR (c) vs. The Gates of Agony

-AEW TBS Championship Match: Jade Cargill (c) vs. Willow Nightingale