Category: AEW

Kenny Omega Recovering From Surgery, Update On His Status

Kenny Omega is reportedly recovering from knee surgery, and has other operations planned.

Omega has been out of action since dropping the AEW World Title to “Hangman” Adam Page at AEW Full Gear back on November 13. It was reported then that Omega had been in pain for a while, working with injuries that included shoulder, knee and abdominal issues, among others. It was also noted at that point how AEW President Tony Khan told Omega to take as much time off as he needed.

In an update, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter now reports that Omega is recovering from the arthroscopic knee surgery, and that will take around ten weeks.

Omega is set to go back under the knife at the end of March to repair a sports hernia. That recovery will take around two months.

Besides the hernia surgery, Omega has other issues that he is planning on taking care of before he returns to action. There is currently no timeframe for his return.

He originally hoped to be back in action by February, but noted that he was a little too optimistic. Now there is no timeframe for his return to the ring.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Console Video Game Updates, Story Mode Confirmed

New details are being revealed on the much-anticipated AEW console video game.

A new report from Fightful Select notes that there will be a story mode for the game, and that some of the AEW wrestlers are giving input into the game storylines. It was also noted that several members of the Yuke’s team that helped create popular RAW vs. SmackDown video games are also a part of this story mode process.

While Yuke’s is known to be the developer of the AEW video game, no publisher has been announced. It’s believed that once the publisher is confirmed, there will be more information released, such as a release date and other details.

Kenny Omega is said to be determined for the AEW video game to be a success, and word is that he understands how integral a great showing could be.

The video game is reportedly coming along as AEW music producer Mikey Rukus recently stated that there was a soft deadline for some of the music for the story mode to be completed the week before the recent AEW Revolution pay-per-view. Furthermore, new AEW Women’s World Champion Thunder Rosa recently revealed that her prototype for the game has already been created, and was shown to her.

The official AEW video game is scheduled to be released on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One.

Stay tuned for more on the AEW video game. For those who missed it, below are a few videos released last year:

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Dynamite St. Patrick’s Day Slam Preview 3/16/22

The St. Patrick’s Day Slam edition of AEW Dynamite on TBS will air live tonight from the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, Texas.

* Jon Moxley and Bryan Danielson vs. Chuck Taylor and Wheeler Yuta

* AEW TNT Champion Scorpio Sky defends against Wardlow

* AEW Women’s World Champion Britt Baker defends against hometown star Thunder Rosa in a Steel Cage match

* Adam Cole and reDRagon vs. AEW World Champion “Hangman” Adam Page and AEW World Tag Team Champions Jurassic Express

* Chris Jericho, Jake Hager, Daniel Garcia, and 2point0 host the Jericho Appreciation Society Commencement

Report: AEW EVP Believes Cody Rhodes Has Signed With WWE

At least one AEW EVP believes free agent wrestler Cody Rhodes is bound for WWE, according to Fightful Select.

The report noted that as of last weekend, at least one AEW EVP “fully believed that Cody Rhodes was signed or was signing with WWE and would face Seth Rollins at WrestleMania.”

The news outlet added they haven’t been able to confirm Rhodes’ WWE status or potential debut date.

Last week, Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that Rhodes’ WWE situation was “back up in the air,” with WWE creative being asked to hold off on plans until Rhodes signs a WWE contract. The report also noted that Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins was previously penciled in for WrestleMania 38, but that was when Rhodes was expected to sign with WWE.

According to Dave Meltzer, upper-level WWE sources “don’t know what happened with the Rhodes talks” and have halted all Rhodes-related plans. With Monday’s RAW being held in Jacksonville, there has been a lot of chatter on social media of Rhodes returning to WWE TV this week.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Rampage Preview 3/11/22

Tonight’s AEW Rampage episode on TNT was taped earlier this week from the Hertz Arena in Estero, Florida after AEW Dynamite went off the air.

* Darby Allin vs. Marq Quen

* Jamie Hayter vs. Mercedes Martinez

* Keith Lee vs. QT Marshall

* Swerve Strickland vs. Tony Nese

* The Hardy Boys will also appear on tonight’s Rampage, along with members of Team Taz, Thunder Rosa, and others.

How Was AEW Able To Use The Hardy Boys’ Theme Song On AEW Dynamite?

For Jeff Hardy’s AEW debut on this week’s episode of Dynamite, the company used the Hardy Boys’ classic theme song for his entrance. The song, which is titled “Loaded” and was performed by Zack Tempest, has been licensed by AEW.

WWE actually doesn’t own the rights to the song. The song has also been used in several Spike TV advertisements over the years. AEW quickly picked up the rights to that theme when they were confident enough that Jeff would be coming in. Tony Khan now owns the entire library that it was a part of. This includes Bob Holly’s WWE theme song.

It should be noted that WWE does own the rights to “No More Words,” so AEW will not be able to use that.

Additionally, Fightful is reporting that Jeff Hardy owns the rights to his own “Modest” and “Obselete” songs. The “Obselete” song was the one Jeff used for his entrance in TNA.

Source: ewrestlingnews

https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1501741558739226625

Paige VanZant Has Has Officially Signed With AEW

Even though one industry requires its competitors to legitimately hurt each other, and the other makes its money from staged fights and storylines, there’s a lot of crossover between MMA and pro wrestling. Ronda Rousey, Brock Lesnar, Bobby Lashley, and Marina Shafir are just a few of the people to have found success in both worlds. There tends to be a lot of buzz around anyone notable who leaves one sport for the other, and the latest star to generate that buzz is Paige VanZant.

The former UFC star has been showing up in AEW for months at this point, aligning herself with American Top Team. However, she isn’t actually signed to the company, at least she wasn’t until last night. Dan Lambert struck a deal with Tony Khan, promising VanZant would sign with AEW if he gave Scorpio Sky a TNT Title match on this week’s Dynamite.

That deal paid off in a major way for Lambert as Sky got his shot and made it count. The former SCU member beat Sammy Guevara and the TNT Title is now under American Top Team’s banner. Sky had a pretty big helping hand from VanZant, though. The new signing, who wasn’t technically under contract at this particular moment in time, jumped the barricade and threw Tay Conti into the steel steps.

Conti is Guevara’s other half and had accompanied the now-former TNT Champion to the ring for the match. Watching VanZant attack Conti at ringside was enough to distract Guevara for so long that Sky pounced on his opponent and covered him for the win. Right after, VanZant took the opportunity to sign her deal then and there, adding insult to injury by putting pen to paper on Conti’s back.

All signs point to Conti being VanZant’s first opponent as an AEW star. Perhaps a mixed tag match involving those two, Sky, and Guevara is also in the offing. What remains unclear is what this means for VanZant’s MMA career. While she could, of course, continue to compete in both worlds, VanZant is currently 0-2 since signing with BKFC so may want to focus on wrestling moving forward.

https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1501755834547818501

Source: TheSportster

Jeff Hardy Makes AEW Debut On Dynamite, Reunites With Matt Hardy

This week’s edition of AEW Dynamite played host to a Hardy Boyz reunion when Jeff Hardy made his ALL ELITE debut and came to the aid of his brother.

Jeff Hardy is ALL ELITE! The rumors and reports were proven accurate when the former WWE Champion made his AEW debut during this week’s edition of Dynamite on TBS.

It all went down at the Hertz Arena in Fort Myers, Florida on Wednesday, March 9 when the power struggle between Andrade El Idolo and Matt Hardy finally came to a head after the Andrada-Hardy Family Office emergency board meeting ended in violence. Andrade conducted a hostile takeover after convincing The Butcher, The Blade, Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen to vote Hardy out of the group. After the vote, the five men ambushed Hardy and continued to beat him down until Sting and Darby Allin arrived to help Hardy out.

The numbers were still in the Andrade Family Office’s favor, and they had the upper hand in the ensuing braw … until a familiar face arrived. The classic Hardy Boyz theme and out around the arena as Jeff Hardy sprinted down to the ring to assist his brother and his fellow face pain aficionados.”

https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1501741558739226625

Jeff emptied the ring and hit a Swanton on The Blade. The Hardy Boyz embraced then stared down Sting and Darby, bringing an end to a touching debut segment for the “Charismatic Enigma.”

https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1501742099397492740

Jeff Hardy was released by WWE on December 9 following an incident at a WWE live event at which he allegedly performed while inebriated. Hardy was reportedly sent home from the house show, which led to much speculation among fans regarding his well-being.

Source: TheSportster

AEW Dynamite Preview 3/9/22

The post-Revolution edition of AEW Dynamite on TBS will air live tonight from the Hertz Arena in Estero, Florida with fallout from last Sunday’s pay-per-view.

* Fallout from Revolution

* Leyla Hirsch vs. Thunder Rosa to determine a new #1 contender to AEW Women’s World Champion Britt Baker

* Chris Jericho will address Eddie Kingston

* TNT Champion Sammy Guevara defends against Scorpio Sky

* Jeff Hardy officially became a free agent today as his non-compete clause with WWE has expired.  His first TV appearance for AEW possibly coming as early as tonight’s episode of Dynamite. Jeff is reportedly scheduled to be at the Hertz Arena in Fort Myers, FL tonight, the site of Dynamite.

https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1501544833344684033

Jeff Hardy Is Officially A Free Agent

Jeff Hardy officially became a free agent today as his non-compete clause with WWE has expired.

There have been rumors and speculation regarding Jeff joining his brother Matt Hardy in AEW, with his first TV appearance for AEW possibly coming as early as tonight’s episode of Dynamite. Jeff is reportedly scheduled to be at the Hertz Arena in Fort Myers, FL tonight, the site of Dynamite, but it was still being determined if he would actually appear on the show.

“Nothing’s official yet,” Jeff Hardy told the La Crosse Tribune last week. “I’m still legally under a contract with WWE until next Wednesday.”

“Strange thing about that is you know what happens on Wednesday,” He added.

Jeff and his brother Matt Hardy are set to reunite for another run as a tag team that begins Saturday at a Big Time Wrestling event in Webster, MA. The Hardy Boys will face the winners of a tag team match between The SAT and The Briscoes earlier in the night.

WWE released Jeff Hardy in December after he turned down an offer from the company to go to rehab. This came after an incident at the December 4 WWE live event in Edinburg, TX, where Hardy tagged out of a six-man tag team main event and disappeared through the crowd with security following him. He was pulled from the road after that incident and then released. Test results later confirmed that Hardy was not intoxicated or under the influence of drugs during the incident at the live event.

Matt Hardy was on the losing end of a six-man Tornado Tag Team Match at AEW’s Revolution pay-per-view on Sunday, taking the pin from Darby Allin.

Source: Wrestling Inc.