Scheduled for tonight’s AEW Rampage on TNT.
Previous reports suggest The Lucha Brothers (Penta El Zero Miedo and Rey Fenix) are expected to leave AEW for WWE when their contracts expire.
Penta’s AEW contract expires between August and September, while Fenix’s contract expires later this year.
Fightful previously reported that the Lucha Brothers may be interested in joining WWE as a tag team despite being offered a new deal by AEW. The terms AEW offers are similar to what Penta has conveyed that WWE is willing to provide.
According to sources within AEW, there were concerns that the Lucha Brothers did not adhere to proper business practices, which resulted in their departure from the company. Penta’s rejection of the reports is believed to have been a strategic move to facilitate Fenix’s departure from AEW without contractual impediments.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter shared an update on the concern within AEW regarding their right to extend Fenix’s contract for an additional year due to his time off for injuries.
There was speculation about Penta heading to Orlando, FL, leading fans to speculate that he might be heading to the WWE Performance Center despite still being contracted to AEW.
Source: eWn
Tonight’s AEW Dynamite live on TBS from the Chartway Arena in Norfolk, VA.
AEW All In: London 2024 takes place on August 25, and fans have begun speculating that AEW President Tony Khan could be saving some major announcements for the Wembley event.
In a recent interview with “TV Insider,” Khan teased that the announcements are imminent.
He said, “It is a very exciting time in AEW for many reasons…We’re days away from AEW All In on August 25. This is the most important and exciting time in AEW’s history. In addition to what is happening in the ring, there are so many exciting things happening behind the scenes at AEW right now. We’re on the verge of the most important announcements in the history of AEW. There are multiple aspects. The arrival of these announcements is imminent. We’ll have big news that could come at any time. Isn’t that the best kind of wrestling surprise when you know something is coming and you want it and it’s exciting, but you’re not sure when it’s going to happen? You have that feeling it’s going to happen. In this case, I have more than a feeling to paraphrase Boston. I have been working on this for a long time. We have a great team here. The future of AEW is very bright.”
Khan also noted that he wishes to run more shows and major events at the Esports Stadium in Arlington, TX.
He continued, “I think we found something very special around Arlington’s Esports Stadium in Texas. There is magic in the building and magic in those fans. I would love to keep doing more shows there and having major events there. And if there are other great wrestling markets, legendary wrestling markets that could sustain that kind of excitement week after week, I would love that. We found something very special there in Texas.”
AEW’s residency in Arlington will conclude with a Collision/Rampage taping on Saturday, August 17.
Source: eWn
Tay Melo took a hiatus due to a back injury and then went on maternity leave after having her first child with her husband, Sammy Guevara, last November.
In a recent social media post, Melo shared that she is getting back into training for her return to the ring. Meanwhile, Guevara made his return to television on the ROH brand, where he has embraced a babyface character and aligned with Dustin Rhodes.
Pwinsider is reporting that there is talk at AEW’s tapings in Arlington, Texas, that Melo’s return is imminent. Some individuals within the company believe that she could return as early as this Wednesday’s edition of AEW Dynamite.
AEW’s plans for Melo upon her return remain unknown at this time.
Source: eWn
AEW continues it’s All In Summer Series live on TNT tonight from the Esports Stadium Arlington in Arlington, Texas.
Tonight’s AEW Rampage on TNT.
Ricky Starks last appeared on the March 30th episode of AEW Collision, during which he suffered an injury scare, which changed the planned outcome of the match.
Since that show, Starks has publicly stated that he is not injured and expressed uncertainty regarding AEW’s decision not to involve him in programming. Meanwhile, AEW President Tony Khan publicly expressed his desire to bring Starks back to television.
There were plans to reintroduce Starks to television as a babyface and initiate a storyline involving a betrayal by Big Bill, leading to a feud between the two. However, the planned babyface turn did not materialize due to Starks’ decision not to pursue this direction.
Pwinsider reported earlier this week that there is “certainly interest” in several AEW stars, including Starks, whose deals are close to expiring or who have been absent from TV for some time.
According to the latest update by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Starks is expected to sign with WWE when his AEW contract expires.
The length of Starks’ AEW deal is unknown.
Source: eWn
As AEW and Warner Bros Discovery continue their negotiations surrounding AEW’s future on WBD networks, the company has made an announcement that appears to be good news for the fledgling wrestling promotion. On WBD’s Q2 Earnings Call on Wednesday, CEO David Zaslav announced a plan to rebrand TruTV’s primetime schedule as “TNT Sports” in October, according to Brian Steinberg.
According to Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp, the programming block is intended to be similar to the Adult Swim programming block on Cartoon Network, which is treated as a separate brand despite sharing a channel with Cartoon Network, in the same way as TNT Sports and TruTV. This, coupled with AEW talents being a focal point in the advertisement for the upcoming “TNT Overdrive” program, likely spells good news for AEW. WBD continuing in the sports programming world, despite seemingly losing the NBA to Amazon Prime, means they’ll likely need sports-centric programming like AEW and even potentially Ring of Honor. AEW President Tony Khan has been publicly adamant throughout the negotiation process that ROH is an important part of AEW’s portfolio, though there have thus far been no concrete plans to bring the streaming promotion to television. There have also been conflicting reports as to how dedicated WBD is in investing in the television side of things.
Khan has described negotiations with WBD as “complicated” but has maintained an upbeat attitude throughout the process, recently meeting with Zaslav in Paris during the Olympics, about which Khan later tweeted very positively. The exclusive negotiating window with WBD recently expired, and AEW is free to entertain offers from competing networks unless a deal is announced in the coming days.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Tonight’s AEW Dynamite live from the LJVM Coliseum in Winston-Salem, North Carolina at 8 PM ET on TBS.
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