Category: AEW

Powerhouse Hobbs Reportedly Suffered Legit Injury During AEW Dynamite

Wednesday’s episode of “AEW Dynamite” at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida featured Powerhouse Hobbs challenging Jon Moxley for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. According to Bryan Alvarez on “Wrestling Observer Live,” Hobbs suffered a legitimate injury during his match against Moxley.

“That was not a worked knee injury,” Alvarez said. “[Hobbs] went for a high cross or something and smashed into the turnbuckles and injured his knee. He could barely walk, and he hopped his way back into the ring, hopped into like two spots, and got choked out.”

After about 10 minutes, the title bout came to an end via referee decision, leading to a post-match angle between Moxley and Konosuke Takeshita. It seems the feud between The Don Callis Family and Blackpool Combat Club will continue, but likely without any further involvement from Hobbs.

The match was initially set to go longer, with “Dynamite” reportedly scheduled for an overrun to take it past the normal 10 p.m. ending. However, due to the injury to Hobbs’ knee, the match ended early, allowing plenty of time for the angle involving Khan, the Young Bucks, and Jack Perry.

As of now, the severity of Hobbs’ injury is unclear. While he has been relatively active in recent months, Hobbs hasn’t picked up a significant victory since defeating Sammy Guevara on an episode of “AEW Collision” in late February.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Chris Jericho To Star In Wrestling Action-Horror Film “Dark Match”

As reported by Variety, a wrestling action-horror film titled “Dark Match” is set in the 1980s and will be released later this year that stars Chris Jericho.

The film’s festival premiere will be announced soon. Blue Finch Films, a U.K.-based sales and distribution company, has acquired the worldwide rights (excluding Canada) and will start sales at the upcoming Cannes Film Market.

“Dark Match” stars is written and directed by Lowell Dean. The film is produced by Dept. 9 Studios, with John K. MacDonald, Don Depoe, Michael Feehan, Michael Peterson, and Rhonda Baker involved.

According to the article, the movie revolves around a small-time wrestling company that accepts a lucrative offer in a remote town, only to discover that the community is under the control of a mysterious cult leader with sinister intentions for their match. As the lights dim, Miss Behave and her friends find themselves in a real fight for survival. The cast also includes Steven Ogg from “The Walking Dead” and Ayisha Issa from “Transplant.”

Source: eWn

Kenny Omega’s AEW Return Announced For 5/1 Dynamite In Winnipeg

Kenny Omega has been away from AEW programming for many months, dealing with a harrowing battle with Diverticulitis since December. Fans of the former AEW and IWGP Champion can breathe a sigh of relief, as “The Cleaner” is returning to AEW programming, at least for one night.

On Wednesday’s “Dynamite,” AEW announced that Omega would be in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada for next week’s episode of “Dynamite.” It will mark Omega’s first appearance on AEW television since before AEW Worlds End. Omega had initially been slated to team with Chris Jericho to challenge Ricky Starks and Big Bill for the AEW World Tag Team Championship but a bout of diverticulitis forced him to be pulled from the event. According to Omega, the illness nearly cost him his life.

Omega has been away from AEW programming but has still be communicating with fans via his Twitch channel, where the former AEW World Tag Team Champion streams games and tells stories. Omega has said the illness has left him with “good days” and “bad days” and that it’s still too soon to see if he will be able to recover without requiring surgery. Omega has said his pain is decreasing but training and taking impacts on his abdomen are still a struggle and recovery a long way off.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Jack Perry And The Elite Destroy Tony Khan In Closing Segment Of AEW Dynamite

After an eight-month absence from AEW television, Jack Perry returned on “AEW Dynamite,” hitting the ring in the main event segment to ask AEW President Tony Khan to shake his hand, reinstate him, and “continue to change the world together.” Perry got all that he asked for and more, punching Khan in the stomach and setting him up for further damage at the hands of The Elite.

Perry, who was last seen in AEW at All In in August of 2023 before Sunday’s surprise appearance at Dynasty, showed up with The Young Bucks and Kazuchika Okada at the start of tonight’s show, walking into the arena through the back and eventually ending up in Khan’s office. Later in the show, it was revealed that Perry and Khan would meet in the ring, setting the stage for the latter’s first physical involvement in the company’s five-year history.

Beginning the segment by addressing the Jacksonville crowd by saying he’s had some of the best times in his life there, Perry pivoted in saying that they had business to handle and that he wanted to do it face to face with Khan. After Perry admitted that the two have had ups and downs, not always seeing eye to eye, the former Jungle Boy said, “I swear to God, the only thing I have ever wanted is what’s best for AEW.” The two would then embrace, raising each other’s hands before Perry’s attack, and ultimately, The Young Bucks finishing Khan off with none other than the TK Driver.

https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1783488633615573029

As the show went off air, a slew of AEW stars rushed toward the ring and to Khan’s side, along with Shahid Khan, Tony’s father, and AEW co-owner, who looked stunned and concerned for his fallen son.

Backstage News On How Hard Tony Khan Is Selling Attack From The Elite On AEW Dynamite

Fightful Select reports that its sources in AEW say Khan didn’t simply sell the attacks on-camera, but has since been selling his resulting storyline injury as well. The upcoming Parking Lot Brawl between Trent Barretta and Chuck Taylor was filmed early on Thursday, and their sources say Khan was on set during the match, seen wearing a neck brace. Some have also questioned if Khan will be seen with the brace in the coming days during the NFL Draft, but for now it’s unknown if he will do so.

Khan’s involvement in the angle seems to have positioned Perry as an even bigger heel than he was before his suspension. Interestingly, while his heel turn was originally welcomed, he still received a significant amount of criticism. Since his return to wrestling and embracing his role in CM Punk’s AEW departure, it seems like fans are now warming up to him as a believable villain, especially after last night. Bully Ray and Tommy Dreamer also recently gave their takes on the heel version of The Elite, noting how Perry has sold lots of merch lately. However, both the veterans criticized Perry for directly referencing Punk, considering that he’s no longer signed to AEW. Bully also questioned Perry’s heel turn, and suggested that he should’ve actually been a babyface since Punk was the one who got physical first.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Dynamite Preview 4/24/2024

AEW Dynamite will air live tonight coast-to-coast on TBS from Daily’s Place in Jacksonsville, Florida.

  • Fallout from Dynasty
  • IWGP World Championship: Jon Moxley (c) vs. Powerhouse Hobbs
  • AEW World Title Eliminator Match: Swerve Strickland (c) vs. Kyle Fletcher
  • Anna Jay vs. STARDOM’S Mina Shirakawa
  • We will hear from new FTW Champion Chris Jericho
  • Chuck Taylor will choose between Orange Cassidy and Trent Beretta
  • Willow Nightingale TBS Championship celebration

Will Ospreay Says He’s Retiring This Controversial Move After AEW Dynasty Dream Match

The dream match between Will Ospreay and Bryan Danielson at AEW Dynasty was everything that wrestling fans wanted it to be: a dream. The two men went to war for over 30 minutes, with Ospreay picking up the victory after hitting a Storm Driver ’93 and a Hidden Blade. However, Danielson was visibly in pain after taking the Storm Driver ’93 to the point where doctors tried to get involved. Ospreay appeared at the AEW Dynasty post-show media scrum to talk about the match, where he opened up by apologizing to everyone after reviewing the footage and seeing the medical staff trying to get involved. 

“Within the confines of wrestling, I do go, like I said, in the ring it is more or less your life versus mine, until you kind of see it staring at you in the face of what I did and I’m honestly…I feel awful about this. So even though like 90% of the time, that move’s been absolutely fine, seeing the damage that it’s kind of done, I’m going to retire using the Storm Driver.”

Ospreay explained that after seeing what the Storm Driver ’93 did to Danielson – someone he has a huge amount of respect for and has wanted to wrestle since he was a child — it wouldn’t feel right continuing to use the move. The star then apologized to Danielson, the AEW medical team, and Tony Khan for being reckless in the ring, before the company President explained that Danielson would be okay and Ospreay should be proud of winning such a tremendous match.

Source: Wrestling Inc. credit to AEW post-show media scrum

AEW Dynasty 4/21/2024 (Results), Return Of Jack Perry

Results from  “AEW Dynasty” on April 21, 2024, from the Chaifetz Arena in Saint Louis, Missouri.

Zero Hour

  • Trent Beretta def. Matt Sydal (w/ Mike Sydal) via Submission (Modified Triangle Choke).
    • Beretta kept the hold on Sydal after the match, but Chuck Taylor made the save. Trent cut a promo and said that Taylor had been acting like a prick and that he had until Dynamite to tell him where he stood. Orange Cassidy & Berentta had a staredown ahead of Cassidy’s match.
  • Orange Cassidy & Katsuyori Shibata def. Shane Taylor Promotions (Shane Taylor & Lee Moriarty) (w/ Anthony Ogogo) via Pinfall (Orange Punch).
  • AEW World Trios Championships & ROH World Six Man Tag Team Championship Match: Bullet Club Gold (Jay White & The Gunns) (c) def. The Acclaimed (Max Caster & Anthony Bowens) & “Daddy Ass” Billy Gunn (c) via Pinfall (Blade Runner).
    • With this win, Bullet Club Gold (Jay White, Austin Gunn & Colten Gunn) were crowned as the new Undisputed AEW Trios Champions.

Main Broadcast

  • After a video package previewing the card, Taz, Excalibur & Jim Ross welcomed the audience to the main broadcast.
  • AEW Continental Championship Match: Kazuchika Okada (c) def. PAC via Pinfall (Rainmaker Lariat).
    • Despite the loss, PAC got a standing ovation from the crowd after the match.
  • The House Of Black (Malakai Black, Brody King & Buddy Matthews) def. Adam Copeland, Eddie Kingston & Mark Briscoe via Pinfall (Black Mass).
    • In the last parts of the match, Copeland went for a Spear on Black, but Black spat the Black Mist on Copeland before catching him with the Black Mass for the win.
  • TBS Championship – Skye Blue & Kris Statlander Banned From The Match: Willow Nightingale def. Julia Hart (c) via Pinfall (Doctor Bomb) to win the Championship.
    • Stokely Hathaway was on commentary for the match.
    • Kris Statlander & Stokely Hathaway celebrated with Willow after the match. Mercedes Mone interrupted and confronted Willow in the center. Willow and Mercedes Mone will go one-on-one for the title at AEW Double Or Nothing.
  • AEW International Championship Match: Roderick Strong (c) def. Kyle O’Reilly via Pinfall (End of Heartache).
    • The referee caught Wardlow trying to get involved in the match, leading to Wardlow to sit at ringside. The match ended with Strong hitting the Sick Kick before hitting the End of Heartache for the win.
    • Mike Bennett & Matt Taven appeared at the ramp with Adam Cole in a wheelchair. Cole managed to stand up from the chair and celebrated with Roderick Strong his victory.
  • FTW Championship – FTW Rules Match: Chris Jericho def. HOOK (c) via Pinfall (Bat to the Head) to win the title.
  • AEW Women’s World Championship Match: Toni Storm (c) (w/ Mariah May & Luther) def. Thunder Rosa.
    • Deonna Purrazzo laid out Mariah May & Luther at ringside. Despite Rosa surviving the Hip Attack & the Storm Zero Storm, the end of the match came when Storm kicked Rosa with a low blow, followed by hitting a second Storm Zero for the win.
  • Will Ospreay def. Bryan Danielson via Pinfall (Hidden Blade).
    • Multiple medics checked on Bryan Danielson after the match.
  • AEW World Tag Team Championship Tournament Finals – Ladder Match: Young Bucks (Matthew Jackson & Nicholas Jackson) def. FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) to win the vacant titles.
    • The ending came when Dax Harwood dropped Nicholas Jackson off the ladder. Dax was about to retrieve the titles, but was stopped when a fan pushed Dax off the ladder he was in and sent him crashing into the top rope. The fan was revealed to be none other than the returning “Scapegoat” Jack Perry. Nicholas Jackson climbed the ladder to retrieve the AEW Tag Titles for the win as Perry was escorted out of the arena by security.
  • AEW World Championship Match: Swerve Strickland (w/ Prince Nana) def. Samoa Joe (c) via Pinfall (Swerve Stomp) to win the AEW World Championship.
    • With this win, Swerve Strickland is the first-ever African-American World Champion in the history of All Elite Wrestling. In a ground-breaking moment in professional wrestling history, Strickland stood victorious as world champion to end the broadcast.
      Who’s house? Swerve’s house.

AEW Dynasty 4/21/2024 (Card)

AEW Dynasty pay-per-view – Sunday April 21 from Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, Missouri.

CARD

Bryan Danielson vs. Will Ospreay

AEW WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP:
Samoa Joe (c) vs. Swerve Strickland (with Prince Nana)

TOURNAMENT FINAL FOR THE VACATED AEW WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (LADDER MATCH):
The Young Bucks (Nicholas Jackson and Matthew Jackson) vs. FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler)

Adam Copeland, Eddie Kingston, and Mark Briscoe vs. The House of Black (Malakai Black, Brody King, and Buddy Matthews)

AEW WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP:
“Timeless” Toni Storm (c) (with Mariah May and Luther) vs. Thunder Rosa

HOUSE RULES MATCH FOR THE TBS CHAMPIONSHIP:
Julia Hart (c) vs. Willow Nightingale (with Stokely Hathaway)

AEW INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP:
Roderick Strong (c) vs. Kyle O’Reilly

AEW CONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP:
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Pac

FTW CHAMPIONSHIP (FTW RULES):
Hook (c) vs. Chris Jericho

ZERO HOUR:

WINNERS TAKE ALL MATCH FOR THE AEW WORLD TRIOS CHAMPIONSHIP AND ROH WORLD SIX-MAN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP:
The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens and Max Caster) and “Daddy Ass” Billy Gunn (c–AEW) vs. Bullet Club Gold (Jay White and The Gunns (Austin Gunn and Colten Gunn) (c–ROH)

Orange Cassidy & Katsuyori Shibata vs. Shane Taylor & Lee Moriarty

AEW Collision & Rampage Preview 4/20/2024

Tonight’s Collision and Rampage on TNT from Peoria Civic Center in Peoria, IL. Go home show for Sunday’s Dynasty pay-per-view.

AEW Collision:

  • Bunkhouse Brawl: Bryan Danielson & Claudio Castagnoli vs. Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher
  • Kazuchika Okada & The Young Bucks vs. PAC & FTR
  • The Acclaimed vs. Austin & Colten Gunn
  • Adam Copeland, Eddie Kingston & Mark Briscoe vs. Top Flight & Action Andretti
  • Skye Blue vs. Leyla Hirsch
  • Powerhouse Hobbs in action

AEW Rampage:

  • Four-Way Elimination Match: Rob Van Dam vs. Komander vs. Isiah Kassidy vs. Lee Johnson
  • Yuka Sakazaki vs. Emi Sakura
  • Kyle O’Reilly, Rocky Romero & Matt Menard vs. Roderick Strong, Matt Taven & Mike Bennett

Kenny Omega Blasts Rossy Ogawa – ‘He Puts Underage Girls In Very Revealing Swimsuit Calendars’

Kenny Omega has some concerns regarding STARDOM founder Rossy Ogawa launching his new Marigold promotion.

As many of you know by now, Ogawa was fired from STARDOM by parent company Bushiroad after he was accused of trying to poach talent. Earlier this week, Ogawa announced his new promotion Marigold. The company will be holding its first show on May 20th.

Taking to his Twitch channel, Omega expressed his concerns about Ogawa. The AEW wrestler also revealed that he stands by Asuka’s comments last year regarding STARDOM being “created to destroy [her] personally.”

You can check out some highlights from the Twitch stream below:

On Rossy Ogawa and his new promotion: “From someone who lived it, breathed, who has very close friends in the industry. I don’t necessarily mean the wrestling industry, I mean the industry. The government issued press. The information they know. I’m just going to leave it at that. I would say don’t be so quick to listen to praise for that individual because someday, I’m not sure when it will be. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow, but someday, people will know the truth. What they do with that truth, I don’t know. Will they share it? Maybe. A lot of the higher ups in Japan, they know exactly what.”

On his comments potentially being taken out of context: “My comments on Rossy are whatever. There is nothing to say. I just think, eventually… I don’t care about Rossy being an E-Drone. That’s no big deal. He’s done… that’s not even the tip… just you friggin wait. If you are still interested in wrestling and you’re listening to the stories and reading stuff. When it finally comes out. I will say one thing, there are a lot of people who refuse to work for him for the very same reason. Some of those people are in WWE. Some are in AEW. They have a very good reason. It’s not just, ‘I decided to wake up and not like this guy.’

“If you want to know along what lines they tread amongst, the dude just flat out said, ‘we’re looking for girls ages 13 to 21 that don’t have a boyfriend and aren’t married.’ We already know he puts underage girls in very revealing swimsuit calendars and books. I wish that’s all he did. Let’s put it that way. I don’t know. I don’t want to say anything. I’m not going on record to say anything. I don’t want lawyers barking at my door. That’s why I don’t want to say anything. I don’t have any sort of video evidence, I just have the good word of people who are very close. I’m outside of it. If those people feel like commenting or saying something, whatever. For now, I’ll say that people going to Marigold, good luck. I hope you have a great time. I hope it works out for you. For me, I would be very hesitant. I would be very hesitant. That’s all….My only comment, I’m with Asuka. That’s it. We are bros. Always have been. She has her reasons and they are probably the same ones as mine.”

Source: eWn