Category: AEW

News On Britt Baker’s AEW Absence

Many fans have been wondering why Britt Baker D.M.D. has been off television as of late.

She had been dealing with a lingering back issue and hasn’t wrestled since mid-September.

Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Baker is still dealing with an injury. 

“The reason Britt Baker hasn’t been around apparently is an injury situation. At the media call, Tony Khan talked about key people out with injuries right now and mentioned Kenny Omega, Pac, Adam Cole, Baker and Jamie Hayter,” Meltzer wrote.

Source: eWn

Shawn Spears Leaving AEW

Fightful Select reports that Shawn Spears will also be departing AEW on January 1, when his contract will expire. In a brief statement, Spears confirmed his departure, and that it was amicable between both sides.

“What a wonderful time it has been,” Spears said. “Thank you AEW for allowing me to be there from the ground level. It’s been a fantastic 5 years of growth and personal development. This is a personal choice and one that is best for me and my family at this time. Thank you to all, staff and talent alike for the memories.”

https://twitter.com/ShawnSpears/status/1740430006705180893

As with the other departures, Spears had been part of AEW since the beginning, joining the promotion in the spring of 2019. Spears, who initially gained fame in WWE as Tye Dillinger, was a big part of AEW’s earlier years, feuding with Cody Rhodes and joining the stable The Pinnacle, alongside MJF, FTR, Tully Blanchard, and Wardlow, in 2021. After the group disbanded, however, Spears found himself in no man’s land and he hadn’t wrestled in AEW since September.

Spears will still have plenty to look forward to however, as he and his wife Cassie Lee, aka former WWE star Peyton Royce, announced earlier this week that they were expecting their second child. The couple welcomed their son, Austin, on January 17 of this year.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Tony Khan Addresses Reported AEW Departures, Teases ‘Exciting Things’ To Announce

A number of AEW executives and producers are departing or have already departed the company, but in the latest AEW media scrum, Tony Khan said that he’s actually excited for what the backstage turnover means for AEW’s future.

“I have a pretty big thing to announce going forward,” Khan teased. “Obviously it’s a lot of people I really value … I could write a book on each of these people.” Khan says that it’s challenging to have such long-time stalwarts depart the company, but he is excited about what the future holds for AEW. The AEW chief executive also pointed out that the end of the year usually sees some contracts expire and people move on.

“This Saturday night, Worlds End, it’s going to be a new group and there’ll be some new things happening and I’m really excited about it,” Khan gushed, once again reiterating that he’s grateful for the contributions of people like Dana Massie, QT Marshall, and other backstage workers that are moving on in 2024. Massie, wife of The Young Bucks’ Nick Jackson, was the head of AEW’s merchandising division until recently when she chose to leave the company after feeling that Khan and the rest of AEW didn’t stand up for her husband in the wake of his backstage altercation with CM Punk in September 2022. While Jackson was willing to re-sign with the company, Dana opted not to.

QT Marshall, on the other hand, is leaving due to what he feels is a change in the creative direction of the company, as well as to pursue work elsewhere as a wrestler.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Tony Khan Teases ‘Big Revelations’ In Devil Storyline At AEW Worlds End 2023

AEW Worlds End is set to take place this Saturday, and it sounds as though one major story is set to reach its zenith. Speaking on today’s media call ahead of the pay-per-view, AEW’s Tony Khan teased what’s to come with the Devil storyline ahead of MJF’s AEW World Championship defense against Samoa Joe.

“Well, it feels like we’re getting close to that point, and I do expect some big revelations and big moments at Worlds End,” Khan said about revealing the masked man’s identity. “It does feel like the secrets will be revealed at Worlds End, and I’m looking forward to it.”

While he continued to hype up the match and storyline, the media call saw Khan speaking at length about the success of the ongoing Continental Classic tournament, which features a more sports-oriented feel. Khan discussed viewing the contrast between the tournament and some of AEW’s other programming as an experiment of sorts, with the sports-influenced style of the tournament acting as the “experiment group” while the previous style of storytelling would be the “control group.” According to Khan, the experiment has been a success, and he intends to shift the company back toward that style of storytelling rather than continuing the exaggerated drama that has enveloped the world title picture as of late.

This week’s “AEW Dynamite” wrapped up with the latest development in the Devil storyline. MJF was scheduled to defend the ROH World Tag Team Championship against two of the Devil’s minions, with Samoa Joe as his partner. However, a video showed Joe recovering from an injury backstage, with MJF insisting to wrestle the match alone. With the help of a third masked goon, MJF lost the ROH tag titles to the minions. After the match, Joe appeared, soon revealing that he had faked the injury and made a deal with the Devil. He laid out the champion ahead of their match this weekend, which takes place in MJF’s backyard — Long Island, New York.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Sammy Guevara Returns On AEW Dynamite, Reunites With Chris Jericho

Sammy Guevara is back.

Guevara returned to AEW television on Wednesday, aligning himself with Chris Jericho again after turning on Don Callis and the Callis Family. Callis introduced Guevara and showcased a painting of him and the family with his new child. Guevara was hostile, accusing Callis and the family of not being there for him when he had his child or was out of action with a concussion. After Callis gave him an ultimatum and brought up his child negatively, Guevara attacked Callis, which led to the family attacking Guevara until Jericho made the save. Jericho extended his hand, but Guevara went in for a hug, reuniting the two.

The two were then jumped by Big Bill & Ricky Starks, Jericho’s former opponents for Worlds End before Kenny Omega was put out of action indefinitely with diverticulitis. The lights went out and when they came back on, Darby Allin and Sting were in the ring and made the save.

Later, an eight man tag team match was made for Worlds End where Guevara, Jericho, Allin, and Sting will team together to take on Starks,Bill, Kyle Fletcher, and Konosuke Takeshita. 

Guevara was last on television back at WrestleDream in October, teaming with Konosuke Takeshita and Will Ospreay in a winning effort against Jericho, Omega, and Kota Ibushi. He has been out of action ever since due to suffering a concussion in the match. He’s also been out as Tay Melo, his wife, gave birth to a daughter back on November 28.

Source: Wrestling Observer

AEW Dynamite New Year’s Smash Preview 12/27/2023

AEW Dynamite New Year’s Smash will air live tonight on TBS from the Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, FL.

  • Continental Classic Blue League Finals: Bryan Danielson vs. Eddie Kingston
  • Continental Classic Gold League Finals: Swerve Strickland vs. Jon Moxley vs. Jay White
  • ROH Tag Team Championship Match: Samoa Joe and MJF (c) defend against Devil’s Men Hentchmen
  • Renee Paquette speaks with Mariah May

AEW Collision ‘Holiday Bash’ Preview 12/23/2023

Tonight’s AEW Collision ‘Holiday Bash’ Live on TNT from the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, TX

  • Continental Blue League Match: Bryan Danielson vs. Claudio Castagnoli
  • Continental Blue League Match: Andrade El Idolo vs. Eddie Kingston
  • Continental Blue League Match: Brody King vs. Daniel Garcia
  • AEW World Trios Championship: The Acclaimed & Daddy Ass (c) vs. Top Flight & Action Andretti
  • Julia Hart & Skye Blue vs. Thunder Rosa & Abadon
  • Brian Cage vs. Keith Lee
  • TNT Champion Christian Cage to give his answer to Adam Copeland’s challenge

CJ Perry Going Home After Successful Surgery For Infection

CJ Perry was recently hospitalized hospital due to a serious infection in her finger that spread down to her arm.

Perry underwent a successful surgery on Monday following which she took to Instagram to share an update on her health. The Ravishing Russian is doing better and is going home.

AEW Rampage ‘Holiday Bash’ Preview 12/22/2023

Tonight’s AEW Rampage ‘Holiday Bash’ on TNT.

  • AEW International Championship: Orange Cassidy (c) vs. Rocky Romero 
  • Skye Blue vs. Queen Aminata
  • The Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) w/Roderick Strong vs. The Hardy’s
  • AAA Mega Championship: El Hijo del Vikingo (c) vs. Black Taurus
  • We will hear from Kris Statlander

AEW Broadcaster Warner Bros Discovery In Talks To Merge With Paramount Global

The future of wrestling at Warner Brothers Discovery was already uncertain, with the media company said to be negotiating with both AEW and WWE regarding the promotion’s respective TV rights. But all of that may now be thrown for a loop, thanks to a potential merger that could shake up the entire entertainment industry.

Axios reports that WBD is currently in talks to merge with Paramount Global, with WBD CEO David Zaslav having met with Paramount CEO Bob Bakish earlier this week to negotiate the merger. The meeting, taking place over several hours, appeared to be fruitful, as Zaslav an Bakish discussed many facets of a potential merger, including merging their respective streaming services. It was further noted that discussions are far enough along that WBD had “hired bankers to explore the deal.”

Should a merger between WBD and Paramount be complete, it would create one of the largest media conglomerates in America, up there with Disney. How this would affect AEW’s standing with WBD or potential negotiations between WBD and AEW or WWE remains unclear.

Source: Wrestling Inc.