Category: AEW

Injury Updates On Adam Cole & Jon Moxley After AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam

Adam Cole and Jon Moxley are both believed to have suffered injuries on Wednesday’s episode of AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam.

Fightful Select is reporting that Cole was admitted to the hospital following the show and was last seen using crutches. He is said to have injured his ankle when jumping off the ramp during the main event of Dynamite.

Moxley, who is believed to have suffered a mild concussion, was deemed “okay” after his match.

Moxley was checked on by AEW President Tony Khan and others after leaving under his own accord.

The Wrestling Observer is reporting that Moxley wasn’t hurt during the finish of his AEW International Title defense against Rey Fenix, but actually in the opening minutes of the match.

AEW had originally planned for Moxley to retain the International Title, which Fenix eventually won.

As the match progressed, Moxley realized he wasn’t feeling well and informed Fenix mid-match that he was going to triumph.

While the former AEW World Champion had asked the referee to count him out, it didn’t immediately happen after the piledriver.

Moxley was reportedly doing better later in the night and was said to have been “fine” backstage.

Source: eWn

Jon Moxley Believed To Have Suffered Concussion On AEW Dynamite Grand Slam

During the “AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam” special, Jon Moxley lost the AEW International Championship to Rey Fenix, though that’s not what caught the attention of the fans. After Fenix hit his Black Fire Driver, Moxley did not kick out of the move. It appeared something was wrong as referee Rick Knox only counted to two even though Moxley’s shoulders were still on the mat. Fenix quickly hit the move again, and this time around, Knox counted to three and Fenix won the title.

According to “PWInsider,” the reason behind the awkward finish was Moxley reportedly suffering a concussion. After being checked over by doctors for some time, Moxley walked out of the arena by himself. It’s also believed that Fenix winning the title was not the original plan and only happened because of Moxley’s injury. 

On social media, both Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp and Wrestling Observer’s Bryan Alvarez provided updates on the situation. Sapp noted that those he spoke with were “optimistic” that Moxley was fine, and that right after the incident AEW CEO Tony Khan and the other members of the Blackpool Combat Club went to check on him. Alvarez acknowledged that Moxley was hurt during the match, but said that “he is okay.”

Jon Moxley became the AEW International Champion on September 3 after he defeated Orange Cassidy at All Out in Chicago. He defended the title thrice before losing it to Fenix, with his previous defense coming against Big Bill on the September 13 episode of “Dynamite.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Dynamite Grand Slam Preview 9/20/2023

AEW Dynamite Grand Slam will air live tonight on TBS from Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York.

  • AEW World Championship: MJF (c) vs. Samoa Joe
  • AEW World Championship: Saraya (c) w/Ruby Soho vs. Toni Storm
  • AEW International Championship: Jon Moxley (c) vs.Rey Fenix
  • Title For Title Match: ROH Champion Claudio Castagnoli vs. NJPW Strong Openweight Champion Eddie Kingston
  • Chris Jericho vs. Sammy Guevara

CM Punk Makes First Public Comments Since AEW Firing, Says He’s Free For ‘Two Months’

It’s been just over two weeks since AEW owner and CEO Tony Khan publicly announced that CM Punk had been fired by the company, “with cause,” due to a backstage incident involving Punk and Jack Perry during All In at London’s Wembley Stadium one week earlier. Despite initial reports that Punk might issue an “explosive response,” to being let go, he has since stayed silent on anything to do with the subject. That silence ended last night, at least somewhat. Punk returned to his occasional gig of doing color commentary for Caged Fury Fighting Championships on Friday, and he and broadcast partner John Morgan made several clear references to the incident at All In.

First, Morgan introduced Punk by saying “look who I ran into backstage,” and adding that Punk was back on commentary “with cause.” Later in the broadcast, Punk suggested the commentary team do a post-fight show, to which he was asked by another colleague if he had time on his hands, and Punk responded “yeah, I got some time on my hands, for the next two months.” At one point, Morgan also playfully mentioned that he and Punk had some things to discuss, and Punk replied with “what do you wanna talk about,” in an equally playful manner.

Nothing is known publicly about whether or not Punk has a noncompete clause with AEW following his firing that would prevent him from working for WWE or any other wrestling company for a certain period of time. That said, Punk’s comment about having two months on his hands has unsurprisingly already led to rampant fan speculation that after that time, he will be free to return to wrestling. Furthering that speculation is the fact that in just over two months, WWE is in Chicago for Survivor Series, although knowing Punk’s penchant for messing with the internet, he may well just be trolling fans on purpose.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Collision Preview 9/16/2023

Tonight’s AEW Collision live from the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, PA on TNT at 8/7C.

  • TBS Championship: Kris Statlander (c) vs. Britt Baker
  • Anthony Bowens vs. Evil Uno
  • The Hardys (Matt & Jeff Hardy) vs. The Righteous (Vincent & Dutch)
  • Andrade El Idolo vs. Scorpio Sky
  • AEW World Tag Team Championship: FTR (c) vs. Iron Savages
  • Bryan Danielson & Claudio Castagnoli vs. Big Bill & Ricky Starks
  • We’ll hear from Jay White.
  • We’ll hear from Aussie Open (Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher)

AEW Rampage Preview 9/15/2023

Tonight’s AEW Rampage on TNT.

  • TBS Championship: Kris Statlander (c) vs. Jade Cargill
  • AEW Trios Champions The Acclaimed (Max Caster and Anthony Bowens) & Billy Gunn vs. TBD in non-title action
  • The Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) vs. Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal
  • Lucha Brothers (Penta El Zero Miedo & Rey Fenix) and Matt & Jeff Hardy vs. Jeff Jarrett, Jay Lethal, The Butcher & The Blade

AEW Announces Dave Brown Will Be Guest Announcer For Collision In Memphis

Dave Brown, an announcer of Memphis wrestling for over 30 years, will be a guest announcer for AEW Collision on October 21 in Memphis, TN.

Brown worked alongside Lance Russell for 25 years on Championship Wrestling for the Continental Wrestling Association.

This marks the first time AEW will hold a show at the venue, with WWE’s last event being Raw on August 28th.

Update on Jade Cargill’s Potential WWE Future

As previously reported, former AEW TBS Champion Jade Cargill is expected to be joining WWE.

Dave Meltzer provided more details in the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, reporting that Cargill and AEW didn’t come to terms on a new deal.

Meltzer wrote,

“Those in WWE believed she was coming and that it would be on the main roster rather than developmental, but I could see that going either way. Another person in WWE described it to us as that her name was being talked about a lot, but the deal was not completed at press time. The money it would take to get her would have been far more than they pay those in developmental, but while she has a star look and is a great athlete, her skill set and experience level is not at WWE main roster woman levels. But good workers are there to make the less experienced and more marketable workers look better than they are.”

The Observer also reported that former major league baseball star Aaron Phillips, Cargill’s husband, was in attendance in Cincinnati for her possible final AEW match and that there were reports that it was the best match of her career.

Meltzer continued,

“One person in WWE described this as coming out of the blue, but that they do expect her to be coming in. There are several factors involved here including money. Cargill was probably protected more in AEW than she would be in WWE, but that’s not to be sure. She probably can have better matches in WWE because on the main roster the level of the women is higher. From a travel schedule, for someone with outside interests and a daughter, WWE would have her do more matches, which is probably a good thing for her long-run, but travel far more extensive unless she got a sweetheart deal on the schedule. If she has goals outside of wrestling, such as acting since she’s got a superhero look, the WWE main roster exposure would help her more.”

Sources: eWn and Wrestling Observer

Jade Cargill Reportedly Leaving AEW – Believed To Be Heading To WWE

Jade Cargill’s tenure with AEW is seemingly coming to an end, and the former TBS Champion could soon be calling herself a WWE Superstar.

Fightful is reporting that Cargill is believed to be “finishing up” with AEW, according to sources within the promotion.

Sources in both AEW & WWE believe that she will be heading to WWE when the time is right.

There is no word yet of an official offer being made by WWE and that as always, things can change in the world of professional wrestling.

It is currently unclear how long is left on Cargill’s current contract with All Elite Wrestling.

The report indicates that Cargill’s last AEW match may have already been taped, as she took on Kris Statlander Wednesday night in a TBS Championship match that will be broadcast on “AEW Rampage” on Friday.

Counting this week’s “Rampage,” Cargill has wrestled a total of 64 matches over the course of her two-and-a-half year career, all of them in AEW. If Fightful’s reporting proves accurate, she would be the second major AEW wrestler to leave Tony Khan’s “challenger brand” for the established pastures of Vince McMahon (and now Ari Emanuel), and the first homegrown AEW star to do so. AEW’s first major defection came in 2022, when Cody Rhodes returned to WWE at WrestleMania 38.

Backstage Update On The All In 2023 Attendance – Did AEW Inflate The #’s?

Did All Elite Wrestling inflate their attendance numbers for the All In 2023 pay-per-view event, which took place on August 27th from Wembley Stadium?

Brandon Thurston of WrestleNomics recently reported on a public records request about the attendance for AEW All In 2023. Earlier today, the Freedom of Information office for the Brent Civic Centre responded to the original request with the following statement:

“The actual numbers registered entering [Wembley] Stadium through the turnstiles was 72,265 – this is reflective of what attended on the night and not the total number of tickets sold or no-shows etc.”

It’s worth noting that AEW has said all along that the paid attendance for the event was 81,035. If that is true, it would have been a new worldwide record for pro wrestling.

WrestleTix previously announced that the number of tickets distributed for All In 2023 was 83,131.

The WrestleNomics report states that a “typical AEW event has a drop count (also known as a “turnstile count”) that is about 80% to 90% of the paid attendance or tickets distributed.” In this case, 72,265 is 89% of 83,131.

So while it remains to be seen whether 81,035 tickets were actually sold, it is known that 72,265 people did walk through the turnstiles. With that being said, over 10,000 no-shows seems a bit high. Of course, there are also scalpers out there who may not have been able to sell the tickets they purchased.

Source: eWn