Category: AEW

Saraya: WWE Medical Staff Said ‘Book Was Closed’ On Neck Injury, Refused To Examine

It was only a year ago when Saraya, then retired following a neck injury, found herself at a crossroads as a free agent after her WWE contract expired. Now, Saraya not only finds herself wrestling again, but a prominent member of AEW’s women’s division – part of The Outcasts with Ruby Soho and AEW Women’s World Champion Toni Storm.

But in an interview with “Inside The Ropes,” Saraya revealed that she could’ve gone down a different path if WWE would had taken a look at her neck to see if she had healed enough. But that was never something the promotion seriously considered.

“At WWE, I asked to see my neck a few times, and the medical said that the book was closed on that, and they weren’t gonna keep checking on it, which was really disappointing,” Saraya said. “So if I wanted to check on my neck, it would have to come out of my own pocket. Her name was Stacy — that was her who said that, by the way. So it wasn’t anything to do with like Hunter or anything, it was just that medical department, which I thought was a little unfair, but it’s okay.”

Ultimately, things worked out well for Saraya following a phone call from AEW owner Tony Khan, who offered her a job and the freedom to do whatever she wanted, including pursuing an in-ring comeback. Still, Saraya admitted she’s taken this comeback slow, in order to preserve herself as a competitor long-term.

“I was like ‘I’m smarter this time,'” Saraya said. “I have to be smarter. I’m starting my thirties here and I just want to work smarter, not harder, you know what I mean?”

Source: Wrestling Inc. with credit to “Inside the Ropes”

AEW Battle Of The Belts VII 7/15/2023

Tonight’s AEW Battle of the Belts VII Live at 10/9c following Collision on TNT from the Calgary Stampede Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

  • AEW Women’s World Championship: Toni Storm (c) vs. Taya Valkyrie
  • AEW International Championship: Orange Cassidy (c) vs. Lance Archer
  • AEW TNT Championship: Luchasaurus (c) vs. Shawn Spears

AEW Collision Preview 7/15/2023

Tonight’s AEW Collision Live at 8/7c on TNT from the Calgary Stampede Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

  • 2 out of 3 Falls for AEW World Tag Team Championship: FTR (c) vs. Jay White & Juice Robinson
  • Owen Hart Cup Tournament Finals: Ricky Starks vs. CM Punk
  • Owen Hart Cup Tournament Finals: Willow Nightingale vs. Ruby Soho

Details On Rumored AEW Document Banning Certain Moves & Others Requiring Approval

It appears All Elite Wrestling’s in-ring product may start to look a little different going forward. A new report from Fightful Select details an alleged official document laying out a list of moves and actions banned from AEW matches going forward, along with another list of things that have to be cleared by doctors and coaches ahead of time — major changes to AEW’s safety protocol.

According to the document, the list of banned moves is as follows: unprotected chair shots to the head, hits to the back of one’s head, buckle bombs, and blind moves backward into the turnbuckle. Additionally, AEW performers will no longer be allowed to sell with seizures or concussion responses, spit, bleed in the crowd, use weapons in the crowd, physically interact with audience members, or take food or drink from audience members.

As for interactions that have to be cleared ahead of time, the list includes spots/bumps on the apron and outside the ring, spots featuring tables, ladders, or chairs, dives outside the ring, piledrivers and all variations, high-risk in-ring dives, the use of weapons, the use of ring steps or the commentary table, simulated choking or hanging, injury spots, brawling in the crowd, moments involving individuals apart from the wrestlers involved in the match, and purposeful bleeding (sorry, Moxley). These acts are not necessarily discouraged for AEW performers, but simply need to be cleared before the match begins.

Fightful’s report states that they’ve spoken to some within the company who have confirmed the authenticity of the document, but there are others backstage who have yet to see it. In addition to increasing safety for fans as well as AEW crew and performers, the new restrictions should help the promotion avoid repeating similar spots across the same show, and provide coaches with some added authority behind the scenes.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Rampage Preview 7/14/2023

Tonight’s AEW Rampage on TNT.

  • Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament semifinal: Athena vs. Willow Nightingale
  • Lance Archer vs. Trent Beretta
  • Konosuke Takeshita vs. TBA
  • Naturally Limitless (Dustin Rhodes & Keith Lee) vs. Matt Menard & Angelo Parker
  • Dark Order promo
  • Toni Storm promo

Britt Baker Wants Women’s Blood & Guts Match In AEW

Britt Baker is ready to bring the violence as part of an all-women’s Blood & Guts match if AEW approves of the idea.

Next week will see the third Blood & Guts match in history, with the first taking place in 2021, and the second last year.

On a recent edition of Mark Andrews’ “My Love Letter To Wrestling” podcast, Baker revealed her vision for a women’s Blood & Guts match. She said,

“Blood & Guts would be awesome, to have a women’s match in Blood & Guts. I hope, before I retire, that’s a regular feature of the Blood & Guts show. Just to have the female presence, I think that would be such a spectacle.

“We have some crazy girls in AEW that would be willing to really put their bodies on the line, and I think that match would really, really deliver.”

Baker added that there would be a ton of pressure on the women to pull off the match but was confident that a roster with “many of the best wrestlers in the world” could do it.

Next week’s Blood & Guts match will see Team BCC (Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, Konosuke Takeshita, and Pac) face Team Elite (Kenny Omega, ‘Hangman’ Adam Page, The Young Bucks, and Kota Ibushi.

Source: eWn

Jushin “Thunder” Liger To Be At Saturday’s AEW Collision

This week’s AEW Collision will feature the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament finals for both the men’s and women’s tournaments. 

WWE Hall of Famer Jushin “Thunder” Liger noted on Twitter that he would be at the finals as he had classic matches with the late great star. He wrote the following on Twitter: 

“I am at Haneda Airport now. From now on, I will go to Calgary, Canada via San Francisco. I was invited as a guest at Owen Hart’s memorial tournament ☆ I’m looking forward to Calgary after a long time.”

Source: eWn

Kota Ibushi, PAC Announced As Final Participants In AEW Dynamite Blood & Guts Match

The full lineups for next week’s Blood & Guts match at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts are set, with the fifth man for both the Blackpool Combat Club and Elite teams announced at the end of the July 12 episode of “AEW Dynamite.” And while one was exactly who fans were hoping for, the other was a bit of a surprise, albeit one that makes plenty of sense.

After Don Callis made his entrance to announce the fifth member of the BCC team, replacing the injured Bryan Danielson, Kenny Omega made his way to the ring, only to be cut off by Jon Moxley and Konsuke Takeshita. As Omega fought back, he was blindsided with a steel chair by the returning PAC, who had not been seen in AEW since he and the Lucha Bros. lost the AEW World Trios Titles to Omega and the Young Bucks in January. PAC announced that he had not forgotten that Omega “shattered my nose bone” during the Death Triangle-Elite best-of-seven series.

As Moxley placed the chair around Omega’s neck and asked if he had any last words before being taken out, the Winnipeg native told him to turn his attention to the video screen. A video then played revealing that Omega’s Golden Lovers tag team partner, Kota Ibushi, will be the fifth member of his team, which allowed enough of a distraction for the Young Bucks and “Hangman” Adam Page to run in and clean house.

So it’s official: Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, Konosuke Takeshita, and PAC, representing Blackpool Combat Club and the Don Callis Family, will face the Golden Elite of Kenny Omega, “Hangman” Adam Page, Kota Ibushi, and the Young Bucks next Wednesday night in Blood & Guts, AEW’s version of War Games.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Dynamite Preview 7/12/2023

Tonight’s AEW Dynamite will air live on TBS from the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon, SK, Canada.

  • Swerve Strickland vs. Nick Wayne
  • Chris Jericho vs Komander
  • Blind Tag Team Tournament Semifinal: AEW World Champion MJF and Adam Cole vs. Brian Cage and Big Bill
  • Blind Tag Team Tournament Semifinal: Orange Cassidy and Darby Allin vs. Sammy Guevara and Daniel Garcia
  • Owen Hart Women’s Tournament Semifinal: Ruby Soho vs. Skye Blue
  • We will see a closer look at Blood & Guts as both sides are set to reveal their fifth team members.

Brian Pillman Jr. & AEW Part Ways

Brian Pillman Jr.’s time in AEW has come to an end, according to a new report.

Pwinsider is reporting that Pillman Jr’s deal with All Elite Wrestling has expired and he has left the company. As you know by now, AEW doesn’t publicly announce their departures unless they are the result of an arrest or another serious matter.

Pillman first competed for AEW at Double or Nothing 2019 and was a member of the Varsity Blondes along with Griff Garrison. He last competed for the company in May.

Pillman has still been busy in the ring, even since what appears to be his last match with AEW. He last wrestled last Friday at an Appalachian Championship Wrestling event.