AEW Dynamite airs live tonight on TBS from the FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Adam Cole has hit yet another unfortunate bump in the road yesterday as, due to illness, he was not able to compete at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door event. Tony Khan announced the news on Twitter that the match between Cole and NJPW Strong star Tom Lawlor is officially canceled.
Cole’s match against Tom Lawlor was made on Friday’s episode of “AEW Rampage,” when Lawlor and Royce Issacs attacked Cole during the Owen Hart Tournament winner’s segment with AEW World Champion MJF. The soon-to-be partners in AEW’s upcoming Blind Eliminator Tag Team Tournament remained at odds, and when Team Filthy went after Cole in the ring, MJF took his time to “aid” his unlikely partner in the ring.
This is not the first mishap for Cole when it comes to the annual AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door event, with last year’s show seeing the former ROH World Champion suffer a concussion during his fatal-four-way match against Kazuchika Okada, “Hangman” Adam Page, and Jay White for White’s IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.
Cole’s absence also means that Tom Lawlor is unfortunately unlikely to be featured on the show in any capacity. The former UFC fighter has been a focal point of the American branch of New Japan Pro-Wrestling since NJPW Strong began in 2020. After his reign as the inaugural NJPW Strong Openweight Champion ended at the hands of Fred Rosser in May 2022, Lawlor went on to compete in the G1 Climax 32, ending with a 3-3 record to claim six points in block competition.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Bryan Danielson suffered what is believed to be a fractured right arm at Sunday night’s AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door II pay-per-view event.
During the post-AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door II media scrum, Danielson revealed that he believes he suffered an arm fracture with about 10 minutes left in the match. The injury will likely require 6-8 weeks of recovery time.
Additionally, Danielson commented on using “The Final Countdown” theme for his entrance. For those unaware, the band Europe charges an arm and a leg to license the theme song so this is likely a one-off deal.
You can check out some highlights from the media scrum below:
On whether “The Final Countdown” will be back as a regular theme: “I think that’s a question for Tony, because they want a zillion dollars per play, so uh, [laughs]. I didn’t even ask for it, to be honest. Tony came up with the idea, I thought it was really cool. And I was legitimately — I was a little bit angry right before I went out there. And then I heard ‘Final Countdown’ play, and it literally just put a smile on my face. I said it out there at the end of the show, but I legitimately don’t think I’ve heard that song since I last came out to it in Ring of Honor.”
On if he’s going to stay more part-time: “I was planning on wrestling on Wednesday this week. I don’t think that’s gonna happen, because in this match specifically, we think I fractured my right forearm with about 10 minutes left to go. So yeah — but talking to our doctors, and I love the AEW medical staff and trainers, they think it’s gonna be six to eight weeks for this specific injury.
“The stuff after Revolution, after the Iron Man match with Max [I] had a torn labrum and some compressed vertebrae and all that stuff. It’s just normal wrestler stuff. I’m fine, but we just thought from a precautionary measure [to hold off]. That’s what I love, I mean I love our medical staff’… we have an incredible training staff and I try to follow their direction.”
Source: eWn
After a fan asked current AEW star Paul Wight on Twitter if he was ever going to write a book about being in the pro wrestling business for “nearly 30 years,’ Wight answered that he would, but until he retired. The former WWE superstar, as seen below, also added, that he wants to still have more fun with his character from the 1998 comedy, “The Waterboy” — Captain Insano.
It’s worth remembering that Bobby Boucher’s (main character in “The Waterboy” played by Adam Sandler) favorite wrestler made his first “cameo” on All Elite Wrestling last year. He was part of The Acclaimed’s music video “A Hand for a Hand,” and the music video premiered on the November 16 edition of “AEW Dynamite.”
Wight has not been in the ring since the April 4, 2022 edition of “AEW Dark: Elevation,” when he defeated Austin Green in a little over two minutes. He also did commentary for “Dark: Elevation.” Wight signed with AEW in February 2021. One of his first matches with the company was a win over QT Marshall at AEW All Out on September 5, 2021.
Since joining the promotion, Wight has dealt with a few setbacks — earlier this year, he had knee surgery and had to spend 11 weeks in a wheelchair, as revealed during an interview with the “Metro UK.” Also in that interview, he did confirm that it was a “brand new titanium joint,” and it’s good for 35 years. Before that, he had been dealing with hip issues.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
ZERO HOUR
Mogul Embassy (Swerve Strickland, Brian Cage, Toa Liona, and Bishop Kaun) (with Prince Nana) def. Chaos (Chuck Taylor, Rocky Romero and Trent Beretta) and El Desperado
WOMEN’S OWEN HART CUP TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND MATCH:
Athena def. Billie Starkz
El Phantasmo def. Stu Grayson
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Shingo Takagi, Bushi, and Hiromu Takahashi) def. United Empire (Jeff Cobb, Kyle Fletcher, and TJP)
FORBIDDEN DOOR
AEW WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
MJF (c) def.. Hiroshi Tanahashi
MJF hit a knockout shot on Tanahashi with his ring, enabling him to get the win.
MEN’S OWEN HART CUP TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND MATCH:
CM Punk def. Satoshi Kojima
AEW INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP FOUR-WAY MATCH:
Orange Cassidy (c) def.. Zack Sabre Jr., Katsuyori Shibata and Daniel Garcia
IWGP WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
Sanada (c) def. “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry
After the match, Jungle Boy makes a surprising heel turn by laying out Hook with a lariat. The crowd in Toronto was livid. Jungle Boy taunts them before holding up the FTW title, dropping it beside HOOK before heading to the back.
The Elite (“Hangman” Adam Page, Matt Jackson, and Nick Jackson), Eddie Kingston, and Tomohiro Ishii def. Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley, Wheeler Yuta, and Claudio Castagnoli), Konosuke Takeshita, and Shota Umino
AEW WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
Toni Storm (c) def. Willow Nightingale
IWGP UNITED STATES HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
Will Ospreay def. Kenny Omega (c) to become the new IWGP US Heavyweight Champion
Sting, Darby Allin, and Tetsuya Naito def. Jericho Appreciation Society (Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara) and Minoru Suzuki
Jericho stops the celebration early as he attacks Naito with a bat, until Darby and Sting cut him off and send him retreating to the ramp!
Bryan Danielson def. Kazuchika Okada by submission
AEW Collision, tonight at 8/7c from Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
CARD
IWGP UNITED STATES HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
Kenny Omega (c) vs. Will Ospreay
Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada
IWGP WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
Sanada (c) vs. “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry
AEW WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
MJF (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
MEN’S OWEN HART CUP TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND MATCH:
CM Punk vs. Satoshi Kojima
AEW INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP FOUR-WAY MATCH:
Orange Cassidy (c) vs. Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Daniel Garcia
AEW WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
Toni Storm (c) vs. Willow Nightingale
Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley, Wheeler Yuta, and Claudio Castagnoli), Konosuke Takeshita, and Shota Umino vs. The Elite (“Hangman” Adam Page, Matt Jackson, and Nick Jackson), Eddie Kingston, and Tomohiro Ishii
Jericho Appreciation Society (Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara) and Minoru Suzuki vs. Sting, Darby Allin, and TBA
Adam Cole vs. “Filthy” Tom Lawlor
ZERO HOUR
WOMEN’S OWEN HART CUP TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND MATCH:
Athena vs. Billie Starkz
John Hennigan has returned to All Elite Wrestling, now going by the name of Johnny TV.
John Hennigan returned to AEW on this week’s Rampage as Johnny TV, joining forces with QT Marshall and his group. Hennigan made his return to AEW at Friday’s show, coming down to the ring to attack Billy Gunn during a segment where QTV was confronting Gunn and The Acclaimed. The group beat the babyfaces down and Hennigan — referred to as Johnny TV by the commentators — celebrated with the group.
Hennigan’s last appearance in AEW was in June of last year, when he faced Miro in a losing effort. Hennigan has reportedly signed a deal with AEW and will be there going forward.
Tonight’s AEW Rampage on TNT at 10/9c.
At this juncture of his career, every Bryan Danielson match is like “an occasion” for ardent pro wrestling fans. In 2023, “The American Dragon” has wrestled all of seven matches, with his last two bouts coming on pay-per-view — Anarchy in the Arena at Double or Nothing and the Iron Man Match against MJF at Revolution. Prior to that, Danielson wrestled a rare bout on television against Rush on February 8 as part of his gauntlet of matches to get to MJF.
According to Fightful Select, there is a good reason for Danielson’s limited in-ring schedule, and it’s to do with the veteran wrestler being “banged up” of late. The report noted that Danielson’s compromised health is the reason why he performed limited spots in the Anarchy in the Arena match, and did not wrestle at all following his 60-minute Iron Man Match for the AEW World Championship.
Furthermore, fans must have noticed that Danielson has largely avoided physical contact in several brawls of late, be it the brawls pitting his Blackpool Combat Club against The Elite, or his recent run-in with NJPW star Kazuchika Okada. As such, to make up for his limited participation in brawls, Danielson has routinely worked commentary during BCC’s matches, per Fightful. The report added that Danielson has been “heavily involved in creative in the first several weeks of AEW Collision,” a function he also undertook during his final year in WWE. In fact, Dave Meltzer reported in June that Danielson already wields a lot of influence in AEW’s booking decisions, suggesting that Danielson was serious about expanding his backstage role with AEW.
Fightful did not go into specific details about Danielson’s nagging injuries, and whether they would affect his performance in the main event of Sunday’s Forbidden Door pay-per-view against
Source: Wrestling Inc.
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