Category: AEW

Details On Plans For AEW Brand Split

AEW will launch Collision on June 17th, 2023 with it airing on TNT as a two-hour program airing every Saturday night. 

It will be built around CM Punk as a way to separate him from those who have issues with him and vice versa dating back to the All Out incidents.

Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that The Elite will remain on Dynamite while Punk and FTR will be used on Collision.

“If the idea is a talent split, with one group working Wednesday and another working Saturday, because Rampage is likely to be taped on Wednesday, that would mean it would have the Wednesday night crew predominately. The Saturday crew will be headed by Punk and FTR, and the Wednesday crew by The Elite and BCC,” Meltzer wrote.

AEW Rampage Preview 4/28/2023

Tonight’s AEW Rampage will have a special start time of 5:30 PM ET. on TNT.

  • Ricky Starks & Shawn Spears vs. Bullet Club Gold (Jay White & Juice Robinson)
  • Cash Wheeler vs. Jay Lethal
  • Anna Jay vs. Ashley D’Amboise
  • Naturally Limitless (Dustin Rhodes & Keith Lee) vs. TBA
  • We’ll hear from The Outcasts
  • The Acclaimed and Daddy Ass address the people

Details On Roderick Strong’s WWE Departure, Surprise AEW Debut

AEW shocked the wrestling world on Wednesday night with Roderick Strong’s surprise debut on “Dynamite” in Sunrise, Florida. He had requested his WWE release last May, hadn’t been seen on WWE programming since August, and as of mid-March, was reportedly still under contract. So for him to show up on “Dynamite” to run in and save Adam Cole from the Jericho Appreciation Society was something almost no one saw coming. Very quickly, Fightful Select reported some details to try to help give context to what was a very left-field debut.

The most recent information that Fightful had was that the AEW talents they spoke to were “pleasantly surprised” that Strong had signed. On the WWE side, the newest information was that 2K Games had been told not to include Strong in the “WWE 2K23” video game, that other WWE talent had never been updated on his status, and he had not been at the WWE Performance Center “in quite some time” even though he was fully cleared to wrestle. The report also noted that Strong’s WWE run started its downward slide when Paul “Triple H” Levesque lost power in “NXT,” as he was behind Strong’s push as the center of a revitalized cruiserweight division.

Strong has been wrestling since 2000, breaking into the business when he was 16 years old after years of training under Jim Neidhart. After initially getting on the map for his work in the IPW promotion in Florida, he made a name for himself in Ring of Honor, where he was a mainstay for over a decade before signing with WWE in 2016.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Dynamite Preview 4/26/2023

AEW Dynamite will air live tonight on TBS and emanate from the FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Florida.

  • AEW TBS Championship: Jade Cargill (c) vs. Taya Valkyrie
  • AEW International Championship: Orange Cassidy(c) vs. Bandido
  • Pillars Tournament Final: Darby Allin vs. Sammy Guevara
  • The Butcher & The Blade (w/ Kip Sabian) vs. Konosuke Takeshita & Kenny Omega (w/ Don Callis)
  • Dax Harwood vs. Jeff Jarrett
  • We’ll hear from Adam Cole
  • We’ll hear from Tony Khan
  • We’ll hear from Wardlow and Arn Anderson

AEW May Have Canceled Dark: Elevation

It appears that AEW Dark: Elevation is no more. 

The show has aired on the company’s YouTube channel and FITE TV since it premiered in March 2021. 

This week’s episode was billed as a “best of” show with no new matches airing. It was FITE that noted the series was coming to an end with the following description for it:

“The Special and final episode of Elevation – it’s Best of Elevation airing on FITE! The episode is throwing it back to some of the best matches that have graced our Monday nights over the years!”

AEW has yet to comment on the future of the program. You can watch the episode here: 

Source: eWrestlingNews

Details On CM Punk Visiting WWE Raw, Reaction Internally And In AEW

CM Punk was backstage at “WWE Raw,” but fans shouldn’t expect to see him return to his former company anytime soon.

According to PWInsider Elite, Punk met several WWE talents and employees while they were on the same flight. After finding out that “Raw” was being held at the Allstate Arena, which isn’t far from Punk’s home in Chicago, he visited the venue and hung out in the common area for around 20 minutes. He wasn’t hidden, nor was his visit expected.

The report states that Punk had conversations with employees such as Paul “Triple H” Levesque and The Miz. Furthermore, his chat with Miz supposedly led to them clearing the air after having heat with each other. The overall impression was that people were happy to see Punk and many of them greeted him in a positive manner. Those who didn’t were more confused to see him than anything. Punk was asked to leave by WWE security shortly after arriving, and he did so respectfully.

Of course, Punk’s appearance has led some people to believe he may have been gauging interest for a WWE return. Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio revealed that people within AEW are under this impression; however, the PWInsider notes that he still has a lot of time left on his AEW contract and was merely there to visit some people and clear the air. 

Regarding his relationship with Tony Khan’s promotion, it’s been reported that Punk will return to AEW later this year and be part of the rumored Saturday show.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Concern That Thunder Rosa May Need Surgery

Former AEW Women’s World Champion Thunder Rosa has been out of action since last year after suffering a back injury.

In an update on Rosa’s status, Fightful Select is reporting that she has still not been cleared to return to the ring. Additionally, there is some fear that she may require back surgery to fix the lingering issues.

Thunder Rosa is currently doing Spanish-language commentary for AEW.

Source: eWrestlingNews

AEW Rampage Preview 4/22/2023

This week’s AEW Rampage will air at a SPECIAL TIME of SATURDAY at 10pm ET/9pm CT.

  • AAA Mega Championship: El Hijo del Vikingo (C) vs. Dralistico
  • Jon Moxley vs. Christopher Daniels
  • Jay Lethal, Jeff Jarrett and FTR vs. Varsity Athletes and Slim J
  • We will hear form The Hardy’s, Hook and Isiah Kassidy
  • We will hear from TBS Champion Jade Cargill
https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1649382481957916679

Report: AEW Made Decision To Bring Back CM Punk “Many Weeks Ago”

The decision for CM Punk to return to All Elite Wrestling was reportedly made by Tony Khan many weeks ago.

Last week, it was reported that Punk’s return to the promotion is being “tentatively planned,” seven months after his comments at All Out 2022.

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that the decision to bring Punk back was made “many weeks ago,” and that a ‘snag‘ two weeks ago has been worked out.

Last month, Punk shared a fiery post on Instagram, alleging that the company had pressured him to compete last year when not medically cleared.

Punk also claimed that Jon Moxley had refused to lose to him and branded Chris Jericho a “liar” and a “stooge” in the deleted post.

It is believed that Punk will make his return to AEW on the June 17, 2023, episode of TV, which is believed to be the premiere of the rumored AEW Saturday show.

Source: eWrestlingNews

AEW Dynamite Preview 4/19/2023

Tonight’s AEW Dynamite will air live coast to coast on TBS and emanate from the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, PA.

  • TNT Championship: Powerhouse Hobbs (c) vs. Wardlow
  • Jamie Hayter and Dr. Britt Baker vs. Ruby Soho and Toni Storm
  • Jay White v Komander
  • The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn vs. Jake Hager, Angelo Parker and Matt Menard of JAS
  • Chris Jericho confronts Adam Cole
  • We will hear from The Elite
  • We will hear from FTR