Category: AEW

Kenny Omega Reportedly Close to In-Ring Return For AEW

Reports are making the rounds that Kenny Omega’s in-ring return might be around the corner for AEW. When is he scheduled to perform?

Good news for fans of AEW, as it appears Kenny Omega might be close to making his return to television and ready to step back into the ring. After missing multiple months nursing an injury, Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer recently reported that an Omega return could be right around the corner.

During a recent post, Meltzer explains that the Young Bucks vs. FTR III match that was scheduled is now being held off because a major angle planned has yet to take place is in the works. That rumored angle involves Omega and Fightful Select is corroborating that report that, in fact, Omega is involved. They’ve added that the tentative plan going around to certain staff members is that Omega and the Young Bucks are slated for a six-man tag program for September’s All Out PPV.

It was not reported who their opponents would be, but that’s not the big story here. That Omega is being booked for a match in September suggests he’ll be back before then, which is great news for the company. Injuries have decimated them and it will be great to have some of their bigger names (Omega among them) return.

It is being reported that the rumored September match has yet to be confirmed, thus things can change.

Kenny Omega hasn’t been on AEW programming since November when he lost his AEW World Championship to Hangman Page. Speculation was that Omega was thinking about pushing up his return to be part of the Forbidden Door show but didn’t want to rush things and risk further injury. It was probably a smart decision as that event is being talked about as one that would become a yearly thing and Omega will be part of future productions.

A healthy Omega in AEW is a better AEW. His return will be a welcome sight for fans.

Source: TheSportster

Ric Flair To Team With Andrade El Idolo Against Jeff Jarrett, Jay Lethal In His Last Match, Ric Flair Left Bloodied After Parking Lot Brawl

On July 31st, Ric Flair is set to have the last match of his wrestling career. His teammate and opponents have been revealed.

On July 31st, Jim Crockett Promotions will present a PPV called “Ric Flair’s Last Match.” The show’s main attraction is predictably the final match of one of the most infamous athletes that pro wrestling has ever seen. Several other matches will also be featured on the card, including a tag team match between the Briscoes (Jay and Mark Briscoe) and the Von Erichs (Marshall and Ross Von Erich) and an IMPACT Knockouts Title Match between champion Jordynne Grace, Deonna Purrazzo, and Rachel Ellering.

Starrcast recently uploaded a video in which Ric Flair revealed who his tag team partner will be in this match as well as who they’ll be facing in Nashville.

Ric Flair’s partner is his son-in-law, AEW star Andrade. This isn’t surprising given their personal relationship. Their opponents will be former WCW star and current WWE superstar, Jeff Jarrett, and his partner Jay Lethal. Jarrett was a longtime rival of Flair back when the two were competitors. AEW star Jay Lethal has been a training partner of Ric Flair for a while, so his involvement also makes sense.

The match was officially announced at 6:05 pm on Monday evening, and it came with a pretty brutal video showing how the match came about, at least in terms of the storyline attached.

That’s when things get particularly nasty. A wound up Jarrett asks his wife Karen for her high heel shoe and proceeds to use it to bust Flair open. The blood quickly flows down the two-time Hall of Famer’s face but the beat down doesn’t stop there. Lethal returns to get a few more licks in and by the time all is said and done, Flair is wearing a crimson mask.

There’s a moment in the video, before Flair winds Jarrett up to the point that he turns on him, where Double-J exclaims “he’s 70-something”. Even though most wrestling fans familiar with Flair’s work will have seen Flair bleed as much as he does in the clip a number of times, this is different. The man is 73, and he was so close to death in 2017 that WWE reportedly made a package for him just in case.

https://twitter.com/KXNGAO/status/1549166923220385793

His age and his health in recent years makes not only the footage above a lot harder to watch, but some fans remain uncertain Flair should be wrestling at all. The match is going to happen though, 24 hours after Jarrett is the special guest referee for the Unified WWE Tag Title match at SummerSlam. That’s likely why Flair teased one of his opponents would be from WWE prior to the announcement yesterday because, well, technically that’s true.

Source: TheSportster

AEW Rampage Fyter Fest Week 1 Preview 7/15/22

The Ring of Honor World Championship will be on the line on tonight’s episode of “AEW Rampage” Fyter Fest Week 1.

Champion Jonathan Gresham will defend his title against Lee Moriarty. Gresham and Moriarty were partners in a tag team match against Tully Blanchard’s Gates of Agony (Toa Liona and Kaun) on last Friday’s “Rampage”. However, Gresham abandoned Moriarty during the match, revealing he had joined the Tully Blanchard Enterprises faction.

Ring of Honor’s next pay-per-view Death Before Dish0nor is just over one week away. As of Friday morning, a title challenger for Gresham on that show has yet to be announced. Gresham has held the title for more than 200 days and has defended it in a number of promotions, including Impact Wrestling. Gresham also had a successful title defense against Dalton Castle on AEW’s Battle of the Belts II special back in April.

The following lineup is announced for tonight’s “Rampage”:

  • Ring of Honor World Championship Match: Lee Moriarty vs. Jonathan Gresham (c)
  • Lucha Brothers vs. Private Party
  • Malakai Black & Brody King vs. Alex Reynolds & John Silver
  • Kris Statlander & Athena vs. Charlette Renegade & Robyn Renegade
  • We hear from Gunn Club

Update On Adam Cole’s Injury

AEW star Adam Cole has reportedly opted not to have surgery to fix his torn labrum.

According to Dave to Meltzer in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Cole has decided to undergo physical therapy on his shoulder as opposed to going under the knife.

The timeframe for Cole’s in-ring return will be determined more by his recovery from the concussion he suffered at the Forbidden Door pay-per-view in June. On a positive note, Cole is “faring better in that regard,” per Meltzer.

Cole reportedly suffered “a very serious concussion” during his Four-Way Match for the IWGP World Heavyweight Title at the AEW x NJPW crossover event. The concussion led to a “rushed and awkward finish” to the match as Jay White pinned the leader of the Undisputed Elite to retain his title.

In the lead-up to the Forbidden Door event, there were question marks about Cole’s availability after a Fightful Select report revealed he had been wrestling with a torn labrum for months. The report added that Cole braved the injury during his match against Hangman Page at the AEW Revolution pay-per-view in March, and continued to avoid taking time off despite being hurt. It was also noted that Cole had been “banged up for quite a while” and was “battling a series of injuries” for longer than most realize.

In a recent interview with New York Post, AEW President Tony Khan explained why he allowed Cole to wrestle at Forbidden Door despite the litany of injuries.

“He had no contact between Double or Nothing and Forbidden Door,” Khan said. “He was on commentary. He had been cleared to wrestle. So now, I’m also gonna take some time [off] for him. We had already taken some time and I’ll take some more time to make sure he’s right and wouldn’t want him to wrestle until he’s feeling 100 percent. He was feeling 100 percent going into Forbidden Door. That’s how unpredictable these [injuries] are.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Swerve In Our Glory’s AEW Tag Title Win Might Be Invalid

Swerve may have pinned the wrong man to end the match.

This year’s Fyter Fest kicked off on Dynamite this week. What was once a one-night event is now a two week affair that will be spread across four shows. Two episodes of Dynamite and two episodes of Rampage. Show number one came to a close with what was a terrific triple threat tag team match, and the crowning of new AEW Tag Team Champions.

Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland, who currently go by the team name Swerve In Our Glory, won the match, becoming champions in the process. However, a very close analysis courtesy of Wrestling Inc. has revealed the pinfall that resulted in a title change probably shouldn’t have counted. While Swerve was the legal man, the person who he pinned, Team Taz’s Ricky Starks, was not the other one.

There are two different rule sets used in three-way tag matches. Either one member of each team is legal at the same time, or only two people can be legal at once and you may need to tag an opponent to get into the match. The latter ruleset was in play for the title match on Dynamite. At the 4:15 mark in the video below, Swerve and Matt Jackson tag into the match, making them the legal competitors.

It’s almost exactly four minutes later where things start to get confusing. Powerhouse Hobbs tags Ricky Starks into the match. However, Hobbs wasn’t the legal man. Neither Swerve nor Matt Jackson had tagged out. That’s the last time anyone is tagged in the match, and it comes to an end with Swerve pinning Starks to win the match. If the video and analysis above is to be believed, Swerve didn’t pin the other legal man, so he and Lee shouldn’t have won the Tag Team Titles.

What remains unclear at this point is whether this was an accident, or whether AEW intended there to be ambiguity surrounding the title switch. If it was accidental, and news that Swerve didn’t appear to pin the right person to end the match becomes a big enough deal, AEW may well be forced to do something about it. If an ambiguous finish was the intention, then it will likely be addressed on Dynamite next week.

Source: TheSportster with credit to Wrestling Inc.

Keith Lee Cuts Impassioned Promo Following AEW Tag Title Win At Fyter Fest

Keith Lee addressed the fans when this week’s Fyter Fest edition of AEW Dynamite went off the air.

Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland were crowned AEW World Tag Team Champions during the climax of this week’s special Fyter Fest of AEW Dynamite … but the cameras didn’t stop rolling when the show went off the air.

It all went down at the Enmarket Arena in Savannah, Georgia on Wednesday, July. Lee & Strickland defeated Powerhouse Hobbs & Ricky Starks and the defending champs The Young Bucks in a thrilling main event to capture their first accolades as members of AEW’s roster. Swerve In Our Glory celebrated as the show went off the air, but the party didn’t stop there.

https://twitter.com/TonyKhan/status/1547414497844928512

Between the climax of Dynamite and the beginning of the Rampage taping, Keith Lee got on the mic and delivered an impassioned speech in which he dedicated the momentous occasion to two of his close friends.

“My friend, his name is Lucilius King. I’ve known him since 1998. I found out a little while ago that he may have cancer,” Lee said, before referencing his own near-death experience. As you might recall, Lee took a seven-month hiatus from WWE in 2021 due to his Covid-related health issues. “As most of you know, last year, I nearly died. I didn’t say a word until the threat was gone and passed. There isn’t much you can do to me to rattle me against me,” Lee sad in his post-Dynamite promo. Lee added that he was also dedicating his win to another friend, JD Griffey.

“The fact is, I didn’t care if we won or lost. The fact is this is a brotherhood, and I’m devoting my everything to that,” he said. “So Lucilius King, this is more than just a victory for me, this is more than just a victory for our story.”

Lee became one of the hottest free agents in the world when he was released by WWE on November 4, though he wasn’t able to sign elsewhere until the 90-day non-compete clause in his contract had expired. In case you missed it, Lee appeared on an AEW show for the very first time on the February 9 edition of Dynamite on TBS. It all went down at the Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Keith Lee was revealed as Isiah Kassidy’s mystery opponent in a Face Of The Revolution qualifying match just moments before the match began.

https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1547401604034355210

Source: TheSportster

AEW Dynamite Fyter Fest Week 1 Preview 7/13/2022

Tonight’s episode of AEW Dynamite is Week 1 of Fyter Fest from Enmarket Arena in Savannah, GA.

The following line-up is announced for tonight:

  • AEW TNT Championship Match: Orange Cassidy vs. Wardlow (c)
  • AEW Tag Team Championship Match: Swerve In Our Glory vs. Ricky Starks & Powerhouse Hobbs vs. The Young Bucks (c)
  • AEW Interim World Championship Eliminator Match: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Jon Moxley (c)
  • Claudio Castagnoli vs. Jake Hager
  • Anna Jay vs. Serena Deeb
  • Luchasaurus in action
  • We hear from Christian Cage
  • We hear from Chris Jericho
  • There will be an announcement about AEW All Out, the promotion’s next pay-per-view event, which will take place on September 4 
https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1547189096799506440

AEW Rampage Preview 7/8/22

The following lineup is announced for tonight’s AEW “Rampage” at 8/7C on TNT:

  • Eddie Kingston vs. Konosuke Takeshita
  • Orange Cassidy vs. Tony Nese
  • Jonathan Gresham & Lee Moriarty vs. Gates of Agony (Toa Liona & Kaun)
  • Mercedes Martinez & Serena Deeb in action

Marko Stunt Discloses Plans To Start His Own Wrestling Promotion

Marko Stunt wants to form a new wrestling company this year.

Former AEW performer Marko Stunt has revealed plans to start up his own promotion.

The 25-year-old left AEW this year as a result of not having his contract extended and is now wrestling on the independent scene, mostly performing for GCW. His exit from AEW hasn’t slowed him down any and he remains very active as an in-ring competitor. However, he has plans to begin working on the periphery and is looking to launch his own promotion before the end of 2022.

“I’m actually, I have my own promotion coming up around where I live in Memphis,” Stunt said during an interview with NBC Sports Boston recently. “I think we’re starting here in September. We’re still trying to come up with everything and do everything.

“We haven’t released any posters or anything. That is coming soon. I am going to be starting up a promotion here. I also help out a lot with a show in Missouri, with the booker there. I’ve been getting into that role and trying to learn that type of stuff.”

Stunt has been appointed EVP and co-booker of Cape Wrestling in Missouri since his departure from AEW.

Source: TheSportster

Chris Jericho Reveals He Was Hospitalized With Pulmonary Embolism

Chris Jericho has told the full story behind why he wound up in hospital last year.

Chris Jericho got wrestling fans worried at the end of 2021 when it was revealed The Wizard had been hospitalized during a UK tour with his band, Fozzy. The exact reason Jericho wound up in hospital wasn’t revealed. At least not until recently when Tony Khan let the cat out of the bag revealing Jericho had suffered from blood clots.

Since Khan had revealed half the story, Jericho decided to use Friday’s episode of Talk Is Jericho to tell the story in full. Turns out the first AEW Champion didn’t have just one blood clot, he had a lot of them. In fact, Jericho had something called a pulmonary embolism. The medical name for some of those bloodclots being in Jericho’s lungs, so an incredibly serious situation.

Jericho first realized something was up when it became difficult to breathe during a Fozzy show in Newcastle. The former WWE Superstar soldiered on, performing shows in Chester and Bournemouth, but suffering the same problem on both nights. Upon arrival in London for a media day, Jericho was finally hospitalized at which point he was diagnosed and doctors went to work on clearing the clots and increasing his blood oxygen level.

“I got to the hospital and I can barely walk. I mean walking across the lobby to get to the car to go to the hospital was a real task. It was terrifying,” Jericho revealed. “They did an ultrasound and found that there was evidence of a clot in my throat. Now if a clot gets in your throat, that’s getting into stroke territory.” Jericho was given blood thinners which cleared the clots, but if one had dislodged it could have been a very serious situation, perhaps one that had resulted in his death in a worst-case scenario.

Jericho had to stay in London for an extended period as he was unable to fly back to the US until his oxygen level was back to normal. It was also recommended that he lose some visceral fat, which is why he is in notably better shape now than he was six months ago. The leader of the Jericho Appreciation Society bulked up intentionally for his work in Japan but has lost 32 lbs since the incident in the UK. He’s all good now, as has been proved by the multiple matches he has had in AEW since.

Source: TheSportster