As seen on the first episode of “Road to All Out,” Tully Blanchard is now advising Shawn Spears — and AEW has shed some light on his role in the company.
According to a press release from All Elite Wrestling:
Effective immediately, Blanchard has entered into a multi-show agreement with Spears and AEW.
The announcement also includes a statement from AEW President Tony Khan.
“Given the challenge that Shawn has issued to Cody for a match at ALL OUT as well as the long, bitter history between Tully and the Rhodes family, plus Shawn’s recent behavior in AEW, it appears that Tully Blanchard has a great deal of influence over Shawn’s intents and actions,” Khan stated. “This indicates that going forward Shawn Spears will be one of the most feared and unpredictable wrestlers in AEW.”
MJF apparently injured his elbow at last night’s AEW Fight for the Fallen during his 6-man tag match. MJF teamed up with Shawn Spears and Sammy Guevara in a winning effort against Darby Allin, Jimmy Havoc, and Joey Janela.
MJF was scheduled to be at tonight’s Inspire Pro Wrestling event, but was pulled to prevent any further injury. Below is Inspire Pro Wrestling’s statement on MJF not being able to wrestle for them.
“BREAKING NEWS: AS THE ADDAGE GOES, ‘CARD SUBJECT TO CHANGE.’ At approximately 4:07 this morning, INSPIRE PRO was delivered the unfortunate news that PURE PRESTIGE CHAMPION MAXWELL JACOB FRIEDMAN sustained a severe elbow injury at last night’s FIGHT FOR THE FALLEN event. With MJF scheduled to appear at next week’s TRIPLEMANIA, the decision was made to pull him from tonight’s event to prevent any further injury. THEREFORE, MJF will NOT be defending his PURE PRESTIGE CHAMPIONSHIP tonight against RICKY STARKS. With MJF soon to become exclusive to AEW, the opportunity to reschedule the match is not possible. Therefore, MJF and INSPIRE have come to a mutual agreement to VACATE the PURE PRESTIGE TITLE.”
At last night’s AEW Fight for the Fallen, Bea Priestley and Shoko Nakajima defeated Sr. Britt Baker and Riho during The Buy In. Partway through the match, Baker seemed a bit “off” and there was speculation afterwards that she had suffered some type of injury.
It looks like Baker sustained a concussion at some point during the match.
Aubrey Edwards—who refereed the match—mentioned losing one of her earrings when she had to quickly leave the show.
“While hurriedly leaving the venue last night, I somehow lost one of my earrings. I’ve had these guys since my very first match, and they’ve been with me for (most of) the 461 matches after that. Best value I ever got for $20. Thanks for all the memories. RIP”
Baker then retweeted Edwards and filled in that the reason Edwards left so hurriedly was to take care of her for the night.
“Hurriedly left the venue to take care of a concussed coworker and checked on her every hour of the night. Next pair is on me Ref Aubrey.”
The Buy In Pre-show
Sonny Kiss vs. Peter Avalon with Leva Bates – Winner: Sonny Kiss
The Buy In Pre-show
Britt Baker and Riho vs. Bea Priestley and Shoko Nakajima – Winners: Bea Priestley and Shoko Nakajima
MJF, Shawn Spears and Sammy Guevara vs. Joey Janela, Darby Allin and Jimmy Havoc – Winners: MJF, Shawn Spears and Sammy Guevara
Brandi Rhodes w/Awesome Kong vs. Allie – Winner: Brandi Rhodes
After the match, Brandi & Awesome Kong attacked Allie. Aja Kong came out to save Allie. Awesome Kong and Aja Kong starred each other down.
Dark Order vs. Jack Evans and Angelico vs. Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus w/Marko Stunt Winners advance to All Out for an opportunity at a first round bye in the AEW World Tag Team Titles tournament. – Winners: Dark Order
Hangman Adam Page vs. Kip Sabian – Winner: Hangman Adam Page
After the match, a masked man attacked Hangman Page. The mask man revealed himself. He was Chris Jericho.
SCU (Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky) w/Christopher Daniels vs. Lucha Bros (Pentagon and Rey Fenix) – Winners: Lucha Bros
After the match, Lucha Bros brought a ladder into the ring. They issued a challenge to the Young Bucks for a ladder match at All Out
Kenny Omega vs. Cima – Winner: Kenny Omega
Chris Jericho in the ring, cut a promo for his title match against Hangman Page at All Out. Page ran in and attcked Jericho.
Cody Rhodes and Dustin Rhodes vs. The Young Bucks – Winners: The Young Bucks
“The Buy In” pre-show for Fight for the Fallen will begin at 7:30pm ET on the AEW YouTube channel this Saturday night. The Fight for the Fallen main card will then begin at 8:15pm ET, for free on BR Live. Fight for the Fallen will take place at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, FL.
Cody Rhodes and Dustin Rhodes vs. The Young Bucks
Kenny Omega vs. Cima
Brandi Rhodes vs. Allie
Hangman Adam Page vs. Kip Sabian
Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky vs. Pentagon and Rey Fenix
Dark Order vs. Jack Evans and Angelico vs. Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus Winners advance to All Out for an opportunity at a first round bye in the AEW World Tag Team Titles tournament.
Chris Jericho will have a live mic
The Buy In Pr-show
Britt Baker and Riho vs. Bea Priestley and Shoko Nakajima
The Buy In Pre-show
MJF, Shawn Spears and Sammy Guevara vs. Joey Janela, Darby Allin and Jimmy Havoc
The Buy In Pre-show
Sonny Kiss vs. Peter Avalon with Leva Bates
AEW announcer and Senior Advisor Jim Ross appeared on Busted Open Radio yesterday with WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray and Dave LaGreca, to promote Saturday’s AEW Fight for the Fallen event. You can download the full show at this link.
One of the topics discussed on the show was the unprotected chair shot that Cody Rhodes took from Shawn Spears at AEW Fyter Fest last month. Bully asked JR his opinion on chairs and chair shots in general, and Ross said he believes chairs have run their course in pro wrestling.
“I think the chairs have run their course to be honest with you,” Ross said. “The chair shot back in the day, the chairs were there as usable objects because we are sitting on them. The ringside fans and the studio audience were sitting on them. Those steel chairs and folding chairs were everywhere because they were handy, easy to stack, cheap, easy & inexpensive staging. Now, then nobody sits on a steel metal folding chair. They’re all locked up on ringside. Usually nicer chairs. And the announcers don’t sit on folding chairs. Maybe the timekeeper does, I don’t know. It’s a work that it’s such an expose. Another thing, the boys know, if they’re gonna use the chair they gotta assume the doggy-style position. They’re on all fours waiting to get hit in the back. And I can’t recall ever in the last many years that a chair shot to the back has beaten a single soul.
“So, why are we doing it? I’m not b—hing about our creative. It was edgy. It was out there. In hindsight I wouldn’t have done it. But it happened and we [the announcers] called it the best we could. But I think the chairs are kinda like the authority figures – I think they’ve kinda run their course. Unless somebody can figure out a way to make them more innovative and current, I’d say lets ‘table that stuff’. No pun intended Bubba. Let’s get rid of those chairs for a while.”
Ray responded and said, “Sounds like you’re not in favor of the chair more from the psychology perspective of it than the actual physicality of it. Because it seems like the physicality of it is what people wanted to harp on.”
Ross mentioned CTE and how important it is to protect the wrestlers.
“I’m a big person to want to protect the CTE issues and people’s brains,” JR said. “Because obviously we know that some of those injuries are irreversible. Guys get their brains rattled so many times over and over again – you’re asking for trouble. If you dodge the bullet then God bless you. I just think that we gotta protect the CTE, protect the talents. I’m big on that. But again, it’s kinda run its course. I feel when a guy assumes the position you think you’re getting ready to watch a scene from a prison movie. He’s on all fours here. Come on. We have a lot of high flyers here in AEW. But at some point in time they gotta start winning matches with their high flying moves instead of using them as segue spots to get from point A to point B.”
AEW Executive Vice President Cody Rhodes will be releasing a new children’s book on Monday, July 15 via Amazon and bookstores nationwide.
This will be the second book in “The Elite Team” series from Trism Books, and will retail for $16.95. Titled “Cody Heart of the Mountain,” the book comes eight months after “Young Bucks Stand Tall” was released, written by The Young Bucks.
Below is the full announcement on the book along with comments from Cody and book signing dates:
CODY RHODES INSPIRES NEXT GENERATION WITH CHILDREN’S BOOK THAT CHAMPIONS TEAMWORK— “Cody Heart of the Mountain” is Second Book in The Elite Team Series, Available July 15 on Amazon & Bookstores Nationwide —
CHICAGO, IL (July 10, 2019) – Within seven months of successfully launching All Elite Wrestling, EVP Cody Rhodes today added a new title to his impressive repertoire – Children’s Author. Cody Heart of the Mountain, the second book in “The Elite Team” series, will be available on Monday, July 15, on Amazon and anywhere books are sold including Barnes & Noble, Target and Indiebound.
Cody Heart of the Mountain teaches children that everyone has unique abilities, even their perceived enemies. By working together, readers learn they can overcome obstacles to unite the world. The engaging tale takes young readers on a sci-fi journey where nothing is as it seems. While camping in the wilderness, Cody and the Elite Team (Matt & Nick Jackson, Brandi Rhodes, Hangman Adam Page, Kenny Omega), fall under Claw Mountain’s powerful spell. The friends take on bear and wolf qualities as two rival groups form. Divided by mistrust and jealousy, Cody must find a way to lead the team back together. Will the friends be able to work together and embrace their differences in order to break the spell?
“When I was eight years old, I went camping with my family, and my Dad told me that if I woke up early enough he would take me to see the bears who lived on the adjacent mountain,” said Cody Rhodes. “According to him, I never woke up early enough (wink wink). But, I never really needed to see the bears because he would tell me a version of the story in this book as a bedtime story many times. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend, right? Bringing this story to life was a labor of love. It was truly special watching Dylan Coburn masterfully bring the words to life as well as working with Trism Books to provide a positive message to children and adults alike. I hope you enjoy.”
Published by Trism Books, Cody Heart of the Mountain will retail for $16.95. The book comes eight months after Young Bucks Stand Tall, which follows brothers Nick and Matt Jacksonthrough an inspiring story that encourages young readers to follow their dreams.
Cody will be signing his book in-person at the following locations over the upcoming weeks:
• July 14: 12pm-1pm @ Barnes & Noble in Jacksonville, FL
• St. Johns Town Center, 10280 Midtown Parkway, Jacksonville
• July 19: 6pm-7pm @ Dave and Buster’s in Marietta, GA o 2215 D and B Dr SE, Marietta Click here for more.
• August 29: 12pm-2pm @ Pro Wrestling Tees in Chicago, IL
AEW’s All Out, has been speculated as the night that former muti-time WWE Champion CM Punk will return to professional wrestling and debut with AEW. All Out takes place at the Sears Centre Arena in Chicago, the city where Punk is from.
“We’ll be honest, of course we would love [Punk] to come to our company,” Nick Jackson told Chris Van Vliet. “At this time, I just don’t think he wants to. Matt talks to him all the time about it but the timing is not right, I guess.”
“When he wants to come back to wrestling, it’ll be his decision,” Matt explained. “Professional wrestling is the most demanding thing in the world. You can’t just find yourself back in it one day and be like, ‘Okay, I guess I’m doing this again.’ You really have to want to do it and that’s up to him.”
With or without Punk in AEW, the company has been a hot topic of conversation in the pro wrestling industry. The Bucks took some time to note the improvements that AEW has brought to performers and the overall competitive nature of the sport.
“We’ve changed the whole pay scale for everyone in wrestling, which is awesome,” Nick said. “A lot of our friends are getting paid and they’re finally making money for the first time in their careers. It feels good, it feels awesome.”
“The pressure has been put on everybody in the professional wrestling business,” Matt added. “… Everybody is trying harder now. It’s very competitive again. We need competition again; the industry needs it to survive.”
At Double Or Nothing this past May, “Hangman” Adam Page and PAC were supposed to have a one-on-one bout that was ultimately cancelled due to creative differences. The Bucks mentioned that they still have every intention of bringing on PAC as a part of their future AEW productions.
“He’s coming. I mean, eventually,” Matt stated.
“It’s a work in progress. It’s obvious that Matt and I are big fans of his,” Nick said. “We met him like 10 years ago over in Japan, so we’ll always have ties with him and we wanna work things out with him. I think it’s just a matter of trying to fit his schedule with ours and hopefully, things will work out.”
“It’s a priority for us and I think we’re gonna make this thing work,” Matt added.
You can watch the full interview in the video below.
Former WWE star Enzo Amore apparently got into a fight with Joey Janela at a Blink 182 concert in New Jersey on Tuesday … and they took to Twitter afterward to continue beefing.
It all went down at the PNC Bank Arts Center after last night’s show.
“I’m glad you introduced yourself cause I couldn’t pick you out of a line up. You don’t want no smoke.”
“Where was that energy at? We aint friends [Joey Janela]. Dont introduce urself to me f*ckboy I thought u were a fan hahaha the second I realized it was u I slapped ya bitchass hands down & walked @ u w/ MY HANDS UP YA F*CKIN RAN BACKWARDS & told my homey to film it”
“Clout chasing in public to ultimately look like a p*ssy, must feel terrible,” he added. “Ya not a good human, people are out to enjoy there night and you cause a scene and run while I’m engaging with friends & fans, ya mother should be proud.”
Janela gave more context with his telling of what happened. “Not a work,” he tweeted. “So I saw the dude and walked up and said “Hi I’m Joey Janela” at the blink 182 show and we proceeded to have (I’m not lennox lewis) to have the sh*ttiest fist fight of the year, I’m not a p*ssy but we had fun!”
This never would’ve happened if Tom DeLonge was still in Blink 182.
Enzo released some footage of the incident, but no punches are thrown in the clip.
This past Thursday, a house fire burned down the home of former pro wrestler Don Wright and his family. While raising five grandkids, Don and his wife Sandy were away when their home was destroyed. Now, they must start anew.
A GoFundMe has been created to help out the Wright’s. Donations will help with clothes, food and school supplies, as school will be starting up for the children (ranging from 4-14 years old) after the summer.
The original goal of $5,000 has been broken, thanks in large part to generous donators. AEW’s Jon Moxley and Tony Khan each donated $5,000 to help break the goal needed.
If you live in the Tenessee area you can make donations to the Trinity Memorial Funeral Home Monday through Friday from 9-5pm. Southern States Wrestling will also be holding an auction and wrestling card to benefit the family on August 10th. Taking place inside The Model City Event Center in Downtown Kingsport, the matches for the event or what will be auctioned off haven’t been announced yet.
You can read the full description of the fund below:
A good friend of mine, and an amazing coworker, has lost her house and car this morning. She has 5 grandchildren, that all live with her, and they have lost everything. They only have the clothes on their backs right now and the food given to them by a neighbor. They need clothes, food, any appliances or furniture, and money to replace things. School will also be starting in a few months, and any help will be appreciated. They have no clue when their insurance may help them, and need any help until then. They believe the fire was caused by electrical issues, but will know more later. They were fortunate enough not to be in the house at the time. Sandy is an amazing person, and is always giving to her coworkers and her grandbabies. We would appreciate any help!!Sincerely, Sandy’s friends and coworkers ❤
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