Category: AEW

AEW’s Paul Wight: ‘Going To Have Fun With Captain Insano Before I Hang Up The Boots’

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.

https://twitter.com/PaulWight/status/1672662814899535874

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.

AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 6/25/2023 (Results)

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 Preview 6/24/2023

AEW Collision, tonight at 8/7c from Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

  • The road to AEW & NJPW: The Forbidden Door 2 winds down tonight.
  • CM Punk, FTR & Ricky Starks vs. Jay White, Juice Robinson & The Gunns
  • Swerve Strickland vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
  • Powerhouse Hobbs will be in action
  • We’ll hear from Miro
  • Andrade El Idolo vs. Brody King
  • Willow Nightingale vs. Nyla Rose Owen Hart Memorial Quarterfinal Match
  • Christian Cage will address the AEW TNT Championship
  • Sting and Darby Allin reveal their partner for Forbidden Door 2

AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 6/25/2023 (Card)

  • Date: June 25, 2023
  • Location: ScotiaBank Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, 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

Johnny TV (John Hennigan) Returns To AEW On Rampage

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.

AEW Rampage Preview 6/23/2023

Tonight’s AEW Rampage on TNT at 10/9c.

  • MJF appears for the first time on Rampage
  • Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament quarterfinal: Anna Jay A.S. vs. Skye Blue
  • CHAOS (Rocky Romero, Chuck Taylor, Trent Beretta & Yoh) vs. United Empire (Will Ospreay, Kyle Fletcher & Jeff Cobb) and Swerve Strickland
  • “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry vs. Douki
  • The Acclaimed in action

Bryan Danielson Reportedly ‘Banged Up’ Ahead Of AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door

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.

“Top Name” Left AEW Dynamite In Bad Mood – Punk/Elite Situation Is A “Ticking Time Bomb” (Report)

One of the top stars in AEW was in a foul mood following this week’s episode of Dynamite which saw CM Punk appear on the broadcast.

Punk made his first appearance on Dynamite in months this week and earned an electric response from the crowd in his native Chicago.

When a deal was reached to bring Punk back to TV, it was believed that Punk would keep to AEW Collision while the Elite would remain fixtures of Dynamite.

In the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reports that one “top name” of AEW was in a bad mood following this week’s Dynamite.

That top name, who was not named in the report, described the atmosphere within AEW due to the Punk-Elite situation as a potential “ticking time bomb.”

Source: eWn

The 2023 Owen Hart Cup Tournament Brackets Revealed

Following this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite, we now have the official brackets for the men’s and women’s Owen Hart Cup Tournament. Two of the matches will be taking place at Sunday night’s AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door II pay-per-view event.

We’ll see CM Punk facing off against Satoshi Kojima at Forbidden Door II in the men’s tournament, while Billie Starkz will face Athena in the women’s tournament at the same show.

You can check out the complete brackets below:

  • Men’s Tournament:
  • CM Punk vs. Satoshi Kojima (Forbidden Door)
  • Roderick Strong vs. Samoa Joe (June 29th AEW Collision)
  • Dustin Rhodes vs. Powerhouse Hobbs (June 29th AEW Collision)
  • Juice Robinson vs. Ricky Starks (June 29th AEW Collision)
  • Women’s Tournament:
  • Britt Baker vs. Ruby Soho (June 28th AEW Dynamite)
  • Anna Jay.A.S. vs. Sky Blue (June 23rd AEW Rampage)
  • Nyla Rose vs. Willow Nightingale (June 24th AEW Collision)
  • Athena vs. Billie Starkz (Forbidden Door)

AEW Dynamite Preview 6/21/2023

Tonight’s AEW Dynamite, live on TBS, is the final show before this Sunday’s Forbidden Door II pay-per-view.

  • TBS Championship Open Challenge: Kris Statlander (c) vs. Taya Valkyrie
  • Concession Stand Brawl: Jeff Jarrett vs. Mark Briscoe
  • Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara and Minoru Suzuki vs. Action Andretti, Darius Martin and AR Fox
  • Blind Eliminator Tournament for an AEW Tag Team Title Opportunity. Several sources have indicated this match is believed to be the Lethal Lottery concept that was first introduced by WCW at Starrcade 1991.
  • The Hardys vs. The Gunns
  • Orange Cassidy and Katsuyori Shibata vs. Zack Sabre Jr. and Daniel Garcia
  • We will hear from both Adam Cole and Eddie Kingston
  • Bryan Danielson to call out Kazuchika Okada

As of this writing F4WOnline is reporting that The Elite are only expected to appear in a pre-taped segment. There is still no confirmation CM Punk will appear live. However, tonight’s show is taking place live from the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois.

Pwinsider reports that there are a number of New Japan talents in the United States. It’s very likely that some NJPW stars will appear on Dynamite.