Category: TNA

AEW Seemingly Teases CM Punk After United Center Announcement

On tonight’s AEW Dynamite: Fight for the Fallen, Tony Schiavone announced AEW is headed to the United Center in Chicago on August 20 for AEW Rampage: First Dance. Tickets go on sale this Monday, August 2. The announcement led to loud “CM Punk” chants from the crowd.

AEW filed to trademark “The First Dance”, which is a play on The Last Dance documentary on Michael Jordan and the famous 1990’s Chicago Bulls. Punk also took to Instagram to post the song “Sirius” by the Alan Parsons Project, which was the entrance song for the 90’s Bulls, leading to speculation that “The First Dance” trademark is related to him.

AEW is also holding three shows in Chicago in September: September 1 for Dynamite, September 3 for Rampage, and September 5 for All Out. All three events are at the NOW Arena.

Right after that announcement, Darby Allin was interviewed and said he’s been around lot of people who say they are the greatest ever in wrestling. The only place to prove that is AEW, “even if you think you’re the best in the world.” Obviously, a reference to CM Punk’s catchphrase. As noted, Punk has been rumored to be heading to AEW.

https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1420550389414436864
https://twitter.com/AEWonTNT/status/1420550798371549185

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Hiroshi Tanahashi Issues Challenge For IWGP US Title On Dynamite

NJPW star Hiroshi Tanahashi appeared via video on tonight’s AEW Dynamite: Fight for the Fallen.

Tanahashi said he’s won many championships in his career, but the IWGP US Championship has thus eluded him.

Tanahashi said the winner of the match between the current champion, Lance Archer, and NJPW star Hikuleo will face him next. A date has yet to be announced, however the match will take place in Japan. Archer won the title last week in a Texas Deathmatch against Jon Moxley.

Archer won last night’s match and commentary noted he’ll travel to NJPW so Tanahashi can challenge for the title. No word on when that will happen.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Former WCW Star Juventud Guerrera Revealed As Chris Jericho’s Next Labour Opponent

On next week’s edition of AEW Dynamite, Chris Jericho will face his former WCW colleague Juventud Guerrera for the first time in 22 years.

Lucha Libre legend Juventud Guerrera will appear on TNT for the first time in 20 years and make his All Elite Wrestling debut when he goes one-on-one with his former WCW colleague Chris Jericho on next week’s episode of Dynamite.

Guerrera’s imminent arrival was announced by MJF following the main event of this week’s Fight For The Fallen edition of AEW’s flagship show.

Chris Jericho had just defeated Nick Gage in the second of five matches that he must win in order to be granted a grudge match against his bitter enemy/former protege, MJF. In what is being referred to as “The Labours Of Jericho,” MJF chooses all of Jericho’s opponents and decides the stipulation of each match. Last week, Jericho defeated “The Chairman” Shawn Spears in a match in which Spears could legally use a steel chair, but Jericho could not.

At the end of this week’s Dynamite, Jericho was sat in the ring drenched his own blood having just won a deathmatch against a man who specializes in them. After the bell, an irate MJF, who had been on commentary throughout the match, leaped from his seat, grabbed a microphone, and revealed next week’s stipulation: to win the match, Jericho must hit his final move off of the top rope.

MJF then reminded Jericho of a moment the two men shared while exchanging insults during a 2019 edition of Dynamite. During that encounter, Jericho implied that MJF was conceived after his parents watched Jericho beat up Juventud Guerrera on WCW Nitro. Guerrera was then announced as Jericho’s opponent next week.

https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1420565611378323459

Juventud Guerrera (real name, Eduardo Aníbal González Hernández) began his wrestling career in 1992 in his native Mexico. Guererra made his WCW debut on August 26, 1996 edition of Monday Nitro, and became the promotion’s Cruiserweight Champion soon after.

Chris Jericho last wrestled Juventud Guerrera shared a ring together 28 times during their time in WCW. They last faced each other on the February 18, 1999, edition of WCW Thunder.

Juventud Guerrera Talks Losing His Mask, Wrestling With Chris Jericho

Source: The Sportster

AEW Dynamite ‘Fight For The Fallen’ Preview 7/28/21

Tonight’s AEW Dynamite Fight For The Fallen episode airs on TNT from the Bojangles Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.

* The Elite vs. Hangman Page and Dark Order (10 Man Elimination Tag)

* The Painmaker Chris Jericho vs. Nick Gage (The 5 Labours of Jericho: Chapter 2, No Rules Match)

* Lance Archer (c) with Jake The Snake Roberts vs. Hikuleo (IWGP US Title)

* Santana and Ortiz with Konnan vs. FTR with Tully Blanchard

* Christian Cage, Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus vs. H.F.O with Matt Hardy

AEW’s Britt Baker Vows To Continue Working Despite Suffering Legitimate Injury

AEW Women’s Champion Britt Baker has revealed that she sustained a legitimate broken wrist during her match with Nyla Rose on the July 21 Dynamite.

All Elite Wrestling Women’s Champion Britt Baker has revealed that she suffered a broken wrist during her match with Nyla Rose on the most recent Fyter Fest edition of Dynamite, which went down in Dallas on Wednesday, July 21.

On Friday night, Baker took to social media to share a photograph of herself alongside mixed martial artist Paige VanZant. In the image, Baker is wearing a hefty-looking cast on her right forearm.

“With [Paige VanZant],” Baker captioned the image. “And oh yeah, I retained the title on Wednesday night at [AEW Dynamite] with a broken wrist,” she added.

https://twitter.com/RealBrittBaker/status/1418758077705293828

Baker claimed that despite the injury, she wouldn’t be taking any time off. Whether or not this means she intends to wrestle with a broken wrist remains to be seen, as it’s possible she will just continue to appear on AEW programming without participating in any matches.

Baker’s no stranger working while injured. As you might recall, she continued to appear in weekly Dynamite segments despite suffering an anterior lateral tibial fracture, a partial lateral collateral ligament tear, and a small degree tendon tear during a tag match on an episode of Dynamite in May of last year. Ironically, that match also featured the aforementioned Nyla Rose, although Rose was Baker’s tag partner that night, not her opponent.

Following her 2020 injury, Baker appeared regularly on Dynamite in a wheelchair and cut promos on her colleagues in the AEW women’s division.

Source: The Sportster

Report On CM Punk Possibly Signing With AEW

AEW has been mentioned as the likeliest landing spot for CM Punk. Here is the latest.

It sounds like CM Punk and AEW are closing in on a contract that will change the professional wrestling landscape.

On Thursday, it was reported that CM Punk has engaged in talks regarding a return to the ring, and that AEW is the most likely promotion to land him. More details have emerged on this story.

Ringside News heard that an agreement between AEW And CM Punk is practically a “done deal”, and that they’re simply “waiting until they are in person to sign the contract.”

Also, Dave Meltzer reported on a Wrestling Observer Forum (h/t WrestlingNews.co), that the two sides have held “talks about certain dates.” Meltzer believes that even if they haven’t signed a deal yet, CM Punk and AEW “they have an understanding and unless (there is) a blow up, it’s happening.”

On his Instagram page, CM Punk posted a story of the song Sirius by The Alan Parsons Project, and some are interpreting this as a hint that he’ll be joining AEW soon. Sirius has been played at Chicago Bulls home games since the Michael Jordan dynasty days. The AEW All Out pay-per-view will be held inside the Now Arena at Hoffman Estates, Illinois on Sept. 5. Hoffman Estates is a suburb of Chicago, CM Punk’s hometown.

Signing CM Punk, who left the WWE seven and a half years ago, would be a massive game changer for AEW. And yet, he may not be the only former WWE Champion who’s about to arrive in the company. Recent reports have also stated that Daniel Bryan is about to join AEW. Apparently, the company’s partnership with New Japan Pro-Wrestling was a significant factor in Bryan’s decision to sign with AEW. His contract with WWE expired nearly three months ago.

If AEW signs both CM Punk and Bryan, that promises to quickly change the competition with WWE. These are two of the most popular and accomplished wrestlers of the past decade, after all. We’ll just have to wait and see how everything plays out over the coming days or weeks.

Source: The Sportster

Impact Wrestling Preview 7/22/21

Last Saturday, Impact Wrestling’s world changed following their historic and game-changing event, Slammiversary. The question weighing on everyone’s minds is: How will the dynamic change with the new debuts and former stars returning to the Impact Zone?

Tonight, witness the fallout from Saturday’s show. With new tag team champions Havok and Rosemary (Knockouts) and The Good Brothers (Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson), as well as the retaining victors (Josh Alexander, Deonna Purrazzo and Kenny Omega), who will step up to the plate and challenge them next?

It looks like Havok and Rosemary have their first challengers calling their shot for Knockouts Tag Team Championship. They will defend their titles for the first time in a rematch against Fire ‘N Flava. Will Fire ‘N Flava make history by reclaiming the belts for the third time, or will Havok and Rosemary tear them down again just like they did last Saturday?

Not only were there new champions crowned and other spectacular title matches displayed, but the surprise train kept on rolling through when past TNA/Impact stars like Chelsea Green, Mickie James, and the former Impact World Tag Team Champions FinJuice (Juice Robinson and David Finlay) reemerged. Not to mention the exciting debuts of Thunder Rosa and No Way, who tore the house down during their separate title matches. What do these returning stars have up their sleeves tonight?

Speaking of new faces, jaws dropped in shock and awe when New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s NEVER Openweight Champion “Switchblade” Jay White made a surprise visit minutes after Kenny Omega retained his Impact World Championship in a grueling matchup against Sami Callihan. What does the leader of the Bullet Club have in store for Impact?

Tonight on Impact on AXS TV:

* Fallout from Slammiversary

*  Jay White returns to the Impact Zone

* Mickie James to appear

* Knockouts Tag Team Championship Rematch: Rosemary & Havok (c) vs. Fire ‘N Flava

* Ace Austin & Madman Fulton vs. FinJuice (David Finlay & Juice Robinson)

* Mixed Tag Team Action: Brian Myers, Sam Beale & Tenille Dashwood vs. Jake Something, Matt Cardona & Chelsea Green

* Chris Bey vs. Rohit Raju

* Panelists Jon Burton, Gia Miller and Josh Mathews will kick things off with a Slammiversary recap on Before The Impact at 7 PM ET!

Kiera Hogan Announced Departure From Impact Wrestling

Kiera Hogan is done with Impact Wrestling.

Hogan announced on her OnlyFans account that she finished up with the company at the TV tapings held in Nashville this week.

“What’s up babies! I’m in Nashville for tapings and you guys will be the first to know that this is my last IMPACT tapings and I’m going to see what else is out there for me [emoji] I’m so excited and scared but I know whatever I choose to do I’m gonna be the best and that’s on periodt [blue heart emoji],” she wrote.

It was reported back in August 2019 that Hogan had signed a multi-year contract with the company that summer.

Known as Fire ‘N’ Flava, Hogan and Tasha Steelz won the tournament to revive the Impact Knockouts Tag Team Titles earlier this year at Hard To Kill on January 16. They then dropped the titles to Jordynne Grace and Rachael Ellering at Rebellion on April 25, but won them back on May 15 at Under Siege. They lost the titles to Havok and Rosemary at Slammiversary this past Sunday. A new storyline with the tag team will play out over the next few episodes of Impact on AXS, taped this past week.

Hogan first signed with Impact/GFW back in August 2017. She leaves the company as a two-time Knockouts Tag Team Champion.

Stay tuned for more on Hogan’s future and Impact departure.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Daniel Bryan Has Signed A Contract With AEW, Partial Terms Of Deal Revealed [Report]

An exclusive report by Bodyslam.net confirms that Daniel Bryan is locked in and signed with AEW. What are the terms he asked for in his deal?

This past week, speculation was everywhere that Daniel Bryan was no longer negotiating a return to WWE. He’d been removed from all of their side projects and partners who work closely with WWE of merchandise like action figures and video games have been told he’s no longer a part of the company plans. But, did that mean he was destined to go to AEW? Apparently so.

A new report that surfaced on Wednesday notes that Bryan has, in fact, signed a deal to debut with AEW and as Cassidy Haynes of Bodyslam.net reports, Bryan (aka Bryan Danielson) is “locked in” and has “100% signed a contract with AEW.”

A follow up report also notes that Danielson was wanting to work less dates for comparable money, which AEW has accepted. It also important he get to work in Japan, which AEW is supportive of. Finally, he wanted to have creative input on his character, and AEW didn’t mind granting him that request either.

If this report is accurate, this obviously huge news for AEW and a big loss for WWE. Bryan is a major name in the wrestling business. Not only that, he’s exactly the type of personality and mentor that will be a great fit for that locker room.

For fans wondering if this is going to be something that happens quickly, they’ll need to have a little patience. Plans are already in the works to make his debut special but tentative debut plans might be to have him to appear for the first time in AEW at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City on September 22.

The report suggested the CM Punk news and his negotiations with AEW may have altered the plans for Bryan, who AEW was originally thinking about bringing in after the All Out pay-per-view.

Nick Gage Debuts At AEW Fyter Fest, Announced As Chris Jericho’s Second Labour Opponent (No DQ Match)

MJF introduced AEW fans to Nick Gage at Fyter Fest, revealing he will face Chris Jericho in a No DQ match next week.

Nick Gage appeared at Fyter Fest on Wednesday night as MJF revealed he will face Chris Jericho in a No DQ match next week.

Both nights of AEW’s Fyter Fest were loaded, and night two kicked off with the first of five labours of Chris Jericho. Jericho needs to make it through all five if he wants to face MJF again. The first was a match against Shawn Spears in which Spears was allowed to use a steel chair, but Jericho could not.

Le Champion won the match with MJF watching on from the announce desk. Not impressed with the helping hand Jericho got from Sammy Guevara, the holder of the Dynamite Diamond Ring went ahead and announced Jericho’s second labour. A no disqualification match against someone who also doesn’t mind breaking the rules. A man who has stabbed one of his opponents and legitimately robbed a bank.

If you haven’t already figured out who MJF had waiting in the wings, it was deathmatch legend, Nick Gage. Gage then joined MJF on the stage, brandishing a pizza cutter and using it to signify what he plans on doing to Jericho next week. The match was described as No DQ, but it will be interesting to see how close to a deathmatch it can become on network television.

Gage has been wrestling for years but discovered newfound fame recently after he was the subject of an episode of Dark Side of the Ring. The show detailed his path to becoming one of the most famous deathmatch wrestlers of all time. He was legitimately killed in a match and brought back to life, robbed a bank, and sliced David Arquette’s neck, something else that really landed Gage on the radar.

It’s unclear right now what sort of deal Gage has with AEW if he does indeed have a deal at all. He might wrestle the one match with Jericho and be done. There is one other very obvious match waiting for him in AEW right now, however. A match against former deathmatch wrestler Jon Moxley who has shown up in GCW a couple of times and attacked Gage. Matt Cardona could return to AEW for a match with Gage too as he seems pretty peeved that he ducked their showdown recently but is working with AEW.

Source: The Sportster