All Elite Wrestling’s inception will continue to dominate wrestling media headlines throughout the year, particularly with so many questions still be to be answered about the upstart promotion.
Television remains the biggest of these. AEW may live or die on their ability to score a deal, and with Impact Wrestling’s recent struggles in the TV market, they face a tough task to find a station offering the required levels of exposure.
AEW President Tony Khan spoke on Sean Waltman’s X-Pac 12360 podcast earlier this week, though he was unable to go into any specifics on the matter. Here’s what he had to say:-
“There’s interested parties … a number of interested parties … it’s gonna be great for everybody. Like I said, I want it to be great for the fans. And I want every week, I want people to be excited about what this week is gonna bring in wrestling. Whether you’re a kid in school, or you’re at work and you want something to look forward to at night, I want it to be a big part of everyone’s week. I think for the talent, I just think this is a great opportunity for everybody to create something. “
This sounds promising. It was speculated last week that Khan would use his considerable media connections to score a favourable TV deal, and with networks like TBS/TNT mentioned, the early signs are encouraging. Securing a contract that’s even in the same ballpark as WWE’s upcoming Fox agreement seems like a pipe dream, though.
Big name signings will increase AEW’s bargaining power in these negotiations. Chris Jericho may not be enough on his own, though the acquisition of Kenny Omega may help convince networks that AEW is a viable commodity.
Generations clash as the hardcore legend Tommy Dreamer looks to teach the Hart Foundation’s Brian Pillman Jr. an extreme lesson in respect. What happens when Dreamer fights Pillman in a Singapore Cane match?
Dragón Lee and Rich Swann tangle in the air and on the mat as things heat up in Miami in this first-ever encounter between two top grapplers.
After the brutal attack outside the arena during MLW Fusion LIVE in December, Team Filthy’s Fred Yehi is back and wants a piece of Low Ki. Is the World Heavyweight Champion making a mistake taking on Yehi this close to SuperFight?
Having failed to take out Tom Lawlor, Promociones Dorado demands the mercenary Sami Callihan redeem himself. How will he do this? Tune in to find out!
The SuperFight control center is back with some new matches for February 2nd’s big card in Philadelphia.
A newcomer is on his way to Major League Wrestling.
Plus, the #1 ranked wrestler “Filthy” Tom Lawlor is in the house!
Matches:
•Singapore Cane Match: Tommy Dreamer vs. Brian Pillman Jr.
•Non-title bout: Low Ki (presented by Salina de la Renta) vs. Fred Yehi
•Rich Swann vs. Dragón Lee
Join Tony Schiavone and Rich Bocchini ringside in Miami as Major League Wrestling presents the fastest and most dangerous hour of combat sports you’ll experience anywhere in the world.
Watch MLW FUSION Friday nights on beIN SPORTS at 8pm ET/5pm PT. Don’t get beIN? Subscribe to MLW’s YouTube channel for free and stream binge on MLW FUSION anytime anywhere!
Cody Rhodes, The Young Bucks and Hangman Page turned down WWE offers in order to be a part of the new All Elite Wrestling promotion, headed by Jacksonville Jaguars co-owner Tony Khan.
Triple H reportedly had worked hard and offered unique deals in hopes of signing all four, according to Dave Meltzer in the latest edition of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter. According to Meltzer, Page’s deal was to work NXT for main roster money. Page was to have been pushed as one the top stars on the brand.
WWE also had a unique three-year deal for the Bucks, which would have been for the same amount of money as A.J. Styles. The WWE deal included having their Being The Elite show airing weekly on the WWE Network. It also had a unique six-month window that would have allowed them out of their contracts if they weren’t happy.
It was noted that The Elite had roughly 12 hours of discussions with Triple H, and they praised him for how things were handled. Apparently Triple H also saw the humor in the Being the Elite episode where the Bucks superkicked Kazarian, who was dressed like Triple H, repeatedly as their way of publicly turning down the WWE offer.
As noted, Kenny Omega’s contract with New Japan Pro Wrestling expires at the end of the this month and he is expected to sign with AEW after February 1st, when he is a free agent. It was reported in The Observer that the word is that Omega has already turned down WWE’s offer.
In a close vote, Becky Lynch topped Ronda Rousey for 2018’s “Woman of the Year”, as voted by the readers of Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Lynch received 40 percent of the vote, four percent better than Rousey. Asuka and Tessa Blanchard were distant runners-up.
Rousey being selected number one in PWI’s “Woman’s 100” led to Lynch posting some disparaging tweets about PWI – and Publisher Stu Saks in particular. Even though Lynch appeared happy while posing for the PWI cover of the awards issue with the Woman of the Year plaque, she complained about her #11 placement in the “100” throughout much of the photo shoot.
Rousey achieved a near-record 87 percent of the vote in being named “Rookie of the Year”. The widest margin of victory in the 46-year history of the PWI awards was enjoyed by The Giant (Big Show), who garnered 88 percent of the vote for “Rookie of the Year” in 1996.
AJ Styles was named “Wrestler of the Year” for the third straight year. Styles now has earned a total of seven Achievement Awards. Styles earned 46 percent of the votes in the “Wrestler of the Year” category, followed by Kenny Omega (17 percent), Cody (8 percent), and Seth Rollins (7 percent). He also was voted “Most Popular” for the second straight year. The only other wrestler to receive WOTY honors for three straight years is Ric Flair (1984-1986).
Styles and Becky also topped Wrestling Inc.’s Best of 2018 for “Male Wrestler of the Year” and “Female Wrestler of the Year”, respectively.
PWI’s annual year-end issue can be purchased in print or digital formats at pwi-online.com.
It looks like Alex Marvez will be one of the All Elite Wrestling announcers. The SiriusXM NFL Radio host now lists AEW in his Twitter bio, along with the “#ChangeTheUniverse” hashtag. Dave Meltzer noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that Marvez had been in line for an AEW announcing position and Marvez hosting Tuesday’s Double Or Nothing rally with Conrad Thompson is a good sign that he will get the position.
You can get a closer look at Marvez working the AEW rally in the video below, which was the lead-in to the actual rally. There’s no word yet on who might join Marvez at the AEW announce table but it does not look like Thompson will be calling the action.
Chris Jericho’s new contract with All Elite Wrestling is reportedly for 3 years, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio. Meltzer said Jericho revealed that this is the best contract of his career.
As noted before, Jericho talked with WWE and AEW up until the last minute, signing his AEW contract just recently. It came down to AEW offering Jericho a better deal. Jericho will be allowed to work New Japan Pro Wrestling and his cruise, which are stipulated in the contract.
It’s no secret that AEW and WWE are getting aggressive when it comes to signing top talents to contracts. AEW is expected to pursue WWE talents when their contracts expire. Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks have friendly relationships with many of the WWE talents, which will help with potential negotiations. One top WWE Superstar who has a contract coming up that they are familiar with is AJ Styles. Meltzer speculated on WOR that Styles has a lot of leverage right now because he’s a top WWE talent and AEW would offer him a significant deal with an easier schedule. Styles is making a lot of money with WWE right now but AEW potentially could beat that. AJ turns 42 this year and if he really wants an easier schedule with good money, he could get that from AEW.
Meltzer noted that no one is in a better position between WWE and AEW right now other than Styles, except for maybe Kenny Omega. Omega’s future has not been confirmed but it’s still believed that he will end up with AEW after his New Japan Pro Wrestling contract expires on January 31.
It was also noted that AEW is offering good money to wrestlers right now. During the recent Double Or Nothing rally, Cody talked about how AEW wanted to change the wrestling economy and how they wanted to pay wrestlers good money because happy, paid wrestlers translates to happy fans. Some of the AEW contracts are totally exclusive but others are being allowed to work elsewhere. AEW officials are wanting to make everything beneficial for all talents. There’s no word yet on what talents like “Hangman” Adam Page are earning from AEW but WWE made a strong offer to Page and he turned them down.
The talent wars are heating up now that AEW has officially launched. All the top promotions are aware of the free agents, and they are making plays to sign them. Not only are WWE and AEW getting aggressive in signing talent, but you also have New Japan Pro Wrestling and Ring of Honor trying to sign talents to contracts.
Meltzer noted that there are a lot of people in WWE who are interested in exploring their options with AEW, if not go ahead and sign with them. These talents obviously have to wait until their WWE contracts expire and there is also a “wait and see” feeling to see if AEW works out, and what it becomes.
Scottish women’s wrestler Piper Niven is reportedly signing with WWE soon, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio.
Niven, also known to fans as Viper, participated in the 2017 Mae Young Classic and defeated Santana Garrett in the first round. She then defeated Serena Deeb in the second round but lost to Toni Storm in the third round.
Niven is currently signed to World of Sport Wrestling but it’s believed she is headed to WWE once her deal expires. Meltzer notes that All Elite Wrestling wanted to sign Niven but she decided not to sign with them.
All Elite Wrestling President Tony Khan isn’t allowed to say much about a potential TV deal for the company, but he can confirm there’s been talks with interested parties.
Khan was a guest on the latest episode of X-Pac12360. When the topic of potential TV deals came up, Tony told host Sean Waltman he signed non-disclosure agreements and couldn’t get into specifics yet.
When pressed a little more, however, Khan said this:
There’s interested parties … a number of interested parties … it’s gonna be great for everybody. Like I said, I want it to be great for the fans. And I want every week, I want people to be excited about what this week is gonna bring in wrestling. Whether you’re a kid in school, or you’re at work and you want something to look forward to at night, I want it to be a big part of everyone’s week. I think for the talent, I just think this is a great opportunity for everybody to create something. Like I said, a golden age.
For a lot of the talent … I’ve always heard the story that in WCW, that people had said, “this is the golden age.” Specifically that Eric Bischoff said to the talent, “Hey, this is the golden age. Enjoy it while it lasts.” And, you know, it didn’t last.
I think we can create it and it can be sustainable. And we can build something that doesn’t have to ever die. It can live forever. Because I know the wrestling community will never die. As long as the planet is spinning, there’s gonna be people watching wrestling and people that are passionate about it.
Watch the full interview below to hear Khan address the Bill Goldberg rumors, possible partnerships with other companies, equal pay, challenges the company will face and more.
One of the hot topics in wrestling since, essentially, the beginning of wrestling has been health insurance for those in the ring. Promotions view their wrestlers as independent contractors rather than employees, and thus, they don’t offer health insurance for one of the most dangerous jobs in sports entertainment.
All Elite Wrestling is trying to do something different in the wrestling world in more ways than one and that includes health insurance. Some AEW employees will receive health insurance and other benefits as Matt Jackson and Cody Rhodes explained at their launch rally.
“I don’t know if it’s something that [AEW President] Tony [Khan] would want to talk about further, but the big thing for All Elite is that we want to take care of the boys,” stated Matt Jackson.
“So many times you hear stories from wrestlers past or legends where they don’t have anything left and there’s nothing to show for it. One thing that we’ve always wanted to do is, if we started a wrestling organization, we wanted to take care of the guys. So, that’s one thing we’re working on.
“The executives are gonna have benefits and stuff. They’re gonna get taken care of. We’re in the day one process of that and we’re still working on it. But that’s the plan.”
The executives include The Young Bucks and Cody Rhodes who are all EVPs as well as Brandi Rhodes who is Chief Brand Officer. Matt was asked if AEW talent might receive benefits one day.
“Maybe one day. Never say never,” said Matt. “We’re early on. We’re creeping up with that door barely open, so hopefully one day we can swing it wide open.”
Cody was also asked about talent receiving health insurance and benefits and he said that AEW will be similar to WWE in that they will take care of anyone that gets hurt in their ring.
“A lot of concerns that guys will have is what happens if I get hurt in the ring? Because that’s the one thing WWE covers and we can confirm anyone that gets hurt in an AEW ring will be 100 percent taken care of by AEW,” revealed Cody.
Cody then made a comparison between wrestling and Hollywood which insures its actors and actresses through labor unions such as SAG-AFTRA.
“I’d like to see wrestling just like the television industry,” said Cody. “I’ve done a few bit roles here and there but that treatment and that care you get for your time on-screen, you have a comparable influence as a pro wrestler. You’re just as recognizable and you should be just as taken care of.”
The new All Elite Wrestling promotion officially launched yesterday with their Double Or Nothing rally at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Florida.
The biggest news coming out of the rally was the signing of future WWE Hall of Famer Chris Jericho, who closed the rally and announced that he is all in with AEW. Jericho said he’s with AEW because he believes in doing something new and something different, not for the money because he’s already got the money.
AEW also announced that their Double Or Nothing event will take place on Saturday, May 25 in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. They announced a second AEW event for Jacksonville to be held at a later date but details were not released. There were also no details on a possible TV deal or any kind of online distribution but more announcements will be made in the future.
AEW Chief Brand Officer Brandi Rhodes spoke at the rally and confirmed the AEW women’s division, noting that they want this to be a strong division with the strongest women’s wrestlers in the world. Brandi said AEW cares about their female wrestlers and will be paying them equally with the male competitors. She said Cody agrees with her that there will be no sliding scale when it comes to pay. Regarding her role as CBO, Brandi said it will come with lots of hard work and long nights, but she is 100% committed to helping bring AEW to the level it’s supposed to be at, which she guaranteed.
Regarding the Khan family, several of the speakers gave thanks to Tony Khan and his father, Shad Khan. We noted that the Khans confirmed their roles with the company. Matt Jackson noted during the rally that the Khan family approached them after All In last year and asked them if they really wanted to change the world, then offered to really help make that happen.
It looks like AEW will be working with other promotions as well. Matt said they have come to an agreement with OWE (Oriental Wrestling Entertainment) in China, and that they will bring OWE into AEW to give them a major spotlight. Matt promised fans will love OWE if they’re not already familiar with them, praising the promotion for the “gifted” in-ring work they bring. It was also interesting that PAC (Neville) carried his Dragon Gate Open the Dream Gate Title when he came out for a confrontation with “Hangman” Page.
Cody Rhodes announced on Twitter before the really that former WWE Tag Team Champion Billy Gunn is the first agent for the promotion. He is the only producer announced as of this writing. Coming out of the rally, below is the confirmed roster for the promotion:
* Cody Rhodes (Executive Vice President)
* Matt Jackson of The Young Bucks (Executive Vice President)
* Nick Jackson of The Young Bucks (Executive Vice President)
* Brandi Rhodes (Chief Brand Officer)
* Billy Gunn (Agent)
* Chris Jericho
* PAC fka Neville
* “Hangman” Adam Page
* Britt Baker
* Joey Janela with Penelope Ford
* MJF
* Christopher Daniels of SoCal Uncensored
* Frankie Kazarian of SoCal Uncensored
* Scorpio Sky of SoCal Uncensored
The rally was trending on Twitter, before it even began. Hosts Conrad Thompson and Alex Marvez noted that more than 100,000 fans were watching the rally across the various platforms. I believe the YouTube stream peaked at around 60,000 live viewers. The rally featured pyro on the stage they used, and a larger fireworks display from inside the stadium, which is the home of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars mascot, Jaxson de Ville, and their cheerleaders were also featured.
Below is the video of Cody with Gunn, along with various shots from the press conference and the full stream video.
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