AEW will present a “Blood & Guts” themed episode of Dynamite tonight on TBS from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, TN.
As has seemingly been the case before time itself began, the relationship between AEW and Warner Brothers Discovery and whether it will continue past this year has been a hot topic with wrestling fans. Over the weekend though, things really heated up when reports emerged that AEW and WBD had an agreement, in principle, to keep AEW with TBS and TNT for the next several years, something that was echoed again on Monday.
However, an official announcement on the matter may still be a ways away. Fightful Select has reported on Tuesday that those close to WBD say an announcement from either AEW or WBD regarding a new deal isn’t imminent, and that the framework of a deal currently isn’t done. That doesn’t mean an agreement is far off, however, as those in AEW and WBD still expect a deal to be reached, and for both sides to continue their relationship for years to come.
One possible time the deal could be reached is during the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris, France, as both AEW owner Tony Khan and WBD President David Zaslav will both be in Paris for the games, and are set to meet while there. While this meeting doesn’t guarantee the deal will be reached, the meeting has been set between Khan and Zaslav for months, and they are expected to have some form of negotiation.
While the news remains an overall positive for AEW, it should disappoint some fans who were hoping for an official announcement this week, possibly as early as today in the hours leading up to “AEW Dynamite.” Instead, those fans will just have to settle for their usual Wednesday night wrestling fix, which will feature a Blood & Guts match between Team AEW and Team Elite.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
WWE Raw will air live tonight on the USA Network from the Resch Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
The Bang Bang Gang were forced to vacate the AEW Unified World Trios Championship after Jay White picked up an injury that forced him out of action. Juice Robinson and The Gunns tried to reclaim the titles against The Patriarchy only to fail, continuing the group’s run of bad luck. Furthermore, it turns out that White’s injury is legitimate as opposed to a storyline setback, according to Fightful Select.
As of this writing, details about White’s injury have yet to be confirmed, so it remains to be seen what he’s suffering from and how long he’ll be out of action for. However, the former NJPW ace has been out of action since his loss to Adam Page in the men’s Owen Hart Tournament semi-final on the June 24 edition of “AEW Collision.”
This marks the latest White absence from AEW television. Earlier this year, he was forced to do pre-taped promos due to visa issues that prevented him from entering Canada. However, he returned in time to participate in the aforementioned tournament. White officially joined AEW in 2023 after making sporadic appearances for the promotion while he was still with NJPW. Since then, he’s mostly teamed with his cohorts in the Bang Bang Gang, aka Bullet Club Gold, feuding with teams such as The Acclaimed and FTR.
White isn’t the only AEW star to suffer an injury setback lately, as Skye Blue got legitimately hurt on the latest episode of “Collision.” Similar to White, how serious her injury is remains to be seen.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Word emerged over the weekend that Bobby Lashley’s WWE contract is expiring in the near future, with the veteran wrestler said to have been removed from the company’s internal roster. PWInsider has some additional information on Lashley’s status, as well as that of his former manager MVP. WWE reportedly offered Lashley a new contract, but the 48-year-old wasn’t overly excited by the details and is expected to depart.
As for MVP, his current deal is said to end in mid-August, with no “major discussions” about bringing him back thus far. There had previously been talks about using MVP as an announcer or producer, but neither of those plans materialized.
It’s believed that both Lashley and MVP will generate interest from outside companies following their departure. The two were previously key members of The Hurt Business, a popular WWE faction that many fans felt was broken up prematurely, and the group could see a return outside of the promotion.
Though the Hurt Business name is trademarked by WWE, there would be nothing stopping a company like AEW from utilizing the group under a different moniker. The Hurt Business also included Shelton Benjamin, who was released from his WWE contract last year, as well as Cedric Alexander, who is still with the company.
PWInsider’s story does contradict the initial Fightful report in one way, stating that Lashley is still listed on the internal “WWE SmackDown” roster. However, Lashley hasn’t wrestled on television since April and hasn’t accompanied the Street Profits during their “SmackDown” appearances. Lashley and the Street Profits had previously been working together as a trio, known as The Pride, first formed in 2023.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
AEW star Skye Blue has become the latest performer to be taken down by the injury bug following the most recent episode of “AEW Collision.” In the early stages of her match with Hikaru Shida, the former AEW Women’s World Champion hit a crossbody to the outside where Blue caught her. However, the landing didn’t go according to plan, and Blue, in a lot of visible pain, couldn’t continue the match.
Speaking on “Wrestling Observer Radio,” Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer confirmed that Blue suffered a broken ankle, with her recovery time still yet to be determined. Blue seemed to be doing well in the picture of her that Kyle Fletcher posted on social media, suggesting that the setback was less than initially feared. Before her injury, Blue was one of the busiest performers in the AEW women’s division, with only Toni Storm, Mariah May, and Deonna Purrazzo wrestling more matches than her in 2024.
Coincidentally, Alvarez noted that just a few weeks earlier, former AEW Women’s World Champion Riho also suffered a serious injury on “Collision” performing a crossbody, where she broke her wrist upon landing on her opponent Lady Frost. However, Meltzer noted that both instances were simply freak injuries that can happen at any point to anyone in the wrestling business given the nature of the performer’s work. Blue not only joins Riho on the women’s division’s injured list, but also the likes of Yuka Sakazaki, Jamie Hayter, and Julia Hart.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Hopefully AEW fans don’t believe in bad omens, because a legitimate injury to an up-and-coming competitor is an unfortunate way to kick off the promotion’s residency in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday night’s “AEW Collision.” In the second match of the evening, Skye Blue was set to take on former three-time AEW Women’s World Champion Hikaru Shida. Just a few minutes into the contest, however, Blue took a crossbody from Shida to the outside and didn’t get back up. After being evaluated by the ringside medical staff, the match was called off, with Shida being awarded the victory.
“Collision” went to commercial following the injury, with the action clearly expected to continue in picture-in-picture. Instead, viewers could see Shida trying to buy time for Blue to be examined, only to ultimately leave the ring and walk back up the ramp. By the time the commercial break ended, it was clear the match wouldn’t be continuing, and Shida was announced as the winner due to referee stoppage.
In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), AEW CEO Tony Khan said Blue suffered an ankle injury and was being evaluated.
Kyle Fletcher posted an update on Skye Blue’s condition.
“We got her home everyone, doctor Kyle on the clock. Yeeeeeeeefreakinhaaaaaaaaaw,” Fletcher wrote on X, alongside a photo of a middle-finger-flipping Blue. In addition to her white cowboy hat, Blue can also be seen wearing a heavily wrapped cast on her right ankle. There is no word on how long Blue will be out of action with her injury, but luckily, it appears she’ll have the added support of Fletcher along her recovery, however long it may be.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Pre-show
Tasha Steelz defeated Faby Apache, Gisele Shaw, and Xia Brookside. Four-way action. Shaw was the star with a double stack fireman’s carry slam to Steelz and Brookside, catching Apache for a powerbomb, and spearing Brookside. Shaw delivered a running knee to Brookside, but Steelz shoved Shaw aside to steal the pin.
Kushida defeated Rich Swann. TNA announced that Jonathan Gresham was unable to compete (not a storyline). Swann was the replacement. Kushida had a new look with Buddhist symbols on his body reminiscent of Hakushi. The Time Splitter prevailed with a flipping Hoverboard Lock off the turnbuckles to win via submission.
Knockouts Tag Team Championship: Masha Slamovich & Alisha Edwards defeated Jody Threat & Dani Luna to retain the titles. Spitfire connected on the Hart Attack clothesline to Edwards, but Slamovich made the save on the pin. As Spitfire set up their finisher, Edwards raked the eyes, and Slamovich hit the Snow Plow on Threat. Kick out on the cover. Slamovich grabbed both title belts to use as foreign objects. The referee confiscated one strap and took his sweet time with his back turned. Meanwhile, Slamovich tripped Threat with a drop toehold to collide into the other belt in the corner. The Malisha executed a doomsday bulldog on Threat for victory.
Director of Authority Santino Marella booked a surprise match.
Eric Young defeated Alexander Hammerstone. EY escaped a torture rack for a roll-up victory.
Slammiversary PPV
Matt Hardy defeated Johnny Dango Curtis. Hardy rallied for a Twist of Fate. JDC kicked out and came back for a Falcon Arrow slam. As Dango climbed the corner, Hardy sprang up for a Twist of Fate off the turnbuckles to win. Hardy added two more Twist of Fate maneuvers for good measure after the match. It could be considered symbolically one for Jeff Hardy and one for Reby Hardy as payback for JDC’s previous attacks.
TNA World Tag Team Championship: Ace Austin & Chris Bey defeated Brian Myers & Eddie Edwards to win the titles. Alisha Edwards was a pest throughout. She ran in to block ABC from their finisher. After a brief pause, Bey leaped toward Myers for a cutter. Eddie pulled his partner out of the way, and Bey accidentally clocked Alisha. ABC made use of the distraction for a double cutter and the Art of Finesse with The Fold combo for Ace to pin Myers.
Mike Santana defeated Jake Something. Rugged fight. Jake caught Santana for a powerbomb. Kick out on the cover. Jake scaled the corner, then Santana sprang up to execute an avalanche German suplex. For the finish, fisticuffs were footloose and fancy-free. Santana had more oomph in his tank and finished with a discus lariat.
Rascalz defeated No Quarter Catch Crew. Trey Miguel and Zachary Wentz reunited with Wes Lee (aka Dezmond Xavier) from NXT. Their opponents were Charlie Dempsey, Myles Borne, and Tavion Heights representing NXT. The style was high-flying versus catch wrestling. Dempsey’s crew grounded the Rascalz for much of the match. Hot tag to Lee, and the excitement cooked. The Rascalz were able to use dives to keep NQCC at bay on the outside toward the finish. Went lifted Heights into a torture rack position. Trey hit a flying stomp, then Wentz slammed Heights. Wentz and Lee joined forces for the Hot Fire Flame splash. Wentz pinned Heights to win.
TNA Digital Media Championship & International Heavyweight Wrestling Championship: PCO defeated AJ Francis in a Montreal Street Fight to win both titles. Santino Marella didn’t want the match to end in a DQ, so he added the stipulation. Francis had help from Rich Swann and Josh Bishop, but they couldn’t keep PCO down. Sami Callihan and Rhino evened the odds to help the monster. PCO landed a moonsault. Kick out by Francis. Top Dolla hit a tombstone piledriver. Kick out by PCO. The French-Canadian Frankenstein had the final salvo with a chokeslam onto chairs and a moonsault to win. After the match, Steph De Lander returned from Australia to propose marriage to PCO. He said yes!
Knockouts Championship: Jordynne Grace defeated Ash by Elegance to retain the title. Ash worked the spine, but Grace was still able to hit a musclebuster. Ash was slick on defense to frequently counter Grace’s power offense, however, it was only a matter of time until the Juggernaut connected on the pumphandle driver to win.
X-Division Championship: Mike Bailey defeated Mustafa Ali to win the title. Ref bump! Bailey accidentally kicked the referee. Ali took advantage of the situation for his security guards to beat up Bailey. They held Bailey down for two 450 splashes from Ali. 1, 2, the ref was pulled out of the ring by Trent Seven in disguise. Ali took him out with a suicide dive. Since the referee was still compromised, Ali attacked Bailey with a chair. He waved in his backup plan. Earl Hebner came to the ring to recreate the Montreal Screwjob, but he couldn’t go through with it. When Ali threatened Hebner, Bailey took control for a Sharpshooter of his own. Ali tapped out in defeat.
TNA World Championship: Nic Nemeth defeated Moose, Josh Alexander, Frankie Kazarian, Steve Maclin, and Joe Hendry to win the title. Six-way elimination bout. Maclin was the first elimination via spear from Moose. Moose was the second elimination via Standing Ovation chokeslam from Hendry. Hendry was the third elimination via low blow kick and a C4 spike piledriver from Alexander. It appears that Alexander just turned heel. Alexander was the fourth elimination via superkick from Nemeth. Kazarian had previously been superkicked off stage crashing through a table. He made his timely return to catch Nemeth off guard for a Fade to Black piledriver. 1, 2, kick out by Nemeth. They tussled back and forth with high drama, then Nemeth hit the Danger Zone to win.
All Elite Wrestling will kick off the path to the All In Summer Series with tonight’s episode of AEW Collision.
Tonight’s live broadcast follows last week’s taped show and marks the beginning of AEW’s summer residency in Arlington, Texas, featuring five weeks of shows at the Esports Stadium Arlington. The episode will air live on TNT starting at 8:00 PM EST.
tonight’s AEW Rampage on TNT.
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