Report: There Is ‘A Lot Of Negativity’ Backstage In AEW

There’s never a dull moment behind the curtain at AEW. Among the many happenings are alleged backstage fights, wrestlers publicly speaking out about their booking, poor ticket sales, and key staff and performers departing the promotion. On the latest “Wrestling Observer Radio,” longtime wrestling reporter Dave Meltzer said he had received “a lot of negativity” from people in and around AEW. He feels that a lot of the issues stem from Saturday’s “AEW Collision” taping in Erie, Pennsylvania, which drew a very low crowd.

It was pointed out that despite the reported negativity, Tony Khan’s promotion is grossing more money than it has ever done before. It’s said that AEW will finish 2023 grossing between $170-$175 million, which is up 67% from 2022. That could increase even further next year with the company’s television rights up for renewal. The organization is also set to return to Wembley Stadium next summer for All In, with this year’s inaugural event grossing over $10 million in revenue. Meltzer added that there were “economic aspects” of the promotion that looked favorable, but there is still somewhat of a negative perception behind the scenes.

Following the announcement last week by wrestler and backstage contributor QT Marshall that he was leaving AEW due to the company moving in a different direction, it was reported yesterday that AEW VP of Post Production Kevin Sullivan had been let go. Meltzer noted there were “a lot of people” who were not happy about that decision, and he believes that’s why there’s currently negativity behind the scenes.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE NXT Preview 12/5/2023

Tonight’s WWE NXT in Orlando, Florida at the Performance Center on the USA Network: 

  • NXT Champion Ilja Dragunov and Baron Corbin face-to-face
  • Iron Survivor Challenge Last Chance qualifier: Kiana James vs. Roxanne Perez vs. Fallon Henley vs. Thea Hail
  • Iron Survivor Challenge Last Chance qualifier: Carmelo Hayes vs. Eddy Thorpe vs. Joe Coffey vs. Tyler Bate
  • Alpha Academy (Otis, Chad Gable, and Maxxine Dupri) vs. Meta-Four (Noam Dar, Oro Mensah, and Lash Legend)
  • Andre Chase to address Chase U in a special assembly

Dutch Mantell Announces Hospitalization

Former wrestler, manager, and booker Dutch Mantell, best known to WWE fans as Zeb Colter, is apparently dealing with significant health issues. On Monday, Mantell announced via Facebook that he’s going to be hospitalized “for a while” and that his daughter, Amanda, is taking care of him in his time of need. Mantell did not elaborate on his specific health issues, only noting that he’s “been very sick” lately. 

“OK guys, here’s for those who’ve been looking for me,” Mantell wrote. “Let me catch everybody up. In a nutshell, I’ve been very sick. There are packages missing and parcels that I’ve misplaced…but guys, I’ll make it good. Just give me time. I’m praying every day for everybody’s safety. For me personally, I’ve been admitted to a hospital here in Lutz where I’ll be for a while. I request everybody honor my family’s respect to have our own private thoughts. I will respond to all of you privately…and thank you for for patience. My daughter Amanda has been with me helping me.”

During his wrestling career, Mantell enjoyed success in NWA territories such as Continental Wrestling Association and Mid-South Wrestling, capturing the CWA Heavyweight Championship on three occasions and the Mid-South Television Championship once. 

Mantell also captured various tag titles with partners such as Koko B. Ware, David Schultz, and Austin Idol. Mantell first moved to a non-wrestling role as a color commentator for “WCW Worldwide” and later for Jim Cornette’s Smoky Mountain Wrestling. In subsequent years, Mantell managed various stables and wrestlers across promotions, with his most famous stint coming as the manager for former WWE Champion Jack Swagger.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AJ Styles Reportedly Set To Return To WWE SmackDown This Friday

This week’s “WWE SmackDown” promises to be a star-studded show, with Randy Orton now an official member of the blue brand, while CM Punk will be making his first “SmackDown” appearance in nine years. However, it appears that another former WWE Champion is also expected to turn up, as AJ Styles is set to return to television on Friday, according to Dave Meltzer on the latest “Wrestling Observer Radio.”

Styles was originally supposed to be back on television a couple weeks ago, but those plans ended up being scrapped. However, Styles is now back in the mix, with the veteran star returning just in time to kickstart the Road to WrestleMania. The “Phenomenal One” has been out of action since the start of September, written off after he was attacked backstage. That took him out of the Fastlane tag team match where he was originally set to team with John Cena, eventually being replaced by LA Knight.

Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso were the men responsible for his attack, therefore Styles could end up plugged back into that storyline working against The Bloodline, but that is unknown. Roman Reigns currently doesn’t have an opponent for the upcoming Royal Rumble, and while Orton has been discussed for that role, the creative team is also considering other ideas — possibly opening the door for Styles. It remains to be seen if Styles’ return will also lead to The Good Brothers coming back, which could help with the numbers game against The Bloodline. However, Luke Gallows has been on the sidelines after getting his knee scoped, so it will likely depend on his recovery.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

ROH Reportedly Struggling To Sale Tickets For Final Battle 2023

AEW Worlds End may be the biggest wrestling event on Tony Khan’s calendar in December, but it’s not the only one. His other promotion, Ring of Honor, is set to hold its marquee event, Final Battle, in Garland, Texas, in a little more than ten days, airing exclusively on HonorClub. And so far, it appears fans aren’t viewing Final Battle as a big deal.

WrestleTix reports that, as of this past Friday, Final Battle has yet to cross the 1,000 tickets sold threshold, with the event only selling 996 tickets. The news doesn’t get much better, as the event is currently set up to hold 3,722 fans, meaning that 2,726 tickets remain available for purchase.

Should ticket sales continue at this current pace, this year’s Final Battle would be well down from last year, though that event itself only drew 2,700 tickets at Arlington, Texas’ College Park Center. Final Battle 2023 will be the third show under Khan’s umbrella to take place in Texas that week, with “AEW Dynamite” and “AEW Rampage” airing out of the College Park Center, while “Collision” will take place out of the Curtis Cullwell Center, the same arena Final Battle is booked for.

Only three matches have been announced for Final Battle so far, including Athena defending the ROH Women’s World Championship against former protege Billie Starkz, Keith Lee vs. Shane Taylor, and a Six-Way Survival of the Fittest match to determine a new ROH TV Champion. It’s unknown if either the ROH Tag Team or ROH World Championships will be defended, as both ROH Tag Champs, MJF and Adam Cole, are dealing with injuries, while ROH Champion Eddie Kingston has put his title up in the ongoing Continental Classic tournament.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE RAW Preview 12/4/2023

WWE Raw will air live tonight on the USA Network from the MVP Arena in Albany, New York.

  • WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins (c) vs. Jey Uso
  • Drew McIntyre vs. Sami Zayn
  • Two Out of Three Falls: DIY (Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano) vs. Imperium (Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci)
  • Shayna Baszler vs. Nia Jax
  • Katana Chance & Kayden Carter vs. Tegan Nox & Natalya
  • The Creed Brothers (Brutus & Julius Creed) vs. Judgment Day’s Dominik Mysterio & JD McDonagh
  • Cody Rhodes to address Shinsuke Nakamura

Spike Dudley Makes In-Ring Return

Spike Dudley returned to the ring for the first time in eight years, competing at LIVE Pro Wrestling’s show this weekend.

Dudley hasn’t competed since 2015, and he stepped into the ring with Leon St. Giovanni at the indie event.

St. Giovanni later tweeted,

“I wrestled Spike Dudley tonight. Life is crazy.

Don’t worry about the footage. Trust me, I beat him senseless afterwards.

@LIVEpwevents”

https://twitter.com/LeonStGiovanni/status/1731514037773464045

Source: eWn

Backstage News On Randy Orton’s WWE Contract Status

Fightful Select is reporting that after being out of action from WWE for a year and a half before returning to WWE at Survivor Series last weekend, he might end up sticking around for longer than originally expected.

Orton was teasing free agency for the first time in 2019, before ultimately putting pen-to-paper on a new five-year WWE contract at a time when the company was mass-signing several talents to long-term deals. One particular WWE source noted he would be surprised if the company didn’t extend Orton’s current deal.

The original WWE contract for Orton was scheduled to last until the Fall of 2024, which would put him around one-year remaining. After missing nearly 18 months, there is a strong possibility that WWE could add “injury time” to the deal, which would keep him locked up by the company until 2026. Having said that, it is not a guarantee that this is how things will play out.

There have been similar situations in the past where talents were injured but didn’t have time added to their existing contracts because they worked in other roles, or in some other capacity that involved company-related projects or efforts. It is believed that the situation with Orton right now is not like those, however, and that it is ultimately up to the company as to whether or not they go the former route or the latter.

Source: Rajah.com

The NWA Adds Another Promotion To Its List Of Territories

The National Wrestling Alliance has added a new promotion to its territories — Joe Cazana Promotions. The promotion announced its new working relationship on the social media site, X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Did you see the big announcement? JCP is now officially a territory of the National Wrestling Alliance! Now along with @ExoProWrestling, they’ll be a part of growing the Alliance and developing the next generation of professional wrestlers! @CazanaJoe @Billy,” wrote NWA.

The owner of the promotion and its namesake, Joe Cazana, who wrestled in the NWA and WCW in the late ’80s and early ’90s, also reacted to the news on X.

“I’m so very humbled and appreciative of @Billy and all the super talent that made last night possible. Special thanks to @drtomprichard @TheRealTMurdoch @MissaKate23 @JoeGalliNews @nwa and there in spirit @KyleDavisATL now it’s time to get to work. NWA/JCP Southeast,” wrote Cazana.

JCP was created in 2017 in the Tennessee area. The promotion and the NWA held a joint event this past Saturday, “How Coalfield Stole Christmas” in Coalfield, Tennessee. Scheduled to appear at the event were several NWA stars including the current NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion Colby Corino, former two-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion Trevor Murdoch, NWA World Women’s Champion Kenzie Page, the former NWA United States Tag Team Champions Country Gentleman (A.J. Cazana and Anthony Andrews), and NWA World Television Champion Mims. It was at this event that the NWA first announced that JCP was going to be part of one of the company’s territories.

The NWA’s next big live event is PARANOIA, which will be on January 13, 2024, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Collision Preview 12/2/2023

Tonight’s AEW Collision airs live on TNT at 8:00 pm EST. from the Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, Pennsylvania.

  • AEW Continental Classic Match (Blue League): Bryan Danielson (0) vs. Eddie Kingston (0)
  • AEW Continental Classic Match (Blue League): Daniel Garcia (0) vs. Andrade El Idolo (0)
  • AEW Continental Classic Match (Blue League): Claudio Castagnoli (3) vs. Brody King (3)