Swerve In Our Glory’s AEW Tag Title Win Might Be Invalid

Swerve may have pinned the wrong man to end the match.

This year’s Fyter Fest kicked off on Dynamite this week. What was once a one-night event is now a two week affair that will be spread across four shows. Two episodes of Dynamite and two episodes of Rampage. Show number one came to a close with what was a terrific triple threat tag team match, and the crowning of new AEW Tag Team Champions.

Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland, who currently go by the team name Swerve In Our Glory, won the match, becoming champions in the process. However, a very close analysis courtesy of Wrestling Inc. has revealed the pinfall that resulted in a title change probably shouldn’t have counted. While Swerve was the legal man, the person who he pinned, Team Taz’s Ricky Starks, was not the other one.

There are two different rule sets used in three-way tag matches. Either one member of each team is legal at the same time, or only two people can be legal at once and you may need to tag an opponent to get into the match. The latter ruleset was in play for the title match on Dynamite. At the 4:15 mark in the video below, Swerve and Matt Jackson tag into the match, making them the legal competitors.

It’s almost exactly four minutes later where things start to get confusing. Powerhouse Hobbs tags Ricky Starks into the match. However, Hobbs wasn’t the legal man. Neither Swerve nor Matt Jackson had tagged out. That’s the last time anyone is tagged in the match, and it comes to an end with Swerve pinning Starks to win the match. If the video and analysis above is to be believed, Swerve didn’t pin the other legal man, so he and Lee shouldn’t have won the Tag Team Titles.

What remains unclear at this point is whether this was an accident, or whether AEW intended there to be ambiguity surrounding the title switch. If it was accidental, and news that Swerve didn’t appear to pin the right person to end the match becomes a big enough deal, AEW may well be forced to do something about it. If an ambiguous finish was the intention, then it will likely be addressed on Dynamite next week.

Source: TheSportster with credit to Wrestling Inc.

MLW Kings Of Colosseum Preview 7/14/2022

Major League Wrestling tonight at 8pm ET closes out the season with Kings of Colosseum, streaming worldwide on MLW’s YouTube channel and Saturday nationwide on cable and dish on beIN SPORTS. 

  • World Heavyweight Championship: Alex Hammerstone (champion) vs. Richard Holliday
  • Matt Cross vs. ACH
  • Brittany Blake vs. Zoey Skye

A dynastic collision course a half year in the making finally arrives as bitter rivals Alex Hammerstone and Richard Holliday battle for the World Heavyweight Championship!

After the dynastic betrayal by Richard Holliday in Dallas earlier this year, Holliday has touted himself the brains behind Hammerstone’s meteoric rise as well as taken credit as the founding father of the Dynasty itself! Going as far as proclaiming to be the “Sole Proprietor” of the Dynasty, Holliday has put Hammerstone – the man he once called his best friend – in his crosshairs.

From a shocking beating in Dallas to the crimson suit drenched in Hammer’s blood at SuperFight, Hammerstone has found himself at a loss of not only a friendship but a vicious onslaught at the hands of someone who knows him better than anyone in the sport.

Now the stage is set for the most personal feud in MLW history and the stakes couldn’t be higher as Hammerstone looks to thunderclap Holliday back to his posh and privileged Westport, CT life once and for all… but does Holliday have the upper hand with Alicia Atout by his side and his much hyped “strategic dominance”?

After turning his back on Davey Richards and linking up with Alex Kane’s Bomaye Fight Club, World Middleweight Champion Myron Reed speaks on the unspeakable act.

In middleweight action, Cleveland’s Matt Cross puts his hybrid arsenal to the test against ACH!

Brittany Blake goes one on one with Zoey Skye! Will the dangerous New Jersey punk rocker continue her ascent up the Featherweight rankings?

A hot topic hits Major League Wrestling?

IMPACT Wrestling Preview 7/14/22

Two of the top factions in Impact Wrestling are set to clash on tonight’s episode of “Impact on AXS TV”.

The following line-up is announced for tonight’s episode:

  • Bullet Club (Impact World Tag Team Champions The Good Brothers, Ace Austin & Chris Bey) vs. Honor No More (Eddie Edwards, Kenny King, Matt Taven & Mike Bennett)
  • Impact World Champion Josh Alexander & Motor City Machine Guns vs. Violent By Design (Eric Young, Deaner & Joe Doering)
  • Chelsea Green vs. Mickie James
  • James Storm vs. Steve Maclin
  • Masha Slamovich vs. Tenille Dashwood

Big E Addresses Possibility Of Never Wrestling Again

Big E has been out of action since the March 11 episode of “WWE SmackDown,” and while his future remains unclear, the former WWE Champion is potentially staring down the idea of never wrestling again.

The New Day star broke his neck when taking a belly-to-belly suplex outside the ring from Ridge Holland and landing directly on his head, but admitted to TMZ that he’s “doing really well.” It is a good update from a man whose attitude has been relentlessly positive throughout the entire experience, and he has been able to remove his neck brace. But while Big E is obviously working towards competing in the ring again at some point, there is a chance that will not be a possibility for him. He recently revealed that his C1 is not ossifying (growing bone), and that it’s something that his doctors are going to look at around the one-year mark post-injury.

“I can live my life pretty normally,” Big E said. “But [my neck’s] not in a position where I should be ramming my head against other things, immovable objects. So wrestling doesn’t make sense right now. For me right now, March of next year is very far off. So, I don’t want to spend a lot of time worrying or stressing about that. I’m just kind of living my life.”

Doctors previously told Big E that the consequences from the injury could have been much worse. From that perspective, even if we have seen the last of him in a wrestling ring, he admitted that he’s okay with that, even if it’s not something fans want to hear.

“Honestly, my philosophy as a human being is learning to be content with whatever life brings you. I’m so grateful to not be in a wheelchair, but if I was, I would have to adjust to life in a wheelchair, that’s just how I am programmed,” he said. “If I spend hours or days or weeks kind of mourning where I’m at in life, and not being what I wanted to be, that doesn’t serve me.”

While Big E won’t be stepping back into the ring for the foreseeable future, he’s still available to be used in other ways by WWE, including at WWE SummerSlam weekend later this month. It was recently revealed that Big E will be working on July 27-29 in Nashville at a talent tryout for current and graduated college athletes, where he will be helping to assess the prospects involved.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Keith Lee Cuts Impassioned Promo Following AEW Tag Title Win At Fyter Fest

Keith Lee addressed the fans when this week’s Fyter Fest edition of AEW Dynamite went off the air.

Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland were crowned AEW World Tag Team Champions during the climax of this week’s special Fyter Fest of AEW Dynamite … but the cameras didn’t stop rolling when the show went off the air.

It all went down at the Enmarket Arena in Savannah, Georgia on Wednesday, July. Lee & Strickland defeated Powerhouse Hobbs & Ricky Starks and the defending champs The Young Bucks in a thrilling main event to capture their first accolades as members of AEW’s roster. Swerve In Our Glory celebrated as the show went off the air, but the party didn’t stop there.

https://twitter.com/TonyKhan/status/1547414497844928512

Between the climax of Dynamite and the beginning of the Rampage taping, Keith Lee got on the mic and delivered an impassioned speech in which he dedicated the momentous occasion to two of his close friends.

“My friend, his name is Lucilius King. I’ve known him since 1998. I found out a little while ago that he may have cancer,” Lee said, before referencing his own near-death experience. As you might recall, Lee took a seven-month hiatus from WWE in 2021 due to his Covid-related health issues. “As most of you know, last year, I nearly died. I didn’t say a word until the threat was gone and passed. There isn’t much you can do to me to rattle me against me,” Lee sad in his post-Dynamite promo. Lee added that he was also dedicating his win to another friend, JD Griffey.

“The fact is, I didn’t care if we won or lost. The fact is this is a brotherhood, and I’m devoting my everything to that,” he said. “So Lucilius King, this is more than just a victory for me, this is more than just a victory for our story.”

Lee became one of the hottest free agents in the world when he was released by WWE on November 4, though he wasn’t able to sign elsewhere until the 90-day non-compete clause in his contract had expired. In case you missed it, Lee appeared on an AEW show for the very first time on the February 9 edition of Dynamite on TBS. It all went down at the Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Keith Lee was revealed as Isiah Kassidy’s mystery opponent in a Face Of The Revolution qualifying match just moments before the match began.

https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1547401604034355210

Source: TheSportster

AEW Dynamite Fyter Fest Week 1 Preview 7/13/2022

Tonight’s episode of AEW Dynamite is Week 1 of Fyter Fest from Enmarket Arena in Savannah, GA.

The following line-up is announced for tonight:

  • AEW TNT Championship Match: Orange Cassidy vs. Wardlow (c)
  • AEW Tag Team Championship Match: Swerve In Our Glory vs. Ricky Starks & Powerhouse Hobbs vs. The Young Bucks (c)
  • AEW Interim World Championship Eliminator Match: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Jon Moxley (c)
  • Claudio Castagnoli vs. Jake Hager
  • Anna Jay vs. Serena Deeb
  • Luchasaurus in action
  • We hear from Christian Cage
  • We hear from Chris Jericho
  • There will be an announcement about AEW All Out, the promotion’s next pay-per-view event, which will take place on September 4 
https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1547189096799506440

WWE Raw Preview 7/11/22

Brock Lesnar is back and set to return to WWE “Raw” tonight.

Backstage News On Talent Reaction To Vince McMahon Allegations

After the Wall Street Journal reported that Vince McMahon has paid over $12 million in ‘hush money,’ there have been mixed reactions backstage from the talent, according to Dave Meltzer on the latest “Wrestling Observer Radio.”

The allegation claimed that McMahon had paid off three other women whom he had supposedly been sexually involved with, one of which was a former wrestler that claimed to have been coerced into having oral sex, while another was sent unsolicited nudes from him.

Meltzer heard from several different wrestlers who were at “WWE SmackDown” and they provided a varying degrees of thoughts when it comes to the latest allegations surrounding McMahon. One believed that people know what they are getting themselves into when they enter the wrestling business.

Another talent revealed that McMahon is not selling anything right now, and nobody backstage is talking about the situation as they believe that if you are heard doing that there is a chance of getting in trouble, which nobody needs right now. Then a third person gave a very different take, as they were said to be very concerned about the situation.

They believe that it is one thing for him to pay money in order to cover up an affair, which was the first allegation that was made against him, but it is something else when it becomes coercion, as they are viewing that as a concerning situation.

McMahon was backstage at “WWE SmackDown” this week, although unlike when the first allegation was made against him, he did not appear on television this time. Despite that, it was being viewed as ‘business as usual behind the scenes when it came to running the show and what was happening.

The original report against McMahon took place on June 12, which claimed he had paid off a former paralegal regarding an affair that they had. Since that point, WWE’s board of directors have been investigating him, while he also stepped down as the WWE CEO, with Stephanie McMahon taking over on an interim basis.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

The Rock’s Daughter, Ava Raine, Debuts Nickname In First WWE NXT Promo At NXT House Show

WWE NXT held another live event last night in Orlando, Florida, headlined by Bron Breakker successfully defending his NXT Championship against Tony D’Angelo. Elsewhere on the card, the leader of Toxic Attraction, Mandy Rose, defeated Ivy Nile to retain her NXT Women’s Title, and The Creed Brothers defeated Joe Gacy and a member of the DYAD to retain their Tag Team Titles.

But one of the biggest stories coming out of the show isn’t about the in-ring action at all. Fresh WWE NXT talent Ava Raine, the real-life daughter of The Rock that signed with WWE in February 2020, cut her first promo at last night’s event. She was presented as a heel to the audience as she talked down to Cora Jade and the rest of the NXT women’s locker room.

Raine also revealed what her nickname will be going forward and it’s possibly a nod to a recent horror film. Raine, a fan of cinema influenced by the supernatural, apparent by the many references to “The Craft” (1996) on her social media, was referring to herself as “The Final Girl” during her in-ring promo. The film, “The Final Girls” was a horror/comedy film released in 2015 that first debuted at the SXSW Film Festival before receiving a wider release in the United States later that Fall. The premise of the movie sees the protagonist, Max, along with her group of friends, getting trapped inside a B-horror film where they must use the tropes they’ve learned from watching horror movies to survive. There’s no certainty this film influenced the new description Raine is giving herself in NXT, but the connection is possible.

“The Final Girl” is also a common trope in horror cinema as a whole. She is recognized as the last girl or woman surviving in the film as the story becomes centrally focused on her.

As seen in the photos below, Raine was trending after she dropped the promo last night, signifying that we might be approaching a televised debut for the 20-year-old. She has been teasing her debut for several weeks until last night when she finally revealed her persona to a live crowd.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Rampage Preview 7/8/22

The following lineup is announced for tonight’s AEW “Rampage” at 8/7C on TNT:

  • Eddie Kingston vs. Konosuke Takeshita
  • Orange Cassidy vs. Tony Nese
  • Jonathan Gresham & Lee Moriarty vs. Gates of Agony (Toa Liona & Kaun)
  • Mercedes Martinez & Serena Deeb in action