REPORT: There is “a ton of backstage drama” involving many top AEW stars

AEW World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk made headlines this week after he went off script and called out Hangman Adam Page on Wednesday’s episode of AEW Dynamite. Page was never planned for the segment to answer Punk’s challenge to a rematch.

As previously reported, there was a concern that Punk wouldn’t show up for the event. After his promo about Page, he shifted his focus to calling out Interim World Heavyweight Champion Jon Moxley.

In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that right now, there is “a ton of backstage drama involving many of the top guys that has gotten much worse in recent weeks.”

Meltzer suggested that AEW President Tony Khan have a meeting with the top stars to address the issues before things get worse.

Punk will take on Moxley in a title unification bout on next week’s episode of AEW Dynamite, a match that many believed would be the main event of All Out next month in Chicago.

Meltzer also reported that Colt Cabana’s AEW status is an issue between Page and Punk.

Source: WrestlingNews.co

There Was Reportedly Internal Concern That CM Punk May Quit AEW

Some people within AEW reportedly grew worried that CM Punk would quit the promotion. Here’s the latest.

There’s reportedly concern within the company that AEW World Champion CM Punk may want to quit the company.

CM Punk called out “Hangman” Adam Page during his intense promo on yesterday’s episode of AEW Dynamite. But as previously noted, Punk’s comments caught folks in AEW by surprise. Apparently, this wasn’t supposed to be part of the script, as CM Punk was to focus on building up his world title unification match against Jon Moxley that will take place next week.

It’s not all that uncommon for a wrestler to go off-script, but there may be a lot more to this story that’s worth monitoring.

According to a report from Fightful Select (h/t WrestlingNews.co), Page and Punk didn’t agree on some of the promo stuff ahead of their match at Double or Nothing (which CM Punk won via pinfall). Apparently, Punk even decided to speak to AEW higher-ups about Page’s promos.

Fightful also heard from sources that the 43-year-old wrestler “has often verbally expressed his displeasure”, to the point where “they thought he might end up quitting the company.”

CM Punk isn’t the only notable star that is seemingly frustrated with AEW. It’s been more than two months now since 26-year-old superstar MJF cut his own pipe bomb promo and dared AEW President and CEO Tony Khan to fire him.

That was on the June 1 episode of Dynamite, and MJF hasn’t been on company programming ever since. Before his promo, there was reportedly concern within the company that he wouldn’t show up for his match with Wardlow at Double or Nothing. MJF did show up, losing to his opponent by pinfall.

As of now, the highly-anticipated match between Punk and Moxley is on for next week. But this is certainly something to keep an eye on, especially considering that it’s a major star like Punk. Of course, the former WWE Champion grew very frustrated with Vince McMahon’s promotion to the point where he walked out and never returned in 2014.

Source: TheSportster

Backstage News On CM Punk Calling Out “Hangman” Adam Page

CM Punk’s promo calling out ‘Hangman’ Adam Page at the start of “AEW Dynamite” this week was not planned or expected, according to Dave Meltzer on the latest Wrestling Observer Radio.

While the promo segment was mainly about building the feud between Punk and Jon Moxley – who will compete in a title unification match next week on “AEW Dynamite,” the former WWE Superstar kicked things off by offering Page a rematch, who then did not appear. This led to Punk claiming it was “coward s**t” in a knock to the Cowboy’s catchphrase, but Page responding was never part of the plans as nobody expected Punk to do that.

It had previously been claimed there was reality to the feud that Punk and Page had over the AEW World Title, particularly when Page had claimed he was fighting for the locker room against Punk. While some fans may have speculated that this could be leading to a match between the two at AEW’s All Out PPV on September 4th, that is currently not on the books for the event, with the promo simply being done off the cuff.

Page was not involved at all during “AEW Dynamite” this week, but he was backstage throughout the show as The Dark Order member John Silver shared a picture of him on Twitter eating catering in the back after Punk dropped the line stating, “Hangman is a little busy right now.”

It currently remains to be seen whether this will be implemented into a storyline down the road, but the focus for AEW remains on unifying the AEW World Championships next week, with the storyline between Punk and Moxley heating up during the latest show. Punk threw several verbal jabs at Moxley in his promo, with the two men then being involved in two pull-apart brawls during the show.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Jon Moxley vs CM Punk AEW Championship Unification Match Set For Next Week’s Dynamite

Next Wednesday, AEW Champion CM Punk will face off against the interim champion Jon Moxley to determine who will become the true AEW World Champion.

AEW fans are in for a PPV calibre match-up on next week’s episode of Dynamite. The AEW World Champion, CM Punk, is set to take on the Interim AEW World Champion, Jon Moxley, and determine who will continue on as AEW’s true champion.

Last night’s episode of Dynamite saw the two men confront each other in the ring. The two had harsh words for each other; Punk called Moxley a second-rate wrestler, while Moxley effectively said that Punk is only in AEW because he “ran out of money.”

CM Punk became AEW World Champion this past May at Double or Nothing after defeating Hangman Adam Page. Just a few days later, however, CM Punk broke his foot during a trios match with FTR. He consequently had to announce his injury the following week and stepped away from the ring, much to the dismay of the AEW faithful.

Soon after Punk’s announcement, AEW began the process of crowning an interim champion. Jon Moxley first won a battle royale and then defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi at NJPW x AEW Forbidden Door to claim the title. He’s since defended the belt against several contenders, including Brody King, Rush, and Chris Jericho.

CM Punk made his return to AEW at Quake by the Lake, and he’s come back with a vengeance.

Many fans expected this bout to happen at All Out; it not only has incredibly high stakes, but will be between two of the biggest stars of this generation. For whatever reason, though, AEW has decided to give it to fans a few weeks earlier than anticipated.

Next week’s episode of Dynamite will take place in Ohio, so Moxley has a bit of a hometown advantage. However, it’s truly any man’s game heading into next week. Will CM Punk get the title reign he earned for himself in May? Or will Moxley continue to set the wrestling world on fire with the true AEW World Championship around his waist?

Source: TheSportster

https://twitter.com/BRWrestling/status/1560056997348667392

https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1560287908946378752

Kenny Omega Returns To AEW On Dynamite

“The God Of Pro Wrestling” Kenny Omega returned to an AEW ring following a 277-day hiatus on this week’s thrilling edition of AEW Dynamite on TBS.

Kenny Omega is BACK! The former All Elite Wrestling World Champion set foot in an AEW ring for the first time in 277 days when he was revealed as the mystery partner of The Young Bucks (Nick & Matt Jackson) prior to the main event of this week’s edition of AEW Dynamite on TBS.

It all went down at the Charleston Coliseum in Charleston, West Virginia on Wednesday, August 17. Omega joined forces with his Elite teammates The Young Bucks to take on La Faccion Ingobernable (Andrade El Idolo, Dragon Lee & Rush) in trios tag team action. Omega sold his knee injury throughout the match, and was clearly showing signs of ring rust — although that was almost certainly exaggerated as an element of his comeback story.

The Elite got the win when Omega hit the One-Winged Angel on Dragon Lee. With the win, the trio advanced to the semi-finals of the AEW Trios Championship Tournament where they will face with The United Empire or Death Triangle.

https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1560079093911126016

https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1560079579598946304

Omega had been out of action since losing the AEW World Championship to “Hangman” Adam Page at Full Gear on Saturday, November 13.

Per Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Omega was recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery and was scheduled to undergo several more surgeries in the months that followed. The Cleaner’s health woes don’t stop there, sadly. Last year, he revealed that he has been experiencing bouts of vertigo during his matches since 2018.

Between 2018-2021, Omega had one of the most packed schedules of any professional wrestler outside WWE. He participated in numerous highly-praised matches and is one of the most consistently phenomenal wrestlers in the business. On top of that, Omega also serves as one of AEW’s executive vice presidents. Needless to say, the fact that he was able to work around his numerous health issues and regular bouts of vertigo for three years is extremely impressive.

Whether Omega returns to a full-time schedule remains to be seen, but it’s good to have him back.

AEW Dynamite Preview 8/17/22, Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat

Tonight’s episode of “AEW Dynamite” — which will be sponsored by HBO’s “House of the Dragon,” set to premiere on August 21 — will emanate live from Charleston, West Virginia.

* As a special surprise for the show, it was confirmed by AEW CEO Tony Khan yesterday that Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat will serve as special guest timekeeper throughout the broadcast.

* “The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson and Daniel Garcia squaring off in a two-out-of-three falls match

* AEW World Trios Championship tournament will kick off when Andrade El Idolo, Rush, and Dragon Lee battle The Young Bucks and a mystery partner

* Varsity Blonds (Brian Pillman Jr. and Griff Garrison) will take on the Gunn Club (Austin and Colten Gunn) w/Billy Gunn

* Toni Storm is set to face Kilynn King

https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1559933320162471938

Kris Statlander Provides Update On Her Injury

Kris Statlander expects to miss at least six to eight months of action after undergoing surgery to fix a torn ACL.

In her first interview post-injury, Statlander touched upon how her knee landed awkwardly after she struck Sierra with a running kick on a recent episode of “AEW Dark.”

“I did a big boot which I don’t really do that often, but I decided to do it that day,” Statlander recalled on AEW’s Road to West Virginia YouTube special. “When I landed, my knee buckled on me. After getting an MRI, [it was revealed] I had a completely torn ACL. My lateral meniscus is torn, and there is lateral impaction fractures in my tibia and femoral heads, so tiny little cracks that are more of a bruise, but still [I] technically have a broken leg.”

“I’ve had a similar injury with my left leg, so my good knee went bad,” Statlander continued. “But what’s weird is that with the first one, I was in so much pain and couldn’t walk. But with this one, I didn’t really have as much pain. It was uncomfortable at first but after about 24-36 hours, I was able to walk around on it fine. Little to no swelling. So, we were really hoping for the best, and it turned out to be the worse.”

Despite the MRI revealing the worse possible outcome, Statlander is determined to bounce back “bigger, more powerful, and more than a woman” at some point in 2023.

Statlander, who missed nearly a year due to an ACL tear in 2020, hopes to call upon her past experience in her current recovery.

“So, recovery time is about 6-8 months,” Statlander confirmed. “Once we had the MRI, we were hoping it’d just be a meniscus tear; that would have kept me out for 3 months at the most. But now that we know the ACL is torn, it could be 6-8 months. Hopefully closer to 6, considering I know what I have to do. I’ve done this before.

“I came back biger and stronger the last time, and I’m going to use this opportunity to do that one more time — because fall down two times, get up three,” Statlander said with a thumbs up gesture. “I’m just trying to stay positive, gotta make the jokes — it’s the only way to do it.”

In conclusion, Statlander thanked her fan base for supporting through adversity.

“Whenever my return is, I’m really looking forward to being able to feel in the crowd,” Statlander stressed. “So, thank you all for supporting me.”

Statlander was reportedly in line for a huge push prior to her injury. She was on a winning streak for nearly four months, and seemed prime to challenge Jade Cargill for the AEW TBS Championship. Many believe her AEW career went on a different trajectory after she dumped her previous “Galaxy’s Greatest Alien” character for the “More than a Woman” persona, a change that Statlander herself felt was necessary.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Rampage Preview 8/12/22

Tonight on AEW Rampage airing at 10/9C on TNT.

* AAA World Mixed Tag Team Championship: Sammy Guevara & Tay Conti (c) vs. Dante Martin & Skye Blue
* Orange Cassidy vs. Ari Daivari
* Parker Boudreaux vs. Sonny Kiss
* The Gunn Club vs. Beardhausen (Erick Redbeard & Danhausen)
* We’ll hear from Swerve in Our Glory
* HOOK to speak
* Bryan Danielson returns

https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1558075837525762054

AEW Trios Championship Tournament Bracket Revealed

A few weeks ago, AEW introduced their World Trios Championships. In a week’s time, the tournament to crown the promotion’s inaugural champions. The finals for the tournament will be held at All Out on September 4 in Chicago.

Trios titles in AEW have been a hot topic for the last few years. Now that the titles have officially been introduced, AEW will have the chance to live up to their own hype. It might be a bit of an uphill battle in the face of criticism that the company has introduced too many championships too quickly, but if anyone can generate interest in tag team wrestling, it’s AEW.

Running down the right side of the bracket, there’s House of Black set to face off against Dark Order and Trustbusters against the Best Friends. It’s unclear at this point who will be representing the Dark Order between John Silver, Alex Reynolds, Evil Uno and Preston Vance. Looking at this half of the bracket altogether, it’s hard not to pick the House of Black as the favorites.

The left side of the bracket is admittedly much more interesting. Death Triangle is set to face off against NJPW’s Will Ospreay and Aussie Open. Next, La Faccion Ingobernables (Dragon Lee, Rush, and Andrade) are set to take on the Young Bucks and their partner, who is yet to be determined. Most fans had assumed that the Young Bucks would be partnering with Hangman Adam Page, but after Page’s heartbreaking rejection of Matt Jackson’s offer, their future is up in the air.

Kenny Omega may be returning, though the likelihood is slim at this point. If no one else, the Bucks could team with their friend Brandon Cutler. He’s no Hangman, but he’s better than nothing.

Source: TheSportster

CM Punk Makes Shocking Return From Injury To End Wednesday’s Dynamite

CM Punk made a surprise return to AEW TV on Wednesday night, showing up to shut Dynamite down following a bloody AEW World Championship match between interim champ Jon Moxley and challenger Chris Jericho.

Moxley retained the championship, surviving quite the beating from Jericho and even kicking out after receiving a Judas Effect. The champion had been bloodied early in the match, with Jericho ripping an earring from his ear.

He was also put through the Lion Tamer – more than once at that – but Jericho would be the one to tap out even after sending Moxley face first into an exposed turnbuckle and slugging him with a baseball bat thrown into the ring by Sammy Guevara (he overthrew it actually).

Moxley was then attacked by the Jericho Appreciation Society before the Blackpool Combat Club came to his aid. Jericho’s entourage got the upper hand and the inaugural AEW World Champion was about to smash Mox in the face with his own belt, but CM Punk’s music hit, prompting a pause.

Punk cleared the JAS out of the ring and then faced down Moxley, who showed little appreciation for the save, flipping the champ the bird and cursing him out before making his exit.

It appears Punk is ready and raring to go following surgery on his foot – he made sure to hop around on it, showing he could put weight on the surgically repaired appendage before the show went off the air.

Source: TheSportster

https://twitter.com/AEWonTV/status/1557546031532847104