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 

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

Chris Jericho Reveals He Was Hospitalized With Pulmonary Embolism

Chris Jericho has told the full story behind why he wound up in hospital last year.

Chris Jericho got wrestling fans worried at the end of 2021 when it was revealed The Wizard had been hospitalized during a UK tour with his band, Fozzy. The exact reason Jericho wound up in hospital wasn’t revealed. At least not until recently when Tony Khan let the cat out of the bag revealing Jericho had suffered from blood clots.

Since Khan had revealed half the story, Jericho decided to use Friday’s episode of Talk Is Jericho to tell the story in full. Turns out the first AEW Champion didn’t have just one blood clot, he had a lot of them. In fact, Jericho had something called a pulmonary embolism. The medical name for some of those bloodclots being in Jericho’s lungs, so an incredibly serious situation.

Jericho first realized something was up when it became difficult to breathe during a Fozzy show in Newcastle. The former WWE Superstar soldiered on, performing shows in Chester and Bournemouth, but suffering the same problem on both nights. Upon arrival in London for a media day, Jericho was finally hospitalized at which point he was diagnosed and doctors went to work on clearing the clots and increasing his blood oxygen level.

“I got to the hospital and I can barely walk. I mean walking across the lobby to get to the car to go to the hospital was a real task. It was terrifying,” Jericho revealed. “They did an ultrasound and found that there was evidence of a clot in my throat. Now if a clot gets in your throat, that’s getting into stroke territory.” Jericho was given blood thinners which cleared the clots, but if one had dislodged it could have been a very serious situation, perhaps one that had resulted in his death in a worst-case scenario.

Jericho had to stay in London for an extended period as he was unable to fly back to the US until his oxygen level was back to normal. It was also recommended that he lose some visceral fat, which is why he is in notably better shape now than he was six months ago. The leader of the Jericho Appreciation Society bulked up intentionally for his work in Japan but has lost 32 lbs since the incident in the UK. He’s all good now, as has been proved by the multiple matches he has had in AEW since.

Source: TheSportster

AEW Dynamite Preview 7/6/22

Tonight’s episode of AEW Dynamite live from the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial in Rochester, New York.

The following line-up is announced for tonight:

  • AEW Interim World Championship Match: Brody King vs. Jon Moxley (c)
  • TNT Championship “Street Fight” Match: Wardlow vs. Scorpio Sky (c)
  • AEW Women’s Champion Thunder Rosa & Toni Storm vs. Marina Shafir & Nyla Rose
  • The Butcher & The Blade vs. Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland
  • Christian Cage & Luchasaurus will appear live

Tony Khan Reportedly Open to an AEW and WWE Supershow

AEW’s Tony Khan said it was unlikely, but he’d be open to discussing the possibility of a cross-promotional show between his company and WWE.

According to the President of AEW himself, Tony Khan, he’s open to the idea of AEW and WWE working together to put on a supershow, much like he did with NJPW for Forbidden Door. While he admits the idea seems far-fetched, he’s not opposed to it and would be open to discussing with the higher-ups in WWE.

The comments stemmed from a conversation Khan had on the The Ringer’s “The Masked Man Show.” podcast where he was asked about AEW stars appearing on WWE programming recently for the 20-year celebration of John Cena. Khan said he was approached about it and said yes because it was for a good cause. When the follow-up question was about whether he would be open to a pay-per-view with WWE, he didn’t shy away from answering yes.

Khan said, “I’m not sure if that’s gonna happen (AEW and WWE doing a joint show). But, I would be open to talking about that type of thing. It’s not crazy but it’s a bold prediction.”

Like the scene from Dumb and Dumber where Llyod Christmas was told by the female lead that it’s a million-to-one odds she’d ever be interested in him, his response was, “so you’re saying there’s a chance”. AEW and WWE working together seem incredibly unlikely, but Khan is not ruling it out as something worth considering down the line. As for whether WWE would like to pursue it, that might depend on who is in charge. Being a publicly-traded company, every decision is about revenue and the shareholders. If there’s a good financial reason to do so, WWE might be open to it as well.

The question fans will immediately ask is, what matches would make the most sense? Bobby Lashley teased on Raw this week that no one could beat him for his United States Championship, including anyone from another promotion. He seems to be thinking about it already. From there, Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar, Randy Orton, Riddle, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair would be names at the top of WWE’s list. For AEW, CM Punk, Hangman Page, Kenny Omega, Jade Cargill and Britt Baker would be among the more intriguing options.

Source: TheSportster

Kenny Omega Says Jim Cornette Has ‘Backed Himself Up Into A Corner’ With ‘Hateful Speech’

The former manager of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express, former color commentator for the NWA, and current podcaster, Jim Cornette, has never shied away from sharing his feelings with the public or taking part in controversial situations.

Kenny Omega and Cornette have not been in each other’s good graces for a long while, with neither man seeming to even remotely respect the other. While on Twitch with “CEOGaming“, former AEW World Champion Kenny Omega discussed Jim Cornette, Cornette’s followers, and his opinion on Cornette’s situation.

“I think Jim Cornette has backed himself up into a corner where, now, he’s found this group of extremely pathetic human beings who have no other thing to aspire to become, or no one to base their life off of, no one to listen to, no one to adhere to their commands,” Omega said. “And so, when it became a character that he could play as though he was still traveling up and down the strip in the indies, like back in the old days, now he’s got this group of people hanging off his every word. And all he has to do is sit and talk on a podcast with some other guy.

“When he realized he could make money by delivering hateful speech, he backed himself into a corner, and now, if he wants to make rent, if he wants to buy his fancy McDonald’s double cheeseburger meal, he has to talk about the things that are going to get attention and a lot of the time, that’s going to be your’s truly.”

Omega has received criticism from Cornette before on his wrestling style and matches but has still had success, helping to create the second-largest professional wrestling company in North America: All Elite Wrestling. Omega, Nick + Matt Jackson, and Cody Rhodes were the original EVPs of AEW, alongside Tony Khan, the owner of the company.

Over his 20+ year career, Omega has been able to win the Impact World Championship, the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, and the AEW World Championship, which he holds the record as the longest-reigning AEW World Champion in history.

Omega has not been traveling with AEW recently due to multiple different injuries his body had sustained working over the past few years. Cornette’s criticism does not stop at Omega, as Cornette has had multiple criticisms regarding AEW as a whole. Despite not traveling with AEW at this very time, Omega revealed whether or not Cornette’s comments have any effect on backstage life at AEW.

“That seeps into our locker room too. Yeah, it does. Everyone is so afraid of the f*cking cult of Cornette army and people that have like, you know, anti-AEW sites that they want to be — they want to do whatever the f*ck they can to stay safe.”

Omega last wrestled on November 13th, 2021 when he lost the AEW World Championship to ‘Hangman’ Adam Page in a 25+ minute match, completing a story that had begun during AEW’s exposition.

Source: Wrestling Inc. with credit to CEOGaming on Twitch

AEW Rampage Preview 7/1/22

AEW will debut a new match concept on tonight’s episode of “Rampage”. The Royal Rampage match will kick off tonight’s show. It will be contested inside the same double-ring used for the Blood & Guts match on this past Wednesday’s “Dynamite”.

The following line-up is announced for tonight:

  • Royal Rampage
  • AEW World Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks vs. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI
  • Nyla Rose vs. Toni Storm

Jeff Hardy Pleads Not Guilty To DUI Charge

Jeff Hardy has pleaded not guilty to his recent DUI charge in Volusia County, Florida.

Hardy was arrested on June 13th for a DUI, marking the third time he’s been arrested for driving under the influence in 10 years. Hardy’s blood-alcohol level was reported to be more than three times the legal limit.

The evening before his arrest, Hardy had spent it at the SlamDown VII convention in Orlando, FL.

According to PWInsider, Hardy filed a written plea of not guilty on June 28th. Hardy is scheduled to be arraigned on July 5th.

It was also reported that the AEW star entered a rehab facility on June 21st.

As previously noted, AEW CEO Tony Khan suspended Hardy without pay until he’s able to maintain his sobriety for an undisclosed amount of time. AEW CEO Tony Khan had commented on Hardy’s current issues. He made it clear that treatment was Hardy’s last chance. Hardy has been in rehab since June 21st.

“I’m really glad nobody got hurt,” Khan said. “But what Jeff did going out and driving is different from the other thing. And I just don’t like hearing them the two compared if that makes sense. I feel like I’d be remiss if I didn’t give Jeff a lot of credit for now doing the right thing. And this is what we said — Jeff’s got to do the right thing if he wants to stay with AEW. Because it’s his last chance.

In the latest update from PWInsider, the site has acquired a copy of Hardy’s written notification that he was pleading not guilty to the June 13th DUI charge. Hardy was also charged with driving while his license was suspended/revoked and a violation of restrictions placed on his driver’s license.

According to the below copy from PWInsider, Hardy “waives arraignment by filing this written plea of not guilty.” Hardy’s arraignment was originally set for July 5th. He also waives the right to be present at any pretrial conferences.

Defendant, Jeffrey Nero Hardy, pursuant to rules 3.160(a), Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, waives arraignment by filing this written plea of not guilty. Albritton v. White, 948 So. 2d 852, 854 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007). Defendant further waives the right to be present at all pretrial conferences.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Adam Cole Reportedly Suffered ‘Very Serious Concussion’ At Forbidden Door

Adam Cole reportedly suffered “a very serious concussion” during his Four-Way Match for the IWGP World Heavyweight Title at the AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door pay-per-view on June 26.

According to Dave Meltzer in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Cole’s concussion led to a “rushed and awkward finish” to the match as Jay White pinned the leader of the Undisputed Elite to retain his title. In the final sequence of the match, Cole landed several superkicks on Kazuchika Okada for a near fall but then appeared to grow sluggish after taking a superkick from Hangman Page. Cole would also counter a Rainmaker from Okada before taking the pinfall to White.

In the lead-up to Forbidden Door, Fightful Select reported that Cole has been dealing with a torn labrum as far back as his AEW World Title program with Page, and braved through the injury during their match at the AEW Revolution pay-per-view. The report added that Cole has been “banged up for quite a while” and has been “battling a series of injuries” for longer than most realize.

Meltzer’s report Friday suggested that Cole could potentially undergo surgery to fix the torn labrum, or at least take extended time off for rehab, but there’s no confirmation on his plans. Meltzer suggested that Cole is “mentally wanting to continue” as evidenced by the fact that the Owen Hart Cup winner has avoided surgery up to this point.

If Cole is forced to miss time, it could prove to be a devastating blow to AEW as the company deals with a never-ending slew of injuries. The injury list is currently headlined by AEW World Champion CM Punk (foot), Bryan Danielson (concussion), Kenny Omega (multiple injuries), Jungle Boy (undisclosed), Kyle O’Reilly (undisclosed), Red Velvet (undisclosed), Anthony Bowens (knee), Darius Martin (car accident), Leyla Hirsch (torn ACL), The Bunny (undisclosed), Buddy Matthews (shoulder), Lee Johnson (knee) and Santana (knee/leg). On a positive note, AEW TNT Champion Scorpio Sky returns from a knee injury on next week’s “Dynamite” for a title defense against Wardlow.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Santana Suffers Injury During Blood And Guts Match

Santana suffered an injury during the “Blood & Guts” main event bout last night on “AEW Dynamite.”

The Proud & Powerful star appeared to get hurt after hitting Jericho Appreciation Society’s Daniel Garcia with an Uranage throw, before landing awkwardly on both his wrist and knee, as seen in the video below. His leg buckled immediately following the maneuver, and he remained grounded for the rest of the match. According to fans at the arena, Santana would roll out of the ring, lying between the cage and the ropes, as he communicated with referees at the ringside area.

Santana never returned to the action and wasn’t part of the post-match celebration either. A few minutes before the brutal match concluded, Santana was seen being helped up the ramp and taken to the backstage area for a medical evaluation.

The “Blood & Guts” match would eventually conclude with Claudio Castagnoli tapping out Matt Menard atop the steel cage, barely seconds before Eddie Kingston would do the same to Chris Jericho. AEW teased some tension between Castagnoli and Kingston after the match, with the latter claiming he secured the win for William Regal’s Blackpool Combat Club & Co.

If Santana is forced to miss time with an injury, he’d be the latest to join AEW’s lengthy injury list. The list is crowded enough with AEW World Champion CM Punk (foot), Bryan Danielson (concussion), Kenny Omega (multiple injuries), Jungle Boy (undisclosed), Kyle O’Reilly (undisclosed), Red Velvet (undisclosed), Anthony Bowens (knee), Darius Martin (car accident), Leyla Hirsch (torn ACL), TNT Champion Scorpio Sky (knee), The Bunny (undisclosed), Buddy Matthews (shoulder) and Lee Johnson (knee) on the shelf with various injuries. On a positive note, Sky’s in-ring return has been announced for next week’s Dynamite.

Source: Wrestling Inc.