Tag: AEW

Toni Storm Debuts On Dynamite, Qualifies For Owen Hart Tournament

Toni Storm is officially ALL ELITE! The 26-year-old Australian made her AEW debut on this week’s edition of Dynamite when she was revealed as The Bunny’s mystery opponent in an Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament Qualifier Match. Storm advanced to the first round of the tournament when she pinned The Bunny after hitting her with a Storm Zero.

https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1509342329861283841

Ahead of Dynamite, Fightful Select reported that Storm had been in talks with AEW and is very close to signing a deal. Apparently, multiple AEW stars have been pushing for AEW boss Tony Khan to sign the former WWE Superstar.

Storm parted ways with WWE via mutual consent in December 2021. According to Bodyslam.net, a source close to the situation revealed Storm just “up and quit”. In fact, she boarded a plane home, which she paid for herself, right after competing in a triple threat match at a live event. “Worked a triple threat at a house show last night and then paid out of her own pocket to fly herself home.”

Storm is engaged to New Japan Pro Wrestling star Juice Robinson. The couple announced their engagement back in October. Robinson and Storm’s relationship status was confirmed in the summer of 2020. The Mae Young Classic winner revealed that the two of them had been seeing each other for a while after Bea Priestley, who is now NXT UK’s Blair Davenport, posted photos of the two of them together on social media. Storm and Davenport are close friends.

Source: TheSportster

AEW Dynamite Preview 3/30/22

Tonight’s AEW Dynamite on TBS will air live from the Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina.

Tonight’s show will feature the first qualifying match for The Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament with The Bunny taking on a mystery wrestler to be revealed on the show. That same mystery wrestler will be signed by the company tonight.

AEW President, CEO, General Manager & Head Of Creative Tony Khan noted on Twitter that he will be announcing matches for Dynamite throughout the day.

AEW has announced the following line-up for tonight as of this posting:

* Darby Allin vs. Andrade El Idolo

* FTR vs. The Gunn Club

* Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament Qualifier: The Bunny vs. mystery wrestler who will be signed by AEW on tonight’s show

* Jon Moxley vs. Jay Lethal

The Hardys Announced For AAA’s TripleMania XXX

The AEW involvement in AAA’s TripleMania XXX events in 2022 will now include the Hardys

Announced at a press conference held in Tijuana on Tuesday afternoon, Matt and Jeff Hardy will compete at the second TripleMania XXX event in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico on June 18. They will take on former Ring of Honor star Dragon Lee and former CMLL star Dralistico, themselves a brother tag team.

The Hardy Boyz become the eighth and ninth AEW stars to compete on one of the three TripleMania XXX shows taking place in 2022. Andrade, Penta El Zero Miedo, Rey Fenix, Sammy Guevara, Tay Conti and the Young Bucks are all scheduled for the first TripleMania XXX event in Monterrey on April 30. The Young Bucks will headline the event against Fenix and AAA Mega Champion Hijo del Vikingo.

Missing are AEW team FTR, who are the current AAA World Tag Team Champions. It is unknown if they will be added to the Tijuana event or TripleMania XXX in Mexico City this October. Last week the Young Bucks declared they’d be returning to AAA as AAA World Tag Team Champions, indicating a potential title match with FTR soon on AEW TV.

This will be Jeff Hardy’s first appearance in AAA and Matt Hardy’s second; he previously competed in AAA’s Lucha Libre World Cup in 2015, where he, Johnny Mundo (John Morrison), and Mr. Anderson reached the finals as Team USA before losing to Team AAA (Alberto El Patron, Myzteziz and Rey Mysterio).

The brothers also have competed for lucha libre promotion The Crash, where they won the promotion’s tag team titles in 2017.

In addition to the Hardy Boyz vs. Dragon Lee and Dralistico, TripleMania XXX in Tijuana will feature the semi-finals of the ongoing mask vs. mask tournament featuring El Canek vs. Psycho Clown, LA Park vs. Villano IV, Blue Demon Jr. vs. Rayo de Jalisco Jr. and Penta vs. Ultimo Dragon. The losers of each match will move onto the semi-finals, and the losers of the semi-finals match will then compete in a mask vs. mask match at TripleMania XXX in Mexico City this October.

At today’s press conference, AAA President Dorian Roldan revealed that all the winners in the first round of the mask tournament at TripleMania XXX Monterrey will take part at TripleMania XXX Tijuana. No other matches were announced. As with AAA TripleMania XXX Monterrey, AAA TripleMania XXX Tijuana will air on FITE TV, with English and Spanish commentary.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Toni Storm Expected To Sign With AEW Very Soon, Ember Moon Also In Talks

AEW’s women’s division is about to get a serious injection of talent.

WWE went hard when it came to releasing wrestlers last year. More than 80 people were wished well in their future endeavors by the time 2021 was all said and done. Some of those wrestlers have since found work elsewhere, whether that be in AEW, Impact Wrestling, or by booking dates on the independent circuit. However, there are still a number of released stars who remain unattached.

One of those unattached stars will presumably find a home in AEW before the end of today. It was revealed on Rampage last week that The Bunny will face off against a mystery opponent tonight on Dynamite. The Bunny and the new signing will do battle in the first qualifier for AEW’s upcoming Owen Hart tournaments.

Speculation on who exactly tonight’s new signing will be has been rife, and a frontrunner has emerged with less than 24 hours to go. According to Fightful Select, Toni Storm has been in talks with AEW and is very close to signing a deal. Apparently multiple AEW stars have been pushing for Khan to make Storm All Elite, and even if she isn’t the wrestler making her debut tonight, she will likely be a part of AEW very soon.

Right behind Storm is Ember Moon who is also reported to have been speaking extensively with AEW. Moon, who now goes by Athena, doesn’t appear to be as close to signing a deal as Storm, but there is a chance she’s the one who debuts tonight. Athena has been picking up a number of indie bookings in the meantime, marking her return to the ring for the first time since leaving WWE by losing to AEW’s Thunder Rosa.

Even though some fans are calling for AEW to slow down when it comes to new signings, the promotion definitely needs to continue bolstering its women’s division. The addition of Moon and Storm would add a lot of experience and depth to the division if Khan can get those signings over the line. Other free agents we could see debut on Dynamite a few hours from now include Tegan Nox and Mia Yim.

Source: TheSportster

Tony Khan And MJF Reportedly Clash Following Audacious Interview

Tony Khan was reportedly unhappy with MJF following the latter’s interview with Ariel Helwani.

AEW’s locker room may not be as harmonious as it seems on the surface.

According to a recent Fightful Select report, AEW president Tony Khan got into a “heated argument” with MJF following the latter’s controversial conversation with Ariel Helwani on The Ariel Helwani Show last week. TK reportedly chastised one of his company’s most exciting young stars for failing to obtain permission from AEW’s media department before participating in the interview.

During his aforementioned appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, MJF opened up about his AEW contract status. When asked if he would consider signing an extension to his current AEW deal MJF said there was “no chance” of that happening. He then specified that it would have to be “an absolutely astronomical number” and even then he likely wouldn’t sign because he wants to test the market.

Per Fightful, AEW sources said there would not have been an issue with the content of the MJF/Helwani interview if the wrestler has gone through the proper channels prior to the interview taking place.

In the same interview, MJF complimented WWE’s revamped developmental program NXT 2.0. “There’s so many charisma machines on that program. There is. I don’t know why you’re laughing,” MJF gushed as Helwani chuckled at his suspiciously excessive praise. “They had a make out competition this past Tuesday. Gripping television.”

UPDATE:

In an update from Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer, the issues that arose between Khan and MJF “are now said to be settled.”

Meltzer noted that although the story is true, “there was no fight” or physical altercation between MJF and Khan.

During the interview, MJF confirmed that his AEW contract expires on January 1, 2024, and admitted that he’s not afraid to “stir the pot” until then.

“So when you’re as talented, as over, and as much of a draw as me, if I want to I can bite off Tony Khan’s fingers. He knows where his bread is buttered,” MJF said. “And if that offends somebody in the locker room, which I know it does, oh well, cry about it. Get more over than me. Oh wait, that’s right, you can’t. Because I’m literally the best talker in the business, and one of the best wrestlers in the history of the business bell to bell.”

MJF emphasized that he’d end up “wherever the money is” after his AEW contract expires in 2024.

Sources: TheSportster and Wrestling Inc.

AEW Rampage Preview 3/25/22

Tonight’s AEW Rampage was taped earlier this week from the HEB Center in Cedar Park, Texas and will air on TNT at 10/9C.

Dustin Rhodes vs. Lance Archer
Alan “5” Angels & 10 vs. reDRagon
Nyla Rose In Action
QT Marshall Certificate of Accomplishment to Hook
FTW Championship Match: Ricky Starks (c) vs. Swerve Stricklan

AEW Dynamite Preview 3/23/22

Tonight’s AEW Dynamite episode will air live on TBS from the HEB Center in Cedar Park, Texas.

Dynamite will be headlined by a big Tornado Tag Team Match with The Hardys teaming with Sting and Darby Allin to take on Private Party, The Butcher and The Blade. There will also be the in-ring debut of The Jericho Appreciation Society together, plus appearances by CM Punk and MJF. Adam Cole vs. Jay Lethal has also been announced in what will actually be Lethal’s first Dynamite singles match since he debuted with a loss to then-TNT Champion Sammy Guevara back on November 17.

AEW has announced the following line-up for tonight’s Dynamite on TBS:

* Adam Cole vs. Jay Lethal

* Red Velvet vs. Leyla Hirsch in their 1-1 Rubber Match, with Kris Statlander banned from ringside

* Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley vs. The Varsity Blondes

* CM Punk makes his first appearance since defeating MJF at Revolution

* MJF speaks for the first time since costing Wardlow the TNT Title

* Chris Jericho and Daniel Garcia vs. John Silver and Alex Reynolds

* Private Party, The Butcher and The Blade vs. The Hardys, Sting and Darby Allin in a Tornado Tag Team Match

AEW Rampage Preview 3/18/22

Tonight’s AEW Rampage was taped earlier this week from the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, Texas. Rampage usually airs at 10pm ET on TNT every Friday night but tonight’s show will begin at 11:30pm or soon after the NCAA basketball Tournament coverage.

* The Butcher vs. Darby Allin

* Leyla Hirsch vs. Red Velvet

* House of Black’s Malakai Black, Buddy Matthews and Brody King vs. Bear Country and Fuego del Sol

* Keith Lee vs. Max Caster

Kenny Omega Recovering From Surgery, Update On His Status

Kenny Omega is reportedly recovering from knee surgery, and has other operations planned.

Omega has been out of action since dropping the AEW World Title to “Hangman” Adam Page at AEW Full Gear back on November 13. It was reported then that Omega had been in pain for a while, working with injuries that included shoulder, knee and abdominal issues, among others. It was also noted at that point how AEW President Tony Khan told Omega to take as much time off as he needed.

In an update, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter now reports that Omega is recovering from the arthroscopic knee surgery, and that will take around ten weeks.

Omega is set to go back under the knife at the end of March to repair a sports hernia. That recovery will take around two months.

Besides the hernia surgery, Omega has other issues that he is planning on taking care of before he returns to action. There is currently no timeframe for his return.

He originally hoped to be back in action by February, but noted that he was a little too optimistic. Now there is no timeframe for his return to the ring.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Console Video Game Updates, Story Mode Confirmed

New details are being revealed on the much-anticipated AEW console video game.

A new report from Fightful Select notes that there will be a story mode for the game, and that some of the AEW wrestlers are giving input into the game storylines. It was also noted that several members of the Yuke’s team that helped create popular RAW vs. SmackDown video games are also a part of this story mode process.

While Yuke’s is known to be the developer of the AEW video game, no publisher has been announced. It’s believed that once the publisher is confirmed, there will be more information released, such as a release date and other details.

Kenny Omega is said to be determined for the AEW video game to be a success, and word is that he understands how integral a great showing could be.

The video game is reportedly coming along as AEW music producer Mikey Rukus recently stated that there was a soft deadline for some of the music for the story mode to be completed the week before the recent AEW Revolution pay-per-view. Furthermore, new AEW Women’s World Champion Thunder Rosa recently revealed that her prototype for the game has already been created, and was shown to her.

The official AEW video game is scheduled to be released on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One.

Stay tuned for more on the AEW video game. For those who missed it, below are a few videos released last year:

Source: Wrestling Inc.