Tonight’s AEW Dynamite on TBS will take place from the PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. This will be the Raleigh debut for the company.
* CM Punk vs. Wardlow
* Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Dante Martin
* Hikaru Shida vs. Serena Deeb
* Interim TNT Champion Sammy Guevara defends against Daniel Garcia
Former Impact and NXT star Taya Valkyrie (Franky Monet) says she’s interested in working at AEW and thinks she deserves a spot in the Owen Hart tournament.
AEW’s inaugural Owen Hart Cup tournaments are set to kick off in a few months, and some wrestlers are starting to lobby for places … including former Impact and NXT star Taya Valkyrie (Franky Monet).
During a recent East Coast Autograph Auctions appearance, Valkyrie implied that she would jump at the opportunity to join AEW if offered.
“Of course, I would go to AEW. I mean, they are doing something different,” she said. “A lot of my peers and my best friends, my brothers Fenix and Pentagon are over there. So why not? Let’s wait and see what happens,” Taya teased.
La Wera Loca then commented on the possibility of her participating in the Owen Cup, saying that she deserves a spot as she shares a nationality with the man to whom the tournament is dedicated.
“I mean, as a Canadian, I think that I should definitely be in the Owen tournament,” Taya said. “I was trying to think what Canadian girls are part of AEW. I want to say Allie is probably the only one? So I think there needs to be more Canadians in that scenario. So, I would absolutely love to.”
AEW’s partnership with The Owen Hart Foundation was announced last September. Both the men’s and women’s Owen Hart Cup tournaments will be taking place in May 2022 with each final happening at this year’s Double Or Nothing. No competitors have been announced, but we’ll be sure to keep you posted with new developments.
Taya Valkyrie signed with WWE in February of last year and was soon repackaged as Franky Monet. She and several of her now-former co-workers were released by WWE on Thursday, November 4 allegedly due to budget cuts necessitated by the Covid-19 pandemic (although as we reported, WWE generated $256 Million in revenue in that quarter).
Source: TheSportster
AEW Battle of The Belts will air this Saturday on TNT at 8pm ET, live from the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, NC. The local start time is 7pm ET, indicating that they may tape other matches before the show.
In a video package, it was revealed that Cody Rhodes will not compete at Battle Of The Belts due to “medical protocol” and that his brother Dustin Rhodes will take his place. Dustin and Sammy Guevara will compete to determine an interim TNT Champion
* AEW Women’s World Championship: Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. (c) vs. Riho
* AEW TNT Interim Championship: Dustin Rhodes vs. Sammy Guevara
* FTW Championship: Ricky Starks (c) vs. Matt Sydal
Cody Rhodes confirmed that he tested positive for Covid-19.
Cody provided an update for both he and Brandi Rhodes, his wife. In it, he mentions how multiple family members have tested positive and are quarantining with them.
“I appreciate everybody reaching out. Brandi and I are in isolation with family that have unfortunately tested positive for Covid. It’s been a scary time dealing with such a strong virus and the complications that can come with it. We are doing all we can to nurse and protect the family during this time. I will remain in quarantine as long as needed.
“Everyday is more encouraging,” Cody Rhodes continued. “Thank you immensely for your support and respect for our privacy. Thank you to AEW for understanding and allowing me to be where I am needed today, and for still allowing the TNT Title to be represented. I look forward to being back soon. All the love in the world!”
Rhodes also posted a pro-vaccine message to his Instagram Stories on Thursday morning, possibly when he first discovered the positive test results. At the time, he wrote “Please get vaccinated – if not for yourself, for the young kids/babies who can’t defend themselves as easily from Covid.”
Source: Wrestling Inc.
AEW Battle of The Belts will air this Saturday on TNT at 8pm ET, live from the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, NC. The local start time is 7pm ET, indicating that they may tape other matches before the show.
AEW only has two matches announced for the one-hour Battle of The Belts event as of this writing.
* AEW Women’s World Championship: Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. (c) vs. Riho
* AEW TNT Championship: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Sammy Guevara
AEW noted on Twitter last night that a change has been made to the Battle of The Belts card due to medical protocol. No other details were provided, but the match change will be announced during tonight’s taped Rampage episode on TNT.
The first AEW Rampage episode of 2022 will air tonight on TNT, taped earlier this week at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ.
Tonight’s Rampage will also feature an announcement on a match change for Battle of The Belts, due to a medical issue.
* Adam Cole vs. Jake Atlas
* Hook vs. Aaron Solow
* Riho and Ruby Soho vs. Jamie Hayter and AEW Women’s World Champion Britt Baker
* Eddie Kingston, Santana and Ortiz vs. Daniel Garcia and 2point0 in a No DQ, No Rules, No Holds Barred match
AEW is scheduled to announce a change to the card for Saturday’s Battle of The Belts event.
AEW noted on Twitter last night that a change has been made to the Battle of The Belts card due to medical protocol. No other details were provided, but the match change will be announced during tonight’s taped Rampage episode on TNT.
AEW only has two matches announced for the one-hour Battle of The Belts event as of this writing – Riho vs. AEW Women’s World Champion Britt Baker, and Sammy Guevara vs. AEW TNT Champion Cody Rhodes.
Regarding the change, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter notes that word from AEW says everyone is OK, but one match had to be changed due to a late medical issue, believed to be related to COVID-19, but not confirmed yet. Rhodes was reportedly not in Newark, NJ for Wednesday’s Dynamite TBS premiere, but there’s no word yet on if his Battle of The Belts match is being changed.
Rhodes did post a pro-vaccine message to his Instagram Stories on Thursday morning, writing, “Please get vaccinated – if not for yourself, for the young kids/babies who can’t defend themselves as easily from Covid”
AEW Battle of The Belts will air this Saturday on TNT at 8pm ET, live from the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, NC. The local start time is 7pm ET, indicating that they may tape other matches before the show.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
During his match with Adam Cole for AEW Rampage, Jake Atlas suffered a knee injury. This was only his second match with the company. The former WWE NXT star was able to get through and finish the contest.
On the latest episode of AEW Dynamite, the match between Cole and Jake Atlas was set up during a backstage segment. Cole challenged Atlas and it was later announced that the match would be happening this Friday on Rampage. AEW taped the episode of Rampage following Wednesday’s live episode of Dynamite.
On the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Bryan Alvarez discussed the knee injury that Jake Atlas suffered during the match against Cole. Alvarez noted that the AEW star will require an MRI to check the severity of the issue. However, one positive is that Alvarez was told it is possible Atlas is going to be okay, although that remains to be seen.
It was mentioned that Atlas was hurting badly within the match, and he couldn’t stand up to take the Panama Sunrise finisher. Dave Meltzer also added that the injury came from a kick to the knee.
Atlas had originally debuted for the company at the AEW Dark tapings on Tuesday, December 28. He competed against Serpentico during that night, picking up the victory in what was a tryout for him. Atlas was subsequently signed by the company, and his match against Cole was his main television debut.
Jake Atlas wasn’t the only wrestler to suffer an injury on the AEW roster this week. During the main event of AEW Dynamite, Rey Fenix was also injured after he was chokeslammed through a table by Luchasaurus. The former AEW Tag Team Champion landed awkwardly on his arm. The severity of that injury is not yet known.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Rey Fenix was rushed to the hospital after suffering an injury during tonight’s AEW Dynamite, according to PWInsider.
The report noted that internal belief within AEW is that Fenix “likely dislocated his elbow.” It was further noted that a dislocated elbow “would be a blessing” given how bad Fenix’s injury looked in real time.
Fenix suffered the injury when he went through a table courtesy of a Luchasaurus chokeslam. As seen in the video below, Fenix grabbed his left arm and called for help immediately after the spot.
The Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus) would eventually defeat The Lucha Brothers to capture the AEW World Tag Team Championships.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
The first AEW Dynamite of 2022 will take place tonight from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. This will also be the TBS premiere for the show.
* Malakai Black vs. Brian Pillman Jr.
* MJF will be in action
* Jade Cargill vs. Ruby Soho to crown the first-ever AEW TBS Champion
* AEW World Tag Team Champions The Lucha Bros defend against Jurassic Express
* AEW World Champion “Hangman” Adam Page defends against Bryan Danielson
Matt Jackson of The Young Bucks revealed via Twitter that he has tested positive for COVID-19. Jackson’s stablemate Brandon Cutler is also dealing with the virus.
According to Bryan Alvarez of The Wrestling Observer, both Jackson and Cutler got the virus and since Nick Jackson was in close proximity with them less than 18 hours ago, he was deemed a close contact. Therefore, all three men will be missing tonight’s AEW Dynamite premiere on TBS, and won’t be back on TV until they are cleared.
All three wrestlers are believed to be at home in California and didn’t travel to Newark, NJ, for tonight’s show. The report added that it’s unknown when their positive tests came in, but it was not Tuesday.
AEW President, CEO, General Manager & Head Of Creative Tony Khan says a “dream signing” is coming soon to AEW.
Khan spoke to Josh Martinez of Z100 in New York City this week and was asked if there are any dream signings coming to AEW, and if so, if they are a North American talent.
“There is,” Tony Khan responded. “They are in North America, and they’re coming. And pretty soon, and it’s going to be awesome. I’m very excited.”
There’s no word on who the big talent acquisition might be, but rumored potential signings include Windham Rotunda (fka Bray Wyatt) and Johnny Gargano, but there’s no word on if AEW has been in recent talks with these wrestlers.
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