Tag: AEW

Former WWE Superstar Kalisto Debuts For AEW Under New Name

The former WWE Superstar attempted to win the AAA Titles alongside Aero Star.

Kalisto teamed up with AAA’s Aero Star on Dynamite this week in what was the luchador’s first match since being released by WWE.

WWE has released more than 50 wrestlers and employees so far in 2021, and some of them have since shown up in AEW. Malakai Black, Ruby Soho, and Andrade all make that list, as does Tony Nese who reportedly signed with the promotion last month. On Wednesday, that list got a little longer as Kalisto wrestled in a tag match on Dynamite.

Kalisto, who is now going by Samuray Del Sol, teamed up with AAA’s Aero Star to take on FTR. The debuting pair was actually competing for FTR’s AAA Tag Team Titles. Dax Harwood and Dash Wilder beat the Lucha Bros for the Mexican promotion’s championships last month.

Despite Del Sol and Aeors Star’s best efforts, the Tag Team Titles will not be heading home to AAA. Wheeler rolled up Aero Star for the win, using the ropes as leverage. The pair will try to add more tag team gold to their resume at Full Gear where they will face Penta and Rey Fenix for the AEW Tag Team Championships, a full year after they lost the titles to The Young Bucks.

This is the first match Kalisto has wrestled outside of WWE since he was released back in April of this year. The luchador actually enjoyed a lot of success in WWE, winning the US Title on two separate occasions. It remains unclear what’s next for him in terms of his wrestling career. He doesn’t seem to have signed a permanent deal with AEW. His pairing with Aero Star could mean he has or will sign with AAA in the future.

A Twitter exchange between Del Sol and Chris Jericho might suggest the former doesn’t have a future in AEW. The former tweeted that he prayed to Brodie Lee before his match, misspelling Jon, Brodie’s real name. Jericho quote tweeted Del Sol, telling him he spelled Jon’s name wrong. While not confirmed, fans have speculated there’s more to the exchange than Del Sol misspelling a name.

Source: TheSportster

CM Punk Shouts Out Jon Moxley During Emotional Promo On Dynamite

An emotional tribute from Punk on Dynamite delivered in tandem with an important message.

CM Punk kicked off his promo on Dynamite this week by discussing how much he admires and respects Jon Moxley.

Tony Khan revealed earlier this week that Jon Moxley has entered himself into an alcohol treatment program. Moxley naturally has the full support of AEW, and well wishes for the former World Champion have been pouring in ever since. That includes a heartfelt message from CM Punk live on Dynamite last night.

Punk kicked off his promo by saying he wanted to talk about two people who weren’t in the building for Dynamite last night. The first of those people was Moxley. Punk got the fans chanting his name and admitted he’d be happy for them to keep chanting Moxley throughout the duration of his segment.

The Second City Saint then moved on and said that despite his and Moxley’s differences, he is very proud of his AEW peer right now. Punk speaks about times in his own life when he needed help but he didn’t ask for it because he thought he needed to show the world he is tougher than that. You can watch all but the very beginning of the promo in the clip below.

https://twitter.com/AEWonTNT/status/1456056299683209216

Punk closes the first half of his promo by telling fans that if they need help, talk to someone. Whether it be a phone call or a text, they don’t need to tough it out. Punk and Moxley are evidence of that. Renee Paquette, Moxley’s wife formerly known as Renee Young when under WWE’s employ, has also reached out since the news broke and thanked everyone for their messages over the past 24 hours.

Moxley will obviously be out of action for an indefinite amount of time, and we wish him all the best in his recovery. On the wrestling side of things, the former AEW Champion was replaced by Miro on Dynamite last night in the World Title Eliminator Tournament. Miro beat Orange Cassidy in the semi-final match and will face Bryan Danielson in the final at Full Gear.

Source: TheSportster

AEW Dynamite Preview 11/3/21

Tonight’s AEW Dynamite episode airs on TNT at the Cable Dahmer Arena in Independence, Missouri.

The AEW World Title Eliminator Tournament semis will likely continue with Orange Cassidy facing a yet to be determined opponent. As noted, Jon Moxley entered an inpatient alcohol treatment program. The winner of this match takes on Bryan Danielson in the finals at Full Gear on November 13.

Below is the current lineup:

* Cody Rhodes vs. Andrade El Idolo

* Anna Jay vs. Jamie Hayter (AEW TBS Title Tournament First Round Match)

* Orange Cassidy vs. TBA (AEW World Title Eliminator Semifinal Match)

* FTR Open Challenge for the AAA World Tag Team Titles

Jon Moxley Enters Inpatient Alcohol Treatment Program

Tony Khan has revealed that former AEW Champion Jon Moxley has entered an inpatient alcohol treatment program.

Jon Moxley has entered an alcohol treatment program.

AEW president Tony Khan took to Twitter to announce that his company’s former Champion is undergoing treatment for alcohol addiction and will be taking a hiatus from wrestling.

“Jon Moxley has allowed me to share with you that he is entering an inpatient alcohol treatment program,” Khan tweeted on the evening of Tuesday, November 2. “Jon is a beloved member of the AEW family. We all stand with him and Renee, and all of his family and friends, as he shifts his focus to recovery,” he added.

Khan said that he’s proud to call Moxley his friend and that AEW is fully embracing Mox’s decision to seek help during this difficult time.

“I’m also a fan of Mox and look forward to a time in the future when he is eventually ready to return to the ring. Until then, thank you for supporting Jon and respecting his privacy at this time,” tweeted Khan.

Mox’s recovery will take as long as it takes, so of course, we cannot begin to speculate on how long he will be away from the ring. That being said, Mox is currently a participant in the AEW World Title Eliminator Tournament, so it seems TK will have some tough booking decisions to make in the coming days, and he’s not the only one. Moxley is also the current GCW Champion and has been making sporadic appearances for New Japan Pro Wrestling.

Wrestlers have been sharing their support for Jon Moxley after it was revealed he has entered into an alcohol treatment program.

While Khan was the first to publicly share his support for Moxley as he was trusted to share the news, he was far from the last. Tweets wishing Moxley well on his journey and showing support for the decision he has made have been flooding in. Doc Gallows, Britt Baker, and Jade Cargill are just a few of the stars who have posted their support in the replies to Khan’s thread.

https://twitter.com/RealMickFoley/status/1455744811454111744

Source: TheSportster

Backstage News On Plans For AEW’s Battle Of The Belts

This week it was reported that AEW’s first TNT supercard special is scheduled for early January. Battle of The Belts is reportedly the planned name for the event and was trademarked by AEW last January.

“Battle of the Belts” appears to be a throwback to several promotions that have used the name for special events, mainly Championship Wrestling From Florida in the 1980s. The NWA, ECW and FIP have also used “Battle of the Belts” for show names.

AEW and WarnerMedia announced back in May that TNT will air four annual AEW supercard specials beginning in 2022 to coincide with AEW Dynamite moving to TBS. This January event will be the first of the four shows airing next year.

AEW Rampage was also scheduled to move to TBS next year, but plans changed and Rampage will be staying on TNT. The first Dynamite episode on TBS is scheduled for Wednesday, January 5, just three days before the reported supercard event.

On the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer noted that the supercard event is expected to be around an hour long. These TNT specials are inspired by the old Clash of the Champions events, which were typically an hour and a half long.

Meltzer also noted that these specials were originally planned to be longer. The idea behind these specials was for PPV-level cards to be on television. Back when these specials were announced in May, it was reported that TNT would be working with Tony Khan on them.

Currently, nothing has been set in stone.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Rampage Preview 10/29/21

Tonight’s AEW Rampage airs on TNT from the Agganis Arena in Boston, Massachusetts.

* Trick or Treat No DQ Match: AEW Women’s World Champion Britt Baker vs. Abandon (If Abadon wins, she gets a future title shot)

* Dante Martin vs. Matt Sydal

* World Title Eliminator Semifinal Match: Bryan Danielson vs. Eddie Kingston

AEW’s Jim Ross Is Planning To Open A Cannabis Farm

WWE Hall Of Famer and current AEW play-by-play announcer Jim Ross (JR) has revealed he plans to open a cannabis farm in his home state of Oklahoma.

Jim Ross is getting into the weed business! The legendary play-by-play broadcaster recently revealed his plans to open a cannabis farm with his daughter in his home state of Oklahoma.

Good ol’ JR spilled the nugz on a recent episode of his Grilling JR podcast.

“My youngest daughter, her husband and I, and another guy, a lawyer, are getting ready to start a cannabis farm,” JR said. “We’re looking at the working title of Black Hat Farms. I bought some land in Oklahoma recently for the grow houses and all the things. That’s gonna be their life, that’s a big deal. She’s got a great job in marketing. She’s not gonna quit that, I wouldn’t even let her consider that. So, I’m excited about that for my kids,” the WWE Hall Of Famer added.

Although its weed laws are continuously evolving, the use of recreational cannabis is currently still illegal in the state of Oklahoma. Despite the changing attitudes towards weed, Oklahomans continue to be arrested for possession and, in 2020, the ACLU released a report that revealed black people 4.2 times more likely to be arrested for possessing cannabis in Oklahoma than white people.

As you’re no doubt aware, Jim Ross has dabbled in several business ventures outside the world of wrestling. He has a line of barbecue sauce and also sells his own brand of beef jerky called JR’s Family Barbecue. On his podcast, Ross said that his desire to leave something behind for his kids is partly what inspired him to get into the cannabis industry.

“I figured out it was probably smarter to leave them things while I was alive and sort through all the heartbreak and the minutiae and the legal stuff, the probate courts and all these things after I was gone,” he said. “It’s gonna be hard enough after I’m gone simply because I’ve got so much memorabilia. I need a clever, creative way to have somebody that knows what the hell they’re doing come into my home, inventory my memorabilia, then figure out the best way to pair it down.”

Ross was recently diagnosed with skin cancer after discovering a growth on his lower leg. During his time as WWE’s lead announcer, JR earned a deserved reputation as one of the best professional wrestling announcers of all time. He called almost the entire Attitude Era and is the definitive voice of professional wrestling to many fans as a result. Ross signed a three-year deal with All Elite Wrestling when the company launched back in April of 2019.

Source: TheSportster

AEW Dynamite Preview 10/27/21

Tonight’s AEW Dynamite episode airs on TNT at the Agganis Arena in Boston, Massachusetts.

* CM Punk vs. Bobby Fish

* Dark Order (Colt Cabana, Evil Uno, John Silver, and Stu Grayson) vs. The Elite (AEW World Champion Kenny Omega, Adam Cole, and The Young Bucks)

* Jon Moxley vs. 10 (AEW World Title Eliminator Tournament)

* Serena Deeb vs. Hikaru Shida (AEW TBS Title Tournament)

* Sammy Guevara (c) vs. Ethan Page (AEW TNT Title)

* MJF in action

Tony Nese Has Reportedly Signed A Deal With AEW

Tony Nese has apparently signed an AEW deal after appearing on Dynamite and wrestling matches on Dark.

Tony Nese is apparently All Elite after being shown in the crowd on Dynamite and wrestling a couple of matches on Dark.

WWE has released a lot of wrestlers in 2021 in an attempt to trim its budget and seemingly streamline its roster. The company’s locker room may well have become a little more crowded than Vince McMahon intended when he appeared to be offering anyone and everyone under his employ a new deal in an attempt to stop them joining AEW.

Fast forward two years and a lot of the wrestlers let go have been granted a new lease on life under Tony Khan. Malakai Black, Andrade, and Miro, formerly known as Rusev, are all now under contract in AEW. It now seems as if Tony Nese has joined them, or at least that’s what Dave Meltzer has claimed during a recent edition of Wrestling Observer Radio.

“He did the Dark tapings in Orlando and I think he wrestled more than one match. He’s signed so that’s the deal,” Meltzer said. Nese wrestled two matches during AEW’s Dark tapings over the weekend. The first was against Fuego Del Sol and the second was a win versus DeMarcio James. AEW tapes Dark in batches, so those matches may air at any point on YouTube over the course of the next few weeks.

Prior to wrestling a couple of Dark matches, Nese was shown sitting in the crowd during Dynamite. A tactic NXT used to employ to reveal its new signings. Both times Nese was shown came during World Title Eliminator Tournament matches. Since the bracket for that tournament is already full, the timing of Nese’s appearance implies his first rivalry will be with someone who isn’t going to win.

Nese was never given much chance to show WWE what he was capable of while under contract with the company, at least not on a big stage. The Premier Athlete spent the majority of his time on 205 Live. Nese wrestled his final match on 205 Live on June 15, 2021, and was released from his contract ten days later.

Source: TheSportster

Lance Archer Gives Update After Injury Scare On AEW Dynamite

On Saturday night’s AEW Dynamite, Lance Archer wrestled Eddie Kingston in a Title Eliminator Tournament Match.

During the match, Archer went for a moonsault off the top rope and landed on his head. He was checked on at ringside by the referee and Dr. Sampson, got back in the ring, and Kingston rolled him up for the win.

Archer commented afterwards, thanking AEW for taking care of him and letting the fans know he’ll be back.

“Listen. We choose to do this and take our health n lives in our hands every night,” Archer wrote. “I’ve done that move hundreds of times over my career. Just under rotated. Coulda been MUCH worse. Thank you to ALL at @AEW for taking AMAZING care of me and protecting me. I’ll BE BACK!”

This morning, Archer joked “Ice for the MiniHawk, too!” showing an action figure of himself laying on an ice pack.

On the latest Wrestling Observer Radio it was reported he passed all of his tests backstage. AEW even did a concussion check during the match and wouldn’t have bothered with a finish if it was any worse. Archer apparently wanted to keep wrestling, but was “upset backstage” that they couldn’t give the match a proper ending.

Source: Wrestling Inc.