Tag: AEW

Awesome Kong Announces Her Retirement From Pro Wrestling At NWA EmPowerrr

During Saturday night’s NWA EmPowerrr pay-per-view, Awesome Kong announced that she is retiring from pro wrestling.

She made a surprise appearance at the event during a Gail Kim promo. Awesome Kong saved Gail Kim before an attack by Taryn Terrell, Jennacide, and Paola Blaze.

After that according to F4Wonline, she grabbed a microphone and told Gail Kim that she was her greatest foe and there was no other way to end her career than being in the ring with Kim. She then announced that she was done.

Awesome Kong is a former NWA Women’s Champion and a two-time Impact Knockouts Champion. She’s wrestled in several promotions such as Impact Wrestling, AEW, WWE, ROH, Shimmer, and All Japan Women’s Pro Wrestling.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW All Out To Air In Movie Theaters

AEW’s All Out pay-per-view will air in select theaters across North America next month.

AEW and Joe Hand Promotions announced today that the All Out pay-per-view on September 5 will air live in select theaters. Participating theaters include Cinemark, AMC, Harkins, Galaxy, Marcus, Emagine, Studio Movie Grill and Cinepolis Luxury Cinemas in the United States, and Landmark Cinemas in Canada.

AEW CEO, General Manager and Head of Creative Tony Khan commented on how AEW has found a lot of success airing previous pay-per-view events in theaters.

“We’ve had a lot of success bringing the camaraderie and excitement of our pay-per-events to the big screen, and we’re looking forward to delivering another memorable evening next Sunday,” Khan said. “Joe Hand Promotions has been a great partner in delivering top-notch experiences and connecting us with our fans at theatres across North America.”

The full list of participating theaters can be found on the Joe Hand promotions website.

“We’re excited to give wrestling fans the opportunity to experience ALL OUT in their local theatres through our partnership with AEW,” said Joe Hand, Jr., President of Joe Hand Promotions.

AEW All Out will air live from the NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois on Sunday, September 5. Below is the current card:

AEW World Title Match
Impact World Champion Christian Cage vs. Kenny Omega (c)

AEW Women’s World Title Match
Kris Statlander vs. Britt Baker (c)

Steel Cage Match for the AEW World Tag Team Titles
Jurassic Express or Lucha Bros vs. The Young Bucks (c)

Chris Jericho vs. MJF
Jericho’s AEW in-ring career will be on the line.

CM Punk vs. Darby Allin

PAC vs. Andrade El Idolo

Paul Wight vs. QT Marshall

Jon Moxley vs. Satoshi Kojima

The Buy In Pre-show: Women’s Casino Battle Royale
Nyla Rose, Julia Hart, Big Swole, The Bunny, Red Velvet, Thunder Rosa, Tay Conti, Penelope Ford, Diamante, 12 more competitors TBA
Winner earns a future shot at the AEW Women’s World Title.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Rampage Preview 8/27/21

Tonight’s AEW Rampage airs on TNT from the UMW Panther Arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

* Tag Title Eliminator Tournament Finals: Jurassic Express vs. Lucha Bros

* Tay Conti vs. The Bunny

* Kenny Omega & Brandon Cutler (w/ Don Callis) vs. Christian Cage & Frankie Kazarian

Impact Wrestling Reportedly Will Make A Push For Bray Wyatt

According to a report, Impact Wrestling is set to make a push for Bray Wyatt, who was released from his WWE contract on July 31.

Bray Wyatt’s 90-day non-compete clause doesn’t expire until late October, so wrestling promotions still have ample time to negotiate with the former Universal Champion.

Wyatt was unexpectedly released from his WWE contract on July 31, abruptly ending his 12-year run with the company. Wyatt was reportedly told by John Laurinaitis that he was being let go due to budget cuts.

It was previously reported that Wyatt is bound for AEW, but that apparently isn’t a lock to happen (you can read more about that here). Not only that, but it looks like AEW will have serious competition for Wyatt’s services.

On the Sunday Night’s Main Event podcast (h/t Wrestling.com), Dave Meltzer reported that Impact Wrestling is “really after” Wyatt. At this time, however, it’s unclear if Wyatt is interested in joining them.

Impact Wrestling Executive Vice President Scott D’Amore recently hinted that former WWE superstars Buddy Matthews (Murphy in WWE) and Braun Strowman will soon join the company. Matthews and Strowman were released from their WWE contracts on June 2.

It should be noted that if Wyatt were to sign with Impact or AEW, he would be able to appear in both companies since the two promotions have a working partnership. AEW wrestler Kenny Omega held the Impact World Championship for 10 days. So Wyatt could theoretically be used as a top main event star in both Impact AEW.

WWE somehow missed so many great opportunities with Wyatt. His release may actually end up being a blessing long-term, since Wyatt’s next employer will most certainly maximize his wrestling creativity, uniqueness and skill set.

There will be no shortage of options for Wyatt when it comes to choosing the next chapter of his wrestling career. Former Universal and WWE Champions don’t hit the open market very often, and he would be an ultra-valuable addition to AEW or Impact Wrestling.

Source: TheSportster

AEW Star CM Punk Drops Major Hint About Daniel Bryan’s Future

AEW’s CM Punk made a cheeky reference to his fellow former WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan (Bryan Danielson) on the latest edition of AEW Dynamite.

All Elite Wrestling’s newest big-name signing has dropped a major hint regarding a heavily rumored potential acquisition for the company — Daniel Bryan.

It all went down on TNT during the most recent edition of AEW’s flagship show, Dynamite. Following on from last Friday’s episode of Rampage, CM Punk made his second appearance on an AEW show and his first appearance on Dynamite when he made joined Tony Schiavone in the ring for a chat at the top of the second hour.

Punk was there to share some more thoughts on return and perhaps address a few bullet points that he may have missed last week due to time constraints. But he was also there to hype up his upcoming ALL OUT match with Darby Allin, which will be Punk’s first match in over seven years.

After announcing that he was retiring his “Voice Of The Voiceless” monicker due to the fact that the AEW locker room has its own voice to which people are willing to listen, Punk sang the praises of his ALL OUT opponent.

“I look at Darby Allin and I see someone who would have been my favorite wrestler when I was 15 years old,” Punk said before referencing a series of questions he’s been asking himself later. “Can you still go?! Can you still be the best?! Can you still be the Best In The World?!” he said with passion in his voice as the members of the audience began to answer the question for him in unison.

With the crowd chanting “YES! YES! YES!” Punk cheekily called attention to the recent reports that Bryan Danielson (Daniel Bryan) is on his way to AEW.

“That’s somebody else’s schtick, and ya might just need to be a little more patient,” Punk said with a wry smile and a look in his eye that screamed, “I shouldn’t have said that.”

https://twitter.com/FiteTV/status/1430698138835329024

Source: TheSportster

AEW Dynamite Preview 8/25/21

Tonight’s AEW Dynamite episode airs on TNT at the UWM Panther Arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

* Jamie Hayter with Britt Baker and Rebel vs. Red Velvet

* Malakai Black vs. Brock Anderson with Arn Anderson

* Varsity Blondes vs. Lucha Bros (AEW Tag Team Title Eliminator Tournament)

* Orange Cassidy vs. Matt Hardy

* CM Punk makes his first Dynamite appearance

* Chris Jericho addresses his future

* Jon Moxley, Eddie Kingston, and Darby Allin vs. The Wingmen (Cezar Bononi, Ryan Nemeth, and JD Drake)

* The Factory (QT Marshall, Nick Comoroto, and Aaron Solo) vs. Gunn Club (Austin, Colten, and Billy Gunn)

CM Punk Debuts For AEW To Open Rampage, Will Wrestle At All Out – AEW Media Scrum With Punk and Tony Khan

CM Punk returned to wrestling after seven years and announced that he’s back, signed to AEW and will wrestle at All Out on September 5th.

AEW Rampage opened up with the biggest surprise that wasn’t really a surprise. CM Punk began the hour-long program by coming out to the ring and announcing he was back in professional wrestling and sticking around as part of the AEW roster.

Punk said, “I didn’t plan what I was going to say because I didn’t know how I was going to feel.” He added, “But I feel you Chicago. I hear you Chicago.” The fans started chanting his name, just like they did when the show began. Punk said he’s heard the fans for seven years.

Punk said, there’s good news and bad news. The bad news is that there wasn’t time to say everything he wanted do. The good news, he’s got the time, he’s not going anywhere and he’s with AEW so he’ll show up on Wednesdays, Fridays and pay-per-views. “If at all, through my journey, any of my personal decisions made you feel disappointed or let down, let me just say, I understand.” He asked fans to understand they understand he was never going to get healthy if he stayed in the same place that got him sick in the first place. Essentially, he needed the break he took.

“Can I tell you a story?,” he asked. He sat down, as he did with his pipe bomb that made him a star, and said he felt he had to leave. He mentioned he knew he had made a place in Ring of Honor where wrestlers could learn to love professional wrestling. He knew by going to WWE he was signing up for hard times. In August 2005, he left professional wrestling. August 20, 2021, (he) “I’m back.”

“I’m back for you.” He added that there’s a lot of young talent that he wants to be around. I’m back because I want to work with the young talent and because there’s some scores to settle in the locker room. He dropped the names of Darby Allin that he’s excited to work with — Allin was up in the rafters watching with Sting.

Punk said the most dangerous thing Allin could do is to wrestle CM Punk in Chicago. Punk said that will see Allin, Sting and the fans on September 5th at All Out live on pay-per-view.

A huge announcement was capped off when Punk said he appreciated everyone waiting. He said, “Grab a free ice cream bar on me.”

Source: TheSportster

Below is the AEW Media Scrum with CM PUNK and TONY KHAN after Rampage:

AEW Rampage “The First Dance” Preview 8/20/21, CM Punk To Debut?

Tonight’s AEW Rampage: “The First Dance”  airs on TNT at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. Although not officially announced, it’s likely that CM Punk will be making his AEW debut on this show.

* Jade Cargill with Smart Mark Sterling vs. Kiera Hogan

* Private Party with Matt Hardy vs. Jurassic Express (AEW World Tag Team Title Eliminator Tournament)

* Jon Moxley with Eddie Kingston vs. Daniel Garcia with 2.0

Another Major AEW Acquisition Reportedly Coming Soon

Another big name is reportedly headed to AEW soon.

WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair is expected to sign with AEW in the near future. Flair asked for his WWE release earlier this month, and received it on August 3.

In an update, Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that sources close to AEW, that would be alerted to such things, have noted that a “new major AEW acquisition” is coming into the company soon, on the heels of the deals for CM Punk and Daniel Bryan.

Punk’s AEW signing is expected to be announced on AEW Rampage tonight, and Bryan is rumored to debut on September 22 during the Grand Slam edition of AEW Dynamite in New York City.

It was recently exclusively reported on Wrestling Inc. that The Nature Boy does not have a non-compete clause with WWE, which means he is free to appear for any other promotion right now. He appeared at AAA’s TripleMania pay-per-view last weekend, and has been announced for the NWA 73rd Anniversary pay-per-view on August 29.

It’s possible that Flair is the “new major AEW acquisition” coming in, but that has not been confirmed.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Renee Paquette To Interview CM Punk Before Tonight’s AEW Rampage

A new edition of Renee Paquette’s “Oral Sessions” podcast will premiere tonight at 6pm ET with special guest CM Punk.

The timing of this interview is interesting as it’s believed that tonight’s AEW Rampage episode at 10pm ET will feature the official announcement on Punk signing with AEW to make his long-awaited return to pro wrestling.

The Paquette – Punk interview will premiere on Renee’s official YouTube channel at 6pm, just a few hours before Rampage hits the air at 10pm. Below is the official synopsis for the interview:

“It’s clobberin’ time when Renee is joined by none other than CM Punk, and the ‘voice of the voiceless’ has plenty to say about his short-lived UFC run, the fate of WWE Backstage and the most controversial questions facing the industry today.”

Punk and Renee previously worked together on WWE Backstage for FS1.

Source: Wrestling Inc.