Paul Wight Confirms In-Ring Return, Will Face QT Marshall At All Out

Former WWE Superstar Paul Wight will make his in-ring AEW debut against QT Marshall at All Out next month.

The legendary Paul Wight will lace up his boots for the first time since July of 2020 when he goes one-on-one with QT Marshall at AEW’s upcoming All Out pay-per-view on September 5th.

Wight announced his imminent return to the ring on the most recent edition of Dynamite, but the catalyst for his return was ignited on Dynamite a few weeks ago when QT Marshall poured a protein shake over Tony Schiavone’s head during a backstage interview. Schiavone had been critical of The Factory (QT Marshall, Aaron Solo, and Nick Comoroto) and their dastardly antics in the weeks leading up to the incident, much to the chagrin of Marshall, who lashed out and tried to make an example out of the veteran broadcaster.

The following week, The Factory continued to torment Schiavone by assaulting his son in front of his eyes. Paul Wight had no intention of letting Marshall and his cronies bully his old friend and current broadcast partner and so he inserted himself into the matter. The artist formerly known as The Big Show came to the ring and hit Solow with a huge Chokeslam while QT and Comoroto got outta dodge.

On this week’s Dynamite, Wight joined Schiavone in the ring for a chat. He explained that it felt good to hit that chokeslam and said he was still hyped up about it. Before he could go any further, QT and The Factory interrupted. Marshall was clearly concerned that Wight was considering an in-ring return because he came prepared with images of Wight’s carious surgeries, which he displayed on the big screen for all to see. Marshall’s attempts to deter Wight from getting back in the ring failed, and Wight revealed that he would be making his in-ring AEW debut at All Out … against QT Marshall.

Wight’s match at All Out will be his first for AEW. His last match took place in WWE back in July of 2020 when he lost to Randy Orton in an Unsanctioned match on Raw.

Source: TheSportster

AEW Dynamite Preview 8/18/21

Tonight’s AEW Dynamite episode airs on TNT at the Fertitta Center in Houston, Texas.

* The Young Bucks (c) vs. Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus (AEW World Tag Team Championship)

* Shawn Spears vs. Sammy Guevara (who also has a major announcement)

* Darby Allin and Sting vs. 2.0 (Texas Tornado Tag Match)

* MJF vs. Chris Jericho (5 Labours of Jericho: Chapter 5 – Jericho can’t use judas effect in the match, can’t use his “Judas” theme song)

* FTW Champion Ricky Starks and Brian Cage confrontation

* Thunder Rosa vs. Penelope Ford

* Britt Baker in action

Fans Attending AEW Rampage In Chicago Required To Wear Masks

Fans attending AEW Rampage at the United Center in Chicago this Friday will be required to wear masks.

On Tuesday, Chicago officials imposed a new indoor mask mandate which covers all indoor public settings, including bars and restaurants, clubs and common areas of residential buildings.

Starting Friday, anyone over the age of 2 will have to wear a face mask in indoor public spaces, regardless of vaccine status, Chicago Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said in a news conference.

Following Friday’s Rampage, AEW will return to Chicago for three consecutive shows – Dynamite on Sept. 1, Rampage on Sept. 3 and All Out on Sept. 5.

With rumors of CM Punk showing up at United Center, Friday’s Rampage is expected to be one of the biggest shows in AEW history.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Former WWE Superstar Ruby Soho Teases Next Career Move In New Vignette

Former WWE Superstar Ruby Soho (Ruby Riott) has released a teaser video in anticipation of her return to the ring. Is she AEW bound?

Former WWE Superstar Ruby Soho (Ruby Riott) has shared a vignette in which she teased her return to the world of wrestling following her WWE release back in June.

Ruby took to Twitter to share the 1-minute-long teaser video on Tuesday, August 17. In the video, Ruby can be seen hurrying to catch a train. At one point, the camera cuts to focus o the ticket in her hand which says she is traveling from Orlando to New York’s Penn Station. Unfortunately, Ruby arrives at the platform too late and can do nothing but watch as the train pulls away from the station without her onboard. As the video ends, its title, “The Runaway” appears on screen.

So far, there’s been no official word from Ruby regarding her next move, but if the ticket in the vignette is a clue, her destination is no longer unknown. We can assume that her return will take place at an event in New York, which is where AEW will be hosting its “Grand Slam Dynamite” on September 22nd.

Source: TheSportster

Christian Cage Defeats Kenny Omega For The IMPACT World Championship On Debut Of AEW Rampage

Christian Cage is the new IMPACT World Champion after defeating Kenny Omega on the debut episode of AEW’s new show, Rampage.

Christian Cage is the new TNA/IMPACT World Champion following his victory over defending champ Kenny Omega in the opening match of the debut episode of AEW Rampage.

Christian got the won after the Young Bucks attempted to interfere on Omega’s behalf by sliding a steel chair in the ring while Don Callis had the referee distracted. The plan backfired, however. Christian was able to hit a Killswitch on Omega and planted his fellow Canadian’s face on the chair. Christian then covered Omega for the win, much to the dismay of The Young Bucks and Don Callis.

After the bell, Christian celebrated alongside his friends, Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy, with both the IMPACT and TNA World Championship belts draped over his shoulders.

The victory marks Christian Cage’s first title win since he came out of retirement earlier this year. It’s also his first reign as IMPACT World Champion, although he did hold the NWA Championship during his initial run with TNA.

Christian is set to appear on Thursday’s Impact and will defend the Impact World Championship at Impact’s Emergence event on Friday August 20th, airing on Impact Plus.

AEW Rampage Preview 8/13/21

Tonight’s debut of AEW Rampage airs on TNT at Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Each episode is one-hour long.

* Kenny Omega (c) vs. Christian Cage (Impact World Championship)

* Britt Baker (c) vs. Red Velvet (AEW Women’s World Championship)

* Miro (c) vs. Fuego del Sol (AEW TNT Championship — If Sol wins, he’ll also earn an AEW contract)

AEW Dynamite Preview 8/11/21

Tonight’s AEW Dynamite episode airs on TNT at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

* Matt Hardy and Private Party vs. Orange Cassidy, Chuck Taylor and Wheeler Yuta

* Darby Allin vs. Daniel Garcia

* The Labours of Jericho, Chapter 4: Chris Jericho vs. Wardlow with MJF at ringside

* Nyla Rose vs. Kris Statlander

* Dan Lambert will appear

* The Good Brothers (c) vs. Evil Uno and Stu Grayson (Impact World Tag Team Championship)

* AEW World Champion Kenny Omega and AEW World Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks vs. Dante Martin, Mike, and Matt Sydal

Renee Paquette Teases Return To Wrestling Broadcasting, Says AEW Is An Option

Former WWE broadcaster Renee Paquette (Renee Young) has revealed that her lengthy non-compete clause is due to expire soon.

Former WWE broadcaster Renee Paquette (known in WWE as Renee Young) has hinted that she may soon be returning to the world of professional wrestling broadcasting due to the imminent expiration of the lengthy non-compete clause in her WWE contract.

Renee addressed her current career situation in a recent interview with WrestlingINC.

My non-compete with WWE is nearly up,” Paquette said. “I don’t ever want to separate myself from professional wrestling. I know that’s where my fanbase comes from; I know that’s essentially going to always be my bread and butter — and I love that. I love professional wrestling, so I’m not looking to get away from it by any stretch,” she continued.

Despite being unable to immediately return to broadcasting Renee made the most of her time. After leaving WWE, she launched a new podcast called Oral Sessions, published a cookbook, and became a parent for the first time with her husband, AEW star Jon Moxley.

In the aforementioned WrestlingINC interview, Renee commented on the possibility of her once again merging her family and professional lives by linking up with Mox in AEW.

Looking at AEW, I think there are endless opportunities of other things I could be doing over there if that was to be something that came up down the line,” she said. “I’ve honestly not put much thought into it. That’s interesting to be like, ‘Oh, wait! I can do wrestling things again!’”

Renee Paquette would be an asset for whichever company she decided to work for, as she proved during her eight years with WWE.

Source: TheSportster

AEW Has Reportedly Made NXT’s Adam Cole A Contract Offer

As Adam Cole’s NXT contract nears its end, AEW has reportedly approached the highly sought after Superstar with an offer.

AEW has reportedly made Adam Cole a contract offer as the former NXT Champion’s current WWE contract is set to expire after SummerSlam weekend.

Adam Cole’s time in NXT might be coming to an end. That would normally mean a call-up to the main roster. For Cole, it appears to mean that starting from the night after NXT TakeOver 36, he will no longer be a WWE Superstar. According to Wrestling Observer Newsletter, AEW has already offered Cole a contract.

The report also reveals Cole has still been negotiating a potential new deal with NXT as recently as the middle of this week. However, the former leader of the Undisputed Era is yet to strike a deal with either company. Cole’s contract actually came to an end in July. However, he signed a one-month extension, apparently so he can wrestle Kyle O’Reilly in a rubber match at TakeOver 36.

If Cole does decide to stay in NXT, it’s unclear what exactly there is left for him on the brand. NXT has been built as a brand in which wrestlers achieve all they can and then move on, preferably to either Raw or SmackDown rather than AEW. Cole has already been NXT Champion multiple times, UE has broken up, and there aren’t that many big opponents left in NXT that he hasn’t already faced.

In AEW, on the other hand, there’s a whole new slate of opponents and challenges waiting for him. Not to mention his girlfriend, current AEW Women’s Champion Britt Baker, and a number of other close friends he worked with prior to signing with NXT. Cole can even debut for AEW as soon as he wants after TakeOver 36. Since his contract is expiring, he won’t be subject to a non-compete clause.

That means Cole could turn up on Dynamite three days after TakeOver, the third episode of Rampage two days after that, or perhaps even at All Out in the first week of September. It’s going to be a fascinating period in Cole’s career the days and weeks after TakeOver. Not to mention the additional contract headache for NXT that is Pete Dunne. Apparently, The Bruiserweight’s contract is also nearing its end.

Source: TheSportster

Former WWE Superstar Ruby Riott (Ruby Soho) Is Expected To Sign With AEW

Former WWE Superstar Ruby Riott, who now goes by Ruby Soho, is expected to sign with AEW once her non-compete runs out.

Ruby Riott is expected to sign with AEW once her 90-day non-compete clause with WWE comes to an end.

WWE has released a lot of people so far in 2021. More than 40 of them so far with Bray Wyatt and Ric Flair being shown the door over the course of the last few days. Some of those released have already found landing spots elsewhere, such as Andrade and Chelsea Green. A number of others are still waiting for their non-compete clauses to come to an end, or may just be weighing up their options.

One of those waiting for their non-compete to come to an end is Ruby Riott. Well, the Superstar formerly known as Ruby Riott. She will now be called Ruby Soho going forward, reportedly with the blessing of  Rancid, the band who sings the song of the same name. She might even be able to use the track as her entrance whenever she wrestles next.

As for where that might be, according to Fightful Select (via WrestleTalk) Soho’s most likely landing spot is AEW. While the two parties can’t strike a deal until Soho’s time with WWE is officially over, which will be after the non-compete expires, apparently, once that time has passed fans can expect to see her become All Elite.

While AEW has been criticized for picking up a lot of the wrestlers WWE has released over the course of the past 18 months, Soho might be one of the wisest pick-ups so far. No element of AEW has been criticized more during its first two years than its women’s division. It is well on its way to improving that part of its promotion via the likes of Britt Baker and Thunder Rosa, adding Soho to the mix will further it even more.

Source: The Sportster