Tag: AEW

Report: Lucha Brothers Expected To Leave AEW And Sign With WWE, All In Match Canceled

The luchador market could be about to welcome two new free agents, but they might not be free agents for long. According to a report from WrestlePurists, AEW’s Lucha Brothers are not expected to renew their contracts when they expire. As for Rey Fenix and Penta El Zero Miedo’s next destination, there is an overwhelming belief within AEW that the two luchadors are WWE-bound.

WrestlingPurists’ Ibou broke the news on their post-SummerSlam livestream and included details about the Lucha Brothers’ immediate plans, especially in regards to AEW’s upcoming All In pay-per-view. The Lucha Brothers were slated for a match alongside fellow Death Triangle member PAC against The Patriarchy for the World Trios Championship at Wembley Stadium. However, according to WrestlePurists, that plan has since been scrapped following news of the Lucha Brothers’ intentions to leave the company; the plan now is reportedly to run a triple threat trios title match involving The Patriarchy, the Bang Bang Gang, and House of Black. This match has yet to be announced in any official capacity, but the three teams have been feuding on AEW programming.

“When the [All In] match got canceled, I asked around internally … multiple sources within AEW told me, basically made it clear to me, that the Lucha Brothers are expected to depart AEW at the end of their contract,” Ibou said. “Some of them speculated that WWE was the destination, others outright said to me that it was a formality.”

Previous reports have indicated WWE has interest in Penta, whose contract is expected to expire within the next two months. While there have been no reports of WWE’s interest towards Fenix, it’s been speculated that Fenix’s injury caused his AEW contract to be extended, and that WWE would sign both Fenix and Penta as a unit.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Collision Preview 8/3/2024

Tonight’s AEW Collision will have a special start time on TNT, with the tape delay broadcast starting at 5:00 pm EST. from Arlington, Texas as the Path to All In Summer Series continues.

  • Continental Collision: Lee Moriarty vs. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Tomohiro Ishii
  • Thunder Rosa vs. Taya Valkyrie
  • Darby Allin, Mark Briscoe, and FTR vs. The Beast Mortos and the Undisputed Kingdom
  • The Acclaimed promised to confront FTR tonight.
  • Toni Storm vs. TBA (Mariah May will be on commentary)
  • Mistico and Hologram vs. The Premier Athletes (Tony Nese & Josh Woods)
  • Kyle Fletcher vs. Brian Cage
  • We’ll hear from AEW World Trios Champions Christian Cage and The Patriarchy

AEW Rampage Preview 8/2/2024

Scheduled for tonight’s AEW Rampage on TNT

  • MxM Collection vs. Private Party
  • Nyla Rose vs. Harley Cameron
  • Wheeler Yuta vs. The Butcher
  • Brian Cage in action
  • Bryan Keith in action

Report – AEW Suspended Britt Baker After Incident With MJF & Alicia Atout

AEW’s homegrown stars Britt Baker and MJF were recently embroiled in a backstage incident that led to the company’s disciplinary action against Baker.

Since his return at AEW Double Or Nothing 2024, MJF has been prominently featured in AEW storylines, turning heel and claiming the American Title.

On the other hand, Baker made her return at AEW X NJPW: Forbidden Door 2024 and has been feuding with Mercedes Mone, leading up to their scheduled match at All In 2024 later this month.

Moreover, MJF’s girlfriend, Alicia Atout, recently joined AEW as an on-air talent.

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter is reporting that Baker was suspended for one or two weeks and fined by the company’s disciplinary committee.

The incident originated backstage on the July 17th episode of AEW Dynamite, when Baker allegedly made a comment about MJF, which Atout overheard.

This led to an investigation, with HR speaking to individuals the following week, and the disciplinary committee recommended that Baker face consequences.

AEW President Tony Khan’s involvement in the investigation remains unclear, as efforts were made to keep the situation discreet.

It was also noted that most parties were sympathetic to Baker in this matter.

AEW’s handling of the incident was reportedly a response to unresolved past issues, prompting the promotion to establish a dedicated committee to address such matters swiftly.

Source: eWn

AEW Star Trent Beretta Undergoes ‘Quick Little American Neck Surgery,’ Vows Revenge

2024 was turning into a landmark year for Trent Beretta, as he broke away from his Best Friends, virtually retired Chuck Taylor, and decided to take a new path as part of The Don Callis Family. However, Beretta hasn’t wrestled since his match with Orange Cassidy at Double or Nothing in May due to a nagging injury, but details on what that injury was remained a mystery until very recently. Taking to X, Beretta revealed that he has recently undergone surgery to repair something in his neck. He wrote “quick little American neck surgery. turns out I wrestled so hard that two of the screws from my neck fusion broke. very cool. very tough. screws have been replaced. next I will be doing revenge.”

Beretta missed almost a full year of action in 2021 after having neck fusion surgery, only returning at the very end of that year. He had been dealing with issues with his neck for a number of years before joining AEW, and wasn’t exactly sure what the breaking point was. However, he did reveal that the initial injury came when he was performing motion capture footage for a WWE video game. As for his most recent surgery, nothing has been revealed in terms of a potential return to AEW.

The Don Callis Family hasn’t had the best of years thus far, as Beretta’s injury is the latest in a long line of absences and exits. Powerhouse Hobbs has been sidelined since April after suffering a knee injury in a match against Jon Moxley, Will Ospreay asked to leave the group after his loss to Swerve Strickland at Forbidden Door, and Konosuke Takeshita has also been away from AEW, as he is competing in the G1 Climax tournament in NJPW.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW’s Skye Blue Undergoing Surgery For Ankle Injury

AEW and Ring of Honor’s residency at Arlington, Texas’ eSports Stadium has so far been a success, with one notable exception; an injury to Skye Blue. The AEW star was wrestling Hikaru Shida last Saturday when a crossbody to the floor saw Shida land on Blue’s right leg, leading to the match being stopped. Days later, Blue’s boyfriend, AEW’s Kyle Fletcher, posted a photo of Blue back home, sporting a cast on her right foot, while reports confirmed Blue had suffered a broken ankle, though the severity of the break was unknown.

 Alas, it appears the injury was severe enough that Blue will be forced to go under the knife. Taking to X yet again on Tuesday morning, Fletcher posted a photo of Blue sitting on a bench outside a hospital. Fletcher asked fans to “send prayers & cat toys.” For her part, Blue seemed to be in good spirits, making a funny face for the photo while holding an energy drink.

https://twitter.com/kylefletcherpro/status/1818281409695367367

Neither Fletcher nor Blue have commented on the matter since then, leaving it uncertain whether Blue’s surgery was scheduled for today, or if it will take place at a later date. No timetable has emerged regarding how soon Blue could return to action following surgery, though recovery time from a broken ankle can vary from up to several months to as long as a year.

The injury comes at a poor time for Blue, who had been having arguably the best year of her career following a heel turn that saw her align with House of Black’s Julia Hart, herself out recovering from injury. Blue’s most notable match of the year came back in April, when she challenged Willow Nightingale for the AEW TBS Championship in a wild Manitoba Massacre match.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Absent AEW Star Sammy Guevara Returns During ROH Taping

As part of AEW’s temporary residency in Arlington, Texas, this summer, numerous Ring of Honor events have been and will continue to be taped in the city’s Esports Stadium. Yesterday’s taping was notable as it featured the return of a long-absent AEW star — Sammy Guevara. During the show, Guevara came to the aid of Dustin Rhodes as he was attacked by The Dark Order, indicating that the controversial wrestler will be starting out as a babyface.

Guevara has been absent from AEW since February, when the young performer was reportedly suspended after not following proper procedure when Jeff Hardy was concussed during a match. The AEW star made several more appearances after the match with Hardy but disappeared later that month, when reports first emerged about his suspension.

That suspension was said to have ended months ago, but Guevara has not been brought back to television until now. It looks as though the Houston, Texas, native will now factor into ROH before presumably making a return to AEW sometime in the future.

The incident with Hardy earlier this year was not the first time Guevara has been attached to controversy. In the past, Guevara was reported to have had physical confrontations backstage with both Eddie Kingston and Andrade El Idolo. 

Additionally, Guevara was previously suspended from AEW in 2020 over highly offensive comments he made regarding the former Sasha Banks on a podcast in 2016. At the time, Guevara apologized and Banks (now known as Mercedes Mone) acknowledged that the two had spoken privately. However, Guevara has not yet made an appearance in AEW proper since Mone debuted in March and it’s unclear if there are any lingering issues regarding the controversy.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

https://twitter.com/5StarBasile/status/1817674252054897117
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AEW Collision & Battle of the Belts XI Preview 7/27/2024

AEW will be running three hours live back-to-back tonight on TNT with a new episode of AEW Collision and Battle of the Belts XI. Tonight’s shows are being held at the Esports Stadium in Arlington, Texas as part of the Path to All In Summer Series.

Collision

  • Orange Cassidy vs. Johnny TV
  • The Beast Mortos vs. Hologram
  • MxM Collection vs. FTR
  • Thunder Rosa vs. Maya World
  • Premier Athletes vs. The Conglomeration
  • Lio Rush vs. PAC

Battle of the Belts XI

  • AEW Women’s World Championship Eliminator Match: Toni Storm (c) vs. Taya Valkyrie
  • CMLL Women’s World Championship Eliminator Match: Willow Nightingale (c) vs. Deonna Purrazzo
  • ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship Match: The Undisputed Kingdom (c) vs. Dustin Rhodes & The Von Erichs

Tony Khan Comments On Possibility Of Re-Branding ROH Programming Under AEW Umbrella

ROH’s annual Death Before Dishonor pay-per-view took place on July 26, leaving fans extremely satisfied with what they saw, as many are already praising the show for its quality wrestling and memorable moments. However, since Tony Khan purchased the promotion in 2022, there has been a notion that Khan doesn’t put as much effort or care into ROH as many would like, especially considering how influential the company was during its 2000s boom period.

During the Death Before Dishonor media scrum, Khan noted that ROH could potentially benefit from being re-branded in order to have more association with AEW, considering that AEW is much more recognizable in 2024. “It’s really interesting what the promotion has grown into, but I’m really proud of it,” Khan said. “I think ROH holds an important place. I recognize that AEW is at the very top of pro wrestling. The ROH brand could frankly benefit from even more association. I don’t think it’s out of the question to say or sacrilegious to say. I think it would only help grow the ROH brand if I were to license it or sublicense it if it were “AEW ROH.” I don’t think that’s a crazy thing or sacrilegious or bad. I think it would be good for everybody. People would see more of the connectivity that exists between promotions and what we’re going for.”

Khan also noted that if “AEW ROH” became a reality, it would likely give ROH more of a chance to be broadcast on Warner Bros. Discovery platforms, especially given that Khan is still in negotiations with WBD regarding AEW’s new media rights deal. ROH currently streams on the HonorClub subscription service, and is usually treated as a separate entity away from AEW.

Source: Wrestling Inc. with credit to AEW

AEW Rampage Preview 7/26/2024

Tonight’s AEW Rampage on TNT.

  • AEW Royal Rampage to earn shot at AEW World Title at AEW Dynamite Grand Slam
  • Kris Statlander vs. Leila Grey
  • The Outrunners (Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd) vs. Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen) vs. The Righteous (Dutch & Vincent) vs. Kyle Fletcher & RUSH
  • Lance Archer will be in action