Tag: AEW

Matt Hardy Comments On AEW Contract Expiring, Possible Return

Matt Hardy confirmed he is a free agent after his AEW contract expired earlier this month. Hardy reportedly rejected a new deal with AEW following his own admission that he had a formal contract offer on the table, and he provided further context on the matter during “The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy.” 

“I am a free agent right now,” he confirmed. “I have interacted with everyone, still interacting with AEW, and that’s where we’re at right now. Whenever my deal ended up running out, that allowed me the opportunity to negotiate and speak to everyone available, you know, really weigh all my options. That’s what I’m doing right now.”

Hardy joined AEW in 2020, not long after his WWE contract expired. Before his 2017 WrestleMania return to WWE, he had carved his way through the independent circuit and promotions like Ring of Honor and TNA. He confirmed that he has received many offers to return to the indies, but warned promoters that he was looking to get the best deal possible at this stage of his career. 

“Yes. I mean, I have [talked to other companies]… If you’re an indie promoter and you’re listening to this… I’m working on things, but if you don’t hear back from me don’t take it personally because I’m very overwhelmed with all the people that have reached out and requested… I’m working to get back to everybody as much as possible… I’m also gonna say I wanna make sure I go to the best place possible.” Furthermore, this could mean a return to AEW at some point.

Matt Hardy last wrestled for AEW during the January 5 episode of “AEW Rampage,” teaming alongside his brother Jeff Hardy and Mark Briscoe to defeat The Butcher, The Blade, and Kip Sabian. However, even as a free agent, Matt Hardy refuses to rule out a return to the promotion. 

“I think as time continued to move on and we were so close to the finish line, I do think I wanted to wait until everything ran out, and where I could weigh all my options. I could do things correctly from a legal standpoint and figure out what I wanna do next,” Hardy reasoned before reiterating, “I love AEW. I think AEW is paramount to the health of the pro wrestling industry. I’m a big advocate of the schedule they have, especially having four young children and a family, that kind of changes everything. You want your schedule to be as smart as possible when you get a little older, especially if you wanna be here to see your kids grow up. I am certainly not ruling [returning to AEW] out. I would love to do that because I do love the schedule.”

Hardy has previously said that either as a singles talent or teaming with his brother, he wants to ensure that he is optimized as he knows he has little left in the tank. Jeff Hardy reportedly remains signed with AEW, so any move elsewhere could spell the end of their reunion run. The brothers reunited in AEW in 2022 and looked on the cusp of capturing tag team gold again in the summer of that year. However, Jeff Hardy was arrested on a DUI, and they were subsequently removed from their championship match. 

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Jon Moxley Wins IWGP World Heavyweight Title with Historic Victory at NJPW Windy City Riot, Event Results

AEW’s Jon Moxley has added another massive accomplishment to his legendary career by becoming the new IWGP World Heavyweight Champion. 

In the main event of NJPW Windy City Riot, Moxley dethroned Tetsuya Naito for the gold. Naito had held the title since Wrestle Kingdom 18 in January 2024, where he had dethroned Sanada. 

Not only did Moxley win the gold, but he has also made history in the process. With this victory, the AEW star has become the first person to win the richest prize in New Japan, All Elite Wrestling, and WWE. 

After the match, Jon Moxley said he would not be decking any challengers and specifically singled out the Young Lions. He did, however, want to issue his first challenge and name his first title defense but fate had other plans.

Jon Moxley would call out Shota Umino, his personal young boy, and offer him his final exam in a match for the championship. Before Umino could answer the challenge, Ren Narita laid out MOX with a reinforced push-up bar.

Shota would eventually come out to save MOX and they both agreed that they would have a match for the championship once MOX exacted revenge on Narita. MOX promised Narita that he was a dead man walking.

No official date for Jon Moxley’s first championship defense has been set.

Moxley had two important allies by his side for his latest World Championship victory, most importantly his wife Renee Paquette.

AEW President Tony Khan was also spotted at the event and congratulated Mox on winning New Japan’s top prize in the same building where he first won the AEW World Championship.

NJPW Windy City Riot (4/12) Results

* Buy In: Matt Vandagriff def. Zane Jay

* Buy In: Alex Windsor & Trish Adora def. Mina Shirakawa & Viva Van

* Ren Narita def. Minoru Suzuki

– Narita hit Suzuki with a foreign object before pinning him.

* NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship: Stephanie Vaquer (c) def. AZM

– Alex Windsor challenges Vaquer for NJPW Resurgence

* NJPW STRONG Openweight Tag Team Championships: TMDK (Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste) def. Guerrillas Of Destiny (El Phantasmo & Hikuleo) (c), The West Coast Wrecking Crew (Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs), Fred Rosser & Tom Lawlor

– West Coast Wrecking Crew (Royce Isaacs and Jorel Nelson) attacked Rosser & Lawlor and cut Lawlor’s hair.

* Shota Umino def. Jack Perry

– Jack Perry played into the heat with CM Punk through the match, coming out with a Riot Squad. Ultimately, he shook Shota’s hand after the match.

* Mustafa Ali def. Hiromu Takashi

* Riot Rules Match: Gabe Kidd, KENTA, Clark Connors, & David Finlay def. Eddie Kingston, Homicide, TJP, & Jeff Cobb

– Afterward, Kingston declared that he would defend the NJPW STRONG Championship against Kidd in a No-Rope Last Man Standing Fight at NJPW Resurgence.

* NJPW World Television Championship: Zack Sabre Jr. def. Matt Riddle (c)

– Jeff Cobb wants a future title shot and has a brief confrontation with the new champion.

* Nic Nemeth def. Tomohiro Ishii

* IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Jon Moxley def. Tetsuya Naito (c)

– After, Jon Moxley cut a promo about wanting to be a fighting champion and not ducking the Young Lions. He challenges Shota Umino to be his first challenger but instead, he is attacked by Ren Narita who uses the same reinforced push-up bar that he hit Suzuki with earlier in the night on the new champion. Umino comes out to make the save but Moxley says Narita is a dead man.

AEW Collision & Battle Of The Belts X Preview 4/13/2024

AEW Collision & Battle of the Belts live on TNT from the Truist Arena in Highland Heights, KY.

Collision:

  • Bryan Danielson & Claudio Castangnoli vs. powerhouse Hobbs & Kyle Fletcher
  • AEW Women’s World Championship Eliminator Match: “Timeless” Toni Storm (c) vs. AZM
  • Lee Moriarty vs. Katsuyori Shibata
  •  House of Black vs. Dante Martin, Action Andretti & Matt Sydal

Battle of the Belts X:

  • AEW International Championship Eliminator Match: Roderick Strong (c) vs. Rocky Romero
  • FTW Championship Match: HOOK (c) vs. Shane Taylor
  • ROH Women’s Championship Match: Athena (c) vs. Red Velvet

AEW Rampage Preview 4/12/2024

AEW Rampage tonight on TNT.

  • AEW TBS Championship: Julia Hart (c) vs. Leyla Hirsch
  • Jay White vs. Matt Sydal
  • Orange Cassidy vs. Alex Reynolds
  • Cool Hand Ang vs. Zak Knight

Backstage Report Details Reactions To AEW All In Footage Being Aired

Wednesday night’s “AEW Dynamite” featured the controversial decision to air real security footage from the backstage altercation between CM Punk and Jack Perry at last year’s AEW All In pay-per-view. Now that the dust has settled, a new report from Fightful Select provides some insight into the reaction to the video from within AEW and WWE.

The response from industry insiders regarding the footage was referred to as “tepid,” with the attitude backstage in AEW reportedly deflating following the segment. However, it’s said that was largely due to the knowledge of the inevitable online backlash rather than offense over what was shown. Some AEW performers expressed their opinion that the TV time devoted to the Punk-Perry drama could have been better utilized by someone else, but the segment was intended to promote the upcoming rematch between the Young Bucks and FTR.

Matt and Nick Jackson introduced the clip onscreen and were said to have been fine with the segment; as was FTR, who are friends with Punk and responded to the clip with a promo of their own. As for the idea behind playing the footage, it was said to have come from AEW CEO Tony Khan following Punk’s interview with Ariel Helwani last week.

Inside WWE, the decision to air the footage was referred to by some as a “self-own,” while others informed the outlet that they simply didn’t care about the development. It was stated that Punk isn’t receiving any kind of blowback from the video internally, and people inside the company are more concerned with recovering from the hectic week surrounding WWE WrestleMania 40. One source who has spent time in both WWE and AEW downplayed the segment’s controversy, stating that it was the same kind of promotional ploy used by WWE and WCW during the Monday Night Wars.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW’s Hook Reportedly Considering Free Agency

Hook, the current AEW FTW Champion and considered one of the most promising young stars in AEW, is reportedly considering his options as he becomes a free agent later this year.

“SEScoops” has reported that the AEW star may not necessarily re-sign with AEW, while a source close to WWE reportedly claimed that the TKO-owned promotion may be interested in signing the 24-year-old. Hook won’t be the first person to leave Tony Khan’s company and join the juggernaut that is the WWE if it happens as the likes of CM Punk, Jade Cargill, Cody Rhodes, and Andrade joining the company in recent years. AEW, too, has signed some big-name stars in recent months, with the likes of Mercedes Mone, Will Ospreay, and Kazuchika Okada joining the roster. 

Hook joined his father and former WWE star Taz in AEW in 2020, debuting as part of Team Taz. He quickly rose through the ranks, and even got a fun catchphrase, “Send Hook,” which the internet wrestling community lapped up. The youngster, who is touted to be a big star in the pro wrestling industry, is currently in his second reign as the FTW Championship having won it from Jack Perry at All In last year. 

In his short career in AEW, Hook has shown that he can mix it up with the best, even earning a shot at the AEW World Champion Samoa Joe earlier this year, though he lost valiantly. He has also teamed with WWE Hall of Famer Rob Van Dam on a few occasions and is currently teaming with Chris Jericho.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Dynamite Preview 4/10/2024

AEW Dynamite will air live tonight on TBS and emanate from the Charleston Coliseum in Charleston, West Virginia.

  • AEW World Championship Eliminator Match: Samoa Joe (c) vs. Dustin Rhodes
  • TNT Championship: Adam Copeland (c) vs. Penta El Zero Miedo
  • Mariah May vs. Anna Jay
  • Chris Jericho, HOOK, & Katsuyori Shibata vs. Shane Taylor Promotions (Anthony Ogogo, Shane Taylor, & Lee Moriarty)
  • Matthew & Nicholas Jackson will reveal backstage footage from AEW All In at Wembley Stadium
  • Toni Storm to toast Thunder Rosa
  • Mercedes Mone expected to appear

AEW Rampage Preview 4/5/2024

Tonight’s AEW Rampage on TNT.

  • Malakai Black vs. Christopher Daniels 
  • AEW International Champion Roderick Strong vs. London Lightning
  • Serena Deeb vs. Trish Adora 
  • Daniel Garcia vs. Bryan Keith vs. Komander vs. Action Andretti in an Elimination match

AEW Dynamite Preview 4/3/2024

AEW Dynamite will air live tonight on TBS from the DCU Center in Worcester, MA.

  • Will Ospreay vs. Powerhouse Hobbs
  • AEW Women’s Title Eliminator: Thunder Rosa vs. Mariah May
  • AEW World Tag Team Championship Tournament Semifinal: Young Bucks vs. Best Friends
  • Billy Gunn vs. Jay White
  • Contract Signing for AEW World Title Match at Dynasty with Samoa Joe and Swerve Strickland
  • Chris Jericho calls out Hook

AEW’s Matt Hardy Offers Health Update For Brother Jeff

The beginning of 2024 seemed like a clean slate for former WWE Champion Jeff Hardy in AEW. After a stop/start career up until the end of 2023, matches with the likes of Darby Allin, Swerve Strickland, and Jon Moxley might not have gotten “The Charismatic Enigma” out of the loss column, but he seemed to be hitting on something of a career resurgence. Then he faced Sammy Guevara on an episode of “AEW Rampage,” which resulted in Hardy sustaining a broken nose, keeping him out of action for a number of weeks.

Speaking with WrestleZone, Jeff’s brother Matt Hardy was asked about Jeff’s health, and when AEW fans could expect to see him back in the ring, to which Matt said that he’s not far from a return. “His vision issues are good,” Hardy said. “He had to have surgery on his nose, he had some issues with his sinuses so he had surgery. I got three or four more weeks before he will be cleared to return.” Guevara was suspended from AEW following the match, as he did not follow concussion protocol, with doctors wanting him to go to the finish of his match with Hardy to check if Hardy had a serious head injury. Instead, Guevara hit his GTH finishing move (a knee to the head), resulting in his suspension.

Jeff joined his brother in AEW in March 2022 after walking out of a WWE house show in late 2021, but after a promising start that included a victory over The Young Bucks at Double or Nothing 2022, Jeff was suspended from AEW indefinitely following his DUI arrest in June 2022. He returned in March 2023, and will be hoping to keep his run of momentum going when he returns from injury in the near future.

Sources: Wrestling Inc. and WrestleZone