Tag: AEW

Matt Hardy Gives Update On AEW Contract Negotiations

On the latest episode of the “Extreme Life of Matt Hardy” podcast, the AEW star discussed a wide range of topics. 

During this time, Hardy discussed his contract status with AEW ahead of its expiration this month. He was also at Monday’s WWE RAW after he and his wife were invited to sit in a suite by one of her friends. He said, 

“The reason it got even more buzz is people know my contract is coming up. I’m in the midst of contract negotiations. If you are trying to secure me under contract, I’m a guy you want. Whenever I work for your company, nobody waves the flag harder than I do. Whether it’s promoting the company on social media or promoting the hell out of all the positive the company offers. I do love AEW. There are some things I would like to change about my personal career there, and some of the things we’re doing, but overall I love AEW because it is very important for the pro wrestling industry. AEW needs to do well just because the pro wrestling industry doesn’t need just one huge company that is in control of everything. They need competition. Competition is what makes it thrive and what makes it better. For all the young kids coming up, competition needs to exist. I want AEW to do well and I want AEW to thrive. I want to be in a satisfactory position in what I’m doing in AEW. That’s where we’re at.

“Still negotiating and figuring things out. Once again, Tony Khan has taken great care of me. He’s been a good boss. I think Tony Khan is a great human being. At the end of the day, when it comes to making a decision about what I do next, it also comes down to making sure I’m happy and I’m comfortable with what I’m doing in all capacities across the board. There is a ton of value in both Matt and Jeff Hardy right now. If you’re online and don’t see that, I’m sorry, but social media does not reflect reality. People know who we are. I don’t want to say we’re household names, but if you’re a pro wrestling fan, you know who the Hardy Boys are. There are people I meet who are like, ‘You look like Matt Hardy, the Hardy Boys who did the ladder stuff.’ ‘Yeah, nice to meet you.’ I get recognized every day I go out in public. That’s promotion and press, you can’t buy that. I’ve been blessed with so much TV time over the years. There is huge value in Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, and the Hardys together, especially. That is when we’re at our most value. There is value in both of us. Once again, I want to be used to the best of my ability and get the most out of my value.”

Source: eWn

Backstage Update On Jack Perry’s AEW Hiatus

Tony Khan continues to hold a grudge against Jack Perry following CM Punk’s AEW departure and that’s why he hasn’t brought him back to television.

Perry had been absent from the scene for several months after the incident involving CM Punk at AEW All In last August. This incident resulted in Perry’s suspension. Despite Perry now working with NJPW, he remains under contract with AEW. 

Perry disregarded Punk’s advice against using real glass during a TV segment. Perry performed a spot on a car windshield at All In 2023 and made a reference to using real glass on camera, which led to the physical altercation backstage.

Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Perry will be brought back after his NJPW run.

“The way we’ve heard it, was that he was sent home after Wembley and never heard back from Khan. He apologized, kept texting him about he never meant to cause any trouble and was sorry. He did hear from the company through lawyers. Then they talked and he apologized to Khan. But he still hasn’t been brought back. What they are doing now in Japan is storyline to lead to an eventual return,” Meltzer wrote.

Source: eWn

Tony Khan Provides Update On Kenny Omega’s AEW Status, Won’t Set Timetable For Return

AEW President Tony Khan has opened up about how former AEW World Champion Kenny Omega is doing and if a return might be on the cards for him. Omega was taken out of action indefinitely at the end of 2023 after being diagnosed with diverticulitis, an illness that could have been fatal had Omega not seen doctors when he did.

“The Cleaner” has since been spotted on Twitch where he has been streaming video games and talking wrestling, and seems in high spirits which has got a lot of people feeling good about seeing him return to the ring. Khan shares this optimism with the fans as he stated in an interview with “ComicBook Nation” that, while he would love to see Omega back in action, he doesn’t want to rush things. 

“We miss Kenny Omega very much,” Khan said. “Hopefully he will be back with us soon and certainly I think the fans will be clamoring for his return and there will be a massive ovation if and when Kenny Omega does come back to AEW. I don’t want to put pressure on it, he was really in a bad way and I don’t want to put a timetable or try to rush him back. But I’m optimistic we’ll see Kenny Omega again and certainly, it’s something for all the fans to look forward to. I think everybody’s going to go crazy when Kenny does come back, which I think we’re all very optimistic about.”

When Omega does come back, he will have to deal with the drama of The Young Bucks, who publicly fired him from The Elite on an episode of “AEW Dynamite” in March 2024 after they said he was not making any of his dates for no good reason.

Source: Wrestling Inc. credit to ComicBook Nation

AEW Dynamite & Rampage Preview 3/20/2024

AEW Dynamite will air live tonight on TBS from the Coca-Cola Coliseum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, followed by a special live Wednesday night episode of Rampage.

Dynamite

  • TNT Championship – I Quit Match: Christian Cage (c) vs. Adam Copeland
  • AEW Continental Championship: Eddie Kingston (c) vs. Kazuchika Okada
  • We’ll hear from Mercedes Mone
  • Deonna Purrazzo & Thunder Rosa vs. Toni Storm & Mariah May
  • Chris Jericho vs. Hook

Rampage

  • Street Fight: Kris Statlander & Willow Nightingale vs. Julia Hart & Skye Blue
  • AEW Tag Team Championship Tournament Wildcard Match: Best Friends (Orange Cassidy & Trent Beretta) vs. Don Callis Family (Kyle Fletcher & Powerhouse Hobbs)

Backstage Update On Jack Perry’s Hiatus From AEW

Dave Meltzer, during today’s on Wrestling Observer Radio, revealed that Tony Khan continues to hold a grudge against Jack Perry following CM Punk’s AEW departure and that’s why he hasn’t brought him back to television.

Perry had been absent from the scene for several months after the incident involving CM Punk at AEW All In last August. This incident resulted in Perry’s suspension and Punk’s release. Despite Perry now working with NJPW, he remains under contract with AEW.

The altercation occurred when Perry disregarded Punk’s advice against using real glass during a TV segment. Perry performed a spot on a car windshield at All In and made a reference to using real glass on camera, which led to the physical altercation.

Source: eWn

AEW Collision Preview 3/16/2024

Tonight’s AEW Collision Live on TNT from the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Ontario, CA.

  • Bryan Danielson vs. Katsuyori Shibata
  • TBS Championship – Open House Match: Julia Hart (c) vs. Trish Adora
  • AEW Tag Team Title Tournament Wild Card Match: House of Black vs. The Infantry
  • Kyle O’Reilly vs. Bryan Keith
  • PAC vs. Komander
  • We’ll hear from Adam Copeland

Darby Allin Injured In AEW Dynamite: Big Business Match, Mt. Everest Climb Postponed

Over 6,000 people have climbed Mount Everest, but after a TMZ report and Darby Allin himself posting an x-ray image of his broken foot onto X (formerly known as Twitter) it has become very clear that Allin will not be joining that exclusive club any time soon.

Allin faced off against “Switchblade” Jay White this past Wednesday on “AEW Dynamite: Big Business,” presumably his final match before leaving to climb Everest on March 27. Two minutes into the match (according to TMZ) he landed awkwardly, and after holding his now-injured foot briefly, limped back to a standing position. Allin ultimately finished the match against White, who pinned him following a Blade Runner.

Eerily, there were already plans in place for White and Bullet Club Gold to give Allin a kayfabe ankle injury after the match, which would have served to write Allin off of TV during his Everest trip. Allin completed the segment, broken foot and all. In his X post, he linked to the TMZ article, which confirmed his injury with a picture of the bandaged foot and a corresponding x-ray.

The extent of Allin’s foot injury is currently unknown. He had recently made headlines following an audacious glass pane high spot at AEW Revolution, and any timeline regarding his return to in-ring action is unclear as of this writing.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Rampage Preview 3/15/2024

Tonight’s AEW Rampage on TNT.

  • The Undisputed Kingdom (Matt Taven, Mike Bennett, & Roderick Strong) vs. Action Andretti & Top Flight (Dante & Darius Martin)
  • Best Friends (Orange Cassidy & Trent Beretta) vs. The Dark Order (Evil Uno & John Silver)
  • AEW Women’s World Champion Toni Storm & Mariah May in tag team action
  • AEW World Tag Team Championship Tournament Bracketology

Paul Wight Announces He Will Return To The Ring Soon

Paul Wight is returning to the ring soon.

The former WWE Grand Slam Champion posted a clip to his Instagram account where he announced his impending AEW in-ring return.

Wight last competed on the Chris Jericho Cruise in January. He last competed on AEW TV in November of last year.

You can check out Wight’s clip below:

New AEW Star Mercedes Mone Was Initially Told Her 2023 Ankle Injury Was Career-Ending

New AEW star Mercedes Mone has revealed that she was informed last year that she would never be able to wrestle again due to an injury she had suffered. 

Mone, in a recent interview with “Sports Illustrated,” stated that she suffered a nasty ankle injury in her match with Willow Nightingale last year, following which her doctor told her that she may not be able to wrestle again.

“I got an MRI in May, and the surgeon told me, ‘This is career-ending.’ That was the biggest shock in my whole life. I’d never really been injured like this before,” said the former WWE star. 

Despite the shocking prognosis given by her doctor, Mone was determined to get back in the ring, which she also told her doctor.

“It was devastating when I was told I was never going to come back. But I always knew I would be back, and I told that to my surgeon. Now I’m healthy and my surgeon is calling his mentor saying, ‘Look at what happened here, it’s incredible.’ I don’t like being told no. I always believed I would be back, and now it’s true,” said Mone.

The former Sasha Banks added that the ankle injury was extremely painful, even more than her injury at Hell in a Cell, which she called the worst injury in her career. She described her injury as a “fight every day” and detailed how she couldn’t put weight on her ankle for three months.

Mone made her highly-awaited AEW debut his past week on “AEW Dynamite: Big Business,” where she opened the show and explained her reasons for arriving at AEW, even highlighting how she and Nightingale have unfinished business. The former “WWE Raw” Women’s Champion hasn’t wrestled since her match against Nightingale last May, where she lost the NJPW Strong Women’s title to her fellow AEW star.

Source: Wrestling Inc.