Tag: AEW

Johnny TV (John Hennigan) Returns To AEW On Rampage

John Hennigan has returned to All Elite Wrestling, now going by the name of Johnny TV.

John Hennigan returned to AEW on this week’s Rampage as Johnny TV, joining forces with QT Marshall and his group. Hennigan made his return to AEW at Friday’s show, coming down to the ring to attack Billy Gunn during a segment where QTV was confronting Gunn and The Acclaimed. The group beat the babyfaces down and Hennigan — referred to as Johnny TV by the commentators — celebrated with the group.

Hennigan’s last appearance in AEW was in June of last year, when he faced Miro in a losing effort. Hennigan has reportedly signed a deal with AEW and will be there going forward.

AEW Rampage Preview 6/23/2023

Tonight’s AEW Rampage on TNT at 10/9c.

  • MJF appears for the first time on Rampage
  • Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament quarterfinal: Anna Jay A.S. vs. Skye Blue
  • CHAOS (Rocky Romero, Chuck Taylor, Trent Beretta & Yoh) vs. United Empire (Will Ospreay, Kyle Fletcher & Jeff Cobb) and Swerve Strickland
  • “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry vs. Douki
  • The Acclaimed in action

Bryan Danielson Reportedly ‘Banged Up’ Ahead Of AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door

At this juncture of his career, every Bryan Danielson match is like “an occasion” for ardent pro wrestling fans. In 2023, “The American Dragon” has wrestled all of seven matches, with his last two bouts coming on pay-per-view — Anarchy in the Arena at Double or Nothing and the Iron Man Match against MJF at Revolution. Prior to that, Danielson wrestled a rare bout on television against Rush on February 8 as part of his gauntlet of matches to get to MJF. 

According to Fightful Select, there is a good reason for Danielson’s limited in-ring schedule, and it’s to do with the veteran wrestler being “banged up” of late. The report noted that Danielson’s compromised health is the reason why he performed limited spots in the Anarchy in the Arena match, and did not wrestle at all following his 60-minute Iron Man Match for the AEW World Championship. 

Furthermore, fans must have noticed that Danielson has largely avoided physical contact in several brawls of late, be it the brawls pitting his Blackpool Combat Club against The Elite, or his recent run-in with NJPW star Kazuchika Okada. As such, to make up for his limited participation in brawls, Danielson has routinely worked commentary during BCC’s matches, per Fightful. The report added that Danielson has been “heavily involved in creative in the first several weeks of AEW Collision,” a function he also undertook during his final year in WWE. In fact, Dave Meltzer reported in June that Danielson already wields a lot of influence in AEW’s booking decisions, suggesting that Danielson was serious about expanding his backstage role with AEW.  

Fightful did not go into specific details about Danielson’s nagging injuries, and whether they would affect his performance in the main event of Sunday’s Forbidden Door pay-per-view against

Source: Wrestling Inc.

“Top Name” Left AEW Dynamite In Bad Mood – Punk/Elite Situation Is A “Ticking Time Bomb” (Report)

One of the top stars in AEW was in a foul mood following this week’s episode of Dynamite which saw CM Punk appear on the broadcast.

Punk made his first appearance on Dynamite in months this week and earned an electric response from the crowd in his native Chicago.

When a deal was reached to bring Punk back to TV, it was believed that Punk would keep to AEW Collision while the Elite would remain fixtures of Dynamite.

In the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reports that one “top name” of AEW was in a bad mood following this week’s Dynamite.

That top name, who was not named in the report, described the atmosphere within AEW due to the Punk-Elite situation as a potential “ticking time bomb.”

Source: eWn

The 2023 Owen Hart Cup Tournament Brackets Revealed

Following this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite, we now have the official brackets for the men’s and women’s Owen Hart Cup Tournament. Two of the matches will be taking place at Sunday night’s AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door II pay-per-view event.

We’ll see CM Punk facing off against Satoshi Kojima at Forbidden Door II in the men’s tournament, while Billie Starkz will face Athena in the women’s tournament at the same show.

You can check out the complete brackets below:

  • Men’s Tournament:
  • CM Punk vs. Satoshi Kojima (Forbidden Door)
  • Roderick Strong vs. Samoa Joe (June 29th AEW Collision)
  • Dustin Rhodes vs. Powerhouse Hobbs (June 29th AEW Collision)
  • Juice Robinson vs. Ricky Starks (June 29th AEW Collision)
  • Women’s Tournament:
  • Britt Baker vs. Ruby Soho (June 28th AEW Dynamite)
  • Anna Jay.A.S. vs. Sky Blue (June 23rd AEW Rampage)
  • Nyla Rose vs. Willow Nightingale (June 24th AEW Collision)
  • Athena vs. Billie Starkz (Forbidden Door)

AEW Dynamite Preview 6/21/2023

Tonight’s AEW Dynamite, live on TBS, is the final show before this Sunday’s Forbidden Door II pay-per-view.

  • TBS Championship Open Challenge: Kris Statlander (c) vs. Taya Valkyrie
  • Concession Stand Brawl: Jeff Jarrett vs. Mark Briscoe
  • Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara and Minoru Suzuki vs. Action Andretti, Darius Martin and AR Fox
  • Blind Eliminator Tournament for an AEW Tag Team Title Opportunity. Several sources have indicated this match is believed to be the Lethal Lottery concept that was first introduced by WCW at Starrcade 1991.
  • The Hardys vs. The Gunns
  • Orange Cassidy and Katsuyori Shibata vs. Zack Sabre Jr. and Daniel Garcia
  • We will hear from both Adam Cole and Eddie Kingston
  • Bryan Danielson to call out Kazuchika Okada

As of this writing F4WOnline is reporting that The Elite are only expected to appear in a pre-taped segment. There is still no confirmation CM Punk will appear live. However, tonight’s show is taking place live from the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois.

Pwinsider reports that there are a number of New Japan talents in the United States. It’s very likely that some NJPW stars will appear on Dynamite. 

Update On Ticket Sales Following Saturday’s AEW Collision Premiere

It was reported last week that All Elite Wrestling had been struggling to shift tickets for upcoming live episodes of “AEW Collision” in Canada and the United States. The premiere broadcast of “Collision” took place this past Saturday night, and now an update has been provided regarding ticket sales across the board. 

“AEW has picked up on ticket sales, though, in a lot of markets since Saturday,” Dave Meltzer said on the “Wrestling Observer Radio” show. “‘Collision’ and ‘Dynamite.’ You know what? It sometimes only takes a big angle, and people think there’s a big angle. The problem is there may not be a big angle. But I think people think that there is because if you watch the TV, you’d probably come to the conclusion that there is. 

“So yeah, ticket sales are up for several of the shows. Some of the Canadian shows are also having to do with lowering ticket prices. Hamilton and Toronto both lowered prices. I think they were doing four packs, where you could get four tickets for, like, 16.50 each. So that sold a decent amount of tickets. Toronto’s still down, but it’s for Saturday, but it’s over three thousand, so it’s not horrible. If they get to four, I would say, based on what they’ve been doing, I would say that’s okay. If it’s at 2,500 or 3,000, I wouldn’t call that good. Chicago might sell out Wednesday night, though.” 

The debut episode of “Collision” saw CM Punk return to the promotion for the first time since the All Out pay-per-view last September. It has been reported that Punk may appear on this week’s episode of “AEW Dynamite” at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois. 

Source: Wrestling Inc.

CM Punk Rumored To Be At This Week’s AEW Dynamite, Not The Elite

After making his return to the ring on Saturday night, CM Punk is now rumored to show up again this Wednesday on “AEW Dynamite,” per Fightful Select.

Punk turning up on Wednesday is not officially announced, but as of this past weekend those close to Punk had claimed he was planned to be part of the June 21 show, which also happens to be in Chicago. However, his possible appearance seems to mean that The Elite will not be present, as they’re not expected to be in Chicago later this week, which was also the case this past Saturday. 

“AEW Dynamite” takes place at the Wintrust Arena on Wednesday, but Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks have reportedly already done pre-tapes to ensure that they’re still part of the show without being in the arena physically. This will allow their angles to continue progressing with the trio currently feuding against Blackpool Combat Club while Omega has issues with Konosuke Takeshita and Will Ospreay as well. 

It has previously been reported that Punk and The Elite will be getting kept separate following their long-standing issues following the infamous ‘Brawl Out’ situation. There have been conflicting claims regarding a brand split, but it appears that Punk could end up floating between both shows, even though he is being pushed as the face of “Collision.” WBD officials have been expecting Punk to be part of “AEW Dynamite,” which could be why he is turning up. 

During his promo segment on Collision, Punk took a not-so-subtle shot at The Young Bucks by saying that Warner Bros. Discovery President David Zaslav nicknamed him “one bill Phil,” due to the fact that he was authentic and draws money, unlike some “counterfeit bucks.” Punk seemed to give a mock apology by saying he is a “money maker” who isn’t “soft.” Punk said the money he makes isn’t “counterfeit bucks.”

Punk referred to the fact he never officially lost the AEW World Championship during his return promo on “Collision,” referencing current champion MJF in the process. Therefore that could be part of his appearance, meanwhile, AEW could look to set up a match for him at the upcoming AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door event, with a dream match against KENTA being something that fans have speculated about.

Sources: Wrestling Inc. and eWn

Jim Ross Apologizes For How He Sounded At AEW Collision – Stepping Away To Heal

AEW commentator Jim Ross has apologized for his performance during the premiere episode of AEW Collision.

Ross appeared during last night’s episode of Collison, mere hours after suffering a fall that resorted in the legendary broadcaster sporting a nasty black eye.

Taking to Twitter, Ross apologized for the way he sounded on commentary and announced that he would be taking time off to heal.

https://twitter.com/JRsBBQ/status/1670271806668787712

Source: eWn

Preview For The Debut Of AEW Collision 6/17/2023

Tonight is the debut of AEW’s new weekly 2-hour TV show Collision on TNT at 8/7C from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.

  • The Return of CM Punk
  • CM Punk & FTR vs. Samoa Joe & Bullet Club Gold
  • AEW TNT Championship: Wardlow (c) vs. Luchasaurus
  • Miro vs. TBA
  • Skye Blue & Willow Nightingale vs. Toni Storm & Ruby Soho
  • Buddy Matthews vs. Andrade El Idolo
  • We’ll hear from The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn