Tonight’s AEW Rampage on TNT at 10/9c.
Fans should go into the much-anticipated AEW All In 2023 pay-per-view event without an idea as to what matches are taking place, according to Bully Ray.
The August 27th show will be AEW’s most-attended event in the promotion’s history, as well as the company’s first event outside of North America.
On a recent edition of the “Busted Open Radio” podcast, Bully Ray shared why he feels fans should go into the event totally blind. He said,
“You’ve already put 77,000 people in the house. Every match, every entrance becomes a surprise. To me, you’re sitting on the edge of your seat. It’s almost like a Royal Rumble over an entire show. “
I think this is the show where people at home don’t need to know anything. They’re gonna buy it no matter what, otherwise they’ll suffer from FOMO. I think the excitement of not knowing anything draws me in more.”
Despite Ray’s suggestion, this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite saw the main event of All In 2023 be announced – AEW World Champion MJF vs. Adam Cole for the title.
Source: eWn
After a lengthy period of negotiations, it was announced yesterday that The Elite had signed new contracts with All Elite Wrestling, ensuring Tony Khan won’t have to think of another fitting adjective that starts with “E” — at least not for another few years.
On the latest “Wrestling Observer Radio,” journalist Dave Meltzer stated that all four members agreed they would stick together, leaving their destination up to a majority vote. Opinions, and votes, amongst the group reportedly changed over the course of negotiations, but all four eventually agreed to stay with AEW.
Additionally, Meltzer said he had heard about four-year deals being signed by all four, but neither he nor co-host Bryan Alvarez could confirm that number. The nature of AEW’s schedule, as opposed to the more grueling schedule of WWE, was reportedly the critical factor for the four men in their decision to stay. While he wasn’t sure of the exact day the contracts were signed, Meltzer believes the deals were put together several weeks ago.
Following the announcement of their new contracts, all four members of The Elite appeared on “AEW Dynamite” last night. Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks faced Jeff Jarrett, Jay Lethal, and Satnam Singh in a trios match. Following the match, “Hangman” Adam Page, along with Matt and Jeff Hardy, came to the aid of Omega and the Jackson brothers.
With less than four weeks until AEW All In at Wembley Stadium, possible match-ups for the members of The Elite are still up in the air. The group recently concluded a lengthy feud against the Blackpool Combat Club, and last night’s episode didn’t quite seem to set up what’s next for the faction. However, it was teased that fans can expect to see The Elite on “AEW Collision” soon in addition to “Dynamite.”
Source: Wrestling Inc.
WWE Hall of Famer Rob Van Dam has arrived in All Elite Wrestling.
During Wednesday night’s episode of AEW Dynamite, the ECW legend came out to confront Jack Perry during the latter’s face-off with Jerry Lynn.
While Lynn said there was no way he would be able to be cleared to face Perry, he brought out his old friend in “The Whole F’n Show” Rob Van Dam.
Perry wound up retreating through the crowd as Lynn and RVD hugged.
Later in a backstage interview segment RVD issued a challenge to Perry for a FTW Title match.
It was announced that next week on Dynamite, RVD will face Perry for the FTW title in a FTW Rules Match.
Tonight’s AEW Dynamite, live on TBS is the 200th episode. The show will take place from the Yuengling Center in Tampa, Florida.
Sports Illustrated reported today that The Elite (Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, and Hangman Page) have each signed new multi-year deals with the company.
The article added Omega and the Bucks will also continue in their roles as Executive Vice Presidents.
Their deals were slated to expire at the end of this year and reportedly had interest from WWE.
“I’m excited to share that Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, and Hangman Adam Page will all be staying in AEW for years to come,” AEW owner Tony Khan said in a statement. “We look forward to celebrating the great news with fans around the world.”
Tony Khan confirmed that the new deals with The Elite were inked before tonight’s 200th episode of “AEW Dynamite,”
Here are the statements made by Omega and The Young Bucks:
Kenny Omega: “Our original goal was to create a wrestling alternative and give a platform to talented people that we’d all felt deserved a spotlight,” he said. “I feel like we did our best in that time, and hopefully some people you’d never heard of pre-AEW are folks you enjoy watching today. Or if you knew them from their previous work elsewhere, have maybe found a new appreciation for them. That feeling, combined with the feeling of knowing they can provide for themselves and their family doing what they love, was always the biggest reward of being an EVP/founder. Pro wrestling has a presence almost everywhere on the planet,” he continued. “In my pursuit to become as complete of a performer as possible, my goal was always to experience the styles of the world at their highest level. I believe that with AEW’s current working relationships, and possibly future, I can challenge all forms of pro wrestling and diversify my style so that I’m equipped for any scenario I may encounter in the ring. I was careful to weigh out all options and was open minded to all possibilities,” said Omega. “I’m here to help whomever I can while I’m still around. Up to this point, I’ve made the choice to sacrifice everything in the name of pro wrestling. I can’t say that family or my kids influenced the decision to stay with AEW–I’m not married and without kids–but what I can say is that I’m incredibly proud of my match catalog and the wonderful people I’ve met and continue to meet. AEW not only allows me to continue doing what I do at a high level, but allows the freedom to pursue some other passions I have in life–which, after nearly 25 years in the ring, have become more and more important to me.”
Matt Jackson: “We’re literally the ‘E’ in AEW,” he said. “The Elite are the main characters of this company. No matter how different AEW is now from its original inception, we are the DNA. And if you lose the foundation of your home, it eventually collapses. It’d be a lie if I said that didn’t weigh on us, when making the decision. In my older years of my career, being closer to the end than I am the beginning, I’m not really one who worries much about my legacy anymore,” he continued. “I’ve kind of noticed, like a summer tan, most memories fade. Or, they’re remembered differently or told with errors anyway. Oftentimes the memory is almost instantly forgotten, because you hit the refresh button. As far as my own personal stories, I’ll have enough to retell my grandchildren for a lifetime. And much of those stories can be about how I helped create a massively successful wrestling company where all of your favorites can be seen on live television every week.”
Nick Jackson: “If we’re going to be honest the schedule was a huge part of it,” he said. “I have a wife and three young children and seeing them as much as possible was a big factor. I’m not going to lie, the money was a huge factor, too. At this point of my life and career, I just couldn’t see myself being on the road half of the year or even more than that. I have so much respect for the guys and girls that are able to do that year after year. We for sure could’ve made memories in WWE, but what’s more important to me is making memories with my family. With the position we’re in, I’ll be able to do that and still make memories in AEW.”
AEW Collision Live tonight on TNT at 8/7C from the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut.
Tonight’s AEW Rampage on TNT at 10/9c.
Former AEW Women’s World Champion Jamie Hayter hasn’t competed in a match since May when she lost her title to Toni Storm at Double Or Nothing. Since then, she’s been sidelined with an injury suffered around that time and while talk of her recovery timeline has stayed relatively quiet, it’s very possible she may not be back in time for AEW’s biggest show to date.
According to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, there have been conversations that she won’t be ready as AEW travels to London for All In at the end of August. The highly anticipated Wembley Stadium show currently has no matches announced, but with over 74,000 tickets sold, AEW will have all eyes of the wrestling world on it to see what kind of show it’s able to put on at such a great scale.
Hayter is one of the few British wrestlers on the AEW roster, so it makes sense that Tony Khan would like to book one of the hometown heroes from the U.K. on the show. This is one of the reasons why the likely inclusion of Will Ospreay at All In is such an attractive option.
Hayter had been feuding against The Outcasts at the time of her injury, with the women’s faction credited for causing it on television. That still opens up the possibility for all sorts of vengeance upon her return, especially with Toni Storm still walking around with that belt around her waist. A confrontation between Hayter and Saraya — both from the U.K. — would have been massive at Wembley, and is something the latter admitted she wanted to happen. But all of those may be off the table as All In swiftly approaches and Hayter’s return looks no closer.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Jack Perry’s recent heel turn may have awakened the sleeping giant that is Extreme Championship Wrestling, with the newly-crowned FTW Champion berating the now-defunct company on the July 26 edition of “AEW Dynamite.” After defeating his former tag partner HOOK a week prior, Perry took aim at the iconic hardcore promotion and one of its biggest stars Taz (who’s also HOOK’s father), before being interrupted by AEW producer and former ECW wrestler Jerry Lynn.
With AEW President Tony Khan publicly expressing his love of ECW throughout the years, one of the company’s greatest performers — tag team legend and WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray – believes he could be the perfect person to help take Perry to the next level.
“If the story went down the ECW road and I showed up in the right town … there’s monster business to be done there,” Bully said on “Busted Open.”
“This is not me blowing smoke up my own ass … if you announced that Bully Ray, or even Tommy Dreamer to the matter, were showing up on ‘AEW Dynamite’ on whatever week it was, to come face-to-face and confront Jack Perry, you’re doing over a million viewers. Guaranteed.
“Tommy fits the part the best. Him and Taz were the bestest of best friends, Tommy was Taz’ best man at his wedding. The story is so deep, it’s there if you want to go down the ECW road. If you do go down that ECW road, you will make Jack Perry a bigger star at the end of this story than you can with any other talent that’s in ECW right now.”
Dreamer and Bully Ray have both remained active in recent months, while the likes of Rob Van Dam and Rhyno have also been suggested as potential opponents for Perry on social media. The likelihood of Taz being the ECW legend to topple Perry is minuscule, with the former world champion continuing to reiterate his retirement from in-ring competition.
Source: Wrestling Inc. with credit to “Busted Open”
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