Over the weekend, news broke of AEW pulling Adam Page vs. PAC from this Saturday’s Double or Nothing card over creative differences.
PAC is the current Open the Dream Gate Champion for Dragon Gate and didn’t want to lose a match while holding the title. For AEW, they are focusing on wins/losses and didn’t want to have tie or DQ in the match. AEW is also reportedly looking at things long terms and while they didn’t necessarily have a problem with him beating Page, PAC’s next opponent was likely Kenny Omega and a win over Omega (or multiple opponents in a row) maybe wasn’t in the plans.
The PPV is slotted for four hours, so time was also a consideration as it would take up a big chunk of the show just for a tie/DQ to happen.
Last Saturday, Page showed up at a Wrestle Gate Pro event in Nottingham, England to confront PAC and answer his open challenge. The two had a match where Page won by DQ. Afterwards, PAC took down Page with a chair and told him he wouldn’t be coming to Double or Nothing or AEW as a way to write off the match.
So fans could still see a bout between the two wrestlers, AEW released the match today on its YouTube channel, which you can watch below. PAC could still return to the promotion at some point down the road. Page will be on Double or Nothing against a yet to be named opponent.
Double or Nothing will air on B/R Live and traditional PPV for $49.99 at 8 pm ET this Saturday. The Buy In pre-show will stream for free on All Elite Wrestling’s YouTube channel. Be sure to join us for complete live coverage of the show.
Yesterday, Adam Pageshowed up at a Wrestle Gate Pro event in Nottingham, England to confront PAC and answer his open challenge. The two had a match where Adam Page won by DQ. Afterwards, PAC took down Page with a chair and told him he wouldn’t be coming to Double or Nothing or AEW.
Initially, this all seemed like a way to hype their upcoming match at AEW Double or Nothing, but in actuality the match had been called off and this was how it was written off. It was reported the cancellation was do to creative differences as PAC (and Dragon Gate) didn’t want to lose a match while he’s the Open the Dream Gate Champion. AEW had other ideas for how they wanted the match to go and things weren’t lining up for the two sides.
Page will still have a match at the show against a yet to be named opponent.
On this morning’s Wrestler Observer Radio it was noted the bout in England will be streamed by AEW, most likely on Tuesday, as a way for fans to still be able to see a match between the two since it won’t be on Saturday’s PPV.
In terms of the match itself, AEW did not want a tie/DQ as they are looking for wins/losses in their matches, especially on PPVs. PAC previously went to 30-minute draws with Will Ospreay and Zack Sabre Jr., which drew boos and would probably get a similar reaction at Double or Nothing. Also, it was reported PPV time was a factor as AEW is working within a four hour limit and that match would take up a big chunk of time, only for a tie to happen.
Dave Meltzer also speculated AEW is looking at things long-term, PAC beating Page wasn’t so much a problem, but he would have to keep winning against bigger names to make the win against Page mean something. He felt Kenny Omega would have been next in line and AEW probably didn’t want to have PAC beat Omega at this point.
When PAC eventually drops his title, doing the DQ finish in England allows an easy reentry point for PAC, if he does return to AEW.
We regret to inform you that PAC will not be at WrestleCon. We worked diligently over the past several months with our attorneys to ensure that he successfully received a Visa to travel into the United States. Our Visa application was filed in a timely manner, all fees were paid to attorneys, and all required information was disclosed to government officials. Our attorneys were confident there would be no issue and based on their experience and expectation, we advertised PAC on the assumption there would be no problem obtaining a Visa. However, after exhausting all efforts, we were unable to provide PAC the appropriate Visa to travel and work in the United States. We understand and share your disappointment of this unanticipated outcome, as does PAC.
Further, we would like to clarify that in no way will this unfortunate incident have any impact on his future with AEW. This issue is isolated to WrestleCon only.
According to WrestleCon, refunds will be issued to everyone who purchased photo ops and autographs with PAC. They’ll also be changing all the advertisements so he’s no longer shown.
The new All Elite Wrestling promotion officially launched yesterday with their Double Or Nothing rally at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Florida.
The biggest news coming out of the rally was the signing of future WWE Hall of Famer Chris Jericho, who closed the rally and announced that he is all in with AEW. Jericho said he’s with AEW because he believes in doing something new and something different, not for the money because he’s already got the money.
AEW also announced that their Double Or Nothing event will take place on Saturday, May 25 in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. They announced a second AEW event for Jacksonville to be held at a later date but details were not released. There were also no details on a possible TV deal or any kind of online distribution but more announcements will be made in the future.
AEW Chief Brand Officer Brandi Rhodes spoke at the rally and confirmed the AEW women’s division, noting that they want this to be a strong division with the strongest women’s wrestlers in the world. Brandi said AEW cares about their female wrestlers and will be paying them equally with the male competitors. She said Cody agrees with her that there will be no sliding scale when it comes to pay. Regarding her role as CBO, Brandi said it will come with lots of hard work and long nights, but she is 100% committed to helping bring AEW to the level it’s supposed to be at, which she guaranteed.
Regarding the Khan family, several of the speakers gave thanks to Tony Khan and his father, Shad Khan. We noted that the Khans confirmed their roles with the company. Matt Jackson noted during the rally that the Khan family approached them after All In last year and asked them if they really wanted to change the world, then offered to really help make that happen.
It looks like AEW will be working with other promotions as well. Matt said they have come to an agreement with OWE (Oriental Wrestling Entertainment) in China, and that they will bring OWE into AEW to give them a major spotlight. Matt promised fans will love OWE if they’re not already familiar with them, praising the promotion for the “gifted” in-ring work they bring. It was also interesting that PAC (Neville) carried his Dragon Gate Open the Dream Gate Title when he came out for a confrontation with “Hangman” Page.
Cody Rhodes announced on Twitter before the really that former WWE Tag Team Champion Billy Gunn is the first agent for the promotion. He is the only producer announced as of this writing. Coming out of the rally, below is the confirmed roster for the promotion:
* Cody Rhodes (Executive Vice President)
* Matt Jackson of The Young Bucks (Executive Vice President)
* Nick Jackson of The Young Bucks (Executive Vice President)
* Brandi Rhodes (Chief Brand Officer)
* Billy Gunn (Agent)
* Chris Jericho
* PAC fka Neville
* “Hangman” Adam Page
* Britt Baker
* Joey Janela with Penelope Ford
* MJF
* Christopher Daniels of SoCal Uncensored
* Frankie Kazarian of SoCal Uncensored
* Scorpio Sky of SoCal Uncensored
The rally was trending on Twitter, before it even began. Hosts Conrad Thompson and Alex Marvez noted that more than 100,000 fans were watching the rally across the various platforms. I believe the YouTube stream peaked at around 60,000 live viewers. The rally featured pyro on the stage they used, and a larger fireworks display from inside the stadium, which is the home of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars mascot, Jaxson de Ville, and their cheerleaders were also featured.
Below is the video of Cody with Gunn, along with various shots from the press conference and the full stream video.
After roughly a year away from the ring, Neville — now working under his old ring name PAC — returned to wrestling Tuesday at a Dragon Gate show inside of Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall.
Neville, teaming with Eita Kobayashi, picked up the win in a tag match over Shingo Takagi and BxB Hulk with his signature “Red Arrow” finisher. Takagi is working his final matches with Dragon Gate.
According to multiple reports, the 32-year-old came out with the heel faction R.E.D. and cut a post-match promo on fans saying he’d destroy all their favorite stars.
It was reported in last week’s issue of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Neville has not been responding to promoters as best as they can tell, and has essentially gone “off the grid.” Neville was reportedly previously in talks with some promotions, however said that he wasn’t ready to start yet due to legal issues.
Neville had been unhappy with WWE creative and tried to get his release when he quit the company back in October of 2017. WWE officials did not grant the release when he quit because they didn’t want to set a precedent where talents under contract could walk out and go to New Japan Pro Wrestling, which is where it was expected Neville would end up. Neville’s contract was then frozen for ten months before his release was granted.
Neville is scheduled to return to Dragon Gate for a match on November 6th.
