Category: AEW News

AEW wrestler loses championship at CMLL event

Posted on by Vincent Verhei

Mercedes Mone is now down to eight belts.

The now former CMLL World Women’s Champion lost the title to Persephone in Arena Mexico on Friday night. The title match went 18:40 and main evented CMLL’s La Noche de la Amazonas, an all-women’s show. 

Mone began the match by putting on a lucha mask and taunting the fans. When the action spilled outside fans (or perhaps Persephone’s family members) doused Mone with beer. Persephone would then go on to hit a springboard frog splash and pin Mone clean in the ring. The locker room emptied to celebrate with Persephone, though she wasn’t friendly with everyone.

Other AEW wrestlers had more luck than Mone on the show. Megan Bayne (subbing for the injured Penelope Ford) pinned Olympia, while Mina Shirakawa defeated Zeuxis.

Mone had won the championship from Zeuxis at Grand Slam Mexico last June. She defended the title three times, including one defense against Persephone last October. 

Persephone, who debuted in 2016, is best known for her work in CMLL. In 2024, she won the promotion’s 2024 Campeonato de Amazons, a tournament to crown CMLL’s top luchadora, defeating Zeuxis in the finals. She defeated Olympia in a top contender’s match in February. 

Persephone has also wrestled several times for ROH, and has appeared on multipromotional events such as Forbidden Door and Wrestle Dynasty.

Bandido match announced for WrestleCon SuperShow

Posted on by Vincent Verhei

One of the world’s best wrestlers has been booked for WrestleMania week in Las Vegas.

WrestleCon announced on social media that ROH World Champion Bandido would be appearing at the Mark Hitchcock Memorial Supershow on April 16. His opponent: Galeno Del Mal. 

Galeno, a seven-year pro, is a member of lucha libre’s famous Wagner family. (His brother, El Hijo Del Dr. Wagner Jr., debuted on WWE SmackDown on Friday night.) A former GHC National Champion, he has primarily been appearing for Pro Wrestling NOAH in Japan lately. 

However, he has also been a regular in WWE-owned AAA. In 2025, he competed against several WWE wrestlers, including El Grande Americano, Cruz Del Toro, and Joaquin Wilde. That makes his matchup with AEW/ROH star Bandido an intriguing one.

Bandido has been ROH champion for nearly a year, having won the title from Chris Jericho last April. In AEW, he is a former Dynamite Diamond Ring winner and also a former World Tag Team Champion with Brody King. 

Bandido finished second behind Konosuke Takeshita for the Most Outstanding Wrestler award in the 2025 Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards. The ROH Championship match between Bandido and Takeshita at Supercard of Honor on July 11 finished second in the Pro Wrestling Match of the Year awards. 

The WrestleCon Mark Hitchcock Memorial Supershow takes place at 3 p.m. on Thursday, April 16, at the Horseshoe in Las Vegas. The event will stream live on Thriller TV. 

AEW stars MJF, Brody King announced for upcoming indie dates

Posted on by Joseph Currier

AEW wrestlers MJF and Brody King have each been announced for upcoming indie dates.

– Beyond Wrestling has revealed that MJF will return to the promotion for the first time since 2019. He’s set to appear at Beyond’s Break the Walls Down event that’s being held in Cranston, Rhode Island on June 5.

– King’s booking is for House of Glory Wrestling in Las Vegas on April 16. The show — titled Culture Clash — is taking place on the Thursday of WrestleMania week as part of Slam Fest, a multi-promotional event that’s being put on by Mojo Rawly’s talent agency Paragon Talent Group. Matt & Jeff Hardy are among the other wrestlers set to compete on the House of Glory card.

Opponents have not been announced yet for either MJF or King.

MJF is the current AEW World Champion. He’s taken to working some indie dates during his reign, already having matches against Alec Price for Limitless Wrestling and Zilla Fatu for House of Glory. MJF’s schedule also includes an appearance for One Fall Wrestling in McDonough, Georgia on March 26.

A World title feud between MJF and King recently took place in AEW with MJF retaining at Grand Slam Australia. MJF is now set to defend against Hangman Page in a Texas Death match at AEW Revolution 2026 on March 15.

Samoa Joe says he’ll be back in AEW ‘sooner than later’

Posted on by Ian Carey

Samoa Joe says he expects to be back in AEW “sooner than later.”

Speaking to SoCal Val at a Monopoly Events show in Manchester recently, Joe was asked what’s next for him and responded:

“We’ll be back at AEW sooner than later. And then aside from that, season 3, Twisted Metal forthcoming. And a few other things we can’t talk about.”

Joe has been out of action since it was revealed on the January 28 edition of AEW Dynamite that he was not cleared to compete due to having suffered a “non-contact injury” during training. Since Joe’s absence from AEW programming, HOOK has taken over temporary leadership of The Opps and has been shown in backstage segments recruiting new members to the group.

Twisted Metal was renewed for a third season in November. Filming is expected to begin later this year. Joe plays the role of Sweet Tooth in the show, although the character’s voice is provided by actor Will Arnett.

Joe’s interview with SoCal Val is available below.

Aleister Black ‘very, very happy’ for Brody King’s AEW success

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Aleister Black is happy to see his former stablemate Brody King thriving in AEW.

Before Black departed AEW for WWE, he led The House of Black with King, Buddy Matthews, and Julia Hart. King has since held Tag Team gold with Bandido and reached World Championship contention before ultimately losing to MJF. In an interview with The Stunner, Black said he knew his AEW faction members would fare well after he left. He had a conversation with King and Matthews prior to leaving AEW where they all agreed that shaking things up might be for the best.

“It was a very thorough conversation between me, [King], and Buddy. They were in agreement. They were like, ‘Yeah, we also think that it might be best, you know, to change course.’ Because we felt that we were hitting a wall constantly. Not in a malicious way, not in a bad way. Like, there’s only so much room and so much time for everybody, which is fine,” Black said.

“I said to [King], ‘I think once I go one direction, I think you will eventually see a big explosion in regards to how you are being perceived as.’ And I’m glad that we see that now because the whole reason why I initially told Tony [Khan] about Brody was because I already saw that. I knew how good he could be. And even when we first started moving around with him, I had to kind of tone him down a little bit because he’s a big human being. He came out of an era where a lot of big guys would still do flips and stuff like that. I would say, ‘I’d like for you to be more effective. One elbow from you equals dude on the ground and not getting back up.’ Instead of like five forearms and a clothesline.

“He picked up on that tremendously. He saw that it was more effective. He saw that it helped his character get over. He was just one of those guys that I feel was a big diamond in the rough. He’s a good dude. I have a lot of love for him. We fight like brothers, even back then, and sometimes I’m his dad and sometimes he’s my dad. We’ve always had a good relationship, and I am very, very happy for him. Because that’s what should happen. Unique guy, charismatic guy, talented guy.”

Matthews has not been able to have the same success as King due to an ankle injury that has now sidelined him for more than a year.

In November 2024, Black wrestled his final AEW match before eventually departing the company in February 2025. He is now on the WWE SmackDown roster and works alongside his wife Zelina Vega.

Tony Khan ‘thrilled’ with Paramount-WBD merger news

Posted on by Ian Carey

An update is available regarding Tony Khan’s reaction to the proposed purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery by Paramount.

Dave Meltzer addressed the AEW president’s reaction to the news in this week’s edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, noting that while Khan was said to be “thrilled” with the news, others believe that Paramount could, due to pressure from TKO given its contracts with UFC and Zuffa Boxing, move to get rid of WWE’s only significant wrestling competition.

Meltzer wrote:

“The most important news story in wrestling, as far as the future and viability of AEW, is just a tiny piece of the puzzle in the proposed Paramount purchase of WBD.

There is a ton of speculation as to what it means. Those close to Tony Khan say that he was thrilled when the news came out, feeling this was the best possible scenario for him. Others are claiming it’s the death knell because Paramount, either to cut back on costs, or due to pressure from TKO given they have contracts with UFC and Zuffa Boxing, will get rid of TKO’s only real significant wrestling competition.”

Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison has said the plan is for HBO Max and Paramount+ to merge into a single streaming service.

According to a report from January, HBO Max has approximately 135 million worldwide subscribers, 59 million of which are in the U.S., while Paramount+ has 79 million worldwide subscribers, 35.8 million of which are in the U.S.

This week’s edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter is available here for subscribers.

Dustin Rhodes gives update on AEW return and future

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Dustin Rhodes is close to making his return from double knee surgery.

The 56-year-old Rhodes has been aiming to return this month after undergoing double knee surgery in summer 2025. That timeline is still on track, with Rhodes telling Fox News Digital that he should be back in AEW in the next two to three weeks. Rhodes spoke with the outlet on Thursday after his mastiff Beast won an award at Crufts dog show in the United Kingdom.

“I just had double knee replacements. So, they’re brand-new knees. They’re feeling pretty good. It’s a little tired today from all the walking – this is such a huge venue [for the dog show],” Rhodes said. “But probably two weeks, three weeks I’ll be back – TBS, TNT, HBO Max.”

Rhodes is under a long-term contract with AEW that will take him past the end of his in-ring career. He already helps out behind the scenes and told Fox News Digital that he will continue to do that after he retires within the next couple of years.

“I think it’s the fact that we’re just not all entertainment,” Rhodes said about AEW. “We are about wrestling, about putting on the best matches that we possibly can. It’s the alternative to WWE. I was with WWE for 24 years, and I’ve been with AEW for seven now, going on eight. I’m gonna finish here and retire in the next couple of years. And then there’s still work behind the scenes as a producer.

“I love it. It’s great. My boss, Tony Khan, and Shad Khan, the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars and [Fulham] Football Club over here, we’re doing amazing. We’re growing year by year. It’s where the best wrestle. We do have entertainment segments but the majority of it is just all wrestling. That’s what’s different than the WWE product.”

Rhodes recently tweeted that he has no interest in returning to WWE and feels that his Goldust character ran its course.

Before he was forced out of action, Rhodes was competing in both AEW and ROH. He had reigns with the AEW TNT Championship, ROH Tag Team Championship, and ROH Six-Man Tag Team titles.

Kazuchika Okada makes unadvertised title defense on ROH on HonorClub

Posted on by Ian Carey

Kazuchika Okada made an unadvertised title defense on Thursday’s edition of ROH on HonorClub.

The show was headlined by a Four Corner Survival match that carried the stipulation that the winner would receive an immediate title shot. AR Fox outlasted Lee Johnson, Shane Taylor, and “Daddy Magic” Matt Menard to win.

The championship Fox would challenge for was not revealed ahead of time. After he won the four-way, Okada’s music played and the match began following in-ring introductions.

The finish saw Fox get a near fall off a 450 splash, but Okada hit a Rainmaker and pinned him moments later.

It was Okada’s first match in Ring of Honor since he won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at ROH x NJPW G1 Supercard in Madison Square Garden on April 6, 2019. He defeated Jay White to win the title.

This week’s ROH on HonorClub was the first episode to air from the company’s standalone TV tapings in Jacksonville on Sunday, March 1.

AEW/ROH tag team debuts new name

Posted on by Ian Carey

Big Bill and Bryan Keith have a new tag team name.

On Thursday’s edition of Ring of Honor on HonorClub, the team wrestled under the name Paid in Full. A graphic for their match posted earlier in the day also referred to Bill and Keith by the same name.

AEW filed to trademark Paid in Full on February 23, 2026, for wrestling purposes.

Bill and Keith began teaming with each other in August 2024 when they were aligned with Chris Jericho as part of The Learning Tree. They challenged for the AEW World Tag Team titles against The Hurt Syndicate’s Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin at AEW Dynasty 2025 last April.

Some of the team’s other notable matches include defeating the Gates of Agony at Beach Break 2025. They also teamed with the Grizzled Young Vets in a loss to Eddie Kingston, Ortiz, and The Rascalz in an eight-man tag team parking lot fight on the February 4, 2026 Collision taping.

Big Boom AJ says he will be competing at AEW Revolution

Posted on by Josh Nason

Big Boom AJ of The Costco Guys revealed on Thursday that he will be returning to the AEW ring soon — as in next weekend soon.

In a quick video posted to his Instagram account, the 50-year-old born Andrew Befumo Jr. answered a X question about “when is your next AEW wrestling show?” Lifting weights, he said he would be in the ring next Sunday at AEW Revolution.

To this point, there has been no build to any match, either on AEW TV, ROH TV or the company’s social media accounts.

AJ last competed alongside QT Marshall on a late-December 2025 edition of ROH TV, defeating The Frat House. Before that, he and Marshall defeated RPG Vice on the Full Gear pre-show last November.

The viral social media star, known for he and son Big Justice’s love of double chocolate chunk cookies and chicken bakes at the big box store, first wrestled for AEW at November 2024’s Full Gear with a win over Marshall. He then returned at the following March’s Revolution, teaming with Mark Briscoe and Orange Cassidy in a win over Johnny TV & MxM Collection.

He also was part of last July’s All In: Texas, teaming with Hologram, Tomohiro Ishii and Kyle O’Reilly in a win over Rocky Romero, Hechicero, Lance Archer and Trent Beretta.

Exclusive details on Rush’s knee injury & who influenced decision to skip surgery

Posted on by Josh Nason

Former Ring of Honor World Champion Rush will make his in-ring return on this Saturday’s AEW Collision and there’s some exclusive details from our Bryan Alvarez regarding his decision to skip surgery.

In late-November, AEW head Tony Khan revealed Rush wasn’t medically cleared due to a knee injury and had to be pulled from a planned match with ROH World Champion Bandido. Shortly thereafter, Alvarez reported that Rush had been dealing with the injury for years and he almost certainly needed to undergo surgery.

On Thursday, Alvarez stated that Rush was sent to an NFL doctor who told him he could either get surgery and be out for a considerable amount of time or do three months of “hard rehab” and see how he felt.

“Apparently, rehab went well as he returned last night and told people the knee felt great,” Alvarez wrote.

Rush’s brother Dralistico also took time off at the same to recover from two ear injuries. The brothers will be part of a four-way tag team match in Tucson, Arizona, this Saturday on Collision which will also feature Private Party, The Swirl and The Outrunners.

Lee Moriarty felt ‘weird’ about breaking Nigel McGuinness ROH record

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Despite being the longest-reigning champion in the title’s history, Lee Moriarty doesn’t consider himself the greatest ROH Pure Champion of all time.

Moriarty has now been ROH Pure Champion for more than 580 days. He blew past the previous record in 2025 when he surpassed Nigel McGuinness’ 350-day reign with the belt. Breaking that record was a “weird” feeling for Moriarty, who holds McGuinness in very high esteem.

“It’s one of those things where it means a lot, but I also kind of feel weird about it because of the respect I have for the people that came before me with the title,” Moriarty said on AEW Unrestricted. “So I always feel weird about breaking other records because I hold them in such high reverence.

“Yeah, I’ve held the title for so long and I’ve defended it, I think, 12 times now. And that’s really cool. Personally, I still consider Nigel to be the greatest Pure Champion of all time because while he’s held it in 350 days, he defended it 17 times. He was the first person to defend it internationally. There’s all these other great things that I’m trying to live up to that and still elevate it, even though I’ve already been breaking records myself where I’ve defended it in Australia and Mexico for the first time and breaking the record with the time.”

Moriarty and McGuiness faced off for the title at ROH Final Battle 2025 with Moriarty getting the victory. That was a special moment for Moriarty, and he considers it one of the top 5-10 highlights of his career so far.

“Hella thank yous,” Moriarty responded when asked what their conversation was like after the match. “Just like… in disbelief and shock.”

The ROH Pure Championship was established in 2004 with a ruleset geared toward technical wrestling. A women’s version of the belt was introduced recently with Deonna Purrazzo becoming the inaugural champion.

Moriarty told AEW Unrestricted that Samoa Joe and Kosei Fujita are two dream opponents he’d love to defend the Pure title against. His biggest ambition in wrestling is to leave the industry better than he found it, and Moriarty’s goal for his title reign is to help advance the cause of pure wrestling.

ROH television is entering a new era with standalone tapings held at WJCT Studios in Jacksonville, Florida. Moriarty had a title defense on the first taping. Spoilers can be found here.

New title matches announced for AEW Revolution

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

AEW has announced two brand new title matches as a part of the updated AEW Revolution lineup.

A few weeks ago, Thekla defeated Kris Statlander to become the new Women’s World Champion in a Strap match. She followed it up with a title defense win over Thunder Rosa. However, after their match on the March 4 episode of Dynamite, Statlander stopped the Triangle of Madness (Thekla, Julia Hart, & Skye Blue) from attacking Rosa.

Shortly after, AEW President Tony Khan announced on social media that Thekla will defend her title against Statlander in a two-out-of-three falls match on March 15th at AEW Revolution.

In the main event of Wednesday’s Dynamite, Kazuchika Okada, Kyle Fletcher, and Mark Davis defeated Adam Page, Kevin Knight, and Mike Bailey to win the AEW World Trios title.

With Page scheduled for a title match against MJF, Okada, Fletcher, and Davis will now defend their Trios titles against Knight, Bailey, and Mistico at AEW Revolution.

AEW Revolution 2026 lineup | March 15, 2026

  • AEW World Champion MJF defends against Hangman Page in a Texas Death Match, where if Page loses, he can’t challenge for the World title ever again.
  • AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) defend against The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson).
  • Jon Moxley vs. Konosuke Takeshita in a no time limit match for the AEW Continental title
  • Bandido vs. Andrade El Idolo.
  • Brody King vs. Swerve Strickland.
  • Thekla (c) vs. Kris Statlander in a two-out-of-three falls match for the AEW Women’s World title
  • Kazuchika Okada, Kyle Fletcher, and Mark Davis vs. Kevin Knight, Mike Bailey, and Mistico for the AEW World Trios title.

Report: Why David Finlay decided to join AEW over WWE

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

A new report has emerged on David Finlay’s decision to choose AEW over previous rumors about a WWE run.

Former NJPW wrestler David Finlay recently shocked the world when he joined AEW on the March 4 episode of Dynamite.

Shortly after his Dynamite appearance, Cory Hays of BodySlam reported that he refused to join WWE after being offered a “lower level contract.” Finlay was reportedly offered a contract to start with NXT, which was a lower contract and not main roster level. This prompted the 32-year-old to agree to a deal with AEW within the last week.

Shortly after his debut and reunion with Clark Connors and Gabe Kidd, Finlay was officially announced as an All Elite. While previously speculated to join WWE, reports soon emerged about the Stamford-based promotion not factoring him into creative plans.

Fightful Select previously reported that Finlay has signed a multi-year deal with Tony Khan’s AEW, where he has now reunited with Kidd and Connors as The Dogs. Finlay’s NJPW contract expired in February, but he continued to wrestle through last weekend’s New Beginning USA.