The next challengers for the AEW World Tag Team Championships are set.
During the December 14 taped episode of AEW Collision: Winter is Coming, a number one contender bout took place to determine who will be the next challengers for reigning AEW World Tag-Team Champions Private Party. The high stakes bout saw the new makeshift duo of Action Andretti & Lio Rush emerge victorious over the more established Top Flight. The finish saw Andretti hit a 450 splash on Darius Martin to score the pinfall victory for his team.
AEW did not announce when the Private Party vs. Action Andretti & Lio Rush tag-team title match will take place.
Private Party captured the AEW World Tag-Team Championships for the first time-ever by defeating The Young Bucks duo of Matthew and Nicholas Jackson back at AEW Fright Night Dynamite on October 30 to kick off their current reign. They defended the titles successfully at Full Gear last month, defeating Kings of the Black Throne, The Acclaimed, and The Outrunners in a four-way match.
Tag: Action Andretti
Brody King vs. Action Andretti announced for AEW Collision Grand Slam
A new match has been added to the lineup for tonight’s AEW Collision Grand Slam.
Brody King vs. Action Andretti is now set for the show. The match was made on AEW Rampage last night after House of Black’s Buddy Matthews & Malakai Black defeated Andretti & Lio Rush in tag team action. After the match, Andretti threw a water bottle at King, who responded by giving him a big clothesline. The members of Top Flight then dragged Andretti to safety before King could continue his attack.
Andretti showed a more aggressive side during the match as well. The finish came when he tagged himself in, argued with Rush, then took a Black Mass and was pinned.
AEW Collision Grand Slam was taped on Wednesday at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York. Spoilers from the show are available here.
AEW Collision Grand Slam advertised lineup:
- Tornado trios match: Chris Jericho, Big Bill, and Bryan Keith vs. Orange Cassidy, Kyle O’Reilly, and Mark Briscoe
- Jack Perry TNT Championship Open Challenge
- Saraya vs. Jamie Hayter in a Saraya’s Rules match
- Lumberjack strap match: Hangman Page vs. Jeff Jarrett
- AEW Continental title eliminator match: Kazuchika Okada vs. Sammy Guevara
- Hologram vs. The Beast Mortos vs. Dralistico
- AEW Trios Champions Claudio Castagnoli, PAC & Wheeler Yuta defend againstKomander & Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen)
- MxM Collection to reveal what they did to Max Caster’s jacket
Three-way trios match announced for AEW All Out Zero Hour
A three-way trios match was announced for Saturday’s AEW All Out Zero Hour pre-show.
During Friday’s AEW Collision, it was revealed in a backstage segment that Top Flight & Action Andretti will face both Shane Taylor Promotions & The Beast Mortos and The Undisputed Kingdom in the match.
Lee Moriarty and Shane Taylor will represent STP while Roderick Strong, Matt Taven and Mike Bennett will represent the Undisputed Kingdom.
To this point, it’s the only match announced for the 90-minute pre-show with the Bang Bang Gang vs. Cage of Agony in another trios clash a possibility given their backstage confrontation on Collision.
Here’s the current card for Chicago:
- AEW World Champion Bryan Danielson defends against Jack Perry
- Unsanctioned lights out steel cage match: Swerve Strickland vs. Hangman Page
- Chicago street fight: Willow Nightingale vs. Kris Statlander
- AEW International Champion Will Ospreay defends against PAC
- AEW Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks (Matthew & Nicholas Jackson) defend against Blackpool Combat Club (Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta)
- MJF vs. Daniel Garcia
- TBS Champion Mercedes Mone defends against Hikaru Shida with Kamille banned from ringside
- AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada defends against Mark Briscoe, Orange Cassidy and The Beast Mortos
- Zero Hour pre-show: Top Flight (Dante & Darius Martin) and Action Andretti vs. Shane Taylor, Lee Moriarty & The Beast Mortos vs. Undisputed Kingdom (Matt Taven, Mike Bennett & Roderick Strong)
Trios Championship match announced for next week’s AEW Collision Holiday Bash
A Trios Championship match is set for next week’s Collision.
The Acclaimed made their return on this week’s show after being laid out by the masked devil’s group on the November 8 edition of Dynamite. All three members of the group said they would go after those responsible. Top Flight & Action Andretti then came out and brought up that The Acclaimed had also issued an open challenge. They agreed to a match for next week’s Collision.
Thunder Rosa will return to action for the first time in over a year when she teams with Abadon to take on Julia Hart and Skye Blue. After Abadon won a match on Saturday’s show, Hart appeared with the TBS Championship. Abadon attacked Hart and took her title, but then Blue came out to attack Abadon. Rosa, who was doing Spanish commentary, came out for the save.
The last Continental Classic Blue League matches will also take place before the League Finals on the December 27 edition of Dynamite. Claudio Castagnoli will face Bryan Danielson, Brody King will take on Daniel Garcia, and Andrade El Idolo will face Eddie Kingston.
Here is the lineup for next Saturday’s Collision:
- AEW Trios titles: The Acclaimed defend against Top Flight & Action Andretti
- Thunder Rosa & Abadon vs. Julia Hart & Skye Blue
- AEW Continental Classic Blue League: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Bryan Danielson
- AEW Continental Classic Blue League: Brody King vs. Daniel Garcia
- AEW Continental Classic Blue League: Andrade El Idolo vs. Eddie Kingson
Miro vs. Action Andretti set for next week’s AEW Collision
Miro will face Action Andretti next Saturday.
The two will meet following events that took place on Saturday’s Collision. When CJ Perry was being interviewed, she said she wanted to help people who were tired of sitting on the sidelines and watching others succeed. Andretti walked up to her and said he was just one phone call away.
Later, a Miro promo aired. Grabbing Andretti, he said he would destroy every man on the AEW to protect one woman, his wife. The match was then announced for next week.
Since making her debut at All Out in September, CJ has shown interest in managing other people beyond Miro. However, Miro has not been receptive to the idea of CJ managing, saying on Saturday that her pursuit of gold would make her more vicious and evil until there’s nothing left.
It was also announced that more matches for next week’s Collision will be announced on this coming Wednesday’s Dynamite.
Here is the lineup so far for next week’s Collision:
- Miro vs. Action Andretti
Jon Moxley International title defense added to AEW Collision
Jon Moxley is already scheduled to make his second defense of the AEW International Championship.
Moxley will defend the International title against Action Andretti on Collision this Saturday (September 9). The match was announced as an International Championship open challenge.
AEW wrote: “Saturday Night #AEWCollision LIVE from Cleveland @ 8/7c on TNT! #AEW International Championship Open Challenge @JonMoxley vs @ActionAndretti After a great showing in the Charity Battle Royale, can Andretti pull off his 2nd major upset & defeat Mox to capture his 1st AEW gold?”
Moxley won the International title by defeating Orange Cassidy in the main event of All Out this past Sunday. He then made his first title defense on Dynamite, defeating AR Fox.
This will be Moxley’s first time wrestling on Collision. He wasn’t part of the show during the CM Punk era when there was a soft brand split.
Andretti was one of the 20 entrants in the Over Budget Charity Battle Royale on the pre-show for All Out. The battle royal was won by Hangman Page.
Cleveland’s Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse is hosting Collision on Saturday night. The episode will also include the semifinals of AEW’s Grand Slam eliminator tournament:
- Grand Slam World title eliminator semifinals: Darby Allin vs. Roderick Strong
- Grand Slam World title eliminator semifinals: Samoa Joe or Jeff Hardy vs. Penta El Zero Miedo or Jay Lethal
- AEW International Champion Jon Moxley defends against Action Andretti
- Bullet Club Gold in action
- Bryan Danielson speaks
- Saraya & Ruby Soho speak
- The Acclaimed & Billy Gunn speak
AEW Dark Elevation results: The Gunns vs. The Infantry title eliminator match
It’s Monday and you know what that means: AEW Dark Elevation. Since last Thursday’s Ring of Honor TV was taped prior to Dynamite, this week’s episode was the first to emanate from Orlando’s Universal Studios.
Tony Schiavone and Matt Menard were on the call as Paul Wight was “on assignment” in South Carolina.
Action Andretti defeated Nick Comoroto
Andretti used his speed throughout until he tried a tope suicida and was caught by Comoroto and then slammed onto the apron (the hardest part of the ring if you didn’t know.) Comoroto got cocky with consecutive backbreakers and consecutive nearfalls.
Andretti got back into things with an enziguri and another tope suicida. He followed it up with a spinning torneo off the middle rope and a split-leg moonsault. Comoroto caught him with a clothesline off the ropes but when he went for a power bomb, Andretti caught him in a pinning combo for the surprise win.
Skye Blue defeated Angelica Risk
Risk didn’t take too kindly to Blue early, so Blue started beating the crap out of her. Risk turned things around with a neckbreaker off the ropes and then used the ropes to choke her. Blue rallied with an enziguri in the corner and on the mat, but Risk kept grabbing the hair. But after a superkick, Blue hit her Code Blue for the win.
Gates Of Agony (w/ Prince Nana) defeated The Qrown (Leonis & Maximus)
Four big sweaty men in this match — you love to see it. Every move in the early going was just a strength contest and as you might expect, Toa Liona won those matchups. When they went for a double-team move in their corner, Kaun slapped Liona in the face to wake him up and then threw him into Maximus. He was then able to fight out of a headlock to get Leonis in on a hot tag, but they got caught and Gates of Agony just drove his face into the mat for the pin and win.
Julia Hart defeated Kelsey Heather
Hart came out singing her theme song and Menard called her a real freak. Heather was already in the ring and it appeared she is a cheerleader like Hart’s former gimmick. Heather started by leading the crowd in a House of Black chant, which I did not understand at all.
Hart pounded on Heather and whenever the cheerleader went for something, Hart just stopped it and smacked her around. After a vertical suplex, it looked like Hart was gonna go for a pin, but she just kept beating her instead. Heather finally connected on a neckbreaker in her only offensive move of the match. After Hart moved out of the way of a moonsault, she locked in the Hartless for the quick tap and her 20th straight win.
Kip Sabian (w/ Penelope Ford) defeated Leon Ruffin
The commentary team was also weirded out by Sabian and Ford. When asked who runs things in this duo, Schiavone said, “Well, I know who runs things at my house.”
They started with their own test of strength and when Sabian won, he kicked the arm of Ruffin and he looked more offended than hurt. Ruffin turned it around with a tope suicida, but he started playing to the crowd and let Sabian get back up. When Ruffin got back in the ring, Sabian locked in an arm stretch. Ruffin hit a middle rope cutter after a second try, but when Sabian kicked out, he hit a brainbuster and a flatliner for the win.
Lance Archer (w/ Jake “The Snake” Roberts) defeated Bryce Cannon
If you were to look up “people who don’t have a chance” in the dictionary, it would be a picture of Cannon. He had a goofy hairdo that Archer played with until he threw him to the outside. Roberts actually gave him a clothesline and then threw him back in. Archer went to do the chop spot in the corner where he rips off your shirt, but this Cannon guy had three different shirts on. After that, Archer hit the chokeslam and clothesline for the win. Everybody, in fact, dies.
AEW Tag Team Champions The Gunns defeated The Infantry (Carlie Bravo & Shawn Dean) in an eliminator match
Schiavone made sure to comment on The Gunns’ atrocious outfits. Austin Gunn then called a guy down from the crowd and just started yelling at everyone.
A lot of this match was each man and team showing off to the crowd. Of course, the Gunns got booed each time and The Infantry got cheered. The Infantry got the advantage early and set up a cool spot where they yanked both champions’ legs wide open. When they went to fight on the outside, The Gunns got the advantage back with some dirty tactics. They just worked over Dean until he hit an enziguri and the hot tag to Bravo.
Bravo ran wild on both Gunns, hitting a cutter on Colten for a two count. When he tried to follow up with a stomp, Colten rolled him up and Austin got involved. Bravo hit a double DDT after a double-team move. Bravo kept trying to get something going, but the champions simply got him up for the 3:10 to Yuma for the pin and win.
After the match, Schiavone was in the ring to talk about Wednesday’s Tag Team title defense against FTR. Gunn just started singing “Na na na, hey hey, kiss him goodbye” and said FTR will be gone forever on Wednesday.
Action Andretti ‘100 percent healthy’ after AEW Dark match stopped
Despite an injury scare at Friday’s AEW Dark tapings, Action Andretti is “100 percent healthy.”
A match between Andretti and Slim J at the Dark tapings ended in a referee stoppage after it was feared that Andretti suffered an injury. Our JJ Williams noted that Andretti “was able to stand on his own but was helped to the back after the doctor rushed into the ring.”
Andretti posted an update on Saturday, stating that he didn’t suffer any injuries. Andretti thanked the AEW medical team and the rest of the AEW staff for taking the proper precautions to ensure that he was okay.
“To anyone wondering, I did not suffer any injuries yesterday at the dark tapings in Orlando and am 100% healthy! I want to thank the AEW medical team and the rest of the AEW staff for taking the proper safety precautions to ensure that I was ok and no had no serious injuries,” Andretti tweeted.
https://twitter.com/ActionAndretti/status/1639742745974648833
Andretti has been featured on AEW programming since shockingly defeating Chris Jericho on Dynamite in December 2022. Along with that victory, it was announced that Andretti has signed an AEW contract.
Friday’s AEW Dark and Dark: Elevation tapings were held at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. Spoilers for the tapings can be found here.
AEW Dark results: Riho vs. Diamante
This week’s AEW Dark was taped at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida.
Dark Order (John Silver & Alex Reynolds) defeated The Outrunners
Silver and Truth Magnum started out and after some flexing, Turbo Floyd came in, but Silver took both of them out of the ring with a double clothesline. Floyd re-entered and tried to wear down Silver, but Reynolds came in. Both of The Outrunners tried to double team Reynolds, but it didn’t work out.
Reynolds then positioned Floyd on the turnbuckle for a DDT, prompting Silver to come off the top rope and assist with a stomp to Floyd’s back. Moments later, Reynolds made the pin.
Riho defeated Diamante
Riho started with a few armdrags, but Diamante responded with a bit more physicality, tossing Riho out of the ring and into the barricade.
Riho fought back with the will of the crowd and eventually hit a big 619 that would change the course of the match. After coming off the top rope with a crossbody, Riho seemingly had control. However, Diamante changed course after launching the former AEW Women’s Champion over her head with a German suplex.
Riho would go on to win after hitting Diamante with a double foot stomp from the top rope, followed by a running knee strike.
Sonny Kiss defeated Terry Kid
Kiss was dominant from the get go. After hitting Kid with the splits and a backspring elbow into the corner, Kiss went on to win the match after a rotating roundhouse kick.
Julia Hart defeated Zoey Lynn
Hart hit Lynn with a back hand to start the bout, but Lynn fought back and hit a nice dropkick to the shoulder while Hart was down. Lynn was quickly put away moments later after Hart submitted her with her Heartless submission — good for her 19th straight win.
Action Andretti defeated Lee Johnson (w/ Cole Karter)
Andretti and Johnson exchanged various holds throughout the opening stages, but Andretti ended up with the advantage. After teasing a dive onto Johnson, Andretti faked him out and instead posed in the middle of the ring.
Karter distracted Andretti which led to Johnson regaining control. After keeping Andretti in a headlock for a solid minute, Johnson tried to hit a few big moves, but Andretti started reversing things left and right. After hitting a tornado DDT, Andretti was hit with a superkick from Johnson.
The final stages saw Johnson attempt to go to the top rope, but Andretti met him up there which led to a big superplex spot. Andretti then took out Johnson with a dive at ringside before hitting Karter with a superkick. Moments later, Andretti pinned Karter with a floating neckbreaker.
AEW announces five-match Dark lineup
AEW announced five matches for Tuesday’s AEW Dark that will see Riho, Julia Hart and Action Andretti all compete.
Former AEW Women’s Champion Riho will look for her fourth straight win as she takes on Diamante. Riho is coming off victories over Toni Storm, Emi Sakura and Nyla Rose as she looks to get back into title contention.
Julia Hart has quietly built up a long winning streak on Dark/Dark: Elevation and will go for her 19th straight win against Zoey Lynn. Hart hasn’t been beaten since an April 2022 loss to Kris Statlander.
Dark Order’s John Silver & Alex Reynolds will look to rebound from their loss to the Blackpool Combat Club as they face The Outrunners.
Action Andretti will look to snap a two-match losing streak (both to Sammy Guevara) as he faces Lee Johnson.
Sonny Kiss will return to singles action for the first time since late-August as he takes on Terry Kid.
Here’s the full lineup:
- Riho vs. Diamante
- Action Andretti vs. Lee Johnson
- John Silver & Alex Reynolds vs. The Outrunners
- Julia Hart vs. Zoey Lynn
- Sonny Kiss vs. Terry Kid
AEW Rampage live results: Sammy Guevara vs. Action Andretti
Sammy Guevara vs. Action Andretti II will headline Friday’s AEW Rampage as Andretti will be looking to avenge his late-February loss.
Andretti made the save for Ricky Starks at Revolution as Guevara walked down to the ring to aid Chris Jericho.
In a battle of the first two AEW Women’s Champions, Riho faces Nyla Rose in their first singles match since February 2020. These two squared off on the first-ever Dynamite that saw Riho win the inaugural title.
Konosuke Takeshita will look to extend his recent winning streak as he faces Preston Vance of La Faccion Ingobernable.
Former AEW Tag Team Champions The Acclaimed will also be in action as they continue their climb back into contention.
Fresh off his win over Christian Cage at Revolution in The Final Burial, “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry will share some thoughts and perhaps give a hint as to what is next for him.
**********
Taped in Sacramento.
Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone and Chris Jericho were on commentary.
Sammy Guevara defeated Action Andretti (12:10)
This is a rematch from last month. Andretti lost that encounter after some malfeasance from Guevara and Daniel Garcia, who was not at ringside for this encounter.
The fight went to the floor early, where both men exchanged chops and Guevara threw Andretti into the ring barricades. When Andretti got the upper hand, Guevara tried begging off, and Andretti caught him with a pescado through the ropes.
Back in the ring, Andretti hit a shotgun dropkick and the split legged moonsault for a near fall. Andretti clotheslined Guevara to the floor. He tried to follow him out with a springboard, but Guevara countered with a knee strike. Both guys were out on the floor and that usually means it’s time for a split-screen ad break.
After the break, Andretti fought out of a chinlock, only to collide with Guevara when they both went for crossbody blocks. Both men fought to their feet while exchanging forearms, and Andretti took Guevara down with a backbreaker/neckbreaker combination. Andretti hit Guevara with an Arabian press on the floor. There was a light chant for Andretti, who hit a springboard 450 splash for a near fall. Andretti caught Guevara with a Spanish fly for another near fall. Andretti went for a standing shooting star press, but Guevara got his knees up. Guevara hit a DDT-like move, but Andretti rolled to the floor before Guevara could get the cover.
On the floor, Guevara set up Andretti on the time keeper’s table. Andretti popped up and caught Guevara, hit a superkick, and set up Guevara on the table. Andretti came off the top with a splash on Guevara, though the table, which finally livened up the crowd a bit.
Andretti rolled Guevara back in the ring, who was selling his knee. While the ref tended to Guevara, Andretti went to the top. Daniel Garcia ran in and shoved Andretti off the top. Guevara then hit the GTH and got the pinfall.
It didn’t feel like the crowd was really into this match, which was not as good as their encounter a few weeks ago.
– Darby Allin video package. Allin will make his intentions clear on Dyanmite next week.
– Jungle Boy Jack Perry recapped the Final Burial from Sunday. He’s done with Christian, and every man with a championship belt around their waist better watch out!
– Powerhouse Hobbs & QT Marshall cut a promo. Hobbs’ championship belt is on his shoulder, so he’s safe from Perry. Marshall will unveil the first episode of QTV on Dynamite next week.
The Acclaimed (w/ Billy Gunn) defeated Jack Cartwheel & Starboy Charlie (1:41)
Something got bleeped from Caster’s rap, but he got in a good line about running their opponents out of California like Walgreens. Starboy Charlie got made fun of by the commentary team for wearing overalls.
The Acclaimed got the win after the Arrival and Mic Drop. After the match, Matt Menard and Angelo Parker came out with a JAS t-shirt, but the Acclaimed still aren’t interested. If the Acclaimed aren’t gonna be in the tag title picture, they need somthing better than a feud with than the JAS C-team.
– In a pretaped interview, Chris Jericho promised to win the World Trios title in Winnipeg by the spirit of Bob Holliday and Roddy Piper.
Konosuke Takeshita defeated Preston Vance (w/ Jose the Assistant) (6:49 aired)
Takeshita’s name on the KhanTron was the first thing that really popped the crowd all night. Don Callis (Tony Schiavone’s favorite guy from Winnipeg) joined the commentary team to watch Takeshita. Takeshita hit Vance with a flying clothesline while Callis compared his body type to Lou Thez on commentary.
Three minutes of the match took place during a split-screen break. After the commercial, both guys were down after hitting each other with rolling forearms. Takeshita hit a knee strike off the middle rope, then hit the blue thunder bomb for a near fall. Takeshita hit another knee strike, but Jose assisted Vance by putting his foot on the rope to break up the count. Takeshita took out Jose with a forearm, and Vance hit a discus lariat for a near fall. Vance went for the full nelson, but Takeshita escaped, caught Vance with a backslide and got the pinfall.
– Swerve Strickland (who might be getting more evil by the day) has more in store for Keith Lee. Both the Mogul Affiliates are on the shelf (not Trench!) thanks to Lee, but Strickland has more bullets in the chamber.
– Mark Briscoe (who is quickly becoming one of my favorite performers) was in the ring to cut a promo. Briscoe announced a “Reach for the Sky Ladder Match” for the ROH World Tag Team Titles at the next ROH pay-per-view. The crowd popped huge for this announcement. Briscoe announced the first team to enter the ladder match, The Lucha Brothers.
I hope Briscoe and the Lucha Bros continue to team in trios matches, and the team is named “Dem Lucha Boys.”
– Matt Hardy promised to train Stokley Hathaway for his match with Hook. I’m all for some Rocky-style training vignettes for the next month before Hook gets his hands on Hathaway.
Riho defeated Nyla Rose (w/ Marina Shafir) (12:01)
Riho won the World Women’s title on the first episode of Dynamite in October 2019. Nyla won the return match in February of 2020 to take the title. And three years later, this is the rubber match.
Riho got a near fall after a crossbody off the top. Riho tried for a suplex, but Rose easily reversed the move. Riho snapped Rose’s neck on the top rope. Shafir pulled Riho out of the ring behind the ref’s back and threw her to the floor.
After a break, Riho charged into a body block from Rose. Rose for a superplex, but Riho fought back, then came off the top with a diving hurricanrana. Riho hit a double foot stomp off the top for a near fall. Riho tried for a northern lights suplex, but Rose blocked that and hit a powerslam for a near fall. Rose hung Riho up in the ropes and delivered a guillotine knee drop for another near fall.
Rose went to the top for a senton bomb, but Riho got out of the way. Riho hit the northern lights suplex to a huge pop, but only got two. Riho went for a running knee strike, but Rose dodged her and Riho hit the corner. Rose went for a cannonball in the corner, but Riho avoided that and caught Rose with a crucifix bomb for a near fall. Shafir tripped up Riho. With Riho distracted, Rose tried for the Beast Bomb, but Riho rolled through and cradled Rose to get the pinfall.
After the match, Shafir and Rose laid out Riho. As they walked to the back, The Outcasts (Saraya, Toni Storm & Ruby Soho) came out. Rose and Shafir let them pass, and then they attacked Riho and spray painted a green “L” on Riho. The heels left Riho laying to end the show.
Final Thoughts:
I don’t want to say this was a bad show, but it definitely lacked energy. The arena was darkened for most of the show and it felt like the crowd didn’t react to very much.
AEW’s Chris Jericho: ‘I will never beat Action Andretti’
Chris Jericho says his number one mission since AEW began is to help create new stars.
The inaugural AEW World Champion wrestles Ricky Starks Sunday at Revolution. The angle between the two has also involved newcomer Action Andretti, who picked up an upset victory over Jericho at Winter is Coming. Jericho recently told the In The Kliq podcast that working with talent like Starks and Andretti is all part of his plan to help create new stars for the company.
Jericho said:
My number one mission from day one when we started AEW was to do my best to make new stars because, at first I think, the company was on my back. And I knew you’ve only got about a month or two, it can’t always be Chris Jericho.
Cody Rhodes right out of the gate, he was not the Cody he is now. Mox was still Dean Ambrose. Nobody knew Kenny Omega, nobody knew the Bucks. Darby Allin, Scorpio Sky, Jungle Boy, Ortiz, Santana, Sammy Guevara, Jake Hager when he came back, all those guys in the first three months I worked with. We had a short window of time to make as many stars as we could. So, that’s always been my goal and Ricky Starks is another guy, people love him, all he needed was a story, he needed to be on TV featured every week and that’s sort of what we’ve done.
Jericho would continue to mention his year-long feud with current AEW World Champion, Maxwell Jacob Friedman.
MJF, I worked with MJF for a year. MJF was not the MJF he is now. Working with me for a year helped him become the MJF to get to the next level. All of that is done by design in my head.
Jericho also responded to detractors online who allege he buries his opponents and talent he works with. He used his match against Peter Avalon this week on Dynamite as an example.
I have the thickest of skins. I know people hate me, I got yelled at last night for beating a young talent like Peter Avalon. How did I bury the young talent of Peter Avalon? What happened in that match? Watch the match. Two minutes long, Peter beat the crap out of me for a minute and 59 seconds and I hit one move, one move.
I’ve never buried anybody in my career, ever! Now, sometimes I win, that’s okay, I’m allowed to win, guys. It’s okay.
Making new stars and putting people over is not wins and losses. You can lose to somebody and bury them at the same time. It happened to me in WCW a lot of different times.
Later in the show, Jericho detailed the story of seeing Action Andretti wrestle QT Marshall on Dark and being immediately impressed with him.
We were in Washington and he was doing a dark match on a show called Dark against QT Marshall and he did a great job in the match as a wrestler and I thought, ‘Well, he’s a really good worker, we have a lot of good workers, though, let me see him do a promo.’
Jericho continued to say that Sonjay Dutt then took Andretti to work on some promos in the back while Jericho hid around the corner and watched.
I kind of hid around the corner and listened to him and they were really good and then I revealed myself and said, ‘That was good, now do a promo on Sammy Guevara’ with me standing there.
With no hesitation, he did a really good off-the-cuff promo on Sammy. I went right back to Tony Khan and said we can do something with this guy but I have an idea, let’s sign him but don’t put him on TV, don’t put him on Dark until the time is right.
AEW Revolution is likely the end for Jericho’s story with Andretti but Jericho says that does not mean he’ll be getting his win back over the 26-year-old.
After Revolution, our story is probably going to be done for now, Action Andretti and Jericho. By the way, I never got the win back, I don’t need to, I never need to beat Action Andretti ever, nor will I ever. I will never beat Action Andretti, I’m telling you that right now.
Now, he has to go on his own but we had a great three month story, it’s a great start for this kid. Now, the dust is going to settle, where is he going to end up? That’s kind of up to him but last night, Tony Khan put him in the ladder match, had nothing to do with me. and I was like, ‘That’s really cool.’ Now, Tony’s thinking of him as a guy on our show because getting time on Dynamite is not easy.
Revolution will be Jericho’s 10th singles match on an AEW pay-per-view. He has a 5-4 record with wins over Kenny Omega, Hangman Page, Cody Rhodes, MJF, and Bryan Danielson. His losses have been to Jon Moxley, Orange Cassidy, MJF, and Eddie Kingston.
Action Andretti on his big AEW moment, how he got into wrestling
Action Andretti shocked fans everywhere when he upset Chris Jericho on last December’s Winter is Coming edition of AEW Dynamite followed by Tony Khan announcing Andretti was signed to a deal.
Since then, the young talent has gone on to main event AEW Rampage twice, once against Daniel Garcia and most recently against Sammy Guevara.
Ahead of this weekend’s Revolution festivities in San Francisco, California, I talked with Andretti about the Jericho match, the AEW contract, and his goals for the future.
Being #AllElite
He said he has adapted to his new travel schedule and commitments in AEW in addition to indie dates.
“I am starting to get very used to it and it’s been a great time. I have been loving traveling the world seeing different places, just getting to do as much wrestling as I have been able to do. It’s been really cool.”
The Jericho win
Andretti had everyone talking about him after his shocking win over Jericho. That win, and that moment, was the catalyst for kicking his young career into a whole new level.
“It’s something that I will remember for the rest of my life. I get fired up just thinking about that night right now.”
One of the things that made the match extra special to him was how the fans in Garland, Texas, really got behind him which he said was a “dream.”
“I had never performed in front of a crowd that was that energetic…that many people. It was really cool. I was really happy that people were behind me, because nobody knew who I was. To have the fans have my back like they did that night, it was very special because moments like that don’t happen very often.”
Andretti admitted at first that the thought of not only facing Jericho but defeating him seemed to good to be true.
“I really didn’t think that’s what I was gonna be doing that day. I just randomly got called to be there. I figured it had to be for some reason because they were flying me out. Any other time that I have been to AEW, it’s been fairly local to me and this was in Texas which wasn’t at all.
“When they told me, it felt too good to be true. I was very grateful: first to find out that I would be wrestling Chris Jericho, like that’s a huge thing itself, and then when I found out I was going over, it just felt really too good to be true.
“A lot of things were going on in my head. I started to get a little bit of nerves but excitement. I wanted to tell everybody, but I couldn’t.
“Me and Chris (Jericho) made magic happen out there and we made a very special moment. He’s the one that made it for me, and I can’t thank him enough.”
Jericho had previously noted that after seeing Andretti wrestle QT Marshall on an episode of AEW Dark, he decided he wanted him to get a win over him. I asked Andretti about how he felt knowing someone like Jericho picked him for this unforgettable moment in Dynamite history.
“It definitely told me that I was putting in the right amount of hard work in wrestling and doing the right things. There’s a lot of good benefactors to being a good wrestler. I took my craft very serious. For me, (it was) being at the right place at the right time in a way. That match that I had with QT (Marshall), the fact that Chris even had the time to take and watch some of that, because he’s a guy that can be backstage doing several different things in AEW, I was just very grateful that he even took the time to check me out. It’s a very cool thing to know that he was looking at me like that.”
When it comes to feedback, Andretti says that everyone has been telling him to enjoy the moment.
“One of the biggest things I have honestly been told is to enjoy everything that is going on. I have been told that a lot. Don’t take any of this for granted right now, don’t get too caught up in all the other stuff that comes with this. Just have fun and enjoy what is going on. When it comes to wrestling-wise, it’s just keep getting better, keep learning because in wrestling the learning never stops.”
His goals in AEW are to keep getting victories, keep the fans behind him, and to simply keep displaying what he can do in the ring. He also mentioned that his dream opponent is Bryan Danielson.
Getting his start
Andretti got his start training at Maryland Championship Wrestling, making his professional debut in 2019. He said that he was motivated to get into wrestling after realizing he didn’t want to work a normal job.
“I was working a job and every day that I would clock in, I knew I wanted to do something else. I knew I had the physical capability to do athletic stuff. I didn’t know what it was at the time (laughs). I typed in ‘wrestling schools’ near me one day, and took a nice little drive to the wrestling school I went at in Maryland called MCW. Long story short, I saw a show that weekend and I knew I wanted to be part of it and started training two weeks after. The first day I was in there, I fell in love.”
His biggest challenges while pursuing a career in wrestling was the financial side of it. However, he knew he couldn’t give up.
“I just knew whether it would take two years or ten years, one day if I put in enough work and give enough energy into this, that one day it will pay off. I always would tell myself ‘One day, this will happen.’ You just have to tell yourself that you can’t get too into your head. You can’t give up and I am glad it happened. I am glad it happened now. Like you said, it did happen pretty fast for me, but I am super grateful for that and I don’t take for it granted.”
Andretti referred to himself as a “SmackDown guy as a kid.”
“When I was growing up, I watched a lot of Jeff Hardy and Rey Mysterio. Those two were huge for me. John Cena, I was a big fan of Batista and The Undertaker. But when it comes to my style, (Hardy and Mysterio) are my guys right there. I would always have their merchandise on and stuff. I was a very big SmackDown guy as a kid.”
Sammy Guevara vs. Action Andretti set for next week’s AEW Rampage
A singles match between Action Andretti and Sammy Guevara is set for next week’s AEW Rampage.
On Friday’s show, Andretti got involved during a match between Daniel Garcia and Ricky Starks. Andretti attacked Guevara, who was freely interfering during the match, leading the two to brawl to the back. Starks then was able to score the win over Garcia.
After the match, Guevara returned to the announce table and told the announcers that he wanted a match with Andretti next week. Later in the show, it was confirmed that the match would take place next Friday.
Andretti was signed to AEW after scoring a win over Chris Jericho back at Winter is Coming in December. Since then, he has become a thorn in the side of Jericho, who has gone as far as attacking Andretti with a fireball. Ricky Starks has also been feuding with Jericho and the Jericho Appreciation Society, seeking a rematch between himself and Jericho after Jericho and the JAS attacked Starks following his victory.
Speak Now: Mark Briscoe wrestles on AEW Dynamite
Hey there! Welcome to another episode of Speak Now Pro Wrestling with Denise Salcedo! On today’s show Denise will be breaking down the January 25, 2023 edition of AEW Dynamite! #AEW #AEWDynamite
Matches that took place tonight include:
* Mark Briscoe vs. Jay Lethal
* Toni Storm vs. Ruby Soho
* Bryan Danielson vs. Brian Cage
* Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara team vs Ricky Starks & Action Andretti
* Jungle Boy & Hook vs. Ethan Page & Matt Hardy
* Darby Allin (c) vs. Buddy Mathews – AEW TNT Championship
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