On April 15, the “All Elite Arcade” podcast will debut on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and the AEW Games YouTube channel. The show is hosted by AEW wrestlers Adam Cole & Evil Uno and will have new episodes debut every Monday.
“We love video games, and we love video games so much that we want to share that passion with all of you, because we’re starting the All Elite Arcade podcast,” Cole said in the trailer for the show.
“Every single week you can hear me and [Cole] talk about the latest gaming news, video game reviews, and what games we’re currently playing,” Uno added.
“And in addition to that, we’ll have special guests come on and talk anything and everything video games,” Cole said. “I can’t wait.”
Guests will include members of the AEW roster and people from the video game community.
Cole goes by the name “TheCHUGS” on Twitch, where he regularly streams himself playing video games.
AEW also has the AEW Unrestricted podcast, which is hosted by Aubrey Edwards & Will Washington. They interview a different AEW talent every Thursday.
Adam Cole officially unveiled the Undisputed Kingdom on Wednesday’s Dynamite.
The new group appeared on the opening segment on Wednesday’s Dynamite. Cole said that now that they have gotten rid of MJF, they were focused on winning gold. He said The Kingdom have already claimed the ROH Tag Team titles, Roderick Strong is going after the International title, and after Wardlow climbs the ranks, he will take the AEW World Championship from Samoa Joe. Cole says that when he is fully recovered, Wardlow will forfeit the title to him.
Cole explained that the reason he turned on MJF was because he knew that MJF would eventually turn on him anyway, as MJF was the one that made the most enemies out of anyone in AEW. He said that MJF was gone, and he’s never coming back.
At the end of AEW’s Worlds End pay-per-view on Saturday, Samoa Joe defeated MJF to win the AEW Championship. The devil’s henchmen came out and surrounded MJF and Adam Cole, who was at ringside, but it was eventually revealed that it was Cole that had been behind the attacks for the last several months. He, The Kingdom, Wardlow, and Roderick Strong then attacked MJF to end the show.
A new match has been added to the lineup for tonight’s Dynamite.
In a late addition to the card, Darby Allin vs. Konosuke Takeshita is now scheduled for the show. The match will be contested under similar rules to the Continental Classic, with no interference and everyone banned from ringside.
After they fought in 8 man tag action at #AEWWorldsEnd, 2 of the best in @AEW fight 1-on-1 with no interference, everyone banned from ringside, Darby vs Takeshita TONIGHT pic.twitter.com/7guEIpB5hu
AEW is also advertising that fans will hear exclusive comments from new World Champion Samoa Joe.
After being revealed as the person behind the devil mask at AEW Worlds End, Adam Cole will explain his “shocking betrayal” of MJF on tonight’s show as well.
Tonight’s episode of Dynamite takes place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. 4575 tickets have been distributed to the event as of Tuesday evening, according to WrestleTix.
Cole being revealed as the devil was recently covered on The Bryan and Vinny Show:
AEW Dynamite on January 3, 2024 lineup:
International Champion Orange Cassidy defends against Dante Martin
Darby Allin vs. Konosuke Takeshita
Swerve Strickland vs. Daniel Garcia
Christian Cage’s 2x TNT Championship 2024 State of the Union
Mariah May vs. Queen Aminata
Adam Cole explains his shocking betrayal
Exclusive comments from new AEW World Champion Samoa Joe
For the first time since November 2022, MJF is no longer AEW World Champion as he was submitted by Samoa Joe in the main event of Saturday’s Worlds End from Long Island, New York.
Things then got worse for MJF as his friend Adam Cole was revealed to be the mysterious Devil character along with his henchmen of Wardlow, Roderick Strong and The Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett).
The title change didn’t come without controversy as MJF’s hand dropped twice on the mat and then a third time on his own leg, causing referee Bryce Remsburg to momentarily pause after calling for the bell. Based on the reaction he had afterward, that appears to be the impetus for an MJF dispute in the future.
Cole, tan with a trimmed beard, was in MJF’s corner the entire match. While Remsburg was briefly knocked out, MJF called for his Dynamite diamond ring to hit Joe but Cole fumbled around before finally handing it over. Joe managed to avoid the strike and ensnared MJF in a sleeper for the aforementioned tap.
Cole consoled MJF afterward, leading to the four masked henchmen of the Devil to run out and attack. They grabbed both MJF and Cole with one henchman wielding a char and threatening to hit either one of them. MJF yelled to hit himself instead of Cole and then, the lights went out.
When they went back on, Cole was sitting in the chair and slowly put his hair back as MJF was in disbelief.
The four men then revealed themselves and laid MJF out as Cole looked on, eventually pulling the Devil mask out and dropping it on his former friend as the show went off the air. His walking boot remained on as there was no sign of the injury being a ruse.
Taven and Bennett were holding the ROH Tag Team titles they won under masks by defeating MJF in a handicap match on Wednesday’s Dynamite. Afterward, it was revealed that Joe, who was supposed to team with MJF but faked a knee injury, was aligned with the Devil the entire time.
MJF’s first-ever World title run began at November 2022’s Full Gear in Newark, New Jersey, with his win over Jon Moxley. He successfully defended the title ten times, most recently at last month’s Full Gear over Jay White.
He has been battling several injuries as of late, including a torn labrum. His left shoulder was in a brace and heavily taped.
On a new entry in my annual JNPO pro wrestling year in review series, I am joined by Jesse Collings of Wrestlenomics and the Gentlemen’s Wrestling Podcast to talk all about the month of July.
We kick off by looking back at WWE Money in the Bank which saw two future title challengers created in addition to the first-ever Bloodline Civil War match. We also talk about Vince McMahon’s back surgery, the build to SummerSlam, and everything else from WWE and NXT.
In AEW Land, it was the month where the bromance of the summer — MJF & Adam Cole — really took flight from their Blind Eliminator Tag Team tournament win, their title shot at FTR, and a t-shirt that took AEW by storm. We also look back at Blood & Guts. Ring of Honor’s Death Before Dishonor, and more.
We also dive deep into Impact Slammiversary, the month in Japan, and the rest of the big headlines from wrestling in our junk drawer segment. Well over 100 topics are covered in just over an hour.
I promise this is unlike any other year-end series you’ll hear or read, so catch up on the rest of the series in the archive.
Despite a stretch of time where it appeared he wouldn’t be able to defend the AEW World title, MJF showed up and successfully defended the gold in the main event of Full Gear in a win over Jay White — all with the returning Adam Cole by his side.
In a long match that focused on MJF’s knee injury suffered earlier in the night, the champion picked up the win and possession of the belt White stole after countering a Blade Runner by hitting White with the Dynamite diamond ring for the pin.
What set that up was referee Bryce Mitchell getting knocked down which gave Cole the opportunity to offer the ring to MJF but White initially got it first. That was preceded by Cole trying to hit White with a Ring of Honor Tag Team title belt, only for White to grab it and hit MJF for a close nearfall. Earlier, Cole considered throwing in the towel for MJF as he was in a figure four leglock.
There was no tease of dissension between the two, nor any on-screen appearance by The Devil character that has been on AEW TV the last few weeks.
Earlier in the night on the Zero Hour pre-show, MJF was taken out by The Gunns after he and Samoa Joe successfully defended the ROH Tag Team titles, injuring MJF’s knee in the process. As he was taken out in an ambulance, he screamed to Cole to not let them take his title.
Cole later offered to defend the title for MJF as White had a storyline stipulation where he would become champion if he didn’t get his shot at Full Gear. Cole did come out and was prepared to start the match, but MJF arrived by driving the same ambulance he was taken out in.
On Sunday, MJF will celebrate a full year as champion — the company’s longest World title reign. Saturday marked his tenth title defense and his first singles match against White who is still looking for his first run with any AEW gold.
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Sunday Update
Bryan and I will be back tonight talking all the weekend news including the television shows, Vince McMahon and Ari Emanuel, Royal Quest and Logan Paul boxing. Our week in review show talking Tuesday night ratings, MJF angle, UFC/USADA, Hall of Fame in-depth, and much more with Garrett Gonzales is up right now.
We’re looking for your thoughts on Royal Quest, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]
Adam Cole did get ankle surgery on Thursday.
Davey Boy Smith Jr. is out of the hospital after surgery to remove part of his colon due to getting appendicitis and diverticulitis at the same time. It was said to be painful as hell. He was in the hospital for four days and now he’s at home recovering.
I would tell everyone to go out of their way to see both the Will Ospreay vs. Zack Sabre Jr., main event and the Tomohiro Ishii vs. Shingo Takagi semi from Royal Quest. The reaction across the board is both were match of the year candidates. Ospreay vs. Sabre was in the vein of Danielson vs. Sabre, but the idea was similar but the match was completely different. It was incredibly innovative. Takagi vs. Ishii was exactly what you would think it would be. I will say at least from my standpoint the sound didn’t travel well on the broadcast so it felt like it was a hard crowd but others have said the atmosphere was unreal.
For Google Searches this week, nothing from pro wrestling made the list. You can really see how little interest there is these days based on the Saturday UFC shows that are strictly streaming shows on ESPN+ not cracking the top 20. It used to be automatic for every UFC show to do so. As far as yesterday’s PPV show, the Logan Paul vs. Dillon Danis fight got 1.1 million searches while the KSI vs. Tommy Fury main event got 50,000. Paul vs. Danis also got another 200,000 on Thursday based on Danis hitting Paul with the mic and cutting him open. The only other thing to make the list this week was No. 6 on Wednesday with 50,000 was UFC announcing that Fight Pass would be airing several college wrestling dual meets this season. Nothing involving Tuesday’ NXT vs. AEW made the list.
On last night’s Collision show, Tony Khan made the call for Tony Schiavone to be the lead announcer. Kevin Kelly worked the show as well, as did Nigel McGuinness. During the Bryan Danielson vs. Christian Cage main event (an outstanding match by the way), Jim Ross replaced Kelly.
At Royal Quest, they made three new matches. For Power Struggle on 11/4 in Osaka they made Will Ospreay vs. Shota Umino for the UK and US titles and Jon Moxley vs. Great O’Khan. For 10/28 in Las Vegas, Tama Tonga will defend the Never title against Singo Takagi.
WWE house show results from last night in Kansas City, MO, with a rare Roman Reigns house show match. Reigns is not on tonight’s house show in Springfield,MO:
Cody Rhodes & Jey Uso retained the tag titles over Ludvig Kaiser & Giovanni Vinci when Rhodes pinned Kaiser.
Dominik Mysterio b Ricochet using the tights and ropes to retain the North American title
LA Knight b Jimmy Uso via DQ when Solo Sikoa interfered. Sikoa laid out Knight with the Samoan spike
Gunther b Chad Gable to retain the IC title after a power bomb. Maxxine and Otis were also involved
Seth Rollins b Shinsuke Nakamura with a curb stomp in a street fight for the world title
Carlito & Joaquin Wilde b The Street Profits
Iyo Sky won three-way over Charlotte Flair and Asuka. Apparently there was a close near fall where people thought Asuka didn’t get her shoulder up after a spear by Flair but that wasn’t the finish. Sky reversed the Asuka lock into a pin
Roman Reigns beat Sami Zayn with a combination spear and Solo Sikoa interfering with the spike. Long match. Jimmy Uso interfered. Zayn kicked out of the first spear. A couple of refs bumps. Jimmy Uso brought in a chair but Zayn speared him. Zayn used the helluva kick on Reigns but the ref was slow counting and Reigns took out. Sikoa came out and they did the spear and spike combo as the ref was down and that was the pin. Jimmy & Solo were beating on Zayn after the match. LA Knight made the save and used the BFT on Reigns, Uso and Sikoa.(thanks to Shannon Walsh)
We’re looking for reports on these shows:
NXT on Friday night in Largo, FL and last night in Winter Haven, FL
WWE house show tonight in Springfield, MO
We’re looking for results, finishes and highlights to [email protected]
Thanks to Brian Overholt, Paul Meade and John Muse for the reports from AEW last night in Toledo.
With Nick Aldis now a WWE television character, it looks like no more indies. We don’t have that confirmed but he did pull out of his show for the Hart Family’s promotion in Calgary so it looks that way.
The Grizzled Young Veterans, formerly the Dyad, had their contracts expire and wrote, “You’ve got soulless wrestlers with heartless gimmicks. And then you’ve got the death of creativity. We took a long look around and we said to ourselves, `If this is the big life, then we’re not looking to live it.’ We are sick of taking the safe option, we are sick of reading the same old boring scripts that go absolutely nowhere. And we are sick of dealing with knobheads that have wormed their way into this business.”
The Grizzled Young Veterans will be part of the 10/28 OTT ninth anniversary show at Dublin National Stadium.
Cody Rhodes said he made one last decision as NXT General Manager which will be announced on Tuesday.
The Logan Paul boxing match with Dilon Danis was predictably terrible as Danis can’t box. Paul dominated and Danis just kept trying to block punches and not get hit. In the fifth round, Danis went for a guillotine and since it was a boxing match, he was DQ’d. Paul challenged Rey Mysterio and Conor McGregor, as well as challenged Danis to an MMA fight.
Tommy Fury beat KSI in the main event in Manchester, UK on scores announced as 57-57, 57-56 and 57-56 in what was a close fight. KSI claimed he was robbed. The fight was also said to be terrible. Just Rafael Ramos, who scored the fight 57-57 actually added up his scores incorrectly and when added up it later came out he als scored it 57-56 for Fury.
UFC Hall of Famer Pat Miletich faced reporter and sometimes fighter Mike Jackson last night. Miletich, 55, beat on Jackson, best known for his fight with CM Punk, for two rounds at the fight in Davenport, IA. But Miletich was so exhausted he couldn’t come out for the third round and Jackson won the fight. Jens Pulver was furious at Jackson for celebrating his win.
Brian Cage was injured so he was out of last night’s scheduled match with Komander. Komander beat Metalik as part of the ROH tapings last night in Toledo, OH.
Jerry Lawler was at a wrestling show Friday night in Memphis in a show put on by the Memphis Tigers college before their game with Tulane at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium. Lawler came to the ring but didn’t wrestle. Jimmy Hart, Doug Gilbert, Tommy Rich and Koko B. Ware were also at the show.
Defy from Friday night in Yakima, WA: Juventud Guerrera & Super Crazy & Guillermo Rosas b Ricky Gibson & Eddie Pearl & Mils Deville, Coyote Azteca & Alan Extreme b Sepulcro 3000 & Vaquero Fantasma, Masato Tanaka b Bryan Keith, Gringo Loco won three-way over Arez and Galeno del Mal (son of Dr. Wagner Jr.) for the Defy Lucha title, Shaff won BMF Battle Royal, Vert Vixen retained the Defy title in a four-way over Nicole Matthews, Liiza Hall and Karisma, Ultimo Dragon & Nick Wayne & Cody Chhun b Judas Icarus & Travis Williams & Evan Rivers, Swerve Strickland b El Hijo del Vikingo. The next show is 10/27 in Seattle with Sanada and Mike Bailey.
Brian Pillman Jr. worked both of the NXT house shows this weekend as Lexis King. Gable Steveson also wrestled on both shows.
West Coast Pro from last night in San Francisco: Alpha Zo b Mike Bailey, Bryan Keith b Jiah Jewell, Calvin Tankman & Beef b Royce Isaacs & Jore Nelson, Johnnie Robbie & Unagi Sayaka & Rachael Ellering & Chikayo Nagashima b Sandra Moone & Maria & Riko Kawahata & Mio Momono in what was said to be a great match, Vinnie Massaro b Masato Tanaka in a no DQ match, Ultimo Dragon & Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin Adrian Quest & Danny Rose & Ricky Gee, Timothy Thatcher b JT Thorne, Takumi Iroha b Masha Slamovich to keep the West Coast Pro women’s title, Starboy Charlie b Titus Alexander in 40:00 to win the West Coast Pro title. Also said to be really good. The show ended with Kenta Kobashi putting the title belt around Charlie’s waist. Chris Hero, who hasn’t wrestled in a few years but is the booker here, challenged Thatcher to a match after Thatcher attacked him which will be on 11/17 in San Francisco. Kobashi also did a long interview in the ring. He talked about getting his kidney removed in 2006 due to cancer and said he thought his life and his career were over. He said he came back from it and wrestled until 2013 and retired with no regrets and was grateful to be back in the U.S.
Innovate Wrestling tonight at 6 p.m. in Kingsport, TN at 100 Emory Lane at the Beautiful Bobby Eaton Arena.
Spark Wrestling from last night in Orlando: Devlyn Macabre b Brittany Blake, KZT b Kelsey Raegen, Amber Nova b Maika Ozaki, Sumie Sakai & Dani Mo b Emi Sakura & Ultra Violette, Miu Watanabe b KiLynn King, Miyu Yamashita b Jessie, Ram Kaichow b Xia Brookside to keep the Pacific title, Saki b Maya Yukihi to become the first Atlantic champion.
House of Glory Friday night in New York: Midas Black & Jay Lyon retained the tag titles over Ken Broadway & Showtime Moore, Carlos Ramierz b O’Shay Edwards, Idris Jackson b Joey Silver, Kevin Blackwood won over JJ Doujii, Raheem Royal, Dezmond Cole, Jay Armani and Roachie Roach, Nolo Kitano b Michael Fain to keep the cruiserweight title, Kiki Van Gogh b Leila Gray-DQ, Mike Santana b Rocky Romero, Minoru Suzuki b Charles Mason. Santana challenged HOG champion Matt Cardona for the 12/1 show.(thanks to Samuel Rosenthal)
UWC on 10/21 in New Egypt, NJ at the American Legion with a Halloween themed show.
Adam Cole provided an injury update during a Twitch stream on Thursday.
Cole broke his ankle during a run-in on AEW Dynamite Grand Slam on September 20 but says it’s not clear exactly how the injury occurred. He told followers of his Twitch channel today that the injury will require two surgeries and involve eight screws and a plate being inserted into his ankle.
“Obviously, as many people know, my ankle is broken,” Cole said. “And when it’s all said and done, when I’m eventually able to get everything all fixed, I’m going to need to get two surgeries and it will be a total of eight screws and a plate in my ankle. So, not ideal. It’s incredibly painful. It’s the most painful injury I’ve ever had.”
“In speaking to doctors, just an absolute freak type of thing. Just no idea how it happened. But I’m doing my best to stay as positive as I can. Obviously, this is soul-crushing. It’s really, really a bummer. If anything it’s more painful mentally, and physically it really, really hurts as well.”
Cole was shown on AEW programming this week in a video with Roderick Strong and The Kingdom. Despite Cole’s injuries, Strong asked him to help arrange some furniture for him during the scene.
Cole says he will be spending more time on his Twitch channel now that he’s injured. As of this writing, he’s been playing Lies of P for over four hours.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive is back with tons to talk about including last night’s AEW Dynamite, Adam Cole’s injury, MLW now working with New Japan and CMLL including an appearance by Court Bauer to talk about it, and more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Adam Cole says he’ll need surgery after breaking his ankle in three places last week.
On Wednesday’s Dynamite, Adam Cole came out with MJF for an in-ring promo. Cole, who was wearing a cast on his leg and was on crutches, revealed that when he hopped off the stage last week at AEW Dynamite Grand Slam he not only broke his ankle in three different places, but also tore ligaments and will need surgery as a result. He promised to come back as soon as he could.
Adam Cole announces that he has to have surgery on his injured ankle.
Cole was about to say that the two were going to relinquish the ROH Tag Team titles when MJF cut him off, saying he knew Cole wouldn’t have gotten injured if it wasn’t for him, and didn’t want to end the title run this way. He instead proposed he defend the titles by himself in a handicap match at WrestleDream this Sunday.
The segment ended with Roderick Strong coming out and telling Cole he needed him now. Cole left with Strong and The Kingdom as Jay White arrived. White and MJF cut back and forth promos on one another before White eventually said he planned to take MJF’s AEW World Championship away from him.
On X, Cole’s girlfriend Britt Baker shared photos and x-ray’s of Cole’s broken ankle:
This guy broke his ankle in 3 places on a freak accident. He still hobbled around on live tv because as we like to say “the show must go on”. @AdamColePro gives his entire heart and soul to pro wrestling. He’s one tough cookie and this is just a small bump in the road. He’ll be… pic.twitter.com/Aya1JWTTvF
On the road to WrestleDream, AEW stops in Broomfield, Colorado for tonight’s go-home episode of Dynamite.
MJF & Adam Cole are scheduled to defend their ROH Tag Team titles against The Righteous at WrestleDream. But Cole’s status has been put into question after suffering an injury last week. Tonight, we’ll hear from MJF & Cole and should get an update on whether the tag title match is still happening.
The Lucha Bros, The Young Bucks, Orange Cassidy & Hook, and The Gunns are facing off at Sunday’s pay-per-view in a match where the winner receives a future AEW Tag Team title shot. Tonight, Penta El Zero Miedo, Matt Jackson, Cassidy, and Austin Gunn meet in a four-way singles match.
There will be a contract signing for Hangman Page and Swerve Strickland’s match at WrestleDream on tonight’s show. Plus, Jim Ross will conduct a sit-down interview with Christian Cage and Darby Allin. Christian is defending the TNT Championship against Allin in a two-out-of-three falls match on Sunday.
Willow Nightingale vs. Julia Hart is also set for tonight. Our live coverage starts at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
AEW Dynamite comes on the air with Excalibur welcoming us alongside Tony Schiavone and Taz as we go right to our opening title match
Rey Fenix (w/Alex Abrahantes) defeated Jeff Jarrett (w/Karen Jarrett, Sonjay Dutt, Jay Lethal & Satnam Singh) to retain the AEW International Title
(Your standard Jarrett match that was filled with interference after interference, with the only time referee Aubrey doing anything was when she stopped Karen. Jarrett got his near fall, but ultimately Fenix was able to come out victorious, despite apparently tweaking his knee in the process.)
Fenix immediately hit a dive that wiped out Jarrett, Dutt & Lethal before the bell, as Jarrett answered with an eye poke and chair shot to the ribs. Fenix hit a huricanrana on Lethal that sent him face first into Singh’s crotch (right to the yambag, as Taz described it to us), while Dutt ate a superkick and Jarrett was caught with a double springboard moonsault back inside as the bell officially rang to start the match. Jarrett regained control and worked over the back of Fenix before hitting the Fargo Strut, mocking the Zero Mideo pose. All of this allowed Fenix to almost take control, but a distraction from Singh led to Jarrett countering a rolling cutter into a DDT heading to commercial.
The numbers game helped Jarrett throughout break, as Fenix is really hobbling on his left leg, spilling outside. Jarrett ordered his side to attack, but referee Aubrey jumped to the floor and shoved Karen down. Despite the bad leg, Fenix hit a springboard arm drag into a double stomp for two. A thrust kick landed flush, as Lethal jumped on the apron and ate a rope walk kick to the face. Dutt’s turn to run distraction, as Jarrett hit a low blow and small package for two. Jarrett planted Fenix with the Stroke, but a foot on the rope broke the pin. Jarrett ordered Singh to the apron, but Fenix hit a low dropkick and caught Jarrett with a small package of his own for the flash pin. Fenix was clutching his knee as Abrahantes celebrated post match. Excalibur informs us Nick Jackson, Brian Cage & Claudio Castagnoli will have a match later tonight with the winner facing Fenix next week on the 4 year anniversary of Dynamite.
-Footage of Long Island, New York last week is shown of Adam Cole, on crutches, being welcomed to MJF’s dad’s boat where the brochachos relaxed with some drinks while fishing. Cole thanked MJF for the invitation, as MJF brought up how Cole was too busy with Roderick Strong to come out to the ring with him. Cole said Roddy is like a brother, as MJF understood and went to grab a beer for Cole. MJF was seen in the background putting on the Dynamite Diamond Ring, as Cole asked if MJF brought him out there to knock him out and push him overboard. MJF said that was insane, as Cole said it’s healthy to have multiple best friends, something that’s not for MJF, who supports Cole. MJF said he almost got caught the last time he threw a dude overboard as they seemed to catch a huge fish. That catch turned out to be Paul Wight, decked out in his Captain Insane-O gear, who wound up having a beer and toasting to Better Than You BayBay. This was an insane ending, pun intended, to a pretty hilarious vignette.
-Don Callis was walking the streets of Tokyo with Konosuke Takeshita last Saturday night, as they are hunting Kota Ibushi. Callis said maybe Kenny Omega will have to find a new partner for WrestleDream if they find and get rid of Ibushi.
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-Renee Paquette is in the ring and welcomes Don Callis & Konosuke Takeshita, who are met with huge boos. Callis introduces the newest family member to the ring, Sammy Guevara, who is met with equally loud boos. Callis threw it to footage of Takeshtia & himself at Kota Ibushi’s dojo, as Takeshita beats down a trainee before Ibushi shows up and takes Takeshita down. Pouring down strikes, Callis attacks from behind with an umbrella, as Ibushi stalked him down, but Takeshita blindsided him from behind with a kettle bell shot. Callis screamed at an unconscious Ibushi that he is never safe from the Don Callis Family, no matter where he is. Back to the ring, Callis said his family has never been stronger headed into WrestleDream.
Guevara said he’s painted as the bad guy, when he should be viewed as the hero. The crowd is drowning him out with “F You Sammy” chants, who said he was great on his own, but Jericho kept clipping his wings. He thought Jericho would one day pass him the torch, but Don Callis showed him that Chris Jericho is selfish and now it’s time for Guevara to be the star he’s born to be. Callis said they will take everything from Omega, Jericho & Ibushi until all that’s left is tears.
-Post match comments from Ricky Starks last Saturday is shown after his Texas Death Match with Bryan Danielson. Wheeler Yuta interrupted and said it was wrong he put his hands on Starks post match, but Starks is an entitled prick who always moans and complains. Yuta challenges Starks to a match at WrestleDream and we’re told Tony Khan has made that match official.
Nick Jackson defeated Brian Cage (w/Prince Nana) & Claudio Castagnoli to earn an AEW International Title shot next week
(My goodness, this felt like a PWG sprint if there ever was one. Each man got in all his signature offense and it really seemed like the match could end at any moment. The result means we get a rematch of one of the best singles matches in Dynamite history next week, with Nick Jackson earning an International Title match with Rey Fenix.)
Cage wasted no time in catching a superkick and gorilla pressing Jackson over the top to the floor. Cage & Castagnoli did a knuckle lock, before both took turns delivering vertical suplexes. Uppercuts from Castagnoli connected before Jackson hit a rope walk into a double takedown, sending Cage & Castagnoli to the floor, where Jackson followed with a springboard swanton. Back inside, Cage was caught in the corner, as a double stomp to Castagnoli led to a rolling backstabber on Cage by Jackson. As Jackson briefly posed, Castagnoli met him with a running boot as we went to picture in picture.
Back from break, Cage planted Castagnoli with a release German, but Jackson was there to meet him with a step up corner knee and bulldog. Jackson connected on a slingshot face buster, but as he came back through for a moonsault on Castagnoli, he was caught, but turned it into a swinging DDT. Jackson quickly hit a 450 Splash on Cage back inside for two. Castagnoli sent Jackson crashing to the floor and connected with the Giant Swing on Cage for ten impressive revolutions for a two count. Jackson sent Castagnoli outside, but a cross body off the top was caught by Cage who hit an F5 for two. Cage connected on his patented suplex from the apron back into the ring with ease on Castagnoli, as everyone traded near falls.
Jackson & Castagnoli took turns connecting with superkicks & uppercuts on Cage, until Castagnoli hit a pop up uppercut on Jackson. Anvil elbows on Cage led to a Ricola Bomb, but Jackson flew in with a springboard hurricanrana that sent Castagnoli to the floor, as Jackson stole the pin on Cage.
-A video package for The Righteous is shown, as they address MJF & Adam Cole ahead of WrestleDream. Karma has no deadline and they’ve done nothing wrong. It’s easier to forgive your enemies than it is to forgive your fake friends.
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-MJF & Adam Cole make their way to the ring, as Cole is on crutches and has a cast on his left foot. MJF set up a chair for Cole to sit in before hitting their signature pose. After a loud ovation it’s time for Story Time with Adam Cole and it’s a sad one, as Cole said last week his ankle exploded, broke in three places and tore ligaments. Cole said he has to go and get surgery, which is soul crushing. Cole apologizes to MJF and said unfortunately they have to relinquish the ROH Tag Titles, which MJF immediately cut off. MJF refuses to forfeit them to the freaky, deaky, douchebags, The Righteous. MJF said Cole wouldn’t be hurt if it wasn’t for being there for him, so he wants to make sure the ROH Tag Titles will be there for Cole when he returns. MJF will defend the titles against The Righteous in a handicap match.
The screaming of ADAM rings out, as Roderick Strong, in a hospital gown, is wheeled to the stage by Matt Taven & Mike Bennett, saying he needs Cole, it’s an emergency. MJF calls Strong a simp, but respects Cole has to do what he needs to do and will be there waiting for Cole when he gets back. Cole walks up the ramp on his crutches and leaves with The Kingdom & Strong. MJF was about to start talking when Bullet Club Gold music hits and Switchblade Jay White walks out with Juice Robinson, The Gunns and Cardblade until White sends them to the back and goes to the ring alone.
After dueling chants from the crowd, White told MJF & the crowd to shut up, as he’s here alone since 5 on 1 (including Cardblade) would be such a disadvantage. MJF said White must be smoking that Colorado grass and Excalibur tells us we’re 420 feet above sea level in an incredible line. MJF said if you mess with the king, you better not miss and insults the facial hair of White. MJF was never bothered by comparisons until he was compared to White, as MJF is a fine filet mignon, a generational talent, while White, despite being talented, is tofu. You need to trick yourself into thinking tofu has taste and while White has been given everything like big matches, huge entrances and music, keys to one of the greatest factions of all time, take that all away, he’s tofu. MJF said White is who someone in Japan thought was a top guy and if he doesn’t leave right now, the fans will always say White is good, but he’s no Maxwell Jacob Friedman.
White said MJF seems a bit distracted by his bromance and doesn’t think the crowd loves him as they do Adam Cole. Since he’s their scumbag, the crowd chanted for MJF and White silenced them. White said if he didn’t temporarily end Cole’s career after the first Forbidden Door, maybe MJF wouldn’t have had a soft spot for him and their story wouldn’t have happened, ending in Cole breaking his ankle, which is MJF’s fault. While White has been ruining MJF’s life from afar, he’s here to do it in the flesh. No one is on the level of the devil, there needs to be another level, as White is going to take the AEW World Title, the only grand slam champion that matters, who sold out MSG & the United Center. MJF will have the poors, they will have their scumbags and White will have the triple B title in the Switchblade Era, calling MJF soft. MJF wanted to start a fight, but White bailed, with MJF staring him down, holding the AEW Title up high. This was a fantastic, albeit long, back and forth segment for a World Title feud that hopefully builds and isn’t rushed.
-Jim Ross is having a sit down backstage with Christian Cage & Darby Allin. Ross talked about Cage winning the TNT Title, which confused Cage, who said he retained the title last Saturday on Collision. Cage said the times he has been pinned by Allin were flukes and no titles were on the line. Cage knows in his heart, Allin is nowhere near the man or wrestler that he is. Cage hopes Allin is prepared to let his family down at WrestleDream and asks if Allin’s uncle will be there on Sunday, remembering he’s no longer with us. Allin said everyone Cage talks trash about is dead, but Allin isn’t afraid of dying nor losing in his hometown. Cage told Allin to bring his whole family, bring Nick Wayne, his mother, who Cage said he’d call since he has her digits. Allin said he knows Cage wants Wayne to be there to get revenge, but that won’t happen and said Cage should leave Luchasaurus behind as well. Cage said Allin hides behind his face paint, which Allin wiped off with water, getting really intense as Cage doesn’t need Luchasaurus to show who Allin really is. Cage is the TNT Champion and Allin needs to get used to it. The audio was somewhat choppy at the end of this segment for me.
**********
Orange Cassidy defeated Penta El Zero Miedo (w/Alex Abrahantes), Matt Jackson & Austin Gunn
(Once we got back from picture in picture, this turned into a fun party match that was filled with offense by everyone involved. Similar to the three way earlier in the show, this felt like it could’ve been won by anyone at anytime, which made the finish exciting.)
The story early on was Gunn was trying to steal the pin off anyone who hit a move, but was unsuccessful until being sent to the floor by Cassidy. Penta connected on a bounce back leg drop on Cassidy, teased a dive, but was met by Gunn, who had a prolonged pose off with Zero Miedo & Gunns Up hand signals until Penta finally chopped him down. Gunn managed to duck an Orange Punch and deliver Shake, Rattle & Roll to stand tall heading into commercial.
Back from break, Jackson connected on a dive off the top to the floor on Penta, as Gunn cut off Cassidy in the ropes, but was knocked down, teased a splash, but just fell off to the floor onto Jackson & Penta. Cassidy tried his dive on Gunn, who rolled through and hit the hip toss into a neckbreaker for two. Gunn teased a Pedigree on everyone, but after each attempt, another competitor would be taken out by a Destroyer leading to a quadruple down. Jackson launched off Cassidy to hit Penta with a Sliced Bread, countering a Cassidy DDT into hi locomotion Northern Lights. While Cassidy was rolled up, Jackson hit a double Northern Lights on Penta & Gunn for a triple near fall.
Penta blocked a BTE Trigger and had a series of counters with Jackson until Penta laid out Gunn with a Sling Blade. Cassidy put a stop to a Fear Factor with an Orange Punch, and took out Jackson with Beach Break, as Gunn took turns trying to pin everyone, getting a series of two counts. Gunn opted to pose and ate a triple superkick, as Jackson & Penta tried the same offense until Gunn tripped up Penta and Cassidy popped Jackson with the Orange Punch to get the win. All four men’s partners had a face off post match, as Excalibur said the momentum is on Cassidy & HOOK’s side heading into the WrestleDream four way.
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Julia Hart (w/Brody King) defeated Willow Nightingale
(I enjoyed the second half of this match quite a bit, as Nightingale got to take out her frustrations the first part, Hart controlled during break and we got an even back and forth finish. I think this was one of the stronger showings from Hart, who looks to avenge her last loss in AEW, which happened way back in April of 2022 on Elevation against, ironically enough, Kris Statlander.)
Nightingale walked out with one eye bandaged up to sell the black mist we’re told she was hit with by Hart before Collision last week. Nightingale poured on the offense early and decided to back off for some reason, which allowed Hart to capitalize. With the bad eye exposed, this almost fired up Nightingale, who again was relentless on her offense. Hart escaped to the floor and bailed under the ring, as distraction from King was long enough for Hart to sneak out and chop block Nightingale to take control during picture in picture. In a somewhat funny moment, Hart emerged from under the ring almost right in front of Nightingale and had to sort of slowly sneak back under to get behind her opponent.
Hart slapped on a sleeper and Nightingale countered into a Death Valley Driver and follow up spinebuster. After a short arm lariat, Hart ducked another into a back heel trip and Hartless was applied, but Nightingale got the ropes. Hart tried a handspring corner strike, but Nightingale popped her with a Pounce in mid air and the Oklahoma Stampede followed. Nightingale barked at King, but took too long, as she missed a cannonball. Hart hit a picture perfect moonsault and got the victory. The crowd was loudly behind the finish of this match. Post match, Hart applied Hartless again on Nightingale until Kris Statlander hit the ring and Hart bailed, hiding behind King, who stood between the two ladies.
**********
Hangman Adam Page & Swerve Strickland Contract Signing
Renee Paquette welcomed both men to the ring and informed us The Elite & Mogul Embassy is banned from ringside, which explains the extra security. Strickland kicked his feet up on the table and asks if Page knows what he’s walking into on Sunday, he’s walking into Swerve’s House. Strickland will never be the same as Page, what’s a farmer to a mogul, what’s a buckshot to a killshot? Page said he’s glad that Strickland is ready and thanks Strickland for what he said a few weeks ago, it lit a fire under him. For a year and a half, Page felt there was a black cloud over his head he couldn’t get rid of. The sun would shine at times, like beating Jon Moxley in a Texas Death Match and reuniting with The Elite, but every time he started to smile, that cloud came back and it started to rain. It annoyed, then pissed Page off, as he weathered the storm and he’s still standing. What Strickland said made this doubt wash away from Page, as the fans deserve the best of him, which is what Strickland will get at WrestleDream.
Strickland busted up laughing saying that was just as pathetic as Russell Wilson and the Broncos last week, thanking that Seattle got rid of Wilson to this dumpster in Denver. Strickland said his mental problems have led to having a new enemy every day. Strickland will take Page’s postion from him on Sunday and informs Hangman it rains an awful lot in Seattle. Page said they could go back and forth about the opportunities Page has had and Strickland hasn’t, but the truth is all those opportunities Page has knocked out of the park. Strickland should want Page’s spot and Page said he doesn’t have what it takes, as Strickland slapped Page in the face. Page stabbed the hand of Strickland with the pen and security jumped in to separate the two men.
We then go backstage to see Switchblade Jay White being beaten down by 4 masked men. After being thrown into the wall, a fifth masked man is shown to be wearing the familiar Devil mask that MJF has worn many times. That person pushes away the camera as the show ended.
AEW Rampage 9/29/23
· The Acclaimed & Daddy Ass defend the AEW Trios Titles against The Hardys (Matt & Jeff) & Brother Zay
· Ruby Soho vs. Hikaru Shida with the winner getting an AEW Women’s Title shot at Title Tuesday on October 10th
· Eddie Kingston vs. Rocky Romero for the NJPW Strong Openweight Titl
AEW Collision 9/30/23
· Andrade El Idolo vs. Juice Robinson
· Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent Beretta) vs. The Kingdom (Mike Bennett & Matt Taven)
AEW WrestleDream 10/1/23
· Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
· Hangman Adam Page vs. Swerve Strickland
· Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho & Kota Ibushi vs. Konosuke Takeshita, Sammy Guevara & Will Ospreay (w/Don Callis)
· MJF vs. The Righteous (Vincent & Dutch) for the ROH Tag Team Titles
· FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) vs. Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) for the AEW Tag Team Titles
· Kris Statlander vs. Julia Hart (w/Brody King) for the TBS Title
· Eddie Kingston vs. Katsuyori Shibata for the ROH World & NJPW Strong Titles
· Christian Cage vs. Darby Allin for the TNT Title in a 2 out of 3 Falls match
· The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) vs. The Gunns (Austin & Colten) vs. Orange Cassidy & HOOK vs. The Lucha Bros (Penta El Zero Miedo & Rey Fenix w/Alex Abrahantes) to earn a future AEW Tag Team Title shot
· Ricky Starks vs. Wheeler Yuta
AEW Dynamite 10/4/23
· Rey Fenix defends the AEW International Title against Nick Jackson
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive is back with tons to talk about including Dynamite tonight, what might be going on with Adam Cole, Tony Khan press conference notes, the NXT TV report from Tuesday, ratings and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
On the same day when one of his homegrown stars signed with WWE, AEW head Tony Khan spoke to the media Tuesday to hype up this Sunday’s WrestleDream pay-per-view and was asked about Jade Cargill’s new home.
The audio from the call can be found below.
Khan said he has nothing but positive things to say about Cargill, that she would always be welcome in AEW, and wished her the best. He didn’t comment further about efforts to re-sign her.
Khan also was vague on the current status of Adam Cole after the apparent leg injury he suffered while jumping off the entrance ramp on last Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite Grand Slam. Khan said that as of now, the MJF & Cole ROH Tag Team title defense against The Righteous this Sunday is still on, but that they will address Cole’s status on tomorrow’s Dynamite.
While not directly saying the word “no,” Khan said he was unsure where the rumors of him buying NJPW are coming from. He was asked about his voiceover comments on the WrestleDream promo video saying that Sunday would be “the end of an era.” He declined to specify what those comments meant, joking that he wants people to buy the PPV Sunday.
It doesn’t appear that will mean the merging of AEW & ROH as Khan has been happy with how ROH TV has been lately and that newer champions like Eddie Kingston, The Young Bucks & Hangman Page, and MJF & Adam Cole will appear on ROH TV in the future.
Khan answered a question from our Dave Meltzer about rumors of WBD taking an ownership stake in AEW. Khan said he would be open to conversations with partners like WBD, but wants to remain in control of decision-making and voting.
Other notes:
Khan said Antonio Inoki’s family will be in attendance Sunday and that he filed the date away in his mind when Inoki passed last year. He hopes the tribute will be an annual event for AEW.
He said he’s never said AEW will move to one PPV a month. He isn’t sure what the right number is while saying there is more appetite for AEW content.
He said with a streaming service, that would likely be packaged into their next TV rights deal as they don’t want to do a 6-9 month tryout before those come up.
Khan said Wardlow is a great star for the company and will “surely be back on AEW TV when the time is right.”
Khan would like to stay on WBD “forever” and when asked about whether Fox could be a possible home for AEW, he didn’t feel it was the right time to talk about it. He mentioned how there’s not enough loyalty these days and mentioned the recent WWE post-merger layoffs without directly referencing the company by name.
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including WWE roster cuts, SmackDown returning to USA next year, Eddie Kingston announcing he is done with indies for a while, updates on Adam Cole and Jon Moxley, tons of New Japan notes, Jericho to DDT, reviews of Rampage, Collision and SmackDown, and more.
A fun show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps:
Start: Matt Riddle among other WWE releases
7:33: SmackDown to USA Network
13:11: Notes on Jon Moxley, Adam Cole, Eddie Kingston pulling out of indies, Mariah May
19:13: Yota Tsuji vs. Will Ospreay at NJPW Destruction
25:37: Hulk Hogan married for the third time, story on Andre the Giant vs. Akira Maeda
