Matt Hardy was injured in a scary moment during his Broken Rules match against Sammy Guevara at All Out.
Guevara speared Hardy off a scissor lift and through a table near the beginning of their match at tonight’s pay-per-view, but Hardy’s head missed the table and hit the concrete. The commentary team said that Hardy was out of it. Referee Aubrey Edwards went to count to 10, but Hardy made it to his feet and tried to continue the match despite not being in any condition to do so. Edwards then separated Hardy and Guevara, put up the X sign, and called for AEW doctor Michael Sampson to check on Hardy.
The bell was called for and the match was stopped, but it ended up being restarted and Hardy and Guevara began brawling again. The match ended quickly after that, with Hardy and Guevara climbing up scaffolding and Hardy knocking Guevara off to get the win.
Our Bryan Alvarez tweeted later in the show that Hardy was on his way to the hospital. AEW also gave an update on Hardy’s condition. Tony Schiavone said on commentary that he talked to Sampson about what happened. Sampson said he asked Hardy if he was okay and Hardy responded that he was. It was said that Sampson cleared Hardy to continue the match and it was restarted. Schiavone noted that Hardy and Guevara will both be alright.
AEW later clarified that Sampson did examine Hardy before he cleared him. Schiavone said AEW officials would never restart a match otherwise.
Hardy’s wife Reby tweeted after the injury: “Let me be absolutely f*cking clear. There is NOTHING entertaining about a concussion. Shame on everyone in that goddamn building.”
The stipulations of the Broken Rules match were that it was a last man standing match where the finish could take place anywhere, there had to be a winner, and Hardy would leave AEW forever if he lost.
Matt Sydal made his AEW debut as part of the Casino Battle Royale at tonight’s All Out pay-per-view.
Sydal was the mystery entrant in tonight’s battle royal. He entered as the final participant and made it to the final three of the match before being eliminated by Eddie Kingston.
After Sydal entered, there was an unfortunate moment where he slipped on the top rope when going for a Shooting Star Press on Will Hobbs. Sydal looked to be uninjured after the slip.
Lance Archer eliminated Kingston to win the Casino Battle Royale. Archer will get a shot at the AEW World Championship at some point in the future. AEW World Champion Jon Moxley is defending his title against MJF at All Out tonight.
Trent Barreta, Christopher Daniels, Jake Hager, The Blade, Fenix, Frankie Kazarian, Hobbs, Chuck Taylor, Santana, Ortiz, Billy Gunn, Penta El Zero M, Brian Cage, Ricky Starks, Darby Allin, Shawn Spears, Kingston, The Butcher, Sonny Kiss, Archer, and Sydal were the entrants in the Casino Battle Royale.
Sydal, who has wrestled for WWE (as Evan Bourne), Impact Wrestling, ROH, NJPW, and more throughout his career, has also been announced as appearing for ROH as one of the participants in their Pure title tournament. Sydal is facing Delirious in the first round. The tournament will begin airing on ROH television next weekend.
Lance Archer will get the next AEW World title shot.
Archer won tonight’s 21 man battle royal, last eliminating Eddie Kingston. The two ended up on the apron, trying to eliminate one another. Jake Roberts, The Butcher, and the Blade were all at ringside trying to help their respective man. Archer finally was able to grab Kingston and chokeslammed him to the floor, with both Butcher and Blade breaking Kingston’s fall.
As a result of tonight’s win, Archer will get a future AEW World title match. The championship is set to be defended later tonight, with champion Jon Moxley defending against MJF.
Archer’s last high profile title match was at Double or Nothing in May, losing to Cody in the TNT title tournament finals.
Matt Sydal, who was the final entrant in the battle royal, made his AEW debut and was among the final four in the match before being eliminated by Kingston after Archer gave Sydal the blackout
This was a clunky opener with a couple of strange spots. It got good once they began trading near falls near the climax.
Janela attacked Serpentico at the opening bell. Serpentico cut him off and sent him crashing into Kiss on the apron.
Serpentico worked Janela over. There was a weird spot where Serpentico went to the top rope as if he would hit a senton but jumped down and hit a stomp instead. Serpentico then went back up top and tried the senton but Janela got his knees up.
Janela came back with a death valley driver and a blue thunder bomb for a near fall. Janela missed a moonsault. Serpentico hit a thrust kick and a DDT for a near fall.
Serpentico took the ref. Janela ran the ropes. Luther was supposed to trip Janela but missed his ankle on his first attempt at grabbing the ankle.
Janela hit a fisherman buster off the top for a near fall. Janela then hit a top rope elbow for the pin.
Private Party defeated Alex Reynolds & John Silver
A very good match. Some good near falls in this one as well.
Silver and Kassidy began. Kassidy usually gets the hot tag while Quen is worked over but they deviated from that pattern here. Kassidy got cut off and Reynolds and Silver went to work on him.
Quen got a hot tag. Silver blocked the Silly String. Silver hit a running knee to Quen and a helicopter spin neckbreaker for a near fall.
Reynolds tagged in. Reynolds and Silver hit a tandem suplex into a jackknife cover for a two count.
Quen hit a Pele kick on Silver. Kassidy made it back to the apron and tagged in. Kassidy and Quen hit the Gin and Juice and Kassidy pinned Silver.
**********
All Out —
Tooth and Nail match: Big Swole defeated Dr. Britt Baker (w/Reba)
The audio quality on BR Live for this match was not good. The match was worse. What a strange choice to open the show.
Swole arrived at Baker’s dental office. Reba checked her in. Swole wandered around the building. Baker appeared in the background like a horror movie villain.
They brawled around the office. Baker hit Swole with a framed diploma. They brawled outside and on top of a dumpster. Reba was trying to help Baker and got tossed in the dumpster. They did a couple of near falls.
They brawled back inside. Baker trapped Swole on a chair. She tried to attack with a dental drill and tried to stab Swole with a novocaine needle.
Swole grabbed the needle and stabbed Baker in the leg with it. Reba, still covered in trash from the dumpster, started freaking out. Swole hit Dirty Dancing on Reba, punching through another framed diploma.
Swole strapped an anesthesia mask on Baker and Baker passed out for the finish.
The Young Bucks defeated Jurassic Express
This 100000 percent should have been the opener. Excellent match. The story with Matt and Nick is that they’ve become more aggressive since kicking Hangman out of The Elite.
Both teams went back and forth at the outset. Jungle Boy tried a springboard tornado DDT on Matt. Matt blocked and hit his northern light suplex sequence.
Matt and Jungle Boy tried a tandem suplex spot over the top to the floor but they couldn’t quite pull it off. Matt dumped Jungle Boy over the barricade. Jungle Boy just beat the count back inside. From that point, The Bucks cut Jungle Boy off and began working him over.
Marko Stunt tried to interfere with a crutch but ate a superkick from Matt on the outside. Luchasaurus got a hot tag. He connected with a moonsault press off the apron to the floor.
Both teams jumped in as things got chaotic. Luchasaurus hit a chokeslam on Nick. Jungle Boy hit Matt with a poison rana. Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus hit the Extinction Level Event on Matt. Jungle Boy covered for a two count.
In the highlight spot of the match, Luchasaurus sent Nick over the barricade, then hit a springboard dive from the top rope over the barricade onto a group of extras.
Jungle Boy hit a springboard but right into a Matt superkick. Matt covered for a near fall. Nick hit a superkick for a near fall.
Matt and Nick hit the BTE Trigger and Matt pinned Jungle Boy.
Casino Battle Royale: Lance Archer won to earn a future AEW World title match
The rules here were four groups of five entering at three minute intervals, then one final entrant. Eliminations were over the top rope with both feet hitting the floor or the stage.
Trent, Christopher Daniels, Jake Hager, The Blade and Rey Fenix were in the first group.
They put some good workers in group one and there was some solid action.
Frankie Kazarian, Will Hobbs, Chuck Taylor, Santana and Ortiz were in the second group.
Santana and Ortiz hit Taylor with a baton on his way to the ring. Hobbs tossed Blade after Fenix hit Blade with a kick. Hager tossed Daniels.
Billy, Penta El Zero M, Brian Cage, Ricky Starks and Darby Allin made up the third group.
Billy hit a Fameasser on Hager and hit some crotch chops. Cage tossed Billy right away. Allin hit a code red on Starks, then tossed Fenix. Santana tossed Taylor.
Shawn Spears, Eddie Kingston, The Butcher, Sonny Kiss and Lance Archer were the final group.
Spears took his time getting into the ring, first joining the announce table, then stalling on the stage. Tully Blanchard walked out and gave Spears a loaded glove.
Kiss dumped Hager. Cage threw out Kiss. Trent eliminated Santana. Archer threw out Trent and Ortiz.
Matt Sydal was the final entrant.
Sydal climbed to the top rope to hit his big shooting star press on Hobbs, then promptly slipped and crashed to the mat. Poor guy.
Penta got thrown out. Kazarian got tossed by Archer. Cage accidentally hit a lariat to Starks. Allin threw out Starks.
Starks pulled a body bag from under the ring. Cage put Allin in the body bag with tacks and threw him over the top rope to the stage.
Sydal and Spears fought on the apron. Sydal hit a double stomp off the post to Spears and Spears fell off the apron.
Hobbs hit a spinebuster on Sydal into some tacks. Archer hit Hobbs with a pounce. Cage and Archer traded power strikes. Hobbs and Cage fought on the apron. Archer eliminated both with a dropkick.
The final four were Kingston, Butcher, Archer and Sydal.
Sydal tossed Butcher. Archer hit Blackout on Sydal. Kingston threw Sydal off the apron.
Kingston and Archer were the final two. They fought on the apron. Blade ran out to help Kingston and grabbed Archer’s ankles. Archer kicked him away.
Jake Roberts tried to scare Kingston with a snake. Archer tossed Kingston off the post onto Butcher and Blade for the final elimination.
Broken Rules match: Matt Hardy defeated Sammy Guevara
This was beyond bizarre.
They began the match in the adjoining football stadium. Guevara tried to hit Hardy with a golf cart but missed.
Hardy hit a DDT on a picnic table in the stadium concourse.
They climbed onto a scissor lift. Guevara speared Hardy off the lift. They were supposed to crash through a table. They hit the table but it appeared that Hardy’s head hit concrete on landing.
Referee Aubrey Edwards gave the dreaded X sign.
They tried a couple of spots but Hardy couldn’t maintain his balance. Aubrey again gave the X sign.
Dr. Sampson intervened. They rang the bell. Hardy appeared to regain his senses and cut a promo on Guevara.
The announcers began addressing this as if it were a real-life injury situation.
All of a sudden, they cut back to Hardy and Guevara as they brawled into the arena.
Hardy and Guevara climbed a truss. Hardy hit a right hand. Guevara fell off through a crash pad and was counted out.
If Hardy was really knocked out on the scissor lift spot, the match should have been stopped. It appeared Aubrey tried to stop it.
It was incredibly irresponsible to let the match continue if Matt was knocked out that badly moments before. If the knockout was a work it was really tasteless.
Your choice, irresponsible or tasteless.
**********
AEW Women’s World Championship match: Hikaru Shida defeated Thunder Rosa to retain the title
A very good match. Shida is great. Rosa is a superstar.
They opened by trading palm strikes. Rosa went for an ankle lock but Shida immediately made it to the ropes.
They had a striking battle. Shida connected with a knee lift on the outside. Shida grabbed a chair and set it up for a launch pad for a running knee. Rosa beat her to the punch and hit her own running knee off the chair.
Rosa sent Shida into the apron and posted her. Rosa hit a drive-by kick on the apron. Rosa went to work on Shida’s back after the attack on the outside. Shida hit a running knee but kept selling her back.
Shida hit a vertical suplex and a high kick for a pair of near falls. Rosa blocked a falcon arrow and rolled Shida up for a two count.
Rosa hit a running clothesline in the corner and a swinging dropkick in the corner. Rosa kicked Shida to the stage. Rosa teased a DVD on the stage but Shida blocked.
They fought to the top rope. Shida teased a superplex to the stage. Rosa blocked and hit a DVD on the apron. Rosa got a near submission off an armbar. Rosa went up top but got cut off with a superplex.
Shida hit a meteora off the second rope to the stage. They did a countout tease. They traded strikes from their knees.
Shida hit a backbreaker for a near fall and then hit a running knee strike for the pin.
**********
Alex Marvez interviewed Kip Sabian and Penelope Ford.
Ford said they’re getting married. Sabian said they’re getting married live on Dynamite. First, though, Sabian will have his bachelor party and reveal his best man this week on Dynamite.
**********
Dustin Rhodes, Scorpio Sky, Matt Cardona & QT Marshall (w/Brandi Rhodes & Allie) defeated Mr. Brodie Lee, Colt Cabana, Stu Grayson & Evil Uno (w/Anna Jay)
This felt like a good TV tag match. Not sure that it needed to be on the show but it was good.
Dark Order attacked as the faces made their enrance and we were off to the races right away.Dustin got some shine. Marshall missed a QT Special and got cut off and worked over.
Cardona got a hot tag and hit Radio Silence and a tope con giro. Sky was in for a couple of spots including a TKO. Anna Jay and Brandi jumped in. Brandi speared Jay.
Dustin and Lee tagged in. Lee hit a big lariat on Dustin. Lee then tagged Cabana in, having set him up for the victory.
Cabana missed a moonsault. Dustin then rolled Cabana up and pinned him.
JR had a line here about Anna Jay having a wardrobe malfunction. He was also disrespectful to both women in the Shida/Rosa match earlier with two specific lines if you were listening. JR apologized on Twitter but also told people to “lighten up.”
**********
Tony Schiavone interviewed Dustin after the match and informed him that he had been booked to face Lee for the TNT title on Wednesday.
Dustin said they won the match for Cody tonight and he can’t wait to have a chance to have gold again. He said he’s bringing hell with him against Lee on Wednesday.
**********
AEW World Tag Team Championship match: FTR (w/Tully Blanchard) defeated Kenny Omega & Hangman Page to win the titles
As far as an individual performance goes, this may have been Omega’s best outing in AEW.
The match itself felt like an extremely long series of moves, back and forth, with no real flow as to which team had the upper hand. There’s a way to tell the story that the teams are evnly matched and still have it make sense.
Omega and Page worked on Cash at first. Dax and Cash then worked on Page. Omega got a tag and hit you can’t escape on Cash. He also used a v-trigger, a kotaro krusher and a terminator dive. JR of course crapped all over Omega doing a dive.
Page and Omega did some double team spots. Page hit a German on Cash. Omega hit a v-trigger for a near fall. Omega and Page went for Last Call but Dax blocked.
Omega got cut off and had his right leg worked over with dragon screws. Dax and Cash hit double diving headbutts.
Page and Omega made a comeback. Page missed a Last Call. Omega accidentally hit a v-trigger on Page. Omega had his right leg chop blocked.
FTR hit the Mind Breaker spike piledriver but Page kicked out.
They hit a second Mind Breaker for the pin.
I’m a big fan of FTR. If you put a gun to my head I’d tell you the best tag match I’ve ever seen was FTR vs. American Alpha at TakeOver: Dallas. This just didn’t do anything for me.
**********
After the match, Tully celebrated with FTR in the ring over a fallen Page. They left two beer cans next to Page in a mocking toast.
Omega climbed into the ring with a wooden table. He teased using it on Page. Page collapsed at Omega’s feet. Omega kicked the beers out of the ring.
They did a long tease of Omega turning before he simply walked to the back.
The Bucks met Omega in the back. Omega walked out and Matt and Nick followed him. The Bucks wanted to talk to Omega. He wanted to leave.
Omega gave the Bucks an ultimatum, get in the car with him or not. They didn’t. Omega left.
This was underexplained.
Is Omega leaving The Elite? Why did The Bucks not go with him, didn’t they kick Hangman out of The Elite?
**********
Mimosa Mayhem match: Orange Cassidy defeated Chris Jericho
This was a strange cocktail, a mix of a brutal brawl that left Jericho bloody and a lot of teasing falls into pools of orange juice and champagne.
There were mimosa vats on two sides of the ring.
Jericho went for a quick win with a codebreaker and a Liontamer attempt. Cassidy escaped. Jericho hit Cassidy with a table and broke a platter over his head. They did several mimosa bump teases.
They brawled to the floor and Jericho ended up bleeding.
Back on the mimosa platform, Jericho put Cassidy through a table. Cassidy hit Jericho with an ice bucket. They did some mimosa teases.
Cassidy hit a Michinoku driver and an Orange Punch. Cassidy hit a running PK and a swing DDT for a two count.
Jericho hit another codebreaker but Cassidy kicked out. Jericho teased lawn darting Cassidy into the vat but Cassidy blocked.
Cassidy blocked a razor’s edge into the mimosa.
Cassidy hit two Orange Punches and Jericho fell off the post into the vat.
Well done. Like a true WCW veteran, Jericho found a way to do a job without doing a job.
**********
Full Gear was announced for November 7.
**********
A fan tried to grab Moxley as he made his way to the ring through the stands.
AEW World Championship match: Jon Moxley defeated MJF (w/Wardlow) to retain the title
MJF used a headlock takeover and taunted the crowd. Moxley sent MJF outside and hit a suicide dive. He dropped MJF crotch-first on the barricade.
The tide turned when MJF dropped Moxley shoulder-first on the apron. MJF went after the laeft arm and shoulder from there. Moxley sold like his shoulder was dislocated.
MJF continued working on the shoulder and sent Moxley crashing off the apron into the barricade. Moxley hit a slingshot on MJF, sending him into the post. MJF bladed and bled like crazy. Moxley tried to pop his shoulder back in which was a nice bit of selling.
Moxley hit an x-plex for a near fall. Moxley bit at MJF’s bloody forehead. MJF hit a double stomp to Moxley’s left arm. MJF used the Salt of the Earth. Moxley forced a rope break.
MJF hit the Heat Seeker. Moxley kicked out at two. MJF went for a second Heat Seeker. Moxley blocked and hit an air raid crash for a near fall.
They traded slaps from their knees. Moxley hit some knees and headbutts as they got back to their feet.
MJF took the ref and used the distraction to hit a thumb to the eye. Moxley used a sleeper. MJF took the ref again and hit a low blow for a near fall. This spot would have worked with a bigger crowd on a different night.
MJF hit Cross Rhodes for a two count.
Wardlow took the ref and threw MJF the Dynamite Diamond ring. Moxley cut MJF off and hit the Paradigm Shift as Wardlow still had the ref. The tried to sell this like a big screwup by Wardlow. Moxley then covered for the pin.
I’m not a big fan of babyfaces cheating. Why do the stipulation? Just do the match.
Aside from that, this was an old school world title match that featured good work from everyone involved. The show was too long but that’s not the fault of either of these guys.
Ahead of tonight’s show, AEW announced that Joey Janela (w/ Sonny Kiss) vs. Serpentico (w/ Luther) has been added to tonight’s pre-show. The pre-show will also feature Private Party vs. The Dark Order’s 3 & 4 (Alex Reynolds & John Silver).
Britt Baker and Big Swole’s “Tooth & Nail match” was originally set for the pre-show, but AEW’s Tony Khan announced yesterday that it was being moved to the main card. Baker vs. Swole will be a cinematic match taking place at Baker’s dental office. It’s a no DQ and falls count anywhere match.
Janela vs. Serpentico is the 11th match announced for tonight’s show. The pre-show will begin at 7 p.m. Eastern time, with the pay-per-view main card then starting at 8 p.m. Eastern. Here’s the updated list of matches:
AEW World Champion Jon Moxley defending against MJF
AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida defending against Thunder Rosa
AEW Tag Team Champions Kenny Omega & Hangman Page defending against FTR
Mimosa Mayhem match: Chris Jericho vs. Orange Cassidy
The Dark Order (Brodie Lee, Evil Uno, Stu Grayson & Colt Cabana) vs. Dustin Rhodes, QT Marshall, Scorpio Sky & Matt Cardona
The Young Bucks vs. Jurassic Express (Luchasaurus & Jungle Boy)
Broken Rules match: Matt Hardy vs. Sammy Guevara
Tooth & Nail match: Britt Baker vs. Big Swole
Casino Battle Royale
Private Party vs. Alex Reynolds & John Silver (pre-show)
A look at the different directions Brock Lesnar could go is the lead story in the new issue of the Observer. We look at the money he can generate for a fight with Jon Jones, the reality about his trying to fight today, why he’s a free agent right now, what Tony Khan said about Lesnar, and why, unless Dana White isn’t telling the truth, it’s unlikely he will fight. Plus we’ve got comments by both White and Scott Coker on fights they would want to make if he does want to fight.
Also in this issue:
Positive COVID tests of Dwayne Johnson, A.J. Styles, Kevin Nash, Glover Teixeira and others that came out this week.
Payback, including the genesis of the Roman Reigns heel turn, the Rey Mysterio injury, the booking of the show, plus poll results and star ratigns.
New Japan at Jingu Stadium, including Tetsuya Naito growing up going to the stadium, all three-time IWGP champions, most IC tilte runs in Japan, business notes, plans for the tour going on this weeeknd, plus match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
The departure of Mauro Ranallo from WWE, looking and his five years in the company, his background prior to the company, what old and new projects he’s expected to work on, and why he left.
The NXT title Iron Man match, next Takeover shows, Rey Mysterio television cartoon show, Paul Levesque stock sales, Levesque talks UK brnad, more on different allegations against WWE talent, returns of peope who have sit time out, change to Payback, Charlotte Flair news, Renee Young talks leaving WWE, Styles talks Heyman, lots of TV ratings updates internationally, new member of WWE Board of Directors, WWE market value and the most watched shows of the past week on WWE Network.
This past week’s UFC show.
Bio of Tom Anderson, who wrestled as The Claw and one half of the Masked Interns tag team. We look at two of the most tasteless angles in wrestiling that he was involved in, how one failed miserably and how the other was a huge business success. This includes the death of Alberto Torres, the heyday of the The Interns, the history of the masked doctors tag team and where it all came from, and classic stories involving Paul “Bear” Bryant, Ken Ramey, Lonnie Mayne, Beauregarde and what top promoter wouldn’t use the Interns and Ramey and why.
The life and career of Ric Drason, from bodybuilding to wrestling, including what two AEW stars he started, the glory days of Gold’s Gym in Santa Monica and the characters involved, his art work that sold millions of T-shirts, how one of the greatest wrestlers of all-time got his name from him, and why he had chacnes to be a star and the reason he never was.
A major change in how television ratings are done and how this is expectede to impact sports the most.
A comparison of the last week of AEW with competition and the show this past week where the only television competition was a replay show. We look at how this impacted every audience, what the audience numbers are likely to be for a regular unopposed Wednesday for AEW or NXT, and go in depth as to both sides of why WWE and USA would or would not want to move NXT. We also look at the huge change in the AEW audience from 8/12 to 9/2. We also have how the audience ebbed and flowed during the Iron Man match.
Ratings of all the major shows, the key demos and quarters for AEW and WWE, what happened head-to-head and what can be learned from them.
Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
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FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE
Garrett Gonzalez and I will be doing a show tonight and Bryan and I will be going tomorrow night covering the UFC show and All Out.
John Silver & Alex Reynolds vs. Private Party is the new pre show match for Saturday’s All Out PPV show as they moved Britt Baker vs. Big Swole’s taped cinematic match at the dentist office to the main show. The preshow is 7-8 p.m. with the main card 8 p.m. to midnight.
Main card:
Britt Baker vs. Big Swole tooth and nail match
Hikaru Shida vs. Thunder Rosa for AEW women’s title
21 man Casino Royale match for an AEW title shot
Chris Jericho vs. Orange Cassidy Mimosa mayhem match
Matt Hardy vs. Sammy Guevara broken match (Last man standing, Hardy must leave the promotion if he loses)
Kenny Omega & Adam Page vs. FTR for tag titles
Young Bucks vs. Luchasaurus & Jungle Boy
Dustin Rhodes & QT Marshall & Matt Cardona & Scorpio Sky vs. Brodie Lee & Colt Cabana & Stu Grayson& Evil Uno
Jon Moxley vs. MJF for AEW title
New Japan has its junior heavyweight tag team tournament start with a 6 a.m. Eastern time show tomorrow morning from Chiba with Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato vs. Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Hiromu Takahashi & Bushi vs. Taiji Ishimori & Gedo. They also have a 2 a.m. late Saturday night show also from Chiba with Desperado & Kanemaru vs. Ishimori & Gedo and Taguchi & Wato vs. Takahashi & Bushi. Both shows air live on New Japan World, but only in Japanese.
New Japan at 10 p.m. Eastern tonight on New Japan World:
Alex Zayne & Fred Rosser (Darren Young) vs. Clark Connors & The DKC
Karl Fredericks vs. Misterioso
Brody King vs. Hikuleo
Jay White vs. Flip Gordon
Weigh-in for tomorrow night’s UFC show which airs on ESPN+ starting at 6 p.m. Eastern:
Cole Smith (135) vs. Hunter Azure (135.5)
Alexander Romanov (239) vs,. Marcos Rogerio de Lima (260.5)
Vivane Araujo (126) vs. Montana De La Rosa (125.5)
Andre Muniz (185.5) vs. Bartosz Fabinski (184.5)
Thiago Moises (155.5) vs. Jalin Turner (155)
Brian Kelleher (146) vs. Kevin Natividad (144.5)
Michel Pereira (170.5) vs. Zelim Imadaev (171)
Ovince Saint Preux (205.5) vs.Alonzo Menifield (204)
Alistair Overeem (252.5) vs. Augusto Sakai (261.5)
A Go Fund Me campaign to raise money for funeral costs of reporter Casey Michael.
WWE
For Smackdown tonight, there will be a four-way with Baron Corbin, Matt Riddle, Big E and Sheamus with the winner getting the next shot at Universal champion Roman Reigns, plus Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax vs. Bayley & Sasha Banks for the women’s tag title and Paul Heyman & Roman Reigns will be doing a promo.
A correction from Sunday. Regarding the article on Drew McIntyre referenced, it was not the Cambridge University paper that published it but it was published by Cambridge University law grad Yaz Jung.
With the Glover Teixeira vs. Thiago Santos fight off the UFC show on 9/12 due to Teixeira testing positive for COVID-19, the Michelle Waterson vs. Angela Hill fight will be the new main event and they’ve agreed to go five rounds instead of three.
The Claudia Gadelha vs. Yan Xiaonan fight that was scheduled for 9/26, but moved off the card due to Gadelha suffering a knee injury, is now slated for 11/7.
Dana White was teasing a Khamzat Chimaev vs. Demian Maia fight earlier today after the weigh-ins, when asked about Chimaev’s next bout. He indicated it would probably be on the next run in Abu Dhabi.
AEW
Tickets went on sale this morning for Wednesday’s Dynamite tapings at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville. The last I checked out of about 750 tickets that were put on sale, there were still 429 available. It is going to be extremely difficult to sell tickets for weekly or even bi-weekly shows in a city like Jacksonville although the PPV shows will sell out instantly with so few seats available.
Odds for All Out from BetOnline.ag:
Jon Moxley -250 vs. MJF +170
Hikaru Shida -500 vs. Thunder Rosa +300
Chris Jericho -120 vs. Orange Cassidy -120
Matt Hardy -400 vs. Sammy Guevara +250
Battle Royale: Darby Allin +125 vs. Lance Archer +150 vs. Eddie Kingston +500 vs. Brian Cage +700 vs. Ricky Starks +1200 vs. Jake Hager +1500 vs. Rey Fenix +1500 vs. Shawn Spears +2500 vs. Chuck Taylor, Ortiz, Santana and Trent +4000 vs. Pentagon, Blade, Butcher vs. Austin Gunn and Billy +5000
FTR -500 vs. Adam Page & Kenny Omega +300
Dark Order -600 vs. Scorpio Sky & Matt Cardona & Dustin Rhodes & QT Marshall +350
Young Bucks -600 vs. Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus +350
Britt Baker -140 vs. Big Swole +100
OVW Wrestling has gotten clearance to return to the Davis Arena In Louisville on 9/15
Dan Severn, at 62, will compete in a UWFI rule match on the 11/6 Paradigm Pro Wrestling show in Sellersburg, TN. Severn in the 90s was part of the UWFi promotion
Jacques Rougeau Jr. is starting a podcast and George St-Pierre will be his first guest, sending a message to Vince McMahon.
There are limited tickets left for Sunday’s AIW return show at noon from the Celebration Plaza Amphitheater at White River State Park in Indianapolis. Among those appearing– are Swoggle, Erick Stevens, Lee Moriarty, Tom Lawlor, Tre LaMar, Benjamin Carter, Dominic Garrini,Calvin Tankman and more.
ROH announced that the three judges in all the Pure tournament matches if they go the distance will be Gary Juster, Sumie Sakai and Will Ferrara. The tournament starts airing on ROH’s television network the weekend of 9/12.
Kamille vs. Heather Monroe is the newest match announced for the UWN PPV debut on 9/15 that will be the first of weekly shows produced by the NWA, Championship Wrestling from Hollywood and other promotions.
MLW announced the signing of Kevin Ku for their return to action in the fall.
Phil Baroni has pulled out of the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship main event on 9/11 against Thiago Alves. Julian Lane, who fought in TUF 16, will be the replacement.
A piece on the best Pittsburgh athlete never to wear a uniform number which talks about both Bruno Sammartino and Kurt Angle, and also is a rare media store to have correct stats on Sammartino and MSG sellouts. (thanks to Zach Brendza and Chris Cruise)
AEW has announced a change to the lineup for this Saturday’s All Out pay-per-view.
The “Tooth & Nail match” between Britt Baker and Big Swole has been moved to the All Out card. A tag match has been announced to take its place on the pre-show, with Private Party facing The Dark Order’s 3 & 4 (Alex Reynolds & John Silver).
Baker vs. Swole being moved to the main card was announced via a tweet from AEW president and CEO Tony Khan: “Hey let’s just make All Out tomorrow night the best wrestling ppv we can possibly do. Now on the main ppv card: Dr. Britt Baker v. Big Swole in the 1st ever Tooth & Nail Match emanating from Dr. Baker’s dental office, anything goes, no DQ + falls count anywhere. See you tomorrow!”
Baker vs. Swole will be a cinematic match.
The All Out pre-show will begin at 7 p.m. Eastern time on Saturday. The main card will then start at 8 p.m. Eastern. Here’s the updated list of announced matches for the show:
AEW World Champion Jon Moxley defending against MJF
AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida defending against Thunder Rosa
AEW Tag Team Champions Kenny Omega & Hangman Page defending against FTR
Mimosa Mayhem match: Chris Jericho vs. Orange Cassidy
The Dark Order (Brodie Lee, Evil Uno, Stu Grayson & Colt Cabana) vs. Dustin Rhodes, QT Marshall, Scorpio Sky & Matt Cardona
The Young Bucks vs. Jurassic Express (Luchasaurus & Jungle Boy)
Broken Rules match: Matt Hardy vs. Sammy Guevara
Tooth & Nail match: Britt Baker vs. Big Swole
Casino Battle Royale
Private Party vs. Alex Reynolds & John Silver (pre-show)
Note: The following is an opinion-based preview and reflects that of the author.
AEW is back with a Labor Day pay-per-view for all of us beautiful babies, one where some of us can even go in person.
That seems like a real bad idea. Well, it’s not a “have a concert in Sturgis during Bike Week” bad, but it’s definitely not great, Bob. Wrestling is helped tremendously by a live crowd. A good crowd is as much a part of the match as the wrestlers involved, making good matches great and great matches legendary. I’m just worried about everyone, that’s all. Please wear your masks and be careful if you’re going and don’t risk it all for a stale pretzel and some grapes if you don’t need to.
As always, we aren’t getting cheated on this show when it comes to wrestling as there are a ton of matches on this card. AEW really likes to pack their PPVs with as many matches as possible, and this one has nine. Even with that many, they typically do a really nice job pacing their shows and the matches all get the time they deserve.
Overall, All Out is a bit lacking compared to some of their previous offerings. The matches at the top lack juice and the tag team title match is overshadowed by a team that isn’t even in it which is not ideal. However, as always, we soldier on, and we preview each match of All Out — even the pre-show!
Pre Show: Big Swole vs. Britt Baker in a Tooth and Nail match
Dr. Britt Baker is putting on a master class on how to stay relevant without ever wrestling. The Roll Model stuff is great. The Michael Jordan thing is great. Her ineptitude is great. Her relationship with Tony Schivaone is the greatest. She deserves everything that is coming to her and we really want to see her get it.
The question is do we really care that Big Swole is the one to deliver the comeuppance? Up until this Wednesday, I wasn’t sure. But then Baker continued to do the Lord’s work by using the wrestling Holy Trinity: a pizza, a crutch, and a submission on the floor and suddenly, I really wanted Big Swole to ruin her return.
AEW loves these WCW adjacent stipulations. I have no idea what a tooth and nail match is and I can’t even hazard a guess. Apparently, it’s a cinematic match in a dentist’s office, so I’m officially intrigued!. Swole is still looking for a signature win or even a signature moment in AEW. The closest thing so far was her “Where to, doctor?” line a few months back. That changes Saturday when she makes the dentist need a doctor.
21-man Casino Battle Royale for an AEW World Title shot
These are usually pretty good, convoluted rules aside. They really like to make things harder for themselves, don’t they? As always with these types of matches, here are some bullet point thoughts on everyone announced for the match as of Thursday night:
Shawn Spears: Still doing this, huh?
Billy Gunn: Sure.
Austin Gunn: Right.
Jake Hager: Whatever.
Santana: So great. He could easily be a singles star.
Ortiz: Great in a different way, but could not be a singles star.
Lance Archer: The biggest, tallest, meanest guy in AEW is deserving of a win.
Eddie Kingston: He has an Incredible presence and is wholly captivating. He demands your attention.
Darby Allin: Still spooky and still skating. Time off TV hurt his shine a bit, but he might get it back on Saturday.
Ricky Starks: He is an actual star. He carries himself like one, talks like one, and wrestles like one.
Brian Cage: Half as good as Starks but twice as big.
Pentagon Jr: Not nearly as good as his brother, but often the more memorable of the two.
Rey Fenix: He was going to be the biggest star in the last battle royal and is still the biggest star in this one.
The Butcher& The Blade: One of my pals knows them and says they are great dudes so I always root for them. But, they are lumped together because they equally have no shot.
My heart wants Starks to win as someone totally new and fresh at the top would be great. But, he’s headed directly into a program with Allin. I was picking Fenix to win the last one before he got hurt, so let’s say he gets the win this time.
The Dark Order (Brodie Lee, Colt Cabana, Evil Uno and Stu Grayson) vs. Matt Cardona, Scorpio Sky, and The Natural Nightmares (Dustin Rhodes and QT Marshall) (w/Allie)
There’s always one match on every AEW card that I just can’t be bothered with. That is this match. I get the stakes but who cares? The NIghtmare Family is beyond corny and cringeworthy. Cody isn’t a babyface anyway, so why should we care if he gets beaten up? We definitely don’t care if QT “Why am I on tv?” Marshall is involved. Sky is good though. Actually, everyone in the Dark Order is really good too, but now is not the time for vengeance. The no-longer-spooky guys take this one.
The Young Bucks vs. Jurassic Express
Gotta have the Bucks on the ol’ PPV, right? All of my Bucks criticism will be retracted if they superkick Luchasaurus all the way out of the company. Is Jurassic Express popular? Reggie Miller was talking about them on an NBA broadcast this week and I just about fell off the couch. This does not warrant much space on the internet. The Bucks keep their newly found ‘edge’ and win this easily.
Matt Hardy vs. Sammy Guevara in a Broken Rules match where Hardy leaves AEW with a loss
Hardy and Guevara are filling the emotional void that exists without a Cody match. It will be interesting to see how AEW handles a match like this without using some of Cody’s favorite tropes. This is either going to end with Hardy adopting Sammy or them getting married. He cares about Sammy in a way Chris Jericho doesn’t but Sammy is rejecting that. There is actually some depth to this storyline, and we really love it, don’t we folks?
This feud has really heated up since Sammy returned, and, as AEW loves to do, it has included more than its fair share of blood. It started (perhaps) unintentionally when Sammy split Matt open with a chair and continued with Matt returning the favor a few weeks later. None of the other matches on the card feel this personal, so these two should really go at it.
This is an odd one though as the stipulation only goes one way. This isn’t a true loser leaves town match as the only person who has a chance to leave AEW is Hardy. Considering he just signed, that can’t be happening. Unless this is his transition off of television into a backstage role, it’s hard to see him losing. That said, being the reason Hardy is off TV would be a great way to keep the hate for Sammy growing. The Spanish God wins this.
Chris Jericho vs. Orange Cassidy in a Mimosa Mayhem match
“This match can be won by pinfall, submission, or throwing your opponent into a tank of mimosa.” Right, cool, got it.
Look, I get AEW wants a blowoff to this feud with a stipulation match, but this is just a bridge too far. It takes everything I have to not just insert ‘fonzijumpingshark.gif’ here and calling it a night. Imagine if this was in WWE and the reaction if Otis was in a Smoked Meat Steel Cage match or something similar. People would be posting screenshots of them cancelling the WWE Network. (Just a reminder: you can like something and still criticize it.)
Even though the concept is egregiously stupid, this will probably be fine. Jericho will make it tolerable and Cassidy will bring Wrestling Twitter to their collective knees by doing something slightly above average. As SummerSlam had the subtitle “You’ll never see it coming”, the subtitle for this would be “The overexposure of Orange Cassidy by the Covid King Chris Jericho” or something like that.
Prediction: Cassidy wins, but who cares. This is just way too corny.
AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida vs. NWA Women’s Champion Thunder Rosa for the AEW title
For all its criticisms, and there are many, this is a cool thing AEW is doing. Bringing more eyes to not only their women’s division, but the women’s division of another company, is great. They’ve really created a collaborative environment with independent wrestlers and this is a continuation of their relationship with the NWA, one that brings far more attention to the NWA than it does to AEW. Their acknowledgment of a world outside of theirs is a small thing, but a refreshing one.
Rosa is good at this. Shida is good at this. Logic would suggest that this match will be really, really good. Shida has pulled good matches out of far worse opponents, and this is one of her more talented opponents. If she can pull a good match out of Nyla Rose, think of what she can do with a more talented dance partner. That’s what Thunder Rosa is. She has come a long, long way from her Lucha Underground days and is a certifiable star.
The video packages have been great and they have done a good job introducing Rosa to the audience and presenting her like an actual threat. The only issue is that she works with the NWA. I said earlier the collaboration is great, but I hope that doesn’t lead to a wonky non-finish of some kind, something that often happens in matches like these. Since Shida is the one who works for the company putting on the PPV, she retains here.
AEW Tag Team Champions Kenny Omega and Adam Page vs. FTR
Even when they aren’t in the match, the Bucks pervade the tag team division of AEW. Why am I writing about the Bucks when this match has nothing to do with them? Well, dear readers, I am here to tell you that nothing in the AEW tag team division happens without them. Instead of just continuing with Omega and Page feuding with FTR, the Bucks had to get involved.
We had to have the embarrassingly bad scene where Page is kicked out of The Elite. (Never mind that he wanted out months ago.) The Bucks had to kick him out. The only appropriate ending to that scene was Page throwing both Bucks through that mirror and into a different dimension. But, no. They had to get involved and had to get their shine.
It’s been a fait accompli since FTR joined AEW that they were heading for a collision with the Bucks. That match is there, that match is money, and that match needs to happen. It just stinks that this match is really just a speed bump on the way to that, and will most likely result in the end of the Omega/Page team. Something that could redeem the situation is Omega turning full heel while Page gets a monster babyface push. The more likely outcome is the Bucks getting involved and costing Omega and Page the belts.
All of this distracts from what will probably be the best match of the night. Omega and Page have been doing work for months, and the skills of FTR have never been in question. The title change seems obviously telegraphed here, but sometimes the simplest answer is the right one. FTR leave as new champs. Say yeah.
AEW World Champion Jon Moxley vs. MJF
I have finally decided that MJF is good. It’s not a decision that came easily, but every man reaches a point where they must take a stand. My stand is that MJF is objectively good and Moxley is objectively much, much better.
The issue with this match is that the entire lead up has made MJF look weak. Yes, he is supposed to be the weasley heel. I am, unfortunately, well aware of how pro wrestling works. He just never looked strong on his own. There was never a point during this feud where he stood up on his own and posed a credible threat. The fake injuries and lawyer are things that someone should be doing once they are established as the heel champion, not when they are chasing the belt.
Even the final shot of him standing tall, wearing Mox’s blood, was not something he did on his own. Wardlow beat him up. Wardlow was the one who looked strong. Even though he is undefeated, he actually does need to look strong. His win streak isn’t a Goldberg one that started slow but ultimately had him beating credible threats. MJF has beaten the joke that is Marko Stunt and something called Griff Garrison. Mox beat Brodie Lee, who squashed Cody. Mox beat Jake Hager, a shoot MMA fighter. I know Max hasn’t lost, but he’s largely beaten D and F tier wrestlers.
Mox is just better. He is better in both kayfabe and real life. Max might be the future, but Mox is the present and closes the show with the belt.
AEW president and booker Tony Khan did a one-hour long media call Thursday afternoon, hitting on a variety of topics from this Saturday’s All Out to Brock Lesnar to booking philosophies and more.
Click below on the red ‘Right click save’ button to listen for free.
Here’s some of the highlights:
He was asked about free agent Brock Lesnar and said he couldn’t comment while putting over how he’s a great fighter and wrestler and that he doesn’t get enough credit.
He said he expects All Out to be the best wrestling show since the pandemic started.
While putting over their COVID testing and everything that went into it, he said, “I thought Double or Nothing kicked the crap out of WrestleMania.”
He said the FTW Title will be defended and that he’s working on a “pilot” on how to make it different than the World or TNT titles.
He said the reason Big Swole vs. Britt Baker is on the Buy In pre-show is that his philosophy is to put big names and stars in front of more viewers to help drive PPV buys. He confirmed the match will be cinematic in nature due to Baker still recovering from her injuries.
He talked about his relationship with NWA president Billy Corgan and how the connection between the two was initially helped by Chris Nowinski. At this point, no other NWA talents are scheduled to be part of AEW, but he thought having Thunder Rosa involved made sense for both sides. He said the Rosa-Serena Deeb match from Wednesday was a home run and talked about Deeb came into the picture.
He discussed how they keep surprises just that, saying a very small circle helps control things getting out there, adding “There’s a lot more surprises ahead for you in the upcoming weeks.”
Khan said he held back on the go-home show, focusing on more wrestling in the first half and more storyline in the second half.
He discussed their protocols and decision to bring fans back into the building in limited numbers.
He said the Dynamite after All Out is going to be “really, really good” with some surprises.
Saturday’s Matt Hardy-Sammy Guevara Broken Rules match is a last man standing-style affair with a loser leaves town stipulation for Hardy.
As first discussed on last night’s Wrestling Observer Radio, the Britt Baker vs. Big Swole “Tooth and Nail” match on Saturday’s All Out pre-show will be cinematic in presentation.
AEW President Tony Khan confirmed the news Thursday during a media call, saying the main reasons are that Baker is still recovering from her injuries and that they will have live fans in attendance, insinuating that they want to give her more time to get the ring rust off.
Khan also answered criticism about the match being on The Buy In, saying they want to put stars on the pre-show to help sell the PPV which is a philosophy of the company’s. At this point, it’s believed Baker vs. Swole will be the sole pre-show match.
On WOR, Dave Meltzer said he believed the setting was going to be at Baker’s dental office. The stipulations, if there are any, weren’t explained when it was announced on Wednesday’s Dynamite.
The two have been feuding for months but this will mark Baker’s first return to action since her knee was injured during a May episode of Dynamite.
AEW has announced their weekend schedule ahead of Saturday’s All Out event.
The weekend will start with a special edition of AEW Dark that will take place on Friday on YouTube.
On Saturday, the first part of the All Out Red Carpet special will take place at 5 p.m. ET on YouTube. On TNT, the Countdown to All Out special will air at 5:30 p.m. ET. The second part of the Red Carpet special will then air on YouTube at 6:30 p.m. ET.
The Buy In pre-show, which will feature a tooth or nail match between Big Swole and Britt Baker, will start at 7 p.m. ET on pay-per-view. The All Out event will then start an hour later, also on pay-per-view.
The final card for AEW All Out is as follows:
Jon Moxley vs. MJF for the AEW World title
Chris Jericho vs. Orange Cassidy in a Mimosa Mayhem match
Kenny Omega & Adam Page vs. FTR for the AEW World Tag Team titles
Hikaru Shida vs. Thunder Rosa for the AEW Women’s title
A 21-man Casino Battle Royal match for a future AEW World title match
The Dark Order (Brodie Lee, Colt Cabana, Evil Uno, and Stu Grayson) vs. Matt Cardona, Scorpio Sky, and the Natural Nightmares in an eight-man tag team match
Jurassic Express vs. The Young Bucks
Matt Hardy vs. Sammy Guevara in a Broken Rules match
A look at the life and wrestling career of Bob Armstrong is the lead in this week’s double issue of the Observer. We go through what made him a star, his appeal in the Southeast, his role in the famed Atlanta promotion war, what his booking by Bill Watts in Florida inspired more than a decade later, the Roddy Piper feud, the numbers Georgia wrestling did on cable, his success in different territories and his authority roles later in his career.
Also in this issue:
Thunderdome, what hit, what missed, what audience came back for it, what has been learned so far, the sweetheart business deal, the Payback card and booking, plus match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
Television situation changing for Bellator and what that means, including the unique nature of their ownership that explains why it was purchased in the first place.
Karrion Kross injury and Tuesday’s NXT show to fill the title vacancy.
A look back at the first NXT Takeover and at the 30th show, with match-by-match coverage, star ratings and poll results.
New Japan’s first major outdoor stadium show in 21 years, the last non-Tokyo Dome stadium show before this, what Jingu Stadium is most known for historically, an show preview and a look at this past week’s Korakuen Hall show.
The economics of WWE, the Sonya Deville court hearing, return to action of the U.K. crew and plans, Renee Young talks her time in WWE, Big E/Miz talk, WWE new hires, Orton and Flair talk their angle, how wrestling did compared to other sports this past week, Canadian & U.K. ratings, rewriting of Raw this past week, most watched shows on WWE network this past week and company current market value.
Saturday’s UFC show with business notes and match-by-match coverage.
Return of CMLL, its plans for this year’s anniversary show and how the voting for specific matches is doing.
Television viewers per home for the biggest sports events of the past week and how wrestling fits in.
Ratings of all the major shows, the key demos and quarters for AEW and WWE, what happened head-to-head and what can be learned from them.
Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
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FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE
I will be doing a show tonight with Garrett Gonzalez and Andreas Hale talking current events and pro wrestling. Bryan and I will have shows Saturday talking UFC and NJPW’s shows that day and Sunday talking WWE Payback. We will have weekend polls, thumbs up, down or middle, best and worst match on the New Japan Jingu Stadium show and the WWE Payback show.
AEW tickets for shows this coming Wednesday and All Out on 9/5 go on sale at 10 a.m. tomorrow. There will be only 500 tickets put on sale for each show.
Tonight’s Smackdown features the contract signing with The Fiend vs. Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman on Sunday. The rating is interesting. It should rise with Reigns being back, unless last week’s number was more Thunderdome curiosity than anything else, then it could drop a little. But it should be well above what the show had been doing.
UFC tomorrow is an all ESPN+ show starting at 6 p.m. Eastern
Sean Brady (170.5) vs. Christian Aguilera (170)
Emily Whitmire (115.5) vs Polyana Viana (116)
Alex Caceres (145) vs. Austin Springer (151)
Zak Cummings (185) vs. Alessio Di Chirico (184)
Mallory Martin (115.5) vs. Hannah Cifers (117)
Maki Pitolo (184.5) vs. Impa Kasanganay (185.5)
Magomed Ankalaev (205) vs. Ion Cutelaba (205.5)
Ricardo Lamas (145) vs. Bill Algeo (146)
Alexa Grasso (126) vs. Ji Yeon Kim (126)
Neil Magny (171) vs. Robbie Lawler (171)
Anthony Smith(205) vs. Alexander Rakic (205.5)
Springer, who was a late add just yesterday, missed weight by five pounds and was fined 30 percent of his purse. Cifers missed weight by 1 pound and she will forfeit 20 percent of her purse. Gika Chikadze, who was to face Caceres, tested positive for COVID-19 and was removed from the show.
New Japan at Jingu Stadium in Tokyo at 4 a.m. Eastern Saturday morning:
Master Wato vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Kazuchika Okada vs. Desperado vs. Sanada vs. Toru Yano for KOPW title
Shingo Takagi vs. Minoru Suzuki for Never title
Hiromu Takahashi vs. Taiji Ishimori for IWGP jr. title
Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi for IWGP tag titles
Evil vs. Tetsuya Naito for IWGP & IC titles
New Japan Strong tonight at 10 p.m. Eastern On New Japan World:
Jordan Clearwater vs. Danny Limelight
TJP & ACH & Karl Fredericks & Clark Connors vs. Adrian Quest & Blake Christian & Barrett Brown & Misterioso
Chase Owens vs. PJ Black
WWE EVP of Global Talent Strategy Paul Levesque sold 52,807 shares of his WWE stock on Wednesday and Thursday for $2,410,160. He still has 81,325 shares worth about $3.66 million.
WWE
Payback odds from www.BetOnlin.ag:
Bray Wyatt -300 vs. Roman Reigns +150 vs. Braun Strowman +500
Keith Lee -120 vs. Randy Orton -120
Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax -140 vs. Bayley & Sasha Banks +100
Bobby Lashley -250 vs. Apollo Crews +170
Odds for the NXT title match on Tuesday
Finn Balor +140 vs. Tommaso Ciampa +160 vs. Adam Cole +250 vs. Johnny Gargano +350
UFC
Tom Breese vs. Roman Kopylov has been added to the 10/3 show.
AEW
I haven’t seen all the numbers at this writing but apparently the Jon Moxley/MJF segment and Young Bucks vs. Best Friends segments on last night’s shows did the best.
The Two Rows from Ringside podcast did an interview with Kamala last month and justreleased it
Lucha Va Voom will be doing a live streaming show on 9/3 from 7-8 p.m. Pacific time at EventBrite.com Taya Valkyrie and members of the Los Angeles Roller Girls will be appearing.
Cage Fury Fighting Championships has acquired the Memphis-based V-3 fights organization and will be running shows on 9/17 and 9/18 in Tunica, MS with C.M. Punk and John Morgan as announcers. The first night has Jared Scoggins (9-1) vs. Thomas Vazquez (9-4) in the main event. The second night main event has CFFC welterweight champion Jeremiah Wells (8-2-1) defending against Bobby Lee (11-4).
Bare Knuckle Boxing is running a show with tickets on sale on 9/11 at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, FL. It will air on the Bare Knuckle TV App with Thiago Alves vs. Phil Baroni and Hector Lombard vs. Kendall Grove as the main events.
KSW runs tomorrow from Warsaw, Poland. Shail Musaev pulled out of the show due to injury so the new main event has lightweight champion Mateusz Gamrot (16-0, 155.0) defending against Marian Ziokowski (21-7-1, 154) plus boxing champion Izu Ugonoh (0-0, 232) vs. Quentin Domingos (5-1, 254).
Jimmy Smith will be hosting a show in Sirius XM called Unlocking the Cage with Jimmy Smith which debuts on Monday on Fight Nation.
AIW at Noon on 9/6 from Indianapolis will have an iPPV on FITE TV. Ethan Page vs. Tom Lawlor is on the show.
Giovanni “Romeo” Roselli, a former WWE wrestler who formed a tag team with Antonio Thomas, was named Best Male Presenter by SCW Mania for his work online as a personal trainer for his live streaming courses.
Coming off Thursday’s Dynamite where AEW sold tickets to fans for the first time since the pandemic took hold in the U.S., the company announced a Saturday onsale for this Wednesday’s Dynamite and next Saturday’s All Out pay-per-view, both from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida.
AEW sold 10% capacity for Thursday’s live Dynamite and Dark taping and said in a previous release that if things went smoothly, they would expand up to 15% for future shows which is believed to be around 800 tickets.
The onsale will be on both TicketMaster and AEW’s dedicated ticket website, starting at $35 for Dynamite and $50 for All Out.
Like Thursday, fans will be separated out in seating pods for between two and six people that are in the same party. AEW president Tony Khan tweeted some frustrations earlier this week when “unethical” ticket resellers attempted to usurp the initial onsale process. Fans will also need to wear masks and have their temperatures scanned in order to gain access.
The rubber match between Orange Cassidy and Chris Jericho has been set for All Out.
The match was announced tonight on Dynamite. During a promo with Tony Schiavone and Orange Cassidy, Chris Jericho came out and challenged Cassidy to a Mimosa Mayhem match. The stipulations will have a tank at ringside filled with 80 tons of orange juice and 500 cases of champagne. The only way to win will be by pinfall, submission, or being thrown into the mimosa tank.
Cassidy accepted the match. Jericho went to toast Cassidy and The Best Friends, but before he did, he ended up calling out The Inner Circle. They attacked, with Inner Circle getting the upper hand. The segment ended with Jericho pouring champagne all over a fallen Cassidy.
Jericho first defeated Cassidy on the second night of Fyter Fest that aired on July 8. Cassidy gained a win of his own the following month on August 12, pinning Jericho with a mouse trap cradle.
MJF will challenge whoever is AEW World champion at All Out next month..
AEW’s social media this afternoon announced that MJF will challenge for the AEW World title at All Out. That title is currently held by Jon Moxley.
This follows a segment that took place last week where MJF held a “State of the Industry” speech, similar to a presidential campaign speech. MJF accused Moxley of being a dictator with the championship, saying it was more of the old guard in place. He also accused Moxley of “cosplaying as Stone Cold”. He issued a World title challenge to close out the segment.
Moxley did not reply to MJF’s challenge, as he took part in Dynamite’s main event, teaming with Darby Allin to defeat Ricky Starks and Brian Cage. Allin and Moxley had a staredown, leading to a World title match that will take place on Wednesday.
This year’s All Out event is scheduled to take place on September 5.
