Tag: big boom aj

Big Boom AJ wins AEW debut at Full Gear Zero Hour

Posted on by Joseph Currier

TikTok star AJ Befumo now has a 1-0 record in AEW.

With an assist from his son Big Justice, Befumo was able to defeat QT Marshall on the AEW Full Gear pre-show. The match marked a successful return to the ring for the 48-year-old Befumo, a former indie wrestler who has not regularly competed in two decades.

The closing stretch of the match saw Big Justice (Eric Befumo) get involved after Aaron Solo tried to interfere on behalf of Marshall. The younger Befumo took out Marshall with a spear, then his father hit a “Power Boom” to get the victory.

Befumo and Big Justice have become social media sensations over the past year, building a following on TikTok with their father-son channel. They are called the “Costco Guys” with their most popular videos being trips to Costco and rating food products.

For this match, Befumo went by the name Big Boom AJ and entered to “We Bring the Boom” — a song that he and Big Justice released over the summer that went viral on social media and helped their rise to fame.

Befumo and Big Justice also had their friend and fellow TikTok celebrity The Rizzler (Christian Joseph) with them. The young child served as the guest timekeeper and celebrated with Befumo and Big Justice after ringing the bell. Before the finish, there was a moment where Wight needed to protect The Rizzler when Marshall went over to the timekeeper’s area.

What comes next for Befumo in wrestling remains to be seen. He’s said that — if Full Gear went well – he’d be honored to have more matches with AEW in the future. Tony Khan has spoken highly of Befumo and Big Justice, saying he’s learned a lot about marketing from them. Befumo was able to promote Full Gear during appearances on The Tonight Show, Fox Business, and other mainstream outlets leading into the event.

Befumo was called “The American Powerchild” Eric Justice when he used to compete on the indies. He wrestled “for about 11 years” from the 1990s-2000s.

Wrestling Observer Live: CM Punk returns on WWE SmackDown, AEW Full Gear, The Rizzler

Posted on by Jim Valley

Image: WWE

It’s Saturday afternoon and that means Wrestling Observer Live.

Two big returns are injecting even more excitement into the men’s WarGames match at Survivor Series as CM Punk and Paul Heyman returned to the fold at Friday’s WWE SmackDown.

Tonight’s AEW Full Gear looks like another solid PPV from an in-ring standpoint. The biggest match of the night looks to be on the Zero Hour pre-show as A.J. from The Costco Guys faces QT Marshall. Will AEW get the rub from The Rizzler?

All that and much more so check it out.

Click Here to Listen (sub needed)

Tony Khan: I’ve learned ‘so much’ about marketing from the Costco Guys

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Working with Costco Guys AJ and Big Justice has taught Tony Khan “so much” about marketing.

This weekend, 48-year-old AJ Befumo — a former indie wrestler — will return to the ring for a match against QT Marshall on the AEW Full Gear pre-show. It’s been an unlikely road back to pro wrestling for Befumo, who stopped regularly competing in the 2000s but has now become a TikTok celebrity alongside his young son Big Justice (Eric Befumo).

Big Justice will accompany his father at Full Gear this Saturday night. Ahead of the PPV, Khan, Befumo, and Big Justice stopped by Fox Business for an appearance on The Claman Countdown. Host Liz Claman asked Khan what he’s learned about the importance of social media marketing through working with the Costco Guys.

“So much,” the AEW boss responded. “I think that what I’ve seen with AJ and Big Justice together — first of all, this is real. Like, behind the scenes, what you see is what you get. Authenticity is important. And also, they’ve shown me the power of TikTok. Of marketing to, frankly, people that have never watched AEW or wrestling before. And we’re bringing in new fans. And AJ is a former pro wrestler making a comeback. So it’s great.”

Khan posted the following tweet after the Fox Business appearance:

AJ and Big Justice have become celebrities on TikTok through documenting their trips to Costco and expressing their love for the chicken bake and double chunk chocolate cookie at the Costco food court. This summer, their song “We Bring the Boom” helped the father-son duo explode in popularity.

Befumo originally wrestled on the Northeast indies for 11 years from the 1990s-2000s. He’s going by the name “Big Boom AJ” for this match at Full Gear, which is being held in New Jersey.

Fellow TikTok star The Rizzler (Christian Joseph), who is friends with Big Justice and frequently collaborates with the Costco Guys, will also be in Befumo’s corner at Full Gear. All three of AJ, Big Justice, and The Rizzler were guests on The Tonight Show together last month.

Though he has a busy schedule with his social media work, Befumo has said that he would be honored to have more matches with AEW after Saturday’s event.

AEW announces full lineup for Full Gear go-home edition of Rampage

Posted on by Josh Nason

Image: AEW

The full lineup for this Friday’s AEW Rampage is official — the final stop before Saturday’s Full Gear pay-per-view.

AEW Women’s World Champion Mariah May & Mina Shirakawa will team up against former champion Nyla Rose & Harley Cameron. May and Shirakawa will host a championship champagne celebration on Saturday.

Big Boom AJ of the Costco Guys and QT Marshall will have a weigh-in ahead of their clash on Saturday’s pre-show.

In trios action, The Conglomeration (Mark Briscoe, Rocky Romero & Tomohiro Ishii) will challenge Dark Order.

The show is rounded out by Juice Robinson going one-on-one with The Butcher.

AEW taped two episodes of Rampage on Wednesday after Dynamite.

Here’s the full lineup for Friday:

  • The Conglomeration (Mark Briscoe, Rocky Romero & Tomohiro Ishii) vs. Dark Order (Evil Uno, John Silver & Alex Reynolds)
  • Big Boom A.J. & QT Marshall weigh-in
  • Juice Robinson vs. The Butcher
  • Mariah May & Mina Shirakawa vs. Nyla Rose & Harley Cameron

The Rizzler to be in Costco Guys’ corner for AEW Full Gear

Posted on by Josh Nason

Image: NBC

As if Big Boom A.J. and Big Justice weren’t enough for this Saturday’s AEW Full Gear, the stakes were raised during Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite.

In a backstage segment, A.J. and his son revealed that “The Rizzler,” a member of their extended family and fellow social media star, will indeed be in attendance for A.J.’s match against QT Marshall.

Rizzler (a third grader named Christian Joseph from New Jersey) initially rose to fame for a viral Instagram video of him wearing a Black Panther costume. He eventually found his way to the Costco Guys crew.

A.J., a former indie wrestler in the New York/New Jersey scene, will take on Marshall as part of the pre-show. He said he signed a one-match deal but has also he’s open for more.

Here’s the current card for Saturday, November 23rd in Newark, New Jersey:

  • AEW World Champion Jon Moxley defends against Orange Cassidy
  • TBS Champion Mercedes Mone defends against Kris Statlander
  • TNT Champion Jack Perry defends against Daniel Garcia
  • Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher
  • Jay White vs. Hangman Page
  • Bobby Lashley vs. Swerve Strickland
  • MJF vs. Roderick Strong
  • Mariah May & Mina Shirakawa champagne celebration
  • Four-way match for AEW Tag Team titles: Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen) defends against The Outrunners (Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd), House of Black (Malakai Black & Brody King), and The Acclaimed (Max Caster & Anthony Bowens)
  • Zero Hour: Costco Guy A.J. vs. QT Marshall

Big Boom A.J. appearance part of new additions to AEW Dynamite

Posted on by Josh Nason

Big Boom A.J. will make an appearance on this Wednesday’s Full Gear go-home edition of AEW Dynamite.

The viral social media star known for hanging out with Big Justice and The Rizzler and enjoying double chunk chocolate cookies is preparing for his return to the ring next Saturday against QT Marshall on the pay-per-view pre-show.

Wednesday will also see a bout between former AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida and TBS title challenger Kris Statlander. During Saturday’s Collision, Shida said she wanted a shot at the TBS title if Statlander can defeat incumbent champion Mercedes Mone at Full Gear, leading to Statlander requesting the match for this Wednesday instead.

After lengthy absences, CMLL’s Hechicero, Atlantis Jr., and Mascara Dorada will be in action against opponents to be named. The CMLL contingent’s return was announced Saturday as well.

Here’s the updated lineup for Reading, PA:

  • Orange Cassidy vs. Wheeler Yuta
  • Darby Allin vs. Claudio Castagnoli
  • Will Ospreay, Ricochet, Powerhouse Hobbs & Mark Davis vs. Konosuke Takeshita, Kyle Fletcher, Lance Archer & Brian Cage
  • Big Boom A.J. appearance
  • Kris Statlander vs. Hikaru Shida
  • Hechicero, Atlantis Jr., and Mascara Dorada in action

Costco Guy AJ: ‘It would be an honor to do more matches with AEW’

Posted on by Joseph Currier

TikTok celebrity AJ Befumo is open to doing more with AEW after his match at Full Gear.

A former indie wrestler who has become a TikTok celebrity, the 48-year-old Befumo will step back into the ring against QT Marshall on the pre-show for Full Gear later this month. Befumo has signed a one-match deal for the pay-per-view, but he loves how AEW has handled things so far and would be honored to have more matches.

“I think there’s going to be more [wrestling for him],” he told the Battleground Podcast. “Listen, things have to line up. Hey, listen, the audience has to want more. Let’s start with that, let’s start with the audience has to want more. But what I do promise you is that I’m bringing the boom so that the audience is going to want more. That’s on me. So I will be bringing the boom. I will have this audience wanting more, and then we’ll start from there. You know what, if the audience wants more — I absolutely love the way AEW has handled everything to this point. It would be an honor to do more matches with AEW. We are very busy with the other stuff we’re doing with social media, so everything has to line up. But the door is definitely open.”

Befumo will be going by the name “Big Boom AJ” at Full Gear. He wrestled for 11 years on the indies from the 1990s to 2000s, frequently competing in the New Jersey area. Full Gear is being held at the Prudential Center in Newark on Saturday, November 23.

At the PPV, Befumo will have his son Big Justice (Eric Befumo) in his corner. Befumo and Big Justice have become known as the “Costco Guys” on TikTok, documenting their trips to the wholesale store on their father-son channel. They released the song “We Bring the Boom” this summer, which helped grow their popularity.

Befumo told the Battleground Podcast that, even though he was gone from the ring for a while, he always knew in his heart that he would return at some point. He loves pro wrestling and the connection it allows you to have with the crowd. He’s been in the ring training for this match, noting that the hardest part was getting his footwork back. Befumo said his footing is good now and he has grown more confident every day of training.

Costco Guy AJ ‘very grateful’ for AEW opportunity

Posted on by Joseph Currier

TikTok celebrity AJ Befumo is grateful for the opportunity he’s getting to return to the ring for AEW.

A former indie wrestler, Befumo — billed as “Big Boom AJ” — will step back into action for a match against QT Marshall on the Full Gear pre-show next month. On Monday night, Befumo, his son Big Justice (Eric Befumo), and fellow TikTok star The Rizzler (Christian Joseph) were guests on “The Tonight Show.” Befumo promoted his upcoming AEW match during the appearance.

“I am returning to wrestling, I’m coming back to bring the boom,” Befumo told Jimmy Fallon. “I am very grateful. I will be wrestling for All Elite Wrestling. It’s going to be November 23. It’s going to be at the Prudential Center, right down the road in New Jersey. I will be taking on QT Marshall. And Big Justice is going to be in my corner. And Big Justice, we’re going to bring the boom.”

Befumo was previously known as Eric Justice during his time as an indie wrestler in the New Jersey area. For this Full Gear bout, he’s signed a one-match deal with AEW.

Befumo and Big Justice have a father-son TikTok channel and have become known as the “Costco Guys” through documenting their trips to the wholesale store. Their popularity online exploded this summer with the release of their song “We Bring The Boom.”

Full Gear is taking place live from Newark on Saturday, November 23.

Costco Guy AJ vs. QT Marshall official for AEW Full Gear pre-show

Posted on by Joseph Currier

One of social media’s biggest breakout stars of 2024 is officially set to make his AEW debut.

AEW has confirmed that AJ Befumo — a former indie wrestler who has gained famed on TikTok — will step back into the ring against QT Marshall on the Full Gear pre-show next month. Befumo has signed a one-match deal with AEW and, earlier this month, challenged Marshall to face him at Full Gear.

The pay-per-view is being held at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on Saturday, November 23.

“You wanted to do this for free on the Zero Hour, in front of all your friends and family. Well, AJ, just because you think that New Jersey is your hometown — I got another thing coming for you,” Marshall said in a promo. “New Jersey, I was born. New Jersey, I was raised. And in New Jersey, at Full Gear, I’m going to beat you. I’m going to embarrass you. I’m going to prove to you that 20 years ago when you walked away from professional wrestling and passed the torch to me, QT Marshall, you made the absolute right decision of your life.

“And I’m going to send you back to TikTok land. I’m going to embarrass you in front of your friends, your family, in front of Big Justice. Because AJ, you’re going to bring the boom — but QT Marshall is going to bring the doom.”

Befumo went by the name Eric Justice in his past career as an indie wrestler. He’s billed as Big Boom AJ for this match against Marshall.

On TikTok, Befumo and his son Big Justice (Eric Befumo) have become known as the “Costco Guys,” filming their trips to the wholesale store and expressing their love for Costco’s chicken bake and double chunk chocolate cookie.

They went viral with their song “We Bring the Boom” this summer.

Big Justice will be in Befumo’s corner for the Full Gear match.

Here’s what’s been announced for Full Gear so far:

AEW Full Gear 2024 —