At 62-years-old, Billy Gunn has no concrete plans on retiring.
During an interview with Chris Van Vliet, Billy Gunn was asked if he plans to wrestle until 70. Not completely accepting or rejecting the idea, Gunn said he’ll continue wrestling as long as he’s having fun, leaving his future open-ended.
“So I want to do it while I still can, and while I’m still having fun. I mean, you can ask my wife, she hates watching me, because I’m just such a goof. I’m such a goof because I just don’t have any stress anymore. There’s no stress for me to go out there and have everybody go ‘oh watch, it’s going to be an unbelievable wrestling match’. They’re going to go ‘we’re about to have so much fun and be interactive in what we do, because that’s what he does, you know.’
“So that’s what I’m doing. Do I want to? No, I don’t want to work until I’m 70. But is it possible? Sure, anything’s possible,” Gunn said. “But I’m getting to the point where I’m kind of slowing down a little. I think it’s because the gym is taking over my life.”
Starting his wrestling career in 1989, Gunn has wrestled all over the world, including WWE, TNA, NJPW, AEW, and even the indies. Over 60-years-old, Gunn’s latest match dates back to a trios match earlier this month in April, 2026. While actively wrestling in AEW and ROH, Gunn is also signed to a WWE legends contract.
For the first time in nearly two years, Ortiz graced an AEW ring, taking on Hook in a losing effort. The 34-year-old has only wrestled twice in AEW since losing a no DQ match to former partner Mike Santana in October 2023 due to injuries and non-use. He has worked different indies around the U.S. and Canada this year.
In another dark match, Billy Gunn‘s estrangement from the reluctant reunited team of Anthony Bowens and Max Caster appears to be permanent as he is supporting a new team of Brady Booker and Elijah Drago who defeated two local wrestlers.
Booker is the former Bodhi Hayward in WWE NXT who was released in late-2022. He wrestled two matches on AEW Dark in early-2023 and then once again in January 2024 in Ring of Honor. He competed in ROH dark matches five times this year under his new name, both teaming with Drago and against him. He and Drago also worked an January 2025 AEW dark match against Dark Order. Drago made his AEW debut in July 2024 in a dark match win over QT Marshall.
Booker and Drago have both worked in the ring with Gunn several times over the last three years on indie shows.
Billy Gunn has new protégés now in Brady Booker and Elijah Drago and they are about to beat some job guys pic.twitter.com/JJF9gkvxtb
Billy Gunn’s absence from AEW programming is not due to injury.
Max Caster and Anthony Bowens have reluctantly tagged with each other twice on recent episodes of Collision, but Gunn has not been part of the angle reuniting the pair. Jerry Lynn has instead played the veteran role encouraging them to team again.
During a recent appearance on Fuel & Flex, Gunn said he’s dealing with two stress fractures in his back. This led some to believe the injury could be why Gunn hasn’t been involved in the storyline with Caster and Bowens. However, Gunn’s team sent an email to WrestlePurists stating that his absence from AEW is not injury-related.
“Billy is fine, this is a very old injury that he has dealt with for years. It does not interfere with wrestling or training. It just gets sore if he trains too heavy or hard. Attached is a video today showing everyone heiss ok. Because of the internet, our phones have been blowing up asking if his back is hurt. His absence from AEW is due to him not being booked by creative,” an email Gunn’s team sent to WrestlePurists reads. The attached video is available below.
The 62-year-old has been active in recent months working for QT Marshall’s 1FW promotion in Georgia. He also continues to wrestle for Scott D’Amore’s Maple Leaf Pro promotion.
After Billy Gunn recently mentioned on ‘Fuel & Flex’ that he has stress fractures in his back, his team reached out to clarify that it’s a “very old injury”, and the reason he’s absent from TV is due to not being booked by AEW creative:
After Max Caster told Anthony Bowens to choose between himself and Billy Gunn, Bowens signaled he wanted to scissor with Caster. However, Bowens ended up flipping him off, aligning himself with Billy Gunn and choosing to end his association with Caster. Angered, Caster said he was going to walk out on them, saying The Acclaimed was no more.
During his promo on Collision, Caster said he wanted to clear the air with Bowens, who joined him in the ring. Caster told Bowens that he was upset that he didn’t recognize him as the Best Wrestler Alive. Bowens became frustrated and told Caster that he had protected him for five years because he was his partner, but Caster made him turn into a liar, calling Caster a “arrogant edgelord piece of s***”.
Billy Gunn then came out to try an settle the issue. Caster claimed that Gunn was only part of the group to get attention and even his own sons didn’t want anything to do with him. After Bowens rejected Caster, he and Billy Gunn scissored one last time.
During their run in the company, Caster and Bowens had held the AEW Tag Team titles and AEW Trios titles on one occasion. The split came after weeks of Caster arrogantly claiming himself to be the Best Wrestler Alive, a phrase he trademarked on a piece of paper he carried around, including on Collision.
Gunn told Chris Van Vliet recently that he’s amazed at Ospreay’s athleticism and charisma. He’s even told people that wrestling Ospreay would make for a great retirement match.
“I don’t know what it is about that kid. I love him, I tell everybody that’s my retirement match,” Gunn said. “When I retire it’s me and Will, and he just said on some media scrum that he’s in AEW to retire me. Because his work really isn’t me. It’s so opposite of me. But I love him. He’s good. He’s very energetic. Just the stuff he does is amazing. He’s so athletic and could do so much stuff. But he has charisma with it and he’s very good at that. And I love that, I don’t know I just love that kid.”
Gunn continued to say that at 60 years old, he’s got some limitations in the ring these days but believes he’s still able to bring value to the acts he works with. His last match took place at Double or Nothing when The Acclaimed defeated Cage of Agony on the Buy-In. He also did a run-in at Forbidden Door to help save The Acclaimed from a beatdown at the hands of The Elite.
“I mean, I’m not gonna go out there and go 25 minutes with Will [Ospreay], that ain’t happening. But do I still have equity in the company? Can I still bring something? Damn right,” Gunn continued. “I can because the minute I step out there those people go nuts and they start saying my name. So as long as I bring value and it’s not, you know, if I go out there and they go, Oh, God really? The first time I hear that I’ll quit. But as long as I can do something to help The Acclaimed or help the company or help my kids. Yeah, I’ll stay around. There’s no reason I can’t. I have no problem just being The Acclaimed’s sidekick. I love it. Because I get to run around talk to people act like a goofball interact when I want to and work every now and then.”
Gunn also revealed during the interview that doctors recently discovered two stress fractures in his back. He said the injury doesn’t hinder what he does in the ring but traveling has become more difficult.
“The only thing is a struggle is flying these days. Because I hate it. Yeah, but I mean, as long as I’m still as long as I’m still having fun and doing what I do, and I can bring something to help I’m in, I’m good.”
Bullet Club Gold are now unified champions of AEW’s six-man division.
Jay White and The Gunns defeated The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn at AEW Dynasty on Sunday, with White scoring the win over Gunn after hitting the bladerunner. With the win, Bullet Club Gold now hold both the AEW Trios titles and the ROH Six-Man titles, which they previously held before Sunday’s unification match.
The rivalry between the two teams date back to earlier this year, when Acclaimed suggested to Bullet Club Gold they team together in order to go after The Undisputed Kingdom, who attacked both teams in the past. BCG eventually agreed to team with The Acclaimed, forming the Bang Bang Scissor Gang. After scoring a few wins as a six-man team, BCG turned on The Acclaimed at Big Business last month, when White laid out Gunn with a steel chair.
Bullet Club Gold have held the ROH Six-Man Tag Team titles since January 17, when they defeated the Mogul Embassay. The Acclaimed had been AEW Trios Champions since August 27 of last year, when they defeated The House of Black at All In.
The Acclaimed & Billy Gunn will hold a National 69 Day celebration on the November 4 AEW Collision episode.
As announced during Friday’s Rampage, The Acclaimed’s Max Caster & Anthony Bowens & “Daddy Ass” Billy Gunn will celebrate the 69th day of their AEW World Trios Championship reign on next week’s Collision show.
The announcement was made during a pre-taped promo on Rampage. Caster made a point of issuing an invitation to World Champion MJF to take part in the National 69 Day celebration as an alliance between MJF & The Acclaimed continues to be teased.
MJF will have an eight-man tag team bout on Wednesday’s Dynamite against Bullet Club Gold’s Jay White, Juice Robinson, Austin Gunn, and Colten Gunn, but MJF’s three partners have yet to be revealed.
The Acclaimed & Billy Gunn defeated House of Black at All In this past August to kick off their title reign. It is their first reign as Trios Champions and the fifth overall reign in the nearly 14-month history of the title. The Elite’s Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson, and Nick Jackson were crowned inaugural Trios champs after winning a tournament final at All Out 2022.
In a rematch from May’s Double or Nothing, TBS Champion Kris Statlander will defend her title against the returning Jade Cargill as part of tonight’s AEW Rampage from Cincinnati, Ohio.
Cargill made her surprise return last week to help Statlander fend off the Renegade Twins, only to lay out Statlander afterward. Statlander ended Cargill’s undefeated streak and title run at Double or Nothing in an impromptu match and will be looking for her tenth successful defense.
The show will also feature an eight-man tag team match as the Lucha Brothers (Penta El Zero Miedo & Rey Fenix) will join Matt & Jeff Hardy against Jeff Jarrett, Jay Lethal, The Butcher & The Blade.
AEW Trios Champions The Acclaimed (Max Caster & Anthony Bowens) and Billy Gunn will be in non-title action.
In a clash of former Ring of Honor Tag Team Champions, The Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) will battle with Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal.
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AEW Rampage is underway with Excalibur, Tony Schiavone & Chris Jericho on the call as the participants for the opening contest are already in the ring.
The Hardys (Matt & Jeff Hardy w/Isiah Kassidy) and The Lucha Bros (Rey Fenix & Penta El Zero Miedo w/Alex Abrahantes) defeated The Butcher, The Blade, Jeff Jarrett & Jay Lethal (w/Karen Jarrett, Satnam Singh, Sonjay Dutt, Kip Sabian, The Bunny & Penelope Ford)
(Did you catch all those names? This was practically a Lumberjack Match, as there were as many people outside the ring as there were in the actual match. A usual party match with a whole lot of spots leading to the most logical man getting the pin, that being Fenix, who is next in line for Jon Moxley, so he stood tall. Interesting events post match, as it looks like The Righteous & Hardys might be starting a program.)
We had quite the contrast of styles to begin, as Jarrett drove Penta into the ropes before doing a Fargo Strut. Fast tags made, as Fenix unleashed corner chops to Butcher before the Hardys took turns dishing out their offense. Blade was dropped with a double suplex, while Lethal suffered a springing corner splash. As Matt wanted a Twist of Fate, Jarrett attacked from behind to allow Butcher to take over. Lethal mocked the Penta strut, which allowed Dutt & Sabian to get in cheap shots ringside, as Matt was isolated during commercial.
The heels tried attacking the faces to cut off Matt’s hot tag, but Fenix dodged the Butcher attack and made the tag, running wild. With Jarrett & Lethal placed over the top rope, Fenix did his rope walk kick to both until Penta hit a somersault dive onto a pile outside. Fenix went to follow, but Blade pulled him to the floor. Alex Abrahantes was seemingly about to do a dive, but was cut off by Dutt, who ate a punch. Sabian did the same, but Abrahantes poked him in the eyes and leapt to the floor, right into the clutches of Singh, who rag dolled him. Fenix hit a thrust kick and twisting dive onto a pile of bodies before dropping Blade with a sit out driver to get the pin. The Hardys were brawling with Jarrett & Lethal up the ramp before Singh laid them both out, unbeknownst to the Lucha Bros. The Righteous, Dutch & Vincent walked out on the stage and stood over the bodies of The Hardys.
-Renee Paquette is backstage to ask what is next for Dr. Britt Baker after losing the four way on Dynamite. Baker said things haven’t gone as planned, as she should be a two time Women’s champion by now. She’s going to do what she does best, make history, this time becoming the first woman to hold the Women’s & TBS Title. It’s criminal she’s never had a TBS Title match. Therefore, Baker issues a challenge for the winner of Statlander vs. Cargill later tonight to face her in the main event of Collision tomorrow.
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-There’s a QTV segment with Johnny TV taking the place of QT Marshall, who is off wrestling in Mexico. Aaron Solo asks if Marshall is coming back and Johnny said of course, then did a ridiculous handshake. There was a masked luchador standing by named El Hijo del Harvey, someone Johnny brought in to show solidarity while Marshall was gone. Johnny laid him out, as he & Solo had to restrain Harley Cameron from stabbing the poor guy with scissors.
Matt Taven & Mike Bennett defeated Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal
(While Daniels & Sydal got in some offense, this was a solid win for The Kingdom, who are after the ROH Tag Titles going forward. It certainly makes sense from a storyline perspective for them to presumably win the titles; I just wonder if they’ll have that match on TV or at Wrestle Dream. I’m hoping it happens on Dynamite to be perfectly honest.)
Bennett got the first takedown on Daniels with a shoulder tackle, but Daniels fired off the arm drag, hip toss and drop toe hold before tagging Sydal, who crashed down with a mariposa. Taven made the tag, but was lit up with a series of strikes, while Bennett ate a spin kick to the outside. Daniels was knocked to the floor, as Bennett met him with a bounced back forearm strike that led to commercial.
Taven tried for a springing moonsault, which Daniels dodged, as Sydal & Daniels hit a sort of awkward assisted back suplex. Bennett avoided a Sydal high kick and flattened him with a running Death Valley Driver, while Taven hit a corner splash on Daniels. The Proton Pack connected and Taven got the win.
Post match, Taven said they didn’t have a lot of time, as they need to rush to the hospital to check on Roderick Strong. Taven doesn’t blame Samoa Joe for what happened, he blames Adam Cole. The Kingdom wants to take back what is rightfully theirs, the ROH Tag Team Titles. Bennett said its Neck Health Awareness Month and shows their red bracelets. For those who don’t believe in such a thing, you ball up for fist, punch them in the weiner and lay them out with a piledriver. Neck Health Awareness matters, as the Kingdom are coming home to Roddy. This was hilariously delivered by Bennett & Taven.
-Renee Paquette is backstage with Mogul Embassy, as Brian Cage said The Young Bucks were lucky Cage was exhausted after his match with Hangman Page, otherwise he would’ve laid them out on Dynamite. Swerve Strickland said The Bucks were friendly when they were on his podcasts, but now they’re back to putting on their EVP hats. Strickland issued a challenge for Grand Slam for Cage & The Gates of Agony vs. Page & The Bucks.
The Acclaimed & Daddy Ass defeated Peter Avalon & The Outrunners (Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd)
(A quick win for the Trios Champions, as I’m just disappointed we were robbed of hearing Avalon’s saxophone entrance theme. As for tomorrow night, it looks like the next contender for the Trios Titles are about to be set.)
Floyd was able to chop down Gunn with boots to the hamstring early, as Avalon chop blocked the leg, but opted to pose, allowing Gunn to hit a massive upper cut. Bowens made the tag, but Avalon hit a dropkick flush, with Bowens responding with a thrust kick. The match broke down, as Magnum & Floyd were sent packing, as Avalon was hit with Scissor Me Timbers. Gunn hit the Fame-Asser, while Caster connected with the Mic Drop for the easy win.
Post match, Dark Order interrupted the celebration, as John Silver said they’re the good guys and want a shot at the Trios Titles. Bowens asks why they deserve a title shot, which Evil Uno said the last four years of grinding to get to where they are is why. Uno is tired of good things happening to bad people and issues a challenge for tomorrow night, a singles match to show them they deserve a title show. Gunn said they’ll decide it with Rock, Paper, Scissors, but it was scissors every time. Bowens finally just accepted and said whoever it is, they’ll spank their ass purple.
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Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) defeated Damian Chambers & Lord Crewe
Davis & Fletcher wasted no time attacking right at the bell and violently drove Chambers & Crewe into one another. The sandwich double lariat led to both Chambers & Crewe being dropped with the Coriolis for the easy win.
Kris Statlander defeated Jade Cargill (w/Mark Sterling) to retain the TBS Title
(Chris Jericho said on commentary this was Cargill’s best match of her career and I would have to agree. I was initially worried we would be robbed of a lot of action with the commercial break in the middle, but this was an excellent battle. The amount of counters throughout showed how each woman was evenly matched and while the rumors are out there about Cargill’s future, if this was indeed her last match in AEW, it was a great one to go out on. I do hope she sticks around though.)
Both ladies showed off their power with collar elbow tie ups before trading lariats, with neither women budging. Both traded catching the other with a cross body attempt, as Statlander missed a pump kick, but Cargill was sent outside. Statlander tried a cross body off the apron, but Cargill caught and slammed her on the apron. During commercial, Cargill continued to show off her strength, doing pushups in between her onslaught of offense.
After going back and forth with attempts, it was Cargill who hit a stalling vertical suplex. Cargill held on for another, but Statlander countered into a spinning sit out fisherman’s buster. Both ladies kipped up at the same time and started slugging it out. Statlander won the battle, delivering a charging corner knee and Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Statlander was distracted by Sterling, who Cargill nearly ran into, but he shoved her out of the way and took the bullet eating a Statlander forearm. Cargill hit the pump kick and nearly hit Jaded, which Statlander got a roll up for two. Cargill popped up and hit a nice choke slam for a near fall of her own. Statlander avoided Jaded again, hitting a discus lariat, scissors kick and Friday Night Fever for the victory. Post match, Cargill shook Statlander’s hand, hugged her and gave her the ring as Statlander stood tall to end the show.
AEW Collision 9/16/23
· Bryan Danielson & Claudio Castagnoli vs. Ricky Starks & Big Bill
· FTR defend the AEW Tag Team Titles against The Iron Savages (Bronson & Boulder)
· Kris Statlander defends the TBS Title against Dr. Britt Baker
· Evil Uno vs. Anthony Bowens
· The Hardys vs. The Righteous (Vincent & Dutch)
· Andrade El Idolo vs. Scorpio Sky
AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam 9/20/23
· MJF defends the AEW World Title against Samoa Joe
· Jon Moxley defends the AEW International Title against Rey Fenix
· Chris Jericho vs. Sammy Guevara
· ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli vs. NJPW Strong Openweight Champion Eddie Kingston in a Title vs. Title Match
· Saraya defends the AEW Women’s Title against Toni Storm
AEW Rampage: Grand Slam 9/22/23
· Darby Allin & Sting vs. Christian Cage & Luchasaurus
For the first time in nearly a decade, Billy Gunn can call himself a champion.
Gunn and former AEW Tag Team Champions The Acclaimed defeated the House of Black Sunday at All In at London’s Wembley Stadium to win the Trios titles for the first time.
The end came when Gunn hit a second Fameasser on Brody King followed by a second Anthony Bowens’ Arrival and a second Max Caster Mic Drop with all three of them on top of King for the pin and win.
The match was held under no holds barred rules per the challengers’ request as part of the House of Black’s “House Rules.”
Gunn, who teased retirement after the trio initially lost to the House of Black at a July Collision event, now has his first major championship since he and Road Dogg held the WWE Tag Team titles in early-2014.
It’s the first titles for Bowens and Caster since they lost the AEW Tag Team titles this past February.
The reign ends the 175-day run for the House of Black (King, Malakai Black & Buddy Matthews) which saw them defend the titles eight times.
Billy Gunn teased his retirement on AEW Collision.
After Gunn and The Acclaimed failed to capture the Trios titles from The House of Black, Malakai Black and Buddy Matthews both paid tribute to him as they made their exit.
An emotional Gunn recovered and then started to untie his boots. Once finished, he put them inside the ring and left. The Acclaimed acted like they were surprised by the move and attempted to talk to Gunn, but he shoved them away and walked to the back as he made his exit.
Gunn, 59, made his pro wrestling debut in 1989. He is best remembered for his run in WWE, first with Bart Gunn as a tag team called The Smoking Gunns and later as a member of D-Generation X, where he teamed with the Road Dogg as The New Age Outlaws.
He joined AEW as a trainer in early 2019. He first appeared on TV teaming with his sons before they entered a feud with The Acclaimed. After Colten and Austin turned on their father, he aligned himself with The Acclaimed, going by the name Daddy Ass.
A shot at the TNT title will be on the line in the second-ever Royal Rampage match as part of tonight’s AEW Rampage from Boston, Massachussetts.
20 men will compete in a Royal Rumble-style match over two rings with the winner earning a TNT title shot at September’s All Out. Four men start the match.
Participants include Nick Wayne, Darby Allin, Swerve Strickland, Butcher & The Blade, Gates of Agony, Big Bill, Matt Hardy, Brian Cage, Jeff Jarrett, Komander, Jay Lethal, Ethan Page, Brother Zay, Jake Hager, Matt Sydal, Matt Menard, Angelo Parker, and a surprise entrant.
TBS Champion Kris Statlander will defend her title against Marina Shafir in search of her defense. This is Shafir’s third opportunity at the championship.
Ahead of their challenge of AEW Trios Champions The House of Black on Saturday’s AEW Collision, The Acclaimed & Billy Gunn will face QTV’s QT Marshall, Johnny TV & Aaron Solo.
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Taped in Boston, Massachusetts.
Tony Schiavone, Excalibur and Chris Jericho were on commentary.
Darby Allin won the 20 Man Royal Rampage to earn a shot at the TNT Championship at All Out (29:33 aired)
Ten men will enter each ring at what are probably supposed to be one-minute intervals but wildly fluctuated based on entrances and commercial breaks. The winner gets a shot at the TNT Title match at All Out.
Darby Allin was the last man eliminated in last year’s Royal Rampage match and started out in the red ring with Jay Lethal. Swerve Strickland and Nick Wayne started out in the Blue Ring. Minoru Suzuki was #3 for the red ring and the crowd popped huge for his music. When Suzuki finally got to the ring, he partnered up with Lethal to beat on Darby Allin. Brian Cage was #3 for the blue ring, and he took it to Nick Wayne while Strickland caught a breather. The Suzuki/Lethal partnership started to fall apart and Ethan Page entered the red ring at #4. Page went after Jay Lethal like he promised he would last week. Suzuki and Page started exchanging forearms while Komander entered the blue ring at #4. He bounced off the top rope, onto Cage’s shoulders, and off of Cage’s shoulders into a DDT on Strickland.
The Butcher was #5 in the red ring and charged Page with a clothesline. Big Bill came into the blue ring at #5, having recovered from the Saskatoon Slam. Bill hit Komander with a black hole slam. In the red ring, Page tossed Lethal off of a Lethal Injection attempt. Lethal then pulled at Page from outside the ring elimated him with Suzuki’s help from inside the ring. Suzuki then got into it with The Butcher. He went for the Gotch-style piledriver, but Butcher backdropped Suzuki to eliminate him. The Blade came in at #6 in the Red Ring, and he and The Butcher combined to beat up Allin around the ringside area.
During the split screen break, Brother Zay came in at #6 in the blue ring, where there had been no eliminations. Toa Liona entered the red ring at #7. The three heels worked over Darby Allin in the red ring. Matt Sydal entered the blue ring at #7. Sydal and Brother Zay hit the gin and juice double-team on Swerve Strickland. Bishop Kaun came in at #8 in the red ring. The Gates of Agony squared off with the Butcher and the Blade while Allin sold in the corner. Brother Zay was eliminated in the blue ring. The Gates of Agony tossed the Butcher and the Blade. Matt Hardy entered the blue ring at #8, and he went right after Strickland, then hit a hangman’s neckbreaker on Cage and a DDT on Big Bill.
Matt Menard entered the red ring at #9. Menard looked like he would challenge The Gates of Agony, but changed in mind and stomped on Darby Allin instead. Jeff Jarrett entered the blue ring at #9 and squared off with Hardy. Jarrett did the Fargo Strut to a huge pop. Angleo Parker joined the blue ring at #10, so again in the blue ring we have two heel tag teams squaring off and Allin selling in the corner. The last entrant in the blue ring (which was much more crowded) was Jake Hager.
During the split-screen break, Hager, Cage, and Big Bill had a hoss fight in the center of the blue ring while Jarrett watched in the corner. Komader helped Bill eliminate Hager. Hager and BIll then double-teamed Komander and dumped him. Meanwhile, in the red ring, the four heels quadrupled teamed Allin.
After the break, all four of the heels had Allin above their heads, but he escaped. The Gates of Angoy and the JAS started to fight with each other, and the Gates eliminated Menard and Parker. Meanwhile in the Blue Ring, Hardy eliminated Jarrett. Hardy was triple-teamed by Bill, Cage and Strickland and eliminated by a clothesline from Big Bill. Bill tried to chokeslam Nick Wayne over the top, but Wayne countered with a guillotine and tried to pull Bill out from the apron. Strickland pushed Bill out of the ring, and Cage (Bill’s partner from The Blind Eliminator tag tournament) was not happy about it. Big Bill looked tremendously strong up to his elimination. Strickland and Cage started to argue, and Wayne jumped into the other ring to help Allin eliminate Kuan.
Wayne hopped back into the blue ring and eliminated Cage. This left Wayne and Strickland in the blue ring, but Strickland quickly dumped Wayne, and Allin dumped Linoa.
This left Swerve Strickland and Darby Allin as the final two to finish the match in the red ring. Swerve charged at Allin, who backdropped him over the top. Allin couldn’t knock him to the floor, and Prince Nana ran in and hit Allin with a skateboard. Swerve power bombed Allin onto the wheels of the skateboard, but Allin hung on when Strickland dumped him over the top. Allin was out on the apron. Swerve came off the top rope with a stomp, but Allin blocked it. Swerve tried for a suplex, but Allin escaped back into the ring, then ran the ropes and hit his high-speed tope through the middle ropes. Allin and Strickland both crashed to the floor, but since Allin went through the MIDDLE ROPE, he was victorious. Very good battle royal but I loved the clever finish.
The Acclaimed & Bill Gunn defeated QT Marshall, Aaron Solo & Johnny TV (w/ Harley Cameron)
Max Caster took advantage of the lateness of the hour when he made his rap, with most of the insults directed at Cameron. Then Caster handed his chain to a kid at ringside, which is a great babyface move.
Marshall’s back was taped up from the Ambulance Match he had at TripleMania last weekend. The Acclaimed triple-teamed Marshall and Gunn clotheslined him to the floor. Then they scissored in the ring.
During the split-screen break, the heels got the heat on Caster, but after the commercial, he got the hot tag to Gunn. 59-year-old Billy Gunn cleaned house on QTV, and even though it’s just QTV I still don’t think a guy this old should get that much shine on them. Bowens came and wore out Marshall with forearms and elbows, and then hit a superkick on Solo. QTV triple-teamed Billy Gunn and got a near fall after a top rope stomp from Solo. The QTV crew tried to set up Scissor Me Timbers on Gunn, but the Acclaimed made the save. Gunn hit a corba clutch slam on Solo, and the Acclaimed finished Solo with the Arrival/Mic Drop combo. Billy Gunn then got the pin.
New for Collision tomorrow: Ricky Starks celebrates his Owen Hart tournament win. Skye Blue takes on Taya Valkyrie. Action Andretti and Darius Martin will take on Juice Robinson and Jay White… does this show have a main event yet? Also, we’ll hear from CM Punk and FTR (in a separate segment), and CM Punk is looking for a fight.
Kris Statlander defeated Markina Shafir (w/ Nyla Rose) to retain the TBS Championship (5:02 aired).
Announced for Dynamite during this match is PAC v. Gravity. But I thought PAC was the man that Gravity forgot? Also an Adam Cole & MJF segment, and Darby Allin v. Swerve Strickland.
Statlander is 7-0 since her return and on a 13-match winning streak overall (I guess going back before her injury). Excalibur did a read for the red cross blood drive during this match, which was way less ironic than when he did it during Blood & Guts on Wednesday.
Shafir got the advantage on the mat with Statlander and worked her over with kicks. Statlander got sick of this, caught one of the kicks, and pulled Shafir up into an electric chair before dropping her face first to the mat. A big vertical suplex got Statlander a near fall that the replay crew liked so much that they showed it three times.
Statlander went for her finish, the Friday Night Fever, but Shafir escaped and transitioned into a standing figure-four. Statlander escaped, hit a discus lariat, and hit the Friday Night Fever on the second try to get the pinfall.
Final Thoughts:
The two-ring battle royal made for one of the better Rampage shows of the year. Big Bill got a lot of shine, the finish was clever, and there was hardly any laying around during the match. The rest of the show wasn’t great, but the battle royal more than made up for it.
Sean Waltman is reportedly training for an in-ring return and some wouldn’t be surprised to see that take place in AEW.
Speculation regarding Waltman and AEW started following an interview Billy Gunn gave to Sportskeeda on Sunday. Gunn told the outlet that AEW has reached out to Waltman previously about coming in.
Our own Dave Meltzer would later clarify that there were discussions between Waltman and AEW in May and October of 2022 but nothing recently.
Gunn said:
I think we’ve tried to get Sean in here a couple of times. Things just didn’t work out but I think, if the time’s right, I think he would be a great asset because he still has huge popularity and everybody knows him and he’s such a good guy that he would not only help the younger talent as well as be a good representative for our company and he’d be amazing if we could get him here.
According to a report from Nick Hausman, sources close to Waltman “would not be surprised” to see him end up in AEW at some point. However, it was noted that Waltman is not interested in only doing a one-off with the promotion.
Hausman wrote:
Waltman is in the process of getting back into ring shape and those close to him told us they would not be surprised if he showed up in AEW.
Waltman hasn’t wrestled since working a couple of matches with GCW in early 2022. He teamed with Joey Janela and defeated Brian Myers & Matt Cardona at Welcome to Heartbreak on February 25, 2022. He then was defeated by Janela the following month at Spring Break 6 in a match that Waltman worked with a torn biceps.
The Acclaimed won the Tres de Mayo battle royal on AEW Dynamite.
The trios battle royal boiled down to The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn against The Butcher, The Blade, and Kip Sabian. The finish had Gunn and Max Caster give double famousers to Butcher and Sabian, both being thrown over the top rope to the floor
It wasn’t made clear what the winners would receive. Earlier in the show, The House of Black appeared via video talking about how they would put the Trios titles up against anyone in what they called the Open House. However, going forward, they will impose new rules for their matches, including 20 second count outs, no rope breaks, and DQ’s will be enforced.
The Acclaimed had recently been feuding with the Jericho Appreciation Society after the JAS turned on The Acclaimed after they acted like they wanted them to join their group. The Acclaimed, along with Gunn, defeated Angelo Parker, Matt Menard, and Jake Hager on the April 19 edition of Dynamite.
Wrestling Observer Live with Mike Sempervive is back to talk about all of the news in professional wrestling including the rumors of CM Punk being bought out of his AEW deal, NXT infringing on ROH, Billy Gunn not allowed to appear on Raw, and so much more!
Tony Khan was willing to allow Billy Gunn to appear at the 25-year Anniversary of D-Generation X recently, but only if WWE would acknowledge that he worked for AEW.
Road Dogg recently commented on the situation, stating that it “broke his heart” that Gunn was not included in the special October 10 edition of WWE Raw. He also noted that at one point, Gunn was confident he would be able to be there.
Our own Dave Meltzer reported in Friday’s edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, that WWE was not willing to mention that Gunn was an AEW talent on-air in exchange for his appearance.
“Khan agreed to let him do to the show but on the air they would have to mention he’s from AEW, or that AEW allowed him to appear or some wording, but there had to be one mention that in some form he works for AEW, just as WWE already did when they got Mickie James for the Royal Rumble this past year. WWE stalled on the yes or no, and then at the last minute would not agree to it,” Meltzer wrote.
Gunn did appear at the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony in 2019 while under contract to AEW. Other AEW talent has also been permitted to appear on WWE programming in the past as well including Paul Wight, Bryan Danielson, and Chris Jericho submitting videos for John Cena’s 20-year WWE Anniversary. Jericho also appeared on an episode of The Broken Skull Sessions with Steve Austin on the WWE Network last year.
