Daddy Magic reveals when Tony Khan came up with Anarchy in the Arena name

Anarchy in the Arena has become somewhat of a staple of the AEW Double or Nothing PPV event. There may not be one taking place this at this year’s event (we’ll find out in the coming weeks), but it was recently revealed how the Anarchy in the Arena name came together after the success of the Stadium Stampede matches during the pandemic.

Daddy Magic Matt Menard recently appeared on the What Happened When podcast to revisit the Anarchy in the Arena match from DoN 2022. During the podcast he revealed when Tony Khan first mentioned what the branding for the match would be, as it not longer made sense to use Stadium Stampede.

Menard confirmed that Khan came up with the name about a month before DoN 2022 took place, wanting to keep up the ‘tradition’ of having a big multi-man match that echoed the ‘Stampede.

Where did Anarchy in the Arena come from?

“I remember there was a Dynamite in the lead up to this [DoN 2022]. It was maybe a month before, and we had just confirmed that the match was going to happen, that there was going to be a multi-man” Menard would begin.

“We didn’t know what we were going to call it, because it’s not going to be Stadium Stampede…since we’re in an arena, this and that. I remember Tony [Khan] just spurting [it] out. We’re waiting to go out, so we’re in gorilla, and he [Tony] just goes, ‘arena anarchy, arena anarchy.’ That was the first time I’d ever heard the phrase. He switched it to Anarchy in the Arena and that was it.”

If you use any of the quotes from this article then please link back to this page with a credit to F4WOnline for the transcription

Saraya says she turned down ‘love storyline’ with Daddy Magic in AEW

Saraya once turned down a romantic storyline in AEW, feeling it would be inappropriate since she had a real-life boyfriend at the time.

During a new Q&A episode of her Rulebreakers podcast, Saraya was asked if she ever turned down a storyline in AEW or WWE. Saraya revealed that, when she was in AEW, she was asked to do a “love storyline” with Daddy Magic (Matt Menard) but rejected the idea.

“Daddy Magic, they wanted me to do a love storyline with him, and I’ve managed to go on my whole career without doing a love storyline, and I wasn’t going to start it, you know? And they were like, ‘No, all he’s going to do is kiss you.’ And I had a boyfriend at the time, and I was just like, ‘I can’t do it, you guys. I just can’t do it.’ So I turned down that,” Saraya said. “And then there’s not really anything storyline-wise else that I’ve turned down. It’s just like if I have to kiss someone and I have a boyfriend, I just don’t think it’s appropriate.”

Saraya said she loves Daddy Magic and thinks he’s a good guy, but the storyline just wasn’t something she could do. Saraya did play a part in AEW’s romance angle with Ruby Soho and Cool Hand Ang (Angelo Parker), who are a real-life married couple that welcomed their first child into the world in October 2024.

Ronnie Radke of the band Falling in Reverse was Saraya’s boyfriend at the time, but the two have since broken up.

It was announced earlier this year that Saraya is no longer with AEW. She mutually parted ways with the company and is currently taking a break from wrestling and focusing on other interests.

Trios match announced for AEW Rampage

A trios match has been added to tonight’s AEW Rampage lineup as Best Friends & Danhausen will take on Jeff Jarrett, Jay Lethal & Satnam Singh.

The two teams have been at odds for several weeks.

This will be the first time Jarrett, Lethal and Singh have been in a trios match together as different pairings have been in traditional tag team matches. Similarly, this is the first trios action for the unit of Chuck Taylor, Trent Beretta and Danhausen.

It will be a homecoming for Taylor, who is known as the “Kentucky Gentleman.

The new match joins a lineup that already features Hangman Page vs. Wheeler Yuta in addition to both AEW Women’s Champion Jamie Hayter and Powerhouse Hobbs in action.

Here’s the current lineup, taped this past Wednesday in Lexington, Kentucky:

  • Hangman Page vs. Wheeler Yuta
  • AEW Women’s Champion Jamie Hayter vs. Emi Sakura in a title eliminator match
  • Best Friends & Danhausen vs. Jeff Jarrett, Satnam Singh & Jay Lethal
  • Powerhouse Hobbs vs. TBA