Before signing with AEW, Bobby Lashley had a discussion with Dan Lambert about the pros and cons of working for the promotion.
Lambert, the founder of MMA gym American Top Team, is a huge pro wrestling fan who has appeared as a manager in AEW, TNA, and MLW. He played a heel, old-school wrestling loyalist in AEW while managing a faction that included Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky. Lambert is also friends with Lashley. He managed Lashley in MMA and appeared with him in TNA.
A new episode of Insight with Chris Van Vliet was uploaded on Thursday with Lashley appearing as the guest. Lashley said that, during free agency, he spoke with Lambert about AEW. Lambert told Lashley that Tony Khan is a genuine person.
“So I have a good friend that was working with AEW before — Dan Lambert. He was American Top Team. He was in AEW for a while, living out his fantasy. Dan’s one of my favorite people in this world. He helped manage me through fighting and everything like that. He’s always been just a great friend, first and foremost,” Lashley said.
“And I talked to Dan, and we kind of discussed different options. And I asked him about Tony, because I didn’t know, you don’t know anything about Tony if you don’t know him. So I was like, ‘Oh, what about this Tony guy?’ And a lot of things that he told me about him, I was just like, ‘I can respect that.’ He said, ‘He’s got kind of like a little personality like you, in a sense, where he goes out of his way to be nice to people he really likes. He’s a genuine person.’ He told me pros and cons, and I was like, ‘Man, I’d love to be able to meet him.’ But at this time, I was talking to MVP and I was talking to Shelton [Benjamin], and we were like, ‘Let’s run this back. Let’s run the group back. Let’s do it. We have that option. We’re all out at this time. So let’s see if we can go and do this the right way.'”
Lashley debuted for AEW in October, reuniting with MVP and Benjamin as The Hurt Syndicate. He picked up a victory over Swerve Strickland last month at AEW’s Full Gear pay-per-view.
Dan Lambert says he didn’t want to overstay his welcome in AEW.
The founder of American Top Team was last seen in the promotion managing the Men of the Year up until Scorpio Sky dropped the TNT Championship to Wardlow in July. Lambert appeared on an episode of Insight with Chris Van Vliet released on Tuesday and spoke about deciding to step away from the promotion.
“About, maybe, two months ago we finished up our feud with the Men of the Year and Scorpio Sky against Wardlow, and Sky dropped the belt to Wardlow. Sky was going to take a couple months off because he had a knee injury that needed to heal and Page was getting repackaged to doing what he’s doing now with The Firm and the work with MJF. So, I just thought that was a good time. Seemed like it was winding down, I felt like I was getting stale even though the reactions were still good, it was still fun. I just grabbed Tony after that show and said, ‘I think it ran its course, I don’t want to go backward or overstay my welcome so I think that’s going to do it for me,’ and he was like, ‘oh man, sure, whatever you want, if maybe we come up with a good idea you come back in the future.’
“If Tony called me tomorrow and said, ‘Hey, I got a good idea, do you want to do it?’ And it was a good idea I’d say, ‘Sure, why not?'”
All Elite Wrestling’s flagship show Dynamite on TBS featured a lot of major news . Join on-air personality Denise Salcedo as she reviews the February 2nd edition of the show which includes the removal of an announced Brian Kendrick match, an unpopular segment, and CM Punk’s first loss on AEW. This is the perfect show for all AEW fans!
A six-man tag featuring former UFC star Junior dos Santos is set to take place on a special Saturday edition of AEW Dynamite next week.
The Inner Circle (Chris Jericho, Jake Hager, and Sammy Guevara) will take on The Men of the Year (Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page) and Junior dos Santos. This will be Dos Santos’ first professional wrestling match.
On tonight’s Dynamite, Guevara successfully retained his new TNT title against Bobby Fish. Dan Lambert, along with Dos Santos, Paige Van Zant, and other members of American Top Team, came out and distracted Guevara long enough for him to get laid out. Fuego Del Sol ran out, but was laid out as well. Jericho and Hager then ran in to even the odds.
Lambert said he wanted the six-man tag for next week, when they are in Miami. He also said that Jorge Masvidal would be in his team’s corner. Jericho accepted the match.
Due to NHL coverage, the next episode of Dynamite will air live on Saturday, October 16. It will take place at the James L. Knight Center in Miami, Florida. AEW Rampage will air a day prior on October 15.
Dan Lambert’s appearance on Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite has been pushed back a week and two UFC champions will now be joining him in Houston, Texas.
While on Busted Open Radio Wednesday, Tony Khan said the American Top Team owner will not be on tonight’s show in Pittsburgh so they can promote Friday’s premiere of Rampage. However, he will be on next Wednesday’s show in Houston with “not just one UFC champion but two great UFC champions” with him, according to Khan.
Lambert was on the July 7th Dynamite along with UFC star Jorge Masvidal and two-division UFC champion Amanda Nunes with him. After he cut an anti-AEW promo in the ring, Lambert was interrupted by Lance Archer who gave him the Blackout.
In a promo on last week’s show, Lambert said he was coming to finish “telling the truth” on modern day wrestling and that he was bringing backup. Nunes is the only current UFC titleholder with the Florida-based MMA team that also has Dustin Poirier, Kayla Harrison, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Tyron Woodley and Masvidal in its ranks.
Previously: Dan Lambert defeated James Storm in a career match and retired Storm from Impact Wrestling in the process.
Tonight: Moose & Eddie Edwards face Bobby Lashley & KM in the main event.
Show Recap —
– Dan Lambert and Bobby Lashley came down to the ring. Lambert bragged about ending James Storm’s career last week and introduced the newest member of American Top Team, KM. Lambert pointed out that KM helped get rid of Storm while Lashley didn’t.
KM mentioned that he attacked Moose last week, which brought Moose to the ring. A brawl broke out and the heels beat down Moose until Eddie Edwards ran out for the save. Moose and Edwards cornered Lambert but he escaped.
– Ethan Carter III came down and called Matt Sydal a choke artist. He buried the Canadian crowd and asked if they wanted to see him get beat up, then issued an open challenge that Petey Williams accepted.
Grand Champion Ethan Carter III defeated Petey Williams by DQ
The match was contested under traditional rules. Williams was on fire early before EC3 took over. Williams then made a fiery comeback and scored several near falls. He missed a plancha and injured his ankle, which distracted EC3.
Matt Sydal ran out from the crowd and jumped EC3 for the disqualification.
– In the back, Allie gave an intense promo after being attacked by Laurel Van Ness last week.
– Backstage, Matt Sydal challenged EC3 to defend the Grand Championship in a traditional 60-minute time limit match with no judges and no rounds.
Flashback Moment of the Week: James Storm defeated Kurt Angle to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship
Angle beat down Storm with kicks and punches in the corner. He was firmly in control when Storm suddenly hit the Last Call superkick to win the championship. Storm celebrated with Bobby Roode, Frankie Kazarian, and AJ Styles.
Knockouts Champion Laurel Van Ness defeated KC Spinelli in a non-title match
Spinelli was briefly in control before Van Ness quickly gained the advantage. Spinelli made a comeback and scored a close near fall, but Van Ness used a curb stomp and an Unprettier to retain the title.
After the match, Allie ran out and attacked Van Ness but Van Ness ran off.
– Impact World Champion Eli Drake and Chris Adonis came down to the ring. Drake bragged about beating Alberto El Patron last week in New Jersey and still being champion. He promised to go to Detroit next week and defend the title.
Alberto El Patron interrupted the champion and said he’ll be in Detroit next week too. Patron demanded a title shot, then Johnny Impact came out. Impact promised to see them in Detroit. A brawl broke out between all four guys and Impact wiped out everyone with a dive to the floor.
– In the back, Dan Lambert gave KM full credit for getting rid of Storm. Bobby Lashley didn’t seem happy about this.
– Backstage, Chandler Park celebrated his victory last week. Joseph Park was worried when Jimmy Jacobs approached. Jacobs buried Abyss and said he shouldn’t come back. Chandler got in Jacobs’ face and Kongo Kong scared him off.
– Sami Callihan and OVE trashed the LAX Clubhouse and tore down their flags.
– Later, LAX arrived at the clubhouse to find it destroyed and their money stolen. Konnan challenged OVE to a barbwire match.
Sonjay Dutt, Garza Jr. & Dezmond Xavier defeated Trevor Lee, Caleb Konley & Hakim Zane
The faces were in control early in the match, but the heels managed to isolate Dutt. Garza Jr. got the hot tag and basically competed with one arm. Xavier got the tag and hit the Final Flash on Zane for the win.
X Division Champion Taiji Ishimori and Xavier had a staredown. They meet for the championship next week.
Bobby Lashley & KM (w/ Dan Lambert & John Hartnett) defeated Moose & Eddie Edwards
Hartnett got beat up again before the match. The faces ran wild early, though the heels quickly took over. They isolated Edwards on their side of the ring. The faces made a brief comeback until Lashley yanked Edwards off the apron to regain control.
Moose got the hot tag and ran wild on KM. He scored a close near fall with the Go to Hell. Edwards made the blind tag and took out KM with a suicide dive. Lambert distracted Edwards and KM hit a powerbomb into a lungblower for the win.
Next Week: Impact World Champion Eli Drake defends against Alberto El Patron and Johnny Impact in Detroit. Plus, for the first time on television, LAX battle OVE in Barbed Wire Massacre III.
Ishimori had the advantage before Konley took over. Ishimori attempted a hurricanrana, but Konley caught him, threw him back on his feet, tripped him, and hit a senton for a two count. Ishimori made a comeback and won with the 450 splash.
After the match, Lee jumped Ishimori and beat him down until Dezmond Xavier made the save.
Rosemary defeated Allie and Sienna to advance to the Knockouts Championship finals
Rosemary and Allie worked together and locked on dual submissions on Sienna, then Rosemary and Allie traded stiff shots in the middle of the ring. They gave Sienna a codebreaker/German suplex combo to take her out of the match. Allie attempted the codebreaker on Rosemary, but she countered into the Red Wedding for the win.
– OVE came to the ring to air their grievances. They were total heels in this segment, and Sami Callihan ripped on Canada and Mexico for heat. He said that LAX will get their rematch for the titles, but it’ll be under their rules.
This brought out local wrestlers TDT. They didn’t like what OVE said about Canada. A brawl broke out with TDT in control before Callihan brought in a kendo stick to take over. They set up for the All Seeing Eye on three chairs until LAX ran out for the save.
– A disappointed Allie was leaving the building when Gail Kim stopped her and gave her words of encouragement.
– KM went to a local gym and beat up a bunch of guys to prove himself to American Top Team.
– At the LAX Clubhouse, Konnan informed the others that he’ll be meeting with Sami Callihan next week.
Matt Sydal vs. Impact Grand Champion Ethan Carter III ended in a draw
Fallah Bahh was one of the judges for the match. EC3 dominated early and easily won the first round, then Sydal mounted a comeback and won the second round. They went back and forth in the final round and traded pin attempts. They bumped heads and the time limit expired.
The match ended in a draw after the judges couldn’t pick a winner.
– They showed James Storm defeating Bobby Roode in a street fight from Bound for Glory 2012.
– Another commercial aired for Park, Park, and Park Attorneys at Law.
Bobby Lashley & Dan Lambert (w/ American Top Team) defeated Moose & James Storm
Lambert distracted Moose, with Lashley jumping Moose from behind to gain the advantage. Lambert tagged in for the pin, but Moose kicked out and Lambert tagged back out right away. Lashley regained the advantage and Lambert tagged back in for a two count. Storm chased Lambert and he ran for his life.
Storm tagged in and ran wild on Lashley. One of the ATT guys then came in, with Moose kicking his head off before the heels took back over. Lashley speared Storm, but Lambert tagged himself in for the pin. Lashley seemed irritated that Lambert stole the pin.
Johnny Impact & Petey Williams defeated Eli Drake & Chris Adonis
Williams ran wild on the heels, though they soon gained the advantage. They cut Williams off from Impact and worked him over. Impact finally got the tag and took out both Adonis and Drake. Drake made a comeback and knocked out Impact, then Adonis applied the Adonis Lock on Williams until Impact made the save. Impact won the match with the Starship Pain.
Alberto El Patron jumped Drake from behind after the match and gave him a DDT on the belt.
Next Week: Rosemary faces Laurel Van Ness for the vacant Knockouts Championship.
