AEW and independent star Lio Rush has signed a music deal Universal Music Group, Thump Records, and Virgin Music. Rush made the announcement today on social media.
Rush released an EP last year titled Not Found, and is set to release another EP next month. Regarding the new EP, Rush wrote: “I’ll have a date and project name for you guys soon. Be on the lookout. I can confirm that it’ll be another 5 tracks for you guys.”
“I’m excited for this project probably twice as much as I was excited for Not Found.”
Most recently on the music front, Rush released a remix of his Best Thing Out song.
In wrestling, Rush has announced that he will be leaving AEW when his contract expires in February, and has taken a series of indie bookings. He took part in last Sunday’s The Wrld on GCW pay-per-view, and is scheduled for this weekend’s PWG Battle of Los Angeles.
Jonathan Gresham was replaced by Lio Rush on tonight’s The Wrld on GCW event.
Prior to the match, Christian said that things happen, and as a result Gresham wasn’t at tonight’s show. After saying he still wanted his ROH title shot in the future, he said that someone else was in the back that he had great matches with in GCW. This brought out Rush. Christian was eventually able to pick up the win with a 450 splash.
Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp reported prior to the match that Gresham was unable to make it to the show due to medical protocols.
Rush originally was scheduled to be in a Grab the Brass ring ladder match that kicked off the show. However, he was replaced by G-Raver.
Gresham has defended the ROH World title across various promotions in the last month, including in his own Terminus promotion, the independent scene, and Impact Wrestling, where he successfully defended the title against Chris Sabin at Impact’s Hard to Kill pay-per-view event earlier this month.
A day after he made news with his AEW contract status, Lio Rush was announced for the second Terminus event, set for February 24th in Atlanta, Georgia.
Rush tweeted Saturday that as of February 14th, his AEW contract will expire and he will become a free agent just six months after the company got him to return after an announced retirement.
The new promotion, co-founded by reigning Ring of Honor World Champion Jonathan Gresham and Baron Black, had its first event last weekend featuring Gresham, Bandido, Josh Alexander, Black and others.
They have already begun loading up for their second pay-per-view, announcing former WWE NXT North American Champion Isaiah “Swerve” Scott and a main event of Gresham defending the ROH title against AEW tag team standout Santana.
Rush returns to the ring Sunday night at The Wrld on GCW as part of a ladder match featuring PCO, Tony Deppen, Jordan Oliver, Jimmy Lloyd and Alex Colon. He also remains part of the New Japan Strong roster.
Lio Rush is departing AEW and entering free agency next month.
Rush posted a statement on Saturday announcing that he’ll become a free agent when his AEW contract expires on Monday, February 14. The full statement said:
On February 14th, 2022 My contract will expire with AEW and I will become a free agent.
Rush made his AEW debut at Double or Nothing last May, but he announced in June that he was retiring from pro wrestling due to a separated AC joint injury that gave him time to think about what he wanted in life.
In September, Rush came back to AEW after having discussions with Tony Khan about a return. Rush has been involved in a storyline with Dante Martin and Team Taz but was off television in recent weeks.
On New Year’s Eve, Rush called on Khan to apologize for the tweet he sent out criticizing Big Swole’s wrestling ability after Swole spoke about her AEW departure and the representation issues she felt the company had.
Rush issued a statement the next day saying that he had spoken to AEW executives Khan and Megha Parekh. Rush said he didn’t consider the issue to be a diversity issue but a racial insensitivity issue. Rush said he was proud to work for a boss and company that tries to make strides in social equality, and he looked forward to working with Khan to keep making steps toward positive change.
Rush was in action at NJPW’s New Japan Strong tapings in Seattle earlier this month. He’ll be part of the “Grab the Brass Ring Ladder Match” at The Wrld on GCW this Sunday and has also been announced as an entrant for this month’s PWG Battle of Los Angeles tournament.
PWG has announced the fourth entrant in the Battle of Los Angeles 2022.
AEW’s Lio Rush will be part of the 2022 BOLA tournament, joining JONAH, Alex Shelley, and Kevin Blackwood who have been announced previously. The Battle of Los Angeles 2022 will be held Saturday, January 29 and Sunday, January 30, the same weekend as WWE’s Royal Rumble.
Rush made his PWG return at November’s It’s A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll) event, defeating Davey Richards on that show. That match was Rush’s first with the promotion since 2017.
Since joining AEW, Rush has appeared in two battle royales, a pair of tag matches with Dante Martin as his partner, and a singles match against Rayo on this week’s AEW Dark. In addition to his AEW work, Rush is also a regular for NJPW Strong.
BOLA returns in 2022 after not being held in 2020 or 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A Trick or Treat match will take place on Rampage this Friday.
It was announced that Britt Baker would take on Abadon on Rampage. In a backstage promo, Tony Schiavone mentioned that the Trick or Treat match is essentially a no disqualification match, and if Abadon were to win, she would get a future shot at the AEW Women’s title. Baker said in response that she had a few tricks of her own.
Although it was announced last week that Dante Martin and Lio Rush would face the Sydal Brothers, a segment on Dynamite revealed that the match had been changed to a singles match between Matt Sydal and Martin due to Mike Sydal suffering from an injury. Rush told Martin that he cares about teaching him about the business.
In addition to the two matches, another AEW World Title Eliminator tournament match will take place, with Bryan Danielson facing Eddie Kingston in a semifinal match. The other semifinal match between Orange Cassidy and Jon Moxley will take place on next week’s Dynamite.
Two matches have been announced for the Friday, October 29 episode of AEW Rampage.
Lio Rush and Dante Martin will team against Matt Sydal and Mike Sydal. Rush has been acting as a mouthpiece for Martin in backstage segments on AEW programming. On Saturday’s Dynamite, Rush said that Martin is a big money player, so he had gone to AEW GM Tony Khan to make a match for Rampage against the Sydals.
Also set for Rampage is a semifinal match in the AEW World title eliminator tournament.
Bryan Danielson will take on Eddie Kingston. Danielson defeated Dustin Rhodes on Dynamite to advance in the tournament. Later in the show, Kingston defeated Lance Archer to advance.
The October 29 Rampage episode will be taped on Wednesday, October 27 at the Agganis Arena in Boston.
Here is the announced lineup:
AEW World title eliminator tournament semifinals: Bryan Danielson vs. Eddie Kingston
Lio Rush & Dante Martin vs. Matt Sydal & Mike Sydal
Both Lio Rush and Fandango have been added to this weekend’s doubleheader of GCW shows.
Fresh off the announcement of his return to AEW, Rush will be on Saturday’s Fight Club show in Atlantic City, New Jersey, headlined by GCW Champion Jon Moxley vs. Nick Gage, Effy vs. Matt Cardona, Alex Zayne vs. Ninja Mack, a Mick Foley appearance, and more.
Rush’s opponent has yet to be named. His last GCW appearance was the May 15th Draft Day show in a win over Starboy Charlie. He appeared on AEW Dynamite last Wednesday in a promo as he is back with the promotion.
In a video that debuted Sunday night, Dirty Dango (fka Fandango in WWE) will be in Atlantic City but it’s unknown for what show. In addition to Fight Club, they are also running The Aftermath on Sunday that is headlined by Minoru Suzuki vs. Joey Janela in addition to other events in concert with other indie promotions. The next match for Dango will be his first since being released by WWE earlier this year.
Sunday also saw Bad Guy Tito added to Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport 7, set for Friday, October 22nd. Tito (0-2) will be looking for his first win in three outings following defeats to Super Beast and Calder McColl.
Other previously announced names for Bloodsport include Barnett himself, Tom Lawlor, Suzuki, Marina Shafir, Calvin Tankman, Killer Kelly, Yuya Uemura and Yoya.
Tonight marked the final night of NJoA’s Fighting Spirit Unleashed tour.
JR Kratos defeated Fred Yehi
Solid opener. Kratos worked over Yehi for most of this match. Kratos launched Yehi across from corner to corner with a vertical suplex. The story was Yehi kept trying to take Kratos off of his feet but he couldn’t do it until late in the match, when he landed two rolling German suplexes on the larger Kratos.
The finish came when Yehi had Kratos trapped in a triangle choke, but Kratos reversed it into a deadlift wheelbarrow power bomb for the win in 9:02.
Chris Dickinson defeated Royce Isaacs via submission
The story so far between these two links back to STRONG Openweight champion Tom Lawlor and his Team Filthy group. When Dickinson was still in Team Filthy, he challenged Lawlor to a match for Lawlor’s title. Lawlor answered by not only kicking Dickinson out of Team Filthy but ambushing him and recruiting the West Coast Wrecking Crew to take his place in the gang. A babyface Dickinson is out for vengeance on all of Team Filthy now.
The match itself was very good. They went hold for hold early until Dickinson shut Isaacs down with hard mid-kicks and a spinning heel kick coming off the ropes. Isaacs pushed the ref at one point, when Dickinson had Isaacs in a waist lock. In a moment behind the ref’s back, Isaacs shoved Lawlor into the cornerpost, shoulder-first, then drilled him with a back suplex.
Isaacs controlled much of the next part of this match. Dickinson scored a Death Valley Bomb as Isaacs went for a leapfrog. Dickinson scored a two-count, so he transitioned to an armbar, which Isaacs countered and reversed into a Texas Cloverleaf until Dickinson made it to the ropes for a break. Dickinson would soon tap Isaacs out with an STF in 11:08. Again, a really good match.
Backstage, Dickinson accused ex-best friend Isaacs of being a snake and that he would “cut the head off of the snake”. Dickinson thanked the audience that came to the taping that night before exiting.
STRONG Openweight Championship: “Filthy” Tom Lawlor (with JR Kratos) defeated Lio Rush via TKO to retain the title
Lawlor feigned engaging with Rush, then slid to the floor. Jay White does this all the time. Lawlor conferred with Kratos for a minute or so before Rush decided to break up the strategy session with a baseball slide dropkick through the bottom ropes. Rush jumped on Lawlor’s back and locked on a sleeper hold until Lawlor escaped. He went back to the floor to recover, but Rush was able to run him and Team Filthy associate Kratos into each other. This was a rare time where a wrestler came off looking clever instead of clueless.
Rush launched into Lawlor with low kicks. When Rush came off the middle rope, Lawlor caught him and slammed him into the red corner, then gave him a front uranage drop, spiking Rush. He locked in a guillotine choke that he turned into a cravat at around five minutes in.
Lawlor planted Rush with an exploder suplex. The crowd chanted for Rush. Rush tried firing up but Lawlor chopped the hell out of him in the corner. Rush wouldn’t let up. He went for a standing frog splash but Lawlor caught him in a triangle choke. He’d move into a single-leg crab next, until Rush escaped via rope break. Ten minutes had elapsed at this point in the match.
Rush was able to knock Lawlor onto the floor and take him out with a running suicide dive through the bottom two ropes. He was picking up momentum when Kratos grabbed him and went to press slam him. The referee saw it and ordered Kratos to let go or else he’d disqualify Lawlor. Kratos obliged, but Rush threw a shot at Kratos, which upset him. He grabbed Rush by the throat and again threatened violence, until ref Jeremy Marcus ejected Kratos from ringside. The audience sang “Na-na-na na, hey hey hey, goodbye!” as he exited.
The match heated up from here. Rush scored a close nearfall after a roll-up. He spiked Lawlor with a reverse frankensteiner, then caught him with a frog splash from the top rope for another close nearfall. The crowd was really into him. In a lot of ways, Lawlor and Rush are a babyface-heel pair made for each other.
Rush went back to the rear naked choke that he locked on Lawlor at the top of the match. Lawlor struggled out of it, then laid Rush out with a spinning Funaki tombstone, then locked in his own rear naked choke until Rush passed out. Referee Jeremy Marcus called the match; “Filthy” Tom Lawlor retained the STRONG Openweight title in 16:19.
Lawlor was in the ring with mic after Rush had left. He told the crowd to give it up for Rush, whom he called a worthy opponent. They chanted for him. Lawlor then put out another open challenge for his championship and wondered aloud whether it’d be a Young Lion or possibly a “scrub from another company.” Lawlor assumed no one would come to the ring to challenge him, so started posing with the belt for the crowd.
Ren Narita came out next and got right into Lawlor’s face. They were nose to nose. Lawlor shoved Narita a few times but he no-sold it, then gave Lawlor a hard index-finger point that really reminded me of Katsuyori Shibata in terms of body language.
“I already beat you before I was champion . . . and I’ve only gotten stronger since.” Lawlor downplayed Narita’s short career and told him to go back and train with Shibata for longer and maybe then he’d be ready for a shot at Lawlor’s Openweight title. Narita didn’t say anything. Then, suddenly, he kicked Lawlor in the face, a high kick that again looked like it came directly out of his trainer Shibata’s playbook. Narita dropped the belt over Lawlor, who was completely laid out, then left.
Final thoughts:
Tonight’s main event truly felt like a main event. I don’t think many believed Rush would actually win the STRONG Openweight title, but the two were able to have a match that came pretty close to making you believe that maybe Rush could have eked out a win against Lawlor. Narita came off looking stronger than ever in his brief appearance with Lawlor, and I imagine they’ll tear the roof off the venue when they do have their bout. The openers were very good, but after watching over a year of NJPW Strong I can say with confidence that that is par for the course.
The company announced on Twitter this evening that Rush had signed. This follows Rush’s appearance on Dynamite. He said that Khan had been calling him nonstop, saying to call him LBO Lio because he is a businessman, as he borrows money from companies that need guidance and makes profits for himself and those companies.
Rush previously appeared for the company at the Double or Nothing pay-per-view back in May, competing in the Casino Battle Royal. He was eliminated by Matt Hardy. After that match, Rush announced his retirement from pro wrestling due to a shoulder injury, saying that he would return only to fulfill prior commitments to NJPW. He is scheduled to be part of the NJPW Strong tapings that will take place on October 16 and 17.
Since being released from WWE in 2020 as part of COVID-19 budget cuts, Rush has been wrestling in the independent scene for Game Changer Wrestling, and also appeared in MLW and NJPW Strong.
“Filthy” Tom Lawlor will defend the NJPW Strong Openweight Championship against Lio Rush on this week’s Strong episode.
NJPW made the announcement tonight. The match will be Lawlor’s fourth defense of the title.
In the second match, former Team Filthy member Chris Dickinson will take on current Filthy ally Royce Isaacs of the West Coast Wrecking Crew.
In the opener, Fred Yehi will take on Team Filthy’s JR Kratos.
The Fighting Spirit Unleashed episodes of Strong were taped on Monday, August 16 in Long Beach, California at Thunder Studios and were the first Strong shows taped in front of fans.
Strong airs at 8 p.m. Eastern time this Saturday on NJPW World. The show will also be available on demand immediately following airing.
Here is Saturday’s full lineup:
NJPW Strong Fighting Spirit Unleashed, Saturday, October 2, 8 p.m. Eastern time on NJPW World–
NJPW Strong Openweight Championship: Tom Lawlor (c) vs. Lio Rush
AEW owner, CEO and head of creative Tony Khan tweeted today that he has been talking to Lio Rush about a return.
Rush’s name was in the news Thursday as Dave Meltzer reported that WWE’s idea for Adam Cole was to become Keith Lee’s manager and be in a role similar to that of Rush and Bobby Lashley in Rush’s main roster run.
I see a lot of tweets talking about Lio Rush today. Coincidentally, I’ve been talking to @TheLionelGreen a lot recently about returning to @AEW, and it feels like something that could happen in the near future.
Rush made his debut at May’s Double or Nothing as the mystery entrant in the men’s Casino Battle Royale. His appearance was made possible with the blessing of New Japan Pro Wrestling where Rush has a contract.
Rush said in June that he was retiring due to an AC joint injury that gave him time to evaluate what he wanted for himself and his family. While Rush (Lionel Green) has been focusing on his music, he has been making appearances on New Japan Strong throughout the summer to meet his contract requirements.
The next challenger is set for “Filthy” Tom Lawlor’s NJPW Strong Openweight Championship.
Lio Rush will face Lawlor for the title at the Fighting Spirit Unleashed NJPW Strong tapings on Monday, August 16 at Thunder Studio in Long Beach, California. The match will air on an episode of Strong at a later date.
Following Lawlor’s last title defense against Satoshi Kojima on the July 23 episode of Strong, Rush confronted Lawlor in a post-match backstage segment. Rush and Karl Fredericks then scored a tag team victory over Lawlor and Danny Limelight on the August 13 edition of the show. NJPW then announced the match.
In addition to Lawlor vs. Rush, appearances from Hiroshi Tanahashi and Tomohiro Ishii have been advertised for the sold out August 16 tapings in Long Beach. The Strong shows will be the first in the history of the series to be held in front of live fans.
Another match is official for Saturday’s NJPW Resurgence event.
NJPW announced that Juice Robinson will take on Hikuleo at The Torch at LA Coliseum.
Additionally, a dark match was announced for the event. Kevin Knight, The DKC and Adrian Quest will take on Bateman, Misterioso and Barrett Brown in a trios match. That match will kick off the event for the live crowd at 7:30 p.m. Pacific time. The main card will begin at 8 p.m. Pacific time.
NJPW World and FITE TV are the broadcast partners for the show. NJPW World will have Japanese commentary, while FITE TV will have the exclusive English commentary for the event.
Here is the full Resurgence lineup:
NJPW Resurgence, Saturday, August 14, 11 p.m. Eastern time on NJPW World and FITE TV —
IWGP United States Championship: Lance Archer (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
NEVER Openweight Championship: Jay White (c) vs. David Finlay
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Moose
Lio Rush, Brody King, Chris Dickinson, Fred Yehi & Yuya Uemura vs. Tom Lawlor, JR Kratos, Danny Limelight, Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs
Juice Robinson vs. Hikuleo
Jon Moxley & a mystery partner vs. Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson
Fred Rosser, Rocky Romero & Wheeler Yuta vs. TJP, Clark Connors & Ren Narita
Karl Fredericks vs. Alex Coughlin
Dark match: Kevin Knight, The DKC & Adrian Quest vs. Bateman, Misterioso & Barrett Brown
Barrett Brown (with Bateman & Misterioso) defeated Wheeler Yuta
Wheeler seemed to have an edge over Brown on offense. He put Brown into a bow-and-arrow stretch submission but Brown slipped out. Wheeler later caught Brown with a high dropkick to the face.
Brown gained an advantage after kicking the ropes into Wheeler’s throat while he was hanging over the ropes. He applied a chin lock and illegally fish hooked Wheeler until the ref made him break the hold. More dirty fighting, or, really, more Bateman-inspired offense. Brown would actually walk over and confer with Bateman, who was cornering him at ringside.
Brown missed a swanton from the top rope. Wheeler earned a close two-count with a German suplex. When Wheeler locked in a modified STF, Bateman slid into the ring to distract the ref. Wheeler broke the hold to confront Bateman, and while the ref argued with him, Misterioso snuck in from the opposite side of the ring and gave a backcracker to Wheeler. Brown recovered then pinned Wheeler to pick up the win.
Brown’s win streak continues, and the story is that Brown only wins matches when he resorts to illegal tactics, ones that he learned from Bateman.
Hikuleo defeated Fred Yehi
Hikuleo shoved Yehi to the mat at the beginning of the match, then sneered at him. Yehi later took the big man down to the mat and locked in a Koji Clutch early on. Hikuleo shut Yehi down early and took control of the offense for much of the middle part of this match, up until Yehi shot a flurry of bicycle up-kicks to a standing Hikuleo. Yehi went back to the Koji Clutch, then transitioned to a seated headscissors and threw a few Gary Goodridge-style elbow smashes.
Hikuleo wrapped his hand around Yehi’s throat and threatened a chokeslam; Yehi escaped. When he ran off the ropes, Hikuelo caught him with a sudden snap-powerslam for two. He’d put Yehi away in 5:39 after a sit-out Death Valley Bomb.
Afterwards, Hikuleo grabbed the mic and cut a rare in-ring promo demanding that New Japan give him stronger opponents. “This is too easy,” he said. As soon as he said that, Juice Robinson’s music sounded. He appeared at ringside, mic in hand.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but did I hear your 8’0” ass whining about the lack of competition here on Strong?” After calling him a “baby giraffe”, Juice challenged Hikuleo to a match that was later confirmed for Resurgence tomorrow.
Karl Fredericks and Lio Rush defeated Team Filthy (Tom Lawlor & Danny Limelight)
Lots of action in this one. Fredericks jumped Team Filthy before the bell. He laid in about a half-dozen elbows to Lawlor before “Filthy” was able to temporarily neutralize Fredericks to collect himself. Rush did a bottom-rope springboard dive onto Limelight who was on the floor.
Fredericks went for Manifest Destiny early but he couldn’t lift Lawlor up. He’d instead drop a huge elbow onto Lawlor, and then Rush caught Lawlor with a running frog splash.
When Fredericks next bounced off the ropes, Limelight kneed him in the back. Fredericks turned around and ran towards Limelight on the apron with a big boot, but Limelight dropped to the floor, so Fredericks’ leg got hung up on the top rope. Lawlor took advantage and went to town on an incapacitated Fredericks. He’d next apply a straight ankle lock and tore away at Fredericks’ knee.
The middle part of this match was primarily Lawlor and Limelight attempting to destroy Fredericks’ knee, right up until Fredericks was able to escape to the red corner and tag out to a fresh Lio Rush, who’d go on to clean the proverbial house. He caught Limelight with a handspring elbow, then dove through the bottom ropes onto Lawlor with a tope suicida.
Back in the ring, Lawlor launched Rush with a modified uranage slam. Rush would recover later but miss a frog splash from the top. He tumbled through and went for a frankensteiner, but Limelight turned it into a backcracker bomb for two.
Towards the end, Fredericks and Lawlor brawled all the way down to the floor. In the ring, Rush was able to use his first-rope springboard cutter to put Limelight away and pick up the win for him and Fredericks.
After the match, Fredericks and Rush cut a promo on Tom Lawlor and Team Filthy and claimed Lawlor wouldn’t be Openweight champion for much longer. Fredericks said he wouldn’t let Lawlor walk into New Japan and take his and his boys’ jobs. Both showed good delivery on the mic.
Final thoughts:
Tonight’s episode was solid, yet again. Barrett Brown’s working relationship with Bateman continued to develop as Brown picked up another singles win over Wheeler YUTA. Yehi, who’s usually a tag wrestler on the show, fell to Hikuleo, who will challenge the returning Juice Robinson in the near future. And Team Filthy vs. NJoA continues to evolve, with Fredericks as the de facto leader of the Strong ship, so it seems.
“Steady as she goes” would be an accurate phrase to describe tonight’s show. It was quality but also didn’t deviate from prior episodes. No surprises here, but really, that’s not to be expected on this show. Strong succeeds in its quality consistency and its commitment to a simple, hard-hitting in-ring product. But if you’re expecting angles and surprise swerves peppered into your wrestling, maybe NJPW Strong isn’t the show for you.
