The original plan for the Young Bucks at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door involved them winning the IWGP Tag Team Championships.
Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that initial plans were for the AEW Tag Team Champions to face the heavyweight tag champions from NJPW at the pay-per-view.
“Gedo’s original idea was for the Young Bucks to win the IWGP tag titles on the show and make it AEW vs. IWGP tag titles,” Meltzer wrote. “It was changed, and the Young Bucks were on board with that change.”
The decision was later made that it would be an interesting story for FTR to hold the IWGP, ROH, and AAA tag titles. It also sets up a match between FTR and the Young Bucks with four sets of titles on the line.
“While belts mean less because there are so many of them, there is now a natural push for Young Bucks vs. FTR with four sets of belts at stake and being pushed as a unique match in wrestling history, and could logically be billed as the biggest tag team championship match in history, for that reason,” Meltzer continued.
Matt & Nick Jackson have won the heavyweight IWGP tag titles once previously. They defeated Evil & SANADA for the belts at Dominion in 2018 and then dropped them to the Guerillas of Destiny at Fighting Spirit Unleashed that September. The Bucks are also seven-time former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions.
The opening this week featured a series of shots of the Young Bucks hugging and pretending to super kick the camera as a narrator said, “Live, love, Superkick.”
The Young Bucks and Brandon Cutler
Matt & Nick Jackson showed off some new shoes they bought while making fun of Cutler.
They eventually told Cutler he was suspended for the next week so he would not get to go to Mexico with them for TripleMania. Cutler would instead go to Legoland.
They bragged about being rich enough to get new gear for every match and showed off what they wore for last week’s 10-man tag match on Dynamite.
Adam Cole and Christopher Daniels
Adam Cole was cutting a promo in the back when Daniels appeared out of nowhere and said he wants a rematch for the BTE Championship. Cole pretended to get a call from Fish & O’Reilly so he wouldn’t have to defend his belt this week.
Daniels appeared to get a call about someone on the roster having said something to Dave Meltzer and he ran off as well.
The Young Bucks on AEW Dynamite last week
Footage was shown of the Young Bucks from last week’s Dynamite in Philadelphia. Along with Cole, Fish, and O’Reilly they wrestled in a 10-man tag.
After the match, Cole and the Young Bucks talked about how united the Undisputed Elite now are. Matt said they were, “All in on the Undisputed Elite.” They then made fun of Cutler some more.
The Young Bucks and the Hardys
The Hardys came in to congratulate the Bucks on their win on Dynamite. The Bucks are almost back to being their old selves after going through a depressing period following their loss to FTR.
Matt Hardy said that when they have the dream match with the Bucks, he wants them to be their best and be their old cocky selves.
After the Hardys left, Matt called Edge and Christian the best tag team of the 2000s. Nick said it was actually the Dudleyz. They then said the Hardys were only over because of Lita and her thong.
The camera panned out and the Hardys had been listening all along. Matt Hardy was happy the Bucks were back to being themselves again.
Ryan Nemeth —
Nemeth shared what a day in the life of being a Hollywood hunk is like. He talked about doing an audition over Zoom and how he sometimes just randomly has to pose for pictures.
The Young Bucks go to Mexico, Cutler goes to Legoland —
Footage was shown of the Young Bucks traveling to Mexico. Some footage was also show of Cutler going to Legoland during his paid suspension.
Highlights of the Young Bucks at TripleMania was shown.
The Hardys
The video cut to the Hardys before the end. Matt looked at the camera and said, “Young Bucks, I knew you’d come!”
Adam Cole, Danhausen, Evil Uno, the Young Bucks, and Brandon Cutler were shown asking each other questions such as, “What kind of super-power would you like to have?” While multiple people said they would like to be able to fly, Cole mentioned he wants to be able to teleport.
The Young Bucks —
Nick Jackson bragged about paying $4000 for three pairs of shoes. Highlights of their match against Top Flight from Rampage on Friday night then aired before the video cut to the next scene.
Hangman Page —
The AEW World Champion was shown buckling his belt into the passenger’s seat of his car. The camera panned to the backseat where several members of the Dark Order were squished together. Reynolds claimed he called shotgun but Page seemed unmoved by this. They agreed to drive to Chilli’s but as the car drove away there were more Dark Order members hanging out of the trunk.
The Young Bucks —
Matt & Nick Jackson were in the back talking about their match against Top Flight from Rampage. Matt mentioned it would be great to swing by the ROH Supercard of Honor show but they can’t be in two places at once. The idea being that they are not acknowledging that Rampage was a taped show.
Nick said he knows someone who can help them teleport to the show. He then transformed into his “Merch Freak” character. The brothers then traveled through some type of portal and arrived in Dallas. Clips of them running in after the Briscoes vs. FTR match were then shown.
Howdy Price —
Howdy Price tried out new hats. Finally, someone brought out the exact same model of his previous hat that was stolen by Negative One.
The hat then began to talk and insulted Howdy’s breathe. This then led to him running amok and beating up everyone in the room.
Ryan Nemeth —
Nemeth encouraged fans to cheer for the camera. After a few other questions, he then instructed the fans to act like they were crying. Only a few obliged. Clips of him doing a standup routine were shown as well.
BTE Championship —
Adam Cole said he would accept a challenge from the next person to walk through the door. Cutler then walked in and the match was on.
The winner of the game would be the person who picks a number between one and 20 that is closest to the same number Matt Jackson picks.
Matt revealed the number he picked was seven.
Cutler went first and picked three. Cole went second and hit Matt’s number on the nose when he guessed seven. Cole retains the title.
The Young Bucks then confronted Cole over what happened last week but agreed to let bygones be bygones and the show came to a close.
The reunion of Roppongi Vice will have to wait a while longer as Rocky Romero has tested positive for COVID-19 and will not be on Friday’s live edition of AEW Rampage.
Romero (see above) was set to team with former teammate Trent Beretta against The Young Bucks in Washington, DC, rekindling a rivalry that really took flight in the rings of New Japan Pro Wrestling.
In its place will be Beretta vs. Nick Jackson of the Young Bucks, first announced by Tony Khan on Busted Open Radio Friday.
Sorry everyone… Gonna have push back the RPG Vice reunion. COVID got me. Currently I’m feeling very mild symptoms. I’m vaxed and boosted so should kick right out of this!!
— ROCKY ROMERO🇵🇷 🇲🇽 🇺🇸 🇯🇵“Chico El Luchador” (@azucarRoc) January 21, 2022
During the aforementioned interview, Khan said “there’s a good chance there’s going to be a small change to the match” due to medical protocols before announcing the new singles encounter.
Khan also said that Jon Moxley vs. Ethan Page will kick off the show and that TBS Champion Jade Cargill vs. Anna Jay will be the main event. Hook is also scheduled for action against Serpentico in the former’s first-ever live match.
For the first time since May 2009, Bryan Danielson will wrestle Nick Jackson in the featured match on AEW Rampage.
Danielson and Jackson have never had a singles match, but competed against each other once in a PWG tag team match. On Wednesday’s Dynamite, Danielson challenged any member of The Elite to a match after World Champion Kenny Omega declined a rematch.
Friday’s taped show from Rochester, New York, will also see a three-way women’s match with former Women’s Champion Nyla Rose vs. Thunder Rosa vs. Jade Cargill. All three have been at odds since the women’s Casino Battle Royale. Cargill will look to remain undefeated since her debut while Rosa is looking to maintain her status as the number one contender to the title.
In AEW’s first-ever hair vs. hair match, Orange Cassidy will take on Jack Evans of the Hardy Family Office. Cassidy and Matt Hardy originally appeared set for this match instead, but Hardy volunteered the TH2 member instead.
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Your hosts are Excalibur, Taz, and… oh just these two? Well, not for long.
Bryan Danielson defeated Nick Jackson (w/ Matt Jackson & Brandon Cutler) (15:35)
A brief rundown of the six-man from last Friday is shown before this match.
Jackson worked a side headlock early on and took Danielson down with a shoulder tackle. Jackson taunted Danielson by jumping to the floor and fooling with the cold spray, so Danielson hit him with a tope through the ropes. Back in the ring, Danielson hit a shotgun dropkick off the top and clawed away at Jackson’s face (“I have till five!”) before putting him in the Dragon sleeper. Jackson escaped quickly and exchanged forearms with Danielson before flooring the American Dragon with a rebound lariat.
The crowd chanted “Your gonna get your f*cking head kicked in!” at Jackson, who got caught in a butterfly suplex. Danielson worked over Jackson’s arm, then tied him up the ropes to lay in a series of forearms. Back suplex (with the arm trapped) got a near fall, and Bryan continued to work over the arm. Danielson tortured Jackson’s arm, bending it at the wrist and elbow, then stepping back on Jackson’s arm into a pin attempt. Jackson mounted a brief comeback, but Danielson came back relentlessly with forearms, chops, and kicks. Jackson got a armdrag on Danielson, dodged a dropkick in the corner, then dumped Danielson to the floor. Matt Jackson hit Danielson with a spear on the floor and the show went to a picture-in-picture break.
Back from break, Nick Jackson hit a high knee in the corner and bulldogged Danielson out of the corner. Jackson laid heavy kicks in Danielson’s chest, but he absorbed them all, and started leaning into the kicks. Danielson got up and spit in Jackson’s face, then battered him with kicks and chops. Danielson hit the flying clothesline, then laid into Jackson with heavy kicks to the chest and shoulder while the crowd chanted “YES!” A big round kick to the head for the finale got a near fall.
With Jackson slumped in the corner, Danielson hit two running dropkicks, but on the third, Jackson came out with a pair of superkicks and got a near fall. Jackson went for a 450 splash, but Danielson got his knees up and locked in the LeBell lock. Jackson quickly got the ropes and rolled to the apron. Danielson followed and battered Jackson with more kicks, but missed the last one and kicked the ringpost. Jackson hit a superkick and then a release german suplex on the ring apron (Danielson clearly landed on his shoulder). Jackson followed up with the escalara on the floor.
Back in the ring, Jackson locked in the sharpshooter. Danielson escaped to the ropes and rolled to the floor. Jackson went for a kick on Danielson, who ducked and Jackson’s kick found Brandon Cutler instead. Danielson suplexed Nick Jackson on the floor, then took out Matt Jackson on the ring apron with a forearm. Nick Jackson rolled up Danielson for another nearfall. Danielson came back with a tiger suplex into a series of elbow smashes onto Jackson’s chest. Danielson then transition into the cattle mutilation and got the tap out! Excellent, excellent match!
After the match, Kenny Omega and Adam Cole ran out to check on Nick Jackson, and Christian and the Jurassic Express followed to make sure the Elite didn’t try to attack Danielson. Of course, this broke down quickly with Omega running away, Matt Jackson getting the Killswitch from Christian, and Cole getting locked in the snare trap by Jungle Boy. Omega tried to run in to make the save, and wound up caught in the LeBell Lock from Danielson! Both Omega and Cole “tapped out” to Danielson and Jungle Boy. Great post-match segment to add heat to the 8 man tag on Wednesday’s Dynamite.
– Hook and Powerhouse Hobbs cut to a Ricky Starks promo that was more like a car commercial about how much Starks hates Brian Cage.
And back from break, Ricky Starks is now on commentary.
– CM Punk interview. He has started to settle into the groove at AEW, and is ready for whatever is next. Just a brief pretape from Punk.
Jade Cargill (w/ Smart Mark Sterling) defeated Nyla Rose (w/ Vicki Guerrero) and Thunder Rosa in a Triple Threat by pinning Rosa (5:24 aired)
Clips of Rose and Cargill jumping Rosa before All Out last month are shown, as well as the eliminations between the three at the All Out Casino Battle Royal to help set up this match. On that night, Rose eliminated Cargill, and Rosa eliminated Rose.
After Rose powerslammed Rosa to take her out of the match, Cargill and Rose exchanged forearms in the ring. Cargill hit Rose with a pumpkick and then clotheslined her to the floor. Cargill then turned her attention to Rosa, who flew off the top rope with a shotgun dropkick. The show went to break.
Back from break, there’s a trash can in the ring and Rosa dropkick Cargill against the ropes. Rosa dropkicked the trash can into Cargill’s chest and got a near fall. Rose went for a chokeslam on Rosa, but she shoved Rose away and into a spinebuster from Cargill. Rose came back and locked in a single leg crab on Cargill. Rosa broke that up by dropkicking Rose and got a near fall.
Rosa went for a dropkick in the corner on Rose, but missed. Rosa and Rose fought on the apron where a table was set up during the break. Rose set up Rosa up for something off the turnbuckles, but Rosa slid out and powerbombed Rose through the table.
On the other side of the ring, Mark Sterling slipped Cargill a steal chair. As Rosa tried to drag Rose back into the ring, Cargill attacked Rosa from behind with the chair. Cargill went to town beating on Rosa with the chair, and just pinned Rosa after several chair shots. I liked that finish.
– Malakai Black cuts a pretaped promo from a dark stairwell. He’s tired of the Nightmare Family and Cody Rhodes, and is ready to move onto the other souls in this company.
– Sammy Guevara promo about his TNT title win. There were brief clips of the celebration after Guevara’s title win. Guevara now has the classic TNT title back (not the retired version, the black strap version of the title).
– Dynamite Rundown: No new matches since Wednesday, but Pac, Jon Moxley, Andrade El Idolo and Lance Archer are all announced for the Casino Ladder match on Wednesday. Two more will be announced later, plus the Joker to come the night of the show.
Mark Henry with the face-to-face promo with Evans and Matt Hardy face-to-face with Orange Cassidy. Cassidy: “What’s this match? What am I doing?” Henry explains the terms to Cassidy, that if he loses he’s getting his head shaved. “Oh. I guess I’m not going to lose then.”
Orange Cassidy defeated Jack Evans (w/ Matt Hardy) in a Hair vs. Hair match (10:47)
Starks put his money on Evans, despite Taz’s advice to not bet on wrestling. Cassidy tossed Evans around by his hair. Hardy pulled Cassidy out of the ring and hit him with a right hand, and Evans followed up with a 450 splash onto the floor. Let’s take a picture-in-picture break, featuring a Rhodes to the Top commercial!
Back from the break, Cassidy dodged a handspring elbow from Evans, and then hit a pair of planchas on both ends of the ring, one on Evans and one on Matt Hardy. Cassidy went for the spinning DDT, but Evans countered into a Northern lights suplex and transitioned into the Michinoku Driver for a near fall. Standing skytwister press from Evans gets another two count. Evans went to the top for a Skytwister splash off the top… but missed. Cassidy hit the spinning DDT, then came off the top with a diving DDT for a very close nearfall.
The Butcher, Blade & Bunny are out for moral support. But the Best Friends sneak though the crowd and stand between the HFO members and the ring. This brought out the rest of the HFO (Private Party, Angelico and Jora Johl) but the Dark Order join the Best Friends. Amid this standoff, back in the ring Orange Cassidy hit the Orange Punch on Evans and got the pinfall.
While the Best Friends prepare to give Evans a haircut, Hardy sends Angelico to try and get through the wall of people protecting the ring. The Dark Order dispose of him easily, and rather than try and stop the hair cut, Matt Hardy and the rest of the HFO retreat. “For the greater good!”
Cassidy and the Best Friends gave Evans a haircut. While all this is going on, Orange Cassidy and Matt Hardy (WHAT?) are the last two announced participants for the Casino Ladder Match on Wednesday. Finally, in the best finish they could possibly do, the Dark Order and the Best Friends all give -1 a big group hug to end the show.
Final Thoughts:
The Danielson/Jackson match was excellent, and the finish to the show was great. Matt Hardy in a ladder match sounds like a terrible idea to me, and we still have the Joker to figure out for that match.
Bryan Danielson will compete for the second time in an AEW ring this Friday on Rampage against The Elite’s Nick Jackson.
This will be the first-ever singles match between the two and the first time they have been in the same ring since May 2009 when the Young Bucks defeated Danielson and Roderick Strong at PWG DDT4 in a tournament final.
The match will be taped after Wednesday’s Dynamite in Rochester, New York, and will be announced later on the show.
The match came together on Dynamite when The Elite came out following Adam Cole’s win over Jungle Boy. Danielson came out when Omega turned down any chance at a rematch. He then challenged any member of The Elite to a match on Rampage. Omega suggested he should do it tonight and Danielson called out his reinforcements (Jurassic Express, Christian Cage and Frankie Kazarian) as they ran off the heels.
This will be Jackson’s first singles match since a loss to Rey Fenix on a November 2019 Dynamite.
After making his promotional debut at All Out, Danielson competed in his first match last Wednesday at Dynamite Grand Slam against World Champion Kenny Omega, going to a draw in the non-title match. Since first appearing, he has targeted Omega and The Elite.
Nick Jackson has revealed that he had COVID-19 last fall.
On Instagram, Jackson went into detail with his battle against COVID-19 and wrote about his struggles with the disease:
Crazy to think there’s still COVID deniers out there in the world. I had a pretty bad case of COVID in early September that kept me bed ridden for nearly 3 weeks. I couldn’t taste or smell for 2 in a half months. At one point my whole body had hives in it and my doctor said that it was definitely from COVID. Matt had to do the majority of the work in matches once I returned safely because I couldn’t catch my breath. My cardio is finally back but it took months to finally feel like myself again. Let’s protect each other and wear [a] mask.
Since returning from his COVID-19 battle, Nick and his brother Matt have continued to be a major part of AEW’s tag team division. They won the AEW Tag Team titles from FTR at AEW Full Gear on November 7. In recent weeks, they have faced off against the likes of Top Flight, The Acclaimed, and The Hybrid 2.
According to Bryan Alvarez, Nick Jackson suffered a leg contusion during an eight-man tag team match on AEW Dynamite Wednesday, an injury he reportedly thought was a broken leg at first.
Near the end of the match, Jackson got his knees up while taking a 630 senton from Jack Evans. Evans landed hard on Jackson’s legs with his back which caused the injury. He did manage to throw several superkicks and worked the rest of the match without incident. He was favoring his left leg after the match, but still participated in the show closing angle while not physically getting involved.
He isn’t expected to miss any time and is scheduled for a six-man tag match with Matt Jackson and Kenny Omega on next week’s Dynamite. The trio reformed their faction with the Good Brothers from Impact Wrestling at the end of Wednesday’s show in a nod to their days in the Bullet Club.
BTE 200 opened with a compilation of the various intros the show has used over the years.
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Matt Jackson defeated Nick Jackson
The show itself began with Matt Jackson making his entrance on the tennis court in Nick Jackson’s backyard. Matt remarked that it was just like Nick not to show up for their match.
Just then, Nick hit a dive from a balcony to the tennis court and covered Matt for a near fall. “Now that was a house show dive,” remarked Nick.
The two brawled to the garage gym. Matt stood Nick on his head with a DDT and picked up a two count. They brawled close to Nick’s house. Matt’s kids were shown watching the brawl from inside. Mrs. Matt closed the blinds.
Back outside, Matt hit five consecutive northern lights suplexes for a series of near falls. Nick answered with a swing DDT. They foreshadowed a water bump by brawling near a swimming pool.
Nick hit Matt with a pair of superkicks, then laid him across a table. Nick hit a swanton bomb off the roof of a picnic area. There may have been a cleverly hidden crash pad. If not, that was a profoundly stupid bump to take.
Again they brawled near the pool. Nick dunked Matt’s head in the water. Matt fired up and superkicked Nick on to a diving board. Matt hit a destroyer off the diving board into the pool. The ref jumped in after and counted a near fall in the pool.
Nick asked Matt if he wanted to see some magic. Nick snapped his fingers and the two were transported to a barber shop window set. Nick was dressed as Shawn Michaels, Matt as Marty Jannetty. Nick sent Matt through the barber shop window.
Matt awoke from the dream sequence on a raised platform on a hill on the property. Nick hit Matt with a shovel. Nick hit a powerbomb on the platform for a two count. Matt sold his back.
Nick teased throwing Matt off the platform. Matt blocked and hit a tombstone for a near fall.
Matt put on a shoe covered in thumb tacks. He hit a superkick to Nick. Nick was shown bleeding. They spoofed the Shawn Michaels/Ric Flair “I’m sorry, I love you” spot.
Matt hit a second superkick and Nick took a bump off the platform onto some boxes and foam padding.
Matt followed with an elbow drop off the platform. He then covered Nick for the finish.
**********
After their match, the brothers sat on the platform and talked about their journey over the last four years. Nick said he’s not back to full health yet, but he needed to do the match today for the fans.
The Bucks then threw to a montage of moments from the first 199 BTE episodes.
**********
The show finished with The Bucks in a car.
“Where to next?” Nick asked.
“For the first time ever, I don’t know,” said Matt.
“Well, actually Matt, there is that one thing we still need to do,” Nick said. Matt agreed.
**********
The final scene showed Nick closing his computer. Rather than the usual closing credits, there was just a fade to black.
The ending left open the possibility that the show could go on hiatus, but there was nothing definitive.
Matt and Nick Jackson were shown filming promos to hype up their match on next week’s BTE 200. Matt said this was the biggest match of his career. Brandon Cutler reminded him of two AEW ppv matches. Matt ultimately decided this was the ninth biggest match of his career.
Nick said the match will be held in his backyard on the BTE Compound.
Matt refused to discuss any of his brother’s weaknesses.
Nick said that Matt’s weakness is his back and he plans to attack it.
Matt said he loves his brother and doesn’t want to hurt him.
Nick said he’s better than Matt.
Matt said he has an insurance policy under his shoe.
Matt Hardy provided analysis on the upcoming match both in and out of his Broken character.
Scorpio Sky, Brandon Cutler, Cody, Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, Kenny Omega, Joey Ryan, Hangman Page, Marty Scurll, Fat Ass Massa, Colt Cabana and Flip Gordon broke down the match.
Kazarian said that Matt has called Nick a jobber that he’s tired of carrying.
Cody acted out the way he sees the match going with Young Bucks Funko Pops.
Scurll said Matt and Nick are dead to him.
Ryan said that Nick has the best hot tag in the business but this isn’t a tag match.
Cabana taunted Omega.
Gordon said he was going to try to get booked.
Massa said f–k The Young Bucks.
Matt and Nick asked Cutler to make a prediction for the match. he refused.
In a Under The Limit battle royal that aired on part two of Being The Elite’s 199th episode, Nick Jackson eliminated Matt Jackson and the right to call his shot for the main event of next week’s BTE 200.
His pick? A no DQ, anything goes singles match against Matt to prove he is ready to return to competition.
The two were the final two entrants in the nine man battle royal and went at it for several minutes. The finish came when, following a battle on the apron, Nick german suplexed Matt on the apron and he rolled off to the ground.
The two have wrestled in singles action before, notably in 2010 at the wXw 16 Carat Gold tourney and another in 2011 for Impact Wrestling when they were known as Max and Jeremy Buck (Generation Me).
The match took place on the same tennis court where they have been holding matches for recent episodes of BTE. The battle royal featured all three members of SCU, Peter Avalon, Brandon Cutler, Simon Lotto, and Steven Andrews. The rules were that wrestlers could enter every 60 seconds and jobber teams (Lotto/Andrews) could enter at the same time.
Episode 197 of Being The Elite caught up with the cast as they adjusted to life in quarantine.
Some highlights include:
Matt Jackson ate some coffee beans and told his son that the coffee shop was open for business.
Nick Jackson gave a status report. He has been playing an arcade game recommended by Adam Cole “before he died.”
Nick and his wife welcomed the birth of a son. Nick said the baby’s name is Michael, so if he becomes a wrestler, he’ll be named Michael Jackson. [Editor’s note: also if he does not become a wrestler]
Matt and Nick worked out with Brandon Cutler in Nick’s home gym. Matt coughed but assured the guys he does not have coronavirus.
Kenny Omega gave an update from the set of Dynamite. He assured us that Colt Cabana was not in the room. Cabana’s face appeared on the television screen behind Omega.
Christopher Daniels had a 50th birthday party. His guest joined him via video conference. His gifts included a mask, toilet paper, bottled water and hand sanitizer.
Peter Avalon called Cutler from a landline while listening to a record player to taunt him about losing to Cabana.
Luchasaurus said he needs to find his tail.
Matt answered fan questions.
Hangman Page played Animal Crossing, watched Tiger King and worked out in full gear, all while ignoring calls from Nick, Kenny, Cody and Matt.
Are you interested in attending our annual F4W/WON convention? We will hold it during AEW Double or Nothing weekend. For more information, check this post for activities and prices.
A detailed look at how the pro wrestling and MMA industry has changed in just one week is the subject of our in-depth lead story.
We cover:
Steps taken, made, executed, and constantly changed, from WWE, UFC, AEW and every other company.
Which companies can afford the lockdown the best, and which companies are threatened the most.
WWE, why they chose to do WrestleMania now on tape, why the move made little sense.
Why UFC was forced to shut down shows and the steps they took to avoid it.
What AEW said and what it actually meant.
The dangers from doctors on doing shows right now.
Latest ideas for WrestleMania, revenue lost by not doing the show now, just how fast decisions were changing, pro wrestling vs. MMA in an empty arena, styles vs. styles in an empty arena, what does and doesn’t work, ideas to make the show more entertaining, what is and isn’t finalized for WrestleMania, and update on other planned WWE events.
We also cover:
WWE training, who were brought to the WWE & AEW taping, what was said to those working there, Dana White’s memo to the staff, why UFC had it harder to keep shows going than pro wrestling, UFC’s economic realities, different reactions of talent about shows continuing, new dates for major shows, next shows on UFC schedule, ESPN plans, Japanese government reaction, updates on Japanese shows, XFL ending the season, how the first season leaves the XFL in its quest to make it, Bellator’s reaction, MLW’s reaction, Impact’s reaction, NWA’s reaction, Independent shows, WrestleCon, U.K. groups, Mexico and other U.S. indies.
AEW’s live television show, the in and out of character remarks, Cody and Tony Khan’ reactions, and show things were handled
A look at the career of Jushin Liger, his historical status, his early career, his becoming the best wrestler in the world, his debut with the character, who was first pegged for the role, his debut with the gimmick, his U.S. arrival in WCW, his one MMA fight, and his list of credentials.
Why WWE stock hasn’t collapsed, Shane McMahon’s income, Michelle Wilson and George Barrios’ severance packages, update on The Revival, WWE threatens small group on a frivolous case, WWE legend selling his home, last several weeks of Canadian TV ratings, Jerry Lawler talks empty arena matches, latest WWE tryout, Sonya Deville talks storyline she wanted, as well as the most-watched shows of the past week on the WWE Network.
Full coverage of the UFC’s empty arena show in Brasilia, Brazil with the stories coming out of the show and match-by-match coverage.
A feature on the worst weekend in the history of the business when Chris Benoit murdered his wife and son. We look at the Reelz television show that just came out covering the crime as well as a look at the Viceland story coming this week. We talk about different theories, the death of Eddy Guerrero, CTE, steroids, xanax and more, WWE reaction, drug testing questions and problems and much more.
Regarding the Wednesday numbers, we’ve got full details, demos that each side won, how every segment did and what match ended up as the difference maker.
Full coverage of all the WWE and AEW television shows from the past week.
In-depth looks at the ratings of all the major shows, the key demos and quarters for AEW and WWE, what happened head-to-head and what can be learned from them.
Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
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FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE
With all indoor gatherings of more than 100 people banned in Australia, pretty much everything except empty arena shows look to be canceled.
The first hour of the two-hour Viceland Dark Side of the Ring special on Chris Benoit can be seen here.
Arena Mexico tonight has been canceled which was the El Homenaje a Dos Leyendas show. They are still planning to do the show in the future.
The state of Mexico has suspended all boxing and pro wrestling events though 4/20.
Dragon Gate will be running a Sunday empty arena show from Kobe headlined by Kzy & Yosuke Santa Maria & Dragon Dia vs. Eita & Big R Shimizu & Kaito Ishida. The show starts at 6 a.m. Eastern Sunday morning on the Dragon Gate Network.
I did a lengthy talk about a million different pro wrestling subjects earlier today here
WWE
I hope Adam Scherr’s friends talk to him about this. It’s poorly timed and thought out. I get the mentality behind it at a different point in time, but not at this point in time. This is not the time for it and really, this isn’t the time for rich people to be blaming poor people for their inability to keep jobs that by all rights they would have thought they had. Anyway, if you’re a friend of his, let him know. Hopefully he has some real friends
Smackdown tonight has John Morrison & The Miz vs. Heavy Machinery in a non-title match, a Bill Goldberg/Roman Reigns contract signing plus Rob Gronkowski debuts. 205 Live will be taped as well with Danny Burch vs. Joaquin Wilde and Oney Lorcan vs. Swerve Scott.
Today is the 25th anniversary of the death of John Minton aka Big John Studd at the age of 47.
UFC
State Troopers came to the Had Knocks 365 gym in Fort Lauderdale, FL and Jared Gordon told MMA Fighting that he was facing a possible arrest if he didn’t relocate. So the fighters went to a local park and did some running and hid pads. He noted that it’s not fair for fighters who can’t train due to not being allowed to go to the gym to fight.
AEW
Nick Jackson’s wife had the couple’s baby boy yesterday.
MISCELLANEOUS
AAW noted that its anniversary show tonight at the Logan Square Arena in Chicago was canceled. But they are putting complete shows up on YouTube.
The Villano III Jr. vs. Aereo mask vs mask match that people have been raving about is 1:59 into this broadcast.
Regarding the discussion I had on Wednesday’s show, an official with the NCAA told us that the idea of a 16-man tournament for basketball was an option discussed, but the decision has been made to cancel all spring championships.
Hoosier Pro Wrestling announced that their 4/4 show is canceled, noting its only the second time in 22 years of promoting wrestling that they’ve had to do that.
The Alabama Athletic Commission has halted the issuance of permits to hold pro wrestling events in the state based on Gov. Kay Ivey ordering no gatherings with more than 25 people where a six foot distance between people couldn’t be maintained. (thanks to Larry Goodman)
Legacy Fighting Alliance announced tonight’s show is off, as well as the 4/3 show in Broomfield, CO and 4/17 in South Dakota.
Riot City Wrestling tomorrow night in Adelaide, Australia has been canceled.
A new DVD called Wrestling from the Heartland featuring matches with John Cena, Cactus Jack, Eddy Guerrero Charlie Haas, Big Show, Rikishi, Ron Simmons and many others that were thought to be lost is at www.Joe-Dombrowski.com
Revolution Wrestling Federation’s Sunday show with Scott Steiner was canceled.
CWE has canceled its shows in Modern, Regina, Saskatoon and Winnipeg due to the closing of the border not allowing talent to come, including headliner Savio Vega, and the 50 person maximum gathering would mean only 30 tickets could be sold.
Synergy Pro Wrestling will have an iPPV show on 3/28 at 3 p.m. Eastern on FITE.tv Fightmare vs. DeSean Pratt will headline.
EPW in Western Australia has postponed all events indefinitely. (thanks to Kevin Chiat)
This story was updated and corrected at 10:30 AM Eastern.
Following Wednesday’s edition of AEW Dynamite, a big question was why the promotional debut of Lance Archer didn’t happen as planned.
According to our Dave Meltzer on Thursday’s Wrestling Observer Radio (subscription needed), it was a creative change in the last week that resulted in the non-appearance. Meltzer didn’t know if it was related to Jake Roberts’ debut and Archer perhaps being his mystery client.
Meltzer had said Hardy was pulled from Saturday’s The Big Event wrestling convention in New York City and replaced with Terry Funk due to Hardy’s possible signing with AEW. However, RF Video (one of the event vendors) has reached out this morning to indicate Hardy will indeed be at The Big Event this weekend as their guest and that Funk was booked the entire time. According to them, he was never pulled. Hardy himself confirmed his appearance there on Twitter.
On the timing of debuts, Meltzer “strongly presumes” Brodie Lee is heading to AEW, so he expects the company to spread out the debuts instead of having them all on one night.
Following the AEW tag title match from Revolution, Kenny Omega has a broken pinkie that will not require surgery, but he does need a cast. Meltzer said he expects Omega to work with the cast, but he’s not sure when Omega will return. He didn’t believe Omega was in attendance last night.
Nick Jackson is at home as he and his wife await the birth of their third child. He’s not expected on Dynamite until then as none of the four participants were scheduled to work matches last night.
A memoir from The Young Bucks is coming to bookstores later this year.
At the start of today’s episode of Being the Elite, it was announced that “Young Bucks: Killing the Business from Backyards to the Big League” is now available for pre-order. The book is co-written by The Young Bucks’ Matt & Nick Jackson and published by Dey Street Books. It’s being released this fall and will retail for $27.99.
The listed release date for the book is Tuesday, September 29.
“Nearly 20 years ago, our father built us a wrestling ring in our back yard. Our journey to become professional wrestlers began here,” Matt Jackson said in a press release. “Then after years of hawking T-shirts out of duffel bags at independent shows across the U.S., documenting our lives on a web series filmed on our phones, and performing at the biggest events in Japan, we’d eventually land the dream job of a lifetime.
“We’re excited to share the story of how we got there, after overcoming past failures, and finally deciding to play by our own rules, ignoring traditions, earning us the reputation by critics as two wrestlers who were ‘Killing The Business.’ This memoir is yet another milestone in our career, all thanks to the support of our amazing fans.”
The Young Bucks won a tag team battle royal on Dynamite last week and will challenge Kenny Omega & Hangman Page for the AEW Tag Team titles at Revolution this Saturday. The pay-per-view is taking place at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois.
