The latest WWE and AEW News and Results
With WWE WrestleMania 42 in the books, the Wrestling Weekly team of Les Thatcher and Vic Sosa look at some of the highlights but with an emphasis on the future of Oba Femi.
In addition, we got one of the best AEW World title matches that has aired on Dynamite, and a match that…well, wasn’t the best.
Thanks for listening and have a great weekend~!
After battling Darby Allin on AEW Dynamite, Tommaso Ciampa has opened up and named him as his wrestling soulmate.
In the main event of the April 22, 2026, episode of AEW Dynamite, fans saw new AEW World Champion Darby Allin put his title on the line against Tommaso Ciampa.
After a closely fought and bloodied 18-minute battle, Allin was able to put Ciampa down. Shortly after, Ciampa reflected on the match on social media and named Allin as his wrestling soulmate.
“Last night, I encountered my wrestling soulmate. I have a hunch we will be doing this many more times over the next decade,” wrote Ciampa.
“Thank you AEW. Thank you Portland. Thank you Darby [Allin]. Mark my words: it might not be this month… it might not be this year… hell, it might not even be 2027…. but there will come a time when I hold that AEW World Title.“
Last week, Allin defeated MJF and won the AEW World Championship in just over two minutes at Dynamite Spring BreakThru.
Tommaso Ciampa says tonight is the biggest match of his career.
Ciampa will challenge Darby Allin for the AEW World Championship on the April 22 episode of Dynamite from Portland.
He posted a message to social media on Tuesday saying that his match against Allin will be his “love letter to the sport.”
Ciampa wrote:
“I can promise you this much. You’ve never seen a wrestler with more to prove than I have to prove this Wednesday night. You’ve never seen a man more overly prepared for his moment than I am prepared for this moment Wednesday night. And you’ve never seen a purer display of passion than you will see from me this Wednesday night. I love pro wrestling. This Wednesday is my love letter to the sport I love.”
He captioned the post with:
“The Biggest Match of My Career.
The Perfect Opponent.
The Right City.
Every moment of my career has led to this moment. Every bump. Every setback. Every accomplishment. Every injury. Every milestone. Every regret. Every tear. Every joy. Every risk.
Tomorrow night, I give you my everything.
For my wife. For Willow. For my fans. For myself.”
Earlier in the day on Tuesday, Ciampa posted a graphic to Instagram noting that he won the ROH TV title, NXT World title, and AEW TNT title on his first attempt, and plans to do the same with the AEW World title on Dynamite.
Ciampa enters the match on a five-match winning streak in AEW singles competition. He holds a 7-2 singles record in AEW, with his only losses coming against Kyle Fletcher and Daniel Garcia.
Ciampa’s social media posts are available below.
One week after winning the AEW World title for the first time, Darby Allin will put the title on the line as part of this week’s AEW Dynamite.
Announced on Friday, Allin will defend against former TNT Champion Tommaso Ciampa in a first time ever match.
Allin defeated MJF for the title this past week while Ciampa defeated Dezmond Xavier on the same show, calling out the winner for a future title shot. The challenger is 5-0 in his last five singles matches.
Given his recent comments on social media, it remains possible that MJF makes an appearance following the quick upset loss but his attendance has yet to be confirmed.
The addition to the Portland, Oregon, show joins Will Ospreay vs. Mark Davis and Mina Shirakawa vs. Hikaru Shida.
Tommaso Ciampa published a video shortly after turning heel at AEW Collision on Saturday.
Ciampa lost a singles match to Daniel Garcia on the show when Mark Briscoe, who was on commentary for the match, got up onto the ring apron after Garcia approached him at the commentary table. Ciampa collided with Briscoe as he was sent into the ropes, allowing Garcia to wrap him up in a pin for the three count.
After the match, FTR came down to the ring to confront Ciampa after having previously offered to align with the former NXT Champion. Briscoe got back in the ring, seemingly to prevent FTR from attacking Ciampa.
Then, as Ciampa and Briscoe were walking to the back, Ciampa tossed Briscoe headfirst into the stage area, reminiscent of what he had previously done to Johnny Gargano in NXT.
Following Collision, Ciampa posted a video to social media explaining his actions. Ciampa says:
“Tonight was my chance. How do I get a rematch for my championship title with a loss tonight? And why the hell was he out there in the first place?”
“What feels good is to no longer pretend. What doesn’t feel good is the disrespect. I’m sick of it because I’m the best me! I’m the best damn wrestler alive! And nobody, not a soul, I mean nobody, gives me the respect that I deserve.”
“So you wanna get real? Yeah, we can get real. Let’s get real. S—‘s about to get real. Everybody, everybody’s on notice. March 7, 2026, the Psycho Killer is alive.”
Ciampa will team with FTR on AEW Dynamite this week against Mark Briscoe and The Young Bucks. His full video is available below:
After weeks of his debut, Tommaso Ciampa has turned heel on the latest episode of AEW Collision.
After winning the TNT title from Mark Briscoe and later losing it to Kyle Fletcher, Ciampa recently suffered another loss at the hands of Daniel Garcia after getting distracted by Briscoe, who was present on commentary.
Portraying a face character on AEW television for the past few weeks, Ciampa showed his true colors on the March 7 episode of Collision.
After losing the match, Ciampa confronted Briscoe before FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) came out and confronted the former NXT Champion. Briscoe got between Ciampa and FTR before leaving the ramp with him.
However, as an ode to his previous WWE DIY breakup angle with Johnny Gargano, Ciampa attempted a similar move and turned his back on Briscoe. Ciampa attacked Briscoe on the ramp before throwing him into the video screen. He finished the segment by hitting him with a running knee strike, which was similar to what he had done to Gargano in NXT. After a brief babyface run, Ciampa has turned heel.
This Wednesday’s Revolution go-home edition of AEW Dynamite will see the Young Bucks team up with Mark Briscoe for the first time since 2010.
The unorthodox trio will battle FTR and Tommaso Ciampa after Ciampa turned heel on Briscoe during Saturday’s AEW Collision. The Bucks will challenge FTR for the AEW World Tag Team titles at next Sunday’s Revolution.
The Bucks and Briscoes feuded for years with the two sides aligning just once in their careers back at ROH SoCal Showdown in January 2010.
Announced late Saturday night was a new tag team match that will pair Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli against Konosuke Takeshita and Hechicero. Moxley will defend his Continental title against Takeshita at Revolution, but this match was born out of Saturday’s Collision main event that saw Takeshita defeat Castagnoli with a brawl breaking out among all four men afterward.
TBS Champion Willow Nightingale will defend against new CMLL Women’s Champion Persephone after she defeated Mercedes Mone this weekend for the title.
After David Finlay made a surprise appearance last Wednesday, he and Gabe Kidd will take on Darby Allin and Orange Cassidy in a grudge match.
The new additions join the previously announced MJF/Hangman Page press conference and TNT title defense with Kyle Fletcher vs. Mike Bailey.
On a new Wrestling Weekly, Les Thatcher and Vic Sosa look at the fallout from last weekend’s WWE Elimination Chamber and some creative team shakeups this week in the company.
The guys also talk about the newest members of the WWE Hall of Fame and a rough night for Kevin Knight and Jet Set Rodeo this past Wednesday in AEW.
Thanks for listening and have a great weekend~!
Last month, Tommaso Ciampa’s AEW debut against Mark Briscoe was pushed back from its original planned date.
Ciampa made his in-ring debut and defeated Briscoe for the TNT title on the January 31st episode of AEW Collision. Before his he had appeared on the January 24 episode of AEW Dynamite. However, Fightful Select recently reported that his actual planned debut was delayed.
Ciampa was originally scheduled to defeat Briscoe on the January 24th episode of Collision, but plans had to be changed due to “inclement weather,” where AEW had to completely change the show and tape it after that week’s Dynamite.
The former NXT Champion was moved to the WWE roster alumni page on January 28, which was in reality several days after he had signed with AEW and already planned to join the Jacksonville-based promotion following his WWE exit. Ciampa was also very well hidden ahead of his January 28 debut on Dynamite.
Following a brief title reign, he later lost it to Kyle Fletcher at AEW Grand Slam Australia.
TKO is apparently concerned about ticket sales for WrestleMania 42 and on the new Wrestling Weekly, Les Thatcher and Vic Sosa talk about what should be the real concern which is more than just ticket prices.
We’ll also look at this past week’s AEW Dynamite and look ahead to what should be a tremendous Grand Slam Australia show.
Thanks for listening and have a great weekend~!
Kyle Fletcher is once again the TNT Champion, defeating Tommaso Ciampa on AEW Dynamite to regain the title and set up his first defense.
Fletcher ended the 13-day run for the former WWE star, pinning Ciampa after a brain buster that ended the physical bout.
Afterward, Fletcher took the microphone to say he would defend the title against anyone at this Saturday’s Grand Slam Australia as he is returning home. Former champion Mark Briscoe then came out and called his shot for the seventh match in their unofficial series.
Fletcher agreed, but then said if the seventh match was to happen, Briscoe would have to “reach for the sky” as it will be a ladder match which Briscoe quickly agreed to.
It’s Fletcher’s second run with the title after a 114-day reign that ended at last November’s Full Gear to Briscoe in a no DQ match.
Latest News
Latest Audio
Latest YouTube Video
This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter
The new issue of the Observer is up on the site covering the following topics:
This Week’s Back Issue
FIRST TIME SUBSCRIBERS GET 50% OFF YOUR FIRST MONTH
WWE
Other Wrestling
Tommaso Ciampa has opened up in detail about the financial stability and decision to choose AEW over WWE.
Speaking on Close Up with Renee Paquette, Ciampa revealed why he decided to join Tony Khan’s promotion after finishing up with WWE.
“Every performer, specifically people who’ve come up through the independent scene, you love the business. And the thing you really genuinely want is for it to love you back. And like I’ve been told numerous times, this isn’t the business,” Ciampa said. “The business doesn’t love you back. But I’m an optimist, you know, so I think it’s not going to love you back 100% of the time. But those moments when it does, like we thrive for that, you know? So that’s what I feel like.”
“So it’s a lot of that going on right now for me, where it’s like, ‘oh man, I haven’t felt loved back for a bit.’ So that was big, but at home, you know, honestly, it was less about just like looking forward to, ‘oh, we’re doing this AEW thing’ because it was a ton of uncertainty. Like our decision to move on. We talked about that for months. I might even say a couple years, realistically. That’s a big thing, right? [Regularly checking his bank account and understanding his financial stability].”
While he made the decision to move on, Ciampa thought he was not financially ready to do so during his WWE main roster jump from NXT. Financially comfortable in his life, Ciampa took the “risk” and joined AEW.
“To be honest, that’s the biggest thing that you start to go is…we are getting a definitive income, it’s a salary. And you know what the independent scene’s like. You understand the travel if you start to go to different countries to do this and stuff, and what’s that impact on my wife?” Ciampa added.
“And just the life we live, so there’s just the biggest decision of it all was like, are we finally ready to do it, you know, and like when I left NXT to make the move to the main roster. Financially, we were not ready to do that, and we knew it. So, there was not really a question of, ‘okay, let’s take a risk. Let’s bet on ourselves.’ We got at that time a three-year-old, now a seven-year-old. It just wasn’t in the cards. Yeah. But now I’m starting to go, yeah, I think we are at the point financially, let’s take the risk.”
Following the expiration of his WWE contract earlier this year, Ciampa filed the trademark for “Psycho Killer” before making his AEW debut on the January 28th episode of Dynamite. Shortly after, he defeated Mark Briscoe to become the new TNT Champion.
Tony Khan “constantly” has his eye on the free agent market looking for wrestlers who could be valuable additions to AEW.
Last week, Fightful reported that AEW was planning to make new signings, particularly in the women’s division with the aim of freshening up the roster. Khan was asked to respond to that report during an interview with radio station 107.7 The Bone that was conducted at Super Bowl Radio Row.
“I am constantly evaluating the market and scouting for fantastic wrestlers if they are available to join AEW,” Khan said. “And AEW is where the best wrestle, and it will be for a very long time.”
The Fightful report stated that AEW has already signed several wrestlers that have yet to be revealed.
Two potential new additions to the women’s division could be The IIconics (Cassie Lee & Jessica McKay), with our Dave Meltzer reporting that there has been “a lot of talk” regarding the former Peyton Royce & Billie Kay coming to AEW.
Tommaso Ciampa, The Rascalz, Jake Doyle, and the returning Andrade El Idolo are some of AEW’s recent new additions on the men’s side. Khan discussed the signing of Ciampa during this interview with 107.7 The Bone.
“He’s a fantastic wrestler,” Khan said. “And to have somebody of his quality come in, instantly he’s additive in AEW. We’ve got somebody that’s joined us that can have fantastic matches, whether it’s people he’s lined up against in past wrestling matches, whether it’s an old rival or somebody fresh and new that he’s never been matched up against, there’s so many exciting possibilities for Tommaso Ciampa in AEW.”
Image: AEW
On a Super Bowl Sunday edition of Wrestling Observer Live, Josh Nason fills in for Andrew Zarian who is still dealing with frozen pipes somewhere in the still freezing Northeast U.S.
He recaps Saturday’s AEW Collision which capped off a hot week for the company going into next weekend’s Grand Slam Australia.
A big reason for the surge is new wrestler Tommaso Ciampa who has made a great impression and a more impactful one that Josh figured. But does AEW really need The IInspiration and even more new talent coming in as reports stated this week?
He also looks at the WWE title picture from SmackDown and a few ideas for who should challenge Drew McIntyre for the secondary-ish title. (Hint: it’s not Cody Rhodes.)
That and more await you on a new and ad-free WOL, available here, Spotify or Apple Podcasts in the Wrestling Observer feeds.
Click here to listen (no sub needed)
