The latest WWE and AEW News and Results
Dave Meltzer and I are back with Wrestling Observer Radio. RevPro’s Andy Quildan joined to talk about the UK pro wrestling scene.
He went over the entire card of their 11th Anniversary show, which is happening the night before AEW All In. He talked about Tony Khan’s big bet and why he believes it worked. He also went over how hard it was during the pandemic and how he knew the audience was back.
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Jumping to another promotion could be the best thing for someone’s career, as history shows.
Dave Meltzer and Garrett Gonzales discussed the matter on Friday’s Wrestling Observer Radio. Gonzales talked about the Cody Rhodes documentary, which touched on AEW but didn’t go behind the details of what led to Rhodes’ departure from the company in 2022, with Rhodes opting to keep that between himself and Tony Khan.
“He’s been asked about it every day since February 14, 2022,” Meltzer said.
One recent quote attributed to Rhodes is him saying that leaving AEW for WWE was an easiest decision he’s ever made. Meltzer agreed that it probably was.
“Vince comes to your house. You’re going to main event WrestleMania, you’re going to do the program for the championship. You’re going to make x amount of money. It probably was, at that point, a real easy decision. Before Vince? I don’t know how easy it was.”
One person jumping to another promotion was common in the 1990s, with WWF stars jumping to WCW and vice versa. Meltzer cited Scott Hall and Kevin Nash as examples of people who benefited from a jump. For some, the jump can come at a pivotal moment in their career.
“Most of the time when you jump, it’s a new lease on life,” Meltzer said. “You are fresh, all your losses are forgotten about…most of the time if you’re a top guy, it’s the greatest thing in the world to leave.”
Dave Meltzer and I are back with Wrestling Observer Radio going over all the news in the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
We discussed the following:
We also answered several questions relating to All In, LuFisto’s comments on AEW, and Live Audio Wrestling.
Click here to listen (website subscription needed) or watch on YouTube (with video subscription)
The Elite are staying in AEW.
The company announced Wednesday morning that The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, and Hangman Page have re-signed with the company. Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer discussed the news on Wrestling Observer Radio on Thursday morning.
“The schedule was the key thing,” Meltzer said. “For all of them, really.”
Meltzer mentioned that the deal had been finalized recently, but was held off until the 200th episode of Dynamite to be announced. He also said the four had made a pact of remaining together, whether it be going to WWE or remaining in AEW.
“There were discussions,” Meltzer said, regarding a possible jump to WWE. “There were votes that changed. There were things that happened since this pact was made.”
Despite their contracts not being up until the end of the year, Tony Khan signing The Elite now, along with the recent re-signing of Rush, is a sign that Tony Khan is willing to spend money.
“He is not shying away from spending money whatsoever,” Meltzer said.
MJF and Adam Cole failed in their bid to capture the AEW Tag Team titles on Dynamite.
FTR retained their titles in the main event of Saturday’s show. Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio said he was stunned watching the finish.
“They better have a hell of a storyline because I’m watching this match and it’s just like…I rarely get stunned by finishes…I did not think this was a good thing,” he said “Whatever the storyline is, I hope it’s really good…I just thought this was the night.”
Later, Meltzer explained why he felt the titles should have changed hands.
“This was the perfect opportunity for a couple of weeks title run. Just a thing where you do it and go back with it or don’t go back with it, you can hold two belts for a little while.”
In regards to the eventual breakup between the two, both Meltzer and Alvarez thought it shouldn’t happen anytime soon, and any plans for them can always be pushed back.
“They should not break up anytime soon, Meltzer said. “Their merch is selling. That’s why I thought they should win the titles, go with the frickin’ momentum.”
“The fact is, they should have won the titles,” Alvarez said. “It was the easiest thing to do. Whatever plan you got for MJF and Adam Cole, you can always do it later, ‘cause it’s fake.”
LA Knight suffered another big loss on SmackDown.
Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez discussed his push on Wrestling Observer Radio Monday morning. Despite getting huge reactions week in and week out, it appears that WWE is hesitant to give Knight big wins, such as winning the Money in the Bank contract or becoming the next contender for Austin Theory’s United States title. But despite all that. Dave Meltzer feels that WWE has a plan for Knight.
“They aren’t burying LA Knight,” he stated.
“The guy is super over,” Bryan Alvarez said, pointing out his recent reactions. “I hope they have a plan here and just, hey, let’s lead these people on and never give them something.”
“They are very much in control of this one,” Meltzer replied. “Now, whether it’s right or wrong, time will tell. But the idea that they don’t know or not going to push him, no. They are going to push him, they’re producing him as if he’s a star on every week’s TV show.”
Meltzer pointed out that he couldn’t complain about WWE’s recent booking choices, saying that Roman Reigns and The Usos are even stronger coming out of WrestleMania, as well as business overall.
Dave Meltzer and I are back with Wrestling Observer Radio going over all the news in the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Dave and I discussed the following:
Click here to listen or watch on YouTube (with video subscription).
Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer discussed the fallout from Wednesday’s Blood & Guts match.
Despite using weapons such as glass, thumbtacks, and a bed of nails, no one emerged from the match on Dynamite Wednesday being seriously injured, a change from the previous two Blood & Guts matches.
“There were no serious injuries in Blood & Guts. Everyone is ‘fine’,” Alvarez said.
“They’ll be feeling it. Everyone will be feeling it,” Meltzer said.
“They delivered more than they advertised,” Meltzer said regarding the match. “People were kinda promised something big and that kind of stuff, and they got a 51 minute match that was very, very violent and one of the better War Games matches that I’ve ever seen.”
Meltzer added that back in the day, the War Games matches in NWA were considered some of the more violent matches in pro wrestling.
“Those matches were so tame compared to this,” he said.
An interesting note after the show had The Elite and Blackpool Combat Club shake hands. Kenny Omega cut a promo saying that whatever happens next, he’s sticking with The Young Bucks.
“It’s got people talking tonight, yeah” Meltzer said, pointing out he didn’t know the contract status of the trio, and whatever may happen won’t for a long time.
Nick Wayne made his AEW debut, and Kota Ibushi is heading to Blood & Guts.
Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer discussed the big news coming from Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite. Prior to the main event segment. Nick Wayne made his AEW debut losing to Swerve Strickland. Dave thought it was a good, not great match, but wondered if having Wayne lose was the right call.
“He got over really big with the crowd,” he said. “The ringsiders were chanting for him…it would not have been my call for him to lose his debut. Swerve was more polished..the crowd really wanted him to win.”
The main event segment had Don Callis come out to announce his fifth member of the Blackpool Combat Club Blood & Guts team next week. Kenny Omega came out to confront Callis, but it ended up being a trap, with PAC making his return to attack Omega. Moxley, PAC, and Konosuke Takeshita were about to injure Omega when he told them to watch a video, which revealed Kota Ibushi as The Elite’s fifth member.
Meltzer has high expectations for the match, putting over the wrestlers involved.
“As far as the promise of the match goes, it could really be one the best matches of the year. It really could. The expectations are really high on that one.”
The first steps towards SummerSlam took shape on Friday’s WWE SmackDown.
On Sunday morning’s Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer and Garrett Gonzales ran down the show, including the opening segment that featured the trial of Roman Reigns. After a swerve, Reigns and Solo Sikoa attacked The Usos, sending Jimmy to the hospital. The end of the show saw Jey Uso issue the challenge to Reigns.
“I thought the best part was the end,” Gonzales said. “Jey had a ton of emotion in his face and his body after challenging Roman. It did feel long, I thought the first segment felt like it slightly overstayed its welcome. But at the same time, so many people are into that, I don’t know if they would have felt the same way I did.”
SummerSlam is shaping up to be a big card, both in terms of match quality and business.
“This is a pretty loaded SummerSlam lineup and they’re already at 42,000 tickets in,” Meltzer said.
Some of the matches being built to include Drew McIntyre vs. Gunther, Trish Stratus vs. Becky Lynch, Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler, and a three-way for the WWE Women’s Championship.
“They’re doing Asuka and Bianca to set up Asuka, Charlotte, and Bianca three-way for SummerSlam,” Meltzer added.
Dave Meltzer and I are back with Wrestling Observer Radio going over all the news in the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Before that, Ryan Frederick joined the show to talk about UFC 290 which featured a match of the year candidate and a new champion, as well as Robbie Lawler’s retirement fight. We also talked about Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic for UFC 295 and the rumored Francis Ngannou exhibition boxing match with Tyson Fury.
Dave and I then discussed the following:
Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer discussed the final segments from Monday’s Raw.
Both Alvarez and Meltzer had high praise for the Women’s World Championship match between champion Rhea Ripley and Natalya, which saw Ripley retain the title.
“This match was really good,” Alvarez said.
Meltzer called it the best match on the show, though was disappointed it went through a commercial break.
“I know the crowd’s reacting because it’s really good stuff,” he said. “And there’s no sound. And they come back, and there’s a lot of sound, and this is a show where there’s not been a lot of sound during matches.”
The main event had Seth Rollins defeat Dominik Mysterio by disqualification after Damian Priest ran in and attacked Rollins in an attempt to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase.
“You couldn’t [have had] a more lame finish,” Alvarez said.
The end of the show saw Finn Balor interrupt Priest attempting to cash in the Money in the Bank briefcase by attacking Rollins himself. This got Priest mad and the show ended with the two arguing as Rollins escaped.
“So here’s the thing, they’re idiots. You know why?,” Meltzer said. “Because Finn beating on [Rollins] should have been a positive, not a negative…Finn Balor was just helping you.”
For the first time in over three years, Roman Reigns has been pinned.
The Usos bested Roman Reigns & Solo Sikoa at Money in the Bank, with Jey Uso pinning Reigns. Bryan Alvarez and Dave Metlzer shared their thoughts on the match on Sunday morning’s Wrestling Observer Radio.
“If you have time, watch the whole match,” Alvarez said. “If you do not have time, you can safely skip the first 20 minutes of this match.”
“You can watch the last five minutes and really see the match,” Meltzer added.
Both agreed, however, the last minutes of the match picked up significantly. At one point, Solo and Reigns hit a spike/spear combination on The Usos and stacked them together, something Heyman said would happen in the pre-show. The Usos still managed to kick out.
“When they did that, it meant more because Paul Heyman promised that’s how the finish was gonna be,” Meltzer said.
Despite the slow start, Bryan and Dave both praised the match and finish, though it wasn’t a match of the year contender.
“The first half of the match was just putting in time, but the second half of the match was absolutely incredible,” Alvarez said.
I thought the match was great, I mean like great, but it was really all about the finish,” Meltzer said. “The match itself to me was pretty much what you would expect.”
Do the Young Bucks have a shot in getting inducted into the Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame?
Dave Meltzer, John Pollock of Post Wrestling, Paul Fontaine, and Garrett Gonzales discussed The Young Bucks candidacy on Wrestling Observer Radio Friday afternoon. Meltzer indicated the panel discussion came about by a discussion in Las Vegas where Fontaine thought they had a really strong case, whereas Meltzer thought they wouldn’t get in when their name comes up on the ballot later this year.
Meltzer pointed out they were a focal point in the foundation of AEW, a company that completely changed the wrestling business.
“There would be no AEW. AEW changed the entire business completely. Everyone’s making more money because of AEW, there’s way more wrestling on television, there’s way more jobs, and they were a key to that,” Meltzer said.
“All the Elite, including Cody [Rhodes] and Tony Khan, to me are like no-brainers,” Fontaine said.
Meltzer thought that it may be too early to determine Hall of Fame success based on AEW’s success at four years, and that at the ten year mark, we’d have a better assessment.
John Pollock said that the Bucks’ road to the Hall of Fame began in 2014 when they joined New Japan, citing NJPW’s success in the US once they joined the Bullet Club which led to the formation of independent wrestling merchandise stores such as Pro Wrestling Tees.
“They popularized that service for a lot of people, and that’s before getting into AEW,” he said.
Sting did another dangerous spot on Dynamite just days after a six-man tag at Forbidden Door went wrong.
On Wednesday’s show, Sting set up Sammy Guevara on the floor on top of some tables. He then proceeded to climb up the ladder and leap off, barely hitting half of his target. And not only did he barely get to first table, his face connected with Guevara’s knee on impact. Sting said after the show ended that he had a loose tooth and he’d likely need a lot of stitches.
Alvarez noted the idea was when Sting first came in, he’d only do cinematic-style matches.
“Well now this guy’s out there doing all this crazy stuff every single match,” he said.
Meltzer thought that so many moves like Sting’s are being done on such a frequent level, it’s no longer that surprising.
“Years ago something like this we’d talk about for a month. But the thing is it’s so overdone, it hurts, it’s dangerous, you forget about it. The next day they don’t even care,” he said.
Meltzer wondered why people like Sting and Jeff Hardy, both older wrestlers who are banged up, continue to do risky and dangerous moves despite them not really needing to do them at this stage of their career.
