Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful is reporting through his Select service that former World Heavyweight champion Seth Rollins has signed a new deal with WWE.
Rollins is one of the few individuals who had their deal running out in a matter of weeks. His wife, Becky Lynch, also has her deal coming up and before WrestleMania she said in an interview that talks didn’t start yet over a new one, although she is expected to stay.
Rollins has been part of WWE since 2010 and has worked himself into one of the leading men in the locker room and one of the faces of the company. He is currently out injured and recently underwent knee surgery so he will be out for a while.
WWE also managed to lock Drew McIntyre into a multi-year deal a few weeks ago and re-signed Cody Rhodes to a new contract over the past few months as well.
During an X Spaces session this week, Paul “Triple H” Levesque said that the location for WrestleMania 41 will be announced very soon.
It has been years since WWE took this long to announce the location of a next WrestleMania as usually it’s either announced before or during the broadcast.
But this year is the first time that the new regime will be choosing the host city and while Minneapolis was in pole position to land the show, it looks like Las Vegas is going to pull a fast one.
There are big rumors that Las Vegas and the Allegiant Stadium will be hosting next year’s Showcase of the Immortals, a decision which will surely not sit well with the powers that be who were in charge of leading the Minneapolis bid. Minneapolis was thought to be a lock and they were just waiting to make a formal announcement before Vegas came into the picture.
At this point, everything is up in the air but the longer the decision is going to take, the chances of Minneapolis getting it decreases.
Minneapolis has never held a WrestleMania while Las Vegas was the host of WrestleMania 9 back in 1993.
Trent Wilfinger, WWE’s Senior Vice President of Athlete ID & Development, has left the company after nearly three years on the job.
Wilfinger announced the news himself in a post on his LinkedIn profile, writing that after “a heck or a ride,” he’s excited to be turning the page to a new chapter.
“I will forever be grateful for my time at the WWE and all of the friends I made along the way. If you would have told younger me that one day my boss would be Triple H and that I would work closely with Shawn Michaels I would have had two words for you,” he wrote.
Wilfinger described the WWE Perfomance Center as a “special place” and a good reason why 98% of the WWE main roster goes through NXT.
“Lastly, thank you to all of the NXT Superstars. It truly was a privilege to work with you and I will forever be grateful that you let me be a small part of your journey,” he concluded.
In his role, Wilfinger lead the strategy and execution of identifying, recruiting, and developing the next generation of WWE Superstars.
Live tonight from the Washington Avenue Armory, TNA Wrestling presents Under Siege exclusively on the TNA+ streaming service. The full card is as follows:
Matt Hardy, Trent Seven, and Mike Bailey vs Moose, Brian Myers, and Eddie Edwards in a six-man tag team match; Mustafa Ali vs Ace Austin for the TNA X Division title; Dani Luna and Jody Threat vs Alisha Edwards and Masha Slamovich for the TNA Knockouts Tag Team titles; Hammerstone vs. Jake Something; Josh Alexander and Eric Young vs Steve Maclin and Frankie Kazarian; Jordynne Grace and PCO vs Steph De Lander and Kon in a mixed tag team match; and The F.B.I. featuring Guido, Zack Clayton, and Ray Jaz vs opponents to be determined in the pre-show.
Rampage, which this week aired following Dynamite, did 431,000 viewers, up 138,000 viewers from last week’s show which aired after Collision on Saturday. The show had a 0.15 rating in 18-49, an increase of 0.06 over last week and ranked #11 for the night on the chart. (Ratings credit: SpoilerTV)
Ethan Page has departed AEW and has also been removed from the AEW roster page.
The 34-year-old Ontario native has been working for AEW since 2021 and made his debut at the Revolution pay-per-view in the Face of the Revolution ladder match.
Page was part of Men of the Year with Scorpio Sky and Dan Lambert of American Top Team and later was also part of The Firm. Late last year he moved to Ring of Honor.
Page has not publicly addressed his departure from the company yet.
AEW commentator Taz revealed that doctors advised him that he needs replacement surgeries on both his shoulders and knees.
Writing on X, Taz said that he visited a highly acclaimed orthopedic surgeon to discuss his knee, which has been hurting pretty bad for a couple of years. After undergoing some x-rays, the surgeon suggested that he needs to have multiple surgeries on both his shoulders and knees.
“I am not doing this right now. I’m gonna keep trying regenerative procedures & try to suck it up dealing with the pain,” the former ECW champion wrote. He said that these injuries are not from bumps, but rather from “training too heavy like a caveman” trying to be “big,” urging today’s wrestlers to be smarter in how they train.
Dynamite on Wednesday with the return of Kenny Omega did 703,000 viewers, up 20,000 viewers from the prior week. The show had a 0.24 rating in 18-49, up 0.01 from last week and was #6 on the top 50 cable chart for the night. This was the second least-watched episode of Dynamite in 2024 but also had heavy competition from NBA and NHL playoffs. (Ratings credit: SpoilerTV)
WWE fans in some parts of Europe will be able to watch Smackdown live tonight at 7PM French time with two broadcasters making the most of the unusual start time.
While in the United States it will air on tape delay at the usual 8PM ET time slot, those in the United Kingdom and Ireland will be able to watch it on TNT Sports live at 6PM and Italian broadcaster DMAX will also air it live at 7PM.
Checking TV schedules for the German and even French broadcasters, it doesn’t seem that Smackdown will air live there.
The two-hour block of WWE programming on A&E continued on Sunday with a new episode of Rivals followed by an episode of Most Wanted Treasures.
Rivals, featuring Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Booker T, drew 283,000 viewers, down 78,000 viewers from last week’s show. This was the least-watched episode of Rivals since the Stephanie McMahon vs Brie Bella episode back in season one. The show had a 0.07 rating in 18-49, down 0.01 from last week and placed #51 on the chart.
Most Wanted Treasures with The Miz followed with 236,000 viewers, down 60,000 viewers from the last episode and the least-watched episode of the entire series. The show had a 0.06 rating in 18-49, down 0.02 from last week and placed #61 on the chart. (Ratings credit: SpoilerTV)
In a major u-turn, John Laurinaitis has now joined Vince McMahon in their fight against Janel Grant, months after his attorneys said that Laurinaitis was also a victim of McMahon.
Attorney Edward M. Brennan issued a statement on Laurinaitis’ behalf today saying, “John Laurinaitis has filed a Motion today fully joining in and adopting Vince McMahon’s motion to compel arbitration. Mr. Laurinaitis corroborates Mr. McMahon in publicly declaring that Ms. Grant’s allegations of sexual abuse and coercion in her Complaint are completely unfounded. My client will fight these false allegations together with Mr. McMahon in the proper forum, arbitration.”
McMahon’s legal team, headed by Jessica Taub Rosenberg, also issued a statement which read, “In January 2024, Ms. Grant, a 43-year-old with a law degree, who was in love with Mr. McMahon and devastated by their break-up, filed an outrageous and false lawsuit to ruin Mr. McMahon’s career and reputation. Now, her false allegations are slowly unraveling. Today, Mr. Laurinaitis’ attorney confirmed his client will corroborate Mr. McMahon’s account and expose the lies within the Complaint. Despite their intense efforts, Ms. Grant’s attorneys won’t be able to suppress the truth from coming out.”
Laurinaitis claimed in a statement filed on February 1 by the same attorney that he was not a predator, but rather a victim of McMahon just like Janel Grant.
Rather than the two turning on each other as it was looking likely, McMahon and Laurinaitis are now tag teaming to take down Grant and her accusations.
PWInsider.com is reporting that Erick Rowan has signed a new deal with WWE.
Rowan, who last appeared on WWE TV during the Bray Wyatt Smackdown tribute show, is rumored to be returning as part of the Uncle Howdy angle which WWE has been plugging via several QR codes and screen glitches over the last few weeks.
The former tag team title holder was released from WWE in April 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. He made a handful of appearances for AEW and wrestled on the indie scene under the name of Erick Redbeard.
Rowan pulled out of several indie appearances last month citing new contractual obligations which sparked rumors that he was on the way back to WWE.
Prior to his release, he had quite the ride in WWE, first debuting in FCW in 2011 and teaming up with Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper to form the Wyatt Family. He eventually left the family and along with Harper they formed the Bludgeon Brothers. Both went their separate ways after a year, with Rowan later aligning himself with Daniel Bryan and then ventured on a short single run.
Matt Hardy revealed that his brother Jeff has got the all clear to return to the ring from doctors two-and-a-half months after suffering an injury on Rampage.
Hardy was knocked out during his match against Sammy Guevara and instead of stopping the match or going straight to a pin, Guevara made things worse by giving Hardy his finisher. He was suspended a few days later for not following protocol although questions still remain why the referee did not stop the match or why doctors didn’t intervene from ringside.
“Jeff had been to his doctor and he’d seen the AEW doctor and as of right now, as of a couple of days ago, he is officially cleared,” Hardy said responding to a fan who asked how his brother is doing.
“He is cleared to wrestle and he could be competing, I guess, soon,” Matt added, noting that Jeff got a broken nose and sinuses smashed during the match.
Matt is no longer with AEW and is currently a free agent appearing on TNA Wrestling. He keeps posting on X the QR codes and WWE videos which are suggesting the return of Uncle Howdy.
London continued to make its case for a WrestleMania showing WWE how it’s done with a non-televised live event last month drawing over $1 million in gate money.
Quoting numbers from Pollstar, Brandon Thurston on Wrestlenomics wrote that the live event at The O2 Arena in London on April 19 had 16,342 tickets sold for a gate of $1,197,822.
This was the largest non-televised live event of the year so far for WWE and certainly the biggest gate for such an event.
$1 million gates are not uncommon for pay-per-views in wrestling and the occasional televised event in big markets, but a figure like that for a simple house show is very, very, very rare.
The London Mayor told the press that if he gets re-elected in this week’s elections, he will do his utmost to bring WrestleMania to the city, with Triple H replying to him inviting him to talks.
NXT had its worst number since July 2023 with night two of Spring Breakin’ drawing just 564,000 viewers, down 97,000 viewers from last week’s show. It had a 0.14 rating in 18-49, down 0.06 from the prior week and was #10 on the chart for the night. The NBA and NHL Playoffs continue to leave a mark in wrestling shows with big numbers.
The AEW World title match at Double or Nothing was made official last night on Dynamite with Swerve Strickland defending his gold against former TNT champion Christian Cage.
Cage was introduced by The Young Bucks, flanked by the rest of the Patriarchy, and before uttering a word, he hit Swerve with the mic and beat him down. After a brief comeback, Cage hit the Killswitch on Swerve and then Wayne hit Prince Nana with Wayne’s World.
This time, Cage was ready to speak and told Swerve he never forgets. He said that he didn’t forget what Strickland did to Nick Wayne last year and he didn’t forget that Strickland teamed up with Sting and Darby Allin against him at All In.
Cage lost the TNT title to Adam Copeland on March 20 in an I Quit match and has not wrestled since.
Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show yesterday, Drew McIntyre said that he was never going anywhere and his contract negotiations took long because he is in a place where he had to get things right for his family.
“I got with Nick Khan, I got with Triple H, they were so understanding and we got things right for the future,” he said. “Drew McIntyre was never going to go away from WWE and it was awesome that The Rock made that announcement, it’s the first time he’s done that for anyone on our roster.”
McIntyre’s deal with WWE was just about to expire before he signed and the news of his renewal came via a post from The Final Boss, who surprised McIntyre with a Scottish Claymore as a gift while he was out on dinner with his family.
In a post on X a few days ago, McIntyre posted a photo shaking hands with Triple H, writing that he trusted him in 2017 when he returned and he’s trusting him now to lead the evolution.
“I’m staying with @WWE for the foreseeable future..
Kenny Omega made his first AEW appearance since December of last year in the main event segment of Dynamite last night in his hometown of Winnipeg.
Omega, who’s sidelined with diverticulitis problems, talked about his health issues and how any kind of trauma to his stomach could kill him. He admitted that he stopped watching wrestling because of “shaking,” as in withdrawal symptoms, and was scared.
But then he said he watched Dynasty and that changed his outlook and made him want to come back to the ring, saying that even if there’s a 5% chance and “with a bag,” he’s promises he’s not done yet.
Omega said that since they’re on the subject of colostomy bags, he wanted to talk about the other shitbags, The Young Bucks.
His speech on The Bucks was cut short by his NJPW nemesis Okada who proclaimed himself the best. As this was going on, Jack Perry came from behind and took down Omega. Omega fought back but a chair shot to the stomach laid him out.
The Young Bucks came in and hit the EVP Trigger on him but just as Okada was going to hit the Rainmaker, FTR ran in for the save.
The save did not last long though as The Elite attacked Omega and FTR as medics were loading Omega in an ambulance.
The WWE Backlash France Store opens today in Lyon as thousands of fans from across Europe visit the city for Smackdown and Backlash this weekend.
The store is located at 19, Bis Quai Victor Augagneur, 69003 and will feature a large collection of WWE merchandise including replica championship titles, Superstar apparel, signed memorabilia, collectibles, mini-titles and more.
The WWE Backlash France Store is a Fanatics experience and will be free and open to the public.
The store is advertised to open today from Noon to 7PM, tomorrow and Satuday from 10AM to 7PM, and on Sunday from 10AM to 3PM.
Venue: Canada Life Center, Winnipeg, Manitoba, CA.
*****
To Tony Khan saying he’s producing the show from Florida. With weird music playing over it. The screen then began flickering nWo-style and cut off. We cut to The Bucks in the production truck in Canada, saying they were having problems with Tony’s connection.
They said they had iron clad contracts with a ‘Founder’s Clause’ so that’s why they weren’t fired. Their contracts also say that if Tony Khan can’t be reached, they’re in charge.
Nick pushed to the show opening.
It’s acceptable as an explanation for them not being fired. What about Perry and Okada?
*****
The announcers had almost nothing to say about this major angle. As Swerve came out. Nana dancing like a total goof as usual. In a shirt that (figuratively) said ‘I’ve been drinking pina coladas since midday.’
Swerve asked the fans what was up and said he’d defended his title three times in a week. That’s the type of champion the show and we deserve and the type he’s going to be. What AEW doesn’t need is power hungry EVP’s who think they can throw their weight around. He repeated that what they did was ‘a bitch move.’
He said that’ll be handled at some point but for now it’s time to find out who his opponent will be at DoN. He asked whoever it is to come out but wipe their feet before they enter his house.
The Bucks appeared on the screen. They said success had gone to Swerve’s head: bad-mouthing his bosses. So they’ve arranged the very best to face him. A Canadian who is one of the best of all time who hasn’t been seen in a while.
It’s Christian Cage. Swerve Bro! Fresh off losing his TNT Title he gets an AEW Title shot. Makes total sense. Cage got a decent pop since he was in Canada but not exactly anything befitting a guy going for the top title who hasn’t been seen in a couple months.
The announcers trashed him as despicable. Or not: ‘If anyone deserves a shot at the AEW Title, it is Christian Cage.’ Schiavone’s damaging his cred by the week.
Cage feigned speaking but smacked Swerve with the mic then beat him down. Nana bailed to the apron, Swerve fought back, fighting off all the goons but nearly hit Shayna so stopped short. Allowing the heels to get back on top.
Cage gave him a Killswitch then Wayne gave Nana Wayne’s World. None of this got any boos, the crowd just ‘oohed’ at things.
Cage said there’s something Swerve should know – he never forgets. He hasn’t forgotten about Swerve’s attack on Nick Wayne. He heeled on the crowd to try to get some boos. And did. He hasn’t forgotten that they used to tag (they did?) at the biggest show in the history of wrestling and Swerve lost.
Cage was getting the ‘What?’ treatment from a small section as he vowed to embarrass Swerve the way Swerve embarrassed him. Then referenced Swerve saying his daughter doesn’t know him. After Cage is done, she won’t want to know Swerve but will have a father she can look up to for the rest of his life (ie him).
He used total cheap heat about a local sports team. Then said the pain for Swerve has just begun. Luchasaurus tore a braid of hair from Swerve. There was no blood. The crowd were so angry they chanted ‘Eat it.’
Cheap heat galore; an obvious finish: the rest of this ppv better be good. Swerve’s brief promo and character work were good in the sense that he was very much a hardworking babyface champ. My disinterest aside, it wasn’t a bad angle: cheap shot from the heel, face fought back till numbers.
*****
Copeland/HOB package. Copeland came out, Malakai cut a Bond Villain promo where we could hear but not see him basically saying why would he face Copeland when he could observe him first. Buddy Matthews is Copeland’s opponent. We’re all shocked.
Adam Copeland vs Buddy Matthews (TNT Title)
Backstory: The House enacted the Cope Open rules on Collision but didn’t say which member Copeland would face
Headlock, Buddy whipped, clash of shoulders, stalemate. Lockup, headlock, Copeland whipped, clash of shoulders, stalemate. Headlock takeover from Matthews, he kipped up out of a headscissors, each swept the legs into pin attempts. To another stalemate.
Buddy waistlock, standing switch, belly to back, Buddy landed on his feet, flying headscissors, Copeland ended up outside but quickly back in to send Buddy out. Each teased dives, Copeland ole’d Buddy through the rope then hit a tope.
Ads. Nice start. Fresh match too.
Back to a Buddy draping ddt, both down. These are ‘two of the greats’ and ‘red hot’ per Schiavone. Announcer credibility is important.
Buddy stomped away in the corner to low droning boos. There were some ‘Let’s go Buddy’ chants earlier. Strange crowd so far. Snapmare, spine kick, faking another into a chin lock. Copeland rising to his feet, backing Buddy to the buckle, Buddy held on, Copeland back down to his knees.
Copeland recovered to elevate Buddy into a face-first slam before they fought on the apron. Matthews looking for a superplex to the floor. More rights exchanged until both crashed off onto the apron then the floor. That’s a nasty bump for a vet.
Aubrey at nine when wouldn’t you know it both ran back in. Amazing. Exchange of rights from their knees, Copeland trying an impaler, shoved away, Buddy elbow strike, Copeland hit back, ducked a lariat, as did Buddy, crashing cross bodies, both down.
Story here is they cannot be separated. Buddy was spitting up blood so the doc’s came in and we went to break. Honestly not sure if that’s legit after the Danielson angle. That’s why those things shouldn’t be done.
Ads.
Back to the match continuing as Schiavone said Buddy was spitting up blood but wanted to continue. So just is. Seems like AEW need new doctors.
Matthews got a Liger bomb for two. Then went upstairs where he was crotched. After a long time Buddy went for a sunset bomb, Copeland kicked him clear, Matthews popped up and went for a superplex, shoved off, tried it again, Copeland gave him an avalanche impaler which will no doubt only get two.
Yep. That’s a killer move. No-one should kick out. Looked a nasty landing on his hip for Copeland too.
The Canadian up first to a loud cheer from what’s been a quiet crowd, Buddy blocked a Spear with a series of knee strikes, jackhammer, two. Then got a crossface. For a long time. Copeland shifted weight to bag two and break the hold. Justin announced how long was left but the ref’s count smothered it. Excalibur kindly said we’d gone twenty.
Buddy sidestepped a Spear, hit a knee strike then readied a curb stomp but ran into a Spear to lose. Long, pretty slow, pretty boring, not helped by a very flat crowd. They really hammered that Matthews internal injuries meant the Spear was just too much. It’s almost like they feel they must have very long matches when they do a few angles early in the show. Two good quick ones would do just as well.
Copeland began beating on Buddy. Unjustifiably since I can’t think of the House doing much to him. Things then jumped like ten levels of intensity as he readied a conchairto. This is weird. Schiavone said this was all cause of him being misted – ‘it’s made him crazy.’ Sigh.
Speaking of HOB BS, Copeland was about to swing when the lights went out. Malakai appeared behind him and encouraged Copeland to do it. Buddy did too. The lights went out again and they left. Seems the story is Would he have done it if they hadn’t left?
Winner: Adam Copeland
Samoa Joe vs Isiah Kassidy
Backstory: Joe lost to Swerve so they gave him a squash win
So re: Christian getting a title shot, why isn’t Joe wanting a rematch? Cage could even beat him to gain credibility!
Excalibur said there are some nights he wouldn’t mind being Isiah; tonight’s not one of them. Have hammered some of the announcing tonight but that’s good stuff. So this seems heel vs heel except Joe’s no-nonsense and Isiah’s flossy so that makes Joe the face.
Crowd chanted ‘Joe’s gonna kill you.’ Schiavone said Isiah wouldn’t back down. Right as he did. Is he a heel or not? Cause heels do back down.
He messed with Joe’s towel then raked the eyes.
You could literally have heard a pin drop as Joe sold. Isiah then shrieked – loudly – while taking a bump, took a bunch of jabs, bailed outside but slipped back in to avoid a tope.
Joe then walked away from a senton to the outside. Howled laughing. Just wonderful. Must’ve sucked for Isiah though.
Kassidy got ten in the corner but tried a monkey flip and couldn’t budge the big man. Just as this was on the brink of going long, Joe turned it into a Muscle Buster. Few do squashes like Joe.
Winner: Samoa Joe
A Skye Blue promo package – padded with clips and cutaways. She challenged Willow for Rampage.
If anyone has any spare charisma or conviction, there’s a market.
*****
Orange Cassidy out. Man this crowd’s flat. Orange always gets a reaction but not here. Trent injured Chuck on Rampage or something. He thought Chuck and Trent would get it out of their system on Rampage and they’d reunite.
‘But that’s never gonna happen.’
He’s been told that ‘my best friend Chuck Taylor will never wrestle again’ after that match. He was about to talk trash at Trent when Beretta interrupted from the ramp. He said Orange is trying to make it about himself again. Orange ran at him, security intervened. The crowd went ‘meh.’ At best.
Don Callis then came out so the crowd actually made some noise. He whispered things to Cassidy who left with him. To boos. Trent was left and did Orange’s thumbs up thing. Also, a wrestler has been injured to the point of not wrestling ever again. And we just moved on.
*****
Renee with the Bucks backstage. Matt disingenuously told her she looked good and asked about the family then cut her off to imply they were looking for Kenny. Then said they’d had enough tv time and introduced Perry.
Renee asked what was going through his head last week. He said he meant what he said about only wanting what was best for AEW. And what’s best for AEW was getting rid of Tony Khan, so that’s what he did. It was a sacrifice he had to make. Tony made him the scapegoat. ‘And now we’re entering a new era under the Elite.’
Perry’s definitely improved on the mic since last summer but is still nowhere near carrying a top angle. They also still have not explained the whole ‘Scapegoat’ thing to the Dynamite audience.
Chris Jericho vs Katsuyori Shibata (FTW Title)
Backstory: Jericho called Shibata ‘dead weight’ last week
Jericho came out waving to the crowd like an oblivious heel. Then led them in a clap. He took down Shibata to cheers then waved again. Lockup, standing switches, Shibata smothering Jericho on the mat as a light ‘Learning Tree’ chant played.
Jericho got a break in the ropes. Then aimed a chop. An exchange followed until a Jericho back elbow. He lionsaulted onto Shibata’s knees. And is not remotely a heel here. Taz vowed Hook would be back when he’s cleared.
As Jericho spent ages looking under the ring. For a bin lid. He smacked it on Shibata’s head. The announcers didn’t even mention it despite his previous head injuries. Nor did he sell for long. Figured that’d be more of a thing.
Jericho then emptied a bag of hockey pucks. To a cheer. Shibata hit a flatliner onto them. Then a suplex sort of onto them but not really.
Another chop exchange which the crowd did seem to like. A very long one.
Ads. Boring and goofy.
Still more chops on our return. Forearms now in the corner from the Japanese. Jericho threw a puck to block the dropkick then swept him into the Walls. To a cheer. Shibata countered up into a figure four. Till Jericho threw a puck at his face. The crowd laughed then cheered Jericho as he stood up.
Excalibur sold this drama by asking ‘What the puck?’ He has the Bucks’ instinct for when and when not to make jokes.
Jericho then placed a trash can on Shibata and smacked him with a kendo stick. Shibata stood up and ignored the shots – because why would they hurt when you’re protected like this? – walking through them to the corner. He knocked Jericho down then landed the hanging dropkick. Two after a late cover.
Shibata’s bleeding from the face. Tony made a concussion joke.
Shibata took a kendo stick, threw one to Jericho, then sat down. Jericho joined him. They smacked each other with the sticks till a Shibata belly to back onto the pucks. Shibata got a table which got one of the biggest pops all night. He placed it in the corner then chopped Jericho toward it.
He looked for a spear but was met via codebreaker for two. Judas Effect coming, Shibata snatched him into a sleeper. Zero response from the crowd. Overhand chopping Jericho down, he then set the table up normally as Big Bill ran in with a big boot.
Then chokeslammed him through it. Jericho crawled to the pin which got another loud cheer. He’s easily the most popular performer thus far. Jericho gave Bill a nod.
Long and boring. It’s beginning to seem they gave Jericho this belt so he can use shortcuts in his matches.
Winner: Chris Jericho
They replayed Mercedes slapping Willow last week.
Then went to Renee with Willow et al. Statlander apologized and said she’d meant to defuse the situation. Willow apparently accepted this without words since they just moved on.
Willow said she’d ‘mop the floor… maim’ and ‘massacre’ Skye Blue. And she hasn’t forgotten what Mercedes did.
Stokely complained that ‘those pricks the Young Bucks’ had taken out Tony Khan so he had no-one to complain to about Skye calling him names. A stagehand brought a mobile in and Renee read a text from the Bucks – Stokely and Stat are banned from ringside for that match.
Stokely stormed off yelling ‘Aside from my own actions, what did I do to deserve this!?’ Tremendous. Stokely’s great fun.
So yeah, not great storytelling. They breezed over the slap and any tension between Willow and Stat.
Brian Cage vs Claudio Castagnoli
Backstory: Claudio lost to Swerve so they gave him a squash win
They showed a Claudio promo as he arrived earlier. Basic stuff about being consistent. The announcers put him over as hard-working.
They clubbed e/o, crowd yelled ‘meat!’
Claudio hit a big bodyslam. Then another. Then a stomp. Ten in the corner. Maybe not, Cage shoved him off to the apron. Hit a gamengiri then his out-to-in apron suplex. With ease.
Ads.
Cage hit a thrust kick and 619, discus lariat, two. Claudio hit back via springboard lariat. Running uppercut in the corner, flurry to follow, another running one, big boot, Cage hit back, Claudio blocked a pump kick, hit a thrust kick and 619 of his own.
Lariat for two. Claudio slipped off the shoulders then hit a pop-up uppercut. Taz spoiled it by insisting it was over. Swing coming, dude’s strength is never not impressive. Into the sharpshooter, dragged back middle, tap.
Props to Cage for actually tapping and not insisting on passing out like almost everyone does. Cute, fun house show match with big guys doing stuff they’re not supposed to be able to. Didn’t achieve anything though since Cage always loses.
Winner: Claudio Castagnoli
They briefly remembered to push Kenny returning. Think it had a graphic at the start of the show.
*****
Renee with Rocky Romero. He said he didn’t side with anyone in the Best Friends feud. He’s ‘done with it.’ And doing his own thing. So wants to become a champion in AEW. The only way to do that is by challenging the best… ‘Kyle O’Reilly’ (laughed harder than at that Joe step away earlier). Anyway, he challenged him for Rampage.
The stuff AEW deem a good use of tv time is strange. No Mox, no Ospreay, but plenty of time for this.
Mariah May vs Serena Deeb
Backstory: Deeb sort of – if you could hear it – challenged Storm for the title last week
This Storm’s challenger beats Mariah May thing is getting old fast. Some creativity please.
Standing switches, headlock takedown, Deeb got a headscissors to counter, back to a waistlock, standing switch as May transitioned to a wristlock, Deeb rolled through and backwards to counter then leveraged May down, she paused for the crowd to react, they made not a sound.
She trapped May in a paradise lock and had to point at her to get a reaction. Then dropkicked her in the ass. Shoulder block down, Deeb rolled behind and swept through into some sort of seesaw shoulder hold. May avoided a corner charge, big right, open hand, Deeb placed atop the buckle, headstand rana down, running shotgun.
Ads. Mariah’s rights are no joke, her and Hayter could be fun. Solid start.
Back to a Deeb corner lariat. Draping neckbreaker from the apron after begging the crowd for noise, May didn’t sell for a second as each ducked ripcord lariats, nice transitions into another neckbreaker.
Deeb ducked a lariat, hit a back elbow, rebound German, hammerlock lariat, two. May hit a kick from the apron, to the top, shotgun, hip attack coming, hit, two. Vicious running knee for the same. Mariah said it was over, Deeb countered Mayday down into an exchange of cradles for two, sweeping into a backslide for another two.
May landed a headbutt, high angle belly to back, May went for the handstand rana again, Deeb blocked and dragged her middle into a half crab. Nearly at the ropes, she was dragged back middle. In an exact copy of the previous match finish. Except that Storm threw in the towel rather than May tapping.
So… why can she do that?
They immediately put a graphic up that Deeb was facing Storm at the ppv.
Smooth and solid; very, very flat.
Winner: Serena Deeb
Renee with Copeland. She asked if he was okay. He looked unsure then said he was. Kyle O’Reilly came in to offer backup as a fellow Canadian. Copeland was appreciative then weird again then left.
*****
Justin in the ring to give Kenny more hype than they’d bothered with all night. Sadly, including something about ‘seven stars.’ The whole big intro. Schiavone’s never seen Kenny ‘have a bad match.’ Am I being too harsh here? Cause that’s just awful again. Good and bad is not the goal. Winning is. Suppose I can’t blame the guy if even the company is hyping Omega’s star ratings.
Omega was suited and booted, sunglasses. He took a mic. Crowd chanted his name. He said he’s never been good at this stuff. But was cutoff by another chant. He’s never been good at talking about injuries, sickness, weakness. He said he has diverticulitis. The doctors told him he was twenty-four hours away from dying. So he asked to be patched up and sent back to Dynamite. But the doctor said he needed surgery and if they did it now he’d need a colostomy bag, possibly forever.
And he’d have a ticking time bomb in his intestines for the rest of his life. Any trauma to the stomach could kill him. He stuttered a couple of times, getting emotional. He said he had to stop watching wrestling because his hands would shake. He was scared. He felt pathetic. Felt like a coward.
And said he thought he might have to retire. But then he finally watched Dynasty. Saw Swerve make history. Saw Danielson/Ospreay in one of greatest matches he’s ever seen. He wishes he could say he was happy watching. But his hands were shaking again and the tremors got worse. But it wasn’t because he was scared of being a wrestler.
The shaking was cause he was going through withdrawal. ‘Living is being in this ring.’ He hated feeling like he’s already been forgotten. So he promised himself and is promising fans, ‘this isn’t over until I exhaust every option.’ If there’s a ten , five or one percent chance, bag or no bag, he’s not done with us yet, he made a promise to change the world.
‘While we’re talking colostomy bags, why not talk about other shitbags (bleeped) while we’re at it?’ The Bucks have been embarrassing themselves. But they forget that there’s another EVP. So as far as he’s concerned, a part of the power in the company belongs to him.
The coin dropped. Didn’t get the reaction it might’ve.
Okada with a mic. Excalibur mentioned they’d had that seven-star match. We moved into Rampage. That’s some nice booking.
They went face to face. Again, didn’t get the reaction it might’ve. Weak ‘holy shit’ chant. Omega spoke Japanese to him. He said they had a bit of a rivalry in Japan then asked Okada to give him a couple months and they’d settle it in an AEW ring.
Okada said he’s the best bout machine now. As Jack Perry blindsided Omega. With that grin again. Okada threw a chair in as Excalibur emphasized Kenny isn’t cleared for anything. Omega ducked a Perry chair shot, jabs and knees for Perry, snapdragon, Omega stayed down holding his stomach as the crowd chanted his name.
Slow to his feet, he threw off his jacket, tore open his shirt, goodbye/goodnight, Okada grabbed his foot to stop a v trigger and Perry nailed him in the gut with a chair. Omega down, Bucks out. Much like with Khan last week, the Bucks acted like they didn’t like it.
Crowd chanted for Omega as he tried to use the Bucks to drag himself up. But ended up in EVP Trigger position. They nailed it. Then hugged Perry. Okada was readying a Rainmaker when FTR hit the scene. The idea of them and Kenny as a trio’s kinda cool.
The heels bailed as the doc’s checked on Kenny. Before loading him onto a stretcher as he groaned. The Elite attacked again as he was being loaded into an ambulance, beating down FTR then flinging him off the stretcher as Omega groaned, almost crying in pain. Great selling.
So earlier I wrote a thing which mentioned Kenny’s not a great talker. But he sure was tonight. That was a hell of a promo. Probably because he wasn’t playing a character, he was just being himself. Hard to think of a better promo in AEW this year.
And overall this was a very good angle. Perhaps didn’t do a ton for Jack Perry. And was advertised and promoted just horribly. But, fittingly in Canada, was excellently executed.
Kenny Omega’s promo, tease with Okada and the subsequent angle
Not crazy about heel authority figures but The Bucks didn’t overdo it, only appearing a few times
It wasn’t a horrible show or anything, in fact it was solid – setting up ppv matches and featuring decent action, but nor was there anything else especially good outside of the Joe and Stokely comedy spots
*****
Was there anybody out there who couldn’t predict the winner of literally every match ahead of time?
The promotion of Kenny’s return: dude’s been out for months, genuinely sick, former world champ, and got a graphic and a token mention. Why’s he back? What for? Might he have words for the Elite? What will he think of their actions last week? It’s such basic stuff
Might be alone but Christian Cage as Swerve’s opponent does nothing for me
So is Bryan Danielson just dead then? Paralysed?
Ditto Ospreay? He’s your biggest star, if a week goes by and he’s not on the show, it should matter. Mox? Mercedes?
More mist crap
The very flat crowd hurt things all night
Appreciate you reading. Hope you’re having a good week.
