AEW President Tony Khan announced that the March 13 episode of Dynamite will be named Big Business, promising an important night for AEW.
Standing backstage, Khan said, “AEW Big Business will be one of the most important nights ever in AEW and a night the entire pro wrestling industry will remember.”
The show, taking place from the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, will feature the arrival of none other than Mercedes Mone. Khan and AEW are doing the same thing for her debut like they did with CM Punk at the United Center in Chicago.
The graphic for Big Business had “Bo$$ton” in the background, clearly referring to Mone.
Mone signed a deal with AEW last month after negotiations with WWE fell in December. Mone reportedly wanted more money than WWE was willing to pay her, with rumors being that her asking price was way more than Charlotte Flair received in her latest deal which is considered one of the biggest deals for a female Superstar in the history of the company.
In a video showing The Rock arriving in a private jet in Las Vegas for tomorrow’s WrestleMania press conference, The People’s Champion had a prediction for tomorrow.
“Welcome to Vegas. I have a feeling this press conference…will be talked about…forever,” The Rock said. Before he entered the car, The Rock continued, “Signing off…long gamer!”
The Rock has often claimed that he’s a “long gamer” and wanted to do give fans something more than just a WrestleMania match. As things stand, it’s going to be The Rock vs Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40 but there have been enough hints thrown that there could be a swerve tomorrow.
Chants of “Rocky sucks” were heard on Monday Night Raw this week a fans rallied behind Cody Rhodes and his quest to finish the story at WrestleMania.
Monday Night Raw this week drew an average of 1,890,000 viewers, down 18,000 viewers from the previous show which was the fallout from the Royal Rumble.
Raw started with 1,952,000 viewers and then increased to 1,964,000 viewers for the second hour before ending the night with 1,754,000 viewers.
The show was #1, #2, and #3 in the top 50 cable chart for the night with 0.60, 0.57, and 0.57 respectively for an average of 0.58, down 0.03 from the prior week. Raw tied #1 on TV overall with The Bachelor on ABC. (Ratings credit: SpoilerTV)
It’s a big night for AEW as a loaded episode of Dynamite will include a big announcement from Tony Khan, an announcement which is rumored to be related to the arrival of Mercedes Mone.
The show is headlined by an AEW World Tag Team title match featuring Ricky Starks and Big Bill against the undefeated tag team of Sting and Darby Allin. Sting is just one month away from his last match and could walk into Revolution as a champion.
Also on the show are Swerve Strickland vs Hangman Adam Page with the winner getting an AEW World title shot at Revolution, Toni Storm vs Red Velvet, Chris Jericho vs Konosuke Takeshita, and The Blackpool Combat Club’s Jon Moxley, Bryan Danielson and Claudio Castagnoli take on CMLL’s Mistico, Volador Jr, and Hechicero in a trios match.
Dynamite will also have another overrun as announced by Khan.
The Hollywood Reporter has a story on Vince McMahon’s exit from TKO Group, revealing that it was Endeavor’s Ari Emanuel and Mark Shapiro who personally called McMahon and asked him to resign from the role of Executive Chairman after details of the Janel Grant lawsuit came out.
THR says in its report that the extreme graphic details in the lawsuit caught all TKO executives by surprise, leading the top two company execs to demand McMahon’s resignation on January 26. McMahon offered no resistance and submitted his resignation.
After McMahon resigned, TKO had the job to inform WWE’s corporate sponsors that McMahon was gone for good, a move which brought back Slim Jim as a presenting sponsor of the Royal Rumble. Slim Jim had earlier paused all their WWE commitments due to McMahon’s involvement.
McMahon is currently the subject of a federal investigation which might spell even more trouble for him. The attorney for Janel Grant said that they are not looking for a settlement and McMahon’s resignation is not enough. If this lawsuit goes to discovery, it could spell disaster for those involved, even those not named, as texts, e-mails, and other correspondence will come out in public showing who knew what was going on.
It’s soon going to be “boss time” for AEW as the TD Garden in Boston today revealed that the March 13 episode of Dynamite will take place inside their arena for what will be the debut of Mercedes Mone.
Tickets for this highly-anticipated event will go on sale on Saturday, February 10 at 10AM ET, leaving AEW just over a month to get a big crowd to witness the return of the artist formerly known as Sasha Banks.
This is the company’s second time inside the TD Garden following the Blood & Guts Dynamite which took place in July of last year. Over 8,000 tickets were sold for that show.
AEW used a similar tactic for CM Punk’s debut where they booked the United Center in Chicago and did it again for his return on the premiere of Collision.
While AEW has been suffering when it comes to ticket sales lately, the idea of Mone making her debut there is seen as big enough to justify an arena which holds 20,000 fans.
Anthem Sports & Entertainment Inc., announced today the appointment of Anthony Cicione as the President of TNA Wrestling, replacing Scott D’Amore with immediate effect.
According to a press release issued by the company, the move aims to further integrate TNA Wrestling into Anthem’s Entertainment Group, of which Cicione is the President, leveraging the entire Company’s resources to add more value in areas including production, distribution, marketing, viewership, customer acquisition, digital revenue streams, ad sales and sponsorships, digital tech operations, and more.
In addition to these duties as President of Entertainment, Cicione will now manage the day-to-day business operations for TNA Wrestling. He brings more than 30 years of executive-level management experience to the organization. Cicione has been with Anthem for the last 16 years, managing technical operations and multiple cable and digital channels. Prior to his time with Anthem, Cicione was a producer of sports content including catapulting The Score to success by bringing WWE to the channel.
In the press release, Anthem thanked Scott D’Amore for “the commitment he brought to the business, the talent, and the people who work outside the ring.”
TNA President Scott D’Amore has been fired by parent company Anthem Sports & Entertainment, sending shockwaves throughout the promotion and the wrestling industry.
D’Amore has been working for TNA Wrestling since 2003, beginning his career there as a road agent/producer and slowly climbing the ranks, occupying positions such as VP of International Relations, Head of Creative, Executive Vice President, and then promoted to President in March 2023.
His removal came to a complete shock for those within the company and it was a decision taken by the higher-ups at Anthem.
D’Amore was instrumental in keeping the company afloat as well as one of the brains behind going back to the original TNA Wrestling name.
Mercedes Mone continued the teasing on her social media accounts as her return to action gets closer and closer.
On X, Mone wrote, “Oh it feels good when executing a vision” and then she followed that up with an Instagram Story where she posted a photo of “Remember that some of the best times of your life haven’t even happened yet.”
Mone, who signed with AEW on a big, big money deal is expected to debut with the promotion next month. Tonight’s big announcement by Tony Khan is rumored to be directly connected with this, perhaps announcing the March 13 episode of Dynamite from Boston as the first hint.
The former Raw, Smackdown, and IWGP Women’s champion has not been seen on television since appearing in the stands at AEW All In in London this past August. She had been nursing a broken foot but is now good to go.
Last week’s Collision on TNT drew 404,000 viewers, up 104,000 viewers from the prior week which went head-to-head against the Royal Rumble. Collision had a 0.12 rating in 18-49, up 0.06 from the previous week. (Ratings credit: SpoilerTV)
As you noticed last night on NXT during the opening segment, a lot of muting was done on the USA Network as the crowd was chanting “F*ck you Melo” at Carmelo Hayes.
The chants continued until Hayes, now playing a major heel, said “Not yet” and left the ring.
Following the segment as NXT went to its intro with a recap from the Vengeance Day premium live event, production staff informed the crowd to stop using the F-bomb for the live broadcast as it could present problems.
The crowd largely behaved when Carmelo Hayes showed up later in the broadcast, tricking – pun intended – that Trick Williams was coming at him, something that Shawn Michaels used on Bret Hart when they were in Calgary once years after the Montreal Screwjob.
Brian Pillman’s daughter, Brittany Evans, posted on Instagram that the Pillman estate has reached a WWE Legends deal and that they finally own the rights to their father.
“I never thought I would see this day but after 27 long years, my siblings and I finally own rights to our father,” Brittany wrote, adding that new Brian Pillman merchandise will be coming soon to the WWE Shop.
“I just want to say THANK YOU to all the fans for keeping my father’s name alive, this is all because of YOU, and thanks to WWE for making this happen!”
Lexis King, one of the sons of Brian Pillman, is currently wrestling in NXT.
When AEW began they did so to general acclaim. Though go back now and you’ll see in 2019 that the referees were already made to look incompetent and there were questionable #1 contender matches (Darby Allin vs Jimmy Havoc anyone?).
But it didn’t matter.
Because the company enjoyed the fans’ goodwill. After all, a new company was bound to have some teething problems. Such as in the original rankings system. There was a belief that the company were giving their best effort to give fans what we wanted. And that any issues would be ironed out.
Zip to 2024 and the recently reintroduced rankings have within days (hours in some cases) drawn criticism from the Torch, the Observer and other prominent podcasts. Because that same goodwill has been eroded, partly by a resurgent WWE but partly by AEW themselves.
When asked why John Silver and Alex Reynolds were the number two-ranked team, Meltzer replied that it was because they’d been winning in Ring of Honor (to be clear – he was critical, he wasn’t trying to make excuses for AEW). Which is just hilarious right? Legitimately laugh-out-loud ridiculous.
Because it doesn’t make any sense.
For the same reason NCAA tournament winners aren’t guest-passed into the NBA Playoffs. But more importantly because it highlights a total lack of consistency among the rankings in general. Those two are included based on winning in a different company; no-one else is.
Current ROH Trios Champs Bullet Club Gold are included as contenders; other champions are not. That’s probably for storyline purposes. Still needs ‘splaining. Especially on week one. Similarly, maybe/probably/possibly ROH World Champion (it’s in there somewhere in that confusing mess of a Continental Crown isn’t it?) Eddie Kingston is included as a champion; BCG and Athena are not.
There’s a further list of issues as numerous as Tony Khan’s announcements.
It’s part of a trend within the company. Lack of attention to detail. A caller to the Torch who’d attended last Wednesday’s Dynamite said no-one had told fans in attendance that the opener was ‘anything goes’.
Because it wasn’t.
It was a ‘lax’ – in Excalibur’s words – rules match because the term ‘hardcore’ was reserved for the main event and presumably no-one could (or, let’s face it, probably even tried to) talk Jon Moxley out of wanting to use a pen on Jeff Hardy’s ear.
That same caller noted fans were excited to see Mox though because they hadn’t known he was going to be there.
A continuing lack of attention to detail which generally sees AEW failing to promote anything even a week ahead of time (get your tickets to Adam Copeland’s one-man show this Saturday fans – as of the last Collision, he’s speaking for two hours).
Bringing us back to further issues re: the rankings and match stipulations.
Proving Grounds matches are supposed to be capped at ten minutes. With the obligation on the champion to defeat the challenger or risk a defence. But aren’t, making them confusingly exactly the same as…
Eliminators, both of which will this week have seen winless wrestlers Bryan Keith and Red Velvet* jump the queue. With no explanation as to why.
And with Keith’s losing effort painted as a ‘career-defining performance’. The new signing would do well to speak with Darby Allin about how to go about building off a close loss to a star. Because every other example has fallen by the wayside due to, well, falling by the wayside, such as:
Dante Martin against Adam Page
Dante Martin against Adam Copeland
Lee Moriarty against Bryan Danielson
Lee Moriarty against Adam Copeland
I highlight these two because the pair’s clashes with Page and Danielson came almost exactly two years ago; their clashes with Copeland within the last two months. There’s been no progress. Because there was no follow-up. No plan. No attention to detail.
Then there are the guys who fell by the wayside after wins. Beginning with Orange Cassidy who defeated Mox at Full Gear then mostly disappeared off tv for the rest of the year.
Or Will Hobbs. Who poor Paul Wight gave his already battered body to. And must now be sorely – in every sense – regretting his decision. Or Hobbs’ teammate Takeshita, who in the past five months has beaten Kenny Omega and Darby Allin – inarguably two of the company’s top ten stars – yet finds himself no better off.
Then there’s Dante’s buddy Action Andretti.
But by far the most glaring example is Wardlow. Who finally broke away from and defeated MJF. And… creative had nothing for him. After a two-year storyline. One might consider that ample time to formulate a plan.
I’m beginning to believe some of the reported reticence to do ‘jobs’ is understandably because performers believe the momentum will be wasted anyway. Wrestler X would be well within their rights to point to any of the above examples and say, in the words of Jon Moxley, ‘I ain’t doin that shit’**.
Particularly when there are also reports of performers not knowing on a Monday whether they’re needed at a Wednesday tv. Workers struggle to find motivation when their workplace is disorganized. I’m sure we can all relate. It must be frustrating for them.
Because it’s frustrating for us too. We want things to make sense. More importantly, we want wins and losses, rules and rankings, to matter.
We’ve seen very clearly in the past week how ‘passionate’ wrestling fans can be when they are behind and believe in a performer. But the opposite is also true. Teach us it’s not worth getting attached. And we don’t.
Take Takeshita beating Darby Allin on the year’s first Dynamite. Speaking for myself, they got me. Again. So now when the Japanese presumably beats Chris Jericho, all I’m expecting is for him to disappear from tv for a month. Again.
While next time they want us to accept that the latest elongated squash has extra stakes because of the rankings, we might rightly point out that the loser might well pop-up in an Eliminator match next week anyway.
Then whenever the latest young thing goes close against a star, we’ll know it doesn’t mean anything. They’ll be doing the same thing a year later so aren’t worth getting excited about.
And that’s without getting into the similar lessons taught by the whole Devil storyline. The devil is, after all, in the details. Or not in this case. Which they’ve just zoomed on from in the hopes we’ll forget the months of tv which went into it.
Back in the day, Steve Austin had a motto: ‘DTA’. Don’t Trust Anybody. AEW’s needs to become ‘ATD’. Before fans decide they Don’t Trust AEW.
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*Yes, she won on Collision, the Eliminator match was set beforehand
**To be clear, he said this on tv about a Stadium Stampede match, not at being asked to lose
In what could be great news for AEW, it was announced that Warner Bros. Discovery, FOX, and ESPN will be joining forces for a sports streaming service, combining all the sports in their portfolio in one place.
Subscribers to the yet-to-be named service will be getting access to ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNEWS, ABC, Fox, FS1, FS2, BTN, TNT, TBS, truTV and ESPN+, potentially exposing AEW to a wider audience.
AEW has not been mentioned in any stories yet, with the NFL, NBA, NHL, NCAA, World Cup, and other sports getting the nod.
The service is set to start in fall of 2024, with WBD, FOX, and ESPN owning around 85% of the sports market in the United States.
Warner Bros. Discovery currently has the AEW media rights until the end of 2024 and are favorite to retain them after the year is over.
PWInsider.com is reporting that former NWA Women’s champion Kamille is inching closer to joining All Elite Wrestling after negotiations with WWE broke down.
Kamille was believed to be heading to WWE originally and was even offered an NXT deal but it now looks that AEW is in pole position to land the 31-year-old North Carolina native instead.
Possibly addressing WWE’s low-ball offer, Kamille wrote on X that anyone who watched NWA pay-per-views over the last year of her reign knows who they tuned in to see every time.
“I was consistently the best match of the night. Period. I feel confident in saying it because it’s simply the truth,” she wrote. “I know what star power is, I know what a good story is, and I know how to do 75% of the work for the fans before the match even begins.”
In late August, Kamille lost the NWA Women’s title following an 813-day reign.
Ava, the daughter of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has finally deactivated her X account after continuous abuse by so-called fans due to her father being involved in the main event of WrestleMania.
The NXT General Manager, real name Simone Johnson, wrote on X yesterday that she’s been receiving death threats for something that she has absolutely no control over plus nothing to do with her.
The story even received coverage on the front page of CNN.COM earlier this morning.
Fans chanted “Rocky sucks” last night on Raw as fans took Cody Rhodes’ side in this “battle.” With the situation getting slightly out of hand on different fronts, Cody wrote on X to trust him during this road to WrestleMania.
Following his medical procedure last week, Booker T provided an update on his condition during the latest episode of his weekly podcast.
Booker said that he doesn’t like to put personal stuff out in the public and if he was dying, he’d let everyone know, but he’s not dying and he is not dead yet, opting not to reveal what the procedure was.
“But it is something that’s going to keep me down for a couple of weeks. That’s the thing with me, I’m antsy,” Booker wrote. “I don’t like being down. I like being on the go, working out, that’s been my thing for forever is being able to get up in the morning, get in the gym and train. Before I go to bed at night, get in the gym and train. This last month or so, I haven’t been able to do that.”
Booker said that he’s on his way back getting to that routine and while he feels good, he’s “sore as hell.”
The WWE Hall of Famer missed Vengeance Day and the next few episodes of NXT on USA Network with Wade Barrett filling in temporarily for him.
Former WWE and Universal champion Brock Lesnar has been removed from the artwork of the WWE 2K24 40 Years of WrestleMania as the company continues to distance itself from him after his alleged involvement in the Janel Grant case which has rocked WWE.
Lesnar was one of the three center individuals who received a more prominent role on the cover along with The Undertaker and The Rock and Lesnar is now replaced by John Cena.
The 40 Years of WrestleMania cover now features John Cena, The Undertaker, The Rock, Andre The Giant, Steve Austin, Hulk Hogan, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, Becky Lynch, Roman Reigns, Bianca Belair, and Charlotte Flair.
2K already removed Lesnar from the WWE SuperCard mobile game but it’s unclear at this point if he will be completely removed from the WWE 2K24 video game.
On February 24, WWE is set to make a landmark visit to Perth, Australia, for the Elimination Chamber event, marking the last major show on the journey to WrestleMania 40.
This event, a first of its kind to be aired live from Australia, promises a thrilling lineup featuring WWE’s brightest stars as they vie for their spot at WrestleMania, alongside others aiming to progress their narratives.
Among the highlighted competitors is Rhea Ripley, the women’s world champion, who is poised to headline in her native country on what could be one of the most significant nights of her career.
The anticipation builds around who Ripley will face off against and which matches could have significant repercussions for WrestleMania 40. Here’s an early look at the predicted matchups for the Elimination Chamber.
Elimination Chamber Match for the Women’s World Championship Opportunity
Projected Entrants: Becky Lynch, Liv Morgan, Natalya, Indi Hartwell, Zoey Stark, and Shayna Baszler
With the World Heavyweight and Undisputed WWE Universal Championship scenarios almost confirmed, and Bayley opting to challenge Iyo Sky at WrestleMania 40 following her women’s Royal Rumble win, attention turns to the competition for Rhea Ripley’s Women’s World Championship.
The Elimination Chamber seems set to determine Ripley’s next challenger in a match that has no clear alternative. Becky Lynch emerges as the likely victor and the top star among the Raw women’s roster, while Natalya’s longstanding fan admiration and experience place her prominently in this specialty match. Australian native Indi Hartwell looks to make her mark in a significant match like this for the first time since being promoted to the main roster.
Liv Morgan, coming off a strong showing as the runner-up in the women’s Royal Rumble match, alongside the villainous Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark, are expected to add depth to the competition. The match appears poised to set Lynch on a path back to the WrestleMania main event spotlight.
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship: Tyler Bate and Pete Dunne vs. Judgment Day
Judgment Day, consisting of Finn Bálor and Damian Priest, have maintained their tag team championship reign against various contenders. The duo is slated to defend their titles in Perth against Tyler Bate and Pete Dunne, who secured their contender status through a series of victories on SmackDown.
The upcoming Monday’s Raw will see teams like DIY, Imperium, The Creed Brothers, and The New Day vie for a shot at Dunne and Bate at the Elimination Chamber. The focus on Dunne and the combined wrestling prowess of him and Bate positions them as formidable opponents for Bálor and Priest, promising a match that could steal the show early in the year.
Women’s World Championship: Rhea Ripley vs. Nia Jax
Rhea Ripley, having captured the Women’s World Championship from Charlotte Flair at the previous WrestleMania, has seen her prominence soar. Returning to Australia, Ripley is set to defend her title, likely in a highly anticipated main event, receiving strong support as a local hero, also the odds are in her favour at +120 according to BetMGM that is offering an enticing bonus code for the match.
The storyline positions Nia Jax, the prominent heel in the Raw women’s division, as Ripley’s challenger. Jax’s recent dominance on Raw and her career-best performances under the new creative direction make her a compelling adversary for Ripley. Despite the unlikely chance of a title change with her odds standing at +450, the match promises to be engaging, with the crowd’s enthusiasm enhancing the spectacle.
Ripley is expected to retain her championship, but Jax’s performance is sure to elevate her status in WWE.
Rampage on Friday night on TNT drew 314,000 viewers, down 68,000 viewers from the prior week and the least-watched show since December 15. Rampage had a 0.10 rating in 18-49, down 0.03 from the previous week and was #24 on the top 50 cable chart for the night. (Ratings credit: SpoilerTV)
