Athena and CM Punk advanced in the Owen Hart Cup tournament last night at the Forbidden Door pay-per-view.
Athena, the current ROH Women’s champion, beat Billie Starkz during the Zero Hour show and later in the evening, CM Punk beat Satoshi Kojima in his match to advance to the second round.
Athena will face NJPW Strong Women’s champion Willow Nightingale while Punk faces the winner of Roderick Strong vs Samoa Joe.
The tournament will finish on July 15 during Collision in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Discover the fascinating history of virtual private networks (VPNs), which have become essential for secure and reliable remote access in modern companies. In the early days of the Internet, communication over public networks had little to no protection. However, around 30 years ago, researchers developed new protocols that now serve as the foundation for secure and advanced VPN solutions. You need to know more about technology with VPN in order to understand the technical intricacies of how the service works.
History of VPN
Back in December 1993, two scientists had a groundbreaking idea: to secure unencrypted data packets on the Internet not just for confidentiality, integrity, and authentication, but for end-to-end security. This was a big deal because, at that time, very few people were thinking about securing network traffic. While their experiment, Swipe, didn’t progress very far, it paved the way for secure communication as we know it today.
Wei Xu, a security expert from Trusted Information Systems, which was later owned by Network Associates and then by McAfee, achieved impressive progress. He aimed to enhance the speed of transmitting encrypted data through T1 lines, commonly used for high-speed connections at that time. These lines accommodated up to 24 channels for data or voice and could reach a maximum speed of 1.540 Mbps. The drawback was that the DES and triple DES encryption algorithms accessible at that time were not fast enough to optimize these lines. In response, Wei Xu created a new driver that was implemented into a system solution to solve the issue.
The Naval Research Laboratory collaborated on research to enhance the security of IP packets, with funding from DARPA. This federal agency, known for its crucial role in creating the precursor to the Internet, is a well-resourced arm of the US Department of Defense.
Where do the roots of an encrypted connection come from?
Back in 1995, a group called the IPsec Working Group was formed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) to create a set of protocols that would be freely available. This resulted in the creation of IPsec, which was developed in collaboration with the National Security Agency (NSA). The team created Security Protocol Layer 3 (SP3), which was the foundation for the Network Layer Security Protocol (NLSP). Additionally, they also developed the Key Management Protocol (KMP) to manage encryption keys.
Microsoft employee Gurdeep Singh Pall created the first version of the Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) in 1996, named “Innovation of the Year” by PC Magazine. This milestone in advanced VPN products was released at the perfect time as Internet usage sharply increased for the first time in the 1990s, following its release for general use by the U.S. military in the previous decade.
PPTP – the first encryption system to establish secure tunnels over public networks like the Internet. With just the destination address and credentials, PPTP makes establishing secure connections a breeze. Though the system has evolved over the years to include additional authentication procedures, the basic foundation remains a key player in online security. Unfortunately, its use has declined since the revelation that the NSA can decrypt PPTP connections.
Why is secure technology IPsec so important?
While IKEv1 has now been surpassed by IKEv2, IPsec presents a different story. The Internet Key Exchange protocol was first introduced in 1998, followed by the release of IKEv2 7 years later. With new features like MOBIKE, it successfully eliminated many of its predecessor’s vulnerabilities.
L2TP, the Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol, was previously released to the public. It’s based on L2F from Cisco Systems and PPTP but doesn’t offer encryption. As such, it’s usually combined with IPsec.
Back in 2001, James Yonan brought OpenVPN, the first-ever free VPN protocol, into the world. With OpenVPN, users can confirm each other’s identities using shared keys, certificates, or even a combination of usernames and passwords. Meanwhile, Wireguard is slowly gaining traction despite its youth. This protocol is optimized for performance and can be used on less powerful hardware. However, it may not be the best choice for commercial settings since it currently lacks the extendability and configuration options needed for such environments.
Top IPsec and cloud VPNs solutions
If you’re looking for a VPN solution, rest assured that IPsec is widely supported across the market. It’s important to check which IPsec protocols are supported by the solution you choose, as proprietary extensions can lead to problems down the road. VeePN is one software that offers a 100% IETF specification-based IPsec protocol stack, supporting all IPsec standards as defined in the RFCs since 2002. With it, you can even Google Play change country, and even protect yourself from phishing or hacker attacks. This highly technological system provides efficient remote access and secure data transmission.
Conclusion
The Internet has come a long way since its inception. In the early days, data wasn’t encrypted and communication was vulnerable to snooping or other forms of attack. Thanks to groundbreaking research in the mid-1990s, researchers were able to develop protocols that revolutionized secure communication as we know it today, laying the foundation for what’s now known as VPN technology.
In the Forbidden Door post-show press conference, Bryan Danielson revealed he broke his right forearm with 10 minutes left into his main event match against Okada.
The injury took place when Danielson was on the receiving end of a top rope elbow from Okada and his arm was in the wrong spot to receive the move. He acknowledged that his injury meant that they had to make some on-the-fly changes to the match.
“Talking to our doctors, and I love the AEW medical staff and trainers, they think it’s going to be six to eight weeks for this specific injury.”
Danielson, who only wrestled once since March, also said that he had a torn labrum in his match against MJF at Revolution. His only other match was the Anarchy in the Arena.
Here are the results from last night’s AEWxNJPW: Forbidden Door pay-per-view which took place live from the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada.
ZERO HOUR: Swerve Strickland, Brian Cage, Toa Liona and Bishop Kaun defeated Rocky Romero, Chuck Taylor, Trent Beretta, and El Desperado; Athena defeated Billie Starkz in a first round Owen Hart Cup tournament match; El Phantasmo defeated Stu Grayson; Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi, and BUSHI defeated Kyle Fletcher, Jeff Cobb, and TJP.
PAY-PER-VIEW: MJF defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi to retain the AEW World title; CM Punk defeated Satoshi Kojima in a first round Owen Hart Cup tournament match; Orange Cassidy defeated Katsuyori Shibata, Zack Sabre Jr, and Daniel Garcia to retain the AEW International title; SANADA defeated Jack Perry to retain the IWGP Heavyweight title; The Young Bucks, Hangman Page, Eddie Kingston, and Tomohiro Ishii defeated Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, Konosuke Takeshita, and Shota Umino; Toni Storm defeated Willow Nightingale to retain the AEW Women’s title; Will Ospreay defeated Kenny Omega to become the new IWGP United States champion; Sting, Darby Allin, and Tetsuya Naito defeated Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara, and Minoru Suzuki; Bryan Danielson defeated Kazuchika Okada.
Adam Cole has been taken off from tonight’s Forbidden Door pay-per-view due to an undisclosed illness.
The announcement was made by AEW President Tony Khan who said that Cole’s match against Tom Lawlor has been canceled.
“Due to illness, @AdamColePro isn’t cleared tonight, therefore the Adam Cole vs @FilthyTomLawlor match is canceled,” Khan wrote. “Despite the change, tonight will be an amazing show! Thank you to everyone watching #ForbiddenDoor, either here live in Toronto @ScotiabankArena or on PPV tonight!”
Cole suffered his long-lasting concussion at last year’s Forbidden Door in Chicago.
We’re going to switch things up here since honestly I just don’t know enough about New Japan to grade match quality or star power. If your first thought is ‘How does that differ from your usual reviews?’, well then you got some nerve buddy. Also, you might be right.
Nonetheless.
We’ll discuss the build and also how ‘open’ the Forbidden Door is for each contest:
• Kick in the door wavin’ the 4-4
• Wide Open
• Open
• Creaking Open
• Padlocked Shut
Since that’s the whole point of the show right? We’re supposed to be shown things we never thought we’d see.
And these matches are in descending order of my personal interest.
Bryan Danielson vs Kazuchika Okada
Door rating: Kick in the door wavin’ the 4-4
This match is everything this show’s supposed to be.
Big stars and top-class wrestlers facing off in matches that might otherwise never have happened.
AEW probably throw the ‘Dream Match’ tag around too often. In fact, they don’t really do ‘less is more’ full-stop. But in this case we have a grade-one, bonafide, 5* Dream Match.
Two of the best in the world; two of the best of all-time.
And it ‘went home’ Wednesday with a nice little angle. Okada arriving to a superstar response and firing a warning shot by blasting Danielson’s teammate with a Rainmaker after the Dragon barely avoided one himself.
The only quibble is that this is such a big match that it should’ve been allowed a proper fifteen minutes all to itself. With Danielson explaining exactly why he wants it, what he’s trying to prove, who Okada is and why he’s special. Keeping the crowd waiting for the inevitable coin drop to build the drama.
Instead, the Dragon barely held the microphone, piggybacking off another segment to squeak a few words out before rushing to the angle.
Though even these minor complaints only prove the larger point. This match could’ve been set-up by Danielson crashing through a prop-wall with a sparkly helmet on, and fans would still be anticipating it like hungry dogs given steak.
In fact, if either of these top two matches aren’t on end-of-year lists, something’s gone badly wrong. With the slight caveat that Danielson, Omega and Ospreay are all apparently banged up.
When it comes to who’s winning – the Yes! man is notoriously unselfish and giving New Japan’s biggest star the win should buy AEW capital to spend elsewhere. And even build up a return overseas. Perhaps even sparking a series to rival Omega/Okada.
WINNER: Kazuchika Okada
Kenny Omega vs Will Ospreay (IWGP US Title)
Door rating: Kick in the door wavin’ the 4-4
On the subject of all-time rivalries and dream matches…
One could pretty much copy and paste the above and stick it right here. The only differences being:
• It’s not a first-time meeting
• The build on AEW tv was almost nonexistent
Regarding the former, that’s not necessarily a bad thing when the first was so critically acclaimed. On the latter, while it didn’t have a show-long build or mic time, they basically showed Ospreay being desperate to win. Willing to do anything. Whether striking from behind or aligning with Don Callis.
He wants his win back. He’s serious.
And based on the crowd response to the run-down last night, Omega’s going to be rather popular. Making for a nice atmosphere.
When it comes to a winner, this one’s tougher to predict. There’s the 2+2=5 argument: Kenny won on Ospreay’s turf so Ospreay wins on Kenny’s.
But that might be discounting All In. Where the Brit winning in front of his compatriots would be a bigger moment.
Politics being what they are, each company winning one of the ‘big two’ seems the most likely outcome. And New Japan do like to tell ‘X has never beaten Y’ stories.
WINNER: Kenny Omega
Le Suzuki Gods vs Sting, Darby Allin & Tetsuya Naito
Door rating: Wide Open
This has probably had the best build (in AEW at least) of any match on the show.
There are multiple Jericho-centric stories going on: he and Sammy bickering, he and Sting threatening a first-time singles match. And the tease of which New Japan star Sting and Darby were bringing in to extract revenge on the Ocho.
Which was nicely done, simultaneously giving viewers a reason to tune in to Collision and avoiding being smushed into an already stuffed suitcase of a Dynamite.
And Naito got a hell of a pop in Toronto, boding well for the match itself.
While the Suzuki/Jericho dynamic has been tremendous fun.
In terms of a winner, Sting doesn’t often lose. And his team emerging victorious can happen in a number of ways based on the story. Whether Jericho screws Sammy, Sammy screws Jericho or Suzuki gets tired of the BS and lays out his teammate himself.
Either way this should be a very exciting tag. Le Suzuki Gods participated in a belter of an opener at last year’s show. And both sides have a nice mix of brawling, work rate, high-spots, and vets who’ll barely have to lift a finger to spark the crowd.
Outside of Yakuza 6 I’m a Naito novice, making this even more intriguing for yours truly.
WINNER: Sting, Darby Allin & Tetsuya Naito
MJF vs Hiroshi Tanahashi (AEW Title)
Door rating: Open
This is certainly a match most wouldn’t have predicted, though the same can’t be said about the finish. Only two years in this is already a pattern – Tanahashi ‘can lose’.
Personally I’d rather they scrapped world title matches unless there’s actually a possibility of the challenger winning. Fans aren’t really tuning-in to this particular show for title changes.
And Tanahashi is probably at the stage where he’d benefit from being in a six-man to save his aching knees.
In terms of story, given MJF’s stance on New Japan it would’ve been nice if the challenger had very clearly targeted him and defended their company by threatening to take away his title.
And the twist of Adam Cole goading MJF into accepting this would’ve meant more if not already announced. Especially since this show was basically sold the moment they spoke the top two matches into existence.
Though Max’s work in this vein has been good, including last night’s declaration that he’s going on first since he neither wants to be in Canada or around any New Japan ‘stars’ any longer than absolutely necessary.
When it comes to in-ring, Max is on a streak of very good matches as champion. And while Tanahashi’s knees are obviously battered, he’s still renowned for his ability to tell a story between the ropes.
In their primes, this would’ve been the ultimate tale of flamboyant, Capital B Babyface vs despicable heel.
And could be a sleeper if both find magic. But based on last night, is more likely going to have to rely on the crowd and psychology. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Different strokes and all that.
WINNER: MJF
Young Bucks, Hangman Page, Eddie Kingston & Tomohiro Ishii vs Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, Konosuke Takeshita & Shota Umino
Door rating: Creaking Open
This is basically an AEW match. Mox mentioned Umino in passing in a promo segment covering a ton of ground. Eddie Kingston announced Tomohiro Ishii with the enthusiasm of a four-year-old forced to thank Grandma for his birthday socks.
Poor Ishii making his entrance with the crowd frothing for Okada. Another reason to have left that to breathe on its own.
Between the ropes it should be very good, we saw six of these dudes tear it up just a couple weeks back. And the new additions can all ‘go’. Indeed, one of the best things about this will be seeing Takeshita in a proper match with proper stakes at a pay-per-view.
Especially if he’s booed out of the building.
While Ishii’s renowned for the consistency of his matches. And Umino’s regarded as a good performer who’s thus far missing ‘it’.
Regarding the finish, there are a few questions to consider:
• Will Kingston be ‘heated up’ ahead of a possible ROH title rematch and participation in the G1?
• Will this be the moment AEW really get behind Takeshita, making him the decisive factor in back-to-back pay-per-views?
• How do we get from here to Blood & Guts? And how is that match made different after so many Elite/BCC battles?
If Takeshita/Callis do indeed help the heels win here, it only adds fire to Kenny Omega’s quest for vengeance. Since, with Danielson battered and bruised, it seems likely he’ll miss out on the caged insanity and Callis’ new boy can take his place.
It’s also entirely possible that Callis begins recruiting his threatened ‘family’ and they join the BCC in taking on the Elite in B&G, complete with a fifth they totally trust, Kota Ibushi.
Either way, it makes sense for the heels to win to keep the fire burning.
Take what was said in the Max/Tana section and double it, treble it, add some zeros. Since that at least features two strong names who are inarguably main eventers.
While SANADA is a classic case of using the belt to make the man.
And Perry’s so mired in the mid-card he didn’t even make the cut for Dynamite.
Meaning this one is more a vehicle to get SANADA a win on a big show. And simultaneously continue the story of Perry having promised to win a title this year, the months coming faster, and now even his former partner’s struck gold.
The pressure’s mounting.
Should be good between the ropes at least.
WINNER: SANADA
CM Punk vs Satoshi Kojima (1st Round Owen Hart Cup)
Door rating: Creaking Open
AEW might have made a mistake here.
Even a series of them.
Beginning with the fact this was just thrown out there amongst a bunch of other announcements. It’s Punk’s first singles match in ten months. Ostensibly their biggest star. And it feels like an afterthought. Certainly nothing close to special.
And there’s a ton of pressure on Chicago Phil to deliver. Against a fifty-two-year-old with a lot of miles on his body. Only added to by the heavy booing he received on Collision. The crowd in Toronto will be waiting knives drawn if this isn’t good. At the very least, Kojima will be the clear fan favorite.
Which, while it might unleash an atmosphere similar to last night’s main event, isn’t going to do Punk much good if he’s booed out of the building when he’s the only thing close to a top babyface on the new Saturday show.
This has neither the cache’ of a clash with Kenta. Or the guaranteed quality of a match with a younger Japanese talent. And doesn’t really need to be here.
WINNER: CM Punk
Adam Cole vs Filthy Tom Lawlor
Door rating: Creaking Open
To ‘thank’ Cole for goading him into his clash with Tanahashi, MJF had Lawlor attack Cole on Rampage. In keeping with his preference for hiring shooters or nutjobs to go against his future opponents.
And Tom’s fun and very creative – he has a crowd participation clap in Japan known as ‘the Filthy Clap’. Which certainly in the UK is a fun double entendre, the clap being slang for a sexual disease.
But this is not what anyone would’ve been anticipating when it was announced these companies would have a joint show. Neither is the outcome in doubt: this is purely to get Cole a win on pay-per-view ahead of the inevitable rematch with Max.
Which isn’t the worst reason in the world for a match. But isn’t the best either. Amid a mounting number of obvious finishes.
WINNER: Adam Cole
Orange Cassidy vs Katsuyori Shibata vs Zack Sabre Jr vs Daniel Garcia (International Title)
Door rating: Open
This seems like an attempt to squash wrestlers onto the show. After an overly long, slightly disappointing tag Wednesday, we’ve now seen all these guys interact. While Sabre and Shibata are two of the New Japan talents we’ve seen most on AEW tv.
If ever a title was going to transfer companies, it’d be the International. It’s in the name. And Cassidy’s situation is now verging on ‘Who the hell is he going to lose to?’ After dispatching multiple guys fans saw as legitimate threats.
And he could absolutely lose here. Or at least lose the belt. Sabre perhaps picking up the win, setting up a mano a mano rematch at All In.
To paraphrase CM Punk paraphrasing Sting, the only thing for sure about this match… is Garcia’s taking the fall. Otherwise Cassidy/Sabre straight-up, champ vs champ, would’ve made a lot more sense and been more intriguing.
WINNER: Orange Cassidy
Toni Storm vs Willow Nightingale (AEW Women’s Title)
Door rating: Padlocked Shut
Which isn’t to say the match isn’t appealing, it just isn’t ‘Forbidden’.
And after Toni’s excellent promo work Wednesday, this was set up nicely as people’s wrestler vs snob. Nightingale’s easily one of the most popular women in the division, hopefully ensuring more crowd backing than the average women’s match.
And in-ring could be excellent if it hopefully, mercifully, please…? Eschews the usual Outcast garbage making everyone look dumb but the heels. And this women’s division needs a quality match. Boy does it.
Storm’s been made to look so weak as champion, squeaking by every scrub she faces with an army of interference. That a win over a popular foe in front of a big crowd could provide a much-needed boost.
Which isn’t to say she wins clean – she can hook the tights, remove a buckle pad or whatever, but the ‘heat’ can’t be with the referee or the promotion afterward.
Unfortunately, all of the above was undercut last night by Saraya’s return and the Outcasts surrounding the ring. Partly because the fans couldn’t have cared less that she was back. The Outcasts are not remotely over because their act is so groan-inducingly repetitive.
But also because them surrounding the ring all but confirms there’ll be shenanigans in the match tonight. In fact, I had this quite near the top before all that.
Lastly, Jamie Hayter wasn’t injured as much as ‘banged up’. So could return in a post-match angle continuing the Outcasts/Originals feud into the summer.
WINNER: Toni Storm
Overall Thoughts
“This year’s Forbidden Door will be the best event either company has ever participated in.”
Said Tony Khan a few weeks back. And you’ll be shocked to hear this but Tony might’ve gotten a little carried away in one of his public proclamations. ‘Best ever’ is not an easy line to cross.
But best of the year? Yeah absolutely.
And if things weren’t already exciting enough, there’s the fabulous New Japan ring announcer to take things over the top:
‘Haaangmaaan Adaaam Pa-geeeeeeeee!’
Can’t wait.
PS It’ll be interesting to see if Jay White appears after promising never to wrestle for New Japan ever again, anywhere. Which is why so many presumed he was off to WWE. Especially after a star-making performance on Collision.
Here are the latest odds for tonight’s Forbidden Door pay-per-view. While all these numbers are accurate at the time of posting, it’s highly likely numbers will change when the show gets closer to bell time, especially in the context of the ever-evolving world of slot gacor gampang menang.
Always remember, bet responsibly.
It remains unchanged in the MJF vs Hiroshi Tanahashi match for the AEW World title and MJF remains the overwhelming favorite with 1/33 odds while Tanahashi is at 9/1.
The same can be said for the IWGP Heavyweight title match as SANADA retained his 1/33 odds against Jack Perry, who like Tanahashi, is 9/1.
The AEW Women’s title is on the line with Toni Storm battling NJPW Strong Women’s champion Willow Nightingale. Storm is favorite at 1/10 while Nightingale is 11/2 for the upset. Nightingale’s title is not on the line tonight.
Orange Cassidy is looking to extend his run as AEW International champion when he defends against Zack Saber Jr, Daniel Garcia, and Katsuyori Shibata. Cassidy is favorite to retain with 1/3 odds while the others are 7/2, 9/1, and 9/1 respectively.
The IWGP United States title looks like it will be changing hands according to bookmakers with Will Ospreay being the favorite here at 4/11 odds while reigning champion Kenny Omega is 2/1 to walk out of Toronto still with gold.
The Blackpool Combat Club and The Elite continue their feud with some added Japanese flavor this time. Moxley, Yuta, and Castagnoli will be joined by Shota Amino and Konosuke Takeshita but they are not the favorites with 6/5 odds. The Young Bucks, Hangman Page, Eddie Kingston, and Tomohiro Ishii look to be getting some revenge on the BCC with 8/13 odds.
Adam Cole will battle Tom Lawlor in a one-on-one match. This is the PPV where Cole got a major concussion last year. Cole is 1/16 overwhelming favorite while Lawlor is at 7/1.
A six-man tag match pits Sting, Darby Allin, and Tetsuya Naito taking on Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara, and Minor Suzuki. The faces are 1/5 favorites while the heels are 10/3 for the win.
The Owen Hart Cup tournament continues tonight with CM Punk taking on Satoshi Kojima. Punk is 1/25 and clear favorite while Kojima is 8/1 for the big upset.
And in what is probably the most anticipated match of this whole pay-per-view card, Kazuchika Okada will battle Bryan Danielson in a dream match for many. Okay is 1/3 favorite to slay the American Dragon who is 9/4.
Smyths Toys Superstores announced that WWE Superstar Butch will be holding a meet and greet at their London store located at the Peninsular Retail Park Bugsby’s Way on Friday, June 30 at Noon ahead of the Money In The Bank premium live event.
A limited number of tickets are available and will be distributed on first-come, first served basis and are subject to customer quotas. No personal items will be signed and there will be no direct contact with talent including handshakes. The meet and greet will allow you a photo opportunity only.
Butch, the former NXT star known as Pete Dunne, is originally from Birmingham, England, and will be one of the seven Superstars in the men’s Money In The Bank ladder match.
Live tonight from the Scotiabank Center in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, AEW and New Japan Pro-Wrestling present Forbidden Door 2023 on pay-per-view. The full card is as follows:
PAY-PER-VIEW: MJF vs Hiroshi Tanahashi for the AEW World title; Sanada vs “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry for the IWGP World Heavyweight title; Kenny Omega vs Will Ospreay for the IWGP United States Heavyweight title; Orange Cassidy vs Zack Sabre Jr vs Katsuyori Shibata vs Daniel Garcia in a four-way match for the AEW International title; Toni Storm vs Willow Nightingale for the AEW Women’s World title; Bryan Danielson vs Kazuchika Okada; Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara, and Minoru Suzuki vs Sting, Darby Allin, and a mystery partner in a six-man tag team match; Jon Moxley, Wheeler Yuta, Claudio Castagnoli, Konosuke Takeshita, and Shota Umino vs Adam Page, Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson, Eddie Kingston, and Tomohiro Ishii in a 10-man tag team match; CM Punk vs Satoshi Kojima in an Owen Hart Cup tournament first round match; Adam Cole vs Tom Lawlor.
ZERO HOUR: Athena vs Billie Starkz in an Owen Hart Cup tournament first round match in the Zero Hour show; Swerve Strickland, Toa Liona, and Kahn vs Trent Baretta, Rocky Romero, and El Desperado in a six-man tag match; TJP, Jeff Cobb, and Kyle Fletcher vs Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi, and BUSHI in a six-man tag match; and El Phantasmo vs Stu Grayson.
The Zero Hour show will start at 7PM ET and will air on AEW’s YouTube while the actual pay-per-view kicks off at 8PM on Bleacher Report in the United States and Canada and FITE TV internationally.
Former NXT star Nash Carter returned to Impact Wrestling during the latest television tapings in Atlanta under his Impact name Zachary Wentz.
Wentz, who was part of The Rascalz, moved to WWE along with Wes Lee and the two eventually won the NXT Tag Team titles, but he was released from his contract after his estranged wife Kimber Lee accused him of domestic violence and then she leaked photos of him dressed as Adolf Hitler.
WWE let him go just days after the two won the titles at Stand & Deliver last year. Several wrestlers publicly jumped to his defense and accused Lee of lying and trying to intentionally getting him fired.
Most notably, AEW World champion MJF publicly backed Wentz in February. “The fact he’s not on TV right now because a girl (who got caught lying about abuse) couldn’t handle a break up and posted a photo of him doing something in jest is wild,” MJF wrote. “The court of twitter can sometimes get dirtbags out of our industry. But the court isn’t always right.”
Wentz worked for Impact Wrestling between 2018 and 2020.
The unified WWE Women’s Tag Team champions Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler will be defending their gold against Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez at next week’s Money In The Bank premium live event in London, England.
The two faced off on Friday Night Smackdown after Morgan made her return following over a month out with a shoulder injury. Morgan and Rodriguez were Women’s Tag Team champions then but had to vacate them due to Morgan’s injury.
This is the sixth match on the Money In The Bank card but just the second title match on the whole show, along with the World Heavyweight title match between Seth Rollins and Finn Balor.
Tetsuya Naito has been revealed as Sting’s and Darby Allin’s mystery partner for tonight’s six man tag team match against Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara, and Minoru Suzuki.
Naito appeared on Collision last night after Allin told Chris Jericho someone from his past will be their tag team partner. Naito then came out for a staredown with Jericho.
The two had a match at Wrestle Kingdom 13 in 2019, with Naito defeating Jericho to win the IWGP Intercontinental title. Jericho got his revenge eventually, winning the title back from Naito at the Dominion show that same year.
Toronto has showed up for AEW as tonight’s Forbidden Door pay-per-view has added more seats and is now over 13,000 tickets sold, with the event now virtually sold out. Less than 400 tickets are now available after more sections were freed up.
This is the second Forbidden Door show to have sold out following last year’s inaugural event at the United Center in Chicago.
Collision last night at the same Scotiabank Arena had just over 6,000 tickets sold, with AEW managing to move around 3,000 tickets in the final week before the show, an impressive feat considering tickets were not doing so well.
AEW will be hanging around in Canada for a couple of more weeks, but tickets in many other locations as part of this Canadian tour aren’t doing so well. The last show in Canada will be the July 15 Collision live from Calgary.
AEW Collision tonight comes to us from the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada. After last week drawing 816,000 & 0.33 in the 18-49 demo.
*****
Straight to a pre-done promo with the main event babyfaces and heels going back and forth. Before the show had even officially started. Certainly makes it feel different. And they even had Tanahashi in the opening video so perhaps they’ll just add people each week depending on who’s appearing?
Kevin Kelly introduced the show then sent things to Tony Schiavone in the ring. To bring out Darby Allin and St… Chris Jericho’s music kicked in to interrupt. Alongside Minoru Suzuki. As the crowd loudly sang him to the ring.
And they recapped what happened between these five Wednesday. With a focus on Sammy’s reaction to Jericho and Suzuki posing together.
The Ocho told Schiavone to shut up and heeled on the crowd. Which looked about half-full at best but was enthusiastic.
Emphasizing he was not from Toronto, he and Suzuki are sick of waiting to hear who’ll be teaming with Sting and Darby.
Before admitting Sammy isn’t there since he’s ‘miffed’ about Jericho and Suzuki getting close – the pair performing an elaborate handshake routine like NBA players before a game. Though putting Sammy over as a top-class flyer.
They know that Schiavone knows who the partner is and began to threaten him until Sting’s music made the save. He and Darby joined the heels in the ring. Loud ‘whoos’ and chants of ‘Holy S’ as all four came face-to-face.
Darby first addressed Sammy at home, looking into the camera to suggest Sammy leave Jericho but if he shows up tomorrow ‘I’m gonna kick your ass, just like our tag partner kicked your (Jericho’s) ass, at the Tokyo Dome…’
Sparking loud ‘Naito’ chants in Toronto before his music hit. Suzuki laughed; Jericho looked flummoxed. As Naito emerged to a huge pop. Clad completely in white, a bit like a mafia don with a coat hanging loosely from his shoulders.
Kevin Kelly’s superb.
Naito went right to Jericho, the pair smack-talking, Jericho quickly left the ring to boos. Naito holding the ropes trying to beckon him back in as his music played once more.
Seems this might be a trend, Collision opening with a promo segment/angle rather than a match.
*****
They went to a recap of Miro’s return and win last week. Then went to a video promo.
God – ‘that coward’ – promised Miro he’d be His champion once again, all he had to do is ‘praise Him’. But ‘the Redeemer kneels before no man or god. I must walk alone. I renounce my god, my gold, my beautiful wife, because I am Miro, and I am godless’.
AEW have a nasty habit of generic promos like this because there’s no plan. Think Book of Hobbs. Is that the case here? Or will this actually go somewhere? Miro’s too popular to waste.
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Swerve Strickland
Backstory: None
Presumably they added this to sell some tickets for those already in town to see the NJPW stars.
Tanahashi out to a big response from the crowd. Kevin Kelly put him over as being able to join Omega tomorrow as the only guy to hold both the AEW and IWGP titles. He and McGuinness did an excellent job explaining why Tanahashi’s important.
And there were loud ‘Ta-na-hashi’ chants before the bell even rang.
Lockup, Tanahashi backed to the corner, rope break, lockup once more, into a headlock, Swerve again backed him to the corner, whipped him across, Tana got an elbow up, cross body, air guitar, big cheer.
To their feet, Tanahashi threw Swerve said ‘guitar’, then dropkicked him in the knee. But missed a charge in the corner, Swerve hit his handspring headscissors, sending Tanahashi outside and spoofing the air guitar to boos.
Then crotched the vet as he re-entered, smacking him with a knee and choking him as Aubrey audibly told him to stop.
‘Let’s go Ace’.
Corner once more, stiff uppercuts from the youngster to chants of Swerve’s House; Tanahashi skinned the cat to headscissors Strickland outside, then launched a basement dropkick but was caught by Swerve in the ring apron as we went to break.
Fun start with the crowd very into it.
More ‘Go Ace’ chants as he brawled with Strickland, both grabbed the hair, Swerve went back to it, Tana hit a leaping forearm, more shots to the face and body, bodyslam, to the middle rope, somersault senton, count of two from the first pin of the match.
The vet beckoning the crowd into the match, being struck via rolling flatliner, two only.
Strickland grabbed a hold, the crowd clapping Tanahashi to his feet, he rolled through into a cradle for two (bit sloppy, the crowd forgave him), inside cradle for nearly three, dragon screw, slingblade, another close call. As Kelly talked about the vet looking for momentum ahead of tomorrow’s big title match.
Tana to the top, Swerve down, High Fly Flow, Strickland got his knees up to bag two. Then retreated to the corner, beckoning Tana up, kick to the knee, heelkick to the face, Swerve to the top, Stomp missed, he sold the knee, hit with a slingblade, Tana upstairs once more, crowd beckoning as he slipped and almost fell.
Strickland joined him upstairs, Tanahashi fought him off, regained his balance, High Fly Flow, 1, 2, 3. Very quick thinking from Strickland to mitigate that brief mistake.
*****
As the vet was celebrating, his music playing, MJF’s interrupted. Though he only appeared on the screen, since Tanahashi wasn’t worth him appearing in-person. Before promising to embarrass Tanahashi. And Tony Khan’s promised him they’ll be on first tomorrow since Max doesn’t want to spend any more time in Canada than he has to. Or watch the rest of the card with all the New Japan guys on it.
‘With all due respect, ‘’Ace’’, you are not on the level of the Devil’.
Max’s use of ‘no offense’ and ‘all due respect’ are perfect. Simple yet effective.
It’s a little sad to see Tanahashi so obviously pained by his knees. Even with a language barrier the guy’s superb at working a crowd but can barely run. Meaning this was fun but had a couple moments where most guys would’ve received ‘you F’d up’ chants.
Raising the question of whether it was the best idea to have him wrestle back-to-back nights? Suppose they can play that into the story when he loses.
Winner: Hiroshi Tanahashi
They again pushed the main event then the next match. Certainly the show is much easier to take in – and cover – than Dynamite. They take time to push matches and allow segments to settle.
Perhaps if it proves effective, they’ll slow things down a little on Wednesdays too.
Andrade El Idolo vs Brody King
Backstory: the HOB attacked Andrade last week after he beat Buddy Matthews
Brody came out with Julia but left the others behind. Dasha’s announcing of Andrade continues to be phenomenal. As is his theme.
His pec taped this week as he received another great response from the crowd and the commentators explained the exact injury and what the tape did.
Stiff headlock, El Idolo tried to knock Brody down, no dice, he tried another tactic by sliding under and going after the knees. Keeping the big man at bay with knee strikes then hitting an over-the-shoulder hurracanrana from the middle rope.
He again landed in his pose between the middle and top after being whipped into the ropes, though did sell the pec. Before the two battled on the apron until Brody was sent into the ringpost, falling to the floor and being hit with a moonsault from the top to the outside.
(Andrade banged his head hard against the barricade on landing. Amazing reaction to the moonsault from one of the fans. For once it did not seem a fake attempt to get themselves on tv by doing a ‘shocked’ face.)
But only got a one-count after rushing the big man back inside. Then went after the knees once more, hit a series of chops, but was sat on the top rope and chopped right on the injured pec, sending him plummeting to ringside to bring the break.
Superb so far.
The big man was on top as we came back, smacking the injured pec with more chops and generally targeting the injury. Chest red, El Idolo fought back, chops and strikes, until being dumped onto the apron and smacked across the chest Seamus style.
On noting the crowd chanting along, Brody stopped. Good man, now that’s a heel.
Andrade snapped Brody across the top rope, slipped back inside, dropkick to the knee, King slumping in the corner but sending Andrade back to the apron, where he snapped King’s leg across the middle rope via dragon screw.
Then headed upstairs: cross body, another dragon screw, flying forearm, both down, Andrade kipping up, King landing elbow strikes but smacked with a lariat in the corner then just absolutely drilled with a running double-knee strike for two.
Both guys grabbing a breath after a rapid match so far, the crowd clapping in support.
Brody backed Andrade to the corner, hit a discus punch, hauling Andrade onto his shoulders to hit a running DVD corner-to-corner, dumping Andrade headfirst against the bottom buckle. Just brutal.
And he wasn’t done. Cannonball in the corner, his knee then buckled again looking for a powerbomb, Andrade slipped behind, figure four applied, Julia to the apron holding Andrade’s mask.
Thankfully, it didn’t work, Andrade ducking a discus punch, landing a big elbow strike, Figure Four hooked once more, bridge into the Eight, as Buddy Matthews flew in to attack before King tapped. The HOB pair destroyed Andrade, finishing with Dante’s Inferno.
To heavy boos.
Julia held the mask up, the lights went out like they do every week.
Really like the selling of the injury which kept Andrade out for so long. And both matches so far have been excellent.
He’s now beaten the others, is a dodo-rare singles match with Malakai next?
Winner: Andrade El Idolo by DQ
Schiavone in the ring once more. To bring out Christian and Luchasaurus. Cage again held the title, walking ahead of Saurus as they recapped how Christian helped his man win last week.
Cage said he was in a bad mood after leaving the show last week. And now he’s in a worse mood because ‘this city breeds losers’. Then began heeling on the Maple Leafs and went on about Kawhi Leonard being the only reason the Raptors won. Must be fun if you’re in the crowd. Boring and generic if not.
He’s ending the open challenge, you have to earn a title shot now, ‘the same way that I did’. That’s a great heel line. Though the rest makes him a total babyface to me.
He made a brief Cody reference before promising to make the TNT title the most prestigious title in the company and to remain the face of the network. Simple but effective in that everything he said could’ve been said by a babyface. But is totally disingenuous.
Luchasaurus again held him on his shoulders as Cage held the title aloft. Can see where this is going…
*****
Satoshi Kojima promo promising to ‘flatten’ Punk and win the whole tournament. ‘I will kick your ass’.
Punk cut a very humble, very babyface promo saying what an honor it is to face a guy like Kojima and rep Owen. Then threatened to ‘bite his f****** ears off’ if that’s what it took.
All of the other six guys cut brief promos to varying degrees of quality. Yes they’re in Canada, but this feels crammed in alongside Forbidden Door and that stupid Blind Tag tournament.
They then recapped Skye Blue defeating Anna Jay on Rampage.
Nyla Rose vs Willow Nightingale (1st Round Owen Hart Cup)
Backstory: Winner faces Athena or Billy Starkz in Round Two
Willow came out to a nice response from the crowd with her New Japan Strong title.
Chants of ‘Willow’ as the pair locked-up. Stalemate. Try again, Willow backed to the corner, ducking a Nyla splash, knocking Rose over via shoulder charge but drop toe hold-ed when she ran in again.
As Nyla got two via magistral. Then took Willow to the corner, until she cartwheeled free, hit an enziguri and big chop in the corner. The crowd quiet outside of big spots.
Test of strength. Nyla wrestled into a roll-up to bag two. Willow fired back via shotgun dropkick; Rose bailed outside. Marina Shafir blocked Willow from getting to Nyla. Allowing the latter to hurl Willow into the ringpost and call her a ‘Mooselicker’. Suppose it could’ve been ‘Mousse-licker’, cause who doesn’t like mousse?
Break time. Not much to it so far.
Bodyslam from Nyla, legdrop missed, Willow got a boot up, fired shots, avoided a rushing Rose, hit a splash in the corner, snapmare, shotgun dropkick from the middle. Count of two. Nice flurry.
She looked for Dr Bomb but couldn’t get it due to the injury to her shoulder after being flung into the post earlier. Nyla took her to the corner to launch shots then look for an avalanche powerbomb.
Willow slipped free but was beaten back down with fists and knees, until pouncing Nyla across the ring then hauling her into Dr Bomb for the win and a big pop at both the feat of strength and the finish.
Between being a New Japan champ and facing Toni tomorrow, there was no doubting the winner. A plodding match that went a few minutes too long.
Saraya’s back as the Outcasts surrounded the ring. Not that you’d know it since the three got zero reaction. Skye Blue flew down with a chair and the heels backed down.
Relative to tv time, there is not an act in the entire company who get less response than the Outcasts. Not surprising given the monotonous interference.
Winner: Willow Nightingale
Scorpio Sky backstage with Lexi. When he finally got his big break in AEW, he wasn’t ready. But now he is, running through all of his credentials despite having been a ‘shadow of my true self’. But now, he’s back and ready to reach his true potential. Before doing the cool finger snap/lights out thing.
I really like Scorpio. This was good. But as with Miro, it was generic. Is there a story or plan behind it? If not, it’s all for nought.
Powerhouse Hobbs vs Jeremy Prophet
Backstory: None
Prophet was crushed against the ropes before/as the bell rang. The announcers really put Hobbs over as an incredible athlete, a big man who moves like a cruiser.
Prophet tried a roll-up, only irritating Starks, who just murdered him with a lariat then finished him via spinebuster. Town Bidness not needed.
Hobbs should be the winner of the Owen Cup for my money.
Winner: Powerhouse Hobbs
CM Punk, FTR & Ricky Starks vs Bullet Club Gold & the Gunns
Backstory: The heels have each helped the other win recently and were beating down Starks until FTR & Punk helped out & Punk made this challenge
The warnings were there when they ran through the ppv line-up, Punk was booed, Omega/Ospreay given the loudest cheer.
And Bullet Club got a healthy pop as they came out. While the Gunns got no response since they’re still barely established.
All leading to a flood of boos as Cult of Personality hit – forcing Kelly to announce that ‘We’re not in Chicago anymore’ – despite Starks and FTR receiving healthy cheers. Punk did have his fans too but the boos outweighed the cheers, the crowd duelling between ‘CM Punk’ chants and very loud boos.
He kicked things off this week. Demanding White as the two warily circled one another and White told Punk he was in his head before tagging Juice. Who got loud ‘Juice’ chants from the fans in Canada.
The two worked an arm wringer, to more duelling chants: Punk on top, tag to Dax. Who ran through Robinson via shoulder block, drop down, bodyslam, side headlock. Until Juice got back on top via senton to bag a one-count.
Austin in, jabs in the corner, Dax chopped him into next week, suplex, knee drop, not even one. Cash in via blind tag, dropkicking Colten off the apron, uppercut to Austin, stiff chop, Starks in to the biggest pop any ‘babyface’ has got so far.
Right to his ropewalk prance (I despise this, he does it without wearing his opponent down a jot). But then being slugged by Austin, tag to White, who begged off and demanded Punk. More boos as he entered.
The two circled once more, stiff lockup, to the corner, neither letting go, Punk firing shots to the gut, booed, White turning the tables to launch chops to a loud cheer. Punk fought back to launch ten in the corner which fans did count along with, hooking White into GTS, White slipped out thinking Bladerunner as both avoided the other’s finish.
The pair spilling outside, bringing all eight together, the ref stepping in as the ads arrived.
Fun start. As expected, this Punk/Elite thing is going to continue dividing fans for a while yet. It’ll be interesting to see what happens when we reach some neutral territory.
Harwood superplexed Robinson as we returned, tag to Cash, domesday device, White made the save at two. Robinson hit a chinbreaker, Colten in, snatched up by Cash and see-sawed into the buckle, duck under, roll-up, two. Straight back up, Cash whacked Colten down with a chop, tag to Punk, more heavy boos as he hit an elbow strike/backbreaker Demolition combo on his way in.
Kelly proclaiming this crowd would likely cheer Kojima tomorrow. The announcers generally trying to do the Cena – ‘well he gets a reaction’ thing.
Punk played the heel: arrogant covers as he bagged a pair of twos on Colten. Whip reversed, he was smashed via lariat to a big cheer. Austin in, stomping a mudhole, more cheers, Punk down in the corner as White choked him behind the ref’s back.
White in now, very stiff chops in the heels’ corner, he caught a kick and hit a dragon screw before tagging Robinson back in. As they continued working over Punk in their corner via elbows to the inside of the knee.
More quick tags from the heels as a Punk chant started and was quickly booed down. He and Austin fighting, Punk dragged back to the wrong corner once more, White stomping him down as the other heels took cheap shots behind the ref’s back.
More ads.
White set Punk atop the buckle, talking smack until having his eyes gouged, more loud boos, Punk collected himself, diving cross body, clutching his ribs as he reached for the tag. White doing everything to block the tag, yay/boo chops and strikes, White being cheered of course, as he again cut off the tag until being swept into the corner and smacked with the step-up knee.
Punk slumping though, exhausted, unable to get the tag. Until hitting a spinning neckbreaker, the other heels knocking Punk’s teammates off the apron, Robinson in, looking for GTS, Punk landed on his feet, the crowd disappointed.
The Gunns in and quickly shaken off, tag to Starks, big cheer as he fired shots and ddts, chants of ‘Ricky’, slam to Colten, tornado ddt to Austin, two only.
He hooked Roshambeaux, the heels again flew in, a brawl breaking out, leaving Starks and Austin as BCG got rid of FTR outside. Starks dumped White via blue thunder bomb. For another count of two.
White slipped under a lariat to bag two with the tights gripped, searching for the Bladerunner, Starks hit a brainbuster. Juice broke up the pin, was smacked and piledriven by Dax, taken out by the Gunns, sent outside by Cash, the crowd hot, the atmosphere leading to Cash almost killing himself on a dive by overshooting.
Punk off the top, spiked via White uranage, another for Starks, 2.9. Bladerunner ready, Starks rolled through, kickout, Starks up to hit a Spear, ones for the Gunns too until being whipped into a Juice Left Hand of God and spiked via Bladerunner to win.
Smart to have White win. Not only was he unquestionably the star of a top-class match, but having Punk win here would not have helped things one bit (with fans). The heels worked exceptionally well together and if they’ll actually bother to properly establish the Gunns, could be a good unit. Even if the whole Bullet Club thing is a little past it.
The faces regrouped in the aisle, staring down the heels as White’s music played and the Gunns presumably joined Bullet Club via hand signal.
This was seemingly another feature of the show – a long main event through two ad breaks.
This one a lot better than last week. Faster, a little more storytelling with White and Punk playing head games. White was superb here. And it appears he’ll be Punk’s first feud. Not before time.
A bunch of stuff on the ‘Zero Hour’, all announced during the main event
Next Collision:
MJF’s Collision in-ring debut
Roderick Strong vs Samoa Joe (Owen Cup)
Dustin Rhodes vs Will Hobbs (‘’)
Ricky Starks vs Juice Robinson (‘’)
Thumbs Up/Down
Ricky Starks getting the rub from Punk and co. At least until eating the pin
Andrade vs Brody
The slower pace of the show allowing things to sink in
Jay White was easily the best thing on this show, his mannerisms, heel work and in-ring combining with his bagging the win in the main event to hopefully, finally, propel him into a position that matters
The main event itself
Commentary and overall different feel of the show
*****
Long term hooks and stories? They seem to be just surviving week-to-week. They did subtly setup Punk/White in the main event but not outwardly enough that it’s an obvious program. And all of next week’s matches are tournament ones
Generic follow-up on guys they should be building – Scorpio Sky, Miro… Maybe I’ll be proven wrong and they have stories ready to go, but the company’s track record doesn’t inspire confidence
Swerve is becoming a guy who appears only to put others over. AEW might regret this when his contract is up and HHH comes calling again
Wardlow?
Appreciate you reading. Enjoy the rest of the weekend.
Forbidden Door is just over 24 hours away and today we will take a look at the early odds for the top matches from this packed card.
Tomorrow, just hours before the pay-per-view, we will present you with the updated odds but in the meantime, you can also check out other kind of fighting, e-sabong!
MJF defends his AEW World title against NJPW’s Hiroshi Tanahashi and just like last year, Tanahashi is the underdog with MJF the clear favorite to retain the title with his odds of 1/33 against those of the Japanese star at 9/1.
The story is the same when it comes to the IWGP Heavyweight title, with SANADA the clear favorite and same 1/33 odds against “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry who is also at 9/1.
The IWGP United States title will be on the line as champion Kenny Omega defends against Will Ospreay. Ospreay is actually the favorite walking into the match with his odds of 4/11 while that of The Elite member is 2/1 to retain.
And in a match many years in the making, Kazuchika Okada takes on Bryan Danielson in a dream match. Okada is the favorite right now with odds of 1/3 while those of Bryan are at 9/4.
Tune in tomorrow to check out the rest of the odds.
Impact Wrestling announced that its flagship weekly show Impact has been made available on Sky UK via DAZN’s linear TV channel, DAZN 1 HD.
Impact is televised on Friday evenings at 23:00 BST on DAZN 1 HD, channel 429 (check weekly listings).
DAZN HD 1 was launched on Sky UK on March 23 this year and features premier boxing and combat sports, women’s football, eSports, extreme sports and compelling sports documentaries.
The televising of Impact on DAZN 1 HD is part of a broader agreement between Anthem Sports Group and DAZN announced in November 2022.
“The UK fans have been among the most dedicated and passionate IMPACT Wrestling fans throughout our history. They have been clamoring for a return of Impact programming to TV, so we are very pleased to be on such an outstanding TV outlet as Sky UK via DAZN 1 HD,” said Scott D’Amore, President of IMPACT Wrestling. “We thank our partner, DAZN, and look forward bringing IMPACT Wrestling live to the UK very soon.”
DAZN 1 HD will also televise other IMPACT Wrestling programming across the UK and Ireland, including monthly specials, original shows and series, and additional content from IMPACT’s 5,000+ hour library.
Brandon Thurston from Wrestlenomics is reporting that the Tuesday match on NXT between Seth Rollins and Bron Breakker for the World Heavyweight title peaked at 950,000 viewers, a figure which is very, very rarely seen for NXT.
Rollins’ appearance also came with a bigger jump in ratings and NXT ended up #2 on the night in top 50 cable chart among the 18-49 demographic, a ranking which they haven’t been able to achieve before.
WWE is looking to start putting more main roster stars on NXT in the coming months with the aim of spiking up the television numbers for the brand. Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler are likely to appear soon on the show to defend their newly unified WWE Women’s Tag Team titles and there are rumors that there’s also a plan for Roman Reigns to appear once on the show.
Reigns is a former NXT star from 2012 and is also a former FCW Tag Team champion with Tyler Breeze, although he was a champion just before FCW was rebranded to NXT.
John Morrison is back on AEW television, now referring himself as Johnny TV.
The former Impact World champion came out under a mask and attacked Billy Gunn after Gunn and The Acclaimed were celebrating their win.
The man of many last names then celebrated with Aaron Solo and QT Marshall, seemingly joining their faction.
Morrison appeared for AEW a few times last year under the name Johnny Elite and even participated in the Owen Hart Cup tournament, although he lost in the first round against Samoa Joe.
Liv Morgan made her return yesterday after Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler became the unified WWE Women’s Tag Team champions.
Following their victory, Morgan’s tag team partner Raquel Rodriguez came out and informed the champs that they wanted a rematch for the titles that they never lost. Baszler wondered who “they” are as Raquel was there alone.
Cue in Liv Morgan’s music, who came out to a big pop from the crowd. Both teams then went face-to-face until the champions backed away.
Morgan was injured earlier last month with a torn shoulder and had to surrender the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles with Rodriguez. A tournament was then held to crown new champions, with Rousey and Baszler winning them.
Morgan beat Rousey for the Smackdown Women’s title during last year’s Money In The Bank when she cashed in her briefcase shortly after winning it.
Not that the result was ever in any doubt, but Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler defeated Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre last night on Smackdown to become the unified WWE Women’s Tag Team champions.
The loss for Dawn and Fyre effectively ends their reign as NXT Women’s Tag Team champions at 83 days, having won them at the Stand & Deliver show in Los Angeles on April 1. The NXT Women’s Tag Team titles are also now retired completely.
Rousey and Baszler are now 26 days into their reign as champions, winning the vacant titles on the May 29 episode of Raw. This is Rousey’s first run with these titles and Baszler’s third, having won it twice with Nia Jax previously.
