WWE and ESPN announced the 16 nominees for the Best WWE Moment ESPY Award of the past year.
For the past two ESPYs, WWE has been a part of the award ceremony which airs live on ABC. Roman Reigns returning from leukemia won the 2019 award while Sasha Banks vs Bianca Belair WrestleMania main event won the 2021 award.
This year’s awards, which celebrate the greatest moments and achievements in sports over the last year, will be held on Wednesday, July 20 and the show airs live at 8PM ET. Voting begins today and will conclude on July 8 as it moves through brackets in an elimination tournament.
The left side of the bracket has Brock Lesnar wins men’s Royal Rumble vs Bianca Belair wins Raw Women’s title at WrestleMania 38; John Cena returns at Money in the Bank 2021 vs Ronda Rousey wins women’s Royal Rumble; WWE welcomes back live crowds in July vs Steve Austin stunning Vince McMahon, Austin Theory, and Pat McAfee at WrestleMania 38; and Roman Reigns wins the Undisputed WWE Universal title at WrestleMania 38 vs Cody Rhodes returns at WrestleMania 38.
The right side of the bracket has Big E cashes in the Money in the Bank briefcase to win WWE title vs The Miz turns against Logan Paul at WrestleMania 38; Becky Lynch returns at SummerSlam vs The Undertaker gets inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame; Edge defeats Seth Rollins inside Hell in a Cell at Crown Jewel vs Wee Man bodyslams Sami Zayn at WrestleMania 38; Brock Lesnar returns at SummerSlam vs Steve Austin returns to the ring at WrestleMania 38.
The women’s Money In The Bank ladder match has been completed with Becky Lynch being the last one to qualify during Raw last night.
Becky beat Nikki A.S.H., Xia Li, Shayna Baszler, Tamina, and Doudrop in an elimination match in the main event of Raw to become the final competitor of the match.
The WWE social media team tweeted that there were two spots left in the match, suggesting that there were eight participants in the match but the graphic on Raw only showed seven participants. WWE has never done a MITB ladder match with seven participants as it’s usually always an even number.
Meanwhile, Riddle also qualified for the match after winning a battle royal which opened Monday Night Raw. Riddle eliminated The Miz last to earn his spot.
A planned Kevin Owens vs Ezekiel/Elias/Elrod match did not take place as advertised as Owens was not at Raw. With one show left before the event it looks like the final qualifier takes place this Friday night on Smackdown.
Friday Night Smackdown last week pulled in 2,231,000 viewers, down 176,000 viewers from last week’s high. Smackdown’s main competition was the Stanley Cup Final which did 5.1 million viewers on ABC.
In the 18-49 demo, Smackdown did a 0.53 and was #3 for the night, down 0.09 from last week’s show. In the overnight ratings, Smackdown had 2,073,000 viewers in the first hour and 2,161,000 viewers in the second hour. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
AEW will be featured in the upcoming San Diego Comic-Con as part of Warner Bros. Discovery’s presentation.
The Q&A panel titled AEW: Heroes & Villains will feature a conversation with AEW stars CM Punk, Jade Cargill, Darby Allin, Orange Cassidy and Bryan Danielson, and will be moderated by AEW commentator Excalibur.
This discussion will dig into the heroes, villains, and championship quests through the eyes of the five panelists.
The Comic-Con will take place from the San Diego Convention Center from Thursday, July 21, through Sunday, July 24.
There was no date announced when the AEW panel will be taking place but more info will be listed at www.comic-con.org.
John Cena was the focal point of last night’s Raw as the company celebrated his 20 year anniversary in WWE.
The 16-time world champion appeared in several backstage segments throughout the broadcast before making his way out to the ring, introduced by none other than Vince McMahon.
With WWE Superstars lined up on each side of the aisle, the leader of the Cenation came out and said that tonight was not about him and celebrating, but tonight was about the fans and what’s next.
Cena thanked the thousands in the arena and the millions at home for allowing him do this for two decades. Cena credited the fans for telling him when he sucked and were kind enough to tell him when he didn’t.
“I’ve always wanted to say thank you, I guess I was just waiting for the right moment, and this right now feels like that right moment,” an emotional Cena said.
As fans chanted “Thank you Cena,” he said that his heart was beating out of his chest and he needed to say thank you to the fans for making him who he is.
He said that the WWE fans made him a better human being, a better professional, a better husband, and a better person.
“Being in the WWE and spending moments with the families I’ve spent today have thought me everything. It thought me caring, it thought me kindness, you guys sure as well thought me humility, and you thought me perseverance,” Cena continued.
“I’m 45 years old,” Cena said, “And I always say you don’t know when you’re going to see me in the ring again. I’m not saying you won’t, I just don’t know when that’s gonna be. So I need to say this now. It ain’t just going to be one, don’t worry about that!”
Cena concluded, “We never give up, we’re just getting started, and if you want some, come get some!”
John then gave his armbands, shirt, and cap to fans and then posed for some photos before saying thank you again and going to the back.
AEW stars Chris Jericho, Bryan Danielson, and Paul Wight all appeared on Monday Night Raw yesterday in video messages congratulating John Cena on his 20-year career in WWE.
Wight’s video aired first and he was listed as The Big Show. Danielson’s video came after and again he was listed under his WWE name of Daniel Bryan, and then Chris Jericho’s video aired later. Jericho’s appearance got the biggest pop out of all the three.
Others who taped messages were Shawn Michaels, Kurt Angle, Booker T, Trish Stratus, Randy Orton, Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, and Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Last week WWE allowed AJ Styles to appear via video on the Slammiversary pay-per-view to celebrate Impact’s 20th year.
Raw opens with the arrival earlier of John Cena who is being greeted by the superstars and staff.
In the ring, Dolph Ziggler, Shanky, T- Bar, Ricochet, Ciampa, AJ Styles, The Miz, R-Truth, Rey Mysterio, Dominik Mysterio, Shinsuke Nakamura, Riddle, Reggie, Jinder Mahal, Mustafa Ali, Akira Tozawa, Veer Mahaan, and Shelton Benjamin are ready for the last chance Money in the Bank spot.
Tozawa out first by Veer Mahaan. Shelton Benjamin next one eliminated by Veer Mahaan. After being knocked down by Ali and getting a double 619 from the Mysterios, Veer Mahaan is eliminated by Mustafa Ali and the Mysterios.
R-Truth is eliminated by Shanky and Jinder Mahal. Shanky then eliminated by Jinder Mahal. Jinder Mahal, while yelling at Shanky, gets clotheslined over the top rope and eliminated by AJ Styles.
Reggie is eliminated by T-Bar after being pressed above T-Bar’s head and launched onto Shanky and Mahal on the floor. Ciampa is eliminated by AJ Styles after being suplexed onto the outside of the ring apron and shoved into the corner post and fell to the floor.
Dominik Mysterio is eliminated after trying to clothesline Dolph Ziggler out of the ring, but Dolph held on, and Dominik’s momentum carried him over the ropes to the floor. Rey Mysterio is eliminated next by The Miz and Dolph Ziggler. All three men were on the ring apron at the time, but Dolph hit the superkick and both he and the Miz shoved Rey off the apron and were able to get back in the ring.
Ricochet eliminates T-Bar after a great set on the ring apron which saw T-Bar shove Ricochet off the ring apron, but Ricochet grabbed the ladder at ringside. After Ricochet jumped back on the apron, he was able to knock T-Bar off with a leg scissors hurricanrana maneuver.
The Miz looks he hurt his knee and rolls out of the ring. Dolph Ziggler is eliminated by Shinsuke Nakamura. Nakamura is next to be eliminated by Riddle. Ricochet is eliminated by AJ Styles.
AJ Styles is eliminated by The Miz who scoops him off his feet while he was on the apron after being thrown over by Riddle going for a phenomenal forearm.
The Miz gets back in the ring and gives a goofy look to AJ. Down to The Miz and Riddle.
Riddle goes for an RKO but Miz ducks and hits the Skull Crushing Finale. Riddle against the ropes, Miz runs to clothesline him over but Riddle jumps and leg scissors Miz. Both men over the rope, The Miz fights free and runs at Riddle, Riddle hits the RKO on the ring apron as the Miz falls to the floor.
Winner: Riddle
In the back, the Street Profits are getting advice from John Cena.
In the back, an interview is shown with Riddle and Kevin Patrick and Riddle is excited to be going to the Money in the Bank match.
Jey Uso VS. Montez Ford
Winner picks the stipulation for the title match at MITB PPV.
After a few near falls for both men, Ford hits the high frog splash and scores the pin.
Winner: Montez Ford
In the back, the Judgement Day is talking to the Mysterios and suggest Rey is a bad father and Rey challenges them next week.
Superstars including Stone Cold Steve Austin, Mr. McMahon, Cody Rhodes said kind words about John Cena and his 20 years.
Back in the ring, Kevin Patrick introduces the Miz. Patrick says Logan Paul is training for a return to the ring and The Miz says he and Paul are going to team up and continue their winning ways at Summer Slam.
They show the package where The Miz attacked Paul after their win at WrestleMania. The Miz says he is the biggest full-time performer in the WWE and will be on the Today Show. He said he went up to Paul after the match and told him that was a teaching moment and one day, he and Paul will one day be the Undisputed WWE Tag Team champions.
Patrick then asked about the disappointment in losing the battle royal, The Miz then said the only thing that is disappointing is AJ Styles whose career is in a downward spiral. AJ Styles comes out and hits The Miz.
The Miz VS. AJ Styles
After a great back and forth match, AJ goes for a phenomenal forearm but the Miz rolls out of the ring and heads to the back.
Winner by count-out: AJ Styles
In the back, Ezekiel is talking to John Cena and says Elias is showing around their other brother Erod. As Ezekiel leaves, Cena turns around and Theory is there and says they will celebrate you tonight; but they should be celebrating me. After running his mouth, Theory says he needs to capture this and as he goes to take a selfie but Cena walks away.
Kurt Angle, Stephanie McMahon, Randy Orton, JBL, Chris Jericho and Stone Cold again wish John Cena congratulations and some memories were shared.
Bianca Belair is in the ring with Kevin Patrick. Bianca wants Carmella to come out because she wants to say everything to her face. She says no one respects Carmella because Carmella doesn’t respect herself. Bianca then challenges Carmella for tonight. Carmella comes out and says she is taking the title at Money in the Bank and leaves the ring.
Patrick asked Bianca if she respects Carmella, before Bianca could answer she spins around and catches Carmella’s leg who was trying to cheap shot her again.
In the back Liv Morgan and Alexa Bliss are interviewed and Bliss said Liv and her are friendly, but they are not friends, but she likes Liv. Liv says, “You are right, we are not friends and at Money in the Bank I am going to knock you down and win Money in the Bank.”
Liv said she is not only going to win Money in the Bank, she is going to beat her tonight too. Alexa says yeah that isn’t going to happen and Liv says just watch me.
Liv Morgan VS. Alexa Bliss
Alexa goes for the DDT, but Liv counters and hooks her leg and rolls her up for the pin.
Winner: Liv Morgan
Mr. McMahon comes out, who introduces John Cena. Superstars line the aisle as Cena makes his way to the ring. As Cena talks, he says he knows he is standing in this ring because the WWE Universe has allowed him to be in there for 2 decades and this is a great time to say Thank You.
A “Thank You Cena” chant then came from the crowd; Cena says his heart is beating out of his chest and is filled with energy and excitement and thanks the WWE Universe for making him who he is.
He says because of the WWE Universe he is a better person, a better professional and better husband. Cena says he is 45 years old, and he doesn’t know when he will be back in the ring, he isn’t saying never he is just saying he doesn’t know when it will be.
Alpha Academy VS. Bobby Lashley in a Handicap Match
After standing up with Otis on his shoulders and falling back, Gable jumped off the top rope toward Lashley, but Lashley caught Gable and turned him into the Hurt Lock for an immediate tap out.
Winner: Bobby Lashley
After the Match, Theory attacked Lashley but Lashley fought back spearing Gable and Theory runs from the ring.
They Show the Seth Rollins/Cody Rhodes match from Hell in a Cell where Rhodes was severely injured then the next night when Rollins attacked Rhodes again.
Exclusive interview with Cody Rhodes and he says he is in rehab for his shoulder injury. He says they are telling him 9 months before he can return, and he is trying to respect that. He talks about all the participants in the Money in the Bank ladder match and he isn’t rooting for anyone but if Seth Rollins wins, he might want to personally congratulate him, then leaves the interview.
In the back, a producer is talking to John Cena when Seth Rollins walks up and laughing. Rollins talked about Cena’s failed attempt to cash in. And Seth promotes his cash in and as he is saying he is going to win, MVP and Omos walk up. MVP says there is nothing Seth or anyone else can do to stop him. Cena then pats him on the back and says yeah good luck and walks away.
Becky Lynch VS. Tamina VS. Shayna Baszler VS. Xia LI VS. Doudrop VS. Nikki A.S.H. in an elimination match for the final spot in the Women’s Ladder Match at MITB
Xia Li is eliminated by Becky Lynch with a manhandle slam for the pin. Nikki A.S.H. is eliminated by Becky Lynch after getting her to tap out with the disarmer. Shayna Baszler is eliminated by Doudrop when she was attempting to get Tamina to submit to a leg lock and Doudrop ran from the ropes and splashed her for the pin.
Tamina is eliminated by Doudrop after Doudrop dropped an elbow off the second rope onto Tamina for the pin. Doudrop is eliminated by Becky Lynch after reversal from the top rope into a manhandle slam.
AEW announced that the Grand Slam Dynamite and Rampage will be returning to the Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing, New York on Wednesday, September 21.
Over 20,000 fans attended last year’s Grand Slam on September 22, making it the most-attended AEW live event in its history. The show featured the wrestling debut of Bryan Danielson, who wrestled Kenny Omega in a 30-minute time-limit draw.
Tickets for this show will go on sale on Friday, July 22 at 10AM ET on Ticketmaster.com and the hope is to match last year’s ticket sales which shot up to over 15,000 after the first day.
AEW President Tony Khan said at the Double or Nothing post-show media scrum that the company would be back at the home of the U.S. Open in September and would like to make it an annual event.
Last year’s show was headlined by Britt Baker vs Ruby Soho for the AEW Women’s title and was a ratings success with 1,273,000 million viewers and a 0.48 rating in the 18-49 demo.
AEW’s newest arrival, Claudio Castagnoli, was part of the post-show media scrum yesterday and described himself being in AEW as a “kid in a candy store.”
Castagnoli said that the stars needed to align for the perfect debut and with Danielson out injured, it was the perfect opportunity to pull the trigger. He said he knows most of the people in AEW and when asked who his dream opponent is, Castagnoli said it doesn’t matter to him, what matters is who the fans want to see him wrestle. He signed off by saying that “Claudio is All Elite” and got a big bear hug from his new boss.
Meanwhile, AEW President Tony Khan said that the two have been in contact since June 2 and signed him to a deal although he wasn’t sure if he would make his debut at Forbidden Door or at the upcoming Ring of Honor pay-per-view next month.
Khan revealed that Danielson told him he’s not feeling great last weekend and suggested Castagnoli as his replacement. It was then that Khan broke the news to Danielson that Castagnoli was already signed and the decision to have him debut at Forbidden Door was made.
Ring of Honor returns on pay-per-view on Saturday, July 23 at the Tsongas Center in Lowell, Massachusetts, with Death Before Dishonor. This is the first show since the Supercard of Honor during WrestleMania weekend.
Tickets for the show go on sale on Friday, July 8 at 10AM ET at ROHTix.com starting from $29 plus fees.
The company also revealed the new logo, which is different than the one which was filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office in May. The new logo is similar to the one they used between 2004 and 2011.
16-time world champion John Cena will be making his return to WWE tonight on Monday Night Raw to celebrate his 20th year anniversary of his debut.
In fact, Cena made his debut 20 years ago to the date on Smackdown, coming out to answer Kurt Angle’s open challenge. The phrase Ruthless Aggression was uttered by Cena for the first time then and as they say, the rest is history.
Raw tonight is live from the Sames Auto Arena in Laredo, Texas, and before Cena was announced, there were around 3,500 tickets sold for the show. Following WWE’s announcement that Cena was going to be there, tickets jumped by over 100% and over 8,000 tickets have now been sold with the arena very close to a complete sell out, with less than 200 tickets remaining.
There are rumors that Cena will also be involved at SummerSlam, with current U.S. champion Theory pushing for a match against him. Theory has been calling out Cena for several weeks now and it did not go unnoticed.
Three new champions were crowned at the Forbidden Door pay-per-view last night in Chicago.
FTR continued their impressive tag team run by taking hold of the IWGP Tag Team titles after they defeated The United Empire and Roppongi Vice in a three-way match which also had FTR’s ROH Tag Team titles up for grabs.
PAC, who was one of the underdogs, became the inaugural All-Atlantic champion when he beat Miro, Malakai Black, and Clark Connors of NJPW in a four-way match for his first gold in AEW.
And last but certainly not least, Jon Moxley became the first two-time AEW World champion when he won the vacant Interim AEW World title against Hiroshi Tanahashi in the main event. Tanahashi was supposed to wrestle CM Punk for the title but Punk’s injury forced a change in the main event. Moxley will now eventually meet CM Punk to unify the titles once Punk is cleared to compete again.
Adam Cole was injured during the four-way match for the IWGP World title last night at Forbidden Door and Bryan Alvarez from F4Wonline reports that the former leader of the Undisputed Era suffered a concussion.
It’s unclear when Cole got his bell rung but the match finish was changed on the fly. Okada went for the Rainmaker finisher and Cole ducked, but dropped to the mat and crawled to the corner. White entered the ring and hit the Bladerunner on Okada and then moved Cole over to pin him. While Cole looked like he put his shoulder up at two, the referee counted to three and finished off the match. White, who retained his title, could be seen talking to the referee after the three count.
AEW doctor Michael Sampson and others attended to Cole after the match was over with Kyle O’Reilly and The Young Bucks also coming out.
Cole, who did not wrestle since Double or Nothing, will be looking at several weeks on the sidelines due to the concussion.
There are more than 11 million fans of WWE in the US and professional wrestling is one of the most popular sports when it comes to the level of entertainment provided. To further add to this entertainment level, many enthusiasts look for opportunities to place a bet on their favorite sport.
Since the Supreme Court ruling in 2018 which lifted the prohibition of sports gambling, more than two dozen states have legalized sports betting in some form. This includes New Jersey which made its move just weeks after the Supreme Court decision, in June 2018 and now has 24 sportsbooks operating as you can see from this table.
The sportsbooks that operate in New Jersey, and other states that have legalized sports betting such as New York, provide betting a variety of wagering options. This includes betting on sports such as NFL, baseball, basketball, and horse racing. However, US-based sportsbooks do not provide betting on wrestling as an option.
Why do US based sportsbooks not offer betting on wrestling as an option?
You only need to look at the line taken by the Nevada Gaming Control Board to understand why wrestling is not provided as an option for wagering at US based sportsbooks. This line is that anything which is not decided on the field, and is able to be decided by opinion, is not permitted as a betting option.
This applies to wrestling which is predetermined and scripted. So, there is no facility to bet on wrestling at any US sportsbook. However, it’s not illegal for US fans to bet on wrestling at offshore sportsbooks as there is nothing specific in law that prohibits it.
Why is betting on wrestling popular?
One of the main reasons why people in the US, and worldwide, like to gamble on wrestling is that they love the sport and placing a wager further increases the level of fun to be had.
There is also good value to be had from betting on wrestling. This is because most sportsbooks offer good odds for bets.
Finally, a further reason why betting on wrestling is popular is that the risks are low. This is because sportsbooks limit the amount that can be wagered as wrestling results are predetermined and could be leaked. The lower maximum bets available mean that bettors do not lose a lot of money even if their wagers are unsuccessful.
Types of bets on wrestling
For anyone who wants to place a bet on wrestling, there are several options including:
Choosing who will win a specific match.
Selecting who will retain a title.
Opting for who will nearly win a match but will ultimately be unsuccessful.
Choosing either Top Babyface or Top Heel to be successful.
Even though US based sportsbooks do not provide this type of betting action, North America is one of the biggest markets for betting on wrestlers as fans use offshore sportsbooks to place their bets.
As expected, Claudio Castagnoli was Zack Sabre Jr’s mystery opponent at last night’s Forbidden Door and the man formerly known as Cesaro in the WWE got the proverbial “Road Warrior pop” by the Chicago crowd.
The former multi-time WWE Tag Team champion stayed at the top of the stage for a bit, taking it all in as the crowd went absolutely bananas as soon as his graphic hit the screen.
Sporting a Blackpool Combat jacket with Claudio and 22 on the back, Castagnoli greeted fans at ringside and then hilariously posed with the AEW cameraman who fans online always said it was him under cover.
After all the dust settled, Castagnoli and ZSJ had a terrific match which lived up to the expectations, even though fans were hoping for a Danielson vs ZSJ dream match.
Following his win, AEW President Tony Khan tweeted the Castagnoli was now “All Elite” along with the usual graphic.
Castagnoli showed up again at the end of the pay-per-view after Danny Garcia and Chris Jericho attacked Jon Moxley after he won the title. The rest of the Blood & Guts participants joined and Castagnoli was the last one in and delivered the swing to Matt Maynard as fans counted into the teens.
The artist formerly known as Cesaro left WWE in February of this year after his contract expired and decided not to renew it.
Here are the results from last night’s AEWxNJPW: Forbidden Door pay-per-view which took place from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.
Yoshi Hashi and Hirooki Goto defeated Aaron Solo and QT Marshall in the Buy-In show; Lance Archer defeated Nick Comoroto in the Buy-In show; Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland defeated Yoshinobu Kanemaru and El Desperado in the Buy-In show; Max Caster, Billy Gunn, Austin Gunn, and Colten Gunn defeated Yuya Uemura, Alex Coughlin, The DKC, and Kevin Knight in the Buy-In show.
Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara, and Minoru Suzuki defeated Eddie Kingston, Wheeler Yuta, and Shota Umino; FTR defeated United Empire and Roppongi Vice in a winners-take-all match to become win the IWGP Tag Team and retain the ROH Tag Team titles; PAC defeated Malakai Black, Miro and Clark Connors to win the AEW All-Atlantic title; Sting, Darby Allin, and Shingo Takagi defeated The Young Bucks and El Phantasmo; Thunder Rosa defeated Toni Storm to retain the AEW Women’s title; Will Ospreay defeated Orange Cassidy to retain the IWGP United States title; Claudio Castagnoli defeated Zack Sabre, Jr; Jay White defeated Kazuchika Okada, “Hangman” Adam Page, and Adam Cole to retain the IWGP World title; Jon Moxley defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi to win the interim AEW World title.
It’s pay-per-view Sunday once again with AEW and NJPW in the spotlight for Forbidden Door, the first joint-show between the two promotions.
Tonight we take a look at the betting odds for the matches on the card courtesy of casinoudendansklicens.org but remember that these odds might change by the time the show goes on the air. Please bet responsibly if you are using real money.
With CM Punk out of action, a new interim AEW World champ will be decided and much to no one’s surprise, Jon Moxley is the favorite to win this match with 1/8 odds while Hiroshi Tanahashi is at 4/1. If Mox wins, he will become the first-ever two-time AEW champion.
The IWGP Heavyweight title is also on the line in a four-way match as Jay White defends against Kazuchika Okada, “Hangman” Adam Page, and Adam Cole. The Kiwi champion is favorite to retain his gold with odds of 2/7 while Okada is 11/4, Page at 15/2, and Cole a long way away at 10/1.
The only AEW vs AEW star match is for the AEW Women’s title and will have Thunder Rosa defends against Toni Storm. Rosa is 1/4 favorite to retain while Storm is 5/2 for the upset.
The ROH and IWGP Tag Team titles will be in possession of one tag team after tonight as both titles are up for grabs in a winners-take-all match. FTR, the reigning ROH champs, are 11/50 favorites to win while United Empire are 29/10, and Roppongi Vice at 9/1 and unlikely to get their hands on any gold.
An inaugural AEW All-Atlantic champion will be crowned tonight as four men battle to be crowned champ in a four-way match. Miro is favorite to become the first-ever champion with 11/25 odds while Malakai Black is second favorite at 13/5. PAC is 7/2 while Clark Connors of NJPW is at 15/1.
The IWGP United States champion Will Ospreay will defend his title against Orange Cassidy but Ospreay is 1/20 favorite to retain the title while Cassidy is quite the underdog with 7/1 odds.
A six-man tag match will see Eddie Kingston, Wheeler Yuta and Shota Umino take on Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara and Minoru Suzuki with Jericho/Guevera/Suzuki favorites at 1/5 and their challengers at 3/1.
Another six-man tag match will feature The Young Bucks and El Phantasmo versus Darby Allin, Sting, and Shingo Takagi. This match is currently undecided by the bookies as both teams are set with 17/20 odds.
A mystery man will debut for AEW tonight and will take on Zack Sabre Jr, replacing the original opponent Bryan Danielson who remains injured. Whoever the mystery opponent is is currently the favorite with 1/5 odds while ZSJ is 3/1 to win.
In the Buy-In show, The Gunn Club and Max Caster are 1/2 favorites against Yuya Uemura, Alex Coughlin, The DKC, and Kevin Knight who are 7/5 in this eight-man tag match. Former NXT stars Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland are 1/2 favorites against Suzuki-gun who are 7/5 in this tag match.
In an interview with Sports Illustrated’s Justin Barrasso, AEW EVP Kenny Omega revealed that Cody Rhodes will still be part of the upcoming AEW video game Fight Forever despite leaving the company to go back to WWE.
“This may come as a surprise to people, but Cody is still in the game. I was very passionate about making sure his legacy and position within the company were preserved,” Omega said.
He said since they built the game from the ground up from scratch, he thought the game could coincide with the birth of this company so you get to experience AEW from the beginning, from day one.
“The game is going to reflect a lot of that, even though our locker room is ever-changing,” Omega added.
Developed by Yuke’s, Fight Forever is supposed to be released sometime this year but is already over budget. AEW President Tony Khan put in an eight-figure sum on the development of the game but tensions between AEW and Yuke’s have delayed the game and it’s being rumored that Yuke’s will be walking away from their deal after the game is published.
Impact Wrestling on AXS TV this week drew 108,000 viewers, the same number that the show did last week. Impact did 0.04 in the 18-49, matching the same number of last week as well. The show placed #127 in the top 150 cable chart for the night. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Live from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, AEW and NJPW present Forbidden Door on pay-per-view. The full card is as follows:
Jon Moxley vs Hiroshi Tanahashi for the interim AEW World title; Jay White vs Kazuchika Okada vs “Hangman” Adam Page vs Adam Cole in a four-way match for the IWGP World Heavyweight title; Thunder Rosa vs Toni Storm for the AEW Women’s title; Pac vs Miro vs Malakai Black vs Clark Connors in a four-way match for the AEW All-Atlantic title; Will Ospreay vs Orange Cassidy for the IWGP United States Heavyweight title; FTR vs United Empire vs Roppongi Vice in a three-way winners-take-all tag team match for the ROH and IWGP Tag Team titles; The Young Bucks and El Phantasmo vs Darby Allin, Sting and Shingo Takagi in a six-man tag match; Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara, and Minoru Suzuki vs Eddie Kingston, Wheeler Yuta, and Shota Umino in a six-man tag match; Zack Sabre Jr. vs mystery opponent; Billy Gunn, Austin Gunn, Colten Gunn, and Max Caster vs Yuya Uemura, Alex Coughlin, The DKC, and Kevin Knight in an eight-man tag match in the Buy-In show; QT Marshall and Aaron Solo vs Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi in the Buy-In show; Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee vs El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru in the Buy-In show.
The Buy-In show will air starting at 7PM ET free on AEW’s social media properties as well as on Bleacher Report and FITE.
Forbidden Door is available in the U.S. on Bleacher Report via the Bleacher Report app, bleacherreport.com and connected devices for $49.99 while internationally on FITE.TV for $19.99 or $15.99 if you have an AEW Plus subscription. In Japan, the event will be accessible exclusively via NJPW World.
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