AEW Articles - Page 32

There was a time when Shaquille O’Neal was the hottest name in AEW. … yes, you read that correctly; it may seem crazy for fans who are relatively new to the second-biggest wrestling brand in America, but before Jade Cargill was the undefeated wonder with a Goldberg-esque TNT Championship reign, she was known simply as […]

When Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay were duking it out in a 35-minute match for the ages at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17, fans online had one not-so-surprising name trending on Twitter: Dave Meltzer. That’s right, the Roger Ebert of Pro Wrestling himself has been one of the biggest champions of both “The Best Bout Machine” […]

The Young Bucks and FTR are AEW’s oil and water; the former are fun, flashy, and frantic in the ring, with occasionally over-choreographed maneuvers, high-flying antics, and enough Superkicks to garner a cease and desist from HBK himself, whereas their formerly WWE foils represent tradition, legacy, and the old-school way of doing things. They like […]

Folks, it’s official: Mercedes Moné is not going to be Saraya’s tag team partner when AEW takes Dynamite to the “Fabulous” Kia Forum in Los Angeles for a tag match with current AEW Women’s World Champion Jamie Hayter and former AEW Women’s World Champion Britt Baker. I know, Moné made her surprise NJPW debut at […]

There was a time when FTR’s number one contendership for the AEW Tag Team Championship was one of the biggest in-jokes among smart marks of professional wrestling. FTR outlasted The Lucha Brothers, Jurassic Express, The Young Bucks – who took the belts off of them in the first place – and Swerve in our Glory […]

The era of Mercedes Moné has officially begun. Mercedes Moné, formerly known as Sasha Banks, made her arrival at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17. This was one of wrestling’s worst-kept secrets considering everybody knew she’d be at the event for weeks. But still, the moment she showed up was incredible. After making her way to the […]

Wrestle Kingdom 17‘s first 10 matches were all good to very good – with one lone expectation – but when Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay made their way into the ring – scored to “One Winged Angel” and “Elevated,” respectively – fans in the Tokyo Dome were treated to nothing short of a legendary bout, […]

After losing the Ring of Honor Tag Team Championship belts to The Briscoes at Final Battle and then dropping the Lucha Libre AAA belts to Hermanos Lee in their final match before Dragon Lee jumped ship to WWE as part of the NXT Brand, AEW’s FTR duo of Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood entered NJPW […]

Folks, it’s official: Sasha Banks is no more, as the performer now known as Mercedes Moné officially made her New Japan Pro Wrestling debut at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17 just after her old WWE rival Kairi (Sane) successfully defended her IWGP Women’s Title for the first time against Stardom’s Tam Nakano. Walking down to the […]

FTR, the podcast, has been the gift that keeps on giving for fans of AEW, WWE, and professional wrestling, period. Though the show only began during the penultimate week of 2022, with Dax Harwood taking over The Gentleman Villian podcast when William Regal jumped ship from AEW to WWE, the balder half of FTR the […]

With New Japan Pro Wrestling’s marquee card of the year, Wrestle Kingdom 17, just over the horizon, fans will finally be afforded the biggest treat of the year: WWE’s Karl Anderson back in a “King of Sports” wrestling ring. … okay, maybe seeing “Bright Lights” back in an NJPW ring in a singles match against […]

It’s officially 2023, which means one thing and one thing only: AEW fans will soon find out the identity of Saraya’s mystery partner for the January 11th edition of AEW Dynamite. That’s right, soon fans will see if Sasha Banks will be back in a professional wrestling ring, learn what moniker she’ll be using moving […]

As Will Ospreay prepares for one of the biggest matches of his career, the co-main event of Wrestle Kingdom 17 against “The Cleaner” of AEW, Kenny Omega, fans across the professional wrestling world are wondering what’s next for “The Commonwealth Kingpin.” If he can go the distance, retain his IWGP United States Championship, and go […]

With 2022 officially over, the “Year of FTR” has come to an end; two of their belts have been lost, first to The Briscoes and then Hermaons Lee at Lucha Libre Noche De Campeones, with a third potentially joining the legacy collection at Wrestle Kingdom 17, when they take on Chaos’ Bishamon in the middle […]

While Kenny Omega is talking plenty of trash on Will Ospreay ahead of their forthcoming match at Wrestle Kingdom 17, AEW’s “Best Bout Machine” has also found some time to discuss other aspects of professional wrestling, including his run in DDT Pro Wrestling, the promotion he worked for before jumping to New Japan Pro Wrestling […]

When Konnan announced that Sammy Guevara and Tay Melo had not only no-showed Noche De Campeones, the final marquee event of the Lucha Libre AAA calendar, but had been officially stripped of their straps, it turned the heads of fans of Lucha Libre, AEW, and beyond. Was AAA upset with Tony Khan, who also saw […]

The Kansas City Chiefs got on the scoreboard first against the Denver Broncos in Week 17, but it wouldn’t have gone down without some magic from Patrick Mahomes. While working their way down the field on their opening drive, Mahomes attempted a pass that was batted down by a Broncos defender. However, in a bizarre […]

When it was announced that the then Ring of Honor World Champion Jonathan Gresham was one of the few ROH performers to remain under contract with the promotion when Tony Khan purchased the brand from Sinclair Broadcasting, it drew heavy speculation from fans of AEW about his future. Would “The Octopus” perform a regular role […]

The Acclaimed might just be the most over tag team in AEW. Fans love their in-ring style, Max Caster’s raps, and most importantly of all, their signature hand gesture, the scissors. No, not since the “suck it” of DX has a gesture been so over with the fans and so gosh-darn unpopular with said fan’s […]

With New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Wrestle Kingdom less than a week away, the hype for the most anticipated card of 2023 – at least so far – is only continuing to grow. Will “Switchblade” Jay White be able to retain his title against Kazuchika Okada? Will AEW’s FTR drop their third-straight title to Bishamon after […]

After having his big turn on Keith Lee on the final AEW Dynamite of the year, Swerve Strickland received his first opportunity at an in-ring opponent on Rampage, where he was booked to face off against the Ring of Honor Pure Champion, Wheeler Yuta, in a main event singles contest. Needless t0 say, it did […]

On Wednesday’s edition of AEW Dynamite, Max Caster and The Acclaimed released a new rap that subsequently acted as a pretty amusing takedown of their forthcoming opponents, Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal, with one particular line – “And you’re stealing money like it’s Kurt Angle’s wife.” – drawing particular ire from Karen Jarrett, the wife […]

Though it feels like William Regal has been out of AEW for months, as his request not to have his contract renewed has been one of the hottest stories in wrestling this year, His Lordship was still technically an employee of Tony Khan’s company until December 29th, even if he wasn’t a featured part of […]

When former AEW World Champion Kenny Omega sat down with New Japan Pro Wrestling for a tell-all interview discussing his return to the promotion for Wrestle Kingdom 17 and his bout against long-time internet rival Will Ospreay, it almost begged for a response from “The Commonwealth Kingpin.” Omega called his British-born foil unintelligent, unstable, and […]

Max Caster and The Acclaimed have a problem in AEW. No, it’s not Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt, Satnam Singh, or even Jeff Jarrett, but instead Jeff Jarrett’s wife Karen, in a sort of “you-know-where has no furry like a woman scorned” sort of way. It all began on the pre-Christmas edition of Dynamite, when, in […]

Samoa Joe is a big, bad dude; whether he’s running the show as the Television Champion in Ring of Honor, or giving opponents fits as the TNT Champion in AEW, the self-appointed “King of TV” has been on a roll since returning to the ring as a regular performer – winning 17 of his last […]

There was a time when it looked like Dragon Lee was going to be #AllElite. A member of La Faccion Ingibernable who worked with his brother Rush in Ring of Honor, the son of La Bestia del Ring made his AEW debut in the lead-up to All Out, when he joined Team Andrade as their […]

As 2022 comes to a close, folks are beginning to recap the year and discuss the biggest developments across the professional wrestling world. From Roman Reigns’ time atop the WWE Universe, to the announced return of Kenny Omega to New Japan Pro Wrestling, and even the return of Ring of Honor, no story has dominated […]

While defeating Will Ospreay in only their second singles match is a huge goal for Kenny Omega, as “The Best Bout Machine” does not like the “Commonwealth Kingpen,” like at all, securing bragging rights isn’t his only reason to fly out to the Capitol of Japan for a marquee match at Wrestle Kingdom 17. No, […]

When Cody Rhodes made his triumphant return to WWE at WrestleMania 38, it was truly a magical moment. Sure, basically everyone knew “The American Nightmare” was going to be Seth Rollins’ mystery opponent, as the reports of his signing were almost as prominent as those of his exit from AEW, but when “The American Nightmare” […]

Kurt Angle is a wrestling legend for more reasons than one; he’s an Olympic gold medalist, a WWE Hall of Famer, and a nine-time champion in TNA/Impact Wrestling with more than 1,500 matches to his name. But could Angle have added the phrase “AEW star” to that list of accolades? Once upon a time, that […]

Though William Regal’s time in AEW is all but officially over, with his lordship headed back to WWE to work alongside his son, Charlie Dempsey, he still does have a legacy in the promotion in the form of Bryan Danielson, the “American Dragon” who worked closely with the two-time Intercontinental Championship during their shared time […]

In professional wrestling, continuing a family legacy is everything – AEW has Brian Pillman Jr., the Gunns, Brock Anderson, and Hook, to just name a few, WWE has so many multi-generational performers that they literally had a legacy stable headlined by Randy Orton, and both promotions employ one of Dusty Rhodes’ sons, with Cody set […]

Though it’s still 2022 for a few days more, Kenny Omega is already turning his attention to 2023 and one of the biggest matches of his career, when AEW’s “Best Bout Machine” goes toe-to-toe against “The Commonwealth Kingpin,” Will Ospreay at New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Wrestle Kingdom 17. That’s right, after three years away and […]

There was a time when the Dark Order was one of the biggest factions in AEW. They had a TNT Champion as their leader, three different tag teams within their ranks, and even a female tag team thanks to the loose affiliation of Anna Jay to Tay Conti. Since the height of their success in […]

What makes some former WWE performers work in AEW while others don’t has to be one of the biggest questions Tony Khan asks himself any time a new round of releases comes down from Titan Towers. Would a performer like Andrade, who traveled the world and worked everywhere from Lucha Libre AAA to New Japan […]

Serena Deeb hasn’t worked a professional wrestling match since all the way back in October, when she secured a win over Haley J on Dark Elevation. While there’s been no public acknowledgment of why Deeb has been missing, be it via injury, via other commitments, or simply a lack of creative ideas, her absence has […]

The winter of 2022 was all about Ricky Starks and elevating his game to the main event level in AEW. After a relatively light workload in the fall, with just five matches booked between August and October after losing the FTW belt to Hook at Fight for the Fallen, Starks re-emerged onto the AEW landscape […]

Wrestle Kingdom is New Japan Pro Wrestling’s equivalent to WrestleMania, and much like WWE’s marquee event, Gedo, Rockey Romero, and company pull out all of the stops to make sure the event is as special as possible. With matches already on the books that felt impossible a few years back, from AEW’s Kenny Omega’s triumphant […]