AEW Articles - Page 42

Heading into the post-Blood and Guts edition of AEW Dynamite, Tony Khan had a decision to make in regards to his promotion’s TNT Championship belt. On one hand, he could keep the belt on Scorpio Sky, the talented former tag team performer who signed with AEW well before they had a television contract, and give […]

The best place to key in on long-term storytelling in AEW isn’t actually on an AEW-branded production, but instead on Being The Elite, the YouTube show produced weekly for years now by The Young Bucks. BTE set the stage for the launch of AEW, set up the falling out between The Elite and “Hangman” Adam […]

2022 has not been a particularly good year for The Dark Order in AEW. Sure, they’ve recorded a 26-17 record since the calendar turned over, with matches in AEW, Create A Pro, Prestige, and NJPW, and have watched on proudly as their good pal “Hangman” Adam Page held the top honor in Tony Khan’s promotion, […]

The Fourth of July is celebrated a little bit differently in Brooklyn, New York than anywhere else in the United States of America. Sure, people still have cookouts, shoot off fireworks, and celebrate the land of the free as they so see fit but they also do so by having a hot dog eating contest […]

When Alan Angels joined AEW, it was a very different time in the promotion’s history. The pandemic was in full swing, shows had been relegated to either Daily’s Place or, for a time, The Nightmare Factory in Georgia, and many of the promotion’s top wrestlers, from Riho to PAC, were stuck in their home countries […]

When Orange Cassidy made his way down to the ring at Forbidden Door, his presentation was… weirdly typical. That’s right, despite taking part in an upper mid-card bout versus one of the best wrestlers in the world, on one of the biggest shows on the AEW and NJPW calendar no less, OC walked down to […]

When it comes to AEW, one of the more confusing creative decisions in recent memory was the introduction of the All-Atlantic Championship. The inaugural champion, who eventually turned out to be PAC, was to be decided in a tournament featuring wrestlers that were not located anywhere near the Atlantic Ocean, the concept of the belt […]

Booker T has been known as one of the most outspoken figures in pro wrestling today. King Booker has never been shy in speaking his mind before. However, many fans felt he went too far when he commented on AEW star Adam Cole’s physique. A few days before AEW’s momentous Forbidden Door pay-per-view, Booker T […]

Though he doesn’t have a card on the official AEW roster page, Jonathan Gresham has reportedly held a contract also signed by Tony Khan since April, when he defeated Bandido at Supercard of Honor in a unification match for the ROH World Championship. And yet, you wouldn’t know it if you only watch AEW television, […]

When you think of a cross-promotional Pay-Per-View where the top wrestlers in AEW take on the best of the best NJPW has to offer, who is the one tag-team that comes to mind that has to be on the card. Drum roll……. The Young Bucks FTR. Wait, what? FTR? I mean yeah, they are by […]

When Brody King pulled out the win in the inaugural AEW Royal Rampage, it turned more than a few heads across the greater wrestling world. In a match that featured some incredibly wholesome spots between John Silver and “Hangman” Adam Page, more incredible moves by Konosuke Takeshita, and the in-ring debut of Rush – who […]

AEW put a ton of work into the buildup to Forbidden Door, their co-promotional Pay-Per-View with NJPW. They produced digital hype packages, committed serious television time to contextualizing every angle, and even compiled it all on YouTube, where fans could catch up on anything they missed, or simply watch it again to familiarize themselves with […]

After almost a week of anticipation, The Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer finally released his ratings for AEW x NJPW’s Forbidden Door, and needless to say, they were relatively predictable in the best possible way. Sure, some fans wibble with a rating one way or another, but for the most part, the information matched the eye […]

In the almost week since Jon Moxley triumphantly held the Interim World Championship above his head before being viciously attacked by Chris Jericho, a lot has been said about AEW x NJPW’s Forbidden Door. Some have called it the Pay-Per-View of the year, Tony Khan called it the second-most profitable event in AEW history, and […]

The 2022 NBA free agency period started off with a bombshell from Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant. After weeks of speculation, the former MVP has announced his intentions to be traded from the team. The news comes at the heels of Kyrie Irving’s decision to stay with the team by picking up his player option. […]

One of the biggest draws of AEW in it’s early years was Kenny Omega. The star wrestler has been part of the up-and-coming brand since it’s inception, and for good reason. He’s one of the best in-ring workers in the business, and he’s got the attitude and the charisma to go along with his talent. […]

In a match filled with interesting storylines, backstage intrigue, and very real implications for AEW‘s future booking plans, one storyline rose above the rest and felt so potentially contentious that Draftkings even ran a prop bet on whether or not teammates would fight during the match: Would Eddie Kingston and Claudio Castagnoli work together on […]

Eddie Kingston wanted violence when he enter caged double rings during the main event of AEW‘s Blood and Guts. He took the door with a Tommy Dreamer-style Kendo Stick in his hands and kept swinging it, mostly against Christ Jericho’s head, until it literally shattered in his hands like a sword in Breath of the […]

For a time, it looked like Cesaro was going to be the face of Max Dupri’s Maximum Male Models on WWE‘s SmackDown. It looked like the “Swiss Superman” would finally return to the company that made him a mainstream darling, and be afforded the sort of A+ talker that had largely eluded him in Vince […]

AEW is notorious for continuously adding talent despite its loaded and crowded roster. Tony Khan’s relentless recruiting has paid off this past month, however. Many AEW stars have been forced out of action because of injury. The company was forced to crown an interim AEW World Champion in the wake of CM Punk’s injury after […]

Danhausen is a rascal. Though he’s clearly coded as a babyface both via his presentation, the tunnel he comes out of, and the reactions of his adoring fanbase, Danhausen has consistently found ways to get into other people’s business during his time in AEW, whether that’s interjecting into the Beach Break match between Adam Cole […]

When news broke that Christian Cage was going to address the fans assembled in the Little Ceasers Arena, not to mention those watching from home, on AEW Dynamite, it didn’t seem like things were going to go particularly well for Jungle Boy, who has been absent for two weeks with an injury. As it turns […]

After having “97.5 percent” of its rights at Forbidden Door, Tony Khan pulled through and Orange Cassidy finally debuted his new theme at AEW‘s Blood and Guts, with “Where is my Mind” by Pixies being officially replaced by “Jane” the song by Jefferson Starship known most notably for being featured in the film Wet Hot […]

After already saying goodbye to one of their own founders, Stu Grayson, earlier this year, the Dark Order is down one member more after Alan Angels, the occasional masked fifth member of the unit, has failed to secure a new, long-term contract with AEW according to Will Washington of Fightful. Though Angels was reportedly offered […]

After tearing down the “Forbidden Door” at a pay-per-view literally called Forbidden Door, AEW is on a roll. They’ve got a new interim champion, a number of new feuds raring to go, and have booked of their biggest televised bout of the year, Blood and Guts, set to take place on free television, broadcast live […]

After turning a legitimate Match of the Year candidate with Will Ospreay at Forbidden Door – seriously, it was that good – Orange Cassidy isn’t about to rest on his laurels and take another extended break from AEW action. No, now that OC is back to full strength, Tony Khan has booked the promotion’s (basically) […]

Many a wrestler in both AEW and NJPW has taken credit for being the Forbidden Door. While Hiroshi Tanahashi came up with the phrase, Jon Moxley has called himself the Forbidden Door, as has Tony Khan in his weirdly charming Impact Wrestling commercials, and Jay White, ever one for modesty, took credit for pretty much […]

While Forbidden Door is officially finished, the afterglow of the AEW x NJPW co-promotional Pay-Per-View is very much still alive and well for the fans who either watched along from home or were lucky enough to make it out to the United Center in Chicago. The card had long-term storytelling, newfound rivalries, and made more […]

When the men formerly known as Daniel Bryan and The Big Show made an appearance on RAW, at least via video package, to wish John Cena well on 20 years with WWE, it felt like only a matter of time before Chris Jericho, “La Champion” of AEW, found his way back onto the Titantron to […]

When John Cena debuted in WWE 20 years ago, AEW wasn’t a thing. Many of the promotion’s biggest stars, and some of their commentators too, were employed by companies like TNA, New Japan Pro Wrestling, and yes, WWE, where they built up legacies worthy of a place in wrestling history. So, when a promotion like […]

Adam Cole wasn’t 100 percent healthy heading into AEW x NJPW’s Forbidden Door. He reportedly suffered a labrum injury which kept him out of much of the lead-up to Forbidden Door and in the Co-Main Event of the biggest co-promotional effort of the year, the native son of Lancaster, Pennsylvania suffered what looked like a […]

Forbidden Door is officially over. AEW and NJPW officially pulled it off and while the event didn’t go on without a hitch, as both Dax Harwood and Adam Cole suffered injuries during their matches, it’s hard to call the show anything but a resounding success both in the ring and on the financial ledger. Jon […]

Wrestling, regardless of whether it’s done in an AEW, WWE, or any other ring, is built on feuds. AEW x NJPW’s Forbidden Door was chocked full of intriguing in-ring battles between performers who have been passing like ships in the night for years – Jon Moxley and Hiroshi Tanahashi – white-hot, livewire rivalries between an […]

In the afterglow of AEW x NJPW’s Forbidden Door, Tony Khan had a lot to say. He talked about FTR’s new music, how Claudio Castagnoli ended up in the promotion, and notably chose not to talk about MJF, but sandwiched inside his post-PPV media scrum was a nugget of information that will make fans of […]

The AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door main event between Jon Moxley and Hiroshi Tanahashi was one hell of a match. The two wrestlers put on a bloody good show in front of the fans. However, it seemed like two fans decided they wanted their own mini-match during the main event. During the Moxley-Tanahashi main event, […]

FTR is riding pretty high right about now following their big win at AEW x NJPW’s Forbidden Door. Despite a scare early on in the three-way championship match alongside Roppongi Vice, and the United Empire duo of Jeff Cobb and Great-O-Khan, where Dax Harwood had to be taken backstage to tape up his shoulder, the […]

One of the most popular WWE stars finally made his debut on Forbidden Door. After an unfortunate injury to Bryan Danielson, Tony Khan tapped Claudio Castagnoli (FKA Cesaro) to join AEW in their latest pay-per-view. Castagnoli’s entrance was met with a humongous pop, as wrestling fans were excited to see the Swiss wrestling in a […]

Jon Moxley entered AEW x NJPW’s Forbidden Door with a lot to prove but also nothing to prove at the very same time. If he won the main event of Forbidden Door and became the Interim AEW World Championship then great; that would make him the first-ever two-time champion in the promotion’s history and he’d […]

Did the ending of the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match at AEW x NJPW’s Forbidden Door look a little weird to you? Did, after an extended build-up and a growing crescendo towards what should have been an ending worthy of firecrackers, Jay White’s decision to slither back into the ring, take out Kazuchika Okada with […]