Matty Breisch Articles - Page 159

After being absent from television for the entire summer, the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship is officially back, and business is picking up for the brand-less belts. Initially secured at WrestleMania 38 by the dynamic duo of Sasha Banks and Naomi, the belts were officially vacated back in May, when, after the duo walked out […]

Parker Boudreaux is officially a member of the AEW Galaxy. No, the company hasn’t issued a press release announcing the former member of NXT’s addition to the roster, delivered an “Is All Elite” graphic, or even added him to the official roster page on their website – Don’t believe me? Check for yourself here –  […]

Ever since Paul “Triple H” Levesque took up the reigns as the creative lead of the WWE Universe, the business, as they say, has changed forever. WWE has gone from the place where creative performers go to die, where high-flying big men get grounded, and where performers who commission Tom “Freakin” Savini of Friday the […]

It’s here; it’s finally here: WWE’s Monday Night RAW is officially upon us. Now granted, that’s nothing new; the show has been airing on one network or another every week since all the way back on January 11, 1993, but over that tenure, few episodes have been as exciting, as anticipated, and as gosh-darn potentially […]

There’s a long-standing tradition in professional wrestling of having a top guy feud with the booker. WWE drew money from the angle when “Stone Cold” Steve Austin went to war with Mr. McMahon, Vince Russo got into heated angles with, well, pretty much everyone really, to the point where Impact had to fire him when […]

If there’s one thing Rey Mysterio knows a thing or two about more than, well, pretty much anybody on earth, it’s being a good luchador. Yes he’s small, yes his booking matters more than most in the eyes of some “traditional” fans, but for 33 years and counting, there hasn’t been a performer in WWE, […]

It’s hard to look at Forbidden Door, the AEW x NJPW Pay-Per-View as anything other than a resounding success for all parties involved. AEW did another massive gate in Chicago, a city so good to the Khan company that some have even linked a potential Jaguars move from Jacksonville to the soon-to-be-vacant Soldier Field, NJPW […]

You’ve gotta give it to Tony Khan, he certainly tries his best in AEW. Sure, every idea he has doesn’t always hit the mark, and on occasion, the ideas he greenlights can get downright goofy – The Nightmare Collective, anyone? – but he doesn’t maliciously book people he doesn’t like in a way that embarrasses […]

When Ric Flair took the ring with Andrade El Idolo for a 25-minute match against Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal, it felt like the end of an era in the journey that began in Jim Crockett Promotion, progressed in WCW and then WWE before ultimately ending in TNA with a whimper, not a roar. Goodness, […]

“Wrestling is not a love story” these words, written by the man once known as Bray Wyatt to the WWE Universe, began one heck of a personal essay on the Twitter account of WYATT 6 – aka Mr. Windham Rotunda – and casually set the professional wrestling world ablaze on an otherwise unsuspecting Sunday evening. […]

Don’t-call-him-Tommaso Ciampa might just be the hottest wrestler in the entire WWE Universe. He’s turned a weird initial run and a seemingly-ill-fated partnership with The Miz into a money angle that’s been drawing praise from across the industry, has delivered promo after promo that each would be the best of a lesser performer’s career, and […]

Things have been going deceptively well for Q.T. Marshall and The Factory in AEW. He’s won his last three matches, one as a solo performer and twice in multi-man competition, had a match at Forbidden Door against the Bishamon team of Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI, and even added another wrestler to his stable in Cole […]

In wrestling, there are very few moral victories. Sure, occasionally, a long-standing feud will end in such a way that both parties are elevated at the end of it, but for the most part, one performer wins, one performer loses – barring a 60-minute time limit draw like the one between “Hangman” Adam Page and […]

In the world of wrestling, there’s nothing more exciting than the christening of a new championship belt; it presents the promise of exciting new matches, more performers featured on Pay-Per-Views, and even if the purpose of the belt is rather confusing, as was the initial rollout of the AEW All-Atlantic Championship ahead of Forbidden Door, […]

In 2022, the wrestling world is as open as it has ever been; AEW stars show up to wrestle at Ric Flair-branded matches, ROH Championships are defended on AEW television shows, and even AEW’s current Interim Champion, Jon Moxley, is pulling double-duty in GCW as that company’s top title holder too. And yet, some doors […]

The first Saturday of August has been a very good day indeed for fans of Ring of Honor. Not only did fans get to see Claudio Castagnoli, the current ROH World Champion, wrestle an absolute gem of a main event at Battle of the Belts III versus the brightest star in all of DDT Pro […]

You’ve got to give it to Tony Khan; while there isn’t currently a Ring of Honor television show, he certainly knows how to book the ROH World Championship to make it feel like something special. Initially booking Claudio Castagnoli to take the belt off of the promotion’s interim-turned-proper belt holder Jonathan Gresham following a heel […]

Thunder Rosa has had Jamie Hayter’s number over their shared time in the squared circle both inside of AEW and beyond. Though the duo have wrestled each other on eight previous occasions before Battle of the Belts III, once in singles action, four times in tag team action, three times as part of trios, and […]

Since arriving in AEW, Jay Lethal really wanted to win a championship. He’s tried his hands at the TNT Championship, the AAA Mega Championship, the ROH World Championship, the FTW Championship, and most recently, the Ring of Honor Television Championship at Death Before Dishonor. Granted, he’s lost every one of them, but he’s certainly trying […]

Oh, what a difference a week can make to the NXT/WWE Universe. Since fully taking over as the EVP of Global Talent Strategy and Development/chief creative mind of the WWE Universe ahead of the penultimate edition of Smackdown before SummerSlam, Paul “Triple H” Levesque has brought wrestling back to television, nixed the 24/7 Championship from […]

After AEW Dark Elevation, AEW Dark, AEW Dynamite, AEW Dark Elevation, again, and AEW Rampage, Tony Khan’s week-long tour de wrestling will officially culminate at Battle of the Belts III, an hour-long showcase of three of the promotion’s 60 six titles, 12 if you factor in the ROH World Heavyweight, Television, Pure, Women’s, 6 Man, […]

While the Sixers are very much the house Joel Embiid build, Tyrese Maxey is the furnace that warms everyone up and keeps it feeling homely. When the team is feeling down, the Kentucky product is always there to bring a little levity. When the team is hungry, Maxey brings extra wings on the plane to […]

On a night that will live forever in the annals of professional wrestling history for Karrion Kross’ return to the WWE, Tony Khan had a few tricks up his sleeve for the live edition of Rampage, with the debuts of not one, not two, but three new wrestlers on AEW television. That’s right, with Battle […]

When Paul “Triple H” Levesque tweeted out “… and we’re just getting started” after the surprising returns/re-debuts of Bayley, Dakota Kai, and Io Shirai-turned-Iyo Sky, it felt like a pretty darn big deal to the WWE Universe. After years of the talent pipeline from the indies to The Fed going decidedly one way, with dozens […]

Goodness, Madison Rayne is having herself a week; not only has she been signed by AEW to serve as their new Head Coach of the women’s decision and made her commentary debut on a surprise Thursday night edition of AEW Dark Elevation, but the former Impact Knockouts Tag Team Champion has since gone on to […]

Just when you thought WWE had forgotten about their third major women’s championship belts, the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship, Michael Cole and Pat McAfee – but mostly Michael Cole – finally announced that the belts are back and their next holders will be decided in a tournament that will begin on the next edition […]

After tapping out during the penultimate match on WWE’s SummerSlam in the middle of a pin, Liv Morgan’s status as the SmackDown Women’s Champion has been one of the more contested topics across the WWE Universe. To some, Morgan won the match fair and square, as Ronda Rousey was pinned legally during her armbar attempt, […]

Though Ric Flair’s Last Match isn’t even one week old, the match continues to garner headlines for just how bizarre the entire ordeal was and how, in a weird twist of fate, the pre-show’s Bunkhouse Battle Royal secured its winner, Mance Warner, a shot at the AEW Interim Championship versus Jon Moxley on Rampage (read […]

“(AEW) Dark is not Tony’s priority; It’s really just to pad the records for storyline purposes,” this quote, delivered to the AEW Galaxy by Joey Janella via Renee Paquette’s The Sessions podcast, more or less confirms what fans of AEW, both hardcore and casual, alike have known all along. Now granted, there have been storylines […]

When former NXT standout Dakota Kai returned to the WWE Universe at SummerSlam, it signified a pretty big changing of the guard for a company defined by sticking to their ways even when they’ve become incredibly stagnant. Not only did it signify a pretty big change in the company’s booking philosophy, as Mr. McMahon really […]

When the Philadelphia Phillies traded Mickey Moniak plus minor leaguer Jadiel Sanchez to the Los Angeles Angels for Noah Syndergaard, the move was met with near-universal praise from Philly fans not just for what their favorite team got back, but for what they traded away too. The first overall pick in the 2016 MLB Draft, […]

In wrestling, one match can change everything. One match secured Eddie Kingston a contract, suspended “The Summer of Punk” until probably Halloween, and one match played a part in convincing Tony Khan that another big-time wrestling promotion like AEW could run in the United States with the likes of Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega serving […]

When Taz arrived in AEW, it was for one reason and one reason alone: To do commentary for AEW Dark. I know, in hindsight, that seems a little hard to believe, as Taz has since gone on to earn a gig on AEW Rampage, AEW Dynamite, and an in-ring management role first with Brian Cage, […]

Max Caster might just have the sharpest tongue in all of AEW. Sure, occasionally, it gets him into trouble, as the one-two punch of talking smack on the Duke Lacrosse scandal and Simon Biles’ mental health in the Olympics resulted in a suspension and a required trek through sensitivity training, but when Caster gets going […]

Welp, AEW fans, the women’s division just got a whole lot more experienced. On Wednesday afternoon, mere hours before AEW Dynamite hit the tubes from Columbus, Ohio, Tony Khan and company announced a slew of new back-of-house changes coming to the promotion, with QT Marshall, Sanjay Dutt, Tony Schiavone, and Pat Buck all elevated to […]

Adam Cole joined AEW because of the Young Bucks. He could have stayed in NXT, could have remained atop the card of the black and gold brand, or even jumped up to the main roster for a “managerial role” that may now look a good bit different with Triple H running the show. Cole didn’t […]

When the man formerly known to the professional wrestling world as Alexander Rusev made his debut in AEW, it was largely met with negative reactions from new and old fans alike. Now granted, the initial pop of seeing the “Bulgarian Brute” in an AEW ring was very much there, as fans loved to see now-named […]

As AEW fans the world over already know, Orange Cassidy can go. Though he may present himself as aloof, with a style that is equal parts suave as it is maddening for older fans who like their wrestlers to look and act a certain way, OC has crafted a unique spot in the professional wrestling […]

What do WWE‘s Natalya and Will Ospreay of NJPW have in common? On paper, the answer is a clear nothing; Natalya has never stepped foot in a New Japan ring, and Ospreay has, to the internet’s best knowledge, never even worked out for Vince McMahon’s former company. And yet, in quite possibly the weirdest story […]