Matty Breisch Articles - Page 181

Brand synergy is a beautiful thing, and AEW knows brand synergy all too well. From ex-roster member Cody Rhodes’ game and reality show excursions, to the gloriously goofy Elite Space Jam 2 tie-in, these collaborations can be strange at times, but they’re also a good sign that Tony Khan’s promotion and their TV partner, Warner […]

When addressing the media before Forbidden Door, AEW‘s owner, Tony Khan, had a lot to say. He discussed when wrestlers became available for the show, when more matches for the show would be announced, and even suggested that the two promotions have been discussing Forbidden Door 2, despite the first show having yet to officially […]

Forbidden Door is almost upon us and fans of AEW, New Japan Pro Wrestling, and independent wrestling as a whole are hyped. The card is (mostly) set, the vast majority of the stars are booked, and for the price $49.99, fans will get to watch it all from the comforts of their own home – […]

AEW started off this week’s edition of Dynamite with a classic example of good news, bad news. The good news? Bryan Danielson is not retiring from wrestling due to a lack of desire or a career-ending injury. He is very much still committed to Tony Khan’s promotion and will continue on as a member of […]

Social media is truly a wonderful modern tool for wrestlers to sharpen their character work and build up feuds, and AEW wrestlers understand this just as well as anyone. Though when arguably one of the main catalysts for the entire promotion stemmed from a certain tweet to Dave Meltzer, AEW’s roster should absolutely understand the […]

After a blisteringly paced go-home edition of AEW Dynamite, fans of the promotion have just one more show, Rampage, between themselves and Forbidden Door, which will feature matches from Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kazuchika Okada, the Young Bucks returning to Bullet Club for one night only, and quite a few more surprises that you just know […]

As things presently stand, AEW has two Women’s World Champions: Thunder Rosa and Jade Cargill. Yes, Britt Baker is the Owen Hart Cup Women’s winner, which does technically come with a belt, but as Tony Khan detailed when explaining the concept, the strap is more formal than functional, and thus can’t be defended. But did […]

Despite his best efforts, “Hangman” Adam Page just couldn’t get himself a singles match for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at AEW‘s Forbidden Door. He tried asking for a match versus Kazuchika Okada, then asked for one against Jay White, who beat “The Rainmaker” for the belt at NJPW Dominion, and even after taking a […]

After watching along live as “The Stone Pitbull” Tomohiro Ishii secured the third spot in the four-way bout to decide on the inaugural All-Atlantic Championship of AEW – or, more realistically, watching a replay of the Japanese-held event the next morning – there was one qualifying match left for the final spot in the match […]

The Bullet Club and The Young Bucks; the wrestling equivalent of peanut butter and chocolate. On their own, both are great; peanut butter is one of the best flavors ever created, and as for chocolate? Well, you can have chocolate on its own or with just about anything else, and it remains good. So naturally, […]

When news broke that there was a Bryan Danielson speaking segment scheduled for this week’s edition of AEW Dynamite, it left more than a few fans worried about what he had to say. Was “The American Dragon” going to announce his opponent at Forbidden Door? Or would he instead inform fans that he’s just too […]

When WWE announced that Cody Rhodes would be out for roughly nine months after having surgery to repair his torn pec, it left many a fan disappointed. Rhodes’ return to The Fed was incredibly well received and his match versus Seth “Freakin” Rollins at Hell in a Cell has already gone down as an all-time […]

Move over “Hangman” Adam Page, the WWE has their own, super-sized version of the crowd-pleasing performer in… Brock Lesner? “The Beast Incarnate?” Yes, you read that correctly, after years of being the “final boss” of Vince McMahon’s promotion, Lenser has been thrust into babyface duty against “The Head of the Table,” Roman Reigns, and, weirdly […]

After a weird run in WWE notorious for some very weird outfit choices and the absence of his valet, Scarlett, Karrion Kross has re-emerged on the indies as Killer Kross, a character oddly reminiscent of his former NXT presentation, where he overpowered lesser foes and bested bigger foes with his domineering style. Since re-debuting at […]

In March of 2022, Paul “Triple H” Levesque announced on ESPN’s First Take that he had been diagnosed with a heart condition that would force the 52-year-old to retire from in-ring work for the WWE once and for all. Now granted, Levesque wasn’t exactly an active performer before he made the announcement, as he haDn’t […]

Impact Wrestling’s 2022 edition of Slammiversary was all about honoring the past and giving fans of the promotion a few Easter Eggs from the first 20 years of the promotion. Performers from every other major American promotion, from AEW to Ring of Honor and even WWE, made an appearance, with old-school favorites like Shakboy, Davey […]

When news broke that Vince McMahon had agreed to a $3 million hush-money payment with a former employee, the ramifications were swift. Before the week’s edition of SmackDown could go on the air, McMahon had stepped down as the company’s active CEO and Chairman of the Board in favor of his daughter Stephanie, and he […]

When Adam Cole made his AEW debut at the end of All Out 2021, his arrival was met with near-universal acclaim. Fresh off a fantastic NXT run capstone-d by a best two-out-of-three-falls match at NXT TakeOver: 36 against long-time Undisputed Era friend/foe Kyle O’Riley, Cole emerged alongside his former Bullet Club friends as a galavanting […]

Becky Lynch wants to take part in WWE‘s Money in the Bank. Okay, technically, Lynch wants to win back the Raw Women’s Championship, which she most recently held in April in her second reign, but after losing to Bianca Belair on 16 occasions – if you count house shows – and then failing to secure […]

You’ve heard of fighting champions, but how about a posing champion? Well, if you happen to be a fan WWE RAW, specifically since Theory defeated Finn Balor for the United States Championship back in April, you’ve fast become familiar with the term and likely have an opinion one way or another on the topic. Since […]

Kevin Owens really doesn’t like WWE‘s newest superstar, Ezekiel. He doesn’t like his catchphrase, he doesn’t like his clean-shaven face, and doesn’t like that he’s secretly Elias, whom the performer in question refers to as his older brother. Now mind you, Ezekiel isn’t actually Elias, that’s a conspiracy theory that has been proven wrong on […]

It hasn’t been a particularly good week for the WWE wrestler formerly known as Matt Riddle. He lost a big-time stipulation match to Roman Reigns that will keep him from wrestling for the WWE Undisputed Universal Championship for the remainder of this current run on SmackDown, was overshadowed by the return of Brock Lesner, and […]

When news broke that Vince McMahon, fresh off of an industry-rocking controversy involving paying out hush money to an ex-employee following an in-office affair, would appear on WWE SmackDown, the Friday night affair became must-watch television. Would Mr. McMahon apologize for his wrongdoings? Or would he instead come out with a righteous indignation the likes […]

Not even a month after Paige announced her incoming departure from WWE, her first post-federation booking has already been announced for this fall, and it’s at a promotion that should hold plenty of sentimental value for the star. On October 15th, the soon-to-be once again known as Saraya will be at World Association of Wrestling’s […]

When news broke that Rhea Ripley was out for Money in the Bank with an undisclosed injury, it sent minor shockwaves through the WWE Universe and generated a ton of questions. Why was Ripley unable to go at MitB? Does it have to do with her teeth? And what about Bianca Belair, the woman she […]

Welp, if you were enjoying the feud between Becky Lynch and Dana Brooke over the WWE 24/7 Championship, you aren’t in luck: It’s over. That’s right, after two straight weeks of entertaining back and forth bouts interrupted by the likes of R-Truth, Akira Tozawa, and Asuka, Brooke’s run with the belt has come to an […]

They say absence makes the heart grow founder, but does that old adage really apply to MJF, the uber-mega heel performer who hasn’t been on AEW television since June 1st, when Dynamite was broadcast live from the “Fabulous” Kia Forum? Since going on an expletive-ladened tirade about his booking in the company, his contract, and […]

In case you haven’t heard, “Hangman” Adam Page still doesn’t have a match at AEW‘s Forbidden Door. After weeks of openly pining for a spot on the Pay-Per-View in a match for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship – a belt he has yet to hold in his career up to this point – Page was […]

When the XFL ceased operations midway through its first season back in operations since 2001, it left a bad taste in mouths across the greater football/WWE landscape. After turning in a few weeks of promising performances, with good engagement on social media and strong word of mouth among fans looking to watch some meaningful football […]

In case you haven’t noticed, Forbidden Door is right around the corner, and one of the hottest acts in AEW, nay, all of professional wrestling, The Young Bucks, do not yet have a match booked for the Pay-Per-View. Call it an understandable byproduct of their feud with the Hardy Boys, or the logical conclusion considering […]

Earl Hebner has been a professional referee since 1977. He’s had stints in WWF/WWE, TNA/Impact, and even in AEW, though that final run wasn’t particularly long. He’s officiated thousand of matches, called almost as many victories, and become one of the most well-known wrestling personalities in the sport’s history without ever hitting a foe with […]

Despite the event officially being one week away, the entire AEW x NJPW card for Forbidden Door still hasn’t been fully released. The Young Bucks, fresh off of their tag team championship win over Jurassic Express, still don’t have an opponent, neither does Bryan Danielson and after spurning both Adam Page and Adam Cole in […]

Ace Austin is not an announced performer for the AEW/New Japan Pro Wrestling co-promotional event Forbidden Door. He isn’t officially a member of either promotion, and unless he signs a deal in the next dozen or so days, it’s generally assumed that he won’t be wrestling on what could be one of the biggest independent […]

Before he was a member of the AEW roster, Darby Allin’s tag team partner, or even had a proper WWE match on his resume, the Man called Sting was a fixture of Impact Wrestling, or as it was called then, TNA, where he wrestled from 2006 through 2014. Over his time in the promotion, Sting […]

After what seemed like a bridge-burning betrayal, Swerve in our Glory is back on AEW programming. Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland as a team actually has somewhat of a history. The two teamed up years ago before AEW was even a thought – though Swerve was known as Shane Strickland at the time – working […]

For the last month, The United Empire of NJPW has been running rampant on AEW television. Fans have watched Will Ospreay interrupt segments between FTR and Trent Beretta, watched Aussie Open throw down against FTR and Beretta alongside Ospreay, and even watched Ospreay take care of business against Dax Harwood in a segment that ended […]

As AEW and New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Forbidden Door approaches, the first step in finding out who will represent NJPW in the All-Atlantic Championship four-way match will take place at Korakuen Hall tomorrow. That’s right; while the final AEW competitor will not be decided until this Wednesday when Malakai Black takes on Penta Oscuro in […]

Fans of WWE know John Morrison by a number of different names in the promotion. He was Johnny Superstar in OVW, Johnny Blaze on his first appearance on Raw, and, after earning a single week as Johnny Spade, he embraced the name Johnny Nitro, which was a reference to the WCW Nitro, the premier show […]

After being announced as a participant in the Ultimate X Match at Impact’s Slammiversary Pay-Per-View, Jack Evans, one half of the former AEW tag team The Hybrid2, has been removed from the contest “out of an abundance of caution” and will instead be replaced by Andrew “The Giant” Everett, who some fans might recall from […]