His island queen 🌺🌺

Summary: what happens when the elite & rest of the Aew roster meet the only other important person in Chris Jerichos life in the most surprising way.

Pairing: Chris Jericho x younger wife reader ❤️

Warnings: mostly fluff

Y/n fatu ( face claim India Westbrook)

Her tattoos: left hand

Right hand:

Back piece:

Pov:

For the past couple weeks going into the new year Jericho & the elite have been dealing with the Bcc’s unruly actions against them since Chris beat yuta for the roh championship then the elite beating mox,Claudio and Bryan for the trio’s belts. The feud has been getting worse by the second from sneak attacks to down right intentionally causing physical harm not only to them but everyone else randomly for no reason it was getting ridiculous, which is why they challenged them to a street fight on rampage 2 weeks from now sick of their tactics.

“ This has to stop!!! Just because we beat them clean at the beginning of the new year those pricks wanna throw hissy fits and attack us left & right then going around randomly injuring others on the roster” Nick Jackson said snarling sitting down the boys and Chris just got back from their 5 man tag match against United empire ,kip sabian, and Ricky starks. Which of course ended in another attack by the bcc after the boys that got slightly bloody resulting in some of them getting stitches no thanks to that damn screwdriver they’ve been using.

Wincing putting the ice pack on his shoulder “ agreed this shit ends after new week can’t afford anyone else getting injured or attacked by them” kenny said closing his eyes all of them understand what it’s like to lose championships every now and then but what the bcc is doing isn’t it. “ especially coming from me being the first victim *points to eyepatch * try explaining to your 2yr old why daddy is wearing a eyepatch I’m not waiting when the day comes moment we walk out and hit the ring I’m attacking” hangman said joining kenny on the other couch holding his husband lovingly.

When feud first started hangman came out to save Kenny and the bucks from a beat down only for the bcc to hold him down and stab him in the eye while the rest were tied up let alone to beat up to help. “ can’t blame you besides they’ve had the belts for to long, Chris you good dude been quiet since we came back?” Matt said looking over at Jericho who was packing his bags silently fuming completely in his own world “ huh ? * looks over his shoulder * physically no mentally I’ll be fine *sighs * okay no I’m not okay!!!” He growled.

“ who the hell do they think they are just because regal trained them then of leaving them high dry all of them are above everybody else?! No just some wannabe house of black knockoffs” Chris said it was true though especially No thanks Bryan Danielson’s hypocrite delusional nonsense and fake propaganda crap. “ Acting like they’ve never lost before doing the most over the top bullshit I’ve seen come rampage all bets are off!!! The want batshit crazy that’s what we’re going to give them those stupid idiots are in for a rude awakening” he declared as the others agreed after this street Bryan & the Bcc’s actions are going to finally catch up to them.

- 2hrs later-

Chris and y/n’s house:

Waving goodbye thanking them for the ride Chris made it home god it feels good to say that during the whole feud he always looked forward to decompressing from all of it relaxing and being wrapped in the warmth nurturing love with the one person that always brings happiness and joy to his life just when he feels like he wouldn’t find it again.

Walking up the stairs then inside locking the door behind him Chris chuckled hearing Sade playing through the house on low then the smells of delicious food filling the room he was at peace, after playing with the dogs for a little bit he walked further into the house finding the source Chris smiled fondly leaning against the wall watching his flower moving their hips to the beat her siren honey vocals matching perfectly to the music how did he get so lucky.

Y/n’s outfit (all sets made by me) :

“ Now how did I miss this little performance? Let alone my own home?” He said teasingly startling the woman a little bit before chuckling as she smiled big walking over hugging him tightly greeting him with a loving kiss.

“ we’ll if you got back earlier than you’d have still been able to catch the whole performance” the mystery woman smiled rubbing his cheek before kissing him again “ how you feeling pain level 1 to 10?” She asked looking at the small stitches on his forehead. “ 5 so not too bad but right now I’m here so that’s all that matters, mm is that what I think it is?” He said looking at the meal she was preparing. “ yes now go get cleaned up it should be done when you come back downstairs” she giggled swatting his chest playfully.

Who was the mystery woman you ask?

Well she is not only Chris’s new wife but also well known in the wrestling world as Desiree parks but most people that know her personally especially her family she’s y/n fatu , yep that’s right she’s the usos baby sister and Roman Reigns baby cousin that wrestles under new Japan wrestling/stardom.

The two met mid 2022/23 at jeys birthday to which he was invited after word got out about his divorce from his ex wife who treated him badly and cheated on the twins wanted him there getting his mind off things. And have fun little did he know he’d find love again let alone true happiness in their baby sister as if it was a soulmate like force that brought them together.

*Flashback*

Even though he wasn’t really up for getting out of the house mingling with other people Chris was actually enjoying himself quite a bit maybe this what he needed “ hey man there’s someone we want you to meet if that’s okay?” Jimmy said joining him by the bar “ sure I don’t mind” Chris replied taking a swig from his beer.

“ cool uce , hey !!! Sis c’mere!!! * y/n turns around smiling softly hearing her brother * hey Chris this is our little sister y/n” jimmy said introducing her to Chris whom became hot and bothered instantly seeing the Carmel skinned goddess standing infront of him.

“ hi Chris nice to meet you nice to finally meet from all the stories and music the twins tell me about great to see the man himself” she said her voice like honey making him snap out of his haze. “ it’s nice to meet you I’ve seen some of your work too very amazing” he smiled shaking her hand watching her face blush a little everything was going to be okay he thought.

*Flashback over*

The two have been married for almost three years now having a private ceremony in early 2023.

Handing him his plate once he came back all washed up and clean they migrated to the living room and caught each other up on everything going on since sometimes she would be wrestling while he was touring. After dinner and dessert they relaxed on the couch watching a movie just wrapped in each others embrace towards the ending Chris looked down chuckling noticing she’d fallen asleep on his lap.

Smiling softly he just traced her cheek softly how did he end up finding himself a modern Wonder Woman a woman with a simple touch could calm him down or able to always look at situations from both perspectives fixing the problem easily without any hesitation. Beats him but one thing he does know is that no matter what he’ll always protect her.

He’s gonna win for her the nights of fear & worries will be over he hated seeing her terrified crying because of the painful physical state he come home to.

2 weeks later

It’s time the night everyone had been waiting for the Bcc we’re going face their actions but most importantly Chris was going to make them for bringing tears to his wife. He had her stay in the back with Brandi & Britt watching not wanting her to get hurt very little people know about y/n & his relationship it’s not that he was afraid of what people would think Jericho just wants that part of his life private.

Cause now or day’s people can get to you any form especially in their line of work.

The match was just getting brutal at this point both teams were pulling out all of the stops yet nobody could blame them Bcc’s actions had gone to far it was time they faced the music. Jumping slightly as Chris was slammed into the tacs Y/n silently prayed to herself watching her husband scream in pain “ his gonna be alright they all are” Brandi said rubbing her shoulders in comfort “ I know * sighs * just worried i mean get it but i still get scared when he gets hurt doing matches” y/n replied with a small smile she was no stranger to these kind of matches having done a few through out her career.

“ And you’re winners of this match the Elite & Chris Jericho!!!” They announced as the arena cheered loudly the whole building shaking with excitement and applause it was over the bcc’s reign of terror was over. Y/n let out breath of relief cheering watching Chris standing tall alongside the elite in victory both knew that the win was needed , as the boys close out the show with Britt & Brandi Chris was finally going to show the world his good luck charm to the world.

“ Now as you know that through out this whole feud we conquered and fought taking down the bcc tired of being attacked let alone disrespected right?” Chris chuckled as the crowd cheered. “ thank you cause you guys never once stopped giving us that energy to keep fighting through the terror , they caused but as you can see all of these amazing hard working people in this ring have their loved ones with them right now well I have a special person here tonight with me as well” he said smirking as the crowd got excited wondering who the mysterious person was.

“ she’s literally been my rock through this whole roller coaster of pain and craziness literally has been my light for a while now and till the day i die my heart,my bestfriend and god so much more probably going to kill for outing her * crowd laughs * so with out further ado let’s give her a warm welcome” he said pointing to the ramps.

The crowd goes crazy watching y/n walk out smiling big shaking her head walking down to the ring “ it’s Desiree parks !!! The immortal goddess!!!” Taz said in shock as Tony & Excalibur agreed in complete shock.

Getting in the ring with the help of the young bucks Chris pulled her into a tight hug rocking her softly before kissing her head holding her close “ yep this beautiful woman has been with me through it all especially during the lowest months in my life but there is one special title that not only she holds but a title very close to my heart ladies and gentlemen she’s my wife!!” he said watching her blush as the boys & crowd went crazy as she held her hand up showing off her wedding ring.

“ And with that being said Tonight will forever be the most important nights of my career!!” He said handing the mic over to the announcer pulling her into a deep loving kiss while everyone cheered & wolf whistles for the couple.

No matter what came his way long as he had his island queen by his side everything would be okay.

The end ( hope you guys enjoyed it

Her theme:

Y/n’s outfit:

Interim AEW Champion - Who Will It Be? (And Who it Should Be)

Injuries suck, and sadly injury has knocked on the AEW World Champion's door. Sadly, CM Punk's injury makes him unable to compete until he's healed from surgery, so AEW have a pickle: someone needs to face Tanahashi.

The plan as we can see is to pit Tanahashi against the winner of Moxley (No. 1 ranked) and the winner of Wednesday's battle royale. The winner at Forbidden Door will be the Interim AEW World Champion. AEW has a large roster of potential world champions, but who should be the one to leave Forbidden Door as champion?

Jon Moxley Obviously, the top ranked competitor has the advantage. Not only is he an experienced champion but he already has been feuding with Tanahashi in NJPW, being champion with a crowd too is owed for Moxley.

Wardlow The War Dog is over like rover and number 2 in the rankings, running high on a Goldberg-like push. Putting over the younger powerhouse would certainly be something up AEW's alley, as well as something Punk'd approve of since he claimed Wardlow was who beat him in Chicago.

Bryan Danielson Danielson's two bouts for the AEW World Championship have both been classics, and there was still a lot more untapped with him and Moxley going at it. The Best Professional Wrestler will of course be someone to consider for the world title.

PAC The Bastard hasn't had the most fruitful time in AEW, thanks a lot in part to COVID's travel restrictions but also because the House of Black continue to undo his faction of Death Triangle. But having PAC as world champion would be solid course correction, you cannot doubt his athleticism and talent, let alone his promo skills, and as his heelish tweener role he'd be a great foil for consummate babyface Tanahashi.

Miro God's favourite champion is back, and while people fancied him taking back the TNT title, why not go bigger? Miro proved as TNT champion to be dominant in the ring but able to carry a compelling narrative, people will love to see it.

Malakai Black Malakai Black is coming off strong having defeated Death Triangle, with Julia also recruited the House of Back is established as a powerful and dominant unit, and someone of Black's talents could certainly run as world champion against Tanahashi and a unification feud with Punk.

Adam Cole As winner of the Owen, Adam Cole is definitely someone who can stake a claim. As a champion around the globe, Cole can lead another Undisputed Expedition of Gold to follow up what seems to be the Young Bucks making another claim for the tag titles. You'll get good matches and a charismatic champion, so there's little to go wrong.

'Hangman' Adam Page We must of course consider the one Punk beat as well. Page getting the title back would tell an interesting story given how he lost it after almost falling to darkness. Would a slow heel turn brew from Hangman getting back his prize? And keeping it by any means necessary?

Andrade El Idolo Andrade has recently formed an alliance with RUSH again in hopes of gaining more wins in AEW, people were high on him winning the TNT title but like Miro, why not go further? He's still super talented and charismatic, and while feuding with LIJ would be an ideal Forbidden Door spot for him and RUSH, being world champion may be something more intriguing to El Idolo...so long as it doesn't disrupt his honeymoon of course.

Hiroshi Tanahashi Since a new champion is to be crowned at Forbidden Door we cannot rule out the opponent. What a closer it would be for Forbidden Door for someone to become champion from it? Nobody has yet to do it with AEW's championships at least, so a surprise could be on the card for the Ace of New Japan to take AEW's biggest championship.

KENTA In that same vein though, KENTA was perhaps the first to break through the Forbidden Door between AEW and NJPW, when he attacked Jon Moxley as part of their IWGP US Championship feud but also to help Kenny Omega in his feud with Moxley. The pieces line up well, but also since his initial bout was rejected, KENTA as champion could force Punk's hand with the inevitable dream match and Battle of the GTS.

But it Should Be: MJF While we can all speculate the others to be good champions, for my mind and money the only option can be MJF.

Now granted, this does go with the premise that his promo and removal of the Roster page is a work, but it could also be a spectacular work. Imagine if you would that Shawn Spears seemingly enters the battle royale, and when an over with the crowd winner looks to have won Spears eliminates them, following up that he was never actually in the Battle Royale, but was there to support who was actually in it: MJF. By having him blindside and beat Moxley (perhaps with JAS shenanigans too because this did put a wrench in Blood and Guts plans) we have a perfect situation of Tanahashi the Face and MJF the Heel. But then to have MJF win it would produce ungodly amount of heat, which AEW could use to pose the narrative of MJF holding the AEW World Championship hostage in order to meet his wild and selfish demands; pay rises, giving his allies title shots, keeping the diamond ring, revoking Shawn Dean's wins against him, forbidding anyone he's beaten from challenging for the title. What's more, we could have him think that last point will keep him away from Punk, only for the loophole to be that MJF is actually challenging for Punk's title since he's the interim, but then also win the unification bout.

We can talk all we want about who would make a good champion, but the most compelling story right now would be for the Devil to have his Due.

Forbidden door predictions:

Interim AEW World Championship - Jon Moxley vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi:

Mox they ain't gonna give it to NJ are they?...

IWGP World Heavyweight Championship - Jay White (c) vs. Kazuchika Okada vs. Hangman Adam Page vs. Adam Cole:

I really want cowboy to win but I've a feeling Jay White gonna keep it but I really hope Kenny comes home tonight 🙏

AEW All-Atlantic Championship - Pac vs. Miro vs. Malakai Black vs. Clark Connors:

I've a feeling Malakai gonna win it but I really want Pac to win.

IWGP U.S. Heavyweight Championship - Will Ospreay (c) vs. Orange Cassidy:

OC for the win and the title Mon the fruit boy!!

ROH and IWGP World Tag Team unification match - FTR (ROH) vs. United Empire (IWGP) vs. Roppongi Vice:

I want FTR to win everything but I've a feeling they gonna keep it on the Japan guys.

AEW World Women’s Championship - Thunder Rosa (c) vs. Toni Storm:

Thunder Rosa

Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara, and Minoru Suzuki vs. Eddie Kingston, Wheeler Yuta, and Shota Umino (Winner gets the advantage for Blood and Guts next Wednesday):

Eddie ,wheeler and shota

The Young Bucks and El Phantasmo vs. Sting, Darby Allin, and Shingo Takagi:

This is honestly the hardest one to call , I love them all but imma go bullet club.

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Mystery opponent picked by Bryan Danielson:

CLAUDIO ,CLAUDIO,CLAUDIOOOOOOOOO.

Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee vs. Suzuki-gun

QT Marshall and Aaron Solo vs. Bishamon:

Keith and Swerve

Gunn Clubb and Max Caster vs. Yuya Uemura, Alex Coughlin, The DKC, and Kevin Knight:

Go NJ for this one cause well I've bearly picked NJ 🤣

Remember these are who I think will win not nessacarily who I want to win

I am overwhelmed with the things I can talk about with Matt just giving a damn nod to Hangman. Do I talk about

-The Bucks finally being in Hangman’s corner (and how that journey relates to them being in Brandon’s corner and their place as losers in the Elite and so much more)

-Hangman not needing them but still having them

-Can the Bucks and Hangman be friends again?

-The Bucks dethroned every Bullet Club leader they were under and how much that nod looked like a kill order

-Matt being the one to nod and how this is very much the old dynamic of the Bucks where they are one unit and Matt speaks for both of them and everybody knows that’s what’s happening. 

-This betrayal to Kenny. They’ve never not been in his corner. They have been his seconds since New Japan.

-Kenny’s massive insecurity about his friends leaving him and him not having the title to hide behind

-Kenny’s old insecurity that the Bucks would leave him for Adam Cole

-Adam Cole’s presence re-prioritizing where the Bucks see themselves in AEW and the Elite

-The dissolution of the Elite (faction) of their own making

-Kenny’s incoming meltdown and where the Bucks stand with Kenny. The Elite (trio) love each other a whole lot.

-Cody next?

As we all know, it’s likely that Kenny Omega’s days as AEW World Champion are coming to an end, just a few days until Hangman Adam Page finally wins the big one. So what’s next for Kenny after this?

Well his character has a tendency to spiral, especially after big loses, and I think the next focus for him is The Elite, more specifically the fall of the Elite. An even more broken down Kenny, no championship to give him validation, turns to his elite brothers with the aim to pick himself back up, but what if that is just impossible in the current state of The Elite.

The arrival of Adam Cole has been an interesting one. His rejoining of the Elite was celebrated, the pop when him and the bucks do the cheek kiss spot in their matches proves that. However, we all know the seeds have been planted from the beginning.

The Elite as a unit are known for their fantastic nuanced storytelling, I mean look to their story with Hangman, especially the revolution 2020 match. Their mannerisms add so much to these incredibly well thought out stories and Kenny Omega and Adam Cole have this mastered. During Adam Cole’s first moments in All Elite Wrestling, when he receives two sweet (wink wink) kisses from the Young Bucks, Kenny is seen behind Adam planting a kiss on the back of his head, Kenny is pushed into the background.

Even as recent as the October 27th AEW Dynamite, during that very fun Halloween match, Kenny approaches Stu Grayson to apply a camel clutch but is quickly instructed by Cole to block any of the Dark Order members from entering the ring, quickly replacing Kenny, applying the camel clutch and doing that oh so popular kiss spot with the Bucks. Omega has been pushed into the background ever since Cole arrived, the SuperKliq becoming the staple team of the elite, about to take part in a match at Full Gear on November 13th as a unit.

I think that the next route for Kenny Omega after losing the championship is for him to experience a fall from grace. That cocky, over the top, egotistical persona knocked out of him once Hangman Adam Page finally lands that Buckshot Lariat for the 1 2 3. The story from there is that, whilst the man he once called a partner celebrates with people who actually helped him accept himself and accepted him as family, Kenny is left to watch the Bucks, his best friends, his brothers, his family, drift away from him and right into the arms of Adam Cole.

Now the question is whether Kenny adorns a even more vicious heel persona or if Adam and the bucks stab him right in the back and through his heart. I personally believe that this may be the beginning of a very well thought out face turn for Omega, possibly even reuniting with Hangman at some point to open up the door for a full elite to once exist again. Or… due to the existence of the forbidden door there is always a possibility that Omega will see a blinding light, a Phoenix, a golden star. Simply waiting for him on the other side, ready to walk toward him and save him from the fall.

Who the hell is CM Punk and why is he “All Elite”?

If you’re reading this post, you’re most likely somebody who’s heard the latest buzz around the wrestling world: CM Punk is back! But who exactly is CM Punk? You’ve probably heard the name before, either in the context of pro wrestling or as part of his time in UFC, and have always wondered what the big deal is about the guy. You’ve also probably seen or heard about All Elite Wrestling, up-and-coming wrestling promotion airing live Wednesday and Friday nights on TNT. But what exactly is AEW as well? That’s where this post comes in. In this long-ass post on Tumblr, you’ll be given a crash course on the history of one of pro wrestling’s most iconic superstars as well as the abridged history of AEW, the premier wrestling promotion in North America, allowing you to (hopefully) understand the significance of Punk’s return to the squared circle as well as give yourself significant knowledge of AEW enough that you can begin to enjoy the weekly shows they put out!

Okay, so who the heck is this CM Punk guy anyway?

To put it simply, CM Punk is one of the most significant pro wrestlers of the 21st century as well as the history of the industry itself. While he’s not on the level of mainstream recognition as Hulk Hogan or Stone Cold Steve Austin, Punk’s contributions to pro wrestling are arguably as important to the industry. To understand Punk’s significance, you need to have a little history lesson about the industry in the early-to-mid 2000′s.

When you think of professional wrestling, you probably think of one name above all: WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment. WWE was, and still is, the most mainstream wrestling promotion ever. People associate all wrestling with WWE, no matter what. But what about what’s below WWE in terms of recognition? The Minor League Baseball to its MLB? To that, we have to look at the independent scene.

The independent scene is, simply put, the underground punk rock of pro wrestling. It’s where the stars make the names for themselves to rise to the success. Indie wrestling is important because it’s where Punk began. CM (the initials jokingly standing for whatever is on his mind at the moment, ranging from “Cookie Monster” to “Charles Montgomery” or “Chicago Made”) Punk began his career in the independent scene around the turn of the millennium. He rose to significant prominence in the promotion Ring of Honor, one of the most premiere indie leagues in the United States. This prominence was brought on by Punk’s oozing charisma and wrestling talent, making him one of the best known “underground wrestlers” at the time. Then, in 2005, Punk signed a contract with the major league: he was WWE bound.

To regale you with Punk’s career in WWE would require an entirely separate post, so I’ll spare you the specifics and get to the good stuff: Punk was over in WWE. “Over” of course meaning the fans loved him. And why shouldn’t they? Big time wrestling fans knew Punk from his days in ROH and to see him rise to be on national television broadcasts and pay-per-view was rewarding. To those who were introduced to him, he was a fantastic talent and provided immense entertainment because of his talent in the ring and outside it.

Later on in his career at WWE, Punk provided one of the most scathing promos of all time, criticizing the company for its horrific decision-making and idiotic management. The promo was a “worked shoot”, wrestling lingo for a promo that seems like it’s breaking character but is all planned out (Punk was allowed to say anything he wanted, no matter if it was in character or not) but it was still extremely satisfying for the fans who agreed wholeheartedly with Punk about the state of WWE at the time. This promo (now known as the “pipebomb promo”) is just one of the many reasons why CM Punk has remained an immense fan favorite. The idea of a wrestler taking the mic, airing their grievances, and showcasing how a major corporation treated their employees with disdain and damnation is utterly unlike anything seen since Stone Cold Steve Austin back in the late 90′s. Punk, to many people, was one of the first of many “indie stars” that WWE had “poached” from the independent scene, turning them into corporate icons, stripping away their unique qualities as a person and transforming them into recognizable brands to sell merchandise with. To see Punk spit back at the WWE made a lot of people realize that enough was enough for them. Punk was the voice of the voiceless, a wrestler echoing throughout the halls that he wasn’t just a brand to slap onto a cheap mass-produced product, that he was a wrestler (in the mid-2000s at WWE, the term “wrestler” was seen as an irrelevant term, the terms “sports entertainer” and “superstar” preferred by management) in this business to prove himself as the Best in the World. And like clockwork, on July 15th, 2014, Punk was removed from WWE’s active roster after he had effectively walked out of the company weeks prior.

One of the most significant events post-WWE with Punk was his appearance on close friend Colt Cabana’s Art of Wrestling podcast. Colt’s podcast was known for featuring “shoot interviews”, basically interviews with wrestlers out of character detailing backstage information and telling stories. Punk’s episode of the podcast is significant as it eventually led to a total legal dispute with one of WWE’s doctors whose misdiagnosis of a staph infection was one of the reasons for Punk’s departure from WWE. Along with that, Punk’s general dissatisfaction with the “WWE Machine” as it’s been coined was another reason, with him even mentioning at times post-retirement that WWE was responsible for him never wanting to wrestle again. And so it seemed, as Punk later on signed with UFC in an attempt to get a MMA career off the ground, that the legacy of CM Punk ended with his tenure at WWE.

Until, that is, the wrestling world got a little...elite...

Okay, so I get who CM Punk is now, but what’s this All Elite Wrestling business?

AEW, All Elite Wrestling and the sole reason you’re reading this post right now, is the second biggest wrestling promotion in North America and quite possibly the world. Its inception begins with a group of wrestlers signed to the aforementioned Ring of Honor and a little bet made with wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer on Twitter.

Meltzer had proclaimed on Twitter that ROH did not have the capability to sell 10,000 tickets to an arena-run wrestling event. ROH-signed wrestlers Cody Rhodes (son of Dusty Rhodes and brother of Dustin Rhodes f.k.a. “Goldust”) and tag team brothers Matt and Nick Jackson (known as “The Young Bucks”) took Meltzer up on the bet and immediately scouted an arena for such an event. Partnering with Ring of Honor along with other wrestling promotions around the world such as Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide, Impact Wrestling, and New Japan Pro Wrestling, the trio promoted the event as All In and managed to sell out the arena in less than 30 minutes, even exceeding the goal by an extra thousand or so, becoming the largest attended wrestling event not held by industry leader WWE since 1993.

Naturally, the success of such an event caught the attention of many leaders in many industries. The idea that an independent wrestling event could create such a huge success in a time where WWE was kingpin of the industry was unprecedented. It was clear that the wrestling world was ready for a change and the numbers didn’t lie.

On the 1st of January 2019, All Elite Wrestling was announced with the running of All In’s sequel event Double or Nothing which would also be the inaugural pay-per-view event for AEW itself. Backing the company financially was Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan along with his son and co-owner of the Jaguars Tony Khan, who would lead the company as president, CEO and head of creative. The announcement of the company was peppered with signings of some of independent wrestling’s hottest stars such as “Hangman” Adam Page, Joey Janela, Britt Baker, and Kenny Omega, often cited as the greatest wrestler in the world with multiple 5 star+ matches under his belt. Also announced were some of the most interesting inclusions: former WWE stars Chris Jericho and PAC (f.k.a. Neville) had joined as well. At the premiere event of Double Or Nothing, the most shocking addition to the roster made his debut as well: Jon Moxley, formerly known in WWE as Dean Ambrose, one of the highest-profile stars in recent history had jumped ship from top of the card in WWE to the newest promotion. Ripples in the wrestling world had turned into immense shock waves.

Alright, I kinda know the history now but why is AEW so important?

AEW’s significance today cannot be understated. Before its inception, the world of professional wrestling consisted of two pillars: WWE and the independent scene, and the two could not be less equal. WWE was seen by many as the top of the line, the area where a wrestler could be seen by the most eyes and where they could be paid top dollar moreso than any indie promotion. But it was also seen, as detailed earlier by CM Punk, as a place of dull, corporatized profiteering. WWE does not treat its wrestlers as characters in engaging, eventful stories. To the WWE, the wrestlers are no more than brands, recognizable faces and repetitive phrases that they can slap onto t-shirts and other merchandise to sell for a quick buck. WWE as a company does not care about the world of professional wrestling, even recently going so far as to call themselves not a “wrestling company” but an “entertainment” company. Wrestlers in WWE are not given the opportunity to come up with material they think will best suit the story of the match and appease the fans, they are given pre-written scripts of dialogue to act out as if they were in a movie and storylines meant to tell the story the writers want to tell rather than what the fans want to see.

For many wrestlers, the art of wrestling is a finely tuned craft. WWE’s corporate micromanagement of the whole process is utterly disrespectful and soul-crushing. At AEW, the story is different.

AEW’s creative team allows its wrestlers to do whatever they think the fans will like. While not necessarily allowing the wrestlers full creative control (Tony Khan, after all, has the final say on things), AEW at least allows the wrestlers flexibility to try new things without being railroaded by storylines. This results in characters like Orange Cassidy (see above) a wrestler whose entire gimmick is that he just doesn’t care. In his matches, he’ll lazily loaf about the ring, putting in the bare minimum effort at attacking his opponents except when the opponents REALLY strike back at which Cassidy explodes into an array of athletic fury while simultaneously never losing his cool. And it works! The gimmick worked insanely well on the independent scene, away from the strict guidelines of a major corporation who probably would not understand it, and fans adored Cassidy’s laidback, lazy attitude. And in AEW, Cassidy’s gimmick transfers flawlessly due to the company’s trust in Cassidy to make it work. And so, AEW remains a place where wrestlers can succeed not at the whims of an out-of-touch old man playing with his action figures in a way that satisfies only himself, but at the whims of creative people who believe in the equally creative minds out in the squared circle who themselves believe in the hearts of the audience, understanding full well what it is they want to see when they come to or tune into a wrestling program.

There are a multitude of other reasons AEW is probably the best wrestling promotion on the planet (ease of access, LGBT diversity among the roster) but the creative freedom it allows its wrestlers remains one of the greatest.

Okay, now I kinda get the appeal. So where does CM Punk tie into this?

As with any new promotion heavily allowing for greater creative opportunity for its wrestlers, fans are gonna want to see their big favorites join the roster. Names like Daniel Bryan, Aleister Black, Adam Cole etc. known from their time on both the independent scene and at WWE have been tossed around a lot during discussions in the past as far as who should jump ship to the promotion that will best suit them. But one person has always been the biggest “what-if” when it comes to joining AEW: CM Punk. As laid out earlier, CM Punk’s dissatisfaction with WWE was wholly responsible for his greater retirement from the pro wrestling scene. And when there’s only one really significant promotion on the market, why bother? Punk has been vocal in the past on Twitter, in interviews and many other places that his love for the business of pro wrestling was soured and that something truly significant would be required for him to return. It seemed natural to fans that, should AEW prove to be a significant competitor to WWE that, somehow, some way, it could lead to the in-ring return of one of the best to ever step foot in it. And when AEW announced it would be running the second episode of its brand-new show Rampage at the United Center in Chicago, Punk’s hometown, the rumors began to fly.

Punk himself is known for joking about and debunking rumors, hearsay and other lies about his potential signing with any wrestling-related outlets. So when the rumors began to fly that Punk was signing with AEW...the man himself stayed uncharacteristically quiet. And the wrestling world began to gasp...was it true, then? Teasers were thrown about here and there on AEW programming, small things that could go either way but to hardcore fans seemed to understand were plain as day. Punk himself even got in on the action, posting cryptic videos on his Instagram that fans eventually linked to the United Center and a return for the Best in the World. It’s been known as wrestling’s “worst-kept secret” and today, it was revealed in all its glory.

CM Punk, one of the original independent wrestling superstars, one of the few men responsible for changing the culture of professional wrestling in the 21st century, had finally returned home.

Okay, that was pretty explanatory. So now, where the heck can I watch all this?

Excellent question! AEW currently has three methods of airing content:

- Through their network TV shows aired on TNT

- Through their YouTube channel

- Through pay-per-view events

AEW Dynamite is the company’s flagship show airing Wednesdays at 8:00 EST/7:00 CST on TNT. All the company’s major storylines are told on Dynamite and the show usually runs for ~2 hours. There are over 90+ episodes of Dynamite and its not really required that you see every single one though there are many episodes that have aired in the past that feature matches, promos, and other segments worth checking out.

AEW Rampage is the company’s second show and currently only has two episodes aired. It also airs on TNT, Fridays at 10:00 EST/9:00 CST. Rampage has been given the description of being a little more “action-packed” than Dynamite, with shows only lasting for a single hour and featuring little promo time instead focusing primarily on matches themselves.

The company’s biggest stories tend to culminate in one of its four annual pay-per-view events. AEW pay-per-views are available via WarnerMedia's B/R Live service in the United States and Canada, and on FITE TV internationally. Additionally, AEW PPVs are also available via traditional PPV outlets in the United States and Canada and are carried by all major satellite providers. AEW PPVs generally cost around $50-60 and run for about four hours or so.

In addition to the two TNT shows and pay-per-views, AEW also runs two weekly shows on its YouTube channel, AEW: Dark and AEW: Dark Elevation. Both shows are generally referred to as AEW’s “developmental” shows, created mostly for unsigned or up-and-coming talent to showcase themselves in a taped format that forgoes the traditional network TV deals for easier access online. Dark and Dark Elevation’s differences are negligible but both tend not to crossover too much with the main shows, although some stories definitely do. Both shows run for ~an hour and a half on Monday nights at 7:00 EST/6:00 CST (Dark Elevation) and Tuesdays at 7 EST/6 CST (Dark).

AEW talent also provide a few extra sources of entertainment through their own YouTube outlets as well. The Elite, a popular stable in AEW consisting of current champion Kenny Omega and current tag team champions the Young Bucks, feature themselves in their own weekly travel vlog/comedy sketch series Being the Elite while other individual wrestlers like Sammy Guevara, Allie “The Bunny”, and Ethan Page provide more individualized backstage looks at the company through their own vlogs. These aren’t necessary to enjoy regular AEW programming but they definitely add to the atmosphere and you can tell through each how much the locker room loves and respects each other.

Wow, this was really in-depth and definitely not a small task at all. Thanks for the help!

No problem! If you have any questions, feel free to send me a message, though its doubtful I’ll receive it since I barely check Tumblr anymore! If you know me on any other platforms, the message still applies! Thanks so much for reading! I really do hope this helped you understand the situation a little better. Enjoy wrestling!

July 2, 2017: G1 Special in USA - Kenny becomes the inaugural IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion after a single elimination tournament.

Not only did Hangman Page get eliminated in the first round, the person who eliminated him, Jay Lethal, fell to Kenny in the semifinals

Page still comes out with the rest of Bullet Club to celebrate, and even helps hold Kenny up when it seems like he’s worried Kenny will lean back too far, but he’s also not excited like the Bucks (or other people we will ignore). It’s never addressed, but it’s absolutely one of the inciting incidents of Hangman’s fear that he’ll never be as good as his friends that will fester and grow over the next few years.

Double or Nothing preview

Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara & Santana & Ortiz & Jake Hager vs. MJF & Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler & Shawn Spears & Wardlow - This is a "Stadium Stampede" match, so the contest will start in a wrestling ring set up on the 50-yard line of TIAA Bank Field. There are no disqualifications and falls count anywhere, so basically both teams can brawl all over the stadium until one guy scores a pin or submission on someone from the other team. If the Pinnacle (MJF's team) wins, then Jericho's Inner Circle will be forced to disband forever.

The Jericho/MJF rivalry has been brewing since the fall of 2019, when the subject of MJF joining the Inner Circle was broached. MJF (and Wardlow) finally joined up a year later, but it was all a plot to destroy the group from within to make way for the Pinnacle. The original five members of the Inner Circle stayed together and collectively turned babyface. The Pinnacle defeated the Inner Circle in a "blood & guts" cage match, where Jericho suffered a real dislocation in his elbow, but the Inner Circle demanded another chance to settle the score. So MJF challenged them to this match, knowing that Jericho's squad lost the first Stadium Stampede last year.

The first stadium match worked because they took full advantage of the format to do a lot of wacky comedy and absurd brawling spots. I don't think these teams can replicate that here, and really shouldn't try. They'll be better off focusing on the brutality of this blood feud and the dangers of an unfamiliar environment. Last year's match was all about finding new things to jump off of that nobody ever used in a wrestling match before. This one should be about finding new ways to hurt people.

I can't see the Inner Circle actually breaking up here, because there's a lot more left for them to do. In theory you could do it and just have Jericho keep targeting MJF all on his own. But they also still need to do Santana & Ortiz vs. Harwood & Wheeler, and Guevara vs. Spears, and I'd even be up for Hager vs. Wardlow. So it makes more sense to just give the Inner Circle the win here, although I can't deny that it's possible they could surprise me.

Kenny Omega vs. PAC vs. Orange Cassidy - This is a three-way match for Omega's AEW men's world championship, so the first man to score a fall on either opponent wins the match and the title. Omega's other championships--the Impact world title and AAA mega title--are not at stake.

As far as I can tell this match was always supposed to be a three-way. A Pac vs. Cassidy match on May 12 was set to decide Omega's next challenger and booked to go a time-limit draw. Omega would then argue that neither man won a title match, only to be overruled and have to face both of them, in a bit we've seen a million times. However, in the match Orange got legit knocked out. So instead of just declaring Pac the winner and sole challenger, which would make more sense anyway, they had to do some wacky hijinx to get back on the stupid track to their stupid draw to do the stupid trope for a stupid three-way.

So yeah, I'm not thrilled with this match, because nothing about it is more interesting to me than if the May 12 match had a winner and this match was one-on-one. Orange just beating Pac to earn the biggest match of his career would have been cool. Orange losing to Pac, so that it takes longer for him to prove he belongs in the main event, would have been cool. But a three-way just says to me "we don't think either of these challengers is a credible draw on their own, and you won't either after they both lose at the same time." Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if WWE hadn't run this sort of thing into the ground, but they did.

Anyway, Omega probably steals a pin from Orange, and the announcers all squabble with Don Callis for 25 minutes. I would really like to see this Omega heel run actually start going somewhere.

Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson vs. Jon Moxley & Eddie Kingston - The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick) are defending the AEW tag team title. The Moxley-Kingston alliance came about when Eddie set aside their differences to rescue Mox from the exploding ring on March 7. But the ring didn't explode, so both of them wanted to beat up Kenny Omega for embarrassing them. But they couldn't get at Omega becaue his faction kept getting in the way, and then the Bucks turned on Moxley to join Omega's faction. So Moxley and Kingston started targeting the Bucks, and by the time they stole the Bucks' fancy designer sneakers we had a title match.

I think I actually find the Bucks less irritating as heels than as babyfaces. When they're bad guys, they spend half of their time being all insider-y, like "WOW THAT SURE WAS AN EVIL THING WE JUST DID, THAT SURE WILL GET SOME 'HEEL' 'HEAT' FROM THE 'MARKS' LOL." But when they're good guys, they devote that time to being all "WOW THIS SURE WOULD BE A GOOD OPPORTUNITY FOR A 'HEEL' 'TURN' BUT WE'RE NOT GOING TO DO IT YET YOU 'MARKS' LOL." At least now they're supposed to be annoying.

The biggest missing piece in the Bucks' current heel run has been a team that won't take their crap and just punches each of them in the mouth. So Moxley and Kingston are really the perfect opponents for them right now. Like, I really buy that the Bucks have bitten off more than they can chew here. But I also believe that Mox and Eddie's deathmathch powers won't save them if they get cold spray in their eyes. So it averages out to an even fight, which I like.

I wouldn't book the Bucks to drop the title at this particular time, but I can see where it'd be hot for Moxley and Kingston to cement their bond as a team and get a short title run to set up a rematch.

Hikaru Shida vs. Britt Baker - Baker is challenging for the AEW women's world title, which Shida has held for just over a year. It's been a tough run for Shida, being booked as a dominant champion in an empty building, while Baker got all the glory of getting built up as a cult favorite heel. The fandom is impatient for a title change, and specifically for Baker to get the belt. I knew all along that we'd get here eventually, and the long wait would build it up, but it still feels hotter than I expected.

I kind of want to consider the possibility of Shida surprising everyone by retaining. But I think fans would be genuinely pissed if that happened, after waiting so long to see Baker's "coronation." So this is definitely one match where the "predictable" outcome is the right one. Baker should win the title and feud with all the faces she clobbered to get here for the next year. Shida should have to climb her way up to a big rematch down the line.

Sting & Darby Allin vs. Scorpio Sky & Ethan Page - Sky and Page sort of got thrown together because they both have the same "bellyache about not getting opportunities" gimmick. To that end, they both targeted Darby Allin, but instead of challenging him for the TNT championship they caused him to lose it to Miro. So now they're going to get their asses beat by Darby and his buddy Sting, while Miro gets a big PPV title match. You guys might want to review your strategy.

When Sting joined AEW with the intent to work matches, I think everybody assumed he'd just do "cinematic" matches like the pre-taped brawl on the March 7 show. However, AEW went out of their way to say this will be a normal tag team match in the arena, live in front of the fans. It'll be his first "real" match since September 20, 2015, when a bad bump forced him to retire. I sure hope they know what they're doing.

It's conceivable that Page and Sky will get the win, but it makes more sense to me for Allin to get the momentum on his way to rematch with Miro. Also, I think they'll want to give the live crowd a feel-good moment with Sting getting his hand raised.

Miro vs. Lance Archer - Miro won the TNT championship from Darby Allin a couple of weeks ago, and now Allin's busy with Pafge and Sky so that clears the way for Archer to step up and demand a shot. I felt like neither of these guys got their full due in WWE/NJPW, so it's especially rewarding to see them both get pushed in AEW and then beat the crap out of each other in a MEAN GUY MATCH~!

The money is in building to a Miro vs. Allin rematch for the title, so I don't think Archer is winning the belt and I sure don't think Miro is losing it this early. So this isn't about who'll win so much as it's about BIG MEATY MEN...SLAPPING MEAT.

Cody Rhodes vs. Anthony Ogogo - Ogogo won the bronze medal for middleweight boxing in the 2012 Olympics, but of late he's been training at the wrestling school started by Cody Rhodes and QT Marshall. Then QT turned on Cody, taking several students with him to form a faction called "The Factory." Cody got revenge on Marshall, but Ogogo hit Cody with his deadly body blow. Cody can out-wrestle Ogogo, but it won't matter if Ogogo lands that one punch again.

That's what the story of the match actually is. For some reason, Cody thinks it has to do with whether the United States sucks or rules. Basically, this is the same time of year that the Great American Bash would be held, and Cody wants to take up his dad's "The American Dream" moniker for one night weekend only, so that's how he's justifying it. So yeah.

Cody's storylines seem to operate in a parallel universe from the rest of AEW, but if you go along with that and buy what he's selling, it works. I can't decide if it's more important to deliver the happy ending for the white-meat babyface or to put heat on the up-and-coming future star. It probably depends on whether Ogogo's ready for a sustained push, and we won't know that until we see how he performs in this match.

Hangman Page vs. Brian Cage - This match actually relates to the company's rankings, in that Page was the #1 contender until a loss to Cage knocked him down a peg. So the inevitable rise of Page to complete his story arc by challenging his ex-partner for the world title can't proceed becaue Brian Cage is in the way. That's enough to get me motivated.

Cage has been lowkey teasing a face turn since he and Ricky Starks lost to Sting and Darby Allin. That's mainly important because Page is playing into that, suggesting he expected more integrity from Cage than the rest of Team Taz and daring him not to bring his goons to the match. It feels natural for Cage to lose this match because he refuses to accept help from his heel allies, who then turn on him for doing the right thing. Then again, Cage could just win to send Page spiraling further into despair and drag that issue out a while longer. But I really hope we're done with that.

21-man Casino Battle Royale - This is a gauntlet battle royale with timed entry, sort of like WWE's Royal Rumble, but five wrestlers start the match and every three minutes another five enter, until the 21st man enters alone. Once a wrestler enters the match, he can be eliminated at any time by exiting the ring over the top rope and landing on the floor. The match can only end once everyone has entered, and all but one is eliminated; the last man in the ring wins the match and a future world title shot.

Twenty of the 21 participants have been announced: Anthony Bowens, The Blade, Brian Pillman Jr., Christian Cage, Colt Cabana, Dustin Rhodes, Evil Uno, Griff Garrison, Isiah Kassidy, Jungle Boy, Lee Johnson, Marq Quen, Matt Hardy, Matt Sydal, Max Caster, Nick Comoroto, Penta El 0M, Powerhouse Hobbs, Preston Vance, and QT Marshall. The final participant hasn't been named; I'm guessing he'll just happen to enter last as luck #21.

A lot of AEW's factions are represented in this match, but the Hardy Family Office stands out for getting four of their guys (Blade, Hardy, Quen, and Kassidy) in this thing. I'm interested to see if that plays into the story of the match. But the heavy favorites have to be Christian Cage (a big acquisition that is already on track for a title match later this year) and whoever the mystery man is. Of course, last year's surprise entrant was Matt Sydal, so don't assume this one is going to be a huge deal.

Serena Deeb vs. Riho - Deeb is defending the NWA women's world championship on the pre-show. We haven't seen a lot of either of these women lately, because Deeb was out with an injury and Riho's international travel has been severely limited by the pandemic. (The NWA itself has also been out of commission for months, but they're back and probably anxious to book the winner of this match on one of their shows.)

So this match feels like it came out of nowhere, but it still manages to feel important. I mean, Riho ought to be the favorite, but doing a title change with another group's belt is no small thing. I'm really not sure what's going to happen, which is more buzz than I usually get for a pre-show match.

Rathe the elite from horniest to least horny

FHDBDBDBD OKIE

1. Nick Jackson. He’s feral and ready to fuck constantly. I mean look at him.

2. Brandi and Cody as a unit. This is mostly cuz of their time in njpw where they’d harass all of Japan with their horniness for each other, and cuz Cody’s horniness for Kota and Kenny during the civil war arc. King and Queen, truly.

3. Kenny Omega. He’s giving horny bisexual gamers rights and we love him for that. Plus, subtweeting your boyfriend (or ex boyfriend IG) on valentine’s day??? Horny. Getting Joey Ryan to autograph your dick with his dick??? Understandable, yes, but still inexcusably horny.

4. Marty Scurll. The DM.

5. Matt Jackson. Normally he’s okay, just chilling and pretending that he’s the one brain cell in the elite. But watching bte and keeping in mind that Matt writes the show makes all the bits where Kenny “orders” the bucks to do something, or Kenny and Matt share a room reveal that he’s trying to get dicked down by the Cleaner himself. He’s low on the list though because I support him on his journey.

6. Hangman Page. He just wants to talk about horses. Country boy. Yes he does defend the fact that his meat is huge, but that’s just a matter of common sense and human pride.

All Elite Wrestling To Air On TNT

WarnerMedia announced today that it is partnering with All Elite Wrestling (AEW), the new professional wrestling promotion featuring a world-class roster of diverse male and female wrestlers, giving fans a new wrestling experience for the first time in 20 years. WarnerMedia and AEW together will build this powerhouse sporting league from the ground up and will begin airing weekly matches later this year. With this league, AEW is introducing a new generation of wrestlers to fans, offering fun, gripping and authentic athletic matches that will make wrestling more accessible to a broad audience. WarnerMedia will utilize its position as a next-generation global media company to build this league into a global pro-wrestling franchise.

Founded by President and CEO Tony Khan, AEW is headlined by members of The Elite, which includes all-star wrestlers The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson), Cody and Brandi Rhodes, Kenny Omega, and Hangman Page, and a roster that includes the legendary Chris Jericho. Omega, Cody and The Young Bucks also serve as executive vice presidents of the company in addition to in-ring talent, and Brandi Rhodes also serves as Chief Brand Officer.

Later this year, WarnerMedia will provide exclusive multi-platform access for fans to watch AEW events, airing live weekly matches on TNT in prime time, as well as streaming them through WarnerMedia’s B/R Live and on pay-per-view. A leading digital sports enterprise, B/R Live’s high fan engagement will provide an invaluable opportunity to build AEW’s audience.

“All Elite Wrestling is a talent-forward, fan-first league whose inclusive approach to creating high-quality athletic wrestling competitions is already making waves with fans and attracting top-tier wrestlers,” said Michael Quigley, executive vice president, commercial operations, content strategy and monetization, TBS and TNT. “It is high-adrenaline, gripping entertainment and we can’t wait to bring it to fans everywhere with this game-changing new business.”

“Wrestling fans have wanted – and needed – something different, authentic and better for far too long,” said Tony Khan, President and CEO of AEW. “AEW is answering the call. AEW is about more than wrestling. It’s about a movement fueled by wrestling fans who have been underserved and perhaps even disappointed by what the industry has produced in recent years. AEW is rising to the occasion with DOUBLE OR NOTHING and today taking it a step further by partnering with WarnerMedia, which is as committed as we are to making wrestling fans the one and only priority. With WarnerMedia, AEW is poised globally to redefine wrestling as we know it today.”

Focused on producing fast-paced, high-impact competitions, AEW offers fans less scripted, soapy drama, and more athleticism and real sports analytics, bringing a legitimacy to wrestling that it has not previously had. Wrestlers will also be given more freedom to explore their characters and highlight their athletic abilities. Introducing statistics to wrestling for the first time ever, AEW will raise the stakes for its matches and deepen fan engagement by tracking each competitor’s wins and losses as the wrestlers pursue championships, analyzing their moves, assessing damage to their opponents, and providing insights into their winning streaks.

B/R Live will serve as the exclusive digital streaming partner in the United States for AEW’s inaugural event, DOUBLE OR NOTHING, on Saturday, May 25, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. DOUBLE OR NOTHING, which sold out in under 30 minutes, features an exhilarating card including the headline clash between Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho; Cody taking on his brother Dustin Rhodes; The Young Bucks battling the Lucha Bros for the AAA World Tag Team Championship; Hangman Adam Page clashing with PAC; and Britt Baker, Nyla Rose and Kylie Rae competing in a three-way match.

Additionally, the hour-long live pre-show special THE BUY-IN will stream on WarnerMedia and AEW’s social channels. THE BUY-IN includes the first ever “Casino (Battle) Royale,” which will see 21 competitors including Jimmy Havoc, Billy Gunn, MJF and Jungle Boy entering the ring in waves of five wrestlers every three minutes followed by one final entrant, lucky number 21, all fighting it out in the ring until there is one winner, whose reward will be a future title shot against the first ever AEW World Champion.

The media rights deal was negotiated by Khan and Bernie Cahill, co-founder of Activist Artists Management, LLC, an entity in which Khan is also an investor and partner.

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Wrestle Kingdom 13 Preview

For those of you who don't know Wrestle Kingdom is the biggest event for New Japan Pro Wrestling and takes place every January 4th. It closes off some storylines or at least ends a part of it storylines occasionally span years in this company hell the Golden Lovers reunion took 10 years or so. In this post I'll try to layout the back story and competitors in each match.

Pre-show: #1 contendersship for the NEVER Openweight 6-man Tag Team championship.

Togi Makabe and Toru Yano and Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Yuji Nagata, Jeff Cobb and David Finlay vs. Hirooki Goto, Beretta and Chuckie T. vs. Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer and Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Hangman Page, Yujiro Takahashi and Marty Scurll

There's not a lot story to speak of here the match is replacing the New Japan rumble that is normally on the pre-show due to the current champions G.O.D. and Taiji Ishimori having matches on the main card

The winners of the match will go on to face the current champions at New Years Dash the following day

I'm not sure who's going to win this one every group has at least one person I like

I would like Murder Daddy Minoru Suzuki and K.E.S to win since it feels like K.E.S hasn't done too much

With the storyline of Chuckie T. losing his shit and the mole in Chaos I don't know how'd that play out if they won

Taguchi and Yano will probably get played up for laughs during the match

I don't have high hopes for The Elite winning since I don't know how NJPW and AEW are going to get along moving forward

NEVER Openweight Championship

Kota Ibushi (c) vs Will Osprey

This match was set the night Kota won the title shortly after Osprey won the number one contendership

The two compete in different weight classes making a match for this title really the only way the two would face each other short of Osprey moving up to the heavyweight division

It is certainly a dream match for a lot of people myself included these are two of the most impressive high flyers in the business right now

However this is absolutely a high risk match both of these performers styles are extremely high risk and neither really know how not to go all out

I'm legitimately worried for Osprey he's injured himself a lot since I've been watching him I've heard a lot of people worried he may be the next Dynamite Kid and if you don't know enough about that comparison to worry you just know it should

Kota has a history of neck injuries as well

I hope these guys rear it in a bit but all that said this should be a good opener to the main card

Three-way tag team match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship

Yoshinobu Kanemaru and El Desperado (c) vs. Sho and Yoh vs. Bushi and Shingo Takagi

I'm really hoping Shingo and Bushi win this one as I'm not a huge fan of either of the other teams Desperado and Kanemaru for being such good heels and RPG3K I'm just bot huge fans of also L.I.J has taken the spot for my favorite faction since the bullet club split.

I'm always happy to see Shingo since he's been introduced to the group to essentially fill in the spot for the injured Hiromu Takahashi.

I have no doubt that the plan was always for Shinjo to join L.I.J but the group feels incomplete with out Hiromu and I hope his injuries are healed sooner than later I think New Years Dash may still be too early but NYD does have a history of some crazy shit going down

British Heavyweight Championship

Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

Not much to say on this match not a fan of ZSJ like there's just something about his body and face that's off to me and his matches are just his opponents having to play along with his absurd submissions

The match should be good though Ishii is much more of a brawler compared to ZSJ and had a good rivalry with Suzuki through out the year

No one can ever fill the Shibata shaped hole in my heart but the closest contenders are definitely Ishii and Suzuki

I do hope Ishii wins but if he does lose hope he goes on to win the New Japan cup because him and Goto deserve to have a run with the heavyweight championship at some point in their careers

Three-way tag team match for the IWGP Tag Team Championship

Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa (c) vs. Sanada and Evil vs. Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson

I hope Evil and Sanada win it would be fantastic for them to not only win the world tag league but the tag titles at the dome two years in a row.

I just want all the good things to happen for L.I.J

I wouldn't mind G.O.D winning from a story standpoint though because they're still running a path of destruction through the company returning to the Bullet Club of old

The Young Bucks unfortunate to say don't belong in this match I'm sorry but they've done nothing to deserve being in the match

I think how the relationship between NJPW and AEW may play into the outcome of the match and if the rest of the elite continue to show up in New Japan

IWGP United States Championship

Cody (c) vs Juice Robinson

Another match that AWE may play into

I'm rooting for Juice in this one he's just such a pure white meat babyface and comes across as so genuine in all his promo work

Cody is the perfect foil to Juice as well just comes across as an absolute snake (irl great guy tho)

This is absolutely Juice's story beating his rival Jay white to become champion the first time coming up short in the g1 and fighting with a broken hand through it and losing the title to Cody at the Fighting Sprit Unleashed event.

Juice is the ultimate underdog and I hope at some point he graduates beyond that and I think this may be the first big step to that if he wins

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship

Kushida (c) v.s. Taiji Ishimori

While Ishimori hasn't won any major tournaments or had any strong fueds against Kushida he's been booked strong enough to earn the spot

Kushida meanwhile has something to prove in that he is still the Ace of the Jr division in the way Tanahashi is the Ace of the heavyweights

To my knowledge these two haven't had a lot of ring time together but they're both great performers which should certainly make for a good match

Okada V.S. JAY WHITE

The only match that doesn't have any title or contendership on the line this is a match simply based on pride and revenge

At New Years Dash last year White faked out Kenny Omega about joining the bullet club instead opting to join Chaos and soon won the US title from Kenny and defeated Okada in the first day of the G1 tournament causing a rift within the group.

White turns on Okada during the Destruction tour and brings Okada's long time mentor Gedo with him as the two of them and Jado fuck off to join the Bullet Club in their current state

Jay White has come a long way from his debut as the switchblade character I think i used to think of him as babyfaced kylo Ren but now he's a much more legitimate heel than before in a way being a better Cody than Cody ever was since he still has some redeeming qualities from time to time

This year has not been good to Okada but I think he can take the loss plus it will help the bullet club look better in the long term and will leave room for the fude to reignite later on.

IWGP Intercontinental Championship

Chris Jericho (c) v.s. Tetsuya Niato

At least year's NYD Jericho attacked Niato and fucked off for a few months until he came back during Wrestling Dontaku setting up a match for the title at Dominion which Jericho won and continued to beat on Niato

Fellow LIJ members Evil came to stop Jericho planting the seeds for a match between the two but not before Jericho attacked Evil before a match against ZSJ and set forth the opportunity at Power Struggle.

This match has been in the works for most of the year while Jericho has mostly been holding the title hostage Lesnar style and I can't wait to see it

Both Chris and Niato are two of my favorite wrestlers so this should be better than their first match where Jericho pretty much brutalized Niato for most of the match

I say Niato wins they need the IC title to be active in the company again and Jericho may actually be another who will soon fall into the AEW group

Main event IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP

Kenny Omega v.s. Hiroshi Tanahashi

These two are some of the best performers this company has

Tana has carried the company through their dark times and been the face of the company since the early 2000s

Meanwhile Kenny touts that he will be the face of the companies westward expansion

Both have every different ideas of how the company should carry itself going forward

This is really a story of the old guard facing the new

It will be interesting to see how things will play out no matter who wins here

Kenny doesn't have a win at a main event in the dome but Tana has plenty behind him at this point

I'm split on who I'd like to win on this one but very excited to see how it plays out and what it means moving forward.

1st Annual FCA Year-End Awards-THE WINNERS

The 1st Annual FCA Year-End Awards voting is officially over. Thank you to all who voted. Some categories were close in voting and overs were a runaway. I was a little surprise how some categories went. Now for the part you have all been waiting for. Who won?! Well let’s not wait any further:

FCA Lucha Underground Wrestler of 2018 -- Taya Valkyrie (31.8%): This was somewhat a surprise since she was only a small centerpiece of a storyline on Season 4 of Lucha Underground, but she left a good enough impression on you guys to earn the award this year. With the future of Lucha Underground in question, she might be the one and only winnner of the Lucha Underground Wrestler of the Year Award. Marty Martinez & Pentagon Dark tied for 2nd place with 18.2% of the votes and Taya’s husband, Johnny Mundo finished 3rd with 13.6% of the votes

FCA’s Mr. ROH 2018 -- Jay Lethal (23.8%): Jay Lethal made a resurgence back to the top of the ROH throne and carried the ROH flag throughout the entire year so it only made sense that the champ would win this honor. Marty Scrull & Dalton Castle tied for 2nd place with 19% of the votes and Hangman Page finished 3rd with 14.3% of the votes

FCA Cruiserweight/Jr. Heavyweight Wrestler of 2018 -- Mustafa Ali (35.7%): Although he never quite captured the WWE Cruiserweight title, he made up for it with stellar performances throughout the year to convince the fans that he was must see. He’s officially a member of the SmackDown roster and already has shown that he can hang with the best. Will Ospreay finished 2nd with 21.4% of the votes and Buddy Murphy finished 3rd with 14.3% of the votes.

FCA Viral Wrestler of 2018 -- Becky Lynch (77.8%): Becky Lynch lived up to her moniker of The Man. Her bloody face was all over social media and she was a savage on Twitter and can’t seem to stop. We don’t want her to stop. She ran away with this category. Tama Tonga & PAC tied for 2nd with 7.4% of the votes while Sami Callahan & The Young Bucks tied for 3rd with 3.7% of the votes

FCA Best Tag Team of 2018 -- The Undisputed Era (36.7%): Probably the most over tag team in the business, the Undisputed Era had a great 2018 in NXT’s tag team division winning the Dusty Rhodes Classic and becoming 2-time NXT Tag Team Champions. It makes total sense that they win this award and that, boys & girls, is UNDISPUTED. The Young Bucks finished 2nd with 16.7% of the votes and surprisingly The Revival finished 3rd with 13.3% of the votes.

FCA Best UK-Based Male Wrestler of 2018 -- Pete Dunne (68.2%): The current reigning & defending WWE United Kingdom Champion is currently the longest reigning titleholder on WWE’s roster right now and has taken on all who have challenged his throne. He’s earned the honor of being considered the UK’s best. Tyler Bate, WALTER & Zack Gibson tied for 2nd with 9.1% of the votes and Joe Coffey finished 3rd with 4.5% of the votes.

FCA Best NXT Match of 2018 -- TWO WAY TIE (20%): So I knew this category was gonna be tight, but a 2-way tie? I was coming up with this category, I struggled to pick one. That’s how good NXT was in 2018.  Johnny Gargano VS. Andrade Almas from TakeOver: Philadelphia & Johnny Gargano VS. Tommaso Ciampa in a Last Man Standing Match at TakeOver: Brooklyn 4 got the majority of the votes at 20% and both were definitely MOTY candidates. The Chicago Street Fight from TakeOver: Chicago 2 between Gargano and Ciampa finished 2nd with 16% of the votes. Tied for 3rd at 12% was Ricochet VS. Velveteen Dream from TakeOver: Chicago 2 & Aleister Black VS. Johnny Gargano from TakeOver: WarGames 2.

FCA Best NJPW Match of 2018 --  Kenny Omega VS. Chris Jericho //No DQ Match (WK12) (26.3%): When this was made official in 2017, Omega VS. Jericho was seen as a dream match and this match delivered on his hype and added on to the legend of both men. Omega’s battle with fellow Golden Lover, Kota Ibushi in the G1 Climax came in 2nd with 21.1% of the votes and coming in 3rd was the instant classic between Okada & Omega from the Dominion PPV.

FCA Best WWE Match of 2018 -- Becky Lynch VS. Charlotte Flair // Last Woman Standing (WWE Evolution) (65.5%): The Man & The Queen made history at the 1st ever all-women’s PPV in the 1st ever Last Woman Standing Match and it was an instant classic. Definitely worthy of being the best WWE Match of 2018. The Triple Threat TLC match from TLC 2018 between Asuka, Becky & Charlotte finished 2nd with 20.7% of the votes while the Triple Threat match at Wrestlemania 34 between Seth Rollins, Finn Balor & The Miz finished 3rd with 6.9% of the votes.

FCA Best UK-Based Female Wrestler of 2018 --  Rhea Ripley(45.5%): This was somewhat of a surprised to me, but in a short amount of time, Rhea Ripley made a lasting impression on fans with a great performance in the Mae Young Classic and winning a 8-woman tournament to become the 1st ever NXT UK Women’s Champion. Toni Storm finished 2nd with 40.9% of the vote and Isla Dawn, Jinny & Millie McKenzie tied for 3rd place 4.5& of the votes a piece.

FCA Best NXT Female Wrestler of 2018 -- Kairi Sane(30%): The former NXT Womens Champ had a great 2018 capturing the title for the 1st time at TakeOver: Brooklyn 4. She had an amazing rivalry with Shanya Baszler in 2018 and 2019 is looking bright for the Pirate Princess. Shayna Baszler came in 2nd with 20% of the votes and in 3rd was Nikki Cross with 16.7% of the votes.

FCA Best SD Live Female Wrestler of 2018 --  Becky Lynch(76.2%): Just like in the category for Viral Wrestler of 2018, Becky Lynch ran away with the majority of the votes which tells you the kind of 2018 Becky Lynch had. Coming 2nd with 9.2% of the votes each was Asuka & Charlotte Flair while Naomi came in 3rd with 4.8% of the votes.

FCA Best RAW Female Wrestler of 2018 -- Natayla (32.1%): This was a surprise winner here. While she didn’t have the most successful 2018 as far as achievements, she was a consistent performer in the ring and put on great matches. Ruby Riott came in 2nd with 21.4% of the votes and Sasha Banks finished in 3rd with 14.3% of the votes.

FCA Best WWE Female Wrestler of 2018 --  Becky Lynch(86.7%): Becky Lynch completes the clean sweep by winning this award capping off an amazing 2018 for The Man. Not one member of RAW was in the running for this award which shows how good SmackDown was. Charlotte & Asuka got the rest of the votes garnering 6.7% of the votes a piece.

FCA Best Impact Wrestling Female Wrestler of 2018 --  Taya Valkyrie(44.4%): Despite not competing on Impact Wrestling for a good portion of the year, you guys felt that she was the best of the Knockouts roster. Impact Knockouts Champ Tessa Blanchard came in 2nd with 33.3% of the votes and former champ Su Yung came in 3rd with 16.7% of the votes.

FCA Best NJPW Wrestler of 2018 -- Kenny Omega (16.7%): The reigning IWGP Heavyweight Champion had a great 2018 highlighted by finally defeating Kazuchika Okada for the heavyweight crown at Dominion. He also had a classic encounter with Chris Jericho at Wrestle Kingdom 12. His tag partner, Kota Ibushi came in 2nd with 13.9% of the votes and coming in 3rd place was Jay White with 11.1% of the votes.

FCA Best Impact Wrestling Wrestler of 2018 --  Pentagon Jr.(32%): CERO MIEDO! Pentagon Jr. made an impact (no pun intended) everywhere he went in 2018, but made a huge splash when he became the Impact World Heavyweight Champion back in April defeating Austin Aries and brother Fenix in an amazing triple threat match. Sami Callahan came in 2nd with 28% of the vote while Fenix & Johnny Impact finished 3rd receiving 12% of the votes each.

FCA Best RAW Male Wrestler of 2018 -- Seth Rollins(27.3%): As he stated himself, Seth Rollins carried RAW on his back throughout 2018 capturing the Intercontinental Championship and putting on the best performances just about every night. Finn Balor finished 2nd with 21.2% of the votes and Dean Ambrose finished 3rd with 15.2% of the votes.

FCA Best SD Live Male Wrestler of 2018 --  AJ Styles(31.4%): SmackDown Live was definitely the “House That AJ Styles Built” in 2018 dominating the year as WWE Champion putting on stellar performances. Daniel Bryan got 20% of the votes finishing 2nd and Andrade “Cien” Almas finished 3rd with 14.3% of the votes.

FCA Best NXT Male Wrestler of 2018 --  Tommaso Ciampa(25.6%): The self-proclaimed “Greatest Sports Entertainer of All Time” had probably the best (if not one of the best) 2018 of any wrestler in the business. He made his return from injury at NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia by attacking Johnny Gargano with a crutch which led to the best feud of 2018. Not only did he had an epic series of matches with his former DIY partner, but manage to capture the NXT Championship along the way. Former NXT Champ, Aleister Black finished 2nd with 23.1% of the votes while rising star Velveteen Dream finish 3rd with 15.4% of the votes.

FCA Best WWE Male Wrestler of 2018 -- Seth Rollins (43.9%): Not only did the majority of you feel like The Kingslayer was the best of RAW, but the best wrestler in WWE and it’s hard to argue. AJ Styles & The Miz tied for 2nd with 14.6% of the votes and coming in at 3rd with 9.8% of the votes was Dean Ambrose.

Let’s make the dream card for AEW x NJPW ‘Forbidden Door’

Here are the best matches for wrestling’s biggest supershow.

After months of speculation, rumor became reality. AEW owner Tony Khan announced on AEW Dynamite on Wednesday that the first supershow with his company and New Japan Pro Wrestling would take place on June 26 in the United Center.

AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door is unquestionably the biggest cross-promotional supershow of all-time. Shows like this have happened in the past, most notably in 2019 when Ring of Honor and NJPW sold out Madison Square Garden — but this is very, very different. RoH had bled a lot of talent at the time, making that supershow really a more New Japan-focused event with some RoH talent. This, on the other hand, is AEW at the peak of its popularity, and New Japan on the verge of launching its own offshoot brand in the United States.

It’s impossible to even begin to imagine some of the potential matches we’ll get, but I put my fantasy booking hat on to put together my absolute dream card for these two companies.

Champion vs. Champion “Hangman” Adam Page (c) vs. Kazuchika Okada (c)

A show like this needs a champion vs. champion match, and I think Hangman and Okada could tear the house down. It wouldn’t hurt Page at all to lose to someone like Okada, who is already being considered as one of the greatest wrestlers of this generation. I think the entire back-and-forth premise of these two champions both trying to hit their finishing lariats (the Buckshot and Rainmaker, respectively) makes for a great match.

Hangman showed he has stamina in his 60-minute epic against Bryan Danielson, and we all know Okada can go forever. These two would be poetry in the ring.

Champion vs. Champion Thunder Rosa vs. Syuri

I’m including the women from Stardom on this card, because I can’t imagine the supershow won’t have any women’s matches on it. I like the symmetry of two champ vs. champ matches, and it would be amazing exposure in the U.S. for Syuri, who some might remember from her brief stint in UFC. This makes sense, especially if New Japan want their sister promotion to grow more of a following in the west.

Jay White and the Undisputed Elite vs. The Golden Elite

Okay, okay ... I know this is pie in the sky thinking. I don’t care, this is my card. Can you imagine for a second what would happen if Kenny Omega AND Kota Ibushi returned from injury in Chicago and then reunited the Golden Lovers on the same night? The roof would blow off that building.

Everything is set up for this tenuous relationship between Adam Cole and The Young Bucks to boil over, and it’s here I’d set up a giant story arc of The Elite turning face and rallying against the Bullet Club and The Undisputed Elite. Forbidden Door would be the turning point for Omega to come back into the light after going to his darkest places since his “Cleaner” persona in New Japan, and the last time that happened it was Ibushi who was the catalyst.

Give me this match and I won’t ask for anything out of wrestling again.

FTR vs. G.O.D

Two of the best tag teams in the world give us one to remember. This is a really interesting time in story for both teams. FTR seem to be making a full face turn after parting ways with MJF and The Pinnacle, while G.O.D were recently kicked out of Bullet Club.

These four guys live and breathe tag team wrestling, and to my knowledge they’ve never met in the ring. I don’t think it hurts anyone to have either team win, and it could be the inroad to potentially see FTR go on a quest to collect more tag gold and set their sights on Great-O-Khan and Jeff Cobb, who currently hold the belts.

Sting vs. The Great Muta

AEW loves giving us blasts from the past, and nothing would press that nostalgia button like this. Sting and Muta last met at the 1991 supershow between WCW and NJPW, making this match one that’s been 30 years in the making. We don’t need this to be long, as both guys are really old, but damn would this be great to see.

Muta is currently under contract with NOAH, but I’m sure a deal could be done that would make this dream match happen.

NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship Blackpool Combat Club vs. House of Torture (c)

Here’s the one place on the card where I’d actually have a title on the line, and even see it change hands. William Regal’s Blackpool Combat Club is one of the most exciting new stables in wrestling, and putting Jon Moxley, Bryan Danielson and Wheeler Yuta against the Bullet Club offshoot of EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi and Sho would be a banger.

BCC’s strong-style tendencies would fit perfectly as champions in New Japan, and the NEVER Openweight 6-Man titles would be a way to foray them into AEW finally introducing trios titles of their own, which we’ve all been waiting for.

PAC vs. Will Ospreay

Just let these two go. The only risk I see in putting PAC and Ospreay on a card this low is that they might steal the whole damn show and wear the crowd out. Two of the best high flyers in the world putting on a clinic would be a spectacle, GIF-filled match made for social media. I also think they’d have great chemistry in the ring.

Daniel Garcia vs. Zach Sabre Jr.

I’m so high on Daniel Garcia it’s not funny. I’ve haven’t seen a technical wrestler perform at his level, at his age since ... well, ZSJ. This would be a huge pace-change for the show where instead of strikes and big moves, we’re basically going to have two guys try to break each other’s limbs in a variety of ways we’ve never considered. I think this would be an amazing match.

C.M. Punk vs. Kenta

The battle of the GTS. This has been brewing for a while, and Kenta is calling out Punk on social media wanting this. Two guys who share the same finishing move (if we’re being technical, Punk took it from Kenta), trying to win by hitting it on each other. The crowd would be hot for this, and I think the two wrestlers could really build interest in this match on Twitter, as well as promos leading up to the event.

Sammy Guevara vs. El Desperado

This is another kind of champion vs. champion match, but we won’t call it that because the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title and TNT Championship don’t really align. Either way, here we’ve got two high flyers with Guevara being a future cornerstone of AEW up against an established, legendary cruiserweight in El Desperado.

Britt Baker vs. Saya Kamitani

Another chance to give some exposure to Stardom’s roster, I love the idea of putting Britt Baker and Saya Kamitani together. Britt is one of the best, most over women’s wrestlers on the planet, and Kamitani has a huge following as a former idol who was part of the group AKB48.

The Best Friends and Rocky Romero vs. Tetsuya Naito, Sanada, and Andrade El Idolo

I need Andrade El Idolo to get a better angle, because he’s dying on the vine for me in AEW. This whole money-based boss leader thing really isn’t doing it for me, and the best turn comes by way of a Los Ingobernables reunion.

We’ve already established CHAOS in New Japan with Trent Beretta and Rocky Romero reforming Rappongi Vice on several occasions, so this just continues the faction war — and allows the melding of these NJPW stables into AEW a little more. I think it would be a hell of a way to kick off the show, and reestablishing Andrade could be the boost he needs to push him into main event status.

AEW extends agreement with WarnerMedia until 2023

AEW started on the right foot in 2020. It has put on two good shows for its flagship program, AEW Dynamite, which is broadcast on the TNT network, and with this it has managed to beat NXT in terms of audience and rating, exceeding 900 thousand viewers by Second consecutive week. Apparently, in this 2020 the good news for AEW fans does not stop; All Elite Wrestling and WarnerMedia announced that AEW Dynamite will run until 2023, with a four-year agreement totaling $175 million. The agreement, reportedly, has an option for the fourth year, at a "significantly higher price," and would include the launch of a new program for the company. Here is the press release: Breaking News - #AEWDynamite Extended Through 2023 pic.twitter.com/cZHeqGdcRs — All Elite Wrestling (@AEWrestling) January 15, 2020 AEW DYNAMITE on TNT is one of the 20 best cable series and has reached almost 32 million viewers on all platforms in just three months Pasadena, January 15, 2020.- WarnerMedia today announced an expanded relationship with All Elite Wrestling (AEW), the new and innovative wrestling company that has already redefined the fight with resounding success after only a few months. WarnerMedia has extended its agreement for AEW DYNAMITE, one of the 20 best cable series, until 2023. In addition, the parties agreed to launch another AEW action night, offering more of the fan's favorite wrestlers, with a second periodic show. 'When Tony Khan first shared his idea of ​​starting a new wrestling company, I was impressed by his audacity to face a contestant who has been the only one in the game for twenty years, and finally, I thought that together we could join his vision for a new and authentic product, 'says Kevin Reilly, content director, HBO Max, president, TNT, TBS, and truTV. "The fans have talked and after only three months, we have seen AEW shake the world of wrestling and this will only continue as we develop this momentum ." AEW DYNAMITE exploded on the wrestling scene when it premiered on TNT as the number 1 wrestling show of the night. It has continued to produce high-performance episodes every week with an average of 1.2 million viewers in total and 654 thousand in the 18-49 segment per episode, live view and up to 7 days later. In just three months, AEW DYNAMITE has reached almost 32 million people on all platforms. The program also offers the youngest wrestling audience on television. 'When we launched AEW a year ago, we wanted to start a revolution that would disrupt the wrestling business, but everyone said it would take a weekly television partner to make AEW real in the eyes of everyone, especially fans.' Said Tony Khan, president, and owner of AEW. 'What virtually no one noticed at the time was that Kevin Reilly and TNT were committed to this same movement from day one, and their belief in us made it possible for AEW to think and act big from the beginning. Here we are, only three months of Wednesday night episodes, and now we have extended until 2023! Now we are making the last statement that the AEW and TNT team is here to stay and provide fans with more of the great fight that fans demand and deserve. " Weekly action-packed encounters continue to air live on Wednesdays from 8 pm to 10 pm Eastern time, as part of the TNT programming of a large television going forward, which gives viewers the best seat in the house for electrifying stories, dynamic characters, and exciting events. As a global franchise, AEW has already secured transmission agreements in the United Kingdom, Canada, France and Germany and is available in more than 100 countries through the AEWPlus subscription service. Both sides are continually exploring ways to further expand this relationship. WarnerMedia announced in May 2019 that it was working with AEW, using its position as a next-generation global media company to help turn this company into a worldwide professional wrestling franchise. WarnerMedia has also been offering fans exclusive access to AEW PPV events, which began in May 2019, through the B / R Live platform. His next event, REVOLUTION, which will take place in Chicago on Saturday, February 29, will also be broadcast on the aforementioned platform. With almost 100,000 total purchases of AEW PPVs, the high commitment of B/R Live fans provides an invaluable opportunity to build the AEW audience and maximize its audience. In addition to being a success in ratings, AEW has won high praise from a large press sector. Newsweek called it 'One of the best shows of 2019', and four of the AEW superstars were nominated among the 10 best Sports Illustrated wrestlers of 2019, and Jon Moxley was named 'Fighter of the Year'. The Washington Post also wrote that 'AEW ... is a unique opportunity in the generation to present the professional struggle differently, with a focus on diversity and inclusion in the ring, both in the high command and in the audience. ' USA Today referred to the company as the 'great new kids', and the New York Post stated that AEW DYNAMITE 'showed excellent action within the ring by which it became known.' Complex described AEW DYNAMITE as a 'top-notch' show and Film wrote that 'AEW is the best and most refreshing thing professional wrestling has had in years.' AEW is a new global wrestling company that presents a list of various world-class wrestlers, giving fans a new wrestling experience for the first time in 20 years. AEW is more than wrestling. It is a movement driven by fans. Focused on fast and high-impact competitions, AEW offers fans more athleticism along with real sports analysis. Founded by President and owner Tony Khan, AEW is headed by Cody & Brandi Rhodes, Chris Jericho, Jon Moxley, The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson), Kenny Omega and Hangman Adam Page. The list of wrestlers is also full of incredibly skilled competitors, including Nyla Rose, Awesome Kong, Dustin Rhodes, Jungle Boy, Dr. Britt Baker, MJF, Pac and SCU. In addition to being talents in the ring, Cody, Brandi Rhodes, The Young Bucks, and Kenny Omega are also executives of the brand. Regarding this new agreement, which includes the launch of a new show (although without further details), Dave Meltzer indicated the following: Read the full article

Storytelling for Your Brand: The Genius Content Behind The Bullet Club’s “The Elite”

Still don’t believe in storytelling?

It’s more than Yelp reviews and your clients’ testimonials.  True storytelling can also be created through your own content.  The use of Youtube is optimal in your storytelling for your brand.  This way, your audience will be engaged with your brand even when you’re not actively trying to be. Here is an exceptional example of successful curated content through storytelling...

They are called The Elite and are part of The Bullet Club.  The Bullet Club is a professional wrestling group primarily appearing in Japan for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW).  As with any professional wrestling, most events are either live or on television.  However, being most popular in Japan, The Elite is introducing and driving the audience in the United States.  But how?

I discovered The Elite through someone who is a huge fan, and I was amazed at their efforts in continuing their wrestling storylines through social media platforms and how loyal and engaged their audience was.  The Elite is primarily made up of:

Kenny Omega

 And brothers the Young Bucks 

They have created a YouTube channel series titled “Being the Elite” where they include fellow American wrestlers Marty Scurll, Cody Rhodes, and Hangman Page.  

Through their created videos, they are going in-depth in their company’s storylines and feeding into the characters and stories even more.  Yes, they may be over-acting in them and pretend Monster drinks are poison and even act like they “kill off” other characters, or even kidnap others, but their audience LOVES it!  Again, knowing your audience is an important factor for any brand.  Being the Elite has over 140,000 subscribers on YouTube, which is a lot for a brand that is not as big as, but is now competing with, WWE.  Their story telling on YouTube plays a huge factor in their marketing tactics.  This keeps their audience engaged and following them on a daily basis, which of course plays a huge role on the positioning of your brand in the consumer’s mind.  All videos are created and edited by the wrestlers themselves, but they must go along with some criteria of the NJPW.  This has even led them to sponsorships and additional merchandise they pack and ship themselves when ordered.  In fact, they do such an exceptional job with their storytelling, here are three examples of when their storytelling translated through other platforms and transformed into almost “real-life”:

When they “killed off” one of their crew members named Masa Anchan, his Twitter name also changed to Masa-GHOST-Anchan (and is still that name today).  

When Hangman Page was supposedly kidnapped by WWE (which they have no affiliation with), this wrestler’s Twitter account hadn’t been active in those few weeks he was “missing”.  However one day, Hangman Page posted a pitch black photo with no caption, when a random fan turned up the contrast on the photo, it revealed a silhouette of Triple H of WWE. The tweet was deleted after 2 hours.  In addition, all photos of Hangman Page on the company’s website and any upcoming special events were deleted and replaced with a question mark in order to add to the storyline.

Lastly, the members of The Elite recently marched to WWE’s Monday Night Raw in Ontario, California with a full crowd of fans in tow.  This was of course to along with their kidnapping story which WWE actually had nothing to do with.  After announcing on their social media they will be going to Monday Night Raw, many of their fans followed them and appeared in that day’s YouTube video.   This single happening sparked a response from the big, bad WWE and they sent a Cease and Desist letter and banned The Elite from using a certain sign they technically own on their merchandise.  From that, The Elite of course made another video for their Being the Elite YouTube channel and burned their merchandise containing that certain sign.

For not being a huge brand in the United States, these guy sure do know how to market themselves and are near geniuses at story telling for the good of their brand.  This is why I was so amazed by them.  The detail they go into is of a strategic level and it seems like they are merely having fun with it.  Their brand has grown greatly because of their widespread and thorough storytelling.  The Bullet Club now has merchandise on sale in all Hot Topic stores in the U.S., with many of the Bullet Club’s followers wear their merchandise to other wrestling events, their events are selling out in cities across many states, and have even caught the eye of the big dog of professional wrestling: the WWE.  This is why I felt their use of storytelling in content marketing showed the true importance of implementing this strategy.

Rising from a booming independent wrestling scene over the course of the past several years, All Elite Wrestling has become a noteworthy upstart promotion with significant financial backing and a cable television deal. Where other potential "competitors" for WWE on the national scene have stumbled, AEW appears to be locked and loaded for a real run at something big -- and that journey kicks into high gear on Wednesday, Oct. 2 as AEW will present the first episode of Dynamite on TNT. This event will mark the first time professional wrestling will air on the TNT network since the March 26, 2001 episode of WCW Monday Nitro on the heels of Vince McMahon and WWE acquiring their then-main competition.

AEW Dynamite will air weekly every Wednesday evening, beginning on Oct. 2, at 8 p.m. ET with the show boasting a runtime of two hours. It remains to be seen just how sustainable AEW can be as a weekly television presence within the pro wrestling landscape, but there's no question potentially millions of eyes will be on the premiere episode come Oct. 2.

So let's now have a look at everything we can expect as AEW Dynamite gets set to take over our television screens and potentially alter the viewing habits of many longtime pro wrestling die-hards.

AEW Dynamite debut match card

Cody Rhodes vs. Sammy Guevara: Rhodes -- along with The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley -- is the face of AEW. The man who left WWE and set out to do things on his own terms before leading a landscape-shifting movement. If that seems hyperbolic, it is not. Rhodes leaving WWE did not seem like a particularly needle-moving moment, but he posted "the list" on Twitter, laying out things he wanted to do on the independent scene and checked off the boxes one-by-one. Eventually, he, along with Matt and Nick Jackson, became the driving force behind the massive All In pay-per-view success which snowballed into AEW. Guevara is a special talent. At 26, he's already been a force on the independents for years. He's strong, fast and agile with TV good looks and a solid grasp on ring psychology. He's also, most likely, a victim to Rhodes in this match. This has been confirmed as the first match to take place in the history of Dynamite.

AEW Women's Championship -- Nyla Rose vs. Riho: Rose and Riho both earned their way to the first ever women's championship match at the All Out pay-per-view event. Rose got here by winning the 21-woman Casino Battle Royale, last eliminating Britt Baker. Riho defeated Hikaru Shida in a singles match. Focusing on Rose's status as the first openly transgender wrestler to sign with a major promotion doesn't do her skills justice, nor does focusing on Riho's 5-foot-1 stature serve to tell the story of her ability to bring it in a big way.

Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks vs. Chris Jericho & two mystery partners: This is a match with a lot of star power, and we don't yet know one-third of the competitors. Omega and Jericho have history, first meeting in a no disqualification grudge match at New Japan Pro Wrestling's Wrestle Kingdom 12 for Omega's United States championship. Omega got the win in that bout but came up short when they rematched at AEW's first pay-per-view, Double or Nothing, back in May. That win slotted Jericho into the first ever match for the AEW world championship, which Jericho won by defeating Adam "Hangman" Page in the main event of All Out. It's hard to know what to expect here without knowing Jericho's mystery partners, but it feels like a sure thing the match will deliver high-quality in-ring action.

Adam "Hangman" Page vs. PAC: Page came up short in his bid for the championship against Jericho but proved he can hang with top-level names. That's no surprise to anyone who has followed his impressive career, but this may actually register as the most important outing of his journey. PAC beat Omega at All Out while filling in for a legitimately injured Moxley, and given AEW's emphasis on how "wins and losses matter," a win over Omega and the man who almost became the first AEW champ would seem to position him for a title shot sooner than later.

MJF vs. Brandon Cutler: MJF has become part of Cody's "family" and supported him in the corner during Rhodes' match with Shawn Spears at All Out. He's an incredible heel who is able to carry the staple gimmick of a cocky, spoiled punk better than almost anyone in wrestling today. Cutler is a veteran and a feel-good story who was emotionally offered two contracts with AEW (one in-ring, one behind the scenes) on an episode of the "Being the Elite" YouTube series.

What else to expect on AEW Dynamite debut

Jon Moxley -- formerly Dean Ambrose in WWE -- is announced to appear at the event. Moxley is currently embroiled in a feud with Omega with a planned match between the two at All Out scrapped when Moxley was dealing with a case of MRSA. That match is now set for the Full Gear PPV on Nov. 9, so you could rightfully expect some development there.

Potential surprise debuts to draw some buzz. Cody has stated we've only seen 40 percent of the AEW roster, which means there are some potentially big names that could surprise fans at any time. We've already seen shocking debuts from Moxley and LAX on pay-per-view events, so why not bring in someone to move the needle on the promotion's TV debut? And there are two "mystery partner" spots open on Jericho's team. I hear there's some Punk from Chicago fans might want to see in an AEW ring -- but we've speculated our way down that road before. Guess we won't find out until Oct. 2.