Here's more wrestling news for April 11th 2022
And your headlines for Afternoon include
Tony Khan Expects Bidding Wars Over Top AEW Stars!
Tony Khan Can’t Understand What WWE Was Thinking After Releasing Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland!
Scorpio Sky Mocks AEW With Claims They Edited Out Boos On Rampage!
"I Was Getting Down A Dark Path" - William Regal On Getting Suspended By WWE!
Unexpected Incident Shad Gaspard’s WWE Hall Of Fame Induction!
Chris Jericho Bans Fan From Watching AEW Rampage!
Wrestler Hospitalized With Potential Spinal Injury After Botched Move During Wrestling Show!
Buff Bagwell On Sunny’s Arrest – “It Could’ve Easily Been Me”
The Miz Addresses If Retirement From WWE Is On The Horizon!
The Miz & Nia Jax Put On Quite A Performance As They Walked The Aisle At Alexa Bliss & Ryan Cabrera’s Wedding!
Ryback Threatens To Visit Twitter Headquarters Over Censoring Him! And More
We’re kicking off today with Tony Khan, who has signed plenty of former WWE Superstars to AEW over the years, including Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland.
Both men enjoyed impressive runs in NXT, but has trouble on WWE’s main roster, as Lee went for months without being used due to a series of medical issues, while Strickland, along the rest
of Hit Row, were cut mere weeks into their call-up.
Now, both men are with AEW, and in an interview with Brandon Walker of Rasslin Khan said he was perplexed that any company would let either man go:
“I don’t know what the hell you’re thinking if you run a wrestling company and you don’t have a spot for Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee. I get that there are only so many positions in a
company but I think any company that has those guys and, you know, it wasn’t like they’re unreasonable guys. They’re great! I love both guys. They’ve been a
huge part of what we’re doing here now, too.” At this time, Lee and Strickland are working together in a feud with Team Taz, and though it may not
be what fans had in mind for either man at first, it’s far more than either man were doing on WWE’s main roster before their release.
Tony Khan has always insisted that his product is much different to WWE, but it seems he can't help but borrow some tricks used by McMahon.
Recently, Sammy Guevara and Tay Conti dropped a super steamy photo to prove they use the TNT Championship in the bedroom, but that has caused some backlash for the couple.
During last week's Rampage tapings, the couple were heavily booed by the crowd, but when the episode aired, those boos had been edited out, as have chants of “shut the f**k up”
which were hurled at the real life couple.
Reigning TNT Champion Scorpio Sky addressed this on Twitter, with an edited picture of a Tay Conti holding a sign reading "We paid to have our boos dubbed over."
It’s no secret that WWE have sweetened their crowds in the past, but fans did not expect Khan to do the same. After claiming that fans criticising AEW online are bots or paid trolls,
dubbing over critical live fans is a bold move for Tony Khan, and not what you'd expect from the promoter who's consistently claimed that his company is fan-centric.
William Regal joined AEW earlier this year, after over 21 years working for WWE, which saw the British legend have plenty of ups and downs.
In his first stint with the WWE, Regal’s substance abuse problems led to him entering rehab, which WWE provided and paid for, but he would have some relapses in the years after.
In 2008, the then-RAW General Manager was suspended for his second violation of the company’s wellness policy, but in an interview with AEW Unrestricted, Regal said how this worked
out for the best: “I was getting down a very dark path, so that’s a very memorable one. Because I did get suspended,
but I also think it was a good thing. Because I didn’t want to go back to a dark place that I was going through. I had some health issues anyway at the time. But I didn’t want to go to a
place that I’d been to in the 90s, that would have probably lost me my family. I really got into that.” Regal went on to say that for his role as RAW General Manager,
he had been researching dictators throughout history, which had also taken a toll on his mental health, though he didn’t recognise it at the time.
After his release this January, Regal made it clear that he would not be saying a single bad work against WWE, who he has credited for saving his life by forcing him into rehab,
and now the British star has started the next chapter of his life now in AEW.
On April 1st, the WWE had its annual Hall of Fame ceremony which like all years proved to be an emotional night.
For Aryeh and Siliana Gaspard, the night was extra special as they received the Warrior award on behalf of Shad Gaspard, who heroically gave his life to save his son in 2020.
Shad’s Cryme Tyme tag partner JTG was also at the ceremony, and recreated his entrance with Aryeh, but speaking to Black Announce Table podcast, JTG said that wasn’t the original plan:
“We were just chilling and then the show started and I didn’t hear anything back from anybody. Usually, the WWE likes to rehearse things beforehand and we have heard it. So I’m like, ‘You’re not
gonna do it because this is live TV, they don’t want any mistakes or accidents.’ But right before Shad’s vignette came on, I got to tap on the shoulder and they gave me the green
light. So it was a last-minute decision and I am genuinely thankful that they gave the opportunity.”
Shad Gaspard will always be remembered for his wrestling career and his heroic final acts, and it was great to see JTG get this last moment on a WWE production in celebration of a true hero.
More from AEW as Chris Jericho has once again re-invented \himself, but in an ironic twist, this reinvention has seen Jericho go back to his WWE roots.
Referring to his new Jericho Appreciation Society as sports entertainers, Jericho is all in on this latest heel turn, but it’s not all he’s been doing.
hen not in the ring, Jericho has been doing colour commentary on AEW Rampage, and when one fan felt the need to rant to Jericho about his performance, saying they were going to boycycot
the show, the former World Champion told him not to worry, as he’s banned from Rampage.
The fan’s brush with Jericho got over 1300 likes and many fans complimented Y2J on his work on the mic.
The first ever AEW World Champion, it’s a bold move for Jericho to focus on WWE’s label for wrestlers, but at least he won’t have to worry about the fan anymore, now that he has been banned.
We’ve got some rare news coming from Japan’s Pro Wrestling Zero1 promotion, as tragedy has sruck the company
Yesterday, wrestler/company president Shinjiro Otani competed at their event in Tokyo, Japan and suffered a severe cervical spinal injury.
Fans were urged the leave the arena as Otani was stretchered out, and the injury occurred when he took a german suplex into the turnbuckle.
While Otani was able to speak with the referee and medical professionals, he has been unable to move his limbs and many fear he that he is facing paralysis.
Otani is best known for his work in Zero1 and New Japan before then, but was also the very first WCW World Cruiserweight Champion, which would come to WWE in 2001.
This June will mark three decades of Otani’s career in professional wrestling, and we’re sending our best to him and hoping for a full and complete recovery.
Last week, news broke of a fatal car accident that involved Tammy Sytch, who allegedly hit a vehicle that went on to hit another vehicle.
A toxicology report will determine if the former Sunny had been drinking at the time, which could lead to a criminal charge of manslaughter against her, and now another troubled wrestling
star has weighed in.
It’s well known that Buff Bagwell has also had his own share of problems, but is now seeking help from Diamond Dallas Page.
In a tweet, Bagwell discussed this latest sad chapter in Sytch’s life, saying that he hopes she gets the help she desperately needs, and it easily could’ve been him in the car in her place.
Unlike Sunny, Bagwell has acknowledged the dangers of driving with these problems, and realises that had he not gone to DDP for help, then he could’ve ended up killing someone on the road.
It remains to be seen what will happen with Sytch, but we can only hope that she and Buff both get the help they need to turn their lives around.
Back to the ring, and The Miz is a true veteran of WWE, in addition to being the only two-time Grand Slam Champion in the promotion’s history.
A former Mr Money in the Bank and WrestleMania headliner, the A-Lister has done it all, but isn’t looking to hang up his boots.
Ahead of his big match with Cody Rhodes tonight, the Miz stopped by the Detroit News and said that while his role has focussed to working with younger stars and celebrities, he doesn’t have plans
to retire: “Not yet,” he noted. “My goal, whenever a celebrity comes in, is not to have them just sit on the sidelines and watch me work
What the fans paid to see is, ‘is Logan Paul going to be able to do this?’ And I want to be able to give fans that answer, whether it’s positive or negative. So I’m going to push
whichever celebrity is out there to be their absolute best, and it only works if they have the heart, the dedication, the will and the athletic ability to do it.”
At 41 years old, The Miz is one of WWE’s older Superstars to be wrestling on a weekly basis, but with Randy Orton, who’s 42 saying he plans on wrestling for another 10 years, it appears the
Miz will also have many more years in the ring.
The Miz has a huge match tonight, but last weekend took some time out the enjoy the wedding of Alexa Bliss and Ryan Cabrera.
Given that it was The Miz who introduced the couple, this was an important day for the A-Lister, who made a dramatic entrance during the ceremony.
Walking the aisle with former WWE Superstar Nia Jax, the duo both struck some poses much to the delight of the rest of the guest list, and it had strong ‘The Office’ vibes for sure.
Even when not on screen, The Miz remains dedicated to his character, and while Jax has seemingly left wrestling behind, the former RAW Women’s Champion had one last chance to
entertain at the Bliss-Cabrera wedding.
And we’re ending with Ryback, who for years has claimed that WWE and Twitter are illegally surpressing his account, but has never provided proof behind that claim.
Now, the Big Guy is at it once again, and has now issued a warning to the CEO of Twitter.
In a tweet, which Ryback will no doubt say is being supressed, the former WWE star claimed to have blocked 12000 accounts, saying it puts into perspective how toxic a portion of the
wrestling fan base.
Tagging Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, Ryback said he needs to have his account ‘fixed’ and threatened to visit Twitter HQ if his problem isn’t resolved.
Ryback didn’t exactly explain how his account isn’t ‘fixed’ as he has been given the free reign to block people, so it may be difficult to fix his account if there’s nothing wrong with it.
Recently, Ryback once again asked fans what he should do next in his wrestling career, and once again the vast majority of fans told him to retire, but don’t expect the Big Guy
to take this suggestion until his account is quote-unquote ‘fixed.’