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Top 10 Wrestling Stories of the Week 3/11: Jeff Hardy to AEW, Steve Austin at WrestleMania, Many Title Changes, More

By Matthew Fowler • Published 11th March 2022
aew dynamite jeff hardy matt

Welcome back TJR Wrestling readers! Did you spend all day Friday thinking of new names for a Russian Leg Sweep, and missed WWE Smackdown? Perhaps you were to tired from staying up late to watch wrestling, and missed Raw.

Worry not for I have returned with another edition of the Top Ten Wrestling Stories of the Week.

10. Austin Theory to Face Pat McAfee at WrestleMania 38

Pat McAfee officially has his opponent for WrestleMania 38. Last week on The Pat McAfee Show, Vince McMahon offered McAfee a match at WrestleMania 38. This past Friday on Smackdown, Raw’s Austin Theory revealed that he was McAfee’s opponent before slapping McAfee’s headset off of his head. McAfee and Theory will now face each other during Night Two of WrestleMania on April 3rd. It had been rumored that Vince McMahon himself was going to face McAfee, but clearly, there was No Chance in Hell that was ever going to happen. (TJRWrestling)

9. Vader to be Inducted Into the WWE Hall of Fame

It is finally Vader Time, for the WWE Hall of Fame. This week it was announced that Vader (sometimes known as “Big Van Vader” will be a part of the 2022 WWE Hall of Fame Class. During his legendary career, Vader held both the IWGP and WCW World Championships three times each. Vader would also have a successful run in the WWE, which included challenging Shawn Michaels for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam 1996. Sadly, Vader passed away in June 2018 at the age of 63. It is unknown who will induct Vader into the Hall of Fame, or if his son Frankie Jr. will be in attendance. (TJRWrestling)

8. William Regal Joins AEW

Another WWE legend has made his way to AEW this week. This past Sunday at AEW Revolution, Jon Moxley defeated Bryan Danielson in a brutal match. After the match, Danielson and Moxley continued to fight until William Regal shockingly came down to ringside. Regal then slapped both Moxley and Danielson, before having them both shake hands. Regal was not the only new wrestler to join AEW at Revolution, as Swerve Strickland (former Isaiah “Swerve” Scott) appeared as well. Tony Khan later announced that Regal and Strickland are officially with AEW, with Regal having an on-screen and backstage role with the company. Regal also appeared on Dynamite this week, managing Moxley and Danielson in a tag team match. When asked why Khan decided to sign Regal so quickly, he stated because he is a Real Man’s Man. (TJRWrestling)

7. Chris Jericho Turns Heel and Starts a New Faction

The Inner Circle is no more. After losing to Eddie Kingston at AEW Revolution, Chris Jericho opened up AEW Dynamite this week. Jericho invited Kingston to the ring, and proceeded to shake his hand. Daniel Garcia and 2.0 then proceeded to come to the ring, and attack Jericho and Kingston. This led to Inner Circle members Santana and Ortiz coming down to save Jericho and Kingston with a baseball bat. Jericho then shockingly got a hold of the bat and attacked Santana and Ortiz with it. Jericho then joined Garcia and 2.0 in the attack on Kingston, Santana and Ortiz. Fellow Inner Circle member Jake Hager then came down and proceeded to help Jericho, 2.0 and Garcia with the beatdown. Jericho then did a promo with 2.0, Garcia, and Hager, announcing that they were now called the Jericho Appreciation Society. This should not be confused with everyone who has gone on Jericho’s Podcast, which is the WWE Unappreciative Society. (TJRWrestling)

6. Scorpio Sky Captures the TNT Championship

Scorpio Sky has finally captured singles gold in AEW. This past Wednesday on Dynamite, Sky was able to defeat Sammy Guevara to capture the TNT Championship. The match saw Guevara miss hitting Sky with a 630 splash, causing Guevara to go crashing through a table. This, plus new AEW superstar Paige Vanzant attacking Guevara’s girlfriend Tay Conti at ringside, led to Sky getting the win. With the win, Sky became the first person to have held the AEW Tag Team Titles and the TNT Championship. Sky has gone 12-0 in singles matches on AEW Dark since March of last year, with the four people who watched them saying they were impressive wins.

5. Ricochet Captures the WWE Intercontinental Championship

Sami Zayn’s third reign as WWE Intercontinental Champion was not a very long one. This past Friday on Smackdown, Zayn lost the title after only 14 days to Ricochet. The finish of the match saw Jackass star Johnny Knoxville distract Zayn, allowing Ricochet to pick up the win. Zayn will now go on to face Knoxville at WrestleMania 38, whereas who will challenge Ricochet for the Intercontinental Championship at the event has not been announced yet. WWE fans should not be concerned, however, as I am sure there are plenty of celebrities or part-timers who would love to challenge for the Intercontinental Title. (TJRWrestling)

4. Randy Orton and Riddle Capture the Raw Tag Team Championships

RK-Bro are once again the Raw Tag Team Champions. This past Monday on Raw, Riddle and Randy Orton defeated The Alpha Academy and Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens to regain the titles in a great match. This is RK-Bro’s second title reign, with them just losing the titles last January. After the match, Orton stated that this is the most fun he has ever had in his career. This should not be surprising, as even when he was World Champion he didn’t reach these kinds of highs. (TJRWrestling)

3. Dolph Ziggler Captures the NXT Championship

Bron Breakker’s historic rise to the top of NXT, hit a Roadblock this week. This past Tuesday at NXT Roadblock, Dolph Ziggler defeated Breakker and Tommaso Ciampa to capture the NXT Championship. The finish of the match saw Ziggler’s partner Robert Roode interfere in the match, allowing Ziggler to superkick Ciampa and cover him for the win. This is Ziggler’s first title in NXT, to go along with his 14 total title reigns in the WWE. As for Breakker, even if his Uncle Scott was doing the math you would still be able to figure out that he has many more championships in his future. (TJRWrestling)

2. Steve Austin to Appear on The KO Show at WrestleMania 38

Steve Austin will be appearing at WrestleMania 38, but likely not in the capacity many fans had hoped. This week on Raw, Kevin Owens and his partner Seth Rollins failed to capture the Raw Tag Team Championships. After the loss, Owens then challenged “Stone Cold” Steve Austin to appear as a guest on The KO Show at WrestleMania 38. The next day WWE released a promo from Austin, where he officially accepted Owen’s challenge. Austin was heavily rumored to be competing in an actual match against Owens at Mania, but that is now looking not to be likely. Austin not wrestling a match after 19 years away is likely a smart decision, as he will get paid a lot more for the match in Saudi Arabia. (TJRWrestling)

1. Jeff Hardy Debuts for AEW

Tony Khan was certainly busy this week. Along with the previously mentioned Swerve Strickland and William Regal, Jeff Hardy debuted in AEW. This past Wednesday on Dynamite, AHFO members Andrade, Jose, Private Party, The Butcher and The Blade voted to kick Matt Hardy out of the group. They all then proceeded to attack Matt Hardy, until Sting and Darby Allin tried to make the save. AHFO still had the upper hand, however, until Jeff Hardy shockingly came to the ring. The Hardy Boys, Sting and Allin then cleared out the ring. Jeff Hardy came out to the classic Hardy Boys music, and actually stopped to do his signature dance before helping his brother. Matt did not seem to be bothered by this since he was probably just happy that Jeff didn’t jump into the crowd and walk away instead. (TJRWrestling)

That concludes another edition of The Top Ten Wrestling Stories of the Week. Thank you for taking the time to read this each week. Although I often joke, I have recently started refereeing with NYCW and respect more than ever what wrestlers do every week. I wrote an article all about it all right here. If you like what I do, despite my jokes being almost bad as being the 69th best college basketball team, then follow me on Twitter @Fowlerwrestlin1.