Tony Khan Comments On “Inconclusive” Cash Wheeler Situation; Wrestling News August 23rd 2023

The release date of AEW Fight Forever’s highly-anticipated Stadium Stampede mode has been announced.

The mode, which takes inspiration from the Battle Royale genre made popular by games like Fortnite and Player Unknown: Battlegrounds, was unveiled in a trailer last month and will allow players to compete in online last-man-standing battles across a recreation of the TIAA Bank Field stadium.

Now, Kenny Omega himself has revealed when Fight Forever fans will be able to get their hands on this brand-new game mode. In a new video posted to X (formerly Twitter), Omega announced that the mode is coming on Thursday, August 24th ahead of AEW All In: London this weekend.

The mode will be available for free as a new piece of DLC for the game across all platforms. AEW Fight Forever released on June 28th earlier this year and received a middling reception. The game has a ‘Weak’ rating on games review aggregation platform OpenCritic with an average critics score of 65 out of 100.

Will you be playing Fight Forever’s Stadium Stampede mode when it releases? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter by sharing down below!

Former AEW World Tag Team Champions The Acclaimed are set to be added to the AEW All In: London card, according to a new report.

During the pre-media call for the event yesterday, Tony Khan revealed there would be changes to the Wembley Stadium card due to external factors outside of wrestling. Since then, a report has emerged that Rey Fenix will not be appearing as previously advertised due to an alleged travel/visa issue.

Now, a new report has seemingly revealed another change to the show. Andrew Zarian responded to a fan on Twitter asking if there were any other changes coming to the event, revealing The Acclaimed are set to wrestle in an AEW World Trios Championship match against The House of Black. Currently, their expected partner is unknown.

It’s unclear at the time of writing if this match has been affected by some of the changes that Khan alluded to on the call or is simply a last-minute match announcement for the event itself.

Expect a Trios title match with Acclaimed to happen

— Andrew Zarian (@AndrewZarian) August 23, 2023

Who do you want to see The Acclaimed face at AEW All In: London? Let us know your thoughts by sharing on Facebook or Twitter down below!

Tonight’s AEW Dynamite will emanate from the Gas South Arena in Duluth, Georgia and is the go-home episode before AEW All In: London from Wembley Stadium!

Matches and segments announced for the show include:

• Renee Paquette speaks to Adam Cole & MJF
• Jack Perry retires the FTW Championship
• Chris Jericho & Will Ospreay sign their contract for All In: London
• FTR & The Young Bucks come face-to-face
• The Elite vs Juice Robinson & The Gunns
• Mogul Embassy vs Darby Allin & Nick Wayne
• Skye Blue vs Ruby Soho
• Jon Moxley vs Rey Fenix

What are you most excited to see on tonight’s episode of Dynamite? Let us know by sharing your thoughts on Facebook or Twitter down below!

MJF isn’t very nice to his mother.

…That’s it. That’s the story.

Ahead of AEW All In: London this weekend, MJF posted a heart-warming letter sent to him by a young fan on X (formerly Twitter) and responded that his goal for the event was to show “kids of the next generation anything is possible if you bust your a** to obtain a dream.”

The post resonated with many fans and even attracted the attention of the AEW World Champion’s mom who gleefully replied, “MY SWEET LITTLE BOY IS BACK!!!” After such an uncharacteristically wholesome message, it seems Friedman has already reverted to his egotistical ways.

“F*** off Mom,” MJF fired back. “This week is about me. Go away.”

Well, it was nice to have a wholesome MJF, even if it was just for a few hours.

Fuck off mom. This week is about me. Go away.

— Maxwell Jacob Friedman™️ (@The_MJF) August 22, 2023

Two-time WWE Hall of Famer Booker T wants to see Nia Jax return to WWE for another run in the company!

Jax was an active WWE competitor for six years, competing from 2015 through to 2021, and held the RAW Women’s Championship as well as the Women’s Tag Team Championship with Shayna Baszler twice. Jax’s last appearance in WWE came as a surprise entrant in the Women’s Royal Rumble earlier this year after being released in November 2021.

Recent reports have suggested that WWE has held internal discussions about bringing Jax back to the promotion, a move that WWE legend Booker T wouldn’t be against! Speaking on his Hall of Fame podcast, Booker advocated for Nia’s return and for her to have a dominant championship reign:

“I don’t think we got a chance to see enough of Nia Jax when she was around. I thought Nia Jax was like Godzilla, that was gonna just walk the earth, and pummel everything before her, and just destroy everything. If Nia Jax gets the championship, she’d have it forever. It was one of those types of deals. So yeah, I would love to see Nia Jax return and do something big.”

h/t to 411Mania

Bayley and Mercedes Mone have taken to social media to celebrate their classic NXT TakeOver bout on its eighth anniversary.

The NXT Women’s Championship bout between the two at NXT TakeOver Brooklyn is considered by many to be one of the greatest women’s wrestling matches of all time. The aftermath led to one of the most defining moments of WWE’s ‘Women’s Evolution’, with Bayley, Mone, Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch all posing with their iconic Four Horsewomen hand gesture.

Despite the former Sasha Banks having since moved on from WWE, Mone still looks back on her time in the company fondly as shown in a recent post to X (formerly Twitter). Mone posted a picture of the two hugging after their iconic clash, accompanied by a caption hoping that the two could compete again in the future.

Bayley responded with a repost, stating that she couldn’t wait for their eventual clash once more and celebrated the eighth anniversary of their TakeOver Brookyn match.

I can’t wait. Happy 8th 🪄 https://t.co/p48UXbegwH

— Bayley (@itsBayleyWWE) August 22, 2023

Chris Jericho claims he would have faced Will Ospreay at a Wrestle Kingdom event already, had the COVID-19 pandemic not intervened.

The augural AEW World Champion is set to face Ospreay in a first-time-ever match between the two at Wembley Stadium in London, England this weekend. However, Jericho has now revealed that he planned to face Ospreay in New Japan years before but the COVID pandemic halted plans.

Speaking on the Casual Conversations With The Classic podcast, the former Inner Circle and Jericho Appreciation Society leader revealed that he was meant to face Ospreay at either Wrestle Kingdom 15 in 2021 or 16 in 2022 and would have also faced Minoru Suzuki at whichever event he didn’t face Ospreay at.

“This match would have already happened in the Tokyo Dome in New Japan had there not been a lockdown. In 2018, I was against Kenny. In 2019, it was [Tetsuya] Naito. In 2020, it was [Hiroshi] Tanahashi.

2021 was going to be Ospreay or [Minoru Suzuki], and 2022 was going to be [whichever one he didn’t face in 2021]. I wanted to do Ospreay earlier than that. So to me, it’s one of those matches where will it ever get a chance to happen again? I don’t know, but it needs to happen.”

h/t to Fightful

WWE has released a nearly hour-long compilation of WWE stars unexpectedly quitting in the wake of Jey Uso doing so!

The video features stars such as Batista (both in 2010 and 2014), Dolph Ziggler, JBL, Bret Hart and more quitting their roles at WWE.

Check out the video above!

The August 21st 2023 edition of RAW saw the end of a six-year losing streak for Akira Tozawa!

This week’s RAW saw Akira Tozawa pick up a shock win over The Miz, thanks to LA Knight’s presence on commentary which distracted Tozawa’s opponent. Whilst the victory was treated as a big upset win over the two-time WWE Champion, the moment was even bigger in the record books.

Tozawa’s victory over The Miz was his first singles win on Monday Night RAW in six years. His last one-on-one victory on the red brand happened all the way back in August 2017 when he dethroned then-Cruiserweight Champion Neville. Since then, Tozawa has lost 20 straight singles matches on RAW.

Prior to his title win over Neville, Tozawa was almost entirely undefeated on RAW during the era of the revived Cruiserweight division featuring on the red brand. Tozawa’s only losses came in a tag team match in March to The Brian Kendrick and Tony Nese as well as a singles loss to Ariya Daivari by referee’s decision the following July.

Will Ospreay has claimed he was meant to appear at the original All In event but Cody Rhodes & The Young Bucks “forgot” about him!

The self-proclaimed IWGP United Kingdom Champion is set to compete at the second iteration of All In at Wembley Stadium in London, England this weekend. Ospreay will be facing former AEW World Champion Chris Jericho at the historic event in a first-time-ever match between the two.

Ospreay did not compete nor appear at the original All In back in 2018, though the New Japan-star has now claimed that he was, in fact, meant to be.

Posting on X (formerly Twitter), Ospreay revealed Cody Rhodes asked him months after the first All In why he wasn’t at the event and Ospreay responded that he was never asked. The British star took this to mean that the showrunners, Rhodes and The Young Bucks, had planned to feature him but “forgot” to message him.

True story.
Cody asked months after the first one “why wasn’t you on All In”

My reply was “you didn’t ask”

Essentially they forgot to message me to be part of their history.

Took long enough but finally part of All In at Wembley Stadium…And I’m not All Elite…I’m Above It https://t.co/yHDD3Adm3h

— Will Ospreay • ウィル・オスプレイ (@WillOspreay) August 22, 2023

Are you excited to see Ospreay vs Jericho for the first time ever at All In: London? If not, who should Ospreay have faced at the event?

WWE employees behind the scenes aren’t feeling optimistic about the company’s impending takeover by Endeavor.

PWInsider Elite reports that the company’s purchase is expected to conclude by mid-September and that news of WWE employees losing their jobs will occur almost immediately following the deal’s closure. This aligns with previous reports that the deal was expected to be complete by the end of September.

The report goes on to say that those behind the scenes are feeling “a sense of doom and gloom” regarding the situation and many fear for their jobs. Those who are not based out of WWE’s production studios or working directly with WWE talent themselves feel their roles are at risk.

A long-time backstage employee noted to PWInsider Elite that both UFC and WWE won’t need separate logistical offices following the merger of the two into TKO Group Holdings, hence the fear among many that their job is at risk. It’s currently unknown exactly how many WWE employees will be let go in the coming weeks.

Tony Khan has addressed Cash Wheeler’s arrest and revealed his status for AEW All In: London this weekend!

This past Friday, news broke that AEW World Tag Team Champion Cash Wheeler had been arrested under the charge of aggravated assault with a firearm. Details emerged throughout the day, revealing that Wheeler had allegedly pointed a gun at a driver whilst on the highway and that the victim “feared for his life”.

The incident in question obviously put Wheeler’s status for AEW All In: London, the company’s largest event in history, into question. He and his partner Dax Harwood were announced to defend their World Tag Team Championship against The Young Bucks on August 10th, just over a week before the arrest.

During the pre-All In: London media call yesterday, Tony Khan was asked about the current status of Wheeler’s situation – calling it an “inconclusive situation” and revealing that the match will still be going ahead at the moment:

“As for things that have happened outside of the ring, I can’t comment on the specifics at this time because I still don’t know everything. We’re still learning facts. Based on the information we have at this time, we’re still keeping an eye on that situation. At this time, I think it’s a very inconclusive situation.

It differs from other times where we’ve come in and weighed in or acted on a situation based on the evidence because, in this case, with everything we’re looking at, I don’t think we have those facts right now. At this point, I think it’s rather inconclusive. I do very much look forward to the match and we’ll keep an eye out throughout this weekend and as long as it’s a pending situation.”

h/t to Fightful

Morning everyone, hope you’re having a great week so far!

Welcome back to the TJRWrestling live blog! I’ll be with you from 7am to 1pm EST covering the latest stories & breaking news from WWE, AEW, NJPW and elsewhere across the wrestling world!

We’ve got some big stories headed your way today including:

• Tony Khan Comments On “Inconclusive” Cash Wheeler Situation
  
• WWE Employees Feeling “Doom & Gloom” Ahead Of Endeavour Takeover
• “They Forgot” – Will Ospreay Reveals Why He Missed Original All In